Hogan’s Beach grand opening was a massive success on New Year’s eve and well over a 1,000 guests showed up to eat, drink, and party as they welcomed 2013 with the Hulkster.
Channel 10 in Tampa covered the launch with a live link during the news, even managing a short interview with the WWE Hall of Famer.
Hogan showed up for the masquerade event decked in all white with a bandana and obviously a mask, accompanied by his wife. Hogan told Channel 10 that you can’t wrestle forever so it was a good choice to branch out in this business using his image and likeness.
You can see a video of the report from the 20,000 square-foot bar and restaurant below.
This is it – the last Raw of 2012! How will WWE go out – on a high note “cliffhanger,” or the usual “blah” kind of show, knowing darn well that no one will be watching since it is New Year’s Eve when airing? (My vote is for the latter!). In any case, it is still Monday Night Raw and the year’s finale begins now!
Monday Night Raw Report for December 31st, 2012 – “A Champion’s Toast.”
Introduction Segment: Welcoming
The regular Raw video plays, followed by the pyro blasting in the Verizon arena of Washington, D.C. Michael Cole welcomes us to the New Year’s Eve edition, as does the following superstar…
Segment #1: Arena Promo
“The Awesome One” The Miz walks out to the stage for “MizTV.” He announces that courtesy of Supervising Manager Vickie Guerrero, tonight will be a “Championship” night, where all Titles are on the line. However, the Champions will be choosing their matches. (Ok, maybe this won’t be that lame-duck afterall?) Miz now introduces his guest, 10-Time WWE Champion and the former “Dr. Of Thuganomics,” John Cena!
The 2012 “Superstar Of The Year” is excited, until Miz starts asking him the hard questions. He inquires if John’s relationship w/ A.J. is truly over yet. Cena assures that it is, and to even show that further, he will attend Dolph Ziggler’s and A.J.’s New Year’s Eve party.
To interrupt, “The Rhodes Scholars” walk out. Damien Sandow quotes T.S. Elliott in saying “this is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.” He then demands silence from the crowd, but does not get it from Cena. Instead, John retorts “I believe it was the famous poet, Robert Griffin the third, that said, and I quote ‘you guys suck!'” Damien pretends not to hear of the famous Washington Redskins NFL Quarterback (and helluva player awesome, personally writing), much to the chagrin and chants of “R.G.3.”
Cena makes fun of Cody Rhodes’ mustache, until “The Scholars” point out how far Cena’s and Miz’s stars have fallen, respectively, going from main-eventing WrestleManias to mid-card status. They want to propose a solution, but Cena beats them to it and challenges for a tag-team match. All is accepted and we begin the first bout of the night!
Match #1: Tag-Team – The Miz and John Cena VS. “The Rhodes Scholars” (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes)
Cody and Cena start out, with Cena coming off the ropes with a shoulder-block tackle out of a side-headlock Irish whip. (follow me?!) Cena arm-wrenches Rhodes, and tags in the Miz, who drops a double-axe-handle smash on the outstretched arm. Cody elects to switch with Damien, so the “Intellectual Savior of the Masses” comes in and takes Miz down with a side-headlock. Miz counters a run into a flapjack, and Sandow rolls to the outside for a break.
Commercials.
Back (not-so-live), Cena and Sandow are wrestling, with Cena clamping on a grounding rear-chinlock. John trades again with The Miz, who stomps away on Damien. Miz is countered with an elbow and the “Scholars” double-stomp him in the corner. Miz reverses an Irish whip from Cody, then gives him a 9-punch in the corner, and one on the mat.
Cody drops to the canvas and delivers an uppercut to Miz, then tags in his partner. Damien hammers away and begins to work over Miz’s right arm. He covers for a two-count, then drops the “Elbow of Disdain.” Cody’s back in and head-butts Miz, then grapples him with a rear-chinlock.
Sandow returns but gets his suplex attempt reversed into a small package for a near-fall! Damien drags Miz to the corner and tags Cody back in. Rhodes drops Miz with a front-suplex and ties him in a hammerlock. Both heels continue to switch back and forth, corner and obscuring Miz from making a tag and saving himself.
Miz finally counters a bulldog attempt, and he and Cody make the hot-tags to their respective partners. Cena runs in and is all over Sandow with his usual moves, taking him down with the spin-out backdrop and 5-Knuckle-Shuffle fistdrop. However, he turns right around into the “Beautiful Disaster” kick from Cody, only for Rhodes to get planted with the Skull Krushing Finale. He then throws Sandow back into Cena, who finishes the contest off with the Attitude Adjustment and subsequent cover!
Winners via Pinfall: The Miz and John Cena
Segment #2: Locker Room Promo
Vickie Guerrero is hosting a New Year’s Eve bash with all the superstars. She turns around to see an uninvited guest – Dolph Ziggler. Guerrero informs “The Showoff” that he will be in a match, against Sheamus. “Happy New Year!”
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Segment #3: Locker Room Promo
WWE Champion C.M. Punk and Paul Heyman walk in on Guerrero’s party. Punk wants to bring a doctor to the ring, so they can explain C.M.’s injury in “layman’s terms” to the people, as he thinks that they do not believe the legitimacy of his injury. Vickie conquers that it is for real and gives permission for Punk’s promo later. She also, with “strong encouragement” books Ryback VS. The Shield.
Match #2: Single for the United States Championship – ??? (Challenger) VS. Antonio Cesaro (Champion)
As of now, the opponent is unknown. Cesaro reminds the fans that he is the champion of everything, which includes all the tourist attractions he visited in Washington, such as the Pentagon, the Monument, etc.. He tells us that he ran into someone that also represents “the red, white and blue,” and that person is his opponent tonight …. Sergeant Slaughter!
The WWE Hall-Of-Famer marches out in his military gear to challenge for the title. They lock up and standoff, then engage in traded waistlocks. Cesaro wears down Sarge with a side-headlock, until The Legend fights out of it and manages to clamp on his Cobra Clutch submission. Antonio battles to the ropes and following an uppercut, plants Slaughter with “The Neutralizer” cradle-faceplant for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL United States Champion: Antonio Cesaro
Post-match, Cesar drops Sergeant a second time with “The Neutralizer” and gloats with his championship overhead.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Locker Room Promo
Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell-No!” wanted to fight “The Shield” tonight, but since they’re already booked, they decide on “3MB” as their opponents, who were rehearsing on the other side of the room.
Segment #5: Locker Room Promo
Ricardo Rodriguez is pouring a drink when World Heavyweight Champion Big Show walks up to him. He offers Ricardo a chance at the Title, and a nervous Rodriguez spills his drink on Show’s shoes. This automatically puts him in the match, as Show wishes him “good luck.”
Elsewhere, WWE Hall-Of-Famer and Women’s Legend Mae Young gets friendly with the new generation of Divas. She is then courted by Divas Champion Eve to matchup for the championship.
Match #3: Tag-Team for the Tag-Team Championship – Kane and Daniel Bryan (Champions) VS. “3MB” (Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre) (Challengers)
“Team Hell-No!” makes their entrances, separately, prior to the break.
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Bryan and Slater start, with Heath arm-dragging him. Daniel comes back with a shoulder-block and flapjack, the locks on a surfboard-stretch. He tags in Kane, who gives a sitting Slater a running front-dropkick. The big-man for “3MB” is now in, but Drew quickly gets taken down with a shoulder-block by Kane, then an Irish-whipped dropkick in the corner from Bryan. McIntyre manages a little offense, but soon gets kicked-away at by Daniel. Drew moves, sending Bryan to the outside, and he gets a running knee from Jinder Mahal on the floor.
Slater is switched back in, and he grasps a side-headlock on, then takes Daniel down with a running neckbreaker. 1 – 2 – Bryan kicks out! Daniel elbows his way out of another headlock but then both he and Heath collide with a running crossbody. Kane and Drew are back it, with “The Big Red Machine” in complete control. Kane drops down with a huge sidewalk slam, then ascends the turnbuckle for a top-rope diving clothesline. Slater is tossed to the outside, as Bryan knees Jinder to relieve him.
Kane Chokeslams Drew, and Bryan gives his team the victory following a flying headbutt from the top!
Winners via Pinfall and STILL Tag-Team Champions: “Team Hell-No!” (Kane and Daniel Bryan)
Commercials.
Segment #6: Arena Promo
C.M. Punk, the WWE Champion for 407 consecutive days, hobbles out on crutches still, with Paul Heyman and the doctor. Punk recalls his 2012 year, in which he came out on top against huge-star names like Chris Jericho, Ryback, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, etc… He also recounts his numerous injuries throughout his championship reign and toughed it out. “The Straight-Edge Superstar” tells the WWE Universe they think he is faking it, which is why he travelled with his Chicago doctor to prove the opposite.
This doctor shows x-ray images of a normal-looking knee and the WWE Champion’s broken appendage. It is legitimate, and because of this, the doctor is not allowing Punk to compete next week against Ryback for the WWE Championship!
Or not, as the only man who overrides decisions like this, interrupts. Mr. Vince McMahon, the owner, first wishes everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Then, he wonders how Punk will “weasel your way out of this T.L.C. Championship match.” Heyman comes to Punk’s defense quickly. Mr. McMahon changes the order of things, and says that if the WWE Officials medically clear Punk, then the title bout is on.
