Saturday's News, Notes & Links from wrestling Observer

Saturday's News, Notes & Links

 

--We're doing an early update due to the ROH show in the afternoon.  We will probably update with more later today after the show. 

 

--There were still 2,159 tickets available at Stubhub for WrestleMania.  You can get in for as little as $6 now, although that's just for one person.  If you are going in a group, you can get it with a decent sized group sitting together for $10 or $11.

 

--Bryan and I will be covering all of the weekend news, including the show, any Hall of Fame notes, latest updates from WrestleMania and more late tonight on Wrestling Observer radio.  We will have shows tonight, tomorrow night after WrestleMania and our usual Monday night show after Raw and go back on the regular schedule from there.

 

--There is a huge story regarding the Nassau Coliseum, regarding an investigation whether asbestos in the walls at the Coliseum are a cancer threat.  Nassau County has admitted to asbestos problems in he walls, but of late there is a threat of a 75-person class action suit regarding workers at the arena because several of them have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and lung cancer.  They claim they've sent bulk samples to three different labs which have all come back with dangerous levels of asbestos.

 

--Sad to report the death of Johnny Diamond, who helped start the career of Abyss and Chris Harris in Northern Kentucky, who passed away last month due to a heart attack.  He wrestled in the 60s and 70s.

 

--Nothing new to report on the Brock Lesnar front.  The proposal appears to be an angle that would lead to the announcement of a match on Monday for next year's show if the deal is done.

 

What was the best of these WrestleManias?

26 47.5%

25 45.0%

27 7.6%

 

What was the best of these WrestleMania matches?

Undertaker vs. Michaels I 47.5%

Angle vs. Michaels 24.0%

Undertaker vs. Michaels II 13.0%

Flair vs. Michaels 5.0%

Undertaker vs. HHH II 4.2%

Undertaker vs. Batista 2.4%

Undertaker vs Edge 1.67%

Cena vs. HHH 1.0%

Cena vs. Michaels 0.6%

HHH vs. Batista 0.6%

 

Poll on MMA Uncensored for this week

Excellent 8.0%

Good 36.0%

Average 12.0%

Fair 16.0%

Poor 28.0%

        81.9% of those responding didn't see the show

 

Poll on Impact for this week 

Excellent 10.1%

Good 36.7%

Average 27.8%

Fair 10.1%

Poor 15.2%

        60.7% of those responding didn't see the show.  That's the highest percentage for a TNA show I can recall.  Not good.

 

Greatest wrestler in San Antonio's territorial history?

Terry Funk 32.1%

Kerry Von Erich 13.2%

Wahoo McDaniel 9.8%

Tully Blanchard 9.6%

Fritz Von Erich 9.1%

Gino Hernandez 7.9%

Jose Lothario 6.2%

Mil Mascaras 5.7%

Johnny Valentine 4.8%

Red Bastien 1.7%

 

--Some more interviews:

 

Shawn Michaels talks his role, why the winner of the main event is important and hinting that the finish leads to an announcement on Monday (for next year's main event, which at least was the plan) at http://www.betweentheropes.com/609/shawn-michaels-looking-to-have-moderate-role-at-wrestlemania-28/

 

Wade Barrett says he's out four more months and praises Edge at http://www.betweentheropes.com/604/wade-barrett-over-frustrating-injury-thankful-for-help/

 

--WWE announced these rules for the Hall of Fame tonight for fans:
*No chants or catcalls from the audience during the show (yeah, like they'll listen to that one)

*Dress nice, business casual

 

--Big Show and Miz will be appearing on tomorrow nights Kids Choice Awards on Nick.

 

--Bellator from last night in Uncasville, CT in welterweight tournament action

Ben Saunders b Raul Amaya 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision

David Rickels b Jordan Smith :22 knockout

Bryan Baker b Carlos Pereira 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 decision

Karl Amoussou b Chris Lozano choke 2:05

 

--The next Tachi Palace Fights are 5/10 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, CA headlined by Casey Olsen from Fresno vs. Joe Soto from Porterville and Francisco Rivera vs. Chad George.

 

--While the ROH show last night was a complete disaster if you watched it on iPPV, we only got one complaint on the Dragon Gate show from someone who logged in, paid for it and got an error message for 20 minutes and then asked for a refund.  But that was the only complaint.  However, we got very little feedback so I don't know that the $1.99 price tag made that much of a difference.

 

--A group called Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts is running tonight in El Paso at the Don Haskins Center with a show featuring a lot of name fighters:

Lionel Lanham (185.4) vs. Brad Peterson (184.5)

Deutsch Pu'u (264) vs. Esteves Jones (236.5)

Frank Gomez (145.8) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (145.2)

Darrill Titties Schoonover (247) vs. Paul Buentello (260)

Rodney Wallace (204) vs. Derrick Mehman (204.8)

Jamaine Facey (170) vs. Willie Parks (169.8)

Drew Fickett (155.8) vs. Kevin Knabjian (155.8)

Lyle Beerbehom (170) vs. Cleburn Walker (170)

Thomas Denny (170) vs. Karo Parisyan (169)

Sean McCorkle (312) vs. Brian Heden (287)

 

--Eddie Farhat Jr., the son of The Sheik, or as Mike Tyson would say, the real flame throwing Sheik, is doing a tribute to his father show on 4/14 in Jackson, MI at the AWWL Event Hall in he rear of Avenue Billiards.  The show will be built around crowning a United States champion with the belt Sheik wore during the 70s.

 

--All Pro Wrestling has the Young Lions Cup on 5/5 in Hayward at the APW Garage, a 16-man tournament that will include young wrestlers from not only Northern California, but Southern California, Hawaii (Action Zone Wrestling) and U.K.  The 16 men will be announced on 4/16.  Round one will be four tag team matches.  The winners of the tag team matches will face each other in round two and from there it's a traditional single elimination tournament.  They also have a Gym Wars show on 4/14.  Always the nights of UFC live events.

 

--John Morrison talks WrestleMania, Trish Stratus last year and more at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rockydennisface01/2012/03/31/ex-wwe-star-john-morrison-interview-his-wrestlemania-picks

 

--Former WWF announcer Charlie Minn was interviewed last night on Fox News' Greta Von Susteran show talking about new voter ID laws at http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/index.html 

 

--Smoky Mountain Wrestling from last night in Kingsport, TN:  J.B. Prime & Mountain Goat Jack & Cody Blade b Lukas Angel & Donovan & Shane Daniels, Zac Vincent b Jeff Connelly, Chase Owens b Matt Conrad, Sigmon b Alyx Winters, Shawn Shultz b Shane Andrews, Menace b Lance Erikson, Jason Kincaid b Eric Darkstorm, Keith Knox & Wayne Adkins b Bryan Kyle & Thorn, Sigmon over Chase Owens, Shawn Shultz, Menace, Jason Kincaid and Zac Vincent, Beau James & Josh Crawford b Tony Givens & Chris Richards in a barbed wire cage match. 

 

--Local Town Wrestling drew 300-400 in Staunton, VA last night.  Matt Hardy was cleaning up at the gimmick table which delayed the start of the show by 45 minutes:  Logan Leroux b Jason Blade, Reby Sky b Fate, Ricky Morton b Gregory Vercetti, John Kermon & Zema Ion b J-Sinn & Lance Lude, Matt Hardy b Sonjay Dutt (thanks to Tim Noel)

Saturday's News, Notes & Links

 

--We're doing an early update due to the ROH show in the afternoon.  We will probably update with more later today after the show. 

 

--There were still 2,159 tickets available at Stubhub for WrestleMania.  You can get in for as little as $6 now, although that's just for one person.  If you are going in a group, you can get it with a decent sized group sitting together for $10 or $11.

 

--Bryan and I will be covering all of the weekend news, including the show, any Hall of Fame notes, latest updates from WrestleMania and more late tonight on Wrestling Observer radio.  We will have shows tonight, tomorrow night after WrestleMania and our usual Monday night show after Raw and go back on the regular schedule from there.

 

--There is a huge story regarding the Nassau Coliseum, regarding an investigation whether asbestos in the walls at the Coliseum are a cancer threat.  Nassau County has admitted to asbestos problems in he walls, but of late there is a threat of a 75-person class action suit regarding workers at the arena because several of them have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and lung cancer.  They claim they've sent bulk samples to three different labs which have all come back with dangerous levels of asbestos.

 

--Sad to report the death of Johnny Diamond, who helped start the career of Abyss and Chris Harris in Northern Kentucky, who passed away last month due to a heart attack.  He wrestled in the 60s and 70s.

 

--Nothing new to report on the Brock Lesnar front.  The proposal appears to be an angle that would lead to the announcement of a match on Monday for next year's show if the deal is done.

 

What was the best of these WrestleManias?

26 47.5%

25 45.0%

27 7.6%

 

What was the best of these WrestleMania matches?

