Trainer releases book, WWE execs sell stock, Interview with Mandy, NXT couple surprises bride and groom, RVD shares meme, WWE raises money for Japanese star, Impact takes shots at self, Impact announcements, Bischoff update, legend misses Raw, WWEPC guest coach talks, Finn DVD in the works, AEW sets first taping, NWA splits from ROH, HoFer wrestling at Summerslam, Network redesign, Impact company looking to purchase TV station, ROH PPV and TV set, SDL audience, Lacey spars with legend, Brock dates, Riddle working EVOLVE, Flip pulled from show, AEW name starting with Stardom, former WWE team in MLW, and Questions on Creative's current structure, wrestling's problems with storytelling, WWE owning developmental footage, Seth as HHH, Owens as Austin, and how bad things are for WWE

Trainer Ron Hutchinson's book was just released.

WWE executives sold significant stock Monday:
- Vince McMahon sold more than 12,500 shares
- George Barrios sold more than 139,000 shares
- Kevin Dunn sold more than 68,500 shares
- Mark Kowal (corporate controller) sold nearly 3,850 shares
- Triple H and Stephanie McMahon each sold more than 17,500 shares
- Michelle Wilson sold more than 65,300 shares
-- That should tell quite a bit about the expected results from WWE's financial release, which will be covered tomorrow. Obviously these top names still own a vast amount of stock and influence, but it's telling they sold so much.

Mandy Rose discussed using WWE to brand herself. That's smart of her.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae sent a video to wrestling fans' wedding. That is really incredible!

Rob Van Dam posted a meme circulating about his Raw appearance. HILARIOUS.

WWE raised nearly $1800 to assist paralyzed Japanese star Yoshihiro Takayama during their tour there.

Impact's Twitch channel recently had a segment where The North did commentary on poorly-reviewed Impact matches of the past. That's an interesting concept.

Impact's Unbreakable event has announced:
- Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard in a no. 1 contendership match
- Scott Steiner, Petey Williams, and Jordynne Grace teaming, a preview of CHIKARA's King of Trios

Eric Bischoff sat in on production meetings and spoke with Creative at Smackdown Live, but there were no notable changes to the show due to his presence.

Sid Vicious pulled out of appearing at Raw Reunion. That's not an uncommon thing for Sid. Very sad to see that's still a problem.

Danny Cage commented on guest coaching at the WWE Performance Center. Very cool to see him return.

Finn Balor is getting a DVD at the end of November. About time, right?

AEW's first TV taping will be Wednesday, October 2 in Washington, DC. They're running The CapitalOne Arena, which seats more than 20,000 fans. Raw was there in April and drew 11,500, so that's a pretty good measuring stick to see where AEW is right out of the gate. It's insane that AEW could get so many fans to attend. They've drastically exceeded expectations.

- Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Nyla Rose, Jungle Boy, and Michael Nakazawa all attended the Television Critics Association press tour to promote the show. TNT is a really strong partner for AEW.

NWA has pulled out of Summer Supercard, as they have officially split from ROH. NWA is looking to begin its own series later this year, so NWA personnel and talent are focusing on that. NWA Vice President Dave Lagana was in charge of taping promos for ROH the past seven months, and he has finished those duties. Despite the abrupt change of plans, NWA and ROH are on good terms and the door is open for them to work together again. I'm flabbergasted they didn't finish up at Summer Supercard, which would have given the NWA a prominent platform to set the stage for their next steps.

Trish Stratus will face Charlotte Flair at Summerslam in Stratus' hometown. That's awesome!

WWE Network promoted its redesign. WOW. They've really made things better. Glad they improved so much.

Impact's parent company is looking to buy AXS, which would then pick up Impact's TV series while keeping NJPW and WOW's shows. The initial hope was for an announcement to come the day after Slammiversary, but a deal has not yet been reached. Anthem is looking at buying other channels if the AXS deal doesn't happen. This could definitely be a big step forward for Impact; I'm glad Anthem is looking to make such a big move.

ROH Death Before Dishonor is set for September 27 in Nevada, with a TV taping following the next night in the same venue. It will be interesting to see how those shows do attendance-wise.

Smackdown Live drew 2.16 million viewers, virtually in line with last week. That's actually surprising given Raw's boost.

Lacey Evans and Alundra Blayze had a back-and-forth on Twitter. Lacey does not back down with the trash talk.

Brock Lesnar is advertised for the next two Raws. I'd be surprised for him to have a short title reign.

Matt Riddle is set for EVOLVE 133 on August 24 in Michigan and EVOLVE 134 on August 25 in Illinois. His opponents will be announced this week.

Flip Gordon has been pulled from Friday's PWG event due to injury. He was set to face Trey Miguel in an ROH vs. Impact match. I hope Flip is back in action soon.

AEW's Riho is joining Stardom beginning August 10. That's interesting with her leaving another Japanese promotion.

The Spirit Squad's Kenny and Mikey have started with MLW and will have an "open workout" tonight. I'm curious how they'll fit in there.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Yes a lot of us are quite confused! Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff are in theory above everyone other than Vince on their respective shows, although it doesn't look like Bischoff will get involved in creative. Michael Hayes is the senior producer, meaning he's in charge of the people who are essentially intermediaries between Creative and talent. In some ways the producers execute the plans laid out by Creative. Triple H's main role is in (theoretically) guiding how NXT talents transition to Raw and Smackdown Live.

2. It definitely precedes Russo! He definitely wasn't booking The Gobbledy Gooker and Damien Demento! A lot of it is the shift toward "sports entertainment" after the steroid trials, and the focus on things being a scripted TV show with characters rather than an athletic competition. Of course many would argue fans are more drawn to things like stunts, special effects, etc. rather than wrestling holds. Anyway, WWE being run by the same person for decades and having to put out so much content each week is a chief culprit to why things are the way they are for them now.

3. That's actually a good question. I certainly think they own all the FCW footage, since that promotion was run in-house while OVW was more of a partnership. I don't know if we'll see those early promotions in their entirety given how green some of their key names are, and frankly the lack of interest in seeing the unknowns from those days, but we'll definitely see more Hidden Gems and the like.

4. I actually did see the Seth/HHH comparisons. The Architect and The Cerebral Assassin share similarities. I certainly wouldn't say either man is "HHH 2.0" or "Stone Cold 2.0" but I see why people make the links they've made. There are differences as far as what's done between the bell, for sure.

5. I definitely think it's fair to say WWE hasn't been in this kind of a business slump in quite some time, and that can have ripple effects where USA and FOX will look to make changes. There are reasons WWE got those deals in the first place, though, and it looks like WWE is set to do very well financially for the next five years even with the audience declines.

More wrestling tomorrow.