Charly Caruso will be part of "Total Divas" in some fashion. It will be great for her to contribute to WWE more.
AEW has signed Bea Priestley. She will debut at their July Florida event. This would seem to indicate she has finished up with WOS, where she was briefly women's champion.
NXT UK has announced the following hires:
- Ilja Rukober, better known as Ilja Dragunov
- Kay Lee Ray
- Jazzy Gabert
- Oliver Sauter, better known as Oliver Carter
- Jay Melrose
Cody will work AAA's March 16 event as part of AEW's working relationship with the company. I don't expect him to wrestle so soon after surgery, though. We could see announcements for the AEW roster there.
Batista and Roman Reigns are set for Monday's Raw following their returns last week.
Matt Hardy teased going for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Maybe that's why the Usos won it back?
WWE is recruiting talents for their upcoming Performance Center tryouts through a WWN seminar from April 12 through April 14 in Florida. NXT's Terry Taylor, Norman Smiley, Serena Deeb, Oney Lorcan, and Drake Wuertz will all be participating. Oney holds classes at the WWE Performance Center on top of wrestling.
WWE put WWE 24: Goldberg on YouTube to promote the WWE Network's fifth anniversary.
Double or Nothing will have accommodations for those with sensory difficulties. This is part of a bigger working agreement from AEW.
Impact's WrestleMania weekend event is now an Internet PPV in addition to airing on Twitch.
- United We Stand will feature LAX vs. MLW's Low Ki and Ricky Martinez. That will be the first Impact event Low Ki has appeared on since 2017.
Ethan Page has teased working with Josh Alexander in Impact, reprising their tag team. That would definitely be an interesting gimmick.
Impact will feature Pro Wrestling NOAH talents in the months ahead as the two sides expand their agreement. That could definitely bring something fresh to the promotion.
Killer Kross spoke to Vulture Hound. He's really made the most of his opportunities in Impact, and this interview was pretty fun.
Smackdown Live drew 2.15 million viewers Tuesday night.
ROH's March 16 TV taping will feature The Kingdom vs. Villain Enterprises for the Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Notably this is the night after PCO and Brody King challenge the Briscoes for their championship. I wouldn't be against ROH unifying the two titles, but the Briscoes are already set to face the Guerrillas of Destiny for the ROH and IWGP tag titles at Supercard.
Roman Reigns is advertised for all Raw tapings going forward. He is not currently booked for live events. I expect that will change before too much longer.
Kevin Owens has been added to Smackdown tapings going forward, so he's officially part of that brand. He's also being added to live events for Smackdown Live beginning March 8. That will shake some things up.
Ronda Rousey is advertised for the Raw after WrestleMania 35 but no further dates at this time, so she could indeed be set for time off.
NXT's Ricochet and Tommaso Ciampa are advertised for a meet and greet before Fast Lane, so it looks like those two, Aleister Black, and Johnny Gargano are going to work that event.
Alexa Bliss is training at the WWE Performance Center. I admire her working to get better.
NJPW announced their wrestlers have obtained visas to return to the United States. Obviously with Supercard approaching, they don't want a repeat of the New Beginnings tour.
Impact's oVe appeared at OVW's February 27 TV taping to build to Saturday's joint card.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. These names were pulled from the top of NXT and are ready to be important contributors at a higher level. Vince clearly didn't want to wait until after WrestleMania to shake things up.
2.a. Honestly she's probably already seen as fairly low-level, but that can change down the line. It's asinine to think everyone should start up top.
2.b. I suppose because while they individually aren't much, they can get somewhere as a group! And Liv and Sarah weren't doing much in NXT, so it can be argued Ruby fired them up to change things on Raw and Smackdown Live.
3. That's kind of a double-edged sword because a lot of the appeal of NXT is Vince staying away from it. NXT's overall purpose is for talents to develop to one day be on Raw and Smackdown Live, and I can see WWE not wanting to put too much of a microscope on a show that still has a good deal of talents still learning the ropes. As for what those talents' futures are, we'll see after WrestleMania. I expect a number of them were going to "graduate" from NXT in April anyway, but time will tell if all of them are moving on. Right now they're just working TVs on top of NXT live events.
4. I've made the 205-Kickoff argument to death. I'm fine with each month's Kickoff match(es) being a choice instead of automatically being the cruiser match, but there needs to be a compelling reason to do that considering how many fans are going to the venue to see the other matches. I think putting an NXT match on WrestleMania is a BIG leap on an already busy card, but I don't dislike the idea of an NXT match on PPVs on months without Takeover specials if it makes sense.
5. Welp here we go again. WWE gets behind someone fans want them to get behind and they get upset and threaten to bury her. Fans were cheering her for antihero antics but now that's apparently the wrong way to go. I see why Vince doesn't get caught up with Internet criticism.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
WWE announcer on Total Divas, new AEW female signing, new NXT UK hires, Cody booked for AAA, updates on returning WWE stars, Matt Hardy's goals, WWE using WWN to recruit, another WWE Network documentary on YouTube, AEW makes accommodations for sensory issues, more on Impact weekend event, Impact tag reunion?, international talents working Impact, Interview with Kross, SDL audience, ROH title match booked, Ronda schedule update, more on NXT names' schedules, Bliss training, NJPW visas obtained, more Impact vs. OVW work, and Questions on calling up so many NXT names, Riott Squad booking, promoting NXT, NXT match at Mania, and Becky's booking
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Interviews with Roman/Flair/McIntyre/Otunga/Batista, Impact teasing ex-champion returning, Impact re-signs talents, WWE YouTube milestone, assorted wrestling press, next HoF induction, Raw audience, Hardys deals extended, WWE Network collection detailed, more from Batista and Flair, WWE gets AXXESS volunteers, SDL dark matches, and Questions on 900 hotlines, Roberts on the pre-show, MMA taking shots at wrestling, HM as a comedy team, and crediting reality shows for the women's revolution
Roman Reigns' Good Morning America appearance was put online.
Impact is teasing a "former champion" returning to Impact. As always, that can be a number of different titleholders, not necessarily a world champion.
Impact has signed Sami Callihan and Fallah Bahh to new deals. I'm a little surprised at Bahh, but they definitely really like Sami.
WWE's YouTube channel has hit 40 million subscribers and 30 billion views. WWE is obviously pretty pleased.
Ric Flair discussed Hulk Hogan's upcoming biopic. Notably, this appearance was before Batista attacked him, so he's not breaking kayfabe.
Edge will appear at a Kentucky comic and toy convention in March.
Drew McIntyre discussed DDP Yoga and more. I hope he's got a really big future.
David Otunga talked about becoming a commentator and more. I'm a little surprised WWE doesn't use him more.
WWE uploaded the WWE 24 episode about WrestleMania 34 to promote WWE Network's fifth anniversary. They do some real quality content.
Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before WrestleMania this year. Notably, he turned down the honor in 2010, likely feeling he still had more to contribute as a wrestler before being inducted. He's a pretty significant figure, so I'm glad he's being recognized.
Ian Riccaboni's son was born Tuesday. He had missed work in order to be there for the birth, so he should be back on schedule shortly.
Raw drew 2.92 million viewers Monday, the highest audience level for the show since August.
WWE has the Hardys under contract for an additional year following invoking a clause in their existing deals. They will now remain in WWE through WrestleMania 36. This was an expected move but one that came down pretty late in the Hardys' initial deals.
Trish Stratus' WWE Network collection was detailed. She's worked in a lot of situations.
Ric Flair and Batista continued their feud on Twitter. I'm fine with a quick HHH/Batista feud as long as WrestleMania isn't too nostalgia-heavy this year.
Batista discussed his comeback and more:
- Interesting discussion of his early years.
- Imagine Batista in WCW, where John Cena also tried out in 2000.
- A lot of cool stuff about his life.
- WOOOOOOW. Big fallout for blading. WWE sent a message that no one's immune to that punishment.
- I'm glad he is getting a final match. Hopefully the Hall of Fame is due in 2020.
WWE was seeking WrestleMania AXXESS volunteers. That's a lot of work for free.
Before Smackdown Live, Heavy Machinery defeated The Colons. Primo and Epico are pretty active for two guys not on TV!
After Smackdown Live, Asuka defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women's Championship. Poor Asuka is barely on TV herself.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm also glad those hotlines are dead because that's some serious stretching of the truth. I've never heard that story.
2. I understand having an outsider giving a different perspective from the WWE employees, but it has gotten to the point where it strays from what WWE is trying to promote. That's a problem and frankly it should be a case of them having to be convinced to bring him back in the future given how things have gone.
3. I definitely think it comes across as trying too hard to appear superior to wrestling. Frankly it reeks of insecurity on their part regarding MMA's lack of appeal compared to wrestling.
4. They were already mostly a low-level comedy act, and they can still get things done in the ring. No complaints on my end. I don't remember the Bushwhackers talking about steaks and weights or anything, either...
5. Those shows definitely got more women watching WWE, and should be credited for that. I don't think they can really be credited for women being used as more serious athletes, but they did do good things for WWE's bottom line.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Impact is teasing a "former champion" returning to Impact. As always, that can be a number of different titleholders, not necessarily a world champion.
Impact has signed Sami Callihan and Fallah Bahh to new deals. I'm a little surprised at Bahh, but they definitely really like Sami.
WWE's YouTube channel has hit 40 million subscribers and 30 billion views. WWE is obviously pretty pleased.
Ric Flair discussed Hulk Hogan's upcoming biopic. Notably, this appearance was before Batista attacked him, so he's not breaking kayfabe.
Edge will appear at a Kentucky comic and toy convention in March.
Drew McIntyre discussed DDP Yoga and more. I hope he's got a really big future.
David Otunga talked about becoming a commentator and more. I'm a little surprised WWE doesn't use him more.
WWE uploaded the WWE 24 episode about WrestleMania 34 to promote WWE Network's fifth anniversary. They do some real quality content.
Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before WrestleMania this year. Notably, he turned down the honor in 2010, likely feeling he still had more to contribute as a wrestler before being inducted. He's a pretty significant figure, so I'm glad he's being recognized.
Ian Riccaboni's son was born Tuesday. He had missed work in order to be there for the birth, so he should be back on schedule shortly.
Raw drew 2.92 million viewers Monday, the highest audience level for the show since August.
WWE has the Hardys under contract for an additional year following invoking a clause in their existing deals. They will now remain in WWE through WrestleMania 36. This was an expected move but one that came down pretty late in the Hardys' initial deals.
Trish Stratus' WWE Network collection was detailed. She's worked in a lot of situations.
Ric Flair and Batista continued their feud on Twitter. I'm fine with a quick HHH/Batista feud as long as WrestleMania isn't too nostalgia-heavy this year.
Batista discussed his comeback and more:
- Interesting discussion of his early years.
- Imagine Batista in WCW, where John Cena also tried out in 2000.
- A lot of cool stuff about his life.
- WOOOOOOW. Big fallout for blading. WWE sent a message that no one's immune to that punishment.
- I'm glad he is getting a final match. Hopefully the Hall of Fame is due in 2020.
WWE was seeking WrestleMania AXXESS volunteers. That's a lot of work for free.
Before Smackdown Live, Heavy Machinery defeated The Colons. Primo and Epico are pretty active for two guys not on TV!
After Smackdown Live, Asuka defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women's Championship. Poor Asuka is barely on TV herself.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm also glad those hotlines are dead because that's some serious stretching of the truth. I've never heard that story.
2. I understand having an outsider giving a different perspective from the WWE employees, but it has gotten to the point where it strays from what WWE is trying to promote. That's a problem and frankly it should be a case of them having to be convinced to bring him back in the future given how things have gone.
3. I definitely think it comes across as trying too hard to appear superior to wrestling. Frankly it reeks of insecurity on their part regarding MMA's lack of appeal compared to wrestling.
4. They were already mostly a low-level comedy act, and they can still get things done in the ring. No complaints on my end. I don't remember the Bushwhackers talking about steaks and weights or anything, either...
5. Those shows definitely got more women watching WWE, and should be credited for that. I don't think they can really be credited for women being used as more serious athletes, but they did do good things for WWE's bottom line.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown Live and 205 Live Reax - 2/26/19
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown Live and 205 Live.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Impact replaying, Interviews with Lio/Swagger/Barrios, ROH now on FITE, why the XFL is relaunching, WOH Title match for anniversary show, Jarrett-Anthem lawsuit updates, former WWE/WCW star at WWEPC, Summerslam travel packages, Raw guests, why Rock was near Raw, expected WM36 location, Impact taping plans, new Raw live event, new Roman shirt, Flair documentary in the works, Cena praises Roman, and Questions on WWE having a stake in EVOLVE, Lars' status, cruisers on the Kickoff show, Usos winning despite the arrest, and the Hart Foundation's HoF status
Impact will replay on Twitch Monday nights before Raw, and will come to Global Wrestling Network on Tuesdays. With the severe lack in available homes for Pursuit, it's good they're making it easier for fans to watch the show.
Lio Rush is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast, discussing his personal and professional lives. He's lived through a lot at only 24.
Jack Swagger discussed MMA, AEW, and more:
- I'm glad WWE let R-Truth perform his entrance song.
- I'm also glad he can still do independent dates.
- I don't know if WWE will let him use his name from there. They can absolutely argue the name was their creation.
WWE Co-President George A. Barrios is speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today.
HonorClub is now available on FITE. That opens up more ways to watch ROH, which is a plus.
Vince McMahon had met with Charlie Ebersol to relaunch the XFL before Ebersol created the Alliance of American Football. Ebersol was looking to buy the XFL brand for $50 million. Ultimately, of course, Vince decided to go his own direction. It will be interesting to see how each league goes.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV has added Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein for the WOH Championship. I kind of expected that to be saved for G1 Supercard. I'm curious what we'll see in New York after this match.
Impact Wrestling has deleted all GFW master tapes in order to have additional storage space. Notably, this was before Jeff Jarrett's lawsuit. Jarrett is seeking $300,000 in damages for each hour of content taped.
- Jarrett is also looking for the copyrights to his likeness to be returned to him so WWE can use them.
- This lawsuit also shows Anthem foreclosed on Billy Corgan's loans to Impact in order to take control of the company.
- Anthem is alleging the wrestling end of their company isn't directly controlled by the sports end of their company.
The WWE Performance Center is featuring former WWE/WCW star David Taylor as a guest trainer this week.
Summerslam 2019's official travel packages were revealed. There's a lot available there!
Dana Warrior, Paul Heyman, and Charlotte Flair were at Raw. I certainly think the show was fresher without the same Paul Heyman promo we've gotten for two years.
The Rock was near Raw due to filming the "Jumanji" sequel in town. He was not backstage.
WrestleMania 36 is expected to be in Tampa, Florida. They've really done a lot of Mania events in Florida.
Impact's Pennsylvania TV tapings are set for May 3 and May 4. They plan to tape TV in New York on June 6 and June 7. Naturally that will all lead to Slammiversary, but it is unknown where they plan to run that event.
Raw has announced a live event in Indiana on May 5.
Roman Reigns has a new T-shirt reflecting his battle against leukemia. WWE Shop works fast!
The Rock's mother was at Raw in the front row.
Ric Flair will be the subject of a WWE Network documentary covering his 70th birthday. WWE taped a lot of footage backstage at Raw.
John Cena praised Roman Reigns for his recovery. I'm glad to see it.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Not directly as far as I know, but WWE uses EVOLVE as a training place for NXT recruits. EVOLVE will sign talents WWE is interested in so other groups can't, and then WWE gets first dibs on EVOLVE talents if they're offered contracts elsewhere. It's a pretty beneficial relationship given how many talents WWE is scouting that are also in demand from other places.
2. He's more or less "on hiatus" while he recovers. WWE's still interested in using him when he's ready to return.
3. If 205 Live drew huge numbers on WWE Network, he might reconsider. As long as the storylines are only visible on a platform that fewer people watch than Raw or Smackdown Live, he's going to be reluctant to give their matches more prominence. I can't say I disagree with his logic, and I say that as someone who agrees their matches are also solid.
4. As said, Naomi was not charged with anything, so I don't think there's any reason to punish her. I was surprised the Usos won, though. My guess is the fact the Usos' contracts are coming due in April and WWE wants to keep them superseded the incident. I'm sure WWE isn't proud of his actions regardless.
5. There are reportedly still plans to induct them, but obviously DX is being pushed harder. History's repeating itself essentially!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Lio Rush is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast, discussing his personal and professional lives. He's lived through a lot at only 24.
Jack Swagger discussed MMA, AEW, and more:
- I'm glad WWE let R-Truth perform his entrance song.
- I'm also glad he can still do independent dates.
- I don't know if WWE will let him use his name from there. They can absolutely argue the name was their creation.
WWE Co-President George A. Barrios is speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today.
HonorClub is now available on FITE. That opens up more ways to watch ROH, which is a plus.
Vince McMahon had met with Charlie Ebersol to relaunch the XFL before Ebersol created the Alliance of American Football. Ebersol was looking to buy the XFL brand for $50 million. Ultimately, of course, Vince decided to go his own direction. It will be interesting to see how each league goes.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV has added Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein for the WOH Championship. I kind of expected that to be saved for G1 Supercard. I'm curious what we'll see in New York after this match.
Impact Wrestling has deleted all GFW master tapes in order to have additional storage space. Notably, this was before Jeff Jarrett's lawsuit. Jarrett is seeking $300,000 in damages for each hour of content taped.
- Jarrett is also looking for the copyrights to his likeness to be returned to him so WWE can use them.
- This lawsuit also shows Anthem foreclosed on Billy Corgan's loans to Impact in order to take control of the company.
- Anthem is alleging the wrestling end of their company isn't directly controlled by the sports end of their company.
The WWE Performance Center is featuring former WWE/WCW star David Taylor as a guest trainer this week.
Summerslam 2019's official travel packages were revealed. There's a lot available there!
Dana Warrior, Paul Heyman, and Charlotte Flair were at Raw. I certainly think the show was fresher without the same Paul Heyman promo we've gotten for two years.
The Rock was near Raw due to filming the "Jumanji" sequel in town. He was not backstage.
WrestleMania 36 is expected to be in Tampa, Florida. They've really done a lot of Mania events in Florida.
Impact's Pennsylvania TV tapings are set for May 3 and May 4. They plan to tape TV in New York on June 6 and June 7. Naturally that will all lead to Slammiversary, but it is unknown where they plan to run that event.
Raw has announced a live event in Indiana on May 5.
Roman Reigns has a new T-shirt reflecting his battle against leukemia. WWE Shop works fast!
The Rock's mother was at Raw in the front row.
Ric Flair will be the subject of a WWE Network documentary covering his 70th birthday. WWE taped a lot of footage backstage at Raw.
John Cena praised Roman Reigns for his recovery. I'm glad to see it.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Not directly as far as I know, but WWE uses EVOLVE as a training place for NXT recruits. EVOLVE will sign talents WWE is interested in so other groups can't, and then WWE gets first dibs on EVOLVE talents if they're offered contracts elsewhere. It's a pretty beneficial relationship given how many talents WWE is scouting that are also in demand from other places.
2. He's more or less "on hiatus" while he recovers. WWE's still interested in using him when he's ready to return.
3. If 205 Live drew huge numbers on WWE Network, he might reconsider. As long as the storylines are only visible on a platform that fewer people watch than Raw or Smackdown Live, he's going to be reluctant to give their matches more prominence. I can't say I disagree with his logic, and I say that as someone who agrees their matches are also solid.
4. As said, Naomi was not charged with anything, so I don't think there's any reason to punish her. I was surprised the Usos won, though. My guess is the fact the Usos' contracts are coming due in April and WWE wants to keep them superseded the incident. I'm sure WWE isn't proud of his actions regardless.
5. There are reportedly still plans to induct them, but obviously DX is being pushed harder. History's repeating itself essentially!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Impact signing, top Double or Nothing match set, Interview with Nash, Prichard trademarks WWF name, WWE Network milestone press, Rock press, Taker podcasting?, another Creative addition, and Questions on champions losing non-title matches, Roman turning on Seth, why Vince thinks everyone but him is to blame, how loose the brand split is, and how WWE will handle the May Saudi show
Impact Wrestling signed Canada's Josh Alexander to a three-year contract. He has worked as an extra for the company before, including on some One Night Only events in Canada.
The Young Bucks attacked the Lucha Bros at an Illinois independent show to officially set up a match between the two at Double or Nothing. AEW's doing a smart job of getting people talking on the way to their next event.
Kevin Nash discussed AEW and more. It does seem like AEW is trying to get an audience different from the WWE "kids and soccer moms" demographic, which can be something of a mixed blessing as Nash pointed out.
Bruce Prichard trademarked "Brother Love" a week ago, which is interesting given his WWE return. I'm curious how that will work for merchandise purposes.
WWE streamed WrestleMania 34 in its entirety on YouTube to promote WWE Network's fifth anniversary. If you can't get people to spend $9.99 a month on that much good content, something's wrong.
WWE Network posted a lot of facts for its fifth anniversary. The Network has been transformative of the business in a number of ways, but not at the level people were expecting as far as becoming more important than TV deals.
The Rock's surprise "Fighting With My Family" screening got local press.
The Undertaker could begin podcasting, as Starrcast's company has trademarked "Dead Man Talking." That could really be a gamechanger for both sides, and a further sign of Taker distancing himself from the WWE bubble.
WWE Creative has added Dave Schilling beginning next month. I'm not familiar with his work, but I wish him luck. Of course he can only change so much by himself.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's fully to show the champion is vulnerable to potentially losing the title to the person who defeated them. It is something of a crutch at times, but there are only so many ways to tell a story in wrestling.
2. Pretty much anything that keeps the title on Brock is a "no" from me. His time with the Universal Title has really been a chore. I'm not really crazy about turning Roman either given what he's returning from.
3. It fully feels like a disconnect between what he thinks works in the wrestling business and what's being developed in NXT(/205 Live/NXT UK). That's the best answer I have. He's wondering why the audience level isn't what it was in the '80s and '90s when he got to do things his way with the kinds of talents he likes working with, and he's concluding it's all those writers who don't think like he does and all those millennial talents under 250 pounds who won't "grab the brass ring" by acting like talents did way back when.
4. I think it can be argued this is part of the change the McMahons promised in December, although of course there were still some special cases before then. The stated reason for the NXT names is that they're being scouted by both sides/trying to find a permanent home. As for Charlotte replacing Becky, I think that plays into the story of her being Management's favorite as well as giving her a chance to follow up the issues between herself and Ronda that started at Survivor Series.
5. I don't expect them to mention where the show is taking place, which could be kind of comical in its own way.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Young Bucks attacked the Lucha Bros at an Illinois independent show to officially set up a match between the two at Double or Nothing. AEW's doing a smart job of getting people talking on the way to their next event.
Kevin Nash discussed AEW and more. It does seem like AEW is trying to get an audience different from the WWE "kids and soccer moms" demographic, which can be something of a mixed blessing as Nash pointed out.
Bruce Prichard trademarked "Brother Love" a week ago, which is interesting given his WWE return. I'm curious how that will work for merchandise purposes.
WWE streamed WrestleMania 34 in its entirety on YouTube to promote WWE Network's fifth anniversary. If you can't get people to spend $9.99 a month on that much good content, something's wrong.
WWE Network posted a lot of facts for its fifth anniversary. The Network has been transformative of the business in a number of ways, but not at the level people were expecting as far as becoming more important than TV deals.
The Rock's surprise "Fighting With My Family" screening got local press.
The Undertaker could begin podcasting, as Starrcast's company has trademarked "Dead Man Talking." That could really be a gamechanger for both sides, and a further sign of Taker distancing himself from the WWE bubble.
WWE Creative has added Dave Schilling beginning next month. I'm not familiar with his work, but I wish him luck. Of course he can only change so much by himself.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's fully to show the champion is vulnerable to potentially losing the title to the person who defeated them. It is something of a crutch at times, but there are only so many ways to tell a story in wrestling.
2. Pretty much anything that keeps the title on Brock is a "no" from me. His time with the Universal Title has really been a chore. I'm not really crazy about turning Roman either given what he's returning from.
3. It fully feels like a disconnect between what he thinks works in the wrestling business and what's being developed in NXT(/205 Live/NXT UK). That's the best answer I have. He's wondering why the audience level isn't what it was in the '80s and '90s when he got to do things his way with the kinds of talents he likes working with, and he's concluding it's all those writers who don't think like he does and all those millennial talents under 250 pounds who won't "grab the brass ring" by acting like talents did way back when.
4. I think it can be argued this is part of the change the McMahons promised in December, although of course there were still some special cases before then. The stated reason for the NXT names is that they're being scouted by both sides/trying to find a permanent home. As for Charlotte replacing Becky, I think that plays into the story of her being Management's favorite as well as giving her a chance to follow up the issues between herself and Ronda that started at Survivor Series.
5. I don't expect them to mention where the show is taking place, which could be kind of comical in its own way.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Main Event Reax - 2/23/19, Supercard announces title vs. title match, Flair party press, WWE YouTube series debuting on Network, Interviews with Wolfgang/Paige, Nikki Bella wins award for reality shows, WWE brings back top creative name, SDL matches+segment set, NXT UK debuts, Rock at Raw?, Roman training to return, and WWE live event notes
-- Main Event:
- NWJ vs. Rezar:
I can't say I'm upset Rezar is being used while Akam is out.
Jose's not bad at all.
Jose gave it a good effort there.
- Jinder/Singhs vs. Breeze/B-Team:
I question the long-term viability of the Singhs, especially if they ever split from Jinder.
This isn't bad.
Fun ending. It is good to see the Singhs get experience. They seem to have improved.
G1 Supercard has added The Briscoes vs. NJPW's Guerrillas of Destiny in a match for both the IWGP and ROH Tag Team Championships. This was announced during Honor Rising, which will almost certainly play out on ROH TV as a precursor to Supercard.
Ric Flair's big birthday party was covered by TMZ Sports.
WWE Network will show "Arrival: Matt Riddle" after Raw. I could see him really moving up the card if DIY, Aleister, and Ricochet are finishing up in NXT soon.
NXT UK's Wolfgang promoted the brand's weekend tapings. He shares my discontent at Killian Dain's Smackdown Live run. He's someone they need to give another look to after WrestleMania.
Nikki Bella won a WIN Award for best reality show star.
Paige talked to US Weekly about Fighting With My Family.
WWE has hired Bruce Prichard to return to a full-time creative position in WWE, where he will be one of the key players in that process. Prichard was an important figure creatively for around 15 years before being released in 2008. His first day back on the job will be Monday's Raw. That can certainly mean some changes to the process, and I definitely think this is a sign WWE is addressing declining viewership. We'll see what his role will mean in 2019.
Smackdown Live has announced:
- Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston signing the contract for their match at Fast Lane
- Johnny Gargano vs. Cesaro
- Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev
-- The NXT names are definitely getting right to work!
NXT UK's weekend tapings saw the debuts of Piper Niven (a.k.a. Viper) and Kay Lee Ray, both of whom recently finished up their WOS Wrestling commitments. The women's division there is definitely heating up with those two being added.
- Additionally, Ilja Dragunov worked a dark match before the second day's taping, so it's expected he'll be joining the brand, too.
The Rock is doing a special screening of "Fighting With My Family" in Georgia, which is leading to speculation he'll be at Raw in the same town. Time will tell.
Roman Reigns is training to return to the ring, according to a Hawaiian fitness center that worked with Reigns when he was filming with The Rock. I hope that means he can be in the mix soon. Maybe with him back WWE will decide to finally let Brock leave?
No NXT names from this week's shows appeared on Raw or Smackdown Live live events this weekend. Aleister Black wrestled in Florida for NXT. For now, the plan seems to be for them to just be part of Raw and Smackdown Live TV.
At Smackdown Live's February 23 live event in South Carolina, Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross teamed to defeat The IIconics. That would be a really interesting tag team given the polar opposite personalities of Lacey and Nikki.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- NWJ vs. Rezar:
I can't say I'm upset Rezar is being used while Akam is out.
Jose's not bad at all.
Jose gave it a good effort there.
- Jinder/Singhs vs. Breeze/B-Team:
I question the long-term viability of the Singhs, especially if they ever split from Jinder.
This isn't bad.
Fun ending. It is good to see the Singhs get experience. They seem to have improved.
G1 Supercard has added The Briscoes vs. NJPW's Guerrillas of Destiny in a match for both the IWGP and ROH Tag Team Championships. This was announced during Honor Rising, which will almost certainly play out on ROH TV as a precursor to Supercard.
Ric Flair's big birthday party was covered by TMZ Sports.
WWE Network will show "Arrival: Matt Riddle" after Raw. I could see him really moving up the card if DIY, Aleister, and Ricochet are finishing up in NXT soon.
NXT UK's Wolfgang promoted the brand's weekend tapings. He shares my discontent at Killian Dain's Smackdown Live run. He's someone they need to give another look to after WrestleMania.
Nikki Bella won a WIN Award for best reality show star.
Paige talked to US Weekly about Fighting With My Family.
WWE has hired Bruce Prichard to return to a full-time creative position in WWE, where he will be one of the key players in that process. Prichard was an important figure creatively for around 15 years before being released in 2008. His first day back on the job will be Monday's Raw. That can certainly mean some changes to the process, and I definitely think this is a sign WWE is addressing declining viewership. We'll see what his role will mean in 2019.
Smackdown Live has announced:
- Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston signing the contract for their match at Fast Lane
- Johnny Gargano vs. Cesaro
- Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev
-- The NXT names are definitely getting right to work!
NXT UK's weekend tapings saw the debuts of Piper Niven (a.k.a. Viper) and Kay Lee Ray, both of whom recently finished up their WOS Wrestling commitments. The women's division there is definitely heating up with those two being added.
- Additionally, Ilja Dragunov worked a dark match before the second day's taping, so it's expected he'll be joining the brand, too.
The Rock is doing a special screening of "Fighting With My Family" in Georgia, which is leading to speculation he'll be at Raw in the same town. Time will tell.
Roman Reigns is training to return to the ring, according to a Hawaiian fitness center that worked with Reigns when he was filming with The Rock. I hope that means he can be in the mix soon. Maybe with him back WWE will decide to finally let Brock leave?
No NXT names from this week's shows appeared on Raw or Smackdown Live live events this weekend. Aleister Black wrestled in Florida for NXT. For now, the plan seems to be for them to just be part of Raw and Smackdown Live TV.
At Smackdown Live's February 23 live event in South Carolina, Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross teamed to defeat The IIconics. That would be a really interesting tag team given the polar opposite personalities of Lacey and Nikki.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Assorted wrestling press, Interviews with Paige/Kofi/Pop president/Rinku, McAfee starts work, new WWE producers profiled, WWE releases top producer, ROH star wrestling in STARDOM, ROH title defended in Israel, rapper at ROH PPV, Naomi on Uso arrest, WWE releases three superstars, NXT producer promoted, WWE name changing shows, big Flair party, Impact PPV plans, WWE Network anniversary streaming, and Questions on Thorne's future, Strickland's status, Paige movie stunts, Moolah's long title reign, and the Slammys
R-Truth posted a comedy skit. He could use a WWE Network show or something.
Paige spoke to ESPN about "Fighting With My Family."
Pat McAfee debuted some content from the WWE Performance Center. Looks like this is going to be a regular thing.
WWE's new backstage hires were profiled, including a little Impact and ROH footage. It's something of a new generation with some of those guys.
