– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page will be appearing on the ABC series “Shark Tank” to pitch his DDP Yoga in an attempt to get investors to invest. The episode featuring DDP is scheduled to air on February 21st on ABC.
– According to live fan reports, WWE was still selling CM Punk t-shirts and other merchandise at their non-televised live events this weekend.
The Raw after the Royal Rumble saw action, matches set up for The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View and more. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Royal Rumble: Everyone who watched The Royal Rumble, or heard about it, know that the crowd was completely upset that the 10 or so unadvertised spots did not go to Daniel Bryan. Loud Boos directed at Rey Misteryo who was number 30, and Batista (who I will from now on refer to as #Bootista) who won the 2014 Royal Rumble were heard loud and clear. I know this because, I was there. Yes I few out to the 2014 Royal Rumble in frigid Pittsburgh, PA to watch that Pay-Per-View live, and yes Daniel Bryan wasn’t scheduled to be in the Rumble, but not only did everyone want him in the thing, they wanted him to win. Congrats to the live crowd for making their voices heard. Hopefully this will induce change, because I dare the WWE to put on Batista vs Orton in the main event at WrestleMania XXX and not get booed out of the building.
Triple H and Daniel Bryan Face to Face. YES!
The Authority, Daniel Bryan
With the largest story out of the Royal Rumble being Daniel Bryan not being in the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw kicked off right away with The Authority, and Daniel Bryan. Daniel talking about the #YesMovement and how he wanted to be in the Royal Rumble but The Authority wouldn’t let him. Daniel Bryan then gets in Triple H’s face and demands to be in the Elimination Chamber Match. Triple H then brings out the shield to beat down Daniel Bryan. Sheamus and John Cena make the save. I would have liked Raw to start with Daniel Bryan calling out The Authority, also I would have liked Daniel Bryan to beat the crap out of Triple H, the second The Sheild’s music hit. But for what it was, it was okay, and at least the segment didn’t end with Daniel Bryan being killed. It doesn’t happen often, but did you see Seth Rollins slip on his entrance? YES!
Bad News Barrett Segment
You know it’s funny, I was in Pittsburgh with 13 other insane wrestling fans, some who like me flew in for The Rumble, and one my friends does a great Wade Barrett impression, and he was hilarious. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” I heard that BNB used to be a fixture of the JBL & Cole show, and he was hilarious. I’ve come to the realization, that there are three main reasons I HATE Bad News Barrett on WWE Raw. NO!
What happened to this man? NO!
Three Reasons I hate Bad News Barrett
1. Yelling
I know he’s in the arena, but I don’t think he needs to yell as much, I think it’s annoying. If he did it more soft spoken, even if it was backstage being shown to the crowd, it would come across better.
2. Podium & Gavel
The podium and gavel is just plain silly and stupid. Is he a judge? Is he a preacher?
3. The Material
So generic dising a local city, and their sports team. Wade Barrett can cut a great promo, we’ve seen it years ago in The Nexus and The Coree, why is he wasting time with cheap heat? Dumb!
#BOOtista, Orton and Brock Lesnar, on Raw. NO!
In-Ring Segment: Randy Orton, #BOOtista, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman
I said it already once, but I dare WWE to put Randy Orton vs #BOOtista in the Main Event at WrestleMania XXX. Daniel Bryan chants ring though the arena, even though Daniel Bryan is not supposed to be involved with this segment. Brock Lesnar and Heyman come out to challenge Batista or Randy Orton, tonight on raw. But if you think you’re going to get a free Brock Lesnar match on TV, you must also believe the tooth fairy, was the one who gave you the five bucks under your pillow. NO!
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
The battle of Cleveland as these two are locals, I couldn’t help wondering how WWE was going to screw both of them, being WWE loves to beat guys in their own hometown (See: Jim Ross). Dolph wins it, and maybe his punishment is over? Probably not. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Titles
Brock destroys the Rhodes Brothers. YES!
New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
Some trash talking from The Road Dogg before this matche gets underway. I’m okay with NAO as the WWE Tag Team Champions. I’m assuming they will defend them at WrestleMania and lose it to a good team like The Usos. Brock Lesnar comes out destroys the Rhode’s brothers, which I was also okay with. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking their fans who they feel has the most momentum heading into tonight’s WWE Royal Rumble. At last check, WWE Superstar Batista was in the lead by a wide margin.
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page is featured in a new parody video from Nerdist. You can watch that below:
– The 2014 WWE “Extreme Rules” pay-per-view will take place at the Key Arena on May 4th in Seattle, Washington.
– The official WWE website has a new “Where Are They Now?” feature on former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– The latest “Steve Austin Show” has been added online, which features Austin’s interview with Diamond Dallas Page. You can check that out at PodcastOne.com.
– As previously reported, the cast of the WWE Network original series “Legends House” were in Orlando, Florida filming additional footage for the show last week. While in the area, the “Legends House” crew also paid a visit to the WWE Performance Center.
– Speaking of “Legends House,” due to the extra filming the crew shot last week, WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper had to drop out of a feature film called “Baxter’s Dozen” that was set for filming at the same time. Piper reportedly suggested Tommy Dreamer to replace him.
– Speaking of “Baxter’s Dozen.” former WWE Superstars Diamond Dallas Page and Jake “The Snake” Roberts have roles in the film and have spent the last few days in Ventura, California working on the project.
Batista Returned to WWE and it’s the go home show before the Royal Rumble, but was it enough for us to say YES! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Animal Is back, with the world’s tightest pants! NO!
The Authority, Randy Orton & Batista
I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this segment. Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is just boring me. Orton is way more whinyer these days as well. This isn’t the cold-hearted viper, we all know and love. This is an annoying whimpy sometimes self-doubting viper. Batista comes out wearing a pair of ridiculous tight Jeans. That outfit is what I would expect someone to put on him as a joke in the WWE 2k14 video game, with a diva’s dancing entrance. He’s back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans to become the WWE Champion. Part of me want’s to say YES! because Batista is awesome, maybe I’m being to hard on the guy? But if I’m rating the segment by itself I have to go with NO!
Goldust, Cody Rhodes & Big E. Langston vs. The Shield
WWE has won me over on tag team wrestling, plain and simple. I enjoy it, I love wathcing Cody and Golddust out there. I think it’s rediciolous that these two are defending their championship on the Royal Rumble pre-show. They deserve mid-card of the Pay-Per-View. Some would arugue, that if you put a solid match on the pre-show that will get people on the fence to buy the PPV. I get it, but still I think this is an attraction worthy of the actual event. Especially because I feel The New Age Outlaws could very well win the titles. YES!
Daniel Bryan is back YES!
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt
Great to see Daniel Bryan on Raw, especially since SEScoops.com broke the news a day after last week’s Raw that he had suffered a concussion last week. As a precaution he was pulled of the weekends live events and underwent impact testing to make sure he was good for this Sunday. He’s facing Bray Wyatt in a 1 on 1 match. Currently he is not scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble. If he doesn’t show up in the Rumble and win it, I will be pretty disappointed, this is his year to win it. Do the right thing WWE, you have a major star on your hands. YES!
Xavier Woods vs. Fandango
Fast forwarded this match. I think Fandango won. I have no idea why. Meaningless. NO!
CM Punk vs Billy Gun
I didn’t catch Smackdown! on Friday, but I enjoyed The Road Doggs explinatinon here on commentary. The New Age Outlaws aren’t heel’s per se, more like tweeners. I would expect them to win the Tag Team titles to further along a breakup with Golddust and Cody Rhodes. Billy Gun looked a bit blown up in the match with CM Punk, but good match. YES!
Batista gets his revenge on Alberto Del Ro before the Rumble. Now What? – NO!
Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio
Another fast forward delight, back in the day before DVR’s and dare I say VCR’s We would change the channel watching this thing live. Truth be told, I fell asleep during this very match live on Monday, and caught up Tuesday. Batista comes out and attacks Alberto Del Rio. Now I thought I was going to have to pay to see Batista get physical with Del Rio? Why give it away on Raw? I can only guess that Alberto Del Rio will cause Batista to be eliminated at the Rumble. We saw Batista destroy him, so something else needs to happen. Perhaps Ricardo Rodriguez comes back and they both get Batista out? Who knows. All I know is I give the match and aftermath a NO!
Brock Lesnar should be Fearless – NO!
Big Show, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman
Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be afraid of anyone at any time, period! I did like the Big Show this week, more serious, more business, calling out Brock Lesnar. I thought it was silly watching Brock backup from the ring, not wanting to get in there with Big Show. Getting thrown out and then throwing a temper tantrum. Brock is going to win this match at the Royal Rumble, a match I am looking forward to. But this segment was silly. I liked Big Show’s impression of Paul Heyman though. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
Diamond Dallas Page has landed on the TMZ website for his idea to match NFL stars Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree at WrestleMania following Sherman’s already-infamous post-game promo on Sunday night.
You can check out the TMZ story TMZ.com.
Speaking of the Sherman promo, former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone weighed-in on the story. Schiavone wrote about the pro wrestling influence on major sports, especially the NFL.
“So before you spit on the ground when someone talks about the WWE or professional wrestling, realize they have been at the forefront of what you see now from the NFL, the NBA, Fox, and ESPN. They have probably also been at the forefront of the decline in sportsmanship by fans,” Schiavone wrote on Monday. “And that is one of the reasons I always loved it so much.”
You can check out Schiavone’s complete blog at WSBRadio.com.
Former WCW wrestler Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke to the v2 Wrestling Podcast about his relationship with Eric Bischoff and how Bischoff doesn’t return his phone calls these days.
“Bischoff was a genius. He could be an asshole at times. I had an amazing relationship with him,” said Page. “We don’t even talk today, which is so f—ed up to me, and it’s his fault, because he sucks on the phone. We don’t even have a relationship anything like we had, but at the time, it was a real relationship.”
DDP concluded, “[Now] he doesn’t even return a phone call, which is so obnoxious.”
You can check out the complete interview online at v2Journal.com.
With two weeks before the Royal Rumble, Noah Mark is back with his analysis of the second raw of 2014. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Kick Off Raw vs The USO’S – YES!
The Usos vs. Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan (Part 1) Raw starts off with the match advertised last week of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. The USO’s were in the ring at the start of Raw ready for the match. The lights blacked out for the Wyatts entrance, and came back on 30 seconds later to reveal Daniel Bryan and The Wyatts already in the ring. I liked the quick entrance. The match was good with Daniel Bryan in a more aggressive style. Luke Harper and Derek Rowan, interfered just before The USO’s were about to get airborne on Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. This prompted another DQ on the Wyatts in their second week in a row with Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan drops to his knees to receive a Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt. As I said for the last two weeks, I’m okay with this story in it’s context, provided it doesn’t go 16 weeks to WrestleMania. YES!
Damien Sandow holding his own against John Cena – YES!
Damien Sandow vs. John Cena I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Raw in Orlando, FL the night after The Hell-In-A-Cell Pay-Per-View. It was on that night that Damien Sandow cashed in his Money-In-The-Bank briefcase on John Cena. Although he didn’t win the match then, it was a great competitive match with Cena, and this episode of Raw was no different. There is a great chemistry between Sandow and Cena, and proof that Sandow should have a much more elevated status in WWE. All the things about Damien Sandow I enjoy are stripped away, no more robe, no more witty promos, he’s seemingly just an angry body. Where’s the man that would sign autographs with a quill pen? Why do we get “Sandow-Gimmick-Light”? I question this especially, because when he is called upon he delivers. Match was great. Don’t throw away Sandow after this. YES!
Kane & Brad Maddox, No Triple H or Stephanie. Kane and Brad get into it backstage, and Mr Maddox comes up with a Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Uso’s rematch in a steel cage for the main event. With Kane adding that he will personally chain the cage door shut. I thought this would spell disaster for Daniel Bryan, with some ulterior motive for his former Co-Tag Team Champion.
I did like the fact that Triple H and Stephanie were not on the show this week. Although they seem to back Orton, promoting him as the face Of WWE, they haven’t been targeting John Cena, like they did Bryan, with beat-downs and impossible handi-cap matches. YES!
Left – Intense Big Show to confront Brock Lesnar 1/6 YES! Right – Jolly Big Show eventually Beating Up Zed NO!
On an unrelated note, is Kane injured? Kane is one of the longest tenured Superstars on the roster, I know he has been working several holiday house show matches, however I don’t recall him having a TV match since that aforementioned Orlando Raw I was at where, on that show he shed his mask, this was after returning from filming a See No Evil sequel. It looked like he had a noticeable limp coming down the aisle way.
Big Show vs. Jack Swagger I don’t like smiling big show. I liked hoodie and skull cap wearing, intense Big Show from last week. I want all business Big Show. I want a focused Big Show that is going to seriously take on Brock Lesnar. Big show almost has John Cena-itus. Big Show should learn from his mistakes. Smiling Big Show ended 3-4 Raws this fall, then lost the Big One. Big show can smile his way to another loss at the Royal Rumble. I like Zeb Colter, but for some reason I DON’T want to see him hurt. I like Paul Heyman, but I DO want to see him get hurt. NO!
Moments before The New Age Outlaws, pull back their hands and walk out on CM Punk – NO!
CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield I’m hoping after The Royal Rumble, CM Punk will move away from The Shield. I love Roman Reigns but If the Shield were to break up, I don’t think he should be put against CM Punk one on one, yet. I like the idea of him building up his singles resume, perhaps with a Big E, Dolph Ziggler, a returning Jericho, maybe even Daniel Bryan, before we see CM Punk vs Roman Reigns in a big time match. I love the New Age Outlaws, and I don’t want to boo them. I haven’t checked out the Smackdown Spoilers (They are scheduled to take on Cody Rhodes and Golddust) so I’m curious to see if they are “bad guys” now. They both appear to be in great shape, and would love to see them, hang around till WrestleMania, but not at heels. Besides, book him however you wish, but at WrestleMania XXX they will no doubt be faces one way or another. NO!
Meaningless win for AJ. Waste of talent – NO!
The Funkadactyls vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka Throw-a-way match, AJ being underutilized. AJ hasn’t had many title defenses, the belt isn’t as special, not because of the person, because of the booking. She taps out and pins people left and right, then a silly beat down afterwords. If you’re going to give her a clean win, why bother, having the faces beat her down after the fact, they lost. This is why there is a huge drop off in star power in WWE, because you have someone like an AJ Lee who can cut a dynamite promo, you can cultivate that, make people want to see her, and let her flourish! Instead of losing her in the shuffle of 20 Total Diva® tag matches. NO!
