Since the launch of the WWE Network, over 600,000 fans have subscribed to the service. While it’s a bit below the one million subscribers they were hoping for, it’s still an admirable number for a service that is still only available in the United States.
With live access to every pay-per-view and a vault containing every special event in WWE, WCW, and ECW history, it is safe to assume that most fans signed up in order to gain access to the special events, and at the reduced price of only $9.99 per month, who can blame them?
There is a lot more to the WWE Network than just a vault of old events and live access to each month’s pay-per-view, however. There is also a boatload of original content. Here is a list of some of the must-see original content on the Network.
5. Legends of Wrestling: Families – Watching a bunch of old-timers talk about the good old days is usually about as exciting as watching paint dry, but some of these are actually pretty entertaining. One of the best round-table discussions includes a panel consisting of Sergeant Slaughter, Jim Ross, Ted DiBiase, and James J. Dillon. The group discusses the importance and prevalence of families in the WWE. It is interesting to hear DiBiase discuss how having a father in the business influenced him to become a professional wrestler.
Daniel Bryan’s journey to WrestleMania is something most fans will be able to enjoy.
4. Journey to WrestleMania: Daniel Bryan – This is obviously one of the newest pieces of original content on the Network. It follows Daniel Bryan on his week leading up to this year’s WrestleMania and provides a number of exclusive interviews leading up to the event. It also discusses his rise to the top after initially being terminated from the company, with commentary from William Regal and Pat Patterson discussing how the company made a mistake in his firing. The most interesting parts of this documentary are the backstage scenes and hearing his fellow wrestlers praise him for his accomplishments.
We are a little over a quarter of the way through the year. With WrestleMania behind us, the WWE will now begin its summer programs and hope to build toward its second biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam.
With that said, I felt it would be interesting to look at the top five matches from the first quarter of 2014. I included full match videos and highlights where possible, but WWE licensing restrictions made it difficult at times. (I also apologize for the terrible music in a few of the videos.)
5. John Cena vs. Cesaro (February 17 Raw) – Say what you will about John Cena’s in-ring ability, but he has put on some great matches so far this year, with none better than this matchup with Cesaro. There were a number of amazing spots during the contest, with Cesaro’s counter of the AA certainly ranking near the top. It appears the WWE is going to push Cesaro hard, and this was the week where his push began after he defeated Randy Orton and pushed Cena to the limit.
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania) – After weeks of begging for a match with Triple H, Daniel Bryan finally got his wish at WrestleMania. He took full advantage of it during the opening contest of the night. Both superstars really shined during the match and it was, in my opinion, the highlight of the show. It also ranks as quite possibly the best opening match in WrestleMania history, with only Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X giving it a run for its money.
Last week I threw out the names of five deserving candidates who never had the opportunity to hold the WWE’s top title. I suggested names such as Hennig, Piper, and DiBiase, while readers suggested other wrestlers who were stiffed by the company, including Roberts, Steamboat, and Rude.
It is now time to look at the other side of the coin and discuss five wrestlers who never should have been anywhere close to the WWE Championship, yet somehow managed to snatch it away from more talented competitors.
Sycho Sid
5. Sycho Sid
Sid isn’t the worst competitor on the list, but there were much more deserving wrestlers who never had the same opportunities. I have always been a Sid fan for one reason. No, not his in-ring work, nor his ability to captivate an audience, but instead for his unintentionally hilarious promos.
There has never been a wrestler who was worse on the mic than Sid. He compiled a vast collection of hilarious promos throughout his career that are more memorable than his actual matches.
JBL
4. JBL
I know there are many JBL supporters out there, but I am certainly not one of them. I was never really impressed with his in-ring ability, his promo skills, or his character. The fact that he held onto the belt for a relatively long period of time is surprising to me, even if he was on SmackDown at the time and the title did not mean as much as it does now.
His recent commentary stint reinforces the fact that he just isn’t very entertaining, and he also seems like he would be a pretty negative person off-camera as well.
