HBO is developing a documentary on the life of WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant, according to Vanity Fair.
This will be the first HBO project from Grantland founder Bill Simmons since leaving ESPN earlier this year. According to Richard Johnson of PageSix.com, Simmons has enlisted the services of former ESPN 30 For 30 director Jonathan Hock to lead the charge.
Andre the Giant, who was born André Roussimoff, worked for WWE (then WWF) between 1973 and 1991, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1993, before passing away that same year at the age of 46.
There’s currently no word on when the documentary will be released.
NXT Diva Nia Jax recently spoke with WWE.com about her past and her journey towards joining the company. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On being a plus-size model and eventually gaining interest in becoming a wrestler:
“I always had a love for the business. I remember hearing the stories about the patriarch of our family, ‘High Chief’ Peter Maivia, starting out wrestling in a rundown gym back in Auckland, New Zealand, then traveling the world, wrestling all over. I considered wrestling at a young age, but I never could relate to any of the Divas. I have always been a bigger girl, and I did not think that WWE would want a girl my size, so I never expressed my dream to wrestle.”
On what finally led to her wanting a WWE career and her tryout:
“I remember being ringside at WrestleMania 28, watching my cousin Dwayne (The Rock) face Cena, and thinking to myself, ‘I have to do this!’ I remember arriving to my tryout and being extremely nervous, but the second I stepped in the ring, I knew this was where I was supposed to be.”
On being a part of the NXT women’s division:
“NXT women have literally changed women’s wrestling, and being able to be a part of the division is great for me. I am completely different than any other Diva that we have in NXT, and having the advantage of being unique allows me to expand the revolution even further by showing people what a woman of my size can do. Ultimately, I want to convey an image of a beautiful, strong and confident woman. I want young girls to be inspired to love themselves and strive to follow their dreams no matter what.”
The Young Bucks’ new deal with Ring of Honor has a few unique clauses that are sure to catch the attention of other contracted ROH talent.
The 1-year agreement involves exclusivity in North America, with the only exception being Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The duo will still be able to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling. In fact, NJPW actually encouraged the two to sign the ROH deal because they don’t want them getting hurt by working so many independent dates because of how hard they go in the ring. NJPW’s relationship with ROH will also allow them the ability to coordinate dates for the team.
They also retain their own merchandising rights and will be allowed to keep their official t-shirt store at Pro Wrestling Tees, something that no other ROH-contracted talent is allowed to do. Additionally, they are the only ROH talent allowed to work for PWG or any other promotion in the US.
The feeling on the independent scene that the Young Bucks’ deal with ROH shows that Sinclair Broadcasting is willing to spend more money for talent than in the past.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently spoke with AuburnPub.com to promote Northeast Wrestling’s “Prison City Slam” event on Friday night in Auburn, NY. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
His legacy:
“I honestly feel that the success that I’ve enjoyed was just something that happened to me. I never even think about how I’ll be remembered or if I’ll be remembered.”
Why he enjoys working independent shows:
“With WWE, it’s such a big operation. Most of our shows, it’s just impossible to have that kind of close interaction with thousands of fans at a show. I really enjoy doing the smaller shows. I do these at least once or twice a week still.”
The potential of WWE’s roster:
“The company is in good hands because there’s so many young, good superstars out there who are on the rise. I don’t have any doubt that there’s going to be some major stars developing over the next few years.”
To read the full interview, check out Auburnpub.com.
CBS Radio has announced that Taz’s 2-hour weekday talk show The Taz Show: Bodyslams & Beyond is now going to be streaming live video for each episode:
THE TAZ SHOW: BODYSLAMS & BEYOND LAUNCHES LIVE VIDEO STREAM
Daily Two-Hour Show Now Available for Viewing on TazShow.com
THE TAZ SHOW: BODYSLAMS & BEYOND, a daily two-hour show featuring pro-wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Taz is now available as a live video stream on TazShow.com. Audio of the program was launched in September and can be found live and on-demand on the Play.it® podcast network.
THE TAZ SHOW is broadcast weekdays from 7:00-9:00AM, ET. The program is among the most popular on Play.it, and features listener calls, interviews with wrestling experts, and commentary on a variety of sports and entertainment topics.
On this week’s edition of the “Ross Report” podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross responded to Buff Bagwell’s recent claims on Steve Austin’s podcast that Jim Ross ruined his career back in 2001 when Bagwell started with WWE after the purchase of WCW.
Ross mentioned that he has not heard Bagwell’s comments on Austin’s show, and that he wouldn’t be listening to the episode because he’s not interested in hearing himself get buried. JR did, however, address the situation during his show.
“My former job as head of WWE talent relations was oftentimes a thankless job,” said Ross. He added that he had the distinction of having to let people go and noted that it was the worst part of his job.
He said that the good part of his job was helping many wrestlers to live their dreams, become wealthy and help them secure a great quality of life for their families. On the flip-side of the coin, Ross noted that when word came from the top to terminate talent, he had to be the messenger of bad news.
“I never relished in firing people and it only makes sense that if a talent could help a company that I wanted them to make it.”
He added, “I’m sorry Marc feels like he does. I’m sure he believes what’s there is true but I never went out of my way to cause him any misery. I just was the guy that had to deliver the bad news.”
JR’s “Ross Report” drops every Tuesday night at PodcastOne.com.
– Randy Orton underwent an MRI over the past week to diagnose the extent of his latest shoulder injury. According to the Wrestling Observer, the MRI revealed that Orton is suffering from a dislocated shoulder, a Bankart lesion in his shoulder, stretched ligaments and a partially torn rotator cuff.
Orton would still have a chance to be back for WrestleMania if he has the surgery soon. If he delays the surgery and attempts to rehab the injury without fully addressing the situation, he could miss returning in time for WrestleMania and would be at higher risk for future shoulder dislocations.
– The new main event for WWE’s post-Christmas live event from Madison Square Garden (12/26) will see John Cena vs. United States Champion Alberto Del Rio. Also added to the card, Kevin Owens will defend the Intercontinental championship against Dean Ambrose.
– Triple H has announced that the official theme song for NXT Takeover: London on December 16th will be “Ace of Spades” by Motörhead.
Adam Rose’s friend The Bunny is back – with an evil twist. In line with Rose’s recent party pooper gimmick change, The Bunny is also now rocking a somber new look and quite frankly it’s creepy as hell.
During Rose’s match against Fandango on this week’s Main Event, Bunny appeared at ringside and distracted Fandango, allowing Rose to get the win.
TNA Tag Team Champions Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards recently appeared on Ring Rust Radio to discuss their brief stint in NXT and the differences between ROH and TNA matches. Here are the highlights.
Their brief run in NXT:
It was great. They treated us really well there. It was long days, but very enjoyable days. Everything they said they were going to do they did do and they were very respectful. The facility there is absolutely amazing, and we got to work with Dusty Rhodes at the time. We would definitely entertain the thought of going back there, but we are very happy with TNA so I don’t see any reason to leave at this time.
On the differences between ROH and TNA matches:
With ROH, you are going to have those longer matches that you won’t see week to week on TNA. Styles wise, TNA is quicker and flashier, where ROH is more hard hitting. You can’t go wrong with either one, so for wrestling fans in general just watch them both.
Fox has picked up a pro wrestling-themed drama titled The Work, according to Deadline.com.
The show was written by novelist Scott O’Connor (“Untouchable” and “Half World) and produced by Parkes+MacDonald. Over the summer, O’Connor wrote an article for the New York Times about the realism that Brock Lesnar has brought to WWE during his latest run with the company.
The Work was shopped to cable networks before Fox bought the rights to it. No word on when it will wind up on network TV.
– While a match has not been announced yet, the plan for Survivor Series is obviously The Undertaker and Kane teaming up in some fashion against The Wyatt Family. Since Reigns is facing Rollins for the title and Ambrose looks to be facing Kevin Owens for the IC title, it could very well be a 2-on-4 elimination match. WWE’s original plans called for holding off on the Brothers of Destruction reunion until early 2016, but for whatever reason they’re getting to it now.
– WWE recently filed a trademark application for the phrase “WWE Champions” for use in video games. With the WWE 2K franchise in full swing, ‘Champions’ could be a mobile game.
– The allotment of WrestleMania 32 tickets that WWE had planned for the first day of pre-sales sold out in approximately seven hours. Everything else on sale is expected to be released on Friday when they become available to the general public.
– The actual numbers for the recent WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California were 14,184, which was a sellout, and a $1,324,625 gate. That is a great number for a WWE “B” pay-per-view, but with ticket prices being raised, the gates across the board have been up even with similar attendance.
– Speaking of attendance, with John Cena and Randy Orton out, from a talent name and depth standpoint, this week’s European tour is the weakest WWE European tour on record, but the brand should draw since the spring tour was up from past years and that lineup wasn’t loaded with name talent either.
– Former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone and wrestling reporter and historian Mike Mooneyham are the guests on the two newest episodes of Ric Flair’s “WOOOO! Nation” podcast. You can download both shows at Play.it.
– 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:
