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The Reason Stone Cold Steve Austin Refused To Attend Owen Hart’s Funeral

Jon Fuentes
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44

Ex-wife of WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jeanie Clarke, recently did an interview with The Dirty Sheets podcast to promote her new book,  “Through The Shattered Glass.” During the interview, Clarke revealed how Austin truly felt about the late Owen Hart, who died following an accidental fall at WWE’s Over The Edge pay-per-view (PPV) in 1999.

Clarke claimed that Austin refused to attend Hart’s funeral due to the fact that he was never able to forgive him for injuring his neck during one of their matches. To make matters worse, Hart never apologized for the injury which didn’t sit well with “The Texas Rattlesnake.” Clarke also claimed Austin believed Hart may have injured him on purpose. Despite her recent book, Clarke and Austin are reportedly on good terms with one another.

Discussion: Are you buying any of Clarke’s claims about Austin’s feelings towards Hart?

Al Snow Reveals Why He Nearly Walked Away From WWE In 1997

Jon Fuentes
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2

Former WWE Hardcore Champion and Tough Enough coach Al Snow recently did an interview with Real Sport to talk about working for both Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter, his thoughts on Josh Mathews, and the reason he nearly walked away from WWE back in 1997 before being sent to ECW. You can check out the highlights here:

Working for both Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter:

“For me, it wasn’t much of a difference because it was still the same thing, which was working with the talent. And just so you know when I first started with Impact my primary job was to do the women’s division for several years, and I loved it. I loved working with the girls. But my focus, whether I’m working with the girls or the guys or with Jeff or Dixie, my job was to work with the talent. It was to make them understand what business was to be conducted with their particular segment, help lay out that segment to ensure that that particular business was done.

“To ensure that chapter of the story was told, or that character was exhibited, or that idea, thought, impression, or emotion was transmitted in that segment of television so that we can make as much use of that television time as possible and make it as effectively as possible. And that didn’t vary or change whether Jeff Jarrett was in charge or Dixie Carter was in charge. It was a great place to work, not just as a producer but as an artist, as a wrestler, because you’re given the freedom and the responsibility to do exactly what you’re supposed to do which is go out there and create and make it happen.”

His thoughts on Josh Mathews:

“I couldn’t be prouder. Josh is one of my kids. You know, Josh was probably one of the most physically talented ones of Tough Enough [Season] 1, the show. Maven had the charisma. Chris Nowinski had the size, the look, and had that innate heel charisma, just something that made you not like him for some reason. And then Josh Mathews had the physical talent and ability, he just didn’t have the size. A lot of those guys at the time, I remember having the conversation with Josh, saying ‘Listen, if you don’t win the contract, don’t worry, the right thing will happen at the right time for the right reason here, and you’ll have a career.’

“You know, John Gaburick and I saw Josh when we were at Stamford, Connecticut. Josh kinda was joking around and did some color commentary one time when we were at the studio, and I could see he had a talent and so did John, and we got him an opportunity to be a commentator. He had an amazing career with WWE and was able to use that as a way to get an opportunity with Impact Wrestling, and you know he just keeps going forward. I could not be prouder of Josh. His success is my success. I’m thrilled by it.”

Almost walking away from WWE in 1997 before being sent to ECW to reinvent himself:

“Oh, back in ’97. Yeah. At that time, I was pretty frustrated and had a pretty bad attitude and was pointing fingers at everybody else instead of pointing them at myself as far as my not taking advantage of opportunities that were presented to me. That invasion, I think probably saved my career because that partnership and cooperation between Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman allowed me to recreate myself. I tried to quit WWF at the time. I had a contract and asked for my release, and kind of to teach me a lesson, I wasn’t allowed to have the release.

“But I was able to talk to Chris Candido, god rest his soul, and he talked to Paul Heyman, and Paul Heyman talked to Vince and got me put on loan to ECW. So I could take advantage of an opportunity to go somewhere else, recreate myself, and to get myself back over, make myself a brand or product that they would ask me to come back. And it worked, and I’m so grateful for that chance.”

Check out Snow’s full interview with Real Sport by clicking here.

Lilian Garcia Launching New Podcast, Ex-Knockout Returns To Social Media

Daniel Pena
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2

– Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia is launching a new podcast after her wrestling-themed show, “Making Their Way To The Ring,” went on hiatus in May.

Her new podcast, “Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia,” debuts this Monday on PodcastOne and will feature human interest stories with athletes and entertainers.

A synopsis of the podcast is as follows:

“Multi-talented singer/songwriter, television personality and producer, former WWE host and Spanish beauty Lilian Garcia brings the heat and unhinges the podcast world with an all-access pass to human interest stories with your favorite athletes and entertainers. “Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia” peels back the layers and dives deep into how they got to where they are today, and the real-life challenges in making their dreams come true. It’s about to get Real, Raw & Inspiring every week on “Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia.”

New episodes will be released every week through iTunes and podcastone.com/chasing-glory-with-lilian-garcia.

– Former Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell (aka Tiffany in WWE) is back on social media after deleting her accounts in January 2016 when she left TNA.

She posted this video message on her new Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/IAmTarynTerrell/status/891090259810889728

She is also now on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXHDjf8j5-f/

Ryback on John Cena Not Standing Up For Other Wrestlers

Jon Fuentes
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10

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback recently took to his podcast, Conversation With The Big Guy, to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “The Big Guy” discussed how professional wrestlers should be treated as employees rather than independent contractors, how Vince McMahon can cement his legacy in the business, and John Cena not standing up for fellow talents. You can check out the highlights here:

Treating professional wrestlers like employees rather than independent contractors:

“For publicly traded companies, I think [pro] wrestlers should be employees with benefits and company health insurance. I don’t think wrestlers should be independent contractors when they are told what to do and when to do things. Why should they buy their own health insurance when they’re working for a company that’s publicly traded. That’s my opinion.”

How Vince McMahon can cement his legacy:

“I really hope he realizes before his time on this Earth is done that, ‘do you know what? I’ve made all this money off of these guys lives and I’ve given them the opportunity, but without them I wouldn’t have everything that I have and I need to make this better before I leave.’ And I really, really think he could cement his legacy more by doing things like that and just doing what’s best for everybody.”

John Cena not standing up for other talents:

“I feel, and I wish I was even higher than I was when I did what I did because I always wished somebody in Cena’s position would stand up and actually have the balls to do things right. And if you love [pro] wrestling, you say, ‘stand up for the [pro] wrestlers.’ But he hasn’t and he never will because it’s all about the money.”

You can listen to the full episode of the podcast by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Bringing Back Taboo Tuesday?, Total Divas Respond To Paige, Matt Hardy Takes Shot At GFW

Robert Lentini
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26

WWE bringing back Taboo Tuesday?

WWE registered for “Taboo Tuesday” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on July 24th. The last Taboo Tuesday event was held 12 years ago and then it was changed into Cyber Sunday, which came to an end in 2008. Time will tell if the old PPV concept shows up on new editions of SmackDown going forward. Cyber Sunday was a PPV which allowed fans to vote on match stipulations, opponents and more.

Total Divas respond to Paige

Paige commented on the upcoming season of “Total Divas” recently and stated that she missed everyone in the cast.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/890553978731331584

The Bella Twins, Lana and Naomi all responded to Paige with the following tweets:

Matt Hardy takes shot at GFW’s payment issues

As noted earlier, Mike Kanellis responded to fan that said that he was a joke in GFW and is still a joke in WWE. Kanellis responded to the fan “Except I get paid now” and followed it up with several emojis.  The fan has since deleted the tweet, but Matt Hardy chimed in with a shot of his own shot at GFW.

Curt Hawkins Has Lost 100 Matches In A Row, Titus O’Neil Reps WWE At Susan G. Komen Summit, R-Truth

Robert Lentini
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23

Curt Hawkins has lost 100 matches in a row

Curt Hawkins’ last victory in WWE came on November 8th, 2016. Hawkins defeated Apollo Crews on an episode of SmackDown. Since then, Hawkins has lost 100 matches in a row, including WWE Live events. Hawkins was defeated by Jason Jordan on this past week’s episode of WWE RAW.

R-Truth working on new music

R-Truth tweeted out the following video with his producer J-Trx and stated that he has a new EP coming soon.

Titus O’Neil at Susan G. Komen Summit

WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil represented the company at the Susan G. Komen Partner Summit earlier this week. Below are some photos from the event.

The Great Khali With Vince McMahon (Photo), Jason Jordan – Miz TV Preview, Curtis Axel On Main-Eventing RAW

Robert Lentini
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10

The Great Khali posts photo with Vince McMahon

The Great Khali posted a photo of Vince McMahon and himself at this past Sunday’s WWE Battleground PPV. The Great Khali made his WWE return at Battleground during the Punjabi Prison match. Randy Orton had the match won and was about to escape the prison, but Khali came down to the ring and grabbed Orton by the throat. WWE Champion Jinder Mahal was then able to escape the Punjabi Prison and retain his WWE Championship while Randy Orton was stuck in Khali’s grasp.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXDMqgMl5TG/

The Great Khali’s return at WWE Battleground was uploaded to YouTube and is closing in on 4 million views.

Jason Jordan on Miz TV preview

It was announced oh Monday’s episode of RAW that Jason Jordan will be on Miz TV next week. Jordan defeated Curt Hawkins in his RAW debut on Monday. WWE posted the following preview for Jordan’s appearance on Miz TV next week:

Jason Jordan has done his fair share of interviews since Raw General Manager Kurt Angle revealed that the former SmackDown Tag Team Champion is his son, but now the “gold-blooded” Superstar is set to be grilled by The Miz on “Miz TV,” live in Angle’s home city of Pittsburgh.

What questions might The A-Lister have in store for Jordan? Will we learn of his true aspirations now that he has joined Team Red? One thing’s for sure, even though Jordan’s the son of the Raw GM, The Miz won’t be pulling any punches.

Curtis Axel on being in the main event of RAW

WWE Superstar Curtis Axel recently joined the Miztourage along with Bo Dallas and The Miz. The Miztourage lost in a Handicap match against Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins on Monday’s episode of RAW. Despite the loss, Axel boasted on Twitter about being in the main-event of the show. Axel hasn’t been featured on RAW at all until recently joining the Miztourage.

https://twitter.com/RealCurtisAxel/status/890719794617626624

Mick Foley Sees A Ton Of Untapped Potential In Becky Lynch, Thinks She Is Capable Of More In WWE

Robert Lentini
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36

Mick Foley recently posted about WWE Superstar Becky Lynch and stated that we have yet to see the very best from her. Below is Foley’s post:

STRAIGHT FIRE

I really enjoyed an interview my daughter Noelle did with Becky Lynch, and for me, the charisma, humor, and yes, straight fire Becky displayed in a fun little interview was illustrative of her still untapped potential in WWE. Not that Becky hasn’t done great things already in #WWE, but I just have this gut feeling that we have yet to see the very best from the #IrishLassKicker. It’s a potential that may just be one great angle, one incredible promo, one magic moment away.

One of Paul Heyman’s greatest attributes in #ECW was having the knack of giving the talent just enough guidance, instilling just enough confidence to allow talent to find something more within themselves than they’d previously produced or possibly even felt possible. I saw it in Steve Austin, when Paul tapped into the frustration and anger felt – and within weeks, Steve went from a good, solid mic man to being one of the best promos in the business. I saw it in the way he helped transform Taz from a silent, one dimensional performer into one of the most intriguing characters in the business. Certainly, the guidance Paul lent me helped me find a voice that produced some of the best work of my career.

If Becky Lynch can find her personal Paul E – someone behind the scenes at WWE SmackDown Live who can wind her up…and let her go, I think Ms Lynch is capable of taking her game to a level she herself might not think possible.

Let me know what you think of Becky and what you’d like to see in her future. Give it a share too – it’s such a Badlass photo!

https://www.facebook.com/RealMickFoley/photos/a.150133228350157.28288.126269440736536/1779164962113634/?type=3&theater

Below is the interview with Noelle Foley that Mick was referring to in his Facebook post.

Kofi Kingston On Recent Milestone, Match With The Usos At WWE Battleground, New Day’s Popularity

Robert Lentini
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14

Kofi Kingston and New Day recently spoke to WWE.com about New Day’s accomplishments in the company. Below are some highlights from the interview:

Becoming the first WWE Superstar to hold all four versions of the tag team titles, WWE (with R-Truth, Even Bourne & New Day), World (with CM Punk), RAW and SmackDown (both win New Day):

“I had no idea. I don’t think we look at accomplishments that deeply in terms of pursuing them. We usually find out on Twitter. Like, “Hey! Did you guys know you’re the only ones to win the Raw and SmackDown [Tag Team] Titles?” It’s pretty cool when you sit back and look at it, but it’s weird; the more time that passes, we keep attaining these unsettable goals, if that makes sense. Hosting WrestleMania is not something set for yourself when you’re a kid. You don’t say, “One day, I’m going to host WrestleMania, and this is my goal; I’m going to work toward it.” It just happened. Same thing with winning this championship title. It’s a very strange stat to be celebrating. You don’t set these goals, but we’re very fortunate to have had these things happen to us.”

The positive reaction to New Day’s match against The Usos at WWE Battleground:

“Everything was flowing. It was awesome from top to bottom. We have great chemistry with The Usos. They always bring their best, whether it be in the rap battle or in the ring. We’re two teams that are on the same page in terms of [bringing] the best to the table every single time. We always want to outdo them; they always want to outdo us. What that does is provide the best possible product for anybody watching. Being in the match itself, I knew I was part of something special as it was going on. Hearing the crowd react was one of those things I’m very fortunate to be a part of.”

New Day’s popularity:

“Obviously, what’s more important to me are the accolades that we achieve as a group, because this journey has been wild from the beginning. Obviously, as we’ve said in many interviews, it was a struggle to even get on TV. We finally get on and get rejected by the masses, then finally embraced by the masses. We hosted WrestleMania and, the year before, had the No. 1 merch sales at WrestleMania. This has been the wildest ride ever. So, to me, it’s more important at this time to think about the things we have done as a unit, and the things we can do as a unit, to keep on climbing that ladder.”

You can check out the entire interview with New Day by clicking here.

Shawn Michaels On The Future Of Wrestling, His Role At The WWE PC, His Favorite Superstars In NXT

Robert Lentini
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9

Shawn Michaels recently spoke to Channel Guide Magazine to promote his film Pure Country: Pure Heart. During the interview, Michaels also discussed his role at the WWE Performance Center and the future of wrestling. Below are some highlights from the interview:

His role at the WWE Performance Center:

“I would clearly define my role if my role was clearly defined and knew what it was, but I don’t. That has sort t have been the way I have been most of my life, most of my career. I just hang around so often that people just eventually are too afraid to tell me to leave,” Michaels said.

“So, I’ve been hanging around for quite some time at the Performance Center. It’s one thing to sit there and watch things back on film and do your best to help people here and there or address certain things. I think eventually you have to get out there and get a feel for everything that is going on. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come out on the road. I wanted to get to know the talent a lot better, but also have a better understanding of what they’re doing and how the process goes. I also wanted to get a feel for the crowds. The crowds are different from town to town, city to city and state to state. So, I feel the better I know the better I can help and be an asset to not only the talent, but Matt [Bloom], Sara [Amato] and Hunter [Paul Levesque] who have worked so hard to make the Performance Center and NXT a successful product.”

The future of wrestling:

“I leave the opinions about the wrestling business where it has been, where it’s going and where it needs to go or doesn’t to the podcast guys and reporters. I enjoy the future. I’m not a good old-timer. I’m excited about the future,” Michaels.

“I’m excited about to see if there is anything I can do to help bring that along in a way that is conducive to the wrestling business and WWE and WWE fans in general. It’s going to continue. Their opinions are always going to be all over the place. They always have been. I think the only difference is I think maybe people hear about it more now than we did. That’s the wonderful thing about technology.

I’m not the all-knowing or seeing on the wrestling business. Quite honestly, I always think that what I think really doesn’t mean much. I’ve never bought a wrestling ticket in my life or haven’t bought one since I was 12 years old. So, it’s certainly not me they are looking to bring in the building. I just don’t like to into all the opinions of it. The wrestling business is a wonderful line of work. It has been great to me and my family over the last 30 years. I’m now getting to be in WWE movies and things of that nature. I’m just all about helping this next generation try to achieve their dreams like I was blessed to have the opportunity to do.”

Superstars he likes in NXT:

“I like Roddy Strong, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, Velveteen Dream, Heavy Machinery, Authors of Pain, Sanity, they are all just a number of young talent out there. Ember Moon and Asuka as well. There are just numerous people out there,” Michaels said. “The wrestling business is ripe with a great deal of young, up-and-coming talent. To me, that is exciting. I got way too positive of an outlook to jump into all the other stuff.”

You can read the entire interview by clicking here.

Jim Ross On Brock Lesnar vs. Jon Jones In UFC, Booking Of The Fatal 4-Way Match At WWE SummerSlam

Robert Lentini
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9

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross published a new blog on his website and here are some of the highlights:

Brock Lesnar possibly returning to UFC to face Jon Jones:

“Interesting sound bytes from Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones regarding the potential of a UFC fight between the two perhaps some day in the future. Both men were accomplished amateur grapplers from their college days, and both are bad ass alpha males, but make no mistake about it that this surprising, and not so timely dialog. Jones fights Daniel Cromier this Saturday on PPV is all about selling a big money fight for UFC who is in need of as many new, marketable fights as they can create while their rising stars continue to ascend. With the investment in purchasing UFC so lofty, the new UFC needs to produce some revenue ‘hits’ and there is no doubt that a Lesnar-Jones fight would generate north of 1 million PPV buys quite easily, I’m thinking.

Yes, I do think that Brock Lesnar will again fight in the UFC because he can generate a giant, payday(s) for his family and, I assume, would still maintain a positive relationship with WWE. Seems like this matter of Lesnar’s return to UFC is inevitable and should be a win/win for all involved as it relates to the cash (and it’s all about the cash).

Winning or losing a UFC fight won’t hamper Lesnar’s value to WWE in the least to my way of thinking. Based on what I know, I see no reason that a Lesnar return to UFC would cease Brock’s WWE paydays over the long haul. I still think that a Lesnar return to UFC with a fight against my AXSTV broadcast partner and the youngest UFC Heavyweight Champion ever, Josh Barnett, is also a ‘money fight.’ Because both former Heavyweight champs can’t realistically – and for promotion purposes – afford another loss if they want to truly regain main event relevance in the future.”

 The Fatal 4-Way match for the Universal Championship at WWE SummerSlam

“Love the booking of the SummerSlam main event featuring a four-way with Lesnar, Reigns, Strowman, and Joe. As a fan, I’m curious as to how it would play out if the four-way featured elimination rules? Nonetheless, is there a way for this match to be so well executed that every man in the match enhances their TV personas to some degree no matter the outcome? Absolutely.”

You can check out the entire blog by clicking here.

Legendary Superstars The Great Khali Has Defeated, WWE PC Sings To Triple H, Superstar Ink (Videos)

Robert Lentini
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42

WWE Performance Center roster sings “Happy Birthday” to Triple H

Yesterday was Triple H’s birthday and WWE uploaded a video of NXT Superstars and the coaching staff singing to “Happy Birthday” to him. Shawn Michaels didn’t sing along and walked away as soon as everyone was done singing.

5 legendary superstars The Great Khali has defeated

WWE uploaded a new list narrated by Corey Graves of 5 legendary superstars The Great Khali has defeated during his career. Khali made his return to WWE at this past Sunday’s Battleground PPV and help Jinder Mahal defeat Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship. The list included The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista and Kane.

Superstar Ink with Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy was on the most recent episode of Superstar Ink with Corey Graves. Hardy explained that the tattoos on his neck symbolize his struggles with addiction and what he went through to overcome those demons. You can check out the full episode in the video below.

Carmella On WWE’s Women’s Revolution, Total Divas & Relationship With Big Cass

Robert Lentini
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5

Carmella was recently interviewed by Debbie Emery of TheWrap. Carmella discussed the women’s revolution in WWE and joining the cast of “Total Divas”. Below are some highlights from the interview:

Why has there been such an explosion for women in WWE?

“I think it was just time — the women have been working for so long and so hard. The fans helped a lot too as they demanded it, they knew what the women were capable of and started the whole women’s revolution hashtag on Twitter. That gave the Divas a chance. The women took it and ran with it and have been running with it ever since then. They are now on main event pay-per-views. I was in the very first Money in the Bank ladder match for women, and I won it! So it has been a wonderful whirlwind. It is a great time to be a woman in the WWE.”

Is “Total Divas” a good way to show how hard WWE Superstars work?

“It is a great outlet for people to see what it takes to be in the WWE, but I don’t think it shows all of it. [The job] isn’t glamorous all the time by any means. There are a lot of perks, but viewers don’t see the late-night flights, the race to the rental car shuttle, the to drive to the hotel to get two hours sleep … you can only explain that so much.”

Is it hard having the cameras on you all the time, especially covering your personal life?

“It was different at first, that’s for sure. How am I supposed to act, what am I supposed to do? When you sign up for a reality show, you have to put your personal life out there.

But I am excited to share my struggle with my relationship. I am dating another WWE Superstar, Big Cass, he is on “Raw” and I am on “SmackDown,” so we get to show the world our struggles as it’s like a long-distance relationship and we only see each other one-and-a-half days a week, sometimes less. I really want to show women that it is OK to have a career and put that — not necessarily first — but to put it out there. You can do it all. Is it going to be hard? Yes. Is it going to be worth it? Of course.”

You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.

Elias Samson Name Change, GFW Cancels Upcoming Impact Live Event, Mike Kanellis Takes Shot At GFW

Robert Lentini
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64

GFW cancels upcoming live event

Global Force Wrestling has canceled their upcoming live event scheduled for Saturday, August 6th in Bridgeport, CT. GFW stated that the event has been canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances and logistical challenges”. The following update was posted on the GFW website:

Bridgeport, Conn. Live Event Update:

Global Force Wrestling regretfully announces that the Impact Live Event at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, August 6, has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and logistical challenges. All fans who purchased tickets for the Bridgeport event will be fully refunded. GFW also will offer all who purchased tickets to the Bridgeport show complimentary tickets to either of the other area Live Event shows that will be held that weekend: Friday, August 4, on Long Island, N.Y., at The Sports Arena in St. James (starting at 8 p.m.), and Saturday, August 5, at Staten Island’s Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George (starting at 6 p.m.). Please bring the original receipt from the Bridgeport show.

Mike Kanellis takes shot at GFW 

A fan took to Twitter to voice his opinion on Mike and Maria Kanellis in WWE. Kanellis responded with the following tweet:

https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/890618587781636096

Elias Samson loses his last name

Elias Samson’s WWE profile has been updated and his last name has been dropped. “Samson” has also been completely removed from his bio as you can see below.

Screen Shot 2017 07 28 at 6.22.01 AM

Aside from his trusty six-string, Elias doesn’t seem like the type of guy that cares about earthly possessions, or even about having a place to call home.

The brawling balladeer debuted in NXT in late 2015 after a series of musical vignettes foretold of his arrival to town. With bruising antics and strength to spare, Elias made an immediate mark inside the yellow ropes, despite the vocal disapproval of the NXT Universe. It was time for the strummer to roam elsewhere, however, after he came up short in a Loser Leaves NXT Match against Kassius Ohno in March 2017.

Following his dismissal from NXT, Elias sauntered onto Raw, strolling through the locker room one week and onstage the next, always strumming his faithful guitar.

Elias’ insulting songsmithing proves that he’s not interested in mass appeal, but when he begins to croon in the middle of the ring, the WWE Universe has no choice but to “walk with Elias.”

Preview for Sunday’s PROGRESS Chapter 53

Jake Skudder
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0

PROGRESS has unveiled the full card for their upcoming Chapter 53 event ‘Fate Loves the Fearless.’ Here are the matches that will be taking place on Sunday July 30th:

PROGRESS Women’s Title Match: Toni Storm (c) vs Candice LeRae – This is quite possibly the highest profile Women’s title match since the inception of the belt. Both women will be a part of the Mae Young Classic for WWE and both are being labelled as heavy favourites for that tournament. I’m expecting Toni to retain in what could easily steal the show on this packed card.

PROGRESS Tag Team Title Match: British Strong Style (c) vs Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins – Both Haskins and Havoc are trying stake their claim for another shot at the PROGRESS title. Current PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne has announced that he will not be defending the title until September and the company’s Alexandria Palace show…so to appease the two hot headed competitors they will be getting a shot at the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles. The current champions Trent Seven & Tyler Bate are no slouches and this should be an absolute barn burner of a match, I’m expecting BSS to retain their titles here.

Travis Banks vs Keith Lee – As part of the Dunne/Banks build for September both men have been given the opportunity to decide their counterparts opponents on the Chapter events before Alexandria Palace. Pete Dunne decided that Banks should face EVOLVE standout Keith Lee in what is easily one of the biggest matches of Travis Banks’ career. This will be an absolute spectacle with two of the best in the world colliding for the first time in a PROGRESS ring. I’m going for a Banks win and yet another contender for MOTN

Pete Dunne vs Jack Sexsmith – If you have been following my PROGRESS reports for any length of time you’ll know how much of a fan I am of Jack Sexsmith. The charismatic performer finally gets his shot in the main event against the PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne. Although this is a non-title match it is a chance for Jack to show his worth at the top of the card. PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne has been producing some of the best work of his career ever since winning the title and his stock has only risen since his WWE UK Title win at NXT Takeover earlier this year. The current rumour is that Dunne will be leaving the company come 2018 and that this run as champion will be his swan song in the company.

  • Chief Deputy Dunne vs Chuck Mambo
  • #CCK vs Extra Talent-ed
  • James Lynch vs Rob Davis
  • Zack Gibson & James Drake vs Never Say Die

New Japan to post Free Match every Monday on njpwworld.com

Jake Skudder
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0

New Japan has announced that the njpwworld.com site will post a free match from their archives every Monday.

NJPW has been posting several high profile bouts for free over the past couple of months although sporadically, this move appears to be another step in their goal for expansion into the Western territories of North America, the UK and Europe.

The following matches are currently available to view:

  • Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi G1 CLIMAX 26 (2016)
  • Hirooki Goto vs Kenny Omega G1 CLIMAX 26 (2016)

Cody Rhodes Talks About Planning His ‘Escape’ From WWE

Jon Fuentes
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10

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion and current Ring Of Honor (ROH) Heavyweight Champ Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with The Charlotte Observer to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Rhodes talked about making preparations to leave WWE months before his departure, working New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) G1 Special, and having a ‘lucky charm.’ Here are the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP51oGqTjTo&t=7s

Making preparations to leave WWE months before his departure:

“I was just talking about this and it’s made the difference. When guys leave – whether they decide to leave or they’re forced out – there’s usually this period of time we see them around the world and they can ride that WWE wave and use it, and then it goes away. It loses its luster after a few months.

“I planned my escape for six months before I left. I loved WWE, but in the end I was unhappy. It was just like planning an escape from a maximum security prison. I’d released a list of potential opponents online so when the 90-day no-compete clause was up, I had matches booked on good faith. I thought about the follow-up.”

Working NJPW’s G1 Special:

“It definitely superseded New Japan’s expectations as far as the yearning for their product in the U.S. They weren’t expecting the turnout to be as strong as it was. I want them to hit all these markets – Chicago, Atlanta. It gave them confidence to see where they want to go next. It rattled me a bit because the moment I stepped on the stage, I went from being the hero in Lowell, Massachusetts (where he won the ROH title) to being booed off the stage. I see a guy wearing my shirt flipping me double birds. It rattled me in the best way.”

What his ‘lucky charm’ is:

“I have this little tiny Dusty Rhodes figure they make in Japan that people always give me in my bag. I set it next to the title and took a picture of it in my bag. That was my big goal in the industry. I wasn’t able to achieve that in his lifetime, but he always believed.”

You can check out Rhodes full interview with The Charlotte Observer here.

Braun Strowman Reportedly Apologizes to GFW Executive After Altercation at Bar

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Braun Strowman may have just gotten himself into some hot water. After last week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Nashville, several WWE and Global Force Wrestling (GFW) stars met up after the show to hang out. According to a report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Karen Jarrett was there as well and approached “The Monster Among Men” to get an autograph for her son, who she said was one of his favorite wrestlers.

Strowman didn’t know who Jarrett was and was reportedly rude to her and might have sworn at her. This then turned into a scene as Karen then “cut a major loud promo” on Strowman in front of the entire bar.

During that promo, she mentioned that she was going to tell her son’s father how rude he was to her, who just so happens to be Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Strowman immediately changed his tune and said that he would sign the autograph, and begged Jarrett not to say anything to Kurt or anyone else.

He then apologized but Karen said she was still going to tell Kurt. This made Strowman say he’d get on his knees and beg. He then got on his knees in front of a bunch of WWE and GFW talents and begged. Karen then said something along the lines of  “you’re acting like that because you found out that Kurt Angle” is her son’s father. She then said that even if she wasn’t the mother of Angle’s son, he still shouldn’t treat the mother of a fan that way. Strowman then agreed and apologized once again.

AJ Styles Names Who He’d Still Like To Work With In WWE

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WWE United States Champion AJ Styles recently did an appearance on former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about his time thus far in the WWE. Styles discussed his recent United States Title win at a MSG house show, who he has yet to work with in the WWE that he’d like to, feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura in the future, and his top goal that he has with the company. You can check out the highlights here:

Winning the United States Championship at an MSG house show:

“To me, it’s smart. It’s something that hasn’t been done in a long time and to do it at Madison Square Garden and everybody with WWE knows that’s a big deal. I think it was awesome. I think it was very clever and I loved it.” Styles recalled, “there was a pop, ‘he won!

“Yes!’ but, ‘well, who’s going to walk out there?’ and then, there was another pop because nobody walked out there. It was really cool, but it was smart to not do that every year, but every couple of years to do something like that. I think it just came down to doing something different and it was Vince’s call and no one else’s. And yeah, it was great.”

Who he still wants to work with in the WWE:

“I have yet to wrestle Rusev and I think that would be really fun, to wrestle a guy like him. But there are guys on the RAW side that I haven’t really been in the ring with like Seth Rollins and Finn Bálor. I think people want to see. I’ve never worked Shinsuke Nakamura on US soil, so that could be a big deal as well.”

Already pitching a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura to WWE officials:

“Hopefully, when it finally happens in WWE, it should be something big. It should be bigger than just a match. That’s the one I’d like to do at WrestleMania, to be honest with you. But, I’ve let them know how important it is to me that we don’t do that, that we don’t just have a match.

“There’s so much build that can go into this and I almost feel like right before people think it’s about to happen, finally we get Nakamura and AJ Styles at this pay-per-view, something happens. Like, we can stretch this out as long as we want to finally give you the big payoff when it’s necessary, the climax of it, if you will.”

Wanting to main event WrestleMania:

“I would like to somehow find myself back at the main event. Everybody wants to be in the main event of WrestleMania. I’ll keep climbing that ladder and see where it takes me, but there’s nothing better than being a part of WrestleMania except being in the main event of WrestleMania.”

You can listen to Styles’ full interview with Edge and Christian by clicking here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions 

Eric Bischoff Chimes In On Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather

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We are just less than a month out from the biggest combat sporting event in history, as UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is set to make his professional boxing debut against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. McGregor has never competed in a professional boxing fight in his combat sports career. Recently, former WCW President and Monday Night RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff took to his podcast, Bischoff On Wrestling, to comment on the spectacle.

The topic was brought up due to the recent rumors going around that Brock Lesnar is contemplating a return to mixed martial arts (MMA) competition in the UFC after his WWE contract is up. The UFC is reportedly targeting returns for Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar late this year to help what has been a poor financial year. Bischoff was asked if the UFC regrets allowing McGregor to partake in his superfight with Mayweather due to their poor financial year, and here’s what he had to say:

“I don’t think it’s a decision you second guess, I think it’s the other way around. I would have made the same decision if I was in that seat. Conor McGregor is going to be a bigger star as a result of fighting Floyd than he was a year ago or six months ago.

“That’s assuming that the fight isn’t a complete embarrassment for Conor. I don’t think it will be. Assuming it’s not Conor McGregor is getting more press now and is a bigger brand name now than he ever would have been in two years in UFC. It’s a smart move on their part.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcribed quotes

Justin Roberts Explains What The Hardest Part of Being a WWE Ring Announcer Is

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Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts recently did an interview with Cult Of Whatever to promote his new book ‘Best Seat in the House: Your Backstage Pass through My WWE Journey’. Roberts was signed to WWE back in 2002 as a ring announcer, and remained with the company until 2014 when he was released.

He discussed what the hardest part about working as a ring announcer, as well as receiving some ridiculously long scripts to memorize shortly before the show. You can check out what he had to say here:

Hardest part about working for WWE as a ring announcer:

“The most nerve-racking thing was that I wasn’t allowed any note cards with the wrestlers towns and weights etc and I didn’t have an earpiece so no one was able to feed me any of the information, so a lot of the time I didn’t know what to say or when I was supposed to speak. When I was there they were really long announcements where not only did you introduce the wrestlers but introduced the match stipulations, the rules of the match, if the winner of the match would get a title shot at so and so PPV. Then the match could be a four-way and I had to remember all of that information off the top of my head”

Receiving long scripts to memorize shortly before shows:

“When WWE used to have the regular guest hosts they were long introductions and a lot of the time you didn’t get the script until the show went on the air so I didn’t have much time to memorize that. Then you take a show like WrestleMania and in 2011 at WrestleMania XXVII when I was the sole announcer for the whole show there was so much to remember but that was an awesome experience”

You can check out Roberts full interview with Cult Of Whatever by clicking here.

The Rock Reveals The Reason He’d Always Over-Sell The Stone Cold Stunner

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The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin put on one of the most storied rivalries in the WWE’s Attitude Era. One of the most entertaining aspects of Rock and Austin’s rivalry was how much “The Brahma Bull” would over-sell the Stone Cold Stunner. There are plenty of compilation videos online showing all the various over-sells Rock did while being stunned, often flipping and bouncing off the ropes, nearly doing a cartwheel, and wiggling around on the mat like a fish out of water.

Recently, Hannibal Buress took to his podcast to talk about how much The Rock would over-sell when being stunned with his friend Tony Trimm. You can check that clip out here:

https://twitter.com/hannibalburess/status/890609537325031425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Frock-reveals-reason-exaggerated-sells-stone-cold-stunner%2F

Rock took to Twitter to respond to Hannibal, revealing that he and Austin would actually bet cases of beer to see how crazy he could get while selling the stunner:

Discussion: What’s your favorite Rock-Austin stunner?

Details On Another WWE Superstar Shake-Up After SummerSlam

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WWE is discussing holding another Superstar Shake-Up after next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, according to the Wrestling Observer and a company source we spoke to earlier this week.

The most recent shake-up took place after WrestleMania 33, with RAW acquiring Bray Wyatt, The Miz & Maryse, Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Heath Slater & Rhyno, Kalisto, Apollo Crews, Curt Hawkins and David Otunga. SmackDown picked up Kevin Owens, Charlotte Flair, New Day, Rusev & Lana, Sami Zayn, Jinder Mahal, The Shining Stars, Tamina Snuka and Byron Saxton.

In addition to RAW and SmackDown shuffling talent some time early this fall, the Observer notes that there has also been talk of sending one or more Superstars from the main roster to NXT. While we don’t have specific name at this time, the talent WWE would send to NXT would be wrestlers who previously had success there and aren’t doing much on the main roster.

If these plans do go through, it seems WWE is going with a bi-annual Shake-Up opposed to an annual draft as we saw with the previous ‘brand extension’ roster split.

WWE Reports Record Revenue & Q2 2017 Results

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Second Quarter 2017 Highlights

* Revenue increased 8% to a record $214.6 million as WWE’s Live Event and Network segments achieved their highest quarterly revenue in Company history
* Operating income was $10.7 millionand Adjusted OIBDA1 of $18.1 million was essentially in line with the Company’s guidance
* WWE Network averaged more than 1.63 million average paid subscribers over the second quarter 2017, which represented an 8% increase from the second quarter 2016
* Launched localized weekly TV shows in India and Middle East. WWE Sunday Dhamaal in Hindi with Sony Pictures Networks and WWE Wal3ooha in Arabic with OSN feature highlights of Raw and SmackDown
* Completed multi-year agreement to televise Raw and SmackDown on SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster. WWE programming will be broadcast live for the first time in more than 50 countries
* Through the first six months of the year, digital engagement metrics continued to grow with video views up 18% to 9.1 billion and social media followers increasing 19% to 800 million
* Global sponsorship revenue increased 25% year-to-date, driven by new deals with blue-chip companies (KFC, Nestle and AT&T) and gaming partners (Psyonix, Square Enix & Activision)
* Lagardère Sports, a best-in-class sports marketing agency, was selected to further develop the Company’s global sponsorship business
* Completed agreements to develop new mobile games with GLU Mobile, maker of Racing Rivals and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, and Sega, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega’s WWE Tap Mania launched July 20
* Extended Mattel’s global master toy licensing agreement through 2021. WWE action figures continued to rank among the top three action figure properties in the U.S.

Selected WrestleMania Highlights

WrestleMania (April 2, 2017) broke the attendance record for the Orlando Citrus Bowl, attracting 75,245 fans, and reached a record 1.95 million global households on WWE Networkalone, making it the most-watched WrestleMania in history. WrestleMania was made available live in China for the first time on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view with a choice of Mandarin or English commentary. During WrestleMania Week, WWE Network subscribers watched 22.5 million hours of content, averaging approximately 13 hours per subscriber. WrestleMania was the most social event in WWE history with 5.19 million interactions on Facebook and Twitter during the broadcast alone. WrestleMania accounted for nearly 30% of all social TV interactions on April 2nd, surpassing the Country Music Awards (13%), The Walking Dead Season Finale (10%) and MLB Opening Day on ESPN (10%). During WrestleMania, the Company launched its first Snapchat show yielding over 5 million unique viewers. A series of Snapchat shows, co-produced by NBCU, will start later this year.

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its second quarter 2017. For the quarter, the Company reported Net income of $5.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, as compared to Net Income of $0.8 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Operating income increased to $10.7 million from $1.5 million. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted OIBDA1 increased to $18.1 million from $7.5 million.

“We are pleased with our ongoing efforts to execute our multi-platform content strategy as evidenced by the continued year-over-year growth of WWE Network, the increased production of localized programming across platforms and markets, and the attraction of new sponsors,” stated Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added “We achieved record revenues in our Network and Live event segments, continued to grow WWE Network’ssubscriber base, and generated results that were essentially in line with our guidance. As we continue to drive WWE’s digital and direct-to-consumer transformation, we remain on track to achieve our 2017 financial objectives with record revenue, record Adjusted OIBDA results, and record subscriber levels.”

Q3 2017 Business Outlook

For the third quarter 2017, the Company projects average paid subscribers to WWE Network of 1.54 million (+/- 2%). The Company also estimates third quarter 2017 Adjusted OIBDA of approximately $31 million to $35 million.2 This range represents an expected year-over-year increase from $24.5 million in the third quarter 2016 primarily due to the contractual escalation of television rights fees and continued growth of WWE Network subscribers.

WWE is unable to provide a reconciliation of third quarter guidance to GAAP measures as, at this time, WWE cannot accurately determine all of the adjustments that would be required.

2017 Perspective

WWE management continues to expect the Company to achieve another year of record revenue and has targeted Adjusted OIBDA of $100 million, which would be an all-time record (up approximately 25% from 2016 Adjusted OIBDA of $80.1 million).2 Given that the Company generated Adjusted OIBDA of $36.7 million in the first half of 2017 and projects Adjusted OIBDA of $31 million to $35 million for the third quarter, reaching the full year target indicates a range of fourth quarter results of at least $28 million to $32 million. Estimates for the third and fourth quarter 2017 represent significant year-over-year growth, which is based on sustained revenue growth and more favorable year-over-year comparisons in the Company’s fixed cost base.

Comparability of Results

For the second quarter of 2017, Operating income included $1.1 million in film impairment charges. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, Operating income included $5.6 million in expenses primarily related to certain legal matters and other contractual obligations, and $3.2 million in film impairment charges. As these items impact the comparability of results on a year-over-year basis, they have been excluded from the Company’s 2017 Adjusted OIBDA. For the comparable periods of 2016, there were no such items that impacted year-over-year comparability.

A reconciliation of 2017 Adjusted OIBDA to Operating income (GAAP) for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2017 can be found in the supplemental schedules on pages 14-16 of this release.

You can read the full release on WWE Corporate at this link.

Renee Young Working RAW & SmackDown, 2K18 Cena (Nuff) Deluxe Edition

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– WWE has announced that Renee Young will be working both RAW and SmackDown television from this point forward. The move comes after WWE scaled back on her weekly Talking Smack show and the discontinuation of her ‘Unfiltered’ WWE Network series.

– The WWE 2K18 Collector’s Edition will be titled, “Cena (Nuff) Edition” and will shine a spotlight on the legendary 15-year career of John Cena. WWE 2K18 Cena (Nuff) Edition will retail for $149.99 and only 30,000 copies will be sold. The Deluxe Edition includes:

  • The WWE 2K18 Deluxe Edition video game, featuring
    • Access to WWE 2K18 Season Pass
    • Playable versions of Batista and Rob Van Dam, two of John Cena’s legendary rivals
    • Playable versions of Cena recreating his appearances at ECW One Night Stand 2006 and WrestleMania XXVI
    • Access to the Kurt Angle Pack, which includes two playable versions of The Olympic Hero
  • Exclusive premium packaging that includes a unique cover sleeve, which will delight both Cena’s fans and his detractors
  • An exclusive Mattel action figure featuring John Cena with Cena/Cena Nuff T-shirt options
  • A Fanatics limited-edition commemorative plaque that includes a piece of the ring mat from Cena’s historic 16th World Title triumph at Royal Rumble 2017, as well as a hand-signed photo from The Cenation Leader himself
  • Limited edition WWE SuperCard in-game cards decorated with Cena (Nuff) card backs that feature Cena, Batista and Rob Van Dam

Pre-Order WWE 2K18 now from WWEShop.com.

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