First Details On The 2017 WWE Tribute To The Troops Special

PWInsider.com is reporting WWE is currently planning to tape this year’s Tribute To The Troops special on Tuesday, December 5th in San Diego.

The Tribute To The Troops taping would be part of the WWE Smackdown Live TV tapings at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

WWE Discovers Baron Corbin Is Involved In A Major NFL Concussion Lawsuit

We reported recently that Baron Corbin's sudden burial from Mr. Money In The Bank and subsequent removal from the WWE SmackDown Live main event picture was in part due to a recent incident backstage incident in which Corbin got into an argument with Dr. Maroon who was giving the talent a talk on the connection between CTE and concussions. 

We can now reveal via Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE learned in the last month that Corbin is involved in a rather high profile lawsuit against the NFL. For those unaware Corbin is a former National Football League (NFL) player who played offensive line for both the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.  

The exchange between Corbin and the Dr. was said to be 'awkward’ and ‘uncomfortable’ with many in the room feeling Corbin should have aired his concerns away from everybody else in private.

In addition, Corbin has existing heat on him for the way he was conducting himself on twitter in regardings to fans and fellow professional wrestlers, including an army veteran who he later apologized to. 

Kairi Sane To Challenge For NXT Women’s Championship At NXT TakeOver: Houston

WWE.com posted the following announcement, confirming an ESPN.com report that Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane will challenge for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Takeover: Houston in November on Survivor Series weekend:

Kairi Sane made history by winning the inaugural Mae Young Classic in a dramatic Final showdown against Shayna Baszler, but that was just the beginning of her epic Tuesday night. As first broken by ESPN, the Mae Young Classic winner will challenge for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Houston.

WWE COO Triple H made the bombshell to ESPN just minutes after Sane stood tall in WWE’s historic 32-woman tournament. The news follows a whirlwind few weeks for the NXT Women’s Title that saw Asuka relinquish the coveted championship to pursue a new opportunity on Raw. The Empress of Tomorrow had held the title for a record 523 days, but now a new titleholder will be crowned on Saturday, Nov. 18.

With Sane slated to challenge for the title at TakeOver: Houston, the question remains who will The Pirate Princess be facing for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship?

WWE Crowns Winner Of The Inaugural Mae Young Classic

Kairi Sane is the winner of the inaugural Mae Young Classic after defeating Shayna Baszler in a thrilling finals match live on WWE Network.

Sane won a back and forth match with a double stomp and her trademark diving elbow drop moments after she avoided defeat by escaping a rear naked choke hold. Both competitors congratulated each other after the match, and Sane was presented a bouquet of roses and the trophy by Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.

Mae Young Classic Drawing Strong Viewership On WWE Network

The Mae Young Classic has reportedly been a huge success for the WWE Network.  The 32 competitor tournament exclusively for women from both NXT and the independent circuit is set to conclude next week with finals being held in Las Vegas.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports the eight most watched WWE Network shows this week were episodes of the Mae Young Classic which overshadowed WWE 205 Live viewing figures. WWE took the decision to release multiple episodes rather than one a week and that might have helped with viewership and might be a good formula for the company going forward with tournaments.

GFW Announces Global Wrestling Network, Extension of Pop TV/Impact Deal

GFW has announced several new global and digital expansions, including an extension of their deal with Pop TV and the Global Wrestling Network. The company made the announcement today that they will be extending their deal with Pop to air Impact in the United States in the Thursday night 8 PM ET timeslot, along with plans to launch their multi-platform digital service.

The announcement listed the new initiatives as follows:

* Plans to launch the Global Wrestling Network, a multi-platform digital service designed to give fans around the world instant 24-hour access to the extensive GFW and IMPACT libraries.

* Plans to launch the IMPACT Wrestling Channel on Pluto TV, a 24-hour live feed of content on the leading free over-the-top (OTT) television service in the U.S.

* Extension with Pop TV in the U.S. to continue airing its flagship weekly show IMPACT on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET.

* Distribution deal with 7Sports, the sport business unit of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, to bring IMPACT back to screens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via ran FIGHTING.

“These digital initiatives and broadcast agreements are a significant step forward for the Global Force Wrestling organization as we continue to expand the brand globally, making it available on more platforms and in more countries,” said GFW president Ed Nordholm. “Anthem is committed to broadening Global Force Wrestling’s footprint, as we work alongside international broadcast partners, digital platforms and professional wrestling promotions to bring our passionate fans a high-quality product that not only stands out in today’s media landscape, but continues to thrive into the future.”

Triple H, William Regal, Court Bauer And More Explore The UK Scene On “The World According To Wrestling”

The World According To Wrestling podcast is back with a second episode this week and explores the current situation in the British wrestling scene, ITV’s revamp of World Of Sport, WWE’s UK plans and how the UK indie scene feels about it. The loaded line-up of episode guests includes Triple H, Dave Meltzer, Andy Quildan, Klondyke Kate, Fred Dinenage, William Regal, Robbie Brookside, Finn Balor, Neville, Ryan Satin and Court Bauer.

The episode is available to download from today on iTunes and all other podcast platforms. You can read a few excerpts as well as listen to the show below:  

Paul Levesque, WWE’s Executive Vice President and 14-time World Champion Triple H, on launching in the UK at a similar time to World of Sport: 

“Did it change our timing a little bit because of when they positioned their show? Yeah, but we are talking by maybe months or something not speeding up the process in terms of getting it done. We’ve been working on this for a long time. Any other show aside, if they are successful I’m happy for them. And, at the end of the day, it all helps the industry so we just do what we do. And I think we do it better than anyone else on the planet.”

Former WWE writer and MLW’s Court Bauer, said: 

“UK really was an amazing region for pro wrestling and then there was a scorched earth effect for many years and it’s revived itself in more modern times. When you have something as big as WWE hovering over you like a death star, you know, this could go two different ways. Fans might win, but also that might just be a short term position if you look at the large term something like ITV doing World Of Sport truly could really help sustain and stabilise this regeneration of pro-wrestling. So that’s my concern.”

Andy Quildan, founder of Revolution Pro Wrestling in the UK said, on ITV and WWE moving in on the British scene:

“Worrying about what everyone else is doing and trying to get into pretend wrestling wars with people is just ridiculous. The fact of the matter is if WWE want to come over and takeover UK wrestling, they’re going to do it. It is what it is. Let’s continue to do what we do in the highest level possible.

“I can see people’s mentality with ‘they’re trying to take over British wrestling’ and my argument is if you look at for example theatre, look at the West End. How many different theatrical productions are going on in the West End every single night. All at the same time. All competing with one another… I’m not phased by it. It’s a very interesting time and certainly a lot of stuff’s changing but at the same time it’s nice for British wrestling not to be an afterthought for once."

The Young Bucks Receive A "Cease And Desist" From WWE

The Suck It "crotch chop" made famous by D-Generation X in the late 90s during the Attitude Era may be one of the most iconic and memorable taunts ever created in professional wrestling and it's often imitated across the industry, none more so than in independent promotions who attempt to tow the line when it comes to intellectual property.

Today, top indy tag team The Young Bucks revealed on Twitter that their use of the crouch chop would no longer be permitted by WWE after they received a cease & desist notice from the company which they discuss on episode 68 of The Elite.

The Young Bucks haven't stayed silent on the matter posting a humorous tweet in which they claim WWE has taken away everything including Christmas, in reference to WWE's decision to air Raw live on Christmas night.

GFW Announces That Jeff Jarrett Is Taking An Indefinite Leave Of Absence From His CCO Position

GFW announced the following on their website this afternoon:

GFW Update

Effective immediately, Jeff Jarrett is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his position as Chief Creative Officer to focus on personal matters. Jeff will be available on a consultative basis as needed.

Triple H on why Roman Reigns shouldn't be turned heel

For years now we have been hearing the same thing be said about Roman Reigns that has been said about John Cena - turn him heel.

Cena has had an extremely successful career in WWE, having won a record-tying 16 World Heavyweight Titles, four Tag Team Championships, five United States Title wins, the 2012 Money In The Ban Ladder Match winner, and two Royal Rumble match wins (2008, 2013). For the past few years, however, Cena has taken a bit of a backseat to the WWE main event picture while he pursues other ventures in film. In his absence a new face has emerged and is being groomed to assume the top spot in WWE - Roman Reigns.

Triple H On Ronda Rousey Being Interested In WWE, What WWE Can Learn From Mayweather Vs. McGre

WWE's Triple H recently made an appearance on ESPN's First Take to promote the Mae Young Classic Tournament. You can check out the highlights from "The Game's" interview here below:

What WWE can learn from the promotion behind Mayweather vs. McGregor:

"I think from a promotional standpoint they did a lot of things right. They found two personalities and that's really what this is all about. Floyd will be the first guy to tell you that it's personalities that sells fights, it's what he does, he changed himself from 'Pretty Boy Floyd' to 'Money Mayweather' and that was based around WWE and the culture of changing Hulk Hogan to 'Hollywood Hulk Hogan,' and reinventing yourself. He invented that persona. McGregor created a persona, a lot of it having to do around what, kind of, WWE does and also what Mayweather does.

"When you have personalities like that and you put them in a ring with that type of conflict - it's what we do no a daily basis. But they did it very well. It was a moment in time that I don't think you can replicate. The great things is, I think what people where afraid of was that it wouldn't deliver. I think it did deliver. I think people got an entertaining 10 round fight, it ended up where the educated person would imagine that it'd end up, but I think it was entertaining and it delivered on a lot of levels."

Who he thinks would have the biggest potential for WWE Superstardom: LaVar Ball or Rob Gronkowski:

"LaVar Ball certainly has a pension for winding people up and wanting to see people beat him. I think that's an important factor, but you never know what's going to connect to people. Those personalities - when you look at McGregor, you look at Ronda Rousey, you look at Gronk, you look at LaVar Ball - all those people, what connects them is personalities. Whether you love them or hate them, those personalities drive people. They create a connection and that's really what people pay to see. They're a very few pure boxing fans in the world, there are very few pure MMA aficionados in the world, there are very few pure WWE or NBA or NFL that really admire the intricacies of all that stuff. The personalities drive them, whether that be the team or the individuals."

What are the chances Ronda Rousey could end up in WWE and what could she bring to the table:

"Ronda has been a huge fan of WWE her whole life, she has been very adamant about that. She has done plenty of stuff with us before, I think you're watching a clip of her throwing me that I don't know why you're showing, but yeah she tends to throw me around when I see her - but she's a huge fan. I think she's a huge fan and I think it's something she's definitely interested - I'll throw it out right now, if she's interested I'll give her the opportunity. But we're all about personalities and that's what she brings to the table. I think she has shown it, and you have seen, she has shown it in Hollywood, she has shown it everywhere. Her personality would drive fan interest."

More?

Triple H's advice to Stephen Amell before his 2015 SummerSlam Match

While in the Gorilla' position before their tag match at SummerSlam 2015, Triple H approached Stephen Amell and offered this advice:

If you think you’re going too fast, slow down. When you’re sure you’re going too slow, then slow down some more. And when you’re positive you’re going too slow, then slow down some more.

The advice must have been helpful for Stephen because, during the match, he looked like he belonged. However, Amell recounted that his mouth went completely dry as soon as he walked out and he forgot how to enter the ring. He credited Cody for helping him in that match, stating that he believed it could not have been better.