WWE Hall Of Fame 2014 Inductee The Ultimate Warrior will Headline The 2014 Hall Of Fame. Ironic I watched a DVD about how he was horrible person to work with, held up Vince McMahon for money at SummerSlam 1991, and “self destructed” But as the saying goes Money Talks, and there is a lot of people who remember the guy you see below and could care less about what was hapening behind the curtain. So for that (and because our Webmaster is a huge fan of the man from Parts Unknown) we say YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
– Ring Of Honor announced that former TNA star AJ Styles will be appearing at the company’s television taping on April 19th in Baltimore, Maryland. The event will take place at their new location, the William J. Myers Pavilion. Tickets are already available for the taping. For more information, visit ROHWrestling.com.
– Diamond Dallas Page added a new video to his official YouTube channel. The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “DDP Appears on the Fox 25 Morning news in Boston with his buddy Gene Lavanchy!”
Noah Mark is back with his analysis of Old School Raw! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Orton playing the generic Bad Guy, he’s much better than this. NO!
Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & John Cena Promo Old School Raw kicked off with the 16 time “Nature Boy” Ric Flair out first. He was quickly interrupted by former Evolution partner. Randy Orton. Randy Orton said he respected Ric Flair, but he needed the time more to address the one on one rematch putting himself vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at The Royal Rumble. Ric chimes in saying he’s not as good as he thinks. Orton threatens Flair, Cena ends up making the save.
For me this segment fell flat, and seemed forced. Orton was seemingly going through the motions, with “I respect you, but….” going into generic heel mode. This is not The Viper I know and enjoy. I feel some people don’t give Randy Orton the credit he deserves for his promo and character skills, he makes great facial expressions, and conveys a cold-hearted disposition. Well normally he does, this promo didn’t do Orton any favors. Clearly Ric Flair is getting order, or he had a few in the back, because he sounded marble mouth in this segment. Cena didn’t offer anything to this segment either. One month ago Cena may have delivered the best promo of his life in Seattle. Here, I felt the whole thing was boring. NO!
NO!
Jerry Lawler Health Update: Earlier in the day we reported Breaking News Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized. Of course with Jerry’s Heart Attack last year during Raw, your first thought would be another heart issue. Thankfully it seemed to be a stomach virus or food poisoning. however that didn’t stop the WWE from sensationalizing by directing viewers to turn to the WWE App to get an update on Jerry Lawler. NO!
Daniel Bryan…er Wyatt. So far okay. YES!
Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos & Rey Mysterio Our first chance to see Daniel Bryan on TV as a Wyatt. First the original Wyatt trio appeared for their normal entrance, followed by the fourth Daniel “Wyatt”. Daniel Byran came out looking like he was in a Janitor or prison jump suit. A blank stare on his face, as he teamed up with Rowan and Harper to take on The Usos and Mysterio. I enjoyed this, I thought Bryan looked good with the group. They ended up losing the match due to Harper getting rolled up after a brief disagreement with Bryan as to who should come into the match when Rowan tagged both men. I would have preferred The Wyatts to win clean in this match. Their first week out and they’re arguing, I think an eventual separation from Bryan would be more effective if they were on the same page to start. But I’m still okay with this story line, provided I don’t have to wait 15 more weeks for Bryan to “Snap out of it”. YES!
Too Cool & Rikishi just 3 of the Old School Legends at Raw YES!
WWE Legends On Old School Raw: I was happy to see some of my old school favorites on Raw. Everyone had a good role on the show and for older fans this definitely was a great nostalgia feel. I will say that over the past few years we’ve seen a crop of “usual” legends. Most of which were not actually on a whole lot of episodes of WWE Raw. I would love to have seen a Raw with more attitude era and post era stars. Some of them are still affiliated and working for WWE. Perhaps WWE held a few back for a Royal Rumble appearance. There was also no “old school” diva on this show. I know Mae Young was originally scheduled to attend this show, however Mae Young experienced health issues and was unable to appear. With Brock Lesnar, in attendance this seemed like a perfect time for Sable to make an appearance in the show. YES!
Big E walks though a hallway WWE Old School time warp.
Check out the Full Old School Raw Results w/ More Videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6BucX5HK_mY
Piper & Ambrose – YES!
Piper’s Pit – Piper’s still got it plain and simple. His interaction with The Shield, the hottest faction, group, whatever you what to call them. Piper pinching Roman Reigns cheek put goosebumps on my arm. I saw Reigns neck throbbing, great moment! People have compaired Dean Ambrose to Piper in the past, it was great to see Ambrose get to interact with a Legend. This would not be his only legend interaction on this episode of Old School Raw. I enjoyed seeing CM Punk and The New Age Outlaws come in to save piper. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW Old School and our Overall Raw Rating
The official WWE website has added a new video interview with WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who returned as a surprise at the end of Old School RAW on Monday night.
Roberts spoke with WWE interviewer Renee Young backstage after the show, where he spoke about his “long journey” back to WWE. He talked about his excitement to be back, apologized for messing up his own gimmick and thanked DDP and others for helping with his recovery.
Check out the Jake Roberts interview online at WWE.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Nature Boy” tweeted the following on Monday:
49ers win! WOOOOO! Congrats SF! Obviously my pep talk worked! WOOOOO! #OldSchoolRaw
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) January 6, 2014
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page tweeted this one:
Is it just me or is it a bit #RAW out there today? RT if you agree :0) #OldSchool
— Diamond Dallas Page (@RealDDP) January 6, 2014
The following are highlights from a recent WGD Weekly interview with former WWE Superstar Marc Mero:
On his ex-wife Sable becoming a star while he was injured: “I had blown out my knee and needed total reconstruction on my knee, I was out for eight months and in that time off was when my ex-wife became very popular, you know going out there and selling merchandise and becoming a diva and so on. Then they came up with the storyline of me being jealous of her and I’m thinking ‘wow, what a great idea.’ I know a lot of wrestlers were saying, ‘That buried you, when a girl beats you up or something your never considered anything again,’ but, you know what, all that didn’t matter. They were backing up the Brinks truck to our house, so you really look at what is really important, its entertainment, its being an actor, and I’m being paid very well for it, and now, she is getting paid very well for it. So, all in all, you look back…I have no regrets…it all worked for us, like I said, there was nothing I would change.”
On leaving WWE, the Sable lawsuit and their relationship: “Unfortunately, the ending of the WWF didn’t go well. My ex-wife had some problems with the company and their was a lawsuit. I had three years left on a guaranteed contract…and I just decided to walk away, it just wasn’t fun any more. It was just a sad part of our lives…so, we left the wrestling arena and obviously the lawsuit was settled out of court between my ex wife and the WWF…its no secret, we got divorced in 2004 and she went on to marry Brock and I married an incredible woman that I have been married to for four years. So, we both went separate ways, but you know something that is amazing, we have never said a bad word about each other. I have nothing bad to say, you think about the good memories you had together. I have never been happier than I am now with my life.”
On his early days in WCW with Triple H: “Triple H was and is a talented wrestler, he was like a student of the game, you know. I really enjoyed working with him. We wrestled each other hundreds of times, because obviously we would tour for quite a while on the road and we would wrestle each other every night, and not only that, we wrestled in WCW several times. I believe his first belt he ever won was when he beat me for the Intercontinental title. You’ve seen what he has done in his career and the amazing heights he has risen to…but he was really good to work with, very similar to “Stone Cold” in their work ethic…they can make guys that weren’t as talented, I wasn’t as talented as a Triple H or a Stone Cold, and they made our matches look fantastic…my hat is off to that guy.”
On his friendship with Diamond Dallas Page: “It is no secret that Dallas and I are still great friends today. He is by far one of the hardest working people I have ever met, bar none. Just an incredible work ethic…When we were in our program together…we would go down to the Power Plant and work on our matches and moves…then all of a sudden, I get a call at like three o’clock in the morning…I’m saying ‘oh my gosh, who is calling me at this hour?’ Of course, I pick up my phone and its Dallas and he goes, ‘hey, brother, I wanna run by a spot,’ and I am going, ‘What, Dallas, its three o’clock in the morning.’ He goes, ‘I know, but I couldn’t sleep, I had to tell you this spot I want to do’… I’m thinking, ‘Are you crazy?’ But, that was his work ethic and I will tell you something, if you are ever going to bet on someone, bet on DDP, the guy…he has got that never die attitude and he never gives up…I just have such admiration for Dallas, not only as a friend, but just as a wrestler, as a human being, an entrepreneur…believe me, DDP Yoga is going to be a household word someday, you watch.”
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans who has the better beard — Daniel Bryan or Santa Claus. At last check, Bryan was winning the poll with 65 percent of the vote.
– Former WWE and WCW Superstar Diamond Dallas Page has added the following holiday video from his “Accountability Crib” to his official YouTube channel:
Eros Comedy presents: Bang!: An Audience With Diamond Dallas Page
Live uncensored Q&As with the WWE & WCW Legend.
At a time when the professional wrestling business was red hot Diamond Dallas Page was one of the hottest stars in the business. During television’s infamous Monday Night War between the WWF and WCW he was at the forefront every single week for WCW. Fiery and empassioned on the microphone, dynamic and energetic in the ring, DDP tore the house down night in and night out with some of the biggest names to ever set foot in the squared circle. Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Randy Savage and many more fell to Diamond Dallas Page, more often than not thanks to his insanely popular ‘Diamond Cutter’ finishing manoever.
Now this truly fascinating individual is visiting the UK with his first ever live Q&A tour. In DDP will take questions from audiences all across the country in a completely unscripted and uncensored environment. A chance for fans of all ages to ask about his time in WCW & WWE, the legends he’s worked with, his time before wrestling and his amazing journey since. There will also be VIP tickets available giving fans an opportunity to meet DDP, get his autograph and have a photo taken with him. Never afraid to speak his mind, not one to hold back… This is sure to be a memorable occasion for everyone in attendance.
Here’s the official tour information:
Head to ErosComedy.com for information on picking up the tickets. Get ready to feel… the… BANG!
– The following is the official synopsis for next week’s Total Divas, which will be the season one finale episode:
“Ready to Ride: In the Season 1 finale, Bryan pops the question to Brie in a romantic setting; at the same time, Nikki feels uncertain about her future with John Cena after a heated discussion about marriage and children; and the first meeting between Eva Marie’s fiance and her family goes horribly wrong.”
– Diamond Dallas Page added a new video to his official YouTube channel featuring bloopers from his recent Black Friday commercial shoot. You can check that out below:
– WWE is working with MLB.tv for their WWE Network to prevent potential problems with their online streams crashing as viewership numbers increase.
– Speaking of the WWE Network, the annual budget for the project is reportedly in the $50 million range.
– Tickets are now available online for Diamond Dallas Page’s “BANG! An Audience With Diamond Dallas Page” Q&A events scheduled for the United Kingdom in 2014. For more information, visit Glee.co.uk.
[Partial Credit: F4WOnline.com]
Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke with Steve and The Scum of WGD Weekly, which is available on YouTube and iTunes. Here are highlights from the interview where DDP talks about the WWE Performance Center, working with NXT talents and lots more:
Jake Roberts or Scott hall being in the 2014 Royal Rumble: “I have no idea, and I know better than to have an idea. I can hope, like any other fan out there. I would love to see them do something that would pop the crowd like crazy, but you know, you never know”
Whether Roberts or Hall would be physically ready to compete in the Rumble: “I don’t know about Scott. I don’t know that you’ll ever see Scott back in the ring. He’s smarter than the average bear when it comes to that…He is getting his body back…Scott has taken a shit load of bumps, he has been blessed with a new hip and no pain and that hip was like torture…so I don’t know if he is gonna risk that…Jake, on the other hand, Jake could go in the Royal Rumble and go 20 minutes. He would probably be crippled afterward, but he’ll do it. You have to remember what animal you’re talking about here…He is 58, I’m 57, I wouldn’t do what he does”
Current stars Chris Jericho, Ryback, and Dustin Rhodes using DDP Yoga: “When you get to Jericho, you get to be 40 and think you’re career is over like I did. All of a sudden, you find DDP Yoga and he’s addicted to it, it’s the only workout he does. All of a sudden he is back to making a million dollars a year in the ring and kicking ass with his band on the road, he couldn’t do either before DDP Yoga and he’ll be the first to tell you. Ryback, same thing, he rehabbed his body with DDP Yoga, and still does it religiously, Dustin Rhodes does it religiously””
Meeting Jake Roberts and how Jake helped his career: “I met Jake Roberts in 1986. He came into my nightclub in 1986 and I was a big fan of his…When I got into wrestling, I didn’t see him for a while…I had been down at the Power Plant for about two to three months and Jake Roberts had just signed with WCW…He saw me and we started talking…we just bonded. I got to do some road shows with him, be his driver, and learn from him. Then, I tor my rotator cuff…and they fired me. I hadn’t seen Jake in about five months…he called me up to see how I was doing. He let me know that he and his wife were split up again, so I asked my wife if he could move in, so, that was the first time Jake lived with me, that was in 1993, about 20 years ago…I was so excited to get the arm band off my rotator cuff so Jake could get in the ring with me and teach me. His feelings were that, you are gonna learn more from me sitting on the couch going over your matches than you ever will from going in the ring…you just need to learn when, why, and how to get the people involved. Over the next few years, I’d bring my matches to him and he’d critique them for me and he was a big part…I always say without Dusty Rhodes, there is no “Diamond” Dallas Page, but without Jake Roberts, there is no DDP, the main eventer…He helped me out a lot…I made a lot of money because of what he taught me. I got to live the dream on a whole different level.”
Creating what would become the Razor Ramon gimmick for Scott Hall: “I created that whole gimmick. The black hair, the brushed back cut, five o’clock shadow, all mine, and he’ll be the first to tell you…took him from a blond, brownish hair with a big mustache and turned him into what would become best known as Razor Ramon, but it was the Diamond Studd before it was Razor Ramon.”
– WWE Diva Naomi has been pursuing her music career recently. Her real-life boyfriend Jimmy Uso recently posted the following message on Instagram:
“Late night session with @trinitymccray …..can’t wait till y’all hear this!!!”
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page recently posted the following video on YouTube revealing his new computer workout:
– WWE officials have indeed been negotiating with Hulk Hogan about a return to the company. According to one source, there is at least discussion of having Hogan team with John Cena, presumably at WrestleMania XXX.
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page recently took part in an “Ask Me Anything” chat on Reddit. Fans interested in reading the transcript from the chat can do so online at Reddit.com.
– Former WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels will be appearing together at the Houston Autorama at various times this weekend. For more information, visit Autorama.com.
[Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter]
– Kevin Sullivan has been added to Alumni section of WWE.com.
– Today is “DDP Yoga” day at the WWE Performance Center after DDP received an invite from Triple H and Bill DeMott. He tweeted today:
today is @DDPYOGA day at @WWENXT lets see how well they do! @WWE @FullSail @WWEPerformCtr @BillDeMott
— Diamond Dallas Page (@RealDDP) November 22, 2013
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin announced on his podcast that Daniel Bryan will be a guest on his show in the next few weeks.
– Following some recent controversy over not fulfilling the required “perks” associated with funds donated to recent Indiegogo campaigns, Diamond Dallas Page and Scott Hall recorded a message to their fans. You can check that out below:
http://youtu.be/mshkGEjbfcE
– WWE added the following “After Total Divas” episode to their official YouTube channel on Monday morning:
– TNA is reporting that AJ Styles is receiving booking requests from wrestling promoters in the UK, Puerto Rico and Canada following his “unsanctioned and unauthorized” TNA World Heavyweight Championship title defense at the Wrestle-1 event in Japan this past Saturday.
– Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke to the RCWR Show about what led to him leaving TNA back in 2005. DDP said the following:
“Uumm, money; hahaha. I came back for one reason, to show that I could still go at 49. I was 49 years old when I was bouncing around out there like that in TNA and I wasn’t about the same weight I was at 44, not the same but I wasn’t that far off. I just really wanted to come back for that one year, you know, rack it up, have some fun matches, you know, make some money and then when it came time to renegotiate the contract we just didn’t agree and I was like no big deal, thank you very much, I had a great time. I was really done. I didn’t have the run I wanted in the WWE, obviously. I did have a great little run with Christian, we had a great WrestleMania but you know, two and a half years later I wanted to show that DDP could still go and that was the only reason that I did it. It was more about showing that what was possible with DDP yoga than it was about being in the ring, so I obviously had lived the dream on a whole different level at WCW and I make a lot of money. I wasn’t going back for the money, of course you want to make a lot of money but I’m not going to beat up my body unless I’m making a certain number because for me to risk hurting my knees anymore or for me to risk hurting my back, my hips and my ankles, for me its pivotal that my body be in the best shape that I can be in. I don’t want to be broken down and beat up like so many of my other brothers.”
You can check out the complete interview online at BlogTalkRadio.com.
The following are highlights from a new Busted Open Radio interview with former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page:
On working with Scott Hall and Jake Roberts: “Jake (Roberts) and I were talking about this when Scott (Hall) was first ready to come up and we knew that Jake is going to go down and get him and have a sit down which was on DDPTV and I looked at Jake and I thought to myself: ‘Can you imagine if you and Scott both get sober in the same house in the same year’ and we started laughing and thinking: ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ I didn’t do anything and that’s honestly how I feel. All I did was supply my buddies with really a positive place that they weren’t going to be judged and I was going to get them to understand when I talk about my eating place and I’ll never use the word diet because you know what the first three letters in the word diet are.
They don’t work, lifestyles do. I put movies in front of them like food, Inc. and genetic roulette and then they can see on how the food has been so changed that it will depress you, it will put weight on you that will drag you down emotionally and once they got that out of there system, they start to feel better and they haven’t done anything yet! (Chris) Jericho said it first and he’s really the first who put DDP Yoga on the map and the best part about it and you say: ‘Well, what kind of conditioning can I get with my DDP Yoga?’ and I said ‘How about this?’ Jericho who was completely pain free in three months and headlined WrestleMania two years ago and continues to work a few months, take a couple months off and then goes tours with Fozzy for six months like every night playing out and he is not wrestling, he is only doing one work out and he shows up at the Royal Rumble in the number two spot and wrestles for forty seven minutes and fifty three seconds, unheard of!
But it gave my program legitimacy on a different level plus there are about sixteen guys in the Rumble that are doing DDP Yoga so it was a really cool thing and he opened up the doors to guys like Goldust and how good is Goldust looking right now and Ryback as well. Then Scott saw Jake when he was laying in his bed when he went through that really tough time where he was in the hospital bed for that week and that one kid, who is almost like an angel, because it said: ‘No visitors!’ But this one kid who is a fan came in and he has it on his IPhone and he says: ‘Scott, look what Dallas did with Jake, maybe he can do it with you.’ Scott’s looking at him like: ‘Oh my God.’
It was putting my two buddies in an environment that was caring, loving and everyone in my house is positive and you’re not allowed to work for me with a negative attitude and it won’t be tolerated and you work out and eat great food because I only buy real food and our food is delicious. I’m doing a workshop in Atlanta and it’s the only time when I do what is called: ‘The Ultimate Workshop’ and there are only fifteen people that do this but we have a pretty big crowd for the overall workshop where we do three hours and its starting and stopping and it’s not like a three hour workout but you really learn how to break everything down and then we do an hour and ten minute workout at the end and I make it where everyone can do it and after that, those fifteen people come over to my house. We break it down and we have all the food made and we show them how to make everything and they leave with menus. I want people to understand that healthy food doesn’t have to taste bad.”
On concerns he has for both guys when the leave: “Jake is going to be Jake no matter what. When people say: ‘Man, I love what you did to Jake’, I tell them: ‘I didn’t do anything, Jake did all that’ and Jake Roberts is still Jake Roberts. But I never saw this Jake Roberts. When it came time for him to leave the crib, he made that decision. It wasn’t me because he could have lived with me forever and I told my girl before she moved in: ‘Baby, Jake is Uncle Jake and he isn’t going unless he says I’m out of here’ and always being his little brother in scenarios when I go: ‘Jake, that’s not cool to say things like that’. I got sick of saying that to him because he’s my mentor, he’s one of my closest friends on the planet and he knew it was starting to wear me out a bit. I think he is in the best spot that he has ever been in and he really has a chance, if it’s not this year then next year but it should be this year because he has done so much in his career but he should be in the hall of fame but he should have been in the hall of fame twenty years ago. Then he put it out that: ‘I’m going to be in the Royal Rumble’ and it got a lot of buzz but it’s like: ‘Yo, shut up about the Rumble’.
No one is going to know. If they are going to put him in the Royal Rumble, he won’t know until its four days out. He will absolutely be the last one to know. There was an article about Bradshaw and Bradshaw has some really good writing on his site and there’s another guy that has done a lot after wrestling and he is an amazing cat and he does so much for kids around his summit and the mountain climbing that he does, its crazy shit to me. He eats it up and it’s the challenge and there was article on his site that talked about how it would really be smart and really beneficial to the WWE to have one guy that is not going to be a surprise because there would be so many fans, passionate fans about just hearing his music and walking out.
It would make people cry and there would be goose bumps with the twenty-two thousand people at the Royal Rumble and all he needs to do is be real limited and it won’t matter, its Jake. It’s such a tradition of people coming out and people won’t know what’s going to happen. Jake has been clean for over a year, it was October when we brought him in, so it’s a little over a year of being completely cocaine and crack free and that was a big deal! He did that cold, there were no morphine shots and whatever shots they do to get people off heroine or whatever, and we did none of that. We test him once in a while too, it was a surprise test. It was like: ‘Here Jake, we are taking you down to the clinic.’ He said: ‘I got my first passed drug test’, he even framed it and we did it a couple times.”
On Hulk Hogan leaving TNA in time for WrestleMania XXX: “He’s Hulk Hogan bro. I have offered my services to him before and that’s when I was in Los Angeles. I would help him any way I could because he really helped me when you get to that one spot when you there. Hulk Hogan walks up to me in Germany and this is around 1994 when Kevin is the champ and I’m wrestling Jim Duggan. I get the curtain jerk match, the first match every night. It was the fifth or sixth night and we are in Berlin and when I walk through the curtain and Hogan is there and he grabs me and he pulls me over and he says: ‘How are you doing it?’ I go: ‘Doing what, Hulk?’ He goes: ‘Getting some much better.’ I go: ‘Wow, thanks man.’ He goes: ‘I’ve been watching your matches the last couple nights and I don’t see you on TV that much but when you’re on, you are always doing something a little different and this is the way they are getting you to learn your craft. They are putting you on the road.’
I said: ‘No, there not. I haven’t been on the road for three months. The only reason why I’m on this card is because my real last name before I changed it to Page was Falkinberg and the crowd loves its Germans and I have a smoking hot wife that accompanies me to the ring. That’s the only reason why I’m here.’ He goes: ‘How are you getting so much better?’ I said: ‘I go to the Power Plant.’ He really didn’t understand that because in his day, you went from one territory to another to another and that’s how you got better and they can camouflage you, change your name and whatever. I figured out and this applies to anyone, this is a lesson in life and I went down to the Power Plant because wrestling is a lot like playing the guitar meaning you can’t get any good unless you play all the time. I went back to the Power Plant and I started to train the young guys and I realized that the more you teach someone, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you get.
Hulk goes: ‘However you’re doing it, whatever you’re doing, you need to keep doing it because it may not be today, next year or the year after but somewhere down the line, you have the ability to draw huge money with me’ and he walked away. Let’s manifest that four years later, Hulk is on the stage of the ‘Tonight Show’ with Hulk and (Dennis) Rodman being interview by (Jay) Leno and (Karl) Malone and I walk out with the chairs over our heads. The number two leading scorer of all-time in the NBA, Karl Malone has my ‘Diamond Cutter’ shirt on, we throw the chairs down and throw up the ‘Diamond Cutter’ sign and do ‘The Bang’ and we face off with those guys and shoot our angle which was the biggest angle ever for WCW as far as money, super coverage across the planet in the biggest show in the world and it wasn’t a wrestling show. We are shooting an angle on the world’s stage, the ‘Tonight Show’. It was crazy.”
Check out the complete interview online at Facebook.com/bustedopenradio.