2015 Pro Wrestling Thread

Do you think Dwayne really cares that his rates are going to go up $100 a month with his wealth? If anything, he can get on the phone with them and tell them to take their rate hike, turn it sideways ...

 

Maybe the NXT Divas vs the Total Divas is a way to play out the NXT/Main roster feud we're all afraid of Vince screwing up and making Nexus 2.0 without it all going down the crapper because Vince doesn't like women's wrestling.

My instinct, though, is that Sasha should stay heel so Paige and Charlotte have someone to work with. I don't know though, I'm probably not giving Fox and Naomi enough credit because if paired against the NXT girls they could probably put on a good show.

A tag match makes some sense, since it seems like they're bent on keeping the belt on Nikki long enough to erase AJ from the record book.

 

"It doesn't MATTER what my rate is!!!!"

 

Cody Rhodes posted online the eulogy he gave for his dad today.

Cody Rhodes' eulogy for his father, Dusty Rhodes - Cageside Seats

Didn't hear it, but judging from the words on the page, young Mr. Runnels cut a hell of a promo.

 

Going to an NXT show on Saturday and already got my ticket for the next one coming in July. I'll let you know how Saturday goes.

 

I avoid NXT spoilers, I get that they have to tape the way they tape, but did I read correctly that they taped a bunch of July shows tonight? As in stuff that happens after their Japan special? Seems crazy, like if there's a title change and they had to work that into tapings 3 weeks ahead of time......woof.

 

Observer from June 22:

- Dusty Rhodes, 69, is believed to have died from kidney failure; he was dehydrated, which led his kidneys to shutdown. It’s believed he’s been sick for a couple years now, but he didn’t want people to know, and instead he attributed his weight loss to a change in diet. There is a long obit of him in The Observer – about 23 pages, and it’s billed as only part one of two.

- Sheamus winning Money in the Bank was the original plan last year, but they changed things up because of the negative reaction to Batista, and Bryan’s injury. They knew Lesnar was going to end up with the belt, so the decision was made to have Cena be the one to drop it vs. Lesnar.

- Judging by movement on betting markets, WWE did some last minute changes on the finishes for MitB. Notably, Prime Time Players went from underdogs to 17-to-1 favorites, and Sheamus went from an underdog to a 3-to-1 favorite. R-Truth remained a heavy underdog even though he won, suggesting the finish either didn’t leak or nobody cared enough to bet on it.

- Global Force Wrestling, Jarrett’s promotion, finally “opened” with some local shows, but the attendance numbers were disappointing. They drew 375 and 500 fans. He’s using the six-sided ring from TNA. The talent for the show was mostly lower-level indie guys than ROH, Chris Masters and Jim Cornette.

- Paragon Pro Wrestling debuts on Pop TV, formerly the TV Guide Channel, on July 4, 6 a.m. EST. It’s a time buy, not regular programming. The top stars are Gangrel, Jessy Sorenson and Wes Brisco.

- Impact’s ratings are up slightly, to 330,000 for the 9 p.m. airing and 74,000 for the midnight repeat. Ring of Honor, which has no commercial spots on Destination America, has drawn 161,000 and 163,000 in their first two weeks at 8 p.m., with 111,000 and 138,000 for the repeats at 11 p.m. (after Impact). Lucha Underground is still doing about 50,000 per week, with syndicated re-runs getting them around 250,000 total.

- Bob Windham, a.k.a. Blackjack Mulligan, 72, suffered a heart attack on June 16. He’s in critical condition. He had the heart attack while he was preparing for brain surgery later this week.

- Austin Matelson, known as Judas Devlin in WWE development, is a member of the Big Brother house this year. He’s one of the developmental wrestlers who publically complained about Bill DeMott and led to his ouster as head trainer.

- The U.S. national team trials for freestyle wrestling were last weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. WWE had Gerald Brisco there scouting.

- WWE is also very interested in Jessamyn Duke, a former model and current MMA fighter, who’s part of Ronda Rousey’s “Four Horsewomen” group. She’s lost her last two fights, and usually, UFC fighters who lose three in a row get cut. WWE has also pushed a “Four Horsewomen” group of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks.

- At the latest WWE tryout camp, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste were impressive; they’re Australian, but wrestle regularly in Japan. Drew Gulak was seen as the star of the camp, and Idris Jackson was also good. Dustin and Derek Mehl, twin brothers from California, did poorly the first day and no-showed the second day, which got them heat with the office and indie wrestlers.

- TNA made a strong push to sign Mysterio, promising him that he could work wherever he wanted on his off days.

