UK Impact... MVP made his TNA debut last night, he is the new investor. Interestingly he will be using his WWE ring name, although just the acronyms, not the full title, as WWE own the TM for that. MVP says he has not signed a contract, and is working a ''Handshake deal''. Samoa Joe earned a title shot vs Magnus. There was also some technical issues with the big screen during the show. In other TNA news... Great Muta has signed on to appear at Lock Down. The promotion will travel to Japan later in 2014 to tape a PPV in the country, that taping is currently set for March.
CM Punk:
Multiple WWE sources have confirmed that Punk's departure is legit, and not a story line. However they added that they hope to sit down and talk with Punk and work things out in time to get him back for WrestleMania 30. If they do come to terms, they will likely pass this off as an angle and move on, but at this moment, this is very real. CM Punk has now officially been pulled from WrestleMania 30, Ric Flair will take his spot at the fan festivities over the Mania weekend. Jim Ross has shared his views on the CM Punk situation... "No, I don't think this is an elaborate, TV storyline but instead it's all about a highly motivated, talented wrestler who, at times, feeds off the chip on his shoulder, which is not a bad thing, who has hit the wall and isn't enjoying what once was his primary professional focus....dare say his life. I do not think that Punk has wrestled his last match in WWE. I do feel that it's best for all involved for Punk to take much needed time off even if it means that he misses a WrestleMania." X-Pac believes Punk will be back for Mania... "I have faith CMPunk will end up a major part of Mania. WWE is THE Show & Punk is a big enough part of THE Show to be needed for the Mania" Stone Cold Steve Austin has discussed Punk, during a TV appearance...
Road Dogg tweeted that no-one is bigger than WWE, and the show would go on... "Hogan left, Rock left, Austin left, HBK left.... Theses were huge stars! Superstars come and go, the show must go on! U wait on the future"
WWE landmark:
The WWE's App has been downloaded for the 10 Millionth time.
Brock Lesnar:
Brock Lesnar is booked to appear at the Network Raw launch party, and almost every Raw from then up until his Mania 30 match. Dana White of UFC has told TMZ that Brock Lesnar wants to return to UFC, and to do so whilst under his WWE contract, which carries him up, to and including WrestleMania 31. White added they would look to do something when his schedule clears, which would mean post Mania 30 at the earliest.
WWE Network:
As previously noted, the WWE Network would cost $9.99 per month. To subscribe you would have to commit for a minimum of 6 months. As an extra sweetener WWE have today said they will give SummerSlam to the earliest subscribers, despite being after the 6 month lock in ends.
Kenta:
Kenta is to make an announcement about his wrestling future at Monday night's Pro wrestling NOAH show in Japan. This follows a week at the WWE PC, having try out's.
No more Rhodes':
Cody Rhodes says he feels that he will be the last in the line of the Rhodes family in wrestling, hinting that he would not encourage his future children to join the business... "I'm the last of the boys here in the Rhodes clan… and most likely the last of the Rhodes line. This is a complicated industry and I don't know if I'd wished that on another one."
NXT hijacked:
Fans at NXT chanted for CM Punk for the duration of the WWE taping's last night, despite being asked to chant NXT instead. Security also removed all CM Punk fan signs before allowing the fans into the arena. One fan at the event called the display ''The most disrespectful display (He) had ever seen''. Also on NXT... The WWE Network TV special will be called NXT Arrival. The first matches have been announced... * Bo Dallas vs Adrian Neville (Ladder Match)... * Antonio Cesaro vs Sami Zayn (2 out of 3 falls)... * Paige vs Emma (NXT Women's Title)... Also many top stars will appear, including John Cena, The New Age Outlaws, Paul Heyman, Sheamus, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hitman Hart.
Kurt Angle:
Kurt Angle has landed a new movie role in the NBC produced Losin' It.
Classics On Demand:
Today is the last day of the WWE service, before the debut of the Network.
Jesse Sorenson vs TNA:
Former TNA star Jesse Sorenson says his Mother has lost her restaurant due to TNA refusing to fullfil their promise to pay his medical bills. He says he was told to send the bills to the office for Bruce Prichard to sign off on, but the office kept sending them back to him.
