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Ex-TNA Employees Explain Why Christian Left TNA For WWE

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4 new chapters from former Barbaric Wrestling Radio host Brett Buchanan’s The Genesis of TNA free e-book have been released on BarbaricWrestling.com and TNAbook.net. The new chapters are about Christian Cage’s TNA run, Samoa Joe, Scott D’Amore booking committee (which includes a story about a TNA employee leaking news), and TNA’s scramble to find a TV deal in the summer of 2005. You can read all 18 chapters that have been released thus far simply by entering ‘The Genesis of TNA’ section on BarbaricWrestling.com. New chapters are released every Monday. Also check out some free shoot interviews with many wrestlers and MMA fighters including Rob Van Dam, Samoa Joe, Rampage Jackson, Jay Lethal, and many more to come on Barbaric Wrestling Radio’s YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/BWRofficial. Below is an excerpt from The Genesis of TNA ‘Chapter 18: Christian Cage’ about Christian’s TNA run and the reason he left.

LARRY ZBYSZKO: I liked Christian, but again here’s the deal with guys like Christian. Christian I think is a great talent in terms of working and watching him on TV but he’s not a big money draw. What TNA was doing is they would get guys that every wrestling fan knows is a mid card guy and they try to put him off like a superstar. So all they’re basically doing is saying hey we’re TNA and we’ve got all of Vince’s left over guys that you don’t care about anymore. They really should have made their own stars and forget bringing in Christian, bringing in other guys maybe outside of a couple. Or if you do it do it right bring Christian in and have the TNA guys beat him and then get Christian out of there, so it looks like the TNA guys are great.

In November 2008 Christian decided to leave TNA and return to WWE when his contract expired. Many rumors spread that he was frustrated with Jeff Jarrett’s creative vision of TNA and that he was upset with the way he was being used, stories spread regarding this as far back as 2007. Despite this, the main reason Christian left TNA was because WWE were simply offering him more money.

RUDY CHARLES: I was really disappointed when he left, I think I’m not sure what the whole situation was, probably came down to money is my opinion. He probably wanted X amount, and there was a bidding war between TNA and WWE and WWE won. He was a professional, even when he knew he was going out the last thing you saw of Christian Cage on TNA was getting beat down by the Main Event Mafia but he was a pro to the end. He went out and did his job and helped get those guys over, I think he’s a true professional.

PETEY WILLIAMS: I remember when he left [in 2008], at that point it was a whole different locker room morale than when we first got down to Orlando, what was that 2004 or something. It was just totally different, I don’t know if you could just see the change because I’m one of the few guys who had been there from 2004 to that point. It was like a whole different company, it didn’t seem like everybody was on the same page. It almost felt like everybody was out for themselves. I think they were, I think Christian did the right thing he was looking out for himself. He’s probably like this isn’t for me I’m going to go back. Honestly I know he took a big pay cut to come to TNA, he was making way more in WWE. I think he just wanted to have a change really, see if he could elevate this company. He had a lot of great matches and stuff like that did a lot of great things for TNA, that’s what I’m thinking now that he decided that he did as much as he could with TNA and I’m going back. I’m going where the money is.

SONJAY DUTT: I heard it was over pay, but if you put yourself in this guys shoes if he’s got an opportunity to go back to Vince [McMahon] and make the money that he was making compared to what he’s doing in TNA. Also man a lot of the time for guys it’s not just about the money but it’s about being presented in a bigger light, and he wanted to do other stuff I think he wants to do acting and stuff and maybe WWE is the ticket to jumpstart himself into other ventures and stuff. Guys that have been there and done that and then come to TNA they sometimes at a point, I think you kind of realize the ventures I want to do, maybe this isn’t the catapult that I need to get into those other things and he went back. I think it’s pretty much cut and dry.

BILL BEHRENS: Christian honestly was pretty happy. One of the primary reasons Christian didn’t renew with TNA had very little to do with him being unhappy with how well he was being used and all that kind of stuff, it had a lot to do with the financial crisis and the fact that Christian has a really nice expensive house and even though he had been wise and invested his money, he invested his money. All of the sudden the nest egg didn’t become as big a nest, and another run with WWE where you can make real money became a better idea. TNA wasn’t going to belly up to the bar and give Christian the same kind of money that he has as an upside in a WWE deal. The reality of the WWE deal is not your downside, but what you can make on the upside. I was talking, for example, to a recently released talent who just got his commission check from a video game and the commission check was for $20,000. There is no one at TNA right now on an entire commission check from all merchandise that makes that much, on a quarterly basis it just doesn’t happen. That’s the dramatic difference between the two. Jeff Hardy had as little as $150,000 downside at WWE, when he left had made well over 1 million dollars in the previous year, which is one of the reasons Jeff Hardy can sign with TNA and make considerably less money, dramatically less.

Morrison Spoofs Triple H & Undertaker, Chat With Edge Tonight

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— Six days before The Undertaker faces Triple H in a Hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania XXVIII, former WWE Superstar John Morrison spoofs the two combatants in a rap video entitled HHH Vs Undertaker rap. A Paul Bearer character also appears.

The video is available here.

— Edge joins tonight’s WWE.com Raw Live Chat to discuss his new WWE Studios film “Bending The Rules, his impending WWE Hall of Fame induction and answer questions from fans. The chat session starts at 8 p.m. ET on WWE.com.

— Chilli of TLC, who is a huge WWE fan, stated on her Twitter that she will be on hand for tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Atlanta, Georgia as well as WrestleMania XXVIII on Sunday.

Trish Stratus Explains How WWE Can Improve The Divas Division

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Former WWE diva Trish Stratus recently spoke to the Miami Herald to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 28 pay-per-view. Trish spoke about her acting career, the state of the Diva’s division, a possible second season of Tough Enough, how yoga affects her life, and more.

As one of the most successful WWE divas of all time, Trish is familiar with the lack of time and focus given to the Divas division:

“Jazz and I were given that same two-minute timeslot and were regarded the same. We were just two chicks where there were the puppy chants and things like that. It was up to us to put something together that was so memorable or out of the box or giving them a certain level of entertainment or performance for the fans. At the end of the day it is what Vince [McMahon] and the other members of production want, but they are very much about what the fans want.

“We said we need the fans to demand more women so we went out there and tried to give them a match where they think, ‘Man, I’m not going to chant puppies anymore. I’m actually going to cheer for more of this.’ Then suddenly we found that because the interest has grown from the fans that allowed our ideas to be spoken louder to the production team. I kind of see it as my or their responsibility.

“I always said, whatever time they give you, it is your responsibility to make those the best one, two, three or five minutes you have because that is your opportunity to give the fans what they demand to see more of you.

Stratus then explained how she feels WWE could improve the Women’s division:

“I think what WWE got away from was keeping it just the women. You have two women feuding then they put a mishmash of eight people in there, so nobody gets a real focus. I think what was key was seeing the women in the men storylines like we have seen with Rosa Mendes out there with the guys. It gives them the opportunity to be out there with other characters. We are seeing them in valet roles a little bit more, and that helps highlight them and allows character development happen. It seems like they are moving in the right direction.”

 

Cole Using Ex-WWE Star’s Entrance Theme, Hart Critiques Rock

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– WWE commentator Michael Cole began using former WWE star Kerwin White’s entrance theme “Never Thought My Life Could Be This Good” at last week’s tapings. Chavo Guerrero portrayed the short-lived character in 2005, which was depicted as stereotypical, middle-class, white, conservative, Anglo-American man. The death of Eddie Guerrero led to Chavo dropping the character and wrestling under his real name as a fan favorite.

– Carlito defeated Finley at Big Time Pro Wrestling event on Sunday in Augusta, Maine. He said of his opponent on Twitter following the match, “I’m surprised WWE hasn’t rehired Finlay yet.” Finlay was released by WWE March 2011 after authorizing the interruption of the American national anthem by The Miz during a house show, drawing ire from the National Guard members in attendance. He has regularly competed on the independent circuit since then.

– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted a photo Sunday of himself applying the Sharpshooter. Bret Hart, who popularized the maneuver, saw the picture and said he’s doing it wrong:

“I have a lot of respect for The Rock, but I’d be more than happy 2 teach him how to put the sharpshooter on correctly.”

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The Rock Explains Why He Returned To WWE

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The Rock spoke to Variety.com this week to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 28 pay-per-view. The Rock spoke about a number of topics, including his ex-wife Dany leading his management team, how difficult it was to transition from action roles to dramas and family comedies and why he feels the time was right to return to WWE. Here are some highlights of what The Rock said about:

Only Getting Roles In Action Movies At First: “I didn’t have a lot of choices when I first started acting. I was grateful for the projects that were coming in, but they were all action (‘The Mummy Returns,’ ‘The Rundown,’ ‘Doom’).” It took five films before he got his chance at comedy with MGM’s “Be Cool,” which helped transition him into the family genre, including Fox’s “Tooth Fairy.” “I was hoping I could do these action movies and do well enough where I could get more opportunities (in other genres). I knew doing action would get old for me.”

Winning Over Studio Executives & Getting Better Roles: “I knew it would take some convincing to get studios to invest in me. Through small steps we were able to accomplish big things throughout the years. But a point came a few years ago that I felt there were bigger movies to be made that entertained a much bigger audience than I was entertaining.”

Why He Returned To WWE: “I’m back for no other reason than to entertain the fans that had been so good to me over the years. It’s not about the dollar. I’ve been very fortunate. When you go out there and you perform, it becomes really magical. So to be able to go back and create the biggest match of all time for them means the world to me. I took the biggest risk of my life by leaving WWE when I was on top. To be able to go back means the world to me.”

Randy Orton Predicts Rock vs. Cena, Hypes Match With Kane

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Randy Orton recently spoke to CNYKiss.com to promote his match against Kane at Sunday’s WrestleMania 28, which he caims is the fourth biggest match on the card. Here are some highlights of what Orton said about:

Not Being In A Top Match This Year: “Being a part of WrestleMania is big enough whether I’m in a title match or not or whether I’m in a main event match. WrestleMania, there’s four main event matches every year. They have four top billed matches. We might still be one of those top four. We’ll know more as we get closer to the show and they start running ads and promos and vignettes for the matches. You definitely have Rock-Cena, Punk-Jericho, Triple H-Taker, and I think we might be that fourth. You never know, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan could take that from us. It is a title match, but I think there might be a little more people out there that want to see Kane-Orton as opposed to Sheamus-Daniel Bryan. That’s just me. Sheamus has been around a couple years, Daniel Bryan has been around less. I don’t know, I don’t know, we’ll just wait and see what happens. But no matter what match I have at WrestleMania, as long as I’m healthy and I can make the show and be a part of it, that’s good enough for me. This will be my eighth WrestleMania, I believe, that’s in a row, so with the few injuries I’ve had throughout my career, especially earlier on, I haven’t missed a WrestleMania, 20 all the way through 27.”

Triple H Returning At MSG Last Week: “He doesn’t do too many live events, so I think that was special for him. I think he’s getting the ring rust off, knocking it off and getting ready for April 1 is what he’s doing there, but there will always be a place in his heart for coming and entertaining the fans, whether it’s on TV or not. It just goes to show that anything can happen at The Garden.”

Rock vs. Cena: “Don’t be fooled, this isn’t all show right here. There is some legitimate hatred between these two guys and I think it’s going to make it all the more interesting, because they get in that ring with that many people, 80,000 some odd people, who knows what’s going to happen? Now what’s going to happen when we take the gloves off?”

Who Will Win Rock vs. Cena: “Oh, John Cena. I’d love to see him win 1-2-3 fair and square in the ring, no kind of stipulations last minute, no kind of run-ins at the last minute, no big schmoz going off the air where you see ten Rock Bottoms. I want to see John Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment in the middle of the ring.”

Foley Teases He’ll Be On Team Teddy, The Miz Responds

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Mick Foley and The Miz have been going back and forth via Twitter after Foley teased that he may join Teddy Long’s team at WrestleMania. Foley tweeted over the weekend:

“Guess it’s about time I listen to some of these voicemails from Teddy Long. Wonder what he wants. Catch you all tomorrow.”

Foley followed up with the following joke, but his initial tweet was enough to get a reaction from The Miz:

“No big deal. Teddy was just hoping I had Buff Bagwell’s number – apparently, it’s pretty important.”

Miz, who still does not have a match at WrestleMania and has been petitioning for a spot on Team Laurinaitis, replied to foley:

“Hey @realMickFoley quit trying to make yourself relevant again. Unlike u I don’t settle I make things happen.”

Foley responded with:

“Yes, @MikeTheMiz you ARE awesome…as a character in my new children’s book, in which The Miz learns a valuable holiday lesson from @CMPunk”

There has been talk of The Miz may replacing Alberto Del Rio in John Laurinaitis’ team, which may put Mick Foley and Miz on opposite sides of the match.

Foley Teases Return To Television, Garcia Teasing Continues

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— Mick Foley, who has not appeared on WWE programming since the Royal Rumble, teased a return to company storylines Sunday night via Twitter as he said he received voice-mails from SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.

“Guess it’s about time I listen to some of these voice-mails from Teddy Long. Wonder what he wants. Catch you all tomorrow,” he wrote. However, he suggested minutes later it was a joke, writing, “No big deal. Teddy was just hoping I had Buff Bagwell’s number – apparently, it’s pretty important.”

Foley is scheduled for an upcoming WWE show as he will appear at the April 9 Raw SuperShow taking place at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

— WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel took a jab at Lilian Garcia at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Bowling Green, Kentucky as during a mic check he announced “1, 2, Long Island Iced Z, Jack Swagger!” This was in reference to Garcia’s mistake at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Newark, New Jersey where she introduced Ryder as “Long Island Iced Z, Jack Swagger.” John Cena ridiculed Garcia’s ring announcing ability after the taping had concluded, proclaiming to the live audience, “She looks absolutely beautiful, but doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing!”

TNA Wrestling Having Financial Problems, Knockouts Land Cover

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Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer revealed that TNA Wrestling is having financial difficulties as talent and vendors are frequently paid for their services on a delayed basis.

“Vendors and wrestlers are paid late all the time,” he wrote on the F4WOnline.com message board. “Janice Carter controls the purse strings. Only a certain amount of money over what they bring in can be spent and it’s prioritized where it goes.”

Janice Carter, who is the mother of TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter, gained complete control of the company’s purse strings in 2010 reportedly as to put a stop to her daughter’s lavish spending sprees after the company’s financial losses were more than parent company Panda Energy International was willing to tolerate. Meltzer reported in January that Carter has set a doctrine of only allowing TNA what is “deemed necessary” in terms of funding as to keep financial losses to a minimum.

— A photo of Mickie James kicking Gail Kim at TNA Genesis is featured on the cover of the newsstand magazine Inside Wrestling. The magazine levies criticism towards TNA having the Knockouts Division revolve around Mickie James and Gail Kim as the headline reads: “Has The Knockouts Division Become The Mickie-Gail Show? It’s Time To Open Things Up – BFG Style!”

John Cena Tweets Picture After Passing WWE Drug Test

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John Cena passed a WWE Wellness policy drug test over the weekend and tweeted a picture of himself holding his urine samples. Cena tweeted to ESPN over the weekend:

“Hey @espn @SportsCenter drug test 7days from the dance. Looks like Aegis also wants to see a clean fight.”

When asked by one of his followers what the drug test was for and why he seems to happy in the picture, Cena responded:

“Drug testing is @wwe policy since 05/06. Im happy because im proud that @wwe is committed to health of superstars #drugfree4life.”

Here’s the picture Cena tweeted to ESPN:

The Guy On The Right Just Watched Cena Pee - Smile!

Elimination Chamber PPV Buys Below 200k, The Rock Training

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— WWE has released their latest Key Performance Indicators report and last month’s Elimination Chamber is estimated to have drawn 180,000 pay-per-view buys. This figure is based on WWE averaging 309,000 pay-per-views buys in the first quarter of 2012 and the Royal Rumble garnering 438,000 buys.

Last year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event drew 199,000 buys while the 2010 show scored 285,000.

— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted Sunday afternoon that he is training in the ring for next week’s encounter against John Cena. He wrote, with this enclosed picture, “Meditating in my sanctuary. Training for @JohnCena #WM28 @SportsCenter @espn @nfl #TeamBringIt.”

— Former WWE star Stevie Richards has been announced to appear at WrestleReunion 7 on March 31 at the Miami Beach Deauville Resort 6701 Collins Ave. Miami, Florida.

Bourne Breaks Foot In Car Accident, Miz To Make Statement

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— Evan Bourne, who recently came off a 60-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness program, says he broke his foot in a car accident on Monday. The Raw Superstar wrote:

“I hate throw out bad news but I must. I was in an accident Monday and mangled my foot. Sorry to delay the comeback, I’m down but not out! Broken in 4 spots, dislocated in 5! Ouch! I wish I was back in the ring already.”

— The Miz will issue a statement on Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Atlanta, Georgia. He tweeted Saturday:

“A statement will be made on #Raw, @WWERawGM. I guarantee it. #MizMania.”

— Matt Hardy and Reby Sky appear for Trans-South Wrestling on April 7 at the Union County Fairgrounds in Union, South Carolina

Aries Responds To Otunga’s Shot At TNA Ratings, Roode Advisor

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— WWE Superstar David Otunga poked fun at the consistently flat ratings for TNA Wrestling’s Impact Wrestling program, writing on Twitter last week, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m flatter than Impact’s ratings right now. #OtungaLaw.” X Division Champion Austin Aries responded to Otunga’s message with a shot of his own.

“Shocked @DavidOtunga took time to comment on @ImpactWrestling. I’d think he’d want to become at least a good hand first… #MrJenniferHudson,” he wrote Saturday night.

— Thursday’s Impact Wrestling saw James Storm call out World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode to confront him. Roode’s legal advisor, William Kelly, instead appeared. He is Shane Haste, a wrestler from Ohio Valley Wrestling. He received the Last Call from Storm to conclude the segment.

Haste and Mikey Nicholls lost a dark match against Gunner and Kid Kash at Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida.

source: ProWrestling.net

Video: Ultimate Warrior’s In-Ring Interview From Friday

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WWE legend the Ultimate Warrior appeared at Friday night’s North East Wrestling’s live event and cut an in-ring promo:

Otunga Takes Shot At TNA’s Impact Ratings, WWE Stars Turns 30

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— WWE Superstar David Otunga poked fun at the consistently flat ratings for TNA’s Impact Wrestling.

He wrote on Twitter, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m flatter than Impact’s ratings right now. #OtungaLaw.”

This is apparently in response to a lawyer character for Bobby Roode appearing on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling.

— Both Epico and Jack Swagger turn 30 years old on Saturday. Former WWE Superstar Barry Horowitz also turns 52.

— Maria Kanellis and Demolition will appear at Royal Collectibles 96-01 Metropolitan Ave. Forest Hills, New York on Saturday, May 5 from noon to 2:00 p.m. Call 718-793-0542 for more information.

— WWE’s Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena airs in the United Kingdom on Sunday at Noon on Sky Sports.

Cena Explains Why He Won’t Turn Heel, Maher Mentions Taker

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— In an interview with the London Free Press, John Cena explained why won’t turn heel.

“Although I can handle business when I need to, I really make conscious choices to do the right thing. There’s still a giant portion of the audience associated to the Attitude era that I believe thinks I am a bad guy. But I’m not a bad guy. I generate so much hatred just because of the way I act. I look at Tim Tebow as a good example. People couldn’t stop saying his name. He’s such a stand-up guy. People don’t believe it because it’s almost too good to be true. And he generates that hatred,” Cena says.

“I have fun with this business. I love every second of it. I love to be right there in the middle of the hunt. At the end of the day, it’s not my job to force people in any direction. I just to out there and see what happens. You can analyze character development all day, but with the current state of affairs, there’s no need or rationale for me to deviate from what I’m doing.”

Cena also discussed his work with Make-A-Wish Foundation. The interview is available here.

— Bill Maher mentioned The Undertaker during his opening monologue on Friday’s edition of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO.

He said, “Get this. In Arizona, a state legislator wants a law where if a woman wants an abortion, she has to watch another woman get an abortion. Yeah, I know, they keep one-upping each other on what you have to do. By the end of the year you must defeat the World Wrestling star, The Undertaker!”

Lilian Garcia Thanks Fans For Support Following Latest Incident

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John Cena berating Lilian Garcia’s ring announcing ability at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Newark, New Jersey has drawn the ire of numerous fans of the veteran Diva online as they feel it contradicts “be a STAR,” WWE’s heavily promoted campaign to put an end to bullying. A former WWE talent agrees with the sentiment.

Sinn Bodhi, who formerly competed as Kizarny for the sports entertainment organization, posted the following user comment on Twitter Friday slamming their anti-bullying campaign: “I can’t take the #WWE Be A Star Campaign seriously when it’s known what they said about Lilian Garcia and @SiNNbODHi #Hypocrisy.”

The incident was the latest example of WWE publicly ridiculing Garcia following her decision to leave the company in 2009. She took note of the heavy fan support following this latest mockery and went on Facebook and Twitter to write a thank you message.

“Hey my Lil Rockers, just want to tell you that I LUV YOU, I LUV YOU, I LUV YOU!! You are the BEST fans in the world!! Thank you for being there for me!! Xoxo ;):” she wrote following Friday’s SmackDown broadcast on Syfy.

Following the conclusion of Tuesday’s show, Cena belittled Garcia in front of the Prudential Center audience for mistakenly introducing Zack Ryder earlier as “Long Island Iced Z, Jack Swagger” for his match against Jack Swagger, saying “she looks absolutely beautiful but doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing.” He had a street clothes dressed Tony Chimel brought out to properly introduce Ryder since he’s a professional and “knows what he’s doing.”

Layla Praised For Her Wrestling Return, How Old Is Undertaker?

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— Layla made her return to in-ring competition at a non-televised Florida Championship Wrestling event on Thursday night. Alongside babyface Audrey Marie, they defeated Paige and Sofia Cortez. She had been sidelined since May due to tears of both her Anterior cruciate and Medial collateral ligaments, which required surgery.

Layla received high marks from FCW officials for her performance as she displayed a series of Lucha style moves. She had been working very hard in recent weeks in preparation for her squared circle return.

— Today is The Undertaker’s birthday as he turns 47 years old. While his age has been disputed over the years, FamilyTreeLegends.com says he was born on March 24, 1965. Furthermore, the official website of Stephen Pool Waltrip High School in Houston, Texas says he graduated from the school in 1983.

— Tickets for the 25th Annual SummerSlam, which will be held Aug. 19 at Los Angeles’ STAPLES Center, went on sale Saturday. Also on-sale: Tickets for No Way Out, to be held June 17 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

source: PWInsider.com

Orton Says Match Against Kane Is Bigger Than Bryan-Sheamus

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Randy Orton believes his upcoming match against Kane at WrestleMania XXVIII is a bigger deal than the World Heavyweight Championship bout between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus.

“I think there might be a little more people out there who want to see Kane-Orton as opposed Sheamus-Daniel Bryan,” Orton stated Friday morning on the Big Poppa In The Morning radio program promoting WrestleMania XXVIII.

He also discussed WrestleMania XXVIII taking place on his birthday, WWE recently returning to a revamped Madison Square and The Rock vs. John Cena. The Viper hopes to see Cena cleanly defeat The Rock via Attitude Adjustment.

The ten-minute interview is available here.

Two New Additions To Team Teddy For WrestleMania XXVIII

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Following Zack Ryder’s rally prior to Monday’s Raw SuperShow in which he lobbied to become part of Team Teddy at WrestleMania XXVIII, Long Island Iced Z informed SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long that if he was accepted onto the team, The Great Khali would join as well. Long agreed, with Hornswoggle named the team’s mascot.

The updated card for the pay-per-view event taking place April 1 in Miami, Florida is as follows:

* The Rock vs. John Cena

* The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as the special referee)

* Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny (Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Santino Marella, The Great Khali, Zack Ryder and TBA vs. Christian, David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and TBA)

* WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

* World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

* Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

* Randy Orton vs. Kane

* Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos vs. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve

The New Age Outlaws In WWE ’13, SmackDown Backstage Fallout

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— Road Dogg revealed on Twitter that the New Age Outlaws will be featured in THQ’s WWE ’13. When asked about the upcoming video game, which is rumored to focus on “Attitude Era” stars, he responded, “Already did the voiceovers.” He added that Billy Gunn was involved with the process.

— Watch the Photos of a Bella Twin’s wardrobe malfunction of Backstage Fallout, and find out what Sheamus really thinks of his WrestleMania opponent’s girlfriend. Plus, learn the real reason why Eve blew Zack Ryder off. Also featured are The Bella Twins and Jack Swagger.

— WWE is holding a Raw live event tonight at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bell time is 8:00 p.m. Meanwhile, a SmackDown event will be held at the E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

How The Rock Found Success In Failure, FCW Talent At Axxess

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— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson discusses how he overcame failure to become The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment in a “Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” exclusive video.

— WWE developmental wrestlers Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Xavier Woods all mentioned on Twitter that they will be competing at next week’s WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida.

— The March 23, 2012 episode of WWE Vintage Collection featured WWE Hall of Famers competing against each other. Matches that aired are as follows (thanks to Devin Cutting): Billy Graham vs. Curt Hennig (WWF Championship Wrestling – January 8, 1983), Paul Orndorff vs. Pedro Morales (WWF Prime Time Wrestling – March 2, 1987), Texas Tornado vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (WWF television taping – February 18, 1991), Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash Of The Champions – June 14, 1989), The Fabulous Moolah vs. Sherri Martel (WWF live event – August 28, 1987), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWF SmackDown – November 16, 2000).

Preview For Thursday’s Impact – Three Matches Scheduled

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ImpactWrestling.com has released the official preview for this Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c. If you can’t watch it Thursday, make sure to set your DVR to record it so you don’t miss any of the action.
– The road to April’s annual “Lockdown” Pay-Per-View event continues

– What will be Hulk Hogan’s answer to TNA President Dixie Carter? Will Hogan take over as General Manager of IMPACT WRESTLING? Tune in and find out

– Mr. Anderson battles “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy in a featured bout on the broadcast!

– The undefeated Crimson battles Matt Morgan – will his former tag team partner be the one that ends his streak?

– In Knockouts action, it will be Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky

– The World Premiere of “Cowboy” James Storm’s music video “Longnecks & Rednecks”

All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING on SpikeTV at 9/8c

Video: Bret Hart Reveals Why He & Hogan Never Fought In 1993

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In part 3 of Arda Ocal of theScore’s in studio sit down with Bret Hart, the “Hitman” talks about why Bret Hart vs Hulk Hogan never happened in WWE back in 1993:

Cena Says He Won’t Ever Quit WWE, WWE Return To Delaware

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— John Cena reveals why he is so passionate about being a part of WWE in this “Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” preview video.

— WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware on May 12, 2012. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.

— Former WWE talent Travis Tomko turns 36 years on Friday. A jury trial for his arrest last October in St. Augustine, Florida on a felony robbery charge is scheduled for May.

— Bret Hart and Jillian Hall appear at The Wrestling Universe 34-29 Francis Lewis Blvd. Flushing, New York on May 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.