– E! will be moving WWE’s “Total Divas” reality show from its’ usual Sunday night time slot for the next season of the program. Total Divas will now begin airing on Tuesday nights beginning with the new season this summer, according to a new lineup released by the E! cable network.
– Below is the lineup for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores vs. The Ascension in a four corner tag match.
King Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler.
Stardust vs. R-Truth.
Curtis Axel and Macho Mandow vs. Adam Rose and Heath Slater.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
For complete spoilers of tonight’s show, click here.
NXT star Sami Zayn will be undergoing surgery next month to repair his injured shoulder, according to Dave Meltzer. Zayn was cleared to wrestle at last night’s NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable event, but Kevin Owens demolishing him at the end of the show prior to Samoa Joe making the save was done to write him off television.
WWE posted the following video of Zayn being checked out backstage after his match last night.
– Samoa Joe was interviewed by Renee Young backstage last night after making his surprise debut at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. Joe spoke about his debut, why he’s joined NXT and his history with the likes of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
– Speaking of Samoa Joe, WWE.com is running a poll asking fans which NXT star they consider to be a “Dream Opponent” for Joe. The choices are Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin and Solomon Crowe.
With over 6,000 votes cast, NXT Champion Kevin Owen leads the pack with 61%, followed by Finn Balor (11%) and Sami Zayn (9%).
Former WWE, WCW & TNA writer Vince Russo has posted a new blog at the Chairshot Reality website talking about Vince McMahon forgetting how to create new stars, specifically as it relates to Kevin Owens’ WWE TV debut on Monday’s RAW.
Russo says that when Sami Zayn made his WWE debut answering John Cena’s US Championship Open Challenge, there was no impact – he was presented as “just another wrestler.” The Ascension’s debut was “so laughable you ‘almost’ have to think it was intentional” and Neville was in the same boat after his debut.
Russo explains why Owens didn’t come off as a star and Vince McMahon has lost his touch.
“Then of course, this week there was Kevin Owens. A guy who looked like he just came from Gleason’s Gym, where he was training to be a “rassler”. Owens didn’t look like a star, he didn’t smell like a star, as a matter of fact he looked like a guy that could have possibly jumped the guardrail. Which reminds me—I STILL REMEMBER Hillbilly Jim when he was “presented” as “somebody” the first time we saw him on WWE TV. And, Owens dropping Cena? That did nothing but make the 115th time World Champ look bad.
Save your hate mail. This isn’t a Kevin Owens thing, just like it wasn’t a Sami Zayn thing, just like it wasn’t a Adrian Neville thing, just like it wasn’t an Ascension thing. Those guys are strictly employees who get paid to do what the boss says to go out and do—that boss is Vince McMahon. Somewhere along the line, shortly after the Attitude Era (what a coincidence), Vince McMahon forgot how to make stars. He forgot how to create them, how to manufacture them, and how to getthem over. When you think about it, who has gotten over to SUPER stardom in the last fifteen years? I’m talking household names? In my opinion that list is quite small, as a matter of fact I’d put two people on it—-Kurt Angle and John Cena. OK, I’ll even allow you to put the beloved Daniel Bryan on there if you wish—but his success had NOTHING to do with creative, other than being given the platform to perform.”
He went on to say that over the past 15 years, we’ve seen lots of great performers in WWE, but none of them have gone on to reach the heights of Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart. “What got CM Punk over to the level he was?,” Russo asked. “Him sitting on the stage with a microphone and cutting a promo that only he could cut—there was no help there from Vince on that one.”
Former WWE and WCW wrestler Big Vito LoGrasso is calling on other former WWE Superstars to join his class action lawsuit against WWE.
He posted the following on Facebook:
ATTENTION TO ALL FORMER WWF, ECW, WCW, WWE WRESTLERS.
I know all have there view points on this lawsuit. But, if you never stick up for your self, you never know what can be and what cant.If you were in DEEP SOUTH and OVW as a developmental talent, you also have rights. If you have problems and think you need help, Please join the lawsuit I am in litigation in. If you have medical records, you are positively ahead of the game.
IF YOU WERE A ENHANCEMENT TALENT IN THE WWF, you also qualify.
If you think you are irritating the WWE and think if you join, you will ruin your chances, the bussiness has changed guys, if they have not called you in 5 years, they are not calling you. This is a chance for benefits , the same as in the NFL lawsuit. No one knew, but a Billion dollars divided up for the guys who put there time in and have some issues, now have relief. I am standing up for myself, and all of you. I was never a follower always a leader. So follow me guys and join.
I hope the internet guys post this to there sites, TMZ . The WWE will definitely see this and to know that I will be going on TV soon in a tell all, is just proof that you gotta believe in you and the sacrafices you made in life. As you know, you had to be tuff, never say your hurt, if you were , you lost your spot. There are some good people and some WWE HOFers involved and signed on as well. I hope this post makes it back to the right people.
I will be heard and know one thing, I dont bullshit and I speak the truth, when the truth comes out, it isnt a very nice place. Here is the name of the lawyer, his name is Bill Kyros , his number is 1 617 833 3727. Call him and tell him I sent you. Good luck guys and join the fight for rights you deserve. This is a brotherhood that we all seem to have forgotten about.
– It was previously reported that Big Show was scheduled to return to WWE television this week, however that obviously didn’t happen. As things stand right now, Big Show is still scheduled to return imminently, but if he’s not back by the May 31st Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, his return might be pushed back.
– In addition to former MMA fighter Matthew Riddle and Biff Busick, independent wrestlers Drew Gulak and Chuck Taylor are also scheduled to take part in the WWE tryout camp at the WWE Performance Center in June.
– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:
May 14th in Philadelphia for NXT drew around 2,000 fans
May 15th in Philadelphia for NXT drew around 1,500
May 16th in Albany for NXT drew 2,200 fans
May 18th in Richmond for RAW drew 6,300 fans
– Triple H reportedly held a backstage meeting after NXT Takeover: Unstoppable on Wednesday evening and praised the roster for keeping Samoa Joe’s debut a secret and not letting it leak out onto the internet.
– Tyler Breeze’s ring entrance at the NXT special last night peaked at 1,275 viewers on the Periscope app.
– Although TMZ reports that Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is close to signing a “monster porn contract,” the WWE Hall Of Fame Diva disagrees. Sytch addressed the porn rumors on Twitter with the following tweet:
to clear the air, I am NOT doing a porn… I have been approached by Vivid Entertainment, but nothing has been negotiated or put on paper
Eric Bischoff, his son Garett Bischoff and his business partner Jason Hervey have filed a breach of contract lawsuit against TNA for the unpaid amount of $114,500.02. The lawsuit was filed in Davidson County, Tennessee on May 15, 2015.
Bischoff and Hervey are listed in the lawsuit under the company name of Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment. They were hired by TNA as executive producers at a base fee of $426,800 per year, which were to be paid out in monthly installments.
The suit claims the two were hired on a “pay or play” basis and are owed $101,500 by TNA for unpaid money from January of 2015 through March of 2015. They are also asking for the cost of “entering this action, including reasonable attorney’s fees.”
Bischoff’s son Garett was originally part of the BHE deal with TNA, but he ended up signing a separate talent contract on October 24, 2012. His deal expired on March 31st of this year and included monthly pay of $2,166.67, also on a “pay or play basis,” along with an additional $500 for paid performances. He is claiming he is owed $13,000.02 by TNA for unpaid compensation for work done from October 2014 through March 2015.
The lawsuit also notes that TNA paid in a timely fashion through September of 2014. BHE lawyers notified the company on November 4, 2014 about a breach of contract over October pay and advised TNA that they had 20 days to fix the situation. They then issued a second notice 20 days later, informing TNA that they had failed to cure the breach.
TNA eventually paid $101,500 on or before January 1, 2015, but BHE is seeking the same amount of unpaid money for the final three months of their deal with TNA, which expired on March 31, 2015.
TNA’s lawyer Guy Blake wrote a letter to BHE on January 12th, however his letter was not included in the lawsuit. BHE lawyer Bryan Lewis responded to the letter and said he did not agree with Blake’s statement that TNA paid BHE in full and that BHE refused to appear as requested by TNA.
Lewis wrote the following:
“When the money was sent, you did not make it clear whether it was in connection with the settlement offer that was on the table or a reinstatement by TNA. TNA did not make a request that BHE perform services when the money was sent.” He went on to write that BHE “stands ready, willing, and able to perform under the agreement in the event TNA is reinstating that agreement.”
Samoa Joe, who finally made his WWE debut at the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable event on Wednesday, is expected to work tonight’s NXT television tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
For those wondering, Joe indeed agreed to a deal with WWE to work in NXT, and the effort to bring Joe in was said to be spearheaded by Triple H.
For now, Joe is scheduled to continue working existing and future independent dates that he has on the books. For example, Joe is still scheduled to work the JT Lightning Memorial Tournament this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. Joe’s deal also includes a merchandise agreement.
