Week in Wrestling #5 - August 27, 2015
Wrestling News From the week of
August 21- August 27, 2015
August 21- August 27, 2015
Huge Weekend for WWE
WWE had a blow-away weekend, which included two of the company's best matches of the year, a landmark event in modern wrestling history, a celebrity angle that got WWE its most mainstream coverage for anything in years, the WWE debut and a first of its kind agreement with all-time legend Jushin Liger, the introduction of a new heel monster, and the return of Sting and the Dudleys.
For the first time in U.S. history, a company sold out an NBA-sized arena three straight nights. The WWE announced 15,589 fans for the NXT show on 8/22, then announced 15,702 fans for SummerSlam, and finally 15,597 fans for Raw.
Going forward for WrestleMania, there will almost surely be four major events, with three events at the NBA arena with NXT, Hall of Fame and Raw, all of which are likely to be sellouts, along with the Sunday stadium event.
The secondary market prices were huge, with SummerSlam being one of the biggest events in the history of the Barclays Center when it came to secondary market prices. Publicity from ESPN, the main event and the angle on the show with Jon Stewart led to this garnering more general public interest than any SummerSlam in years, including social media records and Google search levels (more than 1 million) that were very close to WrestleMania levels.
The three shows had different feels. The NXT crowd was excellent. They made every match seem good, even though really the undercard was average. The final two matches were great, but it was an easy to watch show with good finishes.
SummerSlam was a strong mega-event, garnering a lot of casual interest with Jon Stewart, and a huge main event. Going four hours meant nobody had to rush, and no match felt like it was unnecessarily rushed. But it did drag a little late, as did Raw. Interestingly, the NXT show, which as a live event was about three-and-a-half hours, didn't feel like it dragged late at all.
WWE had a blow-away weekend, which included two of the company's best matches of the year, a landmark event in modern wrestling history, a celebrity angle that got WWE its most mainstream coverage for anything in years, the WWE debut and a first of its kind agreement with all-time legend Jushin Liger, the introduction of a new heel monster, and the return of Sting and the Dudleys.
For the first time in U.S. history, a company sold out an NBA-sized arena three straight nights. The WWE announced 15,589 fans for the NXT show on 8/22, then announced 15,702 fans for SummerSlam, and finally 15,597 fans for Raw.
Going forward for WrestleMania, there will almost surely be four major events, with three events at the NBA arena with NXT, Hall of Fame and Raw, all of which are likely to be sellouts, along with the Sunday stadium event.
The secondary market prices were huge, with SummerSlam being one of the biggest events in the history of the Barclays Center when it came to secondary market prices. Publicity from ESPN, the main event and the angle on the show with Jon Stewart led to this garnering more general public interest than any SummerSlam in years, including social media records and Google search levels (more than 1 million) that were very close to WrestleMania levels.
The three shows had different feels. The NXT crowd was excellent. They made every match seem good, even though really the undercard was average. The final two matches were great, but it was an easy to watch show with good finishes.
SummerSlam was a strong mega-event, garnering a lot of casual interest with Jon Stewart, and a huge main event. Going four hours meant nobody had to rush, and no match felt like it was unnecessarily rushed. But it did drag a little late, as did Raw. Interestingly, the NXT show, which as a live event was about three-and-a-half hours, didn't feel like it dragged late at all.
Jon Stewart helps Seth Rollins become the Man
The Cena vs. Rollins match was on the verge of being one of the better matches in WWE history. Cena certainly did his part, but Rollins put on one of the greatest one man shows in a match you'll see.
But the biggest story revolved around Jon Stewart, the retired host of "The Daily Show," who ended up getting the company tons of mainstream publicity by hitting Cena with a chair shot, which led to his losing to Rollins.
The finish, complete with the far-too-predictable looking pause and swerve, took the match down greatly, and tainted a classic. If it was anyone but a major celebrity that got the company so much mainstream after the fact, doing that finish, it would be a major groaner. But here it was a news item.
On Raw, Stewart gave an explanation that he didn't like Rollins, didn't hate Cena, but was trying to preserve the all-time record of 16 times as champion for Ric Flair, because he felt Cena wasn't as good as Flair. This led to a segment on Raw where he gave his explanation. Flair came out and said that records are meant to be broken and he wanted Cena, a guy he liked and respected, to be the one to do it.
Cena then came out and said that he's fine with what Stewart did because he did was what he thought was the right thing to do and a lot of the fans in the building agree with that. He said he's at peace with not winning the WWE title but he doesn't like that Rollins is both WWE champion and U.S. champion. The segment ended with Cena giving Stewart an Attitude Adjustment.
The Cena vs. Rollins match was on the verge of being one of the better matches in WWE history. Cena certainly did his part, but Rollins put on one of the greatest one man shows in a match you'll see.
But the biggest story revolved around Jon Stewart, the retired host of "The Daily Show," who ended up getting the company tons of mainstream publicity by hitting Cena with a chair shot, which led to his losing to Rollins.
The finish, complete with the far-too-predictable looking pause and swerve, took the match down greatly, and tainted a classic. If it was anyone but a major celebrity that got the company so much mainstream after the fact, doing that finish, it would be a major groaner. But here it was a news item.
On Raw, Stewart gave an explanation that he didn't like Rollins, didn't hate Cena, but was trying to preserve the all-time record of 16 times as champion for Ric Flair, because he felt Cena wasn't as good as Flair. This led to a segment on Raw where he gave his explanation. Flair came out and said that records are meant to be broken and he wanted Cena, a guy he liked and respected, to be the one to do it.
Cena then came out and said that he's fine with what Stewart did because he did was what he thought was the right thing to do and a lot of the fans in the building agree with that. He said he's at peace with not winning the WWE title but he doesn't like that Rollins is both WWE champion and U.S. champion. The segment ended with Cena giving Stewart an Attitude Adjustment.
Sting will Challenge Rollins at Night of Champions
In a big surprise, Sting will be headlining the Night of Champions PPV on 9/20 in Houston, when he challenges Seth Rollins for the WWE title. Sting appeared at the end of Raw, in a box that was supposed to have a Rollins statue, and he bumped around Rollins and held up the title.
After Raw went off the air, on the WWE Network, HHH announced Sting would be getting a title shot. Granted, this idea was not in place in March, but it does make Sting's loss to HHH look even dumber now than it did at the time.
In a big surprise, Sting will be headlining the Night of Champions PPV on 9/20 in Houston, when he challenges Seth Rollins for the WWE title. Sting appeared at the end of Raw, in a box that was supposed to have a Rollins statue, and he bumped around Rollins and held up the title.
After Raw went off the air, on the WWE Network, HHH announced Sting would be getting a title shot. Granted, this idea was not in place in March, but it does make Sting's loss to HHH look even dumber now than it did at the time.
Taker vs Brock ends in Controversy
The top two matches at SummerSlam both had gimmicked finishes. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker was an excellent match with great heat, with both men cheered pretty much equally.
The way the story was supposed to go, and how it went exactly, was that Brock put Taker in the kamura, from the bottom. After a struggle, Undertaker tapped, but the cameras were positioned to miss it and referee Charles Robinson would be on the opposite side and also miss it. The timekeeper rang the bell while Robinson counted to one with Lesnar's shoulders down.
It was portrayed as mass confusion, because Robinson yelled that he never called for the bell and ordered the match to continue. Lesnar was celebrating his apparent win. Undertaker came from behind him and gave him in a low blow and put him in Hell's Gate. Lesnar refused to tap, flipped Undertaker off and then passed out. Undertaker was then ruled the winner.
They went to a replay and it was clear that Undertaker had tapped out from the Kimura. This was Undertaker's best match since the 2013 WrestleMania.
The story behind this is that they had the idea for doing the match, but Vince McMahon felt Undertaker had to win. However, he didn't want to beat Lesnar. So they came up with the finish they did, which was pretty clever. While I think Lesnar winning again and then losing to Undertaker at WrestleMania would have been the way to go, for whatever reason, the decision was that Undertaker was going over and then it was all about figuring out a way not to beat Lesnar while Undertaker won.
On RAW, Heyman said Lesnar was the ripped off conqueror. He said Lesnar was the first man to make Undertaker tap out in 25 years. He was furious that history will claim Undertaker won the match at SummerSlam, saying Lesnar took him to suplex city, locked him in a Kimura and made him tap out. He said tapping out was Undertaker's admission that Lesnar was a better wrestler than he is a better man than he is and a better fighter than he is. The crowd was cheering Heyman, who did one of his better interviews of the year here.
The top two matches at SummerSlam both had gimmicked finishes. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker was an excellent match with great heat, with both men cheered pretty much equally.
The way the story was supposed to go, and how it went exactly, was that Brock put Taker in the kamura, from the bottom. After a struggle, Undertaker tapped, but the cameras were positioned to miss it and referee Charles Robinson would be on the opposite side and also miss it. The timekeeper rang the bell while Robinson counted to one with Lesnar's shoulders down.
