May 31, 2004 Observer Newsletter: 3 WWE PPVs in 6 weeks, TNA TV deal, more
World Wrestling Entertainment faces a major challenge this coming summer due to ambitious plans being made at a time when the situation looked a lot different.
The company will be doing three PPV shows in a six-week period, unprecedented for them, with Raw’s Bad Blood on 6/13 in Columbus, OH, Smackdown’s Great American Bash on 6/27 in Norfolk and Raw’s Vengeance on 7/11 in Hartford. This precedes the summer’s major event, SummerSlam on 8/15 in Toronto.
The split brand shows are a challenge due to all the problems that have cropped up with talent losses and injuries since Wrestlemania. The Smackdown brand, badly sputtering at present, will rematch Eddy Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield, coming off their bloodbath match. It is unknown what stipulations will be added, but coming two weeks after a Hell in a Cell match on the Raw brand show, even throwing in a specialized cage or gimmick will lose some of its effectiveness trying to hype what people think is a weaker show two weeks after a Hell in a Cell match.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.