The following are highlights of a new Jim Ross blog:
On Paul Heyman’s promo on RAW: “Speaking of Paul Heyman, Paul had a magnificent night on Raw delivering a home run on the Lesnar beating Taker promo. Heyman is the best talker in the business and continues to do amazing work and has to be considered as one of the greatest managers of all time on a short list that includes Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette. Before all is said and done, Paul may be the best, pure manager to ever fulfill that role in the history of the business.”
On Paige’s main roster debut at RAW: “Paige has a significant upside and I can see her potentially having a Trish-Lita type rivalry with the talented AJ Lee who is still WWE’s most consistent, in ring diva. Both ladies have marketable, bell to bell skills and both can be aggressive in the ring which translates well to all audiences.”
On The Shield: “The Shield declaring their true colors as the show went off the air was significant. This gives WWE creative plenty of options going forward and the chance for Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins to take another step vertically not to mention when one or more of them ‘changes jerseys’ how big a deal that will be. I’d hope that metamorphous is not any time soon as the hotter The Shield becomes as fan favorites the more impactful they will be as antagonists when the time is right.”
The following news was revealed during tonight’s post-WrestleMania XXX edition of WWE RAW:
Big Show vs. Cesaro will take place on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
The Wyatt Family will take on The Shield in a six-man tag-team match on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
NXT stars Alexander Rusev and Paige debuted. Rusev defeated Zack Ryder with his “Accolade” submission finisher, while Paige defeated AJ Lee to become the new WWE Divas Champion.
Vignettes aired hyping the pending WWE main roster debuts of NXT stars Bo Dallas and Adam Rose. The Rose vignette featured the NXT star on an “Erotic Express” bus.
Rob Van Dam made his return to WWE. He returned in a match against Damien Sandow, which he ended up winning.
Cesaro was revealed as the newest “Paul Heyman guy.” Cesaro turned on Zeb Colter, aligning himself with Heyman and defeating his former “Real American” tag-team partner via count out.
– Among those backstage at WrestleMania XXX on Sunday night that didn’t appear on camera at any point during the event were Rob Van Dam, Alexander Rusev, David Flair and former referee Tim White.
– The official WWE website has an exclusive backstage interview with Paul Heyman, who immediately after Brock Lesnar ended Undertaker’s streak, explains why the WWE Universe shouldn’t be the least bit surprised. You can check that out at WWE.com.
Brian Fritz of Between The Ropes caught up with a number of WWE Superstars and WWE Divas at the WWE media day in New Orleans. The following are videos of the various interviews.
Paul Heyman Still Hustling Going Into WrestleMania 30
http://youtu.be/J56-95yZrzU
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan on WrestleMania 30, Increased Fame
WWE Superstar Seth Rollins on WrestleMania 30, Enjoying The Shield
WWE Superstar Cesaro on Fitness, Daniel Bryan and WrestleMania 30
WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil on His Gators, WrestleMania 30
WWE Diva Natalya on WrestleMania 30, Slapped by Summer Rae
WWE Diva Emma on Making PPV Debut at WrestleMania 30
Upon glancing at this year’s WrestleMania card, fans may notice a glaring omission: championship title matches. After unifying the titles at last year’s TLC, there are a total of five championships in the WWE. Of the five, only two are being defended on the actual telecast and the tag team titles will be relegated to the pre-show.
Ignoring championship titles is nothing new in the WWE, as it has become pretty much standard in recent years, especially at WrestleMania. The previous two WrestleManias featured three championship matches on the actual telecast, and the twenty-seventh edition was even worse, with only two championship matches on the entire four-hour program.
This is a far cry from a decade ago at WrestleMania XX, where there were a whopping seven title matches and the belts were used to build up superstars and did not simply remain stagnant for months at a time.
Steve Austin and The Rock were both elevated to the main event scene after battling for the Intercontinental Title.
The perfect example of the diminished value of titles is the United States Championship. A decade ago at WrestleMania XX, John Cena won his first championship by defeating Big Show for the United States Championship. His win helped launch Cena into the main event by putting gold around his waist and making the title seem important.
Fast forward a decade and the United States Championship is completely irrelevant, with Dean Ambrose only defending the title a handful of times since October of last year.
The same holds true for the Intercontinental Title as well. During the Attitude Era, the Intercontinental Title was one of the most important ways to elevate a superstar from the midcard to the main event, with Steve Austin and The Rock’s epic battles for the IC strap serving as an illustration of how to use a midcard title to put an up-and-coming superstar over with the crowd.
Now the title is thrown around the waist of whichever flavor of the week the WWE is trying to make seem important. It was Curtis Axel for a while after he was repacked and paired with Paul Heyman. After they realized he was not getting over with the crowd, they decided to give the belt to Big E and he has done next to nothing.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website has published “Live 360 Coverage of the WWE WrestleMania Press Conference In New York City” featuring exclusive photos from the event.
– Part 1 of Daniel Bryan’s first-ever WrestleMania Diary is now online at WWE.com.
– In the weekly sit-down interview with Michael Cole, Stephanie McMahon declares Triple H will “demolish” Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.
In an exclusive interview, Stephanie McMahon discusses Daniel Bryan’s chances against her husband, Triple H, at WrestleMania 30.
Paul Heyman spoke to ThisIsInfamous.com this week to promote WrestleMania 30. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
A New Paul Heyman Guy Coming Soon: “We’re going to broadcast his identity and we’re going to publicize and promote it and present it and market it and make as big a splash as humanly possible regarding this new Paul Heyman guy.”
His CM Punk Promo On RAW From Chicago: “My task at hand is to elicit the response from the viewer that they find the Brock Lesnar versus Undertaker match compelling enough to purchase the pay-per-view or get involved with WWE Network to see the match. So when I went out in Chicago, I knew my responsibility was to sell you on Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker any way that I had to, which included sitting there for the first ten minutes and discussing the 800-pound elephant in the room, which is why C.M. Punk wasn’t appearing in his hometown.”
“As a performer, to get the opportunity to come out in Chicago to CM Punk’s music and to sit down Punk-style in the ring, and tell the true intimate story of this Paul Heyman guy, while I’m doing my job promoting Brock versus Undertaker is the greatest professional high you can offer me.”
If CM Punk Will Ever Return: “You know, there were only three people in the room that night, and that was C.M. Punk, Vince McMahon, and Triple H, and none of the three have talked about it. So whether C.M. Punk will ever or won’t ever appear in WWE again is truly only known by the three people that were in the room on that given evening. Anything else that is stated about it is merely speculation.”
On the go-home episode of RAW last night, the Beast Incarnate finally got the upper hand on the Dead Man with a little help from his advocate, blasting the Undertaker with a devastating F-5 after Heyman provided the distraction.
Thus far, there has been little physical contact between the few, with the only instances being the Undertaker chokeslamming Lesnar through a table during their contract signing and Taker hitting Lesnar with a few punches after popping out of a casket.
To say that this feud has not been fully fleshed out would be a serious understatement. In fact, I would not even hesitate to call it a complete disappointment.
Unlike Undertaker’s feuds the past few years, this one seems rushed together with no backstory, made even worse by the fact that both superstars are part-timers who have rarely appeared on television together.
The CM Punk/Undertaker program was an epic feud that truly felt personal.
Last year’s feud with CM Punk was a masterful build, with a compelling backstory (Punk stealing the urn and mocking Paul Bearer), a weekly confrontation between the two leading up to WrestleMania, and action that actually made the feud feel personal (Punk dumping the contents of the urn on Taker).
This year has been the polar opposite. The two are fighting simply because Lesnar said he has accomplished everything in WWE except conquering the streak. I get that breaking the streak is a valid reason for a feud. After all, it was the reason CM Punk originally wanted to fight the Undertaker in the first place.
However, the difference between last year and this year is that last year’s feud was actually escalated throughout the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, while the Lesnar/Taker feud is literally in the exact same place as it was on the night of the contract signing weeks ago.
It is a shame too, because it is not like creative did not have material to work with. They could have mentioned the infamous confrontation between Lesnar and Taker after Lesnar’s UFC fight a few years back, or their previous feud back in 2002. Instead, it almost seems like the Undertaker has no stake in fighting other than defending the streak, and Lesnar seems disinterested as well. There were elements in place to make the feud seem personal but creative has failed to do so.
The following are highlights of a recent Bleacher Report interview with Paul Heyman:
On WWE’s key to success: “The key to WWE’s success and longevity is that they are, as modern and as relevant as the company may be in modern social media and platforms and contemporary distribution, the company is still built around old-school promotion. Who are these two fighters? Why are they wrestling? And why should I pay to see it? In order to answer those three questions you have to build up the talent. And you can’t just build up talent that has equity in their names. You have to make new stars. And that’s the mantra that has always worked best in any period that you could call the glory days.”
On the Undertaker character succeeding: “I don’t think it was as much the character as it was the man behind the character. I think The Undertaker is, much like Brock Lesnar, a once-in-a-lifetime wrestler, a once-in-a-lifetime athlete and a once-in-a-lifetime performer. You can’t just put somebody in that slot. You need someone who can own up to the role and someone who makes the role theirs, who walks in the skin of the character. When that gels, when the athlete and the performer come together, then you have someone who is truly box office. This is not something that someone else could have accomplished. You couldn’t have given that name and that character to anybody else—they would have never survived.”
On Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX: “I think it’s more than special. I’m very blessed. I get the best seat in the house for the match that has the most historical significance and the longest-ranging ramifications in terms of what happens after the match is over. This is Brock Lesnar’s chance to truly step into immortality. From my perspective it’s a match that Brock Lesnar doesn’t have to win but that The Undertaker must not lose.”
In addition to the Poughkeepsie Journal interview with Paul Heyman that we reported earlier today, the manager of Brock Lesnar also spoke with Brian Fritz of Between The Ropes for a WrestleMania XXX promotional interview.
The official description for the interview reads as follows:
“Paul Heyman talks about WrestleMania 30 where he will be in the corner of Brock Lesnar as he faces The Undertaker, how his close friendship with Lesnar came about, being in the wrestling business for almost three decades now, if his work comes naturally to him, his future in the business, who he thinks are the stars of the future, the WWE Network and more.”
Paul Heyman recently spoke to Phil Strum of The Poughkeepsie Journal to promote WrestleMania XXX and spoke about his new WWE DVD coming out in August:
“I really don’t know much about it. I’m sure WWE has been trying to dig up a lot of dirt on me. You don’t have to dig too hard. It will be a snapshot of Paul Heyman at 48 years old, which would be a different look than if he was 38 years old and a different look from when he was 28 years old. If you did this documentary 10 years from now when I am 58, that would be a far different look at me. It’s a look at Paul Heyman at this stage of his career, begrudgingly reflecting on what he has accomplished so far and very much passionately looking forward to future things to accomplish in the next stage of his career.”
Heyman also talked about why he doesn’t watch old footage on the WWE Network, what he thinks of Renee Young’s work, The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar and more.
The Undertaker made appeared on Tuesday night’s live episode of Main Event on the WWE Network and delivered a message to to Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar.
Undertaker told Heyman to deliver a message for his WrestleMania XXX opponent. “When the Undertaker gets to New Orleans, he’s going to slay the beast. Once that’s done, he’s going to throw his rotting corpse into the pits of eternal hell.
If there’s anything about that message that is not delivered to Lesnar, The Undertaker at RAW next Monday night from Brooklyn to deliver it personally.
– In addition to the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal being announced for WrestleMania XXX, the long-rumored match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt was announced as well. Cena officially challenged Wyatt in the opening segment of Monday’s RAW.
– Another match that was further set up for WrestleMania XXX is the match between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar. Undertaker appeared on the show, but was quickly interupted by Paul Heyman. Heyman told Undertaker not to accept the match with Lesnar at WrestleMania, or his streak would come to an end. Undertaker told Heyman that if Lesnar accepts, at WrestleMania he will “Rest In Peace.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are the highlights of what he said about:
Time Limit Draws In Wrestling: “Interesting feedback from a past Podcast topic regarding why TV Wrestling Companies don’t utilize time limits or draws from time to time. A competitive match with an added sense of urgency because of a time limit is much more appealing to me than a flaccid disqualification or a lame count out. Having a presentation billed as an athletic contest that has no time limit for all the matches is not reality based.”
Seth Rollins: “Just a casual observation but Seth Rollins has stood out recently on WWE TV and has illustrated how one maximizes their minutes.”
Being Interviewed For WWE’s Upcoming Paul Heyman DVD: “Based on what some of those interviewed have told me, I’m not sure that the upcoming Paul Heyman DVD will be a tribute or a roast. Seriously, the DVD should be entertaining and informative but if you would have told me in our WCW days that Paul would someday have a WWE DVD, I’d have asked what you were smoking. My Happy Heyman DVD interview lasted over two hours and from what I was told I was the last person to be interviewed for the much anticipated release.”
JR noted that his new Ross Report podcast is ranked #1 on the ITunes Sports Top Ten in the USA, Canada, and the UK – and that he’s looking to book additional “Ringside: An Evening With Jim Ross” shows.
ESPN’s “E:60” piece on the WWE Performance Center is expected to air in early April, in conjunction with WrestleMania XXX. As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross filmed an interview for the piece while he was in Bristol, Connecticut doing promotion for his “Ringside” one-man show. JR spoke about being interviewed in his latest blog, which we put up on the website earlier today.
Additionally, as we reported a few days ago, there was said to be some rumors within WWE that JR had re-signed with the company and would soon be returning. As noted, those rumors started up due to the fact that Ross was at the WWE offices filming an interview for the upcoming WWE-produced Paul Heyman DVD. JR noted via his official Twitter account that he also filmed some footage for future WWE Network shows.
– As previously reported, the source of the news that claimed CM Punk was “expected” to make his WWE return at Monday’s RAW in Chicago was Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Radio Show. Meltzer noted during the show on Sunday that a “top WWE Superstar” said he “100 percent expected” Punk to return at the show. After he didn’t return last night, Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio Show broadcast that the same source told him “I was lied to” immediately after RAW went off the air.
– Speaking of last night’s RAW, according to one source, Paul Heyman went off-script during his promo to open the show. Heyman switched up some of the stuff that was originally planned for his speaking role, but didn’t really go too far overboard and hit the basic points that were expected from him.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Paul Bearer’s WWE Hall Of Fame Induction: “Wonderful to hear that my old pal Paul Bearer also known as Percy Pringle was announced in Chicago as going into this year’s class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Very deserving honor and another product of the territory system to be honored. The loyal, Alabama football and George Jones fan will be smiling down from Heaven when he’s honored in NOLA.”
On the passing of Billy Robinson: “Condolences to the family, friends and fans of the UK’s Billy Robinson who passed away this week at the age of 74. Mr. Robinson was well known as one of the legit tough guys in the business and was the foremost expert in “Catch Wrestling” in the world. His work that can be found on You Tube is simply amazing.”
On fans not hijacking RAW: “Enjoyed many aspects of RAW Monday night. No Punk. No hijacking. The WWE folks steered the course just as I had suggested here and at on my show in NYC Saturday night. Seems like many in the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) were pulling for a disruptive show and I’m pleased that did not occur.”
On Paul Heyman’s RAW promo: “Great promo to start the show by Paul Heyman. Heyman has no equal on the mic in today’s business. Who has more animalistic presence than Brock Lesnar? I’ve got your answer….nobody!”
On Daniel Bryan: “Liked that the villains kept the heat turned up on Daniel Bryan who was featured prominently on RAW. So prominently, in fact, that it might actually quiet some vocal fans who, based on some tweets I’ve received @JRsBBQ and some emails here, don’t know as much about building a story line as they would like to believe that they do.”
“I still believe that Daniel Bryan will walk away from WM30 as one of the primary stars of the event in the Super Dome. Don’t bet against DB stealing the show in the Big Easy.”
On CM Punk possibly returning to WWE: “As Steve Austin said on my podcast, the Ross Report, which drops later today and officially on Wednesday, I’d still not rule out CM Punk’s return to WWE in time for a WrestleMania match but my gut feeling is that ship is about to sail. Perhaps it already has.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On his “Ringside” shows this past weekend: “My sincere thanks to all the great people who helped make RINGSIDE: An Evening with Jim Ross in NYC a success. We had great crowds at the Gramercy Theater and everyone seemed to have fun. This is a new project for me and one that I’m endeavoring to make better every time out.”
“I know that we will never be able to make everyone happy but I remain diligent to do the best shows that I possibly can.”
On tonight’s RAW: “Should be an interesting RAW tonight from Chicago as it relates to continuing to build WM30. I’m still of the belief that the full card and the ongoing creative for WM30 will remain fluid through the last RAW of the build to the biggest event of the year in WWE.”
“Obviously, many fans are speculating that CM Punk will be back on RAW Monday night from his hometown in Chicago. Whether Punk is back or not, if I’m WWE I’m embracing the opportunity to produce a three hour show in front of one of the most passionate and enthusiastic audiences in the world.”
“Just let things unfold as they will and roll with it, would be my suggestion. To over think how any crowd will or won’t respond is fruitless to my way of thinking. If WWE tries to lead the audience, I’m thinking that will be a mistake.”
On shooting footage for the Paul Heyman DVD and the WWE Network: “Spent approximately three hours doing the Paul Heyman DVD interview in Stamford on Thursday plus some other really cool, WWE Network interviews.”
There were some rumors that Jim Ross was meeting with WWE executives in Stamford, Connecticut on Thursday regarding a possible return to the company. It turns out, JR was in fact at WWE Headquarters on Thursday, however he was there to shoot an interview for the new WWE-produced Paul Heyman DVD project.
Ross was in town as part of a trip in conjunction with being in New York for promotional work and to do his two “RINGSIDE” one-man stage shows on Saturday.
– As previously reported, Kane mentioned in a recent interview that Brock Lesnar will be at this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Apparently Kane misspoke, as Lesnar is not expected to be at the show. He is, however, scheduled to be at RAW. Paul Heyman is scheduled for Monday’s RAW as well.
– The Miz, Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio have been announced as the “expert panel” for Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view “Kickoff Show.”
– As previously reported, the “expert panel” for the upcoming NXT “Arrival” special on the WWE Network will consist of Kevin Nash, Paul Heyman, Bret Hart and Renee Young. Apparently Nash is replacing Shawn Michaels, who was originally scheduled to be part of the panel.
– According to reports, Alexander Rusev may be using a sidewalk-slam as his finishing move. Up until recently, Rusev had been using the camel clutch as his finisher.
– TMZ.com caught up with Paul Heyman over the weekend, who was out in New York City with super model Ellie Gonsalves. Gonsalves is the winner of Heyman’s “#HustleBootyTempTats Top 25 Competition.”
Heyman commented on TMZ’s recent article about him chopping off his ponytail and revealed why you don’t see Brock Lesnar in Los Angeles too often.
– It’s been confirmed that JoJo will no longer be regular cast member of Total Divas when the show returns for a second season. She continues to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
– WWE has renamed the ‘Backstage Fallout’ Youtube series to ‘RAW Fallout’ and ‘SmackDown Fallout.’ Here’s the RAW Fallout video from last night featuring Big E:
– As noted yesterday, Paul Heyman was featured on this week’s episode of the WWE Inbox Youtube series. One of the questions was whether Heyman cut off his signature ponytail because Triple H ordered him to do so. Heyman denied this and the “news” of Paul Heyman cutting off the ponytail actually got picked up by TMZ.com.
– WWE is holding a WrestleMania Reading Challenge event today at an elementary school in Oakland, California ahead of tonight’s WWE live event from Oakland.
– WWE has published a video of the company’s latest Be a STAR anti-bullying rally, which took place from Miami, Florida. Big Show, Alicia Fox & Titus O’Neil were in attendance.
– Powerlifter Brian Reid, who has worked on some independent pro wrestling shows, is set to begin training with WWE developmental on February 7th. Reid has worked on the indy scene in California under the name “Brian Tannen.”
– The WWE Studios film project “Oculus” will be shown at the film festival during the South by Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas later this month.
– Tommy Dreamer is another former WWE Superstar who has been interviewed recently for the new Paul Heyman DVD project that WWE is working on. As previously reported, the Heyman DVD is set to be released later this year.