In theory, WWE interest should start picking up over the next few weeks with the Money in the Bank PPV on 6/19 from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, SummerSlam on 8/21 from the Barclays Center, and returns of injured stars John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Neville as well as Brock Lesnar and theoretically Paul Heyman for some Raw shows.
In the WWE concussion lawsuits, the two sides are battling over discovery issues, namely with regards to depositions. Plaintiff Evan Singleton was deposed last week, and co-plaintiff Vito LoGrasso will be this week, but WWE took issue with:
Both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese rookie woman wrestler Emiko Kado were both remaining in bad condition after an illness and in-ring injury respectively.
ESPN on 5/10 broke a story that UFC is in advanced talks to sell the company, noting at least four major bidders.
In the week since Hulk Hogan sued Gawker again, albeit as a co-defendant of other parties, there’s been a lot of speculation about what he’s actually trying to do, including in the many mainstream stories about the new case. Opinions were mixed, to say the least.
In what will likely prove to be the biggest revenue grossing pro wrestling event in history, Steve Austin regained the WWF title at Wrestlemania XV, a show far more notable for production and booking than for any of the wrestling.
The basic consensus seemed to be a mild thumbs up for the show, although the reaction to this one was all across the board as there were people who thought it was the best show in years and many who thought it was terrible. If a wrestling show is constituted by the quality of the matches from start-to-finish than this was a thumbs down show with only two good matches tops out of ten. If it’s based on surprises, booking and angles, it’s a thumbs up. If it’s based on crowd reaction to either and both, it wouldn’t be a thumbs up since only the main event had good heat and that’s with a super hype job going in. If it’s based on presenting well produced television, it would be the best wrestling PPV of the year.
WWE is now claiming the start of a “new era,” based on the idea that Shane and Stephanie McMahon are going to be running Raw together, no doubt building to the inevitable battle for power. And at least at the start, it looks like HHH is sitting this one out.
On Monday, May 2nd at 12:17:59 p.m. ET, Terry Gene Bollea, professionally known as Hulk Hogan, filed a lawsuit in Florida’s Pinellas County Court against the following *listed in the order they appear on the caption of the case):
The 3/30 ESPN “Outside the Lines” television show one hour piece on the pro wrestling industry has become something very much talked about within an industry that seemingly only sees reporting as black and white. Either pieces are favorable, or in most cases, they are considered negative. I suspect the ESPN piece will be fair and the best of its kind.
Joanie Laurer, who was one of the most recognizable stars during the period that pro wrestling has its most mainstream significance in the last 60 years, best known as Chyna, was found dead on 4/20 at her home in Redondo Beach, CA. She was 46.