It is going to be a Harlem Heat reunion at the Hall of Fame on Saturday as it was announced that Stevie Ray, the real life brother and former tag team partner of Booker T will be inducting him.
Ray and Booker made their debut in WCW in 1993 and together they won the WCW tag team titles on 10 separate occasions. Ray retired in 2002 and opened up a wrestling school with Booker called Pro Wrestling Academy in Houston.
With Stevie Ray’s announcement, all Hall of Fame inductees have their presenter chosen.
It looks like WWE has “buckled” under pressure from fans and Mick Foley has been given his Hall of fame spot on the USA Network broadcast which will air this coming Tuesday.
Foley was left out of the one hour edited version of the show and instead Trish Stratus, Donald Trump, and Bruno Sammartino were going to be highlighted.
Foley mentioned that he was going to give it his all to make that decision seem as stupid as it can get and a lot of fans voiced their displeasure at the company for leaving out Foley from the TV broadcast.
“Don’t worry @RealMickFoley – I had a nice talk with @VinceMcMahon and your #WWEHOF speech Will be televised. All is calm, all is bright,” said a tweet from ‘Santa Claus’ which was retweeted by Foley. Foley is really into Christmas in real life.
“Please give @SantaClausWay a follow and thank him for saving #WWEHOF. He never did get me those 2 front teeth, but delivered BIG TIME today,” added Foley afterward, saying that he cannot wait till Saturday.
Impact begins with Aces and Eights walking to the ring. Mr. Anderson is the first person to speak and he calls us all douche bags. When Anderson is a babyface he calls us assholes, but now we’re douchebags. Anderson offers AJ styles an Aces and Eights leather vest.
Devon is also there and he has a mysterious envelope that he says belongs to Brooke. D Lo Brown also has an envelope, but his contains a termination notce. Apparently D Lo is no longer a TNA executive. D Lo wants a TNA official to tell him why he got fired. Kurt Angle comes out and tells D Lo that he’s going to let him know exactly how he feels about him.
Angle enters the ring and takes D Lo down with a double leg takedown and starts pounding him. Aces and Eights beat Angle down until several members of the TNA roster come down to help. Aces and Eight retreat. There will be a 10 man tag match later tonight featuring members of Aces and Eights and TNA.
In the back, Joey Ryan offers Brooke Hogan a lollipop and asks for a favor. Brooke reminds him that she is still technically married, and that she already turned him down. Joey says he wants to referee a Knockouts match.
Brooke is short 1 referee since former Knockouts ref Taryn Terell is now a wrestler. Joeys says he has a shirt and a zebra striped thong that he offers to show; sadly, she doesn’t let him. Brooke finally agrees but makes him promise not to touch them.
Commercial
Match #1: Tara (with Jesse) and Gail Kim versus Velvet Sky and Taryn Terell.
New Knockouts referee Joey Ryan frisks each of the Knockouts before the match and then pats Velvet Sky on the ass. Joey has already broken the no-touch rule and the bell hasn’t even rung yet. Velvet and Tara start the match.
Tara hits Velvet with a chop and Velvet responds with a pair of clotheslines. Velvet puts Tara in a headlock and Joey starts to give her a backrub. Velvet tags in Taryn. Taryn rolls up Tara twice but Tara kicks out. Taryn tags in Velvet and they double team Tara. Velvet goes for a cover but Joey just stares at Velvet’s ass. Ryan fails to call the next pin attempt as well.
Gail seems to be the only one trying to take advantage of Joey Ryan’s sleaziness and starts to flirt with him. Joey separates Tara and Velvet in the corner and gropes Tara a little bit. Jesse finally seems to be getting upset and takes off his shirt so he can confront Joey and show off his pecs at the same time. Tara goes for a standing moonsault and misses.
Tara tags in Gail and Velvet tags in Taryn. Taryn hits Gail with a pair of clotheslines and a suplex. Taryn climbs to the top and hits Gail with a flying crossbody. Taryn mounts Gail and repeatedly slams Gail’s head into the mat.
Tara hits Taryn with a cheap shot and Velvet knocks Tara out of the ring and into Jesse. Gail starts to flirt some more with Joey and Joey thinks he’s getting lucky. Velvet rolls Gail up for what could have been at least a 10 count but Joey doesn’t even notice, he was too busy taking off his shirt and oiling up his chest to notice.
When Joey does turn around, Gail has reversed the pin and Joey makes a very fast count and declares Gail the winner. After the match Joey looks a little sad to see Gail leaving. He doesn’t seem to know he was just used. He also doesn’t seem to mind all that much. Joey starts flirting with Velvet and Taryn, the two women he just screwed out of a match because he was too busy trying to get laid.
Predictably, he gets a nut shot from Taryn.
Commercial
Tag champs Austin Aries and Bobby Roode meet Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez for a tag title contract signing. Aries decides he wants to add some perks and stipulation, and Chavo agrees and adds a few of his own. The winner will now receive a fruit basket, green M&Ms, and more money.
The match will also be 2 out of 3 falls, and if Chavo and Hernandez lose, they can never tag again. Everyone signs, but Hernandez seems concerned.
Commercial
Gut Check is next. This week’s contestants are former NWA champ Adam Pearce and luchadore Magno. We are shown a video package highlighting each wrestler’s career to this point.
Match #2: Adam Pearce versus Magno.
The two men exchange several near falls and reversals early. They start trading strikes and Magno takes Pearce down with a tilt a whirl back breaker. Magno lands a couple punches and tries for a springboard crossbody; Pearce catches him and drops him with a spinebuster.
