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Monday, August 7, 2017

WWE Blu-ray updates, Cyborg-Summerslam teases continue, new WWE merchandise, Interviews with Charlotte/Jinder/Sami, more GFW travel problems, EmmaXJason continues, Japanese legend paralyzed, and Questions on SAnitY vs. the Authors, watching NJPW, the Network's target audience, heels not winning clean, and GFW featuring current WWE stars

Summerslam 2017 will be released on DVD, but not Blu-ray. WWE cited declining demand for the Blu-ray format as the reason for just doing DVD. I expect that's going to be a continuing theme. All the more reason WWE wants the Network to be a success; people aren't as willing to pay a lot more for a physical copy anymore.

Cris Cyborg continues to tease an angle with Becky Lynch at Summerslam. I wouldn't expect them to add a big crossover match with two weeks left before the show.

Sami Zayn debuted a new T-shirt in Montreal. That's pretty cool.

WWE has new plush toys for a number of stars.

Charlotte Flair and Jinder Mahal talked before Smackdown's live events this weekend.

Sami Zayn talked about his long feud with Kevin Owens and more. Here are highlights:
- I expect Owens and Zayn will end up teaming at some point down the line. This is WWE. Even people who have tried to kill each other end up on the same side eventually.

- Zayn is always cast as the underdog. It's a role he does well, but it's going to be hard to sell himself as a top guy when he's so often beaten up.

- Time will come for Roode to hit the main roster. There can be a lot of great main roster feuds in the years to come, but of course, someone has to job.

- Sami vs. Nakamura was really special. I don't know if they'll be able to recreate such an important moment of one guy entering the brand and the other leaving it. One side going to Raw wouldn't really have the same impact.

Lashley had travel issues ahead of the August 4 GFW show, barely making it in time for the main event. Hopefully things go more smoothly when GFW goes on the road again.

Emma is continuing teasing dating Jason Jordan to get Kurt Angle to use her more on Raw. I'm dead. They need to make that a regular storyline.

Japanese wrestler Yoshihiro Takayama has become paralyzed following an accident in the ring a few months back. That's very sad to hear. He's a legend for his work there.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. As great as that will be, I hope it leads to the Authors vs. reDRagon. That could be AMAZING.

2. WrestleKingdom 10 is a great place to start given all the hype about its main event.

3. I do think they're doing more to focus on younger viewers, but I don't think they're deliberately trying to push away older viewers.

Not much to add to 4. Sometimes getting heat for being a rulebreaker is more important than being "the better wrestler," especially for a villain facing someone who's been world champion more than a dozen times. And almost no one reads live event reports, which is why WWE can run pretty much the same show in each market for some time.

5. As long as GFW doesn't say something to imply WWE's endorsement of the project, they should be in the clear. I don't think it's a bad idea to try to make some money from the old footage instead of just throwing it all away. They can still promote their current stars on Impact, etc.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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