Video: Behind-the-scenes look at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon’s “Muscle & Fitness” cover shoot

New Japan Pro Wrestling Unveils It’s Own Streaming Service That Will Include Live Events, Wrestle Kingdom 9 & Tons of Classic Content

New Japan Pro Wrestling held a live press conference to announce the unveiling of their very own streaming service, “New Japan World”.

The service is available immediately, and is very similar to the WWE Network, in that the promotion will be airing all their major events live. Unlike WWE, where they have TV contracts that keep Raw and Smackdown on major networks, the bulk of New Japan content is offered as pay-per-view in Japan, and internet pay-per-view in the United States. What that means is instead of one major PPV on the WWE Network each month, you’re going to get upwards of four or five big live shows in a given month, including the G1 Tag League finals next weekend.

New Japan World is being offered at 999 yen, which is roughly $8.42 per month, and we’ve already received emails from U.S. fans that have subscribed and are watching classic content. Their website advertises its availability on desktops, tablets and smart phones as well.

Slammy Awards Announced for December 8th RAW

WWE.com has officially announced late last night that the 2014 Slammy Awards will take place during the 12/8 WWE RAW in Greenville, South Carolina. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to return and appear at the show.

WWE stock in sleeper hold as subscriptions stall

In a typical WWE wrestling drama, the champ gets off the canvas and saves the day by turning the table — or a folding chair — on his opponent.

Vince McMahon, WWE’s chairman and CEO, has orchestrated such a comeback hundreds of times in scores of arenas around the world.

But now, as WWE is experiencing a disappointing number of subscribers to its over-the-top network, sagging attendance at live US events, payroll cuts up to 10 percent and a body-slammed stock price, McMahon seems to be having trouble getting off the mat.

Some even question whether the 69-year-old showman is the right person to lead another WWE comeback.

“He really needs a professional CEO,” said Emmanuel Lemelson of Lemelson Capital.

More?

CM Punk's Statement to Vince & Triple H When He Quit

CM Punk's statement to Vince and Triple H when he quit:

“Vince I need to talk to you and Hunter was in the room and he goes “Oh I’ll leave.” and I said no you need to hear this too. And I looked Vince in the eye and said ” I don’t love this anymore,I’m fucking sick, I’m fucking hurt, I’m fucking confused, I don’t know as a business what were doing anymore. Everyday you tell me this is a team effort but everyday its an individual effort by me to see whats even necessary to come here. Its not fun, I have zero fucking passion for this. I’m fucking concussed, I’m fucking hurt and all’s you care about is what segment I am and how soon I can get my fucking gear on and when I can pee in this fucking cup. And I don’t wanna do it anymore. I thought when I re-signed three years ago Vince I told you that If i couldn’t be all that I could be then you should fucking fire me. I sold more merch than John Cena before I turned heel for you and you said you owe me one. I worked guys that were dangerous and you said that you owe me one. All these fucking things and all’s I wanted was the main event at WrestleMania. Its fine if you don’t think that’s me and that I’m not that caliber of a fucking superstar but then you need to fucking fire me. Because I don’t want to be here and I don’t want to be anything less. I will go somewhere else and I will get more fucking over because I know I can. You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment. I no longer want to be here. It boggles my mind how Daniel Bryan has not figured into your plans to be in the main event at WrestleMania because this is his fucking year. Just like two years ago it was my fucking year and I was white fucking hot, just like he is now. And what did you do? You fed me to this guy. And I pointed right at Hunter. And Vince was like “This is the concussion talking, I cant believe you’re saying any of this,you’re in the main event,it is a main event, you’re wrestling Triple H.” And I turned to Hunter and said “All due respect I do not need to wrestle you.you need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have, that would’ve been best for business. But you had to fucking come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to fucking R-Truth and Miz like it didn’t make any business sense then, it doesn’t make any business sense now. And I’m in a position now where I can tell you I don’t have to and I don’t want to wrestle you ever at WrestleMania. I don’t care if I was supposed to win.” Which I was,I didn’t care, I didn’t want give him the fucking privilege. And Hunter goes “Punk you were in the best match at WrestleMania last year and that was the main event.” And I was like “I’m not fucking stupid the main event is the last match. You can push it to people who buy the pay per view that Oh! there’s four main events! There’s one main event, there’s always one main event and I deserve it. And I still deserve it and now Daniel Bryan deserves it. And you think you’re just gonna give it to Batista and Randy? and I made this argument “When you look at the roster,how many active members of the roster have been in a WrestleMania main event? How do you expect anybody to get fucking better? AHL Hockey players have to play with NHL Hockey players in order to get better. I needed the experience of a WrestleMania main event with someone who was equal or better than me so i could learn, so I could further become an asset to the fucking product. So I could draw more. Instead of always being told “well you’re not a draw.” How do you know? Why don’t you give me a fucking shot?…and then Hunter told me I was in the main event because I wrestled Undertaker and I turned to him and said ” Tell me I got paid the same as you, Brock, Cena, Rock, or whoever.” And once again he had nothing to say,he didn’t say anything. And I was just like “Right on,alright, I’m fucking outta here.” And Vince,with tears in his eyes fucking stood up and I stuck my hand out and he went in for a fucking hug. And it was like a reluctant hug and I patted him on the back. And then I looked at Hunter and he stuck his hand out. I shook his hand and I said “goodbye.” And I walked out.”

WWE Statement on CM Punk's Comments Ripping WWE Doctors

WWE issued a statement Thursday night to Yahoo! Sports in response to an article highlighting CM Punk's criticism of the sports-entertainment organization's medical tactics in a podcast interview:

“WWE takes the health and wellness of its talent very seriously and has a comprehensive Talent Wellness Program that is led by one of the most well-respected physicians in the country, Dr. Joseph Maroon."

WWE Employee Argues with Fan on Twitter Over CM Punk Comments

As we've noted, CM Punk finally spoke out about his WWE departure on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast this week. Brian "Road Dogg" James, who works behind-the-scenes for WWE, responded to multiple fans criticizing the company on Twitter after the interview came out.

After a fan James follows on Twitter wrote, "f--k you Vince. f--k you Hunter." James responded, "You only hear one side of the story!" After the fan said what Punk revealed about McMahon and Hunter made him angry, James said, "I understand that but are you sure you have all of the facts? There are always 2 sides to every story. Just to be clear, I don't know the truth either! I just know how these stories get told around our industry."

James then had lengthy exchange with a fan expressing his unhappiness with Punk feeling unhappy and mistreated behind-the-scenes in WWE. This fan wrote to James, "I hope no one else is holding those emotions inside & not speaking up about it." James responded, "It's crazy but do you always get treated perfectly at work? It's a team and we need team players, everyone can't win!"

The fan then wrote, "Never was a big Punk mark, but seems like he was very unhappy & mistreated behind the scenes." James wrote back, "How was he "mistreated"? After the fan said "just his words," James wrote, "I get it, but you just asked me if anyone else was being "mistreated" so I was interested as to what he meant by that."

The fan then said, "Well, from what I heard, he was beat up & needed a break that he never got, he wasn't paid handsomely & claimed the he deserved to be in the main event of WrestleMania, which is why he felt miserable." James responded, "Did you just read what you typed? He didn't get to be in the main event so he got hot!!! C'mon man! I like Punk but dang."

After the fan again said it was Punk's words, James remarked, "So if VKM or HHH did a podcast would you believe every word of those too?"

James continued, "When I quit and then got release papers, I dogged the company too. It's what you do when you aren't honest with yourself."

The fan then remarked to James, "I'm not taking sides, but I wanna hear WWE's response to what he said." James responded, "Well you never will. The way everyone is reacting, I don't believe it's in the WWE's best interest to give one."

After it appeared both sides were going to have a stalemate until his contract expired, Punk recalled getting a text message from Triple H on June 11—two days before his wedding with AJ Lee. Punk told Hunter he was getting married and they could discuss the matter when he returned home from the honeymoon. Then, on the day of his wedding, Punk received a FedEx with termination papers. James addressed the topic to the fan, saying, "As far as release papers on his wedding day, wasn't his wedding a secret? How did they know it was his wedding day?"

James continued, "If he has no hard feelings why all the negative talk. He was "The Man" and that guy runs hard all year long. I'm done!"

James continued responding to the fan after the fan wrote, "& he wanted to know, why John Cena is the only one, that gets his "Make-A-Wish" showcased, when has had equal amount of grants."

"I'm not sure that's true. Like I said, I'm done. It's he said she said stuff and it's history. #HappyThanksgiving," James wrote.

The exchange concluded after the fan says "Maybe he's just a little salty, about not being the top guy anymore." To this remark, James said, "Yep, maybe!"

James also responded to this fan question: "Why were vince and Hunter such jerks to cm punk?"

"A business relationship is between 2 or more people, you've now heard 1 side of the story," James stated. "You'll never hear the other. That's his story. I can tell you some too if you'd like!"

During the interview, Punk was particularly critical of Chris Amann, WWE's Senior Ringside Physician. Punk said Amann misdiagnosed and ignored a MRSA infection on his back for months and that the first doctor he went to after leaving WWE was stunned to hear that he wrestled with it. This doctor said he could have died from it. A fan asked James, "Why didn't the wwe doctors treated his injuries right? Or even the @WWE?"

"Can't even believe you just asked that! We have a trainer and a dr. Talent goes to doc of their choice! Dang," James wrote.

James again compared the situation to his own several years ago when he parted ways with WWE on bitter terms. A fan wrote, "@WWERoadDogg is bashing @CMPunk now. Coming from the hypocrite who trashed HHH on a shoot video a few years ago and now is up his ass." James responded, "I did exactly what Punk did. I parted ways from the company and I bashed them. Call me what you will mate."

James continued, "And if you call being friends with someone being "up their a**" then I guess you're right. Not bashin Punk, just counter points."

The fan then remarked, "There's just a lot of us who hate what WWE has become. After hearing what Del Rio and Punk have said it's not hard to see why." James responded, "I understand your complaint and you're definitely entitled to it. I don't want to bash Punk but there is another side."

Following all this, James stated to his Twitter followers, "Didn't mean to argue and I'm sorry to those I offended. I'll just keep quiet on this subject. I'm passionate about the business. I'm sorry."

Ryback Responds to CM Punk's Recent Comments, Says Slander Is a Powerful Thing

Ryback tweeted the following tonight, an apparent response to CM Punk's recent comments about him on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast:

"For the record if I quit for being fragile and insecure I would make up excuses too. Things didn't go my way for a long time and I kept going day in and out. Slander is a powerful thing and to state complete made up nonsense for no reason shows his insecurities. I will continue to bust my ass study matches every chance I get, cut promos when driving and push myself for hours on end even when hurt. Thank you."

CM Punk Speaks On His WWE Departure, What He Told Vince & HHH, His WWE Future, More

Video: Mr. McMahon expresses his disappointment in Triple H and Stephanie

Video: The Authority bids farewell to the WWE Universe

Team Cena Defeats Team Authority At WWE Survivor Series

At Sunday night's WWE Survivor Series event, Team Cena defeated Team Authority in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. Per the stipulations set forth by Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are now out of power in WWE and they can no longer have any influence over the lives or careers of WWE talent. Furthermore, the only person who can reinstate them is John Cena.

Team Authority's defeat came at the hands of former WCW star and wrestling legend Sting, who came to the ring after Triple H attempted to screw Team Cena by attacking Dolph Ziggler and bringing out returning referee Scott Armstrong to make the three-count. Sting attacked Armstrong before Triple H attempted to assault him. However, Sting kicked Triple H and hit him with the Scorpion Deathdrop before placing Ziggler over Seth Rollins to allow Team Cena to get the win.