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Jim Ross Blog: Royal Rumble Criticism, Build To WrestleMania 31, Impact Wrestling

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The following are highlights of the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On WWE Royal Rumble criticism: “The negativity that I’m receiving on our Q&A’s and on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the Royal Rumble is getting silly. If someone asks my take on the WWE Royal Rumble and how it ended and I don’t agree exactly with their opinion then I’m a WWE sycophant. I am stating facts from my 40 years in the business and not knee jerking my way into being incoherent. It’s mighty easy to book pro wrestling storylines after the fact. As easy as it is to make a wrong turn it’s just as easy to get back on the right path. I learned years ago that there are multiple ways to do the right thing while compiling wrestling storylines and it’s just as easy if not easier to pick virtually any idea a part. To say that wrestling creative is subjective might be the understatement of the year.”

On TNA Impact Wrestling: “Good to hear that TNA is improving their TV audience as all wrestling fans should be pulling for ALL groups to do well. The issue there is that Destination America is in a smaller amount of homes than, say, Spike TV, and the chances of @ImpactWrestling to exceed their Spike numbers will be extremely challenging. Nonetheless, the brand has several talents that like and at one point in my career with who I would have loved to have worked. Check these folks out on Friday nights, which actually is another challenge as Friday nights are tough as most TV producers will tell you.”

On the build to WrestleMania 31: “In wrestle speak, having 60 days to build to a card such as WM31 is a lifetime in today’s grappling world. I’m motivated to go along for the ride WWE will provide us and see, at the end of the day, how all this will work out building to the biggest event of the year and one, ironically, that many promotions and wrestling entrepreneurs will gravitate to to earn monies off the fans that WM31 will attract….and that includes yours truly as well.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Updates On WWE Network Hitting 1 Million Subs, #CancelWWENetwork

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Earlier today, WWE announced that the WWE Network has surpassed 1 million active subscribers, a huge milestone for the service that got off to a rocky start last year.

Despite the #CancelWWENetwork hashtag that was trending for over 24 hours, Sunday and Monday turned out to huge days for subscriptions. The 1 million subscriber mark was hit either Monday or this morning.

It’s unknown exactly how many people unsubscribed as part of the Royal Rumble protest.

WWE officials were said to be very happy with the Network sign-ups on Monday.

(Source: f4wonline.com)

Impact Wrestling Drew Over 500,000 Viewers Last Week

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TNA’s audience for Impact Wrestling on Destination America continues to climb, with the show drawing over half a million viewers for the first time on Destination America.

Last Friday’s episode averaged 517,000 viewers.

WWE Stock Surges 20% After WWE Network Reaches 1 Million Subscribers

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WWE stock is up over 20% today as of this rating following the announcement that the WWE Network has reached 1 million subscribers after just 11 months.

Currently above $12.50 per share, this is the highest that WWE stock has been valued since October 2014.

In WWE’s press release issued earlier today regarding the Network hitting 1 million subscribers, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said:

“We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of WrestleMania, our biggest event of the year on March 29. We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for ours fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year.”

WWE rumored to be offering another free month of the Network in February in hopes of retaining new subscribers in March for WrestleMania 31.

WWE Network Officially Reaches 1 Million Subscribers

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It’s official – after just 11 months, the WWE Network has surpassed 1 million subscribers. WWE is reporting a 37% increase in subscribers since the end of the 3rd quarter – a sign that November’s #FreeFreeFree campaign was a massive success.

Here’s the official press release:

WWE® NETWORK HITS 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

STAMFORD, Conn., January 27, 2015 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that WWE Network has surpassed 1 million subscribers just 11 months after launch, making it the fastest-growing digital subscription service. These results represent a 37 percent increase (24 percent domestically) in subscribers since last reported[1] at the end of third quarter 2014, driven primarily by a successful free November promotion, the launch of the service in the UK and significant additions for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

“We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of WrestleMania, our biggest event of the year on March 29,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for ours fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year.”

Viewer data continues to indicate that, on average, close to 90 percent of subscribers access WWE Network at least once per week, 99 percent access WWE Network at least once per month and 86 percent of subscribers are satisfied with WWE Network.

Like other digital subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, fans are able to sign up for WWE Network online by going to WWE.com and can watch WWE Network on their TVs through connected devices such as Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku streaming devices as well as Smart TVs including Sony and Samsung. The U.S. English language version of WWE Network is available direct to consumers in more than 170 countries and territories and recently launched in the UK and Ireland.

WWE Network’s one-of-a-kind programming includes all 12 WWE pay-per-view events LIVE at no additional charge plus groundbreaking original series, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and more than 2,000 titles in its video-on-demand library.

Average fourth quarter and year-end WWE Network numbers will be reported in the normal course as a part of our earnings release on February 12.

First Official WrestleMania 31 Theme Song, WWE Stars Reveal Their Dream Tag-Team Partners

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– The official WWE website has a new article up promoting the new movie “Seventh Son,” which features a look at WWE Superstars and WWE Divas picking their dream tag-team partners and team names. In the article, Fandango chose Razor Ramon to form the Smooth Criminals, Paige chose Bull Nakano to form the Bull-Ravens, Curtis Axel chose Mr. Perfect to form Reflections of Perfection, Seth Rollins chose Andre the Giant to form The Unbeatables, Dean Ambrose chose Stan Hansen to form The Outlaw Sheriffs, Cesaro chose Lou Thesz to form Old School Strength, The Miz chose The Ultimate Warrior to form the Ultimately Awesome Ones, Titus O’Neil chose Ron Simmons to form the Brothers of Gator State and Jack Swagger chose Danny Hodge to form The Big Hoss & The Hodge. You can check out the complete feature at WWE.com.

– The first official theme for this year’s WrestleMania 31 event is the song “Rise” by David Guetta and Skylar Grey. The song is a bonus track off of the deluxe edition of David Guetta’s album “Listen.”

The Rock Helps Jimmy Fallon With New TV Show, NXT TV Taping Sells Out

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– The Rock was in New York City recently to assist “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon with the launch of his new Spike TV show called “Lip Synch Battle.” The show is scheduled to premiere on Spike TV on April 2nd.

– The February 12th NXT television taping at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida are officially sold out. The 2/12 taping will be the night after the next NXT Takeover live special on the WWE Network. Less than 200 tickets remain for the NXT TV taping scheduled for February 18th.

Photo Of Vince McMahon Producing RAW Segment, Larry King Interviews WWE Legends

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– Larry King will be interviewing Diamond Dallas Page, Jake Roberts and Scott Hall in Utah this week to promote the new Roberts documentary. The interview is scheduled to air in a future episode of the Ora.tv “Larry King Now” show.

– JBL tweeted the following photo out on Tuesday, which shows Vince McMahon producing the rooftop weather segment from Monday’s RAW.

Bubba Ray Dudley Talks About A Potential Full-Time WWE Return, His Rumble Appearance

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Bubba Ray Dudley was interviewed by the official WWE website about his surprise appearance in Sunday’s 30-man Royal Rumble match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When asked how the appearance came bout, Dudley said, “WWE called me about a month ago and said, ‘Would you like an opportunity in the Royal Rumble?'” And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I showed up here today and they said, ‘We want you to be a surprise.’ I thought that was great, and I hid all day.”

Dudley also spoke about the chances of returning full-time either as a singles competitor or as one-half of the Dudley Boys tag-team alongside his longtime partner, D-Von Dudley.

“If the WWE Universe and the WWE higher-ups want to see us here, then yes, hopefully there is a future,” said Dudley. “I really say it’s up to the fans. By the reaction tonight, I’d say the fans would love to see us back. And hopefully we can do it.”

Check out the complete interview at WWE.com.

Roman Reigns Fed Lines On RAW, Bryan vs. Ziggler At WrestleMania?

