— During an interview with TheState.com to promote tonight’s WWE SmackDown taping from Columbia, South Carolina, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson the show will feature some “major announcements.” He said, “I’m glad Columbia is the site for whatever they have planned. We will give the fans the best possible show possible.”

– With Randy Orton now having two Wellness Policy strikes against him, there has been a lot of discussion about his future in WWE.

WWE has typically been reluctant to get behind wrestlers that are one drug test failure away from a mandatory firing, but former WWE writer Seth Mates points out on Twitter that the company actually put the WWE Championship on Jeff Hardy when he had two strikes against him. CM Punk quoted the tweet and responded:

“@SethMates: Interesting web buzz re: Orton’s future. remember when @JEFFHARDYBRAND had 2 strikes & they put wwe title on him?”
I recall.

– The opening segment of tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow from Greenville, South Carolina will be Michael Cole interviewing John Cena.

RIC FLAIR Spotted In Greenville, South Carolina Last Night

– As previously reported, Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson will be attending Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Columbia, South Carolina.

Anderson is now being advertised as the special enforcer for the Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kane World Heavyweight title triple threat cage match that will likely be the dark main event. There has been no mention of Triple H appearing on this week’s SmackDown television broadcast, so it remains to be seen what his role will be at the show.

– WWE has cancelled April 4th live event that was scheduled to take place from Pensacola, Florida. [Thanks to Devin Cutting]

– Mick Foley worked last night’s WWE SmackDown live event in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As he’s been doing at several recent live events, Foley served as a special enforcer, this time for the United States title match between Santino Marella and Jack Swagger. Santino got the win and Foley gave Swagger a taste of Mr. Socko.

– Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson are being advertised for the upcoming June 5th SmackDown taping from Columbia, South Carolina. Anderson will serve as the special enforcer for the Sheamus vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio cage match at the event.

– Speaking of Triple H, WWE is advertising that he’ll be appearing at the August 13th RAW Supershow, the final RAW before WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.

There continues to be talk of Triple H and Brock Lesnar’s match taking place at SummerSlam.

Arn Anderson appeared on Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca, which airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sirius 92 and XM 207. Highlights from his interview are as follows:

His induction into the WWE Hall of Fame: It’s phenomenal! My god! Especially with that group of guys, every one of them is a Hall of Fame-er. It’s just a question of timing, I guess. Getting to share the stage with those guys—man—it just blows me away. I’m still, to this day, in awe of every one of them.

John Laurinaitis pulled me aside some few months back and let me know, and I almost fell out! People around you that are very kind always say This has gotta be your year, well, no, it doesn’t have to be your year. There’s never have to be a year. So when you hear it for yourself, it’s mind-blowing. It really is. …My initial thought was Marty Lunde going in the Hall of Fame—psh!—c’mon. Arn Anderson going in the Hall of Fame, I don’t think so. But the Four Horsemen going in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely.

The Four Horsemen: I don’t know if there’s ever been anybody (and it’s argumentative) better than Barry Windham in the history of the business. I know for a fact he’s in the top five, it’s just a question of who the top five are. [Ricky] Steamboat’s in there, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ric Flair, you make your top five, whoever they are, but Billy Windham’s in there; He’s on everybody’s top five list. Tully Blanchard was the best partner I ever had in the ring, period. We were in such sync after all those years together, that he could just give me a look and I know what he wanted and I could do the same to him. We never had to say a word in the ring to each other, period.

Ric Flair is Ric Flair. If anybody was gonna be inducted twice, he certainly earned those stripes. The one guy that doesn’t get a lot of air-time or a lot talked about is J. J. Dillon. He was the brains and the thought process, the stabilizing force; he was actually our manager, our legitimate manager. Travel, I mean everything, he did all of it. And the thing is, the guy was a world-class talker, carried himself like a gentleman, dressed well, and was just smart, very smart about the business. So to be able to share the stage with those guys is just staggering when I try to assess it.

WrestleMania: Oh my god. Well, just go back to the fact that we started promoting Wrestlemania last year before Wrestlemania, this year’s! That ought to tell ya everything you need to know about the size of the event. I was in Wrestlemania 5, Tully and I. It was a Grand Fair. But it was also in Atlantic City and the Trump Castle—Plaza, one of those. It wasn’t eighty thousand seats, let me just tell you that. It has morphed into something else entirely. When you’ve got eighty thousand people out under the stars, if you go back to the one in Orlando…it was breath-taking: the magnificence, the color, the pageantry, everything that is Wrestlemania. It is the Superbowl times two, if you ask me. For the entertainment, dollar, and you cut four hours out of your life, if you wanna spend them somewhere, that’s where you wanna spend them. It’s absolutely just numbing, what an event it is.

