News and Notes – October 14, 2016

I don’t normally do this but there was so much news yesterday that I had to take a quick look at some of it.

1. TJ Perkins Replaces Hideo Itami in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Itami is out for awhile with a neck injury so Kota Ibushi needed a new partner. In this case, there really isn’t a better option than Perkins. I’m very glad they didn’t go with a random Japanese wrestler for the sake of having a Japanese team. Instead it’s two guys with a history together and something like a dream team.

2. Mickie James to Face Asuka at Takeover: Toronto.

This is a very smart idea and the best thing NXT could have done. It’s no secret that the rest of the women in NXT aren’t ready to challenge Asuka and it would have been a waste of a Takeover match to have her squash one of them. James can come in and give Asuka a good match while the other women get ready. I know I say this a lot but it show thinking, which is where NXT specializes.

3. Roderick Strong Debuts in NXT.

Strong is one of my favorites in ROH so again I have few complaints here. He’s teaming with Austin Aries in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which means it’s possible they’ll feud in the future. They’ve got history together so why not put them in the tournament and see where it goes from there? It’s worth a shot and there’s nothing wrong with having another veteran on the roster.

PDFPrint