Week in Wrestling #37
Wrestling News From the week of
April 29nd- May 6th, 2016
April 29nd- May 6th, 2016
Hulk Hogan v. Gawker 2
Hulk Hogan has filed a second lawsuit against Gawker, as well as everyone except Bubba the Love Sponge that he knows has any responsibility for the sex tape getting out.
The most interesting claim, and one that his side has stated publicly they believe all along, is the claim that Gawker was responsible for leaking material that had been sealed by the court, passing it to the National Enquirer, and that story resulted in his termination from his job with WWE, costing him significant amounts of money.
When WWE officials became aware of the Enquirer story about to be published, they quickly severed all ties with Hogan and worked to remove all mentions of him from their web site due to the nature of the language he had used on the tape, talking about his daughter Brooke’s boyfriend in 2007 when he made the remarks to Heather Clem in a sex tape.
Hogan claimed all of them were to blame for the tape of his conversation with Heather Cole being released and leading to him being fired by WWE and ending his wrestling career.
Brooke’s boyfriend at the time was Yannique Barker, also known as YNIQ, a Miami rapper who was the son of Cecile Barker, the founder of SoBe Entertainment, who had believed he was Hogan’s good friend. Cecile Barker had helped fund Brooke’s musical career with Hogan.
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to F*** some n*****, I’d rather have her marry an eight-foot tall n***** worth a hundred million dollars, like a basketball player. I guess we’re all a little racist. F***** n*****.”
Gawker had claimed to have nothing to do with the leak. Hogan’s side had attempted to get access to the computers of leading people at Gawker examined for certain key words to prove that they were responsible, but the ruling by Judge Campbell that gave them access was overturned at the appellate court level. Hogan may be trying to get the case in front of Campbell again, and now, because the leak is what the lawsuit is about as opposed to just an issue in a different case, claim that information and access is necessary.
The lawsuit, which doesn’t ask for a dollar amount, said that Hogan’s “income was cut off, his legacy in entertainment was severely damaged (if not completely destroyed) and his global brand was forever tarnished,” the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit noted that just before the story came out, that Nick Denton, the CEO of Gawker, wrote a piece on his blog predicting that the real secret regarding Hogan would soon be revealed.
After the story came out, 14 minutes later, A.J. Daulerio, the Gawker editor (it is notable that neither he nor Denton are named personally in the suit but Gawker is) tweeted to Hogan, “XOXOXO” and linked the Enquirer story back to him.
The WWE had cut ties with Hogan the previous night and by the time the story came out, it was not a secret that the story was coming.
Hogan is also suing a number of people who he believed were part of the tape being leaked, most notable being radio DJ Mike Calta, known as Cowhead. The lawsuit claimed it was Calta who sent at least one of the tapes to Gawker.
Hogan’s suit noted that the U.S. Government and the state of Florida declined to prosecute any of the people involved. He claimed the defendants were involved in a conspiracy and aided and abetted a civil extortion, a violation of his privacy, public disclosure of private facts, invaded his privacy, which led to an infliction of emotional distress and interference with his contract and business relationships.
Gawker’s response to the lawsuit was to say: “This is getting ridiculous. Hulk Hogan is a litigious celebrity abusing the court system to control his public image and media coverage. It was absurd enough that Hulk Hogan claimed $100 million for emotional distress and economic damage for a story about a sex life that he’d already made public. Now Hulk Hogan is blaming Gawker for racist remarks he made on another sex tape, which Gawker never had. As we’ve said before and are happy to say again, Gawker did not leak the information. It’s time for Hulk Hogan to take responsibility for his own words, because the only person who got Hulk fired from the WWE is Hulk Hogan.”
Hulk Hogan has filed a second lawsuit against Gawker, as well as everyone except Bubba the Love Sponge that he knows has any responsibility for the sex tape getting out.
The most interesting claim, and one that his side has stated publicly they believe all along, is the claim that Gawker was responsible for leaking material that had been sealed by the court, passing it to the National Enquirer, and that story resulted in his termination from his job with WWE, costing him significant amounts of money.
When WWE officials became aware of the Enquirer story about to be published, they quickly severed all ties with Hogan and worked to remove all mentions of him from their web site due to the nature of the language he had used on the tape, talking about his daughter Brooke’s boyfriend in 2007 when he made the remarks to Heather Clem in a sex tape.
Hogan claimed all of them were to blame for the tape of his conversation with Heather Cole being released and leading to him being fired by WWE and ending his wrestling career.
Brooke’s boyfriend at the time was Yannique Barker, also known as YNIQ, a Miami rapper who was the son of Cecile Barker, the founder of SoBe Entertainment, who had believed he was Hogan’s good friend. Cecile Barker had helped fund Brooke’s musical career with Hogan.
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to F*** some n*****, I’d rather have her marry an eight-foot tall n***** worth a hundred million dollars, like a basketball player. I guess we’re all a little racist. F***** n*****.”
Gawker had claimed to have nothing to do with the leak. Hogan’s side had attempted to get access to the computers of leading people at Gawker examined for certain key words to prove that they were responsible, but the ruling by Judge Campbell that gave them access was overturned at the appellate court level. Hogan may be trying to get the case in front of Campbell again, and now, because the leak is what the lawsuit is about as opposed to just an issue in a different case, claim that information and access is necessary.
The lawsuit, which doesn’t ask for a dollar amount, said that Hogan’s “income was cut off, his legacy in entertainment was severely damaged (if not completely destroyed) and his global brand was forever tarnished,” the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit noted that just before the story came out, that Nick Denton, the CEO of Gawker, wrote a piece on his blog predicting that the real secret regarding Hogan would soon be revealed.
After the story came out, 14 minutes later, A.J. Daulerio, the Gawker editor (it is notable that neither he nor Denton are named personally in the suit but Gawker is) tweeted to Hogan, “XOXOXO” and linked the Enquirer story back to him.
The WWE had cut ties with Hogan the previous night and by the time the story came out, it was not a secret that the story was coming.
Hogan is also suing a number of people who he believed were part of the tape being leaked, most notable being radio DJ Mike Calta, known as Cowhead. The lawsuit claimed it was Calta who sent at least one of the tapes to Gawker.
Hogan’s suit noted that the U.S. Government and the state of Florida declined to prosecute any of the people involved. He claimed the defendants were involved in a conspiracy and aided and abetted a civil extortion, a violation of his privacy, public disclosure of private facts, invaded his privacy, which led to an infliction of emotional distress and interference with his contract and business relationships.
Gawker’s response to the lawsuit was to say: “This is getting ridiculous. Hulk Hogan is a litigious celebrity abusing the court system to control his public image and media coverage. It was absurd enough that Hulk Hogan claimed $100 million for emotional distress and economic damage for a story about a sex life that he’d already made public. Now Hulk Hogan is blaming Gawker for racist remarks he made on another sex tape, which Gawker never had. As we’ve said before and are happy to say again, Gawker did not leak the information. It’s time for Hulk Hogan to take responsibility for his own words, because the only person who got Hulk fired from the WWE is Hulk Hogan.”
Payback PPV
For a full review of WWE Payback, it can be found here.
The Vaudevillains were scheduled to beat Enzo Amore & Big Cass in a match that ended prematurely due to Amore being knocked out and needing medical attention. There is no timetable on Amore returning.
What happened with Amore is that he charged after Aiden English in the corner, and ran into his knee. He was pretty much knocked out at that point and apparently remembers nothing from this point on. Simon Gotch tagged in, but nobody had any knowledge anything was wrong. Gotch threw Amore into the ropes. It was not a botched baseball slide, although it looked like it, but Amore, being pretty much out of it, slid from the toss and hit the side of his head on the middle rope, which caused a whiplash effect, and then his head also hit the apron, knocking him out.
He fell to the floor. Gotch went after him, but ref Dan Engler jumped in and stopped him, called for an “X” and eventually, when realizing Amore was out, stopped the match. Amore was taken out, motionless, on a stretcher. He did recover backstage but was rushed to the hospital for tests. The diagnosis was that he suffered a severe concussion, but there was no neck damage, as everyone feared based on how everything went down. He was released from the hospital later that night and was backstage at Raw in St. Louis the next night, but the decision was made not to use him. He was downplaying the concussion backstage and saying he felt fine.
