Tag: full sail university

WWE’s Chad Gable named Full Sail University class valedictorian

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE’s Chad Gable has been named the valedictorian of his Full Sail University class. 

Gable, real name Charles Betts, 35, graduated from Full Sail with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Media Design. He states in a social media post that he had a 4.0 GPA and was awarded an Advanced Achievement prize in addition to the valedictorian honor. 

On Instagram, Gable explained his return to school. 

“Right near the top of the lists of things I wouldn’t have believed if you told me two years ago, it’s that I would be going back to school,” he wrote. 

“Motion Graphics, animation and digital cinema/filmmaking have been a passion of mine since I was 14 years old and is what I chose to pursue for my bachelor’s degree, which I recived in 2010,” he continued. 

“Early on in the pandemic, the extra time and change in schedule led me to decide I didn’t want to come out the other side of it without using these things for something positive.”

Gable credits a corporate partnership between Full Sail and WWE, plus scholarships from the Comanche Nation and the United States Olympic Committee for allowing him to complete an accelerated degree program. 

WWE NXT moving TV full-time to PC as Full Sail partnership ends

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE will be spending some time and money in upgrading the Performance Center over the next month as it will be the long-term home of future NXT TV shows, according to Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Meltzer also reported that NXT’s relationship with Full Sail University is now over, ending a partnership that began in 2012 and was expanded in 2019. It’s unknown if NXT will still continue to use Full Sail students.

The reason NXT is taping three episodes next week at the Performance Center is due to the upgrades and changes, explained in storyline by Karrion Kross and Samoa Joe’s brawl last Wednesday that destroyed parts of the arena.

Meltzer said the belief is the show looks too dark on TV so the goals are to make the studio brighter with more lights and more color. Additionally, the plexiglass around ringside may be removed as well.

This aligns with changes coming to the brand that Meltzer has reported before — both from a visual and philosophical standpoint.

“From a creative standpoint, the show is supposed to give the wrestling students and prospects more television time and less time to the experienced veterans and strong workers, which is a seismic shift in the goal of attempting to present the best wrestling show possible to being a developmental television show. That is the doctrine, but how it plays out remains to be seen, but they do want the concept to be closer to the 2015 version of NXT,” he wrote.

WWE venues being investigated as possible COVID-19 hotspots

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Orange County Department of Health is investigating buildings WWE is running shows in as part of a wider investigation into COVID-19 hotspots in the county.

WFTV9 is reporting that The Orange County Department of Health is asking their COVID-19 strike team to investigate 17 businesses where COVID-19 may be spreading. The WWE Performance Center, Full Sail University, and the Amway Arena, all places WWE are currently holding events, are on the list.

WWE issued the following statement in response:

WWE is not open to the public, but rather operating on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance. As part of on-going weekly testing protocols, Aventus Labs have administered more than 10,000 PCR tests to WWE performers, employees, production staff and crew resulting in only 1.5 percent positive cases as compared to the current national average of more than 5%. Additionally, extensive contact tracing takes place and impacted individuals are placed in 14-day quarantine and then only cleared after they test negative.

There reportedly has been at least two COVID-19 outbreaks in WWE since moving all of their tapings to Florida, one in June and another in September. In the case of the latter, matches for Clash of the Champions had to be changed as a result, including the Women’s Tag Team title match between Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. The Riott Squad and Bayley vs. Nikki Cross.

Full Sail University suspends group events through end of April

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With Full Sail University announcing a suspension of group events, it appears that the next several weeks of NXT television are going to be impacted.

In a message sent to students regarding how the university is handling the coronavirus outbreak, Full Sail president Garry Jones announced that “all group events on campus will be suspended through the end of April.”

WWE has yet to make any announcements regarding the news, but Dave Meltzer wrote in today’s Daily Update that — while Full Sail is suspending events — he’s been told WWE is “going with the idea that the Performance Center will be the site of NXT every Wednesday with no fans allowed for at least the next month.”

This week’s NXT took place at the Performance Center because Full Sail was unavailable due to the university’s annual Hall of Fame week.

Tonight’s SmackDown and Monday’s Raw are also being held at the Performance Center. SmackDown was originally scheduled for the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, while Raw was set for the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The SmackDown and Raw episodes are taking place with only essential personnel in attendance.