Wrestlemania 30
April 6th 2014
Thirty Superstars compete in the first-ever over-the-top-rope Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Showing posts with label wrestlemania 30. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrestlemania 30. Show all posts
Friday, March 29, 2019
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Monday, August 3, 2015
WE LOVE PRO WRESTLING!
Antonio Cesaro
Winner of the 1st annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Wrestlemania 30
April 6th 2014
New Orleans LA
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
WWE News and Notes
News and Notes
courtesy Wrestling Online Network
> RAW RATING
- Monday Night RAW this week which featured a small tribute to the
Ultimate Warrior did a total of 4,770,000 viewers, down from last week's
5,146,000 post-WrestleMania show. Taking out last week, it was the highest
rated show since the return of Batista on January 20. Hour one did
4,811,000 viewers which then increased slightly to 4,831,000 in the second
hour before going down to 4,669,000 for the third and final hour. (Ratings
credit: PWinsider.com)
> FOUR ADVANCE IN IC TITLE TOURNAMENT
- Four WWE Superstars advanced in the Intercontinental Title #1 contenders
tournament yesterday on Monday Night RAW. In the first match, Rob Van Dam
defeated Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro defeated Mark Henry in the second bout,
Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in the third, and in the final match, Bad
News Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler. The second round of the tournament
will see Van Dam vs Cesaro and then Sheamus vs Bad News Barrett with the
winners of each match advancing to the finals where the winner will meet
Big E for the Intercontinental title at Extreme Rules.
> DIRECTV DUMPS WWE PAY-PER-VIEWS
- DirecTV has followed DISH Network in dropping WWE pay-per-views going
forward, reserving the right to broadcast any show on an event-by-event
basis. DISH Network was the first company to drop WWE, refusing to
broadcast Elimination Chamber but then putting WrestleMania XXX on their
schedule since it’s one of the big money-making events for PPV providers.
PWTorch.com is now reporting that DirecTV will not carry Extreme Rules or
anything following that due to the unfair advantage of the WWE Network,
where all twelve pay-per-views are available as part of the $9.99 a month
package. WWE admitted to the Torch that DirecTV has dropped them both
commercially and residentially. DirecTV were the first company to speak
out against WWE’s new business model after the Network was launched and
told the LA Times that they will re-evaluate their business partnership
with WWE.
> TOTAL DIVAS RATING
- A pre-emption for WrestleMania didn’t help the return of Total Divas
this past weekend as episode four of season two got 1.16 million viewers,
a drop of 386,000 viewers from two weeks ago. Titled ‘Inhale, Exhale,’
episode four now ranks amongst the lowest when it comes to viewership of
the whole series so far.
> WARRIOR WEEK ON WWE NETWORK
- It is Warrior Week on the WWE Network this week as WWE continues to
honor the Ultimate Warrior who passed away a week ago in Scottsdale,
Arizona. Every day at 10PM EST, WWE will present Warrior: The Ultimate
Legend, a 4-part series focusing on the life, times, and matches of the
Ultimate Warrior. WWE Network cameras were following Warrior and his
family throughout the whole weekend but it’s not clear if any of that
footage will make it to this series. The original idea was to have a
documentary-style show on the Network featuring the Warrior family as they
prepare for the Hall of Fame, WrestleMania, and RAW.
> WRESTLEMANIA REACHES OVER MILLION HOUSEHOLDS IN THE U.S.
- WWE today announced that WrestleMania XXX reached a record 1 million
households in the United States alone. With more than 667,000 Network
subscribers and over 400,000 domestic PPV buys, WrestleMania XXX is
currently the most watched WrestleMania domestically and that’s without
adding International numbers. WWE also announced that over 7.1 million
hours of video were streamed on the WWE Network from April 1 through April
8 by its subscribers. The company is hoping to reach 1 million domestic
subscribers to the Network by the end of 2014.
> TAMINA BECOMES #1 CONTENDER FOR DIVAS TITLE
- Tamina, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, became
the number one contender for the Divas title after she won a 10 Diva
battle royal. The ten participants were Nikki Bella, Cameron, Naomi, Emma,
Tamina, Alicia Fox, Aksana, Eva Marie, Layla, and Natalya. The last Divas
champion, AJ, was not in the battle royal and not even Brie Bella, who is
still on her honeymoon. Tamina will now face Paige for the title at
Extreme Rules, joining Bray Wyatt vs John Cena in a cage match as the only
two matches announced so far for the pay-per-view.
> JERICHO ON TBS PRANK SHOW TOMORROW
- Former WWE champion Chris Jericho will be the celebrity guest on
Wednesday’s TBS prank series Deal With It which is hosted by Theo Von.
Jericho will be part of the segment called Witness Relocation, where a
contestant is instructed to disguise her identity after a run-in with a
couple of mobsters reveals a clue about her mysterious past. Deal With It
offers ridiculous and hilarious pranks to contestants as they try to earn
cash in a hidden camera series. You can see two clips of Jericho on the
show at http://w-o.it/1eEOgh8
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
News and Notes 03/19/2014
Courtesy Wrestling-Online Network
WRESTLEMANIA XXX PRE-SHOW TO RUN FOR TWO HOURS
- The WrestleMania pre-show will not be 30 minutes or 60 minutes as in
previous years, but a whooping two hours! WWE today announced that a
“super-sized” WrestleMania XXX pre-show will air live, with the first hour
starting at 5PM ESTand airing only on the WWE App, WWE.COM, YouTube, and
Facebook, and then at 6PM EST the pre-show will move over exclusively on
the WWE Network. The first hour will only feature analysis of the show
from the yet-to-be announced panel and interviews while the second hour
will also feature a pre-show match. It is going to be a very busy day for
the WWE production team as with the four hours of pay-per-view, they are
now looking at six hours of straight live programming.
> VINCE MCMAHON TOOK 30% PAY CUT IN 2013
- Quoting the latest WWE SEC filings, the Hartford Courant newspaper is
reporting that Vince McMahon took a 30% pay cut last year, getting $1.7
million in salary, down $732,000 from the previous year. The three
quarters of a million less in salary however is not really affecting
McMahon, as his and his wife’s WWE stocks generated an additional $677
million since the start of the new year and the recent spike on Wall
Street. The company’s stock jumped 50% from the end of 2013 to now among
many rumors and the start of the WWE Network.
> WWE NETWORK FREE TRIAL ENDING ON SATURDAY
- The WWE Network free trial will be ending on Saturday, March 22, and
it’s the last chance to try out the product for free most likely till the
Summer. Those who took the free trial already but decided not to take a
subscription are also being offered a second week free via e-mail from
WWE, as the company hopes of a six month commitment the second time
around. If you decide to take the free trial, WWE will charge you $9.99 on
your credit card however you will be refunded if you cancel before the
trial ends.
> RAW RATINGS
- RAW this week drew 4,075,000 in total viewers this week, down 294,000
viewers from last week’s show. Hour one did 4,001,000 viewers, followed by
4,174,000 in the second, and then 4,051,000 in the third and final hour.
RAW drew the lowest number of total viewers since the December 23, 2013
episode. (Ratings credit: PWInsider.com)
> RONDA ROUSEY SAYS SHE’S UP TO APPEAR AT WRESTLEMANIA 31
- TMZ’s latest story involves UFC champion Ronda Rousey and her love of
professional wrestling, saying she’d be up to appear at a WrestleMania.
However, she’d only do it if WWE hires her gang with her - Shayna Baszler,
Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke - who call themselves the Four Horsewomen.
All four are MMA fighters are and all four are huge wrestling fans. Last
week, Rousey posted a video on her Instagram working a wrestling match
with Baszler. Sources close to Rousey told TMZ that while this year’s
WrestleMania is out of the question, she’d be all for WrestleMania 31 next
year in Santa Clara, California. The possibility of this happening however
is close to zero since UFC President Dana White would probably not allow
one of his top stars to participate at a WWE event.
> UNDERTAKER APPEARS AFTER RAW GOES OFF THE AIR
- After RAW went off the air, the show continued for those who were
present in San Antonio, Texas, with the usual post-RAW antics. John Cena
came out to talk to the crowd when all of a sudden Bray Wyatt, Eric Rowan
and Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family tried to spoil the party. The three on
one affair soon turned into a 3 on 2 with help in the form of the
Undertaker. With the lights out and the “gongs” on the speakers, the
Undertaker suddenly appeared in the ring when the lights came back up.
Bray Wyatt quickly exited the ring as Cena and Undertaker beat up Rowan
and Harper and then delivered a chokeslam and Attitude Adjustment in sync
to send the crowd home happy. You can see the video at
http://w-o.it/1daNvM1
> JAKE ROBERTS AND SCOTT HALL TO THROW PARTY IN NEW ORLEANS
- Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall will be hosting “A Night with
Wrestling Legends” on Friday, April 4, at the House of Blues in New
Orleans. “Hey yo, ‘The Bad Guy’ and ‘The Snake’ coming to New Orleans,
WrestleMania weekend, big time Hall of Fame party,” Hall says in a
commercial which has Roberts and Hall “playing” musical instruments.
Roberts said on his Twitter that it will be a “star studded party” and
there will be a lot of surprises for those who wish to join them. Hall is
expected to be announced as the final member of the WWE Hall of Fame class
of 2014. Tickets for this event are being sold at Livenation.com with
general admission tickets on sale for $137 and VIP tickets for $512.
> STING TO BE IN NEW ORLEANS ON WRESTLEMANIA SUNDAY
- TNA Hall of Famer and former champion Sting will be in New Orleans on
WrestleMania Sunday, however he will be at the WrestleCon event rather
than on screen at the big pay-per-view. Merchandise website Highspots.com
announced that the Stinger will be their guest at WrestleCon, taking
photos and signing autographs from 10:30AM to 1:30PM on Sunday, April 6.
There are only 250 tickets available to get up close with Sting and they
will sell for $99 each, which includes a photo op and an autograph. You
will also need a WrestleCon entrance ticket. For more information go to
WrestleCon.com.
WRESTLEMANIA XXX PRE-SHOW TO RUN FOR TWO HOURS
- The WrestleMania pre-show will not be 30 minutes or 60 minutes as in
previous years, but a whooping two hours! WWE today announced that a
“super-sized” WrestleMania XXX pre-show will air live, with the first hour
starting at 5PM ESTand airing only on the WWE App, WWE.COM, YouTube, and
Facebook, and then at 6PM EST the pre-show will move over exclusively on
the WWE Network. The first hour will only feature analysis of the show
from the yet-to-be announced panel and interviews while the second hour
will also feature a pre-show match. It is going to be a very busy day for
the WWE production team as with the four hours of pay-per-view, they are
now looking at six hours of straight live programming.
> VINCE MCMAHON TOOK 30% PAY CUT IN 2013
- Quoting the latest WWE SEC filings, the Hartford Courant newspaper is
reporting that Vince McMahon took a 30% pay cut last year, getting $1.7
million in salary, down $732,000 from the previous year. The three
quarters of a million less in salary however is not really affecting
McMahon, as his and his wife’s WWE stocks generated an additional $677
million since the start of the new year and the recent spike on Wall
Street. The company’s stock jumped 50% from the end of 2013 to now among
many rumors and the start of the WWE Network.
> WWE NETWORK FREE TRIAL ENDING ON SATURDAY
- The WWE Network free trial will be ending on Saturday, March 22, and
it’s the last chance to try out the product for free most likely till the
Summer. Those who took the free trial already but decided not to take a
subscription are also being offered a second week free via e-mail from
WWE, as the company hopes of a six month commitment the second time
around. If you decide to take the free trial, WWE will charge you $9.99 on
your credit card however you will be refunded if you cancel before the
trial ends.
> RAW RATINGS
- RAW this week drew 4,075,000 in total viewers this week, down 294,000
viewers from last week’s show. Hour one did 4,001,000 viewers, followed by
4,174,000 in the second, and then 4,051,000 in the third and final hour.
RAW drew the lowest number of total viewers since the December 23, 2013
episode. (Ratings credit: PWInsider.com)
> RONDA ROUSEY SAYS SHE’S UP TO APPEAR AT WRESTLEMANIA 31
- TMZ’s latest story involves UFC champion Ronda Rousey and her love of
professional wrestling, saying she’d be up to appear at a WrestleMania.
