4/7/2011 WWE News And Rumors - Sports

4/7/2011 WWE News And RumorsBy The Reporter - AskWrestling.comTo better reflect the company's global entertainment offerings, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) announced today a new business model for future growth, including formally rebranding itself, WWE."The new business model of the company better reflects what WWE is all about, being a global entertainment company"Two key components to WWE's brand expansion will be the active pursuit to acquire entertainment content companies and the outsourcing of WWE's core competencies - television and film production, live event production and licensing. As part of the new business model, the company will also focus on the development of new television products including scripted, non-scripted and animated programs, as well as the launch of a new WWE network in the next 12-18 months. The first new program of the brand expansion is Tough Enough?, WWE's non-scripted program that debuted on the USA Network on Monday."The new business model of the company better reflects what WWE is all about, being a global entertainment company," stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO, WWE. "We will always be loyal to our core business that made WWE a globally known entity, however, the future of WWE will be the addition of new entertainment content opportunities beyond the ring."This new rebranding initiative will be highlighted through a national consumer and business-to-business advertising campaign entitled "Bigger. Badder. Better.T" The campaign kicked off at WrestleMania? XXVII on Sunday and will be featured on cable TV, print and online.In addition to focusing on the expansion of the company, the company will bolster its core business with the launch a new talent development department headed by Paul "Triple H?" Levesque. The new department will put a greater emphasis on worldwide recruitment, training and character development to identify future WWE Superstars and Divas. The first recruit acquired under Levesque's new department was the signing last month of future WWE Superstar, Sin CaraT, formerly known worldwide as Mistico.There was an altercation between TNA Wrestling talent Matt Hardy and members of the WWE Tough Enough cast at a hotel bar in Atlanta, Georgia during WrestleMania XXVII weekend.While details of the incident have yet to be disclosed, Reby Sky, Hardy's real-life girlfriend, revealed on her Formspring account that she and Hardy were "banned for life" from the hotel in question.One WWE source said that if a main roster talent had done some of the things they did, termination would be likely if they were low enough on the totem pole.As noted earlier here on the website, there is backstage heat on both John Morrison and Melina. It centers around the Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match at Wrestlemania XXVII, which saw Morrison repeatedly brush partner Trish Stratus off.During their post-match celebration, Stratus hugged Snooki and went to hug Morrison, but he had already turned his back on her. Morrison then led Snooki to the corner of the ring and used the Jersey Shore star as a shield, to guard himself from Stratus.The backstory behind Morrison's awkward body language is that either he or Melina, his real-life girlfriend, felt Stratus took her spot in the Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match at Wrestlemania XXVII. The backstage belief is that he either holds Stratus in contempt for taking Melina's spot on the card, or had to portray himself as such so that she would believe he was anything but rude to her.Behind the scenes, Morrison rejected various ideas Stratus had for their match at WrestleMania XXVII, and was said to be very difficult to work with. His outright refusal to comply with any of her suggestions reportedly hurt her feelings. Word quickly spread amongst the locker room, garnering heat.Many feel Morrison's unprofessional behavior will set back his standing in WWE since Stratus is highly regarded amongst company personnel.While Morrison is considered a nice guy, he's not greatly respected amongst his peers. This dates back several years due to his real-life relationship with Melina. Particularly, he lost a lot of respect for allowing Melina to engage in a sexual relationship with former WWE talent Dave Bautista (a/k/a Batista) while the two were dating. The former WWE Champion made no qualms of being intimately involved with Melina in his 2007 autobiography, Batista Unleashed. He wrote:"My wife thought I was sleeping with Melina right off the bat, while we were still married. It wasn't true, but it did make me feel guilty about being friends with her."Since then, as I've said, Melina and I have gotten closer and our relationship has become physical. That's caused a bit of controversy, but I don't give a shit. She's my friend, and I love her very much."Former WWE stars Paul London and Brian Kendrick alleged numerous behind the scenes stories involving Melina and Morrison in their 2010 "shoot" interview, Brian Kendrick & Paul London's Excellent Adventure. London stated that Morrison is 'spineless' because he repeatedly permitted Melina to engage in sexual activity with outside partners while the two were dating. He added that Morrison would accompany Melina on dates with her partner of choice. Kendrick also claimed that he himself had been intimate with Melina.Read More