Chris Jericho recently spoke with Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald to promote his new WWE DVD, “The Road Is Jericho.” Below are highlights from the interview.
On working with younger talents and including his Bray Wyatt match on the new DVD: “In this day, most of the guys are newer. That’s just the cycle of wrestling. I’m fortunate enough to be doing this for 25 years and can still do this at a high level. I’m still Chris Jericho. As far as years in the ring, I have more than Triple H. I have more than Kane. I think only Goldust and Undertaker really have as many years in the ring. Just to stay in the company and continue to work, you have to work with the younger guys. I think that is important to do that.
“This is why I included the Bray Wyatt match on the DVD because I thought it was a great match. I think the Randy Orton match I had was a great match. I don’t always want it to be a career retrospective just based around 1999 to 2004 or whatever. I’ve had great matches every year in my career, so I think it’s important to support that and continue to remind people of that. I’ve enjoyed working with Bray Wyatt. I think the cage match we had on Raw was tremendous. One of the best ones I’ve done. I think the match I had with Orton at [Night of Champions] is the best one we’ve ever had.
“So it’s important to work with the younger guys, but it’s not like there is any choice to work with anybody else. I like working with whoever it is that I feel I would have fun with. When I went back to do the live events over the last couple of months, that was one of the things. I would love to come back to do live events, but who am I working with? I need to know that before I get in the ring. The two names they picked were Cesaro and [Luke] Harper. I love both of those guys, so it worked out great.”
On WrestleMania 31 and talents he would like to work with: “I like the concept. It amazes every year. It’s always good. Of course, I want to see Triple H and Sting. I know what kind of match it’s going to be because I’ve seen Sting in TNA for the last 10 years. It’s not like he is going to come back and be different in the ring. The storyline is what counts. I’m excited for Brock [Lesnar] and Roman Reigns. I’m a big Reigns fan. I’ve been a supporter of his for years. I think the [Intercontinental championship] ladder match will be great. There is a lot of stuff on there. I think it’s pretty cool NXT is doing a big building before WrestleMania as well, 5,000 seats.
“There are a lot of guys there I would like to work with. I would like to work with [Finn] Bálor. I would like to work with Sami Zayn and [Adrian] Neville. Even [Dean] Ambrose, [Seth] Rollins and Reigns I would like to work with. I would like to work with Daniel Bryan as a heel. I think I can bring something out of him that he hasn’t been seen. It is one thing the company really doesn’t have is strong heels. Maybe they have strong heels, but not the way Jericho would be if the circumstances were right. That would be interesting to come back as a heel.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
Miami’s FOX 7 Entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet recently interviewed The Rock to promote his role in the new “Furious 7” film. Below are highlights and video of the interview.
On giving Jason Statham the Rock Bottom in “Furious 7”: “The idea was I got together with Jason Statham and said let’s put together an epic fight that’s going to be memorable. And at the end to punctuate it I said ‘Alright brother, what if I hooked you’ and he’s like ‘Yeah? Suplex?’ and I said ‘No, not a suplex. First time ever on film, I hit you with the Rock Bottom.’ When you present that to a movie star like Jason, you’re at a crossroads because if ego is involved the movie star could say ‘I don’t know. That your thing, it’s a big finishing move and I don’t want you to hit me with it.’ If you check your ego at the door like Statham did, it was great. He’s a focused guy and we pulled it off and we went through the glass table, cut us up a little bit and he was game to play and he came to rumble. And by the way, it’s the best move of the movie.”
On whether he thinks Roman Reigns is ready to be the WWE Champion? “Ready to headline WrestleMania and ready to be the Champ are two different things. I think that he’s in a unique position. He’s being pushed quickly, I was in that position before so I know what it’s like, but at the same time you either sink or swim so you’ve got no choice but to be ready. Fans have expressed their displeasure in it and that is the best part about the WWE Universe is that they’re so vocal and passionate about how they feel. I think he’s going to go out with Brock, who I’ve known for a very long time, and they’re going to have a hell of a match and that’s what I expect.”
On the rumors about facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32: “In Dallas? Possibly. There’s a lot of things that are up in the air. We’ll see. I would love that rematch. Whatever it is I think that you want to create something that is going to be special, memorable and especially in Dallas at that stadium and you have a shot at breaking the attendance record.”
