The following is the complete programming schedule for the WWE Network for Saturday, March 1, 2014.
12am EST – Old School – 4/5/1981 MSG event
1am EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass – 2/28/2014
1:30am EST – Royal Rumble 2013
4:30am EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 2/7/1994
5:30am EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass – 2/28/2014
6am EST – Legends of Wrestling – Renegades
7:30am EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass – 2/28/2014
8am EST – Main Event replay – 2/26/2014
9am EST – NXT Arrival replay
11am EST – WWE Countdown – Catchphrases
12pm EST – WrestleMania Rewind – WrestleMania I
1pm EST – Best of SmackDown – 8/25/1999
2:30pm EST – This Week In WWE
3pm EST – Royal Rumble 2013 replay
6pm EST – Best of SmackDown – 8/25/1999
7:30pm EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass – 2/28/2014
8pm EST – Beyond The Ring – Steve Austin
10:30pm EST – This Week In WWE
11pm EST – Beyond The Ring – Steve Austin
Fortune has a new article up looking at the WWE Network. The article notes that WWE spent $75 million over the past two years to get the Network going.
While WWE estimates that the Network will eventually reach two to four million subscribers, Robert Routh, director of equity research for National Alliance Capital Markets, believes that the estimates are actually low.
“I think the company is smartly being conservative. It has large global fan base, and it’s continuing to grow. In the long term I think the network could attract millions more, perhaps up to 6 to 8 million subscribers,” said Routh.
– The curiosity over CM Punk possibly being at Monday’s WWE RAW show in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois has caused ticket prices on the resale market to go up. Originally, the ticket prices were somewhat weak, as you couldn’t get more than face value for them, however they are now up $20 across the board. There were 387 tickets on the secondary market.
– The Starrcade ’85 event on the WWE Network is listed as TV-MA due to excessive blood in several of the matches. The following two Starrcade events are listed as TV-14.
– WWE issued the following WWE Network Service Advisory on Friday regarding fans being unable to watch the Network on Xbox 360:
“Thank you for signing up for WWE Network. We are working aggressively to address the login issue for Xbox users and expect to have it resolved by this Monday, March 3, if not sooner. You will be notified via email as soon as this issue is fixed. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
In the meantime, please enjoy watching WWE Network on WWE.com, tablets, mobile phones or other connected devices.”
– The 2014 Royal Rumble pay-per-view is now available in the WWE Network’s VOD PPV area.
– A lot of new content will be added to the WWE Network once the free trial period is over.
– There are also plans to add every episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event and the WCW Clash of Champions.
– WWE has added the “Christmas Bounty” film starring The Miz to Netflix. There was originally concern that WWE would be pulling their content off of Netflix due to their new WWE Network service, however the latest word is that they won’t be taking their stuff off of Netflix because it has been a solid source of revenue for the company.
– Speaking of WWE movie projects, there are rumors that the WWE Studios film “See No Evil 2” starring Kane will be released in October, just in time for Halloween.
The following are highlights of a new Mick Foley Facebook blog:
On being outspoken about the WWE product lately: “Yes, I’ve been outspoken lately about a couple of things in WWE. But much as I felt when I was working elsewhere, and had to accept that my own kids preferred the WWE product to the product my company was offering, I had to make a decision: stop watching WWE out of protest for the one thing I felt like they were doing wrong (which they still might get right) and miss out on that valuable family bonding time WWE provides us….or agree to disagree with WWE on an issue or two, and enjoy all the good things they do with my family.”
“I mentioned a couple of days ago that I might stop watching “Raw” for a little while…and I might. But with this new WWE network, abandoning the product completely would seem kind of futile, especially in a house full of WWE fans.”
On the WWE Network: “So we spent a couple hours watching the network yesterday – catching a great steel cage tag-team match betweern Edge – WWE Universe & Christian – WWE Universe and The Hardy Boyz. Great stuff! We also caught the September 2000 match between Triple H and Kurt Angle with me, as commissioner, and brought back to life just how much fun that whole storyline was, and how an arena full of Attitude fans had let out a simultaneous “oooh” when Kurt, waiting in the rain (with umbrella in hand) had the audacity to give Stephanie McMahon a kiss on the chhek! Oooh. Sounds ridiculously innocent, and very much G-rated, but in the course of events, it was absolutely compelling.”
On watching old Eddie Guerrero footage: “I also had the chance to revisit an old friend who is no longer with us – Eddie Guerrero. Of course, anyone who was around when Eddie wrestled remebers what an amazing in-ring performer eddie was. But with the help of the new network, I was reminded of what an incredible entertainer he was, as well. I’d forgotten how funny his segments could be, and how the slightest expression – the wide-eyed look of wonder when he “accidentally” defeated Chyna for a championship – could create such a sense of fun; a reminder to me why just so many people loved the Attitude Era above and beyond the wilder elements that usually define it.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Afa of the legendary Wild Samoans tag-team announced that he will be coming out of retirement to compete in a match at the WXWC4 show in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 1st.
– Former WWE Diva Beth Phoenix, who is featured on a ton of WWE Network content, including the debut episode of “WWE Countdown,” recently noted on Twitter that she filmed tons of interviews for WWE Network-related content. Phoenix tweeted the following:
I did tons of interviews, superstar impressions and rants for the WWE Network before I left. Glad it's finally getting seen!
– According to the latest SEC filings, a number of WWE employees acquired additional WWE stock on Monday. More likely than not, they bought the stock in anticipation of an upward trend due to the WWE Network launch.
– WWE Hall Of Famer and WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan has been doing some media work for WWE this week. Hogan wrote the following on Twitter:
NYC is always great to me but today was special,I was so happy and grateful to tell the media I'm back home with the WWE Universe,brother HH
Dolph Ziggler spoke with “The Shark Show” on 94.1 KRNA on Wednesday (2/26) about to promote WWE’s live event from Cedar Rapids this Saturday. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Hulk Hogan’s Return to WWE on RAW:
“Hulkster came out, the roof came unglued, as a fan I couldn’t believe he was back here working for the same company that I work for. Every year I see him on something else and he looks exactly the same. He’s like our Dick Clark.”
The WWE Network Launch:
“We’re all excited for it. We know that, you know, you’re always waiting to see what happens and waiting to see how this goes. We’ve been preparing for it for literally years. We’ve been doing interviews for years to get shows ready. Whatever happens Pay Per View wise, we know that no matter what we do, as long as we put out a great product, so many of the WWE Universe want to be part of this because it’s affordable, because of everything that it offers. I think it’s going to be great for everybody.”
Suffering Two Concussions Last Year:
“I think the concern comes getting one and coming back too quickly while you’re still damaged. WWE has been so in depth and so over the top with protecting everyone that even when I was medically cleared, they still waited much longer to make sure I was fully recovered. As far as we know, medically cleared for weeks before I ever got back in the ring to check it out. We go above and beyond knowing what we know now about concussions and if I had any concerns, there is no way in hell I’d be back in the ring. My brain is way too smart to get it ruined. We’ve taken precautions and I took my sweet time getting back in that ring and now I feel like a million bucks.”
[attention]SEScoops.com will have Live Coverage of NXT ARRIVAL tonight at 8pm (Eastern). The Chat Room will also be open starting at 7:30pm (Eastern)[/attention]Tonight exclusively on the WWE Network, WWE presents NXT ArRival, a 2-hour live event from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. This is the first live special on the WWE Network and the first live NXT show from Full Sail.
The NXT ArRival Kickoff Show begins at 7:30pm (Eastern) with an expert panel featuring Paul Heyman, Bret Hart and Kevin Nash.
At 8pm, ArRival begins with the following matches advertised:
NXT Champion Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville in a Ladder Match
Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn
NXT Women’s champion Paige vs. Emma
Update: NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension will be in action
There will also be special appearances by John Cena, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and WWE Tag Team Champions the New Age Outlaws.
NXT ArRival will replay on the WWE Network at 11pm (Eastern).
WWE has reportedly changed their initial plans for The Authority story line. Originally, there was talk of bringing Vince McMahon back to television as a regular character, with the idea of having him battle with Triple H for control of the company leading into WrestleMania XXX. Those plans have apparently been scratched.
Additionally, for whatever reason, WWE decided to change the on-air role for Stephanie McMahon, as they stopped referring to her as one of the owners of the company.
– Apparently there is talk in WWE right now of having a multiple-Divas match for the WWE Divas Championship at WrestleMania XXX. There is also said to be discussion about something similar for the tag-team division, as they are planning on a possible multi-team match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships.
– Regarding the WWE Network, there is discussion of releasing the entire collection of Madison Square Garden events on the Network over the next several months. As far as new content being added to the WWE Network, there is said to be a time consuming process in getting footage available to be added.
The following is the official schedule for the WWE Network for Thursday, February 27, 2014:
12am EST – Royal Rumble 2013
3am EST – Legends of Wrestling – Renegades
4:30am EST – WrestleMania Rewind – WrestleMania I
5:30am EST – RAW Backstage Pass – 2/23/2014
6am EST – Old School – 10/21/1984 MSG event
8:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 2/21/1993
9:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 2/28/1993
10:30am EST – WWE Countdown – Catchphrases
11:30am EST – Beyond The Ring – Shawn Michaels & Bret Hart
1:30pm EST – Royal Rumble 2013
4:30pm EST – Best of RAW – 9/27/1998
6:30pm EST – WWE Main Event Replay – 2/25/2014
7:30pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival Pre-show
8pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival Live
10pm EST – WWE Superstars – 2/26/2014
11pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival replay
– WWE has been editing out old footage of chair shots to the head on their YouTube channel since late last year. They’ve recently been taking down a lot of content on YouTube in general, something that was expected upon the launch of the WWE Network, as that content is now planned on only being available on the Network.
– There’s a possible legal issue looming between WWE and MMA legend Frank Shamrock. Apparently Shamrock trademarked an insignia that WWE is using for Sheamus t-shirts and merchandise.
– WWE Divas The Bella Twins filmed a spot for the official music video to Trey Songz’ “NaNa” single. The following is a photo of Nikki Bella on the set of the music video shoot:
– WWE has added some extras from the “WWE Countdown” and “WrestleMania Rewind” WWE Network shows to their official YouTube channel. You can check those out below:
– Variety reports that the Muppets are expected host WWE RAW next month to promote their new Muppets Most Wanted movie (opening March 21st).
– Hulk Hogan appeared on NBC’s Today Show this morning to promote the WWE Network and WrestleMania XXX. Hogan presented co-host Willie Giest with a replica WWE Championship belt and invited all of the Today hosts to WrestleMania XXX.
The following statement was recently posted on the official XBOX 360/Microsoft service page in regards to the WWE Network issues:
“Are you having trouble using your WWE app on your Xbox 360 console? We’ve got you covered, XBox members! Thanks for being patient while we work toward a fix. We’ll provide an update for you as soon as possible.”
– Jim Ross noted on Twitter that he’s interviewing Trish Stratus later today for an upcoming episode of his Ross Report podcast. He’s encouraging fans to send in questions for Trish on Twitter using the hashtag #JR.
Part 2 of his interview with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin premieres tomorrow (Wednesday).
– One of the main technical difficulties fans have experienced with the WWE Network has been streaming footage from the Video on Demand library. WWE is well aware of the issue and has been working with MLB Advanced Media to get the issue resolved.
WWE tweeted that the issues are only affecting 20% of WWE Network users and everything should be resolved by 6pm (Eastern) later today.
We received a few messages from readers about getting the WWE Network to work on Playstation.
Charles L Sylvester wrote:
“In your article about the WWE Network difficulties you stated that people are complaining about the Playstation login being “broken”. I also was having this issue but I figured it out. I’m not sure if anyone else has reported this or not but it seems that in the login box they have the circle and X buttons switched. If you press circle to enter characters for username and password it will work and will not back out of the login screen (which is what circle would normally do). Hope this was of any help.”
Bart wrote:
“Saw your article about continuing WWE Network issues. Thought I’d let you know the login box on Playstation works but for some weird reason you need to use circle instead of x when entering the letters. This makes no sense because circle is almost always delete in Playstation but I can do firm it worked. Credit to some guy on Reddit.”
Many fans attempting to stream on-demand footage on the WWE Network are still experiencing difficulties as of Tuesday morning. The live 24/7 stream has been holding up much better, with much fewer fans reporting difficulties.
The major issue with WWE Network signups and content streaming thus far has been the overwhelming demand by fans trying to use the service.
MLBAM, the company that WWE partnered with to handle the back end logistics of the WWE Network, told Deadspin.com on Monday that they’ve never seen anything and the demand “exceeded anything we have seen in 14 years of doing e-commerce.”
Fans attempting to access the WWE Network on XBox 360 are saying that the login box is broken.
As for WWE’s internal reaction to the technical difficulties, there was no real outrage at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, but the issues are essentially out of their hands. WWE is encouraging fans to tweet their issues or questions to @AskWWENetwork.
Here’s a list of the WWE, WCW & ECW PPV’s not currently available on the WWE Network, courtesy of Leon Peters:
WWE
– No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie (1989)
– Insurrextion (2000)
– Royal Rumble (2011)
– Royal Rumble (2014)
WCW
– The Great American Bash (1991)
– Japan Supershow (1991)
– Japan Supershow (1992)
– Japan Supershow (1993)
– When World’s Collide (1994)
– Collision In Korea (1995)
– Millennium Final (2000) *German-only PPV
Triple H posted a tweet on Sunday night after The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. He wrote the following about the match:
Incredible….. Was that the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning? pic.twitter.com/tQGsJsZD4o
WWE’s publicist sent us the following statement on Monday afternoon regarding the technical difficulties fans have experienced today signing up for and using the WWE Network:
“Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), WWE’s technology partner, was overwhelmed and their systems have been unable to process most orders since 9 am due to demand for WWE Network. MLBAM has been working aggressively to resolve this issue.”
– The Network is in fact available on Apple TV on launch day. You might have to restart your Apple TV or do a System update in order for it to show up. You have two options to view the WWE Network on Apple TV – you can sign in with your WWE Network account or sign up thru the iTunes store, which requires you to pay the full $60 up front (instead of being billed monthly). The WWE Network looks gorgeous on Apple TV, similar to Netflix, HBO Go and Hulu Plus.
– Here is the complete WWE Network Video On Demand library content listing for launch day:
Pay-Per-Views
* All WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-views
In-Ring
* Raw Replays: episodes from 1993, 1998, 2012, 2013 and 2014
* Smackdown Replays: Episodes from 1999, 2012, 2013 and 2014
*WWE NXT * WWE Superstars * WWE Main Event
The Originals
* Wrestlemania Rewind
* WWE Countdown
* Beyond the Ring
The Vault
* ECW Hardcore TV
*World Class Championship Wrestling TV (Currently one episode from 1982)
* Legends of Wrestling (two episodes from 2008, one episode from 2012)
* 3/27/77 WWF at Madison Square Garden (Bruno Sammartino vs. Spiros Arion main event)
* 6/27/77 WWF at Madison Square Garden (Bruno Sammartino vs. Superstar Graham main event)
* 4/6/81 WWF at Madison Square Garden (Bob Backlund vs. Stan Hansen Cage main event)
*10/22/84 WWF at Madison Square Garden (Hulk Hogan vs. Big John Studd main event)
* 10/28/91 WWF at Madison Square Garden (Ric Flair vs. Roddy Piper main event)
The big day is finally upon us – the WWE Network is LIVE. #WWENetwork is currently trending worldwide on Twitter, indicating a lot of social media buzz.
WWE is offering a 1-week trial for the Network, so if you are signing up, make sure to take advantage of that to sample the Network for a full week before committing to the 6-month commitment.
I was able to sign up with no problem at all and watched the first-ever broadcast on the Network, “WrestleMania Rewind.” However, viewing footage from the archived PPV library has been consistently timing out and crashing. At times, Network.WWE.com would not load at all, producing a white screen with the error text, “bamwsv2.” We’ve also heard a lot of people have had difficulty viewing the Network on XBox 360.
Many fans have been reporting technical difficulties while signing up and viewing videos. The front page of of WWE.com has a message that states, “WWE Network Experiencing High Demand” and asks people to “please be patient.”
Below is WWE’s ‘Technical Difficulties’ message – help us out and LIKE the SEScoops Facebook page and SHARE the link below on Facebook.