The RAW crew will be leaving for a short three-day tour in Qatar and Turkey which will kick off on Thursday.
On February 21 and February 22, WWE will host two non-televised live events at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar, followed by another non-televised live event on February 23 at the Ulker Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.
Tours to these countries bring in a lot of revenue for WWE which is why even a short three-day tour across the other side of the world makes sense financially.
It was only a matter of time till the WWE jumped on the Harlem Shake bandwagon. The U.S. Marines did it. The U.S. Navy did it. The U.S. Army did it. Hell, even Pepsi and its cans digitally danced to it.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, there is a new version of the Harlem Shake – WWE style! WWE Superstars, Divas, and even referees got it on it to shake their stuff to the latest Internet craze.
The WWE spinner title that is attributed to John Cena is no more as a new WWE belt made its debut last night on RAW.
Taking a more “traditional” look than any of the past few WWE titles, the new belt features a very large center plate with a huge WWE logo and “champion” written in the bottom. The outer ring of the plate is all “diamonds.”
On each side of the big center plate are two other plates, which feature a brahma bull. Previous WWE titles featured 4 plates apart from the big center one, and one of them even had five, but the new title has only three just like the World Heavyweight title.
The spinner WWE title was introduced in 2005 after John Cena became the WWE champion. It remained the same since then except for when Edge was a champion and had his own Rated-R spinner title.
You can see a photo of The Rock posing with the new title below.
One of the pluses of having The Rock as the WWE champion is the added exposure that he gives to the WWE at the several media interviews he does to promote his upcoming movies.
In a sit-down interview to promote the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie, The Rock showed up with the WWE title and even tweeted a picture of the title resting comfortably on his knee as the G.I. Joe poster stood in the background.
The photo was the first one for The Rock on his brand new Instagram account. “Rock. You. Instagram. We’re open for business… #InstagramGetsRocked,” wrote Rocky. You can see the photo at http://instagram.com/p/V2drXfoh0r/
In a press release issued today regarding WrestleMania XXX, it was revealed that the WrestleMania Axxess will be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. This year’s Axxess is being held inside an arena – the IZOD Center – rather than in a convention center for the first time since the company started the concept at WrestleMania 18.
“WWE thanks the city of New Orleans and the Saints for welcoming our biggest celebration of the year for the first time to The Big Easy,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “We can’t think of a better city or a more legendary venue than the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to host the 30th annual WrestleMania. Let the good times roll.”
RAW will be held at the New Orleans Arena however location for the Hall of Fame ceremony which happens the day before WrestleMania wasn’t announced. It is likely to be held at the New Orleans Arena as well.
“On behalf of our great city, we thank WWE for bringing their largest annual celebration to New Orleans in 2014,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “We are proud to have played host to some of the greatest sports and entertainment events in the world over the past two years, and hosting WrestleMania is a great way to continue this unprecedented streak. We look forward to hosting WWE and its global fan base as they celebrate this historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”
Ric Flair has filed documents asking the judge for a protective order against his fourth wife Jackie, who he claims she is an alcoholic who beat him several times.
In his response to her separation papers, TMZ.COM is reporting that Flair called his soon-to-be ex-wife “cruel” and “barbarous,” and her drunk antics during their marriage endangered his life. He mentioned that in 2010, she blasted him with a glass object, breaking it over his forehead, and had to seek medical attention. Flair also noted that Jackie was arrested for a DUI in the past.
Apart from the protective order, Flair wants the separation agreement that he signed in October 2012 void. In that agreement, he promised to pay Jackie tens of thousands of dollars. He said he can’t afford to pay her because she went on a badmouthing spree in the media which cost him endorsement contracts.
TMZ reached out to Jackie and said the allegations are 100% false and the former 16 time champion is just using them as a trick to avoid paying the money she’s entitled to.
WWE held a press conference at Noon today at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to announce that WrestleMania 30 will be coming to New Orleans on April 6, 2014.
John Saboor, the WWE Senior Vice President of Special Events hosted the press conference and invited New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to the stage for the announcement.
Landrieu said that New Orleans held 25 of the biggest events in the world in the past 14 months and then proceeded to announce that WrestleMania is coming to town. He then introduced WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, who said that this press conference will be a bit different than what most reporters are used to.
McMahon made that comment referring to Brodus Clay with Naomi and Cameron, kicking off the event dancing followed by R-Truth coming out to rap later on.
