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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

MLW continues Cornette work, new Fast Lane matches, Aleister looks back on NXT, NXT UK name at India tapings, Raw live event in Singapore, Interviews with Molly/Billy Gunn/Cornette/Cesaro, Rey at NASCAR, injured name at SDL, more Network documentaries, Kidman training session, new ROH matches, top Impact name re-signs, GWN adding OVW?, Impact Twitch special on-demand, new WWE HoFer, next AEW event set, recent passings connected to wrestling, more WrestleCon names, recent Impact departure comments, DDP postpones dates, WWE names at UFC, MITB 2019 set, WWE Untold on the Network, new WWE children's book coming, Supercard arm-wrestling, WWE-NHL shirt, GFW documents sought, Brock-UFC update, ex-ROH name at Raw, SNL hosts at WM35, possible SDL injury, early Extreme Rules matches, what happened after Raw, and Questions on meeting ECW women, the popularity of kendo sticks, WWE choosing Seth or Roman, and why wrestlers aren't superstars

MLW promoted Jim Cornette joining the company, selectively presenting his resume with exaggerations and key omissions. I really hope things turn out differently this time after the way things ended in WWE, Impact, and ROH, but it's on MLW if they don't. His track record is common knowledge.

Officially added to Fast Lane before Raw:
- Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for the Smackdown Women's Championship
- Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Nia Jax and Tamina for the Women's Tag Team Championship

Aleister Black posted about his NXT journey as it seemingly wraps up. I'm glad he's seen such growth inside and outside the ring.

NXT UK's Jinny was at WWE's India tryouts.

Raw will run Singapore on June 27 for a live event.

Molly Holly is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast, discussing life during and after wrestling. Glad she's accomplishing things.

Rey Mysterio will drive the pace car at NASCAR's March 17 race. He's still a pretty big mainstream star.

Sin Cara is expected to be at Smackdown Live as he recovers from his knee injury. That doesn't mean he'll appear, but he could be evaluated for a return there.

WWE Network is working on quite a few documentary projects to expand the service. Still no word on "tiers" with footage from other promotions, but WWE is investing in the Network for its future.

Billy Kidman is doing a seminar Friday in Ohio before an Absolute Intense Wrestling show. It's good to see WWE letting its experienced minds pass on knowledge outside of their own facilities.

ROH's 17th Anniversary PPV has added:
- Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Taylor for the Television Championship.
- Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan vs. Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams

ROH's March 16 TV taping has added The Briscoes vs. Jeff Cobb and Willie Mack in a Crockett Cup qualifying match.

Moose has signed a new deal with Impact Wrestling, for multiple years. He can really be a centerpiece there. I appreciate his honesty about considering leaving. I definitely think he could pull in a good offer if he left.

Impact is speaking with OVW about putting their content on the Global Wrestling Network. That would definitely expand GWN and potentially broaden OVW's exposure, too.

Impact's "Opening Day" special from this weekend is now available on-demand on Twitch.

Torrie Wilson has been announced for the WWE Hall of Fame. She didn't really have a long tenure filled with accomplishments.

AEW has announced Fight for the Fallen on July 13 in Florida at the 5,500-seat Daily's Place Amphitheater. A portion of the live gate will benefit victims of gun violence, particularly the shooting at a local video game tournament last August. That's a great cause; I just hope it's not seen as a controversial political stance that divides the potential audience.

Luke Perry, father of AEW and PWG's Jungle Boy, passed away at 52 from a stroke. Very sad to hear that.

The Prodigy lead singer Keith Flint died at 49 via suicide. The Prodigy did Al Snow's ECW entrance music. That's tragic.

Sting and Frank Mir have been added to WrestleCon.

Caleb Konley commented on his Impact departure. Notably, he had also portrayed Suicide for the company on occasion. We'll see if that character continues with him gone.

Diamond Dallas Page is postponing speaking dates due to a vocal cord issue. I hope he's well soon.

Billy Gunn discussed DX going into the Hall of Fame, AEW, and more:
- Obviously AEW is "competing" in the sense of having another wrestling product, but that's very different from going head-to-head on TV like WCW did.

- AEW continues to work on getting a TV deal. Things reportedly look promising there.

Jim Cornette promoted the Crockett Cup on Busted Open. It just dawned on me he's going to appear for ROH again as part of that. Hopefully since it's a one-time commentary appearance, things will be amicable.

Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Renee Young attended UFC 235. Of course Becky used that opportunity to taunt Ronda Rousey. It's getting a little overexposed.

Money in the Bank 2019 will be in Connecticut on May 19. I'm curious who will take cases this year.

WWE Network has added previous "WWE Untold" episodes focusing on Eddie Guerrero and the Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell in a Cell match.

WWE is working on a children's book detailing their championships called "Meet the Champions" due out July 2019.

G1 Supercard's Festival of Honor will feature an arm-wrestling tournament.

Cesaro spoke before Smackdown Live. I expect a lot more international talent in the years to come, but I wouldn't really link that to Cesaro since he was on the American indie scene for so long before being signed.

WWE had a special NHL-themed T-shirt for Raw in Pennsylvania. Gritty is OVER.

Anthem Media has been ordered to turn over documents regarding international distribution of GFW products as part of the ongoing Jeff Jarrett lawsuit. Anthem had resisted due to confidentiality agreements, so the court has ruled they will be filed sealed.

UFC's Dana White indicated Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier is still being planned, but it's up to Brock to come to the table and decide when it will take place. It's possible the idea is tossed around more when Brock's current WWE deal comes due, likely shortly following WM35.

Former ROH star Shane Hagadorn was at Raw. I wouldn't assume he's joining WWE or anything; he doesn't seem to have had much work since 2011.

SNL's Michael Che and Colin Jost will be "guest correspondents" at WrestleMania. Hopefully that gets WWE some press; they're always looking to work with celebrities, especially for that event.

Asuka was pulled from a match at Monday's Smackdown Live live event after landing on her head in a spot with Mandy Rose. The match was ruled a no contest.

- Asuka later tweeted she wasn't injured.

WWE Extreme Rules on July 14 is advertising:
- Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
-- Of course, this far out, those are loose ideas for the show.

After Raw, Ronda Rousey continued to attack Becky Lynch. Ronda has really taken the women's division to another level.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't remember seeing any of those names for quite a while, so my guess is none of them are interested or the opportunities offered don't pay enough. For some people, wrestling is just a role they play for a few years before completely going into something else. I can't say I blame some people for not wanting to meet a bunch of strangers, particularly the rabid ECW fans.

2. It's pretty useful and probably pretty easy to obtain in bulk, if not create in-house.

3. I would be SHOCKED if they moved tickets as quickly without the feeling the show was going to be All In 2, based on how previous shows have done for each company. ROH and NJPW benefited from smart timing there.

4. Assuming Rollins beats Lesnar is the first logic jump there. I could see WWE splitting the pair to different shows after WrestleMania to avoid that problem if they think it's going to hurt one or the other to be on the same brand. Otherwise, it will depend on which person they think will benefit more from holding the championship. They're fine with doing face vs. face if they have to.

5. Vince, of course, sees things differently and doesn't blame things on the script. I continue to think there's a disconnect between what talents learn in NXT and what they're expected to do once they've been "developed." Obviously a lot of fans prefer the NXT way, but it's not how Vince does things and he doesn't see those talents as achieving what he wants to achieve for long-term stars. I suppose it can be argued he hopes each callup or group of callups will be different from the last in that regard, but it's not often that ends up being true.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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