On how he thinks CM Punk will do in UFC: “I think he’s going to great because he’s putting in the time to train. And he’s had the background anyway so I think he’s going to great.”
The WWE Network is advertising a four-way tag-team match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships for the official WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Show.
The match is scheduled to feature Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos, which means Jey Uso is likely able to work through his shoulder injury.
We are saddened to announce that El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, one of the top wrestlers in Mexico, died early this morning after wrestling on a AAA show in Tijuana, Mexico last night.
According to news reports, El Hijo took a dropkick from Rey Mysterio and landed on the middle rope to set up for the 619. He apparently landed on his trachea, causing severe whiplash. He was knocked out by the move and never regained consciousness.
The match was taken to an impromptu finish as El Hijo was put in a backbrace by paramedics and taken out of the arena to Del Prado hospital.
Local news outlet El-Mexicano.com reported that El Hijo was pronounced dead around 1:00 a.m. local time.
AAA issued a brief statement early Saturday on Twitter, translated:
“The grief overwhelms our hearts. Rest in peace, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo.”
El Hijo main-evented AAA’s “Rey de Reyes” PPV just two days earlier, along with Rey Mysterio, in his first match since leaving WWE.
Our condolences to the family and friends of El Hijo Del Perro. Rest in Peace.
I will never fully understand Mexico’s fascination with death. It all dates back to the ancient Aztec civilization. They had a perspective on life and afterlife that is remarkably different from the perspectives of many modern cultures. Today most people, myself included, believe that the afterlife is determined by how a person lived. In contrast, the Aztecs believed that a person’s afterlife was determined by how that person died. Keep in mind most of them, if not all of them, were warriors. They also believed that death was just a portal to the underworld, a place from where a plethora of gods ruled the earth. More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now central Mexico, they encountered natives practicing rituals that seemed to mock death. The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during their rituals. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it, staring at it face to face with disdain, impatience and irony. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. I suppose that, philosophically speaking, what the people were embracing was Mexico’s fascination with death as a metaphor for life.
Tonight’s show starts us off with a video package recapping Big Ryck’s feud with The Crew, the Drago-Aerostar best of five series matches and the Muertes-Fenix storyline for tonight’s coffin match.
Vampiro and Striker are with us on commentary and Melissa Santos informs us that the first match will be match three in the best of five series between Aerostar and Drago. Each man has one win. Aerostar is first to come out, followed by Drago.
Drago vs. Aerostar
Match number 3 of the Series
Whenever you work a best of five you have to be innovative and change it up every time you meet in order to avoid redundancy. Not a lot of wrestlers have the ability to do that (with some guys if you’ve seen one match you’ve seen them all) but kudos to these two for doing something different and exciting tonight. They started off kind of slow but once they got going they pulled off some really cool spots. I was genuinely excited to see what they would do since their last two matches were full of back and forth action.
Aerostar gets a series of rolling armdrags to begin the match. I appreciate their talent and creativity, they made the sequence of armdrags look great. Love matches that start off this way. Drago takes him down and applies an Indian Deathlock. Alabama slam from Drago off the ropes. Nice. Drago gets kicked to the outside and Springboard cannonball thrust dive from Aero! Dang that looked hard. The aerial camera view is a thing of beauty. Aero gets a leaping kick before nailing a springboard dropkick that sends Drago to the outside. Suicide dive and the match is picking up. Drago hoists him up top and hits a draping DDT that looked similar to the one Owens did on Neville back in December. Sick. Randy does them from the second rope but these guys do it from the top. They are vey dangerous and always look like someones neck got broken. Aero misses a dive and eats a corkscrew dive over the top from Drago. He gets a huge ovation for that one. The two trade kicks until Drago is caught up in the ropes and eats a double foot stomp from the top. Aerostar misses a splash and Drago dives to the outside and takes him out. He gets a running sitdown poweromb, but doesn’t cover in order to sell how exhausted he is. Aero walks from one corner to the other on the second rope to hit a top rope hurricanrana. Crowd is wowed. That was cool. Wrestling should be a spectacle. Springboard splash gets him the one, two, three. His splash is similar to Rey’s but better, in my opinion. His chest crashes as he freefalls against his opponent’s body with his hands behind his back. Crowd is having a blast. They shake hands. Always great to see sportsmanship among talent. With tonight’s win Aerostar needs one more victory to win the series ( and a “unique opportunity” ) but I’m sure Drago will win the next one. Vamp hypes up the Grave Consequences match.