The Chairman said that he had a discussion with the company’s Chief Financial Officer a while back about his job description to which McMahon said that everyone’s job description in the WWE – from the mail man to the CFO – is to make people smile because “that’s what we do.”
The Owner and Vice-Chair of the New Orleans Saints NFL football team, Rita Benson Leblanc, came out next to put over McMahon and his company and said it was an honor that NOLA will be hosting this fantastic entertainment event.
Alan Freeman, the General Manager of the MB Superdome and of the New Orleans Arena came on stage next. He said that the city jumped at the opportunity to host WrestleMania and started working on the bid in 2009. In 2011, the WWE called and invited them to their headquarters in Connecticut for a face-to-face meeting and to sell their bid. During the meeting, Freeman said that Vince McMahon told them he “heard enough” and that they got WrestleMania…with one catch – that they can’t say anything till they announce it.
Stephanie McMahon was then introduced to talk about the power of WWE when it comes to reaching different people through TV and social media. She said when WrestleMania comes to town, WWE will be giving back to the community with WWE Superstars and Divas visiting schools, hospitals, and hosting charity events.
Steven Perry, the President of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau said that the city will be happy to welcome people from all around the world for WrestleMania and mentioned how nervous he was sitting across Vince and Stephanie McMahon at that meeting in Connecticut fifteen months ago.
The Rock came out next with the WWE title and talked about his history in the city. He said that when he was 20 years old, he came with the University of Miami for a match against Alabama – which they lost – and how he had some amazing wrestling matches throughout the years in NOLA. He said he shot most of the new G.I. Joe movie here in New Orleans as well and said that WrestleMania will be a fun experience for New Orleans.
John Cena was the last person to take the stage and said that there’s no better place to celebrate the 30th birthday of WrestleMania than the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the city of New Orleans. He put over the people of New Orleans for loving and taking care of their city even after disasters and promised that when WWE comes over next year, they will give everyone a celebration worthy of this great city.
After Cena finished, The Rock came out to shake his hand and pose for photos with the WWE title. Big Show, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Layla, Brodus Clay, Naomi, Cameron, and the Great Khali then came out to pose for photos as the press conference came to a close.
You can see photos from the press conference below.
The main event for WrestleMania 29 was set last night after The Rock defeated CM Punk to retain the WWE title, making last year’s WrestleMania not so “once in a lifetime” after all.
The Rock and Royal Rumble winner John Cena will go head to head for the second time in a row at a WrestleMania main event – the first time in WrestleMania’s 29 year history that such a thing is occurring.
“Congrats @TheRock …… I’ll see you at #thedance @WWE get ready for #WM29 4/7/13,” tweeted John Cena after yesterday’s Elimination Chamber.
Here are the quick results from last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view which took place from the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Brodus Clay and Tensai defeated Team Rhodes Scholars in the pre-show match; Alberto Del Rio defeated Big Show to retain the World Heavyweight title; Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz via DQ to retain the U.S. title; Jack Swagger won the Elimination Chamber match defeating Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, and Kane; The Shield defeated John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus; Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston; Kaitlyn defeated Tamina Snuka to retain the Divas title; The Rock defeated CM Punk to retain the WWE title.
Here are the results from last night’s UFC on FUEL 7: Barao vs McDonald which took place at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
Preliminary Card (aired on Facebook)
Phil Harris defeated Ulysses Gomez
Vaughan Lee defeated Motonobu Tezuka
Tom Watson defeated Stanislav Nedkov
Andy Ogle defeated Josh Grispi
Danny Castillo defeated Paul Sass
Renee Forte defeated Terry Etim
Main Card (aired on Fuel TV)
Matthew Riddle defeated Che Mills
James Te Huna defeated Ryan Jimmo
Gunnar Nelson defeated Jorge Santiago
Jimi Manuwa defeated Cyrille Diabate
Cub Swanson defeated Dustin Poirier
Renan Barao defeated Michael McDonald to retain UFC Bantamweight title
Submission of the night went to Renan Barao along with $50,000
Knockout of the Night went to Tom Watson who also won $50,000
Fight of the Night went to Tom Watson and Stanislav Nedkov who each won $50,000
You can see the post-fight press conference below.
Live tonight from the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, WWE presents the Elimination Chamber on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
The Rock vs CM Punk for the WWE title with the stipulation that if The Rock is counted out or disqualified, CM Punk wins the title; Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show for the World Heavyweight title; Randy Orton vs Jack Swagger vs Chris Jericho vs Mark Henry vs Kane vs Daniel Bryan in an Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight title; John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus vs The Shield in a six man tag team match; Antonio Cesaro vs The Miz for the U.S. title; Kaitlyn vs Tamina Snuka for the Divas title; and Brodus Clay and Tensai vs Team Rhodes Scholars in the pre-show match.
Tickets for the first IMPACT on the road at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago have been selling pretty good and the only regular tickets remaining are the $15 ones.
TNA will be using a modified seating at the arena, using what seems to be half of what the Sears Centre can hold with the top seats also curtained off.
Tickets for the show ranged from $15 to $75 and there is also a limited number of luxury suites available for $125 each.
The show will be live on March 14 and the company will also tape another show back-to-back which will air the following week.
TNA has announced that two dates for the One Night Only pay-per-views that will be taped at the IMPACT Zone in Orlando, Florida, have been changed.
Originally, TNA was going to tape six shows in total – twice a day – on March 17, 23, and 24. The March 17 tapings will remain the same, however the 23 and 24 shows have been moved to March 18 and 19 respectively.
This means that TNA will be taping six 3 hour shows in three consecutive days with shows starting at Noon and 6PM. The second taping of each day was supposed to start taping at 7PM but all three dates have been moved to an hour earlier.
Live from the Wembley Arena in London, England, the UFC presents UFC on FUEL 7: Barao vs McDonald. The full card is as follows:
Main Card (airing on Fuel TV)
Che Mills (170) vs Matthew Riddle (170)
Ryan Jimmo (205) vs James Te Huna (205)
Gunnar Nelson (169) vs Jorge Santiago (170)
Cyrille Diabate (206) vs Jimi Manuwa (204)
Dustin Poirier (145) vs Cub Swanson (146)
Renan Barao (134) vs Michael McDonald (134)
Preliminary Card (airing on Facebook)
Ulysses Gomez (126) vs Phil Harris (125)
Vaughan Lee (134) vs Motonobu Tezuka (135)
Stanislav Nedkov (185) vs Tom Watson (185)
Josh Grispi (144) vs Andy Ogle (145)
Danny Castillo (156) vs Paul Sass (156)
Terry Etim (155) vs Renee Forte (156)
WWE.COM will be carrying a press conference on Monday starting at Noon EST which will also be streamed live on WWE’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
“Something big is coming to WWE.com,” says the teaser for the announcement, which is expected to be the reveal of the location of WrestleMania 30.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, The Rock, and John Cena will be present for the announcement.
UFC cameras continued to follow UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and her opponent Liz Carmouche as they get ready to make history by being the first females to headline a UFC pay-per-view.
You can see the second episode of UFC Primetime: Rousey vs Carmouhce below.
Several readers sent in word that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote on his Twitter that WWE is bringing WrestleMania 30 to New Orleans in 2014.
“The word from the French Quarter is that @WWE is bringing @WrestleMania to our house in 2014! #NOLA @MBSuperDome #WM30,” Brees tweeted.
While there has been no official announcement from WWE yet, the company is expected to make the location official this week since they are in town for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
The site of this year’s Super Bowl – the Mercedes-Benz Superdome – is expected to play host for the 30th WrestleMania.
The stadium holds just over 76,000 in a football setting.
Impact begins with the traditional recap of the evil doings of Aces and Eights. The first person to the ring is Hulk Hogan. Hulk tells the crowd at England’s Wembley arena that he has 8 guys competing in 4 matches to determine the number one contender for Jeff Hardy’s title.
The matches will be 1) James Storm versus RVD, 2) Christopher Daniels versus Magnus, 3) Samoa Joe versus Kurt Angle, and Bobby Roode versus Austin Aries. There will also be a 4 on 4 elimination match between 4 members of Aces and Eights, and four members of TNA led by Sting.
Commercial
Match #1: Christopher Daniels with Kazarian versus Magnus.
The English crowd gives Magnus a decent pop. The two men lock up and trade arm locks and reversals. Daniels puts Magnus in a headlock; Magnus escapes and shoulder blocks Daniels. Daniels pushes Magnus to the corner and hits him with a shoulder block.
Magnus lands a couple punches and a suplex and then slams Daniels into the corner face first. Magnus hits Daniels with an elbow, but then gets distracted by a cheap shot from Kazarian. Daniels hits Magnus with an STO, a clothesline, and then a chinlock. Magnus fights out but is then tripped by Kaz.