Pearce lands a punch and Magno responds with hurricanrana, a couple clotheslines, and an Enzuigiri. Magno clotheslines Pearce to the floor and then hits him with a moonsault. Magno goes out after Pearce and then rolls him in. Pearce rolls Magno up and uses the ropes to get a tainted pnfall victory.
Commercial
When we return, Joe Park is telling Kurt Angle he wants to be part of the fight tonight against Aces and Eights. Angle tells Park to follow his lead, and if he sees a shot, to take it.
Hulk Hogan walks to the ring and tells us he is going to listen to his gut from now on, and his gut is telling him to call out AJ Styles. AJ comes out, still carrying the Aces and Eights vest the Mr. Anderson gave him earlier.
Hulk thinks AJ has changed and he wants to know what side he’s on. Hogan wants AJ’s help with Aces and Eights and offers his hand. James Storm comes out and confronts AJ. Storm reminds AJ that they’ve both built this company up from the beginning, and Storm wants to know where AJ stands. Storm threatens to knock AJ out, and AJ just leaves.
Commercial
After the break, Hogan tells us AJ has one week to make up his mind or he’s done.
Match #3: X Division qualifying match: Sonjay Dutt versus Mason Andrews versus Petey Williams.
The action is fast paced with several rollups and near falls. Mason goes out to the floor and Sonjay hits Williams with a dropkick. Williams trips Sonjay into the ropes and hits him with a dropkick. Williams hits Mason with a suicide dive on the floor.
Sonjay springs out to the floor but misses both men and hits the ground hard. Mason rolls Williams in and gets a near fall. Mason stomps Williams and then hits him with a backbreaker. Mason and Williams exchange strikes and Mason gets the edge. Sonjay applies an abdominal stretch to Williams and Mason breaks it up, knocking Sonjay to the floor.
Sonjay springboards back in and knocks both men down with a double dropkick. Sonjay hits Petey with a pendulum kick and knocks him to the floor. Sonjay hits Mason with an inverted DDT and then misses with a moonstomp. Mason hits Sonjay with a flying knee, and Petey hits Mason with the Canadian destroyer for the win!
In the back, Bully Ray is addressing his evil Aces and Eights gang. Bully is in a bad mood because Kurt Angle attacked them earlier and had enough back up to keep them from taking him out.
He wants Angle taken out tonight. Bully also says he misses his wife; she took good care of him. He says after he hands her the envelope he has for her, they can all move forward.
Commercial
Match #4: 10 man tag. Aces and Eights represented by Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, Doc, Knox, and Devon versus TNA represented by Angle, Samoa Joe, Eric Young, Joseph Park, and Magnus.
Angle is in first, and he hip tosses Wes Brisco into the ring. Angle hits Brisco with a few punches and then stomps on him in the corner. Angle hits Brisco. Angle tags in Magnus and Magnus suplexes Bischoff.
Magnus tags in Joe and Joe hits Bischoff with an inverted atomic drop. Magnus hits Bischoff with a boot and Joe hits Bischoff with a splash. Bischoff rakes Joe’s eyes and tags in Devon. Devon gets pummeled by Joe; many punches, an elbow, an Enzuigiri, a kick, and a knee drop.
Devon tags in Knox and Joe hits Knox with a flying knee. Joe tags in Eric Young and Eric flies off the top rope to hit Knox’s arm. Young and Knox trade strikes and Eric whips Knox out to the floor and hits him with a springboard splash.
Commercial
When we return from the break, Eric is in control, but Knox soon hits him with several strikes and knocks him to the floor. Knox rolls Eric in and hits him with a leg drop before tagging in Doc. Doc lands a lot of body punches to Eric in the corner and then punches him in the head.
Doc takes Eric down with a clothesline and then hits him with a splash. Doc tags in Devon and Devon lands several punches. Devon has Eric in a neck pinch but Eric gets out of it with an elbow strike. Devon does a spinarooni and tags in Doc.
Eric hits Doc with a chinbreaker and then an Enzuigiri before tagging in Joe Park. Park lands several punches and clotheslines Doc to the floor. Park hits Wes Brisco with a body slam and a big splash; Devon comes in to save. Everyone gets involved and the action breaks down. Samoa Joe does a sweet suicide dive and bodies fly all over the place until eventually only Devon and Joe Park are left in the ring.
Devon goes for a top rope headbutt and misses. Joe Park starts to climb the rope but stops when he sees Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco enter the ring. Park clotheslines Brisco and Bischoff at the same time but gets hit by Devon with a nut shot. Devon rolls Park up for the win.
In the back, Hulk is talking to his daughter Brooke. Hulk is worried about Brooke going out to meet Bully Ray, but she just wants to get this over with. She thinks Bully has divorce papers and she just wants to sign them and be done with it. She promises to take extra security.
Commercial
When we return, Bully Ray goes to the ring with Brooke’s envelope in hand. Brooke comes out with her bodyguards and Bully happily says “hi Honey!” Bully is shocked that Brooke isn’t wearing her wedding ring.
Bully is wearing his ring and thinks “Brookie” should do what she’s told from now on and wear her ring. Bully also wants to let Brooke know that he does not have divorce papers; he has a front row seat to the Corpus Christi show next week when he defends his title against Jeff Hardy in a full metal mayhem match.
Bully tells her to show up looking her best, because lately she’s been letting herself go a little. Brooke slaps Bully and he laughs at her. Bully calls her pathetic and laughs at her some more. Bully says he is so deep in Brooke’s head she can’t get him out, and he says he’s been in her since day one.
