NJPW canceled two weeks of events without first planning how the missed shows will affect booking plans. It will be interesting to see how they change the New Japan Cup and other ideas given the sudden change.
Tyson Fury is being considered for WrestleMania. WWE wanted to see how he did in his most recent boxing match first.
Zelina Vega not going to Saudi Arabia could be due to Aleister Black not going. There were concerns Aleister's tattoos wouldn't go over well in that country.
TripleMania is set for August 22, putting it up against Takeover:Boston and NJPW's Madison Square Garden show. I don't know how much crossover there is in those audiences, but it's going to be tough for each card to stand out in the pack.
Dragon Lee is returning to The Crash on March 28, his first appearance there since CMLL released him.
DDT's June 7 show will feature Cima, T-Hawk, Lindaman, and Meiko Satomura in addition to Kenny Omega.
Rip Oliver, 67, has entered hospice care due to heart failure. He was a top star in the Pacific Northwest. He's had a rough couple of years with his heart. I wish him, his family, and his fans the best.
Cody broke a toe after his cage moonsault, but will not miss any ring time. He's REALLY put his body through a lot for AEW.
Dynamite drew 3,700 fans this week, very close to a sellout.
WWE's Indian TV deal is very close to being signed. That could be an important revenue bringer.
WWE Network's Canadian price is increasing from $12.99 to $14.99. Streaming deals currently being negotiated wouldn't affect Canada. It's going to be tough to fix years of undervaluing Network content.
Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn were not at Raw this week. Realistically the WWE ship can go as they want it without them being physically there at this point.
Jessamyn Duke is out with a shoulder injury. I'm curious how she fits into things with Shayna Baszler moving to Raw.
ZERO1 has postponed its March 22 and April 12 shows due to the coronavirus. More shows could end up rescheduled, too.
NJPW World is planning talk shows and new archived matches for the next few weeks due to the coronavirus cancelations. Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi will have an interview on March 3 and a talk show on March 4.
The Bella Twins are releasing a memoir on May 5. Perfectly timed with their Hall of Fame induction.
Kevin Owens' newest shirt will benefit mental health organizations. Very good to see. I hope we see more of this.
Stephanie McMahon, Jinder Mahal, Natalya, and Mojo Rawley granted a Make-A-Wish.
C2E2 features Dynamite string backpacks as well as an AEW ad in the back of the C2E2 program. They're getting the product out there; it's good to see that level of promotion.
Killer Tim Brooks is in hospice care due to cancer. Sad to see that as well.
Stephanie McMahon promoted WrestleMania in Tampa, discussing the coronavirus' impact on preparations.
Chris Jericho will have an exclusive "little bit of the bubbly" action figure for Ringside Collectibles. Honestly we're getting into forced meme territory but I admire the commitment to what it includes.
ROH's Pure Championship tournament has added Mark Haskins and Slex.
ROH's Women's Championship tournament has added Katarina (formerly Katie Lea Burchill/Winter) and Jenny Rose. I like the idea of using some credible past names to elevate the more important current names.
Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and Apollo Crews visited the Boston Children's Hospital before Smackdown.
Cody teased an old school match coming to AEW at C2E2. War Games is the obvious candidate, as Cody has trademarked "The Match Beyond." I'm curious who will be involved.
Rhea Ripley discussed WrestleMania and more.
The Bella Twins will co-host CBS's "The Talk" Tuesday.
NXT will tape April 7 at Full Sail for the post-WrestleMania (and Takeover:Tampa) edition. Interesting choice to do a taped show that week.
Chris Jericho is a guest DJ for SiriusXM's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame radio this weekend. Great tie-in with Revolution.
Tito Ortiz has been again recognized as the winner of his fight with Alberto El Patron. There was a dispute over him failing a drug test over a substance not classified as performance-enhancing. It was then discovered the substance had been prescribed and approved. Great job, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation!
Elimination Chamber has added:
- The Miz and John Morrison vs. Kofi Kingston and Big E vs. The Usos vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik in an Elimination Chamber match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
- Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship
Sonya Deville has signed a representation deal with Image Artist Management, so it looks like she's going to be in outside endeavors.
Sasha Banks trained at the New England Pro Wrestling school before Smackdown. I like her getting experience at different locations.
Kenny Omega promoted Revolution with Bleacher Report. I like his idea of reaching outside of wrestling for ideas at bringing the genre forward.
Jon Moxley promoted Revolution with Sporting News:
- Yes, WWE counterprogrammed AEW by airing a show on Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. years before AEW even existed! Obviously AEW has led to NXT being more prominent, but there were talks of moving NXT to TV before AEW came along.
- There's a happy medium between overscripting and letting anyone do anything whether it has appeal or not.
- Are we really pretending MJF, Hangman Page, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy, and the Dark Order are "marquee names?" Come on now. I like some of those names but it's ludicrous to pretend this is a packed card of megastars, especially compared to WWE.
- Hahaha Jericho has such an inferiority complex. He has had a great run and has innovated throughout his career but the anti-WWE bias is really making people overrate him for working outside of Vince's company.
- Holy shit Moxley really thinks 2020 Jericho is bigger than 1999 Jericho. NO WAY. Probably not even 2015 Jericho, which is a lower bar to top. A LOT more people know "assclown" "Y2J" than "The Painmaker" and the bubbly.
Chris Jericho promoted Revolution with New York Post:
- Jericho's loving being the top guy outside of WWE instead of having to compete with more well-known wrestlers at WrestleMania. It's smart for him to be able to be a big name on smaller stages so as to further inflate his legacy.
- This hype is getting out of control. AEW has been very successful in a lot of ways, but it's a long way from being the major player it's being presented as in these interviews.
- AHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAH Jericho has gotten out of shape on purpose!!! RIGHT.
- Putting young wrestlers on TV is a blessing and a curse. I do think Raw and Smackdown have struggled to feature fresher names in past years, with great talent bottling up in NXT.
The Young Bucks promoted Revolution with Sporting News. They have worked very, very hard and it's paying off in a major way.
Cody promoted Revolution with TSN:
- They've definitely committed to making MJF a top player.
- It's refreshing to see stories play out in longer fashion instead of the same people doing the same stuff each week. That's one good thing of only having two hours to fill each week.
Britt Baker is working Australia's World Series Wrestling from June 13 through June 15.
Jeff Hardy was backstage at Smackdown. He will be on the next episode of Backstage. Wow. It's telling WWE's willing to feature him given his pending trial.
WrestleMania 36 has announced:
- Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship
- John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
205 Live on March 13 will feature Lio Rush, Tyler Breeze, Isaiah Scott, and One Two vs. Tony Nese, Mike Kanellis, Brian Kendrick, Ariya Daivari, and Jack Gallagher in an elimination match
WWE had trademarked "The Mechanics" and "No Flips Just Fists." The former is the original name The Revival had in NXT. We'll see what names and trademarks the duo end up with if/when they leave WWE. It doesn't look like they're on great terms with WWE right now.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. To get more people to watch their show as they build to bigger events WrestleMania weekend.
2. I'm not nearly qualified enough to answer this one!
3. That's usually the answer given.
4. I don't think we're there yet. It would be smarter for them to wait until there's a trailer to show.
5. He's had 17 years to return and hasn't. I'd say it gets less likely each year, as I don't think he wants to come back and have a three minute match or whatever just to say he did it. And I REALLY don't expect a beer bash in Saudi Arabia!
More wrestling coming up.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Coronavirus updates, Fury-WWE update, more on Vega missing SSD, TripleMania set, Dragon Lee update, DDT using more outsiders, territory names in hospice, Cody hurt, Dynamtie attendance, WWE TV deal update, Canadian Network price increase, top execs miss Raw, NXT injury, NJPW World content update, Bellas memoir coming, assorted wrestling press, special AEW action figure coming, more ROH tournament competitors, AEW teases old school match returning, post-WM NXT taping moved, Tito result reinstated, new WWE PPV matches, Sonya branching out, Sasha trains before SD, Jeff Hardy update, 205 Live match set, WWE trademarks, and Questions on EVOLVE doing a free show, Jim Crockett Promotions, an AEW video game, and Stone Cold returning
Main Event and 205 Live Reax - 2/28/20
Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Main Event and 205 Live.
Friday Night Smackdown Reax - 2/28/20
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Friday Night Smackdown.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Mania 5k announced, Interview with Cody, WM36 plans, AEW name gets stitches, NJPW-ROH tour set, and AEW+NXT ratings
WWE has announced a "WrestleMania 5K Fun Run" the day before WrestleMania, as well as a WWE costume contest. The event will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. That's a pretty good idea.
Cody is on AEW's second podcast, recapped here:
- Glad they're aware of the criticism of having multiple creative visions.
- I really wish those Dusty event names were being used by NWA instead. It doesn't really fit with what AEW does, as they're trying to build a younger fan base.
- I REALLY like his growth of developmental. He adds important things to AEW's structure.
- I love Cody not just saying that absolutely Dusty would be in AEW.
WrestleMania 36's current planned matches are reported to include:
- Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship
- John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
-- Honestly if the title was on the line in the latter instead of the former I'd be good with it. It feels really weird (and shortsighted) as is.
Chris Jericho received seven stitches after Jon Moxley's headbutt.
NJPW/ROH War of the Worlds 2020 has been announced:
- May 6 in New York
- May 7 in Ontario
- May 9 in Michigan
- May 10 in Illinois
-- Glad to see that relationship flourish again.
Dynamite drew 865,000 viewers this week. Fine enough number.
NXT drew 717,000 viewers this week. They're definitely hoping things improve with the cage matches next week.
AEW's Countdown to Revolution special drew 383,000 viewers.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Cody is on AEW's second podcast, recapped here:
- Glad they're aware of the criticism of having multiple creative visions.
- I really wish those Dusty event names were being used by NWA instead. It doesn't really fit with what AEW does, as they're trying to build a younger fan base.
- I REALLY like his growth of developmental. He adds important things to AEW's structure.
- I love Cody not just saying that absolutely Dusty would be in AEW.
WrestleMania 36's current planned matches are reported to include:
- Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship
- John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
-- Honestly if the title was on the line in the latter instead of the former I'd be good with it. It feels really weird (and shortsighted) as is.
Chris Jericho received seven stitches after Jon Moxley's headbutt.
NJPW/ROH War of the Worlds 2020 has been announced:
- May 6 in New York
- May 7 in Ontario
- May 9 in Michigan
- May 10 in Illinois
-- Glad to see that relationship flourish again.
Dynamite drew 865,000 viewers this week. Fine enough number.
NXT drew 717,000 viewers this week. They're definitely hoping things improve with the cage matches next week.
AEW's Countdown to Revolution special drew 383,000 viewers.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Japanese promotions respond to coronavirus, assorted wrestling press, more ROH tournament participants, Impact world title match next week, MLW content talk, MLW using minis, HoFer at NXT, Alberto fight result overruled, AEW signing official, WWE-NBA, EVOLVE offering free show, AEW name sick, NXT adds another cage match, new Revolution match, NXT March 11 location, and Questions on impactful debuts, heel Demon Balor, WWE cutting PPVs shorter, and the role of a referee
The Undertaker was shown in a Saudi Arabian video promoting Super Showdown. He had not been officially announced for the show before this.
Japanese promotions have continued to adjust plans due to the coronavirus:
- DDT has canceled events from February 28 through March 8. There will be some events taped at the Ochanomizu dojo but fans will not be able to attend.
- TJP is rescheduling their March 1 event.
- NOAH's upcoming "meet and greet" has been canceled.
- NJPW has canceled all events from March 1 through March 15, including the New Japan Cup.
Austin Theory spoke before NXT. I like his attitude that he still has a lot of room to grow.
WWE Studios' "Rumble" got a trailer.
Busted Open Radio was SiriusXM's most listened sports show for 2019. That's very impressive!
Matt Morgan was profiled in Florida. I'm curious if he'll be at TNA's show.
AEW Revolution will be available on PlayStation. FITE.TV will carry it outside the U.S.
Chris Jericho, Dustin Rhodes, and the Young Bucks was interviewed at the New York Toy Fair.
Alex Shelley has been added to ROH's Pure Championship tournament. Perfect.
Impact next week will feature Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie for the World Championship. Interesting direction. Honestly now I want to see Ace Austin or someone challenge for the Knockouts Title.
Ken Shamrock spoke on Ethan Page's latest vlog.
MLW met with Viacom regarding streaming rights recently. That's encouraging!
Mexico's Demus will work MLW's April 18 event, as mini luchadores are coming to the promotion. MLW continues to cultivate unique attractions.
Ric Flair was at NXT. I'd love to see him involved in the Charlotte-Rhea feud, but there's no way anyone will boo him.
Xavier Woods discussed UpUpDownDown's creation. It's been very successful.
Jinny and Mark Andrews looked back at Jinny's first match.
Angelina Love has been added to ROH's Women's Championship tournament. Hoping to see some Stardom crossover there.
Tito Ortiz vs. Alberto El Patron has been ruled a No Contest by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as the body undergoes a fact-finding investigation. I imagine we'll hear more on that soon; that's not good for Combate Americas in such a high-profile bout.
The WWE Performance Center has Rudy Boy Gonzalez and Nick Foti as a guest coaches this week.
AEW has signed Lance Archer to a multi-year deal. I'm interested to see what he'll do.
Ric Flair introduced LeBron James Tuesday at an NBA game. Very cool to see.
Drake wore two WWE championships at an NBA game. I love it!
EVOLVE 145 will stream free online.
Kris Statlander will miss Bar Wrestling's event tonight due to the flu. She's still set to compete at Revolution.
Kenny Omega spoke before Dynamite. Interesting discussion about changes from NJPW.
Josh Barnett spoke to Tokyo Sports about returning to Japan to wrestle.
NXT has added Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong in a cage match in addition to the previously announced cage match of Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox.
Legends of Lucha Libre revealed action figures for Konnan, Lady Maravilla, The Lucha Bros, Super Astro, Solar, Timieblas, Jr., Juventud Guerrera, and Taya Valkyrie
Revolution has added Pac vs. Orange Cassidy. I'd love to see the betting odds for that one.
NXT's March 11 episode will come from the WWE Performance Center due to Full Sail being unavailable that day.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Yeah it's a knee-jerk reaction and an impatience to have everything explained ASAP. In a day of leaks and spoilers, there's an instant gratification thing. That said, followup to such debuts is key. NXT has done a decent job so far with Raquel, but The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny were kind of lumped into the bigger MJF/Cody feud. It's weird because they're sort of affiliated with MJF but also kind of their own thing. It's a little wishy-washy.
2. I defer to them here. Knowing why people are feuding definitely enhances the matches!
3. I definitely think WWE could make a monster heel out of The Demon, but I think Finn felt that that persona had lost its meaning and he needed to go back to being "himself." I don't see a need to rush to use it again.
4. That would be up to their partner, I expect. I would think the partner would want to know how long they expect to go.
5. Referees have earpieces so people in the back can relay instructions regarding the match's pacing, etc.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Japanese promotions have continued to adjust plans due to the coronavirus:
- DDT has canceled events from February 28 through March 8. There will be some events taped at the Ochanomizu dojo but fans will not be able to attend.
- TJP is rescheduling their March 1 event.
- NOAH's upcoming "meet and greet" has been canceled.
- NJPW has canceled all events from March 1 through March 15, including the New Japan Cup.
Austin Theory spoke before NXT. I like his attitude that he still has a lot of room to grow.
WWE Studios' "Rumble" got a trailer.
Busted Open Radio was SiriusXM's most listened sports show for 2019. That's very impressive!
Matt Morgan was profiled in Florida. I'm curious if he'll be at TNA's show.
AEW Revolution will be available on PlayStation. FITE.TV will carry it outside the U.S.
Chris Jericho, Dustin Rhodes, and the Young Bucks was interviewed at the New York Toy Fair.
Alex Shelley has been added to ROH's Pure Championship tournament. Perfect.
Impact next week will feature Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie for the World Championship. Interesting direction. Honestly now I want to see Ace Austin or someone challenge for the Knockouts Title.
Ken Shamrock spoke on Ethan Page's latest vlog.
MLW met with Viacom regarding streaming rights recently. That's encouraging!
Mexico's Demus will work MLW's April 18 event, as mini luchadores are coming to the promotion. MLW continues to cultivate unique attractions.
Ric Flair was at NXT. I'd love to see him involved in the Charlotte-Rhea feud, but there's no way anyone will boo him.