To the company’s credit, throughout the show they kept updating Amore’s condition instead of holding back on it.
For a full review of WWE Payback, it can be found here.
The Vaudevillains were scheduled to beat Enzo Amore & Big Cass in a match that ended prematurely due to Amore being knocked out and needing medical attention. There is no timetable on Amore returning.
What happened with Amore is that he charged after Aiden English in the corner, and ran into his knee. He was pretty much knocked out at that point and apparently remembers nothing from this point on. Simon Gotch tagged in, but nobody had any knowledge anything was wrong. Gotch threw Amore into the ropes. It was not a botched baseball slide, although it looked like it, but Amore, being pretty much out of it, slid from the toss and hit the side of his head on the middle rope, which caused a whiplash effect, and then his head also hit the apron, knocking him out.
He fell to the floor. Gotch went after him, but ref Dan Engler jumped in and stopped him, called for an “X” and eventually, when realizing Amore was out, stopped the match. Amore was taken out, motionless, on a stretcher. He did recover backstage but was rushed to the hospital for tests. The diagnosis was that he suffered a severe concussion, but there was no neck damage, as everyone feared based on how everything went down. He was released from the hospital later that night and was backstage at Raw in St. Louis the next night, but the decision was made not to use him. He was downplaying the concussion backstage and saying he felt fine.
To the company’s credit, throughout the show they kept updating Amore’s condition instead of holding back on it.
Extreme Rules PPV
The main event of Roman Reigns defending the WWE title against A.J. Styles will be an Extreme rules match. Other matches for Extreme Rules are Kalisto vs. Rusev for the U.S. title, New Day vs. Vaudevillains for the tag team titles, Charlotte vs. Natalya in a submissions match for the women’s title with Ric Flair banned from ringside, Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose with stipulations to be added, and The Miz vs Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title.
The main event of Roman Reigns defending the WWE title against A.J. Styles will be an Extreme rules match. Other matches for Extreme Rules are Kalisto vs. Rusev for the U.S. title, New Day vs. Vaudevillains for the tag team titles, Charlotte vs. Natalya in a submissions match for the women’s title with Ric Flair banned from ringside, Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose with stipulations to be added, and The Miz vs Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title.
Ryback Sent Home
Ryback is officially on hiatus from WWE after a disagreement with Vince McMahon during contract negotiations on 5/2 in St. Louis led to him being sent home.
The situation had been brewing somewhat quietly. Ryback was known by other wrestlers for being unhappy with his role, and expressed it publicly, something WWE talent knows not to do because the company doesn’t take it well. He believed he should have been one of the top guys in the company, believing that he was successful whenever he was given that push. It is true that he drew a remarkably strong buy rate for his October 28, 2012, WWE title match in Hell in a Cell against Punk after being given the Bill Goldberg push, and it was working as he was super-hot at the time.
But it was the wrong time to end his unbeaten streak and he cooled off quickly, as the rematches didn’t draw anywhere near the same level of interest. For the next nearly four years, it was the usual stop-and-start pushes, some teases on top but mostly just a guy on the roster, sometimes buried, sometimes given a little.
He was getting a renewed push with a heel turn leading to WrestleMania, and a U.S. title match with Kalisto, but it ended up being moved to the pre-show. He was vocal about that positioning, including going public in an interview while in Dubai. Others in the company noted that he still felt he should be a top guy, but everyone recognized that the company didn’t see him that way and just felt as far as being a headliner, that his ship had sailed.
He was put in the pre-show again at Payback, losing a U.S. title match for a second time to Kalisto. His weight belt also had wording “Pre Show Stopper,” clearly a knock at him being on the pre-show once again. The dye may have already been cast by then because we’re told the decision that he may be sent home was already known by some late last week and it was guaranteed Kalisto would beat him again because he may have been on the way out.
