Taiji Ishimori has left Pro Wrestling NOAH, which could affect his Impact Wrestling tenure given the working relationship between the two companies. Hopefully Impact can still make use of the recent X-Division Champion.
Jeff Hardy's arrest was covered by CBS Sports, with WWE providing an official statement. The first priority here needs to be getting Jeff help so something like this doesn't happen again. He could have easily put himself and others in big danger.
- Matt Hardy seemingly commented on the matter in character. I would have been more than OK with the Hardy family releasing a statement "out-of-character" to address Jeff's status, as this is bigger than a wrestling angle.
- TMZ also reported on Jeff's arrest. A BAC level of 0.25 sounds very dangerous. I really, really hope WWE gets him some help before something like this can happen again.
WWE UK stars Tyler Bate and Trent Seven will be part of PROGRESS' Australian tour next month. Good to see them getting to travel the globe.
Sonya Deville is on Lillian Garcia's latest podcast, discussing being WWE's first openly gay female performer, MMA, and more. I don't believe I previously knew she was gay; I'm glad she feels comfortable enough to be open with that fact.
WWE has released more Wrestlemania-themed merchandise, with designs for Warrior, the nWo, and Steve Austin as well as items inspired by the NFL home team closest to WM34's venue. WWE wants to make Mania as big of a profit generator as possible; things are only beginning on that front.
Rich Swann has announced his intention to retire from professional wrestling, and missed several in-ring appearances he had recently been booked for. Swann is retiring due in part to the negative reception on social media following his domestic incident with Su Yung, as well as family commitments that prevent him from holding a full-time wrestling schedule. I wish that whole family well going forward. I truly hope good things are headed their way.
Impact Wrestling's Ed Nordholm and Aro Lucha's Don and Ron Harris were backstage at different Lucha Underground tapings this past weekend, seeking to establish working relationships. Impact and Aro Lucha both want to make use of LU talent when available. That could definitely be fruitful for all involved given how infrequently LU runs events.
The Greatest Royal Rumble event is a big priority inside WWE, with the company wanting to make the show as large of a spectacle as possible. The Undertaker is scheduled to appear, but may not be wrestling.
- Chris Jericho has been approached about working the show, and will likely end up doing so. Presumably for now it's just a one-time return, but he could always end up going back on the road regularly at some point. Notably, Fozzy is on tour from mid-July to mid-August, so any WWE TV return following WM34 would be temporary.
- Chris Jericho has been approached about working the show, and will likely end up doing so. Presumably for now it's just a one-time return, but he could always end up going back on the road regularly at some point. Notably, Fozzy is on tour from mid-July to mid-August, so any WWE TV return following WM34 would be temporary.
ROH's Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, Bully Ray, Beer City Bruiser, Colt Cabana, and Ian Riccaboni visited a local children's hospital before the 16th anniversary PPV. That's great for them to do.
Kid Rock was announced for the WWE Hall of Fame, initially through Billboard. He's contributed
enough to wrestling to be worthy of what's essentially a move to get press outside the wrestling bubble. Good for him.
A Wrestlemania store next to AXXESS will be setup during Wrestlemania weekend, with Rusev signing on April 5 at 11 a.m. and Elias signing on April 6 at 11 a.m. It's going to be another massive stretch for everyone in the company in early April.
Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground will feature Impact's DJ Z, Andrew Everett, and Dezmond Xavier in a six-man tag match against LU's Aerostar, King Cuerno, and Drago. DJ Z hasn't been part of Impact since March 2017, while neither Everett nor Dezmond have worked there since November 2017. Whether we'll see those names more in Impact remains to be seen.
Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground will feature Impact's DJ Z, Andrew Everett, and Dezmond Xavier in a six-man tag match against LU's Aerostar, King Cuerno, and Drago. DJ Z hasn't been part of Impact since March 2017, while neither Everett nor Dezmond have worked there since November 2017. Whether we'll see those names more in Impact remains to be seen.
Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, and Ronda Rousey were not backstage at Raw despite being advertised for the event. Brock is advertised for next week's show; we'll see what WWE is planning then.
Wrestlemania 34 will feature the first-ever Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal with women from Raw, Smackdown, and NXT competing. Basically this is a way for all the women not in title matches that night to get on the show, as well as potential NXT callups or cameos. That's not a bad idea given how many women WWE has on the roster now.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's possible it could be Stephanie, Michelle Wilson, and/or George Barrios in those roles, focusing on the economic side of things while Triple H focuses on what we see on TV. It's likely we're still some time from those plans fully coming together.
2. If someone did put up a lot of money for NXT, they could also want some changes to it so it could reach more of an audience. NXT benefits from being on WWE Network, where NBCU or Fox or whomever isn't going to fuss over ratings, stars being on TV each week, etc. I wouldn't be so sure someone's going to be so in love with NXT that they want to pay a lot of money to keep it like it is.
3. Sometimes that investment is worth going for, but other times WWE is very conscious about someone having one approved look and sticking with it for the sake of action figures, video games, etc. planned far in advance.
4. I assume Alberto's Impact contract allows him to talk to other companies. He's probably got a heck of a deal there given his name value. I mean, Impact's world champion just showed up on an ROH PPV.
5. Basically Matt was making a pretty big deal out of it online and WWE wasn't happy with that. WWE wanted Edge to get over as a heel and they played off a real incident to do that. The wrestling business is different from pretty much any other business in that regard.
More wrestling tomorrow.
1. It's possible it could be Stephanie, Michelle Wilson, and/or George Barrios in those roles, focusing on the economic side of things while Triple H focuses on what we see on TV. It's likely we're still some time from those plans fully coming together.
2. If someone did put up a lot of money for NXT, they could also want some changes to it so it could reach more of an audience. NXT benefits from being on WWE Network, where NBCU or Fox or whomever isn't going to fuss over ratings, stars being on TV each week, etc. I wouldn't be so sure someone's going to be so in love with NXT that they want to pay a lot of money to keep it like it is.
3. Sometimes that investment is worth going for, but other times WWE is very conscious about someone having one approved look and sticking with it for the sake of action figures, video games, etc. planned far in advance.
4. I assume Alberto's Impact contract allows him to talk to other companies. He's probably got a heck of a deal there given his name value. I mean, Impact's world champion just showed up on an ROH PPV.
5. Basically Matt was making a pretty big deal out of it online and WWE wasn't happy with that. WWE wanted Edge to get over as a heel and they played off a real incident to do that. The wrestling business is different from pretty much any other business in that regard.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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