WWE announced that the next NXT live special on the WWE Network will air on December 11th.
WWE released the statement to members of the media which included a graphic that shows Triple H, Sami Zayn, Kevin Steen, Fergal Devitt, Hideo Itami, Charlotte and Adrian Neville.
HHH will hold another conference call to promote the special prior to the event.
Below is the aforementioned graphic:
The following are highlights of a new Daily Mirror interview with TNA star Bram:
On TNA’s TV situation: “TNA management and Dixie [Carter] keep us in the loop as much as they can. I’m confident in the company. I don’t worry about it. Whatever they choose to do I know it’s going to work out.”
On being married to NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte: “I’m doing my own thing in TNA and she’s doing her own thing there. We have a bond in wrestling and in most relationships, wrestling can get in the way. We both understand when we’re away for a long time or we’re hurt or you’ve got to do things some people wouldn’t be too happy with. There’s a nice understanding there which makes our relationship a lot easier.”
On being Ric Flair’s son-in-law: “It’s not something you think about. If you had told me all of the things I would have done, people that I would have met when I was 13, I would have been like ‘wow’. But as the years pass, everything kind of seems normal. From an outside point of view it might seem cool or bizarre, but to me it’s normal. It’s a great relationship, it has been from day one, he’s a hell of a guy. As long as Ashley’s happy, he’s happy.”
You can check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.
– William Regal will be at the WWE television tapings next week in Brooklyn and Philadelphia to evaluate talent that is being brought in for tryout matches.
– NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte has been cutting promos at live events this week claiming that she is looking at going after AJ Lee and the WWE Divas Championship.
While there is still one more set of television tapings before the next NXT live special, which is expected to take place on December 11th on the WWE Network, based on what has been taped thus far, the following matches are rumored for the fourth live NXT special:
NXT Championship:
– Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn
NXT Women’s Championship:
– Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks or Becky Lynch, or a multi-Diva match with Bayley included
NXT Tag-Team Championships:
– The Vaudevillians vs. The Lucha Dragons
– Hideo Itami and Finn Balor vs. The Ascension
The following matches were taped for tonight’s edition of WWE NXT on the WWE Network:
NXT Championship
– Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyson Kidd
NXT Women’s Championship
– Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley
– Hideo Itami vs. Viktor
– Baron Corbin vs. Troy McClain
– The Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger
VIDEO: Top UFC Contenders Have HEATED Exchange Backstage After Controversial Fight
WWE Diva Emma got her start in the company in its’ developmental system known as NXT, however she was the first new generation female to debut on the main roster. Less than a year and one arrest later, Emma is back on NXT programming. This may seem like a step down for her, but NXT provides Emma with greater opportunities.
Emma made her main roster debut in January of 2014 and quickly developed a friendship with fellow comedic superstar Santino Marella. Unfortunately, Marella had a career ending injury and officially announced his retirement at a house show in July. That same month, Emma was arrested, released and then reinstated after an incident involving shoplifting. It was not a great month for Emma.
After her arrest, Emma was being used less and less on WWE programming. And without Santino around, WWE didn’t seem to have much to do for Emma.
If you look at the current state of the Divas Championship in WWE, it’s pretty crowded. AJ Lee was the top diva for 343 days until another new generation diva was promoted to the main roster. Paige and AJ have become the modern day Trish and Lita. They are levels above the rest of the girls. However, with the heel turn of Total Diva Nikki Bella, another contender has entered the title picture. This has left Emma at the bottom of the list of divas on the main roster.
Now thinking about the Womens’ title over in NXT, Emma would make a great and logical choice for the next number one contender. Emma and Paige squared off for the NXT Women’s title at the brand’s first special event, NXT ArRIVAL but the Aussie came up short. This could be attributed to the fact that Emma had already debuted on the main roster, while Paige was solely on NXT.
Since NXT ArRIVAL, the Womens’ title has been held by Ric Flair’s daughter, Charlotte. While the Nature Boy’s daughter continues to improve, she may have been more lucky than talented. Emma was on the main roster and thus, not considered to become the new champion when Paige vacated the Womens’ title. Summer Rae is also an NXT diva who spends most of her time on the main roster shows.