Daniels lands several punches and Magnus responds with a couple punches. Daniels takes Magnus down with a urinagi. Daniels misses a BME and Magnus responds with a big boot. Kaz interferes again and this time the ref takes away his managers license and banishes him from ringside.
Magnus lands a couple clotheslines and Daniels responds with a punch. Magnus hits another clothesline and then bodyslams Daniels. Magnus climbs to the top rope and hits Daniels with a flying elbow drop for the win.
In the back, Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray waste a little time with a painfully boring segment.
Commercial
Match #2: Samoa Joe versus Kurt Angle.
Before the match we hear some comments from Kurt Angle about the recent decision to scrap amateur wrestling from the Olympics. Worst decision EVER, wrestling is one of the original Olympic sports and one of the foundational styles in MMA, the fastest growing sport in the world. But at least we still have synchronized swimming; a sport that virtually NO ONE IN THE WORLD thinks is a sport.
The two men start off exchanging strikes until Joe takes Angle down with a snapmare and follows up with a splash. Joe lands a chop and a headbutt; Kurt responds with a belly to belly suplex. Angle stomps Joe into the mat near the corner. Angle takes Joe down with a suplex and then applies a chin lock. Joe fights out and Angle hits him with an elbow.
Commercial
When we return, Joe lands a couple strikes and then throws Angle out of the ring. Joe flies out of the ring and hits Angle with a suicide dive/forearm shot. Back in the ring, Joe hits Angle with a reverse atomic drop, a kick, and a backsplash.
Kurt responds with three German Suplexes. Angle goes for an Angle Slam but Joe blocks it and takes Angle down with an STO. Joe puts Angle on the top rope but Angle kicks him away and hits a missile dropkick. Angle goes for the Angle slam and hits it, but Joe gets right back to his feet and puts the rear naked choke on Angle.
Angle escapes and gets Joe in the ankle lock. Joe eventually rolls through and they both hit each other with a clothesline at the same time. Before Angle and Joe get back to their feet, they are attacked by Aces and Eights members Garrett Bischoff and Wes Briscoe. Angle and Joe get to their feet and chase Briscoe and Bischoff out of the ring.
Commercial
Match #3: Party Marty and the Blossom twins (From British Boot Camp) versus Gail Kim, Tara and Jesse.
Tazz makes a comment about Tara and Jesse being a unit, and also liking each other’s units. Tazz must be feeling romantic because it’s Valentine’s Day. Jesse and Party Marty start the match off with some strikes. Marty hits Jesse with a springboard moonsault.
Commercial
Jesse tags in Tara and Marty tags in Blossom twin #1. Both Blossom twins double team Tara and Tara tags in Gail. Gail gets hit with a forearm and a back elbow. Tara hits Blossom with a cheap shot and Gail takes advantage with a clothesline.
Gail slams Blossom into Tara’s boot, and then Tara slams Blossom into Gail’s boot. Gail hits Blossom with a few kicks, a backbreaker, and a diving shoulder block. Gail tags Tara and Tara hits Blossom with a bodyslam and a standing moonsault.
Blossom gets her knees up in time to block the moonsault and tags the other Blossom twin. Blossom hits Tara with a forearm shot and a clothesline. The Blossoms hit Tara with a double flapjack, and then Blossom 1 does a big splash from Blossom 2’s shoulders.
All the competitors run in and chaos reigns. Jesse ends up getting knocked out of the ring and Party Marty tries to hit him with a suicide dive, but mostly misses and hits the security barrier hard. Back in the ring, Gail Kim gets the win with Eat Defeet.
After the match, Gail Kim insists that she is the best Knockouts competitor and wants a shot at Tara’s title. Tara seems upset about that but they are soon interrupted by Brooke Hogan. Brooke does give Gail her title match, but makes it part of a 4 way elimination match including Miss Tessmacher and Velvet Sky.
In the back, Austin Aries and Bobby Roode talk about their match later tonight. They are former rivals that now hold the tag titles together, but they often seem to still be in competition with each other. They claim to be on the same page now and between the two of them they want to win ALL the TNA titles, including the women’s title.
They believe Hogan is trying to stir things up between them by making them wrestle each other, so they decide to cooperate. They agree that one of them should do the right thing for business but never determine which of them will do lay down for the other. I foresee a problem with this plan.
Commercial
Match #4: RVD versus James Storm.
The two men lock up and Storm puts RVD in a headlock; RVD hip tosses Storm. They exchange kicks and RVD hits Storm with a monkey flip. RVD lands a couple more kicks followed by Rolling Thunder. RVD lands a couple more kicks, a backbreaker, and then a split legged moonsault for a two count.
The two men exchange strikes and Storm hits a DDT. They trade some more punches and Storm takes RVD down with an Alabama Slamma (also known as a Tennessee slam) RVD misses a leg drop and Storm hits a Codebreaker. Storm goes for a Superkick, but RVD catches it and hits Storm with a kick of his own.
RVD climbs to the top but Storm cuts him off. RVD lands a kick that knocks Storm down in the corner. RVD climbs to the top of the opposite corner and flies end to end, but Storm rolls out of the way and RVD misses. Storm hits the Last Call superkick for the win!
Tazz observes that if RVD hit the Van Terminator at the end, then Storm would not have hit the Superkick. Tazz also notes that if his aunt had nuts she’d be an uncle.
In the back, Joe Park is trying to get a title shot, and heard from the boys that you have to do ‘politics’ to get a shot. So Joe is arranging to have some campaign materials drawn up and asks Hogan for his vote. Hogan asks Joe if he knows what a ‘rib’ is; and not the kind that you eat. Joe doesn’t know. Hogan thinks he should find out.
Commercial
When we return, Brooke Hogan is trying to get her father to give Bully Ray a title shot.
Match #5: Austin Aries versus Bobby Roode.
Before the match, both men agree to do what is right for business. They ask for the bell to be rung and then…they give each other the one finger poke of doom and wait for the other to lie down. Neither man lays down and they are both pissed off about it.
Finally Aries grabs a mic and says “I’ll be the bigger man..” and Roode cuts him off yelling “I’m the bigger man!!” Austin starts again and says “I’ll be the bigger man” and then lies down so Roode can pin him. Aries tries a sneaky rollup when Roode gets down on the mat but Roode kicks out.
Commercial
The two men lock up and jockey for position, pushing each other back and forth. Aries hits a slingshot sunset flip, Roode rolls Aries up and goes for a cover with his feet on the ropes. Aries is mad that Roode tried to cheat, but Aries does the same thing on his next pin attempt.
The two men exchange punches and Aries gets the edge with a roaring elbow. Roode gets back to his feet and takes Aries down with a spinebuster. Aries goes to the top rope but Roode cuts him off and tries a superplex but struggles getting Aries over. Aries boxes Roode’s ears and then goes for a 450 splash but Roode rolls out of the way.
Roode goes for a spear but Aries dodges it and gets Roode in the Last Chancery. Roode almost taps but escapes by raking the eyes. Roode gets Aries in the Crossface, but Aries rolls Roode over into a pinning predicament and Roode has to release the hold. Aries lands a kick and then tries for a suplex; Roode reverses and tries for a suplex but Aries counters.
The ref gets knocked down and out as they battle back and forth. Roode goes to the floor and grabs a steel chair, but instead of hitting Aries, he hits the ring and drops, like Eddie Guerrero used to do. Roode did it too quickly though, so Aries grabs the chair, hits the ground with it, and also drops. The ref turns around to see both men pretending to be unconscious.
As the ref checks on one wrestler, the other makes angry faces and obscene gestures at his opponent/partner behind the refs back. When Roode and Aries finally get back to their feet, they are distracted by the approach of former tag champs; Chavo and Hernandez. Aries and Roode leave the ring together to confront their tag team rivals and realize too late that they are being counted out.
They both run back to the ring trying to cut the other off, but neither man makes it in time and both get counted out. This may not have been the best technical wrestling match these two have ever had, but it was pretty good and an awful lot of fun to watch. Roode and Aries have amazing chemistry together, I would like to see them stay together and win ALL of the titles between the two of them, including the Knockout title.
Commercial
When we return, Hogan makes his way to the ring to give us his decision on who the number one contender should be. Before Hogan can tell us, the ring is surrounded by Aces and Eights.
Bully Ray comes out to defend his father in law with a chain in hand, and he is followed by Sting. Sting is walking to the ring with bats for himself, Hulk, and Bully Ray, but they aren’t baseball bats. Since this is England, Sting has brought cricket bats to the ring. Aces and Eights retreats into the crowd as Impact goes off the air.
Monday Night RAW this week drew a 3.1 rating and an average of 4,260,000 viewers, down considerably from last week. The show lost over half a million viewers – 550,000 to be exact – compared to the February 4 show.
Hour one did 4,350,000 viewers, hour two did 4,250,000, and hour three kept losing viewers, scoring a total of 4,180,000 viewers. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
