Wrestle Kingdom 12 drew just under 45,000 fans, with close to 35,000 paid. That's the biggest NJPW show in 16 years, and the largest non-WWE show in Japan period in that time. Very good work. Understandably, there was a boost in non-Japanese fans at the event, but the growth wasn't entirely due to increased appeal in the English-speaking world.
Royal Rumble 2018 will feature the most wrestlers ever on a PPV event due to the women's Rumble match. That's impressive. Business for the show is very strong, and I'm sure the women's Rumble can be credited for a lot of that. I'd think WWE will make it an annual event if they can fill that many spots.
Johnny Impact has said he won't be working a big AAA title match on January 26, putting the blame on Vampiro. We'll see if that ends up being the case, as the two competitors are involved in an angle.
AAA is looking to run Colombia and Panama in April, Japan in October, and he UK in November. That's pretty big for them.
AAA is trying to get Taya Valkyrie and Sexy Star back at some point. I hope they know what they're doing with Star.
AAA is open to working with CMLL in the future, although it's unlikely CMLL will reciprocate anytime in the near future.
NJPW is loaning Yuji Nagata to All Japan Pro Wrestling due to an injury in AJPW. NJPW doesn't use Nagata that much. I'm glad the two promotions are working together.
NJPW is looking to become a bigger force in Australia, with their four-city tour not just being a one-time thing. They're looking to draw between 3,000 and 4,000 paid fans each night of that tour. I hope NJPW continues to grow.
Kenny Omega has signed a new NJPW contract through the end of January 2019. So, he won't be headed to WWE any time in the near future as some speculated.
Stardom's attendance increased 20 percent in 2017. That's presumably good for ROH given their relationship there.
Kris Wolf is out of action with an unspecified injury. Hopefully she doesn't miss much time.
Aro Lucha intends to tour regardless of getting a TV deal, although obviously that's still a goal. I wish the company well either way.
ITV is considering restarting their World of Sport project this summer without Anthem's involvement. We'll see how far they get if it does end up happening.
FOX is looking to buy a number of Sinclair stations in markets with football teams, which could lead to ROH losing homes in a number of important markets like Seattle and Denver.
The "All In" show has been specifically put together on a weekend when neither ROH nor NJPW have anything planned. That will be key to having key talents there.
Impact's decision to return to a four-sided ring was a Scott D'Amore/Sonjay Dutt call. They intended to the roll it out for the Ottawa tapings, but they weren't able to implement things in time. We'll see how fans take that decision.
Sonjay Dutt was the head writer of this week's Impact tapings, although all ideas go through Nordholm, D'Amore, and Callis before approval.
Rey Mysterio was in talks to work this week's Impact tapings, and was very close to being part of the shows, but the deal didn't end up coming together. He could absolutely end up working there down the line, however. That would certainly be big for the company, but I don't know how much it would affect things at this point.
Laurel Van Ness is still scheduled to finish up with Impact at these tapings. That's a shame given how she's been featured since Bound For Glory.
Wrestlemania is currently set to be headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns and John Cena vs. The Undertaker. Those definitely make sense to be on top. We'll see who is and isn't around once the show is over.
Samoa Joe is still expected to work Wrestlemania. I'm curious how he'll fit into that picture.
The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame is expected to feature Goldberg headlining with the Dudley Boys also inducted. All three are good choices. I'm curious when Undertaker will go in, as I figure this is his last Wrestlemania as a wrestler.
A January 19 NXT show in Florida has been canceled due to the National Guard needing to use the building. That's the first time I've heard of that happening.
205 Live will likely have its time cut back a bit while the Mixed Match Challenge takes place. I'm not that upset, as long as we still get some fun segments.
Recent World's Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall is considering a WWE offer, but has other potential TV work coming in. It could happen down the line, though, as he's retired from competitions.
WWE's shows could be heading to the Fox family of networks in 2019 if UFC leaves for a new home. That would be really big for both sides, with Raw potentially going to the Fox broadcast channel and Smackdown being on Fox Sports 1. Fox would be interested in buying WWE as well, but Vince McMahon could be reluctant to go that route. If any of this comes to pass, it's going to be a huge game changer for all of wrestling.
Viacom is interested in another wrestling product if they can be the owners, as they are with Bellator. That would also be a pretty big move for the industry given the TV exposure involved. Obviously Impact has history there, but there's no indication they'd be under consideration.
