{"id":9735,"date":"2016-02-03T15:54:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T21:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=9735"},"modified":"2016-02-03T16:00:06","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T22:00:06","slug":"feb3torchtoday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/02\/03\/feb3torchtoday\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday 2\/3 Torch Today &#8211; ESPN &#038; MSG &#8220;Get Well&#8221; messages for Bret Hart, Comcast reports earnings, McMahons\/Trump connection explored &#038; Linda&#8217;s political involvement, Billy Gunn addresses firing, Cryme Tyme returning to WWE?, Tye Dillinger injury update, Lucha Underground, Super 8, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1966372186\" 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; Wednesday, February 3, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Comcast<\/strong>, the parent company of WWE&#8217;s TV partner NBC Universal, <a href=\"http:\/\/deadline.com\/2016\/02\/comcast-q4-earnings-1201695568\/\" target=\"_blank\">announced their latest earnings on Wednesday<\/a>. Notably, executives were optimistic about being able to maintain traditional cable TV business in an era of cord-cutting and shifting viewing habits. Of course, the big helper is a new deal with the NFL bringing Thursday Night Football to the network in 2016. (<a href=\"http:\/\/deadline.com\/2016\/02\/comcast-execs-optimistic-about-traditional-tv-profitable-nfl-deal-1201695585\/\" target=\"_blank\">Report at Deadline.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Tuesday\u00a0night&#8217;s WWE segment on ESPNews &#8220;SportsCenter&#8221;\u00a0consisted of\u00a0<strong>Jonathan Coachman&#8217;s<\/strong> weekly awards given to matches\/segments from Raw. There was no interview this week. The segment closed with well-wishes to <strong>Bret Hart<\/strong>, who announced his battle with cancer on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Madison Square Garden in New York City issued a &#8220;Get Well Soon&#8221; message for <strong>Bret Hart<\/strong> on their big outdoors billboard.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BBVkQoBGuKV\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:500px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BBVkQoBGuKV\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BBVkQoBGuKV\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Madison Square Garden (@thegarden)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Billy Gunn<\/strong> talked around his WWE firing at the end of 2015 following a reported failed steroids test at a weightlifting meet. Gunn&#8217;s full quote to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.si.com\/extra-mustard\/2016\/02\/01\/wwe-billy-gunn-dx-wcw-invasion\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Featherstone for Sports Illustrated<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The first thing I want to make clear is the powerlifting meet that I went to, I wasn\u2019t on it to win that powerlifting contest because it was me against me anyway. I popped on their test, because I was over their test limit. Let\u2019s face it: I\u2019m 52-years-old. I have my [prescription] from the doctor, but it was the way it all came out is what they had to do. I don\u2019t blame them at all, and I\u2019m going to take every single bit of it because it wasn\u2019t fair to NXT for what Hunter had done for the company. What he\u2019s done with that brand is amazing. [WWE] had to do what they had to do. They did it, and I\u2019m perfectly fine with it, and hopefully one day they\u2019ll hire me back because I feel I was a pretty good coach. It\u2019s just the way it all came out. It wasn\u2019t anything that WWE did; they [had] to do what they did, and I feel like I let the NXT kids down. I never, ever wanted to do that. Ever. So I\u2019ll take that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Cryme Tyme<\/strong> is looking to get back into WWE. <strong>Shad Gaspard<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2016\/02\/03\/cryme-time-wwe-shad-gaspard\/\" target=\"_blank\">said to TMZ<\/a> that after spending time in acting, he and <strong>JTG<\/strong> are ready to return. &#8220;The honest truth is me and Jay would love to come back to the company,&#8221; Shad said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The out-of-the-ring WWE story to watch throughout 2016 is the connection between the <strong>McMahons<\/strong> and Republican presidential candidate <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong>. The first taste of that came in the last 12 hours when the Connecticut Post reported on <strong>Linda McMahon&#8217;s<\/strong> quiet political involvement and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/02\/opinion\/donald-trump-isnt-real.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">New York Times published an editorial<\/a> on Trump bringing wrestling theatrics into politics.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3619618854\" 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>Linda, who was unsuccessful in two U.S. Senate campaigns in Connecticut in recent years, has donated $200,000 to a PAC (political action committee) that is campaigning against\u00a0Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Linda is reportedly one of the top donors to the PAC. Linda was quoted by the Post that she\u00a0believes\u00a0people have a\u00a0&#8220;disillusionment\u00a0with government&#8221; as a motivating factor to indirectly get involved in the 2016 presidential race.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; NXT wrestler <strong>Tye Dillinger<\/strong> said he &#8220;will be back soon&#8221; after suffering an injury during\u00a0last weekend&#8217;s NXT tour.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I want to thank everyone for all the get well messages I&#39;ve received over the past few days. I&#39;m in great hands with the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWE<\/a> medical&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shawn Spears\u2122\ufe0f (@ShawnSpears) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnSpears\/status\/694987847984611332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWEDillinger\/status\/694988363074531328<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Pentagon, Jr.<\/strong>, one of the stars of Lucha Underground, was asked in a new interview whether he&#8217;s interested in joining WWE. &#8220;I\u2019ve never been approached or met anyone\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0worked with them, but I won\u2019t rule out the opportunity if at any point Lucha\u00a0Underground stopped existing and they become interested in me. I\u2019m here to work\u00a0and face anyone I can,&#8221; Pentagon told <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thetagrope.com\/#!Cero-Miedo-Pentagon-Jr-Speaks\/ipqtf\/56b211bc0cf26832893739b4\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;The Tag Rope&#8221; wrestling magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Also, former WWE writer <strong>Chris DeJoseph<\/strong>, now with\u00a0Lucha Underground, was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/underthematradio\/2016\/02\/03\/under-the-mat-radio-lucha-with-a-vengence\" target=\"_blank\">interviewed by &#8220;Under the Mat&#8221; Radio<\/a> about Rey Mysterio joining the promotion, working with Robert Rodriguez of El Rey Network vs. Vince McMahon, Seasons 2 and 3, and more topics.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>ECWA<\/strong> announced their Hvt. champion <strong>Sean Carr<\/strong> for the annual Super 8 tournament on April 23. The headliner of the tournament is Davey Richards. (<a href=\"http:\/\/ecwaprowrestling.com\/ecwa\/\" target=\"_blank\">ECWA Info<\/a>)<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2317154061\"><div id=\"pwtor-2555510474\"><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; Wednesday, February 3, 2016 &#8211; Comcast, the parent company of WWE&#8217;s TV partner NBC Universal, announced their latest earnings on Wednesday. Notably, executives were optimistic about being able to maintain traditional cable <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/02\/03\/feb3torchtoday\/\" title=\"Wednesday 2\/3 Torch Today &#8211; ESPN &#038; MSG &#8220;Get Well&#8221; messages for Bret Hart, Comcast reports earnings, McMahons\/Trump connection explored &#038; Linda&#8217;s political involvement, Billy Gunn addresses firing, Cryme Tyme returning to WWE?, Tye Dillinger injury update, Lucha Underground, Super 8, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4127,"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-9735","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\/post\/2015\/11\/SportsCenter_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735","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=9735"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9758,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735\/revisions\/9758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}