Jeff Hardy has heard enough and comes out to attack Bully Ray. The two men brawl back and forth as Impact goes off the air.
TNA Wrestling announced that it has reached a one year agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group to provide Candlewood Suites as the official hotel partner for TNA’s live events.
“We are really looking forward to this new relationship with TNA IMPACT WRESTLING,” said Robert Radomski, Vice President of Brand Leadership, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. “This partnership provides a fantastic opportunity for IHG – and specifically Candlewood Suites hotels – to showcase talent, production team and fan travel accommodations for TNA IMPACT WRESTLING as they travel throughout the U.S. and around the globe.”
To support the relationship, TNA will promote the hotel on several TNA properties including on the impactwrestling.com website, online shows, and live events.
All TNA Superstars and officials will be staying at Candlewood Suites and other IHG-branded hotels while traveling throughout the year.
Mick Foley is determined to deliver the best speech at the Hall of Fame to let the powers that be know what a stupid decision they made for leaving him out of the Hall of Fame broadcast on USA Network on Tuesday.
“I’ll give the best speech I can, and let the decision makers make the decisions,” Foley wrote after it was revealed that Trish Stratus, Donald Trump, and Bruno Sammartino will be the three headliners on the USA Network one hour broadcast.
“I’ll accept that it was a simply a decision that was beyond my control, and do everything I can – through the passion for my profession – to make that decision look as glaringly stupid as possible,” Foley added.
The addition of Trump and Trish to the broadcast stem most likely from the fact that Vince and Stephanie McMahon will be doing the inductions respectively, raising the profile for both inductees.
The one hour broadcast which airs on Tuesday is always butchered by the WWE crew and all the good stuff is left in the editing room due to the long acceptance speeches and limited amount of airtime. The full Hall of Fame ceremony will be included in the WrestleMania 29 Blu-Ray and DVD release.
While Sean “Diddy” Combs was the only celebrity announced to be appearing at WrestleMania, more names were added today and announced at the WrestleMania 29 press conference which is being held at Radio City Music Hall.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson, actor Charlie Sheen, talk show host Jimmy Fallon, rapper Lil’ Wayne, and reality TV star Snooki were announced as being at WrestleMania and taking part in the show.
Living Colour, the band that plays CM Punk’s theme song “Cult of Personality” will be also performing the song live as part of Punk’s entrance for his match against the Undertaker.
Skyler Grey also announced on her Twitter that she will be performing with Sean Combs at the pay-per-view.
In an interview on her own website at TrishStratus.com, the soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer and former 7-time WWE Women’s champ explained the decision to have Stephanie McMahon induct her in the Hall of Fame.
“As the Hall of Fame is a nod to what one has accomplished in their career, my mind naturally went to Stephanie as there would have never been a Women’s Division to win seven championships and create lasting memories in, without her continuous support of the women in our company,” Stratus said.
In the same interview, Stephanie McMahon said the two were in a storyline together 10 years ago and both started around the same time and very “green” as the word goes.
“Trish is truly a business woman, and as a business woman, I appreciate and respect that, especially as Trish has really done that on her own. She is a strong, powerful, smart woman, and we need more women in leadership roles,” McMahon added.
WWE and Martha Hart have finally ended their legal war out of court with an agreement reached to settle the lawsuit that Martha brought forward against WWE. Terms of the settlement were not announced. The settlement was announced yesterday by Martha Hart, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and his wife and former CEO Linda McMahon according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was regarding WWE’s use of Owen Hart’s likeness and image in the Hart Family DVD that was released years ago.
In April 2012, a federal dismissed part of the lawsuit which involved both McMahons. Hart filed the lawsuit against WWE and the McMahon family when Linda was running for her first Senate seat in 2010.
The judge however allowed part of the lawsuit to stick as Martha was still after WWE for unpaid royalties from the DVD. The majority of the lawsuit had been dropped and even most claims against the company were dismissed, leaving only the unpaid royalties part.
WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt described the lawsuit at the time as a political stunt in an attempt to sabotage Linda McMahon’s now failed Senate run.
Taking advantage of the thousands of people who will be in the New York/New Jersey area for WrestleMania, TNA will be presenting a show tomorrow at the NYCB Theatre in Westbury, New York.
TNA is promoting the non-televised event as the road to Slammiversary during “pro wrestling’s most anticipated weekend in the area in history.”
The show will feature AJ Styles taking on Austin Aries for the first time in TNA while Sting and Jeff Hardy join forces to take on Devon and TNA champion Bully Ray.
Hulk Hogan – who is in the area to do appearances by himself during Mania weekend – will also be part of the show.
WWE’s new video game publishers 2K will be streaming this year’s WrestleMania 29 Superstar Challenge live from Axxess on the Internet.
The WrestlemMnia 29 Superstar Challenge will feature some of the best WWE Superstars and Divas in a WWE ’13 tournament which has become a tradition at every Axxess.
Zack Ryder, Big E Langston, Damien Sandow, and WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn will be a part of the tournament with more to be announced. In total, 16 will be participating in this event and WWE Games Creative Director Cory Ledesma and Interactive Marketing Manager Aubrey Sitterson will provide commentary.
The challenge will go down tomorrow at 9PM EST at Twitch.TV/2K. WWE Diva AJ is the reigning champ.
Actress and TV host Maria Menounos defended the decision of being chosen to induct Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame after critics bashed the appointment.
In a message on her personal Facebook page, Menounos said she knows some people don’t understand why she’s inducting one of the longest reining WWE champs ever.
