Seth Rollins' three-disc DVD set has been released. It covers his time in FCW, NXT, and the main roster. No ROH footage as far as I know, although that would be pretty important to understand how he became who he was before coming to WWE.
Advertised for Thursday's Impact from India:
- Alberto El Patron vs. Ethan Carter III
- Low Ki vs. Andrew Everett
William Regal talked about the WWE signing process:
- He's got quite the full plate!
- I don't envy him for a six hour drive from Atlanta to Orlando.
- Sometimes a tryout is an important step to see how far along someone is. They can then go work on what they need to improve for a future opportunity.
- YES. It's not just what you do in the ring. You have to be able to be an employee in every role they have.
- Some recent ROH and Impact alumni are on WWE's radar, for sure.
- Bayley's definitely perfect for her role.
Jerry Lawler dropkicked a mascot at an MLB game because the U.S. is a crazy place. I'm impressed by how well he still moves at his age.
Dana Warrior presented a Hero award at the most recent NXT taping. I imagine WWE's going to use Dana a lot for PR ventures going forward.
NJPW will be holding a press conference in California before their June 30 show. It will be interesting to see how those events do. Can they get a lot of fans outside of the diehards who attend pretty much every major wrestling event in the States?
WWE's second line of TMNT toys will be coming to stores soon. That's a pretty fun combination. I'd pop for a Bray Wyatt Shredder, personally.
NXT will hit British Colombia on July 13, Washington on July 14, and Oregon on July 15. Good to see those names get more experience on the road.
Lince Dorado was believed to be hurt in a match taped Monday, but is not injured. He's getting pretty regular work on 205 Live, which I thought was what fans wanted from the cruiserweight division.
Tommaso Ciampa is undergoing ACL surgery. Unfortunate to hear he'll be missing time after that awesome feud setup, but hopefully it will be worth it when he's ready to come back and finish what he started with Gargano.
The NWA copyrights are in something of a legal limbo as the Billy Corgan offer to purchase the company moves ahead. The trademarks have to be legally approved in favor of the current owners in order for them to be transferred to Corgan. This could delay whatever plans the Corgan camp has for changing the promotion, but I don't expect it to halt his takeover.
John Cena confirmed a Smackdown return on July 4. They could easily have him wrestle The Face of America Kevin Owens that night. No word yet on whether this is a return to regular action or just a special appearance for the big holiday.
Before Smackdown, Luke Harper, Mojo Rawley, & Tye Dillinger beat Aiden English & The Ascension. I wish Luke was in MITB... I'm curious where these names fit into that PPV.
Christopher Daniels vs. Cody for the ROH World Championship has been officially announced for Best in the World on June 23. That's the biggest match they've got at this point. Cody could be the face of the company if the two sides come together for a regular deal. With Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly gone, they need credible top guys.
Raw will run Georgia on November 13, where they just taped Smackdown. Cool that Atlanta will get both main roster brands this year.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Probably the standard talent crossover stuff.
2. Putting 205 Live after Smackdown means the entire Smackdown audience can stick around for more wrestling. I think significantly fewer people would come early to see the cruiserweights. Most fans would just wait to see the big stars in action. Putting those names on Raw also gives them more exposure. The cruiserweight division just isn't as much of a draw as it used to be because there are already plenty of other workers doing that kind of crash and burn style on the main roster.
3. Considering Jinder had never held a single title under the WWE umbrella, and went 7-105 in matches in 2013 before being released in 2014, I think it's reasonable to be skeptical of him getting the big push. I can see Jinder getting a pretty decent run. I don't expect him to be champion at WM34, but I wouldn't be awfully surprised if they see how much they can get out of his title run.
4. I unironically loved 3MB, even the Santino comedy match where Jinder "charmed" the cobra puppet.
5. I think that's too unsophisticated of a solution. I'd rather see talent and creative get regular breaks when it's clear burnout is in play. They don't need to halt everything or do some arbitrary thing. Just rotate people in and out more.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Rollins DVD drops, Impact preview, Interview with Regal, Lawler vs. ketchup, WWE gives Hero award, NJPW press conference coming, WWE-TMNT toys dropping soon, NXT dates set in July, 205 Live injury averted, NXT name getting surgery, NWA transfer hits a snag, Cena return official, Smackdown dark match, ROH PPV main event set, Raw taping announced, and Questions on CZW's new agreement, why 205 Live is where it is, Jinder's surprise win and title future, and a WWE off-season
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 5/30/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Interview with Morton, Edwards surgery update, more on Impact working agreement, why Floslam is more expensive, ECW alumni injured, Noam working Scotland promotion, new Extreme Rules match, ROH TV in India, Aries book coming soon, Smackdown live event note, and Questions on Floslam's price point, Bray's promos, Randy being reckless, Vince doing autographs, and WWE turning down sponsors
Ricky Morton was profiled. I really like his philosophy that you're always learning. I hope everyone takes that to heart. A lot of good wisdom there.
Eddie Edwards is working Impact's Indian tour, so he's good to go after his knee surgery. His feud with Davey has absolutely blown me away and shown me both men are much more varied workers than I gave them credit for.
Impact is working on booking some NOAH talents, presumably for after Slammiversary. It definitely adds to their credibility to be able to pull from international rosters.
Floslam's price grew for new subscribers because the Flosports service is no longer available by section. Those who have already subscribed at the previous price won't be affected.
Little Guido/Nunzio broke his ankle this weekend. He still gets regular bookings. Good for him! I hope he doesn't miss much time.
Noam Dar will wrestle for Scotland's ICW on July 29. WWE's throwing a bone to a company that could essentially be a training ground for UK brand talent.
Sasha Banks & Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox & Noam Dar was announced for Extreme Rules before Raw. I'm glad Sasha's still booked for the show with Bayley in the title match.
ROH could be airing in India soon, as Discovery's new sports channel DSPORT has purchased the rights to show the promotion's weekly TV show there. The channel reaches more than 70 million people in the country. That's good news for the company; a lot more people could start watching the promotion with this deal.
Super Crazy pulled out of an indie match after the bottom rope snapped during a moonsault attempt. He was seen in a neck brace as he announced Laredo Kid as his replacement. I hope he doesn't miss much time. That sounds scary.
Austin Aries will soon release a book about his vegan lifestyle. That's pretty cool! I assume he's got a special deal where he was able to do that independent of WWE.
At a Smackdown live event in Georgia, Charlotte & Becky Lynch defeated Tamina, Natalya, & Carmella. No Naomi, interestingly. We'll see if that's significant soon enough.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm not 100% sure what they were thinking there, but I hope people there realize how much content is available for much cheaper from WWE, NJPW, etc. The price point just isn't competitive with what the industry leaders are doing, and it's going to be a really tough sell to get new fans on-board.
2. Bray Wyatt is something else. I can kind of see the comparison, but I wouldn't immediately think of Warrior.
3. It takes two to put a spot together. Randy's done a lot more moves than the Singhs have taken, so I think that once can be on then.
4. I think he would if someone was nice about it and he wasn't coming off a long flight or something. SURE PAL GODDAMN I'LL SIGN ANYTHING YOU WANT.
5. There are times when wrestling programs show up on the "do not advertise" list for a network, but I haven't heard of the reverse happening. It's hard to turn down ad money!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Eddie Edwards is working Impact's Indian tour, so he's good to go after his knee surgery. His feud with Davey has absolutely blown me away and shown me both men are much more varied workers than I gave them credit for.
Impact is working on booking some NOAH talents, presumably for after Slammiversary. It definitely adds to their credibility to be able to pull from international rosters.
Floslam's price grew for new subscribers because the Flosports service is no longer available by section. Those who have already subscribed at the previous price won't be affected.
Little Guido/Nunzio broke his ankle this weekend. He still gets regular bookings. Good for him! I hope he doesn't miss much time.
Noam Dar will wrestle for Scotland's ICW on July 29. WWE's throwing a bone to a company that could essentially be a training ground for UK brand talent.
Sasha Banks & Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox & Noam Dar was announced for Extreme Rules before Raw. I'm glad Sasha's still booked for the show with Bayley in the title match.
ROH could be airing in India soon, as Discovery's new sports channel DSPORT has purchased the rights to show the promotion's weekly TV show there. The channel reaches more than 70 million people in the country. That's good news for the company; a lot more people could start watching the promotion with this deal.
Super Crazy pulled out of an indie match after the bottom rope snapped during a moonsault attempt. He was seen in a neck brace as he announced Laredo Kid as his replacement. I hope he doesn't miss much time. That sounds scary.
Austin Aries will soon release a book about his vegan lifestyle. That's pretty cool! I assume he's got a special deal where he was able to do that independent of WWE.
At a Smackdown live event in Georgia, Charlotte & Becky Lynch defeated Tamina, Natalya, & Carmella. No Naomi, interestingly. We'll see if that's significant soon enough.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm not 100% sure what they were thinking there, but I hope people there realize how much content is available for much cheaper from WWE, NJPW, etc. The price point just isn't competitive with what the industry leaders are doing, and it's going to be a really tough sell to get new fans on-board.
2. Bray Wyatt is something else. I can kind of see the comparison, but I wouldn't immediately think of Warrior.
3. It takes two to put a spot together. Randy's done a lot more moves than the Singhs have taken, so I think that once can be on then.
4. I think he would if someone was nice about it and he wasn't coming off a long flight or something. SURE PAL GODDAMN I'LL SIGN ANYTHING YOU WANT.
5. There are times when wrestling programs show up on the "do not advertise" list for a network, but I haven't heard of the reverse happening. It's hard to turn down ad money!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Main Event Reax - 5/28/17, Seth taking new students, two Impacts in the UK this week, Tajiri officially free, Cena returning soon?, and Questions on the WWE Network during the Attitude Era, Brie returning, the Jarrett/Anthem relationship, no-contact contract signings, and paying every talent the same
-- Main Event:
- TJP vs. Metalik:
Good start.
While TJP is great as a face, too, he's a really natural heel.
Metalik's ability to fly is really something else.
Nice work so far. TJP is able to make the most out of pretty much any opponent.
TJP brings a lot to the table.
I like Gran's impressive acrobatics since they're not part of a match with three other people doing the same kind of thing.
NICE ending sequence.
- Slater/Rhyno vs. Hawkins/Axel:
Looks like the Curt & Curtis thing is already having issues.
I like the pairing of Heath and Rhyno. They complement each other's roles.
This is fun so far.
These guys are valuable. Someone has to work this place on the card, and they're making the most of the spot.
Fine work here.
Pretty basic "FCW" style action here, but nothing wrong with that.
I like what these names bring to the table.
Slater heating things up there at the end.
I was hoping for a GORE, but no major complaints overall.
Seth Rollins' wrestling school is accepting applications for 2018. The man has an insane schedule and work ethic.
Spike in the UK aired a repeat of Impact Wrestling Friday instead of the most recent episode, so they will air two episodes in a row this coming Friday to get fans caught up. Hopefully that's just a one-time blunder.
Tajiri's WWE contract has officially expired. He had already announced he wouldn't be returning to the ring for the company, as they were concerned about him getting injured again working the cruiserweight style at 46. It's a shame his return was cut short like that.
John Cena teased returning at Tuesday's Smackdown. I'm sure WWE would love to have him at the taping, although I don't know if he'd be heading back to the road right away.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Interestingly enough some speculated about some kind of service making use of the WCW and ECW libraries, but obviously that didn't happen at the time. It's possible they could have ridden the streak of the boom period a little longer with something like the network, but I don't know how long it would have lasted. I also wonder what such a service would look like in 2001 considering what the Internet situation was like back then.
2. I don't think anyone expects her to have a ****+ match with Asuka or Sasha Banks or whatever, but I could see her wrestling more as part of something for "Total Divas" or "Total Bellas." The deal with E! is pretty important to WWE.
3. Supposedly the Broken Universe dilemma is all Anthem's doing. Understandably, they're not exactly pleased two of their top stars left and wanted to take something they worked on in Impact with them. I really don't get this "Jeff Jarrett is sabotaging Impact" narrative being pushed. He's brought back a lot of names who made parts of the company work in the past, and brought in a lot of young, fresh talents. That's exactly what he needs to be doing to make Impact viable again.
4. They do it every so often. I like the idea, but I imagine they don't want to disappoint the live fans who paid to see their favorite wrestlers actually, you know, get physical.
5. Mahal will also have more responsibilities than Slater or Axel do, since he'll be in a more important place on the card. So, he'll presumably be paid more for fulfilling that duty. This situation is hardly just a wrestling thing. Will Tom Cruise be the best actor and do the most hard work in The Mummy reboot? Maybe not. That doesn't mean someone who's in the background of one scene should be paid the same amount he is. While everyone at a job is important, some are more important than others.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- TJP vs. Metalik:
Good start.
While TJP is great as a face, too, he's a really natural heel.
Metalik's ability to fly is really something else.
Nice work so far. TJP is able to make the most out of pretty much any opponent.
TJP brings a lot to the table.
I like Gran's impressive acrobatics since they're not part of a match with three other people doing the same kind of thing.
NICE ending sequence.
- Slater/Rhyno vs. Hawkins/Axel:
Looks like the Curt & Curtis thing is already having issues.
I like the pairing of Heath and Rhyno. They complement each other's roles.
This is fun so far.
These guys are valuable. Someone has to work this place on the card, and they're making the most of the spot.
Fine work here.
Pretty basic "FCW" style action here, but nothing wrong with that.
I like what these names bring to the table.
Slater heating things up there at the end.
I was hoping for a GORE, but no major complaints overall.
Seth Rollins' wrestling school is accepting applications for 2018. The man has an insane schedule and work ethic.
Spike in the UK aired a repeat of Impact Wrestling Friday instead of the most recent episode, so they will air two episodes in a row this coming Friday to get fans caught up. Hopefully that's just a one-time blunder.
Tajiri's WWE contract has officially expired. He had already announced he wouldn't be returning to the ring for the company, as they were concerned about him getting injured again working the cruiserweight style at 46. It's a shame his return was cut short like that.
John Cena teased returning at Tuesday's Smackdown. I'm sure WWE would love to have him at the taping, although I don't know if he'd be heading back to the road right away.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Interestingly enough some speculated about some kind of service making use of the WCW and ECW libraries, but obviously that didn't happen at the time. It's possible they could have ridden the streak of the boom period a little longer with something like the network, but I don't know how long it would have lasted. I also wonder what such a service would look like in 2001 considering what the Internet situation was like back then.
2. I don't think anyone expects her to have a ****+ match with Asuka or Sasha Banks or whatever, but I could see her wrestling more as part of something for "Total Divas" or "Total Bellas." The deal with E! is pretty important to WWE.
3. Supposedly the Broken Universe dilemma is all Anthem's doing. Understandably, they're not exactly pleased two of their top stars left and wanted to take something they worked on in Impact with them. I really don't get this "Jeff Jarrett is sabotaging Impact" narrative being pushed. He's brought back a lot of names who made parts of the company work in the past, and brought in a lot of young, fresh talents. That's exactly what he needs to be doing to make Impact viable again.
4. They do it every so often. I like the idea, but I imagine they don't want to disappoint the live fans who paid to see their favorite wrestlers actually, you know, get physical.
5. Mahal will also have more responsibilities than Slater or Axel do, since he'll be in a more important place on the card. So, he'll presumably be paid more for fulfilling that duty. This situation is hardly just a wrestling thing. Will Tom Cruise be the best actor and do the most hard work in The Mummy reboot? Maybe not. That doesn't mean someone who's in the background of one scene should be paid the same amount he is. While everyone at a job is important, some are more important than others.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Jinder press, Impact in India press, new WWE trademarks, live event note correction, and Questions on Floslam's woes, WWE promotional planning, meeting wrestlers at events, Corny breaking bread with Bischoff, and GLOW's creator in the WWE Hall
YouTube star Lilly Singh commented on Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship win. It's a very big moment for diversity in wrestling.
Impact got press in India for its upcoming tapings. I'm very interested to see how those go.
WWE has applied to trademark "WWE Rockstars," believed to be in relation to Shinsuke Nakamura. He's already got a number of new nicknames unrelated to strong style. That makes sense, because WWE is trying to get him over with the sports entertainment fans. He's already over with the fans who know him for his work in Japan.
- WWE has also applied to trademark the name Bruiserweight for Pete Dunne. That's good news for his future there.
In a correction to a previous report, Heath Slater was in his team's corner as part of Raw's live events this weekend.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's very difficult for anyone to have a service at the level of WWE Network, given all the money and resources WWE can put into such an endeavor. Especially for an upstart in the early going. It's going to be tough for anyone to compete with WWE in that kind of environment.
2. As alluded to in the previous answer, WWE is a big entertainment corporation and is going to have things in place as soon as they can. They didn't get where they are by being haphazard.
3. Pretty much what they said. The best bet for all involved is meeting them at a time where they're advertised for a fan event. Sometimes you'll catch talent at the airport or something, but remember they're as likely to be jetlagged or otherwise not in the mood to meet a bunch of strangers as anyone else would be.
4. As far as I know, they were able to get along. Both men were in town to honor good friends of theirs, so I think they were able to be cordial. It's also important to keep in mind it's been a long time since WCW went under; I'd like to think they'd be able to have dinner together without Michael Hayes having to keep the peace or whatever.
5. If the new show is a hit and/or WWE buys the GLOW video library for the Network, I can see it happening. Otherwise, I don't know of any interest.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Impact got press in India for its upcoming tapings. I'm very interested to see how those go.
WWE has applied to trademark "WWE Rockstars," believed to be in relation to Shinsuke Nakamura. He's already got a number of new nicknames unrelated to strong style. That makes sense, because WWE is trying to get him over with the sports entertainment fans. He's already over with the fans who know him for his work in Japan.
- WWE has also applied to trademark the name Bruiserweight for Pete Dunne. That's good news for his future there.
In a correction to a previous report, Heath Slater was in his team's corner as part of Raw's live events this weekend.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's very difficult for anyone to have a service at the level of WWE Network, given all the money and resources WWE can put into such an endeavor. Especially for an upstart in the early going. It's going to be tough for anyone to compete with WWE in that kind of environment.
2. As alluded to in the previous answer, WWE is a big entertainment corporation and is going to have things in place as soon as they can. They didn't get where they are by being haphazard.
3. Pretty much what they said. The best bet for all involved is meeting them at a time where they're advertised for a fan event. Sometimes you'll catch talent at the airport or something, but remember they're as likely to be jetlagged or otherwise not in the mood to meet a bunch of strangers as anyone else would be.
4. As far as I know, they were able to get along. Both men were in town to honor good friends of theirs, so I think they were able to be cordial. It's also important to keep in mind it's been a long time since WCW went under; I'd like to think they'd be able to have dinner together without Michael Hayes having to keep the peace or whatever.
5. If the new show is a hit and/or WWE buys the GLOW video library for the Network, I can see it happening. Otherwise, I don't know of any interest.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
NXT cancels a UK show, Interviews with Cody/Ospreay, Jinder press, NJ wrestling exhibit, Brie update, New Day special hits YouTube, Waltman charges dropped, Impact audience, ROH PPV announced, Table for 3 after Raw, Otunga return set, more Raw Talk, NXT+Raw live event notes, and Questions on a big WWE Canada event, Impact's standing vs. ROH's, WWE "ruining" Hojo, Hardy's trademark battle, and Hardy surgery
NXT has canceled their June 6 event in Manchester. Those who bought tickets to the event will get a full refund, and will be able to attend the next day's show for free. WWE is also making a donation to an emergency fund for the city, and stars will still be visiting the city that day. Glad to see the company helping the city out.
- Variety covered the cancellation. It's a really sad time in the UK.
Cody and Will Ospreay talked to USA Today:
- I like Cody getting to work everywhere he wants, in front of big crowds and small crowds. He's made enough money to be able to enjoy wrestling as more of an art or hobby than a job.
- I'm very glad Cody wasn't "Dusty Rhodes Jr." in WWE. He made his own legacy.
- I'd like to see him win a world title, but I can see why ROH wouldn't pull the trigger on someone who's not under contract. They'd be in the Brock Lesnar predicament of the champion not being at every event.
- Cody's the best part of ROH. I'd like to see him add a new dimension to the company as champion, but I'm not holding my breath.
- It is cool to see the Bucks accept Cody. He's rejuvenated the incredibly stale, one-dimensional Bullet Club.
- Cody getting out of the rut of being Stardust has paid dividends for him. It's risky to leave a well-paying gig, but he's made it work.
- Oh God that match with Ricochet was a trainwreck. But it got people talking and presumably got Ospreay and Ricochet some additional bookings, so good for them.
- At least Ospreay is cool with the criticism and gets his style isn't for everyone.
- There's room for all kinds of performers in wrestling. As there should be!
- Here's the thing, though. That flippy floppy style is drawing the same numbers and the same audience every time. They might sell out a venue for 900 people, but is it something that's going to be a success for a national audience? WWE trying to appease the audience that chants "This is awesome" is hurting their appeal with the larger audience who doesn't just want to see a spectacle of cool moves. The people who just want to chant Randy Savage and throw beachballs is going to attend pretty much no matter what the card is. Soccer moms and their kids don't care what someone did in Japan or how many ****+ matches they had before WWE. They don't read dirtsheets.
Cody also spoke to CBS Sports:
- WAIT WHAT???? Brandi can barely "wrestle" and she's already talking about going all ECW? This is what's wrong with so many in the business these days. It's all about spots and spectacle whether there's a good foundation to it or not.
- I hope Brandi has an idea of what she's getting into.
- I hope the "this is awesome" chants are worth taking a bump on tacks in front of a few hundred (?) people.
- ROH will probably need some people for the women's division with WWE recruiting like crazy.
- Cody and Brandi can definitely do some roaming as part of Impact or ROH given their working relationships.
Jinder Mahal got press in Canada for his title win. While he's of Indian heritage, he's Canadian by birth.
A New Jersey museum has a pro wrestling exhibit focusing on its town. Chief Jay Strongbow is a focal point.
Brie Bella plans to return to the ring. NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO. I've seen more than enough Bella matches in my day. But, as long as E! is paying for Bella-related content, guess who's going to be on WWE TV?
WWE's New Day special is now on YouTube. I hope WWE isn't affected by the big change in YouTube revenue; they're really trying to make a significant amount of money from their digital ventures.
Sean Waltman was cleared of all charges related to his arrest last month after the pills he was found with were determined to not be methamphetamine. At the time, Waltman said the pills were for a yeast infection. It's worth noting the amount of marijuana he was found with is legal in California. Basically, the police assumed the pills and the money he was found with were evidence of selling narcotics, but that wasn't the case. I jumped to conclusions, as did many others in the matter, and for that I apologize. Waltman was being truthful regarding what was in his possession that day. Hopefully he hasn't falsely accused in the future, and myself and others give more benefit of the doubt in such matters going forward.
Impact Wrestling drew 305,000 viewers. I'm curious how much having Scott Steiner around for a few weeks (?) will affect viewership, as well as how much the change of scenery for the Indian tapings will mean for the audience.
Death Before Dishonor XV will be held on September 22 from Nevada, with a TV taping following from the same venue the next night. The road to Final Battle 2017 will be in full effect then.
Table for 3 with Jim Cornette, Eric Bischoff, and Michael Hayes will follow Raw. That could really be a spectacle.
David Otunga will return for Kickoff for Extreme Rules. So, he's almost done with his movie commitments.
Raw Talk will follow Extreme Rules. Those shows have generally been enjoyable due to their mostly unscripted nature.
At an NXT live event in Florida:
- Wesley Blake managed Steve Cutler.
- Buddy Murphy teamed with No Way Jose and Roderick Strong to beat Bobby Roode, Tino Sabbatelli, & Riddick Moss.
At a Raw live event in Kentucky:
- Apollo Crews worked as a face, beating Curt Hawkins.
- Rhyno, Curtis Axel, & R-Truth beat Goldust, Elias Samson, & Titus O'Neil. This was Elias' main roster live event debut. Interesting Heath Slater wasn't part of things at all. He's got a family to feed!
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE already has venues booked for that time frame. Raw will be in Japan and Smackdown will be in Texas. So, no chance of that happening. If they do ever have a Canadian champion, I think it'd be something more along the lines of the UK title.
2. Impact still has a bigger footprint to the average fan because of their time on Spike years back, but the two sides are closer in 2017 than they have been since the FSN days.
3. It's pretty early in the Hojo-WWE relationship. The two sides will get a better feel for each other as time goes on.
4. Basically they said it identified his character but not the services he provides. Sounds like he didn't have enough appropriate documentation for the USPTO to grant his claim.
5. I don't expect the Hardys to be long-term full-time wrestlers. If one or both really needs some time off for a reason like that, I think they'll be able to get it. Everyone involved knows their bumping days are numbered.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Variety covered the cancellation. It's a really sad time in the UK.
Cody and Will Ospreay talked to USA Today:
- I like Cody getting to work everywhere he wants, in front of big crowds and small crowds. He's made enough money to be able to enjoy wrestling as more of an art or hobby than a job.
- I'm very glad Cody wasn't "Dusty Rhodes Jr." in WWE. He made his own legacy.
- I'd like to see him win a world title, but I can see why ROH wouldn't pull the trigger on someone who's not under contract. They'd be in the Brock Lesnar predicament of the champion not being at every event.
- Cody's the best part of ROH. I'd like to see him add a new dimension to the company as champion, but I'm not holding my breath.
- It is cool to see the Bucks accept Cody. He's rejuvenated the incredibly stale, one-dimensional Bullet Club.
- Cody getting out of the rut of being Stardust has paid dividends for him. It's risky to leave a well-paying gig, but he's made it work.
- Oh God that match with Ricochet was a trainwreck. But it got people talking and presumably got Ospreay and Ricochet some additional bookings, so good for them.
- At least Ospreay is cool with the criticism and gets his style isn't for everyone.
- There's room for all kinds of performers in wrestling. As there should be!
- Here's the thing, though. That flippy floppy style is drawing the same numbers and the same audience every time. They might sell out a venue for 900 people, but is it something that's going to be a success for a national audience? WWE trying to appease the audience that chants "This is awesome" is hurting their appeal with the larger audience who doesn't just want to see a spectacle of cool moves. The people who just want to chant Randy Savage and throw beachballs is going to attend pretty much no matter what the card is. Soccer moms and their kids don't care what someone did in Japan or how many ****+ matches they had before WWE. They don't read dirtsheets.
Cody also spoke to CBS Sports:
- WAIT WHAT???? Brandi can barely "wrestle" and she's already talking about going all ECW? This is what's wrong with so many in the business these days. It's all about spots and spectacle whether there's a good foundation to it or not.
- I hope Brandi has an idea of what she's getting into.
- I hope the "this is awesome" chants are worth taking a bump on tacks in front of a few hundred (?) people.
- ROH will probably need some people for the women's division with WWE recruiting like crazy.
- Cody and Brandi can definitely do some roaming as part of Impact or ROH given their working relationships.
Jinder Mahal got press in Canada for his title win. While he's of Indian heritage, he's Canadian by birth.
A New Jersey museum has a pro wrestling exhibit focusing on its town. Chief Jay Strongbow is a focal point.
Brie Bella plans to return to the ring. NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO. I've seen more than enough Bella matches in my day. But, as long as E! is paying for Bella-related content, guess who's going to be on WWE TV?
WWE's New Day special is now on YouTube. I hope WWE isn't affected by the big change in YouTube revenue; they're really trying to make a significant amount of money from their digital ventures.
Sean Waltman was cleared of all charges related to his arrest last month after the pills he was found with were determined to not be methamphetamine. At the time, Waltman said the pills were for a yeast infection. It's worth noting the amount of marijuana he was found with is legal in California. Basically, the police assumed the pills and the money he was found with were evidence of selling narcotics, but that wasn't the case. I jumped to conclusions, as did many others in the matter, and for that I apologize. Waltman was being truthful regarding what was in his possession that day. Hopefully he hasn't falsely accused in the future, and myself and others give more benefit of the doubt in such matters going forward.
Impact Wrestling drew 305,000 viewers. I'm curious how much having Scott Steiner around for a few weeks (?) will affect viewership, as well as how much the change of scenery for the Indian tapings will mean for the audience.
Death Before Dishonor XV will be held on September 22 from Nevada, with a TV taping following from the same venue the next night. The road to Final Battle 2017 will be in full effect then.
Table for 3 with Jim Cornette, Eric Bischoff, and Michael Hayes will follow Raw. That could really be a spectacle.
David Otunga will return for Kickoff for Extreme Rules. So, he's almost done with his movie commitments.
Raw Talk will follow Extreme Rules. Those shows have generally been enjoyable due to their mostly unscripted nature.
At an NXT live event in Florida:
- Wesley Blake managed Steve Cutler.
- Buddy Murphy teamed with No Way Jose and Roderick Strong to beat Bobby Roode, Tino Sabbatelli, & Riddick Moss.
At a Raw live event in Kentucky:
- Apollo Crews worked as a face, beating Curt Hawkins.
- Rhyno, Curtis Axel, & R-Truth beat Goldust, Elias Samson, & Titus O'Neil. This was Elias' main roster live event debut. Interesting Heath Slater wasn't part of things at all. He's got a family to feed!
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE already has venues booked for that time frame. Raw will be in Japan and Smackdown will be in Texas. So, no chance of that happening. If they do ever have a Canadian champion, I think it'd be something more along the lines of the UK title.
2. Impact still has a bigger footprint to the average fan because of their time on Spike years back, but the two sides are closer in 2017 than they have been since the FSN days.
3. It's pretty early in the Hojo-WWE relationship. The two sides will get a better feel for each other as time goes on.
4. Basically they said it identified his character but not the services he provides. Sounds like he didn't have enough appropriate documentation for the USPTO to grant his claim.
5. I don't expect the Hardys to be long-term full-time wrestlers. If one or both really needs some time off for a reason like that, I think they'll be able to get it. Everyone involved knows their bumping days are numbered.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Asuka added to WWE Japan tour, Club press, Jericho on WWE future, Goldberg honors Asuka, GFW titles update, more Hardys vs. Impact, Knockout working SHIMMER, more Impact tracks released, more names in new NWA, lots of ROH TV matches set, Hardy trademark unsuccessful, Ciampa needs surgery, and Questions on NBCU dropping WWE, talents hanging on in ECW, SMW expanding, and Punk the reality star
Asuka and Emma are set for WWE's Japanese events on June 30 and July 1. Asuka will team with Bayley and Sasha Banks against Emma, Alexa Bliss, and Nia Jax. I'm just about ready for the former Kana to come up to Raw or Smackdown and start kicking and striking some new people. I love the idea of her vacating the title undefeated, with the Mae Young Classic winner becoming the new champion.
Karl Anderson threw out the first pitch at an MLB game Tuesday. That's pretty cool. I hope he and Luke have a successful WWE tenure.
Chris Jericho downplayed a WWE return:
- He could be back in the mix regularly by this summer. No way is he done.
- I think I'd actually listen to him sing about his wrestling exploits. That has potential. We need more in the vein of Piledriver and The Rock singing about Pie.
- WWE/NXT featuring Fozzy music has definitely helped both sides.
Goldberg congratulated Asuka for beating his undefeated streak. I don't think it's going to stop anytime in the next few months, either! It will be interesting to see how many wins she racks up before someone finally takes her down.
Impact's use of GFW championships will likely conclude with a merger at Slammiversary, i.e. title vs. title matches. That would make sense, and was likely the plan the whole time, but it gets a lot of clicks to bash Anthem for "pushing GFW at Impact's expense."
Matt Hardy indicated Impact management has sent talents "drunken, mean, vulgar texts." If that's true, it's definitely something that would paint that side in a negative light.
Madison Rayne will be working SHIMMER on July 8 and 9, so Impact might have a working agreement with that brand, too. It's definitely good for both sides to have their talent available to get the additional work and exposure.
Impact has released further soundtracks featuring their theme songs.
Dave Lagana, Aiden O'Shea, and musician Sherri Shaw are all joining Billy Corgan in his new NWA venture. I'm curious how it will all work out and who else will end up attached.
ROH has announced the following matches for their June 3 TV taping:
- Bobby Fish vs. Silas Young
- Punishment Martinez vs. Jay White
- Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon
- Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. Kenny King, Rhett Titus, & Shane Taylor
- Jay Lethal vs. Caprice Coleman
- The Addiction vs. two members of Bullet Club TBA
-- Slow times for ROH. I hope they've got interesting next opponents set for Daniels and Kazarian. Cody should get a one-on-one match for the ROH Title; that's really the only major interesting feud to do at this point.
