The following are highlights of a new interview with Hulk Hogan:
On his sex tape being leaked: “It was a tough situation. It’s probably the hardest I’ve ever been kicked, bar none. But at the end of the day it’s all about choices.”
On forgiving Bubba The Love Sponge: “It is what it is. At the end of the day, the pros are handling it, and no matter what it is, I understand people. And for whatever reason, I forgive him. I forgive myself for the choices we’ve made. I can’t hate, brother. That’s not my deal. Can’t do it.”
The following are highlights of a new WGD Weekly interview with Diamond Dallas Page:
Working with David Arquette in WCW and the reaction of the fans to his becoming WCW Champion: “…David Arquette is his own animal. As much heat as he ever took, for him, …all the money he made for that pay per view when he busted me over the head with the guitar and Jarrett took the World Title, the money he made, he gave to Melanie Pillman…When he pinned Bischoff, not me, and I will go on record as saying that was the biggest cluster fu*k ever! and it never should’ve happened, but it did. That being said, that was the booking committee, it was not David Arquette, and every fan that has ever roasted him should dip their own ass in boiling oil, because everyone of you that has buried David Arquette if put in the same position, you would’ve jumped through a hoop of burning oil to do the same sh*t. That’s why when everybody busts balls on that, I just want to smack someone. I’m like really, you, ‘marko mark?’ You would’ve died for that…”
A conversation he had in his early days wrestling in WCW backstage with Hulk Hogan: “…I walked through the curtain after my match and Hulk pulls me over and he says, ‘how are you getting so much better?’ I said, ‘wow, Hulk, thanks, how do you even know?’ He goes, ‘I’ve been watching your match the last couple nights.’ I’m thinking, your watching my matches? So, he says, this is what they are doing, I don’t hardly ever see you on TV, just once in a while. He says, this is what they are doing with you, they’re letting you learn your craft on the road here…I said, I go to the Power Plant, he said, what is the Power Plant…I told Hulk, I figured out that the more that I train people down there…and if you only work when they book you, then you never really get any good, because you’re not wrestling enough…I go down there every day I’m not wrestling and what I figured out is the more I train people, the more I learn and the more I learn! the better I got. Hulk really didn’t understand it because he came from a different generation where you went from one territory to another, but he said, well, whatever it is your doing you need to keep doing it because it might not be this year, or next year, or even the year after, but if you keep doing what you’re doing, somewhere down the line, you and I can draw huge money together, and then he walked away…”
A great reaction from Paul Orndorff backstage before the spot on Nitro with him and Randy Savage, where he was disguised as LaParka: “…when I did LaParka against Savage, it was one if my favorite moments in wrestling. Nobody knew that was coming. There has never been a moment that was like that in professional wrestling…you had no fu$#*ng idea…Bischoff pulled me aside in a room, with Sullivan…he goes okay, here is the deal, we are going to dress you up as LaParka and keep you guys in here the whole time, no one is going to know…so, you’re going over with a Diamond Cutter, I said, ‘Oh my god,’ he says, and then you rip off the mask and the place is going to go bat sh*t, and it did. So, I’m in the back with LaParka, and he can barely talk English, so I’m mimicking him, how do I do your walk, how do you play the guitar, what do you do with the chair? He is showing me his sh*t, so then to get to Mr.Wonderful, he is an agent at the time. He is walking around giving finishes. He gets to the door and knocks on it. I open the door in full LaParka gimmick. Now LaParka is about six foot! but I’m six four, legit, so, Orndorff is a good six one, he knows he is taller than LaParka. He is looking down his glasses at the sheet and he looks up and he goes, ‘You’re going over?” Then he looks back up at me and he sees my blue eyes, and it LaParka, but he goes, ‘ You’re not LaParker.” Then he could just see my eyes light up and they just went, ‘ding,’ and he realized it’s me, and he just says, ‘ I love it,’ then I do the thing and he says, ‘mums the word,’ then he walks away…”
A life lesson he learned from agreeing to do the “stalker” angle in WWE against the Undertaker: “…I’ve already learned, walk away from the table. I learned that in WWE. If I walk away from Vince and I don’t do the stalker angle, and I go, ‘wow, good stuff, but not for me.’ If I walk out and say call me when you want to do people’s champion versus people’s champion, I wouldn’t have made it to the elevator. All I had to do was walk away from the table, but I just thought, they know what they are doing…what I learned out of that was never be afraid to walk away from the table. After that, I have never signed a contract the first time, I don’t care what it is. I don’t agree to anything the first time, let me think about it…”
Thoughts on the comments from fans he reads across the internet: “You know, I read a lot if what people write on YouTube, as obviously I have my DDP TV videos, which is hundreds of them…and people write a lot of comments. I also read when there is something I said in an interview…now I don’t remember the article, but you know, you get these jerk offs that go online and they think they know the business…I don’t know who they are, but there are certain people who just don’t like me no matter what I do, for whatever reason…I get that, not everybody is going to like you, but when they just write stupid sh*t, I can’t help but laugh…No matter how rude some of the comments can be, I find it entertaining…”
Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart appeared on the Opie & Anthony Sirius XM Satellite radio show on Monday morning to promote WrestleMania XXX. The interview lasted about 10 minutes – here are some highlights of what Hogan said:
– Vince McMahon is the kind of guy who will do anything for you personally but when it comes to business you don’t cross him.
– Hogan took full responsiblity for his rocky relationship with Vince McMahon over the years.
– He talked about how much Rocky III helped his career and said he saw Stallone recently at an autograph signing.
– “No comment” about the sex tape.
– When asked if he’d be getting physical at WrestleMania, Hogan talked about having a lot of fun working with John Cena on RAW and joked that guys would have to “run into his fist” due to his physical condition.
– Hogan said he plans to be with WWE for a long time after WrestleMania XXX.
– Hulk Hogan was in New York City over the weekend and will be doing media appearances this week to promote WrestleMania XXX, including Huffington Post Live.
Hogan is scheduled for tonight’s WWE RAW from Brooklyn and next week’s show from Washington, D.C.
– John Cena will be appaering on Live With Kelly and Michael today to promote WrestleMania XXX.
– WWE has set up a page at WWE.com demonstrating the various ways fans can watch WrestleMania XXX all over the world.
An autographed wrestling boot was stolen from Hogan’s Beach Shop in Tampa, Florida on Sunday.
The boot, which was valued at around $5,500, was taken by a woman who had three female accomplices distract the manager of the venue while she stole the memorabilia.
Police described the woman as “a heavyset female in her 50s.” The boot has still not been recovered.
WTSB in Tampa, FL, has posted the following security footage of the theft:
– Former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone was at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut a few weeks ago, most likely to be interviewed for future WCW projects on the WWE Network or DVD release.
Schiavone has been fielding a lot of wrestling-related questions and comments on Twitter and noted that he’s had a huge increase in people tweeting him since the launch of the WWE Network. When asked why he left WWE back in 1990 and jumped to WCW, he made this interesting comment:
@DJSeanmoney I left in 1990 because of a great offer from WCW. It was a big mistake.
WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan is not scheduled for a match at the big show, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be ready to get physical if needed. Hogan, who is reportedly not cleared to wrestle even a tag team match, tweeted on Wednesday:
Should be a day off,naha,gonna blow out chest and back jack,need to be ready in case it gets out of hand at WRESTLEMANIA 30 brother HH
Triple H has words with BOOTista and Randy Orton, in the opening Segment YES!
In-Ring Segment: Triple H, BOOtista and Randy Orton Raw started off with Triple H in the middle of the ring, blaming the WWE Universe, for the events leading to the match between Triple H & Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. He said he had no chocie but has too end the #YesMovment. Out comes Batista, followed by Randy Orton. I really enjoyed the back and forth between all three. With Batista caling Randy Orton a “paper champion” and Orton saying if Batista was the big deal he was supposed to be they wouldn’t have gone on to cheer for Daniel Bryan.
Triple H tried to make his exit, Batista stopped him and said he has to fix things. That’s when Triple H went off on Batista, saying he hated when Part-Time movie stars come back and think they know how to run the business. Triple H also called out Orton, for being technically gifted, but still needs his hand held to win the match.
Triple H then annoucned a bombshell that if he wins the match between him and Daniel Bryan, he will enter the triple threat match at WrestleMania XXX, and win it to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
I thought this was a great segment, and I like that now Triple H has a shot to be in the Main Event at WrestleMania. That gives people some doubt that Daniel Bryan could lose his match between him and Triple H, which he wont. I like the direction this story is going in, as we are two Raw’s from Mania! YES!
Sheamus wins on St Patrick’s Day. NO!
Bad News Barrett & Hornswoggle Obligatory Hornswaggle segment for St Patrick’s day. Followed by an unfunny and predictable Bad News Barrett segment. Yawn. Someone tell me why Barrett is not wrestling, is he injured? NO!
Sheamus vs. Titus O’Neil Gimmick Match, the aforementioned Hornswaggle gets involved and becomes a chess piece. Christian on commentary was the bright spot. He attacks after the match, which also was predictable, I didn’t hate the attack though, but overall for me the segment was a NO!
The Usos vs. The Real Americans
Sold match, looks like The Real Americans are back as a cohesive unit. This win by The Real Americans I’m assuming will lead to their involvement in a 4-way tag match at WrestleMania. Perhaps on the grandest stage of them all, we will finally see Cesaro snap on Jack Swagger and swing him many many times. YES!
John Cena and Bray Wyatt, let’s hope the match lives up to the hype. YES!
John Cena & Bray Wyatt Promo Segment Obviously we won’t know until WrestleMania XXX if these two will have a good or great match. For all we know they could have an amazing match. But I have to say I really enjoy Bray Wyatt’s promo work here. John Cena is John Cena, I could do with out the comedy. His act is getting stale, and he is in need for a change, a big change. I think this this program is a good fit for both superstars, of course I would rather have seen The Shield vs The Wyatts, but since that ship has sailed, I’m enjoying what I see. YES!
Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan……Part 20. YES!
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have good matches with each other, I enjoyed this one as well. Batista came down to take it to Orton, followed by Daniel Bryan sending Batista out of the ring with the Knee. This was a great live illustration to show what “could” happen at WrestleMania XXX. Batista power bombing Orton Afterwords got a decent pop. I have to say, seems a fair amount of heat on BOOtista is melting away, now that Daniel Bryan has the potential to headline with him and Orton at WrestleMania XXX YES!
Paul could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves. YES!
Segment: Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is a master wordsmith. He is perfect for someone like Brock Lesnar, who’s mic skills aren’t as sharp. I love the story they are telling here, acknowledging The Undertaker is getting older and it has been getting harder the last few years for him to win decisively. YES!
Interesting observation, did you notice how CM Punk didn’t exist on the promo they showed? Would have made great sense to use him, after all, The Undertaker beat CM Punk last year at WrestleMania 29 and, Brock Lesnar went on to beat CM Punk at SummerSlam. But no, he is erased.
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
– WWE is considering a 6-man tag match at WrestleMania featuring The Shield vs. Kane and NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension, according to a report by Justin LaBar at Triblive.com.
– WWE.com has published a feature looking at The Undertaker’s 20 Greatest Rivals.
– WWE.com also has a playlist of Superstars Impersonating Hulk Hogan.
– Sting will be making a “special appearance” for Revolution Pro this Saturday at York Hall in London, England. Also on the show are Colt Cabana, The Young Bucks, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, Ricochet and more. It does not appear that Sting will be wrestling.
– Independent pro wrestler Steven Walters, who frequently works for Anarchy Wrestling out of Cornelia, Georgia, has signed a developmental deal with WWE. He is expected to start with the company in Orlando in mid-April.