Kofi Kingston is on Edge and Christian's latest podcast. It's great to see him finally getting a big spotlight as a singles guy again. I take it as proof WWE fans are ready to see others move up the card.
WWE 2K20 features work from Low Ki (motion capture) and AJ Kirsch (voicework and motion capture). That's pretty cool for those two.
Adam Cole and Mike Rome were at EA Sports. I assume we'll see that on UpUpDownDown.
Arn Anderson has departed WWE. He had been a producer there since 2001, so that's a pretty notable departure. One can certainly argue we're seeing a change in the backstage environment with the recent hires and him leaving.
ROH's Sumie Sakai will compete in STARDOM on February 24, the same night as Mayu Iwatani's title defense. Sakai is facing AZM. I fully expect ROH and AEW to vie for the use of STARDOM stars going forward, and of course WWE is going to be keeping an eye on the promotion, too.
ROH's World Championship will be defended in Israel on April 21, with David Starr challenging for the title. That's pretty significant for establish the title as an international honor.
ROH's 17th anniversary will feature rapper Mega Ran as host. He will also perform a song there. That will make the show feel more significant instead of just a wall of matches.
Naomi addressed Jimmy Uso's arrest on Twitter. She's correct that she wasn't charged with anything.
Pop's president discussed dropping Impact Wrestling and more. I mean, the show wasn't exactly a huge draw, but it was ultimately about the channel changing things up, so it's likely Impact would have had to move even if it was drawing the biggest numbers on the channel. The series is still seeking a new TV home, as its audience significantly shrank moving to Pursuit.
WWE released the following talents:
- Tye Dillinger, who asked for his release at Tuesday's TV taping.
- Hideo Itami, who worked out his release about a month ago.
- TJP, whose release was a company decision.
-- Yes, they will all be able to appear on Double or Nothing if AEW comes to terms with them. That doesn't mean they will, but they will be free of their no-compete clauses by then.
- TJP thanked WWE for his tenure there. TJP is immensely talented and could really become a bigger player than he was in 205 Live.
NXT UK's Amir Jordan was profiled by BBC. That's pretty significant.
NXT's Rinku Singh discussed WWE's Indian tryouts and more. They've had a number of Indian recruits in NXT for a while who haven't become featured yet, but of course they're really starting at the ground level compared to a lot of recruits there.
WWE has moved Steve Corino to being a producer for Raw and Smackdown Live live events, replacing Jamie Noble as Noble focuses on other WWE duties. Corino had been a coach at the WWE Performance Center on top of doing production of NXT's Florida live events.
205 Live's Noam Dar is moving to NXT UK full-time, relocating back to Europe shortly. He's an excellent talent, so he hope he thrives there.
Ric Flair had a surprise 70th birthday party featuring a lot of prominent names. That's an amazing collection of talent and star power.
Impact is currently planning Slammiversary for July 7 and Bound For Glory on October 13. There are no plans for additional PPVs other than One Night Only events. I'm glad they're putting the calendar together.
WWE Network celebrates its fifth anniversary with a marathon of its top content spanning three days.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly he really hasn't fallen that much - The Mighty only made it so far. Certainly there's a chance for him to get a fresh start, potentially in NXT UK.
2. I expect to see him and KUSHIDA in some form at Takeover:New York, even if it's just in the crowd. I'd be surprised if they aren't there, honestly.
3. No, and neither did Florence Pugh. It made sense to use someone experienced in that role for the spots.
4. As indicated, it was easier to hide that kind of thing in the pre-Internet era. Those last four are covered by cagement.net, but I don't see any records of the others being title changes.
5. They went to WWE.com for a while, but WWE felt the concept had outlived its usefulness. I expect it will pop back up sometime.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Paige spoke to ESPN about "Fighting With My Family."
Pat McAfee debuted some content from the WWE Performance Center. Looks like this is going to be a regular thing.
WWE's new backstage hires were profiled, including a little Impact and ROH footage. It's something of a new generation with some of those guys.
Kofi Kingston is on Edge and Christian's latest podcast. It's great to see him finally getting a big spotlight as a singles guy again. I take it as proof WWE fans are ready to see others move up the card.
WWE 2K20 features work from Low Ki (motion capture) and AJ Kirsch (voicework and motion capture). That's pretty cool for those two.
Adam Cole and Mike Rome were at EA Sports. I assume we'll see that on UpUpDownDown.
Arn Anderson has departed WWE. He had been a producer there since 2001, so that's a pretty notable departure. One can certainly argue we're seeing a change in the backstage environment with the recent hires and him leaving.
ROH's Sumie Sakai will compete in STARDOM on February 24, the same night as Mayu Iwatani's title defense. Sakai is facing AZM. I fully expect ROH and AEW to vie for the use of STARDOM stars going forward, and of course WWE is going to be keeping an eye on the promotion, too.
ROH's World Championship will be defended in Israel on April 21, with David Starr challenging for the title. That's pretty significant for establish the title as an international honor.
ROH's 17th anniversary will feature rapper Mega Ran as host. He will also perform a song there. That will make the show feel more significant instead of just a wall of matches.
Naomi addressed Jimmy Uso's arrest on Twitter. She's correct that she wasn't charged with anything.
Pop's president discussed dropping Impact Wrestling and more. I mean, the show wasn't exactly a huge draw, but it was ultimately about the channel changing things up, so it's likely Impact would have had to move even if it was drawing the biggest numbers on the channel. The series is still seeking a new TV home, as its audience significantly shrank moving to Pursuit.
WWE released the following talents:
- Tye Dillinger, who asked for his release at Tuesday's TV taping.
- Hideo Itami, who worked out his release about a month ago.
- TJP, whose release was a company decision.
-- Yes, they will all be able to appear on Double or Nothing if AEW comes to terms with them. That doesn't mean they will, but they will be free of their no-compete clauses by then.
- TJP thanked WWE for his tenure there. TJP is immensely talented and could really become a bigger player than he was in 205 Live.
NXT UK's Amir Jordan was profiled by BBC. That's pretty significant.
NXT's Rinku Singh discussed WWE's Indian tryouts and more. They've had a number of Indian recruits in NXT for a while who haven't become featured yet, but of course they're really starting at the ground level compared to a lot of recruits there.
WWE has moved Steve Corino to being a producer for Raw and Smackdown Live live events, replacing Jamie Noble as Noble focuses on other WWE duties. Corino had been a coach at the WWE Performance Center on top of doing production of NXT's Florida live events.
205 Live's Noam Dar is moving to NXT UK full-time, relocating back to Europe shortly. He's an excellent talent, so he hope he thrives there.
Ric Flair had a surprise 70th birthday party featuring a lot of prominent names. That's an amazing collection of talent and star power.
Impact is currently planning Slammiversary for July 7 and Bound For Glory on October 13. There are no plans for additional PPVs other than One Night Only events. I'm glad they're putting the calendar together.
WWE Network celebrates its fifth anniversary with a marathon of its top content spanning three days.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly he really hasn't fallen that much - The Mighty only made it so far. Certainly there's a chance for him to get a fresh start, potentially in NXT UK.
2. I expect to see him and KUSHIDA in some form at Takeover:New York, even if it's just in the crowd. I'd be surprised if they aren't there, honestly.
3. No, and neither did Florence Pugh. It made sense to use someone experienced in that role for the spots.
4. As indicated, it was easier to hide that kind of thing in the pre-Internet era. Those last four are covered by cagement.net, but I don't see any records of the others being title changes.
5. They went to WWE.com for a while, but WWE felt the concept had outlived its usefulness. I expect it will pop back up sometime.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, February 22, 2019
Chamber attendance, Chamber injury, WWE names honor Giant Baba, NJPW name blocked from U.S., Attitude Era star working Spring Break, Brock charges dismissed, assorted wrestling press, NXT signee set for PROGRESS, SDL-FOX debut date, WWE seeking new executive, top UFC name looking at wrestling, another Impact producer, Mania top name updates, Bayley's fiance wrestling, more on NXT names on RAW+SDL, WWE woman set for big push, why Ibushi stayed, top LU exec addresses status, Lucha TV switch, NJPW name headed to CMLL, more on Hogan movie, Everett facing surgery, Impact adding new show to Twitch, more on upcoming Impact events, new Hidden Gems, former NXT name headed to Japan, more NXT UK episodes WM35 weekend?, SDL audience, Roman appearing on Raw, another Raw name, and Questions on Linda and Bam Bam in the HoF, Little Guido returning, HOH's status, and Spike TV changing
Elimination Chamber drew 10,200 fans. Double or Nothing has beaten that, but of course AEW isn't running nearly the schedule WWE is. It is worth noting AEW is drawing in the neighborhood of WWE "B" PPVs, though, for comparison.
Ronda Rousey needed stitches after Elimination Chamber. Becky Lynch didn't hold back with that crutch!
Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and John Laurinaitis sent taped messages to the Giant Baba Memorial Show in Japan. That's great.
NJPW's EVIL was unable to appear in the U.S. recently due to having the wrong kind of visa. So it looks like there are still issues on that end.
Essa Rios was announced for Joey Janela's WrestleMania weekend event. That's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time.
Brock Lesnar had all charges against him dismissed in a lawsuit by Mark Hunt alleging UFC and Lesnar committed fraud, racketeering, battery, and civil conspiracy due to Lesnar competing with PEDs at UFC 200. There remains a small charge against UFC for breaching implied good faith and fair dealing. Hunt was unable to prove UFC knew Lesnar had used PEDs prior to the fight.
The Bella Twins competed on Family Feud against MMA competitors on February 15. No word on when this will air.
Trevor Lee will still work PROGRESS' Super Strong Style 16 tournament due to their relationship with WWE. That's pretty cool for him.
Smackdown Live will debut on FOX on October 4. The channel is already marketing that date.
WWE is seeking a new senior VP of International Business. That would be a pretty major role.
Cain Velasquez is looking at coming to WWE, likely after he's done in MMA. I'm curious how he would do there.
Impact used D'Lo Brown as a producer in Nevada, so he's being tested in that role, too.
John Cena is expected to work WrestleMania, but there's no opponent set at this point. Since he'll probably be absent for most of the build, it could just be a cameo to deliver an AA.
Bayley's fiancé Aaron Solow is training to become a wrestler in New Zealand. We'll see if their paths ever cross in WWE.
The Undertaker is now being considered for WrestleMania after announcing his Starrcast appearance. Essentially, WWE doesn't want it to look like "AEW" has one of "their" talents, although Starrcast is not being promoted directly by AEW.
NXT names being pushed on TV this week was a Vince McMahon feud, as he felt Raw and Smackdown Live are stale and need some fresh faces. He's not wrong!
- The four names used on Raw and Smackdown Live this week are set to continue on those shows as well as NXT, at least through WrestleMania. It's interesting there are so many "free agents" in the brand split era now. I'm glad those guys are getting these opportunities. We'll see who else benefits from Vince's epiphany, and who moves on from NXT entirely.
WWE is considering Lacey Evans as a top female prospect going forward, particularly once Ronda Rousey leaves. That's a big opportunity for her.
Kota Ibushi intends to end his career in NJPW, where he'll be a featured player. He didn't want to move to the U.S. to be part of AEW.
Lucha Underground is currently not expected to return for a fifth season, which puts the attached talent in a pretty strange situation. Hopefully they get to wrestle without jumping through too many hoops rather than being kept on for something that looks like it's not going to happen.
CMLL is replacing AAA on Mexico's top channel, featuring a one-hour show taped eight days in advance. It will be interesting to see how that affects business for both sides.
NJPW's Tetsuya Naito will work CMLL on March 29.
Hulk Hogan's movie is being sought by Netflix. I'm curious how and where it will end up. Chris Hemsworth is also a producer on the project.
Andrew Everett is getting surgery for a torn meniscus once he finishes his March bookings. It's he shame he can't afford to take time off to heal up.
Longtime Michigan wrestling venue The Cobo Center is undergoing a name change due to new ownership. The new name has not been decided yet.
Wrestling documentary "350 Days" will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD this April.
Sean Waltman discussed going into the WWE Hall of Fame on his latest podcast. Good to see him getting that honor.
Impact's Xplosion show is now airing on Twitch Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.. The show is something like Main Event is to WWE: some bonus matches from tapings as well as some video packages of recent events. Hopefully that helps the channel grow and gets more exposure for the wrestlers featured on it.
Impact's March 1 event with Rockstar Pro will be called Opening Day and will air on Twitch March 2. Johnny Impact, Eddie Edwards, Brian Cage, Moose, and oVe are all advertised from the Impact side. Notably, former Impact star Havok is also set for the show.
Impact's WrestleMania weekend event could air beyond Twitch. It could definitely be a noteworthy show.
WWE Network has added the following Hidden Gems:
- Sputnik Monroe vs. Jack Pesek from Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1966.
- Bobby Heenan and The Sheik vs. Bobo Brazil and Dick the Bruiser from AWA in 1974.
- Rocky Johnson and Pedro Morales vs. Ivan Koloff and Mr. Sairo from Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1978.
- Junkyard Dog vs. "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer from Houston Wrestling in 1983.
Charlotte Flair was profiled in her hometown before Smackdown Live. I'm very glad she's not just "Ric Flair's daughter" as a character and wrestler.
Mustafa Ali will be on the digital series "Secret Life of Muslims"' second season.
Titus O'Neil is helping his hometown invest. He's always doing great things for his community.
The Undertaker promoted a Puerto Rican concert from Bad Bunny. We're in surreal times.
Mark Henry discussed Ronda Rousey on Busted Open Radio.
The former Bull Dempsey will debut in Japan's DDT on March 2.
NXT UK could tape more episodes at WrestleMania AXXESS following the success of Royal Rumble weekend. It was good for them to work with some of the other brands' stars on those shows.
Smackdown Live drew 2.27 million viewers for the first show after Elimination Chamber.
WWE did poster parodies for Oscar movies. I never knew I needed some of those images until now.
Paige spoke to People.com about "Fighting With My Family." I'm surprised WWE's not working on a reality show with the real family after all this press for her.
Roman Reigns will appear on Raw to discuss his current medical status. I really, really hope that's good news.
- Reigns will also appear on Good Morning America the following day to follow up that announcement.
Becky Lynch is booked for Monday's Raw , which, notably, is Ric Flair's birthday. I'm sure she'll help commemorate the occasion.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I fully expect her to be honored in some fashion someday, but I don't see her going into the Hall of Fame this year. I don't see any rush to induct her, as I strongly doubt she'll ever have a falling out with the company and be unavailable to honor.
2. It's been discussed, but there are always ideas floating around for the Hall of Fame that don't get acted upon.
Nothing to add to 3.
4. He's been available for a long time and neither company has used him since 2010, so I don't see why that would change. Both companies are looking to build future stars (with a few notable exceptions).
5. Dreamer has a lot on his plate! I wouldn't be shocked to see him work with AEW as well.
6. That rebranding and refocus is a major reason (if not THE major reason) they dropped Impact Wrestling.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Ronda Rousey needed stitches after Elimination Chamber. Becky Lynch didn't hold back with that crutch!
Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and John Laurinaitis sent taped messages to the Giant Baba Memorial Show in Japan. That's great.
NJPW's EVIL was unable to appear in the U.S. recently due to having the wrong kind of visa. So it looks like there are still issues on that end.
Essa Rios was announced for Joey Janela's WrestleMania weekend event. That's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time.
Brock Lesnar had all charges against him dismissed in a lawsuit by Mark Hunt alleging UFC and Lesnar committed fraud, racketeering, battery, and civil conspiracy due to Lesnar competing with PEDs at UFC 200. There remains a small charge against UFC for breaching implied good faith and fair dealing. Hunt was unable to prove UFC knew Lesnar had used PEDs prior to the fight.
The Bella Twins competed on Family Feud against MMA competitors on February 15. No word on when this will air.
Trevor Lee will still work PROGRESS' Super Strong Style 16 tournament due to their relationship with WWE. That's pretty cool for him.
Smackdown Live will debut on FOX on October 4. The channel is already marketing that date.
WWE is seeking a new senior VP of International Business. That would be a pretty major role.
Cain Velasquez is looking at coming to WWE, likely after he's done in MMA. I'm curious how he would do there.
Impact used D'Lo Brown as a producer in Nevada, so he's being tested in that role, too.
John Cena is expected to work WrestleMania, but there's no opponent set at this point. Since he'll probably be absent for most of the build, it could just be a cameo to deliver an AA.
Bayley's fiancé Aaron Solow is training to become a wrestler in New Zealand. We'll see if their paths ever cross in WWE.
The Undertaker is now being considered for WrestleMania after announcing his Starrcast appearance. Essentially, WWE doesn't want it to look like "AEW" has one of "their" talents, although Starrcast is not being promoted directly by AEW.
NXT names being pushed on TV this week was a Vince McMahon feud, as he felt Raw and Smackdown Live are stale and need some fresh faces. He's not wrong!
- The four names used on Raw and Smackdown Live this week are set to continue on those shows as well as NXT, at least through WrestleMania. It's interesting there are so many "free agents" in the brand split era now. I'm glad those guys are getting these opportunities. We'll see who else benefits from Vince's epiphany, and who moves on from NXT entirely.
WWE is considering Lacey Evans as a top female prospect going forward, particularly once Ronda Rousey leaves. That's a big opportunity for her.
Kota Ibushi intends to end his career in NJPW, where he'll be a featured player. He didn't want to move to the U.S. to be part of AEW.
Lucha Underground is currently not expected to return for a fifth season, which puts the attached talent in a pretty strange situation. Hopefully they get to wrestle without jumping through too many hoops rather than being kept on for something that looks like it's not going to happen.
CMLL is replacing AAA on Mexico's top channel, featuring a one-hour show taped eight days in advance. It will be interesting to see how that affects business for both sides.
NJPW's Tetsuya Naito will work CMLL on March 29.
Hulk Hogan's movie is being sought by Netflix. I'm curious how and where it will end up. Chris Hemsworth is also a producer on the project.
Andrew Everett is getting surgery for a torn meniscus once he finishes his March bookings. It's he shame he can't afford to take time off to heal up.
Longtime Michigan wrestling venue The Cobo Center is undergoing a name change due to new ownership. The new name has not been decided yet.
Wrestling documentary "350 Days" will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD this April.
Sean Waltman discussed going into the WWE Hall of Fame on his latest podcast. Good to see him getting that honor.
Impact's Xplosion show is now airing on Twitch Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.. The show is something like Main Event is to WWE: some bonus matches from tapings as well as some video packages of recent events. Hopefully that helps the channel grow and gets more exposure for the wrestlers featured on it.
Impact's March 1 event with Rockstar Pro will be called Opening Day and will air on Twitch March 2. Johnny Impact, Eddie Edwards, Brian Cage, Moose, and oVe are all advertised from the Impact side. Notably, former Impact star Havok is also set for the show.
Impact's WrestleMania weekend event could air beyond Twitch. It could definitely be a noteworthy show.
WWE Network has added the following Hidden Gems:
- Sputnik Monroe vs. Jack Pesek from Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1966.
- Bobby Heenan and The Sheik vs. Bobo Brazil and Dick the Bruiser from AWA in 1974.
- Rocky Johnson and Pedro Morales vs. Ivan Koloff and Mr. Sairo from Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1978.
- Junkyard Dog vs. "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer from Houston Wrestling in 1983.
Charlotte Flair was profiled in her hometown before Smackdown Live. I'm very glad she's not just "Ric Flair's daughter" as a character and wrestler.
Mustafa Ali will be on the digital series "Secret Life of Muslims"' second season.
Titus O'Neil is helping his hometown invest. He's always doing great things for his community.
The Undertaker promoted a Puerto Rican concert from Bad Bunny. We're in surreal times.
Mark Henry discussed Ronda Rousey on Busted Open Radio.
The former Bull Dempsey will debut in Japan's DDT on March 2.
NXT UK could tape more episodes at WrestleMania AXXESS following the success of Royal Rumble weekend. It was good for them to work with some of the other brands' stars on those shows.
Smackdown Live drew 2.27 million viewers for the first show after Elimination Chamber.
WWE did poster parodies for Oscar movies. I never knew I needed some of those images until now.
Paige spoke to People.com about "Fighting With My Family." I'm surprised WWE's not working on a reality show with the real family after all this press for her.
Roman Reigns will appear on Raw to discuss his current medical status. I really, really hope that's good news.
- Reigns will also appear on Good Morning America the following day to follow up that announcement.
Becky Lynch is booked for Monday's Raw , which, notably, is Ric Flair's birthday. I'm sure she'll help commemorate the occasion.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I fully expect her to be honored in some fashion someday, but I don't see her going into the Hall of Fame this year. I don't see any rush to induct her, as I strongly doubt she'll ever have a falling out with the company and be unavailable to honor.
2. It's been discussed, but there are always ideas floating around for the Hall of Fame that don't get acted upon.
Nothing to add to 3.
4. He's been available for a long time and neither company has used him since 2010, so I don't see why that would change. Both companies are looking to build future stars (with a few notable exceptions).
5. Dreamer has a lot on his plate! I wouldn't be shocked to see him work with AEW as well.
6. That rebranding and refocus is a major reason (if not THE major reason) they dropped Impact Wrestling.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
WWE star asks for release, NXT UK tapings set, new NXT announcer, Sasha and Gargano honored, Ricochet looks back, assorted WWE press, Interviews with Slaughter/Waltman/Rey/Dory Jr., new Double or Nothing match, AEW trademark updates, Monster's Ball WM35 weekend, Hogan movie coming, Raw audience, NXT name pulled from EVOLVE shows, injured star at WWEPC again, and Questions on WWE freezing Ambrose's deal, Vince in referees' earpieces, fresh names in the Rumble, and WWE having too many talents to showcase
Tye Dillinger publicly asked for his WWE release. It has not been given at this time. The natural speculation is that he's looking to go to AEW. Notably, he and Cody were tag team champions in OVW.
NXT UK has announced tapings for:
- April 19 and April 20 in Scotland, NXT UK's first shows in that country
- June 14, June 15, and June 16 at the Download Festival
- July 19 and July 20 in England
NXT has signed a new announcer in an unknown role. He's currently a hockey host in Florida, so my guess is he'll be an MC at live events in that state.
Boston's mayor congratulated Sasha Banks for becoming WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. That's pretty cool.
Ricochet looked back on his first match following his Raw debut. He's accomplished a lot, and I'm sure there's a lot more to come!
The Miz met WWE Warrior Award winner Jarrius Robertson at Smackdown Live. That's good to see.
Sgt. Slaughter discussed WWE topics on Busted Open Radio.
Sean Waltman spoke to TMZ Sports about Chyna entering the WWE Hall of Fame. It's amazing that's finally happening.
Rey Mysterio spoke to Al Jazeera about representing Latinos. The piece does discuss politics, but since it's WWE-related, I linked to it.
Cleveland's NBC affiliate promoted Johnny Gargano's Raw debut. I'm glad he's successful.
The Usos have a new T-shirt available. Notably there is still no word of them re-signing with WWE.
Double or Nothing has added an "Over The Budget Battle Royal." Sonny Kiss, Kip Sabian, and Brandon Cutler have all been announced as being in that match. It's unclear what the winner receives at this point.
Chris Jericho will be at the New Jersey Horror Convention on March 30.
Dory Funk, Jr. is on Chris Jericho's latest podcast.
AEW has had some trademarks initially refused due to needing to amend their filings and pay proper fees. The group is obviously pretty new with corporate dealings.
Impact's April 4 event has added a Monster's Ball match between Sami Callihan and Jimmy Havoc. Havoc is part of AEW, but obviously this date doesn't conflict with any of his duties there.
Hulk Hogan will be the subject of a feature film, which he will also executive produce. Chris Hemsworth will play the lead role, which will chronicle the rise of Hulkamania. Eric Bischoff and Bradley Cooper are also set as producers. That can be a very interesting project.
Raw drew 2.77 million viewers Monday night, giving the show an increase following Elimination Chamber. Hopefully the fresh faces get some fans intrigued to stick around.
Ricochet will no longer wrestle for EVOLVE on March 15 and March 16. Velveteen Dream will take his place. However, Ricochet will still appear for signings before each event. This looks to be a side effect of Ricochet appearing on Raw and Smackdown Live, as EVOLVE only has permission to use NXT talents. It would be nice if he could still work shows he was already booked for, but there could be some red tape involved with that.
Sin Cara is back training at the WWE Performance Center en route to a return. There was talk of him working with Rey Mysterio and/or Andrade, but as quickly as things change in WWE, I wouldn't assume that's still the case.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They absolutely could have done that. I'm honestly surprised they're letting him potentially head to AEW so easily instead of locking him in. I wonder if that represents a change in a policy that had to have rubbed talent the wrong way.
2. Generally the announcers. I'm not sure who's talking to the referees, but obviously he gets them instructions when he feels he needs to.
3. I would have been fine with a surprise comeback or two, but I'm VERY happy to see some of those names get opportunities. As was said, there were several more names who could have gone in there and delivered strong performances as well. I'm totally on-board with the idea of the Rumble being for "every brand" with the exception of a few fun cameos here and there from the past. WWE has a LOT of talent they can showcase.
4. The argument can be made that it could have been somewhat meaningless to put him in the match and not do anything significant rather than saving him for an opportunity to have a bigger impact. Although, of course, they seem to be unsure of how to feature him.
5. Yes, WWE has too many talents to be able to showcase all of them to the level they would like to. It's at a point where fans forget certain talents are still under contract because they've been off TV for so long. I think it would be worth looking at making some cuts of people who are more or less filling space on live events, although of course WWE is wealthy enough to keep them all and many more!
More wrestling tomorrow.
NXT UK has announced tapings for:
- April 19 and April 20 in Scotland, NXT UK's first shows in that country
- June 14, June 15, and June 16 at the Download Festival
- July 19 and July 20 in England
NXT has signed a new announcer in an unknown role. He's currently a hockey host in Florida, so my guess is he'll be an MC at live events in that state.
Boston's mayor congratulated Sasha Banks for becoming WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. That's pretty cool.
Ricochet looked back on his first match following his Raw debut. He's accomplished a lot, and I'm sure there's a lot more to come!
The Miz met WWE Warrior Award winner Jarrius Robertson at Smackdown Live. That's good to see.
Sgt. Slaughter discussed WWE topics on Busted Open Radio.
Sean Waltman spoke to TMZ Sports about Chyna entering the WWE Hall of Fame. It's amazing that's finally happening.
Rey Mysterio spoke to Al Jazeera about representing Latinos. The piece does discuss politics, but since it's WWE-related, I linked to it.
Cleveland's NBC affiliate promoted Johnny Gargano's Raw debut. I'm glad he's successful.
The Usos have a new T-shirt available. Notably there is still no word of them re-signing with WWE.
Double or Nothing has added an "Over The Budget Battle Royal." Sonny Kiss, Kip Sabian, and Brandon Cutler have all been announced as being in that match. It's unclear what the winner receives at this point.
Chris Jericho will be at the New Jersey Horror Convention on March 30.
Dory Funk, Jr. is on Chris Jericho's latest podcast.
AEW has had some trademarks initially refused due to needing to amend their filings and pay proper fees. The group is obviously pretty new with corporate dealings.
Impact's April 4 event has added a Monster's Ball match between Sami Callihan and Jimmy Havoc. Havoc is part of AEW, but obviously this date doesn't conflict with any of his duties there.
Hulk Hogan will be the subject of a feature film, which he will also executive produce. Chris Hemsworth will play the lead role, which will chronicle the rise of Hulkamania. Eric Bischoff and Bradley Cooper are also set as producers. That can be a very interesting project.
Raw drew 2.77 million viewers Monday night, giving the show an increase following Elimination Chamber. Hopefully the fresh faces get some fans intrigued to stick around.
Ricochet will no longer wrestle for EVOLVE on March 15 and March 16. Velveteen Dream will take his place. However, Ricochet will still appear for signings before each event. This looks to be a side effect of Ricochet appearing on Raw and Smackdown Live, as EVOLVE only has permission to use NXT talents. It would be nice if he could still work shows he was already booked for, but there could be some red tape involved with that.
Sin Cara is back training at the WWE Performance Center en route to a return. There was talk of him working with Rey Mysterio and/or Andrade, but as quickly as things change in WWE, I wouldn't assume that's still the case.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They absolutely could have done that. I'm honestly surprised they're letting him potentially head to AEW so easily instead of locking him in. I wonder if that represents a change in a policy that had to have rubbed talent the wrong way.
2. Generally the announcers. I'm not sure who's talking to the referees, but obviously he gets them instructions when he feels he needs to.
3. I would have been fine with a surprise comeback or two, but I'm VERY happy to see some of those names get opportunities. As was said, there were several more names who could have gone in there and delivered strong performances as well. I'm totally on-board with the idea of the Rumble being for "every brand" with the exception of a few fun cameos here and there from the past. WWE has a LOT of talent they can showcase.
4. The argument can be made that it could have been somewhat meaningless to put him in the match and not do anything significant rather than saving him for an opportunity to have a bigger impact. Although, of course, they seem to be unsure of how to feature him.
5. Yes, WWE has too many talents to be able to showcase all of them to the level they would like to. It's at a point where fans forget certain talents are still under contract because they've been off TV for so long. I think it would be worth looking at making some cuts of people who are more or less filling space on live events, although of course WWE is wealthy enough to keep them all and many more!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Impact announces VIP packages, Fast Lane match dropped?, Interviews with Paige/Bucks, Bayley teases facing legends, WOH title in Japan, more on Star-MMA, ROH TV on Sling, NXT announcement teased, new ROH PPV match, more AEW tickets, SDL dark matches, 205 Live cameo, and Questions on Paige in the UK PC, Ronda headlining WM35, where Bray is, AEW signing former WWE names, and Taker-WM35
Impact has announced VIP packages for their March TV tapings.
Fast Lane is no longer advertising Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. The match was listed by the venue, but WWE never announced it. Both women are still advertised for the event, just not in any specific match.
Paige was on Fox News to discuss "Fighting With My Family."
Bayley teased Trish Stratus and Lita coming for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. As amazing as that would be, it might be a little early in the title's history to do a match of that magnitude.
ROH's Women Of Honor Championship will be defended in Stardom on February 24 as Mayu Iwatani faces Konami. That's a big moment for the division.
The former Sexy Star's MMA signing got an official press release.
The Young Bucks discussed AEW topics:
- If AEW wasn't an option, I think there's a good chance they would have gone to WWE. ROH and NJPW weren't going to offer them what they'd be able to make and do in WWE. And, realistically, what was left for them to do in either company?
- It's still amazing to think a faction of wrestlers is making their own promotion. Obviously there will be plenty of talents who haven't been in The Elite.
- I'm very interested to see how AEW's storytelling unfolds.
- Wowwwww. Twenty years from now? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
- I do appreciate the level of vision these talents have.
- Building and running a wrestling promotion is definitely a tall task!
- Haha. The creative freedom is going to be a big sell for talent and a certain audience. Of course, some talent do well with the structure of a script.
- I can only imagine how many stories have circulated about potential promotions over the years.
- Timing things out is going to be critical after All In. Of course everyone wants to showcase themselves.
- I mean, hey, at one point 10,000 fans seemed farfetched. I wouldn't rule out them at one point drawing a crowd at the level of a Tokyo Dome show or Royal Rumble.
- The Bucks are incredibly ambitious. I'm glad to see them achieving so much.
ROH TV is now available on Sling TV via Stadium. We'll see if that expands the product's audience.
NXT is teasing a "special announcement" tonight. I'm curious what that will mean, and if it will involve the talents we saw on Raw and Smackdown Live this week.
ROH's 17th Anniversary PPV has added Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King.
Double or Nothing has released a few hundred more tickets as AEW plans production for the event. WCW drew just under 12,500 for Halloween Havoc 1997, so I think that should be their milestone.
Before Smackdown Live, Rey Mysterio and R-Truth defeated The Colons.
205 Live featured local wrestler Johnny Flex against Ariya Daivari. Flex also competed against AOP in September.
After Smackdown Live, Asuka retained the Smackdown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think that'd be a wonderful move. I'm a little surprised she hasn't taken a backstage role already, but maybe that changes once her movie's out.
2. They've indicated it will be, but we won't know for sure until that day. It's definitely something people are pushing for.
3. Bray apparently had some lingering injuries to deal with, seeing as how he's barely popped up even on live events since then.
4. I definitely think the existing fan base would turn on the product to a degree if they sign people primarily because of what they did in the past rather than what they can deliver in the years to come. AEW has a distinct vision for what they want their show to be, and they need to make sure everyone they sign is going to complement that vision. Now, of course, if interest dwindles from their current audience, it's worth looking into picking up some meaningful "names" to sell tickets/get ratings, but it's way too early for that to be an issue.
5. So there have been WrestleManias since Undertaker's debut where he wasn't active, but obviously he's made the majority of them. He's definitely making plans for life outside the ring, but that doesn't mean for sure we won't see a late addition or cameo at WrestleMania (and the May Saudi Arabia show).
More wrestling tomorrow.
Fast Lane is no longer advertising Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. The match was listed by the venue, but WWE never announced it. Both women are still advertised for the event, just not in any specific match.
Paige was on Fox News to discuss "Fighting With My Family."
Bayley teased Trish Stratus and Lita coming for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. As amazing as that would be, it might be a little early in the title's history to do a match of that magnitude.
ROH's Women Of Honor Championship will be defended in Stardom on February 24 as Mayu Iwatani faces Konami. That's a big moment for the division.
The former Sexy Star's MMA signing got an official press release.
The Young Bucks discussed AEW topics:
- If AEW wasn't an option, I think there's a good chance they would have gone to WWE. ROH and NJPW weren't going to offer them what they'd be able to make and do in WWE. And, realistically, what was left for them to do in either company?
- It's still amazing to think a faction of wrestlers is making their own promotion. Obviously there will be plenty of talents who haven't been in The Elite.
- I'm very interested to see how AEW's storytelling unfolds.
- Wowwwww. Twenty years from now? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
- I do appreciate the level of vision these talents have.
- Building and running a wrestling promotion is definitely a tall task!
- Haha. The creative freedom is going to be a big sell for talent and a certain audience. Of course, some talent do well with the structure of a script.
- I can only imagine how many stories have circulated about potential promotions over the years.
- Timing things out is going to be critical after All In. Of course everyone wants to showcase themselves.
- I mean, hey, at one point 10,000 fans seemed farfetched. I wouldn't rule out them at one point drawing a crowd at the level of a Tokyo Dome show or Royal Rumble.
- The Bucks are incredibly ambitious. I'm glad to see them achieving so much.
ROH TV is now available on Sling TV via Stadium. We'll see if that expands the product's audience.
NXT is teasing a "special announcement" tonight. I'm curious what that will mean, and if it will involve the talents we saw on Raw and Smackdown Live this week.
ROH's 17th Anniversary PPV has added Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King.
Double or Nothing has released a few hundred more tickets as AEW plans production for the event. WCW drew just under 12,500 for Halloween Havoc 1997, so I think that should be their milestone.
Before Smackdown Live, Rey Mysterio and R-Truth defeated The Colons.
205 Live featured local wrestler Johnny Flex against Ariya Daivari. Flex also competed against AOP in September.
After Smackdown Live, Asuka retained the Smackdown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think that'd be a wonderful move. I'm a little surprised she hasn't taken a backstage role already, but maybe that changes once her movie's out.
2. They've indicated it will be, but we won't know for sure until that day. It's definitely something people are pushing for.
3. Bray apparently had some lingering injuries to deal with, seeing as how he's barely popped up even on live events since then.
4. I definitely think the existing fan base would turn on the product to a degree if they sign people primarily because of what they did in the past rather than what they can deliver in the years to come. AEW has a distinct vision for what they want their show to be, and they need to make sure everyone they sign is going to complement that vision. Now, of course, if interest dwindles from their current audience, it's worth looking into picking up some meaningful "names" to sell tickets/get ratings, but it's way too early for that to be an issue.
5. So there have been WrestleManias since Undertaker's debut where he wasn't active, but obviously he's made the majority of them. He's definitely making plans for life outside the ring, but that doesn't mean for sure we won't see a late addition or cameo at WrestleMania (and the May Saudi Arabia show).
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown Live and 205 Live Reax - 2/19/19
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown Live and 205 Live.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
WWE couple launches YouTube account, Interviews with Bianca/Becky, DX in HoF, another Paige trailer, WWE/WCW/Impact assets for sale, Mexican female star to MMA, Ultimate X coming to Mania weekend, Impact uses former WWE star as producer, legend working Impact, Impact team gets shirt, Impact name blogging again, new producer begins work, and Questions on the Ronda/Becky/Charlotte angle, and WWE changes
Rusev and Lana have launched a YouTube account, which will feature a number of series from the pair. It's good to see them expressing themselves. Hopefully something they do catches on and it helps their standing in WWE.
Bianca Belair is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast. She's definitely had a big journey to where she is now. I hope she's able to really be successful.
Becky Lynch talked in Ireland. She was definitely not an overnight success; she had an audience that was ready to erupt when she had her big moment.
D-Generation X, featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and Chyna, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before WrestleMania. Chyna's one of the last people on the "WWE doesn't want to honor them, even though they hold a place in the company's history" list, given her life outside the ring. Billy Gunn, notably, is a producer in AEW, so I didn't expect him to be honored, either. It's a historic moment for the company.
- There are still plans to induct The Hart Foundation's Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Jimmy Hart as a unit as well.
-- ESPN spoke to Triple H about the induction:
- Obviously Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Road Dogg have backstage roles in WWE, but the group is definitely deserving regardless of their current pull.
- Chyna was absolutely a prominent female figure in wrestling history. And a prominent figure overall in the industry!
- Cool to hear how the group came together.
- Now the Spirit Squad, that's a team that belongs in the Hall of Fame!
-- WWE had a press release on the induction.
"Fighting With My Family" got a final trailer.
WWE, WCW, and Impact ring aprons, signs, and other used assets are available on Highspots.com. That's really cool! I'm curious how they came across those.
Mexico's Sexy Star has signed an MMA contract with Combate Americas. Her first fight is April 12. This follows her competing as a boxer. I'm curious how she'll do there.
Impact will have an Ultimate X match on their April 4 event. There's currently no word on who will compete there and what will be at stake. It definitely makes sense to feature that signature match there.
Impact used former WWE/ROH/LU star Paul London as a producer at their recent tapings. There is hope to use him more going forward. He's still somewhat active as a wrestler, so maybe he'll pop up in the ring, too.
"The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan appeared at Impact's Nevada tapings, so he'll be on their upcoming episodes.
The Rascalz have their first official Impact shirt. They've been fun so far.
Ethan Page is using his video blog again. He's benefited from appearing in Impact.
Abyss began as a producer on Raw.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. We're likely headed for a triple threat match, which has been reported for a while. I strongly doubt Becky will be out of the match entirely.
2. It plays up Charlotte being "the establishment's" favorite, making her the clear heel in a triple threat.
3. Obviously some things really changed this week. Even before that, we saw more focus on tag teams and the debuts of five talents from NXT. Some would even add the women's tag title as another change to the product. As for Seth vs. Brock, the belief is that Rollins (hypothetically) winning the Universal Championship there is a much bigger career moment than beating Finn. As always, WWE isn't about what match will be best from a technical standpoint. It's about what they think will draw the most money and interest.
4. Becky got physical with her bosses. It's logical they're going to be upset at that. I will say the McMahons want to have it both ways sometimes, as far as being front and center for changes but also being antagonists.
5. I've never noticed this but now I probably won't be able to unnotice it. She definitely walks like she has more of a purpose now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Bianca Belair is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast. She's definitely had a big journey to where she is now. I hope she's able to really be successful.
Becky Lynch talked in Ireland. She was definitely not an overnight success; she had an audience that was ready to erupt when she had her big moment.
D-Generation X, featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and Chyna, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before WrestleMania. Chyna's one of the last people on the "WWE doesn't want to honor them, even though they hold a place in the company's history" list, given her life outside the ring. Billy Gunn, notably, is a producer in AEW, so I didn't expect him to be honored, either. It's a historic moment for the company.
- There are still plans to induct The Hart Foundation's Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Jimmy Hart as a unit as well.
-- ESPN spoke to Triple H about the induction:
- Obviously Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Road Dogg have backstage roles in WWE, but the group is definitely deserving regardless of their current pull.
- Chyna was absolutely a prominent female figure in wrestling history. And a prominent figure overall in the industry!
- Cool to hear how the group came together.
- Now the Spirit Squad, that's a team that belongs in the Hall of Fame!
-- WWE had a press release on the induction.
"Fighting With My Family" got a final trailer.
WWE, WCW, and Impact ring aprons, signs, and other used assets are available on Highspots.com. That's really cool! I'm curious how they came across those.
Mexico's Sexy Star has signed an MMA contract with Combate Americas. Her first fight is April 12. This follows her competing as a boxer. I'm curious how she'll do there.
Impact will have an Ultimate X match on their April 4 event. There's currently no word on who will compete there and what will be at stake. It definitely makes sense to feature that signature match there.
Impact used former WWE/ROH/LU star Paul London as a producer at their recent tapings. There is hope to use him more going forward. He's still somewhat active as a wrestler, so maybe he'll pop up in the ring, too.
"The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan appeared at Impact's Nevada tapings, so he'll be on their upcoming episodes.
The Rascalz have their first official Impact shirt. They've been fun so far.
Ethan Page is using his video blog again. He's benefited from appearing in Impact.
Abyss began as a producer on Raw.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. We're likely headed for a triple threat match, which has been reported for a while. I strongly doubt Becky will be out of the match entirely.
2. It plays up Charlotte being "the establishment's" favorite, making her the clear heel in a triple threat.
3. Obviously some things really changed this week. Even before that, we saw more focus on tag teams and the debuts of five talents from NXT. Some would even add the women's tag title as another change to the product. As for Seth vs. Brock, the belief is that Rollins (hypothetically) winning the Universal Championship there is a much bigger career moment than beating Finn. As always, WWE isn't about what match will be best from a technical standpoint. It's about what they think will draw the most money and interest.
4. Becky got physical with her bosses. It's logical they're going to be upset at that. I will say the McMahons want to have it both ways sometimes, as far as being front and center for changes but also being antagonists.
5. I've never noticed this but now I probably won't be able to unnotice it. She definitely walks like she has more of a purpose now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Interviews with Jake Roberts/Henry/EC3/Becky, assorted WWE press, former NXT name at Impact, Abdullah manager passes, Ciampa working another show, new NXT signing finishes dates, EC3 brand update, UK PC profiled, and Questions on combining women's titles, Becky's apology, WWE names in AEW, Owens turning face, and WWE dropping names
Jake Roberts was on the Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. Among other things, he discussed not working with Hulk Hogan and the (in)famous "Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal" match. Here are further highlights:
- It's a shame there weren't other guys at Hogan's level. That's historically been a problem in WWE. Vince wants to push one person as THE person.
- Jake is renowned as a guy who could put others over. It's a great skill to have.
- Savage was notoriously high-strung.
- Sting has definitely gone through phases of burnout.
WWE is working with Hire Heroes USA for special merchandise sales through Memorial Day. WWE really supports veterans.
Former NXT name Sawyer Fulton was backstage at Impact's Nevada tapings, so he could end up joining the company. Frankly he kind of floundered in developmental, so we'll see if a change of environment helps.
Abdullah the Butcher's manager passed away this weekend. Sad to see that. Those two worked together a LONG time.
Mark Henry talked about his famous fake retirement speech. That was amazing.
Finn Balor missed this weekend's Raw live event in order to attend Rocky Romero's wedding. Glad to see how was allowed to do that.
Tommaso Ciampa will appear at Missouri's World League Wrestling on March 4. It's interesting to see top NXT names doing outside appearances.
Trevor Lee has finished his non-WWE appearances ahead of joining NXT full-time. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
EC3 promoted Smackdown Live's next TV taping, which of course is weird since he's been on Raw lately. It does look like he's expected to wrestle on the show this week. He's a lot of fun.
- EC3 worked Saturday's Smackdown Live live event, defeating Tye Dillinger before losing to Shelton Benjamin.
The former Jack Swagger will compete for Bellator again on May 11 in Illinois.
Georgia's Action Wrestling helped grant a wish for a chronically-ill fan. Great move on their part.
Elimination Chamber could have ended with the women's tag team championship match.
That could have worked, although Kofi Kingston's big moment closing things was good, too.
A WWE employee subdued a drunk driver after a crash. That's AWESOME.
Becky Lynch talked at a pre-Elimination Chamber signing. She can have a really big night at WrestleMania.
WWE's UK Performance Center was profiled by The Mirror. There's a lot available there. I'm interested to see what other locations get blessed in the years to come.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly not awful booking, but I'm split on them dropping one of the singles titles. There are a number of NXT women they could call up after WrestleMania to further fill out each show's singles division, so I think they'll be fine.
2. Ultimately her apologizing meant Vince screwing her over. We'll see what that leads to. She can still be a badass if the followup is good. Maybe she learns Don't Trust Anyone?
3. I wouldn't totally rule out talent reinventing themselves in AEW, and it could be good to have some variety in the ranks. As for talent who could use a reboot and a fresh environment, there's no shortage of options. If it becomes what it could become, it can really reinvigorate the wrestling industry as a whole.
4. I think there's a pretty good chance given the direction of his vignettes.
5. There are certain names Vince just doesn't like the sound of, apparently. I could see him finding "Dozovic" too "foreign heel" sounding for his character. It also keeps things simple.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- It's a shame there weren't other guys at Hogan's level. That's historically been a problem in WWE. Vince wants to push one person as THE person.
- Jake is renowned as a guy who could put others over. It's a great skill to have.
- Savage was notoriously high-strung.
- Sting has definitely gone through phases of burnout.
WWE is working with Hire Heroes USA for special merchandise sales through Memorial Day. WWE really supports veterans.
Former NXT name Sawyer Fulton was backstage at Impact's Nevada tapings, so he could end up joining the company. Frankly he kind of floundered in developmental, so we'll see if a change of environment helps.
Abdullah the Butcher's manager passed away this weekend. Sad to see that. Those two worked together a LONG time.
Mark Henry talked about his famous fake retirement speech. That was amazing.
Finn Balor missed this weekend's Raw live event in order to attend Rocky Romero's wedding. Glad to see how was allowed to do that.
Tommaso Ciampa will appear at Missouri's World League Wrestling on March 4. It's interesting to see top NXT names doing outside appearances.
Trevor Lee has finished his non-WWE appearances ahead of joining NXT full-time. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
EC3 promoted Smackdown Live's next TV taping, which of course is weird since he's been on Raw lately. It does look like he's expected to wrestle on the show this week. He's a lot of fun.
- EC3 worked Saturday's Smackdown Live live event, defeating Tye Dillinger before losing to Shelton Benjamin.
The former Jack Swagger will compete for Bellator again on May 11 in Illinois.
Georgia's Action Wrestling helped grant a wish for a chronically-ill fan. Great move on their part.
