On Monday, 2K revealed the final members of the WWE 2K16 roster – and there were some glaring omissions. Many fans were outraged that WWE’s “Four Horsewomen” – Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch, will not be part of this year’s game. Even more maddening is the fact Divas such as Cameron, Summer Rae and the recently-retired Layla made the cut in lieu of the Divas Revolution leaders.
Back in February, Sasha Banks told a fan on Twitter that she got scanned for the game – adding an extra layer of WTF to the situation.
“@Michael77435101: @SashaBanksWWE did you get scanned for wwe 2k16 because I neeeeeed to be able to play as the #Boss of #NXT” yes I did!
2K has issued the following statement regarding the omissions – and then twisted the knife by confirming that the Four Horsewomen will NOT be available as DLC.
With our final roster reveal this past Monday, it was awesome seeing the excitement for The New Day, Enzo and Cass, Mikey Whipwreck, and more. But it was clear that some in the community are frustrated by the lack of the newer Divas added to the main WWE roster recently
We pushed as hard as we could to include Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Bayley in WWE 2k16, but it simply did not work out for various reasons. While we are not divulging full details on WWE 2K16’s post-launch plans just yet, we can confirm that the Four Horsewomen will not be available as DLC.
We are proud to have and built the largest WWE roster to date featuring the most Divas ever. The WWE 2K16 disc includes all of the Divas on the main roster at the time we locked it in (13 playable in total).
We all agree the Divas Revolution is great for business and look forward to celebrating the Divas even more in future WWE 2K titles.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his latest thoughts and opinions on a number of subjects. Below are some of the highlights.
On tonight’s ROH PPV: “Good luck to ROH on their PPV tonight in San Antonio that is a traditional PPV also available on iPPV. This group has a stout lineup booked and will not be out performed anyone bell to bell. They often times work a little fast for my tastes but there is never a lack of effort by their talented roster.”
On the WWE Divas work this week: “The WWE women had a solid week of in ring action too and I expect Charlotte vs Nikki Bella to have a really good bout Sunday at WWE NOC. The women who party less and spend more time on perfecting their game will find much more money and success than those that feel compelled to enjoy the night life too often.”
On Seth Rollins: “If Seth Rollins doesn’t become the next “it” guy in WWE it won’t be for a lack of exposure. I’m a Rollins fan because I see some of the great, HBK in him at times. plus I admire Rollins work ethic. WWE is walking a thin line in overexposing Seth, IMO, but thus far he is holding up well but it won’t always be that way if Rollins continues to be all over the TV every week.
For those that think that Rollins is being booked “weak” I couldn’t disagree more. Heels of average size, like Rollins, are naturally vulnerable which isn’t a sign of weakness but a sign of reality. A champion who is beatable but has to cheat to win is money. Always has been and always will be. Gorgeous George, Buddy Rogers, Ric Flair and HBK are just a few of the examples of what I just outlined and please don’t hit back with the “…but times have changed” line.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Here are the updated betting odds for Sunday’s WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view, featuring Seth Rollins defending both of his titles against Sting and John Cena. Rollins is still favored to retain the WWE World Heavyweight championship against Sting, but John Cena is expected to reclaim the United States title.
Seth Rollins is a -455 favorite over Sting (+315)
John Cena is a -350 favorite voer Seth Rollins (+250)
Ryback is a -140 favorite over Kevin Owens (+100)
The New Day are -230 favorites over The Dudley Boyz (+170)
Charlotte is a -155 favorite over WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella (+115)
Ambrose, Reigns & their Mystery Partner are -150 favortes over The Wyatt Family (+110)
Dolph Ziggler is a -150 favorite over Rusev (+110)
Cosmic Wasteland are -170 favorites over Neville and The Lucha Dragons (+130)
Join us here this Sunday for live coverage of WWE Night of Champions from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
– The next statue that WWE was set to reveal at WrestleMania 32 was originally supposed to be Hulk Hogan, according to PWInsider.
– NXT General Manager William Regal has announced that the December 13th live event from Blackpool, UK has sold out. As noted earlier, NXT Takeover: London also sold out this week.
– Batista tweeted the official poster for his upcoming “Heist” movie with Robert De Niro.
– JBL’s new WWE Network show “Legends with JBL” premieres this coming Monday immediately after RAW goes off the air. His first guest will be Eric Bischoff. The synopsis reads,
“JBL shoots straight with the controversial Eric Bischoff in this first of a hard-hitting two-part interview with the former WCW President!”
– Here’s the music video for WWE Diva Cameron’s new anti-bullying song Wrong #:
Former WWE Superstar “Jumping” Jim Brunzell recently appeared on the Pancakes and Powerslams podcast to discuss Hulk Hogan’s racism controversy and whether he thinks wrestling is too scripted.
Brunzell, who has known Hulk Hogan since the early 80’s, says that Hogan doesn’t have a racist bone in his body – but should have apologized a lot sooner for his controversial remarks.
“I’ve known Terry since 1982, and he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. I’m sure that it was said out of frustration over his daughter not complying to his wishes, and I believe that Vince McMahon took an opportunity to get rid of a guaranteed lifetime contract that he had with Hulk.
I wish Hulk would’ve right of the bat apologized right away. You know, last week he finally comes on and apologizes. That’s too long. You can’t wait [two or three] months. You gotta jump right on that and say, hey, I said something I shouldn’t have said, everybody screws up, and I apologize. But I’ve known him since 1982, 33 years, and he’s never said anything racist.”
Brunzell agued that WWE is entirely over-scripted and “total commercial product,” despite the fact that the wrestlers are very talented.
ECW Originals Taz and Tommy Dreamer were at WWE’s TV studios in Stamford, Connecticut this week recording material for future WWE projects.
The footage will be used for WWE’s upcoming Dudley Boyz DVD (due out in early 2016) as well as a “OMG! ECW’s Top 50 Craziest Moments” – a countdown of the craziest moments in Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Taz parted ways with TNA back in April. Shortly after leaving the company, he confirmed on his Human Podcast Machine show that TNA not paying their talent on time was one of the main reasons he left.
“My check was late, and I had to do what I had to do. The company was understanding in that. They understood my position. They were very professional, very kind, very understanding – business is business. This is how I pay my bills and I feed my family, for over 20 years.”
“It’s well documented – and it seems like they’re fixing that now – that my funds were not arriving to the house, and were very late. I did a service, I wasn’t paid for that service. I gave them a notice – they knew ahead of time that I wasn’t going to come, and they were awesome about it. They were apologetic about it.”
US Presidential candidate and WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump spoke to Sean Hannity on FOX News about Wednesday night’s GOP debate. As the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, Trump has been a target of a lot of attacks lately and compared the debate to WWE.
Trump, who had an integral role in WrestleMania 23’s Battle of the Billionaires, called “the great Vince McMahon” a terrific guy and took issue with the fact that nearly half the questions asked at the debate related to him.
Ironically, Trump also argued that the 3-hour debate was way too long and he thinks CNN’s record rating would have been just as good, if not better, if the debate had only been 2 hours. “I would imagine, after a certain point, people get bored of that.”
TNA has announced the first official match for this year’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view.
In Knockouts action, Awesome Kong and Gail Kim will go one-on-one for the Knockouts Championship at the October 4th pay-per-view event in North Carolina.
TNA’s Dave Lagana and Kim tweeted the following:
Just announced for #BoundForGlory in Charlotte on October 4.
Lucha Underground color commentator Vampiroposted a rant on Facebook this week venting his frustrations regarding the uncertainty of Lucha Underground’s future.
“I need to vent, and I hope that the people involved in deciding what’s next for Lucha underground read this. I have said many times in my career, that without fan you ain’t s–t. Yes, there are big names attached to Lucha Underground. There are a lot of very, very cool people behind the scenes; many of whom I consider friends for life. Some I owe so much to for letting Vampiro live again.
And there are some people, talent, who f—ing suck as human beings. Maybe they are important for this business, I don’t know, but as human beings, I can’t name names, cause it won’t do nothing but cause a rift. But I will say it – you suck. And I am sure there are people who are sick of me, and just don’t like me, and I get that, and I don’t give a f—. But, together, we are LUCHA UNDERGROUND.”