– Chris Harrington recently compiled a list of the 20 wrestlers who have appeared in the most WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view matches in history. That list looks as follows:
1. The Undertaker 161
2. HHH 158
3. Big Show 156
4. Kane 155
5. Chris Jericho 149
6. Rey Mysterio 129
7. John Cena 124
8. Edge 123
9. Booker T 119
10. Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels 114
12. Chris Benoit 113
13. Ric Flair 105
14. Christian and Steve Austin 90
16. Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust 90
17. Sting 83 and Lex Luger 83
19. Hulk Hogan and C.M. Punk 82
WWE is reportedly planning on making a big push for Hulk Hogan merchandise and legends merchandise based on a “big four” of Hogan, The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior and Steve Austin. As part of this deal, WWE is wanting to get all four to appear at WrestleMania XXX in April.
As previously reported, Austin has mentioned that he had no interest in going to WrestleMania just to be there, and that he would only be interested in attending if he had a good reason. WWE reportedly wants to come up with a good storyline to bring Austin to WrestleMania this year in a non-wrestling role. The idea has apparently been pitched to Austin, however we have yet to hear of any kind of deal being reached.
The following is a list of the current merchandise sellers at the arenas in WWE.
1. John Cena
2. Daniel Bryan
3. CM Punk (down on the list because he’s been off TV and hasn’t been at the arenas)
4. Batista
5. Sheamus
6. Hulk Hogan
7. Randy Orton
8. Brock Lesnar
On the official WWE website, the list of top merchandise sellers is as follows:
1. John Cena
2. CM Punk
3. Daniel Bryan
4. Hulk Hogan
5. The Shield
6. Steve Austin
7. Brock Lesnar
8. Undertaker
9. Randy Orton
Notably absent from the list are Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio, both of whom have been among the top merchandise movers, especially Mysterio, who has been in the top tier list for several years.
Hulk Hogan’s WrestleMania XXX Announcement, John Cena & The Wyatt Family Hulk Hogan starts the show announcing an Andre The Giant memorial 30 man Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. Battle Royals have happened before at WrestleMania, with Andre The Giant winning the first ever Battle Royal at WrestleMania II. At Wrestlemania IV Bret Hart and Bad News Brown, both heels at the time agreed to share the trophy, well for a few moments. And who could forget the 19 man Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. I don’t think anyone was expecting this, and at first I thought, the idea seemed silly, but this will get alot of talent on the card, and could be interesting to watch.
John Cena came out to have a Raw moment with The Hulkster. Dislike Cena all you want, he has been the top guy in WWE for the last 10 years. Buff Bagwell, made a ridiculous comment, that John Cena isn’t a Stone Cold Steve Austin, or a Rock, and that HE could have been John Cena, if he was pushed like Cena has been. That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Cena is a true star, and any way you slice it this was a Raw moment, to see Cena posing down with the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling.
Bray Wyatt doing his thing as John Cena and the legendary Hulk Hogan YES!
I enjoyed the Wyatt involvement, the challenge was issued by Cena, for a match at WrestleMania, Wyatt would later accept. Prior to the Royal Rumble, when the heavy rumor was John Cena vs Bray Wyatt, I was scratching my head. After months of excellent build up of Bray and the Wyatt Family, I can honestly tell you, I’m excited to see this match, and love the Wyatt Family. YES!
John Cena vs. Erick Rowan Short match, between Cena and Rowan, with Rowan having the upper hand for a good portion of the match, Cena wins with a surprise pin. I’m not sure why he was so shocked. Hulk Hogan in Cena’s corner, makes me wonder if this will foreshadow some physical Hogan involvement in the match at WrestleMania XXX. YES!
The Authority Address Daniel Bryan I’m a huge Vince McMahon fan, I loved watching Vince McMahon verbally and sometimes even physically battle Stone Cold Steve Austin, back in the Attitude Era. Perhaps because I’m so over the last 7 months of beating Daniel Bryan to the ground, I just can’t stand Stephanie McMahon and Triple H as The Authority. When I say that, I don’t mean, “I can’t wait to see Daniel Bryan get his hands on Triple H.” I just can’t stand the way either of them are, at all. Stephanie does all the talking in this segment, demanding Daniel Bryan apologize or face severe consequences. NO!
