Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart were in Australia yesterday to promote WWE’s upcoming tour of the country in August. Hogan has been named the General Manager for the tour. Here are some highlights of the press conference:
– He also teased getting in the ring again to take on Rusev.
– Hogan said Vince McMahon told him he’d let him get back in the ring if he can pass a physical. Hogan said he told Vince there’s no way they can do WrestleMania 32 in Dallas without Hulk Hogan. Hulk told Vince he plans on wrestling. Vince shook his hand and told him “I’m looking forward to it.”
– Hogan answered a fan question about John Cena turning heel. Hogan said that it may not be the best business decision and Cena is in a different situation now than what Hogan was in when he turned heel in 1996.
– Hogan put over Vince McMahon for having “the vision” and put over Kevin Owens as “the real deal.”
– WWE officials are planning on doing “some” more live specials from the SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night’s for live airings on the WWE Network, much like this past Tuesday’s King Of The Ring special.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan has been announced as the General Manager of the WWE live events scheduled to take place in Australia in August. The official WWE Australia Twitter account tweeted the following about it:
WWE announced on Tuesday that the WWE 2K15 video game will be released on Windows PC this spring. 2K Sports claims they have taken great measures to ensure the PC version of the game includes everything that makes the console version great, including the “2K Showcase” and “My Career” modes.
Those who buy the PC version of the game on the first day it’s released will receive instant access to two versions of Sting and two versions of Hulk Hogan. DLC content for the game will be released for free later in the spring. DLC includes the NXT and WCW packs, in addition to the 2K Showcase modes, such as One More Match, Hall of Pain and Path of the Warrior.
WWE U.S. Champion and star of the cover of the game — John Cena — commented on the DLC content being available for free.
“One of the great bonuses of getting the game on PC is that you get nearly all of the downloadable content that was released after WWE 2K15 launched in October free, as part of the package,” said Cena. “That’s an incredible amount of content: 36 extra characters, 4 new managers, 26 matches, 46 entire single player stories and cut scenes in 2K Showcase, and a whole lot more. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that that’s a pretty awesome deal.”
The leader of the “Ce-Nation” also commented on the game finally coming to the PC.
“I grew up playing games on my PC. Texas Instruments, Commodore 64,” said Cena. “I was a huge PC gamer growing up, so this is big. Not only for our fans, but for me personally as well. Fans may not know this, but I was such a huge PC gamer that I bought a living room entertainment system just to play PC games back in the day. So don’t be surprised if you flash forward 50 years and yours truly is sitting in his living room playing computer games!”
– UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is the guest on the latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s PIt” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– As noted earlier today, NXT standout Finn Balor will be backstage at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from the O2 Arena in London, England. Balor posted the following teaser on his official Twitter account for tonight’s show.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “What’s Wrong With This Video?” web-series, which you can see below, features ten mistakes purposely added to The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan match from WrestleMania.
WWE has announced Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan as the Grand Marshal for the upcoming Susan G. Komen event. Below is a press release with comments from “The Hulkster.”
Hulk Hogan Serves as Grand Marshal for Susan G. Komen D.C. Race for the Cure
WWE and Susan G. Komen Team Up Once Again to Raise Funds for Breast Health and Research in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. AND STAMFORD, CONN. – APRIL 13, 2015 – Susan G. Komen today announced WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will serve as the official Grand Marshal for the 2015 Susan G. Komen Washington, D.C. Race for the Cure®, taking place on Saturday, May 9, in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall.
In addition to serving as Grand Marshal, Hogan and WWE Diva Layla® have created “Team WWE” at the D.C. Race. Fans can join the team by registering for the Race at komendcrace.info-komen.org and search “Team WWE” under the “Join a Team” page or by clicking the link here.
Komen President and CEO Judy Salerno, M.D., M.S., praised Hogan for supporting the mission to raise awareness about the breast cancer problem in Washington, D.C., a city that has the highest incidence and mortality rate from breast cancer in the country.
“We are so excited to have Hulk Hogan join us at the Race and form a team to bring much needed attention to the breast cancer crisis we are facing in the National Capital Region,” said Dr. Salerno. “We are sure Hulk Hogan will inspire the legions of ‘Hulkamaniacs’ to be fearless in the fight against breast cancer.”
“It is an honor to join survivors, volunteers and participants and serve as Grand Marshal for Susan G. Komen’s D.C. Race for the Cure,” said Hulk Hogan. “I am proud to represent WWE as we continue to use our global platforms to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.”
Hogan’s participation at the Race continues a history of success between Komen and WWE in raising awareness for the fight against breast cancer. In October 2014, the two organizations partnered once again for a special Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign titled “Courage Conquer Cure.” WWE Superstars and Divas wore co-branded Susan G. Komen and WWE pink ring gear, which fans and supporters were able to purchase, and WWE platforms also “went pink” for the campaign.
The partnership launched in 2012 with the successful “Rise Above Cancer” campaign and to date has raised more than $1.5 million for breast cancer research, education and screening. You can learn more about this partnership by visiting www.komen.org/wwe.
Since the Race’s inception in 1990, funds raised have provided more than $35 million for more than 300 community grants to local programs in the National Capital Region, aimed at low-income, minority and uninsured women in areas where breast cancer rates are the highest. Currently, Komen has 19 active grants for community education and treatment centers helping to provide breast health services, treatment assistance and patient support services in the National Capital Region – which includes northern Virginia, the District and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland. In addition to community grants, Komen has invested more than $30 million in more than 120 grants to breast cancer researchers at local institutions, such as Georgetown University, The Institute of Medicine and Howard University.
There are multiple ways to participate in and fundraise for the D.C. Race, including the 5K or one-mile walk/run. Children ages five to 12 can register for Kids for the Cure®, a special kid-friendly race. To learn more, visit komendcrace.info-komen.org/. Share content and engage online with the official event hashtag #KomenDCRace, @SusanGKomen and/or www.facebook.com/KomenDCRace.
Former WWE Superstar Lanny Poffo recently appeared on Under The Mat Radio to discuss his brother, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Below are some highlights of the interview.
On how he got the call for Randy Savage to go into the WWE Hall of Fame: “I kind of knew about for over a year that Randy was going to go in… then when they (WWE) actually officially released that they were going to induct him (Savage) I wasn’t sure if I was going to be the one to induct him. Everybody was saying that Hogan was going to be the one to induct him but I just thought I’d be common sense for it to be me.”
On how his family feels that Randy finally got inducted: “Well I can tell you how I felt, I felt relived because we are not going to punish the fans anymore now the fans are going to have to find something else to be punished about. I feel relived like a big burden has been lifted and I’m glad that the speech was well received.”
On who he loved to work with the most during his time with WWE (WWF then): “I’d have to say as Leaping Lanny I loved to work against Terry Funk and Bob Orton Jr. I would look better losing to those two guys then if I would beat Barry Harowitz. Now I’d say when I was a villain my best match ever was against Hulk Hogan.”
On Damien Sandow: “Talking to the younger talent, they were very receptive to me. I really enjoyed everybody particularly Damien Sandow what a nice person he is. People think he stole my gimmick he did not. I stole my gimmick from many of people, and besides Bobby Heenan never got mad because he was The Brain and then I came and I was the Genius he never raised an issue..!”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife Linda Hogan is selling the California home she purchased for $3.5 million in 2010. Linda is asking for $5.5 million for the 24-acre property. For photos of the home, visit Homes.Yahoo.com.
– The Rock announced on Twitter that his new HBO show “Ballers” will be premiering on Sunday, June 21st at 10pm. That means Rock’s show will have an excellent lead-in, as the new season of True Detective premieres on the same date one hour earlier, and will serve as the lead-in to The Rock’s show each week.
Jim Ross recently posted a new blog on his official website. Below are some highlights.
On doing work with Lucha Underground: “I had a chance to do some work with Lucha Underground as they prepare for their season finale taping in a little over a week that will air in August but we couldn’t make the date work. I’m a fan of their product, except the intergender stuff which doesn’t suspend my disbelief, and would have enjoyed doing a project with them but it wasn’t in the cards this time around. I wish them the best of luck nonetheless during these apparent, crunch times for their brand. I am still of the belief that their back stage content is the best in he genre.”