The situation must have gotten serious enough that it was McMahon, and not Paul Levesque, who addressed it. McMahon and Ryback were negotiating a new deal personally. Ryback's contract expires over the summer. They were said to be far apart on terms and McMahon made the decision to send Ryback home, a decision that Ryback did not oppose. There was also a potential issue as Ryback had applied for a trademark for the term “The Big Guy,” before the company had gotten around to doing so. Ryback claimed he was the one who requested going home until he and McMahon could settle on a new deal. Right now, with the company in a rebuilding phase, the mentality is that anyone who is not going to be with them for the long haul may as well not be used at all on television.
Unless the two sides agree on new deal, Reeves’ contract will expire over the summer and he will likely start working somewhere else at that point.
Reeves wrote a long post about the situation, without actually saying anything about what was discussed past he and McMahon were at an impasse regarding a new contract.
Ryback is officially on hiatus from WWE after a disagreement with Vince McMahon during contract negotiations on 5/2 in St. Louis led to him being sent home.
The situation had been brewing somewhat quietly. Ryback was known by other wrestlers for being unhappy with his role, and expressed it publicly, something WWE talent knows not to do because the company doesn’t take it well. He believed he should have been one of the top guys in the company, believing that he was successful whenever he was given that push. It is true that he drew a remarkably strong buy rate for his October 28, 2012, WWE title match in Hell in a Cell against Punk after being given the Bill Goldberg push, and it was working as he was super-hot at the time.
But it was the wrong time to end his unbeaten streak and he cooled off quickly, as the rematches didn’t draw anywhere near the same level of interest. For the next nearly four years, it was the usual stop-and-start pushes, some teases on top but mostly just a guy on the roster, sometimes buried, sometimes given a little.
He was getting a renewed push with a heel turn leading to WrestleMania, and a U.S. title match with Kalisto, but it ended up being moved to the pre-show. He was vocal about that positioning, including going public in an interview while in Dubai. Others in the company noted that he still felt he should be a top guy, but everyone recognized that the company didn’t see him that way and just felt as far as being a headliner, that his ship had sailed.
He was put in the pre-show again at Payback, losing a U.S. title match for a second time to Kalisto. His weight belt also had wording “Pre Show Stopper,” clearly a knock at him being on the pre-show once again. The dye may have already been cast by then because we’re told the decision that he may be sent home was already known by some late last week and it was guaranteed Kalisto would beat him again because he may have been on the way out.
The situation must have gotten serious enough that it was McMahon, and not Paul Levesque, who addressed it. McMahon and Ryback were negotiating a new deal personally. Ryback's contract expires over the summer. They were said to be far apart on terms and McMahon made the decision to send Ryback home, a decision that Ryback did not oppose. There was also a potential issue as Ryback had applied for a trademark for the term “The Big Guy,” before the company had gotten around to doing so. Ryback claimed he was the one who requested going home until he and McMahon could settle on a new deal. Right now, with the company in a rebuilding phase, the mentality is that anyone who is not going to be with them for the long haul may as well not be used at all on television.
Unless the two sides agree on new deal, Reeves’ contract will expire over the summer and he will likely start working somewhere else at that point.
Reeves wrote a long post about the situation, without actually saying anything about what was discussed past he and McMahon were at an impasse regarding a new contract.
Adam Rose Update
Ray Leppan (Adam Rose) released a letter from Dr. Charles DeVine, dated 4/22, which stated that he was taking Aderall, a banned substance, prescribed for ADHD, which Leppan claimed was the reason he failed a drug test and was suspended for 60 days, which WWE announced on 4/16 as his second drug test failure. He claimed WWE doctors knew about this for a year.
The actual wording of the letter by DeVine was: “I am writing this letter on behalf of Adam Rose (Ray Leppan D.O.B. 7/20/79), who I have treated since 4/20/15. He has chronic signs and symptoms of ADHD, determined through a very thorough psychiatric exam on 4/30/15. He takes Aderall XR, which is an FDA-approved treatment for ADHD, and we have followed all standard of are protocols during his treatment, which has gone very well. He takes his medication as prescribed, and he is compliant with my treatment recommendations.”
At this point WWE hasn’t responded to the letter. They don’t like to get into public debates with talent but also don’t like to be portrayed as unfair publicly. The letter makes the WWE program seem intolerant, but there is often more to the story and athletes using doctors letters to game the system is also a regular part of every drug testing program, not saying this is in that category, but that category is a regular part of drug testing programs and punishments.
But this is notable if only because Leppan said that WWE has been aware of this use for a year, and unless they told him he could no longer use it, in that time frame one would think they’d have either approved or not approved usage.
Ray Leppan (Adam Rose) released a letter from Dr. Charles DeVine, dated 4/22, which stated that he was taking Aderall, a banned substance, prescribed for ADHD, which Leppan claimed was the reason he failed a drug test and was suspended for 60 days, which WWE announced on 4/16 as his second drug test failure. He claimed WWE doctors knew about this for a year.
The actual wording of the letter by DeVine was: “I am writing this letter on behalf of Adam Rose (Ray Leppan D.O.B. 7/20/79), who I have treated since 4/20/15. He has chronic signs and symptoms of ADHD, determined through a very thorough psychiatric exam on 4/30/15. He takes Aderall XR, which is an FDA-approved treatment for ADHD, and we have followed all standard of are protocols during his treatment, which has gone very well. He takes his medication as prescribed, and he is compliant with my treatment recommendations.”
At this point WWE hasn’t responded to the letter. They don’t like to get into public debates with talent but also don’t like to be portrayed as unfair publicly. The letter makes the WWE program seem intolerant, but there is often more to the story and athletes using doctors letters to game the system is also a regular part of every drug testing program, not saying this is in that category, but that category is a regular part of drug testing programs and punishments.
But this is notable if only because Leppan said that WWE has been aware of this use for a year, and unless they told him he could no longer use it, in that time frame one would think they’d have either approved or not approved usage.
Raw Ratings Up
Raw on 5/2, the show after Payback, saw the audience rebound from two straight weeks of seasonal record lows, doing a 2.35 rating and 3,430,000 viewers (1.53 viewers per home, well above usual levels, which is why the rating is so low compared to the viewer number), up 10 percent from the prior week.
The show was built as the first show of the new era, with Shane and Stephanie McMahon both running Raw, and the good news is that it kept the audience through all three hours, even going up against a strong sports lineup. The key third hour items were Roman Reigns & The Usos vs. A.J. Styles & Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, as well as the Charlotte/Natalya angle.
Raw on 5/2, the show after Payback, saw the audience rebound from two straight weeks of seasonal record lows, doing a 2.35 rating and 3,430,000 viewers (1.53 viewers per home, well above usual levels, which is why the rating is so low compared to the viewer number), up 10 percent from the prior week.
The show was built as the first show of the new era, with Shane and Stephanie McMahon both running Raw, and the good news is that it kept the audience through all three hours, even going up against a strong sports lineup. The key third hour items were Roman Reigns & The Usos vs. A.J. Styles & Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, as well as the Charlotte/Natalya angle.
WWE Network Restrictions
The WWE Network is making a major change. For years they had allowed multiple accounts logged on at the same time, which allowed for people to pass around their passwords. They wrote that they are now only allowing each subscriber the use of one device at any time with the feeling that they are closing a loophole and would lead to adding subscribers.
However, even after saying that, in an attempt to get people who were gaming the system based on multiple people being able to use the same account, it wasn’t the case. People were able to use several different computers at the same time to test it out and watch the network after the statement came out.
The WWE Network is making a major change. For years they had allowed multiple accounts logged on at the same time, which allowed for people to pass around their passwords. They wrote that they are now only allowing each subscriber the use of one device at any time with the feeling that they are closing a loophole and would lead to adding subscribers.
However, even after saying that, in an attempt to get people who were gaming the system based on multiple people being able to use the same account, it wasn’t the case. People were able to use several different computers at the same time to test it out and watch the network after the statement came out.
WWE Network Survey
The company also sent out a survey to people who have stopped subscribing to the network asking what type of things would interest them to have them return. One thing they pushed for in two different surveys is the idea of adding Raw and Smackdown on a one-day delay for people as a premium service for $12.99 per month. That’s interesting because they are allowed to sell edited versions of the show to Hulu but not the full show, so either they’d have to put an edited version up, which wouldn’t make people happy paying extra, or they’d have to work it out with the USA Network.
Other things they asked former subscribers about if they’d be interested to return were: 1) More original programming; 2) If my Internet connection speed improves; 3) When my overall interest in WWE improves); 4) If a WWE gift card was available so I didn’t have to use a credit/debit card; 5) If a collection of a specific superstar matches/highlights were on WWE network; 6) For certain PPVs I’m interested in; 7) If my interest in current storylines improve; 8) If more classic content is added; 9) If WWE movies were added; 10) When my budget allows me; 11) If streaming quality improves 12) For a specific PPV show and 13) I will never return to WWE Network. The survey was sent to people who had subscriptions at this time last year but then quit. The response was shockingly low, in the sense they sent out several hundred thousand questionnaires and only a tiny percentage returned them to the point the results were believed to have been meaningless as far as learning anything.
The company also sent out a survey to people who have stopped subscribing to the network asking what type of things would interest them to have them return. One thing they pushed for in two different surveys is the idea of adding Raw and Smackdown on a one-day delay for people as a premium service for $12.99 per month. That’s interesting because they are allowed to sell edited versions of the show to Hulu but not the full show, so either they’d have to put an edited version up, which wouldn’t make people happy paying extra, or they’d have to work it out with the USA Network.
Other things they asked former subscribers about if they’d be interested to return were: 1) More original programming; 2) If my Internet connection speed improves; 3) When my overall interest in WWE improves); 4) If a WWE gift card was available so I didn’t have to use a credit/debit card; 5) If a collection of a specific superstar matches/highlights were on WWE network; 6) For certain PPVs I’m interested in; 7) If my interest in current storylines improve; 8) If more classic content is added; 9) If WWE movies were added; 10) When my budget allows me; 11) If streaming quality improves 12) For a specific PPV show and 13) I will never return to WWE Network. The survey was sent to people who had subscriptions at this time last year but then quit. The response was shockingly low, in the sense they sent out several hundred thousand questionnaires and only a tiny percentage returned them to the point the results were believed to have been meaningless as far as learning anything.
EY to NXT
Eric Young debuted on NXT at the 4/28 tapings, shooting an angle for a match with Samoa Joe, which he lost clean. He used the name Eric Young and they, without saying TNA, acknowledged that he and Joe knew each other from the past.
Eric Young debuted on NXT at the 4/28 tapings, shooting an angle for a match with Samoa Joe, which he lost clean. He used the name Eric Young and they, without saying TNA, acknowledged that he and Joe knew each other from the past.
Randy Orton Update
The update on Orton is that his rehab is coming much slower than expected, but he is recovering. The timetable is that he would probably start training in Orlando for his comeback in mid-June.
The update on Orton is that his rehab is coming much slower than expected, but he is recovering. The timetable is that he would probably start training in Orlando for his comeback in mid-June.
New Japan Wrestling Dontaku show
New Japan changed three championships on the 5/3 Wrestling Dontaku show at its annual early May event.
The main event of the night was the Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii IWGP title match. In Naito’s first title defense, the two went 30:33 of one of the year’s best matches, particularly the end. After the match was a face-to-face confrontation with Naito and Kazuchika Okada, who are expected to headline the Dominion show in the next title match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is set to challenge IC champion Kenny Omega in a ladder match, most likely at the Dominion show on 6/19 at Osaka Jo Hall.
The first title change saw Ricochet & Matt Sydal, now known as The Super High Flyers win the IWGP jr. tag titles from Roppongi Vice of Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta. This is notable because it would indicate Ricochet’s situation is not changing any time soon. It is not confirmed that he’s signed with Lucha Underground , which would also mean he would continue to work here as a big show regular. But this title change is an indication he’s given New Japan word he’s not leaving any time soon.
The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega retained the Never trios titles over Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu. The story of the match was a ton of weapons and foreign objects. It was more Americanized, and with the tough crowd, didn’t really get a ton of heat. This led to a post-match confrontation where Tanahashi, doing his complete interview in English, challenged Omega for the title.
The third title change saw 48-year-old Yuji Nagata upset Katsuyori Shibata to win the Never title. This was another match hurt somewhat by the cold crowd, but it was a hard hitting very good match.
New Japan changed three championships on the 5/3 Wrestling Dontaku show at its annual early May event.
The main event of the night was the Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii IWGP title match. In Naito’s first title defense, the two went 30:33 of one of the year’s best matches, particularly the end. After the match was a face-to-face confrontation with Naito and Kazuchika Okada, who are expected to headline the Dominion show in the next title match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is set to challenge IC champion Kenny Omega in a ladder match, most likely at the Dominion show on 6/19 at Osaka Jo Hall.
The first title change saw Ricochet & Matt Sydal, now known as The Super High Flyers win the IWGP jr. tag titles from Roppongi Vice of Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta. This is notable because it would indicate Ricochet’s situation is not changing any time soon. It is not confirmed that he’s signed with Lucha Underground , which would also mean he would continue to work here as a big show regular. But this title change is an indication he’s given New Japan word he’s not leaving any time soon.
The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega retained the Never trios titles over Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu. The story of the match was a ton of weapons and foreign objects. It was more Americanized, and with the tough crowd, didn’t really get a ton of heat. This led to a post-match confrontation where Tanahashi, doing his complete interview in English, challenged Omega for the title.
The third title change saw 48-year-old Yuji Nagata upset Katsuyori Shibata to win the Never title. This was another match hurt somewhat by the cold crowd, but it was a hard hitting very good match.
2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament
On paper, this does look like a stronger tournament than in many years, but in some ways it is disappointing since neither Dragon Lee nor Kamaitachi, who tore the house down in their Fantastica Mania match, are in the tournament.
The tournament starts 5/21 at Korakuen Hall, with New Japan World shows also on 5/27 and 6/3 at Korakuen Hall. The last two nights are 6/6 and 6/7 at the Sun Plaza Arena in Sendai.
The A block has IWGP champion Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo and Matt Jackson. The B block has Liger, Tiger Mask, Bobby Fish, Trent Baretta, Nick Jackson, Ricochet, Volador Jr. and Will Ospreay. The tournament winner will face Kushida for the title most likely on the Dominion show, which is the company’s No. 3 card of the year.
On paper, this does look like a stronger tournament than in many years, but in some ways it is disappointing since neither Dragon Lee nor Kamaitachi, who tore the house down in their Fantastica Mania match, are in the tournament.
The tournament starts 5/21 at Korakuen Hall, with New Japan World shows also on 5/27 and 6/3 at Korakuen Hall. The last two nights are 6/6 and 6/7 at the Sun Plaza Arena in Sendai.
The A block has IWGP champion Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo and Matt Jackson. The B block has Liger, Tiger Mask, Bobby Fish, Trent Baretta, Nick Jackson, Ricochet, Volador Jr. and Will Ospreay. The tournament winner will face Kushida for the title most likely on the Dominion show, which is the company’s No. 3 card of the year.
TNA Update
TNA is attempting to restructure the contracts of all or at least most of the key talent to where they are in control of all their bookings. This is likely a move to have everyone under exclusive deals that they control the schedule of as part of a sale. A lot of the top guys who worked heavy indie schedules and were names coming in have deals where they are under contract to TNA but they book themselves on their off days. The newer contracts with the guys most recently signed put TNA in charge of booking their non-TNA dates. The new deals are for significant money, as they would have to be when you figure that the Hardys, just as an example, can do several thousand dollars a night on a good night in indies between their pay and photo and merchandise money and their trans and hotels are taken care of. Others with names also do well with outside bookings and don’t want to give it up so it’s not an easy decision. The speculation is they want everyone exclusive so they can use that as asset value in the sale.
Whether that means if/when the big deal is consummated that the promotion will be looking at doing a regular house show schedule would make sense, but that’s all speculation and details of negotiations are being kept very quiet. Obviously the people involved have been asking questions as to why the deals are attempting to be restructured and not really gotten answers nor is anyone being told what the sale situation is. Although at least one person was told that when all was said and done when it came to the acquiring of a new investor/owner, the claim was that Dixie Carter and John Gaburick would still be in control.
They are also back to offering some fairly significant money deals to those not with the company, similar to what they were doing a few months back.
TNA is attempting to restructure the contracts of all or at least most of the key talent to where they are in control of all their bookings. This is likely a move to have everyone under exclusive deals that they control the schedule of as part of a sale. A lot of the top guys who worked heavy indie schedules and were names coming in have deals where they are under contract to TNA but they book themselves on their off days. The newer contracts with the guys most recently signed put TNA in charge of booking their non-TNA dates. The new deals are for significant money, as they would have to be when you figure that the Hardys, just as an example, can do several thousand dollars a night on a good night in indies between their pay and photo and merchandise money and their trans and hotels are taken care of. Others with names also do well with outside bookings and don’t want to give it up so it’s not an easy decision. The speculation is they want everyone exclusive so they can use that as asset value in the sale.
Whether that means if/when the big deal is consummated that the promotion will be looking at doing a regular house show schedule would make sense, but that’s all speculation and details of negotiations are being kept very quiet. Obviously the people involved have been asking questions as to why the deals are attempting to be restructured and not really gotten answers nor is anyone being told what the sale situation is. Although at least one person was told that when all was said and done when it came to the acquiring of a new investor/owner, the claim was that Dixie Carter and John Gaburick would still be in control.
They are also back to offering some fairly significant money deals to those not with the company, similar to what they were doing a few months back.
TNA Stars on Amazing Race?
The reason Ethan Carter III and James Storm were pulled from their bookings over Mania weekend, said to be because the network they were on needed them for an appearance, was actually because they were trying our for “Amazing Race,” the show that Robbie E and Brooke, when they were a couple, were on. Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that TNA pushed the producers of the show to try and book Carter, Storm and Rebel over the past two months although no word that any of them made the cut.
The reason Ethan Carter III and James Storm were pulled from their bookings over Mania weekend, said to be because the network they were on needed them for an appearance, was actually because they were trying our for “Amazing Race,” the show that Robbie E and Brooke, when they were a couple, were on. Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that TNA pushed the producers of the show to try and book Carter, Storm and Rebel over the past two months although no word that any of them made the cut.
Wrestling DVDs
Wrestling DVD Network listed a number of different project ideas for 2017 WWE release. Among the ideas are DVDs for Kane, C.M. Punk, Bruno Sammartino, Bill Goldberg (after the shockingly strong sales of the last Goldberg release and this time bringing Goldberg in for the project which is notable because two years ago the company was so strong in not wanting to do business with him), Lex Luger, Stephanie McMahon, New Day, Alberto Del Rio, Women’s Revolution, a 30-year-look back at WrestleMania III, 25 Top Celebrity Moments, a documentary on the 90s and how WWE survived the worst period in its history and how the low point led to the company’s high point, A list of the top 25 talkers in history, a 30-year history of SummerSlam, a 20th anniversary of 1997, and another History of WWE set, as well as Vince McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff sit down about the Monday Night Wars, a Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven sit down about their feud, and a Taz vs. Sabu sit down about their feud. There is also talk of doing DVDs compiling episodes of current WWE Network original shows.
Wrestling DVD Network listed a number of different project ideas for 2017 WWE release. Among the ideas are DVDs for Kane, C.M. Punk, Bruno Sammartino, Bill Goldberg (after the shockingly strong sales of the last Goldberg release and this time bringing Goldberg in for the project which is notable because two years ago the company was so strong in not wanting to do business with him), Lex Luger, Stephanie McMahon, New Day, Alberto Del Rio, Women’s Revolution, a 30-year-look back at WrestleMania III, 25 Top Celebrity Moments, a documentary on the 90s and how WWE survived the worst period in its history and how the low point led to the company’s high point, A list of the top 25 talkers in history, a 30-year history of SummerSlam, a 20th anniversary of 1997, and another History of WWE set, as well as Vince McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff sit down about the Monday Night Wars, a Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven sit down about their feud, and a Taz vs. Sabu sit down about their feud. There is also talk of doing DVDs compiling episodes of current WWE Network original shows.