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The Spotlight On WWE Tough Enough 2015 

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A few months ago it was confirmed that WWE would be bringing back it’s always popular reality series Tough Enough to the USA Network for the first time in five years.  Up until this point all we really knew about the series would be that it would be returning and that members of the WWE Universe have already been sending in their audition videos to WWE with the hopes of getting that call to join the show.  From there, questions came up about the show throughout the wrestling community.  Would Stone Cold Steve Austin be returning as host? Would the winner be getting a guaranteed contract?  How would the live voting be factored into the show that was discussed during the WWE’s quarterly conference calls?  Well here are some highlights from the official Tough Enough Press Release that will hopefully answer some of those questions. 

Highlights

1)      Tough Enough will debut live on the USA Network on Tuesday night, 8PM EST and will be broadcast from the WWE Performance Center as well as Full Sail University (Where NXT is taped)

2)     Chris Jericho will be the brand new host of Tough Enough this season and will be joined by an expert panel including Daniel Bryan, Paige and “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan. 

3)     The trainers on this season of Tough Enough will be “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn, Lita and, the only returning trainer, Booker T.

4)     Tough enough contestants will be competing to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva by  winning a one-year $250,000 contract with WWE.

5)     Fans will be encouraged to send in their votes and feedback by downloading an official Tough Enough app (to be launched on May 25th, 2015) and by interacting on Twitter @WWEToughEnough

Closing Thoughts

            I’m pretty excited for the return of Tough Enough as by the time it debuts there will be five straight nights of original WWE programming on television.  On Sundays will be Total Divas, Mondays will be Raw, Tuesdays will be Tough Enough, Wednesdays will be WWE NXT, and Thursdays would be Smackdown.  I know some fans are worried about whether they will have the final say or not but remember that fans never had a final say, or any real say, in who was eliminated or who should stay.  In all honesty, I’d like to think that the collective minds of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Paige & Hulk Hogan could make a more well informed choice for who should be a WWE Superstar than any fan.  I also like the fact that this will get Chris Jericho and Hulk Hogan (Not to mention Lita and Billy Gunn) back on WWE TV regularly and also give Daniel Bryan a chance to be on WWE television if in fact his inkury is worse than originally thought.  The only thing I question would be the $250,000 contract.  I feel like it’s a bit unfair to the guys who have been at NXT for years and aren’t making close to that (I assume the winner would report to NXT and not be put immediately on the main roster but could be wrong) but I understand that it’s a reality show and the prize money is part of the competition aspect.  Regardless, I’m glad that Tough Enough is back and hope that it becomes an annual tradition.   If you are interested in checking out the entire press release you can do so below. 


 HULK HOGAN®, CHRIS JERICHO®, PAIGE™ AND DANIEL BRYAN® HEADLINE NEW SEASON OF WWE TOUGH ENOUGH® ON USA NETWORK LAUNCHING JUNE 23

 Series Features Live Voting with Immediate Results

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, CONN – May 7, 2015 – USA Network and WWE announced today that WWE Superstar Chris Jericho will be the host of the highly-anticipated series, WWE TOUGH ENOUGH, and will be joined by a panel of experts comprised of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan®, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan® and WWE Diva Paige™. The high-octane reality series premieres LIVE Tuesday, June 23 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on USA Network and around the world.*

This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will combine the can’t-miss excitement of live television with reality-show drama, as WWE hopefuls vie for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva.  Unlike anything on television today, the lightning-fast hour of entertainment and competition will include live results every week, giving fans worldwide the power to decide who stays and who goes the very same night. Each week, one cast member will be eliminated until one man and one woman are considered “Tough Enough,” with each earning a one-year, $250,000 WWE contract.

Throughout the competition, the contestants will be trained by WWE Legends Booker T™, Billy Gunn™ and Lita™. Contestants will also come face-to-face with WWE icons including WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon; Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, Paul “Triple H®” Levesque; Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon; and WWE Superstar John Cena®, among others.

“These athletes, each with varying skill sets, will be put through a grueling boot camp that will test their physical, mental and emotional limits in a way that the series hasn’t done before,” said Jessica Sebastian, Vice President of Unscripted Series, USA Network.  “Each week, their training and experience culminates in a spectacular live event where they will be put in front of their WWE heroes and an audience of fans.  In this reimagined version of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH only the best will survive.”

