– WWE COO Triple H was asked on Twitter about which Shield member he is most impressed with. He replied:
“@WWE_JCena: @TripleH trips. Which shield member are you impressed with the most ?” Honestly…. All of them #realdeal
— Triple H (@TripleH) April 25, 2013
– CM Punk and girlfriend Amy “Lita” Dumas attended last night’s Iron Man 3 movie premiere. Here’s a picture (click to enlarge):
– WWE has pulled CM Punk from the upcoming May 13th & May 20th RAW TV tapings. He’s still advertised for the May 27th show.
– The main event of next week’s live WWE RAW from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio will feature WWE Champion John Cena & Ryback vs. The Shield’s Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns.
The match was announced on Tuesday afternoon during WWE’s Main Event tapings from London, England.
– NJ.com has an article up about the approximately 450 workers who built the elaborate stadium setup at WrestleMania 29 earned approximately $1.4 million in gross salaries and benefits.
– UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman was reportedly very upset that CM Punk was shown on camera at the TUF finale show instead of him.
Punk also attended this weekend’s UFC on FOX show with his girlfriend Amy “Lita” Dumas and is planning to attend the UFC 159 PPV on April 27 to see his friend Chael Sonnen fight Jon Jones.
– CM Punk will be taking some much-needed time off and might not be back on television until this summer. Punk has been burnt out and working through several nagging injuries in recent months.
– Following The Rock’s injury at WrestleMania 29, there is concern in WWE that he might have wrestled his last match.
– After all of his previous tweets were deleted, Ryback tweeted the following on Wednesday:
https://twitter.com/Ryback22/status/324549991605628928
(Partial Source: PWinsider.com)
– As noted earlier, Ric Flair was backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW from Greenville, He was just there visiting and there were no plans for him to appear on television.
– John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Ricky Steamboat will be appearing at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con in Philadelphia, PA, which takes place over the weekend of May 30th.
– CM Punk will be doing appearing at the Wizard World NYC Experience on June 28th for a signing, photo session and Q&A panel.
– Triple H underwent an MRI on his wrist this week because there is some concern that he might have suffered a scaphoid fracture. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons describes the injury as typically being “caused by a fall on an outstretched hand, with the weight landing on the palm.”
Possible reason @TripleH was late for #Raw. Ruling out scaphoid fracture via MRI. pic.twitter.com/OgG7oBxxFG
— WWE (@WWE) April 16, 2013
CM Punk was interviewed by Ariel Helwani on Monday for the MMA Hour at MMAFighting.com. Here’s what Punk said about the Fandango Revolution:
“I don’t think it’s a big joke, I want to see if the momentum can sustain itself. A lot of that has to do with the predominantly European crowd last week. I think it’s very akin to how they start soccer chants and I love it, I think it’s great, Fandango’s awesome. If we can get South Carolina singing his music tonight then we’re definitely onto something.”
Punk also talked about the WWE Divas & UFC’s women’s division, attending Saturday night’s UFC TUF finale in Vegas and more.
– CM Punk and his girlfriend Amy “Lita” Dumas attended Saturday night’s UFC Ultimate Fighter (Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen) finale.
– As we reported last week, many fans who ordered the WrestleMania 29 feed at WWE.com and on the WWE App experienced technical difficulties throughout the show. After submitting complaints to WWE, the following message was sent out:
“Hello,
Thank you for your purchase of WrestleMania XXIX.We apologize for the technical difficulties that you experienced during the event. After further investigation, we are happy to see that you were able to view the event after the technical issues were resolved. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, and hope you enjoyed the show.
Sincerely,
WWE Customer Support Team”
– As noted earlier, CM Punk was injured at WrestleMAnia 29 during the spot where he jumped off the top rope onto the Undertaker, who was laid out on the ringside announcers table. Punk underwent X-rays and MRIs on his knees earlier this week – and it was determined that he will not need surgery. That said, Punk is banged up pretty bad and is not expected to wrestle on RAW next week when he appears.
– A press release was sent out this week announcing that WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be driving the official pace car at Saturday’s NRA 500 NASCAR event:
“After a career of driving opponents to the mat in professional wrestling rings with his signature ‘Sweet Chin Music’ finishing move, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will now grab the wheel of the ‘No Limits’ Wild Asphalt Circus Chevrolet Camaro Official Pace Car and lead the 43-car field to the green flag for Saturday evening’s NRA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.”
(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)
– CM Punk was backstage at Monday’s RAW, despite the fact that he wasn’t used on television. WWE kept him off TV to sell the effects of his match against The Undertaker, but Punk really was very banged up during the match.
Another reason he was kept off the show was the fact that WWE didn’t want him getting a huge babyface reaction from the rowdy IZOD Center crowd. There had been talk of him doing a promo on the show, but the decision was made to feature Paul Heyman instead.
Punk is getting his knees checked out this week and reportedly had trouble walking around at RAW.
– The Undertaker, on the other hand, was said to be doing fine after WrestleMania 29. Despite the angle they filmed on RAW involving The Undertaker, Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield, there are no plans for the Undertaker to wrestle any time soon.
(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)
– On Monday’s RAW, Big E Langston accidentally knocked into AJ Lee while stretching before his match against Daniel Bryan. AJ Lee tweeted about the incident:
If I wasn't forced to wear a padded bra, that E backhand would've hurt pretty bad. #WonderBrasSaveLives #MilesBeneathTheSurface
— AJ Mendez (@TheAJMendez) April 9, 2013
– Brock Lesnar was knocked out at WrestleMania after a knee from Triple H about five minutes into their 29 match. Lesnar was “out on his feet” and there is speculation that Lesnar suffered a concussion.
– CM Punk underwent x-rays on Sunday night on his leg, which he may have injured in the top rope elbow table spot during his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Punk reportedly will be undergoing an MRI this week, but will be at RAW next week.
(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)
– CM Punk was kept off of Monday’s RAW to sell the effects of his match against The Undertaker. Paul Heyman announced on the show that Punk will be back next week.
– After losing the WWE Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, it was stated on RAW that The Rock is the #1 contender by way of his rematch clause.
– On Monday’s RAW, Kane and Daniel Bryan saved The Undertaker from almost receiving a 3-on-1 beatdown at the hands of The Shield. The babyfaces chased the heels off and got a big reaction from the rowdy New Jersey crowd. When RAW went to commercial break, the 3 men exited up the ramp together, stopped on the stage, and all did Undertaker’s signature fist raise together.
– CM Punk banged up his knee last night during the spot where he dove off the top rope onto the Undertaker, who was laying on the announcers table. People backstage were amazed that Punk didn’t slow down his pace because he was in a lot of pain backstage afterwards. Punk is rumored to be taking some much-deserved time off in the coming weeks.
– Several of WWE’s mid-card talents were not in great spirits on WrestleMania because they were not booked on the show.
– WWE’s decision to eliminate the 8-person mixed tag team match from the WrestleMania card was made before the show went on the air.
– A few minutes were cut from the Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger match at WrestleMania due to time constraints.
– The reason there were no fireworks to open WrestleMania 29 was due to the sun still being out. Additionally, there was some concern that the fireworks would overshadow the Hurricane Sandy video with Governor Chris Christie.
* News On JOHN CENA’s Next Feud & Several Top Superstars Taking Time Off
(Source: PWInsider.com)
In his last interview before going in the Hall of Fame, Bruno Sammartino joined Inside The Ropes on Thursday night, here are the highlights:
Billy Graham’s Recent Comments About Him:
I think I feel sorry for him. I think he’s done so much drugs throughout his career that his brains been burned out because he speaks of things he knows nothing about. For example in my own situation, he knows very well that when I spoke about WWE and was very critical about them, that he had heard me say if they changed everything that I would change my mind. He heard me from years ago saying yes I would. He’s been critical of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York and he wanted out of that because he got mad at somebody, I don’t know who. He recently was appalled at CM Punk because he said something about me wrestling in the Garden once a month. The things that Billy Graham says, I really have no idea why he says them. He talks about things without really knowing all the facts. I just think there’s something wrong with the man.
His thoughts on John Cena:
He looks very well, looks like he works out very hard. He moves well in the ring and I have only seen him maybe twice all together. I have not seen enough of him, but from what I’ve seen you can tell he absolutely is one of the top ones in the organization but sometimes I would like to see these guys wrestle a 30-40 minute match. i can get a better idea of how good they are, when they have to put in that kind of time, tells me wheat kind of condition they have and how their skills would be out there for that amount of time. I haven’t seen any long matches like that yet. One of the times I saw him in a cage match and there was a referee and they were doing wrestling holds. In my day, you would have a cage match as maybe the third match with a guy and there would be no referee, and just everything goes and the fans used to find that extremely exciting. Now it’s so changed, thes guys are doing regular armlocks and headlocks. It’s so different now, I just can’t compare it to the era I was involved in.
What he thinks of CM Punk as a performer:
I think his interviews for a villain…I think he’s very, very good. That’s why it surprised me that Billy Graham would say anything when he used to be a villain who would say things to put down his opponents, even myself. I think he does a very good job when he gets on the microphone, how he talks, how he says it. I took no offence at CM Punk, I know he was doing it to be a villain, that’s what he does. But I think he does a very good job when he gets on that microphone as a villain, what he says, how he talks, how he says it. As a villain I think he does a tremendous job and as a wrestler, I’ve seen him a few times and I think he’s pretty darn good. He’s not too bad at all. The only thing is I think if he was in my era, he would be a little bit too small, we had bigger built guys back then.
To hear the full interview where Bruno talks about going in the HOF, what he plans to say to Vince McMahon, what he’s thought about his speech and more, head over to Facebook.com/theinsidenetwork.
CM Punk spoke with Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan while at WrestleMania Axxess. Here are some highlights:
“It was a clean shirt that grabbed and I wore that day. It’s not some sort of silent protest because he’s not on Mania, although I will go on record right now that it’s absolutely ridiculous that he doesn’t have a match at Wrestlemania. I will pimp that guy until the cows come home. He’s awesome. He’s everything that the WWE should want in their superstars. He’s tremendous. He can wrestle, he’s a brick house, he’s looks the part, he acts the part, he walks and talks that part. He can speak seven different languages! You’re missing the boat on this guy.”
“That was actually one of the goals. I never would have spoken about it on TV if there wasn’t a new title belt ready to go. So, I did that and I just got the run-around forever about it. It was talked about, it just never happened.”
“I’ve got the Undertaker and I think the streak, ultimately, is bigger than the title. Twenty years undefeated at Wrestlemania and the way this thing’s been built up, no I’m not salty about not even having the title anymore. I think I built that thing (the WWE title) up and I worked very hard to do that, to get it ready for the next guy. So no, not salty at all.”
“It’s never been really acknowledged within the WWE. This isn’t me trying to promote something that isn’t there, but there was just this hilarious tension in the room when me and Steve were in there. It’s funny to actually be in a room live, everybody else is uncomfortable except me and Steve. There’s this weird magnetism. It’s this unspoken thing. The only way I can describe it, and Paul Heyman completely 100% agrees, it’s the Old West and there’s the two gunfighters, and they’re buddies, but everybody always goes, ‘I wonder what would happen… what if?’ And that’s all it is. It’s fun.”
CM Punk was recently interviewed by Marvel.com to promote WrestleMania 29. Here are the highlights of what he said about:
“I think it was lost on me after my first four or five WrestleMania [appearances]. Last year I really slowed it down and took it all in. It’s a lot of people out there and that ramp was a long way. So I started to a lot of mental snapshots to remember the moment. Because it’s not something you get to do every day. It’s huge, it makes you realize how big the thing is; they are there to see you so not only am I amped up [but] ready to put on a show. I also tell that fun is very important aspect of what I do, and it can get lost a lot of the time. So I look to have a whole lot of fun at WrestleMania.
