The Next Generation | A WWE 2K Universe

[wiscowilz]

Your back just in time as well. Season 2 of my WWLeague is starting up soon.

[asvpxhughuet]

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The Next Generation: The Exclusive Interview with Vince McMahon

By Benjamin A. Richardson

Monday April 9, 2018

Vincent Kennedy McMahon can sometimes be a man of few words and other times he will speak his mind, but not many companies have had the chance to get into the vision of the man himself, with fans left guessing of what is to come, usually a prediction or a bit of a spoiler is all you get, but now, amazingly, he has decided he will release his vision for the future of his billion dollar company.

Before his tweet early this morning, no one had any idea of the future of not only the WWE, but the entire wrestling community. All of us here at What Culture were humbled to bring the exclusive interview to you, so we can share this experience and find out all the new information together.

McMahon said that this “next generation” of the WWE was going to be the biggest change yet, so let’s see what the mastermind himself has to say. Please welcome, Vince McMahon, leader of the WWE empire.

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Quote:

Vince McMahon: Thank you Ben, it’s a pleasure to be here and first I would gladly like to announce my first piece of news, that I am very fortunate to now be aligned with What Culture, who will now be the exclusive WWE news website. Anyways, you’re here to see what’s going on in my mind and what has changed over these last few months, so let’s get into it. After the changes I have seen made over the past few years to our rivals I thought that it was time to adjust some things to make sure we continue to have the superior product worldwide. I saw it time to bring out a lockout and soon after Impact followed, then ROH and Lucha Underground gave way. The final task was to reach internationally to get onto the head of NJPW, who after issues with multiple wrestlers choosing to strike against the company, reluctantly agreed too. A few terms were agreed to along the way, with the period after Survivor series basically being a time for “free agency.” My first move of business was to change the creative direction of the company, as I fired majority of the staff members in that department and hired the two most world-renowned booker’s, Gedo and Jado from New Japan. From there we received multiple calls daily from other individuals from many companies asking to be thought about when for a future draft, which had been released to members of our rival companies. In the biggest business meeting to date for the WWE, we had made offers to all companies for their roster members and rights to them, where nearly all of the companies agreed. Although this cost us a few million dollars, this made our star power even bigger than before. With my family members Stephanie, Shane and son-in-law Paul Levesque, we decided on a new approach to run this next generation of WWE. So, with the biggest change we have developed a new off-season approach, making every year of wrestling here in the WWE different in a way. The off-season will be three months in length starting from the beginning of May until the end of July, with the first pay-per-view of the year being SummerSlam. Due to our new draft, many superstars will be absent from appearing on WWE television throughout the season so we made the decision that these superstars will take place on tv during those off-season months, with those slots being taken by NXT UK and 205 Live, who will have one pay-per-view each and a joint event within the three off-season months. The off-season will change the complexion every season as the momentum for each superstar will reset in their three months off, so one of your favourite superstars could have an amazing season but after the off-season they could go to the bottom of the rankings after a few matches in the new season. Another one of our major changes I spoke about briefly before was the comeback of the draft, but it comes with a twist. Raw, SmackDown and NXT will all be active in this draft, with Stephanie managing Raw, Shane managing SmackDown (thanks Bard!) and Triple H running the show at NXT. To shake things up I believe that NXT also deserves to play a part in the draft so when the time comes the GM’s of all three shows will be raring to go, but the rules include: 1. First pick will be made by NXT, selecting one male or female from the main roster. 2. NXT will then make a total of 15 picks, 10 males first before 5 females. These wrestlers can come from NXT or any other promotions such as ROH, TNA, NJPW, AJPW, LU or any indies. 3. Raw and SmackDown will then trade 20 male picks in a row, where if a tag team is selected the members account for that many picks, leaving the other brand with a certain amount of picks in a row. 4. Pick 21 is then dedicated to a male or female legend of choice. 5. Raw and SmackDown will then trade 5 female picks in a row. 6. A total of two legends can be selected during the draft, one at pick 21 and the other can be male (pick 1-20) or female (pick 22-26.) A legend is classified as someone who is either retired or has not been wrestling for the past five years. 7. At least 13 of the male and female picks made by both SmackDown and Raw MUST be from the current WWE main roster. 8. NXT will then return for another 15 picks, the exact same as earlier, with 10 males and 5 females from the outside promotions or NXT. 9. To end the draft the GM's of Raw and SmackDown will draft three males and one female each to the NXT roster, from the outside promotions and NXT. In addition to the new draft, every off-season there will be a new mini draft that takes place between both Raw and SmackDown. The GM’s of either brand will protect four superstars, which can range from two singles wrestlers and one team to one singles wrestler and a stable, as their champions will also be protected. Both brands would then select their four superstars (three males, one female) to add to their roster for the new season. Another new innovation will be the return of the famous King of the Ring tournament, something that definitely redefined the WWE in the Attitude Era. I believe that this idea can be one of the biggest draws yearly for the company, with tournament playing out similar to soccer’s own FIFA World Cup. More information will be released when the time comes to begin around February, but a few key factors I can release now includes: - Six groups will be drawn including five members who will all wrestle each other once. - The top two from every group advance to the round of 16, with any superstar going undefeated getting a R16 bye. - The biggest bonus of the tournament will be what is in stake for the winner, who will receive a world championship match at SummerSlam at the beginning of the next season While I still hopefully have your attention, we have two more things to address, beginning with the changes to Survivor Series. Usually, Survivor Series can be a “battle of the brands” type event, but this year we are mixing it up with more excitement and a lot of change. Keeping with a bit of a sports theme, we will now have some promotion and relegation at Survivor Series, Raw and SmackDown will move four wrestlers each to NXT before the developmental brand send eight up, to be picked in a mini draft at the end of the night. More information will be released before the event but with the seven-match card, both Raw and SmackDown will host a men’s’ three on three match with the losing team going down to NXT. They will also host a tag team women’s match where the losing team will also go down to development. NXT will then host three of the three on three matches, with two of them deciding who will move up to the main roster and one, deciding who will be released entirely from the WWE, becoming a free agent. The final match on the card will be between the Intercontinental and United States Champions, deciding which brand gets the first pick of promoted NXT talent. Although this is not all the information about the event, the rest will be released around November time when we build up towards Survivor Series. Finally, the biggest draw in wrestling is of course the championships. We have modified these so they will now work in a division type league for each title. Now, a superstar can only compete in one division at a time, and if they choose to change, they must announce their intention to move up or down divisions. Furthermore, a superstar can only change divisions once a year. The main title and highest division in the WWE is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which is will be shared between both Raw and SmackDown and is seen as a very special title. It is planned to be only defended five times throughout the season not including a Money in the Bank cash in. Both shows also have a minor division title which for Raw is the Intercontinental Championship and SmackDown the United States Championship. Similar to the WHC there is also the World Tag Team and Women’s Championships, which float between Raw and SmackDown, where they can almost be as prestigious as the world singles title. NXT also have a similar championship line up, with their major title the NXT Championship, the minor NXT North American Championship as well as having a tag team and women’s championship. Lastly, a new title has been added to the mix to spice things up, the WWE Television Championship. This is definitely the most frequent defended belt, usually once a week, which will alternate between the three brands. Due to the weekly matches, this title is strictly not to be defended on PPV. How it works is a superstar on that week’s chosen brand will be selected at random and from there they can choose to accept or decline the match. An added bonus to being Television Champion though is that if you can successfully defend it five times, you will receive a #1 contenders match for the title of your choice. If successful, the TV champion will challenge that champion at a time and place of their choice, for the title. After the title match there will be two outcomes, if the champion retains the TV champions’ win count will reset to 0 but he will keep his title, but if he wins, he will vacate the Television Championship and there will be an eight man battle royal to determine the new champion. We will also be adding a bit of tournament flavour to every season, with the beginning month of the season featuring a 16-man round robin tournament, culminating at SummerSlam. There will be a rotation of different types of tournaments, whether it will be women, tag teams or even junior heavyweights. It is my pleasure to announce that the first tournament we will be holding is the World Tag League, where we will crown the first ever WWE World Tag Team Champions. To finish off I would also like to acknowledge our new TV deal with ESPN, which will now be hosting a two-hour Raw, two-hour SmackDown and hour-and-a-half NXT weekly. I am excited for the new beginning for the WWE and I believe that our Next Generation is full of the changes we need, having the most potential to make this the greatest era of WWE wrestling ever. What Culture also deserves a shout out for letting us release the ground-breaking news and I look forward to our future collaborations and to be honest, I can’t wait for August to come!

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What an honour it was to get all of this information from the man himself Vince McMahon, as all of us here at What culture look forward to our new beginning and what the future holds for us and the WWE. For your home of wrestling, come to whatculture.com, to see the latest news, stories, rumours and much more to do with this Next Generation of the WWE.

Thank you everyone who reads this, I’m Ben Richardson, and this has been another successful What Culture exclusive, goodnight everyone!

Tune in to the WWE Network to keep up with all of NXT UK and 205 Live before the beginning of the WWE season, and subscribe to whatculture.com, to see all the latest on the WWE.

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[wiscowilz]

Gonna have to read this again later this week when I’m more awake but this sounds very intriguing.

[asvpxhughuet]

Quote: Originally Posted by wiscowilz

Gonna have to read this again later this week when I’m more awake but this sounds very intriguing.

Haha thanks man, I like to fill everything with information but try not to bore people, but I know there is a lot there. It has a lot of potential and so many ways that I can do things so I'm intrigued myself on what is to come and how I will go with it!

[SmooveMove]

First of all congrats on getting Vince to sit down with you, I know he isn't an easy man to get a hold of.

Seriously though this is awesome. You've turned pro wrestling to an organized sport. It looks really well thought out, I'm loving this idea.

If you ever need another guy to act as a gm, draft picker, free agency expert, or something similar let me know (provided I haven't disappeared like I sometimes do). I'd love to participate.

[asvpxhughuet]

Quote: Originally Posted by SmooveMove

First of all congrats on getting Vince to sit down with you, I know he isn't an easy man to get a hold of. Seriously though this is awesome. You've turned pro wrestling to an organized sport. It looks really well thought out, I'm loving this idea. If you ever need another guy to act as a gm, draft picker, free agency expert, or something similar let me know (provided I haven't disappeared like I sometimes do). I'd love to participate.

Thanks Smoove for the kind words, really appreciate it. Was hard getting onto Vince, especially trying to see how it would play out.

Thank you so much though, I've developed and added to this idea over time and find it easier and easier to go back to and the added fact that it is like a sport makes it more exciting, I'm glad you like it!

I have plenty of roles that I could come up with and if I do need a GM or any person of interest I will keep you updated, I'd love to get people involved to feel more attached and feel like they are making an impact part of it.

On another note, I'll be releasing some more details soon on various things, hopefully will start up the actual shows soon. I'm going to add a sort of contents part to my first post, so if someone is looking for something it is easier to find. Thanks for everyone keeping up with this, I love the support and am glad you all enjoy the idea!

[asvpxhughuet]

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2018-19 WWE Pay-Per-View Schedule

By Benjamin A. Richardson

Tuesday April 10, 2018

The media has been buzzing in the last 24 hours after Vince McMahon's huge announcement for the future of the WWE. After a cold spell in the news though we now have another sneak peek of information released, with this reveal being all about the new schedule for pay-per-views. In a tweet last night McMahon revealed his plan for his weekly shows, beginning with Raw on Monday's, SmackDown on Tuesday's and NXT on Wednesday's, with the major brands hosting five matches and developmental hosting four. Before the season starts though it was also released NXT UK would be holding NXT's time slot where 205 Live would commence on Thursday's. Here is now, the in depth 2018-19 season pay-per-view schedule for the WWE.

May:

To begin the season off is 205 Live's own PPV the Cruiserweight Classic, or CWC for short. As the first month of WWE's main roster off-season this event will be hosted only by 205 Live, with the final match being between Crusierweight Champion Cedric Alexander and the number one contender for the title.

June:

The second non-main roster PPV for the season will be held by NXT UK, named NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. This is the NXT UK only PPV for the off-season, where it has been announced, that it will be the place the inaugural WWE United Kingdom, NXT UK Tag Team and NXT UK Women's Champion's will be crowned.

July:

The final PPV of the off-season will be joint event held by both NXT UK and 205 Live, called WWE Worlds Collide, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. It has been announced that all four titles from both brands will be defended on the night and instead of a pre show, the WWE will be hosting its' initial draft for the upcoming season.

August:

Finally, the first pay-per-view of the WWE season would come. This event will be as usual in the August slot, SummerSlam. This will be televised from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Many matches have been announced to take place here, including the final for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, as well as the World Tag League Final. This will also be where the women's champion will be crowned in addition to both the men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder match.

September:

The first single branded PPV for the season will be hosted by SmackDown. It was announced this would be Backlash at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Not much information has been released about the event except that the World Heavyweight Championship will be defended against SmackDown's #1 contender.

October:

The second of the single branded pay-per-views' for the season will now be hosted by Raw. This would be a former SmackDown PPV in No Mercy, which would be held internationally, in Melbourne, Australia. Like September's Backlash, not much info has been released yet except the World Heavyweight Championship match between the champion and Raw's #1 contender.

November:

Staying in the November slot would be a pay-per-view we have seen for many years, Survivor Series. This will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and will be hosted all three brands, with NXT making a prominent appearance. All seven matches have already been planned for this event, including one Raw three-on-three tag team match, one SmackDown three-on-three tag team match, a mixed brand women's tag team match including Raw and SmackDown, three NXT three-on-three tag team matches and finally a singles match between the Intercontinental and United States champions. To finish the show there will be a small eight man draft between Raw and SmackDown selecting the promoted wrestlers from NXT.

December:

Also included on the PPV card this year will be NXT's own event, NXT TakeOver: War Games, held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The World Heavyweight Championship will not be defended on this show but all four of NXT's titles will be on the seven match card. This event is also a stepping stone for NXT stars to make a name for and present themselves as the future of the brand and company over the next 12 months.

January:

Staying in its' normal January placement will be the Royal Rumble, this year hosted at the Chase Field, in Phoenix, Arizona. Not much info has been released about this event but currently it is known that all three brands will make an appearance, with Raw and SmackDown taking major roles. This will also be the final pay-per-view defense of the World Heavyweight Championship before WrestleMania and of course the main event will be the 30-man Royal Rumble for the chance to wrestle the champion at the show of shows.

February:

A very old concept that has been changed and recently added back to the WWE is the King of the Ring, which will be the main focus of two pay-per-views each season. The first, KOTR I, will be televised from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event will feature all three brands and consist of the most popular match chosen by officials from all six groups.

March:

Following the first edition, KOTR II will then fill up the March PPV slot. This will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Much like the first edition, this event will be focused on the KOTR tournament. Four matches involved from the King of the Ring will be included such as both semi-finals, the third place match and of course the main event, the King of the Ring final.

April:

The April slot will now hold two pay-per-views, with one being a week after the other. The first is an NXT only PPV, dubbed as the WrestleMania of NXT. This will be held in the same city as WrestleMania and is called NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. Included on the match card is all four titles being defended as well as NXT's very own Money in the Bank ladder match to open the card.

Finally, to finish off the WWE season will be of course the show of shows, WrestleMania. Also held in New Orleans at a slightly bigger arena (the Mercedes-Benz Superdome), the final PPV of the season will be the biggest including a championship match for each title on the main roster except the Television Championship, and will feature the main event of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion against the winner of the Royal Rumble.

If you are new subscribe here at whatculture.com to keep up with the latest WWE news and rumours. Up next we will be releasing the NXT UK & 205 Live rosters before reporting on all the events happening at the first pay-per-view of the season, 205 Live's Cruiserweight Classic. Stay tuned, or tune into the WWE Network to see all of the NXT UK and 205 Live weekly shows live.

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[asvpxhughuet]

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Offseason Rosters Revealed

By Benjamin A. Richardson

Tuesday April 10, 2018

Earlier today we brought to you the newly released list of pay-per-views for the upcoming season in the WWE and now some more information has been delivered, this time the roster lists for both off-season brands, NXT UK and 205 Live, have both been revealed. There have been rumours that the planned WWE Draft has already taken place and will be aired on a later date, and I can confirm those rumours are true with brand GM's Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon and Paul Levesque all already making their selections, with a list of superstars unable to compete in the offseason being released. Therefore we do have our rosters, with a combined total 34 wrestlers' on either brand listed below.

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NXT UK:

Aiden English
Alexander Wolfe
Angelo Dawkins
Billie Kay (women)
Dakota Kai (women)
EC3
Eric Young
Kassius Ohno
Lars Sullivan
Montez Ford
Nick Miller
Oney Lorcan
Otis Dozovic
Peyton Royce (women)
Roderick Strong
Shane Thorne
Sheamus
Tucker Knight
Tyler Bate

Note: Superstars highlighted purple also compete on 205 Live.

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205 Live:

Akira Tozawa
Ariya Daivari
Cedric Alexander
Chad Gable
Gentleman Jack Gallagher
Gran Metalik
Kalisto
Lince Dorado
Maria Kanellis (women)
Mike Kanellis
Mustafa Ali
Noam Dar
Sin Cara
TJP
Tony Nese

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Tag Teams:

Heavy Machinery (Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic)
The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay)
Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado & Kalisto)
SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe)
The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
TM-61 (Shane Thorne & Nick Miller)

Note: Tag teams are highlighted in the colour of their brand. Black=NXT UK, Purple=205 Live.

With these lists now out it is hard not to speculate who will be appearing on either NXT or even the main roster from NXT UK and 205 Live, but both brands certainly do have the numbers to put up quality shows weekly as we look forward to the first event of the season tomorrow night.

As always, subscribe if you're new at whatculture.com and catch all of the NXT UK and 205 Live weekly action on the WWE Network. Up next we will have our coverage of the first pay-per-view of the season, 205 Live's Cruiserweight Classic.

Spoiler

Author's Note: During the off-season no weekly shows of NXT UK and 205 Live will be shown or updated, with only the big PPV events being broadcasted and written up. The write-ups will be sized from small to medium and can include minimal match information to a good amount of big events happening during the match. Please note this will be different during the regular Raw and SmackDown with weekly shows written up and PPV's including much more match detail.

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