Earlier, we posted WWE’s press release listing the latest developmental signees to report to to the Performance Center. Not all of the names WWE announced were necessarily breaking news, as the Tough Enough winners were on there, but there were plenty of other names that hadn’t been officially announced yet. That includes a few of the most notable names on the independent scene…sort of. WWE makes a point of only including real names, so it wasn’t immediately apparent who some of the wrestlers were.
That said, Richard Swann of Baltimore, Maryland is obviously Rich Swann, best known for his work in CZW, Dragon Gate, PWG, WXW, and the WWN family of promotions (Dragon Gate USA, Evolve, and Full Impact Pro). He’s a talented high flyer known for moves like the Rich Kick, a standing 450 Splash.
Christopher Girard of Boston, Massachusetts, is best known as Biff Busick. He’s made the rounds a in many of the same promotions as Swann, but he has more of a hard-hitting, grounded style. Which isn’t to say he doesn’t fly, but he doesn’t do it as much as Swann.
Finally, Adrienne Reese of Dallas, Texas is Athena. Originally trained by Rodney Mack with additional training later from Booker T, she’s been one of the top female wrestlers on the independent scene for several years. She’s incredibly smooth in the ring, with a nice, well-rounded mix of submissions, some flying, and more. It’s not an exaggeration at all to say that she’s probably right with or just below Natalya and Asuka as the best and most polished women on the roster.
– WWE Diva and Total Divas star Rosa Mendes noted on social media on Tuesday night that the WWE television tapings this week was her last WWE event for a few months. Mendes is expecting her first child in February of 2016.
– James Storm sent Stephanie McMahon a random tweet on Tuesday, complimenting her on how her hair looks in the new WWE 2K16 video game. Storm’s original tweet read, “Your hair is on point,” and his newer tweet reads as follows:
– The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s edition of NXT TV.
* Emma vs. Shazza McKenzie from Australia
* Chad Gable and Jason Jordan vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano
* Nia Jax vs. Kay Lee Ray from Scotland
* Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze
* NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger
– Wizard World announced on Tuesday that WWE Superstars Lana and Kane will not be appearing at their scheduled appearances in Austin, Texas this weekend due to scheduling conflicts. The cancellation box on their official website also notes that Ric Flair and Charlotte have cancelled as well.
– Below is Batista on the cover of the November issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine, which is available on newsstands now.
As noted, John Cena is currently on hiatus from WWE. He is advertised to return at the December 26th WWE live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and will be working the annual post-Christmas tour.
According to F4WOnline.com, plans as of this week call for Cena to return at the December 13th WWE TLC pay-per-view from his hometown of Boston. The idea is to have Cena return and face Alberto Del Rio for the WWE United States Championship in a rematch from Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
While plans could always change, that is what WWE has in store for Cena’s return as of this week. We will keep you posted if any additional information becomes available.
Last night, we brought youthe hourly viewership numbers for Monday’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw and the approximate average based on the mean of those three hours. Since then, more detailed information has come out from Dave Meltzer at F4WOnline and James Caldwell at PWTorch.
The rating itself (percentage of homes with USA Network watching Raw) was a 2.46, up 11% from last week’s 2.21. Last week’s episode was tied with the Christmas Eve 2012 show as the lowest rated edition of Raw since 1997, so the increase is good news. That said, the average viewership across the whole ~three hour show 3.54 million, down just 20,000 viewers from last week’s 3.56 million mark. That means that less viewers were watching per home than last week.The rating a year ago, for the October 27, 2014 show, was a 2.71.
Overall, the pattern is still not good, but there were signs of encouragement, like the increase in households as well as the biggest third hour number in five weeks. and the biggest first hour in a couple months. With the hot crowd providing a better atmosphere than we’ve seen lately and it being a consensus strong show, it will be interesting to see if that momentum carries over to next week.
Christian’s days in the ring appear to be officially over, according to his Superstar profile at WWE.com. His bio has been moved to the Alumni section and has been updated with the following description:
“Upon realizing the honor of inducting his longtime friend and former partner, Edge, into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, Christian confessed to experiencing a “moment of clarity” that reset his own career goals. He returned from injury at WWE Over the Limit 2012 and won a Battle Royal and a match with Cody Rhodes to claim the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time.
His reign ended on Raw 1,000, and Christian was out of action for nearly a year with a shoulder injury. He returned in June 2013, once again poised to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Although he never regain the title, he solidified his legacy and left active competition still at the top of his game.”