It was portrayed as mass confusion, because Robinson yelled that he never called for the bell and ordered the match to continue. Lesnar was celebrating his apparent win. Undertaker came from behind him and gave him in a low blow and put him in Hell's Gate. Lesnar refused to tap, flipped Undertaker off and then passed out. Undertaker was then ruled the winner.
They went to a replay and it was clear that Undertaker had tapped out from the Kimura. This was Undertaker's best match since the 2013 WrestleMania.
The story behind this is that they had the idea for doing the match, but Vince McMahon felt Undertaker had to win. However, he didn't want to beat Lesnar. So they came up with the finish they did, which was pretty clever. While I think Lesnar winning again and then losing to Undertaker at WrestleMania would have been the way to go, for whatever reason, the decision was that Undertaker was going over and then it was all about figuring out a way not to beat Lesnar while Undertaker won.
On RAW, Heyman said Lesnar was the ripped off conqueror. He said Lesnar was the first man to make Undertaker tap out in 25 years. He was furious that history will claim Undertaker won the match at SummerSlam, saying Lesnar took him to suplex city, locked him in a Kimura and made him tap out. He said tapping out was Undertaker's admission that Lesnar was a better wrestler than he is a better man than he is and a better fighter than he is. The crowd was cheering Heyman, who did one of his better interviews of the year here.
The Women star in NXT Takeover
The weekend also included what may have been the best woman's match in WWE history, where Bayley captured the NXT title from Sasha Banks.
Bayley's NXT title win over Sasha Banks tore down the house. They had arguably the best women's match in WWE history to the point an excellent ladder match with Owens vs. Finn Balor, two of the best wrestlers in the world, couldn't match it.
The NXT show was the most noteworthy, because this was the first pro wrestling event in North America that ever generated this kind of revenue with streaming on the Internet as its platform. NXT has no actual television, only the WWE Network.
The weekend also included what may have been the best woman's match in WWE history, where Bayley captured the NXT title from Sasha Banks.
Bayley's NXT title win over Sasha Banks tore down the house. They had arguably the best women's match in WWE history to the point an excellent ladder match with Owens vs. Finn Balor, two of the best wrestlers in the world, couldn't match it.
The NXT show was the most noteworthy, because this was the first pro wrestling event in North America that ever generated this kind of revenue with streaming on the Internet as its platform. NXT has no actual television, only the WWE Network.
Divas Revolution......Fail
At SummerSlam, the women were put right after the show-stealing Cena vs. Rollins match, which was the hardest position on the show. The crowd wasn't very hot, even though everyone worked really hard.
On Raw, for the second week in a row, the crowd crapped on the women. Last week, it was because they were put on late and people wanted to see Lesnar. But this week, it was very clear it was an anti-Divas reaction, with chants of "C.M. Punk," "boring," "JBL," "We are awesome" and did the wave paying no attention to the match. Once, when Paige had a submission on Fox and it was broken up by Brie Bella, the crowd booed, not because it was a heel save, but because they wanted the match to end.
Paige and Brie Bella reacted immediately. Bella wrote, "So proud of Foxy (Alicia Fox, who worked the weekend while being ill), but the Brooklyn crowd can kiss my ass!"
Paige wrote, "You helped us create change and then did your best to disrespect. Nice job!" She later deleted that tweet.
Nikki Bella wrote, "Brooklyn, shame on you for disrespecting women that put their bodies on the line for your entertainment. As for the ones that supported us, thank you. You make it worth working so hard and having this revolution."
It was funny because everything they needed to do to change the feeling about women wrestling on the main roster is what they didn't do. They brought up new wrestlers, had Stephanie McMahon tell everyone that now you are supposed to like this while talking Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams and the U.S. soccer team, put them in contrived factions and put them in long matches that for the most part, weren't very good.
Instead of looking at what worked in UFC and trying to emulate it, or what worked in NXT and trying to recreate it, they did a branded marketing campaign claiming things were different but the only differences were the brand marketing campaign and longer matches. What worked in NXT, and still worked on Saturday night, were matches based on storylines where the women were pushed as athletes competing for championships primarily as opposed to sex objects shaking their asses and doing absolutely contrived verbiage fighting over toy belts that are decided by whose turn it is.
In promoting the women more as athletes including not using the behind-the-times diva terminology, and having the women practice matches for weeks on end to get ready for big shows, the quality of matches and the audience caring about the matches is at a different level. It can't be fully replicated on the main roster. Most of the main-roster women already have the taint of the "Divas division" being something you don't take seriously.
While the main roster women do practice out their matches, given the schedule and lack of a Performance Center near where everyone lives that they are already at daily, it's not as extensive. But there is no reason for the presentation difference. Plus, for change, it can't be mostly the old with just a little new. But the key is that the women have to be as good as, or better than the men. On most NXT shows, the women are in the best or second best match, and positioned that way. On WWE shows, the quality of the matches thus far aren't nearly at the same level.
Rousey is a very unique figure and in a similar business and it's very clear Stephanie McMahon is a big fan of hers, but thus far they've shown no understanding of what got her over. UFC created a superstar (and that's a risk because in UFC you never know if a superstar will deliver) and built around her name value. They didn't brand a division that had been around for nearly two decades and told people it's new without anything appearing to be all that different except three new faces and longer matches.
At SummerSlam, the women were put right after the show-stealing Cena vs. Rollins match, which was the hardest position on the show. The crowd wasn't very hot, even though everyone worked really hard.
On Raw, for the second week in a row, the crowd crapped on the women. Last week, it was because they were put on late and people wanted to see Lesnar. But this week, it was very clear it was an anti-Divas reaction, with chants of "C.M. Punk," "boring," "JBL," "We are awesome" and did the wave paying no attention to the match. Once, when Paige had a submission on Fox and it was broken up by Brie Bella, the crowd booed, not because it was a heel save, but because they wanted the match to end.
Paige and Brie Bella reacted immediately. Bella wrote, "So proud of Foxy (Alicia Fox, who worked the weekend while being ill), but the Brooklyn crowd can kiss my ass!"
Paige wrote, "You helped us create change and then did your best to disrespect. Nice job!" She later deleted that tweet.
Nikki Bella wrote, "Brooklyn, shame on you for disrespecting women that put their bodies on the line for your entertainment. As for the ones that supported us, thank you. You make it worth working so hard and having this revolution."
It was funny because everything they needed to do to change the feeling about women wrestling on the main roster is what they didn't do. They brought up new wrestlers, had Stephanie McMahon tell everyone that now you are supposed to like this while talking Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams and the U.S. soccer team, put them in contrived factions and put them in long matches that for the most part, weren't very good.
Instead of looking at what worked in UFC and trying to emulate it, or what worked in NXT and trying to recreate it, they did a branded marketing campaign claiming things were different but the only differences were the brand marketing campaign and longer matches. What worked in NXT, and still worked on Saturday night, were matches based on storylines where the women were pushed as athletes competing for championships primarily as opposed to sex objects shaking their asses and doing absolutely contrived verbiage fighting over toy belts that are decided by whose turn it is.
In promoting the women more as athletes including not using the behind-the-times diva terminology, and having the women practice matches for weeks on end to get ready for big shows, the quality of matches and the audience caring about the matches is at a different level. It can't be fully replicated on the main roster. Most of the main-roster women already have the taint of the "Divas division" being something you don't take seriously.
While the main roster women do practice out their matches, given the schedule and lack of a Performance Center near where everyone lives that they are already at daily, it's not as extensive. But there is no reason for the presentation difference. Plus, for change, it can't be mostly the old with just a little new. But the key is that the women have to be as good as, or better than the men. On most NXT shows, the women are in the best or second best match, and positioned that way. On WWE shows, the quality of the matches thus far aren't nearly at the same level.
Rousey is a very unique figure and in a similar business and it's very clear Stephanie McMahon is a big fan of hers, but thus far they've shown no understanding of what got her over. UFC created a superstar (and that's a risk because in UFC you never know if a superstar will deliver) and built around her name value. They didn't brand a division that had been around for nearly two decades and told people it's new without anything appearing to be all that different except three new faces and longer matches.
Cena Helps his girlfriend
Regarding the story that came out this week about Charlotte going to get the Divas title right away but Cena put a nix to it, I can't say for sure it isn't true, but it sounds like a couple of stories being conflated. There was a time apparently early in Nikki Bella's title reign where there was a movement for her to drop the title and Cena stepped in.
There was also a point that Paige was going to get the title fairly recently as a climax to the "change" angle, well before SummerSlam, but that also didn't happen because those kind of plans change weekly anyway. Charlotte getting the title shortly after being brought in was all something talked about as well.
When they started pushing Nikki as chasing A.J. Lee's record, at that point the idea was that she wasn't going to get the record even though that line would have teased that she was. Internally, Nikki is a lock to remain in a top position for as long as her relationship with Cena is solid. Now, who knows, but it does appear she's getting the record, and I'd also expect them to take the title off her to push the Divas revolution idea fairly soon. But Divas plans are never etched in stone.
Regarding the story that came out this week about Charlotte going to get the Divas title right away but Cena put a nix to it, I can't say for sure it isn't true, but it sounds like a couple of stories being conflated. There was a time apparently early in Nikki Bella's title reign where there was a movement for her to drop the title and Cena stepped in.
There was also a point that Paige was going to get the title fairly recently as a climax to the "change" angle, well before SummerSlam, but that also didn't happen because those kind of plans change weekly anyway. Charlotte getting the title shortly after being brought in was all something talked about as well.
When they started pushing Nikki as chasing A.J. Lee's record, at that point the idea was that she wasn't going to get the record even though that line would have teased that she was. Internally, Nikki is a lock to remain in a top position for as long as her relationship with Cena is solid. Now, who knows, but it does appear she's getting the record, and I'd also expect them to take the title off her to push the Divas revolution idea fairly soon. But Divas plans are never etched in stone.
The New Wyatt Family
The original idea for Sting was to be the mystery partner of Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, against Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper & Erick Rowan as the reformed Wyatt family.
When Rowan suffered a torn biceps at the end of June, that had to be changed. The original idea was Braun Stowman (whose name may be changed to Braun Strowman) as the third Wyatt family member, but the decision was apparently made to hold that off until after the show.
Stowman is Adam Scherr, 31, a 6-foot-8, 375 pound former strongest man in the world competitor. He was signed by WWE in 2013 and started wrestling on non-TV events for NXT this past December and had done one dark match in WWE, a squash match at the 6/2 Smackdown tapings in Houston.
Overall, he's done very few matches, probably fewer than ten total. He had appeared on both NXT TV and Raw many times as the giant member of the Rose Buds. He debuted, interfering in a Reigns & Ambrose vs. Wyatt & Harper match. He was put over like a monster, similar to introductions of people like Kane, Undertaker, Giant Gonzalez and Great Khali.
It's a risk bringing a guy up who is so green when you have TV audiences that will crap on a guy for not being good. At first, as long as they put him over as being untouchable, it'll probably be okay. But if they ask him to work matches, there is a risk, and noted by the long runs of similar "can't miss" projects of recent years like Mason Ryan and Jackson Andrews. It's not known if he'll just be in their corner, or who Reigns & Ambrose would get as a partner if they do six-man matches.
The original idea for Sting was to be the mystery partner of Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, against Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper & Erick Rowan as the reformed Wyatt family.
When Rowan suffered a torn biceps at the end of June, that had to be changed. The original idea was Braun Stowman (whose name may be changed to Braun Strowman) as the third Wyatt family member, but the decision was apparently made to hold that off until after the show.
Stowman is Adam Scherr, 31, a 6-foot-8, 375 pound former strongest man in the world competitor. He was signed by WWE in 2013 and started wrestling on non-TV events for NXT this past December and had done one dark match in WWE, a squash match at the 6/2 Smackdown tapings in Houston.
Overall, he's done very few matches, probably fewer than ten total. He had appeared on both NXT TV and Raw many times as the giant member of the Rose Buds. He debuted, interfering in a Reigns & Ambrose vs. Wyatt & Harper match. He was put over like a monster, similar to introductions of people like Kane, Undertaker, Giant Gonzalez and Great Khali.
It's a risk bringing a guy up who is so green when you have TV audiences that will crap on a guy for not being good. At first, as long as they put him over as being untouchable, it'll probably be okay. But if they ask him to work matches, there is a risk, and noted by the long runs of similar "can't miss" projects of recent years like Mason Ryan and Jackson Andrews. It's not known if he'll just be in their corner, or who Reigns & Ambrose would get as a partner if they do six-man matches.
Next year's WrestleMania in Minneapolis
Regarding next year's WrestleMania and the Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium announcement, it's pretty much a lock they get it either this year or next year. The rumor has been going around about Minneapolis, with the announcement being made in December when they return for a Raw. Orlando wanted it bad and the feeling is if Orlando doesn't get it in 2017, they'll get it in 2018.
Minneapolis has the new stadium. If they did WrestleMania next year, it would be before the Super Bowl (so they can claim an attendance figure the Super Bowl can't beat). In addition, there has never been a WrestleMania anywhere near Minneapolis, while Orlando got the show in 2008 and they had to paper Orlando heavily, although the show was considered a big success.
