Tag: WWE

WWE Announces Groundbreaking NIL Program

WWE has announced a new NIL program that will provide a pathway for athletes to go from college to WWE.

RAW Superstar and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was signed to WWE’s first NCAA NIL (name, image, likeness) deal back in September, shortly after the NCAA began allowing athletes to make money from their own name, images and likeness.

Now WWE has announced their own NIL (Next In Line – name, image, likeness) program to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes.

WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque noted in today’s press release that the WWE NIL program has the potential to change the business.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” he said. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

The first class of NIL partnerships will be revealed in the coming weeks.

All athlete partnerships will have access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, along with other resources such as brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Some athletes will be offered a WWE contract after completing the program.

Stay tuned for more on the WWE NIL program. Below is the full press release issued to us today:

WWE® LAUNCHES NIL PROGRAM: NEXT IN LINE™

New Program to Provide Clear Pathway from Collegiate Athletics to WWE

STAMFORD, Conn., December 2, 2021 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced the launch of a groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that will provide a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

Following a historic new policy by the NCAA effective July 1, 2021, which ushered in the NIL era allowing college athletes the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness, WWE has constructed a comprehensive program to recruit and develop potential future Superstars. Dubbed “Next In Line™,” the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.

In September, WWE announced its first NIL deal with heavyweight freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson who captured a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The agreement allowed Steveson to return to the University of Minnesota for his senior season where he is defending his NCAA National Championship while beginning his Superstar training with WWE.

WWE will unveil the first class of NIL partnerships in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 11/29/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will air live from the UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Nia Jax Gives Major Update On Her Pro Wrestling Future

Nia Jax has taken to social media to claim that it is “highly unlikely” she will ever wrestle again. The former WWE Superstar was released from the company on November 4 alongside 17 other talents.

The revelation came up after Nia had shared a link that some fans thought hinted at a new name. The link was previously to a fan-made website, NiaJax.com. However, that had been changed to LinaDanene.com, which some felt would be her new name.

Nia Jax took to Twitter to clarify this situation. In her post, she made it clear that a return to the ring isn’t on her mind right now.

Nia wrote:

“Lol! Newsflash…Lina is my real name. It’s not another “ring” name. It’s just MY NAME, the name given to me at birth. Calm TF down trolls. In all fairness, “Opponent Crippler” would be a SOLID front runner if I ever decide to wrestle again. but it’s highly unlikely”

If Nia Jax doesn’t step back into the ring, then her final ever match was against Shayna Baszler on the 9/20/21 episode of Raw. During her career, she was able to hold the Raw Women’s Championship and the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Baszler.

https://twitter.com/LinaFanene/status/1465333443726880776

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 11/26/21

The post-Survivor Series edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

WWE previously teased SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm for tonight’s show, but that match is not currently listed in the official preview.

Seth Rollins’ Attacker Apologizes, Claims He Was Just Trying To Help Finn Balor

The fan has given off mixed messages via his apology.

The biggest talking point coming out of this week’s Raw was an unplanned part of the show. As Seth Rollins made his way back to the locker room following an attack on Finn Balor, The Kingslayer was subjected to an attack of his own. The difference is the attack on Rollins wasn’t a part of the show as it was instigated by a fan who had jumped the barricade.

The fan has since been identified as 24-year-old Eliash Spencer. He has been charged with attempted assault for what he did, and since it happened it has become clear that the fan was catfished by someone masquerading as Rollins. In an interview with the New York Daily News (via ComicBook.com), Spencer explained that someone he believed to be Rollins had been asking him to send gift cards.

“He was asking me to send him gift cards in exchange for money, mostly $500 or more to see if I was loyal,” Spencer explained. Apparently, whoever it was pretending to be Rollins had asked Spencer to be a wrestling blogger for him and claimed it would get him into the business. However, after revealing he had apologized to WWE and “moved on”, Spencer started to give off mixed messages.

