As noted, Triple H was a guest on Z107’s Greg and the Morning Buzz radio show and spoke about feeling blessed to be in the position he is in and Vince McMahon’s thoughts on NXT. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On never dreaming he’d be in the position in WWE that he’s in now and feeling blessed:
“You hate to use the word ‘blessed’ or anything like that because it’s just so overused and all that. But you hear so many people say it all the time. You hear it in sports and ‘I’m so blessed to do this’ and I guess the guy you just beat wasn’t quite as blessed. But it’s just used and it’s a cliche, right?”
On Vince McMahon’s feelings about the NXT brand:
“Look, at the end of the day, [NXT]’s his company, right? I mean, I’ll see people say, ‘oh, NXT is the second biggest promotion.’ Well, no, it’s part of the biggest promotion in the world. We’ve just kind of created our own thing in our own niche. And to be able to take it from what it was, a developmental thing and trying to get people to that next level, which is still the goal, right? It’s still the goal. To take it to where we have is huge. We’re just giving [the audience] an opportunity to have another brand and another thing to watch and enjoy. And if you’re a fan of what we do, then that’s awesome. And, look, it’s designed to fill that niche. That’s exactly what it’s designed to do.”
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Taz talked about traveling with Vince McMahon and what his work ethic is like. He mentioned that only wrestlers are allowed to sleep on WWE’s plane coming back from TV tapings, while Vince and the other staff stay up working late into the night.
“I had the opportunity for so long to travel every week on Vince’s plane,” said Taz. “Michael Cole and I would travel with Vince and the writers because we had to get back to Connecticut to do the voiceovers for Smackdown, so I got to see Vince behind the scenes 30,000 feet in the air. He’d be sitting there at one in the morning, on a flight from Anaheim to New York, while everyone was struggling to keep their eyes open, and he’d be working non-stop.”
“I’ve seen Triple H fall asleep on the plane, and it wasn’t a problem. I fell asleep on that plane many a time and it wasn’t a problem. If you took some bumps and you fell asleep, it was no problem. If you’re a writer or a play-by-play announcer, it was going to be a problem. It was never mean-spirited, it was like high school with money. It was fun.”
– While the official announcement has yet to be made, WWE is planning to hold the 2016 Money In The Bank pay-per-view at the new Las Vegas Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. WWE is expected to finalize the deal next month. With the Money In The Bank scheduled for June, that would mean WWE will be running the new Las Vegas Arena before UFC takes their landmark UFC 200 event to the venue on July 2nd.
– The Thursday, November 19th Survivor Series “go-home” edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.229 million viewers, up slightly from last week’s show, which drew 2.294 million viewers.
– Hulk Hogan said he’s “not done yet” at his Evening with Hulk Hogan event in Sheffield, England on Saturday night.
“You guys are loyal. You known I’ve made a huge mistake or said something really dumb. That’s because I was mad or at a low point in my life, but that’s not who I am,” Hogan told a reported crowd of 1,000 about being blacklisted from WWE over the summer, which coincided with media scrutiny of scandalous remarks he made in 2007. “I’m not done yet. I need to learn another lesson. All this stuff happens to make me a better person. That’s how I look at it.”
Hogan also said he still admires WWE chief Vince McMahon.
“There are two Vince McMahons. On a personal level I love him to death, as a business man I respect him. He’s a good guy. He really is,” said Hogan.
– Randy Orton isn’t the only wrestler to get married in Las Vegas, Nevada last week. Nick Dinsmore, who was known as Eugene in WWE, married his longtime girlfriend on Wednesday.
As noted, The Rock will be appearing as a guest on “Oprah’s Master Class” this Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST. on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Another promotional clip from the show has been released, as seen above, and features The Rock talking about WWE.
The Rock spoke about feeling angst early into his WWE run due to the fact that he couldn’t be himself.
“I remember I had great angst every night before I went out, because I was not able to be myself,” said The Rock.
He also commented on getting booed as a babyface at his first WrestleMania event:
He continued, describing the time he appeared at his first-ever WrestleMania as a babyface and was booed by the fans, noting it was when he realized he needed to make some changes.
“It was a sobering moment,” said The Rock. “And that was the beginning of the end of my initial run in the WWE. A few weeks later, I tore a tendon in my knee, and I was out for the rest of the summer. I came to the realization before I went back that it wasn’t me, personally, that they didn’t like. It was that I wasn’t being me.”
