— WWE has released their latest Key Performance Indicators report and last month’s Elimination Chamber is estimated to have drawn 180,000 pay-per-view buys. This figure is based on WWE averaging 309,000 pay-per-views buys in the first quarter of 2012 and the Royal Rumble garnering 438,000 buys.
Last year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event drew 199,000 buys while the 2010 show scored 285,000.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted Sunday afternoon that he is training in the ring for next week’s encounter against John Cena. He wrote, with this enclosed picture, “Meditating in my sanctuary. Training for @JohnCena #WM28 @SportsCenter @espn @nfl #TeamBringIt.”
— Former WWE star Stevie Richards has been announced to appear at WrestleReunion 7 on March 31 at the Miami Beach Deauville Resort 6701 Collins Ave. Miami, Florida.
— WWE Superstar David Otunga poked fun at the consistently flat ratings for TNA’s Impact Wrestling.
He wrote on Twitter, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m flatter than Impact’s ratings right now. #OtungaLaw.”
This is apparently in response to a lawyer character for Bobby Roode appearing on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling.
— Both Epico and Jack Swagger turn 30 years old on Saturday. Former WWE Superstar Barry Horowitz also turns 52.
— Maria Kanellis and Demolition will appear at Royal Collectibles 96-01 Metropolitan Ave. Forest Hills, New York on Saturday, May 5 from noon to 2:00 p.m. Call 718-793-0542 for more information.
— WWE’s Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena airs in the United Kingdom on Sunday at Noon on Sky Sports.
Randy Orton believes his upcoming match against Kane at WrestleMania XXVIII is a bigger deal than the World Heavyweight Championship bout between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus.
“I think there might be a little more people out there who want to see Kane-Orton as opposed Sheamus-Daniel Bryan,” Orton stated Friday morning on the Big Poppa In The Morning radio program promoting WrestleMania XXVIII.
He also discussed WrestleMania XXVIII taking place on his birthday, WWE recently returning to a revamped Madison Square and The Rock vs. John Cena. The Viper hopes to see Cena cleanly defeat The Rock via Attitude Adjustment.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson discusses how he overcame failure to become The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment in a “Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” exclusive video.
— WWE developmental wrestlers Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Xavier Woods all mentioned on Twitter that they will be competing at next week’s WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida.
— The March 23, 2012 episode of WWE Vintage Collection featured WWE Hall of Famers competing against each other. Matches that aired are as follows (thanks to Devin Cutting): Billy Graham vs. Curt Hennig (WWF Championship Wrestling – January 8, 1983), Paul Orndorff vs. Pedro Morales (WWF Prime Time Wrestling – March 2, 1987), Texas Tornado vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (WWF television taping – February 18, 1991), Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash Of The Champions – June 14, 1989), The Fabulous Moolah vs. Sherri Martel (WWF live event – August 28, 1987), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWF SmackDown – November 16, 2000).
— John Cena reveals why he is so passionate about being a part of WWE in this “Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” preview video.
— WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware on May 12, 2012. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.
— Former WWE talent Travis Tomko turns 36 years on Friday. A jury trial for his arrest last October in St. Augustine, Florida on a felony robbery charge is scheduled for May.
— Bret Hart and Jillian Hall appear at The Wrestling Universe 34-29 Francis Lewis Blvd. Flushing, New York on May 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
– In preparation for his match with John Cena at WrestleMania 28, The Rock has been doing his in-ring training with Curt Hawkins.
– Randy Orton is being considered for the lead role in upcoming WWE Studios film, The Marine 3. Orton was originally supposed to star in Marine 2, but was injured at the time, so that role went to Ted DiBiase.
– Did you know .. Daniel Bryan is not the only vegan title holder in WWE. During an appearance on Much Music in Canada this week, WWE Champion CM Punk revealed that he is also now a vegan. However, because of how WWE has portrayed being a vegan as a heel characteristic, don’t expect Punk’s latest lifestyle change to be mentioned on television.
– TNA has reportedly been pushing for WWE to mention them at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, but it’s unlikely to happen. Flair will be appearing at the Hall of Fame ceremony whether WWE mentions TNA or not.
John Cena appeared on Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks Podcast this week and spoke about having legitimate issues with The Rock. While Cena respects what The Rock accomplished during his in-ring career, his major issue stems from the things The Rock said after he left for Hollywood:
“I disagree with the way he does business. I congratulate him on all his success. He’s had a Hall of Fame resume in WWE. His movies have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. But if was my career path, I would have done it differently…I disagree with some of the decisions he made.”
“All that time being gone, and the total process he took to try to reinvent himself. I can show you magazine covers that say ‘The Rock is Dead,’ or ringside interviews where he’s said, ‘I’ll never go back to wrestling.’ Just talking bad about the vehicle that got you to the dance, and then when the dust settles wanting to come back to the dance.”
You can listen to the full interview at SportsIllustrated.com.
– Tuesday’s WWE Smackdown taping from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ will be headlined by a steel cage match between John Cena and Kane. Also booked for the show is an 8-man Street Fight featuring WWE Champion CM Punk, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show vs. World Heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan, Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler.
– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart made another appearance at an improv comedy show in Toronto, Canada on Friday. During a recent interview with Torontoist.com, Hart explained why he enjoys live comedy:
“I always thought I had a decent sense of humor. You get a lot of people saying my book was kind of sad, and you can’t change how your life goes, but I thought there was some great humor in there that no one else could deliver unless you lived my life. Broken down in the middle of the highway, you’d always find something to laugh at.”
– With tonight’s WWE RAW taking place from Philadelphia, The Rock stopped in to the training facility of the NFL’s Eagles for a workout. Eagles star Evan Mathis posted the following picture of himself and The Rock on Facebook:
John Cena was involved in an automobile accident Monday morning while on a media appearance in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. CBS Philly reports Cena was supposed to appear on CBS’ noon program Talk Philly but his vehicle was rear ended by a tractor trailer. Police arrived to the scene and no immediate injuries were reported.
According to TMZ.com, they were told he’s “OK” and his upcoming match with The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII is not in jeopardy. He will meet with WWE medical personnel when he arrives to the Wells Fargo Center for tonight’s Raw SuperShow event. TMZ says “it doesn’t seem he was injured … although signs of whiplash often don’t show up for a day or two.”
WWE.com says they will post comments from Cena concerning the accident later today.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wrote on Twitter that he has a surprise in store for Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He wrote, “PHILADELPHIA! Damn good to be here – been too long. I have a little surprise for you on RAW. #EyeOfTheTiger.”
— Going against his word, Cody Rhodes is now on Twitter at codyrhodeswwe. His first message is a video post in which he states that unlike Big Show’s record of wins at WrestleMania, his mind can change.
— This week’s episode of WWE Vintage Collection highlights WWE Hall of Famers. Matches and segments are as follows (thanks to Devin Cutting): Road Warriors WWE Hall Of Fame induction video and speech; Road Warriors vs. Doom (WCW Power Hour – February 23, 1990); Dusty Rhodes WWE Hall Of Fame induction video and speech; Dusty Rhodes vs. Big Boss Man (WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event – November 25, 1989); Edge WWE Hall Of Fame induction video; Edge vs. John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam (WWE Monday Night Raw – July 3, 2006).
– John Cena will be appearing on the ABC’s talk show “The Chew” this Wednesday at 1pm (eastern). The show featuring Cena will be about “hungry guy meals.”
– The Ryder Revolution strikes again. After getting his fans to protest WWE for blocking comments on his Z! True Long Island Story YouTube videos, WWE has given the people what they want. Comments are now enabled beginning with yesterday’s video. Woo Woo Woo.
– There has been talk of getting more Divas involved in the WrestleMania 28 match of Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos.
– Speaking of Maria Menounos, don’t look for her to be appearing on RAW in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania. She is competing on the new season of Dancing With The Stars, which premiers this Mondy night.
– The Rock wrote the following on Twitter as he readies for WrestleMania 28:
“Rogers. Sammartino. Backlund. Hogan. Austin. These iconic @WWE champions paved the way – Thank You. 16 days away.. #WM28?
– Chris Jericho responded to a fan on Twitter this week and said the wrestler(s) he wanted to wrestle but never got a chance to were Owen Hart and Bret Hart. Jericho also joked about online reports saying his match will open WrestleMania 28, writing:
– Following The Rock’s concert on RAW (VIDEO), a fan asked him on Twitter about “keeping kayfabe” when Cena has not been. The fan told Rock that he’s still owning Cena, despite Rock working within the “limitations” of keeping things kayfabe. Rock replied with the following:
”Breaking kayfabe” is easy, cheap and never entertaining. Boys who are desperate do it all the time.”
John Cena replied with the following:
“Agreed @therock People should stick to the difficult stuff like mom jokes, sexuality, and making light of someones appearance. #WM28?
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels says The Rock and John Cena’s feud getting personal is a good thing for business and something that wrestling has been missing for a while.
Michaels called in to ESPN Radio on Thursday to promote WrestleMania. Around the 31-minute mark, he said this about Rock and Cena having legitimate heat:
“Sometimes I feel like the WWE has lost that in a lot of respects. John and Rock have brought back what somebody like me used to do on a regular basis back in the day. I think it’s refreshing. It’s good, it’s good for business, and good for them to bring out the best in each other. There’s nothing wrong with making it personal… that’s better business whether people like it or not.”
When asked about a possible return to the ring, Michaels says he’s retired and is not tempted to wrestle again.
— With all the talk of there being resentment in the WWE locker room regarding The Rock’s involvement at WrestleMania, we can confirm that one person who has been outspoken about The Rock is WWE Champion CM Punk.
A source who was backstage at Survivor Series backed up another WWE source’s claim to the Pro Wrestling Torch that the tension between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, or rather Johnson and the WWE locker room, escalated to a new level last November. Among the wrestlers’ laundry list of complaints of Johnson is that he has “gone Hollywood,” has a big ego, wants to be treated as a big star and doesn’t go out of his way to get to know all of them.
Additionally, The Rock provided WWE with a “rider” for Survivor Series – a list of items he required must be there in order for him to perform. While the contents of The Rock’ Survivor Series rider are not known, it was perhaps the biggest sign of diva behavior.
CM Punk has been among Johnson’s most vocal critics in media interviews as he feels the WrestleMania XXVII top slot should go to someone who is on the road two hundred days a year not to mention that it hurts morale when he doesn’t say hello to the wrestlers backstage. It was speculated that the WWE Champion has been angling for a match with Johnson next year, but that is not the case as he was openly resentful of his presence on the day of the Survivor Series.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery of dream opponents they’d like to see The Undertaker face at WrestleMania. Those pictured include Sting, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, Rey Mysterio, One Man Gang, Bret Hart, Bruiser Brody and Mr. Perfect, among several others.
— Multiple sources have confirmed to the Pro Wrestling Torch that there is legitimate tension between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, which reflects in their war of words. Furthermore, Vince McMahon is doing nothing to stop it as he and those in upper management love the conflict.
As in the past, McMahon enjoys seeing top stars challenge other. He feels the audience will sense real friction between two wrestlers, thus furthering interest in the match he’s trying to sell. In the case of Johnson and Cena, the top circle likes that fans are sensing their friction and believing that they may legitimately come to blows at WrestleMania XXVIII.
— WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee profiled “The Ugandan Giant” Kamala on his career and health issues. After having is leg amputated late last year, the legendary wrestler now uses a wheelchair and is learning to use a prosthetic leg. However, he doesn’t want his fans to feel sorry for him.
“Don’t think of me as oh, please help me. I want them to think of me as uplifting,” he says. “That’s the way I want them to think of me.”
Kamala also discusses his character and pay discrepancies with his WWF opponents. The video piece is available here.
— The March 12, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow featuring The Rock concert and The Undertaker confronting Shawn Michaels posted a 3.27 cable rating compared to 3.25 the week before.
Viewership was at its highest since the Raw following the Royal Rumble as the program averaged 4,820,000 viewers over the course of two hours. Viewership increased during the second hour as Raw averaged 4,970,000 viewers compared to 4,670,000 in the first.
— Madusa, who formerly competed as Alundra Blayze for WWE in the mid-1990s, continues to taunt Beth Phoenix over her possession of the Women’s Championship she infamously trashed on a 1995 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
“Looky what I still have… The belt my dear …Get your eyes back on the belt!!” she wrote on Facebook Monday night with a photo enclosed of the belt around her waist.
Madusa became riled up after The Glamazon stated on Twitter last week, “Combing the world for competition. Who dares enter my ring????” She responded, “Do we really need to go there again?? After WM …. It begins.”
During the latest edition of Legends of Wrestling on WWE Classics On Demand, Jim Ross took the opportunity to sound off on those bearing resentment toward Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returning to WWE.
“Young guys on the roster, or the Internet guys, or anybody else that says, “Well, how does it effect the current roster that The Rock’s going to come back and have key spot and he’s not on the road everyday?” I want to say, you people have got to be kidding me. You got to be kidding me. Do you understand what The Rock has done for this business? His family has done for this business? And he’s coming back as a major movie star, to get back in the ring and be physical. You think The Rock’s going through the motions?” Ross says.
He continues, “He can’t. It’s not in his DNA. The Rock’s DNA is “I’m coming back to put boots in asses. I will not be embarrassed. I will not call it in. I will not phone it in. I will kick some ass.” The Rock has respect for this business, will have an amazing WrestleMania that we will be talking about for years to come because he is a stallion. And he loves this business.”
— One of the most influential masked wrestlers of all time, Mexican lucha libre legend Mil Mascaras is the latest name announced for the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2012.
Mascaras was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee when WWE was in Mexico City, Mexico last October, but not acknowledged on WWE.com until today. His video can be seen here.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wrote a message on Twitter regarding tonight’s Rock Concert on Raw SuperShow.
“Cleveland. RAW. 100% sold out. Team Bring It – time to have some fun. #RockConcert,” he wrote, along with a photo of a guitar and his “Boots 2 Asses” T-shirt.
— Pro Wrestling Illustrated is now on Twitter at OfficialPWI.
— Yokozuna is expected to be announced for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame tonight on Raw SuperShow. Though Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was originally slated to induct the two-time WWE Champion into the Hall, it was rumored over the weekend that Bret Hart will instead do the honors. The wrestling legends contested in championship matches at WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania X.
Yokozuna, whose real name is Rodney Anoa’i, died from Pulmonary edema on October 23, 2000.
— The Miz will be chatting live on USANetwork.com during the East Coast airing of Psych Wednesday at 10:00 p.m.
— Former WWE Superstar Carlito wrote of his recent encounter with Bret Hart at an independent show, “I think he was surprised I was still alive or just looks at me like I’m a waste of talent. Lol, hes a real good dude though!”
Dolph Ziggler appeared on sportstalkNETWORK to discuss tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Cleveland, hosting WWE Download, Vickie Guerrero, The Rock returning to WWE and more. Highlights are as follows:
Being a WWE Superstar: “I’m never truly satisfied with anything and I never will be and that’s why I’ve been lucky to get this far but it is everything and even more… our roster and even guys not even on the main roster work so hard tirelessly to put on a great show for the fans and it never ends and there’s no off-season.”
If there is competitive rivalry between he and The Miz since they both hail from Ohio: “Absolutely and we love it! We’re buddies but we also bust each others chops and we push each other as much as we can. We both want to be ‘the next guy’.”
Backstage resentment of The Rock being in the main event at WrestleMania XXVIII: “I’m going to take advantage of that one way or the other and get some eyes on us that we normally wouldn’t have – we’re going to stretch out to different genres and different age groups of people who have seen The Rock in the movies or Disney and they don’t know what it’s like to see a WWE show and their going to see the greatest show and the biggest WrestleMania of all time. So I see that as a positive – as an opportunity – The Rock is coming back and give us somewhat of a rub and more eyes are going to see me steal the show at WrestleMania in Miami on April 1st.”
– Shawn Michaels flew out to California over the weekend to tape footage for WWE’s Legends House reality show. According to sources involved in the show’s production, Michaels took the legends fishing and had dinner with them.
– Add Mick Foley to the list of WWE personalities who think there is legit heat between WrestleMania 28 opponents The Rock and John Cena. Foley tweeted over the weekend:
“I believe there has been genuine tension between @JohnCena and @TheRock for a long time. #anythingcouldhappen“
– Randy Orton mentioned on that he has a new movie role coming up in the near future.
– On Friday’s SmackDown, guest General Manager John Laurinaitis booked Drew McIntyre in a match against Hornswoggle to get his job back. McIntyre won the match and Laurinaitis reinstated him as an active member of the SmackDown roster.
– The Insider recently featured a segment revealing “5 things you didn’t know” about actor Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, The Dictator). For those who don’t know, Cohen is a huge pro wrestling fan and is good friends with John Cena.
– The New York Post reports 2005 Divas Search semi-finalist Jaynie Baker is the alleged partner of accused NYC “millionaire madam” Anna Gristina.
Baker is accused of helping run a millionaires-only prostitution ring and could be turning herself in to police as soon as this week.
– WWE.com now lists Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a member of the Raw roster.
– Tyler Reks, who largely appears on NXT, was asked to give his thoughts on his current position in WWE:
“I’d always like to be higher on the card, but where I am now gives me an opportunity to hone in my character and skills.”
– WrestlingFigs.com reports Ted DiBiase and Rosa Mendes will appear at Walmart 19501 NW 27th Ave. Miami Gardens, Florida on March 28 beginning at 6:00 p.m. Call 305-622-6664 for more information.
– On this week’s edition of WWE Download, Dolph Ziggler strongly endorses the necessity of wearing a bike helmet:
— WWE relaunched WWE.com on Sunday. Among the numerous features is a revamped Superstars section and a Classics section dedicated to the history of WWE, WCW and ECW.
The latest redesign had been planned for several months, to coincide with WrestleMania season. However, some company employees are not fond of the project due to the high cost and the fact that it was redesigned just a year ago.
— GameBandits.com has published an article on former WWE talent Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) and Harry Smith (a/k/a David Hart Smith) providing motion capture character portrayal for THQ’s WWE ’13 video game. Sean Morley (a/k/a Val Venis) and Cassidy Riley have also motion capture action.
— WWEShop.com has released a Wrestlemania XXVIII Cena vs. Rock Augmented Reality Adult T-Shirt.