News broke last night that sources close to Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos indicate the Brazilian mixed martial artist is in negotiations with World Wrestling Entertainment to permanently join the promotion. In an update on the situation, BloodyElbow.com reports that according to a source, talks are in the “advanced” stage as a deal could soon be reached. However, the MMA news site also speculates that those affiliated with Cyborg could be using the claims for leverage with Strikeforce to have a fight scheduled.
Santos has not been offered a fight since her June 26, 2010 match against Jan Finney. It is largely assumed the promotion has been unable to find any willing participants over the course of the past nine months.
Meanwhile, former WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix took to Twitter to comment on the rumors of Cyborg possibly joining WWE.
She wrote, “Rumours of Chris Cyborg coming to WWE are…..Interesting…its easy to dominate in any fighting division without the Glamazon. In WWE? Prepare to humbled by yours truly.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented on the Twitter beef between Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan in the Q&A section of his JRsBarBQ.com website. Here’s what Jim Ross wrote:
“Two strong, outspoken personalities who obviously, or seemingly, don’t care for one another. Not my hill to die upon. I like Bret very much and know him much better than Hulk who I have no personal issues with whatsoever. My health and my life are both in a much better place after I detached myself from matters such as this. I read them and simply move on and consider it one day closer to college football season”
To follow all the back and forth shenanigans between Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan from this week check out:
The war of words between WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan is heating up. To recap, Bret Hart was asked by one of his Twitter followers on Wednesday night what he thought about Hulk Hogan. Hart tweeted:
HitmanBretSHart
Hogan’s nothing but a two-faced, backstabbing, steroid freak who deserved everything he got.
It didn’t take long for Hulk Hogan to respond to those harsh words. Hogan tweeted on Thursday morning:
HulkHogan4Real
Listen to where Bretts speaking from,it’s funny he’s done everything he’s saying I did. HH
Bret Hart has responded to Hulk Hogan once again with the following:
HitmanBretSHart
@HulkHogan4Real That’s not what John Graziano thinks, dickhead.
John Graziano is the young man who was a passenger in Nick Hogan’s car during Nick’s August 2007 car wreck that left Graziano permanently brain damaged. Hulk Hogan was sued by the Graziano family and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount of money last February.
Hulk Hogan later decided to be the bigger man in the situation and forgave Bret Hart for the comments he made.
HulkHogan4Real
Want to thank all the maniacs that really get it ,it feels right on track. Good night. HH
HulkHogan4Real
What a crazy day yesterday,I want to say I’m sorry for getting sucked into responding to all the people that have no love,no lives,and only Hate because their negative losers that are bitter because their own lives are going nowhere,I feel so bad for them and I pray they find Joy and real happiness some day
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown television show on Tuesday night from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Credit to Wrestling News World to these results:
* World Heavyweight Champion Edge is out first to open the show. He talks about his match at Wrestlemania XXVII against Alberto Del Rio and his problems with Vickie Guerrero but is interrupted by Drew McIntyre. Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long comes out and makes a match between the two after a small altercation.
* World Heavyweight Champion Edge b. Drew McIntyre after locking in the Sharpshooter.
* Rey Mysterio is attacked by “Dashing” Cody Rhodes and Cody officially challenges him to a match at Wrestlemania XXVII. They also showed the attack last week on Rey and Cody said he will expose Rey’s face at Wrestlemania.
* Backstage, The Corre offer help to Kane in his match later tonight against Big Show.
* WWE Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel w/Ezekiel Jackson & Wade Barrett vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov. Jackson and Barrett get on the apron and Wade ends up getting hit with Santino’s Cobra. However, the distraction allows Slater to hit his finisher and get the three count.
* It’s announced in a video that airs on the titantron that Christian will return to Smackdown next week.
* The Undertaker comes out and says “The Streak” cannot be broken and hypes his upcoming Wrestlemania XXVII match against Triple H. He entered and exited to “Ain’t No Grave” by Johnny Cash.
* LayCool b. Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes. While the referee was distracted, Michelle McCool kicked Beth in the face which allowed Layla to get the pinfall victory.
* Big Show b. Kane when The Corre came to ringside and handed Kane a chair and he hit Big Show with it. Show pushes Justin Gabriel into Kane and Kane swings the chair at The Corre. The Corre retreats.
