The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s WWE SmackDown:
– Sheamus starts the show and talks about his title match at WrestleMania
– Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater
– Eve vs. Natalya
– Big Show vs. Mark Henry
– Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre
– Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
TNA President Dixie Carter has provided an update on the health of TNA wrestler Jesse Sorensen, who suffered a bad neck injury (a fractured C1 vertebrae) at the recent TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view. Dixie Carter tweeted this week:
“@TNASorenson met w/doctors this wk & is out for up to a yr. We’re blessed he will be back at all. He’s staying positive. No comment on Zima.”
Sorensen also wrote about his recovery on Twitter, telling fans:
“To all the fans who continue to keep me in your thoughts & prayers, I want to say thank you! I am getting stronger everyday. #TexasTough”
Savage Hall of Fame Error (Click To Enlarge)
– The WWE’s latest “Bring it Back” feature says the company should bring back “crazy Superstar props,” such as the Undertaker’s urn. The article features an image of WWE legend “Macho Man” Randy Savage from the days when he was the “Macho King,” wearing a crown and holding his scepter. Savage is referred to as a “WWE Hall of Famer,” which we know is factually incorrect.
– Daniel Tosh of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 is auctioning off various props from his show on eBay, including a Piper’s Pit backdrop and an autographed action figure of Arn Anderson.
– In a glaring error, event ticketing website Seatwave.com was advertising several deceased and retired wrestlers for WWE’s upcoming tour of the UK later this year. Talent advertised for WWE’s trip to the UK this November included Edge, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Undertaker, Sheamus, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton.
– With the announcement earlier this week that WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be taking place in July from Phoenix, Arizona, we can confirm that WrestleMania 28 will not feature a MITB match, as rumored.
– Evan Bourne’s 60-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy will end on March 17.
– The Undertaker is no longer listed the local advertising for Monday’s RAW Supershow from the TD Garden.
As previously reported, the show will feature Shawn Michaels and The Rock.
– WWEDVDNews.com has released the official promo for the upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD set on Edge’s career, “The Story of Edge,” due out April 3rd:
(Source: pwinsider.com)
– The 2012 WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view scheduled for July 15th has been moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– Actor James Roday of the USA Network’s original series “Psych” will guest star on the March 12th episode of RAW from Cleveland, Ohio. Roday will be promoting that week’s episode of Psych, which will feature an appearance by The Miz.
– One month before WrestleMania 28, WWE has opened a new office in Miami, FL that will focus on “achieving significant growth across all lines of WWE’s business including Media Distribution, Live Event Touring, Consumer Products, and Digital within Latin American markets.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. As always, you can buy his delicious line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com. In his latest blog entry, JR answered a ton of questions from his readers. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Why does WWE change the names of wrestlers?
“WWE is an entertainment company and they want to own all their intellectual property. Changing names of wrestlers allows them to own those names. It’s smart business and I would do the same if I owned a wrestling company. Wrestlers who are using a name that they used prior to joining WWE essentially ‘lease’ their name to WWE during the term of said wrestler’s WWE tenure.”
Is WWE going to do a Cruiserweight TV show?
“I read those rumors online but I have no direct knowledge. If they do, I’d be more than willing to volunteer to do the play by play for those bouts. Smaller, skilled talents need a showcase to display their abilities.:
Thoughts on @CMPunk vs. @IAmJericho?
“I love their in ring banter but at the end of the day it comes down to who leaves as WWE Champion and not who has the most witty repartee leading into the bout. Do I hope to hear them verbally spar on future RAW’s? Absolutely. But I’m much more interested in them delivering a classic, wrestling match come April 1. I think that gets done.”
Anyone in FCW ready to go?
“Several are ‘this close.’ It’s all about timing and how individual talents are intergrated onto WWE TV. Why are they on TV? Who are they? What are they here to accomplish? Are they friend or foe? Can you help me get to know their TV persona? So, there are many elements involved in getting called up. Until then, the individuals themselves just need to continue to out work/perform their competition, put in more quality ring time, study more DVDS, and increase their strength and conditioning regiment.
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is featured in a new series of ads for the Kyocera Dura series of cell phones ..
Man vs. Phone — Episode 1
Steve Austin vs. Kyocera Dura Series. Who’s tougher?
Extreme Rules 2012 Poster
– Kane is featured on the new poster for WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on April 29th from Chicago, IL. Below are the official event synopsis, courtesy of InDemand:
“Extreme times call for extreme rules. Don’t miss John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, The Miz and all your favorite WWE Superstars put it all on the line at Extreme Rules, Sunday, live on Pay-Per-View.”
– THQ will not be releasing any more Downloadable Content for the WWE ’12 video game.
– The Miz is overseas in Poland today doing promotional work for WWE.
– Happy birthday to WWE announcer Booker T, who turns 47 years old today.
– Zack Ryder is scheduled to appear at The Steiner Sports Store in Garden City, New York at 7pm this evening. For more information, you can call 800-242-7139.
Former 6 time WWE Womens Champion Trish Stratus was recently interviewed by @Arda Ocal of The Score Television Network.. Here are highlights of Part 2 of this exclusive interview:
Comparing fighting in the WWE for so many years to fighting in movies. How is that all different to her :
“So different. we approached it from a tradional movie stand point, which means we have to do stunt work. Thats what moves have stunts. The concept of not making contact in movies was difficult for me cause in WWE we made contact. Its very different from stunt work. I tip my hat off to the director Patrick cause he told his cast, whatever you wanna do with this script, go with it, make it look real, have fun with it, play with it”
Her match at Wrestlemania 18 in her hometown of Toronto, Onatrio where she faced Jazz and Lita in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Womens Championship. Her match was just after the bout between The Rock and Hulk Hogan. Was it bittersweet for her to be in that position at Wrestlemania 18 :
“Looking at it on the paper, im like oh my god I cant beleive were in this match, it was really a tough act to follow. The crowd actually surprisinaly was with us which was great cause it was a testament to the hard work that the womens division point had done. Something interesting had happened. When the guys ( The Rock and Hulk Hogan ) had their match, the one thing I remember was I was about to go out to preform, its my first Wrestlemania as a wrestler. I got the heads up from Hulk and The Rock. Rock said to me ” good luck go get em kid”, and Hulk Hogan said “you got this kid”
Her yoga studio, “Stratusphere Yoga”. What is the business plan for “Stratusphere Yoga” ? Are there any plans for her to open up new locations anywhere else, also has she ever approached other WWE superstars about recommending trying yoga themselves:
“I have, actually all the girls right now are doing it, the stratusphere yoga right now. DDP and I have been in touch. Randy Orton started doing it. Rey Mysterio, when he came back from his injury was like “you look great what are you doing, how did you make that comeback from that herniated disk” I told him about the yoga and he started trying that as well.”
WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is featured on the new movie poster for the upcoming summer blockbuster, “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation”
The Rock tweeted the following movie poster on Wednesday, which features him in-character as “Roadblock” holding a machine gun.
Rock tweeted a slogan: “The world ain’t saving itself.”
– We reported on Wednesday that WWE is interested in several top talents from Ring of Honor, including the Briscoe Brothers and Adam Cole. It’s believed WWE sent out “feelers” and expressed interest in them, but they are all under contract to ROH and until they become free agents, it’s a non-issue.
– WWE its monthly “end of month” business figures for February this week and one of the more newsworthy items is that the 2012 Royal Rumble drew approximately 438,000 pay-per-view buys.
272,000 of the 438,000 buys were domestic (from the United States, while 166,000 buys were international.
This year’s 428,000 buys is down from 446,000 in 2011 and the 462,000 in 2010.
(Sources: prowrestling.net, Pro Wrestling Torch)
– Boston’s TD Garden, the site of Monday’s RAW, is advertising The Rock and Shawn Michaels will be appearing in person.
The dark match main event will see CM Punk & John Cena vs. Kane & Chris Jericho.
– As of this week, there is still no word on whether Shaquille O’Neal will be appearing at WrestleMania. Shaq has stated several times that he will be at WrestleMania, even saying back in December that he would be wrestling the Big Show. The WWE website posted an article last week denying that Shaq would be appearing at WrestleMania, which caused even more confusion.
For months, it was rumored that Shaq’s involvement with WWE would kick off next Monday’s RAW from Boston’s TD Garden. If Shaq doesn’t appear on that show or isn’t referenced in some way, he most likely won’t be a part of WrestleMania and it can be assumed his negotiations with the company fell through .
– Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy has been announced to play the Download Festival, one of the biggest rock festivals in the UK. Other bands announced for the show are Metallica, Tenacious D, Killswitch Engage and Corey Taylor. Fozzy will perform on Saturday, June 9th.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
TNA Impact Wrestling
The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling from Orlando, FL:
* TNA Champion Bobby Roode, X-Champion Austin Aries & Bully Ray vs. James Storm & TNA Tag Team champions Samoa Joe & Magnus
* Gauntlet Match: AJ Styles vs. Kazarian and Daniels
* Kurt Angle will explain why he attacked Jeff Hardy.
