Total Pageviews

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment