WWE today announced financial results for Q1 2013 ending March 31.
Revenues totaled $124.0 million as compared to $123.1 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income was $6.1 million as compared to $16.0 million in the prior year quarter. Net income was $3.0 million as compared to $15.3 million in the prior year quarter.
“I the first quarter, our performance reflected investments to enhance our brand strength, which we view as a critical determinant of our long-term growth,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO.
“Operating metrics such as pay-per-view buys and live event attendance, which are key leading indicators, continued to show improvement,” he added.
RXMuscle.com has published an interview with Stephanie McMahon, talking about her diet, her day, juggling parenthood with work and training, and pretty much showing that you don’t wanna mess with Mrs HHH.
Stephanie said her day starts at 6AM, preparing breakfast for her family and take the kids to school. Once at work, she said she follows a strict diet and if necessary she eats during meetings.
Once she gets off work at around 7:30PM, she goes back home to take care of the kids again and then after everything is done, starts training. “If I have to workout at 11 or 12 at night then that’s what I have to do,” she says, adding that at 36 years of age, she’s in the best shape of her life.
You can see the five amazing photos of Stephanie McMahon looking ripped below and you can read the full interview here.
The pre-sale code for the Night of Champions pay-per-view which will take place on September 15 is CHAMPION.
The pre-sale kicked off yesterday and will run through May 3 at 10PM EST.
Ticket prices are $25, $50, $70, $90, $350, and $500 plus additional taxes and fees. The cheapest ticket will carry $13.35 in fees while the highest priced ticket will have an additional $23.35 in fees.
Night of Champions will be at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, and you can purchase tickets now at Ticketmaster.com.
Monday Night RAW received a 3.1 rating with an average of 4,285,000 viewers this week. That is down around 115,000 viewers from last week overall.
Hour one pulled 4,287,000 viewers, with hour two getting 4,311,000, and hour three doing 4,257,000 viewers. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
TNA President Dixie Carter is currently in the United Kingdom and earlier today hosted a TNA Tour Launch Party in London.
Carter will also be holding a special meet & greet and Q&A with fans in Glasgow, Scotland, on Thursday May 2 at 5:30PM at The Clyde Auditorium. The event is free for everyone to attend.
TNA will do their yearly Maximum IMPACT Tour in the beginning of 2014, with four shows in total currently scheduled in Glasgow, Manchester, London, and Birmingham. Tickets go on sale on Friday.
WWE celebrated the World Wish Day yesterday on Monday Night RAW with a seven minute segment totally dedicated to the Make-A-Wish kids.
Cena was welcomed with cheers as he was introduced with the wish kids, something which is very rare for him since he’s always showered with boos.
Joining Cena at the top of the RAW stage were Logan Parks of Stanton, Kentucky, Jacob Lawson of Hutchinson, Minnesota and Nicholas Santillo of Runnemede, New Jersey.
All three were personal guests of Cena and he named them honorary WWE Superstars. Cena told the fans that the kids were granted one wish, and their wish was to be there at RAW with all the WWE fans.
Cena hyped up the crowd and thanked them for making a special moment for the kids so much more wonderful.
WWE has released the first look at the Total Divas reality TV show which will make its debut on E! in July.
A similar show was originally scheduled to air on the WWE Network however moving it to E! gives a clear indication that the proposed new WWE venture is nowhere ready to be on the air.
In Total Divas, The Bella Twins, The Funkadactyls, Natalya, and two Divas-in-training Jo-Jo Offerman and Eva Marie will offer a glimpse of what it takes to be a WWE Diva with behind-the-scenes footage of the fun and rough times.
Even though tonight is back to the usual place of America, let’s hope the show is still way above par, especially after last week’s cliffhanger with The Shield attacking Ryback too! How will the “meathead” respond?
Also, WWE Champion John Cena has legitimately injured his Achilles tendon (thank you Colin for the info), so what will this mean for the WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules?
Will World Heavyweight Dolph Ziggler get another big win to improve his reputation as the “top dog?” (I hope so!)
Who will be “Fandangoing” in Columbus, Ohio and how will the new revolution reply to Chris Jericho?
All this and much more!
Monday Night Raw Report for April 29, 2013 – “Hurt or Injured?”