The two then get into a debate about how C.M. has remained WWE Champion for so long. Punk retaliates by comparing his situation with Vince’s, when the Chairman was on trial (for real) in 1993 by the U.S. Government. Heyman again stands up for “The Second-City Saint” and calls McMahon a “flesh-peddling promoter.” McMahon steams at this comment, then informs them if Punk can’t compete next week, Paul Heyman himself will replace the WWE Champion! This worries Punk and Heyman, rightfully so, as McMahon walks off.
Up next, Sheamus will take on Dolph Ziggler.
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Match #4: Single – “The Showoff/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler (with A.J. and Big E. Langston) VS. Sheamus
The bell rings and Ziggler is aggressive early with kicks and punches in the corner. Sheamus fires back with a hard hand and short-arm clothesline. Scoop slam and elbow drop by Sheamus, but Dolph counters an arm-wrench with more punching. Sheamus counters a run from Ziggler into a (botched) backdrop-throw, then drives him back with a suplex for two! Sheamus hits a knee-to-the-face on Ziggler on the apron, then begins to pound away until Big E. Langston saves Dolph by pulling him off the side. (shouldn’t that be a dq?)
Commercials.
Back to the match, Dolph has Sheamus locked in a side-headlock until the big Irishman battles out with a couple double-axe handles and high-running-knee-lift. Dolph counters out of the corner with an elbow and jumping DDT! 1 – 2 – Sheamus gets the shoulder up! Dolph goes back to the grounding chinlock to wear Sheamus down. This works for a while, but Sheamus then gets some momentum with a huge tilt-a-whirl scoop-slam for two! He then cuts Ziggler off the top rope and chucks him backward with a fall-away slam off the turnbuckle! 1 – 2 – Dolph kicks out!
Sheamus goes to the corner, but this time Dolph crotches the former WWE Champion, until Sheamus punches him down and flies off with a shoulder-tackle. 1 – 2 – Ziggler kicks out again! Sheamus attempts his Cloverleaf submission but Dolph crawls to the ropes. Sheamus counters another jumping-DDT attempt into the Irish Curse and drops him down!
Momentum time, as Sheamus riles up the crowd for the Brogue Kick. Langston saves Ziggler, then measures Sheamus until “The Shield” run out and him, causing the dq.
Winner via Disqualification: Sheamus
Post-match, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns all pound away on Sheamus, then drop him with the triple-powerbomb. The stand over their latest victim with pleasure.
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Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston is checking on Sheamus, until Wade Barrett walks up and demands that he get the Championship Shot tonight. Kofi is all for it, saying “I beat you before, and I’ll beat you again.”
Segment #8: Locker Room Promo
Much to C.M. Punk’s dismay, Brad Maddox comes in and offers to help him out if they help him. Heyman gets in his face and orders the former referee and now job-hunting wrestler to just get out!
Segment #9: Locker Room Promo
Mae Young is complaining of stomach pains, so a doctor checks her out. And in a really badly-rehashing, apparently, she is pregnant, again! (No Comment!)
Commercials.
Match #5: Single for the Divas Championship – Eve (Champion) VS. ??? (Challenger)
Eve demands a forfeit ruling, then for a photographer to take a picture of her winning pose. Instead, Kaitlyn storms out and engages in a brawl with the champion. She gets the best of her, but since this was not an official match, no resolution is given.
Winner: No Contest via No Official Match
Segment #10: Backstage Promo
Ricardo Rodriguez is nervous backstage, but ensures Alberto Del Rio that he will win the World Heavyweight Championship. Alberto ensures that he will be their in his corner and gives him his scarf and car keys to “do it in style!”
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Match #6: Single for the World Heavyweight Championship – The Big Show (Champion) VS. Ricardo Rodriguez (with Alberto Del Rio) (Challenger)
Ricardo rides out, just as happy as Del Rio would be, in a red-colored Mercedes SO 550, priced at $200,000! Del Rio follows behind him, clapping him on.
After formal introductions, the “contest” is on, which is really just Big Show toying with the (mainly) manager/ring announcer. Rodriguez actually gets some offense with a counter and Del Rio-esqe running Enziguri! He reverses the big-boot and jumps off the second rope, but gets slapped down quickly. Show signals for the K.O. Punch, but Alberto runs in and takes down show. This delights the crowd (seriously) and Del Rio knocks Show to the mat with a kick!
He drags Ricardo to the back and winks at show, as if “gotcha!”
Match #7: Single for the Intercontinental Championship – Kofi Kingston (Champion) VS. Wade Barrett (Challenger)
Kofi makes his entrances before the break.
Commercials.
Wade is out now and both lockup to begin. Wade whips Kingston into the corner, but Kofi reverses and kicks him in the gut. Barrett comes out of a side-headlock and delivers a shoulder tackle, followed by a couple high-dropkicks! Wade ties Kofi’s left arm in an upper-hammerlock, and avoids the Trouble In Paradise Kick. Another side-headlock by Kingston, whose monkey-flip is countered into a double-hip toss by both to the outside!
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Wade is back in control with a harsh kick to Kofi’s stomach, then chokes him against the middle rope. Using that rope, Kofi counters and flips up with a kick to send Barrett back to the floor, and then Kingston springboards off the ropes with a body splash!
Kofi goes back to chops and dropkicks, but gets countered into a pin combination for two by Barrett! Wade attempts “Wasteland,” but Kofi reverses into the S.O.S. for another near-fall! Kofi delivers punches in the corner, which Barrett reverses into a powerbomb pin, still only for two! Barrett ducks another Trouble In Paradise and nails the “Wasteland” fireman’s carry drop. 1 – 2 – Kofi kicks out!
In the corner, Barrett pounds away, but Kofi flips up with another kick. However, he misses the subsequent top rope Crossbody and walks into the “Brawlhammer” elbow! 1 – 2 – 3! Wade Barrett receives the victory and championship!
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Intercontinental Champion: Wade Barrett
Segment #11: Locker Room Promo
Following a great moment/match, is a dreadful one with Mae Young being shown “giving birth.” (Really, they have to go there again?)
Commercials.
Segment #12: Locker Room Promo
More of the Mae Young “birth,” which is revealed to be Hornswaggle dressed in “New Year’s baby attire” – for real. (Again, no comment.) Cole and Lawler just laugher, sincerely in the sense of “I can’t believe we witness this and why was this in the script?!”
Match #8: 3-On-1 – “The Shield” (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins) VS. Ryback
“The Shield” make their way to the ring through the crowd prior to the break.
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“Feed Me More” blares the speakers as the fan-favorite beast Ryback is intensified. Right off the bat, “The Shield” meet him in the aisle and the bell hasn’t even run. It is an all-out brawl. Ryback starts to take apart the trio, but they quickly gang up again. Ryback is beat up on until Sheamus runs back down and tries to help. He too is assaulted heavily.
The “rescuer?” How about “The Viper” Randy Orton! The third-generation superstar runs out and evens the odds, even R.K.O.-ing Dean Ambrose after Ryback military-pressed Rollins to the outside on top of Roman. “The Shield” retreat more or less still in one piece, as their previous victims stare down.
Up next, is the “New Year’s Toast” with A.J. and Dolph Ziggler.
Commercials.
Segment #13: Arena Promo
“The Showoff/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler, A.J., and Big E. Langston are in the ring, decorated in New Year’s garb. Ziggler gives a toast to the fans, for picking John Cena, “the golden boy,” as the 2012 “Superstar Of The Year.” Dolph brags about Cena’s faults last yea – first losing at WrestleMania XXVIII against The Rock in a match he must win, then getting beaten down with an F-5 by Brock Lesnar the next night on Raw, following that with a loss to John Laurinaitis (which Ziggler wonders if anyone even remembers), being the first superstar to cash in “Money In The Bank” and lose, and finally being screwed out of the T.L.C. match by A.J.
She takes the mike now and declares that the WWE Universe are the ones who need help, for choosing Cena as Superstar despite all his failures. Ziggler proclaims that “your time is up, and my time is now!” (Couldn’t agree more!) Dolph orders Langston to make sure Cena does not interject in the upcoming toast, as he is no longer invited.
A.J. toasts “the man who will own 2013. ‘Mr. Money In The Bank,’ “The Showoff,’ the man I love, Dolph Ziggler!” Dolph toasts then they have another epic make-out session, until Cena’s music plays. He walks to the top of the stage and glares down Big E.
Cena says he is not here to fight, but instead agree with Dolph. He says that 2012 was not his year, but instead was the year of A.J. Cena then makes fun of Dolph and A.J.’s courtship with doctored photos of their “wedding” and “children.”
Back to seriousness, Cena says that “yes, 2012 wasn’t too good for me. I owned up to every single loss I had. Stayed in the fight and when all that was happening, I truly never gave up. And yes, the WWE Universe voted me ‘Superstar of the Year,’ and although I was flattered, out of respect, I didn’t accept the award. Like I said earlier, a man can own up to his flaws. I’ve been here 10 years, I had one bad season. You want to write me off, fine, but before you do, look deep into the mirror. This is not your first year here Dolph. It is your 7th, 7th.”
Cena talks about Ziggler complaining all the time backstage to get a push and never take the blame. “Only way a guy like you gets a set of nuts is by buying them at the concession stand!” Cena recaps Ziggler’s “not-so-hot” (until now) career, and makes a huge (but yet somewhat not unexpected) announcement – he is entering the 2013 Royal Rumble match!
