The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Moving From New York to Texas; Steve Austin To Be Inducted in 2016

The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) announced today plans to relocate the organization’s headquarters, hall of fame and museum to Wichita Falls. President of the PWHF, Johnny Mantell made the announcement during a ceremony at the new headquarters, which will be located in the Annex of the First Wichita Building, known locally as Big Blue.

Mantell said, “The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame honors the men and women in this business around the World! Professional wrestling has strong roots in Wichita Falls and we are proud to bring the Hall of Fame and Museum to Big Blue in downtown Wichita Falls.”

Henry Florsheim, president and CEO of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce said, “Wrestling is a huge part of our culture; in fact, the largest crowds our coliseum ever draws are for professional wrestling. This is a huge feather in the cap for Downtown Wichita Falls and the city as a whole, and may well turn in to one of our largest tourism draws.”

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Full Details On WWE Network's 'The Undertaker Week'

WWE Network announced the following details for The Undertaker Week, which begins next Monday:

WWE Superstars, Legends and Hall of Famers pay tribute to the legacy of The Phenom during Undertaker Week on the award-winning WWE Network.

Monday, Nov. 16 - following Raw
Legends with JBL: Undertaker's Greatest Rivals Part 1
On this special edition of Legends with JBL, John Bradshaw Layfield goes in-depth with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as they celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the legendary Undertaker. The panel discusses the evolution of Undertaker in WWE, including his decades of loyalty and his respected locker room presence. JBL's panel of guests also set the record straight about Internet rumors, and provide behind-the-scenes accounts of The Undertaker's greatest matches.

Tuesday, Nov. 17 - 10/9 C
Undertaker: 25 Phenomenal Years
Journey back through 25 years of the most memorable and unforgettable moments in the career of WWE's one and only Phenom, The Undertaker.

Wednesday, Nov. 18 - 9/8 C
The Undertaker's Gravest Matches
Relive 25 years of The Undertaker's most dangerous matches. Descend into the darkness as The Dead Man battles among caskets, flames and cells.

Thursday, Nov. 19 - 10/9 C
Legends with JBL: Undertaker's Greatest Rivals Part 2
JBL continues his trip down memory lane on this special edition of Legends with JBL. John Bradshaw Layfield, along with his illustrious panel consisting of Triple H, Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, unearth never-before-heard topics from The Undertaker's remarkable career. From the "BSK" to The Streak, no topic is off limits.

Ryback Talks Being The Man To Replace John Cena, Interesting Conversation With Vince McMahon, More

Recently on The Steve Austin Show, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin interviewed WWE's Ryback. Ryback spoke about his relationship with Vince McMahon, believing he can replace John Cena, and the political nature of WWE.

When asked what his relationship with McMahon is like, Ryback said that he tries not to bother McMahon too much and only speaks with him when the subject matter is important.

"I don't want to go to him just all the time for everything and it has to have meaning behind it and it always has because I feel some people abuse that power. He's a busy man. He's pulled in a million different directions, so it's when I truly feel I need to talk to him about something".

One example of a time when Ryback felt it necessary to speak with McMahon directly was in 2012, prior to his return to WWE television in April of that year. According to Ryback, he felt like he was being underutilized, so he told McMahon that he did not need vignettes and that he would get himself over if WWE just put him out in front of the audience.

"I remember I said something about 'your company' to him at one point and at the end of the conversation, he goes, 'you'll be ready when you realize it is our company' and I said, 'our company' and I walked out of there. I was like, 'damn it,' thinking, 'how long do I have to wait now before I go talk to him and somehow sneak in 'our company'' and, luckily though, everything was on track, and, I believe, I debuted a week or two after that."

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WWE to “ANSWER THE CALL” for Families of Fallen NYC Heroes

WWE is joining forces with Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes through a global online auction on Charitybuzz.com, featuring unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences in support of “Answer The Call,” the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund.

