WWE's Top Stories, Rumors and Buzz for Week of November 21

Survivor Series has been WWE's main priority over the past week, but there were a lot of other things happening that made headlines.

WWE Awards Scholarships

NXT is taped at Full Sail University in Florida. This is a school that specializes in educating students in different areas of art and entertainment, so there is no shortage of media-savvy students to help the company with its production.

According to WWE.com, four people received scholarships this week in the amount of $10,000 each, bringing the total amount of money granted to Full Sail students by the company up to $180,000.

WWE has been very philanthropic in recent years, but this is different. These people weren't given handouts. They earned this money by working hard to help make NXT into the amazing show it has become.

Congratulations to Joanne Castillo, Travis Daniels, Brandon Mojica and Kas Soloman for receiving these scholarships for their hard work and dedication.

By supporting and encouraging students, WWE is ensuring that it has future employees who not only know how the company works, but have a passion for making it the best wrestling/entertainment company it can be.

Everyone Wants The Undertaker to Laugh

The WWE Network has been airing several Undertaker-themed shows in the week leading up to Survivor Series, starting with an episode of Legends with JBL.

The former Acolyte interviewed Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Triple H about their history with The Deadman, and something interesting was revealed.

It turns out over the years many people have attempted to make The Undertaker break character and laugh during matches.

They recounted a few specific stories, but it sounded like Taker was nearly impossible to break. He is known for his professionalism and work ethic, so it's not surprising.

Now that we know it's a running gag for people to mess with him, it's going to make going back and watching his matches a little more interesting.

WWE Signs Third-Generation Luchador

WWE.com announced on Thursday that Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza, better known to Mexican wrestling fans as La Sombra, has signed a developmental deal and is now working at the Performance Center.

La Sombra, or The Shadow, is a highly successful wrestler who has held over a dozen titles in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Several members of Oropeza's family are in the business. They might not be as recognizable as the Guerreros to wrestling fans, but that is partly because they have primarily wrestled outside the United States.

It's unknown at this time if he will keep the La Sombra name, but knowing Vince McMahon, he will want to brand Oropeza with a new moniker, much like he did with Sin Cara and Alberto Del Rio.

Oropeza began wrestling at the age of 17. He is a little more muscular than most luchadors, but that doesn't mean he is short on high-flying skills. Hopefully he can bring something new to NXT.

Sabrina Gets Blocked

Sitcom star and WWE superfan Melissa Joan Hart made some comments on Twitter that seemed to rile some fans up, but the person who seemed to take it the worst was Kevin Owens.

Hart called Owens a lazy wrestler, but after she received a lot of backlash, she explained that she was talking about his character, not the real person.

She tweets about Raw almost every Monday night, and she has even been featured on WWE television as a social media ambassador, whatever that is.

Receiving negative comments on social media is a way of life for celebrities, so she is probably laughing off all the hate in her mansion while watching WWE in her home theater.

WWE needs more proud female fans, and it's great to see someone who isn't ashamed of their love for professional wrestling being so passionate about it while engaging with other fans online.

Nick Bockwinkel Passes Away

The world of wrestling lost another legend when WWE Hall of Famer and certified tough guy Nick Bockwinkel passed away at the age of 80 on November 14.

Bockwinkel was known far and wide for his incredible wrestling ability, ring psychology and charisma. He was one of those people everyone called "ahead of his time."

The multi-time world champion feuded with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport, including Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and Tito Santana.

"

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Nick Bockwinkel. He was a huge inspiration to Sandow version 1.

— Damien Sandow (@TheDamienSandow) November 15, 2015"

He was the man who ended Verne Gagne's seven-year reign as AWA champion, had an eight-year reign of his own and accumulated more than 30 different titles from a handful of promotions.

WWE paid tribute to Bockwinkel on Raw and SmackDown, acknowledging his storied career and contributions to the sport. B/R's own Ryan Dilbert wrote a great article looking at the legend's memorable promo skills. If you have some time, check it out.

Rest in peace, Nick.

WWE Comments on Controversial Angle

The final segment of the November 16 edition of Raw featured a contract signing between Paige and Charlotte for the Divas title match at Survivor Series, but the thing that got everyone's attention was a comment Paige made.

The Glampire had some disparaging words to say about Charlotte's late brother, Reid. The segment upset a lot of people on social media, with many calling WWE out for using a real death to advance a storyline.

However, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Charlotte not only signed off on the idea, but she had some input in the way it was presented.

Unfortunately, Ric Flair and his ex-wife, Elizabeth weren't told this would be happening ahead of time, and it caused some understandable heartbreak when their son's passing was used for an angle.

Flair has the following to say on his Woooo Nation podcast. "I was very sensitive to it obviously, its a very sensitive issue.  It's still very new."

In response to all the controversy, WWE issued the following statement to PWInsider:

"

Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming.

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WWE has been criticized countless times over the years for various reason, so this won't hurt the company's bottom line, but it might cause a few people to think twice about tuning in every Monday night.

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter: @BR_Doctor.