Even politicians are trying to keep Daniel Bryan down:
A petition set up on the White House website has been taken down just short of reaching the 100,000 signatures needed to be addressed by the US government, because it breached the terms of the website. The petition was for Daniel Bryan to be in the main event of WrestleMania 30.
More on CM Punk's apparent resignation from WWE has emerged. PWI report the reasons for Punk leaving are, Burnout, a bad run of nagging injuries, and a disagreement with the office over his Mania feud vs Triple H. The office saw this is a big push for him, Punk disagreed, which bruised Hunter's ego, and caused some tensions. Triple H has stepped aside and is allowing Vince McMahon to deal with the situation. The stories about the script re-writes being caused by Punk's exit have been dismissed, he did not tell Vince he was leaving until 7.30, the script rewrites started at 6.00. The Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston match was elongated to fill time set aside for Punk. Sheamus will fulfill Punk's dates on SmackDown and live shows. WWE creative had known he was likely to leave in 2014, for several weeks, but it is not known if they had prepared an exit story for him. ESPN report a ''Heated'' backstage argument involving Punk at Raw. He had been concussion tested following a knock at the Rumble, he passed the tests, but WWE wanted him to sell the injury, he was not happy about lying to fans and fiercely fought against it. This may have been the trigger for him to decide he had had enough, although as Punk has not yet commented, we can't know for sure. Personally, I would say not, this seemed to be on his mind at a fan convention he attended over the Royal Rumble weekend, where he made a series of comments, which in hindsight would point to this coming... * He said he was worn out, and ready to do nothing but stay on his couch and do nothing. * He said he was sick of travelling. * He revealed he has had a long term illness, that no amount of doctor's visits could find a diagnosis to. Plus having to start eating meat again, to help with the problem that lasted for 3 months at the end of 2013. * He criticised Batista for coming back and taking the chance other stars deserve. * He also criticised the creative department, calling them out of touch. * He said he did not want to see Sting come in, saying he was past it, and would take away chances for younger stars. * He declared an interest in going to UFC, when he is healthy enough to do it properly. * And that he has plenty of money, and didn't need a weekly pay cheque any more. Others have commented on the news... TNA star Bully Ray has challenged the former World Champion to switch to TNA, to get in the ring with him, saying the promotions fans would love it. And Ryback has tweeted that he plans on harvesting Punk's move set... "I call dibs on GTS, Pepsi Plunge and running knee in corner. I am sure Sheamus will take the rest." Kevin Nash... "Punks beat up and burned out,works his ass off.Phil is a very smart guy he may just need to decompress." Mick Foley... "I know that CMPunk has been frustrated for quite some time. To his great credit, he never let that prevent him from giving less than 100%" Dolph Ziggler tweeted that he has no intention of following Punk's lead, and will not be quitting, at least for another year. Bellator MMA have already declared an interest in signing him.
Elimination Chamber:
Potential SPOILERS!!!! Triple H offered Brock Lesnar a chance at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he turned down an Elimination Chamber qualifier match on Raw. There is some talk he may turn up at the PPV and take a spot earned by someone else, by attacking the star backstage, that star would likely by Christian. If Lesnar does not appear at the EC, we won't see him until the WrestleMania 30 stories start, his next planned match is at Mania, in New Orleans. WWE may still go with the angle of Christian being beaten up and taken out, with someone else taking the spot, but they have not yet decided who would take his place. END OF SPOILERS!!!
Tyson Kidd vs Spirit Squad:
Tyson Kidd took a shot at the former WWE group on Twitter... "Such a great run the first time I think it's ok not to revisit it. Only 1 of them hasn't gone off the deep end" The end is Probably referring to Dolph Ziggler, I don't know what his issues are with the other members.
TNA:
TNA will premiere Impact on Challenge TV, direct from Glasgow tonight. This will be the first time the UK fans get the show before the fans in the USA. They have been going hard promoting the event, with an ad fronted by TNA Champ Magnus airing for most of this week on British TV. The show was taped earlier this afternoon, so will not air live. WWE target Prince Devitt was backstage at last night's Dublin show. Kurt Angle was injured (Leg) at the Dublin show, and was limping badly as he left the arena. Angle was beat up even before the show, and is in need of knee surgery. This could take a large chunk of his remaining 8 months with TNA away from him, depending on the severity of the damage.