Elimination Chamber could have ended with the women's tag team championship match.
That could have worked, although Kofi Kingston's big moment closing things was good, too.
A WWE employee subdued a drunk driver after a crash. That's AWESOME.
Becky Lynch talked at a pre-Elimination Chamber signing. She can have a really big night at WrestleMania.
WWE's UK Performance Center was profiled by The Mirror. There's a lot available there. I'm interested to see what other locations get blessed in the years to come.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly not awful booking, but I'm split on them dropping one of the singles titles. There are a number of NXT women they could call up after WrestleMania to further fill out each show's singles division, so I think they'll be fine.
2. Ultimately her apologizing meant Vince screwing her over. We'll see what that leads to. She can still be a badass if the followup is good. Maybe she learns Don't Trust Anyone?
3. I wouldn't totally rule out talent reinventing themselves in AEW, and it could be good to have some variety in the ranks. As for talent who could use a reboot and a fresh environment, there's no shortage of options. If it becomes what it could become, it can really reinvigorate the wrestling industry as a whole.
4. I think there's a pretty good chance given the direction of his vignettes.
5. There are certain names Vince just doesn't like the sound of, apparently. I could see him finding "Dozovic" too "foreign heel" sounding for his character. It also keeps things simple.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Main Event Reax - 2/16/19, Henry documentary replaying, more Paige promotion, watch the Chamber built, Raw+NXT live event notes, former Impact World Champion re-signs, another One Night Only show set, and Questions on the success of Tough Enough/the original NXT, "The Woman" vs. "The Man," Supercard's IWGP Title match, WWE-MSG, WWE Studios-Netflix, and Shaul Guerrero
-- Main Event:
- HM vs. Ascension:
Four wrestlers with no last names!
I like this so far.
Pretty fun.
- Jinder/Singhs vs. Breeze/B-Team:
We need some comedy segments with Breeze, Bo, and Curtis.
Fine enough. The Singhs are pretty basic.
Mark Henry's documentary will re-air after Raw. Glad he's being featured after so many years with the company.
Paige spoke to the LA Times about "Fighting With My Family."
WWE live-streamed the building of the Elimination Chamber.
Raw's live events this weekend featured the first appearances of Ronda Rousey, the Lucha House Party, Tyler Breeze, and Mojo Rawley in over a month. Notably, those names had competed on Raw, 205 Live, and Main Event in that timeframe.
Eddie Edwards has signed a new long-term deal with Impact. Honestly WWE, AEW, and NJPW should have all made him big offers to work in front of larger crowds in a more prominent role. No matter how well he does in Impact, he's undervalued for the work he does.
Impact is working with Kentucky's UCW Pro for a One Night Only show on April 13. Honestly I can't even find coverage of that promotion. I hope Eddie's getting paid well to work these shows...
NXT's Mia Yim and Jessie Elaban teamed to defeat Aliyah and Vanessa Borne at the February 16 Florida live event. That's the first time Mia and Jessie have teamed, so we'll see if it becomes more of a regular thing.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. I mean Tough Enough III was way back in 2002. That's a long career for anyone in the business! I concur the series was a success as it got a different audience to check out wrestling content.
1.b. NXT wasn't a huge success as a TV product, by any means, but yes, it did provide TV (later WWE.com) exposure and experience for talents to get something that worked.
2. I could see someone doing it as a comedy thing, like Santina Marella or James Ellsworth, but I don't really see it going as well as Becky Lynch's nickname.
3. I'd be surprised if Jay White isn't in the title picture then. Okada and Ibushi are the top expected opponents. NJPW definitely wants to establish White as a top name with Omega out.
4. WWE is not happy "their" arena is running against them during WrestleMania weekend. I doubt we've seen the last WWE show there, but certainly it'll take some time for the two sides to work together again.
5. Netflix is paying them to make content. They'd much rather have someone else pay for and distribute their productions than put it out themselves!
6. Yes. She was in WWE developmental as Raquel Diaz quite a while ago, but didn't make it past a few NXT TV appearances.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- HM vs. Ascension:
Four wrestlers with no last names!
I like this so far.
Pretty fun.
- Jinder/Singhs vs. Breeze/B-Team:
We need some comedy segments with Breeze, Bo, and Curtis.
Fine enough. The Singhs are pretty basic.
Mark Henry's documentary will re-air after Raw. Glad he's being featured after so many years with the company.
Paige spoke to the LA Times about "Fighting With My Family."
WWE live-streamed the building of the Elimination Chamber.
Raw's live events this weekend featured the first appearances of Ronda Rousey, the Lucha House Party, Tyler Breeze, and Mojo Rawley in over a month. Notably, those names had competed on Raw, 205 Live, and Main Event in that timeframe.
Eddie Edwards has signed a new long-term deal with Impact. Honestly WWE, AEW, and NJPW should have all made him big offers to work in front of larger crowds in a more prominent role. No matter how well he does in Impact, he's undervalued for the work he does.
Impact is working with Kentucky's UCW Pro for a One Night Only show on April 13. Honestly I can't even find coverage of that promotion. I hope Eddie's getting paid well to work these shows...
NXT's Mia Yim and Jessie Elaban teamed to defeat Aliyah and Vanessa Borne at the February 16 Florida live event. That's the first time Mia and Jessie have teamed, so we'll see if it becomes more of a regular thing.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. I mean Tough Enough III was way back in 2002. That's a long career for anyone in the business! I concur the series was a success as it got a different audience to check out wrestling content.
1.b. NXT wasn't a huge success as a TV product, by any means, but yes, it did provide TV (later WWE.com) exposure and experience for talents to get something that worked.
2. I could see someone doing it as a comedy thing, like Santina Marella or James Ellsworth, but I don't really see it going as well as Becky Lynch's nickname.
3. I'd be surprised if Jay White isn't in the title picture then. Okada and Ibushi are the top expected opponents. NJPW definitely wants to establish White as a top name with Omega out.
4. WWE is not happy "their" arena is running against them during WrestleMania weekend. I doubt we've seen the last WWE show there, but certainly it'll take some time for the two sides to work together again.
5. Netflix is paying them to make content. They'd much rather have someone else pay for and distribute their productions than put it out themselves!
6. Yes. She was in WWE developmental as Raquel Diaz quite a while ago, but didn't make it past a few NXT TV appearances.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
WWE Confidential coming to Network, wrestling appearances, NXT VIP appearance set, top name set for Elimination Chamber, Impact names at OVW, WWE Now interviews, Lio does voicework, Andre trailer, another MLW special coming, Schiavone to miss MLW tapings, more on Shane-NCIS:LA, Impact departure, JBL charity, lucha superheroes, WWE gets rights to WarGames, Rumble 2020 set, WWE trademarks Warrior's facepaint, Fenix-Impact update, and Questions on Uso's arrest, how Punk and AJ get paid, why SDL is moving to Fridays, Chris Harris, why WWE is doing Seth-Brock, and Jeff Hardy's contacts
WWE Network is adding WWE Confidential's first season Monday. We'll see when they get to the second season.
The former Jack Swagger is on Edge and Christian's latest podcast. I miss him. I hope we haven't seen the last of him as a wrestler.
Shawn Michaels and Kane will appear at Monster Mania in New Jersey for March 8 and March 9 respectively. Kane makes perfect sense for that; Shawn not so much. Maybe Undertaker isn't able to appear at conventions until after WrestleMania.
NXT has set a VIP experience for TakeOver: New York.
Seth Rollins is set to be at Elimination Chamber. I guess he can cut a promo about Brock not being there like everyone else has. ZZZZZZZ.
Sgt. Slaughter promoted WrestleMania on Boomer and Gio, as well as Taz and the Moose.
Mandy Rose promoted Elimination Chamber.
Sami Callihan and the other oVe members appeared at OVW's most recent TV taping to set up the Impact vs. OVW One Night Only show on March 2. That's pretty fitting.
AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, and the Riott Squad will appear on WWE Now before Elimination Chamber.
Lio Rush provided a voice for an American Psychological Association children's book, along with his wife and son. That's amazing. Glad to see him being someone to aspire to be.
Andre the Giant's documentary DVD got a trailer.
MLW has a two-hour live special on the horizon.
Tony Schiavone will miss a number of MLW tapings due to other broadcasting duties, but he should be back full-time in spring.
Shane McMahon will appear on "NCIS: Los Angeles" on March 31. See, working with Miz has its benefits.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows appeared on The Jim Rome Show to promote WrestleMania 35. Can't wait to see them in the Andre the Giant battle royal!
Joe Hendry has left Impact Wrestling, where he had not worked since September. It will be interesting to see if ROH uses him, since he had made some appearances there before signing with Impact. In hindsight, it looks like Impact signed him just to keep ROH from using him, given how he disappeared. If Grado's under Impact contract, I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave, too, since they last worked together.
Stephanie McMahon will give the commencement address at Robert Morris University in May. That's pretty awesome.
Elias promoted Friday's Raw live event.
JBL is part of a charity to bring rugby to Malawi. That's great of him!
Paige appeared on Collider Live.
DC Comics is doing lucha-themed action figures.
WWE has acquired the rights to WarGames from MLW, so that promotion will no longer be using the match type. Frankly, WWE shouldn't have had to, since it was first used by a company they own the library of.
Royal Rumble 2020 will be in Texas. The venue seats more than 41,000 for baseball, so they're expecting a similar crowd to the one they had this year.
WWE has trademarked Ultimate Warrior's face paint design for merchandise purposes, so expect to see it pop up on all sorts of things soon.
Rey Fenix competed at Friday night's Impact Wrestling TV taping despite his recent injury. I hope he doesn't get hurt further there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's not something to joke about! Just kidding. I laughed.
2. All that, plus C.M. Punk being an MMA commentator and having a Pro Wrestling Tees store.
3. At least at one point the goal was to put Smackdown Live on Fridays between sports broadcasts on Thursdays and Saturdays as a link among the three. We'll see if that occurs come October. Honestly that's probably better than going against other broadcast networks' shows on other nights.
4. He had a brief Impact return in 2011, but Storm did pretty well without him and he was pretty burned out by how poorly the WWE run went. I'm under the impression he was unhappy with Impact when he left the first time, so that could have still been the case when his WWE run ended.
5. WWE would argue it's a bigger deal for Seth to wrestle and (possibly) beat Brock.
6. Honestly Jeff could probably sleepwalk through a match at this point he's been doing it so long. Hopefully a doctor has signed off on his eyewear, though. They could definitely damage his eyes if they're not legitimate.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The former Jack Swagger is on Edge and Christian's latest podcast. I miss him. I hope we haven't seen the last of him as a wrestler.
Shawn Michaels and Kane will appear at Monster Mania in New Jersey for March 8 and March 9 respectively. Kane makes perfect sense for that; Shawn not so much. Maybe Undertaker isn't able to appear at conventions until after WrestleMania.
NXT has set a VIP experience for TakeOver: New York.
Seth Rollins is set to be at Elimination Chamber. I guess he can cut a promo about Brock not being there like everyone else has. ZZZZZZZ.
Sgt. Slaughter promoted WrestleMania on Boomer and Gio, as well as Taz and the Moose.
Mandy Rose promoted Elimination Chamber.
Sami Callihan and the other oVe members appeared at OVW's most recent TV taping to set up the Impact vs. OVW One Night Only show on March 2. That's pretty fitting.
AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, and the Riott Squad will appear on WWE Now before Elimination Chamber.
Lio Rush provided a voice for an American Psychological Association children's book, along with his wife and son. That's amazing. Glad to see him being someone to aspire to be.
Andre the Giant's documentary DVD got a trailer.
MLW has a two-hour live special on the horizon.
Tony Schiavone will miss a number of MLW tapings due to other broadcasting duties, but he should be back full-time in spring.
Shane McMahon will appear on "NCIS: Los Angeles" on March 31. See, working with Miz has its benefits.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows appeared on The Jim Rome Show to promote WrestleMania 35. Can't wait to see them in the Andre the Giant battle royal!
Joe Hendry has left Impact Wrestling, where he had not worked since September. It will be interesting to see if ROH uses him, since he had made some appearances there before signing with Impact. In hindsight, it looks like Impact signed him just to keep ROH from using him, given how he disappeared. If Grado's under Impact contract, I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave, too, since they last worked together.
Stephanie McMahon will give the commencement address at Robert Morris University in May. That's pretty awesome.
Elias promoted Friday's Raw live event.
JBL is part of a charity to bring rugby to Malawi. That's great of him!
Paige appeared on Collider Live.
DC Comics is doing lucha-themed action figures.
WWE has acquired the rights to WarGames from MLW, so that promotion will no longer be using the match type. Frankly, WWE shouldn't have had to, since it was first used by a company they own the library of.
Royal Rumble 2020 will be in Texas. The venue seats more than 41,000 for baseball, so they're expecting a similar crowd to the one they had this year.
WWE has trademarked Ultimate Warrior's face paint design for merchandise purposes, so expect to see it pop up on all sorts of things soon.
Rey Fenix competed at Friday night's Impact Wrestling TV taping despite his recent injury. I hope he doesn't get hurt further there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's not something to joke about! Just kidding. I laughed.
2. All that, plus C.M. Punk being an MMA commentator and having a Pro Wrestling Tees store.
3. At least at one point the goal was to put Smackdown Live on Fridays between sports broadcasts on Thursdays and Saturdays as a link among the three. We'll see if that occurs come October. Honestly that's probably better than going against other broadcast networks' shows on other nights.
4. He had a brief Impact return in 2011, but Storm did pretty well without him and he was pretty burned out by how poorly the WWE run went. I'm under the impression he was unhappy with Impact when he left the first time, so that could have still been the case when his WWE run ended.
5. WWE would argue it's a bigger deal for Seth to wrestle and (possibly) beat Brock.
6. Honestly Jeff could probably sleepwalk through a match at this point he's been doing it so long. Hopefully a doctor has signed off on his eyewear, though. They could definitely damage his eyes if they're not legitimate.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, February 15, 2019
WWE business note, NJPW English shows, NJPW Supercard plans, Omega-AEW contract length, AEW event plans, Ambrose feud update, Impact viewership, Batista wrestling update, Owens return update, "Total Divas" cast changes, top WWE name at Starrcast, next Network collections, NJPW announces UK show, WWE injury updates, assorted wrestling press, Joe promotes Chamber, Cena hosting Nick game show, new WWE toys coming, ROH re-signs star, Future of Honor show, Rock congratulates AEW, NXT stars booked for SDL live events, next WWE PC tryout, NXT women angle, SDL star arrested, Chamber Kickoff match, NXT live event notes, and Questions on Atlas Security, Bret vs. Owen being planned, adding Finn to Brock vs. Seth, ending Ronda's streak, and WWE donating to use Kane
WWE's 2018 was their most profitable year ever.
The New Japan Cup will air live with English commentary on New Japan World.
Jay White's G1 Supercard opponent will likely be either Kazuchika Okada or Kota Ibushi. The original plan was for the show to be headlined by Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Championship.
Kenny Omega's AEW contract is for four years. Wow. Hopefully he does still get to work WrestleMania before his career ends. WWE did make a strong offer to use him, but he wanted to control his own destiny and take the risk with AEW. I can respect that.
AEW does have plans for international shows down the line. That will be interesting.
Dean Ambrose vs. Nia Jax was announced for a Raw live event, but ultimately WWE pulled back on it. It could still occur down the line.
Impact Wrestling on Pursuit is drawing fewer than 12,000 fans. That's abysmal. I don't know what that looks like from a financial standpoint, but it's certainly not encouraging for another network to pick them up. Twitch streams are drawing about the same number, so that doesn't seem like an optimal replacement, either.
Batista is indeed being scouted by AEW as well. I would think he'd just do a big match here and there.
Kevin Owens is set to return in about a month, so he will be back for WrestleMania.
Ronda Rousey and Sonya Deville have been added to "Total Divas." Both ladies' romantic partners will be featured in an attempt to boost the audience. It will be interesting to see how that goes and if Deville's profile is raised from appearing.
- Paige will not be part of the next season, which is surprising given her movie releasing.
Ric Flair has been added to Starrcast. It's shaping up to be a really major convention.
WWE Network is adding collections for Shawn Michaels and Trish Stratus in March.
NJPW announced an England show for August 31. That's pretty notable; they've really grown internationally the last few years.
Harper is back training at the WWE Performance Center. I imagine he'll be back soon.
Rikishi was on CBS' "The World's Best" as a judge. Weird times.
Samoa Joe talked before Elimination Chamber. Becky is definitely someone who grabbed the brass ring instead of waiting for her turn to shine. She knows what she's capable of, so she goes out there and does it.
"Fighting With My Family" has debuted at a number of New York and California theaters ahead of its wider release.
C.M. Punk will be part of a Mortal Kombat science series. That sounds pretty interesting.
John Cena will host "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" on Nickelodeon. He's doing a lot of non-WWE work these days.
WWE will have official "battling toys" from TOMY International as part of a multi-year agreement. This will look good on their next stock release.
ROH has signed Josh Woods to a new deal. Maybe now we'll see him in action again.
ROH is holding another Future of Honor show at the Monster Factory today.
The Rock congratulated AEW on Double or Nothing selling out after Chris Jericho released a video on the accomplishment. Notably, the show has sold more tickets than a number of WCW PPVs in the same venue.
Bray Wyatt is working toward being cleared to return. He's another guy who could use something fresh to do.
NXT's Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae are set for a number of Smackdown Live live shows in March, so they could both be on the short list to join that roster after WrestleMania.
WWE will hold another U.S. Performance Center tryout in April. It will be interesting to see who looks to join the roster there.
NXT ran an angle with Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir confronting Mia Yim, Jessie Elaban, Lacey Lane, and MJ Jenkins at the WWE Performance Center. It will be interesting to see how the division looks by Summerslam given the usual post-WrestleMania callups.
Jimmy Uso was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he and Naomi were pulled over in Michigan. Jimmy has previously been arrested twice for DUI. It's very unfortunate to see someone so talented in a situation like this. I hope this is the last time either Uso has an issue like this.
- There is currently no word on his status for Elimination Chamber.
Elimination Chamber's Kickoff match will be Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship, as is tradition. AEW could be a good home for some 205 Live stars. They're doing solid work that's largely inconsequential in WWE's grand picture.
The Undertaker will appear at Starrcast II, which Sports Illustrated covered. That's amazing. I definitely wouldn't assume that means he's leaving WWE for AEW, but it's certainly a shift from being a WWE superstar to him being able to do his own thing. There is no word on him competing for WWE again.
At NXT's February 14 live event in Florida:
- Denzel Dejournette and MJ Jenkins vs. Luke Menzies and Deonna Purrazzo
- Babatunde and Lacey Lane defeated Kona Reeves and Vanessa Borne
- Riddick Moss and Aliyah defeated Big Boa and Xia Li
- Jeet Rama and Kavita Devi defeated Raul Mendoza and Reina Gonzalez
- The Street Profits and Bianca Belair defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly, and Marina Shafir
-- So there was definitely a Valentine's Day theme here. We'll see if any of those pairings make it to TV.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's hilarious. Yes, they're a real security company rather than the kind who get thrown around in angles.
2. It would have been pretty wild if WWF left such an important decision up to a coin toss.
3. They could put Finn in the mix if they wanted to, but I don't see it happening. He essentially replaced Braun Strowman so Braun wouldn't have to lose to Brock again. There isn't a long-term plan for Finn to become Universal Champion or anything like that. As for WrestleMania being "all hands on deck," that refers to using pretty much every available worker to try to make the show as big as possible.
4. Oh yeah, definitely Char... umm Becky at WrestleMania.
5. Kane is definitely focusing on his mayoral duties. I expect if he is going to work for WWE again, he'll push for a similar deal that puts Knox County first. That's admirable; he could easily want to keep the fame and pay of being on WWE TV while holding office.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The New Japan Cup will air live with English commentary on New Japan World.
Jay White's G1 Supercard opponent will likely be either Kazuchika Okada or Kota Ibushi. The original plan was for the show to be headlined by Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Championship.
Kenny Omega's AEW contract is for four years. Wow. Hopefully he does still get to work WrestleMania before his career ends. WWE did make a strong offer to use him, but he wanted to control his own destiny and take the risk with AEW. I can respect that.
AEW does have plans for international shows down the line. That will be interesting.
Dean Ambrose vs. Nia Jax was announced for a Raw live event, but ultimately WWE pulled back on it. It could still occur down the line.
Impact Wrestling on Pursuit is drawing fewer than 12,000 fans. That's abysmal. I don't know what that looks like from a financial standpoint, but it's certainly not encouraging for another network to pick them up. Twitch streams are drawing about the same number, so that doesn't seem like an optimal replacement, either.
Batista is indeed being scouted by AEW as well. I would think he'd just do a big match here and there.
Kevin Owens is set to return in about a month, so he will be back for WrestleMania.
Ronda Rousey and Sonya Deville have been added to "Total Divas." Both ladies' romantic partners will be featured in an attempt to boost the audience. It will be interesting to see how that goes and if Deville's profile is raised from appearing.
- Paige will not be part of the next season, which is surprising given her movie releasing.
Ric Flair has been added to Starrcast. It's shaping up to be a really major convention.
WWE Network is adding collections for Shawn Michaels and Trish Stratus in March.
NJPW announced an England show for August 31. That's pretty notable; they've really grown internationally the last few years.
Harper is back training at the WWE Performance Center. I imagine he'll be back soon.
Rikishi was on CBS' "The World's Best" as a judge. Weird times.
Samoa Joe talked before Elimination Chamber. Becky is definitely someone who grabbed the brass ring instead of waiting for her turn to shine. She knows what she's capable of, so she goes out there and does it.
"Fighting With My Family" has debuted at a number of New York and California theaters ahead of its wider release.
C.M. Punk will be part of a Mortal Kombat science series. That sounds pretty interesting.
John Cena will host "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" on Nickelodeon. He's doing a lot of non-WWE work these days.
WWE will have official "battling toys" from TOMY International as part of a multi-year agreement. This will look good on their next stock release.
ROH has signed Josh Woods to a new deal. Maybe now we'll see him in action again.
ROH is holding another Future of Honor show at the Monster Factory today.
The Rock congratulated AEW on Double or Nothing selling out after Chris Jericho released a video on the accomplishment. Notably, the show has sold more tickets than a number of WCW PPVs in the same venue.
Bray Wyatt is working toward being cleared to return. He's another guy who could use something fresh to do.
NXT's Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae are set for a number of Smackdown Live live shows in March, so they could both be on the short list to join that roster after WrestleMania.
WWE will hold another U.S. Performance Center tryout in April. It will be interesting to see who looks to join the roster there.
NXT ran an angle with Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir confronting Mia Yim, Jessie Elaban, Lacey Lane, and MJ Jenkins at the WWE Performance Center. It will be interesting to see how the division looks by Summerslam given the usual post-WrestleMania callups.
Jimmy Uso was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he and Naomi were pulled over in Michigan. Jimmy has previously been arrested twice for DUI. It's very unfortunate to see someone so talented in a situation like this. I hope this is the last time either Uso has an issue like this.
- There is currently no word on his status for Elimination Chamber.
Elimination Chamber's Kickoff match will be Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship, as is tradition. AEW could be a good home for some 205 Live stars. They're doing solid work that's largely inconsequential in WWE's grand picture.
The Undertaker will appear at Starrcast II, which Sports Illustrated covered. That's amazing. I definitely wouldn't assume that means he's leaving WWE for AEW, but it's certainly a shift from being a WWE superstar to him being able to do his own thing. There is no word on him competing for WWE again.
At NXT's February 14 live event in Florida:
- Denzel Dejournette and MJ Jenkins vs. Luke Menzies and Deonna Purrazzo
- Babatunde and Lacey Lane defeated Kona Reeves and Vanessa Borne
- Riddick Moss and Aliyah defeated Big Boa and Xia Li
- Jeet Rama and Kavita Devi defeated Raul Mendoza and Reina Gonzalez
- The Street Profits and Bianca Belair defeated Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly, and Marina Shafir
-- So there was definitely a Valentine's Day theme here. We'll see if any of those pairings make it to TV.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's hilarious. Yes, they're a real security company rather than the kind who get thrown around in angles.
2. It would have been pretty wild if WWF left such an important decision up to a coin toss.
3. They could put Finn in the mix if they wanted to, but I don't see it happening. He essentially replaced Braun Strowman so Braun wouldn't have to lose to Brock again. There isn't a long-term plan for Finn to become Universal Champion or anything like that. As for WrestleMania being "all hands on deck," that refers to using pretty much every available worker to try to make the show as big as possible.
4. Oh yeah, definitely Char... umm Becky at WrestleMania.
5. Kane is definitely focusing on his mayoral duties. I expect if he is going to work for WWE again, he'll push for a similar deal that puts Knox County first. That's admirable; he could easily want to keep the fame and pay of being on WWE TV while holding office.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Interviews with MMA names/Funches, Brock dates, ROH owners launch sports channel, new AEW match, why top ROH name isn't at Honor Rising, Impact contract expiring, Impact team returning, WWE appearances, Double or Nothing sells out fast, new ROH PPV match, WWE star cleared, SDL audience, Morales honored, Chamber match gets stipulation, Ricochet's EVOLVE opponent determined by fans, WWE reality show casting, Hidden Gems, and Questions on who calls the shots for WM35, why Asuka beat Becky, Angle's 2019 booking, and Renee's future
Cris Cyborg discussed going to the WWE Performance Center and more. It could be fun to see her in WWE, although I wonder how many former UFC women can stand out from each other in WWE.
Brock Lesnar is currently advertised for Raw on February 25, March 18, and April 1 ahead of WrestleMania 35. So, it's not expected he'll be working Fast Lane.
ROH's parent company has created a regional sports network based in Illinois that will feature "local sports programming." Naturally there's speculation this will include ROH, but there was no mention of wrestling in the press release.
Double or Nothing has added Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae.
PCO was unable to work Honor Rising due to visa issues. Hopefully he gets to work in Japan in the near future.
Impact's KM (Kevin Matthews)'s contract expires on March 1. So if he doesn't re-sign at the Nevada tapings this weekend, he's likely gone. Other contracts are set to expire, too.
Reno SCUM will work Impact's TV tapings this weekend, since they're from the area.
Rey Fenix is still questionable for Impact's TV tapings this weekend. Obviously it would be great to have him compete, but it might be safer for him to rest up.
Randy Orton is doing a signing at Autorama in Texas on February 16, while Becky Lynch is doing a signing at a Cricket Wireless store in Texas February 17. Both signings are to promote Elimination Chamber.
Double or Nothing officially sold out in around four minutes. It's a testament to how strong the brand is that that's not even a shock anymore. AEW is an incredibly hot product at the moment.
- Cody broke down the ticket sales. For a promotion with no national TV, that's unreal.
ROH's 17th anniversary show has added Rush vs. Bandido. That could really be a lot of fun.
Sasha Banks has been cleared to return at Sunday's Elimination Chamber match. I'm curious how things would have changed if she wasn't, but I'm glad she's going to be part of such an important match.
Smackdown Live drew 2.03 million viewers Tuesday night, rebounding from going against the State of the Union address.
Comedian Ron Funches discussed meeting Ric Flair and more. It's amazing Flair is still an icon in 2019.
WWE honored Pedro Morales. He's an important part of their history.
Elimination Chamber's Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin match is now no disqualifications. That will hopefully spice it up a bit.
Ricochet's EVOLVE 123 opponent will be determined by a Twitter ballot. Ricochet vs. Strickland could end up happening in NXT shortly.
UFC's Cain Velasquez discussed training at the WWE Performance Center and more. I mean I guess him replacing Brock would be fresh.
WWE's female wrestling star reality show is casting this weekend in California. I hope everyone who signs up realizes they're going to be a magnet for controversy if they make it to WWE.
MMA's Frank Mir discussed getting into wrestling. We'll see what the future holds for him there.
WWE Network has added the following Hidden Gems:
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Ric Flair from Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in 1980
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Bob Backlund from WWWF in 1979
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Lou Thesz from Championship Wrestling from Florida from 1973.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I expect Vince will tell them personally if he's going to do that so it doesn't leak out.
2. She is known for being emotional at times. She's also known for taking no prisoners.
3. It sets up a future Becky/Asuka match. Going seventeen minutes before tapping definitely doesn't make someone weak! She rebounded within hours by winning the Rumble. And Becky and Ronda already had issues, so it's also not a case of Becky giving up and facing a different opponent.
4. I'd think it's realistic for someone, even an all-time great, to lose to talent 15 years younger than he is. They could be setting up a last match at WrestleMania (Saudi appearances notwithstanding).
5. As long as Renee and WWE are happy with what the other side is doing, I don't really see there being heat. As said, it looks like Dean's leaving on good terms.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Brock Lesnar is currently advertised for Raw on February 25, March 18, and April 1 ahead of WrestleMania 35. So, it's not expected he'll be working Fast Lane.
ROH's parent company has created a regional sports network based in Illinois that will feature "local sports programming." Naturally there's speculation this will include ROH, but there was no mention of wrestling in the press release.
Double or Nothing has added Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae.
PCO was unable to work Honor Rising due to visa issues. Hopefully he gets to work in Japan in the near future.
Impact's KM (Kevin Matthews)'s contract expires on March 1. So if he doesn't re-sign at the Nevada tapings this weekend, he's likely gone. Other contracts are set to expire, too.
Reno SCUM will work Impact's TV tapings this weekend, since they're from the area.
Rey Fenix is still questionable for Impact's TV tapings this weekend. Obviously it would be great to have him compete, but it might be safer for him to rest up.
Randy Orton is doing a signing at Autorama in Texas on February 16, while Becky Lynch is doing a signing at a Cricket Wireless store in Texas February 17. Both signings are to promote Elimination Chamber.
Double or Nothing officially sold out in around four minutes. It's a testament to how strong the brand is that that's not even a shock anymore. AEW is an incredibly hot product at the moment.
- Cody broke down the ticket sales. For a promotion with no national TV, that's unreal.
ROH's 17th anniversary show has added Rush vs. Bandido. That could really be a lot of fun.
Sasha Banks has been cleared to return at Sunday's Elimination Chamber match. I'm curious how things would have changed if she wasn't, but I'm glad she's going to be part of such an important match.
Smackdown Live drew 2.03 million viewers Tuesday night, rebounding from going against the State of the Union address.
Comedian Ron Funches discussed meeting Ric Flair and more. It's amazing Flair is still an icon in 2019.
WWE honored Pedro Morales. He's an important part of their history.
Elimination Chamber's Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin match is now no disqualifications. That will hopefully spice it up a bit.
Ricochet's EVOLVE 123 opponent will be determined by a Twitter ballot. Ricochet vs. Strickland could end up happening in NXT shortly.
UFC's Cain Velasquez discussed training at the WWE Performance Center and more. I mean I guess him replacing Brock would be fresh.
WWE's female wrestling star reality show is casting this weekend in California. I hope everyone who signs up realizes they're going to be a magnet for controversy if they make it to WWE.
MMA's Frank Mir discussed getting into wrestling. We'll see what the future holds for him there.
WWE Network has added the following Hidden Gems:
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Ric Flair from Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in 1980
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Bob Backlund from WWWF in 1979
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Lou Thesz from Championship Wrestling from Florida from 1973.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I expect Vince will tell them personally if he's going to do that so it doesn't leak out.
2. She is known for being emotional at times. She's also known for taking no prisoners.
3. It sets up a future Becky/Asuka match. Going seventeen minutes before tapping definitely doesn't make someone weak! She rebounded within hours by winning the Rumble. And Becky and Ronda already had issues, so it's also not a case of Becky giving up and facing a different opponent.
4. I'd think it's realistic for someone, even an all-time great, to lose to talent 15 years younger than he is. They could be setting up a last match at WrestleMania (Saudi appearances notwithstanding).
5. As long as Renee and WWE are happy with what the other side is doing, I don't really see there being heat. As said, it looks like Dean's leaving on good terms.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Supercard's NJPW main event, Ibushi update, NJPW-ROH cards, Cody update, Bryan's WWE deal length, NXT name discussed for SDL live events, Jarrett-WWE update, ROH PPV main event, Batista discussing return, Raw audience, Booker sues over likeness, SDL dark match, and Questions on Vince using Nash after he planned to leave for WCW, Dean getting a pipebomb, WWE crowd lighting, WWE covering non-WWE shirts, and Shane's invulnerability
G1 Supercard will feature Jay White defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the New Japan Cup. That's definitely a significant match.
Kota Ibushi has announced he will be staying in NJPW, rather than joining Kenny Omega in AEW. He would have been a great addition to AEW.
NJPW has announced lineups for Honor Rising on February 22 and February 23, featuring ROH talent. Of course, with as much crossover as the two companies' rosters have in 2019, this isn't as unique of a card as it used to be.
Cody officially had knee surgery yesterday. I had mistakenly said he had the procedure earlier.
Daniel Bryan revealed his WWE contract goes through 2021. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his last deal, since he clearly has goals outside of the ring now.
NXT's Candice LeRae is being considered for Smackdown Live live events. I fully think she can be called up by the summer, preceded by Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Kairi Sane is also an option, since she recently worked some live events, too.
Jeff Jarrett was a producer at Raw this week. It's unknown if his on-screen role is over after he didn't appear Monday.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV will be headlined by Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven for the ROH World Championship. So it looks like Marty Scurll will face the winner at Supercard. There was speculation we'd get Lethal vs. Scurll at this show and Lethal vs. Taven in Madison Square Garden. I think they made the right call; Scurll can get a BIG career moment at Supercard.
Batista recently spoke to WWE about returning to the company. Triple H has been cleared to return to the ring, so they could face off at WrestleMania 35. Notably, Batista is set to begin filming "Dune" in March, so it could be a rush to make the match come together.
- Batista also met with Chris Jericho recently, which is naturally sparking speculation of the former WWE Champion working in AEW. I wouldn't jump to conclusions on that point, but it could certainly be a noteworthy development.
Raw drew 2.46 million viewers Monday night.
Booker T. is suing the creators of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, alleging their character David "Prophet" Wilkes is based on the comic book version of Booker's G.I. Bro character, which Booker created and has copyrights for.
Before Smackdown Live, Heavy Machinery defeated Sanity's Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe. Understandably, this week's episode focused on Elimination Chamber, which those names aren't currently booked on.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Vince has pretty much always been high on Nash, and there weren't exactly a lot of other options to put in his spot. WWF hit a lull in the mid-'90s.
2. Completely planned, possibly to play off the soon-to-break news of him announcing leaving the company.
3. It's part of putting the focus on what's going on in the ring. WWE sees themselves as a TV show that happens to have a live audience. The crowd is somewhat background.
4. Yes, WWE would give them one of their merch shirts. Although nothing says "I hate WWE" like giving them money and attending their event.
5. They would argue he's one of their most popular attractions and his appeal has always been about taking superhuman punishment.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Kota Ibushi has announced he will be staying in NJPW, rather than joining Kenny Omega in AEW. He would have been a great addition to AEW.
NJPW has announced lineups for Honor Rising on February 22 and February 23, featuring ROH talent. Of course, with as much crossover as the two companies' rosters have in 2019, this isn't as unique of a card as it used to be.
Cody officially had knee surgery yesterday. I had mistakenly said he had the procedure earlier.
Daniel Bryan revealed his WWE contract goes through 2021. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his last deal, since he clearly has goals outside of the ring now.
NXT's Candice LeRae is being considered for Smackdown Live live events. I fully think she can be called up by the summer, preceded by Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Kairi Sane is also an option, since she recently worked some live events, too.
Jeff Jarrett was a producer at Raw this week. It's unknown if his on-screen role is over after he didn't appear Monday.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV will be headlined by Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven for the ROH World Championship. So it looks like Marty Scurll will face the winner at Supercard. There was speculation we'd get Lethal vs. Scurll at this show and Lethal vs. Taven in Madison Square Garden. I think they made the right call; Scurll can get a BIG career moment at Supercard.
Batista recently spoke to WWE about returning to the company. Triple H has been cleared to return to the ring, so they could face off at WrestleMania 35. Notably, Batista is set to begin filming "Dune" in March, so it could be a rush to make the match come together.
- Batista also met with Chris Jericho recently, which is naturally sparking speculation of the former WWE Champion working in AEW. I wouldn't jump to conclusions on that point, but it could certainly be a noteworthy development.
Raw drew 2.46 million viewers Monday night.
Booker T. is suing the creators of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, alleging their character David "Prophet" Wilkes is based on the comic book version of Booker's G.I. Bro character, which Booker created and has copyrights for.
Before Smackdown Live, Heavy Machinery defeated Sanity's Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe. Understandably, this week's episode focused on Elimination Chamber, which those names aren't currently booked on.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Vince has pretty much always been high on Nash, and there weren't exactly a lot of other options to put in his spot. WWF hit a lull in the mid-'90s.
2. Completely planned, possibly to play off the soon-to-break news of him announcing leaving the company.
3. It's part of putting the focus on what's going on in the ring. WWE sees themselves as a TV show that happens to have a live audience. The crowd is somewhat background.
4. Yes, WWE would give them one of their merch shirts. Although nothing says "I hate WWE" like giving them money and attending their event.
5. They would argue he's one of their most popular attractions and his appeal has always been about taking superhuman punishment.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Former WWWF Champion Pedro Morales dies at 76
Pedro Morales' passing was first announced by Hugo Savinovich.
PWInsider.com covered his career in grand detail.
WWE released key moments from Morales' career:
- 1995 WWE Hall of Fame induction
- Buddy Rogers' Corner
- Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund vs. Wild Samoans
- Pedro Morales vs. Don Muraco
- Pedro Morales vs. Honky Tonk Man
WWE.com remembered one of the most decorated competitors.
More wrestling coming up.
PWInsider.com covered his career in grand detail.
WWE released key moments from Morales' career:
- 1995 WWE Hall of Fame induction
- Buddy Rogers' Corner
- Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund vs. Wild Samoans
- Pedro Morales vs. Don Muraco
- Pedro Morales vs. Honky Tonk Man
WWE.com remembered one of the most decorated competitors.
More wrestling coming up.
Smackdown Live and 205 Live Reax - 2/12/19
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown Live and 205 Live.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
NJPW crowns new champion, WWE couple off reality series, assorted WWE press, former Impact name at WWE live event, WWE TV airing in Greece, injured star at SDL, Interviews with Paige/Eva Marie/Rock, new WWEPC class, MLW change announced, WWE live honored, AEW pre-sale sales, Y2J Cruise detailed, new Chamber matches, SDL star concussed, top NXT name working indie show, what happened after Raw, new signees cameo on Raw, and Questions on what's next for Asuka, Ambrose at Double or Nothing, Elias vs. Jarrett/Road Dogg, WWE extending contracts for injuries, and WWE approving piledrivers
NJPW has booked Jay White to be their new world champion, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi. White is the first New Zealand-born wrestler to be IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Notably, Tanahashi's championship reign was the shortest the title has seen since 2004, at only 38 days. White is essentially taking the role Kenny Omega would have had if he stayed in the company.
Rusev and Lana will no longer be on "Total Divas." This was a decision by E! executives. However, the pair are working on other projects in television and comics.
Titus O'Neill was at the Grammys.
The former Monty Brown/Marcus Cor Von was at Raw's Sunday live event. He was a lot of fun in Impact.
Ronda Rousey is selling official shirts on her website playing off recent promos.
WWE will soon begin airing Raw and Smackdown Live in Greece. Raw is just a two-hour version.
Harper is set to be at Smackdown Live. It would definitely make sense to have him work with/against Rowan, but I wouldn't mind seeing him do something different.
John Cena has written a second children's book.
Paige spoke to App.com about "Fighting With My Family"
NXT has announced the newest WWE Performance Center class:
- Albert Hardie, Jr. (ACH)
- Brendan Vink (Elliot Sexton)
- Jeffrey Parker (Scott Parker of 3.0)
- Jermaine Haley (Jonah Rock)
- Karen Yu (Karen Q)
- Matt Lee (Big Magic of 3.0)
- Nick Comoroto
- Omari Palmer, former NFL player
- Rachael Ellering (Rachael Evers)
- Ricardo Miller, former football player
- Samuel Shaw
- Trevor Lee
MLW Fusion is moving to Saturday nights at 9 p.m. in order to do more live specials, as live editions of the show have been successful for BeIN Sports. The Spanish edition of the show will now air Monday evenings on the Spanish version of the channel. MLW is really gaining momentum.
WWE won best sporting event at Scotland's SSE Hydro for 2018. UK shows are almost always hot.
AEW Double or Nothing sold out all pre-sale tickets, as expected. The remainder of the tickets will be put on sale Wednesday. I fully expect them to sell out, too. This is going to be another massive show.
Chris Jericho has announced another cruise for January 2020, partnering with AEW.
Eva Marie discussed her WWE tenure. It sounds like we could see her back in WWE in some capacity down the line. I wouldn't expect her back as a full-time wrestler, but certainly I wouldn't be surprised to see her on a reality series again.
The Rock discussed wrestling when promoting "Fighting With My Family."
Elimination Chamber has added:
- Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a handicap match
- Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Mustafa Ali suffered a concussion recently, and was held off Smackdown Live's Monday live event as a result. WWE will reevaluate his condition at tonight's Smackdown Live taping. If he's not able to compete in the WWE Championship match, Rowan could take his place. Or, if he's 100% cleared, Harper. Rey and Andrade should be saved for WrestleMania.
Tommaso Ciampa will appear at Chaotic Wrestling's March 15 event. That's a really big get for the promotion. Naturally it's going to lead to speculation about WWE having a relationship with the group, since the promotion's also running a Connor's Cure event during WrestleMania weekend. We'll see if anything further develops between the two sides.
After Raw, the Riott Squad came after Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch, but Ronda and Becky prevailed.
WWE signees 3.0 were in the background of Kevin Owens' return video. They're from Canada. Owens having them as lackeys isn't a terrible idea, but I don't think that's what WWE is planning.
Paige discussed her rough last few years with New York Post. I'm very glad she's turned things around.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. She's only been off TV a week! I'm guessing since the other women are tied up in the tag title Chamber match, we won't find out her next challenger until that's settled. Obviously Ronda's WrestleMania match is a bigger priority.
2. Indeed he will be. That doesn't mean he'll join AEW or work that show, but he'll be free to do so if the two sides can come to terms.
3. It definitely came across as Jarrett and Road Dogg "getting their heat back" after the loss, potentially to set something else up at Elimination Chamber, but clearly nothing came of it this week. We'll see if there's any more to come, because the feud should definitely end with Elias being featured more prominently than the new producers.
4. Yes. It's WWE's way of ensuring they get the time they paid for someone to be an active talent. As we saw with Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan, sometimes even the people up top aren't immune from the stipulation.
5. Basically that move is allowed but the traditional form of the piledriver and the Tombstone piledriver are still disallowed. I'm curious if anyone else will be able to do something similar to the Tombstone when Undertaker and Kane are no longer wrestling, since it seems like that's essentially the case now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Rusev and Lana will no longer be on "Total Divas." This was a decision by E! executives. However, the pair are working on other projects in television and comics.
Titus O'Neill was at the Grammys.
The former Monty Brown/Marcus Cor Von was at Raw's Sunday live event. He was a lot of fun in Impact.
Ronda Rousey is selling official shirts on her website playing off recent promos.
WWE will soon begin airing Raw and Smackdown Live in Greece. Raw is just a two-hour version.
Harper is set to be at Smackdown Live. It would definitely make sense to have him work with/against Rowan, but I wouldn't mind seeing him do something different.
John Cena has written a second children's book.
Paige spoke to App.com about "Fighting With My Family"
NXT has announced the newest WWE Performance Center class:
- Albert Hardie, Jr. (ACH)
- Brendan Vink (Elliot Sexton)
- Jeffrey Parker (Scott Parker of 3.0)
- Jermaine Haley (Jonah Rock)
- Karen Yu (Karen Q)
- Matt Lee (Big Magic of 3.0)
- Nick Comoroto
- Omari Palmer, former NFL player
- Rachael Ellering (Rachael Evers)
- Ricardo Miller, former football player
- Samuel Shaw
- Trevor Lee
MLW Fusion is moving to Saturday nights at 9 p.m. in order to do more live specials, as live editions of the show have been successful for BeIN Sports. The Spanish edition of the show will now air Monday evenings on the Spanish version of the channel. MLW is really gaining momentum.
WWE won best sporting event at Scotland's SSE Hydro for 2018. UK shows are almost always hot.
AEW Double or Nothing sold out all pre-sale tickets, as expected. The remainder of the tickets will be put on sale Wednesday. I fully expect them to sell out, too. This is going to be another massive show.
Chris Jericho has announced another cruise for January 2020, partnering with AEW.
Eva Marie discussed her WWE tenure. It sounds like we could see her back in WWE in some capacity down the line. I wouldn't expect her back as a full-time wrestler, but certainly I wouldn't be surprised to see her on a reality series again.
The Rock discussed wrestling when promoting "Fighting With My Family."
Elimination Chamber has added:
- Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a handicap match
- Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Mustafa Ali suffered a concussion recently, and was held off Smackdown Live's Monday live event as a result. WWE will reevaluate his condition at tonight's Smackdown Live taping. If he's not able to compete in the WWE Championship match, Rowan could take his place. Or, if he's 100% cleared, Harper. Rey and Andrade should be saved for WrestleMania.
Tommaso Ciampa will appear at Chaotic Wrestling's March 15 event. That's a really big get for the promotion. Naturally it's going to lead to speculation about WWE having a relationship with the group, since the promotion's also running a Connor's Cure event during WrestleMania weekend. We'll see if anything further develops between the two sides.
After Raw, the Riott Squad came after Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch, but Ronda and Becky prevailed.
WWE signees 3.0 were in the background of Kevin Owens' return video. They're from Canada. Owens having them as lackeys isn't a terrible idea, but I don't think that's what WWE is planning.
Paige discussed her rough last few years with New York Post. I'm very glad she's turned things around.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. She's only been off TV a week! I'm guessing since the other women are tied up in the tag title Chamber match, we won't find out her next challenger until that's settled. Obviously Ronda's WrestleMania match is a bigger priority.
2. Indeed he will be. That doesn't mean he'll join AEW or work that show, but he'll be free to do so if the two sides can come to terms.
3. It definitely came across as Jarrett and Road Dogg "getting their heat back" after the loss, potentially to set something else up at Elimination Chamber, but clearly nothing came of it this week. We'll see if there's any more to come, because the feud should definitely end with Elias being featured more prominently than the new producers.
4. Yes. It's WWE's way of ensuring they get the time they paid for someone to be an active talent. As we saw with Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan, sometimes even the people up top aren't immune from the stipulation.
5. Basically that move is allowed but the traditional form of the piledriver and the Tombstone piledriver are still disallowed. I'm curious if anyone else will be able to do something similar to the Tombstone when Undertaker and Kane are no longer wrestling, since it seems like that's essentially the case now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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