– Dana Brooke will be competing in the Fitness International Competition at the 2017 Arnold Sports Festival on Friday, 3/3 in Columbus, OH. She will be competing under her real name – Ashley Sebera. Dana is an IFBB Pro and won several NBC championships before getting into wrestling. She placed #12 at the Arnold European Classic in 2013 and #15 at the 2015 Arnold Sports Festival.
On a related note, the Arnold Twitter account stated today that no WWE events are currently on their schedule for 2017. The “WWE Experience” at the 2016 Arnold Sports Festival was considered a hit, highlighted by a Q&A with Triple H and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
– The New Day are now official for an upcoming episode of Let’s Make a Deal on CBS. The RAW Superstars will be appearing on Friday’s episode to welcome host Wayne Brady to the group and spread some Christmas cheer. Below are details from WWE and a teaser from CBS:
The New Day brings the power of the holidays to “Let’s Make a Deal”
“Let’s Make a Deal” celebrates the holidays with the power of positivity! Tune in to the hit game show on Dec. 23 when Big E, Kofi Kington and Xavier Woods put their hands together and help families win more than $110,000 in cash and prizes.
The longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history join forces with host and former Raw guest star Wayne Brady to play Smash for Cash and a Christmas sound effects game.
Don’t miss The New Day on “Let’s Make a Deal” on Dec. 23!
“Let’s Make a Deal” airs weekdays on CBS (check your local listings).
– Featured above is the latest edition of WWE’s “This Week In WWE History” YouTube show. This week, hosts Corey Graves and Kyle Edwards look back at the episode of WWE SmackDown in 1999 where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Triple H had their big altercation.
– At the WWE live event in Brighton, England on Wednesday, Hulk Hogan fans were reportedly handing out flyers outside of the arena for Hogan’s upcoming one-man show in Sheffield, England on November 14th.
– For the first time since his podcast debuted back in May, WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has no guest on his latest show. Instead, the show is called “Ask Naitch!,” and like it suggests, the show features Flair answering questions submitted from fans. You can download Ric Flair’s latest “Woooo! Nation” podcast at Play.it.
2K are set to release WWE 2K16 at the end of October and one surprise addition to the roster this year was that of Arnold Schwarzenegger who is also known as The Terminator.
The actor was added to the game as a preorder exclusive and will be available as two different playable characters – one from 1984 and another from 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
IGN caught up with Schwarzenegger ahead of the release of the game and spoke about what his wrestler name would be, others he’d like to see in the WWE and who is stronger between him and Brock Lesnar.
If he were to get into the ring, what his wrestler name would be:
Maybe the Austrian Oak, which is what people called me in bodybuilding. I think I would have been a good guy, not a heel. But I’ve loved playing both – I’m the only person on both the “Best Villains” and “Best Heroes” list as Terminator.
IGN also asked which other characters of his he’d like to see in the WWE:
Not mine, but a character I have fought: the Predator. Can you imagine the Predator jumping into the ring?
When he was in his prime IGN asked who was stronger, him or Brock Lesnar:
I’ve stood next to Brock. He is a monster. I am not sure I would want to ever compete in a lifting tournament with someone that big.
Just who are Arnold’s favourite wrestlers of all time:
I love them all, The Rock, Stone Cold, but I really identify with Bruno Sammartino. He is a fellow immigrant, and he is truly a legend. He sold out Madison Square Garden 187 times! And he is so powerful.
I remember the first time I saw him picking up someone over his head. Imagine the power. And he is the sweetest, most inspirational guy.
WWE 2K16 is scheduled for release on the PS3. PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles in North America on October 27th, followed by the international release on October 30th.
To read the full interview IGN had with Arnold Schwarzenegger you can do so by clicking on this link and make sure you preorder your copy of WWE 2K16 to ensure you get to play as The Terminator.
WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose recently spoke with Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald to promote this coming Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television taping. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On filming the WWE 2K16 commercial with Arnold Schwarzenegger: “That was crazy. I didn’t know anything about it until I got there that day. ‘Terminator’ is one of my favorite movies. To do a complete reenactment of one of my favorite parts in the movie, working with Arnold Schwarzenegger and he is giving me the Terminator eyes. It was so surreal. It was so trippy. The word I use to describe everything with the whole ‘WWE 2K16’ experience. So it was very cool. It’s one of those bonuses you get while living the life of a WWE superstar. The cool stuff you get to do.”
On WWE developmental: “I kind of miss that whole NXT thing. When I was there it was Florida Championship Wrestling with Seth Rollins and the other guys who were there. I wrestled on like local access Florida TV in front of 30 people. It was a tiny little situation. I felt like we were distanced from the rest of the company. We felt we were on an island that WWE didn’t even know we existed. That gave us the chip on our shoulder. That gave us the motivation when we got there and the attitude we needed to take over WWE when we did. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s great for those guys. Now they don’t have to worry about being on an island wondering if anyone knows them. They have their own TV show every week. They get to go on tour and travel. They get to be their own brand. It’s like a whole other brand of WWE. It’s just like a shoot-off of Raw or SmackDown.”
On his character: “There is no creative process to come up with a character of Dean Ambrose. Dean Amborse is collective experience of 29 years of life. It’s the good, the bad, the ugly, after 10 years plus of wrestling. Everybody goes through their own life experiences. The good, the bad and the ugly that has formed me, shaped me and created the person I am today. That is what you see on TV. I don’t try to get anybody to like me or hate me. I just do what I do. If you are good at what you do, good things follow. I just happen to be very, very good at what I do.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
WWE has uploaded a video of Stone Cold Steve Austin “welcoming” Arnold Schwarzenegger to the WWE 2K16 video game. Fans who pre-order the game (which you can do now at Amazon.com) will get two versions of Arnold’s T-800 from the Terminator movies as a playable character in the game.
“I’m Back” – 2K Announces Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in WWE® 2K16 Pre-Order Exclusive
Blockbuster action film star, 38th Governor of California, former professional bodybuilder and WWE Hall of Famer featured as two playable characters in flagship WWE video game franchise
New York, NY – July 27, 2015 – 2K today announced the debut of 2015 WWE Hall of Fame inductee and global action film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger in WWE® 2K16, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE franchise. Best known for his acting, bodybuilding and political endeavors, Schwarzenegger, a longtime WWE fan and WWE Hall of Famer, will expand his relationship with WWE through WWE 2K16 with two playable characters – T-800 from The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day films. The playable characters will be available for those who pre-order the game at participating retailers for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, as well as Xbox One and Xbox 360. WWE 2K16 is scheduled for release on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally.
“I’ve achieved many things in my life, but I’ve always said success means staying hungry and pushing the limits,” said Schwarzenegger. “I was honored to join the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, and now I’ll continue my WWE legacy with one of my biggest film roles immortalized in WWE 2K16. Match the Terminator against Stone Cold Steve Austin®, Seth Rollins® or Daniel Bryan®, and there’s only one possible outcome: Hasta la vista, baby!”
From early childhood in his native Austria to today, Schwarzenegger represents the ultimate renaissance man, taking risks and defying odds through career accomplishments in bodybuilding, acting, politics and more. He won his first of four Mr. Universe titles at the age of 20, earned seven Mr. Olympia titles and since 1989 has hosted worldwide fitness expositions through the Arnold Sports Festival. Schwarzenegger is a fixture in numerous blockbuster action films, including Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Expendables franchise and his most recent release, Terminator Genisys, as well as for his roles in pop-culture favorites Kindergarten Cop and Twins. In addition, Schwarzenegger transcended from Hollywood to the state capitol, serving two consecutive terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2010.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger is a living legend with universal appeal, a perseverance for greatness and a strong relationship with WWE, including his recent Hall of Fame induction, all of which make him an incredible fit for WWE 2K16,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “He’s a force to be reckoned with and defines what it means to raise some hell. Through his WWE 2K16 pre-order inclusion, fans simply can’t beat the opportunity to play as the Terminator in a WWE ring.”
Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K16 is not yet rated by the ESRB. WWE 2K16 is currently scheduled for release on PS4™, PS3™, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally.
For more information on WWE 2K16 and 2K, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #WWE2K16 and #RaiseSomeHell or subscribe on YouTube.
2K announced on Monday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Terminator will be a playable character in the upcoming WWE 2K16 video game. The Terminator will be this year’s pre-order bonus, with two version of the T-800 character (Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day) stepping into the ring.
A live-action trailer reminiscent of the iconic bar room scene from 1991’s T-2: Judgement Day shows Schwarzenegger interacting with WWE Superstars and Divas such as Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Paige and Eva Marie.
Schwarzenegger was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year and Triple H’s WrestleMania 31 entrance featured a Terminator tie-in to promote Terminator Genysis, which is now in theaters.
WWE 2K16 comes out on PS4, XBox One, PS3 and XBox 360 in North America on October 27, followed by its international release on October 30.
Immediately following RAW tomorrow night on the WWE Network, a new episode of “Swerved” will air featuring R-Truth, Axxess, Kofi Kingston and more.
Following “Swerved”, fans will get a unique 30-minute look at WWE’s latest DVD “Monday Night War: Shots Fired” where Renee Young will be interviewing Triple H and Sting.
Speaking of Renee Young, she’s back once again on Wednesday at 4pm EST with yet another episode of “Unfiltered” where she sits down with Arnold Schwarzenegger to talk “Terminator Genisys”
Its synopsis reads: “Renee’s back! Join the Unfiltered host for an exclusive interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cast of Terminator Genisys!”
Don’t forget, next Saturday on the WWE Network, WWE comes to you live from Japan for their special “Beast in the East” event. Check out the current card at this link.
– WWE reportedly had trouble locking down Arnold Schwarzenegger to do the voice-overs for Triple H’s “Terminator” entrance at WrestleMania 31. WWE officials were scrambling all week to try and get Schwarzenegger to do them, which they didn’t manage to do until the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony on Saturday night. The delays in getting Schwarzenegger to do the voice-overs caused major stress among the workers on the WWE production team.
– Following the announcement of the WWE Network subscriber count on Monday, WWE stock dropped $2.66 per share to $13.86.
– Part two of Roddy Piper’s interview with WWE Hall Of Fame Jake “The Snake” Roberts is featured on the latest edition of his “Piper’s Pit” podcast, which is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com.
WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya is scheduled to induct former WWE Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze (Madusa) into the WWE Hall Of Fame on Saturday night.
With that now known, below is the complete list of inductees and inductors for tonight’s 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, which airs live on the WWE Network at 7pm EST.
– Warrior Award: Connor Michalek, inducted by Daniel Bryan and Dana Warrior
– The “Bro Bible” website has an interesting new piece up that details ten stories “you’ve never heard about The Undertaker,” listing several unknown, or little-known facts about the legendary WWE performer. You can check that out at BroBible.com.
– Tonight after RAW, the WWE Network will air Michael Cole’s interview with Triple H and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Arnold Classic convention a few weeks ago.
– The 2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air on the WWE Network this Saturday night from 8-11pm eST. There will will be a 1-hour Red Carpet pre-show that kicks off at 7pm EST.
– Darren Young and Titus O’Neil worked out with NFL star (and former WWE prospect) Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles this morning.
– CM Punk noted on Twitter that he found a few urns in his garage, likely from his WrestleMania 29 feud with The Undertaker.
Found some urns in my garage. Y'all want this shit?
“Today at the ISHOF with Arnold and Evander Holyfield, Lenda Murray and Ed Coan – just this amazing cast of elite level sports figures, the whole thing was just surreal,” said “The Game.”
