In an interview that appeared on Good Morning America on ABC earlier today, an emotional Hulk Hogan begged for forgiveness after audio from his sex tape was released which included a bunch of racist slurs.
Hogan explained how at the time he was upset over something that happened between his daughter and her then-boyfriend and when the tape was recorded – without his approval – he was at a point where he wanted to kill himself.
“I was completely broken and destroyed and said, ‘What’s the easiest way out of this?’ I mean, I was lost,” Hogan said, admitting that he was also suicidal. Back in 2009, Hogan credited Laila Ali for saving his life, calling him on the phone just in time as he held a revolver. Ali called to check on him after she saw him depressed on the set of American Gladiators.
When ABC News’ Amy Robach asked him if he was a racist, Hogan replied, “I’m not a racist but I never should have said what I said. It was wrong. I’m embarrassed by it.” Hogan blamed his past environment for constantly using the n-word. “People need to realize that you inherit things from your environment. And where I grew up was south Tampa, Port Tampa, and it was a really rough neighborhood, very low income. And all my friends, we greeted each other saying that word.”
Asked whether it was fair to say that he inherited a racial bias, Hogan agreed that he did. “I would say that is very fair. The … the environment I grew up in in south Tampa and all my white friends, all my black friends, to hear the word on a daily basis when they’d greet me in the morning, that’s what they’d say to me, ‘Good morning,’ so-and-so,” he said. “I think that was part of the culture and the environment I grew up in and I think that’s fair to say.”
Hogan then asked for his fans’ forgiveness. “Oh, my gosh. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. I think if you look at the whole picture of who Hulk Hogan is, you can see over all the years that there’s not a racist bone in my body.”
The former WWE and WCW champion said that he was shocked when he was done from the WWE a few months ago following the scandal and it was devastating for him.
“I’ve worked for the WWE for almost 30 years off and on…and then all of a sudden, everything I’ve done my whole career and my whole life was like it never happened,” Hogan said, referring to WWE completely wiping him off from their properties.
“You know, just because a person makes a mistake, just don’t throw them away. You don’t throw good people away … I refuse to believe that one thing that I did, which is not who I am, is the beginning of my demise,” he said. “I think it’s going to open up a lot of eyes and I’m accountable. I did it. I if I did something, I’ll tell you, I did it.”
A pre-sale for the Royal Rumble kicked off yesterday and will go on till September 4 with tickets then going on sale to the general public on November 20.
The show will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, January 24. Ticket prices are $25, $50, $75, $95, $150, $200, $400, and $500 for ringside with commemorative chairs. All prices exclude the additional Ticketmaster fees.
If you’re interested in purchasing a ticket go to Ticketmaster.com and use the code ORLANDO16 to unlock the pre-sale.
WWE has sold a considerable amounts of seats for the Survivor Series with floor and lower sections almost sold out.
There is still however a lot of tickets left in the upper 300 section with the whole area pretty much still empty while the cheaper upper 400 section is all gone apart from two blocks. There are also around 50 seats available on the floor with the majority of them from rows 3 to 5 at ringside. Ringside seats for the Survivor Series are $403.50 and $459.85 with fees.
Survivor Series will be held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker’s debut in the WWE although no plans have been announced yet if the Undertaker will actually be part of the event.
WWE developmental talent Zahra Schreiber made her NXT debut yesterday as the younger sister of Solomon Crow during the show in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Schreiber is the girlfriend of WWE World Heavyweight and United States champion Seth Rollins and last year she was the subject of controversy when Rollins’ nude photos found their way online as it was her the eventual recipient of the photo and not his then-girlfriend.
She was briefly shown on camera alongside with Rollins during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn show the day before SummerSlam.
Schreiber was trending worldwide on Twitter yesterday after fans discovered old photos on her Instagram dating back to 2012 showing the Nazi symbol of the swastika. “haha it’s not a big deal! I can hang whatever photos I want in MY room or MY instagram,” she wrote in one of the comments after one fan pointed out the meaning of the symbol. The photos have since been taken down.
Tomorrow’s Monday Night Raw will feature the first ever Divas Beat The Clock Challenge with the winner going on to face Nikki Bella at the Night of Champions pay-per-view.
