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WWE WrestleMania 31 in-depth report

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Welcome to the Levi’s Stadium in sunny Santa Clara, California, for WrestleMania 31!

TYSON KIDD AND CESARO VS LOS MATADORES VS THE NEW DAY VS THE USOS (Fatal 4 Way for the WWE Tag Team titles)

The first match on the pre-show was the WWE Tag Team title fatal 4 way between The Usos, Los Matadores, The New Day, and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Cesaro threw Jimmy Uso at the barricade to take him out. He had a shoulder injury and couldn’t really wrestle so that was the easy way to take him out, leaving his brother Jey alone. There was a cool spot where Cesaro suplexed Big E from the apron and then everybody suplexing each other. Natalya got on the action by putting the bull in the Sharpshooter and Naomi flew in with Jey over the top rope and then hit the Rear View on Natalya. They did a double double-suplex spot and Cesaro eventually pinned Big E after Jey hit the splash, tagging himself in prior to Jey hitting the splash.

ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL

Lot of Superstars in the ring at once, including those who did the fatal 4 way match, pulling double duty. Axelmania got attacked by everyone and after tearing his shirt, he was picked up and eliminated by…everybody! Crowd booed! Big Show eliminated Hideo Itami and fans did not appreciate it at all. Ryback dumped Ascension both at the same time. Big E clotheslined Big Show over the top but Show hung on ala Shawn Michaels and then eliminated the rest of The New Day. Cesaro eliminated Kane the way he threw Big Show out last year and then Show eliminated Cesaro. Final three were Big Show, Miz, and Mizdow. Miz gave Mizdow orders but Mizdow refused and fans exploded. Miz poked Mizdow and then Mizdow threw Miz over the top rope eliminating him. Big Show laughed at Mizdow and Mizdow unloaded on Show but Show knocked him out with a shoulder block. Show ran at Mizdow, he ducked, but Show hung on again. Big Show finally eliminates Mizdow to win the battle royal.

PAY-PER-VIEW OPEN

Aloe Blacc signs America The Beautiful acapella, a tradition that has been missing from the past couple WrestleManias.

LL Cool J then kicks off WrestleMania with a fantastic narration and opening video.

WADE BARRETT VS DOLPH ZIGGLER VS LUKE HARPER VS DANIEL BRYAN VS R-TRUTH VS DEAN AMBROSE VS STARDUST (Intercontinental title ladder match)

Pat Patterson was in the ring before the PPV kicked off and hung the Intercontinental title. Daniel Bryan was out first to a big pop. Lots of ladders at ringside which means a lot of crazy things will happen.

Match started with pedal to the metal with everyone flying over the top rope and Ambrose dropping an elbow from the top of the ladder outside. Bryan got the first hard hit with Harper throwing the ladder at him. Stardust was the first to knock everyone off the ladder with a dropkick, sending the rest flying down. Lots of “Cody” chants after that. Stardust got his own shiny ladder but Bad News Barrett broke it and beat everyone with it.

Harper wrapped a ladder around his neck and went in airplane mode before Truth crashed the party. Stardust went up on the big ladder but was suplexed from the top by Bad News. Bryan, Ziggler, climbed the ladder but Ambrose pushed them off. Harper drove Ambrose through a ladder with a power bomb, snapping it in half on the outside. Ziggler climbed up the ladder alone but Barrett hit him with the Bull Hammer while pulling him away.

Bryan hit the knee on Wade Barrett, climbed the ladder alone but Ziggler flew up the ladder, with both reaching for the title. The two fought at the top of the ladder exchanging headbutts and then Bryan grabbed the Intercontinental title for the win after knocking Ziggler down.

RANDY ORTON VS SETH ROLLINS

Seth Rollins and J&J Security come out first with Orton looking like he just came straight out of the shower. Orton has his twelfth WrestleMania in a row today and has new gear to celebrate this new milestone.

Orton went for the RKO very early but Rollins escaped. Noble and Mercury didn’t take long to interfere and Orton took out J&J with a double DDT from the apron to the floor. Rollins did a picture-perfect moonsault to the outside of the ring, hitting Orton but still managing to eat the front of the announce table himself.

Orton hit an RKO “out of nowhere” and Rollins kicked out at 2 and 3/4. He then went for the punt  but J&J interfered again and RKO’d both. Rollins then hit the Curb Stomp but Orton kicked out. Orton then hit the mother of all RKO’s when Rollins went for the Curb Stomp but Orton stood up and lifted him in mid-air and hit the RKO for the 1-2-3. Impressive.

TRIPLE H VS STING

A bunch of men in Sting face paint are on stage playing drums. Sting came out with a red robe and dark smoke and perfect face paint. Shots of San Francisco then play, interrupted by the Terminator. The play button on stage turns into Terminator eye. Bunch of Terminators are on stage and Triple H rises from the stage in Terminator gear and he along with the other Terminators rise up….way up high. Schwarzenegger then appears on video. “WrestleMania, judgment day is here. It’s time to play the game!” And with that, HHH’s theme hits the speakers to a big pop from the crowd.

This match, all of a sudden, can only be won via pinfall or submission. Fans chant “This is awesome” before the two even lock up. Old school start to the match and Sting even throws a dropkick with fans chanting “You still got it!” Action spilled outside and Sting tried a Stinger Splash but HHH moved away and he hit the barricade, and afterward he ate the steps. That turned the match around with HHH getting most of the upper hand.

As Sting had Triple H in the Scorpion Deathlock, DX intefered. That’s X-Pac, Billy Gunn, and Road Dogg. Sting then went on the top rope and flew on all of them outside the ring. Triple H hit the Pedigree on Sting but Sting kicked out.

All of a sudden, nWo music kicked in, and Hogan, Hall, and Nash came out as nWo and DX went to war. Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop but HHH kicked out and then locked the Scorpion Death Lock again.  HHH went for the sledgehammer but Hogan took it away and then X-Pac attacked Hogan, Nash took out Pac, and Road Dogg backdropped Hall. HBK all of a sudden comes out and super kicks Sting. Triple H covers Sting but Sting kicks out. HHH gets his sledgehammer again and Hall hands a baseball bat to Sting and breaks his sledgehammer in half with a swing. Triple H eventually hits Sting with a sledgehammer and covers for the pin.

After the match, DX and the nWo stared each other in the ring as they stood opposite sides. HHH then extended his hand to Sting and the two shook hands.

CONCERT!

Skylar Gray, Kidd Ink, and Travis Barker play for the WWE Universe giving a few minutes of breather time. And a piss break. And beer time. Which apparently is very expensive at the Levi’s Stadium.

AJ LEE AND PAIGE VS THE BELLA TWINS

#GiveDivasAChance is next with AJ and Paige out first and then the Bella not-so-much Twins anymore following. Paige has blue highlights in her hair now.

Match starts with Nikki and Paige and Nikki delivers an Alabama Slam, hit perfectly. Brie hits a missile dropkick and works on Paige some more. Nikki hit the torture rack finisher but Paige, making her WM debut, kicks out. AJ was outside the ring hurt and every time she was trying to get back in she kept getting knocked down. AJ eventually made it up and tagged in, exploding on Nikki.

Outside the ring, Paige disposed of Brie and AJ hit the Black Widow on Nikki, who tapped out. Paige and AJ then hugged in the ring in celebration. Match was relatively quick, so the Divas didn’t get much of a chance at WrestleMania.

HALL OF FAME SEGMENT

A recap of last night’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony was played.

The Fink is out to present the class of 2015, Rikishi, Larry Zbysko, Alundra Blayze, Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, The Bushwhackers, Tatsumi Fujinami, Macho Man Randy Savage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Kevin Nash, who got his own entrance with the nWo theme song as the headliner this year.

RUSEV VS JOHN CENA (U.S. title match)

The USSR anthem is played with artillery on display, Russian soldiers, and Lana walking down the ramp holding the U.S. title. Rusev then comes out in a freakin tank. Footage of America is played with appearances from Reagan, Bush, and Obama, with a soundtrack used years ago which is totally awesome. A big pop from the crowd as the video ends and some boos when Cena’s theme hits. The Santa Clara crowd sings “John Cena Sucks” along with theme.

Cena tries a pin in the first 3 seconds of the match but Rusev no sells. Lana is standing pretty outside looking beautiful. Rusev quickly turns the match around and goes on the offensive. but that did not last long as Cena “goes vintage” as Cole said. Cena hit the five knuckle shuffle and tried the AA but Rusev escaped. Fans started a “Let’s go Lana” chant with both Superstars being booed.

Cena hit the STF and Lana threw her shoe in the ring. What? Rusev went to the top rope and hit a Chris Benoit headbutt. Cena hits a back way stunner from the second rope, one new move in his arsenal. Rusev locks the Accolade camel clutch but Cena broke it by standing up and ramming him in the turnbuckle. Cena puts Rusev in the STF but he got out, then Lana stood up on the apron for distraction. Rusev ran the ropes and Cena moved, and Rusev bulldozed Lana. One AA later and Rusev’s undefeated streak is dead. New U.S. champion.

After the match, Rusev goes nuts on Lana and walks out alone as Lana is helped to the back. The champ is here.

THE ROCK RETURNS…WITH RONDA ROUSEY!

Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are out in the ring to announce a new indoor attendance record at the Levi’s Stadium of 76,976. Steph pats herself on the back for making WWE what it is today. HHH said the truth hurts, he said not only did he beat Sting tonight he feels he beat everyone who bet against him. He beat 76,976 people, and owns millions others. The Authority always wins, he said.

“If yaa smeeeellllll” and The Rock comes out! Fresh off hosting SNL, the People’s champ is here! Lots of Rocky chants obviously and fans start a “This is awesome” chant. Rock said you don’t own them (the fans) and not even The Rock. The Rock was born in East Bay and he’s an East Bay boy. Cheap pop. He said he has two choices, go back and dress like Terminator again or they can create a WrestleMania moment, right here, right now.

The two stand nose to nose and HHH said they had a great rivalry, remembering he kicked his ass for most of it so he got nothing to prove to him. Rock said Triple H left his balls in Stamford and the jacket comes off. Without the McMahons, there would be no Rock, Steph said. She said Peter Maivia, Rocky Johnson, and Dwayne Johnson would be nobody without Vince, Vince Jr., and herself. Rock fired back saying she wouldn’t be in power if it wasn’t for Vince’s Johnson!

Steph slapped The Rock hard, and told him to get out of the ring. Fans chanting “Ronda Ronda” for Rousey. Rock started to walk back, then he turned around, stopped in front of Rousey. He then turns around and camera pans to Rousey and the crowd exploded. Rousey jumps the barricade and into the WWE ring as fans chanted “Holy shit! and “Ronda’s gonna kill you!” Rock tells Steph he’ll never hit a woman but his good friend would be happy to. Stephanie disses Rousey telling her this is her ring, and tells her to get out of the ring and enjoy WM as a little fan. Rousey told her to make her leave and any ring she’s into it’s her ring.

Rock then hit Triple H and Ronda took down HHH with a hip toss and HHH sold it like a boss. Steph tried to slap Ronda but she blocked it and nearly put her in the arm lock but she let her out. If ya smell what The Rock and Ronda Rousey are cooking. WrestleMania moment for the ages.

UNDERTAKER VS BRAY WYATT

Bray Wyatt comes out first for the match against the Undertaker, walking slowly. The Undertaker makes his daylight entrance, his first appearance since last year’s WrestleMania. Taker grew some of his hair back, sporting the American Bad Ass gimmick hair style now.

All this is mine now, screams Wyatt. Taker hits a big boot immediately after Wyatt ran towards him. He goes for old school, walking the ropes just like he did back in the 90s. He also did the leg drop across the chest on the apron. Wyatt gets the upper hand after avoiding another boot to the face. He works on Taker for quite a few and then went for the Sister Abigail but Taker chokeslammed him instead. Finger across the neck signal and Tombstone time.

Taker hit it but Bray Wyatt kicked out of the Tombstone at 2. The Undertaker went for the second Tombstone but Wyatt hits the Sister Abigail and covers but Taker kicked out at the end of the 2 count. Close one! Wyatt went upside down like he usually does and started crawling and Taker sat up for an awesome segment. The two exchanged punches and then Wyatt try to hit the finisher again, but Taker reversed it, hit the Tombstone and covered Wyatt for the pin. The streak might be dead, but the Undertaker is alive and well! 22-1. Undertaker looked great here.

BROCK LESNAR VS ROMAN REIGNS (WWE World Heavyweight Title match)

Roman Reigns music hit and the boos fill the Levi’s Stadium as expected. Reigns walks through the crowd surrounded by armed and real  police as fans all try to touch him.

Lesnar comes out jogging out of the back, with the title wrapped around his waist accompanied by Paul Heyman. The pyro guy, who has one job hitting the button in sync, missed his cue during Lesnar’s entrance.

Lilian Garcia introduces Roman Reigns, and then Paul Heyman introduces Lesnar with the crowd chanting along to the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE champ shtick.

Lesnar picks Reigns like a rag doll and suplexes him, then F5s him. Lesnar is cut. The champ is killing Reigns in the ring as fans chant “Let’s go Lesnar.” Fans, not liking Reigns, are chanting “This is awesome” at the sight of Lesnar owning Reigns. Reigns eventually gets some offensive moves and throws some stiff shots but Lesnar clotheslines Reigns’ head into another postcode. Lesnar hits the F5, the second one, but Reigns kicks out at 2.

Lesnar slaps his opponent and Reigns keeps laughing and then hits the third F5 and Reigns kicks out again! Lesnar is now bleeding profusely after getting his head rammed into the post. Both back in the ring and Reigns hits the Superman punch, and another one, and a third one. Reigns hits the spear, and another spear and Lesnar kicks out at 2.99999999. Reigns goes for the fourth Superman punch but Lesnar catches him for a fourth F5.

Seth Rollins comes in and cashes in his Money In The Bank contract and turns the match into a triple threat match. Curb stomp to Lesnar, then goes for second one, but Lesnar catches him and goes for the F5 but Reigns spears Lesnar with Rollins on his shoulder and then Rollins delivered the curb stomp to Reigns and covers for the 1, 2, 3.

NEW WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

Massive fireworks go off the Levi’s Stadium as Seth Rollins poses at the top of the ramp as the new WWE World Heavyweight champion.

Odds turn in favor to Brock Lesnar for WrestleMania 31 main event

By
Colin Vassallo
-

With two hours to go until WrestleMania starts, the odds in the WWE World Heavyweight title have switched again and this time Brock Lesnar is the super favorite among the bookies.

Reigns was the favorite with 4/7 up until a few hours ago but now Lesnar is the absolute favorite with some having him at 2/7 and 1/7. Reigns has moved to 5/2 with some having him at 11/4.

The odds will most likely change more as the show gets closer to start time.

Bray Wyatt sprains ankle during warm up a few hours ago

By
Colin Vassallo
-

PWInsider.com is reporting that Bray Wyatt sprained his ankle when working out in the ring a few hours ago at Levi’s Stadium and had to be carried to the back via a cart.

Before big shows wrestlers usually go down to the ring and go over some moves and final touches and warm up and that’s when the incident happened. It’s not known how severely sprained his ankle is and him being carried to the back is certainly a precaution not to make things worse.

This is probably Bray Wyatt’s most important day of his wrestling career so far as being in a match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania is something special and not a lot of people are handpicked to do that.

Dwayne Johnson’s SNL episode draws lowest rating of the season

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The Rock might be ratings gold for professional wrestling and box office success for studios, but when it comes Saturday Night Live, well, people didn’t smell what The Rock was cooking.

Last night’s show did 3.7 in the ratings, down from 4.0 of the previous week. It was also SNL’s lowest result this season in households and second lowest in the very important 18-49 demographic. The episode was the lowest rated of Season 40 so far.

Sting says that match with Triple H might be his last one

By
Colin Vassallo
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In comments given to the Associated Press, former WCW and TNA champion Sting said that his match against Triple H might be his last one of his career although the door is open for one more match.

“I’m feeling like this is probably going to be my last one,” Sting said. “We’ll see how everyone reacts. If I’m asked to do one more at Survivor Series or maybe even WrestleMania next year, at this point, I would consider it. But realistically, this is going to be my last one.”

The Icon said that in retrospect, after rubbing shoulders with the WWE people, he sort of wished he’d done this years before.

“With hindsight, after rubbing shoulders with the WWE and all the different departments, it’s like, ‘Wow, man, I should have done this a long time ago,’” he added.

Sting and The Undertaker was the super fantasy match that everyone was hoping for for this year’s WrestleMania but WWE went in a different direction after Taker’s involvement this year was still not confirmed when creative kicked for WrestleMania kicked in. With WrestleMania 32 in Texas next year and WWE hoping to break the all-time record at a WrestleMania, a Sting vs Undertaker match would be a perfect send-off, for both.

Samoa Joe make surprise appearance at JR’s Ringside show

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Jim Ross had a special guest at his RINGSIDE show yesterday afternoon and that guest was none other than former TNA champion Samoa Joe.

Joe has been hinting about signing with the WWE over the past couple of weeks and pretty much stopped short of confirming that he is heading there. Rumors are that Joe will soon report to NXT first before popping up on WWE television.

The 36 year old California native left TNA this year after a 9 year stint with the company.

WrestleMania 31 odds tip slightly towards a Roman Reigns win

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Roman Reigns is the slight bookies favorite to win the WWE World Heavyweight title tonight at WrestleMania with most betting websites having him 4/7 for the win and Lesnar the underdog at 5/4. These early odds are most likely to change just before the show goes on the air and the “smart” money comes in.

In other matches, Sting is the absolute favorite at 1/7, The Undertaker winning is at 1/4, Seth Rollins at 4/7, Daniel Bryan at 3/1, John Cena at 1/6, and AJ Lee and Paige at 2/5. For the pre-show, Kidd and Cesaro are favorites to retain at 1/3, and Damien Mizdow is favorite to win the battle royal at 10/11.

In terms of most popular bets and who the fans are picking, Lesnar is the favorite to retain the title. Other popular bets from people dropping money have Seth Rollins, Sting, Kidd and Cesaro, The Undertaker, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee and Paige, and Damien Mizdow as the winners of their respective matches. All the popular bets are in line with the odds on favorite except for the WWE World Heavyweight title match.

While several betting websites may offer different odds, the favorites pretty much remain the same throughout.

Dwayne Johnson gives WrestleMania a plug during SNL skit

By
Colin Vassallo
-

With WrestleMania tonight and The Rock hosting Saturday Night Live last night, it was inevitable for an SNL wrestling sketch.

