“Legends of WrestleMania Month” on ESPN SportsCenter kicked off last night with the weekly “Off The Top Rope” segment. This week, Jonathan Coachman gives his Top Moments from the career of tonight’s guest, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Coach named HBK’s Top Feud with The Undertaker, his Top Move the splash off a ladder to Razor Ramon at WrestleMania 10, Top Moment was retiring Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 and his Top Entrance was at WrestleMania 12.
Coach asked Shawn about WrestleMania season and how preparation for WrestleMania matches was different. Shawn acknowledged it is the biggest event of the year and said just getting a spot on the card is the first objective. He said there have been many competitors over the years who elevated their careers with big performances at Wrestlemania. Starting around WrestleMania 9 or 10, he took a lot of pride in having a buzzworthy WrestleMania match, no matter where he was on the card. He said it was an honor to do that job.
Coach asked about Shawn’s favorite WrestleMania moments and Shawn said he can’t pick just one because they’re all special in their own way. Shawn also talked about Ric Flair’s retirement match from WrestleMania 24 and his close friendship with The Nature Boy.
Coach asked why he decided to retire at WrestleMania and Shawn said it was to spend more time with his family. Walking away from WWE was the end of a very special chapter in his life but at the end of the day, it was not a tough decision. He wants to be a full time father and husband.
Coach said maybe we will see Shawn at WrestleMania 32 and HBK said he’s looking forward to being there.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be Jonathan Coachman’s guest on ESPN SportsCenter tomorrow for the weekly “Off The Top Rope” segment. HBK will be talking WrestleMania 32.
– The next Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network will take place some time during WrestleMania 32 week from Dallas. Steve Austin’s guest will be his former rival, Mick Foley.
– WWE has announced “Sympathy for The Devil” by Motorhead as another theme song for WrestleMania 32. Other songs previously announced for this year include “Hello Friday” by Flo Rida and Jason Derule, and Flo Rida’s “My House” single.
– WWE posted this video looking back at Shane McMahon’s career highlights:
Two of the WWE’s biggest stars in history will make the trip to Dallas, Texas for WrestleMania 32. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are confirmed for the event. Rocky announced it on his Instagram page and Austin just confirmed it for a second time in a recent interview.
That doesn’t include the third person in this title, Shawn Michaels. He’s not guaranteed for the event, but it is in his hometown and the rumors about his involvement in the main event have run rampant recently.
Despite the alliteration, these three men need to have a plan if they’ll be there. WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year and WWE fans aren’t keen on the main event. At this very second, Roman Reigns is set to take on Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight championship.
There’s nobody in their corners and a special guest referee hasn’t been announced. Less than six weeks still remains between now and April 3. WWE fans are so enraged, that “#CancelWWENetwork” was trending after WWE Fastlane.
In a recent column, I talked about how Shane McMahon, the Undertaker and Vince McMahon saved WrestleMania 32. There match will build suspense, drama, and it already has a great story to go along with it.
While many disagreed, more might need to be done before WrestleMania is “saved.” These three men could do just that, but it’s going to take a creative angle and originality. In this writer’s opinion, here’s what the Rock, Stone Cold and HBK should do for WrestleMania:
The Rock – He has to protect Roman Reigns as much a possible. Sure, they tried that at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia in 2015, but Reigns was despised then. There are more fans that support Reigns, that didn’t use to support him. Most WWE fans know that Reigns will beat Triple H to win the title. If that’s the case, then he needs to be over-booked. Put the Rock in Reigns’ corner against the Authority. When Stephanie or even someone in HHH’s corner tried to do something, have the Rock perform one of his finishers on HHH while the referee is distracted. That allows for a big pop from the Mania crowd, by giving the WWE fans a chance to cheer indirectly for Reigns. It’s worth a shot.
Shawn Michaels – This one is a big difficult to figure out. If he is involved in WrestleMania, then he must be backing up his friend, Triple H. Then again, why not throw the entire kitchen sink at the Authority and have the Heartbreak Kid back up Reigns instead? Vince doesn’t want AT&T Stadium booing Reigns out of the building. He’s supposed to be the next face of the company. It won’t be as a heel, even though Reigns’ inevitable heel turn will succeed. Triple H is still the heel in this feud. HBK will be a babyface no matter what he does. HHH needs to reach for a sledgehammer and the Sweet Chin Music must connect with Paul Levesque’s face.
Stone Cold Steve Austin– WWE officials have some thinking to do before deciding what Stone Cold is doing at WrestleMania 32. Frankly, where does Austin fit? It wouldn’t make sense for him to get involved in the main event. For Austin, it’s probably best to put over a young guy in a big match. In that vein, a promo war between the New Day and Stone Cold would put “butts in the seats.” It doesn’t make much sense by looking at it, but Edge and Christian already helped put over the New Day even more. Giving Austin the platform to go back-and-forth with Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods isn’t a bad idea.
None of those ideas are guaranteed to happen. Reigns will surely be over-booked in fear of him getting booed out of the building at AT&T Stadium.
WWE put themselves in a precarious position with the booking of Reigns. Monday Night Raw was a great example of that. Triple H was beating him to a pulp and feeding off the crowd. HHH was the babyface in that exchange. The show ended with HHH standing over Reigns with the strap as the crowd cheered.
Something needs to get amended if they want Reigns to go above and beyond with the WWE Universe.
At one point, the Rock wasn’t well-liked by the fans. He was Rocky Maivia. When he turned heel, the rest is history.
Perhaps Roman Reigns should follow that path. WrestleMania would be a great place to do that.
– As noted, the latest “Stone Cold Podcast” with Steve Austin and his special guest, Shawn Michaels, premieres on the WWE Network this Sunday night immediately following the WWE TLC pay-per-view. The official WWE Network Twitter page tweeted the above preview clip from Austin’s interview with HBK.
– Seth Rollins, the first-ever NXT Champion in history, took to social media this weekend to congratulate the current NXT crew on their first-ever international tour in the U.K. this weekend. Rollins tweeted the following photo of an old Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) event, WWE’s original developmental territory out of Florida, noting that WWE developmental has come a long way.
Major shoutout to the @WWENXT crew on their first ever international tour. "Developmental" sure has come a long way. pic.twitter.com/Hvk05RfLZJ
WWE is switching things up for Steve Austin’s next “Stone Cold Podcast” on the WWE Network, as they announced that Austin’s next podcast will air after their TLC pay-per-view next Sunday night, December 13th at 11pm EST., instead of the usual post-RAW time slot on Monday night.
Austin’s guest for the next “Stone Cold Podcast” on 12/13 will be fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels. While WWE is advertising the show as a one-hour live podcast on the WWE Network, based on previous advertising such as the above commercial that premiered during the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, Austin’s interview with HBK and his interview with Ric Flair were taped in advance of the airing of the show, which is another first for the “Stone Cold Podcast” on the WWE Network.
WWE’s official description for the “Stone Cold Podcast” with Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels on the WWE Network on 12/13 after the TLC pay-per-view reads as follows:
“WWE Hall Of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels!”
Well-respected trainer Rudy Boy Gonzalez recently spoke with The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast about his time working with Shawn Michaels in the TWA promotion, training Daniel Bryan and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On working with Shawn Michaels as the TWA wrestling school was launched:
“The time period you are talking about was that he had “the attitude” and “was hard to work with” and he didn’t want to drop the belt and he had the fight with Bret Hart. But at the wrestling school, he was just another guy. All the stuff that I had heard about him, we weren’t actually buddies although we lived in the same town. Whenever I did stuff with WWF we would see each other in the hall and just say whats up. The first day of training we just talked and it was me, Ken Johnson and Jose Lothario and we just talked about what we wanted and our ideas were all pretty much the same. Not that there is anything wrong with what Jose or Ken wanted but Jose wanted more of the old school style of beating guys up and making them earn it. But we taught guys and treated them as young men.”
On Shawn Michaels’ perceived attitude in the late 90s and how he carried himself at the TWA school:
“Shawn never or not once did he ever come in there as the Heartbreak Kid, he came in there as just Coach Shawn. All the stuff you saw on TV never came in there. He never had an attitude and just trained with everyone with what he could do because his back was still injured from his surgery. He was just one of the guys and it was just great. I wish he still had the school so I could work with him and so we could just talk. That Shawn Michaels, the Heartbreak Kid guy never existed at the school.”
On training Bryan and his superstardom:
“You knew he was going to have a spot because Bryan was just “that guy” and just a nice guy. He did everything that was asked of him and was always on time, trained hard and did things without an excuse. He was always asking questions. He and Brian Kendrick became very good friends and were also very competitive so if by chance I would say to Spanky that was pretty good, then Bryan Danielson would work twice as hard to out due Brian Kendrick. But both of those guys you knew would be able to compete but to be very honest I never knew he (Danielson) would become THE guy in WWE and at that time it was Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, The Godfather I never thought I could see RAW and say I can see Bryan Danielson doing anything like that. But watching him rise the way he has, I see him and I am proud of him, wish him the best with his health issues and I hope he gets over it. Everything he was getting, he deserves.”
On working with Bryan Danielson:
“Bryan Danielson’s first match was against me. Shawn had asked to put him in a show and see how he does. He didn’t have any gear and had wrestling shoes a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt. Shawn wanted us to go like ten minuets, so I told him to do what ever he wanted to do. I wanted him to call the match and lets see what he can do. I’m not ashamed to say this but two minuets into the match I was blown sky-high. He just took off and I didn’t want to stop him. When we went home, I beat him and I have an undefeated record against Bryan Danielson. When I came through the curtain and I guess my eyes were blood shot and Shawn asked me if I was okay and I said; Jesus Christ that kid is good.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on how WWE should handle the build to WrestleMania 32, some of the big stars they could bring in and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On the WWE title being ‘tepid’ heading into WrestleMania season:
“I can’t recall the WWE Title being more ‘tepid’ than it is right going into [WrestleMania season] for WWE. This is not an indictment on Sheamus who I have great respect for and love his work ethic but the title lost a great deal of luster after Seth Rollins suffered an untimely, major knee injury.”
On the two biggest stars WWE can bring in for WrestleMania 32:
“The two most viable stars that WWE could bring in for WM32 or so it seems might be Goldberg and Batista. Austin and HBK are adamant that their wrestling days are history, Hogan is still on the outs with the company plus he doesn’t need to wrestle a match with his back condition and Rock has movie commitments I’m told as does Ronda Rousey.
For those that think that Austin and HBK would do ‘one more match’ for the right money, please, just stop it.”
On Daniel Bryan awaiting doctor’s clearance:
“As Dave Meltzer and I discussed this week on The Ross Report Podcast, if Dr. Joe Maroon, WWE’s medical guru, doesn’t clear Daniel Bryan we don’t think it matters how many other doctor’s say that it’s OK for DB to return to the ring. If I was still in charge of WWE roster, I’d go strictly on what Dr. Maroon says.”
– In an interesting note, WWE’s new contract with NBC Universal no longer includes two shows per year on NBC, which means NBC will not be airing the WWE “Tribute to the Troops” shows any longer.
– As noted, WWE Hall Of Famers Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels will be the guests on the next two editions of fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin’s “Stone Cold Podcast” on the WWE Network. Unlike Austin’s past podcasts where he would do the shows live on the WWE Network after RAW from the city that RAW was in that particular week, the Flair and Michaels podcasts were taped ahead of time, which is why WWE was able to show promotional clips of the shows during this past Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
– WWE posted the following tweet to promote a new WWE.com feature looking at current WWE Superstars with the longest tenure in the company.
– WWE posted the above preview for the new two-part edition of “Legends With JBL,” which as part of the special Undertaker Week on the WWE Network, features “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H and Shawn Michaels talking about “The Dead Man’s” legendary career. Both parts are available on the WWE Network now.
– WrestlingDVDNetwork.com is reporting that WWE’s new “Owen Hart: Hart Of Gold” DVD and Blu-ray set will feature new and archived interview footage from Vince McMahon, Tyson Kidd, Natalya, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, Triple H, Mick Foley, Edge, Scott Hall, Chris Jericho, Lex Luger and referee Mike Chioda. WWE also shot new interviews with Owen Hart’s family members, including Bret Hart, Keith, Ross, Bruce, Alison, Diana, Ellie and Georgia. The set will not, however, feature any content from Hart’s immediate family, such as his widow Martha or his children, Oje and Athena, as Martha is not supporting the project.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ weekly “Ross Report” podcast returns on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST. / 6 p.m. PST. at PodcastOne.com. JR will be joined this week by two wrestling legends, as Jim Cornette and Terry “Magnum T.A.” Allen are both scheduled for the show. The official description for the episode reads as follows:
“Join JR as he welcomes TWO guests in rapid fire conversation….the incomparable Jim Cornette talks with JR about a variety of topics and the Mid Atlantic Memories film and pulls no punches on any topic. Also joining JR will be Terry Allen better known as Magnum TA who chats about a myriad of topics concerning today’s product. So one one podcast you get Jim Cornette, Magnum TA along with JR with entertaining and informative talk.”
Kevin Owens recently appeared as a guest on the “Like Father, Like Son” podcast and spoke about wanting to wrestle The Undertaker, being the WWE Intercontinental Champion and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On wanting to wrestle The Undertaker:
“I’d love to get in the ring with the Undertaker one day… I feel like that’s a long shot, I guess, because he wrestles on a limited basis and when he does, it’s always a huge deal. But hopefully I can position myself in the next year or so to be seen as a viable opponent for the Undertaker, because it would be a thrill to be in the ring with him at WrestleMania or anywhere. It can be on a Raw or a live event, I don’t really care. I’d just love to be in the ring with him. I feel like that would be an experience I’d never forget.”
On the WWE Intercontinental Championship:
“When I was a kid, that was the title that I wanted to win, because Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart, and Bret (Hart) and Razor (Ramon), all those guys won that title and some of them eventually made it and won the WWE title. But the Intercontinental title, there’s just something special about that title. The cool part about the title I’m holding now is it’s the same design as the title I grew up watching. When I was a kid and I had all the foam replica belts, this was always the one I’d win first when I’d beat my pillow, so it’s pretty cool to have the real thing.”
– There are rumors going around claiming that WWE is planning on announcing one or two NXT talent cuts in the near future. While we can confirm the talk, there hasn’t been any word yet regarding which talents may be on the chopping block. The cuts are expected to be announced in the next month or two.
– As noted, WWE will be running a special “Undertaker Week” on the WWE Network starting next Monday. As part of the special theme, a new episode of “Legends with JBL” will premiere. The show will feature “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H and Shawn Michaels talking about “The Dead Man.”
– Triple H posted the following photo of himself with U.K. soccer stars Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher at backstage at Monday’s RAW in Manchester, England.
– On this week’s edition of NXT TV it was announced that on next Wednesday’s show on the WWE Network, Samoa Joe and Tyler Breeze will compete against each other in one-on-one competition.
– WWE Divas Champion Charlotte was recently given a Rolex watch to match the pair of watches that both Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels have. Charlotte wrote the following about receiving the watch on Instagram, along with the photo below.
“Family Tradition: When Shawn Michaels wrestled my Dad at WrestleMania 24 he surprised him after with a matching Rolex….. It was his “Retirement” match & Hall of Fame Induction weekend. My Dad says this match was a highlight & one of the most special moments in his career…. HBK said he grew up idolizing him…. Last night, I was given a matching one ?? to carry on the tradition. By no means is my career ending anytime soon but to carry on the tradition in our family for my first WWE Divas Championship!”
Former WWE performer “Sir Mo” of the Men On A Mission tag-team recently appeared as a guest on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On former wrestlers and the wife of the late Nelson Frazier Jr. (Viscera, Big Daddy V, Mabel) holding Vince McMahon liable for medical issues and forcing performers to work hurt: “I’ve really thought about that myself, even with some medical issues that I’ve had myself and basically I worked there for three years and I’ve never seen Vince McMahon force anybody to do anything they didn’t want to do. I’ve never seen Vince McMahon ask anyone to work hurt, though I’ve done it before myself. As far as taking care of talent after they leave the company, I think it’s a great and noble thing, the whole drug rehab thing. The medical stuff, I don’t think he should be held responsible for that simply because and here’s the deal, Nelson and I wrestled in this business for more than three years before the WWE, then there is all the years after it so if we wrestled three years together in WWE and the whole three years that we wrestled there we worked every day, every month and we didn’t sustain any major injuries the whole three years we were there.”
On holding the business responsible rather than one single promoter: “There’s a million and one of us guys that worked for Vince and worked for Turner and worked for Crocket and worked for Bill Watts and worked for Joe sh*t- the-rag-bag Promoter or Jeff to-the Left and Eddie damn- Spaghetti and in some way taken a chance and got hurt or whatever. Ten years removed from working for Vince McMahon we are sick, we are broke down, we may even die but should Vince McMahon be held liable for that? Or should we have a list of every single promoter that each one of us worked for and include every single one of those into that lawsuit?”
On a backstage incident with Shawn Michaels: “We were overseas in Israel, it was during Passover and one night we were at an event and Nelson fainted in the hallway. So since we were overseas they wouldn’t take him to a hospital so they just took Nelson back to the hotel and we were working a program at the time against The Headshrinkers. The agent comes to me and the agent said Mo you are going to work a singles match against Samu from the Headshrinkers and Fatu is not going to work at all. Fatu didn’t like that idea, he was pissed off, he was ranting and raving about it and I’m standing there going over the match with Samu and Shawn Michaels comes out of the shower and he hit me in the back harder then I’ve ever been hit on the football field, he just knocked the hell out of me. The operative word from me was excuse me, and his response was f— excuse me, you guys have no work ethic. He said you young guys come up here with no f—ing work ethic and your f—ing partner fell down in the hall way, all he had to do was get his fat ass up and walk to the ring and you do all the work and there would be a tag match tonight instead of the bullshit singles match. He thought Nelson should have sucked it up, went to the ring and stood on the side and work because the kind of tag match we worked, I take the heat anyway. So that’s what he was pissed off about and he took it out on me. My response was being the man that I am is if you put your hands on me again, I’m gonna beat your f—ing-ass. Did I pay for it? Yeah, dearly. What did it get me? It got me pulled off TV for nine months and I had to travel on the road for nine months and not work. In that nine months I got highly depressed and I attempted suicide.”
On WWE not recognizing Men On A Mission’s Tag Team Championship win: “There were a couple of matches on TV where for example me against Owen Hart that it was mentioned about the tag team championship on TV. I think Ted Dibiase and Stan Lane were doing the commentary and Stan Lane always pushed that and always put that over. It was mentioned a couple of times on TV but it just kind of faded away.”
On the back-story as to why the title win is not addressed: “During the “New Generation” era at the same time Vince McMahon was having the steroid trial. So of course, we were getting drug tested two or three times a week and back then in that era if you failed a drug test and if it was like a steroid or cocaine thing or a narcotic failure of a drug test you immediately got suspended. But, if you failed a drug test, first offense and you had marijuana in your system (THC) you would get fined. Up to a certain point maybe your fifth or sixth violation you were suspended. A member of our team, which will remain nameless loved smoking the wacky-weed, loved it and because they loved it JJ Dillon came to me one day and said “Let’s just say, we put the tag team gold on a particular tag team and we put the titles on you Sunday and then you go to a house show on Monday and fail a drug test and one member of the tag team has to be suspended, why are we going to take a chance or risk of putting the tag team titles on somebody if there is a possibility of one member of the team getting suspended” and that was the hold back right there.”
On taking the hit when your team is under fire: “At some point you’ve got to take responsibility for yourself and you’ve got to tell the truth and the truth is whether it’s Men On A Mission or the Hardy Boyz or the Dudley Boyz or Edge and Christian as a tag team if there is one member that screws up it’s going to effect the whole tag team. That’s why it was on one day and off a couple of days later. It was given because it was deserved but it was taken away at the same time because there was an issue that needed to be resolved. But by the time the issue got resolved all this other stuff had happened with Shawn Michaels. In 94 is when we got the tag belts. It was another tour overseas in 94 when the issue with Shawn Michaels happened and so I’m out for nine months.”
On what kept M.O.M from leaving to go to WCW: “When those nine months are up in 1995 we are at the Royal Rumble and Nelson and I had decided because it was driving me crazy we decide we’re going to leave in January of ’95. I had been on the shelf for nine months and it wasn’t going the way we wanted. The deal to keep us there and not leave was The King of The Ring.”
Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.
As seen in the new “The Kliq Rules” WWE DVD and Blu-ray set, WWE contacted Mani Mohtadi and Jason Cosmides, the fans who recorded the infamous Madison Square Garden “Curtain Call” incident with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.
In addition to being interviewed for the DVD, Triple H also brought the fans to SummerSlam week and had them backstage at Monday’s RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
– WWE stock was up by 0.05 percent on Wednesday, closing at $20.81 per share. The high for Wednesday was $20.94, while the low was $20.54.
– Linda McMahon was at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday. Stephanie McMahon tweeted the following photo of her mother and her husband, Triple H, together outside of the building.
– On the latest WWE Tough Enough “Digital Extra,” which you can check out below, Chris Jericho talks to the contestants about his legendary ladder match with Shawn Michaels.
– The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has signed on to star in the big scree adaptation of the hit 90’s TV show Baywatch. Seth Gordon (‘Horrible Bosses’) will be directing, with Hollywood heartthrob Zac Effron currently in talks to appear alongside The Rock. According to THR:
“The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon.”
– Triple H announced on Twitter that next Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live special from the Barclays Center is officially sold out.
WWE issued a press release on Wednesday to announce that WWE Studios has acquired the rights to “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.”
WWE® STUDIOS TAKES WORLDWIDE RIGHTS TO THE RESURRECTION OF GAVIN STONE
Brett Dalton, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, D.B. Sweeney, Neil Flynn and WWE Legend Shawn Michaels® Star in the Faith-Based Title< /B>
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (July 29, 2015) – WWE Studios (NYSE: WWE) announced today that it has acquired worldwide rights to The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, a faith-based title from the Harvest Bible Chapel’s Vertical Church Films. The film recently wrapped production and stars Brett Dalton (Marvel’s “Agents of Shield”), Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (Moms’ Night Out), D.B. Sweeney (“Suits,” “24”), Neil Flynn (“The Middle”) and WWE Legend Shawn Michaels.
Written by Andrea Nasfell (Moms’ Night Out) and directed by Dallas Jenkins (What If…), who joined the Harvest Bible Chapel and founded Vertical Church Films, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone tells the story of a former child star turned washed-up and troubled actor. After receiving a 200-hour community service sentence, Gavin Stone (Brett Dalton), pretends to be a Christian so he can play Jesus in a mega-church Easter production in order to fulfill his hours of service. Along the way, he reconnects with his past and builds upon his faith to discover that his most important role is far away from the shining lights of Hollywood.
“It is a privilege to be working with the Harvest Bible Chapel and Vertical Church Films, as they share our understanding of the importance of a strong foundation for storytelling,” said Michael Luisi, President, WWE Studios. “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a heartwarming tale of faith and redemption that will allow us to continue growing our audience as we expand into new genres.”
“We’re excited to combine resources with a dynamic company like WWE on such a funny, but meaningful project,” said Fred Adams, Harvest Bible Chapel Executive Business Pastor.Director Dallas Jenkins added, “Gavin’s story is such an entertaining one to tell because the ‘fish out of water’ aspect is so relatable, no matter what the setting.”
WWE Studios will leverage WWE’s extensive platforms from weekly TV shows, including WWE’s flagship programs, Monday Night Raw® and SmackDown®, digital, social media and WWE Network®, to market the title.
Bradley Buchanan negotiated on behalf of WWE Studios.
– WWE has confirmed that Shawn Michaels will be replacing Hulk Hogan as the General Manager of the upcoming live events tour of Australia from August 6-8.
Michaels will be the GM for shows at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on August 6th, Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on August 7th and Sydney’s Qantas Credit Union Arena on August 8th.
Australian fans hoping to get their hands on tickets can do so by clicking this link.
– Following his elimination on Tough Enough, the WWE posted a number of videos featuring Mada speaking with Chris Jericho, Paige and his fellow competitors. Check them out below:
NXT star Tyler Breeze recently spoke with Scott Fishman of Channel Guide Magazine to promote some of the upcoming NXT live events. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On watching WWE developmental go from FCW to NXT: “I’ve gotten to see it go from FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) and something that was very small. We had FCW TV, but the audience wasn’t the same. A lot of people didn’t even know it was on TV. It was just local Florida stuff. The production wasn’t what it is today. I was watching these matches with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. They were great matches then, but nobody was watching because nobody knew we even existed. There was no WWE Network back then, so you couldn’t even watch what you wanted to unless you were local. I was part of the initial pilot episode to test out Full Sail University to see if it would work for our NXT tapings. I watched the entire transition from something small to something that now millions of people can watch on WWE Network each week. Just the production alone is fascinating. Every time we show up for TV tapings or the live specials or anything, they always have something new added. A screen here or some sort of effect there. Everything feels big and important. To be a part of that from the start to what is now, it’s really cool for me to take it all in and watch it grow.”
On not getting called up to WWE’s main roster yet: “You can’t get frustrated by stuff like that. It’s been like that since I got down here at FCW. I was the one who had Cesaro’s first match. I’ve watched Seth go. I’ve watched Ambrose go. I’ve watched [Erick] Rowan and [Luke] Harper go. I’ve seen everyone kind of come and go. The thing is these are my friends. These are people who I am happy for. I’m not going to have any ill will toward them. They just happen to be ready quicker or what WWE needed at the time. It’s nothing that frustrates me, because it’s not like Harper and Rowan are taking a spot that Tyler Breeze would be in. We are completely different marketable assets to the company. It’s just a matter of time before Tyler Breeze is what they are looking for and need. Then nobody else is going to take that spot but me. So it’s not a frustrating thing for me, I’m happy for my friends who go on and succeed and make it all comfortable for me when I get up there.”
On what he does in his down time: “I’m a big Netflix guy unless there is something I’m really watching. My girlfriend and I are watching ‘Devious Maids’ right now. It’s a little addiction of ours. On Netflix we watch ‘The Following’ and reruns of ‘Friends’ and ‘Parks and Recreation.’ There are also so many new shows out there and not enough time to watch them all. …There is always that one character in each show that I can always pull a line or mannerism from. There was a show a while back called ‘Blue Mountain State.’ Thad was kind of funny, loose cannon. He would lose his temper right away and say some funny stuff. I pulled a lot of stuff from him. There is stuff I got from Ben Stiller that I’ve taken and used. There are things that pop up that you don’t even realize. When you hear something and just realize it’s something you can use.”
On his inspirations in wrestling: “Earlier in my career it was very much Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and other guys in the ring who were untouchable. Everything they did was so crisp and clean. I loved the athletic part. I just wanted to see everything they did. As I kind of made the transition to Tyler Breeze, I decided to look at the other end of the spectrum. I looked at the character and the over-the-top flamboyant gestures and mannerisms. I watched a lot of Buddy Rogers and Gorgeous George and took from them. It’s certain things that have fallen by the wayside of how they did it. I don’t know if it was ahead of its time, but you just don’t really see it anymore. People just don’t do it. I started watching that and mixed it with my other influence to have a nice complete package.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Sgt. Slaughter recently spoke with Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald about a number of subjects. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On a possible match between The Rock and Brock Lesnar: “That would be an incredible match. Especially now that both have matured in their businesses.”
On recruiting Kevin Nash to WWE: “Whether Shawn Michaels called him or not, I did discover Diesel in a box of tapes one time. I showed it to Vince McMahon, and he told me to give him a tryout…I’ve been around a long time. Coming up the ranks I’ve got to see those who were sons of professional wrestlers get in the ring when they were five years old. I would wrestle around with them. Guys like The Rock and Randy Orton. Just to see some of the other Samoan kids now. That’s all they thought about was professional wrestling. They would get in the ring, and we would work out with them. Now to see them blossoming the proper way to get into pro wrestling and sports entertainment business, just makes your heart feel good.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
WWE Superstar Tyson Kidd appeared as a guest on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” and revealed the fact that he helped facilitate the reunion between former enemies Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.
“I ended up getting Bret’s number and giving it to Shawn,” said Kidd. “I don’t think they could have spoken on the phone. I think Shawn’s smart and knew Bret’s itinerary, so when Bret was on the plane for that first Raw back, maybe Shawn called because he knew he was in the air.”
Kidd concluded, “It went straight to voicemail and [he] left a message so at least there’s that little bit of peace.”
You can listen to the complete interview right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter caught up with WWE Hall Of Famers Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at the Legends Of The Ring convention. Below is a clip of Hart and Michaels talking about their friendship and how nice it is to work together these days.
– NXT Diva Bayley did not work this weekend’s NXT live events due to a broken hand. Bayley had apparently been working with the injury for a while, however she is now in a cast, which she had fans signing at the events this weekend. You can check out the photos below.
WrestlingInc have noted from “An Evening with Shawn Michaels” last Monday in Manchester, England that HBK has revealed that he has turned down a role at WrestleMania 32 next year.
Michaels explained that he was offered a major role but decided against it because he feels like he has done everything that he can do – he has plenty in the tank but has had enough.
The Heartbreak Kid also spoke about his match with Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 and how the entire match was planned by him, how he wrote down the finish during the middle of the night, even the “I’m sorry, I love you” moment.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was originally planned as the host of the show but the pair ended up doing the show together and JR noted that Flair didn’t want to retire.
He explained that WWE had decided that Shawn would be the man to end Flair’s run with the WWE and end his career on a whole. You can read more at this link.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback recently spoke with The State-Journal Register to promote this Friday’s WWE live event in Springfield, Illinois. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On how satisfying it is to finally capture WWE Championship gold: “I came into the WWE through “Tough Enough” (a WWE reality show competition) in 2004. … I learned right away how hard this is. I had trainers tell me that I didn’t belong in WWE, that I should quit. And when I got signed by WWE (in 2005) I was told they expected me to pick it up really quick. … They had very high expectations for me. I wouldn’t say I didn’t live up to those. … I just think sometimes people expected a little too much too soon. I had a couple of major injuries and big setbacks. But throughout all of that, the one thing I never stopped doing was believing in myself. I’ve always been very confident in my abilities in what I can do. Sometimes, that doesn’t always happen on the timescale I even have set for myself. But the main thing is I keep getting back up and I keep moving forward. And (the Intercontinental Championship win) was a culmination of all that hard work and dedication.”
On the character of Ryback and how its’ changed over the years: “The Ryback you’re seeing on TV right now is an extension of my personality. Obviously when I step inside the ring with the adrenaline going and that energy, I’m very, very intense. It’s the same intensity you saw when I came into the WWE in 2012. I think now, though, I’m much more comfortable not always having to be acting a certain way. I think sometimes people see you and if you have a certain look, they expect to always be angry or always be intense. What I’ve been able to do over the last couple of years is kind of just find my comfort zone in front of the cameras and in front of the WWE fans and communicate with them that I’m a real person and I’m just very, very intense when I’m in that fight mode inside the ring. … I’m very big on motivational-type stuff, the law of attraction and keeping a positive mindset. I say start full and end empty, always waking up each and every day and just being your best and giving it everything you’ve got. … At the end of the night you go to bed, say thank you and you wake up hungry the next day.”
On what’s next for Ryback: “The next step is now having a lengthy WWE Intercontinental Championship title reign and going out there and showing people that I’m worthy of carrying that title that greats like Bret Hart, the British Bulldog, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and Triple H have held, living up to that potential and defending that title each and every week.
– Rey Mysterio’s next match in the United States will be on Saturday, August 22nd. Mysterio will be working the Pro Wrestling Syndicate event in Sayreville, New Jersey. Mysterio will team with Habib from The Car Wash to take on the team of Matt Macintosh and The Amazing Red. Mysterio will also be taking part in a Meet & Greet with Mick Foley as well.
– The following matches will be included in WWE’s new “The Kliq Rules” DVD and Blu-ray set, which is scheduled to come out on July 28th.
Shawn Michaels and Diesel vs. The 123 Kid and Razor Ramon, WWF Action Zone 10/30/1994
The Bad Guys vs. The Teamsters, Survivor Series 1994 Elimination Match
Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac vs. Kane, The Rock and Hulk Hogan, SmackDown 3/28/2002
– E! released the following new promotional videos for the return of WWE Total Divas. The new season of the show is scheduled to begin on July 7th.