One night after the critically acclaimed TakeOver: Respect special on WWE Network, NXT has again made waves.
James Storm, an 18-year veteran and former heavyweight champion, made his unannounced debut at tonight’s NXT TV tapings. He competed in a match that will air on NXT on Wednesday, Oct. 21, only on WWE Network.
The official NXT Twitter account broke the news of Storm’s presence in the NXT Arena at Full Sail University, and Triple H also tweeted about the appearance.
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October 9, 2015
James Storm Arrives in NXT
October 8, 2015
October 7, 2015
WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Winners Revealed, Complete Brackets
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe won the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tonight by defeating Rhyno and Baron Corbin in the finals. Below are the full brackets:
Bracket A - First Round Matches
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady defeated Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe defeated The Lucha Dragons
Bracket B - First Round Matches
The Vaudevillians defeated Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder defeated Tucker Knight and Elias Samson
Bracket C - First Round Matches
Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder defeated Noah Kekoa and Alexander Wolfe
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable defeated Neville and Solomon Crowe
Bracket D - First Round Matches
Rhyno and Baron Corbin defeated The Ascension
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa defeated Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey
Bracket A - Second Round Matches
Balor and Joe defeated Enzo and Cass
Bracket B - Second Round Matches
The Mechanics defeated The Vaudevillains
Bracket C - Second Round Matches
Gable and Jordan defeated The Hype Bros
Bracket D - Second Round Matches
Rhyno and Corbin defeated Gargano and Ciampa
Semi-Finals
Balor and Joe defeated The Mechanics
Semi-Finals
Rhyno and Corbin defeated Gable and Jordan
Finals
Samoa Joe and Finn Balor defeated Rhyno and Baron Corbin
Corey Graves' Announcement Revealed
The Corey Graves announcement he has been teasing is a new monthly column, "Stay Loud," for Alternative Press. Their website has details at this link. Graves appeared at the AP Music Awards this year to interview musicians and present the Album of the Year Award to Black Veil Brides. Graves commented to AP:
"In my life, there's only been one thing I've loved as much as wrestling, and that's music. Music has always played an essential role in the wrestling/sports entertainment world. From signaling the arrival of your favorite stars, to evoking raw, deep emotion in video packages, WWE wouldn't be what it is today without loud music. I grew up working in record stores and reading Alternative Press, and it's an honor for me to help bring these two worlds together in my new monthly column. Stay Loud!"
EVOLVE Executives Respond To Praise From Triple H
Triple H held a conference call to promote WWE NXT "Takeover: Respect" this week and made the following comments, courtesy of EVOLVE's mailing list, when asked if he saw WWN Live's EVOLVE as a feeder system:
"As far as EVOLVE and Gabe (Sapolsky) as kind of a feeder system, yeah. I look at all of that as feeder system. I love what Gabe does. I love what EVOLVE does. I think that they are one of the sounder promotions as far as how they handle their talent, as far as how they tell their stories, and as far as how they handle their in-ring product. I do see them as a feeder system. I support them. I supported their shows. A lot of our talent has come through there over the years and they've learned a lot from there. Everybody speaks highly of them, speaks highly of Gabe in that process and that's important to me, as well. It's the quality of the people. Yeah, do I support them? Do I see them as a feeder for us? If I had somebody that I didn't have room here for at the PC or I wanted to give them some further training out there before I had a space for them here, would I send them to Gabe? Absolutely. I think they are a very important part of the business, and I know it's a struggle out there, to keep things rolling, to keep things kinda alive if you are a small promotion, and some of the other, if this makes sense, bigger small promotions are making that more difficult sometimes, for the smaller promotions, so, you know, I support them in anyway I can. If I can help them out, I love to and, you know, promote their events. I think having that healthy independent undercurrent to the business is vitally important and I don't want to see that go away."
WWN President/CEO Sal Hamaoui and WWN VP Of Talent Relations, Creative & Marketing Gabe Sapolsky responded with these comments:
"The WWN Family is something we've been building for years and it is very flattering to get this kind of recognition. We are proud to have so many talents like Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Neville, Kalisto and Luke Harper, among others, on the WWE roster. We look forward to seeing how even more former WWN talents progress in NXT. Having an industry leader like Triple H say those things about EVOLVE helps push us forward as we get ready for our next WWNLive.com live iPPVs on October 18th and 19th in New York. Thank you." - Hamaoui
"First, everyone in the WWN Family wants to thank Triple H for his comments. We are humbled and appreciative. This support is unprecedented. We are proud to be part of the independent undercurrent and will enthusiastically continue to promote and present today's new stars. It continues on October 17th in Queens, NY and October 18th in Long Island, NY with two EVOLVE live iPPVs at WWNLive.com. These shows are especially interesting after Triple H's comments because we feature several new and rising talents to go along with our regular, standout stars. It is obvious that the progressive NXT brand is offering more opportunities and exposure to independent wrestlers than anytime in history. Who will make the most of these opportunities? Who is next? We might very well find out at EVOLVE 49 and EVOLVE 50 this month. Join us either in person or on live iPPV and show your support for the next superstar. You, the people who support us and the wrestlers with ticket and iPPV buys, make it all possible. Thank you." - Sapolsky
October 6, 2015
Tough Enough Amanda Gets New WWE Name, Diva Returns To 'Total Divas,' More Details On Next Season
E! issued the following press release regarding the next season of Total Divas. Rosa Mendes will be returning while Tough Enough competitor Amanda will join the cast. It was revealed that Amanda's new WWE name would be Mandy.
E!'S HIT SERIES "TOTAL DIVAS" BEGINS PRODUCTION ON SEASON FIVE, FOLLOWING LAST WEEK'S SEASON HIGH FINALE REACHING 1.6M TOTAL VIEWERS AND 1.0M A18-49
The Bella Twins™, Natalya™, Eva Marie™, Paige™, Rosa Mendes™, and Alicia Fox™ Return In 2016 Along With WWE's Newest Diva Mandy™
LOS ANGELES, CA – October 6, 2015 – Production on season five of E!, WWE® and Bunim-Murray Productions' hit series, "Total Divas," has begun, with the season slated to return in early 2016. The announcement comes on the heels of the show's season four finale on Tuesday, September 29 at 9pm, which marked its highest rated installment of the season with 1.6M Total Viewers and 1.0M Adults 18-49 in L3 ratings.
The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie Bella), Natalya (Nattie), Eva Marie, Paige, Rosa Mendes, and Alicia Fox will continue to give viewers an exclusive inside glimpse at balancing life in the spotlight and the non-stop action of their professional careers with the drama of their personal lives.
In the upcoming season, Mandy, the runner-up on the most recent season of "WWE Tough Enough®" is joining the Divas, bringing her own flavor to the already dynamic group and looking to prove she belongs amongst the veteran Divas. Plus, with Nikki Bella recently losing the championship title, the cast members of "Total Divas" are all vying to claim the title of Divas Champion.
Overall, season four of "Total Divas" remained a powerhouse for E!, reaching 1.5M Total Viewers and 1.0M Adults 18-49 in L3 ratings, solidifying its spot as one of the network's hottest programs.
All-new episodes of "Total Divas" return in early 2016.
Lita Reportedly Working With WWE On A Full-Time Basis
WWE Hall of Famer Lita is now working with the company full-time in a behind-the-scenes role.
According to PWInsider, talk is that she may be working with both the WWE creative team and the producers, perhaps in some sort of liaison role.
Lita has been at all recent TV and pay-per-view events, involved with different meetings and discussions backstage.
Notes From Triple H's 'NXT TakeOver: Respect' Media Call: Finn Balor - TNA, Working With NJPW, Vince
Triple H conducted his usual NXT TakeOver media call this afternoon. You can check out several highlights below.
* Triple H was a little tardy getting to the call. He says that he was late due to wishing Bruno Sammartino a Happy Birthday.
* HHH says that the "Respect" theme for this week's TakeOver has a double meaning. It's for the women, as well as a tribute for a all of the respect the NXT roster has for the late Dusty Rhodes.
* Triple H expects this week's Sasha Bank vs. Bayley match to be better than the one in Brooklyn.
* He compares the demographic of NXT to punk rock and hip hop, and the WWE to pop music in that WWE gets a much wider demographic.
* He says he's more than open to speaking to New Japan Pro Wrestling and other promotions about bringing in talent like they did with Jushin Thunder Liger.
* HHH says that all of the Divas made the Divas revolution possible, not just one.
* Finn Balor sent Triple H the picture of him doing the "suck it" crotch chop outside TNA offices in Nashville and asked if he could post it on social media. Triple H approved because he thought it was funny and anyone who had an issue with it takes this all too seriously.
* Vince McMahon has no say about anything that goes on in NXT. He could overrule Triple H if he wanted but he never does. He claimed Vince told him he's looking forward to the Bayley vs. Banks match. Vince McMahon watched NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn and liked it.
* They debated calling the Bayley vs. Sasha Banks Iron Man match an "Iron Woman" match and Lita told them she thought it would be demeaning to do so.
* He likes the idea of Evolve as a feeder system.
Bob Backlund Comments on Triple H
“He’s done everything he said he would with me since I met him. I can’t say he’s Vince McMahon Sr, but you can’t judge somebody in a years time span. You gotta do business with them for quite a while before you could really know that he is that person you’re hoping that he is. So far, I believe he’s a very good person and I know he’s a good family man.”
Rumor Mill - Backstage Updates On Vince McMahon And WWE Creative
Vince McMahon was responsible for all of the creative at Saturday night's live WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden.
With all the talk of Triple H taking over things backstage, Vince is still very much the man in charge and all ideas or decisions still go through him. PWInsider notes that lately when new ideas are brought up, the response is something along the lines of "we'll have to check with Vince" or "see if Vince likes it."
As the WWE TV ratings slip, Vince is apparently micro-managing creative and overseeing all aspects of the company more than usual.
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