“It was very humbling and just a moment I’ll never forget” Triple H continued. “To have my wife and kids there was the best part. I listened to all these amazing people speaking before me, I thought about inspiration and what inspires people to do things. I thought about Lenda Murray, this amazing woman who transcended her sport, but at the time showed that women could do anything they wanted to – like being this elite, professional level bodybuilder if they wanted – she broke a barrier showing that women can compete in the same sport as men.”
HHH continued, “I’m listening to Lenda’s speech and I’m looking at my daughters in the front row and thinking about what it means to them to have someone in front of them that has already broken these barriers and telling them they can do anything, because the biggest thing I want to instill in them is that they can be whatever they want to be.”
Below is a video of HHH’s induction.
Additionally, here’s a video of Triple H with Arnold Schwarzenegger discussing the importance of the International Sports Hall Of Fame.
Finally, here are some tweets, including photos, from Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon regarding HHH’s induction.
– Triple H conducted an interview with 2015 WWE Hall Of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger in Ohio this weekend. The interview is going to air on the WWE Network in the future. Triple H tweeted the following photo of the two together this weekend.
Triple H is once again the guest on this week’s sit-down interview with Michael Cole, which you can watch above.
Michael Cole asks whether or not Sting is starting to get under Triple H’s skin. HHH says Sting is good, just like he was in WCW. He mentioned his “firing” of Booker T on RAW and spoke about how no one in WCW could control Sting. He says there’s a reason Sting never came to WWE, and that’s control. He said sometimes you have to show that you still have control.
Cole asked HHH about the problems within The Authority, noting that he appears to be preoccupied as of late. HHH says that when you’re a parent, sometimes you have to let the kids battle things out among themselves. He said when RAW went off the air this week, everyone seemed to be getting along and he doesn’t have a problem letting them work out their issues by themselves.
When asked about WWE and NXT going to Ohio for the Arnold Classic this coming weekend, HHH spoke about his International Sports Hall Of Fame induction and said it’s an honor and having Arnold Schwarzenegger induct him is huge.
WWE is promoting another WWE Hall Of Fame announcement to take place on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which takes place from New Jersey.
The official WWE website has an article up today hinting that the next Hall Of Fame announcement will be for a WWE Diva.
“Who will be joining “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rikishi and The Bushwhackers in the Hall’s Class of 2015 the night before WrestleMania 31?,” stated the WWE website.
The article continues, “Could it be a pioneering woman grappler who competed alongside the likes of Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah? Could it be one of the Japanese women who brought their hard-hitting style to America in the early 1990s? Is it one of the sultry Divas from the infamous Attitude Era? Is it even a competitor, or could it be a woman who often accompanied legendary Superstars into battle?”
The belief is that the Diva that WWE is alluding to will be Madusa (aka Alundra Blayze).
It is expected that WWE will announce Madusa as one of this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame inductees. Madusa worked in WWE as Alundra Blaze and during the Monday Night Wars, infamously threw the WWE Women’s Championship in the trash can on a live edition of WCW Monday Nitro.
With Madusa, Kevin Nash, Tatsumi Fujinami and Ray Stevens expected to be the final four inductees, below is a potential look at the final list of inductees for this year’s class.
– Randy Savage
– Rikishi
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
– The Bushwhackers
– Ray Stevens
– Kevin Nash
– Madusa
– Tatsumi Fujinami
WWE.com has a new article up titled, “WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2015 inductees to be announced Monday.”
As the headline of the article states, a new inductee will be announced on RAW, however this time it will be a tag-team that gets their moment in the spotlight.
The article continues with the following teaser as to who the tag-team is:
“The mystery pair of legends will join “Macho Man” Randy Savage, celebrity inductee Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rikishi in the elite class. Who will enter the WWE Hall of Fame the night before WrestleMania 31? Could it be a team famous for their camouflage gear? Could it be an ultra-popular pair of brothers or family members? How many tag team championships have they held? Is it possible that we will see a current Hall of Famer earn a second nod and join Ric Flair as a two-time inductee?”
The following matches were taped on Thursday night in Hartford, CT. prior to the live edition of WWE SmackDown for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. While they will not air on the WWE Network, they will still be available on Hulu Plus on Friday and will air in some international markets on television this weekend.
– The New Day def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow in tag-team action to kick off the show. Big E. and Kofi Kingston represented The New Day in this one. The finish saw Big E. and Kingston pick up the pin after The Miz yelled at Mizdow outside of the ring, causing a distraction.
– Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler is announced for the main event of the show.
– Erick Rowan def. Curtis Axel in singles competition. This was described as a really solid match, however the fans in Hartford were apparently not making a lot of noise for it. There was a “Rumble winner!” chant directed towards Axel during the match. In the end, Rowan picked up the win with his finisher.
– Roman Reigns is shown on the big screen, which prompted a loud boo response from the fans in attendance. The Arnold Schwarzenegger WWE Hall Of Fame video package was also shown.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Luke Harper in the main event of the show. Ziggler got a great pop from the Hartford fans for his entrance, and the crowd was said to be really hot for Ziggler throughout the entire duration of the bout. In the end, Ziggler picked up the win to end this week’s show.
– Because WWE won’t be taping SmackDown tonight, the show for the second week in a row will be airing outside of its normal time slot of Wednesday, 8-10pm EST. in Canada. The show this week will instead air live on Thursday from 8-10pm EST.
– As noted on Monday, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be this year’s celebrity inductee into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Below is the official induction announcement, as well as a clip from a future WWE Countdown episode, which features WWE talent commenting on Arnold’s appearance on WWE SmackDown from 1999.
– 25 years after the Megapowers exploded at WrestleMania V, WWE.com has published an interview with Hulk Hogan talking about his personal relationship with the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Here’s what Hogan said about reconciling with Randy Savage after not speaking for eight years just 3-4 months before he passed away:
“We ran into each other at a doctor’s office. I was on my seventh or eighth back surgery, and I couldn’t pass an EKG because I was getting just jammed up with anesthesia every three or four months. They couldn’t get my back right. My back was collapsing and they were telling my new wife Jennifer I’d never walk again and all of this craziness. Jennifer and I were sitting on those little seats in the doctor’s office in Tampa and all of a sudden the door opens and in comes Randy. “Yeeeah! Ooooh yeah! What’s up?” I went, “[Gasp].” Freaked me out, scared me to death. And he goes, “Hey, brother. What’s up, Hogan?” He had that gleam in his eye and looked really healthy. He gained his weight back and he had a wedding ring on. I said, “Hey, Mach, what’s up with the ring?” He said, “Hey, just married my childhood sweetheart.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on CBS news this week at the premiere of his new movie “Sabotage” and commented on his appearance on Monday’s WWE RAW:
The Monday, March 24th edition of WWE RAW averaged 4.27 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The number marks a five-percent increase as compared to last week’s show.
Monday’s RAW had the benefit of advertised appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, as well as being the second-to-last RAW before WrestleMania XXX.
The hourly breakdown for Monday’s RAW is as follows:
Hour One: 4.22 million viewers
Hour Two: 4.39 million viewers
Hour Three: 4.21 million viewers
The final cable rating for the show should be out shortly, and will likely fall between a 3.0 and a 3.2.
– Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will be appearing as a guest host on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, will also be filming an episode of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” on Monday at 5pm EST. As a result, he will be arriving to the building at RAW just prior to the start of the show.
– The following is the official preview for tonight’s edition of WWE Total Divas:
“The Braniel Bus: With convincing from Brie, Daniel Bryan decides to get a tour bus; Eva Marie’s past comes back to embarrass her; and Nikki loses a tooth in a match.”