Stephanie McMahon Makes Adweek ‘Most Powerful’ List

Stephanie McMahon was featured on Adweek’s “30 Most Powerful Women In Sports” list, which hit newsstands today. Other names making the list include Hannah Storm and Ronda Rousey; you can read Stephanie’s part of the article below:

Stephanie McMahon, chief brand officer, WWE

Stephanie McMahon is the woman behind—and in front of—the curtain at WWE. Over the organization’s 36-year history, few executives have been as important to its growth than McMahon, who is the daughter of CEO Vince McMahon. After starting there as an account executive, McMahon now sits on the WWE’s board of directors, following a two-decade rise through the ranks that has put her hands into virtually every facet of the business, including creative, talent relations, digital and her current role overseeing WWE’s brand efforts and brand reputation among investors, media, business partners and advertisers. And with her dad now in his 70s, McMahon, along with her husband Paul Levesque (better known as“Triple H”), could be poised to inherit the keys to the powerful WWE kingdom. —Tim Baysinger

Dana White on WWE Negotiations For Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, WWE Promotion on UFC Shows

UFC’s president Dana White spoke to members of the press tonight following the UFC 200 weigh-in for tomorrow’s massive event, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In a fight many assumed would never happen, the “Beast Incarnate” himself Brock Lesnar will return to the octagon, squaring up against the “Super Samoan” Mark Hunt.

When asked how negotiations went with WWE and who he had to work with to make it happen, White spoke openly and noted that he had a lot of respect for Vince McMahon, despite calling him an “animal” at the negotiating table.

“It was Brock’s team, me, Vince and Triple H. Vince and I have had our ups and down, and Vince is a tough character to deal with. He’s an animal. It’s one of the things I respect about him, and I think he’s loosening up a little bit on the UFC.”

WWE.com streamed the entirety of Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 weight-in, and has begun promoting the fight on social media heading into the bout. Dana noted that he will be returning the favor, and we will be seeing WWE advertising and promotion coming from UFC soon.

“Yeah. The fact that they did this – I wanted to reciprocate, so yes. And they’re doing [it too]. If you look today, Brock’s weigh-in will be on all social media for WWE. This deal couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Covers Revealed for New WWE Comic Book Series Featuring John Cena, Triple H, Sasha Banks and The New Day

As we noted yesterday, Boom! Studios and WWE are teaming up to produce new comic books and graphic novels, and three comic book covers have been revealed featuring The New Day, Triple H, Sasha Banks and John Cena.

No release date has been announced for either the graphic novels or the comic books, but WWE’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Products Casey Collins issued the following statement on the Boom! and WWE partnership:

“Boom! is one of the fastest-growing comic book publishers in the industry and their vision for the WWE brand showed us exactly why. We were blown away by the level of detail and creativity and are confident the WWE Universe and comic book fans will agree.”

.@TripleH makes his @boomstudios debut in new #WWE comics image https://t.co/9UAw9kWK8r pic.twitter.com/MObZIEGjqm

— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) July 8, 2016

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TNA Announces Move To Thursday Nights, New Start Time Revealed

TNA announced that they are moving back to Thursday nights starting July 21st, two nights after WWE SmackDown moves to Tuesday nights.

It was also revealed that Impact Wrestling will now start one hour earlier at 8/7 CT.

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Brackets Revealed

The photo below is the official bracket for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament, revealed on WWE Network’s WWE CWC: Bracketology special. The tournament will kick off next week on July 13th on WWE Network.

WWE Signs New Deal For Graphic Novels And Comic Books

The LA Times reports that WWE and Boom! Studios are partnering to produce new graphic novels and comic books No word yet on when they will begin releasing.

"Here at Boom! we're thrilled to be a part of WWE's return to the comic book medium," said Boom! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. "The WWE Universe is a passionate fanbase, and we aim to provide them with the comic series they've always wanted — a series featuring their favorite Superstars and storylines, a series that highlights the incredible history of the brand. An authentic series that matters."

"Boom! is one of the fastest-growing comic book publishers in the industry and their vision for the WWE brand showed us exactly why," said Casey Collins, WWE's executive vice president of consumer products. "We were blown away by the level of detail and creativity and are confident the WWE Universe and comic book fans will agree."

Stephanie McMahon On Having Shane Back In WWE, If Shane Had Impact On WWE - China, HHH - NXT, CWC

Recently on The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast, Stephanie McMahon addressed a number of topics including Shane McMahon's WWE return, WWE's expansion in China, NXT's success, and WWE's Cruiserweight Classic.

With respect to her brother Shane, Stephanie said it is nice having him around once again, as him being away from WWE for seven years was "unusual".

"It [has] been pretty cool, I have to say. Shane and I grew up in WWE and not having him around for seven years was unusual, so it's awesome having him back. We're having a lot of fun together."

Stephanie said that her brother Shane had no involvement with WWE's recent inroads into the Chinese market other than laying some of the groundwork before his departure from WWE seven years ago.

"China [has] been on our map for, on our radar, rather, for a really long time. Certainly given its scale and culture, it's seems a natural fit for WWE. And as a part of the Eisenhower Fellowship, last year, I partook on a trip to China and then our executive leadership team has really been invested for quite some time working with multiple partners and so the timing was right. And it's very exciting and again just to be able to do this."

The former WWE Women's Champion seemed pleased to share that WWE held tryouts in China recently. Notably, WWE Performance Center head trainer Matt Bloom studied Mandarin for a year to be able to conduct the tryouts.

"We had a whole talent recruitment effort there. Yes, and that took place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena for four days. And I believe we're vetting a number of different talent who came out of that tryout and it's the first of it's kind. It's really cool because Matt Bloom, the head trainer, actually took some Mandarin for about a year so that he could be able to coach up these talent as they came through and it was all different athletes from all different backgrounds and they did really, really well, so it's an exciting opportunity from a talent development standpoint as well."

On the topic of NXT, WWE's Chief Brand Officer said that she could not take any credit for it, as it was Triple H's idea.

"I can take no credit whatsoever for NXT. That was all my husband's vision and his team. And he has really created the [WWE] Performance Center, he [has] fostered the partnership along with the executive leadership with Full Sail University, but the brand itself, the storylines, the characters, I mean, really, I could not be more proud of my husband and the team he has built and what they are doing with that brand, it is absolutely remarkable. I think it has surprised a number of executives here. It doesn't surprise me because I have so much faith and I know what my husband can do. I know that he was surprised when we were doing the first live event outside of Florida, around WrestleMania 31, and I know he was surprised that we sold out that venue, and then, a few months later, he had scaled the tickets so that it went to Barclays Center before SummerSlam fully expecting to only sell part of the bowl. And when he sold out Barclays [Center], that was the first stake in the ground of our audience saying, 'we love this brand and we're here to stay and it's going to be bigger than any of you ever imagined because we are NXT' and I think that's such a huge part of the NXT brand is that the audience is a part of it. They are a part of NXT's success. They are a part of why these stars are making it to the main roster and they know it."

Stephanie McMahon Talks Wardrobe Malfunction On WWE RAW, Advice From Vince, Favorite TV Moment
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Stephanie McMahon Talks Wardrobe Malfunction On WWE RAW, Advice From Vince, Favorite TV Moment

During the interview, the Boston University graduate acknowledged that the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic series was the brainchild of Triple H. Also, Stephanie teased another project involving female performers.

"Yep, I mean, that's how I certainly heard about it. [Triple H] sort of started pitching ideas, 'what do you think about this?' He percolates ideas and you can tell he's thinking about something, but he doesn't necessarily come out with it right away. He likes to formulate it a little bit more. He did actually pitch another idea that has to do with the women that I'm not going to get into. So definitely, there are different things in progress and the Cruiserweight Classic is one that made sense on all different levels and we're doing it!"

ECW Original to Guest Coach at the WWE PC

According to PWInsider.com, ECW original Stevie Richards is scheduled to work as a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center soon, and could end up being offered a permanent role as a coach.

Century ago, Stecher-Lewis wrestling match had a stranglehold on Omaha, but disappointed most

Column by Stu Pospisil / World-Herald staff writer


Imagine sitting in a temporary wooden grandstand on the Fourth of July, watching two heavyweight professional wrestlers “bunny-hug.”

For one hour, then two. Three and four hours pass.

Now dusk is falling. No lights, still no action. Some in the crowd, likely already losers on bets on their home-state favorite, get restless and toss cushions into the ring at the wrestlers.

A few lanterns are rounded up. An auto, maybe a Model T, is pulled up ringside so its headlights can help out.

Finally, after nearly five hours, the bout is declared a draw. No winner.

But this match — Joe Stecher of Dodge, Nebraska, against Ed “Strangler” Lewis — 100 years ago on July 4, 1916, at the old Douglas County Fairgrounds in Benson became legendary.

In 1983, World-Herald columnist Wally Provost said it was Omaha’s most famous Fourth of July sports event. In 1966, Dynamo Dennison, whom Provost called “a sports historian nonpareil,” said upon his 65th birthday that Stecher-Lewis had been Omaha’s greatest sports attraction.

And Stecher-Lewis was included in the “Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories,” written in 1976 by Howard Liss and Joe Mathieu. It was a book I read as a 14-year-old, and I developed a fascination with this story, perhaps the only sporting event in the city’s history at that time to rate mention.

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Tammy Sytch Legal Update

Tammy "Sunny" Sytch is scheduled to be sentenced this Tuesday at Carbon County Court in Pennsylvania at 1:15pm for three DUI arrests in 2015.

As noted, Sytch recently revealed on her Facebook that she completed a 95 day stint in rehab. WWE covered the final two months at $40,000 / month. She also told TMZ Sports that she plans to "get back to work ... in front of a webcam."

WWE CWC 'Bracketology' Details

The WWE Cruiserweight Classic "Bracketology" special will premiere on the WWE Network this coming Wednesday at 9pm EST after WWE NXT goes off the air. The description for the one-hour special, hosted by Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo, reads like this:

"Mauro Ranallo, Daniel Bryan and special guests including Triple H analyze the bracket of 32 men competing in the Cruiserweight Classic!"

The Latest On The WWE Concussion Lawsuit

As previously reported on PWInsider.com, many of the lawsuits brought against WWE for allegedly failing to disclose information and caring about the well being of talents when it comes to concussion-related issues and CTE have for the most part been dismissed (although some of those dismissals are currently being appealed). The lone exception, as of this writing, has been the lawsuit brought against the company by former WWE talent Vito LoGrasso and former developmental talent Evan Singleton.

In that case, many of the claims brought against WWE by LoGrasso and Singleton were dismissed for the same reasons as the other lawsuits but one* (see below) of the claims against WWE in this lawsuit was allowed to move forward. Specifically allowed was their claim alleging that in 2005, WWE "became aware of and failed to disclose to its wrestlers information concerning a link between repeated head trauma and permanent degenerative neurological conditions." Since WWE had created the Wellness Policy and LoGrasso and Singleton had wrestled during that period, the court ruled it was within reason that there was a possibility that WWE had a "greater knowledge" of the dangers via information cultivated via Wellness Policy data. So the court is allowing that aspect of the case to move forward so the matter can be determined.

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