“Well yeah, I mean a match against the Undertaker any other day of the year is still a big deal but not as big of a deal when you’ve got the opportunity to do that nobody’s been able to do for over 20 years this week at WrestleMania.”
New York City’s Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg got exclusive interviews with several WWE Superstars at this week’s WrestleMania 29 media press conference, including John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock and Mark Henry.
All of them have big expectations for this weekend’s WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view – and CM Punk has a special message for us “smart” fans.
CM Punk announced on Twitter that the band Living Colour will be at WrestleMania 29 this Sunday to perform his theme song “Cult Of Personality” as he walks to the ring for his match against The Undertaker:
Time to let the cat out of the bag! @LivingColour will be playing me to and from the ring Sunday at #Wrestlemaina. #cultofpersonality
— player/coach (@CMPunk) April 4, 2013
@LivingColour also tweeted:
We're excited to announce that we will be performing at #WRESTLEMANIA for @CMPUNK and the WWE!
— Living Colour (@LivingColour) April 4, 2013
– WWE Diva AJ Lee spoke with NJ.com about WrestleMania 29 taking place 10 minutes away from where she used to live:
“Everything has worked out so amazingly, especially for it to be after this whirlwind year that I’ve had. To have WrestleMania literally 10 or 15 minutes from the motel I used to live in with my family is kind of insane.”
– CM Punk will throw out the first pitch at Friday’s New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins baseball game at Citi Field. Paul Heyman will be with him.
– Here is video of WWE stars visiting children’s hospitals in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday:
CM Punk was interviewed by the Ashbury Park Press this week about the controversy surrounding WWE’s use of Paul Bearer’s death in his WrestleMania feud against The Undertaker:
“My job is to get people to be mad at me and I think I do that very well; I think I blur the lines,” Punk said.
“Everything is designed to push people’s buttons – so it’s unfortunate that Percy had to die for him to be a part of this story – but trust me, he would have loved it, he really would have loved it.”
– CM Punk will be appearing at two Wizard World Comic Con events later this year. He will be at the Chicago Comic Con from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on 8/10 from 12-7pm. He will also be appearing at the Nashville Comic Con in Nashville, TN on 10/20 from 12:30-3:30pm.
– The Washington Post has an article up featuring pictures of various WWE superstars with local professional athletes around the city before Monday’s RAW.
– Shawn Michaels is auctioning off a fishing trip that may air on his MacMillan River Adventures show at this link. Proceeds will benefit the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. (Thanks to Carl Dantes)
ESPN.com has updated their weekly WWE Power Rankings, giving the spot to CM Punk this week. Regarding CM Punk’s tactics against the Undertaker on RAW, author Jon Robinson wrote, “So good at being bad, it’s crazy to think of him as anything else but the best heel in the business. He’ll go to any lengths to make you hate him, and the way Raw ended, it just goes to show that WWE now realizes Punk/Undertaker is the most intriguing storyline heading into WrestleMania.”
Here’s this week’s Top 10 list:
Robinson gave his prediction for the WrestleMania 29 main event, stating, “No way the WWE is going to let the Rock beat its top star on the biggest card of the year in back-to-back WrestleManias. It’s just not going to happen.” He suggested a scenario where The Rock shows Cena respect after a hard fought match, but then they are beat down by a newly formed faction of CM Punk, Brock Lesnar & The Shield.
CM Punk recently spoke to IGN.com to hype Sunday’s WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view and his match against The Undertaker. Here are some highlights from the interview, including the significance of the Undertaker’s streak, what to expect from their match and who his dream WrestleMania opponent is.
Breaking The Undertaker’s Streak:
“I mean, does anybody really think they have to break the streak? It’s one of those things. The streak is this monumental thing and I think everybody has these feelings of not wanting to see it broken, so therefore it should never be broken. But once that bell rings I don’t have a boss and nobody can tell me what to do. The guy who beats the streak is gonna go down as a legend. If I broke the streak, I’d be a legend. So it’s up to me to do everything I can to break it.”What To Expect From The Match:
“I don’t know what anybody else expects from this match given [Undertaker’s] year away from the ring and possibly his physical condition. Or the fact that I don’t have a Hell in a Cell or all these different kinds of stipulations, like No Disqualification, to work with. But I like it when they handcuff me. I always seem to find a way to make it the best that it can be, given the circumstances,” he continued. “I don’t think I can look at it like ‘Oh, this has to be better than other matches Undertaker’s done.’ To me this match is going to be what it has to be. It’s part of a story, you know. So I don’t look at those other matches. It’s really a different beast. I’m making him angry. It’s not just ‘I’m going to break your streak.’ I’m trying to piss the guy off and I want him to try and kill me. So it’s a completely different animal than the last couple matches he’s had at ‘Mania.”
His Dream WrestleMania Opponent:“To be honest. I mean, I probably would have said, hell, at this point, John Cena. You know what I mean? Or, of course, Stone Cold Steve Austin. He’s always been my answer to that question over the last two years.”
– CM Punk is still expected to be taking time off after WrestleMania 29, with many people in WWE expecting that he’s more banged up than he’s letting on. Punk has reportedly been at odds with WWE’s creative team in recent months, but he’s also burnt out from being one of WWE’s top work horses over the past two years.
With CM Punk out of action after WrestleMania, WWE has secured both WWE Champion The Rock as well as Brok Lesnar for May’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Even though the event is not considered one of WWE’s “A” pay-per-views, the star power of The Rock and Brock Lesnar as well as the 6-week buildup after WrestleMania are strong signs that the show will do a buyrate.
– The producers of the new Bruno Sammartino movie are interested in working with WWE Studios to fund and produce the project.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE superstar CM Punk was interviewed by Mark Madden this week on Pittsburgh’s 105.9 the X radio station to promote his upcoming match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. Among the topics discussed were:
Here are some highlights of what CM Punk said about:
“Everyone is expecting me to try to top the Shawn Michaels matches. But that’s not my goal. My goal is to make this the best that the situation allows me to make it. There’s a chance it could be better than those matches, but that’s not my goal. This isn’t one of those ‘workrate matches.’ I like my pro wrestling when it’s pissed off and angry. I don’t like it when it’s just two dudes going out there and, ya know, just wrestling. I made him mad, I got under his skin, and I got under his skin. Hopefully it’s going to be emotional and psychological.”
“I’m way too busy doing it. I think I put too much stock in being the last match at WrestleMania, so I’m way too angry about not being the the last match. This is real life. I put too much pressure on myself. I certainly don’t enjoy certain aspects. I don’t enjoy ‘the ride,’ so to speak.”
“I’m the only guy who says this – ya know, Miz will go out there and be like, ‘It’s great having these guys back!’ and blah blah blah because I truly believe he thinks he has to say that,” Punk said. “The honest reality of it is you bust your ass for 365 days a year and there’s other people who come in and they don’t work as hard, but maybe get paid the same amount of money. So, me as a businessman, it just makes me look at it and go, ‘Okay, that’s the deal I need to get. I need to get the deal where I work 15 dates a year.’ You know what I mean? It makes me work harder, but, dammit, it’s going to burn me out.”
– CM Punk tweeted the following picture of “Urn Anderson” earlier today:
Ladies and gentlemen. I give you….Urn Anderson. pic.twitter.com/hn2T3XQeMe
— player/coach (@CMPunk) March 25, 2013
– Tonight’s WWE RAW from Philadelphia is completely sold out.
– Evan Bourne is pushing to be back in the ring by May.
– The WWEGames Facebook page announced that WWE ’13 has been re-released in stores as of today by the company’s new video game publisher, 2K. No changes have been made to the game, other than the 2K logo being added. 2K is developing the new WWE 2K14 game, due to be released later this year:
