Buried away in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter was a brief reference to WWE looking at starting up some more tournaments later this year. There’s been plenty of hype about the renamed-Cruiserweight Classic that’ll be filmed in the coming weeks, but perhaps WWE is fishing the same pond too soon, particularly when it comes to a rumoured women’s tournament.
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Last weekend’s group of releases was surprising in that it didn’t include one name: Ryback. On the surface, it would seem ridiculous to let him go, but after he was sent home following a contract dispute, suddenly all bets were off.
This past Friday saw WWE release eight performers from their contracts, in a move that represented a throwback for the company, who for years had been avoiding the negative PR associated with releasing talent, by instead just not renewing contracts.
Later tonight, WWE rolls into Chicago for their traditional (err) post-WrestleMania pay-per-view… Extreme PayBackLash! Wait, why have they changed it again?
The passing of Joanie “Chyna” Laurer has caused an outpouring of grief amongst wrestling fans – and those inside the business – who fondly remember her in-ring career and the massive strides she took in women being “more than just valets”, more than 15 years before the WWE’s “Diva Revolution”.
As the new week started, news started to leak out of TNA’s potential sale – and although (at time of writing) nothing has been finalised, the details coming out seemed to indicate that the company destined for a warehouse was veering into yet another PR crisis.
Television can be a very useful tool for a professional wrestling promotion. Back in the day, it was one of the main vehicles that companies had to sell tickets to live events. As wrestling evolved, television shows became a tool to increase awareness and sell pay-per-views as well. With success comes ratings, and the inevitable addition of extra coverage, which leads us to the conundrum that we face today.
Spoilers have been part and parcel of wrestling for its entire life. Especially when matches didn’t air live on TV, there has always been a group of fans looking to be ahead of the curve and figure out what’s happened before it’s broadcast to the masses. (Friendly tip: there’s none included in this article!)