* ODB vs. Madison Rayne.
* Zema Ion vs. Shannon Moore.
* Mickie James & Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love & Sarita.
As previously reported, the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 31st (the night before WrestleMania) – but will not air on the USA Network until Monday, April 2nd, as a 1-hour lead-in to RAW.
As of this week, the plan is for the televised ceremony to feature the inductions of Edge and the Four Horsemen only.
It is still expected that former WWE champion Yokozuna will be announced as on of the final members of the Class of 2012. The deceased Samoan/sumo warrior will be inducted by his cousin, The Rock.
Edge is scheduled to be inducted last by Christian.
The Horsemen will be inducted by Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Dusty Rhodes
There was a push include Dusty on the Horsemen induction because he had some legendary wars with the Horsemen back in the 1980s.
Because Hall of Fame speeches tend to run long, both Edge and the Horsemen have been given a 10 minute time limit on their speeches.
(Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The latest word internally on the planned WWE Network is that it will launch in November during sweeps. No official launch date has been set, but the compant definitely wants it to air before the end of the year.
– November is also when WWE plans to debut a new show featuring only Crusierweight wrestlers. Talents who had been in touch with WWE about working the show were told that plans to sign anyone were pushed to the fall. WWE is looking for wrestlers in the 200 lb range.
– The dark match main event at last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings had The Big Show defeating Daniel Bryan by DQ. Cody Rhodes interfered. Sheamus then came out and made the save.
– The Eve Torres segment that you saw on RAW was the exact same segment they did at weekend live events.
(Partial Source: PWinsider.com)
At Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, it was announced that Cody Rhodes will defend his intercontinental championship against Big Show at WrestleMania 28. This apparently puts an end to the rumored Big Show vs. Shaq and Cody vs. Goldust matches.
With Cody vs. Big Show set, here’s the updated card for WrestleMania 28:
John Cena vs. The Rock
WWE Championship Match:
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
World Heavyweight Title Match:
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus
Hell in a Cell:
Triple H vs. The Undertaker
Intercontinental Title Match:
Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show
Former WWE superstar John Bradshaw Layfield has updated his Facebook page with a reaction to reports that certain members of the WWE locker room are upset about The Rock taking such a large role at WrestleMania 28. Despite the fact that The Rock is not a full-time member of the WWE roster, JBL says Rock detractors need to wake up and look at the big picture:
“I hear the resentment/jealousy of the Rock backstage and I quite frankly don’t believe it. Four of the world’s biggest superstars in Cena, Rock, Undertaker and Triple H will headline WM-this is huge for WWE and the business-guys should be dying to be on this card and my guess is they are. It’s very simple to those who do have any problem with it, if there is anyone truly that does-replace them and there won’t be a spot for them. Until then just say “thanks!”
JBL also got into former WWE superstars returning to the spotlight – and how they’re able to do so years after their main runs with the company:
“There is a reason why Jericho and others can always come back-they earned that right and they still draw. Shawn Michaels does as well. CM Punk and John Cena earned the right to be on top. If these guys ever quit drawing then they know it’s time to hang it up-that hasn’t happened yet, and I hope it won’t. Piper and Diesel ares guys who still draw interest and create buzz. Shows how great these guys are that they still create interest-it’s Darwinian, once they stop or are replaced then you won’t see them anymore. Batista would draw if he decides to return.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this entry, JR talks in-depth about Monday’s eventful RAW, last weekend’s UFC pay-per-view from Japan and more. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
CM Punk & Chris Jericho: “As I thought, Jericho/Punk had a spirited verbal exchange and I expect more between now and April 1 in Miami. These two talented wrestlers are out of the box thinkers and who have both traveled somewhat similar routes to earn WWE main event status. Their upcoming bout, for them, arguably means more to each man on a personal level as any one on the card which is saying a great deal.”
“Both Punk and Jericho have been told that they would never make it over the hump to become a bona fide main event star. Those skeptics were dead wrong … This could be the best, pure wrestling match at WM28 and, if not, it will certainly be in the debate.”
The Rock & John Cena: “The big news of the night, which should come as no surprise, was the verbal exchange between @JohnCena and @TheRock. This one got intensely personal which I like as a fan but which I didn’t care for when I was an administrator.”