Match #1: Triple-Threat for a Stipulation Choice (No Disqualification Rules) – Big E. Langston (with World Heavyweight Champion “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler and A.J.) VS. Zeb Colter (with “The Real American” Jack Swagger) VS. Ricardo Rodriguez (with Alberto Del Rio)
This is exactly how Raw opens tonight as Michael Cole welcomes us to a sold-out arena in Columbus. The winner gets to pick the stipulation for the World Heavyweight Championship Triple-Threat match at Extreme Rules.
Zeb immediately ducks out of the ring and lets Big E. control over Ricardo. He runs and shoulder-tackles Rodriguez into one ring post, but misses the other as Ricardo leap-frogs him. Colter steps back in and they both hammer away to put Langston down.
Colter baits Ricardo to the center of the ring, allowing Big E. to run over him with a clothesline. Zeb takes advantage with some punches, pushing Langston aside, which angers him. Colter fakes a knee injury as Langston intimidates, and Swagger checks on him.
In the meantime, Ricardo tries to hurt Langston with a couple of shots with Alberto’s water/towel buck, but they have absolutely no effect. He belly-to-belly suplexes Ricardo, but Alberto jumps in and gives him an enziguri.
Ziggler follows up with a dropkick, taking out Del Rio. Swagger chucks out Dolph, and Colter tries to get the pin, but A.J. stops the referee from counting to three by clutching his arm. Distracted by this, Colter gets rolled up from behind to give Rodriguez/Alberto the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Ricardo Rodriguez (with Alberto Del Rio)
Jerry “The King” Lawler, John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Michael Cole discuss the main event, which is Ryback and WWE Champion John Cena teaming up against The Shield. They also confirm that while Cena is injured, he is still ready to go and Cena has tweeted that he won’t miss Monday Night Raw. The WWE Champion will be out next to celebrate World Wish Day.
Commercials.
Segment #1: Video Promo
Footage of WWE Champion John Cena granting his latest wish to young fan, Nick Santillo, on the “Today Show” airs, then he and three Make-A-Wish kids come on out. The boys (Jacob Larson, Nick Santillo, and Logan Parks) stand on the stage with their elder guardians, along with the WWE Champion.
John Cena puts over the children and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He gives them another honour, to make them WWE Superstars for a night. Josh’s nickname is “The Eliminator,” Nick is known as “Nick The Stitch,” and Logan goes by “Lightning Logan.” Cena asks the fans to help welcome them with cheers, which get louder and louder. Cena tells the kids to enjoy the show.
Up next, Randy Orton is in action.
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Match #2: Single – Cody Rhodes VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton
Elbow/collar tie-up to begin, and Orton takes Cody down with a couple of side-headlocks. They square off again, with Rhodes clamping on the side-headlock this time. Orton hits an elbow and the two lockup again. Rhodes backs Orton into the corner and kicks away, but Randy counters by throwing him over the ropes and dropkicking him, twice!
Orton takes control and stomps away, but gets pulled into the second turnbuckle by Cody. He now dominates with punches and stomps, but “The Viper” reverses a suplex into one of his own. Orton toys with him, and Rhodes gets a little offense, but gets clotheslined on the outside. Orton attempts an R.K.O. back in the ring, but Cody shoves him off and they glare at each other into a break.
Commercials.
Back live, Orton attempts to re-enter the ring, but Rhodes takes him out with the Disaster Kick, knocking him to the outside. Cody rolls him back into the ring for a couple of quick cover attempts, then hammers away puts him down with an again.
He grapples Randy with a grounding rear chinlock, but Orton is gaining strength and standing again. He fights his way out, but Rhodes lands on his feet out of a backdrop attempt and puts him down with an uppercut. They go back-and-forth with blows, but Cody gets the upper hand with some stomps.
He ascends the turnbuckle, but Orton crotches him on the top rope and brings him down with a HUGE superplex! 1 – 2 – Rhodes kicks out!
Orton is “zoning up,” hitting clotheslines and the powerslam. He flips Cody over with a t-bone suplex, then plants him with the slingshot DDT. Orton fires himself and the crowd up (hot crowd too!), but Rhodes reverses another R.K.O. try into the CrossRhodes! 1 – 2 – NO, Orton gets the shoulder up!