Who is left on NXT? Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks are the top dogs in the womens’ division. WWE hasn’t promoted Banks as a leader. She developed a partnership with both Charlotte and Summer Rae known as the BFFs, but Banks was clearly the sidekick of the group. Then, there is Bayley. She has a super sweet gimmick of what appears to be a teeny bopper type of girl. She seems great, but not necessarily strong enough to be the champion.
The womens’ division in NXT could use Emma. Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks are holding their own, but fans need another strong babyface. With the ladder too tall to climb on the main roster, Emma would benefit from the stoop she needs to climb in NXT. She is already proven there and the opportunities down in Tampa are endless for the Aussie.
What are your thoughts on Emma as the next number one contender for the NXT Womens’ title? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
The following are highlights of a new blog from WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On this week’s Ross Report podcast: “This week’s Ross Report podcast is a special one for me as it features my mentor Cowboy Bill Watts in a no holds barred conversation about the wrestling biz and many other topics. No one I ever worked for had more in ring psychology and booking acumen than did the Big Cowboy. He was a disciplinarian who treated his wrestlers like athletes and not like they were show biz performers. He had structure in his company, a fine system and also one of the most profitable territories in America. Bill headlined MSG in his third year in the business much like @TheRock and @BrockLesnar.”
On NXT stars on RAW: “I think it would be interesting for some of the NXT talents to have a re-occurring role on RAW as it would help promote the future of the WWE which is the @WWENetwork. If fans can see what they are missing by not watching NXT on the Network they may be more inclined to invest the $9.99 month subscription fee.”
“NXT was the best WWE produced TV of the week last week in my opinion.”
On Ric Flair’s health: “Heard Ric Flair was in the hospital for some minor surgeries IE not considered life threatening. I’ve been told that Ric’s issues were kidney related but that is merely a ‘source says’ matter and speculation but which might indicate a kidney stone issue or something of that nature. Nonetheless, I hope Ric gets better soon. I haven’t talked to him in months but still have great memories of our time on the road together.”
“Speaking of Flair, his daughter Charlotte in NXT is special and is the best new, female in ring talent the WWE has trained in years. She’s the type of talent that a serious, women’s division, if that was desired, can be built around.”
On WWE scouting NFL players as future talent: “Nice to read where HHH is endorsing WWE finding star level NFL players to integrate into the WWE. I’ve been suggesting that for years and I hope that HHH can make it happen but it won’t be easy based on entry level, WWE pay. Same goes for major college football players who are younger and more affordable than NFL vets and whose backgrounds can be vetted thoroughly as well. Obviously, one wants to find athletes from this world who are fans and have the aptitude for the business.”
“With all these various abuse issues occurring in the NFL I’d assume WWE will further tighten up their background checks, etc on new hires. All companies should but some companies can’t afford to do so or won’t see it as a priority because it’s just “wrestling.” Big mistake.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Below are some post-NXT Takeover 2 backstage video interviews from Thursday night.
The following are results of the NXT Takeover 2 special, which aired on the WWE Network on Thursday, September 11, 2014.
– The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto) def. The Ascension to become the new NXT Tag-Team Champions in the opening match of the show. The finish came when Kalisto pinned Viktor.
– Baron Corbin def. C.J. Parker in a quick squash match that lasted all of 29 seconds.
– Enzo Amore def. Sylvester Lefort with a rolling reverse cradle, holding his trunks during the pin. Lefort tried to run away after the match, but Big Cass clotheslined him. Louis attacked Cass and Lefort ran off, leaving Louis alone. Cass hit a big kick on Louis. Cass said to Amore, “Enzo, get the bucket!” in Dudley Boyz fashion. He poured the bucket on Louis and Louis ran off.
– KENTA came out to the ring after being introduced by William Regal. KENTA announced that his new name is Hideo Itami. The Acension came out and threw him out of the ring and demanded a tag-title rematch. He came back in and cleaned house of both guys.
– Bull Dempsey def. Mojo Rawley in about a minute with a diving head-butt. After the match, he gave Rowley another diving head-butt for good measure.
– Backstage, Enzo Amore and Big Cass wanted to see somebody bald. They found Louis and Lefort ran away, leaving him alone yet again. Cass attacked him and carried him to the ring. Cass hit him with a reverse atomic drop and Amore took the towel off that was covering his head, revealing that he only had a little bit of hair left and no eyebrows.
– Charlotte def. Bayley to retain the NXT Women’s Championship. The finish saw Charlotte hit a moonsault, followed by a neck-snapper for the pin. After the match, Sasha Banks came out and taunted Bayley and then attacked her. Charlotte ended up making the save.
– It was announced that Hideo Itami (formerly known as KENTA) will be making his in-ring debut on NXT TV next week, which is actually being taped on Saturday night, September 12th.
– Adrian Neville def. Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn & Tyson Kidd to retain the NXT Championship. The finish saw Neville hit his spectacular Red Arrow on Kidd for the pin after Zayn had hit the running kick into the corner and had the match won, but Neville pulled the referee out of the ring so he couldn’t make the three count. This was definitely a “match of the year” candidate.
– NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Bayley in what was said to be an excellent main event at the NXT live event in Citrus Springs, Florida on Sunday night. The reason the NXT Divas were in the headline match of the evening was because several of NXT’s top talents were on the road with the main WWE roster this weekend.
NXT Champion Adrian Neville defeated fellow NXT performer Tyler Breeze at the WWE live event in Dayton, Ohio. Sami Zayn defeated Tyson Kidd and The Ascension lost to Big E. and Kofi Kingston at the WWE live event in Hampton, Virginia.
– Speaking of NXT, several new promos for NXT Takeover 2 have been added to the official NXT Instagram account. The two newest additions feature Sami Zayn and Sasha Banks talking about the upcoming live WWE Network special. You can check those out at Instagram.com/wwenxt.
– After initially keeping him out of the ring during live events to sell his storyline knee injury, WWE had Jey Uso return to action on Sunday night in Dayton, Ohio. Uso worked a six-man tag-team match with his brother Jimmy and The Great Khali, defeating all three members of The Wyatt Family. Jey had his knee heavily taped up and sold it throughout the majority of the match.
– NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte held a live Q&A on Twitter on Sunday night. She spoke about her pre-match ritual, which includes her saying a prayer to her brother Reid before heading out to the ring. She also noted that her first official WWE t-shirt will be released soon.
– The person who played The Miz’s makeup artist during his tag-team match on Monday’s RAW was independent female wrestler Sarah “Crazy Mary Dobson” Bridges.
– During the Total Divas Twitter Q&A, which we reported about on Sunday, Brie Bella noted that she would like to feud with NXT Divas Champion Charlotte in the future.
– The Tickld website has a new article up regarding Batista’s role as “Drax” in the wildly successful “Guardians of the Galaxy” film. You can check that out at Tickld.com.
– The following matches are confirmed for this Thursday’s edition of NXT TV on the WWE Network, which is the “go-home” show for the September 11th NXT Takeover 2 special.
*The Vaudevillains vs. Sin Cara & Kalisto [Number 1 Contendership For Tag-Titles]
*Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss [NXT Women’s Championship]
*Tyler Breeze vs. Tye Dillinger
*Tyson Kidd vs. Adam Rose
*Adrian Neville vs. CJ Parker
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans who they feel will be the next WWE Divas Champion. The options are Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Tamina Snuka, Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes, Eva Marie, Naomi, Emma, Charlotte and Cameron. With over 10,000 votes cast, Naomi is leading the pack with over 30 percent of the vote. Trailing Naomi are Charlotte, Eva Marie, Summer Rae, Emma and Tamina Snuka, respectively. You can vote on the poll at WWE.com.
– As noted earlier today, The Rock’s ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, won at the IFBB Championships this past weekend. The Rock congratulated her on Twitter, tweeting the following on Sunday:
Congratulations to my manager @_DanyGarcia_ New 2014 IFBB NORTH AMERICAN PHYSIQUE CHAMPION. #HardWorkPays #ProCard pic.twitter.com/L7lWVPoIBu
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 31, 2014
Jim Varsallone of The Miami Herald has added several new videos from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to his official YouTube channel. Below are a few of them.
Trainer/Producer Sara Amato at WWE Performance Center 2014
“Sara Amato is breaking ground in sports entertainment as the first female trainer in WWE. A world-renowned wrestler who traveled the globe for more than a decade as Sara Del Rey, Amato trains the women at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. She is molding and shaping them into NXT’s Divas with the ultimate goal for them to become successful WWE Divas. Hard working, professional, talented, tough and beautiful, Amato could have focused on being the next WWE Diva but opted to train aspiring WWE Divas.”
Charlotte, Sara Amato, NXT Divas at WWE Performance Center 2014
“NXT Divas champ Charlotte works out with other developmental talent at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando. They are the future of WWE’s Divas Division, being trained by Sara Amato (former wrestler Sara Del Rey), the first female trainer in WWE. She is preparing the lovely and talented ensemble for sports entertainment via NXT shows that are featured on WWE Network.”
Nick Dinsmore, NXT Superstars at WWE Performance Center 2014
“WWE developmental talent work on their in-ring entrance at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Nick Dinsmore (former WWE superstar Eugene) is one of the trainers as part of a Dream Team of coaches, trainers, producers and staff at the center. He helps establish and transition today’s NXT superstars into the company’s sports entertainment genre via NXT shows on WWE Network from Full Sail Live at Full Sail University in Winter Park, near Orlando.”
NXT Corey Graves at WWE Performance Center 2014
“NXT superstar Corey Graves is a solid talent on the roster. Don’t let this long-time wrestling fan go under the rader. He’s worked well against members of The Shield, Bray Wyatt & The Wyatt Family and Adrian Neville. A former NXT tag team champion, Graves has an edgy look, complete with plenty of tattoos. Willing to learn all facets of the business, he is an alum of the Funkin Conservatory under the guidance of WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr. in (Central Florida) Ocala.”
– WWE and Rogers Communications in Canada decided to include a small archive of content on the WWE Network due to the fact that the launch was rushed so that the company could improve their subscription numbers between now and the end of the year.
– There is talk of having Bayley defeat Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship at the upcoming NXT Takeover 2 special. The idea behind this is to get the belt off of Charlotte so that she can be called up to the main roster, which would also give Ric Flair a regular role on WWE television.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
The following are highlights of a new Between The Ropes interview with NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte:
On sharing the moment with her father Ric Flair when she won the NXT Women’s Title at Takeover: “I really don’t have the words. It was so special. I mean, to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I think if anyone’s followed my father’s career, they truly know how passionate he is about sports entertainment. And to be able to carry on his legacy in my own way and to win the NXT Women’s Championship, it just meant the world to me. I know how much his legacy, hard work, sacrifice and his love for his fans and the WWE Universe that he put into them. And to know that I’m representing his brand that he worked on for so long means a lot to me. So I just want to do it justice and I felt that pressure that night. I think it went really well. No matter how grand the stage is, he be proud of me. But to win my first title with there, was special.”
On her WWE debut at Madison Square Garden this past weekend: “Heck of a way to start your main roster debut. It was amazing. While Sasha Banks and I started pretty much at the same time and to have her tagging with me was special in itself. But Madison Squarer Garden has so much history and tradition. And to walk out there and know that I was making history within that building and having my dad there and being on the same card as him, that’s what made it special. Like his name was on there, I was on there. But facing Natalya again, that was pretty awesome too. That was the first time I faced her since Takeover and obviously going up against Nikki (Bella) too. Also, what was so cool, they (the crowd) knew who we were. Walking out there playing our little package and knowing us made you feel like even more like a superstar like NXT means business.”
Check out the complete interview above.
– Some of Santino Marella’s students from his Battle Arts Academy school were used as “Rosebuds” for Adam Rose on last week’s WWE SmackDown and WWE Superstars shows. Additionally, Randy Reign and Hornet received tryouts prior to the SmackDown television taping last Tuesday and could potentially become the first Battle Arts Academy students to get WWE deals.
– NXT Diva Sasha Banks confirmed that she will be at RAW and SmackDown this week. As noted previously, additional NXT talents, such as Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Charlotte are also expected at this week’s WWE TV.
The following are highlights of a recent Newsday interview with WWE Diva Natalya:
On her recent NXT match with Charlotte: “I’m actually getting goose bumps talking about it. It was about honoring and representing two legacies. And it was the first time my uncle Bret and Ric Flair kind of reunited in decades. They haven’t always had a great relationship . . . It connected Bret and Ric in a way they never connected before . . . It was one of the moments I’ll never forget.”
On gaining confidence recently: “Getting a chance to listen to him and hear his ideas and his philosophies, it’s such a great asset . . . You can make all the suggestions in the world but you cannot teach experience. I’ve actually learned how to be a ring general by working with people who have less experience that me, because I’m feeding off their hunger.”
Check out the complete interview at Newsday.com.
Nikki Bella recently spoke with Digital Spy to promote Total Divas appearing on E! UK later this month. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
If Divas Will Ever Main Event WWE Pay-Per-Views: “I hope and pray for that. There’s nothing I would want more. Brie and I work so hard in that ring and outside that ring, and a lot of the Divas do. That’s something that we would love. Do I understand that I’m in a man’s industry? 100%. When I see all those little boys, I see them look at the guys and that’s their Superman, that’s their Batman. I think it’ll be very tough for us to main event, but I think it can definitely happen. To tell you the truth, I think Steph and Brie are two women that could definitely make that happen. I think there’s a few of us in the division that definitely in the future could make that happen, and I truly hope one day it will. I think the day that we do it, they’ll see the success of it and realize we can do it a lot.”
If She Feels Threatened By NXT Divas Emma, Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks: “I actually have to say I’m really, really excited. When you have such a love and passion for wrestling and you love to work, you want to get in with good workers. I want those girls to come up, I want to get in the ring with them. I want challenges, I want to compete. I don’t want it to always be easy. I don’t want it to always just be a few of us girls. I want there to be competition. I’ve been an athlete and competitor my whole life, and there’s nothing more that I get off on than competition. I was saying earlier that I want to wrestle Brie. Brie’s gotten so good in the ring and [Daniel] Bryan [Danielson] and her have worked so hard in that ring before live events. I want to get in there and wrestle my sister! That’s the fun part, when you get in there with someone who has the same passion for wrestling and that can work well and you can put on a good match where you can really just get at each other.”
“There’s a few matches in the past few months that I’ve had with Natalya, my goodness, we’re actually going at it really hard. We were loving it! The harder we were hitting each other, the better it was. It was just fun to do certain takedown moves. That’s the stuff that makes it fun, so I’m happy ‘cos these girls down there have been training hard and I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about them and I’m like, ‘Get up here, I’m excited!’.”
“I was excited when Paige came up. If she goes heel one day, I’m like, please! I’m hoping for it because I’m a babyface and there’s nothing more that I’d love than to work a program with Paige. I think it’d be awesome. So I’m excited for these girls to come up. I never look at people as threats, because I’m always like, ‘What makes our product better?’ Having great female wrestlers makes our product better.”
If She Will Get Back In The Divas Championship Picture: “I hope soon! I want that Divas Championship. When I train in the gym and when I go to the ring early and train, all I think about is getting that Divas Championship. How can I be impressive? How can I have the crowd be behind me and connect with me and want me to be the Divas Champion? I think about that all the time, all the time! That’s what’s on my vision board. I truly hope to get that Championship back. I had it for a week, and I want a longer reign than that. I want to make that Championship mean something. I want to get great storylines.
“And if anything I hope Paige takes it off of AJ and Paige and I go into a story. I would love to take it off Paige. That would be awesome. Hopefully Paige and I can do something after her and AJ are done, but we’ll see. It’s live TV and it changes every week, but I want to get in it, I want to get in it bad. I have stuff up my sleeve that I want to show the crowd, that I’m waiting and saving it for, but I just can’t wait – I hope it’s soon.”
If She Feels Protective Of John Cena: “John loves this business, he truly lives and dies for this business. It’s what he breathes. I’m with him all the time and when he’s not at work, he’s doing whatever he can to make work better. I’m very protective of him, I’ve always referred to myself as a lioness. That’s my king and I’m the queen! But when I hear those chants it actually makes me laugh because if they didn’t like him they wouldn’t even say his name. I think it’s become more fun. When you hear it you hear all the little kids say ‘Let’s go, Cena!’ and then you hear the men say ‘Cena sucks’.
“I think deep down they truly like him and they’ in awe of him, like, ‘Gosh, his body!’ He’s a cool guy. But I think it’s just become a fun thing to do. If they truly hated him… like when people wanted to say we hate Dave Batista, they weren’t giving him that much attention. Then they started to [give him attention] because they were like, ‘He’s back to work, we respect that’. With John I think it’s become more a fun thing to do. That’s the chant you do! They do it before the shows start. Before the show’s even started, that’s the chant that you’ll always hear!”
The main event for this coming Monday’s RAW will be a six-man tag-team match, as John Cena, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose will team up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also scheduled for Monday’s RAW are Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville, who are expected to work dark matches, as well as the return of Ric Flair.
– Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville of NXT are all scheduled to work the WWE RAW and SmackDown television tapings next week in Richmond and Fayetteville, likely performing in non-televised dark matches. Ric Flair is also booked for the WWE TV shows next week.
– WWE has added Jeff Jarrett to their Alumni roster.
– WWE U.S. Champion Sheamus was said to be banged up after his “Last Man Standing” match with Alberto Del Rio at this week’s WWE Main Event. Sheamus had a number of welts on his back and shoulders after the bout.
The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of WWE NXT on the WWE Network:
– Colin Cassady vs. Sylvester Lefort
– Charlotte & Sasha Banks vs. Bayley & Becky Lynch
– CJ Parker vs. an enhancement wrestler
– Sami Zayn vs. Justin Gabriel
– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is now medically cleared to return to WWE and will be managing his daughter, NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte, at WWE live events next month. While there have been rumors that Flair would be returning to television on tonight’s RAW, he was not part of the script that was being worked on over the weekend.
– Savio Vega has been added to the Alumni section of WWE.com.
– The “Legends’ House Reunion” special will air this Thursday on the WWE Network at 8pm (Eastern). The reunion show was taped last year in Florida.
– In related WWE Network news, tomorrow’s Wrestlemania Rewind will focus on Kurt Angel vs. Eddie Guerrero from Wrestlemania 20.
(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)
The following are highlights of a new Niagra Falls Review interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair:
On his daughter Charlotte getting into wrestling: “I didn’t encourage her, she just went to Wrestlemania with me. She was making a real nice living running a personal training center. John Laurinaitis saw her and said, ‘Why aren’t you wrestling?”
On The Undertaker’s streak ending: “I wanted to see The Streak go on, but I understand. Times change, it is what it is. You saw how quiet the fans got. They weren’t ready for that, so obviously they didn’t foresee that.”
On internet fans: “I don’t pay any attention to that. The internet thinks they’re smarter than we are, but they’re not. If you read the internet, it’s like watching Fox News, you don’t know what to believe. They all want to predict what they think will happen, but nobody ever knows for sure. As an example, 42 years in the business and I never thought Daniel Bryan would win that match (at April’s Wrestlemania XXX). I didn’t think he was going to beat Hunter, and I’m attuned to it!”
Check out the complete interview at NiagraFallsReview.ca.