MLW Radio (flagship) #279: The Art of Booking, Positive Indicators for Impact, Randy Orton vs. Twitter, Defy, huge NJPW injury and more!
Release Date: May 16, 2017
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Top Stories:
- Braun Strowman out 6 months
- Time for Asuka to move on from NXT
- Fatal Fiveway Match is set for Extreme Rules
- More regular Brock Lesnar appearances are coming up
- Twitter controversy between Orton and Dudley, Indy stars changing the business
TIMESTAMPS
5:00 – Braun sidelined
8:00 – Possibilities for new Japanese female stars and Asuka in NXT/WWE
14:00 – NJPW injuries
15:15 – Extreme Rules
17:15 – Roman heelish?
22:05 – Enzo & Cass are going nowhere
26:05 – Brock scheduled for more shows
27:45 – Rock for President
30:10 – Orton vs. Dudley on Twitter
41:20 – JR calling the WWE UK show
42:00 – Impact viewership growing
RECAP
MSL and Rich Brennan co-hosted an iPPV with Kyle O’Reilly vs. Tom Lawler from UFC. MSL says it’s the best match he’s seen live in a long time and there was also a great heavyweight match between Brian Cage and Moose in the main event. The show was pretty stacked with Shayna Baszler, Sami Callahan, and Lio Rush also appearing. Court saw the O’Reilly/Lawler match and agreed that it was great, with a lot of really intense action. Guys are creating their own destiny by creating their own styles of wrestling matches. Court notes that wrestling is at its best when it’s like a buffet and you can experience a little bit of everything.
– Transaction Report:
- Braun Strowman could be on the DL for 6 months. Court thought Roman Reigns vanquishing Strowman was a weird way of writing him out of the storylines. He stresses how important it is that he comes back in a big way as a ferocious animal.
- Io Shirai coming to WWE from Stardom in Japan. MSL assumes that it’s related to the WWE Women’s Tournament. The influx of talent into the women’s division is great for WWE but hurts a promotion like Stardom who lost their two biggest stars.
- Billy Corgan is not just getting the NWA name/title, but the On Demand service and the rights to monetize the Houston wrestling library, which the Bosch family still owns. Court says Bruce Tharpe is divesting himself, transferring all of his wrestling business to Corgan, who has a piece of history to market and monetize with respect to the Houston library.
- Fred Hatfield, creator of IcoPro passed away over the weekend. MSL watched the first WBF pay-per-view in full last week and said it was one of the most absurd things he’s ever seen in his life. Court only followed it from the WWE end and thought it was the most elaborate way you could have possibly debuted Lex Luger. An interesting experiment indeed!
- Chuck Taylor debuted in Ring of Honor.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi out with a bicep injury.
15:15 – Fatal Fiveway for Extreme Rules doesn’t work in MSL’s opinion. Court would have loved to see the King of the Ring concept instead of Great Balls of Fire in July. The fiveway concept seems awkward to Court because of the uneven number, despite the fact that all five participants are good candidates. We will see!
17:15 – Court felt a lot of heel tendencies by Roman Reigns on Monday night. WWE needs to figure out a different way to make matches, as they depend way too much on guys standing around talking to each other. If there are five guys that can get it done it’s these five guys as per Court, who is still concerned about the lack of reaction Seth Rollins is getting from the crowd. Reigns and Ambrose also have lost their effectiveness and are not clicking with the crowd. Rollins, for one, plays much better as a heel in Court’s opinion. There’s also a lot of potential in a babyface run for Bray Wyatt, who instead has just been stuck in a rut taking losses. Placement and positioning are everything in wrestling. MSL is also confused by the finish of the IC Title Match.
22:05 – Cass and Enzo are almost forgotten in the plans, which is not good according to Court, who thinks it might be time to experiment, whether that means breaking them up or taking them in a different direction. MSL adds that they’re still over, but haven’t been given the push. Court says it’s never good when you’re not a priority. It will be harder for Cass, who may not do as great a job as Strowman, who got thrown into the deep end. WWE needs to figure out how to shake these guys up, the same goes for Gallows and Anderson.
26:05 – Brock Lesnar is booked for Raw on June 12th and 26th and July 3rd and 10th. MSL asks Court if there’s any chance Brock could end up on Smackdown. While Court thinks that there are some intriguing matchups, Raw is still the flagship show and he doesn’t see Brock going that route. Court feels that Paul Heyman could do a lot more with the talent that needs to get over rather than being focused on only Brock.
27:45 – Rock didn’t shoot down rumors of him running for President, which may be a trick to get more buzz for Baywatch, which MSL is excited for. Guardians, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman are generating more attention than Baywatch, so that could be the reason behind it. But you never know what could happen.
30:10 – A lot of controversy this week on Twitter between Randy Orton and Bubba Ray Dudley. While there are people that like old school wrestling with less high spots, others prefer more cutting edge stuff. Court loves the newer generation in every sense, especially how guys have carved out their own careers outside of WWE. They are good guys and a locker room full of them would make a great company. He mentions Ospreay and Ricochet in particular as bringing positivity to the wrestling culture (no New Day pun intended!).
41:20 – Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness will be calling the action for the WWE UK Series on the Network.
42:00 – Impact Wrestling viewership is growing. MSL says they have a little bit of momentum right now, and Court adds that growth is always good given the TV environment. The commercials are much better clientele than what they were getting at Destination America and SpikeTV. The Anthem influence is very encouraging.
Rating – 9 out of 10. The flagship keeps clicking on all cylinders, as MSL and Court take us deep behind the scenes of WWE and a number of other promotions that are making today such a fun time for pro wrestling. The idea of the art of the finish being dead and the lack of “heat spots” is a direct strike to the heart of the wrestling fan, and it shows how the current generation could be better served by being booked properly.
About the Author:
Desman (@Desman6) has been an avid wrestling fan going back to the very first WrestleMania and has attended four WrestleManias during his tenure as a WWE Shop card-carrying member of the WWE Universe. A financial professional by day, he spends his nights and weekends with his wife, rescue dog, and 2 rescue cats, watching WWE programming and listening to a number of wrestling-related podcasts. His true passions are food, film, and fights and he is forever fascinated by the business of professional wrestling.
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