On fans hijacking wrestling shows: “Was asked on the Q&A section of this site if I encouraged fans to “highjack” TV wrestling shows. I encourage fans to be loud and rowdy and to cheer or boo for who they choose as long as they keep it ‘clean’ IE “blowjob” isn’t that by the way. However when fans pick their spots, always seemingly on TV to draw attention to their insecure selves, it becomes boorish and gives the majority of wrestling fans a bad name. Luckily the “highjackers” are in the minority but do come off as embarrassing to many to their peers notwithstanding providing many within the media who dislike the genre anyway more ammo to blast away at the product that many of us embrace.”
On Finn Balor: “Yes, Finn Balor is ready for RAW or Smackdown but only when WWE has a long term plan for this talented Irishman. To call him up with a long term plan would be downright stupid.”
On the Scott Steiner controversy: “Do you really think that Scott Steiner threatened to “kill” Hulk Hogan while standing in the San Jose Airport? Really? I call misunderstanding on that one. Money says not one charge will be filled much less stick.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan recently spoke with Brian Fritz of SportingNews.com to promote his upcoming MegaCon 2015 appearance in Orlando, Florida. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On why he thinks his fans have stuck with him for so long and continue to be so loyal and passionate: “I think they, first off, fell in love with the character Hulk Hogan, the all-American guy going against the Iron Sheik when it was a perfect storm when the U.S. was at odds with Iran I think. The character served well for what the storyline was pointing towards. So I think it was kind of the perfect storm of being in shape with the tan, saying I was from California and being plugged in to the right thing by Vince McMahon. I think that put me at a higher level than I could have achieved by myself by building my house one brick at a time. I think I got a launching pad right out of the shoot and that’s not counting the six or seven years I wrestled before. But from that point on I think people just fell in love with the character and then I was really consistent. When they came to see Hulk Hogan wrestle, I delivered a performance that was consistent with a main event performance. I got to be tangible and the people kind of knew me and felt like they could reach out and touch me. I wasn’t a distant star like an Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt or somebody like that. They just became loyal to the character and the man behind the character because they figured out I was a human being and survived all the ups and downs and were loyal to a fault. I think it was a combination of all that stuff.”
On working with the nWo and Sting at WrestleMania 31: “It was cool. I keep saying what Vince says, never say never. Vince had his last match when he was, I think, 67. I’m a lot younger than him. I’m 61. I’m still training like I’m going to have a shot at the world title. But to actually be put out there and not be just a talking head and actually get involved in the action, it made me feel alive again. It made me feel part of the team. So it was really cool that the nWo walked out and got such a huge response. It was just unbelievable.”
On how his back is doing: “It’s good. It’s really good. I had nine back surgeries so it’s probably stronger than it’s even been because it’s all metal. (laughs) There was a point for a couple years where they said you’ll never walk again, you’re going to be in constant pain but all that stuff went away. So it’s better now than it’s ever been.”
On what it was like inducting Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame: “I was nervous. Legitimately nervous because Randy and I were such, such good friends for some many years. I was with him more than his wife, probably for 15 years. When he went through that divorce he self-imploded and took everybody with him and I was on the outs for many years and there were all kinds of crazy things going on. Then a few months before he passed away we accidentally bumped into each other, mended the fence and it was the same old Randy with a gleam in his eye. He had just gotten remarried and was happy. It was the same Randy I used to know. So it was bittersweet to be there. I basically thought that Lanny (Poffo, Randy’s brother) should have inducted him into the Hall of Fame and Lanny lobbied hard for me to do it because he said I knew him better than anybody. It was tough. It was really hard. I was nervous. I wanted to do him justice. All the haters were going “oh, Hulk Hogan is going to make it all about him”. It was just amazing to see when you’re honoring somebody just how many people come out of the woodwork with different opinions. It kind of caught me off guard. I didn’t think in a moment like that when we’re there to honor someone and tell someone how much you love someone and what a great professional they were that there were all these left-sided comments coming out. It kind of caught me off guard but we got through it.”
On what he would like to do with WWE and what’s next: “Well, they’re on the Road to WrestleMania already. You know how that goes. I’m going to be lobbying real hard for Hulk Hogan in Dallas next year. Other than that, I’m just entertaining a few movie scripts here. When I get off the phone with you I’m going to go over my schedule with the WWE guys. I know I’m going to Australia then heading over to the UK. They got me on a crazy treadmill right now but it’s a lot of fun.”
Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com.
Scott Steiner is denying the report by TMZ that he threatened to kill Hulk Hogan and says Hogan is acting like a “scared little bitch.” Steiner is currently under investigation over an encounter with Hogan’s wife Jennifer at the San Jose airport during WrestleMania weekend. She alleges Steiner grabbed her and threatened to kill her husband. A Police report was filed hte following day.
Steiner admits that he did approach Hogan’s wife, but only talked trash about Hogan inducting Macho Man Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“I told her Hulk introducing ‘Macho Man’ into the Hall of Fame is bullshit … He hated him. Everyone knew that.”
Steiner says there were cops at the airport when the alleged incident took place and questions, “If she felt her life was threatened, why didn’t she talk to the cops?”
Steiner says he hasn’t been contacted by the police and added, “It’s not my fault Hulk Hogan is afraid of me.”
According to a new TMZ report, Steiner grabbed Jennifer at the baggage claim in the San Jose airport and told her that he had plans to “kill Terry” [Hogan’s real name] as soon as he lands.
Jennifer, who reportedly didn’t recognize Steiner, immediately called Hogan — who took the next flight into San Jose and went on to file a police report early the next morning.
Cops are currently investigating Steiner for “felony terrorist threats” and so far, officials have gathered airport surveillance which shows Steiner confronting Jennifer.
When contacted by TMZ for a comment on the story, Steiner simply stated, “Typical Hogan. He’s just a punk.”
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns spoke to Title Match Wrestling last weekend prior to WrestleMania. Reigns addressed his critics directly, telling the “haters” to keep doing their thing and hating, because he’s going to keep doing his thing.
Hogan spoke about inducting Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame and said he’d want to wrestle Roman Reigns if he ever wrestles another match.
– At Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 PPV, Sting and The Undertaker shared locker room, while Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan also shared a room.
– Earlier this week on RAW, some fans noticed that Seth Rollins’ WWE Championship belt did not feature the Seth Rollins “side plates” that WWE tweeted a photo of after WrestleMania. Apparently the Rollins side plates that were ordered did not fit the belt correctly and new ones have been ordered.
– Speaking of WWE’s championship belts, the company is currently working on a new design for John Cena’s United States Championship.
WWE banned Scott Steiner from the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony this past Saturday night after Steiner was involved in some type of incident with Hulk Hogan’s wife Jennifer.
The story going around is that Steiner was involved in an “ugly incident” with Hogan’s wife on an airplane. No specific details are known past the point that it became a big issue and resulted in WWE keeping Steiner from their venues this weekend.
At the WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, security were told to be on high alert for Steiner, with different guards at every entrance being told if Steiner shows up, not to allow him in the building under any circumstances.
Below is the photo that was posted on the wall at the Hall Of Fame to inform security of who Steiner is.
– In the above video, WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan teases that there are a few “little surprises” planned for tonight’s WrestleMania 31 event. There has been some speculation that Hogan will be involved in some type of segment involving Curtis Axel and “Axelmania” at tonight’s show.
– Dana Warrior, the widow of the late Ultimate Warrior, posted the following on Facebook regarding Connor “The Crusher” Michalek being the first ever Warrior Award winner at last night’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.
Warriors Represent…
I felt your love and so much pride for helping induct the inaugural recipient of The Warrior Award!! Connor The Crusher is forever immortal and his spirit now runs with the Warrior FOREVER!!
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan recently spoke with TheNational.ae to promote this Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 event at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Below are highlights from the interview.
On the possibility of having one more match: “I don’t know. Today, maybe it’s the weather, it is a little rough for me today, but I think it’s got to do with being 61 years old and inheriting all this arthritis from my mum and dad. I am still in really good shape. If you put me in the ring right now with someone’s that over, and when I mean over I mean we just look at each other like the Rock and the crowd starts rumbling. If you put me in the ring right now with Roman Reigns, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock or John Cena’ I could tear it down right now. The thing is getting everybody else talked into letting me do that! Vince McMahon [the WWE chairman] had his last match when he was 66 or 67 and I am only 61 years old. I am a lot younger than him’ and Vince is the guy who says never say never. So I am going to hang on to that for a while.”
On dealing with getting older: “It hit me about 15 years ago when I realised they could take out a whole knee joint, throw it away and put a piece of metal in there, so I thought wow, this stuff really does wind down. Then they took the other knee and threw that away, then they took both hips and threw them away and I had nine back surgeries and I was like ‘wow, this mortality thing is for real,’ But because of the WWE Network I get to live forever. But it is tough. The hardest thing being here and not wrestling. It is hard to explain, but it just hard to be around all these guys, watching all these matches … sitting back and going ‘if you only did that, only did this instead, or when the guy slammed you, why did you get up before he got up. I mean come on.’ It is hard to watch without getting into it so it is tough, so the mortality thing can get to you a little bit.”
On what he’s looking forward to at WrestleMania 31 the most: “There is a couple of things. The whole thing with Roman Reigns and Brock [Lesnar] has got me really interested. Roman has a lot of potential, he reminds me a lot of his father [former wrestler Sika Anoa’i] His dad saved me when I was lost and got me going in the right direction a long time ago. And then there is the whole thing with the Undertaker. I ran into the Undertaker last night, my God is he in good shape. Compared to last year, and nothing personal ‘Taker, wherever he is at, but the guy is in crazy shape all of a sudden. I hear he has been training really hard. I know how good Bray Wyatt is in the ring, so I know they are going to tear it down.”
On inducting Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame tonight: “The guy was the consummate professional and he lived hard, he worked hard in the ring, he was really intense. When Randy and I first hooked up, our wives started to worry about us as we were together 24 hours a day and were the best of friends. He was right down the beach from me. We were really good friends and then we had this crazy blow-up. There was a lot of things going down with his split with Liz [Miss Elizabeth, Savage’s first wife] and the whole thing went bad. But then we got back together. Lanny, his brother, helped a lot, and we got back together then. To have Randy have a heart attack and pass on was a tough one, so inducting him into the Hall of Fame is a special deal for me.”
Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog has a new feature up with several WWE Superstars and legends talking about WrestleMania. Below are some highlights.
Sting:
“There is a large wrestling audience that doesn’t want to say goodbye to my generation. Guys like myself, Ric Flair, and Hogan, and the fans still appreciate us. And it goes both ways, absolutely, because it’s the same for me. It’s hard to walk away. I thought, in the beginning, my career would two, three, four, five years and then out and done. I never imagined, all these years later, I would still be in the ring and still wrestling. In March of 2001, I thought it was over with. It’s unbelievable how time flies, and it’s still a thrill for me. I want to give my fans something to remember.”
Bruno Sammartino on Hulk Hogan:
“I would never compare Hogan to any of the greats. He don’t belong, or deserve to be mentioned, in the same breath. No way.”
Daniel Bryan:
“I know the WWE is not looking for people like me to main event WrestleMania. It’s interesting, there have been a lot of people the company believed in right away that didn’t pan out to be anything. Guys with every superstar quality and can be on the cover of a magazine right away. I was never that guy. I’ve always enjoyed the process of earning people’s respect and earning my place. I’ve never asked to be handed anything.”
Roman Reigns:
“My whole life I’ve been fed by the WWE. My father was fortunate enough to provide for his family through wrestling. I’ve always been fortunate to have a seat at the table, but there’s a great deal of pride in being a provider. Now it’s my chance to sit at the head of the table. I respect what people before me have done, but my time is now.”
WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya is scheduled to induct former WWE Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze (Madusa) into the WWE Hall Of Fame on Saturday night.
With that now known, below is the complete list of inductees and inductors for tonight’s 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, which airs live on the WWE Network at 7pm EST.
– Warrior Award: Connor Michalek, inducted by Daniel Bryan and Dana Warrior
Sports Illustrated Extra’s “Mustard Blog” recently put together a lengthy piece on 2015 WWE Hall Of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage, talking to a number of WWE legends about the iconic performer. Below are some of the highlights.
Jerry Lawler on working with Savage:
“The first time we worked together, when it was ‘promotion against promotion,’ we sold out at the arena with 23,000 people. That was unheard of in wrestling. But Randy was so cool. He was a great athlete, and he was a little bit out there. He had a bit of a temper, and he was moody at times, but he was his own guy. I really grew to respect him.”
Steve Austin on Savage:
“Macho Man, that guy’s stuff back when he was in Tennessee, was incredible. His intensity, his promo style—he was the Macho Man 24/7, 365—and he was that before he got to the WWF. Vince [McMahon] didn’t make him, he made himself. Vince then made him a superstar all over the world.”
Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan and Ted DiBiase on Savage’s relationship with Miss Elizabeth:
Okerlund: “Randy was a loose cannon. In the early days, Randy was very protective of Elizabeth to the point where it bothered a lot of the boys. But what could you do, take it to Vince McMahon and make yourself look like a powder puff? You just ignored it and worked with it.”
Hogan: “If you even looked at Elizabeth the wrong way, then, Holy s—. Randy would freak out. If you ever wanted to get him lit up, you’d just have to look at Liz.”
DiBiase: “I would never consider having my wife around a bunch of wrestlers. Randy tried to protect Elizabeth, but that created some tension between the two of them.”
Daniel Bryan on Savage:
“I’d love to be this era’s Macho Man. There are a lot of similarities between the two of us. He was so good and just had that connection with the crowd. You can watch him to this day, he’s so entertaining.”
Ric Flair on his WrestleMania VIII match against Savage:
“We brought the best out in each other. When you have that kind of chemistry and respect for each other, it doesn’t take a lot of thought-process to go out there and make music in the ring. Randy was still playing minor league baseball when I first met him. I was there in his corner during his infancy in the business, saw him blossom and become so much better. I was proud of him, and wrestling him at WrestleMania was awesome.”
Sting on his friendship with Savage:
“Randy Savage, ironically, is one of the guys I looked up to. I loved him. He was so out far out there with his character. There was something about it I could identify with. I used to tease him a little bit in the dressing room in front of all the guys, and say, ‘Come on, just talk in your normal voice.’ ‘This is my normal voice, what are you talking about?,’ he’d say. It was funny. We’d always try to get him, but I never heard him talk any other way than just like this, brother! Living the character helped him, absolutely it did.”
Lanny Poffo on a Triple H interview that led to a the infamous Stephanie McMahon rumor, which Lanny says is not true:
“A reporter asked [WWE heavyweight champion] Triple H what he thought of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Triple H responded with, ‘They were great, but they’re dinosaurs.’ Randy saw this as a deliberate attempt to hurt his brand. Randy insinuated he [wanted] to take Triple H, slap him in the face, take his girl, Stephanie McMahon [the daughter of Vince McMahon and the wife of Triple H], and drive her around the block, then give her back to him,” Lanny says. “It wasn’t right, but Randy was provoked.”
– As reported earlier this week, WWE is looking at bringing some legends back for a match at next year’s WrestleMania 32 pay-per-view to help fill Cowboys Stadium and set the all-time attendance record. Today, WWE’s official website is running a poll asking fans which legend they would like to see have one more match at WrestleMania. The options are Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Bill Goldberg, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Batista, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Vince McMahon, Lita, Trish Stratus or The Dudley Boyz.
With over 2,000 votes cast as of this writing, Stone Cold is leading the pack with 30 percent of the vote. Trailing Austin are Goldberg (21%), Shawn Michaels (13%) and Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, both of whom have eight percent of the votes. You can vote on the poll at WWE.com.
– The latest WWE Superstar workout video released by WWE features WrestleMania 31 headliner Roman Reigns preparing for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar this Sunday. You can check out Reigns’ WrestleMania workout video below.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan appeared on ESPN’s Sports Nation on Monday and spoke about a number of topics.
During the appearance, Hogan said a John Cena heel turn could work on television, and also praised Cena for being a good person behind-the-scenes.
Hogan predicted Roman Reigns will win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31 this Sunday and said Reigns is destined to be a top guy.
Hogan also teased doing something with Curtis Axel at WrestleMania and said that this might not be The Undertaker’s last WrestleMania, noting that Undertaker can go as long as he wants.
– WWE live events averaged 5,563 paid fans for the month of January 2015, up from the average of 5,178 paid fans for the month of January 2014 and an average of 5,490 paid fans in the month of January 2013.
– WWE shipped 65,000 DVD units in the month of January 2015, which was down from 272,000 units in January of 2014. The WWE Shop website processed a daily average of 1,032 orders in the month of January 2015, up from a daily average of 831 in January of 2014.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “Fantasy Warfare” web series, which you can view below, looks at a potential match between John Cena and Hulk Hogan.
With WrestleMania only a week away, we continue our survey of the best matches in the event’s history by looking at the second decade of action. This was an important and transitional decade for the company, as they started the period relying on superstars such as Bret Hart, Diesel, and Shawn Michaels at the top of the card, while ending it with guys such as Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and of course, Steve Austin.
The content of the product also changed dramatically during this time period, with it starting as a family-friendly product during the “new generation” era, and we all know what went on during the Attitude Era after the company shifted focus due to pressure from rival WCW. With that said, here are the ten best matches from this era. Matches are judged based on workrate, in-ring psychology, pre-match build, and historical significance, and a full video of the match is included with each entry.
10. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 2000)
Despite being billed as the greatest thing since electricity, WrestleMania 2000 was basically a bust. One of the few bright spots was the two-fall triple threat match between Benoit, Angle, and Jericho. The stipulation was unique in that both the Intercontinental and European Championships were on the line, with the first fall deciding the former and the second deciding the latter. Angle would go into the match holding both titles, but would unfortunately walk out with neither. Benoit won the first fall with a diving headbutt and pinning Jericho. Jericho would win the second by delivering a Lionsault and pinning Benoit. It featured fast-paced action with a ton of near-falls, and it told a great story by having Angle lose both of his titles without being pinned or forced to submit.
This was the first time Chris Jericho had the opportunity to headline a WrestleMania, and he came into the match aligned with Stephanie McMahon as a heel. It told a great story that featured a thorough build, and eventually ended with The Game winning the Undisputed Championship after hitting the Pedigree.
8. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XX)
These guys were three of the best technical wrestlers in the game at the time. The match was entertaining, there were multiple near-falls, and in the end, the title changed hands after Benoit forced Triple H to tap out to the Crippler Crossface. After the match, Benoit’s best friend Eddie Guerrero came to the ring and the two embraced while confetti rained down from the rafters. It’s of course a little bittersweet due to what happened years later, but it is still an emotional moment and a great match nonetheless.
7. The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania X8)
This match seems to receive a mixed reaction from a lot of fans. In my opinion, it is one of the most entertaining and unpredictable matches in WrestleMania history, largely due to the crowd reaction. Going into the match, The Rock was the fan favorite while Hogan was booked as the heel. However, the crowd turned on Rock halfway through the match and started to cheer Hogan. The two improvised from there the match ended with Hogan once again turning face and celebrating with The People’s Champion after going down in defeat.
6. Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XIV)
Following his match with Bret Hart at the previous WrestleMania, Austin was undoubtedly the top dog in the WWE. It wouldn’t be until this night that he would finally capture his first WWE Championship, however. This wasn’t a technical affair by any means, largely due to Michaels wrestling with a severely injured back. With that said, it was still an entertaining contest that featured great in-ring psychology and one of the best builds of any main event in WrestleMania history due to the involvement of Mike Tyson. Austin would of course go on to win the title and start his run as perhaps the most successful superstar in WWE history.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan spoke about his fondest WrestleMania memories and his relationship with “Macho Man” Randy Savage in the new WWE “Legends of WrestleMania” magazine. Below are some highlights.
On his favorite memories of WrestleMania: “You know, you can’t take anything away from that Andre match, brother. That’s a WrestleMania moment—93,000 people and Andre passing the torch to me. That match with The Rock, where I had been working for a different company, actually competing against this company, and came back here. The crowd showed their loyalty, that was huge. But if I really, really had to go with consistency, friendship and always being there for me, Randy [Savage] is the favorite guy.”
On his relationship with “Macho Man” Randy Savage: “Well, first off, when you work with Randy, it’s intense. The only other person that I could call at three or four o’clock in the morning to talk about wrestling and would even answer their phone is Vince McMahon. And that’s how Randy was. Except Randy called me! ‘Hey brother. Got an idea.’ So when you got in bed with Randy, you were in it for the long haul. Good or bad, brother. He’s going to drag you through the mud, whether you like it or not. And it was intense, because Randy was such a passionate person.”
