Daniel Bryan recently spoke with IGN to promote the upcoming WWE 2K16 video game. The full interview is at this link. Below are a few highlights:
His status:
"So, we don't know. I had a concussion in April, and obviously they're very hyper-sensitive about concussion stuff right now. One neurologist who specializes in concussions - who was the neurologist for the Super Bowl last year - cleared me with no limitations. All my testing came back excellent. But the WWE's medical doctor is skeptical, because of my history of concussions and that sort of thing. So they will not clear me. So now, we have two doctors: one saying no, one saying yes. They're going to send me to a third doctor at some point in the near future and that doctor will decide my fate."
"The WWE doctor Joe Maroon [is] amazing and highly respected in the concussion field, and if they send me to a third neurologist who's also highly respected in the concussion field and they say literally no...well, then is it really smart to go against two doctors? I get all fired up...and then I'm like, maybe that's not the best thing for me and my family going forward."
If he would work indies if WWE doesn't clear him:
"John Cena and I actually had this discussion. He said, 'if something were to happen to you and the WWE, would you go back to doing the indies?' Absolutely!"
Bryan said he's got a fascination with lucha and the idea of doing a mask vs. hair match is appealing to him as is main eventing a CMLL anniversary show.
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October 5, 2015
Daniel Bryan Says WWE Is Sending Him To A Third Doctor, Comments On Returning To The Indies
CM Punk's UFC Debut Slightly Postponed Due to Injury Suffered While Training
ESPN reports that CM Punk's UFC debut has been slightly postponed due to an injury.
Punk's head coach Duke Roufus told ESPN that Punk has been sidelined for a few weeks after tweaking his shoulder while scrambling in training. Punk will see a doctor on October 14th and could be cleared then.
"He got caught in a scramble, so right now he's taking a little time off," Roufus told ESPN. "He was doing great before that. His progress has been good. He's got a great attitude and he's a hard worker. He got a place in Milwaukee where he lives all week when he's here training, so he's in it to win it. Our biggest thing is we want him to 101 percent before [we resuming training]. We don't have a hard date for his fight to force the issue, so making sure he's completely healthy is possible."
Roufus has stated multiple times that he wants Punk completely prepared before making his UFC debut. When asked how close Punk is to that point, Roufus told ESPN he's at 50%. He said:
"The UFC will probably book him a fight three to four months in advance -- a guy of his magnitude. We're probably looking at a fight in the next six to 10 months. The injury throws us back one month. We had a ballpark. We were looking at mid- to late-spring. Now, we'll just have to see how he comes back from the injury."
Top 10 NXT Matches
WWE's website has re-ranked the top 10 NXT matches in history and the list looks like this:
#10 Big E vs. Seth Rollins - NXT Championship Match — Jan. 9, 2013
#9 Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch - NXT Women's Championship Match — NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
#8 William Regal vs. Cesaro — Dec. 25, 2013
#7 Adrian Neville vs. Bo Dallas (NXT Championship Ladder Match) — NXT ArRIVAL
#6 Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze - NXT Championship Match: NXT TakeOver — Fatal 4-Way
#5 Natalya vs. Charlotte (NXT Women's Championship Tournament Finals) — NXT Takeover
#4 Paige vs. Emma (NXT Women's Championship Match) — NXT ArRIVAL
#3 Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro (2-out-of-3 Falls Match) — Aug. 21, 2013
#2 Neville vs. Sami Zayn - NXT Championship Match — NXT TakeOver: R Evolution
#1 Sasha Banks vs. Bayley - NXT Women's Championship Match — NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
October 4, 2015
UFC Responds To Allegations Of Drug Test Cover Up
UFC responded to a Deadspin report of a shaky drug test from Vitor Belfort that came to light from 2012 after UFC 192 Saturday night.
"I think one of the things to keep in mind with this particular topic is, any suggestion or inference that there was a coverup in regards to that was categorically false," said Dave Sholler, UFC public relations head.
"That period of time with TRT is one that was tricky for everyone: For the UFC, for athletic commissions for athletes alike. I think when everyone came to a conclusion it didn't have a place in the sport and was outlawed in 2014, we were quick to make sure that we followed suit, as Nevada has said," said Sholler.
October 2, 2015
Shots Fired
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor did a "crotch chop" outside of TNA headquarters this morning and posted the photo to Twitter. NXT is running a live event in Nashville tonight. TNA's Bob Ryder responded on Twitter, trying to insinuate that Balor came in and met TNA employees. Below are their tweets:
#NXTNashville pic.twitter.com/nP9MU4uQCO
— Finn Bálor (@wwebalor) October 2, 2015@wwebalor Thanks for visiting the office. We were all happy to meet you. Please give @TripleH and @StephMcMahon our best regards.
— Bob Ryder (@brydertna) October 2, 2015
Video: Stephanie McMahon Interview | WWE History and Connor's Cure on Elvis Duran Show
Stephanie McMahon did a radio interview with Elvis Duran in New York City this morning and the show donated $20,000 to Connor's Cure.
Triple H And Stephanie McMahon Photoshoot
WWE is working with NBCUniversal on their "The More You Know Campaign," which is a cross-company initiative established in 1989, focused on education, internet safety, health, diversity and the environment. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon did a photo shoot for the campaign on Thursday, as seen below:
Spending the evening with @StephMcMahon @NBCUniversal #TMYK shoot. #BTS #WWE https://t.co/BLkcPgLOVJ pic.twitter.com/mhSfRRR4VY
— Triple H (@TripleH) October 1, 2015
New Details On The Rumored Dixie Carter - Destination America E-mail Incident
We noted back in May of this year that there were unconfirmed rumors going around saying Dixie Carter accidentally copied a Destination America executive on an e-mail where she was complaining about the network. At the time, sources in TNA weren't outright denying the rumor but they weren't confirming it actually happened either.
This e-mail incident really did happen, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It turns out Dixie sent an e-mail to several unintended recipients. Whoever she was sending it to, the e-mail was mostly Dixie complaining about how Discovery doesn't send out information on the +3 ratings, since Impact Wrestling usually does 15% to 20% more viewers when DVR viewership over the following 3 days after it airs is factored in.
Dixie reportedly called Discovery President Mark Graboff some negative names in the e-mail and took a shot at his intelligence in some way. Besides the intended recipients, Dixie also sent the e-mail to Destination America Group President Harvey Schlieff and several other Discovery executives. Schlieff responded to Dixie and said he was sorry she felt that way about Graboff. Graboff was also copied on the e-mails, apparently by Schlieff so he could see what was happening. Obviously this did not go over well with the network and likely added to the problems that the ratings had brought on.
October 1, 2015
John Cena Taking Time Off From WWE Due To Personal Reasons
WWE United States Champion John Cena was pulled from several WWE live events in November as well as the upcoming European tour.
The reason he will be taking time off from WWE is because of personal reasons. WWE officials have confirmed Cena will not be appearing on any dates during the company’s upcoming European tour.
As of this writing, he is being advertised for their December shows.
Cena is scheduled to face Seth Rollins at Saturday’s WWE MSG live special show inside a steel cage.
Stephanie McMahon Headed Overseas
Stephanie McMahon may be missing some WWE TV time soon. The second part of her Eisenhower Fellows Multi Nation Program tour is scheduled from October 4th through November 22nd. Stephanie missed several weeks in May of this year as she went to Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai with the program.
NXT, WWE, and the Battle Between Indy Spirit and Big Wrestling Business
NXT, WWE's developmental circuit, puts on really good wrestling shows. So good, in fact, that main roster wrestlers are rumored to be in a state of near perpetual annoyance about being shown up by the less experienced NXT workers. These rumors are believable primarily because NXT wrestlers routinely do outshine the promotion's big names. NXT gives wrestlers a lot more creative freedom, something that might understandably rankle those higher up the food chain, mired as they are in heavily scripted promos and tepid storylines. When the men and women on the main roster wanted to become wrestlers—when most anyone wants to become a wrestler—they wanted the type of freedom NXT provides.
For all that, it's important to understand that NXT is not just, or even primarily, a wrestling show. NXT is, first and foremost, a factory with a street-facing window that's dedicated to smoothing the rough edges of the best indie wrestling talent out there. It then feeds the more-finished product into the sports entertainment machine that has left WWE's main roster—which now includes a good number of NXT graduates—feeling so chewed-up.
To efficiently manufacture these wrestlers for WWE, NXT (and its prior branding as FCW) needs a steady supply of raw material, sourced from independent and local wrestling groups around the world. Dean Ambrose came through after a career of working death matches. Seth Rollins worked his ass off in Ring of Honor before going to Florida. And on it goes: Luke Harper, Cesaro, Sara Del Rey, Samoa Joe. There is a mile-long list of former indie legends and erstwhile hotshots who've signed up to work in NXT and then moved up to the biggest of the big leagues when the higher-ups in Stamford decided they were ready.
WWE's appetite for talent is seemingly limitless. Legendary women's wrestler Kana (now Asuka) and the unbelievably talented Uhaa Nation (now Apollo Crews) are the latest to join NXT. They will not be the last. The whispers are already stirring around wrestlers like Ring of Honor champ Jay Lethal and Chuck Taylor.
The thing to remember here is that WWE is not just another wrestling company. It's the wrestling company, regardless of current or future quality. WWE doesn't just want to sign everyone; it can sign everyone. Take a long look at NXT, and you get a sense that this all may be exactly the McMahon family's plan...More?
source: vice sports
