Week in Wrestling #11
Wrestling News From the week of
October 3 - October 9, 2015
October 3 - October 9, 2015
Daniel Bryan Injury Update
The future of Bryan Danielson as a pro wrestler is now seemingly down to a third party, a neurologist to break the deadlock between his own doctor, who has cleared him for everything, and Dr. Joseph Maroon, the head of medical for WWE, who believes he shouldn’t wrestle again.
Danielson, 34, as far as number of concussions, is probably way past a number that would end a career in most sports. But he’s not at this point suffering any major side effects from them, but that stuff often doesn’t start showing up for decades and there’s no predictor of it.
His situation has been at this deadlock for months. He is fully past the symptoms from a concussion suffered right after WrestleMania, the date of which, and details of which have been kept fuzzy because WWE is so cautious due to the lawsuit out against them on the concussion issue. They are going to err on the side of caution because it’s one thing to say when it comes to wrestlers from the past that the company didn’t know better regarding long-term effects of concussions, which is true to a degree. It was always known that taking a lot of hard punches to the head could cause brain damage later in life, but the Verne Gagne/Nick Bockwinkel/Red Bastien generation didn’t really know that a long career of pro wrestling could have those ramifications.
It’s quite another if a wrestler diagnosed with a significant number of concussions in this day and age, returns, with the company is aware of past damage, and then suffers bad effects in a few decades. There is no argument that the company wouldn’t have been fully aware of the dangers of concussions. As much as fans want to see him wrestle, it’s probably not a smart risk for the company to make.
But Danielson wants to continue. He said that if things aren’t settled with him and WWE, he’s open to working indies. The reality is that he’s got several years left on his contract, and WWE is not going to release him to work anywhere where there is a threat he can be a key player in the U.S. marketplace.
It has been largely believed that Danielson would go to New Japan at the conclusion of his WWE contract if they wouldn’t let him wrestle and he still wanted to. When Danielson was fired by WWE in 2010, he had just about completed a deal with New Japan to come in as a regular when WWE called him to return to be the mystery partner on the WWE team against the Nexus team at that year’s SummerSlam.
But he is also open minded to the idea of not wrestling if a third doctor rules against it. He said if his career was over, he would be interested in announcing.
The future of Bryan Danielson as a pro wrestler is now seemingly down to a third party, a neurologist to break the deadlock between his own doctor, who has cleared him for everything, and Dr. Joseph Maroon, the head of medical for WWE, who believes he shouldn’t wrestle again.
Danielson, 34, as far as number of concussions, is probably way past a number that would end a career in most sports. But he’s not at this point suffering any major side effects from them, but that stuff often doesn’t start showing up for decades and there’s no predictor of it.
His situation has been at this deadlock for months. He is fully past the symptoms from a concussion suffered right after WrestleMania, the date of which, and details of which have been kept fuzzy because WWE is so cautious due to the lawsuit out against them on the concussion issue. They are going to err on the side of caution because it’s one thing to say when it comes to wrestlers from the past that the company didn’t know better regarding long-term effects of concussions, which is true to a degree. It was always known that taking a lot of hard punches to the head could cause brain damage later in life, but the Verne Gagne/Nick Bockwinkel/Red Bastien generation didn’t really know that a long career of pro wrestling could have those ramifications.
It’s quite another if a wrestler diagnosed with a significant number of concussions in this day and age, returns, with the company is aware of past damage, and then suffers bad effects in a few decades. There is no argument that the company wouldn’t have been fully aware of the dangers of concussions. As much as fans want to see him wrestle, it’s probably not a smart risk for the company to make.
But Danielson wants to continue. He said that if things aren’t settled with him and WWE, he’s open to working indies. The reality is that he’s got several years left on his contract, and WWE is not going to release him to work anywhere where there is a threat he can be a key player in the U.S. marketplace.
It has been largely believed that Danielson would go to New Japan at the conclusion of his WWE contract if they wouldn’t let him wrestle and he still wanted to. When Danielson was fired by WWE in 2010, he had just about completed a deal with New Japan to come in as a regular when WWE called him to return to be the mystery partner on the WWE team against the Nexus team at that year’s SummerSlam.
But he is also open minded to the idea of not wrestling if a third doctor rules against it. He said if his career was over, he would be interested in announcing.
MSG Show Thoughts
WWE did another network exclusive special, built around Brock Lesnar, as well as the first nationally broadcast show in Madison Square Garden since a 2012 Raw and Smackdown taping.
