Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Friday, March 22, 2019
WM35 match planned, ROH attendance notes, AEW match confirmed for title match, LU name pulled from Impact shows, AAA planning MSG event, NJPW working on major Australian event, AEW signing done with DDT, WOH title to be defended in Stardom, trainee charged with attempted murder, MLW drops AAA name, MLW name wrestling after cancer diagnosis, MLW looking to add titles, MLW international deals close, MLW planning 2020 PPV, ROH upset at challenger promo, Lucha Bros-US update, Cody trademarks note, AEW signs Impact name and UK name, UFC name looking to wrestle, Undertaker set for WWE show, WWE retirement official, NXT signing likely imminent, WWE up for media awards, why NXT team lost EVOLVE title, possible Horsewomen plans, new Hidden Gem, assorted wrestling press, Impact-UCW matches set, Cornette appearances set, MLW backstage updates, Kane book update, AEW signs former WWE backstage name, AEW casting character, Supercard match official, former Impact World Champion's contract ending soon, Impact tapings sell out, more on JR post-WWE, WWE execs donate $1M to children's hospital, Flip's return set, CMLL names working ROH, ROH contract expires, Impact producer update, Crockett Cup qualifier released, and NXT live event notes
WrestleMania 35 is expected to have another women's battle royal. I expect NXT and NXT UK cameos there given how many other women are in other matches.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV was legitimately a sellout with 900 fans. I can see why The Elite went out on their own to work in front of bigger audiences.
Double or Nothing's Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros match is for the AAA World Tag Team Championship. That's a big U.S. stage for AAA.
Impact will no longer have El Hijo del Fantasma at WrestleMania weekend, seemingly due to AAA pulling him as fallout for suing over his Lucha Underground contract.
AAA is negotiating a Madison Square Garden show for this fall. That could definitely be major for them; I'm curious how much of a success it would be.
NJPW is planning a major Australian show for summer, following the success of Super Show-Down. That's a natural market to expand to.
AEW's Michael Nakazawa has finished his DDT tenure. AEW already feels pretty global.
Mayu Iwatani will defend the WOH Championship in Stardom on March 28 against Natsuko Tora.
Team Vision Dojo student Ian Anselmo was arrested for attempted murder and battery on his pregnant stepmother. That is absolutely sickening.
MLW will no longer use Puma King after he double-booked himself for a WrestleMania week date. King looked to make sure he could work both events.
MLW's Samu is looking to do another match as he continues to battle cancer. He had previously thought he had wrestled his last match.
MLW is looking to add another singles championship as well as a six-man tag team championship. That's ambitious!
MLW's weekly show is expected to start airing internationally soon.
MLW is looking to do a PPV in 2020, as well as a show in Hawaii. I'm impressed with their ability to make milestones happen.
ROH was upset at Israel's David Starr criticizing Sinclair Broadcasting in a promo for his upcoming ROH Championship match in Israel. Starr removed the promo in question as a result. It definitely moved from being a wrestling promo to a political one, which could distract from the championship and match.
ROH's March 16 TV taping drew around 500 fans. Running the same venue two nights in a row can be difficult.
AEW is working on having the Lucha Bros be exclusive to their promotion when running the U.S. This of course would pull them from Impact and MLW, and would be a pretty major shift for them. The pair would continue to work AAA.
Cody's recent trademarks are not AEW related. Instead he's trying to own content his father is associated with.
AEW has signed UK talent Sadie Gibbs, who has worked Stardom and has a background in gymnastics and other athletic ventures.
UFC's Cain Velasquez is in talks to wrestle in 2019. UFC would have to approve this, as he is still under contract.
The Undertaker is set to work the Saudi Arabia PPV on May 3. He is still not part of WrestleMania.
Brie Bella has officially announced her retirement. That was more or less expected. She probably would have retired sooner if it wasn't for the Ronda Rousey angle.
Garza Jr. is expected to start in NXT right after WrestleMania. He has announced his March 23 appearance for Crash will be his final match there. He was initially set to join NXT at the same time as Humberto Carrillo.
WWE and wrestling content have been nominated for quite a few Cynopsis sports media awards:
- Awareness Campaign for a Social Good Initiative for WWE's work with Make-A-Wish
- Brand Activation at Live Events for WWE's Connor's Cure campaign
- Digital Executive for WWE's Jayar Donlan
- Documentary Special/TV Movie for Showtime's "Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller"
- Over The Top Content Service for WWE Network
- Social Good TV Special or Episode for WWE announcing partnership with the 2018 Special Olympics in the U.S.
- Spot (Over 30 Seconds) for Showtime's "Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller" trailer
- Use of Facebook for Mixed Match Challenge
The Street Profits are no longer EVOLVE Tag Team Champions due to being booked as singles stars there going forward. Interesting direction with them teaming in NXT, but it also gets them some varied experience.
NXT could split Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke is Shayna Baszler joins Raw or Smackdown Live after WrestleMania. Shafir could join the Undisputed Era given her marriage to Roderick Strong.
WWE Network's latest Hidden Gem is the "March to WrestleMania X" special from 1994 featuring:
- Lex Luger vs. Jimmy Del Ray
- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Ben Jordan
- Razor Ramon vs. Tony DeVito for the Intercontinental Championship
- Earthquake vs. The Executioner
- Bret Hart vs. Crush
- The Quebecers vs. Mike Bell/PJ Walker for the Tag Team Championship
- Yokozuna vs. Tatanka
New Day also appeared on "Drop the Mic," battling with SWV.
FOX featured The Usos in a commercial for their fall lineup, which will of course feature Smackdown Live.
Alexa Bliss promoted a Raw live event.
WWE has new Chalk Line jackets for Ronda Rousey, Alexa Bliss, Ric Flair, and Dude Love.
Baron Corbin and Capital Tacos raised $1,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Impact and UCW's April 13 event has announced:
- Johnny Impact vs. Chris Michaels for the Impact World Championship
- Brian Cage vs. Madman Fulton
- Rich Swann vs. Scott Sexton for the Impact X-Division Championship
- oVe vs. Chase Stevens/The Maddox Brothers
Jim Cornette will have meet-and-greet sessions before MLW's WrestleMania weekend events.
MLW's Salina de la Renta is working behind-the-scenes with Mexican talent. She recently had meetings in Mexico on behalf of the promotion.
MLW has hired former NJPW and ROH staff member George Carroll as senior coordinator.
WWE stars will appear on Nickelodeon's Double Dare during the week of April 8.
The New York Mets' WWE Day game will feature Drew McIntyre, Corey Graves, Mickie James, and Curt Hawkins.
Kane's upcoming book is not being done through WWE.
AEW has signed Allie, who has been a prominent part of Impact storylines. That's definitely a blow to Impact's Knockout division, and a significant addition to AEW's women's division.
- Allie's Impact contract expired at the end of 2018. She had been working on a per-date basis since then, but was not signed to a deal.
- Impact decided to stop using Allie after the most recent TV tapings in order to focus on fresh characters. That's frankly quite surprising given how much they had featured here. They can definitely open the door for new talents with her gone, but she was one of their most prominent homegrown characters.
AEW has signed former WWE seamstress Sandra Grey to do a similar role for them.
The Elite will be at C2E2 this weekend.
AEW is casting a character called The Librarian, which fans can send auditions for. That's a pretty clever idea to engage their fans.
G1 Supercard has officially added Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay for both the ROH Television and NEVER Openweight Championships.
Eli Drake's Impact contract ends around the time of Rebellion. Notably he's in the poster for that event but not listed as one of the talents appearing. If they are looking to change the roster around, he could be leaving as well.
Impact's TV tapings this weekend have both sold out.
Impact will air an eSports battle royale with St. Clair College during tonight's episode.
Jim Ross is in discussions with AEW. He still wants to contribute in a prominent role. We'll see if AEW wants that.
WrestleMania advertisements have sprung up locally.
Charlotte Flair promoted Smackdown Live at Fox Sports headquarters.
WWE moving its headquarters got local press.
Tony Nese spoke about his upcoming WrestleMania championship match. That would definitely be a major moment for the local star.
Vince McMahon promoted this year's Warrior Award winner. I'm very glad to see her honored.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon donated $1 million to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital to combat child cancer. That's an awesome step from those two. Great, great work.
Flip Gordon will return at ROH's March 31 Honor Club event in Maryland. His opponent has not yet been named.
CMLL's Caristico and Soberano Jr. are booked for ROH's April 13 TV taping in Pennsylvania and April 14 Honor Club event in Ohio. Caristico is the original Sin Cara.
Chris Sabin's ROH contract has expired without him signing a new deal. Impact will be using him as a producer this weekend. He has not yet had surgery on his torn ACL, which is notable since it's been two months since he learned of the injury.
- Impact is rotating a number of different producers before deciding more permanent replacements for Sonjay Dutt and Abyss.
Becky Lynch discussed her journey to WWE with ESPN.
WWE covered how their rings are made. That's pretty fascinating!
The Miz looked back at his Real World days. He's REALLY progressed since then.
NWA released a Crockett Cup qualifying match where The Briscoes defeated Jeff Cobb and Willie Mack. This was taped the night after ROH's 17th anniversary PPV.
At NXT's Florida live event on March 21:
- Robert Strauss (the former Robbie E) debuted in the corner of Saurav Gurjar alongside Rinku Singh. Gurjar defeated Jermaine Haley, formerly Jonah Rock. Strauss cut a promo before the match. It's interesting he didn't wrestle, although he does have mic skills.
- Shane Thorne lost to Danny Burch in Thorne's first match since February 1.
More wrestling tomorrow.
ROH's 17th anniversary PPV was legitimately a sellout with 900 fans. I can see why The Elite went out on their own to work in front of bigger audiences.
Double or Nothing's Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros match is for the AAA World Tag Team Championship. That's a big U.S. stage for AAA.
Impact will no longer have El Hijo del Fantasma at WrestleMania weekend, seemingly due to AAA pulling him as fallout for suing over his Lucha Underground contract.
AAA is negotiating a Madison Square Garden show for this fall. That could definitely be major for them; I'm curious how much of a success it would be.
NJPW is planning a major Australian show for summer, following the success of Super Show-Down. That's a natural market to expand to.
