Check out this badass video we shot of the WrestleMania 27 introduction and fireworks display:

“The Tonight Show” correspondent Rove McManus attended WrestleMania 27 weekend and posted video footage taken at WWE Axxess and backstage at the pay-per-view:

Part 1:

Part 2:

— According to sources within WWE, there is said to be a lot of backstage heat between WrestleMania tag team partners John Morrison and Trish Stratus. Morrison was reportedly very upset that Trish was booked for a match at WrestleMania, which he felt took away a spot on the card from his girlfriend, Melina. Morrison was very stubborn before the match regarding the booking of the angle leading up to the match, rejecting several ideas along the way. At WrestleMania, Morrison is visibly cold to Trish, not making any eye contact with her and apparently snubbing her in the post-match celebration and turning his back to her.

— Tough Enough contestant Jeremiah Riggs, the mixed martial artist, met with TNA Wrestling’s Director of Talent Relations Terry Taylor about joining the promotion before he wound up on the reality program. The organization showed in interest in Riggs due to his role on VH1’s Daisy of Love and because he has prior wrestling experience. Riggs trained with Dutch Mantel before turning is focus to MMA.

— Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, who was enshrined last Saturday in the WWE Hall of Fame, indicated on her Facebook account that a WWE Diva is engaged to be married.

“Can’t believe one of my favorite WWE Divas in marrying one of my favorite Food Network chefs!!” Sytch wrote. “Man, is she a lucky girl! All that amazing food, all the time!!!”

Sytch stated she would not reveal who it is until the Diva in question goes public.

— The pre-sale code for the Saturday, June 18 WWE Supershow at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey is ACCESS. The pre-sale began this morning on Ticketmaster.com.

(sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com)

It was reported earlier that an altercation took place late Sunday night at a sports bar between members of the Tough Enough cast and TNA Wrestling performer Matt Hardy.

The incident occurred at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Atlanta, where WWE held the reality show contestants and consumers who purchased WrestleMania XXVII travel packages.

Many of the cast members were watching WrestleMania at the hotel’s sports bar and warmly greeting fans. Michelle Deighton, in particular, was giving fans chops. Hardy and girlfriend Reby Sky, who were in town for the Dragon Gate USA Show, appeared at the bar (after being denied access to the WrestleMania after-party) and reportedly engaged in an argument with the Tough Enough members at 3:00 a.m., causing a scene in front of fans.

Shortly after the story broke out, Matt Hardy posted several messages on his Twitter account poking fun at Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer, as the story was attributed to his website. He jokingly wrote, “Well, since it’s out- Yeah, @RebySky & myself beat up the entire Tough Enough crew after her DGUSA show-Reby beat up 4 girls, I beat 9 guys!”

He later clarified his remarks, writing, “Just so everyone knows, the silly story we’ve been joking about 2day was created by a dirtsheet, not by Reby or I. Solid reporting there WO.”

Sky clarified the situation as well, adding, “The dirtsheets were writing that me & Matt had gotten into a “serious altercation” w/the Tough Enough cast on WrestleMania weekend, which was so ridiculously erroneous that we made a sarcastic comment about “taking down” the entire cast. SARCASTIC. As in ha-ha-making-a-funny-because-the-dirtsheets-are-crazy-get-a-fking-sense-of-humor.

“For the record, Matt & I had a wonderful weekend – He came down to support me at @DragonGateUSA & we were nowhere near the TE cast.”

Shortly after the incident took place, Hardy wrote on his Twitter account, “Well, it’s official..Me & @RebySky are muthaf*ckin Banditos..I always liked the Hilton better anyway.”

Sky wrote, “Banned for life. It was worth it.” She then added, “We’re headed back to North Carolina – Goodbye Georgia, your crazy fans, your crazy cops & your even crazier hotel security personnel.”

When asked on Formspring what she and Hardy were banned from, Sky stated they were “banned for life” from an Atlanta hotel.

source: f4wonline.com

Chris Jericho has updated his Dancing With The Stars blog over at TVSquad.com talking about Monday’s tribute performance to his mother, which you can see video footage of here. Jericho wrote:

“As a performer, there’s a goal I set out to accomplish every time I step onto the stage. Whether it’s making people cheer (or boo) in the WWE, having people sing along to my songs with Fozzy or engaging people with my books, there’s a certain magic that comes with knowing that you’ve affected people.

When I first agreed to do ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ after two previous invitations, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. The concept of ballroom dancing was as foreign to me as a Werner Herzog film, and I had no expectations of what I could or couldn’t do on the floor. Would I actually be able to do it? Could I entertain people with my moves, my charisma and my showmanship? And, more importantly, could I make them feel something special while they watched me?

The first week I was a jittery jitterson and happy to get it over with. The second week I felt much more comfortable, and I think I surprised some people with the lightness of my footwork. But I still hadn’t created any magic.

That changed Monday night, when I danced the rumba to ‘Let It Be,’ by the Beatles, as a tribute to my mother, Loretta. She passed away in 2005, after having traveled a hard road for the previous 15 years of her life. But she always supported me in anything I did.

It’s funny ’cause I don’t think she really understood wrestling. She watched the wrestling matches because I was on, but she had no emotional attachment to what I was doing. But she loved dancing! I remember watching ‘Solid Gold’ (a musical variety show that was on every Saturday night in the early ’80s) with her, and she was always impressed with the Solid Gold Dancers, a troupe of hot chicks (or “gals,” as she called them) who would appear throughout the show like a glittery version of The Fly Girls. (Carrie Ann Inaba, represent, yo!)

“I would’ve made a great Solid Gold Dancer,” my mom always said. And she would’ve. My mother was beautiful and sexy — am I allowed to say that about dear old mum? — with a dancer’s body and a great personality. It’s because of this that I know she would be a HUGE ‘DWTS’ fan and would’ve watched the show religiously.

She would’ve been so proud of me for doing the show, and that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to dance for her. Doing the ‘Let It Be’ performance was amazing for me. To dance such a beautifully choreographed routine to one of the best songs by my favorite band, for my mum, almost moved me to tears.

What I didn’t expect was that it would move others to tears. All I heard after the show from family, friends and pure strangers was how they had shed a tear when they watched Cheryl Burke and I perform. They felt what I was feeling. They related to it. They empathized with it. They were moved by it.

The atmosphere in the studio Monday night was electric. There was magic in the air. And, for the first time since I began this journey almost six weeks ago, I felt like a dancer. Pure, raw emotion that moves people and provides them with a magical moment is worth more than any score. And Team Chericho felt like we scored three 10s when it came to creating such a special moment. As a performer, that’s all that I strive for.”

* VIDEO of CHRIS JERICHO’s Latest DWTS Performance from MONDAY

(Source: TVSquad.com)

Last week, we reported that WWE was eradicating itself of the world “wrestling.” John Cena and Randy Orton are no longer wrestlers – they’re “superstars” and “sports entertainers.” Even the company’s name is getting an overhaul – dropping the phrase “World Wrestling Entertainment” in favor of simply “WWE.”

The Los Angeles Times has a feature article looking at the latest re-branding efforts of WWE, which includes many new details on the company’s strategy moving forward as well as comments from the chairman himself, Vince McMahon.

“I think every brand has to re-create itself,” McMahon said. “I want everyone to look at us in a vastly different way than they have.”

The article says McMahon plans to go on a spending spree to acquire media assets that could expand WWE’s business beyond the ring. In particular, WWE is targeting companies involved in production, live entertainment and branding.

“It is a logical broadening of what we already do,” McMahon said. “No one does television production better than we do, it’s damn near the Olympics. We know more about live event touring than anyone in the United States.”

With very little debt to speak of and almost $70 million cash on hand, WWE has deep pockets and the ability to make their vision of expansion a reality.

Aside from acquisitions in the production and live entertainment arenas, WWE is also moving ahead with its planned cable channel and has already met with distributors (including Verizon) in hopes of launching the WWE Network in 2012.

Analysts are mixed on whether WWE should expand outside of its core business, or whether it should be more conservative with its spending and focus on internal matters and improve areas of business that have been suffering in recent years.

Jay Kaplan, portfolio manager for Royce & Associates, which holds about 9% of WWE stock, was interviewed for the LA Times pice and said, “I think that the most important thing right now is the return of the health of the core business. One of the market’s big concerns is are they losing market share to real fighting.”

The article looks at the mixed results WWE has seen when branching out beyond the realm of pro wrestling – with the XFL and WWE New York ventures falling flat.

Some analysts wonder whether WWE wants to grow to position itself for an eventual sale. With Vince McMahon in his mid 60’s and his wife Linda gone from the company, the article speculates whether this planned expansion is taking place in anticipation of an eventual sale. Without mentioning that his daughter Stephanie and her husband Triple H are being groomed to be the next generation of WWE leadership, Vince shot down the idea of selling the company.

“We’re very independent-minded,” he said. “I don’t see that happening.”

Overall it’s a great read, head over to LATimes.com for more on WWE’s re-branding strategy.

Trish Stratus met up with former WWE divas Amy “Lita” Dumas and Tammy “Sunny” Sytch over WrestleMania 27 weekend in Atlanta .. Check out these pictures of the legendary WWE divas together:

WWE has released the following backstage videos featuring the Class of 2011 members talking about joining wrestling’s most prestigious Hall of Fame.

SEScoops.com was at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and have posted a batch of 25 exclusive photos from the historic event – including a surprise reunion from the Kliq – Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman. Check those pictures out here.

The following press release was issued by World Wrestling Entertainment WWE on Thursday .. Not only is the company re-branding itself simply “WWE” – but there’s a new tag line and Triple H will lead the company’s new talent development program:

The New WWE® Expands Beyond Wrestling

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–To better reflect the company’s global entertainment offerings, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) announced today a new business model for future growth, including formally rebranding itself, WWE.

“The new business model of the company better reflects what WWE is all about, being a global entertainment company”

Two key components to WWE’s brand expansion will be the active pursuit to acquire entertainment content companies and the outsourcing of WWE’s core competencies – television and film production, live event production and licensing. As part of the new business model, the company will also focus on the development of new television products including scripted, non-scripted and animated programs, as well as the launch of a new WWE network in the next 12-18 months. The first new program of the brand expansion is Tough Enough®, WWE’s non-scripted program that debuted on the USA Network on Monday.

“The new business model of the company better reflects what WWE is all about, being a global entertainment company,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO, WWE. “We will always be loyal to our core business that made WWE a globally known entity, however, the future of WWE will be the addition of new entertainment content opportunities beyond the ring.”

This new rebranding initiative will be highlighted through a national consumer and business-to-business advertising campaign entitled “Bigger. Badder. Better.™” The campaign kicked off at WrestleMania® XXVII on Sunday and will be featured on cable TV, print and online.

In addition to focusing on the expansion of the company, the company will bolster its core business with the launch a new talent development department headed by Paul “Triple H®” Levesque. The new department will put a greater emphasis on worldwide recruitment, training and character development to identify future WWE Superstars and Divas. The first recruit acquired under Levesque’s new department was the signing last month of future WWE Superstar, Sin Cara™, formerly known worldwide as Mistico.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly, PG content across all of its platforms including television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to https://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; the need for continually developing creative and entertaining programming; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent McMahon; the conditions of the markets in which we compete and acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; our exposure to bad debt risk; uncertainties relating to regulatory and litigation matters; risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of our markets; uncertainties associated with international markets; the importance of protecting our intellectual property and complying with the intellectual property rights of others; risks associated with producing and travelling to and from our large live events, both domestically and internationally; the risk of accidents or injuries during our physically demanding events; risks relating to our film business and any new business initiative which we may undertake; risks relating to the large number of shares of common stock controlled by members of the McMahon family and the possibility of the sale of their stock by the McMahons or the perception of the possibility of such sales; the relatively small public float of our stock; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition, our dividend is significant and is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends, general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant, including a waiver by the McMahon family of a portion of the dividends which has now expired. Any new dividend waiver is subject to two things. The first is the receipt of the approval of the Internal Revenue Service, which has been obtained. The second is the agreement of members of the McMahon family. No determination has been made by the McMahon family to enter into a new waiver agreement.

– As we reported earlier this week, there was an incident that took place over WrestleMania weekend at a hotel bar between the cast of Tough Enough and former WWE superstar Matt Hardy.

The incident occurred at the Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown Atlanta, where WWE put up the Tough Enough cast as well as fans who purchased WrestleMania travel packages. The WWE superstars stayed at the Hyatt

The only details about the incident that we can confirm are that  Matt Hardy and his girlfriend Reby Sky (pictures) got into a shouting match with some of the contestants at 3am, in front of a huge group of fans.

According to a correspondent who was at the hotel bar, it was quite a sight – and appeared to be instigated by Hardy.