Matt Hardy was denied the trademark of "Broken Matt Hardy" because the mark only identifies the character and not the services of Matt being a wrestler. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cited a number of court cases with similar outcomes. While we as wrestling fans know "Broken Matt Hardy" refers to him as a wrestler, the nickname doesn't identify him as a wrestler or distinguish his services from others'. From the sound of things, he didn't have the right documentation to confirm the mark.
Tommaso Ciampa was injured further in the ladder match at Takeover. He will undergo surgery. I hope he's able to come back to face Gargano in Brooklyn. Otherwise, they might as well keep Johnny off TV for a while, too, to sell what Ciampa did to him after the match. I hope neither are gone long after the awesome work in Chicago.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1.
2. They could, but I don't see it happening. As mentioned, people don't watch TV like they used to. That's often used to paint WWE in a negative light when the viewership of television as a whole is very different from 15 years ago. WWE remains valuable to NBCU, and they're going to keep working together. It's just a matter of how much money they'll be paid for their content in the next deal.
3. A lot of talents convinced themselves it wasn't that bad, things would turn around, being in ECW was better than trying to make it somewhere else, and that kind of thing. They had invested so much time into the company and working with people they liked working with that it was hard to walk away. It's not an uncommon mindset in other contexts.
4. It was a niche product for an audience in a certain region. I don't think they really had any ambition of going outside their core area. That's kind of the nature of the old territory mindset: you do your thing for your audience and stay pretty close to home.
5. What's changed is now he's the guy getting paid to be on one. Money talks.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Karl Anderson threw out the first pitch at an MLB game Tuesday. That's pretty cool. I hope he and Luke have a successful WWE tenure.
Chris Jericho downplayed a WWE return:
- He could be back in the mix regularly by this summer. No way is he done.
- I think I'd actually listen to him sing about his wrestling exploits. That has potential. We need more in the vein of Piledriver and The Rock singing about Pie.
- WWE/NXT featuring Fozzy music has definitely helped both sides.
Goldberg congratulated Asuka for beating his undefeated streak. I don't think it's going to stop anytime in the next few months, either! It will be interesting to see how many wins she racks up before someone finally takes her down.
Impact's use of GFW championships will likely conclude with a merger at Slammiversary, i.e. title vs. title matches. That would make sense, and was likely the plan the whole time, but it gets a lot of clicks to bash Anthem for "pushing GFW at Impact's expense."
Matt Hardy indicated Impact management has sent talents "drunken, mean, vulgar texts." If that's true, it's definitely something that would paint that side in a negative light.
Madison Rayne will be working SHIMMER on July 8 and 9, so Impact might have a working agreement with that brand, too. It's definitely good for both sides to have their talent available to get the additional work and exposure.
Impact has released further soundtracks featuring their theme songs.
Dave Lagana, Aiden O'Shea, and musician Sherri Shaw are all joining Billy Corgan in his new NWA venture. I'm curious how it will all work out and who else will end up attached.
ROH has announced the following matches for their June 3 TV taping:
- Bobby Fish vs. Silas Young
- Punishment Martinez vs. Jay White
- Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon
- Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. Kenny King, Rhett Titus, & Shane Taylor
- Jay Lethal vs. Caprice Coleman
- The Addiction vs. two members of Bullet Club TBA
-- Slow times for ROH. I hope they've got interesting next opponents set for Daniels and Kazarian. Cody should get a one-on-one match for the ROH Title; that's really the only major interesting feud to do at this point.
Matt Hardy was denied the trademark of "Broken Matt Hardy" because the mark only identifies the character and not the services of Matt being a wrestler. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cited a number of court cases with similar outcomes. While we as wrestling fans know "Broken Matt Hardy" refers to him as a wrestler, the nickname doesn't identify him as a wrestler or distinguish his services from others'. From the sound of things, he didn't have the right documentation to confirm the mark.
Tommaso Ciampa was injured further in the ladder match at Takeover. He will undergo surgery. I hope he's able to come back to face Gargano in Brooklyn. Otherwise, they might as well keep Johnny off TV for a while, too, to sell what Ciampa did to him after the match. I hope neither are gone long after the awesome work in Chicago.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1.
2. They could, but I don't see it happening. As mentioned, people don't watch TV like they used to. That's often used to paint WWE in a negative light when the viewership of television as a whole is very different from 15 years ago. WWE remains valuable to NBCU, and they're going to keep working together. It's just a matter of how much money they'll be paid for their content in the next deal.
3. A lot of talents convinced themselves it wasn't that bad, things would turn around, being in ECW was better than trying to make it somewhere else, and that kind of thing. They had invested so much time into the company and working with people they liked working with that it was hard to walk away. It's not an uncommon mindset in other contexts.
4. It was a niche product for an audience in a certain region. I don't think they really had any ambition of going outside their core area. That's kind of the nature of the old territory mindset: you do your thing for your audience and stay pretty close to home.
5. What's changed is now he's the guy getting paid to be on one. Money talks.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Impact cancels UK party, WWE names at another comic convention, New Day update, Orton missing time, Corgan on Anthem vs. Hardys, Smackdown audience, big women's gimmick match in the works?, Tanahashi+Emma injury updates, Backlash attendance note, and Questions on Orton's indie rant, Great Balls Of Fire, why Otunga does commentary, Mathews vs. Borash, GFW titles on Impact, and who's in charge at Impact
Impact canceled its viewing party in Manchester following the recent bombing in the city: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3. Very unfortunate the festivities are called off, but obviously the city has much more important priorities right now.
The Hardys, Bray Wyatt, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, and Alexa Bliss are all set for Wizard World Philadelphia. Cool to see WWE get that kind of exposure.
New Day was present at Tuesday's Smackdown taping, appearing on Talking Smack.
Randy Orton is not advertised for the next two weeks of live events, so it looks like he'll be getting some time off. It's possible he asked to drop the title to get some time to rest, but I don't think that would have been the sole factor in pushing Jinder.
Billy Corgan discussed the Anthem/Hardys issues and more:
- Corgan working with the two sides is nice, since he worked with the Hardys on the "Broken Universe."
- Oh, yeah. The Hardys situation has overshadowed pretty much everything Anthem has done to try to revitalize the Impact brand.
- I do think there's point to be made about giving credit to the "sweat of the brow" of how much work the Hardy side put into the creation of the Broken Universe.
- I'd like to see the Hardys get to use the Broken stuff, but I think Anthem/Impact should be able to get royalties from it.
- The Bully Ray situation is pretty interesting. I assume he learned his lesson with losing the Dudley names to WWE, and decided to get ahead of things with copyrighting things himself, where Impact just got to make use of the character for a time.
- The Hardys/Impact split was definitely not an ideal situation.
- This could get really problematic from a legal standpoint, costing a lot of time and money when everyone involved could be focusing on putting on quality wrestling.
- So, Impact could have actually gone bankrupt had Anthem not stepped in. Wow.
- If Anthem wanted to get really, really petty, they could have other wrestlers work as "Brother Nero" and "Broken Matt." I don't think it would go over well with anyone, though.
- I'm very interested to see what plans Corgan has for "the new NWA." I hope it's different from ROH, and everything else from the "indies."
Smackdown drew 2.33 million viewers, presumably getting a boost from Jinder's title win and Backlash as a whole.
A women's Money In The Bank match has been pitched for Smackdown's upcoming PPV. The idea had been floated for last year's show, too. I don't know if they have a deep enough roster for that, unless they put the champion in it as well. Just because Naomi holds the title now, they might need to use MITB some other time in the next 12 months!
Hiroshi Tanahashi is expected to return from his biceps rupture for the June 11 NJPW show. Not having surgery is brave, but I don't know how wise it is for his long-term health.
Emma should only miss a few more weeks from the ring. That's a relief. I hope she has good things ahead of her after all the false starts.
Backlash drew 9,800 fans, not quite selling out the venue. WWE always does really well in Chicago.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. HAHAHAA. Orton's been paying dues for 17 years and has more than 2,000 matches to his name. He was recently world champion for the top promotion on the planet. If anyone "gets" the business, it's him. The arrogant, disrespectful ones are the guys flipping around to get ****+ from Meltzer thinking five years working in front of the same 400 people makes them knowledgeable veterans.
2. I'm guessing that song brings him the feelings of excitement and energy he wants families to experience at WWE events. I'd love to hear the reaction of people in the room when he pitched it.
3. I'm guessing it's because Otunga has more of a connection to the casual mainstream audience than one of those rasslin' commentators.
4. The heel didn't honor his side of the deal. What a dastardly deed! Presumably Karen or someone will step in and make Josh leave the desk for real if he loses at Slammiversary. Maybe ace attorney Joseph Park will be able to enforce that.
5. I expect the GFW titles to merge with the Impact titles at Slammiversary. At least, I hope so given the size of the roster and number of titles there are.
6. Bruce Prichard, Dutch Mantel, and Karen Jarrett are all part of "Impact Management" and can all book matches, etc. Instead of just one commissioner or whatever calling the shots, it's a team effort and any member can go out and make a ruling on behalf of that team.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Hardys, Bray Wyatt, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, and Alexa Bliss are all set for Wizard World Philadelphia. Cool to see WWE get that kind of exposure.
New Day was present at Tuesday's Smackdown taping, appearing on Talking Smack.
Randy Orton is not advertised for the next two weeks of live events, so it looks like he'll be getting some time off. It's possible he asked to drop the title to get some time to rest, but I don't think that would have been the sole factor in pushing Jinder.
Billy Corgan discussed the Anthem/Hardys issues and more:
- Corgan working with the two sides is nice, since he worked with the Hardys on the "Broken Universe."
- Oh, yeah. The Hardys situation has overshadowed pretty much everything Anthem has done to try to revitalize the Impact brand.
- I do think there's point to be made about giving credit to the "sweat of the brow" of how much work the Hardy side put into the creation of the Broken Universe.
- I'd like to see the Hardys get to use the Broken stuff, but I think Anthem/Impact should be able to get royalties from it.
- The Bully Ray situation is pretty interesting. I assume he learned his lesson with losing the Dudley names to WWE, and decided to get ahead of things with copyrighting things himself, where Impact just got to make use of the character for a time.
- The Hardys/Impact split was definitely not an ideal situation.
- This could get really problematic from a legal standpoint, costing a lot of time and money when everyone involved could be focusing on putting on quality wrestling.
- So, Impact could have actually gone bankrupt had Anthem not stepped in. Wow.
- If Anthem wanted to get really, really petty, they could have other wrestlers work as "Brother Nero" and "Broken Matt." I don't think it would go over well with anyone, though.
- I'm very interested to see what plans Corgan has for "the new NWA." I hope it's different from ROH, and everything else from the "indies."
Smackdown drew 2.33 million viewers, presumably getting a boost from Jinder's title win and Backlash as a whole.
A women's Money In The Bank match has been pitched for Smackdown's upcoming PPV. The idea had been floated for last year's show, too. I don't know if they have a deep enough roster for that, unless they put the champion in it as well. Just because Naomi holds the title now, they might need to use MITB some other time in the next 12 months!
Hiroshi Tanahashi is expected to return from his biceps rupture for the June 11 NJPW show. Not having surgery is brave, but I don't know how wise it is for his long-term health.
Emma should only miss a few more weeks from the ring. That's a relief. I hope she has good things ahead of her after all the false starts.
Backlash drew 9,800 fans, not quite selling out the venue. WWE always does really well in Chicago.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. HAHAHAA. Orton's been paying dues for 17 years and has more than 2,000 matches to his name. He was recently world champion for the top promotion on the planet. If anyone "gets" the business, it's him. The arrogant, disrespectful ones are the guys flipping around to get ****+ from Meltzer thinking five years working in front of the same 400 people makes them knowledgeable veterans.
2. I'm guessing that song brings him the feelings of excitement and energy he wants families to experience at WWE events. I'd love to hear the reaction of people in the room when he pitched it.
3. I'm guessing it's because Otunga has more of a connection to the casual mainstream audience than one of those rasslin' commentators.
4. The heel didn't honor his side of the deal. What a dastardly deed! Presumably Karen or someone will step in and make Josh leave the desk for real if he loses at Slammiversary. Maybe ace attorney Joseph Park will be able to enforce that.
5. I expect the GFW titles to merge with the Impact titles at Slammiversary. At least, I hope so given the size of the roster and number of titles there are.
6. Bruce Prichard, Dutch Mantel, and Karen Jarrett are all part of "Impact Management" and can all book matches, etc. Instead of just one commissioner or whatever calling the shots, it's a team effort and any member can go out and make a ruling on behalf of that team.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
More ROH matches set, new WWE broadcaster debuts, WWE trademark set, WWE scouting continues, Interviews with Becky/Goldust, WWE UK names booked for U.S. indie show, Impact music release, Braun/Revival updates, NXT DVD detail, WWE women's tournament named, Raw audience, Anthem disputes Hardy claims, and Questions on Anthem getting more tape libraries, Goldust vs. Truth, WWE visa issues, DVD content missing, and international Network specials
Added to ROH's June 4 event in Illinois:
- Frankie Kazarian vs. Flip Gordon
- Bully Ray & Mark Briscoe vs. Silas Young & The Beer City Bruiser
- Caprice Coleman & Rhett Titus vs. Coast 2 Coast
- Frankie Kazarian vs. Flip Gordon
- Bully Ray & Mark Briscoe vs. Silas Young & The Beer City Bruiser
- Caprice Coleman & Rhett Titus vs. Coast 2 Coast
Former HOH ring announcer Vic Schiavone made his WWE broadcast debut Monday as Vic Joseph. He'll be calling Main Event this week. I hope he does well there.
WWE has trademarked the phrase Immune To Fear, so someone will be using that at some point. Could it be the successor to Never Give Up?
William Regal will be scouting in Japan through early June, so WWE's really doing their homework there. We'll see if it pays off for them when contracts come due.
Goldust talked about his split from R-Truth and more. Hipster fans are killing wrestling with the "I'm cheering someone I'm supposed to boo!" kind of stuff. I am curious how much more Goldust can do as a singles star. I wouldn't mind a final IC Title reign before he takes a backstage position or whatever his plan is for retirement. Old School Goldust vs. Ambrose could be pretty fun.
Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate are booked for a PROGRESS/EVOLVE event in New York a week ahead of Summerslam weekend. So, UK talents could work Takeover in Brooklyn, too.
Impact has released some of their entrance songs as an EP. I don't know how much they'll make from that in the YouTube era, but it's cool to see the composers get that kind of recognition. People wanting to listen to a wrestler's song outside of wrestling is good news.
Braun Strowman will likely be back sooner than the initially reported six months. That timeline is exaggerated so his return will seem all the more impressive.
The Revival were backstage at Raw. I'm really interested to see them face the Hardys.
NXT's DVD for December has been subtitled From Secret to Sensation. NXT is really going to shape WWE's future.
WWE has named the upcoming women's tournament The Mae Young Classic. It will start taping July 13 and 14. Interesting move considering how so many remember her for her Attitude Era antics with Moolah. She definitely has a lot of history in the business, though.
Raw drew 2.62 million viewers Monday night. I think fans have really hit their limit on how much wrestling they want to see in a week. WWE has really saturated the market.
Ed Nordholm provided PWInsider.com with verified documentation of his side of the issue with the Hardys regarding the use of the "Broken" characters. Nordholm specifically attached language from Matt Hardy's Impact contract as well as communication between WWE and Impact stating WWE has no interest in using the "Broken" intellectual property.
- Wow. That's pretty big. There's a distinct possibility the Hardy side is "working" wrestling journalists into reporting falsehoods beneficial to their interests. I really don't have much else to say at this time other than this serving as a reminder to be vigilant of who's side is being reported.
- Wow. That's pretty big. There's a distinct possibility the Hardy side is "working" wrestling journalists into reporting falsehoods beneficial to their interests. I really don't have much else to say at this time other than this serving as a reminder to be vigilant of who's side is being reported.
-- Reby Hardy disputes Nordholm's release: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3
- Given all the shade she's thrown at the company over this, she should put forth concrete evidence to back up her claims in the face of Nordholm doing so. Things are starting to look less black and white than her side has portrayed.
- Given all the shade she's thrown at the company over this, she should put forth concrete evidence to back up her claims in the face of Nordholm doing so. Things are starting to look less black and white than her side has portrayed.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. No plans for any of those at this point in time. I don't think there'd be much of a demand for GFW. The others just have a talent-sharing agreement with Impact. Impact doesn't have the rights to show their old footage without putting up some serious money.
