*******************||Trending||*******************
March 31, 2014
WWE Network Is Loud Introduction to the Video Streaming Ring
When listing the visionary media moguls of the digital age, Vince McMahon, the professional wrestling impresario, might not immediately come to mind.
Yet Mr. McMahon and his company, World Wrestling Entertainment, have positioned themselves on the cutting edge of Internet television with the WWE Network, a new subscription-only streaming video service. Introduced in February, the network broadcasts the pro wrestling extravaganzas that were once available only on cable and satellite television.
Shares of the WWE, a publicly traded company based in Stamford, Conn., have more than tripled over the last year with the introduction of the subscription network and takeover rumors. Mr. McMahon, 68, controls the company, and his ambitious WWE Network could be his final act in charge, industry watchers say.
Photo
Hulk Hogan, left, and Muhammad Ali as a guest referee in 1985. Pro wrestling’s stars have long influenced broadcasting. Credit WWE
“If he changed how pro wrestling and sports entertainment were broadcast forever, I don’t think there’s a better way to go out,” said Brandon Stroud, a wrestling commentator and editor at the sports site With Leather...More?
source: nytimes.com
Professional Bodybuilder Describes Grueling Tryouts Experience at WWE Performance Center
WWE held tryouts at the Performance Center in Orlando earlier this month. The tryouts were led by Bill DeMott, Norman Smiley, Matt "Tensai" Bloom, Billy Gunn, Dean Malenko and William Regal. Bodybuilder Matt Dawson, who measured in at 6′ 2 3/4″ and 282lbs, wrote the following on JTStrong.com about the grueling experience:
"Incredible experience, but the most difficult thing I have EVER done, as far as athletics go.
I arrived in Orlando on Wednesday evening. Met my roommate and several others who were attending the camp at the car rental place inside the airport. We got our car and headed back to the hotel to unpack. Several of us then went out to eat, and turned in pretty early, as we knew we were about to go through hell.
Hell just might be an understatement. We arrived to the WWE Performance Center at 7:30am, as we did not want to be late for the 8am start time. We checked in and immediately had full physicals to ensure we were all healthy enough for the camp. I measured in at 6′ 2 3/4″ and 282lbs. I was the second largest athlete there. There was somebody they brought in from Russia who was at least 6’4″ and 320lbs.
There was 30 of us in total. 20 of the guys were experienced “professional” style wrestlers, who have been doing this type of wrestling for years and years (some as long as 10 years). They were professional wrestlers from Japan, and various countries around Europe, as well as the US. These are the people who have worked their entire lives and are 100% dedicated for the sole purpose of making it into the WWE. Almost all of them have impressive amateur athletic backgrounds, from All State and All American amateur wrestlers, football, track and field and other athletic endeavors. Several of them even majored in theater while in college for the sole purpose of trying to make it into the WWE.
The other 10 of us were referred to as “athletes.” We have no “professional” style wrestling experience at all, but all have extremely various athletic backgrounds ranging from former NFL football players, All American amateur wrestlers, bodybuilders, powerlifters, Olympic bobsledders, All American college football players and even All American gymnasts.
I was extremely impressed with the coaches, as they knew ALL of us right when we walked in. They definitely did their homework as they knew our entire athletic backgrounds and all of our previous experiences. For all you wrestling fans, the coaches were Bill Demott, William Regal, Billy Gunn, Dean Malenko, Normal Smiley, Matt Bloom (Prince Albert) and several others.
Anyways, day 1 and 2 were broken down into two, 3 hour training sessions, with a 90 minute lunch break or so. After all the physicals were complete they immediately began our training which consisted of 3 hours of pure, 100% conditioning. This certainly isn’t my forte, as all my training for the past 15 years has been geared towards lifting maximal weights, and no conditioning work longer than 30 second bursts. There were 3 wrestling rings set up and we went nonstop from one ring to the other to the other doing various wrestling style conditioning drills. Let me emphasize that this was 3 hours of practically non stop conditioning with various rolls, jumps, flips, slams, updowns etc… I thought I was going to die at least 5 times, but I never quit or gave up. I couldn’t believe the extent that they pushed us, as this was by far the hardest thing I have ever done athletically. I would rather go through 2 months of college football 2-a-days then experience another 3 days of this. Brutal is an extreme understatement.
After each and every training session I honestly didn’t know if i was going to survive. Every single muscle, joint, tendon, and ligament was screaming.
Day 3 was a bit easier as it was the final day, and we only had one session, half of it consisting of doing our “promos” and photoshoots. I did my promo as a crazy school teacher who was fed up with children who were spoiled, parents who don’t discipline their children, and kids running the show while the parents sit back, hopeless and afraid to set rules and guidelines for their kids. Apparently it went extremely well, as everybody was super impressed with the promo I gave….little did they know it wasn’t that far off of what I truly believe anyways!
At the end of the camp, the coaches gave us a great speech. Basically they all said that this was one of the best camps they have ever had (they hold 3 camps per year). Nobody quit, and we all powered through the training. They knew all of our backgrounds and knew many of us were not designed for that crazy level of conditioning. They simply wanted to weed us out, see who was tough enough, and who wouldn’t quit. The WWE is a great company, and they took very good care of us while we were down there. I was totally impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the WWE. They said they will let us know, one way or another, if they want to offer us a contract or not within 6-8 weeks.
All in all it was an amazing experience, but an experience I never want to repeat. I have an entire new respect for all the WWE superstars, and the brutal training they put their bodies through day in and day out."
March 30, 2014
March 28, 2014
WrestleMania XXX Press Conference Set for NYC
WrestleMania Week officially kicks off with the WrestleMania 30 Press Conference, broadcast live on WWE Network this Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. ET from the Hard Rock Café in New York City. Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Batista, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, Big Show, The Great Khali, Michael Cole and the cast of Total Divas will be appearing
March 27, 2014
WWE NXT Stars Announced for WrestleMania XXX Axxess
WWE has announced the following NXT appearances for WrestleMania XXX Axxess:
Thursday, April 3
6 p.m.–8 p.m. — Adrian Neville, Paige
8 p.m.–10 p.m. — Cesaro, Charlotte, Sami Zayn
Friday, April 4
6 p.m.–8 p.m. — Bo Dallas, Adam Rose, William Regal
8 p.m.–10 p.m. — Big E, Sasha Banks, Tyler Breeze
Saturday, April 5
8 a.m.–10 a.m. — Damien Sandow, Konnor, Viktor
10 a.m.–12 p.m. — Paige, Aiden English, Mason Ryan
Saturday, April 5
1 p.m.–3 p.m. — Mojo Rawley, Sylvester Lefort, Dusty Rhodes
3 p.m.–5 p.m. — Bo Dallas, CJ Parker, Bayley
Saturday, April 5
6 p.m.–8 p.m. — Corey Graves, Colin Cassidy, Charlotte
8 p.m–10 p.m. — Emma, Baron Corbin, Alexa Bliss, Tye Dillinger
Sunday, April 6
8 a.m.–10 a.m. — Jason Jordan, Troy McClain, William Regal
10 a.m.–12 p.m. — Adrian Neville, Sasha Banks, Alexander Rusev, Lana
12 p.m.–2 p.m. — Konnor, Viktor, Adam Rose, Sami Zayn
WWE Releases The Original Sin Cara from His Contract
From WWE.com:
WWE has come to terms on the release of Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde effective on March 26, 2014. We wish Luis the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Hunicio has been portraying Sin Cara since December of 2013.
WWE Hiring Jonathan Coachman for a WWE Network Talk Show?
WWE looks to be either close to or has just signed a new deal with former announcer and current ESPN personality Jonathan Coachman. The two sides have been discussing a part-time gig where Coach would keep his ESPN job but would do in-studio wrap-arounds for WWE. One idea thrown out would be for him to host a WWE talk show for the WWE Network.
March 26, 2014
Ring of Honor Wrestlers Work WWE Tryout
Prowrestling.net reports that Ring of Honor stars Kevin Steen, ACH and Roderick Strong participated in a WWE tryout at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando last week. Regarding Steen, his ROH contract expires in June and he's been telling people he isn't planning on re-signing, though he is open to working for them as a free agent.
Associate Professors Conduct Study on Female Characters in WWE
According to The Wrestling Observer, University of Windsor Associate Professors Betty Barrett and Dana Levin conducted a study on how female characters are portrayed in WWE, following Linda McMahon's claims that WWE had "cleaned up" its product and made it more family friendly by making it TV PG.
The study concluded that McMahon was not telling the truth when she made the claim, as Barrett told The Windsor Star WWE continues to portray women in relationships as inferior to men, as psychos, gold diggers, cougars or vengeful scorned crazies.
Barrett admitted that she is a wrestling fan, and she also admitted that male characters in WWE aren't portrayed all that well either. But she said that even though WWE portrays females as they do, the characters work.
The difference, however, is that other TV shows which portray women similarly to WWE do not aim their product at younger kids. Adults know what's real and what is not, but with children, often times they're more unsure as to what is and is not real in the world of WWE.
