WWE held their Superstars for Sandy Relief event yesterday at the Cipriani Wall Street in New York with a bunch of celebrities attending the event.
Everyone got made up and looked nice as celebrities such as Sean Combs, Snooki, Adrienne Bailon, Rob Zombie, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, Joe Buck, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sammi Giancola and others mingled with seemingly all the WWE Superstars and Divas on the roster.
Present from WWE’s side were Triple H, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Sheamus, The Rock, Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Bella Twins, Kaityln, Alicia Fox, and many many more.
You can see all the auctions available by WWE for the Superstars for Sandy Relief here.
Some photos from last night’s event can be seen below.
Former NFL quarterback – who played with the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals – Kurt Warner will be appearing on Monday Night RAW the night after WrestleMania to promote his new USA Network show.
The Super Bowl MVP XXXIV MVP and champion is the new host of The Moment, a reality TV show that will debt on April 11 which will give ordinary Americans the opportunity to realize their dreams and rewrite their life stories.
The Honky Tonk Man announced on his Facebook page that he has signed a new multi-year WWE Legends deal, allowing WWE to use his likeness in merchandise as well as task him with appearances.
“I am honored to be back with the WWE and am very excited to be teaming up with WWE again for some more Shake, Rattle and Roll,” the self-proclaimed greatest Intercontinental champion of all time said.
“Never say Never in #WWE,” he later added on Twitter, a phrase that many – if not almost all – Superstars say whenever they leave the company.
Honky Tonk Man wrestled for the WWE between 1986 and 1991 and then moved to WCW for a few in 1994 before returning to do sporadic appearances for WWE in 1997.
He still holds the record of the longest reigning Intercontinental champion ever in the WWE, lasting one year, two months, and 27 days, before losing it in 30 seconds to the Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam 88.
The Associated Press published a long article with The Rock yesterday all about WrestleMania 29, one of the perks of having a mega star like him being involved in the show. The article was picked up by several other media outlets.
“It’s the biggest show of my career,” The Rock – who is now 40 – said, revealing that it was his choice who he wanted to wrestle this year on the show.
He said he chose John Cena because it made the most sense and it was the biggest money match WWE could offer right now. Besides that, he said there is deep respect in real life between the two.
“He’s been the No. 1 guy in the company for many years now, and has managed to maintain a genuine, optimistic love for the business,” The Rock said. “Often times, inherently, what the business creates is pessimism over time, and unhappiness. John has been able to stay above that, not get lost in the garbage, and not get lost in the noise. He’s very focused, very committed. There’s an X-factor about John that moves an audience.”
One newsworthy thing in the article was that The Rock hasn’t decided if he will be taking part at WrestleMania 30 next year despite being involved in the press conference when New Orleans was announced.
It is going to be a Harlem Heat reunion at the Hall of Fame on Saturday as it was announced that Stevie Ray, the real life brother and former tag team partner of Booker T will be inducting him.
Ray and Booker made their debut in WCW in 1993 and together they won the WCW tag team titles on 10 separate occasions. Ray retired in 2002 and opened up a wrestling school with Booker called Pro Wrestling Academy in Houston.
With Stevie Ray’s announcement, all Hall of Fame inductees have their presenter chosen.
It looks like WWE has “buckled” under pressure from fans and Mick Foley has been given his Hall of fame spot on the USA Network broadcast which will air this coming Tuesday.
Foley was left out of the one hour edited version of the show and instead Trish Stratus, Donald Trump, and Bruno Sammartino were going to be highlighted.
Foley mentioned that he was going to give it his all to make that decision seem as stupid as it can get and a lot of fans voiced their displeasure at the company for leaving out Foley from the TV broadcast.
“Don’t worry @RealMickFoley – I had a nice talk with @VinceMcMahon and your #WWEHOF speech Will be televised. All is calm, all is bright,” said a tweet from ‘Santa Claus’ which was retweeted by Foley. Foley is really into Christmas in real life.
“Please give @SantaClausWay a follow and thank him for saving #WWEHOF. He never did get me those 2 front teeth, but delivered BIG TIME today,” added Foley afterward, saying that he cannot wait till Saturday.
Impact begins with Aces and Eights walking to the ring. Mr. Anderson is the first person to speak and he calls us all douche bags. When Anderson is a babyface he calls us assholes, but now we’re douchebags. Anderson offers AJ styles an Aces and Eights leather vest.
Devon is also there and he has a mysterious envelope that he says belongs to Brooke. D Lo Brown also has an envelope, but his contains a termination notce. Apparently D Lo is no longer a TNA executive. D Lo wants a TNA official to tell him why he got fired. Kurt Angle comes out and tells D Lo that he’s going to let him know exactly how he feels about him.
Angle enters the ring and takes D Lo down with a double leg takedown and starts pounding him. Aces and Eights beat Angle down until several members of the TNA roster come down to help. Aces and Eight retreat. There will be a 10 man tag match later tonight featuring members of Aces and Eights and TNA.
In the back, Joey Ryan offers Brooke Hogan a lollipop and asks for a favor. Brooke reminds him that she is still technically married, and that she already turned him down. Joey says he wants to referee a Knockouts match.
Brooke is short 1 referee since former Knockouts ref Taryn Terell is now a wrestler. Joeys says he has a shirt and a zebra striped thong that he offers to show; sadly, she doesn’t let him. Brooke finally agrees but makes him promise not to touch them.
Commercial
Match #1: Tara (with Jesse) and Gail Kim versus Velvet Sky and Taryn Terell.
New Knockouts referee Joey Ryan frisks each of the Knockouts before the match and then pats Velvet Sky on the ass. Joey has already broken the no-touch rule and the bell hasn’t even rung yet. Velvet and Tara start the match.
Tara hits Velvet with a chop and Velvet responds with a pair of clotheslines. Velvet puts Tara in a headlock and Joey starts to give her a backrub. Velvet tags in Taryn. Taryn rolls up Tara twice but Tara kicks out. Taryn tags in Velvet and they double team Tara. Velvet goes for a cover but Joey just stares at Velvet’s ass. Ryan fails to call the next pin attempt as well.
Gail seems to be the only one trying to take advantage of Joey Ryan’s sleaziness and starts to flirt with him. Joey separates Tara and Velvet in the corner and gropes Tara a little bit. Jesse finally seems to be getting upset and takes off his shirt so he can confront Joey and show off his pecs at the same time. Tara goes for a standing moonsault and misses.
Tara tags in Gail and Velvet tags in Taryn. Taryn hits Gail with a pair of clotheslines and a suplex. Taryn climbs to the top and hits Gail with a flying crossbody. Taryn mounts Gail and repeatedly slams Gail’s head into the mat.
Tara hits Taryn with a cheap shot and Velvet knocks Tara out of the ring and into Jesse. Gail starts to flirt some more with Joey and Joey thinks he’s getting lucky. Velvet rolls Gail up for what could have been at least a 10 count but Joey doesn’t even notice, he was too busy taking off his shirt and oiling up his chest to notice.
When Joey does turn around, Gail has reversed the pin and Joey makes a very fast count and declares Gail the winner. After the match Joey looks a little sad to see Gail leaving. He doesn’t seem to know he was just used. He also doesn’t seem to mind all that much. Joey starts flirting with Velvet and Taryn, the two women he just screwed out of a match because he was too busy trying to get laid.
Predictably, he gets a nut shot from Taryn.
Commercial
Tag champs Austin Aries and Bobby Roode meet Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez for a tag title contract signing. Aries decides he wants to add some perks and stipulation, and Chavo agrees and adds a few of his own. The winner will now receive a fruit basket, green M&Ms, and more money.
The match will also be 2 out of 3 falls, and if Chavo and Hernandez lose, they can never tag again. Everyone signs, but Hernandez seems concerned.
Commercial
Gut Check is next. This week’s contestants are former NWA champ Adam Pearce and luchadore Magno. We are shown a video package highlighting each wrestler’s career to this point.
Match #2: Adam Pearce versus Magno.
The two men exchange several near falls and reversals early. They start trading strikes and Magno takes Pearce down with a tilt a whirl back breaker. Magno lands a couple punches and tries for a springboard crossbody; Pearce catches him and drops him with a spinebuster.
Pearce lands a punch and Magno responds with hurricanrana, a couple clotheslines, and an Enzuigiri. Magno clotheslines Pearce to the floor and then hits him with a moonsault. Magno goes out after Pearce and then rolls him in. Pearce rolls Magno up and uses the ropes to get a tainted pnfall victory.
Commercial
When we return, Joe Park is telling Kurt Angle he wants to be part of the fight tonight against Aces and Eights. Angle tells Park to follow his lead, and if he sees a shot, to take it.
Hulk Hogan walks to the ring and tells us he is going to listen to his gut from now on, and his gut is telling him to call out AJ Styles. AJ comes out, still carrying the Aces and Eights vest the Mr. Anderson gave him earlier.
Hulk thinks AJ has changed and he wants to know what side he’s on. Hogan wants AJ’s help with Aces and Eights and offers his hand. James Storm comes out and confronts AJ. Storm reminds AJ that they’ve both built this company up from the beginning, and Storm wants to know where AJ stands. Storm threatens to knock AJ out, and AJ just leaves.
Commercial
After the break, Hogan tells us AJ has one week to make up his mind or he’s done.
Match #3: X Division qualifying match: Sonjay Dutt versus Mason Andrews versus Petey Williams.
The action is fast paced with several rollups and near falls. Mason goes out to the floor and Sonjay hits Williams with a dropkick. Williams trips Sonjay into the ropes and hits him with a dropkick. Williams hits Mason with a suicide dive on the floor.
Sonjay springs out to the floor but misses both men and hits the ground hard. Mason rolls Williams in and gets a near fall. Mason stomps Williams and then hits him with a backbreaker. Mason and Williams exchange strikes and Mason gets the edge. Sonjay applies an abdominal stretch to Williams and Mason breaks it up, knocking Sonjay to the floor.
Sonjay springboards back in and knocks both men down with a double dropkick. Sonjay hits Petey with a pendulum kick and knocks him to the floor. Sonjay hits Mason with an inverted DDT and then misses with a moonstomp. Mason hits Sonjay with a flying knee, and Petey hits Mason with the Canadian destroyer for the win!
In the back, Bully Ray is addressing his evil Aces and Eights gang. Bully is in a bad mood because Kurt Angle attacked them earlier and had enough back up to keep them from taking him out.
He wants Angle taken out tonight. Bully also says he misses his wife; she took good care of him. He says after he hands her the envelope he has for her, they can all move forward.
Commercial
Match #4: 10 man tag. Aces and Eights represented by Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, Doc, Knox, and Devon versus TNA represented by Angle, Samoa Joe, Eric Young, Joseph Park, and Magnus.
Angle is in first, and he hip tosses Wes Brisco into the ring. Angle hits Brisco with a few punches and then stomps on him in the corner. Angle hits Brisco. Angle tags in Magnus and Magnus suplexes Bischoff.
Magnus tags in Joe and Joe hits Bischoff with an inverted atomic drop. Magnus hits Bischoff with a boot and Joe hits Bischoff with a splash. Bischoff rakes Joe’s eyes and tags in Devon. Devon gets pummeled by Joe; many punches, an elbow, an Enzuigiri, a kick, and a knee drop.
Devon tags in Knox and Joe hits Knox with a flying knee. Joe tags in Eric Young and Eric flies off the top rope to hit Knox’s arm. Young and Knox trade strikes and Eric whips Knox out to the floor and hits him with a springboard splash.
Commercial
When we return from the break, Eric is in control, but Knox soon hits him with several strikes and knocks him to the floor. Knox rolls Eric in and hits him with a leg drop before tagging in Doc. Doc lands a lot of body punches to Eric in the corner and then punches him in the head.
Doc takes Eric down with a clothesline and then hits him with a splash. Doc tags in Devon and Devon lands several punches. Devon has Eric in a neck pinch but Eric gets out of it with an elbow strike. Devon does a spinarooni and tags in Doc.
Eric hits Doc with a chinbreaker and then an Enzuigiri before tagging in Joe Park. Park lands several punches and clotheslines Doc to the floor. Park hits Wes Brisco with a body slam and a big splash; Devon comes in to save. Everyone gets involved and the action breaks down. Samoa Joe does a sweet suicide dive and bodies fly all over the place until eventually only Devon and Joe Park are left in the ring.
Devon goes for a top rope headbutt and misses. Joe Park starts to climb the rope but stops when he sees Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco enter the ring. Park clotheslines Brisco and Bischoff at the same time but gets hit by Devon with a nut shot. Devon rolls Park up for the win.
In the back, Hulk is talking to his daughter Brooke. Hulk is worried about Brooke going out to meet Bully Ray, but she just wants to get this over with. She thinks Bully has divorce papers and she just wants to sign them and be done with it. She promises to take extra security.
Commercial
When we return, Bully Ray goes to the ring with Brooke’s envelope in hand. Brooke comes out with her bodyguards and Bully happily says “hi Honey!” Bully is shocked that Brooke isn’t wearing her wedding ring.
Bully is wearing his ring and thinks “Brookie” should do what she’s told from now on and wear her ring. Bully also wants to let Brooke know that he does not have divorce papers; he has a front row seat to the Corpus Christi show next week when he defends his title against Jeff Hardy in a full metal mayhem match.
Bully tells her to show up looking her best, because lately she’s been letting herself go a little. Brooke slaps Bully and he laughs at her. Bully calls her pathetic and laughs at her some more. Bully says he is so deep in Brooke’s head she can’t get him out, and he says he’s been in her since day one.
Jeff Hardy has heard enough and comes out to attack Bully Ray. The two men brawl back and forth as Impact goes off the air.
TNA Wrestling announced that it has reached a one year agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group to provide Candlewood Suites as the official hotel partner for TNA’s live events.
“We are really looking forward to this new relationship with TNA IMPACT WRESTLING,” said Robert Radomski, Vice President of Brand Leadership, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. “This partnership provides a fantastic opportunity for IHG – and specifically Candlewood Suites hotels – to showcase talent, production team and fan travel accommodations for TNA IMPACT WRESTLING as they travel throughout the U.S. and around the globe.”
To support the relationship, TNA will promote the hotel on several TNA properties including on the impactwrestling.com website, online shows, and live events.
All TNA Superstars and officials will be staying at Candlewood Suites and other IHG-branded hotels while traveling throughout the year.
Mick Foley is determined to deliver the best speech at the Hall of Fame to let the powers that be know what a stupid decision they made for leaving him out of the Hall of Fame broadcast on USA Network on Tuesday.
“I’ll give the best speech I can, and let the decision makers make the decisions,” Foley wrote after it was revealed that Trish Stratus, Donald Trump, and Bruno Sammartino will be the three headliners on the USA Network one hour broadcast.
“I’ll accept that it was a simply a decision that was beyond my control, and do everything I can – through the passion for my profession – to make that decision look as glaringly stupid as possible,” Foley added.
The addition of Trump and Trish to the broadcast stem most likely from the fact that Vince and Stephanie McMahon will be doing the inductions respectively, raising the profile for both inductees.
The one hour broadcast which airs on Tuesday is always butchered by the WWE crew and all the good stuff is left in the editing room due to the long acceptance speeches and limited amount of airtime. The full Hall of Fame ceremony will be included in the WrestleMania 29 Blu-Ray and DVD release.
While Sean “Diddy” Combs was the only celebrity announced to be appearing at WrestleMania, more names were added today and announced at the WrestleMania 29 press conference which is being held at Radio City Music Hall.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson, actor Charlie Sheen, talk show host Jimmy Fallon, rapper Lil’ Wayne, and reality TV star Snooki were announced as being at WrestleMania and taking part in the show.
Living Colour, the band that plays CM Punk’s theme song “Cult of Personality” will be also performing the song live as part of Punk’s entrance for his match against the Undertaker.
Skyler Grey also announced on her Twitter that she will be performing with Sean Combs at the pay-per-view.
In an interview on her own website at TrishStratus.com, the soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer and former 7-time WWE Women’s champ explained the decision to have Stephanie McMahon induct her in the Hall of Fame.
“As the Hall of Fame is a nod to what one has accomplished in their career, my mind naturally went to Stephanie as there would have never been a Women’s Division to win seven championships and create lasting memories in, without her continuous support of the women in our company,” Stratus said.
In the same interview, Stephanie McMahon said the two were in a storyline together 10 years ago and both started around the same time and very “green” as the word goes.
“Trish is truly a business woman, and as a business woman, I appreciate and respect that, especially as Trish has really done that on her own. She is a strong, powerful, smart woman, and we need more women in leadership roles,” McMahon added.
WWE and Martha Hart have finally ended their legal war out of court with an agreement reached to settle the lawsuit that Martha brought forward against WWE. Terms of the settlement were not announced. The settlement was announced yesterday by Martha Hart, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and his wife and former CEO Linda McMahon according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was regarding WWE’s use of Owen Hart’s likeness and image in the Hart Family DVD that was released years ago.
In April 2012, a federal dismissed part of the lawsuit which involved both McMahons. Hart filed the lawsuit against WWE and the McMahon family when Linda was running for her first Senate seat in 2010.
The judge however allowed part of the lawsuit to stick as Martha was still after WWE for unpaid royalties from the DVD. The majority of the lawsuit had been dropped and even most claims against the company were dismissed, leaving only the unpaid royalties part.
WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt described the lawsuit at the time as a political stunt in an attempt to sabotage Linda McMahon’s now failed Senate run.
Taking advantage of the thousands of people who will be in the New York/New Jersey area for WrestleMania, TNA will be presenting a show tomorrow at the NYCB Theatre in Westbury, New York.
TNA is promoting the non-televised event as the road to Slammiversary during “pro wrestling’s most anticipated weekend in the area in history.”
The show will feature AJ Styles taking on Austin Aries for the first time in TNA while Sting and Jeff Hardy join forces to take on Devon and TNA champion Bully Ray.
Hulk Hogan – who is in the area to do appearances by himself during Mania weekend – will also be part of the show.
WWE’s new video game publishers 2K will be streaming this year’s WrestleMania 29 Superstar Challenge live from Axxess on the Internet.
The WrestlemMnia 29 Superstar Challenge will feature some of the best WWE Superstars and Divas in a WWE ’13 tournament which has become a tradition at every Axxess.
Zack Ryder, Big E Langston, Damien Sandow, and WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn will be a part of the tournament with more to be announced. In total, 16 will be participating in this event and WWE Games Creative Director Cory Ledesma and Interactive Marketing Manager Aubrey Sitterson will provide commentary.
The challenge will go down tomorrow at 9PM EST at Twitch.TV/2K. WWE Diva AJ is the reigning champ.
Actress and TV host Maria Menounos defended the decision of being chosen to induct Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame after critics bashed the appointment.
In a message on her personal Facebook page, Menounos said she knows some people don’t understand why she’s inducting one of the longest reining WWE champs ever.
“Here’s a quick history… I met Bob when I was 19-he starred in my movie, he supported me when I competed at Miss Mass USA pageant and I helped him run for congress,” she wrote. “He’s a dear friend of 14 years and I’m honored to be a part of this historic moment in his career and with the WWE.”
Menounos is probably one of the biggest WWE fans among all the celebrities that have been involved with WWE over the years and participated at a past WrestleMania wrestling with two cracked ribs.
Hundreds of friends, family, and wrestlers attended the 90-minute Reid Flair funeral today at the Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the funeral featured words of remembrance by his sister, girlfriend, and two-time Hall of Fame father.
“I want to make sure he knows this turnout isn’t because of me, it’s because of who he was him and who he affected,” said a subdued and visibly shaken Flair in a more than 10-minute speech about his son.
During the funeral service an 17-minute video slideshow was played showing Reid throughout the years on vacation, wrestling, and with his family.
Several hours ago, TNA President Dixie Carter wrote on Twitter that she was in Charlotte for Reid’s funeral. “Just landed in Charlotte. Headed to Reid Flair’s funeral. Please keep @RicFlairNatrBoy in your thoughts and prayers today.” Flair worked for TNA for a couple of years before departing the company.
“Thoughts and prayers are with Ric and his family,” wrote Hogan, who was not at the service.
It is not known if any from WWE attended the funeral due to the busy WrestleMania schedule but it’s a safe bet that there were some representatives from the company for sure.
Ric Flair will not be a part of WrestleMania Axxess as planned tomorrow due to the death of his son Reid.
Flair was scheduled to be at Axxess from 7:30PM onwards as part of the VIP Autograph Session which was sold out. WWE is not giving refunds and replaced Flair with The Undertaker. He will be there till 9PM. The Undertaker is also scheduled for Friday’s session between 6PM and 7:30PM and is the only one doing double duty at the VIP signings.
Anyone who purchased VIP tickets for Flair will be able to use their existing VIP ticket for the Undertaker session.
WWE is building what is most likely the biggest set in WrestleMania history at the MetLife Stadium, including something new that has never been done before.
Similar to what was done at WrestleMania XX in New York, the backdrop for the stage will be the New York skyline with some 3D landmarks – including a replica of the Empire State Building – rising from the top of the ramp.
The new thing is that on top of the giant structure that covers the ring, there is a huge – and we mean huge – replica of the Statue of Liberty standing tall in the middle as the WrestleMania logos and the New York skyline covers all four top sides of the structure.
You can see a collection of photos of the set being built below.
Note: No one has claimed credit for these photos yet which is why there is no credit mentioned.
With six days away from WrestleMania, Monday Night RAW did not deliver at all even though it was packed with Superstars as the show did 4,305,000 viewers with a 3.12 rating, down from last week’s 3.24 and overall 300,000 viewers less.
Hour one opened with 4,031,000 viewers followed by 4,483,000 viewers in the second hour and then slightly less to 4,402,000 in the third and final hour. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
WWE will hold a WrestleMania press conference on Thursday at 1PM EST live from the Radio City Music Hall in New York which will be streamed live on WWE.COM, Facebook, and YouTube.
Jerry “The King” Lawler will be hosting the press conference which will have appearances from The Rock, John Cena, Triple H, CM Punk, Vince McMahon, and other Superstars and Divas.
Following the press conference, a Q&A session will be held with Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mark Henry, The Usos, and Fandango.
