Archive for the ‘WWE’ Category

JR Blog: Brock Lesnar’s Colon Surgery, THQ & More

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with his latest blog update, which you can check out in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Big WWE Video Game News: “Expect to hear a major announcement Tuesday from WWE/THQ. Arguably the biggest news to date from WWE on the video game front.”

Brock Lesnar’s Colon Surgery & Future In UFC: “Lots of questions regarding Brock Lesnar’s colon surgery that occurred a few days ago. I don’t know the specific details nor am I am doctor but I have had diverticulitis and surgery as a result of such. Surgery can be done, as was mine, in a very evasive manner depending on the diagnosis and severity of the diverticulitis. My particular case was extremely serious because I disregarded the stomach aches and other symptoms too long and continued to travel and work and my large intestine perforated which caused additional issues with which I had to address.”

“Other surgery techniques for diverticulitis can come in the form of a much less invasive, almost arthroscopic, surgery which makes small incisions and allows one to heal quicker. From what I ascertain and I may be wrong, the less evasive surgery seems to be what Brock encountered. Nonetheless, Brock’s health is more important than his UFC career, or any career for that matter, and he has seemingly done what is necessary to remove the affected area from his colon.”

“I see no reason whatsoever that we won’t see see Brock Lesnar back in the Octagon sometime in 2012.”

R-Truth To Confront John Cena, More From Vickie Guerrero

— Creative plans as of this past weekend were for R-Truth to confront John Cena tonight on Raw. This is a strong sign that Capitol Punishment will feature a match between both Raw Superstars.

— Vickie Guerrero remarked last Thursday on her Facebook account that her boyfriend, who was also her personal trainer, cheated on her with a married woman. She also made the news public on Twitter.

Guerrero wrote, “I did change gyms, my trainer/boyfriend was cheating on me with a married woman who has kids. She continued, “Its all good, the truth will always come out, karma will bite you #cheaters.”

— Though Triple H is being advertised for tonight’s Raw taping Omaha, Nebraska, it should be noted that the advertisement was done months ago. It is unlikely that he will be appearing at tonight’s show.

source: F4WOnline.com

Vickie Guerrero Dumps Her Boyfriend After He Cheated

Vickie Guerrero remarked last Thursday on her Facebook account that her boyfriend, who was also her personal trainer, cheated on her.

She wrote the status update in response to her friends’ hearsay. A heated Guerrero wrote,

“Enough of the private messages, of he said/she said!!! Im going to set things straight!! I am single now and it was my decision! (name withheld)…aka trainer/”boyfriend” was cheating on me with (name withheld). I was disgusted to know that she is married with kids! Been there, lived it before, and I am done with that bullshit…period!”

She deleted the message a short while later.

Here’s a picture of Vickie Guerrero with her now ex-boyfriend:

Bubba Insults Kharma, TE Contestant Appearing At Indy Show

— Bubba the Love Sponge insulted Kharma during his radio show on Friday as he aired the negative comments he said about her when the two were butting heads last year in TNA Wrestling. He added that she was going to be taken off television because she’s pregnant.

— Voting is ongoing on WWE.com for tomorrow night’s episode of NXT: Redemption. The contestant with the least votes will be eliminated from the competition.

Tough Enough contestant Ryan “Skidmarks” Howe and former WWE star Eugene are advertised to appear at Summer Xplosion VII on Sunday, June 26, 2011 in Huntington, West Virginia.

— Hornswoggle celebrated his 25th birthday Sunday.

source: F4WOnline.com

RAW & Tough Enough Previews, Layla Surgery Update, Jake

– Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The only advertised item for the Memorial Day edition of Raw is Kharma’s first promo, where she will address her “nervous breakdown” on last week’s show. It is expected to be part of her TV write-off.

While Triple H is being advertised locally for tonight’s RAW, it should be noted that the advertisements were booked months ago and it is unlikely he will be there.

– Tonight’s Tough Enough will feature a guest appearance from former WWE champion The Miz. Here’s the USA Network’s official preview for the episode:

“WWE superstar The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. And, back in the gym, the competition heats up when the final three battle it out for the opportunity to compete in the Tough Enough finale. In the end, Stone Cold sends one more person home.”

– WWE diva Layla commented on her surgery last week on Twitter:

“My surgery went well Dr.Dugas is amazing But here comes the pain and the battle We can Do it tho I can’t wait to get back in the gym The journey begins.”

– Jake “The Snake” Roberts celebrates his 56th birthday today. He was born on May 30, 1955.

Brock Lesnar Has Surgery To Remove 12 Inches Of His Colon

As we reported here earlier this month, former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar recently suffered another bout of the intestinal disease diverticulitis, which caused him to pull out of next month’s UFC 131 main event against Junior Dos Santos.

We can now confirm that Brock Lesnar underwent surgery on Friday and had 12 inches of his colon removed. UFC President Dana White revealed on Saturday:

“Brock Lesnar actually had surgery yesterday. They removed about 12 inches of his colon, repaired it, he feels great. He said he’s a little sore, but the operation was a huge success.”

Lesnar debated whether or not to have the surgery or treat the disease with antibiotics.

While no timetable has been set for his return to the octagon, Dana White says he hopes to have Lesnar back fighting during the “first part of 2012.”

Chris Jericho Talks DWTS, Returning To WWE & More

Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho was recently interviewed by the UK’s Sun newspaper .. Jericho spoke about his recent stint on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars and why WWE should be fully supportive of him doing the show, negotiations he had with WWE to appear at WrestleMania 27, when he’ll return to WWE and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Dancing With The Stars Getting WWE Exposure:

“Why wouldn’t Vince McMahon be 100 per cent behind it? Because every week, twice a week, you have 22 million people hearing the name WWE. And you have 22 million people seeing this guy Chris Jericho, and even though I’m not wrestling there right now, I always will be a WWE guy and will be associated with that in one way, shape or form. I think it helped their perception because they are trying to get in the mainstream as well. And there’s nothing more mainstream than Dancing with the Stars. It’s the number one show in the country. It raises your recognition factor right off the bat.”

“Five million people watch Raw, but 22 million people watch Dancing with the Stars, so there are obviously people who don’t have any idea what wrestling is. I went a long way to changing the perceptions and changing the stereotypes of what wrestlers do. I kind of feel I was a pioneer. I guarantee I won’t be the last WWE superstar that does the show. I bet they’ll look for other guys to do it over the next little while.”

Returning To WWE & What Will Be Different This Time Around:

“I’ve always been of the mind-set that you are going to do it, you’ve got to go all the way with it. Just doing TV and not doing house shows is almost like playing the games but you don’t want to do the practise. I haven’t put much thought to it. Right now I’m busy with other stuff, with the band and things like Dancing with the Stars, going back to wrestling is the last thing on my mind right now.
“I still love watching wrestling, I still dig the shows. The only reason I left was that I had so much going on, my contract was up and I thought I’m just not going to re-sign because I’m definitely not short of work right now.

“This time, I won’t come back to wear a suit and use long words and talk slowly. Everybody does that now. It would have to be something different to really interest me enough to want to come back.”

There’s much more to this interview, visit TheSun.co.uk to read the whole thing.

Cena Criticized Over Tweet, Guerrero Steamed On Facebook

— John Cena drew criticism on Twitter on Saturday after posting a pro-America remark.

He wrote, “CeNation. I know most have a long weekend this week. While you’re having fun remember those who have kept this country free.”

Hours later, Cena retweeted an expletive-laden remark directed towards him. He wrote in response, “CeNation. Welcome to my life. You don’t love it…leave it man. I damn proud of all those men and women. On memorial day weekend. Classy. Very classy. Sorry guys. We all have our limits. That sent me over the line.”

He then retweeted another one of his follower’s remarks: “@shmikemike You’re pathetic. You’re right John Cena sucks big time and is a ****** performer, but no need to insult our troops like that.”

Cena self-deprecatingly wrote in response, “You see. That is the way to insult someone. Not bad mr knight. I’ve heard much worse but not bad. :)”

— Vickie Guerrero remarked last Thursday on her Facebook account (shortly after plugging the account on Twitter) that her boyfriend, who was also her personal trainer, cheated on her. She wrote the status update in response to her friends’ hearsay.

A steamed Guerrero wrote, “Enough of the private messages, of he said/she said!!! Im going to set things straight!! I am single now and it was my decision! (name withheld)…aka trainer/”boyfriend” was cheating on me with (name withheld). I was disgusted to know that she is married with kids! Been there, lived it before, and I am done with that bullshit…period!”

She deleted the message a short while later.

WWE Reportedly Signs Masked Luchador To Work With Sin Cara

Super Luchas reports that masked Mexican professional wrestler Averno has signed a contract with WWE. He is crossing over to the sports entertainment organization as an unmasked heel to work with Sin Cara on the SmackDown brand. He is expected to lose his mask to La Mascara at CMLL’s next big event, which takes place on June 17.