“This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will be the most innovative, unique and engaging series on television,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer. “A live global telecast, real-time voting with immediate results, and unprecedented use of digital and social media during and between telecasts will all lead to a groundbreaking viewing experience.”

To date, entrants from 113 countries have submitted videos, which have been viewed more than two million times on YouTube. To view play lists of entrants’ videos or to submit a new audition video, go to WWEToughEnough.com. For a compilation of entrants’ video submissions, click here.

On Monday, May 25, the WWE TOUGH ENOUGH App will be available for free download, giving fans even more opportunity to engage with this cutting-edge reality competition series. Through the App, viewers will receive access to exclusive content, learn more about the contestants, take part in social conversation between live telecasts and vote in real time. Fans around the world can also vote live each week for who stays and who goes via text (U.S. only), on Twitter @WWEToughEnough as well as on the WWE App, WWEToughEnough.com and USANetwork.com.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will emanate live from both the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., home to WWE’s developmental division NXT, and the innovative professional production studios at Full Sail University located in Winter Park, Fla.  This launch will mark the inaugural use of the University’s latest high-caliber, on-campus production facility. In 2012, WWE and Full Sail announced an innovative partnership, which created a student scholarship fund, and also allows students of the university’s entertainment-focused degree programs, including Film, Show Production, Digital Arts and Design, Internet Marketing and Entertainment Business, to gain real-world experience alongside WWE’s professional production staff during WWE NXT tapings.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH is produced by WWE, USA Network and Left Hook Media. Matt Odgers and Scott Teti are Executive Producers for Left Hook Media. Jessica Sebastian is Vice President of Unscripted Series for USA Network. Kevin Dunn is Executive Producer for WWE.

Be sure to join in the conversation at @WWEToughEnough @WWE @USANetwork and engage with your favorite WWE Tough Enough personalities @IAMJericho @ReneeYoungWWE @HulkHogan @WWEDanielBryan @RealPaigeWWE@BookerT5x @AmyDumas @BillyGunnWWE.

The Spotlight On E:60- WWE: Behind The Curtain

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I had mentioned this special in the daily sports update on Tuesday and got to check it out with my girlfriend last night.  I always like to watch different documentaries about WWE with my girlfriend because she enjoys them and she also offers a different perspective on the documentary as a casual fan of the product.  I went out of my way to avoid any spoilers on the documentary so that I went into the documentary with an open mind, not knowing what to expect.  In the end, I found the documentary very enjoyable and an interesting look on how the developmental process works once a talent arrives at NXT.  The piece included interviews with Triple H, Vince McMahon. Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock along with NXT talents and their loved ones.  Let’s get into some of the more interesting highlights of the film.
Highlights

1) Ray Leppan–  At some point during the story of Ray Leppan, my girlfriend turned to me and said “I feel awful that I ever hated his character.”  For those of you who don’t know Ray Leppan currently competes as Adam Rose for WWE.  His story is the real highlight, in my eyes, of the piece as it gets into so much of the back story on the man behind the character and the struggle that someone can go through down in NXT if they can’t create a connection with their character.  Ray spent three years down in NXT working as the character Leo Kruger after moving to Florida from his native South Africa after getting the opportunity.  The documentary shows how many of the management level people doubted Ray and felt that he was struggling in creating a believable character.  All the while we get to learn about the real life struggle that Ray goes through with his newborn son who was born with a stomach ailment that doesn’t allow him to eat food and he needs to be fed through a peg.  Ray’s son was only given a life expectancy of two years.  Once you get that connection Ray’s family and the struggles that he goes through to get onto the main WWE roster to support his family, you root for Ray to make it for the rest of the film.  It breaks your heart to see the 35-year old Ray being told by Triple H that he has to reinvent himself.  The piece then does a great job in showing how (over the two years in which the piece was filmed) Ray is able to create the Adam Rose character and find success in making it up to the roster.  I really hope WWE tells this story on Raw because it can do a lot for the Adam Rose character.  I mean who wouldn’t want to root for a guy like that?

2) Behind The Curtain– The backbone of this piece, other than the profile pieces, is the access that is granted to ESPN to film production meetings and other backstage segments.  It was really cool to see how a production meeting is run and the different personalities involved like Michael Hayes, Terry Taylor and Michael Cole.  From there the backstage segments showing Paul Levesque (Triple H) addressing the NXT roster are really well done and give you an insight into the world of the NXT superstar.  These superstars are working all day everyday on every aspect of their character that you can think of (from promo class, to in-ring action, the character development to weight training it all happens for these superstars at the performance center) and it is made obvious that they are competing for a spot that is anything but guaranteed.  I thought it was also cool to see the cameras follow Xavier Woods around all day the day of his debut from arriving to the Nassau Colisseum to his post match critique with Triple H.

