This week on The Breakdown, Steve shares who he considers to be the top 15 wrestlers of all time
Mick Foley Talks Hell in A Cell, Daniel Bryan, If Losing Frequently Hurt His Legacy
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley did an “AMA” (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit.com this week. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
What the plan was had the roof of the Hell in a Cell cage not broken during his match with The Undertaker at King of the Ring:
“I really thought the cell would slowly tear, so that the Undertaker would be stuffing me down a hole and the image would be of me dangling upside down, being stuffed through a hole, not plummeting into unconsciousness… and the history books.”
If losing so often hurt his legacy a bit:
“That’s a good question, I will give you a two part answer. No, I don’t think it diluted my legacy, but I will grant you that at a certain point, defeating me was no longer seen as such a big deal. But fortunately, it was a big deal when Randy Orton defeated me, and when Edge defeated me in 2006.”
Daniel Bryan:
“Daniel Bryan is the most fascinating wrestler/character combo I’ve seen in a long time.”
Vince & Triple H On The Next 4 RAW’s, Trish Stratus Pregnancy Update & More
– Vince McMahon and Triple H are being advertised for every WWE RAW through July 8th.
– The Undertaker’s theme music was played during the Miami Heat’s entrance on Thursday night for their Game 4 NBA Finals game against the San Antonio Spurs.
– Pregnant WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus tweeted the following update this week:
I officially cannot see my toes anymore #bellybumpproblems #babystratus
— Trish Stratus (@trishstratuscom) June 13, 2013
* Recent Pictures of SUNNY – See How She Looks After Getting Out Of Jail
TNA Bound For Glory Series Participants Set, Open Fight Night Next Week
– Next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling will be an Open Fight Night. Fans will get the chance to vote on who gets to make the first open challenge of the night, Jeff Hardy or Bobby Roode.
– Following Thursday’s Impact Wrestling, the participants are set for the 2013 TNA Bound For Glory Series. They are:
- Jeff Hardy
- Bobby Roode
- Austin Aries
- AJ Styles
- Mr. Anderson
- Samoa Joe
- Hernandez
- Daniels
- Kazarian
- Joseph Park
- Magnus
- Jay Bradley
The Bound For Glory Series kicks off next week on Impact, with the eventual winner earning a shot at Bully Ray’s TNA World Heavyweight title at October’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view.
* The Latest on HULK HOGAN Wrestling Again & The Planned BOUND FOR GLORY Main Event
TNA To Air A “Destination X” Edition Of Impact Next Month
TNA has announced that a “Destination X” edition of Impact Wrestling will air on Thursday, July 18th from Louisville, Kentucky.
Previously, Destination X had been one of TNA’s monthly pay-per-views, however, the show was dropped when TNA changed to the quarterly PPV schedule earlier this year.
Last year’s saw a new stipulation added to the event, where TNA’s reigning X-Division champion could “cash in” his title for a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight title – with Austin Aries capturing the TNA title from Bobby Roode.
Tickets for the Destination X edition of Impact Wrestling go on sale today.
* The Latest on HULK HOGAN Wrestling Again & The Planned BOUND FOR GLORY Main Event
WWE SmackDown Preview: The Shield vs. Bryan, Orton & Kane
The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s WWE SmackDown, taped Tuesday night from Greensboro, NC:
* The Shield (Rollins, Ambrose & Reigns) vs. Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton & Kane.
* Divas Champion Kaitlyn vs. Aksana.
* Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro.
* Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.
* Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. Curtis Axel (Non-Title Match)
WWE Acknowledges NXT Title Change, Preview Sunday’s WWE Payback Kickoff, Meet Nikolai Koloff
– Bo Dallas is now officially recognized as the new NXT Champion after defeating on Big E Langston on this week’s episode of WWE NXT on Hulu Plus. The official WWE website has published an article acknowledging the title change that also profiles the third-generation wrestler.
– Prior to this Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view event, Sheamus will duel with Damien Sandow in the WWE Payback Kickoff, which streams live at 7:30 p.m. on YouTube. WWE has released this video previewing the contest.
– According to WrestlingFigs.com, WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff will be signing autographs at next Wednesday’s Bowie Baysox game at Prince George’s Stadium 4101 Crain Hwy. Bowie, Maryland. (Event Information)
WWE Stars Salute Their Dads On “Inbox”, Former WCW Cruiserweight Champion Profiled, Powers of Pain
– On this week’s WWE Inbox, Natalya, Cody Rhodes, Alberto Del Rio and other Superstars share the best piece of advice their fathers ever gave them.
