Can TNA Get Over?

Rumors have swirled about the demise of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Is this the end for the company? And will professional wrestling ever support two major promotions again? Click here.

source: grantland.com

Jim Ross Comments on NXT, Charlotte, Triple H & the NFL

“I think it would be interesting for some of the NXT talents to have a re-occurring role on RAW as it would help promote the future of the WWE which is the @WWENetwork. If fans can see what they are missing by not watching NXT on the Network they may be more inclined to invest the $9.99 month subscription fee.”

“NXT was the best WWE produced TV of the week last week in my opinion.”

“Charlotte in NXT is special and is the best new, female in ring talent the WWE has trained in years. She’s the type of talent that a serious, women’s division, if that was desired, can be built around.”

“Nice to read where HHH is endorsing WWE finding star level NFL players to integrate into the WWE. I’ve been suggesting that for years and I hope that HHH can make it happen but it won’t be easy based on entry level, WWE pay. Same goes for major college football players who are younger and more affordable than NFL vets and whose backgrounds can be vetted thoroughly as well. Obviously, one wants to find athletes from this world who are fans and have the aptitude for the business.”

“With all these various abuse issues occurring in the NFL I’d assume WWE will further tighten up their background checks, etc on new hires. All companies should but some companies can’t afford to do so or won’t see it as a priority because it’s just “wrestling.” Big mistake.”

Trish Stratus Talks About A Possible Return To The Ring, If She Likes Total Divas, WWE HOF, More

Ryan Rider from Main Event Radio spoke with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus this weekend at the Montreal Comic Con. The two-part interview is available now at MainEventRadio.com. Below are some highlights:

Transitioning from Fitness to Pro Wrestling:

In fitness you're training for aesthetics to look good and to sculp your body a certain way. In wrestling you're training to perform. In fitness I was traveling all over the world but in wrestling it was 300 days a year, so it was a little bit of an adjustment. But I loved it, the challenge, taking in new things and taking in a new industry altogether. I'm kind of like a tomboy so a lot of the sports played – varsity hockey and soccer. I was kinda known as the goon on the team so I was used to being rough and able to take it. I used to wrestle with my cousins when I was a kid. When I first started, I had my share of bruises and my moments where I thought this is tougher than I thought but I loved it, embraced it and looked forward to the challenge.

Working with Test and Albert as "T&A":

They were awesome. Test, G-d bless him, was actually a jerk to me. He was pretty mean to me, was giving me tough love at the beginning. He made me prove myself first. Albert was amazing, great friend, and still a great friend. They gave me the opportunity to be by their side. I really got to learn front row. Take it all in, see the reactions, the mannerisms and all these little things that makes a good performance and got to use these things when I got to be on the other side of the ropes.

Main Eventing an episode of Monday Night Raw:

Completely an honor to be able to have that spot. We both arrived and couldn't believe it; it was like we're WHAT tonight! We knew this was our chance to prove that the women could hang with the boys. We worked just as hard as they did, the fans embraced it. We came back to big applause from our co-workers which meant a lot. I'm very blessed to have the career I did and have the people that I worked with to support the career I did. It's not a one-man show. It takes two to tango and it takes even more to put on a wrestling production. I'm just so grateful for all the people I was surrounded with.

WWE Hall of Fame Induction:

Just an honor. You're being recognized by your peers; your colleagues. Going in as the youngest was nice instead of hustling and bustling being an old bird coming up onto the stage. It was nice to be in my prime. And we represented the modern day divas, [Lita] this year and me last. I'm curious to see who they will choose next. A huge honor.

Thoughts on Total Divas:

I enjoy the show. I think it's great. I enjoy watching the drama just like you do. It's a reality show. We are glued to it to watch things unfold. It's enough of a glimpse into the wrestling world without too much to give our secrets away so I appreciate that.

If she is pondering an in-ring return:

Every time I have returned it's been on the basis that the door is never closed. If some awesome opportunity pops up and it sounds fun and challenging and it's something I haven't done before. That's kind of how each thing has happened. I have a great relationship with WWE and we're always chatting ideas. You never know, retirement is used very loosely in the wrestling world. There are lots of great workers right now. Seeing Brie and Stephanie in there a couple of weeks ago made me kind of excited again. So we'll see what happens. You know if that Stephanie keeps up her ways there is one woman that I know can put her in her place, just saying…me!

This Day In Wrestling History

Bruno Sammartino & Bobo Brazil battle Gorilla Monsoon & Hans Mortier to a draw in the main event of a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Each team scored one fall before the time limit expired during the third fall.
September 16, 1963

At a WWF television taping in Baltimore, Maryland, Roddy Piper hosts his "Piper's Pit" segment at the same time that Adrian Adonis hosts an edition of "The Flower Shop". Piper's guest, Don Muraco, joins Adonis and Cowboy Bob Orton in attacking Piper and beating him down and destroying the Pit set. Later in the show (shown on a different TV episode), Piper returned with a baseball bat and destroyed the Flower Shop set. A new Piper's Pit set would be constructed, and the Flower Shop would never return.
September 16, 1986

Total Divas Recap 9/14/14

Batista Talks Joining Evolution, Triple H Thinking He Would Get Heat For It, Almost Being Replaced

During the second edition of his interview series on Talk is Jericho, Batista and host Chris Jericho discussed how Batista was almost replaced in Evolution, a move that would have changed wrestling forever.

Jericho and Batista were speaking about how much Randy Orton had changed over the past decade, and how instrumental Evolution was to both Orton and Batista himself. Jericho also noted that Orton had tried to start fights with him three or four times.

Batista says he was warned by Triple H ahead of forming Evolution that the two inexperienced starts would get a lot of heat for riding the coattails of Helmsley and Flair. An injury almost eliminated him from the stable altogether, as Mark Jindrak was slated to replace him.

"They were considering him replacing me when I was injured. Hunter wanted it to be the four of us, he was pretty adamant. He fought for us," Batista said of nearly being replaced.

"I get injured, and Randy (Orton) was back before I was and they wanted that fourth member," Batista said

Batista and Jericho spoke about how much the business had changed since Evolution, citing a change in Vince McMahon's demeanor. Part two of Batista's interview on Talk is Jericho can be found at this link.

Photo: Stephanie McMahon in October 2014 edition of Shape Magazine

WWE’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon is in the October 2014 edition of Shape Magazine which has WWE fan Maria Menounos on the cover.

The mother of three and most powerful woman in the WWE, McMahon is featured in the single-page ‘Fit & Famous’ section of the magazine. The piece mentions her upcoming WWE fitness DVD, her workout, spending time with the kids, Connor’s Cure charity, and more.

The words are accompanied by a single photo of McMahon, looking fabulous in a red dress. You can see it below.

Click on photo to enlarge.

This Day In Wrestling History

Clarence Eklund defeats Elmer "Pet" Brown in Houston, TX for the World Lightweight title.
September 14, 1917

The Arizona Republic newspaper claims that Jim Londos had wrestled in Athens, Greece in 1928 in front of 65,000 people. Londos is photographed with his father in front of the supposed crowd.
September 14, 1929

Vince McMahon, with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin, defeats Triple H for WWF(E) Title.
September 14, 1999

EVOLVE co-founder Gabe Sapolsky Comments on WWE NXT

History does repeat itself. I remember when ECW was shunned and ignored in the early days. Then suddenly we saw WWE and WCW embracing the principles and soon the ECW wrestlers. This ignited the biggest boom in the history of US wrestling. Yesterday, we saw some things that lit the Internet on fire because they are new and we didn't expect them. The biggest was HHH posing for a selfie with Kevin Steen, Hideo Itami and Fergal Devitt and then giving huge endorsements to Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville by tweeting that he would like to wrestle them. Kalisto as well as Zayn and Neville brought new excitement to NXT Takeover that had fans tweeting their support. This doesn't even include the impact that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are making on the main roster. WWE has even included me on the The Shield documentary and Paul Heyman DVD. So what's my point? A few years ago, none of this would have happened because the talents from the independents weren't considered "major league." WWE has obviously changed it's thought process and we are hopefully at the dawn of a new era. Will it lead to a boom like in the 90s? I don't know, but I do know that it will lead to new stars and and some fresh wrestling (or sports entertainment in the WWE Universe). The most important thing is that these innovative, cutting edge talents capture the imagination of new, young fans. Given the stage WWE is providing, they can.

Video: WWE COO Triple H discusses the success of NXT TakeOver

NXT talent scheduled for next week's WWE TV Tapings

NXT talent Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and NXT Champion Adrian Neville have been scheduled to appear at this Monday's 9/15 WWE RAW in Lafayette, Louisiana & this Tuesday's 9/16 WWE Smackdown TV tapings in Biloxi, Mississippi according to a report by Mike Johnson. It is said that more talent from NXT have been scheduled to appear at WWE TV tapings over the course of the next several weeks as well. It is unknown as of this writing what the NXT talent will be used for on WWE TV.

source: pwinsider.com

Stephanie McMahon featured in 'Shape' magazine

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon is featured in the latest issue of “Shape” magazine, available now. One of the busiest women in entertainment, McMahon explains how she stays fit not only juggling her responsibilities in WWE, but also being a mom to three young children. The article teases the release of her and Triple H’s upcoming WWE Fit DVD series alongside trainer Joe DeFranco, and how she stays strong, motivated and inspirational to women everywhere.

Get the full story in the October issue of “Shape,” available on newsstands everywhere now — featuring celebrity member of the WWE Universe Maria Menunous on the cover.

Vince McMahon Comments on NXT Takeover Fatal 4-Way

In response to last night’s second NXT Takeover special, Vince McMahon posted the following on Twitter:

The future of WWE looks bright. #NXTTakeOver

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) September 12, 2014

WWE Removes CM Punk Merchandise

WWE recently slashed prices on CM Punk merchandise shortly after a 22 page letter was sent to WWE by Punk’s attorneys, regarding royalties.

WWE has since completely removed all CM Punk merchandise from WWEShop.com, and all searches related to CM Punk yield no results.

Video: KENTA debuts on WWE NXT, reveals his new name

WWE NXT General Manager William Regal officially introduced former Pro Wrestling NOAH star KENTA on Thursday night at the 9/11 TakeOver event on the WWE Network. KENTA announced he would now be going by the name Hideo Itami.

NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way Results

This Day In Wrestling History

Happy Birthday to Hawk (Michael James Hegstrand) of the Legion of Doom
September 12, 1957

Chris von Erich committed suicide at age 21.
September 12, 1991

Sting defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW Heavyweight title.
September 12, 1999

Photo: Triple H with Kenta, Prince Devitt and Kevin Steen

You want a selfie? #NXTTakeOver #LetTheInternetExplode @FightSteenFight @fergaldevitt @KENTAK312 pic.twitter.com/JD8FcvhXxQ

— Triple H (@TripleH) September 11, 2014

First SmackDown After 9/11

This Day In Wrestling History

WCW Nitro wins the first ever head to head meeting against WWF(E) RAW. Nitro scores a 2.5 rating while Raw scores a 2.2.
September 11, 1995

Vince McMahon Hasn’t Shut The Door On Traditional WWE Network Model

The New York Post is reporting that Vince McMahon has not shut the door on adopting a premium cable-TV channel model for the WWE Network in the United States.

According to their report, McMahon is keeping a close eye on the company’s partnership with Rogers Communications in Canada — the only place where the WWE Network is available in such form — to see what distribution is like. You can read their report at this link.

Triple H Conference Call Recap: Compares NXT to ECW, Talks Recently Signed Indy Stars, Kenta’s NXT Debut, Sean O’Haire’s Passing, Hypes Takeover 2

Triple H took part in a conference call this afternoon to promote NXT Takeover 2 tomorrow night. Here are some highlights from the call:

* Triple H said that he doesn't like to refer to NXT as "developmental" anymore because it's become its own brand. He put over the matches scheduled for Takeover 2 tomorrow night.

* He wants to bring up Kevin Steen and Prince Devitt in the biggest way possible and for them to become huge superstars.

* He compared NXT to ECW, and noted that it's a feeder system for talent to reach the next level. He said the goal is for NXT to be more like WCW than ECW.

* As for NXT talents appearing on RAW and SmackDown more often, he noted that if that were to happen, then they would be WWE talents and not NXT.

* He talked about coming up with the idea for the Performance Center and pitching it to Vince McMahon.

* He was asked if Kevin Steen, Kenta or Prince Devitt would have to change their names. He said that they might change it, but admitted that they bring name value and that they had a following. While there may be changes, he doesn't want to erase their past.

* Triple H was very happy with the performances on RAW by Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd. He talked about Zayn and noted how proud he was of Zayn's progression.

* He talked about Mick Foley helping him grow as a performer, and said that Mick's matches with him meant a lot of his career.

* He said that he'd like for NXT to continue to grow and go on the road.

* He finished the call by mentioning the passing of Sean O'Haire, and offered his condolences to O'Haire's family on behalf of himself and the company.

This Day In Wrestling History

Happy Birthday to Steve Keirn
September 10, 1951

Ric Flair wrestles his first ever bout in the WWF(WWE) after being fired from WCW.
September 10, 1991

Fritz von Erich died from cancer at at age 68.
September 10, 1997

Eric Bischoff fired as WCW President
September 10, 1999

Triple H to host live Twitter Q&A before NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way

WWE COO Triple H will take questions from the WWE Universe at 3 p.m. ET this Thursday, just hours before the Superstars and Divas of the future hit the ring for NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on WWE Network. TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way is the latest live special featuring the Superstars and Divas of the future, airing exclusively on WWE Network this Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze Make Their WWE RAW TV Debuts

WWE NXT stars Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze made their RAW TV debuts on tonight's show from Baltimore. Neville and Zayn teamed up to defeat Breeze and Tyson Kidd.

The crowd really got going when Neville received the hot tag and went to work on Breeze. Neville ended the match with Red Arrow on Breeze, to another good reaction.

The RAW announcers put over NXT and Thursday's Takeover 2 event several times. As noted, these four Superstars will compete for Neville's NXT Title on Thursday night.

Over One Million Viewers Tune In for Season Three Premiere of WWE Total Divas

E!’S “TOTAL DIVAS” SEASON 3 PREMIERE DELIVERS OVER 1.2 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS

“#RichKids of Beverly Hills” Draws Half a Million Among Adults 18-49 – Second Season Continues to Pace Ahead of Season 1

Los Angeles, CA – September 8, 2014 – E!’s “Total Divas” kicked off its third season premiere with a pop on Sunday, September 7 (9-10:00 pm). Delivering over 1.2 million total viewers and 821K Adults 18-49, the series was up +15% and +17% respectively versus the season 2 premiere. Back for an all-new season where sisterhood meets over-the-top drama, viewers were introduced to the brazen WWE Diva, Rosa Mendes™, and saw Nikki Bella™ pursue freezing her eggs unbeknownst to her longtime boyfriend, WWE Superstar John Cena™. The unprecedented inside look at the lives of the women of the WWE® was the most watched E! season 3 premiere in more than three years. On the digital front, "Total Divas" garnered 26,000 Tweets and ranked as the #1 ad-supported cable program of the night (excluding sports).

Viewers of Sunday night’s highly rated “Total Divas’” premiere stayed tuned for a new episode of “#RichKids of Beverly Hills” (10 – 10:30 pm), which followed EJ Johnson as a celebrity Grand Marshal of San Francisco’s Pride Parade. The episode, which also documented socialite Dorothy Wang’s return to the dating scene after recent heartbreak, retained nearly two-thirds (64%) of its lead-in and delivered over half a million among Adults 18-49 (516K). The second season continues to pace ahead of season 1 by +6%.

This Day In Wrestling History

In what was described as one of the greatest matches ever in Phoenix, Arizona, Jim Londos defeats Pete Sauer.
September 9, 1929

WWWF(WWE) World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeats Gorilla Monsoon in a Texas Death match at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
September 9, 1967

Dusty Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson for the NWA Television title.
September 9, 1986

Ric Flair wrestles his first match for the WWF(E) following his departure from WCW the previous July. He defeats Jim Powers at a WWF(E) Television taping in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
September 9, 1991

In order to rival the Billy & Chuck wedding on SmackDown, Eric Bischoff introduces HLA (Hot Lesbian Action) to the RAW audience.
September 9, 2002

Batista Talks Getting Fined 100K By WWE, Said He Knew That Things Would Never Be The Same

In the second installment of his recent appearance on Talk is Jericho, Batista and Jericho touched upon the fact that wrestlers occasionally butt heads with Vince McMahon, prompting a thorough discussion of an incident in 2008 when Batista was hit with a substantial fine by McMahon.

Jericho set up the tale, explaining that he was scheduled to go up against Batista in a cage match in Tampa, Florida with the understanding that he'd win the World Title back from Batista after having won the belt at Cyber Sunday the week before.

Batista added that he thought about in-ring storytelling in a relatively "old school" frame of mind, believing that if someone would, say, get hit over the head with a pipe, he'd be expected to bleed. Indeed, that was the agreed upon finish for the match, with Jericho garnering the win after belting Batista with a metal pipe he'd stashed atop the steel cage.

"This was a point where we weren't shedding blood any more," Batista recalled. "We were PG and that didn't make any sense to me. I just didn't want to hear that, especially when there's a title match involved."

Batista implied that he employed a blade to "shed a little blood for the business" and then added that he was also busted open "the hard way" during the match. Both men agreed that it was an exceptional match.

"I can't believe we had to deal with grief over that," said Batista.

Jericho then noted that as they came back through the curtain after the match, "there was a lot of yelling and screaming going on," ostensibly because Batista had bled during the match. He said Vince declined to discuss the matter in depth, indicating he'd address it the following week and decide on a punishment for both wrestlers. Jericho said he tried to discuss the issue with Vince in a subsequent phone call that lasted only 18 seconds and included Vince telling Jericho to "shut up" and "F off."

Batista picked up the story and said that the following Monday, Jericho and he met with McMahon and that Dean Malenko, who produced the match, and referee Mike Chioda were also present at the meeting. Vince apparently played the match back for them multiple times in slow motion and with footage from various angles to show the moment at which Batista had apparently initiated his own bloodletting. Jericho noted that he'd known through some conversations with Batista that Batista was looking to bleed in the match but he didn't know exactly what he had in mind.

"I knew we weren't supposed to do it…I knew I would get consequences but I thought I would get the consequences and I didn't think they'd be as harsh as they were," Batista said.

Jericho recalled that Vince contemplated firing Batista but felt like that would be the easy way out.

"Then he starts passing out fines," said Batista. "So my fine was $100,000…My heart dropped. I thought it would be like $25,000…When he said $100,000, I was just heartbroken. I literally think that he sucked the life out of me that day. I think that's the day that I knew things were never going to be the same."

He expressed some degree of lingering bitterness about the incident to this day, indicating that he felt Vince was unnecessarily heavy-handed in the situation.

"I did the right thing. It was good business," Batista added.

Despite having written about this story in one of his books, Jericho said he was very surprised to hear Batista's reflections on the incident because he'd never discussed the matter in detail with Jericho.

Jericho was only fined $5,000 by McMahon and Vince leveled the same fines against Malenko and Chioda. In addition to paying his own fine, Batista also paid the other fines.

Batista continued, stating that he felt like the PG Era was killing the art form of professional wrestling and that this contributed to his decision to leave WWE in 2010.

Update On WWE Tribute To The Troops 2014

WWE will tape their 2014 Tribute to the Troops special on December 10th.

Update on Daniel Bryan Possibly Needing Another Surgery and His Health

Brie Bella reportedly said in a media interview for Total Divas this past week that her husband Daniel Bryan will not need a second surgery as expected. Doctors made their decision this past week. Brie added that Bryan is going through rehab and is slowly regaining strength in his right arm. There's still no word on when he will be back in action but WWE officials are hoping for three months from now.

Total Divas Season 3 Premier Recap

This Day In Wrestling History

Verne Gagne defeats Miguel Guzman in Houston, Texas for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title, ending Guzman's fifth title reign, and beginning his second run with the belt.
September 8, 1950

El Mongol defeats Mr. Wrestling for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, starting his fourth run with the belt.
September 8, 1967

Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson defeats WWF(E) World Champion Bob Backlund via countout in a rare champion vs. champion match in Springfield, Massachusetts.
September 8, 1979

Ric Flair is stripped of recognition as the official NWA World Champion after being fired from WCW in 1991.
September 8, 1991