WWE is currently discussing the possibility of bringing in additional part-time talent, such as Samoa Joe and Rhyno, for their NXT brand.
Internally, WWE is looking at their plans for 2016 lately and the feeling is most of their current top stars in NXT, such as Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Tyler Breeze, Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch, by all rights should be on the main roster by then, meaning they will need to replace those top spots on NXT shows.
WWE is looking to secure enough high-profile independent talent to fill what is expected to be several open top spots to carry a full NXT card, which will be tough to do if the aforementioned talent move up to the main roster and the current trainees aren’t ready to move up within the developmental system.
According to one source, this is the reason that WWE has been negotiating with Evolve about a “feeder system” or a “farm league” system that would include merchandise deals and other business agreements that would help them avoid the situation they recently found themselves in with Kevin Owens’ recent Ring Of Honor merchandise.
2K Sports announced the first six WWE Superstars for the new WWE 2K16 video game. The first six stars include Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Bad News Barrett, Finn Balor and Paige.
Below is a press release issued by 2K Sports with all of the details.
2K Debuts First Six Roster Members in WWE® 2K16
WWE Superstars Seth Rollins™, Daniel Bryan®, Dean Ambrose™ and Bad News Barrett™, WWE Diva Paige™ and NXT® Superstar Finn Bálor™ join largest roster in WWE video games history
New York – June 16, 2015 – 2K today announced the first six roster members in WWE 2K16, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE video game franchise. Poised to offer the largest playable roster in WWE games history, WWE 2K16 will include a variety of talent, including WWE Superstars Seth Rollins™, Daniel Bryan®, Dean Ambrose™ and Bad News Barrett™, WWE Diva Paige™ and NXT® Superstar Finn Bálor™. Artwork depicting the roster members is currently on display from June 16-18, 2015 in 2K’s booth, #1001 in the South Hall, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Additional announcements for WWE 2K16 are expected within the coming weeks.
Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K16 is not yet rated by the ESRB and in development for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft. WWE 2K16 is currently scheduled for release on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally. For more information on WWE 2K16, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram or subscribe to WWE 2K on YouTube.
– 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.
– Although WWE originally had The Miz scheduled as a third participant in the WWE Intercontinental Championship bout at this Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view, for whatever reason they decided to make it a straight singles match between Big Show and Ryback.
– While Chris Jericho will be wrestling Neville on the July 4th live WWE Network special from Sumo Hall in Japan, it is not the original opponent he requested. Originally, Jericho specifically asked to work with Hideo Itami, however when he found out Itami was hurt, he asked for Finn Balor. For whatever reason, WWE decided to go with Neville vs. Jericho for the live special on 7/4, however it is believed that Jericho will be working Balor on the non-televised date in the same building on 7/3.
– 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.”
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 announced that there will be NXT matches at the “Aftershock Festival” in Sacramento, California on October 24th and October 25th. Names advertised for the shows include Finn Balor, Sasha Banks, Baron Corbin, Charlotte and Blake & Murphy. For more, visit WWE.com.
– ROH issued the following press release today regarding the release of their new action figure line, which includes WWE Superstar and current NXT Champion Kevin Owens.
(Baltimore, MD – May 26th, 2015) – Get ready for the best wrestling figures on the planet! Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) and Figures Toy Company are proud to announce the official lineup for the debut series of ROH Wrestling action figures! Series 1 will feature four of the top names in Ring of Honor history, and this series marks the first time that any of them have been released in action figure form!
From “DemBoys” to a ruler of a Kingdom, ROH and Figures Toy Company will be releasing four major names to launch the line:
Jay Briscoe: The current Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion, Jay Briscoe is an ROH Original in every sense, including being the very first ROH match ever. With his roughneck reputation and the in ring skills to back it up, Briscoe is one of ROH’s most recognizable stars.
Mark Briscoe: Brother of Jay and another ROH Original. Together, The Briscoes wreaked havoc on the ROH tag division, and have held the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship an unprecedented 8 times! Now Mark and Jay Briscoe team up to make history once again as a part of the very first Ring of Honor action figure series.
Adam Cole: The former Ring of Honor World Champion, and the leader of The Kingdom. Cole’s brash attitude has not endeared him to the ROH fanbase, and now he has something new to brag about, as he’ll surely be flaunting his Ring of Honor action figure for all it’s worth.
