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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Assorted wrestling press, WWE Indian deal, more NJPW cancelations, WM36 available on more platforms, Smackdown preview, MLW signs international TV deal, WM32 audience, AEW moves taping, Raw audience, Dynamite preview, AEW+ROH trademarks, Impact signing, TNT title competitors, and Questions on Vince's feelings on Roman, WWE's next taping, vintage matches on WWE TV, Vice's Benoit doc, and Rock's reputation

WWE Dream Match Mania will feature:
- The Rock vs. Roman Reigns
- Trish Stratus vs. Sasha Banks
- Hulk Hogan vs. John Cena
- Ric Flair vs. Seth Rollins
- Beth Phoenix vs. Charlotte Flair
- Goldberg vs. Big E

WWE's Indian TV deal with Sony has been expanded for five years. This covers Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and PPV events. WWE Network and its content will also be featured on Sony platforms.

NJPW will launch its global merchandise website on April 10.

NJPW has canceled events from April 12 through April 18, which means the entirety of the Sakura Genesis tour is now off.

WrestleMania 36 will be available on FITE.TV, the first time WWE content can be ordered on the platform. That's pretty big as far as WWE's distribution goes.

- FOX and Fox Sports will also have the show on their apps. That's very big, too! We'll see what that means for other PPVs, and the Network's future.

Smackdown has announced:
- John Cena responding to Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House match challenge.
- MizTV with New Day and The Usos.

MLW Fusion will be available in Middle East and North Africa soon. They continue to grow.

Seth Rollins discussed how the quarantine has affected him and more.

Drew McIntyre's first wrestling coach discussed McIntyre's growth. Cool piece.

Becky Lynch promoted WrestleMania with Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.

WrestleMania 32's airing drew 720,000 viewers.

AEW has moved this week's tapings from the venue they had been using. The location is being kept secret so as to avoid crowds gathering. That's smart.

WWE has been nominated at the Shorty Awards for:
- Overall Presence on Facebook
- Overall Presence on Snapchat
- Overall Presence on TikTok
- Overall Presence on Twitter
- Overall Presence on YouTube
- Overall Presence on YouTube (UpUpDownDown)
- Campaign by Platform on Reddit
- Content and Media for GIFs

Raw drew 1.92 million viewers this week, the second lowest overall audience behind the December 23 episode and drawing their lowest third hour ever. The coronavirus could not have hit them at a worse time, audience-wise.

Dynamite has added:
- Kenny Omega vs. Trent?
- Cody and Darby Allin vs. Shawn Spears

ESPN's Ariel Helwani is on "The Bump."

Scott D'Amore discussed AXS' TNA special and more.

AEW has trademarked "Best Summer Ever" and "Death Triangle." I'm curious what the former is for.

Impact has signed Kylie Rae to a multi-year deal. I'm curious how she'll do there and if it builds to her getting a bigger deal somewhere else down the line.

Impact is selling TNA logo shirts.

AEW's TNT Championship tournament has announced:
- Cody vs. Shawn Spears
- Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin
-- These matches are on the same side of the bracket.

ROH has trademarked El Toro Blanco, Rush's nickname.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Vince genuinely wants Roman to be the top name. That said, in that case, him lasting to the final two was a way to keep fans guessing and make Drew's win even bigger.

2. WWE intends to return on April 10 for Smackdown. Everything before then has been taped.

3. Well they are using some recent prominent matches to fill time on the episodes. I'm not sure showing things from a decade or more ago is a good move since they're still trying to get people to invest in the current stars.

4. It was very well done. Personally I'm curious how outsiders saw it.

5. Kevin Nash felt differently during the nWo's run there, but he's the only one I know to say something like that. It's notable Rock and Punk squashed the issues Punk had with his return. Rock clearly loves the business and wants it to thrive.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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