WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on some of the problems with WWE’s weekly television presentation, as well as a “strange” chant he noticed during the NXT TakeOver: London special on the WWE Network. Below are some of the highlights.
On the trend of wrestling matches stretching through commercial breaks on WWE TV:
“I see the reason that some wrestling TV shows need to stretch some bouts through one or more commercial breaks but I’m sensing that most matches that carry through a break, or two, disconnect from many fans thanks to the three minute commercial break or even a two minute break. I’d like to see more matches start and end in the same segment which should help maintain the focus of the fans and consequently help get talents over more, or so I feel. If that means that if a promotion has to format a shorter, reset segment to get back on their timeline then so be it.”
On the problem with heavy advertising on commentary during WWE TV shows:
“Broadcasters who are forced to speak on loosely connected topics such as what’s trending on Twitter even though it’s graphically displayed on the TV screen and don’t stay true to the talent are on course to not get the talents over. If I’m watching TV and am visually seeing physicality and athleticism but I’m hearing yet another train of thought what of it am I supposed to process? Exactly.”
On “strange” crowd chant during Bayley’s match at NXT TakeOver: London:
“I went back and looked and the live audience at the NXT Takeover London event and the live crowd did actually sing a pop tune while Bayley was ‘selling’ and it did feel strange. Is this type of crowd reaction good for the business? I’m leaning toward the negative side of that answer. But as everyone knows, I’m an old school, bitter dude who’s angry at the world and I yearn for the days of wool tights and mullets.”
NXT Takeover: London is in the books and once again, NXT delivered a very strong 2-hour live special, once again in front of over 10,000 fans. NXT Takeovers were among the best events of 2015 and they’re showing no sign of slowing down.
NXT TakeOver: London took place from the SSE Arena, Wembley in England on Wednesday afternoon and aired live on the WWE Network.
– Asuka def. Emma via Submission (Asuka Lock) to pick up the win in the opening match, which ran nearly 15 minutes, despite a distraction attempt from Dana Brooke.
– Dash & Dawson def. Enzo & Cass in another 15-minute match to retain the NXT World Tag-Team Championships. Dash & Dawson hit Enzo, who was caught on the top rope, with a super Shatter Machine for the 1-2-3.
– Baron Corbin def. Apollo Crews in the first male singles match of the evening. This one went a bit over ten minutes and had a lot of good crowd heat and some very cool crowd-pleasing spots.
– A vignette played to hype the NXT TV return of next week. It was noted at the end of the video that Sami Zayn would be back in action at next week’s NXT show.
– Bayley def. Nia Jax in a grueling 13-minute match to retain the NXT Women’s Championship via submission.
– A vignette aired hyping Blake & Murphy vs. Jason Jordan & Chad Gable for next week’s NXT TV.
– Finn Balor def. Samoa Joe to retain the NXT World Championship in the main event of the NXT TakeOver: London special. The finish saw Balor pick up the win via pinfall after hitting him with the Coup de Grace for the 1-2-3.
There have been rumors online regarding Sami Zayn possibly wrestling top international independent wrestler Zack Sabre Jr. during the NXT TakeOver: London event this afternoon at the SSE Arena in England.
Apparently the rumors originated from a Wikipedia entry that was edited earlier, and until further notice, should be taken as strictly an unfounded rumor.
We can report, however, that there have been rumblings within WWE about the possibility of Sabre Jr. coming to the company, just not at today’s NXT TakeOver: London special.
As noted last week via Triple H, Zayn is scheduled to work a match at the TakeOver event itself later today, although his match is scheduled to be taped for the next edition of NXT TV on the WWE Network.
– WWE posted the above video preview of the next “Stone Cold Podcast” with special guest Ric Flair. The show premieres on the WWE Network on Monday, January 11th immediately following RAW.
– Speaking of tonight’s NXT TakeOver: London special, the official WWE Twitter page tweeted the following to promote the show, as well as the NXT TakeOver: London “Kickoff Show” hosted by Renee Young on the WWE Network immediately before the live special begins.
NXT Takeover: London is just hours away and we’ll have Live Coverage here at SEScoops.com starting at 3PM (Eastern). Here’s the final card for the show, which takes place from the SSE Arena in London, England:
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nia Jax
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin
Emma vs. Asuka
Prior to Takeover: London, NXT will also be taping several matches for TV that will air on the WWE Network in the coming weeks:
Sami Zayn in action
The Vaudevillains vs. The Hype Bros. vs. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan vs. Blake and Murphy
Triple H held his regular NXT conference call for the “TakeOver: London” special on the WWE Network next week and as usual, “The Game” dropped a couple of gems.
HHH noted during the call that former NXT Champion Sami Zayn will indeed be in action at the event live, but his match will not air as part of the TakeOver: London special. Instead, Zayn’s return match will be taped to air on the following Wednesday’s episode of NXT TV on the WWE Network.
Additionally, it appears that there will be a Fatal 4 Way and Elias Samson’s debut during the event in London, but those won’t be airing until the next NXT TV episode as well.
Triple H said WWE is looking at promoting more TakeOver specials airing in various time slots in the future, including one in Japan in 2016, due to the success of the “Beast In The East” WWE Network special earlier this year.
WWE posted the following photo on the official NXT Twitter page of Triple H taken during the NXT TakeOver: London conference call on Thursday morning.
Headlined by Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship, NXT TakeOver: London is scheduled to air live on the WWE Network at 3pm EST. / Noon PST. from Wembley Arena in London, England.
WWE confirmed two new matches for NXT Takeover: London on this week’s episode of NXT TV. NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson will defend against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy and Asuka will square off against Dana Brooke. With those matches set, here’s the updated card:
NXT Championship
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe
NXT Tag-Team Championship
– Dash & Dawson (c) vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
NXT Women’s Championship
– Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax
– Emma vs. Asuka
– Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews
NXT Takeover: London takes place on Wednesday, December 16th and airs live on the WWE Network.
– The Thanksgiving edition of “This Week In WWE History,” which you can check out above, features Corey Graves and Kyle Edwards looking at a “Turkey-On-A-Pole Match” featuring Team Sgt. Slaughter vs. Team Larry Zbyszko from the AWA.
– WWE’s official website has confirmed Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin for the NXT TakeOver: London show on December 16th. They are billing the match as a battle of two of NXT’s hottest prospects.
– WWE taped the following matches on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis, Indiana for tonight’s Thanksgiving edition of WWE SmackDown:
* The Dudley Boyz vs. Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman
* Paige vs. Becky Lynch
* The First Annual New Day Potluck Dinner
* Jack Swagger vs. WWE United States Champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match
* The Lucha Dragons vs. Big E and Kofi Kingston with The Gobbledy Gooker in a non-title match
* Dean Ambrose vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler in an Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Triple Threat
Former NXT Champion Sami Zayn is being advertised for the NXT tour of the U.K. coming up in December, including all of the regular live events and the NXT TakeOver: London special on December 16th.
It’s possible that Zayn is just appearing at the shows in a non-physical capacity, as we haven’t heard that he is ready to make his in-ring return just yet.
Other talents advertised for the NXT tour that is scheduled to kick off on December 10th in Newcastle, England include NXT Champion Finn Balor, NXT Women’s Champion Bayley, NXT Tag-Team Champions Dash and Dawson, Neville, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Samoa Joe, Dana Brooke and Emma.
– In the video featured above, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan talk about defeating The Ascension on this week’s edition of NXT.
– Announced for next week’s NXT is a contract signing between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe for their match at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: London special, which takes place on Wednesday, December 16th at SSE Wembley Arena in London, England. As noted, the special will air live on the WWE Network at 3pm EST. / Noon PST. on 12/16.
– In addition to the contract signing, the following matches were announced for next week’s NXT, which will be taped on Thursday night, November 19th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
* Bayley vs. Eva Marie
* Asuka vs. Dana Brooke
* The Mechanics vs. The Vaudevillains
WWE announced this week that the next NXT TakeOver special, which is scheduled for Wednesday, December 16th, will air live on the WWE Network from the SSE Wembley Arena in London, England at 3 p.m. Eastern time and Noon Pacific time.
Although an official lineup has yet to be released, the card is loooking like:
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin
Asuka vs. Emma
The 12/16 TakeOver show is also expected to include NXT Tag-Team Title and NXT Women’s Title matches. Those two title matches should become clear on November 19th when the final television tapings leading up to the show are taped at Full Sail University.
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Wednesday, December 16th for the best NXT TakeOver: London live results coverage on the web!
– Randy Orton underwent an MRI over the past week to diagnose the extent of his latest shoulder injury. According to the Wrestling Observer, the MRI revealed that Orton is suffering from a dislocated shoulder, a Bankart lesion in his shoulder, stretched ligaments and a partially torn rotator cuff.
Orton would still have a chance to be back for WrestleMania if he has the surgery soon. If he delays the surgery and attempts to rehab the injury without fully addressing the situation, he could miss returning in time for WrestleMania and would be at higher risk for future shoulder dislocations.
– The new main event for WWE’s post-Christmas live event from Madison Square Garden (12/26) will see John Cena vs. United States Champion Alberto Del Rio. Also added to the card, Kevin Owens will defend the Intercontinental championship against Dean Ambrose.
– Triple H has announced that the official theme song for NXT Takeover: London on December 16th will be “Ace of Spades” by Motörhead.
NXT General Manager William Regal underwent neck surgery last Wednesday and posted a photo of the aftermath with this message:
“Look at the state of my luscious locks! Just so you here it from me,I had a c-3 through c-6 Laminectomy last Wednesday. I wanted to put it out there so no one can weave a more interesting tale. I’m slowly on the mend.I mean this in all sincerity that I’m not one for sympathy so please no need to tell me best wishes and the like.Its just part of the life I’ve choose and wouldn’t change a thing. No need to tell me you’re praying for me as it would be a wasted prayer.Save that for people who need real help if that’s you’re thing. The only thank you is from me to you for allowing me to entertain you for the last 32 years.”
As a follow up to his 2014 neck surgery, Regal underwent a CAT scan about 6 weeks weeks ago to check on his progress. Despite the fact that he has been feeling better than he has in a long time, Regal was told that he would not be medically cleared to return to action for NXT Takeover: London and a second surgery would be required. WWE’s medical director Dr. Joseph C. Maroon and his team performed the procedure on October 21st in Pittsburgh.
The day after the surgery, Regal spoke to WWE.com about the situation:
“I had a neck surgery last year and everything was very, very good, and I went in for a follow-up exam six weeks ago,” Regal said. “Luckily, we did the exam, because they found there was more damage in the back of the neck that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. The last surgery I had, they went in through the front of my neck; this one’s in the back, so there’s a lot more work involved and a lot of healing in the muscle in the back of the neck.
It was my C3, C4, C5 and C6 [vertebrae]. I believe the operation is called a laminectomy, where they go in and completely clean out the calcium deposits from the back. Now that I’ve got this done, it’s just a matter of healing up and I’ll be good to go. Dr. Maroon, who is head of the WWE Wellness Program, performed the operation. He said I’ll be good to go for another 50,000 miles, or 50 years. Hopefully, that will cover me for the rest of my time on this Earth, anyway.”
Regal will be attending all of the shows on the NXT UK tour, but will be unable to travel with WWE to the UK in November due to his recovery.
– As noted, Triple H and Corey Graves apparently filmed with Lemmy of the band Motorhead on Tuesday. It looks like the band may be playing at NXT Takeover: London on December 16th. Triple H posted the following teaser today:
– Adam Rose posted the following on Twitter regarding the passing of his sister. Rose is in South Africa for the first time in five years for her funeral.
WWE COO Triple H announced on Thursday that NXT Takeover: London is officially sold out. The show takes place on Wednesday, December 16th from the SSE Arena Wembley and will air live on the WWE Network.
– BetWrestling.com has revealed the early betting odds for the WWE Night of Champions main event. Seth Rollins is significantly favored at -400, while Sting is the underdog at +280 for their WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
– NXT Takeover: London on Wednesday, December 16th, will start at 8pm local time and will air live in the United States at 3pm EST.
– Hulk Hogan will be signing autographs on Saturday, October 3rd from 1pm to 3pm at the Westchester County Center at 198 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY. This will be Hogan’s first public appearance since the Good Morning America interview on ABC this week.
Ric Flair will also be there among the celebrities signing autographs. For more information, visit MAB-Celebrity.com.
– It’s rumored that NXT General Manager William Regal will be getting back in the ring for a match at the NXT Takeover: London live event scheduled for December 16th.
– Tough Enough winner Sara Lee noted on Twitter that she’s leaving her hometown this week and moving to Orlando, home of the WWE Performance Center.
I am doing great! Reallg excited bc i leave this thurs to move to Orlando for good & start training ??? https://t.co/v5H4MfXVy5
– Natalya revealed that filming for the next season of Total Divas is underway. She had several family members over on Tuesday (including her father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart) to watch this season’s finale and Total Divas camera men were there getting footage for Season 5.