Cessaro griping a bit too tight for Jack Swagger YES!
Big E. vs. Jack Swagger / Real Americans Break-Up Tease # 395 This match was basically a filler to highlight the inevitable break up of Cesaro and Swagger. It’s a shame that Big E has been pushed to the back in all this, I had high hopes that the Intercontinental Title would finally get more prestige. That being said I am enjoying the break up of The Real Americans, because Cesaro is going to be a break out star. YES!
In-Ring Segment: The Undertaker & Paul Heyman This segment was pure brilliance, Paul Heyman with two amazing weeks in a row of fantastic promos. Playing the Chicago crowd expertly. Tying CM Punk’s departure into not being able to defeat The Undertaker, was a genius concept. I like how the story is now centered around Paul Heyman trying to get his revenge on The Undertaker. This could also set the stage for another CM Punk Undertaker encounter if he ever comes back and returns his ball. I’m cautiously optimistic for the Brock vs Taker match at WrestleMania XXX. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
The following are highlights of a recent interview with WWE Superstar Fandango:
On crowd reactions now as compared to the Attitude Era: “I think it’s more rewarding to know that we can go out and put on a good show without going lowbrow and taking the easy road. Whether it’s the middle finger, or cursing, because that’s going to get a reaction no matter what. It’s harder to get a reaction the honest way and that’s just pure entertainment. That’s from an 8-year-old kid to an 80-year-old woman. I think chair shots and middle fingers and swearing and girls with their tops off is an easy reaction. I think the way we do it now is a lot more rewarding, for sure.”
On meeting Hulk Hogan: “I’m a huge fan, and I never actually got to meet Hulk until that Monday [on Raw]. He came up to Summer [Rae] and myself and said he was a huge fan of ours and took a picture with us! WWE tweeted it out and Hulk did too. He still looks great for his age. I don’t know if I should say ‘for his age’. He looks great for my age! A real nice guy and it’s really cool. I think WWE’s his home. No matter whether it’s 2014, 1983 or 2025 people are always going to accept him in the WWE because he helped make WrestleMania. He is WrestleMania.”
On possible WrestleMania plans: “Hopefully we’ll get in there with Santino Marella, whether it be a mixed tag or a singles match. He’s been giving me a little bit of a problem as of late on TV over the last few weeks. That’s where it’s aiming for – hopefully it pays off.”
On when he thinks he’ll compete for a title: “I think after WrestleMania is when we’re done with the dancing idiots Santino and Emma. Then it’s time to move on to a little bit more serious work, definitely.”
On how the internet effects surprises: “There are pros and cons to how connected we are now. One of the negatives, like you said, is that bad news travels really fast and secrets get out and it can really kill an angle. On the other hand, good news, it helps promote good things too. It really helps the WWE Universe stay connected and up to date with what’s going on.”
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was the latest guest on WWE’s “30 Years of WrestleMania” podcast over at PodcastOne.com. Here are some highlights of what the Hitman said about:
Original plans for WrestleMania 2:“I was initially told quite excitedly, that I would be wrestling Ricky Steamboat, which was a dream for me, that would have been a big moment for me. Then they changed it about a month before WrestleMania, you are going to be in the battle royal with the football players, and I remember going, uch, that’s not going to be anywhere near the same thing. I would have a great match with Ricky Steamboat.”
His favorite WrestleMania Match: “I would probably say the Iron Man match, but it’s so long I don’t really have time to take an hour to watch it, it’s really a study that match. I would recommend that any young wrestler if they really want to watch a good match where they might learn something, it would probably be that Iron Man match. But just for time reasons, I always loved the match I had with Steve Austin, just because it delivers so much. It was a beautiful story.”
