WWE has announced that Sunday’s two-hour SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show will go live for the first time ever in virtual reality via Oculus Go and Next VR. Highlights from the VR experience will then be available on the NextVR app on Monday, August 27. The two-hour Kickoff starts at 5pm ET/3pm PT and will include RAW Tag Team Championship: (C) The B-Team vs. The Revival, WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak and Rusev & Lana vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega.
Below is the announcement on the VR experience:
SummerSlam Kickoff will be live on NextVR and Oculus Go for the first time everThis Sunday you can experience SummerSlam Kickoff like never before with Oculus Go and NextVR’s 180-degree virtual reality experience, available through the NextVR and Oculus Venues apps.
The NextVR app will present a live 3D virtual reality broadcast on VR headsets where the NextVR app is available, including Oculus, Google Daydream, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality and Playstation VR. SummerSlam highlights presented by Cricket Wireless will be available to all NextVR app users on Monday Aug. 27.
Additionally, Oculus Venues will offer a live 2D VR broadcast of SummerSlam Kickoff within the Oculus Venues app available to GearVR and Oculus Go users.
Don’t miss out on this incredible SummerSlam Kickoff experience, live at 5 p.m. ET.
WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall continue to fuel rumors of a nWo reunion project with a new video on Twitter. As noted, Hogan’s website HulkHogan.comthere’s a countdown clock marking the days, hours, and minutes to October 27.
As seen below, Hogan tweeted a nWo “paid announcement” promo teaser that looks and feels like the legendary promos that aired on WCW TV in the late 1990s.
“We’re back!,” said Nash. Hall added, “We haven’t stirred anything up in a long time, let’s stir the pot.”
The video also shows Hogan spray-painting a World Heavyweight Title belt and commenting on how he still has his swagger.
The rumors of a reunion picked up earlier this month when Hall, Nash and Hogan were seen filming at Hogan’s Beach Shop in Orlando. No word yet on if this is a WWE project but we will keep you updated.
Director Kevin Smith revealed on Instagram that Chris Jericho has a role in his upcoming horror anthology, Killroy Was Here. Smith also noted that Jericho operated the camera in his scene. Smith said that Jericho “not only crushes his character and dialogue but shoots a damn spooky scene as well!”
You can check out Smith’s post below:
Presenting The Gator Chaser – a nasty-ass South Florida streamer played by @chrisjerichofozzy! I’ve been shooting a horror anthology called #KillroyWasHere with the kids of @ringlingcollege, @digitalcaviar and #semkhorproductions for about a year now. Over the course of three trips to #sarasota, we’ve been making a modern-day #creepshow kinda flick with 70% of the crew being students so filled with raw talent, their pure passion for film and ability to find fixes to production problems makes up for any deficit of experience. Every crew member wears multiple hats on a low budget film – so last night when Jericho got to set, I asked the master podcaster and #wwe icon to not only act but also operate the camera for himself in his scene as well! When presented with this info, did the Fozzy frontman show trepidation? No way: homey goes with the flow and not only CRUSHES his character and dialogue but shoots a damn spooky scene as well! That’s the kind of actor or actress you need on an indie film: a partner who’ll not only carry their end of the bargain but also help elevate the entire production as well! And even when this pic was taken at 4 in the morning, Chris was all energetic – and mind you, he just got back from Europe the night before. I’ve been wanting to work with the man since we guested on each other’s podcasts and I was delighted to discover an actor I’ll cast forever now! Because film IS Jericho! #KevinSmith #chrisjericho #talkisjericho #fozzy #florida #indiefilm #ringlingcollege #digitalcaviar
Triple H took part in a media call on Wednesday where he answered some questions regarding the future of NXT once WWE’s new contract with Fox Sports begins in October 2019. WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events, & Creative said “everything is on the table” when asked about the idea of bringing NXT to FS1.
“I don’t know,” Triple H replied. “Right now we’re concentrating on the deals we have and where we’ll be next year when SmackDown moves to Fox. I think time will tell and time will see right now NXT has a very good home on the [WWE] Network. People seem to enjoy it, but who knows? I would never want to say never, especially around here.”
WWE’s $1 billion deal with Fox Sports will see SmackDown Live move to Fox on Friday nights, but Fox Sports wants even more programming from WWE. As UFC’s deal with Fox expires, Fox Sports is losing many hours of programming, especially on FS1 and FS2. WWE’s new deal could open up the opportunity to move NXT onto a larger platform which is something Triple H is open to once discussions begin.
Triple H was then asked about possibly splitting the NXT brand up into two one-hour shows with one show on FS1 with another remaining on the WWE Network.
