WWE, Trump connection
When I woke up Wednesday morning to learn that Donald Trump won the presidential election and will be sworn in as the 45th president in January, I could not help but to wonder how big of a smile Vince McMahon had on his face.
McMahon and Trump have long been friends, and Trump was elected into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
The business relationship between the WWE and soon-to-be POTUS began when WrestleMania IV was held at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, N.J.
In fact, Trump brought Mania V back the following year and it remains the only time in WWE history that consecutive Manias were held in the same venue.
Over the years Trump would show up here and there in the crowd at WWE events and he even took part in a “Billionaire vs. Billionaire” match at WrestleMania 23.
I was there for the event which saw Trump in the corner of Bobby Lashley as he defeated Umaga, who was represented by McMahon.
After the match, McMahon had his head shaved.
Trump is not the first personality involved with the WWE to go into politics as Jesse “The Body” Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1999.
WWE “State of Union” address
Playing off of the political theme, the WWE will have a “State of the Union” address on Raw Monday night.
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will be on Raw to hype up next week’s Survivor Series PPV.
With Shane rumored to be facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, could they have a run-in?
Speaking of Lesnar, he and Goldberg will both be on Raw so look for them to have a stare down of some sort to promote their match at Survivor Series.
Backstage WWE fight
On the WWE tour of Europe last week, Chris Jericho and Sin Cara got into a brief scuffle.
With Cara having gotten into more than one backstage fight this year, the WWE has ordered him to take anger management classes and has moved him from Raw to Smackdown.
Taker, Edge on Smackdown
The Undertaker and Edge will appear on Smackdown Live this Tuesday.
While it is not known what Taker will be doing, and chances are it may lead to an appearance at Survivor Series, Edge will host an edition of his “The Cutting Edge” talk show.
ESPN 30 For 30 on XFL
Ever since its inception in 2009, the ESPN series “30 For 30” has provided riveting stories that cover many sub-genres in the world of sports.
Acclimated and an award winner many times over, the series looks at sports stories in detail.
I have been a fan since the first episode, and ESPN announced on Thursday that it will release a feature on the Xtreme Football League (XFL).
Younger readers, or even readers who tried to block out the one-year run of the ill-fated company, may be wondering what the XFL was.
Vince McMahon had recently been branded a billionaire when he decided to give pro football a go.
Still coming away from the Attitude Era, the WWE product still had an edgier, and more adult, theme and McMahon tried to play that into the XFL.
He tried to have a crossover between pro wrestling and his football league, but it was doomed and folded after one season.
I am looking forward to the piece on the league as it provided several changes to football with the biggest being the camera that shows footage from behind the line of scrimmage.
Several players, including Monessen graduate Jamie Reader, used the one-year experience to make it to the NFL.
The documentary debuts February 2 at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
Smackdown adding announcer?
It appears that Smackdown’s announce team may be growing to four people.
As if Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, and JBL weren’t doing enough to get time to talk, Tom Phillips is being added to the mix.
Phillips will continue to announce NXT each week on the WWE Network.
TNA settles lawsuit with Corgan
Billy Corgan has finally been paid back the money he loaned to TNA.
While specifics are not known, it is believed that the amount was between $1-2 million.
Corgan has stated that he will speak as early as this week on the matter.
WWE to cut back on PPV events?
The WWE brand split is not even three months old, and there is talk backstage that the company will trim the numbers brand-only PPVs in 2017.
Michaels new head of Performance Center
Shawn Michaels and his family has officially moved to Florida as he is now the head of the WWE Performance Center.
Look for speculation to be fueled that this will give him more in-ring time to get ready for the Royal Rumble which will take place at the Alamo Dome in Michaels’ hometown of San Antonio, Texas in January.