UFC President Dana White is once again fielding questions about the possibility of former WWE Superstar CM Punk jumping crossing over the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
During an interview with our friend Chad Dukes this week (CBS Radio DC 106.7 The Fan), the UFC President said he’s good friends with Punk, but they never talk pro wrestling and the subject of Punk fighting in the UFC has never come up. That said, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of letting Punk fight in the UFC, if that was something he wanted.
he wasn’t counting out the possibility of the door being open for Punk should he ever decide to try his hand at mixed martial arts.
White: “We have literally never talked about business. I like him. He’s a fan. I’ve heard rumors out there, and he and I have been around each other and been together, he has never ever, I’ve never talked to him about wrestling and he’s never talked to me about fighting. I have no idea.”
Dukes: “Would you be open to it?”
White: “Um. I mean, yeah. I guess if he wanted to fight, I’d talk to him about it.”
Sting held a Q&A session last night at the Camden Highlight Club in London, England and spoke about a number of topics, including wanting to wrestle The Undertaker, his favorite opponents, WCW and more. Here are some highlights, courtesy of Rihan of the Road to WrestleMania 30 blog:
* He wants to face The Undertaker in his final match. That’s the only match that’s left for him to do.
* He’s been watching Undertaker matches on Youtube, including Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania.
* He hasn’t watched the TNA product since he left, but has been purposefully watching RAW for the past few week
* He didn’t feel that Hogan took his spot when he joined WCW
* Shawn Michaels & Kurt Angle are the top two pro wrestlers he’s worked with
* Scott Hall is the man responsible for his Crow gimmick
* He discovered Goldberg and brought him into WCW. Goldberg had been working out at he and Lex Luger’s gym in Atlanta
* He’s disappointed he never got to have a proper feud with Bret Hart in WCW
* His three favorite matches were vs. Flair for 45 minutes at Clash Of Champions 88, his first World Title victory and Starrcade 97 vs. Hulk Hogan
* He disliked working with Vampiro in WCW & he wasn’t fond of working with Robocop
The Most Impressive Accomplishment in Sports Entertainment History?
At 21-0, The Undertaker is undoubtedly the most successful performer in WrestleMania history. To even compete in 21 separate WrestleManias is an accomplishment itself, but to come out victorious on all occasions cements his status as one of the all-time greats.
Is the streak the most impressive accomplishment in sports entertainment history, however? In my opinion, only one accomplishment is more impressive, with that being Bruno Sammartino’s 2,803-day reign as champion.
With that said, it leads one to wonder if the streak should be preserved, and also how it will be possible to send The Undertaker off in a fitting manner if he does end his WrestleMania career undefeated.
Should the Streak Be Ended?
Many have suggested that it would be selfish for The Undertaker to end his career with an undefeated WrestleMania record. Instead, some feel he should put over a young star in his final match to pass the torch, so to speak, to the next generation.
While there is certainly some validity to the argument, I am not necessarily buying into it. The primary reason the streak should be maintained is that it has become synonymous with his character. As one of the most iconic superstars of his generation, the streak is an important part of his legacy.
The Undertaker’s contests with Shawn Michaels are widely considered to be two of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history.
Think about it: Shawn Michaels is known as Mr. WrestleMania, Steve Austin is the face of the Attitude Era, Hulk Hogan transformed the WWE from a regional promotion into a nationally televised sport, John Cena has the most WWE title reigns of all-time. What will fans think of when they remember The Undertaker in 20 years?
Other than his unique character and being perhaps the only superstar to maintain a kayfabe persona in a social media era, the streak is one of the defining characteristics of his career. Therefore, I think it is important for him to retire with an undefeated record at WrestleMania.
How Should the WWE Send Off The Undertaker?
Assuming he retires undefeated, writers would have to come up with an interesting way to send him off in his final match. Simply having him win and walk out of the arena seems like a lame way to send off one of the most fascinating characters in the company’s history.
It seems highly unlikely that he will lose to Brock Lesnar this year, leaving maybe one or two years left before he is forced to retire. After all, he is approaching 50 years old and it is only a matter of time before his body can no longer hold up.
