– The Tuesday, July 21st edition of WWE Tough Enough on the USA Network averaged 1.144 million viewers. Viewership was up compared to last week’s show, which drew 997,000 viewers.
– This week’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which also aired on Tuesday, July 21st, averaged 995,000 viewers on the E! Network. Viewership was down from last week’s show, which delivered 1.031 million viewers.
Cesaro was Michael Cole’s guest for this week’s WWE.com sitdown interview. The Swiss Superman spoke about a number of topics, including Vince McMahon saying he doesn’t connect with fans, his relationship with Tyson Kidd, his WWE career thus far and his goal to become WWE World Heavyweight
Michael Cole revealed that WWE.com will be running a feature profiling Cesaro and asked him about Vince McMahon’s comments on the Stone Cold Podcast, where he said Cesaro doesn’t connect with fans and is lacking certain skills Cesaro said he heard Vince’s comments while driving and “white knuckled” the steering wheel. Cesaro says he walked up to Vince the next night and said, “Vince, challenge accepted.” Shortly thereafter, he and Tyson Kidd were WWE tag team champions.
Cole asks about his relationship with Kidd, who is out of action indefinitely after suffering a life-threatening neck injury. Cesaro said he’s lucky to call Kidd a good friend. They’re both very similar, had similar upbringings with a love for wrestling. They pride themselves on what they do in the ring and all they talk about is wrestling. He said you don’t find friends like Tyson Kidd very often.
Cesaro was asked about which of his WWE personas have best defined his career up to this point. Cesaro said what defines him the most is what he does in the ring. He delivers every time he steps in the ring and although its taken him time to catch on, fans appreciate his hard work.
Cole brought up Cesaro’s recent matches with John Cena and spoke about his match against WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins this week on SmackDown. Cesaro said this match is very important because everyone wants to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’s in WWE to be the best and wants to be champion. He’s here to prove that he’s the best and he delivers every time.
FOX Sports recently published an article containing ten “surprising revelations” from Daniel Bryan’s new autobiography, “Yes!: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania” Below are some of the highlights.
On Sheamus and Ted Dibiase Jr. interrupting Daniel Bryan the first time he had sex with Brie: “We were naked and about to do our thing when all of a sudden we heard the sound of the door handle turning and then the door popped open. Bri jumped under the covers as Teddy and Sheamus barged into the room, inebriated as can be, wit the ‘Ahhh fella!’ and all that.”
On being slated to wrestle Charlie Sheen at SummerSlam in 2012: “He was going through a very public breakdown at the time, and somehow WWE brokered a deal for him to perform against me. He taped a couple of videos for ‘Raw’ insulting me, and even though it was a goofy match to be in, it would’ve put me in one of the top matches at SummerSlam. Unfortunately, whoever brokered the Sheen deal never got him to sign any sort of contract to do the event, and in typical Charlie Sheen fashion, he bailed.”
On his blowup with Triple H after a match with Randy Orton on RAW: “Usually I don’t get super angry, and when I do it’s barely visible. This time, I was furious and I let everyone know it. When I walked through the curtain, I yelled, ‘What the f— is that all about. That’s f—ing bull—-!’ ‘You need to calm down,’ responded Triple H, who had been communicating with the doctor over the headset and called for the match to be stopped. ‘No, you need to calm the f— down,’ I replied. We were up in each other’s faces and both ready to fight.”
Check out the complete article at FOXSports.com.
WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella recently spoke with The Straits Times about approaching a record setting WWE Divas Championship reign, her future goals and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On being the second longest reigning WWE Divas Champion and her future goals: “My number one goal right now is to be the longest reigning Divas champion. I know it’s going to be tough to beat AJ Lee’s record of 295 days which means I have to keep it till after Night Of Champions (a WWE per-per-view on September 21). It’s going to be really tough.
Another goal is make this championship mean something. I want to leave a legacy, to make the Divas division amazing. I hope I get more opportunities to do this and that the people upstairs, the bosses continue to listen, because there’s so much I would love to do with this championship.”
On if she prefers to be a heel or babyface: “The bad girl is so much more fun. You can have so much more personality and get really creative. When I see the kids out there, the Bella army, they make me want to play the good girl. But overall, being bad is so much more fun.”
Check out the complete interview at StraitsTimes.com.
A United Airlines flight that WWE Superstar Sheamus was on that was headed from Denver to Los Angeles was grounded on Wednesday due to an emergency medical issue.
The plane reportedly made an emergency landing about an hour after taking off in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Sheamus, who has been mentioned in some of the mainstream media coverage of the story, tweeted the following photos:
Emergency landing in Colorado on a @united flight. Not many brave lads when the masks drop from overhead. pic.twitter.com/Z4Um2uYhuD
— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) July 22, 2015
Few people unwell, but we're down safe & sound. Held on tight to that #mitb briefcase! pic.twitter.com/BhUeecGn2U
— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) July 22, 2015
WWE Superstar King Barrett recently spoke with The Straits Times about a couple of different topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On coming a long way from being the leader of the Nexus to being King of the Ring, and what’s next for him: “I’ve always said I wanted to be the WWE World Heavyweight champion so that’s my ultimate goal. My biggest focus right now is to enjoy my wrestling, enjoy as much as I can being a WWE superstar. It doesn’t last forever and be it through injury or retirement or getting fired, one day it’s going to end so at the moment, I’m really trying to enjoy it as much as I can. I’m enjoying the experience and coming to great places like Singapore. It’s my first trip here. I’m going to check out Orchard Road and some malls.”
On how difficult it is to get the King of the Ring gimmick to work for him, as it’s worked for some in the past and not others: “It depends on the opportunities afforded to me by our writing team. So far, I feel I haven’t been the focus of the show but hopefully, that’s going to change in the next few weeks or months. Hopefully, I get some solid storylines so that I can show what I can do.”
Check out the complete interview at StraitsTimes.com.
WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with The Straits Times about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On changes in his character since moving from NXT to the main roster: “NXT is incredible. The performance centre in Orlando, Florida (where recruits train) is just a fantastic facility. It’s got world-class coaches with hundreds of years of experience between them, all the facilities you need like a gym to places where you could develop your character like the promo room.
I have to give respect to the late great Dusty Rhodes who passed away recently. He was my main influence in bringing out my character. I worked with Dusty every week in the promo room. He really brought me out of my shell. Before coming to NXT, I was very much just a wrestler. Now I feel very confident as an all-round performer.”
On who influenced his in-ring style: “I remember as a child watching The Rockers and the other tag teams like the Dynamite Kid and the British Bulldog. They had a huge influence on me. The Dynamite Kid was an innovator in the ring. He was a cruiserweight and someone I looked up to very much, especially his feud with Tiger Mask. That was something revolutionary. I’ve watched it over and over again. Later on, the WCW cruiserweight guys like Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon, Jushin Liger and onwards, to the Japanese junior wrestlers…they also influenced my style.”
Check out the complete interview at StraitsTimes.com.
– The dark segment after the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Lincoln, Nebraska saw WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and former NXT Champion Kevin Owens double-teaming Cesaro until Dean Ambrose finally ran out and made the save. Ambrose closed out the show by putting Rollins through a table to send the fans home happy.
– Corey Graves is filming “Culture Shock” at the Alternative Press Music Awards this week. Visiting this week while Graves records the show are WWE Divas Paige and Summer Rae, as well as Paige’s boyfriend Kevin Skaff.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “5 Things” web show, which you can watch below, looks at five Superstars who faced themselves.
https://youtu.be/gK0bW86THE0
Former TNA World Champion and recent departure Nick Aldis, a.k.a Magnus, recently spoke to Sean Ross Sapp of WrestlingINC.com. During the interview, Aldis discussed the infamous TNA conference call that followed Ring of Honor and Destination America’s signing, as well as him possibly going to NXT, and who he considers the number two wrestling promotion in America. Here are some highlights:
What was the conference call after ROH’s announcement like?
“It was chaotic. I don’t know whether that was a knee jerk thing or a reaction to that specific event. A lot of guys very nervous about their security, and I could understand it. I have a nine month old son. I may have said one thing, just focusing on practical business stuff. There were people sort of irrational like ‘we demand answers!, We have a right to know this and that!’ and I’m thinking we don’t really. We’re independent contractors, nobody owes us a living. I can only speak for my deal, but you have to take a step back and see we make a living pretending to fight. If someone can’t keep paying us to do that, we’ve been living in the bonus round. We could be digging ditches.”
Who do you consider the number two company in America right now, independent of international deals?
“In America, I guess it’d be pretty close. I don’t know the Ring of Honor ratings. I think the ratings are really archaic. I have a friend that works at Neilson, and it’s so variable and sporadic and not viable. ROH obviously has better live event business, because they have live event business period at this point, TNA doesn’t. TNA has two hours on TV, ROH has one. In certain markets, ROH’s brand recognition is probably comparable to TNA, but then I’d say in the south, TNA probably has slightly better brand recognition. I will say this, ROH’s operating cost is significantly lower. If I was looking at the two as an investor, that’s a factor. TNA’s international business is very good, though.”
Is NXT an option for you?
“I don’t know. Currently, I guess not. I’d like to. I think they’re doing some of the best job anywhere in wrestling. I think they’ve done a great job in creating their own version of an alternative brand. You can’t fault them, they are the business. The rest of us are fighting over the remains of the pie. I’m okay with that. I’m looking forward to any and all opportunities that come along.
“I’ve said openly how big of a fan I am of Lucha Underground. I haven’t had serious conversations with them, but I’ve certainly made them aware that’s absolutely something I’d love to get involved with. I think that I could surprise a lot of people if I went somewhere like that and did something completely new. I’ve got a lot more range than people realize. I tend to try to work smart. When it means something and the time is right, I’ll do the crazy stuff and do things they don’t associate with a 6’4 ‘body guy.’
“I’ve been in the business over ten years, I eat, sleep, breathe the business. I didn’t just wake up and decide I was going to be a wrestler. You’ve gotta be in shape if you want to do this. Sometimes I feel like because of this alternative culture that exists now, it’s almost a hindrance now, because people automatically associate you as a person who didn’t work as hard or was handed things. The way Dixie spoke publicly about me, I would say ‘please, that’s harming me, not helping me.’ I appreciate it, but it almost negates my own hard work. When I got to TNA, I was the shits, and I knew it. I hadn’t worked with anyone but Doug Williams and some other name guys on the independents before getting the gladiator gig. I didn’t have the experience, but what do you do, turn down a contract? I can tell you, that’s why I didn’t go after WWE at that stage. I just thought I wasn’t ready, and didn’t want to go until I was ready, if I ever go.”
Magnus also discussed the controversial angle involving himself, Mickie James and James Storm, the never-ending rumors of a TNA sale, why so many people left TNA all at one time, his aspirations to end up in WWE and more.
Former TNA Wrestling star Gunner recently appeared on The Pancakes & Powerslams podcast to talk about a number of subjects. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if he had any issues with pay in TNA: “There were a couple of times where some pay got messed up when it may have come in a couple days late. I was always paid – to the most part – on time, pay was never kept from me, or anything like that. I know I talked to a few guys who hadn’t been paid in 30-45 days, and I said, well if that’s the case, you have to man up and say something, because in our contract it says we have to be paid in a certain amount of time after the shows. For the most part, I was paid on time, and paid right.”
On working with Vince Russo: “I always enjoyed working with Vince. I never had any issues. Sometimes his ideas were all over the place, but for the most part, he would ask you for your input. “What do you think about this, bro? What do you think about this?” He gave you a lot of leeway to do your own thing.”
On CM Punk saying “Thanking God is a weird thing to do”: “I don’t think it’s weird. We all have our different views. I’ve got buddies, like Ken Anderson, he’s an atheist, but we’re like best friends. We talk about religion all the time, and he knows that my faith is a huge part of what I do. It keeps me strong, and always has, since I was in the marine corps and when I went through war. I don’t think it’s weird at all. It’s no more weird than anybody else’s beliefs.”
Check out the complete interview at BlogTalkRadio.com.
Former WWE Superstar Batista is featured in the new trailer for the new James Bond movie, “007: Spectre,” where he plays villain “Mr. Hinx.”
The movie is scheduled for a November 6th release in theaters.
Lucha Libre AAA issued the following press release to SEScoops.com today:
AAA PRESENTS TRIPLEMANÍA XXIII LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW IN AMERICA & CANADA WITH DOUBLE MAIN EVENT ON AUG. 9TH:
REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. MYZTEZIZ – DREAM MATCH
ALBERTO EL PATRON VS. BRIAN CAGE – HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH
NEW YORK AND MEXICO CITY — Today, AAA, the world’s leading Lucha Libre organization, announced that its biggest event of the year, TRIPLEMANÍA, will air live on pay-per-view in the U.S. and Canada. The event has a special start time of 7pm ET / 6pm CT on Sunday August 9th.
The event will be available on iN DEMAND (including all major American cable systems and Rogers Communications in Canada), DirecTV, Dish Network as well as Bell Canada Satellite. A full list of U.S./Canadian carriers can be found at: http://www.aaalucha.com/how-to-watch.html.
The event will feature English commentary and has a suggested price of $29.95 in High-Definition and $19.95 in Standard.
Since 1992, Triplemanía has been the stage for some of Lucha Libre’s most spectacular rivalries and matches and this year is no different. For the first-time ever, Rey Mysterio Jr. will wrestle Myzteziz in a dream match between two of the most gifted and iconic masked luchadores of this era.
In a match fueled by national pride, AAA Mega Champion Alberto El Patron defends the honor of Mexico against America’s Brian Cage in a hair match.
“We hope that all of our viewers will enjoy the high pace lucha that AAA has to offer. It is exciting times for Lucha in North American and AAA wants to give to the audience a new option in the wrestling industry,” AAA General Manager Joaquín Roldán said.
“AAA is one of the hottest Latin sports media brands with a growing global presence. Triplemanía XXIII on pay-per-view is a major step for AAA’s global strategy. What better way to enter the U.S. and Canadian pay-per-view market than with this very special event” said Court Bauer, Executive Producer for Triplemanía XXIII.
This marks the first time that Triplemanía will be available live on pay-per-view. The event has previously been sold out 50,000+ capacity bullrings in major Mexican markets as well as in Tokyo and Chicago before capacity crowds. This year, the state-of-the-art Mexico City Arena (Arena Ciudad de México) will host the 23rd annual Triplemanía.
More information on additional matches, international access for the event broadcast and more will be available shortly.
For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact: MediaPPV@LuchaLibreAAA.com
For more information on AAA and Triplemanía go to AAALucha.com (English) and www.LuchaLibreAAA.com (Spanish)
Follow AAA on Twitter: @AAALucha (English) and @LuchaLibreAAA (Spanish)
Like AAA at: Facebook.com/LuchaLibreAAA
Deadline.com has released new information regarding The Rock’s upcoming movie project ‘Rampage’ based on the popular 1980’s arcade video game.
Brad Peyton has signed on to direct the New Line Cinema film about three giant monsters (a gorilla, a wolf and a lizard) that wreak havoc on various cities and landmarks across the United States. Peyton and The Rock just teamed up for San Andreas, which has grossed over $460 million worldwide since it opened on May 29th.
The Rock’s character will be “standing in the path” of the three giant monsters and will fight to save the day once again.
Rampage begins production in summer 2016 (after Rock finishes Fast & Furious 8) and is scheduled for a 2017 release.
Ring Of Honor star Michael Elgin appeared as a guest on Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast recently and spoke about Kevin Owens’ future in WWE, as well as his goal to make it to NXT.
Regarding Owens’ future with WWE, Elgin claims Owens will eventually be a WrestleMania main event talent. “[Owens] has the passion for it, he has the work ethic, and, you know, I see huge things for him within WWE,” Elgin stated. “Working with him, being on the road with him, he has a knack for it in every aspect – I would be almost shocked if he doesn’t main event a WrestleMania.”
Elgin also apoke about his own goals, noting he hopes to make it to NXT in the future.
“There [are] still a couple of things I want to accomplish and a few things at Ring of Honor that I still have to accomplish, but, no doubt in my mind, [making it to NXT] is definitely a goal of mine,” Elgin said.
“I always thought I was going to make it, but in other people’s eyes, if I was going to make it,” he continued. “I was going to have to venture the world and follow in the footsteps of guys like Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho and leave behind a legacy of my work elsewhere to get to WWE, or now NXT, but that’s definitely a route I’m okay with taking and I want to take in the future.”
An announcement is scheduled to be made later today regarding AAA’s TripleMania event, which is their biggest event of the year, airing live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada on Sunday, August 9th.
The show is scheduled to air from 7-10pm EST. live on all of the major pay-per-view carriers, including In Demand, Dish Network, DirecTV, Bell Canada Satellite and Rogers.
The show, which is priced at $19.95 for SD and $29.95 for HD, will be headlined by Rey Mysterio vs. Myzteziz (Sin Cara, Mistico).
Other matches scheduled for the show include Alberto El Patron (Alberto Del Rio) vs. Brian Cage in a hair vs. hair match and a trios match featuring Los Villanos III & IV & V facing The Psycho Circus in what will be the retirement match for Villano III.
– The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling:
* Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Roode (Tables Match)
* Magnus vs. Bram (Street Fight)
* Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud (Chain Match)
* Dixie Carter announcing the next TNA Hall Of Fame inductee
– Likely due to the buzz surrounding Sting’s rumored WWE return, TNA has posted the following video looking at the TNA Hall Of Famer.
https://youtu.be/4bJntVI0LfA
– TNA also posted this video, which looks at Jeff Hardy’s paintings from the new “Humanomoly” DVD.
https://youtu.be/fDytjK-w87w
NXT star Tyler Breeze recently spoke with Scott Fishman of Channel Guide Magazine to promote some of the upcoming NXT live events. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On watching WWE developmental go from FCW to NXT: “I’ve gotten to see it go from FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) and something that was very small. We had FCW TV, but the audience wasn’t the same. A lot of people didn’t even know it was on TV. It was just local Florida stuff. The production wasn’t what it is today. I was watching these matches with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. They were great matches then, but nobody was watching because nobody knew we even existed. There was no WWE Network back then, so you couldn’t even watch what you wanted to unless you were local. I was part of the initial pilot episode to test out Full Sail University to see if it would work for our NXT tapings. I watched the entire transition from something small to something that now millions of people can watch on WWE Network each week. Just the production alone is fascinating. Every time we show up for TV tapings or the live specials or anything, they always have something new added. A screen here or some sort of effect there. Everything feels big and important. To be a part of that from the start to what is now, it’s really cool for me to take it all in and watch it grow.”
On not getting called up to WWE’s main roster yet: “You can’t get frustrated by stuff like that. It’s been like that since I got down here at FCW. I was the one who had Cesaro’s first match. I’ve watched Seth go. I’ve watched Ambrose go. I’ve watched [Erick] Rowan and [Luke] Harper go. I’ve seen everyone kind of come and go. The thing is these are my friends. These are people who I am happy for. I’m not going to have any ill will toward them. They just happen to be ready quicker or what WWE needed at the time. It’s nothing that frustrates me, because it’s not like Harper and Rowan are taking a spot that Tyler Breeze would be in. We are completely different marketable assets to the company. It’s just a matter of time before Tyler Breeze is what they are looking for and need. Then nobody else is going to take that spot but me. So it’s not a frustrating thing for me, I’m happy for my friends who go on and succeed and make it all comfortable for me when I get up there.”
On what he does in his down time: “I’m a big Netflix guy unless there is something I’m really watching. My girlfriend and I are watching ‘Devious Maids’ right now. It’s a little addiction of ours. On Netflix we watch ‘The Following’ and reruns of ‘Friends’ and ‘Parks and Recreation.’ There are also so many new shows out there and not enough time to watch them all. …There is always that one character in each show that I can always pull a line or mannerism from. There was a show a while back called ‘Blue Mountain State.’ Thad was kind of funny, loose cannon. He would lose his temper right away and say some funny stuff. I pulled a lot of stuff from him. There is stuff I got from Ben Stiller that I’ve taken and used. There are things that pop up that you don’t even realize. When you hear something and just realize it’s something you can use.”
On his inspirations in wrestling: “Earlier in my career it was very much Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and other guys in the ring who were untouchable. Everything they did was so crisp and clean. I loved the athletic part. I just wanted to see everything they did. As I kind of made the transition to Tyler Breeze, I decided to look at the other end of the spectrum. I looked at the character and the over-the-top flamboyant gestures and mannerisms. I watched a lot of Buddy Rogers and Gorgeous George and took from them. It’s certain things that have fallen by the wayside of how they did it. I don’t know if it was ahead of its time, but you just don’t really see it anymore. People just don’t do it. I started watching that and mixed it with my other influence to have a nice complete package.”
Check out the complete interview at ChannelGuideMagBlog.com.
TNA announced Wednesday that Bound for Glory will take place Sunday, October 4th from Charlotte, North Carolina at the Cabarrus Arena.
The show will air on traditional pay-per-view, after TNA’s relationship with Destination America is rumored to be expiring.
Top stars advertised for the show include TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III, Kurt Angle, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Tag Team Champions The Wolves, Bobby Lashley, Bram and more. SEScoops.com reader Tony pointed out that Bobby Roode is conspicuously not mentioned in TNA’s press release for the show.
Tickets for Bound For Glory go on sale Friday, July 31st through the Cabarrus Arena box office.
After claiming he is done with WWE Tough Enough after Tuesday’s elimination, WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley elaborated on his thoughts on the show in a new blog posted on his official Facebook page.
Foley wrote the following:
ENOUGH’S ENOUGH
With the elimination of Patrick, two weeks after the dismissal of Daria, I’m officially tapping out on ?#?ToughEnough?. In order for a future season to seem relevant, WWE needed a guy who could step into a role on the main roster within a year’s time. Sure, there are some promising prospects left – but each one is a long-term project, and a roll of the dice. Patrick was the real deal and now he’s gone…along with this particular viewer.
What are your thoughts on this episode and season of Tough Enough?
From there, Foley would go on to reply to some of the comments on the post. You can check out the discussion at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.
– Global Force Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett and GFW talent Nick “Magnus” Aldis were the guests on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE posted the following Finn Balor themed preview for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network.
– WWE United States Champion John Cena posted the following video clip of himself working out with the caption, “Focus.”
Focus. pic.twitter.com/Wrf8LJXoF2
— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 22, 2015
Global Force Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett recently appeared as a guest on Ring Rust Radio to talk about all things GFW. Below is a transcript of the interview.
On how many episodes of GFW TV he is taping this week and what channel, dates and times will fans get to see the finished product: “You’re digging for the good stuff and I appreciate that. We just named it Amped, and we are in the discussion of how many episodes so I can’t tell you how many right now. We are going to be shooting on content next Friday, then August 21st, and October 23rd. One thing is for sure, we are starting four tournaments starting next Friday: The Global Championship, the Tag-Team Championship, the Women’s Championship, and the Nex-Gen Championship. We do have Bobby Rude appearing and in my opinion he personifies what GFW in some shape, form, or fashion is all about. He is a wrestler under a contract for another promotion who will be appearing on our program. The number of episodes is a moving target at this point. We are going to go shoot the tournament then we get back who knows? It could be ten episodes, twelve, fourteen, who knows? It’s a work in progress. When you are trying to line up domestic and international, it’s a real challenge to try and please everybody. We are going to do our very best to expose the product to as many wrestling fans as we can.”
On the Nex-Gen division and what type of performers will be part of it: “Nex-Gen is a term we really thought about and studied. When you look at pro-wrestling in 2015, there are certain guys that are going to wrestle like the next generation and they are going to take it to the next level. Whether it be the speed of the Young Bucks or the innovation of the Bullet Club, there are so many different talents that will take it to the next generation. Then you see a guy who is a rookie, brand new in the business, and isn’t a household name today. But in the next generation of household names he will be. It’s a little bit of both, no weight limit, it’s a division of guys who want to get in there and wrestle. They may never have won a title before or it may be their style of wrestling that will give them that first opportunity to wrestle for that Nex-Gen title. It’s not a traditional type of division by any means.”
On what GFW will do to separate itself from WWE as another PG rated product: “It goes without saying that WWE is sports entertainment. They invented the term and they do it better than anybody else. It’s a very lucrative business for them and my hats off to them on how they have created their genre. We are professional wrestling, there are a lot of similarities but we are going to be more docu-style. Are we going to have story lines? Yes. It’s like how you have story lines in a sporting event like a baseball or football game. We are not going to write stories per say, but more along the lines of documenting them. There is a story behind every GFW athlete. Questions like: Why, why did you get into the business, why did you want to be a professional wrestler, why GFW, why do you want to be a Champion, why do you do this in your persona, what makes you tick, what’s going on in your family life? That all affects the business and how you climb the ladder of success. That’s a big difference between writing story lines and documenting story lines.”
On the Finn Balor documentary and if that is the style he is looking to use for GFW: “If you watch the GFW YouTube channel it will give you a sample. Back at Wrestle Kingdom 9 we documented our journey leading up to it. We also have videos coming out to give you a feel for it with guys like PJ Black, the Bollywood Boys, the Akbars, and Mordetzky. The videos dive into the talent and the wrestler’s lives and what’s really going on in their world. Just recently, we took a real life situation, I went back into TNA with a lot of raw emotion and I don’t want to get to long winded on this, but a non-TNA talent left the promotion with the King of the Mountain title. Eric Young was pretty vocal about it backstage and went on a Twitter rant about it. He said it didn’t have anything to do with it but if you connect the dots you can see it. My hats off to him for being vocal about it. Eric and I have a personal relationship that goes back over ten years. He has been at every 4th of July party at my house except maybe one he missed. We have a real close relationship and I respect him because he didn’t go behind my back about his frustrations. He just made it vocal he didn’t like it. I told him he should come up on the tour and we can talk about it. He took me up on it and came and had a match against Johnny Gargano, local independent superstar, from the AIW. You don’t see that kind of stuff in any other promotion.”
On an invasion angle between TNA and GFW: “The word invasion is kind of been there and done that in my opinion. Certainly you can already see that Bobby Rude is coming to Vegas next Friday for the first ever set of Amped tapings and he is under contract with TNA. Eric Young was just with us this weekend. We are in discussions of the next steps of this business agreement. Global Force Wrestling and TNA wrestling, whether it’s a co-branded show, a co-promoted show, a collaboration, that’s all in discussion right now and I am reporting it in real time as much as I can. As a wrestling fan myself, this kind of stuff excites me because you just don’t see this nowadays. Years ago you had hand shake agreements between promoters, you had Ric Flair as a traveling champion, and Dory Funk working for multiple promotions. Once the territory system went away, you were left with the big two of WWE and WCW. Then you were down to the big one, just being WWE. Then you had had TNA and Ring of Honor come around with every promotion acting like an island. WWE can do that since they have north of 90% of the market share. You have all the smaller promotions fighting and clawing for that brand identity. I believe with GFW and our mission statement, we want to have a working relationship with any and all promotions because rising tides raise all ships. I went out and formed the relationships that I have had over the years and made them more formal with New Japan and Triple A and around the globe with the independent promotions in Europe, South Africa, and Australia.”
At Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings (Spoilers), a new feud kicked off that could very well lead to a match at SummerSlam that wrestling fans will be very happy with.
Cesaro faced WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in the SmackDown main event, with Rollins scoring the victory after a pedigree. The match got rave reviews from our live correspondent – but it’s what transpired afterwards that has SummerSlam implications.
After Rollins defeated Cesaro, former NXT Champion Kevin Owens came to ringside and attacked Cesaro, laying him out with a pop-up powerbomb.
Owens and Cesaro have faced each other numerous times on the independent scene. If their past matches are any indication, this would be a very welcomed addition to the SummerSlam card.
There was a new development in WWE doctor Chris Amann’s legal battle against CM Punk and Colt Cabana, with Judge Janet Adams Brosnahan dismissing Punk & Cabana’s motion to dismiss all or a portion of Dr. Amann’s complaint.
Amann is alleging slander and libel stemming from comments made by the two defendants last November on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. Amann is seeking $1 million in damages related to claims that his negligence resulted in CM Punk almost dying from an undiagnosed staph infection.
Here’s what’s next, courtesy of the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court:
– Punk and Cabana have until August 24th to file a formal answer to Dr. Amann’s complaint and/or file their plea in response to the suit.
– Dr. Amann has until August 31 to file any amendments to the case, issue a formal response to the defendant’s statements or respond to whatever Punk & Cabana file on Aug. 24.
– On October 9th, Judge Brosnahan scheduled a conference for both parties and their attorneys to evaluate where things stand after the August filings. the standing of the case after both sides make their filings in August. The results of this conference will determine whether or not this goes to trial.
Jim Ross has updated his blog with a fantasy booking scenario for The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, involving their match at SummerSlam and culminating in a final encounter at WrestleMania 32 next April.
JR suggests that Brock Lesnar should once again defeat The Undertaker at SummerSlam. Two straight losses to the Beast Incarnate would then the Undertaker to challenge Brock Lesnar to one last match, putting his career on the line against Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. Taker would go over at WrestleMania, avenging his broken streak at what’s shaping up to be WWE’s biggest show of all time. Ross wrote at JRsBarBQ.com:
“In Taker’s last match, he wins a legit, Slobber Knocker after which, much to the shock and awe of everyone watching, eyes Lesnar, relaxes his expression and either embraces or shakes hands with his toughest foe ever out of respect for the Beast Incarnate who broke ‘The Streak.’ Taker figuratively passes the torch to Lesnar s the toughest animal in WWE which makes Lesnar an even bigger fan favorite.”
With Lesnar signed to WWE for years to come, this latest passing of the torch would enhance Lesnar’s star power even further as the company’s top special attraction.
On his Ross Report podcast this week, JR laid out an alternative scenario for The Undertaker’s final match at WrestleMania 32 involving John Cena, which you can hear about at PodcastOne.com.
Tonight from Orlando, Florida, TNA kicks off what could be the final round of Impact Wrestling tapings, with 8 tapings being held over the next 9 days.
TNA will be taping episodes of Impact Wrestling through September, Xplosion matches and “One Night Only” PPVs.
Each taping starts at 6pm local time at Universal Studios Sound Stage 20. With the exception of Sunday July 26th, TNA will be taping at the Impact Zone each consecutive night through Thursday, July 30th.