Rumor Mill - Bret Hart Talks the Real Life Tension Between Stephanie & Shane McMahon, Is It Why Shane Left WWE?

Maybe it’s storyline, maybe it’s not. I know there’s a lot of tension between Stephanie and Shane. It’s my understanding, unless I’m wrong, that there was a lot of tension there for quite a long time. Which is why Shane left. They kind of passed him over and gave everything to Stephanie to run. There’s a lot of question marks about the legitimacy or the reality of what’s going on. For me, as WrestleMania gets closer, the wrestling fan in me is kind of excited about seeing where it goes.

Interview with Austin Aries

Austin Aries recently spoke with the Wrestling Compadres, talking about everything from his long journey to the WWE, when he thought about stepping away from wrestling a few years back, and his thoughts on Baron Corbin attacking him. Click here to listen to the full interview, and you can read a few excerpts below:

Austin Aries on his debut:
“Before I went out, Bayley was backstage and I joked with her “If I walk out there and it’s crickets and nobody knows me, just come out and give me a hug.”

Aries on Baron Corbin:
“For a former NFL lineman, the guy moves pretty fast. He got me good. But he’s going to realize that he cut his own nose off to spite his face”

Aries on his journey:
“You can’t measure passion. Everything I’ve ever achieved in the business has been because of passion”.

ESPN’s WWE Off The Top Rope Recap: Shawn Michaels Talks Wrestlemania Moments, Ric Flair, Why He Knew It Was His Time To Retire

The following is a recap of Shawn Michaels’ appearance on ESPN’s WWE Off The Top Rope segment tonight:

Coach welcomes Shawn Michaels to the show and talks about his reputation as ‘Mr. Wrestlemania’, and asked why he shined at the event. Shawn says just getting to Wrestlemania is a feat in itself, and he focused on making each one count, deciding around Wrestlemania IX to get everyone to talk about his match each year. He says he wanted to do it to honor his job as a wrestler, then Coach asks about which Wrestlemania match is his favorite. Shawn says that’s hard to answer, citing Wrestlemania X and XII for his individual accomplishments, but also notes working with Ric Flair and Undertaker later on. He says all he can do is be thankful for how many special moments he was involved with, and it’s hard to pick just one.

Coach talks about Shawn wrestling Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV, and Shawn says it went from him admiring Flair as a kid all the way to being the person to be picked in that match, and it meant a lot to him. Shawn talks about honoring Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 24, and he says he wanted to do as much as he could to show his appreciation. Shawn says he wanted Ric to have a sense of pride, and he also wanted everyone who worked with Ric and knew him to know it too.

Coach brings up Shawn’s final match two years later and asks why Shawn knew that night was it. Shawn says it was ultimately about his family, telling a story about how time was passing and his son would be grown up soon enough. He says that cued him to start thinking about life after WWE, and walking away was huge, but he wanted to do this for his family and be an active part of his raising his family. He says all he knows is to perform at the best he can, and luckily he had a great opponent that night.

Coach thanks him and says maybe they will see him at Wrestlemania 32, and Shawn says it’s basically in his hometown and he might have to make some moves, but they could see him there.

HBK’s Top Wrestlemania Moments

Top Feud
Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker

Top Move
Shawn Michaels’ dives off the ladder at Wrestlemania X

Top Moment
Shawn Michaels says ‘I’m sorry, I love you’ and superkicks Ric Flair, pinning Flair to retire him

Top Win
Shawn Michaels defeats Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XII to win the WWE Championship

Read more at http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/682925-espns-wwe-off-the-top-rope-recap-shawn-michaels-talks-wrestlemania-moments-ric-flair-why-he-knew-it-was-his-time-to-retire#UcTpmu4ItaRdUIMX.99

Total Divas Recap 03/08/16

Vince McMahon Comments on the WWEPC and Triple H's Corporate Growth

Vince McMahon discusses WWE's future and Triple H's corporate role in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel:

Q: The Performance Center has now been here for nearly three years. What has it been like to see the growth of it and the opportunity to do it in the first place and now see what it has become?

A: "That, quite frankly, was pretty much my son-in-law Paul [Levesque, also known as Triple H], his vision. He's done an unbelievable job. Years ago, there were all these fiefdoms, these territories and what-have-you throughout the United States. It was easy for us then to reach out and grab some of those seasoned talents and introduce them to WWE. That was a golden era as far as talent acquisition is concerned. That was then.

"So where do you get your talent today? There is none of that now so you start, in essence, a farm league so to speak and you grow that. It takes a while. You can't just walk in, an athlete, no matter how good they really are, you can't walk in and do what we do. There are a lot of athletes from a pro standpoint that come in and they just can't do it. it takes a special person. And it's not just the athleticism; it's the personality projection, it's the charisma, and that you either have or you don't. You can create an aura somewhat but you can't create charisma.

"What Paul has done, he's done an extraordinary job and because of the welcome here in Florida, because of the Performance Center, its world-class qualities, we are able to attract so many more athletes now. You saw the NXT talent that was here. I was talking to John Cena who was there [at the Performance Center] this week giving a pep talk and he said these talents are really, really good. And he says, 'I've got to tell you, watching the new talents in there, the looks that they certainly have, you can see that they're very different and they're gifted athletically.'

"He said this is going to be a huge crop of new talent coming up. Again, it's the concept of the big wheel keeps on turning. In our world, that's because of NXT, that's what happens in that big wheel with all of the distribution and all of our developers now, it just gets bigger and bigger and the momentum continues on."

Q: What it's been like to see Paul grow the way he has behind the scenes? This is a guy that's still a performer in the ring but now he's a big part of helping run things and a guy that in the future is going to have an even bigger role running things with your daughter Stephanie.

A: "It's extraordinary watching that growth. Growth is painful sometimes. Some of us really enjoy pain so it's easy for us to grow. Most people don't. Most people say they want to grow but more people are naturally comfortable with where they are. Paul's not that way. Paul is very aggressive. Not outwardly so. When you meet with him and talk with him, it's like, 'what a nice guy.' But inside, he has that competitive spirit and he's always reaching for that brass ring.

"He's done so well. I'm so proud of him, not just the years he's spent in the ring and I don't know how many more years that's going to last. This may be his last WrestleMania. I don't know. He's a little long in the tooth as I say to his face and we all laugh about that now because I'm 70 years old. Nonetheless, corporately the growth over the last two years has been exponential and Stephanie's part has been even more of a meteoric rise. What she does in terms of representing the brand, no one can represent the brand in all aspects, in all facets of our business, and she fits everywhere. Talk about an ambassador, she's obviously beyond an ambassador and her growth corporately has been great. I'm very proud of both of them."

Vince McMahon On Working With Shane Again, Hoping That Would Happen, If Shane Will Stay After Mania

Brian Fritz has a detailed Q&A with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon that took place after this morning's WWE WrestleMania 33 press conference. During the interview, Vince was asked about Shane McMahon returning to WWE and what it's been like having him back.

"It's been awesome," Vince admitted. "I was hoping that one day we might get back together. It's difficult. Fathers and sons sometimes, in the same business at a certain stage, it can be very difficult. You love each other just as much but you see things a little differently. You have the old bull and the young bull and the old bull is not ready to give it up, his horns are still sharp. It's great that Shane is back. Whether or not there's a corporate place, we'll wait and see.

"From a performer standpoint, I so enjoy performing with him. And when the three of us are out there, Stephanie and Shane and me, and throw in Paul because that has happened in the past, oh my God! We could stay out there and entertain each other, much less the audience, for an hour. It would be easy. It's just so much fun because we can ad-lib and entertain ourselves. I think if you are entertaining yourselves and you're having fun, that projects and the audience is having fun with you."

