News! News! Get your news! Read all about it right here! Welcome one and all to your weekly irrelevant round-up of the week’s hottest stories in pro wrestling. Pro Wrestling Post Week In Review 10/13/19. As always, I, “Smart” Mark Blake, have scoured the internet to find the biggest and most interesting stories. I apologize for no WIR last week, but I succumbed to the dreaded flu. I was only let out of quarantine a few days ago. Again I apologize peeps 🙁
Enough of me lets get into this week’s Week In Review! –
CMLL Power Struggle And Possible Split?
With the untimely passing of CMLL’s former owner Paco Alonso a few months ago, there were rumblings of a power struggle behind the scenes. A struggle so severe, it’s threatening to split the legendary company into two, according to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.
He reported in this week’s Observer Newsletter that current owner Sofia Alonso and Chavo Lutteroth (the owner of CMLL before Paco Alonso, and Sofia’s uncle) are both vying for control of the company. Chavo was brought in by Sofia to help manage the company with Sofia, but many of the older talent have been pushing for him to take full control.
The fact that Sofia is at such a young age made many of the older wrestlers think she’s not capable of running such a big and reputable company. While at the same time were worried that they would be pushed out for younger talent.
Lutteroth has made some significant changes since taking his role. He’s banished the tradition of throwing money in the ring (which helped the younger talent), cut the guaranteed money for the younger talent, raised the booking prices of CMLL talent to US companies, and enforced a higher cut from their talent for outside bookings.
Someone who has highlighted the situation is former CMLL wrestler RUSH. He wasn’t happy with these new rules and regulations. As well as restrictions on CMLL talent with where they could work and who they could work against.
The situation is so bad that there are reports that Sofia Alonso could be leaving the company to start her own promotion. Taking with her the CMLL name and trademarks.
I really hope there is a satisfactory conclusion to this situation. To see CMLL be torn apart and possibly disappear would be a great loss to not only wrestling but Mexico itself.
Big Show Set To Travel The World
It looks like Paul Wight aka Big Show is set to be a busy man over the next few months. Not only has he been filming his own sitcom (The Big Show Show) for Netflix, but he will also be fronting his own travel and adventure show.
WWE announced that Big Show will front “Big Show vs The World: A Giant Abroad” in a venture that they themselves will be producing. At the moment a network hasn’t been attached to the project, so there is a possibility that it will air on the WWE Network.
Below is the full statement from WWE –
“Big Show vs. The World” in new travel and adventure series
Los Angeles, Calif., and Stamford, Conn. (Oct. 8, 2019) – Pack your bags and get ready to take on the world with WWE Superstar Big Show.
WWE Studios and Thinkfactory Media, an ITV America company, have announced a partnership to produce a new reality series, “Big Show vs. The World: A Giant Abroad.”
Through his extensive world travels with WWE, Big Show has collected a lifetime of unusual stories filled with unexplained natural occurrences, local enigmas and fascinating people. “Big Show vs. The World: A Giant Abroad” will follow the larger-than-life WWE Superstar as he travels back to these locations and indulges his lifelong passion for exploring the strange and unknown.
Each self-contained episode will feature Big Show venturing to a new exotic area, where he’ll team up with a local guide and dive head-first into a native mystery or legend. Navigating the difficulty of travel (at seven-feet tall) and the extreme, sometimes awkward situations he encounters with his signature self-deprecating sense of humor, Big Show will do whatever it takes to unearth every quirky and shocking detail during his adventures into the bizarre.
“Big Show brings so many different layers to a project like this; it’s a dream scenario for us as producers,” said Thinkfactory CEO Adam Reed. “He blends his fierce intelligence and curiosity with an unexpected, one-of-a-kind wit, and his intimidating physical stature is offset by his surprisingly disarming personality. We’re ecstatic to be working with him and the WWE Studios team and can’t wait for the journeys ahead.”
“For more than two decades, Big Show’s magnetic personality has inspired fans around the world, and in this new series, he will be able to meet the people and explore the places that have played a pivotal role in his journey as a WWE Superstar,” said Susan Levison, SVP and Head of WWE Studios. “We are thrilled to be bringing this show to life with our partners at Thinkfactory who are proven winners in the unscripted television genre.”
“I won’t guarantee we’ll solve every mystery, but we’ll explore every strange detail, chase every bizarre lead and meet the incredible characters involved in pursuit of the truth,” said Big Show.
WWE Cancelled Jay & Silent Bob For SmackDown/FOX Premiere
Earlier this week on The Rich Eisen Show, AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Kevin Smith spoke about the upcoming Jay & Silent Bob Reboot film (which stars Jericho), which releases in a few weeks.
During the interview, it was revealed that Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Jason Mewes (Jay) were scheduled to be on the SmackDown premiere on FOX. But that was canceled when both men appeared on rival All Elite Wrestling’s debut show Dynamite on TNT a few days before.
https://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/1182101553261400065
I can see why their appearance was canned. It would look like – and I mean this with the greatest respect – that WWE would be getting AEW’s scraps if they appeared on SmackDown just a few days after Dynamite. Let the “war” continue!
Juice Robinson – “At Least When I Was IWGP US Champion I Defended It”
Shots were fired by Juice Robinson as he spoke with NJPW about the current state of the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship.
He explained during the interview that he has been the only champion during its history who has defended the title on a regular basis, citing Cody Rhodes and current champion Jon Moxley as examples –
“Of course. It’s like with Cody. I’m the only one who defends that title. Cody had it for a cup of coffee, now Moxley. They win the title and just sit at home. How many times did Cody defend it?
He limped out and they canceled it. That’s not what a champion is. And what’s Moxley done? Sat on his ass, getting his triceps stapled up. Injuries happen, but at least when I had that belt I defended it as much as I could. I was on the road up and down Japan, a fighting champion, and damn it, I should be the champion again. Forever. When you think of titles, you think of people. Like when you think of Ricky Steamboat you think of him as an Intercontinental Champion. Think of the IWGP title and you think of Okada, or Tanahashi. I want people to think of me when they think of the US Championship.”
Strong words there from Juice, and he has a point too. And he has a chance to prove he’s the better man when he takes on Jon Moxley at the King Of Pro Wrestling event in Ryogoku Kokugikan tomorrow!
That’s it for today’s Pro Wrestling Post Week In Review for 10/13/19. Some great little nuggets of news if I do say so myself. As always I thank you all for reading not only my work but all the work here at PWP each and every week. It doesn’t go unnoticed. We’ll see you back next week for another edition of Week in Review!
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