Hello one and all, welcome to your weekly irrelevant round-up of the week’s hottest stories in pro wrestling. As always, I, “Smart” Mark Blake, have scoured the internet to find the biggest, strangest, and most interesting stories. So kick back, put your feet up and feast your eyes on this week’s Pro Wrestling Post Week In Review for 12/3/18.
Pro Wrestling Post Week in Review for 12/3/18
WWE Destroying The UK Indie Scene?
As you all know by now, WWE has offered new contracts to most of their NXT UK roster, and details of these contracts have reportedly leaked including pay raises, restrictions on when and where certain talent can work, and possible closures of some major UK promotions.
Dave Meltzer reported over at the Wrestling Observer that these new restrictions in place are not across the board and are instead split into three different groups. The lower tier talent has reportedly been told pretty much nothing about these new restrictions and can still work elsewhere. The middle tier has had their contracts rolled over for another year with no pay rise, can still work elsewhere but no longer for against talent from other competitive promotions. Finally, the top tier talent is the ones given pay rises and the restrictions.
In regards to the closure of some promotions, Meltzer also reported that within the current working agreements that WWE have with their European promotions (PROGRESS, ICW, and wXw), there is an option where WWE can buy the above companies should they choose to do so over the next several years. The idea is that once NXT UK (and maybe NXT Germany) begin a full-time schedule, WWE would buy and then shut down those companies so they wouldn’t be competing with themselves.
I hope that all this talk about the closing of promotions, promotions that I love, is a worst-case scenario and will never come to pass. But I have a hunch that from all the time Triple H has spent under the learning tree of Uncle Vince, he’s picked up on some of his more ruthless business talents, and this could be the end result.
Pro Wrestling Post Week in Review for 12/3/18
MLW Holding First Live TV Special
MLW announced that on Friday, December 14 they will be airing LIVE on beIN Sports. The show will be held at the Miami Scottish Rite Temple in Miami, FL.
The card so far is as follows –
Middleweight Championship Ladder Match
MJF (c) v Jason Cade v Dezmond Xavier v Kotto Brazil v Andrew Everett
Rich Swann v Rush
Dragon Lee v DJZ
Singapore Cane Match
Tommy Dreamer v Brian Pillman Jr
With more to be announced over the next week or two. This TV special could be really great and show the world what a great promotion MLW is.
CM Punk + The Elite = All In Wrestling?
MMA Fighting website conducted an interview with CM Punk last week and spoke in length about the possibility of working with All In Wrestling, the rumored promotion headed by Cody (Don’t Call Him) Rhodes and The Young Bucks, Nick, and Matt Jackson.
Interviewer: I know you have a relationship with some of the guys from The Bullet Club – Cody, The Young Bucks, those guys – and it seems that they’re starting their own promotion, their own wrestling promotion. What are your thoughts on them possibly doing that and would you have any interest in joining them?
CM Punk: I think at this point whatever those guys decide to do will be great for them and their families. If I was asked what I would do or what I would say to them – because they could obviously go to WWE whenever they want – it’s just a matter of is this what’s best for your family?
I’m not actively pursing really much of anything. I’m just kind of floating. And it’s a nice thing to be able to do and just kind of float and hang out and if somebody wants to pick up the phone like Dave Sholler (ex UFC Head of PR) did and call me up and say say ‘Hey, we really think you’d be good at this and we want you to be a part of the company’, they can call me up and make an offer. That has remained to be seen. Pro wrestling is not on my radar.
Interviewer: But if Cody or Matt and Nick, or one of those guys who you know were to reach out, would you listen?
CM Punk: I would always listen, because just like Dave, I like the Young Bucks. I text Matt on and off. But business is business. I know Cody was out there in the media saying that an offer was made (for the All In event last Sep). An offer was not made. Calling me up or texting me saying ‘Hey, if you want to come to the show and do something, we would love that’ is not an offer.
There’s other things. There’s a couple more loose ends that I’m still trying to tie up to fully absolve myself from pro wrestling. I feel like I’ve still been attached to it since the day I left it. And once I’m truly free, we can explore the world and just float and hang out. I’ve earned it, I’ve paid my dues.
So what did we glean from that? I think that Punk really is done in wrestling right now. What the future holds, I dunno. You never say never, but maybe Phil is the one to actually stick to his word…..
And that folks brings to an end another Week In Review for 12/3/18. As always it’s been emotional but you can bet your last peanut butter cup that I’ll be back….RIGHT HERE….next week for more news from this crazy world of pro wrestling that we all love. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Or hit me and Pro Wrestling Post up at our Facebook and Twitter accounts. We love conversing with you guys and gals.
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So until next week…
ADIOS!
