Awesome Kong announces her retirement from pro wrestling

Kia Stevens, who WWE fans will remember as Kharma from a WWE run that was more build than action (but that did provide us with a cool Royal Rumble moment back in 2012), has informed Japanese fans that she will not be working an upcoming show in Korakuen Hall that she was scheduled to appear in on November 25.

According to the letter published in Japanese on-line that's because she will retire at age 38. Stevens, who is much better known by the name she worked under outside of WWE, Awesome Kong, states in the announcment that doctors suggested she hang up her boots. And because she doesn't feel she can perform at the level fans expect of her, she is following their suggestion.

Kong returned to TNA, where she's probably experienced the most success with two Knockouts titles and a run with the tag belts over her three years there from 2007 - 2010, earlier this year. Reports started circulating almost immediately that she was struggling with a bad back and other ailments accumulated throughout her career. Though she still made an impression with her natural charisma and knowing how to work a compelling match - especially with frequent rival Gail Kim - her ring work was noticeably effected by whatever injuries with which she was coping.

source: camelclutchblog.com

WWE Director Talks Vince McMahon On Commentary And Why He Stopped, Angle With Vince's Limo Exploding

Recently on The Steve Austin Show - Unleashed!, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin interviewed long-time WWE Director Kerwin Silfies. Silfies talked about why Vince McMahon stopped doing commentary for WWE programming, what he thought of McMahon becoming an in-ring performer, and what his favorite moment has been in his over 30-year career with WWE.

According to Silfies, McMahon was an excellent commentator because no one knew the booking plans better than McMahon.

"Nobody can tell the story that needs to be told better than the man who booked the story, and, so, everything [McMahon] did [on commentary] was pretty perfect. And I think that's why whatever color [commentary] guys were working with him, they did their best work working with him, with the exception of Bobby [Heenan], who, hands down, did his best work working with Gorilla [Monsoon] because he wasn't intimidated by him and he wasn't worried that he would say the wrong thing."

Silfies claimed that McMahon stopped doing commentary because he could not control everything behind-the-scenes when he was on commentary.

"He [has] got an amazing, amazing mind, if you ask me." Silfies continued, "I think he stopped [commentating] because he was frustrated having to sit there [at the commentary desk] and not be able to control other aspects of the show because he had to be doing the commentary and he could make do with someone else doing the commentary easier than he could sit there and watch everybody else, myself included, screw things up because he wasn't able to help."

Silfies thought that McMahon set a good example for staff when he started getting in the ring as a performer as he was willing to do anything he asked others to do. Silfies said he also worried about McMahon's safety.

"Well, first, I thought that it was a great example for everyone that 'I'm not expecting anybody to do things that I won't do myself to the limits of my capabilities' and his are pretty unlimited. And I also thought, 'please don't let him get hurt!'"

Silfies said his favorite WWE moment was blowing up McMahon in the limousine during the "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night" episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in 2007.

"It was kind of a small moment, but I was very proud of it and it was when we blew up Vince in the limo because it took a lot of work to set that up and there was all kinds of speculation about how we did it and how it was 'Vince got out the other side of the car' and 'there was a fake leg that came out' and all kinds of stuff that was just baloney. But we're not Hollywood. We're the WWE and we do a lot of things really, really well, but we're not Hollywood and we didn't have a five million dollar budget for that stunt and it came out perfect." Silfies added, "people in the arena calling EMTs saying that Vince just got blown up in the parking lot. Now, that's crazy! That's just flat out crazy, but it was that good."

In addition to these topics, Silfies talked about WrestleMania being the easiest event to direct and shared his thoughts on how the product has changed over time. Click here to listen to the entire show.

John Cena Speaks Out On His Current WWE Hiatus, Responds to Fan Criticism That He “Holds Everyone Down”, Talks His WWE Future, More

WWE star John Cena, who is currently on hiatus from WWE as he films the new FOX reality show “American Grit”, recently spoke to Zap2It.com about his decision to take time off WWE TV to film the show.

While Cena has been the face of WWE for at least the past decade, he is no stranger to fan criticism that his main event presence does not allow new stars to emerge in WWE, and that he overshadows everyone else in the company. On that particular subject Cena had the following to say:

“I’ve been a cornerstone of WWE programming since 2002. That’s a long time, it’s more than 10 years. So much so that a portion of our audience has direct complacency with me. ‘Man, Cena holds everybody down. He doesn’t give the new guys a chance.'”

“From a company perspective, as you know I hold it very near and dear to my heart, the dance floor is open, boys. I’m gone, let’s see who steps up. And I like that. As much as I want to try to distance myself or as much as someone who views me would try to distance myself from WWE, I’m never going to go.”

Triple H Issues Statement On WWE Survivor Series - ISIS Threat, No Credible Information, More

Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have confirmed there is no specific or credible information involving a threat against tomorrow’s WWE Survivor Series at Philips Arena. However, WWE and Philips Arena have coordinated with the appropriate agencies and law enforcement, and significantly increased security measures to ensure the safety of all those in attendance, which is our highest priority. Doors will open at 6 p.m. to help fans avoid any delays in entering the arena due to the additional precautionary security procedures put in place. Fans are encouraged to take public transportation (MARTA) to the event and are advised that bags will not be permitted in the arena

FBI and WWE Release Statements Concerning the ISIS/Survivor Series Threats

The FBI has released the following statement to WSB-TV in Atlanta:

“The FBI is aware of reports of an alleged threat that includes an Atlanta, Georgia venue and event. While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific or credible information of an attack at this time. We have, however, made the proper notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to keep our community safe.”

WWE issued the following statement: “WWE Survivor Series is currently scheduled as planned while we investigate the matter with federal, state and local authorities.”

Hacking Group Anonymous Says ISIS May Be Planning to Attack at WWE Survivor Series

The International Business Times has an article about hacking group Anonymous waging war on terrorist organization The Islamic State (IS, ISIS, Daesh) after the recent attacks in Paris, France.

Anonymous says ISIS may be planning an attack at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday in Atlanta, as well as other targets on Sunday. They released this statement and list of additional targets, some unconfirmed including the Survivor Series:

"The goal is to make sure the whole world, or at least the people going to these events, know that there have been threats and that there is possibility of an attack to happen. Another goal is to make sure Daesh knows that the world knows and cancels the attacks, which will disorientate them for a while."

"We only appeared now because our goal was to remain undercover and report everything to the right authorities and let them take all the action. But when authorities do not take action, Anonymous does. This part of the op started last Monday and has [been] and will be active 24 hours a day as long as the op is going on."

* Cigales Electroniques with Vocodecks, RE-Play & Rawtor at Le Bizen (Paris)
* Concrete Invites Drumcode: Adam Beyer, Alan Fitzpatrick, Joel Mull at Concrete (Paris)
* Demonstration by Collectif du Droit des Femmes (Paris)
* Feast of Christ the King celebrations (Rome/Worldwide)
* Al-Jihad, One Day One Juz (Indonesia)
* Five Finger Death Punch (Milan)
* University Pastoral Day (Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon)

The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Moving From New York to Texas; Steve Austin To Be Inducted in 2016

The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) announced today plans to relocate the organization’s headquarters, hall of fame and museum to Wichita Falls. President of the PWHF, Johnny Mantell made the announcement during a ceremony at the new headquarters, which will be located in the Annex of the First Wichita Building, known locally as Big Blue.

Mantell said, “The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame honors the men and women in this business around the World! Professional wrestling has strong roots in Wichita Falls and we are proud to bring the Hall of Fame and Museum to Big Blue in downtown Wichita Falls.”

Henry Florsheim, president and CEO of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce said, “Wrestling is a huge part of our culture; in fact, the largest crowds our coliseum ever draws are for professional wrestling. This is a huge feather in the cap for Downtown Wichita Falls and the city as a whole, and may well turn in to one of our largest tourism draws.”

More?

WWE Network Breaks Into Top Five Of Streaming Services

There’s no need for Netflix to watch out, but WWE is building up some steam with its streaming service.

WWE issued a press release Thursday touting the WWE Network as a top-five Over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, based on a report by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting firm.

WWE Network ranked higher than both NFL Game Pass and HBO Now on a top 10 list based on subscriptions. The complete rankings are below:

Netflix
Amazon Video
Hulu
MLB.TV
WWE Network
HBO Now
Crunchyroll
NFL Game Pass
The Blaze
SlingTV

The report noted that 40% of OTT video services in the United States were launched within the past two years—WWE Network launched in 2014—while 25% came out in 2015.

In its third-quarter financial report last month, WWE said that the addition of original content and additional live specials helped lift the subscriber count to a healthy 1.2 million.

That’s a long way from Netflix, which is closing in on 70 million subscribers, but WWE trails only MLB.TV in the sports genre. Parks said the WWE holds a distinct advantage over other sports programming, with its ability to resist “seasonality common to other sports OTT video service,” and as a result it continues to add subscribers. In other words, WWE’s lack of an offseason allows the promotion to add subscribers throughout the year without fear of a significant lull.

Many have called for WWE to explore a possible offseason for the safety of its wrestlers, who only get a break when they get hurt. Major injuries to top stars Seth Rollins and Randy Orton in 2015 add credence to that claim. But with WWE’s non-stop schedule adding a boost to subscribers, in addition to the company’s inherent next-man-up philosophy, an offseason is virtually out of the question.

source: forbes.com

Rumor Mill - Backstage News on the Controversial WWE RAW Angle with Paige and Charlotte, Was It Almost Nixed?

Regarding the controversial RAW ending with Paige and WWE Divas Champion Charlotte this week, where Paige took a shot at Charlotte's late brother Reid Flair, PWInsider reports that the idea to mention Reid was presented to Charlotte and she was able to give feedback on the angle, in terms of the verbiage she would use and the way the angle was being presented - as a way to give Charlotte some sympathy from the fans.

The original idea reportedly came from something Charlotte mentioned to WWE creative recently, about how her entire career is a tribute to Reid. Apparently some parts of the angle were dropped throughout the day and other parts evolved. Charlotte was not forced into the segment and was given time to prepare or give feedback during the day.

It was also noted that the angle was discussed a lot throughout the day and senior WWE creative members were against it. Some voiced their opinions to Vince McMahon, who ultimately made the call. There's talk that the angle was actually pulled before RAW went on the air but Vince made the decision to keep it on the show.

Triple H Speaks Out on Hulk Hogan Possibly Returning to WWE, Reveals Whether Or Not He Thinks Hogan Can Be Forgiven and More

WWE star Triple H called into “Greg and the Morning Buzz” today for “Lend A Helping Can” and to promote Survivor Series on Sunday, and during the call-in Triple H talked about Hulk Hogan’s firing and whether or not WWE would have him back. Below is a quote from Triple H:

On whether or not Hogan can one day return to WWE, or at least the Hall of Fame:

“For me I hope so. It’s about reinvigorating his brand and him as a human being and the confidence within the world as to who he is. But the one thing about people in general, when somebody is on top they love to see him fall and when they fall they love to see him make that comeback. They’re great stories and I think that’s where people are. Do I think he can be forgiven and make amends with the world and move forward? Ya absolutely. But at the same point in time for us in that time frame you’re putting up a message to the world of how you’ll tolerate things and how you’ll react to things. And we did what we needed to do and he’ll do what he needs to do to get himself back.

And its not, to me, at the end of the day for him, how he’s perceived by the world, him as a human being, I’m sure is a lot more important to him than anything else. And re-establishing who he is as a human being I’m sure is of utmost important to him and I’m sure he’s gonna do it and when he does we’ll go from there.”

WWE Issues Statement On Controversial Charlotte And Paige RAW Angle

As noted, WWE was planning on releasing a statement in regards to the controversial RAW angle with Paige and WWE Divas Champion Charlotte, where Charlotte's late brother Reid Flair was insulted by Paige.

They issued this statement to F4Wonline.com this evening:

"Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming."

Rumor Mill - WWE To Issue Statement On Charlotte - Paige Angle

F4Wonline.com reports that WWE will be releasing a statement on the controversial RAW main event angle with Paige and WWE Divas Champion Charlotte soon. The statement will reportedly say that the idea came from Charlotte, and that it was taken out of the script but she insisted it be put in.