– There is reportedly discussion already of filming a second season of WWE’s new reality show “Legends House,” with a different cast of wrestling legends. The first season of the show, which airs exclusively on the WWE Network, is scheduled to premiere on April 17th at 8PM.
– Here is video of The Undertaker appearing after last night’s RAW show ended.
– Former WWE and WCW Superstar Bill Goldberg, along with his Mopar, will be featured on the car restoration show “Graveyard Carz” tonight on Velocity. Mark Worman, who owns the company, mentions that he grew up as a big fan of Portland Wrestling.
– Fellow former WWE and WCW Superstar Chuck Palumbo is featured in a new reality show, “Lords Of The Car Hoards,” which premiered on The Discovery Channel on Monday night. That is another car restoration type show. For more information on the show, visit Discovery.com.
Apparently one of the big items of discussion backstage at RAW on Monday night was CM Punk’s appearance on the AMC show “Talking Dead.”
A lot of the talk at the show was that Punk looked “10 years younger” during the appearance, and that he seemed refreshed and in good spirits. As previously reported, Punk noted during the show that he was a new man.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
Regarding the rumors that JBL is the person behind the “Cranky Vince” Twitter account, that is apparently not the case. According to reports, there’s two or three people behind that account, some of which may not even be part of the company.
Additionally, there’s a story that claims the WWE social media department is on a big kick to mess with Internet fans lately. Basically put, one shouldn’t look too far into the Cranky Vince account, or others like it.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– Regarding rumors that the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal would be airing during the WrestleMania XXX pre-show, that is not the case. While the company has held several battle royals at WrestleMania in the past, mainly to get as many wrestlers on the roster on the show for the big pay day, this particular battle royal is of greater significance, and will be a new annual tradition.
– WWE posted the following bonus clip on their official Twitter account for this week’s WrestleMania Rewind, which features John Cena.
EXTRA! EXTRA! A new "@WrestleMania Rewind" airs TONIGHT on @WWENetwork at 9/8 CT! Here's a BONUS clip: http://t.co/0b51IW1uAb #CenasLegacy
— WWE (@WWE) March 18, 2014
The Monday, March 17th St. Patrick’s Day edition of WWE RAW dropped to 4.07 million viewers. That marks a decrease as compared to the 4.368 million viewers that tuned into the show last week.
The hourly breakdown for this week’s RAW viewership is as follows:
Hour One: 4.00 million viewers
Hour Two: 4.17 million viewers
Hour Three: 4.05 million viewers
The final rating, which will be up shortly, should fall somewhere between a 2.8 and a 3.0.
WWE.com posted the following regarding Daniel Bryan suffering an injury during RAW on Monday night:
Daniel Bryan suffers shoulder injury on Raw
WWE.com can confirm that Daniel Bryan suffered a shoulder injury as a result of being handcuffed and attacked by WWE COO Triple H in the final moments of last night’s Raw.
WWE medical sources confirm that, as a result of the COO’s attack, Bryan’s previous shoulder injury stemming from several matches with several Superstars was severely exasperated, including a dislocation and potential ligament tears. The level of damage cannot be determined until the swelling reduces, though Bryan has since left the hospital and will receive an MRI once that swelling has gone down.
Stay with WWE.com for more updates on Bryan’s condition.
As previously reported, Scott Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts will be hosting a party in New Orleans during WrestleMania XXX week. Hall’s former nWo running buddy Kevin Nash noted via Twitter that he will not be in attendance at their party. Hall was originally scheduled to appear at Nash’s party, but will instead be attending his own party with Roberts.
Nash tweeted the following on Monday night regarding the WrestleMania weekend party-confusion:
I'm not going to be at Scott's party have been throwing my own for four years at every Mania
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) March 17, 2014
– Apparently Naomi wearing an eye patch is part of an angle for Total Divas. The angle plays off of the real-life injury that has kept The Funkadactyl on the sidelines for the past several weeks.
