Corey Graves Hosting Special NXT, Rival Kickoff Pre-show News

A special edition of WWE NXT will premiere this Tuesday night at 9pm on the WWE Network. Corey Graves will host the show and look at the events leading up to NXT Takeover: Rival.

The NXT Takeover: Rival Kickoff Pre-show is now confirmed for 7:30pm EST on the WWE Network on Wednesday night. It will feature Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Jason "Tensai" Albert and Graves.

Triple H to Host Conference Call

Triple H will be holding a conference call with the media on Tuesday to promote Wednesday's NXT Takeover event. We will have highlights shortly after it's over. He usually does a Twitter Q&A to promote the NXT events also.

Triple H Talks Putting Over Daniel Bryan At WrestleMania 30, Compares Bryan To Shawn Michaels

Part two of Jonathan Snowden's exclusive look at last year's WrestleMania is now up at The Bleacher Report. In the article, Triple H and Daniel Bryan discussed the lead up to, and execution of, their great match at WrestleMania 30. Triple H noted that he trained twice a day in preparation for the match because of the pressure when you haven't been wrestling regularly.

"It's full on, twice a day," Triple H noted. "I've got to get in shape because I know Daniel Bryan is one of the best guys in the world. And I've got to hang with him. I've got to be in there and do my part. We've told this massive story, and it all hinges on delivering. So I've got to go out there in that first match at WrestleMania and I've got to kill it and put him on that platform."

Triple H and Bryan also both talked about blending their styles for the match, including The Game chain wrestling and using the Tiger Suplex.

"I can chain wrestle. I can do all that other stuff. I just don't do it," Triple H said. "It's about doing them at the right moment, safely, with a guy you can do them with. And Daniel's a guy you can do just about anything with. He's a little bit like Shawn [Michaels] in that you can do anything with him. So pulling that out of the bag was something I could do."

Triple H noted that Bryan's entrance with the crowd doing the "Yes!" chant was a blowaway moment for him. He also said that he got "chillbumps" with how the storyline paid off for Bryan.

"I lean over to Steph, and I said, 'Look at that.' What a story. And even just thinking about it now, I get chillbumps," Triple H stated. "To be able to take that 10-month arc of a story and have it pay off for Daniel Bryan—who on every level is just the nicest guy and a guy you just want to help succeed—for every reason you just want him to be big, and then here it is. And man, it's huge. And you're just like, 'Yeah!'"

Much more is contained in the article, including Bryan's thoughts on the match and the event, more from Triple H, Bryan discussing the influence CM Punk had on smaller wrestlers and more. You can check out the full story by clicking here.

Update on Chyna’s Response to Triple H & Hall of Fame Comments; Dropping Tell-All Interview Next Week

Late Monday night Triple H was the guest on a live edition of The Steve Austin show, hosted on the WWE Network. During the interview, Triple H was asked about Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna) being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and had the following to say:

“From a career standpoint should she be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. It’s a bit difficult though. If an 8-year-old kid sees the Hall of Fame, and goes on the internet – ‘who is Chyna, I’m 8-years-old I’ve never heard of her, so I go type that in’ and what comes up? I’m not criticizing life-style choices. I don’t know what they were, and I don’t care to know. It’s not a morality thing or anything else, it’s just the fact of what it is, and that’s a difficult choice.”

The Game is obviously referencing Laurer’s pornography career, as the former Intercontinental Champion has starred in a number of adult films since 2004. In response, her official Twitter account (@ChynatheIcon) thanked wrestling fans for “keeping her name out there” and even hoped a “dialogue” could be started following the podcast.

Wrestlezone has since learned that the thoughts expressed Monday night were NOT made by Joanie Laurer, but rather by an individual who runs her account. She was not aware of the comments made by Triple H, and the Twitter response made does not accurately reflect her thoughts on the issue.

Chyna recently sat down with Vince Russo to vent her true feelings about the Hall of Fame, as well as issuing some never-before-heard statements about Triple H, WWE and her departure from the company. The must-see, controversial interview will go live on pyroandballyhoo.com next Monday.

ROH Reportedly Dealing with Financial Problems, Wrestlers Used for Pitch to Sinclair, More

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ring of Honor is currently dealing with a lot of financial issues that basically come from Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns ROH, not getting more behind the company.

COO Joe Koff met with head officials at Sinclair back in December to try and get them to expand the budgets for 2015 and 2016, pushing the idea that ROH could become the #2 wrestling promotion in the country. Koff brought Adam Cole and The Briscoes to the meeting for them to do pro wrestling style promos on how TNA was losing steam moving to Destination America and that ROH could become #2 in the US. The pitch reportedly failed.

ROH's December pay-per-view, their second show on standard PPV, did just 8,000 buys and that didn't help things either. The 8,000 number is said to be under the company projections but not by a large number.

Sinclair officials told Koff to be more disciplined with spending this year. There's a feeling that Sinclair wants ROH for consistent programming on their network but are not interested in investing a lot or taking chances to build them.

These financial issues are the reason why talents like Roderick Strong, Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett aren't under contract. As noted before, TNA, Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling all have interest in signing the duo of Kanellis and Bennett.

Backstage Reaction To Triple H's Podcast Comments About CM Punk And RAW Being Three Hours

Regarding Triple H's comments on the live Steve Austin interview about having no beef or issues with CM Punk, most people within WWE that are talking do not believe he was telling the truth.

It came as a surprise that a higher-up like Triple H talked about how RAW should go back to 2 hours and most people in the company agree with that.

On a related note, Triple H mentioned during his interview with Michael Cole today that he heard his interview with Austin had 40% more viewers than Vince McMahon's interview with Austin.

Chyna Responds to WWE Hall of Fame Talk After Triple H Interview, Says She's Tried to Contact WWE

Former WWE star Chyna was trending on Twitter last night after Triple H and Steve Austin talked about her possibly going into the WWE Hall of Fame on their live WWE Network interview.

Chyna tweeted the following in response:

Wow. I just put my Twitter on and I have all of these messages. Never been a trending topic before. I understand that the question was asked why am I not in the HOF? I have my reason as to why however, let me make this clear. If the WWE was ever to say that I was going to be inducted, either as part of the groundbreaking DX or as an individual, well, my answer would be what a friend of mine us to say in the ring, O HELL YEAH! It just want to take a minute and thank all of the fans that keep my name out there. You have no idea what it means to me. I love you all. I have contacted the WWE several times over the years. They have not responded back.

Steve Austin - Triple H Interview Recap - Feelings on CM Punk, Chyna - HOF, Brock Lesnar's Future, More

We're live from backstage at the Pepsi Center in Denver with Steve Austin and Triple H. Austin talks about how hot fans were when sending feedback for the podcast. Austin brings up the controversy surrounding the Royal Rumble. Austin says it seems like kayfabe is dead and asks Triple H how hard it is to book with that. He says it's rough. Triple H brings up the different component that is the internet and how fans quickly see when the company gets behind someone. Triple H brings up how some places were booing Roman Reigns out of the building because they think that's the push he's getting but nobody booed him at this weekend's live events. Austin says some fans feel like Reigns hasn't earned the push yet. Triple H says there's one guy calling the shots - Vince McMahon. Triple H says the Rumble was talked over and debated. He says there were lots of suggestions. He says Vince takes all those ideas and puts them together. Triple H says nobody is perfect - Vince, himself and the writing team. He says Vince doesn't always make the right call but has a pretty good track record.

They give props to Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for their match on RAW. Austin brings up the resentment for Reigns and Triple H says it's a tough environment. Triple H talks about how half of the people have booed John Cena while half have cheered him but he was selling out arenas. Triple H says it's hard to find the star that every single person likes. Triple H talks about how they knew who they were targeting in the Attitude Era but now there are so many age groups and demographics that they cover. Triple H mentions how dirt sheets were rare back in the day but even major media outlets give you the inside of the business these days. Austin says he hasn't seen Twitter feedback yet but believes that tonight's RAW may have quelled some of the resentment towards Reigns. He says Reigns shined tonight and what he did at the end of RAW helped him. Austin says he needed that and Triple H agrees. Triple H says people say all the time that Reigns isn't ready and Triple H says nobody is really ready for "that." Austin agrees. Triple H says you think you know what it means to be that guy until you get there and put a whole different world of pressure on yourself.

Triple H talks about how he wasn't ready in 1996 and if he would have won King of the Ring instead of Austin then he would have failed. Triple H says he knew he wasn't ready and doesn't think he would have succeeded. Austin is looking to forward to seeing how the main event picture unfolds going into WrestleMania. Triple H talks about how WWE is a never ending book and you can't really knock today because you don't know what's next. Austin asks what Triple H's exit strategy if he didn't marry Stephanie McMahon. Triple H believes he would be in a similar place, working behind-the-scenes. He says he fell in love with the creative and "making of" pro wrestling as much as the other side. He talks about falling in love with working with talents and other aspects of the business, and talking to Vince McMahon about it long before he got with Stephanie. He talks about what he gets out of working with the talents at NXT. He says hats off to Vince for allowing him that. Austin has our first Twitter question - does he think it's beneficial for a talent to go to a wrestling school and then the PC or work the indies. He says it depends on the guy. He talks about Kurt Angle and praises him, talking about how he picked up the business faster than anyone he's seen. He says sometimes it's hard to knock some of the bad habits of the indies out of a guy. Some indie guys come in and they're a sponge, some come in and think their way is the only way.

More?

Roman Reigns Addresses WWE Fan Backlash, Says He Doesn’t Care and He’s “Just a Guy Getting Rich”

WWE star and this year’s Royal Rumble winner, Roman Reigns, recently spoke with Sam Roberts, prior to the Rumble PPV, and the following are some interview highlights, and you can listen to the entire interview at this link.

On the backlash he has been receiving from WWE fans:

“I’m aware of all of these things. You have to look at it through many different perspectives. For me, as a provider and as a man, I have a responsibility to provide. I can’t look at it like and get down on ‘oh, this is what they’re thinking and this is what they’re saying.’ To be honest I really don’t care. I can only do my thing and do the best that I can. The majority of critics, I would say, are people who have no clue what they’re talking about and have never been in a wrestling ring. They’ve never been a public speaker. They wouldn’t even know how to lock up with me if I allowed them to. If I gave them the opportunity to lock up and tangle with me in the ring, they would have no clue what to do so for them to critique or ever say anything about any performer is asinine and just blows my mind.

It’s one of those situations where obviously the company is gonna do what the company does and the fans are definitely gonna do what they do. That’s what’s so great. The fans have to realize that as opinionated as y’all are in the way you want it, the company is the same way and they’re gonna do what they wanna do…at the end of the day i’m just a guy getting rich.”

One of the big criticisms about Roman Reigns’ act is that his promos still need a lot of work. Reigns revealed that he does read a lot of what fans say about him online, but as long as they’re talking about him, he’s doing something right.

“I see all of my criticism. I’m in a position now that I get a ton of love which is great and a ton of criticism which is great. As long as i’m in people’s mouths that’s all that matters to me. As long as people are talking about me.

The majority of the time…the people that are critiquing and bashing me, they’re making me more relevant, I would think. If you didn’t want me around then just don’t talk about me and try and make it silent out there. That’s not the case [because] they make it even more overwhelming. You know, noise is noise. That’s the thing.”

Triple H To Make Major Announcement On WWE RAW

Triple H kicked off tonight's live WWE SmackDown and talked about the Royal Rumble controversy over Roman Reigns winning. Triple H said he's going to put an end to the controversy on this coming Monday's RAW from Denver.

Triple H said the announcement on RAW will likely shake the WWE Universe to its core.

Triple H Hits Milestone

Triple H hit a milestone of 2 million Twitter followers today.

Rumor Mill - WWE Implements New Rule About Dating Within the Company

WWE officials have a new rule that talent & office workers and talent & production people are not allowed to date. The company does not want staff and talent interacting past the professional level.

New WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Crowned, Update on the NXT #1 Contender's Tournament

Baron Corbin defeated Bull Dempsey and Adrian Neville defeated Tyson Kidd on this week's WWE NXT to advance in the #1 contender's tournament. Next week's episode will feature Neville vs. Corbin and Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami in the semi-finals. The winners of those two matches will face at the February 11th Takeover special to determine the new #1 contender to NXT Champion Sami Zayn.

1/26 WWE Raw Viewership Soars Despite Royal Rumble Backlash and Canceled Arena Taping

The “Winter Storm Juno” edition of Monday Night Raw on January 26th turned out to be the most viewed episode since July. The show, which was filled with interviews and replays from this weekend’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, averaged 4,420,000 viewers, which is up 7.8% from last week.