Cody freaks out and makes a mistake with the Disaster Kick attempt, as Orton catches him mid-air with the R.K.O. for the hard-fought W!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton
Post (fantastic) match, Matt Striker interviews Orton about The Big Show knocking him out at Wrestlemania XXIX. Orton says it fuels him. “I’ve never been so focused. I’ve never been so ‘extreme.'” He then drops Rhodes with another sudden R.K.O.
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Brie Bella is warming up when the other comes over and puts themselves and the new Divas reality show over. (which will premiere on E! in July). Brie will take on Naomi next.
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Match #3: Single – Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) VS. Naomi (with Cameron)
Brie locks up with Naomi shoves her head-first to the mat. Naomi rebounds with a flipping clothesline and dropkick. She kicks Brie off the ropes and hangs her there, but Nikki switches with Brie. Naomi pulled her back in, however Nikki small-packages her to receive the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Brie/Nikki Bella
Post-match, Naomi complains to the referee and he decides to reverse the decision, based on a dq!
Winner via Disqualification: Naomi (with Cameron)
The Bellas then assault Naomi and Cameron, then walk off proudly.
Up next, The Shield will be out to proclaim their “justice.”
Commercials.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns enter through the crowd to the ring. Ambrose says they have fought injustice since they arrived. Rollins claims they have been serving their own “justice” since last November.
They go through the least, complete with photos, of those who have not being able to stop them. John Cena, Ryback, Sheamus, The Big Show, and even The Rock have all been victims. They say those men were all mortals, but now they have gone to the immortal, serving “justice” to The Undertaker from last Friday’s Smackdown. The video of their attack on “The Deadman” follows.
Rollins says they have still not forgotten about Ryback and WWE Champion John Cena, but before he can continue, “3.M.B.” interrupt. (Unfortunately, I thought they would be disbanded – no pun intended – after being dismantled by The Shield.)
In short, they want revenge, but “The Hounds Of Justice” prevail quickly until the pyro of Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell No” explodes on the stage! Kane and Daniel Bryan march to the ring, but Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns vacate. Instead, Kane and Bryan take out “3.M.B” (and hopefully for the last time!), then Bryan leads Columbus in a “yes, yes, yes” chant. The Shield retreats to the back as “Team Hell No” metaphorically stand tall in the ring.
Segment #3: Locker Room Promo
WWE Champion John Cena is getting taped up when Ryback walks in. Cena says he is “hurt,” not “injured,” but Ryback declares he cannot take that chance and walks off.
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Match #4: “Champion VS. Champion” Single – World Heavyweight Champion “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler (with A.J. and Big E. Langston) VS. United States Champion Kofi Kingston (Non-Title)
Kofi and Dolph lock up and trade holds to begin. Kingston brings Ziggler down with a Russian Legsweep and stiff kick, then covers for two after a springboard splash! Dolph breaks out of a wristlock and squeezes on a grounding side headlock. Dolph runs over Kingston with a shoulder block, but Kofi flies back with clotheslines. He goes to jump off the ropes, however the World Heavyweight Champion counters with a dropkick.
Commercials.
Back live, Ziggler has Kofi in a half-camel clutch, then clotheslines him hard in the corner. He pays homage to the late-great “Ravishing” Rick Rude by swing his crotch around and dropping Kofi with a neckbreaker. Ziggler tries to follow up with a splash and misses, but still is able to be aggressive with kicks and punches in the corner.
Kofi fights back with some of his own plus a dropkick and jumping forearm. He nails the boom drop legdrop, and encourages the fans to help him. He goes for the “Trouble In Paradise” spin-kick, but Dolph ducks and jumps on him with a high, fierce DDT. 1 – 2 – Kofi kicks out!
They slug it out, and Kofi catches Ziggler with the S.O.S. for another near-fall! Kofi manages to hit him with the Trouble kick, but A.J. puts her man’s foot on the ropes before the referee slaps the mat. Big E. tries to “wake up” Dolph, but Kofi dives off the ropes onto them both.
Kofi flies with a high crossbody for a close two-count! They both reverse roll-ups but neither get the fall. Kofi uses the ropes again to spring, but misses, allowing Dolph to hit the Zig-Zag for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: World Heavyweight Champion “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler
Post-match, Big E. finishes Kingston off with his finisher to the pleasure of Dolph Ziggler.
Up next, a recap of the Brock Lesnar/Triple H rivalry.
