Impact holding Knockout seminar, new lucha series coming?, Network content plans, WWE content airing in Hindi in India, Raw match set, Angle signing announced, Interviews with Reigns/Alexa/DDP/Bayley, more on Brock and Heyman's Raw absence, Punk and Barrett set for hosting gig, Rock up for KCA, NJPW press, another Broken Universe tease, Raw audience, Smackdown dark match, Gronk-WWE press, comedian at Smackdown, notes on Paige's fashion shop opening, Rey at WWE live event, and Questions on gauntlet match booking, Braun taking the title at WM34, Jarrett's WWE future, and redemption stories in the WWE HoF

Impact Wrestling is holding a seminar for women's wrestlers at Rise Wrestling on May 11, so we could see some future Knockouts evaluated that day. Good to see them scouting to add to their roster.

A new lucha series seems to be in the works, as a southern California company has trademarked "Heroes of Lucha Libre," as well as the names of CMLL talents Mistico, Dragon Lee, and Ocelot. We'll see what comes of that as time goes on. There seems to have been an increase in lucha ideas in the U.S. in the past few years.

WWWF All-Star Wrestling should be coming to WWE Network in early March. WCW Saturday Night is expected to follow in April, with the rest of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling coming in May. WWE continues to sift through their absolutely massive video library.

Chris Jericho and Becky Lynch are expected to get WWE Network collections in March, and Ted DiBiase, Sr. and Finn Balor are scheduled to get collections in April. I'm sure that will fuel more speculation of Jericho returning after Wrestlemania. Time will tell.

Raw and Smackdown are now airing with Hindi commentary in India. That's another big milestone for WWE's global expansion.

Nia Jax vs. Asuka is set for Raw. They always deliver.

Kurt Angle will be doing a signing at the 2018 Arnold Classic.

Roman Reigns and Alexa Bliss talked to ESPN after Elimination Chamber. Roman's going to go down in history as a franchise player, whether he has detractors or not.

Diamond Dallas Page put over Ronda Rousey's WWE debut. It was definitely a big moment.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were originally in the script for Raw in a segment with Roman Reigns, but neither Heyman nor Lesnar were at the event. It's unknown whether this was a move made by WWE or one from Brock and Heyman's side. Brock is advertised for a March 3 live event and the March 12 Raw, so we should get a better idea of things at those times. Roman's promo was not in the script, but verbiage had been approved beforehand. This situation actually might have worked in Reigns' favor given the reaction the crowd had Monday.

C.M. Punk and the former Wade Barrett will be hosts for Netflix's "Ultimate Beastmaster" in its just announced third season. Punk will host U.S.-based competitions while Barrett will host those from Great Britain.

Dwayne Johnson and his "Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle" are nominated for Kids' Choice Awards, so he and John Cena will likely be in the same place that night.

NJPW is running a local contest to win tickets to Strong Style Evolved in California. The show is otherwise sold out.

NJPW's increasing global appeal was profiled by Yahoo! Japan. Strong Style Evolved will be another big milestone for that.

WWE Network is continuing to add World Class Championship Wrestling episodes to their library, as well as putting more videos in the WWE Shorts collection. 

Matt Hardy is once again teasing Vanguard-1 and others joining him in WWE. It's taking a LOOOOOONNNNGGGGGGG time to get the more colorful elements from the Broken Universe on WWE TV. 

Bayley talked about Elimination Chamber and the road to Wrestlemania:

- Alexa was amazing in that match, avoiding conflict and taking advantage of her opportunities.

- Other than the backlash to Roman winning, I think the men's match was better due to the dominance of Braun Strowman. It was more of an epic clash. That said, the women definitely delivered.

- I'm definitely ready for Bayley and Sasha to face off again. They haven't really feuded in a while.

Raw drew 3.18 million viewers Monday for the show following Elimination Chamber. That's actually down from the big gauntlet match, despite following a big event and featuring Ronda Rousey's first WWE TV appearance. Right now, I'd mostly see it as the gauntlet match being a big success rather than it being a reaction to Roman winning or Ronda coming in, but it's worth looking at the fact the audience dropped.

Tye Dillinger beat Mojo Rawley before Smackdown. I miss guys like that getting TV time. 

Rob Gronkowski potentially joining WWE got press in Boston. It would definitely be a big move for both sides.

Comedian and YouTube star Lilly Singh was at Smackdown, so she could have filmed some footage there. 

Paige's fashion store launch featured all three members of Absolution, Noelle Foley, Nia Jax, Charly Caruso, and Renee Young. I love

Rey Mysterio visited at Smackdown's live event in his hometown. There hasn't been anything further on the Rey-WWE front.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.  I do think it was a move to present Seth as a viable candidate to win the Chamber match. WWE has definitely built people other than Roman, but that's usually kind of glossed over by detractors. 

2. They've definitely built Braun up to the point he could take the title at Mania. They better have a heck of a backup plan for him after that big showing in the Chamber match. WWE should NOT book for the vocal minority, but Braun has really proven himself in the past year, and I'd have no complaints with him walking out with the title. That said, I don't think they should throw Reigns out of the mix. He's earned a chance to be a top name, and WWE shouldn't derail his momentum further to appease the people who are going to boo anyone Vince gets behind.

3. With GFW, Jarrett was clearly trying to do an independent company that was intended to be another alternative to WWE. But after WWE paid for him to get help, and WWE honoring him in the Hall of Fame, I think things have thawed to where there's potential for the two sides to work together further. He definitely brings a lot of experience to things behind-the-scenes, and that could absolutely help WWE continue to shape the future of the company.

4. I don't think it's a fad in the sense of something they're just doing to get attention, but I do think they're actively looking to mend relationships with and honor former employees there were previously issues with. Certainly it's also a nice surprise for the Hall of Fame, but that's not the only reason they do it.

5. I think there was pretty good drama in the match. They certainly could have ended that part of the match there, but overall things were incredible and I'm not going to nitpick.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Smackdown, MMC, and 205 Live Reax - 2/27/18

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

Aro Lucha plans more tapings, Warrior Award winner announced, UFC names at Elimination Chamber, AJ hypes Smackdown, Kane update, Impact lineup changes due to injury, Paige opens new business, Interview with Stephanie, NXT live events set, WWE crossing over with popular game, Charlotte remembers her brother, and Questions on dropping Raw's third hour, why ratings drop in hour three, Vince vs. Bret, Taker losing to Reigns, and Sting losing to HHH

Aro Lucha has announced plans for further tapings in Nashville, alongside a scripted comedy series that will be taping simultaneously. Both projects are targeted at Hispanic and Latino audiences.

WWE has announced this year's Warrior Award winner, a teenage WWE fan who has suffered a litany of severe liver issues. I'm not against him that getting that honor at all. He's been through a lot.

UFC's Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier were at Elimination Chamber. I popped for Cain challenging Brock.

AJ Styles did a signing at a Cricket Wireless store in Los Angeles before tonight's Smackdown taping.

Kane was at last night's Raw, but didn't end up being part of the show. It will be interesting to see what his role is heading into Wrestlemania, especially as he continues his political campaign.

Rosemary has been pulled from Impact's March live events due to injury. Allie will replace her. Rosemary has been great in her role, and Allie's pretty solid, too.

Paige has opened her fashion line. Noelle Foley will appear on behalf of the line at Wrestlecon.

Stephanie McMahon discussed Ronda Rousey coming to WWE and more on Lilian Garcia's newest podcast. Stephanie's set to be a really important part of WWE for a long time to come, with more of her initiatives shaping the company.

NXT has announced four live events:
- Washington, D.C. on April 19
- Pennsylvania on April 20 and April 22
- Maryland on April 21

WWE and Rocket League will have crossover during Wrestlemania season. I have a feeling New Day will do something related to the game at Mania.

Charlotte Flair reflected on her brother Reid on what would have been his 30th birthday. Pretty moving Instagram post.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. There's a chance the show changes its length under the next deal, but as was said, it's still a big draw for both sides.

2. Three hours is really, really long for a weekly show. Even something like Game of Thrones would be run into the ground if it had to put on that many hours of content in a year.

3. It was more like "I let Bret hit me once because I broke my word." Vince might not beat Bret himself, but he'd be sure to be better protected if he thought Bret was coming for him again.

4. There was the feeling WM33 was Taker's last match, so he put over the rising star on his way out. They had no way of knowing for sure if Taker had any more matches in him, so they got the most out of it. It was all about building Roman's credibility rather than getting him heat.

5. That could easily have been Sting's only WWE match, so they had someone they knew was going to stick around get the win.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 2/26/18

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

Interview with HBK, Impact reunion at UFC, Rusev delivers Rusev Day shirts, Broken trademarks abandoned, Elimination Chamber merch features two names not at the show, NJPW books another big match for California, Brock meets UFC head, and Questions on Rock not appearing for WWE, why Roman wrestles in a vest, Louisiana's wrestling rules, and Jarrett's future post-WWE HoF

Shawn Michaels was on Sean Waltman's latest podcast, putting over Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks as well as talking about being a coach at the WWE Performance Center. It's great to see people outside of WWE getting put over by people like Michaels. Omega and the Bucks have definitely done a lot of work to get where they are today.

Drake Maverick and EC3 reunited front row at a UFC event. I'm glad to see them both in WWE. I hope Maverick doesn't peak as GM. He's got more potential than that.

