All this courtesy of Dave Meltzer, soon to be copied by the downmarket news sites. With added thoughts from me in bold.
-- Wrestling Observer Reader Awards 2011:
John Cena was voted Wrestler Of The Year, by almost double the votes of Takashi Sugiura in 2nd place. Chris Jericho placed 5th, The Miz at 8th, and Kurt Angle at 9th. Daniel Bryan was Most Outstanding Wrestler. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli won Tag Team Of The Year. Chael Sonnen won Best Interviewee, just ahead of The Miz and CM Punk. Kaval won Most Underrated. ROH won Best Weekly Show. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels took Best Match, with MCMG vs. Beer Money taking 9th and Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler taking 10th. Vickie Guerrero won Best Personality by a landslide. Alberto Del Rio took Best Gimmick.
Kane was Most Overrated Wrestler, and took Worst Feud with Edge. Orlando Jordan won Worst Gimmick, TNA Hardcore Justice was voted Worst PPV, Stand Up For WWE was Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic, Impact was Worst TV Show by nearly three times the votes over 2nd place, and TNA won Worst Promotion by around 15 times more votes than IWA Mid South in 2nd.
Can't really argue with any of them, the tag team stuff in ROH has been spectacular. Michaels/Taker should always win match of the year, even in the TNA awards
-- The Nashville Fairgrounds, built especially for pro wrestling and used by TNA before it moved to Orlando, is no longer being closed down as was originally planned. It will remain open until 2012 minimum.
-- Kevin Nash has confirmed that he is in talks with TNA about returning.
-- AJ Styles' brother has gone into MMA promoting, and AJ himself is helping to fund it.
-- TNA drew 550 fans in Lyon, which is considered a big disappointment for the travel. They've done much better in the UK and Ireland.
-- It's very likely that Linda McMahon will run for senate again, which means more money being wasted on a campaign. It's been mentioned a fair bit lately, how both Vince McMahon and Bob Carter are great businessmen, throwing their money away to keep their women (wife in Vince's case, daughter in Bob's case) out of the main business for a bit and keep them happy.
-- WWE HOF tickets have been selling very well since Shawn Michaels was announced. He has requested Ric Flair to attend, which WWE would probably allow (although not on camera) if Shawn wants it that much. TNA may not be keen on the idea, but Flair has a reputation in TNA for getting away with things that no one else would, purely because he's Ric Flair. Other names suggested are The Road Warriors, Bob Armstrong, and Abdullah The Butcher who has support in, of all people, Triple H.
-- The 2012 class is already being discussed, with The Rock and Trish Stratus leading the pack.
Trish would make sense as Mania 28 is in Toronto I believe. Plus Trish is the best female wrestler the WWE have had in the modern era.
-- Meltzer on WWE business: "If not for outside losing business (XFL, Restaurant, movies), I believe [WWE] would have never had an unprofitable quarter since 1997. It is not profitable enough to sustain the current dividend, but that’s also been the case for some time. It is significant that profit margins are down from last December when there was significant cost cutting and we’re told the economy is better (as long as unemployment is high, I don’t believe the economy is truly better and also high unemployment may affect WWE revenues more if you believe they draw on a percentage higher among lower income families and all stats to indicate that being the case). WWE gave no indication where the shortfall was. Merchandise revenue through November was ahead of last year, and Christmas this year was overall better than last year for most retailers. House shows are soft and PPV business is down, but neither are down enough for the difference between this year’s numbers and last year’s numbers not even factoring in cost savings. So there was some sort of a new expense, or something on the merchandising, movie or licensing end. Whatever it is, it will come out on 2/10."
-- Undertaker vs. Wade Barrett, as of this week, is the Wrestlemania main event.
This changes a lot with the various changes in Taker's will he/won't he health. He could potentially return and just work a short match with Barrett, but WWE must be careful to not just make this look a squash either. I know this will be Taker's last Mania though, that's pretty much accepted.
-- Ric Flair being removed from the WWE All-Stars game is not a WWE bully tactic. TNA own Ric Flair's merchandise rights. They don't own Hogan, which is why he is in the game.
-- Vince McMahon's contract is designed so that he could conceivably be fired, given a severance package and a one-year no-compete clause.
-- There were rumours, although it's looking more and more unlikely, that Kimbo Slice would be at Wrestlemania. With the Brock deal all but dead, they need something.