The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Roman Reigns:

On meshing well with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins: “We didn’t know we would complement each other so well. Everything from what we wear, entering through the crowd, even the triple powerbomb in itself, it’s clicked and been so organic. That’s been the most exciting part. We spend so much time together, we’ve jumped the friend stage in the past year and a half and become brothers.”

On facing legends at WrestleMania XXX: “The faces will always change, the styles will evolve. I respect what people before me have done, but my time is now.”

On wanting to headline WrestleMania: “Every single day. Somebody just asked me if I would like to take on the Undertaker and beat his (WrestleMania) streak. I would rather retain the WWE world heavyweight championship while taking out the streak. My motivation is to be the best. I have a deep responsibility to leave things better than the way I found them. I don’t want to live off potential, so the first thing I have to do is capture the gold.”

Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.

– WWE has apparently contacted several major names to be part of their milestone 30th edition of WrestleMania. As one report described, “every mega-draw” of the past several decades that are still alive were contacted to at least make a cameo appearance of some kind during the show.

– Chris Jericho will be a guest on IGN’s “Up At Noon” this coming Monday at 12pm EST.

– As previously reported, Dolph Ziggler, The Bella Twins, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL all filmed a WWE-themed edition of the E! talk show, “The Soup.” That episode is scheduled to air on Wednesday, April 9th.

The following are highlights of a new Baltimore Sun interview with Roddy Piper:

On if he’ll be involved with WrestleMania weekend: “I’m going to be there. You know, that’s a good question. I have a lot of thoughts about it. I don’t know any other entertainment sport where 30 years later you could give the fans the opportunity to see the two guys who started it at the War to Settle The Score. Personally, I think that if you don’t hit the bagpipes, there’s 30 years and I don’t know how many millions of fans that you’re cheating of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s not about money, it’s not about hearing your name get chanted either. It’s about saying thank you I think. You want to give the fans what they deserve and you want to do it with class. So am I going to be part of it? I don’t know. I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind inducting T into the Hall of Fame, I guarantee you would never forget that induction. I doubt they’ll do that one but they may. I don’t know what they’re going to do. Tell me when I get there.”

On Mr. T’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction: “I’m glad he’s being inducted into the Celebrity wing. At the time, at the first Wrestlemania, Mr. T was probably the most famous television celebrity in the world. So I think the guy deserves to be inducted into the Celebrity Hall of Fame. Personally, what I’ve got with him or against him I think it’s time to grow up. Just don’t mention my name. Leave me out of your speech, T.”

On the CM Punk situation: “I don’t know the reasons. I’m glad you asked that question because I have no bias. I don’t know why, and I don’t know what was going on, but I know this. CM Punk is a very talented man, and I’m a big fan of his. He’s got a lot of great talent to share with the fans all over the world for a number of years. When you have one regime and something is going wrong, you have no other choice but to fall back and catch your breath and see where am I standing and where are they standing and where are we going. Back in the day, when you’re going 330 days a year, it’s hard to have that much sense. I think that for one, CM Punk has a whole lot more great stuff to come out and I believe that the WWE will want that. They’ve put a lot of money into him, and they need to get over whatever their problem is. Sometimes going It seems like between WWE Network and Wrestlemania, you really want to get back out there with them, but is there some pushback from them? What’s going on there?”

Check out the complete interview at BaltimoreSun.com.

The Shield member Roman Reigns spoke to The Washington Post this week to promote WrestleMania XXX. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

The Significance Of Performing At WrestleMania: “I’s Mania first. We want to get there the right way, and we want to just tear the house down. We wanna burn it down, put cracks in the wall, just demolish that place and have an awesome match.”

“As far as the next day? There’s going to be some gaps. There are going to be a bunch of big names that are gonna compete [at Wrestlemania] and then not be there on Monday. That’s when guys like myself, the rest of the Shield, Cesaro, the Usos .?.?. there’s a bunch of guys who want this and are willing to work every single day. If I’m a fan of the WWE, I would feel safe to know that your entertainment is in the right hands.”

How Crowd Reactions Affect His Matches:

“I try to live in the moment. When you’re in a singles match, you’re in there, and the guy’s on top of you, and you’re in a hold and you’re being smothered: You’re in the fight at all times. But when we’re doing these team fights, you have a little time to take in the moment and just absorb the energy of the crowd.”

“Especially with the crowds nowadays. They’re very opinionated; you can almost sense that the crowd has taken a leadership role within their own product. This is what they take joy in and take pride in. And if they’re not into something, they’re going to let you know. If they’re into something, same thing: They’re going to let you know.”

If He Sees Himself As A Potential Main Event Singles Star:

“I’ve always pictured myself being in the main event. It’s always been my expectation to be the top guy, the face of the company, the one with all of that responsibility. But that should be everybody’s goal. I didn’t get into this to just be in the middle of the pack. If you want to do that, go work in a different line of work. This isn’t the place to camouflage yourself. I’m trying to be the most exotic animal on this safari.”

Why He Does Not Use A Samoan Ring Name:

“It was a process. Of course, immediately the thought was: ‘He’s Samoan, so let’s run with that.’ But then I think they saw my personality, being more of a cultured guy, going to college, playing ball, things like that, just the kind of guy I am, you know, just be me — don’t try and focus on a nationality or an ethnicity or anything like that. Just be myself.”

The working idea right now in WWE as it pertains to Sting is that he will do one match and then retire from in-ring competition. As of right now, everyone seems to be under the impression that the one match will be against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara. Sting has reportedly been studying tapes of Undertaker matches, leading many to believe that he is under a similar belief.

Whether the idea for this match is made clear at WrestleMania, RAW the next night or at some point closer to the actual show is unknown. As of right now, the only thing that seems to be for sure is that Sting will only be doing one last match, likely against Undertaker.

As far as his contractual status with WWE, nobody has confirmed that he has actually signed at this point, although the feeling seems to be that it’s an inevitability.

– The return of the Legends Of Wrestling roundtable will air live on the WWE Network on Friday, April 4th from WrestleMania AXXESS.

– Michael Cole and JBL revealed on the latest edition of their radio show that WWE will be airing a live WrestleMania Today show on the WWE Network, which will also take place live from WrestleMania AXXESS on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (April 3rd-5th).

The following are highlights of a new Ring Rust Radio interview with Kofi Kingston:

On if he has any of his Royal Rumble-type special spots planned for the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: “I get inspired from all different kinds of places, cartoons, comic books, movies and things like that and if I see it then I’ll try to emulate it in the ring and often times you figure out why these moves are comic books and movie-style moves because they can’t be done. Most of the time I’ve thought of something I found a way to make it work and luckily it’s actually worked out like the Royal Rumble jump that I did this year there was no contingency plan if I didn’t make that, and it goes the same for the handstand deal and the chair spot, like if I fall then I’m done so knock on wood luckily I’ve been able to actually complete what I’ve set out to do but, again, if I don’t there’s no contingency plan I guess if I fall then I walk to the back and I’ll be eliminated.”

On not having a match at last year’s WrestleMania: “Last year, it was the worst. It was the worst thing of all time. Well, not the worst thing because doing the pre-show panel I was able to do something that I hadn’t really done before and on top of that, being there with Dusty Rhodes and Mick Foley was amazing because they’re two legends and I’m sitting there in between them just like ‘oh my god’. It was a cool experience but at the same time as a WWE Superstar your goal is to be on Wrestlemania in some way, shape or form so you can be part of the show and when you’re not, it definitely is a blow to your ego because it’s almost like you set out to be something that you didn’t do. But it’s also eye opening and motivating for the next year because you remember where you were at that point and you try to not end up there again. Hopefully with this Battle Royal situation I’ll be able to get back in there and do what I love to do because as WWE Superstars all you want to do is be on Wrestlemania.”

On if he feels he’s still searching for his “WrestleMania moment”: “Yeah, I think at Wrestlemania you definitely want a singles match and not have to share the spotlight with other guys. Money in the Bank was awesome and some of the cooler moments in my career and it’s awesome to make some memorable moments but I think the ultimate goal is to have that singles match where it’s just you and your opponent, all eyes on you two and you’re just telling a story and you’re out there just tearing the house down. That is the ultimate goal and I’ve had a few different Wrestlemania Money in the Bank moments but not the singles Wrestlemania moment that I strive for.”

On if WWE unifying their world titles hurts wrestlers trying to reach the next level: “Well, I don’t know if it negatively impacts me but it definitely make it harder. Even in terms of just storylines; there’s only so many storylines that the champion can be involved in if you have both titles but at the same time, if you do get to that point it is that much bigger. So I guess it’s bittersweet, it definitely has its upsides and downsides but I think for the time I think it’s a good thing and makes the titles mean that much more because one is not considered more prestigious than the other. If you hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship you are the unified champion; you’re the man.”

On if he feels he should have won a world title by now: “I mean, if you think about it, you can become a champion at any given time like one day you could be at one point on the roster and the next day you could be the World Champion. Who knows what the ‘what ifs’ would have been. If I think about all of that then I’d drive myself nuts. There’s a whole bunch of different ways that storylines can go and who’s to say if it goes one way or the other if one thing happened or the other thing happened, it’s impossible to speculate. That’s what WWE is all about. You’re watching this show and you anticipate which way a storyline might go, and when it goes the other way, you’re swerved. Who knows what would have happened, could have happened, should have happened, I don’t focus on all of that I focus on what I want to happen and try to get there.”

On his favorite personal WrestleMania highlight so far in his career: “For me, I’d have to say my favorite moment of all, that I’ve had, was my initial Wrestlemania because I’ve always been a fan of WWE ever since I was a kid and I’ve always wanted to be a WWE Superstar and every time I would fantasize about having matches I would fantasize about myself having a Wrestlemania match, so when that actually happened for the first time that was like my dream come true. I don’t know if there was an actual moment in that match but I remember I was laying on the outside I ahd fallen out of the ring off of a ladder or something and I’m just laying there watching the show on the monitor and just like ‘oh my god, this is my dream’ and that was when it was real, it was actual reality.”

On his favorite WrestleMania highlight as a fan: “If I had to pick a moment that wasn’t necessarily mine I’d have to pick Wrestlemania 14 when Tyson punched out Michaels. I thought that was awesome because I was always a wrestling fan and Wrestlemania 14 was the first time that I paid for my own ticket, I paid for my way to get there, I hadn’t been to that many WWE live events and it was awesome to be able to do that and to be able to witness all of that and the anticipation leading up to it. That week they had the contract signing with Vince McMahon and Stone Cold and Tyson was there and Vince McMahon got thrown into the Boston Harbor. I was right there for that and it was the coolest thing especially because no one swims in the Boston Harbor; its ridiculously dirty and the fact that Vince was actually in there I think a lot of people, me included, were concerned for his health but seeing him get knocked into there was pretty cool.”

On turning heel: “I would love to, first and foremost, I’ve been clamoring at that for a while now but the situation has to be right and the timing has to be right; everything has to be right. I wouldn’t want to just do it for the sake of doing it because you might get lost in the shuffle that way. If the situation was right, it would give me a chance to do something completely different and show people a side of me they have never seen before, which I think would be great and I think would be fun.”

Check out the complete interview at BlogTalkRadio.com.

– Jim Ross has debuted part one of his lengthy three-part WrestleMania editorial feature at FOX Sports. Part one features JR’s look back at WrestleMania I through WrestleMania IX, with comments from past WWE Superstars and executives who were part of the events. You can check out the feature at FOXSports.com.

– As previously reported, WWE scrapped the planned Intercontinental Championship match between Big E. and Christian on Tuesday’s live edition of WWE Main Event. The reason given was that Christian had suffered a “slight concussion” at RAW, which resulted in a triple-threat match taking place between Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus. Ziggler would go on to win the bout, earning himself a shot at Big E., a match that he would go on to lose in the evening’s main event.

The following are highlights of a recent Inside The Ropes interview with “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase:

On his past comments about Ultimate Warrior and his WWE Hall Of Fame induction: “I mean, I don’t hate the guy. It goes back to anybody that watched the DVD, The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior, that really tells the story. Obviously, if Vince has decided he needs to be in the Hall of Fame, I’m not going to begrudge that and obviously I’m going to be there. I quite frankly, don’t know how many of my peers believes he really deserves it because…it’s not just about being the star it’s about a number of things, it comes back down to the gratitude thing. None of us would be stars, when I was inducted I had a list of people that I needed to thank. Harley Race was there in the crowd and I pointed Harley out. I think that’s it, the overall lack of gratitude that the Warrior has shown over the years. Where it makes most of us go ‘Who do you think you are?’ Doesn’t he realise that none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for a lot of help from a lot of people. I think that’s pretty much the consensus. I don’t begrudge him. I’m not that kinda guy to hold a grudge. If I had to feel one thing towards Jim Hellwig, I guess it would be pity a little bit. I’ve heard other people say that he just generally has the attitude that it’s about succeeding in life and you’re going to have to do what you can to get ahead and if that means stepping on people along the way then so be it. That, in my opinion, is a very sad commentary and a very poor way to look at life. So am I going to begrudge him for going into the Hall of Fame? No.”

On Ultimate Warrior’s induction speech: “I often wonder if Vince has thought about that. Here’s his one opportunity to lay it all out there and vent out his frustrations on all of us who think he isn’t worthy. Hopefully he won’t do that. I heard that Linda McMahon is inducting him. You have to ask yourself why? Why is Linda McMahon inducting him? Maybe he couldn’t find anyone else to do it.”

On The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak ending: “People ask me, I have mixed feelings. One part of me says leave the streak, it’s an honor to who he is, and how his character has endured and to Taker who’ll always be remembered. But you know, the other part of me think it’s like when Andre The Giant allowed Hulk Hogan to beat him at WrestleMania 3, he passed the torch. I feel that’s one of those things that has to happen. After all, it’s a business. You’ve got to have new stars and you need people to pass the torch to build those stars. I don’t know, but either way I’ll be happy.”

Check out the complete interview at Facebook.com/TheInsideNetwork.

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley revealed the winner of his “WrestleMania Dream Vacation,” as well as the fact that they raised over $100,000 for RAINN. Foley tweeted the following:

Congratulations to @JonMHyde – you are the WINNER of the #WrestlemaniaDreamVacation!

— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) March 25, 2014

Thanks @arieforma – the money we raised for @RAINN01 …OVER $100,000, will help THOUSANDS of survivors of sexual violence.

— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) March 25, 2014

The following are highlights of a new Long Island Newsday interview with Sheamus:

On the Nassau Coliseum and Long Island fans: “It has a reputation. We know it’s a crowd that might go against the grain, and we deal with it. There’s a couple cities like that. When you go, they want the show to be about them sometimes or their opinions, which is cool. They’re paying their money. They’re going to do what they want to do and it makes it interesting for all of us. You just go with it,man. We’re professionals. If you fight them, you’re going to drown.”

On his WWE return: “I was ready to come back at the Survivor Series, but for whatever reason they wanted me to wait for the new year. I firmly believe everybody knew I was going to come back at the Rumble. I was just glad to be back in the ring. I rehabbed my shoulder really, really well. It was my first injury and I got through it with flying colors. So, for me, in that respect it was a success.”

On changing his character and the road to WrestleMania: “Rehabbing my injuring, I was kind of spinning my wheels and I kind of realized I let my character become a little bit hokey. So coming back, I’m a lot more motivated, a lot more direct. I want to have fun every now and again . . . but you can’t just rest on your laurels. There a lot of young guys in the developmental system coming up and the way you handle that is by going out there and having the best match you can each and every night. WrestleMania is around the corner and we’re all looking to tear it up. Everybody is on their A-game.”

Check out the complete interview at Newsday.com.

The following are highlights of a new Shining Wizards interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:

On his WrestleMania Dream Raffle: “If someone is not a wrestling fan, they can just call and say I want to go to Disney, or they can say I just want to explore New Orleans for those four days and then go to Disney and give my (Wrestlemania) tickets to someone else. But I think we are getting some people who are supporting RAINN because it’s a great cause. It’s the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization, and because it’s a difficult subject to talk about, it’s often pushed away, and by doing this raffle, it gets the word out there and it allows people to know that in addition to going to www.rainn.org for the raffle, there’s a great place to reach out and get help if you need it. So it’s a way for me to make a difference and in the last few weeks it’s really picked up.”

On his reason for making the raffle so good: “Part of the reason I made the raffle so good, to be honest with you, is because that for a while it didn’t look like Mania was getting much enthusiasm, and had I known that the shows were going to turn around and the card was going to start shaping up to be so good, I probably wouldn’t have added the Disney vacation, and who knows, I may not have got on the phone and asked Gabe Sapolsky if he wanted to participate. I talked to Court Bower from Ring Of Honor, and so they’re in, and The WrestleCon… Everyone that I’ve spoken to, including Velvet Sky who’s signing that unbelievable poster of her in The Yankees shirt, and I don’t care if you hate The Yankees, this is the greatest baseball-themed poster of all time, and a hug from Velvet, and Diamond Dallas Page- it’s really unbelievable- and lunch with Brie Bella and some divas, breakfast with me. Honestly, if you’re not a fan of mine, and you want to call up and have me sleep in, I’ll forgive you for it. There’s just so much going on and it’s only $10 to enter and little by little using the strength in numbers theory, we are really making a difference in helping out a great cause.”

On Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania: “It looks like it could actually happen. I think all of us, including myself, forgot what a great heel Triple H could be, because up until Monday night, especially going back a few weeks ago, when Daniel Bryan was asking for the match with HHH, it looked like he was trying to sell people something they weren’t interested in buying and then after Monday night, which was a brutal, but really effective way to close the show, I think people see that this is the match you want to see and if he wins, and I’m going to hope he does, he’s going to be hurting and so he’ll be entering the main event at Wrestlemania as one of the great underdog stories in history. Who knows how it’ll end, but the potential is there to have a really emotional scene. I for one, and as much as I like Stephanie McMahon as a person, I believe she needs to be slapped by a female, and I think there is a good candidate who would like to slap her. I just think there’s a potential scenario for some great joy at the end of mania, and it’s almost like really built up because I’d say since Hell in a Cell the shows haven’t had that joyful feeling. So let’s hope we all get that release again at Wrestlemania.”

Check out the complete interview at ShiningWizards.com.

Bray Wyatt refers to himself as “The Eater of Worlds.” After his first few months with the company, he could also easily refer to himself as “The King of the Promo” and not many would object.

No character in recent memory has used the promo to build up his character as well as Wyatt. Starting with a series of haunting videos preceding the stable’s debut, the Wyatt Family were able to build the foundation that would allow them to become one of the top heel groups in the company.

After a perfect debut (minus the Husky Harris chants) and successful feuds with Daniel Bryan and the Shield, it was revealed that Wyatt would be entering a program with John Cena during the WrestleMania season.

http://youtu.be/x7QJruEbKL4

Many cringed at the thought of Wyatt battling Cena at WrestleMania. I personally thought the match would result in nothing more than the WWE further elevating its biggest star while taking one of the hottest superstars in the company down a notch.

After all, Cena isn’t exactly notorious for putting over stars at WrestleMania, although he has put over the Miz and the Rock in the past. I am not here to make predictions regarding the matchup, but to instead discuss how the two have used masterful promos to build the fight into possibly the most anticipated match on the card.

The Rock is the only man to ever pin Cena clean at WrestleMania? Will Wyatt be able to defeat Superman?

Cena has discussed how his legacy is at stake at WrestleMania, while Wyatt has criticized Cena for being primarily concerned with selling merchandise and achieving fame. This is certainly not a new line of criticism directed at Cena.

In fact, Daniel Bryan levied the same insults at Cena during their build-up to SummerSlam, where he said Cena was in the WWE for fame, while he (Bryan) was there because he loves to wrestle.

Bryan’s rebukes never really felt personal though, largely due to the fact that he had to hold back because he was a face. Wyatt, on the other hand, has not held back one bit, criticizing Cena for living in a castle with his plastic girlfriend during his latest promo (seen above), which is also quite possibly his best yet.

WWE is reportedly continuing to distance themselves from CM Punk, with the assumption being that he will not be returning to the company.

One source within WWE noted recently that the script for the WWE Flintstones DVD project, which was originally slated to feature Punk, has been re-written. The script now features Rey Mysterio in a more prominent role.

Additionally, the Camp WWE animated series, which is expected to debut later in 2014, will also see Punk being removed.

Punk is, however, expected to remain as a character in the WWE Slam City animated series. The reason for that is the 24-episode series, which will serve as a promotional vehicle for the action figure line of the same name, has already been completed. Punk’s name will not be used in the promotional material for the show, and while his character will remain included, it will be downplayed in the publicity.

Finally, Punk has been taken off of all WWE promotional videos that air during live events and television tapings, including all of the footage of his recent WrestleMania match against The Undertaker. The clips of his bout with Undertaker were removed from a WrestleMania music video package that has been running in the arena’s at the start of every taping.

RockNSock5230 sent along the following…

Acclaimed and exhibited artist, painter of the Champion Portrait series and portrait maker of your favorite wrestling stars as seen on the likes of WWEAuctions.com and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Rob Schamberger joined “Multi-time Award Winning” the Rack Thursday Night. In a nearly 25 minute interview, he discussed how he got started and how we got connected with WWE, his work being displayed at WrestleMania and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, his feelings to having work sold through WWE Auctions, who were his favorite wrestlers, what is his favorite medium to use: watercolor or acrylic, what is the biggest complement he’s gotten for his work, teaming with Mick Foley for his work with RAINN, the use of social media and how it has affected his art for the positive, his tips for other up-and-coming artists, his thoughts on the upcoming WrestleMania XXX card and so much more.

How did he come about working with the WWE: “It’s actually my first official WrestleMania with them (WWE), but I started about three years ago. I was looking at doing something different with my art; I’d been working primarily with comic books and illustration and it didn’t ever quite fully happen, you know; I’d still have a day job and everything. I just wanted to do something different and I realized that no one had ever done a serious collection of portraits of wrestlers. So then I thought, ‘Oh, it’d be cool to do every one of wrestling’s world champions going all the way back to George Hackenschmidt and that’s all where it kind of started.

Then, there was Kickstarter about three years ago, where I raised $20,000 dollars in a month to pay for studio space and everything to help make that break into doing art full-time and then just built off it from there and it’s been a wild ride.”

His work being featured through the WWEAuctions.com site: “They actually came to me; Jim Ross had told them that that it would be a good fit for us to do business together, which is neat. I might actually be the last person that Jim Ross brought into the WWE; kind of a neat lineage to be part of. But we started talking about half way through last year and towards the end of the year we launched our first auctions together, right around Black Friday time and we’ve been doing it fairly consistently since then. It’s been phenomenal, I mean I have my own page on WWE.com and I don’t even have to take bumps in the ring.”

When did he start to like professional wrestling: “I got into it when I was 18. Like every other 18-year-old who lives on his own, I was at my parent’s doing laundry on a Monday Night and my step-father who’d been a fan back in the 60’s and 70’s was flipping through the channels and landed on Ric Flair doing a promo on Nitro, this would have been about 1998, and I was just hooked right then. The next week, I was just looking for wrestling, because at the time I didn’t know the difference between the shows or anything, and I landed on RAW and back in 1998 they were just killing it; everyone was firing on all cylinders and I’ve been a fan since.”

Why he chose wrestling as a subject for his art: “I wasn’t finding a whole lot of success with other subject matters, since what I ran into with, say, comic books is that there are other really talented comic book artists out there and made all the connections and put all the work and practice into honing their craft and I was just never going to be the guy to draw Batman; so I thought ‘Ok, so well, I’ll focus on my gallery work.’ And I was doing pretty well with that; I was doing like pin-up like stuff but at the end of the day, I was just another guy doing pin-up stuff. And no matter how good I got, I would never be Jennifer Janesko or any of those guys, you know, doing really well in that genre. So, I was looking around for work to do saying, ‘What can I do?’ and yeah, wrestling fit perfectly.”

Who were his favorite wrestlers when he started watching: “Well, obviously, when I first started watching it would have been Austin and the Rock, you know; especially the Rock at this time. Also, Chris Jericho and right around then was when Edge debuted with WWF, at the time, and pretty much watched his whole career. The really neat thing is through doing his painting when I did my big Champions Collection portrait of Edge, he really liked it and we started talking and we’ve become pretty friendly since then, which I wouldn’t have pictures back in 1998 when I was watching ‘rasslin at my folks place.”

Why he chose wrestling as a subject for his art: “Yeah, it’s been great. Like Edge, for instance; he and Beth (Phoenix), the gym that they have in their house is decorated with various paintings of mine. When I did the Kickstarter and announced that I was going to do every World Champion a lot of people jokingly asked me ‘Oh, so are you going to do David Arquette?’ and I said ‘Yeah, man. I’m going to do them all.’ So, just on a whim, I tweeted out to David ‘Hey, when I get to yours, which kind of outfit are you going to want?’ And for some reason, he took a look at my stuff and really liked it and he’s got his portrait hanging up in his living room, which is pretty dang neat. I was at the PPV with the Triple Cage where he was defending his title (Slamboree 2000) and everything; it was here in Kansas City. So yeah, all these people that I has watched as a fan and just as a spectator, now they’ve got some of my stuff and that’s pretty neat.

His involvement with WrestleMania XXX this year: “This is such a cool opportunity that WWE has given me here; my display is going to be right inside the front doors for Axxess at the Convention Center. I’ll be set up right outside the Superstore. We’re going to have over 100 paintings on display for people to be able to purchase. I’ll also be doing live art there for all four days and this isn’t just for the Axxess sessions; like the doors open around 11:00 am or noon each day and that part is free to the public and yeah, I’ll be doing a giant 8’x4’ painting there that I’ll be working on all four days; there’s more details about exactly what is going to be on that painting, but it’s going to be really, really cool. A lot of the watercolors you’ve seen me put up lately are one’s I’ve made getting ready for the show, so there will be a lot of bigger pieces as well and even some of the Champions pieces I’ll even have there.”

His upcoming project in conjunction with Mick Foley: “Yeah, this is another one of those things that I couldn’t quite believe came together as easily as it did. Turns out, Mick has been a fan of my work for a while but he didn’t know about me; he just recognized the paintings he saw. But he’s just so busy and has so much information coming in over time, he never knew who the artist was doing this stuff. When I saw the raffle fundraiser that we was doing for RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network), I really wanted to be a part of that, because giving back to those less fortunate and to various causes is very important to me. Through my art last year, I was able to raise $10,000 for various charities and it’s something I also wanted to do this year; thank you to all the people who made that happen.

I saw he was doing that, so I e-mailed him and introduced myself and said I’d like to donate a painting of the winner’s choice; well, actually at first I said I’d donate a painting of him (Mick) and he came back saying ‘Well, if somebody wins this and I might not be their favorite wrestler, so let’s keep it open to them.’ So, I’ll do a portrait of whoever their favorite wrestler is; along with all those other awesome prizes in there: the trip to WrestleMania and the Hall of Fame, JR’s show, I think there’s even a Disney World prize in there and you get a tour from Scotty 2 Hotty.

He was so energetic about it, so excited; as soon as I e-mailed him, I went to bed shortly after because I think it was during RAW that I e-mailed him and when I woke up he’d already tweeted it out before we’d even fully spoken together, he was so excited to have this be part of it. Yeah, it was just so neat and he’s as genuine and cool of a guy as everyone tells you he is.”

On his work being a permanent part of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame: “Yes, giant, giant honor. It’s such a great organization and the physical building itself in Waterloo, IA is incredible. There’s a bucket list of things that true wrestling fans need to experience: WrestleMania, of course, the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion in Las Vegas and I put the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony up there as well. It’s one of the most meaningful things that I’ve done and they responded so well to my art; this year will be the third year that I’ve displayed there and last year they started displaying some of the stuff permanently and it’s in their collection now. I’m also going to be doing new stuff with them going forward as well. Kyle Klingman, who runs the museum, is a great, great guy and a great friend to wrestling as a whole.”

What is the biggest compliment his work has gotten so far:“There has been a few family members of wrestlers that have passed away that have reached out to me, you know to have me do a painting or to sell a painting that I have done and they tell me how important that was to them to see it and some of them will even, like at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame last year, where I did a piece on one of the guys being inducted and his family started tearing up when they saw it and that was important.

Probably the number one thing would be last year I did a fundraiser show for the Make a Wish Foundation where I was able to fully adopt a kid’s wish, so I paid for him to go to Disney World and to be in a position to do that and through my art was an incredible experience that I want to have over and over again.”

Check out the complete interview at WildTalkRadio.com.

The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Bret “The Hitman” Hart:

On his classic Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania: “We both made that a classic match that will never, ever lose its shine. I remember there was a certain point when I had to be setting up a move with exactly five minutes left in the match. I remember setting up on the second rope and looking at the score clock, and there was exactly four minutes and 59 seconds left in the match. There’s no wasted moves, and there was precision in every move.”

On his classic WrestleMania match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin: “They ended up throwing me and Steve together and it was kind of an ice-cold story line,” said Hart. “That was a big disappointment, at first, for Steve and me. We’d just fought months earlier at the Survivor Series, and even though we loved working together, he was looking for someone new to work with and I was looking for Shawn.”

“The match with Austin was pro wrestling’s version of the best MMA fight,” said Hart. “Steve even calls me once in a while and goes, ‘I got our match on.’ He always tells me it’s his favorite he’s ever had, and it’s the same for me.”

“I’ve always felt that Steve was good enough to make it on his own anyway, but I do like to think I played a role in helping him.”

On how he would book WrestleMania XXX: “I hope they give Daniel Bryan his chance to win the belt at WrestleMania. He earned it a long time ago, but it wouldn’t surprise me — like Charlie Brown with the football — if they pull it away from him one last time. I really hope they give him his proper run, as he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to be the champion he deserves to be. Hopefully this year at WrestleMania, it will be a crowning achievement for Daniel Bryan.”

On the CM Punk situation: “When you look at it closely, Punk’s burned out. He’s always given 100 percent in all his matches, and delivered some of the best pay-per-view matches in the past 10 years. And it’s not easy when there are legends who only work part-time, and guys like Punk and Bryan do all the work, and watch someone like Brock Lesnar walk in and take those big matches and big paydays without having to be on the road all the time. I think that had a lot to do with his decision, and rightfully so.”

“One of Vince McMahon’s favorite sayings is, ‘Life’s not fair.’ I don’t see Punk being a factor at WrestleMania, but he still has a lot of greatness left in him. As a fan, I hope he comes back, and as a wrestler, I have a lot of respect for him, too.”

Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.

The following are highlights of a new Bleacher Report interview with Kofi Kingston:

On the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: “I would love to get involved with that. Any type of Royal Rumble or battle royal I always look forward to because I usually get to do some pretty cool things. And then on top of that, just to be involved with a match dedicated to a man with the profile and the caliber of Andre the Giant, I mean, when you think about that it’s awesome. I mean how cool would it be to be the first guy to win it? I think it would be really, really cool. (…) I haven’t been officially announced into it but I am assuming that I’m going to be involved in it in some way, shape or form. When you’re not (part of WrestleMania), it definitely is a blow to your ego because it’s almost like you set out to be something that you didn’t do. But it’s also eye opening and motivating for the next year because you remember where you were at that point and you try to not end up there again. Hopefully with this battle royal situation I’ll be able to get back in there and do what I love to do, because as WWE Superstars all you want to do is be on WrestleMania.”

On wanting his “WrestleMania moment”: “I think at WrestleMania you definitely want a singles match and not have to share the spotlight with other guys. Money in the Bank was awesome and (created) some of the cooler moments in my career, and it’s awesome to make some memorable moments. But I think the ultimate goal is to have that singles match where it’s just you and your opponent, all eyes on you two, and you’re just telling a story and you’re out there just tearing the house down.”

On turning heel: “I’ve been clamoring at that for a while now, but the situation has to be right and the timing has to be right; everything has to be right. I wouldn’t want to just do it for the sake of doing it because you might get lost in the shuffle that way. If the situation was right, it would give me a chance to do something completely different and show people a side of me they have never seen before, which I think would be great and I think would be fun.”

Check out the complete interview at BleacherReport.com.

– As far as WWE is concerned, they have not had any issues with live streaming on the WWE Network since the NXT Arrival show. While some have complained about issues, the company has not heard of any significant issues related to their streaming of the recent live editions of WWE Main Event.

– The following form letter is being sent out to Dish Network subscribers who have been asking about the availability of the WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view this year:

“Please note that WWE is not willing to adjust PPV costs to satellite/cable companies, which is unfair to their customers. DISH needs to re-focus efforts to support partners that better serve DISH customers and other satellite/cable companies, including DirecTV, have also expressed they may no longer provide WWE PPV events in the future.”

The wedding between Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) and Brianna Garcia-Colace (aka Brie Bella) is scheduled to take place on April 11th, which is just five days at WrestleMania XXX. Their wedding will be shot as the focus of the final episode of season two of WWE’s Total Divas reality show.

According to one report, there’s a decent possibility that both Bryan and Bella will win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Divas Championship at WrestleMania. The general consensus is that there’s no great reason not to, considering many expect Bryan to win the title anyways, and since the Divas title doesn’t have any real connection in terms of drawing money, it might as well be used as a prop to at least tell a good story.

WWE.com announced the following today:

Watch the two-hour WrestleMania 30 Pre-Show on Sunday, April 6!

Get ready for the biggest WrestleMania in history with the super-sized, two-hour WrestleMania 30 Pre-Show on Sunday, April 6, live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, starting at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT!

The first hour of the WrestleMania 30 Pre-Show will feature analysis of the action-packed card from a star-studded panel of Superstars past and present, along with on-the-scene interviews featuring Superstars preparing to battle on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The first half of the WrestleMania 30 Pre-Show can be viewed on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pheed.

Then, at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, the Pre-Show continues exclusively on WWE Network, where the all-star panel will continue to break down the stacked WrestleMania lineup. In addition, the action will begin with an exclusive Pre-Show Match!

It all leads up to WrestleMania 30, which blasts off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. WWE’s annual extravaganza, including The Undertaker defending his epic Streak against Brock Lesnar, John Cena battling the eerie Bray Wyatt, and Randy Orton defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Batista and the winner of a showdown between Daniel Bryan and Triple H, can be watched LIVE in its entirety on WWE Network.

– Following Bray Wyatt’s “plastic” comment during his promo segment with John Cena at Monday’s RAW, Nikki Bella posted the following tweet on her official Twitter account.

Plastic?! Wow. Thanks for noticing @WWEBrayWyatt #RAW @WWE

— The Bella Twins (@nicoleandbri) March 18, 2014

– Speaking of Bray Wyatt and John Cena, the song that played during their WrestleMania video package was “Legacy” by Eminem. WWE is using the track as one of the many official theme songs for this year’s show.