Matt Hardy:
TMZ report the fight between Matt Hardy and his Wife Reby Sky started because she asked if he had been drinking or using other substances. They say they have no plans to split.
Hulk Hogan:
Hulk Hogan will be the guest host of WrestleMania 30, similar to the role The Rock had at Mania 27.
Extreme Rules:
WWE have changed the venue for this years Extreme Rules, and moved it to Daniel Bryan's home town of Seattle. This could mean he has a big role planned for the show. The event is on May 4.
Kenta:
Daily Sports in Japan have reported that WWE have offered Kenta a WWE deal. This is not confirmed, and is likely premature. He is at the PC this week having a try out, and may be used at tonight's NXT taping's.
Ric Flair signs for WWE?:
Ric Flair may have signed a WWE deal, he told an indy promoter that he was in talks for an appearance with, that he could not confirm the gig, until he got WWE office approval.
Sting:
WWE sent a memo to their merchandise department last week to start working on Sting related product's such as T-Shirt's. The name they were told to use was ''A Man Called Sting''. The contract is not yet signed, but is all but done, according to insiders.
Total Diva's:
E! have released an ad for Series 2 of the WWE ''Reality'' show...
WWE are not expected to release JoJo, but she may be dropped from the series to make way for new addition Summer Rae.
WWE UK:
WWE have signed a 5 year deal at a major fee increase, with BSkyB. The major change will see all 12 WWE PPV's air on their Box Office pay to view channel, they had in the past held some events on their direct TV channels, with the big events, such as Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series aired on the Box Office channel. To re-coop their outlay on this deal, Sky have decided they must charge for all PPV shows going forward.
Gail Kim video interview:
Highlights... * A WWE return... * Kharma's debut... * Not being pretty enough for WWE... * The Battle Royal and quitting WWE... * Retirement... And more...
Savage to Hall Of Fame?:
A possible clue to an induction for the Macho Man has been announced today. The second statue in the WWE / Todd McFarlane partnership will be of him, and will be released in April. Based on his attire from his WWF Title defense at WrestleMania 5, it will look something like this (Photo).
Darren Young:
Darren Young has been nominated for an award by GLAAD for coming out on the Ellen show.
Prince Devitt:
Prince Devitt will make up his mind on joining WWE in the next two weeks. Despite attending a TNA show last night, he will not be joining them, he is very unlikely to give up his lucrative contract with NJPW for a TNA deal.
Rob Feinstein has announced that Sting signed his WWE deal in the past 24 hours. That is at this time unconfirmed officially by Sting, or the promotion. However details of the talks, which PWI confirm have been ongoing for some time have emerged. Firstly the deal MUST be done within the next two weeks, probably meaning they want to use him for the Network Raw launch party, or WrestleMania. Also being discussed... * His creative do's and don'ts... * The schedule he is prepared to work (Number of dates)... * Returning to TNA for one more year, before coming to WWE in 2015. * An appearance at WrestleMania 30. * Being an ambassador for WCW, in representing the promotion and the Network. Also the match vs The Undertaker likely will not happen at WrestleMania 30, even if/when this is confirmed, Brock is almost certainly Taker's opponent, despite the Dead man's reservations. However the match may happen at Mania 31, followed by a Hall Of Fame induction, probably in 2016. It is said that Sting realizes that if he is ever going to have a run with WWE, now has got to be the time, and is eager to get the deal done. Feinstein says Sting will likely debut the night after WrestleMania on Raw, and will work a set number of dates, including one ''Major'' match at WrestleMania 31.
Edge:
Hall Of Famer Edge's TV show ''Haven'' has been renewed for a fifth series.
Injury:
Cody Rhodes has bursitis on his Elbow, following a chair attack by Brock Lesnar on Raw.
Foley makes good on promise:
Mick Foley has made good on his promise to smash his TV if Daniel Bryan did not win the Royal Rumble match, although he used a baseball bat instead of a brick, because the brick just ''Bounced off''...
He also reiterated that his rant against WWE was meant, and not an angle.
Hall Of Famer to be re-investigated:
The death, 30 years ago, of the mistress of Superfly Jimmy Snuka is to be re-investigated by the grand jury, after a request by the late ladies Sister. This may cause some worries for Vince McMahon, who, it is alleged, handed police a briefcase at an interview on the matter at the time, and Snuka was no longer interviewed about the incident, the case was dropped soon after. Her sister said of the news... "I'm kind of in, like, total shock. This is something that should have happened 30-some-odd years ago. But at least it's happening now." Here is a video of Snuka discussing the incident, whilst promoting his book last year...
Sin Cara:
The Original Sin Cara says WWE have stopped returning his phone calls, and he has no idea about his contractual status.
Elimination Chamber:
WWE considered having Batista and Alberto Del Rio join the Elimination Chamber match briefly, possibly with Batista cashing in his Royal Rumble title shot early. This may have been a response to the Rumble fan reaction. They will not be in the Chamber, the final two spots were confirmed at last nights SmackDown taping. The Shield vs The Wyatt Family was confirmed by Triple H at SmackDown.
NXT star debuts:
Lana, valet of Alexander Rusev made her main roster debut, in the corner of her man as he wrestled Tyson Kidd at last night's Main Event taping.
SmackDown SPOILERS!!!:
* Elimination Chamber qualifier, Antonio Cesaro vs Dolph Ziggler. * Fandango vs Xavier Woods. * Prime Time Playaz vs RybAxel. * Elimination Chamber qualifier, Christian vs Jack Swagger. * Damien Sandow vs Kofi Kingston. * Cody Rhodes vs Road Dogg Jesse James. * Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio & Sheamus vs The Shield. SPOILERS OVER!!!
Lesnar fined:
WWE say Brock Lesnar was fined $10,000 for assaulting referee Mike Chioda at the Royal Rumble.
Kurt Angle interview:
On TNA's recent losses... ''It's tough, even Hulk Hogan was a tough loss to accept. Sting has been the cornerstone of the company, Jarrett founded the company and I think he might be the best heel in the business, and AJ is just the best athlete I've ever been in the ring with.'' He went on to urge younger stars, such as Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and James Storm to step up to fill the gap. On Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter... ''You can't compare Vince to anybody, if it wasn't for Vince McMahon I wouldn't be here talking to you. He knows how to make money and make stars, I wouldn't be working for Dixie Carter right now if it wasn't for Vince McMahon doing what he did for me. Dixie is a woman and she has that caring aspect about her, sometimes she lets personal [issues] get involved with business because she can't help it. She cares about the wrestlers and their wellbeing and their welfare. Other than that I think Dixie has done a great job, we are talking about a woman that has been involved in the entertainment business but not the wrestling business.
CM Punk quits WWE:
CM Punk has walked out of WWE. He told Vince McMahon that he was ''Going home'' just hours before Raw went on air on Monday, and that is, at least in part, a reason for the last minute re-writes. He was set to face Antonio Cesaro in a one on one Elimination Chamber qualifying match, and was set to lose, with interference by Kane, costing him the spot, leading to a match between the two at the PPV next month. That likely will not now happen, he has been removed from all WWE advertised events, including WrestleMania 30. His planned match vs Triple H will instead see Daniel Bryan face the cerebral assassin. WWE had reportedly resigned themselves to losing Punk in July, when his contract was due to end, but had plans for big matches for him going into 2014, including Triple H at Mania, and Batista at SummerSlam, which actually would have taken place after his deal had ended. Backstage reports of his reasoning for making the move now, are said to be, Batista winning the Rumble and going on to Mania, despite clearly not being in shape to do so. Being told that he would not main event WrestleMania this year, (This is his main goal left in wrestling), and being rejected in his request to induct Ultimate Warrior into the Hall Of Fame, he is also said to be burnt out and unhappy with the company's planned direction. Colleagues say he has saved his money, and doesn't need it any more, even the prospect of a big Mania pay day couldn't keep him from throwing his hand in. Others less complimentary about Punk say he has been in a ''P*ssy'' mood for a while, and that knowing the only goal he has left is unlikely to happen (Main eventing Mania), due to being out of his control, has eaten away at him. His only comment since was on Twitter... "Thanks for all the support. Keep being you guys, it's pretty cool." Friends of the star say he will be retired, Gabe Sapolsky says there is more chance of Triple H turning up for an indy show than Punk, and that once his WWE career is over, so is his wrestling career. The WWE have unfollowed him on Twitter, and TMZ report he has no plans to come back. There has been few comments from the roster, bar a cheeky tweet by the oft outspoken JTG, who blamed Lita being a witch for the issues with Punk and Matt Hardy, men she has dated in the past. And this from John Cena... "Interesting time 4 @WWEUniverse on both sides of curtain. Strap in, hold on, 1 helluva ride is coming! wrestlemania30"
WWE:
WWE have applied for a TradeMark for the name ''SmackDown'', as they prepare to take the show live. They have posted an advert for an international writer to join their creative department. They have rescheduled a trip to Saudi Arabia. The trip will now be in April.
