In regards to the “nuclear heat” that we reported Lana has backstage in WWE right now, it was noted to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the reports that WWE isn’t happy with her right now is a “major understatement.”
Despite the fact that WWE’s official website was told — and attempted to — turn the Lana situation into a storyline, when she began publicly tearing into Paige on social media for “bullying her” during her time in NXT, it was at that point that Lana went from having heat to “nuclear heat.”
In regards to the claim that she was bullied by Paige in NXT, it was noted to the Observer that it’s a “preposterous charge,” and that Paige and Charlotte were the two who were messed with the most when they first arrived to WWE’s developmental system.
Another WWE talent ended up writing something negative about Lana after seeing what was said about Paige, but was immediately called by the WWE office and was told to take it down.
Lana is currently in the gym training for her eventual WWE return.
The crew at WrestlingDVDNetwork.com continued their week of match reveals for the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-Ray set today by announcing that these three will be included:
NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
– There continues to be a ton of heat on Lana behind the scenes in WWE. According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Lana still has “nuclear heat” as a result of her leaking the news of her engagement to Rusev, as well as her recent Twitter war with Paige.
As seen last night on RAW, Rusev returned to action while Lana remained off television.
– Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is beginning his rehab today at Quad City Crossfit in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa. Rollins posted the following on Instagram today:
2K Sports issued the following press release today about the “New Moves Pack” released today as downloadable content for owners of the WWE 2K16 video game. It’s included as part of the DLC season pass, and here’s all of the info:
WWE 2K16 New Moves Pack Downloadable Content Now Available
2K today announced WWE 2K16’s first downloadable content offering, the New Moves Pack, is available now for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, as well as Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system, and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft for a suggested price of $3.99. Featuring more than 30 new moves, including the Corner Enzuigiri (made popular by WWE Diva Nikki Bella), Avalanche Ram (made popular by WWE Diva Paige), Sidewinder Suplex (made popular by WWE Superstar Kevin Owens), Standing Crossface Chickenwing (made popular by WWE Superstar Stardust) and Dragon Sleeper (made popular by NXT Superstar Finn Bálor), the New Moves Pack will help fans further customize their favorite Superstars and Divas to dominate their rivals.
The New Moves Pack is also included in the WWE 2K16 Season Pass. For a suggested price of $24.99, a savings of more than 20 percent versus individual content purchases, players will receive the following items as they become available:
Accelerator
Players will gain instant access to all unlockable content available in the game (excluding downloadable content)
Legends Pack
Playable WWE Legends: Big Boss Man, Dusty Rhodes, Lita, Mr. Perfect, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Trish Stratus
2015 Hall of Fame Showcase
Playable matches include:
“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Rikishi vs. The Rock
Alundra Blayze vs. Paige
Larry Zbyszko and Arn Anderson vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair
The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) vs. The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake)
The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)
Future Stars Pack
Playable NXT Superstars: Samoa Joe, Diego, Fernando, Blake and Murphy
Bret Hart was recently interviewed by Justin Barrasso for the Sports Illustrated Extra Mustard blog. The Hitman said he doesn’t watch as much WWE since CM Punk and Daniel Bryan left the scene. It’s going to be tough for today’s top stars to match the interest that Punk and Bryan brought, even though he like guys like Dean Ambrose. As for Punk’s falling out with WWE, Bret makes it clear he’s on Punk’s side and doesn’t appreciate how he was denied the chance to main event WrestleMania.
“I’d have to take Punk’s side on it,” explained Hart. “Triple H is a bodybuilder nut. He goes after the bodies. He doesn’t care how good–and he can look in the mirror–guys work, he cares how guys look. Punk and Bryan are guys concerned with how they work. It’s a different philosophy. I admire Punk for taking his stand. He was the guy doing all the work, every week, going injured, and here’s a guy sitting at home–working three or four times a year–and you’re going to give him the main event at WrestleMania? I’m not buying it.”
As much as Vince has a track record of favoring muscular performers, Bret believes he also appreciates great in-ring technicians, while Triple H is still a body guy. He named Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose as the “hardest working guys in the company.” No mention of Seth Rollins, but it was looking ahead to Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Bret questioned the booking of Roman Reigns.
The 5-WWE Champion has a strong opinion about WWE using Reid Flair’s name during the Divas segment that closed RAW, expressing his sympathy for Ric Flair.
“How could they not see the slight there? That’s really insensitive to Ric and his family, and I totally sympathize with Ric. You didn’t see them doing that after Jerry Lawler lost his brother. Maybe someone just made a poor judgment call, but I was flabbergasted to see they did that to him. It was totally wrong.”
WWE has issued the following statement regarding the controversy surrounding Paige’s reference to Reid Flair on RAW:
“Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming.”
WWE will be releasing a statement to address the controversy surrounding Paige referencing Reid Flair on Monday’s RAW. f4wonline.comreports that WWE will say Charlotte was the one who came up with the idea, they took it out of the script thinking it was too sensitive, but Charlotte insisted it be included.
To recap, Paige got extremely personal with Charlotte on RAW, telling that her brother Reid didn’t have enough “fight in him” prior to his overdose death in 2013. WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair spoke about the situation on his podcast this week, noting that he cried when he heard about it and WWE did not give him a heads up in advance or apologize to him after the fact. Flair said:
“[Charlotte’s] only been up there three months. It’s a pressure cooker and a tough spot to be in. Even though she’s the champion doesn’t mean that she goes ‘hey, this is what I wanna do or what I’m not gonna do … If you’re asked to do something, that’s pretty much the way things operate up there” …
“I never heard a word about it. I started crying when I was watching it. Nobody called me and no one’s called me today. That would indicate that they just assume that it’s good. I don’t have an answer for that.”
It’s worth noting that Flair’s podcast co-host Conrad said rumors that the whole angle was Charlotte’s idea are “100% false.”
Charlotte and Reid’s mother Elizabeth expressed her outrage on Twitter, calling WWE disgusting, disrespectful, cruel and sad.
Paige was bombarded on social media with fans who couldn’t believe what she said. Playing up her heel role and relishing in the heat she generated, Paige responded:
Despite rumors to the contrary, it was not Charlotte who came up with the idea to mention her deceased brother Reid during her Survivor Series contract signing segment with Paige on RAW this past Monday night.
While it was WWE who pitched the idea to reference Reid during the segment to Charlotte, Uproxx.com reports that it was actually Charlotte’s idea, which is not the case. According to their report, Charlotte pitched the idea as a way to deal with a personal tragedy in her life by turning it into a part of a fictional storyline.
Ric Flair’s WOOOOO! Nation podcast host Conrad Thompson noted that Charlotte absolutely did not pitch the idea herself. Flair himself even pointed out how his daughter is still very new to the company and she’s not in a position to turn anything down. He also made it clear without saying that he wasn’t happy about the Reid mentions during the segment.
For more on what Flair had to say about the Reid mentions during the Charlotte-Paige contract signing, click here.
The heated Twitter exchange between Paige and Lana has been a point of discussion within WWE this week. Lana accused Paige of bullying her while the two were in NXT together, while Paige denied the claim and said Lana is just hungry for fame. Summer Rae and former NXT creative assistant Rob Naylor both came to Paige’s defense.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE officials aren’t happy with Lana, and she apparently has even more backstage heat due to the Twitter war with Paige. WWE has reportedly been upset with Lana ever since she went public with her engagement to Rusev, as they felt it ruined their television storyline with Rusev and Summer Rae. After Lana posted about her engagement to Rusev, the WWE.com team was instructed to turn the real-life situation into an angle, feeling that was the way to go about covering things up and convincing fans that it was just part of a storyline.
Prior these incidents, Lana was one of Vince McMahon’s favorite young talents. Whether or not that is still the case after all of the drama remains to be seen.
– WWE posted the above video of Maria Menounos interviewing The Miz and Paige to promote their new WWE Studios film, “Santa’s Little Helper” on E! News.
– The latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which features interviews with Jim Cornette and Magnum T.A., is now available. You can download the show today at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE confirmed the fact that Randy Orton got married this past weekend on their official website. They wrote the following about “The Viper” getting hitched in Las Vegas on Saturday:
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton married fiancée Kim this weekend. The newlyweds recently appeared together on Unfiltered with Renee Young, available now on demand, only on WWE Network. Join the rest of the WWE Universe in congratulating Randy Orton and his new bride on this exciting new chapter in their lives! Send your congrats to The Viper on Twitter by tweeting @RandyOrton.
