Sinclair Broadcasting has purchased Tribune Media, which gives them ownership of affiliate stations all over the country. Sinclair also now owns WGN America, Antenna TV, THIS TV, and a stake in The Travel Channel. This move starts speculation of ROH getting a longer weekly show on WGN America, the former home of WWE Superstars. This move by Sinclair will lead to greater exposure for ROH, which should mean good things for everyone involved. A two-hour show would let them more consistently use their most important stars on TV and build angles more effectively. It would also be the perfect kickoff for a women's championship division.
- Sinclair put out a press release on the acquisition, which has gotten a lot of mainstream press. It looks like they might get rid of some stations, but I expect that will be in cases where they have more than one local station in the same market. Either way, this can absolutely be a game-changer for ROH once it's fully realized.
Stephanie McMahon made talk show appearances in the UK. She's pretty busy as brand ambassador.
- Daily Mirror and The Sun covered her work in the area.
Nikki Bella is working on a book. She could be around for a while.
Tye Dillinger officially worked his final NXT dates this weekend. He's earned a shot higher up in the promotion after all the work he put in in NXT, so good for him to get a bigger chance.
Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness will call the WWE UK shows heading to the Network later this month. That's awesome! So, even without being part of WOS, he'll be calling action from Great Britain soon.
- JR will also do commentary for the NJPW shows in California on July 1 and 2. He's got quite the deal to be able to do WWE AND NJPW.
A judge recently ruled on Raven and Buff Bagwell's lawsuit about WWE Network royalties:
- Bagwell can't sure "WCW, Inc." as that entity no longer exists. WWE had created that entity to deal with the legal issues and property of WCW as it merged into WWE. Any claims against that company are now against WWE.
- The part of the lawsuit about royalties of WCW, etc. on the Network being owed to performers is continuing due to contract wording about "technology not yet created."
- Talents receive royalties for material shown on DVD, but not the same content shown on WWE Network.
- The court was unpersuaded that the Network is significantly different from DVDs, etc. due to it not being a physical copy of footage.
- The court disagreed that it would be very difficult to determine how much royalties someone will be owed from Network footage.
- The court said it's plausible for Bagwell's 2001 WWE contract to entitle him to royalties from WCW.
- It's plausible Bagwell and Raven would be due an independent audit of WWE's finances as they relate to royalties. In other words, how much money WWE made from the content featuring Bagwell and Raven.
- The court shot down that WWE was responsible for royalties from Turner-era WCW contracts, as Bagwell and Raven had not claimed they were owed anything from those deals.
- The court put aside the "unfair enrichment" argument, as that would only apply if the booking contracts in question were invalid and unenforceable, which isn't what is being alleged.
Ember Moon has been officially pulled from Takeover:Chicago due to injury. It will be interesting to see what they do with the NXT Women's Championship with her being out of action.
Kevin Von Erich will come out of retirement to team with his sons in Israel in a final match. Wow. That'll be a really special moment for the family.
WWE did tryouts of local talents before Raw. We'll see if any of those names get signed, and where they'll head if they do become "superstars."
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's up to each authority figure whether that rule, and others, are enforced. And do you really blame Kurt for not wanting to get on Brock's bad side by trying to enforce that?
2. Well, the match had already been agreed upon by Bray and Orton before Jinder stole the championship, so it made sense to have it take place and end the feud.
3. You'd think Dave, with his tenure covering the business, would realize WWE is building Brock vs. Roman for the title at WM34. Brock holding the title until then will result in a big moment for Reigns in finally vanquishing (and possibly retiring) the beast. And this is better than Brock beating people every month, right? Plus we see a lot of focus on the U.S. and IC titles, which Dave has asked for for years! WWE can't win with him.
4. Holy shit, what??? Both companies were losing money hand over foot, which is why they were on the chopping block in the first place. His execution wasn't perfect, but Vince made the right move in picking up the scraps and mercifully sending both off to the great wrestling ring in the sky.
5. Generally all able-bodied people are backstage unless they've explicitly been given time off.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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