William Regal was flown home early from the NXT U.K. Tour and will not be appearing at the final two events due to issues related to his recent neck surgery.
Regal wrote the following on social media on Tuesday:
I'm incredibly sorry but I have had to return to the US to take care of some final details of my recent neck surgery that couldn't….
As a result, Regal missed the final two shows as part of the tour, as he didn’t work the event on Tuesday in Cardiff, Wales, and will be missing the live Takeover special on the WWE Network today at 3 p.m. Eastern from London’s SSE Wembley Arena.
Additionally, Regal was also scheduled for a talk show on Thursday in Nottingham, that has been canceled.
“I get the sense they want to make it kind of a hybrid between Raw, the flagship show with all the storylines and great performances from our Superstars in the ring, and what’s happening in NXT. That’s really been a phenomenon, and I’m a huge proponent of that style of storytelling.
I think if SmackDown can become a hybrid of the two, we’ll have a winning formula regardless of who’s on the microphone. But since it’s going to be me, I love that it’s playing to my strengths. I think they want to set us all up to succeed.”
The whole interview is well worth reading, so check it out. It’s also worth noting that NXT head writer Ryan Ward became SmackDown’s head writer last year.
NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with Kerrang.com to promote the ongoing NXT U.K. Tour and Wednesday’s NXT TakeOver: London special. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his fsvorite all-time wrestling entrance:
“Stone Cold Steve Austin, when the glass breaks. It just gets you every time, doesn’t matter if it’s a small house show or a big-bang show, just once the glass breaks it gets everyone riled-up, so that’s easy!”
On his picks regarding who WWE will call up to the main roster next from NXT:
“I think there’s some very obvious ones, like Apollo Crews, but two for me that have really started to stand out in recent times are Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, as a tag team. I think someone who I don’t think gets enough credit is Aiden English, and I think in the future he’s definitely one of the unsung heroes of NXT – and I think he has a very bright future, be it as a tag-team wrestler, as he is currently, or as a singles wrestler in the future.”
On what fans should expect from an NXT show:
“Well I always like to describe NXT as more of a rock’n’roll wrestling show. It has that kinda underground, indie feel that I was so accustomed to in the independent circuits that I loved so much. So, for me, it’s been a beautiful coming together of working with the WWE but also still having that raw organic feel of being an independent, so that’s the one thing that makes NXT so different than anywhere else. It’s kinda having the hybrid of both very different styles.”
Finn Balor recently appeared as a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast to promote Wednesday’s NXT TakeOver: London live special on the WWE Network, where he will be defending the NXT Championship in the main event against Samoa Joe. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the photo of him doing the D-X “crotch chop” to the TNA offices:
“Everyone kind of took it for what it was and it was just a bit of fun. It was literally a complete potluck. We arrived in Nashville, they dropped us off at a gym because we [had] four hours to kill, [and] the gym was below the TNA office. By coincidence, the bus pulled up right outside the sign. I was like, ‘that’s the TNA sign!'” Bálor added, “all the boys were busy pulling their bags out from under the bus and stuff and I had one thing on my mind: retweets.”
On the “too sweet” hand gesture and why he continues to use it in WWE:
“It was something that when I came here, I thought, like, ‘I’m not going to do that anymore’ and [Triple H] threw it up one time, so I was like, ‘oh, I’ll give it to you.’ And then I consciously stopped doing it in the ring, but so many fans are throwing it up, so I was like, ‘I’ll give you one here. I’ll give you one there.'”
On why moving to the main WWE roster might be a step back from being in NXT:
“I really believe that what we’re doing here in the [WWE] Performance Center [and] what we’re doing with NXT is something that’s going to be remembered for years. I feel like to get quote, unquote called up to the main roster would be, maybe, like a step back for my career right [now]. Obviously, instant gratification, you get called up to the main roster, that’s great, but I think what we’re doing here in NXT will stand longer in history as kind of like a revolutionary period and to kind of pull myself out of that would be detrimental to my career in the long term.”
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley recently spoke with DigitalSpy.com to promote the NXT TakeOver: London special next Wednesday. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the reaction to Eva Marie at Full Sail University:
“I thought it was amazing… I love being in a ring with Eva Marie because of the crowd reaction she gets. It also helps me feed off of it. Even being in the ring with her is something really special. This may sound funny – I’ve never heard fans boo somebody as much as they boo her. To me it’s amazing because the fans really care about what’s going on in the ring.
“Whether they hate her, or they love me, or they just don’t want this match to happen, or they do want the match to happen, whatever it is they care about it. It’s an amazing feeling that a person can get the reaction like she does from all these fans. They hate her and it just makes our job so much more fun. At least for me – I don’t know how she feels!”
On making it to the main roster:
“I don’t know if the women’s title here is the key to the main roster, but I’m willing to be here as long as I possibly can and keep learning and keep getting better and just prepare more for when I do get the call for the main roster. I’m not in any rush or anything, but it seems like if I hold this title that I could possibly be up there one day. There are already two former NXT Women’s Champions [Paige and Charlotte] who are Divas Champions up there now, so we’ll see.”
On if she would turn heel:
“If it came down to it and it was something that I had to do and it was a pivotal point in my career and it would take me to that next level, I would have to do it because it’s for my career. I don’t know how the fans would react to it. That’s just another challenge in itself for me. If that time comes I’m excited to see where it goes and where it takes me.”
As the NXT U.K. Tour continues, it’s becoming quite apparent that the NXT brand is a hit with the English audience. Look no further than the above video for proof.
WWE posted the clip featured above on the official NXT Twitter page on Sunday afternoon that features a 30-second look at a chant that fans were doing that they claimed “went on for over ten minutes” during a Jordan and Gable vs. Blake and Murphy tag-team match at the sold out Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.
The chant is apparently a remix to the song “No Limits” that is often done at sporting events in the country, with the words simply changed to the names “Jordan” and “Gable.”
Triple H also took to social media to address the hot crowd at the NXT Blackpool event on Sunday.
“A sold out venue, a loud audience, and a great show,” Triple H wrote. “Thank you.”
The NXT U.K. Tour continues to sweep across England with events in Nottingham on Monday, Cardiff, Wales on Tuesday and finally the NXT TakeOver: London live WWE Network special from the SSE Arena on Wednesday.
– As noted, the latest “Stone Cold Podcast” with Steve Austin and his special guest, Shawn Michaels, premieres on the WWE Network this Sunday night immediately following the WWE TLC pay-per-view. The official WWE Network Twitter page tweeted the above preview clip from Austin’s interview with HBK.
– Seth Rollins, the first-ever NXT Champion in history, took to social media this weekend to congratulate the current NXT crew on their first-ever international tour in the U.K. this weekend. Rollins tweeted the following photo of an old Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) event, WWE’s original developmental territory out of Florida, noting that WWE developmental has come a long way.
Major shoutout to the @WWENXT crew on their first ever international tour. "Developmental" sure has come a long way. pic.twitter.com/Hvk05RfLZJ
On Saturday, Triple H announced via his official Twitter page the official details for a NXT TakeOver special during WrestleMania weekend in April.
“The Game” posted a photo of himself holding a ticket with the caption reading, “This is the ticket you’re gonna want… NXT the takeover continues. NXT TakeOver: Dallas. April 1. [Tickets] on sale 12/19.”
“WWE COO Triple H announced on Twitter that the next edition of the highly acclaimed series of WWE Network live specials is coming to Dallas on Friday, April 1, 2016, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas. NXT has made a huge impact in 2015 as it grew into a worldwide phenomenon, including sold-out specials in Brooklyn, N.Y., and London. 2016 looks to be even bigger for NXT, with TakeOver coming to the Lone Star State.”
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley recently spoke with Kerrang.com to promote the ongoing NXT U.K. Tour. During the interview, the current NXT Women’s Champion spoke about NXT’s growth over the years, the first-ever NXT U.K. tour, her faorite all-time WWE theme songs and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the importance of NXT:
“It’s really important. Like, even when I first started to where it is now, it’s kind of like a whole different place. If you look at the roster now and WWE, its kind of everybody who’s come from NXT and there’s such huge stars, and it has a lot to do with where they come from and how we’ve been coached and trained and the Performance Center and everything we have there. It’s all the tools we need to have everyone succeed up here, and it’s obvious that NXT works.”
NXT’s growth over the years:
“Yeah, it’s amazing just to see how much, not just in Florida, that it’s grown. When I first started in FCW, we had 12 people there and I wasn’t even used to that. I came from independent wrestling and I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy! How many people out there?’ And then to see it grow and grow and grow, and then just in Florida we’d have sell-out armories and that was a huge deal. And we used to have to bring people into Full Sail, names, to just draw an attraction just to have fans there, and now we don’t even have anybody from the main roster. It’s just us. And now we’re outside of Florida and to see how many people actually show up and sell out buildings of, like, 1,200 people, and the Barclays Center [in Brooklyn], it’s great – it’s kind of like that ECW feeling and it’s really special.”
NXT’s roster enjoying the first-ever U.K. tour:
“I think everybody’s so pumped, everybody keeps talking about it. I’m texting everyone back home like, ‘I can’t wait until we get to come out here!’ because once Sasha and I are in the ring, just doing this stuff, once we’re both in the ring, everybody here watches NXT. I expect nobody to know who I am when I’m coming out on this tour. But everybody knows who we are when they watch NXT. And I’m just so excited for everybody else to be able to share that, because it’s gonna be crazy. It’s the first time ever that we have the special there, and it’s sold out at Wembley Arena. It’s gonna be amazing.”
On her favorite WWE theme songs of all-time:
“Do I have to go in order? No? Steve Blackman, I don’t know why, I just thought it was so cool the way it started out. It doesn’t even have any lyrics, but I just loved it. This is embarrassing because he’s right there (motioning to Michael Hayes, ex-manager of The Hardy Boyz], but The Hardy Boyz. I was just a huge Hardy Boyz fan – and that didn’t have any lyrics, either – but just the guitar in it and everything, it’s just… ahh, it felt so cool. The Rock’s, because right when it’s like, ‘If you smell…’ you just get out of your seat! [Stone Cold Steve] Austin’s, Glass Shatters. I guess it’s how it always starts out, and it’s always unexpected. You don’t know when he’s gonna come out and it just hits and you’re like, ‘Ahh!’ This was never a favorite growing up, but just recently… The Undertaker. I started to really appreciate him. I was like, ‘Man, this song!’ It’s like watching a movie – watching him come down the ramp and watching him get into the ring. Everything he does goes with the entrance song, and he’s had it forever.”
Sami Zayn returned to the ring on Thursday night on the first show of the NXT UK tour in Newcastle, England. Zayn got a huge ovation from the crowd and looked to be in great ring shape, according to correspondents in attendance.
In his first match back since undergoing shoulder surgery back around May-June, Zayn wrestled NXT Champion Finn Balor in the main event. In their first-ever match, Finn Balor was victorious.
In addition to the above video that WWE posted on the official NXT Twitter page of Zayn’s electric ring entrance in Newcastle on Thursday night, the former NXT Champion had a surprise up his sleeve. Zayn borrowed a page out of UFC Fight Night 80 headliner Rose Namajunas’ page by surprising fans with a new shaved head look at the official weigh-ins for her fight against Paige VanZant in Las Vegas, which also takes place tonight.
– WWE posted the above vignette for the NXT re-debut of Elias Samson on their official YouTube channel following this week’s edition of NXT TV on the WWE Network on Wednesday evening. WWE referred to the vignette as “A haunting ballad for the NXT Universe.”
– The following is a WWE.com exclusive post-NXT interview with The Hype Bros following their victory over former NXT Tag-Team Champions Blake & Murphy on last night’s show.
– Limited tickets are still available for the NXT U.K. Tour stop in Glasgow, Scotland on Friday. WWE posted the following notice on the official NXT Twutter page regarding the event, which takes place at The SSE Hydro.
Triple H held his regular NXT conference call for the “TakeOver: London” special on the WWE Network next week and as usual, “The Game” dropped a couple of gems.
HHH noted during the call that former NXT Champion Sami Zayn will indeed be in action at the event live, but his match will not air as part of the TakeOver: London special. Instead, Zayn’s return match will be taped to air on the following Wednesday’s episode of NXT TV on the WWE Network.
Additionally, it appears that there will be a Fatal 4 Way and Elias Samson’s debut during the event in London, but those won’t be airing until the next NXT TV episode as well.
Triple H said WWE is looking at promoting more TakeOver specials airing in various time slots in the future, including one in Japan in 2016, due to the success of the “Beast In The East” WWE Network special earlier this year.
WWE posted the following photo on the official NXT Twitter page of Triple H taken during the NXT TakeOver: London conference call on Thursday morning.
Headlined by Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship, NXT TakeOver: London is scheduled to air live on the WWE Network at 3pm EST. / Noon PST. from Wembley Arena in London, England.
– WWE posted the above video, which premiered on Monday’s TLC “go-home” edition of RAW, for this year’s special Slammy Awards edition of RAW. The 2015 Slammy Awards take place in two weeks at the RAW show on December 21st in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
– NXT will return to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on Thursday, January 7, 2016 for the first set of NXT television tapings of the new year. Tickets for the show quickly sold out shortly after going on sale on Monday morning.
– As seen below via WWE’s official Twitter page, Donny Deutsch made a cameo during Monday’s RAW in a backstage segment with The Miz and Neville to promote his new USA Network show “Donny!” The show airs Tuesday nights at 10:30pm EST.
Sami Zayn is returning to action later this week for NXT’s live tour of the UK. It will be his first time back in the ring since undergoing rotator cuff surgery back in May.
Zayn is advertised to compete against Finn Balor and Baron Corbin in the triple threat main event of Saturday’s show from Sheffield, England. Other matches announced for that card include Samoa Joe vs. Apollo Crews and NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Emma.
It remains to be seen if Zayn will wrestle at next Wednesday’s NXT “Takeover: London” special that airs live on the WWE Network.
WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze recently spoke with The Charleston Post & Courier about the role Billy Gunn played in his development in NXT, his transition to the main roster and the legendary Gorgeous George being an inspiration for his current character.
On using wrestling legend Gorgeous George for inspiration:
“In the same vein, just modernized. He was a big influence as far as presentation and mannerisms. I watched a lot of his stuff when I tried to put this character together.”
On coming to the main roster from NXT:
“It’s been a big change for me. As much fun as NXT was, it totally took a different turn up here. Working in front of sold-out houses and at events like Survivors Series, and working with someone like Dolph Ziggler, makes it a real pleasure to come to work.”
On Billy Gunn playing a big role in his development:
“He showed me the character and showmanship part of it. He is so over the top and helped bring that out of me. I wasn’t very much like that before. I wanted to wrestle. I liked the wrestling moves and the athletic part of it. But I didn’t really know the showmanship part of it, and he helped bring that out of me.”
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley recently spoke with The Daily Record to promote the upcoming NXT U.K. tour. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On taking pride in the responsibility of being a role model:
“I hope I am an inspiration, as it’s something I’ve always wanted to be. When I was younger, I had people like Lita, Ivory and Molly Holly to look up to and I try to think of how they made me feel. No matter what I do in the sport, whether it’s during matches, or outside the ring, I’m always conscious of putting on a good image. I see lots of young girls dressing up like me and I get all these tweets saying I’m an inspiration. It’s a great feeling, so it’s really important not to let anyone down.”
On the reach of WWE NXT and her newfound popularity:
“I’m noticing the more we travel outside of Florida, the more I’m noticing the impact we’re having. Like I’m touching people outside of my own state, which is crazy. I’m seeing my Hugger shirts all over the world, on everyone from little kids to grown men and women. When I started seeing that everywhere, that was when I realized something was happening. It’s really cool.”
On her cheerfulness coming natural because she loves her job:
“It’s easy for me as I really feel like a little kid when I walk out on stage. Even if I’m feeling tired, sore or beat up backstage and am thinking ‘I don’t know if I can get through this one’, as soon as I walk out there, the adrenaline just pours out of me. It’s not even something I have to think about, it’s automatic. Once I see the fans and that wrestling ring, it’s like a switch. I just love it.”
TNA star Ethan Carter III recently appeared as a guest on Art Of Wrestling, not to be confused with the Colt Cabana podcast of the same name, and spoke about the current success of NXT, his most memorable opponent and whether or not he is a fan of women’s wrestling. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his most memorable opponents and good friends within the industry:
“I’ve been fortunate to share the ring with great wrestlers of legendary status, and those that will fill their boots in the future. It wouldn’t be fair to list names without feeling as though I missed someone, but I can say that my favorite opponent has been Kurt Angle. Kurt was one of the reasons I fell in love with wrestling, and one the reason I decided to pursue it as a career.”
On whether he is a fan of women’s wrestling and his favorite Knockout:
“I’m very much a fan of women’s wrestling and the effort our knockouts and women throughout wrestling have put forth in changing it’s previous perception. They are very skilled athletes who deserve recognition for that fact. As far as my favorite, I don’t play favorites (Gail Kim).”
On the current success of NXT:
“It’s far different from the incarnation I was on and that is obviously for the better. They have a very good show and I’m happy to see the success of the people who are there.”
NXT Diva Carmella recently appeared as a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast and spoke about her previous jobs as a New England Patriots and Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader, working in NXT with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, being friends with NXT Women’s Champion Bayley and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On her father being a pro wrestler and a WWE enhancement talent when she was a kid:
“I grew up watching wrestling and in wrestling because my dad wrestled when I was younger. He wrestled independently and in the WWE in the ’90s, so it’s just bringing everything full circle being here in the WWE.” Carmella added, “when [Van Dale] does get a chance to see me, he’s so proud. And he watches NXT every single week and he’s always calling me [and] telling me what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong, so it’s really cool.”
On managing Enzo and Cass and being a wrestler, and not having a preference between the two:
“I feel so lucky because I get the best of both worlds. I get to go out and wrestle on my own, but I still get to be a part of Enzo and Cass, [which] as you said, is one of the biggest and most popular acts here in NXT, so I can’t just chose one. I really enjoy both, especially with my background cheering. I’m out there cheering on my boys! But I just love performing in front of the cameras, so when I’m out there and wrestling on my own too, it’s such a cool feeling, just all eyes are on me.” Carmella continued, “I’m so grateful and I have so much fun either way, so when I’m with the boys, I feel like I’m a certain character, but when I’m by myself, I have to kind of amp it up because I’m just out there by myself.”
On being best friends with current NXT Women’s Champion Bayley:
“I don’t know if you know that, but we’re Baymella. And we’re just super silly and crazy and we mess with people, like, on our little road trips to our shows all the time and we’re just messing with people any opportunity we can get, pranking people. That’s just what we do!”
On the Divas Revolution in WWE:
“When I first started [at WWE], it was just beginning of the Divas Revolution. I am just so excited to be able to have an opportunity to show that we’re athletes and we’re here to work hard and we’re not just here to have these little five-minute matches that are about how we look. It’s more than that.”
On growing up idolizing Miss Elizabeth and how she was influenced by her:
“Watching [professional wrestling] when I was younger, I idolized Miss Elizabeth. For me, I was like, ‘okay, that is a diva. That’s what I want to be.’ She’s classy and she always looked the part. She looked fabulous. And that to me, that is what I want to portray, so to be here now in this time with the Divas Revolution, it’s perfect for me.”
– It looks as though former Neville may be undergoing some character changes in the near future. Featured above is a video clip from this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown that shows The Miz approaching the former NXT Champion backstage and offering to help by taking Neville under his wing.
