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Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Dreamer to MLW, Riddle hurt, ROH iPPV and TV taping set, All In matches and notes, Total Bellas renewed, Bull helps fan attend Mania, assorted WWE press, another Zayn surgery, Interview with Yim, Raw audience, SDL visitors, more from Heyman interview, and Questions on WWE going back to Divas, so much wrestling on TV, Ronda's suspension, and half-full arenas

Tommy Dreamer is working MLW's War Games event on September 6. He's still making the rounds and giving back to the business.

Matt Riddle suffered a deep cut during his EVOLVE Championship match with Shane Strickland, and has been pulled from some indie appearances as he recovers. We'll see if that affects how he's booked for his pending NXT debut.

ROH has announced a TV taping on November 3 in Pennsylvania and Survival of the Fittest for November 4 in Ohio. The latter will air on Honorclub.

All In: Zero Hour will feature the Over Budget Battle Royal as well as The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky.

- Highspots.com is selling All In turnbuckles and trading cards. This show is a big win for wrestling outside of WWE.

"Total Bellas" has been renewed after a very successful third season.

The former Bull Dempsey is helping a fan raise money to attend WrestleMania. That's pretty cool. I could see WWE reaching out to make it happen.

Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart met with Tampa Bay NFL players.

Sami Zayn underwent a second shoulder surgery. Hopefully that clears everything up and he doesn't need any further procedures.

Mia Yim discussed the Mae Young Classic. I really hope she gets picked up by WWE as a result of her work. She's absolutely worthy of a spot.

WWE is now selling back-to-school packages. Because, as always, that's their target audience.

Raw drew 2.80 million viewers for Monday's show, a drop despite following up Brock attacking Angle and Heyman as well as Ronda in action. The show was pretty critically panned, so it could have driven people away.

The New York Mets' minor league affiliate is holding a WWE Summerslam Night next week, raising money for Connor's Cure.

Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, Kaitlyn, and Afa the Wild Samoan were backstage at Smackdown Live. I think there's a decent chance Kaitlyn gets signed to a new contract. Hogan being backstage was a little risky unless he was specifically invited. He shouldn't get to just assume it's OK to be there again.

Paul Heyman's Raw interview had an unaired portion released on WWE.com. I think we're going to see Paul cost Brock the title somehow. The MITB briefcase could be in play.

Cyndi Lauper paid tribute to wrestlers during a Madison Square Garden performance, as she has worked with WWF in that building. She should absolutely go into the Hall of Fame WM35 weekend.

Jay Lethal will defend the ROH World Championship at All In, facing the winner of the Over Budget Battle Royal.

- All In will also feature Madison Rayne vs. Chelsea Green (Laurel Van Ness) vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think the current format works well because it focuses on the question rather than the questioner. Certain repeat questioners probably could use some context, though.

2. Not anytime in the near future, whether the brand extension ends or not. They're fully committed to the current direction, much like the PG, family-friendly direction.

3. As was said, sports (and sports entertainment) are coveted right now for having reliable and committed audiences. You can get hours of TV content each week with no breaks and the wrestling companies take care of all the casting, filming, etc., unlike other shows. And it is generally cheaper than other shows because of its reputation.

4. I think the question discussed here is related to Ronda Rousey's "suspension." I think the person who sent in that question might have thought (incorrectly) that Ronda was suspended for a Wellness violation and they used the TV suspension for cover for that. Thankfully, that's not the case.

5. Yes. WWE deliberately fills up the sections that are going to be visible on TV. Attendance is definitely down from 20 years ago.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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