— In regards to WWE reaching out to Al Snow, Hardcore Holly, or other former Tough Enough personnel to be part of the show’s revival on the USA Network, one company insider said, “Not a chance in hell.” It was also stressed that WWE would be much more likely to go with those currently affiliated with the organization.

— Matches taped tonight in Little Rock, Arkansas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America are as follows:

* David Hart Smith and Darren Young vs. Primo and Zack Ryder

* Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu

— William Regal beat NXT Rookie Johnny Curtis in a dark match prior to tonight’s Raw broadcast in Little Rock, Arkansas.

sources: Pro Wrestling Torch, prowrestling.net

— To update the news of former WWE RAW General Manager Mike Adamle being arrested last week and charged with DUI, TribLocal.com is reporting that Adamle’s lawyer Dean Dickie says they will be fighting the arrest.

Although Adamle failed a field sobriety test and showed “erratic behavior” prior to the arrest, Dickie argues that Adamle’s blood alcohol content was only 0.04, which is below the legal limit in the state of Illinois. Adamle has publicly disclosed that he takes medication to treat epilepsy (a brain disorder that results in seizures).

A doctor quoted in the TribLocal article stated that several common epilepsy medications could impair a person’s motor skills or driving ability, so that defense could be used by Adamle’s lawyers when he’s in court on February 14th in Skokie, Illinois to defend himself against the charges.

• Keep Reading: Mike Adamle Arrested For DUI (Mugshot)

— It was reported here that CM Punk got into an altercation with a fan at Sunday’s WWE super show event from Shreveport, Louisiana. A few fans who were at the show have sent in recaps of what went down and there are new details to report. Following his match, CM Punk got in the faces of several fans at ringside, including a few young children. Punk told one of the kids, said to be around 10 years old, to slap him. The fan slapped Punk, who told the fan to slap him again. The fan complied, when Punk allegedly grabbed the child by the shirt and told him to do it again. The child began to cry and his parents began yelling at CM Punk. Punk was heard yelling that the child scratched his eye during the provoked attack.

— Those spoken to within WWE aren’t aware if there is any particular incident or reason that Ted DiBiase isn’t receiving a stronger push on television. However, more than one person feels Maryse is struggling to work as an effective valet. One source indicated that the former glamour model appears much more concerned with drawing attention to herself and getting herself over rather than enhancing DiBiase’s matches and overall presentation.

— One WWE source doubted reports of the entire list for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class being set in stone. Although discussions have begun, the source does not believe there is much locked in—besides Shawn Michaels. However, the insider strongly feels that reports of Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons being enshrined this year are correct.

— Wade Barrett is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

As previously reported, it’s been announced that the 2011 Royal Rumble match will feature 40 competitors instead of the usual 30.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross posted the following on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the news:

“If having 40 men in the Royal Rumble match helps sell ppvs, then its a really good idea. 40 sounds good to me. Makes the main event bigger.”

“Watch what I say, the 40 man royal rumble match will be over analyzed by many. Gives 10 more paydays & adds ‘biggest ever’ mkt’ing hook”.

After checking with a WWE source, it appears Ross’ idea of selling more pay-per-views is exactly what WWE is going for by adding 10 more men to the match. With 40 men involved in the Rumble, expect the interval between each man entering the match to be reduced from 2 minutes to 60-90 seconds.

• PREDICTIONS: Tell US Who YOU Think Will Win The 2011 ROYAL RUMBLE

To help promote next Sunday’s Raw live event at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, Valley24.com conducted an interview with WWE star Ted DiBiase, Jr. The son of “The Million Dollar Man” discussed the toll of traveling throughout the world on a weekly basis, the strain of injuries, WWE’s attitude towards injuries, and more.

When asked how often he is on the road, DiBiase said ‘it’s most of the time’.

“I think the correct answer is a minimum of 257 days a year and I believe it’s actually really more than that,” he said. “It’s most of the time.”

He was also asked about the possibility of his brother, WWE developmental wrestler Brett DiBiase, joining NXT at some point.

“That’s actually out of my control. It very well could happen,” he replied. “If you see him there, you’ll see him on RAW or Smackdown but we’ll definitely see him soon, eventually, I would predict.

“He’s a talented and he’s dying to get up here. He’s ready.”

In regards to WWE’s attitude towards injuries suffered by wrestlers, he feels it’s excellent.

“WWE does an excellent job especially in the area of head injuries, as far as concussions. I know I was actually slapped in the face one night and it knocked me out. I had a mild concussion and they would not let me wrestle for three weeks to a month. I did other things in the show, but they wouldn’t let me perform in the ring. That’s the thing, as a company, we take very serious now. We go through a lot of steps, a lot of tests and stuff and we have our doctors who are certified to handle us and make the call.

“We’re taken care of.”

The interview can be accessed here.

Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from Little Rock, Arkansas. The show will be headlined by the return of John Cena, who will square off against Nexus leader CM Punk. This will be Cena’s first appearance on RAW in two weeks. He’s been sidelined since the show when Punk joined Nexus and took Cena out with his Go To Sleep Finisher.

After being injured in late December and keeping a light in-ring schedule while recovering, Cena returned to WWE’s live events tour this weekend. Cena wrestled on Friday and Saturday, but was pulled from Sunday’s live event from Louisiana. No explanation was given to the crowd on Sunday as to why Cena would not be able to compete as advertised, but WWE is still hyping his match against CM Punk for tonight.

With only two weeks until the Royal Rumble, expect to see more matches and Rumble match participants announced tonight. Thus far, WWE Champion The Miz vs. Randy Orton is the only RAW brand match announced for the show.

The dark match main event being advertised locally is WWE Champion The Miz and CM Punk vs. John Cena & Randy Orton, with Michael Cole as special guest referee.

• Related News: Michael Cole Training To Take Bumps

— Silvervision.co.uk has released the artwork for WWE Studios’ The Chaperone, which is set for release on DVD and Blu-ray in March following a brief theatrical run.

The updated synopsis is as follows: “All that former getaway-driver Ray Bradstone (WWE Superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque) wants is to start a new life and patch things up with his daughter Sally (Ariel Winter, Modern Family). Unable to find honest work, he reluctantly agrees to do one last job with his old bank-robbing crew, led by Phillip Larue (Kevin Corrigan, Superbad). But when the opportunity arises to be a “chaperone” on Sally’s school field trip, Ray resolves not to repeat his past mistakes and leaves the crew in the lurch. When the robbery goes awry and the money ends up on the school bus, Larue chases them all around New Orleans, with the police in hot pursuit. Now Ray must stay one step ahead of Larue, the cops and 30 out-of-control teenagers all whilst trying to spend a little bit of quality time with his daughter on one of the craziest field trips ever!”

— Aloisia (a/k/a Isis the Amazon), the six foot nine woman WWE cut ties with just as she was advertised to debut on NXT Season 2, is scheduled for this weekend’s Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors television tapings in New Mexico.

— Former WWE talent Kevin Thorn celebrates his 34th birthday today.

source: PWInsider.com

— Joey Styles just announced on Twitter that this year’s Royal Rumble will be the biggest Rumble in WWE history. Styles wrote on @JoeyStyles:

“This year, there will be 40 participants in the Royal Rumble Match instead of 30. It will be the biggest Royal Rumble Match in history!”

• PREDICTIONS: Tell Us Who You Think Will Win The ROYAL RUMBLE

— The following dates have been announced for Chris Jericho’s upcoming book tour to promote his new book, “Undisputed”:

2/15 (7:00 PM) BookEnds in Ridgewood, NJ
2/16 (Noon) Borders Books in New York, NY.
2/16 (7:00 PM) Book Revue in Huntington, NY
2/19 (2:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in McLean, VA
2/22 (7:00 PM) Borders Books in Torrance, CA
2/25 (7:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in Tampa FL.
2/26 (3:00 PM) Borders Books in Winter Park, FL

— On Friday’s SmackDown, we saw Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson align themselves with Wade Barrett in what appears to be a new incarnation of the Nexus group. It’s worth noting that in promoting upcoming SmackDown live events, WWE is advertising Wade Barrett’s new group “Nexus.”

— Speaking of the SmackDown Nexus group, WWE is advertising Ezekiel Jackson as simply “Ezekiel,” so he may be dropping his last name.

— Fans interested in attending the WWE SmackDown taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York can use code LISD4PACK to purchase four tickets for $60. This promotion ends Friday.

— Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who recently signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, will be starting with the company soon, according to Mike Mooneyham.

Former WWE and TNA wrestler Sean Morley, best known as “Val Venis” during WWE’s Attitude Era, has launched ScriptDanger.com to raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription medication.

The site’s mission statement reads:

“The purpose of ScriptDanger.com is to effectively spread the powerful message that prescription drug abuse is a dangerous activity that can and will lead to life destroying addiction and ultimately death. Sean Morley (aka Val Venis) inspires and motivates people to refrain from abusing prescription drugs and provides resources for those who currently need help. Sean speaks to schools, sports teams, church groups, corporations, small and large businesses, and many other organizations around the world.”

The site includes some startling statistics about prescription drug abuse. Between 1995 and 2005, treatment for dependence on prescription drugs grew by more than 300 percent.

• VIDEO: Val Venis BLASTS Matt & Jeff Hardy [>]

Here are some recent pictures from WWE diva Michelle McCool’s Twitter page:

John Cena was advertised to appear at Sunday’s RAW brand live event from Shreveport, Louisiana, but was not at the show.

Cena, who wrestled Friday night in Tennessee, had been scheduled to CM Punk on the show, but was replaced by Mark Henry. No reason was given for Cena’s absence.

Here are quick results from the show:

* John Morrison won a battle Royal to get a title shot later in the night.

* Daniel Bryan beat Ted DiBiase and retained the US Title.

* Alberto Del Rio beat R Truth.

* Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov beat Nexus members David Otunga and Husky Harris.

* CM Punk defeated Mark Henry.

* The Miz defeated John Morrison to retain the WWE championship.

* Kofi Kingston defended the Intercontinental championship against Dolph Ziggler.

* Edge retained the World Heavyweight title against Kane.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Wrestlers Who Spray Tan: “Yes, wrestlers use spray tanning products to maintain their tans. Tanning beds aren’t frequented as much by wrestlers as they once were. What a question.”

Alex Riley’s Potential: “I do have high expectations for Alex Riley. He seems athletic, articulate and intelligent. Only time will tell how far he goes but Riley has bonafide potential. FCW did a nice job of preparing Alex for WWE. Alex’s future success is largely up to Alex.”

Shane Helms Trash Talking Shawn Michaels: “I haven’t followed the recent interaction w/ Shane Helms re: HBK. I know its been out there but it really isn’t something that I care to invest my time. Everyone has the right to express an opinion whether I or anyone else agrees with it or not.”

Brock Lesnar Hosting The Ultimate Fighter: “Brock Lesnar knows how to ‘project’ on camera thanks to his WWE tenure so I feel Brock will do well as a coach for UFC’s TUF. Brock’s sound byte ability will be accentuated and he should sell a bunch of Death Clutch gear and his new book thanks to his weekly exposure on Spike TV.”

“If the state of New York refuses to liscence UFC, the NY state politicians are goofy as pet coons. End of story.”

Jerry Lawler Wrestling At WM27: “Have no idea if WWE will utilize Jerry Lawler as a wrestler at WM27 but if its ever going to happen this ‘might’ be the year. WWE is still developing many young stars and King is an established HOF’er who can still have excellent matches. For Jerry’s sake I hope he gets his Wrestlemania moment someday. If Jerry had his way he would wrestle full time and not broadcast but obviously that’s not in the cards at this time. WWE needs King at the announce desk arguably more than they need him in the ring.”

Royal Rumble: January 30th

Following Friday’s WWE SmackDown, here’s the updated card for WWE’s Royal Rumble 2011 pay-per-view:

40-Man Royal Rumble Match
Winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania 27

WWE Championship Match
The Miz defends Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge defends against Dolph Ziggler

Be here on Sunday, January 30th for our ROYAL RUMBLE LIVE COVERAGE! Throughout the entire show, we’ll be posting up-to-the-minute live results and analysis of what’s going on .. We’ll see you here on the 30th.

PREDICTIONS: We want to know what YOU think is going to happen at the Royal Rumble. Who will win the Rumble? Who SHOULD win the Rumble? Will we see any title changes? COMMENT below and make your predictions.

– SmackDown star Dolph Ziggler was recently interviewed by TimesRecordNews.com. The former Intercontinental champion spoke about a number of topics, including how he got into the wrestling business, how he deals with WWE’s hectic travel schedule and his favorite wrestlers growing up. It’s a pretty good read – you can check it out here.

– Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, put over WWE developmental and second generation talent Bo Rotundo on his Twitter this week. He wrote:

“Bo Rotundo is someone to keep an eye on. Amazing talent.”

– In case you missed SmackDown or haven’t heard yet, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Ezekiel Jackson joined forces with Wade Barrett to form a new Nexus faction on SmackDown. From what we’ve heard, Gabriel and Slater will be joining Wade Barrett as official members of the SmackDown roster. Expect the formation of this new faction to lead to a feud with CM Punk’s Nexus group.

– Speaking of CM Punk, it’s been announced that he will be wrestling WWE United States champion at several RAW-brand live events in February. These two had some epic battles in Ring of Honor several years ago, let’s hope these matches are a trial run for an upcoming feud. Check out this clip of Daniel Bryan making Punk tap out in ROH:

Fozzy featuring Chris Jericho plays the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood, CA
Thursday January 13, 2011 – Report by Carol Clark

Fozzy has been doing these VIP things before their shows for a while now, so when I found out last December they were playing here in Los Angeles I jumped at the chance! The passes weren’t inexpensive ($75 ahead of time, and $75 at the door) but being the Jerichoholic that I am I had shelled out money for a “Fozzy Survival Pack” last year and it included a Fozzy backstage pass. Turns out, with that pass my additional $75 at the door was waived!

We arrived at 3pm, met our contact Marty (none other than former WWE ref Marty Elias) and waited for the Madness to begin. The VIP experience was supposed to include sitting inside while the band sound-checked, but they were using borrowed gear from their NAMM sponsors, and it all arrived late so instead we stood outside on the street and chatted with Marty. Finally, they let us inside and we all got autographed pictures of the band, autographed VIP t-shirts, and VIP passes. Then we posed for pictures with the band (mine is blurry) and mingled. I talked to Rich Ward (Fozzy guitarist and an all around awesome guy) and got autographs from the rest of the band. Finally it was time to meet Chris. Lo and behold he remembered my friend and I from when we used to go watch his Groundlings shows…so he hugged us! He also took the time to have a rather lengthy conversation with me, which was very cool.

After that we all walked up the street to the Rainbow Room where we had pizza and got to mingle more with the band. We met Chris’s wife, and she was so sweet!

Back down the street to the Whisky where we stood through 2 other bands…ZO2 (the guys from Z-Rock, Chris had a guest appearance on their show once) and Jeff Scott Soto (who killed it!). Both bands were great!

Fozzy hit the stage at 11, and played roughly 16 songs, including one with a guest appearance from Phil Campbell of Motorhead. The show was amazing…so much energy! They played a lot of songs from Chasing the Grail as well as some from their other 3 releases. A really fun part was the build up to “God Pounds his Nails” where Jericho coached us on saying “eh eh eh” when he raised his right hand and “1, 2, 3” when he raised his left, but we were supposed to wait for him to raise his hands. They were all amazed that we actually (everyone in the crowd) waited for him to raise his hand instead of yelling out “1, 2, 3″…LOL!

The Whisky is a landmark to the LA club scene, they’re celebrating their 47th birthday this Sunday. Motley Crue and Jim Morrison have played there. When they first hit the stage Jericho said that when he was 12, in his first band in his mom’s basement, he dreamed of playing the Whisky…and now here he was! I’ve been going to the Whisky for shows since 1980, and have never seen a bad show there. During dinner I talked with Fozzy’s drummer about the venue, telling him that I went on my first date with my husband there (he’d never heard of The Selecter, the band we saw that night).

The Miz showed up just in time for the show, and Jericho acknowledged him from the stage before they played “Enemy”…he asked us if we wanted to hear it, then he said “Does the Champ want to hear it?”

All in all, it was a fantastic time, and I am SO GLAD to have had the opportunity to go!

* Warning: The following contains a spoiler for Friday’s SmackDown:

SmackDown star The Undertaker, who has been out for several months following shoulder surgery after Survivor Series, made a surprise appearance backstage at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Alabama.

Taker was mainly there to visit his wife Michelle McCool, but also was there to watch the segment where Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson joined Wade Barrett in a new Nexus faction.

• Picture from Undertaker & Michelle McCool’s Wedding

Both Jackson and Barrett have been talked about as possible WrestleMania 27 opponents for Taker, with Kane also being named as a candidate. Jackson and Barrett are likely opponents if due to his health, Taker can’t perform like he has in recent years with Shawn Michaels.

If the Undertaker is healthy enough to compete at Mania, and at this point it’s looking good, the main objective is to have him continue the streak. There are no expectations for him to have a classic match, as we’ve seen the past two years.

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

– SmackDown star Christian, who is currently recovering from a torn pectoral muscle, will be appearing at tonight’s Florida Championship Wrestling show in Port Charlotte, Florida. He will be doing a ‘meet and greet’ session before the show begins.

– WWE is advertising that Evan Bourne will be wrestling at the March 19th RAW live event from Madison Square Garden. Bourne had shoulder surgery back in October to repair a torn rotator cuff.

– WWE Champion The Miz attended Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy’s Wednesday night show in Los Angeles, California. Miz watched the show from the VIP section of the Whisky A Go Go nightclub and signed fans for many fans who spotted him. Following the Fozzy show, Miz wrote on Twittter:

“No matter what stage [Jericho] is on he knows how to make him the star n give every1 else there props. Great concert Fozzy!”

WWE Champion The Miz was recently interviewed by video game website IGN.com. Here are some highlights of what Miz said about:

Unifying The WWE Title & The World Heavyweight Title: ” I would love to take on the World Champion, Edge at WrestleMania and combine the titles. I don’t know what they’re going to do. You never know. That’s the best part about WWE. They’re all about shock value. You never know what’s going to happen next.”

Tough Enough Returning: “It’s great, right? I mean, I’m the first, official Tough Enough Champion. It’s nice to see that they’re bringing back that whole thing because that’s what I came from. That’s the show that got me my WWE contract. So, you never know. We might find another future WWE Champion.”

Michael Cole’s Major Push: “Love it! I think Michael Cole gets to be himself now. Before he was too worried about pleasing everybody else. Now he’s all about pleasing himself. Which is great. I think Michael Cole is doing a tremendous job. And it’s about time that an announcer actually puts me over and says I’m great for once rather than people telling me that I’m crap, I shouldn’t be here, I don’t belong yada yada yada. Because that’s all I used to hear every time I was on Smackdown. So it’s good to have someone behind me.”

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart has a new blog on his Facebook page where he reflects on his eventful 2010. Here are some highlights of what Bret said about:

His Return To WWE in January 2010:

“There was some great television moments I had with both Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. Coming back and doing Monday Night Raw was such a blast from my supposed broken leg by the limo on the ramp to my sister Alison storming out to be a lumberjack at Wrestlemania in Phoenix. It was great returning to WWE and some of my favorite wrestling cities from Austin to Boston and everything in between. To have had the thrill of being in the ring cutting promos with Stone Cold, Undertaker, Shawn, and even Vince again was a dream come true as much for myself as it was for my fans around the world.”

Winning The US Title & One Last WWE Title Run?

“I think back to what a thrill it was winning the US Title in Toronto and the wild after hours party with Jericho and Dibiase, Steph and Beans, old pal Don Kolov and his “Russian Mafia” in the wings. The decision to forfeit the US Title came to me that night; the celebrating nearly killed me.

Today, when I see the Miz as the newly crowned WWE champion, the thought doesn’t escape me that if I technically beat him to win the US title last spring, could I not come back and try one last time against all odds and somehow take that WWE world title back again? Ahh, that’s the beauty of pro wrestling. Never stop dreaming; anything is possible.”

Working With The Hart Dynasty & Other Great Memories:

“I smile at the memory of the Hart Dynasty winning the tag titles in April and Natalya fullfilling her childhood dream of winning the Divas title. Summerslam 2010, Madison Square Garden tagging up with the Hart Dynasty against Nexus being cheered on by my granddaughter Kyra, oldest daughter Jade, her boyfriend Kyle, and my lovely wife Steph, for me this was one of 2010 real highlights. I thank everyone in New York who came, especially WWE, for this night in particular. I’d also like to thank all of the wrestlers for letting me join them on the tours in Europe this year.”

– John Cena returns to the WWE house show circuit this weekend, which is a good sign his leg injury is no longer an issue. Cena will be wrestling tonight in Chattanooga, Tennessee and on Saturday in Beaumont Texas.

– WWE has also begun promoting Triple H’s return to the ring, with his next scheduled match advertised for March. Triple H will be wrestling Sheamus in a Street Fight at the 3/19 Madison Square Garden show, so his return to television is imminent.

– With cable channel HDNet ending its relationship with Ring of Honor in April, a source within HDNet has informed us that there are no immediate plans to air another wrestling show.

– Starting in March, most of the WWE live events will be sponsored by KMART.

Former WWE Diva Trish Stratus is starring in a new action-adventure movie called “Bail Enforcers,” set for release some time in 2011.

The movie is about “a team of down-on-their-luck bounty hunters who run into trouble when they are confronted with the moral dilemma of a local mob boss wanting the team to turn a bail jumper over to him for the price of a million dollars.”

Trish has been posting various previews for the movie on her website, including a new video that contains a first look at footage from the movie. Check it out the video:

Former WWE and TNA star Kevin Nash answered a fan question on Twitter this week about whether he will be part of the revived “they” angle in TNA. Nash, who parted ways with TNA in the fall after the two sides were unable to agree on money, wrote this:

“Not going back to tna. I’m retired. Wasn’t it leaked from tna office that I signed a month ago and I wasn’t?”

Nash gave Shawn Michaels a warm congratulations earlier this week and says he’ll be at the Hall of Fame ceremoney in April to see HBK’s induction. Nash wrote:

“I’ll be at HBK’s hof, if I’m not shooting a film in Costa Rica for 2 months. If I’m at the hof, I’ll be at Mania. Check @DavidHerro for info”

To read the latest tweets from people in the pro wrestling business, visit SEScoops.com/tweets (beta).

WWE announced this evening that World Heavyweight Champion Edge will defend his title against Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

Ziggler became the No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship last week on SmackDown.

Below is the updated Royal Rumble pay-per-view line-up.

WWE Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs. Randy Orton

World Heavywegith Championship Match
Edge (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

30-Man Royal Rumble match for a shot at the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVII

The February 2011 issue of WWE Magazine features a lengthy interview with Triple H, who had this to say about the following topics:

His Upcoming return: “If I can’t do this the way I feel like I should be able to, then I want to be done. And I don’t want to come back here and tarnish that. I don’t want to do the nostalgia run where I come out and say I’m the greatest in the world.”

Top WWE Stars Leaving & New Guys Coming Up: “I’d been in the ring a million times with a lot of the guys who left. Now, when you look at Wade Barrett or The Miz, these are guys that I’ve never been in the ring with. Do I know them? Sure, I see them all the time, but from an in-ring standpoint, I just know them the way everybody else knows them. I’ve never had my hands on them.”

When He Will Retire: “There was a time when I would have argued that I was the best in the business. When I don’t feel like I can perform at that level, I don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to be just a guy in the ring. I want to be the guy in the ring.”

How his next run will differ from his previous runs: “In the past, my goal was just becoming WWE champion or World Hvt. champion. But, there’s a certain time when you get beyond that. Shawn moved beyond that… I don’t have to be contending for a championship. Undertaker doesn’t have to be in contention. We’ve moved beyond needing a title to prove that we’re the best. That’s where I am now. (John) Cena will eventually be there.”

Triple H also talked about how he and The Undertaker are the last two veterans left in the WWE lockerroom, which is a sharp contrast from when he entered the business. When he first got to WWE, it was “20 veterans and three green guys” on the roster. “Now, you walk into our locker room and there are 30 green guys and two veterans.”

(Credit to PWTorch.com for this interview transcript)