Today's News

Slammy Awards:

WWE are planning on making the Slammy Awards ceremony a stand alone event, taped exclusively for the WWE Network, rather than an episode of Raw, as it has been for the past few years.

WWE vs ROH:

WWE are again unhappy with Ring Of Honor. They are furious that ROH have included Kevin Owens in their first toy line, feeling they are using his success with WWE to market their product. They are seeking legal intervention to block the release of the figure, and an injunction to prevent future incidents of this kind.

WWE will likely lose as Kevin Steen signed a five year deal with the toymakers shortly before he joined WWE, and that deal is very much still active, so they can use his likeness for the remainder of the contract.

Vince heat with Austin / Heyman:

Vince McMahon is not happy with Steve Austin and Paul Heyman teasing the possibility of a WrestleMania match with Brock Lesnar, when no such match is planned. He talked to Austin after the interview ended and asked him to play the story down, and to make it go away quickly, which Austin has been doing since. Paul Heyman has also come out today and declared that their is ''Zero'' chance of the match happening.

No word on what this means for the remainder of the 11 podcast deal Austin has with WWE, but Austin remains firm, he revealed in his last podcast that he uses viagra, he is a big fan of the drug.

WWE buying indie groups:

WWE have made an approach to WWN, owners of EVOLVE, Full Impact Pro and the sadly now defunct Dragon Gate USA. The plans are to make a new developmental territory to act as a buffer between the WWE PC and NXT, to allow their youngest stars to get out on the road, and to gain much needed experience, although cynics have accused WWE of trying to buy out the competition, to stop rivals hurting their attendance figures as NXT goes on the road. Meltzer says WWE are taking this step to flex their muscles against smaller groups in the wake of the ROH action figure and the struggle over use of Samoa Joe later this month.

WWE would allow the groups to make their own signings, but would retain the right to veto some stars should they so wish.

WWE are also interested in purchasing women's wrestling group Shimmer, as they want to have a strong group of female talent available to them, to strengthen their own ladies skills.

 HHH vs Chyna:

After X-Pac had to again deny Chyna's accusations of rape against him yesterday, today Triple H has found himself having to again issue a denial to accusations of domestic battery that Chyna recently repeated against him. He said, through his agent...

"The false statements and reckless allegations Joan Laurer (aka Chyna) continues to make about a physical dispute are a complete fabrication. As I've said in the past, while Joan has had significant struggles in life, this does not justify making such claims."

Tough Enough:

The cuts have started, here are the 10 stars cut on day 1 of the audition camp at the WWE PC...

• Adam "Big O" Ohriner, Long Island, N.Y.
• Ava Knight-Salicka, Las Vegas (Eliminated because of her lack of acting ability)
• Carly Marshall, Los Angeles (Had to withdraw with knee injury)
• Jason Vasquez, Oak Lawn, Ill.
• Kevin Penczek, Belle, W.V.
• Krishany San Jorge, Puerto Rico
• Lorenzo Davis II, Los Angeles
• Nicholas Cuffari, Lakewood, Ohio
• Philip Guilford, Atlantic City, N.J.
• Vinny Tortorella, Staten Island, N.Y.

Ohriner is the biggest surprise, his friendship with Zack Ryder, and already having the WWE look, had singled him out with some as a potential favourite for the show.

Diana Hart talks HOF:

Diana Hart feels bad blood over the SummerSlam 1992 main event may be keeping British Bulldog out of the WWE Hall Of Fame...

"I think a lot of people were mad, not at all Vince McMahon or the people promoting the show. I thinks some of the wrestlers were mad that the Intercontinental belt was being showcased as the main event. I will go to my grave saying that … the main event was Davey and Bret. That's why they put them as the main event. And part of the reason they broke the record … of selling over 80,000 seats in less than 11 hours was Davey and Bret … I think if you did a poll or a survey [asking] who are your favorites in 1992 at that time, it's not Ric Flair, it wasn't Curt Hennig, it wasn't The Ultimate Warrior, it wasn't the Legion of Doom … it was perfectly right to have Bret and Davey as the main event for that show. Even though it wasn't a world championship match."

Warrior was my favourite wrestler in 1992, but I agree, I was there that night, the IC Title was the perfect ending to a great evening of wrestling.

She also shared her views on Owen's rumoured induction...

"I sure hope [Owen goes in]. I think the fans deserve it because they loved Owen. I know Martha [Hart] and her family have their reasons, but the ones who suffer in all of this are the fans. Regardless of Martha's animosity for the WWE … With WWE putting Owen in the Hall of Fame, I don't think they're trying to disrespect Martha. I think that they're trying to do the right thing. Martha has her feelings and – like all of us – we're heartbroken when we lost Owen. We all did lose Owen. Not just one person or one family. We all lost Owen. I know it means a lot to the Owen Hart fans … I know Martha has her reasons [but] I really don't know what the holdup is … I don't think it's tit-for-tat, I believe it's a lot more complex than that … It has to be a melting on both sides. For a long time, I thought it was one side holding back and not the other, but I think that both sides need to work it out and do it for Owen's fans. But I understand Martha's position on it. There are things that need to be addressed before she's ready to give it her blessing."

Brock Lesnar:

Brock Lesnar is coming back to TV next week on Raw.

Kidd breaks neck?:

Sounds coming out of WWE are not good for Tyson Kidd. It seems he has effectively broken his neck, and not only needs the surgery he hoped to avoid, but will be out for a lengthy period. Edge and Steve Austin have reached out to Tyson to offer their support, both men of course suffered serious injuries of their own, during their careers.

WWE are still keeping quiet on the injury, as they fear lawyers will use it against them in the current concussion writs they are facing, so the status of his injury is not officially confirmed.

Heyman tried to save Punk:

Paul Heyman has revealed he pitched, and fought for CM Punk to beat The Undertaker's steak at WrestleMania 29, he said it was clear to him, even then, that he was ready to quit, and felt the big win may have reinvigorated him.

Wrestling in mourning:

Dusty Rhodes, WWE Hall Of Famer, and icon of the sport, is dead. He was 69. He reportedly suffered a fall at his home, and was rushed to hospital early yesterday morning. His health worsened as the day went on, and emergency phone calls were made to his nearest and dearest, who rushed to his side. He died this morning after numerous complications relating to the accident proved to be too much for him to fight back from.

Triple H broke the news, leading stars in their tributes, and WWE collated a number of glowing memories of the great man.

There was some talk about cancelling today's Tough Enough sessions, but HHH decided that Dusty would have wanted the show to go on, and they did so, in his memory.