Undertaker vs. Michaels I 47.5%

Angle vs. Michaels 24.0%

Undertaker vs. Michaels II 13.0%

Flair vs. Michaels 5.0%

Undertaker vs. HHH II 4.2%

Undertaker vs. Batista 2.4%

Undertaker vs Edge 1.67%

Cena vs. HHH 1.0%

Cena vs. Michaels 0.6%

HHH vs. Batista 0.6%

 

Poll on MMA Uncensored for this week

Excellent 8.0%

Good 36.0%

Average 12.0%

Fair 16.0%

Poor 28.0%

        81.9% of those responding didn't see the show

 

Poll on Impact for this week 

Excellent 10.1%

Good 36.7%

Average 27.8%

Fair 10.1%

Poor 15.2%

        60.7% of those responding didn't see the show.  That's the highest percentage for a TNA show I can recall.  Not good.

 

Greatest wrestler in San Antonio's territorial history?

Terry Funk 32.1%

Kerry Von Erich 13.2%

Wahoo McDaniel 9.8%

Tully Blanchard 9.6%

Fritz Von Erich 9.1%

Gino Hernandez 7.9%

Jose Lothario 6.2%

Mil Mascaras 5.7%

Johnny Valentine 4.8%

Red Bastien 1.7%

 

--Some more interviews:

 

Shawn Michaels talks his role, why the winner of the main event is important and hinting that the finish leads to an announcement on Monday (for next year's main event, which at least was the plan) at http://www.betweentheropes.com/609/shawn-michaels-looking-to-have-moderate-role-at-wrestlemania-28/

 

Wade Barrett says he's out four more months and praises Edge at http://www.betweentheropes.com/604/wade-barrett-over-frustrating-injury-thankful-for-help/

 

--WWE announced these rules for the Hall of Fame tonight for fans:
*No chants or catcalls from the audience during the show (yeah, like they'll listen to that one)

*Dress nice, business casual

 

--Big Show and Miz will be appearing on tomorrow nights Kids Choice Awards on Nick.

 

--Bellator from last night in Uncasville, CT in welterweight tournament action

Ben Saunders b Raul Amaya 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision

David Rickels b Jordan Smith :22 knockout

Bryan Baker b Carlos Pereira 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 decision

Karl Amoussou b Chris Lozano choke 2:05

 

--The next Tachi Palace Fights are 5/10 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, CA headlined by Casey Olsen from Fresno vs. Joe Soto from Porterville and Francisco Rivera vs. Chad George.

 

--While the ROH show last night was a complete disaster if you watched it on iPPV, we only got one complaint on the Dragon Gate show from someone who logged in, paid for it and got an error message for 20 minutes and then asked for a refund.  But that was the only complaint.  However, we got very little feedback so I don't know that the $1.99 price tag made that much of a difference.

 

--A group called Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts is running tonight in El Paso at the Don Haskins Center with a show featuring a lot of name fighters:

Lionel Lanham (185.4) vs. Brad Peterson (184.5)

Deutsch Pu'u (264) vs. Esteves Jones (236.5)

Frank Gomez (145.8) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (145.2)

Darrill Titties Schoonover (247) vs. Paul Buentello (260)

Rodney Wallace (204) vs. Derrick Mehman (204.8)

Jamaine Facey (170) vs. Willie Parks (169.8)

Drew Fickett (155.8) vs. Kevin Knabjian (155.8)

Lyle Beerbehom (170) vs. Cleburn Walker (170)

Thomas Denny (170) vs. Karo Parisyan (169)

Sean McCorkle (312) vs. Brian Heden (287)

 

--Eddie Farhat Jr., the son of The Sheik, or as Mike Tyson would say, the real flame throwing Sheik, is doing a tribute to his father show on 4/14 in Jackson, MI at the AWWL Event Hall in he rear of Avenue Billiards.  The show will be built around crowning a United States champion with the belt Sheik wore during the 70s.

 

--All Pro Wrestling has the Young Lions Cup on 5/5 in Hayward at the APW Garage, a 16-man tournament that will include young wrestlers from not only Northern California, but Southern California, Hawaii (Action Zone Wrestling) and U.K.  The 16 men will be announced on 4/16.  Round one will be four tag team matches.  The winners of the tag team matches will face each other in round two and from there it's a traditional single elimination tournament.  They also have a Gym Wars show on 4/14.  Always the nights of UFC live events.

 

--John Morrison talks WrestleMania, Trish Stratus last year and more at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rockydennisface01/2012/03/31/ex-wwe-star-john-morrison-interview-his-wrestlemania-picks

 

--Former WWF announcer Charlie Minn was interviewed last night on Fox News' Greta Von Susteran show talking about new voter ID laws at http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/index.html 

 

--Smoky Mountain Wrestling from last night in Kingsport, TN:  J.B. Prime & Mountain Goat Jack & Cody Blade b Lukas Angel & Donovan & Shane Daniels, Zac Vincent b Jeff Connelly, Chase Owens b Matt Conrad, Sigmon b Alyx Winters, Shawn Shultz b Shane Andrews, Menace b Lance Erikson, Jason Kincaid b Eric Darkstorm, Keith Knox & Wayne Adkins b Bryan Kyle & Thorn, Sigmon over Chase Owens, Shawn Shultz, Menace, Jason Kincaid and Zac Vincent, Beau James & Josh Crawford b Tony Givens & Chris Richards in a barbed wire cage match. 

 

--Local Town Wrestling drew 300-400 in Staunton, VA last night.  Matt Hardy was cleaning up at the gimmick table which delayed the start of the show by 45 minutes:  Logan Leroux b Jason Blade, Reby Sky b Fate, Ricky Morton b Gregory Vercetti, John Kermon & Zema Ion b J-Sinn & Lance Lude, Matt Hardy b Sonjay Dutt (thanks to Tim Noel)

FRI UPDATE: Tons of Mania, Lesnar, Mania media, Former diva expecting?, HHH, Hirings, movie news

Friday's News, Notes & Links

 

--Bryan and Lance Storm will be doing a show tonight after the ROH show talking all the latest news.  Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night with notes on all the weekend shows and the latest WrestleMania news, as well as Sunday and Monday nights.  Bryan is in Florida and hosting a get together today before the ROH show in  Fort Lauderdale.  You can check his twitter.  We'll also be doing a ton of audio over the next few days with Mania updates.

 

--There were 2,885 tickets available at Stubhub alone at this writing, almost all under market value and many under $15.  This is a buyers market and not a sellers market as we get down to the wire.  The event is not sold out, but the best bargains are not buying tickets at face value.  There are not a lot of tickets left, but there appear to be more tickets than there is demand for tickets right now so today and tomorrow may be good time for real bargains.    

 

--Regarding Brock Lesnar, he had not agreed to a deal as of a few hours ago.  There are a number of issues, both financial and number of dates, that needed to be worked out.   

 

--We don't have a confirmation that Terry Taylor is officially with WWE but he was at developmental and his name has been rumored for two weeks as being part of the new developmental system.  Brian Wittenstein, who worked underneath Taylor and Bob Ryder in TNA, was also talked of already being in WWE, which was seen by some as a confirmation that Taylor was coming in.

 

--John Cena is hosting a Make-a-Wish Pizza Party for more than 40 children and their families at Jungle Island tonight.

 

--A story in the Palm Beach Post about Dwayne Johnson's college football career including quotes from him, me, his mother and John Cena is at http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/hurricanes/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-has-had-quite-a-2270358.html

 

--Dwayne Johnson short piece at http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/

 

--Mike Tyson talks WWE Hall of Fame at http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/ talking about how as a kid he would steal money to buy wrestling magazines.  What a charming story.     

 

--C.M. Punk talks about deciding to stay in WWE at http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/

 

--John Cena rips Dwayne Johnson for the same old why doesn't he show up every Monday at http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/dukes-at-wrestlemania-john-cena-feud-with-the-rock-is-anything-but-scripted/  By the way, despite the title of the radio interview, it is scripted. (thanks to Chuck Carroll)

 

--Edge, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson are interviewed at http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/dukes-at-wrestlemania-edge-and-the-four-horsemen-enter-wwe-hall-of-fame/

 

--And more with Edge with Brian Fritz at http://www.betweentheropes.com/587/edge-enjoying-being-just-wrestling-fan-again/

 

--Vickie Guerrero noted she had a surprise party for Michelle McCool and wrote "I'm so excited for her bundle of joy," which sounds like confirmation of the rumors that she is pregnant.

 

--Zack Ryder talks his strategy to get noticed at http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/30/

 

--Results from Fan Axxess yesterday were Ezekiel Jackson b Hunico, Seth Rollins b Dean Ambrose, Usos b Primo & Epico in a non-title match, Bo Rotunda b Antonio Cesaro (thanks to Ty Dawson)

 

--Don't know if that non-title win will lead to a dark match at Mania but at one point Usos vs. Primo & Epico was slotted as a dark match on Sunday.

 

--Seven questions with HHH at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/03/monday-night-raw-star-triple-h-discusses-wrestlemania.html  He talks about the difference between begin a wrestler and an executive.  He said if he could wrestle anyone in history in their prime it would be Buddy Rogers or Ric Flair.

 

--John Cena interview at http://www.betweentheropes.com/592/john-cena-felt-pressure-over-past-year-looking-forward-to-match-vs-rock/

--Dwayne Johnson interview at http://www.betweentheropes.com/594/the-rock-says-john-cena-is-a-fan-of-his-has-wanted-him-back-for-years/

--The Monday through Thursday WWE interviews in the Los Angeles Times site were the most read blog posts on the site each day this week.

 

--Amy Dumas (Lita) is in for WrestleMania activities, as are a ton of former stars and pretty much everyone from the Legends House reality show.

 

--AAA Lucha Libre has inked a deal with Masked Republic to distribute a one hour weekly show.  People interested in the show can e-mail aaatv@maskedrepublic.com

 

--As expected, Hornswoggle will be starring in the WWE Studios movie sequel in the "Leprechaun" series that is being filmed soon.

 

How many North American buys do you expect WrestleMania to do?

Under 500,000 4.2%

501-550,000 0.9%

551-600,000 2.8%

601-650,000 3.3%

651-700,000 7.5%

701-750,000 9.1%

751-800,000 11.0%

801-850,000 12.4%

851-900,000 9.1%

901-950,000 10.1%

951-1 million 12.4%

More than 1 million 19.0%

        That's really surprising to me.  The Trump show only did 825,000 and last year's show did 679,000 and people are talking like this could to more than 900,000.

 

Which show does more North American buys?

WrestleMania 74.0%

Jones vs. Evans 26.0%

 

What was the best of these WrestleManias

13 3.8%

14 2.9%

15 0.7%

16 1.1%

17 56.0%

18 5.6%

19 11.4%

20 10.6%

21 1.8%

22 0.9%

23 1.1%

24 4.2%

 

Best of these WrestleMania matches

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin 49.6%

Benoit vs. HHH vs. Michaels 10.5%

Austin vs. Rock II 8.2%

Bret Hart vs. Michaels 5.7%

Hogan vs. Rock 5.7%

Edge & Christian vs. Hardys vs. Dudleys 4.8%

Michaels vs. Jericho 4.7%

Angle vs. Lesnar 3.3%

Angle vs. Benoit 2.8%

Austin vs. Rock I 2.0%

Austin vs. Michaels 1.4%

Guerrero vs. Angle 1.2%

 

--Lots of John Cena fans at Miami Airport.  A big "Let's go Cena" chant when Lita landed.

 

--The WWE guys are all trying to pal around with Mike Tyson.

 

--WrestleMania odds from the U.K.'s William Hall Agency

John Cena -125

The Rock -110

 

HHH +350

Undertaker -500

 

C.M. Punk -200

Chris Jericho +150

 

Daniel Bryan +225

Sheamus -300

 

Cody Rhodes +110

Big Show -150

 

Randy Orton -400

Kane +325

 

--Odds for tonight's Ultimate Fighter fight were

Myles Jury -285

Al Iaquinta +225

 

--Mike Tyson was on Piers Morgan on CNN last night talking about his Vegas one-man show.  Morgan mentioned the WWE Hall of Fame in passing but neither talked about it.

 

--Results from last night's Dragon Gate USA/CZW show in Miami Beach:  Mike Monroe & Trevor Reed b Wayne Van Dyke & Maxwell Chicago, Johnny Vandal b Maxx Stardom, Joey Saint b Shawn Prime, Low Ki b Bobby Fish, Ricochet b Mike Cruz, Samurai Del Sol (who will be appearing tonight as well) b Masato Yoshino, Cima & Masaaki Mochizuki b Scott Reed & Caleb Konley, Pac b AR Fox, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation & BxB Hulk b Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor & Rich Swann and Sami Callihan & Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez, Danny Havoc b Lucky Thurteen in an Ultraviolent death match, D.J. Hyde b Drake Younger in an Ultraviolent death match 

 

--There will be tons of WWE first-run video on Youtube today and for the rest of the weekend.

 

--The ESPN Radio station in Raleigh on Thursday talked about the 25th anniversary of  WrestleMania III doing lots of trivia from the show.  They played audio of the Hogan vs. Andre finish and pushed that Andre was living in North Carolina at the time.  Andre lived in Ellerbee, NC on a ranch at that time and until his death six years later.

 

--A tour of the Canary Islands this weekend by the European based Nu Wrestling Evolution promotion that included Bobby Lashley, Chris Masters and Carlito was canceled due to issues in Spain, because it would have been difficult due a transit strike to get from Spain to the Canary Islands for the show.

 

--It will be interesting to see if this can help the gate, but yesterday's San Jose Mercury-News ran a story on the Lucha Libre USA show on the front page of the paper, as did the Contra Costa Times.  I can't remember WWE ever getting a front page of the paper story except involving Owen Hart or Chris Benoit, let alone Roy Shire. 

 

--Bret Hart was on Newstalk 1420 WHK in Cleveland at http://www.divshare.com/download/17161653-600    

 

---Court Bauer and Konnan did a podcast at www.MLW.com talking Vince McMahon, Vince competing with UFC, Scott Hall, Rey Mysterio and politics in wrestling among other topics.

 

--The Sting signing a new contract on Dixie Carter's twitter yesterday was all storyline with the idea he's no longer G.M. so has to sign a new contract to be a wrestler.  He has a contract in place until the end of the year and has not signed a new deal.

 

--Ken Resnick will be appearing on the Traditional Championship Wrestling show on 4/7 in Fort Smith, AR at the Convention Center headlined by Cheerleader Melissa vs. Mickie James plus Boink the Clown, Matt Borne, trying to avoid legal issues. Chris Cruise handles the announcing for this group.

 

--ICW tonight in Miami at the Polish American Club at 1250 NW 22nd Ave. in Miami for $15 starting at 8 p.m. tonight with Stevie Richards headlining a show that also includes Jesse Neal and Christina Von Eerie.  There will also be an after show meet and greet with Tammy Sytch, Kevin Sullivan and Gangrel.  

 

--DDP predicts who will win the upcoming major MMA fights at http://angrymarks.com?articleID=17617  Ian McCall also talks about  his next fight at http://angrymarks.com/?ArticleID=17502

 

--DOA Curtain Call on 4/22 at 4 p.m. in Portland, OR at the University Park Community Center.

 

--Wild Bill's Fight Night on 4/7 in Duluth, GA.  They will have a Combat Sports EXPO in the parking lot all day, a bikini contest at 5 p.m. and fights at 8:30 p.m.  Expo is open to all ages. Fights are open to those 18 and older.

 

--UWC TV show this week is at http://www.youtube.com/UWCWrestlingVideos

THURS. UPDATE: UFC on ground floor of new sports challenge, Miz, WWE Network, Tons of Mania news

Thursday's News, Notes & Links

 

--A major potential story is that a number of outlets are reporting that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is going to start its own national sports channel to try and compete with ESPN.  That would make the fourth national sports channel as there is NBC Sports and CBS Sports Network, neither of which have been unable to touch ESPN thus far. The belief is that the station currently called Fuel would be rebranded as their sports network, meaning UFC would likely be flagship programming when this gets off the ground. Plans are to start this channel by the end of the year.   

 

--Kurt Angle was on TMZ wanting to track down the people who scammed $4000 from his 80-year-old mother.  Angle told TMZ that his mother got a phone call from someone in the Dominican Republic who claimed her grandson was in a local jail in the Dominican Republic and needed $4000 to get out or the consequences would be severe.

She wired the money and the next day, got another phone call asking for another $4000. So she called Kurt. Kurt thought it sounded like a scam and then found out the grandson in question was fine and had left the Dominican Republic more than a year earlier, so he called the authorities.  He said the FBI told him it was a part of a string of international scammers who prey on the elderly.  He thinks someone in Pittsburgh might be involved, because they knew about his family and got his mother's unlisted phone number.

 

--The Miz got a gig as the host of MTV's The Challenge: Battle of the Exes Reunion that airs on 4/4 at 10 p.m. Maria Menounos was originally going to host but she's in training for Dancing with the Stars.   

 

--There is a story on the WWE Network at NewsTimes. Michelle Wilson, the Chief Marketing Officer of WWE, was quoted saying that there will be a network in some shape or form (there have been rumors questioning whether this will ever get kicked off) but getting distribution agreements aren't easy.  She claimed they are not behind in launching and that there was never a date to start.  Well, except that April 1 date that is about to come and go without a peep.

She said they've hired 30 people so far for the network and estimated there would be 120 employees all total, but she would not give any kind of an estimate when it would launch.  She did say the model would be getting rights fees from cable companies for the network, a per household carriage charge, and with the cable economy being what it is, it would have been better in that regard to have launched a few years ago when cable was still growing.

 

--The WrestleMania Fan Axxess event opens tonight at the Miami Beach Convention Center.  I used to go to pro wrestling shows with Dusty Rhodes in that building in the 70s.  In fact, the first show I ever saw in that building would have been Jack Brisco vs. Johnny Valentine and Dick Murdoch & Dusty Rhodes (as heels) vs. Tim Woods & Johnny Walker, which was I think about a week before Walker went to Georgia and became Mr. Wrestling II.  Appearing tonight include C.M. Punk, Kane, Jim Duggan, Vickie Guerrero, Edge, Wade Barrett, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan and Christian.

 

--Although advertised, Terry Funk will not be appearing with Dory Funk Jr. at the Fan Axxess events this weekend.  He just got a knee replacement two weeks ago, and said he was planning on going but there's no way he could.  He went to Joe Blanchard's funeral in San Antonio on Monday and realized there was no way physically he could go to Miami this early.

 

--If you are in Miami, there will be a get together on Friday afternoon at the outdoor patio of the Dos Camino's Restaurant at the Sheraton in Fort Lauderdale Beach at 5 p.m.  It's four miles away from the ROH show that night.

--Dragon Gate USA and CZW run tonight at 8 p.m. in Hollywood, FL at the German American Society Clubhouse

- Drake Younger vs. D.J. Hyde in an Ultraviolent death match

- Danny Havoc vs. Lucky Thurteen in an Ultraviolent death match

- Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor & Rich Swann vs. Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk & Uhaa Nation vs., Sami Callihan & Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez

- AR Fox vs Pac

- Low Ki vs. Bobby Fish

- Cima & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Scott Reed & Caleb Konley

- Masato Yoshino vs. ?

- Ricochet vs. Mike Cruz

 

--NWA Ring Warriors runs tonight at 8 p.m. at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory:

- Adam Pearce vs. mystery ROH opponent managed by Jim Cornette for NWA title

- Dark City Fight Club vs. Headbangers vs. Red Devil Fight Club for NWA tag title

- Kevin Sullivan & Gangrel vs. Cassidy Riley & Steve Madison

- Chance Prophet vs. Kahagus cage match

- Wes Brisco vs. Francisco Ciatso

- Robbie E vs. Stevie Richards

- Billy Gunn vs. Vordell Walker

- Bruce Santee  vs. Giant Titan
...plus Ivan Koloff, Tammy Sytch and Larry Zbyszko appear

 

--We're looking for reports on all the weekend activities, any news notes or anything from the various events. 

 

--Here's a story on Sheamus.

 

Do you think WrestleMania will beat last year's number?

Yes 59.9%

No 40.1%

 

Should King Mo have been fired?

Yes 45.6%

No 54.4%

 

Should WWE sign King Mo?

Yes 54.4%

No 45.6%

 

Amazing how those percentages of the last two questions are exactly the same, like people who think he should have been fired also think WWE should hire him. I don't think he should have been fired, particularly given what he's gone through this year, but as far as being reprimanded in some way, at some point guys have to learn when to say when. 

 

What was the best of these WrestleManias?

10 36.2%

3 31.4%

8 9.9%

6 6.7%

12 5.1%

7 2.8%

4 1.9%

5 1.9%

2 1.6%

1 1.4%

9 0.9%

11 0.2%

 

I just remember 4 being ungodly bad and 5 being just as bad except for the main event. The one in Las Vegas (9) was also bad. 10 had two awesome matches, one good match and the rest being nothing special.  Amazing #1 did so poorly, not that it was a great show and in no way was the best, but it was easily the most important and had the most mainstream interest. 

 

What was the best of these WrestleMania matches?

Steamboat vs. Savage 40.5%

Hart vs. Hart 22.5%

Michaels vs. Ramon 15.8%

Warrior vs. Savage 7.0%

Flair vs. Savage 5.1%

Hogan vs. Warrior 3.4%

Hogan vs. Savage 2.1%

Hogan & T vs. Piper & Orndorff 1.0%

Michaels vs. Tatanka 1.0%

Bulldogs vs. Beefcake & Valentine 0.8%

Michaels vs. Diesel 0.8%

 

--Britz Fritz interviews Tully Blanchard and Ron Simmons.

--A correction from Tuesday: Pat Laprade's upcoming book on the history of pro wrestling in Montreal is called "Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screwjobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling."  'Mad Dogs' is from Vachon, 'Midgets' is because Sky Low Low and Little Beaver came from Quebec and 'Screwjobs' is because of the 1997 Survivor Series, and perhaps the 1931 Henri DeGlane vs. Strangler Lewis match.

 

--ESPN in the U.K. announced its coverage for Jones vs. Evans on 4/21.  It will start at 1:30 a.m. with the Countdown show, MMA Live then airs at 2:30 a.m. and the main card starts at 3 a.m. 

 

--A story on the Lucha Libre USA show that takes place tomorrow night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The funny part of the story is they claim they are expecting 8,000 people at the show.

 

--Steve Austin roasts Zakk Wylde.

 

--Just to answer the most frequently asked question of the last few days, I don't know if Jim Ross will be announcing any of the matches on Sunday.  The logical answer would be yes, he will announce all of the matches, but you run into grave trouble predicting WWE based on logic.

 

--Here's a story on if there will be blood in the Undertaker vs. HHH match. The story quotes me, Bryan and Kurt Angle.  Kurt thinks there will be blood. I'd bet on no but not strongly because HHH can pretty much do anything he wants.

 

--Leonard Garcia vs. Matt Grice has been added to the 6/8 UFC show on FX.

 

--There is a documentary on pro wrestling called "The Booker" with the trailer put out by Studio 5 Productions out of Atlanta.  It's about the PCW promotion that runs in the area.

 

--TNA is selling a Jeff Hardy Louisville Slugger baseball bat at its BaseBrawl events at minor league parks this summer including a 5/6 show at Rawhide Park in Visalia, CA.

 

--Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, Eric Young and SoCal Val are on the Spin Cycle. They talk about high school.  Two of the four members of the panel were home schooled and one missed out on prom to wrestle, and one trained to be an MMA fighter. 

 

--The five-part Los Angeles Times interviews for Mania has Cody Rhodes. Tomorrow will be HHH.

 

--Reader Adam Sanders said that he was unable to buy 'Mania from Time Warner cable on screen like usual and had to call the local customer service office and place an order over the phone.  The rep told him that they've never seen anything like this before when it comes to the number of orders, so that is at least an example that things look good for the show.

I question that in this regard, the most any Mania has ever done in North America is 950,000 buys, and every Mayweather & Pacquiao fight in recent years beats that easily. Most Lesnar fights beat it as well, and De La Hoya-Mayweather more than doubled that figure. So I find it hard to believe this show, even if it sets a Mania card, is going to have any kind of unprecedented demand that companies have never seen before.

 

--A story on WrestleMania III in Grantland...Today is the 25th anniversary of that show, which at the time was the biggest grossing pro wrestling show ever, although the record only lasted two years until the Hogan vs. Savage match beat it.      

 

--The Miami Herald today had a WrestleMania pullout section, which included a Cena vs. Rock preview plus a look at the career of Ron Simmons.

 

--There will be a $300 a ticket WrestleMania VIP party tonight at Star Island, where WWE personalities will show off their fashion designs and artwork that will be auctioned off for charity.

 

--Jerry Lawler talks WrestleMania to the Miami Herald. He said his favorite WrestleMania moment was wrestling last year against Michael Cole.  His favorite match to call was Hogan vs. Rock in Toronto.  

 

--Chaotic Wrestling tomorrow night in Lowell, MA at the Polish American Veterans Club.

 

--A video on Bill Apter and the WWE Hall of Fame.

 

--Tri State Wrestling's first year anniversary show on July 7, 2001, in Rutland, VT is now on for free.  It was an all cage match show before Dixie Carter came up with the idea.  Actually, the first all cage match show I recall was in the 70s in Los Angeles where they promoted that every match would be in the Blassie cage.

 

--Texas All Star Wrestling's 19th annual Humble Rumble takes place Saturday night at Coaches Sports Bar in Humble, TX.    

 

--Big Time Wrestling on 4/27 in Saco, ME at the Southern Maine Sportszone features The Nasty Boys, Tammy Sytch and Ron Simmons.  They also run 4/28 in Presque Isle, ME, at the Forum with Sytch, Simmons and the Nasty Boys. (thanks to Bradley Grover)  

 

--Steeltown Pro Wrestling on 4/26 in Arborg, Manitoba at the Rec Centre; 4/27 with a free show in Winnipeg at LA. Roadhouse at 9 p.m. (18 years or older show), 4/28 in Selkirk, Manitoba at the Friendship Centre and 4/29 in Winnipeg at the Royal Canadian Legion. 

 

--Roy Englebrecht's Fight Club OC shows debut on 4/14 at the Hangar at the Orange County Fair & Events Center in California.  The show features all local fighters.  They will be running three shows this year, with the others being 10/6 and 12/8.  Chuck Liddell will be in attendance at the first show, which is headlined by Tyson Jeffries vs. Keith Berry.   

 

--FSW High Octane airs at 10 p.m. Eastern for free, headlined by Funny Bone vs. Kevin Douglas.

