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Post by November KS on Jan 30, 2015 15:01:24 GMT -6
- In an interview on the latest episode of “Talk Is Jericho with Chris Jericho” (which you can find here), Bad News Barrett said he was the original choice to tease a CM Punk return when WWE was in Chicago last year. There had been plans for Punk’s theme to play with Barrett coming out to deliver some “bad news”.
He said: “It was in the script until about thirty minutes before the show and they pulled it. I think Paul Heyman ended up doing something similar. I didn’t have a storyline angle or important angle at that time, and Heyman and Brock did.”
He added that it may have been in bad taste to do the angle that way. He also said that even though it wasn’t a good way to get heat it could have been hilarious.
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Post by Positivity Peeps on Jan 30, 2015 15:14:36 GMT -6
The Bad News Barrett podcast was fantastic.
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Post by November KS on Jan 30, 2015 20:35:12 GMT -6
Good ratings news continues to pour in. If I'm not mistaken, ratings for Raw, Smackdown, Lucha, Impact, NJPW have all been on the upswing lately. Not sure if I've ever seen any ROH ratings.
- Thursday's live edition of SmackDown following the Royal Rumble drew a 2.06 rating which was up from last week's 1.97 rating.
The show featured Rumble fallout and Kane vs. Daniel Bryan in a casket match. The show was only made live at the last minute after Monday's Raw from Hartford was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions.
The overall viewership came in at 2.952 million viewers on up 2.814 million viewers.
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Post by November KS on Jan 30, 2015 21:21:58 GMT -6
For the love of God let this be real this time:
Negotiations between WWE and Rey Mysterio are said to be close to done and Mysterio could finally get his release soon, according to PWI.
Rey has been working on putting together signing appearances and promoters are waiting to get the green light to make the announcements public. The expectation is that once Rey is free and clear from WWE that he will sign with Lucha Underground.
There were rumors in WWE that Rey had his release papers in hand but he did not sign it because there were issues from his side that he wanted worked out. Presumably that would have something to do with WWE’s no-compete clause.
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Post by Positivity Peeps on Feb 2, 2015 12:55:57 GMT -6
As we previously reported, original WrestleMania 31 plans called for Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus III, however, those plans changed last week.
Following the Royal Rumble PPV, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan began exchanging Tweets teasing a match between the two at WrestleMania this year.
We then reported WWE indeed changed plans for Daniel Bryan and we should see the Bryan vs Ziggler match begin to take shape on WWE TV in the coming weeks.
According to F4WOnline.com, WWE changed Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania 31 plans as he went to officials and requested a match against Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania 31
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Post by November KS on Feb 2, 2015 16:03:30 GMT -6
- As noted last week, the whole deal with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler going back and forth on twitter is for the setup for their match at WrestleMania. As noted earlier, Daniel Bryan asked for the match with Ziggler and the stuff on twitter was approved by the company. Bryan vs. Ziggler is not considered one of the top matches for the show.
Dave Meltzer noted on last night’s Live Audio Wrestling show that as of now they will be the sixth match down from the card. There were 8 matches last year on the main card so that should give you an idea where Bryan is on their priority list for this year.
It’s interesting to note that Hulk Hogan has been pushing for a match and they teased some tension between Hogan and Big Show at the Raw Reunion show. Meltzer noted that Hogan was moving better at the last TV but that doesn’t mean doctors will approve him so we’ll have to see what happens. Hogan has been claiming lately that all of his back issues have been fixed and he feels great. By the way, Hogan and Big Show are good friends and both live near each other in Tampa.
One thing they could do, if they wanted to make sure Hogan is not in the ring for too long at WrestleMania, is do a tag match with Rusev and Big Show against John Cena and Hogan. If they are doing that match then it makes more sense now why they would do Cena and Rusev at Fast Lane.
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Post by Danny Busch on Feb 2, 2015 16:26:13 GMT -6
Might as well get Flair in the ring too. No Ho Ho Hogan.
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Post by November KS on Feb 3, 2015 3:35:06 GMT -6
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Optimisn
Moderator
The Voice of Reason
Posts: 33,710 
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Post by Optimisn on Feb 4, 2015 17:03:18 GMT -6
- Regarding criticism over this year’s WWE Royal Rumble match, the producer for the match was Jamie Noble while Joey Mercury was the assistant.
Others involved in putting the match together were WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, “Road Dogg” Brian James and Michael “PS” Hayes.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
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Post by randomone on Feb 4, 2015 20:36:33 GMT -6
I'm interested in just how involved Pat, Road Dogg & Hayes were. If you told me to pick the two producers most likely to book the oldest heels on the roster to eliminate all the young faces (even heels in Bray Wyatt's case) in the Rumble, I wouldn't pick Noble & Mercury.
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Post by November KS on Feb 9, 2015 0:32:38 GMT -6
- WWE.com is running a poll asking which WWE superstar should date Taylor Swift. Seriously. Dolph Ziggler is ahead with 35% of 28,799 votes cast, with Dean Ambrose coming in second (17%) and, in a disturbingly appropriate manner, Jerry “The King” Lawler coming in third at 12%.  |
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Post by Danny Busch on Feb 9, 2015 12:23:00 GMT -6
Just read on the interwebs that Vince is down with a triple threat mania match again.
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Post by November KS on Feb 9, 2015 12:35:41 GMT -6
Just read on the interwebs that Vince is down with a triple threat mania match again. It would be great if they could make the right decision in the first place. The Rumble is gonna be rendered useless otherwise. |
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Post by November KS on Feb 9, 2015 12:38:00 GMT -6
I read there was some sort of altercation in Columbus OH this morning regarding the Big Show. No details yet though.
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Post by Danny Busch on Feb 9, 2015 13:25:56 GMT -6
We can only hope Big Show gets suspended.
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Post by November KS on Feb 9, 2015 13:32:09 GMT -6
Big Show Reportedly Involved In "Confrontation" This Morning In Columbus, Ohio
Posted By: Kenny Williams on Feb 09, 2015
Source: Twitter.com
A Twitter.com user by the name of DJ Quicksilver has posted comments regarding an alleged confrontation that took place this morning with WWE Superstar Big Show in Columbus, Ohio, which is the city where tonight's edition of WWE Raw will be taking place.
According to Quicksilver, he informed Show's tour bus driver about sleeping regulations on a property that Quicksilver secures, as the bus had apparently been parked on the property since 4AM this morning. Show then reportedly got enraged and started yelling obscenities to Quicksilver before accusing him of denting Show's tour bus windows by knocking on them.
Apparently you can read the details on dude's Twitter handle: @dj_quicksilver
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Post by November KS on Feb 10, 2015 3:57:00 GMT -6
Speeps, you're going in!!!!  |
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Post by November KS on Feb 10, 2015 4:07:39 GMT -6
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Post by Kirkwoodref on Feb 10, 2015 7:30:44 GMT -6
^
When Deadspin says NSFW they really mean it. I don't know why I was surprised when I clicked. There are boobs and a fully torqued Rollins dong. I thought they'd blur it out. Nope.
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Post by Danny Busch on Feb 10, 2015 8:37:00 GMT -6
I wonder if Vince hates this or secretly loves it.
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Post by November KS on Feb 10, 2015 11:54:47 GMT -6
- During today’s WWE/NXT conference call, Triple H commented on the leaked photos involving Seth Rollins. He noted that Colby Lopez (Rollins’ real name) has apologized and that, “This is an unfortunate personal incident and that’s all it is”. We’ll have more from the conference call later today.
- During today’s WWE/NXT conference call, Triple H commented on the stats on the NXT brand. He feels that NXT will become more of a touring brand, and that they could tour regularly by the end of 2015. The goal would be to run small venues, and to do sold shows (shows that a third party pays for and WWE then produces, casinos do this a lot). We’ll have more from the conference call later today.
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Post by November KS on Feb 10, 2015 15:46:06 GMT -6
Ryan!! - WWE is currently hiring for a Vice President of Operations to work out of Stamford. Below is the description for the “once in a lifetime” opportunity:“The Vice President of Operations, will be based in Stamford, CT and will report to the EVP, Talent, Creative Writing and Live Events. This right-hand role is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an executive who is looking for a role that offers immediate engagement and impact on the performance of our most critical asset. The VP of Operations will be immersed in the heart of our business and, in partnership with the department head, will have a direct impact on the future of WWE’s global brand through assessment, planning, and execution of our Talent Development/Relations, Creative and Live Event strategies.” – Monday night’s WWE RAW ranked #3 among non-sporting events for the night in Nielsen’s new Twitter TV ratings, behind The Bachelor and Better Call Saul. RAW had a unique audience of 1.633 million, which represents the number of Twitter accounts that commented on the show. This was down from last week’s 1.646 million. RAW had total impressions of 11.020 million, which represents the number of times the show was tweeted about. This was down from last week’s 13.310 million. – WWE stock was up 0.31% today, closing at $13.13 per share. Today’s high was $13.20 and the low was $12.71. Read more: www.pwmania.com/wwe-hiring-for-once-in-a-lifetime-job-opportunity-raw-twitter-ratings-down-wwe-stock-up#ixzz3RNgjD1rk |
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Post by randomone on Feb 10, 2015 16:01:12 GMT -6
My vote's for Simmons as well!
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Post by November KS on Feb 12, 2015 12:33:56 GMT -6
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Post by Danny Busch on Feb 12, 2015 12:50:04 GMT -6
Rollin's Dong needs to become one of the Rosebuds.
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Post by November KS on Feb 12, 2015 12:51:36 GMT -6
- As previously reported, Chael Sonnen says that he has been invited to WrestleMania weekend and will be meeting with people there. WWE has denied the news but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that he will be heading there in order to have an “unofficial talk” with Kevin Dunn.
The talks will be about a potential TV role as an announcer. Gerald Briscoe, who is friends with Sonnen, set up the talks.
As to Wanderlei Silva, who claimed that he has also received an offer from WWE to attend WrestleMania, WWE officials have denied that there are any talks taking place with him. The site says that they have heard there “is something there” but what exactly is going on isn’t known. Silva is still under UFC contract, despite being suspended indefinitely and retiring.
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Post by November KS on Feb 12, 2015 14:36:39 GMT -6
- Here are the highlights from today’s WWE Q4 conference call, featuring WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and WWE Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios…
* Vince McMahon said that the results for the fourth quarter exceeded expectations and guidance. He was very happy about increases in Raw and Smackdown viewership, social media followers, and hyped that their Youtube views reached 3.9 billion. He discussed reaching the one million-subscriber count for WWE Network, mentioning the success of the free month for new subscribers campaign in November and said they hope to receive similar results for the free month in February.
* George Barrios ran through the numbers, stating that the WWE Network has reached 1.4 million unique subscribers (though not all of them are active). He said that roughly 70 percent of those who signed up for the free month in November were kept as paid subscribers in January.
* UK and Ireland was their second largest area of subscribers for the Network almost overnight.
* Barrios discussed the WWE Network expansion in Canada and the new deal in the Middle East. They hope to have access in all of Canada in time for WrestleMania 31.
* They are excited about the programming for the WWE Network, noting that more live programming, interviews, animation, and short form programming would be added. The VOD library is now over 2,700 hours of the over 100,000 hours WWE has in their library
* Barrios felt that the company was when it came to growing the company’s revenues in 2014, specifically praising Total Divas, animated television and DVD movies, video, online app, and mobile games.
* Both Raw and Smackdown are up two percent in the ratings for the quarter.
* We open the phone lines, which leads to Barrios and his famed “I don’t want to go into specifics” a lot.
* Barrios was asked about what markets have the biggest upside for the Network. Barrios didn’t want to make predictions, but praised the UK and Ireland.
* They have no definitive plans on how they will do free months in the future. He did note that they have measures in place to protect from people signing up over and over for free.
* They plan to remain on PPV, and that the cable providers set those prices for the shows.
* Someone that claims to be an analyst asked if WM 31 would be on the Network and asked when the Network would move to a month-to-month model. Seriously.
* The next caller asked what the company could do to prevent Network subscribers from leaving after WrestleMania 31. Barrios said that they need to deliver incredible value in the content and the experience and they are working extremely hard on that. This includes new content that they are planning, but cannot discuss at this time.
* Barrios says that NXT resonates well with viewers, and they are impressed when it trends on Titter when domestically it is only on the Network.
* Barrios was asked about the comparison between the WWE and UFC audiences. Barrios said they are about multi-generational family viewing and that’s fundamentally different from MMA audiences.
* They are budgeting $20-$30 million for feature films in 2015.
* Barrios was asked about advertising revenues for the WWE Network. He didn’t want to get into specifics.
* Barrios heavily praised the near 4 billion Youtube views, and feels that people are ravenous for WWE content.
* Next Barrios was asked for figures on how much of the subscriber growth was based on people understanding what an OTT service. He said that there is room for improvement, and that it takes time for complete awareness of anything, including the WWE Network.
* The new Network deal in the Middle East is similar in structure to the Rogers Canada deal.
* Vince says that the #CancelWWENetwork was good for them, it caused controversy and was the gesture of a vocal minority. “That’s good for WWE. It created controversy. Really it was a gesture by some vocal minority because of the creative … Santa Claus didn’t come on that PPV.”
* Barrios is asked about a potential WWE subscription radio station for SiriusXM. Barrios says that they have a lot of ideas, and that it has been considered.
* When asked about the WWE Studios division, Barrios discussed the impairment on Oculus. Barrios felt that the impairment was what you would expect and that the film did about what they expected.
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Post by November KS on Feb 12, 2015 14:51:12 GMT -6
- WWE’s website is reporting that Batista is has reportedly been cast for a new “Highlander” movie where he would be cast as The Kurgan. If that is true then that is great news for Batista. The filmmakers were looking for someone that is strong and imposing and Batista fits the role.
Batista is also attached for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequels and is featured in the upcoming remake of the “Kickboxer” franchise.
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Post by randomone on Feb 12, 2015 16:36:35 GMT -6
* Vince says that the #CancelWWENetwork was good for them, it caused controversy and was the gesture of a vocal minority. “That’s good for WWE. It created controversy. Really it was a gesture by some vocal minority because of the creative … Santa Claus didn’t come on that PPV.” Way to cover your ass Vin-man. |
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Post by randomone on Feb 12, 2015 19:00:42 GMT -6
Umm, so there was a return, or debut, or whatever you wanna call it at the NXT tapings tonight.  Man-Beast is back. Pretty interesting face off. |
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