1. No plans for any of those at this point in time. I don't think there'd be much of a demand for GFW. The others just have a talent-sharing agreement with Impact. Impact doesn't have the rights to show their old footage without putting up some serious money.
2. It could be a way for Truth to retire and presumably give Goldust a chance at a final memorable run. They weren't really going anywhere as a team, so they might as well shake some things up. Usually people complain about WWE being predictable anyway.
3. WWE is all on top of that. They've got a lot of staff to put things together.
4. Maybe they figured the main show is already so long they don't need to include all that.
5. I think the compromise here is WWE giving markets live local content of their own.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 5/23/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Anthem head on Hardys issues, top UK promotion stopping weekly show, new pro wrestling hall of famers, WWE scouting internationally, Backlund profiled, all access at the WWEPC, Gallows promotion closes, Smackdown to Mexico, big ROH tour in the UK, Bagwell/Raven lawsuit amended, Backlash rematches set, Extreme Rules match update, Smackdown live event note, and Questions on Roman as a heel, Orton burying the indie style, Demon Balor, and the physical WWE titles
Ed Nordholm discussed Anthem's issues with the Hardys:
- Legally, Impact could very well be in the right since the characters were done on their programming.
- Interesting. There have been reports WWE is trying to get the Broken stuff for merch purposes. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Hardys are using the wrestling media to work the situation in their favor.
- This is all pretty odd. Are the Hardys just messing with us to get more attention despite not wanting to do anything else Broken??
- There've also been reports of ROH no longer wanting to work with Impact because of the Hardys situations. So, who knows anymore? It's the post-fact era after all.
-- Matt Hardy and Reby Hardy (Tweet 1 Tweet 2) responded to the interview. I'm pretty much ready for it to be legally settled so everyone involved can move on, Broken Universe or no.
-- Allegedly, the Hardys and Impact have lawyers that are privately discussing the rights to the property. It's possible Nordholm is really out of the loop about the whole deal, which doesn't really paint a good picture about how this is going.
WhatCulture Pro Wrestling has canceled its weekly show due to YouTube classifying wrestling as not being advertiser friendly. Shows set for June 9, June 16, June 23, June 30, July 14, July 28, August 4, August 11, and August 18 have all been pulled. Wrestling videos now earn pennies on the dollar from what they made before the change. That's going to really mean a big change for WCPW and other promotions. It's unknown how WWE will be affected, but plenty of other outlets will definitely take a big hit in revenue and will now have to refigure their plans.
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Tatsumi Fujinami, the team of Harley Race and Larry "The Axe" Hennig, Susan Green, and George Napolitano. That's great for all involved.
William Regal and Canyon Ceman were scouting for WWE prospects in Japan. Regal attended shows by AJPW and NJPW. So, some top names there could be on the radar for NXT once their deals end.
Bob Backlund was profiled in Miami. He's one of a kind.
The WWEPC will have an all-access event on July 24. Remember the facility is there to train people first and foremost, so they don't do many tours.
Luke Gallows' wrestling promotion has been shut down for "legal reasons." I'm guessing WWE didn't like the idea of one of their guys owning a separate promotion. Legends deals are different, but standard talent contracts probably have something in them to that effect.
Smackdown will tour Mexico from December 1 to December 3. I'm curious if they'll book Andrade Almas for those events. They should! He was a big deal there.
ROH will hold a War of the Worlds tour in the UK alongside NJPW, CMLL, and Revolution Pro from August 17 through August 20. That's very big for them! A key for ROH to be a big deal in 2017 will be its relationships with bigger international promotions. I'm guessing this is part of why Field of Honor isn't happening this year. This is a pretty big deal in its own right, so I think it makes up for that event not happening.
Buff Bagwell and Raven have amended their lawsuit against WWE, alleging breach of contract due to unpaid royalties from the WWE Network. The class-action lawsuit seeks in the area of $5 million. It's entirely possible they're legally in the right with their claims.
Set for the June 13 Smackdown taping in the home of Wrestlemania 34:
- Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
- Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
-- As always, plans can change and at least one of those matches could end up being a dark match after the show. All three matches will be important if they do take place.
Neville vs. Austin Aries at Extreme Rules has been announced as a submission match. That should be good; the stipulation adds something new and interesting to things.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe are set for Monday's Raw. Both matches should be really good.
James Ellsworth replaces Tamina in a six-person rematch from Backlash at a Smackdown live event. Tamina wasn't on the show. Sounds like fun.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Roman is simultaneously one of the biggest faces to one fan base and one of the biggest heels to another fan base. They play off how he'll be received by certain audiences.
2. It was amazing. There's a big difference between "what gets over" with the Twitter/dirtsheet fan base vs. being a top WWE star. It popped a lot of people's bubbles to be reminded of that.
3. I think they can do something extra special for the demon entrance. They usually add more build to it.
4. Hahaha good luck getting the belt from Brock on short notice. It's not like he carries his phone 24/7 waiting for word from Vince. He might have it in his travel bag or something.
5. Pretty much that.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Legally, Impact could very well be in the right since the characters were done on their programming.
- Interesting. There have been reports WWE is trying to get the Broken stuff for merch purposes. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Hardys are using the wrestling media to work the situation in their favor.
- This is all pretty odd. Are the Hardys just messing with us to get more attention despite not wanting to do anything else Broken??
- There've also been reports of ROH no longer wanting to work with Impact because of the Hardys situations. So, who knows anymore? It's the post-fact era after all.
-- Matt Hardy and Reby Hardy (Tweet 1 Tweet 2) responded to the interview. I'm pretty much ready for it to be legally settled so everyone involved can move on, Broken Universe or no.
-- Allegedly, the Hardys and Impact have lawyers that are privately discussing the rights to the property. It's possible Nordholm is really out of the loop about the whole deal, which doesn't really paint a good picture about how this is going.
WhatCulture Pro Wrestling has canceled its weekly show due to YouTube classifying wrestling as not being advertiser friendly. Shows set for June 9, June 16, June 23, June 30, July 14, July 28, August 4, August 11, and August 18 have all been pulled. Wrestling videos now earn pennies on the dollar from what they made before the change. That's going to really mean a big change for WCPW and other promotions. It's unknown how WWE will be affected, but plenty of other outlets will definitely take a big hit in revenue and will now have to refigure their plans.
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Tatsumi Fujinami, the team of Harley Race and Larry "The Axe" Hennig, Susan Green, and George Napolitano. That's great for all involved.
William Regal and Canyon Ceman were scouting for WWE prospects in Japan. Regal attended shows by AJPW and NJPW. So, some top names there could be on the radar for NXT once their deals end.
Bob Backlund was profiled in Miami. He's one of a kind.
The WWEPC will have an all-access event on July 24. Remember the facility is there to train people first and foremost, so they don't do many tours.
Luke Gallows' wrestling promotion has been shut down for "legal reasons." I'm guessing WWE didn't like the idea of one of their guys owning a separate promotion. Legends deals are different, but standard talent contracts probably have something in them to that effect.
Smackdown will tour Mexico from December 1 to December 3. I'm curious if they'll book Andrade Almas for those events. They should! He was a big deal there.
ROH will hold a War of the Worlds tour in the UK alongside NJPW, CMLL, and Revolution Pro from August 17 through August 20. That's very big for them! A key for ROH to be a big deal in 2017 will be its relationships with bigger international promotions. I'm guessing this is part of why Field of Honor isn't happening this year. This is a pretty big deal in its own right, so I think it makes up for that event not happening.
Buff Bagwell and Raven have amended their lawsuit against WWE, alleging breach of contract due to unpaid royalties from the WWE Network. The class-action lawsuit seeks in the area of $5 million. It's entirely possible they're legally in the right with their claims.
Set for the June 13 Smackdown taping in the home of Wrestlemania 34:
- Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
- Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
-- As always, plans can change and at least one of those matches could end up being a dark match after the show. All three matches will be important if they do take place.
Neville vs. Austin Aries at Extreme Rules has been announced as a submission match. That should be good; the stipulation adds something new and interesting to things.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe are set for Monday's Raw. Both matches should be really good.
James Ellsworth replaces Tamina in a six-person rematch from Backlash at a Smackdown live event. Tamina wasn't on the show. Sounds like fun.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Roman is simultaneously one of the biggest faces to one fan base and one of the biggest heels to another fan base. They play off how he'll be received by certain audiences.
2. It was amazing. There's a big difference between "what gets over" with the Twitter/dirtsheet fan base vs. being a top WWE star. It popped a lot of people's bubbles to be reminded of that.
3. I think they can do something extra special for the demon entrance. They usually add more build to it.
4. Hahaha good luck getting the belt from Brock on short notice. It's not like he carries his phone 24/7 waiting for word from Vince. He might have it in his travel bag or something.
5. Pretty much that.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, May 22, 2017
JR guests and Questions on Anthem-Jarrett, Summer's future, Rusev vs. Jinder for the WWE Title, Rock's WWE paycheck, and top stars gaining influence
Billy Corgan, Gail Kim, and Robert Irvine were all at Jim Ross' speaking show in Chicago.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Jarrett has brought in a lot of new talents and given them TV time. He's also worked agreements for Impact stars to work for other promotions and stars from those promotions to work Impact. He got Impact a new deal in the UK and could be poised to have Impact crossover with World of Sport. So, he's made a lot of good moves for the future of Impact as a globally viable brand.
2. She's been working out in the ring, so she's on the comeback trail. It's probably a case of seeing where she'll fit in when she returns. I'd love to see her work with Breezango given all the history there. It's not like anyone involved is going to hold gold, so they might as well have something interesting to do.
3. Rusev vs. Jinder is an interesting idea. I can't believe that's a real possibility! I definitely think Orton should be involved there, though, for the star power and the experience at that level.
4. Rock has a lot of fun there and WWE loves having him (when he stays on script), so I don't think there are any issues. Whatever they pay him is well spent as far as business goes.
5. That's definitely not just a wrestling thing. When managers like what their employees do, they'll give them more leeway and are more likely to listen to their suggestions and recommendations. Then, as those employees get more experience, that trust factor pays off in their favor.
More wrestling tomorrow.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Jarrett has brought in a lot of new talents and given them TV time. He's also worked agreements for Impact stars to work for other promotions and stars from those promotions to work Impact. He got Impact a new deal in the UK and could be poised to have Impact crossover with World of Sport. So, he's made a lot of good moves for the future of Impact as a globally viable brand.
2. She's been working out in the ring, so she's on the comeback trail. It's probably a case of seeing where she'll fit in when she returns. I'd love to see her work with Breezango given all the history there. It's not like anyone involved is going to hold gold, so they might as well have something interesting to do.
3. Rusev vs. Jinder is an interesting idea. I can't believe that's a real possibility! I definitely think Orton should be involved there, though, for the star power and the experience at that level.
4. Rock has a lot of fun there and WWE loves having him (when he stays on script), so I don't think there are any issues. Whatever they pay him is well spent as far as business goes.
5. That's definitely not just a wrestling thing. When managers like what their employees do, they'll give them more leeway and are more likely to listen to their suggestions and recommendations. Then, as those employees get more experience, that trust factor pays off in their favor.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
New Day special coming, WWE action figure notes, WWE Puma shirts released, Interview with Becky, more JR commentary for WWE, what happened after Takeover, and Questions on the Radicalz in WCW, Ambrose disappointing, Josh vs. Borash, Randy vs. the indies, and the Trump association hurting WWE
New Day is getting a WWE Network special Tuesday. I'm interested to see how they'll do on Smackdown. I'm really hoping Big E gets at least a U.S. Title reign one of these days.
WWE and Mattel are asking which superstar should get their first action figure next. I'm surprised Darren doesn't have one yet. He's struggled to make it in the company. I hope Elias and Mojo are on their way up in WWE.
- Target will get exclusive NXT Mattel action figures. Damn, NXT names are getting action figures before a lot of Impact and ROH names.
WWE's Puma shirts have been released. That Ric Flair shirt is NICE.
Becky Lynch discussed her sense of humor. She's been a lot of pun in WWE.
Jim Ross will be doing commentary for the WWE women's tournament. I really hope they get Trish or Lita or someone to call it alongside him.
Johnny Gargano was taken out of Takeover on a stretcher. I think Johnny vs. Tommaso is going to be one hell of a feud.
For my thoughts on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Great wrestling in of itself is rarely a big draw. Sometimes the workers are there to contribute to the show in-between the stuff that moves stories along. A strong wrestling product has some stuff that's just straight up impressive wrestling as well as storylines. The "sports entertainers" might draw more with their promos and such, but there need to be strong workers there to make the whole thing come together.
2. At times he definitely looks ridiculous with his offense, and things really aren't coming together for him as they were when he was the unhinged guy in The Shield. He seems to be content to be an IC Title level guy who's there having fun instead of the hungry guy who wants to be in the Cena role. That's a lot of why he's where he is and why Roman and Seth are where they are. They're more motivated to be "WWE superstars" whereas Dean's just happy to be paid to do something he enjoys.
3. It's the mentality WWE had with Lawler vs. Cole: make one announcer so irritating you're BEGGING for someone to kill him. More people are talking about it than Lashley or EC3 or the X-Division, and they see that as a sign they're onto something.
4. And how much money did he draw as the guy doing dives in OVW? No one's getting noticed when so many indie matches are the same formula. It struck a lot of nerves because the criticisms really hit the nail on the head.
5. I doubt it's a big factor, if it's one at all. There's nothing to indicate there's a big backlash to WWE due to its associations with the president.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE and Mattel are asking which superstar should get their first action figure next. I'm surprised Darren doesn't have one yet. He's struggled to make it in the company. I hope Elias and Mojo are on their way up in WWE.
- Target will get exclusive NXT Mattel action figures. Damn, NXT names are getting action figures before a lot of Impact and ROH names.
WWE's Puma shirts have been released. That Ric Flair shirt is NICE.
Becky Lynch discussed her sense of humor. She's been a lot of pun in WWE.
Jim Ross will be doing commentary for the WWE women's tournament. I really hope they get Trish or Lita or someone to call it alongside him.
Johnny Gargano was taken out of Takeover on a stretcher. I think Johnny vs. Tommaso is going to be one hell of a feud.
For my thoughts on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Great wrestling in of itself is rarely a big draw. Sometimes the workers are there to contribute to the show in-between the stuff that moves stories along. A strong wrestling product has some stuff that's just straight up impressive wrestling as well as storylines. The "sports entertainers" might draw more with their promos and such, but there need to be strong workers there to make the whole thing come together.
2. At times he definitely looks ridiculous with his offense, and things really aren't coming together for him as they were when he was the unhinged guy in The Shield. He seems to be content to be an IC Title level guy who's there having fun instead of the hungry guy who wants to be in the Cena role. That's a lot of why he's where he is and why Roman and Seth are where they are. They're more motivated to be "WWE superstars" whereas Dean's just happy to be paid to do something he enjoys.
3. It's the mentality WWE had with Lawler vs. Cole: make one announcer so irritating you're BEGGING for someone to kill him. More people are talking about it than Lashley or EC3 or the X-Division, and they see that as a sign they're onto something.
4. And how much money did he draw as the guy doing dives in OVW? No one's getting noticed when so many indie matches are the same formula. It struck a lot of nerves because the criticisms really hit the nail on the head.
5. I doubt it's a big factor, if it's one at all. There's nothing to indicate there's a big backlash to WWE due to its associations with the president.
More wrestling tomorrow.
NXT Takeover: Chicago Reax
Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT brand WWE Network special event.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Main Event Reax - 5/19/17, X-Division name hurt, Impact preview, ROH matches set, Survivor Series DVD coming, HHH talks Takeover, Broken Universe update, Impact audience, and Questions on Omega-ROH, Impact live events, Field of Honor, Vader in the Hall, and WWE planning ahead
-- Main Event:
- Dana vs. Nia:
Dana's got a tough road ahead of her beating Nia.
Really, Dana? Trying to lock up with the beast?
Face Dana has potential. I'm liking this.
Wow. That's the most offense we've seen from Dana in a LONG time.
Ohhhhh.... yeah. Got to be careful doing handsprings IN A WRESTLING MATCH.
I like Nia as the dominant force.
Nia doesn't have to be flashier than Dana. She can win a war of attrition.
I'm liking the new direction for Dana. I'd like to see more of her in action.
DANA WHAT ARE YOU THINKING TRYING TO LIFT NIA JAX??????
Good for what it was.
- Ariya vs. Swann:
Haha. Ariya's growing on me as a personality. I'm glad he's not just "you hate me because you're racist."
Hahhaha what the hell is Swann doing to Ariya?
Fun so far.
This is going well enough.
Good to see Ariya pull out a mean streak.
Man, Ariya's NOT happy about that whole delivery thing from 205 Live.
Swann can move. I'm glad he's got this division to be in instead of jobbing on Raw in three minutes.
Good work here.
That ending was a LITTLE flat to follow a frog splash.
Andrew Everett says he's been working with a torn meniscus for seven months, and will be getting it fixed soon. It's really rough that he's had to tough that out.
Advertised for next week's Impact Wrestling:
- James Storm vs. Magnus vs. Ethan Carter III
- Braxton Sutter and Mahabali Shera vs. KM and Kongo Kong
- Eddie Edwards and Alicia vs. Davey Richards and Angelina Love
Booked for ROH's June 4 event in Illinois:
- Jay Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor
- Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish
- Christopher Daniels vs. the winner of a gauntlet earlier in the night for the ROH World Championship
Survivor Series will get a DVD of its top 30 moments. I wonder if WWE will pull something big off for the anniversary show.
Triple H did a big conference call to promote Takeover in Chicago, covered in detail here:
- I wouldn't think #DIY will be down in NXT too much longer.
- I hope Hideo will be successful. I wouldn't blame him for going back to Japan, though. He's spinning his tires with all the injuries.
- I definitely expect more Takeover specials. Not every month, but maybe every six-to-eight weeks.
- Um, of course everyone need to get the Network. People want quality wrestling, but they don't want to pay to see the people damn near killing themselves to get "this is awesome" chants.
- I hope Ciampa can make it. If not, they'll need a good surprise for Plan B.
- I expect we'll see quite a few solid female recruits in the years to come.
- I'd like to see female referees and/or commentators for the women's tournament.
- It will be interesting to see how talent will be used between the UK brand and NXT.
- I'm VERY glad Roderick has more personality now. He was REALLY bland as Mr. ROH.
- Presumably Latin America and Asia are potential markets to do tournaments for in the future after the UK brand is up and running.
- Cool to see Alundra back in the mix for WWE.
Anthem and the Hardys continue to negotiate regarding the rights to the characters and material of the Broken Universe.
Impact drew 272,000 viewers Thursday night. Hopefully Slammiversary will boost things for them.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Omega wrestled in Canada for the War of the Worlds tour, but didn't work for ROH in the States afterward. I assume Omega will have things worked out for the July shows in California.
2. They definitely still want to do them. They're working all that out. It could be that they're more busy with getting WOS off the ground in the UK.
3. I'm surprised! That's usually a pretty big deal for them.
4. I doubt they're really planning anything HoF-related this far out from WM34 weekend. I know we all want to see Vader inducted, but it will be some time before we get any idea what they're going to do for the 2018 class. I would expect Undertaker to headline, but other than that, it's probably all up in the air.
5. WWE generally does have a more cohesive plan in place for creative, but things can change due to injuries, someone suddenly really getting hot, someone suddenly dropping in popularity, etc. It's not as easy to have a year booked out in advance as it was when there wasn't nearly as much broadcast content.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Dana vs. Nia:
Dana's got a tough road ahead of her beating Nia.
Really, Dana? Trying to lock up with the beast?
Face Dana has potential. I'm liking this.
Wow. That's the most offense we've seen from Dana in a LONG time.
Ohhhhh.... yeah. Got to be careful doing handsprings IN A WRESTLING MATCH.
I like Nia as the dominant force.
Nia doesn't have to be flashier than Dana. She can win a war of attrition.
I'm liking the new direction for Dana. I'd like to see more of her in action.
DANA WHAT ARE YOU THINKING TRYING TO LIFT NIA JAX??????
Good for what it was.
- Ariya vs. Swann:
Haha. Ariya's growing on me as a personality. I'm glad he's not just "you hate me because you're racist."
Hahhaha what the hell is Swann doing to Ariya?
Fun so far.
This is going well enough.
Good to see Ariya pull out a mean streak.
Man, Ariya's NOT happy about that whole delivery thing from 205 Live.
Swann can move. I'm glad he's got this division to be in instead of jobbing on Raw in three minutes.
Good work here.
That ending was a LITTLE flat to follow a frog splash.
Andrew Everett says he's been working with a torn meniscus for seven months, and will be getting it fixed soon. It's really rough that he's had to tough that out.
Advertised for next week's Impact Wrestling:
- James Storm vs. Magnus vs. Ethan Carter III
- Braxton Sutter and Mahabali Shera vs. KM and Kongo Kong
- Eddie Edwards and Alicia vs. Davey Richards and Angelina Love
Booked for ROH's June 4 event in Illinois:
- Jay Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor
- Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish
- Christopher Daniels vs. the winner of a gauntlet earlier in the night for the ROH World Championship
Survivor Series will get a DVD of its top 30 moments. I wonder if WWE will pull something big off for the anniversary show.
Triple H did a big conference call to promote Takeover in Chicago, covered in detail here:
- I wouldn't think #DIY will be down in NXT too much longer.
- I hope Hideo will be successful. I wouldn't blame him for going back to Japan, though. He's spinning his tires with all the injuries.
- I definitely expect more Takeover specials. Not every month, but maybe every six-to-eight weeks.
- Um, of course everyone need to get the Network. People want quality wrestling, but they don't want to pay to see the people damn near killing themselves to get "this is awesome" chants.
- I hope Ciampa can make it. If not, they'll need a good surprise for Plan B.
- I expect we'll see quite a few solid female recruits in the years to come.
- I'd like to see female referees and/or commentators for the women's tournament.
- It will be interesting to see how talent will be used between the UK brand and NXT.
- I'm VERY glad Roderick has more personality now. He was REALLY bland as Mr. ROH.
- Presumably Latin America and Asia are potential markets to do tournaments for in the future after the UK brand is up and running.
- Cool to see Alundra back in the mix for WWE.
Anthem and the Hardys continue to negotiate regarding the rights to the characters and material of the Broken Universe.
Impact drew 272,000 viewers Thursday night. Hopefully Slammiversary will boost things for them.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Omega wrestled in Canada for the War of the Worlds tour, but didn't work for ROH in the States afterward. I assume Omega will have things worked out for the July shows in California.
2. They definitely still want to do them. They're working all that out. It could be that they're more busy with getting WOS off the ground in the UK.
3. I'm surprised! That's usually a pretty big deal for them.
4. I doubt they're really planning anything HoF-related this far out from WM34 weekend. I know we all want to see Vader inducted, but it will be some time before we get any idea what they're going to do for the 2018 class. I would expect Undertaker to headline, but other than that, it's probably all up in the air.
5. WWE generally does have a more cohesive plan in place for creative, but things can change due to injuries, someone suddenly really getting hot, someone suddenly dropping in popularity, etc. It's not as easy to have a year booked out in advance as it was when there wasn't nearly as much broadcast content.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, May 19, 2017
AAA/LU issues?, top NJPW name injured, Impact ratings note, World Cup returning to Impact?, Aleister Black update, Impact signings official, Dixie update, Impact party in the UK, Interviews with AJ Lee/Roode/Dunne/Ambrose/Nigel, ROH signing gets press, more classic Network content, WWE live events set, NJPW special airing live, Takeover match in jeopardy, and Questions on Cena's absence, Shane vs. Rusev, future WWE libraries, Tough Enough's Josh, the Impact Hall of Fame, and Kurt's in-ring future
AAA was recently unable to air a match featuring LU characters Killshot and Marty the Moth. That's odd given the relationship between AAA and LU.
Hiroshi Tanahashi tore a biceps at ROH's May 14 TV taping. Should he have surgery, he could miss six to eight months. This could easily put him out of the big U.S. shows in July, where he would likely have been in at least one night's main event. It's possible he tries to rehab without surgery in order to "keep his spot" and whatnot. I can't say I support that mentality at all.
- Tanahashi has been announced as returning at the June 9 NJPW show. There's tough, and then there's stubborn.
Impact is doing quite well on German TV. I wouldn't expect them to tour there anytime soon, but the UK is certainly a possibility.
Impact could bring back their World Cup idea from years past, featuring talent from AAA and Pro Wrestling NOAH. I like them being able to pull from international rosters.
Aleister Black working Main Event should just be considered something of a cameo for now. He was on the road for the European dates, so they used him on that show.
Impact has officially signed Ava Storie, the Veterans of War, Kongo Kong, Matt Sydal, Dezmond Xavier, and Diamante. They've got a LOT of people there now.
Dixie Carter's next project is unrelated to Impact Wrestling (and therefore not something to really cover on a wrestling blog).
Impact is holding a UK party on May 26 with Jeff Jarrett, Jeremy Borash, Grado, and Rockstar Spud. No official word on live events there, but it's definitely something they want to do.
AJ Lee promoted her book on Last Call with Carson Daly as well as WTF with Marc Maron. I'd love to see her mix it up with today's WWE superstars, but I don't see that happening.
Bobby Roode and Pete Dunne promoted Takeover: Chicago. Both men could have bright futures in WWE, although I wouldn't think Bobby's will last as long as the younger star's.
ROH put over signing Flip Gordon to an exclusive deal. It's believed he chose the company over a deal with Impact.
Tuesday Night Titans episodes are being added to WWE Network. I really wonder when they're going to get to Thunder.
Dean Ambrose and Nigel McGuinness talked in the UK. Plenty of wacky Lunatic Fringe in that first piece.
Raw will run a live event in Tennessee on July 17, while Smackdown will run a show in Georgia on that date.
NJPW's July 1 event will air live on AXS TV. That's a pretty big deal for the company.
-- NJPW held a press conference about the events. The IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental, Tag Team, Junior Heavyweight, and United States Championships will all be defended between the two nights.
Tommasso Ciampa seemed to suffer an injury to his ankle or foot in a tag match at a NXT live event in Kentucky. More information as it comes in. It would suck if he had to miss the ladder match in Chicago. I assume the Authors are going over, so that wouldn't be the place to use Kassius or Kyle O'Reilly or whomever. They'll definitely a good surprise to win over that crowd, though.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Part of the time off is believed to be spending time with Nikki while she recovers, celebrating the engagement, etc.
2. It's possible, although Shane vs. Brock never happened so I wouldn't assume it will. This is mostly keeping Rusev visible while he recovers and they build to what comes after Backlash.
3. No real word on anything there. I think they're more focused on doing the kind of deal they're putting in place with ICW and PROGRESS. They had been in talks to license ROH content, but it doesn't look like that's happening.
4. He's fallen completely off the map. He's still part of developmental, but he's sidelined.
5. I'd like to see Jeremy Borash get the nod. James Storm was my original choice, but maybe they should wait on that one until he's close to retiring.
6. I get a feeling they're going to have issues between Kurt and Stephanie leading to Kurt vs. HHH at WM34. I don't know if they'll have him wrestle before then, although certainly there are options for great matches there.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Hiroshi Tanahashi tore a biceps at ROH's May 14 TV taping. Should he have surgery, he could miss six to eight months. This could easily put him out of the big U.S. shows in July, where he would likely have been in at least one night's main event. It's possible he tries to rehab without surgery in order to "keep his spot" and whatnot. I can't say I support that mentality at all.
- Tanahashi has been announced as returning at the June 9 NJPW show. There's tough, and then there's stubborn.
Impact is doing quite well on German TV. I wouldn't expect them to tour there anytime soon, but the UK is certainly a possibility.
Impact could bring back their World Cup idea from years past, featuring talent from AAA and Pro Wrestling NOAH. I like them being able to pull from international rosters.
Aleister Black working Main Event should just be considered something of a cameo for now. He was on the road for the European dates, so they used him on that show.
Impact has officially signed Ava Storie, the Veterans of War, Kongo Kong, Matt Sydal, Dezmond Xavier, and Diamante. They've got a LOT of people there now.
Dixie Carter's next project is unrelated to Impact Wrestling (and therefore not something to really cover on a wrestling blog).
Impact is holding a UK party on May 26 with Jeff Jarrett, Jeremy Borash, Grado, and Rockstar Spud. No official word on live events there, but it's definitely something they want to do.
AJ Lee promoted her book on Last Call with Carson Daly as well as WTF with Marc Maron. I'd love to see her mix it up with today's WWE superstars, but I don't see that happening.
Bobby Roode and Pete Dunne promoted Takeover: Chicago. Both men could have bright futures in WWE, although I wouldn't think Bobby's will last as long as the younger star's.
ROH put over signing Flip Gordon to an exclusive deal. It's believed he chose the company over a deal with Impact.
Tuesday Night Titans episodes are being added to WWE Network. I really wonder when they're going to get to Thunder.
Dean Ambrose and Nigel McGuinness talked in the UK. Plenty of wacky Lunatic Fringe in that first piece.
Raw will run a live event in Tennessee on July 17, while Smackdown will run a show in Georgia on that date.
NJPW's July 1 event will air live on AXS TV. That's a pretty big deal for the company.
-- NJPW held a press conference about the events. The IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental, Tag Team, Junior Heavyweight, and United States Championships will all be defended between the two nights.
Tommasso Ciampa seemed to suffer an injury to his ankle or foot in a tag match at a NXT live event in Kentucky. More information as it comes in. It would suck if he had to miss the ladder match in Chicago. I assume the Authors are going over, so that wouldn't be the place to use Kassius or Kyle O'Reilly or whomever. They'll definitely a good surprise to win over that crowd, though.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Part of the time off is believed to be spending time with Nikki while she recovers, celebrating the engagement, etc.
2. It's possible, although Shane vs. Brock never happened so I wouldn't assume it will. This is mostly keeping Rusev visible while he recovers and they build to what comes after Backlash.
3. No real word on anything there. I think they're more focused on doing the kind of deal they're putting in place with ICW and PROGRESS. They had been in talks to license ROH content, but it doesn't look like that's happening.
4. He's fallen completely off the map. He's still part of developmental, but he's sidelined.
5. I'd like to see Jeremy Borash get the nod. James Storm was my original choice, but maybe they should wait on that one until he's close to retiring.
6. I get a feeling they're going to have issues between Kurt and Stephanie leading to Kurt vs. HHH at WM34. I don't know if they'll have him wrestle before then, although certainly there are options for great matches there.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Interview with former WWEPC coach, Adam Cole updates, new HoFer teaching at WWEPC, WWE set for convention, WWE Indian prospect profiled, top CMLL names at ROH PPV, Orton vs. dives continues, new WWE sponsor, Snow arrested, WWE concussion lawsuit to be settled, former WWE/Impact name retiring, more on WWE Japan tour, Cena return set, and Questions on WWE stars changing their looks, worst types of matches, how Finn's demon change works, Xavier fearing Bray, and tag ropes
A former WWEPC coach talked about his experience there. Here are highlights:
- Hahaha training in a park. I mean, training is training right?
- Funny because carrying things in the park is more realistic than lifting weights in a gym.
- I'm sure everyone who comes in who's already in shape thinks they know more than the coaches.
- Learning from others is important. You don't already know everything when you come into NXT.
- I can see Enzo being a guy who thinks he needs to do his own thing since he's the comedy guy.
- It's a shame some people don't listen to the coaches. They're lucky they make it to the next level.
- Oh my God imagine calling HHH to come lay the sledgehammer on one of his employees.
Adam Cole cut a promo at Sunday's ROH taping that's being considered something of a farewell speech. He's not heading directly to NXT, but could going there in a few months. It's also possible he works something out to continue working ROH for a time, but I think it's just a matter of time before he starts on the road to WWE.
Ricky Morton will be a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center next week. I can't say I would have called that. I hope Jim Cornette ends up doing something to help the next generation of WWE performers at some point, too, but I don't expect he's knocking on their doors to work there again.
Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, and Kurt Angle will represent WWE at a licensing expo next week. They better keep an eye on Ric! I assume that'll be Kurt's task.
One of WWE's Indian prospects was profiled. Jinder Mahal might have his own Nexus at this rate.
CMLL's Ultimo Guerrero and El Terrible will work ROH's June 23 PPV and June 24 TV taping. Ultimo has had quite the tenure.
Drew Gulak assisted Randy Orton in taking the piss out of indie wrestling. GENIUS from both of them.
