The 2013 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place tonight from a sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City. The ceremony begins at 8pm. Here is the full list of inductees for this year’s class:
* Bruno Sammartino, inducted by Arnold Schwarzenneger
* Mick Foley, inducted by Terry Funk
* Trish Stratus, inducted by Stephanie McMahon
* Booker T, inducted by Stevie Ray
* Bob Backlund, inducted by Maria Menounos
* Donald Trump, inducted by Vince McMahon
Here’s Part 24 of our WrestleMania Retrospective series, looking back at past WrestleMania events as we march towards WrestleMania 29 on April 7th
WrestleMania 24 (2008)
Tagline: “The Biggest WrestleMania Under the Sun”
Date: March 30, 2008
Venue: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
America the Beautiful: John Legend
Attendance: 74,635
The Undertaker’s Streak: 16-0 (Def. Edge for the WHC)
WrestleMania XXIV was the twenty-fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The event took place on March 30, 2008, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida and was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Florida. WrestleMania XXIV was also the second WrestleMania to be held outdoors, with the first being WrestleMania IX, held in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the third being WrestleMania XXVIII in Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled for the event, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The first of these matches was a Singles match from the SmackDown brand that featured The Undertaker defeating World Heavyweight Champion Edge to win the title. The second was a Triple Threat match from the Raw brand, in which WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated challengers Triple H and John Cena to retain the championship. The other was a singles match from the ECW brand, in which Kane defeated ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero to win the ECW title. From the six scheduled bouts on the undercard, three received more promotion than the others. In a No Disqualification match, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. defeated The Big Show. The second match involved wrestlers from all three brands fighting in a Money in the Bank ladder match, which CM Punk won. The other match was a retirement match in which Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair, leading to Flair’s departure from the WWE and a period of retirement from active wrestling.
Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 3, 2007. WWE and the City of Orlando hosted festivities that spanned a five-day period within the central Florida region. For the second consecutive year, WrestleMania broke the record for the highest-grossing pay-per-view in WWE history, as well as for the Citrus Bowl, grossing US$5.85 million in ticket sales. According to a study by Enigma Research Corporation of Sydney, the Citrus Bowl’s record-breaking attendance pumped an estimated $51.5 million – surpassing the projected $25 million – into the local economy and generated $1.8 million in local juice stop. The Central Florida Sports Commission reported that the event created jobs and brought approximately 60,000 visitors to the city. Over one million people ordered the event on pay-per-view, grossing $23.8 million in revenue.
Money In the Bank
In the fourth-annual Money in the Bank ladder match, in which there were no disqualifications or countouts, and the only way to win the match was to climb a ladder in the ring and retrieve a contract briefcase hanging above. The match featured Chris Jericho, Mr. Kennedy, and Carlito from the Raw brand; CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison from the ECW brand; and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) from the SmackDown brand. Early in the match, Morrison climbed a turnbuckle and performed a moonsault onto other competitors outside the ring while holding a ladder against his chest. Later, while Kennedy and Morrison were battling on top of a ladder, Benjamin climbed another ladder placed adjacent to the first one and performed a sunset flip powerbomb on Kennedy, who in turn superplexed Morrison from the top of the ladder. Later, Carlito and Kennedy flipped Benjamin off a ladder in the ring, sending him crashing through another ladder set-up between the barricade and the ring apron. When MVP was close to retrieving the contract briefcase, Matt Hardy (returning to action after suffering a legitimate injury), entered the ring from the crowd, climbed the ladder, and delivered a Twist of Fate to MVP off that ladder. As soon as Morrison started to climb a ladder, see-sawing with another ladder, Jericho flipped the other one and Morrison landed on the ring-ropes groin-first. Jericho even performed a Codebreaker on Punk using a ladder. In the end, Jericho and Punk fought each other on a ladder, but Punk trapped Jericho’s one leg in the ladder’s steps and retrieved the briefcase to win the match. This was an interpromotional match.
Ric Flair vs HBK
Ric Flair’s “Career Threatening” match against Shawn Michaels was next, which stipulated that Flair would have to retire from wrestling if he had lost. At the start of the match, both superstars engaged in a series of counters, and then Flair shoved Michaels in a corner, making “Old Yeller” comments to him. In retaliation, Michaels slapped Flair in the face, which caused him to start bleeding from the mouth. Later, Michaels tried to go for his Sweet Chin Music, but stopped in the process and Flair capitalized by trapping him in his figure four leglock. Afterward, Michaels finally delivered the Sweet Chin Music to Flair, but the latter kicked out to the pinfall attempt. Michaels then trapped Flair in his modified figure four leglock, but Flair delivered a thumb to the eye to Michaels to break the submission. As Flair was delivering chops to Michaels’ chest, Michaels hit a second Sweet Chin Music. After getting up on his feet with a worried face, Michaels said to Flair “I’m sorry, I love you,” before nailing a final Sweet Chin Music and thus pinning Flair to end his 35-year long wrestling career. After the match, Michaels left quickly and Flair got a standing ovation from the crowd. An emotional Flair embraced his family at ringside and then, as he proceeded to go backstage, he thanked the crowd for their support.
Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match
Maria and Ashley faced Beth Phoenix and Melina, who were accompanied to the ring by Santino Marella. Rapper Snoop Dogg served as the official “Master of Ceremonies” for the match. In the match, several WWE Divas surrounded the ring and were able to interfere in the match without disqualifications. Due to some technical difficulties, the lights at Citrus Bowl temporarily went out during the match. Near the end, a pin attempt by Maria was prevented when Marella pulled Maria’s leg. In response, Raw commentator Jerry Lawler approached and knocked Marella down with a punch. Phoenix hooked Maria’s leg and vertically lifted and slammed her to the mat and pinned Maria to win the match. After the match, Snoop Dogg hit Marella with his forearm in the ring and kissed Maria, before leaving with her and Ashley.
WWE Championship
The first of the 3 main events was, Randy Orton defending his WWE Championship against Triple H and John Cena in a Triple Threat match, which is a standard match involving three wrestlers with no disqualifications. For his entrance, Cena had the Jones High School Marching Tigers marching band perform an instrumental version of his theme song “The Time Is Now” live. During the match, when Triple H had held Orton in a sleeper hold, Cena picked up both Orton and Triple H for an FU, but Triple H dropped down and low blowed him. Orton then dominated the match for some time; one highlight of the match featured Orton performing a crossbody from the top rope on Cena, while the latter was held on Triple H’s shoulders in a seating position. Orton also performed DDT from the second rope to both Cena and Triple H simultaneously. Orton then tried to perform an RKO on Cena, but he countered and threw Orton onto Triple H. Triple H then started targeting Orton’s legs and using some submissions on him. The match came to an end when Cena had Triple H on his shoulders for the FU, but was countered into a Pedigree. As Triple H was in the pin, Orton come across and punted Triple H in the head and pinned Cena to win the match and retain the WWE Championship.
Big Show Vs Floyd Mayweather
The next match was the No Disqualification match between The Big Show and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.. Early in the match, Mayweather repeatedly escaped Big Show’s grasp and delivered body shots to him. Mayweather and his accomplices tried to “walk out” of the match, but Big Show walked up the ramp and brought Mayweather back in the ring. As Big Show was about to chokeslam Mayweather, one of Mayweather’s accomplices struck a steel chair on Big Show’s back, and the latter chokeslammed him in retaliation. Capitalizing from this distraction, Mayweather grabbed that chair and hit Big Show multiple times on the head with it. Finally, Mayweather removed his right glove and put on a pair of brass knuckles to hit Big Show in the face. As a result, Big Show was knocked out as he could not answer the referee’s ten count, and Mayweather was declared the winner.
The Streak
The main event of the night saw Edge putting his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against The Undertaker. The early going of the match was slow-paced, in which both superstars countered each other’s maneuvers. During the match, Undertaker ran and lept over the top rope from the ring onto Edge on the outside. Then throughout the match, Edge was able to counter Undertaker’s numerous signature moves, including the Chokeslam, Old School and the Last Ride, a variation of the powerbomb. Near the end, Edge hit Undertaker with a television camera while the referee was knocked down. When he proceeded to deliver a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker, the latter countered it into his own version and successfully delivered it to Edge for a two-count. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder came to the ring for Edge’s aid, but Undertaker took them out. Because of their distraction, Edge was able to hit a spear on Undertaker, but was unable to pin him. When Edge delivered another spear to Undertaker, the latter caught him in his Hell’s Gate submission hold and forced Edge to tap out to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and improve his WrestleMania record to 16–0.