Because some people ask for a label: Yes, this is an editorial.
Last night’s show-closing segment on Monday Night Raw was not the first time WWE has, uncomfortably, worked someone’s real life death into an angle. That goes back a decade to Eddie Guerrero’s death, and you can go back further for them using it outside of the storyline context, like the Raw interview with Brian Pillman’s widow in 1997. It’s never a good thing and it’s always uncomfortable, but what they did last night was, in its own unique way, the worst of them all.
“You know what, Charlotte? You’re wrong sweetheart. ‘Cause your little baby brother? He didn’t have much fight in him, did he?” -Paige
It’s been over two and a half years since Reid Fliehr’s death at just 25 years of age from an overdose of heroin and prescription medication. Ashley/Charlotte considers her wrestling career, in large part, her way of fulfilling his dream and keeping his spirit alive, .as he had been working for independent promotions and All Japan Pro Wrestling. As you might think from the cause of death, he had been battling drug addiction for years. Which is the beginning of why last night’s scripting stands out as so objectionable.
The Eddie Guerrero exploitation was terrible and crass, but was never really about demeaning him in a direct way. The same goes for the Paul Bearer stuff, and that at least had th slight improvement of it being more clearly delineated that the Paul Bearer character was killed off because William Moody had actually died. How they died was off limits.
Last night? It wasn’t.
As bad as it is to invoke his death for some lame pro wrestling angle in the first place, here, the inference is, effectively, “Ha-ha, your junkie brother ODed!” It prostitutes his worth as a human being and the mental illness he struggled with from his teens (and yes, addiction is as much a mental illness as OCD, depression, or bipolar disorder are). And for what? Some doomed to fail skit put at the end of the show because the third hour is siphoning viewers anyway?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WR40HgDbU
What gives this more wide-ranging, real world consequences that past WWE death exploitation angles is that mental illness is heavily stigmatized, especially in the United States. Die from cancer and the perception is that you lost your valiant battle. Die from a mental illness and the perception is that you’re weak. Unless, by some small chance this storyline ends with a passionate Charlotte promo about destigmatizing mental illness, then what exactly is the point?
No, most viewers don’t know how Reid Fliehr died. But plenty do: Charlotte talks about him all the time when she does media appearances and more fans than ever follow wrestling news online, anyway. Being cryptic helps WWE, because, like with Lana’s promo last year that viewers thought was about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, you can always say that’s not what they meant.
As for Charlotte, it’s really quite simple: If it wasn’t her idea, it’s disgusting as her employer to script her to take part in last night’s angle. If by some chance it was her idea, and her mom’s tweets certainly suggest that it wasn’t, then she should have been vetoed anyway.
To think this company wonders why they have trouble getting advertising rates at the level of non-wrestling programming with the same viewership. They’re in the bubble. Nothing will ever change.
Paige and Lana have been going at it on Twitter this morning, with Lana accusing Paige of bullying her while the two of them were training at NXT. Paige called out Lana for being a liar. Here’s the full exchange:
The hot topic of conversation coming out of Monday’s RAW wasn’t the Final 4 of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament – it was Paige’s comments to Charlotte about her deceased brother Reid.
Charlotte invoked Reid during the Divas Championship contract signing and said that her entire career is a tribute to Reid in an effort to fulfill the dream he is unable to since his passing. As Charlotte was talking about her entire family being fighters, Paige made it intensely personal by correcting Charlotte and saying Reid “didn’t have much fight in him” prior to his untimely death back in 2013 (accidental overdose). The ladies brawled and WWE fans’ jaws dropped in reaction to Paige’s shocking remark.
Naturally Paige was bombarded on social media with fans who couldn’t believe what she said. Playing up her heel role and relishing in the heat she generated, Paige responded:
During a heated Divas Championship Contract Signing on Raw, Paige made a controversial comment about Charlotte’s family that sparked a wild brawl between the one-time allies.
