– WWEShop.com is already selling the new Triple H “Tremble Before The Hammer” t-shirt that he debuted last night on RAW.
– Vince McMahon was irate backstage at Monday’s RAW when CM Punk gave John Cena a piledriver during the main event. The piledriver is a banned move in WWE and the only reason Vince did not take disciplinary action was because it was CM Punk and John Cena performing the move. Here’s a video clip of the spot:
http://youtu.be/jB-b7uL7wyM
– Matt Striker interviewed the Prime Time Players, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil, backstage at last night’s RAW for a WWE.com exclusive video. Young mentioned he’s been away for a while but now he’s back.
– Striker also spoke with Damien Sandow about his tag team match against The Undertaker at Saturday night’s WWE live event form Waco, Texas. Sandow acted shaken up and said he was still feeling the effects from facing the Dead Man.
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown and Main Events tapings will take place from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Friday’s SmackDown will have a a “Social Media” theme to it, with WWE advertising live tweets, touts, and other interactive features that will be incorporated into the taped broadcast.
New WWE superstar Fandango will debut on SmackDown and RAW announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler will be on hand, with JBL in South America for his latest mountain climbing adventure.
– Shield member Roman Reigns tweeted the following about Randy Orton blindsiding Seth Rollins on RAW while The Shield was distracted by Sheamus:
“@RandyOrton strikes fast, but The Shield always hits last. Due time we’re going to skin The Viper. #ShieldBringsTheSword #BelieveInTheShield”
– Here is the trailer for the WWE Studios film “The Marine 3: Homefront” starring The Miz:
– As seen on Monday’s RAW, Darren Young wrestled a tag match with his partner, Titus O’Neil. This conflicts with recent reports by the Wrestling Observer and PWInsider.com, that Young would be out of action for 6-8 months with a knee injury. After RAW, he tweeted:
“#DYoung out of action? #aintnobodygottimeforthat @WWE #RAW #millionsofdollars”
– WWE’s RAW crew was very tired and beat up following this past weekend’s live events tour of Qatar and Turkey.
– WWE stars Rey Mysterio, AJ Lee, Kofi Kingston and Layla participated in a Make-A-Wish event on Monday at a local Dave & Busters in Dallas.
– Here is a video preview for Bret Hart’s new “Dungeon Collection” DVD set, due out March 5th (now on sale at Amazon.com):
– Following the announcement that Donald Trump will be the celebrity honoree in this year’s WWE Hall of Fame, here’s an update of this year’s class, arguably one of the strongest in history:
– Bruno Sammartino
– Mick Foley
– Trish Stratus
– Bob Backlund
– Donald Trump
– Chris Jericho’s new “Robot Combat League” show hosted by WWE star Chris Jericho premieres tonight at 10pm EST on Syfy. The first episode, titled “Rise Of The Machines,” replays at midnight. Jericho spoke with Showrenity.com to hype the show and spoke about the technology behind the robots and the diverse backgrounds of the show’s contestants.
– WWE’s official tagline for The Rock vs. John Cena WrestleMania 29 main event is, “Greatness vs. Redemption.”
– Fandango (Johnny Curtis) worked this weekend’s WWE live events and was accompanied to the ring by a beautiful young lady. They danced before the match and we have not heard anything about his dancing partner being an NXT Diva. Fandango will debut at tonight’s SmackDown tapings.
– As seen on Monday’s RAW, WWE will be holding “Old School RAW” next week, with the classic RAW opening video, on-screen graphics, arena setup, interview segment format and appearances from WWE legends. During the promos that aired on Monday’s RAW, legends that were shown as appearing include Mean Gene Okerlund, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.
Here are WWE’s video packages hyping “Old School RAW”:
John Cena’s match against CM Punk at the end of Monday’s WWE RAW is getting rave reviews. Here’s what the wrestling world was tweeting about the match:
Lance Storm: Since I don’t get PPVs this may be the best John Cena match I’ve ever seen. #RAW
The Usos: Hell of main event match right there!!!! #Raw
David Otunga: Wow! Power bomb, Pile Driver, and hurricanrana?! Awesome match! @WWE @WWEUniverse #RAW #WWEDALLAS
Ezekiel Jackson: Matches like these remind me why I’m a fan… #RAW #WWEDALLAS
Shane Helms: Hellova match!!!! Props to both @JohnCena and @CMPunk I love great wresting, sue me.
Tamina Snuka: #WWERaw #WWEDallas That Cena and Punk Match was Absolutely Amazing #GooseBumps
Joey Styes: @JohnCena vs @CMPunk on @WWE #RAW was @WrestleMania Main Event quality! Both are future Hall of Famers #instantclassic
Matt Striker: A frankensteiner to disorient n then an AA…Wow…. Cena has to have silenced his critics…
Vickie Guerrero: @JohnCena and @CMPunk great match. I watched as s fan and have much respect for both men. #wwe. #mania
WWE RAW opens with a hype video for the Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman fight. The video shifts focus to John Cena, CM Punk and The Rock’s WWE Title.
– We’re live from Dallas, Texas as Vince McMahon makes his way out to a big pop. Vince is walking but using crutches to make it out. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are on commentary as Vince heads to the ring.
Vince says everyone knows he likes to do things in a big way. He says we’re getting closer to WrestleMania so we need something big each week. Vince is ready to fight and calls out Paul Heyman, referring to him as an “ultimate fighter.” Heyman comes out in some gear and cuts a promo on his way to the ring.
Heyman says he’s been waiting for this fight. Heyman says Vince has portrayed him as one of the biggest wimps. Heyman knocks the Dallas Cowboys and gets some heat. Heyman says he’s not going to take it easy on Vince. Heyman says he has watched Vince take out every other promoter, including him, and has watched him beat the US Government but tonight, Heyman is coming for all Vince has got. Heyman slowly approaches Vince and has a question for him. Heyman out of nowhere tackles Vince on his crutches. Heyman grabs a crutch and smacks Vince with it in his injured hip when he stands up. Vince gets up with the other crutch and catches a swing from Heyman. Vince hits Heyman with the crutch twice and knocks him down. Brock Lesnar’s music hits and out he comes.
Lesnar hits the ring and readies for an attack on Vince. Triple H’s music hits and out he comes to the stage, startling Lesnar. The Game approaches the ring as Lesnar readies for a fight. Lesnar exits the ring and meets Triple h on the floor. They go at it and get tangled up. The brawl goes around ringside as the fans pop. HHH tosses Lesnar into the steel post. Lesnar is busted open and bleeding as Triple H sends him into the post again. Triple H charges and sends Lesnar over the barrier and into the timekeeper’s area with a clothesline. HHH approaches with a crutch but Lesnar attacks. Lesnar with knees to the face. Lesnar slams HHH on top of the announce table. Lesnar is really busted open and bleeding now. It looked like he hit the ring post very hard. Lesnar brings HHH back in the ring and swings a chair but HHH nails a spinebuster. HHH with a massive chairshot to the back. Lesnar retreats as HHH’s music hits. Lesnar is checking the wound on his head. Very intense segment there.
– Still to come tonight, The Rock vs. CM Punk. Also, The Miz will have MizTV with Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger. We see Ryback heading to the ring. We go to commercial.
– Back from the commercial and we see footage of the Triple H and Brock Lesnar brawl that just happened. Cole tells fans to Tout their thoughts on what happened.
Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee and Big E Langston are waiting in the ring as Ryback makes his way out.
Ziggler ducks the lock up and shows off some. The go to lock up again and Ziggler goes behind. Ryback counters and slams Ziggler on his face. Ryback slams Ziggler again and stands over him. Another big slam from Ryback. Ziggler fights back and hits a dropkick. 2 count for Ziggler. Ziggler with more kicks and punches. Ryback fights out and drops Ziggler with a shoulder. Ryback catches Ziggler in mid-air and slams him. Ryback takes the fight to the corner now.
Ziggler tries to fight back but Ryback catches him again, slams him in the corner and then on the mat. Ziggler rolls to the floor as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Ryback has Ziggler in a long standing suplex. Ryback finally slams Ziggler after about a minute of holding him up. Ziggler rolls back to the floor. Ryback goes after him and brings it back in the ring. Ziggler charges with a kick but Ryback throws him back. Big E Langston runs over Ryback on the floor. Langston leans against the fan barrier and shows off some. Ziggler brings Ryback in the ring and covers for a 1 count. Ziggler with a dropkick to the back of the head for another pin attempt. Ziggler counters and nails a big DDT. More back and forth. Ziggler applies the sleeper hold. Ryback breaks it with a jawbreaker. Ryback comes back and slams Ziggler on his face. Another big slam. AJ distracts the referee. Here comes Big E but Ryback knocks him off the apron. Ryback with two more big slams on an attacking Ziggler. Ryback hits Shellshocked for the win.
Winner: Ryback
– We get the trailer for WWE Studios’ The Call.
– We go to the ring and out comes CM Punk by himself. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and CM Punk is in the ring. He says people will witness history tonight. Punk says tonight is not about John Cena or The Rock. Punk says tonight isn’t even about WrestleMania. Tonight isn’t even about the people. It’s not about the WWE Title either. Tonight is about the future, CM Punk. Punk goes no bragging and says he has earned the right to go to WrestleMania. Punk says he is an icon among superstars. Punk says he is immortal, the greatest of all time. A legend, an icon, the best, the greatest. Punk says he is God and drops the mic. The crowd boos him. Punk yells that he’s God one more time and exits the ring as his music hits.
– We get the announcement and video for Donald Trump’s 2013 Hall of Fame induction.
– Mark Henry and The Great Khali are shown walking to the ring. Back to commercial.
Mark Henry vs. The Great Khali
Back from the break and both men are in the ring. They start going at it. Henry runs into a big boot. Khali unloads with chops in the corner. Khali with more chops to the chest. Khali drops Henry with a big overhead chop. Henry rolls to the floor and Khali follows. Henry makes a comeback and rolls Khali back in the ring. Henry with a splash in the corner. Henry nails the World’s Strongest Slam for the win.
Winner: Mark Henry
– We see a clip of The Miz in The Marine 3.
– Out comes The Miz for another episode of MizTV as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and we get a vignette for Fandango. He debuts Friday on SmackDown.
Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter are waiting in the ring with The Miz as World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio comes out with Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio looks upset. Miz says we’re cutting right to the chase tonight. He introduces everyone. Pops for Ricardo and Del Rio. Miz says Swagger and Zeb have been engulfed in controversy this past week. Zeb says he was looking forward to talking to Glenn Beck but he chickened out. Zeb addresses Del Rio. Zeb says we have a problem in this country – 11 million undocumented workers. Zeb calls them illegals. Zeb brings up amnesty for those 11 million illegals and says real Americans already have a tough time finding work. Zeb says those people sneak across our border to take our jobs and medical services. Zeb says Del Rio’s people drain us. Miz wants to hear what Del Rio has to say. Miz asks Del Rio how hard it is to get citizenship in Mexico. Zeb says it takes 10 years to be a citizen of Mexico because of corruption. Zeb brings up the fact that foreigners can’t own property in Mexico. Zeb asks what is wrong with Del Rio and his people. Del Rio says not to disrespect his people. Zeb tells Del Rio to listen when he talks.
Zeb says this isn’t personal. He says Del Rio encourages his people to sneak across our border in pursuit of the dream. Zeb says the ones that fail conveniently forget to leave our country. Zeb says he won’t stand around and let it happen. Zeb says those people are criminals. Del Rio and Zeb argue. Del Rio says his time to talk is over and he needs to shut up. Del Rio says America is the greatest country on Earth because it belongs to everyone. Del Rio says he is just like everyone else. Del Rio says Zeb and Swagger can’t come and hide behind the constitution. Del Rio says he doesn’t like bullies. He says if they have a problem with him and have the balls to do it, then make them leave now. Del Rio drops the mic and takes off his coat. Swagger takes the mic and says we will see Del Rio at WrestleMania. Swagger yells “we the people” and slams the mic down. Swagger and Zeb leave the ring as Del Rio looks on.
– Still to come, CM Punk vs. John Cena. We see Randy Orton walking to the ring. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we see that during the commercial, Zeb colter accused The Miz of conducting a bias interview. Miz was laid out by Jack Swagger.
Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro
WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro is waiting in the ring as Randy Orton comes out. Back and forth to start the match. Orton with a nice throw and a 2 count. More back and forth. The end comes when Cesaro comes off the top and catches a RKO for the win.
Winner: Randy Orton
– Daniel Bryan and Kane are backstage talking about their match with Titus O’Neil and Darren Young tonight. Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox come up and already have tension. Bryan will be blindfolded while Kane will have one hand behind his back.
– Back from commercial and Sheamus is out wearing a suit. He talks about the Oscars and has a bone to pick with Hollywood. He shows footage of Dead Man Down. Sheamus shows another clip that has Barrett in the background. Sheamus mocks Barrett’s small role in the movie. Out comes the WWE Intercontinental Champion with a mic.
Barrett makes his way to the ring and they have words. Sheamus ducks a clothesline and Barrett avoids a Brogue Kick.
– Still to come, Punk vs. Cena. Also, The Shield will deliver a message. Back to commercial.
Cody Rhodes vs. R-Truth
Cody Rhodes is in the ring and Damien Sandow is on commentary as R-Truth makes his way out for the next match. We see footage from last week where R-Truth returned and saved Kofi Kingston from Sandow. Truth with some dancing and offense early on. Cody turns it around in the corner and drops Truth. Cody wails away and slams Truth on his face.
Cody with a submission now. Truth ends up getting the win and the best of Sandow also.
Winner: R-Truth
– We get another “We The People” video from Swagger and Colter. The Miz vs. Swagger is announced for tonight. Back to commercial.
Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil
Back from the break and here we go. Bryan is blindfolded and Kane has one hand behind his back. Young works fine in the match so apparently he’s not injured. Bryan finally gets a tag to Kane and he unloads with one arm. Kane works over Young with one arm and goes for a chokeslam. Kane kicks off Titus and fights off Young. Kane chokeslams Young for the non-title win.
Winners: Kane and Daniel Bryan
– Still to come, a message from The Shield. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we see what happened with Triple H and Brock Lesnar earlier.
– Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns make their way through the crowd and down to the ring.
Ambrose says things have to get worse before they get better. He says there will be no peace in WWE. He says The Shield makes a lot of people in the back nervous. Ambrose says nothing will stop them from doing the job they came to do. Reigns speaks next and says they will win every single team. Rollins talks about how they’ve dropped Chris Jericho, John Cena, Ryback, Sheamus. He asks if anyone else wants to step up and out comes Sheamus. Sheamus tells them to come fight him on the stage. Reigns and Ambrose start up the ramp. Randy Orton comes in the ring and drops Rollins with a RKO. Orton leaves back through the crowd. Ambrose and Reigns run back to the ring as Sheamus looks on. Orton watches The Shield from the crowd while fans chant his name.
– Still to come, Cena vs. Punk in the main event. Swagger vs. Miz is after the next commercial.
The Miz vs. Jack Swagger
Back from the break and Jack Swagger is out with Zeb Colter. Out next comes The Miz. Miz with offense early on. Swagger gets dumped over the top and out to the floor. Swagger tries to come in but Miz kicks him back to the floor. Miz comes off the apron but Swagger slams him hard on the floor. We see Del Rio and Ricardo watching backstage. Swagger brings it back in the ring and works Miz over.
Swagger keeps control and works on the leg of The Miz. Swagger hits the Swagger Bomb for another 2 count. Miz makes a comeback and hits the neckbreaker. Swagger catches Miz and dumps him on his head for another pin attempt. Miz makes another comeback and hits the clothesline in the corner. Miz goes to the top with an ax handle shot for a 2 count. Miz goes for a kick to the face but Swagger catches him. Miz counters and rolls Swagger up for 2. Swagger blocks the DDT and shoves Miz back, getting his leg tangled up in the ropes. Swagger goes after the leg and takes Miz back down. Swagger applies the Patriot Act for the win.
Winner: Jack Swagger
– Cole and Lawler are snacking on some food from Sonic at ringside.
– We see footage of The Rock unveiling the new WWE Title last week and then CM Punk attacking John Cena with the old title.
– We get a Tout video from Triple H and see what happened earlier with Brock Lesnar. We see some fan Tout videos also discussing the brawl.
– Josh Mathews is backstage with John Cena. Cena cuts a promo on his match with C M Punk tonight. He says you either step up or step aside tonight. Cena says he asked for this match to prove that John Cena is back. Cena says he hopes his critics are hungry. He doesn’t care what The Rock is cookin’ but he’s serving humble pie. Cena says our time is now.
– Cole leads us into a preview for Chris Jericho’s Robot Combat League on SyFy. We get a preview.
– Back from the break and we see a clip of The Undertaker’s entrance from Saturday night’s live event in Waco. Lawler talks about the speculation that comes this time of the year about Taker returning for WrestleMania.
#1 Contender’s Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena
We go to the ring and out first comes CM Punk. The winner of this one will face WWE Champion The Rock at WrestleMania 29. Out next comes John Cena.
They do formal ring introductions before the bell. They lock up and the crowd is all into it. They trade holds with back and forth to start the match. They lock up and Cena takes Punk down with a headlock. More back and forth. Cena sends Punk to the floor with a hip toss. Punk looks on from the floor as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Cena unloads on Punk. Cena with a fisherman’s suplex. Punk side steps and drops Cena for a 2 count. Punk mounts Cena with elbows. Neckbreaker and another 2 count by Punk. Punk with a head-scissors now. Cena powers to this feet with Punk’s legs around him. Down goes Punk. Punk runs into a boot and catches a running bulldog. Cena with a 2 count. Cena grounds Punk to the mat with a facelock. Cena with a headlock takedown now. They run the ropes and Punk nails a heel kick for 2. Punk with a headlock now.
Cena fights up and out of the hold. Punk kicks him in the chest but gets taken down by a flying shoulder. Punk ducks the next and Punk ends up out on the floor. Punk with a suicide dive, taking out Cena on the floor. We go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Punk is in control after blocking an Attitude Adjustment during the commercial. Cena comes back with the flying shoulders. Punk counters and locks in the Anaconda Vice. Cena turns it into a 2 count. Punk with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Punk calls for GTS but Cena goes for the STF. Punk scrambles to the ropes and knocks Cena back. Punk springboards in with a clothesline for 2. Punk springboards in again but Cena catches him in the STF. Punk fights out and counters with an Anaconda Vice. Cena breaks it and applies the STF again.
Punk turns that into a 2 count and finally they’re separated for a minute. They get up and trade lots of big shots in the middle of the ring. Cena ducks a kick and slams Punk. Cena calls for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Punk kicks him in the face. Punk goes for GTS but Cena slides out. Punk counters that with another pin attempt. Punk nails a big knee to the face in the corner. Cena blocks the bulldog and slams Punk on his head. Cena nails the Five Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the AA. Punk slides out. Cena blocks GTS and nails a powerbomb for a close 2 count.
Cena climbs to the top but can barely make it. Punk cuts him off and nails a chop and right hand. Punk climbs up for a superplex. Cena counters and hits headbutts, sending Punk back to the ring. Cena climbs up and hits the big leg drop for a 2 count. Punk with a big kick to the head. Punk with another high knee in the corner. Cena grabs him and nails the AA out of nowhere for a 2 count. Cena ends up on the floor and the referee counts. Cena makes it in at the 9 count. Punk goes for GTS again and nails it but Cena kicks out at 2. Punk goes for another GTS but Cena catches his leg and applies the STF. Punk makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Punk goes for the knee and hits a solid piledriver. Cena still kicks out at 2. Punk covers again for 2. And again.
Punk goes to the top but misses the big elbow drop as Cena rolls out of the way. Cena botches a hurricanrana and nails the Attitude Adjustment for the win and the WWE Title shot at WrestleMania 29.
Winner and New #1 Contender: John Cena
After the match, Cena celebrates as we go to replays. We get a graphic for Cena vs. Rock II at WrestleMania 29. Cena heads up the ramp and poses as RAW goes off the air.
As seen in the opening segment of Monday’s WWE RAW, Brock Lesnar brawled with the returning Triple H and wound up getting his head busted open the hard way when Triple H threw him into a ring post outside of the ring.
Lesnar received twelve staples backstage to close the gash on his head, but was walking around backstage afterwards and telling everybody he was fine.
Here is video footage of the Paul Heyman vs. Vince McMahon “fight” that eventually turned into a brawl between Brock Lesnar and Triple H:
WWE aired footage on RAW of Michael Cole visiting Glenn Beck’s radio studio in Irving, Texas earlier in the day, trying to get a comment about why he declined WWE’s invitation to appear on RAW. Cole was escorted out of the building after being told that Beck would not not speak with him. Here is video footage of what went down:
WWE issued the following statement on Michael Cole’s attempt to meet with Beck, saying that Beck “hid” from WWE cameras:
Glenn Beck declined WWE’s invitation to address our fans live on Raw® tonight and then hid from WWE reporters when approached this evening at his studios in Dallas. WWE attempted to get comment from Beck but was unable to gain building access after Beck’s representatives said he was “not in the building,” which clearly couldn’t be the case just prior to his show airing live from the same studio.
Beck referenced WWE as “stupid wrestling people” in a segment that aired on TheBlaze TV last week, criticizing a recent WWE storyline involving WWE characters World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio™, Jack Swagger™ and Zeb Colter™.
Similar to other television shows and feature films, WWE is in the entertainment business, creating fictional characters that serve as protagonists or antagonists. To create compelling and relevant content for our audience, it is important to incorporate current events into our storylines.
WWE is creating a rivalry centered on a topical subject that has varying points of view. This storyline was developed to build the Mexican American character Del Rio into a hero given WWE’s large Latino base, which represents 20 percent of our audience.
Triple H made his WWE television return on Monday’s episode of Raw, brawling with Brock Lesnar in the opening segment of the show. The two are expected to square off at WrestleMania 29.
Speaking of Triple H, he is now on Twitter and can be followed at @TripleH. He tweeted the following Tout video on Monday night, declaring that “the ass kicker is back.”
– According to the script for tonight’s WWE RAW, the opening segment is scheduled to be the fight between Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman.
– Chris Jericho appeared on this week’s edition of former WCW star Konnan’s MLW radio show. In part 1, Jericho talks about Triple H’s rise to power behind the scenes in WWE, his current WWE deal and more. You can listen to the show at MLWRadio.libsyn.com.
– Shield member Roman Reigns tweeted the following about about tonight’s WWE RAW:
WWE sent out the following press release on Monday night:
GLENN BECK SAYS NO TO RAW®, WWE® GOES TO BECK
Glenn Beck has declined WWE’s invitation to address our fans live tonight on Raw, in response to a segment that aired on TheBlaze last week where Beck referenced WWE as “stupid wrestling people.”
Instead, WWE is sending a video crew to Beck’s studios to get comment from the talk show host and political commentator.
Tune-in to Monday Night Raw tonight at 8/7C on USA Network to see if Beck responds.
WWE just announced breaking news – the next member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013 is none other than Donald Trump. Here’s the official press release, including quotes from Vince McMahon & Donald Trump:
STAMFORD, Conn., February 25, 2013 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) announced today that Donald J. Trump will be a celebrity inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Trump has been a part of WWE’s most popular events and storylines dating back to WrestleMania® IV in 1988 and WrestleMania V in 1989 when he hosted the pop-culture extravaganzas in Atlantic City. In 2009, Mr. Trump “purchased” WWE and then “resold” WWE back to Mr. McMahon a week later for double the price. In his most famous WWE storyline, Mr. Trump challenged Mr. McMahon to a “Battle of the Billionaires” match at WrestleMania XXIII, resulting in an all-time record for pay-per-view buys and Mr. McMahon’s head being shaved at the hands of “The Donald.”
“It was literally the thrill of a lifetime performing in front of 80,000 enthusiastic fans during the ‘Battle of the Billionaires’ match at WrestleMania XXIII,” said Donald Trump, Chairman and President, The Trump Organization. “I’ve always enjoyed and respected WWE’s brand of entertainment and look forward to the ceremony in my hometown at Madison Square Garden.”
“Donald is a global icon whose status brought an unmatched level of publicity and grandeur to WWE,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO.
Mr. Trump is the pre-eminent developer of quality real estate both in the United States and abroad, and has made the Trump brand synonymous with excellence. His portfolio includes dozens of award-winning skyscrapers, hotels, golf courses and clubs. He is an accomplished and best-selling author of over a dozen books including one of the best-selling business books of all time, The Art of the Deal. Mr. Trump is also the star and co-producer of the NBC hit series, The Apprentice, which premieres its 13th season on Sunday, March 3.
Mr. Trump is the latest celebrity inductee entering the WWE Hall of Fame, joining Drew Carey, Pete Rose, Bob Uecker, Mike Tyson and William “Refrigerator” Perry. Other members of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Class include Bruno Sammartino, Mick Foley, Bob Backlund and Trish Stratus™.
Q: Why did they wait so long to debut the new WWE championship belt? Was it because they wanted The Rock to [unveil] it or just disagreements on the look? – Kyle Gray
A: A story on WWE.com about the creation of the new belt indicated they ran into some issues with the title being too heavy and it needed more work before completion. That likely delayed things, and I also think them wanting Rock to debut the new look had something to do with it. After eight years of the Spinner, I’m surprised they couldn’t wait two more months and unveil the title in April to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the championship.
Q: If Lex Luger didn’t leave the WWF in September of 1995, do you think he would have become WWF champion eventually? Was he headed for a heel turn after Summerslam [that year]? And if he was on the card at WrestleMania 12, who would he have faced? – Jay from Ft. Lauderdale
A: If Luger was going to win the title, which had been the plan at one point, it would have already happened by then. So no, I don’t think he would have been champion. He had already been phased down to the mid-card by the time he left for WCW. His partner at the time, the British Bulldog, ended up tagging with WWF champion Diesel on an episode of Raw and turning on him, so Luger himself was not headed for a heel turn. It’s interesting they would have had Davey Boy turn on Diesel and not Luger, which doesn’t speak very highly for how they perceived Luger at the time. As for WM12, my guess is he would have gotten one of the spots in that 6-man tag that opened the show against Vader, Owen and Bulldog.
Q: What are the odds of Dolph Ziggler cashing in [his MITB contract] at WrestleMania, which would make him the first person to do so? I could even see where Vickie [Guerrero] doesn’t book him in a match and he cashes in to spite her and turn babyface. – Dustin from Flair Country
A: If the idea is to phase down Jack Swagger’s character after WrestleMania as punishment for his recent arrest, I think the odds are good. I could see Del Rio beating Swagger with Ziggler cashing in immediately after, and then have Del Rio chase Dolph for the title. However, if Swagger is to remain in the title picture, that makes it unlikely, especially with he and Dolph both being heels.
Q: If you were trying to convince a non-wrestling fan to appreciate pro-wrestling and could choose one match for them to watch, which match would you choose? – Jonathan from the U.K.
A: I’m gonna pick two. One is more “wrestling heavy” than the other, but both tell fantastic stories and are exciting in their own way. Steve Austin vs. Dude Love at “Over the Edge” 1998, with Vince McMahon as guest referee, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25.
Q: If top WCW stars such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and a few others were part of the invasion storyline, do you think it would [have been] more successful and would have last beyond Survivor Series 2001? – Ravonn from New York
A: Absolutely, they could have kept it going at least through WrestleMania the following year, if not longer. Build to a supercard with several big matches and either have the WWF come out on top, or split the wins between them and the invaders, which would give way to running WCW as a separate brand. That had been the original plan before Booker T and Buff Bagwell wrestled in Tacoma.
Q: In your opinion, has TNA killed Mister Anderson? – Brian from Orlando
A: You can’t kill something that’s already dead.
Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!
– WWE legend Mick Foley’s appearance on Chris Hardwick’s ‘Nerdist’ podcast is now online an can be heard at Nerdist.libsyn.com/mick-foley.
– Friday’s WWE Smackdown averaged 2.89 million viewers, up from the 2.68 million the week before.
– Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy is playing tonight in Sydney, Australia. Tomorrow night and Wednesday night, he’ll be doing a Spoken Word event with Scott Ian from the band Anthrax.
– WWE has released the following video of Jack Swagger’s new theme song and entrance video:
– John Cena tweeted the following about his match tonight on RAW against CM Punk, with the winner getting a shot at The Rock’s WWE Championship at WrestleMania:
– WWE.com has published a photo gallery of former diva Stacy Keibler at last night’s Academy Awards. Keibler was there for the second year in a row with her boyfriend George Clooney.
– WWE.com also has a feature up looking at the “20 coolest tattoos in WWE history.”
– WWE announcer JBL is in Mendoza, Argentina today getting ready to begin his climb of the Aconcagua mountain, also known as “Mount Death.” He is doing his final gear check today and plans to start climbing the mountain Tuesday. He tweeted today:
Summit has averaged -25 to -60 over the last month with no successful summits. That's about to change!!! #sevensummitsforkids
Last month, Hulk Hogan sued the Laser Spine Institute in Tampa, Florida, for $50 million in damages for unnecessary surgeries that he claims prevented him from wrestling John Cena in a WWE dream match. During a newly published interview with Fighting Spirit, the wrestling legend clarifies remarks he said then linking the earnings loss with potential money-making matches in WWE, stating they were taken “out of context.” Hogan explained the details behind the match with Cena.
“It was part of a 25-year deal (with WWE)”, Hogan said. I was filming Hogan Knows Best, and Vince McMahon and I started negotiating. It was at a time when I was coming back for the one-off shows with Shawn (Michaels) and Randy (Orton).”
“But it’s wrong about Cena – that was just part of the whole thing where I would show up once in a while and wrestle. It was one of those times where Vince and I were in love one day, and fighting the next. We were negotiating a 25-year deal, and part of it was me wrestling Cena in Orlando at Wrestlemania. I called Vince and said, ‘I’m good to go’. I’d just had my first back surgery, and everything was supposed to be perfect, but just before I was due on TV, my back went. I was scared to call Vince, but when I did, I was like, ‘Dude, my back has gone out again’. After more surgeries, instead of a morphine pump to ease the pain, they inserted a battery (into my back) that was made by NASA for the space shuttle, and lasts forever.”
Gail Kim appeared on the Big WrestleShark Show with Simon Cassidy and David Thomson, where she discussed her career to date, WWE vs TNA, the current batch of Knockouts and much more. The Big WrestleShark Show airs LIVE every Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. on Pulse 98.4 or PulseOnAir.co.uk. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Being the first ever Knockouts Champion and what it means to her: “Oh my gosh. Every time people ask me what is the favorite moment of your career, for most people it’s really hard, but for me it’s easy. Being the first Knockout champion. Because we fought for that division, I mean when I first came in I had to wait about a year and a half before we started wrestling. When they told us they were bringing in a womens championship, we literally screamed out loud in the arena. You just never know what’s going to happen. At that time we had about five girls, and they weren’t all wrestlers. Then all of a sudden they bring in about ten girls and you never know what’s going to happen when you bring in ten people. They all got hired and it was pretty much an overnight success.”
If they can replicate the initial success of the division: “Definitely. It was magical. I always account Scott D’Amore, who was the female agent at the time for a lot of that magic. Then you had me and Awesome Kong: that was the best programme of my life, the feud of my career. Even to this day, I say those were the best those were the best years.”
The current batch of Knockouts: “Well there’s not many of us left to be honest. I heard someone say there are 10, but I’m not sure there’s even that many. The recent ones who have just departed like Rosita, Sarita… you know there’s still Velvet and Tara, but they’re all so talented. And they really highlight us, when you see us you always know it’s gonna be a great match.”
If she would like to see some old faces return: “Oh definitely, everyone always says ‘oh I would love to see Awesome Kong come back’ and I’m just like ‘aww man, I dunno if my body could take that [laughs]’. But you know there are so many talented girls out there… I would loved to have wrestled Sarita as we’re both very Mexican influenced, but maybe someday.”
How ‘the competition’ does things: “In terms of the women’s wrestling, you can clearly see we are given more time, the girls’ athletic ability is highlighted more over here. That’s what I’ve always loved, being in the ring and wrestling. So for me, personally, I prefer it here. I’ve experienced both companies, twice, and I definitely prefer my time here.
“In terms of the company as a whole, WWE has been around forever and Vince knows what he’s doing. Here, we’re a family and we’re just striving to get to that point. We have a very talented group of athletes and a great office who are very encouraging and supportive. I think eventually we will get to that point we want to get to.”
The audio interview is available at www.wrestleshark.podbean.com.
Solomonster has a packed show this week with news of Undertaker’s return, an interesting scenario for him at WrestleMania that involves the streak ending (and not to CM Punk), Jack Swagger’s arrest for DUI and why he should be fired, Glenn Beck’s dumb comments and why he may have just saved Swagger’s push, Swagger and Zeb’s surreal YouTube video, the new WWE championship belt and words for the fans complaining about it, thoughts on The Rock’s new movie, should Rock be subjected to Wellness tests, Scott Hall sits down with Jake Roberts, Donald Trump in the Hall of Fame (and caught quoting ‘Lil Wayne!) and more.
The reason why Undertaker returned at a house show instead of a surprise on RAW is because he, Vince McMahon and Triple H all wanted to see how his shoulder held up during a light match before he officially committed to WrestleMania. Some people instantly assumed that his appearance guaranteed that “he’s back” and will be working WrestleMania, however the Dead Man’s WretleMania status was still up in the air prior to the match. The Undertaker has had a number of surgeries in the past year, but his shoulder is still giving him a lot of problems.
A source on the writing team told us that Taker’s return was kept very quiet and only a handful of people within WWE even knew about it. When the match was over and Taker was happy with his own performance, WWE decided to go public with the story.
Aside from the fact that that he looked a bit out of shape,fans were chanting “this is awesome” and “you still got it” during the match.
Our source tells us Undertaker will be wrestling at WrestleMania.
Eurosport Turkey interviewed Daniel Bryan over the weekend. Here are some (translated) highlights of what Bryan said about:
Being trained by Shawn Michaels and William Regal:
“Being trained by Shawn Michaels and William Regal was a great opportunity. Not everyone gets this opportunity. Imagine what someone like Kaval would be if he was trained by HBK& Regal”
Comparing WWE to the Indys:
“I miss the intimacy of the fans in independent scene. They have their pluses and minuses but I can say I miss the fans there.”
Disliking WWE’s Original NXT TV Concept:
“NXT was disrespectful to wrestling in general. The entire show. When Undertaker debuted, he didn’t have to climb ladders or carry kegs. I trained to be a wrestler for a long time, so let me go out and wrestle. If you have me go out and do these stupid contests, you make me look stupid and it’s very difficult to make stars when you already made them look stupid on television”
His “The Future is Bright for Bryan Danielson” Promo on NXT:
“One of the things people don’t know about NXT is that we were never told what to say, and we never knew the questions people were asking us. When the interviewer asked me “You were a big fish in a small pond and now you seemingly drowned in the sea that is the WWE”, my response was “No, this character that you created for me, he’s failed, because you created him to fail. But me, as a person, I’m better than this. I can go out and do, I can do what I’m doing right now, which is capturing the imagination of the crowd.”
The Choking Justin Roberts Incident:
“I did what I felt was natural, but I am not used to wrestle in a confined environment. WWE has to be very carful about being PG. I wasn’t used to that at the time. I was an independent wrestler, Sometimes I would do things because it just felt right, and when it felt right, it wasn’t right for the company.”
Being a World Heavyweight Champion:
“Being a world champion is cool, but you don’t just wanna be the champion, you want to be the man, you wanna be the guy they rely on for everything. Even though I was the world champion, I never was the man. John Cena, even though he isn’t the champion, he’s the man, and that’s what you aspire to be. At the end of the day, you wanna be the man”
Wanting To Do More Serious Work In WWE:
“I was able to do lots of comedy stuff on Pro Wrestling Guerilla and shows like that, it’s been fun to do that to a wider audience. But now, I’m starting to feel like aching for the more serious stuff, being able to go out there and just wrestle. “
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