 

--Lanny Poffo talks his new promotion.

Evansville promos 4 21 1990

Bruiser Brody vs Mr King

WED. UPDATE: Former WWE star health issue, Mania star injury update, Ratings, CNN airs Countdown

Wednesday's News, Notes & Links

--TMZ.com reported today that Kamala is facing the possible amputation of his right foot.  His son today said that doctors will determine on Friday whether they need to remove the right foot, after he had his last foot removed last year due to issues with diabetes. Best wishes to him during this period.

--Maria Menounos today wrote that she is actually suffering from two broken ribs.  At the WWE press conference, Beth Phoenix made a mention of it.  She is still scheduled to wrestle on Sunday but it's likely she's going to be very limited in what she can do.

--The USA Network won the weekly cable race last week with a 2.5 prime time average to 1.9 for TBS and 1.7 for Disney.  FX was No. 11 at 1.0.  Syfy was No. 20 at 0.7.  Spike didn't crack the 25.  The two hours of Raw last week were No. 3 and No. 6 for the week.  The second hour was No. 10 in 18-34.  In 18-49 the hours were No. 2 and No. 4.

--HBO's 24/7 returns to build up the Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto fight with shows that will not only air on HBO, but will be replayed on CNN.  The CNN airings are 4/14 at midnight, 4/21 at midnight, 4/28 at midnight and 5/4 at midnight.

--Lilian Garcia was singing tonight at The Gibson Miami Showroom in Miami.

--A story on Ata Johnson, the mother of Dwayne Johnson, about WrestleMania.

--New Japan announced that Tomoaki Honma has been released.  Honma had an incredible match, a match of the year candidate in December against Masato Tanaka for their Intercontinental title and he was one of the most underrated in-ring performers in the business.

--On Twitter, you can buy what is called a Promoted Tweet where you pay Twitter so that if someone searches for a specific item, your Twitter account will always be the first result.  TNA this week bought the following terms:  WWE, Wrestlemania, Wrestling, C.M. Punk, John Cena, The Rock, HHH, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Kane, Randy Orton and Sheamus.

--Ramsey Nijem vs. C.J. Keith was added to the 6/22 UFC show in Atlantic City.

--King Mo Lawal talks about his firing yesterday.

Do you think WrestleMania will best the 2007 record numbers?
Yes 36.9%
No 63.1%

What are your thoughts on the WrestleMania buildup?
Excellent 4.7%
Good 33.9%
Average 24.1%
Fair 14.9%
Poor 19.4%
Didn't pay attention 3.1%

When do you think Rock vs. Cena peaked?
Last year 49.8%
Last month 36.4%
It is peaking right now 13.8%

What did you think of the Rock vs. Cena 'Once in a Lifetime' special?
Excellent 28.3%
Good 38.6%
Average 15.9%
Fair 7.6%
Poor 9.7%
37.5% of those responding didn't see the show

What did you think of Raw?
Excellent 3.8%
Good 21.0%
Average 29.8%
Fair 15.5%
Poor 30.0%
9.0% of those responding didn't see the show

--WWE is doing Be a Star anti-bullying rallies tomorrow at Hialeah Gardens Middle School and John F. Kennedy Middle School in Miami.  James Durbin of American Idol, who is a big wrestling fan and friends with The Miz and Chris Jericho, will be joined by WWE performers at the rally.

--A promotional video for Friday night's Dragon Gate USA $1.99 iPPV.

--Santino Marella talks WrestleMania. He said if he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the first person he would thank is Rip Rogers, one of his trainers.

--Chris Jericho was on Jeff Marek's Marek v Wyshynski hockey podcast talking WrestleMania, Winnipeg hockey and Nick Bockwinkel. (thanks to Mark Coale) 

--Lance Storm gives his WrestleMania predictions.

--Ariel Helwani noted that he just bumped into Vladimir, the 80s and 90s wrestling fan who was at ringside at all the Northeast events forever and got asked about on our show some time back. He's got proof.

--Steve Corino vs. Michael Elgin headlines WrestleStock on 4/14 at the Royal Canadian Legion Todmorden branch in Toronto.

--Strongman and Polish ratings draw Mariusz Pudzianowski headlines for KSW 19 MMA show at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland on 5/12.

--NWA Anarchy from Saturday night in Cornelia, GA:  Anthony Henry b Andrew Pendelton, Tommy Daniels won Battle Royal, Shaun Tempers & Bo Newsome b Azrael & Seth Delay, Ambassadors NC Slim J & Johnny Dangerous.  Next show is one of the biggest of the year, Hardcore Hell on 3/31 at the NWA Anarchy Arena.

--Michael (daffneyfan@yahoo.com) is looking for photos of Nancy Benoit.

--Delado Promotions on 6/17 in El Paso has Dr. Wagner Jr., Pirata Morgan, Cobarde, Marcela and Rossy Moreno.

--JACO announced an exclusive deal with Alistair Overeem.  Overeem will air exclusively JACO clothing when he's in the Octagon.

--NWA Mountain State Wrestling on 4/6 in Baileysville, WV at the Unleashed Community Center features Shaun Tempers vs. Jason Kincaid for the North American title.

--Carlos Condit and B.J. Penn have been added to The MMA show on 5/12 and 5/13 in Birmingham, England at the NEC.

--NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 3/30 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium.

--Former NWF champion Johnny Powers has been added to the Charlotte NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest from 8/2 to 8/5 at the University Place Hilton.

--All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars TV is up.

--A story on WrestleMania I from City Pluse News at 42:06 of this clip. (thanks to Jason Hagholm)

--MEXPW on 4/14 at The Arena in Los Angeles

--The Score on 3/29 at 9 p.m. has a two hour show featuring fights from the 3/16 show in Hamilton, ONT.

--Jaynie Baker, who was a contestant on the Diva Search several years back (she was on the video but didn't make the finals), was involved in a high profile prostitution ring that has gotten a lot of New York pub in a story here and here.

--A note on the NWA Ring Warriors show in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow night.

--Comedian Johnny Loquasto's video on WrestleMania.

--UWA on 3/31 in Boonton, NJ at the Darress Theater

--Sunday CMLL in Guadalajara:  Azteca de Oro b Omega, Relampago Azul b Meteoro, Espectrum & Sadico b Divino & Esfinge, Barbaro Cavernario & Exterminador & Specimen b Gallo & Leon Blanco, Smaker, Solar I b Negro Navarro (fans threw money in the ring after the match), Halcon de Plata & Rush b Felino & Mr. Niebla-DQ (thanks to Kris Zellner)

--The all-women's Invicta Fighting Championships show on 4/28 in Kansas City at Memorial Hall will be streaming its debut show free of charge on its web site live at 8 p.m. Eastern at Invicta FC.com.  The show is headlined by former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen vs. Romy Ruyssen of France and Lisa Ellis-Ward vs. Jessica Penne.

WrestleMania press conference notes

Josh Mathews and Matt Striker are the "commentators" of the press conference, welcoming viewers to the LIVE stream on WWE.com, YouTube and Facebook. They name a list of superstars and divas who have arrived, then throw to a video montage talking about last year's WrestleMania match between Triple H and Undertaker.
After that, they talk about the 12-man tag match of Team Teddy Long vs. Team Johnny Laurinaitis. Both captains of their respective teams show up. Santino says they will win because they are the good guys, serve justice, and "with perseverance." Otunga speaks next and says his team will prevail. They disapproved of Santino scoffing at tells him they won't lose.
As Mathews sets up the look at The Rock vs. John Cena, Santino says they he can't pick a winner for this match. We now get a video package for this feud next. Many superstars say that Cena needs to win this match more than The Rock and that it will be the best match to be seen. Josh and Matt talk more about the match as we await the press conference to begin.
The Miz shows up behind them and asks how they can have a press conference without him, especially since he was in the main event last year and won the match. Mathews reminds him he was almost "left off" of Mania, but Miz takes exception to that calling himself the "Peyton Manning" of WWE. A man speaks at the podium telling the press that the conference will start in one minute. Miz still rambles on in the meantime, and Mathews throws us to the podium.
Michael Cole welcomes everybody to the press conference. He informed the press that superstars will come out and answer questions momentarily, and fans on Twitter can interact with #WrestleMania. Cole brings out the Commissioner of Dade County, Florida, Jose "Pepe" Diaz. Diaz speaks on the event of Mania coming to Miami and is clearly excited. He announced more than 70,000 fans have bought tickets. "Our goals is not only to host WWE Universe this week, but to return to our community again." He brings up WWE Senior Vice President of Special Events, John Saboor.
Saboor thanks Diaz for allowing WWE to host WrestleMania in Maimi. He mentions WrestleMania is "not just a one-day event, but a week-long celebration." The celebration will include WWE Axxess for four days, the annual WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, WrestleMania 28 on Sunday, and Monday Night Raw will be there as well. As Diaz begins to present Saboor with a plague, Saboor interrupts and brings out the Executive Vice President of Talent, Paul Levesque a/k/a Triple H.
Diaz is honored to present WWE with a plague on behalf of the mayor and committee celebrating WrestleMania week. The crowd is dead, so Commissioner Diaz repeats it with more enthusiasm. On behalf of 2.6 million citizens, he presents John Saboor with the key to the city. All three men pause for photo ops.
Triple H takes the stand and thanks everybody for attending the press conference. He continues by saying WrestleMania is their biggest event, and this event "truly is once in a lifetime." He mentions the talent is pleased not only to compete at Mania, put to put smiles on faces around the world. He brings up John Cena being a man who holds almost 300 Make-a-Wish visits. Charities, fund-raisers and numerous other events will be attended by superstars and divas. "This WrestleMania truly is once in a lifetime, and right here in Miami, I plan to put an end to an era by ending Undertaker's streak."
Michael Cole pops up again and brings up the social media, namely Twitter, and says superstars are currently tweeting. He mentions Santino Marella, David Otunga, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Ricardo Rodriguez are some of those superstars and they show up with their mobile phones filming the conference. They take their leave and Cole continues. He brings out former starting center for the Miami Dolphins, Mike Pouncey. Pouncey says the Dolphins are proud to call Sun Life Stadium their home, but they are happy that WrestleMania will there and plan to sit ringside for the event.
Cole brings out both Eve Torres and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix. Beth says they (Divas) are proud to be apart of WrestleMania this year. Eve is proud to be apart of it also, as well as the Be A Star campaign. They talk about Sunday next, and Beth brings up that Maria Menounos broke a rib on Dancing with the Stars. She says Maria will be competing injured, and they will embarrass her and wipe out Kelly Kelly. Next, Cole brings out Rosa Mendes. She says (in Spanish) that Miami is home to many fans and is happy to be there.
Cole calls the WWE Champion CM Punk to the podium next. Punk sets the title up, and says he wore a suit earlier but it was too hot he took it off. "I don't wanna bore everybody. Over 100 countries 20 languaage are gonna watch me kick Jericho's ass at WrestleMania. I apologize Michael Cole bored you to death. Also, you're welcome - Johnny Snicklefritz Laurinaitis is not here. All of us are competitive and guys wear more make-up than the Divas, and Michael Cole has won. Thanks to everybody in Mimia for having me and everybody this week. Sunday is what I'm looking forward to." After some lame jokes, he says he's excited to see Triple H vs. Undertaker and The Rock vs. John Cena because it's a personal rivalry. He asks the ladies if they want him to take his shirt off, and the crowd goes mild. He starts asking if they have any money and some girls start to show some. He says they can see him shirtless on Sunday.
Cole comes back and says we should be thankful he's wearing make-up since this is broadcasted in high def. He mentions the next entertainer is the most followed athlete on Twiiter, the man who will face The Rock at WrestleMania, John Cena. Cena runs out in his wrestling attire and thanks everybody for attending the conference. He says Mania is enormous and a big event filled with intensity. He brings up the Make-a-Wish pizza party that Triple H mentioned earlier. He discusses a young man named Dylan, who beat cancer three times, and personally invites him and his family to the pizza party and will be his special guests at Sunday's event. He turns attention to The Rock, happy to do battle with a huge superstar on the grandest stage of all.
The final guest of the press conference is none other than the leader of Team Bring It, The People's Champion, The Rock. Fans chant his name when he gets there. "Thank you for attending the press conference. This is a very special event. This will be the biggest WrestleMania of all time. I'm excited about the show. For me, not only is it a chance to compete in the ring again... to take part in the biggest event of all time. With John Cena's track record and achievements, it's an honor to face him. Superstars are hungry and fired up to compete. what CM Punk is going to do with Chris Jericho will be incredible. Triple H and Undertaker is going to be amazing." He goes on to talk about his life at 18 running the track having no idea he would be doing what he does. "I'm proud to be a son of Miami, proud to highlight are incredible city. By the way, since we are live on YouTube and Facebook, I'm proud to give Cena a Hurricane size ass whoop." Rock says it's time for fun now and asks Cena to come back out and also asks some people to move the podium. Cena comes out and stands face-to-face with Rock. Both leave and Cole thanks everybody for being there and for watching live online.
Josh Mathews and Matt Striker close the conference and all of us who watched online. "We'll see you Sunday, for WrestleMania!"

TUES UPDATE: Tons from Raw and a look at the week ahead, behind the scenes with Punk, HOF, watch Kimbo KO, awesome list of drug test failure excuses, tons more

Tuesday's News, Notes and Links

-- I will be tweeting all weekend from Miami, so follow me there for any scoops. Plus if you're going to the shows, I will be updating everyone as to where we will be for various get togethers as I think over 50 people from the site will be congregating down there and maybe more.

-- Last night's Observer Radio is a FREE download. If you like what you hear, there is literally no better week this year to sign up. We'll be doing radio shows every day with various guests, including perhaps some surprises down in Miami, along with our usual schedule. It's only $10.99 for the month and I guarantee if you like the free shows on the right-hand side of the front page, you'll LOVE a subscription. Over 3000 shows in the archives in addition to all the new stuff every day.
-- As noted on last night's show, CM Punk essentially challenged Steve Austin to WrestleMania next year. Austin didn't exactly accept but did seem open to the idea if the stars align.
-- From speaking to someone in WWE who is already in Miami, the place is all decked out and ready to go for this weekend, posters and signs and banners everywhere.
-- Amazed at the WrestleMania betting odds all over the place with another set up here. How about this: odds on Ring of Honor.
-- Last night's Rock vs. Cena one-hour special consisted of 90% Rock footage from his DVD and 90% new John Cena footage. (WO editor Josh's note: Bryan's math, everyone!)
-- There is a great interview with CM Punk here, a mix of largely fact and a little fantasy and a great look at his personality when not in the ring.
-- The full list of WWE Hall of Fame inductions is up here.
-- As noted on Raw last night, Monday's Hall of Fame TV broadcast at 8 PM before Raw will feature highlights of the Edge, Mike Tyson and 4 Horsemen inductions. Might be kind of wacky to see Hunter and Shawn up there playing DX for the Tyson induction if Shawn ends up somehow accidentally screwing Hunter in the Undertaker match at Mania.
-- They did a post-Raw angle where Miz came out and demanded the Rock apologize to him for giving him the People's Elbow at last year's WrestleMania. Rock's apology consisted of giving it to him again.
-- As announced last night on Raw, WWE's Hell in a Cell ppv is set for October 28th at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
-- My wife Whitney is doing a spring sale at itapboys.com. Spend $20 or more on women or kids BJJ merchandise and get a FREE rectangular patch and sticker (a $13 value). You can also LIKE her on Facebook here.
-- Clips of Kimbo Slice's LOL worthy knockout from this weekend are up here.
-- THIS ARTICLE IS AWESOME: 18 fascinating explanations guys made after failling drug tests.
-- Big article on The Rock in Variety here.
-- More on the death of Bert Sugar here.
-- Bellator was up to 175,000 viewers this week, still below the average from the last two seasons, but up substantially from last week. Ultimate Fighter did 1.2 million, up from last week, down from the debut episode.
-- Sad to report the death of longtime Michigan indie wrestling announcer Ron "Showtime" Stewart. There is a Facebook page up here with pictures and memories.
-- 13 questions with Kevin Steen here.
-- Historical look at Showdown at the Shea here.
-- Montreal, Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling will officially be released in February 2013.
-- After listening to Thursday's Bryan & Vinny Show's Granny segment, one of our readers made up a bunch of "Team Sanitation" shirts for him and his friends to wear on WrestleMania weekend. Be on the lookout and email us/tweet any pics!
-- Jaime writes: Not sure if anyone passed this along to you yet, but as I was perusing iTunes, I came across The Rock Concert from a couple of weeks ago from Raw. $1.29 for the live song.
-- Crossfire Entertainment, LLC Presents Crossfire LIVE Fundraiser Benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee LIVE Saturday, May 19, 2012 Nashville Fairgrounds Sports Arena 625 Smith Ave, Nashville, TN 37203 Belltime: 7:30 PM – Doors: 6:30 PM VIP Event Pre-Show: 5:30 – 6:30 PM www.crossfirellc.vze.com (Log on for all the latest news and live events that have been signed!). Matt Hardy vs. MVP headlines.
-- The Union of Independent Professional Wrestlers in association with Morpheous Productions and the Silver Snail Comic Shop presents WrestleStock on Saturday April 14th 2012 at the Todmorden branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (1083 Pape Avenue @ O'Connor) in Toronto. Doors open at 7:00pm. Bell time is 7:30pm sharp. Tickets are available currently available at the Silver Snail (367 Queen Street West) and $tretch Thrift Store (974 Pape Avenue) and via PayPal.
-- Florida Underground Wrestling promoter Dontay Brown is presenting his biggest show ever this coming Tuesday March 27th at Gasoline Alley, located at 14042 66th St, Largo Fl 33771. Doors open at 7:30pm, show starts at 8:30pm.
-- Hulk Hogan's Micro Championship Wrestling comes to Everett, MA, 47 Elm St. at the Everett Rec Center Saturday April 14th. Show starts at 6 p.m. Scheduled to appear are Trixie, Demo, Short Sleeve Sampson, Johnny G, Tanaka, Mr. ANC and more. Tickets are $15 for adults and only $10 for kids. Here's some additional info.
-- Lance and Johnny Gargano on Over the Top Radio here.

POLLS~!

-- Who would draw the biggest for a WrestleMania 29 match against The Rock?
Brock Lesnar 43.6%
Steve Austin 28.3%
Undertaker 13.4%
C.M. Punk 7.8%
John Cena 4.5%
Hulk Hogan 2.4%
Who do you expect to win this fight?
Anderson Silva 56.0%
Chael Sonnen 44.0%
What will be the biggest sports event of 2012?
Super Bowl 46.1%
The Olympics 31.0%
WrestleMania 11.4%
FA Cup 2.5%
Silva vs. Sonnen 2.2%
World Series 1.7%
Stanley Cup 1.7%
NBA finals 1.4%
BCS championship game 0.8%
Daytona 500 0.7%
NCAA Basketball Final four 0.6%
Do you think the Kimbo Slice fight was real?
Yes 20.4%
No 79.6%
Will Silva vs. Sonnen do 850,000 buys?
Yes 67.0%
No 33.0%

The Billy Joe Travis babyface turn

MON. UPDATE: Ratings, Hall of Fame inductions, Mania broken rib, Punk, Foley vs. Miz, Rock, Cena

Monday's News, Notes & Links

--A lot of UFC officials are going to have to be in two places at the same time as they've got an FX special on 6/22 in Atlantic City headlined by Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard -- the day before the just announced Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen fight on 6/23 in Rio de Janeiro.  

--Smackdown on Friday did 2.76 million viewers, down from recent weeks while Ultimate Fighter gained to 1.21 million viewers.  The NCAA basketball games on TBS dominated all the top spots.

--As far as who is going to induct people into the Hall of Fame, WWE has released an album on iTunes called Hall of Fame 2012: The Music.  Christian is getting a new version of his same song while there is also a new version of the DX theme. From this, it's now official Christian for Edge, DX for Mike Tyson, Dusty Rhodes for the Four Horseman (Jim Johnston has remade the Horseman theme), JBL for Ron Simmons, Usos & Rikishi for Yokozuna and Alberto Del Rio for Mil Mascaras. As it stands, that is also the reverse order of the lineup.

--WWE today announced the hiring of Brian Flinn as the company's new Senior Vice President of Marketing. He will be reporting to Michelle Wilson, who is the head of marketing. He had been Senior Vice President of marketing for the NBA where he was in charge of league marketing, internal communication and research groups.

--Maria Menounos suffered a broken rib in training for Dancing with the Stars.  She is going to compete on the show with it, so she may still do Mania. Tonight's Raw should answer that question as well as answer who the last two members of the Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy match is. It's been noted Mick Foley and Miz have gone back-and-forth on Twitter of late so it could be them, which makes sense since Foley would be the kind of guy you could announce at the last minute.

--Here's an interview with Sheamus. He predicted John Cena over Rock.

--C.M. Punk wrote on Twitter how the company had a meeting about tweeting and proper use of hashtags and then wrote "Shoot me."  Chris Jericho tweeted a photo of himself looking bored, probably at the meeting, and you could see Titus O'Neil and Skip Sheffield in the back, which caused Skip Sheffield to trend. Jericho later deleted the photo. 

--John Cena posted a photo of himself over the weekend talking about being drug tested with the idea he wants a clean fight.  As if the results of a test could possibly cancel that match.

--Mick Foley on Twitter today said the new name for his next children's book is "A Most Miz-erable Christmas."

--In doing Atlanta media today, Punk noted that he saw Tony Schiavone. Today is the 11th anniversary of WCW's final show, held in Panama City, FL. Without question, absolutely nothing EVER has done more damage to the pro wrestling industry than WCW closing down.

--Last night, after the main event at the Raw show in Charlotte, C.M. Punk and John Cena called out Arn Anderson to congratulate him on being named to the WWE Hall of Fame.

--John Morrison does comedy.

What do you think was the biggest match in MMA history?
Lesnar vs. Mir II 23.4%
Griffin vs. Bonnar I 19.7%
Ken Shamrock vs. Ortiz II 12.1%
Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie I 11.5%
Lesnar vs. Couture 8.4%
Ortiz vs. Liddell II 7.6%
Fedor vs. Cro Cop 7.6%
Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie II 5.0%
Lesnar vs. Velasquez 2.6%
GSP vs. Penn II 1.3%
Cro Cop vs. Sakuraba 0.8%

What was the greatest pro wrestling family?
Harts 43.1%
Funks 28.0%
Von Erichs 9.7%
Guerreros/Llanes 7.4%
Maivia/Johnson 3.9%
Mascaras/Caras/Del Rio 2.3%
Rhodes 1.8%
Santo 1.7%
Fuller/Golden/Fields 0.8%
Torres 0.7%
Valentine 0.3%
Alvarado 0.2%

Best TV show of the past week?
Raw 38.9%
ROH 15.1%
Smackdown 14.6%
Ultimate Fighter 12.6%
Impact 9.6%
Bellator 7.9%
MMA Uncensored 1.3%

--Mike Tyson talks WrestleMania and other subjects.

--New names announced for The MMA Show Live on 5/12 and 5/13 in Birmingham, England are Mark Munoz, Alexander Gustafsson, Phil De Fries, Vaughan Lee, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, Chris Leben, Alessio Sakara, Matt Mitrione, John Maguire, Neil Grove, Rob Sinclair, Marloes Coenen, Serge Kharitonov, Jon Chaimberg, Martin De Jong and Kenny Johnson.

--An article in the Wall Street Journal toady noted that the audience at 11 of the top 15 most watched cable channels declined over the past year (expected since fewer people have cable and satellite than a year ago) but the biggest loser of big-time networks were Nick, TNT and FX, all down more than 10%.

--Dimo's Pizza in Chicago has a WrestleMania special.  The 100% vegan Anaconda Vice pizza (black beans, Upton's chorizo seitan, vegan bacon bits, dairy free cheese, chopped tomatoes, green unions, cilantro and parsley) will be available starting today as well as the GTS Pizza with turkey leg, sliced potatoes, Swiss cheese and French fried onions.

--Dragon Gate USA on 3/29 at the German American Society Clubhouse in Hollywood, FL for a show not on iPPV has Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor & Rich Swann vs. Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk & Uhaa Nation vs. Sami Callihan & Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez, Pac vs. AR Fox, Low Ki vs Bobby Fish, Cima & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Scott Reed & Caleb Konley, Masato Yoshino vs ? and Ricochet vs. Mike Cruz.

--Bending the Rules starring Adam Copeland/Edge will be released tomorrow on DVD.

--The Entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times has a Q&A with John Cena. Cena said he's been pushing for this match since 2005. He talked about possibly wanting to face Steve Austin at Mania.

--Variety has a story on Dwayne Johnson.

--An interview with Arn Anderson talking with Phil Strum of the Poughkeepsie Journal.

--Here's a story on the Bella Twins in the New York Post.

--I woke up this morning and there was a TV ad for Jeff Hardy appearing at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as a celebrity guest for spring break.

--An interview with Cima is up here.

--Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman have their second annual WrestleMania party with Billy Gunn, DDP, Rikishi, Headbangers, Tammy Sytch, Harry Smith, Rob Terry and Robbie E on 3/30 at Oceans Ten in Miami Beach at 8 p.m.  Nash is also doing personalized videos where he'll answer a question you ask him.

--Traditional Championship Wrestling and VPW are doing a show at the Cauliflower Alley Club on 4/16 (Monday) at the Gold Coast Casino with Greg Anthony vs. Zach Gowen, Michael Barry vs. Disco Inferno and Matt Riviera vs. Sigmon.

--Paddypower.com has these odds up for Mania:

John Cena -150
The Rock +110

Undertaker -700
HHH +400

C.M. Punk -187
Chris Jericho +138

Daniel Bryan +150
Sheamus -200

--Larry Matysik's book "The 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All-Time" will be released in the fall by ECW Press.  We will definitely be talking about this one later this year. It's absolutely impossible to do such a list in any sport when you talk about different eras, but in pro wrestling, it's even harder.

--Real Championship Wrestling from last night in Baltimore at the DuBurns Arena before 400 fans:  Runaways b Alex Payne & Niles Young to win tag titles, Greg Excellent b Kindred, Robbie Mireno b Shane Strickland, Skull and Pat Anthony to win cruiserweight title, Marty Jannetty b Ruckus, Jay Briscoe d Derek Frazier, Mia Yim over Kimber Lee and Jenny Rose, Azrieal b Blk Jeez and Ryan McBride.  Next show is 6/16 (thanks to Joseph Klunk)

--For those in San Jose, Ticketmaster has sent out notice you can now get two tickets for the price of one for the 3/30 Lucha Libre USA show at the HP Pavilion.

--World Pro Wrestling from yesterday in Santa Ana, CA before 150 fans:  Lee Steele over Cianuro and Microbio, Amazona & Yumi b Sgt. Stryker & Frankie Segura, Genio & Wama & War Hog b Ramtha & Terremoto Jr. & Cyber Ram, Infernal & Red Rum b Mariachi Loco & Lil Cholo (thanks to Roy Lucier)

--WSU on 4/28 at the NYWC  Sportatorium in Deer Park, NY headlined by Jessicka Havok vs. Mercedes Martinez

--Todos x Todos (El Hijo del Santo's group) on Friday night in Aguascalientes:  Mascarita Dorada & Mascarita Sagrada b Mini Monsther & Mini Rockerito, Dandy & Solar d Fuerza Guerrera & Negro Navarro (great match, fans threw money in the ring), Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Rayman b Cien Caras & Cien Caras Jr., El Hijo del Santo & Villano IV b Angel Blanco Jr. & El Hijo del Solitario-DQ

--This coming Friday night in Tijuana at the Auditorio has L.A. Park & La Parka & Super Parka vs. Psycho Circus and El Hijo del Rey Misterio II & Joe Lider & Mortiz vs. Pirata Morgan & El Hijo del Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan Jr. (thanks to Kris Zellner)

--Ted DiBiase and Rosa Mendes will be appearing at Walmart in Miami Gardens, FL, on Wednesday.

--Tommy Dreamer talks Jimmy Snuka.

--EWA from Saturday night in Springfield, MA before 220 fans:  Punk & Prep United b Capital Punishment, Dan De Man b Shane Marvel, Alex Cypher & Tapu & Scotty Slade b Jonny Idol & William King & Dr. Heresy, Vinny Marseglia b Sebastian Reese, Doug Summers b Zackary Pierre Beaulieu in a ladder match, Bobby Fish b Dalton Castle, The Purists b Taka Suzuki & Mikaze, I.M. Valor b Buddy Romano, Sean Burke b Antonio Thomas to keep EWA title

--Pro Wrestling Phoenix on Saturday night in Council Bluffs, IA:  Darren Russell & Vic Victory b Buck Albright & Mad Dog McDowell, S.M. King b Jon West, Jeff O'Shea b Shawn Nautilus, Sean Cruz b Zac James, Paul Daniels b Joey Daniels, Brian Gott & Derek Cornell b Preston Maxwell & Branden Juarez, Bradley Charles b Abu Colossus.  Next show is 4/21 at the National Guard Armory in Council Bluffs

--The Score in Canada already has Undertaker 20-0 desktop wallpaper.

--NYWC on Saturday night at the NYWC Sportatorium in Deer Park, NY

--NWF from Saturday night in Niagara Falls before 300 fans:  Scotty Turner & Jay Moore b Nick Vickers in a handicap match, Cherry Bomb b Allysin Kay, Derek Wylde b Tony Carbonie, Cody Deaner b Shawn Spears-DQ in a chairs match, Anthony Darko & Jake O'Reilly b Tiberious King & Pepper Parks, Derek Wylde b Primo Scordino, Tiberious King & Pepper Parks & Crazzy Steve & Shawn Spears b Derek Wylde & Notorious TID & Cody Deaner & Andrew Davis.  Bret Hart appears on the 6/9 show for this promotion as GM.

UFC makes official announcement of Sonnen vs. Silva

UFC sent out a press release annoucing UFC 147 at Joao Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janiero, Brazil on 6/23, one week later than the original date for the show.
Dana White claimed this would be the biggest sports event of the year, bigger than the NFL and the NBA (I guess not realizing this summer is the Olympics).  The show will be headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva and the finals of the first season of Ultimate Fighter Brazil. 
White said the show would beat the 55,724 fan record set on April 30, 2011, for the Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields fight at Rogers Centre in Toronto. 
Joao Havelange Stadium is listed as having a capacity of 46,000 for soccer, but they can likely get 8-9,000 more seats on the floor.

Dwayne Bruce (Buddy Lee Parker) responds to Batista's book ripping him

"SARGE" DWAYNE BRUCE RESPONDS TO DAVE BATISTA'S HARSH COMMENTS ABOUT HIM, DAVE'S LACK OF UNDERSTANDING FOR WRESTLING TRAINING, AND MORE WITH GLACIER AND JAMES GUTTMAN
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com

 

The Awful Tryout Video John Cena Sent The Power Plant, The Full Story Behind His Infamous Appearance on Louie Theroux BBC Documentary, What Wasn't Showed on TV, The Origins of the State Patrol Gimmick, The Role Bruce Hart Played In The Gimmick, WCW Power Plant: The Reality Show, Keeping Kayfabe, WrestleMania Rehearsals, Why Dwayne Attended The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, Marrying His High School Sweetheart, His Sons, Poor Training vs. No Training, Selling Out The Monitor, Filming The Pilot For His Wrestling Show on The Same Day His Mother Passed Away, and more. For a full list of topics, head to http://www.worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/publish/newsnotes/bri32312.shtml

 

Fans of World Wrestling Insanity and Glacier can check out Ray's new video blog: http://livingthedreamwithglacier.tumblr.com/ and the Insanity Facebook Fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/WorldWrestlingInsanity

 

The biggest question that most fans might have for "Sarge" Dwayne Bruce is about Dave Batista. In his book, Dave said that during his WCW tryout, Sarge worked him out until he vomited, told him he'd never become a wrestler, and had a "Napoleon Complex." James Guttman tells Bruce that he knows he's often asked about the harsh comments, but has a different spin on the question. James mentions how he took some classes at a local wrestling school before he began writing about wrestling. The experience taught him to respect even the simplest of bumps but also included some insane training methods. The first day, the trainers had everyone running until they threw up and all Guttman could think was how awful the trainers were as people. But, as James got older, he understood the reasoning. After pledging a fraternity, being the new guy in different situations, and just learning more how the wrestling business worked, Guttman had a better understanding of why the trainers did what they did and what they were preparing their students for.

 

This leads to the question. Batista's harsh comments about Sarge's training didn't come out early in his career. In fact, they came out years into his big time run. Guttman asks Bruce if he was surprised that, by that point, Dave Batista still hadn't "gotten it" or if that's common. Dwayne doesn't feel it is and asks ClubWWI.com host Glacier if he agrees.

 

"No, that's not…I wouldn't say…Ray, do you think that's common for people not to 'get it' that far into their career? It just went along with the training, didn't it? You know what? I told everybody at every tryout that they would never be a wrestler. Listen, if I can tell anybody anything to get a little more out of them, and believe me, I've evaluated every person that tried out. What their strong points were, what were their weak points, what we had to work on - throughout the tryout, I did that every night. They talk about squats and all that, but listen brother, I did that with them."

 

The proof is in the pudding and even in the infamous Louie Theroux documentary that Sarge discusses in-depth during his ClubWWI.com appearance, you can see him working out alongside the hopefuls. It's how he runs his training session and those who studied under him can attest to that.

 

"I lead by example and, the thing is with Batista, I don' t really remember him trying out. That's how much he stuck in my mind from the tryout. Yeah, I guess I did tell him he was never gonna make it and all that and whatever. But maybe he's blessed that he didn't make it through the Power Plant. I think he turned out OK… You've got to be mentally tough. You've got to be physically tough. If you're not mentally tough, it's so easy to get led astray. That's another reason why the Power Plant was so hard…I guess I told him all those things. But you're supposed to be smart enough that by the time you made it through and you're making the kind of money that he was making, at the time (he wrote his book), I guess he should have gotten it. But some people never get it."

 

As the ClubWWI.com interview continues, Dwayne reminds us all that wrestling is constantly changing. Some of the intense training methods are put into play to gage whether someone can stick with a business that often sticks it to you. Bruce once again shows that he lead by example - even when it came to TV time.

 

"Ray's put all his heart and soul into everything. Even as gimmicks change. My gimmicks changed. Hell, I've been a freakin' leprechaun. What the hell? (laughs) You've got to take everything at face value and know there's a price. Blood, sweat, tears is what you have to pay."

 

As mentioned, although the show covers a ton of topics, there are always more, and Bruce says he looks forward to returning to ClubWWI.com for another show with Ray Lloyd, who he has nothing but respect for.

 

"I'm so honored to be on your site. I'm so honored to be on the show with Ray. I'm out for anything that Ray does. I can truly say this, from the bottom of my heart, Ray is family and I consider him like one of my boys. He's always been a true friend to me through the years. He's a genuine person. It's been an honor and a privilege."

 

Remember, this discussion with Ray "Glacier" Lloyd, "Sarge" Dwayne Bruce, and James Guttman goes on for over an hour and is just one hour out of thousands available the second you sign up on ClubWWI.com - featuring tons of audios and hundreds of top wrestling stars in uncut shoot interviews for less than the price of a magazine!