– As previously reported, the each episode of WWE Tough Enough will feature a guest appearance from a current WWE superstar or diva. Tough Enough host “Stone Cold” Steve Austin tweeted over the weekend that they were taping a “special guest appearance” from one of his “greatest competitors.”
– Speaking of Stone Cold, he posted the following video on Twitter and says he’s having a great time filming Tough Enough:
In response to The Rock posting a photo over the weekend of him stomping on John Cena merchandise, Cena tweeted the following on Monday morning:
“Woke up to see what looks like rocks foot crushing the words Hustle Loyalty and Respect. Yep…that sounds like the rock alright.”
Fans then asked Cena about whether The Rock will be at tonight’s RAW, to which Cena responded:
“yeah…I expected a lil more…but im sure tonight will be good. Ill be waiting to see him”
“maybe we will. Its in buffalo. Ill be there. We will see if dwayne can fit it into his sched.”
The Rock posted the following on his Facebook page on Sunday night:
…On RAW…my response…
— WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is being advertised to appear at the March 7th episode of WWE’s Monday Night RAW from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
As the host of the new season of Tough Enough, which premieres the night after WrestleMania 27, it’s expected that the Rattlesnake will be making a few WWE television appearances (including WrestleMania) to promote Tough Enough’s return.
– WWE has announced that The Undertaker will make his SmackDown television return next Friday night.
– Vickie Guerrero was “fired” on Friday’s SmackDown, after she teamed with Drew McIntyre and lost to Edge and Kelly Kelly. Vickie’s career was on the line, as announced by Teddy Long.
– No new matches were added to WrestleMania 27 on SmackDown, however there was a new development in the Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio storyline, which appears to be leading to a WrestleMania showdown. Cody Rhodes’ father Dusty appeared on the show and helped his son attack Mysterio.
WWE’s website has officially announced that The Undertaker will put his streak on the line at WrestleMania 27 against Triple H.
At this time, there is no stipulation mentioned, just that the match will take place.
We’ve reported in recent weeks that there’s been talk of Triple H putting his career on the line against the Undertaker’s streak.
Addtionally, there’s been talk that former WWE star Shawn Michaels will be added to the match as a guest referee or enforcer. Michaels was interviewed last week by WDFN.com and had this to say about the rumors that he’ll be part of the Undertaker vs. Triple H match:
“I’ve heard all the rumors. As of right now, I’m doing one thing and one thing only at WrestleMania, and that’s the Hall of Fame. I don’t think The Undertaker and Triple H need Shawn Michaels to deliver a spectacular match or make this incredibly interesting. Those two can do that on their own. Right now, as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to be there watching it like everyone else.”
Here’s a recap of Slam Wrestling’s recent interview with Chris Jericho:
Triple H taking over WWE: “He’s going to take over the company. This isn’t the year 2000 anymore where he was trying to bury me. Nobody wants to be Bruce Hart, where he takes over Stampede Wrestling and goes out of business two years later after his father had it for 40 years.”
Returning to WWE: “It could be two days down the road. I’m still a huge fan of the business. When it’s time to go back, I’ll go back.”
Favoring a PG-13 product: “I think I did better in the PG-13 environment,” he says. “It’s easier to get pops when you say, ‘ass.’ they’re going ‘tee-hee-hee, he said a swear word.’ I wasn’t really doing any swearing. I just go with the flow. If I have to do an X-rated environment, I’ll do that. And if it’s PG, I’ll do that.”
To read the full interview, visit Slam.Canoe.Ca.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Sin Cara Signing With WWE: “The wrestler formerly known as Mistico but now known as Sin Cara was officially welcomed into the WWE family on Thursday in Mexico City with every major Mexico City TV network and print media represented”
“I applaud the way that WWE introduced Sin Cara to the WWE Universe as he will arrive in WWE after a few weeks of advanced TV promotion already meaning ‘something’ and feeling much more significant than other newcomers. For those that aren’t familiar with Sin Cara, formerly known as Mistico, I suggest that you go on You Tube and check out some of his bouts. Very innovative offensive performer along the lines of the great Rey Mysterio”
“Sin Cara has a magnificent opportunity to become a global star in WWE. The final verdict, as always, will be rendered by the paying customers based on how well the gifted athlete delivers inside the squared circle. It will be interesting to see what brand, Raw or Smackdown, gets the opportunity to showcase Sin Cara.”
