UFC President Dana White spoke with MMAJunkie.com over the weekend about Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE:
“It was always upfront and said in his deal that he could do the WWE. Everything we did with that guy, nothing ever leaked out of that camp, ever leaks out of that camp. Those guys did a deal with (WWE promoter) Vince (McMahon), and I guarantee you Vince said, ‘Keep this a secret. Don’t tell anybody.’ And he did. He never said anything. He didn’t call me. I sent them a text and said, ‘Congrats on your deal. I’ll be watching.’ [Expletive] never got nothing back. They didn’t respond and say, ‘Hey, thanks we’re pumped.’ They just did their thing.”
White also said he watched Lesnar’s return to RAW and enjoyed it.
“For what they do, it’s cool. I’m happy for him. The fact that the guy came over here, did what he did in the WWE, came here and did what he did here, now he’s back over there. Good for him and good for them.”
Former WCW announcer Mark Madden stated during a recent radio interview that Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar with his recent WWE promos. Heyman has since replied to Madden’s claim – denying that he’s been working with Lesnar:
“@MarkMaddenX As flattered as I am by the notion, I have nothing to do with #BrockLesnar’s @WWE promos. Believe it or not, @WWE got it right … in a BIG way … with that #DeathClutch promo last week on #Raw. I’d love to take even a tiny bit of the credit for that promo, but it all belongs to @WWE and Brock himself!”
– At Saturday night’s UFC 145 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White was asked about Brock Lesnar’s recent return to WWE. White stated:
“When he did the deal with the WWE, all the rumblings started with you guys. He never called me. He never told me. He didn’t have to. It was always up front and said in his deal, he could do the WWE. I’m happy for him. To do what he did in the WWE, came here and did what he did, now he’s back over there. Good for him; good for them.
Tonight’s RAW will be a special 3-hour broadcast from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroid, Michigan. After a week-long live events tour of Europe, the RAW and SmackDown crews are back as the “Era of People Power” continues.
The final RAW Supershow before Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view will feature a contract signing between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
The advertised dark match main event will see CM Punk and John Cena team up against Chris Jericho and Kane.
To promote tonight’s RAW, WWE has released this video footage of the ‘most explosive contract signings in WWE history’ –
– Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar’s recent WWE promos, according to Mark Madden on Chairshots Radio. Heyman is working with Lesnar independently and there are no plans for him to work directly with WWE.
– Derrick Bateman’s profile pages have been removed from WWE.com and the Florida Championship Wrestling website, which is usually a sign that the talent has been released. Bateman stated on twitter that his profiles being taken down is “meaningless.” When asked again if he has been released, he replied, “people read into things way to much.”
– The “local talent” that Ryback squashed on Friday’s SmackDown was 18 year old James Hill, who wrestles in the UK as Jimmy Meadows. He told Thisisleicestershire.co.uk that he got booked on RAW through UK veteran wrestler Robbie “The Wildcat” Brookside.
The WWE’s website has a new article up with several Superstars reacting to Brock Lesnar’s video promo from Monday’s RAW where he claimed John Cena would be carrying his bags if he would have never left WWE years ago. Here are some quotes from past and present WWE superstars:
Booker T: “There’s only one chief around here, and we all know who that is. I don’t think one Superstar in WWE determines what goes on. I remember a promoter telling me a long time ago … Years later, I now understand exactly what he was saying. He said: ‘One monkey don’t stop no show.’ And that pretty much sums it up right there.”
Goldust: “Whether you like him or hate him, you respect John Cena. He works his ass off day in and day out more than anybody else in this locker room, on the roster, period. What Brock said about Cena, I find that a bit distasteful. I don’t believe for a second that if Brock didn’t leave eight years ago that Cena wouldn’t be where he’s at today. I think that’s bull. John Cena was destined to be a star.”
William Regal: “There’s no way that things would be the way they are if Brock had never left. I’m not saying that Cena wouldn’t be the huge star that he is, but there’s not room for two of them in the same universe. You can’t have two people with that incredible ability, strength, desire, passion, and that Elvis quality – which is that magic quality that you only come across once in a million. And they’ve both got it. Usually, one fella has got to go, because when they collide, that’s the way it plays out.”
Matt Striker: “I think it’s safe to say Brock is the most legitimate, most dangerous ass-kicker WWE has ever seen, and the one person that now really needs to reinvent himself and relearn his craft is Cena. Brock is not here to use armdrags and dropkicks. Brock is here to punch you in the face and snap your bones. We need to see what Cena is made of, and I believe at Extreme Rules, the whole world will find out.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena:
“Thought the Brock Lesnar piece on RAW was excellent. I’m very anxious to see how he competes vs John Cena at the Extreme Rules PPV. Fighting in the Octagon for UFC is a much different animal than performing in a WWE ring. Lesnar is a gifted athlete and will likely shock us all with how well he does against Cena. This one is too close for me to call.”
Heading To FCW Next Week To Evaluate Talent:
“Can’t wait to get back to Tampa next week to work with the young men and women in FCW. It never fails to be a rewarding experience.”
SmackDown Newcomer Damien Sandow:
“Anxious for WWE fans to see Damien Sandow in the ring. He’s fundamentally sound w/ a distinctive upside. Time will tell. Keep getting questions on the apparent Mick Foley/Dean Ambrose war of words. I have no idea where it’s going if any where. Good to see so many young talents getting set to apparently get more, viable TV time. Remember guys, maximize those minutes.”
Steve Austin Honored By The Cauliflower Alley Club
“Steve Austin received the group’s highest award named after the founder of the organization, Iron Mike Mazurki, a former wrestler and successful actor. I was fortunate enough to be asked by Steve to induct him. He had a great speech and offered sage advice to many of the young wrestlers who were in attendance. For more info on CAC visit their website at Caulifloweralleyclub.org.”
WWE Extreme Rules 2012 and Brock Lesnar’s first WWE match in 8 years are just days away. John Cena came up short against The Rock and WrestleMania and less than a month later, awaits an entirely different challenge. Many questions will be answered at Extreme Rules:
– How will Brock Lesnar look? Will he bring his “A-Game” ?
– Can WWE build around Brock Lesnar for the next year?
– Can John Cena afford to lose another high profile match so soon?
Vote below and tell us who you think will have their hand raised at Extreme Rules:
Following this week’s news that WrestleMania 28 was the most-ordered pay-per-view in pro wrestling history, the chances of a Rock vs. Cena rematch at next year’s show have increased. Whether or not the match takes place at next year’s WrestleMania, Rock and Cena will almost certainly have a rematch over the next 12 months.
The Rock dropped a bombshell on RAW the night after WrestleMania 28 when he revealed his “vision” to once again win the WWE Championship. As of this week, WWE’s plan for the main event of WresteMania 29 is for The Rock to wrestle either John Cena or Brock Lesnar for the WWE title.
Several factors will decide whether The Rock wrestles either Cena or Lesnar, most notably, how Brock Lesnar’s next few months go. WWE officials want to see how Lesnar handles his [limited] schedule and how over Lesnar is after his match with John Cena at Extreme Rules.
While there was early talk of announcing the WrestleMania 29 main event one year in advance like they did with Rock-Cena, it’s now looking like WWE will hold off until the fall before making anything official.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to appear in The Hero, a new competitive reality series looking to find the “next great hero,” reportsVariety. Johnson is an executive producer for the show, and will be appearing in “various incarnations” to encourage contestants.
— WWE.com takes a look back at the 10 best rookie years in WWE and WCW history. Brock Lesnar is ranked number one on this list, beating out Goldberg, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, among others. (The 10 best rookie years).
— Former WWE talent Shane “Hurricane” Helms is not a fan of WWE’s “CM Drunk” storyline. He wrote during Monday’s Raw SuperShow where Chris Jericho claimed CM Punk was spotted drinking alcohol before defending his title against Mark Henry: “I like both Punk and Jericho but I could care less about this “straight edge vs alcoholic” angle. Just wrestle.”
Helms also critiqued a WWE star’s bumping ability: “Otunga … geez. You’re on TV with the biggest wrestling company in the world. Please learn how to bump bro.”
– We published a picture on Monday of Brock Lesnar’s new WWE ring gear, which consists of MMA-style trunks with sponsor logos on it. Lesnar’s new WWE t-shirt also features the logos of Lesnar’s various sponsors, including Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. A WWE superstar wearing sponsor logos is unprecedented – so it appears Lesnar’s team negotiated a very unique agreement with WWE.
Speaking of Lesnar, WWE officials were said to be very happy with the Lesnar promo that aired on Monday’s RAW. The video was taped last week.
Lesnar has also been added to the RAW Supershow opening video.
– Tickets are still available for the RAW brand’s upcoming tour of Brazil. Tickets are also now on sale for WWE’s upcoming Over The Limit PPV on 5/20 from Raleigh, North Carolina.
– The Bella Twins were backstage for Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow in London but did not appear on television. Over the weekend, there were plans to use them on television this week. Despite the fact that the Bellas have been making various storyline-driven comments about wanting to challenge for the Divas title, they are still expected to leave WWE when their contracts expire later this month.
Brock Lesnar is expected to wear MMA-inspired ring gear when he steps back into the ring against John Cena at Extreme Rules, his first WWE match in 8 years.
The WWE website released a photo of Brock Lesnar on Monday his new WWE ring gear, which is clearly inspired by his days as an MMA fighter.
Lesnar’s new ring gear features MMA-inspired trunks (featuring sponsor logos), XXL Mixed Martial Arts gloves and black boots.
Hit up the comments below and tell us what you think about Lesnar’s new gear.
— Courtesy of Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match at Extreme Rules has been changed to a no-disqualification, no count-out “Extreme Rules” Match, WWE.com has confirmed.
— WWE has released the synopsis for Classics On Demand programming during the month of May: “Relive the insane moments that made you say…OMG! From unbelievable moves to shocking moments, it’s a jaw-dropping month full of the unexpected. It’s “OMG! Month” all May on WWE Classics On Demand.”
— WWE will hold a SmackDown taping on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
— Alicia Fox and William Regal will be signing autographs Thursday in Cardiff, Wales to promote WWE’s The Best of Raw and SmackDown 2011 video release at the HMV on Queen Street.
— During an interview with Steven Muehlhausen of The Fight Club Chicago, boxing analyst Percy Crawford said he spoke to Paul Heyman about Brock Lesnar working with famed boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. before Lesnar fought Shane Carwin in July 2010. Crawford says Lesnar rejected the offer.
“I actually offered … his close friend Paul Heyman to hook him [Lesnar] up with Floyd Mayweather, Sr. [and] Heyman said, ‘You know, that’s not a bad idea. Let me talk to Brock and get back with ya’,” Crawford said. “And then it was like, ‘uh, Brock’s kinda comfortable in Minnesota. We’re gonna go with what we have’.”
— WWE conducted an angle at SmackDown live events last week where ring announcer Lilian Garcia nearly came to blows with Natalya during a heated confrontation. Fed up with the third generation wrestler’s shabby treatment of her, Garcia aggressively shoved Natalya’s jacket back at the SmackDown Diva following her losses to AJ. Garcia addressed the matter on Twitter Sunday, writing, “She bettr watch out 4 this Latina Heat!!”
Natalya responded, “Latina heat? Maybe try showing The Queen of Harts a little respect… Thank you!” She also vowed to make Garcia tap out to the Sharpshooter.
– Last week on RAW, General Manager John Laurinaitis revealed that he is responsible for Brock Lesnar’s WWE return. During an interview with the WWE website, here’s what Laurinaitis said about Lesnar bringing “legitimacy” back to WWE:
“Brock has achieved incredible success on every level. He’s the only athlete to ever win the WWE Championship, the UFC Heavyweight Championship and an NCAA Division I Heavyweight Championship. Quite frankly, I couldn’t imagine a better man than Brock more suited to be the face of WWE. No offense to John Cena, who’s an outstanding athlete in his own right, but he’s no Brock Lesnar.”
