New Knockouts Champion Crowned On TNA Impact Wrestling

Jade won the TNA Knockouts Championship on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling by defeating Madison Rayne and former champion Gail Kim, who had her reign end at 232 days.

The final moments of the match saw Gail go for a crossbody block, but Maria Kanellis knocked her off the ropes, which allowed Jade to hit a STO for the win.

News On Total Divas Cast Changes: Returning Star Added, Three Stars Out

We have some exclusive news about the cast of the next season of Total Divas.

Mandy Rose, who joined the show for season 5, will not be returning to the main cast. Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox will also not be returning to the main cast for the next season.

Trinity (a.k.a. Naomi) will be returning to the main cast. Lana and Renee Young have also been added, as has Maryse, which is one of the reasons why she is back with the company. Maryse appeared with her husband, The Miz on Raw after WrestleMania.

Wrestling Fanatics Travel to Texoma to Visit Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

The president of the new Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Wichita Falls, Johnny Mantell, said the hall of fame had a successful first week.

Mantell said he estimates that more than 1,000 visitors will pass through over the week.

He specifically planned to open their doors this week, because more than 100,000 people are headed to the Dallas area for WWE's WrestleMania. Mantell said he had a booth at WrestleMania and many of the people he spoke with seemed excited to stop through Wichita Falls. The hall of fame is usually not open on Mondays, but they will be this week for all of the WrestleMania traffic coming into downtown.

"Well, I feel like we need to get ready to move up to another floor. That's how hopeful I am. We need more space because I'm getting new stuff in everyday. Guys are bringing us stuff and sending us stuff and we're going to have to move up to another floor for sure here.... before too long," Mantell said.

The hall of fame and new museum has memorabilia dating back to the Civil War.

Admission is $3 and the hall of fame is typically open Tuesday through Sunday.

How A Teenager’s Leaks Site Changed Pro Wrestling

The Monday Night Wars encapsulate a glorious time in sports entertainment history. From late 1995 to early 2001, the two biggest promotions in the country battled every week in a winner-take-all bout for ratings and the future of the industry.

In one corner, the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) was ushering in its Attitude era, introducing icons of hardcore wrestling like Mick Foley to mainstream America, alongside a slew of new superstars like the Rock, Triple H, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who chugged beers and flicked his middle fingers at management. In the other, World Championship Wrestling was poaching and rebranding WWF’s most established characters: Hulk Hogan, Bret “the Hitman” Hart, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall.

But what made the spectacle grander was the emergence of the Internet, which was spoiling all their secrets. No longer was the drama enclosed in a world that existed exclusively within the window of televised matches. Wrestling rumor and “leak” sites allowed viewers to supplement the official programs with contract details, injury diagnoses, management disputes, and sordid goings-on that wouldn’t be out of place these days on Deadspin, Reddit, or TMZ.

As the details leaked, the product on stage was forced to adapt. The facade of “kayfabe” was broken; the events went meta. Rumors of labor disputes and infamous Montreal screw-job coalesced into WWF owner Vince McMahon becoming an actual on-stage character. Details about a wrestler’s injuries made their high-flying acts even more dramatic. Wrestling moved into post-modernism.

My go-to site for wrestling-related news and rumors at the time was RajahWWF.com—now simply Rajah.com, the switch coming after the World Wildlife Fund snatched back the acronym. It was created in 1997 by then-18-year-old Rajah Kumar, a biology major who doubled as wrestling’s Matt Drudge from his dorm at the University of Alberta in Canada. The Kernel spoke to him about the site’s history, the Internet rumor mill’s impact on wrestling, and the WWF’s attempts to quash the leaks.

How did the site start?

I didn’t have a computer until I went to university, and so, when I got to use it, I didn’t search for school-related material, I searched for wrestling stuff. I’d visit sites, read rumors, and email them to my brother. He got pretty sick of getting these emails every day, so he said, ‘Why don’t you start a website?’ He pointed me to Angelfire.com, and I made a really crappy-looking site.

More?

WWE Studios Announces Movie With Seth Rollins

WWE sent us the following today:

EREBUS PICTURES, WWE® STUDIOS AND THE GENE SIMMONS COMPANY ANNOUNCE WESLEY SNIPES, ANNE HECHE, DAVE ANNABLE AND WWE SUPERSTAR SETH ROLLINS® TO STAR IN JOHN STOCKWELL'S THRILLER "TEMPLE"

Principal Photography to start April 6th

Los Angeles, CA (April 5, 2016) - Erebus Pictures, the genre specialty label formed by Multi Media Magnate and KISS co-founder Gene Simmons and WWE Studios, announced today that Wesley Snipes (The Expendables 3), Anne Heche (Wild Card), Dave Annable (Brothers and Sisters) and WWE Superstar Seth Rollins are on board to star in the John Stockwell directed thriller TEMPLE. Filming will commence on Wednesday, April 6th. Snipes will also serve as a producer on TEMPLE along with Simmons and WWE Studios President Michael Luisi.

TEMPLE, written by Matt Savelloni (Exile to Babylon), and directed by John Stockwell (In The Blood), follows a team of trained operatives consisting of Snipes, Heche, Annable and Rollins, who find themselves trapped inside an isolated military compound after its artificial intelligence is suddenly shut down—and then begin to experience strange and horrific phenomena.

"Gene and I are thrilled to have such a stellar cast on board for our first Erebus picture." said Michael Luisi, President WWE Studios. "We also look forward to extending our relationship with John Stockwell."

"I could not be more pleased that we are launching our first film for Erebus pictures and have John on board to direct." said Gene Simmons. "I am really looking forward to working with this fantastic cast as well as Michael and the whole team at WWE."

"It's exciting to find myself in a genre I have always wanted to explore." said Wesley Snipes "We are looking forward to a great brand collaboration with Erebus, WWE and Gene."

As previously announced, Gene Simmons partnered with WWE Studios to launch Erebus Pictures to produce elevated genre films. Erebus Pictures plans to use WWE's extensive platforms from weekly TV shows, including WWE's flagship programs, Monday Night Raw® and SmackDown®, digital, social media and WWE Network, to market the film.

Variety Analyzes WWE Stock Drop

Variety.com published a new piece looking at the WWE stock drop following the reveal of the new Network subscriber count. The article attributes investors pushing the stock down to skepticism that WWE Network will be able to convert a substantial number of those who signed up for the #FreeWrestleMania promo into paying customers.

As noted, shares of WWE stock closed down 4.3% for the day yesterday, to $16.56 per share. You can read more at this link.

New WWE Champs How'd We Celebrate??? Sushi & Miller Lite!!!

Newly crowned WWE champs Roman Reigns and Charlotte Flair are about to answer the most important question about being a brand new champion ... WHAT DO YOU EAT TO CELEBRATE?!

We got the duo leaving NBC in NY and tossed the question ... and the Wrestlemania 32 conquerors both fessed up immediately ... although they were on totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

Check out the clip -- Roman played the part of the simple man while Charlotte -- yes, Rick's daughter -- talked about the fancy food she ate on the jet to NYC (Nature Boy would be proud).

Congrats.

source: tmz.com

Dr. Phil to guest star on Raw on April 11

Dr. Phil is coming to Raw. The host of the number one daytime talk show, "Dr. Phil," will guest star on Monday night's hottest show on April 11.

What will happen when one of TV's most recognizable personalities visits the WWE Universe? Find out next Monday night at 8/7C on USA Network.

WWE NXT Tag Team Makes RAW Debut

WWE NXT Superstars Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady came to the main roster without having a tag team title run in developmental. They debuted on tonight's post-WrestleMania 32 RAW in Dallas without Carmella.

The duo debuted after The Dudley Boyz defeated The Usos in a Tables Match. They hit the ring and did their usual intros as Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley watched from the ramp. No word yet on when Enzo and Cass will wrestle their first main roster match but it looks like it will be against The Dudley Boyz.

Former WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Debuting On WWE SmackDown This Week

Former WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains will make their main roster debuts on Thursday's WWE SmackDown from Houston, which tapes tomorrow night.

Simon Gotch signed with WWE in June 2013 while Aiden English signed in 2012. The two have been teaming since 2014.

Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin Debut on Raw

WWE NXT Superstar Apollo Crews, who reported to the WWE Performance Center in April 2015, made his RAW debut on tonight's show from Dallas. The former Uhaa Nation defeated Tyler Breeze.

Third Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Baron Corbin made his WWE RAW debut tonight in Dallas. He went to a double count out with Dolph Ziggler and left Ziggler laying on the floor with End of Days after the match

Stephanie McMahon On Not Being Able To See Triple H Much

"Truthfully, we really don't get to see each other very much. Our jobs are so different and we do perform together on television, but that's about the most we see each other, with the exception of being at home which, again, is pretty much just working out - our midnight workouts - so that's our bonding time. But I wouldn't mind being around him 24/7, I have to say. I mean, my husband is pretty amazing."