WWE Oligopoly News: PROGRESS and ICW set to join WWE Network. MLW News

[cero2k]

From the latest WON Observer

While this has been said before, including at a WWE Investors call, and Vince McMahon changed his mind on it, right now the idea of ICW and Progress from the U.K. going to the WWE Network is back on, at least this week. But this is close enough that we’ve been told the announcement, if it happens, would be coming right around the time or at the Royal Albert Hall shows

WWE has also gotten aggressive regarding trying to sign up indie talent with MLW as the target since they just got television. That will be interesting because the key guys MLW is relying on have signed contracts

There were reports that WWE approached several wrestlers under contract to MLW. According to legal papers sent, the talent advised MLW of the offers and told WWE they were signed, but WWE told the wrestlers they should still come to a tryout and be around the system. In the past, WWE would back off when approaching talent under contract to a degree due to what happened in the past with ROH. They’ll still get word indirectly to tell people not to renew their deals like they did with ROH (and there were guys in ROH based on promises made and such while under contract that one would think was tampering, and that’s what led to the legal situation last year where WWE had to pull all offers from ROH talent and waited months after their contracts expired before approaching them again, although in the end the guys like Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole and Bobby Fish all came. The MLW deals signed with its key talent were for multiple years.

The Newsletter also states that Riddle no longer works for MLW because WWN has him under contract and has blocked it because MLW has TV.

[cero2k]

Nothing more Punkrock than getting big and selling out. This may be when I cancel PROGRESS jump on the AJPW wagon

[Big Red Machine]

Nothing more Punkrock than getting big and selling out. This may be when I cancel PROGRESS jump on the AJPW wagon

By which you mean cancel PROGRESS because you won't need it because it will be on the WWE Network, which you're already paying for. If being in bed with WWE was all it took for you to stop watching a promotion you'd have dumped PROGRESS a long time ago.

[cero2k]

If being in bed with WWE was all it took for you to stop watching a promotion you'd have dumped PROGRESS a long time ago.

yes and no, for the longest time being in bed with WWE hadn't really changed PROGRESS that much other than the music, but now it means that certain talent that I enjoy a lot may not work with PROGRESS anymore, right now it's just Sabre, but it may mean WALTER/Havoc/Haskins later, there may be things like Jimmy Havoc matches or Pastor William Eavers that may not cut it with WWE standards anymore, there may be more NXT people getting over in PROGRESS over the PROGRESS guys. One thing is being a partner with WWE, a whole other thing is being part of the Network standards.

Be it me or anyone, I do wonder what is gonna happen with DemandProgress

[Big Red Machine]

If being in bed with WWE was all it took for you to stop watching a promotion you'd have dumped PROGRESS a long time ago.

yes and no, for the longest time being in bed with WWE hadn't really changed PROGRESS that much other than the music, but now it means that certain talent that I enjoy a lot may not work with PROGRESS anymore, right now it's just Sabre, but it may mean WALTER/Havoc/Haskins later, there may be things like Jimmy Havoc matches or Pastor William Eavers that may not cut it with WWE standards anymore, there may be more NXT people getting over in PROGRESS over the PROGRESS guys. One thing is being a partner with WWE, a whole other thing is being part of the Network standards.

Zack was leaving anyway due to NJPW. The rest of this is wild speculation.

[cero2k]

Zack was leaving anyway due to NJPW. The rest of this is wild speculation.

There is nothing confirming that, he left EVOLVE and that's it, if he was going full time with NJPW, he had to be able to support the US NJPW partners, thus not evolve. Now that's gonna be the case with PROGRESS unfortunately, but before that, there was nothing confirming he was going to leave progress, hence SSS16 results.

And the rest is speculation, but matter of fact, PROGRESS has (ironically) lacked progression since they got in bed with WWE, the shows have been consistently worse than the previous one, the storyline developments have been shit, they haven't been able to properly build another 'era' or so like the did with Havoc/Ospreay/Scurll, and even Pete Dunne for a bit. They haven't been able to really build anyone, all their top guys are guys from outside or WWE contracted, and the one they kinda did, Banks, had a really shitty title reign. This year's SSS16 sucked because they had to protect the WWE kids as much as possible, there was zero reason whatsoever why Ohno had to go so far, no reason why in a 2-on-1, Gibson couldn't even roll up Dunne. Progress is becoming that promotion where you cherry pick good matches that make noise and that's it. They should change their name to regression if they keep this up

[Big Red Machine]

Zack was leaving anyway due to NJPW. The rest of this is wild speculation.

There is nothing confirming that, he left EVOLVE and that's it, if he was going full time with NJPW, he had to be able to support the US NJPW partners, thus not evolve. Now that's gonna be the case with PROGRESS unfortunately, but before that, there was nothing confirming he was going to leave progress, hence SSS16 results.