“Here’s a quick history… I met Bob when I was 19-he starred in my movie, he supported me when I competed at Miss Mass USA pageant and I helped him run for congress,” she wrote. “He’s a dear friend of 14 years and I’m honored to be a part of this historic moment in his career and with the WWE.”
Menounos is probably one of the biggest WWE fans among all the celebrities that have been involved with WWE over the years and participated at a past WrestleMania wrestling with two cracked ribs.
Hundreds of friends, family, and wrestlers attended the 90-minute Reid Flair funeral today at the Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the funeral featured words of remembrance by his sister, girlfriend, and two-time Hall of Fame father.
“I want to make sure he knows this turnout isn’t because of me, it’s because of who he was him and who he affected,” said a subdued and visibly shaken Flair in a more than 10-minute speech about his son.
During the funeral service an 17-minute video slideshow was played showing Reid throughout the years on vacation, wrestling, and with his family.
Several hours ago, TNA President Dixie Carter wrote on Twitter that she was in Charlotte for Reid’s funeral. “Just landed in Charlotte. Headed to Reid Flair’s funeral. Please keep @RicFlairNatrBoy in your thoughts and prayers today.” Flair worked for TNA for a couple of years before departing the company.
“Thoughts and prayers are with Ric and his family,” wrote Hogan, who was not at the service.
It is not known if any from WWE attended the funeral due to the busy WrestleMania schedule but it’s a safe bet that there were some representatives from the company for sure.
Ric Flair will not be a part of WrestleMania Axxess as planned tomorrow due to the death of his son Reid.
Flair was scheduled to be at Axxess from 7:30PM onwards as part of the VIP Autograph Session which was sold out. WWE is not giving refunds and replaced Flair with The Undertaker. He will be there till 9PM. The Undertaker is also scheduled for Friday’s session between 6PM and 7:30PM and is the only one doing double duty at the VIP signings.
Anyone who purchased VIP tickets for Flair will be able to use their existing VIP ticket for the Undertaker session.
WWE is building what is most likely the biggest set in WrestleMania history at the MetLife Stadium, including something new that has never been done before.
Similar to what was done at WrestleMania XX in New York, the backdrop for the stage will be the New York skyline with some 3D landmarks – including a replica of the Empire State Building – rising from the top of the ramp.
The new thing is that on top of the giant structure that covers the ring, there is a huge – and we mean huge – replica of the Statue of Liberty standing tall in the middle as the WrestleMania logos and the New York skyline covers all four top sides of the structure.
You can see a collection of photos of the set being built below.
Note: No one has claimed credit for these photos yet which is why there is no credit mentioned.
With six days away from WrestleMania, Monday Night RAW did not deliver at all even though it was packed with Superstars as the show did 4,305,000 viewers with a 3.12 rating, down from last week’s 3.24 and overall 300,000 viewers less.
Hour one opened with 4,031,000 viewers followed by 4,483,000 viewers in the second hour and then slightly less to 4,402,000 in the third and final hour. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
WWE will hold a WrestleMania press conference on Thursday at 1PM EST live from the Radio City Music Hall in New York which will be streamed live on WWE.COM, Facebook, and YouTube.
Jerry “The King” Lawler will be hosting the press conference which will have appearances from The Rock, John Cena, Triple H, CM Punk, Vince McMahon, and other Superstars and Divas.
Following the press conference, a Q&A session will be held with Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mark Henry, The Usos, and Fandango.
On Monday night after RAW was over, Michael Moody, one of the sons of Paul Bearer, went on Facebook and wrote that what happened at the end of RAW was totally different than what WWE presented to him and his brother just days after their father died.
“If anyone is wondering, yes WWE did come to us wanting approval for tonight’s storyline. The way it was presented to us was ok. Seeing it on screen was a different story. I don’t even know what to say,” Moody wrote on his Facebook.
The angle he was referring to was when CM Punk attacked the Undertaker with the urn and then proceeded to empty the urn on Taker and rubbing the ash on himself.
WWE today issued an alert to several websites which includes a transcript of the text messages that Michael Moody sent to WWE. WWE stated that they are using the text messages with his permission.
“Hey. I woke up in time to watch the tail end of the show. What you explained would happen happened. Which is fine. Just it was a little difficult to watch it play out,” Moody wrote in his message to WWE.
“I put a message on Facebook last night saying that we approved it but it wasn’t what I envisioned. That I didn’t have anything to say. Well woke up this morning and that quote is being used all over “media outlets”. For the record. I was fine w it. Was hard to watch but y’all are professionals and I trust,” he concluded.
Stephanie McMahon will not be the only McMahon doing the honors at the Hall of Fame this time around as the Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be inducting Donald Trump as well.
“Battle of the Billionaires revisited? I’m honored to be inducting @RealDonaldTrump into the @WWE Hall of Fame this Saturday. #WWEHOF,” McMahon tweeted last night.
Vince and Donald have been friends for a very, very long time and the McMahons are frequent donors to the Trump charities and last year Vince was named as the top donor of the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Trump hosted WrestleMania IV and V back in the late 80s at his Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, the only time location to hold WrestleManias back-to-back.
Tonight is the final stop on the “Road To WrestleMania!” What will go down in the America’s capital for that one last push to the “Granddaddy Of Them All?” Why speculate, let’s just get right to it! Read on, folks!
Monday Night Raw Report for April 1st, 2013 – “Legacy, My Time, and The Will Of The People: WrestleMania XXIX!”
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
One-half of the main event at WrestleMania XXIX kicks off the show. John Cena runs down to the ring, receiving the usual mixed reaction as Michael Cole puts it.