The former World Heavyweight champion has been out of action since suffering a concussion last year. He appeared on the Stone Cold Podcast with his childhood friend Edge, but did not make an official statement on his in-ring future during that interview.
Hulk Hogan recently spoke with The Star to promote his upcoming “Evening with Hulk Hogan” event in the UK. Here some highlights of what Hogan said about:
His best opponent:
“The best I’ve ever grappled was The Rock. This guy had the talent. He had everything. If things went wrong in the ring he knew how to fix things on the spot. Not just an instinct. He had a really good feel for this business. So The Rock, without a doubt was easily the best. The toughest I ever had to wrestle and the most memorable match ever was Andre the Giant, at Wrestlemania III.
“I have to talk about the ‘Macho Man‘ Randy Savage. I cannot talk about wrestling without him. He was my main stay. He was the guy I used to love to wrestle any time I could because you always knew you were going to get the ‘Macho Man’. That was very important to have someone come at you wide open. I had a lot of good ones. You can’t forget Piper really, we had some epic battles.”
If he’s talked with Sylvester Stallone about The Expendables 4:
“I haven’t talked to him. But there’s a bunch of people who have thrown my name around and done stuff. I’d love to read the script. I don’t know how many more Expendables they’re going to make, so I’d love to be in the next one. I’d love to be the bad guy again in a Stallone movie. It would be a lot of fun.”
Wanting to End His Career with WWE:
“There’s a lot of wrestling opportunities out there. WWE would be a great place to end my career. Everything would have to be very calculated. I’d want to go out there one last time to have fun. It would have to be something I’d really have to have a handle on, because I can’t afford any more downtime or surgery.”
Nick and Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks have revealed that they have signed with Ring of Honor in what they’re calling the most lucrative deal in company history.
Earlier this week,the duo teased they had signed with a ‘major promotion’ and named WWE, NXT, TNA, ROH, Lucha Underground and NJPW as possible homes for them.
Here’s the official press release, sent in from ROH:
Matt & Nick Jackson “The Young Bucks” sign with Ring of Honor
SUPERKICKPARTY!!!!(BALTIMORE, MD) – After years of touring the globe as one of the most popular free-agent tag-team, Matt and Nick Jackson, a.k.a. The Young Bucks, have signed exclusive contracts with Ring of Honor. “We evaluate the landscape right now, we look around at professional wrestling, and everything is evolving. Tag team wrestling is what we do, and this place [Ring of Honor] has the best tag team division in the world, and we want the best competition,” said Matt Jackson. “We want the best matches. It’s all about quality for us. We call Ring of Honor home; you’ll be seeing a lot of us.”
Since 2009, The Young Bucks have regularly fought in Ring of Honor’s tag division and have proved to be one of the most entertaining tag teams in history, continuing to push their popularity with signature taunts and world-famous SUPERKICK parties. Ring of Honor is excited to officially be the home of the Young Bucks.
The Young Bucks will also continue to compete for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where they are part of the Bullet Club through ROH’s continued working partnership. They are also 3-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and have won the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship once before, but are hungry to get the gold back again.
More information about The Young Bucks, including upcoming appearances and featured products, can be found on ROHWrestling.com.
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte has issued an open challenge to UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
Rousey spoke to FoxSports.com this week and revealed that when her days in the Octagon are done, she’s open to moving on to the Olympics, professional boxing and even WWE. “I’d love to have the chance to be the Divas world champion and just be the best of everything at one point,” she said. “I think it’s just a matter of prioritizing and timing and figuring out when I can do which, when. I’m figuring it out. I’d love to, but it’s a process.”
WWE COO Triple H responded on Twitter saying she’s always welcomed in WWE and he’ll leave a light on at the WWE Performance Center for her.
On Wednesday night, Charlotte told Rousey to come and get it – any time, anywhere.
WWE taped the following on Tuesday night in Phoenix, Arizona for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
– SmackDown kicks off with a vignette featuring Bray Wyatt talking about The Undertaker and Kane. He says their spirits are his fuel. He challenges any three Superstars to face his three monsters on tonight’s show.
– Roman Reigns comes out to a nice reaction from the Phoenix fans. He talks about having obstacles and getting another shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kevin Owens comes out and says Reigns stole the win in the Fatal Four Way match on RAW. This leads to a match between Reigns and Owens.
– Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens via count out in a non-title match. The crowd was apparently very pro-Reigns during the match. The finish saw Reigns knock Owens out of the ring with a Superman punch and Owens running off through the crowd.
– The Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension, The Dudley Boyz and Sheamus & King Barrett in a multi tag-team match. The Dudleyz and Sheamus & Barrett fought to the back while The Lucha Dragons pinned The Ascension. The New Day sat in on commentary during the match.
– Dolph Ziggler def. The Miz in a “Trick Or Treat Street Fight.” Ziggler won what was described as a good match by way of roll-up. Following the match, Tyler Breeze came out and attacked Ziggler until referees separated them.
– Paige def. Natalya in Divas action. Paige got a good pop despite the heel turn on Monday, and she and Natalya had what was said to be another good match. Team B.A.D. came out and distracted Nattie, leading to Paige winning the match with her RamPaige finisher. After the match, Team B.A.D. beat up Nattie until the referees intervened.
– WWE United States Champion Alberto Del Rio is out next with Zeb Colter. He talks about their MexAmerica group and they say that the title now represents both countries.
– Cesaro, Dean Ambrose & Ryback accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge from the beginning of the show.
– Braun Strowman, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan def. Cesaro, Ryback & Dean Ambrose in six-man tag-team action to close out the show. Cesaro got a hot tag and the crowd went crazy for him. He hit big uppercuts on all three guys for a big pop. Harper ended up scoring the pin for his team. Bray Wyatt was at ringside for his team throughout the match.
Monday’s 10/26 edition of WWE RAW drew a 2.46 rating, up from last week’s 2.21. It was the best rating for RAW since August. The show averaged 3.354 million viewers, down slightly from last week
The post-Hell in a Cell episode featured Roman Reigns featured a #1 Contender’s theme, with qualifying matches leading up to Roman Reigns winning the Fatal 4-way main event. It was the first show without John Cena, who is rumored to be off television until after Christmas.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown:
Hour 1: 3,635,000
Hour 2: 3,213,000
Hour 3: 3,214,000
RAW was was the third most-watched show on cable for the evening behind ESPN’s Monday Night Football and SportsCenter.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross updated his official website blog recently with his thoughts on Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view and other current topics. Below are some of the highlights. For the complete blog, visit JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
On the WWE Hell In A Cell main event:
“Best match of the night was the ‘blow off’ bout to the Lesnar vs. Taker trilogy. It was a brawl with plenty of physicality from both men. The rare, blood sighting was timely and added drama to the presentation without fail. The use of blood needs to remain essentially rare but when the environment calls for it such as in HIAC or the Elimination Chamber it becomes something to consider but I don’t look for any more blood any time soon in WWE. Lots of basic MMA elements utilized in this main event which I enjoyed. Lesnar had to receive 9 staples in his head after the event to close his head wound we are told.”
On the post-match angle with Undertaker and Wyatt Family:
“Post match with Wyatt Family attacking a defenseless Undertaker, who had no one come to his aid which I ‘get’ but still found strange, may lead to an elimination tag at the Survivor Series with Taker’s team versus the Wyatt’s. I see a 4 versus 4 traditional, Survivor Series elimination tag. Taker, Kane, Sting (if healthy) and one young talent who WWE wants to get a ‘rub’ vs the Wyatt’s. Or two, young talents if Sting isn’t abe to join the presentation.”
On Alberto Del Rio’s WWE return:
“Not totally surprised to see Alberto Del Rio back in WWE after leaving Lucha Underground over ‘differences’ which usually concerns the two, C’s, cash and creative. ADR got a short, albeit decisive victory over John Cena, who’s taking some well deserved time off, to win the US Title. I’d suggest that WWE continue the US Title Open Challenge with ADR who takes on the task of continuing to rehabilitate the United States Title. It was a good way to start the show. If ADR turns on Zeb Colter then the WWE will have a better chance to run with Del Rio as a main event level fan favorite of distinction. This would be a nice in ring segment on RAW. “
– The Usos have been working out in the ring at the WWE Performance Center for the last week and are expected to return to WWE television in the near future. Jey Uso in particular has been out of action with a shoulder injury since the spring.
– Ryback is the guest on the first of two “Steve Austin Show” podcasts this week. On this week’s “Family Friendly” edition of the show, “The Rattlesnake” talks to “The Big Guy” just before his match against Kevin Owens at Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. The official description for the show, which you can download at PodcastOne.com reads as follows:
“Ryback had a great conversation with Steve Austin just before his “Hell In A Cell” match on Sunday. They talked about growing up in Vegas, playing high school football and baseball, why Ryback is the guy to replace John Cena (when the time comes) at WWE, Ryback’s workout philosophy & strategy, why he doesn’t believe in “cheat days” when it comes to diet, what “The Secret” did for his pro-wrestling career, how Arnold Schwarzenegger motivated him back to the ring, and his “Tough Enough” experience. You’ll also hear about Ryback’s relationship with Vince McMahon, why he prefers to travel solo, and how he continues to improve his own in-ring performance.”
– WWE announced a match between NXT Champion Finn Balor and “Mr. Money In The Bank” Sheamus for the November 4th stop in Dublin, Ireland during their European tour. WWE tweeted the following about the match today:
Set for March 2016, the trial in Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker (for publishing clips of a sex tape shot without his knowledge) is still several months away. As we wait it out, Heather Dietrick, Gawker’s President and General Counsel, made a surprising admission according to Capital New York: She thinks they’re going to lose.
During a Gawker staff meeting this past Thursday (October 22nd), Dietrick said “It’s probably difficult to win the case entirely, outright, knowing the jury that we’re facing, but it’s possible. More likely than not, we end up with a really small judgment that we can easily carry and we appeal that,” Hogan has sued for $100 million, and Florida law requires that to appeal a judgment, the losing party must post a bond for the full amount plus two years’ interest. Gawker founder Nick Denton has said in the past that a judgment of that size would kill the company or require him to sell a equity stake.
Dietrick added that “It’s quite possible that Hogan just gets a very small judgment against us, and then we have to make the decision: do we appeal that and incur further fees to vindicate the First Amendment rights that we know we’re on the right side of, or do we simply say, OK this very small judgment is a win and makes it very difficult for Hulk Hogan, who’s spent a lot of time on pursuing this case and could walk away with something very small[, to keep the lawsuit going].”
If there’s a large judgment, she’s now saying they’ll appeal expecting the appeals court to allow them to pay a smaller bond.”The rights at stake are so important , not just to this story but to other stories that we do and stories that every news outlet does, that I expect that the appeals court will allow us to appeal, which means allowing a reasonable bond that we’re able to post. The appeals court in question has generally ruled in their favor so for (seven out of eight times) in matters pertaining to the case.
– Featured above is a preview for tonight’s episode of WWE Rivalries on the WWE Network. The latest episode features a look at the rivalry between John Cena and The Rock.
– The man who played the security guard for Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae’s “V.I.P. Section” on Monday’s RAW in San Diego was California-based independent wrestler Alexander Hammerstone.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins tweeted the following regarding his upcoming title defense against the new number one contender, Roman Reigns.
This is the one I've been waiting for. #RollinsVsReigns Time to train til I die.
VikingsTerritory.com has an article about WWE being interested in former Minnesota Vikings tackle Babatunde Aiyegbusi.
WWE began expressing their interest in the 6’9” Polish football player before he was released from the NFL team. Aiyegbusi and his agent, Adam Blair, were eventually put in contact with WWE Vice President of Talent Acquisition Canyon Ceman after making an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Blair said Aiyegbusi impressed officials at a WWE tryout camp and commented:
“They loved his size and athletic ability. They were also very impressed with his character. Babs has a very witty personality when he relaxes, and [he’s] funny. On top of that, he looks mean because of his size. They like the fact that he could play either role—the villain or the good guy.”
Aiyegbusi also commented on possibly joining WWE:
“I think my personality and work ethic will help me to become [the] next WWE Superstar. I always loved to watch wrestling; now I will have the opportunity to enjoy being [in] the ring.”
It looks like WWE may be bringing back Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore in some capacity in the near future. There has been communication between WWE and Dinsmore recently, however we don’t know if they are talking about a talent job or another stint as a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
It was reported back in September that Dinsmore was working on launching his own independent promotion and wrestling school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Dinsmore worked as a coach at the Performance Center for about a year before being released in October of 2014. He was considered to be a good trainer and was well liked by everyone when he was released last year. At the time, there was a theory going around that he may have ended up on the wrong side of someone politically speaking.
Dinsmore commented to AngryMarks.com last year shortly after his release from the company:
“I’ve been with NXT for the past year and its been a phenomenal experience. I’ve grown as a coach, as a performer, as a business man, it was a great experience. I just wasn’t the right fit for this time, and I understand that but ‘never say never’ brother because I’ve been back to WWE three times so you never know that’s gonna happen in the future.”