* Jack Swagger comes out and Michael Cole talks about his match against Jerry Lawler at Wrestlemania XXVII. Cole says he’s going to announce his special guest referee on Raw and teases he is “flamboyant” and “awesome.”
* Jack Swagger b. JTG via submission in the ankle lock. Very quick squash match. After the match, Michael Cole gets in the ring and celebrates with him.
* World Heavyweight Champion Edge defaces a portrait of Alberto Del Rio that was being worked on throughout the show as the contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania XXVII is up next.
* The contract signing is moderated by Teddy Long. Alberto Del Rio sang the Mexican National Anthem but was interrupted by World Heavyweight Champion Edge. Long asks for there to be no violence but Edge warns him it was about to get chaotic. Things break down and Teddy bails. Edge gets his nosed bloodied as Christian comes out and gets involved and the show goes off the air.
Sources close to Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos indicate the Brazilian mixed martial artist is in negotiations with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Two weeks ago, Cristiane attended a WWE live event in California with her husband, Strikeforce fighter Evangelista Santos. She was offered a contract on the spot.
Christiane has not been offered a fight since her June 26, 2010 bout against Jan Finney. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on the matter, but it is largely assumed the promotion has been unable to find any willing participants over the course of the past nine months.
— Former WWE star Bill DeMott is conducting the majority of the wrestling training to the Tough Enough contestants. As expected, he’s been very hard on them. Some people within WWE are surprised that he was hired for the role because he has a reputation for being tough on wrestling trainees.
Steve Austin has been a regular on the Tough Enough set thus far. Booker T and Trish Stratus, however, have not. One source believes they’ve been on the set roughly once per week.
— WWE Tag Team Champion Justin Gabriel celebrates his 30th birthday today.
— Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho has been announced to appear on an upcoming episode of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show. His appearance takes place Saturday, April 9.
— The WWE website currently features an interview with RAW superstar Evan Bourne, who made his return to television on Monday night after several months out of action. To read that interview, visit WWE.com.
— On Wednesday evening, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart did a Q&A session with his fans on Twitter. Hart was asked about his thoughts on Hulk Hogan, to which he replied:
HitmanBretSHart
Hogan’s nothing but a two-faced, backstabbing, steroid freak who deserved everything he got.
It didn’t take long for Hulk Hogan to respond to those harsh words. Hogan tweeted on Thursday morning:
HulkHogan4Real
Listen to where Bretts speaking from,it’s funny he’s done everything he’s saying I did. HH
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart played the “name association” game on Twitter this week and had a lot to say about Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, Michael Cole, CM Punk, TNA and more.
Here are some of the highlights of what Bret wrote about the following @HitmanBretSHart:
The Rock: “When I was WWE Champion back in 1997, I often gave Dwayne (Johnson) all the advice I could. I remember watching him wrestle for the very first time and telling the wrestlers next to me that Dwayne was going to be the biggest superstars in the wrestling world and to mark my words.”
Hulk Hogan: “Hogan’s nothing but a two-faced, backstabbing, steroid freak who deserved everything he got.”
How He Would Improve TNA: “I’d have Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff tar and feathered.”
Michael Cole: “Michael Cole does a piss poor job of putting over a lot of the talent. He couldn’t lace Jim Ross’ shoes.”
Inducting Shawn Michaels into the WWE Hall of Fame. “I would like to induct Shawn, but Triple H makes more sense.”
Undertaker: “Undertaker is one of the most consummate professionals inside and outside the ring.”
C.M. Punk: “I think he’s uniquely gifted. By the time his career is over, he’ll be recognized for his greatness.”
Bill Goldberg: “I have great respect for Goldberg. What happened to me was an accident.”
Daniel Bryan: “Has the best submission in wrestling today.”
His Favorite Match Not Involving Himself: “Lesnar vs. Angle at WrestleMania”
WWE superstar Triple H spoke to the New York Post this week to discuss the release of his new movie, The Chaperone. Here are some highlights of what The Game said about:
Being Part of the McMahon Family: “Vince McMahon runs the WWE. I’m married to his daughter seven years. We live in Connecticut with three girls — 4½, 2½ and 6 months … Both McMahons love the grandchildren. Come around all the time. Take them to school. Their house even has sleepovers. ”
Linda McMahon In Politics: “I did appearances and campaign rallies for my mother-in-law. She’s [Linda] great and staying politically involved. Lieberman’s not running again so she can try once more in 2012.”