The three Divas who will take part in this challenge are Paige, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch. Their respective opponents were not announced. The way the Beat The Clock Challenge works is that the one with the quickest victory over their opponent is declared the winner so timing is super important especially if they will do close calls.
Nikki Bella will surpass AJ Lee as the longest reining Divas champion this month even before the Night of Champions pay-per-view comes around. She defeated AJ at the Survivor Series last year for her second title reign. AJ did a total of 295 days as champion.
A video has surfaced online showing a WWE fan hopping the security wall trying to attack Dean Ambrose as he was making his way to the back during the Smackdown tapings.
A WWE security guard who was standing next to Ambrose as he was greeting fans in the aisle noticed the fan just in the nick of time and tackled him to the ground. After assessing the situation for a second, a cool Ambrose then turned his back again and raised his hands and continued to high-five fans.
When TMZ.COM paparazzi caught up with the Hulkster in New York this week and asked about any hard feelings towards WWE, Hogan had nothing but praise for the company helped build.
“Brother, WWE is the best. No doubt. I love those guys. That’s my family,” Hogan said. Hogan’s fall from WWE came in June when audio recordings from his sex tape were released, revealing a lot of racist remarks. WWE cut him off completely, booting him from a judge on Tough Enough and wiping him from the WWE.COM website and removing him from any video montages.
But despite all this, Hogan is cool with Vince McMahon. “The only hard feelings I’m gonna have with Vince McMahon is when I get him in the ring again,” Hogan said.
The WWE Hall of Famer also joked that he would love to be the running mate of Donald Trump and thinks the United States is ready for Vice President Hogan. Apparently a lot of people thought he was serious and Hogan had to clear the air on Twitter. “Yo haters I was just joking about the VP thing, PLEASE!!!!” he wrote.
Tickets for this year’s Survivor Series went on sale to the general public earlier today on Ticketmaster.com.
Ticket prices are $29, $54, $79, $94, $104, $354, and $404 for ringside seats with commemorative chairs. All prices exclude the usual ticket fees which range from $8 for the cheapest ticket to $54 for the highest priced ticket. Platinum seats are also being sold with prices of $600 and $700 for two tickets.
The show is taking place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, November 22.
Assuming Monday Night Raw goes on as planned due to Tropical Storm Erika, former WCW champion Sting will be in the opening segment live. The announcement was made by the WWE Twitter account.
Sting has a very, very limited deal with WWE and is only contracted to do a handful of appearances during the year. The Icon received his first ever, and probably the only, WWE title shot at the upcoming Night of Champions after crashing the Seth Rollins statue unveiling this past Monday.
This Monday’s Raw might get body slammed by mother nature as Tropical Storm Erika is threatening the event in Tampa, Florida.
The Amalie Arena issued a statement on its website after a lot of inquiries over the status of the show. “Amalie Arena and our partners at WWE are aware of Tropical Storm Erika’s potential impact to our area in advance of WWE Raw on Monday, August 31. At this time, the event is not cancelled. However, we are keeping the storm top of mind. We will release any pertinent information as needed,” the statement read.
The status of the show will be updated on AmalieArena.com as well as on the WWE social media accounts.
It would not be the first time that WWE would have to cancel a live event due to weather issues. In late January WWE canceled the live Raw from Hartford and the Smackdown tapings in Boston the next day due to a blizzard. Raw went on to broadcast live from the WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, as a studio show and replays from the Royal Rumble.
The two fans who shot the infamous curtain call at Madison Square Garden 19 years ago on May 19, 1996, came up face to two of those involved and got swerved by Triple H.
Jason Cosmoses and Mani Mohtadi were only 17 years old at the time when they captured a piece of history, the only footage known to be available of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels embracing at the end of a non-televised live event at MSG which also happened to be Hall and Nash’s final appearance with the company.
While getting interviewed by WWE.COM backstage at a Raw, Triple H came up from behind to meet the two fans along with Scott Hall and X-Pac, who while part of the Kliq, was not part of that particular incident.
Triple H explained to Cosmoses and Mohtadi that at the beginning of each show they run a disclaimer saying that they can’t record footage and their right to prosecute anyone to the fullest extent of the law. HHH then invited two NYPD officers who put the two fans in cuffs and escorted them out. “Bootlegging is a crime,” Triple H said as they walked backstage in cuffs.
After walking to the other end of the hallway, Triple H burst out laughing and called them back. “We have brand new WWE underwear,” he joked, as he shook hands with the two, well with one of them as the other one was left in cuffs!
“I know its against the law and all that, but thanks for doing it and being part of our history,” Triple H said. Hall added that because of them a lot of fans around the world got to enjoy that moment.
Colin Vassallo, the editor of this website, has let me report on Smackdown now, so I thank him for giving me another opportunity in writing for his website, and to you readers and fans for continuing to read my reports. I hope you all enjoy these as well, and they will be mostly in the same format as my Raw ones; the only difference now will be my Pay-Per-View/Network Show predictions, which I will put on the Smackdown reports, in case any matches are added to those big shows later in the week after Raw.
Tonight, we will see the return of The Dudley Boyz in over 10 years to Smackdown! That is all that was announced so far, but what will go down as fallout from a major Raw storyline-wise? Starting off, The Dudleys have eyed Tag-Team Champions The New Day; how will the trio respond to their new challengers?
What does WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion Seth Rollins and The Authority have to say or do after Sting interrupted a monumental moment in Rollins’ career? Also, Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper added another member to their family on Monday; will they be on Smackdown to continue antagonizing Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose?
Lastly, which direction will the Divas Revolution go in and who will get the upper-hand in the three-team war tonight?
All this and much more, so read on!
Smackdown TV Report for August 27th, 2015 – “Families Rule”
Introduction Segment: Welcoming And Recap
The regular Smackdown video plays and we are in Providence, Rhode Island! A replay of The Dudley Boyz return on Raw is aired.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
The Wyatt Family saunter out amid darkness and cell phone lights. Luke Harper begins, telling us that we should’ve been listening to Bray all along. Bray now talks about “the family” and credits “Sister Abigail” for bring him Braun Strowman. “And now, it is time; because I am ‘the new face of fear.’ Luke Harper, ‘the new face of desolation.’ And now, for the world to see, Braun Strowman, ‘the new face of destruction.’” Strowman unmasks and smiles menacingly.
Roman Reigns’ music plays and he, along with Dean Ambrose, comes through the fans. “It is what it is Bray; your biggin’ right there, whooped our ass Monday on Raw. So if we’re going down, we’re going down swinging.” They climb in the ring and face off with The Family. Strowman, Bray, and Harper back away and up the aisle.
Rich Brennan is filling in for Tom Phillips on commentary tonight, and as Jimmy Uso and Jerry Lawler welcome him, they announce Sheamus taking on Dean Ambrose later tonight, and up next, The Dudley Boyz are back in action!
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag-Team – The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) VS. The Ascension (Connor and Viktor)
Connor and Bubba begin with a lockup. Bubba pushes Connor into the corner, then yells “Do you know who we are? We’re The Dudley Boyz and we’re back!” Connor lamely fires back “we don’t care, we’re The Ascension.”
Both teams trade tags and The Dudleyz double-team Viktor with a side-slam and jumping elbow. Bubba hits Viktor with a Bionic Elbow, then the “brothers” deliver What’s Up! Bubba and the crowd order D-Von to get the tables, but Connor clotheslines D-Von on the outside as he was getting the table. In the ring, Viktor takes down Bubba and The Ascension take control.
D-Von regains momentum on Connor, and double-clotheslines both Ascension members. He fives Bubba and the pair deliver the 3-D on Viktor! They cover and receive the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von)
Post-match, The Dudleyz collect a table when Tag-Team Champions The New Day come out and protest them, with signs such as “save a table, break a Dudley,” “booty,” and “#give tables a chance.” Bubba and D-Von don’t seem to care, as they proceed to double-powerbomb Connor off the turnbuckle through the table!
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Match #2: Single – Neville VS. Kevin Owens
Lockup and standing side headlock starts out by Neville. Owens clutches the long hair of Neville to break the submission and backs away in the corner, but is quickly flipped with a hurricanrana. On the outside, Owens clotheslines Neville harshly, then plants him with a tornado torture rack-neckbreaker in the ring for a two-count!
Commercials.
Owens has a grounding headlock clamped on Neville, which “The Man That Gravity Forgot” battles out of. He rapidly kicks Owens a lot, then springs off the top rope with a front-dropkick. Neville flips over a backdrop and German-Suplexes Kevin, then superkicks him on the outside. He climbs the turnbuckle, but Kevin hops to his feet before The Red Arrow. Owens kicks Neville hard and finishes this one with the Pop-Up Powerbomb!
Winner via Pinfall: Kevin Owens
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Becky Lynch and Charlotte are chatting when The Bella Twins walk up. They try to put a wedge in Team P.C.B. by talking about Paige not being there for them tonight, but Charlotte fires back reminding them of Nikki’s betrayal of Brie at SummerSlam last year. Charlotte tells them they’ll meet them in the ring as P.C.B. walk away. The Bellas follow, discussing the comments.
Ads.
Match #3: Tag-Team – Team P.C.B. (Charlotte and Becky Lynch) VS. Team Bella (Divas Champion Nikki and Brie)
(Note: Team B.A.D. – Tamina, Sasha Banks, and Naomi – are on commentary.) Elbow/collar tie-up between Nikki and Charlotte begins, then Charlotte tags in Becky for a double-dropkick. The Bellas hit a double-slam, but Lynch gets up and drops her leg a few times on Brie then switches with Charlotte, who misses with a knee drop.
Brie yanks back on Charlotte’s left leg with a lock, then hammers away on her back. Charlotte counters a corner run with an elbow then dumps Brie to the floor. Charlotte tries to tag Becky, but has to duck Nikki first, who tumbles through the ropes. She still yanks Becky off the apron, but Charlotte rolls up Nikki with her Charlotte’s Web for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: Team P.C.B. (Charlotte and Becky Lynch)
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Picture clips from SummerSlam of the WWE World Heavyweight and United States Championship match are shown. WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion Seth Rollins then walks to the ring. He rips the crowd for not knowing what “greatness” is, then recounts his accomplishments of becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania after cashing in his Money In The Bank Briefcase, as well as being both the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He promotes himself more, saying Hollywood should take notice now and create a “biopic” on him. Rollins then goes to the ‘Tron to show Sting’s return from Monday.
He claims Sting is jealous because he’s had more in this year than Sting has in his career. Seth insists he is not afraid of Sting, but the other way around. Rollins reveals it was him who wanted to face Sting at Night Of Champions for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, as “I will finish the job that Triple H started at WrestleMania when I crush your old bones to dust.” Rollins holds his championships high and poses for the crowd.
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Jojo is with Sheamus, talking about his match with Dean Ambrose. Sheamus threatens to “Brogue Kick his floppy-haired mush right off his shoulders.” Sheamus reminds be taking on us about his briefcase and the significance it holds. “It is what it is.”
Intercontinental Champion Ryback makes his entrance and will be teaming with Dolph Ziggler to take on The Big Show and Rusev, next!
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Match #4: Tag-Team – Intercontinental Champion Ryback and Dolph Ziggler (with Lana) VS. The Big Show and Rusev (with Summer Rae)
Show and Ryback begin with Show slugging Ryback with fists in the corner. Ryback hits back with many kicks, but both run into each other off the ropes. Big headbutts Ryback and clutches him for a Chokeslam, but Ryback hops out and leaps with a shoulder-tackle. He gears up for the Meathook Clothesline, but has to knock Rusev off the apron first. Show puts Ryback to the canvas, then Rusev tags himself in.
Commercials.
Rusev is dominating Ryback and doesn’t want to let Big Show in. He stomps hard on Ryback, then drops an elbow. He goes to tag Show but backs away again and continues to work over Ryback. He gives him a hard short-arm elbow, then a big fist to Dolph on the apron. The IC champ manages a spinebuster to for a break; both get to the tag.
Dolph hits a couple big dropkicks and a splash in the corner, but is caught on a second try. Dolph counters into a DDT and hits a superkick for a near-fall! Big blocks another kick and tries a chokeslam, but Ziggler jumps out of it. He tries a Fameasser, but Show uses his strength and slams him hard to the mat. He hits the Knockout Punch, but Rusev slaps Show to come in. He knocks Ryback off the apron then puts The Accolade on Dolph. It is suddenly broken by Big Show with the Knockout Punch on Rusev! Show walks away as “The Show Off” wakes up and covers to take it!