The following are highlights from the latest Q&A update from WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On why WWE didn’t immediately sign Sting when they bought WCW: “I’ve answered this numerous times. You can search for this info here. Sting was owed big money by Time Warner plus he was uncomfortable at the time with the TV14 programming.”

On the three-man commentary team of JR, Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon: “It was the best three man team that I ever worked with and loved interacting with Vince and heel Lawler.”

On Ultimate Warrior vs. Ryback rumors for WrestleMania XXX: “I don’t expect to see Warrior wrestle at WM30 but I don’t know. I will not be at the HOF but will watch it on the WWE Network.”

On what CM Punk could do to headline WrestleMania in the future: “I’d suggest settling his differences w/ WWE mgmt would help him reach his goals. I’m WAY out of the loop on that matter.”

Check out more JR Q&A updates at JRsBarBQ.com.

The following are highlights of a recent Boston Herald interview with WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E.

On WWE’s crop of rising talents: “We’re all pushing each other. It’s a great time for our business. There are a lot of guys waiting for a main spot on the roster – Cesaro, the Shield, the Wyatt Family, Fandango, Damien Sandow – the list goes on and on of talented guys who are hungry and ready to work hard every night. You’re always watching what they’re doing. When they have a great match, you want to top that.”

On working with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee: “I’m very grateful for the opportunity with that role, but I knew I could be a lot more than just a bodyguard. Stepping out of that and having opportunities in a singles role was good for me. I felt there was a lot more for me to offer, and I still feel that way.”

On being in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: “Raising that Andre the Giant trophy is a big deal. That’s my focus at WrestleMania. My dream is to win the WWE world heavyweight championship at WrestleMania. I’ve only been in the business four years and it’s been a good start, but there’s still a lot more I can show people.”

Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.

The following are highlights of a recent interview with WWE Superstar Fandango:

On crowd reactions now as compared to the Attitude Era: “I think it’s more rewarding to know that we can go out and put on a good show without going lowbrow and taking the easy road. Whether it’s the middle finger, or cursing, because that’s going to get a reaction no matter what. It’s harder to get a reaction the honest way and that’s just pure entertainment. That’s from an 8-year-old kid to an 80-year-old woman. I think chair shots and middle fingers and swearing and girls with their tops off is an easy reaction. I think the way we do it now is a lot more rewarding, for sure.”

On meeting Hulk Hogan: “I’m a huge fan, and I never actually got to meet Hulk until that Monday [on Raw]. He came up to Summer [Rae] and myself and said he was a huge fan of ours and took a picture with us! WWE tweeted it out and Hulk did too. He still looks great for his age. I don’t know if I should say ‘for his age’. He looks great for my age! A real nice guy and it’s really cool. I think WWE’s his home. No matter whether it’s 2014, 1983 or 2025 people are always going to accept him in the WWE because he helped make WrestleMania. He is WrestleMania.”

On possible WrestleMania plans: “Hopefully we’ll get in there with Santino Marella, whether it be a mixed tag or a singles match. He’s been giving me a little bit of a problem as of late on TV over the last few weeks. That’s where it’s aiming for – hopefully it pays off.”

On when he thinks he’ll compete for a title: “I think after WrestleMania is when we’re done with the dancing idiots Santino and Emma. Then it’s time to move on to a little bit more serious work, definitely.”

On how the internet effects surprises: “There are pros and cons to how connected we are now. One of the negatives, like you said, is that bad news travels really fast and secrets get out and it can really kill an angle. On the other hand, good news, it helps promote good things too. It really helps the WWE Universe stay connected and up to date with what’s going on.”

Check out the complete interview at DigitalSpy.com.

The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:

On John Cena, Bray Wyatt and Hulk Hogan: “Cena and Hulk worked for me and Hogan’s role at WM30 seems to nicely fit the veteran who WILL get a little physical at WM30….BROTHER!”

“What if I told you that John Cena and Bray Wyatt will arguably steal the show at WM30? Roll your eyes if you want but when you pair two, athletic performers with legit football backgrounds, both offensive linemen, expect their work rate to increase and their match to be a ’10’ on the physicality chart.”

On Daniel Bryan: “Daniel Bryan had another terrific night and WWE is booking DB expertly even though some critics will micro analyze the storyline and find fault with it because that’s simply what they do.”

“As I have said for many weeks, I fully expect Daniel Bryan to have a significant “WrestleMania Moment” in NOLA on April 6.”

“Just waiting on a handful of fans to complain now that the Bryan story is now too “predictable.” Please…stop my pain.”

On the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: “Not totally surprised that WWE is going to have a 30 man battle royal in the name of Andre the Giant as WWE usually adds a multi person match to attempt to get as many talents on WrestleMania as possible. I still remain firm that appearing on WM30 is an earned opportunity and not anyone’s right of passage. With that said, I’m not unhappy that several talents will now get in the game. Good for them and hopefully it doesn’t cause the four hour marathon to be shorted on the time needed for specific main event level bouts.”

On RAW improving: “Without question the bell to bell content of Monday Night RAW has improved significantly over the past few weeks. Yeah, I know that I[m old school and the butt of the occasional joke on RAW but I know what I like and I like physicality, believability and realism….not bad acting or failed attempts at humor.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.