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Segment #5: Backstage Promo
World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler, A.J. and Big E. are walking through the hallways building themselves up, when they walk into Divas Champion Kaitlyn. They get into each other’s faces and Kaitlyn orders A.J. to come and get the title when she wants, if she can.
An assistant then brings a gift back, which A.J. assumes is for her, but it is actually for the Divas Champion. Kaitlyn opens the present, which is a real-ugly spiked hat. A card follows, with no name but admiring Katilyn nonetheless.
Segment #6: Video Footage
A montage of the feud between Triple H and Brock Lesnar is shown.
Segment #7: Office Promo
Supervising Manager Vickie Guerrero and Assistant Brad Maddox are chatting when Ryback barges in. He informs them that he is not facing The Shield again in a handicap match, insinuating that a hurt John Cena will be a no-go. Vickie agrees, so she changes it to a 6-man-tag, The Shield facing Ryback and “Team Hell No.” Ryback says that he doesn’t trust either of them, so emphatically says “no,” and leaves.
Commercials.
Match #6: “The Real American” Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) VS. “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder
Swagger dominates most of the bout, despite Zack putting a little offence in with a dropkick. Jack lands on him with a couple of Swaggerbombs, and a gut-wrench powerbomb soon after. “The Real American” clamps on the “Patriot Lock” ankle lock and forces Ryder to tap-out.
Winner via Submission: “The Real American” Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter)
Mark Henry is walking to the ring and the “World’s Strongest Man” is carrying a heavy rope.
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Segment #8: Video Promo
Matt Striker attempts to talk to Ryback, but he has dressed in street clothes and leaves the arena!
Segment #9: Arena Promo
Mark Henry is in the ring and introduces himself. He is out to prove that he is the strongest man in the world. He asked Vickie Guerrero for two opponents and she has obliged. His first – “Sweet T” Tensai.
They both grab the rope and proceed with a tug-of-war contest. Henry wins this easily, yanking him across the line on the mat. He does the same to “Sweet T’s” partner, “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay, but is disturbed by his rival, Sheamus.
The Irishman is impressed by Henry’s feat, and asks him to join for one more. Mark accepts and they set up. Of course, it is an even contest at first until Henry pulls Sheamus very close to the line. Sheamus pulls back, but lets go of the rope and Brogue Kicks the 400-pounder down.
Segment #10: Office Promo
Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell No” order Vickie and Brad to keep the match, as they still want to take on The Shield. They agree then Vickie whispers something into Maddox’s ear.
Commercials.
Segment #11: Locker Room Promo
WWE Champion John Cena immediately dismisses Brad Maddox and makes him go tell Guerrero that he will fight tonight with “Team Hell No” against Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns.
Match #7: Single – Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) VS. Antonio Cesaro
It is even for the first bit, then Cesaro reverses a suplex into one of his own. Alberto hits him in the arm with an enziguri (nice aim!) He takes him down with a running hurricanrana, then hammers away on Antonio’s back with nine blows. As Ricardo drums up for 10, Del Rio drops him with the backstabber backbreaker.
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Back live, Antonio is dominating over Del Rio with a grounding reverse rear chinlock. He jumps and double-stomps Alberto, then brings him down with a gut-wrench suplex for two! He gears up and runs at Del Rio in the corner with an uppercut then returns to the grounding rear reverse chinlock.
Ricardo cheers on Del Rio, which helps as the “Mexican Aristocrat” gears up with clotheslines. He receives a very close-count with a German suplex, and dives off the top rope, but is nailed with an uppercut! 1 – 2 – kickout by Alberto Cesaro runs to Del Rio in the corner, but Alberto moves and Antonio smacks the ring post.
Del Rio nails a stiff kick for another close call! He tries the Cross Armbreaker submission, but Cesaro reverses into a roll-up, which Del Rio counters back into the hold and Cesaro has to give in!
Winner via Submission: Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
Post-match, Alberto signals “climbing” with his fingers and chooses a LADDER MATCH for the Triple-Threat World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules!
Fandango will go against The Great Khali in a “dance-off!”
Commercials.
Segment #12: Arena Dance-Off
Jerry “The King” Lawler hosts this competition, first asking each what they thought of Chris Jericho’s appearance on Dancing With The Stars. Both more/less say they are better, and don’t prove it, but the fans do love The Great Khali’s moves with Natalya over Fandango’s with Summer Rae.
Post-dance, Fandango is upset at the result and literately takes it out on Khali, chopping him down then flying off the top rope with a legdrop! “It’s Fan-Dan-Go,” he declares and walks off with Summer.
Following a montage of Smackdown again, where The Shield took out The Undertaker, the main-event begins!
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Match #8: 6-Man-Tag-Team – WWE Champion John Cena and Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell No” (“The Big Red Machine” Kane and Daniel Bryan) VS. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns) (Non-Title)
(Note: Cena and “Team Hell No” made their entrances prior to the break.) The Shield surround the ring as usual, and all six men brawl until it settles to Kane and Ambrose. “The Big Red Machine” dominates with kicks and a headbutt, but Ambrose slides out of a scoop slam and tags in Reigns.
Kane continues to control with uppercuts and right hands, plus a shoulder block. Roman manages to corner Kane and switch with Seth, who gets a boot-to-the-face. Kane hurls him in the face’s corner and just keeps hammering away. Kane tags in Cena and The Champ is good to go at first, then mistakenly uses his injured ankle for a kick, hurting him more.
Bryan is in now and goes at it against Ambrose. He kicks away too then switches with his champion partner. Kane holds Dean back in a surfboard submission, then tags in Daniel again.
Bryan pulls Ambrose back in another surfboard version and it opens up for Kane to dropkick him! Kane then dives off the top rope but Dean rolls through.
Commercials.
Back live, Ambrose has a surfboard on Daniel this time, then abuses him some more before tagging in Rollins. He clamps on a grounding armlock, but Bryan begins to fight back. He makes it to “The Shield’s” corner and punches away, but turns around into an enziguri to drop him. 1 – 2 – Daniel kicks out!
Cena is on the apron, begging to be tagged in. Reigns is in and locks on a grounding full nelson. Bryan battles out, but gets put down with a Samoan drop for two! Reigns hurries at Bryan, but the ropes are pulled down and he goes hurling over to the floor This gives ample time for Kane to tag in and he goes to town on both Ambrose and Rollins.
Kane climbs the ropes and flies with a clothesline to Ambrose! He chucks him to the floor, then tears apart the commentator’s table. Kane turns around into a DDT by Dean, but manages to crawl back in before the ten-count! Ambrose slaps Kane and taunts him, yelling “I beat your brother, now I’m gonna beat you.” Kane surprises him with a chokeslam, then makes the desperate hot tag to Cena
The WWE Champion is all over The Shield, with shoulder blocks and a spin-out backdrop on Roman, plus the “5-Knuckle Shuffle.” He catches Rollins out of a diving crossbody into the Attitude Adjustment, but his ankle buckles and Reigns takes advantage with a spear for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns)
Post-match, Ryback appears on stage and smirks at a hurt WWE Champion. The Shield exit and a medical technician attends to John as Ryback, closing the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Wow! I think this was a fantastic show! The best part(s) – the wrestling! Tonight was an abundance of matches and they were great ones too. Definitely A LOT of pluses for Raw in the analysis!
Excellence: Overall, the matches themselves. In particular, the suspense of Rhodes/Orton and Ziggler/Kingston – classics!. I liked the twist of having the managers/bodyguards in the Triple-Threat opener to determine a stipulation for the Extreme Rules match, even though it was basically just a comedy match. On the plus, I truly didn’t know who would win!
As I said with Swagger/Colter/Del Rio, this time it is The Shield that can do absolutely no wrong! I’m loving their promos and each individual has a different personality (especially Dean Ambrose, who reminds both my Dad and I of the late-great Brian Pillman with his facial expressions and raspy voice.) Their match in the main event was also superb. I believe they are on par with the “n.W.o.” and have the potential to be greater in some aspects (i.e. wrestling ability).
Liking the Henry/Sheamus feud and the display of “tug-of-war” was unique. Del Rio/Cesaro another good mat-based, rough bout. Same with Ryback and Cena. Liked the fact he didn’t say much and is being a “lone wolf,” playing mind games with Cena by leaving then coming back to gawk at his injury. That too will be interesting to find out in the next three weeks – is the WWE Champion hurt enough to not continue his title reign and give it to Ryback, or will he heal up and be able to solider on?
Lastly, the Make-A-Wish segment. That was really cool, and I felt especially proud since I am a man with a physical, life-threatening disability too. So it is really neat to see/read about big celebrities and organizations like WWE Champion John Cena and WWE giving back to help dreams of those who are in serious need/less fortunate. And to see Cena and the boys tonight sincerely enjoy it was truly awesome! Let’s hope they do more of these.