3) Matthew Polinsky– Corey Graves was touched on a bit here on the spotlight of the first episode of Culture Shock which he hosts and you get a great look as his tough journey.  Being a lifelong fan who’s mother used to make him birthday cakes with his favorite wrestler on the cake and who then grew up wanting to be a pro wrestler only to be sidelined due to a back injury, Polinsky’s story really hit home with me.  Polinsky is first presented as a can’t miss prospect and the only talent who receives support of all of management involved in the production meeting. Triple H literally refers to Polinsky as “a priority” while hall of famer Dusty Rhodes calls him “A moviestar”.  Then Polinsky ends up medically disqualified due to a number of concussions.  This is heartbreaking for the lifelong fan and his family that he has to support.  I remember when I first heard the Polinsky was going to be doing commentary thinking, wow that was really cool for WWE to allow him to explore other opportunities when wrestling didn’t work out.  This piece gives you insight into the decision and makes you feel that much better for Polinsky watching it all unfold.

Closing Thoughts 

Rather than lowlights here, I’m going to instead list some closing thoughts because again I really enjoyed the documentary.  It made sense from an advertising perspective for ESPN to feature and promote interviews with, arguably, the three biggest stars in WWE history, Hulk Hogan, The Rock & Stone Cold Steve Austin.  That said, their appearances were  pretty breif and didn’t add too much in the way of discussing the topic at hand.  I would have instead preferred to hear from three current stars like a John Cena, or a Roman Reigns or a Seth Rollins, who have both passed through the NXT system.  I also thought Bill Demott, former head trainer at the WWE Performance Center, came across really well.  I know a lot has been said about Demott, and I won’t get into what’s true or untrue because I don’t really know, but it’s clear that in this piece he seems to be genuinely invested in the careers of the NXT Superstars. 

A final thought would be that in both watching the E:60 special and the Roman Reigns 24 special on the WWE network the night before, both of which have been covered here and that I’ve enjoyed, that there is a market for these type of human profile pieces.  Both pieces featured the superstars in their everyday life.  The superstars were shown as regular people with real struggles, the same struggles that we all go through on an everyday basis.  I found that the superstars featured came across as not only likable, but also relatable.  After the 24 special, I want to see Roman Reigns main event Wrestlemania again and win the world title in the process.  Likewise, I want to see Corey Graves, Xavier Woods and, especially, Adam Rose all succeed in their respective careers because now I know them a bit more as people and want to see them do well for their families.  I hope that these “behind the curtain” type specials continue into the future as it’s been a really fun week to be a WWE fan, and I didn’t even get into Raw!

An extra here if you’ve watched the special & wanted a little more, ESPN has realized two extra features on their website dedicated to Tyle Breeze & Colin Cassady, they’re worth checking out. 

The Spotlight On The WWE Network- 24: Roman Reigns Never alone

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This past Monday night WWE launched the latest “24” Mini documentary following Roman Reigns on his road to Wrestlemania on the WWE Network.  First off, let me start off by saying how great it is that the WWE Network is producing more original programming for the Network.  I returned from my vacation Monday and while there I tried to keep up.  I watched Extreme Rules (How cool is that by the way? I watched a pay per view from my phone from my hotel room the same night as the show.  I used to have until the end of my vacation in order to catch the show that I missed but with the network this isn’t the case) and caught some of Jerry Springer’s “Too Hot For TV” but once the wedding craziness took over (my best friend got married and I was his best man) and then my family and I embarked on 3 days at Disney World and 2 days at Daytona Beach, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with all of the new content.  Honestly, I was pleased with this. I want the WWE Network to have so much new programming that it’s hard to keep up with everything.  I would love to see a time when the WWE Network has three hours of original programming each night during the primetime hours like most other networks & I think they’re moving in that direction.

As for the 24 series, it is quickly becoming my favorite series on the Network.  Being that I went to Wrestlemania this year I was intrigued to see how Roman Reigns’ Road to Wrestlemania unfolded from a behind the scenes perspective.  I can tell you now that you should go out of your way to watch this piece.  The piece, at only 33 minutes long, flies right by and even leaves a bit more to be desired.  I think the piece did a good job in showing the man behind Roman Reigns.  I feel like if this type of special were to be released while Reigns was recovering from his injury at the end of last year, then people may have gotten a bit more behind him in going for the title at Wrestlemania.    Let’s get into some of the highlights and lowlights of the piece.

Highlights

1) The Mania of Wrestlemania–  I always love to see the crazy schedules that the WWE superstars go through during Wresltemania week.  Does it look hectic?  Of course it does, but it also looks like such a good time and all of that is featured in this piece.  Reigns is followed going through all of his different media appearances, the hall of fame, his autographs signings and more.  They even show some footage from the Wrestlemania dress rehearsal, as you see Triple H preparing for his entrance.  It’s all really cool material that amplifies how big time Wrestlemania is.

2) I Can I Will- I enjoyed the parts of the piece that focused on Roman Reigns interacting with the fans as he seemed like a guy that you’d want to meet at a signing.  I particularly enjoyed the part where he was talking about being a role model and how he was embracing the role.  I’ve always admired Tim Tebow for the same thing as Reigns explains that he wants to be a role model despite the reputation he knows he has to live up to in being one.   Having kids then explain how the “I Can, I Will” catchphrase inspired them was a great tie in and showed how Reigns was already becoming a role model to many.

3) The Family Man–  All you hear about the famous Samoan wrestling family is how close they are and here you really got to see it.  It was nice to see how much support Reigns gets from his family especially when they showed his mother watching from the rafters at WrestleMania.  I enjoyed the scene which featured his family sitting at the table on the deck relaxing and reminiscing about the past.  Then the stuff with Reigns and his wife and daughter tugged at the viewer’s heart strings to show that he is a pretty good guy and a family man in every essence of the word.

4) “Everyone Stays At The Fairmount”-  Anyone who went to Wrestlemania knows that the Fairmount was one of the busiest places in San Jose that weekend as fans quickly found out that this was the WWE hotel.  If you were able to get into the building, you would have enjoyed the WWE replica chocolate belt but many fans seemed to enjoy waiting outside for a glimpse of their favorite superstars.  I really enjoyed the piece on the Fairmount as it showed that the building had history and gave a nice tour.  One of the first things I remember from Wrestlemania week was when Roman Reigns & Hulk Hogan took to the balcony of the Fairmount to greet the fans, really nice stuff.

Lowlights

Again this was a great piece that flew by and that I would really suggest checking out, I don’t think there were any clear lowlights of the film.  That said, there were a few things that I would have personally changed.  For one, I don’t think it was necessary to show as much of the main event in the documentary.  The match was great but that’s what the show itself was for.  Instead, if they are married to the 33 minute running time, I would have liked to see a lot more of the crowd reactions and maybe some of the wrestler reactions instead.  Where I was seated, on the floor towards the entrance ramp, there were many WWE superstars, NXT superstars and divas enjoying the main event live in person.  I would have loved to see some of those talents’ reactions as it would have added to importance of the match.  I would also have loved to see some of the crowd reactions and hear some of their reactions left in rather than the music.  Being a part of that crowd, I can tell you it was one of the best live crowds I’ve ever seen and the fans passion enhanced the match that much more.  Yes, Reigns was booed a good amount during the match but that’s ok as they established that some of the fans booed him at the Rumble and he’s just going to work hard to win them over.  I believe that Reigns is starting to win people over and pieces like this will only help his cause.  Imagine the story of Reigns getting booed out of the building during Wrestlemania 31 and then coming back to win the title at Wrestlemania 32 to much fanfare and adjulation.

Well that is going to do it for me, another strong documentary for the WWE Network.  Feel free to let me know what you think.

Spotlight On Today’s Sports: 05/05/2015

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Happy Cinco De Mayo everybody! I hope all those who are celebrating have a good but safe time. I’ll be celebrating by attending at 10:20 showing of Avengers 2: Age of Ultron tonight. But if you aren’t celebrating there’s a good amount of events and stories to monitor in the world of sports, let’s take a look at the big three for today.

1) E:60- WWE: Behind The Curtain– when I was a kid I always hoped that following a WWE I would turn on ESPN & get the results. I remember the first time I actually say it was in 1995 when Sportscenter talked about Lawrence Taylor’s Wrestlemania 11 main event. I thought it was cool to see WWE get a rub from LT & get a little coverage on Sportscenter. Well tonight on ESPN, a 60 minute documentary will air featuring a behind the scenes at the world of WWE & NXT. The special is unprecedented not only because their is a WWE special being promoted on ESPN but also because the special promises a rare behind the scenes look at the often guarded world of professional wrestling. If the special is as good as past E60 specials, then we’re in for a treat.

2) Welcome Back- It was announced today that Madison Square Garden will look to hire IsiahThomas as the new Co Owner of the New York Liberty  as well as the president of basketball operations. Wow, talk about someone having nine lives! Not only did Isiah Thomas have five unsuccessful seasons as Knicks team president & a record of 56-108 in his two years as Knicks head coach but he also cost MSG 11.8 million dollars in an ugly sexual harassment lawsuit. It should be pointed out that Thomas needs to be approved by the WNBA board of Governors before being recognized as a co owner. 

3) The Greatest Fight Of The Century…Again- It was revealed today that Floyd Mayweather sent a text to Stephen A Smith of ESPN confirming that he will in fact grant Manny Pacquiao a rematch when he recovers from shoulder surgery. While I felt their first fight was underwhelming, it’s rumored to have done record number of pay per view buys and I’m sure the rematch will be much of the same. I’m actually surprised that Floyd is so willing to do a rematch, maybe as his final fight, being that Manny had him on the ropes on several occasions in their first fight, bad shoulder and all. 

That’s going to do it for today, again happy cinco de mayo to all. 

The Spotlight On The WWE Network- Culture Shock

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This past week WWE launched its latest original programming for the WWE Network entitled Culture Shock. The idea behind the show is the Corey Graves will be visiting a variety of different landmarks unrelated to WWE that fans may be interested in. I for one was interested in checking it out and here are some highlights & lowlights from the premier episode. 

Highlights

1) Corey Graves- Im really glad that WWE has decided to allow Corey Graves to try his hand at different gigs within the company now that his injuries have ended his in ring career. Corey Graves has a unique charisma that is a breath of fresh air to the commentary team. That isn’t an indictmeNt on the rest of the commentary team but more of praise for Graves. He isn’t like your everyday commentator in that he has tatooes and he has a cool factor to him. He’s the perfect host for this show because he’s someone that fans would look at and think “If Corey thinks this place is cool than the place is probably pretty cool!” 

2) The Concept- I really enjoy this concept as I think it’s interesting. Being someone who really likes going to WWE events in different cities because I’m able to then turn that event into a mini vacation with my girlfriend, I also found this useful. I’ve constantly found myself wondering “well WWE is in Dallas for Wrestlemania 32, what other non wrestling related places can I take my girlfriend that she’d be interested in?” 

3. Marvel Headquarters- I live in Queens, New York and I had no idea that the Marvel Comics headquarters was in New York City! This is a fun look as to how the comics are made and how busy different times of the year can be for the people at Marvel. 

Lowlights

1) 9 minutes?!?!- when the show started, Corey Graves says “I’m Corey Graves, this is Culture Shock, let’s have a little fun!” Well I was just starting to have a little fun when the show abruptly ended out of nowhere! I hope this was just a sneak peak and that future episodes will at least be a full half hour. If there’s not enough content in the place Corey visited then string a few together in one place. Maybe add a place Corey ate or have him review a movie, the point is that 9 minutes is too short, if it’s that short, they oughta put Culture Shock in the Quick Hits section of the network.

2) The Places don’t have to be so random- Maybe it’s just me but I think it would be cool to have Corey visit places that WWE is either heading to the next week or places that WWE was just at. If you watch Raw & WWE is live from San Franisco then it would be cool to have Corey walking along the Golden Gate Bridge, for example. WWE hasn’t been in New York in at least a month so it almost seems out of place to have Graves review a New York landmark. 

3) More than WWE- It was great to see a Hurricane shout out as he’s related to both WWE & superheroes. That said, if the focus of this show is to be about the place that Corey is visiting, there should be a lot more he can talk about other than WWE. He didn’t even get into any of the Marvel films and the Avengers 2 is coming out next week. 

Regardless, I suggest checking out Culture Shock and I have hope for this show moving forward. Next week on the spotlight on the WWE Network we’ll take a look at the “True Giants” documentary in the Beyond The Ring section of the Network.