WWE has shut down the NXT and FCW websites. Both are now pointing to a new WWE NXT section of the WWE website, which you can check out by clicking here.
June 20, 2013
Update on the FCW & NXT Websites
Stephanie McMahon Cashes In WWE Stock
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Stephanie McMahon sold 137,610 shares of WWE stock for roughly $1.25 million, between 5/15 and 5/24. Thus far this month, she has sold another 140,000 shares for an additional $1.37 million. She has 191,945 shares remaining, worth $1,902,175 as of the weekend. That is her personal stock, not including her husband’s shares.
According to SEC filings, Stephanie is in the process of diversifying her investment portfolio.
Changes Expected In WWE Developmental
There will be a lot of staffing changes in WWE developmental when the move is made for the new Performance Center. The belief is that Steve Keirn will no longer be involved once the move is made. There are some staffers who will be transferred to other positions or leaving the company altogether.
David Kreizman Staying With WWE Through The Fall
In a follow-up to our earlier report, Mike Johnson is reporting that David Kreizman will stay on with WWE as Head Writer through the Fall to “close out” the direction he has been manning. On May 29, 2013 WWE began looking for a new “Lead Writer,” presumably to replace Kreizman.
WWE TV Feature Planned
There is expected to be a major television feature on the WWE developmental system once the new Performance Center is up and running in Orlando. It's going to be on one of the major TV sports documentary shows. Brad Smith from Sports Illustrated recently interviewed Triple H and posted the following on Twitter:
Interviewing 13 time WWE World Champion, Triple H!
WWE Announcer No Longer With the Company, Contract Not Renewed
WWE announcer and backstage reporter Matt Striker just announced that he is no longer with the company. He said (via Twitter) that WWE has decided not to renew his contract and he is available for independent bookings.
June 19, 2013
Head WWE Creative Team Writer Leaving After Less Than Three Months
David Kreizman is leaving the WWE creative team this week after only a three month stint as the company’s head writer.
While we haven’t heard details surrounding his departure, Kreizman boasts a strong resume where he co-wrote several well known soap operas including Guiding Light, General Hospital, As the World Turns and All My Children. He took the WWE job weeks before Wrestlemania 29 on March 21, 2013.
WWE Issues An Updated Statement Regarding the Death of Viloude Louis
WWE's Director of Public Relations/Corporate Communications, Adam Hopkins, has sent the following updated statement regarding the death of Viloude Louis:
The death of Viloude Louis is a tragedy and we express our heartfelt condolences. Authorities have already charged the accused with second degree murder and determined that this was not an accidental death due to a wrestling move. The facts of this case clearly point to a lack of parental supervision and a teenager who had a history of violent behavior toward his 5-year-old stepsister. It is illogical to conclude that the repeated, brutal and ultimately fatal beating of a 5-year-old little girl by a teenager could be confused with imitation of WWE action seen on TV.
Interview with Shawn Michaels
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was recently interviewed about his WWE career and retirement on the Ministry of Slam podcast. The following are highlights.
Michaels reinforced that he will not be coming out of retirement to wrestle again, but he is flattered that fans still want to see him compete in the ring.
"I think it's important that in any job you do, you do it well and you leave when you think it's time to leave. And only you can make that determination," Michaels said. "I'm flattered that people would still like to see me perform. I very much enjoy when I go back, doing the small roles I do. I try not to detract from anything I do. And, I hope that people enjoyed the body of work that I did."
Michaels relayed a recent conversation with WWE head Vince McMahon about talent evaluation. Michaels set it up as feeling what current new stars feel because he struggled to gain acceptance as an undersized wrestler who was given the WWF Title when others in the company felt like he wasn't worthy.
"I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with the man in charge," Michaels said, "and we were talking about a certain individual and he goes, 'I just don't see money in him.' And I said, 'You said the same thing about me.' He said, 'I did not.' I said, 'Yes you did!' (laughs) I said, 'And it's okay. It's just one of those things.'"
Michaels continued: "I wasn't your prototypical - heck, I wasn't anybody's protoypical main event guy. And I knew that. So, you just do your absolute best. Yes, I was very scared and very worried, which had a lot to do with how bad I handled stuff because I spent a great deal of my career waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it was a very real view of me and my ability and my talent. I'm a firm believer that talent does rise to the top, but you have to be patient. So, I spent a great deal of time worried, intimidated, and concerned that with each passing storyline, it might be the last one."
Michaels, who benefited from working with Sherri Martel early in his singles career, discussed the lack of managers in today's wrestling. Michaels said often-times it comes down to the manager having the skills, experience, and mindset to handle the role effectively.
"Paul (Heyman) continued to apply himself each and every day at his job. Not at the job of being the main focus, but Paul loved his role as the manager and he wanted to do it the absolutely best way possible," Michaels said. "Then, have guys who start as a manager and want to be a wrestler. It's tough to find people who can do that job as well as a Paul Heyman."
Michaels said he was initially against the idea of having Sherri as his manager because he wanted to be singles on his own, but Pat Patterson helped him see the light that Sherri brought him instant credibility shortly after managing top stars like "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Michaels added that Sherri was not out there to steal the spotlight, but to help him.
Michaels said he does not think the "Michaels vs. Jannetty" label that has been applied to wrestlers in recent years is fair to Marty Jannetty.
"I think the whole 'Who's going to be Marty and who's going to be Shawn?' is unfortunate and, honestly, unfair," Michaels said. "Marty was unbelievably talented; there were a number of other circumstances that kept Marty from the success he could have had. I learned so much from him. He was an unbelievably good guy and good wrestler. So, from that standpoint, I think it's unfortunate and unfair."
Michaels said he was never really close to jumping to WCW during the Monday Night Wars, but the thought crossed his mind after he left WWF in 1998.
"Vince just wasn't a guy that was going to give up. I knew the man and I knew he would not stay down for long," Michaels said. "So, it was a brief thought. Was there ever an opportunity? Yes, but I wasn't even wrestling then. It was a brief thought, but quickly discarded and pledged my loyalty to WWE. Believe it or not, they were incredibly loyal to me and I always felt that I owed them that. We had common ground there, so it was never really a thought in my mind to leave the company."
Roman Reigns: "I Want to be the Absolute Top Guy in This Company"
4th and Pain recently had an opportunity to interview Roman Reigns of The Shield.
The show is hosted by Adam Carriker (@Adam Carriker94) of the Washington Redskins and Chuck Carroll (@TheChuckCarroll), a former wrestling announcer and weight loss champion. Reigns spoke about the formation of The Shield and his relationship with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. He also talked about his brief NFL career before transitioning to pro wrestling and the differences between the two. The biggest takeaway from the interview was Reigns opening up about his desire to break out as a singles wrestler and win the WWE Championship. "I want to be the absolute top guy in this company," he said.
Rumor Mill - Stephanie’s Raw Interruption Drawn From Real Life Incident?
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Stephanie’s stern warning towards Kaitlyn for interrupting her was inspired by an incident that recently occurred backstage. According to the report, someone had interrupted Stephanie and caused a bit of a scene. The report does not state who the culprit was, nor if they were even a wrestler, but it’s interesting to see how messy real life situations can translate to great television segments.
Teen Killed Young Sister Allegedly Using 'WWE Style Moves,' WWE Issues Statement
The Advocate published a story about the death of five-year-old Viloude Louis, who was killed by her 13-year-old brother after he allegedly used wrestling moves that he learned from television.
"The 13-year-old reported he started to wrestle with the victim and practiced 'WWE' style wrestling moves on the 5-year-old," said Col. John Fortunato of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.
Devalon Armstrong, 13, allegedly slammed his sister onto a bed and beat her. She suffered multiple injuries including broken ribs, internal bleeding and lacerations of the liver. The boy called police after his sister stopped breathing, and paramedics were teaching him over the phone how to use CPR to keep her alive. She died shortly after deputies arrived and paramedics were unable to revive her.
Devalon was booked into a juvenile jail and has been charged with second-degree murder. WWE sent us this statement on Viloude's tragic passing:
"The death of Viloude Louis is a tragedy, and our condolences go out to her family.
"WWE urges restraint in reporting this unfortunate incident as if it were the result of a WWE wrestling move. As in similar cases, criminal intent to harm and a lack of parental supervision have been the factors resulting in a tragic death.
"Authorities have already charged the accused with second degree murder and determined that this was not an accidental death due to a wrestling move."
June 18, 2013
Rumor Mill - Who Contacted Rob Van Dam About Returning To The WWE?
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Triple H reached out to Rob Van Dam about three weeks ago for a return for the company at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view. Van Dam had to cancel several independent dates. His contract will be limited to a part time schedule. Van Dam will likely work TV, PPV and select live events over a short time period before considering a renegotiation of contract.
More on the Triple H - Daniel Bryan Altercation
The finish to Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton was legitimate last night in that the company stopped the match after Bryan suffered a stinger diving to the outside.
The original planned finish was for Bryan to defeat Orton cleanly to help set up a planned main event run this summer. They are building to Bryan vs. John Cena for the WWE title on a PPV.
When Bryan returned to the back, he was "irate" according to a source and complained to Triple H that the match should not have been stopped. The two got into a loud argument over it. The argument went down in the gorilla position with a lot of eyeballs on it and people were shocked because Bryan is generally soft spoken and good natured and he was standing up to one of the most powerful men in the company.
Bryan complained that he's worked all over the world and has worked hurt and knows when he can still go and when he cannot. Triple H's argument was that they were protecting Bryan and they don't want anyone working hurt. Obviously, the company sees something major in Bryan and wants him ready for his push.
The two eventually apologized to each other.
WWE posted the video of Triple H online (we we mentioned earlier today), explaining what happened as a way to use the legitimate finish and tie it into their storylines going forward.
Dolph Ziggler Health Update
For those wondering Dolph Ziggler is medically cleared to wrestle and the angle on Raw last night was done to further the Del Rio story line coming out of Payback. While WWE did take Ziggler's concussion very seriously and would not clear him to return to the ring until all concussion symptoms disappeared, he is now healthy and able to compete.
Daniel Bryan Legitimately Injured At WWE Raw, Match Outcome Changed
Daniel Bryan was legitimately injured during his match against Randy Orton on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, according to Bryan Alvarez and the crew over at Wrestling Observer. Apparently the physician coming to ringside and the match being thrown was not a work as originally thought.
According to their report, Bryan was originally scheduled to go over but the referee stopped the bout due to a legitimate injury. The injury was later revealed as a stinger.
This makes a lot more sense given the questionable outcome. It also explains Bryan’s status for Smackdown being questioned and later cleared while WWE was still on the air. The backstage bit where Bryan argued with Triple H over stopping the match was reportedly WWE booking on-the-fly.
Bryan will face WWE United States Champion Dean Ambrose in a match for SmackDown that will be taped on Tuesday night.
Daniel Bryan Confronts Triple H Over Match Stoppage on Raw
Among the most controversial moments of a wild Raw in Michigan was the unexpected stoppage of the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton contest after the submission expert suffered a “stinger” in the middle of the bout and was deemed unfit to compete by WWE officials, with the final decision coming from WWE COO Triple H himself.
“Whether anybody likes it or not, it’s my job as COO of this company,” confirmed Triple H to WWE.com. “I made the call that Daniel Bryan’s health was important and I called the match.”
Bryan – currently battling a self-imposed perception that he is a “weak link” – seemed less than happy at the result on air, and in fact, he let The Game know exactly how he felt once he stepped backstage.
“I saw Daniel face-to-face with Triple H, nose to nose, screaming at him, saying that the match should not have been stopped and he’d worked through several injuries over 13 years,” said referee John Cone, who followed Bryan into the locker room area. “Triple H fired back, saying he’s worked through torn quads, but Bryan was saying it was supposed to be the biggest match of his career and it was taken away from him.
“I’d never seen anything like it, they almost came to blows,” elaborated Cone. “Randy stepped in and pulled Daniel Bryan back, it was the craziest thing I’d ever seen backstage.”
Layla agreed: “It was probably the most intense argument I have ever seen right in front of me.” The former Divas Champion was backstage when Bryan emerged through the curtain.
“Bryan beelined straight for Triple H, and the passion in his voice – [he said] ‘I have wrestled for 13 years, this was supposed to be my biggest match, my biggest accomplishment; you don’t ever stop a match without me!’”
Alicia Fox, who was also backstage with several of the Divas, agreed.
“I think he was just trying to state his fact that he’s very passionate about what he does, his job and how he handles his work in the ring and taking care of his body,” she said. “At the same time, the way Triple H saw it, he was looking out for his safety, his well-being for his future, the company, and future matches to come.”
All the eyewitnesses seemed to agree the two Superstars were coming from a place of passion, not animosity.
“Both Daniel Bryan and Triple H have a ton of passion, if anyone could relate to what Daniel Bryan felt it’d be Triple H,” Natalya said, “But I’d just never heard an exchange so heated like that in my life.”
“I’ve never seen Daniel like that before,” Cameron said. “He was cursing, just saying he’s worked through everything … Triple H was only doing what’s right for Daniel, but Daniel is just so passionate about this business.”
Veteran official Chad Patton drew a haunting parallel in his own summary of the argument: “What I did see when Daniel Bryan and Triple H went at it, for him to talk to his boss and just to the extreme he was doing it, I haven’t seen anything like it since Bret Hart and Vince McMahon.”
Triple H himself confirmed the situation had been smoothed over and both parties apologized to each other, but Bryan’s status for this Friday’s SmackDown is still up in the air. While he has been reviewed by WWE doctors, his injury requires close observation and further tests will be done down the line before his scheduled bout with U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose.
source: wwe.com
June 17, 2013
Interview with Michael Cole
Michael Cole recently spoke with Wrestling101. Below are the interview highlights:
What have been some of your highlights during your time with WWE?
My career was made at the beginning thanks to Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna and Rick Rude, if it wasn’t for D-Generation X who knows if I would’ve ever been discovered to become the personality that I am today, with those guys we had so much fun together and I become their foil.
From there I went onto SmackDown and I was there for ten years straight before I moved to Raw and that was obviously a huge experience for me. Then moving to Monday Night Raw was probably the biggest moment of my career. Finally being asked to get in the ring and have Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler’s only WrestleMania match was a complete honour, I was completely humbled by that and I had a lot of fun doing it.
I like being a bad guy but now I’m a good guy again and it’s all just so much fun, you’re able to reinvent your character so much in this business and that’s why I enjoy it so much.
You were doing commentary on Raw when Jerry Lawler had a heart attack, what instincts kicked in when that incident happened?
My news instincts kicked in, it was just one of those things where Jerry had a heart attack next to me and being a news reporter kicked in. I had to report what was going on in the ring, then I had to report what was going on with Jerry, it was all instinct, there was nothing premeditated about it.
Jerry had a match that night but it was business as usual, he came back and went to work nothing changed. Whatever match it was we were calling, I thought he was snoring and I turned around to look at him and he was passed out on the table and we went from there. It was a surreal thing and I’ve never watched that moment back, I don’t want to but I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. He was passed out under the table and luckily doc Sampson was three feet away and they got to him quickly and got his heart going again but it was a bizarre time, I didn’t know for the last hour of the show if I was going to have to report that Jerry had passed away or if he was surviving and luckily we got the news right as we were going off the air that he was surviving, it was a really tough time.
Obviously it all came out the way we wanted it to, and it is great having Jerry back on the commentary table. It changed me personally but it also changed me professionally because at that point I became a babyface again and I think for the best, I was a bad guy for a while but it was time to change. Obviously Jerry’s heart attack changed history as we look at it.
What is Vince McMahon like as a boss?
He is wonderful, he’s hard but he is a genius with what we do as a company. If you can understand how to learn from him, here is a guy that is a billionaire and he’s built the wrestling business to where it is today but he still goes out and puts himself in situations, embarrassing situations for the good of the company.
That’s why when I did my role as a heel for a few years and all the things I did to Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, I did that with Vince in mind. Vince is the owner of the company but he has had his head shoved up Big Shows rear-end, had his head shaved bald at WrestleMania, all the stuff he did over the years I thought if my boss could do that, I could do that.
He is one of my hero’s in this business and even in life, I’ve grown up in this business, I’ve spent 16-years here, I started as a fairly young kid, I’ve raised my family being a part of the WWE. Vince is like a second father to me and he has helped me throughout my career and I hope to spend the rest of my career with the guy, he’s just been an unbelievable mentor.
Have you ever had an ear bashing from Vince?
(Laughs) Yeah it happens every week, the thing is you can’t take it personally. Vince is very obsessive about his product because he should be, he has built the WWE into a global phenomenon, this is his baby and he acts that way because he wants his product to be the best.
You have to understand it’s not a personal attack, it’s him wanting his product to be the best in the world and once you can understand that you’re going to be better than ever and you’ve got to understand it’s a way to motivate you.
June 16, 2013
WWE Announces the Return of Rob Van Dam
A video package aired on Sunday night during the Payback PPV hyping the return of Rob Van Dam at the Money in the Bank PPV next month on July 14.
It should be noted that as of 9:00 p.m. Eastern (8:00 CT) on Sunday night, TNA was still listing RVD as being part of the Impact Wrestling roster.
June 15, 2013
Rumor Mill - Backstage News On Vince McMahon - Triple H Angle, Vince Knocking Curtis Axel
According to a source, the McMahon family is said to be happy with their current angle and feel that it is compelling television that plays off of reality. The storyline is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
The USA Network actually wanted the McMahon family to be featured prominently again, and Vince and Stephanie both felt that the timing was right since it has been years since they've been recurring characters on TV. Stephanie in particular was open to returning to a televised role throughout the summer since her children are on summer vacation, which allows her to take them on the road along with her maid and assistants.
In a related note, writers apparently checked with Vince during rehearsals about the backstage segment on RAW this past Monday night to confirm that he wanted to tell Triple H that he was "bigger than a match with Curtis Axel." Vince was said to be insistent that the wording be what was shown on the air, which was similar to language on last week's episode knocking Joe Hennig as a top star.
Rumor Mill - CM Punk's WWE Future
PWInsider.com is reporting that there have been many talks backstage on how to book CM Punk upon his return to the WWE. Although he was one of the best heels in the company, WWE knows that he will be cheered when he comes back. There are discussions of turning Punk into a face because of this and because he has one year left on his contract. It will be interesting to see what decision WWE decides to make, but they are leaning towards turning him face sooner rather than later.
June 14, 2013
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
