Baron Corbin was briefly featured with a different physical United States Championship in an ad for an upcoming Smackdown live event, leading to speculation the championship was getting a new design. The artwork has since been corrected to feature the correct design; the issue was on the venue's end.
Jinder Mahal could be getting new managers following his attack of the Singh brothers on Smackdown Live. There had been talk of this several weeks back. How about the Colons? They've been off TV for such a long time I had forgotten they were still on the roster.
WWE Network had a Cyber Monday sale, offering former subscribers three months' service for 99 cents. WWE having to give the service away that cheaply is a major problem given how much content they're putting out. They need to seriously examine their strategies there, especially given the idea the service is the breeding ground for future Raw and Smackdown stars. If fans aren't watching them on the Network, how big of a success are they going to be on a bigger stage?
KM had knee surgery earlier this week. He's back up and walking around, as the procedure was just to deal with ongoing issues instead of being the result of an injury. KM wrestled at the most recent Impact tapings, and I assume he'll be able to return for their January shows.
New Smackdown star Ruby Riott has had a slight name change since NXT, with her last name getting an extra T. Similarly, her faction is The Riott Squad. This is likely to make the names easier to trademark.
AJ Styles responded to rumors of him retiring after Wrestlemania 34. No idea where that one got started.
WWE Studios is branching out to create television and digital content. That could ending up being a big move for the company in the years to come. WWE is looking to be more of a player in the entertainment world beyond what they do on Raw and Smackdown.
- WWE expanded on the story with a press release.
Raw drew 2.76 million viewers Monday, dropping from two straight weeks past three million. With Survivor Series in the rear-view mirror, it's going to be tough to build interest at that level.
Matt Hardy will be able to use his Impact Wrestling character in WWE and elsewhere, as Anthem Media is altering its agreements to let talents use their Impact ring names after they leave the company. Ed Nordholm specifically made this decision. That's an unexpected and pleasant surprise! It's good to see Impact making a move to support people who put in a lot of work with their characters. The last thing the company needed was a lengthy, expensive legal battle for the relevant content, content they weren't utilizing anyway.
Flosports has amended their lawsuit against WWNLive, which included details of their initial agreement. One such detail was that WWNLive would be handling all the video production and delivering the stream to Flosports.
- Also of note are details regarding terminating the agreement: Flosports was to give WWNLive 12 months of notification before doing so and notifications were only to be given in January. Flosports terminated the deal in September, so they might have breached their own deal.
- Flosports is arguing against WWNLive's claim that the lawsuit should be moved from Texas on the basis that WWNLive representatives sent a lot of emails and text messages to Flosports personnel in Texas. Additionally, there were plans for further events in Texas during Survivor Series weekend that didn't happen because Flosports dropped the deal. I don't see that working out for them, but we'll see.
WWE Network now has every episode of NXT available in their library, from the SyFy days to this week.
Mick Foley discussed possibly returning for Raw's 25th anniversary and more. I'm glad he's feeling a lot better with the weight loss and hip replacement. And, yes, I'm sure we're in for him working with Stephanie McMahon again at some point.
Sting and Kane did a holiday ad for WWE 2K18. That's AMAZING.
Floslam has officially ended, as Flosports laid off all its staff. That's not a big surprise with no promotions remaining onboard with the service.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. There's a difference between standing on a table compared to going full force through it. And yes, the monitors often get busted like that. WWE can afford the cost of regularly replacing such small screens.
2. He's under contract through Wrestlemania. I assume he'll face Roman Reigns then, to play off both of them defeating Undertaker at the event. As for what he does after the event, that will depend on how badly he wants to continue wrestling and how much money WWE's willing to throw at him to stay. He's set to go farm for the rest of his life, but if WWE offers him an insane amount of money to keep suplexing people every so often, he'll keep showing up.
3. Brock gets paid a ton of money no matter if he has a "one-star match" or a "five-star match." His position is secure enough that as long as WWE thinks he's worth that paycheck, they're doing to keep using him.
4. With wrestlers already playing fictional characters on a TV show, I don't think it's much of a stretch to have their interviews in official publications be works, too! I look at it about like having Batman or Darth Vader or someone doing an interview.
5. Indeed they do! It's a quick way to get those clicks!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
WWE ad features wrong title, Jinder replacing the Singhs?, WWE Network fire sale, Impact name gets surgery, NXT callup gets name change, AJ on retirement rumor, WWE Studios expanding to other outlets, Raw audience, Anthem releases rights to Broken Universe and other Impact IP, Flosports amends lawsuit, WWE Network completes NXT archives, Interview with Foley, legends in WWE 2K18 ad, Floslam closes up shop, and Questions on breaking tables, Brock's future, Brock's workrate, magazine interviews, and copying and pasting news
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Interviews with Silkin/Miz/Mahal, Angle hurt, why Sheamus missed Raw, NXT shows set for January, Matt Hardy continues transformation, Otunga order of protection dropped, WWE at March of Dimes event, WWE seeking 205 Live feedback, WWE animated movies to DVD, another Brock Raw, WWE live event visitors, and Questions on Reigns the IC Champion, the Anthem Owl, Aro Lucha's founders, Starrcade on the Network, and the NXT invaders
Former ROH owner Cary Silkin discussed Ric Flair's dealings with the company. It's a shame such a great wrestler has done such shady things.
The Miz discussed some 2017 topics with Sam Roberts. Lavar Ball is OVER, brother. Put him in the WWE Hall of Fame and sell those tickets, jack. And they can do SO much with Miz and Maryse's A-List child if they want to. It adds to Miz's dynasty.
Jinder Mahal did local press before Smackdown. I wish the Singhs escorted him to interviews and the like. I don't expect that to happen after this week's show, though.
Kurt Angle worked Survivor Series with a torn muscle. He was injured a few days beforehand. He's only got so many performance left in him at this point.
Sheamus missed Raw due to being on vacation at home in Ireland. It's got to be tough being away from home so much more than the other superstars, who are already on the road a lot.
NXT will run South Carolina on January 5 and North Carolina on January 6. Those are their first shows of 2018.
Matt Hardy continued his "Woken" mannerisms on Twitter after Raw. I think it's run its course, but obviously a lot of fans still like it.
David Otunga no longer has an order of protection against him, as his former fiancee dropped it voluntarily. The two sides also made an agreement regarding custody of their son. I'm glad things are more amicable now and Otunga is cleared to be able to get back to WWE.
A lot of Raw names were at the 2017 March of Dimes Sports Luncheon Tuesday. It's awkward seeing some of them half naked while the rest are in suits.
WWE is seeking feedback on 205 Live, including how fans watch the show and if they would be more interested if Raw and Smackdown stars interacted with the cruiserweights. It's a case-by-case thing with me. It definitely gets tiring with such a small cast, especially when they also get matches on Main Event and Raw.
WWE is releasing its animated crossover films with Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons on one DVD on January 18. I'm curious what other crossovers they'll end up having.
Brock Lesnar will be on the December 18 Raw. I wonder which superstar(s) he'll beat at the Rumble.
Jerry Lynn was visiting at Raw's Tennessee event this weekend. Rikishi and Brian Christopher were at Starrcade.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It all depends on where they go with it, who ends up benefiting from it, etc. The Miz and The Bar had already had issues with The Shield, so I don't have a problem with it from a storyline perspective. Elias is getting to work with The Miztourage to his benefit, and it looks like Matt's going to try to recreate what he did in Impact, so it looks like everyone's headed for something good.
2. Not a bad name!
3. Both Harris twins are doing production there, as they did for a while for Impact.
4. To WWE, it was just a live event with some surprise appearances. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually ends up on the Network, but it's probably about the same priority as their live events in Madison Square Garden: more important than a regular show, but not big enough to be a Network special.
5. I think it was just a case of using some talents who weren't really getting featured in NXT, with the more experienced/polished Paige and Ruby in charge of each group. This way, they've still got Ember Moon, The Iconic Duo, Kairi Sane, and Nikki Cross leading the pack in NXT instead of putting all their main talents on Raw and Smackdown and having to start over in a lot of ways. Although the WWE comic book should totally run with the clone thing.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Miz discussed some 2017 topics with Sam Roberts. Lavar Ball is OVER, brother. Put him in the WWE Hall of Fame and sell those tickets, jack. And they can do SO much with Miz and Maryse's A-List child if they want to. It adds to Miz's dynasty.
Jinder Mahal did local press before Smackdown. I wish the Singhs escorted him to interviews and the like. I don't expect that to happen after this week's show, though.
Kurt Angle worked Survivor Series with a torn muscle. He was injured a few days beforehand. He's only got so many performance left in him at this point.
Sheamus missed Raw due to being on vacation at home in Ireland. It's got to be tough being away from home so much more than the other superstars, who are already on the road a lot.
NXT will run South Carolina on January 5 and North Carolina on January 6. Those are their first shows of 2018.
Matt Hardy continued his "Woken" mannerisms on Twitter after Raw. I think it's run its course, but obviously a lot of fans still like it.
David Otunga no longer has an order of protection against him, as his former fiancee dropped it voluntarily. The two sides also made an agreement regarding custody of their son. I'm glad things are more amicable now and Otunga is cleared to be able to get back to WWE.
A lot of Raw names were at the 2017 March of Dimes Sports Luncheon Tuesday. It's awkward seeing some of them half naked while the rest are in suits.
WWE is seeking feedback on 205 Live, including how fans watch the show and if they would be more interested if Raw and Smackdown stars interacted with the cruiserweights. It's a case-by-case thing with me. It definitely gets tiring with such a small cast, especially when they also get matches on Main Event and Raw.
WWE is releasing its animated crossover films with Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons on one DVD on January 18. I'm curious what other crossovers they'll end up having.
Brock Lesnar will be on the December 18 Raw. I wonder which superstar(s) he'll beat at the Rumble.
Jerry Lynn was visiting at Raw's Tennessee event this weekend. Rikishi and Brian Christopher were at Starrcade.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It all depends on where they go with it, who ends up benefiting from it, etc. The Miz and The Bar had already had issues with The Shield, so I don't have a problem with it from a storyline perspective. Elias is getting to work with The Miztourage to his benefit, and it looks like Matt's going to try to recreate what he did in Impact, so it looks like everyone's headed for something good.
2. Not a bad name!
3. Both Harris twins are doing production there, as they did for a while for Impact.
4. To WWE, it was just a live event with some surprise appearances. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually ends up on the Network, but it's probably about the same priority as their live events in Madison Square Garden: more important than a regular show, but not big enough to be a Network special.
5. I think it was just a case of using some talents who weren't really getting featured in NXT, with the more experienced/polished Paige and Ruby in charge of each group. This way, they've still got Ember Moon, The Iconic Duo, Kairi Sane, and Nikki Cross leading the pack in NXT instead of putting all their main talents on Raw and Smackdown and having to start over in a lot of ways. Although the WWE comic book should totally run with the clone thing.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 11/28/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
More on Gallagher documentary, Rock nominated for significant award, Y2J gets YouTube channel, how Starrcade ended up coming together, Rey working new lucha project, DDP Yoga profiled, McIntyre return update, Impact office move updates, new Impact signing, Impact taping at another indie show, another Goldberg role, Raw match changed, another way to watch ROH TV, and Questions on New Year's Raw in Florida, WWE's stance on kayfabe, worst and best angles, unlikely HoF inductions, and Grand Slam winners
Jack Gallagher's documentary got press in the UK. The man is definitely a character; I'd like to think he'd be able to do pretty well for himself even in WWE even if they didn't have 205 Live.
The Rock was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Glad to see him honored like that.
Chris Jericho has launched his own YouTube channel. I'm sure he'll use that to push his match with Kenny Omega for the U.S. audience.
WWE filmed Starrcade, so it could appear on WWE Network down the line if they so choose. Michael Hayes pitched to use that event name back in June upon realizing WWE had a live event in Greensboro around the time of previous editions of Starrcade. Hayes ended up putting the show together with an eye for promoting the event's history.
Rey Mysterio will be working the first Aro Lucha event on December 10 at the former TNA Asylum. Interestingly, a number of Lucha Underground talents are set for the show. We'll see how that ends up playing out for everyone.
Diamond Dallas Page was profiled in Atlanta for his yoga work. He's gotten a lot of mileage out of that line of work. I'm glad people are improving their lives with it.
Drew McIntyre is looking to return for April's Takeover event during Wrestlemania weekend. It's a real shame he's going to miss time; hopefully when he returns he can continue to build momentum on the road to being a top WWE superstar.
Impact will tape footage from Universal Studios from January 10 through January 15 before returning to Canada for March tapings. These tapings will not be in Ottawa.
Impact's production offices will remain in Tennessee, but a lot of the rest of the company's staff will either be released, work from home, or move to Anthem's office in Ottawa starting next week.
Impact has signed Canadian talent Tony Cage. With Ed Nordholm and Scott D'Amore running things, there's understandably a focus on Canada. I don't expect them to completely drop the Impact Zone anytime soon, though.
Impact will tape more footage at a Border City Wrestling event this Sunday. Eli Drake vs. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact has been announced for the event, and Laurel Van Ness, Jimmy Jacobs, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, and Braxton Sutter have all been confirmed as part of the show.
Goldberg will be on two episodes of "The Flash" this season, apparently for his son. He's doing pretty well for himself these days.
There had been plans for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. The Bar on the November 27 Raw, which suggests Ambrose's honeymoon was a pretty sudden move. That match will instead happen on the next edition of the show.
Ring of Honor's weekly TV show is now available on Stadium Network, another Sinclair co-owned station. Stadium also has apps for fans to watch content on. ROH is getting some pretty good reach at the local level under Sinclair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Ha! That would be really funny. I've never heard of that being the case, though.
2. I can't really add to their answer. Sometimes it's hard to "figure out" what's going on with Vince.
3. Two of the worst ones that come to mind are the legendary Katie Vick angle and AJ Styles' alleged infidelities with Dixie Carter and Claire Lynch. The first was just really uncomfortable and the latter two were just cringeworthy. They actually made me less interested in seeing the stories they were pushing because all the focus on the bad soap opera stuff. As for some of the best, I liked Brock's initial rise in WWE and most of what we got from Evolution as a faction.
4. I wouldn't expect them to induct Chyna anytime soon unless it's part of a group induction of DX. There's really no dancing around the things she did outside of the ring.
5. The list was just for WWE's current championships. Their title histories can be complicated with titles disappearing and coming back with different names, etc.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Rock was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Glad to see him honored like that.
Chris Jericho has launched his own YouTube channel. I'm sure he'll use that to push his match with Kenny Omega for the U.S. audience.
WWE filmed Starrcade, so it could appear on WWE Network down the line if they so choose. Michael Hayes pitched to use that event name back in June upon realizing WWE had a live event in Greensboro around the time of previous editions of Starrcade. Hayes ended up putting the show together with an eye for promoting the event's history.
Rey Mysterio will be working the first Aro Lucha event on December 10 at the former TNA Asylum. Interestingly, a number of Lucha Underground talents are set for the show. We'll see how that ends up playing out for everyone.
Diamond Dallas Page was profiled in Atlanta for his yoga work. He's gotten a lot of mileage out of that line of work. I'm glad people are improving their lives with it.
Drew McIntyre is looking to return for April's Takeover event during Wrestlemania weekend. It's a real shame he's going to miss time; hopefully when he returns he can continue to build momentum on the road to being a top WWE superstar.
Impact will tape footage from Universal Studios from January 10 through January 15 before returning to Canada for March tapings. These tapings will not be in Ottawa.
Impact's production offices will remain in Tennessee, but a lot of the rest of the company's staff will either be released, work from home, or move to Anthem's office in Ottawa starting next week.
Impact has signed Canadian talent Tony Cage. With Ed Nordholm and Scott D'Amore running things, there's understandably a focus on Canada. I don't expect them to completely drop the Impact Zone anytime soon, though.
Impact will tape more footage at a Border City Wrestling event this Sunday. Eli Drake vs. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact has been announced for the event, and Laurel Van Ness, Jimmy Jacobs, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, and Braxton Sutter have all been confirmed as part of the show.
Goldberg will be on two episodes of "The Flash" this season, apparently for his son. He's doing pretty well for himself these days.
There had been plans for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. The Bar on the November 27 Raw, which suggests Ambrose's honeymoon was a pretty sudden move. That match will instead happen on the next edition of the show.
Ring of Honor's weekly TV show is now available on Stadium Network, another Sinclair co-owned station. Stadium also has apps for fans to watch content on. ROH is getting some pretty good reach at the local level under Sinclair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Ha! That would be really funny. I've never heard of that being the case, though.
2. I can't really add to their answer. Sometimes it's hard to "figure out" what's going on with Vince.
3. Two of the worst ones that come to mind are the legendary Katie Vick angle and AJ Styles' alleged infidelities with Dixie Carter and Claire Lynch. The first was just really uncomfortable and the latter two were just cringeworthy. They actually made me less interested in seeing the stories they were pushing because all the focus on the bad soap opera stuff. As for some of the best, I liked Brock's initial rise in WWE and most of what we got from Evolution as a faction.
4. I wouldn't expect them to induct Chyna anytime soon unless it's part of a group induction of DX. There's really no dancing around the things she did outside of the ring.
5. The list was just for WWE's current championships. Their title histories can be complicated with titles disappearing and coming back with different names, etc.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Main Event Reax - 11/26/17, Hogan update, more Starrcade notes, more Raw 25 plans, back-to-back WWE tapings announced, Nia addresses criticism, and Questions on the Steiners in 2017, HoF decision, another Mid-Atlantic fanfest, WWE's Paige movie, and why Funk keeps wrestling
-- Main Event:
- Kendrick vs. Metalik:
Nice back-and-forth to start.
I like the story here. Each man has a clear strategy.
I like Kendrick wearing Gran down.
This is pretty impressive!
Pretty good ending.
- Video packages:
Interesting they went right from the Raw women's invasion to the Smackdown women's invasion. A lot of people are speculating the two are linked.
- Apollo vs. Hawkins:
I almost wish Apollo was still in NXT given how he's used at present.
Curt battling a 133-loss streak coming into this one, spanning back more than a year. On the bright side, he's gotten to work more matches in 2017 than in any year of his career.
Crews running him around.
At least he's getting some offense.
Titus getting nervous. The streak might end right here!!
Ahhh... he was close.
Nick Hogan discussed his father getting back in the ring. They say you're only as good as your last match. I hope Hulk keeps things limited for that reason.
WWE's YouTube account posted highlights from Starrcade. The event is expected to return in 2018, as it was a big success. Michael Hayes pitched the idea for the event back in June once he found out the company was running that venue close to when Starrcade has traditionally been held. Hayes was in charge of the event, focusing on paying tribute to legends from the area.
WWE is getting former talents to do video messages for the Raw 25th anniversary. That's going to be a really big show.
WWE will tape Raw on February 19 and Smackdown on February 20 in Phoenix, Arizona in addition to tapings on March 19 and March 20 in Dallas, Texas.
Nia Jax tweeted about facing body shaming in WWE. As long as WWE's physicians consider her at a healthy weight, it's not really anyone else's business.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. He had been part of his local school council, as funny as that sounds given his wrestling character. Scott owns a Shoney's restaurant.
2. There is some consideration on if they feel a class already has its headliner, having a certain number of women and tag teams, etc., but ultimately it's all Vince's call.
3. I was under the impression that would be the case.
4. It should be a unique experience!
5. To some degree it's because he wants to help people out when they have an idea for him to get back in the ring. He's incredibly selfless like that.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
NJPW launches English YouTube page, WWE movie on Amazon Prime, Jinder honored in India, Y2J discusses GLOW, JBL takes issue with WWE.com article, Starrcade and Wrestlecade notes, and Questions on WWE banning Vancouver, the Smackdown following Raw 25, Waylon Mercy disappearing, Mr. T's HoF speech, and a WWE HoF documentary
NJPW has launched an English language YouTube channel. 2018 could be a pretty big year for them internationally.
WWE Studios' "Interrogation" is now on Amazon Prime.
Jinder Mahal is getting a special robe for WWE's Indian show. It's a big night for him; we'll see how much of an emphasis he gets going into Wrestlemania season.
Chris Jericho talked about Netflix's GLOW on his latest podcast. He and The Miz auditioned for the role Alex Riley ended up playing. I'm glad the show ended up being a success!
JBL called out WWE for not including him on the list of Grand Slam winners. WWE clarified it was something of a technicality.
At Smackdown's Starrcade event in North Carolina:
- WWE played Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger from Starrcade 1988 on the screen before he event began.
- Ric Flair did a segment with Dolph Ziggler, randomly turning Ziggler face.
- WWE sold two exclusive shirts at the event, one for this night's card and one showcasing Starrcade 1983. There was also a throwback poster for the latter event.
- There were retro-themed introduction screens for the matches.
- Arn Anderson was the special enforcer for Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode. Arn tried to stop Ziggler from using a chair, leading to Ziggler punching him. Arn then gave Dolph a spinebuster to set up Roode winning via Glorious DDT.
- The Bludgeon Brothers attacked everyone else in a twelve-man tag match with the two of them paired with Aiden English, The Colons, and Mike Kanellis against Breezango, The Ascension, Tye Dillinger, and Sin Cara. Harper and Rowan pinned Dillinger to end the match.
- "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes used his old WCW music and gear in a win over Dash Wilder with a flying bulldog. WWE played a video tribute to Dusty before the match.
- Matt, Jeff, and Maxel Hardy appeared, introducing The Rock 'N' Roll Express. None of them competed; they just thanked the crowd for the decades of support before dancing with The New Day.
- Ric Flair appeared before the crowd to put the event over, then accompanied Charlotte onstage after she retained the Smackdown Women's Championship.
At WrestleCade in North Carolina:
- Jerry Lawler defeated George South. This was aired on Internet PPV, so Lawler has a lot of leeway to make non-WWE appearnces.
- Lashley and King Mo defeated the Veterans of War. The latter team hasn't worked for Impact since April, so it's unlikely this was filmed for TV.
- Jim Cornette announced his appearance here was his last night as a manager. He seconded Dan Severn as Severn defeated Josh Woods.
- In an Impact World Championship match that might air on a future episode of TV, Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact and the former Jack Swagger in a triple threat match. "Dirty" Dutch Mantell was managing Swagger. With him no longer being part of Impact, they might ignore his presence here.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Hopefully the audience behaves itself better when WWE comes back there.
2. I'm curious which names will work the smaller venue and which ones will work the larger venue during the anniversary.
3. I think Bray Wyatt burned down his shrimp boat as a kid?
4. I wonder if there WAS more to the speech. I think he kind of just rambled and played off the crowd until Kane interrupted him.
5. It's a possibility, especially if there ever is a physical version of it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE Studios' "Interrogation" is now on Amazon Prime.
Jinder Mahal is getting a special robe for WWE's Indian show. It's a big night for him; we'll see how much of an emphasis he gets going into Wrestlemania season.
Chris Jericho talked about Netflix's GLOW on his latest podcast. He and The Miz auditioned for the role Alex Riley ended up playing. I'm glad the show ended up being a success!
JBL called out WWE for not including him on the list of Grand Slam winners. WWE clarified it was something of a technicality.
At Smackdown's Starrcade event in North Carolina:
- WWE played Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger from Starrcade 1988 on the screen before he event began.
- Ric Flair did a segment with Dolph Ziggler, randomly turning Ziggler face.
- WWE sold two exclusive shirts at the event, one for this night's card and one showcasing Starrcade 1983. There was also a throwback poster for the latter event.
- There were retro-themed introduction screens for the matches.
- Arn Anderson was the special enforcer for Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode. Arn tried to stop Ziggler from using a chair, leading to Ziggler punching him. Arn then gave Dolph a spinebuster to set up Roode winning via Glorious DDT.
- The Bludgeon Brothers attacked everyone else in a twelve-man tag match with the two of them paired with Aiden English, The Colons, and Mike Kanellis against Breezango, The Ascension, Tye Dillinger, and Sin Cara. Harper and Rowan pinned Dillinger to end the match.
- "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes used his old WCW music and gear in a win over Dash Wilder with a flying bulldog. WWE played a video tribute to Dusty before the match.
- Matt, Jeff, and Maxel Hardy appeared, introducing The Rock 'N' Roll Express. None of them competed; they just thanked the crowd for the decades of support before dancing with The New Day.
- Ric Flair appeared before the crowd to put the event over, then accompanied Charlotte onstage after she retained the Smackdown Women's Championship.
At WrestleCade in North Carolina:
- Jerry Lawler defeated George South. This was aired on Internet PPV, so Lawler has a lot of leeway to make non-WWE appearnces.
- Lashley and King Mo defeated the Veterans of War. The latter team hasn't worked for Impact since April, so it's unlikely this was filmed for TV.
- Jim Cornette announced his appearance here was his last night as a manager. He seconded Dan Severn as Severn defeated Josh Woods.
- In an Impact World Championship match that might air on a future episode of TV, Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact and the former Jack Swagger in a triple threat match. "Dirty" Dutch Mantell was managing Swagger. With him no longer being part of Impact, they might ignore his presence here.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Hopefully the audience behaves itself better when WWE comes back there.
2. I'm curious which names will work the smaller venue and which ones will work the larger venue during the anniversary.
3. I think Bray Wyatt burned down his shrimp boat as a kid?
4. I wonder if there WAS more to the speech. I think he kind of just rambled and played off the crowd until Kane interrupted him.
5. It's a possibility, especially if there ever is a physical version of it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, November 25, 2017
WWE in TV negotiations, new Table for 3 this week, NXT preview, WWE Network celebrating Taker, Interview with Nia, Rock grants a wish, Impact home back on Dish, another custom WWE title, Taker update, and Questions on Paige masterminding both NXT attacks, pairing Miz and Ziggler, CZW's longevity, Vince giving feedback, and WWE doppelgangers
WWE has entered discussions with a number of outlets to carry Raw and Smackdown once their current deal expires, including Fox, Disney (home of ABC and ESPN), CBS, Amazon, YouTube, and Oath (which came about as part of AOL merging with Yahoo!). Moving to a digital outlet would be a big shift given WWE's demographics. How many older fans would they lose with that effort, and how many new fans would they gain? It's entirely possible they end up staying where they are, but where their content airs will be an important story in the years to come.
The "Table for 3" episode with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Sting is set to air after Raw after many false calls. I'm glad it will be available soon.
Wednesday's NXT will feature:
- Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce
- Street Profits vs. Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli
- Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews vs. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven
WWE Network's Flashback Friday this week will focus on The Undertaker 27 years following his WWF debut.
Nia Jax did a quick Q&A for an Australian TV channel.
The Rock met a Make-A-Wish kid as Maui. That's pretty cool, even though the kid no-sold everything.
Pop TV returned to Dish Network on Friday as negotiations between Dish and CBS allowed it and other channels to resume on the service. So, fans will be able to see Impact Wrestling as it airs next week.
Alberto El Patron vs. Eli Drake has been announced for WrestlePro's December 9 event. This will be taped for Impact Wrestling, potentially in addition to more content at the show.
WWE put together a custom championship for F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
The Undertaker was backstage at Survivor Series. He lives close to the venue, so I wouldn't read too much into that.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I definitely like the idea of there being someone behind both attacks if it doesn't look like the Smackdown squad is Paige's B-team. I wouldn't mind someone like Zelina Vega orchestrating the whole thing. Honestly, WWE could tell a story of Stephanie McMahon stirring it up to stick it to Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon all at once, but they'd run the risk of Stephanie stealing their thunder as the centerpiece.
2. I think they could do something where Miz is the mouthpiece and Ziggler focuses on the wrestling, but as long as Dolph is the same guy he always is as a character and in the ring, Creative can only do so much.
3. CZW reaches a niche that is very different from what you see in WWE or in most other indies. Showcasing the style they showcase is a benefit to them in that sense, because they're not trying to directly compete with what other people do.
4. Vince is pretty busy, but is willing to give feedback to talents if they're willing to take advice from him. That's easier said than done, though. He can be pretty intimidating.
5. As many times as people joked about Darren looking like Cena, I kind of wish they would have gone that route now. As for Mandy and Liv, they're on separate rosters, so they're good for now. WWE could have had them be the Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder to Alexa Bliss' Edge if they wanted, running interference for her and the like, but they went with the current direction instead.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The "Table for 3" episode with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Sting is set to air after Raw after many false calls. I'm glad it will be available soon.
Wednesday's NXT will feature:
- Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce
- Street Profits vs. Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli
- Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews vs. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven
WWE Network's Flashback Friday this week will focus on The Undertaker 27 years following his WWF debut.
Nia Jax did a quick Q&A for an Australian TV channel.
The Rock met a Make-A-Wish kid as Maui. That's pretty cool, even though the kid no-sold everything.
Pop TV returned to Dish Network on Friday as negotiations between Dish and CBS allowed it and other channels to resume on the service. So, fans will be able to see Impact Wrestling as it airs next week.
Alberto El Patron vs. Eli Drake has been announced for WrestlePro's December 9 event. This will be taped for Impact Wrestling, potentially in addition to more content at the show.
WWE put together a custom championship for F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
The Undertaker was backstage at Survivor Series. He lives close to the venue, so I wouldn't read too much into that.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I definitely like the idea of there being someone behind both attacks if it doesn't look like the Smackdown squad is Paige's B-team. I wouldn't mind someone like Zelina Vega orchestrating the whole thing. Honestly, WWE could tell a story of Stephanie McMahon stirring it up to stick it to Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon all at once, but they'd run the risk of Stephanie stealing their thunder as the centerpiece.
2. I think they could do something where Miz is the mouthpiece and Ziggler focuses on the wrestling, but as long as Dolph is the same guy he always is as a character and in the ring, Creative can only do so much.
3. CZW reaches a niche that is very different from what you see in WWE or in most other indies. Showcasing the style they showcase is a benefit to them in that sense, because they're not trying to directly compete with what other people do.
4. Vince is pretty busy, but is willing to give feedback to talents if they're willing to take advice from him. That's easier said than done, though. He can be pretty intimidating.
5. As many times as people joked about Darren looking like Cena, I kind of wish they would have gone that route now. As for Mandy and Liv, they're on separate rosters, so they're good for now. WWE could have had them be the Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder to Alexa Bliss' Edge if they wanted, running interference for her and the like, but they went with the current direction instead.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, November 24, 2017
WWE attendance notes, WK12-U.S. update, LU Season 4 plans, Impact's January destination, new WWE show on Facebook?, WWE roster cuts coming?, Flair back doing signings, Tribute taping at naval base, Lio-NXT update, Smackdown audience, Bludgeon Brothers lose first names, Regal scouting in South America, and Questions on Becky not being pushed, no pyro in WWE, NXT Title plans, NXT women invading, and Ellsworth's future
Survivor Series was a legitimate sellout of 12,000 fans. Takeover, Raw, and Smackdown each drew around 6,000 fans. That's a BIG drop-off. I hope they're making the right move continuing the tradition of four straight shows on big weekends in 2018.
Wrestle Kingdom 12 will not be available on pay-per-view as NJPW has decided to offer it exclusively on New Japan World as a way to get more subscribers. That's a risky move. I hope it pays off for them in what could be their biggest international show in decades.
Lucha Underground should return to the air in late spring or early summer following the taping of the fourth season. The season should still be taped in Los Angeles, although the normal venue is unavailable.
Impact's January tapings will be back at Universal Studios. There are no dates set or announced at this point.
WWE is looking to do a live show on Facebook following Smackdown on Tuesday nights. This would not be 205 Live, which could move to being before Smackdown. That makes another really long taping. I hope it becomes the Smackdown version of Main Event, since some of the lower-level names don't get much screen time.
WWE names are concerned about roster cuts following the debuts of the new NXT talent on Raw and Smackdown. We'll see if that ends up happening, and who will be affected. Obviously WWE already made a few cuts before those debuts.
Ric Flair is taking some bookings for signings again.
Tribute to the Troops will be taped at Naval Base San Diego in the early morning on December 5 before the Smackdown taping that evening. Both Raw and Smackdown names will be involved.
Lio Rush has not been booked since getting heat for his Twitter comments. He's still held in high regard as a talent, but has rubbed his peers the wrong way in NXT.
Smackdown drew 2.66 million viewers Tuesday, mostly in line with the previous week's episode. It's concerning there wasn't a boost after how big of a show Survivor Series was.
Fred Ottman talked about a number of subjects on Ricky Morton's podcast.
The Bludgeon Brothers are now just known as Harper and Rowan, losing their first names.
William Regal scouted talents in Chile. Regal's been invaluable for WWE since moving behind-the-scenes.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE can only push so many members of their incredibly talented roster at once. Pushing Naomi, Natalya, and Charlotte means Becky is on the sidelines.
2. They could if they wanted to. That's not a bad idea, actually, if it would look and sound good enough.
3. I was very surprised, too. Everything went as planned other than Drew being injured.
4. I definitely think it pointed to everyone being on the same side, although I'm not quite sure how that works out. I wouldn't mind Paige doing an invasion on both shows (by proxy) or inspiring that many women to rebel. I'm looking forward to the next steps. It definitely made things more interesting.
5. I assume he gets some well-paying bookings on the indie scene for a while. Impact might be a possibility, but I wouldn't assume he's headed there given their financial woes.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wrestle Kingdom 12 will not be available on pay-per-view as NJPW has decided to offer it exclusively on New Japan World as a way to get more subscribers. That's a risky move. I hope it pays off for them in what could be their biggest international show in decades.
Lucha Underground should return to the air in late spring or early summer following the taping of the fourth season. The season should still be taped in Los Angeles, although the normal venue is unavailable.
Impact's January tapings will be back at Universal Studios. There are no dates set or announced at this point.
WWE is looking to do a live show on Facebook following Smackdown on Tuesday nights. This would not be 205 Live, which could move to being before Smackdown. That makes another really long taping. I hope it becomes the Smackdown version of Main Event, since some of the lower-level names don't get much screen time.
WWE names are concerned about roster cuts following the debuts of the new NXT talent on Raw and Smackdown. We'll see if that ends up happening, and who will be affected. Obviously WWE already made a few cuts before those debuts.
Ric Flair is taking some bookings for signings again.
Tribute to the Troops will be taped at Naval Base San Diego in the early morning on December 5 before the Smackdown taping that evening. Both Raw and Smackdown names will be involved.
Lio Rush has not been booked since getting heat for his Twitter comments. He's still held in high regard as a talent, but has rubbed his peers the wrong way in NXT.
Smackdown drew 2.66 million viewers Tuesday, mostly in line with the previous week's episode. It's concerning there wasn't a boost after how big of a show Survivor Series was.
Fred Ottman talked about a number of subjects on Ricky Morton's podcast.
The Bludgeon Brothers are now just known as Harper and Rowan, losing their first names.
William Regal scouted talents in Chile. Regal's been invaluable for WWE since moving behind-the-scenes.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE can only push so many members of their incredibly talented roster at once. Pushing Naomi, Natalya, and Charlotte means Becky is on the sidelines.
2. They could if they wanted to. That's not a bad idea, actually, if it would look and sound good enough.
3. I was very surprised, too. Everything went as planned other than Drew being injured.
4. I definitely think it pointed to everyone being on the same side, although I'm not quite sure how that works out. I wouldn't mind Paige doing an invasion on both shows (by proxy) or inspiring that many women to rebel. I'm looking forward to the next steps. It definitely made things more interesting.
5. I assume he gets some well-paying bookings on the indie scene for a while. Impact might be a possibility, but I wouldn't assume he's headed there given their financial woes.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE 2018 PPV schedule, more WWE in the UK, Starrcade update, WWE doubling up on venues more, WWE names working on film, wrestling book and magazine notes, another Foley tour, Kamala update, Impact TV home dropped by Dish, and Questions on hypercritical fans, the siege angle, Suplex City, fans' risks at ringside, and Flair's "30 for 30"
WWE has released their PPV schedule for 2018:
- It looks like they're slowing down on plans to do so many shows. That's probably a good move.
- Having five Takeover events is pretty big. Full Sail might have seen its last one!
- Money in the Bank being dual-branded is cool if they don't have four of those matches for each brand's men and each brand's women. That would be overkill. I'd like to see, say, four members of each roster in the match and the winner being able to cash in on either show. That would be a lot more interesting, as it opens the door for someone to instantly switch sides as a surprise.
- I hope WarGames II is built as well as this one was, because this was pretty much the perfect storm.
WWE has officially announced their May 2018 UK tour. They'll be going on quite the European adventure that month with the previously announced dates.
The Club is still set for Starrcade 2017, so maybe they'll face The Rock 'N' Roll Express after all.
WWE is working on doing more back-to-back Raw and Smackdown tapings in the same venue for 2018. I'm fine with that if it's good for attendance! It's probably more convenient for everyone.
The Miz, Becky Lynch, and Shawn Michaels will be in the sixth "Marine" movie, so Becky was written off TV for some time following Smackdown. I love the story of Miz replacing Cena in the franchise.
Brooklyn Brawler has released an autobiography, exclusively on Amazon. That should be pretty interesting.
Jim Ross got press for "Slobberknocker." I'm glad it finally got released.
Sean Oliver wrote a book about his experiences in the business, which has been released as a paperback and ebook.
Mandy Rose is on the cover of December's "Fitness: Curves" magazine. That could have something to do with her sudden appearance on Raw.
Mick Foley is going on tour in Q2 2018 to build to the 20th anniversary of his famous Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker. Foley has been able to turn the bumps in the match into a very profitable speaking tour.
Lana got press for being in "Muscle and Fitness Hers." I'm glad she's been able to be more than Rusev's manager.
Kamala is now breathing without mechanical assistance, and has been taken off post-surgery medication. He is awake and alert. All those things are positive signs. I wish him well with his recovery.
Pop Network was briefly pulled off Dish Network as part of a dispute between its parent company and the satellite provider. As such, Dish subscribers could not watch this week's Impact as it aired. The audience was already going to be down for Thanksgiving, but this will give it an even bigger hit.
For my take on Wednesday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. With more fans having access to the Internet (and an outlet to express their concerns) than years ago, the vocal minority of critics is going to be a lot more visible, particularly when they have a sympathetic audience. I'd absolutely like to see fewer repetitive complaints in the column, but that's the kind of audience that is drawn to these kinds of websites. It's not just a wrestling thing by any means, as people will track down every little detail in a comic, movie, etc. to criticize. Thankfully most of the audience just watches the show and doesn't go out of its way to discuss every tiny detail they think is bad or inconsistent, but part of the audience sees hypercriticism as a sign of intellectualism and superiority.
2. They could have done more, although that could have been a mess with all the logistic issues of changing people's schedules to be at TV instead of their home brand's live events.
3. A lot of fans enjoy Suplex City, and it is fun in its own right, but I do like Brock more when he shows more of what he's capable of. But, hey, they're going to pay and push him the same whether he has a match of the year candidate or just coasts through, so I can see why he does the bare minimum!
4. Yes, sometimes such things happen. If a fan needs serious attention, WWE has medical staff on hand. WWE's legally covered, though, as by buying a ticket, you're assuming the risks.
5. I definitely find Flair a tragic figure, outwardly living such an incredible life but inwardly never being happy with what seems so great. Honestly, I imagine a lot of people are in similar positions. I don't know if WWE will be willing to paint anyone in such a light, but ESPN will almost certainly do more in that light.
More wrestling coming up.
- It looks like they're slowing down on plans to do so many shows. That's probably a good move.
- Having five Takeover events is pretty big. Full Sail might have seen its last one!
- Money in the Bank being dual-branded is cool if they don't have four of those matches for each brand's men and each brand's women. That would be overkill. I'd like to see, say, four members of each roster in the match and the winner being able to cash in on either show. That would be a lot more interesting, as it opens the door for someone to instantly switch sides as a surprise.
- I hope WarGames II is built as well as this one was, because this was pretty much the perfect storm.
WWE has officially announced their May 2018 UK tour. They'll be going on quite the European adventure that month with the previously announced dates.
The Club is still set for Starrcade 2017, so maybe they'll face The Rock 'N' Roll Express after all.
WWE is working on doing more back-to-back Raw and Smackdown tapings in the same venue for 2018. I'm fine with that if it's good for attendance! It's probably more convenient for everyone.
The Miz, Becky Lynch, and Shawn Michaels will be in the sixth "Marine" movie, so Becky was written off TV for some time following Smackdown. I love the story of Miz replacing Cena in the franchise.
Brooklyn Brawler has released an autobiography, exclusively on Amazon. That should be pretty interesting.
Jim Ross got press for "Slobberknocker." I'm glad it finally got released.
Sean Oliver wrote a book about his experiences in the business, which has been released as a paperback and ebook.
Mandy Rose is on the cover of December's "Fitness: Curves" magazine. That could have something to do with her sudden appearance on Raw.
Mick Foley is going on tour in Q2 2018 to build to the 20th anniversary of his famous Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker. Foley has been able to turn the bumps in the match into a very profitable speaking tour.
Lana got press for being in "Muscle and Fitness Hers." I'm glad she's been able to be more than Rusev's manager.
Kamala is now breathing without mechanical assistance, and has been taken off post-surgery medication. He is awake and alert. All those things are positive signs. I wish him well with his recovery.
Pop Network was briefly pulled off Dish Network as part of a dispute between its parent company and the satellite provider. As such, Dish subscribers could not watch this week's Impact as it aired. The audience was already going to be down for Thanksgiving, but this will give it an even bigger hit.
For my take on Wednesday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. With more fans having access to the Internet (and an outlet to express their concerns) than years ago, the vocal minority of critics is going to be a lot more visible, particularly when they have a sympathetic audience. I'd absolutely like to see fewer repetitive complaints in the column, but that's the kind of audience that is drawn to these kinds of websites. It's not just a wrestling thing by any means, as people will track down every little detail in a comic, movie, etc. to criticize. Thankfully most of the audience just watches the show and doesn't go out of its way to discuss every tiny detail they think is bad or inconsistent, but part of the audience sees hypercriticism as a sign of intellectualism and superiority.
2. They could have done more, although that could have been a mess with all the logistic issues of changing people's schedules to be at TV instead of their home brand's live events.
3. A lot of fans enjoy Suplex City, and it is fun in its own right, but I do like Brock more when he shows more of what he's capable of. But, hey, they're going to pay and push him the same whether he has a match of the year candidate or just coasts through, so I can see why he does the bare minimum!
4. Yes, sometimes such things happen. If a fan needs serious attention, WWE has medical staff on hand. WWE's legally covered, though, as by buying a ticket, you're assuming the risks.
5. I definitely find Flair a tragic figure, outwardly living such an incredible life but inwardly never being happy with what seems so great. Honestly, I imagine a lot of people are in similar positions. I don't know if WWE will be willing to paint anyone in such a light, but ESPN will almost certainly do more in that light.
More wrestling coming up.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
WWNLive vs. Flosports update, WWNLive streaming plans, LU back on Verizon service, CZW guests, Dreamer training, why Miz is no longer champion, NXT names at Raw, WWE announces European tour, WWF name writing autobiography, WWE Houston press, Raw audience, and Questions on NXT's treatment by WWE, Cesaro's mouthpiece, and booking Jordan
WWNLive is looking to move Flosports' lawsuit against them from Texas to Florida, where WWNLive is based and runs most of its shows. WWNLive also disputes the misleading data at the center of the lawsuit, as that data was compiled by a third-party company.
WWNLive is negotiating with other streaming services. They currently plan on airing events on the FITE app.
El Rey Network is returning to Verizon's FiOS service along with other Univision stations as part of a new deal. So, FiOS users will be able to see the fourth seasion of Lucha Underground when it premieres.
Jimmy Jacobs and Tim Storm have been announced for CZW's December 9 event, so Jacobs isn't exclusive to Impact and the NWA World Champion is getting further attention on the indie scene.
Tommy Dreamer will be part of the next seminar at Ken Anderson and Shawn Daivari's wrestling school, which could lead to students there heading to House of Hardcore at some point. With HOH's increased visibility, that's a good opportunity.
The Miz is taking time off to film a movie, hence his losing the Intercontinental Championship on Raw and taking a Cerberus Powerbomb through a table after the show. As great as Miz is, I'm OK with him taking some time off so he can return fresh. There's no timetable for him coming back to the ring at this time.
Ruby Riot and Liv Morgan were backstage at Raw. I'm curious how far in advance plans were made to debut all these NXT women.
WWE announced a May 2018 European tour for Raw and Smackdown. It seems they're always planning their next international dates.
"Dangerous" Danny Davis is writing an autobiography set to release in April 2018.
WarGames got press in Houston, as did Naomi's car being burglarized. It's a shame someone took advantage of the show like that.
Raw drew 3.08 million viewers for the post-Survivor Series show, pretty close to the previous week. So, they didn't get much of a boost from the big show-closing angle.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.YEESSSS!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! Talents have to make their way up the ranks. The only people disappointed when talents don't immediately make a big splash are the ones who have misunderstood the purpose of NXT. "Graduating" from NXT gives you a spot on the main roster. The roster needs lower card talents just as it needs main eventers. When Raw or Smackdown already have a lot of viable candidates to move up the card, the NXT callups have to start lower.
1.YEESSSS!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! Talents have to make their way up the ranks. The only people disappointed when talents don't immediately make a big splash are the ones who have misunderstood the purpose of NXT. "Graduating" from NXT gives you a spot on the main roster. The roster needs lower card talents just as it needs main eventers. When Raw or Smackdown already have a lot of viable candidates to move up the card, the NXT callups have to start lower.
2. WWE has promoted a LOT of NXT talents. The roster has changed drastically since Triple H took over that area of the company, and a lot of NXT talents have held a lot of titles and appeared in a lot of big matches. The booking of NXT talents has really been misrepresented by people who have gotten so attached to key NXT talents that they've forgotten NXT is just a filler league to prepare people for Raw and Smackdown, two brands that already have a lot of important talents.
3. The mouthpiece definitely looks more badass than braces, and fits his gimmick better.
4. Wow. That idea coming from someone who complains at how NXT talents get misused? Way to make Jason look like a geek. What idiot turns down a title shot?? I absolutely would consider him turning heel, being upset that his dad doesn't believe in him and wanting to succeed to stick it to Kurt. Heck, have him join Triple H to seal the deal.
5. However much they could get someone to pay for it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 11/21/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Survivor Series news and notes, WWE Network series shelved, WWE legend hospitalized, Smackdown live event note, and Questions on why Vince doesn't push indie wrestlers, Black Saturday on the Network, Bischoff and Hogan's Impact tenure, and NXT names being competitive on the main roster
After Survivor Series, Stephanie McMahon checked on Triple H. Haitch got BRAUNED.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn teased moving to Raw. There had been talk of another "superstar shakeup." I'd prefer Shane refuse to release them from their deals as punishment, and so Raw doesn't get even more from Smackdown. Those two can grow more on Smackdown rather than going right back to Raw anyway.
The Houston Astros' Josh Reddick was backstage at Survivor Series. It was definitely a big event to attend!
WWE promoted Tribute to the Troops 2017. It's an important show for the company.
"Bring it to the Table" has been shelved. WWE put the set in storage and has no plans for any more episodes. With JBL busy with other projects and the company cutting costs, this isn't a huge surprise. I know a lot of people reacted negatively to the show, but I don't think that had anything to do with it being dropped.
Naomi had her car broken into during Survivor Series. That's terrible. She also met Travis Scott, while Titus O'Neil met Dwight Howard.
Kamala is currently on life support following surgery Sunday due to diabetic complications. That's scary. I hope he's able to recover.
Rusev beat Viktor at a Smackdown live event Monday night, which is odd for a number of reasons. Konnor wasn't on the card, and both men have generally been used as heels. Whether that's a sign of a face turn for either side remains to be seen.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'd argue it's almost entirely about whether a talent can fit a role WWE higher-ups want them to play. Vince wants WWE to be a larger-than-life spectacle with (generally) larger talents built for power. Smaller wrestlers aren't generally seen as main eventers, because it's "not as believable" for them to beat people like Roman, Braun, etc. An important note here is that since Vince sets the idea for who is and isn't a star, if the person in charge of developmental and talent relations isn't recruiting and training talents to fit that mold, they're not doing the job Vince hired them to do. Vince can hardly be blamed for not pushing people who clearly don't fit his idea of a superstar.
2. Unless WWE can find a way to spin Black Saturday in a way that makes Vince look like the heroic underdog saving audiences from Billionaire Ted's rasslin', I don't know if they'll focus on that too much. And there's probably not as much appeal for that series as there is for putting over the Attitude Era.
3. I doubt they've planned much of anything for the Hall of Fame.
4. They absolutely were more "major league" in the Hogan and Bischoff era. However, they spent so much money on going on the road so often, big contracts, etc. that it wasn't sustainable.
5. When someone graduates summa cum laude from a prestigious university, they still often have to start pretty low at their new job. From NXT to Raw or Smackdown is similar. Dolph is a former world champion, and if Shinsuke won in three minutes, fans would complain about Dolph being buried and WWE not letting Nakamura show off what he can do.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn teased moving to Raw. There had been talk of another "superstar shakeup." I'd prefer Shane refuse to release them from their deals as punishment, and so Raw doesn't get even more from Smackdown. Those two can grow more on Smackdown rather than going right back to Raw anyway.
The Houston Astros' Josh Reddick was backstage at Survivor Series. It was definitely a big event to attend!
WWE promoted Tribute to the Troops 2017. It's an important show for the company.
"Bring it to the Table" has been shelved. WWE put the set in storage and has no plans for any more episodes. With JBL busy with other projects and the company cutting costs, this isn't a huge surprise. I know a lot of people reacted negatively to the show, but I don't think that had anything to do with it being dropped.
Naomi had her car broken into during Survivor Series. That's terrible. She also met Travis Scott, while Titus O'Neil met Dwight Howard.
Kamala is currently on life support following surgery Sunday due to diabetic complications. That's scary. I hope he's able to recover.
Rusev beat Viktor at a Smackdown live event Monday night, which is odd for a number of reasons. Konnor wasn't on the card, and both men have generally been used as heels. Whether that's a sign of a face turn for either side remains to be seen.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'd argue it's almost entirely about whether a talent can fit a role WWE higher-ups want them to play. Vince wants WWE to be a larger-than-life spectacle with (generally) larger talents built for power. Smaller wrestlers aren't generally seen as main eventers, because it's "not as believable" for them to beat people like Roman, Braun, etc. An important note here is that since Vince sets the idea for who is and isn't a star, if the person in charge of developmental and talent relations isn't recruiting and training talents to fit that mold, they're not doing the job Vince hired them to do. Vince can hardly be blamed for not pushing people who clearly don't fit his idea of a superstar.
2. Unless WWE can find a way to spin Black Saturday in a way that makes Vince look like the heroic underdog saving audiences from Billionaire Ted's rasslin', I don't know if they'll focus on that too much. And there's probably not as much appeal for that series as there is for putting over the Attitude Era.
3. I doubt they've planned much of anything for the Hall of Fame.
4. They absolutely were more "major league" in the Hogan and Bischoff era. However, they spent so much money on going on the road so often, big contracts, etc. that it wasn't sustainable.
5. When someone graduates summa cum laude from a prestigious university, they still often have to start pretty low at their new job. From NXT to Raw or Smackdown is similar. Dolph is a former world champion, and if Shinsuke won in three minutes, fans would complain about Dolph being buried and WWE not letting Nakamura show off what he can do.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, November 20, 2017
NFL team shouts out WWE HoFers, Bayley helps fan propose, Interview with Miz, WWE 2K18 DLC, and Questions on WWE's main eventers, The Club reforming, praising Corbin, continuity in WWE, and WWE's production values
NFL's Los Angeles Rams have audibles named after Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. That's pretty cool!
Bayley was part of a marriage proposal at Wizard World Austin. Alexa needs to rip into everyone involved for such a saccharine moment.
The Miz spoke to TMZ about being the MVP of Raw. Wrestling needs more Mizes and Enzos.
WWE 2K18 is getting Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, Elias, Lars Sullivan, and Ruby Riot as the first DLC pack. Good to see those names entering the roster.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The show definitely had a big focus on the McMahons and part-timers, who WWE sees as the most important people in their universe. I expect that'll continue as we head toward Wrestlemania.
2. Honestly, that's not a bad idea. The main drawback to me is that AJ is at a higher level than those two and it could bring him down to carry two mid-level wrestlers. If anything, they should team with someone against either AJ or Balor for "forgetting where they came from."
3. I like him at the level he's at now. We'll see if he can crack into the main event picture at some point.
4. WWE doesn't really care that much, and neither do most fans. The 30-day rule, like most rules in wrestling, is up to whether an authority figure actually enforces it. Roode and Ziggler teaming up has been explained to death: they're not best friends, but they're willing to temporarily work together against a common enemy. See the U.S. and Soviet Union working together in World War II.
5. WWE wants to be a big flashy show with a lot of lights and HD cameras and so on. I also prefer things to be more toned down but you've got to appeal to millennials now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Bayley was part of a marriage proposal at Wizard World Austin. Alexa needs to rip into everyone involved for such a saccharine moment.
The Miz spoke to TMZ about being the MVP of Raw. Wrestling needs more Mizes and Enzos.
WWE 2K18 is getting Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, Elias, Lars Sullivan, and Ruby Riot as the first DLC pack. Good to see those names entering the roster.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The show definitely had a big focus on the McMahons and part-timers, who WWE sees as the most important people in their universe. I expect that'll continue as we head toward Wrestlemania.
2. Honestly, that's not a bad idea. The main drawback to me is that AJ is at a higher level than those two and it could bring him down to carry two mid-level wrestlers. If anything, they should team with someone against either AJ or Balor for "forgetting where they came from."
3. I like him at the level he's at now. We'll see if he can crack into the main event picture at some point.
4. WWE doesn't really care that much, and neither do most fans. The 30-day rule, like most rules in wrestling, is up to whether an authority figure actually enforces it. Roode and Ziggler teaming up has been explained to death: they're not best friends, but they're willing to temporarily work together against a common enemy. See the U.S. and Soviet Union working together in World War II.
5. WWE wants to be a big flashy show with a lot of lights and HD cameras and so on. I also prefer things to be more toned down but you've got to appeal to millennials now.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Survivor Series Reax
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw and Smackdown brand WWE Network special.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Main Event Reax - 11/18/17, more Network holiday celebrations, Lawler in Netflix documentary, Flair management comments on lawsuit, WM34 press, McIntyre promotes Takeover, Survivor Series team complete, WWE helps out in Texas, special Survivor Series offer, Floslam update, WWE Network miscue, WarGames note, McIntyre hurt, NWA at HOH, HOH and ROH live event notes, and Questions on Flair's legal issues, WWE's upcoming international tour, Hideo's future, and more Starrcades
-- Main Event:
- Slater vs. Hawkins:
Ahhhh.... good old Heath. He's great.
With as many losses as Curt has, he should appreciate a free T-shirt!
I'm liking this action so far.
Nice basic work here.
That was fine!
- Metalik vs. Nese:
This match again...
Gran is definitely incredible.
That was OK for the time it had.
WWE Network will feature more Thanksgiving content on this week's Flashback Friday. There's a lot of footage to use for that theme.
Jerry Lawler is part of a Netflix documentary focusing on Jim Carrey playing Andy Kaufman.
Ric Flair's former management company issued a statement on his lawsuit. We'll see how this ends up playing out.
Wrestlemania 34's party got press in New Orleans. That Mark Henry story sounds pretty painful.
Drew McIntyre talked before Takeover. I'm glad he's in much better shape now.
Natalya is the fifth member of Smackdown's female Survivor Series team. So, presumably no Paige just yet.
Booker T. and the Street Profits helped rebuild in Houston before Takeover. That's awesome! I'm glad WWE is doing good work there.
WWE is offering Survivor Series for a one-time fee of $24.99 for those who don't want to do a monthly subscription. It's an interesting approach, to say the least.
Floslam made posts on their social media accounts covering Survival of the Fittest, earning a rebuke from ROH for the perceived association between the two companies. Floslam, somewhat surprisingly, is still an active entity despite losing so many of its signature brands.
WWE mistakenly promoted a free month of WWE Network for some people already subscribed before catching the error.
Sergeant Slaughter was backstage at Takeover:WarGames. As usual, there were current and former stars in the crowd for the event.
Drew McIntyre suffered a biceps injury during his NXT title match and will be undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of it. He was seen by a trainer right after the match. I hope he's able to return soon; he has been amazing the past couple of years and is absolutely a star player.
NWA did an angle at House of Hardcore in Pennsylvania before the show began airing on Twitch. Tim Storm was in attendance, and Tommy Dreamer invited Billy Corgan to future shows. I'm glad NWA is getting an increased profile.
Some other House of Hardcore notes:
- Petey Williams, Matt Riddle, and the Briscoes were involved on screen, so they're able to work broadcast events outside their respective promotions.
- Dave Lagana, Luke Hawx, Homicide, and Jeff Jones were backstage.
At Survival of the Fittest Night Two in Texas:
- Andy Dalton defeated Lou Gotti in a Future of Honor match
- Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon, and Matt Taven won their respective tournament matches
- Scorpio Sky unsuccessfully challenged for the ROH Television Championship
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Thankfully he's able to come back to the state now.
2. Both situations are a real shame. I hope everything gets legally sorted out soon.
3. It definitely looks like they overestimated interest from Indian fans, at least as far as spending money to attend WWE shows.
4. The show is far enough off that plans are continually changing, just as happens with other live events. Cena vs. Roman is a bigger match for WWE given how both have been built over the years. Joe will still be on the show pending injury.
5. Option two, possibly leading to option one depending on how his time on that show goes.
6. It depends on how this version goes. WWE might run through different markets around Thanksgiving time in future years, in which case I don't see them using the name. They happened to be in the right place at the right time to use Starrcade this year.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Slater vs. Hawkins:
Ahhhh.... good old Heath. He's great.
With as many losses as Curt has, he should appreciate a free T-shirt!
I'm liking this action so far.
Nice basic work here.
That was fine!
- Metalik vs. Nese:
This match again...
Gran is definitely incredible.
That was OK for the time it had.
WWE Network will feature more Thanksgiving content on this week's Flashback Friday. There's a lot of footage to use for that theme.
Jerry Lawler is part of a Netflix documentary focusing on Jim Carrey playing Andy Kaufman.
Ric Flair's former management company issued a statement on his lawsuit. We'll see how this ends up playing out.
Wrestlemania 34's party got press in New Orleans. That Mark Henry story sounds pretty painful.
Drew McIntyre talked before Takeover. I'm glad he's in much better shape now.
Natalya is the fifth member of Smackdown's female Survivor Series team. So, presumably no Paige just yet.
Booker T. and the Street Profits helped rebuild in Houston before Takeover. That's awesome! I'm glad WWE is doing good work there.
WWE is offering Survivor Series for a one-time fee of $24.99 for those who don't want to do a monthly subscription. It's an interesting approach, to say the least.
Floslam made posts on their social media accounts covering Survival of the Fittest, earning a rebuke from ROH for the perceived association between the two companies. Floslam, somewhat surprisingly, is still an active entity despite losing so many of its signature brands.
WWE mistakenly promoted a free month of WWE Network for some people already subscribed before catching the error.
Sergeant Slaughter was backstage at Takeover:WarGames. As usual, there were current and former stars in the crowd for the event.
Drew McIntyre suffered a biceps injury during his NXT title match and will be undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of it. He was seen by a trainer right after the match. I hope he's able to return soon; he has been amazing the past couple of years and is absolutely a star player.
NWA did an angle at House of Hardcore in Pennsylvania before the show began airing on Twitch. Tim Storm was in attendance, and Tommy Dreamer invited Billy Corgan to future shows. I'm glad NWA is getting an increased profile.
Some other House of Hardcore notes:
- Petey Williams, Matt Riddle, and the Briscoes were involved on screen, so they're able to work broadcast events outside their respective promotions.
- Dave Lagana, Luke Hawx, Homicide, and Jeff Jones were backstage.
At Survival of the Fittest Night Two in Texas:
- Andy Dalton defeated Lou Gotti in a Future of Honor match
- Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon, and Matt Taven won their respective tournament matches
- Scorpio Sky unsuccessfully challenged for the ROH Television Championship
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Thankfully he's able to come back to the state now.
2. Both situations are a real shame. I hope everything gets legally sorted out soon.
3. It definitely looks like they overestimated interest from Indian fans, at least as far as spending money to attend WWE shows.
4. The show is far enough off that plans are continually changing, just as happens with other live events. Cena vs. Roman is a bigger match for WWE given how both have been built over the years. Joe will still be on the show pending injury.
5. Option two, possibly leading to option one depending on how his time on that show goes.
6. It depends on how this version goes. WWE might run through different markets around Thanksgiving time in future years, in which case I don't see them using the name. They happened to be in the right place at the right time to use Starrcade this year.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Survivor Series preview
Read on for my ideas for booking tonight's Raw and Smackdown brand WWE Network special.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
HHH interview after Takeover, assorted wrestling appearances, little people discuss wrestling, Otunga splits from Hudson and faces order of protection, Flair lawsuit, ROH tryout set, WM34 on sale, Rock remembers debut, Interviews with Miz/Tito Santana, top NXT name busted open, NXT and ROH live event notes, Impact audience, Amell meets Bullet Club, and Question on countries that should hold Raw
Triple H will have a Facebook Live video chat following Takeover, as is customary. It will also air on YouTube. It should be a big show!
Goldberg was on ABC’s “The Goldbergs” for their Thanksgiving special. The show has a real affinity for wrestling.
The former Hornswoggle and others discussed being little people in wrestling:
- Wow. He has some real hustle.
- Meeting someone 30 minutes before having a match with them doesn't sound like a recipe for success, but when you've got that busy of a schedule, that's what happens!
- If fans are willing to pay to see him do comedy, that's better than not getting bookings as a more serious worker.
- Swoggle has been more successful than a number of taller WWE superstars.
- All in all, very good piece about wrestlers of that size.
Kalisto was at the Latin Grammys. He seems to be growing a presence.
David Otunga is no longer romantically involved with Jennifer Hudson, with Hudson filing an order of protection against Otunga that required Otunga to leave their home. The two had been engaged for nearly a decade. It's a shame to see this leading to a public custody battle. I wish the parents and son the best as they move forward with their lives.
- Otunga will not be at Survivor Series, understandably focusing on the issue with his now former finacee. It's unfortunate this is spilling out into the public and affecting his WWE life.
Ric Flair has filed a lawsuit against his former management company over money he believes he should have gotten from them. I hope that gets settled and everyone can move on.
ROH has announced a tryout for December 2 and December 3. I hope they get some future stars there.
Wrestlemania 34 is officially on sale in New Orleans. I'd like to see Undertaker and Daniel Bryan go into the Hall of Fame there given their work at the last Mania in New Orleans, but they might save Taker for a Texas Mania weekend.
The Rock remembered his WWE debut 21 years ago. He's come a LONG way from those days.
Lana is in the latest Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine. That's great!
Leo Gao commented on his WWE release. He definitely stood out at the Chinese tryout, but unfortunately we won't be seeing him go forward.
The Miz discussed his history with MTV. So many people assumed he'd go back to being a reality show personality or something, but he's been very successful in WWE.
Tito Santana did an interview. I'm glad he's doing well.
Adam Cole needed several stitches after being thrown head first into his tag team partners at a NXT live event in Texas. He returned to complete the match, defeating SAnitY despite the heavy blood loss. That's BADASS. I'm glad he's OK.
Also at NXT's November 16 live event in Texas:
- Mark Andrews and Wolfgang beat Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss.
- The Velveteen Dream beat Tyler Bate.
- Drew McIntyre and Johnny Gargano defeated Andrade "Cien" Almas and Pete Dunne. Good to see UK names getting work.
Impact Wrestling drew 272,000 viewers Thursday night. That's pretty much what they usually do.
Stephen Amell has debuted a Bullet Club themed shirt available on Pro Wrestling Tees. That's pretty cool to play off "Arrow's" success, although I imagine some people will look at it at Bullet Club further "jumping the shark" by letting pretty much anyone be part of it.
At NXT's November 17 live event in Texas:
- Triple H appeared to hype the crowd.
- Tyler Bate and Trent Seven defeated Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews
At Survival of the Fittest Night One in Texas:
- Jastin Taylor made his ROH debut in a loss to Cheeseburger. Taylor is local to the area
- Silas Young, Shane Taylor, and Punishment Martinez moved on in their respective tournament matches
- Stephen Amell accompanied Cody, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks as they defeated The Addiction, Scorpio Sky, and Flip Gordon
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Almost all of the questions here are trivia, but as for a country I'd like to see host Raw, I'd like to see them eventually do live shows from China, India, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. I don't know how soon any of those are likely to happen, though.
Takeover: WarGames preview
Read on for my ideas for booking tonight's NXT-brand WWE Network special.
Friday, November 17, 2017
LU updates, NJPW's successful year, ROH sellouts, satellite provider airing WWE PPV, ESPN wrestling updates, WWE moving forward on UK show again, Y2J updates, Hogan's wrestling future, WWE Network drops, WWE injury note, WWE airdates in UK changing, Coachman update, early NXT on the Network, top athlete training at WWEPC, assorted WWE appearances, Impact making cuts in Nashville, Konnan update, Impact looking at LU name, Impact producer gaining ground backstage, NWA booking its world champion, Rock's daughter gets awards show nod, HHH conference call, actor narrating Owens special, Starrcade card updates, another ROH match booked for this weekend, MSG match set, WWE UK return tour set, and Questions on match concepts returning, Jinder's role on Sunday, NXT's importance compared to Raw or Smackdown, and Paige's return
Some Lucha Underground notes as the creators plan for Season 4:
- S4 will have fewer than 30 episodes, with less vignettes, and will tape in February and March for a likely Q2 2018 debut. They're shooting on a much tighter schedule due to budget restrictions. That's going to be a really tough stretch of time for the workers.
- S4 will have fewer than 30 episodes, with less vignettes, and will tape in February and March for a likely Q2 2018 debut. They're shooting on a much tighter schedule due to budget restrictions. That's going to be a really tough stretch of time for the workers.
- There are options for up to three additional seasons. The original contracts were for seven seasons, so it looks like that's still the plan. Should those seasons be greenlit, the plan is to tape one season a year at around the same time. There will be no further taping in 2018.
- LU is still looking at touring.
- LU is actively seeking bookings for its talents in other promotions during the off-season, particularly Impact, ROH, NOAH, and Stardom. This is a move aimed at giving their talents further exposure and more work. I like that idea; Impact has definitely benefited from being able to use their wrestlers.
- LU is looking at using talents from other promotions as "guest stars" working a few dates, and bringing in new regular cast members from AAA. That could be good for AAA talents looking for extra incentive to stay there. Additionally, LU is open to using wrestlers who have left AAA.
- They may or may not have use of The Temple after such a long period away from using it. There are backup plans in place.
NJPW is coming off its most successful fiscal year since 1997 in terms of revenue, with increased attendance being the driving factor.
ROH sold out its November 11 live event and its November 12 TV taping. They're drawing impressive ticket sales these past few months.
Survivor Series will be available on DirecTV, which hasn't carried any WWE events since the Network launched. I hope that goes well for both sides.
ESPN is looking at more wrestling content following the success of the Ric Flair special. That special will be released on DVD with content that didn't make it to the TV version.
WWE's weekly UK show could begin taping in early 2018, as the company is looking to book venues. The recent UK tryouts were partially to scout for talents for that project. I hope it gets moving soon and turns a profit.
Cody will be part of Chris Jericho's cruise on ROH's behalf. We'll see if he's still champion then.
Chris Jericho will almost certainly miss Royal Rumble, as Fozzy will be starting a tour that day. Mid-February would be the earliest he could return as a regular. He's expected to work Wrestlemania season.
Hulk Hogan is talking to a wrestling promotion that isn't WWE. I don't know who would be willing and able to spend big money on him at this stage.
WWE Network is no longer in the top ten streaming services by subscription numbers. The service is underperforming in that regard.
Scott Dawson should be returning in mid-December. I'm ready for more from The Revival!
Sky is changing the replay times for Raw and Smackdown in the UK. Raw will now replay on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., while Smackdown will replay Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Jonathan Coachman will work with WWE in some capacity soon. We'll see if he ends up doing something there regularly. Coachman says ESPN had turned down a lot of his ideas before his departure, so hopefully he can do those independently now.
NXT's "seasons" from before the WWE Performance Center days are now being uploaded to WWE Network. That version of the show was kind of a mess at times.
A South African rugby player trained at the WWE Performance Center at WWE's invitation. He's getting training for MMA currently.
John Cena was on Entertainment Tonight to promote an upcoming movie.
Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, Alexa Bliss, and New Day will be part of a WWE edition of Disney XD's "Walk The Prank." Family-friendly WWE is a trip.
Impact is cutting staff at their Nashville office as they prepare for the office to move to Ottawa. That's not a big surprise, even independent of budget cuts going on.
Konnan intends to work for Impact in addition to Arolucha, with Crash talents being available for both projects. That's probably good for his workers.
Impact is interested in Brian Cage. He's definitely a spectacle.
Sonjay Dutt is taking an increased backstage role in Impact management. Good to see him stepping up like that.
Survivor Series week 2018 will be in Los Angeles. The hope is for that to be one of their biggest weeks of business every year with four straight nights of events.
NWA is soliciting bookings for their world champion, Tim Storm, as independent promotions are reaching out to have him on their events. So, he and the title will be touring more going forward. That's a pretty cool concept in 2017.
The Rock's daughter will be the ambassador for the Golden Globers' 75th anniversary. That's pretty great for the family!
- Simone Garcia Johnson has plans on pursuing a wrestling career after graduating college. That's several years from now, so we'll see if it ends up happening. Should she do so, she'd be the first fourth-generation superstar.
Triple H did a big conference call before Takeover:WarGames:
- I like the ROH trio working as a faction. They play off each other well, and don't have to compete with each other for screen time.
- The angle definitely works to do that style of match. They're not just doing the match for novelty.
- I definitely expect at least one move off the top of the structure.
- Triple H definitely adds name value and wrestling expertise to matches and angles he's in. It means something more to work with him compared to the regulars on the roster.
- It is crazy that we're getting WarGames and Starrcade in WWE in 2017. I mean. Wow.
- I'm glad WWE worked something out to do that style of match.
- I wasn't aware of the issues with Full Sail.
- I'm glad the UK names are getting work.
- Oh, HHH vs. Angle is pretty much a given. It's a natural extension of Stephanie being Kurt's boss on Raw.
Michael Rapaport narrated Kevin Owens' "WWE 365" episode. I'm glad Owens is getting such a push.
Finn Balor is doing a signing in Texas on Saturday to promote Survivor Series.
The Club are no longer advertised for Starrcade. They were originally set to face The Rock 'N' Roll Express at that show. The WWE Hall of Fame tag team is still advertised for the event, but not for a match.
Dustin Rhodes, wrestling under that name, is set to face Dash Wilder at Starrcade. I'm glad he'll be able to honor his father there.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Karen Q in a street fight is set for ROH's November 18 event. The Women of Honor are getting pretty regular bookings now. No word on a championship lately, but I'd think that would be something to look for in the future.
Roman Reigns vs. John Cena is now advertised for Raw's December 26 show in Madison Square Garden, with Reigns replacing Samoa Joe. Oh, that will go over REALLY well with the hardcore fans. It's a bigger match for WWE, though.
WWE has announced they will return to Great Britain for events from May 9 through May 18, 2018, including Raw and Smackdown TV tapings.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Triple H pushed to use WarGames for NXT. It's possible we see something similar for Raw or Smackdown at some point if it goes well. I'm sure HHH is looking at a lot of classic match types to see what else can bring back. I miss "falls counts anywhere" matches that have falls backstage or outside the building, but obviously those aren't as fun for the live audience. Things get repetitive in the ring.
1. Triple H pushed to use WarGames for NXT. It's possible we see something similar for Raw or Smackdown at some point if it goes well. I'm sure HHH is looking at a lot of classic match types to see what else can bring back. I miss "falls counts anywhere" matches that have falls backstage or outside the building, but obviously those aren't as fun for the live audience. Things get repetitive in the ring.
2. I wouldn't be surprised if Jinder got involved. He lost his PPV main event AND might not get to be WWE Champion in India anymore. I'd be pretty upset if I was him!
3. NXT is mainly made of people who haven't been successful at the stage of Raw or Smackdown. It makes sense that just because someone can be a top name at that level, they're going to have more trouble with people who have already passed "developmental" and have spent years of experience at a higher level. A great college athlete isn't likely to jump right into the top of a professional league for this reason. People get really attached to NXT to the point they forget it's considered several steps down from Raw and Smackdown.
4. As said above, NXT is still something of a minor league. It's not as impressive to be champion there compared to being successful past that stage.
5. WWE keeps changing plans with Paige. They probably figured Triple H's return would overshadow hers, so it looks like they're saving her for a potential surprise entry at the show itself as part of Team Smackdown. The original plan was for her to return as part of that brand. As for trusting any source, it's rare for any outlet to be 100% accurate, but everyone tries to get things as correct as they can.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Another digital WWE channel, WWE touts Mania impact, more on new lucha promotion, WWE release, WarGames panel, Smackdown audience, more Survival of the Fittest matches, JR-AXS update, Y2J vs. Omega on U.S. PPV?, and Questions on how long Impact can keep going, Impact post-Dixie, The Shield's favorite venue, WWE women's wear, and Sister Abigail
WWE now has a channel on Apple's News app. They continue to expand into the digital world.
WWE put over Wrestlemania 33's economic success for Orlando. The company continues to generate impressive revenue during its biggest week of the year.
Konnan will lead the creative team for Arolucha, the lucha promotion produced by Impact's former production company, Aroluxe Marketing. That's certainly a big move to give them credibility. It will be interesting to see how that project fares with Lucha Underground continuing.
- "Aro Lucha" has been trademarked for wrestling and merchandise as the project continues to come together.
James Ellsworth has been released by WWE. That's not a huge surprise in hindsight after Carmella dumped him. On the recent European tour, he ended up routinely taking offense from the entirety of Smackdown's women's division. It's no secret I really enjoyed Ellsworth. I would have liked to have seen him help Carmella cash in her Money in the Bank contract and be "co-champion" with her to play off helping her win the briefcase in the first place. He was really entertaining in each scenario they used him in, so it's a shame to see him go.
- Ellsworth commented on his release and gave details on how to book him. I hope we see him again at some point, but I don't know if Impact or ROH would pick him up.
Booker T., Sam Roberts, and Charly Caruso will be working WarGames' Kickoff show. Of course, Booker will be able to discuss his own history in that signature match.
Smackdown drew 2.61 million viewers Tuesday night, virtually even with the previous week. We'll see if they get a big boost after Survivor Series.
Cody vs. Christopher Daniels in a Texas Death Match for the ROH World Championship has been signed for November 18. This is a followup to their fifteen-minute time limit draw during the Soaring Eagle Cup tournament.
Joey Ryan is challenging Kenny King for the ROH Television Championship on November 17. That's a nice surprise addition to things.
Christopher Daniels vs. Marty Scurll has been booked for ROH's November 19 event. Survival of the Fittest has been built pretty well.
Jim Ross has renewed his deal with AXS TV for another year, so he'll continue doing commentary for NJPW on the network.
NJPW is working to get their January 4 Wrestle Kingdom 12 event available on traditional pay-per-view in the United States, so fans without New Japan World can watch the show. That would be great for people who want to see the event before committing to a monthly service.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. If they can keep getting places to run shows and continue to be able to pay some talents to wrestle on them, presumably they can keep on going as long as someone's willing to foot the bills.
1. If they can keep getting places to run shows and continue to be able to pay some talents to wrestle on them, presumably they can keep on going as long as someone's willing to foot the bills.
2. The same thing will happen when Vince is no longer in WWE. The person in charge is the lightning rod for all criticism. That said, Anthem had the odds against them from the moment took over. The project was already in serious debt and they were going to have to make some big changes to correct that. Jeff Jarrett came in and made some important moves, but was unable to stay at the helm, so the company is going through another big change at the top in a pretty short time frame. That never bodes well, as each regime makes changes in personnel and priorities that lead to departures and potential cutbacks.
3. WWE definitely didn't book the building for specific dates as part of a grand plan, but I expect they did alter plans a bit at times to be able to have that going for them.
4. Pretty much that. I'd think it's for comfort and making sure they don't have any indecent exposure.
5. Maybe, but the Finn/Bray story was really dragging at that point. And given how the Abigail reveal went, it was probably better to have the Shield reunion to talk about that night, too!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
WWE drops Indian date, Interview with Swagger, WWE helps Credible, WWE appearances, DDP Yoga helps veteran, Bullet Club member trademarks name, new ROH shirts, NXT name gets ROH DVD, more Impact departures, Impact offices update, Raw audience, Survivor Series plans, Raw anniversary getting Network special?, NXT taping set, more on Flair-WWE, Smackdown match set, and Questions on selling Survivor Series, Lio's Twitter heat, what WWE gets out of Y2J vs. Omega, biggest non-WWE star, Omega in WWE, and how NXT callups are booked
WWE's Indian tour has been reduced to one show on December 9, headlined by Triple H vs. Jinder Mahal. NXT's Jeet Rama and Kishan Raftar will compete against Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. I assume this means ticket sales weren't strong for two events, leading to one being canceled. That's not a good sign; India should have been a big market for them.
- WWE will run an additional night in the United Area Emirates on December 8, headlining with Roman Reigns vs. Triple H.
Charlotte did a Facebook Live chat before Smackdown. Tuesday was a very big day for the Flairs.
The former Jack Swagger discussed going to Bellator. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
Justin Credible put over WWE for turning his life around through their Wellness program: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3 Tweet 4 I'm glad he's had such a positive experience and I hope he has a healthy road ahead of him.
Natalya will be signing copies of "WWE: Absolutely Everything You Need To Know" on December 7 in Massachusetts.
DDP Yoga helped an Army veteran lose 125 pounds. That's amazing! Great work!
Marty Scurll has trademarked that name. That's good. If he ever ends up somewhere like WWE, he'll still be able to use that name.
ROH has new T-shirts for Punishment Martinez, Jonathan Gresham, Kenny King, and Dalton Castle. That's good for those names.
Adam Cole as a new three-disc DVD from ROH. That's good for ROH to capitalize on NXT fans wanting to watch his earlier work.
Mahabali Shera and Swoggle are no longer part of Impact Wrestling. Shera was released a few months ago, while Swoggle was not under contract to begin with. Shera was certainly a big bridge to the Indian market, although he obviously wasn't a great wrestler. I hope they can still be a success in the market without him.
Impact's Nashville office is likely to be consolidated soon. It's unknown what will happen to those working in that location once headquarters moves to Ottawa.
Raw drew 3.03 million viewers Monday night, a nice jump from the previous week. In theory, the night after Survivor Series should draw one of their biggest numbers of the year.
Survivor Series could have another Raw vs. Smackdown match on Kickoff. They could easily do a battle royal with the people not booked in other matches that night.
"WWE 24" could have an episode on the 25th anniversary of Raw. That could be really interesting.
NXT will tape at Full Sail on November 29 to follow up on Takeover:WarGames. I'm curious where they go next.
Natalya was originally set to replace Charlotte Flair on Smackdown's Survivor Series team, but it's possible Paige will take her place instead in a last-minute surprise. It's going to be tough to protect Paige and Asuka if that's the route they go. Even if Asuka gets disqualified or something, Raw losing will count as her first loss.
Ric Flair was backstage at Raw in addition to Smackdown. It was really good to see him on WWE TV again.
The Miz has been doing promotional work in New York this week. He's great in that capacity.
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Hype Bros will take place on Smackdown Tuesday night. At least, that's the current plan.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly, a match that stacked should sell itself. People are unbelievably hard to please these days.
2. He was playing off Asuka beating Emma at TLC, but it came across as a shot at someone who just lost her job. His initial apology wasn't well-received either, because it was seen as being about Lio instead of about Asuka.
