As announced on Friday, Titus O’Neil has been named Celebrity Dad of the Year in 2015 MEGA Dads Awards.
Batista, who O’Neil has credited with influencing him to try out for WWE in the late 2000s—he was immediately signed—congratulated him on the honor via Twitter.
Batista immediately followed-up the message with a swipe at WWE’s creative team.
He wrote, “WWE: “@TitusONeilWWE you’re everything a WWE star should be! Get out there and represent our company!! ” Titus: “Then why don’t you give me a push?’ WWE: “Sorry there’s nothing for you creatively” #sameoldbullshit.”
Batista has long felt that O’Neil is underutilized by WWE. “The Animal” said last August during an interview promoting Guardians of the Galaxy that he would like to work with him when he returns to WWE.
“I also have a really close friend, Thaddeus Bullard, who is Titus O’Neil and he’s actually a really close friend. I think there is a lot that remains to be seen from him and I don’t think they’re doing him justice, they aren’t really using him to his full ability and I’d love to be that guy that kind of brings him up to the next level, so if I could accomplish that, that would be great,” said Batista.
Following endorsements from Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, among several others, WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil has been named “Celebrity Dad of the Year” at the 2015 MEGA Dads Awards.
Below is an announcement made by WWE acknowledging the honor O’Neil received, as well as the reaction from O’Neil himself.
WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil named Celebrity Dad of the Year in 2015 MEGA Dads Awards
WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil has been named Celebrity Dad of the Year by everythingfordads.com! The announcement was made on the Everything For Dads Twitter @DadsExpo.
The second annual MEGA Dad Awards 2015 are being presented by Every Thing For Dads to honor the amazing work we see dads carry out that often goes unacknowledged. These awards are given to dads who are determined to change the landscape of fatherhood for the better and for the good of all.
O’Neil was up against actors Stephen Amell, Ashton Kutcher and Vin Diesel, and soccer stars David Beckham and Kaká.
Last year, O’Neil and his sons participated in WWE’s “Take Time to Be a Dad” public service announcements, and he is a regular fixture in WWE’s Community events, from Reading Celebrations to Be a STAR rallies.
Get complete details on the awards at everythingfordads.com/votemegadadsawards! The awards ceremony will take place June 13 in Winter Park, Fla., at the Winter Park Community Center.
WWE had a large presence at the NBCUniversal “Upfronts” in New York City on Thursday.
Representing WWE at the NYC upfronts were Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Chris Jericho, Hulk Hogan, Roman Reigns, Titus O’Neil, The Bella Twins, Eva Marie and Natalya.
Below are photos of the WWE Superstars and Divas at the NBCUniversal Upfronts:
WWE taped two matches for this week’s Superstars prior to Monday’s post-Extreme Rules edition of RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Below are quick results of the two matches.
– The Prime Time Players def. Los Matadores in tag-team action. El Torito was at ringside with the Matadores. In the end, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were too much for the bull fighting duo.
– Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension in another tag-team contest. The Dragons, particularly Kalisto, were flying all over the place en route to a quick victory.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is the latest to endorse WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil in the “EverythingForDads.com Awards.” McMahon tweeted the following this week:
– After teasing that there would be “surprises” at Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW at the O2 Arena in London, England, WWE agent Michael Hayes took to Twitter to defend the criticism he received from fans who called him out for the lack of the surprises he promised. Hayes tweeted the following shortly after the show.
Wow, I never said HUGE surprises, Rock and/or SCSA will b there. I said surprises, and to me there were some surprises, to each his own
– WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia continues to rehab her surgically repaired knee. The longtime WWE employee tweeted the following photos on Thursday.
The following are spoiler results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which was taped on Tuesday night, March 31st, in Fresno, California. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
Dark Match
– Zack Ryder beat Adam Rose. The crowd was firmly behind Ryder, who won with his finisher.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Stardust beat Jack Swagger.
– Paige and Emma beat Summer Rae and Cameron. Emma was destroyed most of the match, but Paige made Cameron tap to the PTO.
– The Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension.
– The New Day came out to boos. Big E referred to Fresno as San Jose. The Prime Time Players came out, and Titus O’Neil corrected Big E.
– Tonight after RAW, the WWE Network will air Michael Cole’s interview with Triple H and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Arnold Classic convention a few weeks ago.
– The 2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air on the WWE Network this Saturday night from 8-11pm eST. There will will be a 1-hour Red Carpet pre-show that kicks off at 7pm EST.
– Darren Young and Titus O’Neil worked out with NFL star (and former WWE prospect) Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles this morning.
– CM Punk noted on Twitter that he found a few urns in his garage, likely from his WrestleMania 29 feud with The Undertaker.
Found some urns in my garage. Y'all want this shit?
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is the guest on this week’s edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast. The show is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Superstars Titus O’Neil and Darren Young worked out with former NFL star and one-time WWE prospect Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles, California this morning.
– WWE filmed some footage of Roman Reigns with his family this past weekend in Florida. The belief is that the segment was filmed to air as part of the build to Reigns’ match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 on tonight’s “go-home” edition of WWE RAW.
– Dolph Ziggler is now officially added to the WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31. Other participants confirmed for the match include Bad News Barrett, Luke Harper, R-Truth and Dean Ambrose.
– WWE has officially announced Big Show and Kane as the newest entrants in this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31. With those two added, the following is the updated list of participants, which as noted, is expected to feature 20 competitors in total.
* The Miz
* Curtis Axel
* Ryback
* Fandango
* Adam Rose
* Zack Ryder
* Jack Swagger
* Titus O’Neil
* Darren Young
* Big Show
* Kane
Titus O’Neil recently spoke with Vindy.com to promote the WWE live event in Youngstown, Ohio this coming weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On reuniting the Prime Time Players with Darren Young: “Yeah, the band is back together. The Prime Time Players are back together, and we’re focused on taking on what we started and building upon that. We’re the roughest, toughest and most entertaining tag team in the WWE, and we’re dead set on becoming the WWE tag-team champions.”
On his recent #UseYourVoice-themed message on Instagram: “It’s nothing that I haven’t been trying to convey years before I got into the WWE. My story is very powerful in itself. I was the beneficiary of people from all races and all backgrounds investing in me at a young age. I came from a fatherless home. My mother was raped at a very young age, and so, obviously, I came from an impoverished background.
People invested in that place to give me a fair opportunity at winning at life. So for me, I’m fulfilling a purpose in which I’m repaying every single individual that invested in me when they didn’t have to. I look at this world in a completely different manner than most people do. I don’t see it in the eyes of skin color, gender or sexual orientation. The people who have an issue of what I said are the very people that are the ones that are the biggest perpetuators of the problem. But I’m not pushing any agenda on anyone outside of being the best person you can be.”
– The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, have both officially been added to the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match at WrestleMania 31. WWE is reportedly planning on having 20 Superstars involved in this year’s battle royal, down from the 31 participants who competed in the match last year. With the Prime Time Players now included, the following updated list for the match is as follows:
* Titus O’Neil
* Darren Young
* The Miz
* Curtis Axel
* Ryback
* Fandango
* Adam Rose
* Zack Ryder
* Jack Swagger
– WWE Superstar Xavier Woods recently got a new tattoo, which was inspired by the “Zelda” video game. Below, courtesy of Woods’ official Instagram page, is a photo of him getting the new ink.
Titus O’Neil is the latest WWE performer to speak out via social media about race, gender and sexual orientation issues perpetuated by “people, companies and brands.” He posted the following on Instagram:
– Indy wrestlers Mia Yim and Leva Bates (NXT performer “Blue Pants”) worked as Rosebuds on Monday’s RAW.
– John Laurinaitis was backstage a last night’s RAW from Orlando. He was also on WWE’s recent tour of Abu Dhabi.
– After Titus O’Neil reunited with Darren Young on RAW, Heath Slater said he’s going to start focusing on himself, since he’s apparently no longer teaming with Titus.
I'm going to start focusing on ME!!! I'm better on my own… It's about time I get what I deserve… #MyTime
Speaking of Paige, she’ll be making her second appearance on Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast this week.
– WWE NXT coaches including Bill DeMott, Norman Smiley and Robbie Brookside were all used in the pull-apart between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns at the end of RAW. DeMott and Brookside were holding back Reigns as RAW went off the air.
– Last night on RAW, Titus O’Neil saved Darren Young from a beatdown at the hands of The Ascension, leading many fans to wonder if we were seeing the reformation of the Prime Time Players. With both men’s careers floundering in recent months/years (and the Rhodes Brothers breaking up), this doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. In this RAW Fallout video, Darren Young questioned whether or not he’s ready to team up with Titus again.
WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya appeared on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show’s “The Josh Podcast” to promote the current season of WWE Total Divas on E!.
Below are highlights from the interview:
On Titus O’Neil:
“Titus O’Neil likes to be on our reality show a lot. He manages to find his way every time we are filming a scene, he will have to come up and talk about something stupid that has nothing to do with anything. Titus is great he just drives me nuts. I’ve had him on one too many road trips and at one point he had way too many refried bean burritos and it was potent to put it mildly.”
On whether or not her father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, should be in the WWE Hall of Fame: “I definitely think my dad [Jim Neidhart] can be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That’s my biggest dream is to have my dad at the Hall of Fame and it would be so cool to see my dad and Bret get inducted as the Hart Foundation, that would be awesome, and there’s not doubt in my mind that’s going to happen. Of course, I would be inducting them.”
On her uncle, Owen Hart: “It’s not hard for me to talk about Owen. Owen is a very special topic because he wasn’t just your ordinary person. He really went above and beyond, going out of his way to touch peoples lives. When he had a day or two off at home he’d visit children’s hospitals, people never knew that. There wasn’t Instagram or Twitter or anything that he could post on and it wasn’t even something WWE set up.”
On Owen Hart in the WWE Hall of Fame: “One day I do think that the WWE will have Owen in the Hall of Fame, and when they do it’s going to be big and its going to be really, really special. I hear all sorts of people saying, including my cousins Georgia and Harry, their dad is the British Bulldog, they are always like, ‘we want our dad to get in the Hall of Fame’, with the WWE they do have a rhyme and a reason for the things they do. The WWE isn’t going anywhere, it’s going to be around for a long, long, long time. When they pick people to go into the Hall of Fame its a very selective process. I think you’re going to see both Owen Hart and the British Bulldog in the Hall of Fame, but its going to be at the right time. I know that when both of them do eventually get inducted it will be really special, we can celebrate as a family. I have complete faith that they will both get in there.”
You can listen to the complete interview at ElvisDuran.com.
The following matches were taped prior to Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Columbus, Ohio for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars on the WWE Network.
– Titus O’Neil def. Jack Swagger in the opening match of the taping. This was said to be a pretty decent match with its’ fair amount of crowd heat. In the end, the finish saw O’Neil hit Swagger with his finisher for the 1-2-3.
– Luke Harper def. R-Truth in the main event of the show. Harper dominated throughout the majority of the match, with Truth getting in a few hope spots here and there. The finish saw Harper blast Truth with his 360-clothesline for the pinfall victory.
As noted, Titus O’Neil’s four second elimination at the WWE Royal Rumble match this past Sunday night was supposed to be a one second elimination to tie Santino Marella as the shortest Rumble reign in history. Due to a timing issue between O’Neil, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, he wasn’t eliminated until the four second mark. Vince McMahon was said to be furious over the mistake, as it was the only spot in the match that was supposed to be timed perfectly.
Speaking of the Rumble match, WWE contacted Chris Jericho on January 19th about being a surprise entrant in the match, however he declined the offer. Jericho is working some non-televised live events for WWE lately, but doesn’t want to return on-camera unless it has meaning and value behind it.
As seen during the Royal Rumble match on Sunday night, Titus O’Neil was eliminated in just four seconds by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
O’Neil’s role in this year’s Royal Rumble match was to be eliminated in just one second, tying Santino Marella’s record for the shortest reign in Royal Rumble history.
The blame for the missed spot is said to be shared, as many are calling it a timing issue, with Reigns and Ambrose being off with their double-clothesline and O’Neil being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Being eliminated in four seconds, O’Neil is now tied with Jerry Lawler (1997) and Bushwacker Luke (1991), who were also eliminated in four seconds. In 1995, Sir Mo and Owen Hart were both eliminated in three seconds, and in 1989, The Warlord was eliminated in two seconds.
– Television actor Stephen Amell of “Arrow” fame from the CW channel has expressed interest in securing a guest hosting role for a future WWE RAW episode. Amell is apparently a longtime pro wrestling fan.
– As noted, David Otunga worked his first matches since WrestleMania XXX last year at this past weekend’s WWE live events, teaming with Titus O’Neil to lose to the team of Los Matadores. Otunga is reportedly not booked for this week’s television tapings, however, as he flew home on Monday morning.
As noted last week, Heath Slater has been taking time off from WWE for what the company is describing as “personal reasons.” Those reasons stem from the alleged domestic assault incident from the WrestleMania after party in 2011.
Due to Slater’s absence, WWE decided to officially drop the “Slater Gator” tag-team with Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil. Everyone within WWE had been praising Slater’s work in getting over what was viewed as a lower card comedy gimmick.
It appears as though the team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro was put together due to the fact that the Slater Gator team was dropped, as a way to fill the hole left in the heel-end of the tag-team division.
On non-televised live events, Tyler Breeze has been brought up from NXT to work with O’Neil against Los Matadores.
The following matches were taped on Monday in Corpus Christi, Texas prior to RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
– Jack Swagger def. Titus O’Neil in singles action to start the taping. This was said to be a decent match that held the crowd’s interest. In the end, Swagger got O’Neil in the Patriot Lock to force the tap.
– Goldust & Stardust def. Los Matadores in tag-team action to close out the show. This was mostly a comedy match with a lot of entertaining and fun spots. The match finished with Stardust hitting his kick-finisher, which led to Goldust getting a roll-up for the 1-2-3.
– Part-time WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam told a fan on Twitter recently that he’s still “between contracts” with WWE. He also noted that, “full time on the road = no real life. Associates < family."
– Jesse Jackson and his family were backstage at the WWE live event in Chicago, Illinois on Friday night. Jackson is friends with WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil.
– WWE broadcast team member Renee Young recently held a Q&A on her official Twitter account. Young noted that her favorite WWE Superstars to interview are Paul Heyman, Fandango, Jack Swagger and The Usos. You can check out more from Young’s Twitter Q&A @ReneeYoungWWE.
– There’s talk that Erick Rowan vs. Titus O’Neil may be in the works for next Monday’s Christmas-themed edition of WWE RAW in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As noted, in addition to the Christmas theme, WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan will be appearing on the show.
As previously reported, USA Network will feature “WWE Week” this week, with a lot of WWE-related programming.
Below is the advertised programming for this week.
Monday: WWE Raw, The Condemned (starring Steve Austin)
Tuesday: Live Smackdown
Wednesday: Tribute to the Troops
Sunday: Jingle All The Way 2 (starring Larry The Cable Guy and Santino Marella)
Additionally, USA Network announced that WWE Superstars will be interviewed on their daytime programming from Monday through Friday.
The advertising lists Cat Greenleaf will interviewing The Miz, Big Show, Titus O’Neil, Brie Bella, and Stephanie McMahon. Those interviews will air between 11:00 a.m. ET and 3:00 p.m ET.
