Smackdown has announced Firefly Fun House returning this week. Fiend vs. Cena should be fun.
Elimination Chamber has added Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo for the United States Championship.
Dynamite has added Jon Moxley and Darby Allin vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara.
Mick Foley was at Raw to film footage for an upcoming community outreach program.
Matt Riddle, Bianca Belair, Mansoor, and Vanessa Borne were backstage at Raw. I'm curious if any of them are heading to Raw after WrestleMania.
Rusev was at Raw. He has not returned from his back issues.
WWE discussed the coronavirus backstage at Raw. As much as wrestlers travel, it can really be a threat.
Lana missed Raw due to a film role.
Raw featured a number of WrestlePro talents as extras, including in No Way Jose's conga line.
Rowan's spider is an animatronic.
"Dark Side of the Ring" returns March 24 with a two-hour Benoit family episode. The other episodes will focus on Brawl For All, Dino Bravo, New Jack, Herb Abrams, Owen Hart, Nancy Argentino, Dr. D David Shultz, and The Road Warriors. All should be very interesting.
Impact has signed an Indian broadcasting deal to show monthly specials on Discovery India, namely their PPVs and some Impact Plus events. Good to see.
Lio Rush has been pulled from wXw's 16 Carat Gold tournament due to WWE commitments. Jeff Cobb will be replacing him.
- Alex Shelley is also pulling out of the event due to coronavirus concerns.
Fred Yehi has been added to ROH's Pure Championship tournament. Very glad to see him get that opportunity.
The Miz is hosting USA Network's "Cannonball" reality series this summer.
Chuck Liddell expressed interest in coming to WWE. This is really becoming a trend.
Raw drew 2.26 million viewers this week, very close to last week's number.
WWE is working on its next Saudi Arabian show. An August date was considered, but was too close to Summerslam and expected to be incredibly hot, so October and November are more likely. It's definitely wise to stay away from the heat.
Titus O'Neil will receive Cynopsis Sports' Sentinel award for his community outreach.
Carmella discussed her character inspiration. She's been a natural in that role.
NXT has added Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish vs. One Two.
MJF was profiled by Newsday. He's getting a LOT of spotlight at a young age.
Past vs. Present has added The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido and Rey Horus.
Bloodsport has added Killer Kelly vs. Allysin Kay. NICE.
JBL has been announced for the WWE Hall of Fame. Well deserved!
Jeff Hardy has been medically cleared to return to WWE. He spent some time in in-patient rehabilitation following his DWI arrest, and it sounds like he's ready to contribute some more. Glad to see it. I'm interested to see what he does next.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I do think current big men should save flashy athletic spots for when they matter and play to their other attributes, too. There are a lot of people who can fly around; there aren't as many people who have the power that bigger wrestlers have, and it's good for them to show why they're unique.
2. They knew they had a big audience after Super Showdown and with Cena's announced return. It was smart to announce top matches then. That said, I think it would make sense for heels to be upset that Roman got a title shot that easily and try to make a fuss about it.
3. Potentially. There will need to be a good character for him to ditch it for before they just drop it out of nowhere.
4. Less than $10 million is as specific as I've seen.
5. The Fiend probably has his reasons. Remember Bray and Cena have a long history. He can go back for the title once Cena's back in Hollywood.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Smackdown segment set, new matches, Raw guests, WWE name in movie role, Rowan note, DSOTR season two note, Impact signs Indian PPV deal, WXW replacement, ROH debut set, Miz hosting USA show, another UFC name interested in WWE, Raw rating, WWE planning next Saudi show, assorted wrestling press, HoF name set, Jeff Hardy updates and Questions on athletic big men, post-SSD booking, King Corbin changing, and ROH's Sinclair purchase
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
WWE contract expires, legend pulls out of Mania weekend, WWE using top international name as coach, assorted wrestling press, WM36 ticket update, another ROH tournament competitor, MITB set, ROH PPV main events, NXT live events set, wrestling pilot in the works, new Elimination Chamber matches, what happened after Raw, and Questions on not saving Blood & Guts for PPV, Brock's booking, the WM36 card, Dustin kissing Hager's wife, and booking MJF
Matt Hardy announced he is officially a free agent, thanking WWE for his time there.
- WWE released a statement on Hardy's contract expiring, paying tribute to his years of work for the company.
- Matt has been announced for a signing at this weekend's The Big Event in New York. Wow, they worked fast on that one!
The Great Muta is no longer part of Spring Break IV due to a breakdown in negotiations. Muta had been booked in December, but his business matters were then taken over by Sonny Onoo. Onoo wanted to change the previous arrangement, and things fell apart from there. That's unfortunate for fans who were originally going to see Muta but will no longer be able to.
All Japan Pro Wrestling general manager Jun Akiyama will be a WWE Performance Center guest coach in May. He will also meet with Triple H while there, as the two have done multiple times previously. This will understandably cause further speculation about a Japanese performance center and a possible NXT Japan, with Akiyama potentially involved. It certainly sets the stage for some major changes in the region.
The Usos are on New Day's latest podcast. The team will return next week.
"Dark Side of the Ring" is expected to debut its second season at the end of the month. There will be ten episodes, with two of them being a two-part special.
WrestleMania 36 sold out, then WWE opened up additional seats. That's the right approach.
Rob Schamberger has begun a daily WrestleMania vlog.
Renee Young is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast. I'm glad WWE isn't retaliating against her for her husband's career moves.
ROH's Women's Championship tournament has added Tasha Steelz. I hope they've got some bigger names lined up, because this is starting to feel like they're mostly using names who are easily available.
"Beyond The Mat" is now available on Netflix.
NBA's Tacko Fall visited at Smackdown. He'd be a natural attraction in wrestling.
The Undertaker's Twitch appearances were put together by G-Fuel energy drinks. 2020 is SURREAL.
Money In The Bank is set for May 10 in Maryland. It's a little surprising they're putting it together on that short of notice.
ROH's 18th anniversary show will be headlined by Rush vs. Mark Haskins for Rush's ROH World Championship. The winner will face Flip Gordon for the title at Supercard of Honor. That would be a big win for Flip!
The Bella Twins have been added to AXXESS.
NXT has announced live events for:
- Georgia on April 17
- Tennessee on April 18
- North Carolina on April 19
Drew McIntyre spoke before Raw.
Mark Wahlberg commented on The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles. This is what was referenced on Raw.
Lita, Gail Kim, and Christy Hemme are crowdfunding a wrestling-related series pilot through Kickstarter. Chavo Guerrero, Jimmy Jacobs, Alisha Edwards, and David Sahadi are also involved. "Kayfabe" is inspired by real events and is set to feature in-ring action. That has potential to be interesting.
Elimination Chamber has added:
- Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins and Murphy for the Raw Tag Team Championship
- AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black in a no disqualification match
After Raw, Drew McIntyre challenged Randy Orton. Erick Rowan answered the challenge, and Drew defeated him. Randy Orton didn't appear.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
- WWE released a statement on Hardy's contract expiring, paying tribute to his years of work for the company.
- Matt has been announced for a signing at this weekend's The Big Event in New York. Wow, they worked fast on that one!
The Great Muta is no longer part of Spring Break IV due to a breakdown in negotiations. Muta had been booked in December, but his business matters were then taken over by Sonny Onoo. Onoo wanted to change the previous arrangement, and things fell apart from there. That's unfortunate for fans who were originally going to see Muta but will no longer be able to.
All Japan Pro Wrestling general manager Jun Akiyama will be a WWE Performance Center guest coach in May. He will also meet with Triple H while there, as the two have done multiple times previously. This will understandably cause further speculation about a Japanese performance center and a possible NXT Japan, with Akiyama potentially involved. It certainly sets the stage for some major changes in the region.
The Usos are on New Day's latest podcast. The team will return next week.
"Dark Side of the Ring" is expected to debut its second season at the end of the month. There will be ten episodes, with two of them being a two-part special.
WrestleMania 36 sold out, then WWE opened up additional seats. That's the right approach.
Rob Schamberger has begun a daily WrestleMania vlog.
Renee Young is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast. I'm glad WWE isn't retaliating against her for her husband's career moves.
ROH's Women's Championship tournament has added Tasha Steelz. I hope they've got some bigger names lined up, because this is starting to feel like they're mostly using names who are easily available.
"Beyond The Mat" is now available on Netflix.
NBA's Tacko Fall visited at Smackdown. He'd be a natural attraction in wrestling.
The Undertaker's Twitch appearances were put together by G-Fuel energy drinks. 2020 is SURREAL.
Money In The Bank is set for May 10 in Maryland. It's a little surprising they're putting it together on that short of notice.
ROH's 18th anniversary show will be headlined by Rush vs. Mark Haskins for Rush's ROH World Championship. The winner will face Flip Gordon for the title at Supercard of Honor. That would be a big win for Flip!
The Bella Twins have been added to AXXESS.
NXT has announced live events for:
- Georgia on April 17
- Tennessee on April 18
- North Carolina on April 19
Drew McIntyre spoke before Raw.
Mark Wahlberg commented on The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles. This is what was referenced on Raw.
Lita, Gail Kim, and Christy Hemme are crowdfunding a wrestling-related series pilot through Kickstarter. Chavo Guerrero, Jimmy Jacobs, Alisha Edwards, and David Sahadi are also involved. "Kayfabe" is inspired by real events and is set to feature in-ring action. That has potential to be interesting.
Elimination Chamber has added:
- Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins and Murphy for the Raw Tag Team Championship
- AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black in a no disqualification match
After Raw, Drew McIntyre challenged Randy Orton. Erick Rowan answered the challenge, and Drew defeated him. Randy Orton didn't appear.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I initially felt that way, but that episode is their debut in New Jersey. They have the potential to draw their biggest crowd ever that night, and this helps achieve that. For that matter, the name draws them positive attention from their fans, too. I'm tentatively for it if there are the right teams involved.
2. It doesn't feel like there's a greater goal beyond presenting Brock as an attraction in the vein of The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak. WWE has tried to pass the torch several times (while still protecting Brock), but the results haven't been what they'd hoped for.
3. Vince McMahon knows people following news sites are going to pay attention to the product all year. He's trying to get the people who don't watch regularly, and potentially haven't watched in years. He's banking on star power from the past as part of that goal. In his mind, and in the minds of a lot of others, a show featuring Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg IS a WrestleMania-level event.
4. I completely, 100% agree. It was way out of place in 2020, and I'm frankly surprised it made air.
5. MJF is very, very fortunate that Cody in particular is in his corner to spotlight him. AEW has made it a project to present him as a top heel, and his work has caught on. I just worry he's going to peak and won't be able to survive once that level of protective booking and cheap heat wears off. Frankly I think building him for Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship is a recipe for the likely crash and burn to be a sudden one; it says a lot about AEW's lack of depth that that's even an option. At some point having him and Wardlow as a tag team is an option, but for now I think I'd have him make the diamond ring essentially a midcard title and defend it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
2. It doesn't feel like there's a greater goal beyond presenting Brock as an attraction in the vein of The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak. WWE has tried to pass the torch several times (while still protecting Brock), but the results haven't been what they'd hoped for.
3. Vince McMahon knows people following news sites are going to pay attention to the product all year. He's trying to get the people who don't watch regularly, and potentially haven't watched in years. He's banking on star power from the past as part of that goal. In his mind, and in the minds of a lot of others, a show featuring Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg IS a WrestleMania-level event.
4. I completely, 100% agree. It was way out of place in 2020, and I'm frankly surprised it made air.
5. MJF is very, very fortunate that Cody in particular is in his corner to spotlight him. AEW has made it a project to present him as a top heel, and his work has caught on. I just worry he's going to peak and won't be able to survive once that level of protective booking and cheap heat wears off. Frankly I think building him for Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship is a recipe for the likely crash and burn to be a sudden one; it says a lot about AEW's lack of depth that that's even an option. At some point having him and Wardlow as a tag team is an option, but for now I think I'd have him make the diamond ring essentially a midcard title and defend it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Moxley update, Revolution attendance, more on Blood & Guts, new AEW team, Colt-AEW update, WWE name at Revolution, big AEW social media milestone, assorted wrestling press, another Japanese promotion dropping shows, Raw name out sick, EVOLVE 146 notes, and Questions on how the roster feels about Goldberg's win, not linking XFL 2020 with WWE, the Saudi dress code, going back to the well, AEW's hardcore elements, Tully's whereabouts, the Network cutting down on classic content, and why SSD was booked the way it was
Jon Moxley legitimately busted his head open at Revolution.
Revolution was a legitimate sellout. Very impressive!
"Blood and Guts" will be the name of AEW's version of War Games.
Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall will regularly team in AEW as the Natural Nightmares, with Brandi Rhodes managing the pair. Interesting combination.
Colt Cabana has signed with AEW as a wrestler, producer, and announcer. He will still be able to take other bookings elsewhere. He's going to be fulfilling a number of roles there; that speaks to how valuable of a presence he is.
Renee Young was backstage at Revolution. It will be interesting to see if she goes to AEW whenever her contract ends.
AEW has passed one million YouTube subscribers. That's great!
Bad Bunny impersonated Triple H at an NBA game. That's pretty cool.
The Street Profits' first-ever WWE action figures were released.
Goldberg got press for winning the Universal Championship as a Jewish man in Saudi Arabia. We live in some surreal times!
Big E, Xavier Woods, Liv Morgan, Adam Cole, and Tyler Breeze appeared in a Smosh Games video.
Dragon Gate has canceled shows until March 14 due to the coronavirus. That's getting really scary.
Viking Raiders' Erik has been ill.
Alex Marvez discussed AEW and more.
Jim Duggan was at the Variety Club Iowa Children's Charity telethon over the weekend, as he usually is.
At EVOLVE 146:
- Jessi Kamea teamed with Brandi Lauren as "The In Crowd," losing to Avery Taylor and Natalia Markova
- Brendan Vink defeated Leon Ruff
- Denzel Dejournette teamed with Jon Davis to defeat Adrian Alanis and Liam Gray
- Mansoor defeated Anthony Greene
- Jake Atlas was in a triple threat match with JD Drake and Curt Stallion. Drake won.
For my take on the first set of yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I wouldn't blame anyone for feeling slighted WWE is using names who were stars 10, 15, or 20+ years ago in prominent matches after scratching and clawing their way to where they are now. Goldberg was seen as a past name when some of the current names were cutting their teeth, much less now.
2. Vince really doesn't want people to associate the unproven XFL with his core business. Investors hardly need more reason to question WWE's future.
3. WWE would be very upset, and the Saudis would also be very upset. It could jeopardize the whole deal. It wouldn't shock me if there was a lawsuit involved given the amount of money that could be lost.
4. It's much easier to go with what worked in the past than to build something new. It's very much a case of hitting the panic button.
5. There's definitely an audience that wanted/wants those elements brought back in contrast to the "overly sanitized" PG product WWE has put out. So it seems to appeal to that group, for whatever that's worth.
For my take on the second set of yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
Nothing to add to 1.
2. Tully and Spears are on Dark pretty frequently. It looks like they're looking to put Spears in a tag team. Dynamite's only two hours a week so not everyone is featured. I expect we'll see Spears and other acts more when Dark gets picked up.
3. It could be a way of cutting costs by not digitizing as much at a time. The investments in the Network haven't made the service flourish, so I hope they are examining what is and isn't working.
4. The people who paid for the show clearly wanted to see names from 15+ years ago look dominant, so that's what they got! And, realistically, it was probably for the best that Taker and Goldberg in particular didn't work long matches in their conditions, even without the heat being a factor this time.
Nothing to add to 5.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Japanese promotion shutting down, assorted wrestling press, Smackdown audience, Southpaw returning, Interviews with Jericho/Dustin, new WrestleCon match, EVOLVE and NXT live event notes, AEW announces War Games style match, and Questions on Matt Hardy's future, Revival going to AEW, and Jeff Hardy on Backstage
Wrestle-1 will "suspend activities indefinitely" after their April 1 event. All wrestlers will be freed from their contracts and the training facility is closing. That's unfortunate. I hope the good workers there move on to bigger things.
Ric Flair discussed Charlotte Flair vs. Simone Johnson. It wouldn't surprise me to see that at some point, but they shouldn't rush it.
Batista is getting a VIP party from Titus O'Neil before going into the Hall of Fame. Very cool!
The Undertaker appeared in an ad for pro gamer Dr. Disrespect. I can't say I expected to type that sentence!
Lio Rush released another music video.
Smackdown drew 2.72 million viewers this week, the third highest audience since the move to FOX. There's a reason WWE rushed to announce two WrestleMania matches on that episode. Hopefully it pays off for them.
Southpaw Regional Wrestling has announced a third season. I'm interested!
Jeff Jarrett introduced a Tennessee soccer game on FOX. Fitting!
AEW posted the C2E2 panel with Cody and the Young Bucks.
Chris Jericho spoke to Sports Illustrated before Revolution:
- Hahahahhahaa how do you leave WWE when you're not even signed there?
- A significant part of AEW's roster wasn't offered WWE contracts in the first place, so they couldn't really turn down what wasn't offered.
- AEW isn't really "crushing" NXT, but either way that's a big difference with competing with Raw or Smackdown.
- Again, NXT was airing Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. for years before AEW was even discussed.
- I'd love to know who he thinks wouldn't make $50 on the indies from Raw or Smackdown. That's rich given who's on the AEW roster.
- Jericho's not really doing anything he hasn't done before in AEW. It's just a few tweaks from previous work of his.
- REALLY? Former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose is nothing compared to the guy on a show fewer than a million people watch? This is just propaganda at this point.
- Hahahah no All Elite Wrestling didn't start on Chris Jericho's back. He's taken it to another level but it was going to go on with or without him.
- Of course The Inner Circle are bigger stars than when they were on shows with fewer people watching. That was going to be true with or without Jericho.
- Sigh. The whole point of a Lights Out/unsanctioned match is that it's "not part of the show" so it has to go on last.
Dustin Rhodes spoke to New York Post before Revolution:
- I'm all for Brodie Lee coming to AEW. Matt Hardy can stay away.
- I expect Dustin has wanted to move on from Goldust for a good while now.
- Dustin and Malenko as trainers is great.
WrestleCon's Supershow has added Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Low Ki. That's a very interesting combination.
At EVOLVE 145:
- NXT's Brendan Vink defeated JD Drake
- NXT's Jessi Kamea defeated Alyx Sky. Kamea later accompanied Harlem Bravado and Anthony Greene to the ring for their matches.
- NXT's Jake Atlas defeated Stephen Wolf
- NXT's Denzel Dejournette lost to Harlem Bravado
- NXT's Mansoor defeated Curt Stallion
Kassius Ohno worked his first match since January 18 on Saturday's NXT Florida live event, teaming with Ridge Holland in a loss to Shane Thorne and Cal Bloom.
AEW has announced "Blood & Guts" for March 25's Dynamite, the company's version of War Games. That's a big match for the New Jersey debut, and, of course, a super edgy shot at WWE. I'm sure Vince is resigning immediately from the sick burn.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Moxley thankfully won. Jericho ran out of tricks there. Hopefully he's taking some time off to rest and come up with something fresh, but I have my doubts.
2. He should be contractually free at midnight tonight, so we should know pretty soon!
3. It's expected that's where they're headed, but there's still time before their WWE deals end.
4. Honestly it'd be really odd if they didn't allude to it.
Nothing to add to 5.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Ric Flair discussed Charlotte Flair vs. Simone Johnson. It wouldn't surprise me to see that at some point, but they shouldn't rush it.
Batista is getting a VIP party from Titus O'Neil before going into the Hall of Fame. Very cool!
The Undertaker appeared in an ad for pro gamer Dr. Disrespect. I can't say I expected to type that sentence!
Lio Rush released another music video.
Smackdown drew 2.72 million viewers this week, the third highest audience since the move to FOX. There's a reason WWE rushed to announce two WrestleMania matches on that episode. Hopefully it pays off for them.
Southpaw Regional Wrestling has announced a third season. I'm interested!
Jeff Jarrett introduced a Tennessee soccer game on FOX. Fitting!
AEW posted the C2E2 panel with Cody and the Young Bucks.
Chris Jericho spoke to Sports Illustrated before Revolution:
- Hahahahhahaa how do you leave WWE when you're not even signed there?
- A significant part of AEW's roster wasn't offered WWE contracts in the first place, so they couldn't really turn down what wasn't offered.
- AEW isn't really "crushing" NXT, but either way that's a big difference with competing with Raw or Smackdown.
- Again, NXT was airing Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. for years before AEW was even discussed.
- I'd love to know who he thinks wouldn't make $50 on the indies from Raw or Smackdown. That's rich given who's on the AEW roster.
- Jericho's not really doing anything he hasn't done before in AEW. It's just a few tweaks from previous work of his.
- REALLY? Former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose is nothing compared to the guy on a show fewer than a million people watch? This is just propaganda at this point.
- Hahahah no All Elite Wrestling didn't start on Chris Jericho's back. He's taken it to another level but it was going to go on with or without him.
- Of course The Inner Circle are bigger stars than when they were on shows with fewer people watching. That was going to be true with or without Jericho.
- Sigh. The whole point of a Lights Out/unsanctioned match is that it's "not part of the show" so it has to go on last.
Dustin Rhodes spoke to New York Post before Revolution:
- I'm all for Brodie Lee coming to AEW. Matt Hardy can stay away.
- I expect Dustin has wanted to move on from Goldust for a good while now.
- Dustin and Malenko as trainers is great.
WrestleCon's Supershow has added Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Low Ki. That's a very interesting combination.
At EVOLVE 145:
- NXT's Brendan Vink defeated JD Drake
- NXT's Jessi Kamea defeated Alyx Sky. Kamea later accompanied Harlem Bravado and Anthony Greene to the ring for their matches.
- NXT's Jake Atlas defeated Stephen Wolf
- NXT's Denzel Dejournette lost to Harlem Bravado
- NXT's Mansoor defeated Curt Stallion
Kassius Ohno worked his first match since January 18 on Saturday's NXT Florida live event, teaming with Ridge Holland in a loss to Shane Thorne and Cal Bloom.
AEW has announced "Blood & Guts" for March 25's Dynamite, the company's version of War Games. That's a big match for the New Jersey debut, and, of course, a super edgy shot at WWE. I'm sure Vince is resigning immediately from the sick burn.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Moxley thankfully won. Jericho ran out of tricks there. Hopefully he's taking some time off to rest and come up with something fresh, but I have my doubts.
2. He should be contractually free at midnight tonight, so we should know pretty soon!
3. It's expected that's where they're headed, but there's still time before their WWE deals end.
4. Honestly it'd be really odd if they didn't allude to it.
Nothing to add to 5.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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