SEScoops

Tag: Today

  • WWE Files Motion to Dismiss Federal WWE Network Royalties Lawsuit

    The latest development in the ongoing battle between WWE and the various wrestlers suing them came today in the form of WWE filing a motion to dismiss the action filed by Marcus “Buff” Bagwell and Scott “Raven” Levy. This is the case dealing with WWE Network royalties, and there are two prongs to it:

    1. That WWE has a legal obligation to pay both wrestlers royalties for WCW footage in general.
    2. Levy’s 2000 WWF contract, because it allows for royalties from videos released in formats yet to be invented and did not specifically exempt royalties from internet and video on demand subscription fees the way current WWE contracts do.

    WWE’s motion to dismiss deals with each in simple yet highly detailed fashion:

    1. WWE does not fall under any of the legal criteria that would make it a successor company to WCW, if just because the legal entity formerly known as WCW still exists as the Universal Wrestling Corporation. Both plaintiffs’ WCW contracts also saw them forgo video royalties in exchange for other considerations.
    2. The key language in the contracts is that royalties come from a “direct sale” of WWE home video products, with the references to technology not yet invented referring to formats like Blu-Ray. It didn’t exist at the time of the contract, but, like VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD, it’s a physical product that can be sold and re-sold. There’s also a detailed argument about how there’s legal precedent saying that a “sale” refers to a physical product, not a temporary license like a WWE Network subscription is. WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt also points out that a WWE contract’s royalty structure is pretty much impossible to apply to WWE Network.

    No word yet as far as when a ruling should be expected.

  • Recap of Today’s Hearing in the Billy Corgan vs. TNA Lawsuit

    To preface this: No, there was no ruling today. That’s coming Monday (October 31st), though Billy Corgan was happy with how it went:

    https://twitter.com/Billy/status/791402309834027008

    Nate Rau of the The Tennesseean, the paper of record in Nashville, live tweeted today’s hearing in Corgan v. Impact Ventures LLC, where Billy Corgan attempted to get an injunction against the company. Rau also filed an article after the hearing, and here are some of the key takeaways from his coverage…

    Corgan’s side was largely what we already knew/had reported, with the exception being that at one point, his lawyer slipped and revealed that TNA’s debt to Anthem Sports and Entertainment (Fight Network parent company) is now $1.8 million. It had been $1.1 million before the latest round of TV tapings, so it looks like TNA spent $700,000 for that week of shows. Since it included Bound For Glory, that’s probably more than the average block of shows due to both the extra day and the live satellite time required for pay-per-view, which TNA didn’t put down the money for until late in the previous week.

    TNA’s attorney argued that the company is not insolvent, and a lot of his claims were met with guffaws on Twitter. Even if TNA had defaulted, he said that the contract, which would give Corgan Dixie Carter’s 92.5% of the company, is illegal under Tennessee law, adding that it would“make a loan shark blush.” It seemed as if much of his argument was based around chiding Corgan for arranging a “heads I win, tails I lose” deal as opposed the legality of it all, though.

    As for Anthem? Their attorney said that the company is willing to pay off Corgan’s loan minus a transaction fee that TNA owes him, which largely echoes what their press release said last week. Ray wrote that Anthem “owns licensing rights to TNA’s lucrative video library,” but it’s still unclear just what that means. Taken literally, it sounds like Anthem can license the back catalog both for The Fight Network and to third parties to make back what it loaned TNA.

  • Bruce Prichard Claims TNA Got Him in Trouble with the IRS Over Unpaid Taxes

    Bruce Prichard Claims TNA Got Him in Trouble with the IRS Over Unpaid Taxes

    This week’s edition of “Something to Wrestling With,” Bruce Prichard’s podcast on the MLW network, went up today, and the topic is Prichard’s time in TNA.  Late in the show, at the 2:37:30 mark, there’s a VERY interesting exchange between Prichard and co-host Conrad Thompson (they’re overlapping slightly at times, so I’ve removed any small interjections that didn’t go anywhere):

    Conrad: “Do they owe you any money?”

    Bruce: “[sighs] You know, they did something that was really bad. I had some financial issues, and they were supposed to pay to the government, and so on and so forth, and they didn’t do it. They garnished things from my check…”

    Conrad: “Your withholdings from the federal government…”

    Bruce: “Right. ”

    Conrad: “That TNA kept, that weren’t included in your checks, but then they didn’t actually pay the government.”

    Bruce: “Correct. Then the government came after me for [not] paying them.”

    Conrad: “So they stole your money. How much money did they steal from you?”

    Bruce: “Oh, that was about…it was only about $10,000.”

    Conrad: “Still…”

    Bruce: “But still, the arrogance…”

    Conrad: “And you never got it.”

    Bruce: “Well, it wasn’t coming to me, but the government finally got it. Because it was the government coming after me for the money.”

    Conrad: “And you showed them proof…”

    Bruce: “I show them proof! ‘Here’s where they took it…’”

    Conrad: “‘I did my part.’”

    Bruce: “So, I don’t know, ’cause I never heard the end of it, other than the government was satisfied. And…it was just those kind of little petty things that didn’t have to happen, that made you kind of feel dirty at the end.”

    With everything that has come out about TNA as of late, it’s a very interesting allegation. Especially since, as we first reported a week ago, the state of Tennessee has a lien on TNA’s assets for unpaid business taxes. We’ve reached out to TNA for comment on Prichard’s allegations, and will update you if we hear back from them.

    Thanks to Ben Straughn for the tip on this story.

    [Photo: Screen Grab from Title Match Wrestling on YouTube]

  • Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Trial Day 9 Notes: The Waiting Game

    Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Trial Day 9 Notes: The Waiting Game

    I’m waiting for the night to fall
    I know that it will save us all
    When everything’s dark
    Keeps us from the stark reality

    -Depeche Mode, “Waiting For the Night”

    Waiting was the theme in the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker trial today.

    It took about two hours after the normal 9:00 a.m. start time before jurors were let in due to arguments between the lawyers on both sides. Even the media and other observers had to wait, as while the cameras were on, the arguments were all conducted at Judge Pamela Campbell’s bench, which is off-mic (and the live stream is muted for good measure). After that, Gawker presented portions of Hogan’s various depositions in the case, mostly to establish the idea of him being publicity-hungry and fueled the fire about the tape more than just posting the clips and article did.

    The jury was then let out to wait again, this time until tomorrow morning, when they’ll hear closing arguments. For the rest of the afternoon, there were some arguments between both sides. Gawker tried and failed to get the full length video admitted into evidence and it’s not clear why they tried now. The edited version they put online will be available to the jury but not presented in open court. Hogan attorney Kenneth Turkel also demanded that Gawker somehow keep track of if anything had been done with regards to “Gawker’s stream” of the trial during Gawker head of sales Mia Libby’s testimony on Tuesday. Libby, when asked if Gawker ran ads on the pages with the streams, wasn’t sure but said she didn’t think so.

    It turned out there were, and Turkel went off about Gawker pulling the ads and/or the stream during her testimony. There’s no proof they did either, though LiveStream, the host of the stream they embedded (which was provided by third party website Wild About Trial anyway), was down for an extended period that day. Gawker attorney Michael Berry had no clue what he was talking about, and seemingly, neither did Judge Pamela Campbell, but she still granted the motion to preserve whatever is relevant pending a written technological explanation. It was bizarre to watch.

    Reporters also waited all day for a ruling from the appellate court with authority over the case to release a new decision on the case’s sealed records, which came late in the afternoon. They’re gonna wait another day for more, as tomorrow, at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeals will release the previously sealed filings in the case. Hogan’s emergency motion for clarification was granted…sort of. From today’s new DCA order:

    The petitioners’ petition filed under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100(d) is granted. The orders of October 28, 2015, as amended by the nine-page November 18, 2015, order, as well as the two-page November 18, 2015, order are quashed, and the trial court is directed to unseal the records. By 4 p.m. Friday, March 18, 2016, in compliance with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425, Respondent Terry Gene Bollea shall file a redacted version of the appendices, which will then be released to the public docket.

    Ruke 2.425 appears to indicate that only things that legitimately should be redacted, like social security numbers, bank account numbers, and so on will be removed. The appendices of various documents are believed to be around 2,000 pages that Hogan has fought desperately to keep under lock and key. This does NOT include the sex videos (and thus recordings of Hogan’s racist comments), so nobody outside of the involved parties know exactly what’s in there. It does include a number of exhibits gathered from the FBI investigation into the sex tapes, but what those show…we don’t know.

    It’s going to be a long weekend, as not only will we have the 2,000 pages of documents to sort through, but everyone will be waiting (there’s that word again) on the jury for the verdict.

  • Gawker Selling Shares To Fund Hulk Hogan Lawsuit Defense

    Yesterday, we told you about the reports that Gawker was seeking to bring on outside investors for the first time as a way of making sure that legal fees for defending Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit don’t bleed them dry. Today, it’s official: The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that Columbus Nova Technology Partners, a Silicon Valley investment firm, is buying a minority stake in the company. In addition to helping to pay legal bills, the new cash infusion will help fund growth initiatives.

    Jason Epstein, managing director of Columbus Nova, will get a seat on Gawker’s board. He told the Times that “We have been attracted to the company because of the authenticity with which they approach all storytelling. I will have no input on the editorial, or the editorial mix. Any changes will be driven one way or another by Nick and the team.” Gawker refused to comment on the specifics of the deal itself, but company founder Nick Denton did speak to the Times about the site in broader terms.

  • WWE Reportedly To Investigate, Sideline Wrestlers Without Health Insurance

    Mike Johnson at PWInsider is reporting that WWE alerted the roster yesterday to a new bit of policy enforcement. Back in May of 2011, all of the talent had to sign a rider to their contracts that was then added to the standard talent booking contract. From section  9.12 (d) of Stephanie McMahon’s 2013 talent contract, which is the most recent contract publicly available (all caps formatting is in the original):

    NOTWITHSTANDING PROMOTER’S CURRENT POLICY OF PAYING MEDICAL EXPENSES FOR INJURIES WRESTLER MAY INCUR WHILE PERFORMING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, WRESTLER SHALL MAINTAIN, AT HIS COST AND EXPENSE, HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE. THIS HEALTH INSURANCE MUST REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT, AND WRESTLER SHALL PROVIDE PROMOTER PROOF OF THIS INSURANCE ANNUALLY. WRESTLER MAY AT HIS ELECTION OBTAIN HEALTH, LIFE AND/OR DISABILITY INSURANCE TO PROVIDE BENEFITS IN THE EVENT OF PHYSICAL INJURY ARISING OUT OF OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES; AND WRESTLER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT PROMOTER SHALL NOT HAVE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUCH INSURANCE OR PAYMENT IN THE EVENT OF PHYSICAL INJURY ARISING OUT OF HIS PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    Since then, WWE and Linda McMahon (who ran for one of Connecticut’s United States Senate seats in 2012) have been able to truthfully claim in the media that all talent has health insurance. That’s even though WWE does not provide the insurance or offset the cost in any way (unless WWE covering all on the job injuries lowers the wrestlers’ premiums).

    What Johnson is reporting today is that WWE announced to the talent that as of February 21st (Johnson wrote 2/21/15 but that appears to be a typo in the context of what he wrote), they will be doing random checks with insurance companies to make sure that the wrestlers are fully compliant with the terms of their contracts. The memo stated that anyone without insurance must get everything in order in the next 60 days or else risk their status being that they would “not be available” to wrestle.

    In other words: If you don’t have insurance, you’re being sidelined.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEu6NGPA0Cg

    If the details of the report are true, then WWE must have or be in the process of getting HIPAA waivers from each talent to contact their insurance companies. HIPAA refers to the terms set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which put the current American medical privacy laws into effect. Without a HIPAA waiver from each wrestler for their respective insurance company,the insurer is legally bound from telling WWE (or anyone else without a waiver) if the person in question is a member. It’s not entirely clear why WWE is doing this right now. The obvious inference is that some wrestlers found ways to game the system, perhaps by dropping the coverage for most of the year.

    Outside of WWE, there is now widespread coverage of wrestlers in Mexico stemming from a deal made this past Summer. Around 2003-2004, TNA did provide group health insurance to wrestlers, but it didn’t last long and reviews of the coverage were mixed at best.

  • NXT’s Greatest Matches DVD Set To Include More Non Televised Matches

    Today, WrestlingDVDNetwork.com posted their latest update on the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches set that WWE Home Video is releasing on Blu-Ray and DVD on March, 2016. Joining the CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) & Cesaro dark match announced earlier in the week as well as various TV matches will be more non televised matches in various forms:

    • Paige vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover: Fatal Four Way dark match September 11, 2014)
    • Adrian Neville vs. Cesaro (Columbus, OH house show March 5, 2015)
    • Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze (“Arena Cam” from the San Jose, CA house show on March 27, 2015 – Itami uses the Go 2 Sleep)

    They join these matches which were already announced:

    • NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
    • Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
    • NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
    • NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Paige vs. Emma (NXT July 24, 2013)
    • NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Charlotte vs. Natalya (NXT Takeover May 29, 2014)
    • Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
    • CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Antonio Cesaro & Kassius Ohno (NXT October 17, 2012)
    • Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt (NXT May 1, 2013)
    • William Regal vs. Antonio Cesaro (NXT December 25, 2013)

    Also, as noted earlier, the initial cover art for the set was released today.

  • NXT’s Greatest Matches DVD Set Update: Day 3 Of Bout Announcements

    The crew at WrestlingDVDNetwork.com continued their week of match reveals for the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-Ray set today by announcing that these three will be included:

    • NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
    • Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
    • NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)

    They join these matches, which we told you about yesterday:

    • NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Paige vs. Emma (NXT July 24, 2013)
    • NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Charlotte vs. Natalya (NXT Takeover May 29, 2014)
    • Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
    • CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Antonio Cesaro & Kassius Ohno (NXT October 17, 2012)
    • Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt (NXT May 1, 2013)
    • William Regal vs. Antonio Cesaro (NXT December 25, 2013)

    The set will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 8, 2016 and can be pre-ordered now.

     

  • Pete Gas Talks Growing Up With Shane McMahon, WWE Run, & More

    The folks at the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast are back with another interview: Mean Street Posse member Pete Gas (Pete Gasparino). Being that his on-screen persona of being one of Shane McMahon’s childhood friend was no gimmick, he has a unique perspective that you don’t really hear from anyone else. Here are some of the key quotes from the interview:

    Did Shane have aspirations to take over for Vince?

    Because of our friendship it’s not like we ever sat around at a bar on Greenwich Avenue and he said “I’m going to run this place”. It was never that type of conversation. Shane started from the bottom up, his father was and we all know his father is a genius. Shane started doing summer jobs and working for the company, he would work in the warehouse one summer. Eventually as he got older he started going on the road during summer break and he would set up the rings, he would get involved and do some refereeing.

    Shane was groomed to learn every facet of the business and this way the more you know, the better you are and that was the way it is. I believe Stephanie was too. If I remember correctly she was working in the office in the main building at Titan Tower working in different departments there as well. The family is so close and I know that the bond that they all have is that since it’s just such a close family they always wanted to be together and this business is the air they breathe. It’s everything to them.

    Will Shane ever return to WWE?

    I think it’s one of those things where you don’t want to live in your Dad’s shadow. To be honest with you the only person who can truly answer that is Shane. It will always be in his blood to be in the business, whether or not he ever comes back. I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you. But he’s one of those guys that truly loves the business, he loved everything about it but maybe it was something he had to prove to himself.

    How did the Mean Street Posse end up getting trained to wrestle and put into the developmental system?

    At the time Dr. Tom [Prichard] was scouting talent and living in Stamford and it was like a toned down version of what they do on Breaking Ground, it wasn’t as intense it was just about the wrestling aspect. When he didn’t have anybody to train he was working just with us and God Bless Him because we gave him a few potatoes and I know we hurt him a couple of times but he was great to us. We learned from him at the studio and we were training every day after work and as time went on the office said we need to get you more matches so we are going to send you to Memphis to do TVs and you are going to fly back to Memphis on Wednesday’s and do shows with the developmental program.

    Did he like the pro wrestler lifestyle?

    I could honestly tell you that I woke up every single day jumping out of bed and I truly mean that with all my heart. I would jump out of bed and say I cannot wait to find out what I was going to be doing today. It was new, it was exciting and to live that lifestyle and I see how people get worn out and are beaten down because of the job but I guess it is the individual because for me I absolutely loved it, loved the attention, I always loved giving autographs and helping people out. Whether it was charity or going to a hospital whatever the case was I enjoyed it. The wrestlers that are upset, those guys didn’t have it like Rodney and me had it. Rodney and I never got to win a match. We never got the shine in a match we basically just got our asses kicked and I loved every bit of it.

    In the full interview, he also talks about Pete his feud with Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, meeting Shane McMahon, getting cut by WWE, and more.

  • John Cena Announces U.S. Open Challenge For RAW, The Rock’s New Ford Commercial (Video), More

    – John Cena indicated via social media that he will be competing in another “Beat The Clock Challenge” on tonight’s RAW. The WWE United States Champion wrote the following when talking about the Chicago fans, as tonight’s RAW emanates from Chicago this evening.

    – Former WWE performer Rodney Mack celebrates his 45th birthday today. Also celebrating a birthday today is Global Force Wrestling’s Karen Jarrettt, who turns 43.

    – As we reported earlier this month, The Rock has signed on as the new spokesman for Ford’s service department. Below is the latest television commercial, which features The Rock and his team.

    https://youtu.be/JTxE0TEOgT0

  • Money In The Bank Kickoff Show News, WWE Stars Playing With Puppies (Video), Foley

    – WWE Network has a one-hour Money In The Bank “Kickoff Show” scheduled to begin at 7pm EST. next Sunday night. The “Kickoff Show” panel will consist of Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves and Booker T.

    – WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is celebrating a milestone birthday today, as the Hardcore Legend turns 50 years old. Foley was born on June 7, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are Howard Finkel (65) and former TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix (26).

    – WWE recently posted the following video of Superstars and Divas playing with puppies.

  • Tamina Snuka Returns At RAW With New Gimmick

    WWE Diva Tamina Snuka, who has been off of television for a while now, returned on Monday’s RAW with a new gimmick.

    We reported earlier today that Snuka had been working as a bodyguard for Naomi at recent non-televised live events, and that there’s a good possibility that it would be brought to television, and that’s exactly what happened.

    As The Bella Twins were making their way to the ring on RAW on Monday night in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, they were attacked from behind by Naomi and Tamina Snuka.

    After the beatdown, Naomi says to The Bella Twins, “You’re sibling reign of dominance over the Divas division is over. This is what family is all about.”

    The announcers would go on to explain to the viewinng audience that Snuka is the cousin of Jimmy Uso, Naomi’s husband, by marriage, which would explain the family reference in her one-line promo.

  • Randy Savage Reportedly Set For WWE Hall of Fame Induction, Nikki Bella Reacts To Raw

    – There has been a lot of talk behind the scenes in WWE over the past couple weeks regarding “Macho Man” Randy Savage being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

    During an interview with Steve Austin last month on the WWE Network, WWE Chairman and chief executive officer Vince McMahon said that the legendary wrestler will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Although McMahon revealed during the podcast that Savage will receive an induction at some point, he did not say exactly when the former WWE Champion will receive the honor.

    – As seen last night on Raw, Natalya rode a distraction from Paige and defeated Nikki Bella in a reverse of last week’s result, Paige then ran to her Total Divas castmate’s aid and saved Natalya from an after-the-bell ambush by the Divas Champion. Tonight on WWE Main Event, Paige will square off with Nikki in a non-title match. Following last night’s events, Nikki offered her thoughts via Instagram.

    She wrote, “As I have had time to think.. To get lost in my thoughts.. Last night on RAW was a disgrace. A kick in the face is a lack of respect. It’s a dishonor to your champion, to your Queen. If you don’t have the WWE Network I suggest you get it bc tonight I will destroy PAIGES of what I thought was my next chapter. Main Event just got heated up. It just got FEARLESS! #FearlessNikki #MainEvent #RackAttack @wwe.”

    WWE officials concerned with Roman Reigns’ lack of crowd reaction – details

  • John Cena To Appear On NBC’s “Today” Show Next Monday Morning

    John Cena will be appearing on NBC’s “Today” show on Monday to promote RAW in Brooklyn, New York.

    The advertising lists Cena appearing to give the hosts of the show, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb and Joan Lunden a “pep talk” prior to their gig as guest hosts of Monday’s RAW at the Barclays Center.

  • VIDEO: Top UFC Contenders Have HEATED Exchange Backstage After Controversial Fight