– Former WWE, WCW and ECW competitor Psicosis is this week’s addition to the Alumni section of WWE.com. WWE says of the international standout, “At the height of WCW’s popularity in the late ’90s, one of the most recognizable “faces” on Nitro was Mexican luchador Psicosis. In addition to being a mainstay of WCW’s cruiserweight division, the masked highflier was considered to be one of Rey Mysterio’s greatest adversaries, battling The Master of the 619 in ECW, WCW and WWE.”
In a rarity, Psicosis is pictured as his WCW character as opposed to his character in WWE as a member of The Mexicools. To view his profile, click here.
– Fans will have the opportunity to meet The Powers of Pain, The Barbarian and The Warlord, on Friday at a Brew City Wrestling event taking place at Knights of Columbus Hall 1800 S. 92nd St. West Allis, Wisconsin. (Event Information)
Paul Heyman Responds To Dixie Carter Wanting To Do A TNA vs. WWE Event
- Original Story: TNA President Dixie Carter Says She’s “Absolutely” Interested in a TNA vs. WWE Event
During a recent interview with DigitalSpy.com to promote Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view, WWE TV personality Paul Heyman commented on Dixie Carter recently tweeting that she’d like to do a TNA vs. WWE pay-per-view event. Heyman understands where she’s coming from, but thinks WWE would be crazy to work with TNA.
“I’m sure that Dixie Carter would love to do a WWE versus TNA PPV. Why wouldn’t she? A friend of mine who has way too much time on his hands just started a new beverage company here in the United States… He would like to do a global promotion with Coca-Cola. I don’t suggest that Coca-Cola would be profitable having to do a global co-promotion with Shmuley’s Soda Company. In the same way it would make no sense for WWE with 95% global share to do an event with TNA with its 5% global market share!”
- Paul Heyman Talks About His Relationship With Vince McMahon
Heyman also responded to whether CM Punk is the best wrestler he’s ever worked with:
“Well, that’s a very interesting question. CM Punk is the best in the world and he is the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the past 25 years. His goals are to be recognized as the best in the world, so on that basis, yes. Brock Lesnar has different goals from CM Punk, and Brock Lesnar achieves his goals with me, together, as a unit.”
“So I could not honestly state that CM Punk’s success is any greater than Brock Lesnar’s success. Nor could I state that Brock Lesnar’s success supersedes CM Punk’s. These are individuals with dramatically different goals and they both achieve them.”
As for which WWE superstars should headline WrestleMania XXX in April 2014, Heyman says he’s got the perfect special attraction match in mind:
“I have a very standard answer for that because it’s the most genuine answer I can give someone. I think the main event for WrestleMania 30 should be a battle for the WWE Championship against the World Heavyweight Championship, to unify the titles.
And that match should feature Brock Lesnar versus CM Punk, with Paul Heyman advising both men and therefore getting a percentage of the profits of both sides of the main event at WrestleMania.”
The True Story Of Hulk Hogan’s Jump To WCW, JBL & Cole Show Postponed
– WWE.com has a new feature up looking at the “true” story of Hulk Hogan’s jump to WCW in 1993, featuring quotes from Ric Flair, Jimmy Hart, Kevin Sullivan and JJ Dillon.
– WWEShop.com is currently running several big sales, with upto 80% off on WrestleMania 29 and The Rock merchandise.
– JBL announced on Twitter that due to the Chicago Blackhawks NHL playoff game, this weekend’s JBL & Cole Show has been postponed. He added that details on a Philadelphia edition of the show are coming soon.
* Backstage Talk on DANIEL BRYAN’s Monster Push & WWE Superstar FINALLY Returning Soon
Randy Orton Talks About His Tattoo Work, Chris Jericho’s Summer Schedule
– Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy has a tour scheduled from September 12th through October 10th, which will allow him to work for WWE through SummerSlam.
– WWE Superstar Randy Orton was recently interviewed by Shockya.com to promote his new WWE Studios film, “12 Rounds 2: Reloaded.” Here’s a look at what Orton said about his extensive tattoo work, and whether his different tattoos have specific meaning to him:
“Yes and no. When I first started getting them I was just a kid that wanted a tattoo. I wish I could tell you that they all meant something. Later on, I think it was in 2008, when my daughter was born and I also had a tough injury that put me out (of wrestling) for five months, I had some time there to get some tribal stuff to cover up the United States Marine Corps. I had some stuff that I had to fix tattoo-wise, and had the time to get it done. When you’re on the road you can’t really get them done and expect them to heal properly because you’re banging and beating on them and that’s not good for a tattoo to heal. So it was then that I got the majority of these sleeves that I have now done, and it was basically just filling in the blanks in between all the tribal that I’d gotten early on. And all the stuff that I got in ’08 made sense, there were definitely reasons for it. That was my main goal — to be happy with the tattoos that I’d started getting when I was 18 and wasn’t necessarily that happy with then.”