- Punk’s first MMA fight will probably be in early 2016. He’s been training this whole year, and he’s at 190, so he’ll probably be a welterweight.

- Hogan is going to trial against Gawker for publishing his sex tape, which he says was done without his knowledge (the filming and the publication). He’s asking for $100 million in damages. If he wins, it would cripple Gawker. The trial is in Florida, Hogan’s backyard.

- NXT will probably use more Samoa Joe and Rhyno types for 2016, when it’ll be touring. The thought is that by then, guys like Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami will be on the main roster, so they’ll need more experienced hands on NXT. There is also a chance that some main roster guys will be moved down.

- There was a photo circulating online of Chyna at WWE headquarters, but it was released by her and a documentary team following her, not WWE, which has no interest in doing anything with her. The past week on Opie and Anthony, she claimed X-Pac (Sean Waltman) raped her and did the sex tape without her knowledge, which caused him to call in, denying it and noting that they both signed the release for the tape. So, she’s still kind of a mess.

- Blue Pants was on the June 10 NXT show. Interestingly, even though she gets a great reaction from the crowd, she’s not under a WWE contract at all. She’s brought in on a per-show appearance. She’s probably only a niche / comedy act talent, but still, odd that WWE hasn’t signed her.

Tough Enough background notes

- In total, seven guys and six women, and they’re living at the Performance Center in Florida in army-style barracks. The only amenity will be a hot tub, since some sexy romance will be good for TV.

- Alexander Frekey, 28, is a competitive bodybuilder, model and actor. He had minor appearances in The Blacklist and John Wick.

- Amanda Soccomanno, a.k.a. Mandy Sacs, 25, a 2004 pro world bikini champion.

- Darla Berenato, the host of the UFC Afterbuzz show, which is run by Maria Menounos. Berenato has a 2-1 record as an MMA fighter, and her being on the show is seen as a favor from WWE to Menounous.

- Dianna Dahlgren, who’s already been training with WWE. She won several bikini competitions from 2009 to 2012.

- Gabi Marina Ramos Castrovici, 29, fitness and bikini model. She originally posted on Twitter that she hadn’t made the show, but after WWE couldn’t get commitments from other people, they changed their mind and included her.

- Giorgia Piscina, 21, an Australian bikini and fitness model.

- Hank Avery Jr., a.k.a. the Macon Hammer, 23. A backup defensive end on the Mercer College football team last year.

- Joshua Bredl, 24, a 6’8”, 275 defensive end and tight end at Colorado State-Pueblo. He recently had a tryout with the Denver Broncos, but isn’t a serious NFL prospect or anything.

- Mada Abdel Hamid, 27, a 6’6” bodybuilder and personal trainer originally from New Zealand. He played pro basketball in Australia, Egypt and New Zealand.

- Patrick Clark Jr., 19, the lone indy wrestler signed for the show.

- Sara Lee, 23, a weightlifter and distance runner who works at a Runners Performance store.

-Tanner “The Hammer” Saraceno, a college wrestler at Sacred Heart and Limestone College. He’s 3-1 as a MMA fighter.

- Zamariah Loupe, 18, an alligator wrestler and offensive lineman at Nicholls State College. He appeared as a teenager on Swamp People.

 

They're doing a tour of minor league ballparks, and there's a show near me tomorrow night. Chris Masters, Sonjay Dutt and Shelton Benjamin were the names I recognized. Scott Steiner is scheduled for a "special appearance," which means he'll probably try to steal my wife when I go for a hot dog.
Looking on Ticketmaster, it looks like they've sold about 400 tickets. Most of those in the sold category are clustered together, though, so I wonder how many of those are giveaways and promotional tickets. I'm curious to go, but would hate to be the only person in the ballpark who actually paid $20 a ticket to get in.

 

I'm guessing that if you just showed up night of, you might be able to score a reduced price or freebie ticket. But, I'm no expert when it comes to that kind of stuff! The Observer also noted that some of the talent was pissed because they had to do autograph sessions as well, and the payment for all of this is after-the-fact checks, as opposed to cash up front, like the usual indie stuff for bigger names.

 

Was the talent pissed about the payment method or having to do the autograph sessions in the first place?
There's VIP tickets available for $40, which includes a meet-and-greet session. That's something TNA used to (and probably still does) when they tour. Don't know if WWE does something similar, but I can't recall seeing anything promoting that the last time they were here.

 

The NXT shows often have meet and greet with a certain number of fans pre-show.

Damn, I'm excited for tonight tho!

 

Both, I think. If I read correctly, they usually get a flat fee for showing up, when they show up, then if they do an autograph session, they get a cut of it after the event.