“I feel like you’re setting me up for a payday off a nifty idea I end up using there,” Triple H replied. “In that scenario, there’s a lot of speculation, right? Even things where I go, ‘yeah I could see that there’s a lot of TV channels and distribution platforms out there and they all need content and they should all call me. You know it really comes down to who wants what and when. I know we say it a lot, but we’re open for business and ‘never say never’ so I always kind of look at it with fresh eyes. The [NXT] show is an hour, it’s a great length. Are there weeks when I wish it was a little longer? Absolutely. There are other weeks when I’m really happy it was one hour, absolutely.
“You know I think it just comes off to where the right fit is at the right time. A lot of that is going off your guts, right? So look, we have a lot of talent, we have some time, we have the ability to shoot this, and as technology changes those costs of shooting comes down, hopefully, and you’re changing how you do things. So, there’s a lot of opportunity there. I don’t ever want to look at any of our programming — this is just me personally speaking — and say ‘this is just how we do it. This show is this long, this show is this long and it sits here, this show’s that and it sits here. It should constantly ebb and flow and change and times and all those things.
“Once we get into the Fox deal, you know certainly as we begin to get closer to October next year we’ll all be beginning to have conversations and we’ll see what those conversations bring up. We’ll see where it should be, how long it should be, all those things, but everything is on the table.
The Big Show says that he’s ready to return to action. The former WWE Champion hasn’t wrestled since losing a steel cage match against Braun Strowman in September of 2017. The match was designed to write Big Show off of television to undergo right hip surgery.
Big Show told ESPN this week at a charity event at the Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey that he hopes to be back in the ring as early as SummerSlam this Sunday.
“Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will be back in the ring,” Big Show said. “That’s the main goal. I’m actually going to try and get cleared Sunday, by [WWE’s] doctors; moving around the ring a little bit. I could be back as soon as the Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam, if they have something for me.
“Just because I’m healthy, doesn’t mean our creative team is healthy for me yet.”
Big Show had been hoping to return to action earlier this year, however complications from his surgery delayed his return to WWE. He was advertised for last April’s Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but had reportedly re-injured himself before the event.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter journo Dave Meltzer found himself in hot water last night, when an audio clip from a 9 August episode of Wrestling Observer Radio surfaced on SmackDown superstar Peyton Royce’s Twitter timeline.
The snippet included a conversation between Meltzer and co-host Bryan Alvarez pondering The IIconics difficulty adapting to the main roster, with the veteran reporter dwelling on Royce’s appearance:
Meltzer: I thought they had a cool act in NXT and on the main roster I don’t get a thing out of them. I don’t think their promos are particularly good, their wrestling isn’t good. I think they even like… I think Peyton Royce’s transformation to look more attractive… I don’t know, I don’t want to say. But I don’t think that…Alvarez: That they were more attractive in NXT?
Meltzer: I thought so, yes. To me, yes. I would say so. But that’s neither here nor there.
Alvarez: No one’s saying she’s unattractive, by the way, everybody.
Meltzer: I know, no s–t. Yeah, I didn’t say it at all. But she doesn’t stand out to me… when she was in NXT she did… she was a lot lighter.
Meltzer’s veiled comments about the Australian’s recent breast augmentation surgery, and in particular, her weight, understandably drew widespread censure on the social media platform. Royce herself responded, directly challenging Dave on his troublesome comments:
A host of WWE employees soon rushed to the defence of their colleague, including Ember Moon, Charlotte Flair, and Beth Phoenix. Renee Young was particularly skewering, denouncing Meltzer’s opinion as “a true piece of sweltering hot garbage”.
As the imbroglio raged on, Melzter eventually popped up with a clumsily worded apology, which succeeded in appearing both insincere and patronising:
I’d like to apologize to you. You are an exceedingly attractive woman. I do realize the lengths and pressures on women in the entertainment world to maintain unnatural looks at times and am glad you pointed this out.
The newsman stopped just short of saying, “I’m sorry you’re offended, Peyton.” As with his initial statement, Meltzer’s attempted apology drew further ire from WWE superstars, with Tyler Breeze in particular exchanging a series of eloquent Tweets denouncing Dave for deflecting the blame, and highlighting his ability to engender change via his significant media platform.
Former WWE and ECW wrestler Justin Credible is currently imprisoned after violating a protective order.
As reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet, Connecticut authorities claim Credible was taken into custody on Tuesday. A bond of $7,500 has been set for his release.
There’s currently no word on what, exactly, the former ECW Champion did to violate the order, but it is worth mentioning that he was issued one following a domestic dispute with his wife in June 2017.
Credible recently returned to the independent circuit after initially announcing his retirement in 2015. He has been out of WWE since January 2003, when he was cut from the company after being relegated to C-shows like Sunday Night Heat following the Invasion angle.
Perhaps best known for his role in the much maligned X-Factor stable (along with X-Pac and Albert), Credible struggled to break through in WWE, and his group were split when Justin joined Paul Heyman’s ECW insurgents in the Invasion. He’d previously held he ECW Championship for 162 days, though his main event run was met with significant backlash.
Though potentially a very serious situation, this is still developing. We’ll bring you further updates as it unfolds.
Sin Cara revealed on Twitter that he underwent knee surgery with Dr. Jeffrey Dugas in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday. There’s no word yet on when he will be back in action. The SmackDown Superstar tweeted the following after the operation:
Brian Christopher passed away on July 29nd, which was reported as a suicide by hanging while he was incarcerated in an isolated Hardeman County Tennessee jail cell. Jerry “The King” Lawler, Christopher’s father, doesn’t believe the reports. He said that he’s been told that you can bet substantial money that Christopher didn’t commit suicide.
Lawler opened up on his Dinner With The King podcast about Christopher’s passing. The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation is looking into his death and asked Lawler not to speak publically on the matter until their investigation has concluded. Lawler previously detailed the heartbreaking experience of losing his son, and is now talking again giving new details surrounding Christopher’s death.
“Since our last podcast, we’ve got a ton of information and a ton of contact and people reaching out about information about what really happened,” Lawler said. “I know everything that was reported said Brian committed suicide by hanging himself. Now since that time, at least I’m certain — in a lot of people’s minds and certainly in mine — we have serious doubts if that actually happened.
“Right now we’re not at liberty to discuss, some of the things we’re not at liberty to discuss. The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation is conducting their own investigation into what happened and it’s still an on-going investigation at this time. Once they finish that they will report to the Attorney General in Hardeman County, unfortunately, that’s the same place that the jail and the Sheriff and to me it all seems like a [network]. You know that’s what we’ve been hearing goes on in Hardeman County it’s just been very frustrating. The sad thing is nothing is going to bring Brian back.”
The Lawler Family wants answers and they have been contacted by four different eye-witnesses to the incidents leading to Christopher’s death. All four stories were the same with no deviation as Lawler continued to describe what his family has uncovered regarding Christopher’s final hours.
“Nobody who saw Brian in his last few moments is talking to us,” Lawler said. “But everybody who was in the jail with Brian that day swears — one of the guys he said to me, ‘Mr. Lawler I got $92 to my name, but if I had $9 million I would bet all of it that Brian didn’t hang himself.’ These aren’t any people who have anything to gain by talking to us. as a matter of fact, a lot of them are scared and are worried about their own safety after talking to us and telling us some of the things that went on in the jail that day.
“It’s really frustrating to hear these things but we’re just really trying to find out what happened to Brian.”
Lawler said the TBI doesn’t have to tell them anything about their investigation until it concludes. When he asked how long this type of investigation can last, Lawler was told they can span nearly a year.
“Once we see the results of that investigation, then we might have to launch an investigation of our own,” Lawler said. “This is not about a lawsuit or trying to sue the jail or sue the Sheriff or sue the county or anything. It’s not about that at all. It’s just about finding out what really happened here.”
Lawler said that the isolation cell Christopher was in when he reportedly hanged himself to death has no place where you could hang yourself from. Lawler spoke about even more evidence as pictures contradict the story that he hung himself with his own shoelaces.
“They said he was hanged by shoelaces and there are a couple pictures of Brian’s neck where it’s almost the bruising from what would be a shoelace apparently, and it goes around and it stops on the front of his neck,” Lawler continued. “The bruising stops at what would be the distance of his hand. When you look at a picture of his hand, there’s bruising that looks like the side of his neck going along the inside of Brian’s hand.
“To me, it looks like he had his hand trying to pull something off of his neck that may have been choking him. Those pictures aren’t consistent with somebody hanging themselves. So there’s just a lot of stuff that we have talked about a little but there’s still a lot of stuff we can’t talk about right now.”
Lawler spoke to people who were inmates at the Hardeman County Jail and they revealed cameras are plentiful in the eight-year-old facility. Questions regarding a possible video of Christopher’s tragic passing could be squelched due to rumors of equipment malfunction. His search is a tireless one as he promises not to stop pursuing the truth until the actual events surrounding Christopher’s death are revealed.
“There’s even questions about the surveillance cameras at the jail,” Lawler said. “This is a fairly new jail with supposed upgrades. Some of the inmates said that cameras are everywhere and one of the inmates said you can walk over in the pod and start to pick up a piece of paper and a voice would come over the intercom — ‘Don’t pick up that piece of paper!’ — it’s like they were being watched at every step they made inside this jail.
“So if that’s the case, then why haven’t they come forward with video of what took place. We have also heard — this is a rumor though that we have to substantiate — that twenty of their surveillance cameras were inoperable. So there’s a lot of things we have to find out from the jail and the correction officers. Every inmate’s movements should be tracked all day long so we’re just going to keep searching until we find out.”
