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Zayn, Charlotte Comment On NXT TakeOver: Rival Loses, Alicia Fox’s Black History Month Video

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– Sami Zayn posted a new tweet commenting on his loss to Kevin Owens at last night’s NXT TakeOver: Rival special, as well as his booking on the main roster for their upcoming tour of Abu Dhabi. Zayn wrote the following:

– Charlotte also commented on her loss in the four-way NXT Women’s Championship match at the NXT TakeOver: Rival special. She wrote the following:

– The latest WWE “Black History Month” video features Alicia Fox talking about being an inspiration to others. You can check that out below.

WWE Investor Conference Call: Vince Comments On #CancelWWENetwork & More

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Vince McMahon and other WWE senior officials hosted another investor conference call this morning from company headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

– Michael Weitz, WWE’s SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations, welcomes everybody and gives an introduction.

– Vince McMahon spoke about the WWE Network and WWE’s TV ratings. Vince touted social media followers being up 85% from the same quarter in the previous year. WWE is the #1 sports channel on YouTube, Vince spoke about WWE App growth and said everything is in support of the Network. He covered the subscriber increases, which were detailed in the earnings report. Vince talks about the Network and hands it over to Barrios.

– Barrios says 4th quarter results surpassed their expectations. He talked about new features on the Network and how they’ve added new subscribers. They still expect a gradual subscriber increase over time as consumer awareness grows. He talked about the Network expanding internationally. He said the UK and Ireland became their second biggest market almost overnight. Barrios said other international markets that they won’t be in by the end of this year will be worked on at a later date.

– Barrios talked about how the live NXT specials helped with growth. Steve Austin’s live podcasts with Vince McMahon and Triple H were two of the most watched Network shows ever, and said they’re working on having more live specials and working on more exclusive content like talk shows. He talked about revenue increases and other financial data that was detailed in the earnings release.

– Barrios talked about some projects WWE came out with in the last year and talks about their reach on social media and with the WWE App. They expect more growth all across the board next year.

– Q&A: Barrios was asked how they monitor to make sure fans who previously used a free month of WWE Network don’t sign up for another free month. Barrios said they have some tools in place to check for this but didn’t go into details.

– Q&A: A caller asked to compare the WWE fanbase to UFC/MMA and asked about WWE signing MMA fighters to help bring in MMA fans. Barrios said WWE is all about multi-generational family viewing and that’s different from MMA audiences.

– Q&A: Barrios was asked about the budget for WWE Network content and feature films in 2015. Fixed costs for the Network will be about the same as last year but the films budget will be between $20 and $30 million.

– Q&A: A caller asked Vince about Twitter controversy and the #CancelWWENetwork hashtag after the Royal Rumble. Vince said the whole situation was actually good for WWE – because it created controversy. Vince fans were upset that “Santa Claus didn’t come” at the Royal Rumble. Vince mocked fans who say they’re never watching again who are then glued to the TV the following night.

– Barrios wouldn’t comment on Network advertising revenue. He took a few more questions before wrapping it up.

TNA To Work With AAA Again?, Mickie James Update, TNA Lockdown, More

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– TNA executive Bob Ryder recently contacted Mexico’s AAA promotion in hopes of bringing back the talent exchanges between the two companies. TNA is said to be looking for a couple of wrestlers to be their new, top Hispanic stars.

– Former TNA Knockout Mickie James will be returning to the ring for the Remix Pro Wrestling promotion on April 25th in Marietta, Ohio. For more information, visit RemixProWrestling.com.

– Below is the “IMPACT In 60” video for last Friday’s TNA Lockdown event.

http://youtu.be/JfvXB0s_Vg0

(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Who Was The Fake Sting On RAW?, Bray Wyatt Gets Busted Open

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– Bray Wyatt suffered a busted nose after taking a bad dropkick from Dolph Ziggler during this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Columbus, Ohio. Wyatt was fine afterwards, and even worked the WWE SmackDown television taping the next night in Dayton, Ohio.

– The man who was dressed up as Sting during the segment with Triple H at this past Monday’s RAW was veteran independent wrestler Cody Hawk. Hawk has worked in the indy wrestling scene in Ohio for quite some time.

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Triple H Pushing For WWE To Sign Big Hispanic Star, Recent WWE Attendance Figures

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– Triple H is reportedly pushing hard again for the idea of getting a top Hispanic Superstar in WWE. The company is said to be looking for a talent that is someone who can work well in the ring, can speak multiple languages, is six-feet tall and has the kind of body that they like.

– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:

February 6th in North Charleston, SC drew 7,000 fans
February 7th in Salt Lake City, UT drew 5,000 fans
February 7th in Jacksonville, FL drew 5,000 fans
February 8th in Huntington, WV drew 6,000 fans
February 8th in Canton, OH drew 3,000 fans
February 9th in Columbus, OH for RAW drew 10,800 fans
February 10th in Dayton, OH for SmackDown drew 3,000 fans

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

NBA Legend Calls Out Brock Lesnar (Video), Solomon Crowe’s NXT Debut, Austin Podcast

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– The teaser that aired in the middle of the NXT TakeOver: Rival special on Wednesday was for the debut of Solomon Crowe. The teaser simply said to stay tuned to next week’s episode, which was put over by the announcers.

– Part two of Steve Austin’s interview with Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg is now available on the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. The official description for the show reads as follows:

SASu – EP194 – Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg Pt2

“Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg returns to talk pro-wrestling with Steve! The Macho Man vs Ricky Steamboat steel cage match, more Royal Rumble analysis, the Montreal Screw Job, Stone Cold vs Mike Tyson, the hardest & easiest wrestlers to move around in the ring, and pro-wrestling memorabilia include Steve-weiser cans & Bret Hart’s sunglasses!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– NBA legend and former part-time WCW performer Karl Malone recently challenged Brock Lesnar during an appearance on FOX Sports 1. You can check out the interview below.

Vince McMahon Promotes Cena’s Movie, WWE Announcer Up For NY Emmy, Update On The Shield DVD

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– WWE’s new “The Destruction of The Shield” Blu-ray that is scheduled to be released soon will feature two deleted scenes that were originally reported as DVD extras — a look at the Dean Ambrose vs. William Regal feud, and a look at Roman Reigns in FCW as Leakee.

– WWE announcer Scott Stanford has been nominated for a New York Emmy Award in the “Daily or Weekly Sports Program” category for his work with New York City’s PIX11 Sports Desk program. Stanford was also nominated in the news anchors category. The awards will be announced on May 2nd.

– Vince McMahon recently tweeted out the following trailer for the movie “Trainwreck,” which features John Cena.

WWE PPV Numbers For Hell In A Cell, Survivor Series & TLC

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WWE pay-per-view events generated $3.9 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014, down from $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, $13.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 and $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in October drew 83,000 buys, which was down from the 228,000 buys for the show in 2013, 199,000 buys in 2012, 182,000 buys in 2011, 210,000 buys in 2010 and 283,000 buys in 2009.

The WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in November drew 100,000 buys, which was down from the 177,000 buys in 2013, 208,000 buys in 2012, 281,000 buys in 2011, 244,000 buys in 2010 and 235,000 buys in 2009.

The WWE TLC pay-per-view in December drew 39,000 buys, which was down from the 181,000 buys in 2013, 175,000 buys in 2012, 179,000 buys in 2011, 195,000 buys in 2010 and 228,000 buys in 2009.

TNA TV & PPV Taping Schedule: Jeff Hardy’s Return, Great Muta, Von Erich’s

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TNA has announced the following tapings schedule between now and Monday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida:

Tonight at 7 p.m. Several weeks worth of Xplosion matches

Tomorrow at 1 p.m. Global Impact – U.S. vs. The World PPV taping

Tomorrow at 7 p.m. Hardcore Justice PPV taping

Saturday at 1 p.m. Jokers Wild PPV taping

Saturday at 7 p.m. Knockouts Knockdown 3 PPV taping

Sunday at 1 p.m. Xtravaganza PPV taping

Sunday at 7 p.m. World Cup of Wrestling PPV taping (Jeff Hardy returns on this show)

Monday at 1 p.m TNA Classic PPV taping

Monday at 7 p.m. Gutcheck PPV taping (Great Muta will be working this show)

Ross & Marshall Von Erich will be appearing at the tapings on Friday, Saturday and Monday.

