– WWE will be releasing “John Cena: Greatest Rivalries” in October to coincide with the release of the new WWE 2K15 video game. Included in the set will be Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero in a #1 contender’s tournament match from the 4/3/2003 SmackDown and Cena vs. CM Punk from the 11/23/2009 RAW.

– Longtime WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn unloaded 30,000 shares of his WWE stock on August 21st for $433,200. Dunn still owns 242,406 shares.

It’s being said that Vince McMahon, who is still responsible for all of the key decisions in WWE, is still not sold on Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Paige – three NXT talents that recently moved up to the main roster.

McMahon has a reputation of not being the easiest person to accept new talent as top stars.

The fact that Adam Rose was kept off of RAW this past Monday night is considered a sign that the company is starting to cool off on his character. Additionally, WWE producer Kevin Dunn reportedly buried Rose backstage in recent weeks.

• MORE WWE Superstars & Divas To Get FIRED Today — DETAILS HERE!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

The following is a breakdown of WWE executive pay. Senior management within the company currently consists of Vince McMahon (CEO), George Barrios (CFO & Chief Strategy Officer), Michelle Wilson (Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer), Stephanie McMahon (Chief Branding Officer), Paul Levesque (Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative), Kevin Dunn (Executive Producer), Casey Collins (Executive Vice President of Consumer Products), Michael Luisi (President, WWE Studios), Gerret Meier (Executive Vice President, International), Laura Brevetti (Senior Vice President, General Counsel) and Basil DeVito Jr. (Senior Advisor, Business Strategy).

The current base salaries are Vince McMahon at $1,184,500, George Barrios at $700,000, Triple H at $550,000 (as well as a $1 million per year contract as a talent), Kevin Dunn at $700,000 and Michael Luisi at $600,000.

Actual total compensation, which includes stock grants, for the top WWE executives in 2013 saw Vince McMahon end up with $1,724,958 (McMahon doesn’t receive additional stock grants since he owns so much company stock to begin with). In 2012, McMahon’s earnings were $2,456,359, and in 2011 were $1,111,395. The difference in 2011 was mainly because McMahon earned no additional compensation from profit incentives in 2011. The profit levels needed for incentives to begin for senior management lowered in 2012, so he ended up earning an additional $1.3 million that way.

Also in 2013, Barrios earned $1,378,197. Triple H earned $2,511,331 in 2013. His actual earnings as a talent between match payoffs, as well as merchandise and licensing money was $1,868,639. In 2012, HHH made $2,912,231, which was $488,482 in executive salary, $305,000 in profit sharing incentive bonuses and $2,118,769 as a talent. In 2011, Triple H earned $336,538 as an executive, $74,100 in stock grants and $2,074,042 as a talent, for a total of $2,484,680 for the year.

In 2013, Dunn earned $1,744,184. Luisi earned $1,403,228. Stephanie McMahon earned $778,394 in 2013, $325,000 of which was as a television talent.

As far as WWE stock goes, Vince McMahon is obviously the top earner, with 39,272,641 shares, which has a current value of approximately $1.21 billion. Linda McMahon, who has 9,066,770 shares, which is currently valued at $280.2 million. Stephanie McMahon has 2,511,071, so despite her selling off so much stock last year, with the recent stock increase, she’s still worth about $77.6 million in stock alone. Triple H owns 50,764 shares, which is currently valued at $1.57 million.

The following are highlights of a recent Ask Me Anything Reddit chat with legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette:

On if he’s spoken to Ed Ferrara since his “Oklahoma” parody character on Jim Ross: “I saw him in Nashville in 2002–I had promised the promoter I wouldn’t punch him, but I didn’t promise I wouldn’t try to get HIM to punch ME first–I told him what I thought of him for doing that to JR and I spit in his face in front of 30 witnesses, and the gutless pussy did nothing. That’s what he deserved for making fun of a near career-ending disability suffered by a guy who has more talent in his finger than Ferrara in his whole body, he should have never been allowed in our business in the first place. If anyone sees him, tell him Jim Cornette STILL says he’s a gutless sack of shit.”

On his thoughts on Colt Cabana: “Colt is a fine mid-card wrestler, an average look and an oK at best promo, he was perfect for WWE and I have to assume he pissed someone off there–he was NOT a fit for ROH as we were trying to present an athletic, serious, credible style of pro wrestling and funny doesn’t draw money. We didn’t offer him a contract because he didn’t fit those plans, and he has made a big deal out of it, we never said this publicly until he made it an issue-personally, I don’t think his comedy is funny and I don’t think anyone trying to make a career in pro wrestling should make fun of it at the same time, a la his bullshit “$5 wrestling” with the asshole who runs Highspots. I have no use for that type of horseshit.”

On why Kevin Steen hates him so much: “Because I got him a raise, a contract renewal, Visa paid for, a 9 month undefeated run with the World Title and tons of TV time, even after he refused to lose weight to get the spot, so you tell me.”

On his thoughts of WWE deciding to air Chris Benoit footage on the WWE Network: “He was a great talent, a wonderful friend and a fine human being who for some reason or combination of reasons went insane and did horrible, unforgiveable things in the last two days of his life–you can’t erase him from history, but if anyone would confront it we might learn something to prevent it from happening again.”

On Kevin Dunn: “I don’t think about Kevin Dunn, the wrestling fan’s worst enemy, so I can sleep at night–I take comfort in the fact that ebveryone else who knows him hates him too.”

