Chris Jericho made a surprise return to WWE on Monday’s RAW from San Antonio, TX. Jericho interrupted a New Day promo and announced that he plans to win the Royal Rumble match.
Several other entrants were announced for the Royal Rumble on RAW including Dolph Ziggler and the Wyatt Family.
Keeping checking back for the latest Royal Rumble updates and join us here on Sunday, January 24th for Live Coverage of the 2016 Royal Rumble.
– WWE announced this weekend that Curtis Axel has declared his entry into the 30-man over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match, joining Big Show as the only two WWE Superstars to officially enter the annual match, which takes place on pay-per-view on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
WWE.com wrote the following about Axel, who is still claiming he was never eliminated from the 2015 Royal Rumble match, in their RAW Five-Point Preview:
“With the 2016 Royal Rumble Match less than three weeks away, the entire WWE Universe is buzzing about which Superstars will declare their entry in WWE’s iconic over-the-top-rope tradition. Big Show emerged on Raw to become the first competitor in this year’s 30-man melee, and we’ve since learned that Curtis Axel — who claims he was never eliminated from last year’s Royal Rumble Match — will also enter the fray (even though he evidently never left it). Which other Superstars will announce their participation in the weeks ahead? Expect more Royal Rumble news on Raw.”
– Also featured in the official WWE.com RAW preview for the first 2016 episode of RAW this coming Monday night is what appears to be a tease for another John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio match for the WWE United States Championship. Cena made his WWE television return at last week’s RAW after taking several weeks off to film and promote some television and film work. He went one-on-one against Del Rio for the U.S. title he coincidentally lost to Del Rio in his last match with WWE before taking the hiatus, and if the following blurb from the RAW preview for Monday is any indication, we could be seeing it again.
The official WWE website wrote the following about a potential Cena-Del Rio U.S. Title rematch from last week’s RAW:
“John Cena made his anticipated return to WWE last Monday night, goading United States Champion Alberto Del Rio into a title bout and coming incredibly close to recapturing his star-spangled prize. Were it not for The League of Nations, we’d all be eagerly anticipating one of the Cenation leader’s exciting U.S. Open Challenges this coming Monday night.
“With his last encounter with The Essence of Excellence ending in a disqualification, might Cena make another attempt at Old Glory early in the New Year? Even better, will Cena head to SmackDown on USA Network next Thursday night with the U.S. Title slung around his shoulder?”
Headlined by a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Sheamus, with Vince McMahon serving as the special guest referee, the first WWE RAW show of 2016 takes place this coming Monday evening, January 4th, at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Join us here at SEScoops.com this coming Monday night for live WWE RAW results coverage!
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights.
On Kurt Angle in the WWE Hall Of Fame:
I’d think that Kurt Angle going into the WWE Hall of Fame is a lead pipe cinch but when its the only question that I have. I’d love to see Kurt in a WWE retirement match and then be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame if and when WWE has the time and desire to make this matter a priority. I’d assume WWE inducts Kurt into the Hall likely before he wrestles for them in a high profile match at Wrestlemania. Simply speculating that WWE is leery of Kurt’s lingering neck issues but that’s merely my speculation.
“I have no speculation that Kurt Angle isn’t a deserving WWE Hall of Famer in the future. How can that be debatable?”
On talking to The Rock through email recently:
“Exchanged emails with The Rock while in Miami as he’s busy with a new baby girl and HBO’s ‘Ballers.’ I know of no one who seeming stays as busy as the Rock in the world of show biz. He’s a one man conglomerate who will be appearing at Wrestlemania Texas in April but I’m doubtful that he will be in a match but I hope that I’m wrong.”
On the early WWE Royal Rumble betting odds:
“There is an early betting line on the ’16 Royal Rumble. I’m being serious. Where were all these betting lines on WWE events when I was in administration there? Probably a good thing it wasn’t around at least that I’m aware or I might have been guilty of ‘insider betting.’ BTW the favorites to win are entrant #1, go figure, and entrant #30. I’d lean toward Brock Lesnar as my favorite to win it all if he’s in it.”
The 2016 Royal Rumble is still over three weeks away, but online sports betting sites SkyBet and 5Dimes have already published betting odds for the event.
As of this writing, Big Show is the only confirmed participant.
The 2016 WWE Royal Rumble takes place on Sunday, January 24th from Orlando, FL.
– There has been some confusion regarding Big Show announcing himself for the 30-man Royal Rumble match in January. While the belief was he was announcing himself as the man with the number one spot in the match, WWE has since confirmed that is not the case. Big Show was simply making it clear that he is the first man to throw his name in the hat for the match. Big Show is expected to shoot another segment to clear up the confusion among fans.
– TNA’s Jeremy Borash is the guest on the latest edition of the Jim Ross “Ross Report” podcast, which is available now at PodcastOne.com. The official description for the show reads:
“Jeremy Borash is talking all about TNA Impact Wrestling’s move to Pop TV next Tuesday, January 5th! He’s also sharing stories about the last day of Nitro & turning off the lights in the building, how he met Vince Russo & what it was like working with him, his take on Russo’s feud with Bill Goldberg, how Jeremy ended up at TNA, and why he loves producing programming with Food Network star chef Robert Irvine.”
– Rapper and noted WWE fan Wale was in attendance at the WWE SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night in his hometown of Washington, D.C. Below is a photo of the hip-hop star with The New Day.
https://twitter.com/Wale/status/682005389315969024
Although it hasn’t been officially announced, it’s possible that Brock Lesnar will be appearing at the WWE Slammy Awards themed edition of RAW in December.
The show takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 21st, and in addition to it being the Slammy Awards show, it will also be the RAW episode that starts the build to the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which Lesnar is expected to work.
The next RAW that Lesnar is advertised to work is the January 11th RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is the second-to-last RAW before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 24th.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Featured above is the latest edition of “WWE Canvas 2 Canvas,” which features an Undertaker painting from artist Rob Schamberger in honor of the 25th anniversary of “The Dead Man.”
– Brock Lesnar has been added to the January 11th WWE RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana, likely to set up a program for the January 24th WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
– Seth Rollins tweeted the following about the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament tonight to crown the next champion, telling whoever wins to keep the title warm for him. He also commented on tonight being the 25th anniversary of who Rollins refers to as the “Greatest Of All-Time (GOAT),” The Undertaker.
Happy #Undertaker25 to all! Rewrote the definition of legend. #GOAT And for whoever wins that title tonight, keep'er warm for me. #reclaim
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) November 22, 2015
Brock Lesnar’s contract with WWE has been renegotiated yet again, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Lesnar re-signed with WWE earlier this year shortly after WrestleMania 31. He had strongly considered returning to UFC and even began an MMA training camp only to realize his heart wasn’t fully in it.
Lesnar’s multi-year deal was for limited dates and he recently took WWE up on an offer to make additional appearances at his premium rate. He will be making a rare house show appearance on December 19th at The Forum in Los Angeles, CA. Starting in early 2016, he’ll be back on TV for the Royal Rumble and the start of WrestleMania season.
It’s possible the longterm absences of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan led WWE to rely on Lesnar more and the latest WrestleMania 32 plans call for Lesnar to face Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship.
– There is a pre-sale ongoing for tickets to the WWE Royal Rumble 2016 pay-per-view event, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Fans interested can purchase tickets via the pre-sale right now with the code: ORLANDO16.
– The folks at Metal Injection caught up with a number of WWE performers during the recent WWE 2K16 press event in New York City. Check out the video below to see various WWE Superstars talk about who is the “most metal” in WWE. Included in the video are Steve Austin, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Finn Balor and The Bella Twins.
Roman Reigns appeared on The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling podcast this week to discuss SummerSlam, the past year of his career, the reaction he received at the Royal Rumble, matches with Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar and Big Show in 2015 and more.
Reigns said despite the fact that fans completely rejected his Royal Rumble win earlier this year, “it all happened for a reason.”
“In sports entertainment, professional wrestling, entertainment, storytelling, you can do anything, you can tell any story you want to. It’s difficult to say, especially within what we do, with hindsight. I think there is a lot of things we could have done or maybe thought about, but it is what it is, it really is. It all happened for a reason.”
“Bryan and myself were both hurt we were both coming back around similar times. 100% it didn’t help me coming back around the same time as Bryan, especially with everything he has gone though over the past year, year-and-a-half. People talk about getting through adversity and going through some tough stuff, the stuff that happened to Bryan, the ups and downs, I think everyone was rooting for him (Bryan), I was rooting for him. I still to this day root for him. I want to see Bryan back in a wrestling ring, tearing the house down with myself and all the rest of the boys.”
Reigns remains optimistic, having used the uncomfortable situation as a means of motivation. In hindsight, he’s thankful things turned out the way they did at the Royal Rumble and he relishes the opportunity to prove he’s deserving of being a WWE main eventer.
“It was just a tough situation, regardless of what happened or how we could have changed that night as far as responses, as far as having the crowd react properly to me, or how we wanted them to, it didn’t. But it helped me, it helped me grow, it left a huge impression on me, you know I thank Philly every day for that. You have to learn fast in this business and I’d like to think I’m doing that, but without that night, that was a huge kick in the ass, that lit a fire under me. If you’ve seen what I’ve done in the past six-months, I think you can tell Royal Rumble definitely helped me.”
