Chris Jericho to let fans write foreword of his new book

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02/17/2014

Writing a foreword for a book is usually reserved to someone who is special to the author but Chris Jericho wants to do something different.

For his upcoming book, Jericho is asking his fans to submit their proposed foreword and the winner will get the honor to grace the opening pages. Y2J is looking for a 1,000 word essay on why you are a fan of his, what he meant to your life, how the previous books have influenced you etc.

In a Facebook post, Jericho said that the winner won’t be announced until the book is actually published in September of this year. To participate, e-mail your entries to jerichoforewords@gmail.com and include your name and where you are from.

Is CM Punk really gone for good?

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/17/2014

It is being reported by PWInsider.com that the word going around is that CM Punk was given his release from WWE this past Friday.

If he indeed was given his release, the folks at WWE.COM haven’t done their job yet as his profile is still up on the website and Punk is featured on the front page of WWEShop.com to sell his new merchandise.

The former WWE champion walked out of WWE a couple of weeks ago, unhappy with his direction and his place on the WrestleMania card where he was rumored to be fighting Triple H. Punk’s contract was originally expiring this coming July and he previously said in interviews that he is not sure what he would do although those around him felt that his time was up and was not going to sign a new deal for the company.

CM Punk has been removed from all advertising for upcoming WWE live events and also pulled from Axxess at WrestleMania weekend. The big problem WWE has coming up is that RAW on March 3 is from Punk’s hometown of Chicago and the Chicago crowd is usually very, very, very vocal, which could lead to segments being hijacked by CM Punk chants.

Live WWE event results from 02/16 in Las Vegas, NV.

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/17/2014

W-O reader David attended the live WWE event in Las Vegas last night and sent in the following results:

Big E defeated Ryback; Bella Twins defeated Summer Rae and Tamina Snuka; Kofi Kingston defeated Fandango in a dance off; New Age Outlaws defeated The Usos and The Real Americans in a triple threat tag team match; Daniel Bryan, Christian, and Sheamus defeated The Shield in a six man tag team match; Bray Wyatt defeated Dolph Ziggler; Batista defeated Alberto Del Rio; Randy Orton defeated John Cena in a steel cage match.

Some notes from the show: Ryback got some home crowd support but after the match he called everyone losers to get the heat back; After the six man tag match, Kane came out and demanded that DB apologizes. Bryan tried to hug it out but Kane didn’t want any of it and the faces tossed Kane out of the ring; There were three CM Punk chants during Ziggler/Wyatt match.

WWE Diva Naomi out for up to six weeks

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/17/2014

WWE Diva Naomi, one half of the Funkadactyls, will be out for up to a month and a half due to the eye injury she suffered on Monday Night RAW.

The injury happened when Aksana kneed her in the face while she was down, causing problems with her vision and orbital bone.

WWE.COM reported that surgery will not be required as there was no damage to the nerve or the eye muscles however a break in the orbital bone will keep her out of the ring for up to six weeks.

The recently-married Naomi, real name Trinity, is not allowed to travel on a plane which means she will be off television completely until she heals.

Scott Hall expected to be announced for the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/16/2014

Scott Hall, one of the founding members of the nWo, is expected to be announced as an inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014.

Hall noted on Twitter that himself, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Amy “Lita” Dumas, and The Ultimate Warrior all got the Verified status by Twitter at the same time, and the only thing that links those individuals is that they’re all HOF inductees.

Scott Hall had a pretty rough couple of years but thanks to Diamond Dallas Page he got his life back together and is looking better than ever.

Hall also tweeted a message to his friends Kevin Nash and X-Pac saying, “Hey yo..@RealKevinNash and @TheRealXPac wanna have a Wolfpac reunion in New Orleans during WM? #Kliq”

Which TV network will walk out with the WWE shows?

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/15/2014

Yesterday, NBC Universal’s exclusive window to renew all WWE programming came to an end, and unless they coughed up the money that WWE was looking for, the company is now in a position to deal with other potential networks.

WWE has not announced that it has reached a deal and more likely will not announce anything until April judging from previous comments from WWE executives.

All WWE shows were timed to expire together for the first time ever so whoever gets to win the deal will get all the WWE programming.

WWE left Spike TV back in October 2005 and moved back “home” to USA Network, which hosted RAW since its inception back in 1993.

WWE is looking to at least double the money on their current deal and networks will be fighting for their shows considering they bring in the desired ratings in the most important demographic in television.

Shane McMahon comes close to losing $20 million in fraudulent deal

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/14/2014

Shane McMahon, the former WWE Executive Vice President of Global Media, should thank his lucky stars as he just saved $20 million of his own money after a fraudulent deal was uncovered.

McMahon was part of an investor group led by former Wall Street stockbroker Calvin Darden Jr that were going to purchase the popular Maxim Magaine. Darden – who was already convicted of a fraud scheme back in 2005 and spent time in prison – received $8 million for the acquisition from other investors according to Bloomberg and was trying to get $20 million out of McMahon.

Darden didn’t get the necessary cash in time and missed several deadlines to purchase Maxim and eventually the deal – which was never going to happen – fell through.

Eventually Darden surrendered to federal authorities on February 12 after federal agents went on a manhunt to snatch him. Prosecutors say that Darden fabricated paperwork and impersonated lenders and lied to investors in the scheme to take over Maxim Magazine.

Shane McMahon currently occupies the position of Chairman of YOU On Demand.

HBO picks up Dwayne Johnson’s TV series Ballers

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/14/2014

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has announced that HBO has picked up his pilot of the show titled Ballers, a half-hour dramedy series looking into the lives of a group of former and current football players.

The former WWE champion is the lead star and also once of the executive producers of the series. Mark Wahlberg will also be serving as executive producer along with Steve Levinson, Peter Berg, Evan Reilly, and Johnson’s ex-wife Dany Garcia.

Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Troy Garity, Donovan Carter, Jazmyn Simon, Taylor Cole and LeToya Luckett will be playing the other main characters of the show which will start filming later this year.

WWE and Mattel extend agreement through 2019

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/14/2014

WWE and Mattel today announced a multi-year extension of their global master toy licensing agreement that will go through 2019.

Mattel has owned the WWE rights for action figures and toys since 2009 after taking over from JAKKS Pacific. Since then, WWE action figures have ranked as the number 1 action figure property in the U.S. and consistently hold a top ranking.

“WWE and Mattel’s action figure line is consistently ranked in the top two thanks to our creative marketing campaigns, tremendous retail support and seamless infusion of cutting-edge innovations,” said Doug Wadleigh, Senior Vice President, Global Brands Marketing, Boys and Entertainment for Mattel. “We are excited to continue our partnership with WWE as they expand their global footprint and leverage our global scale to deliver WWE toys to kids around the world.”

Jeff Jarrett speaks for the first time since leaving TNA

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/13/2014

With the song “Everything will change” by Gavin DeGraw in the background, Jeff Jarrett talked for the first time since he departed TNA in December in a video posted on Vimeo.

Jarrett said that he and his wife Karen were departing to Mexico City for their first big event since leaving TNA and he “can’t wait to make a real formal announcement,” about his new business venture. “And that day coming soon,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett added that he’ll be looking for the best independent talent from India, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Europe, and the United States and feels that the professional wrestling business is about to see a big boom again, adding that this is a very exciting time for him.

The video ended with “#ITSCOMING” across the screen. You can see the video below.

Ric Flair back on WWE payroll

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/13/2014

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Ric Flair has signed a new contract with the WWE, months after he was going to get one before making some mistakes at the SummerSlam weekend which eventually sent him packing back home.

According to the Observer, although Flair is allowed to work outside WWE, future appearances and business deals have to go through WWE from now on and if his presence is requested at a WWE event and it conflicts with a prior non-WWE booking, the WWE event will take preference and he has to cancel his other gig.

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer has appeared several times on WWE television since he left TNA back in 2012, most recently at the January 6 Old School RAW.

Two WWE Superstars lose part of their ring name

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/13/2014

Two WWE Superstars have received a name change, or better yet, a modification to their ring name.

Antonio Cesaro will now be called Cesaro, dropping his first name, while Big E Langston will lose his last name and will be called Big E from now on.

The name change has already been updated on WWE.COM.

Jeff Hardy returning at the Lockdown pay-per-view

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/12/2014

After two and a half months off television, Jeff Hardy will be returning to TNA at the Lockdown pay-per-view next month in Coral Gables, Florida.

His return was announced by MVP, whose on-screen role is a TNA investor, in a video which was taped for the #IMPACT365 initiative on YouTube. MVP is seen behind a desk talking on the phone asking for a confirmation, and then announcing that his good friend, and one time rival, Jeff Hardy will be coming back.

Hardy was last seen on the December 26 edition of Impact and was written out of television due to company’s tour in the United Kingdom. Due to legal issues, Hardy cannot travel to the UK and since a lot of tapings for Impact were held there it was easier to write him out rather than come up with something else. Last time Hardy was the TNA champion the company embarked on a UK tour and he was obviously left out of it, a decision which didn’t go down very well.

Hall of Fame ceremony airing live on the WWE Network

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/12/2014

Here’s another reason why you should subscribe to the WWE Network when it launches on February 24: The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be airing live, in full, on Saturday, April 5.

While USA Network has aired segments of the Hall of Fame and WWE.COM also streamed parts of it, this will be the first time that the full, unedited ceremony will be airing live. In the past, a one hour version of the show would air before RAW, and even prior to that, it was airing on Saturday at 11PM, leaving WWE video editors cutting the show on the fly. The Hall of Fame is released in full as part of the WrestleMania DVD and Blu-Ray a month or two after the actual event.

So far the Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and Lita have been announced for the class of 2014. Two or three more individuals are expected to join the 2014 class.

