Week in Wrestling - Friday, January 13, 2017

Wrestlemania Plans

There have been some changes made in WrestleMania plans with the major thing being that the proposed Undertaker vs. John Cena match is off the boards. Vince McMahon changed his mind on the match, which was to be one of the two biggest matches in 2016, and at one point one of the top matches for the 4/2 show in Orlando. The card will be clearer coming out of the Royal Rumble, on 1/29 in San Antonio. Undertaker would have been a Rumble favorite if the idea was to go with tradition and have the Rumble winner challenge for one of the two the major titles at Mania, and Cena as champion.
The key matches remain Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg, which based on current hints and direction looks likely to be presented as the main event on the show, HHH vs. Seth Rollins and Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal. There has been the long tease of Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho. With Jericho still on the books for touring over the summer, Mania seems like the place to finally do the match. They have just started teasing a split up of The Wyatt Family on Smackdown.

Roman Reigns will obviously be in one of the major matches on the show. This also leaves open spots for Cena, A.J. Styles, Finn Balor (who is expected to be back in action around March unless that date is a Rumble swerve, which it probably isn’t) and Dean Ambrose. But there is a tradition of the multiple person ladder match over the IC title as well. If Jericho is to retain the U.S. title, that would seem earmarked for the Owens match, if that is the direction they continue. There will be six or seven major main event level singles matches on the show, not including cruiserweights or women. The women’s match may be Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax for the RAW title.
WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans 

The official announcement of the 34th WrestleMania at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans was made this past week, with the date being April 8, 2018. Even though the Superdome hosted Mania in 2014, they pushed for 2018 stating that they would heavily promote the event as part of the city’s tricentennial year celebrations. The city officials said they would be happy to get it any year but pushed the benefits of it being in 2018, which sold company officials on the decision.

​Unlike this year, where the NXT show will be on the Saturday night and the Hall of Fame on Friday night, in 2018 the plan is for NXT on April 6, Hall of Fame on April 7, Raw on April 9 and Smackdown on April 10, all at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Signs of Hulk Hogan's return?

During the Wrestlemania 34 press conference on 1/10, Stephanie McMahon mentioned the name Hulk Hogan and he was shown in a graphic, which seems to confirm all expectations of a Hogan return to WWE shortly, with this year’s WrestleMania seemingly making the most sense.

​Hogan’s daughter Brooke had already said that in an interview, and even though Hulk denied it, she laughed off the denial.
Samoa Joe Finally Being Called Up?​

Judging from the TV tapings, where Samoa Joe wasn’t used except in a dark match, and the fact he lost twice in a row to Nakamura in televised matches, it would seem to make sense to debut him at the Rumble as a surprise entrant, or if not very shortly thereafter. Joe has pretty much served his purpose in NXT with Roode now being the main event heel. The WrestleMania show isn’t finalized, but there is an idea on the table where Joe will debut with a major push and be in one of the top few matches on the show, which also makes it likely he’s starting very soon and would have to have a big Rumble if he’s in it. Joe's debut is long overdue and it would be a huge splash.
WWE Hall of Fame 2017 Class

A second name out for the WWE Hall of Fame is the late Rick Rude, who was really a hell of a personality and one of the most natural heels of his era. The pre-sale for tickets is 1/18 and they will probably announce the first name, which is usually the headliner, on the 1/16 Raw.

Previously it was rumored heavily that the first member of this eyars class would be former WCW Champion Diamond Dallas Page. DDP held gold in both WCW and WWE, but has become just as well known for DDP Yoga.
WWE United Kingdom Tournament

WWE will crown a new U.K. Champion this weekend on the WWE network during a two-night 16-man tournament on 1/14 and 1/15 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England. This idea is U.K. based with a U.K. championship and not Europe based, which means for now they see the U.K. as a market that can be strong for localized expansion but aren’t quite as sure about the rest of Europe. The company has signed 18 wrestlers to the contracts including ​Trent Seven, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.

Michael Cole, Regal and Nigel McGuinness will be the announcers for the show. The idea is to springboard this off to a weekly network show, using a similar battle plan as the Cruiserweight Classic. ​
Positive 
  • Undertaker returned to announce he will be in the Royal Rumble.
  • Rusev is the greatest man on earth and totally owned the mic. 
  • It was good to see Shawn Michaels, though he was kind of hit or miss.
  • Chris Jericho won the U.S. title with the help of Kevin Owens, beating Roman Reigns in a handicap match.
  • It was good to see Shawn Michaels, though he was kind of hit or miss.
  • Braun Strowman is just a great monster that they are building great!! I liked the match between he and Seth Rollins.
  • I loved the Neville vs Lince Dorado segment and the hot attack by Rich Swann after the match. Punches looked like he meant that!!
  • Titus O'Neal carrying that keg was at least impressive.
Negative - 
  • Stephanie McMahon returned to her horrible annoying bitchy self.
  • Big Cass and Jinder Mahal had a sloppy, horrible match!!
  • Too many pointless segments to get Stephanie over.
​Positive 
  • I had no problem with Cena beating Corbin clean since Cena is challenging for the title at the PPV, and needs a good win.
  • I like the heel build for Ziggler, though I don't think he should be losing at this point. Good little match with Kalisto though.
  • Miz and Ambrose have very good chemistry and I liked them again this week. I loved him returning the participation award.
  • I thought Natty and Nikki had hell of a pull away brawl with some good heat and some real emotion. Natty is at the top of her game as a heel.
  • American Alpha beating Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton was not a big surprise as clearly they are breaking them up already. i think they could have gotten more out of the act, as they have been good together. 
  • I liked the booking of Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch next week in a cage for the title to counteract all the interference from La Luchadora.
Negative - 
  • Nothing really. Even the Carmella and Ellsworth stuff was watchable. 
Updated Royal Rumble Card
  • 30-man Royal Rumble match 
  • Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship
  • AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship
  • Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley for the WWE Raw Women's Championship
  • Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

​The Rumble, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, is being built around the idea of a monsters show with Goldberg, Undertaker, Lesnar and Strowman all in the match. Others announced thus far are Jericho, Rollins, Corbin, Ambrose, Miz, The New Day and Ziggler.

​There is no secondary market buzz on the San Antonio shows as compared to Toronto. You can get secondary market tickets for NXT Takeover for $25 and Rumble tickets for $40. Granted, I didn’t expect any kind of a secondary market inflation for Rumble when playing such a big building because the secondary market goes nuts when the primary market has little inventory. Rumble wasn’t going to be an advanced sellout at the Alamodome.

But the key is that Rumble tickets must be selling well and it’s just a question of how many seats they are going to open up. It also means NXT has no great demand. Right now NXT has the floor section sold out but there are good seats in the 100s with great views still available. For the Rumble, 11th row ringside was still available and there were good seats in every price range available.
NXT News 
  • Officially announced for the 1/28 Takeover show in San Antonio is Nakamura vs. Roode for the NXT title, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. Authors of Pain for the tag titles, a four-way with Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce for the women’s title (this may be the way to get the title off Asuka since the Kay & Royce duo is clearly being groomed to be the top two on the heel women’s side) and Tye Dillinger and Sanity in some sort of a match, likely Dillinger vs. Big Damo or Young or multiple person match.
  • There are other programs such as The Revival vs. TM 61, Elias Samson vs. No Way Jose and Andrade Cien Almas vs. Roderick Strong that were also being teased at the tapings.
  • ​While this can all change, the Terry Taylor class at the Performance Center, which is the one to groom people who will be are being considered right now for somewhat imminent main roster spots are Nakamura, Almas, Alexander Wolfe, TM 61, Itami, Ciampa, Gargano, Hero, Samson and Dillinger.
  • The next group down, meaning right now not imminent but they are the ones who would move up when those in the top group go to the main roster would be Tino Sabbatelli, Riddick Moss, Damo, Authors of Pain, Tommy End, Roderick Strong, Dan Matha (who is 6-7 and a bodybuilder but has hardly worked in developmental), Oney Lorcan, Wesley Blake, Buddy Murphy, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.
  • Bobby Roode doesn’t train at the Performance Center as his deal is different, nor does Eric Young, Samoa Joe and I believe Austin Aries so they wouldn’t be in get-ready classes.
  • Chris Hero returned at the 1/5 NXT tapings in Winter Park, FL, using his old NXT name of Kassius Ohno. He came out at the end of the tapings.
  • ​Those who started this week full-time in Orlando at the performance center are three wrestlers from China, Mustafa Ali, Daivari, Gulak, Nese, Tajiri, Mary Kate Glidewell (Andrea in Florida indies), Dori Prange (Heidi Lovelace), Kimberly Frankele (Kimber Lee), Julia Ho (Julie Real, a model, singer actress with a martial arts background), Hero and coach John Miller (Johnny Saint)
  • They are looking for new gimmicks for TM 61 (although with Thorne injured there is no rush for this), Blake, Murphy, Steve Cutler, Aliyah, Moss, Sabbatelli and Matha, which is a good sign in the sense they see something in them, just not as they are right now.
  • Shane Thorne of TM 61 will be undergoing knee surgery I believe on 1/12, which will put him out of action for several months.
New Japan Pro Wrestling News 
  • Tweets by Kenny Omega and an Instagram post by John Cena created a major stir coming off the New Japan Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome. Omega’s prior New Japan contract was to end on 1/31. The belief is that he was offered a two-year new deal. There are those who believe he has signed it but that is not confirmed information, although he has denied it. But what made the situation more interesting was John Cena posting an Instagram photo of Omega, in the exact same way he posted one of A.J. Styles just days before last year’s Royal Rumble.
  • The impression we were given is that Omega would be off the next New Japan tour and  he was just trying to get people talking.
  • New Japan Pro Wrestling followed up Wrestle Kingdom with New Year’s Dash, a show that set up a number of new programs for February, and featured a tremendous angle with the return of Suzuki-gun.
  • In an attack somewhat reminiscent of the Nexus angle, Smith & Archer immediately went after IWGP tag team champions Ishii & Yano. They used the old Hart attack on Ishii and the killer bomb on Yano. Then, Minoru Suzuki hit the ring and choked out Okada and laid him out with a Gotch piledriver. The place went insane as Suzuki cut a promo, and challenged Okada for the IWGP heavyweight title.
  • Wrestle Kingdom ended up a major success for the company. They picked up more than 10,000 new subscribers to New Japan World in a 24 hour period on 1/3 and 1/4, prior to the start of the Tokyo Dome show, bringing the total to about 60,000, an amazing one-day increase of a two-year-old business by 20 percent in 24 hours.
  • ​Kenny Omega’s value is at a high point not just because of the match itself and the reaction to the match, but because New Japan is heavy serious about expansion into new markets in 2017, and Omega is considered a huge part of those expansion plans.
  • Omega could also be of great value to WWE, which has plenty of main event guys, but no larger-than-life top guy on the roster other than John Cena, who turns 40 this year. Omega has ingredients of charisma, look and promo ability, and is 33, that make him more complete as a total package than any of the other viable replacements for the Cena spot on the roster.
  • Even more, WWE would be looking to cut off any shot at New Japan being able to increase its prominence in new markets.
  • Wrestlers and fans from all over the world were talking of the Omega vs. Okada main event as the best match they had ever seen in their life.
Ring of Honor News - 
  • Jay Lethal, Bobby Fish, Hangman Page, B.J. Whitmer, and Christopher Daniels signed new contracts. Lethal signed a two-year-deal.
  • Several of the people whose contract expired are working on a per date basis right now.
  • Kyle O’Reilly's contract has expired and we’re told he had never confirmed the date and is done with the promotion. He had been in talks with WWE and that is his expected destination although at press time he had not signed a contract there.
  • The belief is Adam Cole will be WWE-bound in May but from a legal standpoint he’s not even allowed to negotiate with them until 5/1.
TNA News - 
  • Jeff & Karen Jarrett and Dutch Mantell were back this past week at the tapings. They didn’t appear as characters. Jeff Jarrett was hired by Anthem as a consultant and Mantell is a creative consultant. Even though she has a public title, Dixie Carter is out and wasn’t there.
  • This was the restart week with new owners. There was very little different. They had the same talent in the same positions as it’s seemed they’ve been in for months. The television wasn’t bad, nor was it good.
  • They never used the name TNA except the closing graphic which listed Anthem Sports & Entertainment and TNA Wrestling Productions. The push was for the name Impact. 
  • ​They did three title changes at the tapings this week. Drew Galloway beat Moose on 1/7 to win the Grand Championship. I believe this will air on the 1/19 episode.
  • They are building toward a major episode on 1/26, called Genesis, like it’s a PPV show, with all four titles at stake.
  • Bobby Lashley regained the TNA title in an 30:00 Iron Man match, beating Eddie Edwards three falls to two.
  • Trevor Lee cashed in his briefcase (They did a feast or famine episode) to beat DJZ and win the X title in a ladder match
  • Even though people presume that Galloway must have signed a new deal to get the title, that isn’t the case. As of the end of tapings, they have belts on three people (Galloway and the Hardys) whose contracts expire before the next set of tapings
  • The next set of tapings are already booked for 3/2 to 3/9 at Universal. They are also planning a live event or two in Orlando over WrestleMania weekend.
  • Those who were back were Davey Richards, Angelina Love (who is married to Richards), Brooke Tessmacher and Samuel Shaw. 
Lucha Underground News - 
  • The announcemnet that there will be no new tapings until the Fall of 2017 has led to a lot of frustration. The talent had kept weekend dates free starting in February, or if they had dates, many had canceled them, and now they have to get new bookings for February, March and April.
  • The frustration is that after all these years, they haven’t broken out, it’s only seasonal work, but those seven season contracts which, except for a few people aren’t high dollar deals, are keeping everyone from exploring working in places like WWE, New Japan and ROH.
  • The rest of season three that was taped would start at some point but nobody has said exactly when.
  • ​There is top talent who are trying to see if they can legally get themselves free from the deals and explore working elsewhere. Most of the talent is still happy this company is still around because it’s a regular paycheck in season, with the exception of guys like Rey Mysterio who are on guaranteed annual big money deals.
  • ​But the hope was that by this point they’d be more of a force, be huge in the Hispanic community, there would be house shows and people would be making merchandise money.
  • ​Season three is now averaging 103,000 viewers at 8 p.m., down 16 percent from the 122,000 of season two. At 9 p.m. the decline is less, as its down from 60,000 to 56,000 on the replay, or 6.7 percent. Combining the two airings and the decline this season is 12.6 percent.
  • The show is going on hiatus after the 1/11 episode. This is to stretch things out because of how long it will be before the next season is filmed. The idea is that next week’s show will be the mid-season finale with some of a big angle or cliffhanger. 
By: Larry Causion Jr.    CausionCreations.com           
Posted: Friday, January 13, 2017
Credit: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
From the Creative mind of Larry Causion Jr.