More Details on the New Season of Tough Enough

WWE Tough Enough is hosted by WWE Superstar Chris Jericho®, who will be joined by a panel of judges including WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan®, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan® and WWE Diva Paige™. This season will combine the can’t-miss excitement of live television with reality-show drama, as WWE hopefuls vie for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva. Unlike anything on television today, the lightning-fast hour of entertainment and competition will include live results every week, giving fans worldwide the power to decide who stays and who goes the very same night.

Every week, the three judges will each nominate one competitor they believe should be cut, and it will be up to the WWE Universe to vote and determine who they feel is “Tough Enough,” to remain in the competition. The competitor with the least number of votes will be eliminated. Throughout the season, each judge will have the ability to save one competitor from being sent home. Ultimately, one man and one woman will be considered “Tough Enough,” with each earning a one-year, $250,000 WWE contract.

Each week, the competitors will be coached by WWE Legends Booker T™, Billy Gunn™ and Lita™, and competitors will come face-to-face with WWE icons including WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon; Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, Paul “Triple H®” Levesque; and WWE Superstars John Cena®, Big Show® and Randy Orton®, among others.

The revolutionary WWE Tough Enough App is now available for download. This app will provide an unprecedented fan experience before, during and after the show by enabling fans to vote for who stays and who goes with results calculated in real-time during the final minutes of each episode. The app will also include competitor bios and video and social updates as the competition unfolds throughout the week.

Hogan, Jericho, Paige and Daniel Bryan Headline New Season of Tough Enough

USA Network and WWE announced today that WWE Superstar Chris Jericho will be the host of the highly-anticipated series, WWE TOUGH ENOUGH, and will be joined by a panel of experts comprised of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan®, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan® and WWE Diva Paige™. The high-octane reality series premieres LIVE Tuesday, June 23 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on USA Network and around the world.*

This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will combine the can’t-miss excitement of live television with reality-show drama, as WWE hopefuls vie for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva. Unlike anything on television today, the lightning-fast hour of entertainment and competition will include live results every week, giving fans worldwide the power to decide who stays and who goes the very same night. Each week, one cast member will be eliminated until one man and one woman are considered “Tough Enough,” with each earning a one-year, $250,000 WWE contract.

Throughout the competition, the contestants will be trained by WWE Legends Booker T™, Billy Gunn™ and Lita™. Contestants will also come face-to-face with WWE icons including WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon; Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, Paul “Triple H®” Levesque; Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon; and WWE Superstar John Cena®, among others.

“These athletes, each with varying skill sets, will be put through a grueling boot camp that will test their physical, mental and emotional limits in a way that the series hasn’t done before,” said Jessica Sebastian, Vice President of Unscripted Series, USA Network. “Each week, their training and experience culminates in a spectacular live event where they will be put in front of their WWE heroes and an audience of fans. In this reimagined version of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH only the best will survive.”

“This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will be the most innovative, unique and engaging series on television,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer. “A live global telecast, real-time voting with immediate results, and unprecedented use of digital and social media during and between telecasts will all lead to a groundbreaking viewing experience.”

To date, entrants from 113 countries have submitted videos, which have been viewed more than two million times on YouTube. To view play lists of entrants’ videos or to submit a new audition video, go to WWEToughEnough.com. For a compilation of entrants’ video submissions, click here.

On Monday, May 25, the WWE TOUGH ENOUGH App will be available for free download, giving fans even more opportunity to engage with this cutting-edge reality competition series. Through the App, viewers will receive access to exclusive content, learn more about the contestants, take part in social conversation between live telecasts and vote in real time. Fans around the world can also vote live each week for who stays and who goes via text (U.S. only), on Twitter @WWEToughEnough as well as on the WWE App, WWEToughEnough.com and USANetwork.com.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will emanate live from both the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., home to WWE’s developmental division NXT, and the innovative professional production studios at Full Sail University located in Winter Park, Fla. This launch will mark the inaugural use of the University’s latest high-caliber, on-campus production facility. In 2012, WWE and Full Sail announced an innovative partnership, which created a student scholarship fund, and also allows students of the university’s entertainment-focused degree programs, including Film, Show Production, Digital Arts and Design, Internet Marketing and Entertainment Business, to gain real-world experience alongside WWE’s professional production staff during WWE NXT tapings.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH is produced by WWE, USA Network and Left Hook Media. Matt Odgers and Scott Teti are Executive Producers for Left Hook Media. Jessica Sebastian is Vice President of Unscripted Series for USA Network. Kevin Dunn is Executive Producer for WWE.

Be sure to join in the conversation at @WWEToughEnough @WWE @USANetwork and engage with your favorite WWE Tough Enough personalities @IAMJericho @ReneeYoungWWE @HulkHogan @WWEDanielBryan @RealPaigeWWE @BookerT5x @AmyDumas @BillyGunnWWE.