– WWE’s contest to win a free trip to WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey has ended. The sweepstakes launched on April 1st and the 100 winners were announced on Sunday night.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is filming new episodes for his MacMillan River Adventures hunting show. A future episode of the show will feature a special appearance from with music legend and avid hunter, Ted Nugent.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at Extreme Rules:
“Getting tons of folks asking for predictions for the upcoming Lesnar vs. Cena bout at Extreme Rules in Chicago on PPV. The only thing that I know for sure is that the live audience in Chicago will be restaurant quality. Is Cena ‘due’ after losing to Rock at WM28 or will Lesnar lose his first WWE bout in years? It makes for some compelling, episodic TV, in my opinion, but one has to consider Lesnar’s likely ‘ring rust’ when analyzing this main event and making educated guesses.
“Cena vs. Lesnar is what a main event should be, too close to easily call a winner.”
The Rock’s Desire To Become WWE Champion Again
“Rock says he wants to be WWE Champion again. Time will tell if he can pull that one off but if that were to occur it would likely be following some intriguing, episodic TV leading into the big match. I think that it’s going to be a compelling year regarding the WWE Title.”
Whether The Undertaker Has Retired Or Not:
“I might be naive and I know that I’m out of the loop, which, BTW, isn’t a gripe, but IF Undertaker was going to retire, don’t you think that WWE would make a HUGE deal of it? Can you think of another wrestler’s retirement that would be as impactful as the Undertaker’s at this point in time? So….I am still of the mindset that Undertaker will return to the ring at the appropriate time.”
– Tuesday’s live “old school” SmackDown special drew a 1.5 cable rating. SmackDown typically draws around a 2.0 on Friday nights.
– The Rock is in talks to star in a new movie called Lore, which has been described as a “hybrid of traditional narrative and graphic novel.”
Vulture.com compared the movie to Men In Black, writing that MIB’s take on Aliens will be similar to how Lore presents monsters. No word yet on when filming will begin.
– Brock Lesnar will not be wrestling any matches before Extreme Rules later this month. His match against John Cena will be his first WWE match in over 8 years.
– With the recent signing of Brock Lesnar, there are some people in WWE that are hoping it will help the company recruit more amateur wrestlers.
– The Dean Ambrose vs. Mick Foley feud continued on Wednesday night, with Ambrose tweeting the following messages about Foley:
“I wonder if Mick would be so happy sitting on his high horse if it was his kids in wheelchairs.”
“I’d rather go work in a gas station than apologize for what I said in Miami, Spin it however you want cuz I didnt ask for anybodys opinion”
— Former WWE diva Amy “Lita” Dumas was in Miami for WrestleMania weekend and spoke to fans at the Axxess fan fest about the current state of WWE’s Divas division. In the following video, Lita talks about being frustrated with the situation, calling it a “bummer” to see what the division has become after her and Trish took it to unprecedented heights 10 years ago:
– At the press conference that took place just hours before WrestleMania 28, The Rock named Brock Lesnar as one of the people he’s looking to wrestle.
– Christian is being advertised for the upcoming SmackDown live event from Salisbury, Maryland on June 9th. Christian will get a shot at the Big Show’s Intercontinental title. The main event for the show will see Daniel Bryan challenge Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title in a Last Man Standing Match. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– The next 3-hour RAW Supershow will take place on June 11th from Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
– The WWE RAW crew is headed overseas today for the company’s annual post-WrestleMania European tour. This year’s tour will include WWE’s first-ever live event in Moscow, Russia, with WWE already looking to return to Russia in 2013.
Approximately 6,000 tickets have already been sold for Wednesday’s show and WWE is hoping for a sellout. As previously reported, Triple H is being advertised for this week’s live event from Moscow – a sign that WWE is really trying to make an impact in the market prior to their return next year.
– WWE made several references to UFC on Monday night, something the company was reportedly against just a few weeks ago.
Before RAW went on the air, the USA Network aired a cut-in from the Verizon Center where Michael Cole told viewers that RAW would be going live in a matter of minutes – and mentioned former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is in the house. During RAW, both Cole and Brock Lesnar mentioned Lesnar’s UFC past. It is unknown at this time what led to the change in policy regarding mentioning UFC on WWE television.
As we saw on RAW, the storyline behind Brock Lesnar’s return is that John Laurinaitis brought Lesnar in to bring “legitimacy” back to WWE and take out John Cena once and for all.
UFC and WWE have worked together before as it relates to Brock Lesnar. WWE allowed UFC to use WWE footage of Lesnar when Lesnar first entered the UFC. UFC also gave WWE the green light to feature Brock Lesnar in the WWE ’12 video game.
Brock Lesnar will wrestle John Cena at WWE Extreme Rules in less than three weeks on April 29th. John Laurinaitis announced the match at the start of Monday’s RAW. Lesnar came out and thanked John Laurinaitis for having the wisdom to bring legitimacy back to WWE.
John Cena’s music then hit and he entered the ring. Cena slapped Brock Lesnar in the face. Lesnar charged him, taking him down and pummeling him before the WWE officials and wrestlers hit the ring to keep the men apart. Cena’s mouth was bloodied in the scuffle and a replay showed Lesnar nailing Cena square in the face with a nasty punch.
The ring was full with people separating Lesnar and Cena, but the two broke free several times and brawled on the ground.
CM Punk responded to a report published here today stating concern among WWE officials that the reigning champion is “too small” to adequately face Brock Lesnar in a potential match-up.
The report also acknowledged management’s concern over Punk’s appearance backstage as he often looks beaten and battered.
Punk tweeted Monday afternoon:
“Dirt sheets can call me small, skinny, beat up, road-tired, fat, ugly, no friends etc…everyone else calls me champ. Everyone.”
— CM Punk has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Brock Lesnar but there is concern among WWE officials as to whether it would be an equal match-up due to their difference in size. Lesnar is seen as a “beast” whereas Punk is considered relatively skinny for a top level WWE Superstar. Furthermore, management wants Lesnar’s programs to be box office bonanzas and Punk is seen at best fifth in the pecking order, behind The Rock, John Cena, Triple H and Undertaker. There is also concern over Punk’s appearance backstage; he has been described as walking around looking like he just walked out of a car accident. Officials notice this as he often walks around backstage with a heat pack or an ice pack in tow and generally looks beaten and battered.
— Dolph Ziggler appeared to take a passive aggressive shot at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson over The Great One’s limited schedule with WWE last week via Twitter. A user wrote to the WWE Superstar, “Couldn’t decide which flexforce WWE figure to buy between your action figure and @therock ‘s.. chose the rock in the end!” Ziggler responded, “Typical, just make sure you only play with it 4-5 times a year….” Ziggler addressed his remarks gaining attention on wrestling news websites.
“glad my #ATH session where i answer 200 questions while on a treadmill took 1 of my 100 jokes & made it “news” #getoverit,” Ziggler wrote. He added in a separate post that he thought his comment was pretty funny and those upset should get a sense of humor.
– There are many people in the WWE locker room already judging Brock Lesnar’s physical condition from his appearance last week on RAW. Lesnar appeared “doughy” during his return and many feel his wrestling performances will be affected if he does not get into better shape.
Questions are being raised over his desire to get in excellent shape at this point in his life and perform at a high level.
– WWE’s stock price struck a new 52-week low Monday morning at $8.12 per share. The stock is trading at $8.20 per share as of Monday afternoon.
WWE’s stock price hit the 52-week low mark twice last week, hitting $8.55 on Wednesday and $8.27 on Thursday.
– Jim Ross stated on Twitter Monday that he’s writing an article for WWE.com on his various broadcast partners over the years, including those outside of WWE.
– CM Punk and Mark Henry are pictured on the latest issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.