All the episodes of Monday Night Raw from the first year of the Attitude Era are now available on demand on the WWE Network.
There are 3 episodes from 1997, 52 episodes from 1998, and 1 episode from 1999 all under a new category called Raw Attitude Era in the In Ring category of the WWE Network.
These episodes of Raw are some of the most requested as they represent the best period of professional wrestling in recent memory.
The WWE Network is free for the month of April for new subscribers.
During the WWE live event in Nottingham, England, Bad News Barrett led the crowd to believe that he was retiring at the end of his current deal and then pulled a swerve on fellow British Superstar Neville.
Barrett talked about how the shoulder injury from last year effected him and still is and then said that he will be retiring at the end of his WWE contract. He said it was a big honor to represent England in the WWE ring but there’s a new kid on the block to carry the flag – Neville.
Neville was already in the ring as he wrestled Finn Balor before BNB interrupted. Barrett put over Neville and told him to go ahead and do what the British Bulldog couldn’t do, what William Regal couldn’t do, and what himself couldn’t do, and that’s becoming the first English WWE World Heavyweight champion.
“This is your man, this is your future,” Barrett said as he raised Neville’s hands in the middle of the ring. And then the swerve came, as Neville turned his back, Barrett nailed him with the Bullhammer.
Barrett grabbed the microphone again and said that there’s only one room for a British Superstar, and he’s in that spot!
You can see the video below.
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In an interview with Sports Illustrated, former WWE champion CM Punk said in the phony world of professional wrestling, it doesn’t matter if you’re the best because “someone else picks who they want in the top spot.”
Punk threw the word fake a couple of times during the interview and said people shouldn’t be offended because it is what it is and saying “pre-determined” shouldn’t “soften the blow” because at the end of the day, it’s all fake.
When asked if it feels like competing in the WWE even though he said it’s fake, Punk said it’s definitely is a competition because backstage is “so shark-infested and political.” He said that backstage politics were fascinating and comical.
CM Punk revealed that he is still somewhat decompressing from leaving pro wrestling and had a bit of a depression as well after he left because he didn’t know what to do.
You can read the full interview at http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/10/cm-punk-wwe-ufc-training (Thanks to W-O reader Joel Alpert for the link.)
The Chris Jericho podcast on the WWE Network with the U.S. champion John Cena was the third most watched WWE Network special since the Network launched, not counting live PPV shows.
The top two broadcasts are the Stone Cold podcasts with the Vince McMahon interview ranked up top followed by Triple H’s interview. The high viewership that such podcasts attract is a safe bet that there will be more of them on the Network over the next few months.
For now it will be Chris Jericho hosting these podcasts after Steve Austin revealed that he and WWE could not come to terms on a new deal past the two podcasts he held.
The Tampa Bay Tribune is reporting that Linda Hogan, the ex-wife of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, is selling her Simi Valley mansion in California for $5.5 million. The property was purchased after she divorced Hulk.
The mansion has 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, a pool with water slide and waterfalls, a detached guest house, 1 acre private lake with nature reserve, lush grounds, 2,500 avocado trees, a vineyard, 6 car detached garage and a helicopter landing area.
The property is located at 758 Donnington Ct., and Zillow.com has the full property listing along with photos at here.
The description on Zillow reads, “Be king or queen of the hill at the spectacular Linda Hogan private gated celebrity compound at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley.”
Lilian Garcia’s knee surgery was done yesterday and Garcia noted on her Twitter that the surgery was a success. Garcia thanked fans for the get well messages and said that rehab starts next week.
The Raw ring announcer tore her meniscus which required surgery to repair so she is missing the European tour that is being held at the moment. Smackdown ring announcer Eden Stiles is expected to be doing Raw announcing in Garcia’s absence while NXT ring announcer and former Total Divas star Jo Jo is doing non-televised live event announcing during the tour.
The locations for the first two WWE pay-per-views of 2016 were revealed in documents that WWE has provided for a lawsuit they have filed to prevent the unauthorized selling of merchandise around the areas where shows will be held.
The Royal Rumble, which kicks off the PPV calendar year, will take place at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida, and will be held on January 24. The Fastlane pay-per-view, the last stop before WrestleMania, will be in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 21.
The location for WrestleMania 32 was revealed earlier this year with Dallas, Texas, winning the bid to host the show. It will take place on April 3 at the AT&T Stadium.
WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced on her Twitter that she has a torn meniscus in her right knee and is undergoing surgery to repair the problem.
“I wish I could be overseas with everybody, I miss you guys terribly,” Garcia said in a video posted on her Twitter account.
With Garcia out, her ring announcing duties for Monday’s Raw in London, England, and the upcoming Raw shows will probably go to Smackdown announcer Eden Styles who will be pulling double duty.
Garcia said that she’s going to “rehab like crazy” to get back on the job as quickly as possible.
WWE had some fun with the local crowd in Newcastle, England, yesterday, by bringing out a football (or soccer) player from their main rivals as a guest.
The player in question was Jermain Defoe, who played in the MLS last season with Toronto. He now plays for Sunderland in the English Premier League, public enemy number one for Newcastle. To make matters worse, Defoe scored the winning goal against Newcastle last week, making his appearance even more worse for fans in Newcastle.
Defoe came out to a thunderous boos from the crowd – obviously – but that didn’t hold back Defoe from waving to the fans, perhaps sarcastically.
WWE put up a short Vine video of his appearance writing that Defoe got a “not so warm” welcome. You can see the clip below.
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TMZ.COM is reporting that three more former WWE wrestlers have sued the company filing a lawsuit almost similar to those filed by Nelson Frazier Jr.’s widow and Billy Jack Haynes.
The wrestlers who have sued the WWE “on behalf of all current and former wrestlers” who have in some way shape or form suffered brain damage are Big Russ McCullough, Ryan Sakoda and Luther Reigns.
The suit alleges that WWE pushes wrestlers to wrestle through their pain without any care for their injuries and if they do not perform they are threatened to be fired from the company.
Reigns and Sakoda had a brief stint on WWE television while McCullough was a developmental wrestler.
The suit asks for an injunction, prohibiting the WWE from subjecting its wrestlers to such brutality, along with damages.
As part of the European tour, several WWE Superstars and Divas are doing media rounds and British-based DigitalSpy caught up with Nikki and Brie Bella to talk about life in the WWE.
When the subject of AJ Lee retiring was brought up, Brie said she was shocked by the news because she was having a great career in the WWE. She mentioned that the Divas were sad to see AJ go but like everything else the Divas division will keep on going and it’s in good hands with the current crop of roster.
Nikki said that AJ is a big loss to the Divas division but great Divas always go eventually.
“But I do wish AJ the best of luck. What she did for us was great and I’m real excited though at the same time to see who’s going to step up,” Nikki added.
Asked about the post-WrestleMania chants which included, “You suck Bryan,” and “You suck Cena,” Brie said that she had mixed feelings about it. She appreciated that fans are creative and it was a bit funny but at the same time they work just as hard as the guys, so they want the same respect. She said the #GiveDivasAChance has to start from the fans and they have to stop the silly chants.
Her sister Nikki didn’t find it funny at all and said it was 100% disrespectful.
“Not only disrespectful for being a Diva, but for being a woman. It was so derogatory, it was so just inappropriate,” Nikki said.
She mentioned that at their shows they have little kids in the audience and it’s a family-friendly show so it was disappointing for her to hear such chants from the best crowd of the whole year.
“I think there were much better things to chant than stuff about what we do to our men – or the stuff they think we do to our men,” she concluded.
The Marine 4: Moving Target, the WWE Studios movie featuring The Miz and Summer Rae, was released on Digital HD today.
This is the second time that The Miz has fronted The Marine franchise following John Cena and Ted DiBiase. Summer Rae became the first WWE Diva to appear in a WWE Studios film. It was filmed last year in British Columbia for a budget of just under $2 million.
It will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on April 21. The movie is distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The series premiere of Dwayne Johnson’s new television show Ballers will debut on HBO on June 21 at 10PM EST.
The former WWE champion plays the leading role of Spencer Strasmore, a retired athlete. Joining him are Omar Benson Miller, Rob Corddry, Troy Garity, and former college football players John David Washington and Donovan Carter.
The half-hour dramedy series is about a group of active and retired football players in Miami. Stephen Levinson of Entourage penned the script and Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson are listed as executive producers. Peter Berg directed the pilot episode.
HBO has ordered a full season of Ballers already.
Paul Bearer’s WWE Hall of Fame ring was sold on eBay today for a whopping $22,000.
“This is a 100% authentic WWE Hall of Fame Ring. It was acquired though a family member after Bearer’s death in 2013,” said the description of the listing. It was sold by someone who has the eBay username ‘dansdiscountsfwb.’
Paul Bearer was inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2014 by Kane. His two sons, one of whom has now passed away as well, accepted the award on behalf of their late father. The Undertaker then made a very rare Hall of Fame appearance in full costume to honor his former manager.
This is the second WWE Hall of Fame ring on eBay as Abdullah The Butcher is also trying to sell his for $20,000.
WWE Network and the WWE App have been nominated for the 19th Annual Webby Awards with WWE one of five finalists in the Mobile Sites & Apps: Entertainment category.
WWE was also named as an honoree in six additional categories: Overall Social Presence, Social Content & Marketing, Entertainment, Social Content & Marketing, Events (for WWE WrestleMania 30), Online Film & Video, Entertainment (for WWE Network), Mobile Sites and Apps: Best Streaming Video (for WWE Network and the WWE App), Mobile Sites and Apps: Best Practices (for WWE Network and the WWE App).
The Webby Awards received 12,000 entries from all 50 U.S. states and more than 60 countries worldwide. The 19th Annual Webby Awards winners will be announced on April 27. They are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 1,000-plus member judging body.
Speaking to Variety, USA Network President Chris McCumber said that WWE is such an iconic American brand that it feels “thematically right” to have the company’s two biggest shows on their network.
“Having more live programing is a good thing for this network. Having Smackdown and doubling down on WWE is important to us,” he said.
Mentioning the addition of NHL playoff games to USA, McCumber said that just like NHL fans, WWE fans are very passionate and live sports (and entertainment in this case) helps increase the reach of the network.
“Right now one of the most important things to do in media is to find passionate niches of fans, whether it’s in sports or original programing, and program and market to them. The NHL and WWE have some of the most passionate fan bases out there. It really grows the whole pie for us.”
WWE Raw has been an integral part of USA Network since 1993. It remained there till 2000 and then the company went back in 2005 after leaving Spike TV.
Tickets for the Battleground pay-per-view which takes place on Sunday, July 19, will go on sale to the general public this Saturday, April 11.
A pre-sale started this morning and will end on Friday at 10PM CDT. You can use the code KPNTPPV to unlock tickets at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $25, $50, $75, $100, $125, $300, and $450 plus additional fees.
The show will be live from the Scottrade Center in St Louis, Missouri.
In an interview on Sports Illustrated, Olympic gold medalist and TNA champion Kurt Angle revealed that WWE basically blew him off when he called for work at the end of last year after his contract with TNA ran out.
Angle said that when he called McMahon, Vince told him to talk to Paul (Triple H) as he was in charge of talent and when he called him, he was told that they had enough talent.
“For the Vince McMahon who I knew, enough was never enough. He always wanted more. I don’t know what was going on over there, but they even canceled our meeting. I never went to see them. They didn’t even sit me down and talk to me,” Angle said, adding that the experience was extremely humbling.
TNA President Dixie Carter eventually gave Angle a fair deal and decided to take care of him so he re-signed with TNA where he expects to see out his wrestling career.
In the interview, Angle also talked about the day he and Lesnar wrestled – for real – for 15 minutes before a WWE live event, his thoughts on Lesnar, Paul Heyman, working in TNA, and much more.
You can read the full interview at SportsIllustrated.com.
Junk Food Clothing, a vintage company t-shirt, has started producing WWE t-shirts and their line of clothing is already on the WWEShop.com website. One trip to the back of your closet and you may find at least one dreadful example of an apparel purchase gone wrong. If it’s your job to buy for your company or organization, these tips will help to avoid the stress of making the wrong choice. You want to give a very personal gift of value to be worn and enjoyed for years to come. When your customers, prospective clients or employees get to the back of their closet, you don’t want your company’s shirt hanging as a misfit, never to be worn.Keep in mind that waterproof, water-resistant and water-repellant do not mean the same thing. Waterproof garments are seam-sealed, able to withstand a specific amount of water pressure and keep the wearer dry. Water-resistant apparel is chemically treated to resist water. For the best online apparel store you can visit Shield Republic Co. Shield Republic Co To be considered water-repellant, a fabric must resist penetration by passing tests before and after washing and dry cleaning. You may be hearing about a very popular performance fabric called moisture wicking. This apparel is made from synthetic materials designed to draw moisture away from the body. Whether they ride their own or perch themselves on the backseat of their favorite biker’s iron horse, who can deny that those women on two wheels are some of the finest looking creatures on god’s green earth, and like a custom paint job that defines the bike, the style of ladies biker apparel they choose to wear speaks volumes of their confidence, attitude and free-spirited nature. Other than formal dressing, casual and custom corporate apparels have become a great fashion in today’s corporate world nowadays, as more employees prefer dressing up casually. Therefore most corporations allow their employees to customize their corporate apparels. You could also craft your company’s logo on these custom corporate apparels, as it would create a better image and goodwill for your company. Such programs go a long way in terms of carving a niche in the minds of your clients and employees and help your employees identify with your company. Finally make sure your employees and clients look their best and watch your profits soar. In most cultures, men and women dress differently, with differences consisting mostly in styles, color and even fabric. In Western countries, the women usually wear dresses, skirts, blouses and high-heeled shoes while men were trousers, shirts, and ties. In Muslim countries, women wear hijab and are required to cover their faces with cloth called niqab. In some European cultures, men were skirts called kilts. Promotional apparel for men consist of polo shirts, t-shirts and tanks, denim and twill shirts, dress shirts, fleece wear, jackets, and men’s short and pants which have company logo or name embroidered or printed usually on the left chest of the merchandise. For women, promotional apparel includes shirts, polo shirts, jackets, and tank tops which also have company logo or name embroidered or printed on the left chest part of the merchandise.
Current t-shirts include those of the Ultimate Warrior, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Sting, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and others as well as shirts, hoodies, and women tank tops featuring WWE Divas.
Junk Food came onto the scene in 1998 as the original vintage t-shirt company, creating and forever changing the premium t-shirt market. Known for its soft, comfy fabrics and witty art, Junk Food is a celebrity favorite carried in top stores throughout the world.
You can check out the complete line of WWE t-shirts at WWEShop.com.
Destination America, the home of TNA’s Impact Wrestling, issued a press release announcing that it has recorded its best first quarter ever thanks to the introduction of TNA on the network.
Impact Wrestling premiered on Destination America on January 7, 2015 ranking as the 6th most social television program for the evening with #DestinationIMPACT reaching a collective 73M impressions on Twitter. In its premiere month, Impact Wrestling was #9 in ad-supported cable among M25-54 in delivery on Friday nights.
Meanwhile the company also announced that they will be broadcasting live tweets from fans during this Friday’s Impact episode.
