Here is your news for March 23, 2020.
We're starting today, with news from WrestleMania, as for the first time in the
event’s 36-year history, the show will reportedly be taped in advance.
This story, which was first reported by PW Insider's Mike Johnson and later
confirmed by both Dave Meltzer and POST Wrestling's John Pollock, is that the
show will be filmed this week.
According to the report, last Saturday, the next two SmackDowns were taped,
whilst this Wednesday's edition of NXT has also taken place and was taped on Sunday.
Tonight, the next two episodes of Monday Night RAW will be filmed, and on
Tuesday and Wednesday, WrestleMania 36 will be filmed, before being aired on
April 4th and 5th.
Given how unpredictable the world is right now, it certainly makes sense for WWE
to tape their biggest show of the year in advance, as we just don't know whether
even small gatherings, such as the small crew involved with WrestleMania, could
be outlawed in the near future.
After WrestleMania airs in early April, the future remains unclear of what will
happen next for WWE, and with NXT UK TakeOver Dublin and Money in the Bank
the next events for the company, WrestleMania may not be the only Pay Per View
to happen without a crowd.
One man who won't be at WrestleMania this year is CM Punk, as though many
fans are still hoping the former World Heavyweight Champion returns to the ring,
that may not happen after all.
Recently, Punk made a comment that WWE begged him to work a match at
WrestleMania this year, but it turns out that no such offer took place.
In fact, according to Ring side News, when Punk's name did come up during
booking the Showcase of the Immortals, Vince Mc Mahon immediately shot it
down, saying Punk "is not to be trusted, and has serious issues."
The fact that Punk would make up stories that the WWE was begging him to
return for WrestleMania only further proves Vince's claims, and whilst the Straight
Edge Superstar is enjoying his time on WWE Backstage, don't expect to see the
Best in the World back in the ring, any time soon.
From one WWE Backstage host to another now, as Paige has remained an active
member of the WWE since her 2016 retirement, and last week, was supposed to
confront SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley.
After the segment was supposed to happen on the March 13th edition of
smackdown, it was moved to a week later, and whilst Paige did appear to
announce Bayley's title match at WrestleMania, she did so via satellite.
During the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer commented on Paige
not appearing live, saying:
Paige made announcement by Skype because she didn’t come and I don’t
know if she could have, well I guess she could have. She was not one of those
willing to come. There have been other people not willing to come and WWE has
been — both companies have been really good about it. It’s like ‘You’re not willing
to come, fine, no problem. ’ So they did the tape thing.”
Paige is currently in self- isolation in her home in California, and its good to see
that WWE are being so flexible with their stars, during this unprecedented period.
Now, the 24/7 Championship has been in WWE for just under a year, and whilst
fans didn't like the title at first, it has gone on to become one of the most popular
aspects of the company.
This week Riddick Moss' record-setting reign Champion ended, as the WWE
reported the title change on their official Twitter account.
In a video, Moss can seen jogging with the title, but when a referee appeared in
a car, Moss quickly figured out what was coming.
Sure enough, R-Truth emerged from the boot to pin Moss and regain the title,
before driving off in the ref's car, without the official.
The irony here is that had Moss listened to the ***'s advice to leave the house
only when necessary, then he'd probably still be the 24/7 Champion right now,
and we have no doubt that the former champion will be looking to get his title
back, as soon as possible.
We're looking again at WrestleMania, as though the showcase of the Immortals is
usually the finale of the company's biggest feuds, this year could mark the start of
another big feud on the SmackDown brand.
On last week's show, it was announced that Bayley will defend her title against
Naomi, Dana Brooke, Tamina Snuka, Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks, though the
match was originally planned to be the Boss versus her best friend.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer spoke about how this match could
lead to a new feud, as he said:
"The gimmick is that Bayley is all mad about a six-way. But Sasha, who is supposed
to be Bayley’s best friend, was mad until her name was announced in the match."
They kind of got it pushed with ‘we’ll do the six-way' which will be the start [of the
feud] and then we’ll do the singles match when it’s not so rushed.”
If the plan is for Banks and Bayley to face off at some point down the road, then
it's likely one of them will be turning face after Wrestle Mania, though we don't
know who.
Given that Bayley only turned heel last year, it's unlikely that the company would
be so eager to turn her back to being face, so fans can expect to see a face Sasha,
possibly with the Smack Down Women's Champion ship, after WrestleMania.
We're going back in time now, as in the late 2000s, one star who seemed destined
for greatness for Mr Kennedy.
Not only did he beat five former World Champions in his rookie year, but the
Greenbay loudmouth also won the Money in the Bank ladder match at
WrestleMania 23, guaranteeing him a world title match down the line.
Unfortunately for Ken, this World Championship reign never took place, as on the
May 7th, 2007 edition of RAW, Kennedy lost the coveted briefcase to Edge, who
cashed in on The Under taker mere days later.
Speaking on the latest edition of Grillin' JR, WWE Hall of Famer and AEW
Commentator Jim Ross said that Kennedy was meant to win the title from the
Deadman, describing it as "the biggest thing in his career".
Ross went on to explain what happened though, saying:
"If championships become too frequent and they change too often, they start
losing credibility. Protecting the championship, and the WWE title, has always
been a priority for WWE, it’s a priority for AEW. Your main title has to be embraced
and protected and that’s what Vince was trying to do here with that decision."
Though JR is right in saying that titles should not change too often, it still doesn't
explain why the title still changed hands when it was meant to, but with Edge
instead of Kennedy.
Ultimately, fans never got to see Kennedy win the big one in WWE, as after a
series of injuries, and hurting Randy Orton in 2009, Kennedy released from his
contract, and would join TNA 2010, where he would become a two-time World Champion.
One person who knows all about not becoming WWE World Champion is Braun
Strowman, as like Kennedy, the Monster Among Men has seemed destined for a
huge win but has never captured the big one.
Last week, the former Inter continental Champion caused quite a stir online, when
he criticized people who have been financially affected due to being unable to
work during what's going on in the world right now.
When one fan asked him on Twitter what the WWE Super star would do if he was
going without money right now, Strowman says that he isn't getting paid by WWE
right now, as he's not wrestling, and is legally classed as a private contractor.
When asked to clarify if he was being paid anything, the Monster Among Men
assured fans that he wasn't being paid, which is very interesting, as WWE
contracts do include a downside guarantee.
That means that Strowman should still be being paid something during this
unpredictable time, and unless the Monster Among Men has a one of a kind
contracts with the company, it's likely that he's playing fast and loses with the truth.
We can't say for sure what's happening with Strowman's contract, or WWE's pay,
but sometimes it's better to keep your head down and be quiet, rather than dig
yourself into a deeper hole.
We're taking a break from WWE to look at AEW now, as this week's Dynamite will
be much different than what was planned.
Originally, this week's show was supposed to be their Blood and Guts special, but
given that the show won't have a crowd, the company have saved this special for a
more appropriate time.
Now, the show will see Chris Jericho will confront Matt Hardy in what is being
described as the first ever confrontation between the two.
When fans questioned whether this was actually the first time the two had faced
off, Jericho clarified that this I the first promo between the two, and sent a
warning to the Woken One, that he's going to get schooled.
This week's edition of Dynamite will certainly be interesting, and whilst fans won't
see the Blood and Guts match, there's still plenty of reasons to stay tuned in to TNT.
Back to WWE now, and whilst the company has got a lot of use out of its
Performance Center recently, the majority of the building has now been closed down.
In following the advice of the ***, WWE has closed down all training areas within
the Center, and according to sources, the only places still open in the building are
those that are to be used for television shoots and the live shows.
This means that WWE will still be able to film their weekly content, as well as
WrestleMania, but in this truly unpredictable time, who knows how long it'll be
before the company has to close this area as well.
Given how the world is right now, the last thing a WWE Superstar wants to hear
are those two fateful words, 'Future Endeavoured', and this week, Bruce Prichard
spoke about what it means to be released by the biggest wrestling company in the world.
As the Executive Director of smackdown, Prichard sees a lot of what goes on
backstage, and this week, spoke about some stars being allowed to go off the
script. He said:
"“I think it does [exist]. I think there is that opportunity and what I mean by that is
you take the opportunity where you’re out on live television, and everything’s live
now, so go out and get over. Go out and make whatever material, whatever
opportunity that you’re given, make it your own and make it the very best it can
be, and go get over.”
In 2018, Big Cass was fired from the company for going off-script, as he attacked a
little person dressed as Daniel Bryan, more than the Big Boot that was allocated in
the script.
Since then, the seven-foot star has had plenty of ups and downs outside of WWE,
and its clear that Superstar should stick to the script, to avoid a similar fate.
Now, earlier this year, Vince McMahon caused quite a stir when he revealed that
the WWE was looking at selling some Pay Per View streaming rights to other companies.
Since that fateful 2019 Fourth Quarter Earnings report, fans have heard relatively
little about the state of any potential deals, but with what's happening in the
world right now, it's unlikely that any other distributor will be snapping up WWE
programming.
One company that looked possible was ESPN, but according to Dave Meltzer, a
deal to bring WWE Pay Per Views to the ESPN+ service has fallen through. He said:
“I’ve heard that they’re far apart on money. Vince wants a figure and I don’t know
if it’s accurate — they are in negotiations — but, the figure I heard, and again, I
don’t know if it’s accurate and I’m not giving the number, but it was way higher
than the UFC number and I thought, ‘Well, there’s no way that they’re paying
that,’ and maybe it’s like a first number or Vince actually believes that his pay-per-
views are worth more than UFC’s and again, is ESPN gonna jump into a big
financial thing?”
Despite this, ESPN will be airing classic WrestleManias for the next three weeks, so
a potential deal between the two parties may not be dead and buried just yet.
Back to AEW now, as last week's show didn't just see the debut of Matt Hardy, but
Brodie Lee, formerly known as WWE's Luke Harper, also debuted, being revealed
as the Dark Order's Exalted One.
In a tweet, the Dark Order leader ominously posted "Odd that you would welcome
the wolf to a land full of lambs."
Ever since Lee was released from his WWE contract last year, it was common
knowledge that AEW was after him, and it'll certainlyy be interesting to see where
his career goes as the leader of the Dark Order, after years as a member of the
Wyatt family.
Back to WWE now, and we mentioned that NXT UK Take Over Dublin is set to take
place in April, and this has caused a lot of chatter from the company's Irish Superstars.
Whilst speaking to Sportskeeda this week, Sheamus commented on the show,
saying he'd love to take part, but WWE hasn't contacted him about it yet. He said:
"I'd love to go. I'd love a match with Finn, would be great. Walter. Wolfgang. You
know what I'm saying? There's a lot of great talent over there. I'm up for it all but
no-one has approached me at all about it."
As of right now, the show is set to take place on April 26th, from the 3Arena in
Ireland, though of course, this may change given the fact that gatherings of over
50 people should be avoided.
In 2015, Balor and Sheamus had a match in that very venue, and it looks like a
rematch may happen down the line.
We're looking at some serious news now, as nearly 13 years after the Chris Benoit
tragedy, the final actions of the former World Champion continue to haunt the
wrestling world.
After m*****ing his wife Nancy and son Daniel, Benoit k**** himself in June 2007,
and since then, fans have been able to learn more about the talented, but deeply
disturbed superstar.
Later this year, VICE will cover Benoit in the Season 2 Premiere of their 'Dark Side
of the Ring' series, and during the show, Chris Jericho speaks about how intense
the Rabid Wolverine was.
In the show, Jericho recalls a non-televised match between the two, where Benoit
failed to take a spin-kick the right way, and the AEW Star said he later found
Benoit backstage, doing 500 squats as penance for his mistake.
It's this dedication to perfection that made Benoit be regarded as one of the
greatest wrestlers of all time, but his legacy and career have forever been
tarnished by his final actions on this earth.
And finally, today we're ending with some lighter news, as whilst the global
c******** has everyone worried, people are still being able to have some fun.
Recently, Game Changer Wrestling hosted the first ever 'Social Distancing' Match,
poking fun at the *** Guidelines for individuals to keep their distance during this
worrying time.
In the match, Joey Janela and Jimmy Lloyd are able to pull of some big
manouveres despite never coming into contact with each other, as the duo mimed
taking headlock, lockups and even shoulder tackles.
Though it's important that people do try and follow the Social Distancing
guidelines, it's good that these wrestlers were able to have some fun and provide
some much needed entertainment at this very worrying time.