My guess is that he will compete at two more WrestleManias following this year’s event. That would allow for him to face someone such as John Cena or possibly Sting next year (assuming Sting decides to sign, of course).
In his final match, it would be possible to put over a new star while still preserving the streak. Imagine The Undertaker facing a young heel such as Bray Wyatt. The two could possibly face off in something like a casket match (I’d suggest a buried alive match but don’t see that happening in the PG era).
Brock Lesnar will be the latest in a long line of WrestleMania challengers.
After The Undertaker wins the match, Wyatt and his family could decimate Taker and bury or set the casket on fire. Unlike previous contests where he usually does something like put his hand through the casket, however, this could be the true end to his career and the last time he ever appears. Voilà, Taker gone, the streak is preserved, and you put over someone like Wyatt by having him be the man who finally took out The Deadman.
Facts Related to the Streak:
Average Match Time: 16:29
Total Time Spent Competing: 5 hours, 46 minutes, 26 seconds
Longest Match: 30:50 (WrestleMania 28 vs. Triple H)
Shortest Match: 4:20 (WrestleMania 7 vs. Jimmy Snuka)
Most Frequent Opponent: Triple H (3 times)
Number of Headlining Appearances: 3 (WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania 24, WrestleMania 26)
Numbers of Titles Won: 3 (WWE Championship vs. Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13, WHC vs. Batista at WrestleMania 23, WHC vs. Edge at WrestleMania 24)
So how do you feel about the streak? Do you think The Undertaker should go out on top, or should he lose in his final match? What is your all-time favorite Taker WrestleMania match? Let us know in the comments.
– There appears to be plans to bring back the Los Matadores into the main tag-team scene in the near future. Following their victory over Ryback and Curtis Axel at WWE Main Event, the Los Matadores were pushed as possible tag-title contenders due to the win.
– During recent promos, NXT star Adrian Neville has been knocking his physical appearance and making fun of his own accent. Apparently the creative idea for Neville is for him to be somewhat of a NXT version of Daniel Bryan.
Rumors persist that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will be returning to WWE television in the next few months.
In what could be another subtle hint Stephanie McMahon neglected to mention her father on Monday’s RAW during her heated Daniel Bryan and the “occupy RAW” segment.
She talked about her great grandfather and grandfather building the company she now runs, but Vince was conspicuously omitted.
– Apparently part of the motivation behind the Daniel Bryan segment at this past Monday’s RAW, as well as the reason the company referred to it as “occupying RAW” instead of “hijacking RAW” was because the company was making fun of how the fans failed at “hijacking” the recent RAW show in Chicago.
– The plan going forward is for WWE to run RAW dark matches (which they haven’t been doing as of late due to the WWE Network) featuring John Cena and Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt.
According to Jerry Wiseman of Examiner.com, former WWE Diva Mickie James is pregnant. The father of James’ child is reportedly current TNA World Champion Magnus.
As previously reported, James revealed in a recent radio interview that she and Magnus got back together after splitting up for a while.
Apparently the reason WWE took a shot at Jim Ross during commentary on the March 3rd edition of RAW was because of JR going public with the Vince McMahon “sharting” story during his Opie & Anthony radio appearance.
During the RAW broadcast, JBL was talking about his love for Vince McMahon as an announcer, which led to Jerry Lawler asking him to compare McMahon’s announcing to JR’s. JBL noted that he preferred McMahon, because he could speak English, and then noted that comparing the two is like comparing horse manure to ice cream (an old Bobby Heenan line).
– WWE is considering a 6-man tag match at WrestleMania featuring The Shield vs. Kane and NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension, according to a report by Justin LaBar at Triblive.com.
– WWE.com has published a feature looking at The Undertaker’s 20 Greatest Rivals.
– WWE.com also has a playlist of Superstars Impersonating Hulk Hogan.
– Sting will be making a “special appearance” for Revolution Pro this Saturday at York Hall in London, England. Also on the show are Colt Cabana, The Young Bucks, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, Ricochet and more. It does not appear that Sting will be wrestling.
– Independent pro wrestler Steven Walters, who frequently works for Anarchy Wrestling out of Cornelia, Georgia, has signed a developmental deal with WWE. He is expected to start with the company in Orlando in mid-April.
– Chris Harrington recently compiled a list of the 20 wrestlers who have appeared in the most WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view matches in history. That list looks as follows:
1. The Undertaker 161
2. HHH 158
3. Big Show 156
4. Kane 155
5. Chris Jericho 149
6. Rey Mysterio 129
7. John Cena 124
8. Edge 123
9. Booker T 119
10. Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels 114
12. Chris Benoit 113
13. Ric Flair 105
14. Christian and Steve Austin 90
16. Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust 90
17. Sting 83 and Lex Luger 83
19. Hulk Hogan and C.M. Punk 82
– John Cena granted another wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation prior to Monday’s RAW from Mephis. Cena met with 11 year old Wish Kid Luis and his family. You can see a photo of them Community.WWE.com.
– The latest plan for Alexander Rusev’s next WWE match is for him to wrestle at either WrestleMania or on RAW the next night, according to a report at PWInsider.com.
– Steve Austin is featured in the latest WWE video blog, where he shows off the trailer he’l be living in while filming his new ‘Broken Skull Challenge’ reality competition show for CMT.
– WWE Diva Natalya spoke to the the Frank Erwin Center’s Applause blog this week and said this about Stephanie McMahon:
“I really look up to Stephanie McMahon. She is a role model. We went to a school with underprivileged children and she spent four hours talking to all the kids. She is honestly one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. With her background and status, she has a lot of influence and power but she proves that you can never allow fame, money or your position in life to get the best of you. She is a great example of what being a strong and empowered woman looks like. She has a husband, family and does a great job balancing it all.”
– WWE has released a new promotional video for the WWE Network show Legends House on the WWE Network. Here are various WWE Superstars and Divas promoting the show and talking about which Legends they’d want to be locked in a house with:
Roman Reigns spoke to Coaster Boy Josh this week to promote WrestleMania XXX. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
How he first got involved with WWE:
“Everybody’s different. For me, it was different than the next guy, and the next guy’s different than the next guy…so, coming from our family, [the WWE] already knew about me, especially playing football in a Division I college. So, I had heard before that they were interested in giving me a tryout and getting me down to the developmental system, so I kind of had that in the back of my head.
But once I knew this is something I wanted to try, I had a long talk with my dad and he made a few phone calls, and I was fortunate enough to get a tryout.”
How he trains psychologically to put on a great match:
“Well, putting on a great match can happen in so many different ways. Sometimes it isn’t psychology..sometimes it’s just fireworks. Sometimes you have two minutes and have to go out there and just do something..and ya’ did something it caught the eye and the attention of everybody and there really wasn’t any psychology, it didn’t make sense, but it still made the people stand up.
So, it’s a weird thing as far as what makes a good match, but as far as learning the mental game of it, for me, being a football player I’ve always been good at watching, and watching tape, and learning from that. But when I was down there learning psychology, it was more talking to my cousins..I talked to the Usos a good bit. I was actually neighbors with Jey Uso for my first six months down in developmental, and we’d just sit on the porch all night talking…talking, talking, talking wrestling.”
The Shield’s Debut & WWE’s Original Plan For Them:
“Yeah, we debuted at Survivor Series — the coolest part of that is we were supposed to have like shields. It was really..for lack of a better word..it was really lame. We had like, literal riot shields..fiberglass riot shields with the word “Shield” written up it. We were like..’everyone will know who we are..geez’. We just pictured..trying to get into the ring with these things.
Like, for years now..you go into the ring a certain way, and you’re not usually carrying a huge, plastic shield. So, we just had this terrifying nightmare of not being able to..like slide in and we’re like stuck..we can’t get in and we’re looking up and there’s Ryback standing over us, and we’ve completely blown the whole debut.
So, immediately, Vince was like ‘What, are you guys wussies? You need that?’ We’re like ‘No’. And he’s like ‘Good, leave them’, and we just ran in there and we beat the dog piss out of Ryback and put him through the table.”
WWE taped four more episodes of NXT on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Here are spoiler results, courtesy of Terry Rollins:
Dark Match:
* Kalisto defeated El Local.
Episode 1:
* Emma beat Sasha Banks.
* Brodus Clay defeated Xavier Woods. Clay said that WWE has taken everything from him and now he’s going to take it back.
* Tyler Breeze defeated Yoshi Tatsu.
* Corey Graves defeated Sami Zayn.
Episode 2:
* Adam Rose defeated Danny Burch. Rose had his big party entrance.
* Bayley defeated Sasha Banks.
* Mojo Rawley defeated Sylvester Lefort.
* Brodus Clay attacked Lefort and destroyed him, then challenged NXT champ Adrian Neville. They went back and and forth to set up a title match.
In what was probably a dark segment. Neville told the fans he heard Bo Dallas is going to try and occupy NXT and told them to turn their backs on him when he does.
* Bo Dallas came out and tried to “occupy” NXT but the fans booed him and turned their backs. NXT GM JBL came out and told Dallas he’s not getting another title match but since he’s looking for a fight, he can fight this man. Out came Justin Gabriel.
*Bo Dallas defeated Justin Gabriel.
Episode 3:
* Aiden English defeated Colin Cassady.
*Camacho defeated an unannounced wrestler.
* NXT Tag Team champs The Ascension defeated two enhancement workers.
* The Great Khali defeated CJ Parker.
* Jason Jordan and Ty Dillinger defeated Baron Corbin and Sawyer Fulton.
* NXT champ Adrian Neville beat Brodus Clay via countout.
Fourth Episode:
* Sasha Banks and Charlotte defeated Emma and Paige.
* Alexander Rusev defeated Travis Tyler.
* Tyson Kidd defeated Mason Ryan. Renee Young interviewed Kid, who put over NXT.
* Tyler Breeze defeated Angelo Dawkins.
* The Usos and Sami Zayn defeated Corey Graves and The Ascension in a dark match to close the show.
WWE Superstar Kane has started a new insurance company with his wife in Knoxville, Tennessee called “The Jacobs Agency.” The company offers auto, home, motorcycle, RV, boat, life and commercial insurance, along with retirement planning.
Kane has reportedly been telling friends that he has been planning to retire from pro wrestling for a while now, but that he has trouble walking away from the money. Apparently his plan is to continue to wrestle as long as he can still make the big money.
The feeling locally in the political world is that Kane has expressed interest in running for public office as a Libertarian party candidate at some point.
WWE spiked 7% on Thursday afternoon based on a rumor that AMC Networks is interested in buying the company.
In the midst of WWE’s ongoing TV rights fees negotiations, AMC has been one of the companies interested in WWE programming, along with and Viacom and FOX. AMC Networks is the parent company of cable channels AMC, IFC, WE tv, and SundanceTV.
Financial blog Betaville was the first source to report on the story:
“Good sources tell me cable group AMC Networks has been sniffing around World Wrestling Entertainment Inc, the US-listed company behind those ridiculous wrestling programmes, such as WWF, Raw and Smackdown.
AMC Networks has held at least one exploratory conversation with WWE – which saw its shares rise by about 30pc during last week – about some kind M&A transaction in recent months, according to “people familiar with the matter”. However, the talks are understood to have not gone anywhere.
Another source said bankers from UBS have been advising AMC Networks, owner of Sundance TV, on a potential deal and financing options.
This well-placed source said any transaction may value WWE at between $2.6 and $2.8bn.”
WWE released the following updated WWE Network service advisory regarding recent PS3-related issues:
“Sony Playstation 3 users may be experiencing an issue with the schedule on WWE Network. Following the daylight savings time change on Sunday, March 9, the WWE Network schedule on PS3 is listing shows one hour behind the actual air time. Although the schedule is one hour off, all live programming is airing at the correct times. You will see this issue resolved within the next few days. Thank you for your patience.”
As previously reported, CM Punk will be making his first television appearance since walking out on WWE, when he appears on AMC’s “Talking Dead” this Sunday night.
According to one report, there is a certain level of bitterness within WWE towards Punk for appearing on the show. The general consensus seems to be that if Punk is able to travel to Los Angeles to appear on that show, he should have been able to come to RAW in his hometown of Chicago to at least talk with someone in person.
Additionally, there’s apparently a feeling of uncertainty due to the fact that nobody knows what Punk will say, if anything, about his WWE status.
Former WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock recently appeared as a guest on the “Asked with Riv & Landin” show. During the interview, Shamrock spoke about a number of WWE and MMA related topics, including the recent controversy surrounding CM Punk.
When asked for his thoughts on Punk possibly entering MMA, Shamrock noted that he would have no chance if he were to start off at the UFC level, and that he should start at the bottom due to the fact that he has no experience as a professional fighter.
Shamrock also spoke about Punk’s current situation with WWE, going as far as to call him a “spoiled brat” for walking out on the company when he didn’t get what he wanted, and claimed that he is suffering from “spoiled brat syndrome.”
“The World’s Most Dangerous Man” also spoke about Triple H, noting that Hunter dislikes him because he had to put him over several times during WWE’s “Attitude Era.” Shamrock claimed that “The Game” strongly dislikes putting other people over.
– Road Dogg is dealing with a back injury that’s kept him out of action for a few weeks. No word yet on the extent of the injury. There had been talks that the New Age Outlaws would challengeThe Usos for the WWE Tag Team championships at WrestleMania XXX, but it remains to be seen if the match will actually take place.
– Matt and Jeff Hardy vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe has been booked as the main event of the April 26th OMEGA live event from the Hardys’ hometown of Cameron, NC. The show takes place at Union Pines High School. Matt Hardy announced the match on Twitter, calling it the “biggest tag team dream match” of the past 10 years.
– Here’s the latest WWE Inbox featuring Alicia Fox talking about her most embarrassing moment in the ring, an idea for her own WWE Network show and more.
– Cesaro has been added to the Andre The Giant 30 Man Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos and The Great Khali will be working at tonight’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
– Zack Ryder filmed an appearance for Travel Channel’s Toy Hunter series this week. Hulk Hogan appeared on a recent episode.
– WWE has made several changes to the post-WrestleMania live event rosters. Following the changes, one group will feature Daniel Bryan, The Shield, Randy Orton and Kane. The other will include John Cena, The Wyatt Family, Big Show, Sheamus and the Rhodes Brothers.
Here’s a preview for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling, TNA’s first TV taping back in the United States after the European tour:
– Aftermath from TNA Lockdown. Abyss helped Magnus retain the TNA World Heavyweight championship against Samoa Joe. How will Joe react to Abyss costing him the match and beating him down?
– MVP is in full control of wrestling operations in TNA and IMPACT after Team MVP defeated Team Dixie in the Lethal Lockdown match – after an unexpected assist by Bully Ray in helping MVP get the win. How will Bully Ray explain his actions and what will MVP do while in charge of TNA?
– TNA is also teasing the latest from Willow, Jeff Hardy’s ‘bizarre’ new character.
– Rockstar Spud will host a special Thank You Dixie tribute on Thursday’s broadcast after she lost control of the company at Lockdown.
– What’s next for Bobby Lashley after returning at Lockdown?
– After his debut at Lockdown, the bizarre masked superstar Willow will appear on Thursday’s LIVE IMPACT on SpikeTV!
– The Impact TV debuts of X Division champion Senada, Tigre Uno, and new Knockout Brittany.
WWE is reportedly planning on making a big push for Hulk Hogan merchandise and legends merchandise based on a “big four” of Hogan, The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior and Steve Austin. As part of this deal, WWE is wanting to get all four to appear at WrestleMania XXX in April.
As previously reported, Austin has mentioned that he had no interest in going to WrestleMania just to be there, and that he would only be interested in attending if he had a good reason. WWE reportedly wants to come up with a good storyline to bring Austin to WrestleMania this year in a non-wrestling role. The idea has apparently been pitched to Austin, however we have yet to hear of any kind of deal being reached.
