In what has to be the largest difference in WWE.com poll history, they currently have a poll up asking fans who's better - Triple H or Chris Jericho and 98% have voted for Jericho as of this posting. Jericho responded on Twitter:
Haha OUCH! @Rubbishy_Blood: Who is better @IAmJericho or @TripleH? OMG the largest difference in #WWEPoll history pic.twitter.com/zDNf0JVsyD
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) November 2, 2013
Daniel Bryan is indeed out of the WWE Title picture after the storyline "reset" at last Monday's RAW. For now, there are no plans for Bryan to contend for the championship.
There is at least some talk of putting some contention back on Bryan during WrestleMania season but he is in a program with CM Punk and The Wyatt Family for the next few months.
In WWE's mind, they made Bryan a star and showed the audience that he can hang with their other top Superstars. The storyline is that Bryan couldn't overcome The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, so later on down the line this can be addressed again.
Coolest gift ever!!!!!! Thanks to my family at @myMotorhead ...get yours on 11/12 http://t.co/ZyejhnjOjm. pic.twitter.com/m3Q3OXbAl8
— Triple H (@TripleH) November 2, 2013
WrestleZone is reporting that Billy Corgan is one name coming up a lot right now as an individual seriously interested in the sale of TNA. Best known for his days as the frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan is a notorious wrestling fan, and also the one behind independent wrestling company, Resistance Pro Wrestling.
One current TNA star and two former stars have all verified that Corgan's name is making the circles behind the scenes in TNA. While no concrete details are available at this time, and no public statements have been made by either party regarding this possibility, current water cooler talk in TNA is pointing to Corgan as a potential candidate.
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that effective today, TNA has officially ended their partnership with Ohio Valley Wrestling, who had served as the official developmental territory for the promotion as of late.
According to the website, going forward, TNA is expected to use Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida as their "primary training facility."
The initial partnership between TNA and OVW was set up by Bruce Prichard, who is no longer associated with TNA.
In WWE's latest 10-Q filing, it includes a new booking agreement with Stephanie McMahon that is valid for three years, effective on October 7, 2013. In the agreement, McMahon is referred to as a wrestler. Stephanie has not wrestled a match for WWE since October 2003 against her father, Vince McMahon at the No Mercy PPV. Stephanie has also not been physically involved on WWE TV since March 2009 where she took part in the Randy Orton/Triple H feud.
To view the full 10-Q filing, click here.
After soaring over 9% yesterday, WWE stock is up another 2.39% today. Investors obviously see a major windfall with the company's television rights fees for RAW and SmackDown coming up early next year.
- Chris Bevilacqua referred to WWE as "a hidden gem" on Forbes SportsMoney earlier today, and said that the television landscape was completely different from the last time that WWE negotiated their rights fees with companies now paying huge sums for sports content. Bevilacqua noted that the company has a very loyal audience with a strong social media following.
In terms of "gross ratings points," Bevilacqua noted that WWE is triple the size of NASCAR, which recently inked a deal with NBC worth $4.5 billion over ten years. It was noted that the only sports property larger than WWE - in terms of viewership - is the NFL. Bevilacqua feels that WWE could be getting 4-6 times their current $140 million / year in rights fees. Fox Sports 1, Netflix and Google were named potential bidders for WWE's next deal, although it was noted that Netflix and Google weren't likely.
Janice Carter reportedly issued an internal memo to TNA employees in regards to online reports that the company was looking for a new owner.
In the memo, which praised their new 24/7 initiative, Carter told the staff that any rumors of Panda Energy "attempting to sell its ownership stake" in TNA is false and that she remains committed to the company.
Part-time WWE star Chris Jericho admitted to drunk-tweeting when he responded to Triple H's storyline-driven dig at Edge, Rob Van Dam, and Jericho on Raw TV last month.
"The funny thing was had I not been drinking Grey Goose vodka and not been completely loaded when I heard about it, I wouldn’t had bothered twitting about it but I was like: 'Screw him, I’m going to tweet back,'" Jericho said on the Busted Open satellite radio show promoting his band "Fozzy."
Jericho's October tweet responding to Hunter labeling the trio as capable stars but not "The Guy" in WWE read: "Thing is @tripleh despite ur major push, u never were either. Good luck in ur future endeavours." Jericho added: "Time to move on guys. Bye bye @wwe! Now time for more important things...any doubt that #DayInTheLife is the best @thebeatles song ever?"
The next night, Jericho downplayed his reaction to Triple H's dig, tweeting: "No big deal. Always nice to be mentioned on Raw."
Jericho also expanded on his thoughts about Hunter's comment during the Busted Open interview.
"That’s Triple H being Triple H. It’s just the way he is and whether he believes it or not, it’s part of the show. I don’t feel that way and I never did feel that way. It’s funny throughout our careers, Triple H and I were almost at the same level. We were always the guy that worked with 'the guy.' Triple H is a huge star, one of the greatest of all time but also never really 'the guy.' Who really has been 'the guy' over the last ten years? I can think of three. Rock, Stone Cold, and John Cena. There you go."
