Longest Running Triple H Fansite
Since 2006
Showing posts with label Zack Ryder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zack Ryder. Show all posts

January 29, 2016

The Hits, Hype & Hopes of the WWE


Dean Muhtadi sat down in one of the folding chairs he helped assemble, stared at the canvas of the wrestling ring he helped put together and began to vent.

About the two-hour drive spent on desolate Florida highways in the August heat. About the tweet he sent to his 56,000 followers to let them know he would be performing tonight. About the text message he just sent his mother, telling her to turn around and drive home.

It was three hours before about 500 fans would come into Building B of the Citrus Springs Community Center, and a sheet of paper taped to the metal post behind the turnbuckle listed the competitors in eight matches. “Mojo Rawley,” Muhtadi’s in-ring character, would not be performing tonight. For Muhtadi, it was another reminder of the precarious path to pro-wrestling stardom.

Muhtadi, 29, turned down a contract with the National Football League and a six-figure job on Wall Street three years ago, and here he was, in a room normally reserved for wedding receptions and Zumba classes, eating his fourth meal of Boston Market chicken in four days. More than 80 miles from the closest major city, he was, in every way, far from where he wanted to be.

“It’s infuriating,” Muhtadi said. “Hopefully I’ll have the big payoff, but the reality is it’s not for a lot of guys. I’ve had a lot of friends come and go.”

As he watched the show unfold on a monitor backstage, he grimaced when a camera panned to one young fan wearing a T-shirt with Mojo Rawley’s catchphrase, “I don’t get hyped! I stay hyped!”

“It’s like twisting a knife in,” Muhtadi said.

At NXT, World Wrestling Entertainment’s developmental arm, bursting onto the scene as a superstar is about much more than body slams and biceps. The wrestler must achieve an all-encompassing lifestyle change to manipulate a global audience into believing characters and story lines that they know are created and decided by writers and executives backstage.

In NXT, WWE executive vice president for talent, live events and creative Paul Levesque centralized the training under one roof outside Orlando. The WWE Performance Center opened in 2013 and features rings, a mock entrance ramp and announcer table, green-screen rooms for filming vignettes and daily instruction from wrestlers-turned-coaches.

Elias Samson (L) practices kicking Dean Muhtadi (LR who wrestles under the name Mojo Rawley, during practice in Orlando, Florida in August, 2015 where World Wrestling Entertainment has its development facility for male and female wrestlers not on the organization's primary roster, called the Performance Center. (Andrew Innerarity for The Washington Post)

“Every single superstar that has come before you, as successful as they were, they did not have the tools that you have to get the job done,” Levesque tells new wrestlers...More?

source: washingtonpost.com

October 9, 2015

Complete List of NXT Battle Royal Participants


NXT held a battle royal during last night’s TV tapings to name a new #1 contender to the NXT Title. The following talents will compete in the battle royal, which will air on next week’s edition of NXT:

Samoa Joe
Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa
Apollo Crews
Scott Dawson
Dash Wilder
Blake
Murphy
Rhyno
Baron Corbin
Enzo Amore
Colin Cassady
Bull Dempsey
Zack Ryder
Mojo Rawley
Tyler Breeze
Tye Dillinger

June 6, 2015

Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts buries Triple H in SI interview


Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts is making media rounds promoting both his appearance at Legends of the Ring tomorrow night in New Jersey, and the release of his upcoming autobiography detailing his life and career in professional wrestling. That includes a lengthy interview with SI.com.

In it, it's revealed Roberts talks about Triple H extensively in his book. Well, he buries him in the interview.

Here's an excerpt:

"Hunter is portrayed as the savior of wrestling, and people think he'll save the business once he's in charge. We all thought that, too, until he started running things. Paul started overseeing a bunch of divisions and one of them was live events. When he took over, our live events schedule was brutal. We'd start in one place and flew all over. Since he used to be one of the boys on the road, we thought he'd stand up and stop that, and he didn't. The schedule got worse.

"Hunter started squashing stuff that really started getting over. If you notice, it's all about the future, and the future is NXT. But focusing on the future shouldn't mean ignoring the present. Zack Ryder got over huge to the point to the point where the crowd was cheering for him at Madison Square Garden while The Rock was standing in the ring. Dolph Ziggler got over. Primo and Epico [now known as Los Matadores] are fantastic wrestlers, but they get lost in the shuffle. There is a glass ceiling, and anybody they don't want to get over is squashed despite the fans strongly getting behind them. Daniel Bryan is a rare exception, despite the company fighting it over and over."

December 3, 2014

Jack Swagger, Seth Rollins, Zack Ryder Respond to Vince McMahon ‘Brass Ring’ Comment


During his WWE Network podcast interview with Steve Austin, Vince McMahon made comments about the current roster being less apt to “grab the brass ring.” He attributed it to a “Millennial” attitude. Several WWE stars have commented, including Jack Swagger who discussed the comments with Mike Jones of DC101

“This is an environment where literally hundreds of thousands of people want to be on this roster, and there’s what, 75 of us on top?” said Swagger. “To get here you have to be very ambitious but to stay here you need even more. It takes a lot of drive and a lot of hard work. I can only speak for myself that I have gotten hungrier. As far as the rest of the locker room, you know, it’s tough but you gotta see the finish line and sometimes that’s hard to do.”

Seth Rollins and Zack Ryder also commented, posting to Twitter:

No better way to grab the brass ring then to take out the so-called last guy to do just that. #WWETLC #TablesMatch How's that for ambition? - Seth Rollins

When my shoulder is healed and I come back, I'll grab that brass ring again...but nothing will stop me this time! - Zack Ryder

March 4, 2013

Interview with Zack Ryder

March 1, 2013

Zack Ryder Says He’s Not On Wrestlemania, 2013 Can’t Be Worse Than 2012, WWE Ruined YouTube Show


Zack Ryder was recently a guest on Busted Open with Dave Lagreca, Doug Mortman and Mike Riker. His frustration remains very evident in his public comments. Below are some excerpts from the interview:

Excluded from Wrestlemania 29:

It’s cool that it’s in New York/New Jersey, basically in my backyard, but I’m not on it. It kind of sucks. I got all my friends and family who are going to be there and they are expecting to see Zack Ryder on the show and as of now he is not on it. So that part of it is heartbreaking. It’s still going to be a great show with Rock and Cena. It’s going to be one of the best WrestleManias of all time.

2013 can’t be worse than 2012:

2011 was the rise of Zack Ryder. I started my YouTube show out of just frustration. The beginning of the year I was a nobody, not even on TV. Through the course of the year from doing the show and being active on Twitter and on Facebook, and then ending the year as U.S. champion. I really thought 2012 was going to be my year and as you saw, it really wasn’t. Kane threw me off the stage and off loading docks. Eve kicked me in the bro-nuts at WrestleMania and from there I was just forgot about. I was losing all the time, barely doing anything on the shows. 2013 better be different. It can’t be worse than 2012.

WWE killing Z! True Long Island Story:

Well when I started it, I knew something had to be done. I hated my stock in the WWE. I was a nobody. I wasn’t on the shows. I didn’t even have an action figure. I didn’t have an 8×10 promotional photo. So as far the YouTube show, in February of 2011, my parents got me the flip camera for Christmas. I really didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe I will just start a YouTube show and it kind of took off. I did it for a hundred weeks straight. It should have ended after 50. After I became the U.S. champion, WWE came to me and said “we want to move this to our YouTube channel.” I was really hesitant to do it and I should have said no. That was the end of the Z! True Long Island Story in my opinion right there when I made that switch to the WWE YouTube channel at around episode 51. The fans just assumed I sold out, when I was still doing all the work and putting it on their channel and they instantly turned on it. Then WWE was editing it and taking things out., even though they said they weren’t going to touch it. Then it just became a job and not fun. For the most part the last 50 were horrible, but the first 50 changed the business. Now Raw is all about social media and Tout, and Facebook, and Twitter. They weren’t like that before Z! True Long Island Story.

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.

February 7, 2013

Stats on RAW’s Switch to 3 Hours


With RAW going from two hours to three, matches now get 33% more time and there are 33% more matches per show. The amount of wrestling per show has doubled to 78%. Those benefiting with more TV time include Heath Slater, Alberto Del Rio, Primo, Epico, Sheamus, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, John Cena, The Miz, Big Show and Dolph Ziggler. Those who have received less TV time with the switch are Tensai, Zack Ryder, David Otunga, The Great Khali and Santino Marella.

February 1, 2013

Ric Flair, Zack Ryder & Billy Gunn Appearing at NXT


WWE has announced that WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be appearing to sign autographs at the NXT show on Sunday February 24th in Melbourne, Florida.

Zack Ryder will be appearing at the NXT show on Friday February 15th in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Billy Gunn will be appearing at the NXT shows on February 13th in Orlando, Florida; February 17th in Brooksville, Florida; and February 22nd in Jacksonville, Florida.

December 16, 2012

2012 WWE.com Slammy Award Winners


The winners of the 2012 WWE.com Slammy Awards were announced on Sunday's WWE Pre-Show. Below are the results:

Best Dancer of the Year – Brodus Clay

Top Social Media Ambassador – Charlie Sheen

WWE.com Video of the Year – Jerry Lawler

Crowd Chant of the Year – “Feed Me More!”

Upset of the Year – Daniel Bryan (retaining World Heavyweight Championship at Royal Rumble)

Diva of the Year – AJ Lee

Insult of the Year – John Cena

Tweet of the Year – Daniel Bryan

YouTube Show of the Year – Z! True Long Island Story

Facial Hair of the Year – Daniel Bryan

Feat of Strength Award – Sheamus (for hitting White Noise on Big Show)

Betrayal of the Year – Big Show (knocking out John Cena)

September 29, 2012

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

September 26, 2012

Zack Ryder: The Social Superstar


tory is in the last place you’d expect. We’ve covered online success stories from corporations large and small, non-profits, and some fun contests as well. But today we had the opportunity to talk to a one-man online success story: The WWE’s Zack Ryder.

The WWE is a household name brand with an established legacy and fan base. They’ve been a publicly traded company for over 12 years and produce multiple programs on a weekly basis that reach 145 countries in 30 languages, reaching over 600 million homes worldwide. Their website sees over 12.3 million hits each month and has over 10 million Facebook fans.

When Zack Ryder was signed by WWE in 2006, he thought he had finally made it. All his life, his dream was to become one of the top superstars in the company and make his mark in the industry. But as time went on, Ryder struggled to find his place in the WWE’s busy and ever-changing programming schedule. “I didn’t feel like a superstar, you know?”, Ryder says, “I didn’t have an action figure, I wasn’t on TV, I didn’t have a promotional [photo]. I was just sick of pitching ideas and nothing getting done. But I did realize I had to do something about it.”

That’s when an “Oh Mom and Dad, you shouldn’t have!” moment turned his entire career around. “For Christmas in 2010, my parents got me a Flip video camera. I really didn’t know what to do with it so it just kind of sat in my closet for a while.” Then Ryder decided to showcase his entertainment and humor on YouTube. “In February 2011, I started ‘Z! True Long Island Story’ which was just me talking and trying to be funny just by making fun of myself, getting my friends and family involved, whatever I could do.” The way Ryder speaks of it, you’d think it was just another YouTube viral-esque cluster of sketches of inside jokes but nothing is further from the truth. The show skyrocketed into popularity with fans of the WWE in a matter of weeks and has since gained in excess of 13 million views.

This is when Ryder really started to notice some things catching on. He used the YouTube series to show that he was just a big kid who grew up a fan “living the dream” and invited viewers to take a look at his entertaining, albeit rare, life off the road (WWE does 250+ shows annually). The amount of interaction and increased views made Zack aware that his popularity online had some serious potential. “That’s when I started going crazy on Twitter and Facebook. I was always on my phone, tweeting and trying to get the fans behind me because that was the only voice I had.” Ryder’s efforts quickly paid off with love from the crowd. Chants would break out for him in arenas across the country. “A lot of the time, I wasn’t even at the show. I wasn’t even in the building.” They’d bring signs saying things such as “We Want Ryder”....More?

source: growsocially.com

July 5, 2012

Interview with Zack Ryder

July 3, 2012

The Next Acting SmackDown General Manager Is...


WWE Superstar Zack Ryder won a 20-man "Great American Bash Battle Royal" on tonight's Live Smackdown special to become the acting General Manager of Smackdown next Friday night! The match included stars from both Raw and Smackdown, such as John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and WWE Champion CM Punk.

The acting General Manager for the upcoming edition of Raw Supershow has not yet been announced.

June 19, 2012

What Happened After Raw?


After Raw went off air, Big Show came back out to beat on Cena, but John ended up getting the upper hand and hit an AA on Show. As Big Show made his way up the ramp, he passed Johnny still crawling around in pain. He stood Johnny up, lifted is shirt and gave not 1, not 2, but as the crowd requested, 3 big slaps to the chest.

Johnny tried getting away again, but Cena said "We cant end the show like this" and brought out Zack Ryder. The Lauranitis beating continued with a Broski Boot. Of course, Triple H comes out to join the fun. The crowd is chanting for a Pedigree, but he said Johnny's front was all red, but his back wasnt, so they pulled up his shirt and delivered some more NASTY chops. Lauranitis was covered in big, red, visible hand prints. Johnny then get his Pedigree, and it looked like he kind of botched it and slammed his face on the mat. Justin Roberts lead the crown in "NA NA NA NA HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE" while Cena and Ryder greeted fans at ringside. As Johnny finally made it to the top of the ramp, Vince's music hit, he appeared and kicked Johnny right in the nuts to send us home happy.

June 6, 2012

WWE Anti-Bullying Night


David Otunga, Lilian Garcia, Natalya and Zack Ryder have been announced to appear at MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, June 27 as part of the Brooklyn Cyclones' and WWE's Anti-Bullying Night. The WWE Superstars and Divas will make a special pre-game presentation on behalf of WWE's anti-bullying initiative "be a STAR," which encourages people to Show Tolerance And Respect for all people, prior to the 7:00 p.m. game with the Hudson Valley Renedages. Following the presentation, they will remain at the ballpark to sign autographs for fans in attendance.

Tickets for event are available here.

March 25, 2012

Interview with Zack Ryder

February 16, 2012

Bill Simmons Takes Aim At Triple H


"The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons, who had CM Punk on his popular podcast last summer, takes aim at Triple H in his latest mailbag column for ESPN affiliated website Grantland.com.

When asked if the recent surge of New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin is the NBA's equivalent of CM Punk last summer, he instead sounds off on the self-proclaimed "King of Kings."

"Does this mean (Knicks star Carmelo Anthony) is going to be Triple H — the egotistical, overrated star who couldn't handle that something good was happening without him, so he interjected himself into the storyline and ended up throwing a wet blanket on all the momentum?" Simmons writes.

"I sure hope not."

January 29, 2012

"WWE on YouTube" Announced


During tonight's WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, it was announced that beginning this Wednesday, WWE and YouTube will be partnering up to show 9 special WWE-related original programs. This will be referred to as "WWE on YouTube."

The shows are: WWE Presents, Download, Outside the Ring, Santino's Foreign Exchange, Are You Serious?, Zack Ryder's "Z True Long Island Story," Backstage Fallout, WWE Inbox, and Superstar Toyz.

January 24, 2012

Twitter Trends During Monday Night Raw


A few of the WWE terms trending worldwide on Twitter during RAW were Zack Ryder, Chris Jericho, William Regal, Triple H and Johnny Ace, among others.

 photo i_zps0ebed5ab.jpg
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear