The official WWE website recently interviewed all of the members of the infamous “Kliq” about the “Curtain Call” incident at Madison Square Garden in 1996. Below are some highlights of the interview.
WWE.COM: Did you guys plan The Curtain Call ahead of time or did it just kind of happen that night?
SHAWN MICHAELS: It was talked about in Europe then it was never talked about again. We had done a European tour, then we came back and had this last run. For us, not that we needed a reason to celebrate something, but everything was the last time we’ll be doing this, the last time we’ll be doing that.
KEVIN NASH: This may be the last time we’re in a Lumina van! We should really drink tonight.
[Laughter.]
MICHAELS: Then, that night, as best as I can recall, it was Hunter coming up and going, “Hey, are we doing that thing we talked about?” I don’t think anybody remembered it.
NASH: I walked in and talked to Vince and Pat [Patterson]! You [points to Michaels] were with me and he said it was fine and we were supposed to go to [New York City steakhouse] Smith & Wollensky afterwards. And it just turned into a thing …
WWE.COM: Before we get into the fallout, let’s talk about the incident itself. What do you remember about that moment at the end of the night?
SCOTT HALL: I remember standing in the ring and we’re all there together. It was unheard of, but the people appreciated it. I remember looking at Kev, we’re all hugging and I remember thinking we all made it.
NASH: I remember — and I think we may have even said it in the ring that night — that we weren’t disbanding The Kliq.
MICHAELS: We were taking over the business.
NASH: We’re going to go down south and take over Ford Motor Company. You guys run GM and we’ll run the automobile industry.
MICHAELS: I remember Vince came up to me after and said, “Did that mean a lot to you?” I said, “Yes it did.” “Then it meant a lot to me.” And he was fine. It was fine that night.
– There is talk of Alexander Rusev wrestling a squash match at Extreme Rules, if the show’s scheduling permits.
– Triple H suffered some sort of muscle injury in his match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. While the injury is not considered serious, one of his legs had heavy bruising and was taped up the following night on RAW as a result.
– ESPN is very interested in signing WWE interviewer Renee Young, with some people expecting they will make a move to steal her away. Young is no stranger to sports broadcasting and signed with WWE back in October 2012 after working for Canada’s The Score for several years.
– Brock Lesnar is expected to be back in WWE by SummerSlam. There’s been talk that he will challenge Daniel Bryan for he will eventually challenge WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the show.
As reported last week, Triple H vs. Roman Reigns is also planned for SummerSlam.
– WWE’s 4/12 live event from Hidalgo, Texas drew 6,000. The 4/13 event the following night from Chattanooga, Tennessee drew 5,200 fans.
– NXT star Enzo Amore returned to training this past week after being out of action since the fall with a broken leg.
Michael Cole’s latest sit-down interview features a conversation with WWE COO Triple H. The video is accompanied by the following description:
“WWE COO Triple H sits down with Michael Cole to address new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, the return of Kane’s monstrous side and Evolution’s plans for dealing with The Hounds of Justice.”
In a ‘dark’ segment that took place immediately after Main Event went off the air on the WWE Network, Kane come out – wearing his mask. He beat down Big Show, delivering a chokeslam in the ring and then destroying him outside with the steel ring steps.
We are a little over a quarter of the way through the year. With WrestleMania behind us, the WWE will now begin its summer programs and hope to build toward its second biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam.
With that said, I felt it would be interesting to look at the top five matches from the first quarter of 2014. I included full match videos and highlights where possible, but WWE licensing restrictions made it difficult at times. (I also apologize for the terrible music in a few of the videos.)
5. John Cena vs. Cesaro (February 17 Raw) – Say what you will about John Cena’s in-ring ability, but he has put on some great matches so far this year, with none better than this matchup with Cesaro. There were a number of amazing spots during the contest, with Cesaro’s counter of the AA certainly ranking near the top. It appears the WWE is going to push Cesaro hard, and this was the week where his push began after he defeated Randy Orton and pushed Cena to the limit.
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania) – After weeks of begging for a match with Triple H, Daniel Bryan finally got his wish at WrestleMania. He took full advantage of it during the opening contest of the night. Both superstars really shined during the match and it was, in my opinion, the highlight of the show. It also ranks as quite possibly the best opening match in WrestleMania history, with only Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X giving it a run for its money.
– Triple H vs. Roman Reigns is currently being discussed as a top match for SummerSlam on August 17th. The seeds have already been planted for this feud, which will likely feature a Shield vs. Evolution showdown en route to this blockbuster match.
– WrestleMania XXX was just a week away, but there is already talk about who Brock Lesnar will wrestle next year in Santa Clara, California. The first rumored opponent is The Rock, who at one point was slated to face Lesnar at this year’s show.
The other big name who could face the Beast at WrestleMania 31 is Cesaro. Both men are currently represented by Paul Heyman and it remains to be seen how the two will interact when Lesnar eventually returns to television.
Brock Lesnar’s current WWE deal expires shortly after WrestleMania 31.
– Mia Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, paid tribute to the late Ultimate Warrior by getting his iconic facepaint image tattoo’d on her leg. You can check out photos below.
– The following is a photo of Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H joining Linda McMahon at the annual Prescott Bush Dinner in Stamford, Connecticut.
– The three women who were involved in Triple H’s elaborate entrance for his match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX last Sunday were Alexis, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, all of whom currently work as NXT Divas.
– As it appeared when watching the show live on Sunday, The Shield vs. New Age Outlaws and Kane match was rushed. Both the ring entrances and the match itself were cut to make time for the rest of the show.
While nothing has been officially announced at this point, the plan for the main event angle heading into the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is The Shield vs. Evolution. The angle was shot for this rumored match during the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE RAW this past Monday night in New Orleans.
The actual match itself is unknown at this point, although it is expected that Ric Flair will not be involved in the Evolution side of things.
The only question coming out of the angle shot at RAW, is whether or not Kane or Triple H will be the third person on the Evolution side, or if both are part of the equation and Daniel Bryan will be added to The Shield team to make it an eight-man tag-team match. Based on the RAW angle, one would assume it is the latter.
Also rumored for Extreme Rules is a rematch between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
As previously reported, WWE referee Chad Patton, who served as the in-ring official for the Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania XXX, was not aware that Lesnar was going over in the bout. As noted, he was actually told that Undertaker was supposed to win.
As far as who else in the company knew ahead of time, that is hard to say. We can say for certain that Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Paul Heyman, and likely Triple H and Stephanie McMahon all knew, but beyond that, it”s difficult to say.
On the actual script for the show, no finish was listed for the Lesnar-Undertaker match. However, that wasn’t unusual, as other matches on the card did not have a finish listed on the script as well.
According to reports, none of the agents who worked the show were aware that Undertaker was going to lose.
It should be noted, that despite the claim that not many were aware of the finish, enough people, or the right people, must have known. There were two major online betting websites that had Lesnar an unbelievable underdog, nearly 50-to-1 by some odds, that switched to him being an actual betting favorite when the match hit the ring, indicating that a ton of “smart money” came in once the finish was determined and told to whomever was in the loop to know these kind of things.
Capitalizing on the comedic attention that the “Shocked Undertaker Guy” photo has been getting on the internet, WWE is continuing to make the fan a star as they have released a new video from last year’s WrestleMania 29 Axxess of the fan meeting Triple H. You can check out that clip above.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have taken on more of a leadership role within WWE over the past few weeks. As reported earlier, the two had more control than ever at WrestleMania XXX.
While Vince McMahon is still the top decision maker and WWE and has not shown any signs of stepping away any time soon, there’s a feeling behind the scenes that this is a transition period in WWE.
Regarding the death of the Ultimate Warrior, it was Triple H who informed the WWE talent about the tragic news. As you can imagine, Vince McMahon was said to be very shaken up by it.
WWE COO Triple H spoke to ESPN this week about the tragic death of the Ultimate Warrior. During the interview, Triple H revealed that it was an 18 month process getting Warrior to come home and agree to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
WWE’s Reaction To The Tragic News: “We’re devastated. It was such a wonderful homecoming, such a great celebration of an iconic career with the Hall of Fame, and the appearance at WrestleMania, and the return of the Ultimate Warrior character in-ring on Monday Night Raw. The talent were so happy, Warrior was beside himself so excited, and then to have it just come to an end a day later is just shocking and tragic and devastating to all of us.”
Warrior’s Legacy: “Warrior’s legacy, as he said in his Hall of Fame induction speech, his most important accomplishment is what he leaves behind, which is his wife Dana, and his two beautiful daughters, Mattigan and Indiana. For him, that’s what he would say. As for his career, for him, the belief in the Ultimate Warrior and that Warrior mentality, his belief is that if you believe in yourself, and that you work hard, and you persevere, anything is possible. He believed that so much so that he signed everything that he did – whether an autograph or a contract – with ‘Always Believe. Warrior.'”
WWE & Warrior reconciling: “It was a wonderful opportunity for us. And we’re grateful we had the chance. For me, it was an 18-month process with Warrior; an 18-month healing process. It doesn’t happen overnight, but I think both sides have grown. He had grown as a man, we had grown as people and a company, and it was time. It was time to move on and just let the business things that had gone in the past be the past. He is so deserving of being immortalized in the Hall of Fame and to have his moment in front of his legions and legions of fans. I can tell you that that meant the world to us and, I know personally, it meant the world to him.”
Warrior’s Career Highlight: “The whole thing is bittersweet because it was the greatest moment he probably could have had. I think if you asked him a career highlight, many people would say it’s WrestleMania 6 at the Toronto Skydome when he beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title. I don’t know. I think he would have disagreed with that now and said the greatest moment of his career was three days ago being inducted into the Hall of Fame with Mattigan and Indiana walking him on-stage.”
– WWE is auctioning off a WWE Championship belt signed by Hulk Hogan, John Cena, The Undertaker and Triple H at CharityBuzz.com. Proceeds go towards the Superstars For Kids charity. The auction ends at 12pm EST on Tuesday, with the current bid listed at $1,425.
– As you can imagine, the atmosphere was very positive backstage at WrestleMania XXX. Everybody was in great spirits and it felt like the celebratory landmark show that it was.
– One of the big wildcard issues heading into WrestleMania was how the WWE Network stream would hold up. Aside from some very minor skipping, the stream was considered a huge success.
– Billy Gunn tweeted the following after reports that he suffered from internal bleeding after his match against The Shield at WrestleMania:
Ok thanks everyone I am fine just a miner hiccup. Just busted some blood vessels in my lungs
As many expected, WrestleMania XXX turned out to be a memorable and newsworthy event on Sunday night. A number of legendary moments took place, titles changed hands and surprises unfolded throughout the evening. Below is a quick rundown of some of the notable moments from the show.
The show opened up with a “WrestleMania Moment” type segment, as Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock shared the ring for a promo segment.
The Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak was broken. Undertaker lost via F-5 to Brock Lesnar, making his new WrestleMania record 21-1.
Daniel Bryan finally had his “big moment,” as he defeated Triple H in the opening match on the pay-per-view and would go on to defeat Randy Orton and Batista in the main event to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
The Real Americans broke up during the WWE Tag-Team Championship match on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show. After The Usos retained their titles, last eliminating The Real Americans, Cesaro ignored the orders of his manager Zeb Colter and attacked Jack Swagger.
Additionally, Cesaro pulled off an upset by winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He last eliminated The Big Show in what will go down as his first true “WrestleMania Moment” when he body slammed the giant — with ease — over the top rope.
The following are highlights of a lengthy Buzz Feed interview-article on Shane McMahon:
On if a family feud led to his WWE departure: “No, there was no civil war. My sister is still involved in the company now with her husband Triple H. They’re there. My dad is there. Things are moving forward.”
On it being difficult to work for his father, Vince McMahon: “My dad held me to a different standard, without question, sometimes unfairly so and that’s OK. It’s tough to bat .1000 all the time. It’s that one wrong all the time. It teaches you. It definitely teaches you. It’s a way of teaching…”
Shane, who admitted he won’t be returning to TV at WrestleMania XXX, said the following regarding a possible WWE return: “Would I ever come back? I would never count it out because anything can happen in the WWE.”
– WWE updated their official YouTube channel with video footage of the backstage scene at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony in New Orleans on Saturday night. The clip features the 2014 inductees receiving their rings and taking photos with Vince McMahon and Triple H. You can check that out below:
– Speaking of the WWE Hall Of Fame and the inductees receiving their rings, here’s a photo of Scott Hall, who was inducted as “Razor Ramon” on Saturday night, showing off his new bling:
– According to a recent draft, the matches that WWE is planning on giving ample time at WrestleMania XXX on Sunday are Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event. The Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker match will also likely receive a decent amount of time. According to the draft, Bryan vs. HHH is scheduled to go longer than any match on the show.
– The following is a photo of WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley in the ring at the WWE NXT event at WrestleMania Axxess in New Orleans this weekend:
– The following is a photo of Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon backstage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans watching the final touches being made to the WrestleMania XXX set.
– WWE has added a new video to their official YouTube channel that features soon-to-be WWE Hall Of Famer Ultimate Warrior reflecting on his legacy. You can watch that below:
The following are highlights from an AP article on WrestleMania, which features quotes from Hulk Hogan and Triple H. Below are excerpts from Hogan’s part of the interview:
On where he’d start watching footage at on the WWE Network: “I’d probably start when I had a full head of hair. I’d probably roll back to 1977, ’78 when I first went to work for Vince McMahon Sr. I’d probably start with my first match ever at the TV tapings in Allentown, Pa.”
On the success he’s had in his career: “I got to go from WrestleMania I to a career I could have never, ever dreamed of having. It doesn’t even feel real.”
Check out the complete article, which also features comments from Triple H, at BigStory.AP.org.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin noted on his official Twitter account on Thursday that he recorded a future “Steve Austin Show” podcast live in New Orleans with soon-to-be WWE Hall Of Famer Lita. Austin tweeted the following:
– As previously reported, Triple H presented WWE Hall Of Famer “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino with a huge statue at WrestleMania Axxess in New Orleans on Thursday. You can watch video highlights of the presentation below:
The following are photos of Triple H presenting WWE Hall Of Famer “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino with a statue at WrestleMania Axxess on Thursday in New Orleans.