WWE has signed a promotional agreement centered on Rocket League. That's pretty cool. WWE gets a lot of sponsorships.
Al Snow was recently arrested for "failure to appear" in Kentucky, but it sounds like everything's cleared up from Snow's statements on Twitter: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3.
WWE, Vito, and Evan Singleton have been ordered to discuss potential settlement terms for the big concussion lawsuit. I think WWE's going to do everything they can to defeat what remains of the lawsuit if they can.
Shelly Martinez is retiring. I wouldn't have minded "Salinas" coming back with LAX, even if she didn't wrestle. Also, how cool is it that she got to be a vampire and a gangsta?
Emma is advertised for WWE's Japanese tour on June 30 and July 1. We'll see if she ends up competing there.
- Akira Tozawa joins Chris Jericho and Hideo Itami as special guests on the event. As he should!
John Cena is advertised for the July 4 Smackdown. That's fitting; it will be hard to draw a crowd that night. I'd like to see that event be the Great American Bash, but no guarantees.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE generally approves every aspect of a talent's appearance because they've got action figures and video games and all that to think about. Everything has to match up.
2. I guess I have to go with the silly bra and panties matches that were more or less softcore fetish porn. I mean, I get that the Internet wasn't as filled with that kind of stuff as it is now and connection speeds were a lot slower, but as matches, they didn't really do much. There was at least some trainwreck comedy in the hardcore evening gown match, I suppose.
3. I see it being a case where he doesn't want to "let the demon take over." He only uses it when he REALLY needs that extra power. It could also be draining on his stamina to be in that form too long, like a Super Saiyan kind of deal.
4. It was supposed to get over how scary Bray is. It wasn't great.
5. Some refs are clearly more lenient with that. I guess it's kind of an Oxford comma thing.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Hahaha training in a park. I mean, training is training right?
- Funny because carrying things in the park is more realistic than lifting weights in a gym.
- I'm sure everyone who comes in who's already in shape thinks they know more than the coaches.
- Learning from others is important. You don't already know everything when you come into NXT.
- I can see Enzo being a guy who thinks he needs to do his own thing since he's the comedy guy.
- It's a shame some people don't listen to the coaches. They're lucky they make it to the next level.
- Oh my God imagine calling HHH to come lay the sledgehammer on one of his employees.
Adam Cole cut a promo at Sunday's ROH taping that's being considered something of a farewell speech. He's not heading directly to NXT, but could going there in a few months. It's also possible he works something out to continue working ROH for a time, but I think it's just a matter of time before he starts on the road to WWE.
Ricky Morton will be a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center next week. I can't say I would have called that. I hope Jim Cornette ends up doing something to help the next generation of WWE performers at some point, too, but I don't expect he's knocking on their doors to work there again.
Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, and Kurt Angle will represent WWE at a licensing expo next week. They better keep an eye on Ric! I assume that'll be Kurt's task.
One of WWE's Indian prospects was profiled. Jinder Mahal might have his own Nexus at this rate.
CMLL's Ultimo Guerrero and El Terrible will work ROH's June 23 PPV and June 24 TV taping. Ultimo has had quite the tenure.
Drew Gulak assisted Randy Orton in taking the piss out of indie wrestling. GENIUS from both of them.
WWE has signed a promotional agreement centered on Rocket League. That's pretty cool. WWE gets a lot of sponsorships.
Al Snow was recently arrested for "failure to appear" in Kentucky, but it sounds like everything's cleared up from Snow's statements on Twitter: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3.
WWE, Vito, and Evan Singleton have been ordered to discuss potential settlement terms for the big concussion lawsuit. I think WWE's going to do everything they can to defeat what remains of the lawsuit if they can.
Shelly Martinez is retiring. I wouldn't have minded "Salinas" coming back with LAX, even if she didn't wrestle. Also, how cool is it that she got to be a vampire and a gangsta?
Emma is advertised for WWE's Japanese tour on June 30 and July 1. We'll see if she ends up competing there.
- Akira Tozawa joins Chris Jericho and Hideo Itami as special guests on the event. As he should!
John Cena is advertised for the July 4 Smackdown. That's fitting; it will be hard to draw a crowd that night. I'd like to see that event be the Great American Bash, but no guarantees.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE generally approves every aspect of a talent's appearance because they've got action figures and video games and all that to think about. Everything has to match up.
2. I guess I have to go with the silly bra and panties matches that were more or less softcore fetish porn. I mean, I get that the Internet wasn't as filled with that kind of stuff as it is now and connection speeds were a lot slower, but as matches, they didn't really do much. There was at least some trainwreck comedy in the hardcore evening gown match, I suppose.
3. I see it being a case where he doesn't want to "let the demon take over." He only uses it when he REALLY needs that extra power. It could also be draining on his stamina to be in that form too long, like a Super Saiyan kind of deal.
4. It was supposed to get over how scary Bray is. It wasn't great.
5. Some refs are clearly more lenient with that. I guess it's kind of an Oxford comma thing.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
WWE ejects Raw fan, Interview with Joe, Smackdown airing action during breaks, AWA name passes, Raw audience, ROH visitor at Raw, Backlash Kickoff match set, and Questions on Stephanie letting Miz run Raw, why Harper's stuck where he is, Breezango's push, the Teddy Long booking crutch, and Mojo's place on the card
WWE ejected a fan at Raw for blowing up a beach ball and bouncing it. Good. WWE needs to stop encouraging the "smart" fans who make the show about themselves.
Samoa Joe discussed his journey to WWE and more. I can't say I expected him to have success there when he was working Impact a decade or so ago. WWE has changed a lot since then.
Smackdown will feature action during the commercial breaks while ads play in a picture-in-picture display. That's great news for advertisers and fans. NBCU put over WWE's performance on their networks, which goes against the popular theory WWE and NBCU are "at odds" with their relationship falling apart and other such clickbait. WWE offers something a lot of other shows don't with being able to show live action that doesn't need the audio as much as other shows do. Heck, a lot of fans want to turn commentary off anyway!
Former AWA tag team champion Doug Somers passed away at the age of 65. PWInsider did a rundown of his career.
Raw drew 2.75 million viewers Monday. I don't know how USA's other shows are doing, but it might be worth planning to drop back to two hours when the current contract expires.
Former ROH owner Cary Silkin was visiting at Raw. Nothing else to read into that right now. He's not involved with getting ROH on the Network or anything; that's all Sinclair.
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English is official for Kickoff before Backlash. So there are ten reasons to watch the show right there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Maybe Stephanie also texted someone in Gorilla or an announcer to let them know it was legit? Just because they don't spell every little detail out doesn't mean they're not telling a story well.
2. That happens a lot when someone's part of a faction and splits off. Harper has been associated with Bray for so long that it's going to be hard for him to be significant as a character on his own.
3. I wouldn't be surprised if those two pitched the characters themselves. It's fine to have a fun gimmick amid more serious ones. I'm glad to see them get to do something fresh and some new names being featured. As we see, some people are going to complain when they are pushed and others are going to complain when they aren't pushed.
4. There are only so many ways to set matches up, and WWE has a LOT of matches to set up on so much TV content every week.
5. He got lost in the shuffle with all the Superstar Shakeup stuff, but he might turn out OK. They definitely haven't forgotten him on TV; he's just not a big, important player.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Samoa Joe discussed his journey to WWE and more. I can't say I expected him to have success there when he was working Impact a decade or so ago. WWE has changed a lot since then.
Smackdown will feature action during the commercial breaks while ads play in a picture-in-picture display. That's great news for advertisers and fans. NBCU put over WWE's performance on their networks, which goes against the popular theory WWE and NBCU are "at odds" with their relationship falling apart and other such clickbait. WWE offers something a lot of other shows don't with being able to show live action that doesn't need the audio as much as other shows do. Heck, a lot of fans want to turn commentary off anyway!
Former AWA tag team champion Doug Somers passed away at the age of 65. PWInsider did a rundown of his career.
Raw drew 2.75 million viewers Monday. I don't know how USA's other shows are doing, but it might be worth planning to drop back to two hours when the current contract expires.
Former ROH owner Cary Silkin was visiting at Raw. Nothing else to read into that right now. He's not involved with getting ROH on the Network or anything; that's all Sinclair.
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English is official for Kickoff before Backlash. So there are ten reasons to watch the show right there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Maybe Stephanie also texted someone in Gorilla or an announcer to let them know it was legit? Just because they don't spell every little detail out doesn't mean they're not telling a story well.
2. That happens a lot when someone's part of a faction and splits off. Harper has been associated with Bray for so long that it's going to be hard for him to be significant as a character on his own.
3. I wouldn't be surprised if those two pitched the characters themselves. It's fine to have a fun gimmick amid more serious ones. I'm glad to see them get to do something fresh and some new names being featured. As we see, some people are going to complain when they are pushed and others are going to complain when they aren't pushed.
4. There are only so many ways to set matches up, and WWE has a LOT of matches to set up on so much TV content every week.
5. He got lost in the shuffle with all the Superstar Shakeup stuff, but he might turn out OK. They definitely haven't forgotten him on TV; he's just not a big, important player.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 5/16/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
UK name at WWE TV, Kickoff panel guest, WWE at TV upfronts, Braun updates, more WWE 24, another Attitude Era DVD, NXT guest commentators, another Extreme Rules match, and Questions on pushing Jinder, defining strong style, Apter in the WWE Hall, Summerslam in an arena, and selling injuries by missing TV
Aleister Black has been booked for this week's WWE TV, so he could already be getting a look to join Raw or Smackdown at some point. He's definitely impressive.
Peter Rosenberg will be part of Backlash's Kickoff show. He and Sam Roberts seem to have pretty regular roles in WWE at this point.
John Cena and Nikki Bella represented WWE at NBC's big schedule reveal. Total Divas and Total Bellas aren't going anywhere and WWE as a whole is pretty safe, too.
- Sin Cara also appeared at Telemundo's upfront presentation.
Braun Strowman was not at Raw. He's recovering, as he should be.
- Strowman will miss six months, according to WWE. That's a real shame. I hope we still get Brock vs. Braun at some point.
Future WWE 24 episodes will focus on Kurt Angle and Goldberg. I believe all the footage has been taped on those.
WWE is planning a DVD focused on 1997 as the "Dawn of Attitude." What's really left to say about that time period?
Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness will call the UK championship match at Takeover: Chicago. WWE is getting everything up and running for that brand to happen soon.
The Hardys vs. Sheamus and Cesaro is official for Extreme Rules. I'm sure they'll have another good match.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's a lot of it. They're making their Indian signings more visible. There's a chance they start using NXT's Jeet Rama and Kishan Raftar in more important roles, too, of they think those two are ready for it.
2. Lots of big kicks and strikes basically. He's good at it.
3. I'd LOVE to see him go in, since he did kayfabe magazines for so long. I know he wouldn't necessarily be a draw for a Hall of Fame ceremony, but he'd be a great person to honor.
4. I think they could run bigger venues if they wanted. We'll see if they go that route after their multi-year stint in Brooklyn wraps up.
5. WWE doesn't want to shelve their biggest stars for long for the reasons mentioned.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Peter Rosenberg will be part of Backlash's Kickoff show. He and Sam Roberts seem to have pretty regular roles in WWE at this point.
John Cena and Nikki Bella represented WWE at NBC's big schedule reveal. Total Divas and Total Bellas aren't going anywhere and WWE as a whole is pretty safe, too.
- Sin Cara also appeared at Telemundo's upfront presentation.
Braun Strowman was not at Raw. He's recovering, as he should be.
- Strowman will miss six months, according to WWE. That's a real shame. I hope we still get Brock vs. Braun at some point.
Future WWE 24 episodes will focus on Kurt Angle and Goldberg. I believe all the footage has been taped on those.
WWE is planning a DVD focused on 1997 as the "Dawn of Attitude." What's really left to say about that time period?
Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness will call the UK championship match at Takeover: Chicago. WWE is getting everything up and running for that brand to happen soon.
The Hardys vs. Sheamus and Cesaro is official for Extreme Rules. I'm sure they'll have another good match.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's a lot of it. They're making their Indian signings more visible. There's a chance they start using NXT's Jeet Rama and Kishan Raftar in more important roles, too, of they think those two are ready for it.
2. Lots of big kicks and strikes basically. He's good at it.
3. I'd LOVE to see him go in, since he did kayfabe magazines for so long. I know he wouldn't necessarily be a draw for a Hall of Fame ceremony, but he'd be a great person to honor.
4. I think they could run bigger venues if they wanted. We'll see if they go that route after their multi-year stint in Brooklyn wraps up.
5. WWE doesn't want to shelve their biggest stars for long for the reasons mentioned.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, May 15, 2017
Main Event Reax - 5/14/17, why Rock wasn't at Mania, NWA purchase official, UK guests working NXT, new ROH signing, surprise ROH debut, and Questions on kicking out of finishers, Network music rights, GFW titles on Impact, and bringing back KOTR
-- Main Event:
- Hawkins vs. Black:
A pleasant surprise seeing Aleister here. I hope he's able to live up to his potential. He's been impressive so far.
Hawkins is good at working with people who are still getting acclimated to WWE.
I like Black. He stands out significantly.
Black's already pretty smooth. That's good.
Nice one. Curt's a trooper with all these jobs.
- Noam vs. Metalik:
Oh look it's this match again. I'm begging for a Smackdown undercard match every once in a while.
I love Noam's technical abilities.
Gran's effective at what he does.
This is fun.
Noam's already in a pretty high league.
Hey, Gran's earned his reputation, too.
Two styles meshing in a good way here.
Hahaha nice fakeout with Dar getting out of the ring.
NICE counter to the big splash.
That was pretty nice.
The Rock missed Wrestlemania because of work on his HBO show. He's got quite the busy schedule. I'm sure we'll see him back on WWE TV at some point, but he has other priorities.
Billy Corgan has officially purchased the NWA, getting rights to all the promotion's trademarks and championships. Corgan has also purchased the rights to the NWA On Demand service. Some expect a show to be made on historical content of the promotion. Nothing major is going to change in the near future with Corgan at the helm; he's planning long-term.
Jack Gallagher, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyson T-Bone are all booked for NXT's UK events in early June. The UK signings are going to get some pretty regular work for WWE it looks like.
ROH has signed Flip/Travis Gordon. He worked the April TV taping, and I imagine he'll be back for the next TV taping.
Simon Grimm, formerly Simon Gotch, was backstage at ROH's TV taping this weekend. So, it's possible he'll be joining the company soon.
Chuck Taylor made a surprise debut for ROH as a partner for Roppongi Vice. He and Beretta have teamed a lot outside of the company, so they're continuing their relationship. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
Randy Orton buried the indie style, retweeting a critique posted by Rip Rogers and pointing out his own success. He also buried Bully Ray, which was also great. Randy just became one of my favorite people in the business for standing up to the hivemind of the vocal minority.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It depends on the case. Here and there, a big finisher kickout really means something for the competitor kicking out. But if everyone kicks out of two Attitude Adjustments, it must not be that devastating of a move, right?
2. That's probably it. All those rights issues are quite a hassle. That's why they go with Jim Johnston and CFO$ to do songs they'll own themselves. It's much less of a headache.
3. I haven't seen enough of him to make a judgment.
4. I do think they have too many titles for all of them to get the focus they should. The roster's not big enough for GFW titles and Impact titles. I think the goal is to combine all the titles, as we see LAX going for the GFW tag team titles and Alberto, the GFW champion, challenging Lashley for the Impact World Title. I assume after Slammiversary, that will be done and Mathews will be gone, too. I can't say I fault them for trying to make Slammiversary as big of an event as they can as far as all that goes.
5. If it's something including Raw and Smackdown, MAYBE. They'd have to really make it mean something, though. The "King _______" gimmick with the scepter and robe has gotten pretty tired and doesn't really mean anything on its own. Ideally instead of bringing up another honor, they'd make the Andre trophy mean something more than it currently does.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Hawkins vs. Black:
A pleasant surprise seeing Aleister here. I hope he's able to live up to his potential. He's been impressive so far.
Hawkins is good at working with people who are still getting acclimated to WWE.
I like Black. He stands out significantly.
Black's already pretty smooth. That's good.
Nice one. Curt's a trooper with all these jobs.
- Noam vs. Metalik:
Oh look it's this match again. I'm begging for a Smackdown undercard match every once in a while.
I love Noam's technical abilities.
Gran's effective at what he does.
This is fun.
Noam's already in a pretty high league.
Hey, Gran's earned his reputation, too.
Two styles meshing in a good way here.
Hahaha nice fakeout with Dar getting out of the ring.
NICE counter to the big splash.
That was pretty nice.
The Rock missed Wrestlemania because of work on his HBO show. He's got quite the busy schedule. I'm sure we'll see him back on WWE TV at some point, but he has other priorities.
Billy Corgan has officially purchased the NWA, getting rights to all the promotion's trademarks and championships. Corgan has also purchased the rights to the NWA On Demand service. Some expect a show to be made on historical content of the promotion. Nothing major is going to change in the near future with Corgan at the helm; he's planning long-term.
Jack Gallagher, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyson T-Bone are all booked for NXT's UK events in early June. The UK signings are going to get some pretty regular work for WWE it looks like.
ROH has signed Flip/Travis Gordon. He worked the April TV taping, and I imagine he'll be back for the next TV taping.
Simon Grimm, formerly Simon Gotch, was backstage at ROH's TV taping this weekend. So, it's possible he'll be joining the company soon.
Chuck Taylor made a surprise debut for ROH as a partner for Roppongi Vice. He and Beretta have teamed a lot outside of the company, so they're continuing their relationship. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
Randy Orton buried the indie style, retweeting a critique posted by Rip Rogers and pointing out his own success. He also buried Bully Ray, which was also great. Randy just became one of my favorite people in the business for standing up to the hivemind of the vocal minority.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It depends on the case. Here and there, a big finisher kickout really means something for the competitor kicking out. But if everyone kicks out of two Attitude Adjustments, it must not be that devastating of a move, right?
2. That's probably it. All those rights issues are quite a hassle. That's why they go with Jim Johnston and CFO$ to do songs they'll own themselves. It's much less of a headache.
3. I haven't seen enough of him to make a judgment.
4. I do think they have too many titles for all of them to get the focus they should. The roster's not big enough for GFW titles and Impact titles. I think the goal is to combine all the titles, as we see LAX going for the GFW tag team titles and Alberto, the GFW champion, challenging Lashley for the Impact World Title. I assume after Slammiversary, that will be done and Mathews will be gone, too. I can't say I fault them for trying to make Slammiversary as big of an event as they can as far as all that goes.
5. If it's something including Raw and Smackdown, MAYBE. They'd have to really make it mean something, though. The "King _______" gimmick with the scepter and robe has gotten pretty tired and doesn't really mean anything on its own. Ideally instead of bringing up another honor, they'd make the Andre trophy mean something more than it currently does.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Interviews with Simmons/Cena, Finn special coming, more on UK special, Angle DVD trailer, recent ROH name to Impact, Cole-ROH update, Final Battle venue set, Florida indie name passes, and Questions on Brock wrestling on Raw, WWE music in the NBA, how GLOW 2017 will differ, and LU's status
Ron Simmons talked about JBL and more. Here are highlights:
- It is pretty cool Simmons has that honor. It's surprising on the surface there hasn't been a (fully) black WWE/Universal Champion, but it's a matter of the right person being in line for it. I hope Big E gets that honor, personally. I think Mark Henry's time has passed.
- APA was a believable tough guy do that didn't take any shit. No cartwheels or dives, either.
- I'd like to see a little more promos and shenanigans in 2017. There are too many matches made just to fill time.
Finn Balor's WWE 24 special will air after Raw, and a 90-minute UK Championship special will air Thursday night. I don't think the weekly show will necessarily be 90 minutes. This is just kind of a (re)introduction to the brand and its competitors.
John Cena talked about the Vince McMahon biopic. Cena as Vince doing that insane script would be AMAZING. The world needs to see that.
Kurt Angle's DVD has a trailer. It will be released on July 31 in the UK and August 1 in the States. I'd love to see a DVD set with all his top matches, but Anthem has the rights to a lot of them.
Matt Sydal is done with ROH as he'll be signing on with Impact Wrestling. That will be a new environment for him and hopefully fresh things will happen there.
Adam Cole is not booked for ROH past this weekend, but the two sides could continue working together on a per-date basis. The Cole to NXT rumors are going to heat up once his contract ends.
ROH Final Battle will run at the same venue as War of the Worlds sometime this December. I'm very interested to see what the roster will look like that night.
Florida independent wrestler Richard Delicious passed away at 29 due to a series of heart attacks suffered in late April. He had been in a medically-induced coma since his hospitalization. Delicious has been working behind the scenes for WWN family promotions, so this loss will be felt outside of the ring, too. Sad to hear.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't think we'll see it unless he's just going to beat someone in 30 seconds as an appetizer to a PPV match. Brock keeps his physical appearances pretty short and sweet, and WWE's going to (mostly) make the televised ones count.
2. That's bizarre. Apparently it's OK live but not directly broadcast on the air. WWE's probably OK with it getting that kind of play at any rate.
Nothing to really add to 3. It's probably just the wear of time.
4. At this point, it's just a comedy series based on GLOW rather than its own promotion running shows or whatever.
5. Still no word on Season 4 being green-lit, which should have people worried as time drags on.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- It is pretty cool Simmons has that honor. It's surprising on the surface there hasn't been a (fully) black WWE/Universal Champion, but it's a matter of the right person being in line for it. I hope Big E gets that honor, personally. I think Mark Henry's time has passed.
- APA was a believable tough guy do that didn't take any shit. No cartwheels or dives, either.
- I'd like to see a little more promos and shenanigans in 2017. There are too many matches made just to fill time.
Finn Balor's WWE 24 special will air after Raw, and a 90-minute UK Championship special will air Thursday night. I don't think the weekly show will necessarily be 90 minutes. This is just kind of a (re)introduction to the brand and its competitors.
John Cena talked about the Vince McMahon biopic. Cena as Vince doing that insane script would be AMAZING. The world needs to see that.
Kurt Angle's DVD has a trailer. It will be released on July 31 in the UK and August 1 in the States. I'd love to see a DVD set with all his top matches, but Anthem has the rights to a lot of them.
Matt Sydal is done with ROH as he'll be signing on with Impact Wrestling. That will be a new environment for him and hopefully fresh things will happen there.
Adam Cole is not booked for ROH past this weekend, but the two sides could continue working together on a per-date basis. The Cole to NXT rumors are going to heat up once his contract ends.
ROH Final Battle will run at the same venue as War of the Worlds sometime this December. I'm very interested to see what the roster will look like that night.
Florida independent wrestler Richard Delicious passed away at 29 due to a series of heart attacks suffered in late April. He had been in a medically-induced coma since his hospitalization. Delicious has been working behind the scenes for WWN family promotions, so this loss will be felt outside of the ring, too. Sad to hear.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't think we'll see it unless he's just going to beat someone in 30 seconds as an appetizer to a PPV match. Brock keeps his physical appearances pretty short and sweet, and WWE's going to (mostly) make the televised ones count.
2. That's bizarre. Apparently it's OK live but not directly broadcast on the air. WWE's probably OK with it getting that kind of play at any rate.
Nothing to really add to 3. It's probably just the wear of time.
4. At this point, it's just a comedy series based on GLOW rather than its own promotion running shows or whatever.
5. Still no word on Season 4 being green-lit, which should have people worried as time drags on.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, May 13, 2017
WotW dark matches, NJPW announces U.S. Title, WWE interviews, special Jersey Raw shirt, WWE to air in Turkey, Impact audience, Matt vs. Impact again, ECW name hospitalized, WWE UK series debut set, Brock booked for Raws, recent WWE star at WotW, and Questions on NJPW airing live, Eva being trained, Molly in the Hall, a tournament to face Brock, and WWE being mad at Rock
Before War of the Worlds went live:
- Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia beat The Tempura Boyz
- The Rebellion beat Gedo, Cheeseburger, and Will Ferrara
NJPW has announced the IWGP United States Championship. The first champion will be crowned at the July Californian events in a round robin tournament. Jay Lethal has been announced for that tournament, and Hangman Page attempted to challenge him after the announcement, so he could be involved, too.
In some general WWE press:
- John Cena discussed WWE while promoting his latest movie.
- Alexa Bliss was on the latest "Talk is Jericho" podcast.
- Kane talked to Edge and Christian.
Enzo and Big Cass are getting a special New Jersey shirt for Raw. That's pretty cool.
WWE has signed a multi-year deal in Turkey to air Raw and Smackdown. That's great! It'll be good news for stockholders, too.
Impact's audience Thursday was 309,000, a good boost from their recent slumps. Alberto El Patron was in the main event in a "world" title match, so that could have been what brought viewers back.
Matt Hardy buried Impact's new direction. Looks like there are still some hard feelings with the new regime. It makes sense for Impact to push new names, and Jeff Jarrett has connections in the business (and TV world?) Billy Corgan doesn't have. They've signed a good number of TV deals and talent agreements since Jeff returned, and Impact now has access to a lot of people who are now getting a bigger break than they got in GFW. They're in a rebuilding stage, and were willing to bring in unproven talents rather than try to compete with the money WWE has with re-signing Drew and the Hardys.
Former ECW referee Jim Molineaux was hospitalized after a heart attack. I hope he comes out of the other side of it OK.
WWE's UK series will debut on May 18 and is set to go 90 minutes. Wow. They're already going pretty big with it, huh?
Brock Lesnar is advertised for the following Raws:
- June 12 in Louisiana
- June 26 in California
- July 3 in Arizona
- July 10 in Texas
-- Great Balls of Fire is on July 9. I wouldn't expect him to lose the title then. I assume he'll face either Seth or Finn while Braun recovers.
The former Simon Gotch was at War of the Worlds, so time to start the rumors of him working for ROH soon. Hopefully he'll do better there than Bull Dempsey and the Spirit Squad.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think so! NJPW is popular as an indie-level special occasion show, but I think they're a long way from drawing regular crowds of decent size in the States. They get the people who travel to the Rumble, Mania, etc., but I don't know how over they're going to get outside of the "smark" crowds. Time will tell. I do wish them luck, though. They could bring a unique product with fresh talents to the States.
2. It's also worth noting this is "Total Divas." They might have done all that just to have an angle for the show.
3. If they want to induct her, I think she'd accept the honor. She's currently training wrestlers in Minnesota, so if they do a Mania up there soon-ish, that could be the year she goes in. I definitely expect her to be honored at some point; WWE just usually inducts one female worker a year.
4. They could do that if they really wanted to, but I don't think they're going to tie up all their top names in something like that. It would only draw further attention to the fact Brock isn't around and distract from them potentially facing each other in feuds independent of the Universal Title.
5. I don't think they're going to stop using him or anything. They love having Rock around and are willing to put up with him going off-cuff when they see the boost in interest from having him appear.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia beat The Tempura Boyz
- The Rebellion beat Gedo, Cheeseburger, and Will Ferrara
NJPW has announced the IWGP United States Championship. The first champion will be crowned at the July Californian events in a round robin tournament. Jay Lethal has been announced for that tournament, and Hangman Page attempted to challenge him after the announcement, so he could be involved, too.
In some general WWE press:
- John Cena discussed WWE while promoting his latest movie.
- Alexa Bliss was on the latest "Talk is Jericho" podcast.
- Kane talked to Edge and Christian.
Enzo and Big Cass are getting a special New Jersey shirt for Raw. That's pretty cool.
WWE has signed a multi-year deal in Turkey to air Raw and Smackdown. That's great! It'll be good news for stockholders, too.
Impact's audience Thursday was 309,000, a good boost from their recent slumps. Alberto El Patron was in the main event in a "world" title match, so that could have been what brought viewers back.
Matt Hardy buried Impact's new direction. Looks like there are still some hard feelings with the new regime. It makes sense for Impact to push new names, and Jeff Jarrett has connections in the business (and TV world?) Billy Corgan doesn't have. They've signed a good number of TV deals and talent agreements since Jeff returned, and Impact now has access to a lot of people who are now getting a bigger break than they got in GFW. They're in a rebuilding stage, and were willing to bring in unproven talents rather than try to compete with the money WWE has with re-signing Drew and the Hardys.
Former ECW referee Jim Molineaux was hospitalized after a heart attack. I hope he comes out of the other side of it OK.
WWE's UK series will debut on May 18 and is set to go 90 minutes. Wow. They're already going pretty big with it, huh?
Brock Lesnar is advertised for the following Raws:
- June 12 in Louisiana
- June 26 in California
- July 3 in Arizona
- July 10 in Texas
-- Great Balls of Fire is on July 9. I wouldn't expect him to lose the title then. I assume he'll face either Seth or Finn while Braun recovers.
The former Simon Gotch was at War of the Worlds, so time to start the rumors of him working for ROH soon. Hopefully he'll do better there than Bull Dempsey and the Spirit Squad.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think so! NJPW is popular as an indie-level special occasion show, but I think they're a long way from drawing regular crowds of decent size in the States. They get the people who travel to the Rumble, Mania, etc., but I don't know how over they're going to get outside of the "smark" crowds. Time will tell. I do wish them luck, though. They could bring a unique product with fresh talents to the States.
2. It's also worth noting this is "Total Divas." They might have done all that just to have an angle for the show.
3. If they want to induct her, I think she'd accept the honor. She's currently training wrestlers in Minnesota, so if they do a Mania up there soon-ish, that could be the year she goes in. I definitely expect her to be honored at some point; WWE just usually inducts one female worker a year.
4. They could do that if they really wanted to, but I don't think they're going to tie up all their top names in something like that. It would only draw further attention to the fact Brock isn't around and distract from them potentially facing each other in feuds independent of the Universal Title.
5. I don't think they're going to stop using him or anything. They love having Rock around and are willing to put up with him going off-cuff when they see the boost in interest from having him appear.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Braun on surgery, WWE PPV returning, guests on Raw Japan tour, WWE seeking important global hire, and Questions on Adam Cole heading to NXT, why Jinder is being pushed, Crash's seizure angle, Charlotte's early days in the business, and Walking Tall
Braun Strowman talked about undergoing surgery. It's a shame he's going to be out of action for a few months. He's been one heck of an emerging star.
No Mercy will return on September 24 as a Raw PPV in California. MUCH better than Great Balls of Fire.
Chris Jericho and Hideo Itami are advertised for Raw's Japan shows on June 30 and July 1. If they really want to, WWE can say he signed a new contract with Raw as his previous WWE deal ended after the loss to Owens. It would more or less be true. I hope they match those two up to get Itami ready for a bigger stage.
WWE is seeking a director for global travel project management. That's quite the title, and it will seemingly come with a lot of important responsibilities. Growth outside the U.S. is a big priority for WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think Brooklyn is more likely for the reason they mentioned. That will be a much bigger stage for him anyway.
2. I'm sure a lot of it is due to the Indian connections, but it could also be a bit of them just shuffling some new names into important roles after the shakeup.
3. Mike's got some good points there. Seizures scare the hell out of me on a personal level, but they succeeded in getting people talking about the angle and promotion.
4. She was signed based on her dad's connection to the business rather than having a big pre-WWE resume. She does have an athletic background that really lent itself to wrestling, but she got her start as a wrestler in NXT.
5. I can't really find anything else about his wrestling days. He didn't make a big splash in the business.
More wrestling tomorrow.
No Mercy will return on September 24 as a Raw PPV in California. MUCH better than Great Balls of Fire.
Chris Jericho and Hideo Itami are advertised for Raw's Japan shows on June 30 and July 1. If they really want to, WWE can say he signed a new contract with Raw as his previous WWE deal ended after the loss to Owens. It would more or less be true. I hope they match those two up to get Itami ready for a bigger stage.
WWE is seeking a director for global travel project management. That's quite the title, and it will seemingly come with a lot of important responsibilities. Growth outside the U.S. is a big priority for WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think Brooklyn is more likely for the reason they mentioned. That will be a much bigger stage for him anyway.
2. I'm sure a lot of it is due to the Indian connections, but it could also be a bit of them just shuffling some new names into important roles after the shakeup.
3. Mike's got some good points there. Seizures scare the hell out of me on a personal level, but they succeeded in getting people talking about the angle and promotion.
4. She was signed based on her dad's connection to the business rather than having a big pre-WWE resume. She does have an athletic background that really lent itself to wrestling, but she got her start as a wrestler in NXT.