“Cena seemed to get the verbal nod in Portland and should have the in ring advantage going into WM28 considering that Cena gets more ring time than does the Rock. With that said, Rock is a 3rd generation talent who is amazingly athletic and hates finishing second in anything that he does. What ever is necessary for Rock to eliminate any ‘ring rust’ before WrestleMania will be done by the man who wants to make a lasting impression in his hometown come WM28. Rock certainly didn’t disappoint in his November Survivor Series tag bout and I expect him to play at National Championship level at ‘Mania.”
The Rock returned to WWE RAW on Monday night and delivered a memorable promo, demonstrating once again his unbreakable connection with the fans and his ability to work up a live crowd like nobody else. John Cena interrupted The Rock’s promo and called attention to the fact that The Rock had written notes on his wrist, perhaps a sign that the Great One isn’t at the top of his game and isn’t as authentic as he wants the people to believe.
Upon close analysis of The Rock’s promo, it appears the notes on his wrist said the following:
In case you missed The Rock and John Cena’s segment from the end of RAW, check it out here:
CM Punk and Chris Jericho trade verbal barbs about their WrestleMania showdown
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan: Champion vs. Champion Match
Primo & Epico vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger – WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match
John Cena vs. The Miz
Eve Blows Off Kelly Kelly
The Rock & John Cena’s Promo:
TMZ has published the first video footage of the upcoming WWE Legends House show, confirming several cast members in the process.
In the following video, wrestling legends Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jimmy Hart, Roddy Piper, Hillbilly Jim, Gene Okerlund, Howard Finkel, Tony Atlas and Pat Patterson are shown taking a Zumba dance class at a studio in Palm Springs, California.
– WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross, Bret Hart and several others had high praise for both CM Punk and Chris Jericho after their promo on RAW. Jim Ross wrote:
“It’s going to be hard for anyone to follow the pure wrestling match that @CMPunk & @IAmJericho will have at WM28 Trust me on that”
Bret Hart, who was referenced by CM Punk during the promo,tweeted:
“That was probably the best promo I’ve seen in months & I’m not saying that bc of the shoutout. Punk & Jericho were on the top of their game”
Chris Jericho also tweeted the following after he attacked CM Punk, gave him the Walls of Jericho and left him for dead at the top of the ramp:
“And THAT is how you prove a point…. @CMPunk #raw”
– Kofi Kingston had staples removed from his head before yesterday’s RAW in Portland. The injury occurred during the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view several weeks ago.
– Brodus Clay was backstage at RAW, although he didn’t appear on television as advertised. No word yet on why Clay was promoted once again without being used, but we’ll be looking into this today.
WWE’s Board of Directors made the following announcement on the WWE website on Tuesday morning:
“Both Raw and SmackDown are about to get extreme makeovers. In an effort to help determine which General Manager should control both shows, the WWE Board of Directors has decided to switch control of each show next week. SmackDown GM Theodore Long will take control of Monday night’s Raw while Raw GM John Laurinaitis takes the reins of next Friday’s SmackDown.
The decision comes one week after Laurinaitis announced at Elimination Chamber that he will seek control over both shows, bolstered by flattering testimonials by Superstars Mark Henry, Christian and Alberto Del Rio. A perturbed Long made it clear to Laurinaitis that he’s not about to take the threat to his position lying down.”
WWE legend Mick Foley tweeted the following on Monday night regarding The Rock and John Cena’s segment that closed the show:
“That promo felt kind of uncomfortable to watch. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
Former WWE announcer Jack Korpela wrote:
“@TheRock is simply on a different level. Makes @JohnCena and @CMPunk look amateur. What does @wwe have to do to build a new Rock? @TheRock proved again tonight why he is among the top three @wwe superstars ever. @HulkHogan @steveaustinBSR and @therock made this business”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross seems to think there could be legit heat between The Rock and Cena:
“@JohnCena calling @TheRock a “SOB” tonite shocked me & made me uncomfortable. Sounded more personal than in a professional context…IMO.”
“It’s getting personal…@JohnCena & @TheRock…legit. Guaranteed. No BS.”
When asked directly by a fan whether there is legit heat between Rock and Cena, JR replied :
“If there wasn’t before tonight, there certainly seems to be now.”
The Rock tweeted the following after RAW:
“Team Bring It: Tonight we made history. Dominated Twitter. #TheRock #Boots2Asses #CenasMissingBalls.”
He later added:
“Portland, Oregon: THANK YOU for a historic & unforgettable night. An honor to entertain you on RAW. #TeamBringItStrong.”