Video: The Game accuses five-time WCW Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T of being a Sting loyalist

WWE Announces Commentary Changes, Jerry Lawler Moved to SmackDown

WWE issued the following:

WWE® ANNOUNCES NEW BROADCAST TEAMS AS A PART OF SMACKDOWN®'S MOVE TO THURSDAY NIGHTS

As SmackDown prepares to move to Thursday nights next week on Syfy, WWE Universe members will be seeing some new faces behind both the Raw and SmackDown announce desks.

On Raw, Michael Cole and JBL will be joined each week by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, while the new SmackDown announce team will consist of Cole, newcomer Byron Saxton and incomparable WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler. Cole, JBL and Lawler will continue to call the action during WWE pay-per-view events.

WWE Announces WrestleMania 31 Party with NXT Stars, WWE Legends and More

WWE has announced a WrestleMania 31 On-Sale Party for Friday, November 14th from 6pm until 9pm at Intel Plaza inside Levi's Stadium. Tickets officially go on sale the next morning.

Stars scheduled to appear include Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Charlotte, Tyler Breeze, Rosa Mendes, Booker T, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. The event will be hosted by NXT's Corey Graves and Fan Axxess emcee Christian Litke.

Also, a DJ will be playing throughout the night and fans will have their first opportunity to get official WrestleMania 31 merchandise.

Pro Wrestling Is Fake, but Its Race Problem Isn't

Stephanie McMahon Spinarooni

What Happened After Raw Went Off The Air?

After HHH performed the Pedigree on Orton, the ring cleared leaving HHH, Steph, Kane, and Cena standing together looking at Orton. The three Authority figures then left and Cena called for a mic, getting a pop for mentioning Seahawk football before challenging Orton to a dark match main event. Both titles were hanging over the ring for the short match, which saw Orton get disqualified for using a chair. Cena recovered and performed an AA on Orton, then called for the mic again.

Cena requested Daniel Bryan come out, and after a short exchange about being near Bryan's hometown called for a Daniel-roonie. Booker T came out, and as he was walking to the ring the Wyatt family got out from where they were hiding under the ring and sprinted up the ramp to the back, getting a long laugh from the crowd. Cena claimed he was seeing things and blamed it on our coffee. Once Booker was in the ring, Bryan and Cena each did weak versions of the Spinaroonie, playing to the crowd. Booker called out John Laurinaitis, Titus O'Neill, Stephanie McMahon (!), and finally CM Punk in turn and each also did a Spinaroonie. Punk came out barefoot in a hoodie and briefs, not even his ring trunks. After Punk's spin, he went and hugged Steph. Booker thanked the crowd for our attendance and the show ended at about 8:45pm local.

source: wrestlezone.com

This Day In Wrestling History

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson makes his WWF(E) debut. At that time he was known as Rocky Maivia.
November 17, 1996

Shawn Michaels defeats Triple H, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T & Rob Van Dam in an Elimination Chamber to capture the World Heavyweight Title.
November 17, 2002

This was the first Elimination Chamber match and was Triple H's idea. An except from wwe.com:

There are many stipulation matches in WWE designed to intimidate, threaten and menace the Superstars chosen to compete in them — but there's only one that inspires actual terror.

Sitting in his stately office inside Titan Tower, Triple H cuts the same imposing figure now as the man who won a record four Chamber bouts in the past. "What people don't understand is the metal grating outside the ring is the same grating they make the stage with," he explains. "It's designed to support thousands of pounds, so there's no give at all. Then there are the walls themselves, which are made of thick metal chain. And at first, you think, 'Oh well, the chain moves a little bit.' But it's actually worse, because the chain shifts about an inch and a half, even though it's all connected, so it's like you're hitting a steel wall. And it's a bumpy steel wall that digs into you everywhere."

Interestingly, WWE's most hated and feared stipulation match was spawned from the mind of The Cerebral Assassin himself a decade ago. The company was looking for concepts for matches that might spin off into yearly events similar to the Royal Rumble, and The Game was ready with a winning idea.

The ambitious concept was well received, and the creative team set about turning Triple H's vision into reality. Of course, when he saw it, Triple H realized that he'd gotten far more than he had bargained for. "In typical WWE form, it was twice as big as I envisioned it and twice as elaborate," he remembers. "We don't do anything small, so I should have known better. When I stood in it for the first time, I thought, 'Jeez. Please don't tell anybody this was my idea!' "

Rob Van Dam Discusses WWE Return

Zach Linder of WWE.com is featuring a lengthy interview with Rob Van Dam where he talks about the circumstances leading to his return to WWE this Sunday at the Money in the Bank PPV in Philadelphia and his prior career with the company.

RVD added, "I called WWE. Triple H was the guy I was talking to. And I sent Booker a text. It wasn’t a definite deal until two weeks at the most before the videos started running. Once I got my starting date of Money in the Bank, that made it real."

To check out the full interview, click here.

Booker T Talks Relationship with Triple H

2013 Hall of Famer Booker T discussed his relationship with Triple H during an interview on The Troy show:

“Hunter and I, for the longest time, we’ve never been friends or anything like that but I’ve always respected him for his body of work. Being a guy that was in WCW watching what was going on the other side as one of the guys, I could actually see what was happening. He worked harder than anyone in the company, the guy was a cornerstone of the Attitude Era. All the guys that Triple H faced — The Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin — all of them had to go through Triple H to get made from a certain perspective. He was the guy of the Attitude Era, the glue that was keeping everything together.”

2013 WWE Hall of Fame Inductees

Booker T announced as WWE Hall of Fame 2013 inductee

On Saturday, April 6, 2013, one of the most decorated competitors in the history of sports-entertainment, most notably as a five-time (five-time, five-time ...) WCW Champion, Booker T, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden. The current SmackDown General Manager rounds out perhaps the most star-studded inductee class ever alongside Bruno Sammartino, Mick Foley, Bob Backlund, Trish Stratus and celebrity honoree Donald Trump...More?

Update On Saturday Morning Slam GM

Following a press release on WWE.com yesterday, WWE has announced that SmackDown General Manager Booker T will help out in finding the new Saturday Morning Slam GM:

Starting this Saturday, March 2, the most exciting and fast-paced show in Saturday morning television — “WWE Saturday Morning Slam” — begins the search for a General Manager!

WWE’s Board of Directors has decided to find a GM to rein in the Superstars and Divas of “WWE Saturday Morning Slam.” The search occurs over the next three Saturdays — March 2, 9 and 16 — at 10:30 a.m. during the Vortexx block on The CW.

To aid in the managerial hunt, WWE’s Board of Directors has found just the man: SmackDown GM Booker T! Superstars and Divas will compete, jockey for position and try to impress the six-time World Champion enough to become the new boss of WWE’s hit kids show.

The three-week GM search promises to make the fastest, most energy-filled half-hour on television even more must-see. Tune in to exciting new episodes of “WWE Saturday Morning Slam” on The CW this and every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.!

Earlier this week, it was reported that Booker T named Mick Foley as an interim GM, and they have also said six Superstars will compete for a chance to earn the permanent GM position. WWE posted a picture of Booker standing with R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan and Damien Sandow.

WWE 'Shooting Straight' Panels Recap

It wasn’t long after Michael Cole politely reminded the members of D-Generation X that WWE is now in a post–Attitude Era during their “Shooting Straight” panel that Triple H fired out a word that would have had network executives pulling out their hair had it been uttered during a live Raw broadcast.

From that moment on, it was clear that WWE’s new “Shooting Straight” panels were going to be every bit as uncensored as the advertisements promised.

Introduced to the WWE Universe as part of Royal Rumble’s Fan Fest weekend, the three sessions — which focused on 1997’s Montreal Screwjob, D-Generation X and WCW — gave an intimate crowd of WWE fans the opportunity to hear inside stories about some of the most pivotal moments in sports-entertainment history from the men who lived them.

“I think it’s something we should have done a long time ago,” Booker T told WWE.com shortly after participating in Sunday’s WCW panel. “Letting our fans get a chance to ask those questions they’ve been wanting to ask for years and getting a true answer from someone who was there — I think it’s priceless.”

It was early Saturday night when WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels, Bret “Hit Man” Hart and Jerry “The King” Lawler sat down with Michael Cole to discuss the infamous events of the 1997 Survivor Series. Although it has been nearly 16 years since the most notorious night in WWE history, it was clear that the controversies of that evening still resonate with WWE fans. As for HBK and Hart, both have matured considerably and have let go of any animosity. Still, The Excellence of Execution took pleasure in graphically describing the loogie he spit in Mr. McMahon’s face seconds after he was conned out of the WWE Title.

“That was like a 10 egg white omelet,” the “Hit Man” said with a laugh.

The next panel got just as messy as D-Generation X members Shawn Michaels, Triple H, X-Pac, Billy Gunn and The Road Dogg got together with Michael Cole to reminisce about the most anti-authority group in WWE history. In between crude jokes and bouts of riotous laughter, The Game revealed that he was nearly paired up with The Honky Tonk Man before DX took off. Another untold tale aired out for those in attendance was how, following DX’s infamous “attack” on WCW in Norfolk, Va., a subsequent invasion of WCW’s Atlanta headquarters nearly got the boys thrown in jail.

“They called the police and told them they were under attack from a militia group,” Triple H said, still in disbelief. “A hundred cops came with riot squads!”

The weekend’s final panel got underway on Sunday morning when former WCW competitors Booker T, Big Show, X-Pac and Kevin Nash talked with moderator Matt Striker about the rise of The New World Order and The Monday Night War. As expected, nothing was left unsaid as Nash revealed that Sting was nearly the third man to join the original nWo and that the reckless Goldberg was his least favorite competitor to face. On the topic of Goldberg, X-Pac added that the former WCW Champion wanted to call himself “The Hybrid” before his impressive winning streak began.

By the time the WCW panel ended, it was clear that WWE had taken a revolutionary step in inviting the audience behind the scenes. For the traditionally guarded world of professional wrestling, it’s a major shift, but one that is welcome.

“Whoever came up with this idea is an absolute genius, because the goal of WWE is to grow and I saw children out there who don’t remember The nWo and now they’re going to go back and learn about them,” Striker told WWE.com.

If you weren’t able to be in Phoenix for the first “Shooting Straight” panels, don’t fret. Chances are WWE will be bringing these innovative sessions to your town in the near future.

“I think it was a hit,” The Game said during the final moments of the DX panel. “And I think it’s something we’re going to do more often.”

source: wwe.com

Booker T vs. Triple H: World Heavyweight Championship Match - WMXIX

This is one of my favorite moves. I wish one of the new guys would use it.

This Day In Wrestling History

Shawn Michaels defeats Triple H, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T & Rob Van Dam in an Elimination Chamber to capture the World Heavyweight Title.
November 17, 2002

This was the first Elimination Chamber match and was Triple H's idea. An except from wwe.com:

There are many stipulation matches in WWE designed to intimidate, threaten and menace the Superstars chosen to compete in them — but there's only one that inspires actual terror.

Sitting in his stately office inside Titan Tower, Triple H cuts the same imposing figure now as the man who won a record four Chamber bouts in the past. "What people don't understand is the metal grating outside the ring is the same grating they make the stage with," he explains. "It's designed to support thousands of pounds, so there's no give at all. Then there are the walls themselves, which are made of thick metal chain. And at first, you think, 'Oh well, the chain moves a little bit.' But it's actually worse, because the chain shifts about an inch and a half, even though it's all connected, so it's like you're hitting a steel wall. And it's a bumpy steel wall that digs into you everywhere."

Interestingly, WWE's most hated and feared stipulation match was spawned from the mind of The Cerebral Assassin himself a decade ago. The company was looking for concepts for matches that might spin off into yearly events similar to the Royal Rumble, and The Game was ready with a winning idea.

The ambitious concept was well received, and the creative team set about turning Triple H's vision into reality. Of course, when he saw it, Triple H realized that he'd gotten far more than he had bargained for. "In typical WWE form, it was twice as big as I envisioned it and twice as elaborate," he remembers. "We don't do anything small, so I should have known better. When I stood in it for the first time, I thought, 'Jeez. Please don't tell anybody this was my idea!' "

Booker T Praises Efforts of Fit Finlay and Terry Taylor

"Having a guy like Fit, who is so knowledgeable, teaching the guys the art of the business is essential. Then having a guy like Terry Taylor, someone who has been around so long and has done so much, as well as giving his life to the wrestling business, is great. It's also great having mentors – they're carpenters who really don't mind giving back to this business. That's what it's all about – keeping things moving forward – but a lot of the guys tend to want to keep that knowledge to themselves."

WWE to Hold WrestleMania 29 Kickoff Event

WWE is scheduled to hold a Wrestlemania kickoff party in New York City at Bryant Park on Friday to promote the on sale of Wrestlemania 29 tickets. Scheduled for the event is Bret Hart, Booker T, Mick Foley, Sgt. Slaughter, Alicia Fox, Aksana and Mark Henry.

Booker T Announces Tag Team Tournament

Team Hell No’s first defense of the WWE Tag Team Championships on a pay-per-view will happen Oct. 28 at WWE Hell in a Cell, but Kane & Daniel Bryan will have to wait a little while longer before finding out who their opponents will be.

Thanks to an earth-shattering announcement by General Manager Booker T on the Sept. 28 edition of SmackDown, the No. 1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Champions will be determined via an eight-team tournament that will play out over the next several weeks.

WWE’s tag team division is arguably the deepest it has been in years, and the tournament format will provide a natural process of attrition. Whether the winning pair will ultimately have the tools necessary to exploit the obvious fault lines in Team Hell No’s exterior, however, remains to be seen.

The bracket revealed on SmackDown showed the following first-round matchups: Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) vs. Jimmy & Jey Uso; Santino Marella & Zack Ryder vs. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd; former champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil); and Epico & Primo vs. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara.

The newly formed unit of Rhodes & Sandow put away The Usos in the first bout of the tournament on the very same night it was set up. With one team down, seven duos remain in contention.

source: wwe.com