Source: WrestlingINC
Dave Meltzer reports in the latest and free edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, “it’s pretty clear that former ROH Champion Roderick Strong is going to the WWE.” Meltzer says this is bound to happen as Strong said his farewells to PWG during PWG 13, as you can see in the video above. Roderick most notably wrestled for Ring of Honor from 2003 to 2016, as well as other promotions such as PWG, TNA, Full Impact Pro, and Pro Wrestling Noah.
Below is video posted on Twitter of Seth Rollins in Sharknado 4, which premiered last night on Syfy. Rollins played a character named “Lopez,” a take-off of his real name, Colby Lopez.
Source: WrestlingINC
Regarding reports that Charlotte dropped the WWE Women’s Title to Sasha Banks because Charlotte is taking time off, that is not the case. PWInsider reports that Charlotte is scheduled for all future bookings and at no point did she request time off and there were never internal discussions about her taking time off.
The decision to put the title on Sasha was made for two reasons – WWE creative wanted to open the first RAW of the New Era with a big surprise by having Sasha Banks accomplish her dream, and Vince McMahon felt that Charlotte’s run as champion helped to establish the title as legitimate.
Now that there’s a foundation for the title, WWE officials are more open to switching it around and using it to help the RAW storylines. Vince is said to be a big fan of Charlotte’s work.
Triple H is said to be a huge proponent of Banks’ work and since Banks vs. Charlotte was already planned for SummerSlam, the feeling was that the change would add another dimension to their SummerSlam match. F4Wonline.com notes that their rematch is still planned for SummerSlam and that Charlotte has a “brutal” schedule coming up.
Source: WrestlingINC
As seen in the photos below, Rusev, Lana and other Total Divas cast members are in Malibu for their wedding on the beach. This is the wedding that is being filmed for Total Divas.
The photos also show that former WWE NXT stars Veronica Lane and Devin Taylor made the trip.
NXT General Manager William Regal has officially announced Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Samoa Joe for the August 20th “Takeover: Brooklyn II event from the Barclays Center. Below is a video of Joe responding to the news:
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios and SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations Michael Weitz are hosting a Second Quarter 2016 earnings call today from WWE headquarters in Stamford. Below are highlights:
* Weitz opens the call and welcomes everyone, then gives the introduction
* Vince says they are pleased with the execution of their strategy when it comes to optimizing the value of their content. He touts record revenues announced this morning. He brought up the brand extension and touted the high rating for the WWE Draft. Vince says the brand extension is working extremely well right now and touted the competitive nature of RAW and SmackDown. He’s really proud of the 7.7 billion video views on social and digital platforms for the first half of the year. Vince says people are watching and enjoying them, whether it be on traditional TV, the WWE Network or other platforms. He also commented on the new TV deal in China, saying they are proud of that and hoping for a lot of growth there. Vince hands the call over to Barrios
* None of the growth from last year is being credited to WrestleMania 32, which fell in this quarter. Slides showing separate breakdowns with and without WrestleMania numbers were included for investors
* WWE Network launched in 6 new countries in the past year and revenue was up $7.7 million from this time in 2015
* They confirmed that they have purchased the building that houses the WWE TV studios in Stamford. The purchase will be completed next quarter
* Now it’s time for questions
* Regarding why they did the brand extension, Vince said they have a plethora of talent due to Triple H’s influence in WWE NXT and the Performance Center. Vince said you can’t just exploit all that intellectual property when you have it, so they went with the two brands. He says this allows them to have more pay-per-views, more live events and more income. He also touted more talent personalities, which opens up the door for more licensing opportunities. He called it a really big move on revenue and the brand in general
* It’s too early to tell if the brand extension is increasing Network subscription but they are excited about the split and hope it will improve business all across the company
* They have 150,000 hours of content on the WWE Network but aren’t sure if all 150,000 will ever be available. They will have 6,000 hours of content on the Network before the end of this year
* Regarding a possible sale of the company, Barrios said they are always open to listening to ideas if that’s what is best for fans and employees
It was announced that Bobby Roode will make his NXT TV debut next week.
The following is set for tonight’s 7/27 WWE Cruiserweight Classic on WWE Network:
Continuation of first-round tournament action
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyson Dux
The Brian Kendrick vs. Raul Mendoza
Tony Nese vs. Anthony Bennett
Drew Gulak vs. Hurv Shira
The following is set for tonight’s 7/27 WWE NXT on WWE Network:
The main event for TakeOver: Back 2 Brooklyn will be announced
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Blake
TM-61 in action.
No Way Jose vs. Steve Cutler
Source: WrestlingINC
A WWE spokesperson has confirmed to TMZ that WWE will not discipline Brock Lesnar whatsoever for failing two different drug tests prior to his UFC 200 bout against Mark Hunt.
According to TMZ, the spokesperson stated that “only full-time WWE performers are subject to the organization’s wellness policy, which prohibits PEDs … but since Brock isn’t a full-time performer, he’s essentially exempt.”
Lesnar tested positive for Clomiphene in both failures, which is an estrogen blocker meant to increase testosterone.
According to the spokesperson, WWE is not a regulated athletic competition, and that because Brock does not work a full time schedule he is exempt from these rules. A source noted to TMZ that the rules are only in place to keep full-time performers healthy.
Lesnar will return to the ring to face Randy Orton at WWE SummerSlam on August 21st, and will also make his first appearance since WrestleMania 31 on next week’s episode of RAW.
