Week in Wrestling #35
Wrestling News From the week of
April 16th- April 22, 2016
April 16th- April 22, 2016
Chyna Passes Away
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, a major part of the WWF/E in the late 90s, was found dead in her home on Wednesday at the age of 45. We have a full article up at Causioncreations.com which can be found here.
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, a major part of the WWF/E in the late 90s, was found dead in her home on Wednesday at the age of 45. We have a full article up at Causioncreations.com which can be found here.
Samoa Joe wins NXT Title
Samoa Joe pinned Finn Balor with a muscle buster to win the NXT title in the main event at today's house show in Lowell, MA. Its a rare title change on an un-televised event, but we heard going back to Mania weekend that Joe was either winning the title or going to the main roster.
Balor was selling an ankle injury after the match. It's unclear if this was story line or not, as he was down for a long time and unlaced his boot in the ring. Unlacing his boot would tend to mean its story line. One way or another, it wasn't an impromptu title change as talk of the impending switch had gone around all afternoon.
I have been talking about my idea that Balor would be coming up to the main roster very soon to join Gallows and Anderson, and they would turn on AJ Styles. Dropping the title seems logical if that is the direction.
Samoa Joe pinned Finn Balor with a muscle buster to win the NXT title in the main event at today's house show in Lowell, MA. Its a rare title change on an un-televised event, but we heard going back to Mania weekend that Joe was either winning the title or going to the main roster.
Balor was selling an ankle injury after the match. It's unclear if this was story line or not, as he was down for a long time and unlaced his boot in the ring. Unlacing his boot would tend to mean its story line. One way or another, it wasn't an impromptu title change as talk of the impending switch had gone around all afternoon.
I have been talking about my idea that Balor would be coming up to the main roster very soon to join Gallows and Anderson, and they would turn on AJ Styles. Dropping the title seems logical if that is the direction.
TNA Sale Update
TNA is at a major crossroads, as the company has been financially strapped, and can no longer afford to pay the rent at their current office and has lost much of their key talent and has admitted looking for an investor.
Numerous sources have confirmed that Aroluxe, a Brentwood, TN, advertising and production agency, paid the bills that allowed the last set of television tapings to go on, and kept TNA from breaching its key television deals by not providing a regular new weekly product. The description we were given is that Aroluxe has been funding the company as an outside investor in exchange for an ownership stake.
With another television taping coming this week in Orlando, and more money earmarked by Aroluxe, that is more of a down payment of sorts for a larger stake.
Dixie Carter is believed to have been the 100 percent owner now that her parents have divorced themselves from the company, and Jeff Jarrett gave up his stock as part of a business deal that included his short-term return to the company. She’s been attempting to sell points for funding while maintaining 51 percent and thus company control. Aroluxe would not on paper appear to be the kind of company that could support TNA.
The connection with wrestling and TNA is that their TV production company headed the production of the television show for a short period of time last year. And of the seven listed employees on the web site, two of them, Ron & Don Harris, are former pro wrestlers who have worked on-and-off for TNA as wrestlers, security and in production dating back to the company’s inception.
Most telling is that Aroluxe’s revenue in 2015 was listed as $2 million. This hardly gives them the kind of a financial cushion to be able to rebuild TNA. However, there is talk that one of the major officers has connections with someone with the money to run the company.
Carter had originally gone to the company’s international television partners such as Sony Six in India, Challenge TV in the U.K. and The Fight Network, with proposals of selling 10 percent to each entity with the idea they would help fund the company, but got no takers.
The belief is that Carter is still attempting to strike a deal with a different company for funding and allow her to maintain a majority interest, as Aroluxe is looking for about 55 percent so they could take over and make changes. Some type of deal has to happen relatively soon. Among the many problems with any deal is that Aroluxe, and Cummins Station would likely have to be paid back what they are owed, as well as other monies owed which is a significant amount, not to mention a purchase price, and they’d have to fund a company that is producing very little revenue outside of what it gets for its television contracts. Or Carter will have to find someone willing to pay back Aroluxe and others, as well as fund the company, while keeping her in charge.
The lone upside is that if someone does want to get into the wrestling business, and be bullied by Vince McMahon in the process, they at least have access to some key television and wrestler contracts. As we’ve see with Jeff Jarrett, Bruce Tharpe and even ROH and New Japan, is the difficulty in getting either viable American or international television deals.
The upside is you start out with exposure in the U.K., which in theory can be a hot market and at one point TNA may have been able to run it as more of a base market (the most recent tour indicates that is no longer the case) and you would have U.S. exposure, but on a weak station that isn’t drawing the casual fan viewer.
After the story broke, TNA contacted talent to tell them to ignore the distractions and that the tapings this week were still on. A talent meeting was expected on 4/21, before the first day of television tapings, to discuss the situation. TNA had the money, believed to be from Aroluxe, to cover the 4/21 to 4/24 tapings early enough that flights were purchased and they were able to lock down the dates several weeks ago, unlike the prior tapings where everything wasn’t finalized until very late in the game.
One thing notable is that the TNA television show has been pretty much devoid of graphics of late because the graphics were handled by an outside company that is no longer working with them.
With such a stripped down roster, almost everyone backstage has become an on camera character with the exception of Pat Kenney. Producers Al Snow and Shane Helms are now on television, and Snow. Snow is in a role which sounded desperate on paper but when actually seeing it, he’s pretty great in it. The television show has been better this year, as creative has done a good job with the roster they are left with, but there is no momentum and Pop TV’s canceling the second Tuesday night airing of the show can’t be considered a positive. The decline in viewers over last year, even though they are available in 23 million more homes, speaks to the lack of momentum.
Still, they do have a prime time show on a station that reaches 80 million homes in the U.S., an exposure level that no promotion other than WWE has. They have stronger international deals than any pro wrestling company other than WWE. They also no longer run live events, and since a January show, there have been no hints of a PPV show, even with Slammiversary, usually one of the company’s big events, usually scheduled for June.
In an interesting note, while it was reported here shortly after it went down, Jim Ross noted that his friend, country music star Toby Keith had a legitimate interest in buying the company and that Keith discussed with Jim Ross a potential involvement.
TNA is at a major crossroads, as the company has been financially strapped, and can no longer afford to pay the rent at their current office and has lost much of their key talent and has admitted looking for an investor.
Numerous sources have confirmed that Aroluxe, a Brentwood, TN, advertising and production agency, paid the bills that allowed the last set of television tapings to go on, and kept TNA from breaching its key television deals by not providing a regular new weekly product. The description we were given is that Aroluxe has been funding the company as an outside investor in exchange for an ownership stake.
With another television taping coming this week in Orlando, and more money earmarked by Aroluxe, that is more of a down payment of sorts for a larger stake.
Dixie Carter is believed to have been the 100 percent owner now that her parents have divorced themselves from the company, and Jeff Jarrett gave up his stock as part of a business deal that included his short-term return to the company. She’s been attempting to sell points for funding while maintaining 51 percent and thus company control. Aroluxe would not on paper appear to be the kind of company that could support TNA.
The connection with wrestling and TNA is that their TV production company headed the production of the television show for a short period of time last year. And of the seven listed employees on the web site, two of them, Ron & Don Harris, are former pro wrestlers who have worked on-and-off for TNA as wrestlers, security and in production dating back to the company’s inception.
Most telling is that Aroluxe’s revenue in 2015 was listed as $2 million. This hardly gives them the kind of a financial cushion to be able to rebuild TNA. However, there is talk that one of the major officers has connections with someone with the money to run the company.
Carter had originally gone to the company’s international television partners such as Sony Six in India, Challenge TV in the U.K. and The Fight Network, with proposals of selling 10 percent to each entity with the idea they would help fund the company, but got no takers.
The belief is that Carter is still attempting to strike a deal with a different company for funding and allow her to maintain a majority interest, as Aroluxe is looking for about 55 percent so they could take over and make changes. Some type of deal has to happen relatively soon. Among the many problems with any deal is that Aroluxe, and Cummins Station would likely have to be paid back what they are owed, as well as other monies owed which is a significant amount, not to mention a purchase price, and they’d have to fund a company that is producing very little revenue outside of what it gets for its television contracts. Or Carter will have to find someone willing to pay back Aroluxe and others, as well as fund the company, while keeping her in charge.
The lone upside is that if someone does want to get into the wrestling business, and be bullied by Vince McMahon in the process, they at least have access to some key television and wrestler contracts. As we’ve see with Jeff Jarrett, Bruce Tharpe and even ROH and New Japan, is the difficulty in getting either viable American or international television deals.
The upside is you start out with exposure in the U.K., which in theory can be a hot market and at one point TNA may have been able to run it as more of a base market (the most recent tour indicates that is no longer the case) and you would have U.S. exposure, but on a weak station that isn’t drawing the casual fan viewer.
After the story broke, TNA contacted talent to tell them to ignore the distractions and that the tapings this week were still on. A talent meeting was expected on 4/21, before the first day of television tapings, to discuss the situation. TNA had the money, believed to be from Aroluxe, to cover the 4/21 to 4/24 tapings early enough that flights were purchased and they were able to lock down the dates several weeks ago, unlike the prior tapings where everything wasn’t finalized until very late in the game.
One thing notable is that the TNA television show has been pretty much devoid of graphics of late because the graphics were handled by an outside company that is no longer working with them.
With such a stripped down roster, almost everyone backstage has become an on camera character with the exception of Pat Kenney. Producers Al Snow and Shane Helms are now on television, and Snow. Snow is in a role which sounded desperate on paper but when actually seeing it, he’s pretty great in it. The television show has been better this year, as creative has done a good job with the roster they are left with, but there is no momentum and Pop TV’s canceling the second Tuesday night airing of the show can’t be considered a positive. The decline in viewers over last year, even though they are available in 23 million more homes, speaks to the lack of momentum.
Still, they do have a prime time show on a station that reaches 80 million homes in the U.S., an exposure level that no promotion other than WWE has. They have stronger international deals than any pro wrestling company other than WWE. They also no longer run live events, and since a January show, there have been no hints of a PPV show, even with Slammiversary, usually one of the company’s big events, usually scheduled for June.
In an interesting note, while it was reported here shortly after it went down, Jim Ross noted that his friend, country music star Toby Keith had a legitimate interest in buying the company and that Keith discussed with Jim Ross a potential involvement.
European Tour Updates
Bray Wyatt was injured on the first night of the European tour on 4/14 in Milan. They were about 2:00 into the main event match with Reigns defending the title against Wyatt, when Wyatt went down and grabbed his leg. He suffered an undisclosed calf injury and the severity was not released, but he was pulled from the rest of the tour. The WWE largely kept everything quiet but the word going around on tour was it was a pulled muscle and he’d be out four to six weeks, so it’s not nearly as bad as first feared.
The Undertaker ended up being pulled from the WWE European tour a second time on 4/15. The company didn’t say Undertaker was pulled until the next day, but did announce on that day that Shane McMahon would be appearing on the 4/19 Smackdown tapings and that HHH would do a number of house shows including 4/20 in Newcastle (the last show Undertaker was booked on, HHH is scheduled to face Ambrose in the new main event), 4/21 in Brussels and 4/23 in Malaga, Spain.
This led to lots of questions regarding Undertaker. The word going around was that he decided against going on the tour although the reasons being said made little sense, since talent was told it regarded not wanting to go due to terrorist activities in France and Belgium. But by the end, he was only booked for two days, both in England, and he pulled out of both of them as well. He does have back problems and that is a long flight. The fact it went back-and-forth all week seems to indicate him wrestling with himself on whether he wanted to wrestle or not, likely between his old school mentality of appearing when advertised and whatever it is that made him not want to wrestle at least right now, whether it be injuries or perhaps the idea of going out in Dallas.
HHH was at Raw as he is every week on 4/18. They are keeping he and Stephanie off TV, right now the plan is a feud with Shane but the start date isn’t definite although early May.
Bray Wyatt was injured on the first night of the European tour on 4/14 in Milan. They were about 2:00 into the main event match with Reigns defending the title against Wyatt, when Wyatt went down and grabbed his leg. He suffered an undisclosed calf injury and the severity was not released, but he was pulled from the rest of the tour. The WWE largely kept everything quiet but the word going around on tour was it was a pulled muscle and he’d be out four to six weeks, so it’s not nearly as bad as first feared.
