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Saturday, November 11, 2017

Y2J updates, AJ-Jinder update, Impact attendance notes, Impact HOF idea, Davey in-ring update, fewer WWE events?, Emma update, MMA names continuing to train, Itami-WWE update, WWE UK name injured, NJPW airing in India, Jeff Hardy performing, more Bullet Club merch, WWEShop honors veterans, WWE 24 updates, LU returning, Bryan in-ring, Owens/Zayn update, Impact audience, and Questions on WWE intentionally letting people go to improve, the stunner vs. the RKO, GFW's status, and ROH as the No.2 U.S. promotion

Chris Jericho pitched the idea of facing Kenny Omega. That doesn't surprise me, as at this point Jericho's primarily focused on working with people he thinks he can have a good program/match with rather than just competing as a financial endeavor.

- Jericho is expected to return to WWE shortly after the NJPW match, possibly at Raw's 25th anniversary. That would presumably put him in the Rumble and on the road to Wrestlemania. Jericho vs. Balor or Jericho vs. Joe would be good feuds.

AJ Styles is still scheduled for a Smackdown tour of the United States while Jinder Mahal is wrestling in India in December. It's possible WWE moves him to face Jinder for the title in India; even if Jinder takes the title back between Survivor Series and the Indian tour, it would make sense to do that match overseas given their feud.

Bound For Glory drew 650 fans, and the next two days of TV tapings drew around 350. Those TV attendance numbers in particular are really bad with all the free tickets, people paid to attend, etc. I hope Anthem has some real plans to get people in the door for their January tapings, because these are some really poor numbers for a promotion with a TV deal and talents of that magnitude.

Impact had considered putting Mike Tenay in their Hall of Fame during Bound For Glory, but ultimately decided not to have that ceremony this year. Tenay is absolutely deserving of the honor, but flying him in would have been an unnecessary expense at a time when they're cutting costs so much.

Davey Richards isn't looking to wrestle in 2018 due to his medical school commitments. He could return in 2019. I see why that's his priority.

WWE looks to be running fewer PPVs going forward, as the increased number of them hasn't led to a jump in network subscriptions. I don't blame them in that sense. This way they can have more big matches on TV to try to increase audience numbers.

Emma is seeking independent dates for once her WWE no-compete clause expires at the end of January. So, she's continuing to wrestle after her release.

Ronda Rousey is actively training at the WWE Performance Center to prepare for Wrestlemania. It's possible the initial Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen match leads to a singles match featuring Ronda.

Hideo Itami is considering returning to Japan when his WWE contract ends. That might be the best thing for him to revitalize his career.

Wolfgang was injured during a WWE match in Scotland, leading to him missing the rest of the tour and being pulled from a PROGRESS date.

Chris Jericho pitched having NXT talent work his October 2018 cruise, but was denied. I can see why WWE wouldn't want to put over something featuring ROH names.

NJPW will air in India on the same channel as ROH and Lucha Underground. That's a pretty good deal for a company that is increasingly spreading itself beyond Japan.

Jeff Hardy will perform a concert near Starrcade on November 25. That's pretty cool!

Bullet Club now has fanny packs, because they can literally sell just about anything with their name and logo on it at this point.

WWE Shop is giving part of the proceeds of its Veteran Day orders to a military charity. WWE is VERY pro-military.

Goldberg's "WWE 24" will air after Monday's Raw. WWE is next working on an episode for the Hardys.

Lucha Underground confirmed a fourth season, with Johnny Mundo involved. More on this as more details emerge. It will be interesting to see how it all comes together so many months after the third season stopped filming.

Daniel Bryan discussed trying to get cleared to return to the ring. I hope he's able to have a fulfilling road ahead.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are scheduled to return for Smackdown. Hopefully everyone can move forward with what's best for the company going ahead.

This week's Impact Wrestling drew 250,000 viewers for the show following Bound For Glory. That's not a strong number, particularly following what should have been at least one of their biggest shows of the year. Alberto El Patron is back, too, so that should have helped draw as well. Hopefully they recover in the weeks to come as they forge a new path under Scott D'Amore.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's almost always a case of someone in WWE deciding the talent isn't worth investing in further. Some talents do go out and make themselves invaluable enough to be signed again, but generally WWE would rather bring in someone new than make use of someone they've already released once.

2. They're similar. A stunner ends with the person executing it landing in a seated position, while the RKO has more of a fall for the person delivering it.

3. If Jarrett wants to revive it, it is! We'll presumably see if he has any plans for it in the months to come.

4. A lot of people do consider them as bigger than Impact in the U.S. because they do run regular, successful live events. Impact on the other hand has a TV show on a national network, and its legacy from the days when it was drawing a much bigger audience keeping it somewhat relevant.

Nothing to add to 5.

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