Pro wrestling questions and answers
Plenty of fans sent in questions after last week鈥檚 column on Mike Tyson possibly wrestling for AEW.
Let鈥檚 get into a couple of those questions and others!
Do you really think Mike Tyson will wrestle on an AEW show? Robert, Brownsville.
I can see Tyson doing a match of some sort, but at the end of the day, how could it end in anything but a quick knockout win?
Here is the thing though. AEW charges $50 for its PPV鈥檚 and there has been talk of Tyson returning to the boxing ring.
Will boxing fans pay to watch Tyson fight on PPV and then pay again to see him 鈥渨restle鈥�?
Not sure about that one.
Why is Chris Jericho the one who would face Mike Tyson? He is 40 pounds overweight and he keeps mentioning Tyson knocking him out 10 years ago in WWE. I have been watching wrestling since 1983 and I didn鈥檛 remember that. Shows how important it was. Mike, Waynesburg.
If Jericho was in his best shape ever, would you feel the same way? He obviously isn鈥檛 in the best shape of his life, but he is the biggest name AEW has.
I do agree about Jericho being knocked out 10 years ago as I completely forgot about it.
When I think about Tyson and pro wrestling, I think back to when he was relevant and a big part of WrestleMania XIV.
With you having watched since 1983, do you remember when he was supposed to appear in WWE in 1990?
Impact released its Slammiversary commercial and it showed several wrestlers recently released by WWE, although they are still technically under for 90 days since their release. Could WWE sue Impact over this? Bobby, Perryopolis.
The wrestlers shown included Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Rockstar Spud (Drake Maverick in WWE), Eric Young, EC3, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins in WWE) as well as a Bulgarian flag, referring to Rusev.
WWE cannot sue Impact for this because all those wrestlers shown performed in Impact previously and the company owns the footage it showed.
Rusev did not wrestle there, but he was not shown in the video.
The PPV is on July 18, which is after the 90-day no-complete clause the wrestlers have with WWE.
It is possible that any number of them could wrestle.
One who will not show up is Maverick as he was offered a new WWE deal Wednesday and he signed it on NXT.
Other stars, including some that were just mentioned, have been offered new WWE deals but at a much lower salary than what they were making.
Do you think the Jeff Hardy arrest storyline was an odd path for WWE to go? Dan, Rostraver.
It was, and I really hope WWE discussed the idea with him before they ran with the storyline.
Hardy has battled alcohol and addiction issues for years and to make light of it for the 鈥渟how鈥� without his approval would be wrong.
Since the success of the Jordan documentary, are there any wrestlers or storylines you think would be a good choice for similar treatment? I would like the back story of the Montreal Screwjob. Joe, Charleroi.
This question is deep, and I hope to touch base on it for a feature after WWE鈥檚 documentary series on The Undertaker ends later this month.
But to answer your question, I would like to see one on WrestleMania X-7, considered the greatest PPV of all-time by many.
An easy choice would be Stone Cold Steve Austin and how he was fired in WCW, had a brief stop in ECW and was on his way to WWE midcard purgatory when a 鈥渕istake鈥� by Triple H led to the birth of Austin 3:16 which sent pro wrestling into its most successful era ever.
As far as the Montreal Screwjob, if WWE were to produce it, it would be heavily slanted in its favor.
There was a documentary, Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, that touched on it. That piece was released in 1998.
With WWE finally releasing a free version of WWE Network, will they do away with the 30-day free trial? Kelly, Connellsville.
WWE announced on Thursday that the 30-day free subscription for new subscribers is now a thing of the past.
With the free version now offered, select historical PPV鈥檚 and NXT TakeOver鈥檚 will be included as well as recent episodes of its TV shows, original series and some new shows.
Now that he has lost the WWE 24/7 title, do you think Rob Gronkowski will leave the WWE for good? Tammy, Uniontown.
Gronk had a clause in his WWE deal that allows him to get out of it if he returned to the NFL and he triggered it.
Eventually, he will return.
NXT PPV tonight
NXT returns to PPV tonight when it presents In Your House.
The show will be headlined by a Backlot Brawl between NXT champion Adam Cole and The Velveteen Dream.
On This Day鈥�
In 1965, both Howard Finkel and Mick Foley were born.
In memory
This week鈥檚 column is dedicated to the memories of 鈥淕entleman鈥� Joe Perri and Michael Blade.
Both passed away recently, and each will be remembered in Pittsburgh circles for a long time.
I had the pleasure of doing countless shows with each and both deaths hit close to home.
Joe had been battling cancer for some time while Blade died unexpectedly last weekend.
They will be sorely missed by fans but more so those lucky enough to share the locker room with them.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of both.
Email questions/comments to powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to @BillHughes_III.