-- Big Show has the spot that was originally earmarked for Lord Tensai. The idea is that he'll be undergoing a makeover. It already kind of started when they dropped the robe and dropped the "Lord" part of his name a few weeks ago. He worked the dark match last night squashing Alex Riley, then in the post-show main event they did a John Cena vs. Tensai and Lauranitis handicap match and Tensai was the one who took the pinfall.
-- It's looking like Dolph Ziggler is being built up for a PPV match with Randy Orton, since Orton vs. Jericho was originally scheduled for No Way Out.
-- Arn Anderson is being advertised as a special guest referee for the June 5th Smackdown tapings. He'll be the ref for the Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio main event. HHH is also advertised as appearing on the show. He'll be making several appearances prior to SummerSlam, and John Cena is being billed for Smackdown most weeks. The idea, shockingly, is that if they put Raw guys on Smackdown, more people will buy tickets for Smackdown. Although it's not official, for the most part (95%), the brand extension is pretty much dead at this point.
-- Although Impact only did a 1.0 this week, the good news is that the show largely grew throughout, and the final segment was the highest-rated on the show. Good ratings pattern.
-- PWinsider is noting that the reason Don West is leaving TNA is because he is taking the position of General Manager of the Wenatchee Wild hockey team, which is up here in my neck of the woods. This is a huge loss for TNA. Don West literally may have made more money for TNA than any other person in the company's existence, and if not, he's right there near the top.
-- Ring of Honor has a new card game: Ring of Honor and Filsinger Games have announced they will be teaming up to release an exciting Ring of Honor Wrestling Card Game. The 24 card Introductory Box Set is due for release in November, just in time for the holiday season. It will feature popular favorites from the ROH roster on full-color playing cards in a fast-paced, all-action card game. Ring of Honor is one of the most popular and recognized wrestling federations in the world. Filsinger Games has been producing wrestling cards games like Champions of the Galaxy and Legends of Wrestling Card Game since 1987. Keep your eyes peeled for developing news on the upcoming ROH Wrestling Game by visiting
www.rohwrestling.com and
www.filsingergames.com