Konnan and his heat-forged weapon cane are back and kicking butt while he tells a story about how position is everything in war as he plays a game of chess. For those of us who may not know, it is well documented that kings used to teach their soldiers military strategy through concepts used in the game of chess. The board itself was literally a blueprint to the battlefield. It’s amazing how one can learn strategy from chess, as strategy concerns itself with a plan of action designed to win a war and that is exactly what chess is. It teaches us tactics and the conduct of engagement. I have a genius little brother who was Grandmaster and taught me all of this. He takes after his older brother. After more beatings and chess, we see that the person he’s been talking to all along is Prince Puma, who understands the lesson and looks ready for war. Good stuff, love these vignettes. A Pentagon Jr. hype video airs showcasing many of his package piledrivers. That is one sick move. If you want to see moves like that in WWE don’t hold your breath because you just might die of asphyxiation. Lucha Underground now has Cricket as a sponsor.
We return to the arena for a three on one elimination match. The Crew is mid-ring to battle Big Ryck. Striker lets us know eliminations occur via pinfall, submission or stoppage.
Big Ryck vs. The Crew Handicap Elimination Match
I thought this would stink but it was surprisingly decent. The Crew takes turns beating down Ryck, diving through his face feet first through the corner ropes. Striker says they call that “The Treatment”. Ryck fights back briefly, throwing one of them through a chair between the second and third turnbuckles but gets double teamed with a double foot stomp from the top rope/DDT combo that looked pretty awesome. Bael grabs a kendo stick and hits Ryck hard in the back but Ryck hulks up and no sells it. Instead Ryck gets the kendo stick and starts chopping everyone, pinning Bael and eliminating him. Ryck then double suplexes the two remaining members of The Crew and clotheslines Cortez hard with the kendo stick between his arm. That was unique. Cortez is eliminated. Cisco is the only one left and tries to leave, but Sexy Star throws him back in the ring! That’s one tough woman. He gets a stiff forearm to the face and blades. I miss blood in WWE. Juicing is part of what made the attitude era great. Cisco is eating some really, really stiff shots. Finally, Ryck hits the Uranage through a chair for the win. Sick spot. No love from Big Ryck who threw him against the chair with power. Somewhere in the city of angels Cisco is lying down tonight recuperating his back.
Next week will be Night of Champions for Lucha Underground as Alberto El Patron will defend the AAA World Heavyweight Championship against El Texano Jr. and Prince Puma will defend the Lucha Underground Championship against Cage. That’s going to be a treat.
We get a detailed Day of the Dead introduction before the match. A group of people come out looking like Tim Burton’s cast of Night Before Christmas. Great set from costume design to the painted faces. They are seen bringing a large black coffin painted with a large skull of death in the middle. The Day of the Dead is an integral part of Mexican culture, a celebration of death that is particular to its national identity. During the period of one week popular belief is that the deceased visit friends and relatives on earth and enjoy once again the pleasures of this life. To facilitate this, Mexicans visit the graves of families and friends and adorn them with colourful flowers and “offerings” of food (In particular the sugary “bread of the dead), spices, toys, candles, and drinks amongst other things. I love our culture but this is my least favorite thing about it. In some of the states they dress up just like they dressed up for tonight’s set with their faces painted as skulls and walk around in the streets to celebrate. Millions of people come out. Millions. In a country as socially and geographically diverse as Mexico, there is significant regional variation in the nature of the festivities: the southern states are more likely to focus their efforts on processions and public commemorations of death but in the northern states the decoration of altars in homes and tombs of the deceased is more popular. Urbanisation, too, plays a large role in regional variations. For the south and rural areas the period holds far greater social and cultural significance than in the north and large cities; families and communities in rural areas will often spend large parts of the year preparing for the occasion. What’s ironic and peculiar to the culture is they are celebrating life and not the sober mourning of their families passing. While contemporary observance of the day includes traditional masses and prayers, today it is dominated by carnivalesque rituals much different, to far greater extent, from those of the orthodox Catholic celebrations found in western Europe.
Needless to say Mil Muertes comes out to one heck of an entrance and is introduced as the man of a thousands lives. Fenix comes out second with a nice reception from the crowd. Ladies and gentlemen it is time for our main event.
A tournament featuring NXT talent will be held next Thursday at WrestleMania Axxess, with the winner earning the right to compete in the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
Tournament participants will include Adrian Neville, Finn Bálor, Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze.
WrestleMania Axxess takes place at the San Jose Convention Center Thursday, March 26, through Sunday, March 29. Details on the event are available here.
– During a taped interview on Raw offering his thoughts on Roman Reigns, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar mentioned beating The Rock as a rookie—at the 2002 SummerSlam to capture the WWE Championship—and sending him to Hollywood. It was stated in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this line was scripted to push a match between both wrestlers as a possibility for next year’s WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 32 is scheduled to take place on April 3, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
– After realizing Renee Young is his perfect co-host on The JBL & Renee Show, JBL celebrates by singing with other WWE Superstars on this week’s episode.
– It was announced on Monday that Larry Zbyszko will become enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame the night before WrestleMania 31. To celebrate the induction, five clips of “classic moments” from his career have been added to the WWE Hall of Fame section on the WWE Network.
WWE Medical Doctor Joseph Maroon made some controversial comments about CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy) during a recent appearance on “NFL Total Access.”
Maroon, who is also an NFL medical consultant and works as a neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, said that CTE is “over-exaggerated” during his appearance on the NFL Network program.
“I think the problem of CTE, although real, is it’s being over-exaggerated and being extrapolated to youth football and to high school football,” Maroon stated. “We came up with 63 total cases of CTE [and] in the last two years a few more, but there have been 30-40 million kids who have played football during that period of time. It’s a rare phenomena. We have no idea the incidence. There are more injuries to kids falling off bikes, scooters, falling in playgrounds than there are in youth football. I think again, it’s never been safer. Can we improve? Yes. We have to do better all the time to make it safer.”
Christopher Nowinski, who heads up the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), countered Maroon’s take.
“As to whether CTE is rare in the general population, that is true,” Nowinski said. “CTE has never been found in an individual who was not exposed to significant brain trauma. It has been found in the vast majority of NFL players and professional boxers who have been studied, but the true risk in that population is unknown because of the absence of a test for CTE in the living.”
Part-time WWE performer Chris Jericho recently spoke with IGN to promote his new WWE DVD, “The Road is Jericho.” Below are highlights from the interview.
On how much he was involved with the making of his new “The Road Is Jericho” WWE DVD: “Yeah, one hundred percent all me. I mean, they send me a bullet point list and so I get to choose the ones off there that I want to use. But then also I get to pick some new ones. I see a match with X-Pac on the list but then I know that we had a better one in a cage at some point. So I go and track that one down and use that instead. But that’s the way that it has to be. I’m hands on with all the stuff that I do. Especially when it comes to something like a collection of my matches. I want people to see – not necessarily the greatest ones – but I want them to see the ones that hold a certain significance historically. Or the fact that they’re something a little bit different than from what they’re used to seeing. Or just something fun. So I was very much involved in the final decision on pretty much everything.”
On WrestleMania 31 and if he feels Roman Reigns is ready to headline the show: “Look, like I’ve said before, if you’re going to give someone a shot, give them a shot. There’ve been tons of guys who when they’ve been put in the main event at WrestleMania might not have been quote unquote ready. Who’s to say who’s ready and who’s not? Let’s see how the crowd reacts when they get there. But all I know is that Roman Reigns was everybody’s favorite guy until the Royal Rumble. And then everyone turned on Roman Reigns. It’s so funny how two days before, and the year before, everybody loved Roman Reigns. Everybody. All the fans did. And don’t tell me that you didn’t because they were all saying “Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns…what? Daniel Bryan didn’t win the Royal Rumble? We hate Roman Reigns! Boo!” And meanwhile, ever since then – I mean, we did house shows in Calgary and Edmonton and it was like Beatlemania. They were going nuts for him. And that was a week after the Royal Rumble. So I think that he is ready, as much as anyone can be ready in this day and age. So let’s see how it goes. I mean the match he had with Daniel Bryan at Fastlane was incredible. And you can’t tell me that it was all because of Daniel Bryan. Really? Because I always heard in the business that it takes two. And I think I’ve proven myself to be a fairly decent worker, so if I’m telling you it takes two, I think every fan should shut the hell up and listen to what I’m saying. He did a great job of living up to his end of the bargain and he’ll do the same thing at WrestleMania. They will leave no stone unturned to make that a great match. They will get all the benefits. All the bells and whistles. And as long as they can hold it together, I think it’s going to be great.”
As previously reported, WWE hired a local casting agency in San Francisco to cast “Russian soldiers” and “scarecrows” for entrances at WrestleMania 31. The soliders are for Rusev’s ring entrance, while the scarecrows could be for Sting or Bray Wyatt’s entrance, but most likely Sting’s.
As it turns out, WWE hired the same casting agency to book both roles and they will be using the same extras for both roles as a way to save money. They are looking for males between the ages of 24 and 33, with no facial hair. The casting agency will be paying extras $1,100 each for three days.
The extras that are hired must be available to train on March 27th and March 28th, then perform the day of WrestleMania 31 on March 29th. The first day of work will consist of costume fitting and a four-hour walk-through. They will then do a late night rehearsal after the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony on Saturday night from 11pm until 3am. From there, they are simply required to be at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California all day and evening on Sunday.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with USA Today’s “For The Win” blog to promote this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view. Below are highlights from the interview.
On if he was taken aback by the intense negative reaction to him not winning the Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania: “I wasn’t really that surprised, I thought that a lot of fans wanted me to win the Royal Rumble… but it’s a great story, right? The guy who has never lost a title had to lose the title because of the neck surgery, comes back and he fights the guy who’s just this monster destroyer, a David versus Goliath story, and I think a lot of fans were excited by the prospect of that. And also by the prospect of a match of me versus Brock Lesnar, I feel like I do pretty good against big guys.”
On what the Intercontinental Championship means to him: “To me it’s the one title that I haven’t won in the WWE. I’ve been the United States champion, I’ve been the World Heavyweight champion, I’ve been the WWE champion, I’ve been the tag team champion. The Intercontinental championship is the only one I haven’t won, and to me I have been disappointed that — when I was a kid, the Intercontinental championship matches were usually the matches I looked forward to the most. WrestleMania III everybody talks about Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, but when everybody remembers the great match, they’re remembering Ricky Steamboat versus Macho Man Randy Savage. Same thing with WrestleMania X, with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon in a ladder match.
So it’s one of those things where the Intercontinental title for a long time was so prestigious, but now for some reason it feels to me like it’s been devalued. One of the things I would really like to do is win the Intercontinental championship at WrestleMania and make it be not just what it was before, but make it better than that. Make it so the Intercontinental championship is something that can headline pay-per-views, can headline all the live events we do throughout the country. I’ve been disappointed with how the Intercontinental championship has been treated, but I’m hoping after WrestleMania it’s going to change.”
On his wife, Brie Bella’s match at WrestleMania 31 and splitting focus on his and her matches: “Brie and I do this thing at the end of every night where we tell each other three things that made us happy each day. One of the things that makes me happiest each day is being able to watch Brie go out there and perform because she loves to do it, and she’s good at it. There was a big deal, #GiveDivasAChance, and hopefully they’re going to get a chance at WrestleMania this year. That’s every performer’s dream — not just the guys, but the girls too.”
On inducting Connor “The Crusher” Michalek into the WWE Hall Of Fame: “What we do as entertainers, people see us as stars or you know sometimes people look up to us, but what we really do is just entertainment, right? For us, there are people who inspire us — and one of the people who inspires me is Connor. Despite all the pain and everything that he was going through, you never saw him really down, he was excited to be there…. He was just so happy and so fun to be around. When you were around Connor, he just lit people’s faces up. It’s a true honor for me to induct him into the Hall of Fame.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared on Under The Mat Radio, talking in-depth about this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view. Below are highlights from the interview.
On WrestleMania 31 card so far: “Wrestlemania is a special event and it will always be a special event no matter the card. We’re in the age were everyone is going to second guess big events and cards more often than not until they see it. I find it amazing that some people have the ability to judge a card before it happens.”
On what comes to his mind when he hears the word “WrestleMania”: “Wrestlemania 9 was a matter of migrating into the world of WWE from the world of WCW and having your first assignment be the play by play for Wrestlemania. It was a pretty auspicious way to start I mean where do u go from there? So I’d say Wrestlemania 9 the first one you always remember the first one.”
On the transition from WCW to WWE: “I didn’t change a thing; I didn’t change anything that I did. You call a wrestling show based on what you see and not based on what you want to see or what you want to hear or say. The wrestlers provide the music and the announcer provides the lyric.”
On fans who keep asking if Chris Benoit will get into the WWE Hall of Fame: “They (fans) ask me don’t you feel Chris Benoit should be in the Hall of Fame and I say no I don’t. I get them saying oh you guys are being etc… I don’t work for WWE, who in the hell are guys?? And who are you to tell me what I have to do? What are you 13 in your parents basement? It Benoit could communicate right now he’d say no I’d be a distraction…”
TNA executive John Gaburick announced another round of talent signings on Friday.
In addition to the several stars who have already re-signed with the promotion, Gaburick announced Bobby Lashley, Robbie E. and Bram have all signed new contracts with the company as well.
Below are the announcements Gaburick made on Twitter.
– TNA has announced that they’ll be returning to Universal Studios in May for another round of Impact Wrestling tapings. On Friday, May 8th, Impact Wrestling will air “live” on Destination America (actually a slight tape delay). The events May 9, 10 and 11 will be television tapings. Admission to each event is free.
– The following is a preview for tonight’s Impact Wrestling on Destination America:
World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Kurt Angle
Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong
Ultiamte X: BroMans vs. The Revolution vs. The Wolves
Mark Henry recently spoke with Doug Mortman and Dave Lagreca on Busted Open to promote WrestleMania 31. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
His Favorite WrestleMania Moment:
“My match with Undertaker at WrestleMania 22 changed me. It made me believe that I belonged and boosted my confidence. That match propelled me to where I am today. When Roman Reigns has that moment of belonging that is when he’ll be great. However, you need time to pass for that to happen. It took me 18 years. It takes faster for some people and I believe Roman is ahead of the curve in that regard.”
Roman Reigns’ Push & Fans Not Fully Accepting Him:
“If Roman attacks Brock the way he attacked Daniel Bryan at FastLane, then he can do big things. People always run off at the mouth on what people should do. I believe people should sit back and enjoy and if they don’t like what they’re seeing, tune them out. Fans have to realize that as big of an impact that they have on the industry, they’re not calling the shots. They should just sit back and enjoy the show. When fans go to football games, they’re not the ones calling the plays. There’s a different mentality with the fan base nowadays where the fans are reacting before storylines even have a chance to play out. People are commenting before stuff even happens. There used to be a time where the anticipation grew so much and that anticipation superseded everything else. However, that anticipation has lessened in today’s day and age because of all the information and media surrounding the company. Roman Reigns can definitely be the next top guy in WWE but he has to have a thicker skin and not worry so much about what the critics are saying.”
You can hear Busted Open on SiriusXM 92 and on the SiriusXM app or at BustedOpenNation.com.
Earlier this week, WWE insider ‘MetsFan4Ever’ made a post on Reddit revealing some major developments in WWE’s booking plans for WrestleMania. With Brock Lesnar close to signing a new deal with WWE, Triple H has reportedly been pushing for Brock Lesnar to retain the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, John Cena and Daniel Bryan to win the US & IC titles and for those secondary belts to be elevated to compensate for Lesnar’s limited schedule.
To update the situation, MetsFan4Ever says that another idea being discussed for the IC title ladder match is for Sheamus to return as a surprise entrant in the match, cost Bryan the win and capture the gold himself. This would lead to Sheamus and Bryan feuding over the title in the coming weeks & months.
