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Originally it was announced that Rusev vs AJ would take place next week in a Survivor Series qualifying match for Team SmackDown, but that's been replaced by a WWE Championship match between Jinder and AJ. Is this just to give the UK SD a reason to tune into since it'll be taped or something different? Thanks in advance.
My guess is it's just the company rewriting this week's episode, which happens all the time, sometimes while the show is being broadcast.
So being from Toronto I've been listening to Live Audio Wrestling since 2000. With the recent news that the main staff have left the show (released) and that the show is being put on hiatus and revamped it's got me thinking... We know that the LAW was owned by The Fight Network, which is owned by Anthem which also owns TNA/Impact Wrestling. For years the hosts have been honest about the TNA product before and after Anthem bought TNA. I am wondering if this had anything to do with it. Is the new format that they're planning supposed to be a pro TNA show? If it is, I feel like it's going to be a conflict of interest. It's like WWE owning a wrestling news site only to write good things about them.
There's been no announcement about what the format of the show will be. We have heard rumblings that the critical comments about Impact since Anthem Media took over the company did play into the decision, but whether that was the underlying factor, I don't know. It may have been a financial decision, which is even sadder, since Anthem is obviously throwing a lot of money behind Impact and it could be that attention to Impact has now negatively hurt Anthem's other combat sports asset.
I see that despite the big angle Smackdown invasion angle that closed last week's Raw, ratings were down this week. I attribute it to the return of Stephanie. Immediately starting the show, she once again belittles and berates Angle to shows her dominance without any chance for repercussion from anyone. She talks down to him and cuts him off, and just like everyone else before him like Foley, and even Lesnar at one point, backs down or begs an apology. I have to bring up my Walking Dead theory again, in that fans don't want the villain to dominate over their heroes with no end in sight. Thus, they tune out and ratings plummet. Steph is no Mr. McMahon and I think fans know that. Thoughts?
I can't blame Stephanie for the ratings dropping, as she was a surprise return.
It has been said many times in the past that the WWE uses MSG and its crowd as the barometer for reactions to storylines, angles, wrestlers, etc. With them no longer running at MSG on a regular, what arena or town does WWE use as the hot crowd to gauge his product?
That is a good question. I don't have a definitive answer to that, but if I was WWE, I'd pay close attention to Chicago.
Whatever happened to Sabu?
He's still wrestling on the independent scene.
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