Rumor Mill - Backstage Talk About Bryan's Push & How Punk Affected It

Some new insight has been released concerning Daniel Bryan's push in WWE and his status at WrestleMania 30. It's being reported that one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason, why Bryan is getting pushed is to spite C.M. Punk.

The feeling is that WWE officials will now push Bryan in the spot that Punk may have gotten if he would have agreed to return to WWE. People backstage are said to be very frustrated with Punk at this point and the word going around is that WWE officials will push Bryan almost as a way to let Punk know that it could have been him in that spot but that he can be replaced.

It's said that when Punk first left, nobody backstage really thought that Daniel Bryan would get the push that he's now getting.

source: pwinsider.com

Big E. Langston on WWE's Rising Stars, Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee, Andre the Giant Battle Royal

Current WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston recently spoke to The Boston Herald.

WWE's crop of rising talents:
"We’re all pushing each other. It’s a great time for our business. There are a lot of guys waiting for a main spot on the roster – Cesaro, the Shield, the Wyatt Family, Fandango, Damien Sandow – the list goes on and on of talented guys who are hungry and ready to work hard every night. You’re always watching what they’re doing. When they have a great match, you want to top that."

Working with AJ Lee and Dolph Ziggler:
"I’m very grateful for the opportunity with that role, but I knew I could be a lot more than just a bodyguard. Stepping out of that and having opportunities in a singles role was good for me. I felt there was a lot more for me to offer, and I still feel that way."

Being in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal this year:
"Raising that Andre the Giant trophy is a big deal. That’s my focus at WrestleMania. My dream is to win the WWE world heavyweight championship at WrestleMania. I’ve only been in the business four years and it’s been a good start, but there’s still a lot more I can show people."

Q&A with Sting: Wants a match with Undertaker at WrestleMania

Stephanie McMahon & WWE Moms Hosting Twitter Chat

Stephanie McMahon and the @WWEMoms group will be doing a live Twitter chat this coming Wednesday at 7pm EST.

WWE's Statement on Work Being Done to Make Sure WrestleMania Streams with No Issues

The Motley Fool website has a new article up looking at if the WWE Network will be able to handle the large amount of viewers tuning in for WrestleMania XXX live on April 6th. The article notes that WWE is taking the right steps and saying the right things about their efforts to make sure WrestleMania streams without problems but they're going into uncharted territory.

WWE issued the following statement to the website:

"Notwithstanding the overwhelmingly positive response to WWE Network, we want to ensure subscribers have the highest-quality experience watching WrestleMania 30 and all our programming, and thus have put in place significant quality assurances. These steps include increased capacity to handle high volumes of transactions, logins, and concurrent live streams, daily 'stress' testing of all systems over an extended period, and the addition of technology experts to review our plan and procedures. We're confident that we'll be ready on Sunday, April 6."

Wild and Young: The oral history of WWE NXT

What do the letters “NXT” mean to you? Lately, you’re probably conjuring images of the powerhouse stopgap down at Full Sail University that transforms virtual unknowns into WWE Superstars, a place where Bulgarian Brutes, Anti-Divas and Men That Gravity Forgot run wild. But a few years ago, those three letters meant something very, very different.

In February 2010, WWE launched NXT — a competition show that put “Rookies” through unusual and often absurd “Challenges” designed to test their grace under fire, all with the intention of crowning a winner to carry the torch for WWE’s next generation. For four seasons, this left-field trial-by-fire churned out Superstars at a rapid clip, providing a flawed yet fascinating entry point for WWE’s future cornerstones. That is, until the rails came off and it became the most gloriously preposterous show in sports-entertainment history (and we mean that as a compliment).

The alumni of WWE’s biggest cult-classic show since Sunday Night Heat have, between them, held every title in WWE. The veterans who guided them through have main-evented WrestleManias. And yes, that is what Daniel Bryan looked like without a beard. Four years after NXT first went live, WWE.com presents the weird, wacky history of the wild and young, told by the Superstars who lived (survived?) it and the Pros who helped them along the way. And remember: #YellowRopesForever...More?

Behind-The-Scenes Photo From Triple H's Workout DVD Shoot

Check out this behind-the-scenes pic from @TripleH's workout DVD shoot today at the @WWEPerformCtr pic.twitter.com/alL8yWMSyz

— Joe DeFranco (@DeFrancosGym) March 14, 2014

Naomi & NXT Divas Film with Stephanie McMahon

The fitness DVD that Stephanie McMahon shot at the WWE Performance Center earlier this week also featured several Divas - Naomi, Sasha Banks, Kendall Skye, Veronica Lane, Shara, Alexa Bliss and Carmella.

Why WWE Stock Hit an All-Time High Today

World Wrestling Entertainment spiked to an all-time high of $31.91 on Thursday amid rumors that AMC Networks is interested in purchasing the company.

The company recently released the WWE Network, an all-hours streaming network with live and on-demand content and all of the company's annual pay-per-views for $9.99 a month. But WWE is also in the process of searching for a new cable television partner for its weekly television shows Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown, neither of which air live on the WWE Network at this time.

WWE's exclusive negotiating window with NBCUniversal, which currently carries the shows, expired in February, according to Variety. The two sides could not come to a deal for the rights to WWE's television programming, so WWE is now negotiating with other companies, though NBCUniversal can still make a deal with the company.

The spike from the rumors sharply declined almost immediately, and the stock closed at $29.76, a mere 0.3% or 9 cents greater than its previous close of $29.67. The stock had a volume of 2,313,427, more than double its average of 994,922.

source: thestreet.com

Kane Launches His Own Insurance Company, Update on His Future with WWE and Politics

Kane and his wife have started a new insurance company in Knoxville, TN called The Jacobs Agency. They offer auto, home, motorcycle, RV, boat, life and commercial insurance, as well as retirement planning.

Kane has told people in the area that he's been planning on retiring from WWE for some time now but it's hard to walk away from the money, so he's going to continue wrestling while he can still make the big money.

There's also a feeling locally in the political world that at some point Kane would be interested in running for public office as a Libertarian party candidate.

NXT's Sara Amato Comments on a Possible WWE Run and Working with the WWE NXT Divas

WWE's website has a new article up looking at Sara Amato, head trainer to the NXT Divas at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. She was formerly known as top indie women's wrestler Sara Del Rey. The article features quotes from Daniel Bryan, who helped train her, among others. Aksana and Summer Rae both talked about how Amato has has helped them on the road.

Sara talked about the diversity she sees with the NXT Divas:

“Diversity is really entertaining to me, and I hope other people feel that, too. All of these girls were signed for a special talent or a specific reason, and that’s awesome. Let’s go with that. If you want to be sexy, I’m not going to tell you not to be. The important thing is to give the best that you have to offer and to feel comfortable doing it. I think when you’re genuinely happy and good at what you’re doing, it’s going to show, and it’s going to make you a better performer.”

She also didn't rule out a run in WWE:

“If the opportunity comes up, I definitely wouldn’t say no. After all, that’s why we train.”

Chael Sonnen Speaks on CM Punk’s WWE Status, Reportedly Reveals Stephanie’s Phone Number, Says She Knows Punk’s ‘Mania Status

Today on "Off the Record," a sports show on TSN in Canada, MMA star Chael Sonnen was being interviewed, and he was asked if CM Punk was going to wrestle at Wrestlemania (since they're good friends). Chael said he didn't know, but claimed Stephanie McMahon would have the answer.

Shockingly, Chael held up Stephanie's number on a notepad (it was blurred) and said to tell Triple H that he just played "The Game."

It was revealed that the interview was recorded yesterday, and the hosts reportedly called the number and it really was Stephanie's.

Here's a link to the interview http://www.tsn.ca/VideoHub/?collection=72&show=305971.