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August 27, 2015
Triple H Reveals Upcoming WWE NXT Takeover Will Air Live On The Network
Triple H confirmed today that WWE NXT will air a Takeover special from London, England on Wednesday, December 16th at the SSE Arena. The event will air live. Tickets went on sale for the tour today via pre-sale.
August 26, 2015
WWE Studios To Develop Basketball Documentary Into Feature Film
WWE sent us the following:
WWE® STUDIOS TO ADAPT KEVIN LAUE BASKETBALL DOCUMENTARY INTO FEATURE FILM
Long Shot To Spotlight The One-Armed NCAA Division 1 Player
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AUGUST 26, 2015) – WWE Studios announced today that they have acquired the rights to adapt Franklin Martin's 2013 documentary Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story to a feature film, following the young man who defied all odds to become the first player missing a limb to play NCAA Division 1 basketball. Kara Holden (Carrie Pilby, The Opposite of Love, Soul Surfer) is set to write the adaptationwith a director soon to be announced.
Inspired by Martin's documentary, Long Shot will detail the trials and tribulations Laue faced and surpassed during his journey from the sleepy town of Pleasanton, California to the basketball court of Manhattan College in New York City, where he became a member of the Division I team in 2009.
"Kevin's story is absolutely captivating and exemplifies true ambition, will and dedication," said Michael Luisi, President, WWE Studios. "It's a privilege for us to spotlight his inspiring achievements to audiences worldwide."
WWE Studios will be handling worldwide rights and will leverage WWE's extensive platforms – including weekly TV shows, digital and social media and the WWE Network – to market this title.
Kevin Laue and Franklin Martin's Dutchmen Films are represented by G. Pirozzi Consulting.
Natalya Talks Her Relationship With Triple H
"Triple H...actually, I felt like I never really had a relationship with Triple H before I started going down to NXT; it's not his fault, he's a busy guy. But Triple H is the one who gave me all the time for that match [with Charlotte] to start with. I mean, I probably shouldn't say this, but he gave me no time limit. He actually said 'There is no time.' Most people don't know that, but he said 'Paint whatever picture you want on this canvas.' We all knew how special it would be."
August 25, 2015
Former WWE And TNA Star Gets Show On CBS Radio
CBS Radio issued the following:
THE TAZ SHOW: BODYSLAMS & BEYOND TO DEBUT ON PLAY.IT® BEGINNING MONDAY, SEPT. 14
Live Weekday Program Featuring Former Pro-Wrestler Taz To Be Video and Audio Streamed
CBS RADIO today announced a new original program, THE TAZ SHOW: BODYSLAMS & BEYOND, a live two-hour daily show featuring pro-wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Taz. Available exclusively for audio and video streaming on the Play.it® podcast network, THE TAZ SHOW launches on Monday, Sept. 14 and will be broadcast live Monday through Friday from 7:00-9:00AM, ET, from CBS RADIO's New York headquarters.
The program can also be accessed on-demand daily beginning at 10:00AM, ET. Live video streaming of the show will launch at a later date.
THE TAZ SHOW will be highlighted by call-ins from listeners, high-profile interviews, and Taz's distinctive opinion on trending topics, newsmakers and the biggest names across the world of sports entertainment and wrestling. The live program comes as the result of the success of Taz's podcast and replaces the weekly show which launched earlier this year on Play.it and was honored with a Communicator Award of Excellence.
Seth Neiman serves as co-host and producer of THE TAZ SHOW.
"The world of sports entertainment is well-known for its colorful characters and no doubt Taz is one of the most opinionated and passionate of all time," said Chris Oliviero, Executive Vice President of Programming, CBS RADIO. "His unique personality along with his fanatical fan base make Taz the perfect personality to help build this new content platform."
"We are happy to continue to grow our relationship with Taz, offering the best live and on-demand content for consumers anywhere," said Ezra Kucharz, President, CBS Local Digital Media. "His distinctive voice is something all fans enjoy whether they are passionate about wrestling, sports or pop culture."
Best known by his ring name, Taz is a former professional wrestler, broadcaster and award-winning podcaster. During his 25 years in the ring, he dominated various championships within the realms of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His titles include two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, three-time ECW Tag Team Champion, three-time WWE Hardcore Champion, and WWE Tag Team Champion, among others. After his retirement from wrestling, Taz was a color commentator from 2002-15 for WWE Raw, Smackdown and TNA Impact.
WWE Tough Enough Finale Recap
The final four competitors – Josh, Sara, ZZ and Amanda – were overcome with disbelief that the final week of Tough Enough was underway, but also with trepidation as they had to compete in their first televised match. Amanda took the opportunity to try and get into Sara’s head by questioning her personal life. Shaking off Amanda’s assumptions and comments, Sara was poised to prove to everyone she belongs in WWE.
Before their live matches, each contestant sat down with Chris Jericho and discussed what they wanted their ring gear to look like. In addition to their ring gear, Jericho encouraged the final four to flesh out their in-ring personas.
After going over their characters, the contestants learned who they would be facing inside the squared circle. Amanda and Sara would be going toe-to-toe with former Divas Champion Alicia Fox while ZZ and Josh would face Cesaro.
Amanda, taking the ring name Mandy Rose, entered the ring first, showing off her new persona. Mandy Rose then had the opportunity to display everything she’s learned during her tenure at the WWE Performance Center. Facing Alicia is a daunting task, especially for a first live match. The battle went back and forth and Mandy showed strong endurance and ability to keep fighting.
However, Foxy proved that experience is crucial inside the ring and won the match with her patented Scissor Kick.
Miz was a fan of Mandy Rose’s new persona and Paige gave her high marks for her outfit. Although Daniel Bryan felt the match was sloppy, he admired Mandy’s intensity and ability to keep the flow of the math intact.
Next up was Sara Lee, competing as Hope. Taking the microphone, Hope talked a big game – determined to make Alicia a “footnote in Hope’s career.” Hope came out strong against the former Divas Champion, however Fox retaliated aggressively, putting Hope on the defensive. Remaining in the fight, Hope looked like she could pull off an upset, but Alicia took control with an eye poke and executed her Scissor Kick for the win.
Miz loved Hope’s promo and was genuinely impressed with her performance. Paige wasn’t a fan of her entrance but was also impressed with the performance. Bryan reiterated Paige’s point about Hope’s entrance, but he was surprised by the match.
Before the reveal of the female winner, ZZ and Josh competed. First up was ZZ, who entered the ring as The King of the Bayou, donning an alligator head attached to a cape. Before The King could finish his promo, Cesaro made his way to the ring. Cesaro dominated much of the contest, showing off his infamous strength and tossing The King around with ease. The Swiss Superman dominated the bout, and reversed The King’s Gator Grip into a Crossface for the win.
Bryan felt The King of the Bayou did a decent job in his match. However, Paige felt his personality was lacking and Miz didn’t think The King could handle competing in a longer match.
Josh was the final contestant to get in the ring and he, of course, competed as The Yeti. Clearly excited for his match, The Yeti did his best to rile up the audience and get them on his side. As the match got underway, The Yeti tried to match strength with Cesaro, but the King of Swing once again showed why he is pound-for-pound one of the strongest WWE Superstars in history. After an exchange, Cesaro executed The Neutralizer for the win.
Jericho thought The Yeti looked like a star, and Miz agreed, but hated his outfit. Paige and Bryan both felt the match was a bit choppy but strong overall. The general marks on his promo were that it started strong but lost some momentum toward the end.
With the voting closed, Triple H emerged with two WWE contracts each worth $250,000. First the newest WWE Diva was announced and the winner was Sara Lee. Joining Sara was the newest WWE Superstar – Josh.
And with that, history was made and two hard-working competitors have been granted the opportunity of a lifetime.
Update On WWE Network MSG Special
WWE Network will be airing the October 3rd WWE live event from Madison Square Garden, featuring Brock Lesnar's return. This card will certainly be changed soon but here's the current line-up:
* John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
* Sheamus vs. Randy Orton
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
* Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens
* Appearances by Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Chris Jericho and others
Dudley Boyz Return to WWE
During last night’s episode of WWE RAW saw The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE television after ten years. The Dudleys returned as a huge surprise, and got a huge pop from the Brooklyn crowd as they took out WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day.
The Dudleys are back full-time with WWE and will be travelling with them on the road for live events, including their advertised Smackdown return this Thursday. It’s speculated, but still unconfirmed that the team has signed a multi-year contract with WWE.
According to reports, Bubba and Devon were hidden from everyone at RAW last night, and almost no one knew about the return until they were near the curtain to make their entrance. Several top WWE officials were some of the few to know beforehand, and then the production team knew as they cued up the video, music and pyro, as well as having merchandise already produced.
August 24, 2015