While the deal could always grow into a full-fledged, exclusive-WWE deal, as of last night, it’s believed that Joe has not signed an exclusive deal with the company. While it is a new type of deal for WWE, they clearly thought Joe was someone that they could try this type of deal out with.
Speaking of Joe’s debut, he tweeted the following after appearing at the NXT special last night.
Wake up every morning KNOWING you are the Author of your own story. Your actions are the pen, make it interesting.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are reportedly big proponents of altering the way women are featured in WWE.
According to one source, the decision to change the way woman are used on WWE programming was very much based on Stephanie’s influence and the success that the UFC has had with Ronda Rousey.
It’s being said that while the two aren’t big UFC fans, they are fans of Rousey and when they saw her recent Sports Illustrated cover, among other accomplishments, it was a sign to them that the times have changed and that it’s a different era.
It’s worth pointing out that while Triple H and Stephanie are on board, Vince McMahon reportedly still sees women in the same role that they’ve always had on the WWE roster.
Samoa Joe addressed the NXT arena after last night’s TakeOver: Unstoppable show went off the air. Joe said it’s always been his point to compete in the hottest promotions in the world – and lately, people have been telling him NXT is the place with the most hungry, vicious, violent and excellent professional wrestlers in the world.
The show kicks off with Hideo Itami being attacked and injured in the parking lot. They announced on the show that he suffered a torn rotator cuff.
#1 Contenders Match – Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor
Breeze came out first, followed by Balor, who did his usual PPV entrance, which garnered “Holy Sh*t” and “That Was Awesome” chants before the match even began. In the end, Balor scored the pin to become the new number one contender for the NXT Championship.
Winner and NEW #1 Contender To NXT Championship: Finn Balor
Emma & Dana Brooke vs. Charlotte & Bayley
It’s time for Divas tag-team action. They kept this one short, with the ending seeing Charlotte using the Natural Selection on Emma while Emma hit Bayley with a “Belly To Bayley” suplex. Emma, by the way, has changed her look a little bit, wearing a new outfit and sporting a new hair style. Stephanie McMahon was shown in attendance before this match.
Winners: Charlotte & Bayley
Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin
Uhaa Nation is shown in the crowd, leading to a big “Uhaa” chant. Next up is Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin. In the end, Corbin picked up the “W” when Rhyno went for a Gore but Corbin clotheslined him and hit him with the End Of Days for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Backstage: Kevin Owens
Backstage, we get a Kevin Owens promo. Owens talks about defending his NXT title and dropping John Cena on Monday’s RAW, noting that he sent a message that his title is the real prize by stepping on Cena’s U.S. title. The fans chant “NXT.” He warns Sami Zayn not to show up tonight or it will be the last time anyone sees Zayn.
NXT Tag-Team Championship – Blake & Murphy vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassidy
This was kept pretty short for a title match. The finish saw Enzo and Cassidy set up their Rocket Launcher finisher when Alexa Bliss came out and turned heel, attacking Carmella. This distracted Colin, as he went out of the ring and ate a super kick from Murphy. Bliss pulled Enzo off the top, crotching himself, leading to Blake scoring the pin. Afterwards, Blake, Murphy and Bliss celebrated together.
Winners: Blake & Murphy
NXT Women’s Championship – Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
Up next is the NXT Women’s title match. This was an excellent match. Banks ended up scoring the win after hitting Lynch with the Divorce Court off of the top rope and applying the Bank Statement cross-face for the tap out victory.
NXT Championship – Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
These two had an excellent match. The story at the end was that Owens hit his power bomb on Zayn on the apron, which led to the announcers selling it like Zayn’s shoulder went out and the match pretty much ended at that point. Owens continued to attack Zayn and refusing to stop until Samoa Joe came out. Joe and Owens go face-to-face. The crowd went nuts, but ultimately, Owens backed down and walked away.
Samoa Joe made his NXT debut at the conclusion of Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live WWE Network special.
Kevin Owens was mercilessly beating down Sami Zayn as multiple referees and NXT GM William Regal getting involved. As Owens was getting ready to finish Zayn off with a chair, music began playing and out walked Samoa Joe. He was wearing a t-shirt that said “Samoa Joe” and the announcers referred to him as Samoa Joe, so he thankfully won’t be getting a new NXT name-generator ring name.
The crowd went apesh*t as Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Kevin Owens went face to face in what was truly a mark out moment. Owens eventually backed down, saying “not now” to a feud that could be the best thing WWE produces this year.
It’s worth noting that Triple H was asked about Joe signing with WWE earlier this week. He put Joe over as a tremendous performer, he said that he wasn’t sure if they would do business together or not.
The format of the returning WWE Tough Enough reality show is going to be completely revamped compared to past seasons.
There will be training and in-house footage shot during the week, which will air on the Tuesday show. So when you watch an episode, the training and drama in the house we see will be from the previous week, very similar to The Ultimate Fighter season that they tried to do semi-live, as well as the UFC Primetime and “Embedded” specials which they try to keep up-to-date.
The television show will air each Tuesday, with footage shot during the week as well as a live show in front of a studio audience.
While Chris Jericho is scheduled to be the host of the show, it’s said that he will have somewhat of a “Ryan Seacrest role,” and won’t be hosting the show in the style that WWE had “Stone Cold” Steve Austin do several years ago.
As far as the rest of the cast, Hulk Hogan, Paige and Daniel Bryan will serve as panelists, mentors and judges, while Booker T, Billy Gunn and Lita will serve as the actual trainers for the contestants. Each week on the show there will be a judges vote and an audience vote to decide who goes home.
WWE has reportedly gone out of their way to recruit certain people to be cast members on the show, including Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard. It’s also said that they badly wanted Moose on the show.
Apparently WWE is telling people that they are recruiting to be on the program that they will be guaranteed a spot on the show, however the actual winner of the season will not be pre-determined and will be completely legitimate based on the fan voting.
Destination America is not planning to air TNA Impact Wrestling past the third quarter of this year, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Two main reasons were given for the cancellation of TNA shows. While Destination America officials considered the ratings for Impact Wrestling to be good, the numbers were not good enough to justify the cost of the programming. The other problem was that a number of the cable network’s advertisers specifically did not want to advertise during Impact Wrestling.
A public acknowledgment is expected to be made when the station reveals its 2015-16 television season prime-time lineup.
Following the March 13, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling, which saw viewership sink to a new low, Destination America officials made the decision to cancel Saturday morning programming under the belief that eliminating the replay would help the Friday numbers—the only numbers they care about. Although there was a slight increase, all first-run programming with the exception of Impact Wrestling airing multiple times on Friday nights was axed due to the cable network’s difficulty in selling advertisement time.
For the May 8, 2015 “live” episode of Impact Wrestling, Destination America purchased an advertisement in the USA Today newspaper to promote the show, believing that additional advertising and it being almost live would lead to an increased rating. Instead, Impact Wrestling did its second lowest number on Destination America, and the replay, which is primarily watched by viewers in the West Coast, drew a record low.
According to Meltzer’s report, Dixie Carter was made aware of Destination America’s decision early last week although it doesn’t appear that most of the talent knew anything since word of this had not gotten around. Her knowledge of the cancellation may have played a part in Impact Wrestling moving to Wednesday nights, but that is uncertain. Carter didn’t respond to any questions on the subject from Meltzer.
Meltzer noted in his report that Destination America’s decision has not been finalized. Employees at the station, however, not been told anything new since a memo was issued to them informing them of the cancellation.
– ESPN and FOX have both expressed interest in hiring Renee Paquette (Renee Young) to do mainstream sports news reporting for them once her deal with WWE expires. Whether or not Young is entertaining these offers is unclear as of right now.
– The talk going around backstage in WWE among the staff is that Vince McMahon has made it abundantly clear to everyone that WrestleMania absolutely has to sell out next year at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
– The ESPN E:60 piece on NXT, which focuses primarily on Xavier Woods, Corey Graves and Adam Rose, will be replaying on ABC on June 21st at 5pm EST.
Regarding the injury situation in WWE right now, the company is remaining very quiet in terms of disclosing information on the status of Daniel Bryan’s condition.
While specifics aren’t quite clear just yet, the word going around is that things are looking negative regarding Bryan’s future as an active pro wrestler. It’s been said that he is expected to be out a long time and it’s possible he may never be able to return, however as of May 18th there has been no definitive medical update on him.
Triple H acknowledged that Hideo Itami was injured during his conference call to promote the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live WWE Network special, noting that he would be on the show in some capacity, but not actually wrestling.
It’s said that Itami’s injury was a fluke situation and not a case of wear-and-tear, which is said to be an issue troubling WWE these days among many of the wrestlers.
Steve Austin and WWE are officially back in business together, with his “Stone Cold Podcast” returning to the WWE Network on June 1st with special guest Paul Heyman.
The show will air on the night after the free month of May ends, as historically, the two most-watched shows in WWE Network history, aside from live pay-per-view events, were Austin’s two podcasts with Vince McMahon and Triple H.
Apparently Austin and WWE working together again came as a result of whatever issue Vince McMahon had being mended somehow.
One of the other reasons Austin is coming back is because of the busy schedule of Chris Jericho. Between hosting Tough Enough, doing house shows and touring with Fozzy, Jericho won’t be available to do podcasts on the WWE Network as often as might be necessary.
After Heyman, Austin’s next three guests on the WWE Network podcast will be Sting, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan.
– Chris Jericho noted via social media that his rock band Fozzy will be going on tour with legendary rock and roll group Kiss as part of their “The Kiss Kruise V” tour. Jericho tweeted the following:
– After teasing that he could be the ECW surprise at the NXT live events in Philadelphia and Albany this past weekend, Bully Ray is back to leading fans to speculate with his latest social media appearance. On Twitter today, Bully teased a potential feud with NXT Champion Kevin Owens. He tweeted the following:
– The A.V. Club website is listing tonight’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable special as their “Top Pick” for what to watch on television for Wednesday, May 20th. The blurb on the site reads as follows:
WWE NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable (WWE Network, 8 p.m.): TV Club sports entertainment coverage expands with the introduction of NXT to the A.V. Club Universe. Tonight marks the latest live NXT TakeOver special—in a month where the WWE Network is free, by the way—which is guaranteed to be the best WWE has to offer for weeks (maybe even months). The main event is part of a story 15 years in the making, as long time best friends and rivals Kevin Owens (father of Owen Owens) and Sami Zayn (protegé of El Generico) face-off in a NXT Championship rematch. LaToya Ferguson begins her weekly coverage of WWE NXT with this event, because sometimes dreams do come true.
– Speaking of tonight’s NXT special, WWE.com is reporting that Tyler Breeze will be using the social media App “Periscope” to provide a special look at his ring entrance at tonight’s show. Periscope is a new App that allows you to live stream video from your Twitter account.
– Stephanie McMahon tweeted a link to her father Vince McMahon appearing on the David Letterman show back in 1985. Check out the video below.
– Samoa Joe announced via Twitter that he will be providing a voice for one of the characters on the new “Game Of Thrones” video game. Joe tweeted the following:
– Longtime WWE Superstar Goldust posted the following message on social media regarding being sober for seven years.
“This is my greatest tweet of the year: Today I am 7 years clean and sober from the bondage of drugs and alcohol. I was ready and i asked for help, I worked my program and I persevered. You cannot do it alone. If you need help, ask for it. I was ready and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. #IBelieveInYou #IBelieveInMyself ! Thanks for all your support.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with some of his latest thoughts. Below are some highlights.
On NXT Takeover: Unstoppable: “I will catch the WWE NXT Takeover show on the WWE Network late tonight but I fully expect it to be a stellar show. Not sure of the heath of Sami Zayn as he’s set to take on Kevin Owens but if both are 100% this could be the best match in WWE this year on any event. Loved Owens impactful debut on RAW this week and he’s ready to continue to get himself noticed with a great performance tonight. I’m a big fan of both talents and only hope that they have long term creative plans in place which is imperative once the newness of their TV personas wear off and it will.”
On Samoa Joe: “If WWE eventually signs Samoa Joe, a no brainer to me, and he’s added to the talents that are already in NXT turning heads, this brand takes another giant step forward. In a perfect world and putting my old creative hat back on, tonight would be a wonderful opportunity to debut Joe on live tV on the WWE Network. That may not be in the cards just yet but one can fantasy book all one wants which is one way that I can fulfill my own personal needs to stay involved in the business that I love in addition to our Ross Report Podcasts and our RINGSIDE w/ Jim Ross Shows. Once the biz is in one’s blood, it’s hard to simply walk away and stop thinking about it. I don’t see that ever happening to me, for better or for worse.”
On Impact Wrestling changing nights: “Does TNA’s mov to Wednesday nights on the hard to find Destination America spell the death knell for the battling brand? Many industry insiders think so but I certainly hope not. Destination America did TNA no favors by making this move even though airing on Wednesday night is a better night of the week than Fridays. Good luck to my many friends at Impact Wrestling as 2015 is a critical year for their survival.”
– It’s worth pointing out that Randy Orton did not work this week’s RAW or SmackDown tapings. As things stand now, Orton is still advertised to work this weekend’s WWE live events in New York, as well as Monday’s RAW in Long Island.
– Goldust, who is still on the sidelines recovering from shoulder surgery, was recently working out with actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Björnsson is best known for his role on the HBO show “Game Of Thrones,” where he plays the character “The Mountain.” Goldust tweeted the following photo of the two together:
– The Rock has officially “cemented” his legacy — literally — at the famous TLC Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Below are some photos, which WWE tweeted today: