In addition to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock, Jim Ross and Booker T also praised Roman Reigns’ performance in Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble match.
Booker T tweeted:
I really enjoyed a lot about that #RoyalRumble. I see Roman Reigns as a future headliner in #WWE. #DigIt
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently added a new video to the official YouTube channel for his “Reality Of Wrestling” independent promotion. The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “Booker T and Sharmell with a statement on Reality of Wrestling’s plans for 2014.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T teased a “big announcement” . The announcement, involves his “Reality Of Wrestling” promotion. To find out what the announcement is, check out the following Booker T tweet:
– WWE has added a job listing for a “Network Coordinator” who will be responsible for making sure the WWE Network stream will be issue-free. For more information, visit Careers-WWECorp.icims.com.
– James Avery, who was most known for his role as “Uncle Phil” on “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air,” passed away at age 65 on Wednesday. Avery also worked as the voice for the late WWE Hall Of Famer Junkyard Dog on the old Hulk Hogan’s Rock & Wrestling cartoon.
– There is a new Q&A with former WWE Superstar John Morrison up at John-Morrison.net.
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam will be working at Booker T’s upcoming “Reality Of Wrestling” event on January 11th in Houston, Texas.
The following are highlights from yet another Q&A update from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the possibility of John Cena vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania: “I’d like to think that some day that match will occur at WrestleMania. Time will tell. Don’t see it this year though for some reason.”
On if he’d be willing to call one final match for WWE at WrestleMania XXX: “That isn’t a decision that is up to me. That’s 100% a WWE call.”
On opponents he’d like to of seen “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wrestle had his career not been cut short due to injury: “Punk, Bryan, HHH, Orton, etc. Lots of likely candidates.”
On why we don’t see Booker T in the ring anymore: “I don’t know but it’s likely a mutual decision or Book may have injury issues to address.”
On if CM Punk should be a babyface, heel or a ‘tweener’: “I’m not a big ‘tweener’ guy.”
On whether or not Paul Heyman’s recent tweet about Randy Orton is a tease for an Orton vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania XXX: “Heyman knows how to play the fanbase. Obviously, Lesnar will be back soon as WM30 approaches but in what role, I don’t know.”
– The final WWE NXT live event at the Tampa Arena in 2013 will take place on December 19th. For tickets, visit NXTTickets.Ticketforce.com.
– WWE announcer Michael Cole will be the special guest host for Booker T’s “Reality Of Wrestling Christmas Chaos” event on December 14th in Clear Lake City, Texas. Also scheduled to appear at the show are former WWE Superstars The Boogeyman and Shelton Benjamin. Former WCW star Stevie Ray is also scheduled to make a rare appearance and promises a special announcement.
After the televised portion of WWE RAW ended on Monday night in Seattle, Washington, World Heavyweight Champion John Cena gave props to the 12th man and asked if the fans wanted one final match.
John Cena def. Randy Orton via Disqualification. The DQ came when Orton hit Cena with a steel chair during the match. Orton tried for an RKO, but ended up getting hit with an Attitude Adjustment instead.
After the match, Cena brought out Daniel Bryan to another enormous ovation. Booker T came out and led the crowd in cheering on Daniel Bryan to do a Spinarooni. Bryan obliged and did one of the most awkward Spinarooni’s ever. Booker then brought out John Laurinaitis for a “People Power Spinarooni.” Titus O’Neil was also brought out to do a Spinarooni. Next, he challenged Stephanie McMahon to come out and do one. She tried backing out of it claiming her head hurts, but eventually did one herself. Finally, Booker had CM Punk come out and do one in his underwear.
It was announced during the TLC “go-home” edition of WWE RAW on Monday night, which was also the Slammy Awards special, that Fandango will be facing Dolph Ziggler in the TLC Kickoff Show match.
Also announced for the TLC Kickoff Show is the “expert panel.” For the final WWE pay-per-view of 2013, WWE Hall Of Famers Mick Foley and Booker T will join WWE Superstar The Miz to hype up the TLC pay-per-view.
WWE has once again changed the scheduled lineup for their final “Holiday Week” live events at the end of December.
The new main event for the WWE live event on December 28th in Newark, New Jersey is John Cena and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio in a tag-team match.
Originally, WWE was advertising Cena vs. Del Rio as a singles match, and later Cena vs. Randy Orton as a singles match, but the latest advertisements are promoting the aforementioned tag-team match.
The new tag-team main event is an addition to a card that will also feature Big Show vs. Kane in a steel cage, with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T serving as the special guest referee.
– Stephanie McMahon continues to unload her WWE stock. She sold over 95,000 shares from December 2nd through December 4th for $1.405 million.
– For those interested, Lilian Garcia has posted a new blog about her upcoming performances with her new band. You can read that online at LilianGarcia.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T continues to attend a number of major sporting events. After appearing at the Houston Texans NFL game last week, he and his wife Sharmell were in attendance at the Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns NBA game on Wednesday evening. Booker tweeted the following photo he took with Rockets star Dwight Howard backstage at the game:
As noted previously, WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, along with Christian and former WWE Diva Eve Torres are all scheduled to return during the Slammy Awards on next week’s live edition of WWE RAW. The following is the awards that they will be presenting:
– Shawn Michaels will present the “Superstar of the Year” award.
– Bret Hart will present the “Match of the Year” award.
– Christian will present the “This Is Awesome Moment of the Year” award.
– Eve Torres will present the “Total Diva of the Year” award.
As noted previously, the Slammy Awards will be hosted by WWE Hall Of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler and Booker T.
– The official hosts for the Slammy Awards on next Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW, which will also serve as the WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs “go-home” show, will be WWE Hall Of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler and Booker T.
– For whatever this is worth, which probably isn’t much, Paul Heyman is being advertised locally for next week’s edition of WWE RAW. It should be pointed out that Heyman was also advertised locally for RAW this past Monday night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and never appeared.
– WWE Hall of Famer Booker T and his wife Sharmell Sullivan were at the Houston Texas vs. New England Patriots NFL game on Sunday.
– Speaking of Booker T, his former “Harlem Heat” tag-team partner Stevie Ray is scheduled to join him at the Reality Of Wrestling event in Houston, Texas on December 14th. Also scheduled for the event, which is being dubbed “Christmas Chaos VIII,” is former WWE Superstar The Boogeyman.
– WWE Hall Of Famers Jim Ross and Gerald Brisco were at the Oklahoma State vs. University of Oklahoma wrestling match in Norman, Oklahoma on Sunday. Also in attendance, serving as a guest coach for the Sooners, was wrestling legend Danny Hodge.
WWE has added the complete Survivor Series “Kickoff Show” that aired prior to the pay-per-view on Sunday night to their official YouTube channel.
Fans interested can check out the pre-show special, which featured the Hall Of Fame panel consisting of Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T, as well as the “Kickoff Show” match between The Miz and Kofi Kingston.
Watch the full WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show below:
WWE Hall of Famer Booker was recently interviewed by The Miami Herald. Here are some of the highlights of what he said about:
On wrestling his first ever match at Wrestlemania against Edge:
I was really nervous, but a friend of mine told me to take a deep breath and as you make that walk to the ring, just take it all in and feel that moment. went out and did that. It totally calmed me to the point where I realized this was the place I should be in. It was a great feeling
His Favorite WrestleMania moment:
“What’s a WrestleMania moment? That is for the fans to decide. For me, just being a part of WrestleMania and the week of festivities and the celebration of what we do on the highest level has been the biggest thing to me…My dream was to headline WrestleMania. I wanted to be in the spotlight at WrestleMania. I got a chance to do that. I got a chance to wrestle Triple H in the spotlight [at WrestleMania XIX]. That was my biggest moment there. One thing I never dreamt was, I didn’t dream to win. I didn’t win that night. It would have been sweeter, but life goes on. I became World champion and King Booker. I left a winner.”
Reconciling with brother Stevie Ray at the WWE Hall of Fame:
“It was kind of like burying the hatchet and putting that part of our life behind us and moving forward. WrestleMania weekend was a chance to do that and the Hall of Fame was a way to mend that bridge. Now we are as close as ever. The Hall of Fame ceremony was a once in a lifetime thing we wish we could do every year. It proved to my fans, my peers, that all of the work I put in was worth it. I always wanted to leave my mark and legacy on the business so that one day 50 years I will be remembered. It’s something I strived for many years to attain. My brother and I had not spoken for about five years, maybe six. Maybe a little bit longer. I thought it was time to get past that. Leaving the business the way I started was really important for me. We just talked about doing stuff together. It definitely filled a void that was there for a very long time, thank God.”
Not wrestling again:
“I really want to get past that stage in my life. I’m trying to put that part of my life behind me. I want to produce and direct. I want to work behind the scenes. Let the guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Shield do it and get to that next level. It’s not about me anymore. I understand that first and foremost. Don’t try to fool myself that I can still hang with these guys because they can run circles around me. Over a period of time anyway, I can hold my own for one night. It’s about these guys and the young guys. It’s about WWE and the superstars and looking at WrestleMania, looking at it 15 years from now. Who is going to be that big superstar? What superstars will be created in that time? The evolution of life goes and goes and never stops. You have to be prepared for that. Thank God I have been preparing that for many years.”
– It was announced on Monday’s special country-themed edition of WWE RAW that at the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show this Sunday there will be a Hall Of Fame expert panel. Representing the panel for the Kickoff Show will be WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T.
– Also announced on RAW this past Monday night is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between the current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes, and The Real Americans – Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro.
– SportsRadio 610 announced a celebrity roast of WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T for charity on Wednesday, December 11th. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the “Booker T Fights For Kids Foundation.” For more information, visit CBSLocal.com.
– Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly released the cover photo of her new 2014 calendar, which is now available. Kelly Kelly tweeted the following today:
– When John Cena faces Alberto Del Rio tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship, Cena will sport a protective compression sleeve (with pad insert) on his surgically repaired arm, according to the Miami Herald. This is similar to what former NBA player Allen Iverson wore and what Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade wears. That will minimize any swelling and help decrease impact on the arm.
– Booker T will not be hand on for tonight’s WWE Hell in the Cell pay-per-view event in Mimai, Florida. Rather, that WWE Hall of Famer and talent from his Reality of Wrestling promotion will be watching tonight’s pay-per-view broadcast with fans in Houston, Texas, at Diablo Loco on Richmond Avenue.
– As seen on SmackDown, CM Punk and Ryback got a tune-up match against a CM Punk imposter in preparation for their encounter with Paul Heyman tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell. Highlights from the bout are feature on the “WWE SmackDown Slam of the Week.”
Due to a depleted talent roster, WWE was forced to shuffle things up a bit during their recent three-event tour of Abu Dhabi this weekend. The following is a breakdown of things you wouldn’t necessarily have seen if the company had a more complete roster to tour with.
-WWE used Hall Of Famer Booker T as a special guest referee for the Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan main event matches.
-Big Show, who was “fired” in storylines on last Monday’s WWE RAW show, was included on the tour. The explanation given to fans in attendance was that Big Show was given a “one night contract” to compete against The Shield.
-WWE NXT wrestlers Bo Dallas and Sami Zayn worked in matches on all of the shows this weekend. However, both guys have been included in several recent non-televised live events.
-WWE RAW General Manager Brad Maddox, who is not typically used to wrestle, worked on the undercards in actual matches this weekend.
For those interested, we have results of every WWE live event from this weekend up on the site right now.
On Monday’s post-Battleground edition of WWE RAW, the main event for the October 27th WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view from Miami, Florida was announced.
In a move that should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, it was announced that a rematch between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan would be held in a Hell In A Cell match, where a new WWE Champion was guaranteed to be determined on the night.
Additionally, it was announced that the match would feature a special guest referee. RAW General Manager Brad Maddox announced that there would be three WWE Hall Of Fame candidates for the WWE Universe to vote for, with the man receiving the most votes being the official for the contest. The three options were Booker T, Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels. The man who received the most votes, and will officially be the referee of the match, was Shawn Michaels.
So there you have it. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan in a Hell In A Cell match at the next pay-per-view, with special guest referee Shawn Michaels.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Bob Backlund was in attendance at the WWE live event in Syracuse, New York on Friday night. Fans interested in reading a full report from the WWE live event in Syracuse on Friday can do so on the main page.
-Several WWE Superstars, including Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Booker T, The Miz, Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Titus O’Neil and Brodus Clay, fielded questions about life in WWE during a recent interview with The National publication in the Middle East to promote next week’s WWE tour in Abu Dhabi. You can check that article out online at TheNational.ae.
-WWE Superstar and member of The Shield, Roman Reigns, recently took a shot at Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes” in a WWE Battleground promotional tweet posted on his official Twitter account on Saturday afternoon. Reigns wrote:
@DUSTIN_RHODES1: the poor fool isn’t familiar with how we do things. #WWEBattleground = #TheRhodesRetirementParty Believe That!
The following are highlights from a recent interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T:
On WrestleMania compared to other events: “WrestleMania is the biggest deal of them all [major sporting events.] I mean its the spectacle of a lifetime. If you ever have the chance to be a part of it. I mean you guys got to experience the SuperBowl and now you’re going to be able to experience WrestleMania. It’s going to be awesome. Compared [to the SuperBowl] as far as what’s the biggest. Let me tell you WrestleMania is the biggest spectacle that I’ve ever seen and been a part of.”
On the new WWE Performance Center: “I haven’t had a chance to get there as often as I need to. I have my own facility in Houston. I’m trying to filter the wrestling business. You know, more and more students are trying to get it from all different perspectives. But I’ll tell you the training center is something that we’ve needed for quite some time just so the avid fan always wonders ‘How do I get into this business?’ And for us to promote it! Now, we have our own form of something that you can come down and be a part of, try to get into this business. You know there are a lot of kids out there that I feel like we might be losing. We need to advertise a little more and show these guys that you can have a great career in professional wrestling, and the longevity is great as well.”
On The Ultimate Warrior in the WWE Hall Of Fame: “Everybody’s wondering if the Ultimate Warrior is going to go in [the Hall of Fame,] that’s one thing… Ultimate Warrior is probably the one guy that people have been wondering for many, many years, just like Bruno Sammartino. It would be great to take his place in immortality. He deserves it. Hew was great for what he did for the time in wrestling… Back in the day, those guys really were trailblazers, they were one of the reasons that I wanted to be one of those guys.”
On his prediction for the WrestleMania 40 main event: “Dean Ambrose versus Dolph Ziggler.”