June 28, 2013
Bryan, Orton Fined By WWE
WWE announced Friday that Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have been fined an undisclosed monetary amount for their chair shot exchange in a Street Fight on Monday's Raw.
"We don't allow chair shots to the head in WWE," said Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events. "We understand it was in the heat of the moment but we take this very seriously and as a result, [Orton and Bryan] were fined."
While Triple H was called by his kayfabe position as COO in the dot com coverage, he is the person that directs the fine and/or suspension as EVP of Talent & Live Events.
WWE did not disclose the amount of the fines. Orton offered comment on the fine, stating, "Trust me, it was enough."
The company has outlawed planned shots to the head as a way to battle concussions. WWE fined Triple H and Undertaker for a similar offense at WrestleMania 27.
June 27, 2013
Video: Once in a lifetime experience - Outside the Ring: Triple H, Summer Rae and Supertars for Sandy Relief Auction Winner
WWE Working on 50th Anniversary Project
According to pwinsider.com, WWE is working on a book to chronicle the 50th anniversary of the company. There is no word on when the book will be released at this time.
Linda McMahon's New Positions
Linda McMahon announced on her Facebook account the she will now be the chair of the board's Student Affairs/Athletics Committee at Sacred Heart University. In addtion, the following press release was issued today:
FORMER WWE CEO LINDA MCMAHON JOINS APCO’S INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2013) - Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), joins APCO Worldwide as a member of the firm's International Advisory Council (IAC), founder and CEO Margery Kraus announced today.
"Linda is a savvy business leader who grew a small, regional company into a global brand that is a leader in the entertainment sector," said Kraus. "Her firsthand experience in branding, rapid growth, market entry and transformation will allow our clients to have access to even greater insights as they deal with these issues that confront all successful business leaders. We are truly excited to have Linda join our team."
McMahon brings a strong background in executive leadership within the entertainment industry to APCO, having grown WWE from a 13-person operation to a publicly traded company with global operations delivering its entertainment to 650 million homes worldwide. In 2007, she was named one of Multichannel News' "Wonder Women," which recognized her accomplishments as a leader in the U.S. cable industry.
"I'm excited to work with the strong group of IAC members and contribute to APCO’s industry-leading thinking on corporate positioning, branding and market entry," said McMahon. "Having successfully grown WWE into a global brand, I know firsthand how critical such advice can be when your goal is a true transformation."
TNA Hires Recently Released, Long Time WWE Executive
TNA has issued a press release noting that the company has hired John "Big" Gaburick, who was recently released from his long time executive position in WWE. Gaburick was hired as TNA's Executive Vice President of Television Production, and the following is an excerpt from the press release:
"I’ve always admired Dixie Carter and TNA as a uniquely dynamic and growing organization,” aaid Gaburick. "This opportunity marks an exciting new challenge for me, and I am honored to join the team."
Dixie Carter also commented on the hiring by saying, "As TNA evolves, John’s award-winning creative vision and production expertise coupled with his sports and entertainment industry business savvy make him the perfect person to push us in new directions," Carter said. "He is a gifted and innovative storyteller, and we are thrilled to have him on board."
Good News for Triple H
One of Paul Levesque's business units is up almost 10%:
Here are some WWE business notes for May 2013:
* The average live event attendance was 4,438 paid per show, up 9.9% from May 2012
* WWE shipped 305,000 DVD units in May, up from 301,000 in 2012
* WWE.com did 13.5 million unique visitors last month, the same as May 2012
* WWE’s shop website took 613 orders per day last month, the same as May 2012
Rumor Mill - Physical WWE HOF Update
It looks like the physical WWE Hall of Fame will be heading to TNA's old home after all, the Universal theme park in Orlando, Florida. Word from the park is that the NBA City table-service location is shutting down and there's talk it will be remodeled as the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rumor Mill - Details on Recent WWE Creative Changes, Why WWE Asked David Kreizman to Stay, More
WWE head writer David Kreizman was talked into staying until mid-August because his original direction of things were building to SummerSlam and they wanted him to stay until the completion of his direction. Plus, WWE wants him to help train whoever they hire as his replacement. There was a feeling that the new writer would have problems with the pressure building to SummerSlam, whereas now he can ease into the role, get comfortable from September through December before the WrestleMania season pressure starts.
Regarding the creative situation, Stephanie McMahon's role has been minimized as she's only involved when needed. Brian James has been put into creative because they want someone who has a pro wrestling perspective to be in with the soap opera and TV writers because Michael Hayes isn't in the office regularly anymore. Hayes is on conference via phone at major meetings but they want a wrestling person at the meetings as well.
When it comes to the re-writes on Mondays and Tuesdays, David Kapoor (Ranjin Singh) has been in charge of those but his position has changed. Kapoor delegates the workload to the writers after Vince McMahon makes all the changes. He also interacts with TV people, the App people and the WWE.com people to make sure they all know of the changes.
Ed Koskey is now the lead writer for RAW while Ryan Ward, who got rave reviews for his work as NXT's writer, has been promoted to the lead writer of SmackDown.
source: wrestling observer
June 26, 2013
How Ring Of Honor Is Handling The Departure Of The Briscoe Brothers
Following up on Jay and Mark Briscoe, here is how Ring of Honor is handling their departures in storyline:
Last weekend in Baltimore was a physically brutal one for both World Champion Jay Briscoe and his “Best in the World 2013” challenger Mark Briscoe. The brothers tore into one another in one of the more physical championship battles and it ultimately required Jay to utilize multiple Jay Drillers in order to put his brother down for the three count. Unfortunately, as a result of those maneuvers and the general punishment suffered in the bout, Mark Briscoe was forced out of his spot in the Steel Cage Warfare bout that went down during the following day’s “Ring of Honor Wrestling” TV Tapings.
As for Jay, the day of those tapings he defended his title once again, this time against S.C.U.M’s Matt Hardy and although he was victorious in the bout, following the match the champion was viciously assaulted with a steel chair by S.C.U.M and left laying.
Unfortunately, ROHWrestling.com has since learned that, as a result of the injuries sustained during “Best in the World” weekend, both Jay and Mark will be out of action indefinitely. Mark suffered severe head trauma as a result of the bout with his brother while Jay apparently has a fractured shoulder and torn rotator cuff coming from the assault at the hands of S.C.U.M. At this point it is unknown how long Jay and Mark will be out of action but we will stay on top of the story to provide you with details, as they are made available to us.
ROHWrestling.com also contacted Match Maker Nigel McGuinness for an update on how this would affect the championship held by Jay Briscoe and he informed us that there will be an announcement made soon regarding the status of the ROH World Title. Nigel did inform us that he intended to announce this week that Michael Elgin would receive his championship opportunity on August 3rd in Toronto but now that is in question. ROHWrestling.com has heard rumors that with Elgin scheduled to be the next man in line for a shot, he may be awarded the World Title due to forfeit.
All of the events that led to this will be seen on “Ring of Honor Wrestling” TV broadcasts over the course of the next several weeks or you will be able to see it all unfold very shortly courtesy of the Early Bird TV options here on ROHWrestling.com.
Stay tuned for more details on the status of the World Title as they are made available…
June 25, 2013
Video: Triple H encourages Vickie Guerrero to give Daniel Bryan his rematch with Randy Orton: Raw, June 24,
Briscoes Gone From Ring of Honor
PWTorch has learned that ROH World champion Jay Briscoe and his brother, Mark Briscoe, are gone from Ring of Honor for the foreseeable future. (The status of the ROH Title is unknown at this time.)
The Briscoes's contracts expired and will not be renewed at this time. The decision was made in response to Jay's tweets in early May vowing to shoot anyone who teaches his children about marriage between same-sex couples.
PWTorch has learned that Sinclair Broadcasting, the publicly-traded company that owns ROH, recently became aware of the tweets. ROH had previously tried to handle the issue in-house by having Briscoe issue a public apology and donate his pay from two shows.
Both Briscoes were written off television at Sunday's TV taping in Baltimore, Md. Jay's storyline injury is that he re-injured his shoulder and Mark's injury is that he suffered a "severe concussion." Despite Jay being written off TV, ROH kept the ROH Title on Jay, who defeated Matt Hardy with a small package in their title match taped for television this summer. After the match, S.C.U.M. delivered a vicious-looking beat down on both Briscoes to write them off television.
There is currently talk within the organization that he and Mark are "headed for greener pastures," which could mean a potential WWE developmental deal. However, there is also talk that the duo may just be on hiatus.
June 24, 2013
The Newest Member of the WWE Announcing Team Is...
Alex Riley has replaced the departed Matt Striker on WWE Superstars. For those who missed it, WWE opted not to renew Striker's contract last week. He is done with the company.
Chris Benoit Double Murder-Suicide Anniversary
Today marks the six-year anniversary of the Chris Benoit double murder-suicide that occurred over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007 [full story]. He allegedly murdered his wife and son before hanging himself.
