NXT at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky

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06/15/2015

WWE’s NXT will be represented at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 3 and 4, 2015.

The festival will play host to several in-ring matches featuring Finn Balor, Sasha Banks, Blake & Murphy, Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Baron Corbin, Tyler Breeze, The Vaudevillains and more! In addition to four stages of music, Louder Than Life attendees can sample food and drink from more than 70 vendors helping to celebrate the region’s culture and cuisine.

Ticket pre-sales begin now, with discounted tickets, VIP, hotel and camping packages available now at LouderThanLifeFestival.com. Regularly priced tickets will be available Friday, June 26 at Noon EST, also at LouderThanLifeFestival.com.

WWE pays beautiful tribute to Dusty Rhodes

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/15/2015

At the beginning of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, WWE Superstars, Divas, referees, and other employees paid tribute to the American Dream Dusty Rhodes who sadly passed last week unexpectedly.

The bell rang 10 times as everyone stood at the top of the aisle including WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and fans inside the arena kept total silence in honor of Dusty. Paige, Emma, Summer Rae and Rosa Mendes, who spent a lot of time with the Dream down at the Performance Center, were visibly shaken and cried throughout the 10 bell salute.

After the final bell rang, fans clapped and Dusty’s WWE theme song kicked in with everyone inside the arena clapping to the beat. WWE is expected to pay tribute to Dusty Rhodes tonight on Monday Night Raw with several videos playing throughout the show. The company also created a beautiful video tribute set to Phillip Phillips’ Raging Fire song and you can see both the tribute video and the tribute from the MITB opening below.

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Money In The Bank 2015 pay-per-view results

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/15/2015

Here are the results from last night’s Money In The Bank pay-per-view which took place from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

R-Truth defeated King Barrett in the Kickoff match; Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, and Randy Orton in the Money in the Bank ladder match to win the briefcase; Nikki Bella defeated Paige to retain the WWE Divas title; Big Show defeated Ryback via disqualification so Ryback retained the WWE Intercontinental title; John Cena defeated Kevin Owens; The Prime Time Players defeated The New Day to become the new WWE Tag Team champions; Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in a ladder match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight title.

Prior to the show, all the Superstars, Divas, referees, and backstage employees came out on stage for the ten bell salute in memory of Dusty Rhodes.

TNA’s Slammiversary to air live in the UK and France

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

TNA Wrestling today announced that the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view will be airing live in the United Kingdom and France as well. This will be the first time ever that a TNA pay-per-view is broadcast live across the pond.

In the UK, Slammiversary will air on Challenge TV at 1AM on the morning of Monday, June 29 with a repeat on July 1 at 10PM. In France, the show will start at 2AM on the morning on Monday, June 29 on Ma Chaîne Sport (MCS).

Also for the first time ever, Slammiversary will air live and on-demand on the Flipps app for Android or iOS and fans in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and New Zealand will be able to purchase the show from their mobile device. Due to rights, other countries will not be able to see the show using the Flipps app.

Obituary for Dusty Rhodes published by Tampa Bay Tribune

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

The obituary for Dusty Rhodes was published by the Tampa Bay Tribune today, Sunday, June 14. Rhodes unexpectedly passed away earlier this week after spending a night in hospital. No cause of death has been released yet although his daughter-in-law Brandi – Cody’s wife – said in a post on Instagram that he passed away from natural causes following a brief battle with an illness.

The obituary reads: “RUNNELS, Virgil, Jr. (aka Dusty Rhodes), left this Earth on June 11, 2015. He was surrounded by his four children and his loving and devoted wife. He was preceded in death by parents, Virgil Runnels, Sr., Katherine Trefell and step-father, Mike Trefell. Dusty is survived by his wife, Michelle Rubio Runnels; children, Dustin (Tarel), Kristin Ditto (Don), Teil Gergel (Kevin), and Cody (Brandi); grand-children, Dakota Runnels, Dalton and Dylan Ditto, and Maris and Kellan Gergel. Also survived by brother, Larry (Denay) of Louisville, CO; and sister, Connie Jones (Gary) of Pensacola, FL. Dusty and Michelle spent 37 years of devoted marital bliss. He was the ultimate provider and a legend for all the right reasons. The family would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Dr. Joe Chiaramonte and Brandon Health Management for their loving care and support.”

You can sign Dusty’s guestbook here.

San Andreas sits in 3rd place in its third week of release

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

The movie San Andreas, which features former WWE champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is estimated at doing $11 million for the weekend, coming in third in the box office chart behind Jurassic World and Spy.

This is the third week on the box office charts, debuting in first, then dropping to second in the second week. Domestically, San Andreas pulled in $119 million so far and another $188 million in foreign box office, sending the total to over $307 million so far.

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, San Andreas is currently in the 15th place when it comes to domestic total gross for a disaster movie since 1979.

Current betting odds for tonight’s Money In The Bank event

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

Roman Reigns is the bookies favorite for tonight’s Money In The Bank contract ladder match with odds at 1/3. Interesting enough, Kofi Kingston of The New Day is second favorite at 9/2, then followed by Randy Orton at 7/1, Kane at 12/1, Neville at 16/1, Sheamus at 16/1, and Dolph Ziggler dead last at 20/1.