Vampiro continued, speaking directly to the network executives responsible for making the final decisions on Lucha Underground’s fate. He noted that “you can’t buy fans”, and they’re what separates Lucha Underground from being “just another wrestling show.”
“We asked for love, we got mad, mad, mad love. Now we are leaving too many people hanging for too long. We are hot. [Lucha Underground] is the s–t. But you f— around too much, and sooner or later people forget about you.”
… “LU has made me feel like living again. Like I have a family, a home. And I miss my brothers and sisters.”
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans which retired championship should be brought back – Cruiserweight, Hardcore European, Light Heavyweight or the Women’s title. With over 140,000 votes cast, 46% picked the Hardcore Championship while 21% voted for the Women’s Championship.
– WWE is currently working on a DVD/Blu-Ray set on the Dudley Boyz, according to WrestlingDVDNetwork.com. It’s slated for a 2016 release. A synopsis reads:
“Dudley Boyz Biography: Arguably the most successful tag team in the history of sports entertainment. Hear from Bubba Ray and D-Von as they discuss theirs trials and tribulations from the bottom to the top and what made they did that helped them become so successful.”
– Diamond Dallas Page is hosting the grand opening of his DDP Yoga Performance Center in Atlanta, GA this week.
This week’s Impact Wrestling, featuring the blowoff to the TNA vs. Global Force invasion angle, took a major hit in viewership from the previous week.
The first airing of Impact drew 258,000 viewers, down 20% from 323,000 last week. The replay did 62,000 viewers, down from 96,000 last week. Impact’s total viewership was 320,000, down a sharp 24% from last week’s 419,000.
Definitely not a good sign for TNA’s “ongoing negotiations” with Destination America as they hope to extend their run on the network into 2016.
ROH TV only drew 89,000 viewers, down 36% from 138,000 last week.
Both shows went up against the Republican debate on CNN, which was the most watched show in the history of the network, drawing 23.2 million viewers.
Paige recently took part in a Q&A at the Wizard World Comic Con in San Jose, California and among other things, Paige spoke about whether she thought Nikki Bella breaking AJ Lee’s record was a personal shot at CM Punk, as well as her towel angle from RAW several weeks ago.
Regarding the Bella record-breaking reign being a shot at AJ Lee and/or Punk, Paige offered the following response.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Don’t get me involved in this! I don’t need that heat, brother,” Paige said. “I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t get involved in that crap.”
As far as the angle on RAW where she was wearing a towel because The Bella Twins stole her clothes, Paige was asked if she was really naked under the towel.
“That was legit live, guys. I had to run through the hallways in just a towel. I never thought I would be on RAW in just a towel.” Paige continued, “it had to go live, so Vince was like, ‘if she drops the towel everyone on the set is fired’ and I was like, ‘oh, it’s so much pressure’.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official website Q&A section, answering questions from fans on a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights:
On wanting Rollins to face Cena in the Night Of Champions opener: “If Cena were to win the US Title back in the first match of the night it puts Rollins at a distinct mental disadvantage and gives Sting fans hope before Rollins takes it away. I’d also prefer to close with the WWE Title bout.”
On wanting to see Undertaker vs. John Cena: “This match, if built properly, would be huge biz for WWE. Cena is going to be booed by some no matter what so I’d simply go with the trend.”
On who has the best shot to become the next WWE Champion: Reigns, Wyatt, Ambrose or Neville: “They all have skills without question but Reigns is at the top of the list IMO. Size, look athletic, etc are all there.”
On WWE scouting top talent: “There are some really good talents working in areas and for companies other than WWE and hopefully they will get their shot at earning bigger money in WWE in their careers as I’d surmise that the vast majority want to do. I’m relatively sure that WWE has their eyes on many of them.”
On if Sting should have won at WrestleMania and if he’s being used properly: “I think Sting’s debut match at Wrestlemania is now a thing of the past and it did not matter if he won or lost. He’s become relevant again which is good. He’s still a viable attraction if not overexposed.”