NXT TakeOver: What Happened After The Show (Video), Legends In Attendance & More

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– The dark match before Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover: Rival event at Full Sail University saw Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeat Aiden English and Simon Gotch.

– The blonde woman who jumped on Tyler Breeze during his entrance at Takeover was Gionna Daddio. She’s a former Hooters model and has been signed to NXT for a few months now.

– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and Larry Zbyszko were both in attendance. Brian Kendrick was there as well and is expected to be at tonight’s NXT TV tapings.

– After Takeover went off the air on the WWE Network tonight, trainers continued to check on former NXT Champion Sami Zayn. Kevin Owens went on with his celebration as NXT General Manager William Regal came down to check on Sami.

NXT TakeOver: Rival Post Show Video Interviews

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WWE has published interviews with Baron Corbin, NXT Tag Team Champions Blake & Murphy and newly crowned NXT Champion Kevin Owens after their big wins at NXT TakeOver: Rival.

In case you missed the show, check out our NXT TakeOver: Rival Results, including video clips from each match.

Here are the interviews:

Baron Corbin reflects on his match with Bull Dempsey

Blake & Murphy welcome all challengers

Kevin Owens lets his NXT Championship victory sink in

Reaction To John Cena Portrayed As An Old Veteran

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There has been a lot of talk how WWE portraying John Cena as an “old veteran” is a bad idea. One person within WWE said it’s “shockingly bad” for the direction of Cena’s character and they couldn’t understand what he’s is thinking by going along with it.

The idea is for Cena to be moved into a “Babe Ruth” role similar to how Bruno Sammartino was in the late 1970s, where he was really the most popular guy but the focus was put on an up and coming babyface, Bob Backlund.

Although Cena has been the face of WWE for over a decade, he’s still only 37 years old and a top merchandise seller amongst children and women.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

WWE Network Coming to Middle East and Expanding in Canada

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In advance of WWE’s 2014 Q4 and 2014 full year earnings report this morning, WWE has announced two partnerships related to WWE Network:

1. Middle East – A five-year partnership with OSN, the leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to distribute WWE Network as a premium, linear channel in time for WrestleMania® on Sunday, March 29.

2. Canada – An expanded partnership with Rogers in Canada providing even more Canadian fans with access to WWE Network and premium WWE programming. In addition to Rogers and Eastlink, the premium linear TV channel will now also be available to Cogeco Cable Canada, Shaw and Shaw Direct, TELUS Optik TV and TELUS Satellite TV, and Videotron subscribers.

Hit up page 2 for the press releases on both announcements.

 

WWE Reports Q4 2014 Financial Results

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WWE has reported their Q4 2014 financial results, with revenues climbing 19% and a net loss of $1.6 million (down from a net loss of $7.9 million in Q4 2013).

WWE REPORTS Q4 2014 RESULTS

STAMFORD, Conn., February 12, 2015 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014. Revenues for the quarter increased 19% to $140.5 million from $118.4 million in the fourth quarter last year. For the quarter, the Company reported a Net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.02 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter. The revenue increase was driven by the Network and Television segments with earnings growth driven primarily by the rise in television rights fees. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted OIBDA increased to $5.1 million from a loss of $5.6 million and Adjusted Net loss was $0.6 million, or $0.01 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter.

“During the quarter, we remained focused on growing WWE Network, which surpassed 1 million subscribers in January 2015, just 11 months after launch. Subscriber growth was driven by a successful free November promotion, the launch of the service in the UK and the strength of our Royal Rumble event,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that our 2015 road map provides significant opportunities for growth, as we continue to execute well, innovate faster and expand WWE Network, the single greatest opportunity to transform WWE’s business model.”

“In the fourth quarter, we continued to execute our WWE Network strategy, and we generated earnings growth driven by the escalation of our television rights fees. For the quarter, our adjusted OIBDA surpassed our most recent public guidance associated with an average of 721,000 paid subscribers,” added George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “Over the year, key brand metrics remained strong. Raw and SmackDown TV ratings increased 2% and 3%, respectively. Consumption of WWE content on YouTube increased more than 80% to approximately 3.9 billion video views and our social media presence grew more than 80% and recently surpassed 450 million followers. Importantly, we believe that we have reached a financial inflection point. In 2015, we expect year-over-year Adjusted OIBDA growth in every quarter, with growth driven by the performance of WWE Network, the escalation of our television rights fees as well as continued innovation across our businesses.”