– As previously reported, the reason Rey Mysterio wasn’t on RAW on Monday night was because he’s in Spain doing some promotional work for WWE. Alberto Del Rio has also been doing promotional work, as he has been in Texas recently doing media interviews in Spanish to help promote WrestleMania XXX.
Following the announcement of his WWE Hall Of Fame induction, Mr. T posted the following reaction on his official Twitter account:
Many are called and few are chosen! I thank GOD I have been called and chosen. The rumors are true! The wait is over!
— Mr. T (@MrT) March 18, 2014
I’ll be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame in New Orleans.Thank you wrestling fans! And thank you Vince McMahon! @WWE http://t.co/s1gFz8mJQi
— Mr. T (@MrT) March 18, 2014
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you fans!!
— Mr. T (@MrT) March 18, 2014
I'm honored and humbled. I'll do my best to never let you down. Thank you all!
— Mr. T (@MrT) March 18, 2014
– Following Bray Wyatt’s “plastic” comment during his promo segment with John Cena at Monday’s RAW, Nikki Bella posted the following tweet on her official Twitter account.
Plastic?! Wow. Thanks for noticing @WWEBrayWyatt #RAW @WWE
— The Bella Twins (@nicoleandbri) March 18, 2014
– Speaking of Bray Wyatt and John Cena, the song that played during their WrestleMania video package was “Legacy” by Eminem. WWE is using the track as one of the many official theme songs for this year’s show.
The following was recently added to Diamond Dallas Page’s official YouTube channel:
A Night With Wrestling Legends @ House of Blues New Orleans!
A Night With Wrestling Legends hosted by Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall.
House of Blues – April 4th, 2014 – 8pm to Midnight
In the center of the biggest professional wrestling week of the year, the New Orleans House of Blues will be hosting an exclusive night with wrestling legends, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall. In their unique styles, both will be sharing stories and offering an interactive Q & A. Additional celebrity guests will be announced soon.
Sunday’s 3/16 episode of “Talking Dead” on AMC featuring CM Punk’s first public appearance since leaving WWE averaged 5.42 million viewers.
The “The Walking Dead” episode that preceded show drew a huge 12.87 million viewers.
After hitting John Cena with a running knee that came from out of nowhere (no Michael Cole/RKO pun intended), Daniel Bryan pinned the champ and the crowd erupted into a deafening “YES!” chant. Many believed that the Bryan era had begun in the WWE, until Orton’s music hit seconds later and basically everyone knew where it was going from there.
Since then, Bryan has been involved in a long, occasionally meandering feud with the Authority. Along the way, Bryan defeated Orton at Night of Champions to regain the title before having it stripped away the following night, battled Orton to a no contest at Battleground, got screwed out of the title by Shawn Michaels at Hell in a Cell, and has been involved in countless minor storylines along the way.
Some have complained that Bryan’s Authority program has been too drawn out and that there should have been some sort of payoff months ago. I admit that I was once in this camp. The night following Hell in a Cell, the Wyatt Family attacked Bryan, pulling him away from the main event scene for multiple months while allowing for the Big Show and John Cena to feud with Orton.
It seemed impossible to think that Bryan could maintain momentum and stay relevant without directly battling the man holding the strap. In fact, the WWE’s WrestleMania plan originally did not even include having Bryan anywhere near the main event, as it was originally rumored that he would battle Sheamus. And then Pittsburgh happened.
With the WWE banking on Batista returning and being one of the top faces of the company, the Pittsburgh crowd chewed him up and spit him out like a piece of cheap, undercooked steak. Had the crowd cheered Batista that night, there is little doubt that he would be headlining WrestleMania with Orton alone. Instead, they rejected the garbage product they were being served and could have potentially altered WWE history.
The following are highlights of a recent Ask Me Anything Reddit chat with legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette:
On if he’s spoken to Ed Ferrara since his “Oklahoma” parody character on Jim Ross: “I saw him in Nashville in 2002–I had promised the promoter I wouldn’t punch him, but I didn’t promise I wouldn’t try to get HIM to punch ME first–I told him what I thought of him for doing that to JR and I spit in his face in front of 30 witnesses, and the gutless pussy did nothing. That’s what he deserved for making fun of a near career-ending disability suffered by a guy who has more talent in his finger than Ferrara in his whole body, he should have never been allowed in our business in the first place. If anyone sees him, tell him Jim Cornette STILL says he’s a gutless sack of shit.”
On his thoughts on Colt Cabana: “Colt is a fine mid-card wrestler, an average look and an oK at best promo, he was perfect for WWE and I have to assume he pissed someone off there–he was NOT a fit for ROH as we were trying to present an athletic, serious, credible style of pro wrestling and funny doesn’t draw money. We didn’t offer him a contract because he didn’t fit those plans, and he has made a big deal out of it, we never said this publicly until he made it an issue-personally, I don’t think his comedy is funny and I don’t think anyone trying to make a career in pro wrestling should make fun of it at the same time, a la his bullshit “$5 wrestling” with the asshole who runs Highspots. I have no use for that type of horseshit.”
On why Kevin Steen hates him so much: “Because I got him a raise, a contract renewal, Visa paid for, a 9 month undefeated run with the World Title and tons of TV time, even after he refused to lose weight to get the spot, so you tell me.”
On his thoughts of WWE deciding to air Chris Benoit footage on the WWE Network: “He was a great talent, a wonderful friend and a fine human being who for some reason or combination of reasons went insane and did horrible, unforgiveable things in the last two days of his life–you can’t erase him from history, but if anyone would confront it we might learn something to prevent it from happening again.”
On Kevin Dunn: “I don’t think about Kevin Dunn, the wrestling fan’s worst enemy, so I can sleep at night–I take comfort in the fact that ebveryone else who knows him hates him too.”
On the worst booking decisions ever: “The Brawl for All tied with Austin hugging McMahon at WM17 that led to the collapse of the entire business.”
Check out more of Jim Cornette’s A.M.A. chat at Reddit.com.
– Wrestling legend Sting will be in New Orleans during WrestleMania XXX weekend. The TNA Hall of Famer will be appearing at the WrestleCon convention on Sunday, April 6th from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
“This will be a LIMITED AVAILABILITY APPEARANCE OF ONLY 250 PEOPLE! Only one person is allowed to appear in the photo op. Sting will also delivery a message, maybe take a question or two, for the entire crowd following his signing on the main stage.”
For more information, visit WrestleCon.com.
– After Monday’s RAW from San Antonio went off the air, the WWE Network’s Backstage Pass show featured Daniel Bryan being tended to by medical staff after the severe beat down from Triple H on RAW. The panel speculated whether Daniel Bryan’s career is over and if he’ll even make it to WrestleMania. Bryan was placed into an ambulance backstage while his fiance Brie Bella and various WWE superstars checked on him. Renee Young interviewed WWE’s ringside doctor, who said Bryan appears to have suffered head and abdominal injuries.
Back in the ring (not shown on the WWE Network), John Cena came out to address the live crowd. The Undertaker’s music then played, which the panel ignored while discussing the Daniel Bryan injury angle. While the Undertaker and John Cena were in the ring, Luke Harper and Eric Rowan of the Wyatt Family confronted them. The Show ended with The Undertaker and John Cena delivering a chokeslam and Attitude Adjustment to send the fans home happy.
Muscle & Fitness has released a behind-the-scenes footage of John Cena’s recent photo shoot for the April edition of the magazine.
The footage was shot at the WWE Performance Center. Cesaro is also featured in the video, with the two muscular superstars speaking very highly one one another.
The April 2014 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine with John Cena on the cover commemorates 10 Years of WrestleMania for John Cena.
TNA will be dropping huge money to run 3 shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City this summer, according to Prowrestling.net.
A high-level TNA source has revealed that the company will be paying $300,000 to rent out the Hammerstein Ballroom (and production costs) to run TNA TV tapings at the venue in June, July and August. The Hammerstein is one of the rowdiest venues in the country, having hosted the two ECW One Night Stand pay-per-views.
There is already some speculation that the expensive decision was made in an effort to impress Spike TV executives ahead of TNA’s TV contract expiring later this year. It’s unknown whether Spike will be contributing to this expenditure, as they’ve done with several of TNA’s high-priced contracts over the years.
It also remains to be seen how TNA talent reacts to this – with the company’s dire financial situation and wrestlers being forced to take pay cuts.
– John Cena will be wrestling Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. The show will be taped tonight from Houston, Texas.
Check back later tonight for complete spoiler results.
– The following matches will take place on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on the WWE Network:
– Here is WWE’s Hall of Fame announcement video for Mr. T:
– WWE legend The Undertaker will be appearing live on tonight’s episode of Main Event on the WWE Network. This will be the Undertaker’s first time appearing on the show.
– WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Mick Foley praised Bray Wyatt on Twitter on Monday night:
@WWEBrayWyatt is a special talent. Great DNA. 300 pounder w/ 2nd gear. #RAWSanAntonio
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) March 18, 2014
I think @WWEBrayWyatt may be a #BetterMankindThanMankind. Awesome stuff from a modern master of the microphone. #Raw
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) March 18, 2014
– WWE COO Triple H announced on Monday’s RAW that the Randy Orton vs. Batsta match at WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight championship is officially a Triple Threat match.
Previously, the stipulation was that if Daniel Bryan defeated him, Bryan would go on to the main event as the third contestant. Now, if Triple H defeats Daniel Bryan, he himself will be added to the main event and face his former Evolution partners.
That said, the main event of WrestleMania is now WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. The Winner of Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H earlier in the night.
– Following Monday’s RAW, here’s the updated list of participants for the 30-Man Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania:
– Arnold Swarzenegger and Joe Manganiello of the new movie Sabotage will be the special guest stars of next week’s WWE RAW.
It was also announced that the cast of Scooby-Doo will be appearing.
– Last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown did a 1.98 rating and averaged 2.8 million viewers, according to Zap2It.com. This was significantly down from the previous week, which did a 2.16 rating and 3.14 million viewers.
The following matches were taped prior to Monday’s RAW from San Antonio, Texas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Natalya defeated Alicia Fox
* R-Truth defeated Heath Slater
In-Ring Segment: Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton
After a lengthy video recap of last week’s “occupy RAW” segment, this week’s RAW opens with Triple H standing by himself in the middle of the ring. HHH says when it’s all said and done, he wants us to understand that this is all our fault. He says he’s going to end the “Yes! Movement.” He mentions that he has a few things to say to Daniel Bryan, and he’s going to say them to his face later tonight. Before he can continue, Batista’s music hits.
“The Animal” makes his way to the ring to a round of boo’s from the fans in San Antonio. Batista says Triple H may have big problems with Daniel Bryan, but he’s got bigger problems with him. He complains about Hunter adding Bryan to “his” match at WrestleMania. Batista asks HHH what he was thinking. HHH says Bryan doesn’t stand a chance in hell of beating him.
Before either guy can continue speaking, Randy Orton’s music hits. With that said, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion makes his way to the ring. Orton says he has to agree with “Big Dave” on this one. He complains about Bryan being added to his match. HHH again says Bryan won’t beat him so it’s not an issue. He asks them if Bryan has really gotten that far inside their heads. Batista says apparently not as much as he’s gotten inside yours. Orton asks HHH to give him Bryan tonight. He tells him to make it a no disqualification match so he can prove that he can do what Batista couldn’t do last week.
Orton informs Batista that the fans aren’t cheering Daniel Bryan because of his “stupid ‘Yes! Movement.'” He says they’re cheering Bryan because they hate Batista so much. Batista says they cheer Bryan because the fans think Orton as WWE World Heavyweight Champion “sucks.” He calls Orton a paper champion. The two go face-to-face. HHH walks off. Batista asks HHH where he’s going. He demands that he fixes this situation. HHH says he’s sick of troll-face gremlins like Daniel Bryan and fans cheering for him. He also says he’s sick of “Hollywood movie stars” coming back to this business. He tells Orton he’s also sick of him needing HHH to hold his hand to win a match. He says he’s thinking “the old man was right.” He finishes by saying that if he beats Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, there will be a triple-threat match for the title, but it won’t be Bryan added to the match, it’s going to be him. Basically put, now the stipulation is whoever wins between HHH and Bryan, they get added to the main event. As HHH walks away, Orton nails Batista out of the blue with an RKO.