Cena soaks in the cheers and jeers for a bit, calling it “the house divided, ironically enough here in Washington, D.C.” He says there are “Cenacrats” and “Rockpublicans.” While he and WWE Champion The Rock do not like each other, Cena tells us that he does respect him.
He recaps what they were taking shots at each other for last year, but says “those childish games are over because we all know that this is much, much bigger. Rock is the holding, defending WWE Champion.” Cena touts The Rock as the “man who I believe is the greatest WWE Champion of all time.”
While John says this may seem impossible for him to win then, supposedly so was him winning the Royal Rumble, which he did.
Cena says “the great one will fall,” and “The Rock’s time is up, and my time is now!” He outlines how Rock will handle failure after losing at WrestleMania XXIX. He talks about the new WWE Championship itself, and how when he wins the title, he does not intend to change it, but hold it with pride, to prove he is better than The Rock. “This Sunday, even The Rock will know it. It may have been made for him, but the champ is here!”
Michael records Jerry “The King” Lawler picking his choice for the above match, and he chooses history – he chooses The Rock.
Commercials.
Match #1: 6-Man Tag-Team – “3.M.B.” (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, and Drew McIntyre) VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, and The Big Show
Surprisingly, considering we know who wins this one, “3.M.B.” does put up a decent fight. It all ends when Sheamus delivers the “Irish Curse” backbreaker. An R.K.O. to Slater, Brogue Kick to McIntyre, and W.M.D. Punch to Mahal gives the faces the decently easy victory!
Winners via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, and The Big Show
Post-match, “The Shield” walk through and stay with the fans. Dean Ambrose threatens they will leave them “looking up at the sky, wondering where it all went wrong.” Seth Rollins warns them that “justice never lies and we know the truth.”
Roman Reigns informs them that the truth is that their team is “phony.” “When we beat you at WrestleMania, the whole world will believe in ‘The Shield.'”
Later tonight, Hall Of Famer “H.B.K.” Shawn Michaels will give his thoughts on Triple H VS. Brock Lesnar, while up next, the “Real American” Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter express their opinions from near Capital Hill.
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Segment #2: Video Promo
Zeb Colter says that America is broken, much like Ricardo Rodriguez’s ankle. However, Jack Swagger knows how to fix it. Swagger says that “the people have become weak.” He says that change is coming a WrestleMania, where he will break Alberto Del Rio’s ankle, and will stand over him the new World Heavyweight Champion.
“If you people don’t like that, then you people don’t deserve to be real Americans. Welcome to ‘Jack Swagger’s America.’ We the people.”
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
To follow up, Matt Striker interviews the World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio. He says that both he and Swagger have the ability to “freedom of speech.” However, he also has the opportunity to do something about it at WrestleMania. He then calls Zeb Colter a “big fat pinata with a mustache, that I’m about to break.”
Commercials.
Match #3: Single – Tag-Team Champion Daniel Bryan (with “Team Hell No” Team Champion/partner Kane) VS. “The Show-Off/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler (with Big E. Langston and A.J.)
(Note: Bryan made his entrance prior to the break.) Elbow/collar tie-up begin the bout, with Dolph giving Bryan a wristlock and elbowing him on the shoulder. Bryan catches Ziggler out of a leapfrog and slingshots him into the turnbuckle. Daniel kicks away into the corner, to chants of “yes” from the crowd.
He somersaults over Ziggler and tries a “No-Lock” crossface submission, but Dolph gets to the ropes. Instead, he steps on Ziggler’s back thighs. Dolph soon counters into a neckbreaker and runs at Bryan in the corner, but Daniel reverses into the old “Tarantula” submission.
Bryan gets distracted by Langston on the outside, which allows Ziggler to drop him with the Fameasser for a near-fall!
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Back live, they trade punches and kicks, then Bryan moves out of the way of a Dolph splash in the corner. Ziggler rolls through from behind, but gets nailed with another stiff kick in the head.
Bryan ascends the top and flies off with a headbutt, but Dolph moves out just in time! He clamps on the sleeper hold, but Daniel shoves him off into the ropes and locks in the sleeper himself. Ziggler drops him off and turns another crossface attempt into a jacknife cover (thanks Michael!). They end up running into each other with a double crossbody-block.
On the outside, A.J. skips around Kane, giving Big E. a chance to roll-over “The Big Red Machine” with a body block. Ziggler rolls up Bryan from behind for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Show-Off/Mr. Money In The Bank” Dolph Ziggler (with Big E. Langston and A.J.)
Post-match, Langston attacks both Bryan and Kane, pushing Kane’s hand off his throat and turning a chokeslam into his flattening finisher. A.J. gives him and Dolph the belts to hold high.
Up next, Shawn Michaels returns!
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
“Mr. WrestleMania” Shawn Michaels is out, looking happy and healthy. He runs down the card of WrestleMania, but points out one match he is very interested in. I think you know which one, but just in case, it is Triple H and Brock Lesnar.
He very concerned about the stipulation of “The Game’s” career being on the line. HHH reassures Shawn that he knows what he’s doing, but Michaels disputes. “H.B.K.” tells him that their situations were different.
In Shawn’s “career threatening match,” he was “heartbroken” (pun obviously intended), and so was his opponent (The Undertaker, at WrestleMania XXVI) because they both had a mutual respect for each other.
This time it’s different, as Shawn says that Lesnar does not respect or care about anyone but himself. “He does this for the money.” Shawn tells Triple H that he put his life on the line, and “you better kick Brock Lesnar’s ass! And unlike SummerSlam, I’m going to be right there in your corner to watch you do it.”
They hug, but are interrupted by HHH’s opponent.
Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar approach the bottom of the ramp, and Heyman proclaims that his client will “beat you into retirement This Sunday at WrestleMania.”
Heyman tells HHH that he will have to live with the disappointment of losing his career, particular his Father-In-Law Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the Board Of Directors, his wife (which he also quips “but you’re probably used to that anyway!”)
He warns and inquires if Shawn really wants to be that close to Triple H, when Brock Lesnar beats him and when he breaks Michaels’ arm again.
“When Brock Lesnar is done with you, you’re going to crawl away. With your tail between your legs – A beaten, battered, emasculated retiree that has disappointed the entire WWE Universe, because you were never ‘man enough’ to beat Brock Lesnar. The very same Brock Lesnar, who after all these years, has forced the ‘Cerebral Assassin’ to commit ‘professional suicide.'”
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Match #4: Single – Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett VS. “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder (Non-Title)
(Note: The Miz, Barrett’s I.C. Title Challenger for WrestleMania, is on commentary.) Wade completely dominates this contest, polishing off Ryder with the “Bull Hammer” elbow. (Miz did provide excellent vocals, putting over both Barrett’s strengths and himself, which is the way it should be done.)
Winner via Pinfall: Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett
Segment #5: Office Promo
Of all people, Santino Marella informs Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero and Assistant-Managing Supervisor Brad Maddox that Mr. McMahon is in town and he is mad, and in a firing mood. And worse, it’s April Fools! Guerrero and Maddox are not pleased with “the joke,” so they book him in a match next!
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Santino Marella VS. “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry
Three words – “World’s Strongest Slam!”
Winner via Pinfall: “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry
Post-Match, Ryback marches on down to face off with Henry. After reminding him they can’t touch each other until WrestleMania, Mark smiles and leaves. Ryback uses intelligence, hitting Henry with Marella, so technically not touching him.
Backstage, Jack Swagger is giving wrestling advice to Zeb Colter, since the mouthpiece will be facing World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio later.
Ads.
Segment #6: Backstage Promo
C.M. Punk is asked by Matt Striker if he feels he is disrespecting the memory of the late-great Paul Bearer. The “Straight-Edge Superstar” is only concerned about his legacy.
Punk says he is doing this to get in the head of The Undertaker, since all “The Deadman” has to do is make one mistake, such as a count-out or disqualification and “the streak” is over.
“At the end of this year’s WrestleMania, every time somebody thinks about ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All, every time somebody thinks about WrestleMania, they’re going to think about C.M. Punk.” He kisses the urn to end the interview.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Zeb Colter (with “The Real American” Jack Swagger) VS. World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) (Non-Title)
Zeb and Jack made their entrance prior to the break. Del Rio taunts Colter at first, offering to put his hands behind his back and make it easier. On the outside, Swagger stalks and grabs Rodriguez to distract Alberto. The World Champ saves his buddy, but gets beaten down with Ricardo’s crutches for the DQ.
Winner via Disqualification: Zeb Colter (with “The Real American” Jack Swagger)
Post-match, the two continue to whack their rival with the objects.
Up next, WWE Champion The Rock will give his speech going into WrestleMania XXIX.
Ads.
Segment #7: Arena Promo
The WWE Champion The Rock talks about one word – “connection.” He says that he is connected to the people, and it is the will of the people that will help him prevail at WrestleMania.
“The Great One” predicts that maybe he will live in this town, in a particular house, just up the road. You know, a “big, white, house.” Does President “The Rock” read good to you? He says it will be the first time in history that the Presidential Oath will begin with “finally, The Rock has come back to Washington, D.C.”
The Rock warns John Cena that he will not get his redemption, or the proverbial “torch” passed to him. “You cannot deny the will of the people, and you cannot beat The Rock.”
Commercials.
Match #7: Single – “Y2J” Chris Jericho VS. United States Champion Antonio Cesaro (Non-Title)
Lockup between the tow to begin, as they engage in a shove and trade head and leg lock take downs. Resounding chops from Jericho, and he hits a nice dropkick. Cesaro jumps over the ropes to the apron and nails Chris with a headbutt, then ascends the turnbuckle, only to get knocked down. Jericho climbs aboard to and punches away atop the ropes. He brings him down with a top-rope hurricanrana, and receives a two-count!
Fandango’s music plays, and his dancer assistant and himself dance out. This distracts Jericho.
Ads.
Cesaro is in control now, stomping on Jericho’s body and bringing him over with a butterfly suplex. Jericho tries a comeback but misses a splash and eats the turnbuckle. The U.S. Champ chucks him into the barricade and rolls him back to the canvas for two.
Cesaro counters a run with a scoop-slam driver for a very lose near-fall! He pounds away on “Y2J” in the corner, but the “Ayatollah of Rock N’ Rollah” gets some momentum, flying off the top with a double axe-handle. He plants Antonio with the running bulldog and a Lionsault, but gets the Walls Of Jericho reversed into a gutwrench suplex.
Jericho counters a run with an elbow and a high crossbody. 1 – 2 – Cesaro kicks out! Jericho baseball slides Fandango down, who had been at ringside “scoring” Jericho on his moves. Jericho gets out of a small package and locks on the Walls Of Jericho for the tap out!
Winner via Submission: “Y2J” Chris Jericho
Post-match, Fandango assaults Jericho like last week, and lays him out with the top-rope legdrop.
Commercials.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler post an announcement that Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley will induct Trish Stratus into the Hall Of Fame. Next, they air some “touts” from fans on their thoughts of Rock/Cena II.
