-The new “WWE’s Top 25 Rivalries” DVD has been added to the instant streaming section of the Netflix website.
-Tickets for the upcoming WWE live event in Louisville, Kentucky on October 19th officially go on sale this Saturday, September 7th.
-WWE Superstar The Miz will be doing a personal appearance at the Valley West Mall in Des Moines, Iowa to promote tonight’s live Labor Day edition of RAW in the city.
3 Huge Matches Confirmed For Tonight’s Laboy Day Edition Of RAW
The following are results from the WWE Supershow live event in Washington, D.C. The event was held on Sunday, September 1, 2013.
-Dolph Ziggler defeated Big E. Langston via Pinfall. Ziggler picked up the clean victory via pinfall after hitting Langston with his Zig-Zag finishing move. Ziggler got a big reaction coming out. Langston did more work than we’re accustomed to seeing out of him on television.
-WWE United States Champion Dean Ambrose defeated R-Truth via Pinfall. Was said to be a decent match. In the end, Ambrose retained his U.S. title via pinfall by rolling Truth up for the 1-2-3.
-Vickie Guerrero came out to the ring. She announced that after a fan poll via text-voting, we will have a Divas Dance-Off. The dance competition featured AJ Lee, Layla, Brie Bella, Kaitlyn, Naomi and Natalya. Pretty much the same deal as last week here. AJ Lee refused to dance. The heel girls danced, and when the face girls went to dance, they were attacked by the heel girls, setting up a tag-match.
-Kaitlyn, Naomi and Natalya defeated AJ Lee, Layla and Brie Bella via Pinfall. At one point in the match, Brie Bella, disgusted with AJ due to her promo on RAW last week, simply walked off and left AJ by herself. This allowed Kaitlyn to spear AJ for the 1-2-3.
-Ryback defeated Kofi Kingston via Pinfall. This match was kept relatively short. In the end, the “Bully” picked up the “W” after hitting Kingston with his Shell Shock finishing move for the pinfall.
-Rob Van Dam and The Big Show defeated Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns via Disqualification. RVD filled in for Mark Henry in this one, who couldn’t compete due to a hamstring injury suffered during his run-in at the Boston live event on Saturday. This was a pretty lengthy match, which ended by DQ when Ambrose came back out and interfered with a chair. Van Dam and Show pick up the “W”, but the WWE Tag-Team Championships remain with The Shield.
-The Wyatt Family defeated The Usos via Pinfall. This was kept extremely short, with the Wyatt Family picking up the clean victory in what was basically a squash-match.
-CM Punk defeated Curtis Axel via Pinfall in a Non-Title Match. Paul Heyman was in Axel’s corner for this one. He cut a promo before the match explaining that the bout would not be for Axel’s WWE Intercontinental Championship. In the end, Punk picked up the victory via pinfall and blasted Heyman with a kendo stick-shot after the match.
-WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated Daniel Bryan via Pinfall. Was said to be a very good match that went about 20 minutes. At one point during the match, Orton was stuck in the “Yes! Lock” submission hold. Brad Maddox ran-in and pulled the referee out of the ring so he did not see Orton tapping. This led to The Shield beating down Bryan, setting up a RKO from Orton, which was immediately followed by the 1-2-3. After the match, The Shield continued their beatdown of Bryan. This resulted in all the babyfaces coming out. Orton ran off, leaving The Shield to take a beating from all of the good guys.
NOTES:
-Both Mark Henry and a World Heavyweight Championship match between Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian was scheduled. Henry didn’t appear, and the Del Rio-Christian match never happened.
HUGE Match Featuring A RETURNING WWE Legend CONFIRMED For WrestleMania XXX
-The pre-sale for this year’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view is currently ongoing, and will run through September 6th. The pre-sale password for tickets is: SURVIVOR.