He also spoke about whether or not politics played a role in his release:
“Honestly I don’t know. I didn’t do anything I felt on my part to get fired, but that’s the way big business goes sometimes – sometimes you just don’t get an answer. There was no ill will, I didn’t burn a bridge, I didn’t do anything wrong so – I’m actually happy just to be able to get out and start performing again and make a splash on the independent scene.”
My friend Chris Harrington and I have made a habit out of trying to mine publicly available documents (usually from lawsuits) for interesting pro wrestling historical information. In Chris’s case, being the “Wrestlenomics” guy, he tends to favor anything with financial information. In looking through the docket of one of the racial discrimination lawsuits against WCW, he happened to buy a copy of a filing that turned out to have Hulk Hogan’s 11998 contract (his last one) with WCW. So he posted it to Scribd last nightand it’s gotten some attention at places like Reddit.
At times there has been speculation that Hogan didn’t earn as much as some people said. Clearly, that’s not the case, as it looks like on a percentage basis, he was the highest paid wrestler in the history of the business even if Steve Austin made more money in his best years. The contract reveals the following terms:
– It was a four year deal lasting from May 29, 1998 to May 28, 2002. So when he went to WWE in February 2002, WWE only had to buy out the last three months of the contract.
– Hogan got a $2 million signing bonus.
– Each year, Hogan was to appear on six WCW pay-per-view events, for which he’d be paid $675,000 each or 15% of “domestic PPV cable sales received by WCW for each event,” whichever was greater. So he was guaranteed $4.05 million annually in PPV payoffs alone. He was advanced $1.35 million every four months.
– “Incentive compensation” bonuses would be received for PPVs that did a 1.5% buy rate or better in different tiers, ranging from $250,000 for a 1.5 to a 1.79 all the way up to $1.75 million for a 3.5 buy rate or greater. In practice, he only got bonused on this contract for Bash at the Beach in July 1998, which drew a 1.5 buy rate for Hogan and Dennis Rodman vs. Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone. If the same incentives were in effect on his previous deal, he made a $375,000 bonus for the 1.9 buy rate that Starrcade ’97 (the famous Hogan vs. Sting match) drew.
– Payoffs for Monday Nitro and Thursday Thunder appearances were $25,000 or 25% “of the gross (after tax) arena ticket revenues,” whichever was greater, For exampled, as far as shows on this contract go, this means he made: $226,582.50 for the match at the Georgia Dome where he dropped the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Bill Goldberg and $232,683.75 for the “Finger Poke of Doom” off WCW’s all-time record gate of $930,735.
– “Bollea will appear and perform at sixteen {16) mutually agreed upon WCW “Television Tapings” during each calendar year of the Term. Bollea’s appearance and/or Participation at such tapings shall be at no additional cost to WCW.” Presumably that means any non-Nitr0/Thunder tapings.
– “Bollea will appear and perform at a reasonable number of non-televised house shows as reasonably requested by WCW,” which was, in practice, not often. Hogan got 25% of the gross with no guaranteed dollar amount, so he generally picked occasional major market house shows to work on. For international dates, there was a “mutual option” where either Hogan or WCW could propose terms that the other side had no obligation to accept.
– All of these terms were outlined as being for years one through three, with Hogan getting a $100,000 consulting fee in year four. “In the event that Bollea provides any wrestling services in Year Four” he was paid the according to the same terms. Perhaps he intended to retire, but in year four, WCW existed only as the Universal Wrestling Corporation (WWE bought the WCW assets including trademarks but not the company itself) to fulfill contracts and deal with outstanding lawsuits.
– WCW got exclusive rights to Hogan’s likeness and other intellectual property “only in the business of professional wrestling.” This included WCW’s involvement with motorsports like NASCAR and Monster Trucks. Hogan had the right to approve all merchandise, and he retained the ability to use his intellectual property “in connection with non-wrestling related merchandising and licensing including, but not limited to, pasta, pasta restaurants, sandwiches, sun tan oil, health drink mixers, vitamins and merchandise related to Bollea’s movies, television movies and non-wrestling television appearances.”
– Hogan received 50% of the net profits for all merchandise sold directly by WCW incorporating his name, likeness, or character. If he was featured in conjunction with other wrestlers, he got 50% of WCW’s share of the net profits. For licensed merchandise, he got 50% of “the Actual License Fees (as herein defined) received by WCW from the licensing of ‘Hulk Hogan’ or Bollea’s name, likeness or character.”
– According to other pay documentation from the WCW discrimination lawsuits:
For licensing, Hogan made $111,946 in 1998, $832,988 in 1999, and $447,805 in 2000. For WCW-direct merchandise, he made $40,147 in 1998, $20,846 in 1999, and $41,916 in 2000. Keep in mind he didn’t work on any WCW shows after Bash at the Beach in July 2000, the show where he walked out after Vince Russo double-crossed him on a promo.
– Ever notice how Hogan wore NWO t-shirts everywhere back in the day? There was a good reason for that: He got a $20,000/month promotional fee for promoting the NWO. That said, “in no event will Bollea’s annual promotional fee as herein provided be less than twenty-five percent (25%) of WCWs Net Receipts and Actual License Fees […] for generic non-talent specific NWO merchandise.”
– Other WCW payroll documents from the racial discrimination lawsuits show Hogan as making $3,635,969 payroll in the calendar year of 1998 and $3,756,228 payroll in the calendar year of 1999. It’s been said that some of Hogan’s pay was shifted to other divisions of Turner Broadcasting, and that appears to be the case, as we know he made more than that in pay-per-view payoffs alone each year. Presumably,Turner Home Entertainment, which handled WCW PPV events, paid the PPV payoffs to Hogan, with the “payroll” being what he made for TV and house show appearances.
– Hogan would get 100% of the net revenues if WCW launched a Hogan-themed 900 number hotline. On the opposite end of the spectrum, he made nothing from magazine or videotape sales. The latter is surprising, as even though WCW primarily focused on the rental market, there was still money to be made, and they made a big retail push during this contract with “Superstar Series” releases that included a a Hogan video.
– The contract was contingent upon WCW receiving an agreement from Marvel Comics (who owned the “Hulk Hogan” name at the time) and “Bollea’s submission to a drug test pursuant to WCWs Substance Abuse Policy, which Bollea agrees he has received and reviewed, and a finding based on such test indicating that Bollea is not currently using any illegal drugs, steroids or other substances prohibited by WCW.”
For whatever it is or isn’t worth: The contract was executed in May, a month where Hogan, not wanting to be associated with falling ratings, always took himself off TV because Nitro was moved around by the NBA playoffs on TNT. He didn’t appear on any WCW events between May 11th and June 1st.
– “When required to travel for WCW as contemplated hereunder, Bollea will receive first-class air travel, first-class suite hotel accommodations, limousine transportation and One Hundred Seventy-Five Dollars ($175.00) per diem.” In other words, officially he had no road expenses other than food and still got a $175.00 stipend each day he was on the road. In practice, the food was likely covered much of the time, to boot, since he mostly worked TV and PPV shows, which were catered.
– Finally, there’s the infamous “complete creative control” clause, which actually reads like this: “Bollea shall have approval over the outcomes of all wrestling matches in which he appears, wrestles, and performs, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld.” When Russo double crossed him on that promo, one court ruled that because it was not the “outcome of a wrestling match,” the clause wasn’t violated. Hogan successfully appealed because the clause is worthless if the match result can be effectively undone in a promo.
It’s October 27th and that means WWE 2K16 is now available in North America for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. If you haven’t already, you can purchase the game now from Amazon.com.
Use the comments thread below to discuss your initial impressions of the game.
Here is the official press release detailing all the new features in this year’s installment, sent in via 2K Sports:
Raise Some Hell: WWE® 2K16 Now Available
Largest roster in WWE video games history, historic 2K Showcase based on WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin®, enhanced Creation Suite features, robust online overhaul and key gameplay refinements align for latest franchise release
New York, NY – October 27, 2015 – 2K today announced that WWE® 2K16, the newest addition to the flagship WWE video game franchise, is available now in North America for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One and Xbox 360. WWE 2K16 delivers the most authentic, comprehensive and action-packed WWE video game experience to date, including the largest roster of WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends in WWE games history, the story-driven 2K Showcase based on WWE 2K16 cover Superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin® and significant additions to the game’s Creation Suite and online offerings, as well as a host of gameplay enhancements. WWE 2K16 is currently scheduled for release internationally on October 30, 2015.
“WWE 2K16 builds upon last year’s foundation and delivers a great combination of authenticity, realism, gameplay and popular features,” said Greg Thomas, President at Visual Concepts. “This year’s huge roster, memorable 2K Showcase, second year MyCareer offering, additions to Creation Suite and improved Online offerings are certain to ignite the WWE Universe.”
WWE 2K16 feature highlights include:
Extensive Roster: Offering more than 120 playable characters, including cover Superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin alongside WWE Superstars Seth Rollins™, Daniel Bryan®, Brock Lesnar, Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson, Undertaker® and Dean Ambrose™, WWE Diva Paige™ and NXT Superstar Finn Bálor™, WWE 2K16 delivers the largest roster in WWE games history;
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator: Fans who pre-ordered WWE 2K16 at any participating retailer will receive two exclusive playable versions of 2015 WWE Hall of Fame inductee and global action film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger as T-800 from The Terminator and T-800 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day;
Gameplay Improvements: WWE 2K16 builds upon last year’s foundation, including key enhancements and innovations to deliver the strongest WWE gameplay experience to date. Improved controls, a new reversal system, new pin system and chain wrestling improvements are chief among the enhancements this year;
2K Showcase: The franchise’s popular story-based mode returns in WWE 2K16, enabling players to relive more than 25 iconic moments in Stone Cold Steve Austin’s career, including matches with The Rock, Undertaker, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Mr. McMahon. Along the way, they are treated to video packages featuring classic WWE footage and complete objectives to unlock legendary characters, entrance and ring gear, match types and other unlockable content;
Creation Suite: WWE 2K16’s Creation Suite deepens the player’s arsenal with new feature options, including Create-a-Diva, Create-a-Championship, Create-an-Arena and Create-a-Show. Key improvements were also made to existing fan-favorite offerings, including Create-a-Superstar, Create-an-Entrance, Superstar Studio and Community Creations. In addition, the franchise-first WWE 2K16 Creation Studio App explores player freedom like never before through import of face and logo photos via iOS and Android devices to create custom Superstars and Divas with unique faces, tattoos, arena decals, Championship designs, electronic billboards, show logos and more;
MyCareer: The franchise’s career-driven mode, now in its second year, will see players define their legacies by making critical choices in their quest to be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. Players will begin their journey at the WWE Performance Center, and through a series of objectives, rise through the ranks to join NXT, compete to earn a spot on the WWE main roster and strive for the ultimate prize of a Hall of Fame induction. As part of the quest, players can now conduct personality-driven interviews, interfere with rivals, form tag teams or create alliances en route to defining their legendary careers;
Online: WWE 2K16 provides players with multiple ways to play online with the WWE 2K community. No longer utilizing background matchmaking, the game now offers a prestige system that tracks user progress and results throughout their online careers. Additional online features include:
WWE Live: WWE 2K16’s standard matchmaking option delivers more match types to compete in this year. In addition, after choosing their Superstars and match types, players will enter a practice session to warm up their Superstars while the system finds opponents and sets up matches;
2K Tonight: This new feature delivers dynamic daily events, themed after all major WWE televisions shows and pay-per-views, with opportunities to provide players with boosts for their participation;
Team Up: Requested by the WWE 2K community, players can now invite friends to join them in two- or three-man tag team competition against others;
Private Match: This feature offers complete freedom for players to invite their friends to their own matches, enabling them to play online together;
Community Creations: An online staple of the WWE 2K online experience, this feature enables users to upload, explore and download the best custom Superstars, Divas, Arenas, Shows, Movesets and logos created by the WWE Universe;
WWE Universe: WWE 2K16 makes core improvements to stories, rivals and match card selections. In addition, for the first time, Superstars can be assigned to multiple shows, enabling players to have a broader experience;
Overall Upgrades: For the first time, a three-man commentary team is now a part of the franchise, with John “Bradshaw” Layfield joining returning commentators Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler. Also new this year, seamless transitions between entrances and the start of matches now see the camera pan the arena and to the commentary team for thoughts on the upcoming matches. Significant improvements were also made to overall match presentation and flow.
Downloadable Content and Season Pass: Players may purchase nearly all WWE 2K16 downloadable content at a reduced price point through the game’s Season Pass. For a suggested price of $24.99, a savings of more than 20 percent versus individual content purchases, players will receive the following items as they become available:
Accelerator: Access to all unlockable content in the game;
2015 Hall of Fame Showcase: seven playable matches;
This thing with breast cancer awareness, this thing that is a big deal. I read an article that CM Punk said that this whole deal with Susan G. Komen is a scam. In 2004 my mother got diagnosed with breast cancer and it was during the run with me and Cena. I went to Johnny Ace because he always said “well I’m your boss Rene and if you’ve got problems you’ve got to come to me”. So I went to him and said what was going on with me and is it possible for me to fly home once a month or once every couple of months just to be with her and he said they could look into it.