Brodus Clay, Sweet T., and “The Funkadactyls” make their entrance for an upcoming match.
Ads.
Match #8: “The Funkadactyls” (Cameron and Naomi) (with Brodus Clay and Sweet T.) VS. The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie) (with “The Rhodes Scholars” [Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow])
Naomi and Nikki start out, with Naomi dominating with a dropkick, “rearview” (jumping rear bump) and hurricanrana. Both Bellas take control with an armdrag flip and legdrop. The ladies go back and forth for a while until Cameron gets tagged in and his a split-legged drop. A Bella Twin reverses a crossbody pin into one of her own for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie) (with “The Rhodes Scholars” [Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow])
Up next, The Undertaker addresses C.M. Punk.
Commercials.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
The Legendary Undertaker makes his way to the ring and takes the microphone. He threatens that compared to his over 400-day WWE Title reign, Punk’s pain after WrestleMania will last forever.
“Defeating you at WrestleMania is no longer good enough. The disrespect that you’ve shown Paul Bearer will cause you to pay the ultimate price. And you just may be right. In my current state of mind, “the streak,” it may come to an end Sunday. But you will never live to talk about it!”
Just now, the familiar chants of the druids blare as they slowly walk out with flaming sticks. They line up on either side of the ramp and wait. Out walks someone dressed up as the late Paul Bearer, which infuriates The Undertaker.
Before he gets his hands on the fake Bearer, he scans around and begins to punch out the druids. One of them attacks from behind, and it is C.M. Punk. He pounds away and it is also revealed to be Paul Heyman dressed as Bearer, as he tosses the Urn to Punk so he can continuously beat him down.
Over a downed ‘Taker, Punk opens the Urn and pours the ashes all over The Undertaker, then spreads them on himself too, as Heyman looks on, closing the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Raw was decent enough tonight to finish off before WrestleMania. It tied up all the loose ends and/or left us hanging until the pay-per-view. I will say this was average, mainly because we already know the card and build for the big show (no pun intended!), so it was really just a matter of “getting there” one last time. Onto the particulars and then the top WrestleMania XXIX predictions (too many matches, so just going with the “must-sees.”)
Excellence: John Cena’s opener. I loved this promo and as I always say when he gives a passionate speech, THIS is the John Cena I love to hear and watch. The man who exclaims his die-hard desire to always be on top and always be in professional wrestling.
Once again, Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter/Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodriguez can do no wrong! I also loved both their segments/match simply because it is old school storytelling – two guys fighting over a championship with a twist of realism – and one that is actually realistic! I would love this feud to continue and will tell you how it should in my predictions.
Dolph Ziggler/Daniel Bryan was a great match! “The Shield” were superb in making genuine points about them being an actual team, compared to Orton/Sheamus/Big Show who are just thrown together to defeat a “force.” The continuity with Shawn Michaels backing Triple H against Brock Lesnar was perfect. I was surprised/happy because having “H.B.K.” puts a close to the storyline, no matter who wins.
Interactions (or lack there of according to their storyline) between Ryback and Henry. Aside from one instance where Ryback quickly downed Henry, I love how they made them not touch each other, that way they created the suspense of when the two behemoths engage.
The second-half of The Rock’s promo – when he finally got talking about the people and defeating John Cena, that’s what I liked because that was relevant to WrestleMania.
As always with Chris Jericho, he can produce a great match with anyone, and tonight was no exception with Cesaro!
Bogus: In general, all the other matches because they were just build up and had no “heat” between them.
On The Fence: C.M. Punk/Paul Heyman/The Undertaker – to be quite truthful, I see both sides. I highly, highly believe they did go a bit too far here with Heyman dressing as the late-great Paul Bearer and using the voice over. However, with the Urn incident at the end, I and you all know of course that those weren’t Bearer’s ashes (nor hopefully was it even insinuated like that), so that did not offend me at all. Plus, again, William Moody’s children have approved the storyline, so that does ease the situation. I also do like Punk’s explanation that he is doing this to get in The Underatker’s head and one small mistake can cost him “the streak.” It is also much like Swagger/Del Rio and Ryback/Henry, an old-style story with two guys fighting over something significant, with mind games and “one-upsmanship`s” to get the better of each other.
WrestleMania XXIX Predictions:
The Rock defeats John Cena – I say this because he already beat him last year, and I really don’t want to see a third match if Cena beats Rock, tying the 1 – 1. As I truly believe, this SHOULD’VE been last year, ONCE IN A LIFETIME, with CENA winning. Plus, they can play it as the one man Cena can’t beat is The Rock. Enough said.
Jack Swagger wins the World Title – I think this must happen to continue the hot, hot and awesome storyline between him and Alberto Del Rio. Again, they can do no wrong!
The Undertaker continues his streak – I’m just not feeling the “suspense” of C.M. Punk being “the guy” to end the 20 – 0 win yet. Plus, as my Dad said, if they decide to break it at all, the honour should go to someone who NEEDS it to elevate him. (Read: Dolph Ziggler?)
“The Shield” over Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show
Brock Lesnar needs to win if he is going to stick around. If this happens, then the potential for feuds can open up (read: Rock/Lesnar/Championship II)
All in all, a pretty good Raw to “go home” for WrestleMania XXIX, and we shall see how the landscape has changed again in 7 days! Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
In a press release issued today, WWE officially unveiled the record-level of digital and social media initiatives that will happen during this WrestleMania week.
Among the stuff that WWE is producing are embeddable content widgets delivered through Yahoo! for blogs, new Facebook game, WrestleMania interactive press conference, the monitoring 24/7 of @AskWrestleMania for support, additional mobile bandwidth at MetLife Stadium, new social media channels, and more.