Michael Cole a Jerk In Real Life: “Emailer…Is Michael Cole’s TV persona more like his real life persona than when he played the straight man/corporate announcer? I’d probably say, yes. Cole’s is not the laid back, easy going guy in real life that he portrayed early in his announcing career. He has taken to being a ‘jerk’ on TV like our sauce to ribs. ”
Cruiserweights: “Twitter @JRsBBQ…one reason, not that I necessarily agree with it, that Cruiserweights aren’t specifically used in their own weight division is that some feel that the mass audience will not accept Cruiserweights or Junior Heavyweights or whatever hip name one wants to come up with as main event level, PPV selling attractions. This isn’t a new philosophy as that same mindset was around when Danny Hodge was the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. The term ‘Junior’ said to some fans and promoters as ‘less than’ the best. Ironically, Hodge could legitimately beat 99.9% of EVERY heavyweight in the business but that had zero to do with the marketing perception and selling tickets.”
Sting Back In TNA: “That Sting vs. Undertaker WM27 match that many just knew was going to happen at WM27 looks a little ‘iffy.’ Seriously, I said many times that I did not think that Sting would likely venture into WWE at this point in his career. All people have ‘comfort zones,’ including yours truly, that we are reluctant to leave. In hindsight, at least in my view, more often than not and especially for veterans the ‘comfort zone’ thing isn’t a negative.”
Here are some highlights of Fanhouse.com’s recent interview with WWE superstar Rey Mysterio:
Sin Cara Signing With WWE: “I think the opportunity now shown is that the doors are open for anybody that has the quality to be part of WWE,” Mysterio said. “You have the talent, you have the desire to be a superstar, come and the doors will be open and if you can make it, you’ll be one of the top dogs. Alberto (Del Rio) is a big proof.
“When I came into the United States, I pretty much followed the Guerreros and Jerichos, a path as they just left Mexico and went on to ECW, WCW and WWE. So it was kind of a little train that we were taking around. It kind of feels good in a way that those doors have been opened for other Mexican wrestlers. Like you said, now with Mistico coming in, I want to say that I think those doors were eventually opened by the talent that myself, Eddie and a lot of wrestlers that started their careers in Mexico have opened up for other guys.”
Alberto Del Rio’s Big Push: I think it’s awesome. If there’s anything that is not part of myself and who I am it’s jealousy and envy. I always wish Alberto the best even though we clash in the ring. But he comes from a second-generation family. Growing up, his father was one of my all-time favorite wrestlers (Dos Caras). Even though for the short amount of time that he’s been a part of this company he’s succeeded very well.”
“It took me a lot of years to adapt to [the WWE] style and learning from the best, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, the (Chris) Jerichos, the (Chris) Benoits. But I think for Alberto it’s been a learning process. He’s adapting slowly but surely and I think in this business there’s always something new to learn and that you’re always evolving.”
Retirement: “I’m 36 years old right now and I feel good. Besides my knee, after the first surgery, it’s always slowed me down a bit but I’ve been able to adapt and modify my work to the extent of being able to still entertain the fans. If I can still entertain them and do what I do best, then I’m good for still a good amount of years. There’s still nothing in the back of my mind. I think that whenever I do call it quits, it’s quits and it’s family time for me. My kids are growing and I’ve missed out a lot on being with them. I definitely have told myself throughout the years that, even to my wife, that whenever I do plan to retire, whenever that day comes, it’s going to be complete family time.”
Ma4ch 3, 2011 TNA iMPACT! taping results from Fayetteville, North Carolina
Dixie Carter came out and was interrupted by Immortal. Eric Bischoff got some mic time. He handed the mic over to Ric Flair, who brought out Hulk Hogan. Hogan said he won the court case and now has 100 percent control of the company. Fortune ran out, but security stepped in. It was pretty weak.
1. Beer Money defeated Gunner and Murphy to retain the TNA Tag Titles. Gunner and Murphy were in control of the match until Robert Roode tagged in James Storm. It was all Beer Money after that and they won clean. Ink Inc. came out afterward and challenged them to a match for the Victory Road pay-per-view. Beer Money was really over.
2. Velvet Sky defeated Sarita. Velvet won clean with a DDT. Robbie E, Cookie, and Angelina came out. Robbie E fell unintentionally while coming to the ring. Angelina said she wanted a piece of JWoww, and she took a shot at Velvet. It appears it will be Beautiful People and Winter vs. Sarita, Angelina, and Cookie in a six-Knockout tag on the second taping.