AEW's Michael Nakazawa has finished his DDT tenure. AEW already feels pretty global.
Mayu Iwatani will defend the WOH Championship in Stardom on March 28 against Natsuko Tora.
Team Vision Dojo student Ian Anselmo was arrested for attempted murder and battery on his pregnant stepmother. That is absolutely sickening.
MLW will no longer use Puma King after he double-booked himself for a WrestleMania week date. King looked to make sure he could work both events.
MLW's Samu is looking to do another match as he continues to battle cancer. He had previously thought he had wrestled his last match.
MLW is looking to add another singles championship as well as a six-man tag team championship. That's ambitious!
MLW's weekly show is expected to start airing internationally soon.
MLW is looking to do a PPV in 2020, as well as a show in Hawaii. I'm impressed with their ability to make milestones happen.
ROH was upset at Israel's David Starr criticizing Sinclair Broadcasting in a promo for his upcoming ROH Championship match in Israel. Starr removed the promo in question as a result. It definitely moved from being a wrestling promo to a political one, which could distract from the championship and match.
ROH's March 16 TV taping drew around 500 fans. Running the same venue two nights in a row can be difficult.
AEW is working on having the Lucha Bros be exclusive to their promotion when running the U.S. This of course would pull them from Impact and MLW, and would be a pretty major shift for them. The pair would continue to work AAA.
Cody's recent trademarks are not AEW related. Instead he's trying to own content his father is associated with.
AEW has signed UK talent Sadie Gibbs, who has worked Stardom and has a background in gymnastics and other athletic ventures.
UFC's Cain Velasquez is in talks to wrestle in 2019. UFC would have to approve this, as he is still under contract.
The Undertaker is set to work the Saudi Arabia PPV on May 3. He is still not part of WrestleMania.
Brie Bella has officially announced her retirement. That was more or less expected. She probably would have retired sooner if it wasn't for the Ronda Rousey angle.
Garza Jr. is expected to start in NXT right after WrestleMania. He has announced his March 23 appearance for Crash will be his final match there. He was initially set to join NXT at the same time as Humberto Carrillo.
WWE and wrestling content have been nominated for quite a few Cynopsis sports media awards:
- Awareness Campaign for a Social Good Initiative for WWE's work with Make-A-Wish
- Brand Activation at Live Events for WWE's Connor's Cure campaign
- Digital Executive for WWE's Jayar Donlan
- Documentary Special/TV Movie for Showtime's "Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller"
- Over The Top Content Service for WWE Network
- Social Good TV Special or Episode for WWE announcing partnership with the 2018 Special Olympics in the U.S.
- Spot (Over 30 Seconds) for Showtime's "Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller" trailer
- Use of Facebook for Mixed Match Challenge
The Street Profits are no longer EVOLVE Tag Team Champions due to being booked as singles stars there going forward. Interesting direction with them teaming in NXT, but it also gets them some varied experience.
NXT could split Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke is Shayna Baszler joins Raw or Smackdown Live after WrestleMania. Shafir could join the Undisputed Era given her marriage to Roderick Strong.
WWE Network's latest Hidden Gem is the "March to WrestleMania X" special from 1994 featuring:
- Lex Luger vs. Jimmy Del Ray
- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Ben Jordan
- Razor Ramon vs. Tony DeVito for the Intercontinental Championship
- Earthquake vs. The Executioner
- Bret Hart vs. Crush
- The Quebecers vs. Mike Bell/PJ Walker for the Tag Team Championship
- Yokozuna vs. Tatanka
New Day also appeared on "Drop the Mic," battling with SWV.
FOX featured The Usos in a commercial for their fall lineup, which will of course feature Smackdown Live.
Alexa Bliss promoted a Raw live event.
WWE has new Chalk Line jackets for Ronda Rousey, Alexa Bliss, Ric Flair, and Dude Love.
Baron Corbin and Capital Tacos raised $1,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Impact and UCW's April 13 event has announced:
- Johnny Impact vs. Chris Michaels for the Impact World Championship
- Brian Cage vs. Madman Fulton
- Rich Swann vs. Scott Sexton for the Impact X-Division Championship
- oVe vs. Chase Stevens/The Maddox Brothers
Jim Cornette will have meet-and-greet sessions before MLW's WrestleMania weekend events.
MLW's Salina de la Renta is working behind-the-scenes with Mexican talent. She recently had meetings in Mexico on behalf of the promotion.
MLW has hired former NJPW and ROH staff member George Carroll as senior coordinator.
WWE stars will appear on Nickelodeon's Double Dare during the week of April 8.
The New York Mets' WWE Day game will feature Drew McIntyre, Corey Graves, Mickie James, and Curt Hawkins.
Kane's upcoming book is not being done through WWE.
AEW has signed Allie, who has been a prominent part of Impact storylines. That's definitely a blow to Impact's Knockout division, and a significant addition to AEW's women's division.
- Allie's Impact contract expired at the end of 2018. She had been working on a per-date basis since then, but was not signed to a deal.
- Impact decided to stop using Allie after the most recent TV tapings in order to focus on fresh characters. That's frankly quite surprising given how much they had featured here. They can definitely open the door for new talents with her gone, but she was one of their most prominent homegrown characters.
