– During his appearance on Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast this week, which was the special 100th episode of the show, WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin revealed the fact that he expects to be at WrestleMania 32 in April. Additionally, Austin noted that there are creative plans in place for his involvement in the show, but quickly mentioned that he couldn’t discuss them yet.
– There continues to be a lot of discussion within WWE regarding the idea of introducing the Sister Abigail character to the storylines. The talk about the mysterious fictitious sister of Bray Wyatt being actualized by someone on WWE television dates back over a year ago, however the discussions have become more serious as of late and there is a legitimate possibility that she will soon be added to The Wyatt Family.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while there’s enough time between now and WrestleMania 32 that it’s certainly possible an arrangement can still be made, The Rock won’t be wrestling an actual match on the show for the same reason reported in the past regarding issues with concerns from the insurance people involved in the “Baywatch” movie he is working on.
As of this week, WWE has a full card in mind for WrestleMania 32, which takes place on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and while whatever The Rock is doing is indeed scheduled to be a big part of the show, he is not included in any of the matches and is not expected to be added to any of them.
Currently, Triple H vs Roman Reigns is the main event WWE has in mind for the show, and with The Rock being related to Reigns and endorsing him in the storylines at last year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, coupled with the fact that he was expected to wrestle Triple H if he did work a match on this show, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that it’s possible he will play a role in that match.
– WWE.com announced on Tuesday that a pre-sale for tickets to this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony is now ongoing at Ticketmaster.com with the code “DOTCOM.” The pre-sale ends at 11pm ET/10pm CT on Thursday, January 14th. The 2016 WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, which will be headlined by Sting this year, takes place on Saturday, April 2nd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Tickets for the general public will be available on Friday, January 15th at 10am ET/9am CT at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
– Independent wrestling veteran Luke Hawx worked a dark match at the WWE SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night after briefly appearing in a backstage segment on Monday’s WWE RAW. Apparently other talent from the Louisiana-based WildKat Spots promotion worked tryout matches for WWE this week as well.
– Darren Young posted the following photo that features he and Titus O’Neil with other WWE Superstars on the WrestleMania 32 promotion WWE is doing with the Texas lottery this year.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on WWE’s approach to booking the top matches for WrestleMania 32, Mauro Ranallo’s WWE announcing debut and his own potential return to broadcasting. Below are some of the highlights.
On WWE’s booking heading into WrestleMania 32:
“Bottom Line is that WWE has the time to construct the top 3-4 main event level bouts for WM32 if they book a card that they are comfortable with and include some surprises and new faces in the mix. Fans want bold and new and I hope that WWE takes a calculated risk on some new hands and do what they can to provide the fans with what they seemingly want. Every one is a ‘booker’ these days, including me, so at times WWE, as well as other wrestling companies, are damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to creative.”
On Luke Harper being someone WWE could book against The Undertaker at WM32:
“Who wrestles Taker at WM32 is a question that I’m getting a lot. First of all, I have no idea. Secondly, someone can be made ready between now and April 3 for Taker especially if the opportunity exists to put the Deadman in jeopardy. Perhaps, and this is merely one of many ideas that one can come up with, Luke Harper, with the Wyatt Family, would give the Undertaker a quality match and no matter the outcome Harper would be better because of the booking. I could see the Wyatt Family, lead by Harper , turning on Bray Wyatt, who could then get the ‘rub’ from Taker to become a long overdue, in my opinion, character baby face.”
On Mauro Ranallo’s WWE announcing debut on this week’s SmackDown:
“Enjoyed Mauro Ranallo on his first Smackdown broadcast this week and thought Jerry Lawler’s edgier presentation was a positive step for the sound of the show, too. It’s fun reading all he Twitter feedback regarding Mauro’s work and fans comparing his style to mine as if I were deceased. Mauro’s work deserves to stand on its own. He’s that good.”
On “Good Ole’ JR” possibly returning to the announcing booth:
“For the record, I’m not deceased and neither is my broadcasting career for those keeping score at home. I merely say, ‘Stay tuned.'”
WWE is now officially advertising Brock Lesnar for the upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view in Cleveland, Ohio on February 21st.
Lesnar, who was also announced for next week’s RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been added to the list of talent advertised to appear at the 2/21 pay-per-view event.
Although he is not officially advertised yet for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view scheduled for this month, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently reported that Lesnar is booked for the Rumble event and would be returning to WWE television in January to help promote that fact.
With Lesnar now being advertised for Fastlane, it appears likely that he will in fact be working WWE’s next three pay-per-view events in a row, with WrestleMania 32 being the third.
WWE has announced the official schedule for their WrestleMania AXXESS weekend in Dallas, Texas this coming April.
WrestleMania AXXESS will take place this year from Thurs, March 31st – Sun, April 3rd at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the same venue as their NXT TakeOver: Dallas special on Friday night.
There will be activities on Thursday, March 31, from 6-10 p.m.; Friday, April 1 from 5-9 p.m., and three Saturday sessions from 8 a.m. to Noon, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The latter session goes head-to-head with the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. There is also a Sunday event from 8 a.m. to Noon.
The WrestleMania AXXESS events will be in direct competition with a number of other independent wrestling shows scheduled for WrestleMania 32 weekend in the same area.
As we settle into 2016, future WWE Hall Of Famer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson continues to keep the buzz going on social media regarding his WrestleMania 32 appearance this April, which he announced this past Monday afternoon.
In addition to hyping up the fact that he plans to make “all-time WrestleMania history,” which he noted in his initial announcement earlier this week, The Rock is now promoting the fact that he has a “little surprise” planned for “The Show of Shows” this year as well.
It’s still unclear whether or not The Rock will be wrestling or simply appearing on the show, however the belief is he won’t be able to wrestle due to a number of issues, including his inability to get insurance coverage for his next movie project, something he was told would happen if he agreed to step inside the squared circle again before wrapping up filming.
Regardless, if you have been following The Rock’s various social media accounts since his announcement on Monday, it’s clear at this point that he has more planned than stopping by AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 3rd to simply say “hello” to the WWE Universe.
Below are The Rock’s latest tweets related to his WrestleMania 32 announcement, which shows the mainstream media coverage he can still garner for WWE by simply agreeing to appear at a big event for the company. As seen in the tweets below, “The Great One” responded to WWE, Variety, Vibe Magazine and Entertainment Weekly to hype the “next-level sh*t” and “little surprise” he has in store for WWE fans in April.
– Regarding The Rock’s confirmed WrestleMania 32 appearance in April, which he continues to claim will “make history,” his availability to appear on RAW to help promote and build-up his appearance could be limited due to his Baywatch filming schedule.
– WWE is planning to use a smaller stage for their upcoming NXT TakeOver: Dallas live special during WrestleMania 32 weekend in April. The new stage setup will block fewer seats than usual and will allow an estimated 9,156 fans inside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, as opposed to the 7,000 seats normally available with their standard setup. NXT TakeOver: Dallas is projected to be the third most-attended NXT event in history, trailing only NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn at the Barclays Center and NXT TakeOver: London at Wembley Arena.
WWE has announced the details of their next live special on the WWE Network.
The next WWE Network special is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 12th from the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
While we don’t have any matches announced for the card as of yet, we can confirm the 3/12 date and Toronto as the location. Additionally, it has been announced that the name of the show will be “March to WrestleMania 32.”
– The Rock continues to hype the fact that he plans to make history during his appearance at WrestleMania 32 in April. His latest tweet about his WrestleMania 32 announcement from earlier this week reads as follows:
– New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski was in attendance at the WWE live event in Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday night. Below are some photos WWE posted of the NFL star with Mojo Rawley at the show, as well as a tweet Lana sent to “Gronk” about “disrespecting” Rusev at the show.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Vince McMahon’s WWE television return, more potential changes coming with SmackDown moving to USA Network, The Rock’s WrestleMania 32 announcement and more. Below are some highlights.
On Vince McMahon’s TV return and being the company’s best heel:
“Vince McMahon was the star of the broadcast . He’s the WWE’s best heel by far. He loves his role, makes it is own and isn’t playing the role of a villain. I thought it was smart booking that WWE promoted the next RAW main event of which is a WWE title match with McMahon as the special referee. How many times will the Montreal Screw Job be referenced between now and January 4th?
“McMahon’s return has been a spark for RAW whose TV ratings have been in the tank.”
On more changes coming to WWE SmackDown:
“Tonight is the final Smackdown TV taping for WWE this year and before Mauro Ranallo takes over as the lead Smackdown broadcaster when the show moves to the USA Network the first Thursday in January. I expect there to be more announcer tweaks as the new year progresses as well.”
On The Rock’s WrestleMania 32 announcement:
“Rock will be a part of WM32 in Texas but will he wrestle? In any event for the Rock to simply be committed to the April 3 event in Texas is HUGE.”
As announced by the man himself on Monday, The Rock will be appearing at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 3rd.
Since making the initial announcement and spending some time responding to fans on social media, The Rock and others have been hinting at something big being planned for his involvement at next year’s “Show of Shows.”
After noting that he intends to “make all-time WrestleMania history” as part of his original announcement, The Rock followed up later Monday evening and mentioned that he and WWE “have a big and history making night planned.”
Whether or not The Rock will be wrestling or just appearing on the show remains to be seen. Below are some more comments from The Rock about his WrestleMania 32 appearance, including a tweet from his originally rumored opponent for the show, Triple H.
Whether or not The Rock will be wrestling or just appearing on the show remains to be seen. Below are some more comments from The Rock about his WrestleMania 32 appearance, including a tweets from his originally rumored opponent for the show, Triple H and WWE Superstar Rusev.
Following the announcement he made on Monday afternoon that he will be appearing at next year’s WrestleMania 32 event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, The Rock stuck around on social media for a short while to respond to some of the fans reactions — both positive and negative — to the big news.
Below is a recap of The Rock’s replies to fans commenting on the fact that he will be appearing at WrestleMania on April 3rd.
As promised, The Rock delivered the special announcement to his WWE fans prior to the final 2015 edition of RAW on Monday night, and it was actually a pretty decent announcement when compared to those who have made such promises in the past.
The Rock revealed via his official Instagram page that despite rumors to the contrary, he will be making an appearance at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The future WWE Hall Of Famer wrote the following on the social media account, informing fans on the three goals he has for his appearance at WWE’s biggest annual event.
IT’S OFFICIAL: People’s Champ is coming home to do 3 things with THE PEOPLE: Set an ALL-TIME attendance record, ELECTRIFY Dallas like never before & make all time #WRESTLEMANIA history. And we have FUN. Ok that’s four things but you know what the hell The Rock’s sayin’.. THANK YOU #WWEUniverse! It’s always an honor coming home and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. #PeoplesChamp4L #MakingElectrifyingHistory #SmackethLaidDownOnThyCandyAsses
Just minutes after he made the announcement, WWE.com posted an article to promote the fact that The Rock will be at WrestleMania 32, and WWE’s official WrestleMania Twitter page tweeted the following to create some buzz for the news on social media.
The Texas Tribune posted an article by Aman Batheja yesterday detailing how Texas taxpayer money is being used to bring WrestleMania 32 to Dallas on April 3rd. The state has an “Events Trust Fund” designed to “help its communities offset the costs of hosting sporting and non-athletic events. To qualify for these funds, an event must be competitively bid, and the community must be competing with cities outside Texas for the right to host it.” The idea is that the economic impact of the events would offset what the state spends.
In the article, Governor Greg Abbott is called out for signing off on $2.7 million for WrestleMania last week. Why exactly It was the 20th event he’s approved since September, and he had said during his campaign last year that he wanted the state government “out of the business of picking winners and losers.” The 20 events approved so far total $26 million in money awarded from the Events Trust Fund, with $19.5 million of that being for the Formula One race in Austin that took place on October 25th.
Marty MacInnis, the chief financial officer for the local Stadium Events Organizing Committee, told the Tribune that “It’s a massive event. They’ve got fan festivals. They’ve got golf tournaments. They’ve got rallies. It’s one of those things where people from all over the world will come to this. […] The trust fund played a part in the decision to try and bid for the event.” He added that the total amount of funding that WWE will get has not been worked out as of yet.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair is currently scheduled to make his WWE television appearance at the December 28th edition of WWE RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Additionally, “The Nature Boy” is scheduled to appear at the next WWE live event at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 26th. It is believed that Flair will continue to be included in the ongoing storyline involving his daughter, WWE Divas Champion Charlotte.
– Speaking of Flair, the two-time WWE Hall Of Famer noted during the latest edition of his “WOOOOO! Nation” podcast that Randy Orton is out “indefinitely” from WWE right now.
As noted, Orton’s shoulder surgery was going to keep him on the sidelines until after WrestleMania 32 in April. Since then, it has been revealed that he needs a second operation to clean out bone chips in his neck after he heals up from his shoulder surgery.
The neck injury could keep him on the shelf for another three-to-six months, and as we reported via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week, there is a chance that Orton’s neck is worse than WWE currently believes. If that turns out to be the case, he will have to get fusion surgery, which could keep him out of action for well over a year.
Kevin Owens vs. Brock Lesnar is being discussed as a possible match for WrestleMania 32, according to former WWE writer Court Bauer on the latest episode of MLW Radio.
As result of the injuries plaguing the roster, WWE is reportedly starting from scratch with the WrestleMania card. Naturally, Brock Lesnar’s match is a top priority. Owens would get a huge rub by working against Lesnar at the biggest WrestleMania of all time, the promos between Owens and Paul Heyman would be off the charts and the match itself would be stiff as hell.
WWE already blew off Lesnar’s feud with The Undertaker and The Rock’s probably won’t be availablefor Mania, so Kevin Owens seems to be one of the best options available.
The other matches currently being considered include Roman Reigns vs. Triple H and The Undertaker vs. John Cena.
Comment below and tell us if you’d want to see Kevin Owens vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on how WWE should handle the build to WrestleMania 32, some of the big stars they could bring in and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On the WWE title being ‘tepid’ heading into WrestleMania season:
“I can’t recall the WWE Title being more ‘tepid’ than it is right going into [WrestleMania season] for WWE. This is not an indictment on Sheamus who I have great respect for and love his work ethic but the title lost a great deal of luster after Seth Rollins suffered an untimely, major knee injury.”
On the two biggest stars WWE can bring in for WrestleMania 32:
“The two most viable stars that WWE could bring in for WM32 or so it seems might be Goldberg and Batista. Austin and HBK are adamant that their wrestling days are history, Hogan is still on the outs with the company plus he doesn’t need to wrestle a match with his back condition and Rock has movie commitments I’m told as does Ronda Rousey.
For those that think that Austin and HBK would do ‘one more match’ for the right money, please, just stop it.”
On Daniel Bryan awaiting doctor’s clearance:
“As Dave Meltzer and I discussed this week on The Ross Report Podcast, if Dr. Joe Maroon, WWE’s medical guru, doesn’t clear Daniel Bryan we don’t think it matters how many other doctor’s say that it’s OK for DB to return to the ring. If I was still in charge of WWE roster, I’d go strictly on what Dr. Maroon says.”
The situation with Randy Orton’s injuries are said to be much worse than originally expected, and depending on the condition of his neck, could be a disaster in terms of how long he will be on the sidelines.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Orton’s shoulder injury is serious enough that it will most likely keep him out of action until after WrestleMania 32 in April. As soon as he recovers from the shoulder operation, he is going to have surgery on his neck.
WWE expects Orton’s neck surgery won’t be as serious as the shoulder operation. The second surgery he will be getting after his shoulder operation will be to clean out bone chips in his neck.
It’s worth pointing out that it’s possible, but unlikely, that the neck damage Orton is dealing with is worse than WWE thinks right now and if that’s the case, he’ll have to get fusion surgery. If he were forced to get the fusion surgery, he would be out of action for well over a year. Right now, however, WWE is under the impression that Orton will not have to take that route.
