The above video features ESPN’s Jonathan Coachman revealing comments from top WWE officials after Brock Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last night.
Vince McMahon praised Lesnar: “Brock is the most formidable combat athlete in the history of the country.”
While Triple H commented, “To come back after all this time and put on that kind of performance speaks to the once in a lifetime type of athlete that Brock is.”
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart went off on Triple H once again on latest edition his Sharpshooter Podcast. In a conversation with his sons Blade and Dallas, Bret spoke about the WWE 2K video games and questioned why Triple H got a 98 rating in last year’s game while his character was given an 85. This got Bret started on a rant about Triple H being a “very good, medium, mediocre wrestler” and WWE’s portrayal of wrestling legends.
Here’s a transcript of Bret’s comments about Triple H and why the number of championships a wrestler has won says little about their contributions to the business.
Bret: I like the new one. I have some discrepancies with the game a little bit. I went to a thing last Fall when the latest 2K game was coming out. They were telling me how I’m an 85 or something like that and Triple H is a 98. I remember I was like, “Why would he be a 98?” And they go, “Well because he’s the boss and we have to suck up to the boss.” I dunno, he was laughing about it. It kind of pissed me off. I thought, “I don’t care how many titles Triple H wins. He could never lace my f*cking boots up. Period.
Blade: WOAH! Shots fired!
Bret: He was a very good, medium, mediocre wrestler. He never blew me away with anything that he’s ever done. He’s never come up with much. He’s always been a very decent wrestler that could give you a good match. As far as being like mind blowing…
Dallas: The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.
Bret: I never saw it. I’ve still never seen it. I’ve seen him in some matches and the whole “4 Out Of 10” thing came out of his match with Lesnar. Which should have been such a good match. It was a mediocre match, if that. That’s where the “4 Out Of 10” comes from. He’s always a guy that will give you a “5 Out Of 10” match every night. He’s going to give you all he can give you and that’s just my opinion. There’s certain guys where you put these video games out and I don’t care. I think you have to do justice to the wrestlers as they were in their careers. It should be based on reality. Not things like who you know in the office. Vince could make him 35 time World Champion and it doesn’t mean he’s 35 times better than everyone else that ever wrestled. He’s just not. As far as the games go I think they should be honest. Someone like Bruno Sammartino should never be a jobber on a video game. So on and so forth. I think you have to pay respect. When I think of a video game I think about how I’d love to have Buddy Rogers versus Ric Flair. Something like that. Where you can wrestle these legends against each other from different periods and stuff. They should always represent the reality of what the wrestling business is and was. It should also include the respect the wrestlers have for each other in the dressing room.
Other topics discussed on this episode include:
The Harts final predictions for how Brock Lesnar will do this Saturday at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt
Whether a Brock Lesnar defeat hurts his WWE draw at all
Stephanie McMahon’s recent comment that UFC is not competition to WWE
What it means to Bret when an MMA fighter says they are a fan of pro wrestling
If it’s a given that Brock Lesnar will be victorious in his return to WWE at SummerSlam
Who would be a good opponent for Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam
Bret’s thoughts on pro wrestling video games
If WWE is risking burning out it’s fans with two PPV/WWE Network Specials a month
Triple H is amongst the celebrities who make cameo appearances on rapper Wale’s new mixtape, Summer on Sunset. The 17-track mixtape, which you can listen to above, was inspired by his last summer in Los Angeles. Track 16, titled SmackDown/RAW, features clips of Jim Ross’ commentary and an “outro” by The Game.
Triple H says his boss and father-in-law is one of the biggest influences in his life, but the idea of Vince McMahon running for public office scares him.
In a recent interview with RX Muscle, Triple H talked about NXT, his midnight workouts, and the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Triple H says Vince is the “greatest promoter in the history of the world,” but when asked what if Donald Trump chose Vince to be his V.P., The Game said that was a “scary proposition.”
“Will Donald Trump become President? I don’t know,” Triple H quipped. The Game joked that that Trump better make sure not to make Vince his head of media.
– As noted, WWE recently applied to trademark Legion of Doom, the name used by WWE Hall of Famers Paul Ellering and The Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. Speculation was that Ellering would be bringing the name back for The Authors of Pain in NXT. However, WWE dropped the trademark application earlier this week.
– Triple H tweeted these photos from his visit to Shanghai, China last week for some business meetings and a WWE tryout camp:
– John Cena did a pretty great Hulk Hogan impression on the new NBC primetime variety show Maya & Marty. In this segment, John Cena and David Schwimmer (Martin Short) audition for FX’s new show Hulk Hogan v. Gawker.
– The dark segment after last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings saw The Club attack Dean Ambrose until Roman Reigns made the save. This brought out Seth Rollins, who attacked Reigns but Reigns sent him retreating.
