Wednesday 5/4 Torch Today – Drew Gulak Livecast & mini-doc, Former UFC fighter reveals “American Grit” casting, Stephanie teases new WWE Network show, Shane’s day job, Jim Ross new blog, Moose calls out NFL commish, May WWE Network collections, Rock’s ex-wife talks expanding their biz empire, J-Mo on Lucha Underground expanding, SHIMMER news, Great Muta’s next big opponent, amateur legend banished

By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

TORCH TODAY – Wednesday, May 4

At PWTorchLivecast.com: On-demand access to the Payback and Raw post-game shows and Wade Keller & Travis Bryant from Tuesday’s Livecast. Plus, a live interview with EVOLVE tag champion Drew Gulak ahead of his WWE GCS qualifying match with PWTorch columnist Pat McNeill tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST.

At PWPodcasts.com: Recap of last week’s Pat McNeill Interview Wednesday with Homicide and Billy Reil.

At MMATorch.com: News on the build-up to UFC 200 and the sad death of Bellator MMA fighter Jordan Parsons.

Brian Stann, a retired UFC fighter and former Navy SEAL, revealed in a radio interview that he was turned down for a role on Fox’s military-themed “American Grit” show because he looks too much like host John Cena.

“I was actually at the last run of casting for ‘American Grit.’ I was very close to being on that show. Here’s the funny part – I obviously have a good relationship with Fox. It was Fox’s decision not to have me on the show at the very end,” Stann said on his podcast (transcribed by Fox Sports). “They decided that (he) and John Cena look too alike and are too similar demographically and it won’t spread our fanbase enough. So I did not make it on the show because of my big jaw and I’m half the size of John Cena by the way. Didn’t make the cut, folks.”

Jim Ross reviewed Monday’s Raw and Sunday’s Payback, discussed Ryback walking out of Raw TV, and previewed his next set of boxing calls for CBS Sports Network in his latest blog at jrsbarbq.com.

Moose, the former NFL player turned ROH star, called out out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a new interview with Sports Illustrated. He also credited New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick for preparing him for pro wrestling.

“Playing under Bill Belichick helped me a lot with how I get ready for a match,” Moose said. “Bill Belichick got you better prepared than any other coach in the NFL, and that’s one of the reasons why I come so prepared to my matches. I watch tape of my opponent, I study my opponent and I go into the match knowing more about him than he knows about himself.”

Stephanie McMahon teased involvement in a new show on WWE Network.

WWE officially announced WWE Network “collections” for May grouping library content together. Themes include Chyna, Becoming The Rock, War Games Collection, and classic Smackdown episodes.

Forbes published an interview with Dany Garcia, the ex-wife/business partner of The Rock. Garcia talked about their mission to “expand their entertainment empire” and she also went into detail on why they took an unconventional route of divorcing in order to be successful personally and professionally.

Shimmer Women’s Wrestling announced that tickets for SHIMMER 81-85 are currently on-sale, DVD Volumes 72-75 are available for pre-order, and SHIMMER 80 from WrestleMania Weekend in Dallas is available for on-demand viewing. (Details on Shimmer’s Homepage)

John Morrison (Johnny Mundo) talked to Brian Fritz for Sporting News about wanting to see Lucha Underground expand into Mexico and other TV markets to get more exposure for the show.

– Over at Shane McMahon’s day job, You On Demand announced a joint venture with Los Angeles-based Frequency Networks to expand consumer video reach in Asia.

– In Japan, Great Muta is scheduled to face Jun Akiyama on Muta’s big August 11 show. Akiyama made a surprise appearance at Wednesday’s Wrestle-1 show in Tokyo to set up the match. (Full Story) (Daily News Listing at PuroresuSpirit.net)

– In amateur wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame removed legendary amateur wrestler/coach Dennis Hastert from their HOF in Oklahoma following a conviction for child molestation. Hastert, who was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, was previously awarded the Order of Merit and given other recognitions. (Newspaper Report)

Video of the Day: WWNLive’s mini-documentary on Drew Gulak ahead of his Livecast appearance and WWE Global Cruiserweight Series qualifying match this weekend.

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