With WrestleMania being WWE's biggest show of the year, it's commonplace for the main singles titles for the RAW and SmackDown Live brands to be defended at the event. And that includes the SmackDown Live Women's Championship. Up until this week, Asuka was expected to defend the Championship against the winner of a, "Fatal Four Way" match between Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi, and Sonya Deville. Being that Asuka was Champion, she already had earned the reward of being in a title match on this year's WrestleMania card, and since the other four women were booked in such a match to decide her opponent, they all obviously have earned that opportunity as well.
But in the the fast-paced world of pro-wrestling, plans often change. And this situation was no different, as after an originally unplanned title match between Asuka and Charlotte Flair on this week's "SmackDown Live", Flair became the new SmackDown Live Women's Champion. As a result of this change, Asuka, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi, and Sonya Deville are now out of the WrestleMania title picture that they worked hard towards all year. And along with that, since Flair was already scheduled to take part in WrestleMania's main event, "Triple Threat" match with Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women's Championship, it is very likely that the SmackDownLive Women's Championship itself will also be put on the line in this historical match where a women's match will be the main event for WrestleMania for the first time ever. And it very well should be put on the line, otherwise it will appear to be less valuable than the RAW Women's Championship.
There is a problems with this though. If Charlotte Flair defends the SmackDown Live Women's Championship in the main event, she will be defending it against a woman who was not on the SmackDown Live brand all year (Ronda Rousey) as she has been busy defending the RAW Women's Championship, and a woman who although she earned a shot at the RAW Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble (Becky Lynch), she did not earn a shot at the SmackDown Live Women's Championship. Remember, Lynch had a shot at the Championship in January against Asuka, and was defeated. Meanwhile, it is routine for the former Champion (in this case, Asuka) to receive a rematch. Also, according to the originally planned, "Fatal Four Way" match that was scheduled to take place this week, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi, and Sonya Deville, all four women had equal claim as number one contender for the SmackDown Live Women's Championship.
So how can this situation be resolved in a manner that would be both fair and beneficial? An easy way would be by utilizing the Women’s Battle Royal that will be taking place at WrestleMania, featuring the female Superstars of the SmackDown Live brand, as well as the RAW and NXT brands. I suggest that the winner of this match be added to the main event, making the match a, "Fatal Four Way". Not only would this give Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi, and Sonya Deville the number one contender's match that they were scheduled to have but never received, but if Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch are going to wrestle for the SmackDown Live Women's Championship without truly having had earned a shot at it, then the other Superstars from the SmackDown Live and RAW (as well NXT) brands should be given a chance to gain that opportunity as well. Also, adding this stipulation would make the Women's Battle Royal more than, "just a Battle Royal".
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
Eric Bischoff interviewed by SPORTbible
With Eric Bischoff soon to be appearing at the For The Love Of Wrestling convention on April 27th & April 28th in the UK, United Kingdom-based SPORTbible recently interviewed him for their website. With most media focus currently being on WWE's upcoming WrestleMania, this interview went in a different direction, looking at Bischoff's time in the AWA and WCW, two wrestling companies that were also noteworthy during their times of existence.
In this interview, Eric Bischoff states that he originally "never even had the most obscure random thought about getting into the wrestling business", but then describes how much of a positive experience it was to work for the AWA, the company where he originally learned the business side of the industry. Bischoff talks about what he cherishes the most when looking back at his time working in the AWA, and also explains why he left.
The interview then moves to the subject of WCW, as Eric Bischoff reveals the two things that amazed him when comparing WCW company structure-wise to what he had seen during his time in the AWA, and how, "it felt very stable compared to what I had come from, which was a family owned business."
But with all of the positives that WCW had going for it, there were still negatives, as the company's management at the time was what Eric Bischoff describes as being "pretty dysfunctional", and he explains how he was given the responsibility of turning WCW around in terms of the television product, and then eventually the entire company itself.
Ted Turner's goal was for WCW to be competitive with WWE, which would be no small feat- WWE was the #1 company, with a loyal fanbase behind it. Founded in 1952, it took WWE over 30 years to become a major success (and without true competition). And yet, Turner wanted Eric Bischoff to come up with a way for WCW to pose as a serious competitor to the giant of the pro-wrestling industry. In this interview, Bischoff describes how he felt about being given this opportunity, as well as how it felt to succeed in doing it.
Everyone knows that the NWO is one of wrestling's greatest factions/storylines of all-time, and as its heel leader, Hulk Hogan was a big part of it. But what not everyone knows is that during the planning stages, there was a period of time that Hogan was not going to be in the NWO at all, which Eric Bischoff explains in this interview, as well as how that changed.
Had Hulk Hogan not been a part of the NWO, Sting was going to be part of it instead, Eric Bischoff explains. But in the end, Hogan did become a part of the NWO, and as a result, Sting's role in the storyline changed as he instead feuded with the NWO. Along with Sting's role changing, his character eventually evolved, as Bischoff goes intto detail about in the interview.
In pro-wrestling, it is common for storylines to not continue for an entire year, sometimes only continuing for a number of weeks. The NWO vs. Sting storyline however, was very different, as it continued for more than a year. In this interview, Eric Bischoff tells how that process came about.
Lastly, Eric Bischoff also discusses Goldberg in this interview, and tells how he went from being someone who WCW kind of rushed through the Power Plant to becoming lightening in a bottle with an undefeated streak of 173 wins (and was the longest winning streak in pro-wrestling until it was passed by Asuka with an undefeated streak that ended at 914 days in 2018).
You can see the interview here.
In this interview, Eric Bischoff states that he originally "never even had the most obscure random thought about getting into the wrestling business", but then describes how much of a positive experience it was to work for the AWA, the company where he originally learned the business side of the industry. Bischoff talks about what he cherishes the most when looking back at his time working in the AWA, and also explains why he left.
The interview then moves to the subject of WCW, as Eric Bischoff reveals the two things that amazed him when comparing WCW company structure-wise to what he had seen during his time in the AWA, and how, "it felt very stable compared to what I had come from, which was a family owned business."
But with all of the positives that WCW had going for it, there were still negatives, as the company's management at the time was what Eric Bischoff describes as being "pretty dysfunctional", and he explains how he was given the responsibility of turning WCW around in terms of the television product, and then eventually the entire company itself.
Ted Turner's goal was for WCW to be competitive with WWE, which would be no small feat- WWE was the #1 company, with a loyal fanbase behind it. Founded in 1952, it took WWE over 30 years to become a major success (and without true competition). And yet, Turner wanted Eric Bischoff to come up with a way for WCW to pose as a serious competitor to the giant of the pro-wrestling industry. In this interview, Bischoff describes how he felt about being given this opportunity, as well as how it felt to succeed in doing it.
Everyone knows that the NWO is one of wrestling's greatest factions/storylines of all-time, and as its heel leader, Hulk Hogan was a big part of it. But what not everyone knows is that during the planning stages, there was a period of time that Hogan was not going to be in the NWO at all, which Eric Bischoff explains in this interview, as well as how that changed.
Had Hulk Hogan not been a part of the NWO, Sting was going to be part of it instead, Eric Bischoff explains. But in the end, Hogan did become a part of the NWO, and as a result, Sting's role in the storyline changed as he instead feuded with the NWO. Along with Sting's role changing, his character eventually evolved, as Bischoff goes intto detail about in the interview.
In pro-wrestling, it is common for storylines to not continue for an entire year, sometimes only continuing for a number of weeks. The NWO vs. Sting storyline however, was very different, as it continued for more than a year. In this interview, Eric Bischoff tells how that process came about.
Lastly, Eric Bischoff also discusses Goldberg in this interview, and tells how he went from being someone who WCW kind of rushed through the Power Plant to becoming lightening in a bottle with an undefeated streak of 173 wins (and was the longest winning streak in pro-wrestling until it was passed by Asuka with an undefeated streak that ended at 914 days in 2018).
You can see the interview here.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
[DVD][PREVIEW] WWE: Best of NXT Takeover 2018
"WWE: Best of NXT Takeover 2018 " presents NXT's picks for the best Takeover matches of 2018. Matches on this DVD are as follows:
Extreme Rules Match
Aleister Black
vs.
Adam Cole
NXT Championship Match
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas (NXT Champion)
vs.
Johnny Gargano
NXT North American Championship Ladder match
Adam Cole (NXT North American Champion)
vs.
EC3
vs.
Killian Dane
vs.
Lars Sullivan
vs.
Velveteen Dream
vs.
Ricochet
Velveteen Dream
vs.
Ricochet
Chicago Street Fight
Tommaso Ciampa
vs.
Johnny Gargano
NXT Tag Team Championship match
Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champions)
vs.
Moustache Mountain
North American Championship match
Adam Cole (North American Champion)
vs.
Ricochet
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Champion)
vs.
Kairi Sane
Johnny Gargano
vs.
Aleister Black
NXT Championship match
Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Champion)
vs.
Velveteen Dream
WarGames match
Undisputed Era
vs.
Pete Dunne
Ricochet
War Raiders
Extreme Rules Match
Aleister Black
vs.
Adam Cole
NXT Championship Match
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas (NXT Champion)
vs.
Johnny Gargano
NXT North American Championship Ladder match
Adam Cole (NXT North American Champion)
vs.
EC3
vs.
Killian Dane
vs.
Lars Sullivan
vs.
Velveteen Dream
vs.
Ricochet
Velveteen Dream
vs.
Ricochet
Chicago Street Fight
Tommaso Ciampa
vs.
Johnny Gargano
NXT Tag Team Championship match
Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champions)
vs.
Moustache Mountain
North American Championship match
Adam Cole (North American Champion)
vs.
Ricochet
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Champion)
vs.
Kairi Sane
Johnny Gargano
vs.
Aleister Black
NXT Championship match
Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Champion)
vs.
Velveteen Dream
WarGames match
Undisputed Era
vs.
Pete Dunne
Ricochet
War Raiders
Friday, March 15, 2019
Patricia Summerland ("Sunny" from GLOW) Interview 2019
Patricia Summerland ("Sunny" from GLOW) discusses her radio talk show, her new comic book, the current state of the pro-wrestling scene, her opinion on the new GLOW series, and more.
Q: It’s been about six years since our first interview. How have things been?
A: It has been great did 3 Afterglow Cruises and many Comic cons and moved to the Mtns. Also did 3 Theatrical Afterglow shows as Sunny and me now.
Q: You are currently one of the radio talk show hosts of American Adversaries. For those who are not familiar, what is American Adversaries about?
A: American Adversaries is about political facts and realities of this world, I cover all news in California and events.
Q: How did you become interested in broadcasting?
A: I went to School for public speaking, I always wanted to be a Host on a radio show or television. It came easy and natural to me on my first show, the American Adversaries reached out to me in 2012 for a celeb interview as Sunny the California Girl and then proceeded to ask me after my first show if I would do more segments as a regular on Sunday shows, I said yes I would love too, 7 years later still on the show and loving it of course I would love to find a paid Weekly gig at a Huge radio show . 😉 But love my American Adversaries Family: Jeff Senas, Christopher Hart, Layr Adams, Nostra Dennis, Kathy Santomassino, Aubrey Khan.
Q: Since the first interview, you have gotten involved in the real estate industry. How did you become interested in real estate?
A: I became interested in real estate as I fell into that as an assistant up here where I live its really the only Lucrative jobs here, I'm no longer involved in it. I heart was not captured there.
Q: What sports, if any, have you been participating in outside of pro-wrestling?
A: I love all sports. I will never turn down a baseball or basketball / volleyball game..Or hiking. Love it all, that tom boy is still inside me and let's not forget boxing. I wish I still was training but my trainer passed away Forest Henry RIP and I have not picked up my gloves since.
Q: Do you still do pro-wrestling training?
A: I still get in the ring And wrestle here n there, I'm starting to train people now. I wont do anything off the 3rd turn buckle or flips from there. Everything else I will do.
Q: Squared Circle Comics is a creator of biographies of members of the pro-wrestling industry, and you will be the first GLOW Girl to be a part of this, giving input into the creation of your biography. How did this relationship come to be?
A: I'm the first female pro-wrestler To have My BIO comic book in the Squared Circle its my story and my input was involved from beginning to end. They contacted me and ask if I wanted to do it, and I said YES as it's going to help so many out there..Bullying and suicide in our world is a tragedy and so many have succumb to it...[The Squared Circle family) are a wonderful creative family to me now. Love them all, John Crowther, Rich Perotta and Blake Wilkie, and Kevin Laporte.
Q: There have been many changes on the female pro-wrestling scene since our first interview. What is your opinion on the current state of the scene?
A: I believe the wrestling scene is much better, the cross overs & selling is better, the Girl Power has Taken Over. 👍💪 Keep on Glowing WWE / WOW / and more indy greats.
Q: What is your opinion on the current state of the pro-wrestling scene in general?
A: The current wrestling scene is better, but honestly I don't have time To get involved with it like I did when I was on AfterBuzz TV as a host for WWE SmackDown.
Q: Have you seen the GLOW series that is currently on Netflix, and if so, what is your opinion on it?
A: I love the GLOW Netflix season 1, okay season 2 better and look forward to season 3, after all its based on us ORIGINAL GLOW GIRLS its FICTION but its awesome to have a show paying homage to US. 🌞
Q: What can we expect to see from you in coming months?
A: I'm working on Afterglow Series with is Original Glow Girls, Roxy Astor owns Afterglow. She is my buddy and partner in fame. Keep a look out for many more Sunny Adventures at many comic cons & news stations & much more and Cloudy is making some Appearances..Stay Tuned For My BIO COMIC BOOK and Bio book and movie series too!!
Q: It’s been about six years since our first interview. How have things been?
A: It has been great did 3 Afterglow Cruises and many Comic cons and moved to the Mtns. Also did 3 Theatrical Afterglow shows as Sunny and me now.
Q: You are currently one of the radio talk show hosts of American Adversaries. For those who are not familiar, what is American Adversaries about?
A: American Adversaries is about political facts and realities of this world, I cover all news in California and events.
Q: How did you become interested in broadcasting?
A: I went to School for public speaking, I always wanted to be a Host on a radio show or television. It came easy and natural to me on my first show, the American Adversaries reached out to me in 2012 for a celeb interview as Sunny the California Girl and then proceeded to ask me after my first show if I would do more segments as a regular on Sunday shows, I said yes I would love too, 7 years later still on the show and loving it of course I would love to find a paid Weekly gig at a Huge radio show . 😉 But love my American Adversaries Family: Jeff Senas, Christopher Hart, Layr Adams, Nostra Dennis, Kathy Santomassino, Aubrey Khan.
Q: Since the first interview, you have gotten involved in the real estate industry. How did you become interested in real estate?
A: I became interested in real estate as I fell into that as an assistant up here where I live its really the only Lucrative jobs here, I'm no longer involved in it. I heart was not captured there.
Q: What sports, if any, have you been participating in outside of pro-wrestling?
A: I love all sports. I will never turn down a baseball or basketball / volleyball game..Or hiking. Love it all, that tom boy is still inside me and let's not forget boxing. I wish I still was training but my trainer passed away Forest Henry RIP and I have not picked up my gloves since.
Q: Do you still do pro-wrestling training?
A: I still get in the ring And wrestle here n there, I'm starting to train people now. I wont do anything off the 3rd turn buckle or flips from there. Everything else I will do.
Q: Squared Circle Comics is a creator of biographies of members of the pro-wrestling industry, and you will be the first GLOW Girl to be a part of this, giving input into the creation of your biography. How did this relationship come to be?
A: I'm the first female pro-wrestler To have My BIO comic book in the Squared Circle its my story and my input was involved from beginning to end. They contacted me and ask if I wanted to do it, and I said YES as it's going to help so many out there..Bullying and suicide in our world is a tragedy and so many have succumb to it...[The Squared Circle family) are a wonderful creative family to me now. Love them all, John Crowther, Rich Perotta and Blake Wilkie, and Kevin Laporte.
Q: There have been many changes on the female pro-wrestling scene since our first interview. What is your opinion on the current state of the scene?
A: I believe the wrestling scene is much better, the cross overs & selling is better, the Girl Power has Taken Over. 👍💪 Keep on Glowing WWE / WOW / and more indy greats.
Q: What is your opinion on the current state of the pro-wrestling scene in general?
A: The current wrestling scene is better, but honestly I don't have time To get involved with it like I did when I was on AfterBuzz TV as a host for WWE SmackDown.
Q: Have you seen the GLOW series that is currently on Netflix, and if so, what is your opinion on it?
A: I love the GLOW Netflix season 1, okay season 2 better and look forward to season 3, after all its based on us ORIGINAL GLOW GIRLS its FICTION but its awesome to have a show paying homage to US. 🌞
Q: What can we expect to see from you in coming months?
A: I'm working on Afterglow Series with is Original Glow Girls, Roxy Astor owns Afterglow. She is my buddy and partner in fame. Keep a look out for many more Sunny Adventures at many comic cons & news stations & much more and Cloudy is making some Appearances..Stay Tuned For My BIO COMIC BOOK and Bio book and movie series too!!
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Japanese Pro-Wrestling on TV in Japan (and Potentially Beyond) in 2019
A big topic as of late has been the increase of the amount of pro-wrestling shows on American television. This year, WWE, NJPW, WOW, ROH, CMLL, AAA, Impact Wrestling, CWFH, and MLW have been presenting pro-wrestling on a weekly basis. And there may be an addition this year as AEW aspires to have a TV deal in the near future as well.
