WWE news and notes: 27th August, 2013

Natalya

• The person who appeared as Natalya‘s “crush” on the most recent episode of Total Divas was Rod Rage, an independent wrestler who appeared for Nattie’s uncle Bruce Hart’s Stampede Wrestling promotion in 2000.
• Earlier today, WWE announced a new collaborative effort with The Creative Coalition, who co-founded the “Be a STAR” anti-bullying campaign with WWE. This new effort will be a grant program that will allocate a grand total of US $100,000 in four chunks of $25,000 a piece. Each check will go to a charitable organization that has a specific focus on an anti-bullying agenda. Charities can get applications in by November 1st, and the recipients will be announced in early 2014.
• Former WWE star Zach Gowen recently spoke to The Temple-News on his brief-yet-memorable run in WWE. In the interview, he praises Vince McMahon, and also goes on to blame himself for his release, “I was released because of personality conflicts with the other wrestlers and management. It goes back to my emotional immaturity and not being able to handle that type of responsibility. When I was fired, I was really bitter, angry and hurt for a long time. I saw myself as a big, bad professional wrestler and that’s not who I was anymore.”
• Reddit.com user Dolphinz1925, who was outed as an anonymous WWE employee accused of leaking PPV match results prior to the events, has issued a lengthy statement on their Reddit account in regards to the scandal. This person reveals that they are not the suspected “mole”, and that the actual person leaking the results was passing the information to several anonymous internet users. Dolphinz1925 goes onto say he/she has not been in contact with the mole, and gets their information from someone who acts as a messenger between the two. This person also believes WWE has been changing match results for PPV events at the last minute simply to discredit the mole and its surrogates, which may or may not be true.
• Former WWE star Chris Masters recently posted an x-ray of his spine via his official Instagram account. In the picture, you can clearly see his spine is permanently crooked, which he attributes 100% to a decade in the wrestling business.
• Speaking of former WWE talents, former Divas Champion Eve Torres will have her first role in a movie soon, landing a role in the upcoming The Scorpion King 4, a franchise that has featured former World Champion Batista in the past, and was also the springboard for The Rock‘s acting career. Victor Webster will be reprising his role as the titular King, and along with Torres, will co-star with Rutger Hauer and Lou Ferrigno, to name a couple. Several other current and former pro athletes will be appearing as well, including MMA fighters Roy Nelson, Royce Gracie, Antonio Silva and kickboxing legend Don “The Dragon” Wilson.