It’s entirely possible this is just a red herring, but WWE posted this photo to their Instagram teasing Dean Ambrose factoring into Triple H’s announcement on RAW tomorrow:
Credit: The UK Sun
Daniel Bryan recently spoke about his ideal situation for WrestleMania and more. Here are the highlights…
On Sting vs. Triple H: “I think he’d do very well. But it will be interesting because there’s a lot of pressure in WWE. And he’s older now. Let’s see how he handles that kind of pressure, whether it is a WrestleMania match or doing something at the Royal Rumble. It has been a long time since he’s performed in front of a crowd that big.”
On Paul Heyman: “Paul Heyman’s been an incredible performer for years and he’s been able to change and evolve with the way the business has evolved. To me, I feel like he’s very ahead of the curve. If you talk to Paul Heyman, he’s like a wrestling genius. He understands the fan base, he knows what people want. He’s an amazing performer.”
On Brock Lesnar: “Literally, my ideal scenario for Sunday would be I win the Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar wins his WWE World Heavyweight championship match, and then we wrestle in the main event of WrestleMania. That’s what I hope happens. It’ll be interesting to see what actually does happen.”
Partial Source: Pwinsider.com
-- The March 5 WWE NXT event in Columbus Ohio (at the LC Pavilion as part of the Arnold Classic) went on sale this morning and immediately sold out. This is the first NXT live event outside of Florida.
-- Tonight’s WWE Superstars features Naomi vs Cameron and Fandango vs Sin Cara.
-- Reader Steven Fernandes wrote that he was able to log into the WWE Network in Canada without a VPN. This seems to mean that it’s not geoblocked and anyone with an account can view it.
-- Triple H’s planned segment for Good Morning America took place this morning; the segment was set for yesterday but had been bumped. The Game talks about the incident at Raw where a child at ringside began crying and he broke character to put the kid at ease. You can see video of it here.
Enzo Amore appeared on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show for a new interview. Check out the highlights below:
On developing at NXT: “I never was in a wrestling ring before I stepped foot into a WWE ring, so I am a product of NXT. I trained under Bill DeMott. I did a lot of my promo work with Dusty Rhodes. Those two guys were so instrumental in my career, I feel like I never could just completely take that step out of NXT. I owe it to the fans, I owe it to the people around me, the trainers, the coaches. That’s what you see in our product, you see people who are hungry and those people who are coming back, pulling double duty, they’re hungry, they wanna compete. The NXT environment is so competitive.”
On Triple H giving him an NXT opportunity: “He had started training with my strength coach. From the age of 14 I had been training with Joe DeFranco from DeFranco’s Training Systems out of New Jersey, they do a lot of combine training. I had played college football, I had always lifted and was a huge fan of the sports entertainment business, more particularly the WWE. Huge fan of DX- Shawn Michaels and Triple H. One day I was working out at DeFranco’s gym and Joe came up to me and said, ‘I got a phone call from a guy named Paul Levesque, who wants me to train him.’ My jaw just hit the ground. After about a year of him training with Hunter, I made a YouTube video… I was always training so basically I gave Joe a link to a YouTube page that had a compilation of me lifting, running, boxing, and then I cut a promo at the end of it on the Hudson River around the time the Jersey Shore was popular. Came at the Jersey Shore people’s necks, a little disrespect, hit ‘em with a little 1-2 combo, the haymaker pancaker and badaboom, the realest guy in the room was born. He showed it to Hunter and Hunter just gave me a tryout. He’s our boss and he’s very approachable out here at NXT. He gave me my first opportunity and I’ll never forget the words that he said to me when I met him, he simply said, ‘don’t screw this up.’ He probably wouldn’t remember it, but for me I hung onto those words, because that’s all he said.”
Here are two new clips, showcasing a look at the new Triple H and Stephanie McMahon workout DVDs…
WWE Fit Series: Fat-Burning Cardio Training Workout- Stephanie McMahon-- Triple H will be the next WWE star to be featured in Todd McFarlane’s ICON series statues. Previous figures include Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Macho Man Randy Savage. The statue is 18 inches tall, hand painted and features a “Certificate of Authenticity” signed by Mcfarlane. It comes with “authentic ring memorabilia” and will be released in January.
-- Santino Marella will appear in a non-wrestling role at this weekend’s WWE events in New York (Madison Square Garden) and Hershey, Pennsylvania (The Nassau Coliseum). Bad News Barrett will work the events in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
-- Even though he was arrested on Christmas Eve, Kevin Nash is still set to make his appearance this weekend for Maryland Championship Wrestling. You can find more information here.
The Squared Circle Reddit community is one of the more vocal areas of the IWC, and they were impressed enough by NXT Takeover: R Evolution to send Triple H a gift. Reddit user “cbartholomew” came up with the idea this morning, saying that the idea got over 100 votes he would send an Edible Arrangements fruit basket to the Game for his work in making NXT so good. The post reached its goal in under fifteen minutes and a $127 gift basket was sent to WWE headquarters.
Triple H acknowledged the gift on Twitter, posting:
Birthdate: 07/27/1969 (age 45) Height: 6'4" Weight: 255lb Hunter Hearst Helmsley is an American business ... 
Thanks for the fruit basket @reddit but I'm at @WWENXT working with the future. #WWEArchivistAteIt @WWE pic.twitter.com/fs8ogk2rGa
— Triple H (@TripleH) December 12, 2014
-- Triple H will be doing a Twitter Q&A today at 2:30PM ET to promote tonight’s NXT special.
-- WWE NXT will tape several weeks of TV tomorrow night at Full Sail Live in Winter Park, FL.
-- WWE runs live events on February 6th in North Charleston, SC and February 7th in Jacksonville, FL. Tickets go on sale this weekend.
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-- This week’s edition of WWE Rivalries, which airs on the WWE Network, will look at the feud between Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
Also read: ?2K Games Releases The Details For Classic Rivalry & 2K Showcase - Details Inside-- CM Punk appeared on last night’s edition of The Talking Dead. There was no mention of WWE on the show.
-- Former soccer player Stuart Tomlinson, who now works as Hugo Knox in WWE NXT, spoke with Sky Sports about getting into the WWE. Here is what he had to say…
“There were try-outs at The O2 Arena in London and WWE contacted me to see if I was interested, probably because they saw my sporting background and my look. The training was tough and there was a lot of cardio-based stuff but I got through it and I’m now here in Orlando, which is the crème de la crème and where everyone wants to be. I’ve left a football dressing room where most lads are skinny and run around for 90 minutes but there are guys here picking me up and throwing me around like I’m a little boy! It’s daunting but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to succeeding at.”
Here is Triple H’s latest sitdown interview with Michael Cole. During the interview, Triple H discusses John Cena’s refusal to join the Authority and why Cena’s time is running out…
Triple H ponders a future without John CenaHere are the DVD covers for the Triple H & Stephanie McMahon fitness DVDs. The DVDs are titled WWE Power Series: Triple H and WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon. The DVDs will be released on December 2nd and are priced at $10.49…
Also read: ?Update On The Possible WWE SummerSlam Main EventRicardo Rodriguez recently spoke with Busted Open Radio, here are the highlights…
Also read: ?AUDIO: Brodus Clay Reacts To His WWE Release & MoreRicardo Rodriguez on his WWE departure: Well, it wasn’t just one thing. It was a series of events that I was like ah, just screw it. A lot of was they had nothing for me. Del Rio and I kept pitching ideas to bring us back together. We thought we did pretty well together and we eventually knew they were going to split us up. One day they came up to us and told us ‘Okay this is what we are doing’. We’re like oh ok, thank you. It wasn’t just that though they had issues with money, I wasn’t making money anymore. If you talk to anyone from WWE they will tell you that you make your money on house shows and not on TV, your money is on the house show. I got unofficially sent down and I got hurt by one of their football players and I got punished for it, which I weird and I took all these things into consideration and I realized this is not fun for me. I have been an extra for WWE and they know what I do backstage. Regal and I were running the tryouts for the extras so there is nobody in the world can I tell me I never had passion for wrestling. I was always the 1st person in the ring. WWE in a weird way made me hate wrestling so I got very bitter and I realized I got to stop this and I realized it was the company. So I woke up and said I am not coming in. Yeah I called the office and told them I am not coming in; I want a release.
