Details on How WWE Is Helping Talents Manage Their Money, Prepare for the Future and More

WWE has their developmental talents doing classes and seminars, treating it like it's almost similar going to college. The idea is that they are trying to teach talents to not screw up like most people from the past had done and have skills for a post-wrestling.

They are going to have talent classes in marketing themselves, programs in teaching how to manage finances, college tuition reimbursement programs, media training and language courses.

WWE has formed a partnership with Money Management International to help the talents with their financial planning for the future. They will have classes that teach budgeting, debt control, help with choosing a tax professional, as well as helping them choose people to be financial planners and to help them with taxes.

They are also working with Kevin Sullivan Communications (not the WCW Kevin Sullivan) to teach talent media training, like how to avoid bad press on Twitter. Sullivan is the former White House Communications Director under George W. Bush

Developmental talents will also be given seminars in injury prevention and how to live a healthy lifestyle. Read more at their corporate site.

AJ Styles Talks About WWE Not Having Interest In Signing Him

AJ Styles recently spoke with F4Wonline.com about TNA, ROH and more. Regarding WWE, AJ said he understands WWE is putting a lot into their developmental system and just may not be interested in him.

It was pointed out that a wrestler in AJ’s position not being signed right away by WWE would have been unthinkable 10 years ago and that this is an indication of how much the business has changed. AJ responded, “Yeah. Lucky me, huh?”

Flair, Rhodes have lessons for wrestling offspring

Famed pro wrestler Ric Flair has been visiting Tampa Bay a lot lately, to see a woman.

WWE fans familiar with Flair’s roguish reputation might figure he’s dating an exotic dancer here.

Truth is, he’s stepping out of character with this relationship by playing the role of father to a daughter who happens to be following in his footsteps.

The Charlotte, N.C., resident known as “The Nature Boy” resides in Indian Rocks Beach when visiting his 27-year-old daughter Ashley who is training to be the next star of World Wrestling Entertainment at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando.

Flair comes to Tampa Bay to be near her. She is his daughter, he explained, and he misses her.

“I tell everyone in the world that I have always been the best father I could be and that I was the worst husband,” Flair said with a laugh rooted in his many divorces.

“Wooo!” he exclaims, his trademark shout.

Is the 64-year-old Flair concerned that Ashley has chosen such a potentially hazardous career path?

Well, he worries she carries baggage.

“There will be added pressure on her,” he said, “because she is my daughter.”

There’s no telling whether Ashley sees the relationship as a plus or minus. WWE prohibits trainees from doing interviews.

But Cody Rhodes has some opinions on the subject.

The legend of his father, the good guy Dusty Rhodes, was born in the wrestling halls of Tampa in the 1970s, and by the time he retired, had spread across the world.

When he broke into the WWE, the fans didn’t want to see “Cody Rhodes,” they wanted to see “Dusty Rhodes Junior.”

Nostalgic, they were looking to satisfy their longing for the days when his father was king.

“A lot of people preferred me to pander to those fans,” Cody Rhodes said. “They wanted me to dye my hair blonde like my dad, do his moves like the jab and the elbow, and talk like him.”

But Rhodes said he was warned by wrestling veterans that copying his father would make him an instant star at the cost of career success.

Nostalgia has a shelf life, they told him, and “Dusty Junior” would grow stale.

So he kept his hair black. He stayed away from his father’s signature moves. He played the villain.

It made for a longer journey, Rhodes acknowledges. In the beginning, many fans were upset he didn’t channel his famous father. He had to work to win them over. And he succeeded, wrestling today as one of the WWE’s top stars.

Still, for every Cody Rhodes there are a handful of second-generation wrestlers who failed because they couldn’t escape their fathers’ shadows, he said...More?

source: tbo.com

Video: "2014 is going to be EPIC" - WWE COO Triple H addresses the returns of Brock Lesnar and Batista

Mae Young Hospitalized, Said To Be In Poor Health

Mae Young, 90, is currently hospitalized and described as being in very poor health. Young was at one point scheduled to appear on next week's 1/6 Old School RAW in Baltimore.

sources: pwinsider.com & the wrestling observer

Pro Wrestling, “Doctor Who” and Kennedy Center Honors Top Twitter for Christmas Week

It was a very Merry Christmas for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as three of its programs landed in the week’s Nielsen Twitter TV Top 10, led by USA’s “WWE Monday Night Raw” — the top program on Twitter of all for the week of Dec. 23. A total of 1.26 million distinct accounts viewed any of the show’s 113,500 tweets on the evening of Dec. 23. NBC’s airing of “WWE Tribute to the Troops” on Dec. 28 ranked seventh for the week (477,500 accounts/26,300 tweets) while Syfy’s “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” from Dec. 27 ranked eighth (473,100 accounts/39,300 tweets).

Even professional wrestling competitor TNA made a Top Ten appearance with the 10th place Spike’s “IMPACT Wrestling” (216,700 accounts/12,400 tweets)...More?

source: tvmediainsights.com

Rumor Mill - Backstage Details On A Blowup Between Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon & Triple H Regarding Vince’s Role With The Company & Concerns Regarding His Health At A Pivotal Time In WWE’s History

Stephanie McMahon has been urging her father to take time off until he gets to feeling better. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Stephanie got into a bit of an argument with Vince over it and told him if he didn’t step back and put his health first, she would quit the company. Triple H sided with her and made it clear he wouldn’t stay without her.

Cooler heads eventually prevailed and there wasn’t a blowup at WWE’s highest level, however, there is a precedent for this. One of the reasons why Shane McMahon left WWE is he wanted his father to lessen his role and give him more control. When Vince rejected that notion, Shane ended up pursuing outside interests.

Those close to Vince say that with the ongoing television licensing negotiations as well as the upcoming launch of the WWE Network, he’s refusing to be on the outside looking in during such a critical time in the company’s history. However, Stephanie and Hunter are worried about the stress resulting in serious damage to his long-term health.

Raw Results 12/30/13

Who is PWI's Best Wrestler of 2013?

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has released its annual year-end awards, and earning four awards, including Wrestler of the Year, is WWE star Daniel Bryan. Bryan won Wrestler of the Year, Most Popular Wrestler of the Year, Match of the Year (SummerSlam, vs. John Cena), and Feud of the Year (vs. The Authority). The annual PWI Year-End issue can be ordered in both print and digital formats at pwi-online.com.

Very Positve Review of the December 25th Edition of WWE NXT

Pwinsider.com (Mike Johnson) reviews the December 25th edition of WWE NXT:

WWE NXT: WHAT WORKED, WHAT WORKED, WHAT WORKED - A MOST PERFECT EPISODE

Due to the holiday last week and family responsibilities, I am catching up today on TV thoughts.

The 12/25 edition of WWE NXT may have been the most perfect one hour of pro wrestling television in 2013. Usually I cover TV episodes by looking at what works, what doesn't and what we learned, but the reality is that with this episode - we learned that good wrestling TV is still out there and that WWE NXT's production team needs a big pat on the back.

The episode, which was hosted by Renee Young doing her usual expert job as the girl next door that loves pro wrestling, was something of a review of the last year of NXT. As much as I wrote that the 200th episode was a good "jumping on point" for new viewers, this episode was even better.

Over the course of one hour, the show reviewed names that had moved from NXT to the main roster, the current/next generation of NXT talents that are being featured, reviewed all three NXT championships, showcased champion Bo Dallas and more.

The show also celebrated what was deemed, quite deservedly, the NXT Match of the Year, a Best of Three Falls bout between Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro. The highlight package presented the bout as something akin to a Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat classic and when it was done, you were left feeling like you had witnessed history on NXT TV. Given how many executives' heads were turned by that match, it may even end up being a pretty important bout historically, so I may not be too far off either.

The show was then topped off with an excellent match between William Regal vs. Antonio Cesaro. As much as I've compared NXT to Jim Crockett Promotions' old TV at times, this episode reminded me of the original ECW at its finest - it was short, fast interviews, packages and highlight reels held together by a good announcer - but then we had the main event with William Regal pretty much in the old Terry Funk in ECW role - the grizzled veteran who may not be the best dog in the fight anymore, but you are going to have to work to beat him....and that's what Antonio Cesaro had to do.

The promos setting up the bout were awesome with Regal pretty much saying that he's done everything in his career but be the World champion, and that it was his own fault. He said that if he has to go out, he wants it to be at the hands of someone like Cesaro. One almost suspected that Regal was predicting this was his retirement bout. Cesaro then did a promo thanking Regal for helping him get a job with WWE, but warning him that didn't matter once they got into the ring.

When they did, it was pure joy for diehard wrestling fans. They did all the European wrestling matwork, they teased submissions, they sold injuries to the extremities at the match wore on and they built drama. In the end, Cesaro, even though he was a villain, sold his own dismay and disturbance at knowing he had Regal not just beaten but destroyed, and that moment where he showed a glimmer of remorse as Regal pulled himself up, still trying to channel his inner fighting spirit - before Cesaro pulled him into the Neutralizer....well, it was one of the best moments in pro wrestling all year.

Because it was truly showcasing the art and emotion of a great pro wrestling match.

Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this episode. Go out of your way to see it, NOW.

Video: Triple H and Bruno Sammartino in "The Garden Transformed" documentary

Viewership Up for WWE's Tribute to the Troops Special

Saturday's WWE Tribute to the Troops special on NBC averaged 2.31 million viewers, up from last year's 1.31 million viewers. The show finished second in its timeslot.