WWE NXT Takeover And HOF Attendance, Asuka To Tokyo, WWE Programming Expanding In Russia?

- The WWE NXT "Takeover: Dallas" event on April 1st from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center in Dallas was sold out with 9,000 in attendance. The 2016 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony the next night from the American Airlines Center was also sold out with 11,000 fans in attendance.

- As noted, WWE is returning to Hawaii for the first time since 2009 with a live event on June 29th in Honolulu, featuring WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, WWE Women's Champion Charlotte, The Usos, Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Shinsuke Nakamura and WWE NXT Women's Champion Asuka. This indicates Asuka will also be going to Japan for the main roster live events on July 1st and 2nd in Tokyo. No word yet on if WWE still plans to do Nakamura vs. Jericho in Japan but that was the plan a few weeks back.

- WWE officials met with the chief editor of Match TV, Russia's only major sports channel, at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas. No deals have been signed but it appears the two sides are negotiating. WWE premiering on Match TV would be huge for them in Russia as they currently air one-hour versions of RAW and SmackDown each week on the 2x2 channel, which just 2% of the country has access to, compared to the 50% that have access to Match TV.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

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