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Analyzing CM Punk’s Drawing Power

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The Debate

After CM Punk walked out on the WWE following this year’s Royal Rumble, it was pretty much universally accepted that he did so because he was fed up with the current state of booking, where the company relies upon full-time wrestlers to carry the load during the year, only to then turn to part-timers like Batista and The Rock to headline the biggest events on the calendar.

It is no secret that Punk wants to headline WrestleMania. In his documentary “Best in the World,” he expressed disgust at the fact that the WWE would turn to The Miz to headline the biggest event in pro wrestling, and I can all but assure you he was none too pleased to find out he would go into WrestleMania XXVIII as WWE Champion but not headline the event because The Rock had a new movie to promote.

WWE’s unwillingness to allow one of its biggest stars to headline its biggest event leaves one to wonder why they do not trust him. One of the few logical explanations is that they do not believe he can draw as much money as part-timers like The Rock.

Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to analyze buyrates to determine how well Punk draws. In order to do so, I felt it best to analyze the period between the 2011 Survivor Series and 2013 Royal Rumble when Punk held the title for 434 days, as well as the year prior to Punk’s reign and the pay-per-views since Punk was removed from the title scene.

I organized the statistics into three groups (Pre-Punk, Punk, and Post-Punk) in order to determine the average buyrate for pay-per-views during each period, and also to look at any increases or decreases in buyrates between periods.

The top selling pay-per-views of the year are always WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and the Royal Rumble. In order to not skew the statistics in one period’s favor, I ensured that each group featured only one WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble event. Therefore, the 2013 Royal Rumble where Punk dropped the title to The Rock is included in the Post-Punk period as it was his final night with the championship.

Pre-Punk

There is no denying that John Cena is the WWE’s cash cow. He has multiple endorsements, a clothing line, and his merchandise sells like no other, meaning they will ride him until he’s no longer able to stand.

This era could certainly be described as the Cena era, as he held the championship for a good portion of the year and was featured in the main event during 10 of the 12 pay-per-views. Punk also had a brief run as champion during this period, but lost the title a little less than a month after beating Cena at Money in the Bank.

During this 12 pay-per-view period (2010 TLC through 2011 Vengeance), the WWE sold a total of 3,439,000 pay-per-views, amounting to an average of 286,583 purchases per event. Worth noting is that of the three highest selling non-“Big Three” (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam) events, two of them (2011 Money in the Bank and 2011 Elimination Chamber) featured Punk in the main event.

Punk

The 2011 Survivor Series was the start of Punk’s now-historic 434-day reign as champion after he forced Alberto Del Rio to tap out to the Anaconda Vice. Throughout his run, he would enter into feuds with various superstars, including Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, and Dolph Ziggler, among others.

Although Punk was not always featured in the final match of the night during his run, he was always prominently featured on the card and played a major role in the overall storyline.

During this 14 pay-per-view period (2011 Survivor Series through 2012 TLC), the WWE sold a total of 4,275,000 pay-per-views, amounting to an average of 305,357 purchases per event. Not only does this mark a 6.5% increase in purchases per event, but seven of the 11 pay-per-views between 2011 TLC (the month after Punk won the title) and 2012 Hell in a Cell recorded a higher buyrate than the previous year’s event.

Post-Punk

Punk dropped the title to The Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble, thus ending his 434-day reign as WWE Champion. As previously mentioned, I included the Royal Rumble in this period despite the fact that it was Punk’s last night with the title in order to ensure the statistics remained stable.

During this 12 pay-per-view period (2013 Royal Rumble through 2013 TLC), the WWE sold a total of 3,619,000 pay-per-views, amounting to an average of 300,833 purchases per event. Following Punk’s departure from the title scene, buyrates plummeted, with Battleground registering only 114,000 buys – the lowest buyrate in years.

Without the strong sales from the 2013 Royal Rumble, which featured Punk in the main event, this period would have only registered 267,363 purchases per pay-per-view. Throughout the year, over half of the events registered buyrates that were lower than the previous year’s edition.

Conclusion

Based on the statistics, it is certainly possible to conclude that the 434-day period when CM Punk was WWE Champion was the most successful of the three periods in terms of pay-per-view sales.

After Punk won the title at Survivor Series, the average buys per pay-per-view significantly increased and nearly all of the events had a higher buyrate than the previous year’s edition. Following his departure from the title scene, buyrates have dropped and nearly all of the events have performed more poorly than their 2012 counterparts.

It is no surprise that Vince McMahon has chosen to not publicly bury Punk just yet and continues to try to court him into returning. He is well aware of the fact that Punk is a fan favorite, a terrific in-ring performer, and most importantly, McMahon knows that he brings in a boatload of cash.