Cena finishes his speech by saying that his “uniform” has not changed – he is still all about “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect.” John then toasts A.J. and Dolph the only way that is suitable to him – with a “dumping” full of brown liquid from the rafters. Cena declares that is what Dolph and A.J. are full off and wishes everyone a Happy New Year to close the show, and 2012 Raw.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Ok, I have to admit, this was actually a better show than I thought for a night when very few would actually be watching (and with it being pre-taped.) Obviously, no big “cliffhanger,” but at least it didn’t feel like they were “going through the motions” as in some past shows. Onto the final 2012 analysis:
Excellence: Honestly, pretty much everything. The show flowed smoothly, made sense (except for one segment highlighted in “bogus” and you’ll know what that is already, I’m sure!), and the idea of a “Champion’s” night gave some intrigue to the bouts. In particular, to name one, is actually the turn by Alberto. He is getting some great cheers, and I think he could make an awesome baby-face. Smart to put him against Show to help propel the result. And seriously, I think he would be a better World Champion as a good guy, gaining a bit more “dynamic” and personality.
Bogus: The obvious – Mae Young. That was really, really unnecessary. On the plus, it wasn’t a dragged out thing, but still, was totally not needed and completely stupid.
Alright, so the analysis was short, but I seriously just liked Raw tonight and felt (almost) everything was equal in review for the right reasons. They put in a decent effort and made me very happy. Now the real fun begins next week when the build for Royal Rumble (and really Wrestlemania XXIX) starts. Great way to finish off 2012 and let’s hope they begin 2013 Raws the same way and better!
Until next week, and since it is technically January 1st as of this typing, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans! Be Excellent and best wishes for a prosperous 2013!
With January comes one of the most anticipated WWE pay-per-views of the year – the Royal Rumble.
Throughout the next few weeks on RAW and Smackdown, WWE Superstars – and who knows, maybe even a Diva – will throw their name in the list of participants of the 30-men over the top rope match hoping to get a title shot at WrestleMania.
This year, the first person who announced himself as participating in the Rumble was John Cena, who revealed his intentions during yesterday’s RAW.
Cena himself is a winner of the 2008 Royal Rumble after he came out as a surprise entry following a few months sidelined with an injury.
In two weeks time, WWE will celebrate a major milestone with Monday Night RAW as the company will air the 20th anniversary show on January 14.
RAW made its debut on USA Network on January 11, 1993, and apart from a 5 year period between 2000 and 2005, WWE aired all their RAW shows on USA.
“A television event 20 years in the making. Superstars from two decades of television’s longest running weekly show are coming home,” says the TV commercial for this special event.
The show will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Tickets are available for $95, $65, $45, $30 and $20 at HoustonToyotaCenter.com.
Come Tuesday, January 1, Silver Vision will lose its license for WWE DVD and Blu-Ray releases in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, with FremantleMedia Enterprises picking up the license.
FremantleMedia will be releasing new WWE discs approximately one month after the U.S. release, meaning that fans in the EMEA region will enjoy quicker delivery of their favorite WWE shows on both Blu-Ray and DVD. The company will also be offering a range of back catalog titles that were currently produced by Silver Vision as all rights are being transferred come the first day of the new year.
Silver Vision will be allowed to sell whatever stock they have remaining for a limited amount of time and they have already reduced a bunch of titles starting at just 4.99 GBP.
One additional item that FremantleMedia will be doing that Silver Vision couldn’t was to distribute all video in digital format although it wasn’t revealed yet how will they be distributing the videos digitally and for what devices.
Silver Vision had the EMEA license for WWE videos for the past 22 years and released hundreds and hundreds of WWE content from the early days of Coliseum Video.
TNA Knockout Velvet Sky missed last night’s non-televised event in Poughkeepsie, New York, after she was involved in a car accident due to the blizzard.
The former Knockout champion wrote on her Twitter that her truck spun out of control due to the weather conditions and she ended up in a ditch. She was not injured but was shaken from what happened.
“Sorry to the fans that were wanting to see me tonight, but I won’t be at the Impact show,” she wrote. “I’m sitting in wait for a tow truck to rescue me.”
Monday Night RAW tomorrow will take place from the nation’s capital with another three hour show.
Taped for the New Year’s eve broadcast are John Cena and The Miz vs Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow; Antonio Cesaro vs Sgt. Slaughter; Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre vs Kane and Daniel Bryan; Dolph Ziggler vs Sheamus; Big Show vs Ricardo Rodriguez; Wade Barrett vs Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental title. Plus a bunch of other vignettes and other in-ring segments with The Shield, Ryback, CM Punk, AJ, etc.
Hulk Hogan’s new bar and restaurant in Tampa, titled Hogan’s Beach, will officially open tomorrow with a New Year’s Eve Masquerade event.
The restaurant – located at the Best Western Bay Harbor hotel – is offering a 4 course dinner and a bottle of champagne for $125 per couple or else just $10 if you want to be at the bar for the big event.
On his Twitter, Hogan announced that Jimmy Hart will be the host of the evening while Ric Flair, Matt Morgan, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Al Perez, and one of the Bushwhackers will be in attendance. He also added that he hoped Brutus Beefcake and the Nasty Boys will be joining the party.
Last night, Ric Flair and his daughter Ashley dropped by at the restaurant and Hogan posted the photos on his Twitter and referred to Flair in the photo as “The MASTER.”
At UFC 155 Cain Velasquez made sure that everyone knew Junior Dos Santos beating him was because he wasn’t at 100%. A lot of fighters attribute a loss to injuries and not being able to come into a fight at full strength. Give Dos Santos his credit though because he has been able to stop most men with his striking but that was not the case tonight. Tonight was all Cain and he was ready for the boxing skills with suburb movement to stay clear of the strikes.
Velasquez came out as his usual self tonight; highly aggressive and looking to implement his will. Much like he did against Brock Lesnar to capture the title and in his most recent fight with Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. Velasquez was firing off punches and looking to take the fight to the ground. Velasquez shot for numerous singles that the then champ was able to pull his leg out of the way of. Velasquez finally got JDS down midway through the first round after he dropped him with a right hand. From there on Velasquez showed the wrestling skills that made him a two time All-American and two time Pac-10 champion at Arizona State University.
Cain smothered JDS with ground and pound and wrestling never giving him any space for pretty much the rest of the 25 minutes that these two men fought. Velasquez fought of a knee bar early and even tried for an arm-bar late in the second round against the black belt BJJ artist. The rest of the fight was more of the same as Velasquez would get the take down beat on dos Santos for a little bit; dos Santos would get up to his feet and Cain would be all over him against the fence working another take down. When they would look to stand and strike it was Velasquez who would be getting the advantage and dos Santos would back up as Cain came forward until he was pinned against the cage again. Dos Santos was able to land some punches but he didn’t look like he had much on them as he was clearly in trouble in the first. For the next four rounds dos Santos looked extremely exhausted as he was spending most of the time supporting not only his 239 pounds but also the 240 of Velasquez who was all over him.
Velasquez connected with a high kick to the throat of JDS in the last round and another big take down to put a stamp on the evening and take the unanimous decision with scores of 50-45, 50-43, and 50-44 from the judges. With the win the now two-time heavyweight champion moves his record to 11-1 and revenges the 64 second loss of his belt. While Junior dos Santos record now stands at 15-2 and ends a ten fight win streak in his first defeat in the UFC.
“I knew that Junior was a tough striker and he was able to end our last fight that way, so I was prepared for him this time,” said Cain. “I was able to use my striking and my grappling to control him and get the title back.”
“Velasquez is a tough opponent,” said the always-gracious dos Santos. “His grappling is great and tonight his striking was great as well. Congratulations to him on his victory.” Before leaving the Octagon, dos Santos vowed to rematch Velasquez again and do as the new champion did and recapture the belt.
On the final UFC event of 2012 Jon Anik and Joe Rogan took to doing the commentary on a card of 12 fights from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of the twelve fights eight went the judges for a decision, one ended by a submission and three by way of TKO.
Co-Main Event Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon
In a fight between two men known for their similarities in intensity and top-notch submission skills they put on a fight for the ages that had a ruckus crowd on their feet showing approval. The two men met in the middle and traded punches and kicks for most of the fifteen minutes. It was hard to predict that fight would make it that far after Jim Miller created a nasty gash above the right eye of Lauzon early in the first round. Miller got a hold of a single collar clinch and unloaded a barage of nasty elbows. Lauzon did fairly well at deflecting the ones coming from the side then Miller hit him in the forehead with an upward arching one that caused the gash and Miller would go for a standing arm triangle that turned the cut into a geyser and before long had the doctor in the cage evaluating Lauzon. The cage side doctor deemed him fit to continue and that is precisely what they did as they traded inside leg kicks that knocked the legs from under both men at different points.
In the second round Miller got the take down but Lauzon was able to get the sweep after trying to work for a submission on the arm of Miller. The ref had to pause the action again as Lauzon’s tape around his hand was becoming undone due to the fact that both men were now covered in Lauzon’s blood. Once the action resumed Miller was able to utilize a rubber guard until the Boston, MA native picked up Miller and slammed him back down to the canvas which caused the crowd to erupt again and everyone in aw of the kid who was bleeding all over but seemed to have more heart to continue. Lauzon would threaten a knee bar but once again due to the blood Miller was able to slide his leg out of danger.
The third round saw Lauzon once again as the aggressor and pressing the action. Lauzon was getting better of the striking as Miller was clearly tiring. Lauzon tried to lure Miller in after he slipped and went down to the mat. Miler wanted him back up so the ref abliged. Miller managed to also bust open Lauzon under the eye. Lauzon got the better of the striking and with a about a minute left Lauzon attempted a flying leg lock. Miller held on to one of the wrist of Lauzon to keep him from being able to finish the submission and Lauzon would switch to a guillotine but didn’t have enough time in the fight and as the horn sounds and they break Miller drops the back of his head onto the chest of Lauzon and lets out a huge “Holy… Shit” as the crowd, whom all of look to be on their feet, erupt in approval once again these two men put on.
The judges gave Jim Miller the unanimous decision victory by scores of 29-28×3.
Miller now moves into sole first place on the all time UFC lightweight wins list.
Lauzon after the fight would tweet that he needed 40 stitches and lost a lot of blood but that he was all good and props to Miller on a great fight.
Tim Boetsch vs Costa Philippou
Both men came into the fight on a four fight win streak but that would come to an end in round 3 for Tim Boetsh. Boetsch looked sharp in the first round working his striking while mixing in front kicks and take downs. During the break between rounds 1 and 2 Boetsch seems to be telling his corner that he was injured. Not wanting to quit though he went back out and Philippou would take over the striking after Boetsch connected with a punch that knocked his mouth piece out at the same time Philippou inadvertently pokes him in the eye. After the action resumed Boetsch clearly looked to be having trouble seeing and closing the distance. Philippou took advantage on the feet and as Boetsch couldn’t finish the take downs Philippou would end up in half guard on the top and drop punches and elbows until nearly half way through the final round when the ref had seen enough and stopped the fight.
Winner by TKO at 2:11 of round 3 Costa Philippou.
Yushin Okami vs Alan Belcher
Okami came out and did what Okami does; he gets his opponent to the canvas and grinds out a victory. Okami got Belcher to the canvas over and over and controlled him from the top even though the ref had to stand them up a couple times. Belcher had his best moment in the second as he was able to wobble Okami with a punch but Okami would get him against the cage and drag the fight back down.
Winner by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Yushin Okami
Chris Leben vs Derek Brunson
Chris Leben in his return from a year long suspension suffered the same defeated fate that Garcia suffered against his short notice opponent. Brunson took the fight on ten days notice after Leben’s original opponent Karlos Vemola had to withdraw after suffering a fractured cheekbone. Brunson the former Strikeforce prospect put his collegiate wrestling skills to work early as he got the Crippler down and controlled him for most of the first round. In round 2 both men began their down hill slide as fatigue set it. Leben never really got off more than one shot at a time as Brunson was retreating and Brunson was able to get enough key take downs at the right time to secure the victory.
Winner by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Derek Brunson
WWE will be taping their television shows for this coming week today and tomorrow due to the New Year holidays.
RAW is being taped tonight at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., starting at 7PM. USA Network will air this show on New Year’s Eve this coming Monday in RAW’s usual time slot.
Tomorrow, Smackdown will be taped at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, for the show that will air on SyFy on Friday, January 4.
RAW returns live on Monday, January 7, from Tampa, Florida, with the return of The Rock and the Ryback vs CM Punk WWE title TLC match.
Live tonight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC will present its last pay-per-view of the year, UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez 2. The last time these two met, Dos Santos gave Velasquez his first MMA defeat and also took away the UFC Heavyweight title on the first UFC on FOX show.
Weigh-ins were held yesterday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, hosted as always by Joe Rogan with Dana White present. All fighters on the card made weight with Melvin Guillard having to cut weight twice in two weeks after he was supposed to fight in the TUF Finale but his opponent was sick.
You can watch the weigh-ins video in full below. Please note that the video will not play on BlackBerry and Android devices and is only available on the website, iPad, and iPhone apps.
Main card (airing on pay-per-view)
Chris Leben (185) vs Derek Brunson (185)
Yushin Okami (184) vs Alan Belcher (186)
Tim Boetsch (186) vs Costa Philippou (186)
Jim Miller (156) vs Joe Lauzon (156)
Junior dos Santos (239) vs Cain Velasquez (240)
Preliminary card (airing on FX)
Brad Pickett (136) vs Eddie Wineland (135)
Erik Perez (136) vs Byron Bloodworth (136)
Melvin Guillard (155) vs Jamie Varner (155)
Michael Johnson (154) vs Myles Jury (155)
Preliminary card (airing on Facebook)
Chris Cariaso (125) vs John Moraga (126)
Leonard Garcia (146) vs Max Holloway (145)
Phil DeFries (245) vs Todd Duffee (249)
TNA is selling a VIP ticket for their Genesis weekend for a cost of $99.99 which will get you access to four shows in total.
The VIP ticket will consist of early admission to the live IMPACT show on Thursday, January 10. VIP reception at the IMPACT Zone on Friday, January 11. Early admission to two 3-hour specials that TNA will tape for International partners on Saturday, January 12, along with a photo in the ring with Jeff Hardy after the tapings. And then early admission to the Genesis pay-per-view on Sunday, January 13.
TNA is selling this VIP ticket at ShopTNA.COM. No tickets will be mailed and fans in the area who wish to go will be able to pick up their credentials from the Blue Man Group area at Universal Studios on January 10.
Monday Night RAW did a 2.2 rating for the Christmas Eve show, the lowest rating since 1997 with an average of 3,143,000 viewers. The number was expected to be down due to the circumstances and next week it won’t be pretty either since it will be new year’s eve.
Hour one did 2,940,000 viewers, hour two did 3,271,000 viewers, while hour three did 3,219,000 viewers. In total, the show lost just over a million set of eyeballs compared to last week’s show. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
Feed. Him. More. Fans inside Madison Square Garden jumped on the Ryback bandwagon yesterday as the former Nexus member wrestled Paul Heyman in a street fight.
The two didn’t really wrestle but Heyman ended up taking two bumps that at least made the very vocal fans inside MSG happy when the show was over.
After cutting a typical Paul Heyman promo on the NY crowd, Ryback came out and was attacked by The Shield. The Miz, Kane, and Daniel Bryan made the save and Heyman and Ryback ended up in the ring alone.
Ryback delivered his Shellshock finishing move on Heyman but after several chants from fans, he picked up Heyman and drove him through a table which was standing in the corner much to the appreciation of the fans.
You can see a video of the ending courtesy of YouTube user anajjar456 below.
Paul Heyman has been involved in the wrestling business sine he was very young and by the time he was a teenager, he managed to be a photographer for the then WWWF at a show in Madison Square Garden.
In his 30+ years in wrestling, there’s one thing that Heyman never managed to accomplish – wrestle in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
That will change tonight as the man formerly known as Paul E. Dangerously will be stepping inside the squared circle for his first ever wrestling match in The Garden against none other than Ryback!
Heyman doesn’t usually appear during non-televised shows but he does pop up every now and then when WWE hits New York or his beloved Philadelphia. With CM Punk still not fully cleared to wrestle tonight, the ECW mastermind will be stepping up to replace him, certainly chalking one off his bucket list.
When The Rock appeared on WWE television over the past year it has always been on Monday Night RAW. That will change however come January 2013 as the former WWE champion will also be coming to Smackdown.
On January 8, The Rock will be making his in person Smackdown television appearance for the first time in over eight years in his home town of Miami.
A new date has been added to The Rock’s WWE schedule as he will also be appearing on the January 22 tapings of Smackdown in Sacramento, California, which will be the last show before the Royal Rumble.
So far he is scheduled to appear in person on three RAW shows and two Smackdown shows in January plus the Royal Rumble pay-per-view itself.
The Internet pre-sale for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will kick off tonight at 10:30PM EST and will run till January 11 at Midnight.
Next year’s Hall of Fame will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, the only WrestleMania-related WWE event so far happening in New York City despite the whole WrestleMania week being marketed as happening in NJ and NY.
Prices will range from $55 to $155 plus additional taxes and fees. A $55 ticket will have $15 extra in fees plus the $155 will have an additional $25 in fees.
The pre-sale code you can use to purchase tickets is FAMOUS and you can get them at Ticketmaster.com.
The panelists for the Royal Rumble Fan Fest that will happen during the weekend of the Rumble in Phoenix at the U.S. Airways Center have been announced.
The first panel will take place on Saturday, January 26, from 3PM to 6PM and will tackle the much talked about Montreal screwjob. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Jerry “The King” Lawler will be discussing the story and answer questions.
The second panel will be held on the same day from 6:30PM to 9:30PM and the topic will be Degeneration X. DX members Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg Jesse James, and Bad Ass Billy Gunn will be the panelists.
The third panel will be held on Sunday, January 27, from 9AM to Noon discussing WCW Nitro and the Monday Night wars. On hand to discuss the topics and answer questions will be Kevin Nash, the Big Show, and Booker T.
The teaser trailer for The Marine 3: Homefront, has been released featuring former WWE champion The Miz in the leading role.
The story about this third installment in The Marine WWE Studios’ franchise is about The Miz’s character trying to save a kidnapped family member and stop a terrorist attack masterminded by a militia group.
Randy Orton was supposed to play the lead role however he was replaced by The Miz after the U.S. Marine Corps unit that Orton served with when he was in the military complained about the poor choice since Orton went AWOL and arrested back then.
The Miz is the third guy to play the lead role in The Marine following John Cena and Ted DiBiase.