Fans can now visit www.Charitybuzz.com/WWE through Tuesday, August 25 at 12 noon ET to bid on exclusive experiences with WWE Superstar John Cena®, Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, talk show hosts Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa and many more. WWE’s support of “Answer The Call” is part of WWE’s community outreach initiatives in celebration of SummerSlam®, which takes place on Sunday, August 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

“We are thrilled to have WWE’s support as they ‘Answer the Call’ for the families of New York City’s fallen first responders,” said Mark Messier, Vice President of Community Affairs for the NY Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund. “Our partnership will ensure that we continue to provide a network of support and financial assistance for those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty.”

“WWE is committed to using the power of our brand to help improve the lives of families around the world,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “We are proud to support ‘Answer The Call’ and the families of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their city.”

Online auction highlights include:

• Mark Messier’s personal New York Rangers tickets and a meet and greet with the Hockey Hall of Famer.
• Meet and greet with John Cena at Monday Night Raw®.
• Take over the court at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
• Backstage tour and meet and greet with Stephanie McMahon at Monday Night Raw.
• Meet and greet with Stone Cold Steve Austin at a live taping of the Stone Cold Steve Austin Podcast on WWE® Network.
• Rookie mini-camp at MetLife Stadium for 50 people.
• Suite at a Brooklyn Nets game during the 2015-2016 season and an autographed team photo.
• Meet and greet with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman at a WWE event.
• Meet and greet with Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa and four tickets to LIVE with Kelly & Michael.
• Attend the season finale of WWE Tough Enough and meet Daniel Bryan, Paige, Lita, Booker T and Billy Gunn.
• Two tickets to Late Night with Seth Meyers and a mug autographed by Seth Meyers.

For more information or to bid on the full list of auction items, visit www.Charitybuzz.com/WWE. Proceeds will provide assistance to the families of New York City Police Officers, Firefighters, Port Authority Police and EMS Personnel who have been killed in the line of duty.

Paige And Steve Austin On Who Started The Divas Revolution, More

Austin brings up Triple H being a big influence on her and she says he's been a huge influence. She went through a stage where she had bad luck - a car wreck, surgery, had to be out of action for 3 months, her bank account got hacked and her dog got hit by a car. She was ready to go back home but Triple H worked with her and soon after she made history by winning the NXT Women's Title. She says the whole Divas Revolution really was started by Triple H. The next Twitter question asks if Paige she thinks she started it. Triple H was the one who started it with NXT. She brings up AJ Lee and says she looked up to her. She talks about how surprised they were when Triple H gave she and Emma 20 minutes at the first NXT special. She says he started it but her and Emma got the ball rolling. She says they opened the door for other Divas like Charlotte and Bayley but she gives huge props to trainer Sara Del Rey. She also gives props to Finlay and Dean Malenko, who she goes to a lot these days...More?

Rumor Mill - “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Reportedly Dropped From His WWE Legends Deal

WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair noted on the latest episode of “Wooo! Nation” podcast that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has been dropped from his WWE Legends contract.

The full details as to why are not yet know, but we do know that Piper’s podcast was recently removed from the PodcastOne network as result of issues with Steve Austin.

See also...

Roddy Piper Blames Steve Austin For His Podcast Being Removed From PodcastOne.com
Steve Austin Responds To Rumors He Got Roddy Piper Fired From PodcastOne.com

Stone Cold Steve Austin Confirmed As This Year’s WWE 2K16 Cover Star

WWE and 2K Sports have officially announced that ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin will be the cover star of the upcoming WWE 2K16 video game, set for release on current and last generation XBox and Playstation video game consoles, October 27th.

It was reported several months ago that the developers were working on a campaign mode built around Austin’s career, with both Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler being brought in to do voice-over work for the game.

WWE 2K16 will boast the largest roster ever assembled in a WWE video game, with over 120 unique characters promised to ship with the game on day one.

Paul Heyman Says There Are Zero Chances of Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32

Paul Heyman appeared on the latest episode of Chael Sonnen's podcast and admitted that he legitimately caught Steve Austin off-guard when he asked Austin about facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32 during the recent WWE Network podcast.

Heyman said he couldn't sit through an hour-long podcast with Austin, without that question coming up. Heyman said the chances of the match happening are zero and that Austin has a plethora of reasons why it won't happen.

Vince McMahon Reportedly Not Happy With End Of Steve Austin And Paul Heyman's WWE Podcast

We noted before that on Steve Austin's latest podcast he downplayed the speculation on a possible WrestleMania 32 match with Brock Lesnar and said he was not trying to set up a match with the Paul Heyman exchange on their recent WWE Network podcast.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes this week that the match will not be happening. Apparently reasons the match is not happening have to do with issues between Austin and Vince McMahon but The Observer wouldn't speculate on what those issues are. Vince was reportedly not happy with how the podcast ended because Austin vs. Lesnar is not in their current WrestleMania 32 plans.

Vince did not know Heyman and Austin were going to do the bit they did and immediately felt they were creating major interest in a match that was not happening. There was reportedly some sort of discussion between Austin and Vince after the podcast where Vince wanted the story to go away quickly and quietly with Austin addressing it once and then moving on.

Steve Austin On What He Likes About NXT, Says Monday Night RAW Is 'Dumbed Down'

WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has had an up and down relationship with WWE since debuting with the company in late 1995. While he'll be hosting another edition of his acclaimed podcast on the WWE Network tonight, he was still quick to offer his candid thoughts about the current WWE product. He spoke about some of his issues with Raw on his own podcast last week.

In particular, Austin pointed out that he thinks Raw insults the intelligence of the viewer because they don't leave anything to the imagination. He feels like the main roster show has been dumbed down and portrayed as if nobody has ever watched wrestling before.

"It's [NXT] simple, it's to the point. It's not dumbed down like Monday Night Raw," Austin said. "On Monday Night Raw it's like they want to fill in every blank for you. It's like wrestling for morons. They've overthought it."

Austin noted that comparing the show isn't necessarily fair, since Raw is a three hour program and NXT is one hour. Still, Austin said that he enjoyed the way that NXT is laid out because there isn't much wasted motion during the broadcast.

"It's a one hour show, I get it. I like the format of the NXT show," Austin said.

Watch Stone Cold Podcast Live! with special guest Paul Heyman, June 1 on the WWE Network

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin will host his live Stone Cold Podcast on Monday, June 1, immediately following Raw, in a no-holds barred interview with special guest Paul Heyman on the award-winning WWE Network.

What will happen when two of WWE's most controversial and outspoken figures set the record straight in an anything-goes interview? What questions will the Texas Rattlesnake ask the Advocate to former WWE World Heayweight Champion Brock Lesnar? And what does Heyman have to say about his client's last few months, including losing the title at WrestleMania 31 to Seth Rollins? Don't miss this electric encounter, live on WWE Network.

The must-see interview is the latest in "Stone Cold's" popular podcast series on WWE Network. If the WWE Hall of Famer's previous live interviews with Vince McMahon and Triple H are any indication, Austin's upcoming sitdown with Heyman will be a revealing encounter.

WWE and DK Releasing "WWE: Attitude Era" Book

DK Publishing will release the WWE: Attitude Era, a book that takes readers straight into one of sports-entertainments most colorful and controversial periods.

In this cure for the common book, we break down the outrageous moments, the pulse-pounding action and the over-the-top moments that made up the infamous Attitude Era.

Relive the late 90’s with:

*“Stone Cold” Steve Austin, D-Generation X, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Undertaker, Mankind and the deep roster of WWE Superstars and Divas that defined “Attitude”.

*New interviews from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, Trish Stratus and many more.

*A retrospective on the beginning and end of the era, plus all the chaos in between.

*Stunning visuals, with full color imagery on every page, including never-before-seen photos.

Steve Austin Speaks On His WWE Status After Recent Trademark Issue With T-Shirts

On a recent podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin addressed rumors about he and WWE after the company had some of his t-shirts pulled from his official ProWrestlingTees.com store recently. Austin said despite the shirts being pulled, the two sides are still on good terms and are still working together.

Austin said WWE had a few trademark concerns that they felt they needed to protect and they did. Austin said he spoke with a WWE lawyer about the concerns and there are no hard feelings.

Austin also said there are many "great things" to come from he and WWE but didn't go into detail, telling fans to "stay tuned."

WWE Sends Cease & Desist Letter to Steve Austin’s Online Store

According to a report from PWInsider.com, WWE officials sent a cease and desist letter to ProWrestlingTees.com shortly after WrestleMania, ordering them to remove certain items from the official store of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

While the former WWE Champion maintains that there’s little-to-no heat between him and the company, it’s being said there is still frustration from the WWE side over Austin turning down “Tough Enough” and not appearing at this year’s WrestleMania.

Steve Austin Speaks On WWE Rumors: Turning Down Tough Enough, Missing WrestleMania, Network Podcast

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin addressed some rumors surrounding his status with the company on the latest episode of The Steve Austin Show. You can hear the full interview at this link. Below are some highlights:

* Austin said there is no heat on him from WWE for allegedly missing WrestleMania 31 Week. He brought up the rumor that he was supposed to be on a flight with The Undertaker and said that was not true.

* Austin said he was never a part of any creative discussions for him to participate at WrestleMania 31. Austin said he didn't turn anything down, he simply wasn't there and was never scheduled to be there.

* Regarding Tough Enough rumors and heat between Austin and Vince McMahon, Austin said he did not turn the show down. He said he's been talking with WWE about Tough Enough for some time and it was supposed to be filmed in February-March but we're in April and it still hasn't happened. Austin said the delay was nobody's fault as it takes a lot of work for the different pieces of a reality show like Tough Enough to come together. When WWE got their pieces together, CMT wanted to do more Broken Skull Challenge and Austin couldn't do Tough Enough due to the BSC commitments. Austin said he didn't turn down Tough Enough because of heat with Vince and scheduling problems are why he couldn't do the show. Austin said he wishes he could do Tough Enough but it didn't work out. Austin said in a perfect world, he would have filmed Tough Enough in February-March and that would have been it.

* Austin also addressed the rumors about his podcast not being on the WWE Network. Austin said they did the first two and were going to make a deal to move forward. He said there was a deal that could have been made but it wasn't and they're not moving forward but there's no heat there. Austin he heard Vince wasn't happy with some of his questions for Triple H and Austin said that's not true.

* Austin said WWE is going in their own direction and he's going in his and down the road if they hook back up, it'll be gangbusters. Austin said he will always have WWE in his blood. He acknowledged both sides have helped each other over the years and said it's always a good thing and a fun thing when WWE and Steve Austin are in business together. Austin guesses there is no animosity towards him from WWE's point of view and said he has no heat with them. Austin said, "No heat, nowhere. It's cool, moving on..."

Rumor Mill - Steve Austin Reportedly Turns Down Tough Enough, Backstage Talk On His Problems With Vince McMahon

Steve Austin did not travel to Santa Clara for the festivities and this caused a lot of shock within WWE as he was expected to be there.

It turns out Austin was scheduled to fly into San Jose on the same flight that The Undertaker was on as they both live in Texas. The flight landed and Austin was not there. WWE even had an employee waiting to pick Austin up from the airport. It appears they still thought he might show up as there was a room with his name on it backstage at Levi's Stadium until mid-week.

It was noted before that the issue appeared to be between Austin and Vince McMahon. One person close to the situation said they have never seen Vince as angry about anything else, which is saying a lot. The rift between Vince and Austin reportedly has to do with his podcast on the WWE Network and Vince not liking some aspects of it. This is likely why WWE Network is now carrying Chris Jericho's podcast instead.

WWE also wanted Austin for the upcoming season of Tough Enough but he reportedly turned it down for an unknown reason. Some expect Austin to address his issues with WWE shortly.

WWE Network Announces Birthday Marathon For One Year Anniversary Week, No New Content

This week marks one year since the WWE Network launched. You would think that new content would debut on the WWE Network to celebrate the anniversary week but that is not the case. With the exception of the new NXT and Superstars episodes, there is currently no new content planned to premiere this week.

Instead, WWE has announced a "birthday marathon" of their best Network content that will begin after tonight's RAW. They wrote the following:

In honor of WWE Network's first birthday, the fastest-growing digital subscription service ever will air a marathon of its best programming, immediately following Raw. New subscribers to WWE Network can sign up now and get the rest of February FREE on The Road to WrestleMania.

Don't miss WWE Network's 24-hour birthday marathon, starting immediately after Raw with WWE 24: WrestleMania 30. Also, catch other amazing programs such as Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, the "Stone Cold" Podcast, NXT TakeOver: Rival, The Monday Night War, WWE Legends' House, and much more!

Backstage Reaction To Triple H's Podcast Comments About CM Punk And RAW Being Three Hours

Regarding Triple H's comments on the live Steve Austin interview about having no beef or issues with CM Punk, most people within WWE that are talking do not believe he was telling the truth.

It came as a surprise that a higher-up like Triple H talked about how RAW should go back to 2 hours and most people in the company agree with that.

On a related note, Triple H mentioned during his interview with Michael Cole today that he heard his interview with Austin had 40% more viewers than Vince McMahon's interview with Austin.

Steve Austin - Triple H Interview Recap - Feelings on CM Punk, Chyna - HOF, Brock Lesnar's Future, More

We're live from backstage at the Pepsi Center in Denver with Steve Austin and Triple H. Austin talks about how hot fans were when sending feedback for the podcast. Austin brings up the controversy surrounding the Royal Rumble. Austin says it seems like kayfabe is dead and asks Triple H how hard it is to book with that. He says it's rough. Triple H brings up the different component that is the internet and how fans quickly see when the company gets behind someone. Triple H brings up how some places were booing Roman Reigns out of the building because they think that's the push he's getting but nobody booed him at this weekend's live events. Austin says some fans feel like Reigns hasn't earned the push yet. Triple H says there's one guy calling the shots - Vince McMahon. Triple H says the Rumble was talked over and debated. He says there were lots of suggestions. He says Vince takes all those ideas and puts them together. Triple H says nobody is perfect - Vince, himself and the writing team. He says Vince doesn't always make the right call but has a pretty good track record.

They give props to Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for their match on RAW. Austin brings up the resentment for Reigns and Triple H says it's a tough environment. Triple H talks about how half of the people have booed John Cena while half have cheered him but he was selling out arenas. Triple H says it's hard to find the star that every single person likes. Triple H talks about how they knew who they were targeting in the Attitude Era but now there are so many age groups and demographics that they cover. Triple H mentions how dirt sheets were rare back in the day but even major media outlets give you the inside of the business these days. Austin says he hasn't seen Twitter feedback yet but believes that tonight's RAW may have quelled some of the resentment towards Reigns. He says Reigns shined tonight and what he did at the end of RAW helped him. Austin says he needed that and Triple H agrees. Triple H says people say all the time that Reigns isn't ready and Triple H says nobody is really ready for "that." Austin agrees. Triple H says you think you know what it means to be that guy until you get there and put a whole different world of pressure on yourself.

Triple H talks about how he wasn't ready in 1996 and if he would have won King of the Ring instead of Austin then he would have failed. Triple H says he knew he wasn't ready and doesn't think he would have succeeded. Austin is looking to forward to seeing how the main event picture unfolds going into WrestleMania. Triple H talks about how WWE is a never ending book and you can't really knock today because you don't know what's next. Austin asks what Triple H's exit strategy if he didn't marry Stephanie McMahon. Triple H believes he would be in a similar place, working behind-the-scenes. He says he fell in love with the creative and "making of" pro wrestling as much as the other side. He talks about falling in love with working with talents and other aspects of the business, and talking to Vince McMahon about it long before he got with Stephanie. He talks about what he gets out of working with the talents at NXT. He says hats off to Vince for allowing him that. Austin has our first Twitter question - does he think it's beneficial for a talent to go to a wrestling school and then the PC or work the indies. He says it depends on the guy. He talks about Kurt Angle and praises him, talking about how he picked up the business faster than anyone he's seen. He says sometimes it's hard to knock some of the bad habits of the indies out of a guy. Some indie guys come in and they're a sponge, some come in and think their way is the only way.

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Steve Austin's Live Podcast Returning to the WWE Network with Triple H

WWE announced tonight during the Royal Rumble that Steve Austin's live podcast will return to the WWE Network on Monday, February 2nd after RAW goes off the air

Austin's guest will be Triple H.