When asked pressed further if Shane will remain with the company in either a corporate position or as a performer, Vince replied, "That will be determined by whether or not he wins his match."

Vince also discussed John Cena not wrestling at WrestleMania 32, injuries plaguing this year's Mania, keeping Shane's return a surprise and much more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Connor's Cure Awarded

Connor's Cure, named after recipient of WWE's Warrior Award Connor Michalek, has been named 2015's Best Social Good Campaign in the CableFAX Awards. WWE congratulated them with this tweet:

Congratulations to #ConnorsCure, named 2015's Best Social Good Campaign in @CableFAX's #CFXAwards! @WWE pic.twitter.com/v95gkJ7xAr

— WWE (@WWE) March 8, 2016

Jade on Who Has Helped Her In TNA, Dixie Carter Being a Fan of the Knockouts, The Dollhouse Changes

TNA Knockout Jade recently spoke with Scott Fishman of Channel Guide Magazine to promote Impact Wrestling. The full interview can be found at this link. Below are highlights:

The Dollhouse and Knockouts changes in TNA:

“It has been a challenge, because back-to-back stuff has been happening and we didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know what to do. We pretty much had to think on our toes. First, it was Taryn leaving and then we were thinking, who would be the leader. Then it was Kong, which we liked the idea because we all loved her. Not that we didn’t love Taryn, but there was a good connection with Kong. Then she left. The first time we were together was in the UK where we had to step up on our own and show them we didn’t need to depend on anybody else. We felt we could do our own thing and run with it. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Transitioning from the indies to TNA and who has helped her:

“It’s really difficult for me, as I’ve been wrestling on the independent scene for about eight years or so. There, you just go out there and do your thing. You cut a promo here and there, but I never had a set character. I was just a wrestler. Now I’m an actual character. I’m Jade. I’m this bad ass and member of the Dollhouse. There are so many things I have to focus on besides wrestling. You have to get your character over and talk on the mic and master mannerisms. It’s a completely different feel than what I’m used to, so I’m still getting help. Tyrus has helped me out. Marti has helped me. David Lagana and Pat Kenney have also been there. I’m open to asking questions and looking for help because that is one part I still have trouble learning. No matter how much experience I have on the independents, the character and promos were my biggest issues. So it’s getting easier with experience and having people support me. It also helps that I know who my character is now, so I can play into that. In the beginning maybe I couldn’t pinpoint what they wanted for me or what I should be like.”

Dixie Carter being a fan of the Knockouts:

“It was actually really cool after the Lethal Lockdown — the minute we came back, she was there standing and clapping for us and giving us all hugs. She said, ‘You did it for us women!’ It was really cool to have that personal touch, being a female and knowing what she goes through in her role and then supporting us.”

WWE Champions Coming To iOS And Android Devices In 2016

The following announcement has been released, detailing the new WWE Champions mobile game set for a 2016 global release:

Los Angeles – March 8, 2016 – Scopely, the leading touchscreen entertainment network, has entered into a new partnership with global entertainment company WWE to publish a free to play mobile game, WWE Champions, currently in limited market tests for a 2016 global release. The partnership extends the power of WWE’s global brand, and adds to the diverse and successful catalog of Scopely games based on celebrated brands and entertainment franchises. WWE Champions will be the first release from Scopely’s multi-title partnership with award-winning developer Kung Fu Factory.

“Scopely is powering the next generation of interactive entertainment through our robust publishing infrastructure and product expertise,” said Walter Driver, CEO of Scopely. “With WWE, we are creating and evolving the mobile WWE experience with daily gameplay events that continue to bring WWE’s brand, talent, and legendary moments to life.”

WWE Champions allows players to collect more than 100 different Superstars and Legends where they can enter the ring for intense 3D action powered by fast and engaging puzzle play. The game is currently in test markets, and will launch worldwide on Android and iOS devices later this year.

“Scopely’s expertise in creating authentic branded mobile game experiences made them an ideal partner,” said Casey Collins, WWE Executive Vice President, Consumer Products. “Together with Scopely, we’ve planned an expansive slate of mobile gaming content to keep WWE’s passionate fan base engaged.”

More?

WrestleMania 33 Location Confirmed, Press Conference To Be Held On Tuesday

A press conference will be held on Tuesday to announce that WrestleMania 33 will take place at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. The city of Orlando issued the following announcing the press conference:

Governor Scott, Mayor Dyer, Mayor Jacobs to Host Press Conference Announcing Major Event at Orlando Citrus Bowl

Florida Governor Rick Scott, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs to Host Press Conference Announcing Major Event at Orlando Citrus Bowl

When:
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
11 AM
Press Check In: 10:30 AM

Where:
Orlando Citrus Bowl Varsity Club
1 Citrus Bowl Place
Orlando, FL 32805
Media Check In: Varsity Club Entrance
Media Parking: Lot 10

Who:
Florida Governor Rick Scott
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs
Other dignitaries

DESCRIPTION: The news conference will outline the event which is expected to draw visitors from around the world to the Orlando area for a week of activities. Information provided will include the potential local economic impact of the event and the international exposure that will be created for Orlando. The event's organizers will join Governor Scott, Mayor Dyer and Mayor Jacobs for the announcement.

Update On Two More 2016 WWE Hall Of Famers

A new WrestleMania 32 magazine that comes out this week features a "Tribute" section with Jacqueline Moore and Stan Hansen confirmed for the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. They will join Sting, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Godfather and The Big Bossman. No word yet if Regis Philbin will still be going in the Celebrity Wing.

Big Boss Man to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2016

The WWE Hall of Fame now finally has its law and order. As first reported by CBSsports.com , the newest inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame is The Big Boss Man.

Boss Man, a former Cobb County, Ga., corrections officer turned sports-entertainer decked out in full police uniform, first debuted in WWE in the late ‘80s. Managed by the legendary Slick, the ruthless Boss Man gained notoriety for not only defeating his opponents with ease, but also handcuffing them to the ropes and then bashing them with his patented nightstick. Though he had no trouble muscling opponents around, Boss Man was also deceptively quick and agile for a performer who weighed over 300 pounds, often being heralded as one of WWE’s best, and most unique, athletes. He had memorable encounters with the likes WWE Hall of Famers Randy Savage, Koko B. Ware and Shawn Michaels, and he also joined forces with another monstrous Superstar, Akeem, to form the titanic tag team known as The Twin Towers.

Though he initially displayed a warped view on justice, the former cop eventually showed that he did have morals. When “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase attempted to procure his services, The Big Boss Man declared that he couldn’t be bought. The bold move led to Boss Man becoming one of the WWE Universe’s most beloved Superstars, an enforcer of law and order who made evildoers pay for their transgressions. This new demeanor from the Boss Man led to his participation in some of the more unique matches of the 1990s, such as a Jailhouse Match against The Mountie at SummerSlam 1991, where the loser spent the night in a New York City jail, and a Nightstick Match with ex-con Nailz at Survivor Series 1992.

Boss Man went on to compete around the world for several years in the mid-‘90s, including a stint in WCW, before returning to WWE in 1998. Adorned fully in black riot squad gear, Boss Man became Mr. McMahon’s personal security detail in the villainous Corporation. He faced off with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Mick Foley and The Undertaker, as well as captured the World Tag Team Championship and, on four occasions, the WWE Hardcore Championship. The Big Boss Man also engaged in infamous rivalries with Big Show and Al Snow, the latter of which resulted in one of the more notorious matches in history, the Kennel from Hell Match, at Unforgiven 1999.

Although the Boss Man passed away in 2004, the memories he created for the WWE Universe will surely live on forever. Because of that, he will be rightfully celebrated as the newest member of the hallowed WWE Hall of Fame on April 2, the night before WrestleMania 32!