Rusev visited the company that prints his Rusev Day shirts. Pretty funny, and good promotion for the printers.

Anthem's former "Broken" trademarks have officially been abandoned, opening the door for Matt Hardy to revive them. The trademarks in question are "Broken Matt," "Brother Nero," "Vanguard1," and "Broken Brilliance."

Goldust and Jason Jordan were on the official take-home chair for Elimination Chamber, which suggests both men were scheduled for the show in some fashion. Jordan would have almost certainly been in the men's Chamber match. I'm not as sure about Goldust, unless there were plans for him to be in a 205 Live match at some point.

Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, The Golden Lovers, will face the Young Bucks at NJPW's California event on March 25. That's going to be a blockbuster show, and it's been sold out for weeks. NJPW's U.S. business is pretty solid.

Brock Lesnar met with UFC's Dana White before Elimination Chamber. The events of three years ago are playing out once again, with Brock vs. Roman headlining Mania and Brock's WWE future after that up in the air. Brock competing in UFC again would definitely be big for both sides. We'll see what WWE can offer Lesnar to stay.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. If Rock wants to appear for WWE, WWE will be more than glad to have him. If he wants to focus on acting or something else, that's his right. He's already done plenty to elevate the company over the years, and WWE's not going to throw away an appearance from one of the top actors in the world because of something he did for the live crowd when the cameras weren't rolling. Rock's production company is still making the Paige movie, which is going to be big for both sides. Everything's fine between Rock and WWE.

2. It's just to tie into The Shield gimmick, since that's what brought him to the main event scene in the first place.

3. I assume those regulations are just for smaller promotions, since WWE has ambulances and the wrestlers have enough training to be trusted to do a piledriver relatively safely.

4. Impact has clearly moved on from him, and I don't think anyone expects GFW to flourish. I'd almost certainly expect his WWE HoF induction to symbolize the end of his efforts to start a competing promotion.

5. I wouldn't be shocked to see him end up getting a role in WWE in some fashion, but right now I think he'll just get a legends deal, merchandise, appearances in WWE games and documentaries, etc.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Elimination Chamber Reax

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

Main Event Reax - 2/24/18, next WWE Photo Shoot set, Flashback Friday theme, Manhattan Mayhem guest commentary, Impact main event set, WWE releases version of game, more Jarrett-HoF hype, Festival of Honor lineup, Alexa honored by NHL, Linda's business history profiled, Ivory set for Terri's podcast, Vince on WM1, gymnast tries out for WWE, and Questions on who takes over Vince's roles, no Revival, and what dropping PPVs does and doesn't mean

-- Main Event:
- Nese vs. Metalik:
You already know how this goes. Great athleticism. Gran flies around, Nese poses. Time is filled.

Fine work early.

NICE spot throwing Gran in the air. Nese can be a powerhouse at the 205 pound level.

Pretty good action so far.

Pretty fun overall.

- Slater/Rhyno vs. Revival:
I'm OK with no Curt this week since we get to see the ONE MAN BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND.

Nice matwork early.

Pretty good tag work going on here.

Always good to see Slater get to do more than lose in three minutes.

Ahh I love the classic heel work of Dash and Dawson.

Hahahaa good work. 

Charlotte Flair will be on Monday's new episode of "WWE Photo Shoot."

WWE Network's Flashback Friday theme this week will focus on "debuts and firsts in March" with the first appearance of Steve Austin as "Stone Cold," Ruby Riott's NXT debut, the first Wrestlemania, and the first time the WWE Champion was determined in a one-night tournament.

Manhattan Mayhem's main event will feature guest commentary by fans' choice of BJ Whitmer, Bully Ray, Caprice Coleman, Cody, The Dawgs, or Mandy Leon. I've missed Whitmer as an on-screen character.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan will headline this week's Impact Wrestling, featuring Edwards' injury and its aftermath in its entirety. Edwards broke his nose and other bones in his face as a result of a spot at the end.

WWE is selling their own version of the game "Watch Ya Mouth." At least they're not selling WWE Tide pods...

AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and other WWE workers discussed Jeff Jarrett joining the WWE Hall of Fame. This would have been unfathomable in the not-so-distant past. It's always funny to see them discuss "other companies" without naming those companies. I wouldn't mind a Jarrett family induction, as well, given the lineage involved.

ROH announced a lot of events for Festival of Honor during WM34 weekend. It's fittingly pretty big for what will be their biggest crowd ever by a comfortable margin.

Alexa Bliss got a custom NHL jersey when promoting Elimination Chamber in town. She's really been visible as a face of WWE.

Linda McMahon's business history was profiled. Pretty interesting story. Only in America, right?

Ivory is on Terri Runnels' next podcast.

Vince McMahon discussed the risk of the original Wrestlemania. I don't think it's out of the question to divide the wrestling business into pre-WM1 and post-WM1. It was that big of a game changer.

Gymnast Stacey Ervin, Jr. tried out for WWE. He's clearly in great shape. If he doesn't make it in NXT, other promotions should definitely give him a look.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Barrios and Wilson vs. HHH and Stephanie on the next PPV for control of the company, obviously. I'm curious if they'll do something like one of Barrios and Wilson being chairperson and the other being CEO or what will happen there. HHH and Stephanie will have important roles, as well. It would be weird having someone other than a McMahon being in the top position, but Barrios and Wilson have been working on the corporate end in prominent positions for a while, so it would make sense for them to do a lot of the business work.

2. The tag team division was kind of thrown on the show at the last minute. It looks like Dawson and Wilder will be in the Andre battle royal this year at this rate.

3. That could mean both brands work the same Sunday live event.

4. I don't think so. Unless/until they bring the brands back together, they haven't given up on the concept.

5. If anything, they'll just be live events in smaller venues. Network specials are expensive, too.

6. It was done in recognition that more PPVs didn't lead to more subscribers, so they're cutting expenses on that end.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Elimination Chamber preview

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

Interviews with Impact execs/Mojo, Flair appearance, podcast notes, Rousey back to training, Dusty Classic brackets, live Chamber preview special, Hardys DVD conver art, Kickoff match booked, Impact audience, Impact talents allege pay issues, and Questions on Abdullah, Rousey's best opponent, Borash on-screen in WWE, and a Neidharts reality show

Impact's executive team discussed the company in the UK:
- I've been impressed with the new direction of the company so far, but, of course, their greatest problems don't have anything to do with the on-screen product or talent. They're in such a slump right now that it's going to be difficult to get momentum going.

- Interesting to hear fans didn't like the six-sided ring, since there was such a push to keep it and bring it back when Hogan and Bischoff were around.

- Wrestling journalists do cover when talents debut, it's just usually in a separate story from a talent leaving. I don't see that as an agenda as much as focusing on one story at a time.

- I'll be very interested to see Alberto's next steps, given his talk of wanting to reconcile with WWE.

- Ouch. Kind of a shot at EC3 there. Everything definitely came together for him in Impact, surpassing expectations from his developmental work, but it wasn't like he hadn't shown some potential.

- AJ already had some exposure before joining Impact, and Roode and Young were in WWE developmental, but certainly Impact gave them all platforms to break out. Impact has done that for a lot of talents over the years, from people who hadn't shown their true potential yet to talent who came in and became fresh again.

- Impact reached big heights with Hogan and Bischoff around, but those expenses really took their toll, especially when Spike decided to shift directions.

- I know at one point the goal was to separate from the name of a company that had fallen so hard, with the move to doing more in Canada being part of giving Impact a fresh coat of paint.

- They've got a lot of work to do in rebuilding Impact, but they've got to do it one set of tapings or live events at a time.

- I do think being able to film a lot of work at once is beneficial for the reasons they mentioned. NXT gets the same boost.

- I was under the impression they were looking at taping more frequently at one point, but clearly they're not there just yet.

- I'll definitely miss Borash's contributions to Impact. He has a unique sense of humor that can be pretty fun.

- Matthews was put in an angle because he was getting so much heat already and Impact decided to play off that. He was one of the most talked about people in the company!

- I'd watch Rosemary in NXT. If anyone would ever make a good Sister Abigail, it'd be her.

- Legally, Nordholm was completely in the right. But fans really wanted to see the Hardys do their Impact work elsewhere.


- Impact is pretty cold from a buzz standpoint. It's going to really take time to change that.

- The UK and India are going to be key markets from a TV perspective. It would be great if that was true from a live events market, too.

Mojo Rawley discussed joining WWE. I hope he can become more of a force in the years to come.

Ric Flair was on Univision's Premios Lo Nuestro recently. The Nature Boy is worldwide.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is on the most recent Edge and Christian podcast, while Taz is on Chris Jericho's latest show.

Ronda Rousey has finished filming in Colombia and has begun training at the WWE Performance Center. I hope she can deliver when the time comes. She's got a big responsibility.

The Dusty Classic brackets have been revealed. The winners challenge Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish at Takeover: New Orleans. I'm curious what's next for the Authors of Pain, since I assume they're moving to Raw or Smackdown after WM34.

WWE will do a live version of "WWE Now" before Elimination Chamber on Facebook and YouTube beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

The Hardys' upcoming DVD's cover art was revealed. I wonder if we'll see some Impact content there?

WWE Network's four-year anniversary received an infographic on WWE.com. The service is going to continue to be an important part of the WWE machine going forward.

Mark Henry discussed Jeff Jarrett joining the WWE Hall of Fame. With Jarrett, the Dudleys, and Ivory already set and Henry rumored, we're looking at something of an Attitude Era theme.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel is set for the Elimination Chamber Kickoff show. That makes me wonder if we're headed for Balor vs. Miz for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania.

Impact Wrestling drew 262,000 viewers Thursday night, a pretty notable drop from what they had been doing under the new regime. We'll see if that's a one week thing or if people who gave them a chance decided they had seen enough of the new era.

A number of Impact talents have alleged they are behind on pay. Ed Nordholm issued a statement that this is due to a new policy regarding when paychecks are issued, as well as from difficulties in issuing checks to the United States from Canada. I hope for Anthem's sake that's a legitimate issue that will be addressed, given how previous regimes had problems in that area, too, and kind of kayfabed the talents at times.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I hope his health is well going forward.

2. Ouch. Poor Anvil! I think there are a number of people who could get a good match out of even an inexperienced opponent. Charlotte comes to mind in particular. All in all, we'll see as she ends up actually working.

Nothing to add to 3.

4. I don't expect him to be a commentator or character anytime soon, but I imagine he'll make an on-air appearance at some point, even if it's him discussing a talent on a video package or something.

5. It would be a pretty easy spinoff from "Total Divas" if all parties want to make it happen. I think it would be more of a case of selling a network the concept.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Chamber event offering big discouts, Fast Lane update, more NJPW coming to Australia, Swann gets another date, female wrestler facing cancer, Louisiana bans popular move, Aro Lucha updates, HoFer on HOH tour in Australia, more ROH matches set, Shirai still planning WWE debut, Apollo name change update, Jarrett HoF hype, Rousey going in a different HoF, Interviews with Ivory/Henry, who planned Raw's gauntlet, Smackdown audience, top name debuts on NXT live events, Gargano-NXT update, and Questions on WWE name changes, Kaitlyn returning, no pets in wrestling, and why Nash was Oz

Elimination Chamber is offering two-for-one ticket deals. It's a shame interest for WWE events is struggling right now.

John Cena is still being advertised for Fast Lane, which has interesting implications for Wrestlemania. I'd be surprised to see Taker on Smackdown to build to their rumored WM34 match, so we'll see what all that means.

NJPW's Australian tour was considered a success, to the point the company is looking to return sooner than expected. There's already talk of running another tour in November or December.

Rich Swann is being booked by The Crash for March 17, so he's getting regular post-WWE dates.

LuFisto has announced she's suffering from cervical cancer and will need surgery. I hope she's able to recover from that quickly, physically and financially.

Louisiana has banned piledrivers on wrestling events due to a legitimate injury, but this isn't expected to hamper anything on WWE's end given how big their events are in the state.

Aro Lucha is continuing taping for television, but is holding back on running more live events. Konnan and the former Ricardo Rodriguez have been doing commentary work for the first tapings to get episodes ready to sell.

Mick Foley will appear on House of Hardcore's Australia tour.

Kenny King will team with a duo of ROH fans' choosing against Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser, and Brian Milonas at Manhattan Mayhem. The options are the Briscors, the Motor City Machine Guns, Coast 2 Coast, The Dawgs, and the pair of Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan. The four teams not picked will have a four-way elimination tag match on the same show.

Io Shirai still intends to come to WWE, pending being cleared by their doctors. She's considered one of the best female wrestlers in the world.

Apollo likely "lost" his last name in WWE due to the recent school shooting involving someone with the last name Cruz. I can see why they'd do that, though I didn't draw a connection to the two.

Jeff Jarrett talked to Jerry Lawler about their shared history, and Jim Cornette discussed Jarrett going into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Ronda Rousey will go into the International Sports Hall of Fame on March 3. That will be big for WWE.

Ivory had a second appearance on Stone Cold's podcast. You know someone had a big career when it takes two podcast episodes to cover it all.

Vince McMahon laid out Raw's gauntlet match, suggesting its length and presentation. A lot of people were surprised, as he is not usually known for championing long matches.

Cody vs. Matt Taven is official for ROH's 16th anniversary PPV. ROH has done a good job setting that one up, and building to the show in general.

Mark Henry discussed helping recruit and develop the current generation of talent. I'm glad he's in a role to do that now.

Smackdown drew 2.61 million viewers this week, a notable boost from last week's 2.45 million.

Ricochet has begun working NXT live events. He defeated Buddy Murphy in Ontario on Thursday.

Johnny Gargano is continuing to work NXT shows, presumably with the angle he's being allowed to do shows he was already booked for before his most recent loss to Almas. Gargano teamed with Candice LeRae to defeat Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega in Ontario on Thursday.

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

2. It will depend on the talent. If someone's already really tied to a certain name for a lot of fans, like EC3 or Ricochet, they have a better chance of keeping their pre-WWE identity. Sometimes WWE wants to play off a hot talent coming in, and other times they want someone to start fresh with a new identity.

3. There was talk of WWE being interested at one point, but I expect it's still something of a feeling out process on her end as she's just now getting back into the ring. Some of her return is a personal journey of recovery, rather than just seeking a way back to WWE.

4. I definitely think it's a travel thing, as well as it being something of a hassle and added expense. If that wasn't the case, Natalya should absolutely come to the ring with an army of cats each week.

5. Pre-Bischoff WCW had its cartoony moments, which wasn't unusual for wrestling at the time.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Impact Wrestling Reax - 2/22/18

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

Lucha action figures unveiled, Idol discusses plane crash, WWE seeking top corporate roles, Interviews with Nia/Ivory, more ROH anniversary and Manhattan Mayhem matches, Aiden tributes Eddie, NJPW injury, Raw audience, special MSG match set, and Questions on what makes a world title, Nia playing off Enzo's issue, Owens and Sami as co-champions, Nash missing Raw 25, and Braun's stunts

Lucha libre action figures debuted in New York City this past weekend. I like the look they went for.

Austin Idol discussed his 1975 plane crash. I love how he still heeled the audience when telling a story about a dangerous incident.

WWE is seeking a director of global strategy and a director of community relations. Both reflect WWE's expansion as a brand-conscious global company.

Nia Jax discussed Ronda Rousey coming to WWE. Ronda vs. Nia would be a hell of a fight.

ROH has officially announced the following for their 16th anniversary PPV:
- Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship
- Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team Championship
- Marty Scurll vs. Punishment Martinez.
-- The world title match makes sense to keep building Dalton as a top name, and the other two should be pretty good for their own reasons.

Ivory is on Stone Cold's latest podcast, discussing her career leading to the Hall of Fame induction. She had quite the long and prestigious run.

Aiden English paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero when finding a mural to the WWE Hall of Famer in Texas. Good to see him giving that kind of respect.

NJPW's EVIL suffered a fractured orbital bone during the company's Australia tour. He's been pulled from upcoming events, including the March 6 anniversary show. He was going to team with SANADA against YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto on that event. Instead, SANADA will face YOSHI-HASHI in a singles match. I hope we're able to see EVIL back in action before too much longer.

Raw drew 3.28 million viewers Monday, a nice boost from the previous week's number.

Dalton Castle and CMLL's Volador Jr. will face Jay Lethal and CMLL's Ultimo Guerrero at Manhattan Mayhem in a prelude to Castle vs. Lethal for the ROH Championship a few weeks later.

Caprice Coleman's Pulpit at Manhattan Mayhem will feature a guest chosen by fans. The options are Cheeseburger, Colt Cabana, Delirious, Flip Gordon, Gary Juster, Kelly Klein, and Ultimo Guerrero. Juster is vice president of operations for ROH, and formerly of AWA, Jim Crockett promotions, and WCW.

AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn has been booked for Raw's March 16 Madison Square Garden show.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It definitely adds prestige to a championship to be called a world championship, although only some championships really fit the description. ROH and NWA have had their titles defended outside of North America, so they're good. Your local indie that's never left New Jersey? Not so much.

2. As an angle, it would be awkward in the least and potentially exploitative. I don't think WWE donating time and money toward a related cause is a bad idea, but making it part of a storyline could really backfire.

3. I think it would have been MUCH more interesting than what we've got now. WWE threw away two interesting stories with Owens and Sami "being fired" and them becoming co-champions. Now they're crawling toward the Road to Wrestlemania with two flat tires from a creative standpoint. Kevin and Sami could have altered episodes and live events as champion, etc.

4. He does still plan to be at Wrestlemania weekend.

5. I'm more than OK with superstars being larger than life. If I wanted to watch everything being super realistic, I'd watch MMA instead.

More wrestling tomorrow.

NXT and ROH Reax - 2/21/18

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

Smackdown, MMC, and 205 Live Reax - 2/20/18

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

New title match for Sunday, Interviews with Jarrett/Orton/Renee, Titus has NFL guests, Ellsworth debuts own title, more on future autobiographies, Stephanie to talk to Lilian, Omega set for Y2J cruise, more on Impact's March 4 show, Bayley on upcoming DVD, more set for Manhattan Mayhem, and Questions on Braun as Austin, #MeToo vs. WWE, Asuka vs. Rousey, Show's weight, and Sable missing Raw 25

The Bar vs. Titus O'Neil and Apollo is official for Elimination Chamber, with the Raw Tag Team Championship on the line. This was kind of thrown together with a quick victory from the challengers on Raw.

Jeff Jarrett discussed going into the WWE Hall of Fame. I can't emphasize enough how cool it is to see him honored after 19 years away from the company.

San Francisco NFL players joined Titus Worldwide. Titus has been clever in branding himself this way.

Randy Orton discussed Ronda Rousey coming to WWE. She's definitely entering a new environment, and that comes with risk.

James Ellsworth has introduced an Intergender Championship, playing off Andy Kaufman. That's perfect for him.

Sabu's and Vader's autobiographies are due out later this year. Both could be really interesting.

Stephanie McMahon will be on Lilian Garcia's podcast Monday. That could really be big.

Renee Young had a long interview with Sam Roberts. She's really become an important voice in WWE.

Kenny Omega has been announced for Chris Jericho's cruise. He's obviously a big name to get for the event.

Impact Wrestling's March 4 event is now called "Last Chancery." It will be headlined by Austin Aries vs. Kongo Kong vs. Matt Sydal. Trevor Lee vs. Josh Alexander has also been set for the event. So it looks like Kongo's going to be a big threat soon.

Bayley was interviewed for the upcoming Randy Savage DVD. Pretty cool stuff.

ROH has announced more for Manhattan Mayhem:
- Caprice Coleman's Pulpit with fans choosing the guest.
- Punishment Martinez vs. CMLL's Soberano, Jr.
- SoCal Uncensored and Shane Taylor vs. Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll in an "Ultimate Mayhem" match with staggered entrances and the match only being able to be won by pinfall or submission once all eight men are in the ring.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They're definitely booking Braun as someone who doesn't mind making some noise and raising some hell to get his way. I can certainly see the argument he should have beaten Brock and be featured as even more of a top name.

2. The #MeToo movement is largely about things going on off-screen that shouldn't be happening. WWE has very clearly changed the presentation of its women in recent years to be less exploitative, so I don't think there's any real backlash to the company now.

3. I really, really don't think it will happen at Wrestlemania given Asuka being in title contention, but they could definitely have the two of them compete later on.

4. Show was definitely at some unhealthy weights at times in his career. Thankfully he's really turned things around since then.

5. Sable has very deliberately stayed out of the public eye the past decade or so. She's moved on from being a former WWE performer and is now focused on being a wife and mother.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Steiner booked for Impact at Wrestlecon, Impact live event matches set, Japanese legend undergoing major surgery, Interview with Darren Young, more Raws booked, Cabana challenging for NWA Tile in China, ROH rolls out streaming service, Jarrett honored by WWE, Credible and DiBiase prreview documentaries, why HoFer was at Raw, first Manhattan Mayhem match set, more Impact tapings set, Slammiversary in the works, records broken on Raw, Dangerous Davis promotes autobiography, more top names getting autobiographies, and Questions on HHH/Stephanie promoting women, booking Finn vs. Brock, women headlining Mania, and Vince caring that fans know the WM34 ending

Scott Steiner will have a live, uncensored microphone at Impact Wrestling's Wrestlecon event, streaming live on Twitch. Oh I'm already sold on that.

Announced for Impact's March 4 event in Ontario:
- Alberto El Patron vs. Moose
- Allie vs. KC Spinelli

The Great Muta will be undergoing double knee replacement surgery next month. He intends to return to the ring afterward if doctors would clear him. I hope that makes walking easier for him; that's a heck of a price to pay for decades of wrestling.

Darren Young discussed his WWE release. I haven't seen anything about him wrestling since his last WWE match. I hope he's doing well.

Raw will tape on April 23 in Missouri, and New York on May 7.

Colt Cabana will challenge for the NWA World Championship in China this April. That's really cool!

ROH relaunched their website and officially rolled out HonorClub, their streaming service. That will be a big move forward for their business.

Jeff Jarrett will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend, the first time Jarrett will be on a WWE broadcast since 1999. That's a very great move. I'm glad to see him honored in such a way.

- The Tennessee Titans, NWA, Triple H, Scott Hall, Pat Buck, the WWE Archivist, Bobby Roode, David Lagana, The Blue Meanie, Eric Young, Gail Kim, Rob Schamberger, NASCAR's Elliott Sadler, The Pope D'Angelo Dinero, X-Pac, Karen Jarrett, Allie, Grado, KM, Impact Wrestling, and Xavier Woods put over Jeff's induction. It's awesome to see people and companies from so many backgrounds celebrating his work. He's worked with a lot of people in a lot of places.

Justin Credible previewed his upcoming documentary. I hope he recovers and is able to put his vices behind him.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. teased returning to WWE. Him facing Cody on the indies would be cool. If that happens and goes well, we can talk about him going somewhere bigger.

Diamond Dallas Page was at Raw to do interviews for various upcoming WWE projects, including an upcoming Randy Savage DVD. He was not backstage for most of the day, arriving as Main Event was being filmed. There were no plans for him to appear on TV.

Cody vs. Flip Gordon has been set for ROH's March 3 Manhattan Mayhem event. Fans can choose whether the match will be a lumberjack match, a two-out-of-three falls match, or a match where Flip is booked for "All In" if he wins. That's a pretty clever way to promote the big September 1 show, which still doesn't have a venue announced.

Impact Wrestling will follow the Redemption event with TV tapings from April 23 through April 27 at Universal Studios in Florida. So, they'll be pretty busy that week.

Slammiversary 16 is currently planned for July 22. No word on where it will take place.

Raw's gauntlet match was the longest match in WWE history. Seth Rollins had the longest performance in Raw history by a single competitor. That was truly an amazing event.

"Dangerous" Danny Davis has a Kickstarter to promote his autobiography.

Vader and Sabu have autobiographies coming soon. Both have the potential to be really interesting.  

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are largely behind pushing for the changing way women have been presented. It's worth noting WWE is in some ways mirroring a greater change in society. With the company wanting to reach more women fans, the move made sense. So, it could very well have come about at some point anyway.

2. Finn sticks and moves, striking when he gets an opening and not letting up. Brock looks to catch him and take him to Suplex City.

3. He could, but I think it's more likely he's somewhere else on the card. I could see him teaming with Anderson and Gallows against The Miz, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel going forward.

4. I certainly think it can happen at some point, and using Ronda makes sense as far as having a big star close the show. The key will be whether they can trust someone so new to wrestling to close the biggest wrestling show on the planet. The only way I'd do it this year is if we're not getting Cena vs. Taker and they do something like Triple H and Stephanie vs. Rock or Angle and Rousey. That way they have two people they know they can deliver in that environment.

5. It's been "common knowledge" among people who follow wrestling news sites, but that's not a big part of the greater wrestling audience, so I don't think Vince is that concerned. I do think the company is appealing to that group more and more as Triple H gains power, but Vince is still steering the ship for WM34. Also, we all knew the ending to "Titanic" and it made more than $2 billion.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 2/19/18

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

Smackdown clip on Netflix, WWE stickers in UK, Manhattan Mayhem sells out+stipulations+CMLL guests, A-List baby shower, Cena promotes KCA, McIntyre on ICW HoF nod, another WWEPC guest coach, and Questions on XFL then vs. now, longer WWE PPVs, turning Bray face, boycotting the Chamber PPV due to Reigns, and Dolph as WWE Champion

Joel McHale's new Netflix show's debut episode featured a clip from Charlotte vs. Liv Morgan from Smackdown Live a few weeks back. The show is similar to E!'s "The Soup" that McHale used to host. I think it's likely we'll see more wrestling content there as the series goes on.

WWE inserted a sticker album in copies of the UK Sun sold at Onestop. Nice idea to get interest up on both sides.

ROH's Manhattan Mayhem has sold out. Fans in attendance will be able to choose match stipulations, tag teams, and more in something akin to WWE's old Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday.

- CMLL's Ultimo Guerrero, Volador Jr., and Soberano Jr. are all booked for the show.

The Miz and Maryse had celebrity guests at their baby shower. Their reality show should be pretty fun.

John Cena did a "This or That" challenge to promote the Kids' Choice Awards.

Drew McIntyre's ICW Hall of Fame speech was released online. I hope he has a big 2018, and an even bigger road in years to come.

Luke Hawx, owner of Wildkat Sports and Hollywood stuntman, was a guest coach at the WWE Performance Center, as well as a producer on NXT live events.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. He's already presenting the XFL as a pretty different league from the 2001 version. There will be different technology involved to broadcast the games and there will be different focuses for how the game is played and how the players are recruited. So, there's potential for things to be different.

2. I wouldn't be shocked, since they're going to feature the top feuds from both brands at one event. I'd like to say they'll realize showing more wrestling doesn't necessarily mean more subscribers, but I'm not sure they'll get that message just yet.

3. I kind of like the idea of SAnitY doing what Bray no longer can. Heck, he could be their first target. We've previously been told Sister Abigail is dead and Bray is her new vessel and all that, so her being alive and in the flesh would be a big change. They'd have to have someone really perfect for the role for me to be able to get behind her being a regular character. So, unless Rosemary's WWE-bound, I don't think I want to see it.

