FOX Announces WWE SmackDown Moving Truck Tour

FOX has announced a 'moving truck' tour to promote SmackDown moving to the network on October 4.

WrestlingNews.co is reporting that the moving truck will be going to the following cities:

September 15 – Charlotte, NC
September 17 – Washington, DC
September 18 – Detroit, MI
September 19-20 – Chicago, IL
September 21 – Madison, WI
September 22-23 – Minneapolis, MN
September 25 – Kansas City, MO
September 27 – Dallas, TX
September 29 – Houston, TX
September 30 – Austin, TX
October 2 – Phoenix, AZ
October 3 – San Diego, CA
October 4 – Los Angeles, CA

WWE Draft Official Announcement, Celebrities From Fox And NBCUniversal To Announce Picks

As noted earlier, the 2019 WWE Draft has been confirmed to begin on the October 11 SmackDown episode, then wrap on the October 14 RAW episode.

WWE has announced that Superstars will be appearing on RAW and SmackDown along with personalities from Fox and NBCUniversal programming, who will announce the picks.

WWE issued the following press release to us this afternoon to confirm the Draft:

WWE® DRAFT SET FOR FOX AND USA NETWORK ON OCTOBER 11 AND 14
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 15, 2019 – The destiny of WWE's Superstars will be determined during a two-night draft taking place live on Friday Night SmackDown® on October 11 at 8 pm ET on the FOX broadcast network and Monday Night Raw® on October 14 at 8 pm ET on USA Network.

On both nights of the draft, Superstars from Raw and SmackDown will appear along with personalities from FOX and NBCUniversal programming who will announce select picks from each brand. The draft will determine the Superstars that compete for Raw and SmackDown, which feature distinct casts, unique storylines and dedicated writing teams.

Friday Night SmackDown on October 11 will emanate from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas while Monday Night Raw on October 14 will take place at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Raw and SmackDown are the #1 and #2 longest-running weekly episodic television shows in U.S. primetime history. The programs have aired more original episodes than The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.

Raw will continue airing on USA Network while SmackDown moves to FOX beginning Friday, October 4.

Triple H Reveals Future Plans For WWE 205 Live, Talks Possible WWE NXT Lifers

Triple H recently spoke with Newsweek and said it was very important that WWE NXT stay at Full Sail Live for the big move to the USA Network this month. He also credited the NXTfanbase in Florida with helping to create the brand.

"For me it was very important," he said. "For one, with our partnership with Full Sail. We do so much there than just put on shows. If you're a student at Full Sail, they are working on our shows with us shadowing and it's a learning process for them as well. To continue that process, I wanted to keep it there. They are one of our biggest and best partners. The other thing to me, that fan base in Florida, they built this. They were there on the ground floor and their energy and excitement allowed [NXT] to become what it has become and what it is becoming, and I want them to be on that ride with us and to continue to grow it. When we say 'we are NXT' they are every bit a part of that as the talent are in some ways. I want them to continue to show the world when we go live on USA. I want them to stand up and say 'we are NXT' because they are."

Triple H also confirmed that the second hours of the September 18 and September 25 NXTUSA episodes are airing on the WWE Network due to the final two episodes of "Suits" airing at 9pm ET. As noted, the first hour from 8-9pm ET will air on USA while the second hour will air on the WWE Network. Both hours will begin airing on USA with the October 2 episode. He was asked if this created any last-minute issues, and he hyped up both shows and said they will be epic.

"I don't look at is as them preempting us [laughs]. They have their season finales there and [Suits] is a great show for our partners at USA," he said. "I'm excited for the first two weeks to give people a taste, but leaving them wanting more. If that makes people jump over to the Network to watch the second hour, we are going to put some spectacular stuff on the first hour on USA and some on the second hour as well.

"That first week alone, on the 18th, you're going to see Velveteen Dream and Roderick Strong for the North American title, you're going to see a Triple Threat between Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Mia Yim to see who will face Shayna Baszler. There's also a Street Fight between Killian Dane and Matt Riddlethat will continue their story. So there's a lot of stuff that is going to take place. Both shows are going to be epic following one right after the other. The taste is there. If you're a new fan watching on USA you're going to get that taste for a couple of weeks, and then on October 2 we're going to give you the whole thing. For two hours you're really going to see what NXTis all about."