Almost Fighting Roddy Piper After Their WrestleMania 8 Match: “Well, the truth is, when we finished the match, we almost got into it in the back. Because Roddy had kicked me in the face and busted me open, and there was a little tension from that when I came back. I remember that Chief Jay Strongbow had to kinda get between us, and we had to cool our heels for an hour before we could at least thank each other for the match.”
Who He Wishes He Could Have Wrestled At WrestleMania: “I’d have like to put Hulk Hogan in the sharpshooter if he had shown up.”
Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon’s ladder match at WrestleMania X: “I felt totally ripped off. I had told Vince the idea since the very first day that I got there that I’ve got this idea about a ladder match that we been doing up in Calgary. Everytime I sat down with Vince I would always say, I’ve got this idea for a match but you’ve got to promise me you won’t do it with anybody else. One day he did ask me to show him the watch so that he could have an idea, so I went and found Shawn, and it’s one of those matches that’s on a video but we kinda just went out there and did a dry run just to show Vince what the match was, it wasn’t the greatest ladder match, nor was it intended to be. But it was a match to show the bare bones of it to Vince. I remember when it was over I knocked on Vince’s door and said did you see it, and he said he missed it. Scott Hall, not Scott Hall but Razor Ramon saw the match, of course Shawn was in the match so he kinda got to think hey this is a great idea, and so they went to Vince without my permission and stole my idea took the match. They had a great match at WrestleMania X but it wasn’t the wrestlers that were great, it was the match that was great.”
The viewership for Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Memphis, Tennessee dropped from last week. The show, which featured both The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan, averaged 4.368 million viewers, down from the average of 4.576 million viewers from last week.
The hourly breakdown for this week’s RAW is as follows:
Hour One: 4.165 million viewers
Hour Two: 4.676 million viewers
Hour Three: 4.265 million viewers
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On John Cena, Bray Wyatt and Hulk Hogan: “Cena and Hulk worked for me and Hogan’s role at WM30 seems to nicely fit the veteran who WILL get a little physical at WM30….BROTHER!”
“What if I told you that John Cena and Bray Wyatt will arguably steal the show at WM30? Roll your eyes if you want but when you pair two, athletic performers with legit football backgrounds, both offensive linemen, expect their work rate to increase and their match to be a ’10’ on the physicality chart.”
On Daniel Bryan: “Daniel Bryan had another terrific night and WWE is booking DB expertly even though some critics will micro analyze the storyline and find fault with it because that’s simply what they do.”
“As I have said for many weeks, I fully expect Daniel Bryan to have a significant “WrestleMania Moment” in NOLA on April 6.”
“Just waiting on a handful of fans to complain now that the Bryan story is now too “predictable.” Please…stop my pain.”
On the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: “Not totally surprised that WWE is going to have a 30 man battle royal in the name of Andre the Giant as WWE usually adds a multi person match to attempt to get as many talents on WrestleMania as possible. I still remain firm that appearing on WM30 is an earned opportunity and not anyone’s right of passage. With that said, I’m not unhappy that several talents will now get in the game. Good for them and hopefully it doesn’t cause the four hour marathon to be shorted on the time needed for specific main event level bouts.”
On RAW improving: “Without question the bell to bell content of Monday Night RAW has improved significantly over the past few weeks. Yeah, I know that I[m old school and the butt of the occasional joke on RAW but I know what I like and I like physicality, believability and realism….not bad acting or failed attempts at humor.”
WWE Hall Of Famer and WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan opened this week’s WWE RAW show in Memphis, Tennessee to make his promised WrestleMania announcement.
Hogan revealed that at this year’s WrestleMania there will be a new “Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal,” which will feature 30 WWE Superstars competing in a battle royal match for an Andre The Giant trophy.
Thus far, Big E. and Ryback have been confirmed as participants in the battle royal match.
WWE.com confirmed in their “Five-Point Preview” for tonight’s edition of RAW, which emanates from Memphis, that in one of the main events of the evening, John Cena will square off in singles competition with Wyatt Family-member Luke Harper.
As previously reported, The Undertaker will appear on tonight’s show, as well as Hulk Hogan, who is scheduled to make a big announcement related to WrestleMania XXX.
