Kenny Omega will miss some NJPW shows due to a knee injury, returning on September 24.
- Leo Tonga will replace him on the tour. Leo is another of Haku's sons.
NXT has announced shows on the following dates:
- October 19 in Georgia
- October 20 and 21 in South Carolina
- October 22 in Tennessee
- October 19 in Georgia
- October 20 and 21 in South Carolina
- October 22 in Tennessee
Dakota Kai discussed the MYC in Australia. The series is giving a lot of people some big opportunities.
Chris Jericho appeared to talk about his new book. He also discussed it on FOX News. I'm sure there will be more Books of Jericho in the future.
Jerry Lawler was not contacted regarding a full-time announcing return, and indicated on his podcast it would be a tough decision unless there was a large sum of money involved. No loss there. I respect what Jerry's done for the business, but it was time to replace him with someone younger years ago.
Anthem is looking to sell GFW, as they've dropped a LOT of money into a promotion that already has a lot of debt and important legal issues to deal with. That would be a BIG change in the wrestling industry, no matter where things end up going.
- Anthem needing to make cuts to FN in order to help GFW is problematic. Fight Network is a more viable business venture.
- WWE is understandably considered the frontrunner in any sale talks, although Sinclair and Billy Corgan are also possibilities. In previous sale talks, WWE was interested in only the tape library rather than continuing the company's lineage. I'm sure they'd sign some names to contracts, but they wouldn't launch an Impact or GFW brand.
- Anthem has been trying to assure talent Jarrett's leave of absence is nothing to worry about.
-- This could be the most significant story to hit wrestling in years, as a lot of talent would be available for a lot of places and there'd be one fewer prominent company for talent to get exposure. Certainly the company isn't what used to be in terms of name value, but it's still an important company overall.
Johnny Impact did a conference call for GFW:
- Unsurprisingly, GFW didn't address the sale story or Jarrett taking time off. Those topics would have dominated the discussion, which is the last thing GFW wants right now. It could also be that things are still playing out as far as those areas go.
- Johnny really benefits from being able to do GFW, AAA, and LU all at once (if GFW and LU are still around in 2018).
- Johnny has always wanted to be an entertainer who wrestles rather than a full-time wrestler.
- Johnny and Miz feuding over IMDB is hilarious. I love it.
- I really hope Johnny has different last names for each promotion he works. That needs to happen.
John "Big" Gaburick is back in charge of GFW Creative after Jarrett began his leave of absence. There's speculation the Jarretts are done with GFW entirely, which would mean they'd take the GFW IP with them and it would be the Impact assets that would be sold. It's too early to definitely say the Jarretts won't return, but GFW is making plans as if they're not in the picture going forward.
The following WWE names are not currently advertised for WWE2K18:
- Elias
- The Hardys
- James Ellsworth
- Lana
- The Kanellises
- Shelton Benjamin
- Sumil & Samir Singh
- Ariya Daivari
- Drew Gulak
- Lince Dorado
- Mustafa Ali
- Tony Nese
- Adam Cole
- Aleister Black
- Andrade "Cien" Almas
- Street Profits
- Bobby Fish
- Drew McIntyre
- Kyle O'Reilly
- Lars Sullivan
- Liv Morgan
- Heavy Machinery
- Ruby Riot
- Sonya Deville
- The Velveteen Dream
- Zelina Vega
- Any members of the WWE UK brand.
-- Some of the above names will likely be added as DLC. I'd think Elias, the Hardys, Ellsworth, Lana, McIntyre, Dunne, Almas, Cole, O'Reilly, and Fish would be priorities there, as well as some other UK names. 2K has a LOT of people to make models for given WWE's massive roster.
Bully Ray commented on the current GFW issues. You know Bully would be right there holding the title if they wanted to push him. Hell, he'd probably be defending the company in interviews.
Raw drew 2.93 million viewers on Labor Day. Holiday shows always take a hit, even with top names and matches.
GFW put out a press release touting their new TV deals and plans for digital distribution. I can't blame there for promoting good news at a time like this! Those things are definitely positives, but they're not enough to turn the tide on the big money drain the company has become. I know people have called for the death of the company for 15 years without it happening, but things are certainly worth keeping an eye on as far as GFW's future.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Nope! I'm sure it will happen again at some point. There are only so many potential title feuds right now.
1. Nope! I'm sure it will happen again at some point. There are only so many potential title feuds right now.
2. After the way the CWC ended, I think there's a good chance. It's a great idea on paper (screen).
3. Looks like we got ourselves a cuppa hatas here! Enzo's like the innanational housea pancakes. He's got stacks on stacks on STACKS. He's hotta than the peppers that Peta Pipa picked. HOW YOU DOIN'?
I think the heat is more on him not turning the gimmick off. Stunting on social media is something I'd expect from Enzo the character, but he doesn't need to be doing that kind of thing backstage/on the tour bus unless he wants to be Bada Boom. Kicked out the locker room!
4. WWE would only really care if it was another wrestling promotion.
5. Considering earlier this year he was jobbing to Mojo Rawley and Cesaro, I think it's a lot more believable for him to need help to beat someone like Orton or Nakamura. For someone who's always complaining about WWE needing a "logic editor," that's a plot hole big enough for Strowman to slam Big Show into.
More wrestling tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment