Chris Jericho is teaming up with America’s largest podcast network to take his podcasting game to the next level.
On Wednesday it was announced that Jericho will be teaming up with Podcast One to launch The Jericho Network. The deal was formulated due to the success of his Talk Is Jericho podcast. PodcastOne will handle Jericho’s production, distribution, and product marketing. The first host on the network will be former WCW star Konnan, who will have his own recurring podcast.
According to PodcastOne founder Norm Pattiz, Talk Is Jericho is one of the most popular podcasts on his company’s lineup. All podcasts on the new Jericho Network will be available exclusively on PodcastOne.com and their mobile app.
In an official statement released on Wednesday, Jericho said he’s stoked to bring some of the most talented, interesting, and “hilariously ridiculous” hosts to PodcastOne via his new network.
“My overall plan is for TJN to be an extension of the diverse array of subjects and guests I already feature on Talk Is Jericho twice a week,” Jericho said. “Get ready to be amazed, amused and entertained by ALL of the hosts and programs that will be added to TJN over the upcoming months…and don’t forget to wear a helmet!”
In a new interview with Kayfabe Commentaries, former WWE star Hornswoggle talks about the incident that apparently ruined his friendship with CM Punk.
When asked about why his friendship with Punk ended, Swoggle says it was all over a phone number. Swoggle says he lost his phone and asked Punk for a mutual friend’s number, and it set off Punk. He says Punk took it as Swoggle “using” him, and that was the end of the relationship.
CM Punk was released by WWE in 2014 and Swoggle was released in May of this year.
Former WWE World Champion Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson is scheduled to headline next year’s Hollywood Walk of Fame induction event. Johnson will be inducted in the motion picture category alongside Amy Adams, Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Pratt among others. Other inductees next year include Hall & Oates, Ice Cube, and *NSYNC.
There are 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard in California that feature stars with celebrity names on them. There is a fee of $30,000 charged to the inductee to have their star placed on the walk.
The Rock’s latest movie Central Intelligence is currently in theaters. Universal has already tapped The Rock for the next installment in their Fast & Furious franchise and built two personal gyms for him near their filming location.
WWE has released the above trailer for their upcoming DVD set Living on a Razor’s Edge – The Scott Hall Story. The 3-disc set will be released on July 5th in the U.S. and July 4th in the U.K., with an extended preview hitting the WWE Network this week.
The documentary portion of the set will deal with Hall’s rise to fame, his personal demons, and now training his son to carry on his legacy in the wrestling business.
Here is the entire content listing for the set:
Disc 1
MAIN FEATURE (DOCUMENTARY):
A Life-Changing Event
Back in Orlando
A Storybook Life
Moving to Florida
Second-Degree
Getting His Start
AWA Experience
It Ain’t New York City
Razor Is Born
Another Level
Humble Superstar
A New Situation
Making Things Bigger
Falling Apart
A Dark Place
Fighting On A Daily Basis
Just What I Needed
One Place To Go
Bad Times Don’t Last
Back in the Family
Disc 2
DEBUT VIGNETTES:
From The Gutter
El Jefe
Chicas Are For Fun
Taking What You Want
Cleaning The Table
Beach Bully
Making A Wish
Forget The Past
Razor Ramon Outtakes
STORIES:
Just As Big As The Wrestlers
The Oz Mask
Scott Ramon
Let Them Be Kids
Don’t Ever Leapfrog Again
Weekend in ECW
Wake Up Call
WrestleMania 31
MATCHES:
American Starship vs. Inferno #1 and Inferno #2
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling • December 25, 1984
Scott Hall vs. Michael ‘P.S.’ Hayes
AWA Championship Wrestling • November 19, 1985
$100,000 Battle Royal
AWA Championship Wrestling • November 28, 1985
“In This Corner” with Scott Hall
AWA Championship Wrestling • December 20, 1985
AWA Tag Team Championship Match
Scott Hall & Curt Hennig vs. The Long Riders
AWA WrestleRock • April 20, 1986
The Diamond Studd vs. Tommy Rich
WCW Clash of the Champions XV • June 14, 1991
The Diamond Exchange vs. Brian Lee & Chris Sullivan
World Championship Wrestling • December 7, 1991
Razor Ramon vs. Paul Van Dale
Superstars • August 8, 1992
WWE Championship Match
Bret “Hit Man” Hart vs. Razor Ramon
Royal Rumble • January 24, 1993
Razor Ramon vs. The Kid
RAW • May 17, 1993
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon
Saginaw, MI • September 1, 1993
Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon vs. Rick “The Model” Martel
RAW • October 11, 1993
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania X • March 20, 1994
Disc 3
Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon (w/ Walter Payton) vs. Diesel (w/ Shawn Michaels)
WWE tapes SmackDown and Main Event at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida tonight.
WWE Main Event taping:
– The Shining Stars def. Jack Swagger and Zack Ryder
– Enzo Amore and Big Cass def. The Dudley Boyz
– Goldust and R-Truth def. The Ascension
WWE SmackDown taping:
– Cesaro def. Sheamus, Apollo Crews and Alberto Del Rio in a Fatal 4 Way to become the new #1 contender for the U.S. Title. He will face Rusev for the title later tonight. Sheamus beats down Cesaro after the match. Rusev comes out and says he’s starting the match right away.
– Rusev def. Cesaro to retain the WWE United States Title.
– Dana Brooke def. Billie Kay in a singles match.
– Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae is announced for later tonight.
– The Miz comes out with his Intercontinental Championship to host this week’s edition of MizTV. Ambrose is his guest, and it leads to a brawl where Miz leaves with the upper hand.
– The Wyatt Family makes their entrance and Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan squash two local wrestlers.
– Sasha Banks def. Summer Rae in a singles match.
– Dean Ambrose def. The Miz in the main event with the Dirty Deeds. This was a non-title match.
– After the cameras stop rolling, The Wyatt Family circles Ambrose in the ring until Cesaro and Sami Zayn come out for the save. Ambrose, Cesaro and Zayn defeated the Wyatts in the dark match main event.
Stephanie McMahon says Brock Lesnar is in one of the most unique positions of any WWE star. In an interview with Business Insider conducted last week at the Cannes Lions festival in France, Stephanie talked about Lesnar returning to the UFC octagon while still under contract with WWE.
Stephanie says the UFC and WWE are not competitors because one is competitive sport and one is entertainment. Stephanie says WWE is more like a Hollywood production than a sport, and WWE has an advantage as far as television goes because they can script their protagonists and antagonists.
“UFC, they can make a big star but the second that person loses, they lose credibility, and how do you continue to make that star rise?” Stephanie said. “So I think [WWE has] the best of both worlds and the opportunity to tell the stories in the way we want to tell them.”
Stephanie claims Brock fighting for UFC isn’t a promotional opportunity for WWE, and the company isn’t necessarily “supporting” the fight.
“In Brock Lesnar’s case it was really a special case that we are allowing him to do this fight [against Mark Hunt on July 9]. But like you said it’s not really a cross-promotional opportunity, but we are allowing him to participate in that fight,” Stephanie said. “We are not supporting the fight necessarily but, again, it’s not a competitor to us and the more that our superstars, that’s how we refer to our talent, the more they do outside of WWE, the more awareness it generates and the broader the audience can be that is then brought back into our properties. So we recognize the value of that.”
Paul Heyman was recently interviewed by ESPN where the main topic of conversation was Brock Lesnar. Heyman said Lesnar’s UFC return is the “greatest thing to ever happen to him” because competition is “in his blood.”
The topic of conversation moved to WWE and their upcoming draft. Heyman put over how big of a deal it is that SmackDown is going live on Tuesday nights, and what WWE needs to do to make sure the brand split isn’t “doomed”
“I think it’s paramount. SmackDown has to come across as a brand that is truly competing with Monday Night Raw. If the brand is not competitive with WWE in terms of talent, production, look, presentation — just in terms of the manner in which the announcers get to describe the product — it’s doomed,” Heyman said. “But I don’t see it going down that way. Vince McMahon is not known for doing things half-ass and I’m sure that the directive within WWE is that as of July 19 when this brand split happens there will be an equal and distinctive roster on each side and that they are going to compete.”
The former ECW promoter was also asked about Roman Reigns, who was suspended last week for failing a drug test under the WWE Wellness Policy.
“I don’t know any better advice I can give someone than to say I make no excuses and I own this,” Heyman said of the Wellness Policy violation. “That’s called accountability and it’s the same thing I teach my children. The man took accountability for his actions.
You can read Heyman’s entire interview with ESPN here.
This week’s episode of WWE RAW airs live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Stars advertised for tonight’s show include Dean Ambrose, John Cena, AJ Styles, and Seth Rollins.
– Seth Rollins comes out to the ring with a mic to open the show. Rollins says Reigns’ mistake he made that got him suspended soils Seth Rollins’ good name. Rollins mocks Reigns’ apology he wrote on Twitter about the Wellness Policy suspension, and says he owns Reigns. Dean Ambrose interrupts and says as far as he’s concerned, the triple threat match at Battleground is still on. This brings out AJ Styles, who says says the match should remain a triple threat and he should get the spot. The three argue until John Cena comes out and says he deserves Reigns’ spot. Stephanie McMahon comes out and says Rollins has to face John Cena tonight, and AJ has to face Dean Ambrose. If Cena and AJ can win, they’ll be added to the title match at Battleground. Stephanie wishes good luck to everyone except Dean.
– Paige & Sasha Banks def. Dana Brooke & Charlotte: RAW cuts to commercial shortly after the bell. Back from the break, Dana is working on Paige up against the ropes. Charlotte gets the tag and continues the offense until Paige hits a kick to the midsection. Sasha and Brooke get the tags and Sasha hits some knee strikes in the corner for a 2 count. After a brief distraction by Charlotte, Sasha hits the backstabber and the Banks Statement for the win.
– Titus def. Rusev : Titus gets in all the offense in the opening moments and hits a spinning powerslam for a 2 count. Rusev comes back with a kick and a series of elbows on Titus. Titus tries to mount a comeback but Rusev drops him with a spinning heel kick. Rusev goes to the outside and Titus follows, they collide with a double clothesline then Titus throws Rusev over the fan barricade and wins via countout.
– Stephanie is on the phone in the back and gets interrupted by Kane. The Miz and Maryse walk over to complain about not being treated like stars, and Kane says The Miz should be more concerned with defending his IC Title. She says his opponent will be a surprise.
– Seth Rollins def. John Cena: Both men are cautious in the opening moments until Rollins hits a kick to the midsection and beats down Cena. Rollins hits a dropkick for a 2 count, but Cena comes back with a dropkick of his own. Rollins hits an elbow and the Blockbuster neckbreaker off the top for another 2 count. Cena comes back and goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Rollins kicks him in the face and sends Cena rolling out of the ring. Back in the ring, Cena hits a couple back suplexes and the Five Knuckle Shuffle for a 2 count. Rollins comes back with a superkick for a 2 count of his own. Cena hits a tornado DDT off the middle rope, and Rollins comes back with a powerbomb on Cena into the turnbuckles. Rollins goes for a frogsplash off the top but Cena rolls out of the way. Cena goes up top, but Rollins catches him with a suplex and a Falcon Arrow for another near-fall. Rollins attempts a Pedigree, but Cena gets out and comes back with an Attitude Adjustment, but Rollins gets his foot up on the ropes to break the pin. Rollins avoids another AA attempt, but Cena gets him in the STF instead. AJ and The Club come out and distract Cena, which leads to Rollins hitting the Pedigree for the win.
– Enzo & Cass def. Unknown jobbers: Enzo instructs the crowd to start doing the wave as soon as the bell rings. Very shortly after the bell, they hit the Bada Boom for the win.
– After the match, The Social Outcasts comes out to confront Enzo and Cass. They hit the ring and Cass sends Heath Slater to the floor with a big boot. The Outcasts retreat and Enzo and Call call them soft.
– In the latest segment with Darren Young and Bob Backlund, Backlund says they are going to usher in the Darren Young Era in WWE.
– Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae – No contest?: Natalya is on commentary for this one. Cole asks her why she attacked Becky Lynch twice, and Natalya says “enough is enough and it’s time for a change.” Before the bell, Becky attacks Natalya at ringside until the referee breaks it up.
– Jericho comes out to host The Highlight Reel with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Zayn says he wants to put an end to this rivalry with Owens at Battleground once and for all because it’s holding them back in their careers. They argue about who ruined their friendship and why Owens first turned on Zayn, and Owens agrees to a match at Battleground. Jericho agrees with Owens that Sami Zayn is a terrible friend, and says he wants to slap Zayn’s “stupid idiot face.” Jericho starts putting himself over too much and Owens and Zayn both lay him out with superkicks. Owens leaves the ring.
– Demon Kane def. The Miz via countout: The Miz’s IC Title is on the line in this one. Kane starts off with a big boot and goes for a chokeslam but The Miz escapes. The Miz starts working on Kane but Kane drops him with another big boot and works on him in the corner. Kane hits a side slam for a 2 count, then follows up with a suplex and a dropkick for another near-fall. Kane uppercuts The Miz and goes for a chokeslam, but Maryse distracts him and the ref from ringside. Maryse sells an ankle injury on the floor and The Miz gets himself counted out by bringing her to the back.
– In the back, Maryse reveals she faked her injury and The Miz says it was an award winning performance.
– Cesaro & Apollo Crews def. Sheamus & Alberto Del Rio: Apollo starts things off on the offensive against Del Rio, and he quickly tags in Cesaro who hits a cross body off the top for a 2 count. Sheamus runs in which leads to Del Rio getting the upper hand with a series of kicks. Del Rio goes for a stomp in the corner and Sheamus tags himself in before he hits it. Sheamus hits a knee and the Irish Curse backbreaker for 2. Apollo and Del Rio get the tags. Del Rio throws Apollo to the outside, then kicks his own partner Sheamus in the head. Del Rio walks to the back and Crews starts working on Sheamus at ringside. Back in the ring, Crews hits the spinning sit out powerbomb on Sheamus for the win.
– Dean Ambrose is in the back for an interview when Stephanie McMahon walks in. She says she’s appalled by Ambrose being the face of WWE, but Ambrose says deep down she really likes him.
– The New Day comes out dressed as The Wyatt Family. They cut a promo saying the Wyatts need a bowl of Booty-O’s. The lights cut out and the Wyatt Family comes out to interrupt. Bray says the world isn’t made up of rainbows and unicorns. Bray says Xavier is doubting what his partners are saying, and it cuts to black.
– In the back, Renee Young interviews the New Day. Big E and Kofi say messing with the Wyatts is a great idea, but Xavier walks away.
– Dean Ambrose def. AJ Styles: Seth Rollins is on commentary for this one, and the champion enters first. Ambrose and Styles lock up and Ambrose gets the upper hand in the opening moments. AJ comes back with a dropkick, then a series of elbows and a splash in the corner for a 2 count. Ambrose comes back with a fisherman suplex for a near-fall of his own. Ambrose hits a double underhook suplex off the top. Ambrose avoids a Phenomenal Forearm and a splash in the corner, but starts selling a knee injury. AJ gets him in the Calf Crusher but Ambrose gets out. Ambrose throws AJ to the outside then hits a suicide dive through the ropes. Back in the ring, AJ hits the Pele kick but Ambrose comes right back with a clothesline. The Club comes out and distracts Ambrose. AJ hits the brainbuster for a 2 count. Cena comes out and lays out Gallows and Anderson, then Ambrose hits the Dirty Deeds on AJ for the win.
– Gallows and Anderson attack Cena from behind on the outside, and Rollins attacks Ambrose from behind in the ring and hits a Pedigree. Styles, Gallows and Anderson beat down Cena on the ramp and they hit the Magic Killer on the top of the stage. Back in the ring, Rollins hits another Pedigree on Ambrose. Rollins and The Club celebrate separately to close out the show.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated this week, Kurt Angle reiterated that he won’t be returning to WWE for their upcoming draft. Angle says he’s spoken with Triple H, and that you might see the Olympic gold medalist back on either RAW or SmackDown sometime in 2017.
“I had a talk with WWE,” said Angle. “It’s confidential. I will not be returning for the draft. Possibly in the future, most likely next year, but that is not a guarantee. It was a loose conversation but I will be in touch with Triple H [Paul Levesque] in the future.”
Angle left WWE in 2006 for competitor TNA, but says Vince McMahon still cares about him and he admires the WWE Chairman’s work ethic.
“Vince always cared about me. He’s a good guy, and he felt like he was my father figure. I admired Vince’s work ethic and drive,” Angle said. “He was a machine. He was willing to sacrifice so much to be a success, and he was one of those guys who I feared and looked up to. I feared him the same way I feared my father. I was right – he was a good guy. He would tell me when I screwed up, and he’d tell me how to fix it.”
While he credits TNA owner Dixie Carter with making him go to rehab, he says McMahon had also tried to talk to him about his battle with painkiller addiction.
“[Vince] basically said, ‘Listen, you won an Olympic gold medal. Very few people on this planet have ever done that. You’re special, you can kick this thing.’ But I fell back into it,” Angle recalled.
Despite his numerous career highlights, Angle remembers the low points in both WWE and TNA. He recalls breaking his neck four times in two years with WWE due to rushing himself to return each time, and says the atmosphere in TNA wasn’t conducive to his fight with alcohol and painkillers.
“I was at a company where everybody was drinking, and you were encouraged to drink with them,” Angle said of TNA. “That’s where the alcohol came in. I didn’t go crazy with it, but when you mix it with pills, it can make you do some really crazy things. It can make you careless.”
Kurt says he’s now been clean and sober for three years. You can read the entire article about him here.
WWE has hired another new announcer/host for NXT. Sports journalist, radio personality and YouTube sports show host Charly Arnolt has joined WWE and will be starting at NXT tapings soon.
As of a couple days ago, I am now living in Orlando because I have accepted a hosting job with the WWE,” she wrote on her official Facebook page. “This is a huge step in my career and I am beyond excited to get started this coming Monday.”
She joins the list of recently signed announcers after Mike Rome, Cathy Kelley and Andrea DiMarco.
Jim Ross says the upcoming WWE draft is a great way to bring in viewers for the first live episode of SmackDown on the USA Network next month. The WWE Hall of Famer posted a new blog entry at JRsBarBQ.com where he discusses the impending major change to WWE’s programming, and witnessing the first draft back in 2008.
“The WWE Draft which will facilitate the upcoming brand separation will occur on the first, LIVE Smackdown broadcast on the USA Network on Tuesday July 19. Great marketing idea to get more eyeballs on the first live SmackDown,” Ross wrote. “My memories of the 2008 Draft that emanated from San Antonio are not among the favorites in my career. Wah… Poor me!”
Ross also takes issue with how often wrestlers take the action outside the ring on WWE TV. He says leaving the ring just “for the Hell of it” takes viewers out of the moment, and is a “logical disconnect.”
“To throw someone from the ring or to chase someone down who’s on the outside, I get. But for two or more wrestlers to voluntarily take to the outside to do more of their sensational stunts screams of being illogical and overly “Show Biz,” J.R. wrote.
The security video above was filmed Saturday night backstage before a Texas All-Star Wrestling show in Cypress, TX. Shawn Hernandez is seen in the top left corner approaching indy wrestler Brent McKenzie, who was sitting down. Hernandez is seen throwing a kick at the seated McKenzie, who gets up and hits Hernandez with a right hand that staggers him back into a table. A couple more blows were thrown, then they grabbed onto each other. Hernandez reportedly left bleeding from his mouth and the side of his head.
The scuffle was broken up quickly by other wrestlers. MECW wrestler Byron Wilcott was one of the wrestlers who broke it up, and says he saw Hernandez trying to bully McKenzie. Hernandez reportedly had a brief shouting match with Wilcott after he broke it up, then the former TNA Tag Team Champ left the building before the show started.
Bill Goldberg was a guest on The Steve Austin Show this week, and talked about his brief run in WWE from 2003 to 2004. Goldberg told Austin he wasn’t having fun working for WWE because it seemed like there was always someone fighting against him, and it wasn’t worth the money.
“Life is not always about money, I wasn’t having fun anymore,” Goldberg said of his WWE days.
Goldberg also told an untold story about his time in WCW, during his infamous undefeated streak. Goldberg admits he had a certain level of power in the company, but not enough to call the shots even in an un-televised match. Goldberg shared a story about wanting to put over a hometown wrestler during his streak, and WCW management forbidding it.
“I always felt bad about guys who had been in the business for twenty fu–ing years and they’re jumping off a building for twenty bucks, and here comes Goldberg six months into the business, and I got the fu–ing belt, and I’m making whatever,” Goldberg recalled. “So as a businessman if I had no fu–ing heart then I wouldn’t have given a sh-t and I would have said, ‘You know what, my bank account is getting huge, f–k these other schmucks, put ’em in the backseat and who cares about them.’ But I cared. Bobby Eaton, I wanted to put Bobby Eaton over in his hometown on his birthday in a dark match during my streak. They wouldn’t let me do it”
Goldberg feels he gets a bad rep on the internet due to stories about him in WCW. The former wrestler says he had power at times, but never used it maliciously.
“Nobody fu–ing tells you about [the Bobby Eaton story], it’s always, ‘Goldberg, he was selfish, he was this-and-that,’” he said.
You can listen to the entire podcast with the two former World Heavyweight Champions here.
Scott Hall says that Vince McMahon was so mad at him during the Monday Night Wars that he stopped sending him royalty checks, even though Kevin Nash and other defectors still got theirs. In an interview with The Whig, Hall talks about leaving the WWE for WCW back in the mid-nineties, and says he’s “so happy” to be back with WWE and receiving royalty checks again.
“I got blamed for taking Kev (Kevin Nash) with me,” Hall said of leaving the McMahon empire for WCW. “I didn’t get a royalty check for 15 years, Kev [Nash] still got his… Vince took it personally when I left, to the point where I didn’t get royalties. As soon as I made the decision [to leave], I was dirty on a piss test that was six weeks old. I mean Vince came after me with everything. It was really brutal man.”
Hall explained that at the time Vince McMahon only guaranteed him 10 days of work for the year, and the contract didn’t allow him to work elsewhere during that time.
“Initially, the contracts that the WWE offered was 10 days, 10 matches you were guaranteed in one year,” Hall explained. “10 matches at $150 a match, which means you’re guaranteed $1,500, but you give up everything — you can’t wrestle, or promote, or do an interview or an appearance or anything for anybody but Vince. But he’s only guaranteeing you $1,500. I just didn’t want that contract to roll over, I wanted to talk, but he was furious.”
The Bad Guy revealed that he would have preferred to say with McMahon, but he’s glad the move helped move WWE in a better direction as far as paying talent goes.
“I would have stayed with Vince for less money than I took from (Ted) Turner. I just wanted it guaranteed and Vince just wouldn’t budge on that,” Hall recalled. “Now, guess what? Everybody, the NXT guys, everybody gets guaranteed money. You’re welcome fellas, you’re welcome.”
Stone Cold Steve Austin says it was drug testing day when he was backstage at last week’s RAW, and that WWE is very strict about the anti-drug policy.
In an interview with ESPN Radio’s Russillo & Kanell show, Austin says he doesn’t know what drug Roman Reigns got suspended for, but thinks the former Champion will bounce back.
“He got popped, and that’s just the way it is,” Austin said. “He owned it, and he’ll live to come back another day. He owned it, so I think the kid did the right thing. Sometimes these things happen.”
Austin also commented on Brock Lesnar returning to the octagon at UFC 200, saying he’s rooting for Lesnar but Mark Hunt will be a tough opponent for him.
WWE has a new ECW DVD on their release schedule for this year, and it’ll include several talents from the original promotion.
OMG! ECW’s Top 50 Craziest Moments is scheduled to be released on November 15th in the United States. It’ll be released on the 14th in the UK. The main countdown feature of the DVD will be hosted by ECW alumni Tazz, Joel Gertner, and Tommy Dreamer.
Here’s the official synopsis for the DVD from Amazon:
OMG! It’s back and this time with by far the craziest moments to date, as ECW rears its head on this series.
ECW was extreme and there is no shortage of OMG moments throughout its history. Hear exclusive interviews from ECW legends as they tell stories behind some of the craziest moments in ECW history!
The cover for the DVD has yet to be released. You can pre-order on Amazon.com.
Stephanie McMahon and John Cena were at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week in Cannes, France. The two were there to represent WWE, and talked about how has connected with their audience over the decades.
In an interview with Ad Week, Stephanie said she wants to battle “preconceived notions” about WWE by teaching people about their brand at Cannes. She says one of her jobs as the company’s Chief Brand Officer is to educate people on their “misperceptions” about WWE.
“It still may not be someone’s cup of tea—I mean, we’re not going to appeal to everybody,” she said. “But it’s a heck of a lot of fun. If I can get someone to come to a show, that’s the best way for me to sell them on what we are because they experience it. That’s our company’s mission it to put smiles on people’s faces.”
She clarified that although on television she plays a villain, her off-screen job involves developing WWE’s brand and bringing in revenue. In an interview that same day with The Drum, she added that the company is looking at adding virtual reality content to their operation.
“We are definitely exploring that content because I have seen some of the early renderings and it is so cool,” Stephanie said of virtual reality videos. “I am a fan first and foremost – you have to be to be in our business and to be able to walk down the ramp and get in a ring and to see your opponent in the ring – it’s the most unbelievable experience. I can’t wait to see how that unfolds and of course we’ll be doing all of our due diligence and research and if it makes sense for us from a business stand point we will continue to evolve that model.”
After leaving the company on bad terms in May, Cody Rhodes and WWE are reportedly in talks about working together again in some capacity.
PWInsider.com reports that WWE has reached out to Cody Rhodes about possibly signing a Legends deal. The deal likely wouldn’t include any appearances, but would allow WWE to continue selling merchandise with his likeness.
Rhodes is booked to wrestle Kurt Angle on August 27th at the Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York. He recently took to Twitter to comment on WWE bringing back the Clash of Champions, which was a name and concept his father Dusty created for TBS in the late 80’s.
WWE is returning to Australia this summer and two fan-favorites have been added to the tour.
It was announced on Sunday that AJ Styles and Seth Rollins will be gong on the company’s tour of Australia with goes from August 10th to the 13th. Also announced for the tour are John Cena, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, The New Day, Kevin Owens, and Sasha Banks. Ryback is still listed on the official listing on Ticketek.com.au.
WWE is in the running to buy a large building from a bankrupt developer in their home base city of Stamford, CT. WWE wants to acquire the old AmeriCares headquarters on Hamlton Ave in Stamford and use it as their own TV production building.
According to a report by The Stamford Advocate, WWE put a $27 million bid on the property, which is $3 million above the minimum price set by the court-approved sale coordinator. There are more than 100 bidders in the running for eight different buildings from the bankrupt developer that were made available for bidding.
“An opportunity arose that made sense for us to pursue,” WWE in a statement to the Advocate. “If we’re successful in the purchase of the building, WWE would become the building’s landlord and assumes the previous owner’s lease obligations.”
WWE reportedly abandoned their plans to begin construction on building their own TV production facility.
Kurt Angle took to Facebook on Friday night in response to Dave Meltzer’s report that he won’t be returning to WWE. Angle had claimed on a Pittsburgh radio station that he had struck a deal with Triple H.
Angle says his discussion with Tripl H didn’t include the brand split, and that his words from the radio interview were twisted. Angle says he’s excited about his future, but not sure how much longer he’ll be in the wrestling game.
Here’s the Olympic gold medalist’s statement in it’s entirety:
In response to some of your questions today regarding the WWE, and all of the media fanfare about it the last few days, I want to, once again, say that our confidential conversation never discussed the brand split. A few wrestling sites seem to have put a spin on this by twisting some words around to fit their agenda, something that I have no control over. What I CAN control is my own life, and my life isn’t only wrestling. I do not expect to be in wrestling much longer. I AM excited about my future. Thank you.
Angle last appeared for RPW in the UK on June 12th when he defeated Zack Sabre Jr, and his next scheduled match is against Cody Rhodes on August 27th for Northeast Wrestling in Wappingers Falls, NY.
Sandra Toffoloni is the sister of the late Nancy Benoit, and she appeared on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. On the subject of the horrific events inside the Benoit family home in June of 2007, Toffoloni says she first started noticing changes in Chris as early as the Spring of 2004.
Toffoloni says she feels the pressure got to Benoit after winning the World Title at WrestleMania XX, and he became increasingly paranoid as he became more famous.
She previously said her sister was “brutalized” as a direct result of Chris’ “roid rage,” but she also doesn’t discount concussions playing a role in his mental state in the time leading up to the double-murder suicide. Toffoloni also feels that Benoit losing a series of close friends and neighbors in the years before the incident took a toll on him. Toffoloni and Jericho talk about how close Benoit was with Eddie Guerrero, Ray Traylor, and especially Johnny Grunge.
Sandra revealed several details that hadn’t be mentioned by the press before. She noted that prior to the murders Chris had done a Google search on the easiest way to break someone’s neck, and that Nancy had gotten a restraining order against him at one point. She says media reports that Daniel had Fragile X syndrome were false and he was healthy. On the subject of Benoit reportedly having the brain of an 80 year old alzheimers patient, she says he functioned fine in the sense that he could navigate roads and airports.
She clarified that Chris killed Nancy on a Friday, Daniel the following morning on Saturday, and then himself on Sunday night by rigging the pulldown machine in his gym to take his own life. She says Chris and Nancy were planning for his retirement after wrestling, and were going to open a Benoit Wrestling Academy in Atlanta.
Scott Hall says his current goal is to land a job with WWE’s NXT brand. In an interview with The Whig where they covered his career and personal life, the WWE Hall of Famer spoke on what’s next for him.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with the young guys and I think that’s where I’ll be most gifted and be of the most value,” Hall said of helping the NXT roster. Hall doesn’t specify a job title he’s shooting for, but it sounds like he would want an agent or producer position.
The founding n.W.o. member isn’t asking WWE for a job yet, as he feels he needs to continue to repair his reputation first. Hall says people need to see that he can travel and still “keep [his] shit together.”
“But I figure the best thing for me to do is just to continue to keep my shit together and go places and let people see me with my shit together. When my head is clear, my phone rings and opportunities are presented to me all the time. So I’m just keeping my shit together and letting people know it. I’ll wait and see what comes from there. I’m not going to flat out ask for a job at this point. I’m kind of hoping it gets offered to me down the road. But I figure the best thing I can do is put myself in a good situation by keeping it together.”
Hall also briefly talked about WWE’s upcoming DVD about him, and says it feels real good to be back in the company’s good graces. “It’s way better to be on the inside looking out than on the outside looking in,” he said.
WWE is taping their Cruiserweight Classic tonight at Full Sail University in Orlando. The show is being produced by Triple H and Joe Belcastro, who was made the head writer for NXT back in May. The Cruiserweight Classic is set to begin airing on July 13th at 9 PM ET on the WWE Network. We have live spoilers from the taping ongoing right here.
Despite rumors of his return, it sounds like Kurt Angle will not be coming back to WWE. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that the Olympic gold medalist won’t be working for WWE again any time soon.
Meltzer says that WWE officials confirmed on Thursday that Angle will not be joining the company for their upcoming brand split.
Angle stirred up the rumors on Monday on Mark Madden’s Pittsburgh radio show, saying that he had talked to Triple H and a deal was in place. The story grew to the point where there were even rumored start dates for Angle.
Angle, 47, finished up his TNA contract in March of this year, and hasn’t worked with WWE since August of 2006. Despite announcing he would retire for a year, he’s been working select indy dates with the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr.
