In a video that aired on the WWE app during a RAW commercial, The Rock (with a bloody mouth) admitted that he got his ass whooped by The Shield, but promised to capture the WWE Championship this Sunday.
– Vince McMahon botched one of his lines on RAW during the backstage segment with WWE Champion CM Punk and Paul Heyman. When Vince was announcing the stipulation that CM Punk will be stripped of the WWE title at the Royal Rumble if The Shield interferes during his match against The rock, Vince actually said “CM Punk will be be stripped if CM Punk interferes in his match.”
– Former WWE Divas the Bella Twins will be appearing in a new movie, “Confessions of a Womanizer.” Here is a ‘sizzle reel’ featuring footage of their scenes:
– David Otunga noted on Twitter that he will be appearing on TruTV’s Headline News TV from 12-2pm EST and will be serving as a guest legal expert weighing in on the Jodi Arias trial. Arias is accused of stabbing her boyfriend.
– Santino Marella’s daughter Bianca Carelli won the Miss Teen Canada World pageant in Toronto, Canada over the weekend. Here’s a picture of Bianca after her win:
– Here’s WWE’s latest promo video hyping CM Punk’s match against The Rock this Sunday at the Royal Rumble:
– The official website of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, is no longer advertising Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the February 25 Raw show.
– Former WCW wrestler Dave Taylor underwent hip replacement surgery last week, his former tag team partner, William Regal, has revealed.
“Just spoke to my old moaning tag partner Dave Taylor. He had a hip replacement 3 days ago and he’s up and walking about with no aid. He’s a machine,” Regal wrote Saturday.
– Friday’s episode of WWE Vintage Collection featured just one match: the 2000 Royal Rumble match.
– Jerry “The King” Lawler appears at USA Championship Wrestling’s “A Tribute Fit For A King” event on March 9, 2013 at the Crestview Middle School in Covington, Tennessee. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.
– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair tweeted on Thursday, “Loved talking to the kids at Chickamauga Elementary School this morning. Keep up the good work!”
* Comment Below and tell us what you think a “Ric Flair talking to elementary school students” conversation would invovle …
– After Monday’s RAW, Dolph Ziggler will be flying to Australia to do promotional work for WWE.
– On Monday’s 20th Anniversary RAW, we saw The Rock swear to God that he will defeat CM Punk at the Royal Rumble and capture the WWE Championship. Typically, when a babyface guarantees a title win (especially in such dramatic fashion), they do win, so this is a strong indication that The Rock will be victorious next weekend.
As we’ve been reporting in recent weeks, WWE has been considering several different scenarios of how to get the WWE title on the Rock so he can defend it against John Cena at WrestleMania. It was proposed that Punk would retain the title and The Rock would then win it at Elimination Chamber, but now it’s looking like Punk’s title reign could end this month.
– With The Rock back on WWE television on a regular basis, former RAW head writer Brian Gewirtz is also back behind the scenes. Gewirtz is The Rock’s personal writer and he’s said to be very happy to be back in the mix of RAW’s creative direction.
– There has been a lot talk within WWE lately about eventually turning Dolph Ziggler babyface, according to a report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As a heel, Ziggler has been getting very over due to his exceptional in-ring work and his strong performances on the mic. Vince McMahon has been hesitant to pull the trigger on turning Ziggler, with many people feeling that his heel character still has a lot of life in it.
With Ziggler on the cusp of truly becoming a main event act, there’s also strong case to be made that cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase as a babyface would have a bigger impact in strengthening his perception with fans. Ziggler turning babyface would also result in him breaking away from AJ Lee and Big E Langston.
COMMENT BELOW and tell us if you think Dolph Ziggler would be better suited as a babyface.
– Konnan spoke about Rey Mysterio’s WWE status on the latest episode of MLW Radio, stating that Rey’s hiatus is indeed a personal issue and has nothing to do with a violation of WWE’s Wellness policy:
“Somebody seems to think that Rey was suspended for the wellness policy. Absolutely incorrect. He is dealing with a family situation right now and he does have permission to be out. They know what’s going on and he will be back soon. He is not injured. He doesn’t have any drug issues – and I’m not covering for him because he’s my boy… but he’s cool, he’ll back soon.”
As reported yesterday, Mysterio is scheduled to return to action at Friday’s RAW live event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.
– ScrenCrush.com reports that The Rock’s movie Hercules will be released in theaters on August 8th, 2014. The movie is being directed by Brett Ratner and production is scheduled to begin in early next year.
– Wannabe WWE superstar Brad Maddox “crashed” Wednesday night’s WWE Main Event broadcast and did commentary during the Prime Time Players vs. Primo and Epico match. WWE.com has a video up featuring Maddox evaluating his own performance. As you can imagine, he’s got a very high opinion of himself and says he might soon replace Jerry Lawler on RAW.
– Rey Mysterio is scheduled to return to the ring at Friday’s RAW live event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mysterio has been out of action for several weeks dealing with a personal issue.
– The Rock tweeted the following congratulatory message to Mick Foley:
@realMickFoley Always a pleasure seeing you Mick. Congrats on the HOF. What a career! Im honored to share a small part of it. #FoleyJourney
– Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler will be doing an appearance today at 2pm in City of Industry, California at Fry’s Electronics.
– WWE’s SmackDown brand will be holding live events Alaska tonight and Friday night, with shows in Fairbanks and Anchorage. The Shield will be working these SmackDown shows.
– Brad Maddox will do commentary on Wednesday’s WWE Main Event broadcast during the Prime Time Players vs. Primo & Epico tag team match.
As previously reported, WWE superstar The Rock is on the cover of the February 2013 issue of WWE Magazine. Inside, The Rock is interviewed about a wide variety of topics, including his Hollywood career and what he believes are the keys to success. Here are some highlights of what The Rock said about:
His Hollywood career: “Honestly, if I could start my Hollywood career over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every success and failure, every love and heartbreak, it’s all led me down the path I’m on. This will be my 13th year of acting on the big screen, and I’m lucky to be enjoying the Hollywood career I have these days — but I also wake up every morning with the mindset that there is no substitute for hard work, and there’s no amount of sweat I won’t drop to achieve my goals.”
The Key to Success: “‘What’s the key to success?’ is something I’m asked every single day. I don’t believe there’s only one ‘key to success.’ But what I do believe in is hard work, and daily, focused commitment and sacrifice. I believe in being gracious with your successes, and humbled by your failures. I trust my gut and always keep my family close. I live in optimism and faith. When I grab opportunity and success by the throat, I don’t let go.”
– The Rock has been added to another WWE RAW taping – the March 4th show from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY.
– Following his release from WWE on Friday, Trent Barreta’s superstar profile has been removed from the company website. There was no official “future endeavors” announcement made.
– Early ticket sales for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony at Madison Square Garden are very strong. The event is expected to sell out well in advance.
– Here’s the Punk and Paul Heyman promo that aired on Friday’s SmackDown from inside the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL:
Former WWE developmental Diva Shaul Guerrero attended last night’s WWE live event from Austin, Texas. She noted on Twitter that she had “one of the best car rides ever” with her mother Vickie Guerrero and Tamina Snuka.
– Zack Ryder has been thanking everybody on Twitter for their help with his Z! True Long Island Story YouTube series, which he decided to end after 100 episodes.
Ryder also said that he’s retiring his “Z! True Long Island Story” wrestling gear – which you can see below (click to enlarge):
– The Rock’s promo from SmackDown was heavily edited, with several minutes of his interaction with Team Rhodes Scholars cut from the final broadcast. At one point, The Rock called Damien Sandow a “d-bag” and the crowd began chanting along, with Sandow shouting “Silence!” It was a very funny moment and Youtube user Ajdagreat1 sent us the following video he took showing part of what was edited off TV:
– WWE Divas champion Eve Torres will defend against Kaitlyn. A Lumberjill match between these two is rumored for the Royal Rumble, so it’s possible we’ll see Eve get intentionally counted out to set up the Rumble stipulation.
– WWE.com has an interview up with Ric Flair, teasing a confrontation with WWE Champion CM Punk on Monday’s RAW, which is what we reported here earlier this week.
– It was announced on Friday’s SmackDown that The Rock will host a Rock Concert on RAW. Here’s a video promo hyping the concert:
– While most people are expecting The Rock to end CM Punk’s 400+ day WWE Championship reign at the Royal Rumble later this month, there have been other scenarios pitched where Punk would retain the title in some controversial fashion.
There have been reports that The Rock has been guaranteed the title, so The Rock could lose to Punk at the Rumble, win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber and then defend against possible Royal Rumble winner John Cena at WrestleMania.
– FilmOFilia.com has posted a “first look” at the new WWE Studios film “The Call” starring Hally Berry and featuring a supporting role by David Otunga.
– Here is the official movie poster for the WWE Studios film Dead Man Down, featuring a supporting role by Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (click to enlarge):
– With The Rock appearing on most upcoming RAW tapings over the next 2 months, most of WWE’s local advertising is focusing solely on him, without any mention of John Cena or any other superstars. This is yet another sign of WWE’s confidence in The Rock to sell tickets and generate money for the company.
– NXT star Richie Steamboat is seen as the next developmental wrestler to get called up to the main roster. In what has to be seen as a very horrible idea, there is talk of changing his name when he gets called up to the main roster.
– CM Punk mentioning Bruno Sammartino during his Pipe Bomb promo on Monday’s RAW (not in a flattering way) is another telling sign that Sammartino is on WWE’s radar for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013. While WWE remains very motivated to get Sammartino inducted, the WWE legend has yet to agree to anything.
– After WWE.com spoiled the major event that takes place on Friday’s SmackDown, a tweeted Joey Styles (editor of WWE.com) about why WWE gives away the results of their own taped shows. The fan wrote, “@WWE and @JoeyStyles spoil SmackDown because they’d rather you get the spoiler from them than a wrestling news site. Styles replied to the fan, writing – “Bingo!”
– Santino Marella will be appearing at Fiesta Mart South in Austin, Texas this Friday at 3PM.
– Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz was backstage at Monday’s RAW working with The Rock on his promo. Gewirtz has always worked closely with The Rock on his WWE material and has been working as a consultant since being removed as the VP of WWE’s Creative Writing team last year.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Antonio Cesaro’s Potential: @AntonioCesaro delivering his finisher, the Neutralizer, to a behemoth the size of Khali was a jaw dropper. By the time that WrestleMania rolls around, I’m thinking that Cesaro will be a significant player on April 7. Cesaro is the type of in ring talent that would have been coveted in virtually any era and would never have had to look for work in the territory days.
Doing A Podcast or Writing A Book: No, I have no plans to do a podcast. Firstly, I have little to no technical expertise and I’m not a fan of most podcasts. The podcasts that I see promoted that are more than 15 or 20 minutes long would challenge me to listen. Things could change but that’s my plan at this time.
Same goes for writing an autobiography. I do want to do a book someday but I haven’t been able to get into the proper mindset to do all the research necessary to write something other than fluff loaded with inaccuracies. Plus, the book market right now is soft or so I’m told. I want to have the tools and support system in place to write a great book and not just something to generate a pay day.
The Rock & CM Punk’s Confrontation On RAW: The closing segment involving @TheRock and Punk was the unofficial kickoff to the road to WrestleMania in my estimation which will be preceded by a stop in Phoenix for the Royal Rumble and in New Orleans for the Elimination Chamber. I felt the chemistry between the two stars and their verbal interaction had an Attitude Era feel.
Most resonating statement in the final segment, in my view, was Punk saying that he was “Going to kick your ass” to Rock. That’s what it’s still all about…kicking one’s ass.
– WWE’s upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view is now sold out, according to Ticketmaster. Additional tickets are typically released in the days leading up to the event, as WWE finalizes its production plans for the show’s stage, lighting, etc.
– WWEShop.com is now selling men’s and women’s versions of the new “Just Bring It!” t-shirt The Rock was wearing on Monday’s RAW. They also have The Rock’s previous merchandise on sale for 30% off.
– The Rock had a number of friends and family members at ringside for Monday’s RAW, including his longtime friend Milton McBride Rosen. Rosen suffers from down syndrome and has been very close with The Rock for many years, with The Rock calling him one of his strongest sources of inspiration.
Other notable people at ringside were Carolina Panthers DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge and ESPN analyst and former NFL coach Jon Gruden.
As previously reported, former WWE superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman was also backstage at the show.
– After WWE Champion CM Punk defeated Ryback on RAW in their TLC match, WWE trainers came to ringside and tried getting Ryback onto a stretcher. Ryback pushed them away, but was eventually helped to the back by four referees. Ryback was really selling the effects of the powerbomb spot through a table he suffered at the hands of The Shield.
– After Monday’s RAW went off the air, CM Punk returned to the ring to confront The Rock and told him he wasn’t finished talking yet. This resulted in The Rock delivering three more Rock Bottoms to the WWE Champion.
The Rock then grabbed the microphone and told the crowd that he used to live and train in Tampa, which is why he chose the city to make his WWE return.
The scheduled dark match main event between John Cena & Sheamus vs. Big Show & Dolph Ziggler never took place.
– Vickie Guerrero announced on RAW that Dr. Shelby will return next week to perform follow-up evaluations on WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan.
– Former WWE Diva Madusa has clarified her previous tweet about attending next week’s RAW 20th Anniversary special from Houston, Texas:
I need to clear my last post.I will be in Houston thisSaturday for monster jam and thenthe following mon. I was thinking on attending raw
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with his latest blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Tonight’s RAW: “I see tonight’s RAW as a great opportunity for ALL talents to make their presence felt. My ‘maximizing one’s minutes’ theory was never more timely than it will be tonight for everyone who appears on RAW. Raw getting off to a fast, compelling start seems imperative. First talents out of the gate will occupy some prime real estate. The first 30 minutes of RAW are going to be vital.”
The Rock’s Return: “With @TheRock returning to the live, Monday night RAW tonight, it kicks off WWE’s 2013 TV year in a significant manner … Hard to believe that some on Twitter @JRsBBQ seemingly have such ill conceived opinions that the Rock returning to WWE to gear up for a WrestleMania run is a negative to ‘young talents.’ I find this flimsy theory laughable. Rock is a major attraction that will attract disconnected/former viewers and many new viewers who are fans of Rock’s movie work. The more eyes watching any WWE program the better. Rock also provides WWE an ‘outside the usual envelope’ media buzz which is invaluable.”
Next Week’s 20th Anniversary RAW: “Getting loads of questions regarding the 20th Anniversary of RAW show in Houston next week. I can’t make it any clearer but I don’t know any creative plans and if I did why would I spoil them? One can get plenty of speculation from the internet wrestling community who appear to have better sources than do I. I just know that every attempt will be made to make that milestone event special and that includes follow up to what occurs tonight.”
WWE superstar The Rock recently spoke to Matt Fowler of Showrenirty.com about his involvement at WrestleMania 29.
The Rock teased that his opponent has already been decided – and it’s all going to kick off this Monday night on RAW. While he couldn’t reveal who his opponent will be, The Rock assured Fowler that the next four months will culminate in the biggest WrestleMania of all time:
“The storyline will be that starting this coming Monday [for RAW], I’m gonna go back, and it’s going to be a big return. That will lead to, hopefully, what will be the biggest WrestleMania of all time at Giants Stadium. I will headline that show, with someone who I can’t say right now. We’ve got an amazing four months lined up and planned out that will culminate in the biggest WrestleMania of all time. It’s going to be a hell of a thing.”
The interview took place at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour when The Rock was doing promotional work for his new reality competition show, The Hero.
Pay-per-view provider iNDEMAND has released their official synopsis and promotional poster for February’s WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 PPV. We’ve known that The Rock has been confirmed for the show – and from the looks of the poster, it looks like the People’s Champ will be participating in his first Elimination Chamber match.
On the Road to WrestleMania, the path to greatness travels through many formidable roadblocks. Watch as The Rock, John Cena, CM Punk, Ryback, Sheamus, and all your favorite WWE Superstars lay it all on the line at WWE Elimination Chamber, Sunday, February 17, at 8PM ET/5PM PT, live on pay-per-view.