– In addition to WWE Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl revealing his new WWE ring name, Bronson Mathews, during a promo segment at the NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on Thursday evening, another former Tough Enough contestant made her in-ring debut.
Daria Berenato, who was signed to a developmental deal with WWE after Tough Enough ended, worked a match at the NXT live event. Berenato is currently working under her real name, but is also using the “Jersey Devil” nickname. She was squashed by Nia Jax in her in-ring debut at Thursday’s live event.
WWE Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl appeared at the NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on Thursday night and in an in-ring promo segment, revealed his new WWE ring name.
Bredl, who also appears regularly on the WWE Network original series “Breaking Ground,” revealed that his new name is Bronson Mathews.
After revealing his WWE ring name, Bredl mentioned that he has 250,000 reasons to prove himself and that 2016 will be a big year for him.
Below is a photo of Bredl’s in-ring promo segment from last night’s NXT live event.
WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was a guest on The Taz Show: Bodyslams and Beyond earlier this week and spoke about various issues related to the state of the pro wrestling industry. Here are there highlights..
Austin continues to voice his opinion that promos are entirely over-scripted, which stifles creativity and prevents the wrestlers from fully getting over.
“I don’t like to be the bitter veteran that complains about the system, but, I don’t believe that promos should be scripted,” Austin said. “A couple of bullet points, yes, to point a cat in the right direction, but you’ve got to be out there and be able to feel at home and believe with conviction and your heart and your soul with everything that you’re saying and if you’re just trying to be an orator or someone who delivers a speech, that’s not effective in my opinion. And to me, to draw money, you’ve got to be able to reach people’s heartstrings and reach some kind of guttural response or just anything that resonates with them.”
Despite the limitations of a stale creative environment, Austin says today’s WWE Superstars are athletically superior to the generations that proceeded them. That said, it’s not just about bouncing around in the ring and current performers need to focus on selling and telling a story.
“These guys are a step above our generation and the generations before us, athletically. What they can do in the ring is amazing and they’re great athletes, but I can give you Flair/Windham from ’87 or ’86 and those guys are working at today’s pace, but they’re selling everything, they’re not telegraphing anything, they’re not foreshadowing the next sequence of moves. It’s about 50-50 or 70-30 called in the ring and so it feels spontaneous and it feels different. It feels like a shoot. So there’s a real fine line between taking all that athleticism and you’re going to set up a little bit of stuff, but when it looks like you’re just going through the motions, you’re just going through the motions and people can see that. And you’ve got to be able to feel and really get behind a character and a personality and the human that’s doing that. I mean, that’s the money level.”
NXT Champion Finn Balor was also a recent guest on The Taz Show and explained that he’s in no hurry to join the main roster. Stone Cold also has some concerns about Balor getting called up and whether his character will connect with the WWE Universe. Austin put over Balor as a great human being and a hellacious worker, but it’s all about getting the fans behind your character.
“I’m wondering if he’s going to get lost in the shuffle a little bit [on the main roster]. He does that crawl to the ring and sometimes it takes so long. It’s a little disconcerting because I’ve seen the kid. Good looking kid, worked for many years in Japan, and he’s very technical from Ireland or wherever he’s from. Great kid! Great kid! Hell of a worker. Ten times the worker I ever was, but he [has] got to connect with those people. And so hopefully that gimmick allows him to do that. And it’s a great look. You can make a lot of action figures off of it, but put all the pieces together. People [have] got to care about him to become emotionally invested in him, but a great human being and a hellacious worker.”
He added that he’s not totally sold on Balor’s elaborate ring entrance because he finds it unrealistic that his opponent will stand in the ring waiting while Balor takes his time crawling to the ring. If Austin would have been in the ring waiting for Finn Balor to finish his ring entrance, “I’d have to go stomp a mud hole in him and walk it dry when I’d have the opportunity because that’s what ‘Stone Cold’ would do.”
WWE confirmed two new matches for NXT Takeover: London on this week’s episode of NXT TV. NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson will defend against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy and Asuka will square off against Dana Brooke. With those matches set, here’s the updated card:
NXT Championship
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe
NXT Tag-Team Championship
– Dash & Dawson (c) vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
NXT Women’s Championship
– Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax
– Emma vs. Asuka
– Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews
NXT Takeover: London takes place on Wednesday, December 16th and airs live on the WWE Network.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens missed WWE television this week due to being ill. Owens was in Pittsburgh on Monday night, but had a bad flu bug and was sent home as a result. The expectation is that Owens will be okay by the weekend.
– Neville has been added to at least some of the upcoming NXT shows on their upcoming tour. The tour runs from December 10th until December 16th and thus far, Neville is advertised for the first two shows, which includes the opening night in Newcastle, where he is from.
Sami Zayn is advertised for the entire tour. He has been back training as of late and his return was being pushed on NXT TV this week. At this point, it is unclear if Zayn will just be appearing or wrestling on the NXT tour.
WrestlingDVDNetwork.com has revealed the complete content listing for WWE upcoming “NXT’s Greatest Matches Volume 1” DVD & Blu-ray sets, due out March 8th, 2016.
Disc 1
It Started as a Whisper
Creating the Future
NXT Championship Tournament Final
Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal NXT • August 29, 2012
WrestleMania 31
No Disqualification Match for the NXT Championship
Seth Rollins vs. Big E Langston NXT • January 9, 2013
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt NXT • May 1, 2013
Women’s Wrestling is Back!
NXT Women’s Championship Tournament Final
Paige vs. Emma NXT • July 24, 2013
Best 2 Out of 3 Falls Match
Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro NXT • August 21, 2013
William Regal vs. Antonio Cesaro NXT • December 25, 2013
Disc 2
NXT ArRival
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship
Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville NXT ArRival • February 27, 2014
NXT Women’s Championship Tournament Final
Charlotte vs. Natalya NXT Takeover • May 29, 2014
Tyler Breeze “#MMMGorgeous” Music Video NXT • June 5, 2014
#WeAreNXT
Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd NXT • October 16, 2014
NXT Championship Match
Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn NXT Takeover: REvolution • December 11, 2014
The Four Horsewomen
Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship
Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley NXT Takeover: Rival • February 11, 2015
Disc 3
Takeover: Rival
NXT Championship Match
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens NXT Takeover: Rival • February 11, 2015
The Arnold Classic
Adrian Neville vs. Cesaro Columbus, OH • March 5, 2015
San Jose
Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze [Arena Cam] San Jose, CA • March 27, 2015
Six-Person Tag Team Match
Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady & Carmella vs. Blake, Murphy & Alexa Bliss NXT • June 17, 2015
Beast in the East
NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Finn Bálor Beast in the East • July 4, 2015
Takeover: Brooklyn
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley NXT Takeover: Brooklyn • August 22, 2015
Long Live the Dream
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament Final
Finn Bálor & Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin & Rhyno NXT Takeover: Respect • October 7, 2015
This past week, I was looking at some clippings in old newsletters and found one of a Vince McMahon interview from some point in 1985 (it wasn’t dated) in the Boston Globe’s weekend magazine. Most of it was pretty run of the mill (his background in promoting, the appeal of pro wrestling, and so on), but there was one question and answer that stood out as especially interesting as well as relevant in 2015….
For those of you who need a text version for screen readers and the like:
Are you putting more effort into women’s wrestling these days?
“Yes. I see it as a growth area. I think that women’s wrestling was an area that was overlooked for many years, and it wasn’t until recently that a very attractive element, physically, began to enter ladies’ wrestling. And with the advent of Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter who now, there will be a deluge of female athletes who are nice looking as well. Not that all women wrestlers have to be nice-looking, because they won’t be. Just as all male wrestlers aren’t handsome devils.”
Richter’s last ever WWF match was not long after this, which was 30 years ago this past week. Having said she wanted time to read a new contract before signing it, a screwjob was pulled on her to take the Women’s Championship without her cooperation:
