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Why John Cena Wasn’t At RAW, Backstage Resentment Towards The Rock

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Conspicuously absent from Monday’s WWE RAW were WrestleMania 29 main event challengers The Rock and John Cena. While The Rock had a previous commitment to be overseas in South Korea promoting his new “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” film, WWE officials made the decision to also keep John Cena off the show, feeling that his presence would bring more attention to the WWE Champion not being there.

Instead of John Cena coming out and cutting a promo that The Rock could not respond to in person, the decision was made to air a video package hyping their match.

Even through The Rock is doing everything he can to appear at as many WWE TV shows as possible, there are people in the locker room who are not happy that the WWE Champion will be missing 2 of the 4 final RW shows before WrestleMania. There has been resentment that a “part time” wrestler is WWE Champion and is taking one of the top spots at the company’s biggest show of the year. Him not being there to fully promote the even is not helping matters.

(Source: PWInsider)

Team 3D Reuniting At TNA’s WM29 Weekend Show, TNA Executive Gone & More

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– TNA’s Vice President of Public Relations, Jules Wortman, has been let go from the company, according to PWInsider.com. The departure comes just weeks after another high ranking member of TNA’s PR team, Chris Thomas, left as well.

– TNA announced that tickets are still available for Thursday’s live Impact from Chicago.

– Eric Bischoff noted on Twitter that he’ll be visiting TNA Knockout Tara’s pizza restaurant in Chicago today.

– The following matches have been announced for TNA’s 4/5 WrestleMania weekend live event from Westbury, Long Island:

  • Sting & Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray & Devon
  • Bobby Roode vs. James Storm (New York Street Fight)
  • Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe
  • Kurt Angle vs. Wes Brisco
  • Joseph Park vs. Robbie E

Hulk Hogan will also be there and will announce a stipulation for the tag team main event at the show.

Jim Ross Blog: Punk Interrupting Paul Bearer Tribute, Cena’s Divorce, Shield

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Paul Bearer Tribute On RAW: For those complaining about the usage of Paul Bearer’s image less than a week after his sudden passing last Tuesday at the age of 58, I suggest that they relax. I’m guessing that I knew Percy better than most complaining within the internet wrestling community and I can say without hesitation that he would have loved how his TV persona was honored notwithstanding how he contributed to one more storyline leading into WrestleMania.

CM Punk Actions on RAW: Punk interrupting the final moments of the opening Paul Bearer tribute was villainy 101. As a matter of fact, I felt like Punk had more antagonist angst when Raw was going off the air than he did when he first arrived on the scene in the first segment of the show. The idea is to motivate fans to pay to see the villain get his ass handed to him and if that theory is accurate then WWE succeeded in regards to the Taker-Punk ‘Streak’ match at WM29.

Bryan vs. Ziggler: Add @WWEDanielBryan vs. @HEELZiggler to my list of ‘Best of Seven’ candidates. They had one helluva wrestling match on RAW Monday night. I’d expect both men to travel in different circles post WrestleMania as in faster circles or so I hope.

The Shield: Proud of The Shield guys after having seen them evolve and develop in NXT even though some will either hit me on our Q&A’s or on Twitter @JRsBBQ that both Rollins and Ambrose were ready for prime time upon leaving ROH. I have a different opinion on that matter and I think that the talents themselves would concur. That’s no knock on ROH who I am pulling for in a big way to be successful.

WWE Referencing John Cena’s Divorce: WWE utilizing John Cena’s divorce in the WWE Title video package surprised me. However, it made perfect sense and is an issue that most people can relate to in some fashion. It also helps realistically explain Cena’s own self proclaimed downward spiral in 2012.

*Spoilers* WWE Main Event Resuts For 3/13

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* Big Show defeated World champion Alberto Del Rio via count out after Del Rio was attacked by Jack Swagger, who was watching the match.

* The Usos defeated 3MB.

