Raw is almost definitely remaining at three hours under its next deal. Those three hours are valuable to USA Network; I suspect the show will remain that length for some time to come.
Cody will challenge the NWA World Champion at All In, regardless of who holds the title on that date.
All In is the greatest-selling non-WWE wrestling event in the United States since WCW Bash at the Beach 1999, and the greatest-selling non-WWE wrestling event in North America since a Montreal event in late 2001.
NJPW will have a new president come June 1, as Harold Meij takes over. Meij was chosen because he wants NJPW to be a bigger global competitor, as well as due to his fluency with Western culture and English. Meij is the first non-Japanese person to hold that position, and previously had executive roles at Coca Cola Japan and a top toy company.
- Meij has stated his goals as improving NJPW's TV situation and sell out the Tokyo Dome. His experience with marketing and branding were highlighted, too.
War of the Worlds: Toronto and Royal Oak were legitimate sellouts, as was Raw's May 13 live event in Spain and May 14 taping in the UK.
NJPW Dominion has sold out with more than 11,000 tickets sold. This will be the biggest gate they've ever drawn in that venue.
Chris Jericho's new NJPW shirt was the top seller on Hot Topic's website. He's been really savvy at staying relevant in wrestling.
NJPW's French TV deal is a one month trial of AXS episodes with French commentary.
Vice Sports is putting together a number of wrestling documentaries, including on the Von Erich family and the Montreal Screwjob. I'm curious what they can bring to to those topics.
ITV's WOS Wrestling tapings featured the former Wade Barrett as a commentator alongside SoCal Val in addition to being an authority figure. Wrestlers included Will Ospreay, Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Grado, Moose, Viper, Kay Lee Ray, and Doug Williams among many others.
Toni Storm is booked for WWE:UK's King of the Ring shows, and could have signed a contract outright. She's definitely someone who can be a star.
WWE:UK talents are no longer allowed to work Revolution Pro or certain other groups beyond PROGRESS or ICW. That's not surprising with WWE looking to begin running regular events with the UK brand soon.
Gymnast Stacey Ervin, Jr. and rugby player Daniel Vidot have signed WWE developmental deals. Ervin had a tryout several months back, while Vidot has been scouted for years.
Big Cass has heat for going off script during the "Little Daniel Bryan" segment. He was specifically told not to do the beatdown outside the ring, and that idea was turned down by Vince directly, but went ahead and did it regardless. So that explains why he's being knocked down the card. I see both sides of this one, with Cass wanting to grab the brass ring and Management seeing it as insubordination.
Randy Orton was given the European tour off. His current deal lets him limit his time on the road.
WWE 2K19 has been officially announced. No surprise there; it's just a matter of who will grace the cover and if there will be any surprise additions. I have a feeling Ronda Rousey will be the centerpiece this time. That's probably the right move.
Jim Cornette's latest podcast discussed All In's success and Vince Russo being booted from Starrcast. A generation of online wrestling fans, quite a few of which are in the business, have accepted as gospel that Russo "killed WCW and TNA" and don't want anything to do with him as a result. It's a new era and a lot of those names can now call the shots to blackball Russo.
Mauro Ranallo's upcoming documentary got another trailer. Extremely powerful stuff; I wish him the best personally and professionally.
Gene Okerlund is in a Mountain Dew ad with Kevin Hart. Glad to see Gene getting work in 2018.
The Global Wrestling Network now has every PPV event from the Asylum years.
Rafael Morfi has returned to Impact to work the travel logistics of Slammiversary.
WWE's stock reached an all-time high after reports of the new rights deal for Raw. The deals for Raw and Smackdown will drive revenue to unprecedented levels in the years to come.
- WWE received a lot of mainstream recognition for its stock price increase. Things are looking really good for the company.
Honorclub has added a Kevin Steen compilation focusing on 2005-2008. It's smart to showcase stars who've achieved big mainstream success.
Ronda Rousey teamed with Natalya and Ember Moon to defeat Mickie James, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan on May 16 in Switzerland in Ronda's live event debut. She was originally set for singles matches on the tour.
- Also on the show, Zack Ryder and Chad Gable defeated Goldust and Mojo Rawley. That's a pretty odd pairing on both ends; I'm curious what it means, if anything, for Goldust and Gable going forward.
Shane McMahon has undergone successful hernia surgery, and is now recovering at home. I hope he's able to rest a while before getting physical again.
Big Show is on Stone Cold's latest podcast, discussing his recent surgery, contract status, and more. Show signed a new WWE deal earlier this year that allows him to be a brand ambassador with limited in-ring duties. He's still recovering from hip surgery.
WWE names weighed in on the Yanny/Laurel debate. It's a matter of sound quality and pitch, largely.
Bayley's pre-WWE career was showcased. Neat. It's kind of funny seeing them acknowledge Bayley isn't actually named Bayley.
WWE Network is uploading new episodes of Mid-South Wrestling. With Thunder and Heat being held up as long as they were, WWE has quite a bit of content ready to roll out at once.
ROH has set the following matches for Honor United:
-- May 24 in Edinburgh:
- Punishment Martinez vs. Kenny King
- Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jay Lethal vs. The Kingdom in a non-title match
- Sumie Sakai and Tenille Dashwood vs. Kelly Klein and Chardonnay
- Nick Aldis and a partner TBD by Ring of Honor vs. The Young Bucks. That should be interesting...
- Delirious and Toru Yano vs. The Boys
- Silas Young vs. Joe Hendry for the ROH Television Championship
-- May 26 in London:
- Cody vs. Kenny King
- Dalton Castle vs. EVIL for the ROH World Championship
- Tenille Dashwood vs. Kelly Klein
-- May 27 in Doncaster:
- Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hangman Page
- Sumie Sakai vs. Chardonnay for the ROH Women Of Honor Championship
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I expect he's going to remain low-key, as he liked to do when he was in WWE. He could be working on something outside the business.
2. Those days were pretty crazy, huh?
3. Las Vegas? My other pick, Los Angeles, is set for November.
4. I think Haku's reputation might exceed Williams', but I'm not counting Williams out!
5. Not that I know of. He seems to have moved on to acting and other endeavors; it's likely he doesn't want to be behind the desk when he still has things to offer physically.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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