– The Rock’s new film, “Hercules,” is scheduled for a July 24th release in Australia. The United States release is scheduled for July 25th.
– The following is a photo of CM Punk at the “Tough Mudder” event in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday.
– The Rock’s new film, “Hercules,” is scheduled for a July 24th release in Australia. The United States release is scheduled for July 25th.
– The following is a photo of CM Punk at the “Tough Mudder” event in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday.
– The WWE DVD on Paul Heyman, “Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman,” which is scheduled for an August 5th release, is scheduled to be built around Heyman as the guy who managed the guy who broke Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Among the people who filmed interviews for the DVD are Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Jim Ross, Bill Apter and Stephanie McMahon.
– The Greatest Factions DVD that WWE is producing is set to be built around D-Generation X and the Four Horsemen as the key factions. The DVD will also cover the New World Order, The Nexus, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Evolution, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Nation Of Domination, The Straight Edge Society and The Heenan Family.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– According to latest reports, WWE has yet to contact anyone who took part in the March tryout camp at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. That is the tryout that had all of the top Ring Of Honor stars, such as Kevin Steen, Roderick Strong and ACH.
– As far as interest levels on the internet for the characters involved in WrestleMania XXX this year on the day after the show, Undertaker blew away everyone involved, with triple the level of interest of Brock Lesnar, six times the interest of Daniel Bryan and ten times the interest of John Cena.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
There has been talk within WWE about moving the NXT television tapings to a bi-weekly style, as opposed to every four weeks.
The negative in doing something like that is that the expense for the tapings would increase, which wouldn’t be ideal considering they don’t bring in much revenue with those shows.
The positive is that the show will come off better, since in most cases the crowds for those shows are hot for the first two tapings and then die off as the rest of the tapings take place.
Additionally, this could result in TNA having more competition if and when they return to Orlando for Impact Wrestling tapings.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Brian Maddox (who has no relation to WWE on-air performer Brad Maddox), who was the Vice President of Global Digital Sales for WWE, has left the company to take a position as Vice President of Advertising Sales for Silver Chalice Ventures, which creates video channels and new digital media for sports-related products and companies.
– The following is the latest “WWE In 5” video, which features a five minute recap of WWE’s week of May 5, 2014.
(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– UFC will be running their UFC 176 pay-per-view on August 2nd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California with a show headlined by Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes for the UFC Featherweight Championship. While the event will take place in the same venue two weeks before WWE SummerSlam, it won’t hurt WWE business because SummerSlam is already sold out.
– WWE Diva Summer Rae cut her hair off for the movie she’s filming right now with The Miz. Her new haircut is described as looking similar to Charlotte, the NXT Diva who is the daughter of Ric Flair, only shorter.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– High Spots is currently working on a documentary-style DVD project focused on the life and career of WWE Hall Of Famer and former multiple-time NWA Heavyweight Champion Harley Race.
– TNA star Kurt Angle is filming a television pilot called “Emergency: L.A.,” which is a dramatic emergency unit of the fire department in Los Angeles, California. Angle is expected to be one of the leads of the show. Former TNA wrestler Katarina Waters (Winter) also has a role in the show.
The TNA stars scheduled for next year’s European tour, which was a solid success for the company earlier this year, are Bully Ray, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Ken Anderson, Eric Young, Gail Kim, Gunner, Abyss, Ethan Carter III, Tigre Uno and Rockstar Spud. That would lead you to believe that all of those talents are under contract through the rest of 2014 and into 2015.
In the case of Jeff Hardy, whether he’s under contract or not, he can’t be part of the European tour because of his past drug conviction.
The European tour dates are January 29th in Glasgow, Scotland, January 30th in Manchester, England and January 31st in London, England.
The only show announced as a TV taping is the 1/31 date in London, where two episodes of Impact Wrestling are scheduled to be taped. They’ve also announced an Ultimate-X match for the London show.
As seen throughout the week, TNA taped several weeks worth of Impact Wrestling shows in Orlando, Florida. The next Impact Wrestling TV taping is scheduled for June 19th in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with the next set of TV tapings scheduled for their New York loop. After those tapings, the company will have their TV shows in the can through the month of August.
The next show the company will produce will be their Slammiversary pay-per-view, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 15th. After that show, the company won’t be running another pay-per-view until their Bound For Glory event.
