Rumors of Vince McMahon and Triple H Being at Odds Over WWE Creative & WrestleMania 31

There have been a lot of rumors going around of Vince McMahon and Triple H "butting heads" creatively, including who to have Brock Lesnar face at WrestleMania 31. The rumor is that Vince wants The Rock vs. Lesnar while Triple H wants Roman Reigns vs. Lesnar.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that there is certainly word going around WWE that Vince sometimes undercuts Triple H and makes him look bad but it could be a case of the "good cop/bad cop" dynamic. Meltzer noted that he doesn't sense any strong negative feelings between the two.

Alberto Del Rio Talks About Incident with WWE Social Media Worker, His Future, Vince, More

Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio recently appeared on Televisa's Primero Noticias in Mexico. Thanks to PWInsider for the following recap:

On being fired, Del Rio said there was an incident, an altercation with a WWE employee, that one day he’ll give all of the details on. Right now he’s assessing the best way to do so via legal means, so that everything he says isn’t used against him, since legal matters in the U.S. are handled differently than they are in Mexico.

He said there was an incident where he was offended, where he was completely the victim. He said WWE made a statement that he displayed unprofessional conduct, and that yes it’s true, that he smacked the WWE employee because as he always says, you can take away his job but you can’t take away his dignity and his pride, nor try to offend or humiliate where he comes from, which is of course Mexico, and he doesn’t forget his roots. This problem led to the termination of his contract with WWE.

The interviewer asked if ADR was the victim of racism. Alberto says yes, that there were comments this employee made, and that he admitted he reacted in an inappropriate manner. He said that he wouldn't advise anyone to conduct themselves in the manner that he did. He admitted that he "smacked" the WWE employee and that he is completely embarrassed by his own attitude and by his own reaction, but in that moment, he demanded an apology.

The interviewer interrupted ADR and asked what the employee said to him, Alberto says that part he’s gonna keep to himself for now. He said he's a few days away from being able to tell the world exactly what happened. He said that a lot of people know what happened because there were many people present there in the WWE catering area. The interviewer asks who else was there, Alberto says right next to him was Jack Swagger, one of the referees was behind him, people from the crew, etc. They were all eating in Laredo, Texas at a TV taping.

ADR said he spoke to Vince McMahon after the incident occurred and everything appeared to be fine. Interviewer backs up to the incident, Alberto says someone said something to the WWE employee, and when he responded to the comment, the response was directed at Alberto.

The interviewer asks if he’s had any incidents with this employee before and Alberto says yes. He said that "a while back" there was a time the WWE employee was pretending to read something on his laptop and said, “It says on here Alberto is a ‘tal por cual’ “ (Mexican slang for a slut) and that he tried to play it off like it was a joke and shake Alberto’s hand. Alberto refused and told the employee to get away from him. He said this incident occurred 7 or 8 months prior to the slap. So when this incident occurred recently, Alberto demanded an apology, but that the WWE employee walked right up to Alberto’s face, smirked at him and said nothing. That's when Alberto smacked him. Again, he said he is embarrassed by his reaction, but he doesn’t regret it. He said that yes, it cost him his job, but he thinks WWE is the one who loses the most in this situation.

The interviewer asks if it was another wrestler who he had this incident with, Alberto says no, that it’s their Social Media Manager. He says he never even knew this person's name until after all of this happened. WWE released a statement saying Alberto was fired due to unprofessional conduct, but he wonders why they didn’t mention there was an isolated incident that led to his unprofessional conduct.

Alberto said after the incident happened, Vince McMahon asked to speak to him. Alberto said that Vince himself told him that he understood where Alberto was coming from and why he was upset by the comment, because first he’s insulted and then after the insult the guy smirks in his face. Vince said that he understood ADR's reaction. Everything appeared to be fine after his talk with Vince.

ADR was suspended the next day, which he understood, but that for reasons WWE later decided, they changed their mind and was let go.

Alberto said Triple H called him Thursday morning and told him that it hurts WWE more because they’ve invested a lot of time and money into him, but that they need to let him go. Alberto told him that it was fine, and that once his release was made public AAA contacted him, Japan contacted him, some North American promotions as well.

Alberto said that he has not had any other conversations with WWE since his release, but that word got out of what happened from other people who witnessed the incident occur.

He said going forward, he’s using El Patron now since WWE owns “Alberto Del Rio” (his real name is Jose Alberto Rodriguez). They asked him if he’s going to sue WWE, he said he’s not sure. He said that the reason he went to a lawyer is because when he received his release in the mail, they mentioned he couldn’t wrestle in the United States for a year. ADR admitted he’s not fully familiar with the laws in the U.S. but he thinks it’s unconstitutional to prevent him from wrestling, since that’s how he makes a living and feeds his family.

Del Rio was asked if he wants to wrestle again in the U.S. He says no and that he was already considering not signing a new contract when his contract was up next February. He said he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or go, so he’s not sure what would have happened, but unfortunately this incident happened which forced him out of the company. He spoke with his wife after he was let go and decided he wasn’t going to pursue legal action against WWE, but then he received his termination letter with the 1 year no compete clause and that changed everything.

Transcript of Alberto Del Rio's Promo at AAA TripleMania Last Night, Says Racism Is a Monster

Below is the English translation of Alberto Del Rio's promo at AAA's TripleMania event in Mexico last night:

"History will mark this day as the day that El Patron returned home. But the truth is, after listening to that grand reception, I don’t think El Patron ever left, because his heart belongs to you, it belongs to Mexico. A lot has been said about why I left, why I came back. Seven years ago I embarked on that dream, that adventure called America. And by suffering, blood, sweat and tears we showed North Americans and the entire world, that when you do things with heart, with passion, with love, and being humble under the eyes of God our Father, dreams do come true. Of course it wasn’t easy, and then came a day that the dream turned into a nightmare. Similar to many of you, or if not you, to family members of yours, who have gone to the other side looking for a better life for those that we love, I came across a monster, a monster called racism. Racism doesn’t distinguish sex, race, religion, color, it doesn’t care…if you have money, if you don’t have it. But this man that’s standing right here (points at his father Dos Caras), that has given me everything and has made me the person that I am, gave me the biggest gift a father can give his son – honesty and the spirit to triumph. He never lowered his head, so that I could learn to never lower it in front of anyone. I love you, Dad. In the U.S., they might be able to take my job, but they’ll never, ever take away my dignity and my pride. And on this night, my fellow Mexicans, I promise you and God that never again will someone come and disrespect my people, myself and all those that I love – because I am El Patron Alberto and I am Mexican ladies and gentlemen!"

Video: Former WWE Diva Kaitlyn Comments on Working with Stephanie McMahon

Stephanie McMahon Talks About Why WWE Switched to the Network Logo, WWE's Brand

Variety has a new story up about WWE raising their new logo at company headquarters in Stamford, CT today. Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon talked to them about the decision to use the new logo:

“The new logo is a representation of the evolution of the WWE brand. Everything from the hard edges and the sleek coloring expresses a contemporary feel and demonstrates we’re always looking ahead."

Stephanie noted that WWE didn't originally plan on having the WWE Network logo represent the entire company but they had "a wonderful response" to it in January and "it represented everything we wanted to say to the marketplace" so they went with it. She also noted that they kept the red & black colors because it's been a staple of the company for 15 years, representing "the bold nature of what we do."

WWE unveils new logo

Stephanie McMahon discusses bullying, SummerSlam and Triple H

Video: Triple H takes the "Ice Bucket Challenge"

WWE Studios' Releasing Another Action Movie Starring Former Member of The Shield

Variety reports that WWE Studios' next action movie will be called Lockdown and will feature Dean Ambrose in a starring role. This is the second movie under the new six-pack WWE Studios and Lionsgate deal.

Production starts this month. The movie will be directed by Stephen Reynolds of Tomb Raider: Ascension.

Written by Nathan Brooks and Bobby Lee Darby of WWE's See No Evil 2, Lockdown tells the story of "a police officer who finds himself trapped inside his own precinct and hunted after crooked cops stop at nothing to recover incriminating evidence of illegal activities against those closest to him."

WWE Studios' head Michael Luisi said of Lockdown:

"Lockdown will continue to energize and excite with the high level of adrenaline our fans have come to expect from our films."

Season 3 of "WWE Total Divas" on E! begins on 9/7

WWE & E! issued the following press release:

SEASON THREE OF E!'S "TOTAL DIVAS" PREMIERES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH AT 9PM ET/PT

Los Angeles, CA, August 13, 2014 – E!, WWE® and Bunim-Murray Productions will once again shadow WWE Divas The Bella Twins™ (Nikki and Brie Bella), Natalya™ (Nattie), Naomi™ (Trinity), Cameron™ (Ariane) and rookies Eva Marie™ and Summer Rae™ giving viewers an inside peek into how these women, who are on the road for 52 weeks a year, balance their personal lives while fighting for the spotlight. In addition, the brazen Latina, WWE Diva Rosa Mendes™ joins the cast when "Total Divas" returns for 10 all-new episodes beginning Sunday, September 7th at 9pm ET/PT.

In the season two finale, Brie Bella and WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan™ had just tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by friends, family and many of the gorgeous girls. While most of the Divas were living large, Nikki was patching up her relationship with WWE Superstar John Cena™ as he had discovered her long kept secret —unbeknownst to anyone but her twin sister she had been married before. Now, the Divas are back with an even more prominent position in WWE as each woman has become a serious contender for the WWE Divas championship title.

Following an off-the-grid honeymoon, Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan are back in the ring, but are quickly challenged with unexpected newlywed hurdles as Daniel faces an injury and Brie considers motherhood. While Brie has babies on the brain, her sister Nikki contemplates freezing her eggs when she learns that John doesn't want children... adding to the growing list of issues they don't see eye to eye on.

The relationships in "Total Divas" continue on a rocky road as Nattie and her WWE Superstar husband, Tyson Kidd™ take a stab at couples therapy to work through their marital issues, Trinity and Ariane end their professional relationship as a WWE tag team, and Eva is forced to pick sides between her stubborn new husband and her disapproving father, who learns that his cancer has returned. Luckily, things are looking bright for Ariane as she takes the next step with her boyfriend Vinnie, and Summer Rae jets off to film a lead role in "The Marine 4: Moving Target" alongside WWE Superstar Mike "The Miz™" Mizanin. Just when the girls are ready to let out a sigh of relief with their nemesis Summer out of the picture for a while, former model Rosa Mendes returns to the WWE's Diva roster after a year and a half hiatus.

During the sophomore run of the series, Total Divas reached over 7.7 Million Total Viewers and 4.6 Million A18-49. On the digital front, Total Divas garnered 17,000 Tweets and ranked as the #2 ad-supported cable or reality program of the night (excluding sports). Season two averaged a #3 social rank among ad-supported cable and #2 versus reality. The season two finale episode notched 1.55 Million Total Viewers as well as netting nearly 1 Million Adults 18-49 (961,000K).

Season three of E!'s hit "Total Divas" returns on Sunday, September 7th at 9pm ET/PT followed by an all-new episode of "#RichKids of Beverly Hills."

"Total Divas" is produced by WWE and Bunim/Murray Productions. Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldschein, Jeff Jenkins and Russell Jay are Executive Producers for Bunim-Murray Productions. Kevin Dunn and Will Staeger are Executive Producers for WWE.

Kurt Angle Talks about Potential Return to WWE, Details on His Current TNA Contract and Update on WWE Not Wanting Angle Back

TNA wrestler and former WWE Superstar Kurt Angle talked to Wrestlezone’s own Mark Madden on 105.9 the X. The super-genius and the Olympic gold medalist hyped Impact Wrestling’s return to Washington, PA on August 16th. Madden asked Angle what his current relationship with WWE is like, and if the door is ever open for a return:

“I think [the door] is always open. I’m really not allowed to talk to anybody, due to my contract, but it’s always an open door. It’s about what you can give, what they want from you, and what you want from them. At the end of the day, it really comes down to how much they want to use me, and how much I want to be used.”

Angle also mentioned that he couldn’t work a full-time WWE schedule after 15 years of hard pro wrestling, stating “wherever I end up it’s going to be part time.” He estimates he could work up to eight days in a month, but it could be as low as one or two. His current deal with TNA is 40 dates per year.

Since the interview, Madden has learned from sources that Kurt Angle has spoken with WWE COO Paul Levesque (aka Triple H), but found out that the company isn’t interested in bringing him back right now. He then contacted Vince McMahon, who deferred to Levesque as the executive handling personnel decisions. It’s being said that Triple H was not happy about Angle trying to go over his head to Vince, and that certainly did not help his situation any.

TNA Announces Impact Wrestling Is Moving to Wednesday Nights on Spike

TNA announced the following:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 14, 2014) – TNA today announced its flagship program, IMPACT WRESTLING, will make a permanent move to Wednesday nights at 9/8c on SPIKE TV beginning next Wednesday, Aug. 20.

"Moving IMPACT WRESTLING to Wednesday nights gives existing fans and new viewers an opportunity to enjoy both wrestling and live sports even more throughout the week," said TNA President Dixie Carter.

IMPACT WRESTLING has enjoyed sustained ratings growth this summer, drawing over 1.5 million viewers each week this quarter, and is among the most watched cable series in key male demos in its timeslot.

Florida Georgia Line, Train, Flo Rida, Sharon Osbourne, Omar Epps and Chelsea Hightower join WWE® and the Creative Coalition to stop bullying