WrestleMania XXVII Results
Pre-Show Kane won by last eliminating Mark Henry. 24-man interpromotional battle royal, with the winner receiving an ECW Championship match later on in the night. 06:50
• John “Bradshaw” Layfield defeated Finlay (with Hornswoggle) Belfast Brawl 08:35
• CM Punk defeated Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Carlito, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mr. Kennedy, and John Morrison Money in the Bank ladder match 13:55
• Batista (representing Smackdown) defeated Umaga (representing Raw) Battle for Brand Supremacy 07:06
• Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero (c) Singles match for the ECW Championship 0:08
• Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair Career Threatening Match 25:14
• Beth Phoenix and Melina (with Santino Marella) defeated Maria and Ashley. Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill match
• Randy Orton (c) defeated John Cena and Triple H Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship 14:09
• Floyd Mayweather defeated The Big Show by knockout No Disqualification match; decided by either knockout or submission 11:36
• The Undertaker defeated Edge (c) (with Vickie Guerrero, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder) by submission Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship 23:50
As part of WWE’s partnership with CharityBuzz.com to assist with Hurricane Sandy relief, WWE has added a new auction where fans can bid on the opportunity to pitch a WWE storyline to WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative, Stephanie McMahon..
“Attention WWE fans! This is your chance to change the course of WWE history. This package allows one winner to pitch a WWE storyline to WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative, Stephanie McMahon! As the mind behind the WWE storyline, this could be your one shot to leave your mark on Stephanie and the WWE universe!”
Bidding at CharityBuzz.com is currently upto $1,300. The auction ends Tuesday, April 9th at 8pm (EST).
– Randy Orton tweeted the following anti-John Cena sign that he saw a fan carrying:
A fan just showed me his WM sign. Thought I'd share…. pic.twitter.com/A00w1Bx51g
— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) April 6, 2013
– Two of the hottest Divas in WWE history –
Ryback spoke with Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan while at WrestleMania Axxess. Here are some highlights:
“No doubt in my mind that I can get him up. I think at the end of the night, when it’s all said and done, people are going to remember coming out of WrestleMania 29 is Ryback picking up Mark Henry over his head, marching around the ring, and 75,000 plus screaming, ‘Feed Me More.'”
“It’s to take over the #1 position from John Cena and take over the company and I’m not shy about saying it. John, I respect him more than anyone, he’s a very hard working individual. He’s been on top for 8-10 years now and he’s been untouchable. I am the one guy that can touch him and I believe I can outsell him on merchandise, and I can do things he has not yet done.”
CM Punk spoke with Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan while at WrestleMania Axxess. Here are some highlights:
“It was a clean shirt that grabbed and I wore that day. It’s not some sort of silent protest because he’s not on Mania, although I will go on record right now that it’s absolutely ridiculous that he doesn’t have a match at Wrestlemania. I will pimp that guy until the cows come home. He’s awesome. He’s everything that the WWE should want in their superstars. He’s tremendous. He can wrestle, he’s a brick house, he’s looks the part, he acts the part, he walks and talks that part. He can speak seven different languages! You’re missing the boat on this guy.”
“That was actually one of the goals. I never would have spoken about it on TV if there wasn’t a new title belt ready to go. So, I did that and I just got the run-around forever about it. It was talked about, it just never happened.”
“I’ve got the Undertaker and I think the streak, ultimately, is bigger than the title. Twenty years undefeated at Wrestlemania and the way this thing’s been built up, no I’m not salty about not even having the title anymore. I think I built that thing (the WWE title) up and I worked very hard to do that, to get it ready for the next guy. So no, not salty at all.”
“It’s never been really acknowledged within the WWE. This isn’t me trying to promote something that isn’t there, but there was just this hilarious tension in the room when me and Steve were in there. It’s funny to actually be in a room live, everybody else is uncomfortable except me and Steve. There’s this weird magnetism. It’s this unspoken thing. The only way I can describe it, and Paul Heyman completely 100% agrees, it’s the Old West and there’s the two gunfighters, and they’re buddies, but everybody always goes, ‘I wonder what would happen… what if?’ And that’s all it is. It’s fun.”