“My plan was to help Finn Balor … I jumped from where I was sitting at. I ran and speared Seth Rollins. I busted his lip open and he caught me in a headlock.” While Spencer may have apologized to WWE, and claims to have learned from what he did, the addendum that he was trying to aid a performer who had been laid out in an angle that was part of the show doesn’t paint the fan in the best light.

When asked about the incident by TMZ, Rollins said it was terrifying in the moment, adding that he believes the fan should be banned from future WWE shows. That Spencer believed Balor needed his help, and he jumped the barricade and attacked a performer to give him that help, is probably a sign that from now on, Spencer should stick to watching wrestling at home.

Source: TheSportster

Jerry Lawler Admits WWE Is Sometimes “Sort Of Hard To Watch”

WWE Hall Of Famer, Jerry Lawler, was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio. The former WWE commentator spoke about the current product, which he claimed is hard to watch at times.

“Sometimes it’s sort of hard for me to watch,” Lawler admitted. “I just got my schedule to be at Survivor Series, and so it’s almost like cramming for an exam back when you were at school. I really have to go back and watch some shows, and make some notes, and find out what is actually going on.”

Jerry Lawler went on to explain his thoughts on the product in greater detail. He admitted that the product is too short, stating it would be brutal to be a commentator now.

“I don’t see how the guys in the business — it’s so tough to be doing that on a daily basis,” he said. “Doing the commentary for Raw and SmackDown now, to me, it’s almost brutal to have to know and remember. The talent changes so fast and everything is so short now.

“It’s not the fault of wrestling, people love to talk about how wrestling has changed. Wrestling has not changed. It’s the fans, it’s the society that’s changed. We’ve got a short attention span now,” Lawler believes. “You have to, in the wrestling business, you have to realize there’s so much more stuff that fans can watch. So, you have to keep this here show so exciting every minute that people are watching or they’re going to switch over and start watching TikTok. It’s changed in that respect, and sometimes for me, it’s hard to follow.”

The King spoke about the variety of moves that are around nowadays with lots of names. He discussed the incident which saw him call a move the, ‘Ramen Noodle Moonsault,’ which he believes ended his commentary run.

“I really believe that may be one of the reasons I’m not doing commentary on Raw right now,” Lawler claimed. “I didn’t call a move a triple indie, I called a move a Ramen Noodle Moonsault. All of a sudden, I was the biggest racist ever for saying, ‘Ramen Noodle Moonsault,’ with a Japanese wrestler in the ring.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Busted Open Radio

Fan Who Attacked Seth Rollins Apparently Catfished By Fake Rollins Social Media Account

As per a report, the fan who attacked Seth Rollins apparently did so because he was scammed by a fake Rollins social media account.

It certainly doesn’t excuse a fan jumping over the railing at a WWE live event and attacking a performer, but according to a report, the reason one took aim at Seth Rollins on Monday night was that he was prompted to do so on social media.

According to wrestling reporter Sean Ross Sapp, “The guy who attacked Seth Rollins got scammed and catfish by a fake Seth Rollins account. Welp”. This news comes as an update after it was reported WWE was filing charges against Elisah Spencer, 24, who attacked Rollins as he was leaving the entryway post his segment with Finn Balor in the first hour of Monday Night Raw. Spencer has been charged with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs.

It’s a strange development in a story that caught a ton of attention Monday evening and has been discussed on Tuesday after Chavo Guerrero took to Twitter and said, “Remember when the wrestlers were tougher than the fans? Ah, the good ol’ days.” The fact that Spencer might have been egged on by a fake social media account pretending to be Rollins is hard to wrap one’s head around. The suggestion here would be that someone posed as Rollins and dared the 24-year-old to try and get at him during the show. The alternative would be that he was upset he was scammed and took it out on the real Rollins.

While it cannot be confirmed, there are also reports that the fake account convinced Spencer to send them money and clearly took advantage of him and his being totally unaware he was being scammed.

Regardless of how this all turns out, the real Seth Rollins should be commended for how he reacted. Not only did he get the attacker in a choke until officials stepped in, but he didn’t do much more than drop a few choice words. From there, when he came back out to the ring, he jokingly looked around the arena as a good heel would do to see if anyone else might have had the same idea.

Source: TheSportster

Producer Scotty Too Hotty Hints Changes To NXT Why He Asked For WWE Release

Former WWE star and current producer Scotty Too Hotty posted that he’s asked for his release from WWE and cites his principles as the reason.

It appears as though former WWE Superstar and current producer Scotty Too Hotty is leaving WWE. He posted a message on social media Tuesday afternoon and noted that he would never “be part of something solely for the paycheck” and relayed to the WWE Universe that he requested his release.

While he didn’t come out directly and say that the changes to NXT and the rebrand are the reason for his desire to leave his job with WWE, it certainly sounds as though Scott Garland (Scotty Too Hotty) is not a fan of the new-look NXT. He referred specifically to the product he was involved with the “black and gold brand” and said producing the stars of NXT (not NXT 2.0) was a highlight of his life. In a message he addressed to WWE fans, he wrote:

“Today I have asked for my release from World Wrestling Entertainment. 30 years ago I stepped into a WWE ring for the very first time. I have lived my dream 100 times over. Some of my most special memories will be from the last five years working with NXT. The black and gold brand was something special and I am proud to have been a small part of that. I always promised myself that I would never be part of something solely for the paycheck and that was where I was at. I told myself that I would walk away if I ever got to that point, so that is what I have chosen to do.”

Even though it was not confirmed that his release was granted, members of the WWE roster and other producers were quick to jump on his timeline and wish him the best. It is assumed that his request has been granted and that he is no longer a part of NXT.

While it could have been the mass layoffs or other reasons, it appears Scotty was not a fan of the direction NXT was and is headed. He’s getting a lot of support from fans who are congratulating him for doing what he thinks is right and not wanting to be a part of a product he doesn’t believe in.

Source: TheSportster

Triple H And Stephanie McMahon’s Oldest Daughter Has Started Wrestling Training

Another generation of McMahons is already preparing for their in-ring debut.

Wrestling is very much a family business for a lot of people. The Guerreros, the Harts, the Von Erichs. The list of families who have so many members in the business that they have become synonymous with the industry goes on and on. You can’t leave the McMahons off that list, of course. Whether you like Vince McMahon and WWE in its current form or not, there’s no knowing where wrestling would be today without the McMahon family.

The McMahons have been wrestlers ever since Vince first decided to trade the boardroom and the announce desk for the ring, and his father and grandfather were promoters before him. Shane and Stephanie have followed in their father’s footsteps, and it seems even more McMahons will be entering the ring and be a part of WWE in the future.

That’s according to Stephanie who recently revealed to TalkSport that hers and Triple H’s oldest daughter has already started training. “Just like her grandfather, she wants to be the boss so we’ll see what happens with my oldest daughter who has already started training in the ring,” Stephanie said.

The WWE power couple’s oldest daughter is 15 and is called Aurora. Apparently, when she was eight, she told her parents she doesn’t want their jobs, she wants Vince’s. If Aurora is going to follow in her grandad’s footsteps, then that will require competing in the ring as well as running the company. She clearly seems to be preparing for that having already started to train. Their youngest daughter is also interested in the business, but Stephanie didn’t mention their middle daughter.

Since Aurora is only 15, her in-ring debut is still a long way off. It’s exciting to think that there is another generation of McMahons waiting in the wings. Not just Triple H and Stephanie’s three daughters, but also Shane’s three sons. As for Aurora, since she is only five years younger than The Rock’s daughter Simone Johnson, and Johnson is already under contract in NXT, perhaps the two will reignite their dads’ rivalry a decade or so from now.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT Preview 11/23/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode will feature more build to the upcoming WarGames event.

NXT 2.0 will be headlined by Carmelo Hayes defending the NXT North American Title against Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano in a Triple Threat tonight. WWE has announced the following line-up for tonight:

* Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta vs. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro

* NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grayson Waller in a non-title match

* NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade in a non-title match

* NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defends against Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano in a Triple Threat