Home Blog Page 3236

Latest On Booker Returning To WWE, No. 2 WWE Officer Resigns

Daniel Pena
-
5

— It was reported yesterday that Booker T canceled his scheduled appearance at this weekend’s New Orleans Comic Con. Though it has not been confirmed that former world champion will appear at tomorrow’s Royal Rumble, many people within WWE expect him to be on hand for the event.

— Donna Goldsmith, Chief Operating Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced this week she would be leaving the organizaion effective Feb. 28. The notice is available here.

Goldsmith was head of WWE Consumer Products for a number of years, which was considered the premiere division in the company for most of the past decade. She was promoted to COO and only trailed Vince McMahon in regards to power in the organization.

— Kelly Kelly was a Twitter trending topic yesterday in the United States during SmackDown.

— Today is former WWE star Hardcore Holly’s birthday. He turns 48 years old.

source: f4wonline.com

Phoenix Wants To Compete In The Rumble, Wrestlicious Update

Daniel Pena
-
1

— Beth Phoenix revealed to SLAM! Wrestling that she wants another Royal Rumble opportunity. “The Glamazon” took part in last year’s showcase, kissing and then eliminating The Great Khali.

“There’s 10 more spots, and that means 10 more chances to go an compete in the Royal Rumble, and go and compete, to wrestle for the World heavyweight championship at WrestleMania,” she said. “I think that the odds are a little bit better this year to get another opportunity, but like all the superstars, we don’t find out until the very last minute. So, there’s always a chance. That’s the great thing about watching it on pay-per-view is that you never know what you’re going to see.”

To read the article, here.

— WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart said last week on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show that Wrestlicious is close to securing a television deal with MTV2.

— WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Matt Riviera headlines New Millennium Wrestling’s Feb. 26 event at the Balch Springs Recreation Center in Balch Springs, Texas.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Steve Austin To Host Tough Enough, Superstars Rating Improves

Daniel Pena
-
10

— Entertainment Weekly is reporting that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has been tapped to host the revival of Tough Enough on the USA Network.

The show premieres April 4, following Monday Night Raw.

— The Jan. 27 episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.64 cable rating with 755,000 viewers. Viewership was up from last week’s episode, which was a 0.49 cable rating with 565,000 viewers.

The midnight replay scored a 0.17 cable rating with 120,000 viewers.

— The WrestleReunion website noted that Edge was at today’s convention at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton. He’s not there as a scheduled guest, but was visiting former colleague Shane Helms.

source: PWInsider.com

Jim Ross Previews The Royal Rumble: Major Surprises

Staff
-
7

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this update, Ross gives an in-depth preview of Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Here’s what he wrote about the event:

“The Royal Rumble is a vitally important PPV for WWE in that there is tremendous pressure to deliver a strong show and kick off the promotional road to Wrestlemania in a significant, thought provoking and memorable way.

Because of increasing the Rumble match from 30 to 40 men largely for the ability to promote Sunday’s event as ‘the biggest Royal Rumble match ever’ it obviously spreads the incumbent, established star power thinner. That means that younger talents who seek stardom need to bring their A+ games Sunday and maximize their in ring minutes.

For many, participating in this match this will be the most significant opportunity that they have had to shine, launch themselves, create awareness for their skill set, etc. I’m sure that we will get feedback on this site that it’s all about the creative process and the subsequent minutes that the talents are allotted but I am of the belief that great talents or talents who want to be great have the ability use their minutes to  maximum effectiveness.

I am very interested to see who ‘stands out’ during the Rumble match, who turns heads, and who comes out of the marathon bout better than they were when they entered the ring.

The opportunity to surprise and perhaps even shock the fan base is there and I certainly am of the belief that  surprises and unpredictable moments will be the order of the day in the Rumble match Sunday.

In many ways, this year’s Royal Rumble is more intriguing to me than several others in years past when the talent depth wasn’t such a talked about issue. I just have a feeling that multiple talents will have an opportunity to distinguish themselves throughout this 40 man match even though there will likely be only one winner based on historic precedent.”

MAILBAG: Were There Any Post-Mania Plans For HBK in 1998?

Jason Solomon
-
11

SEScoops Mailbag for January 28th

(submit YOUR questions to [email protected])

Q: A lot of people say that due to WWE’s PPV policy, fewer people buy their shows. But they don’t suggest the popularity of live streamings [as a reason why]. Don’t you think this factor is being overlooked? – Anonymous

A: I’m not sure what you mean by WWE’s PPV policy. Are you referring to the policy of requiring fans to, you know, BUY their pay-per-views? I think I understand the point you’re trying to make and while it’s a concern to them, by no means do I attribute the drop in PPV business to live internet streams. They account for a low percentage of views, relative to the actual number of people who typically buy these shows. If a typical WWE PPV (not named WrestleMania) would do 400,000 domestic buys a few years ago and is now pulling in 200,000, there’s a much bigger issue here than live streams. Remember, these streams existed when they were still doing good PPV business several years ago, so I don’t buy that as an excuse.

Q: When did the first ever Steel Cage match take place?. The WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 game says it was in the 1930’s, but I don’t believe it. – Anonymous

A: Well, believe it. The earliest records of anything resembling a cage match date back to July 2nd, 1937 and a match between Jack Bloomfield and Count Petro Rossi in Atlanta, GA where the ring was surrounded by chicken wire. Bloomfield won that match.

Q: I was wondering what ever happened to Maven? He just popped in my head today I don’t know why, but I don’t remember what happened to him. Did he get released? Where is he now? – Brian Collins

A: Maven Huffman, who won the first season of WWF Tough Enough on MTV, was released by the company in July 2005. I always thought he had great potential, but he was rushed on TV way too fast for someone with little experience, which is why WWE is only accepting people with wrestling backgrounds for their latest incarnation of Tough Enough. Maven currently works for the Home Shopping Network as a wellness expert on their morning show, HSN Today.

Q: Vince McMahon has two of the best play-by-play announcers in the world working for WWE, that being JR and Joey Styles. Why in the world are they not using them? Also why do they not focus on calling the matches these days? It’s so annoying having to listen to Matthews and Cole argue. – Anonymous

A: Blame Vince. He produces the announcers and shouts instructions in their ear during the shows. He wants them to be “storytellers” and not wrestling announcers. I’m not as willing as you are to call Joey Styles one of the best PBP guys in the world, but JR would certainly do wonders for their product if they put him back on TV. I’d say even if it was just for pay-per-views, but ideally you would want Ross back on Raw so that he could help sell you on buying those shows in the first place, something he is much better at than Michael Cole. Part of that is a credibility issue, but part of it is also that when you listen to JR, he just sounds so much more emotionally invested in the product. You can’t fake that.

Q: You mentioned in the Jan. 21st edition of “The Mailbag” that Bryan Daniels and The Miz have a history. I have never heard about this. Can you give me a little background as they are two of my favorite performers? Thanks. – Nick Ivey

A: Bryan Daniels doesn’t have a history with Miz as far as I know, but Daniel Bryan does. Miz was his pro during the first season of NXT and the two of them did not get along. In fact, they would often come to blows. When Bryan reached the main roster, he even had a few matches with Miz where he made the current WWE champion tap out to the LeBell Lock.

Q: What would’ve been the plans for Shawn Michaels (and maybe even DX for that matter) had he not suffered his career-threatening back injury in 1998? Would he have continued to feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after WrestleMania XIV? – Jesse

A: There’s no way of knowing for sure because I don’t think they ever had plans mapped out that far for him, especially once they knew Shawn would need time off for his back. I would think it’s a near certainty that he and Austin would have at least had one more PPV match after Mania, likely with some sort of stipulation. The other way they could have gone was have Triple H dump him from DX the next night on Raw and turn Shawn babyface again to have him feud with the new group, maybe even aligning himself with Austin.

Q: My brother swears that when Kane was first introduced into WWE, someone else played the character and, if so, was it Abyss? Please set him straight. – Joe Rampage

A: You sure your brother wasn’t doing bricks of cocaine with Charlie Sheen the other night? No, the character has always been played by Glen Jacobs. There was one time when Undertaker was revealed as wearing the Kane outfit on Raw and then, years later, they did the fake Kane angle with Drew Hankinson playing the role (aka Festus and Luke Gallows).

Q: I was watching the UFC “Fight for the Troops” special and kept noticing that the fighters rarely if ever take their opponents legs when they have their guy grounded and they’re kicking up at them. Would any pro wrestling submisson holds like the Boston Crab or Texas Cloverleaf work realistically or am I just living in a fantasy world? – Andrew

A: Stick to an arm bar (one of Chris Jericho’s famed 1004 holds) or sleeper hold. Any sort of leglock like a Sharpshooter or Boston Crab is pointless because it requires cooperation from your opponent, and because it would very easy for them to simply reach back and grab your leg in order to cause an imbalance and break the hold.

Q: What’s REALLY HOOD MY G! Anyways, yo, I understand dat ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair is a ‘RECOGNIZED’ 16x World Champ, however, Bob Backlund ISN’T ‘RECOGNIZED’ as a 3x WWF Champ, Harley Race ISN’T ‘RECOGNIZED’ as a 8x NWA World Champ, so ‘UN-OFFICIALLY’ how many World Heavyweight titles has Ric Flair won?! I count 17-19 (I use PWI’s mags & almanacs for my info). What says you?! – Slic Ric

A: Flair recognizes himself as a 21-time World champion, so that’s good enough for me. Belieeeee-dat!

Q: I was looking at the Title History page on WWE.com and was wondering, would it be better if instead of wrestlers winning titles numerous times if they would just stay champion for longer periods of time? For instance, instead of the Hulkster winning the WWF Championship five times, he was just champion for 5 years before losing it to someone else. Do you think the fans would be OK with this if it was the case today, even if it means that most likely Cena would still be our champion since 2005? – Brock Benningfield

A: Wait, Cena HASN’T been reigning as champ since 2005? It sure feels like he has. With Cena, they actually did give him a very long title reign (by modern day standards) back in 2007 and I think it brought some prestige back to the belt, so I would concur that longer reigns are more effective than the quantity of those reigns in getting titles over. Given the use of your Hogan example, it’s funny to note that he did have a four-year reign as WWF champion (1984-1988) and yet he still went on to win the title four more times. God bless the Hulkster.

Q: Has WWE lost faith in Drew McIntyre already? It feels as though he has been downgraded to the lower card, or are they just trying to get Trent Barretta over? – Trust Sakupwanya

A: They are not trying to get Barretta over. There have been times where WWE had big plans for Drew, but they’ve always been hesitant to pull the trigger. A former WWE writer who recently posted a blog that was quickly taken down noted that Drew was originally slated to win the Smackdown “Money in the Bank” match in July, but when they realized that there were too many heels already winning on the show, they decided to go with a babyface in Kane instead (funny since they immediately turned him heel). At another point, Drew was to be revealed as the person who buried The Undertaker alive. I think it’s a combination of bad luck and a bad rep backstage for having a chip on his shoulder. It doesn’t help that his wife (former diva Tiffany) also has a big mouth, which may work out great for him between the sheets, but not so much when she’s spouting off on Twitter and radio shows bashing the company her husband works for.

Q: Does WWE have control over the closed captioning for their programming? Whenever Michael Cole starts to speak, it comes up as Jim [Ross] or JR. – Ryan B.

A: I’m not sure if WWE provides the closed captioning folks with a list of character names, but regardless, they do not have control over it. At least, I’d like to think they don’t as I’ve seen some rather sexually-suggestive and downright hilarious captions in recent years that are more entertaining than the shows themselves. As an experiment, I urge everyone to watch an episode of Raw with the captions on. It may not be the same for everybody, but when Randy Orton makes his entrance, if the caption for the start of his theme music should read “I ate poison, now I’m dead”, then you’ll know it works. I’ve also seen it as “I have oysters in my bed” and “I have boys in my shed”, which is downright disturbing.

Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!

Booker T Cancels Weekend Appearances, Royal Rumble Sells Out

Daniel Pena
-
16

— Six-time world champion Booker T has canceled his scheduled appearance at this weekend’s New Orleans Comic Con at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Regarding a surprise appearance at Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, he was in discussions with World Wrestling Entertainment officials a few weeks ago regarding a potential return.

— This Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts is sold out. Complementary tickets for the event are hard to come by and scalpers have reportedly unloaded their share.

— The Bellas Twins made numerous media appearances today in Atlanta, Georgia promoting Wrestlemania XXVII.

source: PWInsider.com

Shane Helms Says Michaels Tried To Undercut Him & Mr. Kennedy

Daniel Pena
-
12

Monday Night Mayhem with Shane Helms
Hosts: The Big Mosh and “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent
Report by Paterson from N.J.
Airs every Monday at 6:00 P.M. (CT)
Show available at MondayNightMayhem.com.

His reasons for choosing to sign with Lucha Libre USA and not pursuing TNA or Ring of Honor more actively: “I just think it’s something different. I never did the Lucha Libre style, and I think I have more to offer those guys. I think it’s a challenge for me now. Once I left the WWE, if you count WCW, you’re talking about a 12-year TV career. The only time I had off is if I was hurt. I wasn’t really sure if I was going to sign another TV contract, because I didn’t know if I wanted to. I started working the indies, and working with a lot of talented people, and it kind of lit the fire under me again. There’s alot of people in TNA who want me there, and I have lot of friends down there, but Lucha Libre USA came at me with a great offer, so I think I made the right choice.”

Why, despite fan reaction, it was not a surprise for him to not join TNA, the importance of standing out on his own, and not going somewhere “because I’m someone’s friend”: “I had calls from certain people, but I hadn’t really decided. Even when the Lucha Libre offer came up, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do anything. I think TNA will always be an option, and it would great to work Matt, Jeff, and Shannon again, but I see those guys all the time anyway. I don’t want to go there just because I’m someone’s friend. That’s never been my deal, and I’ve always done my own thing anyway. I know it was a surprise to some people, but I think for people who really know me, it wasn’t that big of a surprise.”

Why he chose to echo his recent sentiments and feelings on Shawn Michaels, the reaction he has received from those within the wrestling community/his fans, and why “there will be more stories like that coming out” Shane’s explanation on the comments he made Shawn Michaels: “He tried to undercut me a couple times, and this was supposedly after his ‘salvation,’ when he’s supposed to be such a good guy. He’s undercut a lot of people, Ken Kennedy being one, that he really went out his way to bury for absolutely no reason. When you’re out there hurting somebody’s career and hurting somebody’s family, and then you go out on the stage and pray, that just rubs me wrong. I’m not getting anything out of telling the truth. I might have lost some fans just because I told the truth, but I think in the end there will be more people that will eventually, when they into a level of comfort that I’m at now, there will be more stories like that coming out.”

More is contained in Shane’s exclusive interview with The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network, including his candid thoughts and comments on if could ever foresee a return to World Wrestling Entertainment, where The Hurricane/Paul Burchill feud was headed on ECW on Syfy prior to his release, what he feels he brings to the table in his new home of Lucha Libre USA, the future of the cruiserweight style of wrestling, being one of the originators of social networking amongst those in the wrestling community, what led him to launch “Highway 2 Helms,” plus so much more! Mayhem Nation: Check out what’s next for the two-time World Tag Team Champion by visiting his official website (located at www.ShaneHelms.com) and by following The Hurricane on Twitter (at www.Twitter.com/ShaneHelms). In addition, be sure to tune in each and every Wednesday night (at 7PM ET/6PM CT) for all-new episodes of “Highway 2 Helms” on www.GeekWeek.com.

DDP Hosting WWE’s Nitro DVD, Jim Ross News & More

Staff
-
5

– Former WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page confirmed on Twitter on Thursday that he will be hosting WWE’s Best of WCW Nitro DVD, set to be released in a few months: DDP wrote:

“IT’s Official! I will Host “The BEST OF NITRO”! This a Great thing for the WCW/NWO/WWE fans! Plus a Great way for DDP to return to the WWE!”

– Ross also wrote that he will be the special referee for the event at the RAW live event in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 13th. The match will feature WWE champion The Miz defending against Randy Orton. In a recent blog post, Ross answered a fan question about him becoming a fulltime WWE referee, to which he responded:

“Not expected to be refereeing many matches going forward. Nothing is scheduled. However, Michael Cole is doing some refereeing I’m told in non televised, main events at TV tapings.”

– Ross also said on Twitter that once the WWE DVD on Hall of Famer Gorgeous George is done and released, they will then begin working on the WWE Studios movie on his life.

– Sean “X-Pac” Waltman will be hanging out with fans during a WWE Royal Rumble viewing party at The Dawg House at the Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The party begins this Sunday at 7pm before the Rumble begins. Call 954-924-3200 for more information.

Scott Hall Talk About His Health, 9 Times In Rehab

Staff
-
4

Former WWE and WCW star Scott Hall was recently interviewed The Miami Herald and said he’s heading back to the Menninger Clinic in Houston for treatment. Here are some highlights of what Hall said about:

Going Back To Rehab & Mental Illness “This place is really cool because it’s a psychiatric hospital. A lot the people there don’t have drug and alcohol stuff. Mental illness is real, and I got them. I don’t know if it’s the multiple concussions or the lifestyle choices…I’m going to a place where they can help me.”

His health: “I recently had this pacemaker/defibrillator put in my heart. We have bad hearts in my family genetically. My lifestyle contributed to it, too. I made some bad decisions and some bad choices. If you dance with the devil, you got to pay the price.”

Training Former WWE star Ricky Ortiz: “This is my first student ever. People ask why I don’t open a wrestling school. I tell them that I’m not just going to take anybody’s money, if they can’t handle it. If I don’t think you are going to be a big star, I’m not going to try to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I’m not going to waste my time. So I got this cat [Young]. He doesn’t drink or do drugs. He is very positive. He is like the young me.”

His Trips To Rehab: “I have been to about nine rehabs. They were high dollar and some of the best ones around. [WWE Chairman] Vince [McMahon] has picked up the tab the last couple of times. If you ever work or worked for WWE, if you ever need help, he will give it to you. He is really cool. Thank Vince, his wife Linda, [daughter] Stephanie, [son] Shane and Paul [Levesque/Triple H]. Thank you for helping me. It’s hard to ask for help. It’s even harder to accept it, when people offer it.”

Miz Talks About The WWE Locker Room, His Influences

Staff
-
7

WWE Champion The Miz was recently interviewed by Frian Fritz of Fanhouse.com to promote Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Here are some highlights:

You’ve told the story before about when you first came to the WWE that there were various people in the locker room who were not very supportive of you. What is the locker room like now when it comes to you and where you are at this point of your career?

The locker room is great now. It’s completely different because a lot of those veterans are gone, that old school mentality is kind of gone and it’s a whole new school kind of attitude and feel. It’s fresh, it’s new, it’s exciting and the locker room is pretty good. I mean, obviously, you still have a couple of jealous, wandering eyes who see me and see that I have the title. Obviously, everybody wants that. Everybody wants my spot so I have a target on my back which is fine. I’m more than willing to have a target on my back. The fact is, you’re going to miss every time because I’m still going to be the WWE Champion for a very long time.

Do you think we’ll ever see a day when the two world titles are unified?

“I don’t know. People have asked me that. Will they ever be unified? I don’t know if they ever will be. I think it would be a cool thing to happen at WrestleMania, to have a unification of the World Heavyweight and WWE Championship. But who knows whenever that will happen or even if it will.”

Have there been any particular guys in the WWE that have helped influence you? For me, I think I see some characteristics in you from Chris Jericho and various things he did. Did he influence you or was there anyone else that did?

“Yeah, I still talk to Jericho a lot. When he came back that last time, that really influenced me a lot as well as Shawn Michaels. I’ve always been a big fan of The Rock. Those guys kind of influenced me as well as working with John Cena. Last year, I had a whole program with John Cena. Working with him taught me a lot at what I had to get, where I had to go to become a top talent in the WWE and become a main evener.”

*SPOILERS* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For Tonight

Staff
-
11

WWE taped this week’s Smackdown tonight from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Below are full results:

Smackdown (Airing Friday on SyFy):

* The show opens with footage of what happened with The Corre on last week’s show.

* Vickie Guerrero comes out to massive heat. Randy Orton comes out to confront her and later Dolph Ziggler. They promote their upcoming tag team match for later tonight

* LayCool come out and are attacked by Kelly Kelly and Kaitlyn. This leads to LayCool over Kelly Kelly & Kaitlyn.

* Drew McIntyre vs. JTG with Kelly Kelly on commentary. Winner after hitting the Future Shock DDT, Drew McIntyre. After the match, Kelly Kelly gets in the ring but McIntyre brushes her off.

* Backstage, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes will not show his face because he says Rey Mysterio broke his nose. He says he’ll be unable to compete in the Royal Rumble.

* Backstage, World Heavyweight Champion Edge is interviewed about The Corre and tonight’s main event.

* Alberto Del Rio comes out in a convertible Mercedes Benz and is announced by Ricardo Rodriguez. It’s time for a top rope challenge. Del Rio throws out two unidentified jobbers and out comes Kane. Kofi Kingston is the next competitor out and he eliminates both Kane and Del Rio.

* This somehow leads to Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston fighting Alberto Del Rio and Kane. Vickie Guerrero comes out and declares it an official tag team match. Mid-way through the match Kane took out Del Rio and left him. Mysterio hits 619 on him and Kingston hits Trouble in Paradise to seal the victory.

* Big Show cuts a promo but The Corre come out in new t-shirts. This leads to Show vs. Heath Slater. Show makes easy work of him, hitting a chokeslam and getting the three count. After the match, Ezekiel Jackson and The Corre take out Big Show. Babyfaces from Raw and Smackdown come out and make the save. The Corree is ran off by Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, Daniel Bryan, Chris Masters and R-Truth.

* WWE Champion The Miz w/Alex Riley & Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero vs. World Heavyweight Champion Edge & Randy Orton. Winners after Edge hit a Spear on Dolph Zigger, Edge & Randy Orton. After the match Vickie Guerrero gets on the mic and says from this point forward the spear is banned. If Edge uses it at Royal Rumble on Sunday, the World Heavyweight Championship will go to Dolph Ziggler. Edge’s music hits the end the show.

(Credit to Wrestling News World for these results)

Surprises Planned For The Rumble, Diva Search Update, More

Daniel Pena
-
30

— Two ‘legends’ are reportedly scheduled for Sunday’s 40-Man Royal Rumble Match. Another wrestler that would be considered a surprise is also set to appear.

— It was disclosed at a WWE-sponsored web conference yesterday that the Diva Search competition would be brought back to company programming. The concept will reportedly be similar to NXT as the contestants would be mentored by WWE Divas. Additionally, it is said that company officials will make a concentrated effort to recruit female talent from the independent wrestling scene.

— Former WWE Champion Shawn Michaels has been nominated for a Shorty.com Award in the sports category, which honors the best producers of short real time content (on Twitter).

— For weekend live events, the Raw tour saw Friday’s show in Trenton, NJ draw 6,500 paying $189,000. Saturday in State College, PA, drew 4,200 paying $120,000. Sunday in Youngstown, OH, drew 5,400 paying $170,000. Monday’s Raw in Detroit drew 9,000. The SmackDown events saw Saturday’s show in Kalamazoo, MI draw 4,400 and $128,000 and Sunday’s show in Hammond, IN drew 3,300 pay $98,000.

Flair Apologizes, Hernandez Returning, Styles, LockDown

Staff
-
5

— Ric Flair has arrived for the TNA house show in Glasgow, Scotland. When he arrived, he apologized to the locker room for the Dublin, Ireland incident. We’ll have a further update on this story later this week.

— TNA has announced that April’s Lockdown PPV will take place at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tickets will go on sale February 18th. Earlier this week, TNA invited NFL star Chad Ochocinco, who plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, to wrestle his head coach at Lockdown in a steel cage, which has already gotten TNA a lot of local publicity for the event.

– Hernandez has finished his duties with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and is expected to resurface on TNA Wrestling programming shortly. The former TNA World Tag Team Champion was sent to AAA last March as part of a talent exchange. He last appeared for TNA at Victory Road, defeating Matt Morgan in a Steel Cage Match.

– AJ Styles is now a financial backer of a new MMA group, Fight Fusion Entertainment. The promotion debuts on February 18th at the Georgia Mountain Center in Gainesville, Georgia. The promoter is Styles’ brother.

(Sources: pwinsider.com, Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Triple H Talks Retirement, His Injury, Returning, New Baby

Staff
-
11

WWE star Triple H was interviewed by RXMuscle.com’s “Heavy Muscle Radio” show earlier this month and spoke to host Dave Palumbo about a number of topics. You can listen to an MP3 of RXMuscle’s interview with Triple H by clicking here. Here are some highlights of what Triple H talked about:

— He guaranteed that he will not want to be like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, who wrestle into their 60s. Hunter said he and Shawn Michaels agreed to tell the other when it was time to hang it up, and he said he never had to have that conversation with Shawn.

— Regarding his in ring return, he said, Hopefully the goal is sometime in the spring to come back.”

— He spoke about his new daughter, Vaughn Evelyn Levesque. After 3 girls, he does want a boy and says he and Stephanie have a graet name planned, but wouldn’t’ share it. Originally, Stephanie wanted five kids and he wanted two. He said they’re not sure about having more children.

— He currently does not have a lot to do with WWE’s creative process, but has been in charge of running a few WWE shows.

— Consistent with what’s been repoted recently, Triple H said that father-in-law Vince McMahon has been pushing him to take a bigger role in WWE’s front office, “to learn the other side of the business.” He is at the WWE office in Stanford for the majority of the week and attends many of WWE’s televised shows.

— Hunter also revealed details on how he injured his biceps, which has kept him out of action for months. His doctors initially believed it was nerve damage related to a neck injury. The injury occurred during a light workout, just weeks into filming a movie for WWE. WWE doctor Dr. James Andrews looked at the injured arm and said he could not finish shooting hte movie without having surgery first.

Kong’s WWE Debut, Batista Expected Back In WWE & More

Staff
-
12

– There are rumors that Awesome Kong will make her WWE debut at Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. One scenario that’s been discussed is for her to interfere during the Divas Title match between Natalya and LayCool.

– There are still people in WWE that believe Batista will return to the company this year. Big Dave is known to be a fan of the “good life” – enjoying the luxury lifestyle that being a top-drawing WWE superstar brings. Batista has been pursuing his acting career, as well as training for his professional mixed martial arts debut, but his best chance to make big money is still with WWE.

While company officials remain optimistic that Batista has not wrestled his last match, the fact that Mason Ryan was brought in last week without changing his look (which most see as very similar to Batista’s) indicates that WWE is moving on without him, for now.

— Bret Hart’s latest role in WWE is taking part in the “Legends Roundtable” series that airs on WWE’s Classics On Demand channel. Jim Ross noted on Twitter this week that he was at WWE headquarters this week with Bret Hart, Pat Patterson, Michael Hayes and Gene Okerlund working on new Legends Roundtable episodes.

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

HBK Wants Flair At HOF Ceremony, McCool-Undertaker

Staff
-
7

– When WWE legend Shawn Michaels is inducted into the Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend, he reportedly wants longtime friend Ric Flair to be at the ceremony. While there’s no word yet on whether Flair will appear, feeling is that WWE would have no problem with Flair attending, but they likely would not show him on camera. It remains to be seen whether TNA would have a problem with Flair attending a WWE event.

– Michelle McCool was back on the road for WWE live events this past weekend, indicating that The Undertaker is doing well recovering from surgery.

As noted earlier this week, it’s now expected that he will work WrestleMania 27 this year. McCool had been given time off from live events to stay at home and tend to her husband, The Deadman.

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Gorgeous George & Bruno Sammartino Movie Details

Staff
-
4

– We’ve reported before about WWE’s has plans plans to make a feature film on the life of WWE Hall of Famer Gorgeous George. There’s now talk of making a DVD set on the flamboyant superstar’s career in an effort ot make him more relevant to today’s generation of fans.

Vince McMahon is said to be a huge fan of the Gorgeous George story and wants to push him as the originator of “sports entertainment” and wrestling’s “Babe Ruth” character. Gorgeous George was a tremendous star in his day, achieving international fame during the early years of television. Many famous athletes have named Gorgeous George as an influence, including boxing great Muhammad Ali.

– The Italian Tribune News reported recently that the movie based on the life of WWE legend Bruno Sammartino will begin filming in April in Italy. The movie is also expected to film in Tokyo, New York, San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Goldust Injury Update, Retirement Talk & Rumble Pick

Staff
-
5

Late last month, WWE superstar Goldust wrote on Twitter that he will be out of action for the first half of 2011 following shoulder surgery. Right before New Years, the Golden One wrote,  “Recovery is like watchin paint dry…but me as an impatient person…has to watch it dry…shoulder will be better than ever in time.”

Goldust was interviewed this week by Detroit’s WDFN 1130 AM radio station and confirmed that he will be not be wrestling again until June at the earliest. Goldust said his shoulder had been working with a banged up shoulder for several months, when he decided to get the surgery. He is planning to return this summer, wrestle until the end of 2012 and then retire.

Goldust, who recently released his “Cross Rhodes” WWE autobiography, said that WWE is panning to release a DVD set on his career soon, although he does not have details on when it would be coming out.

Regarding Sunday’s Royal Rumble and his pick to win, Goldust had this to say:

“You know, I kind of like – if Triple H is coming back, which I think he might be, but I’m not sure. If he does, I would have to pick him. If not him, I would have to say probably Alberto Del Rio.”

WWE’s PPV Schedule, WM27 Sponsor Still Needed, Summerslam

Staff
-
7

As we touched on yesterday in our post about the Diva Search Competition would be returning this year (details), WWE held a web conference to entice potential advertisers to promote their products with WWE. WWE’s Senior Vice President of Partner Sales Joe DelGrosso hosted the event.

Aside from the news that the Diva Search competition would be returning, the following things were also discussed:

— WWE will not be cutting back from 13 pay-per-view events a year. 13 pay-per-views is actually the “minimum” going forward, implying that more pay-per-view events may be added in the future.

— WWE is hoping to have SummerSlam take place from Los Angeles, California every year. WWE regards SummerSlam as the second biggest show of the year and the company likes hosting it out in LA, where they have access to celebrities.

— WWE is still looking for sponsors for WrestleMania in April. Sponsors can come aboard for a 5 week promotional period (Feb 28th-April 3rd).

— WWE pushed that 7-Eleven, Slim Jim and Twix have all enjoyed very successful sponsorship campaigns with the company.

Mr. DelGrosso closed the presentation by showing a slide which highlighted the Ad Age endorsement of WWE as “the hottest brand of 2010.”

WWE Bringing Back The Diva Search Competition

Daniel Pena
-
11

World Wrestling Entertainment held a web conference today enticing prospective promotional parters and it was disclosed that the Diva Search would be brought back.

Julie Stenz, WWE’s Director of Partner Marketing, said a ten-week competition would be held during the company’s “regularly scheduled” programming and that sponsorship opportunities would be available.

An official start date for the upcoming competition has not been disclosed.

Organization officials have auditioned prospective female talent in recent months, some of whom are expected to participate in the Diva Search.

The Rock & Trish Stratus Discussed For 2012 Hall Of Fame

Daniel Pena
-
23

With Shawn Michaels being announced as the first big name to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April, WWE officials are already talking about possible candidiates to headline the Class of 2012.

Two names in particular that have come up for next year’s Hall of Fame class ar Trish Stratus, given that it will likely take place in her hometown of Toronto, and Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The idea with Rock is it would be mark ten years after his memorable WrestleMania match with Hulk Hogan, which also took place in Toronto.

The Rock and Trish Stratus worked together during their time in WWE, including this memorable moment of them kissing backstage:

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Planned WrestleMania Main Event, Celebrity Contacted & More

Staff
-
23

— According to a person who spoke directly to Vince McMahon this past week, Wade Barrett vs. The Undertaker is currently penciled in as the main event for WrestleMania XXVII. Barring a setback in recovery, it’s now considered a lock that The Undertaker will work the show. As reported earlier this week, the Undertaker will be appearing at WWE’s Axxess event, which takes place the day before WrestleMania.

— Starting with the Royal Rumble, all future WWE Blu-ray releases will include the DVD version. There will be a price increase of $5.

— WWE officials have been negotiating with representatives of Duane Chapman, best known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, about an appearance at WrestleMania. The talks took place a few weeks ago and it’s said that Chapman’s people were asking for way more than WWE initially offered.

— While numerous seats remain available for WrestleMania XXVII, WWE officials are said to be happy with ticket sales thus far. Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony have been selling especially well, with only balcony seats remaining as of early this week.

TNA Invites Chad Ochocinco To Wrestle His Coach In A Steel Cage

Staff
-
17

TNA Wrestling sent out the following press release today, inviting controversial NFL superstar Chad Ochocinco a chance to wrestle his coach, Marvin Lewis, inside a steel cage at the upcoming Lockdown pay-per-view on 4/17:

CHAD OCHOCINCO VS. HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS IN A STEEL CAGE MATCH?

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling offers to host the bout at the “Lockdown” Pay-Per-View event on Sunday, April 17

As the NFL’s Super Bowl draws near, one of the year’s major football news stories has been the ongoing rivalry between Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and his head coach, Marvin Lewis.

The ill-will between the head coach and his star player has reportedly been an ongoing issue, and now Ochocinco has challenged Lewis to put an end to their differences once and for all – not on the gridiron field of the NFL, but inside a steel cage!

On Monday, Ochocinco posted the following message to his Twitter account (twitter.com/ochocinco), responding to Adam Schefter of ESPN: “Me and Marvin Lewis in a cage match, set it up, I’ve earned my stripes on my helmet it’s time to fight then play”

As a result, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling has offered to host Ochocinco vs. Lewis inside a Steel Cage at their annual “Lockdown” event on April 17, which will air live on Pay-Per-View!

“Lockdown” features every match contested inside a 15-foot reinforced steel cage, making it the only all-steel cage Pay-Per-View event in professional wrestling.

If Ochocinco and Lewis agree to settle their differences, TNA Wrestling officials will work with their representatives to sanction the bout, as well as train both combatants in the weeks leading up to the match.

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling, airing in over 120 countries worldwide. Join Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Mr. Anderson, the lovely and lethal TNA Knockouts and the no-limits X-Division every Thursday at 9/8 on SpikeTV in the United States. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com

Concern Over WrestleMania Line-up, WWE Highlighting The Divas

Daniel Pena
-
5

— There continues to be great concern amongst WWE officials over the match line-up for WrestleMania XXVII.

While it’s likely that WWE will produce a strong wrestling card, the major point of concern is that it will take more than that to attract the masses and draw the type of revenue that is expected of the organization’s grandest event of the year.

— February is “Defrost with the Divas” month on WWE Classics On Demand as the “sexy, smart and powerful” WWE Divas are highlighted with their greatest shows, matches and moments.

— Former TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Taylor Wilde turns 25 years old today while Road Warrior Animal turns 51.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

POLL: Who Will Win Sunday’s ROYAL RUMBLE Match?

Staff
-
112

[poll id=”26″]

1...3,2353,2363,237...3,410Page 3,236 of 3,410