Solomonster opens with some thoughts from his latest Layfield Report column on retiring the Intercontinental and U.S. titles in WWE, then leads with TNA thoughts this week:
-TNA Lockdown thoughts, Bully Ray wins his first singles World title and turns on the Hogans (5:00)
-Can the addition of Bully save Aces and Eights? What he brings to the table that they’ve been lacking (13:45)
-Thoughts on adding a female presence to Aces and Eights in the form of Ivelisse (16:00)
-Update on contract status of Rob Van Dam, could a WWE return be in his future? (25:40)
-Why does a three-hour Raw need an overrun? Suggesting a move to 8-10pm and why it makes sense (27:00)
-Looking at Paul Bearer’s death being incorporated into the Undertaker/CM Punk storyline (33:30)
-A bizarre Highlight Reel segment from Raw and why wrestlers were so upset with Michael Cole (49:30)
-Jimmy Uso arrested for his second DUI, and the dangerous precedent WWE has now set (58:00)
-Can Bill Goldberg’s WWE run be considered a flop? And could we see a match with Ryback? (1:15:30)
-If not WrestleMania 17, what would have been a good time to turn Steve Austin heel? (1:23:45)
After making a guest appearance several weeks ago on “Old School” RAW, f4wonline reports that WWE Legend The Honky Tonk Man could be at tonight’s RAW from Pittsburgh, PA.
Honky Tonk Man was scheduled to do a comedy show in Toronto last night, but reportedly canceled the show, citing that he was called by WWE to appear at tonight’s RAW.
We can’t confirm that he’ll be there – but he was reportedly telling people he will be.
Gail Kim and Mickie James were the final two competitors. Gail acted like she was injured, but then quickly rolled up Mickie for the win. After the match, Madison Rayne then came out to the ring and put a crown on Gail’s head. Gail forced Madison to leave the ring and posed for the crowd.
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently appeared on Adam Carolla’s podcast. You can listen below, Austin comes in towards the end:
Here are some of the highlights of what he said about:
Getting Started in Pro Wrestling:
“I grew up in a small town in south Texas. Changing channels on the television one day, probably seven years old, and came across Houston Wrestling. There was one light hanging over the arena, two guys fighting for a championship belt. This was back in the day when wrestling was real. This was before all the exposés and the 20/20’s and all that stuff. So, wrestling was “real,” and I was glued to the screen. Through my athletic stuff and football scholarships through college, once I got out of college I was driving a forklift for Watkins Motor Lines in Dallas, Texas, driving down to the Sportatorium watching the Von Erich’s fight the Freebirds. Not in the forklift [laughter]. And a guy had a commercial on TV; teach you how to be a pro wrestler. I always knew in the back of my mind that I was going to be a pro wrestler. My first college major was a business major because I was going to sell insurance with my dad. I figured that’d be the logical thing to do. But man, it kicked the s*** out of me. I dropped it several times to a PE major. And after 17 hours to graduate, I decided nah, this ain’t for me. I’m going to go into professional wrestling full time.”
How Hard Life Was When He First started:
“We were driving from Nashville to Memphis and Memphis and back, about a 400 mile round trip, making 15 dollars to do that. So the two guys rode with me would just gas up my base model Hyundai Excel, which my brother had co-signed the note for me, payments were 154 bucks a month. I could barely make those damn payments. So guys were chasing me around, trying to collect my car. So times were rough, but that’s part of paying the dues process. On Wednesdays we used to always get paid in Evansville, Indiana, and with the little s****y paychecks we were getting, we’d go down to the liquor store in Evansville to buy our beer before we headed home. This was back when it was okay to drink and drive, before everyone started screwing it up. So we’d cash our checks and we’d tell the guy behind the counter there, yeah these are just our trans checks for gas and horse****. But these were the checks we were living on.”
Getting His Big Break In Wrestling:
“The big break came when I left USWA in Tennessee and went to Atlanta for substantially more money, but not a lot of money. And then a few years later, after I injured my arm, I went to ECW in Philadelphia with Paul Heyman. I started to learn how to cut a damn effective promo. Someone finally gave me a chance and put the microphone in front of my face. And a chance for me to unleash some of the stuff I had inside of me from being screwed over by WCW. WWE called me, picked me up, I went up there and they called me the Ringmaster. Well that sucked ass. I knew it. It wasn’t giving me any kind of marquee value. Ain’t too many people going to be buying t-shirts with the Ringmaster on it. So I came up with the Stone Cold Steve Austin gimmick, and I pitched that to the office. They started calling me Stone Cold Steve Austin unceremoniously. There was no build up, no hoopla, no bull****. And then one thing turned into another, I knew I was onto something. I just started turning the volume way up on the promo level. I turned the balance up inside the ring, giving out a very credible, believable product. People bought into it, with the storylines and the booking, and it turned into a real strong thing.”
His Favorite Wrestlers:
“Man, when you talk about your really good wrestlers, Shawn Michaels to me, is the greatest performer I have ever seen in the ring. Bret “the Hitman” Hart is the guy whose going to weave together storylines on different levels of psychology and execution, and he’s just top notch. Ric Flair is my favorite pro wrestler of all time. So I think when you look pro wrestler up in a dictionary, you see the picture of Ric Flair.”
Owen Hart:
“I remember I was wrestling Undertaker that night in the main event. I was there. Didn’t see it happen. I was in the back, hanging out, waiting for my time to go on. All of a sudden, we get word back that Owen fell, and we knew that he was going to do a gig hanging from the ceiling of the arena, and it was a hell of a fall. And all of a sudden, we get word that he isn’t with us anymore. It was a real weird feeling. They said the show must go on, so the show must go on. We’re out there tangling in the ring. It’s strange, when people pay money to see something, I guess they want to see the end of the show. We’re in the back and the boss says go on, so we go on.”
His Hall of Fame Induction:
“I kind of was the head liner, but I can’t remember everybody that went in with me. I know Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat was there, which was totally awesome. The Hall of Fame was a real neat deal because they played a little four or five minute package before I went up there. I think I had been so busy between the ropes and on the road, going down the road I never realized what I was doing. I knew I was hot. I knew I was drawing a lot of money. I knew we were selling tickets, but I was too close to the forest to see the trees. Finally at that moment, at the Hall of Fame deal, I really realized the impact I had on the business, and to the people that watched the business. So it was a real neat night at the office, but I cannot remember the entire class.”
The road to WrestleMania 29 continues tonight, as WWE RAW takes palce from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Triple H will be in attendance tonight to answer Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania challenge. If Triple H does accept, then Lesnar and Paul Heyman will reveal what the match stipulations will be. Brock Lesnar will be in the house tonight.
Also tonight – WWE Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett will defend against Chris Jericho and The Miz in a Triple Threat match.
After CM Punk interrupted The Undertaker’s tribute to Paul Bearer last week on RAW, the Dead Man will be at RAW tonight to continue the build towards their WrestleMania 29 match.
WWE Champion The Rock will not be at RAW because he is currently in London doing media work for G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
WWE.com’s Five Point Preview for the show focuses on:
What will The Game say to Brock Lesnar?
Who will leave RAW as IC Champion?
Who will make the next move for momentum – The Rock or John Cena?
Can Alberto Del Rio or Jack Swagger find an edge going into WrestleMania?
Has CM Punk gotten inside The Undertaker’s head?
The advertised dark match main event will see The Shield vs. John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus.
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has posted a new blog at this Broken Skull Ranch website announcing official details of his new podcast, The Steve Austin Show:
“Well, sonofabitch…It has been awhile since I wrote a blog, that’s for sure. So then I’ll jump right into the story…
Bout a year ago I thought about doing a podcast. And well, a year goes by and I haven’t done a GD thing…And my manager calls me up and says “Hey man, do you have any interest in doing a podcast?” I said “You damn right I do”. So the wheels were put in motion to get this show started.
To keep it simple I figured I’d call it the Steve Austin Show. Pretty fuckin original and straight to the point. Ok…So we got a name for the show. How long is it? And how often do you record the show? The show will start out at 30 minutes, give or take a few. And a new show will air once a week.
Well, what’s the show about, Einstein? Good question. The show will basically consist of me talking about current issues or events going on in the world and offering my expert opinion and commentary on said issues and events. I’ll have guests on the show from time to time in the studio or on the phone. I’ll interview folks from different walks of life that I find interesting. Hell, at any given time it could turn into a 30 minute bullshit session about life, hunting, pro wrestling, MMA, physical fitness, movies, beer…Anything. I will also send out a heads up via Twitter (@steveaustinBSR) when I will ask you guys for subject matter to talk about on the show. You can ask questions and I’ll provide some answers. I will also from time to time provide a phone number for you to call and we will talk on the show.
I am looking forward to starting the show this week. As with anything in life, it will be a work in progress. I don’t want to layout any specific format for the show right now and say “This is what the show is”. The pieces will fall into place and we’ll ride along and see what happens. That’s the way my brain works, anyway.
I will be providing updates on Twitter. The Steve Austin Show is around the corner. Stay tuned.”
– WWE Studios’ “The Call” with Halle Berry and David Otunga finished at #2 at the box office over the weekend, taking in over $17 million. Based on the strong early showing, the movie is projected to take in around $45 million, which would make it a successful venture for WWE Studios and Sony Pictures. According to movie data site BoxOfficeMojo.com, the average audience for the film was 61% female and 53% were above the age of 30.
By comparison, WWE Studios’ Dead Man Down opened last weekend with just $5.45 million. It drew just over $2 million this past weekend.
– WWE manager Dutch Mantel (Zeb Colter) has posted a new blog on his Facebook page talking about his new role in WWE:
“Hey guys…sorry I haven’t been around much but since I’ve gotten a ‘new job’ I’ve been running like crazy,” he said. “There’s not enough time in the week to handle all the things now. I’m not leaving, I’m just having to back out for a while. I’m the same guy…just with a different perspective now.”
“I have a lot of great stories to tell…funny how life changes. What a story. I’ll keep it until the next book. You won’t believe it. Take care…keep watching. This could get very interesting.”
– During a recent interview with Collider.com, The Rock commented on whether he’s interested in joining the cast of the next “Expendables” movie, which features an all-star cast of action heroes:
“It all depends. Yeah, sure. I like Sly. He’s been a buddy for some time. I love the first one and I’m excited about the second one. Sure, if he needs somebody to hunt somebody down, he knows where I’m at.”
– The official theme song of Saturday Morning Slam, “This Time It’s Mine,” is now available for purchase on iTunes.
– After dealing with neck issues in recent weeks, Santino Marella tweeted that he is “good to go for this Monday.”
– R-Truth defeated Titus O’Neil at Saturday night’s WWE live event from Providence, RI, so the apparent injury he suffered the night before was nothing serious.
– WWE has reportedly signed Australian wrestler Matt Silva to a developmental deal. He currently wrestles for Melbourne City Wrestling and will make his final appearance for the promotion on April 13th before reporting to Tampa, Florida.
– Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown scored a Trendrr.tv social media score of 73,875 up 14% from last week.
– Seth Rollins tweeted the following about his upcoming WrestleMania debut, where The Shield will face the team of Randy Orton, Ryback and Sheamus:
The hounds of justice are #Wrestlemania bound. There's not a day gone by in the last 10 years I haven't dreamt of this. #BelieveInTheShield
Foley also said that he will try to tweet with fans on Saturday mornings after each episode.
