[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Nutshot Appreciation Day:

AJ Styles is scheduled to face off against Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania 33. This is a match that has gained a lot of criticism from fans who don’t think that they are a good pairing. After the year AJ has had, WWE fans wanted to see him face an incredible wrestler on the big stage. It turns out that AJ Styles was originally planned to face an incredible wrestler at Wrestlemania 33, it just fell through….. The ‘Heartbreak Kid’ Shawn Michaels appeared on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast and revealed that WWE wanted him to face AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 33 but he ultimately declined. “I could’ve had that match, they did not have an opponent for AJ at Wrestlemania” Shawn would go on to say that he was approached to take on AJ because fans wanted to see the match. It also had to do with them not having any other plans for AJ at the time. Michaels declined, wanting to stay retired. “I wish that man was here 10 years ago man, I really do”

From a recent interview HBK had with the Sam Roberts podcast show: http://www.iwnerd.com/wwe-news-origi...estlemania-33/

Originally Posted by Observer Michaels later said on the podcast that he'll be involved with the WrestleMania 33 pre-show on the WWE Network, but called it unlikely that he'll be doing anything else on the show unless something changes at the last minute.

From the same podcast interview as above.

Originally Posted by Observer Joe Koff had something sent to ROH talent to tell them that the discussions with WWE regarded licensing old footage from their library.

Recent episode of Observer Radio hinted what WWE's plans are in regards to ROH: https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...oh_and_others/

Originally Posted by PWI It should be noted, however, that according to a WWE source, there have been off and on conversations between the companies in recent months but those talks were surrounding the possibility of the WWE Network carrying the Ring of Honor TV show, similar to deals in place that will eventually see PROGRESS Wrestling and Insane Championship Wrestling broadcast as "independent wrestling" content on the WWE Network. While no deal has been signed, the idea would be that WWE license that material from ROH, something ROH COO Joe Koff has said in the past he would be open to, if it was the right deal for Ring of Honor. In the past, WWE licensed material from Sinclair for a number of projects, including the CM Punk documentary. We are told there has also been interest in licensing material for future DVDs, which makes sense considering there are Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins DVDs set for release in the coming months. If a deal goes through, ROH TV would air on the WWE Network just as it airs currently on COMET TV, The Fite App and on Sinclair affiliate stations, but again, no deal has been completed as of this writing.

More details from PWI in regards to WWE-ROH buyout rumors.

Originally Posted by PWI The new ITV World of Sport series will hold its first TV tapings on 5/25-5/27 at Preston Guild Hall. The plan is for the series to have a late Saturday afternoon/early evening timeslot on ITV.

Originally Posted by Observer Anthem has put a TM over all its YouTube videos that involve the Broken Hardys gimmick.

Originally Posted by Observer Konnan has said that he will have nothing to do with the AAA talent if they appear on Impact and that the Crash talent will not be in the same matches as the AAA talent.

Originally Posted by Observer On the WWE conference call today, Paul Levesque said that there will be no specific television tapings done at Fan Axxess this year. All the matches will be taped but not for specific television shows. Last year they did an NXT taping in Dallas at Fan Axxess, but since they're in Orlando, this year they are doing it at Full Sail University on 4/5.

Originally Posted by Observer More names added to the WrestleCon roster at WrestleMania include Jeff & Karen Jarrett, Moose, Kevin Sullivan, Shane Douglas, Tommy Rich, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Matt Morgan, King Mo Lawal, James Storm, Adam Rose and MVP. Alberto El Patron has pulled out of all gigs in Orlando that weekend stating it's due to the invasion of privacy involving his fiance.

Originally Posted by Observer Ring of Honor announced that its April 1st Supercard of Honor show from the Lakeland Civic Center will be broadcast live as an internet PPV and almost head-to-head with the NXT TakeOver show on the WWE Network. The iPPV will cost $29.99 and will air on both ROHWrestling.com and FITE TV starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. The show has the biggest advance ticket sales in the history of the company. There will also be a live Facebook pregame show with SoCal Val. FITE TV will also be airing a show on March 31st and April 1st from WrestleCon. The ROH show is headlined by The Hardys vs. Young Bucks for the ROH tag team titles in a ladder match, plus Christopher Daniels defends the ROH title against Dalton Castle, Marty Scurll defends the TV title against Adam Cole, and The Briscoes & Bully Ray vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Roa & Hangman Page, as well as Volador Jr. & Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee & Jay White.

Originally Posted by Observer The former Tommy End will be making his televised NXT debut over WrestleMania weekend. A few weeks of videos hyped the arrival of Aleister Black before it was announced on Wednesday night's episode of NXT that he would be debuting against Andrade "Cien" Almas at TakeOver: Orlando. After signing with WWE, Black wrestled on the Network for the first time under the name Tommy End against Neville on the second night of the UK tournament ... The current card for NXT TakeOver: Orlando is: NXT Champion Bobby Roode defending against Shinsuke Nakamura NXT Women's Champion Asuka defending against Ember Moon NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defending against DIY and The Revival in a triple threat elimination match Aleister Black vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas

Originally Posted by PWI Kyle O'Reilly has officially come to terms with EVOLVE. O'Reilly will not be working the Wrestlemania events in Orlando but will be working post-Wrestlemania dates for the company. The two sides had been in discussions of late, but as we reported, they were unable to terms. They reconvened today and were able to make a deal for O'Reilly to come in.

Originally Posted by PWMania We noted earlier this week how Summer Rae was apparently training for her return at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Summer has been out of action since last summer with a knee injury. While Summer has not appeared on WWE TV since the Draft after being sent to the RAW roster, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there’s talk of bringing her back to the SmackDown roster with an appearance at WrestleMania 33 in the SmackDown Women’s Title match. Regarding that match, graphics have confirmed that it will be Alexa Bliss defending against Becky Lynch, Mickie James, Carmella and Natalya but it’s possible we also see appearances by Naomi, Tamina Snuka, Eva Marie and Summer. There’s also been rumors of a stipulation being added to the match. The Observer adds that it’s also possible we see former WWE Superstars return for the SmackDown Women’s Title match. We’ve noted how the company contacted several women from the past about appearing at WrestleMania 33 for an angle or match that has been kept secret. Kelly Kelly and Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria) were among those contacted about working for the company in Orlando that Sunday.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Triple H did a media call today to promote WWE NXT "Takeover: Orlando" and WrestleMania 33. You can check out the full call in the video above or the audio player below, here are some highlights ... * He called the passing of Jan Ross tragic and unfortunate. He noted how Jim Ross has always been a part of the WWE family and he can't express how sad they are. He says they all knew Jan very well * Regarding Takeover ... He feels Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Bobby Roode is lining up what NXT will be after WrestleMania - will it take Roode's Glorious path or the Strong Style path of Nakamura that we've seen for the past year or so. He says NXT Women's Champion Asuka continues to evolve and get better. They knew she was a game-changer when they brought her in and that's what she's been. He also praised Ember Moon, saying it took her a while to hit her stride but now she has and it's amazing. He called her an incredibly talented performer and believes Ember vs. Asuka has the chance to steal the whole week ... Regarding Aleister Black vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas, he says Almas has sky-rocketed in the last few weeks or last month. He believes Almas' comfort level as a heel has hit his stride and the match against the debuting Black should be phenomenal ... * Triple H is asked about comments he made on a recent call about not being happy with where NXT was at that point, and how he feels about improvements the brand has made. Triple H says he will probably never be happy with the product because you always want it to be better and to be more than what it is. He makes it clear that his unhappiness had nothing to do with talent - it had to do with his end, with creative, production and other aspects. He says there were reasons for all of it as the Performance Center was designed to create everything they do, not just in-ring performers, and it did that very well. As those talents were moved up, it "strip-mined" NXT and around the same time they lost a lot of their performers, specifically with the WWE Draft, they had to start over in many ways. They also started over behind the scenes. He talks about how they had to reinvent everything but he's much happier with where they're at now, not because it's where he wants NXT to be but because he's on a path to get there. There's nothing worse to him than saying he's unhappy with something and not having the abilities to fix it, or he's not on the way to fixing it ... * Regarding the NXT, WWE UK, 205 Live, PROGRESS and ICW matches at WrestleMania Axxess possibly airing at a later date, he says there are not doing actual TV tapings at Axxess this year * He's asked what he thinks about the development and starts of some of the younger talents, including some we haven't seen yet ... Triple H is really happy with the system they have and how talents are progressing. He talks again about how The Authors of Pain have progressed. He also talks about the NXT women's division with younger talents like Ember Moon, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and Nikki Cross with experience but you also have talents like Aliyah, Liv Morgan, Daria Berenato and Macey Estrella. He says Mandy Rose will also have a big impact soon. He says it's really impressive to see these talents grow and become something more, thriving in the environment. * Triple H was asked about possibly branching out the Performance Center in other key markets, such as locations in the UK, Los Angeles or Toronto. He says he's been having those conversations since the moment he first thought up the Performance Center. They've talked about what is the best way to execute those plans. He says they are currently maxed out with around 100 talents at the Performance Center and he's out-grown the space a little bit and would love for it to be more robust ... He says as they expand, there is probably a logical point where there will be the need for other facilities but it is something they look at all the time.

Link with more detailed highlights and video of the conference call: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...a-33-creative/

Originally Posted by WrestleInc As noted, Mauro Ranallo missed WWE SmackDown for the second week in a row this week. Last week it was announced that Mauro missed the show due to the winter weather in the Northeast but this week it was noted that he missed the show due to being sick. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Mauro has been out of contact with people he's known for years dating back to March 13th, which was the Monday before the first show he missed. However, two of Mauro's closest friends noted to The Observer that he's okay and resting up. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Mauro is doing better but he also speculated that there's more to the story that he's working to confirm.

Some other sheet news includes:

• Fox Sports had a recent interview with Triple H and topics including how callups are determined in NXT and expansion plans for the future. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...d-of-the-main/
• According to PWI, former ECW star Jerry Lynn was a recent guest trainer for WWE's Performance Center.
• Triple H also had a recent interview with Cheap Heat podcast show with the biggest highlight involving him teasing the WWE is open to the idea of letting Kurt Angle wrestle matches. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-in-wwe-again/
• According to WCYB News, Kane has recently filed paperwork to become an official candidate for next year's mayoral election for Knox County, Tennessee. http://www.wcyb.com/news/tennessee/g...ayor/411499678
• WWE announced the next update for the Network's subscriber numbers will occur on April 3rd.