On Monday night after RAW was over, Michael Moody, one of the sons of Paul Bearer, went on Facebook and wrote that what happened at the end of RAW was totally different than what WWE presented to him and his brother just days after their father died.
“If anyone is wondering, yes WWE did come to us wanting approval for tonight’s storyline. The way it was presented to us was ok. Seeing it on screen was a different story. I don’t even know what to say,” Moody wrote on his Facebook.
The angle he was referring to was when CM Punk attacked the Undertaker with the urn and then proceeded to empty the urn on Taker and rubbing the ash on himself.
WWE today issued an alert to several websites which includes a transcript of the text messages that Michael Moody sent to WWE. WWE stated that they are using the text messages with his permission.
“Hey. I woke up in time to watch the tail end of the show. What you explained would happen happened. Which is fine. Just it was a little difficult to watch it play out,” Moody wrote in his message to WWE.
“I put a message on Facebook last night saying that we approved it but it wasn’t what I envisioned. That I didn’t have anything to say. Well woke up this morning and that quote is being used all over “media outlets”. For the record. I was fine w it. Was hard to watch but y’all are professionals and I trust,” he concluded.
Stephanie McMahon will not be the only McMahon doing the honors at the Hall of Fame this time around as the Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be inducting Donald Trump as well.
“Battle of the Billionaires revisited? I’m honored to be inducting @RealDonaldTrump into the @WWE Hall of Fame this Saturday. #WWEHOF,” McMahon tweeted last night.
Vince and Donald have been friends for a very, very long time and the McMahons are frequent donors to the Trump charities and last year Vince was named as the top donor of the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Trump hosted WrestleMania IV and V back in the late 80s at his Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, the only time location to hold WrestleManias back-to-back.
Tonight is the final stop on the “Road To WrestleMania!” What will go down in the America’s capital for that one last push to the “Granddaddy Of Them All?” Why speculate, let’s just get right to it! Read on, folks!
Monday Night Raw Report for April 1st, 2013 – “Legacy, My Time, and The Will Of The People: WrestleMania XXIX!”
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
One-half of the main event at WrestleMania XXIX kicks off the show. John Cena runs down to the ring, receiving the usual mixed reaction as Michael Cole puts it.
Cena soaks in the cheers and jeers for a bit, calling it “the house divided, ironically enough here in Washington, D.C.” He says there are “Cenacrats” and “Rockpublicans.” While he and WWE Champion The Rock do not like each other, Cena tells us that he does respect him.
He recaps what they were taking shots at each other for last year, but says “those childish games are over because we all know that this is much, much bigger. Rock is the holding, defending WWE Champion.” Cena touts The Rock as the “man who I believe is the greatest WWE Champion of all time.”
While John says this may seem impossible for him to win then, supposedly so was him winning the Royal Rumble, which he did.
Cena says “the great one will fall,” and “The Rock’s time is up, and my time is now!” He outlines how Rock will handle failure after losing at WrestleMania XXIX. He talks about the new WWE Championship itself, and how when he wins the title, he does not intend to change it, but hold it with pride, to prove he is better than The Rock. “This Sunday, even The Rock will know it. It may have been made for him, but the champ is here!”
Michael records Jerry “The King” Lawler picking his choice for the above match, and he chooses history – he chooses The Rock.
Commercials.
Match #1: 6-Man Tag-Team – “3.M.B.” (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, and Drew McIntyre) VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, and The Big Show
Surprisingly, considering we know who wins this one, “3.M.B.” does put up a decent fight. It all ends when Sheamus delivers the “Irish Curse” backbreaker. An R.K.O. to Slater, Brogue Kick to McIntyre, and W.M.D. Punch to Mahal gives the faces the decently easy victory!
Winners via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, and The Big Show
Post-match, “The Shield” walk through and stay with the fans. Dean Ambrose threatens they will leave them “looking up at the sky, wondering where it all went wrong.” Seth Rollins warns them that “justice never lies and we know the truth.”
Roman Reigns informs them that the truth is that their team is “phony.” “When we beat you at WrestleMania, the whole world will believe in ‘The Shield.'”
Later tonight, Hall Of Famer “H.B.K.” Shawn Michaels will give his thoughts on Triple H VS. Brock Lesnar, while up next, the “Real American” Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter express their opinions from near Capital Hill.
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Segment #2: Video Promo
Zeb Colter says that America is broken, much like Ricardo Rodriguez’s ankle. However, Jack Swagger knows how to fix it. Swagger says that “the people have become weak.” He says that change is coming a WrestleMania, where he will break Alberto Del Rio’s ankle, and will stand over him the new World Heavyweight Champion.
“If you people don’t like that, then you people don’t deserve to be real Americans. Welcome to ‘Jack Swagger’s America.’ We the people.”
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
To follow up, Matt Striker interviews the World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio. He says that both he and Swagger have the ability to “freedom of speech.” However, he also has the opportunity to do something about it at WrestleMania. He then calls Zeb Colter a “big fat pinata with a mustache, that I’m about to break.”
Commercials.
Match #3: Single – Tag-Team Champion Daniel Bryan (with “Team Hell No” Team Champion/partner Kane) VS. “The Show-Off/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler (with Big E. Langston and A.J.)
(Note: Bryan made his entrance prior to the break.) Elbow/collar tie-up begin the bout, with Dolph giving Bryan a wristlock and elbowing him on the shoulder. Bryan catches Ziggler out of a leapfrog and slingshots him into the turnbuckle. Daniel kicks away into the corner, to chants of “yes” from the crowd.
He somersaults over Ziggler and tries a “No-Lock” crossface submission, but Dolph gets to the ropes. Instead, he steps on Ziggler’s back thighs. Dolph soon counters into a neckbreaker and runs at Bryan in the corner, but Daniel reverses into the old “Tarantula” submission.
Bryan gets distracted by Langston on the outside, which allows Ziggler to drop him with the Fameasser for a near-fall!
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Back live, they trade punches and kicks, then Bryan moves out of the way of a Dolph splash in the corner. Ziggler rolls through from behind, but gets nailed with another stiff kick in the head.
Bryan ascends the top and flies off with a headbutt, but Dolph moves out just in time! He clamps on the sleeper hold, but Daniel shoves him off into the ropes and locks in the sleeper himself. Ziggler drops him off and turns another crossface attempt into a jacknife cover (thanks Michael!). They end up running into each other with a double crossbody-block.
On the outside, A.J. skips around Kane, giving Big E. a chance to roll-over “The Big Red Machine” with a body block. Ziggler rolls up Bryan from behind for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Show-Off/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler (with Big E. Langston and A.J.)
Post-match, Langston attacks both Bryan and Kane, pushing Kane’s hand off his throat and turning a chokeslam into his flattening finisher. A.J. gives him and Dolph the belts to hold high.
Up next, Shawn Michaels returns!
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
“Mr. WrestleMania” Shawn Michaels is out, looking happy and healthy. He runs down the card of WrestleMania, but points out one match he is very interested in. I think you know which one, but just in case, it is Triple H and Brock Lesnar.
He very concerned about the stipulation of “The Game’s” career being on the line. HHH reassures Shawn that he knows what he’s doing, but Michaels disputes. “H.B.K.” tells him that their situations were different.
In Shawn’s “career threatening match,” he was “heartbroken” (pun obviously intended), and so was his opponent (The Undertaker, at WrestleMania XXVI) because they both had a mutual respect for each other.
This time it’s different, as Shawn says that Lesnar does not respect or care about anyone but himself. “He does this for the money.” Shawn tells Triple H that he put his life on the line, and “you better kick Brock Lesnar’s ass! And unlike SummerSlam, I’m going to be right there in your corner to watch you do it.”
They hug, but are interrupted by HHH’s opponent.
Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar approach the bottom of the ramp, and Heyman proclaims that his client will “beat you into retirement This Sunday at WrestleMania.”
Heyman tells HHH that he will have to live with the disappointment of losing his career, particular his Father-In-Law Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the Board Of Directors, his wife (which he also quips “but you’re probably used to that anyway!”)
He warns and inquires if Shawn really wants to be that close to Triple H, when Brock Lesnar beats him and when he breaks Michaels’ arm again.
“When Brock Lesnar is done with you, you’re going to crawl away. With your tail between your legs – A beaten, battered, emasculated retiree that has disappointed the entire WWE Universe, because you were never ‘man enough’ to beat Brock Lesnar. The very same Brock Lesnar, who after all these years, has forced the ‘Cerebral Assassin’ to commit ‘professional suicide.'”
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Match #4: Single – Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett VS. “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder (Non-Title)
(Note: The Miz, Barrett’s I.C. Title Challenger for WrestleMania, is on commentary.) Wade completely dominates this contest, polishing off Ryder with the “Bull Hammer” elbow. (Miz did provide excellent vocals, putting over both Barrett’s strengths and himself, which is the way it should be done.)
Winner via Pinfall: Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett
Segment #5: Office Promo
Of all people, Santino Marella informs Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero and Assistant-Managing Supervisor Brad Maddox that Mr. McMahon is in town and he is mad, and in a firing mood. And worse, it’s April Fools! Guerrero and Maddox are not pleased with “the joke,” so they book him in a match next!
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Santino Marella VS. “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry
Three words – “World’s Strongest Slam!”
Winner via Pinfall: “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry
Post-Match, Ryback marches on down to face off with Henry. After reminding him they can’t touch each other until WrestleMania, Mark smiles and leaves. Ryback uses intelligence, hitting Henry with Marella, so technically not touching him.
Backstage, Jack Swagger is giving wrestling advice to Zeb Colter, since the mouthpiece will be facing World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio later.
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Segment #6: Backstage Promo
C.M. Punk is asked by Matt Striker if he feels he is disrespecting the memory of the late-great Paul Bearer. The “Straight-Edge Superstar” is only concerned about his legacy.
Punk says he is doing this to get in the head of The Undertaker, since all “The Deadman” has to do is make one mistake, such as a count-out or disqualification and “the streak” is over.
“At the end of this year’s WrestleMania, every time somebody thinks about ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All, every time somebody thinks about WrestleMania, they’re going to think about C.M. Punk.” He kisses the urn to end the interview.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Zeb Colter (with “The Real American” Jack Swagger) VS. World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) (Non-Title)
Zeb and Jack made their entrance prior to the break. Del Rio taunts Colter at first, offering to put his hands behind his back and make it easier. On the outside, Swagger stalks and grabs Rodriguez to distract Alberto. The World Champ saves his buddy, but gets beaten down with Ricardo’s crutches for the DQ.
Winner via Disqualification: Zeb Colter (with “The Real American” Jack Swagger)
Post-match, the two continue to whack their rival with the objects.
Up next, WWE Champion The Rock will give his speech going into WrestleMania XXIX.
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Segment #7: Arena Promo
The WWE Champion The Rock talks about one word – “connection.” He says that he is connected to the people, and it is the will of the people that will help him prevail at WrestleMania.
“The Great One” predicts that maybe he will live in this town, in a particular house, just up the road. You know, a “big, white, house.” Does President “The Rock” read good to you? He says it will be the first time in history that the Presidential Oath will begin with “finally, The Rock has come back to Washington, D.C.”
The Rock warns John Cena that he will not get his redemption, or the proverbial “torch” passed to him. “You cannot deny the will of the people, and you cannot beat The Rock.”
Commercials.
Match #7: Single – “Y2J” Chris Jericho VS. United States Champion Antonio Cesaro (Non-Title)
Lockup between the tow to begin, as they engage in a shove and trade head and leg lock take downs. Resounding chops from Jericho, and he hits a nice dropkick. Cesaro jumps over the ropes to the apron and nails Chris with a headbutt, then ascends the turnbuckle, only to get knocked down. Jericho climbs aboard to and punches away atop the ropes. He brings him down with a top-rope hurricanrana, and receives a two-count!
Fandango’s music plays, and his dancer assistant and himself dance out. This distracts Jericho.
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Cesaro is in control now, stomping on Jericho’s body and bringing him over with a butterfly suplex. Jericho tries a comeback but misses a splash and eats the turnbuckle. The U.S. Champ chucks him into the barricade and rolls him back to the canvas for two.
Cesaro counters a run with a scoop-slam driver for a very lose near-fall! He pounds away on “Y2J” in the corner, but the “Ayatollah of Rock N’ Rollah” gets some momentum, flying off the top with a double axe-handle. He plants Antonio with the running bulldog and a Lionsault, but gets the Walls Of Jericho reversed into a gutwrench suplex.
Jericho counters a run with an elbow and a high crossbody. 1 – 2 – Cesaro kicks out! Jericho baseball slides Fandango down, who had been at ringside “scoring” Jericho on his moves. Jericho gets out of a small package and locks on the Walls Of Jericho for the tap out!
Winner via Submission: “Y2J” Chris Jericho
Post-match, Fandango assaults Jericho like last week, and lays him out with the top-rope legdrop.
Commercials.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler post an announcement that Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley will induct Trish Stratus into the Hall Of Fame. Next, they air some “touts” from fans on their thoughts of Rock/Cena II.
Brodus Clay, Sweet T., and “The Funkadactyls” make their entrance for an upcoming match.
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Match #8: “The Funkadactyls” (Cameron and Naomi) (with Brodus Clay and Sweet T.) VS. The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie) (with “The Rhodes Scholars” [Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow])
Naomi and Nikki start out, with Naomi dominating with a dropkick, “rearview” (jumping rear bump) and hurricanrana. Both Bellas take control with an armdrag flip and legdrop. The ladies go back and forth for a while until Cameron gets tagged in and his a split-legged drop. A Bella Twin reverses a crossbody pin into one of her own for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie) (with “The Rhodes Scholars” [Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow])
Up next, The Undertaker addresses C.M. Punk.
Commercials.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
The Legendary Undertaker makes his way to the ring and takes the microphone. He threatens that compared to his over 400-day WWE Title reign, Punk’s pain after WrestleMania will last forever.
“Defeating you at WrestleMania is no longer good enough. The disrespect that you’ve shown Paul Bearer will cause you to pay the ultimate price. And you just may be right. In my current state of mind, “the streak,” it may come to an end Sunday. But you will never live to talk about it!”
Just now, the familiar chants of the druids blare as they slowly walk out with flaming sticks. They line up on either side of the ramp and wait. Out walks someone dressed up as the late Paul Bearer, which infuriates The Undertaker.
Before he gets his hands on the fake Bearer, he scans around and begins to punch out the druids. One of them attacks from behind, and it is C.M. Punk. He pounds away and it is also revealed to be Paul Heyman dressed as Bearer, as he tosses the Urn to Punk so he can continuously beat him down.
Over a downed ‘Taker, Punk opens the Urn and pours the ashes all over The Undertaker, then spreads them on himself too, as Heyman looks on, closing the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Raw was decent enough tonight to finish off before WrestleMania. It tied up all the loose ends and/or left us hanging until the pay-per-view. I will say this was average, mainly because we already know the card and build for the big show (no pun intended!), so it was really just a matter of “getting there” one last time. Onto the particulars and then the top WrestleMania XXIX predictions (too many matches, so just going with the “must-sees.”)
Excellence: John Cena’s opener. I loved this promo and as I always say when he gives a passionate speech, THIS is the John Cena I love to hear and watch. The man who exclaims his die-hard desire to always be on top and always be in professional wrestling.
Once again, Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter/Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodriguez can do no wrong! I also loved both their segments/match simply because it is old school storytelling – two guys fighting over a championship with a twist of realism – and one that is actually realistic! I would love this feud to continue and will tell you how it should in my predictions.
Dolph Ziggler/Daniel Bryan was a great match! “The Shield” were superb in making genuine points about them being an actual team, compared to Orton/Sheamus/Big Show who are just thrown together to defeat a “force.” The continuity with Shawn Michaels backing Triple H against Brock Lesnar was perfect. I was surprised/happy because having “H.B.K.” puts a close to the storyline, no matter who wins.
Interactions (or lack there of according to their storyline) between Ryback and Henry. Aside from one instance where Ryback quickly downed Henry, I love how they made them not touch each other, that way they created the suspense of when the two behemoths engage.
The second-half of The Rock’s promo – when he finally got talking about the people and defeating John Cena, that’s what I liked because that was relevant to WrestleMania.
As always with Chris Jericho, he can produce a great match with anyone, and tonight was no exception with Cesaro!
Bogus: In general, all the other matches because they were just build up and had no “heat” between them.
On The Fence: C.M. Punk/Paul Heyman/The Undertaker – to be quite truthful, I see both sides. I highly, highly believe they did go a bit too far here with Heyman dressing as the late-great Paul Bearer and using the voice over. However, with the Urn incident at the end, I and you all know of course that those weren’t Bearer’s ashes (nor hopefully was it even insinuated like that), so that did not offend me at all. Plus, again, William Moody’s children have approved the storyline, so that does ease the situation. I also do like Punk’s explanation that he is doing this to get in The Underatker’s head and one small mistake can cost him “the streak.” It is also much like Swagger/Del Rio and Ryback/Henry, an old-style story with two guys fighting over something significant, with mind games and “one-upsmanship`s” to get the better of each other.
WrestleMania XXIX Predictions:
The Rock defeats John Cena – I say this because he already beat him last year, and I really don’t want to see a third match if Cena beats Rock, tying the 1 – 1. As I truly believe, this SHOULD’VE been last year, ONCE IN A LIFETIME, with CENA winning. Plus, they can play it as the one man Cena can’t beat is The Rock. Enough said.
Jack Swagger wins the World Title – I think this must happen to continue the hot, hot and awesome storyline between him and Alberto Del Rio. Again, they can do no wrong!
The Undertaker continues his streak – I’m just not feeling the “suspense” of C.M. Punk being “the guy” to end the 20 – 0 win yet. Plus, as my Dad said, if they decide to break it at all, the honour should go to someone who NEEDS it to elevate him. (Read: Dolph Ziggler?)
“The Shield” over Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show
Brock Lesnar needs to win if he is going to stick around. If this happens, then the potential for feuds can open up (read: Rock/Lesnar/Championship II)
All in all, a pretty good Raw to “go home” for WrestleMania XXIX, and we shall see how the landscape has changed again in 7 days! Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
In a press release issued today, WWE officially unveiled the record-level of digital and social media initiatives that will happen during this WrestleMania week.
Among the stuff that WWE is producing are embeddable content widgets delivered through Yahoo! for blogs, new Facebook game, WrestleMania interactive press conference, the monitoring 24/7 of @AskWrestleMania for support, additional mobile bandwidth at MetLife Stadium, new social media channels, and more.
You can see a list of all WWE’s initiatives below.
VINCE MCMAHON JOINS TWITTER
Last night on Monday Night Raw, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon officially joined Twitter (@VinceMcMahon). McMahon will reward his followers by making a “big announcement” (#bigreveal) on his official Twitter account on Friday, April 5.
WRESTLEMANIA PAY-PER-VIEW NOW AVAILABLE GLOBALLY ON MOBILE, PLUS XBOX AND SAMSUNG SMART TVS
For the first time, WWE is streaming WrestleMania 29 across all Apple, Android and Windows 8 devices and Kindle Fire tablets. The pay-per-view will also be available on Xbox consoles and Samsung Smart TVs, inside “Xbox Live” and the Samsung “Smart Hub.”
WWE FORGES PARTNERSHIPS WITH YAHOO! AND AOL, OFFERS WRESTLEMANIA DIGITAL TOOLKIT TO BLOGGERS
In anticipation of WrestleMania 29, Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com/wwe-wrestlemania-29/) and AOL have launched all-new channels featuring video content of WWE’s most popular Superstars. Also, for the first time ever, WWE is providing blogs and news sites an embeddable content widget that delivers up-to-the-minute news, photos and videos of WWE events leading up to and through WrestleMania.
NEW FACEBOOK GAME LETS FANS COMPETE TO LEAD THE WWE UNIVERSE
WWE’s new Facebook application, “Superfan Showdown,” lets players from around the world compete in fast-paced interactive trivia challenges, rapid-fire polls, mind-bending puzzles and much more. As fans go head-to-head, they earn points, climb the global leaderboard and accumulate “WWE Cash,” which can be spent to purchase exclusive virtual goods, including: limited edition badges, rare Superstar trading cards, and never-before-seen WWE video content.
WRESTLEMANIA 29 INTERACTIVE PRESS CONFERENCE
The WrestleMania 29 press conference at Radio City Music Hall will live stream on YouTube, Facebook and WWE.com on Thursday, April 4 at 1 p.m. ET. The interactive press conference will feature fan questions submitted via Twitter and answered live by WWE Superstars, including John Cena, The Rock, CM Punk and Triple H.
WRESTLEMANIA 29 ONLINE PRE-SHOW EXPANDS TO ONE-HOUR
WWE will host a live one-hour WrestleMania pre-show on Sunday, April 7 starting at 6 p.m. ET. In addition to the simulcasts on YouTube, WWE.com and Facebook, coverage will also stream on Yahoo! and AOL for the first time. The online-only broadcast will feature a live WWE Twitter ticker and a text-in-to-win campaign that will award 30 lucky fans with an all-expense paid trip to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans.
WWE SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADORS
This year, a wide-range of digitally savvy celebrities and athletes are serving as official WrestleMania Week social media ambassadors, tweeting from the floors of WrestleMania Axxess, WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Superstars for Sandy Relief party, Be a STAR anti-bullying rallies, WrestleMania Reading Celebration, WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals and at WrestleMania 29. Celebrities include Charlie Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Larry King, Seth Green, Perez Hilton, Piers Morgan, Michelle Beadle, Maria Menounos, Mike Tyson, Snooki, Lil Wayne and Jenny McCarthy.
SOCIAL MEDIA “HOSPITALITY CENTER” OFFERS NY/NJ FANS 24/7 SUPPORT
WWE will host and monitor an online “Hospitality Center” throughout WrestleMania Week, offering real-time support to fans who post event-related questions to @AskWrestleMania on Twitter. The WWE Universe can also check into the official WWE App, which will house a special WrestleMania section highlighting arena maps, event schedules, weather alerts and up-to-date ticket information.
MOBILE POWER UPGRADES
WWE will bolster the amount of mobile bandwidth and access points at MetLife Stadium, ensuring that fans will be able to participate in all of the social media initiatives at WrestleMania 29. WWE’s efforts to provide exceptional service, includes re-positioning Wi-Fi and cell antennas within the stadium, providing 10 times the bandwidth typically available at the stadium, and adding new hardware and a mobile cell station.
WWE LAUNCHES ALL-NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
For the first time ever, WWE will integrate Pinterest, Tumblr and Pheed into WWE’s extensive WrestleMania 29 social media coverage.
“COMING HOME” CROWDSOURCING PROJECT IS LIVE
“Coming Home” is WWE’s first major WrestleMania crowdsourcing initiative, a poignant video featuring photos sent by thousands of international fans who were encouraged to pose in front of famous landmarks and hold signage displaying their mileage from MetLife Stadium. The photos were woven together to the tune of “Coming Home” by Diddy Dirty Money, an official theme song of WrestleMania 29, and released today on WWE’s official YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/wwefannation).
HIDE-AND-TWEET CONTESTS TO GIVE AWAY LAST-MINUTE TICKETS
Beginning today, WWE will host three interactive “Hide and Tweet” contests in the New York and New Jersey area, giving fans the opportunity to win pairs of tickets to sold out sessions of Axxess, WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and WrestleMania 29. Fans can follow @WWE to find clues revealing the whereabouts of the tickets or enter WWE’s global hashtag contest for a chance to win free online codes for the WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view on Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. ET.
OFFICIAL WRESTLEMANIA-WEEK HASHTAGS
#WRESTLEMANIA – All-purpose WrestleMania-week hashtag
#AXXESS – WrestleMania Axxess hashtag
#WWEHOF – WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony hashtag
#STARS4SANDY – Superstars for Sandy Relief party hashtag
WWE and The Rock today announced their first ever 3D action mobile game titled “WWE Presents: Rockpocalypse,” featuring, of course, The Rock.
The free game is available for iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes App Store or Google Play. In-app purchases are available to enhance gameplay. The app was built in partnership with Thruster, a division of BottleRocket. BottleRocket created the WWE Active app that is plugged multiple times on every WWE show.
“This is WWE’s first ‘action strategy’ game and we’re thrilled that WWE Champion The Rock is right at the center of it,” said Perkins Miller, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Digital Media. “Our fans have come to expect compelling content from WWE on every platform and this high energy game with customizable experiences will once again deliver.”
The game takes place on the set of a fictional Hollywood studio where The Rock is filming his latest blockbuster. Without warning, everyone around him is infected with a disease and starts changing into destructive personalities. The Rock must discover the truth behind the contagion and put an end to it.
“I am excited to partner with WWE and some of the best game developers in the world to bring something cool for fans to play,” said The Rock. “Boots to Asses style app, this will be fun!”
Reid Flair’s funeral will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 3, at the Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The funeral will be open to family and friends while the burial that will follow will only be for family members.
Speaking of family, his sister Ashley, who wrestles for NXT under the name of Charlotte, wrote on Twitter the day after Reid passed away saying, “Thank you everyone for your kind words. Reider, you’ll always be my heart & soul champ…”
Any donations will be given to Charlotte’s Police Athletic League in Reid Flair’s name.
(LAS VEGAS, NV) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship presents its eighth UFC Fan Expo event on Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Also, slated for July 6 is UFC 162: SILVA vs. WEIDMAN at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“We love giving UFC fans unprecedented access to our sport and athletes,” UFC President Dana White said. “This July, we are planning the ultimate fan experience that includes UFC 162, the UFC Fan Expo which will feature more UFC fighters than any other UFC fan event EVER, and a Fight Week featuring pool parties, concerts and more. This is an absolute insane week for UFC fans around the world!”
UFC Fan Expo 2013 will feature more than 300,000 gross square feet of activities for UFC fans, including meet and greets and autograph sessions with top UFC fighters, Q&A sessions with top UFC personalities, as well as grappling tournaments and other special events. More than 150 exhibitors will also be on hand, giving fans the opportunity to purchase and experience some of the best sports and lifestyle products on the market today. This marks the fourth UFC Fan Expo® held in Las Vegas since its inception in 2009, with additional UFC Fan Expos being held in Boston, London, Toronto and Houston.
On top of all the great fan activities, the UFC Fan Expo® will be held in conjunction with UFC 162: SILVA vs. WEIDMAN scheduled for July 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) will take on top contender Chris Weidman (9-0) as he looks to extend his record for most consecutive wins (16), title defenses (10), most finishes (14) and longest title reign. Two other exciting middleweight bouts are confirmed for the card, as Tim Boetsch faces Mark Munoz and Roger Gracie squares off with Tim Kennedy.
Tickets for the UFC Fan Expo 2013 are on sale NOW at www.ufcfanexpo.com. Tickets for Friday, July 6 are priced at $40, while tickets for Saturday, July 7 are priced at $45. A two-day pass is also available and is priced at $60. Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets now and save, as ticket pricing will increase at the door. VIP packages for the UFC Fan Expo are also available at www.ufcfanexpo.com.
For more information on UFC Fan Expo and to purchase tickets, visit www.ufcfanexpo.com. To subscribe to the official UFC Fan Expo newsletter visit www.ufcfanexpo.com/newsletter. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Brian Bernstein, Sales Executive at 203-840-5474 or email bbernstein@ufcfanexpo.com. Don’t wait, space is limited and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Intercontinental title match between The Miz and Wade Barrett has been bumped off the pay-per-view and is now part of the pre-show festivities.
The pre-show will kick off at 6PM EST with the pay-per-view starting an hour afterward. In the past, pre-show matches occupied part of the 30 minutes countdown show however this time around it has been extended for an hour.
The pre-show will air on WWE.COM, YouTube, Facebook, and the WWE app free of charge.
It’s interesting to note that The Miz went from headlining WrestleMania 27 against John Cena in Atlanta to just wrestling on the pre-show two years afterward. Ouch!
Fans inside the MetLife Stadium will sit in the cold for a pretty cool five hours in total if they attend the pre-show as well. Good times!
Stephanie McMahon will be the one inducting former seven time Women’s champion Trish Stratus into the WWE Hall of Fame this coming Saturday in Madison Square Garden.
“I’d be honored if @StephMcMahon would be a part of the biggest nite of my career & inducts me into @WWE #HOF, Steph will u do me the honor?” Trish wrote on her Twitter account yesterday.
Stephanie replied on Twitter saying, “Yes!!! It would be my pleasure to induct one of the greatest Divas of all time in to the #WWEHOF #overwhelmed #honored.”
The tweet however vanished from Stephanie McMahon’s timeline on Twitter and can only be seen if you use Twitter’s search feature for part of the quote.
The two enjoyed a big rivalry during the WWE Attitude Era including sharing one of the best backstage segments when Steph caught Trish being “coached” by Triple H who were both in a rather compromising position.
Last week after an interview with Wrestling News Live, Trish expressed her desire off the air that her longtime rival Lita would be the one inducting her in the Hall of Fame.
TMZ has released the chilling audio of Ric Flair after he dialed 911 to report that his son was “out cold” inside the Residence Inn Southpark in Charlotte, last week.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer was the one who found his son laying dead in his hotel room and frantically called 911 for help.
“He’s out cold, he’s out cold, and he’s purple, please!” Flair said as the 911 operator transferred him to a medic for assistance.
Flair got frustrated after the medic asked for his address, with Flair repeatedly saying he doesn’t know what the address is and kept asking the medic, “What are you waiting for?”
Meanwhile, Newsday got their hands on the police report which was compiled by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s South Division and lists that Flair was pronounced dead at the scene by a medic at 10:40AM.
The time of incident was very vague and had a time frame between 1:30AM to 10:35AM when Ric logged in the 911 call. Under the category “incapacity types” for Flair, “drugs” is the only word noted.
NorthJersey.com has an article regarding the economy that WrestleMania 29 will leave in the New York and New Jersey areas as thousands upon thousands of fans from around the world descent into the cities for the showcase of the immortals.
WrestleMania is estimated to give the New York City and North Jersey economies a lift of $100 million or more from spending on hotels, meals, rental cars and shopping, officials have said.
The article states that around 36 hotels within seven miles of the MetLife Stadium are all sold out for the weekend.
“For us it’s all about heads in beds,” said James Kirkos, head of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce.
WWE issued a press release today announcing the multiple appearances of several WWE Superstars and Divas throughout the New York area.
WWE will be taking over the city visiting the Empire State Building, the Lexington Avenue Armory, several children’s hospitals, Radio City Music Hall, Wall Street, Liberty Science Center and others.
It is going to be a wild and crazy week for everyone involved at WWE and it will take some serious management to keep up with all the appearances and media throughout the day.
The full list of the schedule can be seen below.
Empire State Building Lighting Photo Op – Tuesday, April 2, New York, NY
WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto del Rio, and his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, will pose for photos on the Empire State Building’s world-famous 86th floor Observatory. On Sunday, April 7, the exterior lights of the Empire State Building, above the 72nd floor, will be lit in the WrestleMania logo colors of blue and yellow, starting at sunset through 2 AM ET the next day in honor of WrestleMania 29 which airs live on pay-per-view at 7 PM ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Military Meet & Greet – Wednesday, April 3, Lexington Avenue Armory
WWE will hold a meet and greet reception for NY National Guard First Responders to 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. WWE Superstars and Divas will participate in the event, sign autographs and take photos.