Regarding next year's WrestleMania and the Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium announcement, it's pretty much a lock they get it either this year or next year. The rumor has been going around about Minneapolis, with the announcement being made in December when they return for a Raw. Orlando wanted it bad and the feeling is if Orlando doesn't get it in 2017, they'll get it in 2018.
Minneapolis has the new stadium. If they did WrestleMania next year, it would be before the Super Bowl (so they can claim an attendance figure the Super Bowl can't beat). In addition, there has never been a WrestleMania anywhere near Minneapolis, while Orlando got the show in 2008 and they had to paper Orlando heavily, although the show was considered a big success.
MSG Special on the Network
The WWE announced another live network special on 10/3, a Saturday night house show from Madison Square Garden. Based on the numbers of the Tokyo show, the company is now really behind the idea that Lesnar is their biggest attraction. His new deal calls for a few house shows, and they'll probably all be network specials.
The idea is that this will be Lesnar's first match at the Garden in more than a decade. Right now it is not decided who he will face. The decision is likely to be made this week, but any reports that it's Dallas are incorrect. The currently planned lineup is Rollins vs. Cena for the WWE title, Orton vs. Sheamus, Ziggler vs. Rusev, Cesaro vs. Owens plus Jericho will be on the card.
The WWE announced another live network special on 10/3, a Saturday night house show from Madison Square Garden. Based on the numbers of the Tokyo show, the company is now really behind the idea that Lesnar is their biggest attraction. His new deal calls for a few house shows, and they'll probably all be network specials.
The idea is that this will be Lesnar's first match at the Garden in more than a decade. Right now it is not decided who he will face. The decision is likely to be made this week, but any reports that it's Dallas are incorrect. The currently planned lineup is Rollins vs. Cena for the WWE title, Orton vs. Sheamus, Ziggler vs. Rusev, Cesaro vs. Owens plus Jericho will be on the card.
Tough Enough Finals
Josh and Sara Lee ended up as the winners, with Josh getting 70% of the vote and Sara Lee getting 64%. The final show had both women do a short match with Fox, and both guys do a short match with Cesaro.
From one person very close to the situation who is very familiar with all the Tough Enough contestants, his belief is that Josh and Amanda have a good shot at making it in pro wrestling. Regarding ZZ, he felt he had a shot if he really wanted it, but he hasn't impressed anyone with wanting it enough.
There will be some resentment of Josh's contract but he's a really big guy who is a legit athlete, and comes across as a hard worker, plus the company has loved him from the start and he was Vince McMahon's guy.
ZZ's body looked terrible and he needed a totally different type of costuming for that not to kill him. Even though he is athletic enough to play small-time college football, it looks bad that after nearly three months he didn't get into better cosmetic shape, and he looked totally out of place. If he had worked in a T-shirt, because he's a big guy, he could have gotten away with it a lot more.
Josh and Sara Lee ended up as the winners, with Josh getting 70% of the vote and Sara Lee getting 64%. The final show had both women do a short match with Fox, and both guys do a short match with Cesaro.
From one person very close to the situation who is very familiar with all the Tough Enough contestants, his belief is that Josh and Amanda have a good shot at making it in pro wrestling. Regarding ZZ, he felt he had a shot if he really wanted it, but he hasn't impressed anyone with wanting it enough.
There will be some resentment of Josh's contract but he's a really big guy who is a legit athlete, and comes across as a hard worker, plus the company has loved him from the start and he was Vince McMahon's guy.
ZZ's body looked terrible and he needed a totally different type of costuming for that not to kill him. Even though he is athletic enough to play small-time college football, it looks bad that after nearly three months he didn't get into better cosmetic shape, and he looked totally out of place. If he had worked in a T-shirt, because he's a big guy, he could have gotten away with it a lot more.
Jericho on Hogan
Huffington Post: "(I'm) surprised, absolutely, because Hulk's not like that. But we all say things in stupid times, in stupid ways. I'm sure you have. I'm sure I have. Whether it be those type of comments or any type of comment that's not correct, that's not right. But I think it's one of those deals where, as a friend, you've got to stick by your friends in good times and bad times. And I don't condone it, and I'm surprised, but a friend is a friend. I do feel bad for him. I feel bad for everyone involved. I feel bad for people of color or any type of race that are fans of his. You do feel a little bit let down. But I know this. Nobody feels more let down than he does. I think he feels really embarrassed and really bad about it."
