NXT Title Match From Tokyo Airing On WWE Network

In another first for the WWE Network the upcoming house show from Tokyo, Japan, will be streamed in some form on the WWE Network at 6:30am EST, on July 4th. The “Supercard” will feature Brock Lesnar and “Lionheart” Chris Jericho in action, as well as an NXT title match between Champion Kevin Owens and Finn Balor, who is a big star over there from his NJPW days.

It’s not yet known how the presentation or in-ring work will differ from a typical WWE show, but it will be interesting to see if they opt to make it a unique experience.

6:30am EST is an hour and half delay from bell time.

While it’s not economical to film house shows on a regular basis this is certainly another example of the possibilities available with the Network.

There are no rules, they can essentially do what they want when they want, and that’s only a good thing for subscribers. It’s also another reason to lay down your $9.99.

Sat. July 4 in Tokyo, @wwebalor and @FightOwensFight for the @WWENXT Championship LIVE on @WWENetwork. #TrulyGlobal pic.twitter.com/HQ1PCKeC5p

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 4, 2015

So what can we expect from the show? Since Kevin Owens is now essentially a main roster superstar, it wouldn’t be surprising if Finn Balor wins the title. It will give him great momentum, as if he needs it anyway. Here’s the full card:

– WWE NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor.

– John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane & King Barrett.

– Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Tag Team champion Kofi Kingston.

– Neville vs. Chris Jericho.

– WWE Tag Team champions New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro.

– WWE Divas champion Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi.

– Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadors.

Bobby Heenan Hasn’t Lost His Sense of Humor

Despite going through a lot in recent years Bobby Heenan still has his sense of humor. Title Match Wrestling caught up with him at a recent appearance:

Given WWE’s penchant for charitable causes it’s surprising they haven’t done something with Heenan to raise awareness for throat cancer, though there’s always that fine line between doing good and being exploitative. Nobody likes tragedy-porn.

Cassandra Frazier Lawsuit Update

WWE’s lawyers continue to fight the absurd lawsuit filed by the widow of Big Daddy V (Viscera). Cassandra Frazier is trying to claim wrongful death of the wrestler, piggybacking off the recent concussion lawsuits.

After she went off on Facebook shortly after his death in February 2014, she and WWE seemed to make amends and records show the company gave her a $10,000 royalty advance to help her financial situation. However she then filed the lawsuit out of the blue.

It has since emerged that Viscera made over half a million in his final 3 years with WWE and claims of “destitution” seem unlikely, or at least not WWE’s problem.

Frazier claims her husband suffered from short term memory loss and depression due to in-ring concussions, which knowing what we now know about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is very plausible. Chris Benoit and Test suffered from CTE before their deaths.

However Viscera was obese and died of a heart attack. He didn’t commit suicide, and he didn’t go completely insane like Benoit. In other words there is no provable connection between his death and CTE, nor proof that he had CTE, and certainly no proof that this is in any way WWE’s fault.