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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.

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