– Daniel Bryan will be taking over the official Seattle Seahawks Twitter page today at 6pm EST. to host a live Q&A. Bryan will be talking about WWE and the Seahawks going to this year’s NFL Super BowlXLIX game. You can send Bryan questions by using the hashtag “#12sQA.” To take part in the Q&A, head over to @Seahawks.

– The new WWE Immortals mobile video game received 2.7 million downloads in its’ first weekend of being released.

– Below is the Vince McMahon announcement that aired on Thursday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown regarding the free month of the WWE Network in February.

• Vince McMahon FURIOUS Over Mistake During Royal Rumble + Chris Jericho TURNS DOWN WWE Offer!

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.

• PHOTO: BROCK LESNAR Sporting A “TRAMP STAMP” Tattoo!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

I’m a massive fan of the WWE Network. I’ve been a subscriber since day one, I truly believe it’s a great value, and do not think fans should cancel the service. However, if fans are truly dissatisfied with the current state of the WWE, there is absolutely no better way to voice displeasure with the company than by cancelling service.

Since becoming a publicly traded company, the WWE has had to deal with an entity that is even more demanding and impatient than hardcore fans: shareholders. Indeed, the company could be on top of the world one day and hit rock bottom the next. With the WWE Network, the company has essentially put all (or at least most) of its eggs in a single basket.

By offering the company’s monthly pay-per-view for only $9.99, the WWE has decimated their former pay-per-view model. Who’s going to buy those $14.99 DVDs anymore when you can see the content a week later (along with thousands of hours of additional content) for only $9.99? In short, aside from television deals for Raw and Smackdown, merchandise sales, and live shows, the WWE Network, for all intents and purposes, is now the WWE.

The WWE fans are not idiots. Following the disastrous Royal Rumble, you didn’t see #DontWatchRawTomorrow or #StopBuyingWWEMerch trending. No, instead they went right for the heart with #CancelWWENetwork. It was trending during and after Sunday’s Rumble, and I can imagine Vince McMahon thought he was hallucinating when he woke up the next morning and saw it was still a top trend.

Needless to say, the WWE went into full-on damage control mode yesterday, releasing the latest WWE Network subscriber numbers a few weeks early. It was originally announced that the company would release the latest numbers on February 12^th as part of the latest earnings report.

They clearly wanted to stop the bleeding, announcing they have surpassed one million Network subscribers. The news was well received too, as WWE stock shot up almost 20 percent on Tuesday following the announcement.

– WWE is reportedly no longer branding WrestleMania with numbers, at least with the logo. Instead, symbols are being used to distinguish each event.

It was announced last week that WrestleMania will come to AT&T Stadium in Texas on April 3, 2016 and “32” is nowhere to be seen on the logo. It instead features a star to represent the “Lone Star State.” On top of that, the logo for this year’s WrestleMania features a “Play” button to represent Silicon Valley’s Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

This is according to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, who said on Wrestling Observer Radio today that the events are no longer being branded with numbers “because Vince thinks it makes it sound too old.”

– E! has released this preview clip of the next all-new episode of Total Divas, which airs two weeks from now on Sunday, Feb. 8. It is centered on Alicia Fox and Cameron, who dislike each other.

The synopsis of the episode is as follows: “The future of the Bella Twins is in question after Brie’s admission that she doesn’t use protection; Nattie is forced to work with TJ even though they are separated; and Ariane makes a disastrous attempt to find out why exactly Alicia hates her.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96QwmWlVXM

– Bray Wyatt granted his first wish to Jovanni of Marty Lyons Foundation before the Royal Rumble on Sunday. The official WWE website has published a photo gallery from their meeting.

• The Rock “pissed” after Royal Rumble appearance

– Larry King will be interviewing Diamond Dallas Page, Jake Roberts and Scott Hall in Utah this week to promote the new Roberts documentary. The interview is scheduled to air in a future episode of the Ora.tv “Larry King Now” show.

– JBL tweeted the following photo out on Tuesday, which shows Vince McMahon producing the rooftop weather segment from Monday’s RAW.

