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I know ROH isn't returning to the Hammerstein Ballroom for Final Battle, but is there a NYC return set?
According to a source at the venue, ROH has no current return date for the venue in 2020.
I've seen some complaints about you on social media from fans who say you hate Impact Wrestling, that your interview with Kevin Kross started the entire issue between him and the company and that you were upset Impact ended up on AXS TV. So, what's the deal here?
Social media taking something out of context? You don't say! Let's take these in order:
1 - I've never, ever interviewed Killer Kross, so anyone who is blaming an interview I did with him for the Impact issues is just being stupid. I've written about interviews that Kross has done, including one that he did with Impact Producer Petey Williams. While I broke the initial Kross story, I've never interviewed him. Of course, I'd be happy to interview Kross and I've also offered a forum to Impact management to discuss the Kross situation in the past on record, but they have always (thus far) declined to do so, which they are certainly within their right to do. We've covered the Kross situation and will continue to do so, but to say I did an interview with him is a blatant lie. I have interviewed endless amount of Impact talents and will continue to do so, but I've yet to interview Kross.
2 - If I hated Impact Wrestling, why would I have yesterday, written about how talents received a bonus after the Vegas tapings? Why would I have written and said positive things about the company over the years? Would I have been in attendance at all of their NYC tapings in the last year and have flown all the way to Dallas to Slammiversary? Would I considering traveling to Chicago for Bound for Glory? Am I apparently attending these shows out of hate? Am I writing nice things out of hate? No, of course not. I am there to do my job and Impact management, in all its forms dating back to Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter owning the company to the era John Gaburick was in charge to the current management team, have always been professional towards me, dating back to 2002. They haven't always liked what I've written (and you could say the same about every promotion!), but they recognize I have a job to do and have respected that. The idea I hate ANY wrestling company is ridiculous and would only come from someone who has zero understanding of what my job entails.
3 - I wrote just a few days ago that AXS TV was the biggest thing to happen to Impact since Anthem ripped control of the company from Dixie Carter's hands. I also wrote that landing on the network was the equivalent of Indiana Jones saving himself from certain doom, which, unless you like certain doom, is a pretty good thing! The idea I am "upset" about a roster of talented wrestlers who kill themselves in the ring and don't get the proper praise for their hard work now have a permanent home as opposed to leapfrogging from place to place with ever-declining TV audiences is well, as you may guess I am about to say here, stupid. I'm absolutely thrilled for the company. They are now in the same position ROH is in for Sinclair - an entity that can create content for its parent company. That's a good position to be in, because you will always have a home.
Unfortunately, there are always going to be fans of promotions who complain whenever someone in my position reports something they don't like about a company they care about. I see complaints all the time that I love company X and I hate company Y. The reality is I just love wrestling and I love writing about it, but I lose never sight of what our job is here at PWInsider.com - to keep score on what happens, in front or behind the scenes, to the best of our ability and to relay that to our readership. That work is going to make some fans happy and some fans upset depending on the story and the day, but that's life. The idea I hate any company is abjectly ridiculous. If there is something I personally don't like, it's pretty clear it's my opinion. The only people that actually would actually think that, in my opinion, is someone being completely obsessive compulsive about "protecting their company" (which of course, isn't their company.) I can appreciate their passion as wrongly directed as it is, but anyone attempting to connect the dots from me doing my job to me having a hatred for something doesn't hold up to any actual scrutiny whatsoever.
Why do you think the best New Japan in the U.S. lineup this weekend is in Lowell, MA?
That show didn't sell out. They are obviously trying to get fans to come by giving them a strong series of bouts.
Who are your top names still not in the WWE Hall of Fame?
There are lots, but If you ask me, Ivan Koloff, Dick Murdoch, Adrian Adonis, Demolition, King Kong Bundy, Christian, William Regal,and Vickie Guerrero come to the top of my head as talents who should be honored. iI's sad that Koloff and Bundy aren't around to enjoy that moment. For celebrities, the biggest standout to me at this point is Cyndi Lauper.
Do you ever think we'll see Hulk Hogan wrestle one more match?I still stand by the idea that WWE could probably get some mileage out of Hogan appearing in a battle royal or a tag match for a big show, but the older he gets, the more I doubt we'll ever see it happen...unless there's a ridiculous amount of money thrown at all parties by Saudi Arabia.
Do you think WWE NXT tours for TV tapings next year?
That is a good question, but it's one step at a time. My gut feeling is that if the USA Network/NXT ratings consistently do well, we'll see at least some of the episodes on the road, but I don't think WWE would ever pull up stakes completely from Full Sail University, which has been an incredible partner to the company. However, the entire idea of putting the brand on USA Network is to grow it (while preventing AEW from getting a foothold) so with that growth will come eventual changes. How long until then, we will see, but I'd be shocked if at some point next year, we don't see at least a few shows outside of Full Sail.
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