The Rock said while he was on the sidelines recovering, he received a call from Vince McMahon suggesting that he turn heel when he returned.
“He said, ‘When you come back, we could continue to shove you down people’s throats or we could turn you heel because they want to boo you anyway,'” Rock said. “I said, ‘I think it’s a great idea.'”
“About a month later, I was the hottest heel in the company and things were on fire,” said The Rock. “And the greatest lesson about that is be you. … The most powerful thing you can be is yourself.”
For another preview of The Rock’s appearance on “Oprah’s Master Class,” which features Rock talking about his battle with depression and his transition from WWE to Hollywood, click here.
– In addition to The Undertaker and The Rock, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon took to social media for the third time in one day on Thursday to send congratulations to former WWE Champion Batista on the success of the new James Bond “007: Spectre” film, which co-stars Batista as the character “Mr. Hinx.” You can check out McMahon’s comments via the following tweet:
– The Rock posted a “Throwback Thursday (TBT)” photo and blog on his official Instagram account on Thursday honoring WWE Hall Of Famer Pat Patterson. The Rock wrote the following, which was accompanied by the below photo of the two talking together backstage at a past WWE event.
“#TBT 2013 becoming #WWE Heavyweight Champion for the 8th time. First person to congratulate me backstage was WWE Hall of Famer and close family friend Pat Patterson – one of the greatest mentors I’ve ever had in the world of sports entertainment.
At 23yrs old I called Pat and told him I was training to get into the business. He said “What business?”. I said “the wrestling business”. He said with great clarity, “Why the f–k would you want to do that?”. He eventually agreed to come watch one of my ring workouts in Tampa, and after the session I said “Do you think I have what it takes?”. He simply said “Just keep working”. He immediately went home and called Vince McMahon and said “Vince you gotta see this kid, I think he can be great one day”. One week later I had my very first tryout match for the WWE in Corpus Christi, TX in front of 15,000 people.
Pat has been instrumental in creating some of the greatest storylines (Rock vs Austin, Rock vs HHH) and matches of my entire career and I’m forever grateful for his guidance and knowledge. He’s also responsible for dropping the greatest lines ever… in this picture he literally said “My God Rock when you won the title tonight the people went f–kING BANANA!” For some reason he always forgets the “s”. #PatPatterson #Legend #Mentor #Grateful”
Vince McMahon was a little busier than usual on social media on Thursday afternoon. The WWE Chairman posted comments about The Undertaker’s appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” from Wednesday night, as well as a congratulatory message directed towards The Rock, who announced earlier this week that he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child.
Regarding The Undertaker’s appearance on Fallon on Wednesday, McMahon tweeted the following:
– Here is video of Roman Reigns answering questions at a WWE 2K16 press event in Spain. A transcript of the interview is available here in Spanish.
– WWE is apparently still adding episodes of SmackDown to the WWE Network in chronological order as the March 16, 2000 show is now available for viewing. Every SmackDown episode through this date with the exception of the February 3, 2000 show can be seen (Chris Benoit faced Triple H in the main event of that show).
– Sasha Banks apparently feels that WWE chief Vince McMahon doesn’t support her.
– ESPN is said to be happy thus far with the viewership numbers they have been getting for the Tuesday night at 9pm SportsCenter on ESPN News, which has recently included the WWE interview. The numbers are actually up compared to what the hour had been doing before the addition of the WWE segment.
– Speaking of ESPN, WWE and Vince McMahon have signed off on allowing ESPN to use archival footage of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair for the upcoming 30 For 30 special they are working on. The special is scheduled to cover Flair’s entire career, including the plane crash, his personal life, financial issues and his son’s death. Flair was interviewed for the special this past week for four hours.
As it turns out, Vince McMahon wasn’t that upset with The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar bleeding during their “Final Battle” inside Hell In A Cell at Sunday night’s WWE pay-per-view in Los Angeles, but rather how things went after the blood started pouring.
A source who was watching the situation unfold from the gorilla position last night noted to PWInsider.com that McMahon was not upset over the blood, even if he wasn’t thrilled to see it. What set Vince off was the fact that Lesnar shoved the doctor out of the way after Vince sent him to ringside to clean things up. Lesnar shoving the doctor was not at all a planned spot. Lesnar got frustrated that the doctor was interrupting the momentum of the match and took it upon himself to attack him.