3. WWE is OK with Jericho working one of the biggest shows of the year because he'll be coming to their promotion shortly afterward with additional buzz from that appearance. It's possible we do see Omega in WWE at some point, but it's not a done deal just because he's wrestling Jericho.
4. Rey Mysterio is a bigger star than either man. As for Omega being booked like Shinsuke, there are worse things than being in the WWE Title match at the second-biggest WWE show of the year four months after debuting on Smackdown following two runs as NXT Champion. I think he'd probably do pretty well, but some people have incredibly unrealistic expectations.
5. Fans have absolutely mistaken the purpose of NXT. Being the top home run hitter in minor league baseball doesn't mean you're suddenly going to be the star of the major leagues within a year, as there are a LOT of talented players already there. It's the same thing in WWE. Not being crammed onto Wrestlemania at the last minute in favor of getting a bigger focus right after Wrestlemania is a plus, as it starts new things for WWE's "new season." Also, if WWE debuts people at the top, there's nowhere to go but down! If Asuka beat every other Raw woman in two minute matches, THEN WHAT??? People aren't thinking this through.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- WWE will run an additional night in the United Area Emirates on December 8, headlining with Roman Reigns vs. Triple H.
Charlotte did a Facebook Live chat before Smackdown. Tuesday was a very big day for the Flairs.
The former Jack Swagger discussed going to Bellator. I look forward to seeing how he does there.
Justin Credible put over WWE for turning his life around through their Wellness program: Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3 Tweet 4 I'm glad he's had such a positive experience and I hope he has a healthy road ahead of him.
Natalya will be signing copies of "WWE: Absolutely Everything You Need To Know" on December 7 in Massachusetts.
DDP Yoga helped an Army veteran lose 125 pounds. That's amazing! Great work!
Marty Scurll has trademarked that name. That's good. If he ever ends up somewhere like WWE, he'll still be able to use that name.
ROH has new T-shirts for Punishment Martinez, Jonathan Gresham, Kenny King, and Dalton Castle. That's good for those names.
Adam Cole as a new three-disc DVD from ROH. That's good for ROH to capitalize on NXT fans wanting to watch his earlier work.
Mahabali Shera and Swoggle are no longer part of Impact Wrestling. Shera was released a few months ago, while Swoggle was not under contract to begin with. Shera was certainly a big bridge to the Indian market, although he obviously wasn't a great wrestler. I hope they can still be a success in the market without him.
Impact's Nashville office is likely to be consolidated soon. It's unknown what will happen to those working in that location once headquarters moves to Ottawa.
Raw drew 3.03 million viewers Monday night, a nice jump from the previous week. In theory, the night after Survivor Series should draw one of their biggest numbers of the year.
Survivor Series could have another Raw vs. Smackdown match on Kickoff. They could easily do a battle royal with the people not booked in other matches that night.
"WWE 24" could have an episode on the 25th anniversary of Raw. That could be really interesting.
NXT will tape at Full Sail on November 29 to follow up on Takeover:WarGames. I'm curious where they go next.
Natalya was originally set to replace Charlotte Flair on Smackdown's Survivor Series team, but it's possible Paige will take her place instead in a last-minute surprise. It's going to be tough to protect Paige and Asuka if that's the route they go. Even if Asuka gets disqualified or something, Raw losing will count as her first loss.
Ric Flair was backstage at Raw in addition to Smackdown. It was really good to see him on WWE TV again.
The Miz has been doing promotional work in New York this week. He's great in that capacity.
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Hype Bros will take place on Smackdown Tuesday night. At least, that's the current plan.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Honestly, a match that stacked should sell itself. People are unbelievably hard to please these days.
2. He was playing off Asuka beating Emma at TLC, but it came across as a shot at someone who just lost her job. His initial apology wasn't well-received either, because it was seen as being about Lio instead of about Asuka.
3. WWE is OK with Jericho working one of the biggest shows of the year because he'll be coming to their promotion shortly afterward with additional buzz from that appearance. It's possible we do see Omega in WWE at some point, but it's not a done deal just because he's wrestling Jericho.
4. Rey Mysterio is a bigger star than either man. As for Omega being booked like Shinsuke, there are worse things than being in the WWE Title match at the second-biggest WWE show of the year four months after debuting on Smackdown following two runs as NXT Champion. I think he'd probably do pretty well, but some people have incredibly unrealistic expectations.
5. Fans have absolutely mistaken the purpose of NXT. Being the top home run hitter in minor league baseball doesn't mean you're suddenly going to be the star of the major leagues within a year, as there are a LOT of talented players already there. It's the same thing in WWE. Not being crammed onto Wrestlemania at the last minute in favor of getting a bigger focus right after Wrestlemania is a plus, as it starts new things for WWE's "new season." Also, if WWE debuts people at the top, there's nowhere to go but down! If Asuka beat every other Raw woman in two minute matches, THEN WHAT??? People aren't thinking this through.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown and 205 Live Reax - 11/14/17
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Impact name working EVOLVE, Sapolsky-WWE update, WWE appearances, Smackdown and NXT matches, Interviews with Sasha/Cesaro, another WWEPC guest coach, December Network collections, former Knockout pregnant, more on Homicide's wrestling school, WWE trademark update, Neville-WWE update, former WWE name signs with MMA group, Paige update, NXT taping outside of Full Sail, and Questions on Wrestlecon vs. AXXESS, Vince on commentary at Raw 25, Jordan pulling a Rocky Maivia, WarGames in NXT instead of Survivor Series, and heels saving a face GM
DJ Z is booked for EVOLVE's December 9 and December 10 shows. He's still considered part of Impact Wrestling, so right now I'd just assume they're letting him work those events rather than being done. Z has not appeared for Impact since March.
William Regal will be at EVOLVE's December 8 seminar, presumably scouting for future NXT stars.
Gabe Sapolsky will be at Takeover:Wargames this weekend as a consultant. He continues to try to get a full-time job in WWE. It will be interesting to see what happens to WWNLive if he does end up there.
Roman Reigns appeared at his alma mater's football game.
Sheamus had a signing at a Cricket Wireless store before Raw. Charlotte Flair will have one of her own before Smackdown.
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women's Championship and Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara for the United States Championship are set for Smackdown.
Lars Sullivan vs. Raul Mendoza is set for this week's NXT. I think we know who's going to win that one.
The Hardys and Bayley will be at Wizard World in Texas this weekend.
Sasha Banks promoted Raw coming to India. I think we're some time away from women headlining Wrestlemania. That's a really hot card to close given who else will be working it.
Rob Conway is a guest coach this week at the WWE Performance Center. An interesting choice, but I hope his work there was helpful.
WWE Network collections for December will focus on match of the year candidates, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn. The service is also set to upload the "seasons" era of NXT in December.
Cesaro talked before WWE's show in the United Arab Emirates. That injury to his teeth sounds even worse than it did initially. OUCH. As for future WWE Network specials, it could definitely be cool to do them internationally, although it's questionable whether that will lead to increased subscriptions.
The former Taylor Wilde is expecting a child. Congratulations!!
Homicide and Nick Gage are holding an open house at their training school on Thursday. Is it wrong to assume they'll be training people how to blade and bump into barbed wire?
WWE's trademark application for "He Hate Me" is not related to the XFL player. That could be a cool gimmick name, but I don't know who would get it.
Neville has been in talks to return to the ring in WWE, and he could do so by the end of the month. I'm glad the two sides are back on good terms. 205 Live is expected to get some new faces, too, which makes this news even better.
The former Jack Swagger has signed with Bellator MMA to have a bout as a heavyweight in 2018. That could be pretty interesting!!
- Bellator confirmed a multiple-year deal. I wish him well in that endeavor. I'm curious if we'll see him wrestle in Impact or somewhere else at some point.
Paige was backstage at Raw. WWE opted not to have her join Raw's female Survivor Series team. I think we could see her the night after that event instead.
Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin for the Television Championship and Dalton Castle vs. Frankie Kazarian have been set for ROH's November 19 event. I'm enjoying Dalton's push.
NXT will be taping TV in Atlanta on January 4, February 1, and February 2. That's pretty cool. I like the idea of branching out from Full Sail to other similarly-sized venues so they can sell tickets and the like, although obviously Full Sail has been very good for them as far as having students there available for media work.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Wrestlecon will have a LOT of talents you won't be able to see on WWE TV. Whether you want a WWE-centric experience or not should be a top factor.
2. I'd think Vince would want to run things behind the scenes that night. There will be a LOT to handle with two venues having shows at once. Plus, I'd think fans might focus more on Vince than the action.
3. It's possible he'll get more comfortable in the charisma department as time goes on, but I'd imagine he had plenty of opportunity to show signs of it at the WWEPC. Jordan was recruited for his amazing college athletic background. Not everyone has everything WWE is looking for in a star, but a good number of prospects have enough to do decently for themselves. WWE needs people to fill the cards as well as people at the top.
4. The WWE audience at large isn't as accustomed to WarGames as they are with the Survivor Series elimination match, so NXT's trying it with the niche hardcore crowd as something of a test run before potentially attempting it with Raw or Smackdown.
5. OH MY GOD. Even Dolph stepped in to address how off-the-mark critics are with all of this. A significant number of Americans didn't like Presidents Bush (43) and/or Obama, but if either man had been assaulted by a representative from another country while visiting there to try to broker peace, I'd like to think most citizens would see that as an attack on America itself and worthy of retaliation. The United States and the Soviet Union had hundreds of thousands of soldiers willing to die on the same side as long as it meant defeat for the Axis Powers. I mean, HOLY SHIT this concept is thousands of years old. People are just looking for something to bash WWE for at this point.
More wrestling tomorrow.
William Regal will be at EVOLVE's December 8 seminar, presumably scouting for future NXT stars.
Gabe Sapolsky will be at Takeover:Wargames this weekend as a consultant. He continues to try to get a full-time job in WWE. It will be interesting to see what happens to WWNLive if he does end up there.
Roman Reigns appeared at his alma mater's football game.
Sheamus had a signing at a Cricket Wireless store before Raw. Charlotte Flair will have one of her own before Smackdown.
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women's Championship and Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara for the United States Championship are set for Smackdown.
Lars Sullivan vs. Raul Mendoza is set for this week's NXT. I think we know who's going to win that one.
The Hardys and Bayley will be at Wizard World in Texas this weekend.
Sasha Banks promoted Raw coming to India. I think we're some time away from women headlining Wrestlemania. That's a really hot card to close given who else will be working it.
Rob Conway is a guest coach this week at the WWE Performance Center. An interesting choice, but I hope his work there was helpful.
WWE Network collections for December will focus on match of the year candidates, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn. The service is also set to upload the "seasons" era of NXT in December.
Cesaro talked before WWE's show in the United Arab Emirates. That injury to his teeth sounds even worse than it did initially. OUCH. As for future WWE Network specials, it could definitely be cool to do them internationally, although it's questionable whether that will lead to increased subscriptions.
The former Taylor Wilde is expecting a child. Congratulations!!
Homicide and Nick Gage are holding an open house at their training school on Thursday. Is it wrong to assume they'll be training people how to blade and bump into barbed wire?
WWE's trademark application for "He Hate Me" is not related to the XFL player. That could be a cool gimmick name, but I don't know who would get it.
Neville has been in talks to return to the ring in WWE, and he could do so by the end of the month. I'm glad the two sides are back on good terms. 205 Live is expected to get some new faces, too, which makes this news even better.
The former Jack Swagger has signed with Bellator MMA to have a bout as a heavyweight in 2018. That could be pretty interesting!!
- Bellator confirmed a multiple-year deal. I wish him well in that endeavor. I'm curious if we'll see him wrestle in Impact or somewhere else at some point.
Paige was backstage at Raw. WWE opted not to have her join Raw's female Survivor Series team. I think we could see her the night after that event instead.
Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin for the Television Championship and Dalton Castle vs. Frankie Kazarian have been set for ROH's November 19 event. I'm enjoying Dalton's push.
NXT will be taping TV in Atlanta on January 4, February 1, and February 2. That's pretty cool. I like the idea of branching out from Full Sail to other similarly-sized venues so they can sell tickets and the like, although obviously Full Sail has been very good for them as far as having students there available for media work.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Wrestlecon will have a LOT of talents you won't be able to see on WWE TV. Whether you want a WWE-centric experience or not should be a top factor.
2. I'd think Vince would want to run things behind the scenes that night. There will be a LOT to handle with two venues having shows at once. Plus, I'd think fans might focus more on Vince than the action.
3. It's possible he'll get more comfortable in the charisma department as time goes on, but I'd imagine he had plenty of opportunity to show signs of it at the WWEPC. Jordan was recruited for his amazing college athletic background. Not everyone has everything WWE is looking for in a star, but a good number of prospects have enough to do decently for themselves. WWE needs people to fill the cards as well as people at the top.
4. The WWE audience at large isn't as accustomed to WarGames as they are with the Survivor Series elimination match, so NXT's trying it with the niche hardcore crowd as something of a test run before potentially attempting it with Raw or Smackdown.
5. OH MY GOD. Even Dolph stepped in to address how off-the-mark critics are with all of this. A significant number of Americans didn't like Presidents Bush (43) and/or Obama, but if either man had been assaulted by a representative from another country while visiting there to try to broker peace, I'd like to think most citizens would see that as an attack on America itself and worthy of retaliation. The United States and the Soviet Union had hundreds of thousands of soldiers willing to die on the same side as long as it meant defeat for the Axis Powers. I mean, HOLY SHIT this concept is thousands of years old. People are just looking for something to bash WWE for at this point.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, November 13, 2017
WWE Indian tour main event update, Robbie E damages teeth at live event, Raw names on Smackdown this week, NWA streams world title match, and Questions on language barriers in the ring, Y2J's future, AJ beating Jinder, and WWE Ride Along
Triple H teased wrestling Jinder Mahal in India, which Jinder accepted. That's a good compromise for Jinder no longer being champion. Kevin Owens was at one point set to face Jinder, but it looks like that has changed for at least one of the dates of the tour.
Robbie E had two front teeth knocked out at an independent show. However, a dentist was in attendance and opened their practice at night in order to treat him. That's really cool. Tommy Dreamer offered the fans lifetime House of Hardcore tickets for their kindness. Wrestling can be pretty awesome sometimes.
The Shield are set to be on Smackdown this week to build to Survivor Series. I look forward to seeing that.
The NWA streamed their most recent world title match live as it was taped at Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. It had 1,500 people watching on Facebook live in addition to 140 people in the building. As of this writing, it has surpassed 37,000 views. Sean Waltman was backstage at the show.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Wrestling is the universal language! As was said, they learn enough words for things like clothesline, death valley driver, superkick, etc. I'd think a lot of wrestlers speak enough English to at least do that much.
2. It's likely Jericho will return to WWE shortly after the NJPW match in order to be on the road to Wrestlemania. He'll have a pretty big profile as a result of being part of such a big match, so there will be buzz for his WWE return.
3. It definitely wasn't the plan all along. Vince moved some things around on the Survivor Series card late in the game in hopes of increasing interest.
4. That's actually a clever booking idea. It looks like they're going to do Triple H vs. Jinder in India and keep AJ in the U.S. with the WWE Championship on Smackdown's live event tour that week, but things can always change as WWE determines what they're going to build for Wrestlemania.
5. That's a good point! Hopefully viewers don't follow those poor examples of driving safety.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Robbie E had two front teeth knocked out at an independent show. However, a dentist was in attendance and opened their practice at night in order to treat him. That's really cool. Tommy Dreamer offered the fans lifetime House of Hardcore tickets for their kindness. Wrestling can be pretty awesome sometimes.
The Shield are set to be on Smackdown this week to build to Survivor Series. I look forward to seeing that.
The NWA streamed their most recent world title match live as it was taped at Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. It had 1,500 people watching on Facebook live in addition to 140 people in the building. As of this writing, it has surpassed 37,000 views. Sean Waltman was backstage at the show.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Wrestling is the universal language! As was said, they learn enough words for things like clothesline, death valley driver, superkick, etc. I'd think a lot of wrestlers speak enough English to at least do that much.
2. It's likely Jericho will return to WWE shortly after the NJPW match in order to be on the road to Wrestlemania. He'll have a pretty big profile as a result of being part of such a big match, so there will be buzz for his WWE return.
3. It definitely wasn't the plan all along. Vince moved some things around on the Survivor Series card late in the game in hopes of increasing interest.
4. That's actually a clever booking idea. It looks like they're going to do Triple H vs. Jinder in India and keep AJ in the U.S. with the WWE Championship on Smackdown's live event tour that week, but things can always change as WWE determines what they're going to build for Wrestlemania.
5. That's a good point! Hopefully viewers don't follow those poor examples of driving safety.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Main Event Reax - 11/11/17, Network theme, Survivor Series length, Impact taping at indies, Alberto-Impact update, Interviews with Kongo/Van Ness/Tim Storm/Corgan/Koff/Bryan, NXT charity, Cena responds to the Internet again, Beefcake-Hogan legal drama, WWE return on Raw?, Rock hurt, Fashion Police ad, Rousey at NXT show, former WWE name works ROH shows, and Questions on the Hogans
-- Main Event:
- M. Hardy vs. Hawkins:
Fine start.
Good basic work.
You'd think a guy who's lost so many matches in a row wouldn't pose so much!
That wasn't bad at all!
- Slater/Rhyno vs. Club:
Rhyno and Slater make a good duo here.
The former Smackdown Tag Team Champions are doing a good job keeping their opponents at bay.
This is going well enough.
I haven't seen Rhyno hit a Gore in forever. I assume that's because Roman uses the spear.
That was a really solid ending.
WWE Network's Flashback Friday theme this week is Thanksgiving. It's a little early for that, but maybe they're going to do several weeks of Thanksgiving content.
Survivor Series Kickoff will be two hours, while the show itself will be four hours. With WWE cutting back the number of shows, maybe they should cut back the giant shows of this size, too. That's a LONG night of wrestling.
Impact will be taping at Border City Wrestling on December 3. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact is set for the show, and Eli Drake is also booked. I wonder how attendance for that will be compared to Impact's TV tapings.
Alberto El Patron missed the final two dates of Impact tapings to be part of Combates America. That ended up saving Impact some money, so it might be a blessing in disguise that they worked all his content in early.
Sami Callihan vs. Randy Myers was taped for Impact TV at Defy Wrestling in Washington. It's a good idea to film at different locales so they don't have to run as many expensive tapings on their own.
Kongo Kong and Laurel Van Ness gave interviews. That interviewer has done a lot with Impact talents in recent weeks; it's good press for the company.
NXT did their annual plane pull for local Special Olympics. That's always cool.
John Cena responded to IGN comments. The "can't see me" puns are getting old, but Cena is always great at these.
Brutus Beefcake is potentially facing legal action from Hulk Hogan over content in Brutus' upcoming autobiography regarding Hogan. We'll see if anything comes from the situation between two former close friends.
NWA World Champion Tim Storm discussed the company and more:
- Interesting parallel between his "day job" and being NWA Champion.
- I'd like to think his students would think that's the coolest thing ever and that he could beat up their dads.
- It will be interesting to see how things go for the company and his title reign next.
- Haha. He could have gotten some good pay and then retired as a teacher, but I respect he wanted to do right for the title's legacy.
- The NWA should absolutely clear all title matches.
Billy Corgan briefly discussed the NWA and promoted the next world title match. I like the hype for the company so far.
ROH's Joe Koff discussed the company's future:
- ROH is NOT WWE's chief competitor. Just... wow. They don't have the reach of something like NJPW, much less UFC or some of the entertainment options completely unrelated to combat sports.
- Bullet Club and "too sweet" aren't ROH-centric. That all started in NJPW, and ROH gets to use some of those things on their shows at times, too.
- NXT is definitely molding itself after places like ROH and getting talent from there. If the article would have said ROH is NXT's biggest competitor, I might agree. As for that direction, that's all Triple H's doing. Vince would be content doing things the way he was doing them with John Laurinaitis at the head of developmental if HHH wasn't starting to make his mark there.
- ROH would definitely grow its audience if it was in more TV homes, particularly if they landed on WGN America. Right now they're airing at midnight on niche channels and other odd times on local channels.
- ROH Network could be great, especially for people wanting to see the origins of people like Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, etc.
- Interestingly, some towns without the TV show draw better than those who do have it. A lot of fans who really want to track down and pay attention to ROH are already doing so. Hopefully they can reach people who aren't already knowledgeable about who the Young Bucks are.
- I'm glad Koff is only part of ROH TV because there was an angle for it rather than being a main fixture of the show. I'm excited to see the angle he's part of.
- ROH is benefiting a lot more from NJPW than NJPW is from ROH. ROH has some good stars, but nothing like NJPW. That's a very important relationship to keep.
- Good to see ROH getting benefits from WAGS.
- Austin Aries would be a really big return if Aries want to go that route.
Daniel Bryan is on the New Jersey Devils' podcast after WWE Night there.
Paige is expected back on Raw, where she'll likely end up on the women's team at Survivor Series. That's quite the surprise! They just got Asuka, after all. We'll see how that all plays out.
The Rock suffered a torn labrum. No word on him returning to the ring.
Breezango and The Ascension promoted StubHub. I love it.
Ronda Rousey attended NXT's California live event. I'm glad she's such a fan.
The former Simon Gotch is working with ROH this weekend as Simon Grimm. On their November 11 live event, he lost a triple threat match featuring Josh Woods and won by Jonathan Gresham. So far I think this is a cameo for him being in Florida, but he could potentially end up returning.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's a matter of when to do it. Raw's 25th anniversary would certainly be a good time. As long as nothing else pops up that WWE wouldn't approve of, I think they're OK with using him here and there again.
2. WWE distanced themselves from him, but he's still part of the WWE Hall of Fame.
3. There wasn't really much reason to do so, since she's not planning on being a wrestler or anything.
4. I don't think that will happen, but it's not out of the question he could be involved in other reality projects at some point.
5. Either way, the less I have to cover it, the happier I'll be!
More wrestling tomorrow.
- M. Hardy vs. Hawkins:
Fine start.
Good basic work.
You'd think a guy who's lost so many matches in a row wouldn't pose so much!
That wasn't bad at all!
- Slater/Rhyno vs. Club:
Rhyno and Slater make a good duo here.
The former Smackdown Tag Team Champions are doing a good job keeping their opponents at bay.
This is going well enough.
I haven't seen Rhyno hit a Gore in forever. I assume that's because Roman uses the spear.
That was a really solid ending.
WWE Network's Flashback Friday theme this week is Thanksgiving. It's a little early for that, but maybe they're going to do several weeks of Thanksgiving content.
Survivor Series Kickoff will be two hours, while the show itself will be four hours. With WWE cutting back the number of shows, maybe they should cut back the giant shows of this size, too. That's a LONG night of wrestling.
Impact will be taping at Border City Wrestling on December 3. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact is set for the show, and Eli Drake is also booked. I wonder how attendance for that will be compared to Impact's TV tapings.
Alberto El Patron missed the final two dates of Impact tapings to be part of Combates America. That ended up saving Impact some money, so it might be a blessing in disguise that they worked all his content in early.
Sami Callihan vs. Randy Myers was taped for Impact TV at Defy Wrestling in Washington. It's a good idea to film at different locales so they don't have to run as many expensive tapings on their own.
Kongo Kong and Laurel Van Ness gave interviews. That interviewer has done a lot with Impact talents in recent weeks; it's good press for the company.
NXT did their annual plane pull for local Special Olympics. That's always cool.
John Cena responded to IGN comments. The "can't see me" puns are getting old, but Cena is always great at these.
Brutus Beefcake is potentially facing legal action from Hulk Hogan over content in Brutus' upcoming autobiography regarding Hogan. We'll see if anything comes from the situation between two former close friends.
NWA World Champion Tim Storm discussed the company and more:
- Interesting parallel between his "day job" and being NWA Champion.
- I'd like to think his students would think that's the coolest thing ever and that he could beat up their dads.
- It will be interesting to see how things go for the company and his title reign next.
- Haha. He could have gotten some good pay and then retired as a teacher, but I respect he wanted to do right for the title's legacy.
- The NWA should absolutely clear all title matches.
Billy Corgan briefly discussed the NWA and promoted the next world title match. I like the hype for the company so far.
ROH's Joe Koff discussed the company's future:
- ROH is NOT WWE's chief competitor. Just... wow. They don't have the reach of something like NJPW, much less UFC or some of the entertainment options completely unrelated to combat sports.
- Bullet Club and "too sweet" aren't ROH-centric. That all started in NJPW, and ROH gets to use some of those things on their shows at times, too.
- NXT is definitely molding itself after places like ROH and getting talent from there. If the article would have said ROH is NXT's biggest competitor, I might agree. As for that direction, that's all Triple H's doing. Vince would be content doing things the way he was doing them with John Laurinaitis at the head of developmental if HHH wasn't starting to make his mark there.
- ROH would definitely grow its audience if it was in more TV homes, particularly if they landed on WGN America. Right now they're airing at midnight on niche channels and other odd times on local channels.
- ROH Network could be great, especially for people wanting to see the origins of people like Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, etc.
- Interestingly, some towns without the TV show draw better than those who do have it. A lot of fans who really want to track down and pay attention to ROH are already doing so. Hopefully they can reach people who aren't already knowledgeable about who the Young Bucks are.
- I'm glad Koff is only part of ROH TV because there was an angle for it rather than being a main fixture of the show. I'm excited to see the angle he's part of.
- ROH is benefiting a lot more from NJPW than NJPW is from ROH. ROH has some good stars, but nothing like NJPW. That's a very important relationship to keep.
- Good to see ROH getting benefits from WAGS.
- Austin Aries would be a really big return if Aries want to go that route.
Daniel Bryan is on the New Jersey Devils' podcast after WWE Night there.
Paige is expected back on Raw, where she'll likely end up on the women's team at Survivor Series. That's quite the surprise! They just got Asuka, after all. We'll see how that all plays out.
The Rock suffered a torn labrum. No word on him returning to the ring.
Breezango and The Ascension promoted StubHub. I love it.
Ronda Rousey attended NXT's California live event. I'm glad she's such a fan.
The former Simon Gotch is working with ROH this weekend as Simon Grimm. On their November 11 live event, he lost a triple threat match featuring Josh Woods and won by Jonathan Gresham. So far I think this is a cameo for him being in Florida, but he could potentially end up returning.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's a matter of when to do it. Raw's 25th anniversary would certainly be a good time. As long as nothing else pops up that WWE wouldn't approve of, I think they're OK with using him here and there again.
2. WWE distanced themselves from him, but he's still part of the WWE Hall of Fame.
3. There wasn't really much reason to do so, since she's not planning on being a wrestler or anything.
4. I don't think that will happen, but it's not out of the question he could be involved in other reality projects at some point.
5. Either way, the less I have to cover it, the happier I'll be!
More wrestling tomorrow.
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