Charlotte got emotional referencing her late brother (Reid Flair, who died on on March 29, 2013 from an accidental overdose of heroin and prescription drugs), saying Paige was there for her when he died. The Divas Champion said she is here today because of him — to fulfill his dream. Later in the segment, Paige decided to insult his memory in an attempt to rile her foe into a brawl by saying he didn’t have “much fight in him.” Charlotte then lunged across the table at her Paige, instigating a giant brawl that was eventually stopped by a group of referees.
Reid and Charlotte’s mother, Elizabeth Fleihr, who is also an ex-wife of Ric Flair, was not happy with the angle.
She wrote on twitter, “@WWE @StephMcMahon @VinceMcMahon @TripleH WWEWriters really, that lazy! #CheapHeat #disgusting #disrespectful #cruel #sad #RawGreenville.”
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, it was announced that the four semi-finalists in the ongoing WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament will be guests on a special edition of Miz TV on this week’s edition of SmackDown. The four semi-finalists, as seen on RAW, are Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio on one side of the bracket, and Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens on the other side. This week’s SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday night at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
– Also on Monday’s RAW, it was announced that WWE Divas Champion Charlotte will be appearing on ESPN SportsCenter on Tuesday to promote her title defense against Paige at this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
WWE confirmed on Monday’s Survivor Series “go-home” edition of RAW that at this Sunday’s pay-per-view in Atlanta, Georgia, both the semi-finals and the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament will take place.
On Monday’s RAW, the quarterfinals of the tournament took place with four men advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament, leaving the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion to be determined among the four at this Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
With those tournament matches now in the books, below is an updated look at the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament brackets, as well as the regular lineup heading into Sunday’s show.
WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament Semi-Finals
– Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
– Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio
WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament Finals
– Owens/Ambrose winner vs. Reigns/Del Rio winner
WWE Divas Championship
– Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
– The Undertaker & Kane vs. Two members of The Wyatt Family
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com this Sunday evening for the absolute best WWE Survivor Series live results coverage on the web!
– Veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter released the above video on Sunday to share his thoughts on the passing of wrestling legend Nick Bockwinkel, who passed away this past weekend at age 80.
– The new WWE Studios film, “Santa’s Little Helper” starring The Miz and Paige will be released in stores and on-demand on Tuesday.
– WWE taped the following two matches on Monday night in Greenville, South Carolina prior to RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
* Brie Bella def. Naomi in Divas action to kick off the evening at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. This was said to be a pretty basic Divas match, which Brie won via pinfall.
* Titus O’Neil def. Bo Dallas in the second of two matches taped for this week’s WWE Superstars. The crowd was actually pretty into this match live in the arena.
– During a pre-recorded interview with the Gorilla Position podcast that was released on Wednesday, Paige was asked about Nikki Bella’s injury status and said she would probably be out of action for six more weeks depending on how she recovers. The interview was taped just before WWE kicked off its tour of Europe on Nov. 4, so Nikki could return sometime in December.
– Three episodes of SmackDown featuring The Undertaker have been added to the WWE Network vault; November 23, 2007, November 21, 2008 and September 18, 2009.
Following Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Manchester, England, a new match was announced for this month’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
During the taping, Bray Wyatt issued a challenge to The Undertaker and Kane for Survivor Series, that being a two-on-two match with “The Brothers Of Destruction” taking on two Wyatt Family members of Bray’s choosing. The challenge was accepted by The Undertaker at the end of the taping, however it was never specified which two Wyatt Family members would be represented in the match at Survivor Series.
With that now known, below is an updated look at the lineup for this year’s WWE Survivor Series pay-pr-view, which is scheduled for Sunday, November 22, 2015 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE Title Tournament Finals
– TBD vs. TBD
WWE Divas Champion
– Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
– The Undertaker & Kane vs. Two members of The Wyatt Family
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on 11/22 for the best WWE Survivor Series live results coverage on the web!
WWE Diva Paige recently spoke with The Mirror to promote the ongoing WWE U.K. tour. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On what it means for the Divas to get more TV time and attention on big WWE shows:
“We absolutely love it because it all came after the whole #GiveDivasAChance thing trended, that’s really where it started. It was incredible because we don’t tend to think fans like us that much! [Laughs] But for them to really back us, that trended like three days straight, and for them to sign a petition for WWE to give us more time, that was the main thing. You know we have an amazing bunch of girls, full of talent and all hard working, but we need the opportunities because we’re really here to prove we can do stuff as good as the guys, or even better.”