Well, asking for time off is like the kiss of death, especially during the biggest push of your career. I don’t know if you guys realize this but cancer doesn’t go away in a weekend, it’s a process. So, I never heard from him again and basically they don’t give a sh*t about what is going on in the wrestlers personal lives. You are there to work and make them money and that’s all they care about. It makes them look good because they are a publicly traded company and if it makes them look good well whatever then. Good luck to them is all I have to say.
Does he think he should have gone directly to Vince McMahon?
That’s what I should have done. I should have went to Vince or Stephanie but then again Johnny tells you that “I’m your boss and you’ve got problems then you have to come to me because I’m Talent Relations” then that is what you do. You go to your boss. Sometimes Vince has a lot on his plate so looking back if I could and this goes out to the talent out there if you have issues go to the f*cking horse’s head not the horse’s ass.
JBL still working for WWE in light of his reputation as a bully in the past:
They do business a certain way there. I think that the office for certain people such as him (JBL) puts him in those positions to test how far they can push them and see how far they can take it before they snap. I think it’s all a part of the game. Hopefully that has changed and I haven’t been there for nine years so hopefully it’s better and it should be the greatest place in the world to work and it is a lot of people’s dreams to be on TV and to do this for a living.
But it kind of sours you when you have to work with assholes and it is such a competitive atmosphere because there is no place else to go. Hopefully it’s changed but he’s still there, good for him. It was probably worse, because I’ve heard stories from before I was there about the bullsh*t people went through which was even worse. Hopefully it’s changed and hopefully the guys have a lot better experiences than I did.
Working with CM Punk and Paul Heyman in OVW:
Paul Heyman was in OVW and I was on one of my leaves and I would still go to OVW to train and keep myself in ring shape. He would have these meetings and say “guys I’ll be backstage at 10pm and anyone is welcome to come”. Well nobody showed up except me and Punk. We were the only two guys that ever showed up because I wanted to pick Paul Heyman’s “genius”. He asked us what makes a great promo and I said it’s simple. All you have to do is shoot and take whatever they give you and you just shoot on it from the heart. Well, what got Punk so over? When he started shooting. Maybe he knew it before I did or maybe he didn’t but I know he was deep in thought when I said that. Paul Heyman looked at me and started laughing. So take that as you will. That term (“genius”) is thrown around way too loosely.
In the full interview, Dupree also talks about his theories on Chris Benoit, Christian being forced into retirement by WWE, additional comments on concussions, WWE creative “stealing ideas,” and more.
– Tonight’s WWE Main Event and SmackDown tapings take place from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Talent advertised for tonight’s show include Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. No matches have been announced but SmackDown will have a Halloween theme.
– In this RAW Fallout video, WWE Tag-Team Champions The New Day react to their two losses on RAW.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appeared on Monday’s RAW in a backstage segment with The Miz. The promotional segment for the new WWE 2K16 video game may have been taped at Hell In A Cell on Sunday, as Austin was backstage at the show. WWE posted the above video of the segment.
The following matches were taped in San Diego, California on Monday night for this week’s WWE Superstars.
Kalisto from The Lucha Dragons def. Viktor from The Ascension.
Dolph Ziggler spoke with the Phoenix New Times to promote tonight’s Smackdown TV taping from Phoenix. Here’s what DZ said about Tyler Breeze getting called up to the main roster and their feud:
“I look forward to anything, any kind of challenge, anybody new coming to the roster, anybody that wants to say, ‘Hey, I’m better than you,’ or younger or faster. Well, let’s see what you got and let’s see if you can hang with me. I’m someone who’s very open to new challenges, down to do whatever. And it seems like he’s pretty good, good head on his shoulders, seems like he knows what he’s doing, and he’s been working really hard for a long time.
Ziggler revealed that he’s taken Breeze under his wing and sees a bright future for Prince Pretty, despite the fact that they’re currently at odds on TV:
“He used to pick my brain, actually. So I gave him a couple pointers and I hope he can hang in the ring with me, and if he can, he’ll be on his way to a hell of a start.”