Meanwhile, pro-wrestling has also been thriving as a television product in Japan. NJPW -Japan's biggest pro-wrestling company- is seen weekly via the TV Asahi network. Unlike the United States, where fans are required to have cable in order to watch programs of the most popular companies in the country, cable is not required to watch NJPW programs in Japan on TV Asahi.
GAORA SPORTS provides viewers with Dragon Gate, AJPW, OZ Academy, and WRESTLE-1. Meanwhile, NOAH can be seen regularly on the Nittele G+ sports channel and Samurai TV via satellite. Samurai TV also shows NJPW, ZERO1, Stardom, AJPW, BJW, DDT Pro, and more on their network. In total, pro-wrestling fans in Japan are able watch at least 10 different companies on television regularly, with the biggest one being able to be viewed without needing cable or satellite.
Although the pro-wrestling scene is very healthy in Japan, it has the potential to be even healthier. Being that WWE is biggest company in the industry, they have made the United States the center of the pro-wrestling industry. Alexa (a web traffic and ranking website) shows how much attention WWE captures from fans who live in the United States, and how much of an impact they have on their traffic rank. According to Alexa, http://www.WWE.com has a traffic rank of 3,009, with the majority of its visitors being based in the United States.
Japanese pro-wrestling companies branching out to the American market would enable them to potentially gain new fans from the same fan base that WWE has, as well as pro-wrestling fans who don't like the WWE product and are looking for something different. NJPW has already done this- they are currently featured on AXS TV, a network that presents the NJPW product to 200,000 American viewers every week. There are many other networks for the NJPW product to potentially be on, including ones that would be better than AXS TV, but the fact remains that NJPW's exposure had a positive impact on the company. Alexa's report on http://www.njpw.co.jp/ 's traffic rankings from the past three months are proof of this. As of this writing, the website was ranked at 75,409, having had moved up 19,483 positions versus the previous three months.
Just as how NJPW has increased its exposure by branching out to the American market, other pro-wrestling companies in Japan can (and should) do the same. Every company has a style of wrestling that is different from what American pro-wrestling fans usually are exposed to, which surely would gain their attention. And along with exposure, the pro-wrestling company would gain the financial benefit of the American television network paying them to show episodes of the wrestling program on the American television network.
Meanwhile, pro-wrestling has also been thriving as a television product in Japan. NJPW -Japan's biggest pro-wrestling company- is seen weekly via the TV Asahi network. Unlike the United States, where fans are required to have cable in order to watch programs of the most popular companies in the country, cable is not required to watch NJPW programs in Japan on TV Asahi.
GAORA SPORTS provides viewers with Dragon Gate, AJPW, OZ Academy, and WRESTLE-1. Meanwhile, NOAH can be seen regularly on the Nittele G+ sports channel and Samurai TV via satellite. Samurai TV also shows NJPW, ZERO1, Stardom, AJPW, BJW, DDT Pro, and more on their network. In total, pro-wrestling fans in Japan are able watch at least 10 different companies on television regularly, with the biggest one being able to be viewed without needing cable or satellite.
Although the pro-wrestling scene is very healthy in Japan, it has the potential to be even healthier. Being that WWE is biggest company in the industry, they have made the United States the center of the pro-wrestling industry. Alexa (a web traffic and ranking website) shows how much attention WWE captures from fans who live in the United States, and how much of an impact they have on their traffic rank. According to Alexa, http://www.WWE.com has a traffic rank of 3,009, with the majority of its visitors being based in the United States.
Japanese pro-wrestling companies branching out to the American market would enable them to potentially gain new fans from the same fan base that WWE has, as well as pro-wrestling fans who don't like the WWE product and are looking for something different. NJPW has already done this- they are currently featured on AXS TV, a network that presents the NJPW product to 200,000 American viewers every week. There are many other networks for the NJPW product to potentially be on, including ones that would be better than AXS TV, but the fact remains that NJPW's exposure had a positive impact on the company. Alexa's report on http://www.njpw.co.jp/ 's traffic rankings from the past three months are proof of this. As of this writing, the website was ranked at 75,409, having had moved up 19,483 positions versus the previous three months.
Just as how NJPW has increased its exposure by branching out to the American market, other pro-wrestling companies in Japan can (and should) do the same. Every company has a style of wrestling that is different from what American pro-wrestling fans usually are exposed to, which surely would gain their attention. And along with exposure, the pro-wrestling company would gain the financial benefit of the American television network paying them to show episodes of the wrestling program on the American television network.
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