Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown Live and 205 Live.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Stephanie honored, former ROH champion arrested, NXT taping in California, WWE-EVOLVE matches set, NXT coach at WWN tryouts, Becky anniversary, WWE comics profiled, December collections, BBC interview, WWE promotes veteran hiring event, Hogan on Crown Jewel, Survivor Series plan, HHH surgery, and Questions on Crown Jewel's booking, WWE taglines, Saudi restrictions, and women not wrestling on SDL
Stephanie McMahon was honored by Make-A-Wish Connecticut. That's an important honor for her.
Former ROH Champion Takeshi Morishima was arrested in Japan after allegedly assaulting a taxi driver and refusing to pay a $159 cab fare. The driver reports a fractured left cheek. That's unfortunate to hear.
NXT will tape TV in California on November 15, the night before Takeover: War Games. I wouldn't expect them to spoil the next night's event at the taping. They'll probably feature talents who aren't on that show.
EVOLVE 115 has added:
- The Street Profits vs. JD Drake and Anthony Henry
- Mustafa Ali vs. DJ Z
EVOLVE 116 has added:
- Fabian Aichner vs. Anthony Henry
- The Street Profits vs. AR Fox and Leon Ruff
- Mustafa Ali vs. Darby Allin
NXT coach Robbie Brookside will join Kassius Ohno at Friday's EVOLVE tryouts.
Becky Lynch celebrated six years in WWE. She's come a long way from her debut.
WWE's upcoming comics were profiled.
WWE Network's December collections will be for the nWo and WWE's best matches of 2018.
BBC Radio spoke with Alexa Bliss, Bobby Lashley, Sasha Banks, and Elias.
WWE promoted its upcoming veterans hiring event.
Hulk Hogan commented on Crown Jewel. Vintage Hulk putting himself over brother.
Survivor Series is expected to feature Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley vs. Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, and Randy Orton. Baron Corbin will be in the Raw corner while Shane McMahon will be in the Smackdown Live corner. We'll see if the lineup sticks. Honestly I expect Shane to replace Miz again, presumably setting up a match between them.
Triple H underwent surgery this morning for his torn pectoral muscle.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Piece by piece here:
a. Strowman didn't get "buried." It took three F5s to beat him. If the followup is good (and it was Monday), he'll be fine. He's had a strong run.
b. Followup will be key with Shane, too. I expect he's in for a feud with Miz next. Shane's popular with casual viewers, so it makes sense to bring him back to try to get momentum going again. If the NXT generation was drawing ratings, WWE wouldn't feel the need to bring back people like Shane.
c. Styles vs. Joe was a last-minute addition due to the Bryan situation. WWE has featured AJ, Nakamura, Joe, and Bryan as the main eventers of Smackdown Live for more than half the year. At what point do declining ratings get associated with the names online fans begged WWE to sign and push?
d. WWE has always had the complaint that it's the same people doing the same thing over and over (how long was Bruno champ? How many times did we get Austin vs. McMahon?). WWE has gone to great lengths and great expense to cultivate young blood and different challengers in the past six years or so. The roster is filled with talents Triple H signed and developed, talents who are outside the norm of what WWE pushed a decade previously, but fans have largely shown they won't support those talents as much as the target audience will support what had worked pre-NXT.
2. Because it's a work, and given some of the other talking points people believe these days, they probably feel they can claim pretty much anything they want.
3. Basically that's not what they want to see. The Saudis might relax their stance in the years to come if WWE keeps pushing the issue, but the presentation of women is very different in the U.S. compared to Saudi Arabia.
4. A small note: Jesus is over to the Muslims, but he didn't get the push he got in the Bible, brother. WWE played it safe with the imagery at any rate.
5. It could be a case of them saving the women for Mixed Match Challenge. I definitely don't think they're moving away from featuring women as wrestlers.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Former ROH Champion Takeshi Morishima was arrested in Japan after allegedly assaulting a taxi driver and refusing to pay a $159 cab fare. The driver reports a fractured left cheek. That's unfortunate to hear.
NXT will tape TV in California on November 15, the night before Takeover: War Games. I wouldn't expect them to spoil the next night's event at the taping. They'll probably feature talents who aren't on that show.
EVOLVE 115 has added:
- The Street Profits vs. JD Drake and Anthony Henry
- Mustafa Ali vs. DJ Z
EVOLVE 116 has added:
- Fabian Aichner vs. Anthony Henry
- The Street Profits vs. AR Fox and Leon Ruff
- Mustafa Ali vs. Darby Allin
NXT coach Robbie Brookside will join Kassius Ohno at Friday's EVOLVE tryouts.
Becky Lynch celebrated six years in WWE. She's come a long way from her debut.
WWE's upcoming comics were profiled.
WWE Network's December collections will be for the nWo and WWE's best matches of 2018.
BBC Radio spoke with Alexa Bliss, Bobby Lashley, Sasha Banks, and Elias.
WWE promoted its upcoming veterans hiring event.
Hulk Hogan commented on Crown Jewel. Vintage Hulk putting himself over brother.
Survivor Series is expected to feature Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley vs. Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, and Randy Orton. Baron Corbin will be in the Raw corner while Shane McMahon will be in the Smackdown Live corner. We'll see if the lineup sticks. Honestly I expect Shane to replace Miz again, presumably setting up a match between them.
Triple H underwent surgery this morning for his torn pectoral muscle.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Piece by piece here:
a. Strowman didn't get "buried." It took three F5s to beat him. If the followup is good (and it was Monday), he'll be fine. He's had a strong run.
b. Followup will be key with Shane, too. I expect he's in for a feud with Miz next. Shane's popular with casual viewers, so it makes sense to bring him back to try to get momentum going again. If the NXT generation was drawing ratings, WWE wouldn't feel the need to bring back people like Shane.
c. Styles vs. Joe was a last-minute addition due to the Bryan situation. WWE has featured AJ, Nakamura, Joe, and Bryan as the main eventers of Smackdown Live for more than half the year. At what point do declining ratings get associated with the names online fans begged WWE to sign and push?
d. WWE has always had the complaint that it's the same people doing the same thing over and over (how long was Bruno champ? How many times did we get Austin vs. McMahon?). WWE has gone to great lengths and great expense to cultivate young blood and different challengers in the past six years or so. The roster is filled with talents Triple H signed and developed, talents who are outside the norm of what WWE pushed a decade previously, but fans have largely shown they won't support those talents as much as the target audience will support what had worked pre-NXT.
2. Because it's a work, and given some of the other talking points people believe these days, they probably feel they can claim pretty much anything they want.
3. Basically that's not what they want to see. The Saudis might relax their stance in the years to come if WWE keeps pushing the issue, but the presentation of women is very different in the U.S. compared to Saudi Arabia.
4. A small note: Jesus is over to the Muslims, but he didn't get the push he got in the Bible, brother. WWE played it safe with the imagery at any rate.
5. It could be a case of them saving the women for Mixed Match Challenge. I definitely don't think they're moving away from featuring women as wrestlers.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, November 5, 2018
Anthem thoroughly responds to GFW lawsuit, new collections detailed, Brock-UFC update, next WWE UK/Ireland tour set, more Evolution coverage, and Questions on Brock losing to others, Braun winning for Roman, and if it was hypocritical to cover Crown Jewel
Anthem responded to Jeff Jarrett's GFW lawsuit:
- Anthem alleges Jarrett never copyrighted the GFW material, and as such they couldn't have violated the copyright
- Anthem showed they own the rights to Jeff Jarrett's name and appearance based on a contract he signed with Impact.
- Anthem showed Jeff Jarrett's filing for GFW trademarks used art of Impact's DVD of the shows.
- Anthem says the Tennessee court doesn't have jurisdiction over the Canadian company.
- Anthem also says they're just a holding company under Fight Network's banner.
- Anthem says Jeff Jarrett signed a non-disclosure agreement that falls under New York law.
- Anthem revealed the distribution of GFW content was all overseen by Jarrett, and that the content didn't turn a profit.
-- This won't be a straightforward, easy victory for Jarrett by any means. You've got to wonder how much that footage is worth for him considering it didn't do well for Anthem.
Rey Mysterio and Sasha Banks' WWE Network collections were detailed.
Dana White discussed Brock Lesnar's next UFC bout. So, Brock gets the best of both worlds.
WWE announced Raw and Smackdown Live returns to the UK and Ireland from May 8 through May 18, 2019.
