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Trouble in NJPW Paradise? WWE Facing Backlash and More! – WrestleCorp News

NJPW Issues Boiling Over? – There are always going to be stories of drama and over exaggerations when you deal with unnamed sources.  People can spin stories anyway they want, simply for fun.  Is that the case in the following story?  Who knows.

Dave Meltzer is reporting though that the vibe has become “weird” in New Japan since the hiring of Harold Meij as President and Michael Craven was hired as the new General Manager.  Meltzer is reporting that wrestlers don’t like Craven, claiming;

Craven, who is believed to be the head of talent relations as well as international expansion, may be the most unpopular guy among the wrestlers with the new regime.  There are people who in the past had never even considered WWE who are thinking about it, and others who were completely committed to staying who are probably still leaning that way, but are considering the WWE option.

Ok, but we can all logically realize that the WWE would only marginalize those guys if they went; they have a pretty stout record of ruining hot stars.  Not only that, they’d kill their fan rapport and be seen as sellouts.  The Elite crew, which is whom the story really centers around, capitalized of the crowing indy scene and used it to write blank checks.  If they were to leave the indy scene, fans would reject them and not welcome them back.  Their identity is of a group of revolutionaries, words the Elite have used to describe themselves on several occasions.  If a guy like Joey Janela went to the WWE, he’d be welcomed back with arms wide open; but when you are leading the counter-culture movement, you don’t get the same leeway.

But that’s not where this ends, in fact it gets even crazier.  Toma Tonga, who is one of the top guys in the promotion and leader of the splinter cell Bullet Club group, the Firing Squad (or OG’s) took to twitter to not only roast Dave Meltzer, but also take some shots at the top guys in New Japan.

There are some who I’ve talked to who believe that Kenny Omega may in fact be giving Dave Meltzer inside information, though that isn’t yet known.

WWE Facing Backlash? – The WWE has already faced massive amounts of backlash from fans and critics for agreeing to a multi-year deal with the Saudi Arabian royal government. Now, with the disappearance and presumed murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the WWE is facing even more pressure to end their relationship with the nation. Khashoggi went missing from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey on October 2nd of this year, and the Turkish government has “shocking” information that collaborates their story of a group of Saudi officials killing Khashoggi while in the consulate.

With mounting pressure internationally for the Saudi government to allow Turkey access to restricted areas in order to perform an investigation, the WWE is now again in the cross-hairs.  Apparently WWE is facing mounting pressure to suspend the shows in Saudi Arabia and cancel their Crown Jewel event in November.  Democratic Senator Chris Murphy is quoted by  ijr.com that;

This is a brazen assault on the freedom of the press and a slap in the face to the United States, if this murder occurred as it seems it did. I’d hope that they would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like (WWE Crown Jewel),

The issue is two fold, as the WWE’s Linda McMahon works for President Donald Trump, and this is seen to be a very ugly situation for them to be walking into.  It’s even made worse by President’s Trump own admission that he wouldn’t be seeking to punish Saudi Arabia in any tangible way if they don’t play ball with investigators.  If the President will willing sell guns and weapons to Saudi Arabia despite this crime, why would the WWE back down either?  For more on Capital Hill’s views on the WWE’s dealings, check out Fightful’s article detailing the situation.

 

IMPACT News – In some interesting news, IMPACT Wrestling will move it’s flag ship show to 10 p.m. EST on Thursdays starting on October 25th.  IMPACT is still Pop’s best rated show, so the idea of being cancelled isn’t really an issue.  The thought I’ve been told is that due to IMPACT’s more mature content, the execs at Pop feel they would be able to cater to their demographic later in the evening when more risque shows are typically shown.

Eddie Edwards spoke to the Wrestling Estate and opened up about the fallout from his botched angle with Sami Callihan where he got hit in the face with a bat and the storyline that came from it, saying;

I’m having a great time doing it,” Edwards said. “It was definitely the freak accident that had it come about, but I’ve always wanted to do some different things in the wrestling world. It’s a lot more character-driven and I get to do a lot more vignettes and promos. Anybody who has followed the story has been able to invest emotionally into it. Everybody can relate to that anger and hatred inside of you that you never want to come out. But at some point, whether someone is messing with your family or whatever, it comes out.

Finally in Austin Aries news, Aries is now taking shots at the X-Division champion Brian Cage over not defending his title at Bound for Glory, something Cage himself laments (Quick Hits).  In talking with Wreslting INC, Aries took shots at Cage, saying;

Obviously, you’d like your titles to be defended at major pay-per-views. I think most fans would agree with that although it doesn’t mean that always has to be the case.  I think it’s funny, if you look at Brian Cage, the guy calls himself “The Machine.” 265 lbs and spends a lot of time in the gym and eating chicken breasts. The guy comes in Impact Wrestling and instead of going after a guy like Moose or Killer Kross, who is he beating up? A bunch of guys half his size? Walking around like he’s a big man.

I was the X-Division champion and competing against guys mostly my size, and I dominated them. Then I stepped up and dominated guys double my size just like him. I’ll be impressed when he gets in there with Moose or Killer Kross and let’s see if he’s doing the things he’s doing now. He’s an impressive athlete but he wants to do some flips and twists and dives. Have fun, don’t get hurt. It’s dangerous.

I think maybe when he had to read what Option C was, he got a couple of sentences in and it was too much for him.  So I don’t even know if he understands what Option C means. He might think it’s some superset he can do to get an extra inch on his bicep or something. Who knows?

Aries says that when he had the X-Division Title he thought it was the most important championship in Impact. He wanted to defend it on a PPV as, in his mind, that match would then become the main event.

Now this guy wants to be in a six-man match with some Luchadors. That’s cool.

Quick Hits – Khabib Nurmagomedov is claiming the WWE has reached out to him and offered him a deal if he decides to leave the UFC.  Abyss will be inducted into the IMPACT Hall of Fame this Saturday and will be inducted by James Mitchell.  Jeff Cobb revealed to the Baltimore Sun that he picked Ring of Honor over IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground due to ROH’s business dealings with New Japan Pro Wrestling.  AroLucha has hired former IMPACT Wrestling Chief Strategy Officer to help them land a t.v. deal.