Orton’s WWE return looks to be, at best, three-to-six months after his neck operation. The neck surgery will take place once doctors feel he has sufficiently recovered from the shoulder surgery.
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reported on Wednesday that all plans for WrestleMania 32 were scrapped by the WWE creative team on Sunday. He says the company had a list of tentative matches for the big event, and they all fell apart for one reason or another. In other words, Meltzer says reports circulating the web on potential matches are just guesses at this point.
“Anyone reporting on a ‘Mania card now is guessing,” Meltzer said on F4WOnline.com. “They had a complete top six matches and everything fell apart. Everything changed again on Sunday.”
We previously reported that John Cena and The Undertaker were being booked in a match for ‘Mania. As far as The Rock goes, right now it’s considered highly unlikely that he will even appear at the show, let alone wrestle at it. WWE is trying to stack WrestleMania 32 with star power to sell out the 100,000+ seat AT&A Stadium.
WrestleMania 32 takes place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
As of a week or two ago, there had been no real internal talk within WWE about booking Sting vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 in Texas next year. In fact, there hasn’t been any real talk of Sting appearing on the show at all, even though that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t end up appearing at the show.
As far as The Undertaker is concerned, it appears that WWE is going forward with the plans for an Undertaker vs. John Cena match at WrestleMania 32. The idea of Undertaker vs. Cena came up a few months ago and was seriously discussed in August, and then again in October.
As far as rumors of Seth Rollins vs. Triple H taking place at the big event, it’s said that a match between those two has never actually been considered for WrestleMania, although it’s possible that a HHH vs. Rollins match eventually happens when Rollins returns at some point down the line.
Currently, there is no word yet as to who Triple H will be facing at WrestleMania 32 now that it appears that The Rock will not be able to wrestle on the show as WWE had originally hoped.
As things stand right now, The Rock is not only unlikely to work a match on the show as was originally rumored after his appearance with Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 31 earlier this year, but it’s considered doubtful that he will even be able to make an appearance at the show due to his movie schedule.
The latest word going around is that it would be difficult for The Rock to even appear at the show, although it was made clear that things could always change between now and the time WrestleMania 32 rolls around.
Jim Ross pitched an interesting idea for the WrestleMania 32 main event on the latest episode of his Ross Report podcast. With Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and The Rock all out of the picture for WWE’s biggest show of the year, WWE has their work cut out for them if they want to fill up AT&T Stadium. JR would like to see a “red hot” Batista return as a cocky Hollywood heel and square off against Brock Lesnar.
“Hey, I got an idea for you…what about Bautista, the heel, coming back and taking on Brock Lesnar, the babyface, at WrestleMania in April in Dallas?”
He added, “I could live with that main event… red hot Batista coming back and urinating all over the fans and being a big star and being very arrogant and full of himself and being a bad ass, believing his clippings and he wants to take on the biggest dog in the yard. I don’t dislike that match.”
With WrestleMania 32 less than 5 months away, let’s take a look at where the card stands in light of a bunch of recent developments.
Originally, the top few matches were slated to be:
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
The Rock vs. Triple H
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
The Rock will not be competing at WrestleMania due to his movie schedule and more specifically, movie studios having major concerns about whether they’d be able to get insurance for The Rock if he was to get back in the ring. Then things were looking like this:
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
At some point the decision was made to jump right into Lesnar vs. Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, apparently with the assumption that Vince McMahon had decided on alternate opponents for both men. Of course, Seth Rollins’ ACL/MCL surgery will keep him out of action well past WrestleMania, so he’s out of the mix now as well.
As of this week, these are the top two matches currently planned for WrestleMania 32 (via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter):
WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens spoke to JoJo after RAW after defeating Titus O’Neil in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament. Owens vows to win the tournament and hold both titles simultaneously.
Speaking of Owens, Goldust continues to target him on social media. After announcing on Twitter last week that he plans to go after the Intercontinental championshipwhen he returns, the Bizarre One reminded Owens that he’s watching him: