– ESPN is said to be happy thus far with the viewership numbers they have been getting for the Tuesday night at 9pm SportsCenter on ESPN News, which has recently included the WWE interview. The numbers are actually up compared to what the hour had been doing before the addition of the WWE segment.
– Speaking of ESPN, WWE and Vince McMahon have signed off on allowing ESPN to use archival footage of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair for the upcoming 30 For 30 special they are working on. The special is scheduled to cover Flair’s entire career, including the plane crash, his personal life, financial issues and his son’s death. Flair was interviewed for the special this past week for four hours.
Samoa Joe turned heel and attacked Finn Balor during the main event of this week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network. Balor was defending the NXT Championship against Apollo Crews when Baron Corbin interfered and attacked Crews. Samoa Joe ran down and cleared house before unleashing a vicious attack against his former partner Finn Balor. Joe left the champion laying after a muscle buster to kick off what is sure to be a must-see feud.
"Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times." – Niccolò Machiavelli @WWEUniverse
This is an editorial, obviously. It reflects the views of David Bixenspan only and should not be construed as reflecting the opinions of SEScoops.com.
Last night, The New York Observer’s editors posted an editorial about some of the recent developments in Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media. Specifically, it pertains to the judge’s ruling allowing Hogan to hire a forensic expert to search Gawker’s computers, portable devices, cloud storage, and so on for proof that they leaked Hogan’s racist comments to The National Enquirer. As I reported here last week, Gawker will be appealing that ruling and has compelling evidence to suggest that it’s incredibly premature to suggest they were behind the leak.
The New York Observer editorial gets some of the basic facts wrong. Like many wrestling fans, they think Hogan using the N-word in an old interview is what got him in trouble when it was actually an oddly personal racist tirade on one of the sex tapes that was shot without his knowledge in 2007. Having said that, the overall point of the article is dead-on: This is a big deal, and it has implications reaching far beyond pro wrestling and celebrity gossip. Hell, the whole case does.
Specific to this latest development, the Observer describes the most recent ruling as having “much of the news media in frenzy” because of “the potential loss of reporter’s privilege.” It’s a basic First Amendment Protection, and Judge Pamela Campbell is just throwing it out…why, exactly? Because they just happened to have an interest in Hogan’s reputation being ruined even if there’s no evidence to suggest they were behind said ruining?
Throughout the case, the perception has been that Campbell has favored Hogan, sealing any court filings that could make him look bad (like an old magazine photo shoot of him with naked women). This is just the latest and most egregious thing she’s done. Yes, she did limit what can be searched for, but there’s still no actual evidence suggesting Gawker did this. Regardless of how you feel about Gawker or the lawsuit itself over them publishing clips of one of the Hogan sex tapes, this is just not something that should be happening.
Like I said, though: It’s not just this. The whole case is a big deal. As egregious as Gawker’s actions may come off and as strange as their defense (Hogan made graphic depictions of his sex life part of his public persona) may sound, most legal experts who have commented to the media thinks they have the case won. A Hogan-friendly local jury could go against them, but they’d inevitably win an appeal. It’s a fascinating battle over freedom of the press involving arguably the biggest pro wrestling star ever and all sorts of crazy things like sex tapes, FBI stings, and alleged cover-ups.
Jesse Ventura’s defamation lawsuit against Chris Kyle’s estate was a similarly big deal. On its face, it may not be any kind of precedent setting piece of litigation because it’s much more straightforward: Did Chris Kyle lie about Jesse Ventura making comments suggesting he deserved to lose friends in the Iraq war and that he then punched Ventura? A jury (the majority, as agreed to by both sides) agreed that yes, he lied. But it was almost unheard of for a public figure to win that kind of defamation case. The estate is appealing and various media companies are intervening on the claim of unjust enrichment (essentially making money from the lie), which Ventura has spoken out against in interviews. That fight could have huge, long-term legal implications, as well.
In all likelihood, the Hogan-Gawker trial will be even bigger, at least in terms of coverage. It’s so much more tabloidy and salacious, but the consequences of all of the actual legal issues have real world importance.This is bigger than pro wrestling and celebrity gossip.
I know I’ll be watching closely, and I hope you all will be, too.
WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins appeared to injure his leg or knee in Dublin, Ireland on the opening night of WWE’s European tour . During his ‘No Holds Barred’ match against Kane, Rollins landed awkwardly after trying to set up a somersault flip into a powerbomb.
He had trouble walking and had to be helped to the back by his trainers. Fans in attendance were buzzing on social media about the situation.
Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and the Architect gets back to business without skipping a beat.
Rolling Stone has published their latest interview with a WWE star, and this week’s is with the newest addition to the main roster: Tyler Breeze. Having just moved up to touring with the main roster, that’s one of the topics covered, as well as his “gatekeeper” role and NXT and much more. Here are some key quotes:
How did he find out he was being called up?
I had heard some rumblings that they were looking to bring up someone. When you look at the roster of NXT, you kind of gauge yourself and figure out where you fit in, and I figured I’d be a possibility. Finally, I had a meeting with Triple H, and he said that I was given the green light, and we were going to start moving on it. We weren’t sure of all the details, but I knew it was happening. The next thing I know, I was sitting there, ready to go.
Was he worried that they’d tinker with the character?
No, not really. Given the time that I had been Tyler Breeze, and the reactions I had been getting, I really wasn’t too concerned. Now, there are so many great minds here, and if someone tosses an idea to me and we want to add it in, then I can make it work. But if there’s one thing about the character that I know, it’s that I have confidence in it. I can do something that other people can’t; anything that they want me to try, I can go out there and make it work. I’m really not too concerned with any changes that may be made. It will always come out entertaining as far as I’m concerned.
On being seen as NXT’s gatekeeper to the “indie stars,” most recently Apollo Crews:
People see it in different ways. Some people see it as me being bumped aside and shuffling down the card. I didn’t really view it that way at all. The guys coming in, I either knew, or got to know very quickly. I also got the chance and the opportunity to work with all of them. These guys, they’re not just coming in from scratch, they’ve been wrestling for 10-plus years. To top it off, all of them are really cool guys too. As soon as they come in, the fact that either I get paired with them, or I get to work with them later,
I didn’t see it as getting pushed down the card. I saw it as another opportunity to work with someone good and steal the show in another capacity. Whether there’s an NXT title there or not, the match would be one that people wanted to see. I loved working with Hideo and Finn. Me and Owens did some stuff, Zayn, Neville. All these guys that they’re bringing in, it’s not a bad thing, it’s not a jealousy thing. We wanted to make the roster something where people wanted to see every match on the card. The NXT title is where you want to be, but if you’re working with those talents, it’s going to be a match that people are looking forward to, and will buy tickets to see. There was no jealousy whatsoever. It’s just cool to see that everyone is doing well and having fun.
Make sure to check out the whole interview at Rolling Stone for much more, including the prestige of the NXT brand.
Ryan Satin at Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting an interesting item pertaining to Lucha Underground’s second season, which is about to start production. According to Satin’s “sources close to the situation,” Trevor Mann, the wrestler better known as Prince Puma in Lucha Underground and Ricochet everywhere else, wants to start talking as the Prince Puma character. He’s not necessarily looking to do big long promos, but he wants a shot to show what he can do, as the masked character has never spoken so far, with Konnan functioning as his mouthpiece. Mann is scheduled to have a meeting to discuss the issue with “executives,” though it’s not clear if he means El Rey or Lucha Underground executives.
There’s one possible complication to this request, which Satin doesn’t mention: Mann is a non-Latino playing a masked Latino character on a TV show that airs on networks targeting Latinos. One could argue that they may not want to risk him coming off inauthentic if he were to speak and not sound like a Mexican Aztec Warrior. Yes, it’s pro wrestling, and that’s nothing new, but it would not be an entirely ridiculous concern in this context.
A few days ago, the above video featuring WWE Diva (as Tiffany) turned TNA Knockout Taryn Terrell started to get passed around a bit by wrestling fans (though it’s actually a month old). In the video, she talks about taking a renewed interest in her faith as a Christian, being that it was something she had neglected for a while. Today, both The Christian Post and The New York Post picked up her comments, which brought the video a lot of attention.
She’s not really specific about what specific behavior she’s talking about, whether it’s her domestic incidents with Drew Galloway or something else. She seems to have taken responsibility for whatever she feels bad about, though:
I went on the road with WWE for a while and that want to be a Christian sort of went by the wayside. I lived in sin. I was not a good person. I can say that I am ashamed of who I was in a lot of ways and the decisions that I made, and it was because I wasn’t a Christian.
A lot of times I thought, ‘How am I going to be a Christian?’ How can I be accepted by God? I have done awful things. I have not lived as a Christian. I lived as a sinner.
Terrell also explained that she didn’t actually have a good concept of how, theologically speaking, the concept of forgiveness works in Christianity:
What I didn’t understand about being saved was that I could be forgiven. I could truly be forgiven for all of the bad things that I have done. I will tell you that the moment that I truly feel and believe that I was saved—all these years of thinking, ‘Sure, I’m a Christian. I am going to Heaven. I believe that I was going there’—I was speaking with a Christian counselor in June and he asked me … ‘Are you saved?’ Again, I gave the same answer, ‘Yeah, sure. I believe in God, I believe in Heaven.’
It was then that he said, ‘Well, that’s great, but being a Christian means that you believe in Jesus. You believe that He died on the cross, that He died for our sins, that He was resurrected, that He is going to come again. That is your ticket to Heaven. That is your ticket to the Kingdom.’ It registered. It was something that I don’t know if I had heard before, or if I had heard it before, I didn’t truly hear it.
The USA Network issued the following press release today, confirming that WWE SmackDown will premiere on the network on January 7, 2016:
USA NETWORK SETS JANUARY PREMIERES FOR ‘SMACKDOWN®’ AND ‘SUITS’
Live Action WWE® Powerhouse “SmackDown” To Debut January 7
Critically Acclaimed Drama “Suits” Picks Up After Powerful Mid-Season Cliffhanger on January 27
Previously Announced New Drama “Colony” To Premiere on January 14
New York, NY – November 4, 2015 – USA Network will have a white hot January with the grand arrival of the two-hour live action WWE powerhouse SMACKDOWN on Thursday, January 7 at 8/7c. The winter continues to heat up with the return of the critically acclaimed drama SUITS, which picks up from the intense cliff hanger on Wednesday, January 27 at 10/9c. The network will also premiere the previously announced epic drama COLONY, from executive producers Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) and Ryan Condal (“Hercules”), on Thursday, January 14 at 10/9c.
With the arrival of SMACKDOWN on Thursday, January 7 @ 8/7c, USA becomes the exclusive cable home to WWE’s two marquee properties. Viewers can now bookend their week with MONDAY NIGHT RAW live on Mondays from 8-11p and SMACKDOWNon Thursdays from 8-10p. Consistently one of the highest-rated weekly series on cable, over the past 15 years SMACKDOWN has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and towns and in seven different countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Japan, Italy and Mexico. On January 7, SMACKDOWN will air its 855th episode from Laredo, Texas.
The highly-anticipated drama COLONY, premiering on Thursday January 14 @ 10/9c, centers on one family’s struggle to survive and bring liberty back to the people of an occupied Los Angeles. SAG winner Josh Holloway (“Lost”) stars as former FBI agent Will Bowman and Satellite Award winner Sarah Wayne Callies (“The Walking Dead”) stars as his wife, Katie, in the series which takes place in a dangerous world of divided ideologies. While some choose to collaborate with the occupation and benefit from the new order, others rebel and suffer the consequences. COLONY is a co-production between Legendary Television and Universal Cable Productions (UCP). Along with Cuse and Condal, Nelson McCormick (“24”) also executive produces.
The fifth season of SUITS finishes its run with 6 new episodes on Wednesday, January 27 at 10/9c. In the wake of his arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, Mike (Patrick J. Adams, “Orphan Black”) finds himself at the center of an investigation – led by a ruthless government prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney Anita Gibbs (new recurring guest star Leslie Hope, “24”) – that threatens to bring down the whole firm. Harvey (Gabriel Macht, “Love and Other Drugs”), having resigned from the firm in order to protect it, must tred lightly if he’s going to help Mike, or incur the wrath of Charles Forstman (returning guest star Eric Roberts, “The Dark Knight”). Together with Jessica (Gina Torres, “Firefly”) and Louis (Rick Hoffman, “Samantha Who”), Harvey must figure out how to build a defense for Mike, knowing full well that he’s guilty of the crime for which he stands accused. Meanwhile, Rachel (Meghan Markle, “Fringe”) must come to terms with the fact that her fiancé, and everyone she’s close to, could soon be in prison as Donna (Sarah Rafferty, “Brothers & Sisters”) finds herself at a crossroad.
New characters this season include prosecuting attorney Anita Gibbs (Leslie Hope, “24”) and James Paulsen (Derek McGrath, “Doc”). Returning characters this season include Trevor (Tom Lipinski, “Labor Day”), Scottie (Abigail Spencer, “Cowboys & Aliens”), Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce, “The Wire”), Jack Soloff (John Pyper-Ferguson, “Drive”), Professor Gerard (Stephen Macht, “The Monster Squad”), Gretchen (Aloma Wright, “Days of Our Lives”), Jeff Malone (DB Woodside, “24”), Sheila (Rachael Harris, “The Hangover”) and Jimmy (Pooch Hall, “The Game”). From Universal Cable Productions, SUITS was created by and is executive produced by Aaron Korsh (“The Deep End”). Doug Liman (The “Bourne” trilogy), David Bartis (“Covert Affairs”) and Gene Klein (“Covert Affairs”) of Hypnotic along with Anton Cropper (“Fairly Legal”), Daniel Arkin (“90210”) and Chris Downey (“King & Maxwell”) serve as executive producers. SUITS is shot on location in Toronto.
We’re proud to announce that the SEScoops Mailbag is back.
Years ago this was one of our most popular features. The mailbag gave our readers a chance to be even more interactive with the site and it encouraged some great discussions about topics that aren’t part of the regular news cycle.
Send in your questions to [email protected] with the subject line “MAILBAG” and they will be answered here by *ahem* select members of our writing staff.
We hope to make this a weekly feature, so send in those questions!
WWE® VIRTUAL REALITY CONTENT DEBUTS ON SAMSUNG MILK VR
STAMFORD, Conn., November 4, 2015 – For the first time, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and Samsung are giving fans a 360-degree, ringside look into WWE with new virtual reality content from SummerSlam®, now available via Samsung Milk VR premium virtual reality content service on Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition powered by Oculus. Fans can access two WWE virtual reality videos via the WWE 360 channel on Samsung Milk VR.
The first video provides fans with a completely new experience, including a 360-degree look at highlights from SummerSlam weekend – from the excitement of the fans, to the pivotal moments of NXT® TakeOver™, to the epic showdown between John Cena® and Seth Rollins®, and the surprise appearance in the main event by SummerSlam host Jon Stewart.
The second video gives fans a look at key moments from the match between Finn Bálor™ and Kevin Owens™ at NXT TakeOver, a WWE Network special that took place the night before SummerSlam in front of a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center, giving them a chance to see the action as if they were there live.
“We are excited to bring our fans closer to the action through an immersive 360-degree viewing experience on Samsung Milk VR,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. “We strive to deliver innovative ways for our fans to engage and this is our first step in bringing virtual reality content to the WWE Universe.”
“Premium 360-degree VR content is giving fans presence and proximity to some of their favorite action and sports moments such as WWE’s SummerSlam,” said Matt Apfel, vice president of strategy and creative content at Samsung Media Solutions Center America. “We are thrilled to see leading brands like WWE entering into VR, bringing fans a 360 experience close to the action.”
During his recent appearance alongside Bo Dallas and Neville on WWE Network’s “Table For 3” original series, veteran wrestler and NXT star Samoa Joe spoke about working with a young John Cena in UPW and how Jim Ross told Joe he wasn’t what WWE was looking for back then.
“That’s where John started,” said Joe. “Actually, I worked with him a ton. He was dedicated back then, so anyways, John got the [WWE] deal. I met Jim Ross at the time and Jim Ross said, ‘you know, maybe you’re not really what we’re looking for right now’.”
Joe also spoke about working international territories and ultimately making it to WWE.
“Contrary to wisdom back when I first started out, way back when, I find myself here in WWE.”
Samoa Joe also spoke about the reason he was brought to NXT, and how he still has aspirations of joining the main WWE roster.
“I was kind of brought in to add to the momentum that NXT has going. I mean, obviously, I think we all want to go win the big one, but I also wouldn’t mind helping NXT be part of a bigger thing.” Joe added, “it’s a real unusual kind of time, to kind of be a part of this process and a very unique position for me, kind of, coming in, so, I don’t know, man. I’m kind of laying back and seeing what cards are dealt and playing the best hand.”
“Table For 3” featuring Samoa Joe, Neville and Bo Dallas is available on the WWE Network right now.
– For 2016, WWE is bringing back their “Attitude Era” DVD and Blu-ray series according to reports from WrestlingDVDNetwork.com. The “Attitude Era Vol. 3” set is scheduled to be released next summer, while the “Attitude Era Vol. 2” set was released in 2014.
– CMLL and NJPW veteran La Sombra could possibly be signing with WWE, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. Sombra, who has been wrestling since he was 14 years old, had a WWE tryout back in 2011 while the company was touring in Mexico. Though he was obviously not signed back then, there is speculation that it is a possibility.
– The first-ever Sheamus vs. NXT Champion Finn Balor match has been receiving a lot of buzz online. The match is set for Wednesday’s WWE live event in Dublin, Ireland. On Tuesday, Sheamus issued this Twitter poll on the match:
WWE issued their ‘WrestleMania economic impact’ report on Wednesday, detailing the financial windfall brought to the local economy of this year’s host city, Santa Clara, California.
WrestleMania 31 brought an impressive $139 million to the Northern California region, which was slightly down from the $142 million New Orlens for WrestleMania 30. Both figures are significantly higher than WrestleMania 29 ($101.2 million for NY/NJ) and WrestleMania 28 ($102.7 million for Miami).
The Dallas Morning News also released a report this week that WWE is estimating a $140 million of economic impact for WrestleMania 32 next April in Arlington, Texas.
Here’s the official announcement:
WrestleMania generates $139 million for Santa Clara/San Jose region
STAMFORD, Conn. – WWE, Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced today that WrestleMania 31 generated $139 million in economic impact for the Santa Clara/San Jose region this past March, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks the second largest economic impact in WrestleMania history, and the fourth consecutive year that WrestleMania generated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region.
Over the past nine years, WrestleMania has generated more than $700 million in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 31 also generated approximately $23.2 million in federal, state and local taxes.
“On behalf of the beautiful city of Santa Clara, I sincerely thank all WWE fans that visited Levi’s Stadium for WrestleMania 31,” said Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews. “The event exceeded our expectations, and we would absolutely welcome the opportunity to once again host WWE’s marquee event.”
“WrestleMania 31 gave passionate fans that came from near and far an experience they’ll never forget,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “I thank WWE for choosing to host their longest-running flagship event in Silicon Valley, for its contributions to our community, and for driving economic benefit in our region.”
“We are proud that WrestleMania continues to deliver an incredible economic benefit for its host region,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President, Special Events. “Our WrestleMania Week success in the Bay Area would not have been possible without the support of Mayor Matthews, Mayor Liccardo, the San Francisco 49ers and countless other public- and private-sector partners that embraced WWE’s worldwide fan base. We are excited with the planning that is already underway with our new partners in the Dallas/Arlington area for WrestleMania 32.”
A capacity crowd of 76,976 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past March, making it the highest-grossing event in WWE history. Key highlights from the study include:
$139 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the Santa Clara/San Jose region for WrestleMania 31.
78 percent of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the greater Santa Clara/San Jose region and stayed an average of 3.3 nights.
$22 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the Santa Clara/San Jose region.
The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,218 full-time jobs for the area.
$6.2 million was spent by visitors to the Santa Clara/San Jose region at area restaurants.
Next year, WrestleMania 32 will take place Sunday, April 3, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Tickets go on sale this Friday, Nov. 6, at 10 AM ET/9 AM CT. The event will be broadcast live on WWE Network in more than 175 countries.
– For those curious about the amount of listeners a podcast hosted by a pro wrestler can garner, WWE Superstar Bubba Ray Dudley noted that the recent episode of “Talk Is Jericho,” which featured Chris Jericho interviewing The Dudley Boyz, drew over 700,000 downloads already. For those who missed the show, you can download it today at PodcastOne.com.
– The Usos will make their return to WWE SmackDown as a tag-team on this week’s episode of the show, which airs on Thursday night. The duo will take on The Ascension in tag-team action in what will be their first tag-team match on SmackDown since March.
– Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero are launching a brand new clothing line on November 16th. Chavo Guerrero did a photo shoot recently with Melissa Santos and Jasmin Gonzalez. You can check out a photo from the shoot below.
WWE will hold two live events in India in January 2016, the company’s first time in the country in 14 years.
The shows will take place at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on January 15th and 16th. Top stars advertised for the tour include John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Big Show, Ryback and Sheamus.
The news was announced at a press conference in India on Wednesday hosted by WWE and and local TV partner Ten Sports. Daniel Bryan was on hand and said,
“We have great fans in India. Yesterday I went to a mall and thousands cheered for me for almost fifteen minutes. It’s a great feeling to be here.”
Crave Online recently spoke with actor Eric Roberts, who co-stars in The Condemned 2 alongside WWE Superstar Randy Orton. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On Randy Orton being a “natural” at acting:
Randy Orton is a natural. He’s big and tall with lots of presence. He’s really sweet. I was like ‘Wow! That’s really nice.’ He comes across with such strong presence and he’s such a big guy and he comes across like he could be a problem walking in the room but he’s the sweetest man you’ve ever met. He’s humble too.
On his character Frank, who is the father of Orton’s character:
He’s old school. Old school has his rules and rules are made to be broken. That’s pretty much the long and short of it. He thinks you have to do things a certain way and his way is not up to date. It’s a father and son coming of age kind of thing.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Monday’s RAW and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On Monday’s RAW:
“WWE was without a great deal of star power Monday night but had one of their better shows IMO nonetheless. It seems that talents who are still present realize that the door is open for them to step up and take ownership of the fleeting albeit lucrative top spots in WWE and become permanent residents of the main event neighborhood of the Promised Land.”
On Alberto Del Rio possibly turning on Zeb Colter:
“I see ADR turning on the villain Zeb Colter some time soon and becoming the Hispanic fan favorite that WWE desperately needs. It’s unfortunate that Alberto wasn’t able to keep his commitments to Mexico’s AAA after rejoining WWE. That’s never a good situation. No one wins in this particular situation.”
On changes to Bray Wyatt’s character:
“I’m confused about what Bray Wyatt is becoming with the purported, super natural powers, etc and need that story explained better to me. Still think that Wyatt will one day be a huge fan favorite. Not today, but after a good, hot bad guy run. Has Wyatt inherited Taker’s eerie demeanor?”
– Featured above is a behind-the-scenes clip from Batista’s recent Muscle & Fitness shoot.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Bob Backlund is the guest on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast. The official description for the show, which you can download at PodcastOne.com, reads as follows:
“WWE Hall of Famer & World Champ Bob Backlund has plenty of stories about his days in pro-wrestling – from his chance meeting with Superstar Billy Graham at a North Dakota YMCA to being mentored by the Funk Brothers to the one-minute long phone call with Vince McMahon, Sr that changed his pro-wrestling career! Hear about Bob’s early days in the territories living in his car, his 1982 match against Ric Flair, dropping the belt to the Iron Sheik at MSG, and his amazing philosophy on the benefits of a Positive Mental Attitude!”
– WWE Shop has finally released New Day socks for the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The New Day. Kofi Kingston tweeted the following about the product, which you can also see pictured below.
We heard you. And we're finally giving you what you've been asking for for the past 9 months… New Day Socks! https://t.co/5M7brLbmDZ
In an interview with Ring Rust Radio, former WCW Champion Goldberg discussed who he would choose for his final opponent, and detailed his controversial WrestleMania 20 match with Brock Lesnar. You can listen to the full podcast here. Here are some highlights:
On his ideal opponent for his final match ever:
It would be Austin for sure. Brock would be a good one since we have unfinished business. At the end of the day that everyone clamors for, and I even clamor for, would be Austin and me. There will always be a question mark there unless we were to do something one on one. It’s kind of a match made in heaven.
Was he happy with his match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20:
No, I mean you play the cards you are dealt. At the end of the day, we were up against an impossible task to entertain a group of people that 100 percent know you are both leaving after that match. Utter distain is what we received from the fans. Would I change anything about? Yeah, I would change everything about it. At the end of the day, if you take it for what it was, it was an interesting match. The overtone was so skewed, it was just such a weird situation and insurmountable task. Would I change anything? Yes. Would I change everything? Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaYKReWh8p0
Why he feels he never clicked in WWE:
Because I was a football player and competitor in life and those were a bunch of fraternity boys.
Goldberg is currently working on an action film called Check Point, to be released next year.
An ESPN camera crew will be following Ric Flair backstage at WWE Survivor Series later this month. As previously reported, ESPN has begun work on a 30 For 30 special on the 16-time World Champion. In addition to Flair, they’ll be getting footage of active WWE wrestlers discussing The Nature Boy’s accomplishments in the wrestling business.
According to Ric Flair’s agent, ESPN began shooting for the documentary project last week.
ESPN has done 30 For 30 specials on NXT, The Von Erichs, Scott Hall, WWE, Vince McMahon, and many other wrestling personalities. As of press time, there’s no word on when Flair’s episode will air.
Survivor Series 2015 will take place on November 22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown on Tuesday night from Colorado Springs, CO. Here are the full results from the taping:
– The show starts with a promo from Zeb Colter and Alberto Del Rio on MexAmerica.
– WWE United States champ Del Rio defeats Neville in a non-title match. Del Rio worked heel and Neville down after the match until Jack Swagger made the save.
– The Usos defeat The Ascension in under five minutes.
– Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan defeat Sin Cara, Kalisto, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil in a Survivor Series-style elimination match. All four Wyatts survive.
– Ryback defeats King Barrett. Ryback countered a sleeper hold and Shellshocked Barrett for the win.
– Natalya defeated Tamina Snuka.
– WWE Intercontinental champ Kevin Owens defeats Dean Ambrose by DQ. They brawl after the match and SmackDown ends with Ambrose in the ring.
WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham revealed on Facebook that he has signed a Legends contract with WWE. He says Triple H personally presented him with the offer.
Here’s what Graham had to say:
“Hello Facebook fans around the world. I am thrilled to report to all of you that Triple H, via a telephone conversation, has offered to give me an official WWE Legends contract. I of course said yes, and thank you very much! I have received that contract, and signed and mailed it back to the WWE. So I am officially back in the WWE family, proving that miracles still happen !! I did go to the Smackdown show held here in Phoenix on October 27th, as some had reported on the internet. I met with WWE Talent Relations executive Mark Carrano to go over various opportunities for me in the future. Mark Carrano is a real class act and gentleman and was very encouraging on the future release of my WWE merchandise sometime after the first of the year, along with attending WrestleMania 32 in Dallas as part of the meet and greet fan access festivities. So, I want to thank Triple H and Mark Carrano for making this exciting event happen for me. I am officially back home in the family of the WWE where I belong !!!!”
Goldust will be returning to WWE television soon and is making it known on Twitter that he’s got his sights set on the first title he won in WWE: the Intercontinental Championship held by Kevin Owens.
A few weeks removed from being sued by ratings giant Nielsen Audio for tampering with their sample, there’s more bad news for Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. The “shock jock”/former TNA interviewer/former best friend of Hulk Hogan may have paid more people to strategically listen to his show than previously thought.
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Nielsen Audio released a statement declaring that for the second month in a row, they are not listing ratings for WBRN-FM in Tampa Bay. The key is that the tampering that led to the lawsuit was completely eliminated by the end of September, so it looks like Nielsen found evidence of additional tampering by Clem. In text messages with the listener he paid who then went to Nielsen, he referenced having at least one past similar relationship.
Beasley Media Group (parent company of WBRN) President Bruce Beasley issued this statement:
We cooperated fully with Nielsen to ensure the accuracy of their past and forthcoming ratings. Therefore, we were blind-sided and disappointed to learn that Nielsen Audio will exclude WBRN-FM from the October 2015 ratings. The fallout from this dispute may inflict collateral damage on Beasley, which, indisputably, has done nothing wrong.
