Trump hires McMahon
The connection between WWE and President-elect Donald Trump was touched upon in this column a month ago.
On Wednesday, the professional relationship was taken a step further when it was announced that Trump appointed Linda McMahon the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Trump蘑菇视频 U.S. Presidential Administration.
In the role, McMahon will be in charge of helping small businesses grow and succeed.
No question that her background in helping the WWE grow over the years played a factor in McMahon蘑菇视频 appointment.
WWE week this week on USA
The USA Network presents its annual WWE week beginning Monday. Raw will air Monday and Smackdown Live will air Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the channel will show three movies starring The Rock prior to Smackdown Live.
Then after Smackdown Live concludes, Randy Orton will appear on the show 鈥淪hooter.鈥�
On Wednesday, WWE蘑菇视频 annual show 鈥淭ribute to the Troops鈥� will air at 8 p.m.
Wyatt蘑菇视频 first title
A fact that was relatively blown over in the days following TLC was that with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton winning the Smackdown live tag team titles, it was Wyatt蘑菇视频 first title win in the WWE.
Wyatt has been booked horribly for more than two years and hopefully this is a kick start to him becoming the important player that he has been pegged to be for years.
Time will tell how long Wyatt and Orton will hold the titles, but look for the two to feud, or for Orton and Luke Harper to feud, after the team drops the titles.
It was officially announced Thursday that the titles will be defended under Freebird Rules, which means that any two of the three can defend them.
New Day on cusp of record
Speaking of tag teams that are using the Freebird rule, The New Day will defend the Raw tag titles Monday on Raw in a triple threat match.
Their opponents for the match are the team of Gallows and Anderson and the team of Cesaro and Sheamus.
If The New Day gets through the match and retains the titles, it will officially tie the all-time record of 478 days as tag team champions which is held by Demolition.
Come Wednesday, The New Day should own the record all alone.
Something that I have noticed about The New Day the last few weeks is that it seems that the fans are not as into their act as of late. The ovations that they have been receiving have not been as vociferous as they have been over the last nine months or so.
If you remember, The New Day started this tag title reign as bad guys before becoming good guys heading into WrestleMania. During their last few title defenses, they have been using rule-breaking tactics to retain and I think it is wearing thin on the fans.
Once they break Demolition蘑菇视频 record, or so I assume, I do not anticipate them holding the belts much longer.
Their act is growing stale very fast and a change is needed drastically.
The group sold the most merchandise at WrestleMania, so it is kind of befuddling that their popularity seems to be dipping at the current rate.
WWE resigns James
Mickie James performed at the 鈥淣XT: Takeover鈥� event in Toronto last month, and now she has signed to return to the WWE on a full-time basis.
The word making the rounds is that she will debut on Smackdown Live next month.
WWE taking 鈥淢ajor鈥� approach
Starting at WrestleMania 33, the WWE will give fans the opportunity to purchase ticket packages to all events taking place at its 鈥淏ig Four鈥� events, which includes SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.
In the new business model, fans can buy tickets to the NXT show, the 鈥淏ig Four鈥� show, Raw, and Smackdown Live as all four shows will take place in the same city.
The WWE has already sold out all travel packages for Mania weekend this coming April, with the packages ranging from $950 to $5,900.
The deal includes tickets to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 31, the NXT show on November 1, Mania on April 2, Raw on the 3rd and Smackdown Live on the 4th.
Mania takes place at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando while the other four events will take place at the Amway Center which is one mile away.Roadblock tickets available
There are still tickets available for Roadblock, the Raw-only show taking place at PPG Pains Arena is Pittsburgh. Go to www.ticketmaster.com for more.