– Dish Network has taken several digs at WWE since deciding to drop WWE pay-per-views as a result of the shows being available on the WWE Network.

Dish has now updated the Elimination Chamber page on their website to redirect to the TNA Lockdown page.

– WWE superstar Kane appeared on Minnesota’s KARE 11 (NBC) to promote Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. He went through the the usual kayfabe hype for the show and revealed that Brock Lesnar will be there.

When asked how Brock Lesnar fits into the Elimination Chamber picture, Kane hesitated. The hosts asked Kane if Lesnar is still with WWE and he responded that Lesnar is still under contract and will be at the pay-per-view this Sunday.

WWE is not currently advertising Lesnar for the PPV.

*SPOILER* Hulk Hogan’s WWE TV Return Date Revealed

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was at the WWE Performance Center this week:

TNA World Champion Magnus spoke to Herald-Dispatch.com this week and says TNA has started another “new era” that will no longer depend on stars from the past. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Starting Out In TNA As Part Of A Tag Team:

“I was very green when I first came in. I probably wouldn’t have lasted.”

“A singles guy, you’re very exposed. You learn on the job. Doug took me under his wing. We complemented each other, benefited from working with one another. The tag win was a big deal. Chances are I’d be around a while.”

TNA Focusing On Younger Talent:

“We’ve moved to a new era. We looked to others to run things before. They wouldn’t pull the trigger on the young talent. You put yourself into a spot. If you don’t do it fast enough, people won’t buy into it. In transition, you have to make it real.

There’s only one left. It’s a definitive moment.”

Chad Dukes of CBS Radio Washington DC 106.7 The Fan’s “Chad Dukes vs. The World” and ChadDukesWrestling.com interviewed WWE Superstar on Sheamus Thursday. In the interview we discussed Sheamus’ recovery from surgery, the Elimination Chamber match, WWE Network, England vs. Ireland in Six Nations Rugby Match, and the Shield versus the Wyatts. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

What he was up to while recovering from surgery and holding off his return to the ring:

“I got back home to Ireland, saw my 91-year-old grand mother. She was asking me why I’m running around half-naked on national, global television. “We didn’t do that back in my day,” she said. And I got to see me Ma, on the west coast of Ireland.  I got to see my friends & family, and I got to reflect on my last couple years which I hadn’t got to do before that.  You know a lot of things, but after about three months I was ready to come back.

I actually got cleared kinda early as well, with my surgery, but I’ve just been kinda waiting to come back.  I wanted to get the right time and at the Rumble was the right time I think.  So I came back at the Rumble, now I feel like I’m starting from scratch again. I’m going out there every week to remind people who I am.”

Sunday’s Elimination Chamber Match:

“You can’t really prepare for it.  I mean you’re right, you’re better off watching from the outside rather than being on the inside because it can get pretty hairy in there.  It really is one of THE toughest matches. I mean physically, it’s THE toughest match you can possibly have in WWE.  And so much at stake too, anything and everything can happen.  That’s the thing, matches, you can be in certain situations where the structure around you or the objects around you can cause a
lot of damage but it’s all about what’s at stake, and what’s at stake here is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that Randy Orton has and with that also a main event match at WrestleMania 30 against Batista. So everybody in there knows it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, to headline the biggest, greatest WrestleMania ever. So everybody in there is going to be taking risks they wouldn’t normally take.”

William Regal:

“People don’t really know about this, but William Regal has been a fantastic mentor to me, him and Fit Finlay have been tremendous mentors to me in my time in WWE.  Everyone talks about Triple H, Triple H has been a great help but on the road from day one, Regal has been the one who’s helped me.  Arn Anderson too, as well.”

The WWE Network:

“I mean let’s be honest, $9.99 and you get every pay-per-view? You also get access on open to a 1000 hours of pay per view vault footage, all pay per views, which is going to be updated on a regular basis. Huge Content.  There’s gonna be preshows on Raw and Smackdown, and post shows.  It’s a tremendous opportunity to watch what you want when you want.

Especially for us too.  All us superstars we’re all fans of wrestling: WWE, ECW, WCW, and the rest WCCW and NWA.  We grew up watching all these different superstars who are no longer active right now.  It’s very hard for us on the road to bring those DVDs with us, you don’t have a DVD player, but now with your Ipad or your phone you can literally pull up any footage of any match you want anytime, any show. It’s gonna be incredible it really is. It really is groundbreaking.

I have an Xbox 360 at home and I’m not the greatest gamer, I’ll play a game here or two but fella, I use that thing for everything. For HBO Go, for Hulu, for Netflix, that’s the way TV’s going.  It’s gonna be a massive massive success I feel.”

The Shield vs. Wyatts Match and the talents involved:

“First of all the Shield, being a great fantastic unit, and you’ve got three fantastic individuals.  You’ve got Seth Rollins, very creative, very athletic type of guy.  Very Creative.  You’ve got Dean Ambrose, really really cool character, real quirky, and just a great throwback. You know what I mean, the Roddy Piper, I know people compare him to Roddy all the time.  A great character.  And you’ve got Roman Reigns who has the look, he’s jacked, he’s atheletic, he’s powerful.  So you’ve got a great combination in the Shield that work so well together.

And of course you’ve got the Wyatts, who are more of a unit themselves together, you know what I mean. But they’re all just great phenomenal characters.  I mean the promos that Bray cuts and just the creepy Rowan guy, who by the way is not my dad, he is not my father, and Luke Harper, who I’ve been in the ring with as well, who’s agressive as you can get, he may as well be European.  It’s just a great unit, a great match.  People wanna see that match as much as the chamber.”

TNA star MVP was interviewed by Josh Modaberi of Wrestling101.com during TNA’s recent UK tour and explained why he joined the promotion.

“Part of the reason why I chose to go to TNA was because it’s not good for the fans or for the industry when there is just one conglomerate and nowhere else to go.”

“I would like to try (to) help facilitate, creating a situation where WWE has to recognize TNA as a potential competitor. And if you know like I do, WWE holds all the marbles then for the artists, the talent it’s not good for our business, competition is good for business,

Speaking of MVP, he will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Jim Ross’ Ross Report podcast at PodcastOne.com. The episode was recorded this week.

– As noted earlier this week, WWE.com published an article by Bill Apter about Sting’s legendary career. Titled, “Behind the paint of sports-entertainment icon Sting,” the article states that Sting was “Undeniably the Face of WCW.”

Teasing that his best days may still be yet to come, the article puts him over as a true legend in the sport that can still go in the ring:

“More than 25 years since he became a good guy, Sting is still a presence in the ring, as well as at numerous charity events. He’s a true legend with a constant drive to always be one step better than the day before. His best days may still be yet to come.”

WWE posted the following tweet promoting the article:

Go behind the paint with @apter1wrestling of the one and only icon @Sting! http://t.co/kKBXiW3pFd pic.twitter.com/A3ARjMJt1q

— WWE (@WWE) February 21, 2014

– WWE Superstar The Great Khali became an American citizen on Thursday. His brother Ranjin Singh tweeted:

To my bro @GreatKhali, congrats on becoming a US Citizen today! Now we're both as American as @WWEZeb #WeThePeople pic.twitter.com/Erijx7YCYL

— Ranjin Singh (@WWERanjinSingh) February 21, 2014

WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Here’s a preview – hit up Page 2 below for *Spoiler* results.

– Daniel Bryan vs. Jack Swagger

– Antonio Cesaro in action

– The Wyatt Family vs. The Rhodes Brothers and Rey Mysterio

– Summer Rae vs. Emma in a dance off

– Dolph Ziggler vs. Titus O’Neil

– Jimmy Uso vs. Road Dogg

– Sheamus vs. Christian

A new photo has surfaced online of WWE legend The Undertaker. At 48 years old, he’s definitely starting to show his age – and appears to be sporting a new neck tattoo.

The Dead Man has already signed on to defend his streak at WrestleMania XXX and will be returning to WWE very soon.

The Undertaker’s WWE Return Date Revealed

– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam was recently asked by a fan on his official Twitter account when he would be making a return to WWE. RVD answered the fan by saying:

“@Zigzag_rko: @TherealRVD when are you getting back in the #WWERing” Soon. But not today.

— Rob Van Dam (@TherealRVD) February 20, 2014

– Celebrity-gossip website TMZ made a tasteless comment on their Facebook page when promoting the article on their website about the passing of former WWE Superstar Big Daddy V. They wrote the following:

“Obviously, the weight loss came too late … or it was too much too quickly. R.I.P.”

• Latest On CM Punk’s WWE Return, Ultimate Warrior/WMXXX Plans & WWE HOF Updates

– The latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which features Zeb Colter (aka Dutch Mantel) as a guest, is now available. You can check it out at SteveAustinShow.com.

– WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper continues to campaign for a match at WrestleMania XXX on his official Twitter account. Piper recently tweeted the following:

#WWE put Piper in WMXXX! He promises, the fans will love it! Or is "What's good for biz" just a line a writer made for you!

— Rowdy Roddy Piper (@R_Roddy_Piper) February 20, 2014

One of the big notes to come out of the WWE Network programming announcement earlier this week is the fact that WWE will be going head-to-head with TNA Impact Wrestling on Thursday nights.

WWE noted in the announcement that they will be running a three-hour block of programming on Thursday nights, beginning with Legends House at 8pm (starting April 10th), NXT TV at 9pm (starting March 6th) and Superstars at 10pm (starting February 27th).

– As previously reported, the “expert panel” for the upcoming NXT “Arrival” special on the WWE Network will consist of Kevin Nash, Paul Heyman, Bret Hart and Renee Young. Apparently Nash is replacing Shawn Michaels, who was originally scheduled to be part of the panel.

– According to reports, Alexander Rusev may be using a sidewalk-slam as his finishing move. Up until recently, Rusev had been using the camel clutch as his finisher.

After promoting Steve Austin’s podcast on RAW for the past several weeks, WWE has started plugging Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast on their official website as well.

As we previously reported, WWE has been looking at entering the podcast business after seeing the success that Austin and Jericho have had with their shows. Additionally, they seem to be allowing their talent to appear as guests on these shows.

WWE launched their own PodcastOne.com show a few weeks ago, “30 Years Of WrestleMania,” with two shows thus far, which featured Shawn Michaels and Edge talking to host Renee Young about their WrestleMania memories and highlights.

– Brodus Clay has been working out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for the past week. Clay is scheduled to work this Saturday’s NXT live event in Jacksonville, Florida.

– Ryback revealed his new ring gear for this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber event. He recently tweeted the following photo:

New RybAxel limited edition "Step Brothers" singlet for Sunday at #WWEChamber #RybAxel pic.twitter.com/MZz7LpxYqp

— Ryan Reeves (@Ryback22) February 20, 2014

Luis Urive, better known as the original Sin Cara in WWE, will be debuting for Mexico’s AAA promotion this weekend in a Rey de Reyes qualifying match. He will compete in a four-way against Pyscho Clown, Psicosis and AAA Champion El Texano Jr.

Speaking of Urive, there are many people questioning why he would continue to use the Sin Cara name, as most view it as an association with being a failure in WWE. He can’t go back to using his old Mistico character, as CMLL owns the name and has given it to another wrestler.

As far as the name Sin Cara, WWE believes they own the name, however Urive insists that he has the legal rights to it.

The following is the updated lineup for the TNA “One Night Only: Outbreak” pay-per-view, which is taped in conjunction with Wrestle-1 in Tokyo, Japan on March 2nd:

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
– Magnus (c) vs. Kai

TNA World Tag-Team Championships
– The Bro Mans (c) vs. Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi

TNA X-Division Championship
– Austin Aries (c) vs. Seiya Sanada

– Bobby Roode vs. Masakatsu Funaki

– Kazarian & Daniels vs. Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto

– The official WWE website has a new poll up for another edition of their “WWE Countdown” show, which will air exclusively on the WWE Network. This poll asks fans to vote on the greatest tag-teams of all-time. The options are:

Edge and Christian
The New Age Outlaws
The Rockers
The Legion of Doom
The British Bulldogs
The Dudley Boyz
Demolition
The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection
The Fabulous Freebirds
The Hardy Boyz

You can vote at WWE.com.

– The following are the Blu-ray extras for WWE’s new Ultimate Warrior DVD, which is scheduled for an April 1st release:

Dingo Warrior vs. Matt Bourne, WCCW – 10/24/1986
Ultimate Warrior & British Bulldogs vs. Mr. Fuji & Demolition, Maple Leaf Gardens – 7/24/1988
IC Title Match: Ultimate Warrior vs. Dino Bravo, The Main Event – 2/23/1990
WrestleMania VIII Contract Signing – 3/17/1991
Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, WrestleFest – 3/30/1991
IC Title Match: Ultimate Warrior vs. Goldust, In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies – 4/28/1996

– While no official deal is in place at this point, there is said to be a strong push within TNA to bring Chris Hero (aka Kassius Ohno) into the company.

– The following are some recent TNA live event attendance figures:

February 14th live event in Abilene, Texas drew approximately 300 fans
February 15th live event in Cedar Park, Texas drew approximately 900 fans
February 16th live event in Huntsville, Texas drew approximately 350 fans

Tonight’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling features Gunner vs. Magnus for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, The Wolves vs. Bad Influence, Madison Rayne vs. Gail Kim in a Street Fight and the latest drama between MVP and TNA president Dixie Carter.

Below is the official opener for tonight’s show:

http://youtu.be/PewHDQBH4Hk

Due to TNA’s live event crowds being so small, the company reportedly has to write checks to the arena to settle out. In most cases, when wrestling shows run arenas, they simply give the building a cut of the profits generated from the shows. In TNA’s case, because they don’t generate enough income off of their shows, they end up writing a check to the building.

A good example is the TNA live event at Temple University last December. Apparently TNA had to write a $15,000 check to the building because the money they took in that night wasn’t enough to cover what they owed to the arena for renting the place.

– WWE Superstar John Cena granted his 401st wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation this past Monday prior to the RAW show in Denver, Colorado. The WWE Community website has photos of Cena meeting 5-year old Amir at Community.WWE.com.

– The pre-sale for tickets to the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view begins today with the password EXTREME. The event takes place on May 4th from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

– As previously reported, WWE will be releasing their “Signature Sounds: The Music of WWE” DVD set on March 18th. The following are the DVD extras for the project:

Shawn Michaels – Tell Me A Lie
Val Venis – Hello Ladies
Hakushi – Angel
Billy Gunn – Ass Man
Maria – Legs Like That
William Regal – He’s a Man
The Making of GoldLust
The Music of WWE Studios

The following are highlights from a new blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On wrestling spoilers: “Not sure that I would be as motivated to watch TNA tonight or Friday Night Smackdown if I succumb to reading the “Spoilers.” As you know the only “Spoiler” that I enjoy are the memories of the work done by the late, Don Jardine who’s in every conversation that one can have regarding the best masked wrestlers of all time.”

On the success of his new podcast and upcoming guests: “Our team is very happy with the results of the first Ross Report podcast that dropped this week. Thanks to the efforts of Steve Austin and Podcast One and, of course, many of you, our first venture into Podcasting was a hit.”

“We had some audio issues that will be evident on the first two shows but after that we will good to go. It’s my responsibility to make every show better than the last and I can assure you that I won’t phone any thing in and hope that you will come along on this journey with us.”

“We have some great guests lined up for future shows including Trish Stratus, Mauro Ranallo, Mick Foley, Lita, Scott Hall, and ESPN’s Robert Flores among many others.”

On the best feedback wrestling companies can get: “Just food for thought but the more ‘corporate’ wrestling organizations become the more they should remember that the best feedback they can receive isn’t from focus groups or the opinion from executives who aren’t passionate about the biz or students of the game. The best feedback one can receive is from the paying customers who are sitting in the arenas.”

“Always remember that an empty seat speaks volumes.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.

On Wednesday, WWE issued the following statement in response to Dish Network dropping all WWE pay-per-view events, including Sunday’s Elimination Chamber:

“WWE is pleased that the majority of our cable and satellite Pay-Per-View distributors are giving our fans an option to purchase traditional Pay-Per-Views as we prepare to launch WWE Network on Monday, February 24. Unfortunately, DISH will not be doing so. We hope DISH will reconsider for this Sunday’s Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View event and especially for WrestleMania 30.”

In response to a customer who emailed Dish Network about why they are dropping WWE pay-per-views, they responded:

“WWE has chosen to launch a 24/7 online network, without its TV partners, that includes all of its pay-per-view events. As WWE enters the increasingly fragmented media world by themselves, DISH will continue to consider the value of WWE pay-per-view on an event by event basis.

“DISH continues to provide a variety of WWE programming, including WWE Raw on USA, WWE Smackdown on Syfy, WWE Main Event on Ion and WWE Total Divas on E!. At this time, WWE pay-per-view events are not available on DISH.”

Here are some highlights of what WWE said about the WWE Network at Thursday morning’s investor conference call:

– WWE hopes to end the year with 1 million subscribers. When asked about a a ballpark figure for the payout for the Network, they said approximately $12 million.

– They think that they can reach 2-3 million subscribers in the United States.

– WWE will give the first Network Subscriber update on April 7th, the day after WrestleMania XXX.

– The buzz on on Social Media and the wide distribution of the WWE App (over 10 million downloads).

– They expect to launch the Network outside of the US by the end of 2014, or early next year.

WWE spoke about the company’s ongoing TV rights fees negotiations at Thursday morning’s investor conference call. Here are some highlights:

– WWE is now engaged in negotiations with several other companies now that they are outside of their exclusive window with NBCU.

– They expect to have a deal done by the end of April.

– George Barrios would not comment on how many bidders they expect for WWE TV, but they are confident in the final outcome due to the strength of the product.

– When asked why they couldn’t reach a deal with NBC Universal, Barrios said NBC U didn’t want to pay what they were looking for. He would not comment if the WWE Network played a factor in the negotiations.

– Regarding whether WWE will realize the benefits of the new TV deal at once or gradually, they said the deals have “escalation clauses” built in.