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– Many fans sent in word that they could hear Roman Reigns being fed lines last night on RAW during his sit-down interview with Michael Cole and later in the show when he went face to face with Brock Lesnar.

If you watch the clips from RAW that WWE uploaded to Youtube (View Here), there are portions where the audio feed cuts out, which is when the lines he was being fed got picked up by the microphones.

– With Daniel Bryan apparently shut out of the top matches at WrestleMania, Dolph Ziggler has offered to tear the house down with the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

https://twitter.com/heelziggler/status/559904939276009472

Daniel Bryan responded to Ziggler, saying that he’d gladly take him up on that offer.

Seth Rollins Reassures Fans, Hall Of Famers Mock Roman Reigns’ Promos

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– With wrestling fans very discouraged with WWE this week, Seth Rollins is reassuring everybody that there is still hope.

– WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley and The Iron Sheik are speaking out about Roman Reigns’ promo ability. They tweeted:

WWE Tries To Pull Royal Rumble Swerve On Internet Fans, Several Stars Backstage

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WWE had several notable names backstage at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday. The company was hoping to swerve the internet by having so many names at the show, with the thought being some of those names would leak.

Among those in attendance at the show were Chris Jericho and Nikolai Volkoff. Sean Waltman was rumored to be backstage at the show as well, although that has yet to be confirmed.

One WWE performer who was scheduled to work the Royal Rumble match but didn’t was Alex Riley. Riley was taken off of his normal job as part of the pre-show panel so that he could work the match, but for whatever reason he wasn’t used.

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

Steve Austin Reviews Royal Rumble, Details On Kevin Nash’s WrestleMania Party & More

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– Kevin Nash will again be hosting a WrestleMania weekend party this year. Nash will host this year’s Pro Wrestling Report V.I.P. Party at Shenanigan’s in San Jose, California on Friday, March 27th. The music for the party will be hosted by TNA performer D.J. Zema Ion, and stars such as former WWE Diva Melina and former TNA Knockout Rosita (a.k.a. Thea Trinidad) are scheduled to appear. V.I.P. tickets are $149.99 and include a red carpet meet-and-greet, food, drinks and more. For more information, visit EventBrite.com.

– The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble DVD and Blu-ray is scheduled for a February 24th release. The DVD and Blu-ray are both available for pre-order right now at Amazon.com.

– The latest edition of the Steve Austin Show podcast, which is available right now, features “Stone Cold’s” review of this year’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. You can download the show at PodcastOne.com or listen here:

Finn Balor Given Time Off Due To Leg Injury

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As noted over the weekend, NXT star Finn Balor seemed to suffer some kind of leg injury during his triple-threat live event match with Hideo Itami and Adrian Neville in Cocoa Beach. When the match was over, Balor reportedly limped to the back and seemed to be in pain.

Balor did not work the NXT live event the following night and since then, it has been confirmed that Balor has been given time off from WWE to deal with an ankle injury of some kind.

Balor’s injury doesn’t appear to be too serious. In fact, the rising NXT performer posted the following photo of himself skiing on Twitter.

(Partial Credit: PWInsider.com)

Update On New Ultimate Warrior DVD, Chris Jericho & Jim Ross Podcast Guests

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– Bad News Barrett and Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer are scheduled for Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast on Wednesday. On his Friday show this week, The Miz and Damien Mizdow will be the guests.

– On Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast this week, which will be available tonight at 9pm EST., is WCW announcer Mark Madden.

– Below is the official synopsis for the new WWE “Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for an April 14th release.

“Follow WWE Hall of Famer, The Ultimate Warrior, in his long awaited return to the WWE Universe. With unparalleled behind-the-scenes access, watch Warrior’s first meetings back at WWE headquarters, reconnecting with past and present WWE Superstars at WrestleMania 30, and his 2014 Hall of Fame induction. After Warrior’s untimely passing, his wife Dana, and daughters, Indiana and Mattigan, talk about the legacy Warrior left behind.”

Videos From RAW: Reigns-Lesnar Faceoff, Bryan & Rollins Interviews

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Monday’s in-studio edition of WWE RAW featured sitdown interviews with Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The show concluded with a face-to-face encounter between WrestleMania main eventers Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, moderated by Paul Heyman. Check out these videos and comment below with your reactions.

Royal Rumble Times, Bubba Ray Dudley Thanks Fans, The Miz On “Sirens”

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– The Miz will be appearing on the season premiere of the USA Network original series “Sirens” on Tuesday night at 10pm EST.

– Bubba Ray Dudley posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account after his surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble match, thanking the fans for their support.

– Below are the official times that WWE Superstars lasted in this year’s Royal Rumble match.

1. The Miz: 4:01
2. R-Truth: 4:13
3. Bubba Ray Dudley: 4:44
4. Luke Harper: 4:17
5. Bray Wyatt: 46:59
6. Erick Rowan: 0:55
7. The Boogeyman: 0:47
8. Sin Cara: 0:37
9. Zack Ryder: 0:34
10. Daniel Bryan: 10:10
11. Fandango: 7:36
12. Tyson Kidd: 2:26
13. Stardust: 12:23
14. Diamond Dallas Page: 2:28
15. Rusev: 35:17
16. Goldust: 6:21
17. Kofi Kingston: 2:50
18. Adam Rose: 8:49
19. Roman Reigns: 27:28
20. Big E: 14:49
21. Mizdow: 18:11
22. Jack Swagger: 12:49
23. Ryback: 11:00
24. Kane: 16:55
25. Dean Ambrose: 13:30
26. Titus O’Neil: 0:04:66
27. Bad News Barrett: 5:48
28. Cesaro: 4:55
29. Big Show: 8:21
30. Dolph ZIggler: 2:19
Total Rumble Time: 59:10

MMANEWS.COM: Updates On CM Punk’s UFC Debut — Who His Opponent Will Be, etc.

Details On A Major Botched Spot During Sunday’s Royal Rumble Match!

Pre-Show For This Week’s Live SmackDown?, Matt Hardy Video Blog, WWE DVD News

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– WWE nixed plans for the usual weekly RAW pre-show due to the regular RAW show being canceled. There is talk of doing a pre-show on the WWE Network for this week’s live edition of SmackDown, which airs on Thursday night.

– WWE broadcast team member Byron Saxton will be hosting the new “Best Of RAW And SmackDown 2014” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for a February 3rd release. The project is listed as a 7 hour and 20 minute run time across three discs, with 20 RAW and SmackDown matches, alternate commentary, seven interview and promo segments and interviews with fans giving their take on some of the biggest RAW and SmackDown moments of 2014.

– Below is the latest edition of Matt Hardy’s “Thoughts From The Throne” video blog. In the fifth installment of the video blog, Hardy gives his thoughts on Daniel Bryan and the Royal Rumble, going to the U.K., TNA and more.

Note On SmackDown In Canada This Week, Arnold Schwarzenegger/WWE HOF Videos

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– Because WWE won’t be taping SmackDown tonight, the show for the second week in a row will be airing outside of its normal time slot of Wednesday, 8-10pm EST. in Canada. The show this week will instead air live on Thursday from 8-10pm EST.

– As noted on Monday, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be this year’s celebrity inductee into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Below is the official induction announcement, as well as a clip from a future WWE Countdown episode, which features WWE talent commenting on Arnold’s appearance on WWE SmackDown from 1999.

http://youtu.be/bc3yRpNj9R0

Casket Match Announced For This Thursday’s Live Edition Of WWE SmackDown

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On Monday’s post-Royal Rumble edition of WWE RAW, a big match for this week’s SmackDown was announced, which airs live on the SyFy Network from Hartford on Thursday night.

In what will be the third straight television match between the two, the stakes are higher than ever before now as Daniel Bryan meets Kane in a casket match.

Make sure to visit us here at the website for full results of this Thursday’s live SmackDown broadcast.

Triple H To Call Out Sting At WWE Fast Lane, John Cena vs. Rusev & More

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WWE COO Triple H will have a face to face confrontation with Sting at the first-ever WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view on Sunday, February 22nd.

The announcement was made by The Authority’s new Twitter account, @WWEsAuthority.

Also at the show, John Cena will square off agains United States Champion Rusev.

SEScoops reader Matt Harber tweeted that WWE is running TV ads in Memphis hyping Roman Reigns vs. Bis Show in a Last Man Standing match.

https://twitter.com/mattharber/status/559889820940783618

WWE VP Reportedly Sells Off 5% Of His Stock This Morning

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Gerrit Meier, Executive VP of WWE, sold off 1,398 shares today, according to a report on conferencecalltranscripts.org. The shares were sold off this morning at $10.52 per share. Meier still owns 17,029 shares.

Here is some additional information from the filing:

Consists of a portion of vesting stock units withheld by the Company to pay withholding taxes priced at the close of business on January 23, 2015 Includes 234 shares of dividend accruals and 1424 of Employee Stock Purchase Plan Shares which were not previously reported because such acquisitions are exempt under Section 16.

It’s not clear if this had to do with the backlash following last night’s pay-per-view or if he was going to sell the stock regardless. This is still bad timing and certainly not the type of news that WWE needs right now.

(Thanks to Rebecca R for her help).

REPORT: Daniel Bryan Very Angry After His Royal Rumble Elimination

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Shaheen, co-host of The Hot Tag podcast, noted he was right by the guerrilla position last night at the Royal Rumble and said that Daniel Bryan walked by him and the people he was with. He said that Bryan clearly heard and acknowledged them.

He said that Bryan looked “super pissed” like Bret Hart looked at Survivor Series 97 when he was screwed. He said that Bryan literally looked for 2 seconds with his hands on his hips with a blank look on his face, ignored everyone and walked right out.

“Forget all of the kayfabe…he was pissed.” He said this was interesting and that there were maybe 30 people that saw this and he was not selling for the camera since there were no cameras filming him.

As noted earlier today, Dave Meltzer noted this morning that there were changes made during the show and even though they knew that the crowd would react negatively the company freaked out when they saw just how bad the reaction was at the end of the show for Roman Reigns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsKes466H1Q

Daniel Bryan Thanks The Fans, Jim Ross Reacts To Royal Rumble Backlash & More

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– WWE World Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar flew home to Minnesota earlier today, so he won’t be at tonight’s in-studio episode of Monday Night RAW from WWE Headquarters.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made the following comments about Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble win in his latest blog at JRsBarBQ.com:

“Roman Reigns is now in touchy situation and how he comes out of all this is going to be provocative to follow. The Rock had some of the same issues back in the day when he debuted as in the infamous :’Die Rocky Die’ chants and signs we used to see. Seen Reigns as a big star in the future and I’m curious to see it Sunday night’s experiences will help him in the long haul.”

“What if Reigns shockingly aligned himself with Paul Heyman and the two of them conspired to beat Lesnar at WM31? Stranger things have happened.”

– Daniel Bryan tweeted this message to his fans on Monday afternoon:

Video: Roman Reigns Comments On The Royal Rumble Crowd Reaction

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WWE’s YouTube channel has published a candid look at Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble experience, including comments from Reigns about the negative crowd reaction to his big win.

Reigns said that last night, he went out there and he did is thing. With a smile on his face, Reigns said it was “one hell of a crowd.” Whether people love him or hate him, being out there is all that matters to him. He finished up by saying fans can react however they want because they paid good money attend the shows – he just likes being a part of it.

Reigns’ post-Rumble comments come at the 3:24 mark.

WWE also published this video of Roman Reigns and The Rock backstage after the show.

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