TMZ caught up with Hulk Hogan at a New York airport on Saturday and asked the WrestleMania XXX host about CM Punk’s recent departure from the company. Hogan said he hopes that Punk is only ‘on vacation’ and returns to WWE soon.
– It was confirmed on Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown that The Undertaker will be appearing at Monday’s RAW in Memphis to address Brock Lesnar. Also confirmed for RAW, as we reported a few days ago, is Hulk Hogan, who will be making a big WrestleMania XXX announcement.
– Colt Cabana recently spoke to The Chicago Tribune and spoke among other topics, about receiving a lot of e-mails regarding CM Punk. “It’s a lot. It’s wrestling websites and promoters who want to book him. I ignore a lot of them or just say he’s nowhere to be found,” said Cabana.
As seen on Monday’s RAW, Paul Bearer joins The Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Amy “Lita” Dumas as the inductees in the 2014 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame. The two names that are being bandied about that have yet to be announced are Scott Hall and Mr. T.
In the case of Mr. T, there is a chance that he won’t be inducted simply as another addition to the celebrity wing of the Hall Of Fame, but instead a joint-induction that would include all of the WrestleMania I main event participants, which include Hulk Hogan, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “Cowboy” Bob Orton.
– As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer and WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan will be appearing on The Travel Channel’s “Toy Hunter” show. The program airs tonight, featuring Hogan attempting to sell an action figure of himself from 1989 that he claims is worth $1,000.
You can watch a preview clip of Hogan’s appearance on the show at USAToday.com.
– According to a recent survey that has been sent out to fans, WWE is already contemplating raising the price of their Network to $11.99 per month. Among a number of different topics addressed in the survey, it was asked if fans would still subscribe to the WWE Network at $11.99 per month.
– WWE Superstar Fandango was interviewed by the UK’s Sky Sports this week to promote WrestleMania XXX. He went in and out of character during the interview, talking about his ballroom dancer character, his influences growing up and more. When asked about CM Punk’s situation, he replied:
“It’s a tricky situation, I don’t really know a lot about it, but we are looking forward to WrestleMania coming up in April. Anything can happen. We’re looking forward to April 6.”
– WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan tweeted the following today, hyping his big announcement on RAW:
Excited about RAW in Memphis next week,as the host of WM30 i will slowly reintroduce WWE Universe to the superpowers of HULKAMANIA brotherHH
They’ll never be another person as great as Paul Heyman. Brilliant performance. YES!
Paul Heyman Opens RAW, Brock Lesnar Attacks Mark Henry Raw kicked off with a bang, CM Punk’s music hit and, naturally the crowd went wild. I’m sure most older WWE fans know this drill all too well. WWE loves pushing buttons (now called trolling). I fully expected to hear CM Punk’s entrance music hit at some point during the broadcast, it was inevitable. However after about 30 seconds, it became clear there was no CM Punk, it was Paul Heyman. Paul comes into the ring, goading the crowd to cant their heads off for the voice of the voiceless. Paul then sat Indian style in the center of the ring, and began to talk about CM Punk, and ultimately said that the fans were to blame for his absence. Paul tied it into CM Punk losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, and moved towards Brock Lesnar taking on The Deadman in New Orleans. Brock then comes out, followed by Mark Henry who eventually gets an awesome F5 into the announce table. I loved this segment, this was exactly how you capture lighting in a bottle. Paul Heyman was simply brilliant. If I have one criticism on this segment, I would have placed it towards the middle of the program. I think the crowd should have been given a bit of time to try to “HijackRaw” with their CM Punk chants, and then WWE would strike back with their response. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Championships The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos With a crazy night came this tag team match. I was pretty surprised that The USO’s won the contest and became The WWE Tag Team Champions. For some reason I thought we would have to wait till WrestleMania XXX to see The USO’s win the tag team championship, there is still 4 weeks before WrestleMania so as they say anything can happen. I’m happy for The USO’s they deserve the championship. YES!
The Real Americans Hugging it out… For now.
Big E. vs. Cesaro & Big E. vs. Jack Swagger I’ve been seeing Jack Swagger interrupt many Cesaro matches. Earlier in the night Swagger again caused the DQ by attacking Big E during the match. Later Big E pulls double duty taking on Swagger Cesaro returns the favor. Obviously these two are destined for a breakup, but when? And how does Big E’ Factor into this match. I wouldn’t mind seeing the three of them go at it in a triple Threat Match at WrestleMania, where we can see Cesaro finally turn on Jack Swagger. YES!
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family What an incredible match these 6 young up and coming SuperStars had at The Elimination Chamber PPV, This match was great too, with Seth Rollins proving he is not the weakest link in The Shield. Flying across the ring! I like Rollins walking out of the match to further the breakup of The Shield. I think The Shield vs The Wyatts much like The Rock vs Triple H will go down in history as two matches that should have taken place on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. Still an awesome showing and a great way to keep the momentum for Bray Wyatt who got the pinfall. YES!
Renee Young Interviews Batista BOOtista turning full heel on Smackdown! this past Friday night, now on Raw calls the Daniel Bryan #YesMovement the the dumbest thing he’s ever seen in his life. I like heel BOOtista. Well maybe I don’t. I didn’t like WWE trying to keep Batista a face when the crowd would have none of it. There’s your real change! We actually turned him heel. There was no other choice anyway, I don’t want to get my hopes up for the SEVENTH month in a row, but this seems to be heading towards what most of us are hoping to see at WrestleMania XXX.
Santino Marella & Emma vs. Fandango & Summer Rae I’m still not sold on Emma. It must be because of Santino. Or that music just doesn’t feel big enough. Again I get it she was very over in NXT, but that arena holds 500-800 people. (I’ve been to a NXT Taping at Full Sail) Sometimes things don’t play as well on the big stage. I hear that music, and I hear a pin drop. Then again, this might be another Fandango in the making the night after WrestleMania XXX. NO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78HUkVvnLXg
To much talk, Daniel Bryan should have kneed them both. NO!
Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon & Kane Promo So here’s the problem I have with Triple H vs Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. I don’t want to see it. I want to see Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan face Triple H even for a chance to be in that match. Why? Because I’ve invested wasted seven long months waiting to see the payoff from a story that began at SummerSlam. I attended SummerSlam, Hell-In-A-Cell, Survivor Series, and The Royal Rumble. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan beat up Triple H the character. Although I might not mind Brian Danielson decking Paul Levesque, for this frustrating half year plus. I’m just not into seeing this match, I’m turned off. 2-4 months ago, I would have been into the idea of this match, and invested in it. Now all I want is for him to win to get put in the championship match at the end of WrestleMania XXX. It’s a shame too, because Triple H vs Daniel Bryan should be a featured marquee match, on it’s own. I just don’t see myself enjoying the match as much as I would if I didn’t have this bad taste in my mouth from the last seven months.
I hate when people compare Daniel Bryan to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Daniel Bryan is mega over right now, but back in the Attitude era Austin, the whole business was over way more. These hijack shows though are starting to offer up more of that attitude era feel, I will say though. The thing is with Stone Cold Steve Austin, he gave his blood his sweat and tears to be WWE Champion. He stopped at nothing and got physical along the way. I was not a fan of Daniel Bryan just standing there, taking abuse from Triple H and Stephanie. I wanted him to beat the crap out of both of them. If I were Daniel Bryan, I’d offer up the stipulation that we all expect to eventually happen. If he can Beat Triple H at WrestleMania, he gets inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match. But I still don’t want to see the match at WrestleMania, too turned off from the last few months. NO!
I’m enjoying this story more and more each week. YES!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family I liked what John Cena had to say to the crowd, the CM Punk chants were beginning to get on my nerves by this point. I’m enjoying Bray Wyatt and what he has to offer, he could be a top Hollywood horror actor. It wouldn’t surprise me if after Mania he stars in a film. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW