KEVIN NASH TALKS ABOUT WORKING WITH THE NEXT GENERATION

 Kevin Nash recently spoke with Slam Wrestling about his future with WWE. Here are some highlights:


Working with the next generation of WWE talents:
“I think it’s a good fit, helping out young talent, especially right now. The only people that can help out young talent are people who have experience.


It’s true that (the older generation) can’t give them that much in terms of showing them (moves), but we can give them psychology — how to put a match together, how to tell a story. One of the biggest problems this business has had, is that the people who have taught wrestling have always been ‘mechanics’, but they’ve never been the guys who’ve drawn money. You need guys that have drawn money to teach guys how to draw money.


There’s a different process to be an opening card guy to being a main event guy. There’s a specific way a main event guy works. Those are the things that I think I can bring to the new generation of guys.”


Things working out right in his career:
“I don’t think there’s a lot of people on the planet that have my size, my build, my face. Most giants aren’t exactly handsome and can call themselves ‘Big Sexy’. I’ve been blessed with a different package than most big guys. I was more mobile than most — even when I was beat up and torn up. And I had a good sense of humour. And, like anything else, the stars have to kind of line up. I was blessed that things worked out for me.”

WHO WAS THAT FATHER AND SON ON RAW?

The adult male who R-Truth threw a soda at last night on RAW was played by actor Kelci Jones.


A fan wrote, “The father on Raw tonight was actually an actor from Omaha who was with his nephew(s). He is active in the local arts and music scene in Omaha, Nebraska.


His name is Kelci Jones. He is a friend on Facebook and stated yesterday that he would be on with his nephew. I was curious how that was going to play out. He stated that Vince McMahon ‘liked his swagger.’”

DDP TALKS ABOUT RETURNING AND WORKING WITH WWE

Former World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page appeared on the Right After Wrestling show last night. Here are some highlights:


DDP on possibly coming back to the WWE in the future & how he is doing today:
“I spoke to Johnny Ace about this…I haven’t heard back from him on it. I told him I would love to do some kind of PR. Some public relations. That sort of thing is what Vince [McMahon] wanted me to do when I left. He wanted me to stay and be the color-commentator but I was burnt out of wrestling for so many years and I needed a break. Long story short, 10 years later I’m still doing pretty well but I would love to be a part of the WWE family.”


What DDP thinks of the whole Kurt Angle/Randy Orton “finishing move” situation:
“The thing is you don’t use the guy’s finish in the same company. If you’re in TNA and Kurt Angle is using the Ankle Lock, then you don’t do it in that company because Kurt will really take your ankle and put you in it and break your ankle. But if you’re in the WWE or the independent circuit, it is what it is. I don’t know what’s happening between Randy [Orton] and Kurt [Angle] but I love Randy using the RKO. Being it’s a version of the Diamond Cutter, people will think of me whenever he hits that move. And I think Randy is the greatest wrestler in the World…I think he is the very best. ”


Memories of working with Macho Man Randy Savage in WCW:
“[My favorite match with Randy Savage was our first one at Spring Stampede] because that’s where he put me over. We were doing house shows and one night in Florence, South Carolina, Arn Anderson walked into the locker room and he was the agent. He asked Macho what he wanted to do tonight and Randy said, ‘I think I wanna take the Diamond Cutter’, and it almost knocked Arn over. Arn asked me if I knew how much of an honor that was and I was like, ‘ummm yeah’! When I hit the Diamond Cutter the crowd exploded. When the referee slid down, the entire place was counting 1-2-3 and the crowd exploded again – and Randy (while laying there) said to me, “I think we have our finish to Spring Stampede’!”

NAMES CONFIRMED FOR WWE' 12 GAME

Names currently confirmed for the new WWE ’12 video game are Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, John Cena and Randy Orton. Ring announcer Justin Roberts and commentators Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are also confirmed. Ricardo Rodriguez is also confirmed for the game as he’s featured in Del Rio’s entrance.


It sounds like the game will also feature Legends as The Road Warriors and The Rock are heavily rumored but not confirmed.


More footage and details on WWE ’12 will be released at the E3 convention next week. THQ will unveil the WWE ’12 demo next week at the convention and then release it online.


WWE and THQ’s Cory Ledesma noted on Twitter that gameplay related features will be revealed at E3 but details on other game modes and features won’t be released until August.


Cory also confirmed that WWE ’12 will only be released on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii. The game won’t be released on PSP or any other consoles.

TRAILER OF WWE'S NEW GAME WWE' 12

Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the new WWE video game – WWE ’12. Here’s the teaser trailer:

Here’s part of IGN’s details on the game:


“For years WWE SmackDown vs. Raw has been the Sports Entertainment simulation series from THQ and Yuke’s Yokohama. It’s been a fun ride, but as with any franchise, fans have complained about annual aspects over and over again. Turns out the developers were listening, killed the series, and are planning on fixing things with WWE ’12.


The stiff animations, the characters warping into place for certain moves, the confusing right analog stick controls for grapples — WWE ’12 is addressing all of that and feels good so far. That’s pretty damn exciting.


Now, it would be easy to glance at screenshots and assume THQ and developer Yuke’s Yokohama just dumped the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw name and called it a day. That’s what I did. For a few days leading into my meeting, THQ had been telling me this game was going to be unlike any other WWE game I had seen, but when I finally laid eyes on it, WWE ’12 sure did look similar to WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011.


Then, I started to play it. THQ and Yuke’s didn’t just change the name, they changed the game’s DNA. There’s a new animation system, new blending methods, something called “Predator Technology” — basically, they went under the game’s hood and ripped out all the old stuff that people hated and plugged in brand new parts to try and make the most fluid wrestling game around.


When John Cena’s suplexing an opponent, a third Superstar can punch Cena and break up the move. You can do that for any move — even Finishers and mini-games like the Royal Rumble eliminations. When you’re slammed to the mat at the beginning of a bout, you’re going to sell the move and get up at the same time so that the match keeps a fast-paced feel. When you’re getting up from any move, you’re going to have a window to strike before you’re even to your feet. The goal is to have a game that feels like anything can happen from any position and eradicate that stiffness and clunkiness that has always been a calling card of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw.


For me, it all came together watching a three-man match. Orton laid out an opponent and went to the ring apron, Cena immediately started his 5-Knuckle Shuffle routine on the downed man, and as Cena was coming down, Randy Orton launched himself from the apron to land a splash. Orton hit, Cena hit, and Orton hit again. The sequence was polished and fast — it looked like a spot from ECW of old. There was no blown animation as the character on the ground reacted to the first move and ignored the other.


People don’t warp to the center of the ring for a 5-Knuckle Shuffle and similar moves anymore; the move happens where it happens. The ropes no longer stay awkwardly still during matches; you slam someone and the ring reacts. The tired fonts and menus of old have been ditched for a new setup. Visually, new shaders and tech have been introduced to make the game look better than ever. There’s definition to the character’s faces instead of the blur there was last year, and depth of field has been introduced to give the brand new arenas weight and realism.


The game, according to THQ, has been taken apart and put back together, and from the little I’ve seen, I believe them — though the changes aren’t monumental when you stare at a still image, they shine in motion.


Seeing the game in motion is where the proof of all these Predators and shaders lives. I’ve already talked about how the moves flow together, but there’s more to it than that. The days of analog stick grapples are over. Now, everything’s going back to the face buttons of your favorite controller. Grapple, strike, pin and Finisher are all right there for the taking. There are no strong and weak grapples — the moves you’re pulling off are dependent on how worn down the opponent is.


That’s all well and good, but there are specific things THQ has peppered in that affect the gameplay. First, there’s limb targeting in WWE ’12. You can attack the head, arms or legs, and while this obviously puts you in a good place for certain finishers, it also really twists the match in whatever direction you want it to go. If you’re up against a lightning quick high flier, you can work the legs so the opponent can’t get around as quickly and can’t zip up the turnbuckles. Work the head, and the opponent is going to be a groggy mess. All this plays into how easy it’ll be to get an opponent to tap in the new “Breaking Point” submission system where players tap buttons in a tug of war mini-game.


Epic brawls are going to look like the epic brawls you see on TV — both in terms of the new camera angle that’s more pulled back and the gameplay speed I talked about earlier — but they get even more like Monday Night Raw when you add in the new Wake Up Taunts in WWE ’12. Basically, you know how Randy Orton pounds the ground before he goes to hit his Finisher on TV? That can happen in the game now. You knock your opponent down with your Finisher primed, hit the taunt button, and you’ll get a celebration that ends with the opponent getting to his feet in the perfect setup for your big move. The opponent gets a chance at reversing it, but it really brings together that TV style presentation THQ’s been working on for the last few years.


That said, I thought the stamina bar was a bit of a step backwards in WWE ’12. The last few WWE SmackDown vs. Raw games incorporated a barely visible halo around the Superstars feet to keep players in-tune with how they’re doing in a match and not distract from the presentation. As of now, WWE ’12 features a big meter with a name on it at the bottom of the screen showing how close you are to building a Signature or Finisher (you can store two Finishers). I found it jarring as the game looks better than ever and is trying so hard to mimic broadcasts.


Still, that’s the only gripe I have with the new direction. WWE ’12 also adds Dynamic Comebacks, which are those tried and true combos you see folks like Cena throw out that take them from the edge of defeat to clearing the ring. If you reach a certain amount of damage, you’ll be able to have a shot to use this one-time combo. Pull it off, and you get two Finishers.


These stored Finishers and Dynamic Comebacks make it seem like my friends and I are going to have some awesome matches, but THQ and Yuke’s want you to have awesome matches with computer-controlled opponents, too. The AI learns this time around. If you spam run attacks like I do (I’m infamous on the Internet for my floatover DDT), the computer opponent is supposed to recognize that and be ready to counter it. For the first time, THQ says that the computer is going to remember what you’ve been doing and what it’s been doing. (i.e. if it picks up a chair, it’s not going to drop it — it’s going to hit you with it.)


Balancing the difficulty isn’t just a focus when it comes to the man versus machine matches. THQ found that people figured out how to master the pinning system pretty quickly in SVR 11, so it’s been redone in WWE ’12. It’s still a metered system (hold a button to fill a meter and release it when it gets to a window on the meter), but the window moves around this time at random — it won’t always be in the same spot. Similarly, the window size varies on how beat up you are, and if you’re pinned after the opponent hits his Finisher, the meter might not pop up to the two-count so you’d only have one shot at it. “