Check out more JR Q&A updates online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– This week’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which featured Paige’s engagement, drew just 804,000 viewers, down quite a bit from the 1.143 million viewers who tuned into last week’s episode.
– The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Little Rock, Arkansas for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
* Paige and Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi
* Kofi Kingston vs. D-Von Dudley
* Big Show vs. Cesaro
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens
* Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and Sheamus
– Longtime WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia and her band are going to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California this week to sing for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, as well as the Connor’s Cure charity. The group will be performing 2-4pm on Friday. Lilian Garcia tweeted the following to promote the appearance:
– The official Facebook page for Puerto Rico’s World Wrestling Council (WWC) promotion is pushing for Miguel Perez to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2016. Perez passed away in 2005, but worked for WWE in the late 1950s and 1960s. WWC is set to honor Perez at their upcoming Anniversario show later this month. WWC co-founder Carlos Colon was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2014.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Scott Hall is the guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show – Unleashed” podcast. The official description for the show, which you can download at PodcastOne.com reads as follows:
Steve Austin and Scott Hall meander through the early days of Scott’s pro-wrestling career. Hear stories about the territories, AWA, tag teaming with Curt Hennig, the steroid scandal, the best feedback Tully Blanchard ever gave him, how he became The Diamond Studd, and what it was like working with Jerry Lawler, Barry Windham, Dan Spivey, and Nick Bockwinkel. And the best thing of all – this is only part 1!
Alberto Del Rio, currently known as Alberto El Patron in AAA, is on a media tour to promote the new Combate Americas MMA promotion which he’ll be doing commentary for on NBC Universo (formerly mun2). Along the way, he gave an interview to Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden in which he spoke of various topics, including the somewhat controversial one of voluntarily unmasking when he signed with WWE. Del Rio is a second generation wrestler, the son of the legendary Dos Caras and nephew of not only Mil Mascaras, but also El Sicodelico. He was carrying on his father’s legacy as Dos Caras Jr. when he signed with WWE. Snowden asked him about making the change, and here’s what he had to say:
In Mexico we see the business in a different way. But when I moved here to the States and started to work for WWE, I saw quickly the differences between one place and the other.
Here you have to be able to communicate, to tell the audience what you are feeling, your emotions. If you’re feeling pain, if you’re happy, if you’re frustrated. It helps you sell your character even better.
As far what his father and uncles thought, he said:
They did approve my decision. Before doing it, before removing the mask, I asked them. Especially my dad. I asked my dad if he was good with the idea of me doing that. Because if he would have disagreed, I wouldn’t have done it. Ever.
All my decisions are based on what my father says, because he has been with me since the beginning of my career. The beginning of my life. For me, it’s really important what my dad has to say.
When I asked him, he was totally cool with the idea. He said “You belong with the most important wrestling company in the world. And removing the mask is going to take you to the place where you deserve to be. So be it.”
I did it and the rest is history.
In the full interview, Del Rio talks about his MMA career (where he usually wore his mask!), working for Combate Americas, CM Punk’s MMA prospects, and more.
– It is now confirmed that WWE has signed Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe and Amanda Saccomanno to deals. ZZ is currently working out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, while Amanda is filming for Total Divas.
– The WWE Network has added episodes of ECW TV from 1996. You can watch them on demand at any time.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which is now available, features an interview with The Ultimate Warrior’s widow, Dana Warrior. You can download the show at PodcastOne.com.
Roman Reigns recently participated in a Q&A session at Wizard World Comic Con in San Jose, CA. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
His Dream Matches: “I’ve been in a couple of tag matches against Triple H. I would love to have a singles match with him. Let’s go completely different ends of the spectrum. I’ll fight Triple H or Kevin Owens.”
Facing The Rock One Day: “I think it would have to be a very big match, not just a regular match. There would have to be a title, something that we are trying to win. That way you have true competition, not just between each other, but for something. And I think the WWE Championship would be the best thing to put that on the line for.”
Main Eventing WrestleMania 31: “It’s something I will cherish for the rest of my life. If I never get another opportunity [to main event WrestleMania], deep down in my heart, I know that I did my thing, I represented, and I just hope that everybody sees that”.
– Next week’s TNA Impact Wrestling will features TNA World Heavyweight champion Ethan Carter III (with Jeff Hardy in his corner) defending against Rockstar Spud.
– Gail Kim became the new TNA Knockouts Champion on last night’s Impact Wrestling as she defeated Brooke Tessmacher, Awesome Kong and Lei’D Tapa. This kicks off her 5th reign with the Knockouts title.
– Team TNA defeated Team GFW in the “Winner Takes All” Lethal Lockdown match this week on Impact, effectively ending the Global Force Wrestling invasion and marking Jeff Jarrett’s latest departure from the company. TNA President Dixie Carter tweeted:
Victory feels good. #TNA has a bright future ahead without @RealJeffJarrett in it.
Apollo Crews (formerly Uhaa Nation) recently spoke with WWE.com about his time in NXT thus far. After impressing fans since making his in-ring debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, Crews says his goal is to become NXT’s most well-rounded talent.
“I often get told by many they’ve never seen a guy who can do what I do in the ring. I want to be to the complete package by having all angles and aspects covered. I don’t want to do all things well — I want everything I do to be great. Some people like to settle for less, I always have to strive and keep pushing for more.”
Crews also commented on using people’s high expectations of him as motivation.
“All I can do is go out there and give everything I have. My mom watched me at Takeover: Brooklyn and said she was amazed, and it was only the second time she’s seen me wrestle. My dad very frequently lets me know how proud he is, and extended family in Nigeria, that I don’t even know or have met, have also reached out and expressed how proud they are. My kid sister, who isn’t even a fan of wrestling, watched me. The NXT fans have shown me nothing but love, too. I appreciate all the support, and it makes me push that much harder.”
– Regarding the Camp WWE adult cartoon, the episodes that were shot had to be redone because Hulk Hogan had to be taken out. In the past, CM Punk had to be removed as well.
– Rachel Ellering, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Ellering, is currently training at the Lance Storm Wrestling Academy. Ellering is a bronze modelist in powerlifting and is a big pro wrestling fan. Below is a recent photo:
* September 11th in Edmonton drew 4,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
* September 12th in Gainesville for NXT was sold out
* September 12th in Huntsville, AL drew 3,000 fans (Randy Orton tour)
* September 12th in Calgary drew 3,000 fans (Reigns tour)
* September 13th in Tupelo, MS drew 3,500 fans (Orton tour)
* September 13th in Jonesboro, AR drew 1,200 fans (Reigns tour)
* September 14th in Memphis for RAW drew 7,500 fans
WWE’s former head of security Jimmy Noonan recently appeared on the Wrestling Mayhem podcast and said somebody needs to be fired after the recent slew of incidents with fans getting involved at live events.
Over the past several weeks, all 3 former members of The Shield have had brushes with rowdy fans getting out of line:
Roman Reigns was hit in the head by Money In The Bank briefcase thrown by a fan at a live event (Video).
Dean Ambrose was nearly attacked by a fan who jumped the ringside barrier at the 8/5 Smackdown tapings before getting taken down by security (Video).
On the 9/7 edition of WWE RAW, a fan crashed the show and walked to the ring with WWE Champion Seth Rollins during his entrance (Video).
Noonan, who worked for WWE from 1999 to 2007, says he’s actually offended by the way WWE has handled the situation, “It’s getting embarrassing. I’m getting offended by it.” Noonan said. “You don’t get caught three times in one month. If you do, you’re fucking up. Somebody is messing up. Not shitting on WWE security, but somebody is making a mistake.”
Despite the incidents, Noonan doesn’t think WWE will take action against their security team.
“I think somebody should be fired. I think if you’re security and you mess up, you should be fired. Will they? Probably not.” He also said that there’s always a concern that someone who is armed with a knife or other weapon, or a legit fighter, would get in the ring and hurt one of the wrestlers. He said that the biggest fear was during the Austin era since it would do damage to his character if someone jumped in the ring and got the best of Austin.