Raw’s first hour started with a strong 4,468,000 people tuned in, then grew to 4,657,000 in the second hour. The third and final hour, which featured the end of the Royal Rumble match, dropped to 4,135,000 to end the night.

While Monday’s show is still the lowest ranked post-Rumble episode in several years, considering there were no live matches and most of the show was pre-taped content, WWE should be content with this week’s numbers.

WWE Network Reaches 1 Million Subscriber Milestone

The WWE Network has signed up more than 1 million subscribers, reaching the number 11 months after its launch, WWE said Tuesday.

At the end of WWE’s third quarter in October, the WWE Network had 731,000 subscribers, with 28,000 coming from foreign markets. It signed up 31,000 new subscribers during the period, but lost 255,000 after the initial six-month commitment ended.

WWE has since dropped that six-month requirement in order to increase subscriptions, which cost $9.99 a month. It offered a free month in November, as part of a trial period, which is being viewed as the cause for many of the new subscriber sign-ups.

Other reasons for the healthy numbers are the launch of the WWE Network in the United Kingdom, the company’s second largest market, as well as Sunday’s “Royal Rumble” pay-per-view.

Surpassing 1 million subscribers since the end of October represents a growth of 37% since the third quarter. Around 24% of that came from new members in the U.S.

The actual number — 1,000,648 — is the current subscriber count, as of Jan. 27, and after “Royal Rumble,” which was available in 170 countries and territories.

That’s after a group of very vocal fans took to Twitter shortly after the event, causing the hashtag #CancelWWENetwork to trend, to voice their disapproval of the show’s outcome.

It’s a significant milestone for a company that is betting big on going directly to its fanbase with its PPVs and vast library of shows — something a number of other content owners are now doing, including the NFL, CBS and HBO.

WWE will report its fourth quarter and full 2014 results on Feb. 12. The WWE Network launched on Feb. 24, 2014.

“We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of ‘WrestleMania,’ our biggest event of the year on March 29,” said WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for our fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year.”

WWE said that 90% of its subscribers access the network at least once a week, with 99% doing so at least once per month.

The over-the-top channel is accessible through Sony’s PlayStation 3 and PS4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 videogame consoles, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku devices, Sony and Samsung smart TVs.

Triple H to Face Sting at WWE FastLane

The Authority have a new Twitter account and have announced the following for next month's Fast Lane pay-per-view which will air on the WWE Network:

Per The Authority: @WWE COO @TripleH has challenged @Sting to meet face to face at #WWEFastLane Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 on the @WWENetwork.

— The Authority (@WWEsAuthority) January 27, 2015

Wrestling Fans Lash Out With ‘#CancelWWENetwork’

The response to Sunday’s Royal Rumble was anything but scripted

Wrestling fans were seething after the World Wrestling Entertainment’s annual Royal Rumble event came to what appears to be an unsatisfactory end in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

After Roman Reigns emerged victorious for the evening’s highly anticipated battle royal finale, fans sounded off in mass on social media outlets with the hashtag: “#CancelWWENetwork” that was trending worldwide by the night’s end.

According to wrestling blogs, spectators at the event were chanting for refunds as rumors swirled that the WWE Network cancellation page had crashed as fans bombarded the site.

source: time.com

Total Divas Recap 01/25/15

It has been a while since things got really, really awkward on E!’s “Total Divas.” Happily for everyone, that calm comes to a screeching halt this week when Rosa Mendes, who’s still on the market, misinterprets Paige’s general flirtatiousness as a romantic overture. One ill-advised advance later, and Paige and Rosa are no longer speaking. This is more because of Rosa’s general embarrassment than a lack of empathy on Paige’s part, though it takes Alicia Fox to bridge the gap between the Divas and bring them to an understanding (Paige in particular is advised to bear in mind how flirty she can be), thus restoring their merry band to full strength.

In our slightly scarier second storyline, Brie Bella is increasingly concerned with home security after a botched burglary of her and Daniel Bryan’s home. Bryan is content with some subtle-yet-effective security measures, but Brie prefers to go all-out, installing a full-on razor wire fence that turns the “Braniel” home into a compound. Bryan, of course, is not consulted on this, and once again, an 11th-hour compromise is needed to bring the couple to common ground.

Eva Marie is physically on the mend from her recent surgery, but an upcoming photo shoot for “Muscle & Fitness Hers” sends her into a crazy workout regiment and brings some deep-seeded body image issues to life. Despite Cameron and Jonathan’s best efforts to curb Eva’s increasingly negative view of herself, it takes a unique experiment with a local artist to get Eva to see the alarming divide between perception and reality. With self-confidence back under her belt, Eva hits the photo shoot for “M&F Hers” and absolutely slays it.

WWE Royal Rumble PPV Results 2015

Roman Reigns wins the 2015 Royal Rumble Match

Brock Lesnar (c) def. Seth Rollins and John Cena (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match)

The Bella Twins def. Paige & Natalya

The Usos (c) def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow (WWE Tag Team Championship Match)

The Ascension def. The New Age Outlaws

Cesaro & Tyson Kidd def. Kofi Kingston & Big E (Kickoff Match)

Steve Austin's Live Podcast Returning to the WWE Network with Triple H

WWE announced tonight during the Royal Rumble that Steve Austin's live podcast will return to the WWE Network on Monday, February 2nd after RAW goes off the air

Austin's guest will be Triple H.

Enzo Amore on Being a Product of WWE NXT, What Triple H Told Him When He Signed, Promo Work

Chad Dukes of CBS Radio Washington DC 106.7 The Fan and ChadDukesWrestling.com spoke with WWE NXT star Enzo Amore. The full interview is at this link but here are a few highlights:

Developing his promo work as a journalism major at Salisbury University:
“None of this happens overnight and Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’ve always put the pen to the pad and I’ve always had aspirations of doing what I’m doing today. Basically when you’re a writer and have a mind like mine, my mind has gone platinum multiple times and I have got a heart of gold, my heart’s in the right place. I’ve wanted to do this my whole life, promo material, when you’ve basically got a bible of promo material, I’m telling you I got so much promo material written down, I’ve forgotten more promo material than people will ever come up with. So, it’s all in my back pocket.”

Being a product of WWE NXT:
“I never was in a wrestling ring before I stepped foot into a WWE ring, so I am a product of NXT. I trained under Bill DeMott. I did a lot of my promo work with Dusty Rhodes. Those two guys were so instrumental in my career, I feel like I never could just completely take that step out of NXT. I owe it to the fans, I owe it to the people around me, the trainers, the coaches. That’s what you see in our product, you see people who are hungry and those people who are coming back, pulling double duty, they’re hungry, they wanna compete. The NXT environment is so competitive.”

Getting a shot from Triple H:
“He had started training with my strength coach. From the age of 14 I had been training with Joe DeFranco from DeFranco’s Training Systems out of New Jersey, they do a lot of combine training. I had played college football, I had always lifted and was a huge fan of the sports entertainment business, more particularly the WWE. Huge fan of DX- Shawn Michaels and Triple H. One day I was working out at DeFranco’s gym and Joe came up to me and said, ‘I got a phone call from a guy named Paul Levesque, who wants me to train him.’ My jaw just hit the ground.”

“After about a year of him training with Hunter, I made a YouTube video… I was always training so basically I gave Joe a link to a YouTube page that had a compilation of me lifting, running, boxing, and then I cut a promo at the end of it on the Hudson River around the time the Jersey Shore was popular. Came at the Jersey Shore people’s necks, a little disrespect, hit ‘em with a little 1-2 combo, the haymaker pancaker and badaboom, the realest guy in the room was born.”

“He showed it to Hunter and Hunter just gave me a tryout. He’s our boss and he’s very approachable out here at NXT. He gave me my first opportunity and I’ll never forget the words that he said to me when I met him, he simply said, ‘don’t screw this up.’ He probably wouldn’t remember it, but for me I hung onto those words, because that’s all he said.”

Justin Gabriel Quits WWE

Former 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Justin Gabriel quit WWE this weekend. There are currently no details or specifics on the situation.

Gabriel had been picking up victories over Adam Rose on WWE's live events tour, but the success ended there. The 33 year old South African didn't have a televised win since a victory over Sin Cara on Superstars in September.

Gabriel signed a WWE developmental deal in 2008 and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling, where he became Heavyweight champion. He also had a reign as tag team champion before being announced as a contestant on the first season of WWE NXT.

Following the conclusion of NXT, Gabriel debuted on the main roster as a member of Nexus, attacking John Cena and the Straight Edge Society. While a member of Nexus, he'd become WWE Tag Team Champion with Heath Slater.

After leaving Nexus, Gabriel and Slater would join former Nexus leader Wade Barrett in the Corre, where they would enjoy two more WWE Tag Team Championship reigns. Since then, Gabriel had mostly been relegated to Superstars and Main Event, staying away from any major storylines.

**UPDATE**
Following reports that Justin Gabriel quit WWE over the weekend, the sports-entertainment organization announced Sunday that he has been released from his contract.

WWE issued the following statement to F4WOnline.com today confirming the release of Gabriel: "WWE has come to terms on the release Justin Gabriel effective as of today."

God's Last Gift: How Seth Rollins became the future of WWE

The first people Seth Rollins brought to tears — before The Shield, before the WWE Universe, before anyone — were his mom and dad.

That’s a rough note to begin on, but it’s necessary because originally, we had planned to write about Seth Rollins in June 2014, and our story — his story, really — was going to be your usual underdog yarn about a guy who worked hard from humble beginnings, reached his goal, almost lost his goal, and eventually found himself sitting on the mountaintop through grit and hard work. Not entirely unlike Daniel Bryan’s tale. But that all turned on its head the night Rollins took out his fellow members of The Shield with a steel chair and set himself on a catapult career-trajectory that led to the Money in the Bank briefcase and helped him waltz right into a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match against John Cena and Brock Lesnar at the 2015 Royal Rumble over about the course of six months.

Given all that, it seems appropriate to begin the story we’re telling now, the story Seth Rollins forced us to tell instead, with the fact that he had a penchant for defying expectations and breaking hearts —including his family’s — before he’d even formally laced up a pair of boots.

“When I told my parents and saw the look of disappointment on their faces, it was like a real moment,” said Rollins, recalling the uncomfortable night he sat his parents down as a teenager in Iowa and told them he would be pursuing a career in sports-entertainment. “I remember walking away from the dinner table and just being like, ‘Man, I don’t care what anybody says, I’m going to do this. I don’t care if anybody believes I can do this or not.’”

About the only one who believed he could succeed was Rollins himself, a lapsed Hulkamaniac who rediscovered his passion during the Attitude Era and had already proven himself a natural boundary-pusher in mock wrestling shows with his buddies where he created a character named “God.”

“[I wasn’t] the God, not a god of anything, just straight-up God,” laughs Rollins, who based the lighting-rod persona off the controversial antics of his favorite Superstars, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. “I wasn’t descending from the heavens or anything like that. It was just one of those deals where, ‘How am I gonna [tick] people off? Oh, I’ll just call myself God.’”...More?

source: wwe.com

Kevin Owens Talks About His NXT Debut, Working With Triple H

Alex Obert of JourneyofaFrontman.com is featuring an interview with WWE NXT star Kevin Owens where he talks about making his NXT debut back in December and what it is like working with Triple H in developmental in Orlando.

On what he was thinking just before his NXT debut:

"I wish I could tell you exactly what I was thinking about, but there were so many things going through my mind. I thought a lot about my family because they got me to the point. It sounds really corny because it seems like that’s what people would say when there’s a big moment in their lives. I thought about my kid, my parents and my wife. I remember at one point, I stopped midway through the ramp before I got in the ring and I clearly remember having a flash of running to the ring in my first match. It was just such a culmination. It’s always been my dream. It’s really hard to describe how memorable that was."

On working with Triple H in WWE:

"All I can say is that Triple H is literally the most dedicated man in sports entertainment, nobody works as hard as he does. I only see glimpses of it when he’s at the NXT tapings and the specials, but he’s always available for ideas. We were talking about what I was gonna do and how I was gonna be presented, he was very hands-on. It’s not just me, he’s got his finger on the pulse of everything we do here. And we do a lot of stuff, there’s seventy people here and he keeps track of everyone. I don’t know when he sleeps, I don’t know when he works out, but he’s alive and he’s in great shape. From what I can tell, he’s a machine. His dedication is really something to behold. I’m lucky to have somebody like him willing to work with me, just like everybody else I mentioned earlier. He’s another great mind who knows so much more more about this than I do and he’s willing to share it with me and share it with anybody who wants the knowledge. It’s pretty awesome."

He also noted the extreme difference in how segments are produced in WWE, and how much time and effort go into planning even the shortest of vignettes.

“The vignettes are thirty seconds to a minute.. I think it took three to four hours to shoot all the stuff … There’s so many creative minds working together to make this special. I was really lucky, I can’t overstate that enough. Chris Chambers, Christopher Watts, Brian Kunsman, Ryan Katz and Bill DeMott, they were all helping me and gave great suggestions like “Do this. Do that. Turn your head this way.” It’s all intricate stuff it’s stuff that I’ve never done. Ring of Honor had TV, but nothing like this.”

WWE NXT Recruiting at the Arnold Classic

There are now plans for WWE to have a recruiting booth at the upcoming NXT Live show on March 5th during The Arnold Classic, which obviously attracts a ton of athletes and bodybuilders. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Video: The Kliq reunites backstage: Raw, January 19, 2015

WWE Tough Enough 2015 Casting Call Released

WWE issued the following casting call for the upcoming season of Tough Enough:

WWE and the USA Network are bringing back the hit reality competition show Tough Enough! One competitor will earn a WWE contract and be the next WWE Superstar!!!

If you believe you have what it takes to not only earn the contract, but excel in World Wrestling Entertainment… Apply now.

Casting Producers are searching the world to find extraordinary men and women to be the next WWE Superstar with the following qualities:

CHARISMA
PERSONALITY
ATHLETICISM
AGILITY
STAMINA
STRENGTH
And an INTENSE DESIRE to be the next WWE SUPERSTAR!

Show Information:

WWE Tough Enough, is a professional wrestling reality television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and MTV wherein participants underwent professional wrestling training and competed for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season for the first three seasons, all of which aired on MTV. A fourth competition was held in 2004, with only a single winner, but was integrated into UPN’s SmackDown!. In October 2010, it was announced that The USA Network will be reviving Tough Enough for a fifth season. It will be paired with WWE Raw. No premiere date scheduled.

Videos: Sting Debuts on Raw and The Authority Reacts

WWE Attorney Responds To New 'Concussion Lawsuit' Filed By Former WWE Talents

As noted, former WWE talents Vito Lograsso (Big Vito) and Evan Singleton (Adam Mercer in developmental) have filed a class-action "concussion lawsuit" against WWE in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit seeks unspecified economic damages and medical monitoring. They are being represented by the same lawyer who was hired by former WWE star Billy Jack Haynes in his lawsuit against the company.

WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit this evening:

"This lawsuit is virtually identical to one filed by the same lawyers in Oregon, neither of which have any merit. WWE has never concealed any medical information related to concussions, or otherwise, from our Talent. WWE was well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged. We will vigorously contest this lawsuit."

Triple H Broke Character During Raw To Make A Crying Child Feel Better

On WWE Raw, Triple H is an evil COO and the head of The Authority, a group hellbent on making lives miserable for the company’s do-gooding wrestlers. On the Internet, he’s either a hero for his work in NXT or the literal Christian devil for the brutal, multiple-shovel-job burial of our favorite performers. He’s either a sinner or a saint. Tonight, we’ll push him a little closer to “saint.”

According to multiple sources at tonight’s show in Dallas, Triple H made a kid in the front row cry and immediately broke character to make it all better.

AT&T Stadium to host WrestleMania 32

WrestleMania 32 will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, April 3, 2016. Later today, a media event will be held at the stadium featuring WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, WWE Superstar John Cena and other WWE Superstars and Divas, to celebrate the announcement.

Game smash! Triple H voices The Hulk in Marvel Experience interactive adventure

Don’t make Triple H angry. … You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

The 13-time World Champion brings to life one of Marvel’s most iconic characters as the voice of The Hulk in The Marvel Experience, the world’s first “hyper-reality” tour. Every grunt, growl and, of course, “Hulk smash!” in The Marvel Experience was recorded by Triple H, who had the opportunity to step into the role previously inhabited by such entertainment greats as Lou Ferrigno, Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo.

The attraction — which has just begun touring — invites visitors to train and join up with heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man and The Avengers’ green, gamma-irradiated powerhouse across seven colossal domes on a mission to save the planet from the evil organization Hydra.

The Marvel Experience features an exclusive 360-degree projection dome, an immersive motion ride, state-of-the-art 2-D and 3-D projection and appearances by 26 of Marvel’s most exciting heroes.