On the worst booking decisions ever: “The Brawl for All tied with Austin hugging McMahon at WM17 that led to the collapse of the entire business.”

Check out more of Jim Cornette’s A.M.A. chat at Reddit.com.

WWE senior management received a number of stock grants on February 24th. The breakdown of these stock grants are as follows:

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s latest podcast is now available. The latest show features Austin discussing his backstage experience at Monday’s RAW in-depth.

Austin also noted during the podcast that while at the RAW show in Los Angeles this past Monday, he recorded future shows with Zeb Colter, Big Show, William Regal and John Cena. He also noted that he extended an offer to Kevin Dunn to appear on the show, but is still waiting on his answer.

You can check out Austin’s latest podcast at PodcastOne.com.

As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland appeared as the second guest on Chris Jericho’s new “Talk Is Jericho” online podcast. The following are some highlights from the interview:

On being forced into retirement: “I really thought I would relax whenever that is, but with it being sped up a couple of years with the last injury, it was then like, ‘Now what?’ Kevin Dunn called the ‘Haven’ people because they had been looking to have a tie-in with Smackdown. ‘Listen, we have this guy retiring. I think he could fill a good spot on your show.’ That’s kind of how that fell into place.”

On details of his WWE contract when he first signed with the company: “I got called up to J.R.’s office and he goes, ‘We have a deal for you.’ It was for $210 a week.’ Because after the currency exchange, that worked out to 300 Canadian. They said just keep working. There was no farm system; they said, ‘Keep getting booked.’ I got signed at the end of ’96 and then I kept working. They said, ‘We’ll call you when we’re ready for you,’ and I kept going wherever I could. But now, I had $210 or 300 bucks to at least eat. It was like, ‘Here’s a little morsel so you can keep doing your thing.'”

Check out the complete interview online at PodcastOne.com.

A leaked memo that dates back a few years revealed a few things about the way Vince McMahon wants his product presented on the air – and what phrases have been specifically banned.

Vince McMahon apparently banned the phrase, “Granddaddy of them all” when referring to WrestleMania. Apparently the feeling is that the phrase makes the show feel dated and old. Additionally, no one is allowed to use the word “choke” when describing various submission holds. The Undertaker’s “Hell’s Gate” finisher was also renamed “Triangle Submission Hold” (despite the fact that it’s actually a gogoplata, which isn’t exactly the triangle choke commonly seen in MMA, even though it looks similar. Gogoplata’s are much more rare, and the only one that comes to mind is Nick Diaz’s gogoplata submission victory over Takanori Gomi at one of the final PRIDE events in the U.S., where the outcome was overruled due to Diaz popping hot for marijuana in his post-fight drug test).

Other banned phrases include “title changes hands,” which is mainly directed at the WWE announcers, and comes from WWE producer Kevin Dunn.

Also, McMahon has banned terms such as “Five Star Match” and “Match Of The Year.” Additionally, WWE announcers were informed that they should no longer read “dirt sheets” with the feeling being it influences what they might say or refer to in commentary.

Stephanie McMahon sent a memo out to the announcers, informing them that they are never to use the phrase “the referee didn’t see it” when a heel is doing something behind the referee’s back. Stephanie wrote in the memo that it makes it seem like the announcers are treating the fans like they are in grade school. She wrote that she would prefer phrases such as “the referee’s vision was impaired,” or “the referee’s vision was blocked.”

The words “hatred” and/or “hate” were banned, as well as “blood” or references to bleeding. Finally, the announcers were told never to say a talent doesn’t care about winning a particular match.

More Secret Backstage WWE News Like The Above Story

[Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter]

-Apparently Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn “flipped their lids” when the power outage happened at the recent WWE Battleground pay-per-view in Buffalo. McMahon is reportedly paranoid that something similar, or worse, could happen at WrestleMania XXX next year, as the event will be held in the same venue that the NFL’s Super Bowl was in when they had the same problem. McMahon’s concern is that not only are they going to be in the same building, but that WrestleMania uses more power than the Super Bowl when you factor in all of the lighting, pyro and other production elements.

-According to several key employees in WWE, the feeling is former football player-turned wrestler Mojo Rawley is the breakout performer with the most potential in the current crop of talent working in the WWE NXT developmental system.

Related News: Undertaker’s Rumored Opponent For WrestleMania XXX

[Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter]

-WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently posted a new tweet praising the efforts of Fandango and CM Punk on Friday’s taped edition of WWE SmackDown. Ross called the match between the two Fandango’s best match since joining the main roster in WWE. JR wrote, “Very good match on #SmackDown w/ @CMPunk vs @WWEFandango. Fandango’s best outing. Punk never has a bad bout. @WWE.”

-Speaking of JR, the longtime WWE announcer responded to a fan on Twitter who asked for his thoughts on Alex Riley’s work as a commentator on Friday’s edition of SmackDown. JR noted that he thought Riley did a good job filling in for JBL alongside Michael Cole.

-JBL also shared his thoughts on Riley’s work. JBL wrote on Twitter, “Congrats to @AlexRileyWWE on @wwe Smackdown. Heard he did a great job, well done.”

-TNA Impact Wrestling executive Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the new WWE reality show, “Total Divas” in a new tweet posted on his official Twitter account. Bischoff wrote, “Had a chance to check out Total Divas on E! via TiVo. Props to WWE (Kevin Dunn). Basic “Kardashian” format, but will grow the brand! Smart!”

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