AEW has signed former WWE seamstress Sandra Grey to do a similar role for them.
The Elite will be at C2E2 this weekend.
AEW is casting a character called The Librarian, which fans can send auditions for. That's a pretty clever idea to engage their fans.
G1 Supercard has officially added Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay for both the ROH Television and NEVER Openweight Championships.
Eli Drake's Impact contract ends around the time of Rebellion. Notably he's in the poster for that event but not listed as one of the talents appearing. If they are looking to change the roster around, he could be leaving as well.
Impact's TV tapings this weekend have both sold out.
Impact will air an eSports battle royale with St. Clair College during tonight's episode.
Jim Ross is in discussions with AEW. He still wants to contribute in a prominent role. We'll see if AEW wants that.
WrestleMania advertisements have sprung up locally.
Charlotte Flair promoted Smackdown Live at Fox Sports headquarters.
WWE moving its headquarters got local press.
Tony Nese spoke about his upcoming WrestleMania championship match. That would definitely be a major moment for the local star.
Vince McMahon promoted this year's Warrior Award winner. I'm very glad to see her honored.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon donated $1 million to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital to combat child cancer. That's an awesome step from those two. Great, great work.
Flip Gordon will return at ROH's March 31 Honor Club event in Maryland. His opponent has not yet been named.
CMLL's Caristico and Soberano Jr. are booked for ROH's April 13 TV taping in Pennsylvania and April 14 Honor Club event in Ohio. Caristico is the original Sin Cara.
Chris Sabin's ROH contract has expired without him signing a new deal. Impact will be using him as a producer this weekend. He has not yet had surgery on his torn ACL, which is notable since it's been two months since he learned of the injury.
- Impact is rotating a number of different producers before deciding more permanent replacements for Sonjay Dutt and Abyss.
Becky Lynch discussed her journey to WWE with ESPN.
WWE covered how their rings are made. That's pretty fascinating!
The Miz looked back at his Real World days. He's REALLY progressed since then.
NWA released a Crockett Cup qualifying match where The Briscoes defeated Jeff Cobb and Willie Mack. This was taped the night after ROH's 17th anniversary PPV.
At NXT's Florida live event on March 21:
- Robert Strauss (the former Robbie E) debuted in the corner of Saurav Gurjar alongside Rinku Singh. Gurjar defeated Jermaine Haley, formerly Jonah Rock. Strauss cut a promo before the match. It's interesting he didn't wrestle, although he does have mic skills.
- Shane Thorne lost to Danny Burch in Thorne's first match since February 1.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
More Cody trademarks, Crockett Cup VIP setup, Horsemen at Wrestlecon, New Day teasing quitting, Interviews with Dawson/Waltman, Henry watching Raw with fans, WWE executive honored, SDL audience, WWE HQ moving, and a Question on Vince not changing things
Cody has filed for trademarks on the following terms:
- Prince of Wrestling
- Battlebowl
- Bash at the Beach
- Bunkhouse Stampede
-- The latter three refer to event and match names associated with Dusty Rhodes' tenure in various companies. I'm a little surprised WWE will hypothetically allow a former WCW PPV name to potentially be reused by AEW. And, really, should AEW be trying to recreate those concepts? NWA I could understand, but it doesn't seem to fit AEW.
NWA has set up VIP events for Crockett Cup.
The Four Horsemen will appear at WrestleCon. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Lex Luger, and JJ Dillon will all be available for picture opportunities.
New Day is teasing quitting WWE, with promos from Big E, Xavier Woods, and New Day as a group. I'd like to see the Smackdown Live babyfaces threaten a walkout if Kofi doesn't get a fair chance at WrestleMania.
Scott Dawson discussed tag team wrestling and who he'd like to see in the WWE Hall of Fame. The Midnight Express are unquestionably deserving, although of course WWE doesn't give tag teams a huge priority.
Mark Henry is doing meet-and-greets during upcoming Raws. That's a cool idea.
WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson was honored as a wonder woman by Multichannel News.
Smackdown Live drew 2.21 million viewers Tuesday night, very close to last week's number.
Sean Waltman discussed working at the WWE Performance Center recently and more. Here are highlights. They run the same small venues in Florida so much the audience probably is entitled to a degree. To an extent, those shows are more for people to practice things and for producers to see how they're progressing, etc.
WWE headquarters is moving to another Connecticut building in early 2021 or thereabouts in order to have a building that has more potential for production work. Wow. They're making a big long-term move there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com question:
1. I don't have much to add. As long as Vince can keep doing the things the way he likes to do them and continue to pull in hundreds of millions of dollars from TV deals, he's not going to change much. I do agree the talents who are closer to 45 should be used to help establish the talents that are closer to 30. Right now it feels like everyone gets pushed aside for the people who were over in 2002. WWE is hesitant to embrace a new generation because those talents don't resemble people who were over in the '80s and '90s. I compare this to music. While there are definitely musicians having successful tours who were hot in previous decades, more fans are gravitating toward talents who have emerged more recently and are in their twenties and thirties. And those musicians who are successful in their twenties and thirties aren't successful because they're trying to emulate musicians who were popular in past generations. They're doing something relevant to the current audience.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Prince of Wrestling
- Battlebowl
- Bash at the Beach
- Bunkhouse Stampede
-- The latter three refer to event and match names associated with Dusty Rhodes' tenure in various companies. I'm a little surprised WWE will hypothetically allow a former WCW PPV name to potentially be reused by AEW. And, really, should AEW be trying to recreate those concepts? NWA I could understand, but it doesn't seem to fit AEW.