Teen Vogue covered Evolution. I completely expect the show to become an annual event.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. We'll see if WWE has a long-term plan involving Braun and/or Drew being helped out by Brock, and if it ends up sticking.
2. They could do that, but I think some fans would see it as exploitative. It's a fine line to toe, as we saw with the aftermath of Eddie Guerrero's passing.
3. I'd like to think he'll drop the title at Royal Rumble or WrestleMania, but no guarantees! I'm less sure about AJ, who's a month older than Brock for the record.
4. They'll definitely push that line hard in the abbreviated build to the show.
5. I can see the argument journalists shouldn't "reward" WWE's decision to run the show by giving it press, but it was an important event worthy of coverage. Journalists would be costing themselves money by not covering it, and it's not like it would negatively affect WWE's bottom line if outside sites didn't cover it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Anthem alleges Jarrett never copyrighted the GFW material, and as such they couldn't have violated the copyright
- Anthem showed they own the rights to Jeff Jarrett's name and appearance based on a contract he signed with Impact.
- Anthem showed Jeff Jarrett's filing for GFW trademarks used art of Impact's DVD of the shows.
- Anthem says the Tennessee court doesn't have jurisdiction over the Canadian company.
- Anthem also says they're just a holding company under Fight Network's banner.
- Anthem says Jeff Jarrett signed a non-disclosure agreement that falls under New York law.
- Anthem revealed the distribution of GFW content was all overseen by Jarrett, and that the content didn't turn a profit.
-- This won't be a straightforward, easy victory for Jarrett by any means. You've got to wonder how much that footage is worth for him considering it didn't do well for Anthem.
Rey Mysterio and Sasha Banks' WWE Network collections were detailed.
Dana White discussed Brock Lesnar's next UFC bout. So, Brock gets the best of both worlds.
WWE announced Raw and Smackdown Live returns to the UK and Ireland from May 8 through May 18, 2019.
Teen Vogue covered Evolution. I completely expect the show to become an annual event.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. We'll see if WWE has a long-term plan involving Braun and/or Drew being helped out by Brock, and if it ends up sticking.
2. They could do that, but I think some fans would see it as exploitative. It's a fine line to toe, as we saw with the aftermath of Eddie Guerrero's passing.
3. I'd like to think he'll drop the title at Royal Rumble or WrestleMania, but no guarantees! I'm less sure about AJ, who's a month older than Brock for the record.
4. They'll definitely push that line hard in the abbreviated build to the show.
5. I can see the argument journalists shouldn't "reward" WWE's decision to run the show by giving it press, but it was an important event worthy of coverage. Journalists would be costing themselves money by not covering it, and it's not like it would negatively affect WWE's bottom line if outside sites didn't cover it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
ONO show announced, Ride Along preview, next WWE Network collections, Interviews with Stephanie/Alexa+Ember, Ronda honored by PWI, new ROH matches, NXT promotes Special Olympics, Y2J wrestles in NJPW, Bryan-WWE update, Alexa cleared, Matt Hardy gets physical, Punishment debuts in NXT, and Questions on why some ECW TV is missing, Swagger-MLW, RVD wrestling with bad eyes, Paige back in the ring, and post-Crown Jewel travel
Impact Wrestling has a One Night Only event set for January 26 in Pennsylvania. Johnny Impact, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Eli Drake, Rich Swann, Fallah Bahh, KM, and Scarlett Bordeaux are advertised as Impact teams up with Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling. It's concerning they're running an elementary school gym, but presumably it makes business sense for them to do so. They're not really in a position to sell out Madison Square Garden.
WWE Ride Along after Raw will feature Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre as well as Renee Young, Corey Graves, and Nia Jax.
Rey Mysterio and Sasha Banks are getting WWE Network collections in November.
Stephanie McMahon discussed the women's revolution in the United Arab Emirates. I completely expected her to wrestle at Evolution.
Alexa Bliss and Ember Moon talked to SYFY about their influences. It's good to see them getting opportunities.
Ronda Rousey commented on Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranking her No. 1. Tough to argue with that one.
Madison Rayne vs. Britt Baker has been added to Survival of the Fittest.
Added to Global Wars:
- Dalton Castle and Juice Robinson vs. The Bouncers, and Matt Taven vs. BUSHI in Massachusetts
- Dalton Castle vs. TK O'Ryan in New York
- Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Super Smash Bros in Ontario
NXT stars promoted the Special Olympics.
Chris Jericho defeated EVIL to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on NJPW's November 3 event. Tetsuya Naito then challenged Jericho, so those two will compete at Wrestle Kingdom.
Daniel Bryan is working WWE's European tour after pulling out of Crown Jewel, so he's not on a long-term hiatus or anything.
Raw live event notes from Spain on November 3:
- Alexa Bliss returned to action, teaming with The Riott Squad in a loss to Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Dana Brooke.
- Ronda Rousey defeated Nikki Bella, so Nikki's still in action for now.
- Matt Hardy made a run-in in the main event of Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, as did Dean Ambrose. Neither man was otherwise on the card.
Punishment Martinez debuted at NXT's Florida live event on November 2, losing to The Mighty's Nick Miller in the opening match. Ouch. Talk about starting at the bottom. I hope he doesn't end up MIA like Dominik Dijakovic.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's possible some of them got taped over, too. Videotapes were hard to come by at first, so people make all of them count.
2. Swagger has wrestled since then, but it looks like he's just doing a few dates here and there rather than wanting to have a full-time run somewhere.
3. Basically some places are willing to use him regardless.
4. There are no plans for her to do so anytime soon. As long as she's under WWE contract, she's not expected to be cleared. The only way I would see that changing is if she was pushing to wrestle somewhere else if WWE doesn't clear her.
5. If they were rushed, it was more of a case of needing to travel a pretty long way pretty quickly rather than any kind of controversy. HHH went right back to the U.S. to see doctors in Alabama, and Vince either went back home or will be at this week's TV in Europe.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE Ride Along after Raw will feature Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre as well as Renee Young, Corey Graves, and Nia Jax.
Rey Mysterio and Sasha Banks are getting WWE Network collections in November.
Stephanie McMahon discussed the women's revolution in the United Arab Emirates. I completely expected her to wrestle at Evolution.
Alexa Bliss and Ember Moon talked to SYFY about their influences. It's good to see them getting opportunities.
Ronda Rousey commented on Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranking her No. 1. Tough to argue with that one.
Madison Rayne vs. Britt Baker has been added to Survival of the Fittest.
Added to Global Wars:
- Dalton Castle and Juice Robinson vs. The Bouncers, and Matt Taven vs. BUSHI in Massachusetts
- Dalton Castle vs. TK O'Ryan in New York
- Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Super Smash Bros in Ontario
NXT stars promoted the Special Olympics.
Chris Jericho defeated EVIL to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on NJPW's November 3 event. Tetsuya Naito then challenged Jericho, so those two will compete at Wrestle Kingdom.
Daniel Bryan is working WWE's European tour after pulling out of Crown Jewel, so he's not on a long-term hiatus or anything.
Raw live event notes from Spain on November 3:
- Alexa Bliss returned to action, teaming with The Riott Squad in a loss to Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Dana Brooke.
- Ronda Rousey defeated Nikki Bella, so Nikki's still in action for now.
- Matt Hardy made a run-in in the main event of Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, as did Dean Ambrose. Neither man was otherwise on the card.
Punishment Martinez debuted at NXT's Florida live event on November 2, losing to The Mighty's Nick Miller in the opening match. Ouch. Talk about starting at the bottom. I hope he doesn't end up MIA like Dominik Dijakovic.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's possible some of them got taped over, too. Videotapes were hard to come by at first, so people make all of them count.
2. Swagger has wrestled since then, but it looks like he's just doing a few dates here and there rather than wanting to have a full-time run somewhere.
3. Basically some places are willing to use him regardless.
4. There are no plans for her to do so anytime soon. As long as she's under WWE contract, she's not expected to be cleared. The only way I would see that changing is if she was pushing to wrestle somewhere else if WWE doesn't clear her.
5. If they were rushed, it was more of a case of needing to travel a pretty long way pretty quickly rather than any kind of controversy. HHH went right back to the U.S. to see doctors in Alabama, and Vince either went back home or will be at this week's TV in Europe.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Main Event and Ring Warriors Reax - 11/3/18
Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Main Event and Ring Warriors.
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