– While Matt Hardy and Reby Sky did caused a scene at the Marriott hotel, things were not as crazy at WWE’s WrestleMania after-party. The Rock, Snooki nor any of the McMahon family members attended. Some of the names in attendance were Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Lita and Awesome Kong.

Matt Hardy and girlfriend Reby Sky reportedly tried getting into the WrestleMania after-party, but were denied entry.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

There is backstage heat on both John Morrison and Melina, reports Pro Wrestling Torch. It centers around the Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match at Wrestlemania XXVII, which saw Morrison repeatedly brush partner Trish Stratus off.

During their post-match celebration, Stratus hugged Snooki and went to hug Morrison, but he had already turned his back on her. Morrison then led Snooki to the corner of the ring and used the Jersey Shore star as a shield, to guard himself from Stratus.

The backstory behind Morrison’s awkward body language is that either he or Melina, his girlfriend, felt Stratus took her spot in the Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match at Wrestlemania XXVII. The backstage belief is that he either holds Stratus in contempt for taking Melina’s spot on the card, or had to portray himself as such so that she would believe he was rude to her.

Behind the scenes, Morrison rejected various ideas Stratus had for their match at WrestleMania XXVII, and was said to be very difficult to work with. His outright refusal to comply with any of her suggestions reportedly hurt her feelings. Word quickly spread amongst the locker room, garnering heat.

Many feel Morrison’s unprofessional behavior will set back his standing in WWE since Stratus is highly regarded amongst company personnel.

While Morrison is considered a nice guy, he’s not greatly respected amongst his peers. This dates back several years due to his real-life relationship with Melina. Particularly, he lost a lot of respect for allowing Melina to engage in a sexual relationship with former WWE talent Dave Bautista (a/k/a Batista) while the two were dating. The former WWE Champion made no qualms of being intimately involved with Melina in his 2007 autobiography, Batista Unleashed. He wrote:

“My wife thought I was sleeping with Melina right off the bat, while we were still married. It wasn’t true, but it did make me feel guilty about being friends with her.

“Since then, as I’ve said, Melina and I have gotten closer and our relationship has become physical. That’s caused a bit of controversy, but I don’t give a shit. She’s my friend, and I love her very much.”

Former WWE stars Paul London and Brian Kendrick alleged numerous behind the scenes stories involving Melina and Morrison in their 2010 “shoot” interview, Brian Kendrick & Paul London’s Excellent Adventure. London stated that Morrison is ‘spineless’ because he repeatedly permitted Melina to engage in sexual activity with outside partners while the two were dating. He added that Morrison would accompany Melina on dates with her partner of choice. Kendrick also claimed that he himself had been intimate with Melina.

— CM Punk took aim at the Rookies of NXT today on Twitter, writing: “The NXT rookies are SO passionate about our sport they can’t even remember what happened at wrestlemania two nights before. Embarrassing.”

— Randy Orton said on Twitter that WWE’s upcoming DVD on “The Viper” will be released in September and that he’ll post a link to a teaser clip soon. The working title for the product is The Randy Orton Experience.

— Dolph Ziggler is en route to Turkey to promote WWE’s upcoming tour in the country.

— All WWE performers participated in concussion testing this past week.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There was an altercation between TNA Wrestling talent Matt Hardy and members of the Tough Enough cast at a hotel bar in Atlanta, Georgia during WrestleMania XXVII weekend.

While details of the incident have to be disclosed, Reby Sky, Hardy’s girlfriend, revealed on her Formspring account that she and Hardy were “banned for life” from the hotel in question.

One WWE source said that if a main roster talent had done some of the things they did, termination would be likely if they were low enough on the totem pole.

source: f4wonline.com

Jim Ross published a new blog on his official website today discussing topics coming out WrestleMania weekend. Highlights are as follows:

Announcing again for WWE: “I’m not sure when I will be back for another announcing appearance but will embrace any opportunity to do what I love.”

Calling the final matches at WrestleMania XXVII: “Announcing at WM27 was an adrenaline rush but I’ll admit that I was rusty and had plenty of pre-match anxiety as I would have liked to have been able to prep more. Plus, one never knows after a long absence from WM’s just how one will respond in the heat of battle.”

WWE’s one-year build towards The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII: “The journey between now and WM28 in Miami could well be very compelling especially considering that a main event has already been tabbed. I have no issue whatsoever in dubbing a main event a year in advance because that provides fans with a destination and hopefully the journey to the destination will be full of twists and turns.”

Watching the premiere of Tough Enough alongside Steve Austin: “I hear that the upcoming episodes are much more compelling that the first, of which I thoroughly enjoyed.”

His post can be accessed here. Ross also noted that WWE Hall of Famer Abdullah the Butcher needs a hip replacement.

TNA star Kurt Angle was guest on this past Monday’s Wrestling News Live podcast hosted by JJ and Trey. Kurt stopped by to discuss the recent “Twittergate” scandal that emerged during the WrestleMania 27 broadcast and the boys allowed Kurt to clear the air and give his side of the story.

Kurt apologized on behalf of what happened but found that upon further investigation his twitter account was not hacked but was used by a family member after Kurt went to bed.

Kurt addressed what was said about both Jack Swagger and Randy Orton and he had since talked with Orton and things between them are fine, he has no issues with Swagger

The interview can be heard at Archive.org, starting at the 30 minute mark.

* Modeling Pictures of KURT ANGLE’s 24-Year-Old Fiance (Direct Link)

(Source: Archive.org)

— Jillian Hall, who has not wrestled since being released from her WWE contract on November 19, 2010, has announced plans to return to the squared circle.

The former WWE Divas Champion is accepting bookings for signings and wrestling appearances via jillian9hall@aol.com.

— Former WWE Divas Lilian Garcia and Candice Michelle hosted a Tough Enough aftershow this past Monday night discussing its premiere as well as their time in the wrestling industry. Both Tommy Dreamer and Torrie Wilson called in to the program. To view the episode, here. Torrie Wilson joins the program next week as a regular.

Next week’s episode will start at its normal time, 11:15 p.m. ET/ 8:15 p.m. PT, via ustream.tv/afterbuzztv.

— NBC has launched a WWE Tough Enough app via iTunes.

Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho has impressed many with his performances thus far on Dancing With The Stars, but Jericho found himself on the verge of elimination this week.

Jericho, who performed this week as “Chris Irvine” (his real name), was in the bottom two this week and almost got voted off the show before talk show host Wendy Williams was eliminated.

Jericho wrote the following on Twitter regarding the close call:

“Wow, what a mindfunk. But like Tom (a judge) said, it’s the final two, not the bottom two. Don’t forget that every vote counts…

“Big false finish on DWTS tonight, but I kicked out at two and a half! Ready for the big babyface comeback next week.”

Unlike previous weeks, there were no WWE divas shown in the crowd this week.

* VIDEO of CHRIS JERICHO’s Week 3 Performance from DWTS (Direct Link)

Despite the fact that their WrestleMania 27 match was billed as “no holds barred” and anything goes, WWE has announced on its corporate website that both The Undertaker and Triple H have been fined for hitting eachother in the head with steel chairs.  The announcement reads:

“Superstars Fined for Chair Shot

Pursuant to WWE’s Concussion policy, the stunt of using a folded metal chair shot to the head is prohibited. Triple H and The Undertaker have both been fined for violating this policy at WrestleMania XXVII. WWE penalizes through fine and/or suspension for violation of this policy, which is unchanged and still in effect.”

Granted, this is a storyline fine, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering the stipulation of their match.

With this policy in place – WWE can expect to collect a ton of money from their talent following the upcoming “Extreme Rules” pay-per-view.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday night to promote his new movie Fast Five and had a lot to say about his return to WWE.

They showed some clips from The Rock’s biggest movies, including The Scorpion King, The Tooth Fiary, Faster and Fast Five, the latest installment of the Fast and Furious series, co-starring Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.

The Rock talked about his decision to return to the ring at WrestleMania next year in a dream match against John Cena. The Rock said he and Vince McMahon have remained very close since he left the ring seven years ago and said the two of them have been discussing ways for The Rock to do something special for the fans. Jay Leno joked that The Rock should wrestle Charlie Sheen and said The Rock has really “let himself go” since leaving the ring and has a belly now.

Leno asked The Rock to do his trademark People’s Eyebrow, which he did, to a loud ovation from the crowd.

Overall a great segment, the audience was very into The Rock and he came across as the big- time movie star that he is.

Here’s the footage, courtesy of NBC.com:

Monday’s episode of WWE RAW saw the long-awaited debut of recently-signed Mexican lucha libre star Sin Cara. What many probably don’t know is that WWE used an old school trick to add a little extra “boost” to Sin Cara’s high-flying offensive attack on Sheamus.

When Sin Cara ran to the ring, a WWE crew member actually pushed a mini-trampoline from under the ring, which he used to springboard into the ring. Check out the video below of his debut, you can actually see the trampoline for a second during the wide shot before he runs to the ring:

There was said to be a lot of concern backstage that the stunt could go wrong if the trampoline wasn’t in the exact right position – which it wasn’t. The trampoline was positioned so close to the ring that Cara almost didn’t clear the top rope when he went to attack Sheamus.

In related news, Sin Cara actually called an “audible” during his debut and the top rope cross-body attack on Sheamus is not what was originally planned. Cara was booked to hit a flying “tornado twist”splash, but toned it down and went with a high crossbody instead. The tornado twist would have had a lot more impact but after the trampoline stunt almost went wrong, he decided to keep it more conservative and not risk too much during his first appearance.

Sin Cara will be appearing on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, so at this point, there’s still no word on which brand he’ll settle down on.

There is said to be a lot of pressure on Sin Cara right now, with most in WWE having very high expectations for him to climb the roster ranks in the coming weeks. So far, so good.

• Pictures of Sin Cara Unmasked

(Partial Source: PWTorch.com)

The USA Network issued the following on Tuesday night:

“WWE TOUGH ENOUGH” PUTS REALITY WORLD ON NOTICE IN DEBUT

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH premiered to huge numbers last night in its debut on USA Network. WWE TOUGH ENOUGH is #2 new reality series premiere of the year on cable in P18-49 and P18-34.

– P18-49: 1.969 million
– P25-54: 1.714 million
– Total Viewers: 3.326 million
– P18-34: 1.064 million

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH premiered last night immediately following WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW, and moves into its regularly scheduled timeslot, Mondays at 8/7c, starting on Monday, April 11.

Sunny’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame was nixed from last night’s broadcast on the USA Network in favor of Drew Carey’s since a promotional deal is in place to push his new series on GSN. It was done in spite of her induction speech being advertised for the telecast the previous week on Monday Night Raw.

“The Original Diva” commented on being snubbed from the television broadcast, writing on Facebook: “Well, even though I was told by many, including office staff, that I had the best speech of the night, I was still bumped in favor of a game show host who was booed all night….hmmm, oh well.”

She also responded to those criticizing her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame on various Internet forums.

“When all the other divas come up to me and say “Thank you for paving the way, you are the reason we all have jobs”, it really means something.

“To be appreciated by my peers means so much more than what some dude who lives in his Mom’s basement and writes his opinions for an internet website has to say about me and my induction… you all can kiss my Hall of Fame bootie!!”

She added, “I would appreciate if everyone stopped posting the websites posting negative stuff on my wall…b/c it doesnt MATTER what they think…what matters is what the WWE and VKM think. Period.”

— TMZ.com reports that the people behind Pit Boss have teamed up with VH1 to produce a show centered around the wives of famous professional wrestlers.

According to the report, the show will star Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman (wife of Booker T), Stacy Carter (ex-wife of Jerry Lawler) and Jackie Haas (wife of Charlie Haas).

The show will be centered around Booker T’s wrestling school in Texas, which Sharmell helps run.

— Raw Superstar Yoshi Tatsu has launched an account on Twitter.

— John Cena is advertised for next week’s episode of Tough Enough on the USA Network. The program airs at 8:00 p.m.

The Associated Press published an article today indicating that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin declined an offer to appear on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

The WWE Hall of Famer said Monday that he wasn’t interested because he has “two left feet” and his rhythm is “so-so at best.”

Austin says he enjoys the program, and is supporting fellow wrestler Chris Jericho.

He says Jericho “never gets nervous” and that “he’s going to go far.”

The article acknowledges his involvement with WWE Tough Enough. Austin says he appreciates the show because the avenue was not available when he tried to break into the wrestling industry.

— Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi told TMZ.com during an impromptu interview that her wrestling career is over. She said she has way too much going on in her life to focus on WWE.

Polizzi won her debut match at WrestleMania XXVII Sunday, defeating Michelle McCool following a series of aerobatic maneuvers.

— WWEShop.com has released three merchandise items on Sin Cara including a replica mask, a Bienvenido Authentic T-Shirt and a Basics T-Shirt.

— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is scheduled for tonight’s episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

source: F4WOnline.com