More Details on WWE Offering Assistance and Scholarships to Former Contracted Talents

We noted before that WWE recently sent out a letter to all former contracted talents offering them assistance. The name of the program is the WWE Professional Development program. Below is a copy of the letter that was sent out, clarifying some of the details:

"WWE is pleased to announce a Professional Development Program available to former WWE talent, and in some cases, their family members. The Professional Development Program aims to provide guidance and support beyond your tenure with WWE. The first two initiatives are:Financial Education and Continuing Education.

Money Management International (MMI) is the largest non-profit credit counseling agency in the country and has partnered with WWE to provide financial education to WWE talent. Please see enclosed packet for more information. The use of MMI is free for you and your immediate family members. We encourage you to reach out to MMI for assistance.

WWE is now offering financial scholarships to former WWE talent in the amount of $5,000 per calendar year to be used for obtaining a college degree or completing a certificate program. In order to receive this scholarship, a former WWE talent must apply for the three annual scholarships that are available. Please note–the deadline for the 2014 award is Friday, 8/1.

To keep former WWE talent up to date with WWE news, we will be distributing via email an “Alumni Newsletter” on a quarterly basis. The newsletter will include information on WWE news, archives, wellness, professional development and more."

WWE Gives Belt to The Superdome

WWE officials presented The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans with a WWE World Heavyweight Title belt today, to commemorate the building hosting WrestleMania XXX.

Five Athletic Transformations: The Good, The Bad, and The Strange

Some people change for the worse while others change for the better and some change just for the sake of changing. Regardless of what people change for, in almost every scenario of a transformation, there is a cosmetic overhaul. This applies to athletes as well. Though their physical changes may be something as small as a haircut, or as big as a torso-covering tattoo, the athletic change is not always fashionable. Here is a list of five athletes that have transformed themselves over the years and whether this these changes were good, bad, or just downright strange.

4. Paul Levesque (better known as Triple H). This may come as surprise to a few because many do not view professional wrestlers as professional athletes; rather they see them as stuntmen posing as actors. I could go on a wonderfully long rant about how professional wrestling is an age-old sport that is as deeply rooted in American Sports tradition as baseball, but I wont. Simply realize that they do things, athletically, that no one else in the world can do. Now that I’ve addressed the elephant in the article, we can get back to the athletic transformation of Triple H. “The Game” chopped off his iconic flow of golden locks just a few short years ago. Unofficially retired as an in-ring performer, Levesque traded in his tights for Armani suits and Rolex watches. He is now taking a more hands-on approach to running the WWE from a professional business point of view along side his wife Stephanie McMahon Levesque and father-in-law (and father of modern wrestling) Vince McMahon. Though he will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, the transformation from jock to suit will aid him in infiltrating the business side of wrestling and be able to leave a lasting legacy beyond what he’s accomplished in the ring.

Verdict: The Good

Read the full article here.

source: proplayerinsiders.com

End of TNA Wrestling is Near

Video: Kevin Hart Talks Hosting Raw and Physical Encounter with Triple H

WWE Total Divas Nominated for Award

WWE Total Divas has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award this year. They're up for Choice Reality Show against Cosmos, Dance Moms, Real Husbands of Hollywood and Keeping Up with The Kardashians. The awards take place on August 10th and fans can vote at this link.

Rumor Mill - WWE Looking to Cut $20 Million From its Budget This Year, Noticeable Production Elements Already Scrapped

According to a source within WWE, the company is looking to cut approximately $20 million from its budget this year.

This would explain the round of talent cuts made last week, in addition to other production elements which have noticeably been scrapped.

For example, Fandango's golden curtain entrance has been cut, and the scissor lift is no longer being used for Bad News Barrett. The truck WWE used to transport those entrances has reportedly been taken off the road, which is a $250,000 a year savings.

Former Tag Team Champions Announced for TNA's Hall of Fame

Kurt Angle announced at tonight's TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view that Devon and Bully Ray, known as Team 3D, will be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame at this year's Bound For Glory pay-per-view. Team 3D joins Angle and Sting in the TNA Hall of Fame.

Triple H vs. WWE director Kevin Dunn - battling over what's Best For Business

Is WWE director Kevin Dunn intentionally sabotaging Triple H, the NXT brand and their former wrestlers? Evidence is mounting up.

A few days ago my colleague Geno Mrosko reported that Vince McMahon wasn't high on the recent NXT call ups of Adam Rose, Paige and Bo Dallas, but perhaps the more interesting part of the story is the current jockeying for power between Triple H and Kevin Dunn.

For those that aren't familiar with him, Dunn is WWE's highly paid Executive Vice President of Television Production and has been one of the company's top producers since 1984, but he's been much criticized by wrestling traditionalists like Jim Cornette and the late Paul Bearer for his lack of appreciation of the art form's history and being obsessed with aesthetics over substance. He's been a confidante of Vince McMahon's for well over 15 years and has seen his influence grow, as one by one, the men Vince surrounded himself with in the 80s and the 90s all either left of their own accord or were forced out after falling out with him.

However, after surviving for so long, being someone who Vince clearly trusts the opinion of and there being no sign that he wants to downsize his duties, it seems clear that his job is safe while the old man stays in charge. Conversely, it's clear that his days would be numbered as soon as the WWE leadership baton is passed on to Vince's handpicked successor Triple H. When Paul Levesque became EVP of Talent, Live Events and Creative, he immediately got rid of the executive old guard like John Laurinaitis (whose abilities he didn't rate) and replaced them with his own hires like Jane Geddes and Canyon Ceyman. Everyone predicts that trend will continue as Levesque get more control of the company. Indeed, NXT is the training ground for the next generation of WWE technicians, script writers and TV producers, which shows that The Cerebral Assassin is already preparing for the day he gets complete command.

Thus, Dunn's position depends on trying to ensure that Vince hangs around for as long as possible, which would require him to plant seeds of doubt in Vince's head that Hunter is ready for the responsibility of being in charge of the day to day running of his company. Given his reputation of being insecure and petty, he's not above playing dirty if he has to. Clearly he wouldn't have lasted to this very day, if he wasn't a master of the dark arts of wrestling politics.

There's been online rumors that resentment between Triple H and Kevin Dunn has reached an all time high of late. Apparently, Hunter was outraged that Dunn and his crew somehow missed the shot of The Shield standing tall over his fallen body at the end of the Payback pay-per-view earlier this month. Then came the word that Dunn had successfully buried Adam Rose to Vince and the implication was that he was trying to do the same with Paige and Bo Dallas, but hadn't been quite as convincing in that regard. The obvious conclusion to come to is that Dunn is intentionally trying to sabotage Hunter's NXT brand and is also trying to call into question his talent grooming and judging skills for the main WWE roster, so that he can curry greater favor with the boss.

Kevin Dunn may have won this battle, but this will be a war that only The Game can win.

At a time when the WWE Network needs all the help it can get, this infighting is the last thing the company needs, especially as NXT should be promoted on WWE programming as something worth subscribing to the channel for, a unique opportunity to see tomorrow's WWE Superstars today. Lets hope the heat dies down and they can start working together more harmoniously. That's what's would really be Best For Business!

source: cagesideseats.com

Rumor Mill - Low Attendance at Recent TNA Basebrawl Events Leads to Low Morale, Some Talents Looking to Leave TNA, More

According to The Wrestling Observer, the low attendance figures for TNA's recent Basebrawl stadium events has lead to low morale amongst the talents who worked the events.

There is said to be an air of uncertainty in TNA right now, as so many talents have been let go recently, talents feel The Carter family isn't putting much new money into TNA lately, and since wrestlers use live fan attendance as a way to judge the state of the company, morale has been down to say the least.

TNA's lack of a new TV deal with SpikeTV also has talents nervous, however with several TNA names appearing at the SpikeTV awards show this past week, that's being looked at as a positive sign for TNA and Spike negotiations.

Several TNA stars have reportedly reached out to Ring of Honor and Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling for potential job opportunities, but since so little has been revealed about GFW, that has lead to growing concern amongst talents.

News on Attendance at WWE's NXT TV Tapings

Thursday night's WWE NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University were sold out again. After the show had started, Full Sail staff members began filling up any empty spot with chairs as more fans were coming in. A fan attending NXT TV tapings and live events across Florida regularly and said this was one of the biggest NXT crowds she's seen.

Rumor Mill - WWE's Network blamed for roster cuts, corporate bloodletting expected

Yesterdays purge of almost a dozen expendable WWE performers (including Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Teddy Long, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Aksana and JTG) caught everyone by surprise, even though the writing should have been on the wall that major cuts were imminent.

After many years of relative prosperity where WWE could afford to carry a bit of deadwood in their ranks, their wrestlers had been lulled into a false sense of security. Releases only occurred when contracts expired or sackable offenses were committed. As long as you played by the rules, your job was safe. Until today.

Unfortunately such niceties can't continue in a company projected to lose a whopping $45-52 million this annum and whose cash-in-hand is rapidly running out to fund such heavy red ink. This is clearly a time where any excessive or unnecessary spending by WWE had to be ruthlessly eliminated regardless of the lives ruined in the process.

Not just in the wrestling ring, but also on the corporate sides of things too, as Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com has just reported that more cuts and redundancies are expected in all areas of the promotion:

"There is a lot of talk that the cuts/releases are not done and that there will be cuts on the administrative side of the company as well, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Potential cuts loom across pretty much all departments. The word making the rounds is that the current state of the WWE Network, its success or lack thereof, is what is precipitating cuts both in talent as well as potentially in office staff. That wouldn't bode well for state of the Network base when they release the current subscriber numbers at the second quarter earnings conference call."

A final note from Scherer on the WWE wrestler cuts is apparently those that got the chop were unhappy that Triple H left his corporate lackey Mark Carrano to break the news to them and didn't handle the situation personally:

"We have heard that Mark Carrano, who works in Talent Relations under Triple H, is the man who made most, if not all, of the calls to the released talent today. It is fair to say that at least some of those let go would have appreciated that the call came from Triple H himself."