D-Generation X to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Are you ready?

As first reported by ESPN, D-Generation X, the most rebellious group in WWE history, are the first inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019. As first reported by ESPN, Triple H, Shawn Michaels (who now joins Ric Flair as a two-time inductee), Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac and the late Chynawill take their place in sports-entertainment history during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., during WrestleMania 35 Week. Tickets for the ceremony will be available starting Friday, Feb. 22, at 12 p.m. ET.

DX was born out of the friendship between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, along with Chyna and their “insurance policy,” “Ravishing” Rick Rude. The two pals were lewd, rude and in-your-face, bucking authority and letting anyone in their way know that they had two words for them. Their penchant for crossing the line with regularity led to Bret “Hit Man” Hart calling Michaels “nothing more than a degenerate,” which HBK embraced, sparking the idea behind the alliance’s name.

When Michaels went on a hiatus from the squared circle following WrestleMania XIV, Triple H expanded the membership of the group, welcoming in The New Age Outlaws, Road Dogg & Billy Gunn, and the cocky X-Pac. Though you might not think it would be possible, the new DX turned up the irreverence to 11 and helped lead WWE into the Attitude Era. DX’s defiance wasn’t just limited to WWE. In one of the most infamous and groundbreaking moments of the era, the rebels hopped aboard a tank and drove from Monday Night Raw to rival WCW’s Monday Nitro, launching one of the biggest attacks in The Monday Night War.

he group eventually went their separate ways, but the DX name would not be limited to the history books after that. Following a long rivalry against each other, Michaels and Triple H patched things up and donned the green and black once again. The reunited DX may have only been the tag team of The Game & HBK, but that did not stop them from making Mr. McMahon’s life a living hell. The two troublemakers were a thorn in the side of the WWE Chairman, subjecting him to a flurry of pranks, even going so far as to vandalize Mr. McMahon’s personal limo and jet, and leaving their mark on the façade of WWE’s world headquarters. But it wasn’t only fun and games for Michaels & Triple H, as they also captured the WWE Tag Team Championship along the way.

Even though they disbanded once again and moved on to other roles within the industry, the DX Army maintained a close bond, and the tight-knit unit got the band back together for special occasions like Monday Night Raw’s 25th Anniversary, where they shared a “too sweet” moment with the Bálor Club.

And now, D-Generation X will enter the annals of sports-entertainment history. What will the rebels have to say when they take their place in the WWE Hall of Fame? Find out during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. during WrestleMania 35 Week.

Matt Riddle Thinks NXT Has Potential To Be WWE'S Top Brand

TMZ Sports recently interviewed Matt Riddle. "The King of Bros" compared NXT to WWE's main roster and the possibility of NXT rising to the top of the company food chain in the future. Highlights and video are below.

NXT:

“I think we’re just different, and I know that’s easy to say. But we’re different, we’re new, we’re fresh, and we’re not the same watered down child’s product that WWE has kind of turned into a lot. And when people watch us — even though it’s scripted a lot of the time — it’s more real. It’s more believable.”

Moving To Main Roster:

“You know, funny enough, I was thinking about that the other day, and I want to get to the main roster. But then I was thinking, ‘Well, maybe I’m thinking about it wrong’ because NXT is so hot. Maybe we should stay and try to make it bigger than RAW and SmackDown, and just make it one—like the big guy, you know, which isn’t impossible I don’t think.”

NXT Being On Top Of WWE:

“The big thing is Vince [McMahon] owns RAW, SmackDown— he owns everything, and those are his babies. He’s had them forever. So, I think the probability of NXT taking over at that level is probably hard. But at the same time, I don’t see it too far from the future with us being on the same playing field as RAW and SmackDown.”

New WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Crowned At Elimination Chamber

Sasha Banks and Bayley became the first WWEWomen's Tag Team Champions by winning the women's Elimination Chamber match at tonight's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Banks and Bayley are the first champions recognized under these new titles. Other teams in tonight's match were Naomi and Carmella, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, Tamina Snukaand Nia Jax, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, The IIconics.

Tonight's match started with Rose and Deville vs. Banks and Bayley. Carmella and Naomi were eliminated first by The IIconics. The IIconics were eliminated second by Jax and Snuka. The Riott Squad was eliminated next by Snuka and Jax. Jax and Snuka were eliminated next by Bayley. Banks and Bayley then eliminated Deville and Rose to win the titles.

Stephanie McMahon named 2019 commencement speaker for Robert Morris University

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will give the commencement address to the Robert Morris University’s graduating class of 2019 this May.

McMahon and her husband, WWE COO Triple H, along with other WWE executives and performers, have been guest lecturers for a sports management class that examines WWE and where it stands at the intersection of sports, entertainment and business. 

RMU’s 2019 class will see more than 700 undergraduate students receive their diplomas. In addition to addressing the graduates, McMahon will also receive an honorary doctorate from the school.

Corey Graves' Wife Accuses Graves Of "Sleeping With" WWE Star

Amy Polinsky, wife of WWE commentator Corey Graves, took to her Instagram account in an effort to shed some light on an alleged affair between Graves and WWE Superstar, Carmella.

In the since-deleted Instagram post, Polinsky first mentioned Graves' apparent suicide attempts and alcoholism before she brought up that he had been "sleeping with" Carmella.

Polinsky wrote, "This may be totally below me to do but I'm hurt. I'm sad. I've put 11 years into supporting a man to accomplish his dream only for him to punch me in the gut! I've been through suicide attempts, alcoholism, among so much more with him and stuck by his side. The kicker is finding out that he's been sleeping with one of my daughters role models all along. Carmella and Corey Graves I hope you guys are happy. I really do!"

Polinsky posted a photo of her family along with a text conversation with Graves. In the text conversation, Graves writes out multiple messages where he states, "I'm dead. I'm at home in my room and I have all of the food. I just kinda wanna disappear forever. Legit, I can't do any better than what I've got. I think this is it for me. I can't top it what I've got, so Why try? I just wanna fade away. Give them whatever they need. I've come to terms recently, that I need to shut it all down. All of it. I'm going to sleep. Maybe I'll wake up. Maybe I won't. I don't wanna wake up anymore. Just make sure the kids know I loved them."

After the initial post, Graves apparently responded to her, and Polinsky posted it on her latest IG Story. Graves wrote, "I suggest taking that post down, because WWE is gonna sue you. I just got a call."

WWE Acquires War Games Concept And Trademark From Major League Wrestling

WWE has reached a deal for the rights to the WarGames concept from Major League Wrestling.

The story was first reported by PWInsider in which they note that the WarGames concept was used by MLW during their initial run in 2003 and the double-ring cage was bought for an event in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that took place last September.

WWE has been using the concept for the NXT brand but never registered the rights to the concept when they purchased WCW in 2001.

MLW is not expected to use the concept going forward.

WWE'S Jimmy Uso Arrested-Allegedly Squared Up W/ Cops; WWE Responds

WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso -- half of the popular Usos tag team -- was arrested after a drunken dispute with cops in Detroit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 33-year-old -- who's the son of WWE HOF'er Rikishi -- and his wife, fellow WWE Superstar Naomi, were pulled over near downtown Detroit ... after cops say Naomi was driving the wrong direction on a one-way street.

According to our police sources, cops say their 2018 Dodge Journey reeked of booze ... so they ordered Naomi out of the car.

We're told while Naomi talked to cops, Jimmy got out of the car -- despite commands from police -- and took off his shirt and jacket and squared up like he wanted to fight.

We're told the officer took out his taser 'cause he was scared for his safety.

Jimmy ultimately settled down and complied with their commands ... then he was handcuffed, and arrested for disorderly conduct and obstruction.

He was taken to jail ... and later posted bond.

Uso was not in Detroit for a WWE event.

The Uso brothers are multiple-time SmackDown tag team champs ... and are scheduled to face The Miz and Shane McMahon for the belt at Elimination Chamber in Houston this weekend.

WWE issued the following statement:

"Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions."

This statement is similar to the comments WWE issued in January 2018 when Jey Uso was arrested for DUI in Texas. That statement read, "Joshua Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials."

This is Jimmy's third arrest since signing with WWE. He was arrested on DUI charges in March 2013 and September 2011.

Pedro Morales Passes Away

From WWE.com:

A native of Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, Morales moved to New York in his youth and debuted in the ring in 1959 at age 17. After establishing his reputation as a fiery competitor in WWE on the east coast, Morales traveled west to territories in Texas and California, where he competed for much of the 1960s. In California, he battled The Destroyer in a famous rivalry, and formed a popular tag team with Pepper Gomez.

Morales returned to WWE in 1970, and in less than a year, he captured the WWE Championship from Ivan Koloff inside Madison Square Garden. During his nearly three years on top, Morales developed a passionate following in the northeast, particularly among New York City’s growing Hispanic population.

More than 22,000 fans turned out to Shea Stadium in 1972 to watch him battle close friend and former champion Bruno Sammartino in the main event of the inaugural Showdown at Shea supercard. After 75 minutes of action, the bout was ruled a draw in accordance with the state athletic commission’s strict 11 p.m. curfew.

He held the WWE Title for a staggering 1027 days before losing it to Stan Stasiak in December 1973. Morales puts his name in the record books again in 1980 when he won the World Tag Team Titles with Bob Backlund and then the Intercontinental Title to become the first Triple Crown Champion in WWE history.

Morales hung up his boots in 1987 but continued on as an ambassador for sports-entertainment. He later became a commentator for both WCW and WWE’s Spanish announce teams, and in 1995, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Stephanie Mcmahon Talks Joining The Family Business And More

Stephanie Mcmahon recently appeared on 3.5 Degrees: The Power of Connection and spoke on how important it was to her to work for WWE from an early age. Check out her comments below.

First WWE Event:

“I remember once when I was probably around five years old, my first live event. And I was backstage and there were all of these superstars standing in the hallway and all of a sudden a group of kids came screaming and running past me. So, I looked to see what on earth they were running from and around the corner comes George “The Animal Steele.” For any of those who are not familiar with who he is, who was a wrestler that had so much hair on his back and chest it looked like fur. His head was very, very wrinkled and bald. He would dye his tongue green with like Clorets or something. And he was almost walking like an animal and here he comes towards me…I subsequently screamed at the top of my lungs, ran up my father’s leg, buried my head in his shoulder and hung on for dear life. And what surprised me was that my dad actually started to laugh.”

Desire To Join WWE:

“I always wanted to be a part of our family’s business, I always watched, ever since I was a little kid. And my parents were on the road a lot building our company from the ground up. So, from my perspective, it was my way of being a part of my family, it was my way of giving back to my family…I remember I was about 16 when my father asked me officially what is it I wanted to study in school, what did I want to do with my life. And I looked at him like he was crazy and he said, “Why are you looking at me like that?” And I said, “Because, dad, I wanna be in the business. How could you think anything different?”

First Job In The Company:

“When I first graduated college my roles were in our sales office. Again, learning from the ground up, going on sales calls, what it took to really build our business. I’ve pretty much interned in our digital media space, almost everywhere really, and then ultimately came to be a part of our creative writing team which is where I really found my niche at that time and simultaneously also became a character on our television show…And then within two weeks the head writer quit and I was told, “Congratulations, trial by fire. Here in WWE, it’s sink or swim. You are now running the creative writing team.”

Struggling Early On:

“I was in charge of our creative writing and live event booking and marketing and talent relations departments at that time. I guess I really wasn’t doing a very good job because my boss, who’s also my father, called me into his office and told me that I wasn’t meeting expectations and that something needed to change. And I think that it’s one thing when your boss sits you down and tells you that you’re not meeting expectations and that you are performing subpar in some capacity, it’s another thing when that boss is your father and you have disappointed him…I questioned my value, I really did, and I questioned my value to our company, you know, where would I fit in? How did I fit in? And was I going to be able to overcome this massive setback to me personally and professionally? And was I ever going to be able to earn not only my colleagues’ respect but was I ever going to be able to earn or regain my dad’s respect? I beat myself up for a really long time and the main thing that I was doing wrong is that I was micromanaging. But then there was this huge self-doubt and insecurity that I was left with because, again, I took it so hard.”

Overcoming Those Challenges:

“I’ve always been a strong performer and it just rattled my cage so much. And I started working with a coach. She taught me to focus on my strengths, and it’s one of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned along the way. We all have weaknesses, every single one of us, but if you spend the majority of your time trying to hone your weaknesses you’re never really gonna get to that next level. But if you focus on your strengths, if you focus on what you do better than anybody else, it creates a greater value for your business, it creates a better value for your personally because then you start delivering. Then you start bringing things to the table that people may not have even thought were possible.”

Storytelling In WWE:

“Storytelling is the number one most basic form of communication because it makes people feel. You know Maya Angelou has that great quote. I butcher it a little bit but “People will never remember what you said or what you did but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.” If you can make people feel something, they can relate to it, they’ll remember it. Just like you’re relating to and remembering that all of those storylines and all of those characters, right? It’s something you felt as a kid, it’s nostalgia for you. You said it brings you back to that moment in time. It’s ingrained in who you are.”

Relationship With Triple H: 

“My husband and I don’t really fight much. The only time we ever really disagree is about business. It gets really heated really fast. You’re right. Suddenly you go to this place that’s like, that doesn’t happen with people who aren’t in such close relationships. You have to really guard against that. You have to be careful. I agree, take a step back and be the bigger person as much as you possibly can. It’s great advice.”

Triple H on Getting Bruno Sammartino and Ultimate Warrior in the WWE Hall of Fame

Triple H recently spoke to Stone Cold Steve Austin about the difficulties of getting two legendary stars into the WWE Hall of Fame. Those stars are Bruno Sammartino and The Ultimate Warrior, two men that many pro wrestling insiders believed would never be inducted.

Much of the reason for that was due to perceived bad blood that supposedly existed on both sides. The Game spoke about Sammartino specifically and what he had to do to make the move happen.

“When you’re his age, it’s a trust issue. He didn’t know me and had to learn to trust me in a business that long ago, didn’t have a whole lot of guys you could trust. He had to learn to trust me and he said it at the end, you know, he (Triple H) never once lied to me about any of this.'”

But getting the Warrior onboard with the Hall of Fame was a much different issue that presented a different set of problems.

“Warrior was different because we didn’t have a trust. He and I both said as we went though the process, you live and you learn and you grow. The day you stop learning and growing, you’re done. I was a different person when I was in WrestleMaia with him which people bring up a lot to me as if it’s a sore spot in my career. I had a bad personal experience with a guy at the moment but it was one of the coolest moments of my life.

My first WrestleMania was with The Ultimate Warrior. It was a mind bogglingly awesome opportunity for me.

We had to get past a whole lot of whole lot of stuff with him and Vince. He was a unique cat. As I stayed open to that process, I realized it was a lot of misunderstood–a lot of his anger and passion and aggression, he didn’t know how to communicate.”

Triple H has received the credit for making both inductions possible and rightfully so. Vince McMahon had all but given up on the idea of mending fences with either man, but gave Hunter the chance to reach out anyway. Sammartino joined the Hall of Fame in 2013 and The Ultimate Warrior was inducted a year later in 2014.

WWE Studios To Partner Up With Netflix

WWE Studios will be producing feature films with Netflix, with plans to release them via the streaming service, according to PWInsider. The upcoming projects will be geared towards family audiences and the first movie, The Main Event, will begin production in the summer.

The Main Event is about a ten year old boy who gets bullied, but dreams of one day becoming a WWE Superstar. The report also says John Cena could possibly make a cameo and both The Miz and Bray Wyatt are expected to have small roles in the film.

WWE Studios first formed in 2002 and had three releases in 2018: Mohawk (featuring Luke Harper), The Marine 6: Close Quarters (with The Miz, Becky Lynch, and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels), and Blood Brother (featuring R-Truth).

Fighting with My Family is next up for WWE Studios, which hits theaters on February 22.

WWE Confirms Dean Ambrose Will Not Be Renewing His Contract

WWE has confirmed that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his contract when it expires in April. WWE sent Wrestling Inc. this statement:

"Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April. We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE."

As reported, via PWTorch, Ambrose gave his notice to WWE as he's unhappy with his position and has been for some time. While Ambrose's contract expires after WrestleMania 35 in early April, it was noted that he could leave sooner if there are no plans for him. WWE offered Ambrose a new contract a few weeks ago, one that would include a significant pay increase, but he chose not to re-negotiate and instead gave notice that he would not re-sign.