RAW rating for 02/10/2014

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/12/2014

Monday Night RAW this week pulled a 3.14 rating with a total of 4,329,000 viewers, up just over 100,000 viewers from last week’s 4,211,000.

Hour one did 4,499,000 viewers followed by 4,336,000 in hour two and then 4,153,000 in the third and final hour. (Ratings credit: PWInsider.com)

Lita writes letter to fans following announcement of Hall of Fame nod

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/11/2014

Several current and former WWE Superstars and Divas congratulated Lita on Twitter on her Hall of Fame nod.

“There goes my plan to be the best looking @WWE Hall of Fame inductee. Congratulations Lita. Great talent & well deserved,” tweeted Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who will share the stage with her in New Orleans on HOF night.

Trish Stratus called Lita an innovator and a true icon in the wrestling industry while Mickie James said she has inspired so many including herself. Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, and others also chimed in to congratulate the former Women’s champion.

Lita wrote that it was Mark Carrano – who can be seen on Total Divas – who broke the news to her to tell her about being chosen to go in the Hall of Fame this year. She also wrote a letter to her fans following the announcement.

“So, here I am Class of 2014 Hall of Fame, the dumpster diving punk rock kid that was never supposed to make it, but with too much kid power to let anything get in my way, gearing up to give a speech and accept my position in front of the ultimate under dog of a city. It seems kind of like the best thing ever,” she wrote. You can read the full letter at http://theamydumas.com/hallofame.pdf

Santino Marella, The Miz, and Summer Rae in two new WWE Studios movies

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/11/2014

WWE and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today announced the next two films that will begin production as part of their continued collaboration.

Next month, Jingle All The Way 2 will start filming with Santino Marella and Larry the Cable Guy in the sequel to the 1996 comedy. It will be directed by Alex Zamm who did Tooth Fairy 2 and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts and will released this 2014 holiday season.

In April, production will kick off on the fourth installment of The Marine franchise with The Miz reprising his role. WWE Diva Summer Rae will also be part of the movie, the first WWE Diva to be featured in a WWE Studios production.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will handle worldwide distribution for the pictures across all formats including Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD. WWE will utilize its extensive reach of 650 million homes worldwide and more than 256 million social and digital followers to market the release of each film.

“WWE Studios is looking forward to continuing its long standing relationship with 20th Century Fox with both The Marine 4 and Jingle All The Way 2,” said Michael Luisi, President of WWE Studios. “The Miz and Summer Rae will deliver the action and adventure that our audience has come to expect from The Marine franchise, and we are equally excited to bring the comedy of Larry the Cable Guy and WWE Superstar Santino Marella to our fan base with Jingle All The Way 2.

Hulk Hogan returning to WWE on February 24 RAW

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/11/2014

PWInsider.com is reporting that Hulk Hogan is confirmed to return on the February 24 edition of Monday Night RAW, the night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and the day that the WWE Network is launched.

Hogan, who is coming along with Jimmy Hart, was set to return at the WWE Network announcement event in Las Vegas however plans changed that week according to the website. Hulk last appeared on WWE television on the RAW 15th Anniversary episode on December 10, 2007, saving Hornswoggle from an attack by The Great Khali.

Hulk Hogan went on to join TNA thirteen months later and spent four years with the company. He is now rumored to be some sort of a host of WrestleMania XXX similar to the role that The Rock had at WrestleMania 28.

The February 24 RAW from Green Bay, Wisconsin, will also see the return of The Undertaker.

SummerSlam 2014 returning to Los Angeles

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/11/2014

The second biggest WWE pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam, will be once again held at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.

This will be the sixth SummerSlam in a row to be held at the STAPLES Center, with the date this year being August 17. Tickets for the show go on sale on March 15 with pre-sale kicking off a few days before that.

WWE keeps hosting SummerSlam in Los Angeles to get the extra rub from Hollywood as several events are held during the weekend with several movie stars and celebrities attending, giving WWE some extra publicity on entertainment websites.

Lita announced as the newest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014

By

Colin Vassallo

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02/11/2014

The third inductee announced for the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014 is former WWE Women’s champion Amy Dumas, better known to wrestling fans as the one and only Lita.

The soon to be 39 year old was announced to join the Hall of Fame on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, making her the seventh female inductee following Moolah, Sensational Sherri, Mae Young, Wendi Richter, Sunny, and Trish Stratus.

Lita’s career with the WWE started in 1999 first pairing up with Essa Rios before joining the Hardy Boyz as part of Team Xtreme. She was involved in high-profile angles with Edge, Matt Hardy, Kane, and perhaps the best female feud in wrestling with Trish Stratus.

Lita retired from wrestling in 2006, wrestling her last match – and losing the title – against Mickie James at that year’s Survivor Series.

She has appeared sporadically on Monday Night RAW since then and last appeared on the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW defeating Heath Slater. Last year she was at the WWE Hall of Fame with her then-boyfriend CM Punk to see her friend Trish being inducted.