Kevin Steen: The “Throwback” star in Series 1, Kevin Steen has a long and storied history in Ring of Honor. From his tag team with El Generico to wreaking havoc as the Ring of Honor World Champion, Steen has made a name for himself not only in ROH but throughout the wrestling world. He may not be raising hell in ROH any longer, but he is still a force on the rise, and collectors everywhere will be clamoring for their very first Kevin Steen figure.
The Ring of Honor action figures will be 6 inch tall figures with multiple points of articulation, and will be compatible with other wrestling figures on the market. Each figure will come packaged with assorted accessories such as realistic cloth clothing, figure sized title belts, and weapons. Each figure will be released in a resealable clamshell package. Figures Toy Company will be releasing pre-order information for Ring of Honor Series 1 action figures in the near future, so make sure to follow them on social media for updates on upcoming Ring of Honor products!
Follow on Twitter: @RingofHonor, @figurestoyco and @wres_superstore
Instagram: RingofHonor, figurestoycompany and wrestlingsuperstore
Facebook: RingofHonor, Figures Toy Company and Wrestling Superstore
NXT star Finn Balor recently spoke with MTV UK to promote Wednesday’s Takeover: Unstoppable event on the WWE Network.
Balor, 33, is clearly one of the top prospects in NXT who can make a significant impact on the main roster. With a bright future ahead and numerous potential dream feuds awaiting him on WWE TV, the Irish native isn’t in a rush to move on from developmental. When asked about getting called up to the main roster, Balor said,
“A lot of people keep talking about this call up to the main roster but for most of us at NXT we all believe what we’re doing at the moment is equally as important and we’re all fully committed to that. I’m not in any rush to make a move to Raw or SmackDown.
I’m very content at NXT and there’s a lot of challenges and a lot of milestones still to be achieved in NXT before I make any move. We all believe that we’re creating an alternative and we believe this is something we can sustain, grow and develop.”
He added that he wants to be part of NXT’s continued growth and feels that wrestling is on the verge of another boom period.
– In addition to the previously reported Chris Jericho vs. Finn Balor match scheduled for an upcoming WWE live event, Jericho is also officially booked to work a match against “King” Bad News Barrett at the San Diego live event on Friday, July 31st.
– Tommy Dreamer, who worked the NXT live events in Philadelphia and Albany this weekend, losing to Baron Corbin at both shows, acknowledged the fact that he appeared on a NXT show and a TNA show (Impact Wrestling) on the same night this past Friday. Dreamer compared it to Rick Rude appearing on RAW and Nitro on the same night during the Monday Night Wars. He tweeted the following:
I appeared on @IMPACTWRESTLING & @WWENXT last night. I'm just like Rick Rude minus the muscles & abs. What I'd like to have right now is..
– Speaking of the NXT Albany event on Saturday night, Triple H tweeted the following photo of Kevin Owens making his entrance for the triple-threat main event with Finn Balor and Tyler Breeze, which he went on to win via pinfall.
– Finn Balor’s ring entrance was screwed up during the NXT live event in Albany, New York on Saturday night. NXT had a few issues with the sound system throughout the show, but the most glaring issue came during Balor’s entrance for the main event. Tyler Breeze came out first to his usual ring music and had to stall in the ring for several minutes while the NXT production crew was presumably working on fixing whatever the issue was. Unfortunately, they didn’t fix it fast enough, so Balor ended up coming out to no music. By the time he hit the ring and was posing in the corners, his music finally played. Kevin Owens would follow as the third competitor in the triple-threat main event, and by that point, the audio issues had been cleared up.
Balor tweeted the following about his entrance mix-up on Saturday, and re-tweeted the following video of the entrance itself.
– NXT Diva Bayley’s boyfriend Aaron Solow posted the following audition video for the new season of WWE Tough Enough. In the video, Solow addresses the fact that he’s dating Bayley in real life.
Chris Jericho will be wrestling Finn Balor at the upcoming WWE live event in Tokyo, Japan on July 4th.
Originally, Jericho requested to work with Hideo Itami because he wanted to work a match that would be special to the Japanese fans. When Itami went down with an injury, Jericho then asked to work with Balor.
Speaking of Itami, despite his injury, he is still scheduled to head to Japan at the end of May to do some promotional work for WWE during their tour.
– Triple H confirmed via social media that NXT star Finn Balor will be debuting a new look this weekend. HHH tweeted a partial photo of Balor’s new body paint design, which he will be showing off at this Friday’s NXT live event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Check out the picture below.
