– WWE is expected to announce the signing of Japanese star KENTA to a deal with their company during the live event in Tokyo, Japan on Friday.
– Vince McMahon recently tweeted the following about The Ultimate Warrior:
The most heartwrenching story in WWE history. Warrior: The Ultimate Legend #WWENetwork
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) July 11, 2014
WWE issued the following today:
WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that television executive Laureen Ong has been elected to its Board of Directors. Ong is a 30-year veteran of the cable industry with extensive experience in sales, marketing, programming and management.
Most recently, Ong spent three years as President of the Travel Channel, where she was responsible for building brand strategy, developing programming and creating new business opportunities for the network. Prior to the Travel Channel, Ong was Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong-based STAR Group Limited, where she oversaw STAR’s media and entertainment operations spanning 55 countries.
Ong was also responsible for launching the National Geographic Channel. As the network’s Founding President, Ong oversaw National Geographic’s distribution, which reached 60 million households in just six years and included several shows that became ratings successes. Ong also oversaw National Geographic’s expansion into online, video-on-demand, and other new media platforms, and spearheaded the launch of the high-definition simulcast of the linear network.
“We are pleased to elect Laureen to WWE’s Board of Directors,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. “Laureen brings more than 30 years of global media experience that will be very beneficial to the future growth of our company.”
Earlier in her career, Ong was Vice President and General Manager of WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., a top 10 market affiliate and one of FOX’s most successful television stations. She also spent time with the Chicago White Sox as Vice President, Programming, where she helped launch SportsVision in Chicago, one of the first regional sports networks in the country.
Ong’s honors include Woman of the Year from Women in Cable Television (WICT), the Vision Award from the Washington Chapter of Women in Film and Video and Multichannel News’ Wonder Woman award in recognition of her significant accomplishments in the cable television industry.
She graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater before receiving a Master’s degree in Communications from Columbia University.
The following are highlights of a new interview with Brian Shields, the author of the new “30 Years of WrestleMania” book:
On his new book ‘The 30 Years of WrestleMania: “ ‘The 30 Years of WrestleMania’ is a concept that is really, really cool and it was great for me to be able to work with WWE and DK Publishing again. This is the history of each WrestleMania, really, from both sides of the ring ropes so to speak; we talk about the matches and we talk about what happened behind the scenes. We talk about the goal of the vision Vince McMahon had in just getting this event off the ground and the incredible risk the McMahon family took just to get the first WrestleMania off the ground. The other reason why the book is so great is it really shows the progression of the company and the progression of WrestleMania with each chapter, which I think people are really going to enjoy.”
Getting to speak with figures like Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan: “The cool part about working with WWE is that when you need something, they get it for you. When you’re writing a book with them and if need to talk with somebody, it’s made available and actually this first person that I interviewed for the book was around this time last year and that was Linda McMahon. I had the pleasure of actually going to her office in downtown Stamford, Connecticut and she spent almost two hours with me, which I just couldn’t believe. I met her and Mr. McMahon for the first time at WrestleMania 25, before the WrestleMania event when the first Encyclopedia came out. It was amazing to me that she remembered meeting me and it was just one of those kind of things that really; it’s amazing the attitude that the McMahon family has; when you’re working for them and when you’re doing work with them, they really feel like you’re part of their family and it’s remarkable
To be able to speak to incredible individuals, luminary superstars, divas, hall of famers, legends was just unreal. You’re speaking to people you’ve admired for as long as you’ve watched WWE, professional wrestling, sports entertainment, so it was amazing for me to be able to speak to so many people and their quotes are in the book. I mean, I interviewed; I don’t even know what the final count was of the people I interviewed, I should probably tally that up but it was really unbelievable. I mean, you’re getting direct access; thank to WWE, I was given access to backstage RAW and Smackdown, it was unbelievable; that’s probably the best way to say it.”
His favorite interview in doing the book: “I don’t know if I have a favorite, but there were so many that there were times I was like ‘Wow, I’m interviewing Bret Hart’ for now the fourth time for this book; that was unbelievable. When talking to the McMahons, when you’re talking to someone like Basil Davito, who has been for so many years been such a large part of WWE and the marketing and branding of WWE and WrestleMania; he was the first person hired to really head up WWE marketing a few months after the first WrestleMania in 1985. A lot of those conversations, it was just unbelievable to be able to speak to so many different people about so many different things yet they all found their way in the book.
One of the things I really like about the book is there are special tribute sections so there are beautiful layouts celebrating the Undertaker and his WrestleMania streak, celebrating Shawn Michaels, and the Hall of Fame. One of the coolest things is that the foreword of the book was actually written by Shawn Michaels and that’s something where, and this is going to be a stretch, but I’m going to try and get it to the point where we’re like tag-team partners, which I know will be ridiculous. Even something like that, when I got the call from WWE saying that Shawn would be writing the foreword for the book; they took something that couldn’t be any better and somehow raised it another level; it was really very special.
