– John Cena tweeted the following on Friday hyping his match against CM Punk on RAW:
“Only 3 more days until #thunderdomeindallas @JohnCena v @CMPunk winner faces @WWE champ @TheRock”
CM Punk was asked by a fan on Twitter if he can beat John Cena without cheating. He replied:
“Of course. Just more fun to cheat.”
– Here is the cover art for WWE’s new Mick Foley “For All Mankind” DVD/Blu-Ray, due out April 16th. Limited copies of the Foley DVD/Blu-Ray will come packaged with a Mr. Socko.
– With Shawn Michaels retired, WWE.com has an article up looking at who will be the next “Mr. WrestleMania.” Among the superstars disucssed are Chris Jericho, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk.
– Prime Time Players member Darren Young recently injured his knee and could be out of action until October, according to the Wrestling Observer. Young tweeted on Thursday:
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. Young is 100% @WWE! #ClearYoung #PTP2Mania #MOD”
“A wise man once said ,”The 2 most powerful warriors are patience and time.” Well who’s got the time 2 b patient! #ClearYoung #StrongPTP 100%”
– Here is a new trailer for the WWE Studios film “The Call” starring Halle Berry and featuring David Otunga:
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently spoke with Forbes.com to promote the release of his new DVD action film, The Package. (Buy “The Package” Here From Amazon.com)
Here are some highlights of what Austin said about:
How His Pro Wrestling Career Prepared Him For Hollywood:
I don’t know if a pro wrestling career prepares you for Hollywood. When you get out there and you’re in an arena for 20,000 people or 90,000 people it’s a lot different than being on a quiet set with 100 people, so I think you get used to dealing with cameras. But there’s many things that are the same. There’s ten times the things that are different. So there’s a little bit of crossover, but not much to bottom line it.
How Grueling Acting Is Compared To Wrestling:
Man, it’s a whole different animal because when you’re out there on the road, you’re a truck driver, you’re driving yourself to and from events, and then you’ve got to perform and then you got to put on your rock star hat and go do all the stuff that you do afterwards. So you’re kind of living three lives in one body. I got a lot of respect for people in the movie industry. There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing for the role, preparing for what you’ve got to do and being a pro and pulling it off to the upmost of your ability, so both are hand-in-hand as far as a bust-ass endeavor to do your best.
How He Selects His Movie Projects:
I’m happy now that I can be pickier than I ever had been and the next two movies that we’re going to do with Anchor Bay, we’re going to produce these through Broken Skull Ranch Productions and I can have a lot more hands-on as far as the stuff that we’re looking at and we’re picking. I just look for stuff that I’d like to make. I don’t look to save the world with any of the movies that I make. I’m not trying to make any political statement with the movies I make. I’m trying to have a good time. I’m trying to entertain people.
His Favorite Memory From The Attitude Era
I had so many of them it seems like every time I went to work on the Monday Night RAW, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of shenanigans I was going to be playing in the storyline. But just going to work every night and just being on the road and getting in the ring every night was probably the biggest fun of all. And hanging out with the guys and just living that life was my dream. And I had a good time doing it.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was interviewed by WTSP.com this week to hype his appearance at Sunday’s WWE NXT live event in Melbourne, Florida at the Melbourne Auditorium.. Here are some highlights of what Flair said about:
His Reaction To His Daughter Ashley Telling Him She Wants To Wrestle:
“She surprised me. I took her to Wrestlemania in Miami in 2012. All my friends have known her forever. She was playing sports in college, and she was an all-American cheerleader. I think just being around all the guys that weekend just sold her on it. Three months later she was in Tampa training. It’s very cool. It runs in the family; her brother is in Tokyo wrestling.”
If He Worries About His Children Getting Into The Business:
“If you worry about getting hurt, you can’t be in this business. They’re both pretty tough, mentally and physically. Ashley may be the best athlete I’ve ever met. All the things she can do, her athletic ability. To be a Division 1 volleyball player, cheerleading and a gymnast. She’s 5-feet-11, weighs 150 pounds with 13 percent body fat.”
How Much He Can Bench Press:
“Right now? Probably 275 or 300 pounds. I haven’t worked out in about 6 or 7 weeks. For my age it’s miraculous. In the old days I used to wrestle every day and work out. Literally 365 days a year, twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday.”
Monday Night Mayhem (“Your Home Of Wrestling Radio”)
Hosted By The Big Mosh & “The Chairman Of The Board” Todd Vincent
Garett Bischoff Discusses The Transformation In His Career, The Aces & 8’s Plans For Lockdown At The Alamodome In San Antonio, Why He Joined The Group, His Close Relationship With Devon And How Their Friendship Helped Him Make His Decision, Working/Teaming With Wes Brisco, What Fans Can Expect From The Aces & 8’s When iMPACT Wrestling Hits The Road On March 14th, Why He Believes “The Brotherhood” Will Have Longevity In TNA, A Message To Hulk Hogan & Sting, Plus Much More In His Exclusive Monday Night Mayhem Interview
The Aces & 8’s Garett Bischoff was one of the featured guests on this week’s all-new edition of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. Garett joined The Big Mosh and “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent for an MNM exclusive, which is now available for download on the WrestleView Radio Network:
Garett Bischoff/Monday Night Mayhem Interview (.MP3)
Interview highlights courtesy of Kahlil “Paterson” Thomas, MNM’s correspondent & contributor:
The Aces & 8’s plans for Lockdown at The AlamoDome in San Antonio: “I think it’s going to be one hell of a wicked night. We’ve got Lethal Lockdown, and we’ve got my brother (Wes) Brisco getting in there with Kurt (Angle). It’s going to be interesting, but The Aces and Eights always have an extra ace up their sleeve. You never know what we will come up with.”
His relationship with Wes Brisco: “(Wes) Brisco and I are very close. He’s ‘my brother from another mother.’ He and I go back a little than anybody really knows. He and I have had a little plan going for a while. He’s kind of in the same position I am. Our plan didn’t unravel overnight. It goes back a little ways there.”
What fans can expect from The Aces & 8’s when iMPACT Wrestling hits the road, beginning on March 14th at The Sears Center in Chicago: “I think it only means we are going to get stronger. I think it means we are going to get bigger. We’re very excited about it. There’s nothing better than going to a new venue every week, and seeing a new crowd, and fresh faces. Their energy fuels us, and that’s what we love. Bigger arenas, more people just means we could sneak around more and do our work even better.
Much more “club business” is contained in Garett’s interview with Monday Night Mayhem, including more of his candid thoughts on why he joined The Aces & 8’s, how Devon taking him under his wing helped him his decision, the transformation in his own career (from referee to wrestler) since debuting with TNA, why he believes The Aces & 8’s will have longevity in iMPACT Wrestling, a message to Hulk Hogan & Sting, plus much more! Follow Garett right now on Twitter (at www.Twitter.com/
The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown on Syfy:
* World champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett.
* Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger.
* Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow.
* Divas champion Kaitlyn and Layla vs. Aksana and Tamina.
* The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes.
Following Thursday’s NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University in Florida, WWE announcer Jim Ross the following summary of the show:
“Four hours of WWE NXT IN THE BOOKS! Great, live crowd. Always enjoy being here… Four solid hours of WWE NXT TV tonight. Several kids stepping up. Good to see the Randy Orton, Howard Finkel, Michael Cole, Dusty Rhodes, etc.”
Jim Ross also revealed that NXT could be returning to national television soon. When asked by a fan, if there’s any update on NXT returning to American TV, JR replied:
“It’s in the works.”
WWE taped four more episodes of NXT tonight from Full Sail University. Here are spoilers:
Dark Match:
Garrett Dylan and Jake Carter defeated Axl Keegan and Travis Tyler
Episode 1
* NXT opens with Commissioner Dusty Rhodes. Dusty announces a Triple Threat match with the winner being the number one contender for the NXT Title. Bo Dallas, Conor O’Brian and Corey Graves are the participants.
* NXT Tag Team Champions Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey were introduced for a non-title tag team match, but only Neville came out. Neville said Grey is missing right now and he can’t locate him, but says he will face their opponents by himself.
* NXT Tag Team Champion Adrian Neville defeated Judas Devlin and Scott Dawson after hitting a cork screw from the top rope.
* Leo Kruger defeated Yoshi Tatsu. After the match, Kruger put Tatsu back in the hold until Justin Gabriel ran out to make the save.
* Cameron, Naomi and Sasha Banks defeated Aksana, Alicia Fox and Audrey Marie.
* Conor O’Brian defeated Bo Dallas and Corey Graves in a Triple Threat match to become the #1 contender to the NXT Title.
Episode 2
* Kassius Ohno defeated Derrick Bateman.
* Summer Rae defeated Emma.
* Bo Dallas defeated Bray Wyatt. After the match, members of The Wyatt Family attacked Bo.
* Leo Kruger beat Justin Gabriel.
Episode 3
* William Regal opens the show. Regal says his career is ending soon. Regal puts over the NXT Roster and says he owes some an apology. Regal calls out Kassius Ohno. Ohno comes out and Regal says he is sorry for the the things he had said about him in the past. Ohno tells Regal that everything he just said was true. Ohno talks about his past in the wrestling industry, including one time traveling the world with CM Punk just to learn from Regal. Ohno says he followed in Regal’s footsteps and says because of Regal, he is living his dream as a WWE star. Regal says Ohno deserves to be in WWE. Ohno mentions he doesn’t want to be like Regal because Regal has turned from a villain into a joke. Ohno brings up Regal kissing Vince McMahon’s ass and Regal slaps Ohno in response. Ohno leaves.
* Paige defeated Bayley.
* Luke Harper Erick Rowan defeated NXT Tag Team Champion Adrian Neville. After the match, Oliver Grey and Bo Dallas came out to make the save before The Wyatt Family could continue their attack on Neville.
Episode 4
* Show kicked off with Byron Saxton in the ring announcing that a special Road to WrestleMania episode of NXT is happening tonight. Saxton introduces WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel who says a special match is up next and then introduces fellow Hall of Famer Jim Ross. JR joins the announce booth.
* Kaitlyn defeated Natalya.
* Brodus Clay defeated El Local.
* Kassius Ohno attacks William Regal at the announce booth.
* Randy Orton defeated Damien Sandow.
* Plans For VINCE’s Fight With Heyman On RAW, UNDERTAKER’s Return & More
On Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, two new matches were confirmed for the upcoming TNA Lockdown pay-per-view on March 10th.
TNA World Champion Jeff Hardy’s opponent at the show will be Bully Ray.
Kurt Angle will face Wes Brisco in a steel cage match.
Those matches are in addition to the already announced Team TNA (Sting & 3 partners TBA) vs. Team Aces & Eights (Devon & 3 partners TBA) steel cage match.
– While The Miz is still using the Figure Four leg lock as one of his finishing moves, f4wonline.com reports that the storyline of him being Flair’s new protege is probably done.
– In a move that will eventually have a big positive impact on WWE’s television ratings, the Hollywood Reporter reports that starting in September, Nielsen Media Research will begin accounting for viewership from streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, as well as viewership from iPads and other mobile devices. Considering WWE’s partnership with Hulu Plus and the amount of people that watch clips of WWE television content on Youtube, WWE should see a substantial increase in their Nielsen ratings, which will in turn increase the amount of revenue they can command from advertisers.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Nielsen is partnering with Twitter to incorporate social media activity into the weekly Nielsen ratings as well. Between video streaming and social media activity being factored in, WWE’s strong embrace of emerging technologies and social media is about to pay off big time.
– WWE Champion The Rock is being advertised for the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on May 19th from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This is an unexpected move, as The Rock will be taking time off from WWE after WrestleMania 29 to begin filming the movie “Hercules” overseas.
– Speaking of Hercules, Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie has signed on for the film.
– Here’s video of The Rock promoting his new movie “Snitch,” which hits theaters tomorrow:
– WWE’s original plans for the Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio World Heavyweight title match at WrestleMania 29 was for it to be built up as an Ankle Lock vs. Arm Breaker submission storyline. After Swagger’s Tuesday night DUI & drug arrest, it remains to be seen whether WWE changes course with this match.
Also planned for Swagger, WWE recently contacted conservative talk show host Alex Jones about making an appearance at WrestleMania 29 for angle with Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter. Jones mentioned the proposal on his radio show this week, but did not say whether he’d be doing it or not.
– Here are some reactions to Jack Swagger’s Tuesday night DUI & drug arrest:
Jim Ross: Lots of legal experts on Twitter. Almost gleeful that a #WWE star made an apparent bonehead mistake. Due process/facts appear ill relevant … Now being lectured by people I don’t even know 4 Swagger’s mistakes. He made an error. Don’t know the consequences but I won’t bail on him.
The Iron Sheik: The Jack Swagger ready for push he look good and he have good manager the dirty dutch. Still if I want I can beat the f*ck out oh him. The Jack Swagger cant handle the moderation Iron Sheik class. Still i respect him and he be ready one day or I f*ck his ass make him humble.
MVP: “I wish he had been pulled over in Washington or Colorado.”
Lance Storm: To everyone asking about Swagger. A very unfortunate mistake, I have no idea what the fall out will be, but DUIs R irresponsible & Stupid … Could be very costly mistake.
Tommy Dreamer: Don’t kick a man when he is down We have all made mistakes nobody feeling worse than @RealJackSwagger I’m sure. Offer support not hate
The Pro Wrestling Syndicate wrestling promotion sent out a press release yesterday stating that Shane Douglas and Extreme Rising have contacted ECW Original New Jack and offered to “double his pay” to pull out of his scheduled appearances for PWS on April 4th and 5th.
New Jack reportedly denied Shane Douglas’ offer, telling him that he’s wrestling exclusively for Pro Wrestling Syndicate now and teased that 2013 would be his final year as an active wrestler.
Extreme Rising and Shane Douglas issued the following in response to the earlier post from Pro Wrestling Syndicate:
“We have been notified of a false statement being reported by your website concerning Shane Douglas and Extreme Rising attempting to pay wrestlers to no show another company’s event and would like to issue our statement direct from Shane Douglas himself.”
“I have NOT spoken to, nor any of the other partners of 5 Guys Wrestling/Extreme Rising, Jerome Young aka New Jack since December 29, 2012 at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory. For the record no one has contacted –or offered anyone anything, working for PWS or any other company, and wish them all success. Extreme Rising has a loaded Wrestlemania weekend with three live events that we are focused and working on as we continue to put our energies into moving Extreme Rising forward.” -SHANE DOUGLAS”
* 2 MAJOR Angles Planned For Monday’s RAW (Related To Vince/Heyman, Punk/Cena)
– At one point, WWE was interested in booking a Rey Mysterio vs. Sin Cara match at WrestleMania, but those plans have been dropped.
– Tickets for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at Madison Square Garden on 4/6 have sold out. It’s possible WWE will release more tickets in the weeks leading up to the event, but there’s nothing currently available on Ticketmaster.com
– WWE is currently paying WWE Hall of Fame inductees $5,000 and their inductors $2,500.
– Close friends of WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin are under the impression that he’ll never wrestle again. There’s still a chance WWE will get him to come out of retirement at WrestleMania XXX for one final match, but it remains unlikely.
* Rumored MAIN EVENT For Next Year’s WrestleMania XXX
(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler spoke with WMC-TV in Memphis to discuss his recovery after suffering a heart attack on RAW last year.
After “never” going to the gym throughout his decades-long wrestling career, Lawler says he has begun exercising with Lauryn. Lawler has kicked his habit of eating fried chicken several times per week and is now eating healthier at the advise of his doctors. Lawler says he feels great now and there was very little damage to his heart as a result of the heart attack.
Feeling great, Lawler says he’s itching to get back in the ring, but is still waiting on clearance from WWE’s doctors. One of the main reasons he can’t wrestle yet is because the blood thinners he’s taking (common for people after suffering a heart attack) would spell trouble for him if he were to ever get cut during a match.
Here’s what the King said about wanting to get back in the ring:
“The one thing I’ve not done since the heart attack is get back into the ring and wrestle. And, Lauryn says that I’ve been, the one thing that’s different about me since the heart attack, she says, ‘You’re depressed. You’re going through depression.’ Which I don’t feel it. I don’t think it. But, yeah, I certainly do miss the wrestling and I do want to go back and do it some more.”
– One half of the NXT tag team champions, Oliver Gray, was injured at the 2/17 NXT live event from Brooksville, Florida. Gray and his partner Adrian Neville (formerly PAC) were teaming against Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper, when Grey appeared to blow his knee out about 5 minutes into the match, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match stopped, with Gray laying on the ground in extreme pain and referees throwing up the “X” injury sign. He was helped to the back by NXT officials. No word yet on the extent of his injury.
– WWE returns to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida tonight for another round of NXT telvision tapings. WWE superstar Randy Orton, WWE announcer Jim Ross and WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn are all confirmed for the show.
* Pictures of EL GENERICO’s Recent NXT Debut
NXT Champion Big E Langston is currently overseas in Qatar with the RAW roster, so he won’t be in attendance.
Kaitlyn tweeted the following about her appearance tonight:
#NXT tonight @FullSail Orlando! Ill be there Champ'n it up. Who wants a piece of this??? (NXT divas only)
— Celeste Bonin (@CelesteBonin) February 21, 2013
Here is the TNA website’s official preview for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling from the Wembley Arena in London, England:
– Who is the #1 contender that will face Jeff Hardy at Lockdown for the World Heavyweight Championship? IMPACT General Manager Hulk Hogan was ready to make his decision this past week – but he never got the chance due to The Aces and 8s! Now, Hogan has vowed to finally declare the top contender on this Thursday’s broadcast! The question is, who will Hogan select to get a shot at the gold? Don’t miss Hulk’s decision!
– Who will Sting select to be on Team TNA to face the Aces and 8s in the “Lethal Lockdown” match at the Lockdown event on March 10? The Aces and 8s made the challenge this past week – and Sting accepted! Will Sting begin assembling Team TNA on Thursday night’s broadcast? Tune in and find out!
Thursday’s IMPACT will also feature TWO championship matches:
– The Knockouts Championship will be on the line as Tara defends the gold in a four-way match vs. Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky vs. Miss Tessmacher
– The X Division Championship will also be defended on IMPACT as Rob Van Dam battles Kenny King
– Plus, the winner of the British Boot Camp competition – Rockstar Spud – will face Robbie E on IMPACT
All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT on SpikeTV at 8/7 as the road to the March 10 “Lockdown” event continues!
As of this weekend, the top matches for WrestleMania 29 were planned to be:
– The Rock vs. John Cena (WWE Title)
– Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger (World Heavyweight title)
– CM Punk vs. The Undertaker
– Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H
Aside from Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H, the rest of the matches could change by WrestleMania. There has been no change in the uncertainty surrounding The Undertaker’s status for WrestleMania. If he does not work the show, there’s been talk of adding Punk to the Rock vs. John Cena match.
John Cena vs. CM Punk on Monday’s RAW also puts the Rock vs. Cena match in question. However, a lot of promotional material for WrestleMania 29 has already been sent out and features The Rock vs. John Cena as the top match on the card.
Jack Swagger’s DUI & drug arrest on Wednesday is another wrench in the plans.
A Ryback vs. Chris Jericho (working as a heel) match has also been planned, but there was no tease of the match on RAW when Ryback and Jericho partnered with Sheamus against The Shield. With Jericho off television for several weeks, it appears WWE is going in a different direction with them as well. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry has been discussed, but we’ve yet to see any buildup there either.
Top superstars like Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Big Show, The Shield, Kane and Daniel Bryan are also without any obvious opponents headed into WrestleMania.
Despite the lack of direction thus far, the feeling is that the show will still be a huge success due to the WrestleMania brand, the special attractions appearing (The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Bruno Sammartino) and the show taking place in the hot New York market.
– The planned main event for Wrestlemania XXX next April from New Orleans is The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman alluded to the blockbuster match on Twitter this week, writing, “I hear @TheRock has committed to @WWE #WrestleManiaXXX, and boy do I have an opponent for him!”
WWE has been purposely keeping Brock Lesnar and The Rock away from each other as best as they can, although they will both be on RAW together the week before and after WrestleMania 29.
– The all-time attendance record for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is 78,344 for the 1997 Sugar Bowl game, however the building has been reconfigured since then. A sellout for the New Orleans Saints football team is 73,209. For a WrestleMania, since so much of the stadium is blocked off for the stage and other production equipment (more than what they make up by having seats on the field), a legitimate estimate of how many fans they can accommodate will be around 65,000 fans. WWE typically exaggerates the WrestleMania attendance by up to 10,000 to announce they have broken the venue’s all time record.
TNA star Hulk Hogan and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart have a well-documented rocky relationship, dating back to 1993 when Hogan was supposed to drop the WWF Championship to Hart at SummerSlam ’93 but allegedly refused to do so before leaving the company. During a recent interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine (Issue 90), Hogan fired a brutal shot at “The Hitman”, claiming that Hart drove down the salaries of future WWF/WWE champions by agreeing to work for less than everyone else.
“The main-event guy made the most money when he had the belt,” Hogan explained. “When I was the (WWF) champion, I made the most money. It was an old rule that Vince (McMahon) Sr. had that, thank god, was passed on for quite a while. That changed when Bret Hart became champion; he’d work for a lot less than anybody else, so it changed everybody’s pay.”
Later in the interview, Hogan also implied that he felt that Hart was two-faced, stating:
“The last time I saw [Bret], he was flying around in my Learjet with me, and playing with my kids in the pool. Then, all of a sudden, we’re not cool.”
The six-page interview with Hulk Hogan is in Issue 90 of FSM, available on Thursday, February 21.
* CARTOON: Bret Hart Draws Picture of “STEROID KING” Hulk Hogan
– WWE is holding a Diva Search in Los Angeles, California this week. The event is not open to the public, as WWE is having modeling agencies bring in attractive, athletic young ladies to be evaluated. Being a wrestling fan is a plus, but wrestling training is not required.
– The Shield is getting rave reviews behind the scenes in WWE, which should not be a surprise. All three members are seen as having breakout potential, with Roman Reigns having the look and intensity of a top tier guy, Rollins being a great worker and Dean Ambrose having the “it” factor that sets him apart from everybody. Ambrose has been compared to a modern day Terry Funk, which is a strong compliment.
* Video: AMBROSE vs. ROLLINS vs. REIGNS at Developmental
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Vince McMahon said to be tired of the John Cena vs. CM Punk feud, so their match next week on RAW will be the last time we see them cross paths for a while.
– The Rock has been nominated for “Favorite Male Buttkicker” at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, which airs on March 28th.
WWE superstar & executive Triple H has been nominated for “Most Metal Athlete” at the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which takes place on May 2nd and will be hosted by Chris Jericho.
– A Ryback heel turn has been teased lately, with him losing several high profile matches and walking out on his team at Elimination Chamber. If WWE does go through with the heel turn, it would lead to a John Cena vs. Ryback program after WrestleMania. While Cena could certainly benefit from a fresh heel monster to play off of, Ryback is somewhat limited in the ring and losing the crowd support would hurt his character a lot.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The Vince McMahon vs. Paul Heyman fight next week on RAW is likely going to be used as a setup for the Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania. It’s possible we’ll see run-ins from the WrestleMania opponents.
– If The Undertaker does commit to wrestle at WrestleMania, Monday’s RAW from Dallas, Texas is a logical opportunity for him to return. One scenario we’ve heard would be The Undertaker costing CM Punk his match with John Cena (and a shot at The Rock at WrestleMania), setting up the match between them.
– An interesting statistic about the age of WWE’s audience. Many people think that WWE’s current PG product means that a very large portion of their audience must be children. Currently, only 21% of WWE’s US audience is under the age of 18. Compare that to the Attitude Era, when that number was almost 40%. Back then, 4.5 million kids under 18 were watching WWE TV each week, compared to only 1.5 million now.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– With WWE working on several projects for Bruno Sammartino this year, the future WWE Hall of Famer is expected to be a playable character in the new WWE 2K14 video game, in an attempt to draw in older video game players.
– As for Bruno’s Hall of Fame inductor, WWE’s top choice is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruno and Arnold have been friends for over 40 years, when they worked out together in New York and California in the late 1960’s early 70’s. Bruno Sammartino was one of the judges of the Mr. Olympia contest that Schwarzenegger won and also they judged several bodybuilding contests together in later years.
They remain friends to this day and will be together in a few weeks when Bruno Sammartino is inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame that is part of the Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH on March 2nd.
