– TNA star Sting is scheduled to make some rare pro wrestling house show appearances this weekend. “The Icon” is set to work the Friday, January 10th event in Bristol, Tennessee, as well as the Saturday, January 11th event in McMinnville, Tennessee.
– TNA’s “Unfinished Business” pay-per-views this month are scheduled to feature matches that took place at TNA’s “Destination X” and “No Surrender” 2013 shows.
(Partial Credit: PWInsider.com)
WWE Superstar Batista made the Yahoo! Movies list of the “15 Breakout Stars To Watch For In 2014.” Regarding his inclusion in the list, Batista wrote on Twitter:
Holy Crap!! I made my first "List"..well "Positive List" anyway. #10 Baby!! http://t.co/dS0BLbH5kS
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) January 5, 2014
Just dawned on me that everyone else on the list is 50 years younger than me. Just proof that its never to late to sack up and chase dreams.
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) January 5, 2014
SESCOOPS.COM reader Peter Ferreri sent along the following:
Listen to the MILLION DOLLAR MAN talk about how the current state of the WWE, John Cena as a performer, RAW goes “old school,” his dislike of the Ultimate Warrior, his rivalry vs. Hogan, the POP he would get in Omaha, how to cut a good promo, telling one of the hosts Dr. Pete’s Mom “not to worry” and MORE!
Check out the full recap at SportsTownChicago.com/wwe
The ROAD DOGG sits down the the hosts of SportsTownChicago to discuss his return to the WWE, the current state of the Tag Team Division, cutting promos, how he formed his tag team and had the “brass” to tell the WWE he didn’t like where his career was going, being a LEGEND, his return to Rumble last year, and MUCH MORE!
The full recap of this one is available as well at SportsTownChicago.com/wwe
Here are some highlights from Jim Ross’ latest Q&A from JRsBarBQ.com:
How Important Was Steve Austin’s “Austin 3:16” Speech?:
“If you are still talking about it then it must have been a key moment and I feel that it was.”
Who Was a Bigger Star: Hogan or Austin?
“Hogan had a longer run and I think that Austin drew more money. Another very subjective question. Austin was ‘the man’ when WWE was in a major fight for survival.”
Did He Enjoy Being Drafted To SmackDown?
“It was ok but not something that I wanted to do.”
In A Perfect World, Who Would He Have As Champions In WWE?
“These are so subjective that there really are no right or wrong answers. Just for an opinion today, that could change tomorrow…Daniel Bryan as WWE Champ…AJ as Divas champion..Rhodes Brothers are tag champs…Cesaro as IC Champ…Ambrose as US Champ.”
Will WWE Stop Using Hell In A Cell & Elimination Chamber, Since They Have Been Toned Down In Recent Years?
“Who knows but without the graphic use of blood the structures lose a little mystique even though I don’t condone the use of blood in today’s marketplace.”
Would WWE Ever Sponsor A College Football Bowl Game?
“Interesting but I don’t see it. WWE decision makers not the biggest main stream sports fans out there. They are immersed in their own genre and specifically their own brand.”
With WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper scheduled for tonight’s Old School RAW, SEScoops.com can confirm that a special edition of Piper’s Pit is in the script for tonight’s show. His guests will be The Shield.
The segment will be used to continue teasing dissension among Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.
WWE recently issued the following press release:
WWE Universe, come to WWE.com this Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 9:30 p.m. ET for a groundbreaking announcement.
Join WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon — along with WWE COO Triple H, 11-time WWE Champion John Cena, and WWE Hall of Famers “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels — for the announcement, which will be streamed LIVE from Las Vegas.
Watch LIVE this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, Google+, Pinterest and Pheed. Mark your calendar and get ready for the biggest revolution in sports-entertainment history.
– The Newsday website has a new featured interview up on their website with WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, where he talks about saving money, what Ted DiBiase Jr. is up to and developing new WWE Superstars. Check it out at Newsday.com. (Thanks to Joshua Stewart for sending along the link.)
– WWE Superstar John Cena recently expressed his appreciation for so many fans signing up on Twitter for his “#ChangeTime” campaign:
Very happy to see so many #changetime folks on @twitter signup, get a follow and we'll talk #changetime http://t.co/xPEeOfoidC
— John Cena (@JohnCena) January 5, 2014
– With WrestleMania XXX just 3 months away, WWE has still not finalized who will be challenging the Undertaker’s streak this year. Brock Lesnar has long been the front runner to face the Dead Man, however, there is one big obstacle that might prevent the match from happening.
Not many people know this, but over the past few years, The Undertaker has rehearsed his WrestleMania matches with his opponents. Shawn Michaels, Triple H and CM Punk have all spend considerable time with the Undertaker planning out their matches in the weeks leading up to their matches at WrestleMania. Due to the nature of Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract, he is only required to travel a certain number of times per year for WWE. Training with The Undertaker to prepare for a WrestleMania match would exceed the terms of his agreement with WWE.
It’s possible WWE could negotiate with Lesnar and convince him to do what’s necessary to make The Undertaker comfortable with a match – but this is the reason John Cena and Daniel Bryan are still being considered as his possible opponents this year.
– WWE legend the Ultimate Warrior in currently talks with Vince McMahon about a WWE Hall of Fame induction and an appearance at WrestleMania XXX. Warrior is speaking strictly with Vince, having no contact with Triple H or anybody else in the company.
As previously reported, WWE will be releasing a new Ultimate Warrior DVD the week of WrestleMania, so a few TV appearances in April would help with the promotion of that project.
The following are results from the WWE live event in Fairfax, Virginia. The event was held on Sunday, January 5, 2014.
– The Usos def. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in a tag-team match to open the show.
– R-Truth def. Bo Dallas in a non-title match (Dallas is the NXT Champion). Truth picked up the win with the Lie Detector.
– The Prime Time Players def. 3MB in a tag-team match. Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre represented 3MB in this one.
– The Miz def. Fandango in singles action. This was said to be mostly a comedy style match that Miz won with the Figure Four.
– Natalya & Emma def. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka in Divas tag-team action. This was the Fan’s Choice match. The straight tag-match option actually won the voting.
– Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan in a Steel Cage match. This was said to be an actual competitive match, and not a one-sided beatdown by Wyatt as mentioned in previous weekend house shows. The finish came when Bryan, who had the match won, got the cage door slammed on his head by Erick Rowan. After the match, Bryan teased that he wasn’t going to shake Wyatt’s hand, but ultimately did.
– Bad News Barrett def. Justin Gabriel in a singles match. Barrett cut a promo prior to the match.
– Big E. Langston def. Damien Sandow in singles action to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Langston picked up the win via his Big Ending.
– CM Punk def. The Shield in a three-on-one handicap match. This was pretty much what you would expect, with Punk getting the win in the end via his GTS on Ambrose.
– As previously reported, Jeff Jarrett is reportedly starting a new wrestling promotion with financial backing from country music star Toby Keith. According to one source, Jarrett recently contacted several people in the wrestling business and told them when he’s able to talk about this new project, everyone will be shocked.
– TNA’s “Lockdown” pay-per-view will be taking place on Sunday, March 9th. The location for the event is expected to be announced at the TNA “Genesis” special edition of Impact Wrestling.
– Brooke Tessmacher recently noted in a new tweet on her official Twitter account that she will not be taking part in TNA’s upcoming U.K. tour.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
The following are highlights from a recent Philly.com interview with WWE Superstar and Shield member Seth Rollins:
On working with top WWE Superstars: “We’ve all had the opportunity to get in the ring with some guys that are considered in the history of this business; CM Punk, John Cena, the Undertaker, The Rock, guys like that. At this point, it’s kind of customary. I don’t feel out of place. There are no nerves. I feel at home.”
On growing since his WWE debut: “I feel like for me, I’ve become smarter. I’ve become a more intelligent wrestler. I’ve become a more intelligent performer and I think that shows. I’ve had the best matches of my career probably over the last year.”
On The Shield’s rise to the top: “It happened at the speed I think it was meant to happen at. I always envisioned myself moving even quicker up the ladder, but that’s just kind of my personality.
“I’ve always had the upmost confidence in my abilities as well as the other guys in The Shield. We all have kind of have the same mindset as far as success, personally and professionally. I think that has a lot to do with the way we come across on the television screen, at a live event. I think the connection with the crowd, I think the people feel the energy that we’re putting off and I think that has always been a determining factor in how successful we’ve been as far as wrestling individually and as a unit.”
Check out the complete interview online at Philly.com.
Former UFC Champion and TNA personality Tito Ortiz was arrested early Monday morning in Los Angeles, on suspicion of DUI.
A KTLA local news affiliate wrote that Ortiz “was taken into custody around 4:00 a.m. after his car crashed on the 405 Freeway near Sepulveda and Santa Monica boulevards, the CHP said.”
The article also noted, “Ortiz, 38, was driving a 2012 Porsche Panamera and had two passengers in the car, according to the CHP. The vehicle was moderately damaged and no one was injured, the CHP said.”
For more information, visit KTLA.com.
WWE has added a video of Hall Of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair’s speech to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers this past weekend.
They also interviewed Flair, who spoke about motivating the team. The 49ers were victorious last night over the Green Bay Packers – and will now play Flair’s hometown Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mae Young remains under hospice care in Columbia, South Carolina. One of Young’s kidneys is reportedly shutting down and she is breathing with the assistance of an oxygen machine. For more information, check out Mike Mooneyham’s article at PostAndCourier.com.
– Mexican wrestling legend Konnan (aka Carlos Santiago Espada Moises, Charles Ashenoff) celebrates his 50th birthday today. Konnan was born on January 6, 1964.
– Jonathan Snowden recently published an interview he conducted with WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase Sr. Fans interested in checking that out can do so online at BleacherReport.com.
– In Sunday’s New York Times crossword puzzle, WWE Hall Of Famer Captain Lou Albano was one of the answers. 94 across was “Wrestler Lou,” with the correct answer being “Albano.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart will be appearing at The Wrestling Universe in Flushing, New York on February 22nd from Noon until 2pm E.T.
– The belief is that Roderick Strong suffered a bad strain to his neck following the awkward landing he took from AJ Styles’ “Styles Clash” at the Ring Of Honor television taping in Nashville this past weekend. As previously noted, Strong lost the feeling in one of his arms after the match, and will be getting his neck checked out by doctors today. The Deadspin website put up an article covering this story.
– WWE NXT stars Emma, Bo Dallas and Alexander Rusev went on the road with the main WWE roster this past weekend for their non-televised live event shows. Emma worked as part of a babyface tag-team with Natalya in Divas matches, while Dallas and Rusev worked singles matches as heels. Dallas had previously been working as a babyface when working the main roster WWE events.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels noted on Twitter that he’ll be in Nashville for a few days, so he won’t be at tonight’s Old School RAW:
In Nashville for the @ATATradeShow , should be an awesome couple of days visiting all our great #MRA sponsors & hanging out w/outdoor folks!
— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) January 6, 2014
– Chris Jericho continues to troll fans about a possible return at the 2014 Royal Rumble. He tweeted on Sunday:
You guys are hilarious!! See you at the Rumble! @THETOMMYDREAMER @CMPunk @The305MVP
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) January 6, 2014
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross appeared on 98.5 “The Sports Hub” on Sunday night with Sean Grande to announce the Boston Celtics vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game. It has become somewhat of a tradition for JR to do a Celtics/Thunder game in Oklahoma City once per season.
– Speaking of Ross, at last check, both he and Adam “Edge” Copeland are not scheduled to appear at the “Old School RAW” special tonight in Baltimore, Maryland.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– As previously reported, Daniel Bryan debuted a new look this past weekend at the WWE live events. As noted, Bryan, who was scheduled to face Bray Wyatt in a Steel Cage match on the show, essentially let Wyatt beat him down and then embraced with him after the match. Additionally, it appears as though Bryan is going to go under the name Daniel Wyatt from now on. Bryan was introduced as Daniel Wyatt during his work this weekend.
– WWE has added a new “Where Are They Now?” photo gallery to their official website. The official company Twitter account tweeted the following about it on Monday:
Check out this photo gallery of @WWE Superstars & Divas and ask, "Where Are They Now?" because we have the answers! http://t.co/KjHmod2gFZ
— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2014
The following are results from the WWE live event in Greensboro, North Carolina. The event was held on Saturday, January 4, 2014.
– Sin Cara def. Ryback in the opening match of the evening.
– Alexander Rusev def. Zack Ryder.
– The Bella Twins def. Aksana & Alicia Fox in Divas tag-team action.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Alberto Del Rio in what was said to be a great match.
– Goldust & Cody Rhodes def. The Real Americans to retain the WWE Tag-Team Championships.
– Brodus Clay and Tensai fought to a No Contest. Kane ended up chokeslamming both guys at the finish.
– Big Show def. Kane via the Knockout Punch.
– John Cena def. Randy Orton via Disqualification. They did the same finish they’ve been doing every night with Orton hitting Cena with a low-blow to end the match by DQ and retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
We can confirm two more legends that will be appearing on tonight’s Old School edition of WWE RAW.
WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter and The Godfather are both in Baltimore, Maryland and are booked to appear on tonight’s show.
It’s also worth noting that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley is being advertised for tomorrow night’s SmackDown tapings from Philadelphia, PA, so there’s a good chance we’ll se him on RAW as well. Foley is advertised to be the special referee of the Randy Orton vs. John Cena dark match main event that will take place after the SmackDown tapings.
We’re hearing that there will be even more surprise returns tonight that are not currently being advertised by WWE, so keep checking back during the day for the latest.
– Playing off the theme of tonight’s Old School RAW, WWEShop.com is running a sale on retro WWE t-shirts, featuring the Randy Savage, the Legion of Doom, Jake Roberts, British Bulldog and many others.
– WWE sent out press release touting tonight’s Old School RAW, noting that the show will feature the classic Monday Night RAW theme music, graphics, entrance ramp, ring posts and colors.
– All three members of the Attitude Era WWE group Too Cool (Rikishi, Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty) are in Baltimore, Maryland and will be reuniting on tonight’s Old School RAW. WWE has been advertising Rikishi and Scotty Too Hotty, but we can confirm Brian Christopher will also be there.
WWE will present a special “Old School” edition of Monday Night RAW tonight from Baltimore Maryland. The show will feature:
* CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.
* Brock Lesnar has promised to do something “Old School.”
* The returns of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and John Cena.
* Appearances from Ric Flair, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Diamond Dallas Page, Gene Okerlund, Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Bob Backlund, The New Age Outlaws, Booker T, Rikishi, Too Cool and more.
Konnan said on the latest MLW podcast that he spoke to Jeff Jarrett over the weekend and Jarrett told him he’s planning to make a big announcement this week (Monday or Tuesday) about the formation of a new wrestling promotion. Granted, it’s coming from Konnan, but it’s something to look out for.
Konnan said Jarrett hinted that country music star Toby Keith would be the majority investor in the project, but stopped short of naming Keith directly. He also said Jarrett told him that TNA is in bad shape, which is not surprising, considering TNA’s recent issues and Jarrett’s abrupt departure from the company he founded over a decade ago.
With Jim Ross’ being a free agent and tweeting that he recently met with Toby Keith, it should be interesting to see what comes of this.
Again, we’re working with a lot of speculation here, so take this one as a rumor.
This week on Because Wrestling, we’re back! Happy New Year! It’s time to talk about the latest few weeks of wrestling news, lots of wrestlemania, and we chat with Brian Papa about his Kickstarter project ‘Ringmaster’!