“I’m the one that needs to be tied to the stake and burned as a witch. “I’m the one who ‘disgraced the WWE Championship.
“Side note, the WWE spinning championship is not only the most requested item from anyone who wants any merchandise from WWE, and that goes all the way up to Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers people, but it’s also the most sold championship of all time.”
Cena agrees it’s time for WWE to introduce a newly redesigned WWE Championship belt – and it’s not just because the spinner belt is ugly:
“I don’t know if it will go back to the winged eagle, but being the guy who truly invented it, it needs to change. It has been the way it’s been for years now. It’s had it’s run. It doesn’t even spin anymore. It’s heavy, it’s awkward. It really is.”
“An average championship belt weighs about 12 pounds. The current WWE spinning championship weighs about 27 pounds. So we need a rehash. I’m proactively trying to do that. I only have so much stroke, guys. I can’t do everything.”
John Morrison recently spoke to Phil Strum of the Poughkeepsie Journal about the possibility of returning to WWE one day. Morrison says he left on great terms and his body simply needed a break from the hectic WWE schedule:
“The door is open to go back. I left on really good terms with everybody and what I wanted to do was take time off to heal, get refreshed and take a little vacation…”
“I was working a 250-plus day a year schedule and I wanted to be refreshed.”
He also revealed that he wasn’t enjoying himself anymore towards the end of his most recent run:
“Right before I left, I felt like I was going to work. I wasn’t enjoying it as much as when I started.”
Morrison will be wrestling his first match in the Untied States since leaving WWE back in November on Friday night at Northeast Wrestling’s Wrestlefest 16 at Poughkeepsie, New York’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center.
– WWE’s upcoming No Way Out pay-per-view on June 17th from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ will feature an “all cage matches” format, much like TNA’s annual Lockdown event. It remains to be seen whether WWE will build up feuds that are developed & mature enough to warrant a cage match. No Way Out will be facing stiff competition on pay-per-view that weekend, with the big Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch rumored to be taking place the night before from Brazil in an 80,000 person stadium.
– Last week on RAW, the Undertaker made a mistake during his promo, stating that WrestleMania takes place on April 21st. Virtually nobody said anything about it backstage, but there was a feeling that anybody else without the Undertaker’s locker room clout would have gotten heat for the mistake.
– WWE plans to call up several wrestlers from developmental in the months after WrestleMania 28. Among the top prospects at FCW who are ready for a spot on the main roster are Seth Rollins, Dean Amborse, Damien Sandow and Husky Harris. No word yet on who will be the first to debut on WWE television, but it’s worth noting that WWE plans to debut them one at a time once there is a storyline in place for each wrestler.
– Another talent at Florida Championship Wrestling who is seen as having big potential is Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Vickie and the late Eddie Guerrero. While several of the women at developmental have showed up for tryouts knowing nothing about wrestling, Guerrero stands out for her great attitude, ability to take criticism and learn from mistakes as well as her ability to cut promos and alter her character when needed.
Former WWE Superstar Billy Gunn appeared on Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca, which airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sirius 92 and XM 207. Highlights from his interview are as follows:
WrestleReunion: “Yeah, it’s gonna be a lot of fun! I mean, there’s gonna be so much stuff going on in Miami because of not only WrestleReunion, Wrestlemania, everything else; it’s gonna be crazy. But it’s gonna be a lot of fun—I mean—once me and Brian (Road Dog Jesse James] get together, not even Wrestlemania can overshadow us!”
Tag team wrestling today: “Right now, I think tags everywhere are a little weak, especially WWE. If you know anything about that company you know they’re not high on tags anyway; it’s all about singles and who their big single run can be.”
Downfall of tag team wrestling: “It’s just something that’s baffled me, and it’s baffled everybody that I’ve talked to, and they always ask the same question: “Why are tags not all that prevalent up there?” And I can’t ever answer that, I can’t ever give a good reason. One may be because there’s no good stand-out tag-teams. Or maybe it’s guys don’t wanna be in tags anymore because everyone is so worried about themselves that they don’t wanna have to worry about somebody else. Because when you’re in a tag, you’ve gotta at least gel a little bit for it to work anyway. I don’t have a great answer for that, I just wish they would put more emphasis in the tag division.”
On state of wrestling: “I think it’s picking up a little bit. Poor John Cena (not “poor John Cena” money-wise), but poor John Cena! He’s carried that company for a long time. No matter what anybody says, no matter what people say about him or what they do, he has carried that company on his back a long time. Now, they’re kind of stirring up the pot. I know they’ve done Wrestlemania a year out with him and [The] Rock; they have to bring something with that strong of a personality to kinda kick things back in gear ‘cause it’s getting a little stale. And they started doing that with the CM Punk. Punk started talking crap about the company and everything which, in turn, stirred some question about what was going on. So people started tuning in and getting into it a little bit more. In the Attitude Era, you weren’t getting just wrestling; you were getting all kinds of crazy stuff. It was what it was called: entertainment. You were entertained from the minute that Raw started to the minute it was over to making you want to want more. That’s what the show was, that’s what Raw was all about in the Attitude Era: what’s making you want more. They would leave you hanging to make you just chomp at the bit all week to make you tune in to the next week. Now you watch the show like you’re watching an episode of “The Flinstones” or something. There’s nothing to keep your attention, or nothing to make you go Woah! Now this is what wrestling is! Y’know, we’re all parents now… they’re constantly telling their kids about the Attitude Era—The Rock, Stone Cold, DX, Mankind. There’s a whole slew of people! Now when you mention wrestling it’s John Cena. Not that that’s bad, but that’s where you get lost; there’s just nothing really interesting about the show.”
On WrestleMania: ” This is the one most spectacular thing I’ve ever been involved with. Starting from right after the [Royal] Rumble, you start getting goosebumps because it is that good, it is that much fun, it is that entertaining. It’s like an event that you’ll never, ever, ever experience in your life that you don’t go to live. You can watch it on TV, but until you’re there, you have no idea how fun it is. Wrestlemania is the number one show of the year and they prove it because they hold nothing back. They let it all rip… It is phenomenal. It is probably the one greatest thing on Earth, to me anyway.”
– In preparation for his match with John Cena at WrestleMania 28, The Rock has been doing his in-ring training with Curt Hawkins.
– Randy Orton is being considered for the lead role in upcoming WWE Studios film, The Marine 3. Orton was originally supposed to star in Marine 2, but was injured at the time, so that role went to Ted DiBiase.
– Did you know .. Daniel Bryan is not the only vegan title holder in WWE. During an appearance on Much Music in Canada this week, WWE Champion CM Punk revealed that he is also now a vegan. However, because of how WWE has portrayed being a vegan as a heel characteristic, don’t expect Punk’s latest lifestyle change to be mentioned on television.
– TNA has reportedly been pushing for WWE to mention them at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, but it’s unlikely to happen. Flair will be appearing at the Hall of Fame ceremony whether WWE mentions TNA or not.
WWE Champion CM Punk appeared at Tuesday night’s Chicago Blackhawks NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks. During the 2nd intermission, Punk got to skate on to the ice and take a few shots on the open net. Punk noted that he played ice hockey as a kid but his skating was “atrocious.” He said his shot was good and he was a good fighter, which certainly pays off in his current profession.
WWE made history last year when they announced the main event of WrestleMania 28 the night after Wrestlemania 27, giving them an unprecedented 12 months to build towards this year’s blockbuster main event.
According to sources in WWE, the company is strongly considering announcing the main event of next year’s WrestleMania 29 on April 2nd, the night after WrestleMania 28. The RAW after WrestleMania is typically the highest-rated episode of the year and they are pleased with the year-long build that Rock vs. Cena has had.
Right now, WWE is expecting that John Cena, The Rock, The Undertaker and possibly Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar will be the top stars that can potentially be booked for the main event of WrestleMania 29. A Rock vs. Cena re-match is a possibility and both Austin and Lesnar have feuds that make sense for next year (CM Punk for Austin, Undertaker for Lesnar).
COMMENT BELOW and tell us what you think about WWE announcing WrestleMania main events 1 year in advance and what matches you want to see headlining WrestleMania in 2013.
John Cena appeared on Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks Podcast this week and spoke about having legitimate issues with The Rock. While Cena respects what The Rock accomplished during his in-ring career, his major issue stems from the things The Rock said after he left for Hollywood:
“I disagree with the way he does business. I congratulate him on all his success. He’s had a Hall of Fame resume in WWE. His movies have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. But if was my career path, I would have done it differently…I disagree with some of the decisions he made.”
“All that time being gone, and the total process he took to try to reinvent himself. I can show you magazine covers that say ‘The Rock is Dead,’ or ringside interviews where he’s said, ‘I’ll never go back to wrestling.’ Just talking bad about the vehicle that got you to the dance, and then when the dust settles wanting to come back to the dance.”
You can listen to the full interview at SportsIllustrated.com.
Following the announcement that Yokozuna will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next weekend, the WWE Youtube channel has published the following videos looking back at some of his career highlights:
Show: Wrestling Voice Radio’s “WrestleMania Moment” Series Host: Duane Doogan Guest: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
WrestlingVoiceRadio.com & iTunes
In the first episode of the “WrestleMania Moment” Series that will be on Wrestling Voice Radio over the next week, Duane Doogan speaks with WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper about his favorite WrestleMania Moment.
His favorite WrestleMania Moment:
“I’d have to say the very first WrestleMania, there was no hand-book for it, there was a lot of tension between the guys, (Hulk) Hogan & myself, Orndoff at (Mr.) T, (Jimmy) Snuka was there, he felt slighted. Bob Orton was there, Mohamed Ali was the special referee. It was just all over the place, so when you went out there that night, there was no pyrotechnics or anything, but you didn’t need it. Those people never stopped. The tension going into it was real significant, because after the first one they had a little bit of a road map but the first one they kind of stumbled into it, and that was definitely the hardest one but I think that was the best of all time because it set the mark for all the rest to come.”
On returning in 2009, 25 years later to wrestle at the event again and still being a draw:
“Well I just hung up the phone and I’m going to be at WrestleMania 28, and I think what that says one strong statement, if I’m still a headliner in WrestleMania 28 and I started wrestling 14 years before there was a WrestleMania anything, then Roddy Piper’s commodity has proved itself time and time again and that’s why they call him an icon.”
Why haven’t The Rock & John Cena appeared on Piper’s Pit:
“Unless they try and put it down Monday, and I’m just communicating with them now. It takes a lot of guts to go on Piper’s Pit, I’ve seen other people and do this show… and none of them have come close. The reason is, it’s dangerous in there and I’m not sure the WWE wants to risk it’s two stars in that zone. I think that’s closest to the truth.”
John Cena appeared on CNN affiliate HLN on Wednesday night during a discussion about Jersey Shore star Mike “The Situation Sorrentino entering rehab. Cena laid down a challenge for the cast of Jersey Shore to show up to next year’s WrestleMania 29 from the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey (“NY/NJ”).
Credit to Devin Cutting for sending in this schedule of when the USA Network will be airing the “Once In A Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” special. As you can see, WWE is going all-out by airing the show on many of NBC Universal’s affiliate stations:
– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez will be teaming together during WWE’s upcoming tour of Puerto Rico. The duo will be facing WWE tag team champions Primo and Epico at the three scheduled shows.
– Zack Ryder noted on Twitter he will be testing out a new format for his Z! True Long Island Story show this week, which premiers on Friday.
– Former WWE superstar Matt Bloom (Albert/A-Train) will be debuting in the coming weeks as Lord Tensai. Upon his return, Tensai is expected to push him into a top feud with either John Cena or Randy Orton, much like we’ve seen with Kane.
– WWE has published the latest episode of WWE Inbox, featuring superstars and divas talking about the Most Annoying Superstar and predictions on who will win at WrestleMania 28 between The Rock and John Cena:
WWE ribbed Lilian Garcia at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Newark, NJ after she made yet another bad error in front of the live crowd.
During the show, Lilian Garcia introduced Zack Ryder last night as “Mr. Long Island Iced Z, Jack Swagger.”
After the SmackDown tapings concluded, John Cena was scheduled to wrestle in the dark match main event steel cage match. Cena brought out ring announcer Tony Chimel and Zack Ryder with him. Cena took the microphone and said he’s going to bring in a ring announcer who is professional.
As Tony Chimel was introducing Zack Ryder, they kept cutting off his microphone as a prank. Cena grabbed the mic and properly introduced “Mr. Long Island Iced Z, Zack Ryder.” The whole thing was apparently done to embarrass Lilian Garcia.
Following all the confusion this week regarding the future of WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, we have an update on FCW and a new developmental program in the works.
WWE plans to open up a new branch of its developmental system in Stanford, Connecticut in the next few months. The project has been described to us as something in between Florida Championship Wrestling and the main roster, where talent that is “almost ready” will work closely with WWE officials to get them ready for their debuts.
Triple H issued a statement to WWE.com on Tuesday saying that WWE is not shutting down its developmental program. In fact, they are getting ready to “ramp up” their process of cultivating new talent – with a major announcement coming shortly after WrestleMania. Triple H told WWE.com:
“WWE’s developmental system is being revamped, not shut down. If anything, it’s going to get bigger and better than ever. By no means is it going to get smaller or shut down.”
WWE already has someone in mind to run the new Stamford-based developmental program, but it has not been made public yet.
As for Florida Championship Wrestling, there are no plans to shut down the school/promotion. WWE is looking for new locations in Florida to film the FCW TV show (including Orlando) and will also look for a new television partner to air the shows.
WWE officials are said to be extremely upset about the reports of FCW shutting down this week.
Angle made a lot of bold statements during his latest rant, but his comments about WWE legends Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels are getting the most attention.
Angle stated that it only took him 1 year to reach the top of WWE – when it took Austin and Michaels 15 years. Angle added, “Could Either of U take Me as a Shoot? Be Honest!” He later clarified, “by the way! I Love Austin and Michaels. Just Joking. U guys are legends!”
He tweeted the following apology on Wednesday afternoon:
“I Do Want to Apologize to Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin for My Comment. Without them I Would Have never had my Opportunity in Pro Wrestling,”
“I don’t get twitter.I Love tweeting What I feel-or responding to idiots. But I’m Supposed to be”Politically Correct” w/ My tweets?Forget It”
Extreme Pro Wrestling Radio with Edge
Hosts: Big D, Crisco, and Road Warrior Animal
Available at KFAN.com.
Edge on his actual retirement plans:
“I was going to get through WrestleMania 27 and then wrestle through the year and call it quits after WrestleMania 28. So I was planning on sticking around for another year.”
Edge on whether it was easy to retire knowing that if he continued it could affect his quality of life:
“I had no choice. The WWE medical staff kept a real close eye on my health and the situation with my neck and we knew it could be anytime now. They wouldn’t clear me to compete so it was pretty easy.”
Edge on who is inducting him into the Hall Of Fame:
“Christian. The WWE asked me the other day and it wouldn’t make sense to have anyone else. I mean if I showed up and Sarge (Sargent Slaughter) was inducting me, I’d be like, ‘I love ya’ Sarge, but why you?”
Edge also confirmed the release of his DVD set the first week of April.
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan is reportedly dating WWE Diva Brie Bella.
WWE recently kicked off a new feud between the Bella Twins and Bryan’s storyline girlfriend, AJ Lee.
Last week on SmackDown, AJ defeated Nikki Bella after Daniel Bryan stopped Brie from making the twin switch. WWE.com speculated that Bryan got involved in the match and prevented the Bellas from switching because he was still “emotionally scarred” by breaking up with the Bellas, whom he was romantically linked to on-screen last year.
The “love square” (a love triangle with 4 people?) continued at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, with AJ wrestling Brie Bella – and Daniel Bryan getting involved once again.
These pictures of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella were posted online this week:
Kurt Angle went on another Twitter rant on Wednesday night, making several controversial tweets – many of which have already been deleted from his account. Angle spoke about his Olypmic training, his history of drug abuse, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and more. Here are some of the highlights:
– He told Jim Ross and Chris Jericho, “I plan on retiring in TNA! But what if I wanted main event at WMania One More Time? Fans say yes I’m the Best today! If Wwe never wants Me, their Mistake. What then?”
– Regarding his TNA future, he said, “I will retire in Tna. I Love It Here. But what if I wanted one last WMania? How would the fans respond? I would kick ass”
– Angle spoke about training for the Olympics, saying “Every Wrestler is terrified of me that they will get tired”
– He named CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as WWE stars he’d like to wrestle.
– He became a top star in WWE in 1 year, “but it took Shawn and Austin 15years. Hello?” He says he respects both Austin and Michaels, “But Could Either of U take Me as a Shoot? Be Honest!” He later clarified, “by the way! I Love Austin and Michaels. Just Joking. U guys are legends!”
– When fans began to question Kurt’s state of mind (and his sobriety), he responded, “I have not touched a pill 8 yrs. up urs”
– A fan told him go back to WWE and take Sting with him. Angle replied, “I wish. Sting will stay in tna”
Angle posted several other tweets, using profanity at fans (including … “Your girl sucks. me. lol”), but those have since been deleted.
He told fans that he was not drinking and that his account was not hacked this time.
It’s official – the late Rodney Anoa’i, former WWE champion Yokokuna, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in less than two weeks. The official announcement on the WWE website states:
“One of the largest and most imposing WWE Champions of all time, the mighty Yokozuna will be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before WrestleMania XXVIII.”
WWE released the following video package highlighting the career of Yokozuna, one of the greatest big men to ever step inside a WWE ring:
– WWE.com has a new video up featuring Chris Jericho, filmed right after Jericho the the world that CM Punk’s sister is a drug addict. Jericho declared war on CM Punk, saying this is real and nothing is off limits. Jericho said everything he’s revealed about Punk’s family is the truth and you’re not crossing the line if you’re speaking the truth.
– Speaking of Jericho, he’s got a busy day on Wednesday. He will be appearing on the Opie & Anthony Show in the morning and Jimmy Fallon’s late night show.
– WWE retuns to the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York for a Supershow on June 18th. The pre-sale password is WWELONGISLAND.
– Chris Jericho will be appearing on the Opie & Anthony Show and the Jimmy Fallon show on Wednesday.
– WWE Hall of Famer Sunny was backstage visiting at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Newark, NJ. She will be in attendance for WrestleMania 28.
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown show Tueday night from Newark, NJ. Credit to Prowrestling.net and their readers Nick Hanrahan, K. Greene, and Chris for these results.
Daniel Bryan and A.J. came out to start the show to a lot of boos. Bryan made A.J. tell everyone how much she loves him. It was hard to hear anything because he was being booed so loudly. A.J. added that Bryan is going to make Sheamus tap out at WrestleMania 28.
Shemaus interrupted and called Bryan a coward while saying his speech made him throw up in his mouth. Sheamus said he will kick Bryan’s teeth down his throat and added that he will be called a former World Hvt. Champion.
1. Mark Henry defeated R-Truth. Henry won with the World’s Strongest Slam in three minutes.
A graphic was shown for Big Show vs. Kane for tonight’s show.
A video package revealed Yokozuna as the newest WWE Hall of Fame inductee.
Zack Ryder and The Great Khali were added to Teddy Long’s team at WrestleMania 28.
2. A.J. (w/Daniel Bryan) beat Brie Bella. A.J. received a pop because she’s from Union City, N.J., which is about ten minutes away from Newark. She got the win with a distraction by Bryan followed by a roll up for the pin. Afterward, Bryan entered the ring and celebrated more than A.J.
A No Way Out video package aired to hype the event that will be held in New Jersey.
3. Zack Ryder (w/Hornswoggle) beat Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero). Lilian Garcia mistakenly introduced Ryder as Swagger. Back and forth action, Ryder got a near fall, and so did Sswagger. Ryder hit the Rough Ryder for the victory after Vickie and Hornswoggle argued on the apron in 3:49.
4. Big Show defeated Kane by DQ when Cody Rhodes interfered. Cody ran in and hit Big Show for the DQ. Show chased him into the crowd. Randy Orton snuck inside the ring and hit the RKO on Kane for a big pop. The match lasted a little over four minutes.
5. Brodus Clay beat Health Slater. Squash match. K Greene asks when we’ll get a real Clay match rather than a squash. Good question. Clay won in 1:25 and then entertained the crowd.
6. The Great Khali defeated Dolph Ziggler via countout in a restarted match. Christian came out to a pop and joined the announcers on commentary. John Laurinaitus rang bell and declared Ziggler winner by submission with no tap (Montreal screwjob style). Teddy restarted the match and counted out Ziggler, declaring Khali the winner. Kofi Kingston and Santino Marella pushed Ziggler back in and Khali chopped him.
7. CM Punk and Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan and The Miz in the main event. Sheamus got the pin over Miz after a Brogue Kick.
Dark Match
John Cena beat Kane in a cage match. Cena came out with Zach Ryder and Tony Chimmel. They clowned and joked around with the crowd about Lilian messing up for a few minutes before re-announcing Zach Ryder. Lilian said she messed up because he is hot. Funny. Kane came out. A lot of brawling and an early escape attempt by Kane. There were “Cena sucks” and “Let’s go Cena” chants the whole match. Cena won with the Attitude Adjustment in three minutes.