  • Download The Full Q42014 Earnings Release (.PDF)

NXT TakeOver: Rival Results: 2/11/15 (With Videos)

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The following are results of the NXT TakeOver: Rival special, which aired live on the WWE Network on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.

– Hideo Itami def. Tyler Breeze in an excellent opening match. This was a solid match to kick off the special. The crowd was hot for it throughout. In the end, Itami picked up the “W” with a running kick to the face.

– Baron Corbin def. Bull Dempsey in a No DQ match. Dempsey dominated a lot of the action throughout the majority of the match, however in the end, Corbin hit his End Of Days finisher for the 1-2-3.

– Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy def. The Lucha Dragons to retain the NXT Tag-Team Championships. This was a solid tag-team match with a ton of fast-paced, high-flying spots. In the end, Blake hit a top rope frog splash on Sin Cara for the pinfall victory.

– Finn Balor def. Adrian Neville to become the new number one contender to the NXT Championship. Balor did his elaborate entrance, which as usual, received a big reaction from the crowd. Neville dominated a lot of the action throughout, including multiple believable near falls, however in the end, Falor hit a giant double foot stomp off the top rope to score the win.

Undertaker Appears To Be In Awful Shape, Company Buys Large Share Of WWE Stock

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– For what it’s worth, a source who saw The Undertaker in person recently said that he looked to be 60 years old and was moving around like his knees were gone, so much so that it apparently looked shocking.

– Blackrock Inc., an investment management company based out of San Francisco and New York, has purchased 1,789,853 shares of WWE stock. Them, along with Morgan Stanley Capital, which owns 2,180,252 shares of WWE stock, are the two biggest outside shareholders of the company.

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Backstage News Regarding How Serious John Cena’s Eye Injury Is

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John Cena is suffering from a legitimate eye injury. The injury is actually a combination of reality and WWE storyline.

Cena first suffered the eye injury at the WWE live events two weekends ago, as it was evident on the February 2nd RAW, but ended up getting worse as time went on.

As a result of the injury, Cena did not wrestle at this past weekend’s live events or at Monday’s RAW.

The injury is said to be a corneal abrasion. They shot an angle on RAW where Rusev went after Cena’s bad eye, but in the end, they ultimately said Cena would be ready for the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view.

Those in the company are under the impression that Cena is cleared to compete as early as the WWE tour of Abu Dhabi.

PHOTOS: Several HOT Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In Sports Illustrated’s SWIMSUIT ISSUE!!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Triple H Twitter Q&A Highlights

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WWE COO Triple H took part in a Q&A session on Twitter earlier today to hype tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Rival show live on the WWE Network. Here are some highlights:

Natalya Talks Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart In WWE HOF, Titus O’Neil Driving Her Nuts & More

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WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya appeared on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show’s “The Josh Podcast” to promote the current season of WWE Total Divas on E!.

Below are highlights from the interview:

On Titus O’Neil:

“Titus O’Neil likes to be on our reality show a lot. He manages to find his way every time we are filming a scene, he will have to come up and talk about something stupid that has nothing to do with anything. Titus is great he just drives me nuts. I’ve had him on one too many road trips and at one point he had way too many refried bean burritos and it was potent to put it mildly.”

On whether or not her father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, should be in the WWE Hall of Fame: “I definitely think my dad [Jim Neidhart] can be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That’s my biggest dream is to have my dad at the Hall of Fame and it would be so cool to see my dad and Bret get inducted as the Hart Foundation, that would be awesome, and there’s not doubt in my mind that’s going to happen. Of course, I would be inducting them.”

On her uncle, Owen Hart: “It’s not hard for me to talk about Owen. Owen is a very special topic because he wasn’t just your ordinary person. He really went above and beyond, going out of his way to touch peoples lives. When he had a day or two off at home he’d visit children’s hospitals, people never knew that. There wasn’t Instagram or Twitter or anything that he could post on and it wasn’t even something WWE set up.”

On Owen Hart in the WWE Hall of Fame: “One day I do think that the WWE will have Owen in the Hall of Fame, and when they do it’s going to be big and its going to be really, really special. I hear all sorts of people saying, including my cousins Georgia and Harry, their dad is the British Bulldog, they are always like, ‘we want our dad to get in the Hall of Fame’, with the WWE they do have a rhyme and a reason for the things they do. The WWE isn’t going anywhere, it’s going to be around for a long, long, long time. When they pick people to go into the Hall of Fame its a very selective process. I think you’re going to see both Owen Hart and the British Bulldog in the Hall of Fame, but its going to be at the right time. I know that when both of them do eventually get inducted it will be really special, we can celebrate as a family. I have complete faith that they will both get in there.”

You can listen to the complete interview at ElvisDuran.com.

Undertaker On WWE Magazine Cover Hyping WrestleMania, Zahra Schreiber Trends, Network

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– While it still remains to be seen whether The Undertaker will return to WWE following his loss to Brock Lesnar last year, The Deadman is featured on the cover of the latest issue of WWE Kids Magazine (exclusively publishing in the United Kingdom), which hypes WrestleMania 31.

WWE KIDS NO 91

– Zahra Schreiber, the aspiring WWE Diva involved in a nude photo scandal with Seth Rollins and the WWE Superstar’s fiancee, was the most searched for topic on Google on Monday with over 200,000 searches.

– Two episodes of Raw from June 1996 have been added to the WWE Network vault. They are the two shows leading up to the King of the Ring. There are also few additions to the Quick Hits section, including Florida Georgia Line’s performance on Raw, a behind-the-scenes look of WWE Superstars filming a commercial for SmackDown’s new night on Syfy, and WWE’s tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Money In The Bank 2015 Location, Big Show’s Anti-Bullying Message, Sheamus

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– WWE Money In The Bank 2015 will take place at The Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio this year. The event is scheduled for Sunday, June 14th. A pre-sale is currently underway for the show, with the code set as: MITB.

– Sheamus, who is gearing up for a WWE return in the near future, will be signing autographs at the World of Wheels event in Kansas City, Missouri this Friday from 6-8pm. For more information, visit Autorama.com.

– Below is Big Show’s anti-bullying video that aired on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.

http://youtu.be/ZHxlvl3XLe0

WWE Legends In New Movie Trailer, Piper’s Pit, Top 10 RAW Moments Video

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– The latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast features part two of Piper’s interview with former WWE tag-team star Bushwhacker Luke. The official description for the show reads as follows:

PP-Ep45 – Luke Williams of the Bushwhackers Part.2

“In Part. 2 of Roddy’s interview with Luke Williams of the Bushwhackers the two wrestling legends talk about how tag-team wrestlers are doomed to extinction, why the elimination of territories is killing wrestling and under what circumstances Butch and Luke would ever come out of retirement.”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– WWE legends Jim Ross, Jake Roberts and Diamond Dallas Page are featured in the new trailer for the movie, “What Now,” which you can see below. The film is set to be released in select theaters across the country on March 19th, and will be available via Video On Demand starting April 3rd.

– Below is this week’s “Top 10 WWE RAW Moments” video.

Why Doesn’t WWE Place Importance On Intercontinental & United States Titles?

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When I was a kid, I had a trampoline. My friends and I were all huge pro wrestling fans and long before the explosion of “backyard trampoline wrestling federations,” we would watch the matches together, go out on the trampoline and try and reenact what we saw on television.

Of course if you’re this enthused about professional wrestling as a youngster, you’re going to take your trampoline matches seriously and treat them as if they were part of a legitimate organization — for kids. Were we looking to become millionaires or television stars? Of course not. Did we fantasize and treat it like we were right in the middle of a WWE ring on a WWE Superstars or Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast?

We sure did.

So the next logical step, seeing is how we were taking this so seriously was to purchase replica WWE Championship belts so that when we won “the big matches,” we could crown ourselves the champion.

What was the first replica belt we bought? Well, obviously it was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, right?

Wrong.

This was during the early-1990s and mid-1990s, when if you were a kid, the best wrestlers and your favorite wrestlers were generally the guys who held the WWE Intercontinental Championship. We thought the belt itself looked cooler than the “Eagle” championship that the main champions wore and we — even as kids — recognized that guys like Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels were much better wrestlers than Diesel or Yokozuna.

Fast-forward to today.

I can’t recall a time when the secondary titles in WWE have meant less. If you’re an Intercontinental Champion or United States Champion in WWE these days, you basically aren’t a champion at all. I can’t even count how many times a pay-per-view would come and go without an I-C or U.S. title match even taking place on the card. If they were on the card, they certainly didn’t come off as anything important or relevant.

With Brock Lesnar as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and with the main title in WWE being unified, meaning there’s only one “main” champion these days, and due to the fact that Lesnar has such a limited schedule in WWE, why doesn’t WWE take this opportunity to try and make their secondary titles mean more?

WWE Superstars need to cut promos and make the I-C and U.S. titles seem like a goal that is really worth achieving. They need to act like those titles are the be-all, end-all, if for no other reason than the fact that they are the only consistently active titles in the company right now.

There has been a lot of talk about unifying the I-C and U.S. titles and while I have always been in favor of that idea, I’m not so sure if that should be happening anytime soon. While unifying the I-C and U.S. titles would, in theory, make the one secondary title seem stronger, it would also take away even more from WWE live events having title matches.

Right now, the I-C and U.S. titles are the only men’s singles championships that are on the line at non-televised events. For that matter, they’re the only titles that are defended on television. Hell, they’re the only two men’s singles titles that are defended on pay-per-views more often than not.

WWE needs to raise the value of their secondary championships and make those I-C and U.S. titles mean as much as humanly possible. The good part is, when Lesnar does eventually drop the title and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship becomes active again, the I-C and U.S. titles, if they play their cards right, will at that point mean more and all of a sudden you have three titles of value, something WWE hasn’t had in years.

Basically, it won’t seem odd for a big-name Superstar to explain how important it is to win the I-C title at that point, whereas if Roman Reigns or John Cena said in a promo today, “I won’t sleep until I get the WWE United States Championship around my waist!” you would probably look at them like they have four heads. Although with Cena’s current program against U.S. Champion Rusev, we might actually hear a version of that, if WWE decides to make the title an important part of their feud, which of course is doubtful.

Regardless, WWE needs to work on getting these secondary championships to regain the luster that they had when I was a little kid jumping on a trampoline and pretending like my dreams just came true because I won a match and got to hold the — PRESTIGIOUS — WWE Intercontinental Championship high over my head.

What are your thoughts on WWE’s secondary singles titles? Leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also follow me on social media for continued news and views at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

VIDEO: Triple H Hypes NXT TakeOver: Rival, Talks Zayn vs. Owens, WWE Network

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In the latest weekly sit-down video interview with Michael Cole, Triple H hypes tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Rival special on the WWE Network.

HHH told Cole that it’s a great time to be a WWE fan and a WWE Network subscriber, because NXT TakeOver: Rival is free for fans who signed up in February.

He spoke about some of the matches scheduled for tonight, putting over the Hideo Itami vs. Adrian Neville number one contender’s match and calling the Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens NXT Championship match a “very personal and emotional battle.”

You can check out the complete Triple H interview above.

PHOTOS: Several HOT Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In Sports Illustrated’s SWIMSUIT ISSUE!!

SETH ROLLINS Addresses His Nude Photo Leak On Twitter From Monday!

DDP Undergoes Throat Surgery, NXT Sells Out TV Taping, Cesaro/Sin Cara Hype Their Match

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– The NXT TV taping at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on February 18th is now officially sold out. As noted, tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Rival and tomorrow night’s NXT TV tapings are also officially sold out.

– Diamond Dallas Page noted on his official Twitter account that he underwent throat surgery at 6am on Wednesday morning. He wrote the following:

Ok kids tomorrow I’ve got to be in surgery at 6am (Damn to I HATE early mornings) Anyway, Throat surgery should be smooth :-) I wanna thank you all for you love and attention and Amazing Heartfelt posts here on my pages… it’s really been quiet humbling smile emoticon I’ll have Bk put a post tomorrow following the surgery later today… DDP

– As noted earlier today, because of the limited crew at the WWE TV tapings on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, several matches were extended to help kill time on the shows. On Main Event, Cesaro and Sin Cara had a lengthy match that apparently tore the house down. The two tweeted the following about their match after the taping:

https://twitter.com/WWECesaro/status/565337256807124993

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