5. I can't really find anything else about his wrestling days. He didn't make a big splash in the business.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Next WWE European tour set, Gorgeous George biopic update, Interview with Keirn, Impact signing, Smackdown audience, women's tournament beginning dates set, Braun/Shibata/Ember injury updates, WOS postponed even further?, NXT name change, UK stars able to appear on indie DVD, WotW match note, and Questions on WWE booking, the Singhs, Owen not leaving WWF with Bret, and why Nakamura is facing Dolph
WWE has announced a European tour from November 1 through November 12. They've also announced a May 19, 2018 show in France. Good to see them expanding in Europe.
The Gorgeous George biopic now has a working draft. WWE Studios has been working on it for years now. I hope the movie does the legend justice.
Steve Keirn discussed training at FCW and more. Here are some highlights:
- Killing alligators is pretty intense.
- I miss more memorable characters and wrestling being fun. Nowadays it's all "workrate" and trying to get over with Twitter.
- It makes sense that some guy from the Everglades isn't going to be a top "wrestler."
- Yeah, the super "smart" fans in places like Philly have to "stick it to the MAN" and cheer for people other than the top names.
- Man, DSW was a dump compared to NXT. I'm glad DeMott's gone.
- Hey, working in front of a few fans is better than working in front of none!
- I guess WWE didn't want their style of wrestling associated the more green wrestlers working at flea markets. Gotta pay your dues before you get to be a WWE superstar, brother.
- I like the attitude of being paid as much and as long as possible!
Impact has officially signed MJ Jenkins. I assume she'll be at the tapings after Slammiversary. They've definitely plugged in a lot of new names.
Smackdown drew 2.35 million viewers Tuesday, a bit of an increase of last week's episode.
WWE's women's tournament will begin taping on July 13 and 14, with an initial field of 32 competitors like the Cruiserweight Classic. I'm looking forward to seeing who will be involved in it and which competitors will end up being signed.
- JR is expected to be one of the announcers attached. I'd like to see a veteran female wrestler do commentary given the concept of the show.
Braun Strowman is expected to return in time for Summerslam, where he'll presumably face Brock Lesnar. That should be a lot of fun.
Katsuyori Shibata intends to return following his second brain surgery. That could be a ways off if he takes his recovery seriously.
World of Sport might not tape until 2018, which could be problematic as talents could be signed by WWE or another entity before things get off the ground. If things fall apart between ITV and Anthem, the project will have its work cut out for it becoming what fans hope it will be.
NXT's Dylan Miley is now Lars Sullivan. We'll see how successful he can be under that name.
Ember Moon will miss at least a month. So, maybe she'll be champion in Brooklyn.
WWE allowed an indie promotion to stream Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate/Trent Seven vs. The Elite despite the UK names being under WWE contract. That's good, since it was the main event of the show. Good to see WWE being more friendly toward other ptomotions.
Vinny Marseglia was added to the "instant reward" match at War of the Worlds in Michigan, which was won by Cheeseburger. Marty Scurll retained the TV Championship afterward.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. Ziggler was stale as all get out as a face. They wanted him heel to face Nakamura and get Shinsuke a good start on Smackdown.
b. Sheamus and Cesaro are heels to feud with the Hardys. The other option is them not being in the title picture much while Matt and Jeff are champs because no way would Sheamus and Cesaro be pushed more than those two.
c. Ziggler and Cesaro have "strong followings" of online fans that will cheer him no matter what, but neither have shown they can be big successes for the audience as a whole.
d. Jinder stole the championship. Sometimes I scratch my head at the people who send and answer these questions.
e. I was surprised to see Sami move to Smackdown after Kurt said that, but it's possible Bryan and Shane made Angle a really good offer or he requested to be on the same show as Owens or something. Just because it didn't happen on-screen doesn't mean it didn't happen!
f. Owens got his rematch for the U.S. Title on Smackdown, won it back, and is now a member of the Smackdown roster along with Jericho.
2. Probably. I'm not so sure WWE is confident in their in-ring abilities to let them work Smackdown considering they weren't even working 205 Live/NXT TV.
3. I'm under the impression he was going to retire at the end of that deal anyway. That could have factored in.
4.a. Bray will probably explain his twisted reasoning soon enough. It's not like he necessarily does the most rational thing, being a cult leader and all.
b. Seth is tied up with Joe, Finn is tied up with Bray, and Braun is hurt. So none of them are challenging Brock and I doubt many people want to get in the ring with someone so dominant anyway.
5. Ziggler's a WWE veteran who can get Shinsuke over with the WWE audience and have him further adapt his game for the main roster.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Gorgeous George biopic now has a working draft. WWE Studios has been working on it for years now. I hope the movie does the legend justice.
Steve Keirn discussed training at FCW and more. Here are some highlights:
- Killing alligators is pretty intense.
- I miss more memorable characters and wrestling being fun. Nowadays it's all "workrate" and trying to get over with Twitter.
- It makes sense that some guy from the Everglades isn't going to be a top "wrestler."
- Yeah, the super "smart" fans in places like Philly have to "stick it to the MAN" and cheer for people other than the top names.
- Man, DSW was a dump compared to NXT. I'm glad DeMott's gone.
- Hey, working in front of a few fans is better than working in front of none!
- I guess WWE didn't want their style of wrestling associated the more green wrestlers working at flea markets. Gotta pay your dues before you get to be a WWE superstar, brother.
- I like the attitude of being paid as much and as long as possible!
Impact has officially signed MJ Jenkins. I assume she'll be at the tapings after Slammiversary. They've definitely plugged in a lot of new names.
Smackdown drew 2.35 million viewers Tuesday, a bit of an increase of last week's episode.
WWE's women's tournament will begin taping on July 13 and 14, with an initial field of 32 competitors like the Cruiserweight Classic. I'm looking forward to seeing who will be involved in it and which competitors will end up being signed.
- JR is expected to be one of the announcers attached. I'd like to see a veteran female wrestler do commentary given the concept of the show.
Braun Strowman is expected to return in time for Summerslam, where he'll presumably face Brock Lesnar. That should be a lot of fun.
Katsuyori Shibata intends to return following his second brain surgery. That could be a ways off if he takes his recovery seriously.
World of Sport might not tape until 2018, which could be problematic as talents could be signed by WWE or another entity before things get off the ground. If things fall apart between ITV and Anthem, the project will have its work cut out for it becoming what fans hope it will be.
NXT's Dylan Miley is now Lars Sullivan. We'll see how successful he can be under that name.
Ember Moon will miss at least a month. So, maybe she'll be champion in Brooklyn.
WWE allowed an indie promotion to stream Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate/Trent Seven vs. The Elite despite the UK names being under WWE contract. That's good, since it was the main event of the show. Good to see WWE being more friendly toward other ptomotions.
Vinny Marseglia was added to the "instant reward" match at War of the Worlds in Michigan, which was won by Cheeseburger. Marty Scurll retained the TV Championship afterward.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. Ziggler was stale as all get out as a face. They wanted him heel to face Nakamura and get Shinsuke a good start on Smackdown.
b. Sheamus and Cesaro are heels to feud with the Hardys. The other option is them not being in the title picture much while Matt and Jeff are champs because no way would Sheamus and Cesaro be pushed more than those two.
c. Ziggler and Cesaro have "strong followings" of online fans that will cheer him no matter what, but neither have shown they can be big successes for the audience as a whole.
d. Jinder stole the championship. Sometimes I scratch my head at the people who send and answer these questions.
e. I was surprised to see Sami move to Smackdown after Kurt said that, but it's possible Bryan and Shane made Angle a really good offer or he requested to be on the same show as Owens or something. Just because it didn't happen on-screen doesn't mean it didn't happen!
f. Owens got his rematch for the U.S. Title on Smackdown, won it back, and is now a member of the Smackdown roster along with Jericho.
2. Probably. I'm not so sure WWE is confident in their in-ring abilities to let them work Smackdown considering they weren't even working 205 Live/NXT TV.
3. I'm under the impression he was going to retire at the end of that deal anyway. That could have factored in.
4.a. Bray will probably explain his twisted reasoning soon enough. It's not like he necessarily does the most rational thing, being a cult leader and all.
b. Seth is tied up with Joe, Finn is tied up with Bray, and Braun is hurt. So none of them are challenging Brock and I doubt many people want to get in the ring with someone so dominant anyway.
5. Ziggler's a WWE veteran who can get Shinsuke over with the WWE audience and have him further adapt his game for the main roster.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Impact meetings?, Impact-UK relationship going well, new Network show in the works, Interviews with Club/Sheamus/Stephanie/Austin, WM33 DVD drops, Corgan talks to NWA affiliates, Emma sent home for testing, Raw audience, Vince plugs Batista, Braun update, and Questions on the Demon King returning, why ROH sold to Sinclair, the House of Horrors, psychoanalyzing Steph, and Impact vs. the Internet
Jeff Jarrett is headed to Los Angeles for meetings presumably related to Impact Wrestling. He's definitely putting in a lot of effort to rehabilitate the company.
Impact and Spike UK are very happy with how the show is performing there. Hopefully the brand can continue getting TV revenue and staying alive so wrestlers will be able to make money there.
R-Truth will be hosting a game show on WWE Network in either late summer or early fall. That could be part of why he and Goldust are suddenly getting more TV time. I can easily see both men moving into ambassador roles once they're done taking bumps, and this would be in line with that. A any rate, this could be a pretty fun project.
The Club talked to Sam Roberts. Southpaw Regional Wrestling was much more entertaining than they've been on WWE TV as generic tough guys.
Sheamus talked about teaming with Cesaro and more. Pairing them up was the right move to end the seven-match series.
Stephanie McMahon was on a UK morning show. She's going to be a prominent face in WWE for the foreseeable future.
Wrestlemania 33 is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It's going to be remembered as a big night for the business.
Stone Cold Steve Austin gave a long interview. Here are highlights:
- Oh, yeah. Roman's going to do pretty well for himself if they don't try to appease the people who are going to complain about EVERYTHING.
- See, the Attitude Era roster was made of a lot of people who had spent significant time in WCW, ECW, etc. Also, everything came together in the perfect storm as far as the right writers and commentators and everyone hitting their stride at once.
- It's definitely a different mentality being a regular part of the business vs. having a life not built around getting in the ring four times a week.
- Communication is definitely very important, but I can see how Steve got so burned out that he just left.
- Great advice from Vader.
- I'd love to see him do some stuff at the performance center.
- Imagine Austin having to do some of the stuff they've had Ambrose do or Reigns say.
- Wow. Who would have thought Austin would have been shy given his WWE charatcer?
- I liked the "I'm THE guy" thing.
- Roman vs. Braun was GREAT!
- Cool that Bischoff and Austin get along well now.
Billy Corgan recently held a conference call with NWA promoters as he looks to finalize the purchase of the company. I look forward to seeing what he can do with the once-prominent promotion. I mean, they can pretty much only grow from where they are now.
Emma was sent to the U.S. for medical testing after being injured on the ongoing European tour. I hope she doesn't miss much time and is able to finally get some momentum going on Raw.
Raw drew 2.70 million viewers for a taped show. Of course this is being used to take shots at WWE Creative even though taped international shows ALWAYS see drops in viewership as people read spoilers.
Vince McMahon put Batista over on Twitter. You know they'd love to have him back. I'd watch the hell out of Brock vs. Batista, but I don't know if Dave would want to work with WWE again.
With Braun Strowman out of action, Bray Wyatt is being advertised to face Roman Reigns at Raw's July 7 live event in Madison Square Garden. It will be interesting to see what they do with Finn in that case. It's a shame Braun will miss time, but he should still be able to work Summerslam. I'm curious to see what that will mean for the Universal Title picture.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Finn isn't top contender because he's tied up with Bray. He's got to deal with Wyatt first! And yes, the Demon vs. the Eater of Worlds makes perfect sense. I can only imagine what WWE will cook up for that battle.
2. Both of those. Their goal is to make money and put on a product a lot of eyeballs can come across. With Sinclair's purchase of Tribune Media, it might turn out to be a really big step up for the company. Heck, just getting on Destination America for six months was a big platform for ROH. No matter what we think of the booking, Sinclair is looking to expose ROH to a bigger audience and that's good news for wrestling fans.
3. That kind of thing isn't for everyone, just like 30 minutes of superkicks, dives, and finisher kickouts isn't for everyone. I will say it seemed pretty campy in places, but it seemed to be intentionally playing off the Broken Universe in that regard.
4. A lot of times superiority complexes are rooted in insecurities. It's POSSIBLE she feels like she's in her dad's and husband's shadows, so she puts on a confident facade to show she can make it in the "man's world" of WWE.
5. I think they feel like they have to fight back against all the negative coverage they get and accusations of incompetence. They're hardly the only ones doing that these days.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Impact and Spike UK are very happy with how the show is performing there. Hopefully the brand can continue getting TV revenue and staying alive so wrestlers will be able to make money there.
R-Truth will be hosting a game show on WWE Network in either late summer or early fall. That could be part of why he and Goldust are suddenly getting more TV time. I can easily see both men moving into ambassador roles once they're done taking bumps, and this would be in line with that. A any rate, this could be a pretty fun project.
The Club talked to Sam Roberts. Southpaw Regional Wrestling was much more entertaining than they've been on WWE TV as generic tough guys.
Sheamus talked about teaming with Cesaro and more. Pairing them up was the right move to end the seven-match series.
Stephanie McMahon was on a UK morning show. She's going to be a prominent face in WWE for the foreseeable future.
Wrestlemania 33 is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It's going to be remembered as a big night for the business.
Stone Cold Steve Austin gave a long interview. Here are highlights:
- Oh, yeah. Roman's going to do pretty well for himself if they don't try to appease the people who are going to complain about EVERYTHING.
- See, the Attitude Era roster was made of a lot of people who had spent significant time in WCW, ECW, etc. Also, everything came together in the perfect storm as far as the right writers and commentators and everyone hitting their stride at once.
- It's definitely a different mentality being a regular part of the business vs. having a life not built around getting in the ring four times a week.
- Communication is definitely very important, but I can see how Steve got so burned out that he just left.
- Great advice from Vader.
- I'd love to see him do some stuff at the performance center.
- Imagine Austin having to do some of the stuff they've had Ambrose do or Reigns say.
- Wow. Who would have thought Austin would have been shy given his WWE charatcer?
- I liked the "I'm THE guy" thing.
- Roman vs. Braun was GREAT!
- Cool that Bischoff and Austin get along well now.
Billy Corgan recently held a conference call with NWA promoters as he looks to finalize the purchase of the company. I look forward to seeing what he can do with the once-prominent promotion. I mean, they can pretty much only grow from where they are now.
Emma was sent to the U.S. for medical testing after being injured on the ongoing European tour. I hope she doesn't miss much time and is able to finally get some momentum going on Raw.
Raw drew 2.70 million viewers for a taped show. Of course this is being used to take shots at WWE Creative even though taped international shows ALWAYS see drops in viewership as people read spoilers.
Vince McMahon put Batista over on Twitter. You know they'd love to have him back. I'd watch the hell out of Brock vs. Batista, but I don't know if Dave would want to work with WWE again.
With Braun Strowman out of action, Bray Wyatt is being advertised to face Roman Reigns at Raw's July 7 live event in Madison Square Garden. It will be interesting to see what they do with Finn in that case. It's a shame Braun will miss time, but he should still be able to work Summerslam. I'm curious to see what that will mean for the Universal Title picture.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Finn isn't top contender because he's tied up with Bray. He's got to deal with Wyatt first! And yes, the Demon vs. the Eater of Worlds makes perfect sense. I can only imagine what WWE will cook up for that battle.
2. Both of those. Their goal is to make money and put on a product a lot of eyeballs can come across. With Sinclair's purchase of Tribune Media, it might turn out to be a really big step up for the company. Heck, just getting on Destination America for six months was a big platform for ROH. No matter what we think of the booking, Sinclair is looking to expose ROH to a bigger audience and that's good news for wrestling fans.
3. That kind of thing isn't for everyone, just like 30 minutes of superkicks, dives, and finisher kickouts isn't for everyone. I will say it seemed pretty campy in places, but it seemed to be intentionally playing off the Broken Universe in that regard.
4. A lot of times superiority complexes are rooted in insecurities. It's POSSIBLE she feels like she's in her dad's and husband's shadows, so she puts on a confident facade to show she can make it in the "man's world" of WWE.
5. I think they feel like they have to fight back against all the negative coverage they get and accusations of incompetence. They're hardly the only ones doing that these days.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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