Check out this recent photo of The Undertaker at an airport that’s been circulating online over the past few days. It’s still unknown whether he’ll be returning to the ring for WrestleMania 31 in March, but WWE recently added him to WM31 promotional artwork, so its certainly possible.
Scroll through to see more candid photos of The Dead Man from this year.
The Undertaker is now being used to promote WrestleMania 31 in March 2015 after being conspicuously absent from the first WrestleMania 31 promotional artwork.
One of WWE’s tour buses at Saturday night’s WWE house show in Augusta, Ga. featured a photo of The Undertaker next to the WrestleMania 31 logo. It’s still unknown whether the Dead Man will lace up the boots once again at WrestleMania after the but this is an encouraging sign.
The following is a detailed recap of Vince McMahon on Steve Austin’s podcast from Monday night, courtesy of PWInsider.com:
Austin welcomed Vince to the podcast,which is on the Network. Austin asked him how the Network was doing and Vince said it was doing great both from a subscription and a content standpoint. Austin asked him about the UK and Vince said it’s been a stop/start thing and they hope to have it wrapped up by the first of the year, but noted that wasn’t a promise.’
Austin asked him how in tune Vince was with the wrestling fans right now. Vince said that they don’t do wrestling but sports-entertainment. Vince said that not every match is going to “hit” and no one else does the content weekly that they do and then broadcast it worldwide. Austin said he’d like to see more in-ring over the course of the show and asked Vince if he’s wrong in wanting too much wrestling. Austin said that sometimes the early segments take too long. Vince acknowledged that and said that you do have to give the audience a hook or they won’t care about the matches.
Austin said that there are no other big leagues for other talents to go to and there are talents who are walking on eggshells afraid to do anything. Vince said, “Well don’t piss anyone off.” Vince said that there isn’t as much camaraderie and silliness backstage as there was in Austin’s era. Vince said the last guy to really try and reach for the brass ring was John Cena. He sees potential in Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns but they aren’t there yet. He said the talents don’t do what Austin did. Austin challenged the roster to take chances and try to get over. Vince said the roster is thin and he wants to see guys do it as well.
Vince was asked what he was looking for in Superstars. Vince said he’s looking for someone who’s hungry and wants to learn and keep learning every day. Austin told a story about a wrestler getting a bigger than usual pop at MSG and Austin pointed it out to Vince and Vince said that he hoped that person got over. That told Austin it wasn’t just Vince with a magic wand but Vince hoping guys took the reigns.
Austin asked why Cesaro hasn’t clicked yet. Vince said that perhaps it’s because he’s Swiss but he hasn’t shown the charisma but Vince hopes he does/ Austin pointed out that the momentum was lost for him via the booking and Vince said he doesn’t have all the answers and Cesaro isn’t being given up on.
Austin talked about the Creative Team and how different it was from the days of Vince working from his pool. Austin asked why creative got so complicated. Vince said that the company grew in leaps and bounds and went public and it’s not going to be a one man show. Vince said he can’t do it all and joked that he used to work Pat Patterson to the bone. He talked about how when people would come by his house, they’d end up in the pool because Vince loves ribs and described it being one of the funniest things in the world. Vince said you have to have fun to make fun. Austin told a story about Shane tossing Vince in the pool.
Austin asked where Shane McMahon is. Vince said he’s a happy camper and has his hands in a lot of pots. He said Shane’s departure was something of a mutual thing. He said being a family in business is difficult. Vince said he tried to do what was right for business. Vince said his dad didn’t want him in the business and he wanted his kids to do what they wanted to do.
Vince told the story of an announcer holding his father up for money and his father refusing, then deciding Vince would be the announcer with no experience, “and you’re going to do a good job.” Vince gave him a partner and it was Arnold Skaaland.
Skaaland was a man of few words so Vince asked him father for someone else to help him. There were a number of individuals who helped him.
Austin asked him if he wanted to talk about CM Punk. Vince said he wanted to personally apologize for him getting his termination papers on his wedding day. He said that in a company their side, the different areas of the company didn’t know what was going on. He said that he didn’t want to go through dirty laundry. Vince said there have been others who were disgruntled and they said things they later regretted and he hoped they would one day work together again. Vince said he didn’t listen to the Colt Cabana interview but heard Punk used a lot of expletives and things were said that were his side of things. He said that he had issues with Austin and Hulk Hogan but they eventually came back. Vince said he was willing to work with Punk again and admits that he has a big ego, but is willing to put it aside and work with him down the line. Vince later said Punk worked really hard for the company.
