TNA

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Al Snow’s Arrest, Critical Analysis of Japanese ‘Strong Style’, WWE Live Events Struggling, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno)

Gilbertti discusses WWE’s steadily dropping ratings. He says that wrestling is a star-driven business, and until WWE finds another Austin or Rock, their business is going to suffer. It’s pretty incredible to think that the biggest star in Hollywood was actually a professional wrestler on WWE’s roster for a number of years. Since Rock left, they haven’t been able to fill that void.

Lane points out that WWE might be turning away the next Austin or Rock because they’re too busy looking for the best ‘workers’. Gilbertti says that today’s promos are all heavily scripted and none of the competitors are able to deliver the promos believably. He says it’s almost like all the talents are in a library because none of them even raise their voices while delivering a promo.

Lane informs that Al Snow was arrested late last week because of a typo in the police’s systems. Lane thinks it’s ridiculous that all the dirt sheets posted a picture of Snow’s mug shot, taking advantage of this unfortunate situation.

Gilbertti says that whenever anyone with any notoriety gets arrested their mug shot is going to be posted on the news and online. That’s simply the way it is. Russo says that he does agree with the heart of Lane’s point, in that the dirt sheets continuously post these stories as ‘news’ when they’re nothing more than errors and lies most of the time.

The Taz Show Recap – Backlash Analysis, Don’t Hinder Jinder, Difference Between 205Live & UK Wrestlers, More!

Block 1:

Taz opens today’s show speaking about the online fan criticism directed at Jinder Mahal after he captured the WWE Championship at Backlash last night. A lot of fans seem to be angry at Mahal’s meteoric rise to the top of the WWE roster, along with claiming that he must be taking steroids to have a body like he does.

Taz points out that steroids don’t make you a better professional wrestler, and he says PED use means nothing to him in professional sports. He’s not suggesting that people start using PEDs, but he couldn’t care less if people do choose to use them at a professional level.

He says that he doesn’t know Jinder Mahal at all, but he’ll defend any wrestler who has paid his/her dues over the years, and Mahal has certainly done that. After dealing with a plethora of terrible gimmicks and then eventually getting released, Mahal worked his ass off and made it all the way back to the top and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

As far as fans’ criticisms that Mahal came out of nowhere to win this Title, Taz says that’s not the case at all. Mahal has been wrestling for many years, starting in Canada before getting signed by WWE initially many years ago. He was released from WWE in 2014 and worked around the world at indie events before being resigned by WWE. His hard work paid off, and this win certainly didn’t out of nowhere.

What’s Next for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles?

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Backlash event, The Fashion Police faced The Usos in a losing effort for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Titles. This match saw a lot of comedy and overall got a lot of negative and positive feedback from fans on social media.

Dave Meltzer discussed this match on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer indicated that The Fashion Police are just a comedy act and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Meltzer also added that the only reason they received a shot at the tag team titles is because the company is trying to buy some time for the next challengers, The New Day.

WWE has been keeping The New Day off television while Kofi Kingston recovers from his injury. PWInsider reported earlier today that they are expected to return to SmackDown this coming Tuesday to promote a WWE Network special. It is unknown if they will actually be returning full-time on this show, or if it is just for a one-time appearance until they are ready to return.

Reason Why No Way Jose Hasn’t Been Used on NXT Television

During the mailbag segment of today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer was asked about No Way Jose’s absence from NXT programming and why he hasn’t been appearing on television lately.

Meltzer said that the reason that the company hasn’t been featuring Jose on television is because they really don’t have a television program for him to work at this time. Once they have a program for him, the feeling is that he will be brought back. In the mean time, Jose will be working NXT Live Events, like he has been.

The Next Challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Backlash event, Natayla ended up getting the victory for her team in the six-women tag match that featured herself teaming with Carmella and Tamina to take on the team of Naomi, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

Dave Meltzer indicated on Wrestling Observer Radio that the plan is for Natalya to be the next challenger for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at a future date and that’s the reason she got the win for her team.

There was speculation a while back that Charlotte would possibly do a turn at Backlash to set up a match between Naomi and Charlotte at a later date. That obviously wasn’t done here and the company is now going with Natalya vs. Naomi moving forward.

Two Spoilers for Tonight’s Episode of RAW

PWInsider reports that The Drifter will be making his in-ring debut on tonight’s episode of RAW.

Also on RAW, the stipulation for The Hardy Boyz vs. Sheamus & Cesaro at the upcoming Extreme Rules event will revealed on tonight’s show. Matt is scheduled to face Sheamus with the winner naming the stipulation for the upcoming Extreme Rules match.