– Stephanie McMahon and the official WWE Community Twitter account tweeted the following photos of Vince McMahon being inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and being given a lifetime membership card.
As noted earlier this month, Chris Jericho is returning to WWE this summer for another set of live events, with the possibility of some TV appearances.
WWE has now released the lineups for the company’s tour of Japan and Chris Jericho will be squaring off with none other than NXT star Finn Balor on July 4th. Balor will be replacing Hideo Itami, who is out of action for the remainder of 2015with a shoulder injury.
While it’s unfortunate that Itami won’t get a grand homecoming this summer, Balor is no stranger to Japan, having led the Bullet Club faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling prior to signing with WWE.
Here are the top matches currently advertised:
July 3rd:
US Champion John Cena vs. Rusev
Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett
July 4th:
Cena & Ziggler vs. Barrett & Rusev
Chris Jericho vs. Finn Balor
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro
Other top stars appearing on the tour include NXT Champion Kevin Owens, Neville, Luke Harper, Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, Bella Twins, and Naomi.
– The Authority are officially scheduled for tomorrow night’s episode of Raw.
The TV Guide preview reads: “With WWE Payback looming, The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, return in attempt to stabilize RAW.”
Stephanie has been off television since the post-WrestleMania edition of Raw due to a trip she took overseas for the Eisenhower USA Fellowship, an international leadership exchange program for outstanding professionals.
– The latest WWE Special Editions issue available exclusively on newsstands recaps WrestleMania 31.
– In this newly released interview, Finn Balor talks about his time in NXT and the brand’s growth in recent years, what it’s like being backstage at WrestleMania, and some dream matches he’d like to have with WWE main roster talent.
Former NXT Champion Sami Zayn’s match with WWE U.S. Champion John Cena was laid out this week to include Bret Hart’s involvement, as we all saw on RAW on Monday night, however things didn’t quite go as planned from there.
The plan was for Zayn to lose but in the process, get over as a big star in front of an audience in Montreal that WWE was sure he would get a huge reaction.
What’s interesting is that this was not apparently going to be Zayn’s official full-time debut on the main WWE roster, even though he was originally scheduled to wrestle on SmackDown again this week. Due to the injury he sustained at RAW, SmackDown this week had to be re-written.
While there’s still no definitive word regarding the specifics of the injury, reports from those close to the situation have described it as “serious.”
There was talk in the locker room on Tuesday night at the SmackDown television tapings that Zayn would be out of action for a few months. Others claimed WWE had not yet received a report from the doctor yet, so it could be anything.
If Zayn is going to be out of action for a few months, WWE would have to cancel his match against NXT Champion Kevin Owens at the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable special on May 20th.
With Zayn out of the picture, if that turns out to be the case, the leading candidates for his replacement in the match with Owens would likely be Finn Balor or Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze in a number one contender match, with the winner of that buot earning the shot at Owens.
NXT star Finn Balor recently appeared on AfterBuzz TV to discuss his current run in WWE. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On which NXT talent he feels is underrated and people should look out for: “There’s a lot of guys you know, obviously for different reasons. One guy you know I think doesn’t get the credit he deserves is Scott Dawson. He’s a tremendous, tremendous competitor and I would love to get in there one-on-one with him. I’m also a big fan of Enzo and Cass. I don’t know how that would work with teaming up with them in a six man tag team, but I’m a big fan of their work too.”
On whether he offered any advice to CJ Parker before he headed back to the independent scene: “We spoke about it….CJ was someone I was fortunate enough to get to work with when he was still here. He’s a tremendous competitor…The indie circuit is a tough circuit, but you know there’s a lot of good people out there. There is a lot of places you can learn. There’s a lot of people you can learn from and I’m sure that he’ll spend a year or two there growing himself not only personally, but as a performer and I’m sure he’ll be back in the future even better.”
On whether there is anyone on the indie scene you think WWE should have their eye on: “I’m a little bit biased because this fella, he started in the same gym as me in England…and hopefully he’ll be able to make the transition some day into WWE, Zack Sabre Jr. He’s doing tremendous in the independents, not only in Europe but in America you know, but he’s holding his own in Japan.”
On working live events in front of his home crowd: “It was quite surreal. It was only less than a year ago that I said goodbye to everyone back home in Ireland and within 10 months to be returning with the WWE main roster. Going to the 3Arena in Dublin which was an arena I used to go and watch WWE when I was a kid. To walk up through the curtain and hear the roar of the hometown crowd, that was incredible.”
On rumors that he accept John Cena’s open challenge for the U.S. Title: “Well, Believe it or not, in London when John was in the ring making the open challenge, I was actually putting my gear on trying to get into the ring…but I just got beat to the punch.”
On where he sees himself in years and whether he he has a plan for life after wrestling: “I live by the motto “Take one step at a time.” Obviously, there are a lot of short-term goals that I want to achieve, both at NXT and WWE. In 10 years time, maybe I’ll be Triple H’s right hand man, pulling the strings up in the office and helping coordinate this incredible company.”
– UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is the guest on the latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s PIt” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– As noted earlier today, NXT standout Finn Balor will be backstage at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from the O2 Arena in London, England. Balor posted the following teaser on his official Twitter account for tonight’s show.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “What’s Wrong With This Video?” web-series, which you can see below, features ten mistakes purposely added to The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan match from WrestleMania.
There has been talk within WWE as recent as WrestleMania 31 week of bringing both Neville and Finn Balor to the main WWE roster. With Neville getting the call-up two weeks ago, there continues to be speculation that Balor will soon get called up to RAW as well.
Balor, who has been working the main roster live events as part of the WWE European tour, will also be backstage at RAW today in London. The belief is he will move to the main roster permanently without ever having a NXT Championship reign, as Kevin Owens, the current NXT Champion, is expected to have a long run with the title.
Jim Ross recently posted a new blog on his official website. Below are some highlights.
On doing work with Lucha Underground: “I had a chance to do some work with Lucha Underground as they prepare for their season finale taping in a little over a week that will air in August but we couldn’t make the date work. I’m a fan of their product, except the intergender stuff which doesn’t suspend my disbelief, and would have enjoyed doing a project with them but it wasn’t in the cards this time around. I wish them the best of luck nonetheless during these apparent, crunch times for their brand. I am still of the belief that their back stage content is the best in he genre.”
On fans hijacking wrestling shows: “Was asked on the Q&A section of this site if I encouraged fans to “highjack” TV wrestling shows. I encourage fans to be loud and rowdy and to cheer or boo for who they choose as long as they keep it ‘clean’ IE “blowjob” isn’t that by the way. However when fans pick their spots, always seemingly on TV to draw attention to their insecure selves, it becomes boorish and gives the majority of wrestling fans a bad name. Luckily the “highjackers” are in the minority but do come off as embarrassing to many to their peers notwithstanding providing many within the media who dislike the genre anyway more ammo to blast away at the product that many of us embrace.”
On Finn Balor: “Yes, Finn Balor is ready for RAW or Smackdown but only when WWE has a long term plan for this talented Irishman. To call him up with a long term plan would be downright stupid.”
On the Scott Steiner controversy: “Do you really think that Scott Steiner threatened to “kill” Hulk Hogan while standing in the San Jose Airport? Really? I call misunderstanding on that one. Money says not one charge will be filled much less stick.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– WWE announced on Tuesday that the new season of Tough Enough will premiere on the USA Network on Tuesday, June 23rd. WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin noted on his Steve Austin Show podcast that he won’t be involved in the show because production took place later than expected and he was already committed to film the new season of Broken Skull Challenge on CMT.
It’s rumored that Chris Jericho will be hosting the new season and some of the trainers from the WWE Performance Center will serve as coaches.
– WWE.com has published a feature looking at this week’s European tour, with quotes from WWE Champion Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor and Neville. Finn Balor talked about returning to Dublin, Ireland to perform with WWE:
“When I was 9, 10 years old, I was watching WWE in Dublin, in that same building. To be returning with WWE and actually be performing in Dublin city, in there, really is a dream come true.”
Speaking of Finn Balor, he wrestled a dark match prior to Tuesday’s Main Event and SmackDown tapings from Dallas, Texas. He defeated defeated Xavier Woods in what was described as a great match.
– WWE has recently applied for trademarks for the terms “Suplex City” for Brock Lesnar and “Balor Club” for NXT star Finn Balor.
– The premiere episode of Jerry Springer’s “Too Hot For TV” show on the WWE Network is scheduled for Monday, April 27th. That is the Monday night after this year’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
– Bad News Barrett wrote the following on Twitter regarding his match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.