NWA has set up VIP events for Crockett Cup.
The Four Horsemen will appear at WrestleCon. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Lex Luger, and JJ Dillon will all be available for picture opportunities.
New Day is teasing quitting WWE, with promos from Big E, Xavier Woods, and New Day as a group. I'd like to see the Smackdown Live babyfaces threaten a walkout if Kofi doesn't get a fair chance at WrestleMania.
Scott Dawson discussed tag team wrestling and who he'd like to see in the WWE Hall of Fame. The Midnight Express are unquestionably deserving, although of course WWE doesn't give tag teams a huge priority.
Mark Henry is doing meet-and-greets during upcoming Raws. That's a cool idea.
WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson was honored as a wonder woman by Multichannel News.
Smackdown Live drew 2.21 million viewers Tuesday night, very close to last week's number.
Sean Waltman discussed working at the WWE Performance Center recently and more. Here are highlights. They run the same small venues in Florida so much the audience probably is entitled to a degree. To an extent, those shows are more for people to practice things and for producers to see how they're progressing, etc.
WWE headquarters is moving to another Connecticut building in early 2021 or thereabouts in order to have a building that has more potential for production work. Wow. They're making a big long-term move there.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com question:
1. I don't have much to add. As long as Vince can keep doing the things the way he likes to do them and continue to pull in hundreds of millions of dollars from TV deals, he's not going to change much. I do agree the talents who are closer to 45 should be used to help establish the talents that are closer to 30. Right now it feels like everyone gets pushed aside for the people who were over in 2002. WWE is hesitant to embrace a new generation because those talents don't resemble people who were over in the '80s and '90s. I compare this to music. While there are definitely musicians having successful tours who were hot in previous decades, more fans are gravitating toward talents who have emerged more recently and are in their twenties and thirties. And those musicians who are successful in their twenties and thirties aren't successful because they're trying to emulate musicians who were popular in past generations. They're doing something relevant to the current audience.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
MLW signing, new WWE merch, Ronda vs. Dana fallout, territory era NWA star passes, more on Angle-WM35, Impact working with OVW again, Raw name works ill, Batista-Raw note, ROH name cleared to return, Angle's brother charged with assault, Raw audience, new ROH DVD set, Lethal meets MLB player, SDL women's contender next week, SDL dark matches, and Questions on why Charlotte was added to Ronda-Becky, Cena's non-PG move name, partners pinning each other in a multi-team match, AJ's future, and Warrior winning more titles changing how he's viewed
MLW has signed Air Wolf. That's got to be one of my favorite wrestling names now. I'm impressed with how quickly he's made an impact in the business.
WWE has new Chalk Line shorts for Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Rick Rude, and Dude Love.
Dana Brooke was "evaluated by a local medical facility" after facing Ronda Rousey on Raw. Be careful whom you step to!
- Ronda Rousey's husband Travis Browne has been "banned from Raw" for his actions Monday.
Former NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Roger Kirby passed away at 79 due to pancreatic cancer. PWInsider.com ran down his career.
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin is the legitimate current plan for WrestleMania 35. There was speculation the direction is leading to something else on that show, but currently that match is scheduled to take place. Angle understandably hoped for something more major at the event.
Impact and OVW have entered a new agreement for OVW to be Impact's developmental system, as the company was from 2012-2014. That definitely opens up talent opportunities for Impact.
Drew McIntyre worked Raw and the previous days' live events while sick. He's still expected for WrestleMania.
Batista's "home" interview was taped in Pennsylvania before last week's Raw.
Flip Gordon has been cleared to return to the ring. So, he is eligible to work G1 Supercard. Notably, Bully Ray has an open challenge that night.
Eric Angle was charged with assault after lifting a young amateur wrestler he was coaching by the neck following a loss. That's really egregious. I hope steps are taken to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Raw drew 2.70 million viewers Monday, down from 2.82 million last week.
ROH has released a new Marty Scurll DVD set. Perfect timing before his big G1 Supercard match.
Jay Lethal met New York baseball player Nick Swisher as part of ROH promotion for G1 Supercard.
WrestleMania's Smackdown Live Women's Championship number one contender will be declared on Tuesday's episode as a result of Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville.
Before Smackdown Live, Ricochet and Heavy Machinery defeated all three members of SAnitY.
After Smackdown Live, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It wouldn't shock me if Becky defeats Charlotte, but Charlotte definitely wasn't added just so Ronda wouldn't have to take the loss. WWE wants Charlotte to share in that milestone, and they also have more confidence in the match's quality with her involved.
2. I expect whomever approved the move name didn't know what it meant and/or was given a kayfabe PG explanation for the term. They also changed the FU because it was originally a knock on the F5, and obviously Cena used it on a lot of other opponents post-Lesnar!
3. I swear the New Age Outlaws or someone did that once and the rules got changed to make it illegal. There is that loophole that was mentioned, though.
4. Of course he just signed a new WWE contract, so that won't be his final feud!
5. I also don't know if that was in the cards, but I don't think Meltzer is intentionally misleading anyone. It's possible more title runs would have elevated Warrior's status, but there was still quite a bit to turn people off of him as a worker and a person.
More wrestling tomorrow.
WWE has new Chalk Line shorts for Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Rick Rude, and Dude Love.
Dana Brooke was "evaluated by a local medical facility" after facing Ronda Rousey on Raw. Be careful whom you step to!
- Ronda Rousey's husband Travis Browne has been "banned from Raw" for his actions Monday.
Former NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Roger Kirby passed away at 79 due to pancreatic cancer. PWInsider.com ran down his career.
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin is the legitimate current plan for WrestleMania 35. There was speculation the direction is leading to something else on that show, but currently that match is scheduled to take place. Angle understandably hoped for something more major at the event.
Impact and OVW have entered a new agreement for OVW to be Impact's developmental system, as the company was from 2012-2014. That definitely opens up talent opportunities for Impact.
Drew McIntyre worked Raw and the previous days' live events while sick. He's still expected for WrestleMania.
Batista's "home" interview was taped in Pennsylvania before last week's Raw.
Flip Gordon has been cleared to return to the ring. So, he is eligible to work G1 Supercard. Notably, Bully Ray has an open challenge that night.
Eric Angle was charged with assault after lifting a young amateur wrestler he was coaching by the neck following a loss. That's really egregious. I hope steps are taken to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Raw drew 2.70 million viewers Monday, down from 2.82 million last week.
ROH has released a new Marty Scurll DVD set. Perfect timing before his big G1 Supercard match.
Jay Lethal met New York baseball player Nick Swisher as part of ROH promotion for G1 Supercard.
WrestleMania's Smackdown Live Women's Championship number one contender will be declared on Tuesday's episode as a result of Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville.
Before Smackdown Live, Ricochet and Heavy Machinery defeated all three members of SAnitY.
After Smackdown Live, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It wouldn't shock me if Becky defeats Charlotte, but Charlotte definitely wasn't added just so Ronda wouldn't have to take the loss. WWE wants Charlotte to share in that milestone, and they also have more confidence in the match's quality with her involved.
2. I expect whomever approved the move name didn't know what it meant and/or was given a kayfabe PG explanation for the term. They also changed the FU because it was originally a knock on the F5, and obviously Cena used it on a lot of other opponents post-Lesnar!
3. I swear the New Age Outlaws or someone did that once and the rules got changed to make it illegal. There is that loophole that was mentioned, though.
4. Of course he just signed a new WWE contract, so that won't be his final feud!
5. I also don't know if that was in the cards, but I don't think Meltzer is intentionally misleading anyone. It's possible more title runs would have elevated Warrior's status, but there was still quite a bit to turn people off of him as a worker and a person.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Smackdown Live and 205 Live Reax - 3/19/19
Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown Live and 205 Live.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Interview with Evans, assorted wrestling press, advertised WWE/Impact/ROH matches, AJ signs new WWE deal, HOH sets June tour, new Creative hire official, former X-Division champion to NXT, Club pulled from live events, WWE exec honored wih Warrior Award, wrestling merch sites merge, Swoggle/Titus/Kane book updates, Supercard ROH title match changed, former WWE name retiring, SDL star signs new deal, Batista note, NXT tour set, WarGames III announced, what happened after Raw, and Questions on matches being announced on Twitter, Vince as a judge of talent, faces overcoming ridiculous odds, what will headline WM35, Ronda and Becky's relationship, and who's booking "shoots" in WWE
Lacey Evans is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast, going into her background and more.
Alexa Bliss was at Mexico's La Mole 2019.
Smackdown Live's May 10 Finland event is advertising:
- Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship
- Samoa Joe vs. R-Truth vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship
- The Usos vs. New Day vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black vs. Rusev/Shinsuke Nakamura for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
- Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for the Smackdown Women's Championship
- Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade
- Carmella vs. Lacey Evans
-- Of course, with the Superstar Shakeup, this is all tentative. It is notable the Usos are advertised after their current contracts' expiration date in April.
AJ Styles has signed a new contract with WWE. His current deal was set to end in April. There is no word on the length of the deal at this time, but it's certainly possible this is his last contract given he's just a few months from turning 42. Notably this signing means he won't be joining AEW, which would have been a natural fit for him with his friends there.
Madison Rayne has a new Impact T-shirt.
House of Hardcore has announced events for:
- June 1 in Tennessee as the advertised final event at the former TNA Asylum
- June 8 in Pennsylvania at the former ECW Arena
- June 9 in New York
- June 15 in Ontario
-- So, the promotion is in fact still in existence. AEW's Billy Gunn is working the advertised events, so he's still able to take bookings outside of that company.
Dana Warrior has officially joined WWE Creative full-time after trying out for the role in recent weeks. She approached WWE about joining several weeks ago. I'm curious what change she'll bring to things.
NXT has signed former X-Division Champion DJ Z. Certainly he'd be eligible for 205 Live if they want to use him there. We'll see how he does as he gets acclimated.
The Club, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, have been removed from all upcoming Smackdown Live live events as a result of deciding to leave WWE at the end of their current contracts. The pair is still booked for TV tapings and PPVs going forward, and the two sides are still in negotiations, but it definitely looks like they're going to be free agents come September.
WWE has announced 33-year executive Sue Aitchison will receive this year's Warrior Award due to her community service work with the organization. I think that's fantastic.
- Ric Flair, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Justin Roberts praised the move.
Finn Balor got press for being part of boxer Mick Conlon's entrance.
Becky Lynch assisted a fan having a seizure at a recent autograph signing. That's AMAZING.
Pro Wrestling Tees has purchased Wrestle Crate USA as well as That Wrestling Club. The two purchased entities are now operating as Pro Wrestling Crate.
Daffney and Francine are raffling a dinner at WrestleCon.
Matt Morgan raised $8,000 for anti-concussion helmets during a return to the ring this past weekend. That's a great way to use his celebrity.
Hornswoggle's autobiography will release September 10.
- Hornswoggle was backstage at Smackdown Live's Monday live event in Wisconsin. He's local to the area.
Titus O'Neil has an autobiography coming out August 6, discussing his journey from being a "bad kid" to a role model.
Kane has a wrestling and politics autobiography planned for November. That should really be an interesting read. He's lived a unique life.
"Fighting With My Family" will be released on DVD May 14. That's a pretty quick turnaround.
Rusev and Lana will appear on this week's "Drop The Mic."
G1 Supercard's ROH Championship match will now be a ladder match with Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll vs. Matt Taven. If Taven's going to win, I hope they close the show with the IWGP World Championship match, because I don't think this is how they want to end their stay in Madison Square Garden.
Extreme Rules will be in Pennsylvania on July 14. Currently advertised:
- Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
ROH's March 31 HonorClub event in Maryland has announced:
- PJ Black vs. Kenny King
- Silas Young vs. Mark Haskins
- RUSH vs. Tracy Williams
The former Adam Rose has announced he will retire after completing his currently announced bookings. Rose turns 40 in July. I'm curious what he does after wrestling.
WWE has signed Sin Cara to a new three-year deal. He has not wrestled since August, but has been training at the WWE Performance Center for a return and has been backstage at Smackdown Live a number of times.
Impact's TV tapings in Ontario will feature:
-- March 22:
- Josh Alexander in action
- Rosemary vs. Su Yung
- Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne
- Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack
- Moose vs. Zachary Wentz
- Petey Williams vs. Ace Austin vs. Idris Abraham vs. Aiden Prince vs. Trey Miguel vs. Jake Crist
-- March 23:
- Johnny Impact/LAX vs. Brian Cage/Lucha Bros
- Killer Kross vs. Willie Mack
- Tommy Dreamer vs. Madman Fulton
- Moose vs. Dezmond Xavier
- Cody Deaner/Jake Something vs. Idris Abraham/Joe Coleman
-- As usual, local talent are mixed in with the Impact stars
Batista was not at Raw. It's possible he was on set for "Dune," which has begun filming in Europe. Of course, Batista is still set for WrestleMania.
NXT has announced live events for:
- April 25 in Nebraska
- April 26 in Iowa
- April 27 in Wisconsin
- April 28 in Minnesota
NXT Takeover:WarGames III is set for November 23 in Illinois, at the same site as Survivor Series the following night. Smackdown Live (November 22) and Raw (November 25) will also be in the venue.
After Raw, Baron Corbin looked to attack Seth Rollins. Dean Ambrose saved his Shield partner.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. Vince was appealing to those millennials by using Twitter, dammit! I concur talent should know about such things before the Internet does.
1.b. It was tongue-in-cheek. Vince is playing something of a parody of himself (as Charlotte is). I laughed out loud.
2. I'm willing to see what they do with the gauntlet. It probably is a little overdone but he flipside is they hypothetically value Kofi enough to have him overcome the odds.
3. Honestly it could change the day of the show. The current plan is to headline with the Ronda match, though.
4. To the best of my knowledge, they get along well. It wouldn't shock me if they get along great, actually, as far as having mutual admiration for each other and wanting to make this opportunity as big as possible. I can't say I've heard anyone being negative toward Ronda since she is such a big star and is working so hard to put on the biggest and best performances possible.
5. It's definitely not Russo. I will say we haven't hit the point where announcers are saying "this wasn't on the script" or what have you. Hopefully I didn't just give anyone any ideas!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Alexa Bliss was at Mexico's La Mole 2019.
Smackdown Live's May 10 Finland event is advertising:
- Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship
- Samoa Joe vs. R-Truth vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship
- The Usos vs. New Day vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black vs. Rusev/Shinsuke Nakamura for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
- Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for the Smackdown Women's Championship
- Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade
- Carmella vs. Lacey Evans
-- Of course, with the Superstar Shakeup, this is all tentative. It is notable the Usos are advertised after their current contracts' expiration date in April.
AJ Styles has signed a new contract with WWE. His current deal was set to end in April. There is no word on the length of the deal at this time, but it's certainly possible this is his last contract given he's just a few months from turning 42. Notably this signing means he won't be joining AEW, which would have been a natural fit for him with his friends there.
Madison Rayne has a new Impact T-shirt.
House of Hardcore has announced events for:
- June 1 in Tennessee as the advertised final event at the former TNA Asylum
- June 8 in Pennsylvania at the former ECW Arena
- June 9 in New York
- June 15 in Ontario
-- So, the promotion is in fact still in existence. AEW's Billy Gunn is working the advertised events, so he's still able to take bookings outside of that company.
Dana Warrior has officially joined WWE Creative full-time after trying out for the role in recent weeks. She approached WWE about joining several weeks ago. I'm curious what change she'll bring to things.
NXT has signed former X-Division Champion DJ Z. Certainly he'd be eligible for 205 Live if they want to use him there. We'll see how he does as he gets acclimated.
The Club, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, have been removed from all upcoming Smackdown Live live events as a result of deciding to leave WWE at the end of their current contracts. The pair is still booked for TV tapings and PPVs going forward, and the two sides are still in negotiations, but it definitely looks like they're going to be free agents come September.
WWE has announced 33-year executive Sue Aitchison will receive this year's Warrior Award due to her community service work with the organization. I think that's fantastic.
- Ric Flair, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Justin Roberts praised the move.
Finn Balor got press for being part of boxer Mick Conlon's entrance.
Becky Lynch assisted a fan having a seizure at a recent autograph signing. That's AMAZING.
Pro Wrestling Tees has purchased Wrestle Crate USA as well as That Wrestling Club. The two purchased entities are now operating as Pro Wrestling Crate.
Daffney and Francine are raffling a dinner at WrestleCon.
Matt Morgan raised $8,000 for anti-concussion helmets during a return to the ring this past weekend. That's a great way to use his celebrity.
Hornswoggle's autobiography will release September 10.
- Hornswoggle was backstage at Smackdown Live's Monday live event in Wisconsin. He's local to the area.
Titus O'Neil has an autobiography coming out August 6, discussing his journey from being a "bad kid" to a role model.
Kane has a wrestling and politics autobiography planned for November. That should really be an interesting read. He's lived a unique life.
"Fighting With My Family" will be released on DVD May 14. That's a pretty quick turnaround.
Rusev and Lana will appear on this week's "Drop The Mic."
G1 Supercard's ROH Championship match will now be a ladder match with Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll vs. Matt Taven. If Taven's going to win, I hope they close the show with the IWGP World Championship match, because I don't think this is how they want to end their stay in Madison Square Garden.
Extreme Rules will be in Pennsylvania on July 14. Currently advertised:
- Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
ROH's March 31 HonorClub event in Maryland has announced:
- PJ Black vs. Kenny King
- Silas Young vs. Mark Haskins
- RUSH vs. Tracy Williams
The former Adam Rose has announced he will retire after completing his currently announced bookings. Rose turns 40 in July. I'm curious what he does after wrestling.
WWE has signed Sin Cara to a new three-year deal. He has not wrestled since August, but has been training at the WWE Performance Center for a return and has been backstage at Smackdown Live a number of times.
Impact's TV tapings in Ontario will feature:
-- March 22:
- Josh Alexander in action
- Rosemary vs. Su Yung
- Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne
- Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack
- Moose vs. Zachary Wentz
- Petey Williams vs. Ace Austin vs. Idris Abraham vs. Aiden Prince vs. Trey Miguel vs. Jake Crist
-- March 23:
- Johnny Impact/LAX vs. Brian Cage/Lucha Bros
- Killer Kross vs. Willie Mack
- Tommy Dreamer vs. Madman Fulton
- Moose vs. Dezmond Xavier
- Cody Deaner/Jake Something vs. Idris Abraham/Joe Coleman
-- As usual, local talent are mixed in with the Impact stars
Batista was not at Raw. It's possible he was on set for "Dune," which has begun filming in Europe. Of course, Batista is still set for WrestleMania.
NXT has announced live events for:
- April 25 in Nebraska
- April 26 in Iowa
- April 27 in Wisconsin
- April 28 in Minnesota
NXT Takeover:WarGames III is set for November 23 in Illinois, at the same site as Survivor Series the following night. Smackdown Live (November 22) and Raw (November 25) will also be in the venue.
After Raw, Baron Corbin looked to attack Seth Rollins. Dean Ambrose saved his Shield partner.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.a. Vince was appealing to those millennials by using Twitter, dammit! I concur talent should know about such things before the Internet does.
1.b. It was tongue-in-cheek. Vince is playing something of a parody of himself (as Charlotte is). I laughed out loud.
2. I'm willing to see what they do with the gauntlet. It probably is a little overdone but he flipside is they hypothetically value Kofi enough to have him overcome the odds.
3. Honestly it could change the day of the show. The current plan is to headline with the Ronda match, though.
4. To the best of my knowledge, they get along well. It wouldn't shock me if they get along great, actually, as far as having mutual admiration for each other and wanting to make this opportunity as big as possible. I can't say I've heard anyone being negative toward Ronda since she is such a big star and is working so hard to put on the biggest and best performances possible.
5. It's definitely not Russo. I will say we haven't hit the point where announcers are saying "this wasn't on the script" or what have you. Hopefully I didn't just give anyone any ideas!
More wrestling tomorrow.
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