Main Event Reax - 7/8/17, Brock set for another PPV, GBOF hype, AJ title win press, Interview with Schiavone, another MSG event on the Network, WWE honors WWEPC coach, Beretta hurt, Alberto responds to rap battle, another female HoFer involved in MYC, and Questions on a more adult WWE show in Full Sail, storing match structures, Barnett-GFW, and One Night Stand happening

-- Main Event:
- Swann vs. Ariya:
Fine slow start. This match is just here to burn through time.

Rich just trying to win with his agility. Not a bad idea.

Ariya's primarily on this show to make the flippy guys like good. He just takes their moves and does some chinlocks and stuff to space things out. That's not a knock on his ability at all, as I think he does something valuable on the brand.

Fun enough. Rich is a pretty solid young talent.

Good seeing what the other Daivari can do, too.

And there we go. Another 205 match in the books.

- Kalisto vs. Dawson:
I'm glad Dash was cleared to return to action so he could be ringside for a singles match.

Glad to see Kalisto not taking Scott's attitude.

Fun work between these two so far. Classic clash of styles.

This is fairly solid.

Kalisto can fly pretty well. I just wonder how he's going to get higher on the card than he is now.

It's going to look bad if Scott can't win with help.

NICE counter to the slingshot suplex. That was a pretty ending.

 

Brock Lesnar is advertised for No Mercy on September 24. I'm interested to see what matches they'll use him for through WM34. Seth, Finn, and Braun are all possibilities.

Kurt Angle threw the first pitch at an MLB game to promote GBOF. I imagine he'd rather be wrestling on the show, but they're likely saving him for a bigger event.

WWE posted video of AJ Styles winning the United States Championship and his interview after the match. I'd like to see this lead to AJ vs. Rusev for the title after the AJ/Owens Battleground match.

- Dixie Carter congratulated her former employee. I know this won't be a popular opinion, but it's not a bad idea for WWE to consider using her in some way given how many years she's been in the business and the talents she's worked with. For instance, should WWE look to sign more GFW alumni, they can get some advice from someone who's worked with them in a management capacity.

Tony Schiavone discussed his WCW run and more. Here are highlights:

- I'm sure a lot of Schiavone's overselling was desperation to get people back into WCW. I would have thought it was an intentional directive from management, but he's taking responsibility for it.

- Having to hear the same voice so often is definitely a big part of why people dislike certain talents, but a lot of time it's the direction of having to throw in so many nicknames and buzzwords. Some announcers also have something of a tendency to be their own biggest fan and call things in a way that doesn't do a service to the product, throwing in a bunch of references to score points when the focus should be on the wrestlers.

- WCW keeping announcers in the dark led to some genuine reactions to things, but sometimes they were so out of the loop it negatively affected their ability to call what was happening. It's a case-by-case thing, as certainly announcers can be overprepared or underprepared depending on the situation.

- I'm still a mark for big factions and that kind of thing. It's a concept that has been poorly executed at times, but it can be fun.

WWE Network has added a 1973 MSG show to their old school section. There are decades of history between WWE and the venue.

WWE honored Johnny Saint as he finished his work at the WWE Performance Center.

Beretta was pulled from an event due to an extremely inflamed elbow. We'll see if that grounds him beyond this weekend. 

Alberto El Patron has challenged Triple H and the Usos (and New Day?) to a fight following Smackdown, as WWE will be taping that show in the same town as his restaurant. The embarrassing behavior of a once-promising superstar continues. How long before he gets into an altercation of some sort at GFW?

The former Madusa/Alundra Blayze will be involved in the Mae Young Classic in an unspecified role. That's pretty cool. I'm glad she and WWE are on good terms again.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't expect that's something they want to do, even as HHH starts to shape the company. The PG approach is more advertiser-friendly.

2. WWE has all kinds of cool stuff in their warehouse in Connecticut!

3. It will be interesting to see how Lashley and his MMA ventures fare under the GFW regime. It's a shame we won't see another round of the Double J Double M A challenge, one of the greatest angles in the company's history.

Nothing to add to 4.

5. Surprise! WWE seemed to have closed the door on ECW years before. I wouldn't have called WWE booking some of those talents, but they gave Heyman and company a lot of leeway for the initial show.

More wrestling tomorrow.