I think that’s the biggest thing with the book, in general, is 30 years of WrestleMania and the history of each event; you get the idea very quickly from every person at WWE, to the men and women in interviewed for the book, just how special this event is and that’s something where it really is such a big honor to say that I wrote the book and work with WWE and DK (Publishing).”
His feelings on ‘The Streak’ ending at WrestleMania XXX: “I was in complete shock and there’s part of me that still is in shock. I really didn’t think, as a fan, that was ever going to happen and maybe this is a little bit selfish on my part as a fan; I didn’t want it to end. But yeah, I was just in shock and clearly that was most people’s reactions, was utter shock and awe that that took place.
I think if you watch the event back, I would have said on TV but nowadays however you watch things, either the WWE Network or TV or a laptop, that that’s completely accurate; you had over 75,000 people pretty much just stunned and shocked. It’s funny, the way that that has been described is similar to how people have described when Bruno Sammartino lost the WWE Title to Ivan Koloff at Madison Square Garden for the first time; even though that was a smaller venue and not a WrestleMania, but just the comparisons of the shock and awe that consumed the building. People were, from what I was told back then, was complete shock; you could hear a pin drop, people were speechless and motionless and I think when you look back at WrestleMania XXX, I think that’s what people felt and I think you could tell even from the announcers; I think they were the ones who started the standing ovation. I think you could tell the emotion came over them as well. It’s something people will never, ever forget, that’s for sure.”
His views on the WWE Network and if he feels it’s successful: “Oh god, I love it. I think it’s awesome; I think it’s so well done. I watch it through my AppleTV and just the user experience through my AppleTV and other shared devices are phenomenal. As far as the content that’s on it, I can’t talk about it enough; I love it. I love being able to watch so many different things and the new content, I think, is really cool. The Countdown shows, the specials; there’s going to be more of these documentary specials that are coming. So, as a fan, I think it’s awesome; I think that it’s just a great way to be able to watch not only sports entertainment and pro wrestling’s past but it’s present as well, which is really amazing, it really is.
I think a lot of people in the entertainment and television industries were and have been looking at it because of WWE’s success. I think it’s really impressive that within three months the network has close to like 700,000; I don’t know the exact numbers but almost 700,000 subscribers within a few months of launching. So, I just think it’s going to get better. I watch it every day, I mean there’s so much great content on the network and I also like how it’s set up and configured because I do thin, and perhaps this goes back to my days in the video game business, but the user experience is very important. We all know the cliché that ‘Content is king’ and it totally is and the content on there is phenomenal and I think it’s just going to get better because there’s just going to be more stuff added to it, but the user experience has to be there and for me, it’s been great and been a huge help for me in researching what I had to do, so selfishly the timing worked out for me so I might be a little biased when I say ‘Oh it was great when it came out when it did.’”
His thoughts on the Wyatt Family and their rise in popularity: “I think what they’re doing is awesome and I think it’s another one of those things, like the Shield, where to me it’s one of the best things WWE has done in a while and it’s only going to get better. I think during our discussion last time I used the comparison where Bray Wyatt had the presence and the eloquence, at the time, of Robert DeNiro’s character from Cape Fear. And, to me, they’re another example of they just get better every week and that build to WrestleMania (XXX) with Bray Wyatt and John Cena and that moment on RAW where the children’s choir came out and I was thinking to myself ‘He’s now eclipsed this’; there’s certain personalities, if you go back into wrestling history that were frightening and intimidating in a different way, as opposed to the 6’85 300-lb powerhouse. To me, I think classic Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts or classic Kevin Sullivan, whether it was in the NWA or Florida and all the great stuff he did with this eerie darkness and they were so great on the microphone; so to me, when the children’s choir came out, that was a turning point to me for the Wyatts and specifically Bray Wyatt in getting to another level; I think it was great. The matches they’re having I think have also been great and that really makes it all complete and I think when you’re talking about the success of the Shield and the continues success of the Wyatt is that it’s complete in terms of great presence, great skills on the microphone and then making it complete in terms of being able to tell great stories in the ring; I mean even their entrance, it’s just really well done.”