Cutting a promo in front of a WWE backdrop, The Rock is “Koko Watch Out” and Bobby Moynihan is “Trashyard Mutt.” The Rock is wearing a flashy jacket with blonde hair and mustache and Rocky rips Mutt apart, saying he has herpes, finding family porn on his computer, having sex with his dog, and some other over-the-top stuff.

While the characters were fictional, the WWE logo was the real one and the plug for WrestleMania played nicely in the skit. You can see the skit at . (Note: Video is geo blocked and only available on a U.S. IP address.)

Ronda Rousey and Daniel Cormier attending WrestleMania

By
Colin Vassallo
-

A bunch of MMA stars will be at WrestleMania today in Santa Clara and most likely will be getting some screen time when WWE stars showing all the stars and celebrities who are at the show during the broadcast.

Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva will be joined by UFC’s Daniel Cormier while women MMA fighters Jessamyn Duke, Shayna Baszler, and the UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey are also there. Duke posted a photo of the three of them posing with Natalya.

There were rumors months ago about Rousey being somewhat involved in the show but that never materialized for the obvious reasons. Rousey and the rest of her 4 Horsewomen attended SummerSlam last year in Los Angeles as well.

Cormier is a huge WWE fan and said that attending WrestleMania is a dream come true.

Second photo of the stage used for WrestleMania 31 today

By
Colin Vassallo
-

It’s not that long to go but a second photo of the set of WrestleMania made its way online to show a clear picture of how the whole stage is going to look.

Unlike previous years, WWE does not have a major backdrop for the set which allows the use of the higher end zone seats although some of the seats will be blocked by the set. The super wide video wall is basically the stage with the circle structure that is part of the WrestleMania “play” logo being the largest thing on stage. As noted before, the WrestleMania font now sports a futuristic look rather than the usual classic Mania font.

You can see the photo below.

WrestleMania 31 live on pay-per-view and WWE Network tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Live from the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, WWE presents its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 31 on pay-per-view and on the WWE Network. The full card is as follows:

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight title; Sting vs Triple H; Rusev vs John Cena for the U.S. title; The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt; Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins; Bad News Barrett vs R-Truth vs Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper vs Dolph Ziggler vs Stardust vs Daniel Bryan in a ladder match for the Intercontinental title; and AJ Lee and Paige vs The Bella Twins.

The WrestleMania Kickoff show will also feature two matches. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and a fatal 4 way for the WWE Tag Team titles with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs The New Day vs Los Matadores vs The Usos.

The Kickoff show will run for two hours and will start at 5PM EST / 3PM PST and WrestleMania will start at 7PM EST / 5PM PST.

CM Punk with sarcastic tweet to Itami, Itami fires back in spectacular fashion

By
Colin Vassallo
-

CM Punk decided to have some fun with Hideo Itami on Twitter after Itami finally used the GTS finisher for the first time in a WWE ring on Friday night at the NXT event at the San Jose State University.

“@HideoItami yo, 20% off my stuff @ProWrestlingTs buy Fujinami a shirt. He’s a fan,” Punk tweeted to Itami. Punk used the GTS finisher as well when he was in the WWE.

Sensing some sarcasm in the tweet, the man formerly known as KENTA fired back to Punk.

“@CMPunk oh interesting…but Tomorrow is gonna be a big day for me. So I “Go To Sleep” tonight. See you later. Good night :)” Itami wrote.

We’ll give this one to Itami, whose reply was right on the money!

WWE to announce 8 new series for the Network tomorrow

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Marc Graser, the former Senior Editor at Variety is reporting that WWE will be announcing new original shows for the WWE Network tomorrow, most likely at the conference call that Vince McMahon and George Barrios will host in the morning.

A Divas Search program, based on the Diva Search Contest that the company used to run years ago is among the eight new series slated for the Network. An animated show from WWE super fan Seth Green is also on that list.

Meanwhile, the Tough Enough series which USA Network has once again picked up will be returning in June of this year with a brand new format.

This information was given during the WWE Business Partner Summit which was held yesterday.

WWE honors business partners at the annual Business Partner Summit

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE hosted its annual business partner summit in San Jose, California, yesterday and honored its most trusted partners during the event.

The WWE Family Friendly Partner of the Year was given to Kraft Foods for Capri Sun, the Innovation Partner of the year was awarded to Rogers Communications Canada, the Multicultural Business Partner of the Year went to AdCouncil, Fan Engagement Partner of the Year winner was Totino’s, Pro-Social Partner of the Year went to the Special Olympics, and the big Business Partner of the Year award went to Warner Bros.

The event was presented by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon while John Cena and Vince McMahon came out to present a replica of the WWE World Heavyweight title to Warner Bros.

The full video of the event will soon be uploaded to corporate.wwe.com.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal list of participants so far

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Twenty WWE Superstars have so far put their name down to participate in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal which will take place on the WrestleMania Kickoff show tonight on the WWE Network.

WWE has not announced how many Superstars will be involved so we might see some additions to the already-revealed list. Those participating in alphabetical order are:

Adam Rose, Big Show, Curtis Axel, Damien Mizdow, Darren Young, Erick Rowan, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Hideo Itami, Jack Swagger, Kane, Konnor, Mark Henry, Ryback, Sin Cara, The Miz, Titus O’Neil, Viktor, and Zack Ryder.

WrestleMania 31 parking and public transport information

By
Colin Vassallo
-

With WrestleMania today and over 70,000 fans expected, traffic and parking will be one of the biggest headaches for those making the trip.

If you are driving to the stadium, the parking lot will open at 11:30AM. A parking pass will be needed and fans can pre-purchase a parking ticket through the Levi’s Stadium App for iPhone or Android devices. A map of the parking lot and additional information can be seen at www.levisstadium.com/plan-your-visit/parking. It is expected that many vehicles will be abandoned for the night, they will all need to be towed, so if you happen to be a man with a van removal service, this will be a good night of business for you.

If you choose public transportation to attend the show, there are several options you can choose from. The VTA bus and light rail service will be providing additional service to Levi’s Stadium before and after the event. Additional signage and lighting will also be employed to and from VTA and the venue. For more information visit www.vta.org/getting-around/event-service/levis-stadium or else go to www.levisstadium.com/plan-your-visit/public-transportation for the other options.

“We are throwing every available resource we have at WrestleMania,” spokeswoman Brandi Childress told the San Jose Mercury News. “This is a worldwide stage, we will be under a microscope, and we are fully aware of that.”

WWE wins two CableFAX Digital Awards

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE announced that it has been named the winner of two 2015 CableFAX Digital Awards: “Social Media Dream Team,” honoring WWE’s social media department, and “Best Smartphone App,” for the WWE App.

WWE received the top honor of the night, beating Turner Sports, Discovery and OWN to win the award for Social Media Dream Team. WWE’s social media team manages 11 major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Pinterest, where WWE has a passionate fan base of more than 460 million worldwide.

The WWE App, which has been downloaded more than 17 million times in 220 countries, was named Best Smartphone App, beating ESPN, Turner Sports, Crackle, Food Network and MSG.

In addition, for the second straight year, WWE Vice President, Social Media Jayar Donlan, was named to CableFax’s Digital Hot List, which recognizes top industry executives.

The 2015 CableFAX Digital Awards honors the outstanding websites, digital initiatives and people in the Digital and Technology industry that are driving the digital media revolution.

WWE live event in Leeds, England, moves date and time

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The non-televised live event in Leeds, England, as part of the upcoming WWE tour of Europe on April 13 has been moved to Sunday, April 12, at 1PM.

The move was done to enable everyone on that leg of the tour to be available for Monday Night Raw in London on April 13. Usually WWE runs two shows at the same night when Raw is on in the United Kingdom but this time it will be all hands on deck.

The move to one day earlier means that the same group who will do the Leeds tour at 1PM will have to work twice as they have another show in Manchester at 7PM. Traveling from Leeds to Manchester is not that far and assuming the 1PM show finishes by 4PM, it will give them enough time to shower, get in the bus, drive to Manchester, unpack, gear up, and start the next show a few hours later.

The WWE European tour is one of the most demanding tours on the WWE calendar with nearly 20 shows in a span of 10 or 11 days including two full television tapings.

2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony report

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The first inductee of the evening is Rikishi, inducted by his two sons, former WWE Tag Team champions The Usos.

The Usos say that they and all their family are from the Bay Area which gets a cheap pop from the crowd. They said they remember all their dad’s gimmicks but one of them they certainly cannot forget. A picture of Rikishi’s ass is shown and the sons say that that ass put them through college, bought them Christmas presents, birthday presents, and put food on the table for them.

Rikishi then comes out and tells his kids they’re gonna have a little talk after this! He tells the cameraman to zoom in on his ring, but it was being covered by the mic, which was lowered automatically as the crowd laughed. He said it’s every wrestler’s dream to be here and it’s now a reality for him. He said he comes from a prolific, hardworking, and humble wrestling family, the Anoa’i family.

He mentions the names of the wrestlers who come from his family with fans in the arena starting a Umaga chant. He thanks his parents, and said he wished his mother was there to witness it. He sends a shout-out to Rusev and wishes him good luck for WrestleMania. He said he remembers mostly everything about his wrestling career but this is the one he will remember the most. He is honored and humbled to be inducted in the Bay Area where he was born and raised. He then dances with his kids to wrap his induction up.

The next inductee is Larry Zbysko and Bruno Sammartino is introduced as his inductor. He said he met Larry when Larry was just 17 years old and he kept pestering him about wrestling and how he wants him to learn how to wrestle. Sammartino said he told him to go to college and if he graduates he will help him and that’s what Larry did. Larry went to college, got the degree and then Sammartino said he called him before he even told his parents and told him now he has to hold his end of the bargain.

Larry Zbysko then came out and said at 16 years old he drove his parents nuts. He was always a fan and wanted to become a wrestler. He went to school with Sammartino’s kids and that’s where he got his address. He used to drive by his house and one day he managed to see him by the pool and made the deal.

Zbysko said he had an indescribable career and has a reputation of being a big mouth but he’s lost for words now. The speech started to get repeated and kept thanking Bruno before the music cut him off. The speech went on for a long time.

Former WWE Women’s champion Madusa is up next and Natalya will be inducting her. Natalya said that Madusa didn’t need to wrestle in bra and panties to be popular although she looked damn good in a bikini. She mentioned how the courageous act of trashing the Women’s title on Nitro has been etched in time and was one of the early shots of the Monday Night war. She recounts a story of Madusa recording promos and Arn Anderson was next in line but she took forever to finish and Anderson was complaining. Medusa ran after Arn with her shoes in her hands and said that Madusa is the only woman that Arn is afraid of.

Madusa, or Alundra Blayze in this case, came out looking stunning. “I bet you didn’t see this one coming,” she said as the crowd laughed. “Neither did I!” She jokingly asked why it took 21 years to get here. Madusa thanked Sherri Martel and Fabulous Moolah, who she inducted in the Hall of Fame two decades ago. She thanked Verne Gagne, Mr Perfect, Diamond Dallas Page, her Japan family, the monster truck family, all the Madusa fans and a special thanks went out to Paul Heyman who looked emotional during her speech. She said she had the biggest crush on Steve Austin when they were in the Dangerous Alliance and told Arn Anderson not to make a move or she’ll whoop his ass right on stage. She also thanked Rick Rude and Randy Savage, getting very emotional when mentioning her time in Team Madness and said she’s honored she’s getting inducted on the same night Savage is. She points out her husband in the audience, who is a Sergeant Major for the U.S. Army and noted how she hasn’t seen him in a year because he’s been deployed overseas and the Army arranged to have him there just for this occasion.

She then addressed the “elephant in the room,” the story of the title. She said when Eric Bischoff called and pitched the idea she said no but then did it because of job security. It’s a defining moment in her career and she’ll forever be known as the bitch who threw the title in the trash can. She said she owns the moment and lived it for the past 20 years and she’s at peace with it, and “so should you.”

Natalya then brought a trash can out and Madusa started popping things out, including bra and panties, a JR BBQ sauce, Eric Bischoff’s book, and then the Women’s title to a big pop. She said the title is now back home and called being inducted in the Hall of Fame the highest honor of her career.

The Warrior Award is next and Dana Warrior came out for the speech, saying it’s a terrifying honor to be there and said that last year she was front row seeing her husband getting inducted. She thanked WWE and the people who helped her and said she’ll never forget what they did to her family and all the Superstars and Divas who make her kids smile.

She said Connor Michalek is a testament to Warrior’s spirit, and he has left an impact and legacy behind him. She called Connor a little warrior with a giant heart and then challenged the WWE fans to raise a million dollars in one month for Connor’s Cure and if they do she’ll do something Warrior crazy, like body slamming somebody, brother! That raised a few “Oooohs!” from the crowd but said she was just joking.

Daniel Bryan comes out and explains his relationship with Connor and how he saw him for the first time on YouTube. He said he stole his heart and the little man was kind, compassionate, funny, quick-witted and full of life. He then introduced Connor’s father Steve to accept the award.

Steve thanked Dana and commends her for raising the kids the way she does after a tough loss. He thanked Daniel Bryan who was a hero to his son and said Connor would be happy to know he presented him with the award. He also thanked Triple H and Stephanie for starting Connor’s Cure and then Connor’s little brother Jackson came out on stage and said, “I love you Connor” to finish it off.

Johnny Ace came out then to introduce the Bushwhackers. He said he got his start with them and was proud to call them his mentors and that they shaped his career.

Luke and Butch marched out and did their usual shtick. They recounted some Killer Kowalski and Peter Maivia stories with Butch cracking everybody up. Butch said he was mad that at the Royal Rumble, he worked for 25 minutes, his cousin Luke did 8 seconds, and at the end of the day they got paid the same! The funny duo then called out Roddy Piper, Ted DiBiase, and Bret Hart, who all did the Bushwhacker march to the bottom of the stage much to the enjoyment of the crowd.

Two time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was out next to induct Tatsumi Fujinami. He said he’s been going to Japan since 1972 and wrestled everyone but Fujinami was the best of them all even though he has love for Muta. He said Japanese promoters push their wrestlers so they fail but Fujinami proved why he’s the best in the history of Japan.

Fujinami came out and said he was so proud to be there. He thanked WWE for this great honor and said he started wrestling when he was a boy and how he’s 61 and his mission was always to be a wrestler. He thanked his wife and family for their support.

The Macho Man induction was next and Hulk Hogan came out and did the “Ooooh yeah!” He said Macho was also intense and called him crazy and a big friend and it was an honor and privilege to induct him. He said he loved Savage and was a great competitor but an even better friend. He was Macho Man 24/7 and said that there would be no Hulkamania without Macho madness. He put him over for his WrestleMania III match against Steamboat and said he might have slammed Andre but that match stole the show.

Macho’s brother Lanny came out and gave a big hug to the Hulkster. Poffo reads a poem, mentioning Slim Jim, Spider Man, WrestleMania 3, the Mega Powers, and other wrestling references. He said live’s too short to hold a grudge and it’s time for us to heal. He thanked Randy’s widow for making him the happiest man on earth and while Randy has no biological kids, he was a great uncle to his daughter. He said Savage loved the kids of the Special Olympics like Mr T loves his mother and said that he always found time for them and WWE made Savage like Santa Claus by giving him free merchandise to give out to the kids.

The celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame got its next inductee, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Triple H said his nose wasn’t always that big and it’s still swollen from that time Schwarzenegger knocked him out on Smackdown. He said that a lot of guys went to the gym cause of Arnold and while  he slaughtered millions of people in movies, no one ever got hurt. He said he’d be the perfect WWE Superstar as he came with catch phrases, and said if things were different, fans might be chanting “Get to the chopper,” instead of “Yes!” He puts over Schwarzenegger’s outreach programs and called him the greatest bodybuilder and box office star and now a Hall of Famer.

Schwarzenegger comes out and immediately screams, “Get to the chopper.” He thanked Triple H for the wonderful introduction and said he never thought he’d be in the WWE Hall of Fame. He always loved wrestling and met Bruno Sammartino for the first time when Bruno was a head judge for Mr Universe. He thanked Bruno for being a friend and said he accepts this award on behalf of all his fans, who he thanked for their loyalty and because without them there would be no Arnold Schwarzenegger. He thanked America for giving him the opportunity to do everything he did in his career.

The last one of the night was Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels was out to do the honors. He gets out two pieces of paper, but then tears them apart for a big pop from the crowd. “This one is a pro wrestler inducting another pro wrestler, and one of them is going to get in trouble in the back,” he said.

He mentions how he saw Vinny Vegas on WCW one night and told Rick Steiner to see if he can reach him. Steiner called Nash, and Nash lied his way out of a WCW contract, faxed his release to WWE from the WCW building and the rest is history. When Nash arrived in New York, Shawn told him that he needed a bodyguard on screen and probably off screen too cause no one likes him. He talked about McMahon falling in love with Nash and giving him the title leaving HBK in disbelief! He picked up Nash for being so business minded and making a lot of money but thanked him for paving the way in terms of contract negotiations and guaranteed money.

Kevin Nash comes out to the nWo music and calls HBK the Michael Jordan of wrestling. He said no one knew under what name he was getting inducted but he would have been fine with Diesel as without Diesel there would be none of this. He said he’s been blessed to perform with the best workers as he’s not the best dancer, but he can follow a dance.

He admitted he went for the money and then went over his early WCW stint when Dusty Rhodes pitched the idea of Oz. He said when he came to WWE and on his first night helped HBK get the Intercontinental title from Marty Jannetty, he did more for his career in that match than in three years with Turner. He thanked the fans for “keeping the light on,” and said that WWE gets bigger every time he gets back here. He said he lives next to Cape Canaveral and sees all the lift offs and one day that lift off will be WWE holding WrestleMania on the moon! He thanked his wife of 27 years and said that there are two things real in this business: the day you win your first title, and the day you get inducted in the Hall of Fame.

To end the segment, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, and Scott Hall came out to pose with Nash on stage as the Kliq reunites again at the Hall of Fame.

Bag policy for Levi’s Stadium for tonight’s WrestleMania

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Those attending WrestleMania today at the Levi’s Stadium should be aware that bags are prohibited including backpacks and other carriers.

The only exceptions will be WWE-approved clear tote bags sold at the WrestleMania Superstore or the merchandise trucks, one gallon clear freezer zip lock type bags, small clutch bag (the size of an adult hand), and seat cushions. All approved bags will be subject to inspection upon entry and are subject to additional inspections within the stadium.

Guests with oversized bags or other prohibited items must check these bags or items at bag check sites located in front of Intel Gate A, Dignity Health Gate C, Toyota Gate F. These sites close one hour after the completion of the event.

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