12 Rounds 2: Reloaded is now available on DVD & Blu-Ray at Amazon.com.
WWE’s New Policy On Concussions, Update On Big Show’s Status
– Injured WWE Superstar Big Show is expected back by mid-July.
– WWE has a new policy for dealing with concussions. If a Superstar or Diva shows signs of a concussion (is actually diagnosed with one), they are immediately pulled from in-ring action and must past an ImPACT concussion test before they are cleared to return.
Even after wrestlers pass an ImPACT concussion test, they are evaluated for signs of post-concussion syndrome (headaches, nausea, disorientation). Once they past an ImPACT test and WWE doctors determine they are not showing any post-concussion symptoms, they are then cleared to return.
* Backstage Talk on DANIEL BRYAN’s Monster Push & WWE Superstar FINALLY Returning Soon
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Natalya & Tyson Kidd Engaged: Photo From Her Vegas Bachelorette Party
Longtime couple Tyson Kidd and Natalya are now engaged – congratulations to them!
Natalya, along with the cast of Total Divas, are in Las Vegas this week for Natalya’s bachelorette party, with footage to air on the reality show.
Here’s a photo of Natalya, The Bella Twins, Cameron, Naomi and Jo-Jo Offerman:
The Miz At E3 (Pic), Recent WWE Attendance Figures, WWE Hiring Russian Announcer
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Headbanger Thrasher (44), Virgil (51) and Jacques Rougeau (53).
– WWE is now hiring for a Russian broadcast announcer.
– Here are some recent WWE attendance figures, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
* RAW on June 7th in Ft. Lauderdale, FL drew 5,200 fans for $220,000
* RAW on June 8th in Lakeland, FL drew 5,500 fans for $175,000
* SmackDown on June 8th in Johnson City, TN drew 3,000 fans for $90,000
* RAW on June 9th in Jacksonville, FL drew 4,500 fans for $135,000
* SmackDown on June 9th in Fayetteville, NC drew 4,700 fans for $125,000
– WWE Superstar The Miz was at the E3 video game convention in California this week doing an autograph signing to promote the new WWE 2K14 video game, which is due out this fall. Here’s a picture of him at E3:
Kaitlyn Comments On Slapping A Referee, Mark Henry Celebrates Birthday
– As previously reported, WWE Diva Nikki Bella will be one of the celebrity judges at Sunday’s 2013 Miss USA pageant. WWE Entertainment Relations Executive Kristin Prouty will also be a judge. Since Nikki Bella will be at Miss USA, she won’t be attending Payback in Chicago.
– WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn tweeted about slapping the referee at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, which resulted in a “$10,000 fine ” by SmackDown GM Teddy Long:
Putting my hands on an official was out of line. I don't condone my actions.
My mind is fixed on Payback.— Celeste Bonin (@CelesteBonin) June 12, 2013
– WWE Superstar Mark Henry celebrated his 42nd birthday on Wednesday and tweeted this picture of his birthday cake (click to enlarge):
World strongest birthday. pic.twitter.com/qhB492YeBq
— TheMarkHenry (@TheMarkHenry) June 12, 2013
* Recent Video Of THE UNDERTAKER Breaking Character For a TV Commercial
Impact Wrestling Preview: Bound For Glory Series Qualifiers
The following is a spoiler-free preview of tonight’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:
Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Matches:
- Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles
- Joseph Park vs. Crimson
- Magnus vs. Matt Morgan vs. Rob Terry vs. Kenny King
- Aces & Eights Battle Royal
Plus:
- TNA Tag Team Champions James Storm & Gunner vs. Bad Influence.
- Austin Aries vs. Eric Young.
* SPOILERS For Tonight’s IMPACT WRESTLING: Find Out Who Advances In The BFG Series
The Undertaker Talks About Why He Continues Wrestling
WWE legend The Undertaker recently took part in a rare out-of-character interview with The Houston Chronicle to promote SpurRaffle.com. After undergoing a series of surgeries over the past few years, the Dead Man explained why he continues to wrestle.
“Honestly, I love it, that’s why. I’ve got 26 years in the business and all these injuries, but WrestleMania has become so huge, it’s just hard to walk away from it. I want the audience leaving the stadium going ‘Wow!’ It’s a responsibility I have being a top dog in this business. The crowd will let me know when it’s time to leave. They haven’t yet.”
He also revealed that he agrees to wrestle at WrestleMania each year because he wants to please Vince McMahon.
“If I didn’t perform at WrestleMania, in some strange weird way, I’d feel like I was letting Vince McMahon down.”
What does the Undertaker do when he’s away form television for extended periods of time?
“I spend a lot of time with my family, my children. I also work on my horrible golf game. I love golf, but I’m awful. For some reason, I go out there and make myself miserable because I’m so bad it. But most of my time is spent healing up … so I can be the Undertaker again.”
Shawn Michaels’ Hunting Show Returns July 2nd (Press Release & Photo)
Shawn Michaels’ Macmillan River Adventures returns to Outdoor Channel on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 – Tuesdays 11:30PM ET, Wednesdays 8AM ET, Saturdays 7PM ET.
Award winning, Shawn Michaels “MacMillan River Adventures” will return to Outdoor Channel on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. With two incredibly exciting and successful seasons behind them, host Shawn Michaels, with his co-host Keith Mark, are back for season three with even bigger and more adventurous episodes! “If you think last couple of years were exciting, you haven’t seen anything yet!” Shawn recently said. “I am so excited for my fans and friends to share with Keith and I these new, and I really believe, better, adventures!” Shawn added.
Season three will feature some can’t miss adventures, a show dedicated to our American freedoms, a couple more “very close” Yukon Moose encounters at the real MacMillan River Adventures, a heart touching hunt with our Outdoor Adventure Foundation friends, some awesome whitetail deer hunts, some surprises with some of Shawn’s old WWE friends, and many more exciting adventures that feature the special chemistry of Shawn and Keith as they promote faith, family, friendship, conservation, and the values of living a hunting lifestyle, as they hunt in some of the most pristine hunting destinations in the world. “If the cameras picked up just a small portion of the excitement and fun that Shawn and I are sharing on these adventures, the viewers will want to join us every week because I truly believe they will feel like they are hunting with us!” Keith said.
* Photo of STONE COLD Steve Austin HUNTING With SHAWN MICHAELS
Sound Off 278: King of the Ring Anniversary Edition, Should WWE Bring Back The Tournament?
Download Solomonster Sounds Off Episode 278 Here
Est. Runtime: 67 minutes
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the very first KING OF THE RING pay-per-view, which saw Hulkamania get squashed and Bret Hart capture his second (yes, second) crown. On this special edition of the Sound Off, Solomonster takes you back through the early days of the KOTR long before it ever aired on TV, then revisits each event from 1993 to its demise in 2002, and its resurrection in 2006, 2008 and 2010. This includes the commentary of Art Donovan (hear it for yourself!), the birth of Austin 3:16 and how the MSG Curtain Call incident made it possible, why Bret vs. Shawn never happened, Mick Foley’s plunge off the Hell in a Cell, the end of DDP as a main event player, how William Regal blew the biggest opportunity of his career, and… Sheamus’ Antlers. Finally, he examines who the KOTR helped, who it hurt and whether the tournament should be brought back. Who do YOU think would make a good king in 2013?
Follow The Solomonster on Twitter and on Facebook and subscribe to the Sound Off in iTunes!
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Solomonster Sounds Off by The Solomonster is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Derek Bateman Talks About His WWE Release, A Typical Week At NXT & More
Former WWE superstar Derrick Bateman was recently interviewed by Wrestling Heels Radio. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
What a week at NXT is like: “Well, it’s a secret of the pros. I’m kidding, it’s pretty basic. Monday, Tuesday, you have a day of practice and then – back in the day it used to be Wednesday would be promo class or art of communicating, they like to call it. Thursdays would be a show at the arena and then Friday, Saturday maybe we have shows. If we don’t we might have a little practice and this would repeat every week. It’d be pretty much the same.”
What talent has to go through in promo class: “Real brief, just being able to communicate in a way that is current to how they would like it, current to the norm. So as opposed to back in the day of promo being a guy screaming about something and just basically telling a story with the amount of time you have. You just wanna tell a story, [which is] pretty much the gist of everything we do. We tell stories. Being able to communicate in a creative way certainly helps. The thing about a promo class is it’s a way you can try something, see if it works. If it works, cool. If it doesn’t, you can try something else and you kinda have free reign to pick and choose what you wanna do sometimes, and that’s always cool to have an open forum for your own amusement.”
His WWE release: “Yeah, I had a pretty – I don’t know how far it was, but I was doing the Mr. USA [promos], and had some guy on computer making those. That was something that was going to happen and almost didn’t a couple times, but unfortunately, in a Saturday Morning Slam match with Antonio Cesaro, I hurt my knee again and I had to have surgery on it. Then that match with Alex Riley was my first match back from having that surgery. So after the injury, you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind and things happen.
“There’s no regrets from me on my part of what I’ve done. I can regret getting hurt at an inopportune time or two, or I can regret maybe not pushing hard enough to talk to somebody. But I have really no regrets for anything I’ve done in the ring or outside of it, or the entertaining stuff I try to do. No regrets at all with that.”
Working for Vince McMahon: “Well, he’s always super busy with business and things at hand, like with Raw and Smackdown, but there were more than a few times I got to see him in Gorilla for NXT Redemption. I don’t know if you recall the time I had my mom there and was talking smack to Maxine, but walking out with my mom in Gorilla and you see the boss sitting there and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God is this really happening? That is insane!’ And you walk back and he’s laughing and, shoots ya a thumbs up, and that’s pretty much an awesome endorsement, and you’re like ‘cool.’
“As far as him being like hands-on with anything we did, he was busy with the real stuff but, I never had a bad experience with him. He was always super cool every time I got to talk to him and shake his manly hand, so no ill will.”
Final RAW Rating, Vince & Triple H On Next 2 RAW’s, Another G.I. Joe Movie
– Monday’s episode of WWE RAW scored a 3.04 cable rating, up 14% from last weeks year-low 2.66. This is the first time RAW topped 3.0 since April 29th and the best RAW rating in 6 weeks. As previously reported, the show averaged 3.99 million viewers.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Triple H are being advertised for Monday’s WWE RAW from Grand Rapids, Michigan as well as the June 24th RAW from Charleston, South Carolina.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be appearing in yet another movie sequel, as direector John Chu is developing another installment of the G.I. Joe series.
The Rock Visits Kids In Jail, Early Sketches Of WWE Superstar Concepts
– WWE.com has published a very interesting new feature looking at early sketches of several WWE Superstar concepts – including Dude Love, Mankind, Goldust, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Doink The Clown and Adam Bomb.
– The Rock is currently overseas in Budapest filming his new movie, Hercules, and visited a jail this week to talk to the prisoners. He wrote the following description and posted a photo from the experience:
These boys are locked up in jail. Was good to spend time & talk with them. Reminded them that I was arrested multiple times as a teen too (fighting, theft & a lot of stupid shit). At one time, I was one of them. Told em if I can make it, so can you. I challenged them to commit themselves to being better. They did. This was a good day. #Commitment
WWE Payback Spoilers (Cena vs. Ryback), Heel Turns Planned, Match Changed
– John Cena is currently booked to defeat Ryback in the Three Stages of Hell match this Sunday at WWE Payback.
– Over the weekend, several changes were made to the Payback card. Playing off their recent dissension, WWE had been planning for Daniel Bryan to wrestle Randy Orton at the pay-per-view. Instead, the two will be teaming up against The Shield’s Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
– Also discussed over the weekend, it’s possible we see two heels turns for Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho. As previously reported, Daniel Bryan is scheduled to feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship this summer.
* Find Out If WWE Plans To Put The WWE Championship On DANIEL BRYAN At SummerSlam
(Source: F4Wonline.com)
Plans For The Undertaker’s Return, Rumored Matches For SummerSlam
With WWE Payback taking place this Sunday, planning is already underway for the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view on 8/18.
Over the weekend, WWE was discussing the possibility of The Undertaker wrestling on the show, teaming up with Kane against WWE Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield. If Undertaker does not commit to wrestle, the match will likely be Randy Orton & Sheamus vs. The Shield.
Other matches in the works for SummerSlam:
* WWE Champion John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan
* Big E Langston vs. Big Show or Mark Henry
* US Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Rey Mysterio
Aside from those SummerSlam matches, WWE is looking at Randy Orton vs. Ryback and Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger as feuds for this summer.
* Find Out If WWE Plans To Put The WWE Championship On DANIEL BRYAN At SummerSlam
(Source: F4wonline.com)