– After WWE’s milestone 1000th episode of Raw went off the air, The Rock and John Cena double-teamed Big Show. Cena hits Show with the Attitude Adjustment, which placed him into position for a People’s Elbow. The Rock, however, didn’t have an elbow pad, so Cena gave him his “Cenation” armband. The Rock spoke on the microphone and said Cena must use headbands as arm bands since no one’s arms are that huge. The Great One then hit The People’s Elbow on Show as Cena left up the ramp. The Rock thanked everyone and posed with a few fans. Show remained in the ring as the house lights come on.
– Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson turns 37-years-old on Tuesday.
– Sean Mooney, the first person to appear on the premiere episode of Raw in 1993, resurfaced on Monday’s show as he conducted a backstage interview with Daniel Bryan. Zack Ryder reacted to his return on Twitter: “I met Sean Mooney tonight…#SSSIIICCCKKK.”
– James Yun, who appeared as Akio and Jimmy Wang Yang for WWE, weighed in on Monday’s milestone addition of Raw. He tweeted, “I really enjoy the 1000 episode of #raw tonight I find it really cool that i can say I was on that show a few times.”
– The Undertaker, who reunited the Brothers of Destruction on Raw, is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.
– Kenn Doane, who appeared as Kenny Dykstra for WWE, was asked on Twitter whether WWE Champion CM Punk is the “Best in the World” as he so often proclaims. The former WWE World Tag Team Champion says no, and that the “Best in the World” tag belongs to “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” or possibly even “The King of Kings.”
“#bestintheworld is The Rock. He draws, talks, not a good wrestler, but 2/3 isn’t bad,” Doane wrote. “Or HHH #bestintheworld draws, talks, wrestles. CM Punk is up there but I wouldn’t say the best.”
He was then asked about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and responded, “Austin isn’t wrestling so I didn’t qualify him. Only those still active. Number 1 is The Rock.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, who checked into a rehabilitation program sponsored by WWE on Monday after consuming a “dangerous” amount of vodka, addressed her current progress via Facebook.
“I know i have to do this.. getting myself mentallly in gear. its hard,” she wrote Thursday.
Sytch then noted, “ok// over the next 28 days, im going to need some visitors and support… who is up for the challenge???”
– Former WWE talent Shawn Stasiak turns 42 years on Saturday. He is retired from professional wrestling and now works as a chiropractor. Today also marks as the forty-ninth birthday of Giant Silva of “Oddities” fame.
– WWE’s creative committee is rumored to be leaning toward CM Punk retaining the WWE Championship next Monday on Raw SuperShow when John Cena cashes in his Money in the Bank contract. According to PWInsider.com, there is a lot of talk within the organization that Cena will be the first person to not win a title directly after cashing in the briefcase.
– WWE.com has published an article recalling fifteen of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “rarest, heart-pumping” moments on Raw. Moments noted are his Raw debut against Salvatore Sincere, capturing the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley, preparing for his first WrestleMania match against The Sultan, his explanation for joining The Nation of Domination, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin forfeiting the Intercontinental Championship to him, awarding gifts to The Nation of Domination, The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection win the World Tag Team Championship, a Steel Cage Match versus Shane McMahon, facing Ric Flair, and The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection reuniting to battle Evolution, among others.
– The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling by Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis will be released Tuesday in E-book form.
– WWE had Triple H, Pat Patterson, Terry Taylor and Dean Malenko, among others, at the recent WWE NXT TV tapings to scout talents and help teach.
– Everything is being kept quiet regarding The Undertaker’s return but there’s still speculation that he may return on Monday’s 1,000th RAW episode.
– WWE’s website is teasing that The Rock may get involved in the WWE Title match between CM Punk and John Cena on Monday’s 1,000th RAW episode.
– There’s speculation that the “big angle” Vince McMahon has been wanting will take place at the end of the 1,000th RAW episode on Monday. WWE has reportedly been working on something big for the summer, something similar to the Nexus and CM Punk angles from the past two years.
Jerry “The King” Lawler, recently spoke with The Miami Herald, regarding the origin of the line “puppies” he had used for many years doing the Attitude era.
“I actually got to give credit to a guy who I think will be returning on the 1,000th episode. It was a member of DX, Road Dogg (Jesse) James. I believe he was talking to Sable at the time. DX was in the ring, and Sable was in the ring, and somehow I believe Road Dogg said, ‘Hey, show us your puppies.’ It kind of floated by. No big deal at that point and time, but then I started using the word a couple of weeks later, and it just stuck.”
– Rumors are going around that The Rock is concidering competing in a match or two before WrestleMania XXIX on April 7, 2013 in New Jersey. The Rock returns to RAW for July 23rd’s 1000th episode. The last time The Rock was on Raw was the night after he defeated John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII, on that night he promised “Team Bring It” he will become WWE Champion again.
– Another video of Shawn Michaels has been posted, introducing his new special edition watch from Deuce Brand Watches.
– All September, WWE’s 2012 video release The Rock: The Epic Journey of Dwayne Johnson on pay-per-view. The following preview has been released.
http://youtu.be/r9ZC0g2cdg8
– Cranky Vince, a popular Twitter account parodying head chief Vince McMahon, is gone from Twitter. It disappeared Friday after having posted several messages mocking WWE’s partnership with Tout.
The account would spoof McMahon’s demeanor and mindset with random musings depicting the WWE Chairman as eccentric, maniacal and drug-addled. It had drawn alarming concern from organization officials since last year, who believed it was being controlled by an employee within proximity of McMahon due to the eerie nature of the tweets. The account would often post messages based on things he had legitimately done or said at work—sometimes moments after occurring.
– After making his first appearance inside a WWE ring since 2004 on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, Rikishi is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.
– Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley turns 36 today.
– Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis tweeted the following 4 messages during Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event . She wrote in consecutive messages:
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed online rumors that he’s a candidate to star as Lobo, DC Comics’ intergalactic bounty hunter. The Lobo character is a space-bike riding, cigar smoking mercenary who lives for mindless violence and destruction. Photo appears below.
– Following Thursday night’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, Jim Ross flew to Waterloo, Iowa for this weekend’s big George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame event. Jim Ross and Gerald Brisco will be evaluating talent at a big training camp that will be held.
– WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston will be appearing at tonight’s FCW live event from Punta Gorda, Florida at the Punta Gorda Charlotte Event Center.
– The Rock tweeted that’ he’s begun his “insane” training for the the upcoming Fast 6 movie and still has his sights set on the winning the WWE Championship:
Been on an insane training & diet regimen preparing for FAST 6. I come home to THIS from my girls.. pic.twitter.com/kOK7soKD
– Moments before Raw SuperShow went on the air, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted that he will be appearing on the historic 1,000th episode of Raw on July 23 at 8/7 CT on USA Network:
RAW's 1000th episode. The People's Champ returns.. As promised, my goal: THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP. #RELENTLESS
– WWE Legend Bob Backlund was said to be “super over” with the WWE locker room at Monday’s RAW from Denver, especially with the younger members of the roster. A lot of people were talking about how great Backlund looked, considering he’s 62 years old.
Backlund spoke to WWE.com after his appearance and said he couldn’t believe that fans popped the way they did when he came out. Backlund said he was thrilled to be there and is looking forward to RAW 1,000 and said the fans are responsible for WWE’s success.
– The Rock announced on Monday night that he’ll be appearing at the 1,000th RAW celebration on July 23rd and he still has his sights set on winning the WWE Championship one last time. The Rock will indeed be there in person and is expected to make some sort of major announcement at the show. The Rock will begin filming Fast 6 shortly after the appearance, either in late July or early August.
WWEDVDNews.com has revealed the synopsis and cover art for the upcoming “Once In a Lifetime – The Rock vs. John Cena” DVD/Blu-ray sets. The synopsis reads:
Click to Enlarge
“In the week leading up to WrestleMania XXVIII, a one-hour documentary aired on NBC Universal in America called ‘Once In A Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena’. This DVD collection is an expanded version of that documentary – giving the full one-year story of the build up to this epic match – from the very first promo.
It also gives an insight into the preparation of body and mind that these two competitors went through before they met in the ring on April 1 in Miami. Once in A Lifetime explores the iconic Superstars long, emotional paths toward their match, and gives viewers a glimpse into The Rock and John Cena’s daily lives, training regiments, and the personal choices and histories that led them to the defining moment of their careers.”
The three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray set will hit stores in North Americaon September 11th.
Forbes Magazine has ranked Hollywood’s highest paying actors of the year (May 2011-May 2012) and WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ranked at #4.
Tom Cruise landed the top spot, earning $75 million during that period. Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Sandler were tied with $37 million a piece. The Rock came in just behind them, making $36 million from his movies. Here’s the blurb about The Rock:
#4 – Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Johnson is the franchise saver. He helped 2011’s Fast and Furious become the franchise’s highest-grossing film. Thanks in large part to Johnson, the second Journey to the Center of the Earth out-earned its predecessor a few months later. We’ll have to wait until spring to see if he can revive G.I. Joe. The sequel was pushed from a summer release so Paramount could retrofit it into 3-D.
What’s even more amazing is that The Rock’s $36 million earnings figure only includes money he’s made from his acting career. Factoring in the money he made working with WWE during that period (WrestleMania 28, Survivor Series 2001) and he would likely be ranked #2 on the list.
– An unfortunate incident took place during the filming of The Rock and Mark Wahlberg’s new bodybuilder movie, Pain and Gain. Wahlberg took his 3 year-old son to the set one day and introduced him to The Rock. Instead of getting high five, The Great One took a shot right in the People’s Strudel:
“He gives my one son a high five and then the next one he goes to give him a high five and my son punched him right in the [crotch]” Mark told Starpulse.com. “I’m like, ‘What are you doing, dude?’”
– WWEDVDNews.com is reporting that WWE is planning to release a DVD/Blu-Ray set in November profiling the New World Order (nWo).
This would be WWE’s second nWo-themed DVD, with the first being 2002’s “nWo Back in Black” DVD, which featured a documentary and several memorable moments and matches.
– The Rock recently finished shooting his scenes for the movie “Empire State,” co-starring Liam Hemsworth. Deadline.com has a picture of The Rock from the movie sporting a new clean-shaven look.
– Speaking of The Rock, his next movie, Fast 6, begins filming in late July and will run through November. It’s been known all along that The Rock’s schedule would be monopolized by his movie schedule for most of the summer and fall. That said, WWE is hopeful that he’ll be able to make at least one more television appearance this year before he returns in early 2013 to begin the build for WrestleMania 29 and his quest to reclaim the WWE Championship one last time.
– Pre-orders for the upcoming WWE ’13 video game are said to be through the roof, even better than last year’s WWE ’12 game, which sold very well. As of last week, they were up 171% (up 170% on Xbox, 189% on PS3 and 84% on Wii.)
The strong demand this year can be attributed to the “Revolution is Coming” Internet campaign, CM Punk being the “face” of the game, the Attitude Era feature, Mike Tyson’s involvement and WWE & THQ’s strong social media push.
WWEDVDNews.com has released a synopsis for the upcoming “Once In a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” project (to be released in September) and the the highly anticipated CM Punk DVD set, to be released in October.
Rock vs. Cena: Once In A Lifetime Synopsis:
“In the week leading up to WrestleMania XXVIII, a one-hour documentary aired on NBC Universal in America called ‘Once In A Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena’. This DVD collection is an expanded version of that documentary – giving the full one-year story of the build up to this epic match – from the very first promo. It also gives an insight into the preparation of body and mind that these two competitors went through before they met in the ring on April 1 in Miami. Once in A Lifetime explores the iconic Superstars long, emotional paths toward their match, and gives viewers a glimpse into The Rock and John Cena’s daily lives, training regiments, and the personal choices and histories that led them to the defining moment of their careers.”
The Upcoming CM Punk DVD Synopsis:
“On June 27, 2011, CM Punk forever altered the course of WWE history with a blistering rant, proclaiming, “Day in and day out for almost 6 years Ihave proven to everybody in the world that Iam the best… on this microphone, in that ring, even on commentary. Nobody can touch me!”. Since riding into the scene as an extra in John Cena’s entrance at WrestleMania 22 to defending the WWE Title in main events all over the world in recent years, the “Voice of the Voiceless” has backed up that statement.
“Now, WWE fans get an unprecedented look inside the life and career of the most controversial Superstar of this generation. The first ever documentary to focus on CM Punk traces his rise to the top of WWE, from this early success on ECW, his divisive perpetuating of the Straight Edge Subculture, to becoming internationally revered as the best wrestler in the world, and all the 5 star matches and verbal “pipe bombs” in between. Packed with new interviews and commentary from Punk himself, as he takes the viewer inside his day-to-day life. Plus relive the signature matches that have punctuated his WWE career and vaulted him into the championship spotlight!”
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced via Twitter that today is his first day shooting Empire State.
“On set. 1st day of shooting EMPIRE STATE. True story drama of the biggest heist in US history. Let’s have some fun,” Johnson wrote.
His co-stars include Liam Hemsworth, Emma Robberts, Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano, Jerry Ferrara and Chris Diamantopoulos. Empire State is scheduled for release in June 2013.
– Former Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Marcus Anthony is branded as Lincoln Brodrick in the newly released Florida Championship Wrestling roster guide. The heavily muscled wrestler has yet to appear for the developmental promotion after signing a contract with WWE in February.
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus jumps onto the E3 stage with Kevin Pereira and Blair Herter to discuss the “Attitude” campaign and more in this WWE ’13 E3 2012 gameplay demo video. Watch the WWE Superstar lay out all the exciting details.
During the interview, Sheamus expressed his disappointment with his WWE ’13 score being the same as The Miz. The Celtic Warrior says The Awesome One “couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart appears at this Friday’s Reading Phillies game taking place at First Energy Stadium 1900 Centre Ave/Rt 61 South, Reading, Pennsylvania.
– JBL’s recent announcement that WWE will be sponsoring his “Seven Summits” mountain climbing adventure has been picked up by several national media outlets. JBL noted on Twitter that he’ll be at WWE headquarters today in Stamford, CT.
Last week, JBL says it was “highly likely” that he’d be returning to WWE after it was announced they were contributing $250,000 towards his goal. He has since clarified that comment:
“For those asking, thanks–but NO return planned, got a mountain to climb and if I don’t die I could be back on @wwe tv for a shot r two.”
– Steve Austin will be appearing at the CMT Music Awards tonight in Nashville, Tennessee. Austin will be promoting his new Redneck Island reality show on the network.
– WWE is now billing Sin Cara “the most popular superstar in the history of Mexico.” This statement can be disputed from many angles – and could also be seen as a shot at suspended WWE superstar Rey Mysterio.
– The Rock announced on Twitter that yesterday was the final day filming his “Pain & Gain” bodybuilder movie with Mark Wahlberg:
“On set. Last day of PAIN & GAIN. Insane true story – murder, mounds of coke & bodybuilder fanny packs. Been a helluva ride..”
Check out this gallery of The Rock on the set of Pain & Gain:
Check out these pictures of The Rock on the set of his new movie Pain & Gain, about a pair of Florida body builders who get swept up in an extortion and kidnapping plot:
– With The Rock’s movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation now being released in March 2013 just 9 days before WrestleMania 29, it’s going to be extremely difficult for him to appear episodes of RAW leading up to the big show. The Rock is known for going all out promoting his movies, something that means a lot to Hollywood executives and the success of a movie’s opening box office numbers. Especially if the movie opens internationally around the same time, he’s going to be flying all over the world doing premiere events and media appearances.
– WWE shipped 199,000 DVDs in April, down 11.6% from April 2011. The company’s top 5 selling DVDs, in order, are DVD sets from Steve Austin, The Rock and Randy Orton, Top 50 Oh My God Moments and the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels Greatest Rivalries sit-down interview.
– The WWE website had 16.5 million unique viewers in April, up significantly from most months (due to WrestleMania 28), but down 1.2% from April 2011. WWE shop averaged 800 orders/day, up 9.1% from April 201.
It was recently announced that the G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which had been scheduled to be released on June 29th, has been pushed back to March 29, 2013. The original reason given was that Paramount wanted to convert the movie to 3D in post-production to maximize the film’s potential revenues. Box office competition from the new Avengers, Batman and Spiderman movies was also cited as a reason for the delay.
Deadline.com is now reporting that there is another reason why Paramount bumped the release date to March 2013 (after spending millions of dollars promoting the June 2012 released ate – including a Super Bowl commercial) – the movie tested poorly among ‘test audiences.’
Movies are typically shown to small test audiences so movie studios can get feedback from the public before a film’s official premiere date. Test audiences felt the best part of the movie was The Rock’s on-screen chemistry with actor Channing Tatum, who only appeared at the beginning of the movie in the version that was originally due out 6/29.
There was a great deal of concern that the movie was not ready for prime time, so the studio decided to delay it and now have the conversion to 3D as an excuse.
Check out these pictures of The Rock in GI Joe: Retaliation –
— Emmett/Furla Films’ feature film Empire State starring Dwayne Johnson and Liam Hemsworth will begin shooting next Tuesday for twenty days in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Details)
— In this week’s edition of WWE’s Outside the Ring, Derrick Bateman takes part in a party for the mind, soul, and body in a ZUMBA class. Bateman takes his newly found ZUMBA talents backstage at WWE where he teaches Kaitlyn and other WWE Superstars some new moves.
– Following his heel turn at Over The Limit, Big Show will be replacing Tensai and will team with John Laurinaitis against John Cena in handicap matches at several upcoming WWE live events.
– Jim Ross tweeted this week that he currently has no plans to appear at the 1,000th episode of WWE RAW on July 23rd.
– David Otunga has been telling his Twitter followers that he has his sights set on Santino’s United States championship. #OtungaForUSChampion was actually trending worldwide on Twitter on Wednesday.
– The Rock wrote on Twitter about GI Joe 2 being moved back to the week before WrestleMania 29, March 29th, 2013:
“Commitment to make GI JOE a massive world event just got bigger. New release 3/29/13. Rock + Ass kickins + 3D = #AwwwwShit”
As previously reported, GI Joe has been moved so the project can be converted to maximize box office revenue and due to the stiff competition around its original release date from the new Avengers, Spiderman and Batman movies.