Hulk Hogan Opens Up RAW The big announcement earlier this week was of course the return of the Hulk Hogan, and how he will be The Host of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. What can be said about Hulk Hogan? He’s the Babe Ruth of wrestling, and icon and legend. He deserved to be in WWE in come capacity, and why on earth he was in TNA for as long as he was, I’ll never know. Wade Barrett took a verbal shot at hogan at The Elimination Chamber Pay Per Vew, and was no were to be seen on this show, so I can only wonder, if he will fill the role of Hogan’s Punching bag at WrestleMania XXX, time will tell. YES!
Alberto Del Rio vs. BOOtista / Randy Orton Interrupts. WWE is now starting to acknowledge that BOOtista is getting booed out of the building. Well it’s about time! How long can you go jamming someone down the audience’s throats that is clearly not connecting positively with the fans? Let me make myself clear, I don’t hate Batista, I hate the idea that WWE felt they needed Batista to fill some gap at WrestleMania XXX, and injected him into the Main Event, in spite of an organic rise of Daniel Bryan. Clearly a large portion, and not a vocal minority is in agreement with this sentiment. Batista is already starting to
BOOTista is going to WrestleMania XXX #DealWithIT NO!
lean towards heel tendencies, making a crying face, after his entrance, and his #DealWithIt catch phrase, is quite antagonizing. So Big Dave loses to Del Rio after Randy Orton distracts him. Orton acknowledges the recent crowd reception Batista is receiving. Batista responds while sweaty and slobbering all over, that the fans have a choice, and he’s okay with their choice. I’m just turned off to this story. I’d be happier if Batista went full on Heel and Batista Bombed the crap out of Daniel Bryan, get him in this story, because this is boring me, and even if they inject Daniel Bryan into the Main event, I’m not sure I can take 5 weeks of build up to Orton vs Batista. NO!
WWE Intercontinental Championship Big E. (c) vs. Cesaro The match was good, Ceasaro is definitely getting a face turn soon, and rightly so, there is a big drop off on faces, and I would argue to you he already is a face, based on the crowd reaction he’s getting, and his Ceasaro Swing. Looks like Jack Swaggar is going to be Cesaro’s opponent, eventually. YES!
John Cena Injured during his interaction with The Wyatts NO!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family Thirty days after John Cena was screwed out of the WWE Championship at The Royal Rumble, and one night after he was screwed again from The Wyatts, John Cena finally decides to address the situation. He must have had that on his iPhone to-do list and kept forgetting to take care of this task. You know if the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most prized possession in sports entertainment, and they were combined because of your challenge to Randy Orton in December, you’d figure John Cena would have had have a bit more fire, than to wait 30 days. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena, has the potential to be a good story, and maybe even a good match, although Erick Rowan, may have changed the whole situation, because Cena appeared to be legitimately injured. Time will tell. I wouldn’t be terribly upset with a plan B of The Shield vs The Wyatts at WrestleMania. YES!
Sheamus with a Brogue Kick to Christian NO!
Christian vs. Sheamus Match was okay, nothing special in my opinion, but I must admit, it was just a match, and I was quite bored from it. Heavy rumor is Heel Sheamus vs Cesaro WrestleMania, I think that would be a good match. NO!
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Regarding the rumors that Scott Hall will be inducted into the 2014 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame, sources claim that he is indeed on the current list of inductees.
As far as the speculation that Diamond Dallas Page may be inducted along with Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, both of whom he helped get sober over the past year, he is said to not be on the list of this year’s inductees.
Betty White Guest Star Betty White came out with The Big Show to kick of this weeks WWE Monday Night Raw live from Los Angelas. She said a few words and that she’s there to “Kick some Ass!” The Authority come out to start an in-ring segment. Later we see Betty White in a few segments with the New Age Outlaws. They attempt to give Betty White some spiked tea, however Betty turns the tables on Billy Gun and he ends up with the drink. How can I say something bad about Betty White? She’s a legend. It was exactly what you would have expected. The kick some ass line was charming. It was fine. YES!
Even Daniel Bryan couldn’t save this boring segment. NO!
The Authority – Randy Orton – Daniel Bryan Another in-ring segment with The Authority followed by Randy Orton. Orton now wants to be on Kelly and Michael and truly be The Face of the WWE. Daniel Bryan comes out and reminds Randy Orton that he beat him clean last week. Bryan wasn’t happy he was laid out by Kane and Orton after the match, and wanted Kane on Raw. The Authority said that Kane was suspended, and that wouldn’t be possible. I can’t take these segments with Randy Orton and The Authority. Even my beloved Daniel Bryan couldn’t save it in my eyes. Perhaps Bryan goes over at the Elimination Chamber and becomes WWE World Heavyweight Champion. All I know is they need to stop these segments this way, I mean at least mix it up, have Bryan in a fiery rage from his “NO NO NO” days call out The Authority. All these segments are the same, and boring. NO!
Rey Mysterio, Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs. The Wyatt Family Amazing match from the Former Tag Team Champions, and Rey and the Wyatts. Bodies flying all over made for a great visual, and the quick hook of the Sister Abigail onto Rey Mysterio was awesome. Bray cuts a promo on The Shield for their upcoming match at The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View. Probably the match I’m looking forward to the most. Check out the match below YES!
Santino Marella (with Emma) vs. Fandango (with Summer Rae) Another bizarre use of Emma here, backing a losing Santino. Emma did her dance during their entrance to Santino’s Music. I mean I understand Santino is wrestling, but isn’t her dancing gimmick attached to her music from NXT? The debut and usage of Emma is quite confusing to me. NO!
Sheamus and Cesaro getting it on in a great tag match on Raw YES!
Sheamus & Christian vs. The Real Americans Antonio Cesaro is now just called “Cesaro”. Like Prince, or Madonna or Sting, if that means they are going to push him more you can call him Mud for all I care. Cesaro was great in this match, as was Sheamus and a very beat up Christian. Our friend The Solomonster has said on his podcast that his European Uppercut should be his finisher and I agree, after he hit the move in this match, it almost seemed the crowd expected the three count. As did I, it’s a great move. Good Match! YES!
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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!
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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!
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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
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 PromoOld 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 reportedBreaking 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!
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 following are highlights from a recent WGD Weekly interview with Jake “The Snake” Roberts:
On the possibility of buying TNA: “I want to run an Indigogo and raise the money to buy that son of a bitch and do it right. Not to be in competition with Vince, but to do wrestling the way I liked it. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But, now I hear the guy from Smashing Pumpkins is snatching it, so maybe I should just buy the band Smashing Pumpkins and go on with my life and start singing.”
On how he would run TNA if he were able to purchase it: “I got all the thoughts, bro. There ain’t nobody better at that. I would make it simple, there would be good guys and there would be bad guys. There wouldn’t be no bullshit and there wouldn’t be twenty minute interviews. We would actually, ‘rassle…the world needs it, man.”
On he wants in the 2014 Royal Rumble match: “All I can hope for right now, you know, I’m trying to get myself in shape to do the Royal Rumble, one last time…You know, I’d like to go out on my own terms with my head held high, I think I deserve that. I’ve had thirty seven years in the ring and it was a wonderful life, it was crazy, insane, I did a lot of things wrong, but I did a lot of things right too, brother.”
On turning down Vince McMahon in 1984: “Vince McMahon had tried to hire me before when I was with Georgia Championship Wrestling, because he bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling from some individuals at the time. He tried to hire me and I did my stupid shit, cussed him out, called him a fag, and that’s not a cigarette by the way, and told him to shove it up his ass and walked out…then…I was back asking the man for a job.”
On a classic Andre The Giant story: “One instance that was pretty horrifying for me, it was his birthday and we were up in Montreal…he had quite a few bottles of wine, and a couple bottles of vodka too. We got in the ring and there is something you never want to see if you are an opponent, and that is a playful fucking giant. It’s dangerous…if they are giggling and they are hopping around, so, I think, ‘my god, are you fucking serious, what am I gonna do now?’…during the match, we would usually do a spot…he’d grab both ropes…and he’d squat down on me, it looked great, it normally didn’t bother me at all, but this night hi hand slipped off the rope and he adjusted every frigging vertebrae in my body…I just couldn’t believe it, it knocked the breath out of me, then I turned on my side and all of a sudden I felt my shoulder vibrating, I’m thinking, ‘What the fuck is that?’…and he is laughing…Dave Hebner came over and said, ‘Andre, what are
you doing laughing’…’I’m farting,’ he says, and my shoulder is vibrating, I don’t know what the world record for a fart is, but it was well into the thirty second range, and the stench, it would have gagged the maggots. My first thought was to get up and paint brush the son of a bitch, but, I quickly got over that.”
On his memories of traveling with a young Undertaker early in his WWE run: “He came to me and he says, ‘I hear you know all the great strip joints,’ I said, ‘yes, I do, worldwide,’ he says, ‘I’ll travel with you’…so, he tried to hang with me, and it’s a chemical world, so I was cheating. After about three or four weeks, we went to TV and Vince looked at him and said, ‘Mark, I don’t think you need the makeup today, you look like hell. Jake is killing you and a few days later, he was in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Finally, I had to smarten him up and tell him how I was doing it, and we then became very, very good friends. I have all the respect in the world for Mark. He has earned everything that he has gotten. He is a unique character, I love the fact that he upholds kayfabe, just a great guy, and of course he was there for the stripper times with me, and we did it well.”
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.”
– During Wednesday’s WWE live event in Belfast, WWE Superstar The Miz made a bit of a heel turn. A video of the action has surfaced on YouTube, which you can view above.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is currently beating the entire CBS Sports web-team in their NFL predictions contest. As previously reported, Roberts and CBS Sports writer Dave Richard have a bet where if Roberts wins, Richard must visit the DDP “Accountability Crib” for a DDP Yoga workout. If Richard wins, Roberts must work for him for a day.
For those interested, you can follow their online picks at CBSSports.com.
-The following is a non-spoiler preview of tonight’s WWE SmackDown:
-Michael Cole interviews Triple H
-Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs. The Uso’s
-A.J. Lee vs. Nikki Bella [Non-Title Match]
-Los Matadores vs. 3MB
-Ryback & Paul Heyman vs. CM Skunk [No-DQ Handicap Match]
-Great Khali vs. Fandango
-Daniel Bryan, Big E. Langston, Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose
-Jake “The Snake” Roberts has added episode two of his new online “Snake Radio” YouTube show, with special guest Diamond Dallas Page. You can check that out below:
-WWE has a new featured article up on their official website celebrating the 15-year anniversary of the infamous Mick Foley bump off the top of the cage during his legendary Hell In A Cell match with The Undertaker. Fans interested in reading that piece can do so online at WWE.com.
-The debut edition of Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ “Snake Radio” show is now online. Fans interested in checking that out can do so below:
The following are highlights from a recent VOC Wrestling Nation interview with DDP Yoga intern Dylan Frymer:
On the progress of Jake “The Snake” Roberts: “I want to make it clear that Jake is a year clean off of cocaine. However, he recently had a problem with alcohol that we documented on YouTube. Since then, I’ve been going on the road with Jake as an accountability partner. I keep him accountable to himself. We’re a tag team on addiction. Food is my addiction, and (Jake and I) help each other.”
On getting involved with DDP Yoga: “In 2008 I was going to meet DDP at a convention in NJ. I was 290 lbs at the time, and I was one of the first people to sign up for the YRG program (the former name of DDP Yoga, “Yoga for Regular Guys”) My mom sent an email to Dallas and he actually responded back to me personally. I was one of the first 10 people to do YRG and I lost 110lbs.”
On moving into DDP’s “Accountability Crib”: “I fell off the wagon after a bout with depression and gained most of the weight back. Depression is real. I was originally approached to come and live here with Jake, but I was in a funk (and said no). Then I saw that Scott Hall moved in and it really impacted my life; I reached out to DDP on facebook and let him know that Scott Hall inspired me to (overcome depression) and that I lost 20lbs. DDP called me and asked me to move into the Accountability Crib and work with him as an intern, and the rest is history.”
Check out the complete interview online at VOCNation.com.
The following are highlights of a new Q&A update from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On if TNA offered him a job with full control, would he take it?: “No…not at this time. Zero interest. I’m moving onto other things of interest.”
On Bray Wyatt’s promo skills reminding him of Jake “The Snake” Roberts: “Wyatt grew up in the business so I’d assume he studied many. He’s a student of the game.”
On who would win an amateur wrestling match in their prime: Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar?: “Hard to say, depends on everyone’s health. Both at their best, it’s hard to pick against a Gold Medalist.”
On the possibilities of becoming a mixed-martial-arts announcer: “Time will tell. I’m interested but not sure if any MMA companies are. I’m sure it would be fun if it were to occur. I’m a big, MMA fan especially UFC.”
Check out more JR Q&A at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com.
-Following the successful “#hashtagmania” online video segment by late night host Jimmy Fallon and pop star Justin Timberlake this week, WWE Superstar John Cena is attempting to recruit the guys to do a “#hashtagmania” segment at WrestleMania XXX next year. As of this writing, Fallon has agreed to Cena, but Timberlake is yet to jump on board.
-Former WWE Diva Maryse will be doing commentary once again for the Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) promotion during their event coming up on Saturday, October 12th.
-WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be doing a Piper’s Pit segment at the Northeast Wrestling (NEW) Autumn Ambush event on October 5th in Torrington, CT. Piper’s guests will be former WWE Superstars Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
-Former TNA Knockout So Cal Val officially pleaded not guilty in writing on September 16th to her DUI-related charges stemming from her recent arrest in Florida. Because of that, her arraignment scheduled for the following day was waived. A pre-trial conference is set for October 7th.
-Diamond Dallas Page has added the full HBO Real Sports segment featuring himself and Jake “The Snake” Roberts to his official YouTube channel. Fans interested in checking that segment out can do so below:
-The official website for the E! cable channel has posted a new video preview for this Sunday’s season finale edition of WWE Total Divas, featuring the wedding of Natalya and Tyson Kidd. You can watch that online at EOnline.com.
-Speaking of videos, former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page has posted a new video on his official YouTube channel of himself and WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts as The Odd Couple. For those interested, you can watch that below:
The following are highlights from a recent website Q&A from WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On whether or not the Internet Wrestling Community is killing the business: “Far from it. So, no.”
On whether or not WWE still views Survivor Series as one of the “Big 4” PPVs: “I can only speak for myself but I’d say yes. Having 12 PPV’s makes it challenging for all of them to be special.”
On if he’d like to see Jake “The Snake” Roberts back in WWE, possibly in the Royal Rumble: “I’d love to see Jake clean, sober & healthy living a happy, productive life.”
On if there is a reason WWE holds PPVs on Sunday nights: “I’d assume that there is research to indicate that Sunday is the best night for WWE PPV’s plus it is and has become a tradition that I don’t see changing. Plus, it works well with the cable and satellite operators which is critical.”
On his opinion of Abdullah The Butcher, and if he deserves to be in the WWE Hall Of Fame: “Abby had an amazing, LONG career and was an independent business man who was a main event star around the world. He was unique.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.
-WWE Superstar and long time marijuana advocate Rob Van Dam revealed in a recent podcast that he is thinking about quitting smoking marijuana. RVD used to go by the moniker, “RVD 4:20” and even once appeared on the cover of the infamous High Times magazine. You can check out the new Van Dam podcast online at HipCast.com.
-WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts is currently featured on the official CBS Sports website, as Roberts will be making weekly NFL football picks for the website. You can check that out online at CBSSports.com.
According to reports, the plan as of this week is for both currently injured top WWE Superstars John Cena and Sheamus to be the surprise returns at the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in January.
One source claimed that if both Cena and Sheamus returned on the same night, in the same match, it’s doubtful that there would be any other surprises, such as Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
-For those who keep track of this kind of stuff, today marks the 11th year anniversary of the day Eric Bischoff, as WWE General Manager, debuted a replica NWA title belt as the new “World Heavyweight Championship.”
-The Ministry Of Slam show is doing a 24-hour Cystic Fibrosis benefit podcast today, featuring tons of pro wrestling merchandise being auctioned off, as well as taped interviews from such wrestling greats as Chris Jericho, Bully Ray, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Dixie Carter, Gail Kim, Diamond Dallas Page and Nigel McGuinness.
-The latest edition of Entertainment Weekly features an article on the new exhibit that opened in Los Angeles at Project Gallery that features a lot of pro wrestling and boxing photos.
-The following content will be available this week to those with WWE 24/7 Classics On Demand:
–Capital Carnage 1998
–Raw 12/1/97
–Nitro 12/1/97
–SummerSlam 1992 from Wembley Stadium
–TNT 2/7/86
–World Tour 1991
–Bob Backlund vs. Bobby Duncum 12/12/79 Madison Square Garden
–Cactus Jack vs. Jimmy Jack Funk 3/8/89 Wild West Wrestling
–Bruno Sammartino vs. Spyros Arion 8/17/75 Madison Square Garden
–Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Mighty Molly & Ivory 10/22/01 Raw
–Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith 9/22/96 Mind Games PPV
–Chris Adams vs. Steve Austin USWA 5/25/90
–Dynamite Kid vs. Bret Hart boxing match 2/13/81 Calgary
–Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie 2/2/92 IC title match from
–Al Snow vs. William Regal European title 10/16/00 Raw
–Raw 4/5/99
–Worldwide Wrestling 7/31/93
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez recently tweeted about his new association with Rob Van Dam. In a recent tweet, Rodriguez wrote:
“Ironic to be in Bakersfield, where it all began for me and Del Rio 3 years ago. But now replacing those three initials of ADR with R.V.D.!”
-Speaking of Twitter, WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently revealed on his official Twitter account that he is undergoing an operation to get new hair. Roberts wrote, “Getting new hair today. Feeling good. Procedure started. Gonna look like Heidi Klum when done. #Neograft.”
Roberts posted photos of the operation, which you can check out on Twitter @JakeSnakeDDT.
The following is a preview video of the upcoming HBO “Real Sports” profile on Diamond Dallas Page, which premieres on the premium-cable channel on Tuesday, August 20th at 9:00pm.
The replay schedule after the initial airing on Tuesday is as follows:
–August 20th at 3:10am
–August 22nd at 8:00am and 5:15pm
–August 25th at 9:00am
–August 28th at 1:00pm and 10:00pm
–September 3rd at 7:00pm and 2:25am
–September 7th at 10:30am and 12:30am
Additionally, the show will be available on HBO On Demand from August 26th through September 16th.
-TNA Knockout Velvet Sky was in fact at the TNA Impact Wrestling television taping in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday. For whatever reason, despite being advertised, Sky was not used during the event.
-As noted, HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel will run a feature that covers Diamond Dallas Page and his work with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall at 9pm on Tuesday night. The replay schedule for the show is as follows:
–August 20th at 3:10am
–August 22nd at 8:00am and 5:15pm
–August 25th at 9:00am
–August 28th at 1:00pm and 10:00pm
–September 3rd at 7:00pm and 2:25am
–September 7th at 10:30am and 12:30am
Additionally, the show will be available on HBO On Demand from August 26th through September 16th.
-WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase will be appearing at the Central Canadian Comic Con in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from November 1st through November 3rd.
HBO Sports issued the following press release on Thursday:
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL PROFILES LEGENDARY WRESTLER DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE; WHEN THE EMMY®-WINNING SHOW RETURNS AUG. 20, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO
Now in its 19th season, REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL, TV’s most honored sports journalism series and the only sports program recognized with a prestigious 2012 George Foster Peabody Award, presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 197th edition, available in HDTV, debuts at a special time TUESDAY, AUG. 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: Aug. 20 (3:10 a.m.), 22 (8:00 a.m., 5:15 p.m.), 25 (9:00 a.m.) and 28 (1:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.), and Sept. 3 (7:00 p.m., 2:55 a.m.) and 7 (10:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Aug. 21 (2:20 p.m., 10:00 p.m.), 26 (9:00 a.m.) and 31 (2:30 p.m.), and Sept. 1 (9:05 a.m.), 6 (4:45 p.m.) and 11 (10:00 a.m., 11:55 p.m.)
HBO On Demand® availability: Aug. 26-Sept. 16. The show will also be available on HBO GO®.
Segments include:
*DDP. Few athletes have a tougher life after sports than professional wrestlers. The fast lifestyle that accompanies year-round entertaining across the country can take its toll on bodies and minds, resulting in a disproportionate amount of former wrestlers becoming drug dependent and struggling with mental-health issues. In stark contrast to the sport’s high-flying, musclebound theatrics, yoga is now helping rehabilitate some stars of yesteryear. Diamond Dallas Page, famous for his success in the WCW and WWF, created DDP Yoga after finding that yoga helped ease not only his physical ailments but also his depression, and has striven to help others from his era, most notably Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Correspondent Frank Deford sits down with the wrestlers to discuss how yoga has helped their lives in a way they never thought possible.
Producer: Maggie Burbank.
REAL SPORTS was the sole sports program recognized by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a 2012 George F. Peabody Award for broadcast excellence. In addition, it is the only sports program ever honored with the duPont Award, first in 2005 and again in 2012.
At the 34th annual Sports Emmy® Awards on May 7, REAL SPORTS captured two trophies, for Outstanding Edited Sports Series and for Outstanding Long Feature for the Aug. 2012 profile of former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason. REAL SPORTS has won the Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism 15 times and has received 25 Sports Emmy® Awards overall.
Follow REAL SPORTS updates on HBO.com/realsports and facebook.com/realsports, or join the conversation on Twitter using #RealSports.
The executive producer of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is Rick Bernstein; Joe Perskie is senior producer.