– WWE.com has an article up looking at former WWE Superstar Batista landing the role of “Drax The Destroyer” in the upcoming Marvel Comics movie Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The article puts him over as “one of the most dominant, powerful WWE Superstars of all time.”
Speaking of Batista, he told fans on Twitter that he’ll be accompanying boxer Nonito Donaire, known as “The Filipino Flash,” to the ring for his upcoming fight against Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13th from New York City.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has update his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about: is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights:
The Latest From Steve Austin:
@steveaustinBSR about to head to Mexico to tape season three of CMT’s Redneck Island and then onto his ranch in south Texas to start a new, reality show for CMT taped on the Broken Skull Ranch. Plus, the Texas Rattlesnake and devout JR’s BBQ Sauce and Chipotle Ketchup user is about to step into the world of weekly podcasts. Stay tuned and follow Steve on Twitter for more info.
CM Punk’s Recent Antics:
Still getting some lingering feedback regarding @CMPunk interrupting The Undertaker’s tribute to the late, Paul Bearer Monday night. Again, I did not and do not have a problem with it especially considering that WWE honored the memory of my late friend throughout the night. For PB to be involved in another major, storyline leading into WrestleMania, would have thrilled him to no end. Villains do bad things and usually get their comeuppance in the end. Time will tell on the latter as it relates to Punk ending ‘The Streak’ which would be as big a defining moment as when the Ultimate Warrior beat Hulk Hogan at WM6, in the eyes of some.
Helluva match on Friday Night Smackdown between @RealJackSwagger and @IAmJericho. Jericho brings out the best in everyone he faces, which is a legit artform on the grappling canvas, and the former Division One, two sport athlete Swagger is getting better each week. Swagger’s addition of veteran Zeb Colter to his presentation has been positive from the young Oklahoman’s development.
Monday Night Mayhem
Hosted By The Big Mosh & Todd Vincent
Former three-time WWE Women’s Champion and former WWE Divas Champion, “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix, was the featured guest on this week’s edition of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem.
“The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix Discusses Why She Believes Why The Time Was Right For Her To Retire From The WWE, What She Is Planning On Doing While She Is Away From The Business, Why She Would Be Interested In Being Selected To Induct Trish Stratus Into The WWE Hall Of Fame, How Molly Holly Helped To Get Her First Break Into The Industry, Being Influenced By Chyna, What WrestleMania Means To Her, Her Favorite Match(es) & Moments In Her WWE Career, Her Memories Of Working With Santino Marella, Why The Rumored Program With Kharma Never Materialized In The WWE, Whether Or Not She Sees A Possible WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Becoming A Reality For Her Some Day, The Current State Of Women’s Wrestling And Why “Right Now Is The Best Time To Be A Diva,” Why She Always Wears The Heart Of Buffalo On Her Sleeve Wherever She Goes, Being Selected As The First Inductee Into The MNM Hall Of Fame’s “Class Of 2013,” Plus Much More.
Beth Phoenix/Monday Night Mayhem Interview (.MP3)
Interview highlights courtesy of Kahlil “Paterson” Thomas:
Why she believes that the time was right for her to retire from the WWE:
“I entered a different season in my life. I’m 32. I started wrestling when I was 19 years old, and I spent my entire adult life on the road chasing this dream, and I loved it. I absolutely loved everything I did with WWE, and I had a wonderful career with them. It’s time to check other things and experience other parts of life that you can’t when you’re ‘married to the business,’ and that’s literally what you have to do to be successful. I did so much in the way of my dream, and I certainly left no stone unturned. To chase other dreams, I kind of had to make that really tough decision to move on to the next phase of my life.”
Her favorite matches and favorite moment in her WWE career:
“My favorite match would be a tie, with my match with Nattie (her last televised WWE match in her hometown of Buffalo on the September 28th edition of SmackDown) and my match with Candice at Unforgiven (2007), which was my first match for the WWE Divas Championship. My favorite moment would probably be my entrance in the Royal Rumble. It’s no secret that I’ve been influenced by Chyna. Her moment in the Royal Rumble was groundbreaking, and to be able to be the next girl to do was mind-blowing. I don’t think my heart was beating the whole time I was in the ring.”