Triple H also revealed that WWE 205 Live will begin to operate under the NXT umbrella soon, along with NXT UK and the main NXT brand. He mentioned 205 Live helping to "breathe" some life into NXT soon, and was then asked if we will see 205 sit under the NXT umbrella.

"You'll start to see 205 begin to," Triple Hrevealed. "I think it always existed as an island onto itself, a little bit, and it's become lost in this limbo. You'll begin to see it move more towards the NXT banner and the talent there. We have a lot of talent. For them to begin to compete either open against anyone or in the cruiserweight division, but have that title sit under the NXT brand is more meaningful. It creates more opportunities for more people. As for RAW and SmackDown, it's an open division for them. When you're on both shows, everybody is competing against everybody."

It's been reported that NXT call-ups to the main roster will continue, despite NXTbecoming a third major brand with the move to USA. Triple H was asked if those "come ups" will continue and if talents could be NXT-lifers now, something Johnny Gargano has said he would love to be.

"I think it can," he responded. "No different than somebody becomes the face of RAW and spends the majority of their career there. It's the same with SmackDown and the same with NXT. I also think the opportunity for someone to leave for a period of time,take a breather and come back a little later refreshed is important. This gives them an opportunity to do other things.

As NXT becomes bigger and more of a global brand, like you see what we've done in the UK, you will see talent has the opportunity to take a breather from RAW or SmackDown and go someplace else. And still it be very meaningful for them and not seen as "I'm going down to the minors" or anything else.

"It's going to be a shift over to a different brand with a different feel and a different vibe where they can go and refresh and become something different so when they do go back - or maybe they don't - they can rebrand themselves. The most successful talent in this business, from a long term standpoint, has the ability to reinvent themselves over time. And that gives them the chance to reinvent yourself at all times."

XFL Named One Of The Hottest Start-Ups In The U.S.

As the XFL's reinsurance continues, several people in the business world are taking notice. LinkedIn ranked the XFL 22nd in its Top Startups of 2019 list.

Discussing the 50 hottest brands, LinkedIn's Senior Editor at Large Jessi Hempel discussed how the list was formed. Using over 645 million LinkedIn members and their actions, the company collected information based off of employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement with the company and its employees and how well the startups pulled talent from LinkedIm's Top Companies list.

"The annual Top Start-ups list is a reflection of how work is changing, what new industries are emerging and rapidly growing, and where people want to work now," Hempel stated. "Over 11,000 positions were filled at the Top Startups over the last year, and there are thousands of open jobs available at the companies right now."

Regarding the XFL, they have over 130 employees and continue to grow. Here is what Jessi had to say about the football league:

"Vince McMahon, best known as chairman of WWE, is personally funding a relaunch of the XFL, a professional football league seeking to reimagine the game on and off the field by making the game faster and fan focused. The eight inaugural teams, all owned by the XFL directly, will kick off in February 2020. In preparation, the company is looking to hire more than 50 social media editors, marketing directors and community managers."

With the eight teams officially named, the XFL is looking to finish up its talent search before the season starts. The XFL Player Draft will be taking place in October, with each of the eight teams being allowed to draft 70 players. Those players who accept an invitation must sign a HIPAA release form while also consenting to and clearing a background check. Following the draft, every player must pass a medical examination and drug test.

The relaunched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, the weekend after the Super Bowl.

Steve Austin Presents Triple H With Gift At RAW

Triple H took to Twitter today and revealed that he received a special gift from WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin at last night's RAW from Madison Square Garden in New York City - a framed photo of Motorhead.

"@steveaustinBSR and I have shared many moments over the years, many of them @TheGarden. Last night at #RawMSG he gave me this amazing framed photo of @myMotorhead ... so cool! For this and the years spent up and down the road....Thank you!," he wrote with a photo from backstage, seen below.

Triple H has been a big fan of Motorhead for several years and has worked with them on WWE projects. He was also close with founder Lemmy Kilmister before he passed away in 2015.

WWE NXT TV Tapings For USA Network Quickly Sell Out

Tickets for the live WWE NXT TV tapings on Wednesday, October 2 and Wednesday, October 9 are already sold out.

The tickets for both live NXT TV events instantly sold out after going on sale earlier today. The October 2 seats went on sale at 10am ET and the October 9 seats went on sale at 12 noon ET.

NXT usually sells out Full Sail Live events within in minutes, but these two TV tapings instantly sold out today.

These are the first two NXT USA Network episodes that will go head-to-head with AEW TV on TNT.

As noted, NXT will premiere on the USA Network on Wednesday, September 18. The September 18 and September 25 episodes will see the first hour air on USA, while the second hour airs on the WWE Network. Both hours will begin airing on the USA Network with the October 2 episode.

All NXT TV USA episodes will air live from Full Sail Live on the campus of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

The Relationship Between Ric Flair and WWE Sours

The relationship between WWE and Ric Flair is on the rocks according to a number of sources, while not dire the cracks are starting to show and many know how stubborn Flair can be.

His Daughter Charlotte is reportedly not happy that he has taken legal action against WWE and Triple H and Seth Rollins have both unfollowed him on Twitter.

It all started when the two-time WWE Hall of Famer claimed WWE had lost respect for them after he issued a legal challenge for the term "The Man" which he believes he has a claim to financially.

Below is a transcript of what Flair told TMZ:

“I’m glad that I’m having this opportunity to clear the air. When I first saw this [‘The Man’ Becky Lynch] thing go down in August 2018, I thought, ‘Cool, ‘The Man’ – my gimmick – versus my daughter, Charlotte.’ Okay, that’s the day it started, right after SummerSlam. I thought, cool.

I said, ‘I’m going to make some money; it’s my trademark and they have it to use.’ I’ve been saying it’s [been mine] since 1981. So I got my worded statement, I sent [WWE’s lawyer] a text and the lawyer, who just has no respect for me whatsoever which is something I’m not going to deal with much longer, he said, ‘You’re wrong. It’s not even close.’

I said, ‘It’s not even close?’ So, boom, I sent him another text, he didn’t respond. So I had my lawyer call him and he blew off my lawyer. This is all in 2018 or in January of ’19.”

I told Hunter, ‘Hunter, I’m going to file.’ I mean, the reason they don’t have [the trademark for ‘The Man’], it’s my understanding that it’s because it’s too close to mine… I told Hunter, ‘Hey, if push comes to shove, I’m going to file for it.’

I mean, I get it, but here’s the deal: I love Becky Lynch, and no one has supported the women’s division more than me as an outsider. As a matter of fact, I told the guys that I would have texted Becky last night and Sasha, but I’m sure Becky – I don’t know what the WWE’s spin has been to her. They stole it last night.

It’s funny, my daughter [Charlotte Flair] is so mad at me because I filed, not even understanding that it’s not Becky. I have no beef with Becky.

But here’s the deal: when I almost died two years ago, one person stayed by me the whole time for 31 days in ICU, 12 days while I was dying on a respirator, and I’m going to take care of her and her family, and my family that has taken care of me, no matter what.

I don’t care what the WWE thinks of me personally; I know they love me, but obviously they have lost respect for me. If I don’t win, and even if I won, Becky can have [The Man] all day long. I’m glad! But I want the company to pay me for it because I’m going to take care of my family.

I am going to be ‘The Man’, and if I don’t get it, you know what my tombstone will say? ‘He died trying to be The Man’.”

Linda McMahon Donates Big Money To Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential Re-Election Campaign

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon has donated a total of $366,200 to the 2020 Presidential re-election campaign for Donald Trump, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.

Three different payments were made on June 3 of this year. One donation was made to the Trump Victory PAC based in Massachusetts, for the amount of $360,600. Linda then made two donations of $2,800 each, for a total of $5,600, to Donald J. Trump For President, Inc., which is his Presidential re-election campaign.

The donations were made through Linda's LLC, McMahon Ventures, and were her first political donations since November 2016.

Trump, who was inducted into the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, appointed Linda as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration back in 2016. She stepped down from the role at the end of March 2019. It was reported then that Linda was planning on helping with Trump's 2020 re-election campaign. CBS reported at the time that Linda would be working for America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC.

FEC data shows that Linda is the Chair of that America First Action Super PAC, and made a donation of $1 million back on May 28.

Triple H Appears on UpUpDownDown, Names His Favorite Video Games

To celebrate hitting two million subscribers, Xavier Woods brought Triple H onto his UpUpDownDown YouTube channel on Wednesday to ask "The Game" some questions.

When asked what his experience with game was, Hunter admitted that he was playing back in the days of arcades.

"So I'm old enough to remember when video games were played like you had to go somewhere and put a quarter in to play those video games," he said. "So for me that whole time frame, and we actually have a one of those console things at our house that the kids play that has Galaga, Centipede, Pac-Man, that's all the stuff I played. Donkey Kong, all that suff."

He said if he had that arcade cabinet back in the day, Donkey Kong would've been his favorite.

He was then asked about Star Trek vs. Star Wars, as somebody hold told Woods that the Hall of Famer was a Star Trek fan. Hunter corrected him by saying he's a fan of both, but leans more towards Star Wars.

"If you were to ask me back in the day, there's that big debate Star Trek or Star Wars, I would've said Star Wars. I don't dislike either one of them but if you were to ask me about any of the Star Trek movies or the shows, I don't know, I don't know s—."

The 14-time former world champion then said the last game he can remember playing all the way through was the Metal Gear Solid series.

"When that stuff was kind of coming out, there was a moment in time where I would get home off the road I would need something to disconnect," he said. And that was kind of like the thing. And then I just got too busy.

"That was a very cool game for me," he added. "I wasn't smart enough at that time even as those games were coming out to realize that there was a community of things that you could do to learn the tricks to get through the game. So I was one of those people that played the same game for like a year and a half on end because I was stuck on the same level for like six straight months."

The NXT brand, spearheaded by Triple H, is set to move from the WWE Network to the USA Network starting on Sept. 18.

WWE RAW Nominated For People's Choice Award

RAW was nominated for "The Show of 2019" award. They are going up against Game of Thrones, Grey's Anatomy, Riverdale, Stranger Things, The Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead and This Is Us.

Fans can vote for RAW at this link. Voting ends on Friday, October 18, and fans can vote up to 25 times.

The E! People's Choice Awards will air on Sunday, November 10 on the E! network.

Triple H Addresses Speculation On Vince McMahon Running WWE NXT On The USA Network

Triple H spoke with talkSPORT's Alex McCarthy while in the UK for Saturday's WWE NXT UK "Takeover: UK" event. McCarthy asked about Dave Meltzer speculating on Vince McMahon having strong involvement in the main NXT brand when it premieres on the USA Network later this month.

Triple H dismissed that speculation and said Vince has basically told him to go make NXT a success. He also praised his father-in-law for the businessman that he is.

"Let's be honest, there's a lot of things that people like Dave say that don't make sense, because they don't approach things from a business standpoint," Triple H said. "Put it this way, we're going to be live on Mondays, we're going to be live on Wednesdays, we're going to be live on Fridays. There's so much bandwidth to go.... And the truth is that it's just funny, the small-mindedness of it, that people don't give Vince credit for being the businessman that he is. The speculation and rumors, and it's easy when people leave or they go their own way, to fan and to jump onto speculation and rumors, and a lot of it is, that's just what it is.

"So, when people talk about him as a businessman, there's just so many crazy misconceptions. The truth is, all of what we're doing right now, this business, is because of him. They took a failing industry, so to speak, in a period of time in the 80s, and turned it into a global phenomenon, when nobody else had the foresight to do it. All the things that he's done and where it is today, and people look at where it is today, and you hear them say negative things, and I'm like, 'Really?' Because we just signed billion dollar deals with Fox and USA. I'm not sure it's crumbling.

"He's also smart enough to understand the things that we do, and where they go, and the pieces of it. If you're asking the simple term answers... he's not involved, you know what I mean? Yeah, he's gonna have some say in some things, as far as like the brand sits and the marketing of it within USA and clearly, whatever he wants to do at the end of the day, but at this point in time, he's basically just said, 'Go make this thing a success.'"

Triple H On Enzo Amore And Big Cass Coming Back To WWE NXT: "Absolutely Zero Interest."

Earlier this week a report came out that Enzo Amore and Big Cass were in talks with WWEofficials to make a return to the NXT brand. Enzo was released from the company in January of 2018, Cass in June of 2018.

That same day, WWE reached out to the media to say the story had no basis, and they had no discussions with the two former WWE Superstars. After all of this came to light, Cass commented on Twitter, "Idiots [laughing emoji]."

Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT recently wrapped up 30-minute sit down interview with Triple H, and tweeted out his comments about the Enzo/Cass situation.

"I immediately told our PR to shoot down the Enzo and Cass rumors," Triple H said. "Absolutely zero interest. Congratulations to Enzo, I'm sure spreading rumors is working well for him but I want no part of it."