Averno had a tryout match with WWE last October and performed well, but was not signed due to concern over his age—34 years old. A deal was completed recently when company officials asked Sin Cara who he would most like to work with and he suggested Averno. WWE asked for his advice since most of the organization’s talent haven yet to adapt to his style of wrestling and therefore isn’t performing up to par. Averno, his longtime rival in CMLL, can work his style and showcase his strengths.

Super Luchas also reports that WWE is also considering signing two other young CMLL luchadors.

WWE Looking To Sign Luchadors, Mahoney Denies Death Rumors

— WWE’s weekly flagship television programs Monday Night Raw and SmackDown will take place in Mexico at the Palacio de los Deportes Arena in Mexico City on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16 respectively. As a result of this, the organization is actively looking to hire several new wrestlers from Mexico to add to the roster.

— Former WWE star Balls Mahoney was the subject of a death rumor yesterday. He is alive and well, as he spent the day with his family at the Six Flags Great Adventure park in New Jersey.

Mahoney found the rumor funny, but wanted to let his fans know “I love them all and I am absolutely fine.”

— In today’s birthdays, former WWE Tag Team Champion Samu turns 48 years old, former WWE star Pete Gas turns 41, and former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino turns 38.

source: PWInsider.com

Vince McMahon Remembers Randy Savage In TIME Magazine

The June 6, 2011 issue of TIME features an article on the late Randy Savage written by Vince McMahon. Here is the article in its entirety:

“It’s important in sports and it’s important in entertainment to stand out. Randy knew that. Right away, he wanted to leave his mark, and to do that he was aware he had to make himself different from everyone else. One way he did this was concentrating on his outfits, those brightly colored costumes with foot-long fringe that became his trademark. He brought to wrestling a unique look and style.

“Randy, who died in a car crash May 20 at age 58, was one of the building blocks of what is now WWE (previously known as the World Wrestling Federation). He had a very unusual voice –remember his “Snap into a Slim Jim. Oh, yeah!” commercials?–and was extremely charismatic. Perception is very important in this business, and he also had a very high opinion of himself, something he needed in a locker room full of performers who had been around for a while and had big personalities and followings–like Hulk Hogan, Today, Randy is remembered as one of wrestling’s all time greats. No question about it–he certainly was.”

Title Match Scheduled For SmackDown, WWE Diva Debuts, Khali

— Sheamus beat Christian and Mark Henry in a Triple Threat match last night on SmackDown to become the new No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The Celtic Warrior will challenge Randy Orton for the strap on next week’s episode of SmackDown.

— WWE developmental wrestler A.J. made her official WWE debut on last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown. Accompanied by Natalya, the NXT Season 3 contestant partnered with Kaitlyn in a losing effort to Alicia Fox and Tamina. Her bio has been moved to the SmackDown Superstars section on WWE.com.

A.J., a longtime wrestling fan who as recently as a few years ago would post on WWE Diva message boards, commented on her breakthrough on Twitter.

She wrote, “And it only took me 13 years… So incredibly happy and proud right now. Thanks for all the support. Think I broke my DVR rewind button…”

— The Great Khali turned on Ranjin Singh last night on SmackDown, placing his own brother in the Vise Grip. After leaving Singh completely incapacitated, Khali left the ring with Jinder Mahal.

WWE Highlighting 21st Century Superstars, Primo Upsets Ziggler

— WWE’s upcoming Greatest Stars of the New Millennium DVD has been renamed Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century. The three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray will be released on July 26. The synopsis reads:

“Sure, we’re barely more than 10 percent of the way through the 21st century, but it’s not too early to look at some of the WWE superstars who are rewriting the record books on their way to squared circle immortality. Batista, John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and Triple H are among the icons profiled in this action-filled compendium.”

— WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart hosted last night’s Raw live event at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The legendary wrestling personality opened the show but was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler. Primo came to defend Hart, and a match was then made official. Primo upset the former World Heavyweight Champion via pinfall.

Hart also participated in a dance contest with fans during intermission.

Punk Not Advertised For Raw Event, SmackDown Stars Trend

— John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio is advertised for the July 30 Raw live event show at the Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois. CM Punk, however, is not advertised for the show taking place in his home state. The Straight Edge Superstar has not renewed his contract with WWE, so it appears that if he does indeed leave the company, it would be by then.

— Randy Orton, Alicia Fox, Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali and Sheamus, among others, were trending on Twitter last night during SmackDown.

— This week’s episode of WWE Superstars featured 23 minutes and 45 seconds of wrestling action, up from the 21 minutes and 59 seconds the week before.

— WWE developmental wrestler Tyler Black celebrates his 25th birthday today while Kamala turns 61 years old. WWE Diva Natalya turned 29 years old on Friday and former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro turned 32 years old on Saturday.

Vince McMahon Writes About Randy Savage For TIME Magazine

The June 6, 2011 issue of TIME features an article on the late Randy Savage written by Vince McMahon. A preview of the article was released:

“It’s important in sports and it’s important in entertainment to stand out. Randy knew that. Right away, he wanted to leave his mark, and to do that he was aware he had to make himself different from everyone else. One way he did this was concentrating on his outfits, those brightly colored costumes with foot-long fringe that became his trademark. He brought to wrestling a unique look and style.

“Randy, who died in a car crash May 20 at age 58, was one of the building blocks of what is now WWE (previously known as the World Wrestling Federation). He had…”

To read the article in its entirety, pick up a copy of TIME at your local newsstand or download the TIME iPad app.

Benoit Shown On WWE’s Nitro DVD, HBK Helps Tornado Victims

— The late Chris Benoit is shown a few times in WWE’s forthcoming The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro DVD (scheduled for release on June 7), and even in the same segments as Woman. However, no full matches of Benoit are included in the DVD, not to mention that in segments where he is shown, commentary referring to “The Crippler” is muted.

— Shawn Michaels and friends of his went to Joplin, Missouri Thursday to offer support to tornado victims.

“Me & my buds got cases of H2O & sum dry goods & headed 2 Joplin MO, jus wanna c if we can do anything,” he wrote on Twitter. “Can’t hurt 2 give it a try.”

— Hornswoggle will throw out the first pitch at the July 7 Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers game at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

— WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart appears at MVP Sports Collectibles in Victoria, BC, Canada on Saturday, June 25 from 2-4pm. Call 250-380-1958 for more information.

SmackDown Match Preview: No. 1 Contender’s Match, New Diva

Tonight on WWE SmackDown, the next contender to Randy Orton’s World Heavyweight Championship will be determined after “The Viper” retained against Christian at Over the Limit.

WWE.com’s advertising for the show reads: “Faced with the reality of losing his World Title rematch at WWE Over the Limit, how will Christian address the end of his lifelong dream tonight on SmackDown? And, who will step up to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton?”

Matches taped Tuesday in Spokane, Washington for tonight’s episode are as follows:

* Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero

* Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes

* Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater

* Kane vs. The Great Khali

* AJ and Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox and Tamina

* Christian vs. Mark Henry vs. Sheamus in a Triple Threat No. 1 Contender’s Match

*SPOILERS* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For Tonight

WWE Smackdown (Airing Tonight)

Randy orton kicked off the show. Before he could get going, Christian interrupted. Christian congratulated orton for their match on Sunday. Then he said the match could have gone either way. He issued a challenge, but Sheamus interrupted. And then Mark Henry interrupted the interruption.

We get some GM action with Teddy Long, who mentioned it was deja vu with the same guys arguing about the world title. Long said Christian will have to earn the title shot by booking a Triple Threat between Henry, Sheamus, and Christian for tonight.

Sin Cara beat Chavo Guerrero. Sin Cara came out to a huge pop for the Over The Limit rematch. The mood lighting was in full effect. Sin Cara won after the head-scissors takedown.

Cody Rhodes came out and the brown bag crew followed closely behind. He cut a quick promo about how unattractive the crowd was. I can’t fault him for that one. Daniel Bryan interrupted and received a bigger pop than Sin Cara did.

Daniel Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes. Bryan won the match with the LeBell Lock. Cody jumped Bryan after the match. He tagged him with CrossRhodes on the floor and then gave him the brown bag treatment.

They threw to the idiotic Capitol Punishment video.

Booker T entered the ring after a great Tribute to the Troops video. He “invites” Michael Cole to step into the ring. Coke obliged. Book reminded us of Cole’s loss at the pay-per-view. He was shocked at Cole’s apology, and gave him big props. He wanted to give Cole a chance to apologize again to the Smackdown audience. Booker short-armed the handshake and showed the picture of Cole with King’s foot in his mouth. Booker presented him with some Altoids.

Backstage interview with Christian, who talked about how he was always the last kid picked but made the most of it and proved everyone wrong.

Kane beat Great Khali (w/Ranjin Singh). Khali wasn’t dancing, but his brother was. Kane’s pyro knocked the Tron out of whack, its vertical hold was messed up. Total bumps for Khali: one! Jinder Mahal came out after the match. He spoke in his native tongue and then then shoved Singh. Khali came to Ranjin’s defense only to crush his head. Jinder and Khali left together.

Ezekiel Jackson defeated Heath Slater by DQ. Zeke dominated the match and had Slater in the Torture Rack until other Corre members ran in for the DQ. Zeke fought them off. Wade Barrett did not enter the ring.

Backstage with Sheamus. He spoke about how he achieved in a few months what took Henry and Christian their whole lives to accomplish.

Alicia Fox and Tamina defeated A.J. and Kaitlyn (w/Natalya). The Slam of the Week featured Kharma crying on Raw. Ugh. Natalya came out with A.J. and Kaitly, and entered to her music. Alicia pinned Kaitlyn after an axe kick. No Kharma. Boo!!!

Sheamus beat Christian and Mark Henry.Sheamus won in a three-way match to become #1 contender to the World Title.

Cena Talks About His Character, Attitude Era, Andre & More

Here are some highlights of what WWE Champion John Cena spoke about during a recent interview with Boston.com:

His character: “I don’t market myself as the coolest guy out there or the most edgy guy out there. Sports and entertainment have become such a business of branding. You have a lot of people watching your every action, and I’m proud of that. I take a lot of pride in how I present myself.”

The Attitude Era: “The Attitude Era was when the fans became teens. The Attitude Era was really generation-specific. I’m not taking anything away from that — it was 18-to-35-year-old males, and now we’re a broader audience, really more like it was in the ’80s.”

WWE’s All Stars Video Game & Andre the Giant: “The game is unreal. If you just look at the timeline; those people loved the WWE, and they are my age and a little bit older, and they are starting to have family, and all of those young kids are getting interested in the program. He (Andre the Giant) made such an impression on me. He is the one guy that I would have loved to show what I could do.”

Reid Flair Says He Wants To Work For WWE Over TNA

Ric Flair’s son Reid Flair appeared on the Hit the Ropes radio show on Wednesday and spoke about the possibility of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a pro wrestler.

Check Out: Reid Flair’s Mugshot Pictures

Despite the fact that Reid’s father works for TNA, the second generation wrestler’s ultimate goal is to make it to what he calls “the big time” – WWE.

“No, I have not ruled out TNA. I respect the guys that are there. I respect the people in management and stuff like that. My dream since I was five years old was to work for the WWE and that’s my goal.”

Reid acknowledges that working for TNA has its benefits, but his perception of the company is similar to the reputation that TNA has earned in recent years – which is that TNA is where “established” wrestlers go after they’ve been in WWE.

“I think for people who are already established as stars, TNA is a great place to go. But me being a young kid and stuff like that, not having established myself, I think that sometimes the younger guys may be misrepresented and stuff in TNA. And I’m not saying anything malicious about TNA, WWE is just where I want to be. That’s my goal. WWE is the big time and I want to be with the best.”

You can listen to audio of the full interview here:

VIDEO: Episode 15 Of The Z! True Long Island Story

Mr. Long Island Iced Z himself, Zack Ryder is back with another installment of the Z! True Long Island Story.

In this edition, Zack Ryder pays tribute to the “Macho Man” Randy Savage, highlights the Zack Ryder signs that made it onto WWE television this week and more.

Kevin Nash Wants A Match With Big Show At SummerSlam

In a new interview with John Pollock of The Fight Network, WWE legend Kevin Nash says he is hoping for a match against the Big Show at SummerSlam.

Nash revealed that there were talks of him having some kind of match with Big Sho at WrestleMania, but acknowledged that it wouldn’t have been fair for him to get a match on the show and take the spot of another young WWE star who worked all year to work their first WrestleMania.

Regarding his WWE return at the Royal Rumble earlier this year, Nash his brief few minutes as part of the Rumble was better  than anything that happened to him during his five years with TNA.

Nash also talked about WWE’s revamped developmental system and how he and other WWE legends like Shawn Michaels might get involved and help Triple H locate and groom the superstars of tomorrow.

Check out this video of the appearance:

Savage’s Obituary Posted Online, WWE Cancels Portland Return

— The obituary for the late Randy Savage has been posted online. It features a guestbook for people to share memories and express condolences.

In addition to his wrestling exploits, the obituary notes that for several years every holiday season, he visited All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida to deliver gifts to patients and participated in the George Steinbrenner Children’s Holiday Concert for underprivileged kids of Tampa. He also recently took part as a celebrity guest judge in a fundraiser benefiting Art for Autism.

— WWE announced today that due to a scheduling conflict, the SmackDown live event at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on August 20, 2011 has been canceled. Monday Night Raw will return to the Rose Garden on February 27, 2012. An on sale date has not been announced.

— Jake “The Snake” Roberts appears at the Sports Heroes and Legends 10 Giffords Lane Staten Island, New York on July 23, 2011 from 2:00 p.m. to 4L00 p.m.

source: PWInsider.com

Christian Talks About His Short Title Reign, Edge’s Retirement

Busted Open satellite radio show with Christian
Hosts: Dave LaGreca and Doug Mortman
Airs Mondays and Wednesdays on Sirius 92 and XM 207 from 2-4 ET
Visit Facebook.com/bustedopen for more information

Christian on his brief reign as World Heavyweight Champion and the fans outcry over the quick change: “Obviously, I kind of look at it two ways. There are very few people that ever have a chance to become World Heavyweight Champion. I did that, got a taste of it, I know what it takes to get to that point now and the way I look at it, I stay positive about it and I look forward to being able to call myself a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.”

“I was really surprised by the outpouring of all the stuff on Twitter, all those sorts of things. It was pretty surprising. I think a lot of it happened before…..obviously, the show is done on Tuesday and shown on Friday, so there are a lot of things people were going on hearsay before the show even aired, before they even saw it, so you kind of have to take that with a grain of salt.”

“I think Randy and I have great chemistry and going forward there should be some exciting times for myself. I look forward to the challenges, and like I said, I got a taste of being World Heavyweight Champion. I know what it takes to get there and I look forward to being the World Champion again`. I won’t stop until it happens.”

Christian on if it was bittersweet that he won the title after Edge was forced to vacate it: “Of course, it was a tough pill to swallow. He’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were in sixth grade. I knew that he was having issues with tingling and things like that in his arms. He had neck surgery years ago, so I think he realized that at some point, it may come back to bother him again at some point in his career. The day after Wrestlemania he went and had everything checked out and it turned out he had the spinal stenosis and the whole thing and he was in serious risk of permanent damage to himself. All it takes is a fall, or to do something one wrong way and the risk of paralysis was even there. Nothing is worth that type of risk.”

“He called me right after he got the news and obviously he was very upset about it. We got off the phone and I started thinking about it a little bit. I called him back and I said I understand why you’re upset, but you can look at it two ways. You can look at it that way or you can look at it this way. Your career has been amazing. There’s not many people that can say they had the type of career you had, done the things that you’ve done. You’ve always done things the way you wanted to do them. If this is it, your last match was at Wrestlemania in front of seventy thousand plus people in one of the main events, and you walked out as the World Heavyweight Champion. I said I don’t know if you can write a better ending to a script than that. And he’s like ‘Man, I didn’t even think about that.’, and right away I think he kind of felt better about it. It took him a couple days to kind of let it sink in, but that being said, he realizes there’s not much he can do about it now except look forward to the future.”

“None of us were expecting any of this to happen, it just happened and it’s one of those things where when you get a chance to step up, you gotta step up and I feel like I did.”

Christian one if he is more over now than he has ever been: “I think people know that every time I go out there, I leave it all in the ring, regardless. So I think there’s a certain respect with that and I think that’s just grown over the years because I feel like over the course of my career…..people know that I never take a night off. I’m out there every night working my butt off trying to do what I do, and that is entertain every single person that paid their hard earned money for a ticket. So I think people realize that and I think over time, I feel like that’s grown, definitely.”

WM27 Buyrate, WWE Manager Returns, Orton Travel Story

– WWE’s annual goal for WrestleMania is for the event to draw 1 million pay-per-view buys worldwide. According to the company’s official preliminary estimate, the show did 1,042,000 buys worldwide – so it appears The Rock’s involvement was enough to put them over the top.

– As reported here earlier this week, WWE is continuing its recent initiative to once again feature managers – with former WWE personality Armando Alejandro Estrada returning at Tuesday’s Superstars tapings from Spokane, WA and managing Tyson Kidd. Estrada reportedly met with WWE officials about a possible return several months ago when the company was touring in Long Island, NY.

– Randy Orton recently wrote on twitter about an embarrassing travel story. Apparently he sat down on what he believed to be his connecting flight to St. Louis, but then found out that the flight he was on was a flight to Fayetteville, NC and had to be escorted off his flight after alerting the flight crew.

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)