The Jeff and Karen Jarrett wedding ceremony started. Eric Young and Orlando Jordan are involved the wedding. Kurt Angle attacked Jeff Jarrett immediately. Karen Angle was supposed to go into the cake, but it appeared she messed up her spot. It was a very short segment. They are teasing that the wedding will still take place later in the show. Young was the ring bearer and wore a tuxedo t-shirt, and Orlando was the flower girl.
3. Scott Steiner beat Rob Terry. Steiner won the match with the Steiner Recliner.
4. Matt Morgan defeated Hernandez by disqualification.
The main event of the first taping is Jeff Hardy vs. a mystery opponent for the TNA Title.
They aired a 3-3-11 video. Yes, really.
5. Sting defeated Jeff Hardy to win the TNA Title. Sting wore a new outfit with red sequins and had an old school look. It was a good match, nothing too fancy. There was a big pop when Sting came out and got Hardy in the Scorpion Death Lock, but Jeff reached the ropes. Hardy was in control for a bit, but Sting took over with three Scorpion Death Drops, including one from the top rope, and scored the pin.
Video has surfaced online from Thursday’s WWE press conference in Mexico City announcing the signing of Sin Cara, formerly known as Mistico. Sin Cara is wearing his new WWE mask in the video:
– Jim Ross tweeted he following about WWE’s new star, Sin Cara:
“Mistico is signed, sealed & delivered w/ WWE. Now known as Sin Cara. Helluva young hand. A new star looms on the horizon. Congrats Sin Cara. Every major media outlet in Mexico City present 4 Sin Cara media announcement. He’s doing 1 on 1’s now w/ them including espn deportes. It was great 2 rep WWE in Mexico City 4 Sin Cara signing anouncement. Appreciate the opportunity to step back on the field, so 2 speak.”
Ross later added: “WWE has high hopes for Sin Cara. He has many new masks. Major TV ‘rollout,’ He’s 27 & has (opportunity to be) main eventer. A flyer, offensive innovator.”
– Longtime wrestling fans understand the importance of promotions protecting their championship titles and how marketable a title feud can be. Unforunately, there have been many signs that indicate WWE does not see much value in the Intercontinental championship.
Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston’s match against Alberto Del Rio at Elimination Chamber was a non-title match at – and that fact was ignored during the promotion and commentary during the match.
At one point, WWE was considering putting the Intercontinental title on Del Rio en route to his World Heavyweight title match against Edge at WrestleMania, but company officials did not feel that the champion vs. champion match was even worth doing.
By now you’ve heard the news that WWE has signed Mexican lucha libre star Mistico, now known as Sin Cara. (Pictures Of SIN CARA Unamsked)
In case you’ve never seen him wrestle, check out these Youtube video his best work:
As reported yesterday, WWE held a press conference in Mexico City to announce the signing of lucha libre sensation Mistico, now known as Sin Cara.
When introduced at the press conference, Sin Cara came out wearing a Mistico-style mask, only to remove that and reveal his new WWE mask. Sin Cara reportedly means “Faceless.”
Sin Cara spoke at the press conference and said he doesn’t know whether he’ll be performing on RAW or SmackDown, but said he is ready to go whenever WWE needs him and is proud to have finally made it to the greatest wrestling promotion in the world.
Mistico’s signing with WWE is being covered my all the media in Mexico as it’s considered a big deal. Lucha Libre journalist Kris Zellner expects Cara to end up on the SmackDown brand with Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.
WWE has already setup a Facebook page for him at Facebook.com/WWESinCara and a Twitter account will be live very soon.
WWE will begin airing clips from the press conference on tonight’s SmackDown and Monday’s RAW.
Thanks to Andy Barkley for the following live report of Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings Sacramento, set to air this Friday on SyFy:
* Teddy Long opened the show and announces that Vickie Guerrero will compete in a match tonight with her job on the line.
* Rey Mysterio defeated Kane.
* Dusty Rhodes came out and called out Cody Rhodes. Dusty talked Cody into apologizing to Rey Mysterio. Dusty and Rey shook hands until Dusty turned on Rey. Cody beat Rey down and took his mask, smashing Rey into the mirror for his entrance.
* Dusty and Code are backstage. Dusty said he would do anything for Cody.
* Rosa Mendes beat Layla by DQ when Michelle McCool, who was on commentary, attacked Rosa. More tension between LayCool.
* Jack Swagger beat Kofi Kingston with the ankle lock.
* Vickie Guerrero is trying to recruit Chavo Guerrero for some help backstage but he’s not having any of it.
* Big Show beat Wade Barrett by countout. The Corre was banned from ringside. After the match, Show hit Wade and went for a chokeslam but Corre came out for the save. Show chased them off with a steel chair.
* Edge and Kelly Kelly beat Vickie Guerrero and Drew McIntyre when Kelly speared Vickie and Edge speared Drew. Teddy Long came down to celebrate with Edge and Kelly while Vickie throws a fit, even asking Booker T for help. Per the stipulation from Teddy at the show opener, it looks like Vickie has lost her job. After the match, Alberto Del Rio comes down and attacks Edge.
– Chris Jericho announced today in Los Angeles that he will be the host of the Revolver Golden God Awards, airing on VH1 Classics on April 20th.
Jericho’s band Fozzy will be performing that night and WWE Champion The Miz has been nominated for the “Most Metal Athlete” award.
– Many pepole believe that Trish Stratus is returning to WWE for Tough Enough as a way to get herself exposure on a hit show and advance her acting career.
– As noted earlier, Ted DiBiase and his brother Brett DiBiase will be appearing together prior to the FCW live event on March 16th in Punta Gorda, Florida. FCW announced yesterday that the brothers will also be teaming together the show.
During an interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler said that his longtime friend Jim Ross will indeed return to WWE television in the near future.
“JR and I had some tremendous chemistry,” Lawler said, “But I don’t think you’ve seen the last of that. I think JR will be back on the air in some capacity. He’s too good not to utilise.
A lot of people don’t realise what the situation is with him. He had a couple — I guess three now — real serious bouts of Bell’s Palsy, which is very similar in effects to a stroke. They don’t really know, but they think the attacks are brought on by stress. Nobody takes their job more seriously than good old JR.”
“The reason Vince has kept him off TV all this time is because he’s concerned with his health. He’s worried that if he puts him back out there regularly, he’ll have another Bell’s Palsy attack.”
Lawler also spoke about never wrestling at WrestleMania despite 17 years with the company – and why he may finally get his chance to wrestle on the biggest stage of them all.
“I’ve been with WWE for 17 years and that’s something I’ve never achieved,” he said. “I remember in 2007, when Vince came to me and said they were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame, I said that I didn’t want to. He said: ‘What do you mean, you don’t want to?’ I replied: ‘Most people feel like your career is over when you go into the Hall of Fame, like in baseball or football or something. Also, I’ve never done that much here, Vince. I’ve never won a title, I’ve never even wrestled on a WrestleMania.’ He said: ‘What? You’ve never wrestled on a Wrestlemania in all the years you’ve been here? That’s a tragedy. We’ve got to fix that next year. “That was his mindset then, but things get put on the backburner. First 2008 came and I didn’t get a match, then 2009 came and I didn’t get a match, then 2010.
“But I must say that there’s never really been a point in time in those years when I’ve been involved as much as I have been as of late. So if there ever was a time for it to happen, I think this would be the most advantageous. “And would I love to have a WrestleMania match? Oh boy, yes. Other than getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, that would maybe be the highlight of my career to finally get to perform there.”
Video game website IGN.com has revealed the remaining characters who will be a part of the upcoming WWE All Stars video game. Here’s the complete roster:
Legends
Jimmy Snuka
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Shawn Michaels
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
The Rock
Ultimate Warrior
Mr. Perfect
Andre the Giant
Bret Hart
Eddie Guerrero
Hulk Hogan
Jake The Snake
Macho Man
Roddy Piper
Sgt. Slaughter
Superstars
Big Show
CM Punk
Drew McIntyre
John Cena
John Morrison
Sheamus
The Miz
The Undertaker
Edge
Jack Swagger
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Triple H
Downloadable Characters
Big Bossman
Chris Jericho
Jerry “The King” Lawler
Michael Hayes
Mark Henry
R-Truth
The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Dusty Rhodes
Cody Rhodes
Hawk
Animal
Non-Playable Talent
Howard Finkel
Paul Bearer
Announcers
Jim Ross
Jerry Lawler
During an interview with Peter Rosenberg, Hulk Hogan criticized WWE’s handling of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s return to WWE last week on Raw.
“They’ve spent so much time building John Cena up. There’s a way to really build somebody up, but all of a sudden within three or four seconds, he had the whole arena screaming that Cena sucks,” Hogan said.
“Sometimes I don’t understand the philosophy. John Cena is going to be there all the time. Even though The Rock said he’s back, he’s only back for one day. He’s not going to be there wrestling every single day like John Cena is, really holding it down and really keeping it real. All that stuff is scripted. They had Stephanie McMahon and the writers telling The Rock exactly what to say. I just didn’t understand why they would want to destroy Cena so quickly.”
Hogan also talked about the eight (!!!) back surgeries he’s undergone over the past year. Though he wears a brace, he’s now pain free. He noted that he will be on hand for tonight’s iMPACT! taping in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
You can check out the interview at Rosenberg’s official website, RosenbergRadio.com.
– On Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, John Cena catpured the WWE tag titles and had a very brief title run with WrestleMania 27 opponent The Miz. It’s interesting to note that out of the four times that John Cena has held the WWE Tag Team Titles, every one of his title reigns has been with a partner that he’s feuding with at the time. with someone he was feuding with at that time.
Cena won the belts with Shawn Michaels in 2007, Batista in 2008, David Otunga in 2010 and The Miz this past Monday night.
Even more interesting is that each of Cena’s tag title reigns was shorter than the previous – two months with HBK, one week with Batista, one day with David Otunga and 12 minutes with The Miz.
– The upcoming season of WWE Tough Enough is being viewed as a chance to give a major push to Miss USA Rima Fakih. WWE sees the beauty queen as having tremendous potential as a WWE diva and the plan is to bring her up to the main roster as a babyface as soon as Tough Enough concludes, regardless of whether she wins the competition or not. Fakih is a big wrestling fan and has a legitimate interest in being a WWE Diva.
– While Evan Bourne is reportedly scheduled to return to the ring before the end of February, he might not be ready for action until late March or early April. Bourne is currently advertised to return at the March 14th RAW in St. Louis and RAW live events the following weekend, but it’s still depending on whether he’s healthy by then.
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– There’s no word yet on when The Rock will make his next WWE television appearance, but company officials want to keep his presence special and do not want to overexpose him. That said, he will be on RAW at least one more time before WrestleMania to further his feud with John Cena and The Miz and give a final boost to the WrestleMania build.
– Following Monday’s RAW, The Rock tweeted the following about the Undertaker and Triple H’s confrontation:
“loved seeing both Undertaker and Triple H return..what incredible crowd reactions for both..very happy for them – epic match!”
– People close to The Rock believe that his return to WWE means a lot to him. After being away for 7 years, Rock genuinely missed being in front of a live crowd and is excited to be a part of WrestleMania. The Rock’s mother was quoted last week saying:
“I was so proud of him. It was emotional to me, as his music hit and he appeared. It was flashbacks through the past, through three generations in the business we’ve loved throughout. By the time he hit that ring and took that mic and I saw the goose bumps on his arms, I knew he was in it. The connection between him and the fans was incredible. Like he had never left.”
* MAJOR Update On WM27 Plans: Money In The Bank, Lawler-Cole, NEXUS
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
We’ve got a major update on what WWE’s got planned for WrestleMania 27, which is now just over 5 weeks away:
Money In The Bank: There’s still no decisive word on whether WWE will be holding a Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania. While the company’s new Money In The Bank pay-per-view that was introduced last year seems to be a reason not to hold the match at WrestleMania, the match is still seen as an effective way of including lots of mid-cart talent (guys like Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre and Christian) on the WrestleMania card.
If WWE does not have Money in the Bank at WrestleMania, expect to see another multi-man match (such as a 10-man tag match) on the card.
WM27 Ticket Sales: WWE has already sold over 50,000 tickets for the Georgia Dome and company officials are confident they’ll sell the remainder of seats in time for the show.
Undertaker & Triple H: Triple H and The Undertaker have been given creative freedom with their WrestleMania program, with WWE’s writing team having very little input.
Original plans called for the Undertaker to face Wade Barrett and Triple H to wrestle Sheamus, but Triple H and the Undertaker decided that a “dream match” between the two of them would be most marketable scenario.
HBK’s Involement: Shawn Michaels is still expected to be introduced into the Undertaker vs. Triple H storyline, possibly as a referee or ringside enforcer. The idea behind HBK’s involvement would be that Triple H is going to try to end Undertaker’s stream as payback for ending his best friend’s career.
Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler: Vince McMahon is loving this current storyline and has been feeding Michael Cole much of his on-air insults towards Lawler. It’s said that Vince is using Jerry Lawler’s feud with comedian Andy Kaufman and his inspiration for this angle.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus: WWE officials are building towards a feud between Sheamus and United States Champion Daniel Bryan. They are expected to have a match for the title at WrestleMania 27.
Announcing Team: With WWE announcers Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole involved in a heated feud that will likely culminate at WrestleMania, it seems unlikely that the two of them will work side by side calling the show. There’s been talk that Jim Ross will be brought in to call the show, which would certainly give the show a “big time” feel.
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for the information used in this report)
– Chris Jericho noted on Twitter that he will be making his big announcement at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles today around 12:30pm local time. Check back later for more on that.
– Chris Jericho’s new book Undisputed has moved up to the #13 spot on the NY Times bestseller list this week. Jericho wrote on Twitter:
“Undisputed moved all the way up to number 13 on the NY Times bestseller list this week! Thanks to all who drank the literary Kool-Aid…”
We’ll take partial credit for that accomplishment!
– Jericho taped an episode of The George Lopez Show on TBS last night, that will air tonight, Thursday. Jericho joins the barbershop quartet for a performance.
– Chris Jericho will be on The Bud & Manchild radio show in Syracuse this morning at 11am and then part of a press conference for The Golden God Awards at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Jericho then will be appearing at the ESPN Zone at LA River from 6-7:30pm.
– WWE was said to be unhappy with the first batch of Tough Enough contestants that were chosen by Shed Media and the USA Network.
Specifically, WWE reportedly did not like how so many well-known independent wrestlers were selected.
The people who were in charge of casting were replaced by a guy who has previously worked closely with WWE producer Kevin Dunn.
– As noted yesterday, indy star Matt Cross is reportedly a contestant on the new WWE Tough Enough.
Former WWE star Val Venis wrote the following on Twitter yesterday, congratulating him:
“Congrats to Matt Cross on being part of the cast of tough enough. The M-Dogg is amazing and should be a fav to win the whole damn show!”
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling has made several additions to it’s roster page:
Ricardo Rodriguez – Alberto Del Rio’s ring announcer who wrestles under that gimmick and the masked gimmick of Chimaera.
Russell Walker – formerly known as Reuben de Jong, 6 foot 10 inches and 310 lbs. He is a two-time strongman champion from New Zealand and has pro wrestling and MMA experience. He also holds the Guinness World Record for running through the most panes of glass in under one minute.
Jason Mullen – 7 foot tall and over 300 lbs. from Ireland, known as The Irish Nightmare. He has been wrestling since 2004 in Ireland.
Rick Victor – Formerly known as Apocalypse in OVW where he held the OVW Championship after they were no longer affiliated with WWE. Victor has trained in the Hart Dungeon.
Erik Rowan – Independent wrestler from Minnesota, formerly known as Thoruf Marius. His look resembles something between a viking and one of The Highlanders.
Jarrod Locke – Formerly known as Warrior on the UK version of Gladiators. He has a bit of a Samoan look.
WWE released the following press release on Tuesday announcing a major new TV clearance in Brazil:
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE Inc. (NYSE:WWE – News) and Esporte Interativo today announced a one year agreement which will bring WWE’s weekly flagship TV show WWE Raw® to Brazilian Free TV beginning in March 2011.
Launching on March 2 at 10pm, Brazil’s biggest sports channel Esporte Interativo will bring the global entertainment company’s longest-running TV program to more than 33 million television households across Brazil.
WWE Raw is a unique form of entertainment featuring WWE Superstars Triple H®, John Cena®, Randy Orton®, The Miz™, Sheamus™, CM Punk® and many more. Viewers can tune in to watch all the excitement unfold every week on Esporte Interativo channels: 36 (Sao Paulo), 9 (Sao Jose dos Campos), 26 (Campinas), 58 (Mogi das Cruzes) and 43 (Santos), as well as with Oi TV (515) and Via Embratel (48).
According to Mauricio Portela, Production Vice President for Esporte Interativo, this deal is part of the channel’s strategy to expand and diversify the content of the program schedule. “We are investing in new attractions and planning varied programming. WWE programming was consistently requested among our viewers and we are delighted to be able to deliver WWE Raw to our viewers,” said Portela.
Announcing the deal, Andrew Whitaker, Executive Vice President of International for WWE, said “This new agreement is part of WWE’s further extension into Latin America with Brazil being the linchpin. We look forward to working with Esporte Interativo in bringing the WWE brand to viewers in Brazil.”