Rey Mysterio, who goes one-on-one with Myzteziz (aka the original Sin Cara) at this Sunday’s TripleMania XXIII event, which airs live on North American pay-per-view, recently appeared as a guest on Ring Rust Radio to promote the show. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his upcoming TripleMania XXIII match against Myzteziz (Sin Cara): “Well that match between us is going to a legacy defining match. There is a lot of animosity and egos that are going to come into play that night. I have to point out that this match was made for the fans by the fans. The fans were the number one critiques on who is better? Rey Mysterio or Myzteziz. At one point I left Mexico to continue my career globally and a new star came about. He is known now as Myzteziz, but back then he was known as Mistico and then Sin Cara when he joined WWE. I would have to say the fans in their eyes see a lot of similarities between us. We even tagged at one point in the WWE and now here we are against each other thanks to the fans.”
On rumors about his WWE departure: “The initial meeting in Buffalo went well. Both parties, they agreed to continue to move forward on the Rey Mysterio brand. There was no rumors, no animosity, no bad feelings between us. I feel like resigning with the company due to the fact that I had a large amount of injuries on my body. That was the number one reason why I was on the bench so long. So when it came around to resigning, they were ok with me wanting to depart and do my own thing. There was no hard feelings and we departed in an amicable way. It was my time to think for myself and act upon myself and that was the best thing I had done for myself in years. I have had time to rest and my body feels a thousand times better. I’m calling my own shots and doing things I have never been able to do in my career. I never had the freedom to do them but now I do.”
On if he’s willing to return to WWE: “Yes of course. I think that’s what every wrestler would want, there’s nothing better than dictating your own future and not over working your body. You can’t keep running on fumes constantly when you are older. You don’t see the same Rey Mysterio you see when I was 25 years old. I think it’s good to understand from both ends that I can’t deliver the way I used to when I first signed with the WWE. To make sure talent last, you have to take care of it.”
On being booed at the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble: “No hard feelings at all. One thing I have learned through the years is I have never been political about certain things and I take things lightly through my whole life. At the moment, I couldn’t believe or understand what was going on. After the match I was able to sit down and digest what was going on, and sure enough it was the fact that the fans weren’t given what they wanted. At one point I remember talking to Konnan about it, thinking if they would of let me walk down to the ring, then when the fans were booing, let me go back into gorilla and give my spot to Daniel Bryan to be number 30.”
Check out the complete interview at BlogTalkRadio.com.
Although we’re several months away from the next WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, a U.K. online gambling website has released betting odds for the 30-man over-the-top-rope match scheduled for January of 2016.
The U.K. betting site known as “Bwin” has released odds for the top five favorites to win the 2016 Royal Rumble. Below are the lines they are offering, with Seth Rollins being the favorite and Daniel Bryan being the biggest underdog.
Seth Rollins +200
Brock Lesnar +400
Roman Reigns +500
Ryback +600
Daniel Bryan +600
During today’s WWE quarterly conference call, the official buy numbers were released for the WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view, as well as the first ever Fastlane show and this year’s Royal Rumble.
Of course, we have to take into account the WWE Network factor, with most WWE fans streaming the show through the over-the-top subscription service. That said, it’s still interesting to see such high traditional PPV numbers a year after the Network launch.
The Royal Rumble pay-per-view drew 145,000 buys, down from 467,000 buys in 2014, and 512,000 buys in 2012.
The first ever Fastlane show scored 46,000 buys. The WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, which was the previous name before the switch to Fastlane, produced 183,000 buys in February 2014, and from 213,000 buys in February 2013.
Finally, WrestleMania 31 delivered 259,000 pay-per-view buys. The WrestleMania 30 pay-per-view drew 690,000 pay-per-view buys, and WrestleMania 29 scored 1,039,000 buys.
As noted, WWE filed a lawsuit in the state of California to prevent the selling of undisclosed merchandise in the area during WrestleMania 31 week. In the paperwork that was filed, WWE’s entire pay-per-view schedule through March of 2016 — including the total amount of seats available for those events — were released.
Below is a list of pay-per-view dates, locations and seating capacity:
The listed capacities for the PPV shows for the next year are as follows:
– Extreme Rules in Chicago (12,921)
– Payback on 5/15 in Baltimore (11,389)
– Money in the Bank 6/14 in Columbus, OH (13,275)
– Battleground 7/19 in St. Louis 14,569)
– SummerSlam on 8/23 in Brooklyn (13,438)
– Night of Champions on 9/20 in Houston (11,580)
– Hell in a Cell on 10/25 in Los Angles (14,240)
– Survivor Series on 11/22 in Atlanta (14,349)
– TLC on 12/13 in Boston (13,837)
– Royal Rumble on 1/24 in Orlando (13,000)
– Fastlane on 2/21 in St. Louis (14,569)
Additionally, the go-home Raw for WrestleMania next year will be on 3/28 in Washington, DC. The schedule also lists NXT specials on 5/20, 8/12 and 11/7.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
A lawsuit WWE filed in the state of California in March to stop undisclosed selling of WWE merchandise during WrestleMania 31 week includes the complete WWE schedule through March 26, 2016.
In the schedule, it is revealed that the 2016 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, January 24th. WWE will then have RAW in Miami the next Monday night, and tape SmackDown in Tampa on Tuesday.
Additionally, it’s revealed that the 2016 WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view will emanate from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Sunday, February 21st. WWE will then have RAW in Kansas City the next night, and tape SmackDown in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday.
As we already know, the next big event will then be WrestleMania 32, which takes place from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared as a guest on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to talk about a number of topics. Below are some highlights.
On Global Force Wrestling/New Japan Pro Wrestling: “If they do another one I’m very interested in being involved. I don’t know what New Japan or Jeff’s plans are going forward but if they do another one I’d like to be considered. I’m interested in getting back into the game with them because they’re not every week. They’re special occasions, they’re special events, and that’s kind of an environment that’s good for me. So I’m very much emotionally invested in doing more if the opportunity comes about.”
On Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania: “I’ve been saying on my podcast for the last several months that Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Cowboys, if WWE is truly serious about selling a 100,000 seats or more, then attractions like Ronda Rousey versus Stephanie McMahon will help do that. People say she shouldn’t wrestle, or she should wrestle Ric Flair’s daughter, you want her to wrestle the woman who has the most heat, the most angst, and is the greatest villain, and Stephanie McMahon is an incredible villain. People will pay money to see the babyface, i.e. Ronda Rousey, go against a stacked deck, which you know the McMahons can do. What if Stephanie goes, ‘Oh by the way, my husband is going to be the special referee,’ that type of thing. So you can put the heroine in great jeopardy, you’ll get great outside the box publicity, she has a great fan base that will follow her in any of her endeavors, why do you think movie people are using her so frequently? Fast & Furious, Entourage movie, all that stuff. She has a following and they will follow her to WrestleMania.”
On WWE’s use of Brock Lesnar as Champion: “It harkened back to the days of the traveling NWA Champion, it harkened back to the days of the traveling Andre the Giant. You only saw those guys on special occasions, therefore, they always made an impact when you did see them, they were always special. I think Lesnar is exactly that way by not being overexposed. One of the kisses of death in doing a flagship, three-hour show each Monday is overexposure of talent. I like steak, but I don’t wanna eat it every day. My point is a little bit of Brock goes a long way, like you pointed out so astutely, when he did a appear he made an impact. So I like the way that it’s booked and now he’s the big hero, he’s a big babyface, he’s gonna come for retribution. He’s suspended right now on the storyline, I love that, he has a logical reason storyline wise to not be present. I think WWE has done a magnificent job of setting up what I would book as SummerSlam is Lesnar vs. Rollins, and then I would not have Lesnar and Rollins cross paths through hook or crook until Lesnar wins the Royal Rumble and then he goes to WrestleMania 32 to challenge Rollins for the WWE Title.”
Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.
Former WWE and TNA star Devon recently appeared as a guest on the Interactive Wrestling Radio show to promote the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. Below are some highlights:
On the origins of the school: “I’m July of 2005, we left the WWE. We knew we were going to TNA but we also knew we were gpomg tp Japan. Anyone who knows this business knows a week without getting in that ring, (laughs) can hurt you. After being off for 2 months, we went to a wrestling school here. I came from Johnny Rodz’s wrestling school. I had heard of schools where you pay your money but then you don’t really learn anything but I never experienced it. We just went down there because at the time, it was the only place that had a ring that we could work out in. This guy wasn’t really doing a lot with them (his students.) After about a year or two, these guys were getting frustrated. I was going down and helping them out. They said, “Why don’t you guys open up a wrestling school? If you did that, we would definitely come”. I approached Bubba with the idea because we always had said we would open up a wrestling academy. Thus, we opened up the Team 3D Academy in Kissimmee, Florida!”
On why Florida is where so much wrestling focus is put today: “Indy wrestling is starting to make a move back. Right now, it just seems Florida has become the hot bed for wrestling. We are happy that WWE has taken so many of our guys. We’re fortunate to say that WWE has used so many of our guys for tryouts. There have been guys that they (WWE) say don’t have it or need improvement that they (WWE) have sent to the Team 3D Academy. I think it speaks volumes. We don’t allow anyone to leave unless we know fully that you are going to represent that school in a good way”.
On the training process: “It is very structured. We take 45 of the most basic moves, moves that you will see and use, and we make that the beginners class. Once you know the basics, you advance to the Advanced Class where we will teach you what to do in a match and what not to do in a match. While many of the schools have a name, me and Bubba are hands on. We’re in there helping you… I’m in the ring, helping you. Bubba is there helping with promos and story telling. That is one of the advantages we have at Team 3D Wrestling Academy, we’re not just guys who opened up a wrestling school, put our name on it, and had some other guys teach you. We’re actually getting in that ring., helping you along, and teaching you. We are the trainers.”
On the evolution of the business and how it changes the training plan: “I don’t care how the business changes. I don’t care how it evolves into this new generation… If you don’t have good story telling, and you don’t know how to put a match together… I don’t care all the flipping and flying you’re doing, you’re on borrowed time. You are going to fall short one way one day. Bubba loves to compare us to the rock group KISS. When KISS came out with Detroit Rock City, Christine (Sixteen), Dr. Love… You loved to hear those song – I don’t care how old you were! But, when they made the new songs, not knocking on KISS, but you didn’t care for it. You wanted to see Gene Simmons blow the fire, you wanted to see him spit the blood. You wanted to see Ace Frehley go crazy on the guitar… ” James mentions that for a good time of the 80’s and 90’s, KISS were not in make-up and Ace wasn’t in the band. “Exactly, and once they did that, it really didn’t matter anymore. But once they did that (put the make-up back on), people loved it again. That is just like the wrestling business. I don’t care how many flips you can do. People still want good story telling. That is what Johnny Rodz taught us and that is what we teach – Good story telling. The things that you know. The 3D, the What’s Up, the Belly to Back, taking and giving homage to LOD, by doing the Doomesday, we do things (like KISS) the fans recognize. You don’t take away what got you there in the first place.”
On LOD and Team 3D battling for the #1 tag team spot in wrestling history: “They set the stage. We always put over Animal and Hawk. You can say we’re #1 but we say we’re #2. LOD will always be #1 in our hearts because we’re taking over where they left off. You can’t have a future without recognizing the past.”
On the “Old School Rules with New School Tolls” at the Academy: “If you look at the Attitude Era, each character was them. Austin was a beer drinking redneck, it really was Austin! The Rock, conceited, could come at you with a punch-line like that – That was The Rock! Taker! There were times I was in the ring with Taker and I thought he thought he really was dead! That was them! When you become a character that is a part of you, it works because it is you. When you give someone a character that isn’t them and hope they hit a Home Run with it, it doesn’t happen. It has to be part of them.”
On the sale price: “You know the WWE Network, $9.99? Well, we are doing the same thing, $999 for a tuition year. $999. That is a hell of a deal! Show me one wrestling school, show me one, that has done anything like we’ve done.”
On Bubba returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble: “I was very happy and very honored that the fans never forgot him but also never forgot me. For them to have been cheering for him like they were and still know and to accept the fact that we have been gone for ten years but we have never been forgotten!”
On why he wasn’t at the Rumble as well: “I look at it from a Biblical standpoint, if God wanted me to be there at the Royal Rumble, I would have been there.”
On a possible WWE Return: “There is a great chance we could return to WWE. THere is also a chance we may not. Only God knows the answer to that.”
On the fall of the Aces and Eights: “If the creator of Sons of Anarchy (Kurt Sutter) had the show idea taken away from him, it would not have been as successful as it was The minute the creator of the Aces and Eights had it taken away from him and the other people put their hands in it, that is where it went south. I believe the Aces and Eights could still be going today. But, the original creator was taken off of it and it was watered down to their version and therefore Aces and Eights went the way it went.”
On his kids now training at the Team 3D Academy: “My boys, Terrence and Terrell, who were seen on Impact, have graduated from high school. They went to college. They are personal trainers now at Gold’s Gym… They now go to the school. You know, Bubba is a hard ass when it comes to looking at people and saying “They’ve got it”… For Bubba to look at my boys and say they’re good speaks volumes… It speaks volumes… I’m definitely looking for them to take over where Bubba and I leave off.”
Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on “The Buzz with Jimmy Traina” to promote WrestleMania 31. Below are highlights from the interview.
On WrestleMania 31 and his WWE Intercontinental Title ladder match against six other superstars: “I’m a bitter, chip-on-my shoulder guy who doesn’t care about anybody else, but there’s a little bit of that tiny wrestling fan inside me that gets excited to see Sting for the first time ever at a WrestleMania. Or to see if Undertaker’s going to have his entrance or to see if I can go out there and, not just outdo myself and have fun, but it’s like wow, millions of people watching, 80-something-thousand people are in attendance at this event. This is a huge monumental deal. And no matter how jaded or bitter you are, it’s a very special thing, no matter who you are or what match you’re in to, take a look out there for five seconds and look around and go wow, I’m a part of history.”
On the backlash WrestleMania main eventer Roman Reigns has received from fans: “All of those Shield guys, who came in protected, have done nothing but deliver, in my opinion, and I am a harsh critic of everyone. I wish I could be in the main event. I feel that I am better than Roman Reigns, but you know what? He hasn’t wrestled as long as I have. And if he does anything that comes up short of delivering, I’ll be all over his case and I’ll be the first one to go on Twitter and go, ‘Yup, told you it should’ve been me.'”
On his performance at the Royal Rumble: “I was pissed. I was out there for a minute at the most and I was so disgusted with myself and so disappointed with the position I was in.”
On how he deals with frustrations with his role in the company: “You don’t just go to your bosses and say, ‘This sucks, I’m supposed to be winning everything.’ If you have an awesome idea or a story, or something great, you go, ‘Hey, how about we do this,’ but when the story is not you, you have to find a way to make it work.”
On attending the taping of the Justin Bieber roast: “Martha Stewart kicked ass. She was great.”
On balancing wrestling with his stand-up comedy career: “I make sure to write every day, even if it’s a little bit.”
On adult website Brazzers recently making him an offer to sponsor his wrestling trunks: “Twitter ranted about what I should do next. Brazzers offered me $10,000 and I could pick my partner if I would join them. So Brazzers has always been there for me.”
Check out the complete interview at FOXSports.com.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with USA Today’s “For The Win” blog to promote this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view. Below are highlights from the interview.
On if he was taken aback by the intense negative reaction to him not winning the Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania: “I wasn’t really that surprised, I thought that a lot of fans wanted me to win the Royal Rumble… but it’s a great story, right? The guy who has never lost a title had to lose the title because of the neck surgery, comes back and he fights the guy who’s just this monster destroyer, a David versus Goliath story, and I think a lot of fans were excited by the prospect of that. And also by the prospect of a match of me versus Brock Lesnar, I feel like I do pretty good against big guys.”
On what the Intercontinental Championship means to him: “To me it’s the one title that I haven’t won in the WWE. I’ve been the United States champion, I’ve been the World Heavyweight champion, I’ve been the WWE champion, I’ve been the tag team champion. The Intercontinental championship is the only one I haven’t won, and to me I have been disappointed that — when I was a kid, the Intercontinental championship matches were usually the matches I looked forward to the most. WrestleMania III everybody talks about Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, but when everybody remembers the great match, they’re remembering Ricky Steamboat versus Macho Man Randy Savage. Same thing with WrestleMania X, with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon in a ladder match.
So it’s one of those things where the Intercontinental title for a long time was so prestigious, but now for some reason it feels to me like it’s been devalued. One of the things I would really like to do is win the Intercontinental championship at WrestleMania and make it be not just what it was before, but make it better than that. Make it so the Intercontinental championship is something that can headline pay-per-views, can headline all the live events we do throughout the country. I’ve been disappointed with how the Intercontinental championship has been treated, but I’m hoping after WrestleMania it’s going to change.”
On his wife, Brie Bella’s match at WrestleMania 31 and splitting focus on his and her matches: “Brie and I do this thing at the end of every night where we tell each other three things that made us happy each day. One of the things that makes me happiest each day is being able to watch Brie go out there and perform because she loves to do it, and she’s good at it. There was a big deal, #GiveDivasAChance, and hopefully they’re going to get a chance at WrestleMania this year. That’s every performer’s dream — not just the guys, but the girls too.”
On inducting Connor “The Crusher” Michalek into the WWE Hall Of Fame: “What we do as entertainers, people see us as stars or you know sometimes people look up to us, but what we really do is just entertainment, right? For us, there are people who inspire us — and one of the people who inspires me is Connor. Despite all the pain and everything that he was going through, you never saw him really down, he was excited to be there…. He was just so happy and so fun to be around. When you were around Connor, he just lit people’s faces up. It’s a true honor for me to induct him into the Hall of Fame.”
Check out the complete interview at FTW.USAToday.com.
Bully Ray spoke with Alex Obert of the Journey of a Frontman website while at Tommy Dreamer’s “House of Hardcore VIII” event in Philadelphia last weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On returning at the WWE Royal Rumble: “Well the Royal Rumble is a lot of fun. As far as the reaction was concerned, it was awesome. To be able to come back to Philadelphia ten years after I had left the WWE to that type of reception, you really can’t put any words to it. I kind of knew in the back of my head that I was gonna get a warm reception from the Philly crowd. Some people might of been shocked just how big the reaction was. It was overwhelmingly positive. If that was my last time that you ever saw me in a WWE ring again, not that I’m saying that I want it to be, but if that was the last time that you ever saw me, that’s a hell of a way to go out!”
On being in the ring with Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt: “I’m a big fan of those guys. I’m a big fan of most guys in the WWE, they’re all extremely passionate about what they do. You can tell that they whenever they go out there, they always strive to be the best and steal the show and do the absolute best that they can. The Wyatt Family is kind of reminiscent of the old Dudley clan back in the day. Big fan of Bray. Big fan of Luke and Erick Rowan. They’re doing a great job. It was fun to be in there with The Miz. It was fun to be in there with R-Truth doing the What’s Up and the 3D. It was all good, lots of fun.”
On possibly appearing at NXT: “I am open to anything that is fun and that would be good business. Me and D-Von have accomplished so much as a tag team and I’ve accomplished more than I thought I ever would as a singles guy. If you listen to the fans, they would love to see the Dudley Boyz back in the WWE and help bring that tag team division back to the heights that it once was. Our school is going on almost ten years now and we’ve been very proud of the students that we turn out. We are very proud of the way we train our students. On a whole, I’m really happy with the way everything has unfolded so far.”
On Rey Mysterio leaving WWE: “Whenever people leave a company or go to a company, everyone will ask what my thoughts are. It goes on every day. People come and go from companies every day, whether it’s wrestling or a bank or a big business or McDonald’s, people come and go all the time. When one person stays in a company for too long, they can sometimes get stagnant or stale. So it’s good because with Rey leaving WWE now, maybe he’ll go do some stuff that will light a fire under his ass even more. And now that opens up a spot for a younger guy in WWE to step up and become the next Rey Mysterio. It’s always good for the business when people come and go and rosters constantly get mixed up.”
On Samoa Joe possibly going to WWE: “That’s awesome for Joe. Great! I would love to see Joe be ultra successful in the wrestling business. WWE is the top of the food chain. When you get into pro wrestling, everybody always wants to wrestle for the WWE. Joe went to Ring of Honor, helped build Ring of Honor and he paid his dues there. He went to TNA and helped build TNA, paid his dues. Now he’s gonna have an opportunity with the WWE and I hope he knocks it out of the park. He’s worked very hard and he deserves it.”
Check out the complete interview at JourneyOfAFrontman.com.
Former WWE Superstar Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers) recently spoke with Alex Obert of the Journey of a Frontman website while at Tommy Dreamer’s “House Of Hardcore VIII” event in Philadelphia last weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On what he took out of House of Hardcore VIII: “Probably the most fun and most unpredictable good time that any wrestling fan could ever have at a show. I have a blast doing this because I love it. It’s my job and all that, but sometimes these shows are so fun and exciting, I almost wish I could go back in time and somehow be sixteen and go to these shows. It reminds me of how much fun ECW was when I went to the shows live as a kid.”
On Rey Mysterio leaving WWE and appearing at HOH: “Rey Mysterio is hands down the greatest luchador of all time. If you want to dispute that, tweet me. I don’t think anyone else is comparable. He’s the most successful, he’s the most talented, he is an absolutely special performer. I think it’s a huge loss for WWE and a huge gain for all of us wrestlers that get to be around him and have him on our shows and learn from him and work with him. It’s just a win.”
On the Bill DeMott controversy: “I trained under Bill and he is what he is. He’s a drill sergeant and he’s tough, it takes a lot out of you. I wasn’t there for all the new allegations, so I’m not too sure what happened.”
On Zack Ryder being in the Royal Rumble: “I hope the world of him, I’m always pushing for him. He deserves it. He’s a great guy. I don’t think we’d be anywhere without each other. We were very fortunate to find each other and go through this business together. I’m thrilled to see him and I’m glad to see he got the reaction that he got. I always hope for the best.”
Check out the complete interview at JourneyOfAFrontman.com.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with IGN to promote the new WWE Flintstones movie. Below are highlights from the interview.
On fans taking his Royal Rumble elimination hard: “I mean, I was more disappointed than anyone else, I think. [laughs] Because to go from the top where your headlining a show like WrestleMania and then come back and you’re in a spot where you don’t have anything certain for WrestleMania. It’s hard. As a WWE Superstar, sometimes you think “Okay, I know the lay of the land.” It’s going to be these matches and these matches and these matches at WrestleMania. And so if you’re not in that batch…my situation was this. I was either going to be in the main event of WrestleMania or I was going to be fifth or sixth from the top. And it’s a huge difference, you know what I mean? So it was pretty disappointing.”
On fan reactions changing his storylines in WWE: “I think that’s one of the coolest parts about our job. In no other place do fans have this much power. Last year the fans definitely affected change for me as far what they did. I was never supposed to be thought of for that spot. And so the fans were the ones who pushed and made their voices heard. And that’s powerful. And that kind of power is special and something that makes the WWE completely unique.”
On possibly being in the WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31: “I’d be thrilled. I’d love it. To me, right now, the Intercontinental Title stuff is some of the funnest stuff on television. As far as the WWE goes and the stories. You have a lot of skilled performers who are getting to be in it, and going back to the thing we said before, about reaching different demographics, R-Truth has been hilarious during this whole thing. Like, trying to constantly steal the Intercontinental Championship and all that kind of stuff. And when you’re in a Ladder Match with a bunch of other people, it’s different than everything else on the show. So you really have the chance to go out there and not only be highlighted, but also actually steal the show.”
Check out the complete interview at IGN.com.
– After returning to the promotion at their 13th anniversary pay-per-view event this past weekend, Ring Of Honor has announced that Samoa Joe will face Michael Elgin at their March 14th event at The Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois.
– WWE has released additional information regarding their latest Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The 2015 edition of the Royal Rumble drew 141,000 buys on pay-per-view, 92,000 from international buys and 49,000 domestic. The 2014 edition of the pay-per-view, which took place prior to the launch of the WWE Network, drew 467,000 buys on pay-per-view.
Daniel Bryan recently appeared on Turnbuckle Weekly with Chuck Carroll, which you can listen to at Washington.CBSLocal.com. Here are some highlights:
– Bryan revealed that he was not officially cleared to return to the ring until the day before his first match back. He wasn’t cleared at the time he announced he would be in the Royal Rumble. On that Monday, Bryan said he was only about 90 percent sure medical clearance was imminent.
– Bryan said that he had been in touch with WWE in the three or four weeks before the announcement and let them know that the treatment was finally working and he was preparing to return.
– When asked about the negative reaction Roman Reigns got at the Royal Rumble, Bryan said it had less to do with overzealous Philadelphia fans and more to do with the hardcore WWE wrestling fan base that traveled from all over to attend the show.
Due to his recent health issues, Diamond Dallas Page will not be appearing at the Shock Pop Comic Con in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this coming weekend. Instead, Jake “The Snake” Roberts will be appearing.
Prior to being hospitalized, DDP spoke with the folks at the Miami Herald to promote the appearance. Below are highlights.
On building the DDP Yoga Performance Center in Atlanta: “The WWE has their Performance Center in Orlando. I loved the name of that. I didn’t want to call it a studio because it’s not a studio. It’s a soundstage studio. It’s more of a corporate headquarters, but when I heard Performance Center, I said, ‘That’s the name.’ It’s not just our corporate headquarters. It’s also our production headquarters where we do all of our filming and our editing. Our first film we ever made got accepted into Slamdance. What are the odds of that?”
On traveling for 12 hours before making it to his hotel the night before the Royal Rumble and taking a limo to the arena to keep it a surprise: “We stayed on this bus. Bubba [Ray Dudley] was losing his mind. He was stuck on this bus for seven hours. He said, ‘It’s like going to jail. I can’t take this.’ It was so worth it. For me, I never had the exit from wrestling I should have. Walking away, being on top. I had such a great run. I retired and then went to TNA to show I could still go. Though TNA is not WWE, so getting to come back two months from 59 and go out there and move in that ring and hitting the Diamond Cutter out of nowhere like I was doing it every night. People were like, ‘Man, you didn’t miss a beat.’ I was more worried about going from the top rope to the floor because my knees can’t take that kind of impact anymore. The way I got thrown out I caught myself and made it to the floor. I thought, ‘Thank God! I blew the roof off, and it’s over.’”
On wanting to feud with The Rock and seeing the McMahon’s at the Royal Rumble: “At the Rumble, Philly loved me. They were awesome. Philly don’t like the good guys. They like the bad guys. There are certain good guys they love, and I was lucky I was one of them. With Florida, when I showed up in WWE in Tampa and took the stalker mask off, the place went bat s—. It was probably one of the biggest pops in Monday Night Raw history. I never wanted to do that gimmick. I wanted to do ‘People’s Champion’ vs. ‘People’s Champion’ [with The Rock]. I think if my exit from wrestling would have been where I wanted it to be, I don’t think I would be the type of businessman I am today. Everything happens for a reason. I’m really happy the way things turned out. When I showed up to the Rumble, Stephanie [McMahon] gave me a big hug. Triple H gave me a big hug. Vince [McMahon] gave me a good handshake with a, ‘Good to have you here Diamond.’ It wasn’t like when you’re coming from WCW 13 years ago as the enemy. Now it’s like I’m part of the family.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.