Crockett Cup additions, FS1 getting WWE talk show, ECW exec invests in CZW, WWE hiring, Miz responds to HBO piece (kind of), Kamala trying to save his house, HTM inductor, EVOLVE name done, MLW gets international TV deal, new WWEPC signing, WWE stars help producer lose weight, Becky teases Ronda exit, HHH conference call, and Questions on who should write a book, the women's division being overexposed, what producers do, Asuka being lost in the shuffle, and where Double or Nothing will air

Some WrestleMania week press was omitted to avoid redundancy and clutter.

NWA's Crockett Cup event has added:
- Willie Mack and Jazz defending their respective championships
- A tag team battle royal to determine the final team in the tournament
- A Friday night dinner with Nick Aldis and Marty Scurll
- A Saturday morning VIP event with Billy Corgan doing photo opportunities, and panel discussions with Jim Cornette, the Midnight Express, the Rock 'N' Roll Express, and more.

FOX Sports 1 will have a weekly studio talk show discussing WWE beginning this fall. The current plan is for the show to air on Tuesday nights.

CZW is now being invested in by former ECW General Manager Steve Karel, who will now serve in an official capacity there. I'm not sure exactly what this will mean for the group, but it certainly opens up some doors.

WWE is seeking a director of road production, a road video producer, a road production assistant, a social media producer, and a social media manager as they expand those areas of their business.

The Miz responded to the recent Last Week Tonight piece, by not actually responding to any of the issues brought up. Smooth.

Kamala is raising money to pay taxes to keep his house. That's a very unfortunate case.

Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jimmy Hart. I wonder if that's why Hart isn't going in with the Hart Foundation.

EVOLVE's Darby Allin is leaving the company effective sometime next week. He has been trying to get out of his deal for a while, so maybe he has something lined up with AnothEr Wrestling company.

MLW will air in Great Britain and Ireland on Freesports TV beginning Tuesday with an airing of this weekend's Battle Riot special. Fusion will then air on the channel each Monday. That's another move forward for MLW.

NXT has signed Aleksandar Jaksic from their Germany tryout. Jaksic was trained by Santino Marella.

WWE stars helped a road producer lose 51 pounds. I'm glad he's in a healthier place now.

Becky Lynch teased Ronda Rousey quitting after WrestleMania 35. That's certainly the popular rumor!

Taz was backstage at Takeover:New York. He's local to the area, but hasn't attended a WWE show in years.

Triple H did a live Q&A session after Takeover:New York, covered here:
- NXT can definitely have incredible success when tied to major WWE events.

- NXT is perfect for having talent impress and not overstay their welcome. Then of course Raw and Smackdown Live have the much harder task of booking them along a lot of other talented performers for a much longer period of time.

- NXT talents absolutely become bigger players over the course of the program, although of course they're not really being prepared for how they'll be used post-NXT.

- That Brexit joke popped me hard.

- I'm very surprised Shane Strickland wasn't around, but maybe they didn't want him to overshadow Kushida's signing?

- Definitely an interesting decision to close with DIY together.

- Honestly it was time for Dunne to lose, and, yes, it's Raw or Smackdown Live time. WWE creative needs to clean house and be prepared for all the great young talent they have.

- Ehhhhh I don't think we'll see NXT on TV.

- Fresh matchups among brands is great and one of the strengths of the extension. When they do cross over, it means a lot.

- I mean, yes, a lot of talent succeeds based on making the most of their opportunities, but they have to get those opportunities first.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. In the day of so many shoot interviews and documentaries, it almost seems like a lot of stars are covered, right? We definitely need a Vince McMahon biography some day, though. I don't expect him to write it himself.

2. I wouldn't say so. Certain names, yes, but not the division as a whole.

3. Producers and agents are the same role with different names. I'm under the impression WWE wanted to move away from "agent" the same way they moved on from "house show" and other terms. I see producers as kind of the go-between from Management and the talents, translating what Creative wants to something that works in the ring. For instance, if Creative says they want one party to go over in dominant fashion, the producer works out the details with the talent to get that cross. 

4. It was that damned Charlotte getting special treatment again! Typical McMahons doing everything to put her in the spotlight! I sure hope The Man makes her pay for that tomorrow night! Basically WWE put a lot more focus on the main event storyline.

5. I fully expect it to be available live. It will likely be online and on traditional PPV, if not on a TV channel.

More wrestling tomorrow.

Takeover: New York Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE Network special event.

Impact Wrestling Reax - 4/5/19

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling.

Batista challenged to MMA bout, OVW looking to become trade school, new Hidden Gems, AAA-MSG press conference, WWE documentaries coming to A&E, Brutus inductor, WWE 2K19 on sale, Big Show responds to HBO piece, WM35 match official, WWE Q1 results date, WWE scouting talent, Ambrose update, more names in town for WM35, new WWE HoF statue, AXXESS notes, NXT name change, new NXT theme, new Legacy HoFers, and Questions on the Bellas' WWE roles, filming WWE surgeries, and the SDL before WM36

Some WrestleMania 35 week press stories were omitted in order to avoid redundancy and clutter.

Batista has been challenged to an MMA bout by ex-NFL player Shawne Merriman in Merriman's new MMC league. That could definitely be a spectacle.

OVW is seeking to become an accredited trade school, meaning students could actually receive a degree in wrestling. Notably, course work would include finance, business, marketing, and TV production. There's definitely a lot of skills that go into putting a wrestling promotion together. That's a novel idea, but one that could pay off.

WWE Network's latest Hidden Gems are:
- WrestleMania 2's press conference
- WrestleMania III's press conference
- WrestleMania IV's press conference
- Tito Santana vs. Papa Shango, WrestleMania IX's dark match
- A Lex Luger promo regarding WrestleMania X from a 1994 Superstars taping that never aired
- A Razor Ramon promo regarding WrestleMania XII from a 1996 Superstars taping that never aired

AAA announced a Madison Square Garden event for September 15, the day before Mexican Independence Day. That's bold. We'll see how it goes.

WWE Studios and A&E Network are producing documentaries on Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, and Booker T. for the "Biography" series. Each episode will be two hours. That's quite significant, and a nice move for WWE Studios.

AAA held a press conference to promote their Madison Square Garden show, covered here:
- MSG made a bold move reaching out to other wrestling promotions, but it looks like it's going well for them.

- This is a MAJOR show for AAA. That's a large venue.

- Yeah MSG is a little upset they're not holding any WM35 festivities.

- Looks like this is just the start of a U.S. expansion. That can be big if they play their cards right.

- With WWE's attendance woes, I don't think it's totally crazy for AAA to be competitive in some markets.

- You'd think they'd go ahead and announce at least one partnership for the show.

- Wow. Europe, too? That's really big.

- Oh, yes. This airing live will be key.

- Honestly not securing Cain for this event should have given them pause. They've got their work cut out for them drawing fans.

Hulk Hogan will induct Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake into the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm surprised WWE didn't announcer inductors a lot earlier. They've got some real competition this week.

WWE 2K19 is free for Xbox Live Gold members this weekend. It's also now 67% off. The hype for WWE 2K20 will start soon, I suppose.

Big Show spoke to TMZ Sports about the recent Last Week Tonight piece and more. I agree WWE has made improvements in the past decade-plus to address some of the problems Oliver mentioned. I still think it'd be good for there to be a sit-down with Oliver and someone from WWE to discuss the issues involved in depth.

WrestleMania 35 has officially added The Revival vs. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder for the Raw Tag Team Championship. I could see a title change in the local market, even if it just lasts that night. I'd pop for Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish beating them for the title on Raw, honestly.

WWE will report Q1 2019 financial results on April 25. WrestleMania 35 is included in Q2.

William Regal and Canyon Ceman were scouting talent at Bloodsport this weekend. Regal was also at Battleclub Pro.

Dean Ambrose was in attendance at Bloodsport. He'll be free to work there and elsewhere soon.

Howard Finkel is in town for WrestleMania for the first time in several years. Glad to see him well enough to be there.

The Undertaker is in town for WrestleMania, but that doesn't mean he'll be on-screen. It's definitely going to feel odd to have a WrestleMania without him!

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper has been honored with a WWE statue. I'm glad to see it!

Kofi Kingston is the subject of an upcoming "WWE 24."

AXXESS is featuring Sonjay Dutt and Abyss. That's pretty cool!

At AXXESS on Thursday:
- Candice LeRae and Mia Yim teamed to defeat Aliyah and Vanessa Borne. We'll see if Candice and Mia team more.
- Raw's No Way Jose defeated NXT's Eric Bugenhagen. I wouldn't be shocked to see them team up.
- Raw's Apollo Crews defeated NXT's Fabian Aichner.

Stokely Hathaway is now Courtenay Moore. Yikessssss. We'll see how that works out.

NXT has a new theme song. I'm not sure how wise it was to make a video featuring people who are likely leaving after WrestleMania! Still a pretty badass video.

WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy wing has added:
- Bruiser Brody
- Wahoo McDaniel
- Luna Vachon
- SD Jones
- Professor Toru Tanaka
- Primo Carnera
- Joseph Cohen, who created the MSG Network
- Hisashi Shinma, former WWF President
- Buddy Rose
- Jim Barnett

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They are still with WWE as ambassadors and public figures.

Nothing to add to 2 or 5.

3. I'd think it'd be about the same as any other "documentary" footage, and, yes, for legal reasons in case there's ever a lawsuit about the procedures.

4. I could see them filming SDL at AXXESS if they don't want to do a separate taping.

More wrestling tomorrow.

United We Stand Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling special event.

Takeover: New York preview

Read on for my ideas for booking tonight's WWE Network special event.

New Supercard match, Supercard milestone, WWE name expected back soon, how SDL changing nights affects tours, WWE Saudi show moved back, WWE international tours in motion, Rumble 2020 week note, AAA planning South American tour, Lucha Bros update, more on Cain-AAA, more on Elgin leaving NJPW, NJPW World showing international show, Viceland has more episodes, son of singer back in the ring, Jungle Boy return announced, AEW correction, Arkansas moving to deregulate, ECW star coming out of retirement, more on Supercard match, Y2J shut out from WWE, more Starrcast names, WWE loses Middle Eastern TV, Cena speaking date, football player trying out for WWE, HoF special on USA, wrestling's broadcast future covered, Heyman on Raw, NXT TV hitting milestone, another potential WWE return, WWEPC guest coach, Interviews with Goldust/RVD/HHH+Steph/Rhyno, Usos sign new deal, JR's AEW role, AEW fills out broadcast team, Sasha puts over mentor, Kickoff matches set, SDL audience, and Questions on how Angle vs. Corbin will go, Braun being a comedy figure, skinning the cat, blaming the brand split for creative problems, and advice for AEW

Some WrestleMania Week press was omitted in order to avoid redundancy and clutter.

G1 Supercard has added Sumie Sakai, Hana Kimura, and Stella Grey vs. Jenny Rose and Oedo Tai. This is expected to air on ROH TV.

G1 Supercard's gate will be the largest for any non-WWE North American show in history. I'm curious if/when AEW will be able to top it.

Lars Sullivan is expected back in WWE soon. That's good to hear. I hope he's in a good place in ready to do something big.

Once Smackdown Live moves to Fridays, the brand will tour Thursdays through Sundays, while Raw will continue to run Friday through Monday.

WWE's Saudi Arabian show for May 3 has been moved. It's now expected on June 7. This is believed to be a logistical move. Notably June 8 is Takeover: San Jose, so two separate production crews will be needed that weekend.

- The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were scheduled for the May 3 event. We'll see if either or both compete if the show is in June.

- Raw and Smackdown Live do not have any live events set from April 30 through May 5 due to this planned trip, so WWE will either put together a tour on short notice or talent will get a rare week off after WrestleMania.

- A November 1 show is also advertised for Saudi Arabia.

WWE is planning international tours for:
- South America from August 22 through September 8
- The Philippines on September 20
- China on September 21
- Australia from October 21 through October 23
- Mexico on November 30 and December 1

Royal Rumble 2020 will not have Raw and Smackdown Live in the same market, as has been the norm for "Big Four" PPVs lately. Takeover, however, will also be in Houston.

AAA is planning a Colombian tour for later this year. They drew 8,000 fans there in November, so I see why they're looking to repeat the success.

The Lucha Bros have canceled CMLL dates going forward. They might be AAA-exclusive in Mexico from now on. The pair had definitely helped CMLL attendance, so that could be a blow.

Cain Velasquez will likely work a tag match at TripleMania. AAA recruited him to attract an outside audience, as the show could air on Mexican TV in primetime. This could be a big moment for AAA.

Michael Elgin has spoken with WWE, so that could be his next career move. It was his call to not remain with NJPW; they're open to him returning.

Tetsuya Naito competed in Costa Rica recently. The show's expected to air on New Japan World.

Viceland has four more episodes of "Dark Side of the Ring" for a potential second season, including one on Chris Benoit. I'd think that one would be pretty big.

Jody Kristofferson has returned to the ring following a broken neck.

Jungle Boy is scheduled for an April 27 event. I'm glad he's able to get back to work.

In a correction from a recent story, AEW is not using Impact's Ace Austin in the Over the Budget battle royal. They're using Ace Romero. Obviously those two should work together as a pair of Aces, though.

Arkansas is looking to deregulate wrestling in rural towns in order to get more shows in smaller markets. The House of Representatives passed a bill 92-0 to do that, and it will now move to their Senate.

ECW alum Ulf Hermann is coming out of retirement for a UK match on June 7.

G1 Supercard's Bully Ray vs. Juice Robinson match could be turned into a tag match in order to get more people on the card.

Chris Jericho will no longer have WWE-contracted talent on his podcast, for the obvious reason.

Kurt Angle and Brutus Beefcake have been added to Starrcast, fresh off appearing WrestleMania weekend. We'll see if that means a Baron Corbin win.

WWE's Middle Eastern TV partner has shut down, so WWE is looking at other homes there.

John Cena is scheduled for a one-man show on April 25.

Canadian football player James Wilder, Jr. is getting a WWE tryout.

A WWE Hall of Fame special will air on USA Network after Raw. It's set for one hour.

Wrestling's TV and streaming future was covered by New York Post. It's pretty fascinating, with a lot of significant names weighing in.

Paul Heyman is set for Monday's Raw. We could see his client there, too, regardless of WM35's outcome. It's possible Heyman remains in the company without Brock should Lesnar go to UFC.

NXT will tape its 500th episode before Takeover, with Candice LeRae vs. Aliyah and the Street Proftis vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel.

Big Show is also in the vicinity of WrestleMania 35, so he could end up back in the ring soon, as well. His last match was in November.

The WWE Performance Center had Ace Steel as a guest coach this week.

Goldust discussed WrestleMania 12's Hollywood Backlot Brawl. I'd love to see The Miz and Shane McMahon do something similar.

Rob Van Dam appeared on Taz's CBS Sports Radio show.

The Usos have signed new WWE contracts. It's currently unknown how long the deals lock them into the company for, but this means they won't be leaving for AEW or elsewhere.

Jim Ross has signed with AEW as expected, for three years as a senior advisor.

AEW has announced the hirings of:
- Alicia Atout as backstage interviewer, which she did at All In and recently did at Impact
- Excalibur and Alex Marvez as commentators
- Justin Roberts as ring announcer
-- Glad to see those names in the mix.

Rob Van Dam has signed with Impact Wrestling to appear on upcoming tapings beginning the day after Rebellion. Van Dam discussed this and more in an interview:
- I could see the deal going through Slammiversary with an option to continue through Bound For Glory. He definitely doesn't want to work full-time for long.

- RVD's shot at people taking his moves was classic Van Dam. 

- Yes, WWE would definitely want to use him more than a Brock schedule. 

- RVD, like a lot of wrestlers, benefits when he's one of the key "name" talents around instead of swimming around with a lot of other major players.

- Impact doesn't need to worry about competing with anyone. They need to focus on growing their business before even considering a "war."

- Yeah getting car rentals and hotels in your contract is a lot easier when you have the leverage of an RVD and can get booked well elsewhere.

- I'm pleasantly surprised he sees WWE's viewpoint of why they didn't treat him as a centerpiece star.

- RVD being in Impact is definitely a change, but nostalgia has a shelf life. We'll see how things work with him there.

Sasha Banks put over Amazing Red. I'm glad he's had a legacy beyond his own ring work, since we haven't gotten to see him on TV much.

WrestleMania 35 Kickoff will feature both battle royal matches and (you guessed it) the cruiserweight championship match. I'm a little surprised the SNL involvement won't be on the main show.

Smackdown drew 2.14 million viewers Tuesday, notably down from last week's 2.39 million viewers. We'll see how much of a boost the post-WM35 shows get. WWE shows could use an increase.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon spoke at the CAA World Congress of Sports.

Rhyno revealed his WWE contract expires in mid-July in an interview about his boating business:
- Kind of funny to think about Rhyno owning a boating marina, but I'm glad he's got a venture that (presumably) doesn't revolve around being slammed around.

- Heck it might work out better for him to be independent so he can focus on that company and take bookings when he's available.

- Wow. Wrestling until he's 51 or more is an interesting goal now that he's got this lined up.

- We'll see what WWE thinks they can get out of him going forward as we approach mid-July. Obviously they're not doing much with him now. His last TV appearance was in December.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't see Corbin being destroyed by an older Angle, and I don't see Corbin turning the match down, but there's a possibility of an Angle/Cena match. Cena is still expected to have a match on the show, and that one's an obvious move.

2. I wouldn't assume this will be a permanent thing, since he's only 35. Honestly I wouldn't consider him teaming with Nicholas a comedy segment. Braun destroyed The Bar and let Nicholas get the pin. It wasn't like the whole match was lighthearted. We'll see what happens with the SNL duo.

3. My guess is it's a reference to the phrase involved, with there being more than one way to get back in the ring, some of which are much easier than that!

4. The major reason for the brand split is WWE having so many talents and only so many TV spots. I don't think Kofi Kingston would be in a WWE Championship program if Brock held the only title! I think WWE is playing looser with the brand split since "the McMahons are in charge of both shows now" and stars can be moved across brands more easily. The brand split can definitely work, and I don't think it's the core of the problem.

5. I'd say they largely need to focus on making their own identity instead of trying to recreate what worked ten or more years ago. That's definitely been a stumbling block for wrestling companies in recent years. So far they seem to get that idea. I agree with not focusing on creative styles from decades past, but that's hardly just a Russo thing. I'd extend it to Cornette and others, too.

More wrestling tomorrow.