Bogus: The finish to the Bella Twins/Naomi match. That was just a dumb explanation. If everyone complained about the result and were able to change the decision based on that, this world would be a whole lot easier or messed up – depending on the situation! Fandango – I was really liking him, and still am. I think tonight’s segment though toned him down. Plus, where was Chris Jericho to continue the hot feud? Jerry Lawler ordering pizza – that was just lame and really a sad statement on society. As much as I loved the actual match of World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler and United States Champion Kofi Kingston, the idea of “Champion VS. Champion” was really bad in this case, because it hurt whoever lost, as they had just both won a major title and were gaining momentum. They could’ve easily faced someone else to win respectively and saved face. Still an incredible contest!
Again, this was a tremendous Raw, and everyone stepped up their game tonight – keep it up for next week! Until then, as always, be excellent Wrestling-Online readers and wrestling fans!
The stipulation for the World Heavyweight title match at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view was announced yesterday on Monday Night RAW.
The current champ Dolph Ziggler will be defending his gold against Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger in a triple threat ladder match.
The match was chosen by Alberto Del Rio thanks to Ricardo Rodriguez’ victory earlier in the night against Zeb Colter and Big E Langston which gave him the right to pick the stipulation for the title match.
At its Digital Content NewFront presentation held in New York yesterday, Yahoo! and WWE announced a new partnership that will shift a good chunk of WWE’s online video to Yahoo! starting this Summer.
WWE will be producing a 30 minute Monday Night RAW pre-show every week which will air exclusively on Yahoo.com along with two new weekly series of 50 episodes per year.
Apart from the above mentioned, Yahoo! will also have exclusive access to WWE archives of historical full matches, shows, highlights, and other events as well as clips from all WWE television shows and the live pre-show content for every WWE pay-per-view event.
The new partnership with Yahoo! raises questions over WWE’s relationship with YouTube, which is the home to all WWE online shows and where WWE enjoys a large following.
Stephanie McMahon and Big Show were present at yesterday’s Yahoo! event in New York.
Back from a long European tour, John Cena spent no time resting and went straight to NBC’s Today Show to grant a wish on World Wish Day.
The WWE champion – flying in from Poland – surprised a little kid named Nick who has a heart defect and already underwent eight life-saving surgeries. Nick and his family were brought in to the Today Show by the Make-A-Wish Foundation and when asked what was Nick’s wish, the young WWE fan said he would love to meet John Cena.
Cena came out from behind the scenes much to the shock of young Nick who was left speechless with a million dollar facial expression. Cena handed him the WWE title and asked if he’s ever been to Monday Night RAW. Nick said no, so Cena invited Nick, his brother, and their parents, to be his guest for tonight’s RAW in Columbus, Ohio.
The Billion Dollar Princess – Stephanie McMahon – has posed for a pictorial which will appear on RXMuscle.com soon and one published photo shows the the mom of three looking like she can whoop anyone’s ass.
Responding to a fan on Twitter who asked her if the photo is really her, McMahon said it is and more pics and an article about her will soon be posted on the bodybuilding website. Photographed in tiny red shorts and red bra holding a rope in each hand, the WWE Executive Vice President of Creative looks to be in the best shape of her life thanks to her dedication of training in the gym with her husband.
Dwayne Johnson can add another number one movie to his list as Pain & Gain with Mark Wahlberg opened at an estimated $20,000,000 this weekend to grab the number one spot in the box office chart according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
The movie opened with $7.5 million on Friday, $7.37 million on Saturday, and then $5.13 million today from 3,227 screens nationwide. Pain & Gain – from director Michael Bay – had a $26 million budget, a very, very, small budget for a usual Bay movie. It is expected to recuperate the production budget by the end of next week. Pain & Gain will not open worldwide till August and overseas is where movies make the most money.
This was The Rock’s third movie this year so far with Snitch and G.I. Joe: Retaliation being the other two. His fourth movie – Fast & Furious 6 – opens on May 24.
Here are the results from last night’s UFC 159: Jones vs Sonnen pay-per-view which took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Pat Healy defeated Jim Miller via rear naked choke submission in round three; Phil Davis defeated Vinny Magalhaes via a unanimous decision; Roy Nelson defeated Cheick Kongo via a knockout punch in round one; Michael Bisping defeated Alan Belcher via technical unanimous decision after Belcher suffered a poke to the eye in the final round; Jon Jones defeated Chael Sonnen via TKO in round one to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight title.
WWE.COM is reporting that John Cena is suffering from an Achilles tendon injury which he received during the European tour.
“The WWE Champion injured his right Achilles tendon while battling Ryback,” the story on the website states without giving further information about the severity of his injury.
Cena is scheduled to defend the WWE title against Ryback at Extreme Rules.
On the Facebook portion of the preliminaries Steven Siler defeated Kurt Holobaugh by unanimous decision. Also on Facebook Cody McKenzie took the unanimous decision over long time UFC and WEC veteran Leonard Garcia. This was the 5th straight loss for Garcia and that maybe the last of him in the Octagon.
In the first FX fight bantamweights and former TUF team Miller teammates went at it. Johnny Bedford faced off with Brian Caraway whom took the fight on 6 days notice. Caraway dominated the fight with a stifling ground game but was ultimately able to pull out the submission victory by guillotine with 16 seconds left in the fight.
In the women’s bantamweights division Sara McNabb dominated Sheila Gaff as she took her down at the opening bell and pounded Gaff’s midsection till the ref stood them back up. McMann took the fight right back and got the mounted crucifix and pounded away till the ref had seen enough. The finish came at 4:06 by TKO to move Sara to 7-0.
The referee has managed to screw up another fight in MMA as two Strikeforce light heavyweights made there debut in the UFC. Ovince Saint Preux the former University of Tennessee football standout faced Gian Villante. The first round belonged to Saint Preux a he hurt and out struck Villante but in the second Saint Preux tired and Villante took the advantage with leg kicks. In the final stanza the referee didn’t see a second eye poke of the fight this time it was Villante on the receiving end. As Villante stepped back the referee came over and asked Villante if he could see Villante said “no” as in I’ll take the time allowed to recover but rather than give home the time the ref waved off the fight with out even a doctor checking him out or time to recover. Due to it being accidental it goes to the judges scorecards and they scored it 30-28, 30-29 and 29-29 for winner by majority decision Ovince Saint Preux.
In another fight to stop early Yancy Mederos put his hand down to stop himself as he was about to get slammed and broke his thumb. Therefore Rustam Khabilov wins the lightweight match up at 2:32 by TKO in a fight that could have been a good one.
WWE will wrap up its long European tour tomorrow with one final event in Germany before heading home for RAW and Smackdown tapings in Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, on Monday and Tuesday.
Today two shows were held, with the Smackdown brand in Mannheim, Germany, and RAW in Lodz, Poland. The final show is in Cologne, Germany, tomorrow with a 6PM start time.
WWE visited 12 countries in 12 days and by the end of tomorrow the WWE Superstars and Divas would have participated in a total of 22 shows.
WWE has released a one minute trailer for their upcoming straight-to-DVD release 12 Rounds: Reloaded, featuring former WWE and World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton.
Orton will portray the character of Nick Malloy, an EMT who finds himself caught in a deadly 12-round game of cat and mouse with a vigilante tied to the paramedic’s past.
It will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 4, and you can see the trailer below.
Keith Cohen has been a wrestling fan since that fateful day in 1983 when he saw Bob Backlund viciously assaulted by the Iron Sheik. 30 years later, he still loves it just as much. He welcomes you to send all feedback to blackdiamond1974@yahoo.com or on twitter @strutter71.
I’ve written two articles that have been published here in the past two weeks (thanks, Colin!). And while I’ve enjoyed writing them and have gotten some great feedback (both on twitter and via e-mail), neither article really showcased what I love about wrestling.
Last week, I wrote about some of the negativity that gets spewed about across the internet by people who profess to love the industry. In that spirit, I thought I’d spread a little good karma to counteract all those bad vibes. Here, then, are just a few of the positive things I am enjoying about wrestling these days:
1. The Shield. Everything about this faction is working for me. Sure, we’ve seen bands of so-called “outsiders” wreaking this particular brand of mayhem before, but this just seems to have a slightly different feel to it. They’ve resisted the urge to water down the group with additional members, and they’ve been kept strong, winning all of their matches and taking down some top stars. The group’s promos are also strong, and the camera work used in these segments sets them apart from everything else on the show. Most importantly, the group is made up of three young guys who are getting their first real shot at the big time and making the most of it.
