Interviews with James Storm/Nordholm, Brock teases UFC return, HBK on the road with NXT, Paige update, GFW conference call, Renee the free agent, Y2J at indie show, more GFW vs. Hardys, Smackdown audience, Flair ESPN doc preview, NXT name official, Moose signs new contract, BFG update, GFW previews new team, and Questions on WWE booking Mickie, Angle's new son, splitting WWE teams, and a Shield reunion

James Storm discussed GFW, NXT, and more:
- The company has changed names a number of times. Hopefully they stick with GFW for a while and build an identity.

- Jarrett and his friends have already made some good moves to revitalize the company with all the new signings and working agreements. GFW feels mostly fresh and will continue to grow.

- Wait, the big names had a separate locker room in early TNA? I don't like that at all. The younger names could have been asking for advice from the veterans.

- I wish Chris Harris would have gotten further in the business. I expected him to be more important than he ended up being.

- The Boozer Cruiser was pretty hysterical.

- D'Amore and Dutch are two great people to have on-board due to their years of experience.

- I absolutely agree with wrestling being a physical play/performance art. I wish more saw it that way; wrestling could be much more interesting if they added more character to things.

- Some people are creative enough to have outlandish characters, and some people just want to show up and get physical. It's fine.

- That strap feud with EC3 was really intense. They beat the holy hell out of each other.

- Big feuds ending in big fights makes sense.

- I'm interested what will be next for Storm on the road to BFG. I'd like to see Storm vs. EC3 for the title down the line. The Alberto situation is going to factor into the timing of that big time.

- There were reports that GFW offered Storm a LOT more money than NXT offered him, as in more than double.

- HHH having been on the road on the wrestler really helps him in his current role.

- I'd like to see Storm back in WWE at some point, but it has to make sense for all involved.

- DCC was odd. I don't know if GFW needed another faction/mystery person angle, especially one that put Jeff Jarrett in the center of things instead of a fresher name. And it was kind of an odd fit for the beer-drinking redneck.

- Yes, working in front of other audiences in really important. Someone can be really over in the Impact Zone or Full Sail or what have you, but not connect with an audience that's seeing them for the first time.

- Oh yeah, I think the HoF should be saved for people about to wrap things up. They can always honor Mike Tenay or Jeremy Borash at BFG instead.

Brock Lesnar indicated he'd be willing to head back to UFC in a recent interview. We'll see if it happens, or if he's just trying to negotiate the best possible deal in WWE for after his current contract ends after WM34.

Shawn Michaels will be a producer for NXT live events on the road this weekend. This will be his first time traveling with the brand. He'll be a valuable person to have on-hand.

Paige has not been arrested nor served with an arrest warrant, despite reports to the contrary. Whether she will be officially charged is up to the state attorney general.

Notes from GFW's recent conference call:
- Bruce Prichard is officially a consultant backstage.

- There's interest in the former Jack Swagger. I'd love to see him get a chance to shine there.

- GFW is talking with LU, even if it's just a short-term deal. I'd love to see LU names get the bigger exposure in GFW, at least when LU's not taping. That could work out well for both sides!

- GFW continues its internal investigation on Alberto. Presumably he's still suspended until it concludes. There's still time for GFW to clear him for August's live events and TV tapings if they feel that's the right course of action. Things could get dicey for the championship if that investigation doesn't absolve him soon.

- A "GFW Network" kind of idea is a possibility. That could be something Anthem does with its video libraries and GFW would be part of something bigger.

Renee Young will be part of Raw and Smackdown going forward. So, John Cena's not their only free agent. That's great news for her both professionally and personally as it means she'll be with Dean Ambrose on Monday nights.

Chris Jericho will appear for Northeast Wrestling on August 27. He's either able to do signings independently of WWE, or he agreed to the date before returning to the company on Smackdown.

Ed Nordholm did a big interview on the Hardys situation and more:
- GFW could definitely benefit from resolving the Hardys situation from a PR perspective. Going back on the road for live events, the Super X Cup, working agreements, and the like are having to share press space with Reby Hardy's Twitter outbursts.

- GFW could very well legally be in the right for owning the characters, but what good is having the rights to characters for wrestlers who are no longer working for the company? GFW's not going to use them for other wrestlers or anything. It's just making fans turn on GFW at a time when they're trying to save themselves from further negative publicity.

- I do think a court might grant the Hardys some relief for spending their own money on the episodes, but I wouldn't think that would include getting the rights for characters they made alongside GFW employees. Of course, GFW gave them a LOT of airtime to get their characters over. That shouldn't be overlooked. They pretty much made Impact the Hardy show featuring other wrestlers.

- GFW is definitely getting a lot of blowback from Reby in particular. I doubt that's helped anyone.

- Nordholm has a point. The Hardys are the ones who need to take things to court if they want the content. GFW has their signed contracts.

- "Sources" that say Anthem's side is purposefully dragging things out is almost definitely the Hardys' side further painting themselves as the faces. They're pretty close to wrestling journalists.

- The story has been that there was a deal in place, but Nordholm won't sign off on anything. I almost wish they would go to court so we'd get to the bottom of all of it and everyone can move on from their lives.

- This is almost definitely going to continue to play out, as the Hardys continue to tease the gimmick on TV and Reby keeps firing shots at her former employer.

- Reports have been that it's the Hardys trying to get the rights to the content rather than WWE trying to buy it from Anthem.

- I absolutely expect GFW did a lot to keep the Hardys, and decided they'd rather focus that money elsewhere.

- I do wonder if top names will shy away from working GFW if they can get comparable or better deals elsewhere. It's notable top free agents are always mentioned as possibly going to WWE or NJPW rather than GFW. It's not seen as a priority for "name" talents right now.

- There are definitely people who will benefit from GFW getting them outside bookings, while others could do a lot of that work on their own without giving up some of the income back to GFW. It's a case-by-case thing.

-- Matt Hardy disputed Nordholm's remarks about his contract demands. I'm ready for this to go to court so everyone involved (including fans) can move on to focusing on wrestling instead of contract disputes.

Smackdown drew 2.54 million viewers, pretty much in-line with the previous week's show. So, no bump from Battleground. We'll see if Chris Jericho's return affects the audience going forward.

ESPN's Ric Flair documentary will air on November 7. It's expected to be in 90-120 minute range. That should really be something to watch.

- ESPN put out a press release with a trailer. There's only one Ric Flair. I'm glad he's getting that kind of honor.

Thea Trinidad is working as Zelina Vega in NXT. I and others previously spelled it differently, but WWE confirmed that's her official ring name.

Moose has signed a new three-year deal with GFW. It's not a bad idea to try to make a big name for himself there rather than potentially becoming another cog in the NXT machine. He can still grow as a competitor to where he could be invaluable and an important name in the wrestling landscape.

Bound For Glory will likely be in Orlando. So, no PPV on the road just yet it seems, but I could definitely see it happening in 2018.

GFW promoted the upcoming debut of Dave & Jake Crist, who will work under the team name OVE in the company. I like their look.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE wants her to fill out the division, but they clearly want to focus on the NXT alumnae more. I can't say I blame them. As talented as Mickie is, it's smart to build for the future.

I have no idea what 2 is about.

3. Of course he is! You really think they'd go on TV and lie like that? He joins Kane and Big Show as sons of WWE Hall of Famers.

4. Basically all of those teams had pretty much stalled, so WWE's splitting them in the hopes of them doing more as singles competitors. It's also possible Truth is on the road to retirement, so they gave Goldust a rub from turning on him. WWE still has plenty of talented teams. It's just a matter of WWE wanting to change things for duos who clearly weren't going to be champions anytime soon.

5. They could do some interesting things with a Shield reunion against, say, Brock or Strowman or a reunited Wyatt Family. But I don't think it'd be a long-term direction for Roman, Seth, and Dean given their prospects as singles competitors.

More wrestling tomorrow.