Huffington Post: "(I'm) surprised, absolutely, because Hulk's not like that. But we all say things in stupid times, in stupid ways. I'm sure you have. I'm sure I have. Whether it be those type of comments or any type of comment that's not correct, that's not right. But I think it's one of those deals where, as a friend, you've got to stick by your friends in good times and bad times. And I don't condone it, and I'm surprised, but a friend is a friend. I do feel bad for him. I feel bad for everyone involved. I feel bad for people of color or any type of race that are fans of his. You do feel a little bit let down. But I know this. Nobody feels more let down than he does. I think he feels really embarrassed and really bad about it."
New Japan Pro Wrestling News
Kazuchika Okada will be defending the IWGP title next against A.J. Styles on 10/12 in the main event of the King of Pro Wrestling show at Sumo Hall. King of Pro Wrestling will be the company's biggest event between now and the Tokyo Dome. Okada had beaten Styles on 7/5 in Osaka to win the title in a fantastic match, and Styles had pinned Okada in a six-man tag on the 8/16 Sumo Hall show clean with the Styles clash which looked to set up a fall title defense.
Tanahashi noted that his neck problems worsened from the lawn dart spot in the match with Kota Ibushi. That spot looked like a terrible idea from the start.
Tanahashi did a podcast after the G-1 tournament. Having read an English translation of his book, Tanahashi is one of the more insightful wrestlers around in the sense he can convey in writing a depth of understanding of wrestling psychology at a higher level than almost anyone.
In a translation of his podcast by Chris Charlton, he said that when he was asked about the decision to go with Shinsuke Nakamura over Kazuchika Okada in the G-1 finals, he said that it was the 25th G-1, and as a milestone event, it had to be Nakamura.
He also said he doesn't believe in post-match handshakes and hugs. "A post match handshake often undoes all the work and drama you've done in the match. It comes to nothing." He said when he was in ROH against Fish & O'Reilly, and they offered the handshake as ROH protocol, he thought "What the f*** is this?"
He heavily praised A.J. Styles as a wrestler, but made fun of his haircut, saying he looks like one of the Beatles. He said that anyone can watch Styles and say he's the best wrestler in the world right now and Tanahashi said he wants that label for himself. He made it clear that he right now thinks Styles is better than he is. He said Styles' psychology is better than his move set. He said Styles now gives people a reason to invest in every match even with no storyline going in.
He said Michael Elgin performed much better in Japan than he had seen of him in the U.S. He said that his ROH match with Elgin wasn't that good and when it was over, he was wondering if it was his fault or Elgin's fault.
Ricochet is going to be back as at least a big show regular even though he's not booked on the upcoming tour. I believe he'll be back at the King of Pro Wrestling show, but if not, he is booked for the Tokyo Dome show.
Also coming to New Japan over the next few months will be Mark & Jay Briscoe as a team as well as Jay Lethal.
Kazuchika Okada will be defending the IWGP title next against A.J. Styles on 10/12 in the main event of the King of Pro Wrestling show at Sumo Hall. King of Pro Wrestling will be the company's biggest event between now and the Tokyo Dome. Okada had beaten Styles on 7/5 in Osaka to win the title in a fantastic match, and Styles had pinned Okada in a six-man tag on the 8/16 Sumo Hall show clean with the Styles clash which looked to set up a fall title defense.
Tanahashi noted that his neck problems worsened from the lawn dart spot in the match with Kota Ibushi. That spot looked like a terrible idea from the start.
Tanahashi did a podcast after the G-1 tournament. Having read an English translation of his book, Tanahashi is one of the more insightful wrestlers around in the sense he can convey in writing a depth of understanding of wrestling psychology at a higher level than almost anyone.
In a translation of his podcast by Chris Charlton, he said that when he was asked about the decision to go with Shinsuke Nakamura over Kazuchika Okada in the G-1 finals, he said that it was the 25th G-1, and as a milestone event, it had to be Nakamura.
He also said he doesn't believe in post-match handshakes and hugs. "A post match handshake often undoes all the work and drama you've done in the match. It comes to nothing." He said when he was in ROH against Fish & O'Reilly, and they offered the handshake as ROH protocol, he thought "What the f*** is this?"
He heavily praised A.J. Styles as a wrestler, but made fun of his haircut, saying he looks like one of the Beatles. He said that anyone can watch Styles and say he's the best wrestler in the world right now and Tanahashi said he wants that label for himself. He made it clear that he right now thinks Styles is better than he is. He said Styles' psychology is better than his move set. He said Styles now gives people a reason to invest in every match even with no storyline going in.
He said Michael Elgin performed much better in Japan than he had seen of him in the U.S. He said that his ROH match with Elgin wasn't that good and when it was over, he was wondering if it was his fault or Elgin's fault.
Ricochet is going to be back as at least a big show regular even though he's not booked on the upcoming tour. I believe he'll be back at the King of Pro Wrestling show, but if not, he is booked for the Tokyo Dome show.
Also coming to New Japan over the next few months will be Mark & Jay Briscoe as a team as well as Jay Lethal.
ROH News
ROH and New Japan will be producing two ROH shows in February at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, which they said would include the first ROH title match in Japan. This is the first time there will be a branded ROH show in Japan since 2007.
While not official, there is talk about the ROH title being defended on the Tokyo Dome show, and the match we heard talked about would be Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin. That at this point is only in the talking stages. There have also been discussions about ROH handling the PPV of the Tokyo Dome show in January.
They also announced that the 14th anniversary show would be in Las Vegas, also in February, and New Japan talent would be there.
They also announced an expanded schedule of ROH & New Japan shows in May, featuring more and different names and running more different markets than this past May. They talked about wrestlers who had never worked ROH coming in, like Hirooki Goto this past weekend, as well as new ROH talent working New Japan shows.
Names we've heard that are likely going to Japan include the Briscoes and obviously Matt Sydal is going, as well as War Machine as a tag team is headed to New Japan's sister company, NOAH, I believe for a GHC tag team title shot sometime in the next month or two against Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr., stemming from them winning a non-title match in Brooklyn. It's also clear that ROH is using Takaaki Watanabe better and more frequently.
New Japan has also had an idea about doing one of its PPV shows from the U.S., and if so, with ROH.
The next PPV show, All-Star Extravaganza VII from San Antonio, will be on 9/18.
The top matches are Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the ROH title and Lethal vs. Bobby Fish for the TV title, since Lethal has both belts, plus Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian defend the tag titles against both The Young Bucks and Matt Taven & Michael Bennett, Cedric Alexander vs. Moose no DQ, Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young and if Young wins, he gets possession of Castle's boys, plus the Briscoes against a mystery team.
ROH and New Japan will be producing two ROH shows in February at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, which they said would include the first ROH title match in Japan. This is the first time there will be a branded ROH show in Japan since 2007.
While not official, there is talk about the ROH title being defended on the Tokyo Dome show, and the match we heard talked about would be Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin. That at this point is only in the talking stages. There have also been discussions about ROH handling the PPV of the Tokyo Dome show in January.
They also announced that the 14th anniversary show would be in Las Vegas, also in February, and New Japan talent would be there.
They also announced an expanded schedule of ROH & New Japan shows in May, featuring more and different names and running more different markets than this past May. They talked about wrestlers who had never worked ROH coming in, like Hirooki Goto this past weekend, as well as new ROH talent working New Japan shows.
Names we've heard that are likely going to Japan include the Briscoes and obviously Matt Sydal is going, as well as War Machine as a tag team is headed to New Japan's sister company, NOAH, I believe for a GHC tag team title shot sometime in the next month or two against Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr., stemming from them winning a non-title match in Brooklyn. It's also clear that ROH is using Takaaki Watanabe better and more frequently.
New Japan has also had an idea about doing one of its PPV shows from the U.S., and if so, with ROH.
The next PPV show, All-Star Extravaganza VII from San Antonio, will be on 9/18.
The top matches are Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the ROH title and Lethal vs. Bobby Fish for the TV title, since Lethal has both belts, plus Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian defend the tag titles against both The Young Bucks and Matt Taven & Michael Bennett, Cedric Alexander vs. Moose no DQ, Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young and if Young wins, he gets possession of Castle's boys, plus the Briscoes against a mystery team.
TNA News
There's a lot of uncertainty because they still haven't announced any new TV tapings with the current set of tapings running through the end of September, which at this point is just over a month away. Plus, nobody has made any kind of announcement over whether they're staying on Destination America or not, and most figured the uncertainty if nothing else would be over by the end of August.
There's a lot of uncertainty because they still haven't announced any new TV tapings with the current set of tapings running through the end of September, which at this point is just over a month away. Plus, nobody has made any kind of announcement over whether they're staying on Destination America or not, and most figured the uncertainty if nothing else would be over by the end of August.
Thank you for Reading
And that's the news for the week. Be sure to check Causioncreations.com front page, everyday, for TV reviews, PPV previews, breaking news and commentary articles.
And that's the news for the week. Be sure to check Causioncreations.com front page, everyday, for TV reviews, PPV previews, breaking news and commentary articles.