Backstage: Renee Young With Batista
Backstage, Renee Young tries to get a reaction from Batista to what just happened. An angry Batista talks about how coming back was a mistake. With that said, he storms off.
The Usos vs. The Real Americans
Michael Cole mentions that The Usos, who we see backstage, will be in action next against The Real Americans. On that note, we head to a commercial break. After the quick Renee Young interview with Batista, WWE World Tag-Team Champions The Usos make their way to the ring. The Real Americans, already in the ring, get some final instructions from Zeb Colter before the bell rings.
The match starts with a loud “We The People” chant. Swagger takes Uso down, however Uso quickly turns the tide and gains the upper-hand in the match early on. There’s a lot of back-and-forth action, with all four members getting a turn in the ring. Swagger ends up knocking Uso out to the floor with a big boot to the face as we head to a mid-match commercial.
When we return from commercial, we see Uso fighting back against both Cesaro and Swagger. Some highlights of action that took place during the break is shown as The Real Americans utilize some double-team action to regain control of the offense. When the smoke clears, Cesaro is going to work on Uso in the heel corner of the ring.
Our first random “CM Punk” chant breaks out as Swagger tags in and picks up where Cesaro left off. Uso hits a big kick that drops Swagger and then tags in his brother. Jey Uso takes the hot tag and comes in flying all over the place, hitting anything that moves. Out of nowhere, Cesaro gets Jey in position for the Cesaro Swing, but Jimmy interferes and cuts him off.
Uso goes to the top rope for the big splash, but Cesaro pulls his partner out to the floor to save his team from defeat. The finish comes when Cesaro blasts Uso with a flying European uppercut and follows it up with his Neutralizer finisher. 1-2-3. The Real Americans get the victory in this non-title contest.
Winners: The Real Americans
Backstage: Kane & The Shield
After some highlights of what went down with Kane and The Shield on SmackDown, we see The Shield standing backstage. Kane walks up and talks about how they all made some regrettable decisions. He asks if he can make sure that he can count on them. They say yes. He says if they aren’t, they’ll find out how replaceable they are.
Bad News Barrett & Hornswoggle
Hornswoggle is shown at ringside handing out St. Patrick’s Day cheer to the fans. As he continues, Bad News Barrett’s music hits and he pops up from his podium. He says he’s got some bad news. His bad news is basically that everyone is going to get drunk and regret their actions.
Sheamus vs. Titus O’Neil
After the Bad News Barrett segment, Sheamus makes his way to the ring. We’re told by Michael Cole that after the break Sheamus will battle Titus O’Neil in a “St. Patrick’s Day showdown.” On that note, we head to commercial.
Sheamus begins the match by landing some big punches. Titus comes back with punches of his own. Sheamus hits the ropes, blocks a hit toss, and connects with a big clothesline. Titus fights back up and hits a club to the back. Sheamus charges in and clotheslines Titus to the outside. Sheamus dives off the apron onto Titus on the outside. Titus slams Sheamus back first into the ring post. Titus connects with a sidebuster and tosses Sheamus to the side.
The match gets back in the ring. Titus connects with some mounted punches and kicks. Titus covers for a 1 count. Sheamus fights back to his feet, but Titus connects with his fall away slam. Sheamus rolls to the outside. Titus gives chase, but grabs Hornswoggle. Titus tosses Hornswoggle into the ring. Titus grabs him and starts slapping him around. Titus picks Hornswoggle up, and his a fall away slam, but Sheamus catches him. Hornswoggle goes head first into the mid section of Titus. Sheamus connects with his 10 clubbing blows in the ropes.
Sheamus hoists O’Neil up and hits a big slam. Sheamus calls for the Brogue Kick. He lands it. 1-2-3. Sheamus gets the pinfall victory.
Winner: Sheamus
After The Match
After the match, Renee Young interviews Sheamus in the ring. She asks him how he is going to spend the rest of his St. Patrick’s Day. Sheamus wishes everyone a happy St. Patrick’s Day and says he will be entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Christian ends up attacking Sheamus from behind. Christian slams Sheamus shoulder first into the steel steps. Christian hits his finisher on Sheamus and walks off.
Former Two Time WWE Tag Team Champion Trevor Murdoch sat down with Who’s Slamming Who host Tommy Fierro in the VOC Nation ITR Radio Network to discuss the WWE Network, CM Punk walking out, Daniel Bryan, and much more.
Here are plenty of quotes and highlights from the Trevor Murdoch interview:
The WWE Network: “I think it’s a great idea. The WWE Network gives the younger generation an opportunity to see what real wrestling was. It also reintroduces people like Roddy Piper and Ric Flair to the younger generation. I think it’s a great think and I’m really glad to be a part of it.”
The potential loss of PPV royalties to talent: “From the fans’ perspective, paying $40 less for a PPV is great. From a talent’s perspective, I think that (they) lose money. (Talent) is in this not only because we love wrestling, but also because we need to provide for our families. Once you put the PPVs on the Network, you lose the DVD sales and merchandising aspects that you had before.”
Whether or not he was notified of his appearances on the WWE Network: “I wasn’t called or notified. Not even a letter. I really don’t care though; I’m glad they put my stuff on there. It keeps my name out there. It’s great for wrestlers that aren’t with the company anymore. You don’t get forgotten.”
Whether he watches the current product: “I don’t follow it closely. I DVR it, watch what entertains me, and I fast forward what doesn’t. What gets me fired up about the WWE is that they have such a huge pool of talented wrestlers that the whole show could be fantastic (but it’s not). I remember when I was a kid, I used to hang on every single thread; now it doesn’t seem like that.”
His favorite parts of the current product: “I love tag team wrestling. I’m a big fan of what’s going on with the Usos, the Rhoades Brothers, and the Shield. I’m also a huge fan of Cesaro. He’s not your typical heel; he’s a guy that you love to hate, and that’s rare.”
Daniel Bryan: “Anyone that knows Daniel knows that he’s one of the hardest working guys in the locker room. It’s good to see that finally the cream rises to the top. He deserved that, he’s earned it, and he’s the right man for the position. You don’t always get what you want in life, but if you want it bad enough, you have to keep going at it. It’s very parallel to real life. It’s not WWE’s job to give people what they want right then and there. It’s WWE’s job to draw people into their next TV program. That what they’ve done: They’ve carried people over Monday to Monday with their storyline.”
CM Punk’s departure: “It’s all speculation based upon my experience with the WWE and with Punk, but the WWE has a very bad habit of not following through with storylines. That’s probably one of the reasons that Punk stepped away. He knows the fans aren’t stupid. He came into WWE with a fantastic following, but WWE didn’t understand it and kept him in developmental longer than they should have. He kept fighting and finally got onto the main roster and proved himself to the WWE office and the (sarcastic) ‘fantastic’ writing staff. They think that whatever they put out there, they can shove down the fans throat and they’ll buy it. They have a very contorted view of the wrestling business.”
His current whereabouts: “Everybody thinks that getting to the WWE is the hardest part. In my opinion, staying there is the hardest part. Being relavant is the hardest part. Letting the office know that you can draw money is the hardest part. Before I got into the wrestling business, I was working from daylight to dark, and as soon as I got released I was working from daylight to dark. I wrestle on the weekends, but my wife’s family has a heavy equipment business (and I work there). I see so many guys that are only a few years older than me and are walking hunched over, constantly in pain; I feel blessed that I got out relatively healthy.”
Who’s Slamming Who with Tommy Fierro streams live Thursday nights at 7PM ET on the VOC Nation IN THE ROOM Radio Network, worldwide at vocnation.com, and simulcast onthebradyhicks.com.