— As noted earlier here on the website, some fans and Japanese officials were unhappy with WWE’s Japanese tour due to the fact that they did not deliver on all of the matches that they advertised. By example, fans were looking forward to an advertised match between Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio, which didn’t happen. WWE had the usual disclaimer noting that cards are “subject to change,” but that didn’t seem to help as changes to wrestling cards are a big deal over in Japan.
— WWE announced via press release that CM Punk will be at the next WWE NXT taping, which will take place on August 23rd. The show goes down at Full Sail University and as usual, Jim Ross will be announcing. Bell time is 6:30 PM ET, with doors opening at 5:45 PM. Tickets go on sale on Monday at 11 AM.
— The September issue of WWE Magazine has an article where Tensai talks about his return to the company after his successful run in Japan. When asked about the differences between the WWE locker room during his last run as A-Train and now, he said, “I don’t know if they’re tougher, because when I was years ago, there were a lot of men on the roster. When I came back, there were a lot of young faces, a lot of kids. The talent that walks in the locker room is amazing now, but in terms of toughness…well, this is a tough business. The current roster is a bunch of tough guys, and I give them a lot of credit. It’s a man’s game. I hit people hard and they hit me back harder. Let’s just say I’ve had a couple of fights.”