Her thoughts on the current state of women’s wrestling and why she believes “right now is the best time to be a WWE Diva”:
“Wrestling goes through seasons. Some things become trends for a while or other things become a trend or the style. When women’s wrestling got really hot, it was in a mature era where the girls could be more sexual and then be tough at the same time., so there was a lot of attention on it. It’s hard to call attention to something when you don’t have the same tools that you did. It takes a while to condition people to a different product, as opposed to what they’re used to seeing. I think right now is the best time to be a Diva. What it is about is finding out what they don’t and making yourself a commodity in that area. I think eventually you will see the standouts come to the forefront.”
Whether or not she sees a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction becoming a reality for her some day:
“I think there is a long, long line of ladies and gentlemen for that matter that needs to go in there long before I’m even on the radar. It would be amazing. Would I be thrilled and would it be the most amazing thank you anyone can get? It would be amazing, but it’s not something I need in my life to feel like my career had ended or anything. I don’t need to get that awesome recognition, because I had so many great moments while I was there.”
Much more is contained in Beth Phoenix’s exclusive interview with Monday Night Mayhem, including her candid thoughts on what is she planning on doing while she is away from the business, why she would be interested in being the one selected to induct Trish Stratus into the WWE Hall of Fame, what WrestleMania means to her, why the rumored program with Kharma never materialized in the WWE, her memories of working with Santino Marella,how Molly Holly helped get her first break into the industry, why she always wears the heart of Buffalo on her sleeve wherever she goes, her reaction to being chosen as the first inductee into the Monday Night Mayhem Hall of Fame’s “Class of 2013,” plus so much more! Follow “The Glamazon” right now on Twitter (@TheBethPhoenix).
– WWE Studios’ “The Call” starring Halle Berry and featuring David Otunga is having a strong opening weekend, grossing $6.2 million in its opening day.
The film is projected to make $16.7 million for the opening weekend, which would give it the #2 spot at the box office, behind Disney’s “Oz The Great And Powerful” and ahead of the new “Incredible Burt Wonderstone” comedy starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell as rival Vegas magicians.
– Here’s the latest WWE Backstage Fallout from Friday’s SmackDown:
“In the SmackDown edition of “Backstage Fallout,” Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter tells the WWE Universe what it needs, while The Great Khali … well, you just have to hear for yourselves.”
– Thursday’s post-Lockdown episode of Impact Wrestling from Chicago drew a 1.07 cable rating with 1.41 million viewers. These numbers are actually down from from the previous week, which did a 1.13 with 1.43 million viewers.
Despite the first live Impact on the road not drawing a better rating, TNA’s management and talent were said to be thrilled with the overall show, from the upgraded production to the hot crowd.
CM Punk appeared at Friday’s Raw live event in Bridgeport, Connecticut with Paul Heyman. The former WWE Champion did not compete after reportedly suffering an arm injury during a match against Kane on Monday’s Raw.
CM Punk and Paul Heyman had the Undertaker’s urn with them as they cut a promo hyping their upcoming showdown at WrestleMania 29. Punk and Heyman were playing catch with the earn and all but said that it was Paul Bearer’s ashes inside the urn.
UFC President Dana White did an interview with Canada’s RDS sports network to hype tonight’s UFC pay-per-view and revealed that WWE Chariman Vince McMahon once proposed that the two of them fight.
Radio host (and former NHL player) Denis Gauthier, Jr. asked Dana White who he thought would win in a steel cage match between him and McMahon. That’s when Dana White revealed that the half-joking scenario almost came to fruition a few years ago:
“Let me tell you something, and I’ve never said this before ever in any interview anywhere. If Vince hear’s this, he’s going to go nuts. Vince is too old, which he won’t think he is, and he’ll go crazy. And he wanted to [fight] one time.”
“Vince wanted to fight me. Swear to God. Called me up and said, “Let’s do it.” We can either do it in the UFC, or let’s do it at WrestleMania. And I said, “You are crazy.”
“I always have said it, and I’ll say it again; I respect Vince very much. But Vince is too old to be fighting anybody.”
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer revealed that McMahon wanted to fight Dana White at WrestleMania 27 back in 2011, in what would have been billed as co-main event, along with The Miz vs. John Cena.
– WWE.com is now reporting the story of The Rock wanting to appear in the next Star Wars film.
– The store at the Metlife Stadium will be converted into a WWE store for the week of WrestleMania 29. WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be doing a signing there on Friday, April 5th from 1-3 PM.
JR also revealed on Twitter that he’ll be at WrestleMania Axxess on Saturday morning from 8-10am.
– WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn, Brodus Clay and Josh Mathews appeared at a ‘be a STAR’ anti-bullying rally this week to benefit The Rotary Club of Stamford. WWE.com has a photo gallery up from the event.
– WWE officials recently discussed the idea of sending John Cena to confront WWE Champion The Rock on the set of his “The Hero” reality TV show, but they ultimately decided against it.
– R-Truth appeared to be injured at Friday night’s WWE RAW live event from Bridgeport, Connecticut. According to a fan who was in attendance, Truth was wrestling Titus O’Neil when the referee threw up the “X” signal during the match. After it was over, he was helped to the back by several WWE officials.
– The latest edition of the JBL & Cole show is now online, featuring Damien Sandow taking on Road Dogg in round two of their Superstar Search.
“Superstar Search continues on this week’s JBL & Cole Show with a command performance from “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses,” Damien Sandow. But will it be enough to defeat the D-O-Double G? Watch this week’s hilarious new episode!”
WWE Champion The Rock will reprise his role of Hobbs in the upcoming Fast 6 movie, in theaters May 23rd. The Rock is such a big fan of his character, that he’s interested in Hobbs getting his own spin-off movie.
During a recent interview with Collider.com, The Rock expressed interested in continuing with the Hobbs character, but says his top priority is making sure this latest installment is a huge hit:
“That’s always an ongoing conversation, because it’s really such a cool character. Cool and it’s fun in that franchise, to introduce him. That conversation is always an ongoing conversation. That’s a great thing about working with Neal, too, who hustles to get his movies done and has a studio like Universal who ushered me into the business ten years ago. So there’s a relationship there. That conversation is always ongoing. But I think before going Fast…the story of Fast Six should be taken care of and fostered and making sure that’s good, because the bar was raised in Fast Five.”
We’ve got an update on the private Diva search that took place last month. WWE reached out to modeling agencies in Los Angeles and other cities last month and select a group of women to enter a four-week training program. They were trained by NXT’s Sarah Del Rey, Bill DeMott and others.
Here’s a look at some of the women who where part of the training camp:
Olivia Karpinski – Model, fitness coach
Natalie Eva Marie – Actress, model
Aimee Fogelman – Model
Joseann Offerman – Model, Singer
Maysa Quy – “Bombshell Fitness” Athlete
Jenn Sterger – Model, actress, TV host
CJ Perry – Red Bull spokesmodel
Courtney Camero – Reality TV show contenstant
It’s worth noting that not all of the ladies made it through, and only a few (if any) will go on to receive developmental contracts. Former WWE Diva Eve was at NXT earlier this week meeting with the ladies and tweeted:
Had a chance to meet some new WWE Diva "prospects" yesterday. Great group of beautiful, athletic, talented women. Future's looking bright!