The Toll Wrestling Takes On The Body: I’m 41. Still wrestling. It’s very physical. I’ve had injuries, like torn quads off my biceps and thighs. People believe the sport’s fake and nothing hurts. Listen, it [hurts] when a 350-pound guy jumps on you. Ten years from now I want to be able to pick up my kids.
His Role In WWE & Wrestling In General: “I’m also a WWE executive. I’m a wrestling fan. As a boy I watched it on TV with my father. At 20, I met a guy and the rest is history. Right away you get a flashy trick name so you’re a superhero come to life. Nobody pays $20 to see his next-door neighbor. Wrestling’s made me rich. Very. But everyone’s surprised that a wrestler can be not only talented but also articulate. Listen, we’re theater actors. Bad guy versus good guy. It’s a show. We’re onstage telling a story through our actions.”
Here are some new details on what to expect on the show:
– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is the most likely candidate to referee the Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole match. Cole teased that he will be revealing his “awesome” pick for guest referee on Monday’s RAW, but with Steve Austin also scheduled to appear next week, things might take a turn in a direction Cole is not too pleased with.
– Tough Enough coach Trish Stratus will be working the show in a 6-person mixed tag match. Trish would team with Kelly Kelly and John Morrison against LayCool and Dolph Ziggler.
– NEXUS members Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel will be taking on 4 of SmackDown’s toughest competitors, with those men expected to be Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston and Christian.
– Rey Mysterio will wrestle Cody Rhodes in singles action.
– WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan will defend against Sheamus.
– There will be no Money in the Bank match this year. That match will live on at the Money In The Bank pay-per-views.
The current WrestleMania card is as follows:
WWE Championship Match
– The Miz (c) vs. John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship Match
– Edge (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
“The Streak” on the Line
– The Undertaker vs. Triple H
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the info used in this report)
— Creative plans on having The Bella Twins join forces with Sheamus in their feud with Daniel Bryan and Gail Kim. Bryan is reportedly scheduled to defend the United States Championship against Bryan at WrestleMania XXVII.
— Sin Cara was scheduled to begin wrestling training in Los Angeles, California with WWE developmental wrestler Peter Orlov (a/k/a Alex Koslov) since he has experience working Lucha Libre style wrestling as well as WWE’s style of wrestling. Orlov will also be used as a stand-in and “opponent” when they film Cara in the ring performing high-flying maneuvers for his entrance video and introductory vignettes since WWE has no footage of him.
— The WWE SmackDown taping on June 21, 2011 will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
— NXT contestant Derrick Bateman underwent successful surgery on his knee today. It is a minor issue and he is expected to be cleared to return to the ring in two to four weeks.
— WWE promoting Elimination Chamber as the first pay-per-view event to take place in Oakland, California was incorrect as WCW’s SuperBrawl event on February 21, 1999 took place at the same venue (the Oracle Arena was then known as the Oakland Arena). The show was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Lita is advertised for an autograph signing Saturday, April 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 PM at George’s Cards & Collectibles 7755 New Falls Road Levittown, PA. Visit www.georgescollectibles.com for more information.
— WWE.com has posted new photos of The Bella Twins.
Former WWE superstar Dave Batista has been training for his professional mixed martial arts debut since leaving the company last year. According to MMAWeekly.com, Batista’s MMA debut is currently scheduled to take place in May – and the fight will not take place in the United States.
Several promotions have been trying to sign Batista for his first MMA fight, most notably Scott Coker’s Strikeforce promotion, but sources close to Batista have revealed the UK-based BAMMA promotion is the front runner and could sign Batista soon. BAMMA has an upcoming show (“BAMMA 6”) scheduled for May 21st Wembley Arena.
Batista reportedly has a movie scheduled to begin shooting in September and wants to have his first fight before then.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara in WWE: Is there room for both Rey and Sin Cara in WWE? Absolutely. Why not? Do some feel that because both are Hispanic, masked stars that they cannot both be major assets in WWE at the same time. I think not. WWE is lucky to have both men. Rey is an established main event star and a future Hall of Famer while Sin Cara has a huge upside but has to prove himself to the WWE fans.