You can see a list of all WWE’s initiatives below.
VINCE MCMAHON JOINS TWITTER
Last night on Monday Night Raw, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon officially joined Twitter (@VinceMcMahon). McMahon will reward his followers by making a “big announcement” (#bigreveal) on his official Twitter account on Friday, April 5.
WRESTLEMANIA PAY-PER-VIEW NOW AVAILABLE GLOBALLY ON MOBILE, PLUS XBOX AND SAMSUNG SMART TVS
For the first time, WWE is streaming WrestleMania 29 across all Apple, Android and Windows 8 devices and Kindle Fire tablets. The pay-per-view will also be available on Xbox consoles and Samsung Smart TVs, inside “Xbox Live” and the Samsung “Smart Hub.”
WWE FORGES PARTNERSHIPS WITH YAHOO! AND AOL, OFFERS WRESTLEMANIA DIGITAL TOOLKIT TO BLOGGERS
In anticipation of WrestleMania 29, Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com/wwe-wrestlemania-29/) and AOL have launched all-new channels featuring video content of WWE’s most popular Superstars. Also, for the first time ever, WWE is providing blogs and news sites an embeddable content widget that delivers up-to-the-minute news, photos and videos of WWE events leading up to and through WrestleMania.
NEW FACEBOOK GAME LETS FANS COMPETE TO LEAD THE WWE UNIVERSE
WWE’s new Facebook application, “Superfan Showdown,” lets players from around the world compete in fast-paced interactive trivia challenges, rapid-fire polls, mind-bending puzzles and much more. As fans go head-to-head, they earn points, climb the global leaderboard and accumulate “WWE Cash,” which can be spent to purchase exclusive virtual goods, including: limited edition badges, rare Superstar trading cards, and never-before-seen WWE video content.
WRESTLEMANIA 29 INTERACTIVE PRESS CONFERENCE
The WrestleMania 29 press conference at Radio City Music Hall will live stream on YouTube, Facebook and WWE.com on Thursday, April 4 at 1 p.m. ET. The interactive press conference will feature fan questions submitted via Twitter and answered live by WWE Superstars, including John Cena, The Rock, CM Punk and Triple H.
WRESTLEMANIA 29 ONLINE PRE-SHOW EXPANDS TO ONE-HOUR
WWE will host a live one-hour WrestleMania pre-show on Sunday, April 7 starting at 6 p.m. ET. In addition to the simulcasts on YouTube, WWE.com and Facebook, coverage will also stream on Yahoo! and AOL for the first time. The online-only broadcast will feature a live WWE Twitter ticker and a text-in-to-win campaign that will award 30 lucky fans with an all-expense paid trip to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans.
WWE SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADORS
This year, a wide-range of digitally savvy celebrities and athletes are serving as official WrestleMania Week social media ambassadors, tweeting from the floors of WrestleMania Axxess, WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Superstars for Sandy Relief party, Be a STAR anti-bullying rallies, WrestleMania Reading Celebration, WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals and at WrestleMania 29. Celebrities include Charlie Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Larry King, Seth Green, Perez Hilton, Piers Morgan, Michelle Beadle, Maria Menounos, Mike Tyson, Snooki, Lil Wayne and Jenny McCarthy.
SOCIAL MEDIA “HOSPITALITY CENTER” OFFERS NY/NJ FANS 24/7 SUPPORT
WWE will host and monitor an online “Hospitality Center” throughout WrestleMania Week, offering real-time support to fans who post event-related questions to @AskWrestleMania on Twitter. The WWE Universe can also check into the official WWE App, which will house a special WrestleMania section highlighting arena maps, event schedules, weather alerts and up-to-date ticket information.
MOBILE POWER UPGRADES
WWE will bolster the amount of mobile bandwidth and access points at MetLife Stadium, ensuring that fans will be able to participate in all of the social media initiatives at WrestleMania 29. WWE’s efforts to provide exceptional service, includes re-positioning Wi-Fi and cell antennas within the stadium, providing 10 times the bandwidth typically available at the stadium, and adding new hardware and a mobile cell station.
WWE LAUNCHES ALL-NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
For the first time ever, WWE will integrate Pinterest, Tumblr and Pheed into WWE’s extensive WrestleMania 29 social media coverage.
“COMING HOME” CROWDSOURCING PROJECT IS LIVE
“Coming Home” is WWE’s first major WrestleMania crowdsourcing initiative, a poignant video featuring photos sent by thousands of international fans who were encouraged to pose in front of famous landmarks and hold signage displaying their mileage from MetLife Stadium. The photos were woven together to the tune of “Coming Home” by Diddy Dirty Money, an official theme song of WrestleMania 29, and released today on WWE’s official YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/wwefannation).
HIDE-AND-TWEET CONTESTS TO GIVE AWAY LAST-MINUTE TICKETS
Beginning today, WWE will host three interactive “Hide and Tweet” contests in the New York and New Jersey area, giving fans the opportunity to win pairs of tickets to sold out sessions of Axxess, WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and WrestleMania 29. Fans can follow @WWE to find clues revealing the whereabouts of the tickets or enter WWE’s global hashtag contest for a chance to win free online codes for the WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view on Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. ET.
OFFICIAL WRESTLEMANIA-WEEK HASHTAGS
#WRESTLEMANIA – All-purpose WrestleMania-week hashtag
#AXXESS – WrestleMania Axxess hashtag
#WWEHOF – WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony hashtag
#STARS4SANDY – Superstars for Sandy Relief party hashtag