2. Rhodes Scholars. Both Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are entertaining as hell. A little while ago, the duo made an announcement that they were no longer going to be a team and were going to part as friends, pursuing singles careers. Thankfully, that idea seems to have been abandoned as the two have been teaming regularly since then. Smart move. I thought it was way too soon to break up such a promising tag team, especially at a time when teams are so desperately needed. Plus, with such a crowded roster, it’s tough to give everyone TV time. More tag matches means more exposure for people who deserve it.
3. Mark Henry. Just a few short years ago, I couldn’t understand why Mark Henry was still on the roster. Now, I never want him to leave. Not much more to say. It’s always tough to invest yourself in a character that contradicts itself. Part of Henry’s problem early on in his career was that he was portrayed as an unstoppable force…and then lost all his matches. At other times, he was a comedy character (Sexual Chocolate, anyone?). It’s been great to see him firing on all cylinders for the last couple of years.
4. Ricardo Rodriguez. Great delivery and facial expressions. I think his character works better as a heel for obvious reasons; it’s always nice to have a guy like him around who can be used by his boss as cannon fodder. But he still makes me laugh, so that’s good enough for me. While we’re talking about humor, add Santino to the list as well. He never fails to deliver the goods.
5. The Tag Team Championship. Although a far cry from where it used to be, the tag titles at least feel a little bit important again, thanks mostly to the efforts of Daniel Bryan and Kane. The duo have quietly put together a nice long reign with the belts and defend them regularly. In fact, they have held the straps for over 7 months now, the longest run since Primo & Carlito back in 2008.
6. Chris Jericho. It’s just ridiculous how good this guy continues to be. He makes every single person he gets in the ring with look like a million bucks, and he clearly has no problem putting anyone over (remember when he lost cleanly to Heath Slater back on NXT?). Speaking of which…
7. Fandango. I must admit when Fandango first made his debut, I was cold on the character. I simply didn’t see how it could work, and his whole “I refuse to wrestle unless you pronounce my name correctly” seemed like it could get real old, real fast. Mercifully, they didn’t carry that on for too long, and putting him into a WrestleMania program with Jericho sure didn’t hurt him, either. On top of that, the former Johnny Curtis seems to have all the skills he needs, both in the ring and on the mic.
8. Dolph Ziggler, AJ, and Big E Langston. I am loving the dynamic among these three, and (finally!) putting the belt on Ziggler is a fitting reward for a guy who busts his ass every single night. I’m hoping he gets a nice long run with the title against a variety of opponents. Much like Jericho, every person who steps in the ring with him automatically looks better as a result.
9. CM Punk. Do I really need to explain this pick? Bonus points for pairing him with Paul Heyman, who is never less than brilliant delivering a promo.
10. The future. WWE got a bit of flack for having too many older or part-time guys on the biggest show of the year earlier this month (Undertaker, Triple H, Rock, Brock Lesnar), and there’s a few more that you figure have to be winding down their careers in the not-too-distant future (Kane, Big Show). The organization seems to be nicely preparing for the years to come, however. A few of the names I mentioned on this list are already carving out a space for themselves on the roster, and I expect them to be huge stars some day soon. In addition, there seems to be a promising group down in NXT that could be big contributors in the years to come. I got to see a few of them up close at WrestleMania Axxess, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for men such as Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Conor O’Brian, and Kassius Ohno, among many others.
While by no means a complete list, those are some things I’m really digging recently. Disagree with any of them? Anything you think I missed? Drop me a note on twitter or e-mail…let’s discuss!
Yesterday afternoon, former WWE champion The Rock held a #RockTalk on Twitter, chatting with fans and answering all kinds of different questions.
Perhaps the most important question out of all the Q&A was when a fan asked him if WrestleMania 29 was the last time that e would see him in the ring.
“Mania may have been my last match,” The Rock wrote. “The 3 year goal was to come in & elevate the @WWE. Then proudly “do the honors,” he said.
The original plan was to have Brock vs Rock at WrestleMania 30 but the injury he suffered prevented from the angle to kick off the night after Mania on RAW. Rock had so far not committed publicly to doing WrestleMania 30 even though he was at the press conference in New Orleans.