Austin talked about working with Vince and being in a similar situation. Vince said Austin was difficult to work with at times. They talked about Austin walking out when he was asked to put over Brock Lesnar, Austin said he was hard-headed and never returned Vince’s calls. Finally, Jim Ross sent him a card in the mail and offered to talk with Steve anytime Ross put them back in touch. Austin asked if there was someone who could bridge the gap between Vince and Punk. Vince said that unfortunately there is not and Punk is pretty much a loner and has a lack of communication. Vince said that when attorneys get involved it’s going to “hell in a handbasket.”
Austin told a story about Vince fining him $650,000 when he returned. Vince then told him what he thought was fair. He settled on $250,000. Vince said when you walk out, not on the company but the fans you have to do something or else the next time you don’t like the creative, you walk out again.
Vince said that Austin had the communications, perhaps not with Vince but with others and Punk was a loner. Vince admitted he himself can be introverted and shy and he understands it and talked about feeling uncomfortable when he was at political events for his wife and would often find himself talking to the bartender, who was more his kind of people.
Austin talked about watching The Undertaker losing at Wrestlemania. He asked about the background of ending the streak. Vince said that no one wants to give back to the business more than Mark Calaway. He said that it was time and when you look down the line on who he could work with, who else was it going to be. There was no one else it could be. He said that Brock was the one person that Mark felt was the guy. Austin challenged him and Vince admitted he made the decision to end the Streak.
Austin asked Vince why Brock Lesnar isn’t around more. Vince said you don’t want him around more, because he’s a special attraction.
Vince said Randy Savage would absolutely be in the WWE Hall of Fame. He said it would be soon but not perhaps this year. Austin cornered him and made Vince say yes.
On Sting, Vince McMahon said he made a great impression but he’s the type of character you don’t need to see every week but “I think you’ll see him at Wrestlemania.” Austin said that when he was hot, he was on every show and Vince said the business has changed and some of it is contracts.
They talk about the Monday Night War. Vince said he always felt WWE was more passionate and WCW having talent in charge of their own creative created chaos. Austin said they don’t have any real competition and Vince said that they compete with everything on TV. He said they and WCW were burning so hot and it was a question of who was going to burn out first. Vince always kept ideas in huis pocket. He said all the WCW issues eventually wore them down.
Continue reading on Page 2 Below: Vince talks about expanding the WWF in the 80’s, Jim Ross, the Austin-McMahon feud & more –
Following Sting’s WWE debut at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view, where he gave Triple H a Scorpion Death Drop and cost Team Authority their jobs, there’s already some buzz behind the scenes that the two legends will square off at WrestleMania 31.
Just a few weeks ago, The Rock and Triple H were teasing a WrestleMania match at the SmackDown 15th Anniversary special. With The Rock busy schedule shooting movies, it seems unlikely that he’ll be getting back in the ring next March. WWE kicking off a feud between Sting & Triple H seems to support the notion that Rock won’t be available during WrestleMania season.
While The Undertaker’s in-ring future is still unknown, Sting working with Triple H could be a sign that Taker has yet to commit to wrestling at WrestleMania 31.
(Source: f4wonline.com)
In 1987, WWE presented their first ever “Survivor Series” event, the first non-WrestleMania pay-per-view event, originally designed to steal viewers away from their main competition at the time, NWA’s “Starrcade,” which was the south’s version of “WrestleMania” (even though Starrcade came first) and was WWE’s attempt to throw down the gauntlet to the pay-per-view industry.
Basically put, if you were a pay-per-view provider and you decided to carry Starrcade, you would not be able to carry WrestleMania, a proven success in the pay-per-view industry.
That was the beginning.
From there, throughout the years, a number of historical events would take place at a Survivor Series event.
In no particular order, you can point to single Superstar debuts such as The Undertaker in 1990, which was also the debut of the infamous Gobbeldy Gooker. Which was the more famous of the two, well, I’ll let you decide.
1996 saw the debut of “Rocky Maivia,” to this day arguably the biggest cross-over name to ever emanate from the world of sports entertainment. At the time, while he was touted as being the first-ever third generation performer, and as “Good Ole’ JR” would say, “that’s gonna be the man, right there! That’s blue-chipper, right there!” with all of the enthusiasm the only Jim Ross could muster, oh how true those words would come to be as time went on.
One year later, the most infamous moment perhaps in all of WWE would take place. A moment that certainly began the shift in the WWE vs. WCW “Monday Night Wars” would take place, as not only did Bret Hart get “screwed” in what would become known as “The Montreal Screwjob,” but in many ways, that became the birth of the “Mr. McMahon” character, one that without he, the “Stone Cold” Steve Austin character may have never reached the heights that he would go on to achieve throughout his illustrious career.
In 1999, WWE’s first ever Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle, made his official in-ring pay-per-view debut, defeating Shawn Stasiak in the second match on the card.
In 2002, the Survivor Series featured another “first,” as this would be the first time that we were treated to a new gimmick match known as the “Elimination Chamber.” A man notorious among the wrestlers within the profession, just a few months ago the match concept was thrown out, large in part — according to various rumors — because of how unforgiving the structure was for those who had to actually compete inside it.
Most recently, the big “debut” of a match, concept or character took place at the November 18, 2012 edition of the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, which took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, as three men who would become known as “The Shield” made their official WWE main roster debut. Those three men would become known as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
Just to show how important those three men are, one is involved (as a Team Captain, no less) in the main event of this year’s Survivor Series, which takes place tonight from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
That man is Seth Rollins.
Another one of the former Shield members, Dean Ambrose, is in what is being billed as arguably the legitimate co-main event of the evening, as he collides with another rising up-and-comer, Bray Wyatt.
And that leaves Roman Reigns.
Well, while he’s not officially booked on the actual card for tonight’s show, let’s just say there are a lot of rumors going around that claim we just may see him involved on the show tonight in some form or fashion after all.
Finally, that leaves two other names.
First up, the hometown boy. St. Louis’ own “The Viper” Randy Orton is rumored to make his return to WWE, after taking a brief hiatus to film a WWE Studios project, “The Condemned 2.”
Last, and absolutely not least, is “The Icon.”
While yours truly is not holding his breath and is going to take a “wait and see” approach before getting overly excited, rumors on the internet over the past few days insist that a certain Crow-painted style performer will make his very, very highly-anticipated WWE pay-per-view debut tonight at the Scottrade Center.
That’s right, folks. “The man they call Sting” is rumored to make his WWE debut, after all these years, at the same show that has produced so many memorable debuts, characters, matches and moments. If, in fact, “The Stinger” does make his WWE debut on tonight’s show, this writer has his new favorite Survivor Series moment of all-time.
We’re just hours away! Make sure to keep it locked right here at SEScoops.com for the most extensive, in-depth, live results coverage of tonight’s WWE Survivor Series 2014 pay-per-view!
Until then, leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below, and don’t forget to add me as a friend on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or follow me on Twitter @MBoone420.
Enjoy the show, everybody!
Once an occasional treat for the WWE Universe, the Hell in a Cell match has become a yearly event since the introduction of the eponymous pay-per-view in 2009. Since its inception, the company has yet to truly knock it out of the park with Hell in a Cell, although fans have witnessed some memorable moments.
This year, it will be either John Cena or Dean Ambrose headlining the event against Seth Rollins inside the most ominous structure in sports entertainment. As the company builds up its next pay-per-view, here is a look back at the first five Hell in a Cell events.
5. 2012
This event really didn’t have a pay-per-view feel to it. The undercard was primarily filled with forgettable matches that had little impact on future storylines. The main event was also lacking due to injury.
It was clear that the company had no idea what to do after John Cena went down to injury, leading to Ryback receiving a premature main event push. From top to bottom, this event was lacking and easily locks up the honor of being the worst Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to date.
Main Event: CM Punk vs. Ryback (Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship)
Best Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus
Worst Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. The Prime Time Players
WWE legend The Undertaker is scheduled for a rare public appearance at Austin Comic Con next month from Texas’ Austin Convention Center.
Former Divas champion Paige will also be in attendance.
Paige’s autograph session takes place Thursday, October 2nd from 5:30-8:30pm. Autographs cost $30 while photo ops run $40.
The Undertaker will be appearing on Friday, October 3rd from 4:30-8:3pm. Undertaker autographs go for $75, while a photo op is priced at $80.
Fans can also purchase a VIP ticket to the Undertaker’s session for approximately $300. A combined VIP ticket for Taker and Paige is about $350.
For more information, visit WizardWorld.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T tweeted the following about reaching a new milestone on Twitter.
Thank you to all my fans for getting me to 1 million followers on Twitter! I'm honored & humbled by the support! I can dig this suckas!!!
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) September 22, 2014
– WWE legend The Undertaker is featured on the latest edition of “Canvas 2 Canvas,” which you can check out below.
Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool has responded to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst announcing at a concert last night that The Undertaker is “not doing well” and asking fans to pray for him. (Original Story)
She posted the following on Instagram this evening:
“Sadly, there’s always rumors about my hubby! Apparently he’s now super sick and not doing well! While we always appreciate thoughts & prayers, we are ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD! Headed to a #cc4c dinner! Don’t forget we will both be at the hill country galleria (Austin, tx) this Sunday for the CC4C micro marathon! Come join the fun, register early online & come run for our champions! #teamcaroline #teamdrew #HUBBYWIFEcrossfitworkoutinmorning #AsGoodAsGold”
We’ve received word from several fans who attended the Limp Bizkit rock concert last night in San Antonio, Texas that lead singer Fred Durst delivered some unfortunate news about The Undertaker during the show.
Towards the end of their set, Durst addressed the crowd and said:
“This next song goes out to our friend Mark Calaway , The Undertaker. He’s not doing real well right now and we want all our fans to keep him in their thoughts and prayers”.
They then played “Rollin’” – which The Undertaker used as his theme song when he portrayed the American Badass towards the end of the Attitude Era.
This is the first we’ve heard about The Undertaker not “doing well” – but we’ll be sure to follow up on this story when new details become available.
Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool posted the following photo of her husband The Undertaker on Instagram this week:
“Two more amazing #cc4c kiddos with the hubs at radio station today! These kids are true champions!!! #cc4c #rootsoffight #everydollarcounts #thankyall”
Sting spoke to Brian Fritz of the Orlando Sentinel during SummerSlam weekend and said if The Undertaker has wrestled his last match, he wants to face Triple H at WrestleMania.
“I do believe I have enough left in my tank for one more match and I would love for that match to be against Taker. If that can’t happen, Triple H, I think. I just would like to have one more match. I would love to say I had one match under the WWE banner and, of course, WrestleMania. Who wouldn’t want to say that they wrestled at WrestleMania at least one time.”
Sting said WWE management (Vince McMahon and Triple H) have made him feel very welcomed and comfortable. He hopes to parlay his video game deal into an actual role with the company, specifically as an ambassador for WWE.
“Yeah, I’m open to that, definitely. I’m open to whatever doors may or may not open. I love the business so yeah, I can see myself being an ambassador,” Sting said.
– WWE has acknowledged internally that many WWE Network subscribers are sharing their accounts with others, allowing multiple users for each account. The company is reportedly considering disabling this feature to encourage more sign-ups from the people using shared accounts.
– WWE legend The Undertaker will be making his first-ever appearance at Wizard World Comic Con in Austin, Texas on Friday, October 3. He will sign autographs and pose for photo opportunities from 4:30 – 8:30 p.m. Wizard World CEO John Macaluso said:
“We are honored to announce The Undertaker’s first Wizard World appearance. The Undertaker is one of the most recognizable entertainment figures in the world, and this will be a memorable experience for the entire WWE Universe.”
Part-time WWE Superstar Batista spoke to the The Huffington Post ‘s UK site this week to promote his new movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. He spoke about a number of topics, including the funniest rib ever played on him, Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling promotion, NXT and much more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
If The Anti-Batista Chants Were Really Just Disgruntled Daniel Bryan Fans:
“You could have fooled the hell out of me! They channelled their rage right in my direction. I can’t put my finger on it, it was crazy. I don’t get wrestling now. I’ve kind of completely taken my finger off the pulse. It’s a different audience which I don’t understand. It’s strange though, it’s really just the TV audience because when we get into the live events it’s a completely different audience and they come just to watch the show. It’s weird, the TV crowd seems like they come to be the show rather than to watch and interact with the show. It’s like they want to steal the show, so I’m just totally confused.”
The Undertaker’s Streak Ending at WrestleMania:
“It sucked! Honestly, I thought it sucked. I haven’t really talked much about it but I think it was a bad decision, a horrible decision. I don’t have any say in the matter but to me, watching as a fan, it made me sick. Brock Lesnar beating him didn’t seem to work and it really wasn’t good that Brock left the day after. I just don’t see how that made sense at all. I don’t think anyone wanted to see the streak broken and it just didn’t make sense to me.”
The Shield Breaking Up & Which Member Has The Most Potential:
“It’s similar to my take on the Undertaker. I guess there comes a point where you have to send them their separate ways but – and it’s just my opinion – I don’t think they were ready. I don’t think they’re ready to fly solo. I realise where they’re going and that WWE will push Roman Reigns straight to the top. However for me, Dean Ambrose is by far the most talented in that group and I think eventually if they just give him the spotlight then he’s going to shine. As soon as he touches a mic everyone else can just sit down as he’s magic on it. So It remains to be seen, I think they’re all talented but to me Dean was the star of that group. I think Roman looks like the star of that group but I don’t think he’s nearly as talented as Dean.”
WWE.com has published Michael Cole’s weekly sit down interview with WWE COO Triple H. Here are some highlights:
– When asked about Stephanie McMahon’s “arrest” on RAW, Triple H said he has been advised not to speak about the case because of “pending legal action.” Cole asked how she was and Triple H got upset, telling him to move on.
– Triple H said he picked “Plan C” Brock Lesnar to face John Cena at SummerSlam because he guaranteed the WWE Universe that Cena would not leave the event as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’s going to fulfill that guarantee and Lesnar is the man who will help him keep his word. He assured Cole that Lesnar will get the job done.
– Cole asked about putting WWE’s biggest franchise Superstar in the ring with the man who may have ended The Undertaker’s career. Triple H said Lesnar vs. Cena is best for business and the WWE Universe wants to see Cena have the best possible competition. His job isn’t to protect Cena “because he sells t-shirts.” He added that said WWE has relied on Cena for years, but the company will move on when the time comes. If Lesnar ends Cena’s career, so be it.
– Cole congratulated Triple H on the one year anniversary of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Triple H said it has been an amazing year and the Performance Center is a big step into the future for WWE. He said that WWE’s future is bright and the wrestlers using the Performance Center have advantages that previous generations never had.
– Following the announcement that Sting will be featured in the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game and Sting stating in an interview this week that he wants to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31, WWE has posted a “Fantasy Matchup” video featuring the two legendary superstars.
WWE asks, “What would happen if The Phenom of WWE went one-on-one with the Icon of WCW?” You can view the video at WWE.com.
– Bray Wyatt continues to earn the respect of everybody in the WWE locker room, including his peers and the legends working as producers. Wyatt got a lot of praise for the way he handled himself backstage at the WWE live event from Madison Square Garden.
Wyatt was busted up “the hard way” by Ric Flair, taking a punch to the face that left a bad cut that required a lot of work to cover up on Monday’s RAW. Wyatt was said to be very “light hearted” and cool about the situation, which impressed a lot of people. It’s understood that Wyatt is still early on in his career and has some time before he’s solidified as a top act, but so far he’s on the right track.
Wrestling legend Sting spoke to Mirror.co.uk this week to hype his involvement in the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game. Sting spoke about a variety of topics, including why he decided to finally work with WWE after all these years, if he’s interested in joining the WWE Hall of Fame, memories of his former tag team partner The Ultimate Warrior and his desire to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31.
Here are the highlights of what Sting said about:
Finally Working With WWE: “Why now? It’s a now or never thing. I’ve done so many things in the wrestling business but the one thing I’d never done was wrestle or be a part of the WWE family I didn’t want too hang it all up and retire and disappear again without having done that in some capacity.”
Joining The WWE Hall Of Fame: “Obviously it would be a great honour to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It’s nothing that I would say no to, that’s for sure.”
Memories Of The Ultimate Warrior: “Now I can look back and realise just how amazing it all was. It’s remarkable really that both of us ended up taking it all as far as we did.”
“It would seem like every three, four, five years or so we’d bump into each other. He called me twelve years ago, he needed some help with some stuff and of course I was there to help him out as much as I could. We never really kept in contact, but it was always friendly when we did. With his resurgence with WWE I was really looking forward to reconnecting with him again, and maybe even working with him in some capacity through WWE.”
Wanting To Wrestle The Undertaker: “I’ve made it clear I’d love to have one last hurrah, one last big match hopefully. And of course I’ve been outspoken about Undertaker being the opponent. I know what happened at Wrestlemania where Brock Lesnar broke his streak. I think, or at least I’m hoping, that Taker’s still going to come back and that he’s not done. If he’s not done, and he would consider doing it, I’d love to work with him one time.
“I’d love to wrestle him one time before I call it quits. Undertaker maintained a status in wrestling and the WWE that is second to none. He’s a phenomenon,”
“How about San Francisco, 2015, in April?”
Following The Undertaker’s streak being broken at WrestleMania XXX and questions surrounding whether he’s still able to wrestle, the Dead Man’s future remains uncertain.
The Undertaker recently spoke with WWE officials about his in-ring future and was asked whether there is a chance he’d be willing to work WrestleMania 31. In light of the concussion he sustained at WrestleMania XXX and the long list of previous injuries and surgeries, he told WWE that as of right now, it’s unlikely he will wrestle again.
That said, Taker is back in the gym training. Over the past few years, the decision that he’d wrestle at WrestleMania came just a few months before the big events – so things could change 6 months from now.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has commented on why he has not come out of retirement since wrestling his final match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26. In a new documentary airing on the WWE Network spotlighting his classic WrestleMania 25 match against the Dead Man Michaels said,
“To have the WrestleMania 25 match and honestly sit there like two old gunslingers and think, ‘There’s no better way for this to go.’ And being at a maturity level where we can look at each other, appreciate each other, appreciate the changes in each other, appreciate everything about this job and how long we’ve done it and everything we’ve been through,” Michaels said.
“But, as two company figures who have been here the longest – somewhat together – and seen a lot come and go, that’s special. That’s why it’s always been easy for me to not desire to come back and not do it again.”
“I’ve never done a perfect thing in my life, but I am at least wise enough to know those things that I’ve done that shouldn’t be messed with.”
Wrestling legend Vader was recently interviewed by Wrestling101. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Undertaker: “Undertaker was just phenomenal and I would say he is the best big man in professional wrestling history, without a doubt.”
Brock Lesnar: “I think Brock Lesnar is just a beast, he’s an incredible athlete and he would be great at anything he turned his hand to, I would love to see Brock featured more than he is.”
Triple H: “Triple H is doing a fantastic job running the company now but I would love to see more of him performing in the ring as he is still a tremendous athlete.”
Rumors Of Him Entering The WWE Hall of Fame: “I heard rumblings about it a couple of years ago, but I’ve not heard anything for a while now. I would really like for that to happen, I think I?ve earned it. Yokozuna, Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy and myself would be considered super-heavyweights, and I would rank myself very high out of that group, and there is a time in my career in the early nineties where I considered myself to be the best big man.”
Comparing Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff: “Eric was put into a situation and I think from a wrestling standpoint he wasn’t really ready for it at that time. He became very educated and excellent at what he did but it was kind of like we had one guy running the wrestling part and then two weeks later we had another guy doing it and so on and so forth until Eric did it. I think Eric was way in over his head initially but he certainly figured it out with the help of Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan and there were times when it became a biased situation but he achieved some great things, he is one of the most successful promoters in the history of professional wrestling. What can I say about Vince, he’s a genius, he is the most successful wrestling promoter of all time and just works so hard. He was very approachable and he has done nothing but treat me like a gentleman.”
– As previously reported, a new season of Tough Enough is currently in the works and will air exclusively on the WWE Network. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, It’s believed that the new season of WWE Tough Enough will begin filming this June at the Performance Center in Orlando. There’s talk of limiting the participants on the show to talents that are already under developmental contracts, but have not yet appeared in NXT.
– Stephanie McMahon noted on Twitter that she was in California’s Bay Area on Wednesday to have talks about WrestleMania 31 at Levi’s Stadium.
Excited to be here in the Bay Area talking about #WrestleMania31 from @LevisStadium !!!! pic.twitter.com/Y5cZKPjBNt
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) May 7, 2014
– The latest WWE Inbox features WWE Superstars and Divas talking about Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker’s Streak:
Photo: BO DALLAS Posts Hilarious Tribute To His Brother BRAY WYATT
Jim Ross’s guest on this week’s Ross Report podcast at PodcastOne.com was fellow WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. A large portion of the show focused on Brock Lesnar defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania and ending his legendary undefeated streak.
Michaels said that he and everybody else backstage were shocked when the referee counted the pinfall. Corroborating our reports from right after WrestleMania, he said that only “one man” makes the call about a decision like that – and that’s Vince McMahon.
He revealed that Vince’s decision for Undertaker’s streak to end came just 4 hours before the show went on the air.
JR saw the Undertaker backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and hugged his longtime friend. When he asked Undertaker how much longer he plans to continue wrestling, he replied, “I don’t know, i’ll let you know in a few hours.”
Shawn said that Undertaker’s choice about whether he wants to wrestle again has nothing to do with the streak being broken. Michaels said after the match, Undertaker told him he’d call him in a few weeks to catch up.
Shawn also gave his thoughts on CM Punk, saying that he completely understands Punk’s mentality of being mentally burned out.
– The Miami Herald has published an article previewing the new “Best of WWE Hall of Fame” show which will debut on the WWE Network tonight.
– Jeff Teague of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks recently spoke to NBA.com about The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak ending. “I am mad about that. I can’t believe they did that, man,” Teague said. “They could have picked somebody better than that [Lesnar]. The could’ve got CM Punk, anybody. But I think it was a mistake. I don’t think it was supposed to happen like that.”
– The May issue of WWE Magazine contains a feature looking at “31 Bold Predictions for Wrestlemania 31.” It’s interesting to note that #22, which you can view below, reads:
“Twenty-two Superstars have fallen to Undertaker’s Streak, but one duo will try to stack the odds.”
The official WWE website has published a new editorial piece featuring 8 bold predictions for the WWE Universe leading up to next year’s WrestleMania 31 event:
– Roman Reigns will win the 2015 Royal Rumble Match
– John Cena will join The Wyatt Family
– The Undertaker will retire
– The WWE World Heavyweight Championship will once again split into two titles
– Stephanie McMahon will target the Divas Championship
– Zeb Colter will form a stable of Real Americans
– Cody Rhodes will win (and cash in) Money in the Bank
– Cesaro will break away from Paul Heyman and challenge Brock Lesnar
Hit up the comments below and tell us if you agree with any of these picks.
The Big Red Monster is back, and it appears he is on a collision course with Daniel Bryan. After reclaiming his mask last week on Raw, Kane vowed to take care of the WWE Champion and send him to the depths of hell.
In true WWE storytelling fashion, they had a Kane video package queued up and ready to go about five minutes later, leading me to believe that he will be featured prominently in the storyline in the coming weeks.
With Evolution set to take on the Shield at Extreme Rules and seemingly no other contenders in line, it appears that Daniel Bryan’s first pay-per-view title defense will be against his former tag team partner.
The thought of Kane headlining a pay-per-view in 2014 and competing for the WWE Championship could leave some fans scratching their heads, but I believe it could work well if planned appropriately. With other storylines, particularly the Shield/Evolution program, eating up a good portion of the main event roster, creative was left with few options for Bryan’s matchup at Extreme Rules.
Randy Orton still holds a rematch clause but is fighting with Evolution, not to mention that Orton/Bryan headlined three pay-per-views last year and most fans would like something fresh. I think Brock Lesnar is being built up to eventually challenge Bryan for the title, but it would be too soon and neither superstar could afford a loss immediately following WrestleMania. Lesnar needs to continue winning to validate his win against the Undertaker and Bryan cannot lose the title just one month after finally winning it. A no contest would also leave the crowd unsatisfied with the outcome.
Therefore, I think Bryan and Lesnar will both be built up over the coming months to set up a blockbuster showdown at SummerSlam. Bryan’s first victim will almost assuredly be Kane. It is no secret that Kane is past his prime, but he can still put on a decent match if paired with the right opponent.
At the very least, the two have been involved with one another in the storyline over the past several months and creative can rely on that to tell a decent story. It certainly works a little better than randomly choosing someone like Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio to challenge for the title.