Raw expands anniversary plans, WWE Halloween costumes, NXT and 205 Live previews, Regal offers advice, Bray and Roman updates, Cass appearance, Fashion Police Halloween special, more WarGames hype, ROH announces matches for upcoming event, more NXT events set, Summer on WWE release, Impact departure, Survivor Series team plans, Fight Network changing top show, Smackdown turns coming?, and Questions on shots to the head, Percy's commentary, the brand split, booking Kane, and why Raw didn't invade Smackdown

Raw's 25th anniversary will feature matches from the venue of the very first Raw in addition to the Barclays Center. That's really cool.

- Talents from Smackdown will appear at the combined tapings, as well as legends such as The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, and Shawn Michaels. This will be Taker's first WWE TV appearance since WM33, so we'll likely see him confirm his future in regard to joining the WWE Hall of Fame and/or wrestling during WM34 weekend.

- WWE put out a press release announcing the big event. 

- Local advertising confirms Bret Hart, Ric Flair, and Mick Foley would also be appearing. Now THERE'S a Table for 3 I'd love to see.

WWE posted some superstar Halloween costumes before Raw. The Singh costume had me rolling, and Drew Gulak's was something else. I don't think I'll ever be able to unsee that.

Johnny Gargano vs. Fabian Aichner and Nikki Cross vs. Taynara Conti are set for this week's NXT in addition to the main event between SAnitY and the Authors of Pain. That should be a good show!

William Regal weighed in on the Lio Rush  controversy. He's been in the business longer than Lio's been alive. I hope Rush takes advice from the respected veterans in the locker room. It's likely he'll have to speak to management after this most visible instance of locker room heat. I hope he learns his lesson and can move forward; he's been given a very big opportunity at a very young age. 

Roman Reigns will not be on WWE's European tour, as he continues to recover from his illness.  Survivor Series is one of WWE's biggest events of the year, so they naturally want Roman available for that show.

Ric Flair discussed his struggles with alcohol. I really hope he's recovering well from that.

Big Cass will be appearing at an NFL game on November 2. I assume that could be to promote Raw's 25th anniversary.

Breezango and friends put together The Fashion Police Project. I love when WWE just lets the talents goof off like this.

Arn Anderson discussed WarGames. With Starrcade coming up, it feels like we're in 1997 or something.

ROH is doing a live event called ROH Elite on November 11 in Florida. The following matches have been set:

- The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) vs. Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, and Kenny King

- The Motor City Machine Guns vs. TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia for the ROH Tag Team Championship

- Shane Taylor vs. Punishment Martinez

Bray Wyatt was backstage at Raw after being cleared to return to action. I'm interested to see what's next for him and Abigail after his brief absence.

NXT announced new live events in the Southeast in December.

Summer Rae commented on her WWE release. Her next steps will be interesting; I wouldn't think she'd be in big demand as a wrestler.

Rockstar Spud has been released from Impact Wrestling. He hadn't been used since May, and there weren't any plans to use him Ottawa, so this isn't a big surprise. I think he'd be able to fit into WWE in some capacity, especially if the UK brand gets up and running as a regular touring attraction.

Survivor Series' male elimination match is set to be Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Roman Reigns against Randy Orton, Shane McMahon, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Bobby Roode. No word on a potential replacement for Roman if he isn't cleared by then. That does sound like a pretty good clash, but I'm curious what role Kane will play in things.

Fight Network is relaunching Live Audio Wrestling. John Pollock has left the network and Jason Agnew will no longer be hosting the show. It will be interesting to see what changes are made.

205 Live will feature Gran Metalik vs. Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari vs. Mustafa Ali. It's very much the "throw a bunch of athletes together" show. That often seems to happen with cruiserweight divisions.

Rusev worked as a face against a heel Tye Dillinger at a Smackdown live event in North Carolina Monday night. That's worth a try. Both men could use a fresh direction.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:

1. People are willing to do more dangerous/physical spots to get over how "real" a feud is. I don't know if it's worth it, but they're generally not thinking long-term.

2. WWE needs to continue to groom commentators as they do wrestlers, referees, etc. I'm fine with using him in that role.

3. I give them a pass for commercials for the reason mentioned. And Shane let Raw book AJ to lower their guard for the big siege! This was explicitly explained.

4. They built Kane as a monster so it means something when someone does beat him. With Brock as a part-timer, Henry retired, and Show injured, Kane's stepping in to be a top opponent. Seth, Dean, and Balor have long careers ahead of them. They'll be fine. Styles should be good, too, given how strong of a worker he is.

5. Raw was caught by surprise, and probably expected Smackdown to have security measures in place Raw didn't have. Sometimes it's smart to wait to get everything in order before retaliating.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 10/31/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.

WWE releases three superstars, Lio gets heat on Twitter, more on WWE Night in LA, Nia update, and Questions on WWE doing seasons, AJ vs. Finn, teaming Samoans, and profanity on WWE TV

WWE has released:
- Emma. As much as I enjoy Emma's work, and as much as I wish we got to see more of her, I could see WWE thinking they'd gotten all they could out of her. Not being able to execute the Emmalina character had to have played a role, as well. It is a shame they lost their Australian hype girl, but I expect Billie Kay and Peyton Royce will take up that role before too much longer. I'd like to see her in Impact if they're willing to use her.

- Darren Young. WWE probably saw him as a combination of injury prone and someone who had been in the company long enough to have made more of an impression than he did. Rather than keep him in the same place they always used him, they decided to cut him loose. Impact and ROH should definitely take a look at him; he has the opportunity to reinvent himself and come back as a more valuable player. It won't be easy, but I think he might have a shot at it.

and
- Summer Rae. Summer hadn't been used in a long time after an injury put her on the shelf. They could have paired her with Rusev or Breezango given her history as a character, but they likely didn't see her as someone valuable enough to keep using. I'm not sure what her next role is, since she's not really known for her ring work.

-- I'm a little surprised there were only three releases. WWE usually makes a larger sweep of the roster. There are definitely talents more or less filling space on live events.

-- Emma tweeted after her release. Sasha Banks, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, and Paige wished her well, with Paige also giving a shoutout to Summer Rae.

-- Lio Rush joked about Emma leaving, leading to burials from Murphy, Bray Wyatt, and Peyton Royce. Lio apologized, which led to a shot from Jack Gallagher. I get what Lio was going for with his joke, but given where he is on the totem pole, he needs to be doing everything he can to respect and honor the people in the company who came before him. I hope this is a lesson for him and for others that will be in NXT after him.

NBA's Los Angeles Clippers posted photos of WWE Night, Darren Young's final booking with WWE. This makes me wonder if WWE was going to do releases on Friday, but realized they had already booked Young for that date and wanted him to go ahead and work it.

Nia Jax's absence has been at least partially due to nagging back issues. I hope she rebounds soon.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. While doing seasons would help with talents not becoming overexposed/stale so quickly, I don't think it would offset the amount of revenue they'd lose from so many fewer episodes, so many fewer live gates, etc. Same for moving back to two hours. WWE's definitely in a bind, but there's not such an easy way out.

2. If they do something like that, WWE needs to give us a lot more reason to care than "which man is the better wrestler?" If there's a bigger rivalry going on over, say, unfinished business from Japan or something with Karl and Luke involved, and one of them is at least somewhat heelish and underhanded, it might work. But the appeal of seeing which man can kick out of more finishers is limited.

3. The booking and build would be key. I wouldn't mind seeing a feud where Roman, Joe, and the Usos face AJ, Finn, Anderson, and Gallows, but it would need to be a good storyline bringing it all together (as we saw with the recent Shield reunion).

Nothing to add to 4.

5. There's a difference between cursing during a big injury/moment of genuine surprise vs. cursing during a promo. WWE is likely only concerned with the latter.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Main Event Reax - 10/28/17, WWE Night by NBA team, WWE names at conventions, WWE wins social media awards, Dana Warrior comments on husband's past comments, Alberto-BFG plans, recent NJPW commentator to Impact, top name talking to Impact, former NXT name coming to Impact, why Impact team was released, BFG pre-show released, more on Raw siege angle, WWE versions of horror films, Interviews with DDP/Booker, Table for The Shield, Big Show honored on Network, tag title matches set for UK, ROH event notes, and Questions on Khali's return, clearing Angle but not Bryan, and attending historical matches

-- Main Event:
- M. Hardy vs. Hawkins:
Matt having fun already.

Hawkins is like the go-to guy for this show.

Fine work so far. 

This is heating up well enough.

That was a pretty good ending sequence!

- Apollo/Titus vs. Club:
This could be a pretty fun combination.

Nice teamwork from the faces so far.

I'm liking this. Titus and Apollo make a good duo.

Nice heel tactics from the former NJPW duo.

Good work! 

An NBA team did a WWE night with The Miz, Becky Lynch, Enzo Amore, and Darren Young attending on behalf of the company and a special T-shirt for the event. This will be funny in hindsight.

Jeff Hardy will be at the LA Mole Comic Con in Mexico on November 4. He's trying to keep busy while recovering.

WWE won a LOT of social media related awards recently. That's something they really work hard on.

WWE had a special Undertaker T-shirt at a London comic convention. The company is doing more with venue-specific merchandise, which is good.

Dana Warrior spoke about her husband's controversial past comments. It's definitely a case of WWE using the Warrior character rather than Warrior the person to promote charitable causes. I'm all for WWE doing philanthropy, but there's something to be said about the person Warrior was and the things he said before he was used as a champion for people he used to speak so poorly of.

Alberto El Patron could be involved in he main event at Bound For Glory, either as a surprise third entrant or the special referee. It's probably just a matter of time before he takes the title back. Heck, he might win it on the next episode of Impact in order to combat the slumping audience numbers.

Don Callis, formerly Cyrus, is expected to join Impact Wrestling soon after leaving NJPW. It's unknown what role he'd be in, but I'd think being on commentary would be a possibility.

Ricochet has been in negotiations with Impact Wrestling. He's free to wrestle there, WWE, etc. come January, so I expect we'll be hearing more stories like this going forward. I wonder if Impact would be able/willing to offer as much as other companies would.

Sami Callihan is likely joining Impact in Ottawa, teaming with oVe. That'd be good to help them battle the many members of LAX. We didn't get to see him go very far in NXT.

Reno SCUM being released was a cost-cutting move. I expect there will be more names not used going forward, whether or not they're officially released. Some wrestlers disappeared after working shows earlier in the year.

Impact released an uncut version of the Bound For Glory pre-show. It will be interesting to see how John Gaburick and company execute matches that were booked under the Jeff Jarrett regime.

Raw's siege angle was filmed before Raw, and deliberately made to look as physical as possible. They succeeded!

The Four Horsemen of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and Barry Windham, alongside JJ Dillon will be part of a convention in Philadelphia during Royal Rumble weekend.

WWE made wrestling versions of famous horror movie posters. I liked the Doink one. I almost wish they'd do an "It" angle for Halloween.

Diamond Dallas Page talked about growing up with dyslexia and ADHD. That had to have been really tough.

Booker T. discussed the unique aspects of WarGames. Booker will be part of Takeover in Houston.

The Shield will be on "Table for 3" after Raw. This was taped before their on-screen reunion.

Big Show will be featured on WWE Network's "Flashback Friday" this coming week. There will be Halloween-related content in the days before that.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will defend the Raw tag team championship across the UK tour. It's unknown how a loss would affect the scheduled Survivor Series match against the Usos, but that's probably a moot point.

At ROH's event in Michigan:
- A scheduled match between Ryan Nova vs. J Rocc turned into a handicap match as Jay Briscoe interrupted and challenged both men. Jay was disqualified after using a chair.

- Cody vs. Christopher Daniels ended in a 15-minute time limit draw. Cody asked for another five minutes, but Daniels didn't agree to it. Neither man advanced in the Soaring Eagle Cup tournament.

- After the match, Cody shouted out his in-laws being in the crowd. He let his niece-in-law pin him in the ring.

- Silas Young defeated Cheeseburger to become the fourth person in the main event.

- Nick Jackson teamed with Hangman Page in a tag team title match with MCMG and The Dawgs were the Guns retained their titles. Matt was not on the show.

- Dalton Castle won the Soaring Eagle cup by eliminating Silas Young, Frankie Kazarian, and Matt Taven by himself. That's a good move to build him for challenging Cody for the world title.

- Notably, Bully Ray was not part of the show after being advertised for the event. It will be an interesting two months or so regarding his retirement teases.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's still wild we're getting Starrcade, Clash of Champions, and WarGames from WWE in 2017 after seeing Goldberg as Universal Champion earlier in the year. I don't think anyone would have called that ten years or so ago.

2. For Jinder to pull another ace out of his sleeve and keep the title. It was just a one-time surprise, which is probably preferable to seeing Khali actually work any matches in his condition.

3 and 4. It's worth noting they have very different medical histories. After all the mainstream attention for Bryan's retirement from concussions, WWE doesn't want to risk him getting another major injury. Especially while they're still involved in the big CTE lawsuit.

5. Hogan vs. Andre from Wrestlemania III was the first one that came to mind, but Bruno Sammartino losing the WWWF Championship would be a pretty big moment to witness live, too.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Cena one man show, more on Flair doc screening, NHL team's WWE Night shirt, Interviews with Brie/Slater/Charlotte/Enzo, more World Class, Regal booked for EVOLE show, Jeff Hardy launching online gallery, more on Raw's 25th anniversary, HHH in the ring in the UK, Omega booked for ROH show, NWA eyes former Impact HQ, BFG air date note, WCW name promotes WWE Starrcade, Dijak-NXT note, Impact audience, team departs Impact, and Questions on Taker staying in character, Taryn leaving Impact, and NXT talent not moving up

John Cena will have a live one man show in the UK on December 4. I wonder what current WWE names will reach that level of mainstream appeal.

The Undertaker was present at the preview screening for ESPN's Ric Flair documentary. Good to see him attend a public event out of character.

- The preview screening had a special Snapchat filter of Flair. That's pretty cool.

The New Jersey Devils showcased their special "WWE Night" shirt. That's really cool!

Brie Bella discussed progress toward returning to the ring. I'd much rather see Mia Yim or some of the other MYC names, but being reality show stars still takes precedence.

World Class Championship Wrestling TV episodes from 1988 have been added to WWE Network's vault section. It looks like they'll do Mid-Atlantic footage after that wraps up.

William Regal will be at EVOLVE's December 9 event. So, WWE is very much still tied to them despite being invested in Floslam.

Jeff Hardy will launch an online art gallery on Halloween. This is how he's keeping busy while out recovering. It's got to be tough being on the shelf that long.

Raw's 25th anniversary will feature legends making appearances. That's generally fun. There are also plans for a book chronicling the show's history, due to be released in May 2018. Having a weekly national TV show has absolutely changed the game for WWE, and for wrestling as a whole.

Heath Slater discussed his new wrestling school, career memories, and more. He has been involved in some of the most entertaining angles of the last few years.

Triple H will compete on WWE's UK tour from November 1 through November 5. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he ended up working Survivor Series - those matches would be a good warmup for the event.

Charlotte Flair was on Lilian Garcia's podcast, discussing her dad's health and more.

Kenny Omega will work the first night of Survival of the Fittest. He's one of the most over wrestlers in the world. ROH is lucky to get to use him.

NWA teased moving into Impact's former office space in Nashville. That's pretty brutal! Impact split from the NWA in 2007.

Bound For Glory will air on Spike in the UK on November 6. These upcoming shows will be a big step in the company's next direction.

Tony Schiavone promoted WWE's Starrcade event. That's clever.

Enzo Amore talked about his locker room heat on TMZ Sports. I love him going clubbing with the title. Wrestling needs more personalities.

Dijak is being referred to as Christopher Dijak in NXT for the time being. That may or may not stick.

Impact Wrestling drew 231,000 viewers Thursday night. Other than clip shows, holiday episodes, and technical issues, that's the second-lowest audience they've gotten in more than a decade. The only show that did worse had a replay later in the night that led to a combined audience of 280,000.

Reno SCUM is no longer part of Impact Wrestling. The team is back in action after Adam's history, but won't be returning to that company. They were initially brought in by Jeff Jarrett. 

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That would be REALLY funny. I think he's moved past feeling the need to protect his character as he focuses on being a dad and a husband instead of a wrestler.

2. I'm under the impression her arrest from 2010 might have prevented her from being able to go to Canada. I always expected this to be a temporary return to work with her retiring rival; I don't think we'll see her wrestle anywhere else unless it's a really special occasion.

3. NXT is a full-time touring brand, and they need some pretty full rosters to keep that going. Sometimes talents are called up because they've done all they can do in NXT, and other times it's because there's an idea ready for them. And it's MUCH easier to have that many ideas for that many wrestlers in theory than in practice. Anyone debuting/returning has to be fit into the rest of WWE's ongoing stories, etc. Raw and Smackdown are already pretty stacked. In order to get regular screen time, WWE has to think the new talent would make better use of it than someone currently there.

Nothing to add to 4.

5. It's a website and an app.

More wrestling tomorrow.

New lucha promotion plans pilot, more on Taryn leaving Impact, Impact slashing prices for Ottawa shows, Horsewomen match update, French-language wrestling on air in Quebec, gimmick match gets official play set, Raw approaching major milestone, Interviews with Bully/Flip/Natalya/Charlotte, NXT Loud for Houston, WWE Christmas toys available, upcoming WWE cards, new Table For 3 coming, light weekend for WWE, Bar promote soccer, former WWE name gets new merch, and Questions on Enzo and champion, Bully retiring, and Sabu's status

Aroluxe Marketing's new lucha promotion is set to tape a pilot between December 9 and December 11 in Tennessee. The goal is for this to be a backup plan for Lucha Underground talents should LU not bring them back for a fourth season. It seems a little early to consider LU a done deal, but I understand them wanting to capitalize on the idea if that project doesn't continue.

Taryn Terrell's Impact departure is said to have been amicable. She was unable to get cleared to work in Canada, so the company couldn't use her for their upcoming tapings. So, Gail will retire without having a last match with one of her greatest rivals.

Impact is offering deep discounts for tickets to its Ottawa TV tapings. Drawing crowds for six straight nights is going to be hard for anyone, but it's particularly difficult when a promotion has as little buzz as Impact does right now. They've got a real uphill battle ahead of them moving forward.

WWE's "Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen" match has been pushed back to Wrestlemania in order for the MMA competitors to continue training. That's a smart move.

Raw now has a one-hour French-language version available on Quebecois TV. ROH matches are part of a monthly French-language TV show there, as well.

Toys 'R' Us will begin selling an Ambrose Asylum match set soon. So, that concept could return at some point. 

Raw will have a 25th anniversary episode in New York on January 22. It will be interesting to see what they do to celebrate that occasion. There will also be a DVD set to commemorate 25 years of Raw. 

Bully Ray talked about retiring while in Connecticut. It's worth noting he's advertised for a lot of ROH shows going forward, so we'll see how things go. One theory is he'll do one last big match at Final Battle and make appearances on the road in the meantime before moving to primarily doing behind-the-scenes work.

Flip Gordon was profiled before ROH's show this weekend. I'm glad to see him get press.

Triple H revealed the theme songs for the next Takeover special.

WWEShop has a lot of Christmas-related merchandise on sale.

Topps released a list of upcoming WWE cards.

A new "Table for 3" will debut after Raw. This could be the delayed episode with Ric Flair, Sting, and Ricky Steamboat.

WWE posted a video of Dusty Rhodes discussing creating the WarGames match.

Natalya promoted the return of "Total Divas" and its new cast members. I hope Raw and Smackdown storylines don't have to play off that show as much as they used to.

An undefeated boxer tried out for WWE. That could be a pretty interesting undertaking.

Charlotte promoted the upcoming "30 for 30" special on SportsCenter.

There will be no Raw or Smackdown live events this weekend as those brands prepare for a long overseas tour.

Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo put over The Bar. Way to be heels!

WWEShop is now selling Eva Marie fashion dolls by Mattel, among others. Those were obviously planned/made before Eva left WWE, although she'll still get royalties from their sale.

 

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1 or 5. 

2. Because Enzo is OVER. Fans are much more interested in his antics than those other wrestlers having more technically sound matches - viewership for 205 Live is up with The Certified G as champion and he actually sells merch. They needed to do something to boost the audience for the division, so they put a more charismatic personality in the mix.

3. He's not retiring just yet. It could be a case of him gutting it out in order to have one last clash at Final Battle. ROH doesn't have the kind of testing WWE does; they're willing to let him keep working if he's willing to continue getting in the ring. I guess they trust him to be fairly careful as far as his health goes.

4. He just had a stint in the UK. He's very much still taking bumps.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Impact Wrestling Reax - 10/26/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling.

WWE Q3 2017 Earnings Reax

Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's big earnings release.

Davey Boy Jr. press, Mania's value, new WWE jackets, Interviews with Cornette/Miz, former WWE star discusses addiction recovery, more on Jarrett's future, Neville update, another potential Network show, assorted WWE press, more on Impact in Canada, Gail's next steps, Smackdown audience, and Questions on Kane's return, Y2J booking an ROH event, selling WWE, and Impact attendance

Davey Boy Smith, Jr.'s rescue in Canada was picked up by People Magazine, Fox Sports, and Rolling Stone, among other outlets.

Forbes put over Wrestlemania's brand value. It's always a giant weekend.

WWE is selling Chalkline jackets for The Undertaker, The Rock, nWo Wolfpac, DX, and ice cream bard. They're constantly coming up with new ideas.

Jim Cornette is on the most recent "Talk is Jericho," talking OVW, SMW, and more.

The Miz put over his daughter on TMZ Sports. I'd like to see him become as big of a star as Cena; he's got the potential crossover appeal.

Former WWE Divas' Champion Kaitlyn disclosed a long battle with alcoholism. I'm glad she has improved her health and life since those days, and I hope the continues.

Jeff Jarrett briefly commented on his Impact departure. I don't expect him to get out of the business anytime soon, but that doesn't expect him to go back to promoting.

Neville is no longer part of the "205 Live" opening, further suggesting we won't be seeing him back there. He has not been released as of this writing.

WWE is considering a "Where Are They Now" program for the WWE Network. That could be a lot of fun.

Natalya and Becky Lynch did promotion in New York City recently.

Charlotte attended a screening of Ric Flair's "30 for 30" special in New York City.

Impact will likely use Canadian talent as referees and extras for their upcoming tapings in order to cut back on costs.

The NWA is expected to continue to create digital content to try to build a following as they continue the new era of ownership. I definitely don't expect any shows until 2018 outside of CWFH.

Sports Illustrated is reporting Nia Jax took time off from WWE because she's unhappy with her creative direction, specifically plans to lose to Sasha Banks at TLC. We'll see if her booking is any different when she returns; it definitely doesn't look like she's totally gone from the company.There's an opportunity to have her feud with Alexa, but Raw really needs some heels for Asuka to face and Asuka has history with Nia.

Gail Kim is expected to take a behind-the-scenes role in Impact after retiring. I think that's a good use for her given how long she's worked for the company.

Smackdown drew 2.70 million viewers Tuesday, a jump of more than 350,000 viewers from the previous week. So, there's some pretty good interest in the Survivor Series build. It would definitely help the show to have some of the important Raw players around; Raw has definitely gotten more from Smackdown talents than vice versa.

Jeff Jarrett has entered an in-patient rehabilitation facility. I'm glad he's getting help for his issues, and I hope he's able to rebound once he recovers.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I wouldn't be surprised to see him wrap things up with Braun at Survivor Series or the night after.

2. Jacobs was hired as a WWE writer, so he was on a tighter leash than a superstar would be. And Jericho can do pretty much whatever he wants! He's not under contract to any wrestling company.

3. TLC set up Braun vs. Kane, where Braun will almost certainly lay waste to the possible next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. If he "retires" someone with as much history as Kane, I'd say that's a pretty big moment. As for the booking before that, Kane wasn't helping Braun so much as helping Miz by joining the anti-Shield alliance and surprising Roman for a two-on-one attack in the process! Braun didn't necessarily "need" help to beat Roman.

4. I think a lot of it will come down to whether the McMahons can retain control of things. All of this is hypothetical until/unless someone comes along with that level of money, anyway. I wouldn't assume anyone's thinking of doing that right now.

5. They don't usually draw well for their ONO shows as it is. That show in particular was announced as an Impact show at pretty much the last minute, so I don't think it's fair to use it as a barometer for Impact's drawing power. A better test will be the upcoming TV tapings.

More wrestling tomorrow.

NXT and ROH Reax - 10/25/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT and ROH.

Raw angle fallout, new WWE European TV deal, ROH taping set, Flair doc set for ESPN, Impact name on CBS show, Interviews with Charlotte/Alexa/AJ Lee, more on Miz reality show, new WWE trademark, WWE lawsuit note, next month's Network collections, WWE considering next set of vintage content, Owens family update, Smackdown match pushed back, Raw audience, and Questions on the brand split, WWE doing seasons, WWE's use of The Club, the Network affecting the ratings, and getting fans to cheer Roman

Sami Zayn explained why he didn't take part in Smackdown's "siege" of Raw. I like it.

WWE announced a multi-year TV contract in Portugal, which will include Portuguese commentary in the market for full and abridged versions of Raw and Smackdown starting next week. WWE's international TV deals are important drivers of revenue.

ROH will return to Philadelphia on December 16 for the post-Final Battle TV taping. I'm interested to see what big events go down that weekend.

ESPN's Ric Flair documentary will air November 7. That should be wild.

KM will be on CBS sitcom "Kevin Can Wait" next week. That's pretty big exposure for him.

Charlotte Flair was on Lilian Garcia's podcast, discussing previous relationships and more. I'm glad she's in a good place now and has become successful.

Alexa Bliss promoted joining "Total Divas." I'm glad she's using her stage to be a role model for such a serious issue.

The Miz and Maryse's proposed WWE reality show is currently called "The It Couple" and will include Ryan Cabrera. That could be pretty cool.

WWE has trademarked the term "Immune to Fear," presumably for Jeff Hardy merchandise.

Raven has been deposed in the ongoing lawsuit against WWE for royalties. 

WWE Network's collections for November will feature Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (of course), AJ Styles, and Ric Flair.

WWE is considering a Mid-Atlantic TV section to the vault as they continue to go through their archives. 

Kevin Owens' wife thanked fans for their recent support. I hope everything is resolved now.

Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler was originally set for this week's Smackdown, but the match was pushed back to next week in a two-out-of-three falls encounter. That could get plenty of time next week.

Raw drew 2.95 million viewers Monday night, so they got a pretty good boost after TLC.

Dolph Ziggler fired back at "experts" complaining about the siege angle on Raw. Even though Dolph and Bobby aren't friends, they were willing to stay out of each other's way in order to get the jump on Raw. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is literally thousands of years old, but some people will do anything to try to look smarter than Vince.

AJ Lee talked about leaving WWE, bipolar disorder, and more. It's a shame she's no longer part of wrestling, although I definitely see why she isn't.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Uggggggghhhhhhhhhhh. Just because one side wants to beat the other, that doesn't mean they're not going to have any business relationship. Maybe Smackdown pays Raw for air time/promotion and vice versa? And they are both in the same company, so it makes sense that just because one side wants to succeed, they want the other show to succeed, too (just not as much as their own show, of course). As for AJ appearing on Raw, Kurt worked something out with Shane. Maybe he paid Shane a ton of money to get AJ to appear or something? Sheesh. They shouldn't have to spell every little thing out for fans.

2. No way would they take breaks like other shows do. That would mean a lot of lost revenue. I suppose they do have "seasons" in a sense with big shows like Mania being the season finale, but I don't see them going the part-time schedule route unless they get a better offer to do that than to go every week, which seems like an unlikely option.

3. It wouldn't shock me if Karl and Luke came up with some of that stuff themselves. A lot of their success in NJPW was due to being two big American-style workers. That was unique there, but is cliche in WWE. They're not big enough to be at the Kane or Braun level, and they don't otherwise stand out enough to be invaluable players. Furthermore, a Club of two people just doesn't work. If they were being led by AJ or Finn or someone, they might be able to make something happen, but I definitely don't think WWE is missing the boat on them.

4. Umm, fans weren't watching highlights on YouTube 15 years ago because there wasn't YouTube 15 years ago. There's access to so much more content than there was in the VHS/DVD days. If you wanted to watch Japanese wrestling in 1999, you needed a friend with access to tapes of the events in question. In 2017, you can watch it live online. I absolutely think being able to watch thousands of hours of other footage on WWE Network hurts getting people to sit and watch a three-hour episode of Raw they can keep track of on Twitter.

5. People who are booing Roman are going to boo him as long as he's "Vince's guy," because even though they're at a WWE event watching WWE superstars, they're way too cool to actually LIKE WWE.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 10/24/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.

More on Angle-TLC, Nia update, Regal gives advice, WWE live event note, special TLC merchandise, former AWA tag champion passes, Impact splits from Jarrett/GFW, NJPW name saves woman's life, Flair booked for indie show, Interviews with JR/DeMott, Jarrett misses advertised event, AJ on TLC "Too Sweet," BFG staff changes, WWE celebrating Halloween, WWE investing in eSports company, Survivor Series special ref?, another Survivor Series match brewing, Bischoff working with WWE, Bruno staying in PA, and Questions on Veda-WWE, Bullet Club bloat, Jose's ring work, and Neville breaching contract

Daniel Bryan tweeted about Kurt Angle returning to the ring. One would think there's a slight chance they'd clear Bryan if a similar situation arises in the future, but it's definitely not a guarantee. They'd have to be really backed into a corner.

- Angle returning to the ring was a Vince McMahon idea. Angle passed a physical before being announced for the show.

- There are currently no further plans for Angle to compete. I expect that will change as we approach Wrestlemania.

Nia Jax returned to Twitter during TLC, seemingly suggesting she's getting ready to get back into things.

William Regal gave some advice to wrestlers after the conclusion of AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3. Regal is wise; I'm glad he's in the spot he's in.

Smackdown didn't have a live event Monday due to traveling back to the U.S. from South America. That definitely helped the siege angle on Raw, which I expect we'll be a one-time thing as live events resume.

Kevin Owens currently doesn't have a set date to return to the road due to his undisclosed family matter. Hopefully all becomes well with them shortly.

TLC ringside seats had commemorative chairs featuring The Shield. I'm curious when the actual reunion will be; it would be odd if it took place off-air at a live event.

Former AWA World Tag Team Champion Krusher Kowalski passed away at age 91. Local Minnesota news outlets KARE-TV and KTSP-TV remembered him, and PWInsider ran down his career.

Impact Wrestling has officially severed ties with Jeff Jarrett and GFW. It will be interesting to see what the fallout from that will be given the personnel and talent Jarrett brought to the company. Hopefully people like Dutch Mantell and Scott D'Amore continue at Impact, as I don't expect a GFW relaunch to succeed. 

- Impact will air the final installment of the GFW PPV series as scheduled. I assume they'd be in breach of contract if they initially agreed to air four PPVs and only aired three. Plus, they already built their taping schedule around having those shows for One Night Only events. 

- There is no update on Karen Jarrett's status at this time. I think Impact will pretty much try to quietly move on to the hype for their shows in Ottawa rather than discuss the Jarrett situation any further.

Davey Boy Smith, Jr. prevented a woman from jumping off a bridge in Alberta. I hope she gets help. 

Ric Flair will be at a House of Glory event on December 16 in New York. I'm very glad he's able to be back in the public eye.

Jim Ross discussed getting back to work after his wife's passing. That's got to be really tough to get through; no one would fault him for taking time off.

Bill DeMott discussed his foundation to combat drunk driving. It's terrible he lost his 20-year-old daughter that way. I applaud his efforts. 

Jeff Jarrett worked one of two scheduled dates for a Canadian indie promotion this weekend before leaving the country. I hope whatever is going on with Jeff is resolved soon, for everyone's personal and professional sakes.

AJ Styles discussed doing the "Too Sweet" gesture with Finn Balor at TLC. I definitely didn't think it was something WWE management told them to do, but I can see how people would think it was a response to the issue with the Young Bucks.

Impact is expected to use Ottawa-era staff for their upcoming tapings, as their usual ring announcer will not be working those shows. That's interesting. That does save Impact from having to pay for flights for some talents. I'm curious how that will play out if/when there are TV tapings in other locations.

WWE's mobile games are getting a zombie-themed update for Halloween. The zombie thing is getting really played out, but I like them getting festive.

WWE Network has more Halloween-themed clips in their collection of short videos. I'm curious if they'll do anything special for Halloween week episodes given the build to Survivor Series.

WWE is part of a group of investors funding an eSports organization. Interesting they're willing to spend a big chunk of money on that kind of thing, but maybe they're going to surprise us with some really good numbers on the next earnings conference call.

John Cena could be the special referee for Brock Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal. That makes sense with his "free agent" status, and could set up an "out" to either man jobbing clean.

Alicia Fox wasn't originally in the match to determine the captain of Raw's Survivor Series team. Her involvement was a fresh and interesting wrinkle to things. 

Kane vs. Braun Strowman is expected at Survivor Series, as was advanced on Raw. I look forward to that; it could easily be Kane's last big match. Braun was backstage at Raw, but kept off the air to sell what happened at TLC.

Eric Bischoff was recently in New York for a WWE-related project. Part of me wouldn't mind him returning in an on-screen role, but it has been 16 years since WCW closed down.

Bruno Sammartino will no longer be doing appearances outside of Pittsburgh, as he wants to spend more time with his family. I don't blame him after spending decades in the public eye.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. There was/is an obvious role for her working with Cedric Alexander again. The fact WWE hasn't used her for anything yet, including the MYC, is pretty telling, because she's been a free agent for some time now. I do think she'd be a good interviewer for them, but I think she might want to continue as a wrestler for the time being.

2. I definitely think they've hit a point where they're more or less coasting. Like their predecessors, they went from being anti-establishment to being the establishment. That said, they keep selling a lot of merchandise and drawing crowds, so I don't think it's time to end them anytime soon.

3. It's really unfortunate that has to be a concern. I'd definitely echo the "stay in groups"/"stick to the main attractions" advice.

4. I like him! I don't expect him to be a top guy, but I could see him doing alright on the main roster in his niche.

5. I know they kept Punk under contract so they could keep selling his merchandise and so he couldn't wrestle elsewhere. I could see them doing something similar with Neville if they think he'll leave and be a draw elsewhere. WWE can be petty and vengeful at times; they like their talent to mostly stay in line and do what they're told.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 10/23/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.

NXT live event notes, Miz has famous guests, Impact ONO notes, Abyss update, Interview with Sienna, NWA title match set, TLC hype, wrestling guests on local show, BFG press conference footage, how HHH did in Chile, and Questions on Russo's booking, AJ's last-minute switch, talents leaving WWE, and a comedy title in WWE

At an NXT live event in Florida:
- China's Ming lost to Angelo Dawkins. Ming had Kona Reeves in his corner.
- Eric Bugenhagen lost to Lars Sullivan
- China's Cheng Yuxiang teamed with Brennan Williams in a loss to Heavy Machinery
- Tian Bing beat Sawyer Fulton.
- Dijak (going by just his last name) defeated China's Big Boa.
-- So, some newer WWEPC recruits are getting work.

Avril Lavigne and Ryan Cabrera attended a party dressed as Maryse and The Miz, the party's hosts. That's AWESOME.

Impact Wrestling's One Night Only event from this weekend will air in January. That makes sense with BFG in November and the final Amped! collection airing in December. The event was said to have fewer than 200 fans, which is obviously not great. The event did become an Impact event pretty late in the promotional process, and wasn't heavily promoted (if at all) from Impact itself, so I can't say that's a big surprise. One Night Only shows in general don't draw well.

- Ethan Carter III was advertised for the event, but was not there. No word on what happened there.

Abyss missed some appearances this weekend due to a minor injury. He's still set for Bound For Glory.

Impact will tape another One Night Only show with WrestlePro in New Jersey on December 9. I think that would air in February.

Sienna was interviewed. She's really benefited from exposure in Impact.

NWA World Champion Tim Storm will face Nick Aldis (formerly Magnus) sometime in the near future, likely on Championship Wrestling From Hollywood's TV show. That promotion will be the centerpiece of things for the time being, but there are plans for NWA shows in spring 2018.

The Bar and Curtis Axel were honored at the NFL's Minnesota game before TLC. Axel's family has a big history there.

Ted DiBiase, Sr., Kevin Nash, and Mike Mondo were on a wrestling edition of a Michigan-era CW Network show this weekend. That's pretty cool.

Impact released video of its BFG press conference in Ottawa. I hope it's a big week of events for the company.

Triple H defeated Rusev in Chile. New Day celebrated with The Game after the match before Kofi took a Pedigree. So, I guess he was initially a face but kept his "edge" in the post-match. I assume he'll return to TV as a heel, but we'll see.

NXT had technical issues with sound at a live event in Tennessee. It was seemingly a problem in the venue itself.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WELL BRO, Vince Russo did an absurd number of pole matches (including "Viagra on a pole" and "Judy Bagwell on a pole"), lots of sudden turns and short title reigns, tons of bloated faction warfare, made a character just to mock JR, had characters make references to "not following the script," and generally turned the show into some kind of wacky soap opera. I personally love a good trainwreck here and there, but a lot of wrestling fans hate his guts for not taking smaller and international wrestlers seriously, etc. As for him becoming world champion, it was presented as a fluke and he only held the title for a week. It wasn't like he made Goldberg job to him clean or anything.

2. I do assume he'd be paid differently for TLC than the live event, but other than that, it's pretty much in the job description that he'll sometimes be needed in last-minute changes.

3. Mostly it's in the job description. WWE had a pretty serious situation pop up, and he was called upon to help out.

4. Oh yeah, every other week someone "is frustrated with Creative" or "has heat" or something. Things are often blown out of proportion. I think it would mean a boost for a lot of indies to have certain names, but most indies don't have nearly the promotional reach to take full advantage of the acquisitions. And, really, a lot of the diehard fans who would follow someone like Neville to the indie scene are probably already going to those shows and paying a lot for tickets.

5. As much as I love wacky things like that, I don't think most WWE fans would want to see it. Things like Heath Slater vs. the legends and Curt Hawkins' "streak" have their place, but probably not as a full-time thing.

More wrestling tomorrow.

WWE TLC Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw-brand WWE Network special event.

Main Event Reax - 10/21/17, TLC hype, Rock honored, Interviews with Alexa/Emma, DDP set for Syfy show, Owens update, WWE Network thinkpiece, HHH replacing AJ, and Questions on Nia's absence, changing the TLC card, Kane's return, WWE buying another touring group, and a Sami DVD

-- Main Event:
- Rhyno vs. Wilder:
Nice start.

I'm liking how these two work together.

I'm a little surprised Wilder's got the advantage gere.

The Revival could probably make good faces as talented as they are.

Nice Gore tease.

Pretty good ending!

- Gulak vs. Mustafa: 
I like Drew's technique.

Nice matwork here.

Wow. Mustafa is NOT following the rules of Drewtopia!!

This is going well. They're telling a story with their distinct styles.

That was pretty cool! 

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose did a promo on teaming with Kurt Angle. It's going to be a historic night!

- Braun Strowman and The Bar also weighed in.

The Rock got his own day in Vancouver. That's amazing.

- Rusev fired back. I love it.

Alexa Bliss talked to the New York Post:
- She has totally eclipsed Blake and Murphy. They're long gone from NXT TV while she's holding titles all over the place.

- Alexa has a great story and really puts a lot into her work.

- That's a really harrowing story of battling anorexia.

- Alexa and Nia are a blast together.

Diamond Dallas Page will be on SyFy's "Superstition" sometime this season.

Emma promoted TLC in Australia. I'm glad she can be a good ambassador for that market.

Kevin Owens commented on taking time off the road. I wish him and his family well.

The Motley Fool discussed the WWE Network's progress. WWE absolutely needs to keep making big money deals for Raw and Smackdown in the years to come.

Triple H joined Smackdown's tour of South America with Kevin Owens out and AJ Styles working TLC. 

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm going to take Alexa at her word for now and chalk it up to Nia just needing a break from the grind of WWE.

2. I would have just plugged Balor into the main event and added some undercard matches, but WWE clearly wanted to get last-minute buzz for the show by pulling out all the stops.

3. I also think Kane's return was an homage to The Shield's first TLC and potentially a way to get the audience up. I'd be surprised if he just came in for a week to do the job; that'd be a waste of someone with only so many matches left in him.

4. I think they'd rather keep expanding what they do now than buy someone else's very different assets, especially with the budget crunch they have right now.

5. I'm sure we'll get one at some point. Owens has had more big moments than Sami so far.

More wrestling tomorrow.

WWE TLC preview

Read on for my ideas for booking tonight's Raw-brand WWE Network special event.

Interviews with Goldust/Sasha/Foley/JR, Jimmy Jacobs post-WWE plans, Knockout leaves Impact, BFG pre-show coming, WWN streaming plans, NWA promotes World Title, African legend arrested, more on Tribute 2017 plans, top name pulled from international tour, Survivor Series theme, WWE reality show plans, Angle working TLC as top names pulled due to viral infection, and Questions on Paige's WWE status, a possible WWE UK show, and NWA's title plans

Goldust was on the most recent Edge & Christian podcast. He's had some incredible longevity. I hope other talents are taking note of his workout ability.

Sasha Banks promoted TLC. Obviously everyone wants to be in the top match of their division, but with so many talented performers and so few spots, someone's got to be lower on the card at times.

Jimmy Jacobs is returning to the ring with the nickname Unprofessional. Clever. He's already booked for CZW on November 11 and Beyond Wrestling on November 12. ROH having him return to the ring at Final Battle would be a good move.

Taryn Terrell is no longer part of the lineup for Bound For Glory. Now Sienna will defend against Sienna and Allie in a triple threat match. That's a big loss. I was looking forward to one last big match from Taryn after her recent return.

- Impact would go on to confirm Terrell's departure from the company as she pursues other career options. I was hoping she could finish things up in Ottawa, but she clearly has other plans. I wish her well in whatever she does next.

Impact recently filmed a pre-show for BFG that will air on Fight Network as well as the Global Wrestling Network app. That's one benefit of filming things so far in advance.

WWN returned to streaming its events on the Fite App with SHINE 46. They will continue to stream their other events there as well as WWNLive.com following the end of the Floslam agreement.

- WWN hasn't formally responded to Floslam's lawsuit, as Floslam hasn't officially filed it. Some are speculating the lawsuit is just an excuse to shut the business down and sever all agreements on the failed venture.

NWA has released the first episode of a series promoting the NWA Championship and some of the top performers in the promotion. This was produced by Billy Corgan and directed by David Lagana as they start their reign in charge of the brand.

African wrestling legend Power Uti has been arrested in connection to the death of his wife. That's really sad news.

Tribute to the Troops 2017 will be taped on December 5 before Smackdown, then aired on December 14. I assume doing it this way instead of a separate event is a cost-cutting measure.

Kevin Owens has been pulled from Smackdown's international tour for unspecified personal reasons. I hope those get taken care of. Owens is one heck of a hardworking talent.  

Survivor Series will focus on Raw vs. Smackdown. Bleh. That does give everyone some fresh opponents, though.

Mick Foley discussed his relationship with Vince McMahon. It's been a rocky road at times.

WWE is considering a series based on The Miz and Maryse along with their friends. They're perfect for something like that.

- WWE is also considering something along the lines of some previous "Tough Enough" seasons and Diva Searches, a weekly series to seek out a new female star as all competitors travel together and have challenges and eliminations each week. So, kind of like the third season of the original NXT.

Kurt Angle will return to action at TLC, replacing Roman Reigns in the main event due to a medical issue. That's an absolute out-of-nowhere surprise, and makes an important show even bigger.

- Bray Wyatt will also miss TLC due to a medical issue, a communicable disease of some sort. AJ Styles will replace him. So, instead of just putting Finn in Roman's place, WWE shuffled the deck with two really big guests. While I'm very excited for the replacements, I hope Roman and Bray recover soon.

- WWE confirmed the viral infection to ESPN. Talents are being tested and immunized to prevent further spread of it. I obviously hope all involved get better, but I can't help but think WWF circa 1999 would have blamed it all on The Godfather's hos.

- AJ Styles cut a promo on his new TLC match. It should be a great match. WWE's lucky they've got some great talent to pull from in an emergency like this.

Jim Ross promoted his autobiography on ESPN. He's gotten a lot of press and positive reviews for it.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The last word was there being an angle for her to return on Smackdown. WWE understandably wants her to be in as prepared as possible for the return. They really need to hit it out of the park to be able to combat the inevitable chants.

2. I'm interested to see how this all plays out.

Nothing to add to 3.

4. I'm sure WWE would rather have the series on UK TV, then ending up on the Network some time later as Raw and Smackdown do. I'm fine with them using UK talent here and there to promote the series, but they're definitely going to want to make the series the priority for those talents, as they'll all be based in the UK. I think the best route would be to have some special UK matches when the other brands in the UK, but otherwise primarily keeping things separate.

5. It will depend on what talents they have on-board. That's a lot of titles to have to figure into things. They might just start with the world title and grow things from there.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Kane return note, Joe update, AAA name quits, JR-AXS update, another Floslam partner dropped, LU talents planning their futures, Briscoe injury update, ROH Network in the works, Impact trying to revitalize relationships, more on Nia's absence, Brie return update, WWE seeking international star, more on new WWEPC signings, why Serena was at WWEPC, more promotions at WWN Mania weekend, Anthem head looking to expand GWN, musician at Impact studios, WWE name co-writes comic, more WWE nods in NFL+NHL, big NXT Title match set, another ROH tournament match set, top name booked for SCOH12, Interviews with JR/Dillon/Alexa, Sheamus workout channel coming, and Questions on the Jarretts, wrestling videos on YouTube, a female commentator, and Running Man

Kane's Raw return was hidden from almost everyone backstage. He was flown into a different airport and hid out of sight at the show. That was really well done.

Samoa Joe is ready to return. I could easily see him popping up before the end of the month to start an angle for Survivor Series.

AAA's Kevin Kross quit in the middle of a big push. Since he worked the original GFW, I'd think there's a decent chance of him going to Impact next.

Jim Ross is expected to return to AXS's NJPW show for another year. He was set to be part of WWE's UK show, but that hasn't gotten moving yet, so he's not really doing much work for them.

Floslam has dropped wXw as the service continues to implode. I hope promotions can get things going outside of that deal.

A lot of LU talents are wanting to work other promotions with the theory their contracts are no longer valid after not being paid since summer 2016. However, no promotions are willing to test that theory on a legal basis and are waiting for them to get official releases. Ricochet and Rey Mysterio will be free in January, but others are likely holding on to see if a fourth season is happening. We'll see where they end up if that doesn't come to pass.

Mark Briscoe is expected to miss the rest of 2017 after his dislocated elbow. Hopefully he bounces back strong for 2018.

ROH is looking to have a streaming service in early 2018. That could be a pretty good investment for them.

Impact is looking to repair relationships with various promotions, including ROH. That's great! It could really benefit a lot of companies to be on good terms.

Nia Jax asked for a leave of absence for personal reasons. She is still advertised for WWE's upcoming UK tour. I wish her well with whatever she's going through.

- Alexa Bliss commented on Nia taking some time off. I'm glad it doesn't look like she'll be leaving the company, as some were speculating.

Brie Bella is seeking a January return to the ring, so I assume she's going to have another Wrestlemania match. I just hope she and Nikki don't derail the other names looking to make names for themselves.

WWE is looking to have a South American star. That explains why Taynara Conti and Cezar Bononi have been on NXT TV lately.

Kavita Devi and Shadia Bseiso are expected to start at the WWE Performance Center in January. Considering both are moving from halfway around the world, I think it's fair to give them time to get acquainted to the U.S.

Serena Deeb was a guest coach at the WWEPC. So it doesn't look like they have plans for her to get back in the ring as a wrestler.

Beyond Wrestling, SHIMMER, Style Battle, and Kaiju Big Battel will also be part of WWN's Wrestlemania weekend events. I love them going from something as serious as Style Battle to people wrestling in monster suits.

Ed Nordholm was recently in Japan to try to get Pro Wrestling NOAH to be part of the Global Wrestling Network. Currently, no deal has been signed. It's a good idea to try to boost GWN with international partners' content.

Musician Kenny Rogers was at Impact's production studio earlier this week. Maybe he'll be doing something to promote BFG?

Samoa Joe co-wrote a future issue of WWE's comic book. That's pretty cool.

An NFL player will wear Undertaker-inspired cleats this weekend. That's really cool.

Drew McIntyre vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee is set for November 17, the night before the next Takeover special. That could have some pretty interesting implications for Takeover and the future of the brand.

Dalton Castle vs. Flip Gordon is set for ROH's Soaring Eagle Cup. It will be interesting to see how that tournament goes.

Kenny Omega has been announced for Supercard of Honor XII. ROH is going ALL OUT to make that the biggest night in company history.

Jim Ross shared quite a few stories on Colin Cowherd's show. There's only one JR; I'm glad to hear his book's selling so well.

J.J. Dillon discussed working with Vince McMahon on Ricky Morton's latest podcast. It's amazing Vince has been running WWE for generations now.

Alexa Bliss talked to NBC Sports. She has consistently been one of the most entertaining people on the roster. It's got to be tough switching from being Alexa to Lexi for "Total Divas."

NHL's Philadelphia Flyers awarded a replica Ric Flair robe to their game's MVP. That's AMAZING.

Sheamus is launching a workout channel on YouTube. That's pretty cool.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I suspect we'll know more as Impact's Ottawa tapings get closer. The last word, some time ago, was that Karen is still involved with things, but it's been such a long time since Impact taped anything that it's yet to be seen if she's going to remain as a character.

2. Some videos also make the source material smaller to trick the algorithm. People will do just about anything to watch something without paying for it/waiting for the original to be uploaded.

3. I expect we'll see that in the years to come as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon continue to push to use women more prominently. It will primarily come down to someone being able to do commentary as well as whatever male candidates there are for the position.

4. It was made specifically for that movie.

Nothing to add to 5.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Impact Wrestling Reax - 10/19/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling.

New WWE Funko figures, Interviews with Kalisto/Cornette, Show recovery update, Nia off WWE dates, more PWTees guests, JR signing dates, Smackdown audience, why Bo has missed shows, WWE MSG match set, and Questions on what to like in 2017 WWE, talents with heat, WWE TV profits, and the Bullet Club invasion of Raw

Funko is making more WWE superstar Pop figures. Those are pretty cool.

Kalisto discussed becoming cruiserweight champion. Where were Enzo's interviews?? Kalisto has worked really hard to get where he is, though.

Big Show checked in on his post-surgery rehabilitation. I'm glad he's doing well; I hope he's able to have a fulfilling road ahead in and out of the ring.

Jim Cornette discussed accidentally exposing himself during a recent convention appearance when doing a spot to pretend he was urinating on a picture of Vince Russo. I'm not shocked in the least that incident got very little coverage from Jim's friends in wrestling journalism. His antics are often glossed over if not outright promoted by the wrestling media. Had someone like Vince Russo or Eric Bischoff done something like that, it would be a top talking point for days.

Nia Jax was not at this week's Raw after being initially scheduled to be at the taping. It's likely she would have been set up to face Sasha Banks at TLC had she been part of Monday's taping. Jax will also not be filming material for "Total Divas" this week as originally scheduled. This has led to speculation of her leaving WWE, but she is currently still under contract to the company. I hope Nia has a good career ahead of her; she's definitely an asset in the women's division.

The Faces of Fear will be at Pro Wrestling Tees' store on October 20, and Jim Ross will be at the store on October 25. PWT has really become a big deal.

Jim Ross will be on ESPN on October 20 to promote his autobiography. He will also be doing signings on:
- October 22 in Oklahoma
- October 24 and 25 in Illinois
- October 26 in Pennsylvania
- November 9 in Georgia
- November 17 in Texas
- November 29 in Louisiana
-- The book has already been pretty successful.

Smackdown drew 2.32 million viewers Tuesday night, a pretty sizeable drop against the MLB playoffs and NBA opening night.

Bo Dallas has been kept at home due to illness. Bray Wyatt and JoJo have also been kept home in case they've also been exposed, although of course Bray and "Abigail" have made appearances in pre-taped segments. Bray/Abigail is still scheduled to wrestle The Demon Finn Balor at TLC. I assume if WWE doesn't think Bray's OK, they'll just do some kind of crazy spectacle there.

The Shield vs. The Miz and The Bar is set for a Madison Square Garden event on December 26. So there at least tentative plans to keep the group together through the end of the year. I could see it being a case of them continuing to have singles careers while teaming up on certain events.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I mainly do this as a hobby to keep my writing skills sharp, and as a way to have a daily record of stories in a time when news stories move so fast. Outside of this, I'm an avid reader, generally of horror, science fiction, or fantasy.

2. I'm liking the Authors of Pain, SAnitY, Aleister Black, The Undisputed Era, The Fashion Files, Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, The Shield reunion, The Miz, The Usos, New Day, the team of Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, The Bludgeon Brothers, Enzo Amore, Drew Gulak, etc. So I'm not really having the same kind of issues. I don't get too upset about booking as long as I get to see the people I like do the things they're good at. Titles and "pushes" don't really matter to me in that regard.

3. I concur with the last part of the statement. Heat is either a wake up call or leads to a "future endeavors" post on WWE.com. Enzo and Corbin have both been moved down the card, but WWE realizes they still have value as performers, so they're not totally being thrown away. It's telling that even though Enzo has such a bad locker room reputation, he's being used to revitalize 205 Live. That's how bad the show's viewership is.

4. WWE makes hundreds and millions of dollars from their TV deals every year, and the profit is pretty good from that.

5. WWE didn't like having the tables turned on them like that! And the answer is always the paycheck and level of exposure you get in WWE, plus the prestige of being able to succeed at that stage.

More wrestling tomorrow.

NXT and ROH Reax - 10/18/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT and ROH.

WWE UK tour lineup notes, WWE names at music awards, Interviews with Cara/Y2J, more on Fox angle, new WWE merch, new Network content, HOH Twitch show lineups, why Omega didn't have his championship, Impact press, BFG to have guest commentators, Raw audience, Smackdown dark match, Miz promoting WM34, and Questions on the McMahons selling WWE, Raw and Smackdown on the Network, character stereotypes, and reforming WWE Creative

The Shield are advertised as teaming on WWE's UK tour beginning November 1. So, the group isn't just having a one-time reunion at TLC.

- WWE UK talents Pete Dunne, Wolfgang, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Jordan Devlin, Tucker,  Mark Andrews, Dan Moloney, Joseph Conners, Tyson T-Bone, and James Drake are all set for various stops on the tour.

Chris Jericho will host the Loudwire Music Awards on AXS TV on October 24, where Miz will also be appearing. I'm glad Jericho is able to be a success at something beyond wrestling.

Sin Cara discussed his heat with Chris Jericho and more:
- Eddie's influence still being felt with today's wrestlers is awesome.

- Sin Cara's got the right idea about doing whatever role the company asks of him.

- A lot of the resentment at Enzo is being who he is on-scren backstage, where it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. It could definitely get old.

- I assume Y2J and Sin Cara made up/things were blown out of proportion, because it's not like people just made up an incident between them.

- It will be kind of funny if he wrestles without a mask after the whole feud with the other Sin Cara.

Alicia Fox was "fined an undisclosed amount" for shoving a referee during her Raw angle with Sasha Banks. Clever.

WWE is selling "cloud pillow pals" of Big Cass, Enzo Amore, Finn Balor, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns. Interesting that Dean wasn't included with his Shield brethren.

WWE Network has added Halloween segments from a 1985 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event to the WWE Shorts Collection. I look forward to seeing Halloween Smackdown and 205 Live.

House of Hardcore's Twitch shows will feature Super Crazy, Little Guido, Shane Douglas, Joey Mercury, The (Spirit Squad), Magnus, Petey Williams, Billy Gunn, MVP, Austin Aries, Abyss, Candice Michelle, the former Victoria/Tara, Al Snow, Swoggle, and Carlito among others. So, HOH is able to use talents working for other promotions.

NJPW forgot to bring Kenny Omega's U.S. Championship to Global Wars, as they thought Omega had it in his own possession. The action more than made up for that gaffe.

Impact is holding a press conference/autograph signing at a pizza pub on October 20 to promote Bound For Glory. Impact is teaming with the location to do post-Impact parties following the upcoming TV tapings in Ottawa. I like that branding opportunity to push attention for Impact.

Bound For Glory will have a special commentary team, as Slammiversary did before it. That's a good move to make the show feel like a big deal. I wouldn't be surprised to see Scott D'Amore or another Canadian be part of calling the show that night.

Chris Jericho discussed a lot of wrestling topics on a metal music website. No word on when we'll see him in the ring again, but I'm sure it's something he's thinking about.

Raw's audience Monday was 2.69 million viewers, a weak number. I wonder if having Kane come back was part of a plan to boost the audience.

Before Smackdown, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, and Tye Dillinger defeated Mike Kanellis, Primo, and Epico. I can't say I'm itching for a Colons return. Maybe they'd do better in NXT?

The Miz will be the grand marshal of a New Orleans festival to promote WM34.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It'd all come down to letting the current leadership continue to do what they do now. Vince isn't the type to take orders from anyone else.

2. I don't see that being nearly as financially successful as the current arrangement. TV deals are still very profitable for WWE.

3. It's a fair criticism that there also need to be positive portrayals of people of different races that don't glorify illegal/immoral acts.

4.a. Writers are free to pitch "Attitude Era" style storylines, but it's often not what Vince wants for his product.

b. I don't think Heyman would want to be in that kind of role. He has other goals in his life right now.

c. Wrestlers are also free to make suggestions on their roles, especially at the NXT level.

d. While there should be some effort made to bring in former fans, I think it might be wiser to branch out to make new fans. The Attitude Era is long gone; they should focus on the iPhone generation instead of trying to capitalize a style that's time has passed.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 10/17/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.

HoFer gets documentary, WWE names at toy fair, Kofi changes his look, press for Lio in NXT, territory wrestler passes, Corgan discusses NWA, Impact PPV taping this weekend, wrestling couple on CNN show, WWE movie on HBO service, more on HOH-Twitch, Wellness Policy discussed, HoFer at Takeover, NJPW airs WWF match, Kane update, and Questions on who runs live events, WWE-Martha Hart, Bryan as a draw for ROH, and booking Jinder for Indian fans

A "Rowdy" Roddy Piper documentary has been released, with proceeds from purchases benefiting an Oregon children's hospital. I'm glad he's being honored in such a way.

Daniel Bryan and Big Show have been announced for a Q&A and signing to promote Mattel on November 5 for Play Fair 2017 in New York. I imagine both will discuss their post-WWE plans, as Show moves into acting and Bryan presumably prepares to give wrestling another shot in late 2018.

Kofi Kingston cut off his dreadlocks. I hope he doesn't regret that decision; it had to have taken a long time to get them that length.

Actress Danielle Fishel promoted Lio Rush's NXT TV debut. The two met at a PWG event. I hope they give Lio more seasoning before pushing him; he's still pretty young and new to wrestling.

- Triple H also welcomed Rush to NXT. I really hope Rush doesn't peak at 22 to become just another flippy guy.

Territory era wrestler Melvin Nelson passed away at the age of 80. PWInsider.com remembered his career. It's embarrassing a black talent was treated like that so recently.

Billy Corgan discussed the NWA on Howard Stern's show, stating the brand will start running shows by spring and that he intends to stay behind-the-scenes. I definitely think it makes sense for Corgan to use his name value to promote the brand and even appear live for shows. It's not going to be easy to jumpstart the company, and Corgan being part of events would absolutely spark interest that wouldn't otherwise be there.

Impact Wrestling is taping a co-branded One Night Only event with an Oklahoma indie promotion on October 21. I hope we see more of that kind of collaboration. It gets Impact talent more pay between tapings and could potentially lead to Impact expanding its roster to include names from the other promotion involved.

Adam Cole and Britt Baker will be on Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" next Sunday. That's pretty cool.

WWE Studios' "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" is now on HBO On Demand. That's good for that division of WWE. It's not a huge profit-maker for them, but it's not the money drop it used to be.

House of Hardcore's Twitch channel will debut its first show on November 18. HOH has signed a multiple-year deal with the streaming service.

WWE's Wellness Policy was discussed on a recent podcast, with a bodybuilder-turned-nutritionist discussing talents undergoing testosterone replacement. While WWE bans growth hormones, some talents have exceptions for medical conditions. WWE has definitely really cleaned up its act as far as steroids go.

Booker T. will be appearing as part of NXT's Takeover special in Houston. That makes perfect sense!

NJPW added a 1982 WWF match to their online service for free: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship from Madison Square Garden. NJPW has the rights to footage from when the two companies had a partnership, as odd as that might seem with WWE's cease and desist to the Bucks.

Kane is still running for mayor in Tennessee despite his Raw appearance. While he's back in action for the time being, he hasn't put his other aspirations on hold. And realistically, at 50, this is likely a last hurrah regardless of how he does as a politician.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Basically some of the people who help structure matches on Raw and Smackdown run live events. WWE can more or less run them on autopilot since there aren't any big angles to book or anything. As for the names mentioned, Stephanie's role is primarily on the branding end rather than Creative (her on-screen role notwithstanding), and Dunn is more about the aesthetics of how the show is shot than anything. Neither would really be needed at live events. 

2. Not great, and not from lack of effort. I understand why she feels the way she does, even all these years later. I just wish something could be worked out to honor the man she loves in a way that benefits everyone involved.

3. With the right hype and promotion, I don't think it'd be out of the question for them to draw their biggest crowd ever. Especially if it's a combined show with NJPW.

4. She's going to continue wrestling there for the time being, too.

5. I mean, he does put over being from India and hit title reign being for Indians, so he's a face to that market for those reasons. And really those fans are probably just happy to have the first Indian WWE Champion rather than complaining at how he's booked.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 10/16/17

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.

WWEPC signs international names, Interviews with Wolfgang/McIntyre, DDP self-help book coming, WWE celebration in NFL, and Question on WWE's cost-cutting

WWE has signed Indian wrestler Kavita Devi and the UAE's Shadia Bseiso in historic firsts for NXT recruits. Jinder Mahal made the announcement during a stop in India's capital. Both women will begin training at the WWE Performance Center in January. I hope each name is able to make her respective home country proud.

- Also during WWE's Indian promotional trip, Jinder Mahal met a local cricket star. The Indian shows will be big nights for the company.

Wolfgang discussed WWE's UK project and more. I hope we see more of key UK names going forward.

Diamond Dallas Page is releasing a nutrition/workout book in August 2018. Mick Foley has written a foreword to it. I'm sure that will be very helpful for a lot of people.

Drew McIntyre discussed his second chance in WWE. I really hope he becomes WWE and/or Universal Champion in the years to come; he's got the talent to do it.

An NFL player dropped the People's Elbow as part of a celebration, which Rock appreciated. Good times.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com question:
It's worth noting Taker is still under contract. He gets paid a large amount whether he wrestles one match a year or fifty. Triple H also has a big performer's contract for his occasional matches. Other than that, it really comes down to the company spending a LOT of money on a very large roster for their various brands and tournaments. Network subscriptions are not at the level WWE wants them to be for the sheer amount of expensive content they provide. So, despite record revenue, their profits are slumping. Vince isn't the one who greatly expanded developmental and pushed for all these big Network-exclusive events, so he can't be blamed for them not driving subscription numbers. As for what this all means, I'd be VERY surprised if Vince sold the company unless he got to retain as much control as he has right now. I think it's more the fact they realize they've spent a lot of money and not gotten the results they were hoping for.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Global Wars: Chicago Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's ROH/NJPW Internet special event.

Global Wars: Columbus Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's ROH/NJPW Internet special event.

Wrestling convention updates, women at WWEPC, Dolph appearance, Rey shouts out cruisers, more Sin Cara merch, big Takeover update, Flairs sign book, Bucks comment on Jacobs firing, WWE India main events set, another WWE Night, WWE PR note, Interview with Finn, Impact audience, Show update, WWE seeking hires, Raw live event note, and Questions on Bret as nWo's third man, WWE Sign Guy, and Jeff Hardy's recovery

Jeff Jarrett vs. Ryback will headline this year's WrestleCade. So, yes, Jarrett is still wrestling outside of Impact.

Madison Rayne will be at the WWE Performance Center this coming week, as the company has shown interest in her. She's not a bad choice, but there were some standouts in the Mae Young Classic they should have on the radar ahead of her. 

- Serena Deeb has also been at the WWEPC recently. So, I would think there's a possibility of her returning, too. It would make sense to have another veteran around.

WWE Network now has a collection featuring events uploaded in the last few weeks. Not a bad idea for people to keep track of what's being added.

Dolph Ziggler will be on the next edition of "Adam Ruins Everything." That's fitting, since Dolph has been ruining Smackdown lately.

Rey Mysterio put over a cruiserweight match main eventing Raw for the first time. It was a pretty big milestone for the division. 

Sin Cara's limited edition shirts and sneakers will only be sold at a few Foot Locker locations.

NXT's Takeover special in Houston will feature a Wargames match contested between two rings with steel cages for the first time in WWE history. That's going to be a pretty big moment for the brand.

Ric and Charlotte Flair had a book signing in Atlanta. This is the first time Ric's been in public since his surgeries.

WWE is doing tryouts this weekend at the WWEPC. ROH competitor Karen Q is one of the names attending, as is Russian indie wrestler Natalia Markova. I hope we do see further growth in the women's divisions in the years to come.

The Young Bucks shouted out Jimmy Jacobs after Global Wars in Buffalo. I wouldn't be shocked to see him return to ROH given his tenure there. He'd get a great reception if Buffalo was any indication.

Kevin Owens will face Jinder Mahal on WWE's India shows on December 8 and 9. hey're wisely using Jinder as a babyface there.

NHL's New Jersey Devils will host a WWE Night on November 9, featuring appearances by WWE stars. That's pretty cool.

WWE's relationship with Cricket Wireless was profiled. They've made good use of John Cena in their promotional work.

Finn Balor talked in the UK. I like him being able to be the man and the demon, and I'd love to see him face Brock. They could play off each other really well.

Wrestlecon 2018 will go from Thursday April 5 through Saturday April 7 and be structured in such a way that fans can still attend NXT Takeover. Impact Wrestling, The Crash, Revolution Pro, CZW, and HOH will all run cards at the festival. Pretty smart scheduling, and I like the idea of being able to experience a lot of different styles of wrestling in one place.

Impact Wrestling drew 279,000 viewers this week. I'm curious what Alberto's return will do to those numbers next month.

Big Show is back in the gym after hip surgery. I assume he's not completely done wrestling just yet.

WWE is seeking production assistants for 2018. I imagine they're one of the biggest employers in their area.

Goldust & Daren Young beat Curtis Axel & Curt Hawkins in Saskatchewan. I assume Goldust and Darren were faces there. WWE live events can play loose with face and heel in order to make sure everyone gets on the card.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:

1. Wow. WCW would have really lost out in that scenario. Hogan turning heel really MADE that angle, and I don't think Bret would have been nearly as interesting there. I also wonder how he would have fared with the backstage politics.

2. I'm not sure! He definitely had a good run, though.

Nothing to add to 3.

4. I really hope he doesn't try to rush things in order to be back for WM34.

5. That does sound pretty cool.

More wrestling tomorrow.