Ring of Honor to Cease Broadcasting Live iPPV Events
After the issues with their most recent iPPV event over the weekend, Ring of Honor has made the decision to discontinue all iPPV broadcasts live and will instead present them as VOD offerings the day after the live event.
The official statement from ROH issued to PWInsider.com reads as follows:
This past weekend at "Best in the World" in Baltimore, MD , Ring of Honor proved once again from top to bottom why our talent is truly the best in wrestling today. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the live iPPV stream that wound up distracting from the energy and action in ring. For this, we sincerely apologize to all fans that encountered problems.
Because of how much we value the support of our fans, and understand the imperfections of the live streaming technology, "Best in the World" will be the last iPPV stream that we will be broadcasting live. All future main event shows will now be offered as a Video On Demand, which will allow Ring of Honor to present a flawless show and truly depict the excellence of our product.
From now on, fans can watch ROH Wrestling on TV, VOD, or DVD, however there is still nothing like seeing Ring of Honor in person. We thank you for your continued support and are excited to be moving forward.
Ring of Honor Wrestling
Ring of Honor popularized the iPPV craze within independent pro wrestling starting with their 2009 Final Battle event. Less than four years later, that run is over.
June 23, 2013
NXT Should Be On Primetime TV
By Scott Fishman
This week Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins competed in one of the most critically acclaimed matches on Raw this year.
The "cool kids" of the WWE Universe see this type of action by flipping on their computers and watching NXT on a regular basis.
More often than not the company's developmental territory delivers better programming than what we see on TV on Monday or Friday nights.
NXT gave us the likes of the Shield, Big E Langston and countless others. Before the Wyatt family was coming to WWE, they were getting people talking on NXT. Their shows have an old school feel to it. It's almost a throwback to the territory days with current WWE superstars coming in from time to time to work with the talent and help draw a good house.
They tell stories and have well thought storylines. Each TV taping appears exciting with the intimate crowd giving off great energy. The female performers actually have time to develop their personas and improve in the ring.
Steve Keirn, Triple H and the other staff who are responsible for the tremendous evolution of NXT, formerly billed as Florida Championship Wrestling, should be given a pat on the back. However, one must ask how a show this good can only be found on platforms such as Hulu Plus? Fans should be able to watch this on USA Network or another channel (And don't tell me to wait for the WWE Network because I'm still waiting on those WWE ice cream bars).
More times than not WWE will have the same match ups on its shows every week. I understand they have so many hours to produce, making it hard to create fresh and interesting contests all the time. With that said, why not give an hour to NXT? If Raw is three hours on USA Network, why not dedicate 8 p.m. to the future superstars of tomorrow.
It's hard to imagine me saying this a few years ago given what NXT was in its infancy. NXT was really a unique concept that debuted on SyFy and introduced us to a number of today’s top WWE performers. Eventually, the program lost its way by the end of the first season. Then by the third cycle featuring divas in training it became hard to watch. In their defense, they did introduce the WWE Universe to most of the female roster today, including the entertaining AJ Lee. The show's run ended on the network, and it faded into WWE.com obscurity.
NXT in its current form deserves to be seen by as many fans as possible. Therefore WWE should seriously consider talking to USA Network in making NXT the lead for Raw. If not an hour-long, then maybe a half-hour. You could even call it an “NXT Showcase”. I’m sure the program can spare a few minutes less of pushing the WWE APP and the Great Khali dancing to squeeze in some gold old fashion wrestling from the up-and-comers.
source: layfieldreport.com
Jim Ross Blogs On WWE Performance Center Opening
"The new, WWE Performance Center will officially open on Thursday July 11 which is also the next time we tape NXT at Full Sail. This grand opening is not open to the public and will be via invitation only to the media and a variety of WWE business partners, etc.
"The Performance Center begins a new era in the development of WWE talents that is truly exciting. I went through the facility again last week and it is amazing. There is not a NFL training facility that exceeds what WWE has done with this facility. With that said, the training of these future WWE Superstars will be amped up and the expectations raised not only for the athletes but for the coaches as well."
How WWE Helped Build The USA Network, Where They Fit In The Success
Philly.com has a new feature article on the USA Network’s Bonnie Hammer, one of WWE’s biggest allies. Below are the highlights from the article.
How WWE helped build the USA Network:
Her USA Network – built partly on the popularity of the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. – has been the most-watched ad-supported cable channel for seven straight years and in 2012 earned more than $1 billion in profit.
“She doesn’t stand on ceremony as some executives do,” Vincent McMahon, the chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, said. “She wants to give the audience what it wants.”
Her advice to McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment years ago was to develop story lines and characters, which they did.
In February, acknowledging USA’s momentum and her golden-eyed selection of hit cable shows, NBCUniversal head Steve Burke consolidated all the company’s entertainment cable channels under Hammer, 62, making her one of the most powerful women in entertainment and at Comcast.
Vanity Fair rates her No. 16 on its powerhitters list, and on the day of her interview, superagent Ari Emanuel called to chat up a project. Burke and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts are jointly Vanity Fair’s No. 2 powerhitters. In an e-mail on Friday, Burke wrote: “Bonnie is the whole package. She has great taste, judgment and business skills. She is an important part of our management team.”
Where WWE fits into Hammer’s equation of the USA Network’s success:
The network’s winning formula is based on one-third original series, one-third acquired shows, and one-third World Wrestling Entertainment.
A championship WWE belt, a gift from McMahon for Hammer’s 50th birthday, hangs above the low, cushy couch in her office.
Hammer is a big fan, saying WWE’s live Raw consistently draws five million viewers per episode 52 weeks a year. WWE also has a show on Syfy, Smackdown, and in July E! will launch Total Divas, a reality show featuring female wrestlers. “She is really in charge of the cash of the cash cow at NBCU,” McMahon said...More?
News From WWE's Ron Simmons Appreciation Night
WWE held Ron Simmons Appreciation Night at last night's live event in Tallahassee, Florida. Justin Roberts introduced JBL, who was to host the festivities. JBL gave a great speech about his career with Simmons. Simmons came out to a big pop and watched a highlight video that included footage from his college football days. Simmons was presented with a plaque for Ron Simmons Day. JBL asked Simmons if he had anything to say and finally, he let out a big, "Damn!"
This Day In Wrestling History - The Birth of Austin 3:16
It's somewhat odd to think of but in a roundabout way, The Kliq -- and Triple H, specifically -- are indirectly responsible (at least partially) for the booming success of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Back in early 1996, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, two of The Kliq's members, were leaving the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for the larger contracts and guaranteed main event slots being offered by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Shawn Michaels and Triple H, however, were staying behind. During a house show at Madison Square Garden in May, the four orchestrated a small ceremony to say goodbye, in which each member got into the ring at the end of the night and hugged each other before giving a curtain call.
This was a major breach of kayfabe, as the group consisted of both heels and babyfaces, and showed enough lack of professionalism that someone had to be punished. With Hall and Nash leaving the company and Michaels the WWF champion at the time, that left Triple H to take the fall. This was unfortunate timing, too, for him, at least. That's because he was penciled in to win the King of the Ring tournament the very next month to begin a big push.
Instead, that push went to a rising star in the company, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Last we left "The Rattlesnake," he was losing a Caribbean Strap match to Savio Vega at In Your House: Beware of Dog 2, which served to rid Austin of his manager at the time, Ted DiBiase. He entered the King of the Ring tournament immediately after and advanced by defeating Bob Holly in the first round and getting his win back on Vega in the second.
That led him to the pay-per-view (PPV) and a match-up against Marc Mero in the semifinals, which he won after a damn fine 17-minute match that saw him get his lip busted open. Because of this, he had to go straight to the hospital while the event continued on before returning later to meet Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the final.
Stone Cold made it back in time and the two had a mostly underwhelming match. Roberts had his ribs busted up earlier in the night by Vader after their match ended and he was selling that injury all throughout the match. Austin, of course, used it as his focal point before ending it just under five minutes in with the Stone Cold Stunner, a finisher he had just started using at that time.
The match itself was quickly forgotten but the promo Austin cut during his coronation will live on forever in the annals of pro wrestling lore.
Roberts was using a born again Christian gimmick at that time, as he had recently converted to as much in his real life. So Austin used it for inspiration in his promo and created one of the most famous catchphrases in pro wrestling history
source: cagesideseats.com
June 21, 2013
Ron Simmons Appreciation Night
WWE will honor Ron Simmons at Saturday night’s live event in Tallahassee, Florida with Ron Simmons Appreciation Night.
Sean Waltman Comments on WWE NXT & Triple H
“From where it was a couple of years ago it’s so much better, so much better. I actually think quite often it’ the best thing on TV. Sometimes I think the best stuff comes off of that show. Triple H is working closely with that too.”
Rumor Mill - Where is the McMahon Family Storyline Going?
No word yet where WWE is going with the McMahon family storyline with Triple H, Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon but the feeling is that it will end with Triple H taking all power from Vince, at least in the storylines. The storyline is being heavily featured because the USA Network sent word to WWE that they wanted more of the McMahons on TV.
Kevin Nash on HHH & X-Pac Joining The Kliq, Their Backstage Influence
On X-Pac joining The Kilq: "Pac did that angle when he was the 1-2-3 Kid. It was his 21st birthday, Kid's, Hennig and the Smoking Gunns took him out, Bart and Billy Gunn. The next day he shows up at TV and he's missing an eyebrow. They got him all f***ed up and shaved his eyebrow. Now Kid makes the decision to shave both his eyebrows. So he gets to TV and lo and behold, they're going to shoot his 8x10. So that son of a b**** on his 8x10 has got no eyebrows. Back then there wasn't no money in the WWF so I think that photo followed him for about two years. The funniest thing was he knew it was either the Smoking Gunns or Kurt. And because him and Kurt were buddies for many [years], he made the calculation that it had to be the Smoking Gunns. We're in El Paso, and I look over and see Kid's over there and he's got super glue and he's putting it around the brim of the cowboy's hats. I'm like what the f***. The Kid's like a buck 70, Billy and Bart are two big ol' raw bone dudes. That's one thing people don't realize. Until you shake hands with Billy Gunn, look him in the eyes, you have no idea how big that dude is. That's a grown man. Bart was the same way.
We go to the curtain, Smoking Gunns, they put their hats on, they go out there, shoot the pistols and go to pull off their hats and the s***'s glued to their hair. I about p***ed myself. We looked down at Kid, he was standing there, he watched it, he turned, looked at us and smacked his hands together like f*** you, job well done. We said dude, you're going to need some protection. You need to get in our car. He jumped in [with the Kliq] on that there. I want this mother f***er in our car. The thing was, that mother f***er could go. He's been going since he was 17, you know, so he was a working mother f***er. He was another one of the people that loved to talk the business."
On Triple H joining The Kliq: "Hunter, we were on the road so much we were watching the Saturday, it was called Main Event back then, the WCW Main Event. Me and Shawn's favorite wrestler was Terra Ryzing, who was Hunter's deal when he was in WCW. He was Terra Ryzing. We were in Wooster or some place like that, Kowalski came in and Hunter came in with him. He had a sports coat and slacks on and we were like look at this mother f***er, but we knew he was Terra Ryzing, with that long Fabio hair. So he had his tryout match and we all sat there at the monitor. Scott looked back at me and said mother f***er's money. He walked out of the ring and Scott was walking step for step, maybe three feet behind him. Kind of being a goof. Paul turned around and looked at him, he said who do you ride with? He said Walters, he said not next week. Next week, he said, you ride with us. Then we found out that he didn't drink or do anything. He didn't drink, he didn't take pills, he didn't do s**. It was like f*** yeah, designated driver because my big ass had been driving those guys around for like two years. "
On their backstage influence: "We had pull because the spots we were in. The Intercontinental Championship spot was always the precursor to the World Title. Between Scott, myself and Shawn Michaels, we had that mother f***er pretty much wrapped for about three years. I had a year run with the strap, with the World belt. Shawn and I popped in there a couple times as tag champs. We were always in the mix, upper echelon guys. Hunter hadn't lost, he was unbeaten. He was an up and coming star. Kid was always in the mix because he was so talented, he could have a match with anybody. When Bret debuted, Bret actually worked on RAW, which was a big deal. They put Shawn Waltman in there with him just because they knew they'd have an incredible [match]. They never gave s*** away for free back then and RAW was a one hour show and I think they did a two or three segment match that was just off the hook."
Opening Date for WWE Performance Center
Jim Ross noted on his Twitter that the new WWE Performance Center opens on July 11th and "is amazing."
The First WWE NXT Divas Champion Is...
Paige won the WWE NXT Divas championship at last night's NXT taping.
More Coaches for WWE Performance Center?
WWE is planning to hire more coaches for the Performance Center in Orlando. The company is floating a late summer start date for the job, but it could be "much earlier" depending on how quickly construction of the facility is completed.
June 20, 2013
Competition for WWE's Tout
Tout, the 15-second video service that WWE bought a stake in last year, now has competition from Facebook. Facebook unveiled Thursday plans to debut a 15-second video service through Instagram. Facebook's intention is competing with Twitter, but it will indirectly affect Tout.
