– Tonight marks the first SmackDown branded live event. WWE will air RAW from the Toyota Center in Houston while there will be a SmackDown event in Texarkana, AR. John Cena, AJ Styles, and other SmackDown regulars will be working the event in Texarkana, AR. Cena, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins are all advertised for the live episode of SmackDown Live on Tuesday in Dallas.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley posted a new blog on his official Facebook account about the use of enhancement talent. WWE will hire local wrestlers to do a squash match with their Superstars for usually one night only and make them look good. WWE used to do these type of matches in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but as the Attitude Era came about, the use of local wrestlers was decreased. With the brand extension, the company has brought back these type of matches to get Superstars over. Foley posted this:
THE NIGHT I MET JAMES ELLSWORTH!
Sometimes dreams do come true! Who would like to see a possible Ellsworth/Strowman rematch at #Mania? When I watched wrestling as a kid, “enhancement talent” was featured more often on TV. Some of my earliest matches were on WWE television as enhancement talent – going up against The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, Kamala and Hercules. As soon as I felt like I was getting the faintest whiff of recognition from the fans, I felt like it was time to stop appearing on #WWE TV for awhile. It would be 10 years before I returned to the company in a slightly larger role. Who was your favorite enhancement guy of all time – the guy who did the best job (literally) of making other guys look good.