Michael Cole: “I agree with many emailers that Michael Cole is the type of antagonist that one legitimately wants to see get beat up and humiliated. He has Cornette-like heat hearkening back to the Mid South days where fans lined up in droves to see somebody, anybody humiliate the manager of the Midnight Express. Same emotion elicited by the late Andy Kaufman in Memphis. BTW most fans don’t realize that the Lawler-Kaufman issue lasted well over a year.”
The Rock Back On WWE TV: “I am personally ecstatic that The Rock is back in WWE for WM27 and no matter Rock’s role he’s going to positively add to the event in multiple areas. Rock is a huge star on several fronts and his promo ability is as good as it gets. People ‘over think’ Rock’s return as in what’s going to happen when he’s not on TV? How does he make Cena/Miz look? What happens if Rock steals the show in Atlanta, etc?”
“All talents throughout the Raw and Smackdown rosters need to step it up to attempt to get on Rock’s level. Competition is great for everyone. If Rock, Austin, etc make the incumbents dig a little deeper to perform at a higher level then everyone wins especially the fans.”
“I have no idea what Rock is going to do at WM27 but I can assure you that it will be impactful. His interactions via Twitter, @The Rock, directed to Cena, etc have been entertaining.”
— A Mixed Tag Team Match pitting Lay-Cool and Dolph Ziggler against Trish Stratus, Kelly Kelly and John Morrison is being discussed for WrestleMania XXVII.
— “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase is profiled this month on WWE Classics On Demand with the following matches: WWF World Tag Team Champions Money Inc vs. Nasty Boys (Wrestlefest 1992), Ted DiBiase vs. One Man Gang (Sam Houston Coliseum 6/7/87) Ted DiBiase vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (World Tour 1991), WWF Champion Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase (Boston Garden 7/9/88), Ted DiBiase vs. Hosssein Arab (a/k/a Iron Sheik) (WWF Championship Wrestling 11/13/79).
Also airing this month on WWE Classics On Demand: WCW Great American Bash 1995, Legends of Wrestling Roundtable: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper & Terry Funk, Tuesday Night Titans debut (5/29/84), Wrestlemania’s Greatest Hits video release, Wrestlemania IV, Hulk Hogan’s Unreleased Collector’s Series Part 5, Extreme Championship Wrestling (8/12/97), Monday Night Wars: Raw (6/1/98), Monday Night Wars: Nitro (6/1/98) and Prime Time Wrestling: (2/6/89).
— WWE returns to the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 4, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– MTV.com has an article looking at Triple H’s friendship with Lemmy of Motorhead, Triple H recently took part in VH-1’s documentary on the rock star.
– The Rock will be on the cover of the May issue of WWE Magazine, available at newsstands in April.
— With the huge amount of news coverage WWE has received in Mexico due to the recent signing of Mistico, last week’s WWE’s television ratings in Mexico are through the roof.
Last week’s SmackDown! drew a 9.6 and Monday’s RAW drew a 9.3.
By comparison, last week’s CMLL drew a 2.6 and AAA’ sshow drew a 2.8.
According to a correspondent who knows the Mexican market well, it appears CMLL and AAA see WWE as a major threat to their business and the companies plan to work together more in the coming months to “rescue Lucha” from WWE.
— Kaitlyn has been on hand for all recent SmackDown tapings, but has been sparingly used. It is said that some of the veteran female talent have chastised Kaitlyn for not paying her dues, but ironically, its products of the Diva Search that have been complaining.
— The synopsis for April’s WWE Classics on Demand programming: “All April, we’ll take you on an “Island Adventure” as we feature the hottest action with Superstars from the Tropics.”
— WWE Hall of Famer Afa The Wild Samoan has returned with his column “The Way I See It” on PopTheCrowd.com and spoke about the return of his nephew The Rock to the WWE. He wrote “I was real pleased when I heard the news that my nephew Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was to appear on Raw, and happy for the fans that he will host Wrestlemania 27. Although Dwayne reached mega success in Hollywood, he never lost his love for this great sport and I know that he enjoys every opportunity to reach his fans! Our sport is all about giving your all to your fans and coming home every chance you get.” (Read Column)
Earlier this week it was announced that former WWE star Chris Jericho will be joining the cast of the upcoming season of the hit ABC show, Dancing With The Stars, which premieres on Monday, March 21st.