– Triple H noted on Twitter that this year’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn show has officially sold out. The show will once again take place from the Barclays Center during SummerSlam weekend.
Chris Warren, the singer of the infamous D-Generation X “Break It Down” entrance song, has died at age 49. Warren performed the vocals on several songs for WWE, including X-Pac’s theme and Triple H’s old “My Time” theme. Few details are known about his passing at this time.
He performed live at WrestleMania 14, and also went on to contribute several songs to TNA Wrestling. A funeral service will be held for Warren this weekend.
The below obituary was sent out online on Tuesday:
Christopher P. Warren of Valley Cottage, NY, passed away suddenly on Sunday, June 12, 2016 at the age 49. Christopher was born in Huntington, Long Island, NY on May 27, 1967 to Christopher J. and Barbara Warren.
He was employed by Local 638 NYC as a Steam Fitter for many years. Music was his passion. He was very artistic and was a singer for the band Bro-kin.
Christopher is survived by his mother, Barbara Spector, his three brothers, Steven (Lena) Spector, Andrew (Jill) Spector and Danny (Margit) Spector and his sister, Laura Spector. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
“Christopher was very well liked and will be greatly missed by all that knew him”.
He was predeceased by his father, Christopher J. Warren and step father, Paul Spector.
Visiting hours will be Friday, June 17 from 2 to 4 pm & 6 to 9 pm at the Joseph W. Sorce F.H. Inc.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, June 18 in St. Ann’s Church, 16 Jefferson Ave., Nyack, NY. Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY.
– WWE has been reaching out to several former Superstars about rejoining the company in the coming months. With the WWE Draft taking place in approximately one month, additional talent is needed to fill out the RAW, SmackDown and NXT rosters. No word yet on who has been contacted, but it’s worth noting that former WWE performers Tajiri and Brian Kendrick will be part of the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament and could very well be part of this initiative.
– Speaking of the Cruiserweight Classic, former TNA X Division Champion Amazing Red was originally scheduled for the tournament, but had to pull out due to injury. Red recently suffered a broken ankle that won’t be healthy in time for the first set of tapings later this month.
– It looks like SummerSlam will be a 4+ hour PPV once again this year. Ticketmaster.com now displays a 6pm start time for the event, a half hour earlier than the original listing. WWE has already confirmed that Brock Lesnar will be part of SummerSlam, as long as he’s healthy enough to do so after competing at next month’s UFC 200.
SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 21st from Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center. It will be the 2nd of three consecutive nights at the Barclays Center, sandwiched between NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and RAW the following night.
– Over the weekend, Kevin Owens revealed that he’ll be getting his own Funko Pop vinyl toy this summer. Funko Pop has since announced that several other WWE personalities are getting Funko dolls this summer, including Bret Hart, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and one we know you’ll all be interested in – Eva Marie.
– WWE.com has video from Scotty 2 Hotty’s recent visit to the WWE Performance Center.
– Triple H met with NWA President Bruce Tharpe at the WWE PC and NXT Takeover last week. Apparently they were discussing a deal on WWE to obtain the rights for the Paul Boesch Houston Wrestling library.
At Thursday night’s NXT TV tapings, the stage was set for an eventual showdown between Shinsuke Nakamura and former NXT Champion Finn Balor.
At the conclusion of the first show (airing next week), Balor cut a promo about NXT being a part of him, no matter what lies ahead. He was interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura, who said he has to defeat Balor, an NXT icon, before becoming champion. Balor acknowledged a match with Nakamura was looming.
Triple H tweeted the following photo from backstage at the tapings, strongly hinting that this NXT dream match will take place at Takeover: Brooklyn during SummerSlam weekend:
– WWE’s cable partners, including Sky Italia, have been contacted by WWE and told to reserve more time for pay-per-views, indicating that future shows will be running beyond 11pm.
– During this week’s NXT media conference call, Triple H noted that he wasn’t sure how the upcoming WWE draft would affect the NXT roster. However, Dave Meltzer noted in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that NXT will be raided “big time” and there’s expected to be a mass migration of talent headed to the main roster.
WWE has been aggressively scouting talent from around the world to replenish the NXT roster after the draft. As noted earlier this week, Tommy End is said to be NXT bound, pending the usual round of medical testing. With WWE bringing in a ton of new faces for the Global Cruiserweight Series, you can bet many of the standout competitors getting WWE exposure for the first time will be signed.
Comment and tell us which NXT stars you think will join the main roster this summer.
– Wrestling data analyst Chris Harrington dug into this week’s RAW viewership numbers and found an interesting (troubling) fact about this week’s 3rd hour. Monday’s RAW averaged 3.255 million viewers, with the following hourly breakdown:
Hour 1: 3.371 million
Hour 2: 3.490 million
Hour 3: 2.903 million
Harrington notes that the 3rd hour drop in viewership (578,000 viewers) is the 2nd largest loss in viewership for the final hour of RAW in over 90 weeks. For a much more in-depth look at which Superstars’ “Hour 3” matches have lost the most viewers over time, check out Harrington’s latest #Wrestlenomics article over at Indeedwrestling.blogspot.com.
– Kliq members Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash visited Triple H at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando on Tuesday. Nash called it an “unbelievable facility” and noted that he saw some great looking talent training there.
– Shane Thorne and Nick Miller, now known as TM-61, made their NXT debuts on this week’s episode. The Australian team, formerly known as Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls of The Mighty Don’t Kneel(TMDK), and are regarded as a strong tag team and a good signing by WWE.
– A Day To Remember and BABYMETAL will be providing music for the NXT Takeover: The End event on 6/8.
Variety covered WWE Smackdown airing live on the USA Network every Tuesday night, beginning July 18 at 8PM. They also noted that each show will have unique storylines and writing teams. We also know there will be a WWE Draft held soon but the date has not been announced. It will take place before July 19.
Here are tweets from HHH, Vince McMahon, John Cena and others:
– Former performer Hornswoggle (now known as ‘Swoggle’) has been added to the two-night JT Lightning Invitational Tournament. The event is hosted by Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland to honor promoter James “JT Lightning” Haase, who passed away in 2011 due to cancer. Details on the event are here and tickets can be purchased here.
– Here is behind-the-scenes video from the UpUpDownDown Pizza Hut ad that aired on Raw with The New Day, Dolph Ziggler and Sasha Banks:
– Triple H and Stephanie McMahon tweeted behind the scenes photos from today’s Tapout shoot:
Former Tampa Tribune writer Joe Belcastro is the new head writer for NXT. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Belcastro will be working directly under Triple H. He was also involved in the pilot of the NXT Kids show filmed earlier this year.
Belcastro is replacing former NXT head writer Ryan Ward. Ward has been promoted to working on RAW and SmackDown on the USA Network after receiving high praises within the company for his work on NXT.
The new NXT head writer first applied for a job with WWE back in 2008 after graduating college, but was turned down. A friend with a connection in WWE reportedly got Belcastro a second interview with the company in 2013 after writing for the Tribune and movie review websites, and he was hired. He has no prior experience writing anything for television.
Triple H and WWE have come to an agreement on the terms of his new contract as an on-air talent. The Game signed a new three-year deal with the company on May 9th, after his last one expired on March 30th. He negotiated the contract with WWE’s VP of Talent Relations Mark Carrano. Triple H hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since WrestleMania on April 3rd.
His last contract had a $1 million downside guarantee, which he “out-earned” over several years through his TV role and merchandise sales.
Here’s a breakdown of Triple H’s earnings with WWE in 2015:
$1,713,360 million as talent
$573,269 as executive (fixed compensation)
$526,000 bonus (variable compensation)
Total Pay: $2.812 million
Triple H also received performance stock units valued at almost $300,000.
WWE COO Triple H was recently interviewed by Dublin, Ireland’s 98FM and spoke very highly of Irish Superstars Sheamus and Becky Lynch.
The Game said both athletes have amazing work ethic. He doesn’t know if it’s a Dublin thing, but they’re both hard workers and that’s what it takes to climb the ranks in WWE.
He’s known Sheamus for a long time and says the Celtic Warrior is like a sponge for the business – constantly learning. Regarding Becky Lynch, he said,
“Becky, from the time I met her and we brought her into the Performance Center, through her time at NXT. Her rate of change and how she’s grown as a performer and a character, just captivated the crowd [with] her energy. I always say Becky’s energy is infectious. You can’t talk to her more than 5 minutes without feeling hyped up and jazzed up. I think that’s what works for her, is her personality.”
NXT heads to Dublin next month as part of the brand’d upcoming UK tour.
Ethan Carter III crashed Saturday night’s EVOLVE 61 event at the end of Drew Galloway vs. Johnny Gargano — and cut a promo on Triple H, NXT, his time on the show and former head trainer Bill DeMott.
EC3 bragged on how he and Galloway went on to become world champions and Triple H blew it.
Video of EC3’s appearance can be seen below via Periscope. It appears EVOLVE is building to some matches with Galloway and EC3 vs. Gargano and TJ Perkins, who qualified for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic earlier on the show.
– The WWE Cruiserweight Classic tapings were previously announced for the week of June 20 at Full Sail University but F4Wonline.com reports there may be changes made to the tapings schedule. We will keep you updated on any changes.
– Santino Marella tweeted these comments on his WWE career following his release from the company:
This August would've been 10 years with #WWE, not bad for a guy who had his first match at age 29, it took me 3 HARD yrs to get there
– As reported earlier this week, episode 2 of Camp WWE is titled “Not Without My Eyebrow” and focus on The Rock. WWE has since released a video preview, which you can view above.
‘Panic ensues after someone shaves off The Rock’s eyebrow and Ric Flair is tasked with helping The Great One regain his mojo.’
– WWE Performance Center Strength & Conditioning Coach Matt Wichlinski was released last week, according to a report at PWInsider. WWE hired a former NFL strength coach to fill the position.
– Chris Masters is once again taking bookings after undergoing ACL surgery approximately 6 months ago. (Masterpiece83@gmail.com)
– Triple H posted this late night clip from his home gym:
Bret Hart just did a speaking tour in the United Kingdom, and Total Wrestling Magazine has published an article about the the Cardiff, Wales date with some of the key quotes. Hart has been increasingly outspoken lately, and this was no exception, especially when it comes to current events. The Cardiff date was the night after news of Chyna’s death broke, and when Hart was asked about her, he said that “It was sad, I think she should be in the Hall of Fame but I don’t think WWE will ever put her in there. Because of her relationship with Triple H.”
The Hitman also made some news during the show when he discussed his upcoming appearance at WWE Payback in the corner of his niece, Natalya. “I do it to honour Nattie,” he said. “I [have] no desire to be there[,] no desire to be on TV. I’m happy to be there for Nattie but I’ve just had wrist surgery so it’s not a great time. It’ll be great to put Flair in the sharpshooter though.” Hart and Flair have had a rocky relationship over the years, though it seemed as if it had improved as of late. They had previously cornered Natalya and Charlotte against each other for the NXT Women’s Championship tournament final at the first NXT TakeOver card.
Make sure to check out the full article for Bret Hart’s thoughts on the evolution of the WWE women’s division.
Despite what you may have heard, I really don’t believe Triple H dislikes me, as my son Mickey implied on his live stream – from which point the story took on a life of its own. Keep in mind, that my son Mickey is on the autism spectrum and while he is a bright and beautiful child, he doesn’t always speak with the same type of filter that most of us naturally have – and as a result, he is much more likely to say exactly what comes into his mind.
Sure, it created something of an awkward position for me – but nothing that is said or done will ever take away from the bond Triple H and I share; the bond of great matches as we were moving up the card in 1997 and 1998, and when we were on top of the card, on top of the cell – and figuratively, on top of the world in 2000. Rumors will come and go. But memories like the ones Triple H and I created will last a lifetime.
It’s been said in the past that Triple H would disparage Foley in creative meetings. Here is what I reported in June 2012 about the rumor:
Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer was asked by a reader during his radio show why WWE has not utilized Mick Foley on television more frequently since his return to the organization in November 2011. He said this is due to Triple H’s lobbying, who is resentful of “The Hardcore Legend.”
Meltzer says Triple H deprecates Foley whenever his name comes up in creative meetings. While Brian Gewirtz, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Creative Writing, feels Foley is creative and a good performer, Triple H thinks otherwise. He says Foley ‘doesn’t look tough’ and can’t be taken seriously as an in-ring performer.
A former WWE creative writer told Power Slam magazine in 2008 under the condition of anonymity that Triple H would disparage Foley whenever he appeared for the company, and in the process, diminish his value in the eyes of Vince and Stephanie McMahon.
“Foley is an out-of-shape nobody,” Triple H was reported as saying by the writer. “No one cares about him at all. Funaki puts more asses in the seats than Foley does. He should pay us for coming on our shows.”
Meltzer believes the real reason Triple H still holds Foley in contempt is because he gets irritated over the consensus of his closest co-workers that his memorable matches with Foley in 2000 “made him a star.”
– This week’s WWE SmackDown drew 2.355 million viewers with a 1.70 rating, down from last week’s 2.444 million and 1.75 rating.
– As announced on Friday, Triple H and Shane McMahon are joining WWE’s ongoing overseas tour. Triple H’s opponent will be Dean Ambrose at the following shows:
April 20th in Newcastle, England
April 21st in Brussels, Belgium
April 22nd in Paris, France
April 23rd in Malaga, Spain
– Paige congratulated Scottish women’s wrestler Nikki Storm for being part of the new class of recruits at the WWE Performance Center:
This afternoon WWE announced that Triple H and Shane McMahon had been added to their tour of Europe. Shane McMahon is booked for a special appearance at the SmackDown taping on April 19th in London, while Triple H has multiple appearances scheduled. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is booked for Newcastle on April 20th, Brussels on April 21st, Paris on April 22nd, and Malaga, Spain on April 23rd. HHH hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since WrestleMania 32.
The Undertaker was originally removed from all of his European dates, but was added back to the April 19th SmackDown taping in London and the April 20th live event in Newcastle.