For those wondering who will be inducting this year’s inductees for the 2014 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame, here is a breakdown of what we know thus far.
– The Ultimate Warrior will be inducted by Linda McMahon.
– Jake “The Snake” Roberts will be inducted by Diamond Dallas Page (DDP).
– Paul Bearer will be inducted by his sons Michael and Daniel Moody.
– Mr. T will be inducted by Hulk Hogan.
– Lita will be inducted by Trish Stratus.
– Carlos Colon will be inducted by his sons Carlito and Eddie (Diego), and his nephew Orlando (Fernando).
– As far as Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon) is concerned, no one is confirmed as the guy who will be inducting him, however Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels are the leading candidates at this point.
As previously reported, several past WWE Superstars have been contacted to appear in cameo-type roles at Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX show in New Orleans. Some of the names contacted include The Rock, Steve Austin, Jim Ross, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Roddy Piper.
According to one report, there’s a decent chance The Rock will appear on the show, however it’s unknown whether or not he’ll be there live or in a pre-taped interview type segment.
As far as Austin is concerned, he had noted in the past that he wouldn’t go to New Orleans unless WWE had something for him, and wouldn’t simply go to sit in the crowd at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony, noting that if that was the case, he’d just watch it at home on the WWE Network.
We do know, and have reported in the past, that WWE had pitched some ideas to Austin for WrestleMania XXX, and based on reports that he will be in New Orleans this weekend, many are under the impression that he accepted one of them.
– Hulk Hogan, John Cena and Shawn Michaels are scheduled to appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, April 1st to promote the WrestleMania XXX press conference, which takes place later that same day and airs live on the WWE Network, as well as the rest of the WrestleMania week festivities in general.
– The Hulk Hogan superfan documentary “Sadermania” is now available via digital streaming ($2.99) and digital download ($9.99) at Sadermania.com.
You can check out a trailer for the documentary below:
The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Bret “The Hitman” Hart:
On his classic Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania: “We both made that a classic match that will never, ever lose its shine. I remember there was a certain point when I had to be setting up a move with exactly five minutes left in the match. I remember setting up on the second rope and looking at the score clock, and there was exactly four minutes and 59 seconds left in the match. There’s no wasted moves, and there was precision in every move.”
On his classic WrestleMania match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin: “They ended up throwing me and Steve together and it was kind of an ice-cold story line,” said Hart. “That was a big disappointment, at first, for Steve and me. We’d just fought months earlier at the Survivor Series, and even though we loved working together, he was looking for someone new to work with and I was looking for Shawn.”
“The match with Austin was pro wrestling’s version of the best MMA fight,” said Hart. “Steve even calls me once in a while and goes, ‘I got our match on.’ He always tells me it’s his favorite he’s ever had, and it’s the same for me.”
“I’ve always felt that Steve was good enough to make it on his own anyway, but I do like to think I played a role in helping him.”
On how he would book WrestleMania XXX: “I hope they give Daniel Bryan his chance to win the belt at WrestleMania. He earned it a long time ago, but it wouldn’t surprise me — like Charlie Brown with the football — if they pull it away from him one last time. I really hope they give him his proper run, as he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to be the champion he deserves to be. Hopefully this year at WrestleMania, it will be a crowning achievement for Daniel Bryan.”
On the CM Punk situation: “When you look at it closely, Punk’s burned out. He’s always given 100 percent in all his matches, and delivered some of the best pay-per-view matches in the past 10 years. And it’s not easy when there are legends who only work part-time, and guys like Punk and Bryan do all the work, and watch someone like Brock Lesnar walk in and take those big matches and big paydays without having to be on the road all the time. I think that had a lot to do with his decision, and rightfully so.”
“One of Vince McMahon’s favorite sayings is, ‘Life’s not fair.’ I don’t see Punk being a factor at WrestleMania, but he still has a lot of greatness left in him. As a fan, I hope he comes back, and as a wrestler, I have a lot of respect for him, too.”
– Independent pro wrestler Steven Walters, who frequently works for Anarchy Wrestling out of Cornelia, Georgia, has signed a developmental deal with WWE. He is expected to start with the company in Orlando in mid-April.
– Chris Harrington recently compiled a list of the 20 wrestlers who have appeared in the most WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view matches in history. That list looks as follows:
1. The Undertaker 161
2. HHH 158
3. Big Show 156
4. Kane 155
5. Chris Jericho 149
6. Rey Mysterio 129
7. John Cena 124
8. Edge 123
9. Booker T 119
10. Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels 114
12. Chris Benoit 113
13. Ric Flair 105
14. Christian and Steve Austin 90
16. Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust 90
17. Sting 83 and Lex Luger 83
19. Hulk Hogan and C.M. Punk 82
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was the latest guest on WWE’s “30 Years of WrestleMania” podcast over at PodcastOne.com. Here are some highlights of what the Hitman said about:
Original plans for WrestleMania 2:“I was initially told quite excitedly, that I would be wrestling Ricky Steamboat, which was a dream for me, that would have been a big moment for me. Then they changed it about a month before WrestleMania, you are going to be in the battle royal with the football players, and I remember going, uch, that’s not going to be anywhere near the same thing. I would have a great match with Ricky Steamboat.”
His favorite WrestleMania Match: “I would probably say the Iron Man match, but it’s so long I don’t really have time to take an hour to watch it, it’s really a study that match. I would recommend that any young wrestler if they really want to watch a good match where they might learn something, it would probably be that Iron Man match. But just for time reasons, I always loved the match I had with Steve Austin, just because it delivers so much. It was a beautiful story.”
Almost Fighting Roddy Piper After Their WrestleMania 8 Match: “Well, the truth is, when we finished the match, we almost got into it in the back. Because Roddy had kicked me in the face and busted me open, and there was a little tension from that when I came back. I remember that Chief Jay Strongbow had to kinda get between us, and we had to cool our heels for an hour before we could at least thank each other for the match.”
Who He Wishes He Could Have Wrestled At WrestleMania: “I’d have like to put Hulk Hogan in the sharpshooter if he had shown up.”
Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon’s ladder match at WrestleMania X: “I felt totally ripped off. I had told Vince the idea since the very first day that I got there that I’ve got this idea about a ladder match that we been doing up in Calgary. Everytime I sat down with Vince I would always say, I’ve got this idea for a match but you’ve got to promise me you won’t do it with anybody else. One day he did ask me to show him the watch so that he could have an idea, so I went and found Shawn, and it’s one of those matches that’s on a video but we kinda just went out there and did a dry run just to show Vince what the match was, it wasn’t the greatest ladder match, nor was it intended to be. But it was a match to show the bare bones of it to Vince. I remember when it was over I knocked on Vince’s door and said did you see it, and he said he missed it. Scott Hall, not Scott Hall but Razor Ramon saw the match, of course Shawn was in the match so he kinda got to think hey this is a great idea, and so they went to Vince without my permission and stole my idea took the match. They had a great match at WrestleMania X but it wasn’t the wrestlers that were great, it was the match that was great.”
WWE has added video previews for next week’s edition of “WrestleMania Rewind” and “WWE Countdown.” Tuesday’s edition of “WrestleMania Rewind” will take a look back at the “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels main event from WrestleMania 14. You can check out the preview for that show, which will air exclusively on the WWE Network, below:
The latest edition of “WWE Countdown” will feature a list of the greatest finishing moves in history. The show, which also airs on Tuesday on the WWE Network, can be previewed below:
– Former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is doing a new video blog for WWE. In the first installment, he talks about the recent deaths of Big Daddy V and Billy Robinson, Monday’s RAW, Cesaro’s potential, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan and more.
– WWE.com has published a list of the 30 Best Big Men in WWE history.
– Sheamus is scheduled to appear at the Sacramento Comic Con at the Sacramento Convention Center this afternoon from 4:30-7:30pm. For more information, visit WizardWorld.com.
– Shawn Michaels is scheduled to appear at the Detroit Autorama convention on Saturday from 12-3pm. Chris Jericho will be appearing at the event on Sunday from 12-3pm. For more information, visit Autorama.com.
Following rumors a couple of months ago that insisted there was a possibility that Shawn Michaels would come out of retirement to work a match at this year’s WrestleMania, the WWE Hall Of Famer once again reiterated at a World Of Wheels event in Chicago this weekend that he is in fact “done with in-ring wrestling.”
HBK appeared at the event, which took place on Saturday and featured approximately 750 fans in attendance.
– 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.
After promoting Steve Austin’s podcast on RAW for the past several weeks, WWE has started plugging Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast on their official website as well.
As we previously reported, WWE has been looking at entering the podcast business after seeing the success that Austin and Jericho have had with their shows. Additionally, they seem to be allowing their talent to appear as guests on these shows.
WWE launched their own PodcastOne.com show a few weeks ago, “30 Years Of WrestleMania,” with two shows thus far, which featured Shawn Michaels and Edge talking to host Renee Young about their WrestleMania memories and highlights.
The official WWE website recently added a new interview with Joey Styles talking to WWE Hall Of Famers “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Bret “The Hitman” Hart about the WWE Network.
Austin was asked what the Network announcement was like for him, and he noted the following:
“I was actually a bit [ticked] off that I had to be there, because I had just gotten back from Texas, I was out of shape, I hadn’t really unpacked my bags from being at the ranch for two months. But I was so proud and happy that I went. Way back in the day when I started out in 1990, I would have never envisioned that the business would ever turn to this or someone would have the vision to do it. Vince McMahon was standing right in front of me, about two feet away, and I slapped him on the back two times and I said, “That’s impressive.” And I left that thing being extremely impressed with what WWE has come up with now.”
– MMA training camp “American Top Team” recently presented Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with his USWA and WWE Championships. The Rock commented on the gesture:
“BLOWN AWAY! Received the actual two most important titles of my wrestling career as a gift (USWA, WWE) THANK YOU, MMA’s AMERICAN TOP TEAM for welcoming me to your family. Coach Libo, Lambert, Teixeira, Lawler & the entire #ATTNation Truly an honor to walk thru your doors and a privilege to work with all of you. #Family #Champions #UFC #TeamBringIt #ChasingGreatness #Respect”
– The following is another preview clip from the upcoming “Mr. WrestleMania” DVD based on Shawn Michaels:
The following are highlights of a recent Newsday.com interview with former Spirit Squad member Mike Mondo:
On his first meeting with Vince McMahon: “‘He was like, ‘Haha! This is going to work. I like it.’ I understood that this was a character [The Spirit Squad] that was going to get heat. The wrestling was almost secondary.”
On his first WrestleMania and getting encouragement from Shawn Michaels: “I remember just looking around at the Squad members and thinking, ‘We made it to the dance. We made it to WrestleMania.’ He [Shawn Michaels] said to us while we were down there, ‘Welcome to WrestleMania boys.'”
On Dolph Ziggler’s success after The Spirit Squad gimmick ended: “The fact that he’s had a lot of success with the Intercontinental title, and winning the world title and the Money in the Bank, that’s really cool. So if was not going to be me, I’m glad the next guy in line was Dolph.”
Check out the complete Mike Mondo interview at Newsday.com.
The following are highlights from the new “30 Years Of WrestleMania” podcast interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels:
On his “Mr. WrestleMania” name: “Honestly, the whole Mr. WrestleMania thing, it wasn’t anything that I said until WrestleMania 21, and it was just one of those silly lines you throw out there to just for the sake of sounding cool on a promo.”
On if Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak should end: “Oh, no. I think The Streak is The Streak. It can’t really be called The Streak if there’s a one in the loss column.”
On how he feels about Undertaker being the one to retire him: “I was thrilled about it, again, it’s certainly for me much like all of my career. There wasn’t a lot of planning, a lot of thought, the majority of what I did in my career was reactionary, because that’s when for me I hit the truest and most honest emotion out of myself. I think everybody in this industry loves to do everything in hindsight, and in hindsight everybody’s a genius, but the immediate reaction is what I go on. There was no planning that Undertaker would be the guy to end, none of those things were thought about. All of those things fell into place and I felt good about them and that’s what I based it on. I didn’t give it a lot of thought, it’s sort of like when you know something’s right you know it’s right and that’s how it was done.”
On his famous WrestleMania 12 ring entrance: “We wanted to start making my entrances a little grander, and I got a rope and I swung down from the top of the house that was on the entrance. And I vaguely recall Kevin Dunn mentioning that at WrestleMania we are gonna try and get you a pretty cool entrance and that’s all I knew of it. Then I got to the Anaheim Pond that day, and went walking out and Vince was standing there and said ‘You gotta try this!”
On who he would like to face at WrestleMania from today’s roster: “That’s an easy one for me, it would have to be Daniel Bryan. I’d throw in any of The Shield members. I think those boys are talented. Throw in (Dolph) Ziggler in there, throw in Damien Sandow, I think Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family are really good. There are a number of guys put in the right positions that you could just tear the house down with. And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, it’s going out there and having a whale of a time making people yell.”
As previously reported, WWE has launched their first PodcastOne.com podcast with host Renee Young interviewing Shawn Michaels about WrestleMania. Company officials are apparently looking at expanding into more podcasts following the success of Steve Austin and Chris Jericho’s podcasts.
Additionally, following the success of Mick Foley’s live comedy touring act, WWE is looking at possibly doing some touring talk shows in comedy clubs.
– Negotiations are still ongoing between WWE and international wrestler star Prince Devitt. He’s reportedly been offered a contract, but is deciding whether he wants to leave Ireland and his prominent role with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
– WrestlingDVDNews.com has released the official trailer for the upcoming “Mr. WrestleMania” Shawn Michaels DVD/Blu-Ray that is scheduled for a February 11th release:
It was revealed during the Royal Rumble “go-home” edition of WWE RAW on Monday night that this Sunday’s Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” expert panel will feature three legendary WWE Superstars.
Joining Josh Mathews on the pay-per-view pre-show on the panel will be “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
As previously reported, the Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” match will be Goldust and Cody Rhodes defending their WWE Tag-Team Championships against The New Age Outlaws.
WWE posted the following video on their official YouTube channel featuring interviews with John Cena, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels following the big WWE Network announcement on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “Three of the biggest Superstars who helped pave the way for WWE Network answer questions about the launch of WWE Network.”
– John Cena told local media in Pennsylvania this week that his father lost 50 pounds using his new ‘My Body Change’ fitness program.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is headed to the UK for a “An Evening with Shawn Michaels” tour in April. Tickets for his April 29th show in Manchester, England can be purchased at Eventbrite.co.uk.
– Former WWE Superstar MVP posted the following “lost footage” of an interview he did with Low Ki in Japan last year:
– WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels and former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho will be appearing at the 2014 KOI Auto Parts Cavalcade Of Customs in Cincinnati, Ohio from January 10-12 at the Duke Energy Convention Center.
– Apparently WWE Hall Of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair upset his hometown NFL team, the Carolina Panthers, with his appearance and speech at the San Francisco 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers this past weekend. Panthers player Steve Smith said of Flair,
“As a guy who actually has a Ric Flair robe I’m real disappointed in seeing that. Real disappointed. I’m not sure if he’ll get the invite here. That Golden Gate Bridge has been burned.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross has once again updated the Q&A section of his website. The following are some new highlights:
On calling the legendary Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat matches: “It was a honor to call them back when play by play was in fashion. Working w/ Bob Caudle was a privilege. Flair & Steamboat were….legendary. I was at right place at right time.”
On if he feels Tito Santana is underrated: “Tito was a great in ring talent. I don’t know who has underrated him. He was a star.”
On whether or not Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania was the match of the year: “Thanks for your take. I have no dog in this hunt. There weren’t an overabundance of great matches in WWE in 2013 IMO ”
On Jeff Jarrett leaving TNA: “I’m not connected to TNA or Jarrett or to what their relationship together was or has been lately. I don’t know what his departure means to TNA. TNA has many fixable issues. I wish Jeff and his family well.”
On the overrun during WWE RAW on Monday’s: “Enhances the TV ratings minute by minute numbers.”
On a dream match at WrestleMania between Shawn Michaels and Sting: “At the right place at the right time it would have been terrific. A main event. The ship’s sailed on that one or so I think.”
On the possibility of the War Games concept being used by WWE: “Highly unlikely. I don’t see it happening. It wasn’t a WWE creation and the blood is a no-no.”
On Drew McIntyre’s future in WWE: “It’s all about the creative and the production and execution of such. Any one can be made to be relevant in the fictional world of pro wrestling.”
On the importance of Steve Austin during the Attitude Era: “In the Attitude Era, it was Stone Cold who was the straw that stirred the drink. But he was surrounded by some great talents as well.”
On the possibility of Brock Lesnar vs. Batista in 2014: “If both are around with enough TV availabilities I’d say it’s possible. It would be a nice attraction.”
On if the Hardy Boys would ever return to WWE: “I’d say never say never but I’d also guess it would likely be a long shot. Sometimes long shots come through.”
The following are highlights from yet another Q&A update by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On if Shawn Michaels decided to wrestle again, should he face The Rock: “I simply don’t feel HBK is returning to the ring. I believe him when he says he’s done.”
On the chemistry he had with Paul Heyman in the announcing booth: “It was awesome. Two complete opposites who were quickly able to refine our act. Paul’s very talented.”
On rumors of Batista returning to WWE: “If Batista returns he’s obviously main event bound. Wouldn’t surprise me.”
On the way WWE is using Damien Sandow: “I can’t answer your question as I’m not involved with WWE Creative. However, I like Sandow’s persona. I think he’s getting ample TV time and it’s up to him to maximize his minutes, no matter if one thinks they are for better or for worse. That’s what pros do. If he steers the course, more often than not, he will come out the other side whole. Legit talents who persevere generally prevail.”
Check out the complete Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.