SEScoops

Author: Staff

  • WWE Defends Itself Against “More False Allegations”

    World Wrestling Entertainment issued a press release on Wednesday in response to the Democratic Party in Connecticut requesting a federal investigation into whether WWE and Linda McMahon’s campaign worked together in launching the “Stand up for WWE.” There is a federal election law that prohibits corporations from working directly  with political campaigns.

    Earlier this week, the Connecticut Democratic Party spokeswoman Kate Hansen said, “Linda McMahon’s $50 million attack machine now has corporate reinforcements, thanks to the ‘Stand up for WWE’ campaign launched by her husband Vince McMahon. No coincidence, it looks a lot like her political campaign… except this one is probably against the law.”

    WWE issued the following statement:

    WWE DEFENDS ITSELF

    STAMFORD, Conn., October 20, 2010 – Due to what the WWE® considers malicious and misleading attacks reported by some members of the media, the company on Monday began a global initiative to defend itself called “Stand Up for WWE” which has resulted in yet more false allegations.

    “World Wrestling Entertainment will not be bullied or intimidated by whining allegations intended to censor our freedom of speech,” said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE.

    WWE will fervently fight against any attempt to muzzle or trample its First Amendment rights. Our fans, employees, and performers are united in this grassroots effort to “Stand Up for WWE.”

    World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly, PG content across all of its platforms including television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Mexico City. Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to https://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

    Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at corporate.wwe.com.

  • Trish Stratus Attends Charity Celebrity Gala (Picture)

    Former WWE Diva Trish Stratus attended the Bell Celebrity Gala last week in Toronto.

    The event was to raise money for the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation. $1.16 million was raised.

    Here’s a picture of the still stunning Trish Stratus at the gala:

  • Jersey Shore’s J-Woww Reportedly Wants To Wrestle Cookie

    TMZ.com has yet another update in the ongoing feud between Jersey Shore star “J-Woww” and TNA Knockout Cookie. After J-Woww’s appearance on last week’s episode of TNA iMPACT! culminated with a catfight between the two women, Cookie continued talking trash to TMZ about the Jersey shore star.

    The latest is that TMZ sources close to J-Woww say, “Cookie didn’t even get one good punch in with her .. J-Woww would be down for a rematch with that trash.”

    J-Woww reportedly got paid $15,000 for last week’s appearance and the ongoing war of words has received a lot of coverage on TMZ ever since.

    No word yet on how close J-Woww is to reaching a deal with TNA to wrestle Cookie, but the TMZ source sounds confident it’s going to happen.

    * Pictures of J-Woww’s CATFIGHT From TNA iMPACT!

  • First Reviews Are In For Big Show’s “Knukclehead” Movie


    The first reviews are coming in for the latest WWE studios   production, “Knucklehead,” starring the Big Show. The movie will have a   limited release this weekend and go straight to DVD on November 9th.

    Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York called it “A distinctly  shameless   and shoddily made family comedy, this  WWE production for  wrestler  Big  Show turns an already saccharine plot  into a toxic,  fart-laden   piledriver.”

    “A  mere plot summary can’t begin to  approximate  the way you’ll feel   manhandled by a stridently wacky  orchestral score  (more syrup for  your  pancakes?) and story elements  seemingly  selected by a brain-dead   Hulkamaniac,” Rothkopf said. “Is it fair to  include both an unattached  blond teacher and a cute orphan with  abandonment issues? Wight himself  is a benign, dopey   presence; you  don’t mind him. But it’s a mistake  for the big lug to   shoot so  broadly for the middle. It takes a special  kind of failure to   make  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s efforts look like  models of sparkling   wit  and unpredictability.”

    In another review, Nick Shager of Slant Magazine asks, “If a WWE-produced film can’t get squared-circle action right, what can be expected of it?”

    Check out the “Knucklehead” page at RottenTomatoes.com to see more critic reviews.

  • Bret Hart Rips On TNA, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff & Russo

    WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was interviewed this week by Brian Fritz of Fanhouse.com to promote the new SmackDown vs. RAW 2011 video game.

    Hart had some pretty harsh words about TNA Wrestling, saying it’s run by people who don’t know anything about the wrestling business and feature dinosaurs on television that take time away from the company’s real stars. Here are some highlights of what Bret said about:

    Hogan, Bischoff & Russo Together Again In TNA:

    “Well, I’ll be honest. After being in WCW and being around them, you start to realize that these guys — Bischoff in particular — never understood or knew anything about wrestling. They just struck me as guys that didn’t understand wrestling. To see them working with another company now, to me, I think you’ll eventually see that they don’t know anything. They didn’t know anything then and they don’t know anything now. They’re not going to make a difference anywhere they go.”

    TNA’s Young Talent Getting Smothered By Dinosaurs:

    “Yeah, competition is always good. I have a lot of respect for the young wrestlers there like AJ Styles and Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe, Abyss, different guys. I know they’ve got a lot of talent there and guys that I consider good friends of mine including RVD (Rob Van Dam). I wish them all the best and I hope the younger stars get a chance to show what they’ve got rather than coming back to the old dinosaurs like Hulk Hogan or Eric Bischoff with the same old certain babble that he’s been doing for 10 years when he’ll babble about nothing. He somehow positions himself to be a star on the show and I think there’s real stars that need to get that light and not him.”

  • Bret Hart Talks About His Future & Appreciation Night (Video)

    WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was interviewed this week by Brian Fritz of AOL Fanhouse.

    You can read the entire WWE interview at Fanhouse.com.

    Here are some highlights of what Bret Hart said about:

    His WWE Future: “I have every intention of working with them for the next couple of years. They’ve been pretty good to me and I’ve been pretty happy with how they’re treating me. We’re kind of just waiting for the next step in the steady progression of Bret “The Hitman” Hart returning to the WWE. I’m not quite sure where they go from here but I still expect to be part of things for quite a while.”

    Bret Hart Appreciation Night at MSG: “It’s the biggest thing I’ve done since my comeback. I always wanted to wrestle in Madison Square Garden one more time. I used to tell Vince McMahon long before I ever worked with him again, before I came back to the company and buried the hatchet, but I always told him … He wanted me to do WrestleMania in Toronto for example and I think they wanted me to do something else at one of the other WrestleManias after that, it might have been the one in LA and he called me up to be a part of it and I said nah. I’m really just waiting for you to have something at the Garden. If you ever have anything in New York. I always felt that my strongest U.S., American fan base was in New York and that’s where they kind of loved me the most and I almost felt that I owed it to them to come back one time. When they brought it up to me a few months ago that they were going to do something with me in New York, I thought that’s going to be a magical moment for me that I’ll never forget. And it was great. I loved every bit of it. Even now, I still sort of pinch myself and ask myself if it really happened, did I wrestle in New York. I thought I had pretty good match there too. I thought the whole thing was a very special night for me.”

    Here’s a fan-shot video from Bret Hart’s recent return to Madison Square Garden for Bret Hart Appreciation Night:

    His Favorite WWE Superstars: “I’ve been really impressed with (John) Morrison who is amazing to me. Kofi (Kingston) is another guy who has some amazing stuff. Some of these guys today can really move like Evan Bourne who really impresses me with his wrestling style. Even Jack Swagger and some of these other bigger guys are quite impressive. I’ve always been a big fan of Rey Mysterio, he’s one of my favorites. I love how he seems to give 100 percent every night and pull off these five-star matches all the time. He’s an innovator that comes up with moves and does things that people have never seen before which is so hard to do in wrestling. Everything has been done or seems like everything has been done before so when somebody comes up with something that is totally new it always impresses me. The girls in wrestling are also quite impressive. The lady wrestlers of today are a billion miles ahead of the lady wrestlers of 20, 30 years ago. They’ve really taken it up a notch. Melina and so many of these young girls are such fantastic performers and hard workers.”

    * Picture of BRET HART & His 27-Year-Old Wife (VIEW HERE)

  • Connecticut Democrats Slam WWE For Its “Stand Up” Campaign

    Connecticut Democratic State party spokeswoman Kate Hansen attacked WWE on Tuesday for “Stand Up for WWE” campaign that launched The Democratic party, who are currently campaigning against Linda McMahon’s bid for the United States senate, claim the campaign is an “illegal coordination” to get more people to vote for Linda McMahon. Hansen told CQ Politics:

    “Linda McMahon’s $50 million attack machine now has corporate reinforcements, thanks to the ‘Stand up for WWE’ campaign launched by her husband Vince McMahon. No coincidence, it looks a lot like her political campaign… except this one is probably against the law.” There is a federal election law that prohibits corporations from working directly  with political campaigns.

    Hansen added, “Linda McMahon’s claim that her husband’s aggressive public relations campaign is independent of her own political campaign is unbelievable, particularly after Vince McMahon specifically cites the Senate race as the reason for the offensive.”

    WWE Spokesperson Robert Zimmerman defended the company’s intention of the Stand Up campaign, saying,  “It had absolutely nothing to do with the Linda McMahon campaign. It’s trying to correct inaccuracies that have been reported. … The attention that’s been put on WWE by Linda’s opponents have focused media attention on the company.”

  • WWE RAW Rating For Monday’s “Go Home” Show

    The ratings are in for Monday’s WWE RAW, the final show before Sunday’s WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view.

    The 10/18 episode of WWE RAW drew a a 3.09 cable rating and averaged 4.47 million viewers. This is up from last week’s 2.9 and virtually even with RAW’s 10-week average.

    The first hour drew a 3.06 rating (with 4.42 million viewers) and the second hour did a 3.12 (4.53 million viewers).

    Raw’s viewership was up nearly five percent compared to last week, a modest sign of momentum heading into Bragging Rights.

    (Credit to pwtorch.com for the ratings data used in this report)

  • More On The New “Stand Up For WWE” Campaign (Videos)

    WWE has released a series of videos hyping the new “Stand Up For WWE” WWE is asking its fans to help them combat unfair and biased attacks from “certain politicians and media outlets.” WWE says they’re trying to “correct factual inaccuracies” that have been reported about the company during Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign.

    Vince McMahon’s Address to the WWE Universe:

    Longtime WWE Employees Stand Up For WWE

    RAW Celebrity Guest Hosts Stand Up For WWE:

  • Why Vince Missed RAW, Hart Dynasty Breakup, Jackson

    – We reported on Monday that WWE chairman Vince McMahon was scheduled to appear on this week’s live RAW. While there were plans for Vince to appear live and promote the company’s new “Stand Up For WWE” campaign, time constraints, prevented this from happening and they just aired a video package.

    – It appeared that WWE was originally planning to turn David Hart Smith heel against Tyson Kidd, it now appears that Tyson Kidd is the one going heel.

    – As we saw on RAW, Ezekiel Jackson returned to television and was added to Team RAW at Bragging Rights. Mark Henry had been rumored to be the final member of Team RAW, but Henry’s brother has been fighting for his life after suffering a stroke on October 3rd and Henry wasn’t able to guarantee he could be at the PPV on Sunday.

  • MVP Continues To Vent His Frustrations About WWE

    SmackDown superstar MVP is back on Twitter venting his frustrations about being misused in WWE. The former United States champion says he’s not happy with the way things currently are, but keeps an upbeat attitude and says he’s not leaving the company any time soon.

    When a fan asked him last night if he was happy in WWE, MVP responded,

    “Not my finest hours but life is all about peaks & valleys! Tomorrow is a new day!”

    Another fan asked MVP if he has lost his passion for wrestling. He replied:

    “I LOVE wrestling! Not crazy about the “business”.”

    MVP later said the following about his relationship with WWE:

    “All relationships have ups & downs. You work thru ‘em. I’M NOT LEAVING! Let ‘em speculate on that. I’m pretty candid!”

  • CM Punk Debuts New Bleached Blonde Hair

    RAW superstar CM Punk bleached his hair over the weekend and wrestled at Saturday’s live event in Kennewick, Washington with the new look.

    The blond look didn’t last long – as Punk was back to dark hair on Monday’s RAW.

    Here’s a picture of Punk wrestling with blond hair:

  • SmackDown Main Event, R-Truth’s Criminal Past & More

    – WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. World Heavyweight Champion Kane has been announced for this week’s Friday Night SmackDown.

    – Matches taped before RAW tonight for this week’s WWE Superstars were:

    • William Regal vs. Darren Young
    • The Usos vs. Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella.

    – RAW superstar R-Truth was not at Monday’s RAW because his criminal record prevents him from entering Canada. WWE aired an R-Truth music video on RAW in his absence. He is still a member of Team RAW and will be at Bragging Rights this weekend.

  • WWE Ranks The Top 25 Talkers In Wrestling History

    The official WWE website has named “the Top 25 talkers in WWE history.”

    Comment below and tell us if you agree with their rankings.. Edge above Jesse Ventura?  CM Punk & JBL above Hulk Hogan?

    Here’s the list ..

    25. Sheamus
    24. Rick Rude
    23. Santino Marella
    22. The Million Dollar Man
    21. The Miz
    20. Jesse Ventura
    19. Triple H
    18. Paul Heyman
    17. Edge
    16. Mr. McMahon
    15. Superstar Billy Graham
    14. Mick Foley
    13. Hulk Hogan
    12. CM Punk
    11. Randy Savage
    10. JBL
    9. Bobby Heenan
    8. Dusty Rhodes
    7. John Cena
    6. Jake Roberts
    5. Chris Jericho
    4. Ric Flair
    3. The Rock
    2. Roddy Piper
    1. Steve Austin

    Click here to check out the WWE website’s feature.

  • Eric Bischoff Comments On The “Stand Up For WWE” Campaign

    TNA executive Eric Bischoff is speaking out about Vince McMahon’s new “Stand Up For WWE” campaign, lending support to his former employer.

    “Good for Vince,” Bischoff wrote. “I don’t blame him for wanting to use his platform to activate WWE fans and speak out against some of the mainstream media b.s. that has been flung at Linda McMahon and the WWE.

    “Linda’s opponent and his surrogate campaign staffers over at MSNBC, have used their ‘news’ format to trash a woman who has raised a family, overcome financial challenges, and helped build a billion dollar industry that is weathering the financial bon-fire that her challengers predecessor, Chris Dodd provided the lighter fluid for with his role in the disastrous bail-out debacle.”

    You can read more from Bischoff at EricBischoff.com.

  • RAW Preview: Cena & Orton vs. Harris & McGillicutty, Bret Hart

    Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and is the “go home” show for Sunday’s WWE Bragging Rights PPV.

    The Guest Hosts for tonight’s RAW will be  the stars of the new WWE Studios movie “Knucklehead” – SmackDown star the Big Show and actor Bobb’e J. Thompson.

    The main event will see WWE Champion Randy Orton team up with John Cena against NXT Season 2 rookies Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. Wade Barrett announced last week that if Harris and McGillicutty win the match, they’ll be officially added to Nexus.

    One more spot remains on Team RAW for Sunday’s Bragging Rights PPV. The final member is expected to be revealed tonight.

    The arena website is also promoting an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart for tonight’s show.

  • Chris Jericho Talks About Wrestlers Doing Outside Projects

    WWE star Chris Jericho, who is currently touring the UK with his metal band Fozzy, was recently interviewed by the UK Sun. In part 1 of the interview, Jericho spoke about other former WWE stars who have left the company to explore other projects in the entertainment industry, such as The Rock, Mickie James and Maria.

    Here are some highlights of what Jericho said about:

    Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Hollywood career:

    “The Rock is a great guy, he’s a great actor, he was great wrestler — one of my favourites — but I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to come back to the show once in a while.”

    Why He’s Able to do Other Projects & Not Lose His Spot In WWE:

    “At the risk of sounding egotistical, I’ve reached a certain point where you know what Jericho brings to the table. You know the value that I have to the show, both on camera and behind the scenes in the locker room as an idea guy. So I think I can get away with a lot more. Plus I think it’s always been understood about Jericho is that there is another side to me. When I walked into the WWE I had a band, there’s always been stuff like that going on. If I was just some guy wet behind the ears in his first year in the business there’s no way I’d be able to get away with all this stuff.”

    We’ll post highlights from part 2 of the interview when its online, stay tuned.

  • JR Blog: Matt Hardy Leaving WWE, Brock Lesnar, ECW

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com .. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

    Brock Lesnar’s Fight This Weekend: “Brock Lesnar is reportedly at 265 as we speak so there will be no cutting weight for the UFC Heavyweight Champion for next Saturday’s eagerly anticipated title defense against undefeated Cain Velásquez. I see this as good for Lesnar fans because already being at the required fighting weight will prevent Brock from having to tweak his diet or training regime prior to the fight in Anaheim.”

    ECW’s Biggest Star: “Very arguable…very subjective…to me it was Taz in the ring but the MVP outside the ring was obviously Paul Heyman who captained a ‘pirate ship’ of eclectic personalties. Taz would have been the biggest star from ECW to hit it big in WWE if injuries had not derailed him in a WWE career that started with Taz tapping Kurt Angle in Madison Square Garden. I always thought Taz could have been a major player in the ring for WWE.”

    Matt Hardy Leaving WWE: “Here’s wishing Matt Hardy well as he navigates the next phase of his career. Matt will likely have some time to reflect on his career and intensely prepare for the next phase.  Matt had a great run in WWE where he gained notoriety and earned a fine living. Matt wanted to move on from WWE after being there for over a decade which is pretty amazing once one thinks about it. I remember hiring the Hardy’s back in the day and even remember that they designed and physically made their own wrestling attire. How many wrestlers can you picture working away at a sewing machine?”

  • WWE Superstars Party At Daytona Beach (Pictures)

    Reader Marissa has sent in pictures of several WWE superstars and Divas partying at Daytona Beach …

    Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, the Bella Twins, Santino and the Great Khali were spotted waiting in line to get on the “slingshot” ride two hours before the recent “Raw World Tour” live event. Check out the Great Khali’s sweet fanny pack…

  • Matt Hardy Comments On His WWE Release

    Shortly after it was announced that he was released by WWE, Matt Hardy began posting on Twitter.com/MattHardyBrand .. Here’s what Hardy wrote:

    “What’s up all? I hope today is treating u good. I’m excited, just heard the news an announcement I’ve been waitin 4 is happening shortly! :) ”

    “Thank God! :) I swear.. It was harder for me to get released then it was to get hired! This is ABSOLUTELY what I want, now I can be me!”

    “I wanna thank WWE for giving me an opportunity, & I thank all the people & friends that helped me there. But I HAD to move on to be happy.”

    “I wanna thank JR, who hired me, Michael Hayes, who taught me SO much, & Vince, for letting me make a living & learn from him for 12 years.”

    “While some of you make look at this as an ending-I promise you, this is THE MUTHAF*CKING BEGINNING FOR MATT HARDY! Now I can create change!”

  • Breaking News: Matt Hardy Released By WWE

    WWE has announced that Matt Hardy has been officially released from the company.

    The official statement from the WWE website reads as follows:

    “WWE has come to terms on the release of Matt Hardy, effective as of October 15, 2010. WWE wishes Matt Hardy the best in his future endeavors.”

    UPDATE: Matt Hardy Comments On His WWE Release

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has commented on the situation, writing on Twitter:

    “WWE has come to terms on the release of Matt Hardy. Know no details just that fact. Good luck to Matt. Probably best 4 all involved.”

    Over the past several weeks, Hardy had been documenting his interest in a WWE release in YouTube videos.

    Hardy is expected to join his brother Jeff in TNA Wrestling. Assuming the termination of his contract comes with the standard 90-day no-compete clause, he would be free to show up in TNA in January.

  • Anderson’s Head Busted Open (Picture), They, Rayne, Prichard

    – The new name for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Hardy, Abyss and Jeff Jarrett’s group is Immortals. On last night’s iMPACT, Hogan’s Immortals joined up with Ric Flair’s Fortune to go against Dixie Carter. The main storyline now is that Dixie Carter unknowingly signed over control of TNA to Bischoff and Hogan.

    – Madison Rayne is now the TNA Knockouts Champion after Tara laid down for her on last night’s iMPACT.

    – As reported on over the weekend, former long-time WWE talent and Vince McMahon associate Bruce Prichard was backstage at TNA’s live iMPACT! taping on October 7. According to a TNA source, Prichard’s new role with the company will be as a producer. Prichard helped Vince Russo produce backstage pre-tapes at TNA TV tapings this week.

    – TNA star Ken Anderson wrote on Twitter.com/secondpower that despite suffering a gash on the back of his head this week, he’ll be at TNA’s live events this weekend.

    Anderson posted a graphic picture of the bloody gash (below) and wrote the following about it:

    “Not too bad, but trying to not get a staph infection from the filthy canvas in my brain……ummm……wait one…..”

  • Bret Hart On RAW, The Rock On TMZ, Linda’s Poll Numbers Slide

    – Bret Hart is advertised locally for this Monday’s Raw, which takes place in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

    — The Hartford Courant had a front page story this week about drug issues in WWE and Linda McMahon’s Senatorial campaign.WWE’s Medical Director Dr. Joseph Maroon is quoted in the article, saying, “We have no talent now on steroids.”

    — The latest Quinnipiac poll, taken before Tuesday’s debate, showed Richard Blumenthal’s lead over Linda up to 54-43%.

    — The New York Times today endorsed Blumenthal and said that he’s apologized for his Vietnam falsity, but that McMahon is not ready to take on matters like the war, the economy and other major issues.

    — A Texas steroids-education group had a conference call on Wednesday blasting WWE for their track record.

    – TMZ.com caught up with The Rock this week, who talks about the time he hit Mick Foley with 14 chairshots to the head in front of his kids. They showed the clip from King of the Ring back in the late 90s and the shots are brutal. You can check out the video here.

  • Video: Ted DiBiase Feeds A Wild Alligator

    Ted DiBiase is the latest WWE star to opened a new YouTube Channel and has posted his first video with this caption:

    “This video was out on the farm and everyone said I woudnt feed the gator. Were they wrong!!”

  • Evan Bourne Undergoes Surgery For Torn Rotator Cuff

    RAW superstar Evan Bourne underwent surgery on Tuesday for his torn rotator cuff.

    Bourne posted the following on his Twitter account:

    “Thanks for all the well wishes. My surgery was Tuesday, and I’m already the road to recovery! In the meantime, stay AirBourne! Peace”

    As previously reported, Bourne is expected to be for the remainder of the year while recovering.

    He was written out of WWE storylines on Monday’s RAW after a post-match attack at the hands of CM Punk.