His favorite part about visiting the WWE Warehouse: “Oh, I mean, the front doors?! I mean, it was just remarkable; I don’t how else to say it. I was there several times thanks to WWE and the WWE Archivist and I mean it was one of those things where I made it almost awkward, like they had to kick me out almost like every single time that I was there because I wanted to be there, conveniently, all day and they were so great in allowing that. There was one of the cool things that I saw right way was there was a framed photo; it’s a huge, huge poster sized that Liberace signed for Vince and Linda McMahon, thanking them for WrestleMania, and when I saw that; that was one of the first things that I saw during my first trip. So, when I saw that; and I just thought it was really cool because Linda McMahon was my first interview, to get the interviews started, and now I’m back in Connecticut at the Warehouse and one of the first things I see would be in any museum, any Hall of Fame exhibit in entertainment and it’s the great Liberace signing something for Vince and Linda McMahon thanking them for WrestleMania and I thought ‘Wow, this is a great thing to see in my first 20 minutes here.’ And then, there’s part of me going, ‘Well, what else is here?’ So yeah, that would probably be the first thing that came to mind; I mean, they just have so many amazing things and the WWE Archivist just does an incredible job in not only cataloging and preserving but continuing to add to what they have there so it’s just incredible. It’s everything you’ve heard and more.”
Check out the complete interview at WildTalkRadio.com.
The new season of WWE Tough Enough, which was scheduled to air on the WWE Network, was to begin filming this weekend at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. According to reports, the filming has since been pushed back until October. The delay of Tough Enough production is said to be part of WWE’s recent budget cuts.
As noted recently, Vince McMahon ordered tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts across all over WWE’s departments. It has since been revealed that approximately $20 million is the figure that is expected to be sliced from the budget.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
The following are highlights of a new Big O and Dukes interview with Joey Mercury:
On Triple H: “First and foremost, he’s a wonderful person. He’s just a great human being. He cares deeply for those around him and he takes care of them really, really well. I’ve wrestled Hunter in the past when I was a talent, but I didn’t really know him. I knew how good he was in the ring, obviously, one of the greatest of all time, certainly one of the best I’ve ever been in the ring with, but I didn’t travel with him, I didn’t hang out with him or anything like that. Once he took over the developmental system for WWE, I was a coach at the time, when he came into power over the developmental system, I talked to him and he told me that he wanted me on his team, and that’s where I really got to know him. I got to work closely with him, and once I got a promotion to be a producer for WWE and being on the road full time, working with him side by side on a daily basis is tremendous. Beyond the fact that he’s a great person, he is just on a whole ‘nother level with the way his brain works. Certainly that’s a lot of experience that’s from him having great mentors and learning both what to do and what not to do, how to do it, why he’s doing it, and where to do it. He’s just one of the smartest guys I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”
On working with WWE Superstars: “When I made the transition to a backstage role, I was really concerned I wouldn’t be able to get the same fulfillment, to get that performer’s rush or performer’s high, from going out there and getting that you know, you have this aim and you have this idea of what you want to get the crowd to do, and what you want the audience to feel, and when you’re able to do that out there in the ring, it’s a real special feeling. It’s unlike anything else. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to replicate that or feel that again and the truth is what I’m doing now is so much more rewarding because I get to have that feeling several times a night, not just one. Not just because I’m Joey Mercury out there. I get to live vicariously through Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, the Wyatts, just all these incredible, incredible future Hall of Famers. It’s really cool to be there with Bo Dallas and say, “Hey, that’s really, really good man, but you might want to try this tomorrow night,” or you might want to keep this out, or put this in. To have them take your suggestion or take your instruction and direction and go do it, and see how fulfilled they are and how rewarded they are from it working. It’s amazing.”
On crowd chants: “One of the things I learned from [Vince McMahon] is the real indicator that you’re catching on or getting over is when the crowd chants your name and that’s where you can tell if a guy can draw money or not. The “HOLY S” chants or the “You Can’t Wrestle” or anything the crowd starts chanting, that’s more for the crowd to get themselves over. When they say “THIS IS AWESOME” that’s a little bit better, you know you’re doing good. But when Roman Reigns is down and he’s digging from underneath, he’s got a mountain to climb, when the people start chanting, “Roman! Roman! Roman!” that’s not to get themselves over, that’s because they want him, because that’s their guy. So it’s kind of a good barometer. I’m of the school of thought, that I share with John Cena and he’ll tell you himself he doesn’t care if they’re saying “Let’s Go Cena” or “Cena Sucks” as long as they’re loud. Indifference is the killer. If they’re watching the ring, looking at the ring and screaming their heads off, it’s awesome.”
Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.
– It’s worth noting that as soon as WWE became aware that Daniel Bryan was going to have to be stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to his neck issues, they immediately decided to put the belt on John Cena again. While Bray Wyatt may have been a popular candidate to win the Money In The Bank ladder match, he was never legitimately considered, as they already knew that they were going with Cena.
– Bully Ray noted during a recent Opie & Anthony radio appearance designed to promote TNA’s television tapings in New York City that he would jump-ship to WWE if given the opportunity. Bully mentioned that he would return to WWE in a “heartbeat” if Vince McMahon called him.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Word going around is that Vince McMahon has ordered major cutbacks across the board in WWE, far beyond the cuts that have taken place so far.
The dollar figure floating around that McMahon would like to slice off of the current budget is said to be into the eight figures, meaning tens-of-millions of dollars.
The motivation for the cuts is to offset the losses involved in starting up the WWE Network, as well as offsetting the amount involved in the new television deal, as the company had promised a significantly larger number prior to finalizing their current deal.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with Brodus Clay:
Working with Cameron and Naomi: “That was a lot of fun, it was definitely a challenge, I was scared to death initially of doing it because I had trained to be an aggressive monster heel but they threw a curve ball at me and I had to deliver. I went to see the Dusty Rhodes and we sat down and spoke about the character and we danced to Moves Like Jagger and we figured it out after that.”
WWE NXT: “Adrian Neville was an aggressive opponent and I really enjoyed getting to work with him. Adrian was a great competitor and I enjoyed throwing him around but he stood up to me and I enjoyed that. That new Performance Centre down there is amazing, the guys coming in there today, they have all of the tools to succeed, they have everything – perhaps even too much. I kind of like being in the down and dirty dungeon and scratching my way to the top but that is an awesome place.”
“Sami Zayn, he is just incredible, Cory Graves before his injury I thought he was amazing. The Divas division down there in NXT is probably the best in the world, there is a lot of talented people down there who will be worth looking out for but those are the two that really stood out from the crowd for me.”
Highlights from his time with WWE: “Easy, wrestling Edge was one of them, my matches with Heath Slater are some of my all time favourites, tagging with Santino Marella. I’m just really grateful I got to work with many great guys like Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow, Dolph Ziggler was one of my favourite guys to work with – Dolph suplexed me, but it was just a great bunch of guys to work with.”
His future in wrestling: “TNA and Japan are definitely things that are on my list, there are also many great indy organisations out there. Rumour has it Jeff Jarrett also has something going on with his new promotion Global Force Wrestling, so there are a few different options but I’m open to offers and my door is always open, I’m definitely not done and I’m going to keep on working hard. With regards to returning back to WWE, I don’t control those things but I’m going to treat it like I did last time I was released by WWE and keep on working hard and moving forward, I will put it behind me and move onto other things. You can never say never in wrestling, but at the moment my mind is set on doing my own thing.”
How Vince McMahon was as a boss: “He is the boss, he was a gentleman, he tells you exactly what he thinks, if he likes it, he tells you you’ve done a good job, if he doesn’t like something he lets you know about that as well. I got on really well with the agents there as well, Mike Rotunda, Dave Finlay, Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Jamie Noble, and Road Dogg, it was just really good getting to work with all of those guys as well, I always respected the chain of command.”
Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.
WWE storylines can be a short term or long term plan by management to push certain superstars or to do the complete opposite. Professional wrestling has had many hot storylines over the years – Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant, the New World Order taking over WCW, Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Mr. McMahon, Shane McMahon buys WCW and the list goes on.
The NWO, Austin versus McMahon and even Shane buying WCW, which led to the Invasion storyline, all lasted a long time. Multiple years were given to these hot storylines. Eras in the professional wrestling have been the length of some of these plots in WWE or WCW.
However, there have been times when WWE had a hot storyline going and then….BAM! It’s over. WWE fans wanted more and the company for whatever reason changed direction. This is one of the the most criticized aspects of WWE that fans complain about. The company was building a young star to the top or had a very compelling and interesting storyline happening, when the whole angle is just dropped. Sometimes it has to do with wrestlers being fired or suspended, but other times there aren’t any explanation for the change.
Here are ten hot storylines that quickly died and were killed by WWE management.
Nexus was a group of rookie superstars from the very first season of NXT. At this point in time, which was 2010, NXT was supposed to be a reality television show where wrestlers competed against one another for a contract in WWE. In reality though, all the superstars were signed to WWE in some capacity. In any event, Wade Barrett (now Bad News Barrett) won the first season and at first was the only member to be on WWE programming.
However, Barrett would recruit the other members of NXT season one and form the Nexus faction. The group immediately caused havoc attacking everyone from John Cena to Justin Roberts. It seemed as if no one was capable of beating Nexus. Their fights always seemed to be a handicap match involving all members of the Nexus helping each other out.
Nexus’ big run in WWE began in June and then two months later, it was SummerSlam time. Nexus faced a team of WWE Superstars including John Cena, Chris Jericho, Edge, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison and former Nexus member Daniel Bryan. This was the perfect opportunity for WWE to put Nexus over their top stars. However, Cena wanted things to happen differently.
Edge joined Chris Jericho on his podcast in December of 2013 and they discussed the situation.
Chris Jericho: “It was Team WWE vs. Team Nexus, and the finish boiled down to [Edge] and [Jericho] in there, but it was Cena against a couple of them. John wanted to do things a certain way and we told him ‘you’re wrong’. He did it anyways, and it sucked. And then after he came over to us and said ‘I should have listened to you, but I wasn’t seeing it that way.'”
Edge: “I remember. I was like, fine I’m out of the match by that point.”
Chris Jericho: “He wanted to get DDT’d on the floor by Barrett, then kick out and beat them both. And you and I were like, that’s the dumbest thing. That’s just throwing it away for no reason.”
Edge: “They should have gone over because they were so hot.”
Chris Jericho: “We were fighting for Barrett to go over. And where’s Wade Barrett now?”
Jericho and Edge were probably right. After SummerSlam, Nexus was never the same. They would gradually lose members and gain new ones until CM Punk was the leader and began his Summer of Punk storyline in 2011.
The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Stephanie McMahon:
Crediting Boston University for her success, where she studied communications at: “From film production to television production to creative writing to public speaking to marketing to advertising, BU is basically a school to help prepare you for all of the many facets of WWE.”
Her father Vince McMahon’s contributions to the business: “My father coined the phrase, ‘sports entertainment.’ Vince let the world in on that, yes, this is actually predetermined and, yes, we are having fun. He was the one who created this live action-adventure soap opera.”
The new Connor’s Cure charity: “This is all about developing and donating for pediatric brain and spinal cancer research. We’re trying to help fund the research to help stop the cancer.”
Being excited to unveil the future of the business: “WWE continues to grow and expand at a rate faster than anyone can possibly imagine. We have over 360 million social media followers, and we have over 12 million downloads of our app. But I have to say, even given all that, we’re just getting warmed up.”
Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.
The following are highlights of a new WWE Magazine interview with Cesaro:
On who he would like to “swing” the most: “There are many Superstars—past and present—I would love to get in the Swing. But with that said, I’m going straight to the top. That means you, Mr. McMahon. Who would be better or more satisfying?”
On what was going through his mind when eliminating Big Show at WrestleMania XXX: “In such a huge moment like that, all you’re thinking about and concentrating on is the adrenaline running through your body, and the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. I do remember thinking afterward: That was phenomenal.”
On the worst aspect of Twitter: “You shouldn’t say things on social media that you wouldn’t say to someone’s face. People hide behind fake names to Tweet negative comments and I hate that. If you have something to say, own up to it.”
The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Mick Foley:
The WrestleMania XXX seats he and his family received: “I loved going to this past WrestleMania. But essentially my family and I sat watching a huge screen while the wrestlers appeared to be of ant-like proportion in a ring 100 yards away from us. At the Kowloon, we’re up close and personal.”
Meaning to send a text to Brie Bella and accidentally sending it to Vince McMahon: “I was sending a text message, one I thought I was sending to Brie, and I told her I was going to get in touch with (WWE CEO Vince) McMahon. I rarely interfere in the course of WWE events, but when I do, I like to think my opinion carries some weight. I sent what I thought was my message to Brie, saying, ‘Give Daniel a hug and tell him how wrong I think this whole thing is.’ I was pretty new to the iPhone. My son looked at my phone and said, ‘Dad, you just sent that to Mr. McMahon.’ My next message was, ‘Oops.’”
Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.
The following are highlights of a new interview with Drew McIntyre:
How he feels after being released: “Literally I went from a school schedule to a university schedule to a WWE schedule, so it’s kind of nice to relax. I’m going kind of stir crazy, because I‘m not used to relaxing!…..It’s nice to chill out for the first time in my life!”
His thoughts on Vince McMahon touting him as a future WWE Champion: “He endorsed me himself – I didn’t know he was going to do it! He literally walked out and they said “you’re going to go out after Vince and do your promo” ……It’s pretty crazy, but I thrive under that kind of pressure……..That was just unbelievable!”
His favorite places to wrestle: “Scotland, WrestleMania and Madison Square Garden!”
Wrestling at Madison Square Garden: “It’s the mecca over here…..it’s an incredible crowd; they’re so passionate and knowledgeable. When you go there, it’s a different vibe……It’s such an incredible arena. “
Being Intercontinental Champion in WWE: “It was amazing! If you Google my name and IC Title, that (picture) is my legit reaction. It was my life-long dream to be Intercontinental Champion….It was beyond a dream come true.”
His future plans: “I plan to be the biggest wrestler in the world, outside of WWE……I have a clear idea in my mind what I’m going to do….I will be back in WWE!”
Check out the complete interview above.
The following are highlights of a new Chris Jericho interview:
Getting fans to hate him: “It is a lost art, it’s a lot easier to get people to hate you than to like you but it’s hard to get them to stay hating you, that’s where the secret is. Look at some of the greatest heels of all time in movies for example, Darth Vader, Freddie Kruger and Hannibal Lecter, they all became the good guys in the later movies because they’re too entertaining, so the secret to being a good heel is staying a heel. It’s very easy to get drawn into putting out merchandise, saying a catchphrase or doing an interview, I did none of those things when I turned heel in 2008 and it was a conscious decision. When I started saying ‘hypocrite’, people started bringing in signs then I would decide not to say that anymore, then people thought ‘parasite’ was funny then again I stopped saying that.”
Vince McMahon supporting his extra effort to stay in character outside of the ring: “I remember in Madison Square Garden there was a dad with his son in the elevator who asked for an autograph and as much as it pained me as I have a son, I just stared ahead, it’s all part of it and nowadays no one wants to do it. Vince loves it because it’s old school, he gets it, it’s heat, Vince had my back with anything I did, for example when I caused the crowd to pelt me with glow sticks in London, DX were furious, Stephanie was furious, they wanted me fined and suspended but Vince goes ‘no you’re a heel’. “ I learnt in WCW that that NWO were cool heels, just by being up there they were so likable and cool, there was nothing I could do to get a reaction, and I might as well have been a heel. That’s why they don’t turn John Cena heel, all the people that booed him will end up loving him, it would be a waste of time.”
Guys like The Shield, The Wyatt Family and Cesaro getting over: “I kind of am like the Nostradamus of WWE, I predicted that all of those guys will get over, with Cesaro we had a tour of Japan last year and I specifically asked to work with him and with Bray Wyatt when I went to work with NXT I said to put me with that guy.”
Check out the complete interview at Independent.co.uk.
The following are highlights of a recent Wrestle Reaction interview with Vince Russo:
On thoughts of Vince McMahon’s loss of competitive edge: “In my opinion, the Vince McMahon before the purchase of WCW, was a different Vince McMahon. The Vince McMahon I worked for was a freakin killer. He would do anything to be number one. He would slice your throat, rip your eyes out, it didn’t matter. When I went back and met with him in 2002, he was a different guy. And I remember, I even said to Vince, where is your bravado? What happened? And I think once he was able to buy WCW, which I think was a tremendous goal of his, his ultimate goal. Everybody knows the history between him and Ted Turner. When that happened, there was nothing else. What else could Vince possibly combat and defeat in his life?! It’s like when a team wins the World Series, the next year they suck. Once you obtain that achievement, it’s downhill from there. I really think Vince lost a lot of his competitive edge when he bought WCW. Maybe add on 11 mins.”
On his reaction to Raw’s four-on-three main event booking: “The hottest guy they’ve got on that show right now is Bray Wyatt. You’ve got a tag team match of 7 guys out there. So, first of all, you’re making Bray Wyatt 1 of 7 guys. So now, all of a sudden, he’s like everyone else. He’s not special anymore. Then, to not give him the last entrance, to introduce Del Rio after him? I’m sorry bro but there’s no excuse for that. That’s creative 101. How do you not bring this guy out last? You kill the lights, have that effect in the crowd with all the (cell phone) lights, have the guy do something devastating off the bat. Where’s Vince on this? Where’s the great filter he was?”
On his thoughts on people blaming him for the fall of WCW: “Here’s what people don’t understand, and this is a shoot. The thing that always aggravates the crap out of me is that “I’m always making excuses for WCW”. When Ed (Ferrara) and I first started, the rating before that was a 2.9. 3 months later it was a 3.6. So right there, what am I making excuses for? We walked into a 2.9. When they decided they wanted a change, it was a 3.6. I don’t know what I’m making an excuse for. I was there for only 2 weeks, and that merger (AOL Time Warner) came down. 2 weeks I was on the job! And as soon as that merger came down, little by little, you knew that these guys did not want to be in the wrestling business. You knew where this thing was headed. We could’ve gotten the rating up to a 4, 5, or 6, it wouldn’t have mattered. They just didn’t want to be in the wrestling business. To blame me, or to blame Eric (Bischoff), or to blame Hulk (Hogan), it’s so ridiculous!”
You can watch the complete interview above.
Vince Russo is now writing a new monthly column for the “What Culture” website, the first of which is now available. His debut effort is called “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Vince Russo.” Below are some highlights.
Ben Stiller Smoking Weed At RAW!
“When we had Ben Stiller on ‘Raw’, I couldn’t find him to produce the pre-tapes we needed. Where was he? How about smoking the WACY-TABACKY with Road Dog and X-Pac behind the trailers!!!
When we finally found Ben, who was promoting “Mystery Men” at the time, he was more than willing to take on a direct blow to the head courtesy of Double J’s, Jeff Jarrett’s guitar. To this day I don’t know if Ben agreed so willingly because he was a “mark”, or simply still high due to his earlier escapades with Sean Waltman and Brian James.”
Getting Threatened By Goldberg And Shawn Michaels
“I, myself, while never having gotten into an “actual” fight while serving my duties of Head Writer at WWE, WCW and TNA, was actually threatened on not one . . . but, two occasions. The first time was by Shawn Michaels after I cut a promo on him to his friend Triple H, for hijacking the WrestleMania 15 main event by getting into Steve Austin’s ear, who then talked Vince McMahon into changing the three way between him, the Rock and Mick Foley into a two-way, leaving Mick the odd man out. And, also a few years later by Bill Goldberg who was not happy when I needed him to do a job to Scott Steiner. Thankfully, I was able to get out of both predicaments completely unscathed.
In another backstage ‘confrontation’ I also once saved Sunny’s life, while putting my own on the line! I actually attempted to stand between Luna, and her target which she INTENDED TO KILL!!! The encounter ended with Luna spearing me into a laundry cart. I swear, Luna could have taken 50% of the MALE roster in a fight during her hey-day.
Luna, bless her heart, had it out for ALL the divas who in her mind weren’t “actually” wrestlers. She despised Sable, and made it very difficult for her to find her way early on. But, if you knew Luna, you loved her, she really did have a big heart. That was just the “old school wrestler” in her that would rear its ugly head from time to time. I’m also proud to say that about three years ago, I pulled “Awesome Kong” off radio personality “Bubba the Love Sponge”.”
Stone Cold Didn’t Want To Do The Beer Truck Angle!
“In the epic scene on “Raw”, when Steve Austin drove a beer truck into the arena, I actually had to talk Steve into it! The Texas Rattlesnake said he just wanted to enter in his pick-up. He didn’t “see” the beer truck. However, once the segment was produced, I think Steve totally understand the impact that it was going to have on the fans for many years to come. It was truly, one of the most classic scenes in the history of “Monday Night Raw”. Thankfully I talked him round, he didn’t go with the pick up, riding in instead with the beer truck, driving his way into wrestling history.”
Vince McMahon Didn’t Have A Clue About Mainstream Publicity
“In the Attitude Era, the hottest thing at that time on MTV was Tom Green. He was light years ahead of the “Reality TV” boom that would follow many years later. I wanted him to be revealed as the man responsible for Raw’s GTV!
Unfortunately, the idea never came into fruition because Vince McMahon had NO IDEA who TOM GREEN was! So instead of “GREEN TV”, it became “GOLDUST TV”.
That wasn’t the first time that Vince wasn’t “exactly” up on his pop culture. A few years later I had shot pre-tapes with “Dancin’” Steve Richards and the Blue Meanie as a parody of the “Blair Witch Project”. We called it the “Blonde Bitch Project”. The idea was to take an entertaining “shot” at Sable who had abruptly decided to leave the company at the time. Once again, the pre-tapes never saw the light of day because Vince had “no idea” what the “Blair Witch Project” was. The pre-tapes, that never aired, were shot ON LOCATION at WWE writer Ed Ferrara’s house… and backyard.
But wait… there are even YET MORE EXAMPLES of Vince McMahon’s little knowledge of the HERE and NOW. Here are a few more gems!
A friend of mine in the Public Relations Department at the WWE, pitched Vince to have legendary Eagles guitarist JOE WALSH perform “Rocky Mountain Way” at WrestleMania XI. Vince respectfully declined because he had never heard of the song, “Rocky Mountain Way”, or its singer/writer JOE WALSH!!!
Last, but not least, upon his arrival in the WWE, we shot a series of vignettes with Val Venus and LEGENDARY porn star Jenna Jameson. We even went as far as even having Jenna BUCK NAKED in Bruce’s Prichard’s Jacuzzi with Val. Upon seeing the footage, Vince decided against airing them, because in his words, Jenna was “ugly”.”
Check out the complete column at WhatCulture.com.
WWE head writer Jay Gibson was fired by Vince McMahon over the past few days, according to a report at PWTorch.com. It’s unclear whether he was let go on Friday or over the weekend, but last night’s RAW was the first WWE television show written without Gibson’s input.
RAW appeared to feature a lot more input from Vince McMahon than usual, including his unique brand of humor that included spiked coffee and the ‘payoff’ of Stephanie vomiting all over Vickie Guerrero.
Vince McMahon is spearheading WWE’s effort to reduce payroll costs to offset the recent financial damage done as a result of the WWE Network and the disappointing TV rights fees deal with NBC Universal.
According to WrestleZone.com, WWE is looking to cut $20 million from their budget this year. Aside from WWE releasing 11 people last week, firing their head writer and cutting NXT’s budget, WWE is taking other measures to reduce production costs. For example, elements of Fandango’s entrance and Bad News Barrett’s scissor lift are no longer being used. The truck WWE used to transport those entrances is no longer being used, which will result in the company saving upwards of $250,000 per year.
As promised, here is the second half of the list…
The WWE roster was absolutely stacked following the acquisition of WCW. This was especially true after the top WCW superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, and Kevin Nash eventually signed with the company.
It quickly became apparent that there was too much talent to adequately feature everyone on a weekly basis. This led to the WWE splitting into two separate brands in the form of Raw and SmackDown. The brand extension seemed fresh at first, but it quickly lost traction after superstars were constantly shifted from one brand to the other as a way to increase ratings.
The brand extension era is characterized by pay-per-views that did not perform as well as those in the Attitude Era, largely because fans did not want to pay to see only half of the roster.
During the summer of 2001, the WWE was under attack and at risk of a hostile takeover. After finally winning the Monday Night Wars, the WWE had to find a way to integrate the influx of talent that was acquired with the purchase of WCW.
Their first attempt at doing so would come in the form of the Invasion storyline, which saw former WCW and ECW employees “invading” the WWE in an attempt to take over the company. If this sounds a bit like the nWo’s plot to conquer WCW, well that’s because it is essentially the same story.
Ultimately, the program forced the WWE to fend off the intruders by forming a coalition to battle Team Alliance, which was led by Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the respective on-screen owners of WCW and ECW at the time.
Many fans have cited the Invasion storyline as one of the most entertaining periods in recent WWE history, as it featured a number of matchups that had previously been unimaginable. However, there were many aspects of the storyline that could have been handled better, resulting in a program with great potential that was squandered by poor booking. Here are ten reasons why the Invasion storyline was not as memorable as some fans recall.
The following are highlights of a new interview with Elijah Burke:
On his WWE departure and a return: “No main reason for departure except with all of the creative changes, writers switching from brand to brand, I kinda got lost in the shuffle. “Black Thursday” came and almost 15 wrestlers got let go. It was their call, I wasn’t in any program or being used as I was in a rebuilding faze. I look forward to returning to the WWE when the time is right for both parties, and hopefully that will be sooner than later.”
On Vince McMahon: “Vince is great. He was one cool cat! Never had a bad experience with him. Anytime you can walk up to boss and say, What’s up dawg and give some him some dap, that should let you know what type of man he is. As a matter of fact, when he came out on ECW with the doorag on after Wrestlemania 23…. Take a wild guess who that doorag belonged to???”
On CM Punk’s comments about him: “Never heard them… People mentioned it to me via social media, but I have no thoughts on it. EVERY thought that I ever had about Phil, he knows them because I told him to his face, and I’d like to think that he’d do the same, but I have no thoughts or comments about what was or may have been said. What would that say about me to say something behind Phil’s back or in an interview where he can’t respond for himself?? I mean, what type of person would do such a thing?? Not I, not Pope.”
On TNA: “I enjoyed my time with TNA as they gave me the ball and allowed me to run with it. What was really awesome was that Pope was NEVER scripted as Vince Russo allowed Pope to be Pope and would literally say, “Nobody knows what Pope would do except you.” I enjoyed working with him and others in TNA.”
Check out the complete interview at PWMania.com.
It’s being said that Vince McMahon, who is still responsible for all of the key decisions in WWE, is still not sold on Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Paige – three NXT talents that recently moved up to the main roster.
McMahon has a reputation of not being the easiest person to accept new talent as top stars.
The fact that Adam Rose was kept off of RAW this past Monday night is considered a sign that the company is starting to cool off on his character. Additionally, WWE producer Kevin Dunn reportedly buried Rose backstage in recent weeks.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
There continues to be a lot of talk regarding plans for a physical WWE Hall Of Fame and wrestling museum. WWE has reportedly contacted several historians and have made solid financial offers for various memorabilia.
It’s being said that while Vince McMahon has never had any real interest in a physical Hall Of Fame, Triple H is very interested in it, and is looking to make it happen.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– WWE Diva Natalya recently spoke to CBS Minnesota and explained why Stephanie McMahon is an inspiration to her. Natalya stated the following:
“When she’s on, you don’t want to take your eyes off the screen, you want to see what she’s doing next. You don’t worry if she’s a woman or a man, you don’t care she’s Vince McMahon’s daughter. Whatever she’s doing is really, really good.”
– The following is the official synopsis for Thursday’s season finale episode of WWE Legends House, which airs on the WWE Network:
“Pat Patterson attempts to reveal a lifelong secret to the group. The WWE Legends send each other off in style with a party!”
– Jim Ross posted his first blog since getting out of the hospital this past week on his official website. In the blog, JR noted that while he was in the hospital, he received calls from Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, Jerry Lawler and others. You can read the full blog at JRsBarBQ.com.
– The official WWE YouTube channel recently added the following video looking at the most barbaric moments in history.
– With WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan currently out of action recovering from his recent neck surgery, Vince McMahon has personally been booking his storyline, including the recent angle with Stephanie and Brie and Bryan having to surrender the title at Money in the Bank if he can’t compete. As of this weekend, with Money in the Bank just three weeks away, Bryan’s status for the show remains very uncertain.
– Former “Power Rangers” star & MMA Fighter Jason David Frank continues to mock former WWE Superstar CM Punk with his new “Best in the World” t-shirt. Frank, who has challenged Punk to an MMA fight, released the following shirt this week: