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Carlito Defends The Rock Against “The Boys”, DDP Backstage

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— In response to rumors of backstage jealousy and resentment over Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stealing the spotlight at WrestleMania XXVIII, former WWE Superstar Carlito went on Twitter to defend The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment against “the boys.”

“My opinion on The Rock is that everybody should be thankful that he’s back. Did he come back to save his movie career? Of course, so what? The Rock saved ‘Mania last year and this year too. Do any of u see any other wrestler right now that can sell out ‘Mania?” he wrote.

“The “boys” should be happy that ‘Mania will be a big success and fans shouldn’t even really care as to why Rock is back.”

— Former WWE star Diamond Dallas Page stated during the PWTorch Livecast this week that he was backstage at last week’s Raw live event at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.

— Eve’s victory over Natalya on Friday’s SmackDown extends the third generation wrestler’s televised singles match losing streak to twelve consecutive losses. Her last win took place on the August 5, 2011 SmackDown, over A.J.

Anderson Returning To Impact Next Week, Update On Jarretts

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— Mr. Anderson, who has not appeared on TNA Wrestling programming since November, will return on next Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

“To everyone who has asking about my vacation for the past few months: I’m back next week,” he wrote Friday on Twitter.

The former Mr. Kennedy took two months off for personal reasons but hasn’t been used since a house show tour in January due to creative’s directive to not showcase wrestlers on television without a storyline.

— Karen Jarrett will accompany Jeff Jarrett when the 11-time world champion appears for AAA’s annual Rey de Reyes tournament on March 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico. There are currently no plans for either Jarrett to return to TNA Wrestling programming. Karen, however, may return if Jeff does.

— The February 24 Impact Wrestling live event in Upper Marlboro, Maryland drew 1,200 attendees while the February 26 show in Charlottesville, Virginia drew 800.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Kane To Face Aksana On SmackDown?, WWE Files Trademark

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— Raw Interim General Manager and WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis teased at the conclusion of Friday’s SmackDown that Kane would face Aksana, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long’s assistant, in a match on next week’s show. WWE’s Board of Directors announced Tuesday that Laurinaitis will be in charge of SmackDown next week, while Long will control Raw SuperShow.

— WWE is attempting to file a trademark for the term Kayfabe. It is for merchandise use as the organization released a line of T-shirts last week labeled Kayfabe Tees.

— SmackDown Superstar Justin Gabriel turns 31 years old Saturday.

— Rey Mysterio appears at Chicago World of Wheels at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center 9301 W Bryn Mawr Ave. Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

source: PWInsider.com

Chris Masters Interested In Joining TNA, Love To Ring Announce

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— Former WWE Superstar Chris Masters is interested in joining TNA Wrestling.

He tweeted Thursday, “Getting ready to watch some Impact. They have a lot of guys I’d love to work. 2012 MTI Masters2Impact.”

— Angelina Love will try her hand at ring announcing next Friday for Pro Wrestling Syndicate as she is being advertised as the guest ring announcer for a Triple Threat Match between Brittney Savage, Reby Sky and Spyra Andover. Shelly Martinez will be the guest referee.

— Velvet Sky has been announced for WrestleReunion 7, which takes place April 1 at the Miami Beach Deauville Resort 6701 Collins Ave. Miami, Florida.

— ShopTNA.com has released a 3′ by 5′ fabric banner of Madison Rayne.

Impact Draws Lowest Rating Of 2012, Daniels Reveals His Injuries

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— The March 1 episode of Impact Wrestling scored a 0.993 cable rating, which marks as the program’s lowest number of 2012. Last week’s show drew a 1.19.

Impact Wrestling averaged 1.33 million viewers over the course of two hours, down from last week’s average of 1.58 million.

The first hour of the show drew 1.02 cable rating before dropping to 0.965 in the second.

— Dodge City Daily Globe conducted an interview with Christopher Daniels promoting Saturday’s Impact Wrestling World Tour event at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City, Kansas. The veteran standout discusses his wrestling career and reveals he’s paying a steep physical price for it.

“I wake up in pain pretty much everyday,” he says. “In my right leg, my ACL is gone, I have a broken bone in my neck, there’s one ligament left in my shoulder, these are all injuries that I accumulated and they’re never going to get better. It’s not like they’re going to miraculously grow back.”

source: ProWrestling.net

Lilian Garcia Releases Music Video, Masked Wrestler Joins FCW

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— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia has released the music video for her latest single, Ur Girl (Til the End of the World). The song is also her entrance theme at WWE events:

— Benicio Salazar, a masked wrestler, has been added to the Florida Championship Wrestling roster page. He is billed at 6’3″, 225 pounds and from Mexico City, Mexico.

— The official Twitter feed for Raw Interim General Manager and WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis released the following statement regarding Drew McIntyre: “I’ve always felt @TheDrewMcIntyre is an asset to @WWE. I discovered him. He’ll go far, as soon as @GMSmackDown is gone.”

— Sheamus will participate in a meet and greet at tonight’s Florida Championship Wrestling event at Osceola Heritage Park Expo Hall 1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee, Florida.

WWE Network Fails To Get Picked Up By Any Cable Providers

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WWE Network

WWE is not having an easy time getting its television network off the ground – and a new article published by the New York Post reveals just how much trouble they are having.

According to the Post, WWE has yet to sign with single cable or satellite deal with providers to carry the Network. WWE has also been seriously lagging on hiring experienced cable executives.

WWE was expected to hire 200 employees including a general manager for the Network, but one cable executive told The Post:

“WWE has the programming and marketing muscle, but they just have no one with cable experience who can execute for them.”

Industry expert Gerri Dinini says that whole channel of WWE content might not have a broad enough appeal to be successful:

“Given the content issues, I think a whole channel would be a stretch. It is very limited in who it reaches.”

Three Additions To SmackDown Roster, Lilian Garcia Performing

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— WWE.com has added Darren Young, Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson to the SmackDown roster. All three wrestlers have largely appeared on WWE NXT. Meanwhile, Maxine and Titus O’Neil are still listed as NXT talent.

— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia will be performing at the Viper Room in Hollywood, California (located on 8852 Sunset Boulevard) on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which are $10, are available for purchase here.

— Former WWE star Diamond Dallas Page says he auditioned for a movie short starring Kevin Spacey. He wrote on Twitter, “I just NAILED an audition for a movie short as a Pirate starring Kevin Spacey… Cross your fingers.”

— Jim Ross stated on the following on Twitter, “Going 2 OU-Texas A&M hoops Saturday. Recorded a short sound byte to air prior to Sooners intro. Spring football starts Mon!”

Jay Briscoe Denies That ROH Blocked WWE Deal

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It has been reported this week that WWE is interested in several Ring of Honor wrestlers (including The Briscoe Brothers and Adam Cole), but was unable to sign these wrestlers because they are under contract with ROH.

ROH officials have stated that they would not prevent their contracted talent from fielding offers from WWE and moving up to the “big leagues” – so this news has received a lot of attention.

Jay Briscoe, one of the men at the center of the story, posted the following message on Twitter on Thursday night, calling the reports false:

“Just to set shit straight, ROH didnt block us from gettin signed to the WWE. The internet is fucking stupid.”

SmackDown Preview For Tonight: Randy Orton Returns

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The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s WWE SmackDown:

– Sheamus starts the show and talks about his title match at WrestleMania

– Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

– Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater

– Eve vs. Natalya

– Big Show vs. Mark Henry

– Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre

– Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton

Jesse Sorensen Out 1 Year, Dixie & Jesse Comment

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TNA President Dixie Carter has provided an update on the health of TNA wrestler Jesse Sorensen, who suffered a bad neck injury (a fractured C1 vertebrae) at the recent TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view. Dixie Carter tweeted this week:

“@TNASorenson met w/doctors this wk & is out for up to a yr. We’re blessed he will be back at all. He’s staying positive. No comment on Zima.”

Sorensen also wrote about his recovery on Twitter, telling fans:

“To all the fans who continue to keep me in your thoughts & prayers, I want to say thank you! I am getting stronger everyday. #TexasTough”

HHH Signs New WWE Contract, To Wrestle For Four More Years

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WWE has published their 10-K report for 2011 and it includes their wrestling contract with Paul Levesque (a/k/a Triple H). The new agreement went into effect January 1, 2012 and expires on March 30, 2016, when he is 46 years old.

Highlights:

* Levesque will be paid a ‘Minimum Annual Compensation’ of $1 million for each year under contract.

* Levesque will be limited to 180 dates per year, unless both parties mutually agree to extend beyond that number.

* Levesque cannot work or perform in any capacity for any ‘martial arts’ organization while under contract.

source: PWInsider.com

Vince Russo Issues Statement On His Departure From TNA

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Vince Russo was scheduled to participate in an interview with PWInsider.com next Monday to discuss his departure from TNA Wrestling. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, however, decided against doing the interview and issued the following statement to the website regarding his TNA departure:

Despite the continuing rumors, speculation, and hearsay surrounding my departure from TNA Wrestling, in an effort to set the record straight, I was not fired, terminated, released, or let go from the company–it was my decision to walk away, and from there the separation was mutual, amicable and professional.

It simply makes good business sense that where someone of my talent and ability was not going to be used to their capability or capacity, that a parting of the ways was inevitable.

In closing, I’d like to thank my fellow writer and friend, Matt Conway, for giving me purpose, my friend and brother, Jeff Jarrett, for hiring me, Dixie Carter and the entire Carter family, for keeping me employed, but, more importantly, every man and woman in the locker room for giving me the opportunity, and ability, to work in the professional wrestling business for the past twenty years. Without their blood, sweat and tears . . . I would have not been able to support my family and make a living. My greatest loss by far is leaving them behind.

And truly, from the bottom of my heart, I wish TNA all the best in their future endeavors.

PS: I couldn’t help myself with that last line, but I truly DO wish TNA all the success in the world!

Peace,

Vince

No MITB At WM28, Savage-HOF Error, Bad Error On Ticket Site

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Savage Hall of Fame Error (Click To Enlarge)

– The WWE’s latest “Bring it Back” feature says the company should bring back “crazy Superstar props,” such as the Undertaker’s urn. The article features an image of WWE legend “Macho Man” Randy Savage from the days when he was the “Macho King,” wearing a crown and holding his scepter. Savage is referred to as a “WWE Hall of Famer,” which we know is factually incorrect.

– Daniel Tosh of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 is auctioning off various props from his show on eBay, including a Piper’s Pit backdrop and an autographed action figure of Arn Anderson.

– In a glaring error, event ticketing website Seatwave.com was advertising several deceased and retired wrestlers for WWE’s upcoming tour of the UK later this year. Talent advertised for WWE’s trip to the UK this November included Edge, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Undertaker, Sheamus, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton.

– With the announcement earlier this week that WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be taking place in July from Phoenix, Arizona, we can confirm that WrestleMania 28 will not feature a MITB match, as rumored.

Mark Henry May Be On His Way Out Of WWE

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Pro Wrestling Torch reports Mark Henry may be on his way out of WWE.

On the December 12, 2011 episode of Raw, Henry pulled his groin during a match against John Cena. Testing done during the week revealed that the injury was more severe than was originally believed. The majority of WWE’s creative forces wanted to give him an easier schedule for a few weeks to let the injury heal. Vince McMahon, however, was described as being less than sympathetic to Henry’s plight and decided to have him lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Big Show the following week at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. McMahon didn’t think Henry should have taken time off to heal and pushed him to continue making his scheduled dates. This has led to frustration on Henry’s part.

Henry’s contract with WWE is set to expire this year and the Torch says that tension could have led Henry to not renew, thus explaining why he’s losing the majority of his television matches.

Taker’s Status For RAW, Evan Bourne’s Return, Edge DVD

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– Evan Bourne’s 60-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy will end on March 17.

– The Undertaker is no longer listed the local advertising for Monday’s RAW Supershow from the TD Garden.

As previously reported, the show will feature Shawn Michaels and The Rock.

– WWEDVDNews.com has released the official promo for the upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD set on Edge’s career, “The Story of Edge,” due out April 3rd:

(Source: pwinsider.com)

MITB PPV Moved, New WWE Office In Miami, RAW Guest Star

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– The 2012 WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view scheduled for July 15th has been moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

– Actor James Roday of the USA Network’s original series “Psych” will guest star on the March 12th episode of RAW from Cleveland, Ohio. Roday will be promoting that week’s episode of Psych, which will feature an appearance by The Miz.

– One month before WrestleMania 28, WWE has opened a new office in Miami, FL that will focus on “achieving significant growth across all lines of WWE’s business including Media Distribution, Live Event Touring, Consumer Products, and Digital within Latin American markets.”

JR Blog: Punk-Jericho, Cruiserweight Show, FCW Talent

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. As always, you can buy his delicious line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com. In his latest blog entry, JR answered a ton of questions from his readers. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Why does WWE change the names of wrestlers?

“WWE is an entertainment company and they want to own all their intellectual property. Changing names of wrestlers allows them to own those names. It’s smart business and I would do the same if I owned a wrestling company. Wrestlers who are using a name that they used prior to joining WWE essentially ‘lease’ their name to WWE during the term of said wrestler’s WWE tenure.”

Is WWE going to do a Cruiserweight TV show?

“I read those rumors online but I have no direct knowledge. If they do, I’d be more than willing to volunteer to do the play by play for those bouts. Smaller, skilled talents need a showcase to display their abilities.:

Thoughts on @CMPunk vs. @IAmJericho?

“I love their in ring banter but at the end of the day it comes down to who leaves as WWE Champion and not who has the most witty repartee leading into the bout. Do I hope to hear them verbally spar on future RAW’s? Absolutely. But I’m much more interested in them delivering a classic, wrestling match come April 1. I think that gets done.”

Anyone in FCW ready to go?

“Several are ‘this close.’ It’s all about timing and how individual talents are intergrated onto WWE TV. Why are they on TV? Who are they? What are they here to accomplish? Are they friend or foe? Can you help me get to know their TV persona? So, there are many elements involved in getting called up. Until then, the individuals themselves just need to continue to out work/perform their competition, put in more quality ring time, study more DVDS, and increase their strength and conditioning regiment.

MAILBAG: What Jump To WWE Would Hurt TNA The Most?

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SEScoops Mailbag for March 1st

(please submit YOUR questions to [email protected])

Q: I was wondering if CM Punk and Shawn Michaels ever had a match? – Dallas

A: No, they never did. But they did have a good verbal joust on the June 27th Raw last year, the same show where Punk cut his memorable worked-shoot promo that started his main event push.

Q: Why does the WWE keep Michael Cole? He is annoying and insulting. I know he is supposed to be a heel commentator, but he goes way over the line, making fun of the passing of one’s mother is way overboard. As for Johnny Ace, he is just plain useless. He has the personality of an egg plant. He adds nothing to the business and IMO that is why the ratings for the second hour of RAW drop, people just get sick and tired of them two goofs. I think WWE should just put Teddy Long in charge of both shows. – Hilda D.

A: So your solution to WWE’s ratings woes is to get rid of Johnny Ace and Michael Cole and give more TV time to Teddy Long? Not sure about that one. To be honest, I don’t think we need anyone “in charge” of any shows. The GM concept is beyond played out. We all know Vince McMahon is the chairman and is certainly capable of coming out and making important decisions on occasions where they need to be made. That should be enough. We did just fine in the 90’s when there was one figurehead WWF President who rarely appeared on the shows. Cards were already booked in advance before going on the air. What a concept!

Q: Do you think the women division will ever pick up in WWE again? They have the right talent, yet they are [using them wrong]. Plus, there have been rumors of WWE bringing back the Womens tag team belts. How are they going to run two womens belts when the last time they tried that, they failed? – Cristian A.

A: First, they’re not belts, they’re championship titles. Second, I would slightly disagree that WWE has “all the right talent” when it comes to their Divas division. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Kharma and Eve (to some degree) are fine workers, but then the division falls off a cliff. Meanwhile, they let go of people like Mickie James and Gail Kim while turning a blind eye to independent workers like Sara Del Ray because they don’t fit the mold of what a WWE Diva should look like. Besides, why even consider Womens tag titles when your average women’s match on Raw goes about 30 seconds every week? They would be well-suited to assign somebody backstage specifically to help repair the damage they’ve done and investigate why TNA Knockouts segments on Impact have done some of that show’s highest ratings while Diva segments typically drive viewers away.

Video: Steve Austin Featured In New “Man vs. Phone” Ads

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WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is featured in a new series of ads for the Kyocera Dura series of cell phones ..

Man vs. Phone — Episode 1
Steve Austin vs. Kyocera Dura Series. Who’s tougher?

Extreme Rules PPV Poster, Miz Overseas, WWE ’12 DLC

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Extreme Rules 2012 Poster

– Kane is featured on the new poster for WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on April 29th from Chicago, IL. Below are the official event synopsis, courtesy of InDemand:

“Extreme times call for extreme rules. Don’t miss John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, The Miz and all your favorite WWE Superstars put it all on the line at Extreme Rules, Sunday, live on Pay-Per-View.”

– THQ will not be releasing any more Downloadable Content for the WWE ’12 video game.

– The Miz is overseas in Poland today doing promotional work for WWE.

– Happy birthday to WWE announcer Booker T, who turns 47 years old today.

– Zack Ryder is scheduled to appear at The Steiner Sports Store in Garden City, New York at 7pm this evening. For more information, you can call 800-242-7139.

 

Trish Talks WWE vs. Movies, Following Rock-Hogan At WM18

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Former 6 time WWE Womens Champion Trish Stratus was recently interviewed by @Arda Ocal of The Score Television Network.. Here are highlights of Part 2 of this exclusive interview:

Comparing fighting in the WWE for so many years to fighting in movies. How is that all different to her :

“So different. we approached it from a tradional movie stand point, which means we have to do stunt work. Thats what moves have stunts. The concept of not making contact in movies was difficult for me cause in WWE we made contact. Its very different from stunt work. I tip my hat off to the director Patrick cause he told his cast, whatever you wanna do with this script, go with it, make it look real, have fun with it, play with it”

Her match at Wrestlemania 18 in her hometown of Toronto, Onatrio where she faced Jazz and Lita in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Womens Championship. Her match was just after the bout between The Rock and Hulk Hogan. Was it bittersweet for her to be in that position at Wrestlemania 18 :

“Looking at it on the paper, im like oh my god I cant beleive were in this match, it was really a tough act to follow. The crowd actually surprisinaly was with us which was great cause it was a testament to the hard work that the womens division point had done. Something interesting had happened. When the guys ( The Rock and Hulk Hogan ) had their match, the one thing I remember was I was about to go out to preform, its my first Wrestlemania as a wrestler. I got the heads up from Hulk and The Rock. Rock said to me ” good luck go get em kid”, and Hulk Hogan said “you got this kid”

Her yoga studio, “Stratusphere Yoga”. What is the business plan for “Stratusphere Yoga” ? Are there any plans for her to open up new locations anywhere else, also has she ever approached other WWE superstars about recommending trying yoga themselves:

“I have, actually all the girls right now are doing it, the stratusphere yoga right now. DDP and I have been in touch. Randy Orton started doing it. Rey Mysterio, when he came back from his injury was like “you look great what are you doing, how did you make that comeback from that herniated disk” I told him about the yoga and he started trying that as well.”

Movie Poster For GI Joe 2 Featuring the Rock

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WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is featured on the new movie poster for the upcoming summer blockbuster, “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation”

The Rock tweeted the following movie poster on Wednesday, which features him in-character as “Roadblock” holding a machine gun.

Rock tweeted a slogan: “The world ain’t saving itself.”

Royal Rumble Buyrate, WWE’s Interest In ROH Talent

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– We reported on Wednesday that WWE is interested in several top talents from Ring of Honor, including the Briscoe Brothers and Adam Cole. It’s believed WWE sent out “feelers” and expressed interest in them, but they are all under contract to ROH and until they become free agents, it’s a non-issue.

– WWE its monthly “end of month” business figures for February this week and one of the more newsworthy items is that the 2012 Royal Rumble drew approximately 438,000 pay-per-view buys.

272,000 of the 438,000 buys were domestic (from the United States, while 166,000 buys were international.

This year’s 428,000 buys is down from 446,000 in 2011 and the 462,000 in 2010.

(Sources: prowrestling.net, Pro Wrestling Torch)

HBK & Rock On RAW, Shaq-WM28 Update, Fozzy

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– Boston’s TD Garden, the site of Monday’s RAW, is advertising The Rock and Shawn Michaels will be appearing in person.

The dark match main event will see CM Punk & John Cena vs. Kane & Chris Jericho.

– As of this week, there is still no word on whether Shaquille O’Neal will be appearing at WrestleMania. Shaq has stated several times that he will be at WrestleMania, even saying back in December that he would be wrestling the Big Show. The WWE website posted an article last week denying that Shaq would be appearing at WrestleMania, which caused even more confusion.

For months, it was rumored that Shaq’s involvement with WWE would kick off next Monday’s RAW from Boston’s TD Garden.  If Shaq doesn’t appear on that show or isn’t referenced in some way, he most likely won’t be a part of WrestleMania and it can be assumed his negotiations with the company fell through .

– Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy has been announced to play the Download Festival, one of the biggest rock festivals in the UK. Other bands announced for the show are Metallica, Tenacious D, Killswitch Engage and Corey Taylor. Fozzy will perform on Saturday, June 9th.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

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