– WWE superstar David Otunga dusted off the old Harvard Law degree on Thursday and returned to the court room as a defense attorney. According to TMZ.com, Otunga represented a man who believes he was wrongfully terminated and denied unemployment benefits. This was the man’s appeal to the NY State Department of Labor. The judge heard from witnesses and then arguments from both sides, and Otunga told TMZ that he, “smoked the witness during cross examination.” Otunga’s client won the appeal and will now get unemployment benefits.
Otunga was quoted saying that he keeps his legal skills sharp and:
“If the outcome of the case is any indication of how I’ll do in the Royal Rumble this weekend, then it looks like I’ll be the winner.”
– Stephanie McMahon recently told Entertainment Weekly that WWE has 16 writers, plus Vince McMahon – who has final say on everything.
“Vince is very open to listening and discussing different ideas, but once he makes his final decision, he’s the boss.”
She added that she has a one-on-one meeting with Vince each week.
She also stated that WWE is looking at ways to develop new programming for their original content partnership with YouTube.
— “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter were on the original cast list for WWE Legends’ House, a reality show premiering in 2012 on the WWE Network that will put eight to ten ‘Legends’ under one roof. Production for the show will begin soon in California.
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mean” Gene Okerlund are confirmed for the show. Stephanie McMahon was quoted as saying in Entertainment Weekly that Dusty Rhodes and Iron Sheik would be on it as well.
— During the Friday morning edition of ESPN’s SportsCenter, Robert Flores mentioned the nWo while conducting highlights of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat game. The Heat donned all-black uniforms, which Flores described as “Miami rocking the nWo uniforms, the black and white. For Life.”
— Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel stated on Twitter that former WWE Superstar Pete Gas has joined the micro-blogging website. His account is located at twitter.com/iampetegas.
— Stephanie McMahon, who WWE is attempting to push to the media as a major corporate executive, is briefly profiled in SportsBusiness Journal. Quite like husband Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, McMahon wants to eliminate bullying: she lists that and launching the WWE Network as her goals for 2012.
She says, “In 2012, my personal goal is to help stop the bullying epidemic that is affecting our children. As a mother of three girls, I am proud to represent the WWE as part of our Be a STAR initiative to help encourage students, teachers and parents to “be a star” by showing tolerance and respect. My professional goal is to help support the launch of the WWE network by providing a 24/7, interactive, creative experience that is worthy of the passion of our fans.”
Regarding the WWE Network, she says “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Iron Sheik and Dusty Rhodes will be a part of WWE Legends’ House. Rhodes, however, stated this week on Twitter that he will not be appearing on the program.
— Former WWE talent Harry Smith became the first Resistance Pro Heavyweight Champion Friday night in Chicago, Illinois. He defeated The Almighty Sheik and Kevin Steen in a three-way match. Resistance Pro was formed last year by Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan.
— Evan Bourne appears at Best Buy 7017 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 28 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Call 314-487-4999 for more information.
— Stephanie McMahon is profiled in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which WWE.com says “offers a compelling look at the hard work it takes being one of the most powerful and tireless women in entertainment.”
Regarding the piece, WWE.com writes: “WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative allowed the weekly magazine into her life for a jam-packed 14-hour workday. From dropping two of her daughters off at school with her husband, Executive Vice President of Talent Triple H, to discussing Sundance Film Festival plans with WWE Studios execs, to revealing what she and her father, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, discuss during one-on-one meetings, McMahon gives readers a fascinating peek into a typical busy Wednesday at her Stamford, Conn.-based office.”
McMahon is featured in the “What Did You Do Today?” section of the January, 20, 2012 issue of Entertainment Weekly, which is currently on newsstands.
— On Monday’s Raw SuperShow, Chris Jericho was overwhelmed with emotion and left the arena speechless. Jim Ross explained on Twitter why Jericho cried on Raw.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross turns 60 years old today. Happy birthday to JR!
– William Regal’s Twitter account was hacked Monday night and several Regal-like sayings were published including “I love Dr Who,” “Plonkers!,” “I’m on a horse!,” “Don’t cross me!” and “Can’t get the theme song from Eastenders out of my head.”
Regal is now back in control of the account and has deleted the fake tweets.
– Stephanie McMahon joined her personal trainer Dave Palumbo Monday night on Heavy Muscle Radio. The synopsis for the show said:
“How is it like living in the spotlight of the WWE, as well as being a mother of three, and a hard training fitness enthusiast? It’s not as easy as it seems, and Stephanie knows it’s a fine balancing act.”
We’ll post a recap of the appearance soon. As we reported here on the site last week, Stephanie’s trainer Dave Palumbo recently helped her lose 80 pounds following the birth of her most recent daughter.
Stephanie McMahon will appear on Heavy Muscle Radio with Dave Palumbo and Chris Aceto this Monday night at 8:00 p.m. to discuss her workout regime and growing up in a WWE family. The podcast will be available at RXMuscle.com.
Palumbo, who helped McMahon get in the best shape of her life after giving birth to three children, stated on the RXMuscle.com forums that more photo shoots displaying her new trim figure are planned. Chris Zimmerman, who shot the McMahon workout pics, praised her kindness.
He wrote on RXMuscle.com, “When Dave asked me to shoot Stephanie and told me just what a genuinely nice person she was, I said sure…But still was not ready for how truly nice she was.
“I grew up watching her family. I guess shows like TMZ kinda brainwashed me that stars don’t want to be bothered by “us normal folk.”
Stephanie McMahon Levesque was recently interviewed by bodybuilding website RXMuscle.com. McMahon spoke about losing weight and getting back into shape after giving birth to her kids. Here are some highlights of what Stephanie said about:
The Biggest Obstacle She’s Overcome: “From a body standpoint? Losing the baby fat-weight after having each of my children. I think normal weight gain is 35 lbs, I saw fit to double that. I’m the type of person that always has to eat right to be lean, so when I was pregnant the gloves were off and I ate like a champ! We’re talking a minimum of 4 pop tarts every morning with eggs and a glass of milk as a staple.”
Favorite Quote: This isn’t necessarily my favorite quote, it’s just the one that is coming to mind, “Learn to eat shit and like the taste” a life lesson by my dad, Vince McMahon.
Vince’s Love Of Physical Fitness: “It’s hard to say what life was like growing up as “Vince McMahon’s daughter”. I would watch my dad on Saturday mornings do interviews and I’d watch him commentate with Jesse Ventura on Saturday Night’s Main Events. It was just what my dad did; I didn’t look at it as anything unusual. It wasn’t until I was a little older and the other kids tried to make fun of me that I realized my situation was a little different (I actually kicked a kid in the shins for saying wrestling was fake!). My Dad was always big into working out; he’s the one who got me turned on to the gym. He was so intense and trained so hard, it looked like fun!”
How She Met Triple H: “We were married on TV as a fictional couple and life just imitated art…It wasn’t love at first site, but I bet you could call it chemistry at first site. I have never been more attracted to anyone in my entire life! He would just look at me and I would blush; still happens to this day actually.”
Whether She’ll Wrestle Again: “Anything can happen in the WWE!”
Stephanie noted that she legally had her middle name changed to McMahon (making her full name Stephanie McMahon Leveque) and she does not see her and Triple H having anymore kids.
— Alberto Del Rio has been removed from WWELiveTour.com’s talent line-up for Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Chicago, Illinois and the entire Raw Holiday Tour. He was advertised for three-way bouts for the WWE Championship with CM Punk and The Miz.
Del Rio suffered a groin injury during the main event of Monday’s Raw SuperShow and is being given time off to recover. He is not expected to be sidelined for too long.
— FoxNews.com has published photos of wrestling stars before they were famous including The Undertaker’s high school yearbook photo. Others highlighted include The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Bill Goldberg, John Cena, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Jesse Ventura, Randy Orton, Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Stephanie McMahon.
— Maria Kanellis said on Afterbuzz she will be wrestling Jillian Hall at an independent event next year. Kanellis is advertised to face Tara in her return to the squared circle on February 25, 2012 for New York City based promotion Family Wrestling Entertainment.
Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative, has been named to the Board of Directors of the USO’s Metropolitan Washington organization. Here’s the official press release, sent out Thursday afternoon:
STAMFORD, CT, December 22, 2011 – Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative, was recently voted onto the Board of Directors for the USO Metropolitan Washington. WWE has a long history of supporting our men and women in the armed forces, so it is an honor for WWE to join the efforts of the USO Metropolitan Washington and support their important mission to serve those who serve and their families. In 2004, the USO Metropolitan Washington presented WWE with the first ever “Legacy of Hope” award for the company’s extensive support of our troops and the USO’s Operation Care Package Program. Additionally, WWE Superstars and Divas regularly visit military bases and hospitals, including Bethesda Naval Hospital and previously Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to bolster the morale of our troops.
Since 2003, WWE has produced its annual, holiday special “Tribute to the Troops” at military bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States. WWE is also a proud supporter of the National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Program, which assists underprivileged youth obtain their GED or competency in a technical trade. WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston serves as a spokesperson for the Youth ChalleNGe Program.
Chyna, who is clamoring for a return to WWE via Twitter, continues to comment on Triple H’s romantic affair with Stephanie McMahon over a decade ago.
When asked how she discovered Hunter was having an affair with Stephanie, she replied, “I found a love letter that Stephanie sent to Hunter while we were together.”
A follower told her to take the high road. Chyna, however, feels: “I have taken the high road for years. Taking the high road cost me my job.”
She adds further, “I can’t stop true love, but be honest with me about it.”
Despite her grievances with Triple H and Stephanie, Chyna says she has no problem working with them again in WWE since “it’s business, not personal.”
Meanwhile, Chyna posted a YouTube video Thursday night confirming the Twitter account as legitimate.
Chyna appeared on The Howard Stern Show Monday to promote her first professional pornographic film, Backdoor To Chyna and revealed that she recently wrote a letter to Vince McMahon regarding a possible return to WWE. The organization responded and informed Chyna they were not interested in doing business with her at that time. She has since clarified on Twitter that she offered to return to WWE prior to her affiliation with the producer of her film.
“I extended the olive branch to Vince before Vivid made their offer. He didn’t want me back,” she wrote.
Nonetheless, Chyna still has the door open for a return to WWE. She posted numerous messages on Twitter indicating that she would like return to the organization.
“I would love the opportunity to come back & give the WWE Universe ONE MORE MATCH!”
“I would love to come back to the WWE Universe. Vince McMahon needs to bring me back.”
“Hopefully one day I will be back in the WWE.”
“Vince doesn’t seem to want me back but if enough fans want it he’ll have to do it.”
The relationship between Triple H, her former real-life boyfriend, and Stephanie McMahon (with whom Chyna claims he had an affair and then left her for), was a major factor in her departure from WWE in 2001. She reiterated on Twitter:
“We were actually a couple when Stephanie was having an affair for Triple H for a whole year while he was with me.”
However, when asked whether that would pose a problem for her in returning to WWE, she said no.
“The past is the past. I want to wrestle and do business with the WWE. It’s business, not personal.”
When asked which WWE Diva she would like to face upon her return, she quipped:
“The only diva I would want to take on if I ever came back is the biggest one, Vince McMahon.”
During an episode of the Live Audio Wrestling (available here) radio show last week, Kevin Nash revealed that longtime friend Scott Hall has once again entered a rehabilitation program to address his ongoing substance abuse issues.
The ESPN E:60 feature on Scott Hall airs this Wednesday night on ESPN and will chronicle “Hall’s descent from wrestling superstar to a broken man battling alcoholism and drug addiction.”
Stephanie McMahon is among the industry insiders that were interviewed for the piece – and she revealed that WWE has spent “six figures” (over $100,000) sending Hall to rehab multiple times.
“It’s the most amount of money we’ve spent on anyone,” McMahon said. “I just want Scott to get help and to decide for himself that he needs help. It makes me sad. I don’t want anybody to pass away prematurely or otherwise really. Scott was an incredibly talented performer, larger than life, charismatic. He’s a father, he’s a friend. I’m sure he means a lot to a lot of people and it would be a shame for him to pass away.”
Hulk Hogan and Cody Rhodes are also interviewed for the piece. Hogan talks about how different the pro wrestling culture was back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, while WWE Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes is used as an example of a superstar from today’s generation.
For more on the E:60 episode that will air tomorrow night (including quotes from Hogan and Rhodes), head over to ESPN.com.
WWE’s live events website (www.wwelivetour.com) remains offline after nude images were published in the photo gallery on Wednesday.
The website featured an unmoderated section where fans are permitted to upload photos taken at live events. A nude photo of former WWE Diva Tiffany from her Playboy modeling days was uploaded to the website, garnering attention online. More tawdry images were uploaded including a graphic still of Chyna’s s genitalia from her 2004 adult film 1 Night in China, a photo depicting TNA Wrestling broadcasters Mike Tenay and Taz looking on with approval, and a photo of The Miz with lettering reading “I’d fap to that.”
Stephanie McMahon, who oversees the website, called an emergency meeting upon learning of the situation. “Everyone was said to be blaming everyone else,” according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– WWE Executive VP of Creative Development & Operations Stephanie McMahon and former WWE star John Bradshaw Layfield were at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for the Beyond Sport Summit with a group of 250 other global delegates.
Beyond Sport is an organization that promotes, develops and supports the use of sports to create positive social change in the world. JBL was there as he is using rugby to help disadvantaged kids in Bermuda.
– WWE is advertising Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk for the RAW live event from Denver, Colorado on October 7th. Del Rio is advertised as WWE Champion – and the winner of that match is scheduled to defend the WWE title against John Cena in the main event of the show. While some have emailed this item in suggesting it’s a spoiler for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, it’s more likely that this ad was created before Del Rio lost the WWE title at Night of Champions.
– At the end of Monday’s RAW SuperShow, the Hell in a Cell cage that was hanging above the ring during the show was lowered over John Cena, CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez. WWE was reportedly pushing for a “who lowered the cage?” mystery heading into Sunday’s pay-per-view.
In related news, it’s said that many of the angles on Monday’s RAW were done to build up the Vengeance pay-per-view rather than Hell in a Cell.
— Brie Bella answered a series of fan questions in her latest YouTube blog, including her words on “haters.”
“My words for haters are keep on hating. Yes,” she says. “My mother always told me growing up, if people are talking bad about you, it’s because you’re doing something right. So as long as people are hating, I guess I’m doing something right.
Vince McMahon was irate backstage at Monday’s Raw SuperShow after his name was mentioned by Alberto Del Rio during the live broadcast.
Many people within WWE believe McMahon got upset because he is returning to television soon and did not want his name mentioned. Del Rio and the creative writer involved in the segment were both yelled at backstage by Vince.
Stephanie McMahon, who was on hand for the event, attempted to calm her father down but was unable to do so. He remained temperamental for the rest of the night as he was yelling at colleagues throughout the show and making life miserable for those around him.
— WWE has changed the structure of their creative staff with a “home team” and “road team” initiative. Road teams will travel to each week’s television tapings while home teams will work at company headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut to develop future shows. WWE creative head Stephanie McMahon, a mother of three children, and Brian Gewirtz will reportedly stay at home to avoid going on the road on a weekly basis.
— The official website of the New Orleans Arena is advertising Edge for next month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event taking place October 2: “Witness the Superstars of both Raw and Smackdown live under the same roof for a PPV extravaganza live event featuring: John Cena, Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Edge, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, The Big Show and many more Superstars live!”
WWE paid tribute to the “Rated-R Superstar” following last night’s SmackDown taping in Toronto, Ontario with “Edge Appreciation Night.” He also hosted “The Cutting Edge” with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Mark Henry during the taped show. He is also advertised for next Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Dayton, Ohio.
There was a major corporate restructuring of WWE’s official website last week as Brian Kalinowski, the Executive Vice President of Digital Media and Mark Keys, the Vice President of Digital and Interactive Content Production and Social Media, were both let go. WWE.com is now part of a new division called WWE Creative, led by Stephanie McMahon-Levesque. There will be other changes and restructuring as part of her vision and concept.
Kalinowski spearheaded the website’s recent overhaul, with the notable addition of more video content. He was also responsible for the restructuring of WWEShop.com. Many people were initially critical of Kalinowski since he was recruited from outside of the professional wrestling industry and didn’t understand its uniqueness. However, he grew to learn the business and was considered a strong leader by colleagues. Many people feel he was dismissed due to Stephanie taking control of the website, rather than his job performance.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that a bigger power struggle is ongoing, between Stephanie and Kevin Dunn, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Television Production. Unlike her father, Vince McMahon, Stephanie is not fond of Dunn. Those close to the situation indicate that Dunn is aware that he will ultimately lose the power struggle, but he should be fine as long as Vince is around. Dunn is one of the few people Vince listens to and values the opinion of.
The digital media department was unhappy with Kalinowski’s departure from the organization, but morale had already sunk; they were previously informed that Stephanie would be in charge of department and everything going forward would be coordinated through her office.
Several major changes have taken place over the past week on the corporate site of WWE, including the Corporate.WWE.com website being taken down and several high-ranking employees leaving the company.
– Brian Kalinowski (WWE’s Executive VP of Digital Media) and Mark Keys (VP of Digital & Interactive Content Production & Social Media) have both left the company in the past week in what some are seeing as a “major restructuring.”
– The Corporate.WWE.com website has been taken down and the domain is now redirecting users to the main WWE site.
– Stephanie McMahon is now in charge of WWE website as a result of structural changes made in recent weeks.
Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view saw the surprise returns of several notable names.
– Jimmy Hart did a backstage segment with R-Truth, where he offered Truth his managing services. After almost convincing him, R-Truth questioned with Jimmy was a Little Jimmy and stormed off before the deal could be made.
– Stephanie McMahon had a heated backstage segment with CM Punk, was shown consulting with husband Triple H prior to the main event and was seen exiting the dressing room of former WWE champion John Cena.
– Edge was announced as Christian’s surprise prior to his No Holds Barred match against Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship. After getting a tremendous response from the crowd, Edge ripped into Christian for the way he won his championship (by disqualification) and the way he’s carried himself as champion. Edge bailed on Christian right before the match began.
– Kevin Nash made a surprise appearance, storming the ringside area through the crowd after CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship. As Punk was celebrating, Nash attacked him – destroying him with a jackknife powerbomb and allowing Alberto Del Rio to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and leave SummerSlam as WWE champion. It should be interesting to see whether Alberto Del Rio had a hand in Nash taking out Punk and opening the door for an easy title win.
We will have tons of backstage news regardingt he returns of Stephanie McMahon and Kevin Nash here on SEScoops.com during the week – stay tuned!
CM Punk crashed the joint Mattel/WWE panel—WWE: Past, Present and Future—this afternoon at the San Diego Comic-Con, featuring Triple H, Rey Mysterio and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart.
Punk announced himself via bullhorn and then, with the WWE Championship in hand, sauntered to the designated question-asking microphone and began to speak. The Straight Edge Superstar took exception to WWE attempting to crown a new champion on Raw and then challenged Mysterio, or anyone else who wanted to be champ, to head out to Chicago to take him on.
Punk then asked Triple H and creative writer Brian Gewirtz why Zack Ryder wasn’t on television. Triple H, in what appeared to be a kayfabe response, told Punk that things had changed on Raw and there was a new regime. He told Punk to give him a call. Punk responded by telling Hunter that he was certain Stephanie had his number.
As you’ll notice – Punk is once again wearing a Stone Cold Steve Austin t-shirt, another sign that Punk is hoping to eventually get Austin to come out of retirement for one more match.
WWE star Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon, now WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative Development and Operation, were recently interviewed by financial news company Bloomberg to discuss WWE’s global appeal and international expansion being a core part of the company’s business.
Triple H and Stephanie were interviewed by Bloomberg’s Melissa Long for a company profile that will air in its entirety on television this Wednesday on Bloomberg’s cable channel at 9:00 p.m (Eastern).
In another video, Stephanie McMahon tries on the mask Triple H wore at WrestleMania XXVII.
— Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s executive vice president of Creative Development and Operation and her husband Paul “Triple H” Levesque discuss why wrestling has a global appeal with Bloomberg’s Melissa Long in the following video. The full episode airs this Wednesday on Bloomberg Television at 9:00 p.m.
In another video, Stephanie McMahon tries on the mask Triple H wore at WrestleMania XXVII.
— Tyson Kidd appeared as a babyface at last night’s SmackDown live event in Hidalgo, Texas. He defeated Heath Slater, who was accompanied by Justin Gabriel.
— Layla celebrated her 33rd birthday yesterday. She is expected to be sidelined until next year due to tears of the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her knee.
Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer stated today on F4WOnline.com that recent allegations made by WWE Hall of Famers George “The Animal” Steele and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper concerning Vince McMahon’s soured relationship with Randy Savage have nothing to do with the WWE chief’s animosity towards the late wrestler.
Piper alleged last Friday on Twitter that Savage slapped McMahon in a bar. Steele then suggested in an interview that McMahon held Savage in contempt for abruptly jumping to World Championship Wrestling in 1994 because he considered him “almost like a son.”
Steele said, “I think that what happened with Randy, when his career was winding down with the WWF, Vince McMahon just loved Randy. After all everything Randy had done and he took him under his wing, and he wanted Randy after the ring was over with for him, he wanted him to be our spokesperson. He was traveling with Vince all the time. Randy was almost like a son, they were really tight. And then one day, we were at a TV meeting, and we got word that Randy, without calling Vince, had left and jumped to the WCW. I had never seen Vince McMahon broken before, he was crushed. It hurt him big time and I don’t think he ever got over that. I think that’s the real problem to be honest with you.”
In late 1996, Savage’s contract with WCW had expired and he briefly negotiated with WWE regarding a possible return to the organization. Meltzer said that during this time frame, Vince McMahon told him he would take back Savage “with open arms,” but would “never ever” take Hulk Hogan back.
Meltzer then notes that McMahon’s animosity towards Savage during the final years of the wrestling legend’s life stemmed from an incident that occurred following 1996, or “something he found out.”
“Any explanation of why Vince hates Savage that has to do with something that Vince would have known pre-1996 is clearly balderdash,” Meltzer stated. “Either something post 1996, or something he found out after 1996.”
There is a long-standing rumor indicating that Savage was involved in a sexual relationship with McMahon’s daughter Stephanie during his final year in WWE, therefore explaining his animosity towards him (which McMahon learned years later). While the allegation has never been verified, Meltzer stated in March 2009 that top WWE officials believed the rumor to be true.
Meltzer said then, “I think that the reason is the same reason that everyone says. It’s the reason everyone in (WWE) says. It’s the reason that is the only one that makes any sense. So I think that’s the reason. I can’t come up with any other reason. I don’t know. I mean, I’ve heard that reason from so many people that are not internet rumormongers, I mean people who – all I know is that within the company as far as the top people, they all believe it, and nobody knows for sure, because it’s never brought up.
“When I first heard the story I didn’t believe it because I thought it was just some story, but then, and I mean even when people who are very high up in that company, after they left the company, would tell me that story I still didn’t believe it, but, you know, after a certain number of years when it’s just, you know, ideas are brought up for Randy Savage and the reaction – there’s something real, real bad because, let’s face it, I mean, I couldn’t count the number of times Vince said he would never do business with Hulk Hogan, and he always does. So, I don’t know…Actually, as time goes by, more people talk about it trying to say that it didn’t happen.”
WWE star Triple H was interviewed by Kevin Eck of the Baltimore Sun at the recent “BA STAR” anti-bullying campaign red carpet event in Washington, D.C.
“See, here’s the thing. I think a lot of people misunderstand what we’re saying. When we say we’re just going to be ‘WWE’ now and not ‘World Wrestling Entertainment,’ I think people think we’re walking away from our core product. That’s not it all,” Triple H said.
“We just do so many things very well. We’re a live event production company that does live events probably better than anyone else on the globe…We do live event touring probably better than anyone else in the world. We do merchandising and marketing as well, if not better, than anyone else in the world. There are abilities for us to take those core competencies and offer them to the outside world in addition to what we do.”
Eck also spoke with Stephanie McMahon and former WCW champion David Arquette at the event. Arquette was asked about his infamous WCW title win, to which he said, wrestling fans were upset but anybody who was a lifelong fan like him would have a hard time turning down that opportunity to be part of wrestling history.