Backstage News on Ric Flair’s Upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 Special and What it Will Cover

According to F4WOnline.com, Vince McMahon reportedly signed off on allowing ESPN to use archival footage for the upcoming ESPN “30 For 30” special that Ric Flair has been filming. Flair spent four hours being interviewed earlier this month and camera crews were filming backstage at WWE Survivor Series in Atlanta.

The ESPN special will reportedly cover Flair’s entire career, his personal life, financial issues, Reid Flair’s death, the 1975 plane crash and more. There will be a focus on the 1980s when he was at the peak of his career as NWA World Heavyweight Champion with the Four Horsemen.

NXT Superstar Wesley Blake — Arrested For DUI This Summer, Refused to Take Test; WWE Responds

Former NXT Tag Team Champion Wesley Blake was arrested for DUI the day before the 4th of July this summer … and Pro Wrestling Sheet has obtained video of his refusal to take a BAC test.

Blake was arrested on July 3rd around 3AM and his license was promptly suspended — according to court documents obtained by Pro Wrestling Sheet.

In the video, officers remind Blake — real name Cory Weston — that his license will be suspended for a year if he doesn’t agree to a blood, urine or breath test. The 28 year-old doesn’t budge however.

Court records show Blake initially entered a plea of not guilty, but eventually waived his right to a speedy trial and the case was put into a pre-trial diversion program — which means he avoided sentencing by entering into a program with some requirements.

Unclear what those exact requirements were, but the Florida State Attorney’s office says it usually means the defendant has to participate in community service and a series of classes. If completed successfully, the charge will be dropped.

No word on whether WWE had any knowledge of the arrest. However, Blake and Murphy dropped the tag team titles to The Vaudevillains a few weeks after he was locked up.

A rep for WWE tells us, “Cory Weston is responsible for his own actions.”

Rumor Mill - WWE Releases Brad Maddox Due To Promo At WWE TV Tapings

As noted, WWE announced Brad Maddox's departure today.

According to PWInsider, Maddox was released because of language he used during a pre-dark match promo at Tuesday's WWE TV tapings. As noted, Maddox lost to R-Truth and ripped the NFL's Indianapolis Colts before the match. The phrase "cocky pricks" is what got him in trouble.

WWE officials then made the decision to issue release Maddox, who had been with the company since 2010.

WWE Releases Brad Maddox

WWE.com has posted the following:

WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Brad Maddox as of Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. WWE wishes Maddox the best in all of his future endeavors.

Maddox signed with WWE in 2010, and had recently been working in a tag team with Adam Rose. Maddox also appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” dressed as a turkey and took a Tombstone Piledriver from The Undertaker.

WWE RAW Viewership Drops Under 3 Million

Monday's episode of WWE RAW, with the fallout from Survivor Series and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, drew 2.964 million viewers. This is down 10% from last week's 3.293 million viewers and a new non-holiday record low.

For this week's show, the first hour drew 3.190 million viewers, the second hour drew 2.990 million viewers and the final hour drew 2.712 million viewers.

RAW was #3 for the night in viewership behind the NFL on ESPN, which drew 14.256 million viewers, and SportsCenter. RAW was #4 for the night in the 18-49 demographic, behind the NFL, SportsCenter and Love & Hip-Hop.

Rumor Mill - Lana Reportedly Has “Nuclear” Backstage Heat in WWE

WWE Diva Lana currently has backstage heat in WWE for a number of reasons, one of them being her recent internet spat with Paige, which was not something that was a planned storyline.

According to this morning’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Lana has “nuclear heat” backstage in WWE right now, as there’s a feeling she’s the one who leaked the news of her real-life engagement to Rusev. Officials are also not pleased with some of the recent, cryptic comments Lana has made on social media.

Video Of Man Shot At The WWE Performance Center Released

As noted in August, a deranged fan, 29 year old Armando Alejandro Montalvo, was shot outside of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL on August 31st. Orlando affiliate WFTV-9 released the video above of the shooting. In the video, Montalvo is shown yelling into the facility, asking to be trained so that he can "be the best NXT wrestler of all time." He started flexing and yelling, while stating that he didn't have a gun. He stayed at the facility until police arrived 11 minutes later. After authorities arrived, Montalvo continued flexing and then flipped police the bird. Montalvo then grabbed some rocks and charged at one of the officers before getting shot in the chest. Montalvo survived the shooting and is being charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and trespassing. He pleaded not guilty and is slated to go to trial in February. Below is surveillance footage of the incident:

WWE NXT Departure

PWInsider.com has confirmed the departure of Solomon Crowe. Crowe reportedly requested and received his release on Monday.

Sheamus on Winning the WWE World Title, Triple H Relationship, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, More

New WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus did a media conference call earlier this afternoon. Below are highlights:

* In regards to pressure and scrutiny on this reign due to top WWE stars being out, Sheamus said he's been in this position before and faced a lot of scrutiny in the past, as a heel and babyface. He said he's been ready to go for a long time, since before winning Money In the Bank. He feels like the last few months he's been waiting and ready to go. He said there's always pressure and he looks forward to that. He's 6 years into his WWE career, at a different point in his career and is a different person. He knows what he's doing now. He knows a lot of top WWE stars are out right now and knows Seth Rollins will be coming back better than ever. Sheamus says he's not going to let the opportunity pass him by and will give it everything he can. He calls it an opportunity of a lifetime and says he's never felt better or more comfortable in his own skin

* He was asked how he prepared for the weekend and asked if they ever thought there might not be a show due to the reports of a potential Islamic State terror attack. He says WWE took the threat very seriously and the talents were kept updated on what was going on. He talks about how the authorities handled everything. He goes into all pay-per-views the same and didn't treat Survivor Series any different. He says last night was so surreal for him and while he's been in this position before, this one feels more special. Sheamus was asked if the Irish are taking over WWE now that he has gold, Finn Balor is the NXT Champion and Becky Lynch is on the main roster. Sheamus praises Finn for their matches on the UK tour and calls him he flagship Superstar of NXT, a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion

More?

WWE was No. 2 most searched term on Google this weekend

WWE ended up at the No. 2 most searched term on Google this weekend with 500,000 searches. This was mainly due to the story that came out Saturday where hacker group Anonymous revealed that Survivor Series in Atlanta was among many locations being considered for a terrorist attack by ISIS. The big Alvarez vs. Cotto boxing fight topped Google this weekend with 1.2 million searches.

WWE Breakng Ground Recap 11/22/15

Triple H Comments on the Success of Survivor Series

In the face of uncertainty, 14,481 strong (and LOUD) showed up to #SurvivorSeries..that's what makes the @WWE Universe the absolute best.

— Triple H (@TripleH) November 23, 2015

#ThankYou to the local and national authorities for ensuring everyone's safety tonight @PhilipsArena.

— Triple H (@TripleH) November 23, 2015