From last nights weather forecast, that's Vince McMahon to the left producing shot. He set up shot in cold with crew. pic.twitter.com/48IWMowv0m

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) January 27, 2015

• MMANEWS.COM: Updates On CM Punk’s UFC Debut — Who His Opponent Will Be, etc.

Vince McMahon and top WWE officials were legitimately surprised at the intensity of backlash they saw from the live crowd at Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble match.

While WWE knew some fans would not be on board with Reigns winning the Rumble instead of Daniel Bryan, the feeling is that WWE painfully underestimated how people would react. According to Dave Melzter of the Wrestling Observer, “They panicked early, they changed a few things.”

The Rock in particular was caught off-guard by the situation, with Meltzer noting, “Dwayne was not happy.” After making a surprise appearance at the end of the show to support his cousin and help him win the Rumble, The Rock was visibly surprised and it showed in the ring and during his post-show backstage promo on the WWE Network. He tweeted after the Rumble –

Just touched down in Miami. Thank you Philly for the #RoyalRumble passion – I feel ya 100! Up in 4hrs for AM cardio.. #FackIt #LetsWork

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) January 26, 2015

Despite the #CancelWWENetwork craze, Vince McMahon is ‘dead set’ on sticking to the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar WrestleMania main event. The feeling is that WWE caved last year by adding Daniel Bryan to the main event and most likely will not be going the same route this year. Meltzer said, “Vince feels that it would be a repeat and gone to the well one time too often.”

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Reaction: Highs, Lows, Results & Random Thoughts

WWE is wishing a happy 74th birthday to WWE Hall Of Famer and the creator of the Royal Rumble match concept, Pat Patterson, at tonight’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WWE will air a graphic on the big screen to honor the longtime legendary WWE executive.

Below is a photo, courtesy of Stephanie McMahon’s official Twitter account, of Patterson talking with Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the arena prior to tonight’s show.

Happy 74th Birthday to the father of the #RoyalRumble Pat Patterson! @VinceMcMahon @TripleH pic.twitter.com/7GKEG8iSdD

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 25, 2015

• VIDEO: Girlfriend Catches Cops On Tape Attacking And Tasering UFC Fighter [WATCH HERE >>]

– Lucha Libre star Laredo Kid got a WWE tryout at Monday’s RAW Reunion show from Dallas, according to Kris Zellner of The Lucha Report. Laredo told SuperLuchas.net that he thought the tryout went pretty well and he hopes WWE officials call him back.

– WWE COO Triple H appeared on Good Morning America this morning to discuss breaking character at Monday’s RAW to console 8-year-old fan Lucian Deering, who was crying at ringside during the main event. Triple H said:

“As we were sitting ringside, the young man was behind me and he was chanting my name, over and over. It was just me being in character. I said, with eye brows up, ‘Hey, stop messing with me. I’m trying to do my job over here.’”

You can see video of Triple H’s appearance at Good Morning America, as well as a photo of Lucian Deering backstage with his father at RAW, at GMA.Yahoo.com.

– Vince McMahon tweeted the following on Friday morning, stating that 2015 is going to be WWE’s best year yet:

I believe this will be the best year ever for @WWE. It starts this Sunday with #RoyalRumble #WWENetwork999 pic.twitter.com/jnpIdR53LD

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) January 23, 2015

– Below is a video of former WWE Diva Sharmell talking to Title Match Wrestling about running Reality of Wrestling with her husband — Booker T — as well as his new gig as one of the announcers for RAW. The interview was taped prior to Jerry Lawler being moved to SmackDown. Sharmell thanked Vince McMahon for giving Booker the opportunity and said WWE has always been good to her family.

– Below is the elaborate Royal Rumble statistics video that aired on this past Monday’s RAW Reunion show.

• PHOTOS: Triple H BREAKS CHARACTER During RAW Reunion To Console A Crying Young Fan!

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was interviewed for January’s issue of Total Wrestling Magazine, which you can read for free online at Issuu.com.

