– WWE added the following to their official YouTube channel after the conclusion of WrestleMania XXX on Sunday night.
Three icons share a moment: WrestleMania 30 Exclusive, April 6, 2014
Three of the biggest superstars in WWE history, Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Rock, meet backstage before their memorable interaction at Wrestlemania 30. Don’t miss the replay of WrestleMania 30 on WWE Network.
– Brie Bella noted via Twitter that she wanted to go out to celebrate Daniel Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania XXX on Sunday night, but was told that she was not allowed to. Below is a shot of Bella’s tweet:
As many expected, WrestleMania XXX turned out to be a memorable and newsworthy event on Sunday night. A number of legendary moments took place, titles changed hands and surprises unfolded throughout the evening. Below is a quick rundown of some of the notable moments from the show.
The show opened up with a “WrestleMania Moment” type segment, as Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock shared the ring for a promo segment.
The Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak was broken. Undertaker lost via F-5 to Brock Lesnar, making his new WrestleMania record 21-1.
Daniel Bryan finally had his “big moment,” as he defeated Triple H in the opening match on the pay-per-view and would go on to defeat Randy Orton and Batista in the main event to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
The Real Americans broke up during the WWE Tag-Team Championship match on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show. After The Usos retained their titles, last eliminating The Real Americans, Cesaro ignored the orders of his manager Zeb Colter and attacked Jack Swagger.
Additionally, Cesaro pulled off an upset by winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He last eliminated The Big Show in what will go down as his first true “WrestleMania Moment” when he body slammed the giant — with ease — over the top rope.
– After appearing in the front row of the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony on Saturday night, there were a lot of internal rumors within WWE about the possibility of Jim Ross appearing at WrestleMania XXX. Despite the many whispers going around behind-the-scenes, the latest word is that Ross will not be involved at WrestleMania tonight. We can confirm that the latest WrestleMania XXX script does not include JR in any form or fashion.
– Speaking of JR, here’s a photo of him with The Rock and Steve Austin on Saturday night in New Orleans.
As previously reported, WWE contacted several major Superstars from the past to appear, in at least a cameo role, at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans this Sunday.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin told TMZ, which was later confirmed by an official WWE story, that he would be taking part in the big event.
Now, we can confirm that The Rock is in town in New Orleans for a scheduled live appearance at WrestleMania XXX. We were informed that Rock was in New Orleans on Saturday and was rehearsing a segment of some kind that will be taking place during the pay-per-view tomorrow night.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin posted the following message on his official Twitter account regarding his surprise appearance at Jim Ross’ “RINGSIDE” stage show on Thursday night in New Orleans:
– For those asking if CM Punk is in New Orleans this weekend, he was actually on stage at an “Against Me!” rock concert at the Durty Nellie in Palatine, Illinois on Friday evening. Obviously this doesn’t mean anything one way or the other, as he could still very well show up in New Orleans tomorrow or Sunday, although we haven’t heard anything like that at this point.
– The following is a new Steve Austin video blog, which is available on the official WWE YouTube channel.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin shows off his workout area – Video Blog: Apr. 4, 2014
“On the set of “Broken Skull Challenge,” Steve Austin shows of his homemade workout area.”
– As previously reported, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appeared as a surprise guest at Jim Ross’ “RINGSIDE” stage show in New Orleans on Thursday evening. Austin appeared at JR’s second show, while legendary manager Jim Cornette served as the special guest for JR’s first show.
– The Tampa Tribune has a new article up with comments from Big E. and Hulk Hogan. The piece mainly focuses on Big E.’s rise to stardom, as well as his involvement in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX this Sunday in New Orleans. You can check out the article at TBO.com.
– Don’t forget that a new edition of WWE’s popular “Legends of Wrestling Roundtable” series will air on the WWE Network live from New Orleans at 10pm EST. on Friday, April 4th. Additionally, another edition of “WrestleMania Today” will air on the WWE Network at 6pm EST.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin showed up as a surprise guest at Jim Ross’ “RINGSIDE” one-man show at the House Of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, April 3rd. You can check out a photo of Austin on stage with JR below:
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin noted on his official Twitter account on Thursday that he recorded a future “Steve Austin Show” podcast live in New Orleans with soon-to-be WWE Hall Of Famer Lita. Austin tweeted the following:
– As previously reported, Triple H presented WWE Hall Of Famer “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino with a huge statue at WrestleMania Axxess in New Orleans on Thursday. You can watch video highlights of the presentation below:
After he informed TMZ on Thursday afternoon that he would indeed take part at WrestleMania XXX this Sunday in New Orleans, the official WWE website published an article regarding “Stone Cold” Steve Austin being involved with the big event.
The article states:
“The biggest WrestleMania in history just got a whole heck of a lot bigger, now that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has confirmed he will be there! The WWE Hall of Famer revealed the huge news in an interview with TMZ. When pressed for what his role will be, The Texas Rattlesnake said the WWE Universe will have to tune in to WrestleMania this Sunday on WWE Network to find out.”
The following are photos of a number of big-name WWE Superstars (past and present) and executives arriving in New Orleans for WrestleMania XXX weekend.
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has arrived in New Orleans and told TMZ.com that he’ll be at Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX. He’ll also be at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
Austin, who hasn’t appeared at WrestleMania in 3 years, recently stated on his podcast that he did not plan to attend the show and wouldn’t attend unless he had something significant planned.
The news of Austin appearing at WrestleMania has been picked up by WWE.com, with the website citing TMZ’s report and teasing that you’ll have to watch WrestleMania on the WWE Network to find out what Austin will do.
– The latest edition of Steve Austin’s podcast, “The Steve Austin Show,” is now available. In this edition of the show, Austin shares some of his fondest WrestleMania memories, including his victory over The Rock at WrestleMania X-7. The official description for the show reads as follows:
SASu – EP104 – Spanish Medallions Like A Mother F’er!
This is the last show before Wrestlemania 30 gang… and Steve’s sharing some of his own Wrestlemania memories – like when he defeated The Rock at 17! Plus… edible insects, the Steve Austin Submarine, treasure hunting, and lame-ass suitcases! Look out… Steve’s NOLA-bound!
– WWE has added a new video to their official YouTube channel that features The Orleans Brass Band playing John Cena’s theme song at the Louis Armstrong International Airport. You can watch that one below:
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.
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.
The official website of Rolling Stone has published a new article which looks at the rise of Daniel Bryan in WWE, as well as the explosion of popularity behind his “Yes! Movement.”
When asked about his popularity as compared to Steve Austin, “When you look at Steve Austin, if he’d happened in different eras, he would have been hated. Hulk Hogan, if he came out now saying, ‘America, take your vitamins,’ and he’s this jacked-up dude, you would get people going, ‘Wait, what? I hate this guy.’ To me, it’s whether you fit into the atmosphere.”
He also spoke about what he wants for his future with his fiancee, WWE Diva Brie Bella. “Brie and I would like a simple organic farm that’s not farming to sell stuff, but just to be self-sufficient. You never know what the world’s gonna be like.”
Brie put over her future husband as a guy who is changing the perception of “smaller guys” in the business. “Daniel is making not only your hardcore wrestling fan base, but your casual viewer, look at the smaller guys differently.”
The following is from UFC’s official YouTube channel.
ONLY ON UFC FIGHT PASS: “The Best of the Beast” anthology features all seven of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar’s UFC fights, archive material including footage of the 282lbs beast’s amateur wrestling career and — in addition — exclusive interviews with pro-wrestling legends “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jim Ross.
Below are clips from Steve Austin and The Rock’s interviews about their former WWE co-worker Brock Lesnar:
Best of the Beast: Steve Austin Talks Brock Lesnar
Former WWE champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin gives his thoughts on former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar.
Best of the Beast: Dwayne Johnson Talks Brock Lesnar
Now on UFC Fight Pass, former WWE champion and MMA fanatic Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reflects on the career of Brock Lesnar.
On the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin predicted and said he hopes CM Punk returns at this Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX show, which takes place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, and airs live on the WWE Network.
“I’m telling you, I’m going to stick to my prediction that CM Punk is going to make his return at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans,” Austin said. “I made this prediction two months ago here on the show. It’s been a long time, I think he’s cooled his jets, he’s got some rest, and I think it’s time to get back to work.”
Austin continued, “I don’t see him participating in a match but it would be great to see him in a run-in to establish himself, to entrench himself immediately in a memorable and just a great moment, and I would say plant himself firmly in the middle of an angle, because he would be the angle, by attacking whoever he sees fit to attack or asserting his presence rather, whatever the case may be.”
“The Rattlesnake” concluded, “But I see CM Punk coming back at WrestleMania 30. Who knows if it will happen. We will know in about six short days when WrestleMania actually happens.”
Check out the latest edition of Austin’s show at PodcastOne.com.
Daniel Bryan recently spoke to DirecTV to hype Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Being Compared to Steve Austin: “I honestly don’t think they are accurate. There are some similarities, like anyone who has had issues with authority figures in WWE. But I think our attitudes and how we handle things are different. It was a different era when Steve Austin was battling Vince McMahaon. It’s kind of similar, but to me they are way different.”
Fighting Triple H: “The biggest thing is he’s just really smart and he knows what he’s doing. He’s been doing it for years. Not only that, but he’s also a big tough dude. He tore his quad and kept wrestling. He wrestled Cactus Jack in those Hell in a Cell matches and street fights. He is a multiple time WWE and World Champion. He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to win. Also, he’s been in those big matches and main evented WrestleMania before. I think all of those lend to his strengths.”
Potentially Main Eventing WrestleMania XXX: “That is what every wrestler who has ever wanted to step in the ring strives for. It’s funny, 3 years ago, I would do radio interviews and people would ask me what my goal is, and it was to main event WrestleMania. People you are talking to are like “Oh, that’s a nice little dream.” But now here it is and it’s within my grasp. That is literally – when you are lying in bed as a 15-year old kid, and you are dreaming of being a wrestler – that is what you are dreaming of. You want to be in the biggest match in the biggest show of the year. With 70,000 plus fans screaming. That’s what everybody wants when they start this.”
WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin noted on the most recent edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast that he is looking to make plans to travel to New Orleans, as he mentioned that he wants to attend the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony.
Speaking of Austin’s podcast, his latest show is available online. The official preview for the show reads as follows:
SASu – EP102 – Live From 316 Gimmick Street Steve’s telling your favorite kind of stories – wrestling stories! Hear about the time he ran over The Rock’s Lincoln Town Car with a monster truck, what happened to Steve & Bret Hart in the ring in Germany, and why Big Van Vader was drinking beer in nothing but his underwear in a hotel bar in London. Oh, and if you need some help with your resume – Steve’s gotcha covered!
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.”
– The official WWE website has added new sit-down interview with Michael Cole speaking to John Cena. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– Steve Austin’s 100th episode of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast is now available. You can check that out at PodcastOne.com.
– Also new in the podcast world is a new episode of Jim Cornette’s “The Jim Cornette Experience,” with his special guest, Lisa Marie Varon (aka Victoria/Tara). You can check that one out at MLW.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently noted on Twitter that he’s looking for questions from fans for an upcoming edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. Austin tweeted the following:
On location at #brokenskullchallenge. Will be answering questions for Tuesday #SAS. Send to questions@steveaustinshow.com.
– WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan gave props to the man he “borrowed” the “Yes!” chant from, UFC fighter Diego Sanchez, following his fight at UFC 171 on Saturday night. Bryan tweeted the following:
Watched last night’s UFC. @DiegoSanchezUFC inspires me every time he fights, win or lose. The original YES man. Legs, Lungs, HEART.
– 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