Major RAW Segments Cut? – Apparently the folks at RAW were left scrambling last night. Not only was a planned Asuka and Kane segment cut from RAW for whatever reason, but Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman weren’t there as well. The story is that Lesnar was not at the arena, despite being in the city where the Elimination Chamber was the night before (Las Vegas). There is no word yet as to why Lesnar wasn’t there, with some believing it was just to give Roman Reigns the opportunity to cut a promo and make himself look good in comparison, something the WWE has done before. While some believe it could also be Brock Lesnar playing hardball with Vince and the WWE weeks before his contract expires. The rumor that I heard in passing was that Lesnar is open to returning but wants the ability to fight in the UFC at his leisure and not need the WWE’s blessing. Whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess.

The WWE tweeted out that Paul Heyman could not be reached in response to Lesnar’s no-show, but Heyman counted on Twitter.

Asuka’s cut segment was going to feature her picking her title opponent for WrestleMania, but that segment too was cut. That one though may be due to the WWE’s desire to keep the intrigue on Charlotte Flair’s Fastlane match. If Asuka picked her now, everyone would just assume she’d win. No word yet as to why Kane’s return was cut.

Two Ex-WWE Stars Get Major Hosting Gig – The folks at Netflix are trying to tap into the ‘American Ninja Warrior’ market with their own thing; Ultimate Beastmaster. The idea’s the same, run an obstacle course that tests you physically. However, the show airs with different hosts in different regions, where all the competitors are from. Over the last two seasons, Tiki Barber and Terry Crews were hosts for the U.S. (with Tiki set to comeback for season three), while season three will finally introduce the U.K. market. CM Punk will be appearing with Tiki Barber for the U.S. markets, while Wade Barrett will anchor the UK market with his partner (who’s name is unknown to me at the time of this writing).

For those wondering, the US has placed 3rd in each of the last two seasons.

Eric Bischoff Slams IMPACT – The man who failed in two companies wants you to know that he doens’t see anyone worth their salt at the top of IMPACT Wrestling. The man who ruined two top national promotions during his tenure was interviewed and gave a very hacky-interview to a very hacky website. When IMPACT Wrestling was brought up, he went on to slam Scott D’Amore, Don Callis and Ed Nordholm by saying they didn’t have the expertise needed to raise IMPACT’s stature. You know, like the expertise Bischoff had when he lost millions of dollars on one of the most profitable companies of all time, or how he burned through all of the fans goodwill in 2010 by dismissing what had been working so far. Here’s his hacky comments;

At the risk of sounding cynical or derisive, which I don’t mean to be or to do, there’s nobody at Impact Wrestling or Anthem Sports that has the vision, the knowledge, the experience or the ability to see an opportunity that would allow them to create a brand and a product that would be different enough to grow an audience and catch the audience’s imagination while simultaneously, and this is the art within the art, not turning off the existing fan base… The people that are involved in it have never played on a large stage, have never dealt with major networks, have never faced the challenge of appealing to a large audience. None of them have ever really dealt in the business of the wrestling business on a major scale. So it’s impossible for them to have the experience and the knowledge because they’ve never done it, they’ve never been exposed to it.

As derisive and negative as that sounds, what I’m really trying to say is there’s nobody there that has the background and the experience to see that kind of opportunity. So is it likely that it’ll happen? Maybe sometime in the next half-million years, but not anytime in our future.

Quick Hits – NJPW Wold subscribers went up 40% ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 12, while foreign markets went up 80%, and the U.S. specifically went up 60%. CM Punk and Wade Barret twill host. Twola Heads Entertainment of Southern California placed trademarks on ‘Mistico’, ‘Dragon Lee’ and ‘Ocelot’ all known CMLL talents. Expect there to be a lawsuit over this. WWE Network intends on uploading WCW Saturday Night onto their service come April.