Match Added To Sunday’s TNA Lockdown PPV

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Mr. Anderson vs. Samuel Shaw has been added to Sunday’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view from Miami, Florida. The final member of Team MVP will be revealed on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

Here’s the updated card for TNA Lockdown:

STEEL CAGE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Magnus (c) vs. Samoa Joe

STEEL CAGE LETHAL LOCKDOWN
Team MVP (MVP, The Wolves & TBA) vs. Team Dixie (Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, The BroMans)

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III

STEEL CAGE KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Madison Rayne (c) vs. Gail Kim

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Gunner vs. “Cowboy” James Storm

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Mr. Anderson vs. Samuel Shaw

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Bad Influence & Chris Sabin vs. The Great Muta, Sanada and Tigre Uno

Preview For Tonight’s NXT, Daniel Bryan Comments On ArRival

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– The latest episode of WWE NXT, which premieres on the WWE Network later tonight, is currently online at Hulu.com. The preview reads:

NXT Champion Adrian Neville takes on Camacho. Divas action as Emma goes up against Charlotte. Also, Adam Rose debuts!

– Daniel Bryan tweeted the following on Wednesday night after finally watching last week’s NXT ArRival special on the WWE Network:

 

John Cena Updates Fans On His Injury, Cameron’s First Music Single

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– WWE Diva Cameron will be releasing her first single “Bye Bye” this Friday, March 7th. There will be a release party in Beverly Hills this Friday at the Sofitel Hotel and E! cameras will be on hand filming for Total Divas. To RSVP for the event, e-mail [email protected].

Photos From Naomi’s Recent Music Video Shoot

– John Cena tweeted the following on Wednesday updating fans about the condition of his knee injury:

Austin Aries Talks About The State Of TNA, How He’s Been Booked

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Heading into this Sunday’s Lockdown pay-per-view, TNA / Impact Wrestling star and former World champion Austin Aries made his return to the In The Room radio show with Brady Hicks and his crew last night to talk about his success with the company and the traction his career has gained since he was last IN THE ROOM.

Check it out as “A-Double” talks TNA’s recent tour of Japan and excitement of other international tours … his own creative input … the importance of his X Division title and attaching the #1 Contender stipulation to it … the role that fans have played in his career … Hulk Hogan’s influence, both on himself and on TNA … teaming and feuding with another shooting star in Bobby Roode … the “art” of tag wrestling … the concept of private contractors and how that could affect CM Punk’s situation … misconceptions about independent wrestlers … his vegan lifestyle … and his new band. All that, and so much more! Thanks to Austin Aries for so generously giving us his time and to everyone else for their support.

Here are some highlights of what Aries said about:

TNA’s Health as a Company: “I think TNA’s fine. I think people get a little wrapped up in the day-to-day operations, per se. They like to maybe read into things without really having the knowledge of everything that’s going on behind the scenes. … My paychecks are coming. I’m working consistently … There’s a lot of good things on the horizon. [TNA has] some fresh talent coming in that’s going to inject some new excitement to the fans … A lot of the US wrestling fans, especially the ones who make their money by creating controversy, they like to get wrapped up in the Nielsen ratings, and try to use that as a gauge to how good TNA is doing … We are very strong globally … Every company goes through ebbs and flows, as they say. Every company has to continually reassess their business plan. Continually keep things fresh and exciting so things don’t get stagnant. This company is no different.”

Promotions Taking Better Care of their Wrestlers: “When you treat your employees with respect, you take care of them, and they’re proud to come to work, they’re going to work hard. They’re not going to find ways to get back [what] they feel like they’re being cheated out of. From that simple standpoint, I think if wrestlers came to work, not feeling like the [were] being taken advantage of, I think the output would increase. I think the morale would increase across the board, and I think the dog-eat-dog mentality would improve … The wrestling business could greatly thrive. Would there be a financial component in the short run that might hurt [the industry’s] bottom line? Sure. But, again, if you’re thinking about long-term success of how you do in your business, it could be a great change in this industry … I see both sides of it, but I think that there’s a better medium than what we have right now.”

Having One of TNA’s More Successful Pushes: “I’m going to give myself more credit and say that [I’ve] figured out ways to keep myself relevant, and take whatever opportunity, big or small, that they put in front of me, and go make it meaningful. I’m grateful for the platform, for the opportunities that they’ve given me. But at the end of the day it’s my job to take those [opportunities] and hit home runs with them. That’s what separates good talent from great talent. Some guys know how to take a good opportunity and turn it into something bigger. As you know, my opportunity to come back to TNA was for one match. No promises, for all intents and purposes one match, and then I was going to be gone. And I took that one opportunity and parlayed it into a pretty successful run I’d say. I want to give[TNA] some credit but I have to give myself some credit too for that … There have been a lot of opportunities handed out in TNA. Some guys have made the most of them, and other guys weren’t able to do it. And that’s what kind of separates the guys who can carry the ball and those that can’t.”

If TNA Originally Planned to Push Him: “I honestly don’t know what was in the plans. I don’t know how far, especially in this industry, how far plans are really made. I think any good creative team would always keep their options open and be able to change things if the circumstances dictate it … My opinion, again [is] I walked in there for one match. So it isn’t like when they brought me in for that X Division showcase match they said “In a year, we’re going to put the heavyweight title on him and give him an opportunity to be the guy.” So, in that regard, the answer would be no. I don’t think that this is something that you plan out for two or three years ahead of time.”

Bruno Sammartino Talks About Being A Part Of WrestleMania Weekend, His Book & Documentary

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WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino recently spoke to 2xzone.com  and said he plans to be a part of WrestleMania XXX weekend.

“They asked me if I would be willing to make some appearances where requests come in from some particular shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Connecticut. With the Hall of Fame and WrestleMania coming up I will be spending a lot of time doing question and answer session and autograph sessions.

Sammartino will be doing an Axxess VIP autograph signing on WrestleMania Sunday, April 6.

After reconciling with WWE last year, the living legend says he feels comfortable continuing to work with the company:

“I went back because I liked what I heard about the drug testing, I liked how they cleaned it up as far as the nudity, vulgarity, and the profanity,” Sammartino said. “Everything that I’ve seen so far is really how he (Triple H) told me it would be.”

A documentary on his life will be screened this May and he said he plans on taking “a lot of time” to write a book about his life and career.

TNA Impact Wrestling Preview For Tonight (Manchester, England)

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The following is a preview for tonight’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling on Spike TV, the final show taped from the European tour:

– TNA World Champion Magnus & Samoa Joe go face to face ahead of their title match this Sunday at Lockdown.

– MVP & The Wolves vs. Bobby Roode, Austin Aries & Robbie E, with the winning team getting the advantage in their Lethal Lockdown match.

– MVP will announce the final member of his team for Lethal Lockdown.

– Sam Shaw vs. Eric Young.

– KO champion Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky & ODB vs. Gail Kim & Lei’d Tapa & Alpha Female in a six-Knockouts tag match.

*SPOILERS* For Tonight’s Episode of IMPACT WRESTLING

Another ROH Star To Attend WWE Tryout Camp, Younger/WWE Update, Attendance

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– In addition to Kevin Steen and Roderick Strong, Ring Of Honor wrestler ACH (aka Albert Harle Jr.) will be taking part in the next WWE tryout camp at the WWE Performance Center.

– As previously reported, former CZW World Champion Drake Younger has signed a developmental deal with WWE and will begin training at the WWE Performance Center in early May. Young was part of the WWE tryout camp in December, which according to one source was described as having the least overall amount of talent in history.

– The following are some recent WWE attendance figures:

February 28th live event in North Charleston, South Carolina drew approximately 7,500 fans.
March 1st live event in Jacksonville, Florida drew approximately 6,000 fans.
March 1st live event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa drew approximately 3,500 fans.
March 2nd in Moline, Illinois drew approximately 6,000 fans.
March 2nd in Bloomington, Illinois drew 3,200 fans.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Backstage News On A New Rumored Triple-Threat Title Match At WrestleMania XXX

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    While the current tease appears to be Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger at WrestleMania XXX, there is a chance that it may end up being a triple-threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, as Big E. is rumored to be added to that potential match.

    The seeds for this scenario playing out started at Monday’s RAW, with Big E. attacking both guys after his match with each of them on the show.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Backstage News On WWE’s Plans For NXT & Call Ups

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    The talent in WWE NXT were told at the most recent set of television tapings that the NXT brand would be pushed more significantly now that the WWE Network is up and running. The wrestlers were told that the company wants to get behind NXT and promote it as the pure wrestling product within WWE.

    Additionally, NXT stars were told that while some would be called up to the main roster, with Emma and Alexander Rusev (along with Lana) being the most recent examples, it’s going to be a slow process for some, and that everyone should e patient.

    The mindset WWE is trying to establish is that with the Network, the stars of NXT will be getting plenty of added exposure without having to be called up and featured on the main roster.

    It’s also not just about “who is ready” to be called up, but more so, what roles on the main roster WWE is looking to fill.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Daniel Bryan Gets 100th Win On TV, WWE Reaches New Company Milestone

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    – The WWE stock closed at $27.10 per share on Wednesday, making it the highest total since shortly after the company initially went public. Additionally, WWE broke a major barrier today, as the company’s market capitalization hit a reported $2.03 billion.

    – According to the North American Wrestling Rankings website, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan received his 100th televised win in WWE when he defeated Kane on the live edition of WWE Main Event on the WWE Network on Tuesday night. They wrote:

    “When Daniel Bryan defeated Kane on the 3/4/14 episode of Main Event it was his 100th televised win! That makes him only the 13th wrestler to reach this milestone [since the NAWR began keeping records] behind only C.M. Punk, John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kane, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Big Show, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler. Others knocking on the door to the century mark are Christian with 93 wins and Rey Mysterio with 92 wins as of 3/4/14.”

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    • Update On ESPN’s E:60 Piece On WWE, More On Jim Ross/WWE Rumors

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    ESPN’s “E:60” piece on the WWE Performance Center is expected to air in early April, in conjunction with WrestleMania XXX. As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross filmed an interview for the piece while he was in Bristol, Connecticut doing promotion for his “Ringside” one-man show. JR spoke about being interviewed in his latest blog, which we put up on the website earlier today.

    Additionally, as we reported a few days ago, there was said to be some rumors within WWE that JR had re-signed with the company and would soon be returning. As noted, those rumors started up due to the fact that Ross was at the WWE offices filming an interview for the upcoming WWE-produced Paul Heyman DVD. JR noted via his official Twitter account that he also filmed some footage for future WWE Network shows.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Negativity Toward WWE For Initially Failing To Acknowledge Big Daddy V’s Passing

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    There was said to be some negative feelings towards WWE for failing to acknowledge the passing of Nelson Frazier Jr. (aka Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V) on television on either the February 21st edition of WWE SmackDown or the February 24th edition of WWE RAW. While WWE did eventually air an “In Memory Of” graphic on the February 28th edition of SmackDown, it was considered somewhat late, especially considering the fact that TNA acknowledged him on February 20th.

    As previously reported, Cassandra Frazier, who is Nelson’s widow, was upset wit WWE, likely for failing to mention his name or acknowledge his passing in a timely fashion, but has since apologized, citing the stress of the week. “I lost my best friend and the only man I ever loved, and I was very angry,” said Cassandra. “Please forgive me and also to your fans, he was a good man, and he loved Vince, Stephanie and Triple H.”

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Latest Regarding Final Inductees In The 2014 Class Of The WWE Hall Of Fame

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    As seen on Monday’s RAW, Paul Bearer joins The Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Amy “Lita” Dumas as the inductees in the 2014 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame. The two names that are being bandied about that have yet to be announced are Scott Hall and Mr. T.

    In the case of Mr. T, there is a chance that he won’t be inducted simply as another addition to the celebrity wing of the Hall Of Fame, but instead a joint-induction that would include all of the WrestleMania I main event participants, which include Hulk Hogan, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “Cowboy” Bob Orton.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • WWE To Raise Price Of Their Network?, Hulk Hogan Tries To Sell Action Figure

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    – As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer and WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan will be appearing on The Travel Channel’s “Toy Hunter” show. The program airs tonight, featuring Hogan attempting to sell an action figure of himself from 1989 that he claims is worth $1,000.

    You can watch a preview clip of Hogan’s appearance on the show at USAToday.com.

    – According to a recent survey that has been sent out to fans, WWE is already contemplating raising the price of their Network to $11.99 per month. Among a number of different topics addressed in the survey, it was asked if fans would still subscribe to the WWE Network at $11.99 per month.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    (Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    • Jim Ross Blog: TNA Lockdown PPV, Alex Riley’s Commentary Style, Josh Mathews

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    The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:

    On Alex Riley’s commentary style: “Impressed with Alex Riley on the pre game and post game ‘panel’ on the WWE Network. Alex comes by his talking skills naturally and seemingly has a long, productive future in his current role. I enjoyed working with Alex in NXT and feel he’s a potential star on the Network.”

    On Josh Mathews: “Host Josh Mathews also seemed more comfortable in his host role on the panel but the panelists talking over each other endlessly needs to lessen. I think that these pre and post game shows have unlimited potential. I like the casting of Mathews in this new role.”

    On TNA’s upcoming “Lockdown” pay-per-view: “TNA has a PPV this Sunday emanating from South Florida called Lockdown. It troubles me that Kurt Angle is once again being saddled up and ridden into a mid card match at this stage of his game. Just an observation and not attacking TNA Impact who I hope continues to develop their own identity and they play to their strengths which is bell to bell physicality and aggressive storytelling.”

    Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.

    Jim Ross Speaks On Perfect Role For Daniel Bryan At WrestleMania, Rock/Lesnar

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    The following are highlights of a new ESPN Front Row interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

    On Brad Nessler: “I think “Ness” is the best all-around play-by-play guy in the business. For a guy who [last season] was doing college football and then an NFL game [for NFL Network] and then another college game like he does shows his work ethic and his talent. And he’s just as well-versed in college basketball.”

    On Jonathan Coachman and Todd Grisham: ““Coach” is as multitalented a person as I’ve ever worked with. Grisham? A tall, disillusioned Alabama fan! [Ross supports Oklahoma and revels in the Sooners’ 2014 AllState Sugar Bowl win over the Tide.] I’m proud of both of those guys. [Going to ESPN] was a wonderful career move for them. They’re better fits in ESPN’s world than they were in the WWE’s world.”

    On working with E:60 for a future piece on WWE: “I’m expecting a masterpiece. [E:60 producers] were allowed crazy access. . . [Producer] Ben Houser became a student of the business. I was very impressed with Ben. He asked great questions.”

    On what Kendrick Perkins and Ronda Rousey have in common: “Sometimes the Thunder is too nice. Would Perkins make a great WWE villain? Absolutely. Perk has the best facial expression and demeanor. The only person in sports right now that has a better facial expression than Kendrick Perkins is Ronda Rousey. When Ronda Rousey walks into the ring to fight, she has the greatest facial expression in sports. I think our girls [WWE female performers] would probably be scared to death [if Rousey joined the circuit].”

    On helping The Rock and Brock Lesnar transition into pro wrestlers: ““The Rock” was a unique case because The Rock’s grandfather and father were both pro wrestlers. He had a familiarity with the business in general… He was a third-generation guy and was also had a college degree at Miami who was also broke. You had a bright, broke guy who was also very motivated. I signed The Rock and really felt like he was going to be exceptional from Day 1. The best example would be Brock Lesnar. He came out of the University of Minnesota as a national champion All-American wrestler. He came from a farm in South Dakota. He didn’t go to the ‘U’. He didn’t grow up in the sizzle world of pro wrestling. He was a dairy farmer’s son. So getting him to develop his personality and release his natural charisma was something that took a little bit effort on his part. . . The biggest thing you work on is their personality, their TV presence. He finally got it.”

    On what he feels is an indeal scenario for Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania: “I would make sure Daniel Bryan left WrestleMania with his “moment.” Every star in WWE wants to have a WrestleMania moment – meaning some bucket list dream as a professional to go to WrestleMania and steal the show. In a perfect world, just for me , Daniel Bryan would leave WWE [as] World Champion. . . Right now, Randy Orton is the champion. As the deck is currently dealt, it would be Daniel Bryan somehow against Randy Orton.”

    “Or, maybe, if you really wanted to have some fun with it, you’d make it a Triple Threat Match. You have two villains – Batista [versus] Randy Orton versus Daniel Bryan. Three guys against each other. First man to score a pinfall or submission wins. The two big villains and the smaller overachieving hero. In my storytelling world, we’d have a happy ending.”

    Check out the complete interview at ESPN.com.

  • Top Star Goes Off-Script At RAW, Former Mega-Star To Return Soon? WMXXX Updates

    • Triple H Explains Why He Won’t Wrestle Daniel Bryan At WrestleMania

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    Triple H’s weekly sit down interview with Michael Cole is online now online, with the WWE COO talking about his ongoing feud with Daniel Bryan.

    JBL filled in for Triple H for last week’s interview because Triple H was down in Orlando preparing for the NXT ArRival special. However, Michael Cole pointed out that it was convenient Triple H was unable to do their interview after Daniel Bryan challenged him to a match at WrestleMania.

    Triple H explained on RAW why he doesn’t want to wrestle Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, but Cole pushed the issue again, wanting to know the true underlying reason. Triple H said he’s the COO of WWE. He’s extremely busy and doesn’t have time for Daniel Bryan. Cole pointed out that Triple H has wrestled The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar in recent years, to which Triple H responded – they’re both A+ players. Daniel Bryan is nothing more than a B+ player and he’s not going to interrupt his day to day operations to lace up his boots against Bryan.

    New WrestleMania XXX PPV Poster Featuring Triple H In His Ring Gear

    How long can Triple H deny fans a match between him and Daniel Bryan? Triple H acknowledges that fans across the world want the match. However, Daniel Bryan is Best for Business. He’s very popular with the fans, he sells a lot of merchandise, he’s a B+, he’s pretty good. Why would he want to end all that by destroying him at WrestleMania? It’s not good for business. Let the immortals wrestle at the showcase of the immortals. “Bryan is a 185 pound sawed-off midget.”

    If Triple H wanted to end the Yes Movement, he’d just fire him. But Daniel Bryan has value and “people love the little guy.”

    Michael Cole tells Triple H that everyone he’s spoken to believes he’s scared of Daniel Bryan – and wants to know if it’s true. Triple H says he’ll give him the same answer that he gave Daniel Bryan – NO.

    5 Ways To Improve the WWE Network

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    Last Monday at 9am, the WWE Universe collectively transformed into a congregation resembling something out of AMC’s the Walking Dead, sporting a nearly insatiable appetite that could only be fulfilled by consuming massive amounts of classic wrestling.

    However, many realized they would be going to bed hungry, as the website’s launch was anything but smooth and the Network was inaccessible for most and laggy for those who were lucky enough to reach the Promised Land (I’ll reluctantly refrain from making an Obamacare joke).

    After several apologetic e-mails, it seems most of the kinks have been worked out. With that said, there is certainly room for improvement, despite the fact that the Network is a great value at only $9.99 per month. Here are five possible ways to improve the WWE Network.

    1. Netflix-esque Queue

    This would be a very convenient feature, as it would allow for viewers to save their favorite pay-per-views and other episodes into a queue for easier access. It isn’t imperative right now, but after more content is added, it would be nice to not have to browse through the entire library to find a particular episode.

    Instead of having to remember which WrestleMania Rewind episode was viewed last or where one left off on their third time through the invasion angle, users could simply add the unviewed episodes into an organized queue for quick, easy access.

    2. Save Viewing Positions

    I said the queue is not currently imperative; this feature without a doubt is. As I was watching last week, the site repeatedly crashed and I had to find my position again while using a navigation bar that was far from accurate. Needless to say, I spent more time wanting to bodyslam the clunky interface than I did watching in-ring action.

    They have made it a bit easier by adding various checkpoints on the navigation bar to show where the matches begin and end, but it still does not save one’s position after exiting the program. With most pay-per-views clocking in at over three hours in length, it seems reasonable to assume many will not watch the entire thing in one sitting. The ability to simply close out the site and have the viewing position saved (similar to Netflix) would definitely be a welcomed feature.

    3. Broadcast Dark Main Event

    During the past few weeks, the RAW post-show has been broadcast live from the arena, and the dark main event has been cut as a result. This past week, they showed what happened after RAW on the post-show with the Big Show and John Cena coming to save Daniel Bryan from the Authority.

    I believe they should continue to broadcast the post-show live from the arena, but have the dark main event be featured each week. Sure, it doesn’t always pertain to the storyline, but I don’t think many wrestling fans will complain about additional in-ring action and it could help boost viewership for the post-show.

    4. Push Notifications

    Push notifications would provide another way for smartphone users to utilize the WWE App. Imagine having the ability to set a reminder for live events and then have a notification pop up a few minutes prior.

    This feature would have been beneficial during last week’s NXT Arrival event, as I was distracted and missed the first few minutes of the event (not that I didn’t miss a good portion of it anyway thanks to a Network malfunction). Push notifications would be useful for Network users because they would provide a simple way to set reminders for live events within the WWE App.

    5. Offline Viewing

    I will say right off the bat, this will probably never happen. McMahon and company would be worried about users downloading all of the most desired classics and bolting on the service. There are ways it could work, however.

    It would be possible for the WWE to set up a system where one or two events could be downloaded into the WWE App while connected to Wi-Fi and then accessed offline later. If one were hoping to download more events, he or she could simply delete the current downloads and replace them with new items. Urban commuters would benefit greatly from this feature because cellphone service is usually spotty in subway stations and it would provide an entertaining way to kill a boring trip to work.

    Ultimately, the WWE Network seems like a great product. The first order of business is ensuring that the service is accessible from all streaming devices in high definition. Afterward, one can only hope that developers will look for ways to improve the user interface. There is no denying the fact that the sheer amount of content is mind-blowingly impressive, but the current design and layout does leave a bit to be desired.

    Sound off in the comments regarding your experiences with the WWE Network thus far. What do you love? What do you loathe? What features would you like to see added?

    Hulk Hogan Hypes His WrestleMania Announcement, Fandango Talks CM Punk

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    – WWE Superstar Fandango was interviewed by the UK’s Sky Sports this week to promote WrestleMania XXX. He went in and out of character during the interview, talking about his ballroom dancer character, his influences growing up and more. When asked about CM Punk’s situation, he replied:

    “It’s a tricky situation, I don’t really know a lot about it, but we are looking forward to WrestleMania coming up in April. Anything can happen. We’re looking forward to April 6.”

    – WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan tweeted the following today, hyping his big announcement on RAW:

     

    Updated WrestleMania XXX PPV Poster

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    Here’s the final promotional poster for WrestleMania XXX, featuring guest host Hulk Hogan as the late addition. The poster is currently hanging in the lobby of WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Scroll through and you can see earlier versions of the poster, including the the before Hulk Hogan was added and the original, featuring CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston.

    Update On Rey Mysterio’s Future With WWE, Steve Austin’s New Reality Show Filming This Week

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    – Rey Mysterio was not at this week’s RAW or SmackDown tapings. His contract is expiring in a few months and there’s been some talk that he’ll be leaving WWE to work for the new AAA TV series that will premiere the El Rey Network later this year. Mysterio’s longtime friend Konnan is heavily involved in the project, which begins filming this summer in Los Angeles.

    – This week’s SmackDown pre and post show panel will be hosted by Josh Mathews, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Booker T and Alex Riley.

    – Steve Austin noted on Twitter that his new “Broken Skull Challenge” reality series on CMT begins filming this week.

    The Latest On CM Punk’s Status With WWE

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    Monday’s WWE RAW from Chicago came and went with no sign of CM Punk. Despite a report from Dave Meltzer and online speculation from several people in the industry, there were no plans at any point for Punk to be at the show. Since leaving WWE, Punk has had almost no contact with WWE officials. While it’s possible he could return down the road, the general feeling is that he’s done with pro wresting.

    Paul Heyman’s promo on RAW was done to write Punk off television without burying him, in the event that he does eventually come around. Heyman blamed the WWE Universe for Punk leaving as a way to get the anger heat of Punk leaving onto him and Brock Lesnar heading into WrestleMania.

    Moving forward, CM Punk is being removed from all WWE marketing and publicity material, as well as video packages that air on television and at live events.

    MVP Interview: Picking TNA Over WWE, CM Punk & More

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    Ring Rust Radio with MVP
    Host: Donald Wood
    Audio available at Blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio

    MVP on the Lethal Lockdown match: “There’s a lot of emotion for me, first of all, and you’ve got two teams of four men locked inside of a cage with weapons, it’s going to be chaotic it’s going to be brutal it’s going to be fierce, but at the end of the day, BobbyRoode has some stake on the line and I’ve got wrestling operations on the line. I think the best thing we can do for the TNA fans and the wrestlers is to send Dixie back to Dixieland and let a wrestler run wrestling operations.”

    The deciding factor between TNA and WWE: “I had a couple conversations with Triple H, but at the end of the day that WWE schedule is 250 plus days a year. And after spending so many years in Japan where I’d be on for a month, then I’d be off for a month, and that wasn’t necessarily something I wanted to give up.”

    MVP on the CM Punk situation: “Let’s look at it this way. I had a year left in my deal and I asked for a release. I was ready to go. So, would I support? Absolutely, because you have to remember it is a business. In the case of the WWE: great product and powerful company, and they gave me the opportunity to do all that I have done so far for which I will be forever grateful. They’ve almost got a monopoly. They can do pretty much whatever they want. As a fan on the outside looking in, all you know is ‘hey, that’s the guy I want to see every week’ and not the intricacies of what goes on behind the scenes.”

    Being a veteran in TNA: “One of the things that attracted me to TNA and why I chose to go there was that they did want to do somewhat of a reset and wanted to bring in fresh faces create new younger stars. They’ve already, to some extent, established that with the wolves and Magnus and some other talent that are on their wish list and they have been talking to. With my experience, I try to give it where it’s asked for. With guys like ECIII and the Wolves and some of the guys that respect the fact that I’ve been around and I am a veteran in the business, I try to give it. I just want to be the best every time I go out and I want to work with the best and I want everyone around me to want to be the best. If somebody comes to me and asks advice or for a criticism, I have no issue giving it to them because at the end of the day, we all win and the fans win, and that’s what it’s all about.”

    Working in Japan affecting his style: “I’ll let you in on a secret. Going to Japan made me better, but I kind of laugh when people say, ‘MVP was so much better in Japan; he’s so much better now’. I could do all of that stuff before. If you go back and look at that series I had with (Chris) Benoit, I could do that. When you go to work, you do what your bosses tell you to do. If your bosses tell you to do something a certain way, you do it. If you get to a point where you don’t want to do it anymore, you either: do what they tell you to do or leave, which was part of the reason why I decided to go to New Japan. I wanted to do all of those things you saw me doing, but I wasn’t allowed.”

    Christopher Daniels Talks ABout TNA’s New Direction, MVP, Lockdown

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    The Rack radio with Christopher Daniels
    Hosted by Lindsey Ward and Sir Rockin
    Audio interview available at Wildtalkradio.com

    His excitement for the upcoming TNA ‘Lockdown’ PPV:“Yeah, absolutely. I’m always excited for TNA Pay-Per-Views and this one is no different. And there’s a special sort of excitement because I’m not quite sure what I’m doing yet. I know I’m going to be part of the show, but with all the hub-bub going on with Bobby Roode and Dixie Carter and MVP; you know the obvious choice would be having my main man Francois (Kazarian) and myself as Bad Influence being part of Team Roode but Bobby, right now, seems to have had his confidence shaken for some reason, so we’re still debating whether or not we’re going to be a part of Team Roode at Lethal Lockdown. So, we’re going to find out, hopefully soon.

    No matter what happens, the most entertaining part of the show is going to be ‘The Secretary of Offense’ Frankie Kazarian and ‘The Man with the Rear that Makes the Women Cheer’ Christopher Daniels, no matter what we do; no matter who we are wrestling. It’s possible we might just be standing on the ramp, watching the show, waving to people as stuff happens, it doesn’t matter; whatever happens we’re going to be the most entertaining part of the show, so you can take that to the bank, if you like.”

    On the recent changes within TNA, like MVP coming in: “I think it’s a great time to be a TNA fan, because when you see guys like MVP come to TNA; you see guys like Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards (The Wolves) entering TNA, you just got to be happy with the possibilities, the unseen match-ups that so far haven’t been seen and you’re going to get a chance to see them. Not long ago Bad Influence and the Wolves had their first match on television. I told everyone after the fact, on Twitter, that that wasn’t going to be a one-and-done; I’m sure there’s going to be more opportunities for us to try our best against Davey and Eddie and the winner of that match is definitely going to be the fans. They are going to be watching some of the best tag-team wrestling in the world when Frankie and myself get our hands on Davey and Eddie once again. And now that they are the World Tag Team Champions, I foresee gold in our future once again.”

    Their recent challenges for the TNA Tag Team Titles:” Well I mean, you’ve seen the last couple of times we’ve even had the opportunity to wrestle for the belts; it wasn’t like one-on-one or one team versus one team. It was three teams involved or four teams involved; we had to go through a Gauntlet to even be involved in Bound for Glory and you can see how that worked out for us. I mean, they’ve stacked the odds against us because they know one-on-one, two-on-two, we’re the most dominant team and the best tag team in the bus-i-ness, and they understand this, so the powers that be, the people who want the titles around other people’s waists, they don’t want them around our delicious waists; if they did all they’d have to do is sign a match with just us as the challengers.”

    If TNA is moving in a positive direction: “I absolutely think TNA is moving in the right direction. I feel like we’ve been on a roll ever since we’ve gotten back from the U.K. All the television that we’ve been doing, the stuff taped overseas went very well so far, so it’s going very well especially with Bad Influence in the fold. Like I said, we’re the most entertaining part of this roster and as long as we’re doing that dance down the aisles, you can be assured that TNA is the television that you should watch.”

    The recent TNA overseas tour of the UK: “It was a very difficult tour in the sense that logistically in that we were traveling a lot. We had very little time down time; we arrived in Dublin, had a show the next day, and then the next day flew right to Scotland and went right from the airport to the building to hit our show in Glasgow. Then, that night, we drove from Glasgow, Scotland to Manchester, England and spent many hours on the bus, got in late and got up early the next day to do the show in Manchester, then drove to London to do Wembly, so we spent a lot of time on the bus and did a lot of traveling to get from place to place and get those five shows done in five days but the good thing about is we were all together. We definitely, as a team, put out some great television and did some great shows and had a great response from the UK crowds which is one of our most ardent support groups, the UK fans.

    Absolutely, every time we go over there, they’re some of the most enthusiastic fans that we wrestle in front of, and the chance we get to go and do TV in front of them again, like we did last year, it definitely adds to the presentation of our product. So, I feel that’s always been a highlight for our year, to go over there and do the UK tour.”

    His upcoming Japan trip with Wrestle-1: “We’re going over for Wrestle-1; we leave Friday and our show is on March 2nd. Bad Influence has been announced to be grappling against Minoru Tanaka and Koji Kanemoto; two of the greatest Junior Heavyweights in all of Japanese wrestling history. So it’s going to be one of the best matches on the show, I assure you.”

    Who he may like to see come in to TNA and his view on the current roster: “Oh wow. Nobody comes to mind; I think we have a really good roster right now. I feel like guys like Manik and Kenny King haven’t been on television in a while who are still part of our roster. So, I’m actually hoping for more returns than actual new faces but, at the same time, I’m always happy to see new talent in TNA. I always welcome new talent, and when I heard guys like Davey and Eddie were coming in, I was very happy to know that we’d get an opportunity to work with those guys. I’m looking forward to working with MVP in that same respect. But nobody off the top of my head that I could name; if I knew that question was going to be asked, I’d have done my homework. I did not study for this particular test no one gave me the syllabus so I wasn’t quite sure what I’d need to study for this particular test so I fail in that respect.”

    His favorite Throwback Thursday incarnation: “I’d have to say the Legion of Boom was my favorite. Actually, the truth is the only one I had any say in terms of coming up with it was that one. All the other ones have come from the fertile mind of Francois Kazarian. But I definitely enjoyed the Legion of Boom; I was really happy we got the chance to do the Left Coast Bulldogs in England. For those of you who don’t get the chance to watch Explosion, go on Youtube now and look it up. It’s actually playing today on Explosion on Challenge TV overseas but for those of you who have access to Youtube and not access to Explosion, you can watch it now. I’d say it’s one of my finer moments.”

    His TNA Impact365 videos: “I felt like when we were given that opportunity when they came to us in the TNA Roster and told us they were going to start this Impact365 venture, I saw an opportunity to show people an entertaining side you might not be able to see on Impact and Frankie and I both sort of dove into it head-first. Frankie and I both still have some ideas, some stuff in the works that we’re going to put up on the Impact365 site soon. So, stay tuned because we’re not done with this yet.”

    If he enjoys the fan interactions and being in Miami for Lockdown: “Always. First of all, going to a new market; this is the first time TNA has been in Miami, at least for a pay-per-view. It’s always cool to be able to wrestle live for a group of new fans and bringing a pay-per-view extravaganza to Miami is going to be a big deal for everybody. Fan Interaction is always fun to give the opportunity to see our most fervent fans live; when you get an opportunity to meet-and-greet the fans, that’s a big deal for them and a big deal for us to know we have the support of these guys and they’re the reason we are able to continue to do what we love for a living.”

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