Home Blog Page 2382

Details On WWE’s Jerry Lawler Documentary, Lilian Garcia In The Studio (Photo), Shamrock

Matt Boone
-
2

– The following is the official promotional synopsis for WWE’s new “It’s Good To Be The King — The Jerry Lawler Story” DVD and Blu-ray, which is expected to be released in May.

“An in-depth look at wrestling royalty with one of the most iconic men to grace the squared circle. Featuring the greatest matches and moments from the legendary career of Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.”

– Former WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock turns 51 years old today. “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was born on February 11, 1964.

– WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia continues to work on her new music album. She posted the following photo of herself working on her music in the studio on her official Twitter account today.

Partial Crew At WWE Taping Changes SmackDown Format, WWE’s Craziest Event Locations (Video)

Matt Boone
-
1

– There was only a partial crew at the WWE Main Event and WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. Half of the roster was already on their way to Abu Dhabi for this weekend’s live events.

As a result of a limited crew at the tapings, matches on both Main Event and SmackDown were stretched out longer than usual. The “Tag-Team Turmoil” main event on SmackDown went over 45 minutes, while the Sin Cara vs. Cesaro headline match on Main Event went long as well.

– The latest edition of WWE’s “Five Things” web-series, which you can view below, takes a look at the five craziest event locations in history.

Final Card For Tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Rival Special On The WWE Network

Matt Boone
-
12

The following matches are confirmed for tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Rival live special on the WWE Network:

NXT Championship
– Sami Zayn (c) vs. Kevin Owens

No. 1 Contender’s Match
– Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville

NXT Women’s Championship
– Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

NXT Tag-Team Championships
– Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy (c) vs. The Lucha Dragons

No Disqualification Match
– Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

Singles Match
– Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Make sure to join us here at the website tonight for complete NXT TakeOver: Rival results.

Detailed Update On Seth Rollins Nude Photo Leak: WWE Upset, Rollins To Be Punished?

Matt Boone
-
54

It was reported on Tuesday that there has been no heat from WWE management directed towards Seth Rollins for his recent nude photo leak on social media, as WWE believed that Rollins’ accounts were legitimately hacked. Despite the fact that there is said to be no heat on Rollins, the WWE Superstar has reportedly faced repercussions as a result of the incident.

According to Reddit user MetsFan4Ever, who has broken multiple WWE stories in the past, there is talk of Rollins being fined a small amount of money because of the feeling that while the leak was likely a mistake on his part, he originally leaked the initial photo himself.

Triple H was said to be against fining Rollins in any form, however Vince McMahon felt someone needs to be held responsible and because he can’t punish any of the women involved, it has to be Rollins that bites the bullet.

Many within WWE have been under the impression that Rollins would cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase in June and become WWE World Heavyweight Champion, however now many are of the opinion that he won’t be champion any time soon.

The Rollins story received a lot of mainstream media coverage, however WWE officials were said to be particularly upset that Elvis Duran spoke about the topic for about 15 minutes on his morning radio show, which is a nationally syndicated show and one of the most-listened to programs in all of New York City.

In addition to the memo that we reported about being sent to all WWE talents after RAW telling them not to speak about the issue publicly, WWE also held a “social media etiquette” meeting in Dayton, Ohio at the WWE TV tapings on Tuesday night, as well as at company headquarters in Stamford. Talents were told to immediately remove any photos from their phones that would be considered risky.

Chyna Claims Triple H Physically Abused Her, Triple H Responds

Matt Boone
-
58

Former WWE Diva Chyna is claiming that Triple H physically abused her when they dated from 1996-2000. During her recent appearance on Vince Russo’s podcast, Chyna revealed that Triple H once hit her and she actually found a love letter from Stephanie McMahon to Triple H when she and Triple H were still an item.

Below is a transcript of Chyna’s comments on the subject.

“So I think Hunter’s plan was to get me to leave the relationship first and then that way he can start dating Stephanie and like everything would be cool. So I would ask Hunter time and time again, I figured it was better just to address the problem and ask him honestly and I would have to believe his answer, so we got into a heated argument, we were not getting along, I told him ‘I know something’s going on. Don’t tell me something’s not going on.’ He swiped my hand, I swiped his hand, he hit me. I went back like Jerry Springer and then I was like OK that’s the deal breaker for me, the relationship is now over, so now I have to leave. After that, I know that he was crying and I know that he felt bad that he hit me, and my first initial reaction was to get up, and like I don’t know, I was just in shock and it felt like a Jerry Springer moment, it was very surreal, and I just couldn’t believe that he hit me. But he knows that like I don’t stand for physical violence, albeit we’ll get to that after with Sean [Waltman], so I knew at that point I had to leave, but I needed some sort of closure so when he was gone I started looking all over the house, and I looked into his, long story short, I looked into his briefcase and I found a love letter from Stephanie that had [been] dated a year back, so the whole time they were doing the storyline basically they were together.”

Triple H has since responded to the allegations, releasing the following statement of his own.

“The false statements and reckless allegations made by Joan Laurer (aka Chyna) on a recent podcast about a physical dispute are a complete fabrication. While Joan has had significant struggles in life, this does not justify making such claims.”

The Rock Spars With NFL Insider (Photo), John Cena Documentary On WWE Network, More

Matt Boone
-
1

– WWE announced after the SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night that they will be returning to the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday, June 13th for a non-televised live event. Tickets go on sale for the event on April 18th.

– WWE Network will soon be adding a two-hour version of WWE’s “John Cena: Greatest Rivalries” DVD, which was released this past October, in the “Beyond the Ring” category.

– Part-time WWE performer The Rock recently did some sparring with NFL and UFC insider Jay Glazer for a future episode of his new HBO series, “Ballers.” Rock posted the following photo of the two on the set of “Ballers” on Tuesday.

Japanese Pro Wrestling Legend To Be Inducted Into WWE Hall Of Fame?

Matt Boone
-
4

The Tokyo Sports website in Japan has an article up that claims Japanese pro wrestling legend Genichiro Tenryu could soon be entering the WWE Hall Of Fame, based on comments from WWE Japan officials.

Tenryu has worked a few big matches in WWE in the past, including a tag-team match against Demolition at WrestleMania VII in 1991, as well as appearances in the 1993 and 1994 Royal Rumble matches.

Whether or not Tenryu will go in the WWE Hall Of Fame in this year’s class remains to be seen.

Dusty Rhodes Gives Triple H A Gift (Photo), Update On Rhodes At Monday’s RAW

Matt Boone
-
6

– WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes recently gave the official creative booking book from the 1986 Great American Bash to Triple H as a present. Triple H tweeted the following photo of the two together with the historical book:

https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/565332270874374144/photo/1

– Speaking of Rhodes, as noted earlier today, “The American Dream” is scheduled to appear on Monday’s RAW to join in on the ongoing Goldust-Stardust storyline. Dusty posted the following follow-up tweet on Twitter regarding the appearance.

Shawn Michaels Talks Getting Off Of Drugs, Kevin Nash Saving His Friendship With Triple H

Matt Boone
-
10

WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels recently spoke with the official WWE website to promote his new book, “Wrestling For My Life: The Legend, The Reality and The Faith of a WWE Superstar.”

During the interview, Michaels spoke about when and how he finally decided to get off of drugs, how a phone call with Kevin Nash saved his friendship with Triple H and more.

Below are highlights from the WWE.com interview:

On when he finally decided to get clean from drugs: “The final moment was when my son was 2 years old and I was half-in-the-bag on the couch, and him thinking I was tired. I realized, “My goodness, he’s starting to notice. This isn’t something you’ll be able to hide from him.” It broke my heart. I just could not bear the thought of this innocent baby being ruined by something he had absolutely nothing to do with. I decided there needed to be a change — and a drastic one.”

On how a phone call with Kevin Nash helped re-kindle his friendship with Triple H: “Basically, he said, “Look, you need to stop that stuff, and while we’re at it, you need to make amends with Triple H.” Triple H and I had not talked in a year. I had been in not-great-shape the last time I was in WWE. It had been a year since then. It was Nash saying, “You owe him an apology,” the incident with my son and me waking up later that night and thinking this can’t continue. All of these happened the same night. And all of it started the next day. I called Kevin back first, saying, “You’re right, and give me Triple H’s number; I’ve got to call him.” Then I called Triple H, asked him to forgive me, and both of us wept on the phone like a couple little girls. We re-kindled our friendship.”

On the difficult parts of writing his new book and why fans should read it: “It’s a look at my faith and more of an autobiography on my second life. I can’t say it was difficult [to write]. It was an opportunity to stay in that place where it’s nice and away from the hustle and bustle of everything. Since 2002, [wrestling] was a great job, enjoyed doing it, worked hard doing it, and did it well, but my family and my faith were a much bigger part of my life from 2002 to 2010 when I left. It was nice to be able to focus on what really was the majority aspect of my life. It’s a must-read for anybody who has the ability or is at that space when they’re man or woman enough to say, “I need to make a change” and not to be afraid of it. There’s no one of us that’s perfect; there’s no one of us that can’t do just a little better. That’s what I’m hoping this book will do.”

Check out the complete interview at WWE.com.

Dusty Rhodes Confirmed For Monday’s RAW, Jim Ross Interviews Adam Cole, Otunga Note

Matt Boone
-
3

– WWE Superstar David Otunga taped his second appearance on The Steve Harvey Show on Tuesday. He posted a clip of himself backstage at the show, which you can view at Instagram.com.

– ROH star Adam Cole is the guest on this week’s edition of the Jim Ross “Ross Report” podcast. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TRR – Ep52 – ROH’s Adam Cole

“Ring Of Honor rising star Adam Cole joins JR to talk about his wrestling start, the Stone Cold/Rock match at Wrestlemania 17 that inspired Adam to pursue pro-wrestling, his training, his in-ring technique, philosophy on selling, his thoughts on Kevin Steen, working for New Japan, and the effect social media has on storylines and character development. Plus, Adam reveals his top 7 fantasy matches!”

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

– WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes is scheduled to appear on next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. “The American Dream” tweeted the following on Tuesday:

Chris Jericho Interviews Shawn Michaels, WWE Looking To Hire New Vice President Of Operations

Matt Boone
-
3

– WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels is the guest on this week’s edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast. The first of two episodes is available now, with part two dropping on Friday. The official description for part one reads as follows:

TIJ – EP116 – Shawn Michaels Pt 1

“Y2J went to the middle-of-nowhere Texas to sitdown with HBK at his ranch, and they talked about raising goats, home schooling kids, electric gates… and oh yeah – pro wrestling! In part 1, you’ll hear about The Rockers, Scott Hall, being a small guy in a big man’s business, Shawn’s first firing from WWE, Pat Patterson, and the beginning of the infamous 2008 Y2J-HBK angle.”

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

– WWE is currently looking to fill the position of Vice President of Operations, a role that requires you work out of Stamford, Connecticut. The official description for this “once in a lifetime” job listing reads as follows:

“The Vice President of Operations, will be based in Stamford, CT and will report to the EVP, Talent, Creative Writing and Live Events. This right-hand role is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an executive who is looking for a role that offers immediate engagement and impact on the performance of our most critical asset. The VP of Operations will be immersed in the heart of our business and, in partnership with the department head, will have a direct impact on the future of WWE’s global brand through assessment, planning, and execution of our Talent Development/Relations, Creative and Live Event strategies.”

*Spoilers* WWE Main Event Taping Results For This Week

Matt Boone
-
3

The following matches were taped prior to the WWE SmackDown taping in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday, February 10th for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.

Dark Match:

– Nikki Bella def. Emma in a Divas match. Brie Bella was at ringside for this one. The finish saw Nikki hit Emma with her Rack Attack finishing move for the 1-2-3.

WWE Main Event Spoilers

– The Ascension cut a promo to open the taping. They spoke about the “old relics” in the WWE Hall Of Fame, trashing the legends of the sport.

– The Ascension def. two local wrestlers in a quick tag-team squash match. The finish saw The Ascension hit their Fall Of Man finishing move for the pin.

– Naomi def. Natalya in Divas action. This was kept relatively short and for a Divas match, was said to be pretty solid. In the end, Naomi rolled Nattie up with a small package to get the 1-2-3.

– Cesaro def. Sin Cara in the main event of the taping. This was said to be a pretty long match that was competitive throughout. In the end, Cesaro picked up the “W” after hitting Sin Cara for The Neutralizer.

Sami Zayn On His Feud With Kevin Owens, NXT Match At WM31, NXT Touring & More

Matt Boone
-
12

NXT Champion Sami Zayn recently spoke with the folks at the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to promote his title defense against Kevin Owens at the NXT TakeOver: Rival special, which airs live tonight on the WWE Network.

Below are highlights from the interview:

On his NXT Title win at R Evolution: “Professionally, if anybody had followed my story going into the match, it was the culmination of like a year of chasing for this championship so the payoff was huge for the fans. It’s funny because we’re essentially two good guys, two fan favorites, we’re popular with that audience, but then I think they had just been pining to see me win after coming up short so many times, coming so close and not quite making it, that the atmosphere in the building was just electric.”

“I can’t even really compare it to anything honestly, it was one of the most unique atmospheres that I’ve been a part of and certainly they were very vocal and gave me their full support which meant the world, so when that 1-2-3 hit the mat the place just exploded. It’s amazing because I almost feel like it transcends what we think about wrestling, it was like a party. When your team wins the cup or your team wins the championship. You’re high-fiving strangers, you know what I mean? It had that kind of atmosphere, which is huge and to be the reason for that is so powerful to me and is why I do what I do. ”

“From a 100% real perspective, when I joined the WWE after 11 years on the independents there were a lot of questions whether I would survive in this environment. Because the independents are the independents you know, anything goes. Okay, you got over out there, this place is gonna chew you up and spit you out. So it was very symbolic on a very real level of conquering a system I was told would chew me up and spit me out. So there was a lot of vindication in winning.”

On an NXT Title Match at WrestleMania: “Part of NXT’s appeal to me especially amongst people like yourself, like you’re saying lifelong wrestling fans who are sort of like discovering NXT and being like ‘Wait, this is the kind of wrestling I used to like’ or ‘I like this.’ It’s succinct. It’s an hour-long, you’ve got some great wrestlers, and you’ve got great storytelling, and it’s simple and it’s gritty.

While at the same time, it’s so funny people forget it’s PG, it’s a PG product, but it’s so real and gritty and people almost lose sight of that. The whole point I’m trying to get at is, it’s sort of carved out its own little niche within this giant wrestling company that is the WWE. We’ve almost carved out our own underground following, it almost has a cult following, which is so strange to say because it’s part of the world’s biggest wrestling company.

So, I think if you were to have an NXT World Championship Match at WrestleMania while obviously for me personally I would be a huge thrill, I don’t think you can necessarily capture the magic of what NXT is and really harness it and put it on full display for the world to understand it, on such a grand scale like that.”

“When you take the product out of its environment and throw it on a grand stage I think it would lose something there.”

On NXT Touring: “These shows in Cleveland, these shows in Ohio, Columbus, this is the start of something definitely in the works I think, and in the plans, to get NXT out on the road a little more and I think people are pining for it obviously. Just working all these WWE live events in towns I’ve never been, I’ve been on Raw once in September, and even at that my music will hit and I’ll get a really good response because NXT’ just building, there’s this undercurrent. So, fans want to see this product and I think they are excited about it. There’s no question in my mind that throughout the course of this year we’ll definitely see NXT going out on the road more often. Obviously that begins with fan support. If the support is there the demand is there we’ll be there.”

On Kevin Owens: “The amount of history we have, Kevin Owens and myself, over the years, never mind guys like Cesaro or Seth Rollins or Daniel Bryan who I met on the independents, Kevin and I broke out of Montreal, the little Montreal independent bubble, in front of 50 people in basements, bars, and pool halls. We broke out of that together. Our names have been synonymous with each other for our entire careers from 2002 on or 2003 on. The connection is very, very deep. It was a very special night [Takeover: R Evolution] for me because obviously, I had sort of arrived in my own sort of way by winning this NXT Championship. I felt like it was a coming out party of sorts. Here I am and a the same time Kevin Owens had debuted earlier that night. So it was like this is our night. Like, holy crap here we are, both of us in WWE. You’re here now, I’m here now, I’ve got the title, we are doing this, and then BAM! So to say that this match is personal or means a lot to me is the understatement of the century here.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

WWE Issues Statement On Darren Young

Staff
-
39

WWE has issued a statement in response to Darren Young tweeting about the company touring Abu Dhabi.

Initially, Darren Young tweeted, “Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu dhabi and they look down upon women and gays? I get it! #MillionsofDollars” He later deleted that tweet and ranted about his “freedom of speech is gone” and “I feel like no none has my back and it upsets me. The struggle is real. I’m human.”

WWE sent us the following statement in response:

Fred Rosser Statement

“WWE does not discriminate against individuals regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation, and we continue to proudly support Fred Rosser (aka WWE Superstar Darren Young) for being open about his sexuality.

Unfortunately, WWE cannot change cultures and laws around the world, and thus we did not send Fred Rosser to the United Arab Emirates for our upcoming events for his own protection.

WWE also fully supports Fred Rosser’s right to express his views on personal social media accounts rather than WWE’s corporate platforms.”

WWE SmackDown Spoilers: Taping Results For 2/12

Staff
-
50

From Dayton Ohio, airing Thursday, February 12th:

– The show opens with Kane announcing Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will be teaming up in a Tag Team Turmoil match later in the show.

– Bray Wyatt defeated R-Truth with Sister Abigail.

– Paige defeated Summer Rae. The Bella Twins did commentary and talked smack to Paige after the match.

– Video packages for Rikishi and Sheamus.

– Fandango defeated Adam Rose with the top rope leg drop.

– Tag Team Turmoil: Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz and Damien Sandow is up first, with Bryan pinning Miz for the win. The Usos are out next. After a long match, Jey Uso tapped out to the Yes Lock. Los Matadores are out next. Bryan quickly made one of the Matadores tap out. Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil are out next. Reigns speared Heath Slater for the win. Bryan and Reigns tease have not been on the same page for most of the match.

The Ascension is out next and actually beat down Reigns and Bryan for several minutes. They hit Bryan with the Fall of Man and keep attacking him until they get disqualified. Big Show and Kane are the last team. During the match, Big Show and Kane were arguing over who was going to cover Daniel Bryan and Big Show Kane out. Reigns hits Big Show with a spear and Bryan hits the flying knee. Bryan made Show tap out with the Yes Lock. The match went over 45 minutes. Bryan had 4 falls, Reigns had 1. There was a huge Yes! chant to end the show.

Darren Young Deletes Tweet About WWE-Abu Dhabi, “My Freedom Of Speech Is Gone”

Staff
-
80

WWE Superstar Darren Young is speaking out about his displeasure with WWE for touring Abu Dhabi, as it related to human rights issues. Young tweeted on Tuesday:

“Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu dhabi and they look down upon women and gays? I get it! #MillionsofDollars”

The tweet was deleted. He later followed up with:

Young got a lot of supportive responses on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/lancestorm/status/565315060411957248

 

Jack Swagger Talks About Changes In Wrestling In The Last Decade, His Personal Life

Matt Boone
-
20

Jack Swagger recently spoke with the folks at TheNational.ae to promote the upcoming WWE tour of Abu Dhabi. Below are highlights from the interview.

On balancing showbiz aspect of his life to demands of being an athlete: “They go hand-in-hand and complement each other very well. I think it’s about understanding what each person excels at. It is something that you have to adjust to and prepare for, but it is amazing how it creates larger-than-life characters with great athletic ability.”

On the biggest changes in wrestling over the past decade: “There is more speed, definitely, and shorter matches. I think that is the evolution of sports in general. This generation is getting bigger and faster, and because of that, the style has also changed.”

On whether or not touring so much cuts into his personal time: “A wise person once told me that you always have to make plans to do what you want to do. We get our calendars for three months at a time so it’s very hard to plan for anything more than that, but I definitely try to plan my life.”

Check out the complete interview at TheNational.ae.

RAW Viewership Drops By Over 600,000

Staff
-
64

Monday’s February 9th edition of WWE RAW drew 3.658 million viewers, down over 600,000 from the previous week (4.292 million). Here’s the hourly breakdown:

Hour 1: 3,786,000
Hour 2: 3,670,000
Hour 3: 3,518,000

It’s worth noting that RAW’s Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings also dipped on Monday night, despite several wrestling-related names and phrases trending during the show. RAW’s unique Twitter audience was 1.633 million, essentially even with last week. However, total impressions were down 17% to 11 million.

We’ll post the final rating when it becomes available.

Jim Ross Blog: Reigns’ Promo Work, Sting’s RAW Segment, Rikishi/WWE HOF & More

Matt Boone
-
2

Jim Ross shared his thoughts on several segments and matches from Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in the latest blog posted on his official website.

Below are highlights:

On Roman Reigns’ promos: “Thought Roman Reigns mic work showed improvement. He seems to be the kind of talent who works much better with a bullet point format than adding the additional challenge of ‘remembering his lines’ to the always challenging promo facet of one’s game in the biz. Mic work doesn’t happen over night and too many fans show no patience while these skills are being developed. Reigns is far from the only talent on RAW that needs to work on that phase of their game. It’s an on going process that doesn’t come naturally for every talent. Reigns has great presence and knows that he has to become more proficient with his verbal game and I’m confident that will occur in time.”

On Goldust & Stardust breaking up: “The apparent soon to break up, or not, Goldust and Stardust duo have more interest in their team than any team on the roster or so it seems to me. Seems as if this pair has been on again and off again for weeks but I’m interested in them.”

On the Sting segment on RAW: “Didn’t have any issues with the Sting-HHH presentation but in hindsight I did not need to see the image of Sting entering the ring. Thought the graphics and overall video production was excellent. Looking forward to this confrontation.”

On Rikishi’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction: “It seems that no matter who is announced to be inducted into the WWE HOF some fans simply cannot be satisfied or happy and instead make the announcement about someone that they feel has been passed over or is more deserving. Has anyone been really passed over as anyone not inducted still has a viable chance in being honored in the future. I’m happy for Rikishi and his family.”

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

WWE Issues Statement Regarding Passing Of U.K. Wrestling Legend, Several WWE Stars Comment

Matt Boone
-
7

WWE issued the following statement regarding the passing of U.K. wrestling legend Drew McDonald.

WWE is saddened to learn that U.K. wrestling legend Drew McDonald has passed away following a battle with cancer. Born in Scotland, McDonald competed throughout the 1980s, ‘90s and ‘00s, and fought against the likes of William Regal, Finlay and Robbie Brookside.

Paige, who McDonald helped recruit into WWE, paid tribute to him on last night’s Raw, wearing the script “RIP Drew McDonald” on her forearms.

“He’s the one who got me here, so that’s only the littlest bit of what I can give back to him,” Paige told WWE.com. “I wanted people not to forget him. I wanted people to know his name.”

Below are several tweets from many of WWE’s European talent regarding McDonald’s passing:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/564974943004155906

*Spoilers* WWE Superstars Taping Results For This Week

Matt Boone
-
3

The following matches were taped prior to Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Columbus, Ohio for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars on the WWE Network.

– Titus O’Neil def. Jack Swagger in the opening match of the taping. This was said to be a pretty decent match with its’ fair amount of crowd heat. In the end, the finish saw O’Neil hit Swagger with his finisher for the 1-2-3.

– Luke Harper def. R-Truth in the main event of the show. Harper dominated throughout the majority of the match, with Truth getting in a few hope spots here and there. The finish saw Harper blast Truth with his 360-clothesline for the pinfall victory.

Shawn Michaels Talks Organizing A Prayer Circle In WWE, His Feud With Jericho, Randy Savage

Matt Boone
-
34

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels spoke to Alfonso Castillo of Newsday.com to promote his new book, Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstarir?t=se0e6 20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00L0S6FVE, which was released today. Here are some excerpts from the book about:

On Randy Savage: “I’ve only just recently from my Twitter feed learned about that. I knew absolutely nothing about that. Obviously, that would have been a blast. Gosh, I think that would have helped me immensely at that time. I think there’s so much I could have learned and would have learned. But I have to say that’s one of those things that’s been news to me. I guess all these years later you think, ‘Oh, that’s nice to know.’ I’m flattered. Randy was a very keep-to-yourself kind of guy. And I guess I’m making assumptions, but for him to think I was even ready to do something like that with him, I think is a wonderful compliment, and I’m thankful to have it. I always tell people how he’d give me these short little pieces of advice every now and again. It’s nice to know that he thought of me in that respect.”

On the Chris Jericho feud: “It was fun. And that’s what makes doing the job more enjoyable. You do it with someone you like. You do it with someone you get along with. Chris and I are a lot alike. We view the business, the ring work and things of that nature, a lot of it the same. And we enjoyed that process. So it wasn’t difficult. Chris and I always had a really good relationship. We can disagree. We can jump on each others’ cases. We can apologize. And neither one of us is immediately offended if the other one doesn’t like an idea. We’re quick to get past it and move on. And that’s really what that entire process is. And that’s what made it so fun. We came in every Monday and would get thrown a lot of curveballs. And it was fun seeing if you could hit them. And I think that’s what made it work out so good, because it was pretty darn challenging every step of the way. There was really no direction or no real ideas going into it. It was like having a big old plate of Play-Doh for two guys to mold into what they want.”

On organizing a “prayer circle” during his last WWE run: “I honestly can’t remember anybody having any problem with it. It was obviously something that just came about organically, which was very fortunate. I think if it became something that was almost a scheduled event, that’s when it might make people uncomfortable. It was always just something that individuals did if they wanted to. I don’t recall a time of someone objecting or being uncomfortable that I could see. Certainly, nobody ever said anything. I remember having conversations with guys who were really at a place where, ‘I sort of get the way you feel and there are times that I think about that. But there are some real practical things that don’t allow me to go down the same road you’re going down.’ And I always thought just having that conversation was awesome. I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t sometimes struggle with those things. I can’t describe to you verbatim those first seven days [of creation]. There are Christians who think there were seven actual days, or that creation was over time. They have answers for dinosaurs and things of that nature. And I don’t claim to have any of those answers. And I understand people wanting to have discussions about it. I don’t pass myself off as a bible scholar or a pastor or someone who knows all the biblical facts cover-to-cover. I’m just a guy whose life was changed by it. And that’s about the extent of it. So I’m not easily offended when people struggle about where they’re at with their faith at all”

Check out the complete interview at Newsday.com.

Photos Of Randy Orton’s WWE Return, Jericho Talks WrestleMania Booking, Austin Podcast

Matt Boone
-
23

– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin interviews hip-hop DJ Peter Rosenberg in the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. The official description for the show reads as follows:

SASc – EP193 – DJ Peter Rosenberg

“NYC Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg joins Steve to talk pro-wrestling, football, hip hop and pop music! They discuss the Washington Redskins name, RG3’s future, the evolution of pro football, Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon as a commentator, Vince McMahon on Tuesday Night Titans, Guerilla Monsoon, Bobby The Brain Heenan, and the current WWE product and commentators.”

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

– Veteran pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter recently caught up with part-time WWE performer Chris Jericho. Check out the video below to watch Jericho talk about booking WrestleMania, his band Fozzy and more in the latest “Apter Chat.”

– As noted over the weekend, “The Viper” Randy Orton made his return to in-ring action at the WWE live event. Below are some photos of Orton’s return.

Photos Of NXT Diva Zahra Schreiber

Staff
-
52

Triple H Comments On Seth Rollins Hack, NXT To Tour Regularly

Staff
-
37

WWE COO Triple H took part in a media conference call on Tuesday morning to promote Wednesday’s NXT TakeOver: Rival live special on the WWE Network. During the call, Triple H commented on the Seth Rollins hacking situation.

Triple H said that Rollins (real name Colby Lopez) apologized and called it an “unfortunate personal situation.”

“Colby has issued an apology to his family and friends. This is an unfortunate personal incident and that’s really all it is.”

Click here for more on the backstage reaction to hack and how WWE talent was told to handle it.

Triple H added that he hopes to have NXT touring regularly by the end of the year. They plan to run smaller buildings across the country. NXT’s first live events out of Florida will take place next month, with two events taking place in Ohio. He said:

“We’ve grown the brand enough now that I believe that going outside of the (Florida) region is the thing to do. My goal by the end of 2015, going into 2016 is have this be a completely touring brand no different than the main roster.”

He continued, “It will be in smaller venues, but a complete touring roster that gets them working every single weekend because that’s how you get better at doing this live in front of the world,” Hunter said.”

Triple H said NXT going on the road does not change the main purpose of the brand, which is to prepare talent for the main roster. It’s important for the talent to work in front of different crowds and learn how to work “on the fly.”

“I think it’s no different than a AAA baseball team – the goal is still to get up the bigs. The importance for me about the touring component is it just gives them an opportunity to work and not in front of the same crowds every week. It gives them the opportunity to fully tour,” Hunter said.

“And I think we’ve created a brand that is successful enough to take it around to a lot of different markets. We have a lot of interest in ‘bought shows’ where people are bringing us in and then we will also tour on our own.”

1...2,3812,3822,383...3,097Page 2,382 of 3,097