The following are spoiler results of the TNA One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown pay-per-view taping, which was held on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.
– Gail Kim def. Veda Scott
– Angelina Love def. Scarlett Bordeaux
– Madison Rayne def. Jessika Havok
– Reby Sky def. Velvet Sky after Angelina Love’s attempt to interfere with the hairspray backfired
– Taryn Terrell def. Karlee Perez
– Mia Yim def. Brittany
– Brooke Tessmacher def. Deonna
– Marti Belle def. ODB with help from her new boyfriend, Rockstar Spud
– ODB def. Rockstar Spud
– A gauntlet match took place for the main event, which features Tessmacher, Yim, Terrell, Sky, Love, Rayne, Belle and Kim. In the end the only two Knockouts remaining were Rayne and Love, with Rayne ultimately picking up the victory to become the 2014 Knockouts Queen.
The following are spoiler results of the TNA One Night Only: Victory Road pay-per-view taping, which was held on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.
– The winners of the matches tonight will compete in a battle royal in the main event. The winner of that will receive a check and a future TNA World Heavyweight Championship match.
– Bram def. Davey Richards
– Austin Aries def. Kenny King
– James Storm & Kazarian def. Knux & The Freak
– Bobby Lashley def. Samoa Joe after interference from Kenny King
– Abyss def. Mr. Anderson
– The Bro Mans def. Bully Ray & Rockstar Spud when Spud turned on Ray during the match
– Gunner def. Magnus
– Ethan Carter III def. Sanada
– Samuel Shaw def. Crazy Steve
– Eddie Edwards def. Zema Ion and Tigre Uno
– Gunner won the battle royal, last eliminating James Storm, to earn a future TNA World Heavyweight Championship match. The other participants in the match included Kazarian, Edwards, Shaw, EC3, Abyss, Lashley, Aries, Bram and The Bro Mans.
– WWE posted the following Mother’s Day tribute on their official Twitter account today.
From our family to yours … #HappyMothersDay!
#WWEMoms http://t.co/dSqDWycEoo
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2014
– The following is a video trailer for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st.
– As previously reported, WWE Diva Cameron will be releasing her “Bye Bye” single today. The Total Divas star is also working on a remix of the song called, “Chingle, Chingle.”
– Wrestling legend Sting is featured on the latest WWE “30 Second Fury” video, which looks at his Scorpion Death Drop finishing move. You can check that video out below.
– Despite previous speculation, Tara (Lisa Marie Varon) did not return at TNA’s all-Knockouts “One Night Only” pay-per-view taping in Orlando on Saturday night. The list of Knockouts that did work the show include Reby Sky, Maxine, Veda Scott, Scarlett Bordeaux, Jessicka Havok, Deonna, Mia Yim and Marti Belle.
– Bandai Namco is working on a “TNA 2” mobile game that is scheduled to be released later this year. You can check out a trailer for the game below:
As previously reported, David Benoit’s in-ring debut for the Hart Legacy Wrestling event in July was nixed after Chris Jericho got involved and was upset at Smith Hart for booking Benoit without him having the proper training.
Additionally, Chavo Guerrero, who was going to team with Benoit in the match, backed out when he learned that Benoit wasn’t properly trained.
Smith Hart made his first public comments on the situation recently, tweeting the following:
Here's hoping dissuasion of David Benoit's debut works out best for everyone including every single loyal fan.
— Smith Hart (@SmithHart1) May 9, 2014
– WWE’s new TV deal could be announced as soon as this Thursday, when NBC Universal holds their annual “Upfronts” event from New York City. Industry insiders believe that a deal might have been struck already.
– Here is the synopsis for Thursday’s episode of Legends House on the WWE Network:
“The Legends participate in a charity art gala in Palm Springs. Back at the house, Tony Atlas prepares a feast for his polarized housemates.”
– WWE NXT star Tyler Breeze posted a photo of himself in a recording studio on Instagram this week with the caption, “coming soon.”
John Cena recently spoke with the Washington Post while in Washington, DC for this weekend’s Susan G. Komen race. Here are some highlights of what Cena said about:
His Charity Work: “When you walk down this career path — you say I’ve been doing this close to a decade — your goals change as your career goes on. You want to spend your time making a difference after you’ve become successful. I guess that’s the easiest way to say it. With this, early detection is the way to fight and beat this thing. D.C. has the highest mortality rate in breast cancer. So to be able to grand marshal the Global Race in D.C., it makes a difference. Hopefully it will help save some people’s lives.”
WWE’s Occasional Bad Publicity: “I think that bad news is relative. You hear bad news through all of sports, in all of life. It’s not just entertainers or athletes. There are people with problems in life. The way I stay on top of that is, honestly, regularly scheduled check-ups, listening to my body, making sure I push myself to the limit and not beyond. You can only do what you handle.”
WWE’s Efforts To Improve Talent Wellness: “With the addition of impact testing, the addition of drug testing, the formulation of developmental territories where these younger WWE superstars are getting the best medical attention, the best financial advice, getting future advice — the company has literally leaps and bounds improved the work environment to the best it’s ever been. Being a WWE superstar is now a greater achievement and a greater luxury than it’s ever been.”
Getting Negative Crowd Reactions: “Dude … On April 6 we just celebrated the 30th anniversary of Wrestlemania. I distinctly remember Wrestlemania 22 in Chicago, hearing the loudest one-sided reaction opposite me I’ve ever heard. Since then it’s been like that. It’s been eight years now. That stuff doesn’t transfer. The few audience members that it does transfer, they don’t have a proper sense of what’s going on.”
According to reports, Japanese wrestler Sakamoto has been re-signed by WWE. Sakamoto once appeared as Tensai’s assistance, but was released from the company in May of 2013. He was in attendance at last night’s NXT event in Orlando, and has been in the area for several days now.
Additionally, some insist that Sakamoto was brought in to help translate for KENTA when he arrives. As previously reported, it’s still up in the air as to whether or not KENTA will be coming in to WWE.
– Former independent wrestler Drake Younger worked the WWE NXT live event on Friday night in Orlando, Florida as a referee. There had been rumors that Younger was signed to WWE to work as a referee as opposed to a wrestler.
– This coming Tuesday night’s edition of WWE Countdown on the WWE Network will count down the ten craziest ladder matches in WWE history.
WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus was the special guest on stage for Jim Ross’ “RINGSIDE” one-man show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Friday night.
Among the noteable names backstage at the show were Barry Bloom, Carl DeMarco, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. There were apparently over 500 people in attendance for the show.
Below are some photos from the event.
Great catching up w/ old friends at my fav restaurant #kalyvia after @JRsBBQ's show-which he killed! So entertaining! pic.twitter.com/igXr5Ux8WK
— Trish Stratus (@trishstratuscom) May 10, 2014
My hand wasn't too steady with this pic, but thanks @JRsBBQ for your special guest, @trishstratuscom. #GoLeafsGo pic.twitter.com/aOSiO8IH3A
— Bill Feeney (@Parlay_King) May 10, 2014
@JRsBBQ @trishstratuscom A couple of #WWE Hall of Famers with their HOF rings at An Evening With Jim Ross in #Toronto pic.twitter.com/Byu5Ngqm6C
— Steve Argintaru (@SteveTSN) May 10, 2014
– WWE talent has the weekend off as they will officially begin their European tour during the middle part of next week. Current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will be part of the crew that leaves after Monday’s RAW for the tour.
– For the second week in a row, top WWE Superstar John Cena is scheduled to appear at the SmackDown television tapings, which take place on Tuesday night in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The current TNA X-Division Champion Sanada is not currently scheduled for TNA’s 2015 “Maximum Impact” tour of the United Kingdom due to the fact that he is not expected to be with the company by that point.
Sanada, who debuted with TNA back in March, is scheduled to leave the company in the fall and return to Wrestle-1 in Japan. The idea is that he will be the promotion’s rising mega-star after having championship-level success in a major company in the United States.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– According to one source, Adam Rose likely won’t be making his official main roster in-ring debut for WWE until the upcoming Payback pay-per-view on June 1st. It’s being rumored that Rose’s first opponent will be Jack Swagger.
– The new WWE United States Champion Sheamus is featured on the latest edition of “SmackDown Slam of the Week.” which you can check out below.
– Below is the latest “Action Figure Showdown” video from the official WWE YouTube channel. The latest installment features Bray Wyatt and John Cena.
– R&B star Ray J is scheduled to make an appearance on this week’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which airs on E! this Sunday night. You can check out a video preview for this Sunday’s show below.