Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
– KENTA leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH came as a huge shock to everyone in the Japanese wrestling community. We noted before that it was being reported in Japan that KENTA was indeed headed to WWE. There’s a feeling that KENTA realizes his body has suffered from years of the Japanese style and that if he was going to go to WWE, now is the time. Japanese wrestler Katsuyori Shibata, who is close to KENTA, said it was KENTA’s dream to go to WWE.
– Highspots.com is currently working on a documentary about the life of WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race.
– We noted before that Sin Cara was in the top 10 merchandise sellers at WWE live events. Cara being back in the top 10 could be a fluke as WWE recently ran several successful events in Texas. With that said, it’s worth noting that even with successful live events near the border, Rey Mysterio still didn’t make the top 10 merchandise movers.
– WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view had a sellout of 14,500 fans with 12,900 paid at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ last Sunday. They announced it as 15,907 in attendance.
– If WWE goes through with a second season of Legends House on the WWE Network, they will use a new cast of stars. Hulk Hogan’s name was rumored for the show back around WrestleMania XXX time but now it’s said that there’s been talk of having Ric Flair be the big name for the season season.
WWE officials are reportedly very happy with the streaming numbers for Legends House and may film the second season in Florida. The first season was shot in California.
– Details are still unavailable on how former WCW announcer Lee Marshall passed away but he was 64 years old, not 67 as was reported by some media. Marshall had been living in Oxnard, California and working for KVEN 1450 AM in Ventura, CA. Marshall also taught broadcasting at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. Marshall was survived by his wife, Judie, stepdaughter Eve Borders Ottis and granddaughter Kate. The LA Times has a lengthy obituary for Marshall at this link.
– Matches taped for tonight’s WWE NXT include Emma vs. Charlotte in a Women’s Title tournament match, Alicia Fox vs. Alexa Bliss in a tournament match, Camacho vs. Captain Comic from Adam Rose’s Rosebuds, Kalisto & El Local vs. Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louis, The Ascension vs. Buddy Murphy and a partner plus a battle royal to crown a new #1 contender to Adrian Neville’s NXT Title.
– John Cena was kept off Monday’s RAW so they could push his appearance on the WWE Network’s Main Event. WWE’s #1 goal right now is to hit 1 million Network subscribers and the idea was that putting Cena on Main Event would raise the profile of that show and might encourage new subscribers.
– When it comes to adding new content to the WWE Network, several factors are involved that make it a lengthy process. What WWE has digitized has to be cleaned up, approved by legal, closed captioned and then processed to be uploaded. As noted, WWE will be adding and removing Network content over time.
– Former WWE star Chavo Guerrero had some kind of emergency surgery last week. Chavo revealed on Twitter that he had to have an appendectomy. He noted that he’s back at home and doing much better now.
– It’s believed that the new season of WWE Tough Enough will begin filming this June at the Performance Center in Orlando and that filming will run 30 to 40 days. There’s talk of limiting the participants on the show to talents that are already under developmental contracts.
– We noted before that WWE recently let go of their Executive Vice President of Programming Matthew Singerman, who was involved in all programming and scheduling decisions for the WWE Network. Word is that it was a Vince McMahon decision.
– The WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event episodes that are coming to the WWE Network soon should be up by July.