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan: Oh my god. Well, Bobby’s gonna go down as the greatest manager of all time. And I don’t think J.J. [Dillon] would feel slighted about that. Bobby Heenan is the single funniest man that God ever put on this earth. If you ever talk to him, I could look at Bobby and just say, “Hey Bobby, that tree’s falling towards the house.” Bobby would have something to come back with right then. It wouldn’t be “O god, let’s get outta the way!” Bobby would have a clever quick comeback. He’s just so sharp. His skills around that ring were—oh—Bobby took better bumps than ninety percent of the guys in the business. Bobby was phenomenal. The tragedies that befell him will take your breath. It’s a horrible, horrible deal, but Bobby has still got, even though he cannot speak, his sense of humor! Those of us that know him can still pull out of him, and I think that’s an awesome thing.

The Undertaker’s undefeated streak: Well, he is a phenom. I knew the Undertaker from day one when he was with WCW, ‘til he moved to the WWF. I used to sit there with my chin on the ground when a guy that size would walk that top rope. It was unbelievable stuff that the guy can do. And to this day, he is no spring chicken, but the guy is so masterful, it’s unbelievable. And as far as me spine-busting the Undertaker, my fifteen-year-old, I think that was the greatest day of his life! Even though the Undertaker kicked out and knocked my eyes shut shortly thereafter (the part he doesn’t want to remember!), but what a thrill it was! It really was. Those few seconds in the ring with that guy, that’s the one that got away. People ask me all the time, Who would you like to bid in the ring with (that you missed)? That’s the guy.

— Today marks the eleven year anniversary of the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro. The show began with Vince McMahon appearing via satellite from Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of that evening’s Raw is War broadcast on TNN, announcing that he had purchased World Championship Wrestling. The show ended with a simulcast on Raw with an appearance by Shane McMahon on Nitro as he interrupted his father’s gloating over the purchase to explain that he actually owned WCW.

WWE has posted several clips from the episode including Ric Flair’s emotional WCW farewell speech, Booker T vs. Scott Steiner: in a Title vs. Title Match, Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero in a Cruiserweight Title Match, Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo vs. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Vince McMahon firing Jeff Jarrett, Sting vs. Ric Flair and Shane McMahon saying he bought WCW.

— Kelly Kelly says “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson is her favorite ’80s Superstar. She says of the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame inductee to WWE Magazine in an interview, “I admire everything he accomplished in the ring. He was the greatest bad guy ever.”

She also reveals the best thing about being on the road as a WWE Diva: “Traveling with the girls. We have a lot fun getting in trouble together.”

— The official website of the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia is advertising The Rock for the March 26, 2012 Raw SuperShow.

This will be the final Raw before WrestleMania XXVIII.

— It was rumored at last night’s Raw SuperShow in Anaheim, California that Shawn Michaels and Triple H would together induct The Four Horsemen—Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, JJ Dillon, Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard—into the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent lobbied for the Horsemen to be inducted into the Hall.

Meanwhile, Alberto Del Rio is internally expected to induct his uncle, Mil Mascaras.

— Ken Shamrock and Sid Vicious have been announced for Wrestlereunion, which takes place January 27-29, 2012 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport 5400 West Century Blvd. Los Angeles, California.

source: PWInsider.com

Edge® and the Four Horsemen to Enter WWE Hall of Fame

STAMFORD, Conn.– WWE® announced today that Edge and the Four Horsemen will be among the 2012 class of inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Saturday, March 31 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, the evening before WrestleMania® XXVIII.

Throughout his storied career, Edge, known as the “Rated-R Superstar™,” held every major title in WWE. He is a former WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, Tag Team Champion and King of the Ring®. His final match took place at last year’s WrestleMania in Atlanta, where he defeated Alberto Del Rio™ to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 71,000 fans. One week later, in an emotional speech on Monday Night Raw®, Edge was forced to retire due to a neck injury. Outside the ring, Edge is a New York Times bestselling author.

