Sean Waltman Shares Heartwarming Text Exchange With Triple H After His Heart Surgery

The friendship between Sean Waltman and Triple H is a bond that can never be broken.

WWE COO Triple H recently had heart surgery which caused concern among members of the WWE Universe. While it’s been reported that he will make a full recovery, situations like this can still be terrifying.

Speaking on the latest episode of Pro Wrestling 4 Life (via Wrestling Inc), Sean Waltman spoke on the situation and went out of his way to remind listeners of the positive impact that Triple H has had on the pro wrestling industry:

“The health of the entire industry outside of WWE probably wouldn’t be what it is right now if it wasn’t for him, which maybe (laughs) that’s why he has heat right now,” Sean Waltman joked. “He picked the whole business up. Picked WWE up, but at the same time, it raised the awareness of a lot of stuff. They have some of it on the Network. They host ICW out of Scotland, things like that. I’m grateful for that because regardless of what somebody corporate might think, that’s good for everyone.”

Waltman also shared a beautiful story of text messages between the two members of D-Generation X following Triple H’s heart surgery:

“I haven’t talked to him on the phone, but we had this running joke, Paul and I,” Sean Waltman said. “We’d be talking forever, be on the phone for an hour or two, and finally, whenever it was time for Paul to get off the phone, he’d go, ‘Are you going to be around later?’ And he never called me later. It was just, it’s time to take this home. I heard the news just like everyone else, and I just texted him, ‘Hey man, I’m glad you’re gonna be around later,’ and he just said, ‘Me too. Love you, kiddo,’ and that’s it. That’s the extent of what I know. I wasn’t gonna say, ‘Tell me what happened.’ I don’t need to know. I just need to know he’s okay (Waltman starts choking up).”

It was stated on the podcast that Triple H was probably dealing with a lot of pressure right now, due to all of the changes currently happening in WWE NXT. In response to that, Waltman had some advice for his long-time friend:

“I’ll just say this, the things you got to deal with lately, after this, I would seriously consider just cashing in and spending time with my family and saying, ‘F–k this.’ He’s got three beautiful daughters and a beautiful house up on a lake in New Hampshire that I would never leave if I had it,” Sean Waltman pointed out. “I’m just saying, if it was me.”

NXT 2.0 Arrives Tonight

Triple H Underwent Procedure For Cardiac Event, Expected To Make Full Recovery

Triple H is on the mend after having a procedure to correct a cardiac-related issue.

On Wednesday, WWE issued the following statement to confirm Triple H (Paul Levesque) had a procedure done in Connecticut last week due to a cardiac event. It was noted that Levesque’s health issue was caused by a genetic heart issue and he is expected to make a full recovery.

STAMFORD, Conn., September 8, 2021 – WWE issued the following statement today regarding Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development:

“Paul Levesque, a.k.a. Triple H, underwent a successful procedure last week at Yale New Haven Hospital following a cardiac event. The episode was caused by a genetic heart issue and Paul is expected to make a full recovery.”

Booker T Reveals New TV Deal For ROW

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has landed a new TV distribution deal for his Reality of Wrestling indie promotion.

ROW announced today that the Texas-based promotion will begin airing their weekly TV show in nearly 50 markets on Saturday, September 18. The new partnership is with CW, ABC, The Action Channel, RokuTV and Right Now TV.

The full schedule can be seen in Booker T’s tweet below. Booker thanked everyone for supporting the promotion, which launched back in 2005 as Pro Wrestling Alliance.

“I am proud to announce that @TheOfficialROW will be returning the television nationwide in nearly 50 markets! Check out this press release. It’s because of all of you we’ve made it to this point! Thank you all!,” he wrote.

Mick Foley Says WWE Has A Problem, Touts AEW As ‘The’ Place Where Talent Aspire To Be

This past weekend’s AEW All Out pay-per-view may have signaled a major shift in the world of professional wrestling, and that’s exactly the case if you ask a certain WWE Hall of Famer in Mick Foley.

Mick Foley took to social media to post a video titled ‘WWE — We Have A Problem’ to claim that AEW is now the place that talent ‘aspire’ to be. Foley explained that WWE broke something that didn’t need to be fixed, but now they need to correct that mistake if they want to be the destination for talent once again.

“WWE is no longer the place for talent to aspire to. Part of it is because AEW is doing a great job of attracting great talent, proven talent, building other talent, creating storylines,” Foley said, “but part of it is a problem of your own [WWE] making. I think younger talent sees the way that developmental characters are cut or left by the wayside, or in the case of Karrion Kross, greatly watered down and even made a joke of when debuting on the main roster.

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. If I was an aspiring talent now, a big-league talent with a major decision to make, I’m not sure that I would trust WWE creative to do the right thing with my career. You guys did wonders with me back in the day but that was a different time, different place,” Foley noted, “and if it was today, I’m not sure that I would trust the powers to be with my career in their hands. And until that changes, WWE, we got a problem.”

The Undertaker And The New Day Announced For Interactive Movie From WWE & Netflix

The Undertaker and The New Day will be featured in a new interactive film to be released by WWE and Netflix in time for Halloween.

Netflix Interactive announced today that “Escape The Undertaker” will be released on Tuesday, October 5.

The interactive film features The Undertaker and The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Big E). Viewers will be able to decide the fate of The New Day as they enter Taker’s mansion.

The following synopsis was released for the film, courtesy of Polygon:

“In this interactive film featuring WWE Superstars, The Undertaker has set a trap for the decorated tag team The New Day at his mansion. What they don’t know: The Undertaker’s mansion is an extreme Haunted House, packed to the brim with supernatural challenges. It’s up to viewers to decide the fate of these three poor souls trying to survive the wrath of The Undertaker.”

The Undertaker tweeted on the project.

“Be careful whose door you knock on… never know who is on the other side! ⚱️ 

Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson And Ruby Soho Debut At AEW All Out

Adam Cole, who walked to the ring and shocked everyone by attacking Jungle Boy. He greeted Omega and the Young Bucks, then said it was storytime and talked about how his arrival proved The Elite was unstoppable now. Omega went to bid the crowd adieu when “Ride Of The Valkyries” cued up and the arena erupted as Bryan Danielson made his way to the ring. Danielson aligned himself with Jurassic Express and Christian, then assisted in clearing the ring before playing to the crowd to end the night.

Ruby Soho‘s destination is finally known… and she’s got a date with Britt Baker in the future.

Ruby Soho not only made her AEW debut at All Out, but she also won the Women’s Casino Battle Royale to earn a shot at Baker, who retained her title against Kris Statlander earlier in the night. Ruby was the “Joker” in the match and eliminated Thunder Rosa to win the bout.

Update On Vince McMahon’s Role In The WWE NXT Revamp

The weekly WWE NXT show will reportedly not be directly produced by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and Senior Vice President & Executive Director Bruce Prichard with the upcoming revamp that kicks off this month.

It was reported this week, via Wrestling Observer Live, that McMahon and Prichard were to produce the weekly NXT TV show beginning with the September 14 live episode. The report noted that McMahon and Prichard will be behind the big decisions for the NXT brand, but not the smaller ones. They will also be responsible for marketing, promotion and direction of the NXT brand. It was also said that NXT will be like “the old NXT” moving forward, which appears to be a reference to how the brand was at its peak, around 2015-2018 or so.

In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE held a meeting with talent and staff where they were told the story of McMahon and Prichard directly producing the weekly NXT TV show is incorrect. Word is that McMahon and Prichard simply do not have the time to produce another weekly TV show.

While McMahon and Prichard won’t be directly producing the weekly NXT TV show, Vince remains in charge of everything in WWE, and there have been, and will continue to be more big-picture decisions on the NXT brand that are made my higher-ups in the company, those outside of the NXT circle, including decisions related to creative, branding and marketing. 

The people making these decisions, on their own, will be a group made up of McMahon, Prichard, President & CEO Nick Khan, Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis, and Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn. This group will have more influence on whoever they want pushed or protected in NXT, but it was noted that they likely will not be involved in weekly booking since they already have so much going on.

Regarding the changes in NXT, <b>Fightful Select adds that numerous WWE sources have effectively denied the original story on McMahon and Prichard directly producing NXT</b>

It was also noted that McMahon and Prichard were not at the recent set of NXT TV tapings. However, influential WWE Producer Jamie Noble has been seen at the WWE Performance Center more often than usual as of late. Furthermore, Prichard is scheduled to be at the Performance Center this weekend. There’s no word on what Prichard’s Saturday visit is for, but talent is not mandated to be there.

It remains to be seen exactly what this NXT revamp will mean for WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H and his crew. We noted earlier this week that the NXT brand will still be “very much in the hands” of Triple H and his team, which includes Trainer & Assistant Coach Shawn Michaels, Director of Talent Development & Head of Global Recruiting William Regal, Head Coach & Vice President of Talent Development Matt Bloom, and others. Word was that the day-to-day operations of NXT won’t change too much, but that the revamp will mean at least some loss of power for Triple H.

The original report on McMahon and Prichard producing NXT led to a “#RIPNXT” hashtag trending worldwide on social media.

CM Punk Responds To Rumors Of AJ Lee Coming To AEW

CM Punk recently spoke with the New York Post about his newfound career in All Elite Wrestling, and he was asked about his wife: former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee, and if we will ever see her return to the ring.

Punk shot down the rumors immediately.

“I just want to say no...just because of her neck. The reason she stopped wrestling is because of her neck. I wouldn’t want her to jeopardize her health and neither would she, so we’ll put an end to that rumor right now."

AJ hasn't wrestled since 2014, having to retire due to a neck injury. Since then, she has mainly focused on writing.

Linda McMahon Named Chairman of the Center for the American Woman

FPI ANNOUNCES CHAIR OF THE CENTER FOR THE AMERICAN WORKER

Today, America First Policy Institute (AFPI) announced that Linda McMahon, Chair of the Board for AFPI, will also serve as AFPI’s Chairman of the Center for the American Worker.

“There is no stronger advocate or voice for the American worker and their employers than Linda McMahon—an entrepreneur who helped grow a two-person small business to a worldwide, publicly traded corporation that employs hundreds. While serving as the 25th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, she advocated on behalf of the 30 million small businesses in America—the backbone of our Nation’s economy,” said AFPI President/CEO Brooke Rollins. “I am excited for Linda to carry out AFPI’s mission putting the American worker FIRST.”

“The American worker is the heart of our country,” said Linda McMahon. “AFPI’s Center for the American Worker will reignite the focus on the dignity of work. We have to make sure that the workers, the innovators, and the entrepreneurs who bring these businesses to life have the tools and skills that they need for their workforce.”

Main Roster WWE Producer Spotted More Often At WWE NXT Tapings

Following reports that the WWE NXT brand will be produced by Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard going forward, Fightful Select is reporting that McMahon and Prichard were not at the latest set of NXT television tapings but one name who has been spotted more often at the WWE Performance Center/Capitol Wrestling Center is WWE main roster producer Jamie Noble.

"Those that we spoke to have said that they didn’t notice Vince McMahon or Bruce Prichard at the recent set of tapings. However, influential producer Jamie Noble has been said to be around the Performance Center much more often than usual of late."

Rumor Mill - Vince McMahon And Bruce Prichard Reportedly Producing The WWE NXT Brand With Revamp

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and Senior Vice President & Executive Director Bruce Prichard are set to produce the WWE NXT brand moving forward.

As we’ve noted, NXT will return to airing live weekly shows on the USA Network beginning with the September 14 episode, which will feature the wedding of Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell. This will mark a reset for the brand, with a new logo, new theme song, a new look for the weekly show, and a new creative direction.

It was noted by Bryan Alvarez on today’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live that McMahon and Prichard will be producing the weekly NXT TV show when the brand returns to live TV later this month.

Furthermore, Dave Meltzer adds that McMahon and Prichard will be behind the big decisions for the NXT brand, but not the smaller ones. They will also be responsible for marketing, promotion and direction of the NXT brand.

Regarding NXT creative, it was noted that McMahon and Prichard may be only be booking the wrestlers at the top of the brand.

Word is that NXT will be like “the old NXT” moving forward, which appears to be a reference to how the brand was at its peak, around 2015-2018 or so.

There’s no word yet on what the changes will mean for Triple H and his team, which includes WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and “Road Dogg” BG James, but we will keep you updated.

WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan recently confirmed that there will be a complete revamp for the NXT brand coming soon. You can click here to read his comments.

As noted, rapper Wale recently revealed a bright new color-changing logo for the NXT brand, and a snippet of the new NXT theme song, which includes several familiar hip-hop samples. That same teaser has aired on WWE TV and social media this week. You can see those teasers below.