– WWE Network issued the following service advisory late tonight in regards to the streaming problems during NXT Arrival: “During tonight’s live NXT ArRIVAL special, we unfortunately experienced technical difficulties, which are to be expected when launching a new digital network. We will work aggressively to solve these glitches and deliver quality service. The complete event will be available on-demand overnight.”
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– Below is the full schedule for Friday, day 5 of the WWE Network launch:
1am EST – WWE Superstars – 2/25/2014
2am EST – WWE Main Event – 2/25/2014
3am EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 4/25/1994
4am EST – Beyond The Ring – Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels
6am EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 11/1/1993
6:30am EST – WWE Countdown – Catchphrases
7:30am EST – WrestleMania Rewind – WrestleMania I
8:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 3/7/1993
9:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 3/14/1993
10:30am EST – NXT Arrival
12:30pm EST – WWE Superstars – 2/25/2014
1:30pm EST – WWE Survivor Series 2012
4:30pm EST – This Is NXT – 2/23/2014
5:30pm EST – RAW Backstage Pass – 2/23/2014
6pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Renegades
7:30pm EST – SmackDown Pre-Show
8pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Worst Characters
9pm EST – Old School – 4/5/1981 MSG event
10pm EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass
10:30pm EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 11/1/1993
11pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Worst Characters
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– WWE Network will be adding a lot more content once the one-week free trial is over on Monday. The idea is that they wanted the free trial users to sample enough to get them to pay but not give them everything at once.
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– Jim Ross was at WWE HQ on Thursday being interviewed for WWE’s upcoming Paul Heyman DVD.
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– The dark match before tonight’s WWE NXT Arrival event at Full Sail University saw Mason Ryan defeat Sylvester Lefort.
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– After Arrival went off the air, John Cena entered the ring while new NXT Champion Adrian Neville was celebrating. Cena praised Neville in the match and said the future is bright. One fan was heckling Cena, and Cena made a joke about the guy still living with his mom. Neville went up the ramp where Triple H was. Triple H raised Neville’s arm and got another pop for him. Triple H had Neville go back down and around the ring for one more ovation from the crowd. Neville did a moonsault and landed on his feet to celebrate with the title more and end the show. Cena stopped production from closing the show with his theme song and said Neville deserved to close the show, so they played Neville’s theme as everyone left.
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– WWE’s website has a new poll asking fans who impressed the most at NXT Arrival – Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Mojo Rawley, CJ Parker, Too Cool, The Ascension, Paige, Emma, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, Alexander Rusev, Adrian Neville or Bo Dallas. With just under 5,000 votes cast, Sami is leading with 31%. Cesaro is next with 19% and Neville is the next closest with 17%.
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– As noted, WWE is working on a new Batista DVD. WrestlingDVDNews.com reports that promotional material they received for the DVD stated, Batista’s “life story is very compelling and continues in this program.”
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– Comcast has reportedly made the decision to continue airing monthly WWE pay-per-views.
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– Chris Jericho tweeted the following update on his next book: “After almost 8 months of daily work, I handed in the final draft of my THIRD BOOK today. You’re gonna LOVE it! #Oct13”
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– Brandi Rhodes, who did ring announcing for NXT Arrival last night, has changed her Twitter handle to @RealEdenWWE.
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– WWE will tape more episodes of NXT TV tonight from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. WWE Superstar Sheamus will be appearing along with others.
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– WWE has added this week’s episode of NXT on Hulu but it’s not the episode with Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, CJ Parker vs. Colin Cassady and Mason Ryan vs. Bo Dallas. Instead, they aired the “This Is NXT” special that has been airing on the WWE Network.
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– Ryback tweeted the following about Monday’s RAW from Chicago: “Cannot wait for Raw in Chicago big homecoming for The Best Big Guy In The World! Oh wait Chicago sucks Outlaws > Bears #HeHateMe”
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– A fan on Twitter asked Bill Goldberg what he thought of Batista being booed by the WWE fans since returning. Goldberg replied: “I feel for him. Hopefully he’ll get things turned around.”
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– Here are some more notes from last night’s WWE NXT Arrival event:
* Most of the NXT roster watched the show from a neighboring auditorium due to the lack of space backstage in the NXT Arena.
* Sylvestor Lefort noted on Twitter that his neck was sore after the dark match against Mason Ryan.
* Emma tweeted Paige after their match:
“#NXTArRIVAL has ended but the memories will last a lifetime! @RealPaigeWWE thanks for a hell of a fight! #EMMAlution #WWE #NXT #DIVA”
* New NXT Champion Adrian Neville tweeted the following:
“YOUR NEW NXT CHAMPION. Thank you to EVERYONE who supported along the way. An amazing night I’ll always remember. #NXTArrival”
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– Elimination Chamber will debut on the WWE Network on March 24th due to a contractual obligation with pay-per-view replays. Going forward, all WWE pay-per-views will be available on demand the very next day after they air. The 2014 Royal Rumble was just added yesterday. These two shows were part of previous agreements with pay-per-view providers that did not give WWE the right to put the shows up or release them elsewhere for 30 days.
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– The Honky Tonk Man posted a photo of his new house on Twitter and said it was all thanks to WWE stocks. Knowing this business is cyclical, he picked a good time to cash in with the WWE Network causing stocks to rise several weeks back.
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– There were just under 200 ticket holders turned away from last night’s WWE NXT Arrival event at Full Sail University, apparently because Full Sail oversold the event. Fans were told right before the event that the 400-seat NXT Arena was over capacity. Customer service was described as horrible. NXT wrestlers were sent out to sign autographs but apparently refunds weren’t offered, at least not at first. The explanation from Full Sail staff was they oversold because generally they have 200 no-shows on the free tickets at each taping since students and those associated with the school get in free, while outsiders have to pay. Apparently, to make sure the building is full, they give out far more tickets than there are seats available. For Arrival, virtually nobody with the free tickets showed up.