Winners via Pinfall: Intercontinental Champion Ryback and Dolph Ziggler (with Lana)
Commercials.
Segment #6: Video Promo
The Raw Rebound, featuring Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, Jon Stewart, Ric Flair, and John Cena is shown.
Segment #7: Locker Room Promo
Dean Ambrose is talking about The Wyatt Family while Roman Reigns is telling him to focus on Sheamus, and he will look out for The Family.
Sheamus makes his entrance for our main-event, next!
Ads.
Match #5: Single – Sheamus VS. Dean Ambrose
“Mr. Money In The Bank” is all over Ambrose right away with punches, kicks, and a clothesline. He tosses Ambrose to the announce table area, but Dean slams him off the table and around the barricade. He hops on the table and leaps with a clothesline/fist combination, but is chucked harshly into the corner of the barrier, then slammed onto the table.
Commercials.
Sheamus knees Dean as he is prone between the top and middle ropes. He picks up Ambrose and places his left leg behind his neck, but Dean sits up and punches away. Sheamus reverses into a powerbomb for a two-count. Sheamus rips at Ambrose’s nose, then hits 10 Beats Of The Bowron.
“The Lunatic Fringe” does the same, but is bounced off the apron with a jawbreaker. He hits back with a clothesline from the apron. In the ring, he gives Sheamus fast fists, then clotheslines him in the corner and follows with a bulldog. He moves out of the corner, which sends Sheamus into the ring post and to the outside. Dean runs with a dive between the ropes to the outside, then soars off the top turnbuckle with an elbow!
Sheamus tries a Brogue Kick but is rolled up for two. Ambrose rips off his shirt and wants to go for Dirty Deeds, but The Wyatt’s video interrupts and the lights go out. They come on and The Family is surrounding the ring, which distracts Dean and allows Sheamus to hit him with The Brogue Kick for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Sheamus
Post-match, Strowman, Bray, and Luke hover over an out-cold Dean. Roman Reigns’ music hits again and he takes out Harper first, then squares off with Braun in the ring. he slaps him first, but is quickly man-handled with one hand of Strowman and slammed. He fades Reigns with the reverse Cobra Clutch then slams him face-first to the canvas. The Wyatt Family stand over unconscious Reigns and Ambrose to close the show.
End Of Smackdown.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
I quite enjoyed my first episode of writing for Smackdown! It picked up right where Raw left off and continued along nicely, answering questions and making plans for the future. Onto my analysis:
Excellence: promos by The Wyatt Family (Harper in particular has gotten so much better on the mike in the last while), Rollins, and The Divas. Great matches between Sheamus/Ambrose, C.B. & The Bellas, and Dolph/Ryback/Rusev/Show, and Neville/Owens.
The Dudleys also look great in the ring, despite their match itself being nothing extraordinary. I loved the signs The New Day had and am quite looking forward to this feud, both with the microphone skills of all involved and the in-ring storytelling ability.
I actually was cool with Jimmy on commentary this week; over the last while, I have found him usually too over the top as putting the matches or wrestlers over, but he was much more calm this show. If he stays this way, I’ll be ok with him; but if he goes too goofy on trying to get people excited or believing in the action/wrestlers, then he has to be off commentary, as he has been too much of a distraction overall. I understand it’s probably due to his injury that he’s in this position, but they could find something else, such as accompanying Jey to the ring and keeping The Usos together fresh in mind.
Braun Strowman is an awesome addition to The Wyatt Family and has ignited this feud again; I can see Erik coming back and siding with Reigns/Ambrose for a Six-Man Tag at one point in the next few months to keep this going.
Rollins was wonderful on the mike tonight and if he beats Sting at Night Of Champions, that will solidify him even more as a great WWE World Heavyweight Champion and a true main-eventer. He has done a fantastic job since winning the title and I would love to see him have it until they build up a new star that can really take it from him and the fans would get behind. My two choices would be Cesaro or Neville, but I think they need to have them pushed even more for a few more months; perhaps Rollins and one of those two at WrestleMania?
Bogus: again, too many tag matches like Raw. While they were well performed, I do like my singles, so let’s have a few more mixed in.
Not buying Sheamus as a MITB winner and he seems stale with this gig; I easily see him cashing in and losing.
I think they needed to build up the Show/Rusev split a little longer; they looked like an OK tag-team, so for them to already have problems and separate was a little rushed.
All-in-all, a very good show; let’s hope next week’s are even better! Until Raw, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and fans!
Smackdown has a new voice and that voice is Rich Brennan, replacing Tom Phillips.
Brennan is the lead NXT commentator and it is not known if he will be pulling double duty as well on future NXT shows. Joining Brennan on the Smackdown announce team are veteran Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jimmy Uso, who seems to have gotten this part-time gig until his twin brother Jey recovers from his injury.
Brennan, real name Rich Bocchini, does commentary for other WWE B-shows Superstars and Main Event.
WWE has reportedly signed Kanako Urai, a 33 year old female Japanese wrestler who uses the ring name Kana, to a developmental deal.
She was sitting ringside at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and was shown on television with Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaughter although WWE used the spelling of Kanna rather than Kana.
Kana has been wrestling since 2004 and worked for Pro Wrestling Wave, Smash, Reina Joshi Puroresu, and others before finding her way to the WWE.
She made her debut in the United States in 2011 working for Shimmer and Chikara.
The Osaka University of Arts Junior College graduate has been a writer for Xbox Magazine in Japan and also designs graphics for mobile games.
The recently returned Dudley Boyz have been added to the Madison Square Garden WWE Network live event today.
Their names joined the ones of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Rusev, Lana, Summer Rae, and others who will be performing in front of the sold out crowd at The Garden in a rare WWE Network house show.
The Dudley Boyz are now working full time for WWE and will not only be doing televised events but also working non-televised house shows.
As part of his SummerSlam participation, Hollywood actor and Arrow star Stephen Amell was selling a special commemorative shirt featuring Stardust and himself with proceeds going to charity.
The cool design features an illustration of half Arrow and half Stardust next to each other with green arrows and blue stars around. It also featured the location, event, and city for the SummerSlam pay-per-view. It was designed by artist Danny Haas.
Amell today announced that $228,867.60 were collected from sales from different t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, and other merchandise bearing the illustration with all the money going to the charity Emily’s House in Toronto. A total of 15,689 items were sold, well over the 1,000 set as the goal of the campaign.
The money was collected in a matter of just six days. You can still buy the design on a merchandise you prefer at https://represent.com/amellstardust.
The NXT event in London, England, at the SSE Arena in Wembley on December 16 will be a live Takeover event. This was announced today by Triple H in a post on Twitter.
When the NXT schedule in the UK was announced, it was thought that the London show was going to be a Takeover event considering it dropped on a Wednesday. WWE seems to be heading towards a Takeover show every two months and the date certainly fit the pattern.
The show will air live on the WWE Network and there will be a five hour time difference for those on the East coast. It will start at 8PM GMT which means a 3PM EST start time.
Apart from the show on December 16, NXT will be touring Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, Blackpool, Nottingham, and Cardiff starting on December 10.
This will be the first ever NXT tour in the United Kingdom. Tickets for all the shows go on sale this coming Saturday.
The Tough Enough season finale drew less interest than last week’s show with this week episode 10 getting 981,000 viewers and 0.3 rating in the 18-49 adult demo. The show was down 7,000 viewers from last week.
Overall the series was a big disappointment for both WWE and USA Network ratings-wise and drew less than half the average per episode from the previous season.
With USA Network paying a good sum of money to air the show it seems highly unlikely that Tough Enough will return next year on USA. Before USA Network signed the show, the rumors were that Tough Enough was going to air exclusively on the WWE Network. (Ratings credit: TV By The Numbers)
Deadline.com is reporting that WWE Studios has acquired rights to adapt Franklin Martin’s documentary Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story to a feature film.
The 2013 documentary followed Laue, who became the first player missing a limb to play NCAA Division I basketball. The Long Shot movie will detail Laue’s journey from Pleasanton, CA to the basketball court of Manhattan College in New York, where he joined the team in 2009.
