{"id":11198,"date":"2016-02-18T14:45:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T20:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=11198"},"modified":"2016-02-18T14:45:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T20:45:21","slug":"feb18torchtoday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/02\/18\/feb18torchtoday\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday 2\/18 Torch Today &#8211; WWE adds jobs, Jericho&#8217;s post-WM32 plans, Zack Ryder&#8217;s workout, Styles&#8217;s non-WWE merch expiring, Angle returning to U.K., Dreamer talks U.K. tour, 2K Sports&#8217;s PC &#038; WWE Supercard announcements, cancer patient reaches out to Rock, WWE DVDs in Spain, how to help &#8220;Mama Meanie&#8221; funeral costs, Videos &#8211; Edge &#038; Cesaro talk Bryan retirement, Bischoff DVD trailer, Hannibal wants boxing fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2975902092\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>TORCH TODAY &#8211; Thursday, February 18, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; One week ago, WWE reported Full-Year 2015 financials, then released their <a href=\"http:\/\/ir.corporate.wwe.com\/Cache\/c32920099.html#PartIII\" target=\"_blank\">10-K annual report<\/a>. There were\u00a0numerous business\u00a0items to pull out from the report, which we&#8217;ve covered in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/tag\/wwe-earnings\/\" target=\"_blank\">Earnings tag HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another interesting item is WWE now has its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stamfordadvocate.com\/business\/article\/WWE-employment-at-record-high-6831651.php\" target=\"_blank\">largest workforce in company history<\/a>, mainly in support of WWE Network. WWE noted that as of February 2016, WWE had 840 employees, an increase of nearly 80 employees from February 2015. The progression of WWE&#8217;s workforce has been interesting\u00a0since the Network launched.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>February 2013 &#8211; WWE had 721 employees one year before the Network launched.<\/li>\n<li>February 2014 &#8211; WWE had 762 employees when the Network launched two years ago.<\/li>\n<li>February 2015 &#8211; WWE had 761 employees one year into the Network.<\/li>\n<li>February 2016 &#8211; WWE jumped to 840 employees two years after the Network launched, which also means more expenses in support of the Network.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/mmatorch.com\" target=\"_blank\">At MMATorch.com<\/a>: UFC scrapped plans for B.J. Penn&#8217;s return after sexual assault allegations surfaced. (<a href=\"http:\/\/mmatorch.com\/2016\/02\/18\/ufc-scraps-plans-for-b-j-penns-return-following-serious-allegations-of-sexual-assault\/\" target=\"_blank\">Full Report<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Chris Jericho<\/strong> is advertised for WWE events after WrestleMania. WWE sent out a <a href=\"http:\/\/ebm.e.wwe.com\/c\/tag\/hBWxc5nB8L$g$B9K3vDNdV-PKwW\/doc.html\" target=\"_blank\">pre-sale alert<\/a> for the April 12 Smackdown TV taping in San Diego that includes Jericho, <strong>Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, <\/strong>and<strong> Bray Wyatt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Zack Ryder<\/strong> is the subject of a <a href=\"http:\/\/projects.newsday.com\/health\/perfect-workout-exercises-with-zack-ryder\/#!\/\" target=\"_blank\">Newsday<\/a> feature on the &#8220;Perfect Workout.&#8221; Included are video clips of Ryder&#8217;s work out routine. WWE&#8217;s fitness investment, Tapout, is featured prominently in the video series. (<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.newsday.com\/health\/perfect-workout-exercises-with-zack-ryder\/#!\/\" target=\"_blank\">Watch the Workouts at Newsday.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>A.J. Styles&#8217;s<\/strong> non-WWE merchandise will be off the market Friday. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prowrestlingtees.com\/ajstyles\" target=\"_blank\">Pro Wrestling Tees<\/a>\u00a0noted that Friday is the last day to get items from Styles&#8217;s t-shirt collection.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Kurt Angle<\/strong> is returning to the U.K. next weekend. Angle is scheduled for the London Film &amp; Comic Con on February 27 and 28. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.londonfilmandcomicconspring.com\/index.php\/9-fccb-guests\/guests-filmandtv\/364-kurt-angle\" target=\"_blank\">Event Info<\/a>)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3860050499\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Tommy Dreamer<\/strong> talked to U.K.-based <a href=\"http:\/\/www.totalwrestlingmagazine.co.uk\/tommy-dreamer-understands-calibre-of-talent-in-the-uk-from-his-time-hiring-in-wwe\/\" target=\"_blank\">Total Wrestling Magazine<\/a> ahead of an upcoming U.K. independent tour. Dreamer talked about trying to fit the <strong>Mick Foley\/Terry Funk<\/strong>\u00a0from 20 years ago in ECW\u00a0working with today&#8217;s younger generation of wrestlers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2K Sports officially announced plans for the &#8220;<strong>WWE 2K16<\/strong>&#8221; video game to be released March 11 on the Windows PC system. The game will mirror the versions for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00XR3YBM0\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00XR3YBM0&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=pw075-20&amp;linkId=3J4JQA622TRSVWU6\" target=\"_blank\">PS4<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B016ASW27E\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B016ASW27E&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=pw075-20&amp;linkId=VRG5YPD52B52X3GC\" target=\"_blank\">Xbox One<\/a>. Details on the Downloadable Content included in the PC version can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/wwe.2k.com\/news\/wwe-2k16-pc\" target=\"_blank\">2K.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2K Sports also announced an update for Season 2 of the &#8220;<strong>WWE Supercard<\/strong>&#8221; mobile game. New features include &#8220;Team Ring Domination,&#8221; Team People&#8217;s Champion, and Chat toasts. The game is available for free download in the App Store,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00MNOTWAK\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00MNOTWAK&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=pw075-20&amp;linkId=JHWEWNZD37BEAFLQ\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon Appstore<\/a>, and Google Play Store. (<a href=\"https:\/\/wwe.2k.com\/news\/team-focused-update-arrives-on-wwe-supercard#prclt-kb24EUyn\" target=\"_blank\">More Info on the update at 2K.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A &#8220;Go Fund Me&#8221; campaign has launched to help cover funeral costs for the mother of &#8220;<strong>Blue Meanie<\/strong>&#8221; Brian Heffron. &#8220;Mama Meanie,&#8221; as she was affectionately known to Heffron&#8217;s Twitter followers, died on February 11 after a lengthy illness.<\/p>\n<p>Sean Hoff, a friend of Heffron&#8217;s, established the fund with a goal of $8,500. As of Wednesday night, the campaign had raised close to half that amount within two days. (More information at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/pg3zerdm\" target=\"_blank\">GoFundMe.com<\/a>. Follow Blue Meanie on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueMeanieBWO\" target=\"_blank\">@BlueMeanieBWO<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; WWE is planning to re-launch\u00a0DVD sales in Spain throughout 2016. Included will be a Spanish-language option, reports <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrcbtv.com\/story\/31249636\/help-local-boy-meet-the-rock\" target=\"_blank\">SoloWrestling.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/02\/tater-poster.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11199\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-11199\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/02\/tater-poster-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"tater-poster\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>&#8211; A seven-year-old boy fighting cancer, <strong>Gabriel<\/strong>, is reaching out to <strong>&#8220;The Rock&#8221; Dwayne Johnson<\/strong> hoping to meet him. After going through cancer treatments, Gabriel&#8217;s mom gave him some inspiration by noting Rock&#8217;s head is shaved like his. Gabriel made a poster hoping to reach Rock, which was picked up by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrcbtv.com\/story\/31249636\/help-local-boy-meet-the-rock\" target=\"_blank\">local NBC TV station in Chattanooga, Tennessee<\/a>. (Thanks to Lou)<\/p>\n<p><strong>VIDEO UPDATES<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2316762227\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmz.com\/videos\/0_xlt3hjr2\" target=\"_blank\">TMZ<\/a> caught up with <strong>Edge<\/strong> (Adam Copeland) to discuss <strong>Daniel Bryan&#8217;s<\/strong> retirement. Copeland also discussed his own retirement from neck injuries resulting from a history of ladder matches. &#8220;I fell off ladders a lot and that took a toll on the neck,&#8221; Copeland said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 700; height: 394px;\" src=\"\/\/cdnapisec.kaltura.com\/p\/591531\/sp\/59153100\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/6740162\/partner_id\/591531?iframeembed=true&amp;playerId=kaltura_player_1413478522&amp;entry_id=0_xlt3hjr2\" width=\"664\" height=\"421\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Injured WWE star <strong>Cesaro<\/strong> was interviewed by <a href=\"http:\/\/gulfnews.com\/life-style\/celebrity\/hollywood\/swiss-superman-lands-at-gulf-news-1.1675280\" target=\"_blank\">Gulf News<\/a> promoting WWE&#8217;s post-WrestleMania tour of the Middle East in April. Cesaro wrapped up a promotional tour and talked about D-Bryan&#8217;s retirement, too.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE Superstar Cesaro names his top 5 favorite wrestlers\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sUN-GQqt7Lg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A teaser trailer has been released for WWE&#8217;s forthcoming <strong>Eric Bischoff<\/strong> DVD release, featuring soundbytes from former WCW wrestlers. The DVD is scheduled for release in June. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com\/teaser-trailer-wwe-eric-bischoff-most-controversial-dvd\/110203\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WDNcom+%28Wrestling+DVD+Network%29\" target=\"_blank\">WrestlingDVDNetwork.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZsWPGt5Sf7w<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Canadian independent wrestler <strong>Hannibal<\/strong> is campaigning to be <strong>Roy Jones, Jr.&#8217;s<\/strong> boxing opponent on the &#8220;UR Fight&#8221; PPV scheduled for March 20 in Phoenix. This is the PPV with <strong>Kurt Angle<\/strong> vs. <strong>Rey Mysterio, Ken Shamrock<\/strong>, and others.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HANNIBAL on Roy Jones JR Fight Contest\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DoNYoIG6VUU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1611051146\"><div id=\"pwtor-4080470104\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>TORCH TODAY &#8211; Thursday, February 18, 2016 &#8211; One week ago, WWE reported Full-Year 2015 financials, then released their 10-K annual report. There were\u00a0numerous business\u00a0items to pull out from the report, which we&#8217;ve covered in <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/02\/18\/feb18torchtoday\/\" title=\"Thursday 2\/18 Torch Today &#8211; WWE adds jobs, Jericho&#8217;s post-WM32 plans, Zack Ryder&#8217;s workout, Styles&#8217;s non-WWE merch expiring, Angle returning to U.K., Dreamer talks U.K. tour, 2K Sports&#8217;s PC &#038; WWE Supercard announcements, cancer patient reaches out to Rock, WWE DVDs in Spain, how to help &#8220;Mama Meanie&#8221; funeral costs, Videos &#8211; Edge &#038; Cesaro talk Bryan retirement, Bischoff DVD trailer, Hannibal wants boxing fight\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[601],"class_list":["post-11198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quicknews","tag-torch-today"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/AngleKurtTB_3x2_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11201,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11198\/revisions\/11201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}