The Undertaker ended up being pulled from the WWE European tour a second time on 4/15. The company didn’t say Undertaker was pulled until the next day, but did announce on that day that Shane McMahon would be appearing on the 4/19 Smackdown tapings and that HHH would do a number of house shows including 4/20 in Newcastle (the last show Undertaker was booked on, HHH is scheduled to face Ambrose in the new main event), 4/21 in Brussels and 4/23 in Malaga, Spain.
This led to lots of questions regarding Undertaker. The word going around was that he decided against going on the tour although the reasons being said made little sense, since talent was told it regarded not wanting to go due to terrorist activities in France and Belgium. But by the end, he was only booked for two days, both in England, and he pulled out of both of them as well. He does have back problems and that is a long flight. The fact it went back-and-forth all week seems to indicate him wrestling with himself on whether he wanted to wrestle or not, likely between his old school mentality of appearing when advertised and whatever it is that made him not want to wrestle at least right now, whether it be injuries or perhaps the idea of going out in Dallas.
HHH was at Raw as he is every week on 4/18. They are keeping he and Stephanie off TV, right now the plan is a feud with Shane but the start date isn’t definite although early May.
Cena not Cleared
People were saying Cena actually wasn’t fully cleared like he said. He was cleared enough to do what he did at Mania. This seems to make sense given he’s not booked on the next PPV nor has he been on TV. The time frame I was given was probably May, although just a few weeks ago it was July. If he was really ready, they’d have sent him to Europe to replace Undertaker or Bryan.
People were saying Cena actually wasn’t fully cleared like he said. He was cleared enough to do what he did at Mania. This seems to make sense given he’s not booked on the next PPV nor has he been on TV. The time frame I was given was probably May, although just a few weeks ago it was July. If he was really ready, they’d have sent him to Europe to replace Undertaker or Bryan.
WWE Payback Update
The 5/1 Payback show in Chicago continues to look strong. Now official are Reigns vs. Styles, Jericho vs. Ambrose, Zayn vs. Owens, Miz vs. Cesaro for the IC title, Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) for the women’s title.
Other programs being worked on include Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. title, Corbin vs. Ziggler, Emma vs. Lynch and Usos vs. Anderson & Gallows. Dudleys vs. Enzo & Cass is a program they are working, but the finals of the tag team tournament between Enzo & Cass and the Vaudvillians will take place at Payback.
The 5/1 Payback show in Chicago continues to look strong. Now official are Reigns vs. Styles, Jericho vs. Ambrose, Zayn vs. Owens, Miz vs. Cesaro for the IC title, Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) for the women’s title.
Other programs being worked on include Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. title, Corbin vs. Ziggler, Emma vs. Lynch and Usos vs. Anderson & Gallows. Dudleys vs. Enzo & Cass is a program they are working, but the finals of the tag team tournament between Enzo & Cass and the Vaudvillians will take place at Payback.
Stone Cold Injured
Austin suffered a torn rotator cuff, some of that taking place at WrestleMania. Jim Ross wrote on the subject that Austin had injured the shoulder prior to Mania and then the injured rotator cuff had a complete tear from his first punch to Rusev in the brawl. Jeez. That's why he's retired.
Austin suffered a torn rotator cuff, some of that taking place at WrestleMania. Jim Ross wrote on the subject that Austin had injured the shoulder prior to Mania and then the injured rotator cuff had a complete tear from his first punch to Rusev in the brawl. Jeez. That's why he's retired.
The New Day break Milestone
The New Day were legit the biggest merchandise movers over WrestleMania weekend which means they’ll be getting a big paycheck and also it locks them in for keeping them in a good position for a long time.
The New Day were legit the biggest merchandise movers over WrestleMania weekend which means they’ll be getting a big paycheck and also it locks them in for keeping them in a good position for a long time.
Total Bellas
E! has ordered six one hour episodes of the new series, which will be a spin-off of “Total Divas,” which will also remain on the station’s lineup even with the significantly declining ratings this season. The episodes being shot will air in October and November. “Total Bellas” will follow Nikki and Brie Bella, along with Cena, Bryan, John Laurinaitis (the father-in-law of the Bellas), Kathy Colace (the Bellas mom) and J.J. Garcia-Colace, the brother of the Bellas, and his wife.
The Bellas will also remain as the lead stars in the sixth season of “Total Divas,” which is being filmed now and will return in the fall. Most likely this will include or build toward the wedding of Laurinaitis and Colace. Not including the final episode of the season, Total Divas averaged 738,000 viewers this past season, down 27 percent from 1,008,000 in the fourth season.
The season six cast will be the Bellas, Eva Marie, Naomi, Natalya, Paige, Lana, Maryse and Renee Young. It will debut in September. No time slots were announced but I could see them running back-to-back. “Total Divas” is still one of the better rated shows of the network so the idea with a spin-off would be to get two hours of ratings instead of one.
E! has ordered six one hour episodes of the new series, which will be a spin-off of “Total Divas,” which will also remain on the station’s lineup even with the significantly declining ratings this season. The episodes being shot will air in October and November. “Total Bellas” will follow Nikki and Brie Bella, along with Cena, Bryan, John Laurinaitis (the father-in-law of the Bellas), Kathy Colace (the Bellas mom) and J.J. Garcia-Colace, the brother of the Bellas, and his wife.
The Bellas will also remain as the lead stars in the sixth season of “Total Divas,” which is being filmed now and will return in the fall. Most likely this will include or build toward the wedding of Laurinaitis and Colace. Not including the final episode of the season, Total Divas averaged 738,000 viewers this past season, down 27 percent from 1,008,000 in the fourth season.
The season six cast will be the Bellas, Eva Marie, Naomi, Natalya, Paige, Lana, Maryse and Renee Young. It will debut in September. No time slots were announced but I could see them running back-to-back. “Total Divas” is still one of the better rated shows of the network so the idea with a spin-off would be to get two hours of ratings instead of one.
Wellness Policy Failures
Both Ray Leppan (Adam Rose), 36, and Ray Parmeter (Konnor), 36, were suspended for 60 days for a Wellness policy violation. These would be the first two announced violations of the Wellness policy since Hornswoggle in September, and before that, since Ricardo Rodriguez in 2013. It was the second violation for both Leppan and Parmeter, which is why the suspension was for 60 days.
Neither had a previously announced violation, but Parmeter failed a test in 2006 and Leppan in 2013 and each were suspended for 30 days at the time. Neither failure was announced publicly, apparently because neither were on the main roster at the time of the violation. The idea that only two people on the main roster had tested positive in four years and then two did on the same day is quite the coincidence. The timing isn’t the best for either given their positions on the roster and their age.
Both Ray Leppan (Adam Rose), 36, and Ray Parmeter (Konnor), 36, were suspended for 60 days for a Wellness policy violation. These would be the first two announced violations of the Wellness policy since Hornswoggle in September, and before that, since Ricardo Rodriguez in 2013. It was the second violation for both Leppan and Parmeter, which is why the suspension was for 60 days.
Neither had a previously announced violation, but Parmeter failed a test in 2006 and Leppan in 2013 and each were suspended for 30 days at the time. Neither failure was announced publicly, apparently because neither were on the main roster at the time of the violation. The idea that only two people on the main roster had tested positive in four years and then two did on the same day is quite the coincidence. The timing isn’t the best for either given their positions on the roster and their age.
WWE Sells out Sumo Hall
The 7/1 show sold out within minutes of tickets being put on sale in Tokyo (they have since opened up additional seats) and the 7/2 show was virtually sold out (there were some expensive ringside seats left but that was all) within minutes as well. The difference in business in the past and now is that Nakamura is making his debut with WWE in Japan and suddenly it’s a huge cool thing to see Nakamura in WWE. The company hasn’t sold out Sumo Hall in Tokyo in years.
The 7/1 show sold out within minutes of tickets being put on sale in Tokyo (they have since opened up additional seats) and the 7/2 show was virtually sold out (there were some expensive ringside seats left but that was all) within minutes as well. The difference in business in the past and now is that Nakamura is making his debut with WWE in Japan and suddenly it’s a huge cool thing to see Nakamura in WWE. The company hasn’t sold out Sumo Hall in Tokyo in years.
WWE Honolulu Show
Lesnar has been added to Nakamura and Asuka as non-regulars on the road who will appear on the 6/29 show in Honolulu. We’ve gotten no word that it will be a network special, but shows Lesnar gets added to often are, and the first WWE show in Honolulu since 2010 would sound like a good hook. This is also the first time Lesnar has ever performed in Hawaii, as he was never there as a fighter or as a wrestler.
Lesnar has been added to Nakamura and Asuka as non-regulars on the road who will appear on the 6/29 show in Honolulu. We’ve gotten no word that it will be a network special, but shows Lesnar gets added to often are, and the first WWE show in Honolulu since 2010 would sound like a good hook. This is also the first time Lesnar has ever performed in Hawaii, as he was never there as a fighter or as a wrestler.
Bret Hart Interview
Bret Hart, while in the U.K., doing an interview for Total Wrestling, when asked about creative, said, “I really think that the booking and the writing and the people who are calling the shots are the most ignorant bunch of stupid morons and they are starting to make Eric Bischoff look smart.” Regarding Reigns, he said, “He is a good wrestler with a great look, but unfortunately, when it comes to booking, they dropped the ball big time and it’s all down to a lack of imagination and a bunch of people like Stephanie McMahon and HHH who are more concerned about getting themselves over."
Did I mention that Bret will be in Natalya's corner at WWE Payback....
Bret Hart, while in the U.K., doing an interview for Total Wrestling, when asked about creative, said, “I really think that the booking and the writing and the people who are calling the shots are the most ignorant bunch of stupid morons and they are starting to make Eric Bischoff look smart.” Regarding Reigns, he said, “He is a good wrestler with a great look, but unfortunately, when it comes to booking, they dropped the ball big time and it’s all down to a lack of imagination and a bunch of people like Stephanie McMahon and HHH who are more concerned about getting themselves over."
Did I mention that Bret will be in Natalya's corner at WWE Payback....
NJPW PPV Canceled
Due to the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto, Japan, which have wrecked the part of the city that the Grand Messe arena is in, New Japan Pro Wrestling was forced to cancel its 4/29 “Wrestling Hinokuni” PPV show.
The city was hit by at least four earthquakes this past week, the first being a 6.2 earthquake on 4/14, followed by a 6.0 earthquake three hours later. The big one was a 7.0 earthquake (reported in some circles as a 7.3) at 1:25 a.m. on 4/16. There was also another aftershock on 4/18.
The show was one of two PPVs, splitting up the major matches, scheduled for the current tour.
The show’s original lineup was Jay White vs. David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi & Juice Robinson vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi, Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Yoshitatsu vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Roa & Tama Tonga, Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet for the IWGP jr. tag titles, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi, Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata for the Never Open weight title, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin for the IC title.
The jr. tag title match and Never Open weight title match were both moved to the 5/3 show at the Fukuoka International Center Arena, making it a loaded show. The negative is that with eight main event caliber matches, either the show will have to go extremely long, probably four hours or more, or they are going to have too cut back on time for a lot of the matches. Luckily the show’s start time is 5 p.m. as it’s part of a holiday week in Japan, so going past four hours isn’t as bad as if the show had a later start.
At this point the announced lineup for the next big PPV show is Wrestling Dontaku on 5/3 is Captain New Japan & Robinson vs. Fale & Takahashi, Tiger Mask & Taguchi & White & Finlay vs. Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi & Ospreay & Gedo, Romero & Baretta defending against Ricochet & Sydal, Elgin & Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu vs. Young Bucks & Omega (if the Tanahashi team retains their titles on 4/23 at Korakuen Hall against Omega & Fale & Takahashi, I expect this to become a Never trios title match), Tonga & Roa defending the IWGP tag titles against Makabe & Honma, Shibata vs. Nagata for the Never title, Kushida vs. Liger vs. the IWGP jr. title, Goto vs. Evil, Okada vs. Sanada and Naito vs. Ishii for the IWGP heavyweight title.
Probably the biggest show of the year besides the Tokyo Dome and G-1 finals will be the 6/19 show in Osaka at Jo Hall, the Dominion card. So expect a lot of angles and big matches to be set up at the Fukuoka shows, particularly the Dontaku card.
The Omega vs. Elgin IC title match and Tanahashi vs. Fale matches have been added to the 4/27 show, also in Fukuoka, but at the smaller Hakata Star Lanes, which becomes the No. 2 show of the tour.
Due to the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto, Japan, which have wrecked the part of the city that the Grand Messe arena is in, New Japan Pro Wrestling was forced to cancel its 4/29 “Wrestling Hinokuni” PPV show.
The city was hit by at least four earthquakes this past week, the first being a 6.2 earthquake on 4/14, followed by a 6.0 earthquake three hours later. The big one was a 7.0 earthquake (reported in some circles as a 7.3) at 1:25 a.m. on 4/16. There was also another aftershock on 4/18.
The show was one of two PPVs, splitting up the major matches, scheduled for the current tour.
The show’s original lineup was Jay White vs. David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi & Juice Robinson vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi, Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Yoshitatsu vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Roa & Tama Tonga, Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet for the IWGP jr. tag titles, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi, Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata for the Never Open weight title, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin for the IC title.
The jr. tag title match and Never Open weight title match were both moved to the 5/3 show at the Fukuoka International Center Arena, making it a loaded show. The negative is that with eight main event caliber matches, either the show will have to go extremely long, probably four hours or more, or they are going to have too cut back on time for a lot of the matches. Luckily the show’s start time is 5 p.m. as it’s part of a holiday week in Japan, so going past four hours isn’t as bad as if the show had a later start.
At this point the announced lineup for the next big PPV show is Wrestling Dontaku on 5/3 is Captain New Japan & Robinson vs. Fale & Takahashi, Tiger Mask & Taguchi & White & Finlay vs. Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi & Ospreay & Gedo, Romero & Baretta defending against Ricochet & Sydal, Elgin & Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu vs. Young Bucks & Omega (if the Tanahashi team retains their titles on 4/23 at Korakuen Hall against Omega & Fale & Takahashi, I expect this to become a Never trios title match), Tonga & Roa defending the IWGP tag titles against Makabe & Honma, Shibata vs. Nagata for the Never title, Kushida vs. Liger vs. the IWGP jr. title, Goto vs. Evil, Okada vs. Sanada and Naito vs. Ishii for the IWGP heavyweight title.
Probably the biggest show of the year besides the Tokyo Dome and G-1 finals will be the 6/19 show in Osaka at Jo Hall, the Dominion card. So expect a lot of angles and big matches to be set up at the Fukuoka shows, particularly the Dontaku card.
The Omega vs. Elgin IC title match and Tanahashi vs. Fale matches have been added to the 4/27 show, also in Fukuoka, but at the smaller Hakata Star Lanes, which becomes the No. 2 show of the tour.
Ospreay offered NJPW Contract
Will Ospreay has already been offered a regular contract which would make him just about the quickest guy without an international name to get one. He got the offer after one match with the promotion. He’s probably being tugged in different directions. In his case, it’s really Japan and WWE that would be the directions. If WWE really wants him and makes a big offer they’ll get him. WWE usually offers guys of his level a lot less than they make on the indies. The feeling is they’ll come at the low number starting out because there’s more of a shot at the high number down the line.
It’s essentially the same deal as Ricochet, who on paper can make far more with the new offer he got from Lucha Underground, which would allow him to work New Japan as well as indies, but WWE is still WWE. For Ospreay, the advantage is he can live in the U.K. if he wants to with New Japan, but would have to move to Florida for WWE.
Will Ospreay has already been offered a regular contract which would make him just about the quickest guy without an international name to get one. He got the offer after one match with the promotion. He’s probably being tugged in different directions. In his case, it’s really Japan and WWE that would be the directions. If WWE really wants him and makes a big offer they’ll get him. WWE usually offers guys of his level a lot less than they make on the indies. The feeling is they’ll come at the low number starting out because there’s more of a shot at the high number down the line.
It’s essentially the same deal as Ricochet, who on paper can make far more with the new offer he got from Lucha Underground, which would allow him to work New Japan as well as indies, but WWE is still WWE. For Ospreay, the advantage is he can live in the U.K. if he wants to with New Japan, but would have to move to Florida for WWE.