On feuding with her former Team P.C.B. members Charlotte and Becky Lynch:
“It’s cool because I’ve known Becky since I was about 13, she was on the independent circuit too and stayed with my family a lot back in the day. That was crazy because we went from being on the indies together to being on the grandest stage of them all together. And then you’ve got Charlotte, who started in developmental six months after I did, so we’ve really been through it together, which is really nice. We grew up in the WWE together. We are a family, we’re literally like sisters, so it feels great to be working with them.”
On getting more microphone time lately:
“I love being on the microphone and that just makes you better as well, because after you haven’t been on the microphone for a little bit, you get extremely rusty and it gets very hard. They are giving me more time, literally every week they are giving me a promo, and I’m doing it live, which is tough, but I love doing them because it just makes me better.”
On her recent back-and-forth with WWE Hall Of Famer Madusa (Alundra Blayze) and if she’d be willing to work with her:
“Oh absolutely, I mean it’s not something that’s going to happen, but hopefully someday it could, and if it did, I would definitely do it. If she wants a match I will 100% give her a match. I don’t know if she can still go though! She’s probably not been in the ring for about 15 or 20 years… but if she wants to go, let’s go. She’s definitely someone, Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano were like my heroes, but I don’t know about that now.”
Paige recently spoke with talkSPORT while on the current WWE U.K. tour about the possibility of more Brits joining WWE and her recent “F-Bomb” controversy. Here’s what she said about:
On the possibility of more Brits joining WWE:
“There are girls who I really love who are in Bellatrix. There’s Sammi Baynz and Liberty and endless amounts of wrestlers I grew up with. The more Brits the better. There’s only a handful of us [in WWE at the moment] so the more the merrier! But there is a cut off point. They can’t be stealing my spotlight!”
On WWE officials being upset about her recent “F-Bomb” controversy:
“There was no fallout. I’m very loose with my tongue sometimes and I say things I don’t really mean. But you know what, as soon as I was on there, it was ‘Eff you, Paige.’ Well, eff you back! And that was it. There was no fallout, there was no nothing. You know how the internet goes – they take something and make it huge. They don’t know nothin’! They’ punished me by letting me go on Conan, yeah. Ugh!”
Head over to talkSPORT to read the full interview.
– This past Sunday marked the ten year anniversary of WWE Hall Of Famer Eddie Guerrero’s final pro wrestling match. You can watch the complete Guerrero vs. Mr. Kennedy match above.
– WWE’s official Twitter account posted a link to a new WWE.com article dealing with surprise Superstar appearances in the past. Oddly enough, the one name WWE used to promote the article on social media was AJ Styles. Check it out below.
– WWE Diva Paige will be the guest on Emma’s “Taste Of Tenille” cooking show on YouTube this week. Emma posted the following tweet to promote the show.
– WWE Studios posted the following GIF featuring Paige in the movie “Santa’s Little Helper,” which stars The Miz and is scheduled for a November 17th release.
– Jake “The Snake” Roberts posted the following teaser regarding a potential follow-up to the “Resurrection of Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts” documentary that he and Diamond Dallas Page have out now.
The beginning has been lived and RESURRECTION filmed and now playing. Time to write the biggest FINISH ever conceived. Coming in NEW YEAR.
– WWE Superstars Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young are working out with the NFL’s Denver Broncos prior to tonight’s RAW in Denver, Colorado. O’Neil posted the following photo of the three with DeMarcus Ware.
Paige has responded to Madusa (a/k/a Alundra Blayze) calling her out on Instagram. The WWE Hall of Famer blasted the 23-year-old last week in a lengthy diatribe on Instagram.
Madusa, who maintains possession of the WWF Women’s Championship she held in the 1990s, revealed this morning that she’s ‘dreaming’ of a Women’s Championship Match with Paige.
Paige will be appearing on an upcoming episode of the MTV Show “Ridiculousness” hosted by Rob Dyrdek. The episode was taped last week when she was in town for the Conan O’Brien show and will be airing this season.