4. I hope not. That's a pretty petty reason to not support Finn, Elias, Rollins, Miz, Asuka, etc.

5. AJ vs. Nakamura has been in the works for a while, but Ziggler being added to the mix is a pretty new development and he just signed a new contract, so it's not 100% out of the question for him to be in the WWE Title picture going forward. That said, this is Ziggler we're talking about. He'll probably be jobbing to the next NXT call-ups by summer.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Main Event Reax - 2/17/18, WWE Network Flashback Friday, more WWE Pop! figures, Swann already booked for HOH, WWE PPVs doing dual-branded, WWE shuffles PPV schedule, Henry on Hogan return, Raw matches set, Interview with Braun, Sami gets award, Network collection removed, new NXT live event faction, and Questions on Impact hiring Kevin Kelly, seeing more EC3 in NXT, favorite wrestling movie, and the Midnight Express in the WWE HOF

-- Main Event:
- Hawkins vs. Slater:
Haha. Nice start. 

HAHAHAHAHAAHAH I love Hawkins being willing to end the streak on a DQ win.

Fun work so far.

These two work together pretty well.

Fine basic action.

That was pretty good! I liked the ending sequence. 0-162!

- Cedric vs. Ariya:
I like this start OK.

Good story early. It's obvious who's the heel here.

Pretty fine stuff so far.

GOD. I wish the frog splash could get a three count here or there.

Good enough ending. 

WWE Network's "Flashback Friday" theme this week will celebrate four years of the Network itself, focusing on episodes of original series for the platform.

Shawn Michaels (WM12 outfit), Jake "The Snake" Roberts (two different versions with varying snakes), Sting ("Surfer" era), and Lex Luger (WCW era) are all getting Pop! figures. Those are really cool.

Rich Swann will work House of Hardcore on March 23, March 24, and April 7. That's a pretty quick turnaround for him. I don't know if he negotiated not having a 90-day no-compete clause or if Dreamer got a special exemption or what, but it's good that Rich will be able to get right back to work.

WWE announced all pay-per-view events after Wrestlemania 34 will feature both Raw and Smackdown talents. They further announced changes to the pay-per-view calendar for the rest of the year to compensate, dropping some events and moving others around. NXT will not be affected by the move:
- Raw's Payback PPV in May has been eliminated.
- Extreme Rules has been moved from September 16 to July 15, replacing the originally planned Battleground event for Raw.
- Hell in a Cell has been moved from September 30 to September 16.
-- Since the increased number of events wasn't resulting in more Network subscribers, I can see why they cut back and are going to load the shows up more.

Mark Henry discussed Hulk Hogan potentially returning to WWE. I hope the two sides can come together and work together in some capacity.

Announced for Raw:
- The seven men's Elimination Chamber participants competing in a gauntlet match
- Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville vs. Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Mickie James

Braun Strowman talked in South Africa. I wish more characters were as larger-than-life as Braun. He's so entertaining precisely because he's treated as something different from most of the roster.

Sami Zayn was given an award for his humanitarian work for Syria. That's awesome.

WWE Network removed the "Greatest Matches Ever" collection. They cycle those in and out fairly frequently.

NXT has a new faction, as the former Gunner was accompanied by Steve Cutler, Wesley Blake, and Lacey Evans in a DQ loss to Killian Dain. Chad Lail (Gunner), Cutler, and Evans all have backgrounds in the armed forces, so that could be what they play up.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't expect them to hire someone new when they can just use someone already working in the company. I wouldn't be shocked to see Callis move to commentary at some point, however.

2. That would definitely make the most sense. They could have him do a squash at Takeover or the TV taping before that show if they want, or even have him get involved in a big match if they really want to jump-start his run, but they could also wait until they're moving on from New Orleans. 

3. That's definitely one of my favorite movies, for sure. I can't disagree.

Nothing to add to 4.

5. It's possible, but there's no indication they're going in that direction.

More wrestling tomorrow.

JR show during Mania weekend, new episode of Photo Shoot coming, Interviews with McIntyre/WWE execs/Henry+Braun, WWE signs MMA competitor, Titus and Cena charity, WWE teases big Rey match, Impact audience, and Questions on NJPW music rights, an all-woman Wrestlemania, Black on 205 Live, Eli Drake in WWE, and Henry's in-ring future

Jim Ross will do his one man show during Wrestlemania weekend. That should be pretty cool.

"WWE Photo Shoot" with Kurt Angle will debut after Raw.

Drew McIntyre set a goal to be WWE Champion. I REALLY hope that happens.

Stephanie McMahon and Michelle Wilson put over WWE's business strategy:
- They're definitely making more from the Network than they were in the PPV era. Significantly so.

- Old school wrestling at carnivals was something else. And, yes, there were days when it was a gritty fight-like atmosphere instead of a big spectacle. I miss some aspects of that.

- I'm very glad we've moved on from the misogynistic attacks. That'd be embarrassing to watch in 2018.

- There's definitely a vocal minority of fans collecting online that wants things to be like the Attitude Era. Ironically quite a few of them weren't around for it.

- HOLY SHIT. Did Meltzer really say more fans care about flashy moves than storylines? Ratings have dropped as they've focused more on that mentality. I'm willing to believe that's true of his audience, but not the potential wrestling audience at large. Just... wow.

- WWE's relative standing is still strong. TV just isn't what it used to be.

- I think we're still a way off from Raw and Smackdown moving somewhere like Facebook. I'd be surprised if they made that move unless there's a LOT of money involved.

- HAHAHA I loved the remark about wrestling on Mars. Book it!

- I didn't assume Asuka and Nakamura winning was a shot at NJPW. Asuka came in undefeated and Nakamura hasn't been in the WWE Title picture in a while. I do think WWE is deliberately appealing to that niche market with AJ vs. Nakamura, but thankfully it's just one of several main events that night.

WWE has signed Nicolai Salchow, who has a pretty solid MMA record. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him.

Titus O'Neil got more than 2,000 local kids to see "Black Panther" for free. That's badass.

Mark Henry and Braun Strowman talked on "Busted Open" radio. I hope Braun can be a Hall of Famer. WWE will need to be careful in how they book him in the years to come. I wouldn't mind him ending up in comedy roles like Kane down-the-line, but certainly not yet.

John Cena reunited with a Make-A-Wish recipient. Always good to see Cena doing something like that.

WWE teased AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio. That could definitely be big.

Impact drew 300,000 viewers Thursday night, basically where they were the previous week. The real test will be the absence of EC3 and Lashley.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to really add to 1. Hopefully they have a better idea of when they can and can't use a song going forward.

2. I don't think that'd be a good move anytime soon for the same reason they shouldn't do an all cruiserweight Wrestlemania or an all tag team Wrestlemania. It would be way too risky to leave out so many talented and over performers. I don't even think I'd do an all-women (or all cruiserweight or all tag team) Raw or Smackdown. If they were to do a big all-women special event with significant build, I could probably get behind it, but no way would I do that for something like Wrestlemania.

3. I hope that doesn't happen! He could do so much more.

4. I'm under the impression he's still got a decent amount of time on his current deal, so we're a few months from this even being an option. I would be very surprised if WWE considered him more important than Impact would. WWE has a really stacked lineup right now; I don't think he'd be a difference-maker worth pursuing.

5. For all intents and purposes, he's done as a wrestler outside of a potential cameo in something like the Andre battle royal. He's moved on to a behind-the-scenes role. If he does get inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, that pretty much settles how WWE sees him as an active competitor.

More wrestling tomorrow.

WWE part-owner drops out, WWE seeking interns, Cena vs. Ford continues, special WWE 2K18 edition coming, HoFer at Raw, more World Class on the Network, Network profits up, update on WWE PPVs, former WWE Champion close to comeback, two top names coming back to AAA?, Elgin signs new NJPW deal, Interview with Riddle, more on Memphis Wrestling return, Rey's son training under former ROH Champion, James Storm update, MYC name coming out with book, LU taping plans, WOH tournament plans, more on Impact commentary plans, two Smackdown names sign multi-year deals, more on Gronk-WWE, WWE doing big show in Australia?, more on Rey-WWE, WWE HoF rumor, Impact sets more Twitch broadcasts, NWA title match released, Swann released, Stone Cold revisits Valentine's Day match, Xavier Woods faces break-in, WWE honors holiday, Redemption location set, WWE to air on New Zealand TV, Konnan update, Impact UK show changing times, NXT name helping shooting victims, Rousey advertised for top event, Lio's family grows, and Questions on WWE's abundant nicknames, Raw's top title vs. Smackdown's, Lashley continuing MMA in WWE, LU plans, and why new names are beating 205 Live vets

WWE's part-owner, hedge fund sponsor Eminence Capital, sold its nine percent share in WWE. I don't see that really changing anything for the company.

WWE is seeking a communications intern, a legal intern, an E-commerce intern, a WWE Studios intern, a live events marketing intern, a talent relations intern, and a live events associate producer.

John Cena filed a motion to dismiss Ford's lawsuit against him because the relevant "no-resale" clause of their deal wasn't in the final sales agreement. Cena will probably kick out at 2 and go on to beat Ford on the second Attitude Adjustment.

WWE 2K18 is getting a special Wrestlemania edition for Europe, the Middle East, and Australia on March 23. This edition will feature a lot of content that has been added to the base game as well as some exclusive content. That's pretty great! They should consider doing that for all markets in the future.

Diamond Dallas Page is booked for Monday's Raw. That's interesting. I'm curious what role he'll fulfill.

WWE Network is adding more World Class Championship Wrestling episodes as they track down content from private collectors in an effort to fill gaps in the library they acquired.

WWE Network is getting larger profit margins from subscribers due to fewer PPV events and original series. Having more events and content wasn't attracting new subscribers.

WWE is expected to make all pay-per-views as dual-branded events in an effort to increase interest in them. That could be pretty big, as it could mean fewer spots for lower- and mid-level names. It could also mean each show is longer. They're already marathon events!

Jeff Hardy is expected back in WWE soon. Or perhaps Brother Nero? I'm curious if Bray will get a partner against the Hardys at some point.

Alberto El Patron is looking to return to AAA, and L.A. Park is also expected back in the mix. August's Triplemania could be when we see both.

Michael Elgin has signed a two-year deal with NJPW. He's pretty great. I miss him in ROH.

Matt Riddle discussed potentially going to WWE at some point. That could be something of a culture clash.

Jerry Lawler's Memphis wrestling show will feature clips from previous decades with Lawler and others discussing the content. It's a huge deal locally.

Rey Mysterio's son Dominic is training with Jay Lethal. He could potentially have a big run ahead of him, but of course we're in the very early going.

James Storm debuted for ICW in Scotland recently. Still no word on him heading to WWE; he's regularly taking outside dates.

Mae Young Classic competitor Jazzy Gabert has written an autobiography. Hopefully she's able to make her way in WWE before too much longer.

Lucha Underground will begin taping on February 23 in a new location that holds more people. They're looking into having talents based in the city all five weeks so as to not have to pay for flights. A number of talents are coming into the tapings in order for their characters to be written off so they can go elsewhere. Others are hoping to be able to work other places in addition to LU.

The WOH tournament will likely have its second round across the 16th anniversary weekend and its semifinals and finals at Supercard of Honor. That sounds like a pretty good plan.

Mike Tenay was discussed as returning to Impact commentary, but he insists he's retired. I understand them moving with newer names as they try to build a new vision for the company.

Dolph Ziggler and Mojo Rawley have signed new multiple-year contracts. DEAR GOD WHY???? I'm OK with Rawley staying, but I was hoping Dolph was getting ready to wrap things up. He's pretty much settled in to doing the same thing over and over, but he's getting paid a lot for it, so I can't say I blame him.

WWE is interested in using NFL's Rob Gronkowski. His future with football is somewhat up in the air, so there's an option he heads to wrestling.

WWE is in talks for a big Australian event in October. WWE usually plans tours out quite a while in advance, so I don't expect we'll see this happen.

Rey Mysterio is expected to sign a part-time WWE deal, but it could be a while before it ends up happening. He's getting bookings in a lot of places.

Jeff Jarrett is being considered for the WWE Hall of Fame. That's BIG. I hope we see it.

Impact Wrestling will broadcast their April 7 Wrestlecon event live on Twitch. I'm glad to see things picking up for them on the live event end.

NWA released full video of Nick Aldis vs. James Ellsworth for the World Championship. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Ellsworth. Impact could make use of him.

Rich Swann has been released from WWE in a mutual agreement. That's a shame. I hope he can return a few years down the line and really get some momentum going. He also would be great in Impact or ROH.

Stone Cold did alternate commentary on his 1999 Valentine's Day match with Vince McMahon on his podcast. Those were the days.

Xavier Woods' car was broken into. That's a real shame.

WWE celebrated Chinese New Year. Good to see them honor international holidays.

Impact's Redemption pay-per-view will hail from Universal Studios. They never locked in a venue to hold it in Toronto as originally intended.

Raw and Smackdown will air in one-hour versions in New Zealand for the first time ever, in addition to highlight shows. All will air in English as well as the local language on both TV and on-demand from the TV station's website.

Konnan is undergoing hip surgery in a few weeks, then looking to return to the ring. We'll see if that means he'll wrestle for Impact.

Impact's March 4 show in Canada will be filmed for Twitch. They're doing a good job getting content for that.

Impact's UK timeslot is moving to 11 p.m. Interesting change.

Donovan Dijak has opened a charity for Florida shooting victims. That's great for him to do.

Ronda Rousey is featured in Summerslam ads. I expect they'll use her on bigger events like that, but I wouldn't rule out her working "B shows" too the way they use Brock.

Lio Rush welcomed his second child into the world. That's great!

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. More nicknames, more merchandise ideas! And more money in the wrestlers' pockets. So, by all means, bring on the nicknames.

2. Some of it's because Brock is the champion. He's a pretty big deal inside and outside of wrestling, so that brings some real prestige.

3. There's already talk of him heading to WWE after WM34, so he could easily just drop doing MMA if he and WWE come to the right terms. We'll see how things go in the weeks and months ahead.

4. We should know pretty soon.

5. Basically the talents who were already there were getting stale as they went through the same matches with each other. Having new names at the top is a way to get fan interest back on the brand. As was said, it's pretty much common practice when a company or brand gets new leadership and/or a "reboot."

More wrestling tomorrow.

Impact Wrestling Reax - 2/15/18

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

Foley hosting Mania party, Interviews with Shelton/Tebow, Titus honored, Cass training to return, how NWA can use Impact footage, HoFer content on WWE Network, Braun signing set, Castle gets big role on Jericho cruise, Golden Lovers U.S. bound, Smackdown audience, WWE signs former Impact name, podcast notes, and Questions on Booker and Graves working the dirtsheets, Nigel missing commentary, selfie promos in WWE, and Nordholm vs. Reby Hardy

Mick Foley is hosting a Wrestlemania viewing party in Chicago, so he won't be on the show itself. That's not a huge surprise.

Shelton Benjamin discussed finding a gun in his rental car. That could have been a really scary situation.

Tim Tebow discussed potentially playing in the XFL. I'm going to try to keep football news to a minimum on a wrestling blog. Unless it relates to WWE in some way, of course.

Titus O'Neil got an honorary membership to the National Society of Leadership and Success. That's really cool. He's been a great public face of the company.

Big Cass has been working out at the WWE Performance Center. He isn't believed to be cleared to train in the ring yet, but is walking without assistance. I hope he can be a real player when he returns.

Impact's parent company has met with the NWA on how the two sides can work together. There are some working agreements in place between Anthem Media and Billy Corgan after the two sides settled their lawsuit regarding money Impact owed Corgan. That's not surprising, as Corgan is meeting with a lot of companies, but this is why NWA can use Impact footage to promote Nick Aldis.

WWE Network is putting together a collection honoring this year's Hall of Fame class. That should be an interesting combination of footage.

Braun Strowman will be at Funko's headquarters on February 24 before Raw's event that day. They've really hit on something with the Pop! figures. 

Dalton Castle will be the "cruise director" of Chris Jericho's big October event. Nice to see Castle getting that kind of prominent role. ROH is going to benefit from partnering with Y2J there.

Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi will team in the United States for the first time ever at Wrestlecon's Supershow, taking on the Best Friends. That should be pretty cool.

Smackdown drew 2.45 million viewers this week, a small drop from last week.

WWE has signed the former Mahabali Shera, best known for his work in India. He does have some experience under his belt, so maybe he'll be able to get something going for himself in WWE.

Edge and Christian are on Stone Cold's latest podcast.

Will Ospreay is on Chris Jericho's latest podcast. Now THAT would be a match!

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Basically, Booker and Graves were upset no one tried to contact either man in any way to confirm there was real tension between the two. So, it was pretty easy for the two to create their own narrative. For what it's worth, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer seems to have done some digging on whether Booker was booked for anything going forward. One would think if WWE thought he was actually going to fight Corey, WWE would make sure they weren't booked to be in the same town, etc. Other outlets pretty much just reported what he said and moved on. As always, I'm pretty much just a news collector. I don't have any contacts in the business. So I go with what's on other sites.

2. Thankfully he's back now. Percy's not a great fit so far.

3. It started with Mixed Match Challenge trying to appeal to the Facebook crowd. I think the text-on-screen thing is terrible, but I can see why they're trying new things. I strongly doubt it's Vince's doing, though.

4. Yeah, that definitely didn't paint Nordholm in the best light, especially as the head of an important company. If he was in a more prominent company, there would be some serious flak headed his way.

5. It's a CONSPIRACY! I assume he's with the Illuminati or something? Honestly, I have no idea.

More wrestling tomorrow.

NXT and ROH Reax - 2/14/18

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

Upcoming HoFer on Twitter, Ivory gets respect from peers, NJPW vs. ROH card announced, NXT name gets press, UK Champ working Australia, another Titus speech, NXT signing mistaken for pop band, YouTube name on trying out for WWE, Jordan on getting injured, HOH Australian dates set, Raw audience, Impact execs in India, Impact seeking indie bookings, Edwards-Impact update, Impact HoFer getting DVD, Smackdown dark matches, and Questions on WWE cutting pyro, more NJPW World platforms, the purpose of squash matches, why WWE chooses HoF inductors, and commemorative titles

Ivory has joined Twitter, shortly after being announced for the WWE Hall of Fame. Good to see her back in the picture again.

- The Rock, Triple H, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Hurricane Helms, Charlotte Flair, and Todd Grisham all put over Ivory's induction. I'm also glad to see her being honored.

NJPW and ROH announced the cards for Honor Rising 2018, featuring the first matches from the reunited Golden Lovers of Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi. Here's the card for the February 23 show, and here's the card for the February 24 show. We'll see what comes out of those events.

Billie Kaye got press for her first action figure. I hope Raw or Smackdown get the Iconic Duo right after WM34.

Pete Dunne will be part of PWA X PROGRESS in Australia this April. He's getting a good deal of work, which is great.

Titus O'Neil gave a speech Tuesday night. I'm glad to see him getting those opportunities.

NXT signing Warbeard Hanson is being tagged in posts meant to advertise the band Hanson. Poor guy.

YouTube star MegSquats put together a video on trying out for WWE. It's telling how tough competition is to get into NXT when someone in such great shape didn't get signed.

Jason Jordan commented on missing Wrestlemania. I hope he can get something going once he's able to wrestle again. 

House of Hardcore will have further shows in Australia from July 11 through July 15. They're doing a good job at building a good niche for themselves.

Raw drew 3.11 million viewers Monday night. That's an OK milestone for the show in 2018.

Impact management met with Indian business partners recently. India is one of their biggest TV markets.

Impact is publicly soliciting indie bookings for its talents. That will hopefully get their workers enough dates where they'll want to stay with the company.

Eddie Edwards is believed to have signed a new deal with Impact, as had been expected. He can be a great workhorse for them.

Gail Kim is getting a DVD from Impact. She's definitely been a major player there for her tenure.

Tye Dillinger defeated Mike Kanellis before Smackdown. After 205 Live, Becky Lynch and Naomi defeated Natalya and Carmella before AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal. So, the crowd got quite a bit of action.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Basically, if they have pyrotechnics, they have to hire extra staff to handle them. So, it's an expense they don't want to deal with outside of potentially big occasions.

2. I'd think as they expand the service, those platforms would be possibilities.

3. Basically it shows how strong they are that they can beat these other pro wrestlers with no problem, without hurting anyone currently on the roster. It shows that superstars in major leagues are larger-than-life and much more impressive than the local crop of workers.

4. WWE is trying to sell tickets to the event and get people to watch the special on the Network, so they're going to pick inductees and inductors with that purpose in mind. In other words, it's about as much of a work as anything else the company does.

5. I can see why WWE did what they did. I wouldn't assume they're going to create a new replica or anything over it.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Smackdown, MMC, and 205 Live Reax - 2/13/18

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

Interviews with Hogan+Flair/Mojo/D-Von/AJ Styles/Booker+Bischoff/Ivory/McIntyre, Bayley appears before Raw, Ziggler addresses return, WWE trivia book coming, Ellsworth challenging for the NWA Championship, WWE 2K18 feedback, WOH tournament official, Backlash now dual-branded, seven men in the Chamber, what happened ater Raw, and Questions on Smackdown's Top 10, off-topic wrestling discussion, Trish vs. Lita in the Rumble, Asuka's Mania opponent, and high-impact moves hurting talents

Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair pitched Hogan returning to WWE. Flair also put Hogan over for helping him out. I'd like to think we'll see Hogan make an appearance at some point, but it's not in the works currently.

Mojo Rawley discussed NFL's Rob Gronkowski potentially going to WWE. If Mojo turned his personality up, I think he could be at Enzo's level. Obviously he doesn't want to emulate some of what got Enzo heat, but he could really get people into things.

D-Von Dudley is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast. I'm glad WWE's putting him over so much.

AJ Styles put over Ronda Rousey. She can definitely make a big splash, but Angle's put in a LOT of years and a lot of matches in the wrestling business. It's far too early to say Ronda can emulate that.

Bayley did a signing at a Cricket Wireless store before Raw. 

Booker T. and Eric Bischoff were at Astronomicon. That's pretty cool.

Dolph Ziggler eluded to why he's back on Smackdown. Shane getting him the 30th spot in the Rumble and a chance at entering the WWE Title match at Fast Lane is a pretty good reason to come back, no?

A WWE Pop Trivia book is due out October 23. The author is former ECW ring announcer turned CZW commentator Eric Gargiulo. 

The former James Ellsworth will challenge for the NWA World Championship, with the idea that he fit Nick Aldis' manager's criteria to face the champion. That's clever. Aldis gets to pad out his reign before facing a more credible champion.

ESPN announced Ivory entering WWE's Hall of Fame. Basically, WWE told them that "scoop" to get publicity for the announcement. 

Drew McIntyre put over Triple H for allowing him to enter the ICW Hall of Fame. The Cult of Haitch continues to grow.

WWE 2K18's developers are seeking fan feedback. That should end well. I'm predicting about 3,000 responses about putting the Young Bucks in next year.

ROH officially revealed the WOH tournament bracket. Can't wait to see who Brandi will beat each round.

The May 6 Backlash event is now a Raw and Smackdown show, leading to speculation that will be the norm for events going forward. It could be beneficial for each brand to have four matches on a card in a month instead of each having their own seven-match event to build to. However, that would also mean fewer spots for talents to be able to work such big shows. We'll see if WWE thinks that's worth it long-term.

Raw's men's Elimination Chamber match will have seven competitors after Raw's main event ending. That's definitely an interesting turn of events. Now Roman can win the biggest Elimination Chamber match ever!

After Raw, Asuka defeated Alexa Bliss by DQ when Nia Jax interfered. Sasha Banks and Bayley then made the save. After this, The Miz and Miztourage challenged John Cena to a rematch. Braun Strowman came out instead and destroyed all three. Good to see the women getting a dark match and Braun getting the nod over Cena.

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

1. I really hope we don't have angles where someone's upset they're number eight instead of number six, although that would kind of mirror the reality of wrestlers concerning themselves over having a ****1/4-rated match instead of a ****1/2-rated match or whatever. It's a really lazy storytelling device.

2. They still do non-wrestling talk on some of their Elite membership shows. It's pretty cool.

3. No because the match should ultimately have been about Asuka and the other current wrestlers.

4. She hasn't officially declared it, so the door is open for her to challenge for the other championship instead (as has been rumored). If Dave isn't aware of those widely-reported rumors, he's missing something he should already know. If he's aware of those rumors and is deliberately playing his anti-Vince/anti-WWE booking card, that's dishonest journalism.

5. Hopefully they'll hit a point where they don't have to potentially hurt themselves so much to be over. It seems like a lot of wrestlers these days are concerned with looking cool at the expense of their long-term health, because there are so many places out there fighting for viewers that it's difficult to stand out.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Raw Reax - 2/12/18

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

NXT name returns, WWE vs. Impact in the UK, Impact pairing with Canadian indie, Memphis Wrestling back on the air, MMC hype, Miz makes history, Interview with Roode, Titus does another good deed, and Questions on Rousey getting a sponsor, music rights, Ronda's debut, Rey-WWE issues, and MMC being a comedy

Lars Sullivan has returned to action. Good to see he didn't have to miss long.

Apollo Crews defeated Moose in the UK. Crews was allowed to work the event as the hosting promotion previously let WWE run a venue that's normally exclusive to that entity. It's cool to see a match between a talent contracted to WWE and one signed with Impact.

Impact is running a live event with Destiny Wrestling in Ontario on March 4. So they'll at least be having matches there soon even if it won't be for Redemption and the following shows.

Memphis Wrestling will return to local television on Saturday mornings beginning in April. That's pretty cool.

Rusev and Lana mocked Elias and Bayley. Rusev is a treasure.

The Miz now has the second-most number of days as Intercontinental Champion in WWE history. Wow. That's really big for him, and he could very easily move into first place.

Bobby Roode discussed his entrance and more. I'd think he'd still be over without such a great song, but it's definitely really made a mark.

Titus O'Neil helped another group of university students attend a major speech.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. If she wants to represent a sponsor, I think WWE would be open to it. Brock is able to get everything he wants in WWE because they know he can be a draw and could go back to UFC if he wants. I don't think Rousey has quite that level of power, but I'd think she'd be able to get some pretty good perks.

2. It's an agreement for a certain period of time, rather than a per-use situation. Honestly, the record label and songwriter get most of it.

3. I think it was all pretty cool. They can save Ronda's first actual promo for later. Hopefully it also sets up Ronda vs. Asuka down the line.

4. It could be the feeling WWE's already had a number of talents coming in part-time for a few big matches at a high rate, so they're being more cautious here. Both sides want to work together; it's just a matter of agreeing on the number of dates and the cost.

5. It's been a breath of fresh air. I'm more than happy to have more entertainment in my sports entertainment. I wouldn't mind more in that vein.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Main Event Reax - 2/10/18, Interviews with Titus/Impact management/Booker+Graves, Rey facing fellow legend at NJPW California show, Smackdown name has surgery, assorted WWE press, HBK to be honored, Ride Along preview, next WWE Network Flashback Friday theme, Smackdown live event notes, and Questions on Fallahzuna, Kamala in the WWE HOF, what indie promoters do and don't take care of, and WWE working with indies in the '90s

-- Main Event:
- Hawkins vs. Goldust:
Mr. Main Event is back!! He goes into this match with 160 straight losses, but maybe lightning will strike here.

I'm split on the Goldust/Mandy pairing, since Mandy's already in Absolution.

Pretty fun so far.

I like Curt being fired up.

Ha. What if he ended his losing streak with a rear chinlock of all things?

I don't know if mocking your opponent is a good move when you've lost as much as Curt has. Heck, I'd be willing to pay someone to lie down for me at this point.

Pretty solid ending.

- Kalisto vs. Ariya:
Nice mat work to start.

These two work together pretty well.

And now Kalisto's getting comfortable enough to fly.

Using someone's mask to take them down is just downright dirty.

Kalisto's ALMOST got him, but Daivari's not going down just yet.

A rollup winning a cruiser match would be funny.

Not bad at all! 

Titus O'Neil discussed his work inside and outside of WWE. Here are some highlights:
- I can't give Titus enough credit for all his philanthropy. That's a great use of the platform he's been given.

- Amazing story about how he got where he is now and his goals as an ambassador.

- I like Titus' approach to not being booked prominently. Ultimately, it's a job. Being paid to be something of a bit player is better than being not paid. It sounds like he could be making more money elsewhere, but he enjoys WWE.

- There was definitely a feeling Titus was given too much of a push too early for someone so inexperienced, and that bred some resentment. I see why people who have worked harder at wrestling for longer are upset at that kind of thing, but the boss made a decision to hire Titus and a decision for others to work with him. Everyone wants to be WWE Champion, but not everyone can be. If the boss wants you working with a former football player, that's what you need to do.

- Darren was very selfless. That's great to hear.

- Darren and Titus complemented each other really well as partners and as opponents. Both men helped the other be successful.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger is set for NJPW's California show. That's a BIG get for NJPW. They've got some real potential to make waves in the U.S. going forward, and it looks like they're pretty savvy about the U.S. market.

Impact management talked to Newsweek:
- "The world's number two (wrestling) company" sounds like a stretch. In the U.S. during their Spike deal, sure, but worldwide is a pretty big claim.

- 2017 was a mess for Impact, but I think some of that was inevitable as they didn't have the money to keep certain big names. I'd like to think things would have gone better if Jarrett was able to stay onboard.

- There's barely any buzz around Impact. Best of luck in turning that around.

- It's going to be tough to build wrestlers, as once WWE has them on their radar, there's not much Impact can do to keep them.

- EC3 definitely benefits from being able to keep that name.

- Being able to make money on live events is definitely going to be a key to revamping business. They can't charge for attendance at Universal Studios.

- I'm more than willing to give them time to get Impact moving in a positive fashion. The company still gives a platform to a good number of talented wrestlers.

Tamina Snuka had surgery on a torn rotator cuff. She's expected to miss around six months. She's lasted longer than I've expected, given that she just turned 40.

Finn Balor and Sasha Banks worked with the Special Olympics in Canada. That's awesome.

John Cena will chaperone a high school dance as part of a contest. That's a little weird, but I know there are a lot of high schoolers who would love to see Cena there.

Some NXT stars took part in a "Polar Plunge" for the Special Olympics in Florida. NXT does a lot of good work for the area.

Shawn Michaels will be honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club this year. That's really cool!

Booker T. and Corey Graves discussed their issues. Basically Booker was playing around to get people talking, and is happy to not be on commentary anymore. I was kind of hoping it would lead to something goofy between the two at Mania. At least they had fun with the whole situation, though.

A new WWE Ride Along with Elias and the Balor Club will debut after Raw. That sounds really fun.

WWE Network's "Flashback Friday" theme this week will be wrestling presidents, i.e. Jack Tunney, Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Herd, and Roddy Piper. That would have been the perfect opportunity to feature the current United States president, but they don't want to stir up any controversy by promoting such a controversial figure.

Some Smackdown live event notes:
- Primo is teaming Mike Kanellis with Epico out. They're losing to New Day on this loop.
- Dolph Ziggler is back on live events, losing to Shinsuke Nakamura. The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. If there was, Bahh would be the, what, 53rd member of that family to enter wrestling?

2. I don't know if Kamala would be able to attend. Unfortunately, they're probably going to wait for him to pass rather than showcasing an ailing double amputee.

3. Basically things are more taken care of for more established wrestlers than for people still making names for themselves. The more prominent a star, the more perks they can get.

Nothing to add to 4.

5. Also, some of it was for the wrestlers involved to get more experience and polish as workers. That's a classic carny wrestling story about indy promoters booking wrestlers for non-existent shows, though.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Another NJPW Australia main event set, Booker vs. Graves continues, assorted wrestling press, new WWE game show?, Impact Redemption update, Knockout injury, new Impact signing, Cena videos, Liger training camp, NJPW opening California dojo, Impact audience, Impact commentary update, more on next Impact ONO show, WWE has another loaded tryout, NXT live event note, MSG mixed tag set, Anthem officially gets TNA trademarks, Impact return 14 years in the making, ROH name misses show, and Questions on Rousey-WWE, Cornette vs. Owens, and Punk's second UFC bout

NJPW's February 19 Australia event will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada and Rocky Romero vs. EVIL and SANADA. The match will not be for EVIL and SANADA's tag team championship.

Booker T. is inviting Corey Graves to call in to Booker's podcast. It looks like they're going to build to something at Wrestlemania, but I don't know what they'd really be able to do given both men are retired for good reason.

- Corey accepted the invitation.

Edge has joined Instagram.

WWE Network seems to be getting a game show. It would be good to see Renee Young get more responsibilities on the service.

Charlotte Flair was part of a signing at World of Wheels in Alabama. WWE seems to be reaching out to other audiences with these appearances.

Impact's Redemption event and the following TV tapings could end up being in Universal Studios after all, despite the original plan being for the shows to be in Ontario. It's hard to keep things straight with what's going on in Impact sometimes given all the changes they go through.

Rosemary suffered some sort of injury this week. It's unknown if she'll miss any work with Impact. That would be unfortunate, as she's one of the most entertaining characters in the company.

Impact has hired long-time fan Garrett Kidney to run their social media accounts. That's pretty cool. It will be good to have someone so enthused about the product on-board.

John Cena appeared on "The Today Show" to wed two wrestling fans. Shockingly, no one turned heel and called the wedding off.

- Cena also promoted hosting the Kids' Choice Awards. That was interesting, to say the least.

Jushin "Thunder" Liger is hosting a training seminar for Future Stars of Wrestling in Nevada on March 11. That's a big opportunity!

NJPW is opening a training camp in California in March. Another big stage in their U.S. expansion. Wow. They're definitely set to become a bigger player in North America in the years to come.

Impact Wrestling drew 294,000 viewers Thursday night. Hopefully they don't take too much of a hit with EC3 and Lashley leaving.

Sonjay Dutt and Josh Mathews will be the regular commentary team for Impact for now.

One Night Only: Canadian Clash will be on pay-per-view in addition to the Global Wrestling Network. The six-match card features James Storm, EC3, and Lashley in some of their last Impact matches.

WWE announced who attended their latest tryout, including current wrestlers:
- Austin Theory
- Kamille Kaine
- MJ Jenkins
- Kylie Rae
- Elias Evan Markopoulos
- Jarek 1:20
- Tyler Bateman
- Maverick, a.k.a. Moonshine Mantell
- Kevin Kross
- Maria Manic
- Rob Ryzin
- Dylan Bostic
- Jaxon Stone
- Rebecca McMonagle
- Brittany Quintana
- Bubblegum Princess
- Bryan Idol a.k.a. Earl Cooter
-- among a lot of other potential signees from various backgrounds. As always, it was quite the diverse crowd.

WWE promoted a trip to Universal Studios. It would be pretty funny if someone won and ended up going to watch Impact, but it's unknown if Impact will have shows there during that time.

Babatunde Aiyegbusi returned to NXT live event this weekend for the first time since December. He lost to Lars Sullivan Thursday and Killian Dain Friday.

Nikki Bella is advertised for WWE's Madison Square Garden show on March 16, teaming with John Cena against Elias and Bayley. So, the MMC pairing will at least last until that event, and Nikki's at least working one more date.

Anthem has officially taken over ownership of trademarks that were property of TNA Entertainment. It took some time to get everything in order with the new ownership, clearly.

Teddy Hart will work Impact's Wrestlecon event during Wrestlemania weekend. He last worked for the company in 2004. I didn't see that one coming at all. Wow. We'll see if he ends up doing any more dates.

Cheeseburger missed Honor Reigns Supreme due to the flu. I hope he's not out long.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Clearly everyone involved expects her to do Mania. They're just getting all the fine details sorted out. The Rumble appearance was a really big deal, to the point of it being worth whatever risk there is of her not working Mania.

2. HHH and Stephanie look incompetent, at the least. WWE panics to put something else together. They'd have to really screw up to not deliver the deal, though, given that Ronda wants to come in so badly and they've already agreed to merchandise.

3. If she wants to wrestle that badly, she could, but that's a much smaller stage and there'd be a lot less money and press involved.

4. It was more like Sinclair's funding saved ROH, and Cornette got that ball rolling. It definitely wasn't a result of Cornette's booking or leadership. While certainly he didn't take the job with the intent to ruin the company, his booking and philosophies were at least a decade dated at that point. He wasn't fit to be such a prominent part of a corporate entity, and the stresses of dealing with the personalities in ROH and Sinclair eventually drove him out. Long story short, he was a territory-era booker for a company that needed a mature executive with an understanding of the changing landscape of sports and entertainment.

5. Let's just say I don't expect him to excel given how the first bout went. But he'll make a lot of money to perform in his hometown! As for working another wrestling match, it will come down to him having an opportunity to do something he really wants to do. A particular opponent in a particular place, that kind of thing. He's not going to get back in the ring just to do it.

More wrestling tomorrow.