Triple H and Stephanie McMahon offer Elijah a contract to be an honorary WWE Superstar

Steph and I are pleased to announce the newest WWE Superstar, Elijah! He will sign his contract at #Raw in San Jose! https://t.co/f8Vsgmpfft

— Triple H (@TripleH) July 22, 2015

Conflicting Reports On Why Bully Ray Did Not Work Recent WWE NXT Live Events

We noted yesterday via The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE wanted to use Bully Ray for a May NXT live event in Philadelphia but changed their mind due to Bully appearing on TNA Impact Wrestling as a special referee.

PWInsider reports that WWE contacted Bully about working that weekend and he agreed to work the shows but before they happened, he suffered an ear injury. Bully reportedly called WWE officials and told them he couldn't work the events because the injury was affecting his equilibrium and he didn't want to have bad matches. PWInsider's story notes that WWE officials appreciated the heads-up and understood the situation, and that was it.

Backstage News On WWE - ROH And NJPW, The 'Major Double-Cross' With Jushin Liger, NXT Takeover

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE announcing international legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger for the August 22nd NXT Takeover event in Brooklyn has opened up a "political hornets nest" due to Liger being a New Japan Pro Wrestling talent and NJPW being a partner of Ring of Honor, which runs head-to-head with NXT in the same city that night, with a show also features NJPW stars.

ROH reportedly sold 1,100 tickets for their Field of Honor show that night, a number they were happy with. They were expecting 2,000 tickets sold but The Observer notes that ticket sales stalled once WWE announced Takeover. Ticket sales also reportedly stalled for Jim Ross' "Ringside" one-man show, which takes place in nearby Manhattan. It was noted that any talks there would have been about moving shows to the afternoon to avoid head-to-head competition were decided against, but it wasn't specified which company decided against making a move. WWE actually canceled a live event in White Plains, NY that night to avoid splitting their audience.

We've noted how there are moves being made behind-the-scenes in WWE that relate to ROH. WWE has reportedly contacted at least one venue that ROH uses with the idea that WWE will run them if they no longer book ROH.

WWE booking Liger could be the start of a relationship between NJPW and WWE, who hasn't officially worked with any groups in Japan for years. ROH was not aware of Liger being booked for Takeover until the news broke and The Observer notes that even by pro wrestling standards, the booking is a major double-cross. It should be noted that Liger is able to book himself anywhere but NJPW is promoting the NXT appearance.

WWE Reportedly Nixes Plans to Bring Big Name in For NXT Appearance Due to Him Appearing on TNA TV

According to The Wrestling Observer, WWE wanted to bring Bully Ray in for the May 15th NXT Live Event which took place in Philadelphia.

WWE knew Bully Ray would get a big pop from the Philly crowd, but after he appeared on the May 8th edition of Impact Wrestling to referee a match between Kurt Angle and Eric Young, WWE nixed the idea to use Bully. The role went to Tommy Dreamer instead, and he ended up working an NXT match against Baron Corbin.

Despite recently returning to TNA as the new authority figure on Impact Wrestling, Bully Ray is still pushing for one last run in WWE with his tag team partner Devon. In a recent interview with The Fight Network, Ray said he thinks him and Devon are in their best shape

Stephanie McMahon Talks Darren Young, Says Young’s ‘Character’ Isn’t Gay, Is There A Reason For Lack Of LGBT Gimmicks?

The Daily Beast recently posted an article discussing WWE’s possible hesitation to promote LGBT characters on their programming, and it features some notable comments from Stephanie McMahon.

McMahon, who was noted to have made the comments while attending the ESPN ESPY Awards last week, said the ‘Darren Young’ character isn’t gay, but the man who plays him, Fred Rosser, is.

“Darren Young was the first WWE superstar to really come out as being homosexual, but his character in the show is not. At least, we haven’t done anything with it either way — just yet.”

McMahon also noted that WWE isn’t opposed to adding a gay or LGBT character, but it should be done right and make business sense:

“It could very well pop up in WWE because we are all about what’s relevant, and what’s pop culture, and what people want to see. So if there is an opportunity, we might just take it…

…You know, in WWE our storylines are a year long. They don’t go episodic, week to week—they really are the arc from WrestleMania to WrestleMania. So sometimes it takes a little longer than people would like for the seeds to grow. But we’re constantly planting them.”

The article goes on to talk about ‘flamboyant’ characters in wrestling history, and some rumored suggestions of taking a “top star” and making him gay. The Wrestling Observer’s Ben Miller, who was also quoted for the piece, added,

“I think the big worry that WWE has is that they think their audience is really stupid. So they worry that they’re going to have a character who comes out as gay, and it’s going to be like the Mexican soccer fans in Charlotte chanting ‘culero’ at [an opposing player]. I think they think that their fans would chant something homophobic at him, and that’s going to get press and make WWE look not progressive.”

Darren Young came out as gay in August 2013, making him WWE’s lone openly gay active wrestlers. While it is public knowledge, almost no mention of Young’s homosexuality has been made on WWE TV, aside from a few comments by his tag team partner, Titus O’Neil, like during a WWE RAW vignette. The pair were talking about a coming out party during their quest for the tag team titles, and Titus quipped that Young ‘already had his’ last year.

WWE NXT Going Head-To-Head With ROH Again

WWE NXT will once again be going head-to-head with Ring of Honor on September 19th in San Antonio, Texas. This is during Night of Champions weekend, which takes place on September 20th in Houston. ROH has their All-Star Extravaganza Night 2 that night at the Shrine Auditorium and NXT has announced a show for the Aztec Theater. The venues are 17 miles apart.

Total Divas Recap 07/21/15

Court Document Reveals the Latest Details on WWE Dr. Chris Amann’s Lawsuit Against CM Punk, Where it Currently Stands & What is Next

Back on February 19th of this year, WWE Doctor Chris Amann filed a Libel/Slander lawsuit against Phil “CM Punk” Brooks and Colt Cabana, stemming from comments Punk made during an appearance on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast.

The Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court has released court documents which provide updates on the current status of the case, and what will happen next.

The last three entries of the document, which you can view below, are the keys. It looks like there were a few initial amendments to the Complaint and Punk’s initial Motion to strike the Complaint was continued, likely until Colt Cabana’s attorney entered his appearance. Then on July 20th, you see the two entries below where the Judge denied (DND) Punk’s Motion and Cabana’s Motion (Participant Brooks and Colton, as that is Punk and Cabana’s real names, respectively). The Judge then assigned the case to a category and allowed 28 months for Discovery.

In layman’s terms, Amann’s lawsuit has survived initial procedural challenges to its sufficiency. The parties now have up to 28 months to exchange information, obtain medical documentation, depose witnesses, etc. That doesn’t mean that the case will go to trial or that the suit ultimately will be successful. But it does mean that this issue isn’t going away anytime soon.

Activity Date: 7/20/2015 Participant: BROOKS STRIKE OR WITHDRAW COMPLAINT, AMENDED COMPLAINT OR PORTION THEREOF – DND – Judge: BROSNAHAN JANET ADAMS

Activity Date: 7/20/2015 Participant: COLTON STRIKE OR WITHDRAW COMPLAINT, AMENDED COMPLAINT OR PORTION THEREOF – DND – Judge: BROSNAHAN JANET ADAMS

Activity Date: 7/20/2015 Participant: AMANN CASE ASSIGNED TO CATEGORY 2 – DISC. COMPLETED IN 28 MONTHS Judge: BROSNAHAN JANET ADAMS

William Regal On WWE Wanting Stars From Other Feds, What Triple H Looks For In New Talents, More

WWE NXT General Manager William Regal recently sat down with Fighting Spirit Magazine to shed some light on what he is looking for in prospective talents for WWE. Courtesy of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, below are highlights:

* WWE talent scouts are currently looking for an array of different talents and are foremost concerned with their in-ring acumen. The days of only looking for one type of person are over, says Regal. He says they are looking for people who can fill necessary roles for the company, and are particularly interested in men and women who've gotten over in other promotions.

* According to Regal, when someone recommends a wrestler, the first thing Triple H asks is, "Do they look like they can beat somebody up?" Both Regal and Triple H agree that believability is invaluable in their line of work. He recalls one wrestlers who received a try-out 18 months back; he was very good but WWE didn't sign him because he looked too young. Regal wanted "someone who looked like a man," and told him to come back in a couple of years.

* When asked about the perfect age, he says that the best wrestlers are generally around 30-years-old.

* As far as developmental talents who didn't come through the indies, Regal says they're basically looking for people who would "make good action figures." He says that prospective Superstars must at least look the part.

* Regal says that the most successful people in the wrestling industry have usually been those who possessed an incredible work ethic. He says WWE developmental used to be nothing but bodybuilders, which ended up proving fruitless: "You'd get one good one out of every thousand."

* Regal praises NXT's Stuart Tomlinson (Hugo Knox), a former soccer player who just started working NXT live events. He says Stuart is opening doors for WWE in Europe due to his already established notoriety.

* Regal talks about the best exercises for pro wrestlers; he says Seth Rollins and Ryback both do burpees, because standard cardio can't keep them in "wrestling shape." He also praised hill running and kettlebell swinging.

* When asked about the important of an "amateur background," Regal says that MMA training is probably more suitable for today's prospective Superstars. He goes on to say boxing is also probably more applicable than amateur wrestling, as boxing footwork is more akin to how pro wrestlers perform.

* Regal says that major wrestling academies should teach everyone to roll before teaching them how to bump: "If you can roll at every angle, it becomes second nature to protect yourself when you fall."

* Regal calls for a change in wrestling culture, as far as wrestlers taking bumps on their head or neck. He thinks people should stop using brain busters because "the casual fan thinks you just messed up a vertical suplex." Regal had a major neck operation last year, before which he claims he spent 20 years sleeping just three hours a night. He swears by training his neck with bridging exercises, and claims it helped keep him together as long as it did.

Ring Of Honor Issues Global Force Wrestling With A Cease And Desist Letter

Ring of Honor has reportedly sent a cease and desist letter to Global Force Wrestling due to infringement upon ROH’s brand in radio and television ads that promote Friday’s GFW Television taping in Las Vegas, NV at The Orleans casino according to a source at PWInsider.com.

The ad is said to promote the appearance of ROH talent at GFW’s show on 7/24, which also happens to be the same day as Ring of Honor’s “Death Before Dishonor” iPPV in Baltimore, MD. So it's unlikely any ROH talent will be appearing.

PWInsider, also notes that Chris Sabin has not been booked for the GFW show.

Backstage News on WWE and Ring of Honor

As noted, WWE has announced that wrestling legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger will be wrestling Tyler Breeze at the "Takeover: Brooklyn" event. This caused controversy as Liger and New Japan Pro Wrestling have ties to ROH and several top NJPW stars will also be wrestling in New York City that night at ROH's Field of Honor event. F4Wonline.com notes that other significant moves are being made behind-the-scenes regarding NXT and ROH, ones that apparently do not involve NJPW. The moves should be made public soon.

WWE Hosting Ultimate Warrior Event During SummerSlam Weekend

WWE will be doing a major book launch for the new Ultimate Warrior book that comes out next month. Dana Warrior will be signing copies of the book on Saturday, August 22nd in Brooklyn at the Powerhouse Arena. There will also be Warrior memorabilia, the statue WWE had made and Warrior face-painting for kids.