-As previously reported, Jerry “The King” Lawler was going to wrestle Memphis Wrestling legend Austin Idol in his singles comeback match at the Memphis reunion show being put together by Lawler’s son, Brian Christopher. Lawler will instead face Jeff Jarrett in the main event of the show, which will also feature Rikishi, Koko B. Ware, The Rock N’ Roll Express, Doug Gilbert, Jimmy Valiant, Bill Dundee, The Spellbinder, Reggie B. Fine and others.
-Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling (BCW) promotion announced plans for a special 20th anniversary show on October 19th at St. Claire College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada with “The Outsiders” Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, as well as former TNA stars Petey Williams, Angelina Love, Rhino, Cody Deaner, Johnny Swinger and Tyson Dux.
HUGE Match Featuring A RETURNING WWE Legend CONFIRMED For WrestleMania XXX
TNA recently issued the following press release:
Fan Interaction Tickets & Roster Announced For TNA 2014 UK Tour
Fans can meet the superstars of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING before live events in Glasgow, Manchester, London and Birmingham
Fan Interaction tickets for the TNA 2014 MAXIMUM IMPACT VI UK Tour go on sale on Friday September 6 at 9am, allowing fans to meet some of their favourite wrestlers before each event.
The highly sought-after tickets are available for the TNA live shows in Glasgow (Jan 30), Manchester (Jan 31), London (Feb 1) and Birmingham (Feb 2). Strictly limited in number, they cost £32.50 each, or £35 for London, plus booking fee. There will be eight TNA superstars at each meet and greet. Each wrestler will sign a maximum of two items per fan.
TNA President Dixie Carter said: “The annual MAXIMUM IMPACT Tour is one of the best times of the year for everybody in TNA IMPACT WRESTLING – when nobody does it better than us and we get the chance to get up close and personal with the fans.
“This is our time to say thank you. Thank you for being the best fans in the world, for giving us great audiences and for watching our show every Sunday night on Challenge TV.”
TNA IMPACT WRESTLING also today announces the first 10 wrestlers who will appear on the MAXIMUM IMPACT VI Tour, which will include the first ever live wrestling television broadcast from Glasgow and a TV taping at London’s Wembley Arena.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray, British superstar Magnus, Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, Chris Sabin, Austin Aries, Manik, James Storm, Gunner and Gail Kim will perform at all four events. More worldwide wrestling stars will be added to the roster shortly.
Fan Interaction tickets are available via www.facebook.com/tnawrestlinguk, www.gigsandtours.com/go/tnafan, www.ticketmaster.co.uk or direct from the tour venues. Those purchasing Fan Interaction tickets must also have a regular event ticket, which are sold separately, in order to gain access. Full details of the UK events are:
Thursday 30 January 2014 – Glasgow The SSE Hydro – 0844 811 0051
Friday 31 January 2014 – Manchester Phones 4u Arena – 0844 847 8000
Saturday 01 February 2014 – London Wembley Arena – 0844 815 0815
Sunday 02 February 2014 – Birmingham NIA – 0844 338 8000
REPORT: Hulk Hogan, AJ Styles & Sting Leaving TNA For WWE In 2014! [READ >>]
-TNA Knockout Madison Rayne announced that she gave birth to her new daughter this week. In a new tweet posted on her official Twitter account, Rayne wrote:
“So guess what?! This week @Reaper_3 and I became parents!!!! Life = amazing beyond words!!! Our little girl is happy and healthy at home!!!”
-Speaking of TNA and Twitter, Impact Wrestling star Hulk Hogan posted a new tweet recently informing fans about an upcoming boat party he will be having. Hogan wrote:
“Major party on new searay deck boat today,coolest boat I ever had,but go fast IMMORTAL will hit the water tomorrow,triple numbers brother HH”
-And finally, TNA announced via their official Twitter account (@ImpactWrestling) that they have hit 300,000 subscribers on their official YouTube channel. The company tweeted:
“Over 300,000 fans subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thousands of hours of exclusive content and classic footage. http://impac.tw/17Ec5Rv
REPORT: AJ Styles, Sting & Hulk Hogan Leaving TNA For WWE In 2014 [READ >>]
SESCOOPS.COM reader MLW sent along the following:
WHAT MAJOR PROMOTION DID WWE NEARLY BUY?
On this week’s episode of MLW Radio, hosted by AAA booker Konnan, former WWE creative executive Court Bauer and MSL, the trio discuss a variety of topics, including the time WWE attempted to buy the AAA lucha libre organization in Mexico. Bauer, a former member of the WWE inner circle, spoke about WWE’s plans for international expansion in 2007:
“They went in there [Mexico] with big, big ambitious plans a few years ago. They wanted to do a lot of business down in Mexico and then obviously those plans scaled back and they haven’t run in two or so years down there.”
Konnan, AAA’s matchmaker, offered an inside perspective on what took place during the negotiations between WWE and AAA:
“I know exactly what happened because we had to live through it. We had a meeting. I’ve never talked about this. We had somebody from WWE actually come and having a meeting with me and Dorian, who is the son of the owner. We had a meeting with somebody from WWE and they came and offered to buy AAA. He was really cool. He was like, ‘We want to buy AAA.’ Dorian was like, ‘We’re not really for sale, but we’ll listen.'”
“They wanted to buy 51% of the company. I was like, ‘Dude, do not do that because these [guys], the minute they don’t like something, they’re going to get rid of us.’ I said why doesn’t Vince just buy 50% or 49%? They said Vince doesn’t like to go into partnership with anybody and doesn’t want to be asking for permission for anything. I asked what would happen to us. They said, ‘As you can see, we’re having trouble running WWE as it is and we’re trying to expand into Europe. We don’t really know what we’re doing in Mexico, so you guys would stay in power.'”
“We excused ourselves to go to the bathroom and I said that’s BS. The minute we do something they don’t like, they’re going to change it and there’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t give them this type of power, which he understood. He told them we wouldn’t sell that much of the company.”
The new episode of MLW Radio is available for free at www.MLW.com and on iTunes (search: MLW Radio), along with episodes featuring Chris Jericho, The Ultimate Warrior, Mick Foley, Billy Corgan, MVP, former WWE writers and many others. New episodes of MLW Radio are released each and every Sunday night on MLW.com.
-WWE Superstar Sheamus, who recently hit the one-million-follower milestone on his official Twitter account, has been posting a lot of tweets from his home in Ireland lately. Sheamus continues to rehab his shoulder injury, which has kept him off of television and off the road for the past few weeks, and will continue to keep him on the shelf for the next few months.
-Speaking of injured top WWE Superstars, the former “face of the company”, John Cena, posted the following update on his injured arm on Twitter on Monday morning:
“13 days. 1 big scar. 0 patience.Mondays r tough @WWE roster enjoy now, because ill b back #evenstronger”
REPORT: John Cena To Miss More Than 4-6 Months As Originally Expected
WWE Superstar John Cena has tweeted the following photo of his stitched-up elbow, 13 days after undergoing surgery on his arm:
13 days. 1 big scar. 0 patience.Mondays r tough @WWE roster enjoy now, because ill b back #evenstronger pic.twitter.com/ipOP9KBpAq
— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 2, 2013
Cena is expected to be out of action until early 2014.
As noted previously, WWE Superstar Mark Henry suffered a hamstring injury during a run-in he performed in the main event of Saturday’s WWE live event in Boston.
The severity of the injury, which was confirmed by WWE.com, is still unclear at this point.
We can report that Henry was pulled from the WWE Supershow live event in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night. Additionally, Henry is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday morning.
For those who missed it, WWE.com issued the following statement regarding Henry’s injury:
Mark Henry suffered a right hamstring injury at a live event in Boston on Saturday, August 31. This occurred as Henry ran in during the last match of the night. Medical imaging will be obtained to determine the severity of the injury. Stay tuned to WWE.com for any further details.
WWE Superstar Mark Henry suffered an injury during the WWE live event in Boston on Saturday night. The injury, which was to Henry’s hamstring, occurred when Henry did a run-in at the conclusion of the Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan WWE Championship main event.
After doing his run-in as scheduled, Henry was seen taking his time getting back up. The veteran WWE Superstar seemed to be in pretty bad pain when heading to the back.
WWE.com released the following statement regarding Henry’s injury and current physical condition:
Mark Henry suffered a right hamstring injury at a live event in Boston on Saturday, August 31. This occurred as Henry ran in during the last match of the night. Medical imaging will be obtained to determine the severity of the injury.
Henry will undergo an MRI later today to determine the extent of the injury.
We will update everyone on this story as soon as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: Mark Henry Needs Surgery, To Miss 6-8 Months With Rehab [READ >>]
The following are highlights from a recent WWE.com interview with WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin:
On if he sees himself in Daniel Bryan: “No, I didn’t see too much ‘Stone Cold’ in [Daniel Bryan], but I saw a young man who could work his ass off in the ring, who had a lot of fire and passion for the business. With that being said, he’s dealing with a very worthwhile adversary in Triple H, a guy with physicality and intelligence on top of that, and of course, he’s got some advice coming from Vince.
“Vince is the ultimate third-generation promoter. He’s been there and done that in every situation that’s ever been done in the history of sports-entertainment. Triple H is gonna lean on him for some resources. Young Daniel Bryan must stay the course and maintain his intensity.”
On Daniel Bryan’s battle with authority and Triple H/The McMahon’s: “It’s a complete parallel, and obviously a decade removed with two cats in these different roles … but it’s a complete parallel with what went on between myself and Vince. Still, he isn’t expecting Bryan to break out a beer hose so much as use his unique opportunity to cement his place as a top-tier performer against the most powerful of enemies.
“I know what [Triple H’s] mentality is, and he’s been hanging around Vince for so long. Right now, he’s playing the ultimate game with young Daniel Bryan … I look for similarities in situations and setups, but also for [Daniel Bryan] to push the envelope and come out of the box strong.”
On his thoughts on Triple H’s rise through the ranks in WWE: “Man, I’ll tell you what: Back in the day when we were having heated battles in the ring, all over the world, and hell no, I didn’t see it coming. But just goes to show they didn’t call him The Game for nothing. He’s a smart S.O.B.
“I think the guy loves the business enough that he didn’t want just any hand in it, he wanted to be at the top and planned his ascent accordingly. I think he was looking way farther down the road than a lot of guys do.”
On advice for Daniel Bryan: “If I could offer any advice to Daniel Bryan, I would tell him to be aggressive. Trust your gut instincts. The best defense is a good offense, and always be on the attack. But, sometimes, lay in wait. I think Triple H’s ego may mirror Vince’s ego. Sometimes, as cerebral as he is, his ego may get the best of him and you’ll be able to spring an attack on him.
“With all these corporate shenanigans going on, he has to stay true to himself. Whether he gets the title back or overthrows the regime, that’ll come out in the wash. He must remember to stay focused about who Daniel Bryan is: A fiery competitor who loves the business and continues to make a name for himself; the guy who [supposedly] didn’t have the ‘It’ factor, wasn’t big enough, wasn’t good-looking enough. … He’s gotta stay the course and prove that — yes — he’s all that and more.”
Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.
REPORT: Steve Austin vs. CM Punk Is “99% Likely” For WrestleMania XXX [READ >>]
WWE RAW emanates live from Des Moines, Iowa tonight for the Labor Day edition of the show.
The main focus of tonight’s show will be on the Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton feud, with all of the outside involvement from Triple H, as well as Vince and Stephanie McMahon. Also, heavy focus will remain on the storyline involving CM Punk and Curtis Axel/Paul Heyman.
There will be more follow-up on the World Heavyweight Championship program, which features champion Alberto Del Rio and his former manager Ricardo Rodriguez, who is now with Del Rio’s opposition, Rob Van Dam. They will continue the build to their title bout at the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
The full talent roster advertised for tonight’s show in Des Moines is as follows: Orton, Bryan, Punk, Heyman, Axel, HHH, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Del Rio, Van Dam, Rodriguez, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Wade Barrett, AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, The Shield and The Wyatt Family.
The scheduled dark match main event for tonight’s show is The Shield vs. Rob Van Dam, Mark Henry and The Big Show. With Henry being injured, plans for that match may be off the table.
SESCOOPS.COM reader Phil Johnson sent along the following:
Former ECW personality Lou D’Angeli (aka Sign Guy Dudley and Lou E. Dangerously) recently took some time to take part in a Q&A exclusively with PWMania.com. D’Angeli spoke on a number of topics from if he is a Paul Heyman guy to his thoughts on John Cena, the Attitude Era, ECW, WWE, TNA and more. Here are some highlights:
Are you a Paul Heyman guy? 100%…I am also a Tommy Dreamer guy….a Raven guy….and a Taz guy….with the 4 of them I would have never caught break in the wrestling business.
What are your thoughts about John Cena? John is a great guy. Having worked with him in WWE I know first-hand what he does for that company and the dedication and drive he has to get it done. His contributions to Make-A-Wish are second to none. I can honestly say Cena is the perfect role-model in the business right now.
When you think back, how much of WWE’s Attitude Era is owed to what you guys were already doing in ECW? A lot of it…and due to the popularity of shoot interviews, etc…it’s a fact and not a theory you know? People saw what we were doing and brought it to national TV before we could. The “Attitude Era” for WWE was insanely popular obviously…and given they still continue to bring some of the main-event guys from that time back into the fold now…they must feel the same way.
You can read the interview in its entirety at PWMania.com.
The following is an excerpt from a recent Chris Jericho interview on Ring Rust Radio:
On taking time away from WWE and his match quality during his last run: “People are always putting words in my mouth. I never once used the word hiatus or retirement; I’m just not working there. I don’t know if it’s a long time, if it’s a short time, forever. I’m not taking a hiatus or sabbatical, my contract was up. I have a bunch of other stuff going on. As far as why the matches were great, I don’t know, man.
“It was just a really good roll. It was like every match was better than the last and I was just in the zone. Experience level wise, many don’t have the experience that I have and I also think outside the box when I’m putting together matches, which other guys don’t. It just seemed like every match I had clicked. There were probably a few that weren’t as good as others, but the majority of them I was really, really happy with. Some bona fide best matches I’ve had in a long time. The Rob Van Dam match on Raw and the CM Punk one at Payback, I thought those matches couldn’t have been any better.”
Check out the complete interview below:
The following is an excerpt from a new article in the Windsor Star:
The joint bid between Detroit and Windsor to bring WrestleMania 32 to Ford Field in 2016 has been turned down, said Dave Beachnau, Detroit Sports Commission executive director.
Despite many rumours circulating Friday in social media stating Detroit as the front runner to host the professional wresting pay-per-view event, they didn’t make the short list.
“We were notified back in June,” Beachnau said, who wants to put the gossip to rest. “There is no truth to it. I don’t know where people are getting this information.”
There were many blogs and tweets stating Detroit was among the final three, with Orlando, Florida and Dallas, Texas. Reportedly, the WWE is expected to make its decision at the end of the month and an announcement is expected to be made in early 2014.
“We haven’t heard from them since,” Beachnau said, after talking to them in June. “If we are back on that list, they haven’t told me.”
According to Beachnau, the WWE’s decision process is very confidential and they haven’t publicly announced the WrestleMania 32 short list.
Check out the complete article online at WindsorStar.com.
-The Friday, August 30th edition of WWE SmackDown featured a social media score that dropped slightly compared to last week’s post-SummerSlam edition of the show.
SmackDown for this week had a social media score of 86,200, according to Trendrr.tv, down from the 90,883 the show scored the previous week.
SmackDown finished at #2 on cable television for Friday, trailing only U.S. Open Tennis on ESPN.
-You can check out the “Backstage Fallout” video for this week’s SmackDown, which features Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler, below:
The following are highlights from a recent Carroll County Times Q&A with WWE Superstar Curtis Axel:
Did you have an input on your current ring name, Curtis Axel?
When I became Michael McGillicutty, ever since that point, I was throwing hundreds of names at them. And I’m sure Axel Curtis or Curtis Axel was in there somewhere. I was talking with a guy that works for WWE, Joey Styles, he actually brought that name up as one of the possibilities. But they didn’t want to go that route with me at first. They wanted to have me do my own thing and not even pay homage to anything to do with my family. Which, you know, is kind of nice, so I can try to do this on my own, and I tried to do the best I could with Michael McGillicutty without any TV time or whatever. But I’m sure that name was pitched as one of the hundreds I threw at them.
Any other memorable ones out of those hundreds you threw at them?
There were some ridiculous names. I just got sick of it. Most of them were Joe. Joe Able. Joe Mercer. Most of them were all Joe, you know? Able was one, I wanted to be Joe Able, like Cain and Abel, and try to do something with Kane. That was just one of them I kind of liked. I wasn’t really sold on any of them, I just wanted to get rid of Michael McGillicutty. That was my one priority.
Right before you came back as Curtis Axel, there was a picture that the Rock tweeted earlier this year, mentioning you were his workout partner when he was getting ready to face CM Punk and then I heard that you trained with Brock Lesnar before WrestleMania too. How did you end up working with them and what did you learn working with all-time greats like that?
The WWE office, they know they could trust me taking care of those guys. I was so honored. They flied me out to go train with the Rock and that guy is awesome. Training with him, he pays attention to every little detail and crowd reaction. The way he does his moves and he works, it’s so fluid. It’s amazing the way he thinks and the way he works. And just picking his brain, he actually spent time with me and asked me what I did in the ring and different moves that I did, where I could place them to get more reaction from the people and all this kind of stuff. Just picking that guy’s brain, for me, was just unbelievable. I was so honored to be picked to go up there and train with him. And then Brock Lesnar, my god, that guy is a beast. I actually, I’ve known him for many years because he started with Brad Rheingans also, in Minnesota training with my dad, so him and my dad were close friends and all that stuff, so I kind of knew him anyway, so he could trust me and he knew he could help me because my dad helped him, and he likes to give back. He’s been up and down on this road back in the WWE for a little bit now. He’s been in my head, and he’s a Paul Heyman guy, and it’s cool to spend time and have him critique little things that I’m still doing and give me some advice. So it’s pretty sweet dude.
You mention you’re both Paul Heyman guys. How’s it been working with Paul Heyman? Do you guys travel on the road together and talk shop often?
Oh yeah. He’s a genius man. He’s been around the business for years and he’s like an encyclopedia. He tells me stories, like AWA stories when he was with my dad. That’s actually how we kind of got talking because there was a pitch out where he was actually going to manage my dad in AWA but it never went through, so I’m like, “well, why don’t you start with me?” And he was like, “yeah, yeah.” He’s like Brock Lesnar and the Rock you know, I can pick his brain and the guy is unbelievable on the microphone and he’s unbelievable when it comes to the ring psychology. He’s an evil genius and I couldn’t ask for a better guy to travel with and just pick his brain.
So you pitching the idea to him, is that how this partnership got started?
We were talking about it and I brought it up to him, what do you think about this, us being together? Brock’s part-time and CM Punk was hurt at the time and I was like, Paul, WWE needs Paul Heyman on television. So that was my pitch to him. But before that, before I was even with him, he would be at the live events and this Raw and Smackdown TVs and he would come up and give me advice. So I was like, man, if this guy wants to take time out of his busy day and help me out, I would approach him with everything I had and he’d help me out, and then I approached him with this pitch and he liked it. We would talk more about it; I think he might’ve brought it up to the higher-ups in WWE and here we are.
Check out the complete interview online at CarrollCountyTimes.com.
*SPOILER* On Next “Paul Heyman Guy” To Be Revealed On RAW! [READ >>]
-Part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was recently asked by a fan on Twitter the status of his health following the injury he suffered at the hands of John Cena, during their match at WrestleMania. The Rock said:
“3 hernia surgeries 100% healed. Rectus/adductor tears bout 75%. Thx bud. #FunPain”
-WWE Superstar John Cena recently the posted the following injury update on Twitter:
“Allowed 2 move arm 5 degrees. Stitches out in 4 days. Then @S_C_ @kanyewest I’m bout 2 go H.A.M. @WWEUniverse I will b #evenstronger”
REPORT: The Rock vs. John Cena III – The Rubber Match — Likely For WrestleMania XXX! [READ >>]
The following are highlights from a recent interview with WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam:
On getting more respect with age: “I’m in a business where, until recently, the average standard for the wrestlers was probably in their young-40?s. You didn’t get respect until you were at that point where your body was starting to break down and, until that point, you were still kind of paying your dues. It’s great for me to have so much experience yet my body is not breaking down.”
On taking care of himself: “I haven’t aged. I’ve always taken care of myself and I’m a non-conformist, so I don’t accept the negativety that comes with birthdays. I’m 42, but I feel way better than I did when I was 18.”
Check out the complete interview online at BostonHerald.com.
24WRESTLING.COM: Backstage News On RVD’s Upcoming Gimmick Change [READ >>]
TNA star Hulk Hogan recently appeared on Rover’s Morning Glory radio show. Here are the highlights:
Shrinking: “I’m 6’4 now, I used to be a lot, lot, taller. I actually did [shrink]. When I was 27 years old, I was 6’7 on the nose. After 35 years of jumping up and landing on my tailbone doing the legdrop, and nine back surgeries, and two hip replacements, and two knee replacements, I’m now 6’4 1/2.”
TNA’s success overseas: “The company I’m with, Impact Wrestling, they’re the number one company overseas. All through Europe and Australia, the numbers are crazy and we’re pushing really hard here in the States.”
Changes in the business: “What I’ve noticed mostly is things move so fast, the universe is getting so big. There are so many choices with satellite, cable, reality TV, social media, people switch gears so much that things have to move faster. Like if you and I were to start an argument right now, [in the past] we’d probably wrestle a year from now and blow the thing off. Well now, if we start an argument we’ll probably wrestle by the end of the hour. You have to most faster, it’s just the business has changed.”
Doing steroids early in his career: “It was kind of a wave of what was the correct thing to do at the time. [In the] ’70s, 80?s, doctors would write you a prescription for a steroid, where every sport in the world was doing it and the mindset was, ‘it was safer than taking sugar.’ Well, everybody’s been re-educated. Steroids are for injuries and certain medical uses, but not for bulking up and enhancing athletic ability. So, I think the mindset changed around ’90 when it became illegal… There was an era when the steroids were predominant in every single sport across the board, but now I think even though it’s prevalent, it’s not as inundated as it was back then. I think you can pull out isolated incidences in any sport and point people out.”
His relationship with WWE: “On a personal level I’m friends with them, but on a business level, I’m the bitter enemy [joking]. I’m not the enemy, we don’t compete with the other company because they are a totally different entity. They’re a PG company, we’re pretty aggressive. It’s not like we want wrestling how it used to be, but wrestling how it should be [with] a lot of physicality and back to the bare necessities of what this business is about. So we’re really not competing, but on a business level we’re not on the same team, that’s for sure. But on a personal level, I’m friends with everybody.”
* The Latest on HOGAN & BISCHOFF Leaving TNA Later This Year
The following is a new article from WWE.com:
Ted DiBiase to pursue endeavors outside WWE
As of Sept. 1, Ted DiBiase Jr. will no longer be under contract with WWE. Opting not to renew his contract, DiBiase has chosen to pursue other endeavors outside the sports-entertainment world.
WWE wishes Ted DiBiase the best in all his future endeavors.
REPORT: Ted DiBiase Jr. Negotiating With TNA Impact Wrestling [READ >>]
-There was said to be many within TNA who were pleased with the media blitz over the final few days leading into the tapings on Thursday in Cleveland. The feeling was the late media attention helped with the walk-up ticket sales for the show.
-The following matches are scheduled for the TNA Impact Wrestling live event in Newark, Delaware on September 6th:
–Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles [TNA World Heavyweight Championship]
–James Storm & Gunner vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian [TNA World Tag-Team Championships]
–Manik vs. Sonjay Dutt [TNA X-Division Championship]
–Chris Sabin vs. Bobby Roode
–Magnus vs. Mr. Anderson
-TNA Impact Wrestling star Hulk Hogan was recently announced by SouthernPigskin.com as a celebrity game picker for the 2013 edition of the Southern Pigskin College Football Pick’em contest.
-Austin Aries was recently interviewed by the Hagerstown Herald-Mail to promote the TNA Impact Wrestling live event in the local area this weekend. You can check that interview out online at Herald-Mail.com.
REPORT: Sting & AJ Styles Leaving TNA For WWE In 2014 [READ MORE >>]
-TNA president Dixie Carter was not in attendance at the TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings this week. She is, however, expected to be at the next taping on September 12th.
-Magnus, who was pulled from the live Impact Wrestling on Thursday due to the travel time he needed to return from the UK after getting his new work visa, was actually backstage during most of the first live show. He arrived in Cleveland sooner than expected, and was used during the taping for next week’s Impact Wrestling broadcast.
-Devon’s official deal with TNA Impact Wrestling is set to expire in October.
REPORT: Sting & AJ Styles Leaving TNA For WWE In 2014 [READ MORE >>]
[Credit: PWInsider.com]
As reported previously, AJ Styles and TNA have to come to terms on a new short-term agreement. According to one report, the deal will take Styles and TNA a little past Bound For Glory.
Whether or not he re-signs a longer deal to stay in the company will likely come down to how close each side can came to the financial part of the deal.
TNA has posted the AJ Styles promo from this week’s Impact Wrestling on their official YouTube channel. You can check that out below:
REPORT: AJ Styles Enters Contract Negotiations With WWE [READ >>]
[Credit: PWInsider.com]
– Photographer Bob Mulrenin recently got some exclusive pictures of the Ultimate Warrior at a WWE 2K14 promotional event in Brooklyn, New York, which you can view here.
– WWE Hall of Famer Edge will be hosting a 1-hour pre-show leadaing up to the season premiere of the SyFy show Ghost Mine on September 4th, 2013:
Right before Ghost Mine starts its second season (Wednesday, September 4 at 10/9c – FYI), make sure to catch the one-hour special Ghost Mine: Back on the Mountain at 9/8c. Hosted by Adam Copeland (Haven), the special gathers the miners and investigators around the campfire for a spirited conversation about the highs – and lows – of the previous season, along with first-hand accounts of the creepiest moments. It also includes never-before-seen footage from Season 1.”
– WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee granted her first individual wish through Make-A-Wish at Monday’s RAW. She met nine-year old Heidie, who was dressed like AJ. For more information (including a photo of AJ & Heidie), visit Community.WWE.com.
– In his latest podcast, ESPN writer Bill Simmons advocated for a WWE offseason, stating that it’s crazy WWE talent doesn’t get 2 months off at a time to recover from life on the road. Listen here: ESPN.go.com.
* Which NXT Stars Are Getting Called Up Next, New PAUL HEYMAN GUY Coming Soon
