During the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Triple H revealed that WWE is conducting virtual reality trials in hopes of bringing every single fan “ringside” in the future.
“In some ways, it is kind of custom-made for what we do and I think as the technology improves it will get better and better,” Triple H said as quoted by CNBC.
“Everybody wants to be there live and in person and if its WrestleMania and you can put a headset on, or whatever that device is at the time, and you can actually put yourself on that front row sitting there experiencing it… that’s a whole different point of view,” he added.
WWE is usually on the forefront of technology, experimenting with the latest gadgets and tech available in hopes of implementing it as part of their product.
Triple H said that virtual reality is pretty much wide open for WWE to explore and develop however it would take a bit of time to find the best way to implement the use of VR.
ESPN will premiere 30 for 30: Nature Boy tonight at 10PM EST, a 77-minute documentary chronicling the life of the one and only Ric Flair.
Shot over a period of two years, ESPN Films’ latest doc dives deep in the life of the Nature Boy to highlight the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice that Ric Flair made to become the best wrestler in the world.
Topics discussed in the 30 for 30 documentary are going to school, training with Verne Gagne, the plane crash, the origin of Woooo!, winning the title for the first time, his feuds and relationships with Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, and Sting, the Four Horseman, cheating on his wife, the art of selling, leaving WCW, his second run with WWE, retirement, moving to TNA, and more.
Interviewed for this documentary are Jim Cornette, Ricky Steamboat, The Undertaker, Arn Anderson, Sting, Tony Schiavone, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, and many more.
To celebrate the premiere, Twitter even honored Flair with his own emoji which comes up when you type #NatureBoy.
Roman Reigns will be returning on WWE television next week as Raw rolls into Atlanta for the Survivor Series go-home show.
Reigns has been sidelined with a viral infection, rumored to be mumps, since a few days before the TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view last month. He was pulled out of the main event, pushing The Shield in-ring return further more after the show was completely built around the faction’s return.
The former WWE champion was originally scheduled to be part of Team Raw in the 5-on-5 traditional Survivor Series match against Team Smackdown but WWE announced Jason Jordan as the fifth and final member of the team.
It’s still unclear if Reigns will be cleared to wrestle and if he will eventually take Jordan’s spot on the team. Another possibility is that Reigns teams up with Rollins and Ambrose as The Shield to take on The New Day as the Smackdown trio cost Rollins and Ambrose the Raw Tag Team titles last night on Raw.
New Raw Tag Team champions were crowned last night on Raw from Manchester as Sheamus and Cesaro recaptured the belts from Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
The match main evented the taped show and also included an appearance from The New Day, who threatened that the Smackdown roster would run riot one more time. Unfortunately for The New Day, the rest of the roster was in Portugal so they were all alone. Despite the obvious, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle dispatched the Raw roster to ringside to prevent another under siege moment.
With all the chaos going around the ring, Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Seth Rollins and covered him for the pinfall.
The win will now change the Survivor Series card with Sheamus and Cesaro as Tag Team champions will take on The Usos in the champions vs champions non-title match.
Seven WWE Superstars will be at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Thursday, November 16 for the WrestleMania 34 on-sale party just 24 hours before tickets go on sale to the general public.
Mickie James, Mark Henry, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Charlotte Flair, Rhyno, and Heath Slater will be in attendance starting at 5:30PM to meet fans and sign autographs. The stars of NXT will also be on hand to perform live matches for the crowd.
The event is free and open to the public and doors will open at 4:30PM. Entry to the stadium will be through Gate A Ground on Sugar Bowl Dr. Free parking will be provided in Garage 6.
Tickets for WrestleMania 34 will be available for purchase from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome box office located on Sugar Bowl Dr. To register for the party go to https://www.wrestlemanianola.com/on-sale-party.
Josh Bredl, the man who won the last season of Tough Enough, was released from WWE according to PWInsider.com.
Bredl, who wrestled as Bronson Matthews, won the competition along with a $250,000 one-year WWE contract along with Sara Lee. Lee also left the company after she became pregnant. Bredl made his NXT live event debut in December of 2015 but never made it on television.
The former football player suffered an injury last year that put him out of action for a very long time and he has been missing from the WWE Performance Center for quite a while as well.
Bredl joins Leo Gao from China and Sawyer Fulton on the unemployed list after they were also released from their developmental deals.
An inter-gender match will take place on Smackdown tomorrow night from Manchester as WWE just announced that Becky Lynch will take on James Ellsworth.
The match was set up after the two got into a Twitter exchange and Ms. Money In The Bank Carmella accepted Lynch’s offer for a challenge…but accepted for Ellsworth instead.
“You’re offering up challenges like you’re so tough? Well I DON’T accept, but @realellsworth does,” tweeted Carmella. The Twitter fight was over Becky’s captaincy for Team Smackdown at the Survivor Series. Ellsworth also tweeted a GIF of him tipping the ladder over with Becky on it from Money In The Bank, calling it “the coolest #GIF ever.”
WWE has not done an inter-gender match in several years.
Alberto El Patron made his first Impact televised appearance last night at Bound For Glory, a few months after he was suspended by the company due to an incident at the airport with his girlfriend Paige.
El Patron, who was the champion at the time, was stripped of the title in August and did not appear at the television tapings that followed, putting him off television for several weeks. Eventually, police dropped all investigations against him.
The former champion tore into the company, mentioning the event that led to his suspension and called everyone backstage a loser and a coward for screwing him over. El Patron said that the powers that be believed the lies instead of the police reports, which exonerated him from any wrongdoing. El Patron then unleashed on Jeremy Borash, who claimed he was his friend, but never called or texted him to see how he was doing while he was suspended.
El Patron then attacked both Eli Drake and Johnny Impact during the main event, along with the referee and then helped Drake pin his opponent.
Here are the results from Bound For Glory 2017, held last night at the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, Canada.
Trevor Lee defeated Dezmond Xavier, Garza Jr., Matt Sydal, Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt in a six-way match to retain the Impact X Division title; Taiji Ishimori defeted Tyson Dux; Abyss defeated Grado in a Monster’s Ball match with Grado losing his U.S. working visa; James Storm, Eddie Edwards, and Ethan Carter III defeated El Hijo del Fantasma, Pagano and Texano; Ohio Versus Everything defeated Latin American Xchange in a 5150 street fight match to retain the Impact World Tag Team titles; Gail Kim defeated Sienna and Allie in a three-way match to become the new Impact Knockouts champion; Bobby Lashley and King Mo defeated Moose and Stephan Bonnar in a Six Sides of Steel tag team match; Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact to retain the Impact Global title.
All WWE television tapings will be held in Manchester, England this week as WWE is half-way through the two-week European tour.
Tapings start tonight with Monday Night Raw and will continue tomorrow with Smackdown (not) Live and 205 (not) Live. All tapings will be held at the Manchester Arena and will kick off at 7PM local time and will air on tape delay in the United States.
The Manchester Arena was the site of the terrorist attack during the Ariana Grande concert earlier this year and the venue just reopened for business a few weeks ago. Those attending the tapings should know that only small bags and drawstring bags are permitted inside the venue. Backpacks of any size, large bags, and handbags that can be worn like backpacks are not permitted due to stricter security measures.
Triple H made a surprise appearance today at one of the UK’s leading independent promotions, Insane Championship Wrestling, during their Road to Fear & Loathing X live event in Cardiff, Wales.
WWE United Kingdom champion Pete Dunne along with the promotion’s owner Mark Dallas were in the middle of the ring before much to everyone’s surprise, Dallas introduced Triple H who came out to a large pop from the crowd.
Triple H told the fans that this is where the business starts at promotions like ICW. He thanked everyone for supporting the promotion. It was a quick – and much welcomed – appearance as the company is in town for a live event in Cardiff as part of the European tour.
WWE has a good working relationship with ICW and PROGRESS Wrestling in the United Kingdom and the two promotions were vital in the success of the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament earlier this year on the WWE Network.
Live from the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, Canada, Impact Wrestling presents its biggest pay-per-view of the year, Bound For Glory. The full card is as follows:
Eli Drake vs Johnny Impact for the Impact Global title; Trevor Lee vs Dezmond Xavier vs Garza Jr vs Matt Sydal vs Petey Williams vs Sonjay Dutt in a six-way match for the Impact X Division title; Ohio Versus Everything vs LAX in a 5150 Street Fight for the Impact World Tag Team titles; Sienna vs Allie vs Gail Kim in a three-way match for the Impact Knockouts title; Moose and Stephan Bonnar vs King Mo and Lashley in a six sides of steel match; Abyss vs Grado in a Monster’s Ball match with the stipulation that if Grado loses his U.S. working visa will be terminated by Impact; and Eddie Edwards, Ethan Carter III, and James Storm vs El Hijo del Fantasma, Pagano, and Texano in a six-man tag match.
The cold open for tonight’s show has already been uploaded by Impact and you can see below.
Raw ring announcer JoJo is the latest WWE star to have her private photos leaked online.
Over a dozen photos, most of them snapped in hotel rooms and including full nudity, were published this weekend. The photos were all selfies, with the majority standing in front of a mirror. It’s not clear how old these photos are.
JoJo, who is now dating Bray Wyatt, joins a growing list of female Superstars whose personal pictures were hacked. In the past, Charlotte Flair, Paige, Maria Kanellis, Summer Rae, Kaitlyn, and others all found their pics online.
PWInsider.com is reporting that the current Impact Wrestling office in Nashville, Tennessee will be closing up and it is moving to Toronto, where it will be merging with the Anthem offices.
The move is being done to streamline operations now that Anthem has complete control over the company although PWInsider adds that the production office where TV is edited and compiled, is currently slated to remain in Nashville.
What happens to the current staff who are based in Nashville remains to be seen, and some will probably have to relocate if they want to keep their job while others might be able to work from their own home.
The move has been rumored ever since Anthem bought the company from Dixie Carter and moving to Toronto will save the company money since they would not have to pay extra rent for offices.
Chris Jericho, who is not under a WWE deal at the moment, will be stepping back into a wrestling ring in January for a mega match at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom show.
Over the past several days, Jericho and Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega have been going at it on Twitter. “Twitter angles are fun, but it’s just a lot of talk with absolutely no pay off. You’re there, I’m here. No more free publicity. Case closed,” Omega wrote as a reply to one of Jericho’s insults.
However, at the end of NJPW’s Power Struggle at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan, there was a surprise for everyone in attendance at those watching at home.
Omega was about to close the show after successfully defeating Trent Barreta to retain the IWGP US title but a video aired on the big screen and Y2J appeared. He held up a printed photo of Omega and then tore it half. He said he’s the best in the world and then challenged Omega for a one-on-one encounter at Wrestle Kingdom 12, a challenge which was accepted.
Wrestle Kingdom 12 takes place on January 4, 2018 at the Tokyo Dome.
A Survivor Series poster which has been leaked features John Cena sporting a referee shirt standing in the middle between WWE champion Jinder Mahal and Universal champion Brock Lesnar.
A couple of weeks ago there were rumors that the company was going to recall Cena for the Survivor Series and put him in a referee spot which eventually might lead to a program with either Lesnar or Mahal once he returns from Hollywood.
Cena last appeared on WWE television at No Mercy, losing to Roman Reigns and then seemingly saying goodbye to WWE fans as he prepared for his yearly Fall sabbatical from WWE.
The Survivor Series poster features Finn Balor, Alexa Bliss, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton, and Baron Corbin as well. You can see it below.
The planned match at Bound For Glory tomorrow featuring Rosemary versus Taya Valkyrie has been scrapped from the card.
The announcement came from Impact’s official Twitter account which said, “Due to circumstances beyond our control @TheTayaValkyrie will not be at #BFG2017 or the tapings. We look forward to seeing Taya in 2018.”
The reason why her match was taken off was not released publicly although it shouldn’t be because she wasn’t allowed in Canada because, well, she’s Canadian.
The 34-year-old Valkyrie, said that to say she’s disappointed is an understatement. “I’m devastated, but I’ll be back in January,” she wrote.
The tapings that will be done next week in Ottawa will take Impact television shows up until the end of 2017 so she will be off television for the next two months.
After the conclusion of The Shield, with Triple H, match at the non-televised live event in London, WWE fans started a WrestleMania chant aimed at Triple H.
“Ohhhh okay, I see what’s going on here. Yeah, that’s a question for this guy,” said Seth Rollins who had the mic and immediately handed it over to Triple H to address them.
“You guys want a show in Transylvania?” joked Triple H as the crowd booed. Triple H advised the crowd to “organize themselves” first and chant together since they were not in sync. “Stop…stop. Let me help you out,” Triple H said. “There’s only one guy who can make that decision for you and unfortunately he’s not here!” The crowd boos again.
“If you’re load enough maybe he can hear you from the other side of the pond,” Triple H then said as the crowd starts the chant again, louder this time.
WWE has not held a big pay-per-view since SummerSlam 1992 and London’s Wembley Stadium is certainly ready to host the grandest show of them all.
On November 7, ESPN will premiere 30 for 30: Nature Boy, a 1 hour 17 minute long documentary that dives deep in Ric Flair’s life, from his very early beginnings as a child, all the way to how we know him today: A two-time WWE Hall of Famer and 16-time World champion.
“The Nature Boy was my wrestling character. The Nature Boy wasn’t fake. The Nature Boy was me,” Flair says in one of the opening lines. Throughout the next 77 minutes, Flair recounts stories that for some might be outrageous, but for The Nature Boy, it was normal. “I’ve sacrificed everything for wrestling,” Flair adds. If I said it on TV I did it. I lived my gimmick.” Indeed he did.
30 for 30 investigates his life deeper than any other documentary on Flair so far. When asked how many women he slept with, Ric replies, “Realistically? 10,000!” The director is lost for words. “Ermm…” Karpf says from behind the camera as an awkward pause follows. “Isn’t that terrible?” Flair adds.
“I’ve never seen a guy having his pants pulled down more than Ric Flair,” Sting recounted. The two share a very strong friendship, with Sting saying that Flair took him under his wing when he was coming up in NWA/WCW and the rest, as they say, is history.
Flair was not your typical dad and he hated staying at home. “I was bored at home and couldn’t wait to be with the guys,” Ric said. His lifestyle involved getting from town to town, wrestle, drink, drink again, get a woman, and start over again the next day. His first wife Leslie said that he loved his kids, but she doesn’t trust him as he’s not a family man. “But I can’t badmouth him because he loves my kids. He’s Ric Flair,” Leslie recounts.
His kids hated the fact that he was never at home and Flair says that between 1972 and 1999 he was never at home. He was selfish and all he wanted to be was The Nature Boy Ric Flair.
His drinking became a big problem, and former coworker Baby Doll said that she doesn’t know how he still has a liver. “There’s no way I should be alive after some of the stuff I’ve done,” Flair said, certainly some eerie words considering what Flair went through lately.
His relationship with Hulk Hogan is also highlighted in the documentary, with Flair saying they were on the opposite sides of the spectrum, with Hogan selling milk and vitamins and he was selling sex and booze. “He’s ten times better than I am. It’s a no brainer,” Hogan candidly says.
The saddest part of the documentary comes when the topic about his son Reid is tackled. Triple H said that problems with Reid were evident but Ric was in denial. HHH recounted how Reid failed a few tests before trying to get hired by WWE and when he confronted Ric, Ric said it must be a mistake. “Because it’s you, I’ll re-test him.” Triple H said. “I’m telling you I’m going to re-test him so he knows it’s coming now.” Unfortunately Reid failed the subsequent test in a more spectacular fashion than the first one.
Ric’s problems following his son’s death drove him to hard drinking. “I drank myself to death for a year,” Flair tells director Rory Karpf. Triple H is shown being frustrated telling Flair to straighten up, making use of a couple of F-words for good measure.
With his son dead, it was up to Charlotte, real name Ashley, to carry on her brother’s dream. She was never interested in wrestling, but she knew she had to do it for him. “The greatest moment of my wrestling career is Ashley winning that title, nothing in my career ever gave me that feeling,” Flair says with his face beaming with pride when talking about his daughter.
Other topics discussed in the 30 for 30 documentary are going to school, training with Verne Gagne, the plane crash, the origin of Woooo!, winning the title for the first time, his feuds and relationships with Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, and Sting, the Four Horseman, cheating on his wife, the art of selling, leaving WCW, his second run with WWE, retirement, moving to TNA, and more.
Interviewed for this documentary are Jim Cornette, Ricky Steamboat, The Undertaker, Arn Anderson, Sting, Tony Schiavone, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, and many more. Two of the most obvious omissions from this documentary are his former bosses Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon, who are nowhere to be seen for the sit-down interviews.
This is a fantastic documentary that should not be missed by any wrestling fan. It’s a real eye-opener and you will get to know the sacrifices, wild stories, triumph, and heartbreak that Flair went through to become the stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ son of a gun!