He clarified that Sheamus winning the IC title and feuding with Bryan is only a rumor at this point and less likely than the original scenario of Bryan and Cena coming out of Mania as champions.
With WrestleMania only 9 days away, WWE will be finalizing booking plans very soon and we’ll see how it all goes down next weekend.
– Alex Roley spoke to WWE.com about getting back in the ring with NXT after two years on the sidelines as a commentator.
When asked if he was at peace with never wrestling again before his recent return, Riley said:
“It was never over in my mind. Although I had people in WWE and in very high-powered, prominent positions telling me I was never going to wrestle again. I heard things like, “if you have anything in common with Alex Riley, you should be worried.” Honestly, hearing those things was more painful than I can put into words. But in my mind, I lived everyday like I was hours away from WrestleMania. That’s how you know you love something. It’s when there is zero chance of you ever getting to see it, touch it, do it again and you go on faith and never stop pursuing it.”
– The latest SmackDown Fallout video features the big post-SmackDown interview with Stardust that he’s been hyping on social media. Stardust spoke to Tom Phillips about the WWE Intercontinental Title Ladder Match at WrestleMania:
Former WWE Superstar Santino Marella recently spoke with Joshua Lopez of the Pro Wrestling Experience podcast. Topics covered include his early days in the business, his Battle Arts Academy in Canada and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Status Of His Injured Neck:
“Not too good. Wish I could report better. when I had the initial surgery, I felt a little bit better and started training and then two of the screws came out, so we had to go in and take out all of the titanium. Little set back with regards to the fact that your body tends to overreact with that type of surgery. Your neck tightens up and it’s effecting other parts of your back. It’s getting there.”
His Time With WWE:
“It’s crazy because like now because of YouTube. People will send me links all the time and so many fun and great moments there. Wrestling has been great. The locker room has always been great since I’ve been there. Traveling the world, putting on shows and for me it’s pure fun getting out there. I tell people that I wrestle for free, I just get paid to drag my bags around.”
Competing at WrestleMania:
“It’s sport entertainment yet you get this playoff feeling in your stomach. You up your training and take it seriously. There’s tension. It seems like any sports entertainer is going to be not judged but significantly remembered for there WrestleMania moments. It’s all about legacy. I love performing at WrestleMania. I’ll be down there this year to enjoy the event as a fan and I’ll be doing a couple signings at Axxess and looking at the card for this year’s Mania I can’t wait to enjoy the show as a fan for this WrestleMania.”
CM Punk’s Chances In UFC:
“Well it’s interesting. Punk is a super cardio efficient athlete. He’s very meticulous with his training. He trains hard. Definitely has the skills as an athlete to be a solid fighter and he trained in jiu jitsu. Has he been studying? I knew that he did karate as a kid. How is his kickboxing/boxing? That’s the only thing I’m worrying about. I’m only worrying because I don’t know, he could be kickboxing at Roufusport right now as we speak (laughing). He’ll have to be a high level and that’s the hard part.”
Word Association:
Maria – Sexy Kitty Cat
Emma – Sexy meets goofy
John Cena – Hardworking
Randy Orton – My buddy
Roman Reigns – The future. I see that everybody saying, “Oh they’re pushing and shoving down our throats.” You complain for 10 years that you wanted something new and here it is and yet you’re still complaining. He’s a high caliber athlete. Very nice guy. Very locker room oriented guy. The industry is going to be in good hands.
It’s no secret at this point that Kevin Nash will be announced as the final member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015. However, up until today, it was unknown whether he would be going in as Kevin Nash or Diesel.
Much like his former tag team partner Scott Hall being inducted as “Razor Ramon,” it will be Diesel that enters the Hall of Fame this year, paving the way for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to one day be inducted as part of the nWo.
He will be inducted by longtime friend and rival, fellow Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.
The following t-shirt designs leaked online earlier today confirming the news of Diesel’s forthcoming induction:
Regarding the rumors that WWE was planning to bring NXT star Adrian Neville to the main roster with a “Mighty Mouse” type-character, there has been no discussions of this happening recently. It is, however, an idea that Vince McMahon has wanted to do with a short wrestler for quite a while.
There was talk at one point of bringing Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo in for that role, however he chose to pursue a career in MMA instead, with his second UFC victory taking place this past weekend.
Although Rey Mysterio is still expected to debut with Lucha Underground at their television tapings this weekend, he has yet to finalize his deal as of this week.
Mysterio is looking to wrestle a limited schedule due to his knee issues. His feeling is that if he picks and chooses his dates, he could last another three or four years in the ring, whereas if he works a regular schedule, he likely doesn’t have a lot of time left.
As things stand now, the belief is that the majority of Mysterio’s bookings will be either in AAA in Mexico or Lucha Underground.
Additionally, Mysterio has been pitched the idea of having his own merchandise line separate from any specific wrestling company. The products would be targeting Latinos and children.
Former WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio recently released a video and a press release to promote his appearance at the upcoming WaleMania event in Santa Clara, California on March 26th.
You can check out the Mysterio video above and the press release below.
REY MYSTERIO RELEASES WALEMANIA VIDEO; BACKWOODS CIGARS TO SPONSOR MARCH 26TH EVENT IN SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara, CA – With WaleMania just seven days away, Rey Mysterio has released a special video discussing the Thursday March 26th event in Santa Clara, CA at Taste Nightclub. Tickets start at just $15 and are available at http://www.WaleMania.com, http://www.MLWLIVE.com and http://wwwTheTicketGroup.com. Watch the Rey Mysterio video and join us for a night you’ll never forget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Nj8pAlyFQ.
Additionally, it is with great excitement that WaleMania announces Backwoods Cigars as the title sponsor for WaleMania. Learn about Backwoods Cigars and its line of cigars and cigarillos at: www.BackWoodsCigars.com.
WaleMania is a special engagement featuring an evening of pro wrestling-centric festivities, a Vegas style After Party and a live performance by Wale. More information about this one of a kind event is below:
Schedule:
6:30 – 7:30: Multi-time WWE Champion Rey Mysterio VIP Meet & Greet cocktail party featuring complimentary hors d’oeuvres and Don Julio Tequila
8:00 – 9:30: A live MLW Radio featuring Rey Mysterio, Konnan, Court Bauer, MSL and several surprise guests
9:30 – 10:30: Fan Q & A with Rey Mysterio and friends
10:30 – closing: After party featuring Rey Mysterio and wrestling luminaries with bottle service
Midnight – closing: A special live performance by Grammy® nominated artist Wale featuring songs from his new album dropping March 31st, The Album About Nothing.
Tickets:
VIP tickets are available at $60. General Admission is $15 and are on sale now exclusively at http://www.WaleMania.com, http://www.MLWLIVE.com and http://www.TheTicketGroup.com.
VIP ticket holders attend an exclusive pre-show cocktail party with Rey Mysterio featuring complimentary Don Julio and hors d’oeuvres. VIP ticket holders are also guaranteed seats for the live MLW Radio and fan Q&A, have access to the After Party and will see Wale perform live.
General Admission ticket holders see the live MLW Radio and can participate in the Q & A. GA ticket holders also are able to attend the After Party and live performance by Wale. GA tickets do not give you access to the Meet & Greet.
Event Information:
Thursday March 26th
6:30pm – 1:30am
Taste Nightclub
2909 Lakeside Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Don’t miss a legendary night of rap and ‘rasslin. Join Wale, Rey Mysterio and friends and celebrate wrestling with the hottest party of the weekend!
WaleMania is an Every Blue Moon and Court Bauer concept.
– ESPN and Grantland journalist Bill Simmons, who is a big WWE fan and is confirmed to announce a few matches on Monday’s WrestleMania 31 “go-home” edition of RAW, has been trading shots on Twitter with WWE announcer JBL. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Simmons and JBL will be doing an angle of some kind on Monday’s show.
– Former U.K. soccer player Stuart Tomlinson, who is currently working in NXT as Hugo Knox, is considered to be progressing way ahead of the rest of the developmental talents, especially considering his experience level in the business. Knox is 29 years old and has only been in WWE developmental for 15 months, yet has been impressing WWE officials more than most. Currently, he is doing a Chippendale-type gimmick for promos, but has also started wrestling and is considered to be quite agile for his size.
