August 24, 2016
Johnny Gargano On Why They Were Angry With Bobby Roode Over 'Glorious' Theme, HHH Contacting Him
Origin of the Glorious Bombs:
"This is the first time I've told this story on a podcast or anything like that; so we were doing walkthroughs for the Cruiserweight Classic and they played this 'Glorious' song. They played Bobby's [Bobby Roode] song. And we all thought that was going to be the theme song for the show. That was going to be the Cruiserweight Classic theme; that was going to open it. So we all got excited! Like, this is our song! This song rules! This is awesome! So we are all saying, 'Glorious!' and doing hand-motions and saying we should do this, we should do that. And we later find out it's Bobby's song. We immediately are really angry with Bobby. What the heck, that's our song. Why does Bobby get such a cool song?
"So every single time we saw Bobby, we would tell him, 'Oh man, we really want your song.' And every single time we saw him, me and Tommaso would go up to him and be like, 'Glorious! Glorious!' and sing his song to him. So we do that.
"One day I said to Tommaso, when the song got released on YouTube, I said it would be funny if we had a phone, and we played his song and ran up to him playing it and filmed us doing that. I'm more of an idea guy; Tommaso is the more the go and doer guy. He has no filter and will go and do things. So we went up to Bobby and asked him and he was like, 'Yeah, sure. Let's do it.' We filmed one in the gym first, and we had Bobby do a fake rep, and I want to point out that the fake rep Bobby does is with 70-pound dumbbells. He just picks them up and rips them out, no problem. So we filmed that first one and posted it. Then it starts getting blown up online and it's going viral.
"After we posted a few, someone showed us a text message from Triple H, saying 'Tell Gargano and Ciampa I love the Glorious Bombs.' So we are like, if he loves them, we gotta keep doing them. "
Big Show Talks About Criticism Of Triple H’s Marriage To Stephanie McMahon
“Here’s the thing. People give Hunter a lot of crap and say, ‘oh, he married up, he married up’. Let me tell you something. That dude is probably one of the smartest dudes I’ve ever met in my life and you’ve got to think about this. Yes, Stephanie is absolutely beautiful. She’s intelligent. She’s charismatic. She’s driven. She’s Vince’s daughter. She’s going to be a handful if you’re marrying her. Then think about every Sunday dinner sitting across at Sunday dinner at the family dinner table and you’ve got to stare at Vince. I can go home and get away from him. Hunter can’t go anywhere. He [has] always got to be on because Vince is always on. So Hunter is probably the only guy I can think of in my career that I’ve met that is that dedicated, that is that on, that can pull that off. I mean, maybe John [Cena], but John’s different. You know what I mean? Not good or bad. Those are the only two guys that have the ability to function on Vince’s level.”
August 23, 2016
New WWE SmackDown Titles Revealed, Tournament Announced, Match For Backlash
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan announced the new SmackDown Women's Title and the new SmackDown Tag Team Titles.
The SmackDown women's division will see Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Naomi compete in a Six Pack Challenge at Backlash on September 11th to crown the first-ever blue brand women's champion.
Bryan and Shane also announced a tag team tournament that will crown new champions at Backlash, kicking off tonight on SmackDown. Teams include The Ascension, American Alpha, Breezango, The Hype Bros., The Vaudevillains and The Usos. It looks like Heath Slater and a partner, plus one other team, may be added to the tournament.
Below are photos of the new titles:
Two New WWE Titles To Debut On SmackDown Tonight
Daniel Bryan revealed that two new championships will be revealed on tonight's episode of SmackDown live.
The two titles are expected to be the Women's championship and Tag Team Championship for the SmackDown brand.
WWE RAW Cruiserweight Division Debut Date Confirmed, First Names Revealed
WWE aired a promo on WWE RAW last night confirming the WWE’s returning Cruiserweight Division will debut on the September 19th episode of WWE RAW. The video features Rich Swann, Brian Kendrick, Noam Dar and TJ Perkins, who will all be part of the debuting division.
August 22, 2016
Mick Foley laces WWE fans for their reaction at SummerSlam
RAW General Manager Mick Foley is taking his role seriously.
The WWE legend took to Facebook on Monday to criticize those fans in attendance at SummerSlam at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, who mocked the debut of the Universal title.
The impetus for Foley's lecture was a tweet from Seth Rollins, who lost to Finn Balor in the first Universal title bout.
More important than a title's appearance is what it represents for the men fighting over it. You really let me down tonight, Brooklyn.
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) August 22, 2016
Per Foley on Facebook:
WHEN SMART FANS TURN DUMB
I have long felt, and often spoken about the element of magic needed to make a good match great and a great match classic.
Finn Balor and Seth Rollins had a GREAT match last night - a match that I was HONORED to watch from ringside. But instead of that element of magic necessary to turn that great match into a classic, what Finn and Seth got instead was the stench of self-congratulatory snarkiness from a a very vocal minority of the sold-out Barklay's Center. But a couple thousand self-important chanters, mixed in with 14,000 other people who genuinely WANT TO WATCH THE FREAKING MATCH is an awful distraction.
Yes, the chants were clever. Maybe the look of the Universal Championship isn't the one that I personally wouldn't have wanted. But remember the Hardcore Title? It was supposed to be a joke when it was presented to me – broken pieces of metal held together by duct tape. But we made that title mean something by busting our asses to show it's worth. As Seth Rollins writes in his tweet, a title is about more than appearance; it's about what it represents for the men fighting for it. Remember the WWE title I won from The Rock – that moment that has gone down as among the greatest in Monday Night Raw history? Did you know that title belt reeked of beer and mildew, and stunk up my bag every day for the 37 days (or whatever the exact number was) that I held it? Did you know that I didn't give an F about the beer and mildew... or what it looked like, what color it was, if it spun or had my name on it? I only cared about the hard work that had gone into winning it, and that those responsible for running the company felt that I was worthy of holding it.
There are so many times when WWE fans act in a way that makes me proud. Last night was not one of them. Last night, that vocal minority in attendance - who thought their clever chants about their displeasure toward the aesthetic design of a FREAKING belt were more important than the two guys busting their asses to have the best match possible, made me feel ashamed.
I hope some of those people who were chanting about the Universal Championship - many of whom are Finn Balor fans - will read this article, and realize that Finn flew his family in from Ireland to be part of the event last night. I hope they will take a good look at themselves in the mirror, and realize they made the evening a little less special for him by trying to make the evening about themselves.
There is a reason why Seth Rollins simple, yet eloquent statement received 10,000 RT's from around the world. People agreed with him! Most of them would have loved to be sitting in the seats of those self-important fans - with that element of magic in the air that would have turned their great match into a classic.
Rumor Mill - Backstage Altercation Between Chris Jericho And Brock Lesnar At WWE SummerSlam
The finish to Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton at WWE SummerSlam went pretty much as planned but led to a big incident between Chris Jericho and Lesnar backstage.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, multiple sources report that Jericho came to the gorilla position as the match ended, apparently to find out exactly what happened and to see if Orton was alright. Jericho asked WWE producer Michael "PS" Hayes if that was the planned finish and Hayes wouldn't respond. Jericho then said, "That's bulls--t."
Jericho's "bulls--t" comment came just as Lesnar was returning backstage. Lesnar, thinking Jericho was talking about the match, called Jericho a "p---y," according to one version, or just said "shut up," according to another version, and for Jericho to mind his own business. They came face to face and had words. One version of the story says they were shouting at each other the whole time.
Lesnar reportedly pushed Jericho with his fingers. Jericho then did what was described as the "Rousey-Tate" forehead press. Another version of the story said Jericho shoved Lesnar into the wall. The two were then tangled up against the wall when Lesnar told Jericho to either punch him or kiss him. Triple H then jumped in and broke things up. The two went at it again but this time Vince McMahon broke it up. Jericho was then yelling about Lesnar and Vince told him that everything was a work, and to be professional.
Triple H reportedly told Vince that Lesnar started the fight, and that Jericho was just standing up for himself. No more words were exchanged but Jericho saw Orton's condition and got mad. It was noted that Jericho was concerned with Orton's health and safety, but Orton assured him that he knew what was going to happen.
The Four Horsewomen of WWE
WWE is undergoing a massive change, thanks, in no small part, to the Four Horsewomen—four preternaturally fierce and gifted wrestlers who frequently outshine their male counterparts. Meet Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Bayley, who are quickly ushering in a new era...More?
source: gq.com
The Dudley Boyz to ‘say goodbye’ tonight
One night after yet another miscommunication cost The Dudley Boyz a victory during the SummerSlam Kickoff, the most decorated tag team in sports-entertainment history will evidently be saying their farewells to the WWE Universe tonight, live on Raw.
For more than 20 years, Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley have been among the most dominant tag teams in the world. They returned to WWE one year ago to earn their 10th tag team championship in WWE—a quest that was ultimately and unfortunately unsuccessful. Nevertheless, there will never be another tandem in sports-entertainment like The Dudley Boyz.
RAW GM's Announce Plans To Crown New WWE Universal Champion
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Demon King has abdicated the throne.
Less than 24 hours after defeating Seth Rollins to become the first-ever WWE Universal Champion, Finn Bálor was forced to relinquish the title to Raw GM Mick Foley and Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, having suffered a right shoulder injury at The Architect’s hands during their historic clash. Unforuntately, Bálor’s hope for a clean exit was cut short by Seth Rollins, who wasted no time in attempting to cobble together a case for himself to inherit the now-vacant championship.
The Architect certainly had company in that regard. Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens were quick to name themselves as worthy of a title opportunity, as did Roman Reigns and, surprisingly, Enzo Amore & Big Cass. Foley provided the solution, sanctioning four qualifying bouts for a Fatal 4-Way next week to determine a new Universal Championship.
Details On WWE’s William Regal Appearing For EVOLVE Scouting Camp
WWN Live issued the following WWN Live Alert that WWE’s William Regal will attend and take part in a wrestler tryout this fall:
August 22nd: ATTN: WRESTLERS– We have huge breaking news! The next WWN Seminar/Tryout for wrestlers will be October 16th in Ybor City, FL at The Orpheum. NXT General Manager William Regal will attend and observe this Seminar/Tryout. Mr. Regal will represent WWE in scouting at this Seminar/Tryout. He will give a lecture on what WWE/NXT is looking for and how they do things. He will also offer critiques and guidance when warranted. This is a very rare and unique learning experience and opportunity. Go here for more info.
Finn Balor Relinquishes WWE Universal Championship On RAW; How Long Will He Be Sidelined?
Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon introduced Balor, who gave a speech about winning the title how it represented a lifetime of sacrifice. He says this title represents that you can accomplish anything if you believe it, then says he sacrificed to win the title last night. Balor thanks everyone, including Seth Rollins for giving him a great match, then said the title would be the first thing he came back for, and hands it to Foley as he leaves.
As far as how long Balor will be inactive, WWE.com posted a new update regarding Finn Balor’s injury shortly before RAW went on air, estimating Balor will be sidelined for “anywhere from four to six months” instead of the originally estimated 2-3 months. Balor is reported to be going for a surgical consult this week to determine the severity of the injury.
WWE Confirms Finn Balor Injury; Balor To Have Surgical Consult This Week To Determine Severity Of Injury
WWE.com is reporting inaugural WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor’s injury may be a torn labrum that could sideline him for several months.
WWE confirmed Balor’s injury did happen when Seth Rollins powerbombed him into the barricade during their championship match. According to ringside physician Chris Robinson, Balor dislocated his shoulder but put it back into place, and said today’s MRI results showed a possible labrum tear.
ESPN Senior Writer Arash Markazi, who spoke to Balor earlier today, commented on the report and said Balor couldn’t move his arm much while appearing on Good Morning America today, and didn’t speak about the severity of the injury. Markazi noted that if Balor does have a torn labrum, it could keep him sidelined for 2-3 months.
Balor will have a surgical consult this week to determine the severity of his injury, and will know if surgery is required.
Finn Balor captures first WWE Universal championship
The victory, which is the top title on the RAW brand, concluded a stellar weekend for the NXT talent troupe. On Saturday at Barclays Center, Shinsuke Nakamura thrilled the crowd by capturing the NXT championship.
While Nakamura isn't on the main roster as of yet, Balor is and has made an enormous impression in a short time. Consider Balor has been on the RAW roster for around a month. The WWE put out a list last year chronicling the fastest rise to top championship in company history.
Balor shattered all those marks by toppling Rollins in a match that definitely felt like the showstopper on the SummerSlam card.
Rollins, meanwhile, seems to be having trouble digesting the result.
The victory, which is the top title on the RAW brand, concluded a stellar weekend for the NXT talent troupe. On Saturday at Barclays Center, Shinsuke Nakamura thrilled the crowd by capturing the NXT championship.
While Nakamura isn't on the main roster as of yet, Balor is and has made an enormous impression in a short time. Consider Balor has been on the RAW roster for around a month. The WWE put out a list last year chronicling the fastest rise to top championship in company history.
Balor shattered all those marks by toppling Rollins in a match that definitely felt like the showstopper on the SummerSlam card.
source: foxsports.com
August 21, 2016
WWE Announces 7 New Brand Only PPV’s Coming to WWE Network, Confirms Return of Old WCW Event and New Network Original Series
During tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pre-show, WWE Network aired a commercial announcing 7 new brand only PPV’s are coming to the WWE Network for a total of 19 annual WWE PPV events. Additionally, WWE confirmed the Backlash PPV for Smackdown next month as well as the old WCW event Clash of Champions for the Raw brand.
WWE also announced a new original series coming soon called “WWE Storytime”, and it appears to be an animated show featuring WWE stars telling stories from the past. The preview featured names such as the Dudley Boyz and Ric Flair.