Ricardo addressing the rumor that Triple H called him names: I am a little bigger; I am not fat by all means. With my lucha background, I can do flips, front flips, back flips, 450's, shooting stars, and all that (explicative); Yeah so when I was working with the tryouts and being extras. We would do spots and I would flip around and take bumps like a clothesline and shooting stars. Triple H would call me a bumblebee; I was in Puerto Rico not too long ago and I saw Savio Vega and he used to call him a bumblebee and then I found out he called Super Crazy a bumblebee. He was a referring to an American guy doing flips. He would always make this comment about me being Mexican and Del Rio being Mexican. I and Del Rio use to call ourselves stupid names but when someone else would call us those names we would go whoa hold the (explicative) up.
Ricardo on working with Alberto Del Rio, and the negative effect of their split: I agree and I think Del Rio would agree as well. We talked about it and after we broke up we made pitches to the office to get us back together because we knew. As for wrestling, Del Rio he is an A-Class (explicative) wrestler. You can’t have a bad match with Del Rio but when it came down to segments and promo’s and stuff and we felt like there was something missing; when they put me with RVD that was awkward. They told me when I showed up at the area ‘Hey you are with RVD tonight’ I was like hey whatever puts me back on TV. For Del Rio English is his 2nd language he was still learning. I knew when he got stuck and he would pause and me being a spot monkey I would remember the promos and help him. Even in the matches I would tell him or tell his opponent hey, do this and do that and go to the corner and such and such. I would do that because I am a spot monkey. When they broke us up, we would still hang out and drive together and WWE would tell us to stop driving together; which was awkward because I only made that friendship with Del Rio
In an interview with Newsday, Natalya spoke about working with Triple, Charlotte's WWE future, Total Divas and more. Check out some highlights below:
On her match with Charlotte at NXT Takeover: "I'm actually getting goose bumps talking about it. It was about honoring and representing two legacies. And it was the first time my uncle Bret and Ric Flair kind of reunited in decades. They haven't always had a great relationship . . . It connected Bret and Ric in a way they never connected before . . . It was one of the moments I'll never forget."
Also read: ?Triple H Q&A Highlights - Bray Wyatt Praise, NXT's Future, MoreOn working with Triple H: "Getting a chance to listen to him and hear his ideas and his philosophies, it's such a great asset . . . You can make all the suggestions in the world but you cannot teach experience. I've actually learned how to be a ring general by working with people who have less experience that me, because I'm feeding off their hunger."
On Total Divas: "That's the beauty of it. We're hoping that people — and a lot of woman especially — who wouldn't watch WWE are now hooked and watching Raw and Smackdown regularly. I think Total Divas has really helped change the Divas division in WWE. We don't just need a championship to fight for. We fight for passion. We fight for what we believe in."
Credit: Dave Scherer and Pwinsider.com:
Triple H did a conference call with selected members of the wrestling media today to talk about tomorrow's NXT Takeover special, which airs on the WWE Network.
WWE's Adam Hopkins opened the call by welcoming the media and turned the call over to Triple H.
Also read: ?Hogan & Stephanie Speak Out - Brie, Cena, WM/UK?, WarriorHe noted that he once again he saved us from the background music that plays before calls (it is brutal). He is excited where they are with NXT and presenting Takeover tomorrow on The WWE Network. He said he is excited for the young guys to show the world what they can do and hopefully show the media that the future of WWE is in good shape.
HHH then turned it over to the reporters for questions. I am recapping so Mike will ask the questions, and he got on first.
Mike asked with the success of Arrival, will be see more of the live specials. Will they be a regular thing on the Network. H said that he doesn't know if they will be monthly, but never say never with WWE. He said he is happy where they are and Arrival was a great success. He noted that Vince McMahon even noted that they have launched a brand in NXT. With that said, he doesn't want to lose track of what NXT is, and that is getting talent ready. He said that quarterly is probably how it will work out. H talked about how they aren't just training wrestlers there, but also people who put the shows on, cameramen, announcers, etc. People learn what live TV is like by doing these specials. You live or die on your own. It is a new challenge for them and when they get to Raw, it will help prepare them for doing live TV. He does believe that there is room for an opportunity for a whole new brand in NXT. He could see people looking at the NXT talent and have people wonder what will happen when they make the big roster.
Also read: ?A Must-Read Mason Ryan Interview - WWE Release, TNA Debut?, MoreMike asked H a question I had, if HHH happy with the transition of the NXT talents that have come up to the main roster? Is it hard to transition them from NXT to the WWE? H said that yes, it's a difficult transition. Just because something works in Orlando, doesn't mean it will translate before a big WWE crowd. He said you can't forget that there is a transition from NXT to WWE as well. He mentioned Cesaro and how a year or so, he was working at NXT while he was on the main roster. H said when he saw Cesaro work in NXT, he would tell him to do the same thing when he is on Raw and Smackdown and Cesaro knew he was working differently on the big roster. There are many factors that go into a talent transitioning. Overall, he is very happy with NXT and how they are taking over, and that is why he used the name Takeover. He said they won't all be home runs, but it's ridiculous to think that. He is very happy with NXT and the workers.
Brian Fritz asked if they have thought about doing their NXT tapings more often. H said that they have tossed it around. The more you shoot, the more the costs go up, same with going live. He said he would love to do it live every week, but there are other factors. It's all on the table. He also mentioned what a great partner Full Sail is and they have to be conscious of their schedules as well. They are always thinking about what they can do.
Fritz asked about the next step, after Full Sail and the Performance Center. H said that the next step is finding the right talents to bring in to train and become wrestlers. He is really focused on working with the Creative department to go world wide to find new talents. They have had camps in Europe, Brazil and the Middle East recently. They want to recruit and be on a global level.
The next caller asked if guys who had worked outside of the US have had adjustment problems. H said the difference isn't that much about the big crowds as much as the mental outlook of now working for WWE. When you come there, you step into a whole different world, where the company does thing do things their way. It's the big time and it's intimidating. He said even back in the Monday Night War, there was that adjustment when a guy would come over from WCW. It's a curve. He said he looks at Bray Wyatt and he is just becoming comfortable, even though he has been knocking it out of the park since he came to WWE. It takes...
WWE.com posted the following today:
Triple H discusses the emotion surrounding NXT TakeoverSorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.-- Triple H was in attendance for last night's WWE NXT event in Dayton Beach, Florida.
-- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin wrote on his Twitter account that he interviewed Big Van Vader (nee Leon White) for his upcoming Tuesday episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show. You can check out his tweet below.
Also read: ?Eric Bischoff Returns To Steve Austin's Podcast, Sheamus Tweets
Birthdate: 07/27/1969 (age 45) Height: 6'4" Weight: 255lb Paul Michael Levesque was born on July 27, 1969... 
Birthdate: 04/23/1977 (age 37) Height: 6'1" Weight: 251 Ib Cena is known as "the face of the WWE for a lon... 
Birthdate: 07/27/1969 (age 45) Height: 6'4" Weight: 255lb Paul Michael Levesque was born on July 27, 1969... 
Had a good time talking with Big Van Vader Leon White today for Tuesdays #steveaustinshow. His twitter ID is @itsvadertime. #ITSTIME!!
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) May 24, 2014
Triple H posted the following on his Instagram, showing off his cover of Muscle and Fitness…
Cover of Muscle & Fitness. Shot 3 weeks prior to WrestleMania at the #WWE Performance Center. Always a honor.
Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
It's being said that Triple H is in kind of a rough position when it comes to talent relations for WWE. Basically, Vince McMahon is still the guy making all of the final calls, and because he's known to change his mind so often, HHH is basically forced to go to talent multiple times, explaining that what he had told them previously was no longer happening.
Also read: Triple H Considered To Be In A Bad Spot When Dealing With TalentDespite being in the rough situation, it's being said that Triple H is still viewed as "one of us" to a lot of the talent in the company.