October 19, 2011
Update on the WWE Network
WWE issued a survey asking fans if they would be willing to change their cable providers in order to get the new WWE Network.
The survey noted that WWE's eight secondary pay-per-views would be featured on the network while the "big four" wouldn't - Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. This would be a change of direction from what was originally planned with all pay-per-views on the network.
source: pwinsider.com
This Day in Wrestling History
Johnny Valentine defeats Abdullah The Butcher to win the National Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Title in Cleveland, OH.
October 19, 1972
WWE holds their No Mercy Pay-per-view in Baltimore, Maryland. The show is especially notable for an "I Quit" match between Vince and Stephanie McMahon in which Vince promised to give up ownership of WWE if he lost, and Stephanie agreed to step down as General Manager of Smackdown if she lost. Stephanie lost, and would not appear on WWE programming (in a storyline sense, as she did attend the WWE Hall Of Fame events) until October 3, 2005. It is also interesting to note that the Maryland State Athletic Commission had a rule that prevented male vs. female wrestling matches, and WWE had to pay a fine (which they were prepared to do in advance) in order to have the match. This match also occurred six days prior to her real life marriage to Triple H.
October 19, 2003
Michael Hegstrand aka Hawk of the Road Warriors/Legion of Doom passed away in his sleep at age 46.
October 19, 2003
October 18, 2011
ROH Debuting in New Market to Start 2012
Ring of Honor announced Tuesday it will be debuting in Norfolk, VA. on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at The Scope Arena. Tickets will be on-sale through Ticketmaster.com at a date to be determined.
George Napolitano's Picture-Perfect 'Hot Shots and High Spots'
"Hot Shots and High Spots" showcases hundreds of shots taken by George Napolitano, a longtime grappling journalist who began covering matches in 1970. The photos feature not only every major star from the past four decades but behind-the-scenes images such as the late Andre the Giant hoisting four female wrestlers in the air like a human cape and a bleached-blond Paul Levesque long before he became a WWE headliner as Triple H.
"Honestly, what's in that book is a fraction of the stuff that I could have used," Napolitano said in a recent telephone interview. "If I actually had to look at everything I've shot, I'd still be looking and we wouldn't have a book."
Using multiple cameras, Napolitano would take 200 to 250 photos for a regular event and 350-plus for a mega-card. Napolitano would then personally develop those photos and choose which to use for the slew of wrestling publications he was editing and writing. The photography process is a far cry from today when Napolitano uses a digital camera for the events that he shoots and is no longer stationed at ringside...More?
source: standard.net
Kevin Nash Explains Why He Lost Promo Duel WIth CM Punk, More
Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan DC’s Lavar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes does a wrestling show (The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show) on Friday nights. Last Friday, Dukes conducted an interview with Kevin Nash:
Chad Dukes: They had the whole thing with you where they you were being kind of disrespected by him, and they were blurring the lines between what was a shoot and what was a promo…How much…I know you said you didn’t want to work with a script, but did they give you a rough outline of what you to say? Were you okay with everything that was said back to you? Because you’re a guy that did do the things you said; you established a pay scale, you made it so wrestlers could get paid more than they ever had before. You brought that credibility and I felt there was so me disrespect there. How much of that were you okay with and how much of that was actually a shoot?
Nash: Well the thing was I understood what my job was. Going in, my job wasn’t to bury a baby face and come across more witty than he was or anything else. That wasn’t what I was brought in to do. The old Kevin Nash, would at anyone’s cost, would have gotten over. As you get older, and your best friend is very much in charge of the day to day process, and he looks at you and asks you to do something that’s just kind of like ‘Wow, they’ve really got me hog-tied on this one.”...More?
October 17, 2011
Top 10 Fastest-Growing Media Stocks: #10 WWE
Below are the top 10 fastest-growing Media stocks, based on the average long-term earnings growth rate estimated by Wall Street analysts:
1. Bona Film Group Ltd
2. IMAX Corporation
3. Rovi Corporation
4. Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
5. News Corp
6. Viacom, Inc.
7. The Walt Disney Company
8. Time Warner Inc.
9. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
10. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is the 10th fastest-growing stock in this segment of the market. Its long-term annual EPS growth is expected to be 8.6%. This number is based on the average estimate of 3 brokerage analysts.
source: cnanalyst.com
Stephanie McMahon Comments on Scott Hall’s Troubles and Today’s Superstars
ESPN posted a preview of their E:60 story on Scott Hall airing Wednesday that includes quotes from WWE VP Stephanie McMahon, who says Hall's rehab is the most amount of money they've spent on rehab for any former wrestler. "I just want Scott to get help and to decide for himself that he needs help. It makes me sad. I don't want anybody to pass away prematurely or otherwise really. Scott was an incredibly talented performer, larger than life, charismatic. He's a father, he's a friend. I'm sure he means a lot to a lot of people and it would be a shame for him to pass away," McMahon told ESPN.
She also commented on how WWE takes care of their talents:
“In addition to that substance and abuse program, we also have cardiovascular testing, we do blood checks, we do physicals, we do concussion testing akin to the NFL. We’re really about maintaining the health and well-being of our superstars because without our superstars we don’t have a business.”
“The superstars of today — they’re businessmen. They realize the healthier they maintain their bodies, the better they are going to perform, the more money they’re going to make. They’re more about playing with their iPads and gaming devices than they are about going out and hanging out at the bars.”
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