Xavier Woods discussed UpUpDownDown's creation. It's been very successful.
Jinny and Mark Andrews looked back at Jinny's first match.
Angelina Love has been added to ROH's Women's Championship tournament. Hoping to see some Stardom crossover there.
Tito Ortiz vs. Alberto El Patron has been ruled a No Contest by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as the body undergoes a fact-finding investigation. I imagine we'll hear more on that soon; that's not good for Combate Americas in such a high-profile bout.
The WWE Performance Center has Rudy Boy Gonzalez and Nick Foti as a guest coaches this week.
AEW has signed Lance Archer to a multi-year deal. I'm interested to see what he'll do.
Ric Flair introduced LeBron James Tuesday at an NBA game. Very cool to see.
Drake wore two WWE championships at an NBA game. I love it!
EVOLVE 145 will stream free online.
Kris Statlander will miss Bar Wrestling's event tonight due to the flu. She's still set to compete at Revolution.
Kenny Omega spoke before Dynamite. Interesting discussion about changes from NJPW.
Josh Barnett spoke to Tokyo Sports about returning to Japan to wrestle.
NXT has added Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong in a cage match in addition to the previously announced cage match of Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox.
Legends of Lucha Libre revealed action figures for Konnan, Lady Maravilla, The Lucha Bros, Super Astro, Solar, Timieblas, Jr., Juventud Guerrera, and Taya Valkyrie
Revolution has added Pac vs. Orange Cassidy. I'd love to see the betting odds for that one.
NXT's March 11 episode will come from the WWE Performance Center due to Full Sail being unavailable that day.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Yeah it's a knee-jerk reaction and an impatience to have everything explained ASAP. In a day of leaks and spoilers, there's an instant gratification thing. That said, followup to such debuts is key. NXT has done a decent job so far with Raquel, but The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny were kind of lumped into the bigger MJF/Cody feud. It's weird because they're sort of affiliated with MJF but also kind of their own thing. It's a little wishy-washy.
2. I defer to them here. Knowing why people are feuding definitely enhances the matches!
3. I definitely think WWE could make a monster heel out of The Demon, but I think Finn felt that that persona had lost its meaning and he needed to go back to being "himself." I don't see a need to rush to use it again.
4. That would be up to their partner, I expect. I would think the partner would want to know how long they expect to go.
5. Referees have earpieces so people in the back can relay instructions regarding the match's pacing, etc.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Legend in Saudi Arabia, AEW commentator joins full-time, AEW action figure distribution deal, Raw announces international live events, WrestleCon event airing update, Impact tapings set, more ROH tournament participants, Stephanie honored, Raw suspension, Raw audience, latest Matt tease, NXT referee back from injury, WWE Studios movie profiled, WWN adds more NXT names, another AEW member making a book, EVOLVE releases match on YouTube, and Questions on Heyman's WM30 claim, Russo challenges, temporary retirements, fans supporting heels, and WWE booking Brodus
The Undertaker is in Saudi Arabia, so one would expect him to appear at Super Showdown. They could easily have AJ win the gauntlet match only to hear the gong.
- Undertaker is also scheduled for the March 9 Raw.
Tony Schiavone is now with AEW full-time, leaving his baseball job. That says a lot about AEW's perceived viability.
AEW's action figures will be carried in Wal-mart. There are plans for many more action figures after the first two announced "waves." Things continue to move quickly!
Cody will have his entrance music played live at Revolution. That's pretty cool.
Raw has announced Australian shows for August 6 and August 7.
WrestleCon's events will all be live on FITE.TV.
Impact will tape on April 24 and April 25 in Ohio.
Jonathan Gresham has been announced for ROH's Pure Championship tournament. He's a natural fit for that.
Stephanie McMahon was honored by Women In Toys.
Samoa Joe has been suspended 30 days for violating the Wellness Policy. Sad to see that. I hope that and his concussion don't further derail his WWE work.
Australia's Kellyanne has been announced for ROH's Women's Championship tournament. We'll see how far she goes.
Raw drew 2.21 million viewers this week. The ratings continue to be unimpressive.
Matt Hardy teased joining AEW in a recent video, as the title "Dear Dr RKO" can be rearranged into "Dark Order." He's definitely getting people talking about his next steps.
NXT official Tom Castor returns this week after breaking his leg ten months ago. That was BRUTAL.
WWE Studios' "Rumble" was profiled in People.
WWN has added Kushida, Mercedes Martinez, Deonna Purrazzo, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Taynara, Cameron Grimes, One Two, Marcel Barthel, and Fabian Aichner to its Accelerate events during WrestleMania weekend.
Hangman Page has a children's book due out May 24, following Cody and the Young Bucks' footsteps.
WWN has released EVOLVE 144's Mansoor vs. AR Fox on YouTube.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Heyman's great at getting people talking, and he's really played the "worked shoot" card with Brock on a number of occasions. Frankly it doesn't seem likely Brock would have done such a thing, much less that no word would get out about it.
2. It seems so. It's a shame, really, that he's fallen so far from where he used to be in the business.
3. Usually there's not much new to say to such questions, but I definitely see where people want to see their favorites get back in the ring one more time. Especially given the money involved!
4. Honestly, yeah, at this point if the fans are reacting to something, keep it going. They hardly need more reasons to not be engaged with the current product given where current audience levels are.
5. I certainly think it was in poor taste. I would enjoy the characters making a cameo, but that doesn't outweigh the very serious allegations. WWE shouldn't want to be associated with that kind of misconduct.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Undertaker is also scheduled for the March 9 Raw.
Tony Schiavone is now with AEW full-time, leaving his baseball job. That says a lot about AEW's perceived viability.
AEW's action figures will be carried in Wal-mart. There are plans for many more action figures after the first two announced "waves." Things continue to move quickly!
Cody will have his entrance music played live at Revolution. That's pretty cool.
Raw has announced Australian shows for August 6 and August 7.
WrestleCon's events will all be live on FITE.TV.
Impact will tape on April 24 and April 25 in Ohio.
Jonathan Gresham has been announced for ROH's Pure Championship tournament. He's a natural fit for that.
Stephanie McMahon was honored by Women In Toys.
Samoa Joe has been suspended 30 days for violating the Wellness Policy. Sad to see that. I hope that and his concussion don't further derail his WWE work.
Australia's Kellyanne has been announced for ROH's Women's Championship tournament. We'll see how far she goes.
Raw drew 2.21 million viewers this week. The ratings continue to be unimpressive.
Matt Hardy teased joining AEW in a recent video, as the title "Dear Dr RKO" can be rearranged into "Dark Order." He's definitely getting people talking about his next steps.
NXT official Tom Castor returns this week after breaking his leg ten months ago. That was BRUTAL.
WWE Studios' "Rumble" was profiled in People.
WWN has added Kushida, Mercedes Martinez, Deonna Purrazzo, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Taynara, Cameron Grimes, One Two, Marcel Barthel, and Fabian Aichner to its Accelerate events during WrestleMania weekend.
Hangman Page has a children's book due out May 24, following Cody and the Young Bucks' footsteps.
WWN has released EVOLVE 144's Mansoor vs. AR Fox on YouTube.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Heyman's great at getting people talking, and he's really played the "worked shoot" card with Brock on a number of occasions. Frankly it doesn't seem likely Brock would have done such a thing, much less that no word would get out about it.
2. It seems so. It's a shame, really, that he's fallen so far from where he used to be in the business.
3. Usually there's not much new to say to such questions, but I definitely see where people want to see their favorites get back in the ring one more time. Especially given the money involved!
4. Honestly, yeah, at this point if the fans are reacting to something, keep it going. They hardly need more reasons to not be engaged with the current product given where current audience levels are.
5. I certainly think it was in poor taste. I would enjoy the characters making a cameo, but that doesn't outweigh the very serious allegations. WWE shouldn't want to be associated with that kind of misconduct.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Japan finale results, podcast notes, Impact guests, Impact tryouts returning, assorted wrestling press, Andrade at Raw, another Dynamite set, another TNA event return, Interviews with Bayley/JoMo/Cathy/Cody, legends to team, Charlotte note, NWA press conference coming, NWA tapings set, more Doug Williams in ROH, Bulldog-HOF update, Raw referee identity, Revolution match added, Raw announcements, Raw dark match, Rusev update, and Questions on this year's Kofi, Shawn Spears' whereabouts, how NXT talents are paid at outside events, Cedric, and ECW content on the Network
At Kagetsu's retirement show, which will air on Samurai TV on March 3:
- Oedo Tai's Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire lost to YUU, Syuri, and Leyla Hirsch
- AZM won a three-way over Kaho Kobayashi and Mei Suruga
- Kagetsu defeated Saya Iida
- Kagetsu lost to Meiko Satomura in the main event.
- Hazuki was part of the retirement ceremony
At Sareee's final Japanese event:
- Sareee, Jaguar Yokota, and Ayako Sato defeated Haruka Umesaki, Madeline, and Nanami
- Sareee defeated Kaoru Ito
New Day's latest podcast has UPWA's Mikal Mosley.
Booker T. is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Chris Harris was at Impact's Sacrifice show, so we could see him at WrestleCon.
Impact is bringing back the Gutcheck challenge. That's a great idea!
AEW will have a panel at C2E2, with Cody, the Young Bucks and Excalibur doing the talking.
AEW stars were in a Rooster Teeth video.
Andrade was backstage at Raw in order to be part of the flight to Saudi Arabia.
Dynamite's April 29 episode will come from the University of Houston.
Impact's WrestleCon has added Shark Boy. That just became a must-see event! Stone Cold Shark Boy was amazing.
Bayley promoted Super Showdown.
Raw is running New Zealand on August 8.
WWE Shop released Ruthless Aggression designs for Evolution to time with their episode of the docuseries being released.
John Morrison discussed his WWE return. That Joey Mercury injury was one of the most brutal I've ever seen.
Cesaro is on the latest Swerve City podcast.
Cathy Kelley discussed leaving WWE with Maria Menounos, saying she's pursuing other projects that her WWE schedule didn't allow for. Cathy also said she was getting worn down by the schedule.
Cody spoke to Sports Illustrated about his big moonsault and more. I like his vision of each Elite member's strengths.
The Steiner Brothers and Dory Funk, Jr. are teaming for the first time ever in Florida this weekend.
Charlotte Flair did not appear on Raw due to the death of her maternal grandfather.
The Walls of Jericho appeared on Japan's "Isekai Quartet." That's pretty cool!
NWA will hold a press conference to promote Crockett Cup tomorrow.
NWA has set TV tapings for April 20 and April 21.
Doug Williams is in ROH's Pure Championship tournament. Perfect!
British Bulldog could be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Bret Hart. Either plans changed or the previous report was in error. I hope if it is Bret things go better than they did last time.
Raw's new referee was U.S. and Canadian indie star Jake Clemons.
Big Show is locally advertised for Raw. Not sure why we didn't see him this week.
MLW had meetings at the International Toy Fair.
Revolution has added Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander for the Women's Championship.
Raw has announced:
- Beth Phoenix appearing to update Edge's status
- Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade and Angel Garza
- AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
After Raw, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins. That would be big on TV.
Rusev missed Raw due to a back issue. He will be replaced by Rey Mysterio at Super Showdown.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Hopefully they won't have to change plans like that and can go with Drew McIntyre beating Brock Lesnar. As for the Smackdown side, frankly I don't think they should have The Fiend lose the title anytime soon.
2. The running story has been "Cody vs. Cody's former friends," seemingly, rather than long feuds with any one person. I do wonder what's next for Cody since he can't challenge for the world title, and him losing to the likes of Spears and MLF would paint him as not being at that level. The argument has been that they're moving this quickly because it's a battle for ratings every week. And really people were just waiting for MJF to turn heel anyway, so it was probably for the best. As far as Spears is concerned, he's been on Dark and I would think once that show hits its new home we'll see him more.
3. I would be shocked if it didn't count as an NXT-level payday rather than an EVOLVE-level payday. They're appearing as NXT talent.
4. I would also like to see that, but it seems like they prefer him as an undercard name on Raw (and Main Event).
5. I'd guess they're working through home video releases chronologically.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Oedo Tai's Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire lost to YUU, Syuri, and Leyla Hirsch
- AZM won a three-way over Kaho Kobayashi and Mei Suruga
- Kagetsu defeated Saya Iida
- Kagetsu lost to Meiko Satomura in the main event.
- Hazuki was part of the retirement ceremony
At Sareee's final Japanese event:
- Sareee, Jaguar Yokota, and Ayako Sato defeated Haruka Umesaki, Madeline, and Nanami
- Sareee defeated Kaoru Ito
New Day's latest podcast has UPWA's Mikal Mosley.
Booker T. is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Chris Harris was at Impact's Sacrifice show, so we could see him at WrestleCon.
Impact is bringing back the Gutcheck challenge. That's a great idea!
AEW will have a panel at C2E2, with Cody, the Young Bucks and Excalibur doing the talking.
AEW stars were in a Rooster Teeth video.
Andrade was backstage at Raw in order to be part of the flight to Saudi Arabia.
Dynamite's April 29 episode will come from the University of Houston.
Impact's WrestleCon has added Shark Boy. That just became a must-see event! Stone Cold Shark Boy was amazing.
Bayley promoted Super Showdown.
Raw is running New Zealand on August 8.
WWE Shop released Ruthless Aggression designs for Evolution to time with their episode of the docuseries being released.
John Morrison discussed his WWE return. That Joey Mercury injury was one of the most brutal I've ever seen.
Cesaro is on the latest Swerve City podcast.
Cathy Kelley discussed leaving WWE with Maria Menounos, saying she's pursuing other projects that her WWE schedule didn't allow for. Cathy also said she was getting worn down by the schedule.
Cody spoke to Sports Illustrated about his big moonsault and more. I like his vision of each Elite member's strengths.
The Steiner Brothers and Dory Funk, Jr. are teaming for the first time ever in Florida this weekend.
Charlotte Flair did not appear on Raw due to the death of her maternal grandfather.
The Walls of Jericho appeared on Japan's "Isekai Quartet." That's pretty cool!
NWA will hold a press conference to promote Crockett Cup tomorrow.
NWA has set TV tapings for April 20 and April 21.
Doug Williams is in ROH's Pure Championship tournament. Perfect!
British Bulldog could be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Bret Hart. Either plans changed or the previous report was in error. I hope if it is Bret things go better than they did last time.
Raw's new referee was U.S. and Canadian indie star Jake Clemons.
Big Show is locally advertised for Raw. Not sure why we didn't see him this week.
MLW had meetings at the International Toy Fair.
Revolution has added Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander for the Women's Championship.
Raw has announced:
- Beth Phoenix appearing to update Edge's status
- Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade and Angel Garza
- AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
After Raw, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins. That would be big on TV.
Rusev missed Raw due to a back issue. He will be replaced by Rey Mysterio at Super Showdown.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Hopefully they won't have to change plans like that and can go with Drew McIntyre beating Brock Lesnar. As for the Smackdown side, frankly I don't think they should have The Fiend lose the title anytime soon.
2. The running story has been "Cody vs. Cody's former friends," seemingly, rather than long feuds with any one person. I do wonder what's next for Cody since he can't challenge for the world title, and him losing to the likes of Spears and MLF would paint him as not being at that level. The argument has been that they're moving this quickly because it's a battle for ratings every week. And really people were just waiting for MJF to turn heel anyway, so it was probably for the best. As far as Spears is concerned, he's been on Dark and I would think once that show hits its new home we'll see him more.
3. I would be shocked if it didn't count as an NXT-level payday rather than an EVOLVE-level payday. They're appearing as NXT talent.
4. I would also like to see that, but it seems like they prefer him as an undercard name on Raw (and Main Event).
5. I'd guess they're working through home video releases chronologically.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, February 24, 2020
Omega set for Japan show, WM36 changes, Braun teases Fury rematch, SD name hurt, assorted wrestling press, WWE titleholder hurt, and Questions on why Charlotte challenged Ripley, blading, Fish frying, and how much the Attitude Era made Austin and Rock (and vice versa)
Kenny Omega is set for DDT's June 7 event. He's able to work in Japan outside of AEW dates.
WrestleMania 36 is seeing some plan changes, especially on the Smackdown side. The Universal Championship match and John Cena's match in particular have apparently been reconsidered. I expect we'll get a better idea of how that all shakes out after Super Showdown.
Braun Strowman responded to Tyson Fury's boxing win. Honestly that's as good of a plan as any!
Shinsuke Nakamura needed nine stitches after Smackdown. I don't think they covered being slammed on a piano in Japan's dojos.
Johnny Gargano put NXT over in a TMZ interview.
Jordan Devlin pulled out of PROGRESS Chapter 103 due to elbow bursitis. He should be back in action soon. I'm glad he's not going to miss much time given his current run.
Cesaro now has a "cowbell" shirt. At least he's finally getting some new merchandise, I guess.
Batista will be on James Corden's Late Late Show this week.
Orange Cassidy is set for World Series Wrestling in June.
ROH signee Adam Brooks works his last Australian match on February 29.
Qatar Pro Wrestling got press in Al Jazeera for their latest show.
Roddy Piper's "They Live" character is getting an action figure.
Tito Santana got press for his autobiography.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Charlotte has beaten Becky and Bayley, but never beaten Rhea. So, she's out to prove she can hang with the rising star.
2. I REALLY doubt they're doing anything just to upset any particular pundit.
3. It's very dangerous but can definitely add to the drama of a match.
4. Depends on how big of a fish fryer he had and how much fish is available.
5.a. I think the "edginess" of the Attitude Era was a beneficial platform for those two, but I also think both men were talented enough to succeed in a variety of environments.
5.b. Without Stone Cold and The Rock, the Attitude Era would have a tough time being as good as it was. They were key parts of that period.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WrestleMania 36 is seeing some plan changes, especially on the Smackdown side. The Universal Championship match and John Cena's match in particular have apparently been reconsidered. I expect we'll get a better idea of how that all shakes out after Super Showdown.
Braun Strowman responded to Tyson Fury's boxing win. Honestly that's as good of a plan as any!
Shinsuke Nakamura needed nine stitches after Smackdown. I don't think they covered being slammed on a piano in Japan's dojos.
Johnny Gargano put NXT over in a TMZ interview.
Jordan Devlin pulled out of PROGRESS Chapter 103 due to elbow bursitis. He should be back in action soon. I'm glad he's not going to miss much time given his current run.
Cesaro now has a "cowbell" shirt. At least he's finally getting some new merchandise, I guess.
Batista will be on James Corden's Late Late Show this week.
Orange Cassidy is set for World Series Wrestling in June.
ROH signee Adam Brooks works his last Australian match on February 29.
Qatar Pro Wrestling got press in Al Jazeera for their latest show.
Roddy Piper's "They Live" character is getting an action figure.
Tito Santana got press for his autobiography.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Charlotte has beaten Becky and Bayley, but never beaten Rhea. So, she's out to prove she can hang with the rising star.
2. I REALLY doubt they're doing anything just to upset any particular pundit.
3. It's very dangerous but can definitely add to the drama of a match.
4. Depends on how big of a fish fryer he had and how much fish is available.
5.a. I think the "edginess" of the Attitude Era was a beneficial platform for those two, but I also think both men were talented enough to succeed in a variety of environments.
5.b. Without Stone Cold and The Rock, the Attitude Era would have a tough time being as good as it was. They were key parts of that period.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Japanese HoF coming, Backstage guests, WWE Japan signing official, Teddy Hart out of jail, WWE star announces marriage, more on AEW action figures, assorted wrestling press, WrestlePro returning to Alaska, injured name at Smackdown, SD audience, Network series returning, Revival trademarks, legend writing territory book, Rikishi launching new promotion, Past vs. Present additions, ROH debuting new matches, more on Pure tournament, NXT match added, and Questions on the Bellas in the HoF and Mania week priorities
A Japanese wrestling Hall of Fame is in the works, overseen by Genichiro Tenryu and his family. It's set to open this summer and seemingly has goals similar to the Califlower Alley Club as far assisting older wrestlers.
WWE Backstage this week will have Daniel Bryan and the Bella Twins.
Japan's Sareee has officially announced signing with WWE. She will move to the U.S. in March. I look forward to seeing what she does.
Teddy Hart has been released on bond. He will remain under house arrest while his charges are pending. I'm glad he doesn't have to stay in jail for that amount of time.
Kairi Sane announced being married recently in Japan. That's a touching message!
AEW's action figure line has announced Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Dustin Rhodes, Cody, The Young Bucks, the Lucha Bros, Hangman Page, MJF, and Brandi Rhodes. There will also be a replica AEW Championship. That's an impressive start.
- Omega, Cody, the Bucks, Page, MJF, Hangman Page, Darby Allin, and Brandi Rhodes are at the New York Toy Fair promoting the launch. They did Darby dirty making him promote action figures when he doesn't have one.
- AEW's action figure deal was put together by the person who created WWE's Jakks Classics Superstars figures.
C.M. Punk's "Girl on the Third Floor" is now available on Netflix.
WrestlePro announced an Alaska show for May 9 featuring DDP, Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, Orange Cassidy, Danny Doring, Swoggle, Colt Cabana, Katarina Leigh, Matt Striker, and LSG.
Jeff Hardy was at Smackdown this week, and is scheduled to be at next week's show, too, so it looks like he's being prepared to return on that brand. I hope he can have a good run.
Smackdown drew 2.49 million viewers this week, almost identical with last week.
WWE Story Time is set to return to WWE Network, with Jerry Lawler as the narrator.
The Revival have trademarked "Top Guys," "Say Yeah," and "No Flips, Just Fists" for possible post-WWE use. I'd very much like to see them in a new environment.
Dutch Mantell is working on a book on the territory system and his run as Zeb Colter, which was one of my all-time favorite characters.
Rikishi is launching World Wrestling Asia with a show in the Philippines in March. I'm curious how that will go.
Past vs. Present has added:
- Paul London in a "special appearance"
- NJPW's Clark Connors and Ren Narita competing in matches taped for ROH TV
ROH is debuting "Wildcard Wednesday" featuring random tag matches airing on YouTube and HonorClub. The first matches will be taped at next weekend's shows.
ROH's Pure Championship tournament will feature former Pure champions, international talent, and some names who have never competed in ROH before. That all sounds promising.
Marty Scurll is doing a free photo shoot before ROH's February 28 show. I like that.
Dalton Castle and Matt Taven are hosting "Planet Peacock Live" on February 27, which will feature comedy and guests. Not a bad idea to promote the event the next night.
NJPW's Natsuyori Shibata will do a signing at Past vs. Present.
NXT has announced Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair. I like it.
Boxing announcer Joe Tessitore discussed Tyson Fury's WWE work.
Triple H was backstage at Tyson Fury's boxing fight.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. This is why I don't do best of lists.
2. The Bellas are being honored for their reach in reality shows and other successful branding. There's no real rule for the order people go in, though I am starting to wonder why Victoria has been shut out.
Nothing to add to 3 or 5.
4. I definitely prioritize what WWE's doing and covering in-ring events instead of the Hall of Fame. I also don't want to overextend myself covering minor events. As with everything, I judge what to cover by how much coverage it's getting elsewhere. If it's not important to the big sites, I usually don't cover it.
More wrestling coming up.
WWE Backstage this week will have Daniel Bryan and the Bella Twins.
Japan's Sareee has officially announced signing with WWE. She will move to the U.S. in March. I look forward to seeing what she does.
Teddy Hart has been released on bond. He will remain under house arrest while his charges are pending. I'm glad he doesn't have to stay in jail for that amount of time.
Kairi Sane announced being married recently in Japan. That's a touching message!
AEW's action figure line has announced Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Dustin Rhodes, Cody, The Young Bucks, the Lucha Bros, Hangman Page, MJF, and Brandi Rhodes. There will also be a replica AEW Championship. That's an impressive start.
- Omega, Cody, the Bucks, Page, MJF, Hangman Page, Darby Allin, and Brandi Rhodes are at the New York Toy Fair promoting the launch. They did Darby dirty making him promote action figures when he doesn't have one.
- AEW's action figure deal was put together by the person who created WWE's Jakks Classics Superstars figures.
C.M. Punk's "Girl on the Third Floor" is now available on Netflix.
WrestlePro announced an Alaska show for May 9 featuring DDP, Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, Orange Cassidy, Danny Doring, Swoggle, Colt Cabana, Katarina Leigh, Matt Striker, and LSG.
Jeff Hardy was at Smackdown this week, and is scheduled to be at next week's show, too, so it looks like he's being prepared to return on that brand. I hope he can have a good run.
Smackdown drew 2.49 million viewers this week, almost identical with last week.
WWE Story Time is set to return to WWE Network, with Jerry Lawler as the narrator.
The Revival have trademarked "Top Guys," "Say Yeah," and "No Flips, Just Fists" for possible post-WWE use. I'd very much like to see them in a new environment.
Dutch Mantell is working on a book on the territory system and his run as Zeb Colter, which was one of my all-time favorite characters.
Rikishi is launching World Wrestling Asia with a show in the Philippines in March. I'm curious how that will go.
Past vs. Present has added:
- Paul London in a "special appearance"
- NJPW's Clark Connors and Ren Narita competing in matches taped for ROH TV
ROH is debuting "Wildcard Wednesday" featuring random tag matches airing on YouTube and HonorClub. The first matches will be taped at next weekend's shows.
ROH's Pure Championship tournament will feature former Pure champions, international talent, and some names who have never competed in ROH before. That all sounds promising.
Marty Scurll is doing a free photo shoot before ROH's February 28 show. I like that.
Dalton Castle and Matt Taven are hosting "Planet Peacock Live" on February 27, which will feature comedy and guests. Not a bad idea to promote the event the next night.
NJPW's Natsuyori Shibata will do a signing at Past vs. Present.
NXT has announced Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair. I like it.
Boxing announcer Joe Tessitore discussed Tyson Fury's WWE work.
Triple H was backstage at Tyson Fury's boxing fight.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. This is why I don't do best of lists.
2. The Bellas are being honored for their reach in reality shows and other successful branding. There's no real rule for the order people go in, though I am starting to wonder why Victoria has been shut out.
Nothing to add to 3 or 5.
4. I definitely prioritize what WWE's doing and covering in-ring events instead of the Hall of Fame. I also don't want to overextend myself covering minor events. As with everything, I judge what to cover by how much coverage it's getting elsewhere. If it's not important to the big sites, I usually don't cover it.
More wrestling coming up.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Cena WM update, Takeover attendance, more on Bulldog-HOF, Japanese reunion shows, more on Stardom YouTube show, Japanese name has surgery, AEW Canada update, more on WWE losing German PPV home, Cobb-AEW update, AEW doing PPV preview show, TNT execs at Dynamite, AEW producer note, WWE discussing content move, WWE working on international performance center, WWE pulls guests from podcast, Raw holding ticket special, NJPW title change, Interviews with Nyla/Naomi/Moss/Rock, assorted wrestling notes, new ROH PPV match, AEW injury, Smackdown dark matches, NXT live event notes, and Questions on WWE not burying the Astros, who gets WWE interviews, and a dream documentary
John Cena vs. Elias is being planned for WrestleMania, playing off their interactions the past two WrestleManias. Elias is a face now, but I think they can still make it work.
Takeover: Portland drew 7,800 fans. That's quite good for a show not linked to another important show.
British Bulldog will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his son, who is still under contract to MLW through the end of 2020.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has set a 20th anniversary show for August 24.
Joshi promotion GAEA is doing a one night reunion show on April 15, the 25th anniversary of their first show.
Stardom's YouTube event is intentionally being aired at a time convenient for U.S. audiences. It will have Japanese commentary.
Kenta Kobashi recently had knee surgery.
AEW is looking to run Canada in 2020.
WWE losing its German PPV home was blamed on WWE not making the shows available anymore.
Jeff Cobb has been offered an AEW contract that would allow him to continue to work NJPW. ROH should take note.
AEW will have a Revolution preview show after the next Dynamite.
Dynamite featured a lot of TNT executives, as the show was near the channel's headquarters.
Dean Malenko worked at Dynamite was a producer.
WWE has spoken to ESPN regarding WWE content on ESPN+.
WWE is working on a Japanese performance center. That would be major.
Vickie Guerrero can no longer have WWE guests on her podcast after appearing on Chris Jericho's cruise. The battle is real!
Raw's March 2 episode is doing a two-for-one ticket special.
The Guerrillas of Destiny have lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi.
Nyla Rose is on Chris Jericho's latest podcast.
ROH released Final Battle 2016's Marty Scurll vs. Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay for the Television Championship.
Atlas Security has released official merchandise to support animal welfare agencies. Pretty cool.
John Cena is in an Experian ad.
Naomi spoke on Women's Wrestling Weekly. She revealed she was diagnosed with anemia.
ROH's 18th anniversary has added Session Moth Martina vs. Nicole Savoy. I expect both will be in the upcoming women's tournament.
Kevin Owens will have a speaking event in Scotland on March 20 with Inside The Ropes.
Riddick Moss spoke about becoming 24/7 Champion and more. I'm very glad to see fresh names in the mix.
Sammy Guevara has an ankle injury. Hopefully he can still wrestle at Revolution.
The Rock was recently at the WWE Performance Center with Simone Johnson. Very valuable time for the students there.
Before Smackdown, Apollo Crews defeated Gran Metalik. It looks like Crews could turn heel sooon.
After Smackdown, Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin.
At NXT's February 21 Florida live event:
- Jeet Rama wrestled for the first time since November 9, defeating Cal Bloom.
- Fabian Aichner worked his first live event since October 19, teaming with Marcel Barthel to defeat Mike Kanellis and Tony Nese. That's a little misleading since NXT UK doesn't do live events.
Finn Balor worked his first live event since January 12 at NXT's February 21 Wisconsin live event, defeating Kushida.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's possible they didn't want to upset the venue.
2. As said, they want to expose their talents to other audiences who otherwise wouldn't consider watching WWE.
3. Unless explicitly invited, it's a courtesy to not enter the ring.
4. The first name who comes to mind is Vince McMahon. Dusty Rhodes is a great answer, too.
5. I don't do best of lists.
6. The first I can remember is "Boogie Woogie Man" Rob McBride, who's local to the area. We didn't have a long conversation or anything, as I wasn't really familiar with him.
More wrestling coming up.
Takeover: Portland drew 7,800 fans. That's quite good for a show not linked to another important show.
British Bulldog will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his son, who is still under contract to MLW through the end of 2020.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has set a 20th anniversary show for August 24.
Joshi promotion GAEA is doing a one night reunion show on April 15, the 25th anniversary of their first show.
Stardom's YouTube event is intentionally being aired at a time convenient for U.S. audiences. It will have Japanese commentary.
Kenta Kobashi recently had knee surgery.
AEW is looking to run Canada in 2020.
WWE losing its German PPV home was blamed on WWE not making the shows available anymore.
Jeff Cobb has been offered an AEW contract that would allow him to continue to work NJPW. ROH should take note.
AEW will have a Revolution preview show after the next Dynamite.
Dynamite featured a lot of TNT executives, as the show was near the channel's headquarters.
Dean Malenko worked at Dynamite was a producer.
WWE has spoken to ESPN regarding WWE content on ESPN+.
WWE is working on a Japanese performance center. That would be major.
Vickie Guerrero can no longer have WWE guests on her podcast after appearing on Chris Jericho's cruise. The battle is real!
Raw's March 2 episode is doing a two-for-one ticket special.
The Guerrillas of Destiny have lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi.
Nyla Rose is on Chris Jericho's latest podcast.
ROH released Final Battle 2016's Marty Scurll vs. Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay for the Television Championship.
Atlas Security has released official merchandise to support animal welfare agencies. Pretty cool.
John Cena is in an Experian ad.
Naomi spoke on Women's Wrestling Weekly. She revealed she was diagnosed with anemia.
ROH's 18th anniversary has added Session Moth Martina vs. Nicole Savoy. I expect both will be in the upcoming women's tournament.
Kevin Owens will have a speaking event in Scotland on March 20 with Inside The Ropes.
Riddick Moss spoke about becoming 24/7 Champion and more. I'm very glad to see fresh names in the mix.
Sammy Guevara has an ankle injury. Hopefully he can still wrestle at Revolution.
The Rock was recently at the WWE Performance Center with Simone Johnson. Very valuable time for the students there.
Before Smackdown, Apollo Crews defeated Gran Metalik. It looks like Crews could turn heel sooon.
After Smackdown, Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin.
At NXT's February 21 Florida live event:
- Jeet Rama wrestled for the first time since November 9, defeating Cal Bloom.
- Fabian Aichner worked his first live event since October 19, teaming with Marcel Barthel to defeat Mike Kanellis and Tony Nese. That's a little misleading since NXT UK doesn't do live events.
Finn Balor worked his first live event since January 12 at NXT's February 21 Wisconsin live event, defeating Kushida.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's possible they didn't want to upset the venue.
2. As said, they want to expose their talents to other audiences who otherwise wouldn't consider watching WWE.
3. Unless explicitly invited, it's a courtesy to not enter the ring.
4. The first name who comes to mind is Vince McMahon. Dusty Rhodes is a great answer, too.
5. I don't do best of lists.
6. The first I can remember is "Boogie Woogie Man" Rob McBride, who's local to the area. We didn't have a long conversation or anything, as I wasn't really familiar with him.
More wrestling coming up.
Main Event and 205 Live Reax - 2/21/20
Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Main Event and 205 Live.
Friday Night Smackdown Reax - 2/21/20
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Friday Night Smackdown.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Stardom airing free show, new ROH matches, Interviews with Nash+Hall/Moxley, assorted wrestling press, AEW action figure update, NJPW looking at UK return, NJPW TV update, AAA name debuting in MLW, CZW showing early matches of current names, Backstage audience, NXT UK injury, Dynamite+NXT audiences, WWE names making action movie?, Joe to miss time, NXT names set for WWN WrestleMania shows, Dynamite match, and Questions on Seth vs. HHH, Punk at Mania week, AJ Lee returning, and Sytch's future
Stardom's March 8 event will air free on YouTube with Japanese commentary. That's pretty big. I'm curious how it will do.
Past vs. Present has added John Walters vs. Mark Haskins. Very cool to see some names we haven't seen in a while.
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were on "After The Bell" this week:
- I definitely think putting Hall in as Razor Ramon was odd given his accomplishments outside of that character.
- I would love to see Bischoff and Sullivan in the Hall of Fame!
- Very interesting talk about the differences between the nWo days and 2020.
- BASED Nash burying other wrestling companies. I would think three important names "jumping" to AEW would have something of an effect on both sides, though.
- I also loved Nash saying he'd beat Taker at WM12. The man's always putting himself over.
- Very interesting talk about the differences between WCW and WWF, and dropped nWo plans.
- Fascinating talk about production, too.
Jon Moxley is on AEW's debut Unrestricted podcast:
- You wouldn't think Moxley would be a fan of Bret Hart given each man's signature style.
- Moxley having a football player gimmick is a very funny image.
- It was wise to reinvent himself from who he was in WWE.
- I popped for him wanting Renee to join AEW.
Shayna Baszler biting Becky Lynch was featured on "The Soup." Glad it's getting discussed.
AEW's action figures are likely launching this summer.
NJPW is looking to hold another major England event in 2020.
NJPW has decided not to sue AXS for breach of contract. They are looking for another U.S. TV home, which would be a great boost for them.
AAA's Pagano will debut for MLW on April 18. Pagano worked Impact's January TV tapings in Mexico.
CZW is launching PPVs featuring past matches from the Young Bucks, Joey Janela, Kevin Owens, and Drew Gulak. That's not a bad idea!
"Straight up Steve Austin" will return for a second season.
WWE Backstage will broadcast from Tampa during WrestleMania week.
WWE has trademarked "Ruthless Aggression."
WrestleMania X celebrity Sy Sperling passed away at 78.
Tito Santana will be commissioner for Retro Championship Wrestling.
WWE Backstage drew 127,000 viewers this week, down from last week's impressive number.
Tyler Bate will miss Sunday's Over The Top Wrestling event due to injury. It's unknown exactly what the injury is at this time.
WrestleCon has added some professional photo opportunities.
Dynamite drew 893,000 viewers this week, a boost from last week.
NXT drew 794,000 viewers this week, also up a bit from last week.
Braun Strowman, EC3, and Drake Maverick teased an action movie. That could be pretty interesting.
Trish Stratus will be on "Break It Down" on March 1.
ROH's 18th anniversary event has added a "Dealer's Choice" match with Shane Taylor, Dan Maff, Kenny King, and Bateman. Whichever man wins gets a title shot at a championship of his choosing. I like that!
Samoa Joe was concussed filming a commercial, so he will be out again. Unfortunate timing for him.
WWN's WrestleMania weekend events have added NXT's Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Austin Theory, Timothy Thatcher, and Santana Garrett.
Dynamite has added Sammy Guevara, Ortiz, and Santana vs. The Jurassic Express.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1.
2. No. At least nothing suggests that at this time.
3. It would depend on the terms of his deal with FOX. I wouldn't be completely shocked to see it.
4. Minimal. All signs are that she's retired.
5. If someone's willing to book her and fans are willing to support that, sure.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Past vs. Present has added John Walters vs. Mark Haskins. Very cool to see some names we haven't seen in a while.
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were on "After The Bell" this week:
- I definitely think putting Hall in as Razor Ramon was odd given his accomplishments outside of that character.
- I would love to see Bischoff and Sullivan in the Hall of Fame!
- Very interesting talk about the differences between the nWo days and 2020.
- BASED Nash burying other wrestling companies. I would think three important names "jumping" to AEW would have something of an effect on both sides, though.
- I also loved Nash saying he'd beat Taker at WM12. The man's always putting himself over.
- Very interesting talk about the differences between WCW and WWF, and dropped nWo plans.
- Fascinating talk about production, too.
Jon Moxley is on AEW's debut Unrestricted podcast:
- You wouldn't think Moxley would be a fan of Bret Hart given each man's signature style.
- Moxley having a football player gimmick is a very funny image.
- It was wise to reinvent himself from who he was in WWE.
- I popped for him wanting Renee to join AEW.
Shayna Baszler biting Becky Lynch was featured on "The Soup." Glad it's getting discussed.
AEW's action figures are likely launching this summer.
NJPW is looking to hold another major England event in 2020.
NJPW has decided not to sue AXS for breach of contract. They are looking for another U.S. TV home, which would be a great boost for them.
AAA's Pagano will debut for MLW on April 18. Pagano worked Impact's January TV tapings in Mexico.
CZW is launching PPVs featuring past matches from the Young Bucks, Joey Janela, Kevin Owens, and Drew Gulak. That's not a bad idea!
"Straight up Steve Austin" will return for a second season.
WWE Backstage will broadcast from Tampa during WrestleMania week.
WWE has trademarked "Ruthless Aggression."
WrestleMania X celebrity Sy Sperling passed away at 78.
Tito Santana will be commissioner for Retro Championship Wrestling.
WWE Backstage drew 127,000 viewers this week, down from last week's impressive number.
Tyler Bate will miss Sunday's Over The Top Wrestling event due to injury. It's unknown exactly what the injury is at this time.
WrestleCon has added some professional photo opportunities.
Dynamite drew 893,000 viewers this week, a boost from last week.
NXT drew 794,000 viewers this week, also up a bit from last week.
Braun Strowman, EC3, and Drake Maverick teased an action movie. That could be pretty interesting.
Trish Stratus will be on "Break It Down" on March 1.
ROH's 18th anniversary event has added a "Dealer's Choice" match with Shane Taylor, Dan Maff, Kenny King, and Bateman. Whichever man wins gets a title shot at a championship of his choosing. I like that!
Samoa Joe was concussed filming a commercial, so he will be out again. Unfortunate timing for him.
WWN's WrestleMania weekend events have added NXT's Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Austin Theory, Timothy Thatcher, and Santana Garrett.
Dynamite has added Sammy Guevara, Ortiz, and Santana vs. The Jurassic Express.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1.
2. No. At least nothing suggests that at this time.
3. It would depend on the terms of his deal with FOX. I wouldn't be completely shocked to see it.
4. Minimal. All signs are that she's retired.
5. If someone's willing to book her and fans are willing to support that, sure.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
NJPW retirement notes, Interviews with BFS/Lio/Kross+Scarlett/Mansoor, Dream's non-PG tweet, Omega AAA match set, MLW talents challenging for AAA title, Germany swaps WWE PPVs for AEW, new ROH matches, FCW documentary coming, WM36 Bump plans, WWE books names from the past, wrestling name making first appearance in 27 years, Ascension set to reunite, Shayna responds to upset parent, WWE event ticket deal, CWFH auditions, Takeover causes event to move, Raw audience, assorted wrestling press, NXT staff at EVOLVE tryout, Dynamite guests, NXT dark matches, upcoming matches, AEW action figures, and Questions on the XFL's success, Zelina wrestling, seliing WWE, and Amell in AEW
At NJPW's Tiger Hattori retirement show:
- Hattori assisted Toru Yano with a backslide pin, and hit low blows on Jado and Gedo. GOD looked for revenge, but Hiroshi Tanahashi saved him.
- Hattori was thanked by the NJPW roster and referees with flowers. He also scored a pinfall on Kazuchika Okada twice, with the second time coming after the roster threw him in the air in celebration.
- Guests included The Great Kabuki, Hirsohi Hase, Keiji Mutoh, and Riki Choshu. Antonio Inoki and Genichiro Tenryu sent in video messages.
- Kyle O'Reilly paid tribute to the retiring referee on Instagram.
Bowling For Soup discussed their Alexa Bliss song and more. It would be a cool WWE entrance.
Velveteen Dream posted a non-PG tweet about Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir. Hey Matt Riddle can't have all the Twitter fun.
Kenny Omega's AAA Mega Championship opponent will be Laredo Kid.
MLW's Injustice will challenge for AAA's Trios Championship on March 13.
WWE PPVs are being dropped from Sky Germany in April when their current deal expires. Sky will air future AEW PPVs. That's pretty embarrassing for WWE! It was probably inevitable when the main Sky stations split from WWE, though.
Past vs. Present has added Sumie Sakai vs. Nicole Savoy.
WWE Network will air an FCW documentary after Elimination Chamber. I'm very interested to see that one.
"The Bump" will have live episodes at AXXESS on April 1 through April 4 as well as an episode April 5.
WWE has booked Brodus Clay and Cameron for WrestleMania weekend, which could mean AXXESS signings or something greater. That's a REALLY bad look with Clay being in a lawsuit right now.
The Haiti Kid is booked for 80s Wrestling Con 3, Kid's first appearance since 1993.
The Ascension's first post-WWE match is set for tonight against Bull James and Bill Carr in New York.
Lio Rush spoke before NXT.
Shayna Baszler responded to a father upset at the language she used on Raw. NICE!!!!!
Elimination Chamber is doing a "buy three tickets, get one free" special.
Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is seeking talent auditions after getting a new Creative team.
PROGRESS has moved Chapter 105 so as to avoid running against Takeover:Dublin. The show will now be on April 20.
Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux spoke to Ethan Page on Highspots Wrestling Network.
Raw drew 2.44 million viewers this week.
Roman Reigns granted a "Make-A-Wish" on The Bump this week.
WWE sending championships to sports teams was profiled.
ROH's 18th anniversary event has added The Briscoes vs. Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry.
EVOLVE has set up a recruitment camp from March 27 through March 29 in Florida. William Regal, NXT coaches Robby Brookside, Christopher Guy (Ace Steel), and Sean Hayes, NXT producers Ryan Katz and James Long, and NXT referee Daryl Sharma will all be on hand.
Austin Aries, Raven, and Diamond Dallas Page were all visiting at Dynamite. Raven was visible in the crowd, and AEW teased him as Dark Order's Exalted One. I wouldn't think they'd spoil that in such a matter.
Mansoor promoted Super Showdown, announcing he'll compete on the show.
Before NXT:
- Candice LeRae and Kacy Catanzaro defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Taynara
- Damien Priest defeated Cameron Grimes
Revolution has added:
- Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. the Young Bucks for the tag team championship
- Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
NXT's March 4 episode has added a steel cage match between Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox.
AEW has announced its first action figures through Wicked Cool Toys. Very impressive! Things continue to move very quickly for them.
Dynamite has announced:
- The Butcher and The Blade vs. Best Friends
- Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley having a weigh-in before Revolution
Smackdown has announced:
- The Bella Twins on "A Moment of Bliss"
- Kofi Kingston, Big E, and the Usos vs. The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode
Cody cut a live promo after Dynamite.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's too early to say how successful the new XFL is. Certainly week one was good. Honestly until we know if it's coming back for a second season there's not much to say. At any rate, Vince definitely isn't as directly involved as he has been in WWE. They're very different businesses, though. As far as I know Vince isn't changing the finishes at halftime.
2. I could see WWE seeing a Vega match taking time away from what could be an Andrade match, and Andrade's going to be considered as more important as a wrestler.
3. Basically as long as Vince could keep doing things his way he'd be willing to sell the company, but otherwise things will continue the way they are for now as long as Vince can continue doing his role.
4. It's too early to know where WWE content will go, how much of it will go there, and how much it will cost. Everyone will have to make the choice once the specifics are known.
5. Honestly I'm surprised it hasn't happened already! I thought he'd at least be a Dark commentator or something by now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Hattori assisted Toru Yano with a backslide pin, and hit low blows on Jado and Gedo. GOD looked for revenge, but Hiroshi Tanahashi saved him.
- Hattori was thanked by the NJPW roster and referees with flowers. He also scored a pinfall on Kazuchika Okada twice, with the second time coming after the roster threw him in the air in celebration.
- Guests included The Great Kabuki, Hirsohi Hase, Keiji Mutoh, and Riki Choshu. Antonio Inoki and Genichiro Tenryu sent in video messages.
- Kyle O'Reilly paid tribute to the retiring referee on Instagram.
Bowling For Soup discussed their Alexa Bliss song and more. It would be a cool WWE entrance.
Velveteen Dream posted a non-PG tweet about Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir. Hey Matt Riddle can't have all the Twitter fun.
Kenny Omega's AAA Mega Championship opponent will be Laredo Kid.
MLW's Injustice will challenge for AAA's Trios Championship on March 13.
WWE PPVs are being dropped from Sky Germany in April when their current deal expires. Sky will air future AEW PPVs. That's pretty embarrassing for WWE! It was probably inevitable when the main Sky stations split from WWE, though.
Past vs. Present has added Sumie Sakai vs. Nicole Savoy.
WWE Network will air an FCW documentary after Elimination Chamber. I'm very interested to see that one.
"The Bump" will have live episodes at AXXESS on April 1 through April 4 as well as an episode April 5.
WWE has booked Brodus Clay and Cameron for WrestleMania weekend, which could mean AXXESS signings or something greater. That's a REALLY bad look with Clay being in a lawsuit right now.
The Haiti Kid is booked for 80s Wrestling Con 3, Kid's first appearance since 1993.
The Ascension's first post-WWE match is set for tonight against Bull James and Bill Carr in New York.
Lio Rush spoke before NXT.
Shayna Baszler responded to a father upset at the language she used on Raw. NICE!!!!!
Elimination Chamber is doing a "buy three tickets, get one free" special.
Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is seeking talent auditions after getting a new Creative team.
PROGRESS has moved Chapter 105 so as to avoid running against Takeover:Dublin. The show will now be on April 20.
Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux spoke to Ethan Page on Highspots Wrestling Network.
Raw drew 2.44 million viewers this week.
Roman Reigns granted a "Make-A-Wish" on The Bump this week.
WWE sending championships to sports teams was profiled.
ROH's 18th anniversary event has added The Briscoes vs. Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry.
EVOLVE has set up a recruitment camp from March 27 through March 29 in Florida. William Regal, NXT coaches Robby Brookside, Christopher Guy (Ace Steel), and Sean Hayes, NXT producers Ryan Katz and James Long, and NXT referee Daryl Sharma will all be on hand.
Austin Aries, Raven, and Diamond Dallas Page were all visiting at Dynamite. Raven was visible in the crowd, and AEW teased him as Dark Order's Exalted One. I wouldn't think they'd spoil that in such a matter.
Mansoor promoted Super Showdown, announcing he'll compete on the show.
Before NXT:
- Candice LeRae and Kacy Catanzaro defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Taynara
- Damien Priest defeated Cameron Grimes
Revolution has added:
- Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. the Young Bucks for the tag team championship
- Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
NXT's March 4 episode has added a steel cage match between Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox.
AEW has announced its first action figures through Wicked Cool Toys. Very impressive! Things continue to move very quickly for them.
Dynamite has announced:
- The Butcher and The Blade vs. Best Friends
- Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley having a weigh-in before Revolution
Smackdown has announced:
- The Bella Twins on "A Moment of Bliss"
- Kofi Kingston, Big E, and the Usos vs. The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode
Cody cut a live promo after Dynamite.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's too early to say how successful the new XFL is. Certainly week one was good. Honestly until we know if it's coming back for a second season there's not much to say. At any rate, Vince definitely isn't as directly involved as he has been in WWE. They're very different businesses, though. As far as I know Vince isn't changing the finishes at halftime.
2. I could see WWE seeing a Vega match taking time away from what could be an Andrade match, and Andrade's going to be considered as more important as a wrestler.
3. Basically as long as Vince could keep doing things his way he'd be willing to sell the company, but otherwise things will continue the way they are for now as long as Vince can continue doing his role.
4. It's too early to know where WWE content will go, how much of it will go there, and how much it will cost. Everyone will have to make the choice once the specifics are known.
5. Honestly I'm surprised it hasn't happened already! I thought he'd at least be a Dark commentator or something by now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Saudi title match, Kagetsu retirement show note, Japanese wrestling scene reacts to coronavirus, ROH injury update, assorted wrestling press, WWE HoFer announced, Big Show update, WWEPC guest coach, Finn booked for NXT UK, Rhea responds to Charlotte, Cody conference call, Interview with Breeze, new ROH match, WWE ice cream returns, NXT-EVOLVE updates, Crockett Cup set, more Brock dates, and Questions on how ROH should use Cobb, picture in picture, and EC3's status
Super Showdown has added Seth Rollins and Murphy vs. The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team Championship.
Kagetsu will produce her own retirement show on February 24. Her final match will be that night against Meiko Satomura. Natsu Sumire, Natsuko Tora, Jamie Hayter, Leyla Hirsch, AZM, and Saya Iida are all working the show from Stardom.
Stardom has canceled events from February 20 through March 14 due to concerns about the coronavirus. The March 8 event will take place with no fans attending. That's a major step to deal with the crisis.
Maria Manic's concussion is legitimate. There's no word on a return date; we'll see what this means for the Bully Ray angle.
NJPW is canceling meet and greet/autograph signings for upcoming shows due to coronavirus concerns. They will refund tickets to fans who choose to skip events due to health reasons.
WrestleCon has added Stu Bennett, formerly Wade Barrett.
Rob Van Dam is on Stone Cold's latest podcast. They had some cool interactions in WWF.
"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend. Very glad to see that!
Big Show is advertised for Raw and is expected at Super Showdown. I'm not sure how he fits in on that show.
Shinsuke Nakamura recently noted his music was changed to prevent fans from singing along, since he's a heel now. Makes sense.
The WWE Performance Center recently had Kikutaro (!!!) as a guest coach. That's some real variety!
Finn Balor is booked for NXT UK's March 6 and March 7 tapings. Good use for him to boost that brand.
Rhea Ripley cut a Twitter promo on Charlotte Flair: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3 Tweet 4. It's surprising she was used as a negative example given how well she has it together now.
Cody Rhodes did a media call before Dynamite, recapped here:
- I'm glad they're not using the dated show names Cody owns.
- I'm all for Cobb getting more exposure.
- It's wise to do AEW content on other days in that Nevada week.
- I very much like the idea of starting a developmental branch.
- AEW eventually getting the rights to All In makes sense.
- Frankly Venis' comments aren't worth discussing. He's irrelevant to the wrestling scene.
Tommaso Ciampa has announced taking a break from social media.
John Cena has a "signature series" spinner championship available. It doesn't get more ruthless than a spinning bling title!!
Tyler Breeze spoke to Chris Van Vliet about moving to NXT and more.
Heavy Machinery are getting their first action figures soon.
Past vs. Present has added Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes vs. Bandido and Flamita. So, Flamita is expected back quite soon.
WWE ice cream cars have begun to be sold in Stop N Shop stores in the Northeast.
NXT signee Jake Atlas has been added to EVOLVE 145 though EVOLVE 148.
EVOLVE 145 has added Brandan Vink vs. JD Drake. Drake recently worked NXT live events.
EVOLVE 147 and EVOLVE 148 have added meet and greets with Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, and Mia Yim.
NWA Crockett Cup will be held April 19 at the Gateway Arena, a significantly larger venue than they use to tape TV. This will be a real test for the company.
Brock Lesnar has been added to Raw on February 24 and March 2, surrounding his Super Showdown match.
ABC's "Blackish" referenced NJPW's Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, which Okada appreciated.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Cody and Moxley have definitely put themselves and AEW on the map, and differentiated themselves from WWE in the process.
2. God no. That would be an odd experience watching the next day on my computer haha.
3. I'd continue to showcase him, because if anything it shows how valuable ROH is as a place for talent to develop to go to other promotions. No need to cut off your nose to spite your face, and ROH really isn't much of a place to not use an available talent who at this point is able to balance both parties. Realistically it's going to be tough to get him or any talent to sign exclusively with ROH. They need to make the most of the situation they're in.
4. Honestly I'm not sure who makes that call. I know there's a feeling that the action slows down during commercials in order to save the bigger things for TV, so that would likely cause a shift and how matches go live.
5. He has not wrestled since September. I could see how some would see an NXT return as a demotion, but at this point it would be a blessing. It could be they don't want to put him on TV and then have him jump to AEW when his deal's due, and they've got the money and contract stipulations to keep him and others benched.
More wrestling coming up.
Kagetsu will produce her own retirement show on February 24. Her final match will be that night against Meiko Satomura. Natsu Sumire, Natsuko Tora, Jamie Hayter, Leyla Hirsch, AZM, and Saya Iida are all working the show from Stardom.
Stardom has canceled events from February 20 through March 14 due to concerns about the coronavirus. The March 8 event will take place with no fans attending. That's a major step to deal with the crisis.
Maria Manic's concussion is legitimate. There's no word on a return date; we'll see what this means for the Bully Ray angle.
NJPW is canceling meet and greet/autograph signings for upcoming shows due to coronavirus concerns. They will refund tickets to fans who choose to skip events due to health reasons.
WrestleCon has added Stu Bennett, formerly Wade Barrett.
Rob Van Dam is on Stone Cold's latest podcast. They had some cool interactions in WWF.
"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend. Very glad to see that!
Big Show is advertised for Raw and is expected at Super Showdown. I'm not sure how he fits in on that show.
Shinsuke Nakamura recently noted his music was changed to prevent fans from singing along, since he's a heel now. Makes sense.
The WWE Performance Center recently had Kikutaro (!!!) as a guest coach. That's some real variety!
Finn Balor is booked for NXT UK's March 6 and March 7 tapings. Good use for him to boost that brand.
Rhea Ripley cut a Twitter promo on Charlotte Flair: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3 Tweet 4. It's surprising she was used as a negative example given how well she has it together now.
Cody Rhodes did a media call before Dynamite, recapped here:
- I'm glad they're not using the dated show names Cody owns.
- I'm all for Cobb getting more exposure.
- It's wise to do AEW content on other days in that Nevada week.
- I very much like the idea of starting a developmental branch.
- AEW eventually getting the rights to All In makes sense.
- Frankly Venis' comments aren't worth discussing. He's irrelevant to the wrestling scene.
Tommaso Ciampa has announced taking a break from social media.
John Cena has a "signature series" spinner championship available. It doesn't get more ruthless than a spinning bling title!!
Tyler Breeze spoke to Chris Van Vliet about moving to NXT and more.
Heavy Machinery are getting their first action figures soon.
Past vs. Present has added Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes vs. Bandido and Flamita. So, Flamita is expected back quite soon.
WWE ice cream cars have begun to be sold in Stop N Shop stores in the Northeast.
NXT signee Jake Atlas has been added to EVOLVE 145 though EVOLVE 148.
EVOLVE 145 has added Brandan Vink vs. JD Drake. Drake recently worked NXT live events.
EVOLVE 147 and EVOLVE 148 have added meet and greets with Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, and Mia Yim.
NWA Crockett Cup will be held April 19 at the Gateway Arena, a significantly larger venue than they use to tape TV. This will be a real test for the company.
Brock Lesnar has been added to Raw on February 24 and March 2, surrounding his Super Showdown match.
ABC's "Blackish" referenced NJPW's Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, which Okada appreciated.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Cody and Moxley have definitely put themselves and AEW on the map, and differentiated themselves from WWE in the process.
2. God no. That would be an odd experience watching the next day on my computer haha.
3. I'd continue to showcase him, because if anything it shows how valuable ROH is as a place for talent to develop to go to other promotions. No need to cut off your nose to spite your face, and ROH really isn't much of a place to not use an available talent who at this point is able to balance both parties. Realistically it's going to be tough to get him or any talent to sign exclusively with ROH. They need to make the most of the situation they're in.
4. Honestly I'm not sure who makes that call. I know there's a feeling that the action slows down during commercials in order to save the bigger things for TV, so that would likely cause a shift and how matches go live.
5. He has not wrestled since September. I could see how some would see an NXT return as a demotion, but at this point it would be a blessing. It could be they don't want to put him on TV and then have him jump to AEW when his deal's due, and they've got the money and contract stipulations to keep him and others benched.
More wrestling coming up.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Autobiography coming, Impact social milestone, Impact star working NOAH, Natalya appearance, WWE name signs new deal, New Day podcast note, next Photo Shoot guest, ROH returnee working more?, Teddy Hart arrest update, MLW signing, Interviews with Brooke/Lambert, ROH tag title match set, Raw plan changed, ECW original book out, Dynamite set for top venue, new Chamber match, Tito-WWE update, and Questions on Cain costing Brock the title, WWE Network's Canadian future, Into The Fire's theme, HHH wrestling at Mania, and a Raw War Games match
Ken Shamrock's autobiography is due in August. That should be interesting.
Impact's YouTube channel has passed two billion views. That's wonderful!
Michael Elgin will compete at NOAH's March 8 event.
Natalya did a signing at Cricket Wireless before Raw.
Shelton Benjamin has signed a new multi-year WWE deal. He's on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Mega Ran is on New Day's latest podcast, which covers Kofi Kingston's WrestleMania 35 storyline. That feels like forever ago now.
- Ran and Xavier Woods released a track.
Ron Simmons will appear on WWE Photo Shoot Friday. DAMN.
Doug Williams could work with ROH beyond Past vs. Present. He'd be great for the Pure title hunt.
Teddy Hart and Maria Manic released a now-private video discussing Hart's recent arrest, saying it was due to having steroids in his vehicle. Hart is scheduled for court on April 23. Notably he can't be bonded out of the Virginia jail as a foreign national.
MLW has signed Zachary Cooper.
Dana Brooke spoke to Hers Magazine.
ROH's 18th anniversary PPV has added Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham vs. Marty Scurll and Flip Gordon.
Rhea Ripley was scheduled for Raw. It looks like they're saving her response for NXT, which works for me.
New Jack's autobiography has been released. The Blue Meanie wrote the foreword.
Dynamite's May 27 episode will come from the site of Double or Nothing. Wow. They're running the same large venue twice in a week.
Elimination Chamber has added a Raw Women's Championship contendership Elimination Chamber match featuring Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan. I fully expect Shayna to win that one.
Dan Lambert spoke to The Wrestling Estate. He was VERY entertaining in Impact.
Tito Ortiz worked out at the WWE Performance Center recently as part of an introduction to WWE that could lead to the two sides working together. It's worth pursuing as a way to get eyes on WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. No way. Absolutely no reason not to throw away Drew's big build for a "swerve" at Super Showdown. I'm not even sure what Cain's up to; I assumed him taking time off to have surgery so he'd be 100% but that doesn't seem to have happened.
2. I expect the Rogers deal to continue as long as it's beneficial for both sides.
3. The change has not been received well, so it's not a bad idea to change it back.
4. I could see a heel "invading" NXT and HHH needing to do something about it, setting up a Mania match. Not sure who would fit that role, though. Sheamus?
5. That would have fit in on Super Showdown, though that wouldn't be a pleasant experience with the temperatures there. There seems to be a gap on the calendar between WrestleMania and Extreme Rules where they could do something like that, but I don't see Vince wanting to do that match given how long he's resisted doing so at this point.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Impact's YouTube channel has passed two billion views. That's wonderful!
Michael Elgin will compete at NOAH's March 8 event.
Natalya did a signing at Cricket Wireless before Raw.
Shelton Benjamin has signed a new multi-year WWE deal. He's on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Mega Ran is on New Day's latest podcast, which covers Kofi Kingston's WrestleMania 35 storyline. That feels like forever ago now.
- Ran and Xavier Woods released a track.
Ron Simmons will appear on WWE Photo Shoot Friday. DAMN.
Doug Williams could work with ROH beyond Past vs. Present. He'd be great for the Pure title hunt.
Teddy Hart and Maria Manic released a now-private video discussing Hart's recent arrest, saying it was due to having steroids in his vehicle. Hart is scheduled for court on April 23. Notably he can't be bonded out of the Virginia jail as a foreign national.
MLW has signed Zachary Cooper.
Dana Brooke spoke to Hers Magazine.
ROH's 18th anniversary PPV has added Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham vs. Marty Scurll and Flip Gordon.
Rhea Ripley was scheduled for Raw. It looks like they're saving her response for NXT, which works for me.
New Jack's autobiography has been released. The Blue Meanie wrote the foreword.
Dynamite's May 27 episode will come from the site of Double or Nothing. Wow. They're running the same large venue twice in a week.
Elimination Chamber has added a Raw Women's Championship contendership Elimination Chamber match featuring Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan. I fully expect Shayna to win that one.
Dan Lambert spoke to The Wrestling Estate. He was VERY entertaining in Impact.
Tito Ortiz worked out at the WWE Performance Center recently as part of an introduction to WWE that could lead to the two sides working together. It's worth pursuing as a way to get eyes on WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. No way. Absolutely no reason not to throw away Drew's big build for a "swerve" at Super Showdown. I'm not even sure what Cain's up to; I assumed him taking time off to have surgery so he'd be 100% but that doesn't seem to have happened.
2. I expect the Rogers deal to continue as long as it's beneficial for both sides.
3. The change has not been received well, so it's not a bad idea to change it back.
4. I could see a heel "invading" NXT and HHH needing to do something about it, setting up a Mania match. Not sure who would fit that role, though. Sheamus?
5. That would have fit in on Super Showdown, though that wouldn't be a pleasant experience with the temperatures there. There seems to be a gap on the calendar between WrestleMania and Extreme Rules where they could do something like that, but I don't see Vince wanting to do that match given how long he's resisted doing so at this point.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Stardom retirement update, more ECW on the Network, Cena update, assorted wrestling press, top UFC name at WWEPC, AEW profiled, Interview with Sabu, big Saudi tryout coming, Impact Plus adds indie promotion, more MVP?, another Takeover set, Cathy sendoff, HHH conference call, and Questions on things I like in AEW, Mania on the Network, the Network's price changing, and AEW refereeing
Stardom's Leo Onozaki retired in a loss, teaming with Saya IIda in a loss to Jungle Kyona and Itsuki Hoshino. Itsuki replaced Ruaka, who has not on the show as advertised.
WWE Network has added more early ECW events.
John Cena is set for WrestleMania 36. His opponent has not been finalized. King Corbin would make a lot of sense.
WWE Shop has added Chalk Line jacket designs for Hulk Hogan, ECW, and the Hart Foundation.
Ruthless Aggression era merchandise has been added to WWE Shop.
The Singh Brothers made Canadian news.
Sasha Banks is set for "The Mandalorian'"s second season. Can't say I expected to see that.
Tito Ortiz has been training at the WWE Performance Center. At this point I would just take that as him being part of a touted facility rather than him coming to WWE, but it certainly increases the chances of him wrestling there. That could be very notable.
AEW was profiled in Financial Times. Very impressive!
Sabu had a long shoot interview.
Saudi Arabia will hold a big WWE tryout in June. I could see a Performance Center popping up there at some point.
Impact Plus has added Alpha-1 Wrestling, which is run by Ethan Page. Good to see that service expand.
- Impact and Alpha-1 will have a joint show on March 22. I'm glad the talents involved will have another date.
MVP is scheduled for Raw, but it's unknown if he'll be appearing on-screen.
NXT UK Takeover:Dublin is set for April 26. That's not part of the UK, but hopefully it draws a good crowd.
Cathy Kelley was given a sendoff during Triple H's post-Takeover interview, with the Undisputed Era joining in saying goodbye.
Triple H did a conference call after Takeover:Portland, recapped here:
- Wow. Didn't expect Vince to be behind the Charlotte-Rhea angle, although I can see why he wants to build NXT against that other Wednesday night wrestling show.
- Honestly after the blowoff to Gargano and Ciampa, presumably in Tampa, the two of them need to separated somehow. As in, on different brands from each other. Otherwise that feud's just going to keep going and pigeonhole both men.
- I'm very interested to see where Cathy ends up and who takes her place.
- I very much appreciate each brand having its own look and style. Otherwise things get very stale very quickly with that much content each week.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. For once I'm going to avoid the answer that the best part of AEW is providing prominent opportunities for a lot of wrestlers and just stick to the product itself:
a. Pretty much anything Cody does is good. He's made everything he's in meaningful.
b. I can't dispute Pac. He's been awesome.
c. The third name that comes to mind is Jon Moxley, though I haven't loved some of the "sports entertainment" segments with Inner Circle. Jericho has been hit and miss for me as a character, and very overexposed.
2. We NEED Paul Burchill on this show.
3. I would be very surprised if things move fast enough for WrestleMania to be off WWE Network, though that would be a bold move that shows how committed WWE is to the new venture.
4. It will be a tall order to convince fans less content for the same price is worth keeping. Honestly WWE did this to themselves by drastically undervaluing what they're giving fans on the service.
5. Refereeing has taken a backseat to cool moves in a lot of matches these days. They're leaning heavily into the notion that it's not a real match anyway, so just enjoy the spectacle.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE Network has added more early ECW events.
John Cena is set for WrestleMania 36. His opponent has not been finalized. King Corbin would make a lot of sense.
WWE Shop has added Chalk Line jacket designs for Hulk Hogan, ECW, and the Hart Foundation.
Ruthless Aggression era merchandise has been added to WWE Shop.
The Singh Brothers made Canadian news.
Sasha Banks is set for "The Mandalorian'"s second season. Can't say I expected to see that.
Tito Ortiz has been training at the WWE Performance Center. At this point I would just take that as him being part of a touted facility rather than him coming to WWE, but it certainly increases the chances of him wrestling there. That could be very notable.
AEW was profiled in Financial Times. Very impressive!
Sabu had a long shoot interview.
Saudi Arabia will hold a big WWE tryout in June. I could see a Performance Center popping up there at some point.
Impact Plus has added Alpha-1 Wrestling, which is run by Ethan Page. Good to see that service expand.
- Impact and Alpha-1 will have a joint show on March 22. I'm glad the talents involved will have another date.
MVP is scheduled for Raw, but it's unknown if he'll be appearing on-screen.
NXT UK Takeover:Dublin is set for April 26. That's not part of the UK, but hopefully it draws a good crowd.
Cathy Kelley was given a sendoff during Triple H's post-Takeover interview, with the Undisputed Era joining in saying goodbye.
Triple H did a conference call after Takeover:Portland, recapped here:
- Wow. Didn't expect Vince to be behind the Charlotte-Rhea angle, although I can see why he wants to build NXT against that other Wednesday night wrestling show.
- Honestly after the blowoff to Gargano and Ciampa, presumably in Tampa, the two of them need to separated somehow. As in, on different brands from each other. Otherwise that feud's just going to keep going and pigeonhole both men.
- I'm very interested to see where Cathy ends up and who takes her place.
- I very much appreciate each brand having its own look and style. Otherwise things get very stale very quickly with that much content each week.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. For once I'm going to avoid the answer that the best part of AEW is providing prominent opportunities for a lot of wrestlers and just stick to the product itself:
a. Pretty much anything Cody does is good. He's made everything he's in meaningful.
b. I can't dispute Pac. He's been awesome.
c. The third name that comes to mind is Jon Moxley, though I haven't loved some of the "sports entertainment" segments with Inner Circle. Jericho has been hit and miss for me as a character, and very overexposed.
2. We NEED Paul Burchill on this show.
3. I would be very surprised if things move fast enough for WrestleMania to be off WWE Network, though that would be a bold move that shows how committed WWE is to the new venture.
4. It will be a tall order to convince fans less content for the same price is worth keeping. Honestly WWE did this to themselves by drastically undervaluing what they're giving fans on the service.
5. Refereeing has taken a backseat to cool moves in a lot of matches these days. They're leaning heavily into the notion that it's not a real match anyway, so just enjoy the spectacle.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Raw additions, Kagetsu update, Interviews with PN/Belair/HHH/MVP, Smackdown audience, Guerrero boots auctioned, new Bray shirt, new Truth song, MLW battling WWE over talent contracts, Backstage guests, Mania weekend additions, Thatcher's last wXw match set, NXT live event notes, and Questions on WWE not promoting Punk, Punk returning to the ring, and Punk in the HoF
Raw has added:
- Bobby Lashley and Angel Garza vs. Rusev and Humberto Carrillo
- Seth Rollins giving a sermon.
Kagetsu worked her final Stardom event on February 15, doing one minute matches with many roster members. After her final match, she presented Natsuko Tora with her signature sai. I'm glad she got a sendoff.
PN News discussed leaving WCW and more on "In The Room." Here are highlights.
Bianca Belair promoted Takeover:Portland. She sold the show well here and she's got a bright future.
Triple H spoke to Yahoo! Sports before Takeover.
Smackdown drew 2.48 million viewers this week, slightly down on Valentine's Day.
Eddie Guerrero's No Way Out 2004 wrestling boots are being auctioned off for charity. I expect those will raise a good sum.
Bray Wyatt has a "FFH" shirt playing off nWo. Now that's clever.
R-Truth released a new music video.
MLW has engaged with WWE attorneys over alleged contract tampering with multiple talents. That's bold of them; we'll see how WWE responds.
MVP spoke to Booker T. about his new role in WWE.
Mark Henry and Keith Lee will be on WWE Backstage this week.
Joey Ryan's Penis Party has added Ken Shamrock, Tom Lawlor, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Joey Ryan, Colt Cabana, and Grado. That should be memorable!
Bloodsport III has added Allysin Kay.
Nick Aldis has been announced as defending the NWA World Championship at WrestleCon against an opponent of his own choosing.
WrestleCon Worldwide has added Michael Elgin vs. Taurus.
Timothy Thatcher's wXw farewell will be at 16 Carat Gold on March 8, as he teams with Yuki Ishikawa to face Walter and Daisuke Ikeda.
At NXT's February 15 Florida live event:
- Jordan Omogbehin worked his first live event since October 31, teaming with Bronson Reed to defeat Aleksandar Jaksic and Tehuti Miles. This was Miles' first live event since November 15.
- Jorge Bolly (El Hijo del Fantasma/King Cuerno) debuted with Raul Mendoza to defeat NXT UK's Pretty Deadly.
- Cezar Bononi worked his first live event since November 15, defeating Jake Atlas
- Taynara returned for her first live event since January 12. She teamed with Jessi Kamea and MJ Jenkins in a loss to Mia Yim, Rita Reis, and NXT UK's Aoife Valkyrie.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Ultimately he's a FOX employee rather than a WWE employee, and they don't want to draw too much attention to someone who's not likely to appear on Raw, Smackdown, etc. anytime soon.
2. I haven't seen anything to suggest that. He's been open that it will take a very big price tag to get him back in the ring.
3. He's not angling for it. There would have to be a really tantalizing offer for him to do it. Honestly I think there's a decent chance that, if he does return, it will be at an indie show just for kicks.
4. Not quite since Savage wrestled elsewhere and didn't appear with WWF names on a studio show.
5. Yes. At some point I think both sides will move on and reconcile to that extent. I don't see them holding grudges for 20+ years.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Bobby Lashley and Angel Garza vs. Rusev and Humberto Carrillo
- Seth Rollins giving a sermon.
Kagetsu worked her final Stardom event on February 15, doing one minute matches with many roster members. After her final match, she presented Natsuko Tora with her signature sai. I'm glad she got a sendoff.
PN News discussed leaving WCW and more on "In The Room." Here are highlights.
Bianca Belair promoted Takeover:Portland. She sold the show well here and she's got a bright future.
Triple H spoke to Yahoo! Sports before Takeover.
Smackdown drew 2.48 million viewers this week, slightly down on Valentine's Day.
Eddie Guerrero's No Way Out 2004 wrestling boots are being auctioned off for charity. I expect those will raise a good sum.
Bray Wyatt has a "FFH" shirt playing off nWo. Now that's clever.
R-Truth released a new music video.
MLW has engaged with WWE attorneys over alleged contract tampering with multiple talents. That's bold of them; we'll see how WWE responds.
MVP spoke to Booker T. about his new role in WWE.
Mark Henry and Keith Lee will be on WWE Backstage this week.
Joey Ryan's Penis Party has added Ken Shamrock, Tom Lawlor, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Joey Ryan, Colt Cabana, and Grado. That should be memorable!
Bloodsport III has added Allysin Kay.
Nick Aldis has been announced as defending the NWA World Championship at WrestleCon against an opponent of his own choosing.
WrestleCon Worldwide has added Michael Elgin vs. Taurus.
Timothy Thatcher's wXw farewell will be at 16 Carat Gold on March 8, as he teams with Yuki Ishikawa to face Walter and Daisuke Ikeda.
At NXT's February 15 Florida live event:
- Jordan Omogbehin worked his first live event since October 31, teaming with Bronson Reed to defeat Aleksandar Jaksic and Tehuti Miles. This was Miles' first live event since November 15.
- Jorge Bolly (El Hijo del Fantasma/King Cuerno) debuted with Raul Mendoza to defeat NXT UK's Pretty Deadly.
- Cezar Bononi worked his first live event since November 15, defeating Jake Atlas
- Taynara returned for her first live event since January 12. She teamed with Jessi Kamea and MJ Jenkins in a loss to Mia Yim, Rita Reis, and NXT UK's Aoife Valkyrie.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Ultimately he's a FOX employee rather than a WWE employee, and they don't want to draw too much attention to someone who's not likely to appear on Raw, Smackdown, etc. anytime soon.
2. I haven't seen anything to suggest that. He's been open that it will take a very big price tag to get him back in the ring.
3. He's not angling for it. There would have to be a really tantalizing offer for him to do it. Honestly I think there's a decent chance that, if he does return, it will be at an indie show just for kicks.
4. Not quite since Savage wrestled elsewhere and didn't appear with WWF names on a studio show.
5. Yes. At some point I think both sides will move on and reconcile to that extent. I don't see them holding grudges for 20+ years.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
ROH and EVOLVE add matches, assorted wrestling press, Chamber match advertised, Matt Hardy teases facing current titleholder, MLW signing, MLW-AAA update, WWE personality leaving, ROH injury reshuffles cards, Manic-ROH note, ROH debut update, first ROH women's tournament competitor, Raw match and appearance set, DiBiase nonprofit under fire, Cody promotes Dynamite, legend WM36 match in the works, Super Showdown adds women's title match, Smackdown dark matches, NXT live event notes, and Questions on Davey Boy's WWE appearance, ROH skipping Hammerstein, the Nightmare Collective ending, and the Midnight Express reuniting
Past vs. Present has added:
- Homicide vs. Brody King
- Grizzly Redwood and Delirious vs. Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry
-- This show has a variety of interesting and unique matches. I like it.
EVOLVE 145 has added:
- Mansoor vs. Curt Stallion
- Denzel Dejournette vs. Harlem Bravado
- Jessi Kamea vs. Alex $ky
- Brendan Vink will also be in action
EVOLVE 146 has added:
- Mansoor vs. Anthony Greene
- Brendan Vink vs. Leon Ruff
- Jessia Kamea vs. Avery Taylor
Mustafa Ali is taking bookings as a keynote speaker. I mean, his schedule is pretty open these days!
Elimination Chamber is locally advertising Big E and Kingston vs. The Miz and John Morrison for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. That would make sense to follow up their Super Showdown match.
Jerry "The King" Lawler's grandson was profiled for his amateur wrestling skills. We'll see if those parlay to a professional career.
Tommaso Ciampa helped Give Kids The World village in Florida.
Matt Hardy and PCO teased a future match: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3. That could be quite entertaining if they don't overdo the Broken stuff.
MLW has signed Kevin Ku. He's set to debut in April.
MLW will soon start using LA Park, Jr.. They make use of other family members already, so this was a natural next step.
MLW is disputing reports of signing AAA wrestlers, however they will continue to use them on per-date agreements.
Cathy Kelley has announced leaving WWE after Takeover:Portland. It sounds like she's looking to pursue other endeavors. She's been valuable in a number of roles there, so I hope she achieves what she's hoping to do elsewhere.
- Cathy asked for and received her release in the past few weeks. This isn't a case of a release or an abrupt departure.
- Kelley will interview Triple H following Takeover:Portland in her final WWE appearance.
WWE has made an "Irish World Order" shirt for St. Patrick's Day, as well as a green variant of the classic nWo shirt. Just because you can make something, that doesn't mean you should.
Flamita has suffered a torn meniscus. He will not compete at either ROH event later this month.
- On ROH's February 28 event, he and Bandido will be replaced by PJ Black and Brian Johnson in the advertised tag match. Bandido has been added to Marty Scurll vs. Slex in a triple threat match.
- On ROH's February 29 event, Bandido and Rey Horus will now face Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham. If Lethal and Gresham are still champions, this will be a Proving Ground match.
Maria Manic will be out "indefinitely" after being powerbombed by Bully Ray. I assume that's an angle to build to them facing off at Supercard.
ROH signee Adam Brooks will debut at their 18th anniversary show.
Sumie Sakai has been announced for ROH's women's championship tournament. That makes sense.
Raw has added Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy in a No Holds Barred match. Hardy's contract goes through the end of the month.
- Big Show is also set to be back Monday. They could easily put him in a battle royal or something at Super Showdown.
Houston's wrestling history is being showcased in a new exhibit.
Ted DiBiase, Sr.'s nonprofit is under scrutiny for receiving more than $2 million in state welfare funds. Brett DiBiase was deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which was in charge of the distribution of such funds. That's very, very disappointing to hear.
Cody promoted Dynamite coming to Georgia. Good piece on him and AEW.
Takeover:Portland's pre-show panel will have Mansoor, Charly Caruso, and Sam Roberts.
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles is being planned for WrestleMania. That's an interesting direction. I'm curious how it will go at Taker's age.
Super Showdown will feature the Smackdown Women's Championship on the line as Bayley defends against the winner of next week's Naomi vs. Carmella match. That's another accomplishment WWE can point to in the region.
Before Smackdown, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado beat Drew Gulak and Drake Maverick.
After Smackdown, The Fiend defeated King Corbin to retain the Universal Championship. Interesting choice of opponent.
At NXT's February 14 Florida live event:
- Killian Dain worked his first live event since January 11, defeating Babatunde
- Xia Li worked her first live event since December 6, defeating Santana Garrett
- Joaquin Wilde worked his first live event since January 10, defeating Brendan Vink
- NXT UK's Pretty Deadly lost to Bronson Reed and Shane Thorne. I'm curious if we'll see the Aussies team over there.
- NXT UK's Aoife Valkyrie defeated Aliyah in Aliyah's first match since November 13.
- Rik Bugez worked his first live event since January 11, losing to Cameron Grimes
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Not at all. I would be shocked if he didn't get approval for working All Japan, and his Bump appearance was to support family members.
2. Smart move to not run an expensive venue with that many empty seats.
3. It was being rejected by their fans, and Awesome Kong was leaving to do GLOW stuff anyway.
Nothing to add to 4.
5. I don't see it happening. They last worked together in 2011.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Homicide vs. Brody King
- Grizzly Redwood and Delirious vs. Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry
-- This show has a variety of interesting and unique matches. I like it.
EVOLVE 145 has added:
- Mansoor vs. Curt Stallion
- Denzel Dejournette vs. Harlem Bravado
- Jessi Kamea vs. Alex $ky
- Brendan Vink will also be in action
EVOLVE 146 has added:
- Mansoor vs. Anthony Greene
- Brendan Vink vs. Leon Ruff
- Jessia Kamea vs. Avery Taylor
Mustafa Ali is taking bookings as a keynote speaker. I mean, his schedule is pretty open these days!
Elimination Chamber is locally advertising Big E and Kingston vs. The Miz and John Morrison for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. That would make sense to follow up their Super Showdown match.
Jerry "The King" Lawler's grandson was profiled for his amateur wrestling skills. We'll see if those parlay to a professional career.
Tommaso Ciampa helped Give Kids The World village in Florida.
Matt Hardy and PCO teased a future match: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3. That could be quite entertaining if they don't overdo the Broken stuff.
MLW has signed Kevin Ku. He's set to debut in April.
MLW will soon start using LA Park, Jr.. They make use of other family members already, so this was a natural next step.
MLW is disputing reports of signing AAA wrestlers, however they will continue to use them on per-date agreements.
Cathy Kelley has announced leaving WWE after Takeover:Portland. It sounds like she's looking to pursue other endeavors. She's been valuable in a number of roles there, so I hope she achieves what she's hoping to do elsewhere.
- Cathy asked for and received her release in the past few weeks. This isn't a case of a release or an abrupt departure.
- Kelley will interview Triple H following Takeover:Portland in her final WWE appearance.
WWE has made an "Irish World Order" shirt for St. Patrick's Day, as well as a green variant of the classic nWo shirt. Just because you can make something, that doesn't mean you should.
Flamita has suffered a torn meniscus. He will not compete at either ROH event later this month.
- On ROH's February 28 event, he and Bandido will be replaced by PJ Black and Brian Johnson in the advertised tag match. Bandido has been added to Marty Scurll vs. Slex in a triple threat match.
- On ROH's February 29 event, Bandido and Rey Horus will now face Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham. If Lethal and Gresham are still champions, this will be a Proving Ground match.
Maria Manic will be out "indefinitely" after being powerbombed by Bully Ray. I assume that's an angle to build to them facing off at Supercard.
ROH signee Adam Brooks will debut at their 18th anniversary show.
Sumie Sakai has been announced for ROH's women's championship tournament. That makes sense.
Raw has added Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy in a No Holds Barred match. Hardy's contract goes through the end of the month.
- Big Show is also set to be back Monday. They could easily put him in a battle royal or something at Super Showdown.
Houston's wrestling history is being showcased in a new exhibit.
Ted DiBiase, Sr.'s nonprofit is under scrutiny for receiving more than $2 million in state welfare funds. Brett DiBiase was deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which was in charge of the distribution of such funds. That's very, very disappointing to hear.
Cody promoted Dynamite coming to Georgia. Good piece on him and AEW.
Takeover:Portland's pre-show panel will have Mansoor, Charly Caruso, and Sam Roberts.
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles is being planned for WrestleMania. That's an interesting direction. I'm curious how it will go at Taker's age.
Super Showdown will feature the Smackdown Women's Championship on the line as Bayley defends against the winner of next week's Naomi vs. Carmella match. That's another accomplishment WWE can point to in the region.
Before Smackdown, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado beat Drew Gulak and Drake Maverick.
After Smackdown, The Fiend defeated King Corbin to retain the Universal Championship. Interesting choice of opponent.
At NXT's February 14 Florida live event:
- Killian Dain worked his first live event since January 11, defeating Babatunde
- Xia Li worked her first live event since December 6, defeating Santana Garrett
- Joaquin Wilde worked his first live event since January 10, defeating Brendan Vink
- NXT UK's Pretty Deadly lost to Bronson Reed and Shane Thorne. I'm curious if we'll see the Aussies team over there.
- NXT UK's Aoife Valkyrie defeated Aliyah in Aliyah's first match since November 13.
- Rik Bugez worked his first live event since January 11, losing to Cameron Grimes
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Not at all. I would be shocked if he didn't get approval for working All Japan, and his Bump appearance was to support family members.
2. Smart move to not run an expensive venue with that many empty seats.
3. It was being rejected by their fans, and Awesome Kong was leaving to do GLOW stuff anyway.
Nothing to add to 4.
5. I don't see it happening. They last worked together in 2011.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Main Event and 205 Live Reax - 2/14/20
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Min Event and 205 Live.
Friday Night Smackdown Reax - 2/14/20
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Friday Night Smackdown.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Assorted wrestling press, ROH date announced, Impact expanding streaming network?, Impact taping at indie show, more on Impact WrestleCon show, Cobb update, AEW planning multiple California shows, new AEW interviewer, NJPW name at Dynamite, NXT debut coming, NXT name returning, Dynamite+NXT audiences, female star in hit and run, NWA airing update, Interviews with Corgan/Murdoch, more on WM37 timing, WWE stock note, NJPW Japanese TV deal update, NJPW draws big crowd, top AAA name out, AAA names in the center of Impact-MLW rivalry, Konnan incident update, Omega's next AAA title defense, NJPW name gets surgery, more on NJPW tour numbers, NJPW president profiled, another Stardom retirement, Sareee update, Teddy Hart arrested, Noelle injured, Mexican commission sets up medical exams, MLW pulls contract offer, Past vs. Present update, AEW PPVs airing in another market, AEW interested in lucha name, Dynamite attendance, more on WWE exec shakeup, WWE looking at indie libraries, WWE HoF considerations, WWE UK ratings update, NXT TV on the road in March, and Questions on EVOLVE specials on WWE Network, Teddy Hart, HoF considerations, and Vince in the HoF
Braun Strowman will be on Nickelodeon's "Ryan's Mystery Playdate" Monday.
Kofi Kingston visited Funimation Studios for My Hero Academia's dubbing.
Corey Graves recently underwent a cryotherapy treatment.
ROH has announced an April 23 New York event. Battlestarr will feature the Pure Championship tournament quarterfinals. Good to see them running more regular shows coming soon.
Australia's Kellyanne Salter will soon be working in ROH, likely as part of the upcoming women's championship tournament. It's expected she'll work Supercard.
Impact is looking to add indie promotions to its Impact Plus service. That's worth considering.
Impact is taping Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin at Pro Wrestling Revolver. Interesting move to continue their series.
Impact's WrestleCon event is said to be open to anyone from the company's past.
Jeff Cobb will continue all advertised NJPW and ROH appearances. He is working on a per-date basis with each company, so he's free to work AEW. Currently he is only booked for this week's Dynamite, but obviously that opens the door for more appearances.
AEW is setting up a number of California tapings in June. Interesting move.
AEW's new interviewer is Diamond Dallas Page's daughter.
NJPW's Chase Owens was visiting at Dynamite this week. I wouldn't assume that means he's looking to join AEW.
The former El Hijo del Fantasma is debuting for NXT this weekend as Raul Mendoza's tag team partner, using the name Jorge Bolley. I'm curious when we'll see him on NXT and/or 205 Live.
NXT's Tino Sabbatelli will return to action this weekend. His last match was April 2018(!). He's since been recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.
Dynamite drew 817,000 viewers this week. That's a pretty noteworthy drop from last week.
NXT drew 757,000 viewers this week, in the ballpark of what it usually does.
Thunder Rosa was recently involved in a hit and run car accident. She's selling gear to fix her car. That's a real shame.
NWA Powerrr won't air Tuesday due to Squared Circle airing in its place. This is essentially a tryout show for NWA.
Billy Corgan spoke to Chris Van Vliet about NWA, Impact, and more. An NWA-Impact partnership would have been interesting.
Trevor Murdoch is on Sean Mooney's latest podcast.
WrestleMania 37 is coming from California in order for WWE to try to beat the next Super Bowl's attendance in the same building. WWE could have had WrestleMania 36 there, but wanted to follow the Super Bowl.
WWE's Indian TV deal is continuing under the terms of the previous deal as the two sides discuss next contract. WWE, as expected, wants a large increase in rights fees.
WWE's stock was also downgraded by Wells Fargo, with further declines expected. The sudden executive dismissals and Network underperformance have stockholders worried.
NJPW's new Japanese TV deal forbids intentional blood. We'll see what effect that has on the product and its appeal.
NJPW's New Beginning drew a sellout of more than 11,000 fans. That's very significant.
Dr. Wagner, Jr. has left AAA in order to be in control of his own indie bookings. He's expected to be open to returning down the line.
Impact and MLW are looking to sign AAA talents to deals that would presumably prevent the talent from working other U.S. promotions while still doing AAA dates. AAA talent are in demand in the U.S., which is a positive for them.
Konnan and Psicosis II are set to have an angle in AAA following their real confrontation, playing off its notoriety. The lucha scene is seemingly full of antics like that.
Kenny Omega will defend his AAA Championship on March 21. That show will also feature the Lucha Bros defending their tag team championship.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. has signed with All Japan outright, so he'll continue past the Champion Carnival.
Tetsuya Naito recently had eye surgery to correct an injury that hadn't previously been disclosed.
NJPW's recent U.S. tour performance has been attributed to ticket prices and lack of local advertising. I can say as a North Carolinian the fact they advertised an event as coming from a different city than the arena's location was pretty bizarre, because it's not like Durham is an unknown town.
NJPW President Harold Meij was recently featured on a top Japanese news program.
Stardom's Leo Onozaki is retiring on February 16 due to an accumulation of injuries. That's honestly rather surprising, since she's only 25 and hasn't had a long career. I wish her the best in her next steps.
Sareee is dealing with enteritis and a high fever, causing her to miss her Stardom title match. We'll see what this means about her expected WWE signing.
Teddy Hart was recently arrested for possession of and intent to distribute a schedule III narcotic, the latter being a felony. Very sad to see him go down that road.
Noelle Foley is dealing with post-concussion issues. Sorry to hear that, and I hope she gets taken care of.
Mexico's Tepic's wrestling commission has ruled no one over 40 can wrestle without passing a medical exam. That's not a bad idea, although the age seems low.
El Hijo del Vikingo is set for MLW and AAA's joint show, which is of course notable since he recently worked Impact.
MLW has pulled its contract offer for AAA's Arez due to a missed date. There are conflicting reports as to why he missed the show.
Past vs. Present will likely be headlined by the Briscoes match. Makes sense, since it features two current guys who are sticking around.
AEW PPVs will be shown in Germany started with Revolution. They keep hitting big milestones very early in their existence.
AEW is interested in signing Mexico's Aramis.
Dyanmite drew more than 4,000 fans this week.
WWE's executive shakeup was at least partially due to the co-presidents objecting to talent expenses for names under contract but not being utilized. There are a substantial number of talents training at the WWE Performance Center.
WWE is looking at U.S. indie companies' libraries for Network content. It's unknown how exactly this will play out given the Network as a whole being in flux right now.
Jushin "Thunder" Liger is being considered for the WWE Hall of Fame this year. WOW. I'd love to see that, but I'd think WWE wouldn't want to induct someone still associated with NJPW.
The Bella Twins are also being considered for the WWE Hall of Fame. Obviously they've had long and significant enough careers, but there are going to be people calling for earlier names to go in first.
WWE UK TV ratings have increased from Sky Sports due to greater promotion on BT.
NXT's March 11 episode will be outside of Full Sail due to the venue being booked that day for Full Sail Hall of Fame ceremonies.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It is very much in the air given the Network itself having an uncertain path ahead.
2. Honestly nothing sounds weird in regard to Teddy at this point. I'm not sure where the cat is.
3. No. I don't think he was going to be in anyone's plans even if this hadn't happened.
4. There is some level of internal feedback given, but it always ultimately comes up to Vince.
5. Honestly the year after he passes he should get the whole class to himself.
More wrestling coming up.
Kofi Kingston visited Funimation Studios for My Hero Academia's dubbing.
Corey Graves recently underwent a cryotherapy treatment.
ROH has announced an April 23 New York event. Battlestarr will feature the Pure Championship tournament quarterfinals. Good to see them running more regular shows coming soon.
Australia's Kellyanne Salter will soon be working in ROH, likely as part of the upcoming women's championship tournament. It's expected she'll work Supercard.
Impact is looking to add indie promotions to its Impact Plus service. That's worth considering.
Impact is taping Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin at Pro Wrestling Revolver. Interesting move to continue their series.
Impact's WrestleCon event is said to be open to anyone from the company's past.
Jeff Cobb will continue all advertised NJPW and ROH appearances. He is working on a per-date basis with each company, so he's free to work AEW. Currently he is only booked for this week's Dynamite, but obviously that opens the door for more appearances.
AEW is setting up a number of California tapings in June. Interesting move.
AEW's new interviewer is Diamond Dallas Page's daughter.
NJPW's Chase Owens was visiting at Dynamite this week. I wouldn't assume that means he's looking to join AEW.
The former El Hijo del Fantasma is debuting for NXT this weekend as Raul Mendoza's tag team partner, using the name Jorge Bolley. I'm curious when we'll see him on NXT and/or 205 Live.
NXT's Tino Sabbatelli will return to action this weekend. His last match was April 2018(!). He's since been recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.
Dynamite drew 817,000 viewers this week. That's a pretty noteworthy drop from last week.
NXT drew 757,000 viewers this week, in the ballpark of what it usually does.
Thunder Rosa was recently involved in a hit and run car accident. She's selling gear to fix her car. That's a real shame.
NWA Powerrr won't air Tuesday due to Squared Circle airing in its place. This is essentially a tryout show for NWA.
Billy Corgan spoke to Chris Van Vliet about NWA, Impact, and more. An NWA-Impact partnership would have been interesting.
Trevor Murdoch is on Sean Mooney's latest podcast.
WrestleMania 37 is coming from California in order for WWE to try to beat the next Super Bowl's attendance in the same building. WWE could have had WrestleMania 36 there, but wanted to follow the Super Bowl.
WWE's Indian TV deal is continuing under the terms of the previous deal as the two sides discuss next contract. WWE, as expected, wants a large increase in rights fees.
WWE's stock was also downgraded by Wells Fargo, with further declines expected. The sudden executive dismissals and Network underperformance have stockholders worried.
NJPW's new Japanese TV deal forbids intentional blood. We'll see what effect that has on the product and its appeal.
NJPW's New Beginning drew a sellout of more than 11,000 fans. That's very significant.
Dr. Wagner, Jr. has left AAA in order to be in control of his own indie bookings. He's expected to be open to returning down the line.
Impact and MLW are looking to sign AAA talents to deals that would presumably prevent the talent from working other U.S. promotions while still doing AAA dates. AAA talent are in demand in the U.S., which is a positive for them.
Konnan and Psicosis II are set to have an angle in AAA following their real confrontation, playing off its notoriety. The lucha scene is seemingly full of antics like that.
Kenny Omega will defend his AAA Championship on March 21. That show will also feature the Lucha Bros defending their tag team championship.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. has signed with All Japan outright, so he'll continue past the Champion Carnival.
Tetsuya Naito recently had eye surgery to correct an injury that hadn't previously been disclosed.
NJPW's recent U.S. tour performance has been attributed to ticket prices and lack of local advertising. I can say as a North Carolinian the fact they advertised an event as coming from a different city than the arena's location was pretty bizarre, because it's not like Durham is an unknown town.
NJPW President Harold Meij was recently featured on a top Japanese news program.
Stardom's Leo Onozaki is retiring on February 16 due to an accumulation of injuries. That's honestly rather surprising, since she's only 25 and hasn't had a long career. I wish her the best in her next steps.
Sareee is dealing with enteritis and a high fever, causing her to miss her Stardom title match. We'll see what this means about her expected WWE signing.
Teddy Hart was recently arrested for possession of and intent to distribute a schedule III narcotic, the latter being a felony. Very sad to see him go down that road.
Noelle Foley is dealing with post-concussion issues. Sorry to hear that, and I hope she gets taken care of.
Mexico's Tepic's wrestling commission has ruled no one over 40 can wrestle without passing a medical exam. That's not a bad idea, although the age seems low.
El Hijo del Vikingo is set for MLW and AAA's joint show, which is of course notable since he recently worked Impact.
MLW has pulled its contract offer for AAA's Arez due to a missed date. There are conflicting reports as to why he missed the show.
Past vs. Present will likely be headlined by the Briscoes match. Makes sense, since it features two current guys who are sticking around.
AEW PPVs will be shown in Germany started with Revolution. They keep hitting big milestones very early in their existence.
AEW is interested in signing Mexico's Aramis.
Dyanmite drew more than 4,000 fans this week.
WWE's executive shakeup was at least partially due to the co-presidents objecting to talent expenses for names under contract but not being utilized. There are a substantial number of talents training at the WWE Performance Center.
WWE is looking at U.S. indie companies' libraries for Network content. It's unknown how exactly this will play out given the Network as a whole being in flux right now.
Jushin "Thunder" Liger is being considered for the WWE Hall of Fame this year. WOW. I'd love to see that, but I'd think WWE wouldn't want to induct someone still associated with NJPW.
The Bella Twins are also being considered for the WWE Hall of Fame. Obviously they've had long and significant enough careers, but there are going to be people calling for earlier names to go in first.
WWE UK TV ratings have increased from Sky Sports due to greater promotion on BT.
NXT's March 11 episode will be outside of Full Sail due to the venue being booked that day for Full Sail Hall of Fame ceremonies.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It is very much in the air given the Network itself having an uncertain path ahead.
2. Honestly nothing sounds weird in regard to Teddy at this point. I'm not sure where the cat is.
3. No. I don't think he was going to be in anyone's plans even if this hadn't happened.
4. There is some level of internal feedback given, but it always ultimately comes up to Vince.
5. Honestly the year after he passes he should get the whole class to himself.
More wrestling coming up.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Interviews with PJ/Flair/Blair/Bianca/Rhodes, WWE stock downgraded, more Simone press, Miz teases WWE exit, Roman makes WM37 challenge, Ronda update, NXT name at Raw, assorted WWE press, Bump guests, HHH conference call, ROH announces new title, Backstage audience, WWE MSG card update, new Broserweights merch, Bump guests, NXT name working EVOLVE, joshi name expected at AEW PPV, NXT dark matches, new AEW+NXT matches, and Questions on the IIconics, buying WWE stock, Eli as a star, and XFL's chances
PJ Black discussed staying with ROH and more. He definitely has more creative freedom in ROH.
John Cena commented on his WWE return. That's really funny.
WWE's stock has been downgraded by JPMorgan after its recent drops.
Simone Johnson's WWE signing was covered by BBC. I hope WWE doesn't rush her based on her family connections. I don't think they will, but there's the obvious temptation to do so.
- Becky Lynch discussed the signing with TMZ Sports.
The Miz teased leaving WWE if he doesn't headline WrestleMania 37. I would be surprised to see him exit WWE, but maybe they make a storyline out of it.
Ric Flair spoke to BBC. I popped for him advising to pay income tax on time. Vintage Nature Boy.
Roman Reigns challenged The Rock for WrestleMania 37. That would obviously be huge and frankly is the one match/feud I'd want to see Rock return for.
- Stephanie McMahon addressed Ronda Rousey appearing at the show in the same interview. It's way too soon to know one way or another.
Tegan Nox was backstage at Raw, so it's possible she's being prepared for a move from NXT. The rosters will presumably see some changes after WrestleMania.
Paul London is playing Elvis Presley in a movie called Tigerman. Interesting career trajectory!
Xavier Woods will take part in DC Universe's All Star Games. Interesting enough.
Roman Reigns and Sheamus will be on "The Bump" next week. That should be fun.
Triple H did a Takeover:Portland conference call, recapped here:
- Very interesting talk about losing to AEW.
- I see the point about not needing to discuss which title is for men and which is for women.
- It's going to be tough to balance NXT having its own specials but also being "the third brand."
- Frankly it might be time for NXT to ask for some underutilized Raw and Smackdown talents.
ROH has announced a women's world championship. The first champion will be declared in a 16-women tournament containing talent from all over the world. The first round of the tournament will take place on April 24 in Pennsylvania at Quest For Gold. Very glad to see that division rebooted as it has really struggled.
B. Brian Blair is on VOC Nation's latest In The Room podcast.
WWE Backstage drew 169,000 viewers this week, a substantial increase from previous weeks. I don't know if that's due to Stephanie McMahon appearing or what, but clearly something worked this week to get people hooked.
Raw's March 22 Madison Square Garden show is advertising:
- DX (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Road Dogg, and X-Pac) appearing in the venue for the first time in a decade
- Big Show, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins and AOP
- Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship
The Broserweights have a "Fish Fry" shirt based on the recent promo. Honestly that's pretty cringe. There's such a thing as running a joke into the ground.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. appeared on "The Bump," which is pretty notable given that he's working for other wrestling companies.
Mansoor will compete at EVOLVE 145 and EVOLVE 146. It will be good for him to get more exposure and practice.
Bianca Belair got hometown press before Takeover:Portland. She could have a very big future.
Yuka Sukazaki is believed to be booked for AEW Revolution, as she has been pulled from a TJPW event.
Dustin Rhodes spoke on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast.
Stardom's second wave of Fire Pro Wrestling World DLC was announced.
Before NXT:
- Mansoor defeated Arturo Ruas
- Mercedes Martinez defeated Xia Li
Dynamite has added:
- Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb in Cobb's AEW debut. More on Cobb's status in tomorrow's news post.
- Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Lucha Bros for the AEW Tag Team Championship
AEW Revolution has added Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes in Hager's AEW debut. I'm curious how regularly Hager will be competing.
NXT has announced:
- Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong
- Jordan Devlin vs. Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
- Chelsea Green vs. Kaylen Carter
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They haven't wrestled since November. It might be time to think about moving them to another brand.
2. I see why people would think that, since revenue will climb as the TV deals kick in in 2020.
3. No, because no matter how talented he is, he's unlikely to break out as long he's working smaller promotions. Even if he does make it to AEW or WWE, there's a lot of competition for the "big star" spots.
4. It has a good enough chance to if their content homes are happy with the audience levels. Ultimately it will take a party or multiple parties paying for the rights to air the games for it to last long-term.
5. No. I don't care about football, even Vince McMahon's version. Let me know when they bring out the steel chairs and tables and people start getting sacked to lose the 24/7 ring.
More wrestling tomorrow.
John Cena commented on his WWE return. That's really funny.
WWE's stock has been downgraded by JPMorgan after its recent drops.
Simone Johnson's WWE signing was covered by BBC. I hope WWE doesn't rush her based on her family connections. I don't think they will, but there's the obvious temptation to do so.
- Becky Lynch discussed the signing with TMZ Sports.
The Miz teased leaving WWE if he doesn't headline WrestleMania 37. I would be surprised to see him exit WWE, but maybe they make a storyline out of it.
Ric Flair spoke to BBC. I popped for him advising to pay income tax on time. Vintage Nature Boy.
Roman Reigns challenged The Rock for WrestleMania 37. That would obviously be huge and frankly is the one match/feud I'd want to see Rock return for.
- Stephanie McMahon addressed Ronda Rousey appearing at the show in the same interview. It's way too soon to know one way or another.
Tegan Nox was backstage at Raw, so it's possible she's being prepared for a move from NXT. The rosters will presumably see some changes after WrestleMania.
Paul London is playing Elvis Presley in a movie called Tigerman. Interesting career trajectory!
Xavier Woods will take part in DC Universe's All Star Games. Interesting enough.
Roman Reigns and Sheamus will be on "The Bump" next week. That should be fun.
Triple H did a Takeover:Portland conference call, recapped here:
- Very interesting talk about losing to AEW.
- I see the point about not needing to discuss which title is for men and which is for women.
- It's going to be tough to balance NXT having its own specials but also being "the third brand."
- Frankly it might be time for NXT to ask for some underutilized Raw and Smackdown talents.
ROH has announced a women's world championship. The first champion will be declared in a 16-women tournament containing talent from all over the world. The first round of the tournament will take place on April 24 in Pennsylvania at Quest For Gold. Very glad to see that division rebooted as it has really struggled.
B. Brian Blair is on VOC Nation's latest In The Room podcast.
WWE Backstage drew 169,000 viewers this week, a substantial increase from previous weeks. I don't know if that's due to Stephanie McMahon appearing or what, but clearly something worked this week to get people hooked.
Raw's March 22 Madison Square Garden show is advertising:
- DX (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Road Dogg, and X-Pac) appearing in the venue for the first time in a decade
- Big Show, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins and AOP
- Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship
The Broserweights have a "Fish Fry" shirt based on the recent promo. Honestly that's pretty cringe. There's such a thing as running a joke into the ground.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. appeared on "The Bump," which is pretty notable given that he's working for other wrestling companies.
Mansoor will compete at EVOLVE 145 and EVOLVE 146. It will be good for him to get more exposure and practice.
Bianca Belair got hometown press before Takeover:Portland. She could have a very big future.
Yuka Sukazaki is believed to be booked for AEW Revolution, as she has been pulled from a TJPW event.
Dustin Rhodes spoke on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast.
Stardom's second wave of Fire Pro Wrestling World DLC was announced.
Before NXT:
- Mansoor defeated Arturo Ruas
- Mercedes Martinez defeated Xia Li
Dynamite has added:
- Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb in Cobb's AEW debut. More on Cobb's status in tomorrow's news post.
- Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Lucha Bros for the AEW Tag Team Championship
AEW Revolution has added Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes in Hager's AEW debut. I'm curious how regularly Hager will be competing.
NXT has announced:
- Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong
- Jordan Devlin vs. Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
- Chelsea Green vs. Kaylen Carter
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They haven't wrestled since November. It might be time to think about moving them to another brand.
2. I see why people would think that, since revenue will climb as the TV deals kick in in 2020.
3. No, because no matter how talented he is, he's unlikely to break out as long he's working smaller promotions. Even if he does make it to AEW or WWE, there's a lot of competition for the "big star" spots.
4. It has a good enough chance to if their content homes are happy with the audience levels. Ultimately it will take a party or multiple parties paying for the rights to air the games for it to last long-term.
5. No. I don't care about football, even Vince McMahon's version. Let me know when they bring out the steel chairs and tables and people start getting sacked to lose the 24/7 ring.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
WWE execs get bonuses, Elimination Chamber advertising, Matt Hardy update post-Raw, Rock congratulates daughter, Davey Boy Jr. set for Japanese tournament, Raw audience, WWE trademarks, NXT match, assorted wrestling press, Interviews with Bianca/Charlotte/PCO, more TNA show announcements, big WWE return, and Questions on Cornette vs. Meltzer, Kross' benefit to NXT, Cody getting savaged, WWE intentionally blowing camera shots, and how over Jericho is
WWE executives received performance bonus stocks after the 2019 financial releases. Vince McMahon gained almost 12,500 shares, Kevin Dunn gained more than 5,000 shares and Triple H and Stephanie McMahon both gained more than 3,700 shares.
Elimination Chamber advertising indicates the show will feature Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Braun Strowman vs. King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Robert Roode to determine the Universal Championship number one contender for WrestleMania. Odd to involve the Intercontinental Championship. I'd replace Braun and Shinsuke with Dolph Ziggler and Elias.
Matt Hardy hinted Raw was his final WWE appearance. That would definitely make sense. There have been hints of him joining/leading The Dark Order, which sounds awful. I'm already way over the "Broken" character.
The Rock congratulated his daughter Simone Johnson on signing an NXT contract.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. has been announced for All Japan's Champion Carnival, following in the footsteps of other family members. That's pretty cool.
Raw drew 2.34 million viewers Monday.
WWE has trademarked "Texas Rattlesnake" and "Christian." I'm curious what's next for Christian with Edge returning.
NXT has added Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza in a cruiserweight contendership match. Garza's all over the place!
Stephanie McMahon, Becky Lynch, and Roman Reigns appeared at the WrestleMania 37 press conference.
- SoFi Stadium got a custom WWE Championship because of course they did.
Tegan Nox is the subject of a WWE YouTube documentary chronicling her return to the ring.
Roman Reigns discussed Jon Jones' WWE interest. Jones got people talking with his interview!
- Becky Lynch also discussed MMA crossover to WWE. It's telling that the most hyped opponents for WWE stars aren't currently on the WWE roster.
Bianca Belair is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Charlotte Flair spoke to Colin Cowherd.
The TNA event at WrestleCon has announced the return of the King of the Mountain match as well as ring announcer Dave Penzer. We're really seeing nostalgia for that show!
PCO spoke to Chris Van Vliet on a variety of topics.
John Cena has been announced for the February 28 Smackdown. Nice! That could make for something interesting at WrestleMania.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They were very close for a significant amount of time, but they differ strongly (to say the least) about modern wrestling. Frankly it might be for the best for them to stay apart given where each man is now; it's not like there's any new ground to cover. Each man has knowledge to bring to the current wrestling landscape, but Cornette's harming his legacy by being seen as that guy who rants and raves instead of a man with a long track record in the business voicing his opinion; any fair criticisms are being lost in the outrageous statements. Meltzer, rightly or wrongly, is being painted as a shill for certain talents and styles instead of a man who covers a lot of stories and also has preferences.
2. NXT has shifted more to being a brand of its own rather than "developmental," so they're adding some talents with name value to the show. It does feel like WWE has a lot more talents than there's room for, and that will probably get worse if they keep going in the direction they're going, but hopefully that presents opportunities to cycle talents in and out and give key names breaks. Also, of course, they can afford to stockpile talent at the expense of other promotions, whether there are plans for those talents are not.
3. Cody very much wants to showcase physical storytelling in contrast to the more "sanitized" "family friendly" WWE product. He's really taken a beating over it. For the record, I don't expect we'll see more unprotected chair shots to the head after the one with Shawn Spears was botched so badly. If we do, it will probably be a while.
4. I strongly doubt it. That would be very self-sabotaging. The AJ Styles debut actually seems to have gone as planned; they were showing Roman's confusion at the unfamiliar entrance music preceding AJ's arrival.
5. I would think the fans who paid to be on Chris Jericho's cruise would be big fans of Chris Jericho, right? He's definitely very over with AEW's audience. I would expect he's the biggest star AEW has given his decades in the public spotlight getting such big exposure. I don't see how Omega would be in the running once fans older than 40 are factored in.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Elimination Chamber advertising indicates the show will feature Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Braun Strowman vs. King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Robert Roode to determine the Universal Championship number one contender for WrestleMania. Odd to involve the Intercontinental Championship. I'd replace Braun and Shinsuke with Dolph Ziggler and Elias.
Matt Hardy hinted Raw was his final WWE appearance. That would definitely make sense. There have been hints of him joining/leading The Dark Order, which sounds awful. I'm already way over the "Broken" character.
The Rock congratulated his daughter Simone Johnson on signing an NXT contract.
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. has been announced for All Japan's Champion Carnival, following in the footsteps of other family members. That's pretty cool.
Raw drew 2.34 million viewers Monday.
WWE has trademarked "Texas Rattlesnake" and "Christian." I'm curious what's next for Christian with Edge returning.
NXT has added Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza in a cruiserweight contendership match. Garza's all over the place!
Stephanie McMahon, Becky Lynch, and Roman Reigns appeared at the WrestleMania 37 press conference.
- SoFi Stadium got a custom WWE Championship because of course they did.
Tegan Nox is the subject of a WWE YouTube documentary chronicling her return to the ring.
Roman Reigns discussed Jon Jones' WWE interest. Jones got people talking with his interview!
- Becky Lynch also discussed MMA crossover to WWE. It's telling that the most hyped opponents for WWE stars aren't currently on the WWE roster.
Bianca Belair is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.
Charlotte Flair spoke to Colin Cowherd.
The TNA event at WrestleCon has announced the return of the King of the Mountain match as well as ring announcer Dave Penzer. We're really seeing nostalgia for that show!
PCO spoke to Chris Van Vliet on a variety of topics.
John Cena has been announced for the February 28 Smackdown. Nice! That could make for something interesting at WrestleMania.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They were very close for a significant amount of time, but they differ strongly (to say the least) about modern wrestling. Frankly it might be for the best for them to stay apart given where each man is now; it's not like there's any new ground to cover. Each man has knowledge to bring to the current wrestling landscape, but Cornette's harming his legacy by being seen as that guy who rants and raves instead of a man with a long track record in the business voicing his opinion; any fair criticisms are being lost in the outrageous statements. Meltzer, rightly or wrongly, is being painted as a shill for certain talents and styles instead of a man who covers a lot of stories and also has preferences.
2. NXT has shifted more to being a brand of its own rather than "developmental," so they're adding some talents with name value to the show. It does feel like WWE has a lot more talents than there's room for, and that will probably get worse if they keep going in the direction they're going, but hopefully that presents opportunities to cycle talents in and out and give key names breaks. Also, of course, they can afford to stockpile talent at the expense of other promotions, whether there are plans for those talents are not.
3. Cody very much wants to showcase physical storytelling in contrast to the more "sanitized" "family friendly" WWE product. He's really taken a beating over it. For the record, I don't expect we'll see more unprotected chair shots to the head after the one with Shawn Spears was botched so badly. If we do, it will probably be a while.
4. I strongly doubt it. That would be very self-sabotaging. The AJ Styles debut actually seems to have gone as planned; they were showing Roman's confusion at the unfamiliar entrance music preceding AJ's arrival.
5. I would think the fans who paid to be on Chris Jericho's cruise would be big fans of Chris Jericho, right? He's definitely very over with AEW's audience. I would expect he's the biggest star AEW has given his decades in the public spotlight getting such big exposure. I don't see how Omega would be in the running once fans older than 40 are factored in.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)