In other matches, King Barrett, Ryback, The New Day, Nikki Bella, John Cena, and Seth Rollins are the favorites to win their respective matches although the odds for Cena/Owens and Nikki/Paige are pretty close and most likely will change closer to the event.

Money In The Bank 2015 live on pay-per-view and WWE Network tonight

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

Live tonight from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, WWE presents Money In The Bank on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:

Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose in a ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight title; Dolph Ziggler vs Neville vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus vs Kane in a MITB ladder match for the briefcase; The New Day vs The Prime Time Players for the WWE Tag Team titles; Ryback vs Big Show for the WWE Intercontinental title; Nikki Bella vs Paige for the WWE Divas title; John Cena vs Kevin Owens; and R-Truth vs King Barrett in the Kickoff match.

Information for those who wish to donate to the Runnels family

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

The Runnels family has asked that to show gratitude for all the memories that Dusty created, fans can make a donation on his behalf to two of his favorite charities – Connor’s Cure or Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation.

Connor’s Cure is a charity kickstarted by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in honor of Warrior Award recipient Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. The website is at connorthecrusher.com. The Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation’s mission is to educate to end the cycle of domestic violence and save lives. Their website is at joetorre.org.

Video tour of the new Tough Enough living quarters

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/14/2015

Unlike previous years and other reality TV shows, the contestants on the new season of Tough Enough will not be living in a spectacular multi-million dollar mansion, but rather in a converted warehouse.

As revealed by Triple H in a video tour, the 13 finalists of Tough Enough will have “barracks” style living conditions, with bare minimums and of course a hot tub.

The hot tub and the gaming/rec area are probably the most luxury they will have but as far as the rest goes it’s pretty much straight forward with nothing fancy. WWE built the set from scratch and it resembles a movie set with cables and lights hanging from the top and walls only going high to a certain point. Lots of WWE posters serve as decor around the “house.”

You can see the tour below.

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Total Divas season 4 video sneak peek

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/13/2015

E! has released a sneak peek at the new season of Total Divas which kicks off on Tuesday, July 7 at 9PM EST.

Season four will take a look at Brie’s struggles with the injuries endured by Daniel Bryan as well as fertility issues, Nattie’s personal obstacles involving her father’s issues, Paige’s first movie with WWE Studios, Trinity’s role as a stepmom to her husband’s children, Nikki’s reign as WWE Divas champion, and of course Eva Marie, who is back doing serious training with Brian Kendrick and becoming “public enemy number one” in the process as well.

You can see the video preview, available only to those in the United States, below.

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Dusty Rhodes special on the WWE Network to air on Monday after Raw

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/13/2015

This Monday after Raw ends, WWE Network will air a one hour Dusty Rhodes special titled Celebrating The Dream starting at 11:06PM EST.

The synopsis reads, “In honor of one of the most iconic and legendary figures in Sports Entertainment, WWE Network celebrates the life and times of Dusty Rhodes.”

Unlike when the Warrior passed away, WWE did not put any Rhodes programming on the Network but left its regular scheduled shows running.

It’s not known if this special has been taped since the Dream passed away or it will be just a compilation of Dusty’s best wrestling moments.

Funeral service for Dusty Rhodes to be held on June 17

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/13/2015

Ric Flair announced that the funeral service for WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes will be held this Wednesday, June 17, in Tampa, Florida.

You can expect a majority of WWE staff, wrestlers, and NXT talent to be present for the service as The American Dream was loved by everybody and made a big impact on the lives of many, especially those who are training at the WWE Performance Center.

Wednesday is also a day that WWE is not on the road so probably that day was chosen to accommodate the hundreds of WWE employees who will make the trip.

Meet the 13 finalists of WWE Tough Enough

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/13/2015

The 13 finalists that will make up the cast of this year’s Tough Enough have been revealed. Their journey – and the journey of those who were eliminated in the process – will be documented in a special WWE Network show on Tuesday night.

The final 13 are Alexander Frekey of Dallas, Texas; Amadna Saccomanno of Yorktown Heights, New York; Darla Berenato of Los Angeles, California; Dianna Dahlgren of Spokane, Washington; Gabi Castrovinci of Southington, Connecticut; Giorgia Piscina of Brisbane, Australia; Hank Avery Jr. of Macon, Georgia; Joshua Bredi of Thornton, Colorado; Mad Abdel Hamid of Los Angeles, California; Patrick Clark of Washington, DC; Sara Lee of Hope, Michigan; Tanner Saraceno of Boiling Springs, South Carolina; and Zamkariah Loupe of Bayuo Bluff, Louisiana.

The show premieres on USA Network on June 23, at 8PM EST with host Chris Jericho helped by Renee Young as well as judges Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan, and Paige, along with coaches Booker T, Billy Gunn, and Lita.

A photo of the full cast can be seen below.

Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit can bring down Gawker.com

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

Hulk Hogan might single handily take down the popular Gawker.com website after the trial over the unauthorized airing of his sex tape starts July 6 and the Hulkster is asking for $100 million in damages.

Back in 2012, Gawker acquired a tape of Hogan having sex with the wife of his – former – friend Bubba The Love Sponge and posted a minute and a half excerpt of it plus a running commentary of the whole tape in text. Hogan immediately sued, and Gawker tried to throw the case out but the Judge didn’t want to have any of it.

The New York Times is featuring a story about the case and the owner of Gawker told the NYT that they “don’t keep $100 million in the bank.”

The lawsuit, if Hogan wins, could either force the owner Nick Denton to sell the website or else seek outside capital investment. The site has a total of 260 full-time employees.

You can read the New York Times article at http://nyti.ms/1FPOtG1.

Final cast of 13 for new season of Tough Enough chosen

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

12 more Tough Enough hopefuls were cut from the original roster of 40, with producers getting rid of 22 applicants over two days. The list has already been trimmed down to 13 although it’s unclear if the rest know already who made it or not.

Those eliminated from the competition yesterday are Alexander Galizia, Don Arner, Gabi Castrovinci, Jeremiah Kingdom, LaRayia Gaston, Michael Hayes, Michael Mio, Nehemiah Kingdom, Sada Bettencourt, Samantha Sage, Tommaso Giannuzzi, and Zack Boss.

The show’s host, Chris Jericho, wrote on Twitter that the final 13 were picked. “It’s been a long hard day, but after hours of deliberation the final 13 @WWEToughEnough cast members have been chosen… & they are AMAZING!”

Goldust reflects on his father with a post on Facebook

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

Dustin Runnels, the man better known as Goldust, wrote a touching tribute to his father on Facebook.

“Yesterday my father passed away with his four children, my daughter and his wife of 38 yrs. He was our hero and the greatest father in the world,” Goldust wrote. “He is the reason why I am who I am today. He taught me so so many lessons in life.”

Goldust said that his father had wanted one thing, to be forever young, and now he is.

“He was my mentor, my hero and a dad that I strive to be like. I love you dad. Thank you for all the overwhelmingly amount of love and support. He would have been on cloud 9 with this. Thank you all.”

TNA statement on the death of Dusty Rhodes

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

TNA Wrestling issued a statement on their website about the passing of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes.

“We at TNA are saddened by the news of the passing of a legend, Virgil Runnels, known to the world as “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes has passed away at the age of 69,” the statement reads. “Dusty was with TNA from 2003 to 2005 and brought many laughs, a wealth of wisdom and knowledge to our company. Our condolences go out to Dusty’s entire family. RIP, Dusty Rhodes.”

The statement was followed by a series of tweets from current TNA talent who all had something to say about Rhodes.

“I am just heartbroken to know @WWEDustyRhodes has gone to the big ranch in the sky. You will always be so special to me Dream,” wrote TNA President Dixie Carter.

Other tweets included words from Mike Tenay, Rockstar Spud, Eddie Edwards, Gail Kim, James Storm, Davey Richards, and others.

ESPN’s SportsCenter covers Dusty’s death with 3 minute segment

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

ESPN’s SportsCenter Headlines covered the passing of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes yesterday with a three and a half minute segment which featured a call from ESPN’s own and former WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman.

The Coach, who worked for WWE for 10 years and worked with Rhodes, credited him for helping him throughout his WWE career. He said Rhodes was one of the all time great entertainers in the history of the business and was awesome when it comes to promos.

Recounting a behind the scenes story of Rhodes, Coach told Dusty once in front of the whole family that he might be the third best talker in the Rhodes family now thanks to his two sons eclipsing him. The Coach said this while conducting an interview about the legacy of the family and Dusty told him – with Coach imitating his voice – that he will never be three in his own family, in fact he’s number one in the world.

The Coach got a lot of flack on Twitter however for the final part of the interview where the anchor asked him if he was a better wrestler or a better talker.

“He was an awful wrestler. He was an entertainer,” Coach said bluntly. He then went on Twitter and wrote, “I guess you really can’t simply reflect on a friend anymore. You all ask us to engage and then the few ruin it for those that actually care.”

You can see the full segment below.

Vince McMahon comments on the death of Dusty Rhodes

By

Colin Vassallo

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06/12/2015

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon doesn’t use Twitter much, and when he does, it’s usually about something very important. McMahon commented on the death of the American Dream last night with a post just before Midnight.

“A sad day for WWE. One of the most innovative, charismatic Superstars of all time, Dusty Rhodes, passed away. We loved him. #ThankYouDream,” wrote McMahon.

McMahon hired Dusty in 1989 after he was fired from WCW and spent two years in the company, having memorable feuds with Macho Man Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase. Juanita Wright, who is better known as Sapphire, was brought in as his manager. In 1991, Rhodes left WWE to return to WCW but in 2005 he was brought back in by McMahon after he signed a Legends deal and was then added to the creative team and later joined the developmental crew down at the WWE Performance Center.