Major WWE internal changes, WWE tryouts update

– With WWE in the West Coast for SummerSlam this week, company officials are holding a three day series of tryouts for potential wrestlers in California. In an update on this, WWE will reportedly be looking at wrestlers they’ve used as extras in the past, as well as others that have been invited.

– WWE has been making a number of changes internally with Triple H’s new talent recruiting division. Ty Bailey and Mark Carrano are now working directly with HHH and there is now a writer assigned specifically to work with HHH on development of new television characters and their introductions.

Backstage Updates: John Laurinaitis, CM Punk, Kevin Nash & WWE

- As many of you saw on RAW this past week, John Laurinaitis was sporting a black eye. There was some speculation backstage that he had make-up applied to further the storyline but word is the black eye was legitimate. Cena apparently really connected with a punch at the Money in the Bank PPV. Also, part of the reason John Laurinaitis was with Vince McMahon at Money in the Bank for the run-in is because Vince has been told by his doctors not to take any bumps.

Speaking of Laurinaitis, there is lots of talk within WWE about his long-term future with the company. WWE has been looking for someone with a sports background to groom for a job in talent relations. It’s no secret backstage that Triple H is not and has never been a big supporter of Laurinaitis. There has also been talk that Laurinaitis will become a full-time TV character, similar to how Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco were to Vince McMahon years ago.

- During a recent meeting, WWE talents were told not to mention Punk’s name in interviews for now. Prior to RAW on Monday, Justin Roberts announced that WWE management has banned the fans from chanting Punk’s name. Of course, that led to fans chanting his name during the Vince McMahon RAW promo. There are only a very select people in WWE who really know what the deal is with CM Punk.

- Kevin Nash’s WWE Legends deal is apparently different than everyone else’s. The way it usually works with Legends Deals is you make a percentage of the revenue your name and likeness generate. In addition to that, they also pay you a small amount per year. According to a source, Nash is making much more than others and is doing very little work for the money he’s being paid. It should also be noted that Nash is said to be frustrated because he thought the reaction he got at the Royal Rumble PPV would eventually lead to a bigger storyline on TV.

2 Ex-WWE Talents Backstage At SD! Last Night

Source: Pwinsider

Justin Credible and Sylvan Grenier were both backstage at last night’s WWE tapings in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Credible was just visiting friends as he lives in the area while Grenier came down from Montreal with several students from his wrestling school who received a tryouts.

WWE SD! Talents Robbed!

Randy Orton stated on Twitter that over half of the WWE SmackDown! roster had items stolen from their luggage when they reached South Africa. He also noted that everyone who put a lock on their bag was robbed. He, however, didn’t put a lock on his bag and therefore wasn’t robbed.

The Times Live newspaper out of South Africa has now picked up on the story.

John Langford, the chief operating officer of “Big Concerts” (they promote WWE’s tours of South Africa) told the paper that when the bags came off the carousel to be picked up, WWE talents found the locks had been cut and their bags had been broken into.

“The bags that had locks on them had been targeted,” Langford said. “They stole everything from watches to GPS [navigators] – things that had financial and sentimental value.”
Langford noted that this was a huge embarrassment for “[Big Concerts] as the organizers” of the events.

WWE talents filed claims at the baggage counter and an investigation has begun.

Backstage Visitors At WrestleMania + Big Problems?

– Paul ‘Pee Wee Herman’ Reubens was backstage in his Pee Wee Herman costume and appeared at WrestleMania last night.

– Chief Jay Strongbow was also backstage visiting. He lives in Georgia. There were tons & tons of non-WWE talents backstage at the event. We’ll have more soon.

– It is being reported that some people had problems ordering WrestleMania from their remote controls and calling their cable providers to order. The hold times were longer than normal as well. More shortly.

Mark Henry Not Happy?, Exclusive Axxess News & Notes!

The following news and notes were sent by numerous sources:

– Attended the Axxess morning session, Mark Henry has to be the biggest jerk in WWE. Completely rude to fans all morning, and he stiffed a kid out of a picture by saying “respect my privacy”. Dude, you’re at Axxess for a reason, to meet the fans!

– Just got done with Morning Madness, Randy Orton was very humble and in good spirits. It took around 2 hours to get through but we joined the line when we woke up rather than rushing down early. On to the ROH next.

– Hi! Justin Roberts just tweeted the following film form Axxes: www.twitvid.com/QTWCQ The Corre attacked him right after his match. WWE has confirmed that this happened just now, and they are using the term:Breaking news. The whole WWE tweet was:Breaking news out of #Axxess: @TheCorreWWE just assaulted Vladimir Kozlov after his match with Reks. Updates to come… Twitter.com @WWE and @AnnouncerJustin Just in: Joey Styles tweeted this photo og kozlovs arm. http://yfrog.com/h3jk9grj It sure looks bad.

– The party at the hotel bar lasted til the wee hours of the morning…The WWE was represented nicely by Hall of Famers Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, Harley Race, and Hall of Fame inductee Joe (Road Warrior Animal) Laurinaitis, Sunny…Nexxus was represented by Husky Harris and Mike McGuillicutty, Divas in attendance were Brie Bella, Nattalya, Melina and Rosa Mendes…Jim Ross was also there, as well as John Morrison, Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, Kevin Nash, Sean (Xpac) Waldman and Joey Styles…Most were very happy to sign autographs and take pics with fans…Most of top talent were not seen at the bar but were freely walking through the lobby stopping to sign and chat with fans…Seen in the lobby throughout the day were Hall of famer Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hall of Fame Inductee Drew Carey, Gold Dust, Jerry The King Lawler, Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart, Lita, Randy Orton, Broadus Clay, Kelly Kelly, Dolph Ziggler and Edge. Quick note about Axxess…Way too many people are allowed in and lines were ridiculously long to meet mid card talent…You cannot meet any of the top talent without VIP ticket. I have attached photos of Ric Flair and Steve Austin as well. You can click here to view them.

Report: WWE Talents jealous of Sin Cara?

Source: The Pro Wrestling Torch

Rumors recently surfaced online indicating that Rey Mysterio asked World Wrestling Entertainment officials to release him from his contract following WrestleMania XXVII. Mysterio, however, shot down the rumors on his Twitter account, saying he did not ask to be released and that he will be around for a while. According to a source, Mysterio did in fact have a ‘blow-up’ with WWE management back in February.

Former WCW star Konnan, a longtime friend of Mysterio, told a source that the assumption that the SmackDown! star is bothered by the recent signing of Mexican sensation Sin Cara is way off. He said Mysterio isn’t the type to be jealous. Rather, he welcomes new talent as potential rivals or teammates.

It would appear that Mysterio and Sin Cara will be kept on opposite WWE brands for the time being as the newcomer is slated to initially work RAW live events. As noted earlier here on the website, he made his first appearance inside a WWE ring at last night’s RAW house show in Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois, defeating WWE Superstars fixture Primo.

Meanwhile, Alberto Del Rio was asked to comment on WWE signing Sin Cara during an interview published earlier this week on latino.foxnews.com. While the article says he is “pleased” to hear WWE sign a fellow countryman, he doesn’t acknowledge Sin Cara in particular. He instead says that he’s happy WWE is using a number of Latino wrestlers, before turning the subject back to himself.

“I’m just happy this company uses so many Latino talent,” Del Rio said. “There is so much talent out there, from Puerto Rico to Mexico, just to name a few. I hope it continues like that. Because of that, I am here and getting all these opportunities.”

According to another backstage source, the claim of Del Rio being “pleased” about Sin Cara joining WWE is contrary to a behind the scenes story they’ve heard. We’ll have more on that shortly.

Update: Why WWE Superstars was cancelled

Partial Source: Pwinsider

WGN reportedly canceled WWE Superstars because the network was paying too much for what they were getting. The network was hoping that the show would help their national ratings, as they don’t have a huge amount of coverage across the country, and because WWE is a proven ratings draw, the network thought that they might help them get picked up by other cable systems.

Unfortunately, due to the show’s third-tier status, it did not get the ratings the company was looking for. Some talent in the company are concerned for their status with the loss of the show.

Booker T arrives in Boston, MA (Picture Included!)

Partial Source: Pwinsider

– “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is expected to appear at tonight’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view as he is in town for an autograph signing with fellow former WWE talent Carlito.

– Multi-time champion Booker T has arrived to Boston, Massachusetts for tonight’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He is expected to participate in tonight’s 40-Man Royal Rumble Match. You can click here to see a photo of Booker T’s arrival.

WWE Stock Falls - talents are worried

World Wrestling Entertainment issued a press release Friday announcing lower-than-expected earnings when the organization releases fourth-quarter financial results on Feb. 10.

The company anticipates its earnings per share for the three months ended Dec. 31 will range from 8 cents to 10 cents. Analysts were estimating earnings of 17 cents a share. That’s a huge drop obviously.
Shares in WWE stock slid $1.13 (8.4 percent), to $12.37 in aftermarket trading after falling 33 cents (2.4 percent) to $13.50 during the regular trading day. Again, that is a major drop.
The news has been picked up by The Associated Press, as well as the WallStreet Journal and TheStreet.com.

Some mid-card wrestlers are already wondering if a talent purge will soon take place since company officials told all of those that were released in November that they were let go due to budget cuts.
WWE dropped 35 main roster talents and 19 developmental talents over the course of 2010, marking the fifth consecutive year in which over 50 talent departures occurred within a calendar year.