Backstage News on TNA's Future with Live Events

TNA will reportedly not be running any non-televised live events any time soon, despite the new TV deal with Destination America.

TNA will still be doing a few live pay-per-view events this year but will mostly be focusing on their TV product. It doesn't make much sense for TNA to run live events that aren't tapings because they lose money.

WWE Announces Commentary Changes, Jerry Lawler Moved to SmackDown

WWE issued the following:

WWE® ANNOUNCES NEW BROADCAST TEAMS AS A PART OF SMACKDOWN®'S MOVE TO THURSDAY NIGHTS

As SmackDown prepares to move to Thursday nights next week on Syfy, WWE Universe members will be seeing some new faces behind both the Raw and SmackDown announce desks.

On Raw, Michael Cole and JBL will be joined each week by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, while the new SmackDown announce team will consist of Cole, newcomer Byron Saxton and incomparable WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler. Cole, JBL and Lawler will continue to call the action during WWE pay-per-view events.

WWE Currently Testing Virtual Reality Content

VRFocus.com reports that WWE is currently testing out virtual reality content. The news was revealed at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) in Las Vegas this week.

WWE’s Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George A. Barrios said the company is currently testing virtual reality content at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. He said:

"It’s very, very early days… it’s very expensive; the amount of cameras and post-production needed. We’re early days on what the content might be. We saw the live content – Cirque du Soleil - and we were blown away."

Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque to be inducted into 2015 International Sports Hall of Fame

Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative and 13-time World Champion in WWE, will be inducted into the 2015 International Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 7, 2015, at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Levesque will join the class of 2015, which includes five-time world boxing champion Evander Holyfield, eight-time Ms. Olympia bodybuilding champion Lenda Murray, martial artist and world-renowned movie star Michael Jai White, 11-time world kickboxing champion Don Wilson and world powerlifting champion Ed Coan.

“We are excited for Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque to headline the International Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2015 for his accomplishments both in and out of the WWE ring,” said Dr. Bob Goldman, Founder, ISHOF. “In addition to being inducted as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time, Paul will be recognized for the work he has done as a WWE executive, becoming the first executive inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

“It is an honor to join some of the world’s greatest athletes and to be inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame,” Levesque said. “These men and women have reached the pinnacle of their sport or athletic endeavor, and I am humbled to join them on stage at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival.”

The International Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit foundation established to honor world-class athletes and is part of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, the world’s largest annual sports weekend, hosting 150,000 attendees and more than 18,000 competing athletes.

Members of the International Sports Hall of Fame include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, WWE Legend and Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin and NBA Hall of Famer Earl Monroe.

Production issues at first Impact Wrestling taping in NYC

Last night's 1/7 TNA Impact Wrestling tapings at the Manhattan Center in New York City, a live-to-tape episode for the debut on Destination America, was described as having a myriad of production issues according to multiple wrestling media reports.

It ended up taking TNA nearly three hours to film the two hour episode of Impact Wrestling on Wednesday night. While they did use previous production staff, they ended up using the Manhattan Center's production equipment. A variety of technical issues ended up taking place leaving the live audience waiting for nearly 15 to 20 minutes at a time.

David Sahadi was not directing the show last night and it was described as being very clear that the production on Wednesday night wasn't nearly as smooth as it has been in years past with Spike TV. TNA was forced to cut back on production costs as part of the new deal with Destination America. Going forward, TNA will handle all post-production out of the company headquarters in Nashville with tapings tonight and Friday night.

The company plans to film four episodes of Impact Wrestling including the Lockdown special over the next two nights at the Manhattan Center in New York City. TNA will be filming new episodes during the upcoming UK tour starting in late January. Dixie Carter revealed in interviews this week that TNA is also looking at a possible return to Universal Studios in Orlando at a new sound stage for additional TV tapings in 2015.

This Day in Wrestling History - "Just In Case You Forgot Who The Hell I Am..."

After a grueling eight-month rehab from a torn quadrciceps muscle, Triple H made a triumphant return at Madison Square Garden.
January 7, 2002

Five years later he would tear the right quad muscle during the New Year's Revolution pay per view.
January 7, 2007

Former WWE Writer Talks About Working With Company, Stephanie McMahon As Lead Writer, Storylines With Vince Mcmahon

WrestlingINC.com recently spoke with Lucha Underground Co-Executive Producer Chris DeJoseph to discuss many topics, including his time as a creative writer for WWE. Below are some of the highlights:

On how a typical work day at WWE was like:

“It depends on the day. Wednesdays were usually the day back at the office where our week would start. We would pitch segments. At the time Raw had 11 segments, and you would pitch your 11 like a mini-version of the show. Somebody like Brian Gewirtz would take all those ideas and take the best ideas out of it and put a show together. Thursday or Friday we would meet with Vince [McMahon] and begin working on the shows, go back to the drawing board and start writing the show. You’d write the show over the weekend, sometimes get feedback over the weekend. Usually Sunday you’d get on an airplane. Then you’d work the entire time on Vince’s plane, which was horrible. You go to a meeting, you go through the show, there’s changes, there’s re-writes and you produce the show. Then you get in a car and go to the next town, get on an airplane and start all over again.”

Working under Stephanie McMahon:

“I wonder who you talked to. Working for Stephanie wasn’t horrible. She was always good to us, as good as she could be. She was in a management position and handling a bunch of things creatively. But she had so many other things she didn’t have much input on what went on the show. I can rarely ever remember her pitching an idea that got on the show or pitching anything at all. Usually just listening and saying no. She was a good boss, a nice lady.”

Vince McMahon faking his death angle:

The plan was that we would see who would rise to power in his absence, but Vince McMahon had faked his own death to see where everyone’s hand was. That was kind of it. I don’t think we ever found a solution for ending that, which happens a lot with Vince. That’s how some stories get lost there.

Vince McMahon’s “son” angle:

Yeah I was there. The original idea was for Mr. Kennedy to be his son. I think Vince hated Kennedy. The crowd loved him, and everyone there loved him, but he didn’t wanna go there. The ending of the story was taken away and before you know it, it was Hornswoggle.

Rumor Mill - Vince McMahon Said To Be Jealous Of WWE NXT’s Success, Already Downing NXT Stars

In what can already be considered a horrific problem on WWE’s end, it seems that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is not a happy camper these days. Interestingly enough, he is not happy with his own property. As everyone knows by now, WWE gave us a great show in WWE NXT Takeover: R Evolution back in November. This was after Vince McMahon himself said that the talent of today lacked pride and drive as compared to the Attitude Era.

So the NXT stars rose to the challenge, showed Vince how wrong he was and put on a show that was considered by most as the best WWE PPV in quite some time. Vince certainly appreciated the good reviews, but knowing his controlling personality and huge ego, he probably wasn’t thrilled that the outstanding wrestling show of 2014 came from NXT.

Knowledgeable wrestling fans may not be surprised to hear that Vince, in his infinite wisdom, is not happy with his NXT product. In fact, Daily Wrestling News is reporting that Vince is ticked that the main roster isn’t favored over the developmental system. In the long run, this may be another example of Vince’s baffling tendency to hold back the growth of the company he took to the pinnacle of success.

Sources are saying that Vince is “very grumpy” lately due to all of this. Vince, in his jealousy of how well the Triple H run NXT is doing in comparison to the main roster shows, is already souring on NXT talent. He has called many overrated. He has dismissed NXT’s successes and feels that it is not as good as fans are making it out to be.

The whole concept behind NXT is to get young talent ready to be part of WWE’s main roster. However, the people on NXT are trained performers that WWE can make money off of immediately. NXT is one of the biggest reasons to get the WWE Network in fact.

WWE decided to bring NXT to the Network as a weekly show with live specials that would give fans a product worthy of subscribing for. It was a good concept, but something that Triple H was set to run. In fact, all things related to talent are run through Triple H. From Performance Center material to what we see on NXT, the hard work and success starts with The Game, who motivates his future superstars to go for the gold.

There is jealousy from Vince, but there is also discontent from the main roster. Many of them don’t understand why they can’t do similar things on the main roster that we see on NXT programming. We have seen similar stories, it’s just that the NXT guys did them better. Match wise, the NXT guys and girls are doing well. The reason is obvious. WWE is not putting restrictions on them when it comes to taped or live shows. Only on live events would it make sense to put a hold on high risk maneuvers and edgy content.

The opposite happens on the main roster in that many work their best on live events and not on TV. The reason is simply because live events are more wrestling focused, so they are given more time to shine. This also allows talent who we do not see on TV the time to show why they should be there. Sadly, they are the same people squashed on TV, so no one cares for them.

WWE NXT allows for the best possible material on all taped or live specials, which makes everyone look good. The main roster wants to have something similar happen for them, but aren’t getting it due to what Vince McMahon wants. Triple H runs NXT, so there is some resentment toward him in some eyes backstage. Vince does not hate or despise Triple H, but he is not above talking down about the NXT product to boost the image of his main roster.

Conflicting Reports On The Royal Rumble And WrestleMania 31 Winners

This is why you have to take the "wrestling news" sites with a grain of salt:

From Pwinsider Elite

MetsFan4Ever, who has broke WWE stories in the past and reported the news on the Rumble divide, notes that Triple H held a backstage meeting before Monday's RAW in Corpus Christi and told the talents that they aren't sure who will win the Rumble match and main event WrestleMania 31.

Triple H reportedly challenged all talents to step up in the next couple of weeks. Talents will reportedly be evaluated and then a decision will be made in a few weeks.

This article is a part of their premium service which is an an additional charge.

Wrestling News World Premium, also an additional charge, is reporting the following:

Vince McMahon and Triple H have agreed on a Royal Rumble winner.

Don't believe everything you read...especially as it relates to Triple H.

Video: The Authority fires multiple Superstars

Rumor Mill - TNA Making Major Changes to Impact Wrestling on Destination America, More Like Reality TV

TNA Impact Wrestling will reportedly have a heavy reality TV theme to the show when it premieres with Destination America this week. The idea is to have cameras filming everything from wrestlers walking around backstage, entering the building and even being out of character. Dixie Carter is said to be a big fan of reality TV and Destination America already shows a lot of reality-type programming. TNA will be changing the format of Impact some to fit Destination America better.

Stephanie McMahon on Her WWE TV Character, WWE Network Having Something for Everyone

Stephanie McMahon just spoke with The Sun in the UK to promote the launch of the WWE Network there. Below are a few highlights:

The WWE Network:
"I think the beauty of the WWE Network is that there really is something for everyone. We have the most passionate fans in the world. The Network, as well as all of our programming is designed to give them a creative experience worthy of that passion."

Her character:
"I portray a villain in a storyline, because WWE is a live action adventure soap opera. WWE is entertainment, not reality. I am not the evil authority-abusing character as seen on TV – although maybe some people think I am. As well as being the Chief Brand Officer of WWE. I am a working mom to three daughters, I am a wife and I even have my own workout DVD geared towards women of all fitness levels!"