TNA star Sting was recently interviewed by Brandon Baxter of Jonesboro, Arkansas’ 101.7 Kiss FM. Here are some highlights of what Sting said about:
Why He Has Stayed With TNA:
“It’s the same answer every time and that is the brand, just love the brand,” Sting said. “It reminded me of the old school WCW and actually launching Monday Nitro and becoming the talk of the town and then talk of the whole wide world, and I saw the same potential here with this group of guys and everyone behind the scenes as well.”
What Has Kept Him Wrestling This Long:
“Man, the crowd,” he said. “The crowd is always the ticket, always the key there. I have always had a relationship with the crowd for so many years and, man, any wrestler who denies that is lying to you. The crowd matters. It’s also the guys and the group of people we have and trying to accomplish something, to get the name and brand out there.”
Other topics include his toughest opponent, working with Ric Flair, the origins of his face paint and more. Here’s audio the full interview:
Q: At what point did the general public start to boo John Cena, after he was done with his rapper gimmick? Was it a particular promo that he cut? Did he face a certain opponent? And when did the announcers have to start to acknowledge, on air, that Cena was getting booed? – Jay H.
A: Can’t recall a specific moment, but it wasn’t long after he was drafted to Raw in 2005 and became the face of the company. First time I remember a crowd really crapping on him at a major show would have been Chicago at WrestleMania 22.
Q: I’m halfway through watching TNA’s Lockdown PPV and I couldn’t help but push pause and email my disgust to you. The match quality has been good to great, however Taz must be stopped. My wife is a casual fan, and all she’s had to say is “who is the arrogant wanker on commentary bullying the other guys?” I mean seriously, he adds nothing to this product, I beg Dixie to [just] allow Todd and Tenay to do their jobs. Am I the only one who thinks this would benefit the quality of TNA’s presentation? – Dando from Australia
A: I actually thought Taz was the most entertaining he’s been in a long time on last night’s Impact. He can overbearing at times, but it’s no different than JBL on commentary. When each man talks over the other announcers, they can really be obnoxious. In the right doses, I think they add a lot to a broadcast, particularly JBL who is just great in the role. Todd and Tenay on their own would be pretty bland.
Q: On last week’s Sound Off [podcast], you pondered the idea of Zeb Colter leaving Swagger if he [were to at some point] be embarrassed for his DUI. My question is who would you like to see Colter paired off with? This might be a stretch, but I think he should be paired off with Brodus Clay to “bring the monster out of him.” I think WWE is missing that monster figure and [this] could work. – Shane from Fort Lauderdale, FL
A: Missing that monster figure? Seems to me like they have more than enough monsters right now with Brock Lesnar and Mark Henry, and perhaps Ryback. But I wouldn’t mind seeing Colter take over as manager for Brodus and Tensai once the dancing gimmick has run its course and lead them as a more serious, big man team. Tensai was quite good in that role with Karl Anderson over in New Japan.
Q: After seeing the 3-on-1 assault on Big Show by The Shield on Raw, is he temporarily going babyface or is he still going to be a monster heel? – Luis from Los Angeles
A: He’s still a heel. I can’t wrap my brain around how many turns he’s done over the years. It’s between him and Kane, I’ve lost track of who the current leader is.
Q: Do you think, like I do, that the unfortunate demise of William Moody added SO MUCH to the Undertaker vs. CM Punk match? The much needed reason why they’re having a match, other than just for The Streak at WrestleMania. Like god had this planned out all along or something. Any thoughts? – Valtteri from Finland
A: God is not a wrestling booker. He couldn’t even be bothered to show up for his tag match with Shawn Michaels.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray was involved in an incident with a fan at Thursday night’s Impact Wrestling taping from Chicago, Illinois.
After the opening segment of the show, where Aces & Eights took out Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez and Bully Ray explained why he betrayed the Hogans at Lockdown, the outlaw group left through the crowd.
As they were exiting, a fan reached out and tried to strike Bully Ray. Atlas Security quickly rushed in, pulled the fan out of the stands and escorted him to the back.
