This week's Observer stuff, although it's clearly after the WWE made the "future endeavors" decision, probably on purpose:
- WWE learned of the bad news on Daniel Bryan on June 6 that there was no way he would be ready for June 29, following a check-up. There is currently no ETA on his return. The medical exam revealed that the strength was reduced in his right arm and shoulder, and they're not clear if it's related to the neck injury or if he needs a surgery on that as well.
- TNA is said to be eying some ROH talent now. TNA is still seen as the world's #2 promotion, narrowly edging out New Japan, however, it is seen as on the decline thanks to the poor booking and locker room morale. Also, some talent is reluctant to sign with TNA because the WWE doesn't sign guys from there; it's easier to go from New Japan or ROH to WWE.
As a result, some TNA talent has also reached out to ROH, to ask about their interest when their deals expire. The Carters (owners of TNA) aren't putting a lot of money into the product currently, and most people with expiring contracts don't expect to be re-signed.
The house show attendances in Maryland have been super, duper bad. Crowds of 200, 800 and 225 in venues that hold around 6,000.
- Jim Ross was hospitalized from June 5 to June 7, after complaining of fatigue and dizziness. Tests revealed that he had suffered a minor stroke years ago, and that his longtime use of Ambien to combat insomnia was probably the cause of his current maladies. He also said he fell and hit his head a month ago at his home, and he could have gotten a concussion from that. An episode of his podcast, The Ross Report, came out June 10 or 11, but it was clearly a canned interview, since he didn't acknowledge Seth Rollins' heel turn.
- Ricochet (Trevor Mann) won the New Japan Junior HW tournament, which is considered a huge honor for a foreigner. Only Dynamite Kid, Chris Benoit, Eddy Guerrero and Prince Devitt (WWE development) have done it before. Reports from the show noted that the Japanese crowd switched Rocky IV style to him during the match.
- UFC is obviously not pleased with their testing issues. Silva has no chance of being cleared to fight in Nevada until around February 2015; nine months is seen as the general "punishment" for failing a test or, as he did, skipping out on a random test. Sonnen is probably gone for a similar time frame, possibly longer, unless he's successful at an appeal hearing on June 17.
- Nobuo Shiraishi is out as owner of All Japan, with a combination of Masa Fuchi and Kyohei Wada running the business end. Things aren't great for the promotion; a show on June 15 has only sold 400 tickets.
- The original Mistico / Sin Cara is now named Myzteziz in AAA, because why the fork not?
- Nick Bockwinkel, 79, is in poor health, despite claims to the contrary by people at the Cauliflower Alley celebrations.
- There is a Lucha Libre USA promotion that airs on Hulu and MTV2, but the only guy they have under contract still is RJ Brewer. However, he hasn't been paid regularly, and as a result, he's trying to get out of the contract. They claim to have new money coming in.
- Cena got injured at a house show on June 8; he was poked in the eye by Wyatt and it swelled shut, and the match had to be stopped. However, by Raw the next night, it was OK enough to work, and exams revealed no lasting damage.
- Tamina suffered a knee injury on May 27 and had to get it repaired. She's out until December.
- The WWE is hosting a tryout camp for women this week in Orlando. Most of the recruits are models, not wrestlers.
- Jericho will be in a new digital (online) comedy series by Comedy Central called Team Tiger Awesome. He'll be the wacky police detective who bonds with a guy who plays by the book. No one else has been cast yet.
Booking and other spoilers stuff:
- Cena is going to be in the ladder match, and there is a good chance Kane will be in it as well. It's still believed that there will be a second latter match announced for the PPV, for the briefcase, which would probably be anchored by the Shield vs. Evolution feud.
In contention for the title are probably Orton, Cena, Sheamus (to solidify a heel turn) or Cesaro (to give him a further bump). The latter two are seen more as transition options with more fan support, to hold the belt until DB gets back, while the first two are safer with less upside, obviously. Kane is also in that mix, since the groundwork is already laid for him to feud with DB.
- As of now, there aren't any plans to add a third member to the Shield, or to formally put Rollins in Evolution.
- Vince isn't a huge fan of Rose, Bo Dallas or Paige, which is why their responses have been cooled down recently. Kevin Dunn is a big fan of Alicia Fox, which is why she's still getting pushed harder despite not being the champion.
- Kalisto could be fast tracked to the main roster, given the company's desire for a Latino draw and the poor performance / prelim status of Sin Cara and Los Matadores. They've shifted away from the idea of Tyson Kidd as a masked wrestler.
- Flair passed his physical, and he'll be "debuting" as a manager on TV at some point. They have a lukewarm plan to pair him with The Miz for the June 16 Raw in Cleveland, Miz's hometown, but that's subject to change. Flair could also manage his daughter Charlotte, but that would be down the road probably.
- Re: Mysterio, WWE contracts apparently can be renewed if the talent misses time because of an injury. That's why they were able to just extend him for a year, even though he wasn't crazy about it. They could also use this provision to extend CM Punk, but it's believed they won't, because they would have to pay him a lump sum even though he's not on TV.
Sting and the WWE are still negotiating. There was a rumor he would sign and appear at Raw on June 16, because a production company that works for WWE was looking for a Sting-double for some shots. It's not known if these shots would be for his debut angle, or his DVD. It's still believed that he'll work something out with WWE eventually.
- In TNA, they're airing a MVP vs. Eric Young promo on June 12 for the cage match on June 15, but it's still expected that MVP will need knee surgery, and instead, Lashley will be in the title match.