* WWE Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett defeated Justin Gabriel.

*Spoilers* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For 3/15

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WWE taped Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Credit to reader Gerard for this live report:

– Sheamus and Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. The Shield came out and told Orton and Sheamus to find a partner for WrestleMania. They accepted the challenge.

– Wade Barrett comes out for commentary. The Miz defeated Darren Young.

– Backstage segment with Big Show, Orton and Sheamus. Show wants to be their partner but they already chose Ryback.

– Kaitlyn and Layla beat Aksana and Tamina Snuka.

– The Bella Twins attack Cameron and Naomi backstage.

– Dolph Ziggler beat Kane. Daniel Bryan and Big E Langston got into it and a brawl broke out at ringside.

– Ricard Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio mock Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger again.

– The Great Khali comes out to face Fandango but the usual happens and Fandango doesn’t debut.

– Booker T makes The Shield vs. Sheamus, Orton and Ryback official for WrestleMania 29. The Shield attacked Orton and Sheamus.

– Mark Henry vs. Ryback is next. The Shield came out and attacked Ryback. He fought them off but they came back in and beat him down and hit the triple powerbomb. Henry came back down and hit three World’s Strongest Slams on Ryback.

* Jack Swagger defeated Chris Jericho in the main event.

WrestleMania 29 *Spoiler* – Six-Man Tag Match Revealed

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At Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, The Shield vs. Ryback, Randy Orton and Sheamus was announced for WrestleMania 29. Here’s the updated card:

WWE Title Match
The Rock (c) vs. John Cena

World Heavyweight Title Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

Stipulations TBA
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H

The Streak On The Line
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

6-Man Tag Match
The Shield vs. Ryback, Randy Orton & Sheamus

Kofi Kingston Talks About Rock vs. Cena 2, Paul Bearer’s Passing, Adrian Neville

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WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston was recently did some media work in the UK to promote next month’s overseas Wrestlemania Revenge tour. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Who He Thinks Will Win At WM29 Between The Rock &  John Cena: “For me, I always grew up as a Rock fan, I had his poster on my wall in college. He’s just so captivating in the ring, and for me as a fan it’s great to see him back. It’s crazy to see him as WWE champion – I feel like I’m a kid again, watching, and I’m doing it from the absolute best seat in the house.

“But… John Cena is our workhorse. How can I root against John Cena? It’s so hard because I was such a Rock fan growing up and I’m still a Rock fan but in terms of paving the way for me while I’m here John Cena has been everything. He’s on every single live event and does all this media, he does a whole bunch of appearances with kids… Not that Rock doesn’t do all of that, but again for me right now on the roster, it’s very hard to root against the guy that I see do so much.”

British NXT Star Adrian Neville (Formerly PAC): “I’ve always heard so much about him. I knew of him before he got signed with WWE. But to see him in person, he’s very, very impressive. He does some incredible things – and that’s coming from me! He does a lot of superhero-esque things – he’s almost like a cartoon character with his flips. He makes it look so, so easy. Once he makes his debut on WWE television, I think a lot of people will really be in for a treat.”

William “Paul Bearer” Moody’s passing: “It’s hit home for a lot of people because he was just a very, very good person. A lot of us got the chance to know him when he was on the main roster recently with Edge and Kane and that whole story that they had going on. What a presence. Even with him and the Undertaker back in the day for the old school fans, you can’t imagine the Undertaker without Paul Bearer. He made the Undertaker and really added to that whole persona and tied it all together.

“He was a very special individual… In terms of his persona backstage, he was somebody that everyone always listened to, he was always trying to make people laugh and smile. A very genuine and good person. He will definitely be missed by all of the WWE superstars.”

Triple H To Answer Heyman & Lesnar On RAW, Wade Barrett Talks WM29

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– Triple H announced on Twitter that he will be on RAW next week to respond to Paul Heyman’s challenge, where Triple H has to agree to fight Brock Lesnar without knowing what the match stipulations will be.

– The ToledoFreePress has an interview up with Wade Barrett. Here’s what he said about the buzz in the WWE locker room surrounding WrestleMania 29 – and not having a match yet on the show:

“It’s pretty tense, actually,” Barrett said, describing the WWE locker room. “Especially for me, because I obviously missed last year’s WrestleMania because of the injury I got just beforehand. Everyone’s looking at the card, it’s really starting to take shape — I think we’ve got two or three matches that are kind of set for WrestleMania — and everyone’s looking at that card and thinking, ‘I’ve got to get myself on there pretty quickly,’ because unfortunately, there are limited spaces on the WrestleMania card. It’s not like everyone is going to get on there.”

* New Photos of SHAUL GUERRERO In INKED Magazine – Check Out Her Sexy Tattoos

Vince Very Hands-On At RAW, More On Writer’s Departure, Batista-Miz Movies

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– Following last week’s departure of creative team member Eric Pankowski, Vince McMahon was reportedly much more hands-on producing and scripting this week’s RAW.

While there were a few factors that led to Pankowski’s release, the straw that broke the camel’s back was his decision to book last week’s Fatal 4 Way match between Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show to determine The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 29 opponent.

Several people reportedly told him that it was a bad idea – but he went through with it anyways. Vince McMahon did ultimately sign off on that match, but that could have been his way of letting Pankowski’s work speak for itself.

– During a recent interview with IndyStar.com to promote “The Marine 3”, The Miz revealed that his next movie role will be “The Christmas Bounty.” The film begins filming in April and is due out this winter.

– Several movie news sites are reporting that former WWE Superstar Batista is still being considered for a major role in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” superhero movie that comes out in August 2014.

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

JBL Unable To Reach The Top Of Mount Death Due to Bad Weather

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WWE announcer JBL tweeted the following update about his attempt to climb Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua (“Mt. Death”):

JBL noted he will try again next year and posted this YouTube video:

He also wrote the following about the experience at LayfieldReport.com:

“Remarkably, Ian and a couple from Canada (a married couple-both Doctors-who had competed in ironmen races and marathons), Drs. Jason and Carolyn, made the summit in that weather in almost 20 hours of climbing-being much faster than me, I would have been at least 25 hours and maybe as much as 30-which means I would not have made it down. I’ve been around some great athletes and these young guys were as hardy and tough as any I have ever seen, very proud of them-and all great people to be around. The guys who made it talked of stepping close to one of the dead bodies to get to the summit. No one else made it or even came close.”

John Cena On The Cover Of Men’s Fitness, Gunn Celebrates 2 Years Clean & More

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WWE.com has a new feature up by Howard Finkel looking at the true stories behind wrestling’s most unique nicknames.

– Billy Gunn celebrated 2 years of sobriety on Monday. His wife “hacked” his Twitter account and tweeted the following yesterday:

– John Cena is on the cover of the new issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine:

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* Photos of SHAUL GUERRERO In INKED Magazine (Wow)

WrestleMania 29 Card Changes, WWE Announces Payback PPV & More

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– WWE officially announced the new June “Payback” pay-per-view today, which takes place on Sunday, June 16 from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 23.

WWE.com published an article looking at the 25 “grandest” WrestleMania celebrities. Muhammad Ali topped the list, followed by Donald Trump, Mike Tyson, Mr. T and Ozzy Osbourne.

– With WrestleMania 29 less than a month away, WWE officials are still undecided on the undercard matches that will take place at the show. The top of the card is set – but as of this weekend, a lot of changes were made to the other planned matches. There is a lot of tension backstage due to Vince McMahon constantly changing creative plans.

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)

RAW Ratings & Viewership, Brock Lesnar Tops ESPN Power Rankings

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– Monday’s WWE RAW drew a 3.36 rating cable and averaged 4.81 million viewers. These numbers are down from last week’s 3.54 rating with 5.02 million average viewers. The hourly viewership was as follows:

Hour 1: 4.98 million
Hour 2: 4.89 million
Hour 3: 4.57 million

– Brock Lesnar topped this week’s ESPN WWE Power Rankings. Here’s this week’s Top 10:

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Dolph Ziggler
3. The Shield
4. CM Punk
5. Mark Henry
6. Ryback
7. Kane
8. Daniel Bryan
9. Team Rhodes Scholars
10. The Undertaker

Triple H, The Rock and John Cena were not on this week’s RAW and thus, were not included in the list. However, ESPN seems to feel that RAW is fine without them:

“If The Rock and John Cena fail to appear on TV, they’ll fail to appear in the rankings. Besides, with the awesome buildup of Punk versus Taker so far, who needs them?”

WWE’s Great Rock vs. Cena Preview Video From RAW & More

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– WWE superstar David Otunga will be on The Wendy Williams Show on Thursday morning to promote his new movie with Halle Berry, The Call.

WWEShop.com has released a new gold version of the John Cena “10 Years Strong” t-shirt. Cena wore it during the dark main event at last night’s RAW and is wearing it in the Tout video below:

News On Swagger & Del Rio’s Feud, Layla Reacts To Bellas’ Returns & More

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– During a backstage interview at RAW that aired exclusively on the WWE mobile app, Layla told Matt Striker that she’s been on the WWE roster longer than any other Diva. She also said the Bella Twins returning will make things more competitive, but they need to watch out for her.

– WWE has been running an angle at recent live events where Ricardo Rodriguez appears on the big screen before Alberto Del Rio’s matches and challenges the audience to see if they can say Alberto Del Rio’s name longer than he can during Del Rio’s entrance.

– There was some talk backstage at Monday’s RAW that Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter’s feud with Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez is not going as well as WWE was hoping for. The angle was designed to further solidify Del Rio as a top babyface, but so far they’ve seen mixed results.

That said, Vince McMahon has been strongly behind Swagger & Colter’s gimmick and they are getting strong heel heat at live events.

(Partial Source: F4Wonline.com)

Paul Heyman Taunts Triple H, Video Of The Call Promo With Halle Berry & More

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– During a backstage interview at RAW that aired exclusively on the WWE mobile app, Paul Heyman told Matt Striker that Triple H is crazy to fight Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania under unknown stipulations. Heyman said “the game is on” and Triple H has been outplayed.

– As seen on RAW, WWE and Kmart are running their annual WrestleMania promotion where fans can buy a limited-edition WrestleMania 29 chair for “only” $79.99 when they purchase $30 worth of WWE merchandise at the store.

– Kevin Nash noted on Twitter that he is currently overseas in Venice, Italy shooting an episode for the A&E show Celebrity Ghost Stories.

– Here is the promo for The Call that aired on RAW featuring Halle Berry, David Otunga and Kane:

WWE Negotiating With Former Divas, Mae Young Turns 90 Years Old & More

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– WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young turns 90 years old today. She was born on March 12, 1923.

– The WWE event in Moscow, Russia on April 26 has been moved to the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena at the Olympic Complex. It’s original venue was the Megasport Arena. Tickets must be exchanged at the point of purchase between March 14 and April 25. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

– Following the surprise return of the Bella Twins to WWE on Monday’s RAW, we can confirm that WWE has reached out to several other women who have departed the company in recent years. No word yet on who has been contacted, but it’s been said that WWE has offered the former Divas more money than they were previously making. WWE is well aware that the Divas division is in bad shape, and there was talk of bringing up several NXT Divas before they decided to reach out to Divas who have departed the company.

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)

Hulk Hogan’s Bank Account & Social Security Number Hacked

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TMZ.com reports that Hulk Hogan among the celebrities whose bank account information and social security number have been hacked and posted online.

Other victims include United States First Lady Michelle Obama, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump, Ashton Kutcher, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Mel Gibson.

The FBI is now involved and has told the celebrities to contact their banks immediately. They have also released a statement saying that they’ve known about the hacks before they were made public on TMZ.com.

WrestleMania 29: Updated Card & Rumored Matches

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Following Monday’s WWE RAW, here’s an updated look at the confirmed matches for WrestleMania 29:

WWE Championship Match:
The Rock (c) vs. John Cena

Stipulations TBA:
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H

The Streak On The Line:
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

The following matches are

  • The Shield vs. Randy Orton & Sheamus & Big Show
  • Ryback vs. Mark Henry

WrestleMania 29 takes place on Sunday, April 7, 2013 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Full Details on TNA Slammiversary XI PPV

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– TNA issued the following press release today:

TNA WRESTLING CELEBRATES ‘SLAMMIVERSARY XI’ IN BOSTON
‘THE IMMORTAL’ HULK HOGAN, ‘THE ICON’ STING, BULLY RAY, JEFF HARDY, KURT ANGLE, VELVET SKY AND MORE MARK COMPANY’S 11th ANNIVERSARY AT AGGANIS ARENA

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 11, 2013) – TNA Wrestling brings its high-impact brand of professional wrestling to Boston for the very first time with SLAMMIVERSARY XI, a live Pay-Per-View event celebrating the company’s 11th anniversary.

SLAMMIVERSARY XI emanates live from Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University Sunday, June 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. Tickets for SLAMMIVERSARY XI go on sale Friday, March 29 at 10 a.m. ET through the Agganis Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.

“SLAMMIVERSARY XI is our biggest show of the summer, and we’re so excited to bring it to Boston for the very first time,” said TNA Entertainment President Dixie Carter. “The Northeast has such a great connection to the world of professional wrestling, and we can’t wait to showcase the IMPACT WRESTLING Superstars to this audience, not to mention celebrate our company’s 11th anniversary.”

IMPACT WRESTLING stars including “The Immortal” HULK HOGAN, “The Icon” STING, current TNA World Heavyweight Champion BULLY RAY, Olympic Gold Medalist KURT ANGLE, “The Charismatic Enigma” JEFF HARDY, X-DIVISION standouts such as current X-Division Champion KENNY KING and ZEMA ION, plus Knockouts Division Champion VELVET SKY and the lovely and lethal Knockouts, are among those expected to appear at SLAMMIVERSARY XI.

Fans also have an opportunity to see their favorite TNA stars up close and personal at “TNA SLAMMIVERSARY Fan InterAction” Saturday, June 1. Also, TNA will be offering a limited number of travel packages including lodging and tickets to SLAMMIVERSARY. More details are available at www.ShopTNA.com.

Fans can witness TNA’s best every week on IMPACT WRESTLING airing every Thursday night on Spike, 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

Sound Off 264: Remembering Paul Bearer and Breaking TNA News on Bobby Roode and RVD Contract Rumors

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DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 264)

*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Solomonster remembers the late Paul Bearer and has some late breaking TNA news:

-Thoughts on the life and career of Paul Bearer, including a possible HOF induction this year
-Old School Raw, great Rock/Cena segment and what needs to change with the legends (33:35)
-Rumored NXT University and physical HOF could be tied in with Orlando bid for Mania (51:30)
-TNA Lockdown predictions and latest on Bobby Roode and RVD contract rumors (55:00)
-Bret Hart says AJ Styles should go to WWE and not “waste his life” in TNA (1:15:30)
-Why WWE shouldn’t cut Rey Mysterio loose and why it’s an insane idea (1:23:45)
-Should Undertaker be turned heel for a match with John Cena at next year’s Mania? (1:25:40)

Want your question on the air? Send feedback to [email protected].

Wanna subscribe to the Sound Off via iTunes? CLICK HERE!

Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster

Friend The Solomonster on Facebook @ facebook.com/thesolomonster

Subscribe to The Solomonster on YouTube @ TheSolomonster

Creative Commons License
Solomonster Sounds Off by The Solomonster is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The Miz Talks About Being A Babyface, CM Punk Named “Dude Of The Week”

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– The Miz was recently interviewed by Denver’s Westword.com blog and had this to say about getting to travel the world as a WWE superstar and his character now being a babyface:

“I love the fact that I get to travel all over the world — I’ve gone everywhere all over America. I’ve been to China, Mexico, Europe and Australia. I’ve gotten to see the world through the WWE. Not only that, when I come out onto the stage, I get to hear the reaction of the crowd. Let me tell you something: You might not know this, but a few months ago, people were booing me. They were telling me I sucked and they hated me. But now, they’re embracing me. It’s a whole newfound glory and I’m loving every second of it.”

– The New York Daily News has named WWE superstar CM Punk as their “Dude of the Week” for recently meeting with shooting victim Thomas Dotterer in a Syracuse, NY hospital. The paper wrote:

“For paying a surprise visit. The WWE star invited Tom Dotterer to a wrestling show Sunday, but the 77-year-old was admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery related to a gunshot wound to the eye he suffered in January during a robbery at his liquor store. Dotterer couldn’t make it to the WWE event so Punk (showing he’s hardly one) came to the hospital before the show for some spirit lifting. A letter Dotterer wrote, read by his son during a fund-raiser, showed he was thinking of Punk. Dotterer asked to be forgiven by those he “sarcastically ripped apart or had opinionated exchanges with.”

Jim Ross Calling NBA Game Today, The Latest From Andy Leavine

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– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be broadcasting the second quarter of the Boston Celtics vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball game this afternoon.

– WWE Tough Enough Winner Andy Leavine was recently interviewed by Alex Marvez of Fox Sports and spoke about his time in WWE after winning Tough Enough:

“It was a weird situation. They were thinking one thing and obviously I was thinking another … It was frustration on my end that did me in. I felt like they had put me in a position to shine and I was getting held back. Granted, there had been a lot of guys ahead of me that had been wrestling for a long time who were getting their shot, which they deserved. But I felt like, ‘You put me in this position where you spent millions and millions of dollars to build me up into something.’ It’s kind of like going on a big date and at the end of the night she goes, ‘All right, I’ll call you tomorrow.’ Come on, man!”

Hulk Hogan Talks About TNA’s Growing Pains & Getting On The Right Track

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In the first episode of Wrestle Talk TV season two, Joel Ross, Patrick Lennon and Francesca Wood kick things off with a bang as they present “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan as the seasons first huge guest. The episode also features a hugely controversial interview segment from Bret “The Hitman” Hart, which has never been seen.

Plus there are appearances from Rob Van Dam, Jerry Lynn, James Storm, El Generico, Kaz and Daniels, Velvet Sky, Hernandez and Fergal Devitt, along with this weeks debate over “The Rock” being WWE Champion. There is also a run down of some of the biggest news stories this week and much more.

Here’s the video – the Hogan interview begins around the 12:35 mark:

Paul Bearer Auction Benefit To Pay For His Funeral Costs

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A Paul Bearer Benefit site has been established, with all profits going towards his Funeral Costs and any remaining will be divided among his grandchildren who he loved dearly. Prowrestlingbookings.com has been transformed into a benefit site.

– $10 donation gets you an unsigned photo of Paul Bearer
– $40 gets you a signed 8 x 10 of Paul Bearer
– Any other donations are welcome.
– Free US Shipping. All other areas need to email first.

Items to be displayed are from the following stars. Currently Edge created his own sketch of Paul Bearer which is autographed and posted.

– Edge
– Beth Phoenix
– Diamond Dallas Page
– Hulk Hogan
– Jimmy Hart
– Vader
– Tom Prichard
– Tatanka

Here is the auction link at – Ebay.com.