Mike Tyson discussed Ronda Rousey and WWE at the Kids' Choice Awards, of all things.
WWE posted video of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn invading a Smackdown live event this weekend. Travel had already been booked with them working this weekend's shows, so it made sense to have them do something at the events.
Jeff Jarrett discussed going into the WWE Hall of Fame:
- I keep saying I'd love to see Jeff work behind-the-scenes in WWE.
- I'm interested to see what the future holds for him.
- I expect Road Dogg will induct him, but it could also be AJ Styles given their relationship in "other wrestling companies" and "a certain club in Japan."
- Jarrett had some great feuds with Sting and Angle. The Double J, Double M A angle is one of my favorites of all time.
Stephanie McMahon got an award for Connor's Cure. Big Show and Dana Warrior were also in attendance. Stephanie is going to be an increasingly important presence in WWE, on camera and off.
Rusev (April 5 at 1:00 p.m.) and Elias (April 6 at 11:00 a.m.) will be signing at the Wrestlemania superstore.
Paul Heyman will induct Goldberg into the WWE Hall of Fame. That's an interesting choice, but I'm looking forward to it.
An alligator "predicted" Wrestlemania winners. It's nice to see ZZ make a cameo in the WM34 hype.
Rey Mysterio appeared at Strong Style Evolved, giving his word that he will compete for NJPW once he recovers from his injury. Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll were teased as opponents. Um, why not both??
NJPW will run San Francisco on July 7 for "Fighting Spirit Unleashed."
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Basically WWE isn't going to jeopardize such a big financial opportunity by forcing the issue. I think to some degree WWE hopes running there will lead to more acceptance of Western culture and they can do something with the women on future shows, but for now they're making so much money that they're willing to alter the product for the local market.
2. WELL BROTHER LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING JACK ALL THE HULKAMANIACS NEED TO KNOW THAT THE HULKSTER IS SORRY DUDE! Personally, I think he needs to come back and get his initial "welcome back" pop before taking off his glasses, boa, etc, and delivering a message more or less "as Terry." He needs to tell the crowd (and fans at home) he did things he's not proud of, and he needs to apologize for those things. He needs to be humble and he needs to do things that give back to the business, potentially focusing on issues primarily affecting those affected by his words and actions. WWE needs to make sure he lives up to that end of things if he's going to be part of the company again. It can't just be about what's best for Hulk's bottom line. Either that or blame everything on Mr. America.
3 and 4. I think the angle as a whole was risky given the issues involving police officers these past few years. That's a pretty contentious situation to dive into given strong opinions on both sides. WWE could have been seen as either promoting police brutality of an unarmed civilian or promoting attacking police officers, either of which would get them "the wrong kind of heat" with some fans.
4. I think it was seen as going too far to make Roman look sympathetic, i.e. "forcing the crowd to like him." So, there was backlash.
5. The political climate about police relations was very different then, and fans were already behind Austin rather than the angle being used to get sympathy on him.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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