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PWINSIDER Q & A: WWE CHANGING UP RAW, STOCK EFFECTS, LASHLEY-TNA THE TERRITORY DAYS AND MORE

TNA had Bobby Lashley on one PPV and 1 episode of Impact. Is he going to wrestle for TNA in the future or was he paid for 2 appearances and then forgotten?

Lashley said in an interview that we posted over the weekend that he has a TNA deal that would allow him to pursue MMA and appear for TNA part time but he has yet to sign it.  He also said that TNA owner Dixie Carter "proposed an offer to me, she basically said she wanted me to continue to fight and she wanted me to do some stuff with her program and she would help promote the fights and help build me and my fight career."  So, it appears he is definitely on TNA's radar in some shape or form.

Did the announcement that Donald Trump was “buying” Monday Night Raw have any effect on WWE’s stock price, seeing that not everyone who may invest knows the difference between real and worked announcements? And if it did, what legal ramifications would there be for making an intentionally false storyline announcement that affects the stock market, even though no effect was intended?

From WWE's point of view, they were just doing storyline fodder in any promotion that they released after the angle happened.  The one who could have caught some flak, and still could, is USA because they sent out a press release announcing the "sale".  Since they are considered a credible media company, them sending out the "news" is different than WWE doing so within the context of the storylines.  Luckily, it will probably not be an issue because the WWE stock wasn't really hurt by it.  It closed at $ 13.06 the day of the announcement.  It dropped 46 cents the next day, but the market overall was down over 100 points so USA could make a case that it was done with the rest of the market.  By Thursday, it closed at $12.88, so it was only down 18 cents from where it started on the Monday that the "sale" was announced.  I don't see it being an issue.  As for legal ramifications, I am not sure what the SEC could do.  I would think they would give them a warning the first time.

How did the #1 Contender slot work in each Territory in the old NWA when it came to the World Title? It seems like certain wrestlers got 100's of shots at the title in any territory.

Generally, the promoter of the territory decided that.  He would tell the NWA board who they wanted to get the title match and if there were no objections, the match would happen.  The whole idea of the number one contender was to get a rub from the touring champion, so promoters used their top guys for the matches.

Just to start, thank you for doing what you do. I know you guys are one of the only wrestling sites that actually obtain your information yourselves, but after Monday's HUGE Raw rating, Do you think WWE can keep ratings in the higher 3s low 4s region with RAW with the current storylines they have?

You're welcome!  We work hard here at the site to deliver quality content.  It's nice to be appreciated.  Obviously, last week's Raw rating was a combination of curiosity over how WWE would handle the "sale" to Donald Trump and also the fact that the show was running commercial free.  I put 3/4 of the rating increase on the sale, since some people really believed it happened and others were curious to see if Raw would change in any way.  I think what that rating shows us is that there are a lot of people who don't watch the show regularly now that would start again if WWE gave them a reason to.  Given that there was a PPV yesterday, it wouldn't shock me to see them get up near a four tonight.  As for long term, it depends on the quality of the shows.  It's that simple. 

So WWE is happy that it took someone from outside their company to give them a ratings boost? Shouldn't they be embarrassed that they are not capable of generating interest in their product using their own talent?

You know, yes I think that they should be embarrassed by that fact.  The one thing the Trump angle shows them is that if you mix things up, more people will give the product a chance.  I think that if the show wasn't so predictable, they would draw a bigger audience.  I hope Vince McMahon got that message but my fear is that he won't.

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