Category: WWE

Backstage Talk On WWE NXT And The WWE Brand Extension, WWE PPV Events Running Longer?

Source: WrestlingINC

While Triple H indicated in this week’s media call that he’s not sure how the upcoming WWE Draft and Brand Extension will change WWE NXT,  Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that people involved have been told that “NXT is being raided for the Draft big time.” More details are expected to be revealed soon.

It appears future WWE pay-per-view events will be going past 11pm and not just WrestleMania. WWE has told Sky Italia to start reserving extra time for pay-per-view events as the duration of those shows will vary.

WWE Hall Of Famer Managing New Tag Team In WWE NXT After Angle At Takeover (Photos, Video)

As noted, American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) lost the NXT Tag Team Champions to The Revival (Dash & Dawson) at NXT Takeover: The End last night.

After the match, American Alpha were attacked and left laying by “The Authors of Pain” Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, who have been working NXT live events for several months now.

It appears Selmani and Dhinsa will be managed by WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, who is known for managing The Road Warriors years ago.

Below is video and photos from tonight’s angle:

NXT TakeOver: The End Results

Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas – Winner: Andrade “Cien” Almas

NXT Tag Team championship: American Alpha (c’s) vs. The Revival – Winners & new NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival – After the match, The Revival celebrates and leaves with the titles. Gable and Jordan stand up in the ring but are attacked by “Authors of Pain” Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani. They destroy Gable and Jordan but fans don’t seem into them. WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering appears at the entrance and fans chant “who are you?” as Gzim and Dhinsa finish the attack. They leave and it appears Ellering is managing them.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries – Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax – Winner: Asuka

NXT Championship – Steel Cage Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor – Winner: Samoa Joe

 

Chyna — Memorial Date Set, Public Invited To Attend

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

A date has been set for Chyna‘s memorial, and those who wish to honor her memory are invited.

According to the Ninth Wonder of the World’s website, the event will be held June 22 at 7:30 pm at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center and there are two ways that the public can acquire a ticket.

For a guaranteed spot, fans can purchase a memorial T-shirt and two tickets will be included — or fans can enter a random drawing to win a pair. One thousand tickets will be given away.

All proceeds go towards memorial expenses and Chyna’s estate — and her people claim it will be used for animal rescue, as well as children’s music and literature education.

Fans can go to her website to SIGN UP NOW.

Luke Harper Lands Horror-Action Movie Role

Source: The Wrap

The Wrap reports that Luke Harper has been cast in new horror-action movie titled Mohawk.

“Hemlock Grove” actress Kaniehtiio Horn and “Twilight” star Justin Rain will also star

WWE star Luke Harper has been cast in the horror movie “Mohawk,” directed by Ted Geoghegan.

Dark Sky Films and Snowfort Pictures will reteam on the project following the last fright flick that they made with Geoghegan, “We Are Still Here.”

Along with Harper — whose real name is Jon Huber — “Hemlock Grove” actress Kaniehtiio Horn, who is Mohawk herself, will also star in the film. “Twilight’s” Justin Rain, “Looper” star Noah Segan, Ian Colletti, Robert Longstreet, Sheri Foster, Ezra Buzzington and Andrew Sensenig will costar.

“Mohawk” is a horror and action tale. After one of her tribes sets an American soldiers’ camp on fire, a young female Mohawk finds herself in a cat-and-mouse chase. She flees deep into the woods where she confronts Colonel Holt and his soldiers. As American soldiers seem to close in on her and Mohawk youths Oak and Calvin, they must use both real and supernatural resources to fight back.

“Mohawk is hard-hitting action-horror that subverts traditional genre tropes while delivering a timeless tale of good versus evil,” Geoghegan said. “We look to deliver a horrifying home invasion film where the home is North America itself.”

Travis Stevens, Greg Newman and Grady Hendrix will produce.

Harper has been on hiatus from the WWE ring after he suffered an injury in March.

Principal photography began on Tuesday in upstate New York.

WWE Trying To Get Ronda Rousey For WrestleMania 33?

Source: WrestlingINC

As if CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and potentially Paige VanZant weren’t enough for potential UFC and WWE crossovers, it appears as if the WWE is hoping to land Ronda Rousey for next year’s WrestleMania 33 event.

According to a report by Forbes, the WWE is looking to angle the Brock Lesnar UFC fight to potentially get Rousey on WrestleMania. As you may remember, Ronda Rousey participated in WrestleMania 31, working an angle with Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and the Rock.

As we mentioned earlier, the WWE is also hoping to get UFC stars to appear at Summerslam.

NXT TakeOver: The End – 6/8/16 – Card

NXT Championship – Steel Cage Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor

NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax

NXT Tag Team championship: American Alpha (c’s) vs. The Revival

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries

Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

Triple H Media Call: Bobby Roode And Eric Young, WWE Brand Split, ‘The End,’ Nakamura, Muhammad Ali

Source: WrestlingINC

Triple H’s media call to promote WWE NXT Takeover: The End:

Triple H joined the call and thanked everyone for joining and noted that there will probably be some questions about the Cruiserweight Classic. Triple H ran down the card for Wednesday’s Takeover event. Triple H said that Nakamura will be a key player in the company. He added that he’s excited for the debut of Andrade Almas and that he will be “big player.”

Triple H said “The End” title for the event has a lot of meanings, which we’ll see tomorrow. He said that you can expect it to be the end of the Finn Balor – Samoe Joe series.

NXT will be taping TV on Thursday, and he will be heading to the UK with the NXT crew for the UK tour after the tapings.

The Cruiserweight Classic starts up at the end of the month. Triple H thinks it will be the premier cruiserweight tournament, and he thinks it will be an unbelievable ten weeks. He says that it will be something unlike you’ve seen from WWE or NXT.

He thinks the NXT roster will look a lot different after the brand split, but he doesn’t know for sure. He thinks that one of the strengths of NXT is that their talent rises to the occasion whenever talent leaves for the main roster.

He doesn’t think the talent is any more aggressive than they were before, and they’re always looking for the best talent around the world. He’s always been aggressive in acquiring great talent.

About the brand split, Triple H noted that they’ve always had two tours and he’s not sure how much everything will change.

He was asked about how much they focus on the UK. Triple H said there is a ton of talent in the UK, but they don’t focus on any one area for talent, they look everywhere.

On Bobby Roode and Eric Young, Triple H is working on contracts for both men and said to stay tuned. He said they’re both talented, and he looks forward to working with both of them.

When asked about NXT touring in Canada, he said that they’re looking at everywhere. He said that NXT will be doing 180-190 events this year alone, and with RAW and SmackDown, you’re at around 500 events a year. With all the events, there’s a lot of factors that go into where they tour.

When asked for an update on Hideo Itami, Triple H said that he can’t go too much into his medical information, but everyone heals differently, and Itami had some issues with mobility and scar tissue, and wants him to take his time and return at 100%. Nothing has changed regarding his thoughts on Hideo as a performer, and he looks forward to him returning.

Triple H was asked about doing a women’s tournament, similar to the Cruiserweight Classic. Triple H said he had been throwing out ideas about it, and said that he would like to do it if the timing is right. He said it’s on the table, but there are a lot of things on the table. He said that it’s just an idea that spread quickly on the internet, and when they know what they’ll want to do, they’ll put out a statement or contact talents.

He said that the process for the Cruiserweight series has been very exciting, and he’s enjoyed working with outside promotions to secure talent for the series.

Triple H thanked everyone for calling in. He mentioned the passing of Muhammad Ali, and called him a personal hero of his. He said that Ali’s personality and charisma, which admittedly was influenced by pro wrestling, was amazing and and he was able to pass it on to others. Triple H said Ali was integral to what they do, and even though Ali wasn’t a part of WWE on a day-to-day basis, that his impact isn’t forgotten in the sports entertainment world.

Speculation On Bray Wyatt’s WWE Return

There are a lot of rumors about Bray Wyatt returning to WWE TV next Monday at RAW in New Orleans. F4Wonline.com speculates that Wyatt will be added into the Money In the Bank Ladder Match but at last word the match will have just 6 participants, but you never know anything is possible. When the match was first announced the graphic showed 7 spots for the match.

Bray Wyatt posted this tweet on Friday:

Brock Lesnar On Vince McMahon’s Reaction To UFC 200

Source: WrestlingINC

Brock Lesnar made the media rounds on ESPN yesterday to promote his upcoming fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200. During an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter, which you can watch below, Lesnar was asked about how Vince McMahon reacted when approached about the upcoming fight.

“I said, ‘Listen, old man, we can do this the hard way or the easy way,'” Lesnar recalled. “I said, ‘Do you wanna arm-wrestle for it?’ He was like, ‘Aw yeah, what the hell.’ So, I ended up beating him and here we are.”

Lesnar said that McMahon had no hesitation allowing Lesnar to do the fight.

“Who would you [have any hesitation]?,” Lesnar asked. “I believe that in the WWE brand, I’m a legit athlete in that brand, and I bring lots to the company. For me to get back in the Octagon legitimizes why the WWE has me in their company. It’s a win-win for all of us. It’s a win for me, it’s a win for WWE and it’s a win for the UFC.”

Lesnar again wouldn’t reveal how much he is making for the fight, but said that it was “lots of money” and stated that he was a prizefighter.

“You don’t get in the cage for nothing,” Lesnar noted. “It’s a lot of money… I’m not gonna relay how much money I’m making on it, I wouldn’t do that to either one of the companies.”