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Friday, March 29, 2019

More on Charlotte's title win, more on Ronda's status, another Angle rivalry, another WM35 title match expected, top name set for WM35, Supercard plans, Bellas-WWE update, AAA name finishes up, more on Cain-AAA, NXT names congratulate Crash star, NJPW planning more international shows, Viceland documentary air dates, Jungle Boy pulls out of another date, Abyss set to retire, WOH heat, Eli contract update, recent Impact name headed to AEW, All In 2 set, former WWE composer at Starrcast, more on Beefcake in the HoF, Lynch figure a big seller, why Taker and McCool were at WWEPC, WWE plans shows in new SF venue, NXT name on hiatus, NXT injury, new Hidden Gems, Charlotte responds to ESPN, assorted wrestling press, Sting pulled from WrestleCon, Phoenix training in TN, Impact preview, AXXESS matches announced, Angle milestone, Angle farewell match, Ross-AEW deal close, Interviews with Omega/Liv/Nicholas, HHH conference call, Batista documentary coming, Uso legal update, AAA holding MSG press conference, big WWE-MSG return set, WM35 performance, Impact drops interviewer, Impact Twitch guest, NXT live event notes, and Questions on Beefcake leaking out, WWF live event perks, Gargano's future, no Rhodes at Dusty Classic, and a MYC wrestling riot

Charlotte Flair winning the Smackdown Live Women's Championship was a move to make WrestleMania's main event even bigger, as well as to cut an Asuka/Mandy Rose rematch from an already long PPV card.

- The current plan is for the person being pinned in that match to lose her championship, rather than the match being for both championships or the championships being unified. WWE still wants one women's champion on each brand.

Ronda Rousey's WWE end date has not been determined. She could retain her championship to set up another title match a la Brock Lesnar.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio is set for Raw. That's also great to see one last time.

The Usos are expected to defend the Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, but no opponents have been set. It seems odd WWE brought back the Hardys as a team and then they're not in the mix for the championship.

John Cena is still planned to appear at WrestleMania in some fashion.

G1 Supercard is expected to have a women's tag team match as a dark match in order to feature more of the WOH division in the building.

G1 Supercard's Honor Rumble winner is expected to challenge for the ROH World Championship at some point.

The Bella Twins will continue working for WWE as ambassadors, doing promotional work.

El Hijo del Fantasma is done with AAA. WWE has interest in him, and he's wrestled in Impact previously.

Cain Velasquez is currently just scheduled for Triplemania. AAA was interested in another date this fall, but Cain is setting up for a UFC bout around that time.

WWE's Humberto Carrillo and Lacey Lane congratulated Garza, Jr. at Garza's Crash farewell match on March 23, as he's NXT-bound. That's pretty cool.

NJPW is targeting more international tours for summer 2020, since the Olympics will be held in Japan during that time and most arenas will be unavailable for wrestling. That could be a big opportunity.

Viceland's pro wrestling documentaries will air six straight weeks, with episodes focusing on the following:
- Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth's relationship on April 10
- The Montreal Screwjob on April 17
- Bruiser Brody's death on April 24
- The Von Erich Family on May 1
- Gorgeous Gino Hernandez's death on May 8
- The Fabulous Moolah on May 15

--The series' producer spoke with Jim Cornette on Cornette's latest podcast.

Jungle Boy has pulled out of more bookings in the wake of his father's death. I really wish the best for him going forward.

Abyss is scheduled for an April 20 event in Indiana that is being billed as his final match. Naturally, it will be a Monster's Ball match.

ROH had legitimate issues between Mayu Iwatani and Kelly Klein after their 17th anniversary show match, as Klein retaliated a tough kick with one of her own. The two sides settled things, which is good considering they're set for a rematch at Supercard.

Eli Drake's Impact contract expires May 31. It's unknown how much serious interest there is from other parties.

Impact's Ace Austin will work Double or Nothing, so he's not signed to an exclusive deal. Good to see him getting opportunities.

All In 2 will be August 31 in Illinois, the site of the first event. It will be interesting to see what's on the show and how it does.

Starrcast has added a Jim Johnston symposium. Good to see him getting appreciated.

Hulk Hogan could induct Brutus Beefcake into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan is set for that weekend regardless.

Becky Lynch's Funko Pop was the best selling toy on Amazon.com this past week. That's great!

The Undertaker and Michelle McCool were at the WWE Performance Center as teachers recently.

WWE will run San Francisco's new arena in October for back-to-back Raw and Smackdown Live tapings.

NXT's Stacey Ervin, Jr. is on hiatus following concussion symptoms. He's reportedly reconsidering his wrestling future after that injury. It's definitely a dangerous business, and he needs to be absolutely sure he's willing to risk more along those lines if he's going to continue.

Keith Lee is out of action due to an unspecified injury, but shouldn't miss much more time. That would explain why he wasn't in the running to challenge for the NXT Championship and the feud with Dominik Dijakovic has stalled. He could be a top player going forward.

WWE Network's latest Hidden Gems include:
- The Honky Tonk Man teaming with David Schultz and Davey Boy Smith in Stampede Wrestling from 1983
- Harlem Heat vs. John Tatum and Rod Price from GWF in 1992
- X-Pac vs. Louie Spicolli from WWF Superstars in 1993
- Road Dogg vs. Barry Hardy from WWF Wrestling Challenge in 1994
- Triple H vs. Road Dogg from WCW Pro in 1994
- Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin from WWF Superstars in 1996
- Billy Gunn vs. Mark Jindrak from OVW in 2002

Charlotte Flair responded to ESPN listing her simply as "Daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair" during her SportsCenter appearance. They certainly could have showcased more than her lineage there.

Carmella will host a WrestleMania Zumba party to promote the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Sting has been pulled from WrestleCon due to being announced for AXXESS. WrestleCon attendees have received refunds, and Sting is trying to work out another time to appear there.

Beth Phoenix and Natalya have been training with Dr. Tom Prichard ahead of WrestleMania. Those parties go back to a previous era of WWE developmental.

WWE's WrestleMania flashback stream was dropped to 20 matches from 25. That's still quite a lot of memories!

Impact released the introduction to tonight's episode. It looks like Allie will appear after all.

WrestleMania AXXESS has announced the following matches:
-- Thursday, April 4: NXT vs. NXT Alumni:
- Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze
- Harper vs. Dominik Dijakovic
- SAnitY vs. the Undisputed Era
- Kassius Ohno vs. Aiden English

-- Friday, April 5: Cruiserweights Collide:
- Brian Kendrick vs. Tyler Bate
- Akira Tozawa vs. Jordan Devlin
- Mike Kanellis/Ariya Daivari vs. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews
- Gran Metalik vs. Albert Hardie, Jr.

-- Saturday, April 6:
- NXT UK tapings

-- Sunday, April 7: Brands Battle:
- Men's battle royal with talents from NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live
- Women's battle royal with talents from NXT and NXT UK

-- Monday, April 8: Women Collide:
- Io Shirai vs. Sonya Deville
- Nikki Cross vs. Toni Storm vs. Bianca Belair
- Zelina Vega vs. Piper Niven
- Candice LeRae vs. Kay Lee Ray

Kurt Angle noted he has been drug-free for nearly six years. That's fantastic news! I hope that continues to be the case.

- Angle got a shirt commemorating his final match. That's hilarious.

"Da Crusher"'s upcoming statue got local press. That's pretty cool.

Jim Ross is expected to sign an AEW contract soon, for roles both on-screen and behind-the-scenes. He definitely brings a wide range of experiences to the company, and his presence makes AEW feel major to casual and lapsed fans.

Kenny Omega spoke on The Social and The Two Man Power Trip podcast about his recent documentary. Omega said his AEW contract allows him to wrestle elsewhere, but indicated NJPW wasn't willing to work with him for Supercard. I hope AEW and NJPW work together down the line; it could really increase the value of both internationally.

Triple H did a conference call promoting Takeover:New York, recapped here.:
- I swear, as much as I love Gargano in NXT, he's passed all the tests and it's time for Vince to run with him after WrestleMania. Obviously that's easier said than done.

- I expect Takeover will stay on Saturdays with Smackdown Live moving.

- Yeah I don't want to see them keep women in NXT just to fill out a tag team division. Especially with just a one-hour show each week!

- NXT is definitely trying out using managers.

- I think they could split WrestleMania into two nights if they wanted to, especially since they occasionally push the idea of brands trying to outdo each other.

- Aleister Black and Ricochet are expected to finish up in NXT next weekend.

- Haitch just casually dropping the next Takeover date. I'm very curious how it does without being able to piggyback a "main roster" weekend.

Batista will be the subject of "WWE 24" at some point covering his road to WrestleMania.

Liv Morgan is on Joe DeFranco's latest podcast, discussing her road to WWE and more.

Jimmy Uso has reached a plea deal for his February charges. He paid $450 in fines after pleading no contest to interfering with a government employee. Hopefully he can now put that behind him.

WWE's stock performance was covered by Reuters.

WWE caught up with Nicholas a year after his Raw Tag Team Championship win. He needs to reunite with Braun Strowman to beat the SNL duo.

AAA has announced a Madison Square Garden press conference on April 4. The promotion is teasing a U.S. event in September. That would definitely be a major undertaking for the group.

WWE will tape Raw and Smackdown Live from Madison Square Garden on September 9 and September 10. Those are the first TV tapings there since 2009, although Survivor Series 2011 was also from the venue. It looks like the WWE-MSG relationship has mended significantly after Supercard being set for that arena.

WrestleMania 35 will open with a performance of "America The Beautiful" by Yolanda Adams, who has a Hall of Fame-level list of accolades in gospel music.

Impact Wrestling will no longer use Alicia Atout, who conducted interviews and hosted a Twitch series for them. I highly expect her to end up in AEW. I hope she moves on to bigger things.

Impact's Twitch channel will feature Pat Buck after tonight's episode, promoting United We Stand.

At NXT's March 28 Florida event:
- Dan Matha competed for the first time since December 9, defeating Albert Hardie, Jr.
- NXT UK's Flash Morgan Webster defeated Luke Menzies
- NXT UK's Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) retained their tag team championship against the Street Profits
- Karen Q and Xia Li teamed in a loss to Aliyah and Vanessa Borne. That was an obvious face pairing given their backgrounds.
- NXT UK's Jordan Devlin defeated Raul Mendoza
-- It looks like NXT UK stars are spending some time in the U.S. before competing at WrestleMania AXXESS.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I doubt WWE is that concerned. With him being the final inductee, he's probably not a huge priority.

2. That's pretty cool.

3. Gargano staying in NXT for an entire additional year is crazy talk. He and Ciampa should both be done there after New York. They can feud again on Raw or Smackdown Live in 2020.

4. I have the feeling the Dusty Classic was brought back as a last-minute idea due to the sudden callups, then of course NXT had to scramble again with Ciampa's injury. Rhodes is emphatic he's still part of WWE, but it is very notable he's not scheduled for AXXESS.

5. That's amazing! I can see where authorities wouldn't want that to repeat.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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