The Four Horsemen, consisting of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson™, Tully Blanchard™, Barry Windham™ and manager J.J. Dillon, were the most dominant group of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in the 1980s, transcending the world of sports entertainment into all avenues of pop culture. This grouping was the first of its kind, paving the way for the likes of the NWO®, Evolution® and DX®. While the Four Horsemen would undergo many transformations over the years, none would ever be as paramount as Flair, Anderson, Blanchard, Windham and Dillon.

Additional inductees will be announced on WWE programming over the coming weeks.

Tickets for the 2012 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony go on sale this Saturday, January 14 at 10 AM ET and will be available through the AmericanAirlines Arena box office, www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster Charge By Phone at 1-800-745-3000.

— Mick Foley will host next Tuesday’s live WWE SmackDown episode on Syfy. The official website of the Time Warner Cable Arena website is billing the episode as a “Smackdown Live Holiday Special.”

The website is also advertising a Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Mark Henry and Randy Orton. Booker T will be the special guest referee. This will likely be a post-broadcast dark match.

— Epico, who has been competing on SmackDown since debuting on the November 4, 2011 episode, is now listed a member of the Raw roster on WWE.com. Epico and Primo beat Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil in a dark match at last night’s Raw SuperShow in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The two cousins were accompanied by SmackDown Diva Rosa Mendes.

— Arn Anderson has been added to K & S Wrestlefest, which takes place Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Ramada Philadelphia Airport 76 Industrial Hwy. Essington, Pennsylvania.

— WWE.com is advertising the following for tonight’s episode of Raw, which was taped last Monday: “With the suspension of CM Punk, WWE Champion John Cena’s Money in the Bank opponent will be determined on a Fourth of July edition of Monday Night Raw. Who will prevail in a No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match between Del Rio, Mysterio and R-Truth?”

— After Randy Orton pushed via Twitter for Arn Anderson to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Chris Jericho and William Regal also endorsed the original member of the Four Horsemen for the honor.

— WWE registered the term “CM Punk” for merchandise use on June 22. WWE trademarked Punk’s name for wrestling use in 2009. WWE also recently registered “The Last Outlaw” for wrestling use, which is tied to The Undertaker.

— Both Sid Vicious and Barry Windham turn 51 years old today.

source: PWInsider.com

— WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton stated on his Twitter account that he wants Arn Anderson in the WWE Hall of Fame.

“If Arn Anderson isn’t in the HOF next year I’ll go on strike,” he wrote. “Well maybe not go on strike, but damn it, he’s earned it. Anyone else agree? He has tutored me throughout my career and speaking of the punt, his idea 100%.”

Orton has also retweeted posts in favor of Anderson being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

— Jim Ross stated on Twitter that WWE drew $1.1 million gates at this weekend’s live events in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

— WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan appears at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, New Jersey on Saturday, July 16 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Call 347-92-8240 for more information.

— To update The Undertaker’s health situation, the dead man began physical therapy following recent rotator cuff surgery. He was backstage at the TLC pay-per-view last month and was said to be in good spirits and good physical shape.

WWE and The Undertaker remains optimistic about his chances of working WrestleMania 27, although him being healthy by then is a “best case” scenario. As has been discussed before, the possibility exists of the Undertaker working in a tag match if he’s not able to wrestle singles.

— Last week’s episode of WWE Smackdown on SyFy drew a 1.95 cable rating and averaged 2,845,000 viewers for the 2-hour broadcast.. That is the show’s best rating since moving to Syfy.

– Former WCW World Television Champion Arn Anderson is now considered a lock to be inducted individually into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class WrestleMania weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. WWE officials previously contemplated inducting him into the Hall as part of a group with the Four Horsemen, but the idea is now considered dead.

— Among those discussed this past week for induction into the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame were Bill Goldberg, Lex Luger and Ron Simmons.

Also under consideration for induction into the Hall is that of the Four Horsemen. Company officials would prefer to induct the group as opposed to solely Arn Anderson. However, the group’s induction will likely hinge on whether Ric Flair re-signs with TNA Wrestling once his current contract expires early next year.

WWE also has strong interest in inducting Sting into the Hall of Fame, though his availability hinges on whether he re-signs with TNA Wrestling for 2011.

— WWE creative plans to have Pee Wee Herman and Superstars participate in “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” backstage segments when the comedian hosts Monday Night Raw on Nov. 1 in Nashville, Tennessee.

— The Sept. 14 Friday Night SmackDown television taping at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan drew 5,059 patrons paying $201,690.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter