– CBS Pittsburgh has an article on the Dusty Rhodes tributes at the NXT live event in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. For what it’s worth, there were several tributes at the NXT live event in Cleveland the next night as well. For coverage of the Pittsburgh tributes, check out CBSLocal.com.
– WWE did the first tease of a Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor match at the NXT live event in Cleveland on Friday. After NXT Champion Kevin Owens defeated Joe, Balor and Tyler Breeze in the main event, Joe and Finn had a staredown in the ring. The fans popped huge for the spot, however they never went any further than a staredown.
WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with Brian Fritz of The Sporting News to discuss the passing of the legendary Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On promos and Dusty Rhodes: “Obviously I have a very strong accent that a lot of people can’t understand. I don’t think I’m naturally a promo guy but being in NXT and working with Dusty Rhodes who has really helped me tenfold with my promo work and my speaking and I feel like that really prepared me. In essence, doing that on Raw is no different that doing it at NXT or an NXT live event or wherever. It’s just about being prepared and working with Dusty really prepared me for that.”
On NXT: “Obviously, you stay in contact with the WWE always with the goal to be on Raw and Smackdown. But NXT was a very special period of my life and I’m very proud of what we all did down in NXT. Now to see the brand that NXT is and is going to become in the near future, it was really bittersweet to move up. NXT will always be a time in my life that I’ll think very fondly of.”
Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com.
WWE paid tribute to the late Dusty Rhodes, who passed away at age 69 this week, at the NXT live event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Thursday night. Prior to the start of the show, William Regal came out and they did a ten-bell salute for “The American Dream.”
After the ten-bell salute, the rabid NXT fans broke out into a loud Dusty Rhodes chant. Triple H posted a clip of the crowd chanting for Dusty last night, which you can check out below.
NXT Champion Kevin Owens recently appeared as a guest on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On his success so far in WWE: “I went into NXT with no expectations. That’s what I was told when I was hired, have no expectations, just do the best I could, and that’s always what I’ve done for the last fifteen years. That’s what I did and you know it’s obviously working out pretty good.”
On wrestling his son’s hero and its influence on his signing with WWE: “My son’s a big John Cena fan and obviously a big fan of mine who is very proud of everything I’m accomplishing. A big reason why I signed with WWE in the first place was because my son wanted to see me wrestle in WWE and he wanted to see me wrestle John Cena. So now he gets to see it. I don’t know if he realized what it would entail, it would entail me beating up John Cena and John Cena trying to beat me up. I’m sure it is a bit of conflicting feelings here and there for him but he’s proud of everything that’s happening and he’s really loving you know seeing me on WWE TV every week.”
On stepping on the United States Title: “I think every single title in WWE means a lot. Me stepping on the United States Championship wasn’t meant to disrespect the title itself but I think that the title I have is the most important in WWE because I have it. Whether it’s the NXT title or the United States title or the Intercontinental title or the World title, if I have that title then that’s the most important one. That’s all I was trying to illustrate by stepping on the United States title. For me the NXT title is what it’s all about because that’s the one I have, that’s just the way I think. Who knows what’ll happen in the future, who knows what title I’ll be competing for a few months from now but whatever title I’m going for is obviously going to be the most important to me because that’s the one I’m trying to get.”
On John Cena: “Anybody who says that he’s not a very good professional wrestler and a very good performer all around is kidding themselves. I know he gets a lot of years a lot of hate from a lot of people for various reasons, but anybody who denies the talent, John Cena’s talent in the ring is really in denial. He’s a fantastic competitor and you know if it wasn’t made evident by the match and we had at Elimination Chamber it’s going to be made evident again by the match we have at Money in the Bank. I feel like we brought out the best in each other at Elimination Chamber and we’re going to do it again this Sunday but there’s no way I’m leaving Columbus as anything but a winner.”
As reported last night, WWE is unhappy with Ring Of Honor and Figures Inc. releasing a Kevin Steen action figure before they could release their own Kevin Owens figure, and as a result, WWE is looking to create a pipeline to independent talent to come directly to NXT — with a merchandise agreement — before they can be scooped up by Ring Of Honor or TNA Wrestling.
WWE is reportedly working with WWN, the parent company of EVOLVE and FIP, and as part of their potential deal they would have WWN continue to sign top independent talents to deals that would now include licensing and merchandise agreements, this way WWE can bring the talent to NXT and they won’t have to worry about the hassle of trying to secure the different rights from other third parties.
There’s talk right now within WWE that if an independent talent has signed a third party merchandising deal with any kind of exclusivity, WWE wouldn’t be interested in signing them, however they are always exceptions to the rule for significant talent.
Additionally, WWE is looking to work with the Florida-based SHINE Wrestling promotion, WWN’s all-women’s wrestling company. The idea is that because WWE pushes the NXT Divas division, they are interested in having a pool of female talent that they can have “official access” to for potential use in NXT.
The basic idea is that WWE would be able to pick up and sign any WWN talents without outside hassles, although the deal is apparently nowhere close to being finalized and there’s no guarantee that it will go through, however talks are ongoing between both sides.
The following are previews for tonight’s NXT, ROH, Lucha Underground and TNA shows:
NXT On The WWE Network (8 PM EST)
– Samoa Joe vs. Scott Dawson.
– Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley vs. Mike Rallis and Elias Samson.
– Emma vs. Blue Pants
– Tyler Breeze vs. Bull Dempsey
– Becky Lynch vs. Jessie McKay
– Baron Corbin vs. Angelo Dawkins
Ring Of Honor On Destination America (8 PM EST)
– ROH Tag Team champions The Addiction vs. ReDragon
– IWGP Tag Team champions The Kingdom vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson.
– Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Dalton Castle
– “Brutal” Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger
Lucha Underground On The El Rey Network (8 PM EST)
– Cage vs. King Cuerno vs. Hernandez vs. Mystery Opponent (#1 Contender’s Match)
– The returns of Chavo Guerrero and Blue Demon Jr.
– A big announcement from Dario Cueto
TNA Destination X On Destination America (9 PM EST)
– TNA champion Kurt Angle vs. Rockstar Spud.
– Austin Aries vs. The Winner of Angle vs. Spud
– TNA Knockouts champion Taryn Terrell vs. Awesome Kong
– Low Ki vs. Manik vs. Crazzy Steve (Ultimate X Qualifier)
– Cruz vs. Grado vs. Kenny King (Ultimate X Qualifier)
– Tigre Uno vs. Mark Andrews vs. DJ Zema Ion (Ultimate X Qualifier)
– Ultimate X to determine new X Division champion
NXT Diva Alexa Bliss recently spoke with 614Columbus.com to promote this week’s NXT live event in her hometown. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On what she’s learned about wrestling that she didn’t know before entering the business: “When I watching wrestling, I watched it for more of the moves and to see the drama of the show, but when you actually start wrestling, there’s so much that goes into it. It’s an artform. It’s a lifestyle, it’s an art that you have to master and there’s just so much to learn. You can do it for years and years and years, and still learn new things every single day. It’s seriously one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever participated in…[getting started] I had no idea what to expect. It was like, ‘Whoa, this is all happening so fast.’ I get down here. My first day, I watch practice. My second day, I learn how to do bumps [Ed. note: falling correctly to limit injuries]. I just remembered watching wrestling thinking, ‘I wonder if that ring really is as hard as it looks.’ It is. [laughs] It really is. It’s not soft. I remember taking bumps and being like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I called my mom. I was laying on a bed of ice telling her how much pain I was in. I was just like, ‘My body is not prepared for this, and she’s like, ‘Well, you wanted to be a Diva!’ [laughs].”
On saying she emulates Rey Mysterio and who else she has studied: “Trish Stratus for sure. I really liked watching her. Me and my family loved the Hardyz and Lita. I tried to have a little bit of snappiness to my moves like Lita did, but mostly, I really liked watching Rey and how he moved because of his size. I knew if I ever wanted to do this, I was probably not going to be the tallest gal or the biggest one in the ring. I really looked up to Trish because she was also a smaller framed girl. I believe my size actually helps me because I like to go for the element of surprise [Laughs] where people don’t expect much of me because of my size and stature. I like to shock people as well with the over-the-top personality.”
On why she chose pro wrestling instead of a sports or entertainment field: “It was because I felt like I was kind of at home. [Wrestling] was something that me and my family always got together and bonded over, so when the opportunity came, I was like, ‘That’s what I should be doing.’ If any other opportunity like acting comes along, that’s great, but as soon as I saw this opportunity, I was like, ‘That’s what I’m meant to do.’ All of my cheerleading and gymnastics and bodybuilding and training prep have prepared me for what I truly believe in my heart was this.”
Back in August of 2014 it was reported that WWE was toying with the idea of hosting a fantasy camp for fans at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The idea was to run a regular package and a V.I.P. package with the V.I.P. package priced at $7,500 for a three night, two day experience.
The camps would have been limited to just 40 fans over the age of 18, with V.I.P. packages being split into two separate groups of ten to provide a more intimate experience. Both packages were loaded with perks for the fans.
Since then, WWE has issued another survey regarding potential WWE Performance Center Fantasy Camps, and it now appears that a lot of the details have been changed.
The camps would now run for just one day and would be limited to 20 fans instead of 40. Perks would now include the following:
– Participants signing a “training contract” with NXT coaches and “getting a welcome from Triple H himself.”
– Breakfast and lunch with NXT Champions
– Tour of the WWE Performance Center
– Observe a promo class being taught by WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes
– Watch NXT training session, “Skill Session” and watch talents create their own promos
– Create your own voice-overs
– Watch an NXT showcase show inside the WWE Performance Center
– Receive autographed photos of all participating NXT talents
The WWE Performance Center Fantasy Camps could be launched later this year, or in early 2016, and would likely be a way to make money off of the Performance Center.
Although he has signed a new full-time deal with WWE, Samoa Joe is still scheduled to team with AJ Styles to take on Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels at the Ring Of Honor television taping in New York City.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, WWE has been pushing very hard for that match to not be taped for television, which was the original plan before Joe signed his new WWE deal. As of right now, the belief is that the match will not be taped for the ROH television show.
It’s said that ROH wanted Joe for more dates, but their new national cable television deal with Destination America is one of the factors that led to WWE offering Joe a full-time deal, which will likely prevent Joe from doing so.
Joe is no longer accepting independent dates past August 31st, as he is scheduled to begin working in NXT full-time in September. Until then, Joe will be working the big NXT live events and any other WWE Network specials.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is also reporting that a name change for Samoa Joe and a main roster spot are reportedly still up in the air.
Another key factor in WWE bringing Samoa Joe in full-time to work in NXT is because of the perceived lack of depth of high-profile stars in the promotion. With Kevin Owens moving up to the main roster, and other top stars such as Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami on the sidelines, WWE felt the need to bring in another high-profile name to the NXT brand.
Kevin Owens was pulled from this weekend’s WWE live events.
The NXT Champion is now scheduled to begin working WWE live events the weekend after the Money In The Bank pay-per-view, where he will square off with WWE United States Champion John Cena in a rematch from WWE Elimination Chamber.
Owens’ first WWE live event will be at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan on Friday, June 19th.
WWE Money In The Bank is scheduled for Sunday, June 14, 2015 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on 6/14 for the best WWE Money In The Bank live results on the web!
With Jessica Havok at the WWE tryout camp going on at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this week, several fans began pointing out various tweets she posted a few years ago that contained many racial and homophobic slurs.
Havok started deleting those tweets, however it didn’t help, as screen shots were taken and she was unaware that she had written literally dozens of other tweets using similar language and slurs.
Below are the quotes of the alleged tweets, as well as screen shots of the alleged tweets before they were deleted.
“Hey Larry Dallas, get aids and die.”
“@DaveGoldust psht. I love myself too much. And aren’t you the gay one? #Aidsinfested #killyourself #Pleasedoit”
“All black women go to jail for embezzlement at some point in their lives. #misscleo #allysin_kays highschool principal”
“@RubyFruitShanti Bahaha!! That’s what I’m thinking. Its cuz ur black. No doubt.”
Havok has since issued a public apology about the situation, which you can read below.
“I want to apologize whole heartedly for the OLD tweets that are being brought up right now. Legit, It was years ago and i don’t even rem.tweeting over half of this stuff. The stuff i do remember was jokes that were in bad taste. I was young and very new to social media promo and i was very immature and just said things to make my friends laugh at the time. Inside jokes between us. I don’t really feel or believe any of the things i DID actually tweet. I am a loving, compassionate person and i LOVE everyone. No mater who! I would die for any wrestling fan and i care so much about wrestling and everything in it. I would not be here without any of you. I was young, stupid & immature. I am not too proud to admit some of it was me being bitter for all the wrong reasons, but I’ve learned and grown from this .. i hope this can be forgiven. I love you guys.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross updated his official blog on Saturday with a long rant about his take on the state of the wrestling industry.
Below is an excerpt from the blog, which features JR’s rant.
“I’ve said here many times that I hope that all wrestling promotions are successful and make it through their respective rough waters that many are currently encountering. Nonetheless, some within these organizations can’t handle constructive criticism and seem to take some things that I say personally which is both childish and unprofessional. It is my prerogative to criticize bad acting, over scripted promos, no selling major moves, illogical creative and other eye rolling creative content in an attempt to re-invent what isn’t broken. I think that I’ve paid my dues, earned a decent track record within the biz and, above all, I am still a fan of over 50 years.
The vast majority of wrestlers these days are not good promo talents. Reason being is that creative staffs seemingly have to justify their existence by role playing with these individuals and scripting virtually every word that the talents say. That system is both outdated and unproductive as fans today can recognize a wrestler reciting a promo from memory instead as from their heart within a few sentences.
Wrestling is best when it comes from a logically, realistic place and is executed inside the ring as an athletic contest built on common sense and not an acrobatic show that exposes the business as a sham with no selling and the complete lack of some talent’s ability to properly apply an actual wrestling hold.
The faster some talent perform the louder that they tell us that their skill set is lacking and that they are trying to get by on sensationalism instead of realism.
I get taken to task because of my 21 years in WWE as if I’m picking on the TNA’s, ROH’s, Lucha Underground’s, etc of the world when nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve dedicated 40+ years of my life to the wrestling business, proudly I might add, and would do it all over again if the opportunity presented itself. But that isn’t going to happen. I want the business to be healthy and to prosper long after I’m gone for future generations to enjoy. At the rate of some of the things that I’m watching each week on TV are happening, I’m not sure sure that’s going to occur.
Some feel that we are allegedly in a pending “boom” period because there is so much TV wrestling product available o n a weekly. Does average, at times at best average, TV product indicate “Boom” to any one who actually thinks about it? I think not.
The product is by and large over thought and those in creative charge seemingly feel compelled to take a tried and true product and put their personal finger prints on it as if they are going to be the one who is forever known as “changing the wrestling business forever.” The wrestling business changed forever when the territories died due largely because local promoters got lazy and complacent and did not want to move into the modern era of marketing and producing TV programs plus they stopped developing new, young stars. Blame who you want but the territory system stopped doing what brought them to the dance and that was featuring new stars in compelling rivalries that were based in easy to understand, common sense story lines produced in weekly, episodic television. Plus, the talents back in the day were, by and large, better story tellers than we are fed today with some exceptions.
An essentially, easy to watch, non complex hour of TV that virtually anyone could understand and enjoy was what worked best for many of us lifers.
Where have those days gone?
Yes, I’ve been involved with many lame, ineffective and impotent TV storylines in my career but I was always a team player and had no problem cashing the checks to do what my employer instructed me to do in the fictional, show business word of pro wrestling. It was like an actor being cast in a role in a film. Some days were better than others…some shows were better than others, too.
Perhaps some day someone in a promotion will understand that simpler is better and the majority of fans don’t want bad acting or predictable promos but instead want to get lost in personal issues featuring the stars settling the conflict in the ring utilizing superior athletic representation.”
Check outt the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling performer AJ Styles recently appeared as a guest on the Inside The Ropes podcast. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On if he would go to Global Force Wrestling: “I think that there’s definitely an opening, it’s just finding an opening in the schedule. That’s the biggest problem we’ve come across is my schedule is so full that it’s hard to fit me in. That’s the problem we’re having right now. I always stay busy but I’d say it’s only a matter of time before I show up in Global Force.”
On his reaction when he found out ROH was going to be on Destination America: “A huge shock to me. Did not expect something like that. It’s one of those things where I was told and I just started laughing. It was just one of those things, I was so surprised I just started laughing hysterically. I even called a couple of my buddies in Ring of Honor and we just chuckled together. It’s gonna be fun man. We always did a great job with wrestling but now there’s something to prove and I think you’re gonna see a different Ring of Honor, in a good way.”
On if he would go to NXT: “The first thing I’m gonna do is what’s best for me and my family, that’s what I’m gonna do. People know I was in TNA but I don’t think people think of me now as ‘The TNA Guy.’ Now they see me as a New Japan guy or a Ring of Honor guy. I had to work to make sure I wasn’t known as a TNA guy to get my product, being AJ Styles, out there again but at the end of the day like I say, whatever’s best for me and my family I’ll do. This is a business. Despite what people may think “AJ left TNA” this is a job. I thought I deserved a little bit more for all the effort and stuff into, you know any business, and to not get paid what I think I deserve would be dumb. You don’t work hard to take a step down, you work hard to take steps up. I went out and found a step up in the wrestling business and if there’s another opportunity to step up, then I’ll do that.”
As we reported earlier this week, WWE officials have changed their interest level regarding bringing AJ Styles into the company. Originally, the company wasn’t that interested in bringing him in, however following the success of many of his peers in NXT, and eventually on the main roster, WWE is apparently more interested in Styles than they were in the past. It is worth noting, however, that nothing is expected to happen at any point in the near future, as Styles is locked into a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling until the end of 2015.
Speaking of WWE’s interest in acquiring established talent, the company is reportedly in the process of trying to find out when the contracts of a few of TNA’s top talents expire. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is interested in signing a few of TNA’s bigger stars, but only for the NXT brand for now.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin interviewed the World Powerlifting Champion CT Fletcher for the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– On this week’s edition of NXT Fallout, which you can watch below, Finn Balor is helped to the back after being attacked by Rhyno, and Rhyno explains why he attacked Balor.
– WWE issued the following press release to announce their new television deal in Italy.
WWE (NYSE:WWE) and Sky Italia have extended their partnership for five more years to exclusively broadcast WWE’s flagship programming, WWE Raw®, SmackDown®, NXT®, WWE Experience and WWE Main Event® on Sky Sports through 2020.
In addition, Cielo, Sky Italia’s free-to-air channel which is available in more than 24 million homes, will air one-hour versions of WWE Raw and SmackDown weekly on Sundays at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. CEST, respectively, and all 12 WWE live, pay-per-view specials, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, will continue to be available on Sky Prima Fila.
“We are thrilled to renew our long-term relationship with WWE, which dates back to 2003, and we are glad that, once again, WWE has recognized the Sky platform as a key driver for maximizing exposure of its brand,” said Matteo Mammi, Rights, Programming and Production Director, Sky Italia. “We look forward to working together and continuing to serve WWE fans in Italy.”
“We are proud of our more than 10-year relationship in Italy with Sky, Europe’s leading media company and largest pay-TV broadcaster,” said Gerrit Meier, Executive Vice President, International, WWE. “This partnership is a testament to the passion Italian fans of all ages have for WWE’s action-packed, family-friendly programming and the global reach of the brand.”
As announced on this week’s edition of NXT TV, WWE will be holding a live WWE Network special from Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on July 4th. Below is the full lineup for the show.
– Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
– John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane & King Barrett
– Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor (NXT Title)
– Chris Jericho vs. Neville
– The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro*
– Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi (WWE Divas Title)
– The Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores
* – Tyson Kidd may be pulled from this match due to injury.
WWE inserted a pre-taped segment during tonight’s NXT broadcast on the WWE Network, announcing a live special with a major title match in Japan.
On tonight’s show, it was announced by William Regal that there will be a live special from Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on July 4th that will feature Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Championship.
The show is scheduled to start at 6:30am EST., which would be 8:30pm in Japan, so it’s possible that only part of the show will air on the WWE Network, since the show is scheduled for a 7pm start-time.
The event will also include the previously reported Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston match, and will also feature a John Cena main event, as well as a match including Chris Jericho.
Global Force Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett appeared as a guest on the PodNasty Podcast this week to discuss a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On Destination America carrying both ROH and TNA: “I think it’s very healthy, first and foremost. A wrestling block is not anything revolutionary. It was back in the 80s there was a lot of syndicated programming and you would have a block of wrestling on a Saturday morning or Saturday evening, you could watch wrestling from the Tennessee area, form the Florida area, from the Texas area, from all sorts and so I think it’s very healthy. I do not know what the facts are as it relates to the TNA situation or, quite frankly, the Ring of Honor deal or just how all that works in but from a fan’s perspective like me and you I’m very happy that the opportunity has arisen because in business, what do we do? We compete. So I think it’s going to up everybody’s level and I saw many posts on social media over the last seven days that, quite frankly, go right to that and who’s going to be the winner out of all these competition? The wrestling fan and that at the end of the day is good for the wrestling business.”
On what wrestling promotion intrigues him the most right now: “It goes without saying it’s the influx of NXT, When you inject fresh blood and fresh talent that’s prepared, it’s a good thing. And I think that, above anything Kevin Owens, Finn Balor this new talent coming along those guys, they’re not rookies. The old definition of success is when preparation meets opportunity I think Kevin has prepared himself, he’s getting the opportunity, and he’s going to be successful.”
On Jeff Jarrett’s on-camera involvement in GFW: “Minimal. I’m the promoter and the stars are going to shine, the athletes are going to shine, that’s what 99.9 percent of my time is geared toward as it relates to my professional side of things is promoting this brand, creating brand awareness and putting these athletes on a stage that they haven’t been before and letting their ability speak for themselves.”
As reported, Samoa Joe has signed a full-time deal with WWE. Joe will, however, still be fulfilling his advertised independent bookings.
Ring Of Honor confirmed that Joe will still be working their June 20th television taping in New York City, in what will likely be his final appearance with ROH.
Additionally, Joe has been added to the Absolute Intense Wrestling event in Cleveland, Ohio on July 10th. Joe is also booked to work the big NXT live events this month in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Columbus, Ohio.
For those wondering, Joe is not currently booked to appear at the WWE SmackDown television taping tonight. So unless things change, Joe will not be the person to answer Kevin Owens’ “Open Challenge.”
The official website of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens recently interviewed NXT star Sami Zayn about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On what made him pursue a career in pro wrestling: “As a kid growing up in Montreal, I wanted to become either a hockey player or a wrestler. Since my family didn’t have a lot of money, my parents never put me in a hockey league because it was so expensive. When I was 17 years old, I was given the opportunity to be trained as a wrestler. At the time, I never really thought about making it a career, I only saw it as a chance to do something that I always wanted to do. It’s similar to hockey when a kid who’s five years old can’t really say if he’ll become a professional hockey player. But, if you stay in something long enough and you keep doing something long enough and you enjoy it, one thing led to another and I kept going. I would have loved to make a career as a member of the Habs (laughs), but I think wrestling was more my thing.”
On his longtime rivalry with Kevin Owens and how it compares to the Habs vs. Bruins hockey rivalry: “That would be a good comparison. (laughs) It’s funny because if I’m not mistaken, Kevin’s dad is a Habs fan and his mom is a Bruins fan. From the time we started wrestling in Laval at Le Skratch up until today in WWE, every step of the way in our careers it’s always been sometimes friends, but the majority of the time enemies. In a lot of ways it’s like the Habs and the Bruins. No matter what, we’re destined to fight each other until the end of time. Fans seem to really like it.”
On being named NXT’s 2014 Superstar of the Year: “NXT changed so much since I got here two years ago. When I first got here, the culture was so different, it was about getting out of here as fast as possible. In my opinion, I noticed early on that it could make people go crazy. When I got there, I wanted to make NXT a better brand and make it grow. And, it did. But at the end of the day, my goal is to evolve and go above and beyond to make RAW or Smackdown! or the Pay-per-views better, or give Wrestlemania one more great match. I’m kind of split on this because NXT is my immediate goal, but my ultimate goal is to make RAW and make it better. Getting recognized with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year in NXT or finally winning the championship helped me and our brand. By the time I get on the main roster, I hope to be able to build up a lot of equity that way to show that I’m on the way to the top.”
– The official WWE Tough Enough website has a new video interview up with Billy Gunn. Gunn, who will be serving s one of the trainers on the new season of the show informs the contestants what they can expect. You can check out the video at WWEToughEnough.com.
– Although he confirmed the news himself via social media earlier today, WWE is now officially advertising rapper Machine Gun Kelly as a guest star for the June 15th edition of WWE RAW in Cleveland, Ohio. WWE.com wrote the following about his scheduled appearance:
“Machine Gun Kelly is returning to the WWE Universe.
The hip-hop star who played John Cena to the ring at WrestleMania XXVIII and provided an official theme song of WrestleMania 29 will reunite with the Superstars and Divas of WWE when he appears as the Guest Star of the June 15 edition of Raw in advance of the release of his second album, due later this summer. Is a reunion with Cena in the cards for MGK, who will be guest-starring in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio? A musical performance of his new single, “A Little More?” Tune in to Raw June 15 at 8/7 C live on USA Network to find out!”
– NXT Diva Lina Ranene announced that she and Uhaa Nation will be making their NXT debut at the live event tonight in Venice, Florida. Ranene tweeted the following:
– NXT star Tyler Breeze worked the WWE main roster live event on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. Breeze was accompanied to the ring by Summer Rae for a match against Damien Sandow. Sandow ended up winning the match when Heath Slater interfered. After the match, Curtis Axel made the save.
– Samoa Joe is still scheduled to make his Preston City Wrestling debut in the United Kingdom on Friday, August 7, 2015. Tickets for the show officially go on sale this Sunday at PrestonCityWrestling.com.
– Below are this week’s “Top 10 WWE SmackDown Moments.”
– WWE will be holding a NXT live event tonight at the Venice Community Center in Venice, Florida. If anyone is attending the show, feel free to send in a report.
– WWE is also holding a live event tonight at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The scheduled main event is John Cena vs. Rusev in a steel cage match, although it will likely end up being Cena vs. Kane in a cage instead due to the fact that Rusev is nursing an injury. As noted, Rusev’s status for Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber is still in question.
– Triple H showed off the next three days worth of food he plans to eat in a new photo posted on his official Twitter account. You can check out the picture below.
Prior to getting injured, WWE’s original plans were to call former NXT Champion Sami Zayn up to the main roster after his match with Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable..
Due to the recent injury Zayn suffered, WWE changed their plans and instead called current NXT Champion Owens up to the main roster.
As noted, Owens recently signed a main roster contract with WWE and will be working every RAW show going forward. Owens will also continue to work in NXT because he is the World Champion, so that his transition to the main roster will be a smooth one.
Additionally, there are apparently some big plans to call up the current number one contender to the NXT title — Finn Balor — to the main roster as well. What those “big plans” are, however, remain to be seen.
WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with Sky Sports to promote this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On working with the likes of John Cena and Seth Rollins: “I have been incredibly fortunate to be thrown into the mix straightaway and you can’t ask for more than that as a newcomer. It is such an opportunity to wrestle those guys, as well as Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus, and it is something I was adamant I was going to grab with both hands.”
On his ambitions over the next few months: “I want to keep seizing my opportunities. I still feel like I am in my introductory period in terms of making my name in WWE so want to keep my head down and work hard. I would also love to have a match with Daniel Bryan. I don’t know exactly what his health is like but if and when he does return it would be great to get in the ring with him.”
On who the biggest influences of his career were: “There are so many role models who I watched and idolised growing up, mainly guys with a similar athletic style to myself. I loved Dynamite Kid, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, as well as Japanese juniors like Jushin Liger, Ultimo Dragon and Tiger Mask. I always wanted to emulate those stars. However, other guys who have been more actively involved in my progression would be people like William Regal, Terry Taylor and Joey Mercury. Those great minds have really helped and guided me to where I am.”
On if he misses the atmosphere in NXT: “I do, yes. A different demographic of people watch NXT compared to Raw and Smackdown; NXT is followed by the real knowledgeable, hardcore internet audience whereas the main shows have a more family feel. The products, therefore, are very different but I am having a blast on Raw and Smackdown and the new challenges they bring.”