Zack leaving EVOLVE isn't a "you can't work for our friends competitors" issue. I thought it was an issue of the full-time NJPW deal meaning that he is moving back to either England or Japan, and thus EVOLVE really doesn't want to pay to fly him in that often. PROGRESS if he is moving to Japan, PROGRESS might have a similar issue.

And the rest is speculation, but matter of fact, PROGRESS has (ironically) lacked progression since they got in bed with WWE, the shows have been consistently worse than the previous one, the storyline developments have been shit, they haven't been able to properly build another 'era' or so like the did with Havoc/Ospreay/Scurll, and even Pete Dunne for a bit. They haven't been able to really build anyone, all their top guys are guys from outside or WWE contracted, and the one they kinda did, Banks, had a really shitty title reign. This year's SSS16 sucked because they had to protect the WWE kids as much as possible, there was zero reason whatsoever why Ohno had to go so far, no reason why in a 2-on-1, Gibson couldn't even roll up Dunne. Progress is becoming that promotion where you cherry pick good matches that make noise and that's it. They should change their name to regression if they keep this up

I agree that this year's Strong Style Sixteen totally failed to make any new stars and wasn't particularly well booked, and I wouldn't be shocked if they have a rebuilding year, but I think it's possible that in a year's time they'll have a very strong top of the card again. It all depends on how they play it.
And WWE did just let Hero job cleanly to ZSJ.

[cero2k]

Zack leaving EVOLVE isn't a "you can't work for our friends competitors" issue. I thought it was an issue of the full-time NJPW deal meaning that he is moving back to either England or Japan, and thus EVOLVE really doesn't want to pay to fly him in that often. PROGRESS if he is moving to Japan, PROGRESS might have a similar issue.

Going full time with NJPW is more than just not having time to come to the US, because let's face it, he was the top talent in WWN and EVOLVE only does a few shows anyway, if the Bucks manage to make time for PWG, Sabre could make time for EVOLVE, and surely the plane ticket is worth it.

Sabre is still gonna be doing Rev Pro, he's the tag champ there, so there's really no reason why he couldn't do progress when NJPW doesn't book him, especially if he's moving to england.

And WWE did just let Hero job cleanly to ZSJ.

well yeah, there is a point when you at least have to be able to book your own winner and giving a shit finish in the finals would have pissed off a lot of people, and the only other credible contender had been already defeated by Sabre. At that point Hero had already defeated half of the progress roster throughout the weekend

[Big Red Machine]

Zack leaving EVOLVE isn't a "you can't work for our friends competitors" issue. I thought it was an issue of the full-time NJPW deal meaning that he is moving back to either England or Japan, and thus EVOLVE really doesn't want to pay to fly him in that often. PROGRESS if he is moving to Japan, PROGRESS might have a similar issue.

Going full time with NJPW is more than just not having time to come to the US, because let's face it, he was the top talent in WWN and EVOLVE only does a few shows anyway, if the Bucks manage to make time for PWG, Sabre could make time for EVOLVE, and surely the plane ticket is worth it.

Sabre is still gonna be doing Rev Pro, he's the tag champ there, so there's really no reason why he couldn't do progress when NJPW doesn't book him, especially if he's moving to england.

The Bucks have made one PWG show in the past six (counting tonight's show, because they're in the UK with ROH/NJPW) and PWG have only run six shows in seven months, and three in the past eleven (which now takes us back ten months). PWG ran eleven shows last year; EVOLVE ran twice that. Zack could certainly still work PROGRESS when RevPro (or one of the many other groups he works for) doesn't book him, but he is certainly not someone they should be counting on to be available for every show, and that changes the way they'll have to book him. If they can adjust then good for them. If not, it might be worth it for them to only bring him in for special attraction matches when they can get him.

[cero2k]

The Bucks have made one PWG show in the past six (counting tonight's show, because they're in the UK with ROH/NJPW) and PWG have only run six shows in seven months, and three in the past eleven (which now takes us back ten months). PWG ran eleven shows last year; EVOLVE ran twice that. Zack could certainly still work PROGRESS when RevPro (or one of the many other groups he works for) doesn't book him, but he is certainly not someone they should be counting on to be available for every show, and that changes the way they'll have to book him. If they can adjust then good for them. If not, it might be worth it for them to only bring him in for special attraction matches when they can get him.

That is last year, Bucks have worked PWG and NJPW for a long time with the latter always having priority. Plus most dates they've missed are due to ROH, not necessarily NJPW. If Sabre is not working a ROH schedule in addition to NJPW, it's really no excuse, he has tons of time, and EVOLVE runs two shows per weekend, so overall it was also 11 weekends.

I'd agree on PROGRESS if we didn't constantly see their as of late shitty booking working around the WWE allowing guys to be there. If they can work around the schedule of Andrews, Bate, Dunne, or Seven, they can work with Sabre's.