Jericho’s partner for the show will be DWTS alum Cheryl Burke.
Jericho tweeted this week about joining the cast and his partner:
IAmJericho
So ready to conquer DWTS! It’s been a long time comin And its gonna be KILLER! My partner is amazing-the best in the world at what she does
IAmJericho
So stoked to have @CherylBurke as my partner!! She rules! The time has come for both of us to become champions once again… #goTeamChericho
Burke, who appeared on the George Lopez Show this week to promote DWTS, had this to say about being paired with Jericho:
CherylBurke
So excited to be partnered up with @iamjericho! Let’s go team chericho! What do u guys think of our team name?
Here are some pictures of Cheryl Burke, Chris Jericho’s Dancing With The Stars partner:
– Forbes.com has an article looking at WWE’s stock, which they give a “Very Attractive” rating. The stock price has bounced back after the company’s forth quarter earnings report sent it crashing down and still offers a very attractive dividend for investors. To read the Forbes article, click here.
– WWE NXT rookie Derrick Bateman is dealing with a knee injury. He tweeted:
DerrickWWE
Heading to Birmingham to get my knee scoped. “It ain’t ballet.”
– Chris Jericho and Bret Hart tweeted the following about Jericho competing on the new season of Dancing With the Stars:
IAmJericho
So ready to conquer DWTS! It’s been a long time comin And its gonna be KILLER! My partner is amazing-the best in the world at what she does
IAmJericho
So stoked to have @CherylBurke as my partner!! She rules! The time has come for both of us to become champions once again… #goTeamChericho
HitmanBretSHart
So @IAmJericho will be on DWTS. He has balls the size of beach balls. When he wins, I hope his balls don’t show through his latex.
The Miami Herald recently interviewed TNA knockout Cookie .. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Getting Hired By TNA: “Vince Russo’s daughters love ‘Jersey Shore. They actually have him watching. I’m actually a huge fan myself, have been since the show started. The funny thing is I was doing a similar character [named Brooke Lynn] for an all-girls promotion called Wrestlicious, with Jimmy Hart. She was a loud-mouthed, bratty New Yorker, as opposed to being a loud-mouthed, rowdy girl from Jersey. It’s not that different. Rob got a tryout here, and TNA wanted to find a girl to put with him. Jimmy Hart and others from TNA that I’ve worked with before, were saying, ‘We got to get Becky.’ Two weeks I was there for a tryout. Two months later we were on TV.”
TNA’s Knockouts Division: “We are super lucky. They obviously put a lot of time and attention in the Knockouts division, where each one of us has a distinctive character. It’s not like, ‘I’m a happy go-lucky good girl.’ Or, ‘I’m a $#%^%y bad girl.’ We all have distinctive characters, and we get a decent amount of TV time where we are allowed to have different storylines going. There is me and Robbie against Traci [Brooks] and Frankie [Kazarian] or the Beautiful People and Winter and that whole dynamic. Then you have Velvet [Sky] and Sarita, with Rosita coming in. We are all different. We really get a chance to show our characters, have some fun and show ourselves. I couldn’t ask for a better locker room.”
Jersey Shore’s Angelina In TNA: “I kind of got my %$# kicked by JWoww. So we brought in Angelina, since her and JWoww have their little thing on Jersey Shore. We kind of brought her in, so I kind of have someone who has my back. You guys are going to have to watch the next two weeks of iMPACT! to see what Angelina does. She is very involved. Let’s just say that. You might see new Knockout tag champs in the future. I can’t wait for fans to see. Robbie, Angelina and I almost got booed out of the building. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. It was electric. We knew we had something to prove. We knew this was a big moment for us as a company to do the tapings on the road. It was a very long day. Especially with Angelina being there, but it was a wonderful experience. I couldn’t have asked for it to go better. I’m super excited for people to see these tapings. The fans brought it to a new level, and the performers brought it to a new level.”
— The February 28 Raw telecast drew a 3.82 cable rating, slightly down from last week’s 3.85. The show averaged 5.6 million viewers overall and drew hours of 3.80 and 3.84.
— The February 26 episode of A.M. Raw did a 0.62 cable rating, with 709,000 viewers.
— Cineplex, a motion picture exhibitor in Canada, will air WrestleMania XXVII live in their theaters April 3. The company website’s listing for the event displays a poster promoting WrestleMania XXVII with Batista and Chris Jericho pictured, as well as John Cena, Randy Orton and Christian.
— WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart has departed TNA Wrestling and will be returning to WWE to appear at the Fan AXXESS convention in Atlanta during WrestleMania weekend. Hart, who had been working behind the scenes in TNA since Hulk Hogan joined the company last year, reportedly upset Hulk by leaving.
— ESPN recently interviewed with Rey Mysterio, who was promoting the new WWE All Stars video game. To read the full interview, visit ESPN.com. Here’s what Mysterio said about The Rock’s recent WWE return:
“I want to say that maybe for a while, our fan base, the WWE Universe have been asking themselves for a very long time if The Rock is coming back, when is The Rock coming back. Now here he is, and I think everyone who had been wondering about that were very entertained. And I’m not going to lie to you, I was at home and I was entertained. But there was a big comeback from what The Rock said last Monday, so now it’s getting good because John Cena doesn’t have tape over his mouth. He can spit, and when he spits, he can get nasty, so it’s going to be good. That’s all I can say, it’s going to be good.”
“Anytime you get something new, or something old that was good that fans have been waiting to see but hasn’t been given to them, then boom, it’s back, it’s like wow, and everyone is on the edge of their seats. Here we go. And this year, I think fans are going to be on the edge of their seats for Wrestlemania, from the beginning to the end.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Sin Cara’s WWE Debut: “Not sure when he will debut but assume it will be after WM27. I know both Raw and Smackdown brands are keenly interested in the young, masked performer. He’s very talented and will dazzle many with his high flying skills. If you’re not familiar with Sin Cara go on You Tube and check out ‘Mistico.’ It’s amazing that so many experts have it figured out that WWE will not fully maximize Sin Cara’s abilities which at this stage of the process is a joke.”
Returning to WWE: “It’s amazing how many times a day I get Tweets @JRsBBQ or emails to this site asking me when I’m returning to WWE. I’ve been with WWE since 1993 but left the air due to health reasons in October of 2009 but never left the company. Am I coming back to work on a weekly TV show or on a PPV? That’s not my call folks. Would I like to? Of course particularly the PPV side of that equation. Some of you that follow up regularly must be getting tired of this too but apparently we are gaining new followers on Twitter and new visitors to this site daily. BTW I’m feeling great and my health is better than it’s been in a decade I’m blessed to say.”
Michael Cole: “No one in WWE has done a better job of developing a new persona than has Michael Cole over the past few months. His goal was to get people to see another side of him, he does have an outgoing personality, and to dislike him enough to want to see someone kick his butt. Cole has succeeded in that task. Does Cole rub me the wrong way on TV more often than not? Absolutely. He can be a tool.”
— A new promotional poster has been released for WrestleMania 27, which you can view here.
— Former WWE superstar Chuck Palumbo, probably best known as one half of the “Billy and Chuck” gay tag team that WWE featured in the early 2000’s, had the following to say about the storyline during an interview this week on the Busted Open satelite radio show:
“You know, honestly, I got to say that was one of my most fun times. You know first of all I got to work with Billy Gunn, who was a veteran and had been around a long time. He [Billy Gunn] was showing me the ropes number one. Number two I was getting some time. I was getting some TV time, so I was digging that you know. I got nothing against gay people, you know, ask Matt, they’re always making great gay jokes and making fun of people behind the scenes. I took it as a joke. I had fun with it. I mean I had a lot of fun with it.
“My only comment on that would be that I just wish, I felt like when it disbanded, it had a lot of miles on it. A lot of times there’s a reason why they disband things. I think at the time Billy Gunn was about done with his contract and you know they decided to let him go, but I think it had a lot more miles left in it. Than again when Vince [McMahon] put that together, he put that together for cable network ratings week you know what I mean, so he had a reason for it. He wanted to get that final rating on that smack down show, so I guess he did what he thought was right you know, but I thought it had more mileage left.”
— Apparently there’s a rumor going around that John Cena is dead. This is absolutely untrue, and Cena tweeted the following about it:
JohnCena
CeNation. Apparently last night I was shot dead by a group of thugs. I also was apparently owned by the rock. Both just internet rumor. :)