Madison Square Garden was considered the main arena for the company from the 50s, when Vincent James McMahon got promotional control of the world’s most famous arena.
The wrestling up and down the show was good, but it was fairly uneventful as far as storylines went. It was weird in a lot of ways. On television, they built this not quite like a PPV, but like something bigger than anything except a PPV. The weird thing is the show was pushed around Lesnar, who did a 4:00 match, and the other match pushed was The New Day vs. Dudleys for the tag title, also a rushed match that had an identical finish as Night of Champions, the previous network special. Never pushed on television was the main event, a cage match with John Cena beating Seth Rollins to retain the U.S. title. The unadvertised match on television (a few days before the show WWE did advertise this match in a press release), which featured the world champion against the face of the company, was the only match given time.
I’m not sure why with a live show that they rushed everyone in a manner they wouldn’t have done for a house show, with most of the guys except Cena and Rollins getting about half the time for their matches that they would get for a normal house show. It’s one thing if the show was running long, but it ended at 10:23 p.m.
The show was legitimately sold out. Lesnar beat Big Show in a short match which wasn’t really a match, but more a collection of high impact throws. Show choke slammed Lesnar three times to start, and then Lesnar German suplexed Show a few times. He lost Show the first time he tried the F-5, but it was clear it was a botch because he went right back to it after another suplex and pinned him. He gave him his most impressive suplex, an overhead belly-to-belly, as well as another F-5 after the match. The match was good for what it was, in the sense the goal was making Lesnar took like a monster and that’s exactly what it did. It was a set-up match for Undertaker more than a climactic PPV match, even though billed as the main event.
Quality-wise, it was like a New Japan house show, except with more rushed matches and maybe ten times as many fans. The crowd shots looked great, very much getting the feeling like a big show in Mexico.
Lesnar came across as the biggest star of the show, and the crowd was into three matches strong, with Cena vs. Rollins and the IC title match with Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho.
WWE did another network exclusive special, built around Brock Lesnar, as well as the first nationally broadcast show in Madison Square Garden since a 2012 Raw and Smackdown taping.
Madison Square Garden was considered the main arena for the company from the 50s, when Vincent James McMahon got promotional control of the world’s most famous arena.
The wrestling up and down the show was good, but it was fairly uneventful as far as storylines went. It was weird in a lot of ways. On television, they built this not quite like a PPV, but like something bigger than anything except a PPV. The weird thing is the show was pushed around Lesnar, who did a 4:00 match, and the other match pushed was The New Day vs. Dudleys for the tag title, also a rushed match that had an identical finish as Night of Champions, the previous network special. Never pushed on television was the main event, a cage match with John Cena beating Seth Rollins to retain the U.S. title. The unadvertised match on television (a few days before the show WWE did advertise this match in a press release), which featured the world champion against the face of the company, was the only match given time.
I’m not sure why with a live show that they rushed everyone in a manner they wouldn’t have done for a house show, with most of the guys except Cena and Rollins getting about half the time for their matches that they would get for a normal house show. It’s one thing if the show was running long, but it ended at 10:23 p.m.
The show was legitimately sold out. Lesnar beat Big Show in a short match which wasn’t really a match, but more a collection of high impact throws. Show choke slammed Lesnar three times to start, and then Lesnar German suplexed Show a few times. He lost Show the first time he tried the F-5, but it was clear it was a botch because he went right back to it after another suplex and pinned him. He gave him his most impressive suplex, an overhead belly-to-belly, as well as another F-5 after the match. The match was good for what it was, in the sense the goal was making Lesnar took like a monster and that’s exactly what it did. It was a set-up match for Undertaker more than a climactic PPV match, even though billed as the main event.
Quality-wise, it was like a New Japan house show, except with more rushed matches and maybe ten times as many fans. The crowd shots looked great, very much getting the feeling like a big show in Mexico.
Lesnar came across as the biggest star of the show, and the crowd was into three matches strong, with Cena vs. Rollins and the IC title match with Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho.
RAW Ratings still Down
Raw on 10/5 did in the same ballpark as the past five weeks, with a 2.34 rating and 3.37 million viewers (1.51 viewers per home). The number was slightly up from the 18-year non-holiday low of a 2.32 rating and 3.32 million viewers the previous week.
The Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions game head-to-head did 14.40 million viewers, which was up from the past two weeks. So you almost have to call it a victory based on the last month trends. But they were pushing pretty hard that Brock Lesnar would be on, and they were coming off a somewhat promoted big show. Although there was nothing on that Madison Square Garden show that was going to lead to a ratings increase.
The 8 p.m. hour did 3.47 million viewers, the 9 p.m hour did 3.49 million viewers and the 10 p.m. hour did 3.17 million viewers. It is a good sign that they increased in hour two against football, because hour one had the first 15 minutes go unopposed.
Raw on 10/5 did in the same ballpark as the past five weeks, with a 2.34 rating and 3.37 million viewers (1.51 viewers per home). The number was slightly up from the 18-year non-holiday low of a 2.32 rating and 3.32 million viewers the previous week.
The Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions game head-to-head did 14.40 million viewers, which was up from the past two weeks. So you almost have to call it a victory based on the last month trends. But they were pushing pretty hard that Brock Lesnar would be on, and they were coming off a somewhat promoted big show. Although there was nothing on that Madison Square Garden show that was going to lead to a ratings increase.
The 8 p.m. hour did 3.47 million viewers, the 9 p.m hour did 3.49 million viewers and the 10 p.m. hour did 3.17 million viewers. It is a good sign that they increased in hour two against football, because hour one had the first 15 minutes go unopposed.
Wrestlemania Dallas Tickets
WrestleMania tickets will go on sale on 11/6 at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Tickets will be priced from a low of $18 with $2,360 for the first eight rows of ringside and $1,180 for the rest of ringside.
WrestleMania tickets will go on sale on 11/6 at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Tickets will be priced from a low of $18 with $2,360 for the first eight rows of ringside and $1,180 for the rest of ringside.
Hell in a Cell Lineup
The confirmed double main events are Undertaker vs. Lesnar and Reigns vs. Wyatt in Hell in a Cell matches, Rollins vs. Kane for the WWE title, New Day vs. Dudleys for the tag titles (no longer a tables match) and Charlotte vs. Nikki for the Divas title (at this point not announced as a three-way with Paige). Other programs being worked on TV are still Owens vs. Ryback over the IC title and Stardust vs. Neville vs. Barrett. The only hint regarding Cena would be Ziggler after the errant superkick Ziggler hit Cena with on Raw.
The confirmed double main events are Undertaker vs. Lesnar and Reigns vs. Wyatt in Hell in a Cell matches, Rollins vs. Kane for the WWE title, New Day vs. Dudleys for the tag titles (no longer a tables match) and Charlotte vs. Nikki for the Divas title (at this point not announced as a three-way with Paige). Other programs being worked on TV are still Owens vs. Ryback over the IC title and Stardust vs. Neville vs. Barrett. The only hint regarding Cena would be Ziggler after the errant superkick Ziggler hit Cena with on Raw.
Paige in the doghouse
The Paige situation is interesting. She did that big promo on Raw and Smackdown, and instead of being the third person in the title match as was first planned, she’s not announced for the match and losing everywhere. There was an incident that came out on video where she used the F word to answer a fan question, and Scott Armstrong was there listening and made it clear that language was not about to be used. But the video got out anyway. However, we’ve been told she is not being punished for that and there are still plans with her stemming from the promo.
The Paige situation is interesting. She did that big promo on Raw and Smackdown, and instead of being the third person in the title match as was first planned, she’s not announced for the match and losing everywhere. There was an incident that came out on video where she used the F word to answer a fan question, and Scott Armstrong was there listening and made it clear that language was not about to be used. But the video got out anyway. However, we’ve been told she is not being punished for that and there are still plans with her stemming from the promo.
Rock and Taker coming back?
The promotions department has been told that Dwayne Johnson and the company are having serious talks about doing something before the end of the year. That’s why the WWE switched Johnson’s listing from alumni to current roster last week.
Undertaker is open for working more dates this year than in the past several, although at this point he’s booked in Mexico, but not Europe, even though Europe needs more depth. It would probably only be rare dates. He’s in better shape physically because he’s fully healed from his surgeries and injuries. He’s working Mexico and there may be shows here and there he works before WrestleMania similar to that. As of right now, there is no talk at all in the direction of an Undertaker vs. Sting match at that show.
The promotions department has been told that Dwayne Johnson and the company are having serious talks about doing something before the end of the year. That’s why the WWE switched Johnson’s listing from alumni to current roster last week.
Undertaker is open for working more dates this year than in the past several, although at this point he’s booked in Mexico, but not Europe, even though Europe needs more depth. It would probably only be rare dates. He’s in better shape physically because he’s fully healed from his surgeries and injuries. He’s working Mexico and there may be shows here and there he works before WrestleMania similar to that. As of right now, there is no talk at all in the direction of an Undertaker vs. Sting match at that show.
Hogan on Flair's Podcast
Ric Flair did a podcast interview with Hulk Hogan this past week. It hasn’t aired yet. The two are pretty close friends. Flair was one of the people told at one point that they want him to steer clear of Hogan when the Hogan racist remarks story first broke. WWE was aware over the weekend Flair was going to be taping a show with him.
Ric Flair did a podcast interview with Hulk Hogan this past week. It hasn’t aired yet. The two are pretty close friends. Flair was one of the people told at one point that they want him to steer clear of Hogan when the Hogan racist remarks story first broke. WWE was aware over the weekend Flair was going to be taping a show with him.
TNA Bound for Glory
The company held what is traditionally its biggest show of the year, Bound for Glory, on 10/4 at the Carrabus Arena in Concord, NC. It was billed from Charlotte, although it was really about 30 miles away. It was the climax of a long-term storyline where Matt Hardy had been chasing champion Ethan Carter III for months, and always losing. Hardy wasn’t even added to the match until a backstage segment told of the stipulations of a match taped months ago, where the advertised EC III vs. Drew Galloway match turned into a three-way. For storyline purposes of keeping EC III’s gimmick alive of never having been pinned or submitted in TNA, Hardy pinned Galloway to take the title.
The show drew 1,800 fans, a great number by TNA standards, but much of that was paper. They were even inviting people to come in free as the show was going on. The lack of crowd interest hurt a lot of the matches. Aside from a gauntlet match that was among the worst matches on a major show this year, the wrestling was fine, but nothing stood out.
The company held what is traditionally its biggest show of the year, Bound for Glory, on 10/4 at the Carrabus Arena in Concord, NC. It was billed from Charlotte, although it was really about 30 miles away. It was the climax of a long-term storyline where Matt Hardy had been chasing champion Ethan Carter III for months, and always losing. Hardy wasn’t even added to the match until a backstage segment told of the stipulations of a match taped months ago, where the advertised EC III vs. Drew Galloway match turned into a three-way. For storyline purposes of keeping EC III’s gimmick alive of never having been pinned or submitted in TNA, Hardy pinned Galloway to take the title.
The show drew 1,800 fans, a great number by TNA standards, but much of that was paper. They were even inviting people to come in free as the show was going on. The lack of crowd interest hurt a lot of the matches. Aside from a gauntlet match that was among the worst matches on a major show this year, the wrestling was fine, but nothing stood out.
TNA Title and Taping Mess
The storyline is that EC 3 went to court, claiming that Jeff Hardy (who was the referee in the match and hit EC 3 with two chair shots leading to the finish), conspired with his brother to end his title reign. He claimed that Dixie Carter’s personal feelings (she and EC 3 had become adversaries) caused her to allow Matt Hardy into the title match, and then appointed a disgruntled former EC 3 employee, Jeff, as referee.
They claimed that he got an injunction against Hardy appearing as champion. As the story went, it would be months before there would be a hearing, so Hardy, for the good of the company and the good of the business, relinquished the title. TNA would then announce on television this week the status of the title.
At the last set of tapings, in what was originally told to spectators that it was a tournament that would air on various One Night Only shows, they filmed a series of matches that will be for the championship. There will probably be a lot of backstage segments shot to fulfill the next several weeks of television and back up the tournament. What’s notable is this tournament was taped from 7/22 to 7/26, so a lot of the talent that will be in the tournament is no longer with the promotion.
Among those who will be back on TV include Austin Aries, James Storm (whose blow-off just aired this past week), Bram and Crimson. Bobby Roode, Abyss, Robbie E, Matt Hardy and Bobby Lashley all appeared to be doing well.
It was announced the tournament would be done similar to the World Cup in soccer, with 32 wrestlers divided into eight groups of four wrestlers. Winners get three points, losers zero, and a draw means each person gets one. A block would normally mean everyone wrestles everyone, which would 48 matches.
The TNA press release reads that the top two point getters in each block advance to the final 16. They will be a single elimination tournament from that point. The tournament will make up most of the television for the next two months.
Perhaps Matt Hardy, being from Cameron, NC, about 85 miles away, cutting hot interviews for five or six weeks about going for the title would have sold tickets locally and created more interest in this show. TNA’s policy of not promoting the matches and stipulations of its PPV cards until the last week or two has been a failure from the beginning, and one they never have learned from. Hardy cut a great promo for the match. Unfortunately it was on this show right before the match, as opposed to weeks ago.
If you watched every week of television, and were into it the Hardy chase, the show had a strong conclusion. But you could tell most in the arena hadn’t been following the television and it came across as three hours of matches that most didn’t know much about. Plus, for the fans into the Hardys chase, the way the storyline ended was a slap in the face to everyone who bought the show.
While it makes the title and company look bad with the idea a guy wins the title on the big show of the year and it means nothing, it was a way to get out of a bad situation that comes from taping so far ahead. They couldn’t very well tape television in July in this day and age and have someone wearing a title belt that wasn’t going to win it until October. There are other ways around it, but this was the one they chose.
The storyline is that EC 3 went to court, claiming that Jeff Hardy (who was the referee in the match and hit EC 3 with two chair shots leading to the finish), conspired with his brother to end his title reign. He claimed that Dixie Carter’s personal feelings (she and EC 3 had become adversaries) caused her to allow Matt Hardy into the title match, and then appointed a disgruntled former EC 3 employee, Jeff, as referee.
They claimed that he got an injunction against Hardy appearing as champion. As the story went, it would be months before there would be a hearing, so Hardy, for the good of the company and the good of the business, relinquished the title. TNA would then announce on television this week the status of the title.
At the last set of tapings, in what was originally told to spectators that it was a tournament that would air on various One Night Only shows, they filmed a series of matches that will be for the championship. There will probably be a lot of backstage segments shot to fulfill the next several weeks of television and back up the tournament. What’s notable is this tournament was taped from 7/22 to 7/26, so a lot of the talent that will be in the tournament is no longer with the promotion.
Among those who will be back on TV include Austin Aries, James Storm (whose blow-off just aired this past week), Bram and Crimson. Bobby Roode, Abyss, Robbie E, Matt Hardy and Bobby Lashley all appeared to be doing well.
It was announced the tournament would be done similar to the World Cup in soccer, with 32 wrestlers divided into eight groups of four wrestlers. Winners get three points, losers zero, and a draw means each person gets one. A block would normally mean everyone wrestles everyone, which would 48 matches.
The TNA press release reads that the top two point getters in each block advance to the final 16. They will be a single elimination tournament from that point. The tournament will make up most of the television for the next two months.
Perhaps Matt Hardy, being from Cameron, NC, about 85 miles away, cutting hot interviews for five or six weeks about going for the title would have sold tickets locally and created more interest in this show. TNA’s policy of not promoting the matches and stipulations of its PPV cards until the last week or two has been a failure from the beginning, and one they never have learned from. Hardy cut a great promo for the match. Unfortunately it was on this show right before the match, as opposed to weeks ago.
If you watched every week of television, and were into it the Hardy chase, the show had a strong conclusion. But you could tell most in the arena hadn’t been following the television and it came across as three hours of matches that most didn’t know much about. Plus, for the fans into the Hardys chase, the way the storyline ended was a slap in the face to everyone who bought the show.
While it makes the title and company look bad with the idea a guy wins the title on the big show of the year and it means nothing, it was a way to get out of a bad situation that comes from taping so far ahead. They couldn’t very well tape television in July in this day and age and have someone wearing a title belt that wasn’t going to win it until October. There are other ways around it, but this was the one they chose.
Tokyo Dome Broadcast
Jeff Jarrett has expressed interest in promoting Wrestle Kingdom this year but there is no deal in place and the slowdown in talks is more on the New Japan side. The slowdown may be due to wanting to work with ROH and do more events as there has been at least some interest from the ROH side in promoting New Japan PPV events. All things being equal, the advantage of the Jarrett side is that they did an incredible job with social media in promoting the show and made it a success, beating all reasonable expectations. The ROH side has the advantage of having the television vehicle to promote the show.
Jeff Jarrett has expressed interest in promoting Wrestle Kingdom this year but there is no deal in place and the slowdown in talks is more on the New Japan side. The slowdown may be due to wanting to work with ROH and do more events as there has been at least some interest from the ROH side in promoting New Japan PPV events. All things being equal, the advantage of the Jarrett side is that they did an incredible job with social media in promoting the show and made it a success, beating all reasonable expectations. The ROH side has the advantage of having the television vehicle to promote the show.
Lucha Underground Return set
Reports are that the first shows of the new season will be taped on 11/13 and 11/14 in Boyle Heights. There will be several sets of tapings done in both November and December with the new season will start airing in January.
Reports are that the first shows of the new season will be taped on 11/13 and 11/14 in Boyle Heights. There will be several sets of tapings done in both November and December with the new season will start airing in January.