Lawsuit Filed By Rene Dupree Against WWE Over Royalties Already Being Dismissed

We noted last week that former WWE Tag Team Champion Rene Dupree filed a class-action lawsuit against WWE over royalties related to the WWE Network and Netflix. That lawsuit is already over, according to PWInsider, less than a week after it was filed.

Dupree's lawyers, Brenden Leydon and Clinton Krislov, filed a notice today in Connecticut, voluntarily dismissing the suit against WWE. The court still has to sign off on the notice and officially dismiss the suit but there should be no problem there. His attorneys did file to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice, leaving it open to be re-filed at a later date.

The class-action suit was aimed at representing other wrestlers that had deals with WWE and other wrestling promotions between 1980 and now. They were seeking millions of dollars in damages.

As noted, WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt told The Hollywood Reporter last week that Dupree signed a contract in 2011 that prevents him from filing a lawsuit like this one. McDevitt wouldn't elaborate on the deal Dupree signed but it appears this dismissal by his lawyers shows McDevitt was right. McDevitt informed Dupree's lawyers of the 2011 deal on the same night the suit was filed and their response indicated they did not know about any other deal their client had signed.

Sting on WWE Hall of Fame induction, WrestleMania match with Triple H, More

Sting was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard. Below are a couple of highlights:

Losing to Triple H at WrestleMania 31:

"People took the loss personally, but in this business, you have to learn real quick not to take anything that personally. For me, it was a memory just being in Levi Stadium in California, my home state, with that crowd there."

Planning to still appear at select independent wrestling shows:

"I'm going to kick back. I'll pick and choose some events, but I won't be traveling as much. These grassroots shows remind me of my humble beginnings–even the smell of the building reminds me when I started. It's an honor to still be in front of the fans."

Sting also discussed being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Ric Flair doing the induction, having DX and the nWo together at WrestleMania 31 and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

How Much Money Did The McMahons Donate To The Donald J. Trump Foundation?

The Stamford Patch has an article about how Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon were the largest donors to The Donald J. Trump Foundation from 2004 to 2014.

The McMahon family donated $5 million to the charity named after the WWE Hall of Famer and US Presidential candidate. Trump himself did not give any money to his foundation from 2009 to 2014.

WWE Signs Four Female Talents

According to Squared Circle Sires, WWE has signed 22 year old fitness athlete CJ Dunning, 26 year-old independent wrestler Ruby Mobs, Scottish wrestler Nikki Storm (who appeared on TNA British Boot Camp 2) and 25 year-old crossfit athlete Bianca Blair. All four women had tryouts with WWE last year.

Baron Corbin Talks His WrestleMania 32 Moment, What WWE Fans Need to Know About Him, His Success in NXT and More

Baron Corbin, one of the most recent WWE main roster call-ups from NXT, recently spoke with TheState.com to promote this weekend’s WWE NXT live events in the Carolinas, and below are some highlights:

Who Baron Corbin is and what fans need to know about him:

“He’s a no-nonsense guy who usually gets what he wants. It doesn’t matter who’s in his way. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. He gets it done as violent as possible.”

His WrestleMania Moment after winning the third annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal:

“It was unbelievable. We had over 100,000 people there. I was the last one standing in the ring and I got the trophy. My family was up front. It was pretty surreal. The noise, the energy, the atmosphere was untouchable. The feeling you get from that is just unreal.”

What NXT means for the business and fans:

“NXT has grown immensely in the last year, year and a half to where we’re traveling now, we’re doing overseas tours. The atmosphere we get with NXT and NXT fans, they’re a die-hard group. They care deeply about NXT. It’s a very unique experience when you come to it. It’s like when you find that local band you love playing at a small place and there are 50 people there. You continue to watch them and it grows to arenas. That’s what NXT is doing.”

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Bray Wyatt On His Relationship With Triple H, Moving On From Husky Harris, Being Patient

Bray Wyatt joined Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca on Busted Open during WrestleMania week. They sent us these highlights:

Moving past his previous incarnation in WWE as Husky Harris:

"I explain the old guy as a shell of a man that never really existed at all because that's exactly what it was. It was 'the man' trying to make into something that they thought would be humorous for them, but it meant nothing to me. Never did and it never will."

The perspective he has that allows him to be patient:

"There's a level of understanding that comes with seeing it. I didn't just see the good times. I saw all the horribleness in-between and the drop-off when it ends. My mind has always been prepped to be here. That being said, there's no favors being done for me. When I was thrown away years ago, and I was. I was thrown away and no one ever thought I'd come back. I remember Hunter telling me something. Hunter told me, 'When you walk in the door, no one is going to look at you and go, 'This guy needs to be a world champion.' He's like, 'You have to find yourself and invent yourself and you have to grab them by the throat and make them watch, make them understand you'. That's where I came from and that's exactly what I've always tried to do and I think I've done a pretty good job of that. Not to mention adding five giants behind me has kind of helped with that."

Whether true faces and heels still exist in wrestling today:

"TV and movies have changed everything about that. Stone Cold Steve Austin, for instance. There still is, to me, the cliche 'good guy' and 'bad guy'. I really believe that, but there's also guys like me and Roman that kind of blur the lines… Deadpool has this wonderful thing, and I think this explains this wonderfully. He tosses a guy up and he sticks him with two swords and he goes, 'Hey, hold on. I know it looks like I'm a hero here, but I want you to know something. I am a bad guy' and he slices the guy in half. That's a great testament to, I think, what I am. I fight for what I believe in, but I'm not a good person. I never claimed to be and I'm not."

His relationship with Triple H:

"Me and Triple H, I think we have a love-hate relationship. I love him, he hates me. I'm just kidding.

"Hunter was there at the beginning of NXT. It was nothing, it was still FCW, it was a warehouse, and when he came in, everything started to change. It was a lot of cartoon characters. It was, I'm not going to name names, but a lot of goofs and, you know, guys just wearing trunks and going out there, baby oil all over themselves, and then there was me. When we started that first show, I was one of the first characters to ever come out and I was so different. No one understood that at that time because NXT was not what you see today with all these bright characters. Finn Balor coming out with all the, whatever, devil crap. It wasn't like that then. It was just cartoon characters and when I walked out, it was just a great feeling because people immediately accepted what I was doing. They didn't care about the other guy. They didn't want to know about how it happened. They were just happy it did. They were very receptive and Hunter was instrumental in that for believing in me when not too many other people did… He's carried me a long way and I owe him everything."

Hulk Hogan Talks Roman Reigns Listening to Fans, Praises Triple H, More

Hulk Hogan recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard, here are the highlights:

On Roman Reigns: “If I was Roman Reigns, I would just listen to what the people want. If they want to boo me, then it’s like Razor Ramon would say–‘I’ll be the ‘Bad Guy’ for you.’ Roman Reigns should be as evil as he wants. If they’re booing him, then that’s what they want to see.”

On Triple H: “Triple H has stood the test of time. When he is in the ring, everybody loves watching him wrestle. His work goes back to DX and the NWO–the more evil he is, the more the people cheer him. Wrestling is in his blood, and people know what to expect when he gets in the ring, so people cheer his a–.”

On Working In Front of Big Crowds: “Once you get there in front of 100,000, the final element is how you respond to the people. Usually by the time you get to a crowd that big, you already have your act together. With a crowd that big–even if you bodyslam a giant–the signals come back awkwardly. It’s such a sea of people, you need to be able to read the crowd and roll to it. That’s why you see Triple H perform on a different level to connect with the crowd. That’s the mental aspect, and that shows you who the masters are out there.”

Will He Appear at WrestleMania 33?: “Never say never.”

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CM Punk / Chris Amann Lawsuit Trial Date Set

According to documents issued by the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, the lawsuit brought on by WWE doctor Chris Amann against CM Punk and Colt Cabana has a trial date set.

The county set Monday, June 27th 2016 as the date for the trial; Amann is suing CM Punk (Phil Brooks) and Colt Cabana (Scott Colton) for comments made about him on Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast in November 2014.