Rey Mysterio
3. Rey Mysterio
Mysterio has held both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship during his career. At roughly 175 pounds, Mysterio is the lightest competitor to ever hold the crown and many have argued that it is unrealistic to have Mysterio defeat someone as large as the Big Show. I won’t make that argument, but do feel like he should not have held the WWE Championship, mainly because it was a pointless, half-hearted title reign.
He won the title against the Miz on RAW, only to have John Cena steal the glory moments later and win the championship on the same night.
– When asked on Twitter what his plans are for Monday’s “Old School” edition of WWE RAW from Baltimore, Maryland, Jim Ross replied, “watch it on TV.”
– WWE legend Jake Roberts also noted on Twitter that he hasn’t been invited to Old School RAW.
– WWE will be releasing a DVD on March 8th titled “Signature Sounds: The Music of WWE.” Here’s the official synopsis:
“Music has been integral in WWE history, especially anthems for all the greatest WWE Superstars. Since Sgt. Slaughter first made his entrance to the Marine Corp hymn in the early 80’s music themes have become synonymous with the Superstars themselves. Just hearing the first few notes brings the crowd to their feet. They are the songs that let the WWE Universe know that business is about to pick up. Now, get behind the music and learn the inside story behind the timeless anthems of WWE and the superstars. “
With 2013 coming to a close, we’d like to take this time to thank everybody for making this our best year yet. SEScoops.com launched back in 2004 right before WrestleMania XX and are approaching the 10 year anniversary of the site. We bust our butts on a daily basis to bring you guys the best insider pro wrestling news site around – and none of it would be possible without you. With 2013 in the books, here’s to a healthy & prosperous 2014 to all of you. Happy New Year!
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Daniel Bryan, winning three Slammy Awards competing in a match, appearing in the Championship Ascension Ceremony, was without question the star of the show. His hometown crowd chanting YES! YES! YES! and DANIEL BRYAN! throughout the beginning of the Championship Ascension Ceremony. Going back earlier in the night to his first Slammy win for Superstar Of The Year. On stage The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. He announces the Superstar of the year is Daniel Bryan. We were all expecting fireworks to occur during that interaction. HBK even exited stage right a perfect set-up for a “surprise” superkick from out of nowhere! But there was no Sweet Chin Music. Just a humble acceptance speech by Bryan for his Slammy Award which he refereed to as The “HB Swizzle” award, Michaels naming it that just before presenting the award. Bryan did mention if it wasn’t for Shawn he wouldn’t be in the WWE. Likewise if it wasn’t for his interference at Hell-In-A-Cell he would be the WWE Champion. Although there was no physical interaction here, that wouldn’t be the last time these two interacted on the show.
See this is why I can’t shake off fighting the Daniel Bryan cause, he belongs in the main event. Heck this article uses his YES! and NO! and lord help us all if Daniel Bryan ever appears in a “NO!” portion of this article. Some people might say, he was in his hometown and had an extra kick of support. There may be a bit of truth to that, but I feel that there are just some hot wrestling towns. Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and apparently Seattle. After what transpired later in the show who knows what will happen the next few months. I’m excited! YES!
Championship Ascension Ceremony
John Cena showing why he is in fact the face of WWE.
Former World Heavyweight and WWE Champions appeared all in the ring for the Championship Ascension Ceremony. As I said earlier the crowd was going crazy for Daniel Bryan. While Triple H was talking up the match, and the championship, the Seattle crowd chanted YES and Daniel Bryan to the point where Triple H gave them what seemed like at least a minute of chanting and Yessing and clapping. This crowd was on fire for Daniel Bryan. Triple H introduced both Orton and Cena. The crowd did not want to hear what Orton had to say. There were boos and boring chants. Then Cena took the mic. More boos and cheering mix. Then Cena begins to speak and prove why he is the face of the WWE. These days with everything being very planned and scripted, Cena played to the crowd and included Daniel Bryan in the conversation, he compared Randy Orton’s rise to success to Daniel Bryan’s. The idea was Bryan didn’t have a father and grandfather to get him in to the WWE, he did it by working. Cena turned practically the entire crowd around and behind him., shouting out his past opponents, HBK, CM Punk, and putting over that the only fair shot Daniel Bryan had was the one with him. Brilliant, this is why he is where he is. The end was something I haven’t seen in the WWE in a long time. It was an awesome chain of events excuited perfectly. Cena and Orton shake hands as the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship are hoisted up. Orton gets in a cheap shot, the two are down on the mat fighting. Orton and Cena get pulled apart to their corners. CM Punk gets shoved by Orton causing CM Punk to start attacking Orton. Triple H throws down CM Punk, who retaliates with a knockdown of his on on The Game. HBK Superkicks CM Punk, setting up Daniel Bryan to
The Authority and John Cena look over A fallen Randy Orton. A great segment to end raw.
WWE Reminding us what they are capable of, a Powerful and compelling end to Raw.
deliver his running Knee on HBK. Orton tries to RKO Bryan but instead gets shoved into Stephanie McMahon knocking her down. Triple H runs to Stephanie’s aid, and then gets up and pedigrees Randy. The show closes with The Authority and John Cena looking disappointed over Randy Orton on the mat. What a great segment. This is what WWE used to do on a regular basis. Twists and turns, these chain-reaction action segments. YES!
Quick Mentions
Dean Ambrose vs CM Punk – Ambrose vs CM punk was a Pay-Per-View quality match with a great dissension in the ranks tease when Dean Ambrose wanted Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to head to the back so he could finish the job by himself. Punk gets the win shortly after that exchange, although Punk loses out to the numbers game and gets a great spear from Reigns. YES!
The Wyatts – With a chip on my shoulder because of Daniel Bryan’s demotion, I don’t think I appreciated Bray Wyatt’s amazing performances over the last few weeks. They are great, and compelling. YES!
Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:
Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.
Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts
The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”. Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.
I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.
Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.
CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield. I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.
Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!
The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio
I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.
The Kosher Butcher!
The Kosher Butcher Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this. Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.
Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:
-For those who keep track of this kind of stuff, Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the day Paul Heyman booked his very first ECW event. The event was Ultraclash 1993.
-Former WWE Superstar “Psycho” Sid Vicious (aka Sid Justice) has been added to the lineup of talent scheduled to appear at WrestleCon in New Orleans during WrestleMania XXX weekend. For more information, visit WrestleCon.com.
-Former WWE and ECW wrestler Shawn “Gavin” Spears has been signed to a developmental deal with the company and returned to the WWE developmental system last week.
Former WWE Superstar “Sycho” Sid Vicious got into it with WWE Total Divas co-star Cameron, noting that he hasn’t seen the show, but “doesn’t watch shows involving Divas discussing their poor feminine hygiene.” He then tagged Cameron in one of his tweets, insisting that she won’t go far in the business. He tweeted:
“Not exactly sure why @WWECameron is in @WWE to begin with but something tells me we won’t know who she is in two years anyway. #15Minutes”
Cameron responded to Sid with several of her catchphrases, but deleted those tweets and wrote:
“and you are..? Lol #boybye”
Sid responded:
“@WWECameron Of course you don’t know who I am because you don’t know the history of our business.”
Cameron then replied:
“that’s where you wrong! That was your way of saying hello so that was me just giving you a hello back! :)”
“S- I feel so honored that you took the time out of your day to remind me how far I have come! Started from the bottom now I’m here!!!”
– WWEShop.com is now selling the 2013 Royal Rumble on DVD ($14.99) and Blu-Ray ($20.99).
– WWE might say publicly that they do not view TNA as competition, but TNA’s recent announcement that they are taking Impact Wrestling on the road has already resulted in action from WWE. WWE has reportedly began contacting a number of mid-sized arenas to put holds on them for future dates, in order to keep TNA from running those venues.
In the event that TNA starts running shows every Thursday, WWE, there is even talk of WWE changing their touring schedule and running shows on Thursday nights as well in similar markets that TNA runs.
– WWE will be inducting a celebrity into this year’s Hall of Fame class, rumored to be Cindy Lauper.
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown on Tuesday night from Jacksonville, Florida. Here are the results:
* Big Show is shown arriving on his bus. He comes to the ring and talks about how Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez are suspended. Big Show says the recent events between he and Del Rio are Booker T’s fault, which brings out the SmackDown GM. Booker announcers Big Show vs. Kane for tonight.
* Cody Rhodes defeated Kofi Kingston.
* The Great Khali defeated Titus O’Neil.
* Mark Henry came out and destroys Khali, which the crowd loved. Henry announces the Hall of Pain is back and he wants a spot in the SmackDown brand’s Elimination Chamber match. Booker came out and announced Henry vs. Randy Orton.
* Big Show defeated Kane in a quick match.
* Alberto Del Rio is shown outside in the parking lot, where he’s taken the wheels off Show’s tour bus. Show ran out to the parking lot but gets a bunch of paint dropped on top of him from the roof. Del Rio laughed and drove off.
* Jack Swagger squashed Justin Gabriel.
* Tensai beat Drew McIntyre by DQ when 3MB attacked him. Brodus Clay made the save for Tensai.
* Antonio Cesaro beat Sin Cara.
* Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber match.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. : WWE® Surpasses 1 Million Subscribers on YouTube, Topping ESPN and HBO
WWE on YouTube hit 1 million subscribers today, surpassing popular YouTube channels such as ESPN, HBO, Comedy Central, Discovery Networks and Apple, furthering WWE’s position as one of the world’s most social brands. WWE has seen a 340 percent increase in subscribers over the past year.
WWE premiered almost 30 hours of original programming in 2012 with shows such as Backstage Fallout, Outside the Ring, WWE Inbox, WWE Download and Z! True Long Island Story. Since launching its official YouTube channel in 2010, WWE has not only created dozens of hours of original programming, but also hosted exclusive matches as well as live pre-shows for its pay-per-view broadcasts. With almost a half billion views, WWE has more views than Showtime, ABC News, ESPN and UFC. In addition, WWE fans watch more than 1.5 billion WWE clips a year across YouTube.
WWE continues to be a leader in digital media. As one of the top 15 most influential brands on social media, WWE has more than 139 million combined social media followers across 10 social media networks.
“HOW MUCH MONEY DID THEY SPEND ON THE PLASTIC SURGERY??!”
Those infamous words were uttered by Hulk Hogan on national television 25 years ago today. And astonishingly, Hulk wasn’t referring to his (now ex) wife and her friend when he said that. No, you see, he was referring to the evil trio of Ted DiBiase, Andre the Giant and… EARL HEBNER! What? Earl Hebner, evil? Bret Hart would find out years later exactly how evil Dave Hebner’s baby brother really could be, but let it be known that Hulk Hogan was the original Screwjob victim way back in 1988 when INXS had the #1 hit single in America and the Road Warriors made it cool to wear Zubaz pants.
Here in 2013, Chris Daniels and Frankie Kazarian are trying hard to make Zubaz cool again, but it’s just not the same.
So, why then was the Hulkster ranting and raving like a mental patient about plastic surgery? Let’s set the stage. The date was February 5th. The WWF had been airing taped “Saturday Night’s Main Event” specials on NBC for a few years by this point. As a young wrasslin’ fan, I have fond memories of those shows. The sight of Andre the Giant sneaking up behind an unsuspecting Hogan, following his victory over King Kong Bundy, and wrapping his massive hands around Hogan’s throat, squeezing the life out of him, gave me nightmares. But this show was different. This show, dubbed simply “The Main Event”, aired live on Friday night (back when Friday was perhaps the best night for television) and would feature the first singles meeting between Andre and the champion since their epic encounter at WrestleMania III the previous year.
WWF and NBC hit a homerun that night. The show would do a 15.2 rating, good for 33 million viewers (that number is a bit skewed and likely also includes international viewers, so figure half that number were watching in the U.S. – still impressive), making the Hogan vs. Andre sequel the most watched wrestling match in history, a record that still stands today. Hulk Hogan had headlined as WWF champion for four consecutive years and was arguably at his peak of popularity. Andre, on the other hand, was clearly in physical decline and had long past his peak. In fact, he was barely mobile. One memorable spot from their match saw Andre simply fall face down in what the announcers could only describe as an attempted headbutt (he missed). And maybe it was, but it looked terrible. In fact, as a wrestling match, this pretty much sucked. But with these two guys in the ring, it was never about workrate. That’s what guys like Savage and Steamboat and Santana were there for.
As the match drew to a close, Andre grabbed Hogan and flung him around in the worst excuse for a hip toss I’ve ever seen in my life. As he covered the champion and the referee began to count, Hogan got his shoulder up off the mat, but Hebner kept counting. Just like that, Hogan’s run came to a screeching halt at 1,474 days and Andre was awarded the title.
I guess in hindsight, CM Punk’s 14-month reign ending on a People’s Elbow doesn’t seem nearly as ludicrous.
After the match, Gene Okerlund interviewed Andre, who inexplicably talked about winning the World tag team championship (?!!) and proceeded to surrender the tag team title (don’t look at me, that’s what he said) to Ted DiBiase. And I must say, the title looked awfully good around DiBiase’s waist. I believe he got to defend the title at some house shows in the days that followed before Jack Tunney officially declared the title vacant, but it really is a shame he never had a run on top.
As Hogan stood flabbergasted by what had just taken place, THE GOOD HEBNER emerged to confront his evil twin. It’s funny because, while Dave and Earl do look very much alike, I never had much trouble discerning one from the other, even as a kid. Dave was always the pudgier one. Maybe he was simply big-boned. Whatever the case, when Hogan turned around, he could not believe his eyes, nor could he tell one from the other. He figured it out when Earl knocked his brother to the mat and caved in his ribcage with a wicked kick (supposedly breaking a rib legit). Now, Hogan figured it out. He hoisted Earl high above his head, got a running head start, and proceeded to overshoot his target by a country mile, sending Earl SOARING into the aisleway over everyone’s head (including Andre, and he was a giant!). They were supposed to catch him, but hey, shit happens.
Backstage with Mean Gene, Hogan was a wreck. He was so distraught, he was literally in tears over this grave injustice that had just been committed. It’s too bad The Shield came 20 years too late. Maybe they could have helped prevent all of this. As Hogan whined and cried about plastic surgery, he talked about seeing both Hebners for the first time, exclaiming, “When I turned around, they were identical. IDENTICUUUUULLLL!!!!” Moments later, as they showed a replay in slow-mo of the finish, Hogan desperately tried pointing out to us all the hundred dollar bills falling out of the referee’s pocket. Okerlund didn’t have the heart to tell the big guy that, in fact, there were no hundred dollar bills. As hilarious as this all was, Hogan was a pathetic mess here. Between this and his temper tantrum at the 1992 Royal Rumble when he helped Flair eliminate Sid (who did nothing wrong!), I’m not sure how I was ever a fan of this man.
By the way, there’s a little “easter egg” of sorts to watch for on this show. Prior to his title defense, WWF shot to a pre-taped Hulk Hogan interview backstage. In it, he can be seen wearing what has since been dubbed as the “Hogan ‘87” belt. Yet moments later, when he emerges from the curtain, he’s wearing the Winged Eagle belt that would become synonymous with the company over the next decade. Not sure if the ’87 belt held out for more money before Hogan walked out or mouthed off to the wrong person, but it was never seen again.
A quarter century ago on this date, history was made. Hogan lost his smile. The plastic surgery was bought and paid for. And Andre won the tag team title. A memorable night, indeed.
– TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced on Twitter that ReACTION will be returning later this month via YouTube. The documentary-style originally aired on Spike in 2010.
“Happy to announce that “ReACTION” will be returning mid-February as an online series on YouTube – more details coming soon to our website!” she wrote.
– This week’s episode of The List with Robbie E and Robbie E comes from the United Kingdom and features British Boot Camp stars The Blossom Twins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhsVoRXxEo
– Sparingly seen TNA Knockout Madison Rayne turns 27-years-old Tuesday.
– Sid Vicious joined Kevin Cerrito and Marcus Hunter on MSL to talk about his son Frank being on Big Brother 14, his performance so far, how he was raised, if he really is unemployed, etc. Plus, Sid discusses his return to the WWE ring after years of recovery following his leg injury in WCW. You can listen to the audio interview at Memphisport.com.
– WWE has reportedly signed to more wrestlers to developmental deals. The first is K.C. McKnight, who has been wrestling for 8 years, has worked for the Midnight Maynem promotion and recently spent am onth in Japan wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero 1. He attended last month’s FCW training camp in Tampa, Florida.
The other talent signed to WWE, according to Oklahoma’s Sand Springs Leader newspaper, is Ryan Collins.
After recently returning to WWE television and wrestling on Monday Night RAW, former WWE superstar Psycho Sid recently competed in a bodybuilding competition. Check out these pictures:
– The WWE website has launched a new feature called the “Hall of Shame.” The first class of entrants includes John Laurinaitis, Michael Cole, The Miz and former WWE superstar Batista.
– Speaking of Batista, his manager John Ryan Jr. continues to tease that they are on the verge of making a huge announcement about Batista’s next project. He tweeted on Tuesday night:
– Several fans have sent in word that Ric Flair was spotted out in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday night – the host city of tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow.
WWE issued an apology via WWE.com to those who participated in Raw’s “Power to the People.” The tabulating provider’s overloaded system reported several inaccurate results, prompting WWE management to follow WWE.com’s Live Chat Poll for the night’s final vote.
Text Voting Inaccurate in Raw’s Power to the People
WWE would like to apologize for technical difficulties that occurred during the “Power to the People” edition of Raw on Monday night.
The interactive event aimed to give the WWE Universe the ability to choose what they wanted to see on their television screens. Unfortunately, uncontrollable difficulties created by an influx of heavy voting traffic resulted in not every one of the more-than 697,000 recorded votes to be properly counted.
During Monday’s Raw broadcast, WWE fans were given the option to text A, B or C to 46993 (GOWWE) in order to decide what they wanted to happen on the show. Things went perfectly at first when text votes selected Kelly Kelly (option B) to take on Brie Bella for the Divas Championship. However, our vote tabulating provider’s system became overwhelmed, causing these votes to definitively affect the following contest, in which Mason Ryan (also option B) was voted into a match against Evan Bourne — even though, as it was later discovered, Sin Cara had received 90 percent of the total votes in WWE.com’s Live Chat poll, and should have been Bourne’s opponent.
Votes for the third poll’s bout — Kane vs. Mark Henry in an Arm Wrestling Contest — were counted correctly. However, problems began to occur again during the next poll determining a match stipulation between United States Champion Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston. At this point, so many text votes were received that the system overloaded, crashed and had to be restarted.
With little information to work from, WWE management selected to follow the system’s earliest projections, which determined that the 2-out-of-3 Falls Match had been the people’s choice. It was not until later that it was discovered that “Vickie Guerrero Banned from Ringside” was actually the top vote getter.
Restarting the tabulating system allowed for things to run smoothly with the voting for the Triple Threat Match to determine a No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship going off without a hitch.
Regrettably, technical difficulties occurred once more leading up to the night’s Six-Man Tag Team Match main event, when it became apparent to WWE management that text votes were again not being tabulated properly. At this time, a decision was made to turn to WWE.com’s Live Chat Poll for the official judgment. With the power still in the hands of the people, the WWE Universe selected the Elimination Match (option C) by an overwhelming 87 percent, leading to this stipulation being enacted.
— Matches announced for tonight’s Impact Wrestling broadcast include Hernandez of Mexican American vs. Devon, plus the Knockouts Tag Team Championship will be on the line as Rosita and Sarita defend the gold against Velvet Sky and Ms. Tessmacher. Other matches scheduled to take place include:
* TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson vs. Gunner
* Rob Van Dam vs. Samoa Joe
* Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Kid Kash
— Independent wrestler Shima Xion was backstage at Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling tapings.
— Mick Foley has been announced for Legends of the Ring XIII, which takes place October 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Monroe, New Jersey.
The law firm of Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. issued the following press release Sunday announcing a $5 million settlement with WWE following a motor vehicle accident involving a WWE employee in 2007.
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. Sued for $5 Million
Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. recently accepted a settlement offer of $5 million after 4 weeks of trial on behalf of a client who was injured in a low impact motor vehicle accident in downtown Manhattan. The client suffered a knee injury which resulted in surgical procedures and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 12, 2011
Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C., a leader among personal injury and medical malpractice firms in the New York area, recently settled a case (Index No 13451/08- Kimberly Benson v. World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. and Matthew T. Yackeren) for $5 million involving a knee injury caused by a low-speed, low-impact motor vehicle accident.
According to court documents, On November 2, 2007, Kimberly Benson’s car was struck in a sideswipe collision by a vehicle operated by Matthew Yackeren, an employee of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. As a result of the low impact motor vehicle accident that occurred at a low rate of speed, Ms. Benson suffered a knee injury.
According to the case, Yackeren was driving a commercial van in the financial district of downtown Manhattan. While attempting to pass traffic, he backed up and then struck Ms. Benson’s jeep in the back driver side bumper with the side of his van. Damage to both vehicles was minimal.
Court documents show that Ms. Benson, a 41 year old mother and phlebotomy manager with a pre-existing knee injury, suffered a fracture of the cartilage in her knee and underwent several surgical procedures. In addition to the pain, degeneration of soft tissue and difficulty ambulating, Benson also developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) aka Reflex Symptomatic Dystrophy (RSD), a debilitating chronic pain condition which rendered her disabled and incapable of working.
Benson sued World Wrestling Federation Entertainment and their driver, Matthew Yackeren, for past and future medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. The case (Index No 13451/08) went to trial, and the defense argued causation- the low impact accident that occurred at such a low rate of speed could not have caused an injury.
After four weeks of trial, both parties settled the case. Benson recovered $5 million from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment and Matthew Yackeren. Andrew L. Libo, the attorney for Benson from Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C., was satisfied with the result. “Kimberly’s life and the life of her daughter will never be the same, due to this accident. We refused to settle this case before trial because we knew Kimberly deserved justice, and we were willing to fight as long as needed to ensure she was justly compensated.” The trial was conducted by Jeff S. Korek and Nicolas Bagley.
— As of Monday morning, fourth row ringside tickets were available for next week’s SmackDown taping at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This comes on the heels of WWE canceling this past weekend’s SmackDown live events due to poor ticket sales.
— The movie 12-24, which stars former WCW talent Rob Kellum (a/k/a The Maestro), won the award for Best Feature over the weekend at the Pittsburgh Horror Film Festival in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
— WWE Hall of Famer Sunny has been announced for the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center 5555 North River Road Rosemont, Illinois. The event takes place August 11th – 14th.
A major change was recently made to WWE’s talent contracts.
WWE is now requiring all of its signed talent to purchase and maintain medical insurance for themselves. WWE will not be covering the cost of the insurance, but as independent contractors, the workers would be able to write off the cost of the medical insurance as a business expense.
The news comes just weeks after the UFC announced that it will be paying for medical insurance for all of its contracted fighters, but it’s not directly related to that situation. WWE has been planning the corporate policy change for quite some time, prior to UFC’s announcement.
WWE requiring its superstars and divas to buy health insurance is something that we’ve heard was being discussed and it was confirmed earlier this week.
What do you think about think about WWE mandating its talent have health insurance? Is it a good move? Should WWE be paying for it ?
(Credit to Pwinsider.com for some of the info used in this report)
— Much like the Anonymous General Manager on WWE’s Monday Night Raw, TNA Wrestling has its own anonymous entity, The Network. TNAWrestling.com is teasing that the person pulling the strings may be revealed on Thursday’s episode of iMPACT!:
“The Network’s latest mandate has Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff beside themselves and they demand to know who at The Network is involved. Will the Network finally reveal the one making all the controversial decisions?”
TNA will tape this week’s episode of iMPACT! tomorrow and next week’s show on Wednesday.
— TNA Wrestling has announced “Gut Check” work shops for Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Plattsburgh, New York.
“‘Gut Check’ workshops will allow for TNA management to scout up-and-coming talent and give aspiring wrestlers the kind of instruction and advice they can’t receive anywhere else in the industry,” Jeff Jarrett said.
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