WrestleMania 31 Will Be Held In...

...the San Francisco, CA area, the first time that market has hosted a Wrestlemania.

The show itself will be held at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, the new home for the 49ers, which can hold upwards of 75,000 for an event.

There will be an official announcement this week while the company is taping TV on the West Coast.

source: pwinisder.com

WWE Diva Nattie Neidhart carrying on Hart family’s tradition

The Hitman is a Total Divas fan.

That’s word from Nattie Neidhart, who says that her wrestling legend uncle, Bret (The Hitman) Hart, has given her a thumbs-up for the E! reality show she is starring alongside other female stars of the WWE.

The WWE offered up Neidhart for a phone interview Thursday to help promote their show at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday. The WWE website lists Randy Orton, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as being part of the card.

Neidhart, 31, went over several topics in the 30-minute chat, but seemed most keen talking about Divas. It is, of course, one of the new brands that the WWE is trying to push.

Neidhart said she recently spent some time with Uncle Bret and said he told her that he doesn’t miss a show. For what it’s worth, when Hart, 56, came to Nat Bailey Stadium for a Vancouver Canadians promotion a few years back, one of his favourite topics was his niece, who’s the daughter of his former tag-team partner, Jim (The Anvil) Neidhart, 58.

“Bret doesn’t like reality TV normally and he didn’t used to be a fan of women’s wrestling,” said Neidhart, who’s working in the ring these days under the name Natalya.

“When the Hitman tells you it’s cool, you know it’s cool.”

Family isn’t the only wrestling royalty she’s keeping contact with seemingly, either. Neidhart says that when she has days off she frequently visits NXT, which is the WWE’s farm team, as it were, based in Orlando, Fla. She works with the female up-and-comers, but she says she’s also been receiving tutoring from Triple H, the multi-time world champion, on her match storytelling.

Triple H’s real name is Paul Levesque, and he’s one of the WWE executives by day. He’s also married to Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWE boss Vince McMahon.

“I don’t want to give away too much of what he’s told us,” Neidhart said.

“It has been really eye-opening.”

More?

Bret Hart Wishes He Never Left WWE, Talks Montreal

The Metro website has posted a new Bret Hart interview where he discusses his great rival, greatest achievement, the new WWE 2K14 game, and more.

One of the interesting highlights was Bret's response to how he views The Montreal Screwjob today.

"I’ve calmed down a lot," Bret said. "There were a lot of things I did to escalate that whole thing with Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. I wouldn’t change anything I did in terms of my own conduct but I regret all of it. I wish I had never left the WWE but I’ve moved on. I went back and shook Shawn’s hand and it was good for everyone to bury the hatchet."

Owner of The Monster Factory Comments on the WWE Performance Center

Danny Cage, co-owner of The Monster Factory wrestling school in New Jersey, recently talked with Temple-News.com about the possibility of working with WWE at some point. The idea would that they could become an extension of the new Performance Center for wrestlers that can't move to Florda, or those that WWE doesn't have room for currently.

Cage said the following:

"I love what they're doing with the Performance Center. When Gerald Brisco came to our place, he suggested we discuss with Triple H and check the center out. We run a very similar program to WWE developmental because they're also looking for the basics rather than the high spots. But there are only so many people they can train at once, and people can't always move to Florida to train. It would be great if they sent people over to us to check out. I can't ever see there being a problem with us finding students because it's for the better of the business."

WWE Issues Statement Regarding The WWE Network

Wrestlezone.com revealed new information obtained through sources within WWE regarding the direction the company is moving in for the long awaited WWE Network.

WWE has issued an official public statement:

“In addition to not being able to confirm timing of WWE Network launch, WWE is still considering all options for distribution, pricing and role of pay-per-view.”

New Details on the WWE Network

Justin LaBar of WrestleZone.com is reporting that WWE has a targeted launch date of February 24th for the WWE Network, which is the day after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. This confirms a previous report from PWInsider.com, but LaBar's sources provided him with a few extra tidbits about the Network:

Initial price point will be in the $10-$12 a month range, with the sign-up being for six months.

You'll be able to watch WrestleMania 30 on the Network, with the plan still being the reported "every non-WrestleMania pay-per-view airing on the Network in the future".

It won't be a channel on television, but an app-like service along the lines of Netflix that you'll be able to watch online and on devices like smart TVs, PS3, PS4, X-Box 360, X-Box one, and so on.

There will be a live, 24/7 stream of content on the Network, which is the thing that will separate it from apps like Netflix, which focuses more on-demand viewing. However, on-demand viewing will still be a part of the Network, as the entire library of Raw and Smackdown episodes, as well as pay-per-views, will be available to watch at launch.

source: wreetlezone.com

Backstage News On Vince And Triple H Making Decisions, Creative News On Daniel Bryan, More

Right now when it comes to power and making decisions within WWE, there are a lot of people involved in the process but the only real key decision makers are Vince McMahon and Triple H.

Regarding everything changing on Mondays, RAW is WWE's big priority and as of late, they don't even start talking about what they are going to do on SmackDown until Monday afternoon. Then around 6pm, Vince will want the writing team to give him a SmackDown main event so it can be promoted on RAW, and then the writers start scrambling for a match. This is why SmackDown and Main Event matches on RAW frequently change.

The reason this week's CM Punk vs. a member of The Shield match was promoted is because as of around 10pm on Monday night, Vince still hadn't made up his mind on which of the three Shield members would best fit as Punk's opponent.

Regarding Daniel Bryan's recent push, it's not that creative didn't want him to get revenge, a WWE Title win or even some kind of symbolic win, it's that nobody else really has that kind of influence except Vince and Triple H.

Update on the WWE Creative Department

In response to a PWInsider.com query on where the WWE Creative team now fits with all the changes to WWE Corporate that were announced yesterday, WWE issued the following response:
"Creative Writing now reports to Paul Levesque, EVP Talent and Live Events.

In addition to Stephanie McMahon’s expanded responsibilities as Chief Brand Officer, she will continue to maintain a presence on TV."

So, Triple H is now directly in charge of the WWE Creative team, although Vince McMahon remains the final say in every aspect of that part of the company

WWE Promotes Key Executives to Lead Future Growth

WWE (NYSE: WWE) is poised for transformative growth in important areas, including the renegotiation of its four largest television rights agreements, the potential launch of a WWE Network, expansion in key international markets, distribution of content on emerging platforms and new strategic partnerships. Michelle D. Wilson, George Barrios and Stephanie McMahon have been promoted to lead WWE in the execution of these strategic growth initiatives.

Michelle D. Wilson, formerly Chief Marketing Officer, has been promoted to Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s revenue lines and assume responsibility for WWE’s $900 million retail consumer products business. Wilson retains her current revenue generating responsibilities for Sponsorship Sales, Pay-Per-View and New Business Development and will continue to oversee all WWE Marketing and Corporate Communications. Wilson is also spearheading the company’s efforts to launch a WWE Network and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products will report to Wilson.

George Barrios, formerly Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to Chief Strategy and Financial Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s strategic planning processes and take over management of WWE’s day-to-day Television Operations. He will retain his management of Financial Planning and Investor Relations. With Wilson, Barrios is co-leading WWE’s television rights negotiations and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Will Staeger, Executive Vice President, Television Production will report to Barrios.

Stephanie McMahon, formerly Executive Vice President, Creative, has been promoted to Chief Brand Officer and will lead WWE’s efforts to further enhance its brand reputation among key constituencies including advertisers, media, business partners and investors. McMahon will serve as the company’s brand ambassador and work with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives. McMahon will also lead WWE’s targeted youth and moms marketing programs and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon.

Kevin Dunn will serve as Executive Producer of all WWE programming, including Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, WWE Main Event and Total Divas and will continue to report to Vince McMahon.

“WWE is entering a new era of unprecedented growth,” said WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vince McMahon. “I am confident that my senior executive team is now organized more effectively to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities.”

Additionally, Perkins Miller, Executive Vice President, Digital Media will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon, and Eddie Feldmann, Senior Vice President, Creative Writing will report to Paul Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events.

Looks like Triple H may finally get to run the creative department.

The Full List Of WWE Slammy Awards Revealed Including "Hashtag Of The Year"

WWE have updated the full list of Slammy Awards that fans will be able to vote on the WWE app on Monday night.

The full list is:

Superstar of the Year

Match of the Year

Diva of the Year

Insult of the Year

Double-Cross of the Year

"LOL!" Moment of the Year

"This Is Awesome" Moment of the Year

Extreme Moment of the Year

Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year

Beard of the Year

Fan Participation of the Year

Breakout Star of the Year

Update on the Sin Cara WWE Character

WWE may have parted ways with Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde, the real Sin Cara, on Monday by informing him just a few hours before RAW. We're still waiting on confirmation of his departure.

Hunico will be working as Sin Cara going forward but may not be behind the mask permanently as there's already talk of bringing someone up from NXT to play the character.

WWE chose not to kill off the Sin Cara character completely because his merchandise has done well and there's a feeling that they have built up a character that pays into the colorful personality of WWE. The feeling is that the character didn't fail but the performer who played the character failed.

December 2nd Edition of WWE Raw Draws Lowest Viewership of the Year

The 12/2 edition of WWE Raw had the lowest viewership of any Raw this year. Monday's show drew 3,541,000 viewers overall, which is the lowest dating back to the 2012 Christmas Eve episode. It's the lowest number since October 1st of last year if you take out holiday shows. In comparison, the New Orleans Sants vs Seattle Seahawks dominated ratings on Monday with 15.5 million viewers. To make matters worse, Raw gradually lost viewers as the night went on, starting out with 3,616,000 before dropping to 3,447,000 for the final hour.