The 5-time WWE Champion spoke about his classic match with Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam 1992, the legendary Hart family dungeon and his brother Owen. Here’s what he makes of the current WWE product and who his favorite superstars are:

“CM Punk, is an exceptional talent who’s really raised the bar in the last few years. I don’t know how many wrestlers in the past few years that I can say that about. In wrestling theres a lot of repeat, not a lot of innovation but Punk raised the bar and Daniel Bryan is a great talent too. He reminds me of Owen, a quiet kid who’s very talented. I love the way he wrestles, he does a lot that Owen did, like the dropkicks off the top, the nip-ups, there’s a lot of little Owen traits in everything Bryan does.”

He also spoke about patching up his relationship with Vince McMahon several years ago.

“He was one of the first people to call me and ask how I was after my stroke, and we cleared a lot of the air, I’m really grateful for that call. I eventually got to beat him at WrestleMania 26 which I think is a better ending for us. I would say he’s on the very best of terms with me now.”

There are a lot of words that could be used to describe WWE’s 2014 campaign, and some of them are better than others. While the 2014 year did give us some great moments, like Wrestlemania 30, or the squash of John Cena, it was also filled with moments that left us scratching our heads, and planting our faces in our hands. Understandably, not everything a major promotion like WWE does will be a success, but there’s a big difference between something failing, and something going neglected.

WWE had a number of chances to do big things last year, like pushing Cesaro to the main event, or building on the destruction of The Shield, that they simply did not capitalize on, or at least not to the level they were capable of doing. Because of this, a lot of people are afraid that WWE 2015 may suffer some of the same fates, and it very well could, if in the following year, some of the same decisions are made. If WWE wants to avoid the path of decline, and produce a gripping, fan-friendly product, than they must do the following five things:

5. WWE Must Improve Its Booking.

It was brought to my attention by Reddit’s top wrestling community, /r/SquaredCircle recently that, not counting battle royals or one on one matches, The Usos have faced the Rhodes Brothers over twenty times across the last year. To put that to scale, let’s say The Usos & The Rhodes Brothers have one tag match a week for twenty weeks. This means that, on RAW, you would see The Usos face The Rhodes Brothers from January to April / May every single week. That is almost half a year that you would see the same match over and over again. From a practical standpoint, let alone an entertainment standpoint, this is absolutely unacceptable. Putting the same four superstars in the same match over and over again is boring. Imagine if John Cena and Randy Orton fought every single week for almost half a year. Oh, wait…

You may also remember the stipulations leading up to Hell in a Cell; John Cena and Dean Ambrose had a match to determine who would get Seth Rollins, as each man felt like they had a legitimate quarrel to settle. Dean Ambrose ended up winning, and going on to Hell in a Cell to face Rollins, but the very next night on RAW, the main event was John Cena vs. Seth Rollins. Combined with the dirty finish at Hell in a Cell which set up an average-at-best feud between Ambrose and Bray Wyatt that also somehow erased that past number of months from Dean Ambrose’s head, John Cena circumventing the event and going right after Rollins the next night basically rendered all of October meaningless.

If 2015 is going to be better than 2014, one thing that must change is bookings. New match-ups and match possibilities must be created. The same seven or eight people cannot be used week in and week out for main events. Titles cannot just go back and forth, especially between two or three people. WWE must take the time and seriously commit resources to increasing the depth of their show, and the number of people invested in the main angles of the product. Otherwise, we may see yet another Gold & Stardust vs. The Usos half-year battle.

4. John Cena Must Begin Playing A Smaller Role.

When Daniel Bryan was injured last May, John Cena stepped in and replaced him in the title picture. At the time, I was upset by this because it felt like they were trying to use Bryan’s popularity to push a stale product who was already over, but in retrospect it easily made the most sense; John Cena is a reliable, proven commodity, who can not only handle singles feuds, but carry them, and with the direction WWE was heading, there was no way they could have chanced that spot with an unproven rising star like Reigns or Wyatt.