New York City DJ Peter Rosenberg (@RosenbergRadio) from Hot 97 scored an exclusive interview with the one and only Paul Heyman this week. Among the topics discussed include:
– Doing the best and most-rewarding work of his career right now in WWE.
– Being part of 2 top matches at WrestleMania after watching the show from home last year.
– How he and Brock Lesnar became such close friends.
– Brock Lesnar battling diverticulitis for many years and only being able to use 60% of his body’s potential at his physical peak due to the disease.
– The differences between Brock Lesnar & CM Punk.
– Managers who were great bumpers.
– Remembering the late Sherri Martel.
It’s another phenomenal interview from Mr. Roseberg – enjoy!
– The latest weather forecast for WrestleMania on Sunday is sunny with a high of 62 and a low of 49.
– The Miz was in Staten Island yesterday doing a Be A Star rally. Silive.com has video from the event as well as an interview with The Miz.
– Here is this week’s episode of The JBL & Cole Show featuring a special appearance from WWE Champion The Rock:
“In this edition of the “JBL & Cole Show,” The Rock makes a special appearance, Justin Gabriel pulls off some sick motorcycle stunts, and Damien Sandow returns!”
– Episode 1 of Steve Austin’s new podcast is now online and can be heard here. Shawn Michaels will be his guest next week.
– WWE returns to the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on June 1st, 2013. Bell time is 7:30 PM. Tickets go on sale April 20th. Also, USA Championship Wrestling presents “A Royal Homecoming” with Jerry Lawler on April 25th, 2013 at the National Guard Armory in Bolivar, Tennessee. Bell time is 7 PM. Tickets cost $10 & $8. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– USAToday.com has an interview up with John Cena hyping his match against The Rock at WrestleMania.
– The Big Show will appear on the Nickelodeon show Supah Ninjas once again on Saturday night at 9 PM (EST), reprising role of Two Ton Harley.
Wrestling101.com recently conducted an excellent in-depth interview with 2013 WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino. Here are a few highlights:
“In those eleven plus years that I was champion I wrestled all over but some of the most memorable matches that I had were against the likes of, Killer Kowalski, Ivan Koloff, Don Leo Jonathan, Dr. Bill Miller, Gorilla Monsoon, and Hans Mortier who was also European and the list goes on. I had some big matches in Japan against Shohei Baba and we fought for over an hour many times, I wrestled guys in Australia, Mexico, and Spain.”
“One of the highlights of my career was when I picked up Haystacks Calhoun, who was over 600lbs, that was exciting because no one had ever been able to lift him and when I did lift him I thought the roof of Madison Square Garden was going to fly off, people went absolutely wild.”
“Wrestling Buddy Rogers even though it was a short match it was great because that was my opportunity to become the headliner. I was very fortunate because I got to wrestle some of the truly great heavyweights in the business, I wrestled them all so today I look back and I’m very proud and happy.”
“I’m very pleased with the documentary and it has been completed, I’ve seen it and I was very happy with it because it’s one hundred per cent the truth. We made three or four trips to Italy and we even went up that mountain where we hid from the Nazi’s and filmed up there and we even interviewed the people of my town that are still around who went through the same ordeal as myself.”
“I did a lot in telling the story and they interviewed a lot of people, it’s about two hours but I was very pleased with it because it was very honest, very truthful and I’m very anxious for it to show. We are speaking to a number of distributing companies as there is a lot of interest from people in Japan, Germany, Italy and England that want to see it and it will be broadcasted by one of the networks over here in America later on in the year.”
“The movie, they have finished the screen writing and I’ve been told by the producer that there are two studios in Hollywood that are interested in the film but there are some independent producers that would like to produce it as well. They are at the process of who is going to fund it, but the producer Scott Rosenfelt has told me they are going to start casting people who are going to play the part of myself and other people that are going to be involved.”
“To be honest I’m more excited about the documentary because the documentary is all factual and it involves the people that were actually involved.”
There’s much more to the interview, including his childhood during World War 2, how he got into wrestling, his relationships with Vince McMahon Sr. & Jr., his view on current WWE Superstars and more.
– WWE champion The Rock spoke to the Associated Press this week about criticism from the WWE locker room that he’s a part time star taking a top spot in the company.
“For the guys in the locker room, it has to be more than just, ‘I’m ready to carry the company.” he said. “It has to be, ‘I’m ready to carry the company and then I’m ready to carry the company to places it’s never been.’ That’s hard to do considering the precedent that’s already been set.”
– Triple H has reportedly reached out to the legendary Ivan Koloff about attending WrestleMania weekend. Koloff has a lot of history with Bruno Sammartino and is being considered for the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame class.
TNA’s fighting lawyer, OVW graduate and Abyss’ brother Joseph Park joined the “Award Winning Best New Show” The Rack Thursday Night.
In a nearly 20 minute interview, he discussed his excitement at making his New York debut this weekend, his one year TNA anniversary, the transition from lawyer to full-time wrestler, what it was like training in OVW, defeating Bully Ray at Slammiversary, how he came up with his finisher and possible names for it, if anyone else at the firm of Park, Park and Park are looking to follow him into the ring, his Chicago homecoming with IMPACT, what it’s like to have fans, what his favorite city to visit with IMPACT so far and where he’s looking forward to visit, his thoughts on Robbie E and their upcoming match and his budding friendship with James Storm, if he has his sights set on titles in the future, his reaction to Bully Ray naming himself the President of Aces and 8’s, offering his help to Brooke and Hulk and his unique skill set, the possibility of a Joseph Park documentary and much more.
Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Celebrating is one year anniversary with TNA and the transition from lawyer to full-time wrestler: “It has been a heck of a transition, you know? I mean, I showed up about, like you mentioned, about a year ago and had no intention of wrestling; just wanted to look for my brother Abyss. I got some answers but not all the answers I needed; I couldn’t really find him and he showed up at Slammiversary and didn’t even stop to say hi to me after he helped me. You know, after that all happened, I was ready to go back to my law practice and then Bully Ray kinda got in my face a little bit and I kind of had just enough of being pushed around and stuff, so I decided to stand up for myself. Then, whole this thing just kind of rollerballed and I went to OVW, training with Danny Davis and the great folks out in Ohio Valley Wrestling and the next thing you know, here I am. So, I am still proud of my law practice but pretty excited about the future with wrestling.”
What was it like beating Bully Ray at Slammiversary and picking up his first win: “You know what, you’re right; you hit it on the head Lindsey. I mean, it has been; that match was something I’ll never forget, you know? And as you remember, I had a little assistance there from my brother; that‘s about the only time I’ve seen him since I’ve started looking for him and I actually didn’t even see him. I got to see the tape replay later but was not able to connect with him. But, to get back on your point, I was a great win for me and it kind of catapulted things and after everything that happened with Aces & 8’s; I’ll be the first to admit, Bully Ray pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes, including mine and Hulk Hogan’s and Sting’s and everybody else. So, it’s going to be interesting to see where things go moving forward.”
Making his homecoming to Chicago: “It was great. It was truly a homecoming of sort and it was ironic with the first live television, outside of Orlando, was in Chicago, IL; my hometown. So, I mean, that was incredible. All the partners of Park, Park and Park were there; I couldn’t get them anything other than nosebleed seats unfortunately because I don’t have that kind of clout yet. Hopefully, when I get kind of clout that Kurt Angle, Sting and Hulk have, maybe one day I’ll be able to get them better seats. Absolutely, I’ll get a little more clout in the office and stuff like that and hopefully I’ll be able to get some better seats for the partners for maybe the next time we come back to Chicago.”
Taking IMPACT on the road: “We’re just excited in general; I mean, Orlando and Universal Studios was great. It was fantastic to us but it really didn’t give us an opportunity to get out around the country and to connect with our fan base and this has really allowed us to do that. You know, getting out of Orlando and getting on the road and actually getting in front of fans in the Midwest and the Northeast and in the South; to actually connect with them had just made such a huge difference in the show. Orlando was great and they’re a great crowd; god bless them, we love them to death but, you know, moving out and moving on the road, and in front of a live audience every week, a fresh audience. It means the world of difference to everything and you can tell that just by watching the show and come right through your television screen; that momentum and that creativity and everything, it just comes right through your TV screen. Those fans are great on the road.
His friendship with on “Cowboy” James Storm: “James is great you know; you talk about a true, true cowboy. I mean, the guy is as much of a cowboy out the ring as he is in the ring and he’s been great to be around. I’ve learned a lot from just talking to him and I actually got to travel with him a couple of times on the road, early on in my career. He’s just a great guy to be around and he’s an intense guy to be around and I can’t think of a better guy to kind of learn the intensity and learn the ins-and-outs of this whole business from than a guy, a seasoned veteran, like James Storm. He is a lot of fun, and the thing with Storm is when it’s time to fight, when it’s time to wrestle, nobody comes more prepared than him, but when it’s time afterward to drink some beer, there’s nobody more prepared than him too. So, that’s a unique quality he has.”
His reaction to Bully Ray revealing himself as the President of Aces & 8’s: “I felt betrayed and duped, just like everybody else, you know? That’s just me, I’m sure I don’t feel as duped as Hulk Hogan does; he ended up handing his daughter over in marriage to this guy. That part really bothers me the most and the fact that he fooled everybody. He did fool everybody and he had a lot of help fooling everybody; I mean, he was behind this thing the whole time and so he did an incredible job. I’ll give Bully Ray one, he did an incredible job of pulling the wool over everybody’s eyes but now we’re in quite a jam. I mean, gosh, this guy is still married to Brooke Hogan, technically, legally. And as a guy who’s a lawyer, it’s going to be tough to get her out of that marriage; he’s not budging at all. He’s doesn’t want out of it, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. But I know this much, I’ll be there to help out, whether it’s physically or providing my legal skills to help resolve this whole thing.”
Chris Jericho appeared on Jimmy Fallon last night to discuss WrestleMania 29, Fandango and sing boy band songs about Jean Claude Van Damme.
– Christian is ready to return to action and WWE reportedly plans to bring him back to television after WretleMania as a babyface.
– Brock Lesnar is not doing any media appearances to promote WrestleMania 29 this year. Lesnar is not a fan of interviews and did very little promotional work to hype his UFC fights back when he was an MMA fighter.
– Detailing Dynamics recently customized a McLaren MP412C for WrestleMania. Here is a photo:
Tonight is TNA’s first “One Night Only” pay-per-view, X-Travaganza. Here’s a preview:
Are you ordering this show? Do you think TNA’s taped Friday night PPV’s have a chance at being successful? Hit up the comments below with your feedback.
– The following matches are confirmed for next week’s TNA iMPACT!:
Next week’s show will also feature A.J. Styles’s decision as to whether he’s with TNA or Aces & Eights
CM Punk was recently interviewed by Marvel.com to promote WrestleMania 29. Here are the highlights of what he said about:
“I think it was lost on me after my first four or five WrestleMania [appearances]. Last year I really slowed it down and took it all in. It’s a lot of people out there and that ramp was a long way. So I started to a lot of mental snapshots to remember the moment. Because it’s not something you get to do every day. It’s huge, it makes you realize how big the thing is; they are there to see you so not only am I amped up [but] ready to put on a show. I also tell that fun is very important aspect of what I do, and it can get lost a lot of the time. So I look to have a whole lot of fun at WrestleMania.
“Well yeah, I mean a match against the Undertaker any other day of the year is still a big deal but not as big of a deal when you’ve got the opportunity to do that nobody’s been able to do for over 20 years this week at WrestleMania.”
New York City’s Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg got exclusive interviews with several WWE Superstars at this week’s WrestleMania 29 media press conference, including John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock and Mark Henry.
All of them have big expectations for this weekend’s WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view – and CM Punk has a special message for us “smart” fans.
Tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown is a pre-WrestleMania special, featuring matches taped on Monday night prior to RAW as well as footage from this weekend’s WWE AXXESS fan fest.
Here are the matches that will air tonight:
* Ryback vs. Epico & Primo in a handicap match.
* Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston.
Also appearing are Team Rhodes Scholars, Brodus Clay, Tensai the final hype for WrestleMania 29.
WWE held their Superstars for Sandy Relief Party at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Thursday night, with Vince McMahon and Sean “Diddy” Combs hosting the event.
The Miz and sportscaster Joe Buck ran the auction that took place to benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief, with several unique experiences with Superstars and celebrities auctioned off. Many of the auctions are still open through April 9th at CharityBuzz.com.
Some of the stars in attendance included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, Miss USA Nana Meriwether, Miss Teen USA Logan West, Rob Zombie, the Knicks City Dancers and most of the WWE roster.
– During Thursday night’s WrestleMania AXXESS events today, Booker T announced that his brother Stevie Ray will induct him into the Hall of Fame on Saturday night from Madison Square Garden.
– The following are results from the matches that took place at Thursday night’s WWE AXXESS:
* Bo Dallas defeated Corey Graves
* Paige defeated Summer Rae
* Primo defeated Adrian Neville
* Zack Ryder defeated Michael McGillicutt
* Xavier Woods defeated Dante Dash
* Mason Ryan defeated Corey Graves
* Adrian Neville defeated Hawkins
* Ezekiel Jackson & Yoshi Tatsu defeated Hunico & Camacho
During an interview conducted with XFinity, Dolph Ziggler talked about the possibility of cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at
XFINITY: This match might have your attention; Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Ziggler: I could care less, I hope they beat the crap out of each other and whoever is left gets laid out by the other one. I’ll be walking down the aisle and stealing the show with my cash in.
XFINITY: I thought that was going to be a big secret, I was going to try to get you to confess that that was your plan. They knock each other cold, then cue Ziggler’s music.
Ziggler: You know, I’ve seen it before where it wasn’t exactly quite how I wanted it yet, so I can’t guarantee that’s going to happen. Cause when I cash this in, I’m not cashing it in to maybe win. It’s going to happen. So, somebody has to be out pretty cold for me to get back in there.
The Honky Tonk Man, who held the Intercontinental Championship for a record 454 days, is back with WWE.
The 60-year-old announced Thursday that he has come to terms on a multi-year contract with the sports-entertainment organization.
“I am honored to be back with the WWE and am very excited to be teaming up with WWE again for some more Shake, Rattle and Roll,” said The Honky Tonk Man in a message released via his representative on Facebook.
The Honky Tonk Man personally added on Twitter, “HTM back in the game. Inks multi yr. WWE deal. Never say Never in #WWE.”
The Honky Tonk Man last appeared as a regular character for WWE in 1997, as a manager and color commentator. After competing for several years on the independent circuit, he resurfaced on last month’s “Old School” episode of Raw. Following a match pitting Brodus Clay and Tensai against 3MB, the legendary wrestler smashed Heath Slater over the head with a guitar. He then danced with Clay and Tensai to his signature “Cool, Cocky, Bad” theme song.
– All four members of the McMahon family are now on Twitter, with Shane McMahon coming on board the social networking outlet. The former WWE Superstar and executive launched his account yesterday at @theshanemcmahon. In his first tweet, he posted this picture of himself acknowledging his all-grey hair.
Thus far, all of the 1999 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year’s messages have concerned WWE and WrestleMania. He has answered some fan questions, and is also conducting a WrestleMania ticket giveaway.
McMahon parted ways with WWE in 2009 after resigning from the position of Executive Vice President of Global Media. He currently serves as the chief executive officer and chairman of YOU On Demand.
– In three days, WrestleMania will take place near AJ Lee’s hometown of Union City, New Jersey. Speaking to WWE, the lifelong wrestling fan is recalling her journey to the big show as she shows off her massive collection of Converse sneakers.
“I have probably more than 40 or 50 pairs of Chucks, which is probably unhealthy … I should see a doctor,” said Lee. “Chucks are cooler when they’re dirty. I actually stepped on somebody’s the other day because they were too clean.”
– Tickets are on sale now for WWE Money in the Bank, which takes at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, July 14. Fans can purchase tickets at the Wells Fargo Center box office, online at www.comcasttix.com or charge by phone by calling 800-298-4200.
– Part 2 of WWE Diva AJ Lee’s WrestleMania diary is now online, which you can view at WWE.com in its entirety. In this installment, AJ talks about what inspired her to get into wrestling:
“When I was really little, I wanted to be a wrestler so I could be like the girls I looked up to,” AJ says, reflecting on her decision to pursue a career in the squared circle at age 12. “My brother then told me that ‘you don’t want to be like your idols, you want to grow up and be better than them.’ To this day, that’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten. You shouldn’t want to replicate somebody just because you like them. You can respect what they’ve done, but you should also want to surpass them.”