However, she’d only do it if WWE hires her gang with her - Shayna Baszler,
Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke - who call themselves the Four Horsewomen.
All four are MMA fighters are and all four are huge wrestling fans. Last
week, Rousey posted a video on her Instagram working a wrestling match
with Baszler. Sources close to Rousey told TMZ that while this year’s
WrestleMania is out of the question, she’d be all for WrestleMania 31 next
year in Santa Clara, California. The possibility of this happening however
is close to zero since UFC President Dana White would probably not allow
one of his top stars to participate at a WWE event.
> UNDERTAKER APPEARS AFTER RAW GOES OFF THE AIR
- After RAW went off the air, the show continued for those who were
present in San Antonio, Texas, with the usual post-RAW antics. John Cena
came out to talk to the crowd when all of a sudden Bray Wyatt, Eric Rowan
and Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family tried to spoil the party. The three on
one affair soon turned into a 3 on 2 with help in the form of the
Undertaker. With the lights out and the “gongs” on the speakers, the
Undertaker suddenly appeared in the ring when the lights came back up.
Bray Wyatt quickly exited the ring as Cena and Undertaker beat up Rowan
and Harper and then delivered a chokeslam and Attitude Adjustment in sync
to send the crowd home happy. You can see the video at
http://w-o.it/1daNvM1
> JAKE ROBERTS AND SCOTT HALL TO THROW PARTY IN NEW ORLEANS
- Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall will be hosting “A Night with
Wrestling Legends” on Friday, April 4, at the House of Blues in New
Orleans. “Hey yo, ‘The Bad Guy’ and ‘The Snake’ coming to New Orleans,
WrestleMania weekend, big time Hall of Fame party,” Hall says in a
commercial which has Roberts and Hall “playing” musical instruments.
Roberts said on his Twitter that it will be a “star studded party” and
there will be a lot of surprises for those who wish to join them. Hall is
expected to be announced as the final member of the WWE Hall of Fame class
of 2014. Tickets for this event are being sold at Livenation.com with
general admission tickets on sale for $137 and VIP tickets for $512.
> STING TO BE IN NEW ORLEANS ON WRESTLEMANIA SUNDAY
- TNA Hall of Famer and former champion Sting will be in New Orleans on
WrestleMania Sunday, however he will be at the WrestleCon event rather
than on screen at the big pay-per-view. Merchandise website Highspots.com
announced that the Stinger will be their guest at WrestleCon, taking
photos and signing autographs from 10:30AM to 1:30PM on Sunday, April 6.
There are only 250 tickets available to get up close with Sting and they
will sell for $99 each, which includes a photo op and an autograph. You
will also need a WrestleCon entrance ticket. For more information go to
WrestleCon.com.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
News and Notes 03/17/2014
STING WANTS THE UNDERTAKER FOR FINAL MATCH
- TNA Hall of Famer Sting held a Q&A session at the Camden Highlight Club
in London, England, last night and talked about wanting to wrestle the
Undertaker. When he was asked by a fan if he would be wrestling the
Undertaker at next year’s WrestleMania, Sting replied, “I don’t know. I
really don’t know. I can say that I would love for that to happen.” He
mentioned that he’s been watching Undertaker matches lately and especially
the WrestleMania match against Shawn Michaels. “I can tell you that
really, there’s only one more match that I’d like to have, yeah
Undertaker.” Sting has been in discussions with WWE to join the company
for the past few months ever since he departed TNA. Some say he’s signed,
some say not yet, but there’s talk that he would be headlining the WWE
Hall of Fame next year in California. Sting is the last remaining big name
to have never worked for WWE.
> WWE PREPARING NETWORK TO HANDLE WRESTLEMANIA TRAFFIC
- One of the big questions surrounding the brand new WWE Network is the
capability of supporting a large event like WrestleMania frustration-free
for its subscribers. The first live “large scale” broadcast on the WWE
Network was the NXT Arrival show, a broadcast which was filled with
issues, leaving thousands of angry customers. WWE acknowledged the
problems and is now airing Main Event live on the Network as they continue
to iron out issues that might pop up for the big test - WrestleMania XXX.
The Motley Fool website asked that question to WWE keeping in mind that a
massive failure at WrestleMania might see a large exodus of WWE Network
subscribers after the 6-month commitment is up. "Notwithstanding the
overwhelmingly positive response to WWE Network, we want to ensure
subscribers have the highest-quality experience watching WrestleMania 30
and all our programming, and thus have put in place significant quality
assurances," WWE said in an e-mail. "These steps include increased
capacity to handle high volumes of transactions, logins, and concurrent
live streams, daily 'stress' testing of all systems over an extended
period, and the addition of technology experts to review our plan and
procedures. We're confident that we'll be ready on Sunday, April 6." WWE
has a lot riding on this show for the Network. WrestleMania is by far the
most-seen WWE show on pay-per-view and if they come out of this with minor
scratches or no issues at all, WWE Network subscribers might possibly
increase even more however anything else might spell disaster for WWE and
their future dealings with pay-per-view providers.
> NO MERGER TALKS BETWEEN AMC AND WWE
- TheStreet.com took a look at the rumors of AMC Networks buying WWE from
the McMahon family, a rumour which spiked the WWE shares on Thursday to a
new all-time record of $31.98 for a few minutes. According to a source
close to the situation, TheStreet.com reports that the two companies are
not in merger talks and it is “just a rumor” according to those with
knowledge of the discussions. A potential deal and bid would value WWE at
around $2.8 billion although the likelihood of such a deal happening is
close to zero since Vince McMahon controls the majority of the voting
rights. AMC is however in talks with WWE for television rights of RAW,
Smackdown, and all the other television shows. Other companies that WWE
approached were Viacom, FOX, Discovery, and Time Warner. WWE stocks closed
the week at 30.94, a 4% increase over Thursday’s closing.
> JERICHO REVEALS COVER OF NEW BOOK
- Chris Jericho has revealed the cover of his upcoming book which is
titled “The Best In The World - At What I Have No Idea.” This will be the
third autobiography for Jericho and continues where his last book,
Undisputed, left off. The book is co-written by Peter Thomas Fornatale and
will be released on October 13, 2014. “I guarantee you are going to LOVE
it!!!” Jericho wrote. The foreword of the book will be written by one
lucky fan who will be chosen by Jericho himself from a contest he held
earlier. The winner will not be announced but whoever the lucky one will
be will find out when the book is published. You can see the cover at
http://w-o.it/1kuktXt
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
News and Notes 03/11/2014
> ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL AT WRESTLEMANIA
- Hulk Hogan’s big WrestleMania announcement yesterday was the reveal of
the Andre The Giant Memorial battle royal. At WrestleMania XXX, there will
be 30 WWE Superstars who will compete at this over-the-top rope battle
royal with the winner receiving the Andre The Giant Memorial trophy. The
trophy was shown on screen as fans clapped to honor Andre The Giant. It’s
not usual that WrestleMania features a battle royal, sometimes it was part
of the WrestleMania pre-show and sometimes it was a feature such as the
Legends battle royal or the Divas battle royal on the actual pay-per-view.
WrestleMania 2 was the first WrestleMania to have a battle royal which was
coincidentally won by Andre The Giant himself. The good news is that WWE
will be able to give a majority of its roster their own WrestleMania
moment!
> AJ LEE BREAKS DIVAS TITLE RECORD
- WWE Divas champion AJ Lee has broken a record over the weekend,
retaining the WWE Divas title for over 268 days, surpassing Maryse who was
at 265 combined days over her two reigns. AJ has won the title just once
so her 268+ day reign is consecutive, rather than combined. She won the
title at the Payback pay-per-view in June 2013, defeating Kaitlyn. Who
knows, maybe AJ is shooting to surpass her boyfriend’s reign as WWE
champion although she’s a bit far away from CM Punk’s 434 consecutive days
as champion.
> DANIEL BRYAN VS TRIPLE H OFFICIAL FOR WRESTLEMANIA
- Daniel Bryan got his wish to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania with an
added bonus - if he wins, he will be added to the main event which would
then turn into a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight title.
Bryan got his “YES movement” to occupy the show last night which resulted
in some great visual on television and he and his followers did not leave
the ring until Triple H had to say yes to their match and yes to the added
stipulation. A majority of the people in the ring with Bryan were actually
WWE staff members along with some military personnel and fans.
> RAW RATINGS
- Monday Night RAW this week drew a total of 4,369,000 viewers, down
208,000 viewers from last week. Hour one had 4,165,000 viewers, then
followed by a big jump to 4,676,000 viewers in hour two before losing
almost all the viewers gained for 4,265,000 in hour three. (Ratings
credit: PWInsider.com)
Sunday, February 16, 2014
News and Notes
Courtesy of Wrestling OnLine Network
NBC UNIVERSAL’S EXCLUSIVE WINDOW FOR WWE TV EXPIRES
- On Friday, NBC Universal’s exclusive window to renew all WWE programming
came to an end, and unless they coughed up the money that WWE was looking
for, the company is now in a position to deal with other potential
networks. WWE has not announced that it has reached a deal and more likely
will not announce anything until April judging from previous comments from
WWE executives. All WWE shows were timed to expire together for the first
time ever so whoever gets to win the deal will get all the WWE
programming. WWE left Spike TV back in October 2005 and moved back “home”
to USA Network, which hosted RAW since its inception back in 1993. WWE is
looking to at least double the money on their current deal and networks
will be fighting for their shows considering they bring in the desired
ratings in the most important demographic in television.
WWE AND MATTEL EXTEND AGREEMENT
- WWE and Mattel announced a multi-year extension of their global master
toy licensing agreement that will go through 2019. Mattel has owned the
WWE rights for action figures and toys since 2009 after taking over from
JAKKS Pacific. Since then, WWE action figures have ranked as the number 1
action figure property in the U.S. and consistently hold a top ranking.
“WWE and Mattel’s action figure line is consistently ranked in the top two
thanks to our creative marketing campaigns, tremendous retail support and
seamless infusion of cutting-edge innovations,” said Doug Wadleigh, Senior
Vice President, Global Brands Marketing, Boys and Entertainment for
Mattel. “We are excited to continue our partnership with WWE as they
expand their global footprint and leverage our global scale to deliver WWE
toys to kids around the world.”
SCOTT HALL EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR HOF
- Scott Hall, one of the founding members of the nWo, is expected to be
announced as an inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014. Hall noted
on Twitter that himself, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Amy “Lita” Dumas, and
The Ultimate Warrior all got the Verified status by Twitter at the same
time, and the only thing that links those individuals is that they’re all
HOF inductees. Scott Hall had a pretty rough couple of years but thanks to
Diamond Dallas Page he got his life back together and is looking better
than ever. Hall also tweeted a message to his friends Kevin Nash and X-Pac
saying, “Hey yo..@RealKevinNash and @TheRealXPac wanna have a Wolfpac
reunion in New Orleans during WM? #Kliq”
HBO PICKS UP DWAYNE JOHNSON’S DRAMEDY BALLERS
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has announced that HBO has picked up his pilot
of the show titled Ballers, a half-hour dramedy series looking into the
lives of a group of former and current football players. The former WWE
champion is the lead star and also once of the executive producers of the
series. Mark Wahlberg will also be serving as executive producer along
with Steve Levinson, Peter Berg, Evan Reilly, and Johnson’s ex-wife Dany
Garcia. Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Troy
Garity, Donovan Carter, Jazmyn Simon, Taylor Cole and LeToya Luckett will
be playing the other main characters of the show which will start filming
later this year.
SHANE MCMAHON ALMOST LOSES $20 MILLION IN FRAUDULENT DEAL- Shane McMahon, the former WWE Executive Vice President of Global Media,
should thank his lucky stars as he just saved $20 million of his own money
after a fraudulent deal was uncovered. McMahon was part of an investor
group led by former Wall Street stockbroker Calvin Darden Jr that were
going to purchase the popular Maxim Magaine. Darden - who was already
convicted of a fraud scheme back in 2005 and spent time in prison -
received $8 million for the acquisition from other investors according to
Bloomberg and was trying to get $20 million out of McMahon. Darden didn’t
get the necessary cash in time and missed several deadlines to purchase
Maxim and eventually the deal - which was never going to happen - fell
through. Eventually Darden surrendered to federal authorities on February
12 after federal agents went on a manhunt to snatch him. Prosecutors say
that Darden fabricated paperwork and impersonated lenders and lied to
investors in the scheme to take over Maxim Magazine. Shane McMahoncurrently occupies the position of Chairman of YOU On Demand.
NBC UNIVERSAL’S EXCLUSIVE WINDOW FOR WWE TV EXPIRES
- On Friday, NBC Universal’s exclusive window to renew all WWE programming
came to an end, and unless they coughed up the money that WWE was looking
for, the company is now in a position to deal with other potential
networks. WWE has not announced that it has reached a deal and more likely
will not announce anything until April judging from previous comments from
WWE executives. All WWE shows were timed to expire together for the first
time ever so whoever gets to win the deal will get all the WWE
programming. WWE left Spike TV back in October 2005 and moved back “home”
to USA Network, which hosted RAW since its inception back in 1993. WWE is
looking to at least double the money on their current deal and networks
will be fighting for their shows considering they bring in the desired
ratings in the most important demographic in television.
WWE AND MATTEL EXTEND AGREEMENT
- WWE and Mattel announced a multi-year extension of their global master
toy licensing agreement that will go through 2019. Mattel has owned the
WWE rights for action figures and toys since 2009 after taking over from
JAKKS Pacific. Since then, WWE action figures have ranked as the number 1
action figure property in the U.S. and consistently hold a top ranking.
“WWE and Mattel’s action figure line is consistently ranked in the top two
thanks to our creative marketing campaigns, tremendous retail support and
seamless infusion of cutting-edge innovations,” said Doug Wadleigh, Senior
Vice President, Global Brands Marketing, Boys and Entertainment for
Mattel. “We are excited to continue our partnership with WWE as they
expand their global footprint and leverage our global scale to deliver WWE
toys to kids around the world.”
SCOTT HALL EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR HOF
- Scott Hall, one of the founding members of the nWo, is expected to be
announced as an inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014. Hall noted
on Twitter that himself, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Amy “Lita” Dumas, and
The Ultimate Warrior all got the Verified status by Twitter at the same
time, and the only thing that links those individuals is that they’re all
HOF inductees. Scott Hall had a pretty rough couple of years but thanks to
Diamond Dallas Page he got his life back together and is looking better
than ever. Hall also tweeted a message to his friends Kevin Nash and X-Pac
saying, “Hey yo..@RealKevinNash and @TheRealXPac wanna have a Wolfpac
reunion in New Orleans during WM? #Kliq”
HBO PICKS UP DWAYNE JOHNSON’S DRAMEDY BALLERS
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has announced that HBO has picked up his pilot
of the show titled Ballers, a half-hour dramedy series looking into the
lives of a group of former and current football players. The former WWE
champion is the lead star and also once of the executive producers of the
series. Mark Wahlberg will also be serving as executive producer along
with Steve Levinson, Peter Berg, Evan Reilly, and Johnson’s ex-wife Dany
Garcia. Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Troy
Garity, Donovan Carter, Jazmyn Simon, Taylor Cole and LeToya Luckett will
be playing the other main characters of the show which will start filming
later this year.
SHANE MCMAHON ALMOST LOSES $20 MILLION IN FRAUDULENT DEAL- Shane McMahon, the former WWE Executive Vice President of Global Media,
should thank his lucky stars as he just saved $20 million of his own money
after a fraudulent deal was uncovered. McMahon was part of an investor
group led by former Wall Street stockbroker Calvin Darden Jr that were
going to purchase the popular Maxim Magaine. Darden - who was already
convicted of a fraud scheme back in 2005 and spent time in prison -
received $8 million for the acquisition from other investors according to
Bloomberg and was trying to get $20 million out of McMahon. Darden didn’t
get the necessary cash in time and missed several deadlines to purchase
Maxim and eventually the deal - which was never going to happen - fell
through. Eventually Darden surrendered to federal authorities on February
12 after federal agents went on a manhunt to snatch him. Prosecutors say
that Darden fabricated paperwork and impersonated lenders and lied to
investors in the scheme to take over Maxim Magazine. Shane McMahoncurrently occupies the position of Chairman of YOU On Demand.
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