Former WWE superstar Derrick Bateman was recently interviewed by Wrestling Heels Radio. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

What a week at NXT is like: “Well, it’s a secret of the pros. I’m kidding, it’s pretty basic. Monday, Tuesday, you have a day of practice and then – back in the day it used to be Wednesday would be promo class or art of communicating, they like to call it. Thursdays would be a show at the arena and then Friday, Saturday maybe we have shows. If we don’t we might have a little practice and this would repeat every week. It’d be pretty much the same.”

What talent has to go through in promo class: “Real brief, just being able to communicate in a way that is current to how they would like it, current to the norm. So as opposed to back in the day of promo being a guy screaming about something and just basically telling a story with the amount of time you have. You just wanna tell a story, [which is] pretty much the gist of everything we do. We tell stories. Being able to communicate in a creative way certainly helps. The thing about a promo class is it’s a way you can try something, see if it works. If it works, cool. If it doesn’t, you can try something else and you kinda have free reign to pick and choose what you wanna do sometimes, and that’s always cool to have an open forum for your own amusement.”

His WWE release: “Yeah, I had a pretty – I don’t know how far it was, but I was doing the Mr. USA [promos], and had some guy on computer making those. That was something that was going to happen and almost didn’t a couple times, but unfortunately, in a Saturday Morning Slam match with Antonio Cesaro, I hurt my knee again and I had to have surgery on it. Then that match with Alex Riley was my first match back from having that surgery. So after the injury, you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind and things happen.

“There’s no regrets from me on my part of what I’ve done. I can regret getting hurt at an inopportune time or two, or I can regret maybe not pushing hard enough to talk to somebody. But I have really no regrets for anything I’ve done in the ring or outside of it, or the entertaining stuff I try to do. No regrets at all with that.”

Working for Vince McMahon: “Well, he’s always super busy with business and things at hand, like with Raw and Smackdown, but there were more than a few times I got to see him in Gorilla for NXT Redemption. I don’t know if you recall the time I had my mom there and was talking smack to Maxine, but walking out with my mom in Gorilla and you see the boss sitting there and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God is this really happening? That is insane!’ And you walk back and he’s laughing and, shoots ya a thumbs up, and that’s pretty much an awesome endorsement, and you’re like ‘cool.’

“As far as him being like hands-on with anything we did, he was busy with the real stuff but, I never had a bad experience with him. He was always super cool every time I got to talk to him and shake his manly hand, so no ill will.”

Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins from RAW: “@WWEDanielBryan vs. @WWERollins was one of the best bouts on Raw in many moons. This was excellent from start to finish, an announcer’s dream really, and is a great match for NXT athletes or those wanting o make it to WWE Development to study. Both the winner and the loser improved their perception and enhanced their personas when this match ended.”

Tim Tebow In WWE: “If @TimTebow, for some reason, fails to make it in New England, I’m sure that I can get him a tryout in WWE Developmental. Roll your eyes if you choose but there’s a TV rating and a PPV number in that concept notwithstanding all the media that it would generate. Plus, Tebow could be a valuable member of the WWE team doing community service projects in addition to learning to perform inside the ring. Tebow might rival John Cena as the most polarizing talent ever in WWE.”

The Third Wyatt Family Vignette On RAW: “Another great, creative production building anticipation for the pending debut of Bray Wyatt and his “Family.” It doesn’t bother me when fans on Twitter @JRsBBQ compare Bray Wyatt with Waylon Mercy no more than it did when fans compared Waylon Mercy to ‘Cape Fear’s’ Sam Cady.”

* VIEW HERE: The Latest WYATT FAMILY Vignette Video From RAW – They’re Coming!

WWE sent out the following press release today:

BRIAN MADDOX PROMOTED TO VP DIGITAL SALES

STAMFORD, Conn., June 11, 2013 – WWE® (NYSE:WWE) today announced that Brian Maddox has been promoted to Vice President, Global Digital Sales. Maddox, was previously Director of National Sales at WWE and will report to the Global Head of Sales and Partnerships, Michael Pine.

In his new role, Maddox will be responsible for monetizing all of WWE’s digital, video, social, and mobile assets, including WWE.com, WWE’s Facebook pages, YouTube Channel, Twitter followers and mobile app. His primary focus will be working with WWE’s partners to maximize their digital budgets by leveraging all of WWE’s media assets, content and talent to develop engaging custom, cross-platform programs.

“With more than 160 million highly-engaged and passionate fans across all our digital platforms, WWE is a leader in the social and digital space,” said Michael Pine. “Brian is the right candidate to lead our efforts in sustaining and building partnerships, while creating digital strategies that benefit WWE’s partners and fans.”

Previously, Maddox was the Director of Digital Ad Sales at MSG Media for MSG Interactive and Fuse.TV where he developed and implemented innovative digital opportunities for the company’s partners who included, American Express, T-Mobile, Anheuser Busch, Absolut and Coca-Cola.

* Exclusive VIDEO of the WYATT FAMILY’s Creepy Entrance (From Saturday Night)