Children’s Hospital Visits – Wednesday, April 3
WWE Superstars, along with Elvis Duran, from Z-100’s Elvis Duran show, will visit St. Mary’s Hospital in Bayside. Also on Wednesday April 3, WWE Superstars and Divas will visit with patients at New York Presbyterian, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York City. On the other side of the Hudson River, WWE will visit children at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Don Imus Building and Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Medical Center.
WrestleMania 29 Press Conference – Thursday, April 4, Radio City Music Hall
Days before Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson defends the WWE Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania 29, the two celebrated icons will come face-to-face at Radio City Music Hall. The WrestleMania headliners will be joined by the biggest names in WWE to offer a preview of this year’s event. The press conference will also be streamed live on wwe.com, YouTube and Facebook.
Superstars for Sandy Relief – Thursday, April 4, Cipriani Wall Street Entertainment powerhouse Sean “Diddy” Combs will co-host a Superstars for Sandy Relief (#STARS4SANDY) party with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and special guest Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at Cipriani Wall Street. On March 25, WWE kicked off the largest ever global online auction to benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts in New York and New Jersey at www.Charitybuzz.com/WWE. The auction features unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences with WWE Superstars and other international sports and entertainment celebrities. During the Superstars for Sandy Relief party, a live auction will be led by sportscaster Joe Buck, where more incredible experiences will be made available for bidding. All proceeds will go to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
Be a STAR Anti-Bullying Rallies – Thursday, April 4 and Friday April, 5
Be a STAR (Show Tolerance and Respect) was co-founded by The Creative Coalition and WWE in April 2011. WWE and The Creative Coalition will host anti-bullying rallies at New York and New Jersey schools. WWE will visit I.S. 51 Edwin Markham in Staten Island and Elliott School in Newark, NJ to deliver anti-bullying messages to more than 500 students. Also for the first time ever, WWE will host a Be a STAR rally at WrestleMania Axxess on Friday, April 5 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. Students from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manhattan and New Jersey will participate in the rally and attend WrestleMania Axxess.
WrestleMania Axxess – Thursday, April 4 – Sunday, April 7, IZOD Center
Get ready for a brand-new WWE fan experience when WrestleMania Axxess (#AXXESS) takes over IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., from Thursday, April 4, to Sunday, April 7. This will be the first time in its history Axxess will be held inside an arena, giving fans the opportunity to see the full RAW stage on display during the event. This year, the WWE Universe will get unprecedented access to meet their favorite WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends, with more matches than ever before and interactive activities all throughout the arena.
NYSE Closing Bell – Friday, April 5 – New York, NY
WWE Superstar John Cena will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in recognition of WrestleMania 29 which airs live on pay-per-view from MetLife Stadium on Sunday, April 7 at 7PM ET. John Cena will be accompanied by executives from Susan G. Komen for the Cure and breast cancer survivors. Under Cena’s leadership, WWE worked to help raise $1 million dollars for breast cancer research and create awareness about the importance of early detection during breast cancer awareness month this past October.
WrestleMania Reading Challenge – Friday April, 5 and Saturday, April 6
On Friday, April 5, WWE, Pearson Foundation and We Give Books will host a reading celebration with students at Thomas G. Connors Elementary School in Hoboken, NJ. In addition to the reading celebration, the school will be the recipient of a book grant from the Pearson Foundation. As part of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, a new digital reading platform was created this year in partnership with We Give Books. More than 25,000 students participated, reading over 110,000 books.
The eighth annual WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals will take place on Saturday, April 6 in the Aronow Theater at City College in New York City. More than 1,000 libraries from across the United States and Canada participated in this year’s WrestleMania Reading Challenge through the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. Eighteen finalists will compete to win ringside seats to WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, April 7 at 7 PM ET.
Make-A-Wish Pizza Party – Saturday, April 6, Liberty Science Center
WWE Superstars John Cena, Santino Marella and R-Truth will host this year’s annual Make-A-Wish pizza party for more than 40 wish kids and their families from the United States, Belgium and Australia. As part of its 30-year partnership with Make-A-Wish, WWE is also hosting the wish children and their families at WrestleMania 29. This year’s pizza party will also help launch Make-A-Wish’s World Wish Day campaign to raise airline tickets, a critical wish resource, through cash and airline mile contributions during the month of April.
WWE 2013 Hall of Fame Ceremony, Saturday, April 6, Madison Square Garden
A capacity crowd will fill Madison Square Garden for the 2013 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (#WWEHOF). WWE Superstars and global celebrities will pay tribute to icons of the past including Bruno Sammartino, who will be inducted by Arnold Schwarzenegger; Bob Backlund, who will be inducted by Maria Menounos, Donald Trump, Mick Foley, Trish Stratus and Booker T.
Empire State Building Lighting, Sunday, April 7, New York, NY
In celebration of WrestleMania 29, the exterior lights of the Empire State Building, above the 72nd floor, will be lit in the WrestleMania logo colors of blue and yellow, starting at sunset through 2:00 AM ET the next day.
WrestleMania 29, Sunday, April 7, MetLife Stadium
More than 75,000 fans are expected to converge on MetLife Stadium for WrestleMania 29 (#WRESTLEMANIA). This year’s pop-culture extravaganza, which can be seen live on pay-per-view at 7 PM ET in more than 100 countries and 20 languages, will feature the highly anticipated re-match between The Rock and John Cena for the WWE Championship. The pay-per-view is available through cable, satellite or telco providers and on Xbox consoles and Samsung Smart TVs, inside “Xbox Live” and the Samsung “Smart Hub” respectively.
WWE Monday Night Raw, Monday April 8, IZOD Center
The night after WrestleMania, WWE Monday Night Raw (#RAW) comes to IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. See all of your favorite WWE Superstars and Divas as the road to WrestleMania 30 begins. WrestleMania 30 will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, April 6, 2014.
Tonight, WWE will tape Monday Night RAW live and then tape parts of Smackdown which will air on Friday night along with scenes from Axxess later in the week.
RAW is stacked with everyone – including The Rock, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Triple H – all scheduled to appear for the final push for WrestleMania which is just six days away.
The show is sold out from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and fans attending the tapings are going to sit for a very, very long show.
Jerry “The King” Lawler has opened up a wrestling museum in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee, with a bunch of his wrestling memorabilia put on display.
The museum – launched yesterday – is located at Wynn Automotive at 1831 Getwell Road and has a free entrance for walk-throughs. Merchandise and other items are available for sale.
“There is a lot of stuff, you could spend a lot of time in here, so if you’re really a wrestling fan or a Jerry Lawler fan, there is a lot to see,” Lawler told WREG TV, the local CBS affiliate.
The museum will be open Mondays to Saturdays from 9AM to 6PM.
You can see the video report from WREG TV about the launch, including a talk with Lawler and a preview of the museum below.
Dwayne Johnson rocked the box office with his G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie this weekend, climbing to the top chart with over an estimated $51,000,000 in box office revenue according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
The movie – starring The Rock, Channing Tatum, and Bruce Willis, and directed by Jon Chu – however opened less than the original G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which did $54,713,046 in its opening weekend in 2009.
Despite opening a bit lower than the first movie, Retaliation is predicted to do much more money than its predecessor and it cost lest to produce as well. The 3D addition to the movie is also adding to the revenue since 3D tickets are more expensive.
The movie opened in several foreign countries as well and preliminary estimates for the weekend show that it did an additional over $80,000,000 million worldwide, sending its total to over $132 million.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation had a production budget of $130 million versus the $175 million for The Rise of Cobra. The first G.I. Joe movie did a worldwide box office of $302,469,017 in its full theatrical run.
WWE has been nominated for six awards at the fifth-annual Shorty Awards, which honor the best in social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing real-time short content across Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare and the rest of the social web.
WWE has been nominated for outstanding work in the following categories: Best Overall Brand Presence on Twitter, @WWE on Twitter; Best use of a Hashtag, WWE and Komen for the Cure team up for #RiseAboveCancer; Best Overall Brand Presence on Facebook, WWE’s Facebook Page Network; Best use of Social Media for Television, WWE’s Social Integration on WWE Raw and Smackdown; Best use of Social Media for Video Games, Be on the Cover of WWE ’13; and Best Branded YouTube Channel, WWE on YouTube. The Shorty Awards event will take place on April 8 in New York City.
“We are excited that WWE has been nominated in so many categories by the Shorty Awards,” said Perkins Miller, Executive Vice President of Digital Media, WWE. “The digital team has worked hard on all the initiatives, and we look forward to continuing to push the level of creativity and content through multiple platforms.”
There have been no new developments on the tragic death of Reid Flair, who passed away yesterday at the age of 25 at a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Reid and his father, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, were scheduled to be part of two events for the Big Time Wrestling promotion in Hagerstown, Maryland, yesterday night and tonight in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Obviously Ric Flair canceled his appearances due to the circumstances. Ric was also scheduled to be a part of a meet and greet on Friday, April 5, at the The Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. It’s not known if Flair will cancel all his appearances next week including those for WWE during WrestleMania weekend.
Meanwhile the mainstream media picked up on the passing of the young Flair with the Examiner, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Charlotte Observer, Huffington Post, Associated Press, and others all posting stories.
A new backstage interviewer made her debut on Smackdown last night although she has been working for WWE for a few months.
Renee Paquette, who goes by the name of Renee Young in WWE, was involved in a backstage segment on the show, interviewing Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show. She was signed by WWE in October of last year from The Score in Canada and in February of this year she started being featured in interviews on the WWE Active app.
“Wow!! Seriously, thanks for all the tweets about making my debut on #Smackdown. Very cool! Let’s all hug in a totally friend-zone kinda way,” she wrote on Twitter after a wave of fans congratulated her after her appearance.
She seems like she’s a permanent interviewer on the blue brand now as Michael Cole congratulated her on Twitter saying it is going to be a “fun ride on Smackdown,” while JBL wrote about she doing a great job.
Renee has previously done NXT and appeared on WWE’s international broadcasts as well on the pay-per-view pre-shows. You can see a few photos of her from our original story from last year at http://w-o.it/QlqaYU
WWE yesterday announced the hiring of Gerrit Meier as Executive Vice President of WWE International. Meier will report directly to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
As the head of the International division, Meier will be a key member of WWE’s senior management team. He will be responsible for growing WWE’s brand and business outside of the U.S. with the primary focus on expanding the company’s international television distribution agreements. Meier will also manage the continued advancement of WWE’s international licensing, live events, digital and publishing operations.
Meier brings nearly 20 years of experience in this field and prior to joining WWE he held senior leadership positions and expanded the international footprint of several well-known companies such as Spotify, Clear Channel and Bertelsmann.
