WWE announced today its plans to launch the U.S. version of WWE Network as an over-the-top service in more than 170 countries and territories, starting on August 12. The network is expected to go live in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Spain and the Nordics, among others countries. WWE Network is also expected to arrive in the United Kingdom by October 2014, with expansion to Italy, UAE, Germany, Japan, India, China, Thailand and Malaysia following at a future date.
*******************||Trending||*******************
July 31, 2014
WWE Network now available outside of the U.S.
WWE Layoffs Update
F4WOnline.com is reporting that an estimate of 55 people were let go from WWE today, or about 7% of their overall workforce. It’s not exactly “good news”, but that is down slightly from the 10% estimate we were hearing earlier this week.
Triple H Announces Date and More for Next Live WWE NXT Special on the WWE Network
It was announced by Triple H at tonight's WWE NXT TV tapings that the next live NXT special on the WWE Network will take place on Thursday, September 11th. Like Arrival and Takeover, it will be two hours. WWE will likely hold another set of tapings that next night.
All titles will be on the line that night and the new NXT General Manager will be revealed. No word yet on the name but we will have more details soon.
Paul Heyman Talks WWE Fans Having a Hard Time Letting CM Punk Go
“It’s a very difficult break-up when an audience loses its ability to thrust its adulation upon their hero. CM Punk clearly established during his time as a Paul Heyman Guy that he was, as the billing suggested, The Best In The World.
“So when he abruptly disappears and the audience doesn’t have the ability to say goodbye or shower him with their affection, then it causes a situation. It causes the audience to miss him even more vociferously, because they never had the closure of letting him know how much they appreciate his hard work.”
July 30, 2014
Batista On WWE Retirement Plans, Acting Career, More
WWE Superstar Dave Batista recently spoke to The Mirror.
On his future retirement: “I kind of have my wish list of guys that I would like to work with, because I realize my career is not going to be that long if I do go back just because physically… realistically, I’m 45 years old now, how much longer can I continue…? You do take a beating in professional wrestling. But I love it. It’s not ‘will I go back?’, it’s ‘when will I go back?’. Hopefully it won’t be far too long. Triple H right now is the guy I really want to work with. I want to go back and that’s hopefully that’ll be my retirement program. Yeah, I’ll have my WrestleMania retirement match with Triple H.”
On wanting more diverse roles in acting: “That’s the thing, when I left WWE to pursue acting, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to pursue acting, which has not been easy to do because I think people automatically want to slap this label on me, which is very frustrating. It is what it is, and I get it… [But] that’s what I’ve been in the pursuit of. More dialogue-driven roles, more character-driven [and] storyline-driven roles, the stuff that I’m a fan of. I definitely hope that Drax will open some doors for me.”
On taking on Shakespeare: “I know it sounds strange and I think unless you knew me very well, you wouldn’t get this… But I would love to do Shakespeare. My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from Measure for Measure which were tough dramatic scenes. And then Taming of the Shrew, which required comedic timing. And that’s the kind of stuff I love. The thing I would struggle with Shakespeare is actually remembering all the dialogue because you have to be so precise. [But] that’s not out of my imagination at all. I can very easily see myself in pursuit of Shakespeare.”
July 29, 2014
July 28, 2014
Dean Ambrose Comments on Working with Triple H
"[We ended up being able to] work with Triple H, and [I would] go up to him with what [I thought] was a brilliant idea, because I tend to think I’m pretty smart. I’ll go up and say I have a brilliant idea, and he’ll shoot 10,000 logic holes in it, and I’ll go, ‘Oh yeah I am stupid, that’s way smarter the way he put it.’ Seeing how Triple H thinks is very educational. Kind of the same thing with Piper, seeing those guys go through their process and think about things, and bring logic to what is often an illogical form of entertainment, is pretty cool."
WWE Confirms Prince Devitt Has Signed, Devitt Comments and Reveals His Main Roster Goal
WWE has confirmed on their website that they have signed Prince Devitt. Devitt commented to WWE.com last week:
“This is something I’ve been looking forward to since I was maybe four or five years old. I grew up watching wrestling my whole life, so to get the chance to step in the ring that I’ve watched on TV so many times is a dream come true.”
Devitt said he's looking forward to learning a new style at the WWE Performance Center:
"I don’t consider myself anywhere close to the finished product, so I’m looking forward to this challenge and learning a new style. I’ve seen a lot of different training schools and dojos, and the sheer level of professionalism at the Performance Center and the state-of-the-art facility just knocked me for a six. It really blew me away."
He also commented on his main roster goal:
"The target would be John Cena, because if you’re wrestling John Cena, you’re in the main event."
TNA Still Negotiationing With Spike TV?, Comments From Viacom And TNA Executive
Spike TV parent company Viacom issued the following in response to a request from PWInsider for comment on Spike and TNA:
"Per Viacom company policy - we don't comment on ongoing negotiations."
This seems to confirm that they are still in talks, as Dixie Carter noted on her Twitter earlier.
TNA executive Bob Ryder also tweeted:
"Reports are not true. Negotiations with @SpikeTV are ongoing."
TMZ Reports Spike TV Will Not Be Renewing TNA's Impact Wrestling Contract
From TMZ.com:
TNA Wrestling's flagship show "Impact Wrestling" could soon be without a home -- Spike TV quietly let the league know it's not renewing their TV contract … TMZ has learned.
Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the deal ... tell us Spike execs contacted TNA President Dixie Carter late last week to break the news -- and the following day Carter informed members of her inner circle.
TNA's current deal with Spike reportedly runs through October. It's unclear at this point when "Impact Wrestling" will stop airing on Spike.
We're told there's no bad blood, and Spike gave TNA such advance notice so it would have time to shop for a new TV deal.
TNA's show debuted on Spike TV in October 2005 -- and helped the league rise to #2 on the wrestling scene … behind the WWE.
We've called TNA and Spike for comment ... so far, no word back.
July 27, 2014
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