However, as of Smackdown tonight, Daniel Bryan is back in action, and barring something like a re-aggravation of his injury or bad writing decisions, his rise to the top is almost guaranteed. The truth is, there is plenty of money to still be milked from the “Ultimate Underdog Daniel Bryan” angle, and only a fool would miss a chance to milk that cow while it’s prime. What that means is that Daniel Bryan must take back his spot from John Cena. Otherwise, it won’t feel authentic, and it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting or gripping as it needs to be. If Daniel Bryan stays in the shadow, there’s no sense of urgency, or worth. He’s just another name. An over name, but just a name all the same.

Promoting SmackDown moving to Thursday nights, Daniel Bryan spoke to Joshua Stewart of NewsDay.com. During the interview, Bryan reveals that he was originally not scheduled to compete in the main event of WrestleMania 30. Rather, he was supposed to face Sheamus in the fifth or sixth match on the card.

“I can tell you 100 percent for a fact that I was not supposed to be in the main event at WrestleMania 30,” Bryan said. “That is one of the coolest things about WWE and wrestling in general. The fans have this very unique voice, and this very unique power, and in no other sport and no other form of entertainment can the fans make their voices heard and it affect change.”

Bryan also talked about believing that his neck injury may end his wrestling career, the sessions that fixed him and more. The full article is available here.

• Vince McMahon wants to stop pushing two WWE stars – details

WWE has announced that they will be releasing their fourth quarter and full-2014 financial results on Thursday, February 12th.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, as well as WWE CFO George Barrios will be on-hand to host a conference call on the morning of 2/12 to discuss the results.

As part of the report, WWE will release their latest subscriber count for the WWE Network.

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee In Their Private Time, Hanging w/ Celebrities, Partying & MORE! [View Here >>]

The following are highlights of a new U.K. Mirror interview with Chris Jericho:

On WWE inducting Randy Savage into the Hall Of Fame: “Well, absolutely it’s one of the guys that needed to go in there to make it a legitimate Hall of Fame. They’ve done a great job over the last few years, putting in those last few guys like Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart, and now Savage, those were the holdouts that needed to be in there to give that Hall some semblance of credibility. Now that Savage is going in, it’s kind of closing the book on the outstanding that needed to be in there – like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame needs to put Deep Purple in there before I can ever take it seriously. Until they do, it’s kind of a joke to me. The fact Savage is finally going in is great.”

On returning to WWE for the next two months, but not working TV or PPVs: “Just for January and February, working the live events – no TV matches, no pay-per-view matches. I happen to have January and February off because in March I’m going back to the UK with Fozzy, so it was a good time to go back to WWE for a few matches. It’s based around Fozzy’s schedule, and it’s been that way since 2010. You see me come and go for a month here, a month there, that’s why I didn’t want to do any TV this year in January or February because it’s too short of a timeframe. Considering it’s WrestleMania time, there’s really no reason to come back [on TV] because I’m not available for WrestleMania, nor do I want to be around just for a couple of months. It’d be too quick.”

On Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech: “I grabbed it so I don’t really have … he’s right, it’s all up to him, and whatever mood he’s in and whoever he decides has it at the moment will get a chance. It’s Vince, he says things and whatever is in his head. When I’m not in WWE, I don’t watch a lot of WWE. There’s guys there grabbing the brass ring and others will over time, and there’s people you never expected to make it huge that will make it huge – that’s the nature of the business. Look at Daniel Bryan, the company never expected him to get as big as he got and probably didn’t even want him to get as big as he got, but some guys just do.”

Check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee In Their Private Time, Hanging w/ Celebrities, Partying & MORE! [View Here >>]

RANDY “MACHO MAN” SAVAGE™ TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE WWE® HALL OF FAME

STAMFORD, Conn., January 12, 2015 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) announced today that Randy “Macho Man” Savage will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Hulk Hogan™. The posthumous ceremony will take place Saturday, March 28 at SAP Center, as a part of the WrestleMania® 31 Week activities.

“Randy Savage was one of the most iconic Superstars in WWE history,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “While millions of fans around the world mourned his passing, they will now be able to celebrate his rightful induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.”

One of the greatest stars in WWE history and a pop-culture icon known for his incredible athleticism, trademark “Ooh, Yeah” catchphrase and elaborate ring attire, Randy “Macho Man” Savage made his WWE debut in 1985. In 1986, he became Intercontinental Champion, holding the title for more than a year until losing it to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat™ at WrestleMania III in one of the greatest matches in WWE history. At WrestleMania IV, Savage once again made history by becoming WWE Champion in a tournament where he competed in an unprecedented four matches.

At WrestleMania V, Savage lost the WWE Championship to Hulk Hogan, but soon went on to memorable feuds with WWE Hall of Famers Dusty Rhodes™, Ultimate Warrior™ and Jake “The Snake” Roberts™. Savage again made history in 1992 by defeating WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII to become WWE Champion for a second time. After losing the Championship back to Flair, Savage continued to perform in WWE both in the ring and the broadcast booth until his departure from WWE in 1994. While competing in WCW®, Savage continued to add to his legacy, becoming a multi-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Additional WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015 inductees will be announced over the coming weeks.

Tickets for the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at SAP Center go on sale this Saturday, January 17 at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT through www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.

WrestleMania 31 takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA Sunday, March 29 live on WWE Network and pay-per-view.

– Within WWE, there has been a lot of talk in regards to the manner in which Roman Reigns’ promos have been scripted as of late. Dave Meltzer reported Wednesday in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that many people in the company are under the impression that Reigns’ promos have put him in ‘quicksand’ and aren’t helping him reach the next level at all.

After comparing himself to Superman on Raw, Reigns delivered another cartoon-inspired promo on SmackDown while speaking face-to-face with Seth Rollins. Take a line from Looney Tunes character Sylvester, Reigns said “Sufferin’ succotash.” Regarding this, Meltzer mentioned on Twitter that Reigns’ promos are being scripted by Vince McMahon.

@WWMoan Vince is writing his promos. Vince is really out of touch. I hate to say it but the promos speak for themselves.

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 10, 2015

– In the latest edition of “The Rose Garden,” Adam Rose addresses the actions of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd on Raw. To watch the segment, click here.

– New additions to the WWE Network include four episodes of Raw from 1996 (April 15, April 22, April 29 and May 6), the documentary portion of the The History of the World Heavyweight Championship DVD from 2009, Tuesday Night Titans (October 1, 1984) and Prime Time Wrestling (May 26, 1986).

WWE considering another major change for Raw and SmackDown – details ->

The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with the former three-man tag-team, “Too Cool,” which consisted of Rikishi, Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher and Scotty 2 Hotty:

Brian Christopher on The Rock: “He would pick my brain because he was getting a lot more TV time than I was, so he would ask me how I thought his interview went and I would tell him he need to work on this or you need to pause a little bit longer before you say this…we then worked on his moves together and came up with things like ‘The Peoples Elbow.'”

Brian Christopher on defeating the Legion of Doom: “I’ll never forget that because the Road Warriors at the time couldn’t believe that they were about to lay down to a couple of 215lbs guys because their egos were as big as you could get and their muscles were as big as the steroids would get them.”

Scotty 2 Hotty on wrestling whilst still in school: “That was awesome, I was still in high school at the time which is just crazy for me to think about now. I was with the WWF when I was in high school, I was in a locker room at a WWF event with Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart then two days later I’m sitting back in class. I was getting to wrestle some of the biggest names in the world, it was an amazing experience.”

Rikishi on the Rusev/Rock segment: “Oh my god, we were all happy, anytime you work with The Rock that’s a treat because Rusev’s not the champ. It was a good deal, Rock knew Rusev came from our school and he didn’t have to do that but he did, family looking out for family. That segment with The Rock just took Rusev to another level, and I was very excited.”

Rikishi on Vince McMahon: “He is the type of person that likes it when you go over and talk to him and ask him questions they may have about their character. Nine times out of ten when they’ve finished talking to him he hasn’t really answered their question but at the same time they’re not.”

Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner Together In Las Vegas Just A Few Days Ago, Hanging Out With Celebrities & MORE!

– 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

WWE.com has posted a video of Vince McMahon announcing the WWE Network is finally coming to the United Kingdom and Ireland on Monday, January 19th, 2015.

Vince joked about the multiple times the UK Network launch has been delayed, saying, “… and this time, we mean it!”

Check out the Reddit.com/r/WWENetwork to discuss the WWE Network.

Press release –

WWE^® NETWORK COMES TO THE UK AND IRELAND

STAMFORD, Conn., January 4, 2015 – Beginning Monday, January 19, WWE Network will be available in the UK for £9.99 per month and Ireland for €12.99 per month on a direct-to-consumer basis, with no commitment and the ability to cancel any time. Fans will be able to sign up in time to watch Royal Rumble^® LIVE on Sunday, January 25 and see which WWE Superstar competes for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania^® 31.

WWE Network subscribers in the UK and Ireland will have access to the U.S. English language version of WWE Network with all 12 annual pay-per-view events LIVE at no additional cost, 24/7 scheduled programming and the most comprehensive video-on-demand library with more than 2,700 hours of content, including every WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view.

“We are thrilled to start the new year by offering WWE Network directly to our fans in the UK and Ireland,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “I want to thank our fans in the UK and Ireland for their patience, and I’m confident it will be well worth the wait.”

Like other digital subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, fans are able to sign up online by going to WWE.com and can watch WWE Network on their TV through connected devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku streaming devices, Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Smart TVs including Sony and Samsung.

WWE Network programming includes groundbreaking original series, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and more. The U.S. English language version of WWE Network is available direct to consumer in more than 170 countries and territories.

For a complete listing of WWE Network availability by country and device, please click here.

– The following is an excerpt from a new interview with Beth Phoenix where the former WWE Diva talks about competing in the 2010 Royal Rumble match and looking up to Chyna.

“I gotta tell ya, it’s hard to put any sort of priority on these moments that meant a lot to me, but the reason that that in particular was so special, I looked up to the character that Chyna was while she was in WWE because that character was just empowering to women. Just something really, really special. And there was something about me that felt I could do that in my own way. I could just be an example for girls that you don’t have to just accept the minimum, shoot for the stars!”

You can check out the complete interview at CauliflowerAlleyClub.org.

– Below is a photo of Vince McMahon arm-wrestling Senator Pat Roberts during the company’s recent Tribute to the Troops taping in December. You can check out a full gallery of photos from their time with the troops this year at Community.WWE.com.

• VIDEO: Jon Jones & Daniel Cormier Get Into It AGAIN At Behind-The-Scenes Fighter Meeting [WATCH HERE >>]

The following are highlights of a new U.K. Mirror interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On working Global Force Wrestling’s English-language presentation of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 9 this weekend: “Jeff Jarrett made the inroads, he and my business manager worked out the deal, it was a win-win for both of us, so I said ‘I’m in.’ I’m excited about it. I’ve been in this business for 40 years, so when you get a chance to do something new after being around that long, it’s pretty motivating. I look at this as a new adventure, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

On if he will call another event after this weekend: “I don’t know if I’ll do any more, I don’t know that I want to do any more. If there’s anything after that it’ll be a bonus. But I’m going to do this show, I’m preparing to do this show, like it’s my last major pay-per-view lead play-by-play.”

On his WWE departure: “I had 21 years there – it wasn’t like I had a brief little run and everything was over. I had a great run in WWE, I went into the Hall of Fame, there were a lot more good days than bad ones. Was it the ideal way to exit? Probably not. I assumed a level of responsibility in that SummerSlam symposium, I was driving the train and the train got off the tracks, so the decision was made that it wasn’t a good thing and I moved on.”

On Vince McMahon saying he would be open to working with Ross again on Steve Austin’s podcast: “There’s an old expression in wrestling that says ‘never say never’, when you are in my stage of my life, where I’ve been so blessed with this career, I’m not going to tell you that I’d never go [back] but it’d strictly depend on my role and how much time away from home it would demand. I leave the door open. Would I say definitively no, I would never work for WWE again? Absolutely not. It would necessitate me to give it some thought and it would depend on what the job description was and what they wanted me to do. I’m 62, I’ll be 63 in January, I have to be conscious of jobs.”

On whether or not TNA tried to hire him: “No. They know I don’t have any desire to get back in the weekly grind of that. Dixie and no-one else has asked about me coming back full-time and that’s why this opportunity [with GFW] was so fit really – it was a one-time deal, a one-off. I like knowing I don’t have any pressure on me beyond that, I can focus on this one big event, really try to nail it without any pressure that I’ve got to do something tomorrow, or next week, or next month.”

On agreeing with Vince that no WWE Superstar has grabbed the brass ring since John Cena: “Since we signed John Cena, no-one has outworked John Cena. John Cena’s work ethic is beyond reproach. It’s been phenomenal to see what he does and he’s made himself a brand. John was willing to do things that had not been done, he was willing to take a chance – his wrestling attire was non-traditional, he was a Caucasian rapper and that was unique for wrestling, that was bold. Vince made a good point, Cena did all he could to become the guy. Has anyone else since John Cena worked in every phase of their game to get really good? I think the argument could be made that some have worked as hard as Cena in some areas, but not across the board as he has.”

“Sometimes if you look at your talent as athletes, not entertainers, they need to be challenged occasionally – we need you to play better, I need you to lose 20 pounds, I need you to work on your tan, as silly as that sounds. From an athletic point of view, every coach has those heart-to-hearts with their team at some point in time. If you’re going to go down the athletic road, every now and then they need a pep talk, and every now and then they need to ask themselves, ‘What have I done to make myself better than I was last week? What am I doing to make myself a more valuable player?’ I think Vince is sending a subtle message there, or not-so-subtle, that Cena was the last guy that went the complete distance to grab the brass ring. And then when he grabbed the brass ring he didn’t quit growing, he kept trying to get better. He’s their guy right now, lord knows what they would be without John Cena.”

Check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.

UFC president Dana White says it all the time, “the job of a promoter is to make the matches the fans want to see.” To ensure that this happens, White has gone around buying out entire promotions, sometimes strictly for a single talent (White bought the WFA promotion just to acquire Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s contract).

Unfortunately for wrestling fans, our “Dana White” is a guy named Vince McMahon, a guy who doesn’t quite share the same philosophy about promoting.

While White’s slogan is “my job is to make the matches the fans want,” and more often than not he will, McMahon’s is, “I know what the fans want more than they do.”

Sure, in public you’ll hear McMahon say that all WWE does is listen to what the “WWE Universe” wants and his job is to give it to them, his track record, while solid, isn’t that great when it comes to making dream matches happen.

The following is part one of a new series I’m calling, “Dream Matches That Never Happened.” First on the list is the most obvious dream match of all-time, at least in this writer’s opinion …

Hulk Hogan vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

How is it possible that the two biggest names and highest drawing figures in the history of sports entertainment never once had a single high-profile match? Forget WCW, where I believe Hogan and Austin may have crossed paths (not 100 percent sure, however) when Austin was still “Stunning.”

I’m talking about “The Hulkster” and “Stone Cold” going at it, one-on-one, on the WWE stage.

Could you imagine the amount of money this match would have drawn? And don’t give me any of that crap that Hogan was too old when Austin was in his prime, and that the match would have sucked, therefore no true wrestling fan would care about it.

We’re all fans, and if two big mega-stars like Austin and Hogan collided in our lifetimes, we’d probably still remember where we were when it happened.

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan. Was it the best technical match of all-time? Absolutely not. Were the “die-hard” fans going into WrestleMania that year talking as if they were more excited for Triple H vs. Chris Jericho because the actual ring work would be better? They sure were. I was around, and still doing this for a living, and I remember it well. When the show was over, what was the true main event that night?

Enough said.

Hogan and Austin would be the same thing. Hell, WWE could book that match at WrestleMania 31 next year and it would still be a contender for highest drawing pay-per-view of all-time. The two still have that much name recognition, and a match between the two would still garner that level of interest. While I’m well aware that it’s not going to happen, you get my point.

Hogan vs. Austin is so big, it would still be a big deal today.

Now imagine if you will how big that match would have been, say, 10 years ago. The record would probably still stand today.

The fact that both were under contract, and WWE decided to go with Rock instead of Austin that year, to me, is not a big deal. Both matches are the type of “dream matches” that should have been promoted. The fact that WWE never doubled back and made Hogan and Austin happen after that, when fans were clamoring for it at different times after Hogan-Rock, that’s the part that confuses me.

Many might say, “but Austin clearly didn’t want to work with Hogan.”

So what?

If you’re a promoter, you should be able to find a way to convince him. Dana White said it best, so I won’t try to top it. If the fans want something bad enough, give it to them.

Fans for years were begging for Hogan and Austin, and WWE never made it happen. Unfortunately in the case of a Hogan-Austin match, it never will happen. With Hogan no longer allowed to compete in a WWE ring due to their strict medical program, one-half of the equation is taken out of the picture. Austin doesn’t seem keen on returning to the ring, but if it were to happen, you can rest assured that “The Hulkster” won’t be the face he’s staring at across the ring.

So, it’s one of those situations were as a fan, you simply have to wonder “what could have been,” because “The Hulkster” versus “Stone Cold” will never happen.

And that’s the bottom line, brother!

What are your thoughts on Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin never happening, or any other big dream matches that never took shape? Which matches do you consider to be the biggest potential showdowns that never happened? Let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below.

You can also hit me up on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR, and/or follow me on Twitter @MBoone420.

At last word, Chris Jericho’s current deal with WWE calls for 15 live events and no television appearances during January and February. After that, he is scheduled to go back on the road with Fozzy for a European tour from March 4th through March 19th.

Jericho’s status for WrestleMania 31, which is on March 29th, is said to be up in the air, however it’s looking likely that he will not be appearing on the show. Having said that, there are those who feel if Vince McMahon wants him bad enough, he could appear.

Recently, the plan was to keep Jericho off of television so that his return would mean more, although he has already worked two television shows since November.

The following are highlights of a new U.K. Mirror interview with TNA President Dixie Carter:

On the live edition of Impact Wrestling on Destination America on Jan. 7: “Our first show, which is live, will be similar to what we’ve done in the past. There’ll be a few new bells and whistles but it’ll be similar because there’s only so much you can do live because you don’t have the post-production time to dive into unique, different production aspects.

But if you give us a few weeks, I think everyone will start to see a transition of very new and very exciting ways to watch Impact. I don’t want to say too much, I’d rather it just unveil itself. I’m definitely excited about some of the changes coming up.”

On disagreeing with Vince McMahon’s “millenials” comment during his “brass ring” speech: “I can’t even comprehend that statement. It doesn’t sit with our group. My own roster’s completely different than that. I don’t have a complaint about anybody on my roster.

The young guys are just as hungry … the young guys from 10 years ago are now the Bobby Roodes, Samoa Joes, James Storms. My main eventers, who were brand new young talent from 10 to 12 years ago, I’m proud of how far they’ve come. This young group of talent we have right now, they’re the hardest working, most positive team players around.”

Check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.

• Details On A Drug-Related Scene On Next Season Of TOTAL DIVAS

Backstage morale in WWE, which was was not very good over the past several months, was made even worse after Vince McMahon’s live interview with Steve Austin on the WWE Network a few weeks ago.

A lot of the talent felt that McMahon “crapped on just about everyone” except for Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. There’s also a feeling that McMahon made it clear that those four names were the only ones he sees any top star potential in.

Apparently things got bad enough that Triple H tried some damage control in the form of a speech to the entire WWE roster, which reportedly backfired.

NXT wrestlers are generally very fond of Triple H, however when it comes to the main roster, whatever he said in that speech reportedly lost him a lot of credibility, especially among talent that has been with the company for quite a while.

• WWE Starting To DOUBT Roman Reigns As Their Next Top Guy — WrestleMania 31 Plans CHANGING?!

(News from The Wrestling Observer was used in this post. Visit F4WOnline.com for subscription information.)