When Lesnar and Undertaker returned backstage after the match, there was no incident with McMahon calling them into his office or talking down to them in front of everyone else in sight, despite reports to the contrary.
Both The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were seen bleeding during the main event at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Taker and Lesnar’s injuries were not a result of blading, but rather they were both busted open. As seen during WrestleMania 31, Lesnar ran directly into the ring post whereas Taker’s injury was caused by Lesnar taking his glove off and throwing head punches.
An insider backstage texted Bryan Alvarez from F4WOnline.com as they caught Vince McMahon’s reaction to the blood. It was said that due to the no blood policy in WWE, Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn were freaking out as they watched backstage.
Kevin Dunn was reportedly flipping out, demanding WWE doctors go into the Hell In A Cell structure to calm down the situation, however when Lesnar shoved the doctor, he did not return and the match continued regardless.
Vince Russo posted a video this week saying that he has reached out to Vince McMahon (once again) after watching WWE RAW. Russo says that he can help save the business and he’s there for Vince if Vince needs him.
He acknowledged that he has been universally discredited and his reputation has taken a beating, but he wants to help get the industry back on track before it’s too late.
A big WWE topic going around lately is about the way the promotion books their shows and how most of their talent are not portrayed as big stars because of 50/50 booking.
One person in WWE described the company’s booking and inability to make new top stars. That person said, “What is backfiring is the fact the company, its owners and executives now feel they have to answer for their decisions. `Some people did not like this guy won,’ and then feel the need to explain their own creative process. It’s a defensive posture that permeates even the booking, which is why it’s always 50/50, unless someone has the clout to avoid being in the 50/50 club.”
The anonymous source continued, “But the booking itself becomes defensive. Don’t offend anyone’s fan base. Don’t alienate anyone. Please everyone, at all times, and make either apologies offered or excuses given if the audience presents even the slightest backlash. It leads to no commitment to a decision, and therefore, long-term, long-lasting money situations become harder and harder to manufacture.”
The general consensus is that as long as this is the process, because Vince McMahon has final say on all things, nothing will change until he realizes that a major overhaul is needed.
As noted, the match between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar at this Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in Los Angeles, California is scheduled to be their final battle.
The current belief is that Lesnar will defeat Undertaker to end their feud due to a run-in by whoever he will feud with next, possibly even the guy he will be feuding with heading into WrestleMania 32. There is no word yet if Lesnar will feud with anyone else between now and next year’s WrestleMania season.
Although no angle was shot between Steve Austin and Lesnar during Monday’s “Stone Cold Podcast,” there are still some clinging to the idea that there has to be a big match at WrestleMania because Vince McMahon wouldn’t blow off a major match like Lesnar vs. Undertaker at a smaller event like Hell In A Cell unless he had something bigger in his back pocket for WrestleMania.
Despite the fact that The Rock also rumored to be facing Lesnar next year, there is no word regarding The Rock appearing at Hell In A Cell on Sunday to shoot an angle.
– As noted, NXT star Tyler Breeze is expected to make his move to the main WWE roster in the next few weeks. According to F4WOnline.com, WWE at one point had Breeze officially scheduled for Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television tapings in Austin, Texas, however that could end up changing and Breeze’s debut could be pushed back a week or two.
– The first WrestleMania 32 pre-sale code for November 4th is RAWVIP.
– Below is another photo of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backstage at Monday’s RAW in Dallas, Texas with Vince McMahon.
– It was announced on Monday’s WWE Hell In A Cell “go-home” edition of RAW that on this week’s SmackDown, both Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae will be the special guests on a new Miz TV segment. Make sure to stop by here at SEScoops.com on Tuesday evening for the best live WWE SmackDown spoiler play-by-play on the web.
– With over 84,000 votes already, The Undertaker is leading a new WWE poll which asks fans to vote on which Superstar “rules Hell In A Cell.” The options for the poll include The Undertaker, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Randy Orton, and Triple H. Taker currently leads with 69 percent of the votes while the next closest is far behind with Triple H holding a mere 11 percent.
– Before tonight’s WWE RAW in Dallas, Texas, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Cowboys CBO Charlotte Jones Anderson were able to meet Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Below is a photo of the gang backstage at the show.
Jim Cornette ripped apart Vince McMahon on episode 96 of The Jim Cornette Experience. He went into detail about his thoughts on why Vince McMahon makes amends with so many former talents who parted ways with him on bad terms.
“People sue him, people walk out on him, people f**k him, people say horrible things about him, and he brings them back, not because it’s best for business, but because it’s best for his f**king ego,” said Cornette. “Vince McMahon has the worst inferiority complex of anybody in history. I say that because he wants to prove that he will do anything with anybody. He will reconcile with anybody, supposedly if it’s best for business, but really so he can get them under his thumb again and he can work with them again. He can prove that they needed him.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official Q&A section, answering questions from fans on a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights.
On if older shooters would have gone to MMA if it were around back in the day: “They all were qualified to be MMA stars without question but they would have followed the money and the longevity of their athletic careers I’m thinking. What I mean is a UFC-like operation would have gotten some of the men you mentioned in all reality but over the long haul a career in pro wrestling is generally longer and can be more lucrative.”
On if Vince McMahon thinks Cesaro is boring: “I have no idea if that rumor is even true but I love Cesaro’s game and feel that he’s underutilized.”
On creative in WWE contracts: “I would never tie in creative with a talent’s contract. To me, that is insanity. Creative needs change, talents evolve or not, and to be locked in to a talent having the ability to not run the plays that the team dictates is not smart business.
You can check out more of JR’s Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Low TV ratings aren’t the only problem for Raw and Smackdown. The attendance at recent WWE TV events has been dropping. Fans at the Smackdown taping on Tuesday saw that the entire upper arena was tarped off, and at the 10/6 tapings half of the upper deck was tarped off. Only 3,000 fans attended this week’s taping.
The 10/26 Raw in San Diego has sold 6,000 tickets in an arena set up for 8,500. They did 10,000 fans in Chicago this week, which was a few thousand short of a sell out even though they announced they sold out the building. In the past, Raw usually legitimately sells out in Chicago.
With TV ratings declining and Vince McMahon taking full control of his company once again, it appears he is opening up to the idea of putting TNA wrestlers on WWE TV. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Vince has softened his stance on bringing in TNA talent, which as of earlier this year was that it would not be done.
With Samoa Joe and James Storm appearing on NXT, it appears the company is using the WWE Network-exclusive show as a platform to transition wrestlers from “TNA guys” to “WWE guys.” Storm is still appearing on TNA on cable TV, as the matches were taped back in July.
Joe and Storm are reportedly there to help add some experience to the upcoming NXT tours. You can expect to see them continue to be paired up with more inexperienced wrestlers in the ring. The two former TNA stars have yet to be earmarked for the main roster.
WWE announced their official plans for this year’s Tribute To The Troops special, which will be taped on Tuesday, December 8th at Florida’s Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena for military personnel and their families. Here is the official announcement:
WWE Tribute to the Troops comes to Jacksonville
WWE announced that the 13th annual WWE Tribute to the Troops event will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at Florida’s Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena for military personnel and their families stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Naval Station Mayport and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. Tribute to the Troops will air on USA Network on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m. ET.
In the tradition of Bob Hope, WWE brings together the best of sports entertainment and pop culture with celebrity appearances and performances from music’s most popular acts for our servicemen and women, to honor their commitment and dedication to our country. Tribute to the Troops has become a holiday tradition and is considered TV’s most patriotic and heartwarming show of the year.
While in Jacksonville, WWE Superstars and Divas will spend time giving back to those who serve and their families with Be a STAR anti-bullying rallies, hospital visits and military outreach at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Naval Station Mayport and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
Florida Governor Rick Scott said, “We can never thank our veterans and military members enough for their brave service to our nation. It is important to frequently honor our American heroes for the sacrifices they have made to keep our families safe. Florida remains the most military friendly state in the nation and we are proud to host this year’s Tribute to the Troops celebration.”
“WWE has gone above and beyond the call of duty in supporting the men and women of the U.S. Navy,” said Rear Adm. Mary Jackson, Commander, Navy Region Southeast. “We are very fortunate to have the upcoming Tribute to the Troops right here in Jacksonville, home to more than 22,000 Sailors and their families. I am hearing lots of excitement and energy about this event! This is also a special time for us to say thank you to WWE!”
“It is a privilege for WWE to entertain our military as a way to thank them for their commitment and sacrifice for our country,” said WWE Chairman & CEO, Vince McMahon. “Everyone at WWE looks forward to this annual celebration, and we are proud to partner with the U.S. Navy and Governor Rick Scott to put smiles on the faces of the servicemen and women and their families.”
Hulk Hogan was recently interviewed by “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair for Ric’s WOOOOO! Nation podcast. The two Hall of Famers discussed their time in both WWE and TNA. You can stream or download the podcast here.
Hogan reiterated his stance on WWE firing him over his leaked racist rant, saying they did what they had to do. He said the loyalty of the fans is something that WWE can’t take away from him and he won’t take for granted. He has nothing bad to say about Vince or WWE, and says he knows he created some great memories there.
The two ring icons also got into the subject of TNA, where they both worked at the same time. Hogan was a member of the creative team during their runs in the company, and recalled the time he convinced Ric to take a clothesline from him while Ric was rolling down the ramp in a wheelchair. Flair was glad the crowd popped huge for the clothesline, because he says it’s hard to make the old Impact Zone pop as there are a lot of non-wrestling fans in attendance.
Dixie Carter is another person Hulk says he has nothing bad to say about, because she supported him through some tough surgeries. He did concede that being in TNA was a “tough gig.”
Flair put over James Storm and Bobby Roode as great talents. Flair also said that the decline for the company is due to “inconsistent booking” and having, “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
The Nature Boy revealed that TNA had him and Hulk delivered to and from the arena each night, and that most of their time in Orlando was spent at the hotel bar across the street.
Vince McMahon was responsible for all of the creative decisions at Saturday night’s live WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden in New York City, according to a report at PWInsider.com.
With all of the talk about Triple H assuming more control behind-the-scenes, McMahon is still very much the guy in charge and “where the buck stops” in terms of all major decisions and ideas.
When new ideas or concepts are brought up, the response is generally something along the lines of, “we’ll have to check with Vince,” or, “see if Vince likes it.”
As WWE’s television ratings continue to decline, McMahon is apparently back to micro-managing creative and is back to overseeing all aspects of the company more than he had been previously.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted the following on Instagram about the first time he met Vince McMahon back when he was only 11 years old.
My nightmare aka my very first TV “appearance” when I was 11yrs old.
At a WWE TV taping in Allentown, PA. Since my dad was always on the road wrestling, any father/son time we got in was great, so I was super pumped to travel with him.
It was backstage that I’d meet a man who years later we’d enjoy tremendous success together, and he’d become one of my strongest mentors in business – Vince McMahon. I’ll never forget he shook my hand, looked down at me and said “We gotta get you on camera tonight young man!”. I thought, “WHOA I’m gonna be on TV… can’t wait to tell my friends… AWESOME!”. So I’m sitting there in the crowd, the camera man comes over and tells me he’s getting ready to shoot so be ready. It was in that defining moment that I just realized something awful… I was just getting over a bad case of Chicken Pox (you can clearly see a few “post pox” on my face), and I thought “Holy sh*t this is terrible! The world will see me for the first time, and I look like someone set fire to my face and stomped it out with cleats”. Looking back at this gem of a picture, there’s two things I’ve learned: Things are never as bad as they seem (especially at 11yrs old) and instead of worrying about my Chicken Pox I should’ve been concerned with the world questioning whether I was a boy or a girl. Which, for the record happened all the time to me when I was a kid.
The talk within WWE right now is that Vince McMahon is putting enormous pressure on the WWE creative team specifically because of the September 21st rating for WWE RAW, which was the post-Night Of Champions edition of the show.
It appears that panic didn’t set in for the low ratings the previous two weeks, as WWE conveniently used the Labor Day holiday and the start of the NFL’s Monday Night Football season as excuses for the low numbers, however when the 9/21 number came in, everything changed.
Generally when WWE runs big angles at a pay-per-view, it is to boost the television ratings the following night, in basic “cliffhanger” fashion, however when WWE took that approach this past weekend and it resulted in an all-time low audience, it was the first time the term “panic” has been thrown around behind-the-scenes in WWE regarding ratings in quite a while.