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WHERE'S RVD?, HOW WWE PUTS TOGETHER HOUSE SHOWS, DRAKE YOUNGER, CIAMPA & MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2016-05-21 10:00:00

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Why isn't Rob Van Dam doing more, either with WWE or the independents?

I don't get the impression Rob wants to do more.  His return to WWE never amounted to a big push or storyline.  He's pushing 40 and I don't think he's interested in going out and killing himself on small independent shows, even for a good payday, when he can stay at home and work on outside interests.

Is Tomasso Ciampa signed to NXT? Or is he still working per date?

Ciampa is signed to a WWE deal that locks him into NXT but still allows him to work independent dates.  It's similar to the deal that Samoa Joe was first offered.

Is Trevor Lee signed to TNA? I was under the impression he was signed with GFW and working indies. Do you have any more specifics about his current situation working with TNA? Will he still be able to work EVOLVE and PWG shows?

I have yet to hear that Lee was signed to an exclusive TNA deal.  GFW doesn't sign talents to contracts.

When Drake Younger was brought to NXT, was the intention all along for him to work as a referee, or was the initial plan for him to wrestle? If the latter, what happened?

Younger had a tryout as a wrestler.  They told him they didn't have a spot for him as a wrestler and offered him the referee's role, which he was thrilled to take.  He's been with NXT since.

WWE wedding angles are typically insipid, but maybe none more so than the Test-Stephanie wedding that HHH ruined, mainly because Test just kind of let it happen and never even bothered trying to get revenge. Why was there no Test-HHH program? Granted, this was during the era when HHH buried everyone, but having Test just watch him steal his bride and get away with it made no sense.

They wanted the story to be Triple H vs. Vince, not Test.  

To ensure consistency with its TV product, is the Creative team involved in any way in the production of house shows? Or are those still run as they always were, with agents working the finishes and the wrestlers having the freedom to improvise promos?

The house shows are put together by someone who has a foot in both worlds -creative and producers - someone like Michael Hayes or Road Dogg.  The shows are still run the traditional way, although there's an unspoken rule that nothing on the shows should do anything that's going to run opposite of the current storylines.

 

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