For the past few decades the WWE has sent
talent scouts all around the globe examining independent wrestling circuits in
search of future superstars for the company. Until this point the WWE has
not had a consistent training facility location for up and coming talent.
WWE has a specific way of training their young athletes through particular
in-ring psychology, entertaining storytelling and cutting promo’s through
versatile microphone skills. The days of searching for talent worldwide
are gone, as on July 11th the WWE in a partnership with Full Sail
University opened its first global training facility in Orlando, Florida.
Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H is the
current Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events. He leads the
pack, with Florida Governor Rick Scott in his corner, in making this facility a
reality for the future of the WWE. The new 26,000
square foot training facility consists of 7 wrestling rings, a
sports medicine and rehab center, and a 5,500 square foot weight training and
conditioning room. The new facility is also technologically sound, being
equipped with top of the line editing and production suites. The editing
suites are capable of all voice over work, other off site recordings for live
shows and lastly post production work for all events to be aired through Hulu
Plus immediately following shows. In addition to all of the advantages of
the new facility, WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut has the ability to
connect to the facility and view athletes’ progress and other developments.
It was just a year ago when Full Sail and WWE
entered into a partnership that would see the WWE
NXT series, a one-hour broadcast show move to the Full Sail live venue.
The new facility will now be home to NXT talent, where they will have the
advantage of developing the skills it takes to make it to the big show, the WWE.
The WWE intends to continue utilizing Full Sail’s technology and building
innovative relationships with students who are working through Full Sail’s
educational programs. There is no better experience that a student can
gain than being directly involved in the process of producing live shows for
the worldwide leader in sports entertainment, the WWE.
Even though only two matches are set in concrete, on August 18th, the spectacle known as SummerSlam has potential of being the most anticipated pay-per-view of the year. What is so intriguing about the buildup to SummerSlam is the way WWE is utilizing its four biggest stars. The championship match of John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan and the personal, grudge match between Brock Lesnar and CM Punk will both tell compelling stories. Neither Bryan or Punk match up with their opponents in strength or size but their current star power will make these matches highly unpredictable.
In the “land of the giants”, WWE has proven they can still tell a remarkable story of the underdog. First we look at the main event, which focuses around the WWE Championship, featuring the champ, John Cena vs. challenger, Daniel Bryan. The fact that Daniel Bryan has been arguably the hottest wrestler over the past year proves that the WWE is finally behind a smaller competitor going for the gold. His ability in the ring and the fact that he is the most popular superstar on the roster speaks loudly to the creative team when determining a winner of this bout. Fans either love or loathe John Cena, but there is no denying he is as good as they come when putting on a tremendous performance in big matches. There is a catch though. Even if Bryan is able to pull off the victory, that doesn’t guarantee he leaves as WWE champion. The current Money in the Bank holder, Randy Orton can utilize his contract clause for a championship match at any given time. If Bryan were to stun the world and defeat Cena there is a great possibility Orton will be looking to cash in immediately and take advantage of a less than 100% champion. This element makes the final conclusion even more unpredictable but will provide for great entertainment.
A close runner up to the championship match and one that might surpass it in terms of physicality is CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar. The reason for there being such anticipation for this showdown can be attributed to one man, Paul Heyman. Heyman through the years has managed both Punk and Lesnar. Two weeks ago Heyman showed his true colors by stabbing his supposed ‘best friend’ in the back by smashing Punk over the head with a ladder, costing Punk the Money in the Bank briefcase. The briefcase signifies status of being the number one contender for the WWE Championship. Heyman and Lesnar are now hell bent on ending Punk’s career. Punk will have to work through a grocery list of injuries due to a merciless Lesnar assault. Despite of Lesnar’s size, speed, strength and 50 pound advantage, CM Punk has vowed to slay the beast and being knowledgeable of Punk’s past antics, fans can only assume he has something up his sleeve. Both men man can draw big numbers for the company, perform and neither is short on confidence, expect some unique components to this classic matchup!