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have been battling the flu. Hopefully it doesn't spread further.
Enzo Amore discussed Ronda Rousey on TMZ. Enzo vs. Rousey would be amazing. I would watch the hell out of that.
- Triple H discussed Rousey with ESPN. It's likely WWE is using mainstream outlets to build anticipation for something that's already pretty much set, so they can have an official announcement of their own later.
WWE has posted their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day video. I'm glad they do those.
Takeover: Philadelphia has an official theme song. I like the different sound for the brand.
Triple H discussed meeting Dusty Rhodes at Center Stage, where NXT taped TV recently and WCW previously taped a lot of TV. Pretty cool to see how things have changed over the years.
Five Star Wrestling will also feature Chris Masters/Adonis, Carlito, PJ Black/Justin Gabriel and Moose in addition to many local UK talents. I hope it's a good mix for everyone involved.
Matt Hardy likely met with Ed Nordholm when Raw did a live event in Toronto not too long back. I'm glad their issues are settled and everyone can move on.
Scott D'Amore and Don Callis held a media conference call. Some highlights:
- They chose to announce Austin Aries winning their world championship in order to beat other outlets to reporting it. It makes sense to get the buzz to their own online homes where possible.
- The Twitch deal will feature older content and original, exclusive content. Some of the new content will be behind-the-scenes footage of talents. One would think that would overlap with GWN a bit, but hopefully they complement each other.
- The move to a four-sided ring was partially due to it being better for taking bumps on.
- There aren't plans for Callis and D'Amore to be on TV, nor are there plans for anyone else to be an authority figure. I'm split on that, but I see the argument too much screen time has been given to non-wrestlers.
- Impact intends to return to the UK. It could definitely be good to have a change of location for some things.
- New championship belts are coming in April. They're currently using GFW titles that have been altered. It's kind of awkward.
- Impact is willing to work with ITV on the World of Sport project.
- Moose tweaked his knee, but is believed to be OK. That's good news given the announced match with Alberto later in the month.
John Cena will be working with Nickelodeon, hosting the Kids' Choice Awards again, executive producing a game show, and voicing a character on an upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. Good to see him getting so much outside work.
"Mean" Gene Okerlund is booked for Raw 25. That's going to be a really stacked show.
AXS TV will feature matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 through February 9 before showing matches from New Year's Dash beginning February 16. Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega will get an encore presentation on February 2. 2018 could be a big year for AXS.
NXT will tape at Full Sail on March 7. So, they won't be away from "home" for TOO long.
The NWA will tape an empty arena match between Tim Storm and Josephus on Sunday at the site of that day's Impact Wrestling tapings. This match will be for Storm's NWA World Championship rematch, and will be filmed before Impact shoots their own content. There are no plans for NWA-Impact crossover at this time, but it's interesting Impact let them use the venue. Impact was part of the NWA in its early years, but that association ended in 2007.
WWE has released the bracket for the Mixed Match Challenge. I like the idea of the fans giving a team a second chance.
Impact tried to use the former Simon Diamond as a producer for this week's tapings, but Diamond was too busy with his successful work in real estate. I'm glad Dreamer was able to fill in.
Anthem's attempt to trademark "Impact Grand Champion" was refused because they applied for its use for belt buckles instead of a full belt. There was also confusion with the trademark of "Impact Grand Championship" by TNA Entertainment, Inc. VINTAGE Impact!!
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.This was answered before NXT announced another taping in Full Sail.
Everyone should read the answer to 2. Very well put. I should note I live in the same county where CWF Mid-Atlantic operates. I have a friend/acquaintance who does work there, but we're not in regular contact and I've never met Stutts. I don't have any additional insight to what has been reported, as, somewhat surprisingly, I haven't seen any local coverage of what happened. The local newspaper only occasionally covers the company, as in maybe once a year or so for a feature piece. At any rate, Mike's answer here was very insightful. I would also recommend Bruce Mitchell's column, as he has regularly attends shows in the area.
Small correction on 3. It's "One Fall," not "One Fan."
4. I still think it's because they'd either have to do editions for Raw and Smackdown or they'd have to cancel a Smackdown live event in order to have the whole roster at one event. I like the idea of it being a WWE Network special in the vain of how it used to be presented as an awards show, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if it was just something on WWE.com.
5. They should, given how much talk there is about it. People are willing to watch the footage on YouTube, so they might as well make one big compilation of it all.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Triple H discussed Rousey with ESPN. It's likely WWE is using mainstream outlets to build anticipation for something that's already pretty much set, so they can have an official announcement of their own later.
WWE has posted their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day video. I'm glad they do those.
Takeover: Philadelphia has an official theme song. I like the different sound for the brand.
Triple H discussed meeting Dusty Rhodes at Center Stage, where NXT taped TV recently and WCW previously taped a lot of TV. Pretty cool to see how things have changed over the years.
Five Star Wrestling will also feature Chris Masters/Adonis, Carlito, PJ Black/Justin Gabriel and Moose in addition to many local UK talents. I hope it's a good mix for everyone involved.
Matt Hardy likely met with Ed Nordholm when Raw did a live event in Toronto not too long back. I'm glad their issues are settled and everyone can move on.
Scott D'Amore and Don Callis held a media conference call. Some highlights:
- They chose to announce Austin Aries winning their world championship in order to beat other outlets to reporting it. It makes sense to get the buzz to their own online homes where possible.
- The Twitch deal will feature older content and original, exclusive content. Some of the new content will be behind-the-scenes footage of talents. One would think that would overlap with GWN a bit, but hopefully they complement each other.
- The move to a four-sided ring was partially due to it being better for taking bumps on.
- There aren't plans for Callis and D'Amore to be on TV, nor are there plans for anyone else to be an authority figure. I'm split on that, but I see the argument too much screen time has been given to non-wrestlers.
- Impact intends to return to the UK. It could definitely be good to have a change of location for some things.
- New championship belts are coming in April. They're currently using GFW titles that have been altered. It's kind of awkward.
- Impact is willing to work with ITV on the World of Sport project.
- Moose tweaked his knee, but is believed to be OK. That's good news given the announced match with Alberto later in the month.
John Cena will be working with Nickelodeon, hosting the Kids' Choice Awards again, executive producing a game show, and voicing a character on an upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. Good to see him getting so much outside work.
"Mean" Gene Okerlund is booked for Raw 25. That's going to be a really stacked show.
AXS TV will feature matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 through February 9 before showing matches from New Year's Dash beginning February 16. Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega will get an encore presentation on February 2. 2018 could be a big year for AXS.
NXT will tape at Full Sail on March 7. So, they won't be away from "home" for TOO long.
The NWA will tape an empty arena match between Tim Storm and Josephus on Sunday at the site of that day's Impact Wrestling tapings. This match will be for Storm's NWA World Championship rematch, and will be filmed before Impact shoots their own content. There are no plans for NWA-Impact crossover at this time, but it's interesting Impact let them use the venue. Impact was part of the NWA in its early years, but that association ended in 2007.
WWE has released the bracket for the Mixed Match Challenge. I like the idea of the fans giving a team a second chance.
Impact tried to use the former Simon Diamond as a producer for this week's tapings, but Diamond was too busy with his successful work in real estate. I'm glad Dreamer was able to fill in.
Anthem's attempt to trademark "Impact Grand Champion" was refused because they applied for its use for belt buckles instead of a full belt. There was also confusion with the trademark of "Impact Grand Championship" by TNA Entertainment, Inc. VINTAGE Impact!!
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.This was answered before NXT announced another taping in Full Sail.
Everyone should read the answer to 2. Very well put. I should note I live in the same county where CWF Mid-Atlantic operates. I have a friend/acquaintance who does work there, but we're not in regular contact and I've never met Stutts. I don't have any additional insight to what has been reported, as, somewhat surprisingly, I haven't seen any local coverage of what happened. The local newspaper only occasionally covers the company, as in maybe once a year or so for a feature piece. At any rate, Mike's answer here was very insightful. I would also recommend Bruce Mitchell's column, as he has regularly attends shows in the area.
Small correction on 3. It's "One Fall," not "One Fan."
4. I still think it's because they'd either have to do editions for Raw and Smackdown or they'd have to cancel a Smackdown live event in order to have the whole roster at one event. I like the idea of it being a WWE Network special in the vain of how it used to be presented as an awards show, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if it was just something on WWE.com.
5. They should, given how much talk there is about it. People are willing to watch the footage on YouTube, so they might as well make one big compilation of it all.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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