Big Growth Stateside for NJPW? – If you’re a fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling, then big expansion news might be on the horizon. New Japan Pro Wrestling is currently airing on AXS and is doing well for the little cable channel. The owner of AXS, Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban, was interested by Sports Illustrated and spoke about the plans he has for the Japanese Juggernaut.
When asked about the future plans for NJPW;
We’re looking to expand it on Friday nights. We want to do more live, as opposed to the delay, and we’re talking to them about special events.
On paying big money to get the big three NJPW matches after WrestleKingdom 12;
We’re getting to know them better. We went from a delay to a short delay to live, so we’re going to get smarter about it. The numbers keep on going up. Other TVs are declining, and ours are going up. That’s a good sign. There are some nights when it beats MMA, it’s doing that well.
Opinion: Cuban’s the kind of owner I could work for, an differently if I’m NJPW, I would consider getting into bed with him beyond just the TV deal. A guy with his desires, loyalty and security could help NJPW get a real foot hold in North America.
New WWE Show on Facebook – WWE just announced the stupidest thing since Tout. The WWE will air a 12 week experiment on Facebook that will feature mixed tag matches on the half hour show in a tag team tournament. The winners will get $100,000 to the charities of their choice, so that’s sketchy right there. The point is to have heavy fan interaction with the episodes. Facebook has the exclusive rights, but some time after the show airs, the WWE will have distribution rights over the content.
Did I mention this was dumb? The poll of available talent for this show is below.
RAW will be reprented by Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Braun Strowman, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore, Finn Balor, Goldust, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, The Miz, and a Superstar chosen by the Final Fan Vote. The SmackDown team will be Becky Lynch, Bobby Roode, Carmella, Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Rusev, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and a Final Fan Vote (member of The New Day).
Big Name Leaves IMPACT – As part of the budget cuts and new regime changes, long time director David Sahadi has been let go by the promotion. He was with the company since 2006, and was the responsible for a lot of the hype packages and promo packages that aired. His departure follows Rafael Morfi, who worked as the Live Event Manager for a while.
Quick Hits – Because they’re backloading all this shit onto Tuesday, it’s pushing 205Live to 10:30 now. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell filmed a video for the Tribute to the Troops event.