Prince Devitt:
WWE are growing tired of waiting for indy star Prince Devitt, an insider says he needs to make up his mind ''Soon'' in the offer of a WWE developmental contract.
Colt Cabana:
WWE are expected to use Colt Cabana as a host on their Network.
WWE Alum arrested:
Matt Hardy and his Wife Reby Sky were arrested after a domestic disturbance between the two on New Years day. Graphic mugshots for the pair have been released by TMZ, and are posted here.
Jeff Jarrett announcement delayed:
Jeff Jarrett has decided to wait until after WrestleMania season to launch his new promotion.
Kurt Angle has openly admitted to wanting a return to WWE, talking to a UK newspaper, he said... "I can't say when, not just from a personal standpoint, I don't know. My contract's up in September, I've left my options open. I'm very happy in TNA. Dixie Carter has been awesome, she's treated me very well. She's always been there for me, she's been a great boss, a great leader. But, I can't lie to myself anymore, I can't lie to TNA, I can't lie to WWE. Yeah, there is that desire to go back, I just don't know when. Could it be this year? Maybe. Could it be next year? Maybe, but I don't know yet." He went on to list people he wants to wrestle upon returning, including Triple H, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and The Ultimate Warrior. He also announced his food company has gone bust.
That was the plan?:
WWE say they kept Daniel Bryan out of the Royal Rumble match to incite exactly the reaction they got from fans in the arena and online, to build up a big angle for Daniel Bryan in 2014. However, Vince McMahon demanded the Raw script for last night's show be re-written. This is not a strange request, he always wants changes, but this was more of a tear it up and start again, than a tweaking of what they had, the re-writes were not done until just a couple of hours before the show. However, the source says WWE did not change the script because of the negative reaction following the Rumble, but ''In spite'' of it, hinting that they were going to go even harder on the use of Batista, Randy Orton and John Cena, than originally planned. My question to that is, if you got the reaction you wanted, why did you need to completely change the script for Raw???.
Raw notes:
Big Show was kept off TV to sell the attack by Brock Lesnar at the Rumble. Despite the original Sin Cara saying WWE could not use ''His'' character anymore, they did, they have also set up a new Twitter for him, because the original Sin Cara still has his account linked to their website, and continues to use the name as his own handle. It was announced that Randy Orton would defend the WWE WHC in the Elimination Chamber next month, John Cena, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan won a 6 man tag to qualify for 3 of the other 5 spots. The original plan was to have a series of one on one qualifiers, one of which to include CM Punk, that was scrapped, and they instead will run with the Punk vs Kane story. Alexander Rusev, who debuted at the Rumble, and his valet Lana were backstage. WWE removed a fan sign reading ''WWE creative sucks''. WWE Fail of the day goes to Seth Rollins...
Hall Of Fame 2014:
Jake The Snake Roberts has become the second inductee confirmed for this years WWE Hall Of Fame class, he joins The Ultimate Warrior, which should be interesting, considering their recent feud... Here is his induction video...
Jake responded to the news with... "The prodigal son is welcomed home. Thank you WWE & all my supporters for sticking by me. I hope all are enjoying as much as I am." Stone Cold Steve Austin led the congratulations, telling him it was about time. Warrior also had his say, referencing Jake's recent comments about him, as he congratulated him... "We've all been a-holes. Now two are HOF inductees; each great yet unique in talent, each deserving. Congratulations, Jake."
WWE return tonight:
Christian will make his WWE return at tonight's SmackDown taping's.
Mick Foley:
Mick Foley continues to urge WWE to change it's stance on Daniel Bryan, and added he meant no offense to Batista with yesterday's post... "I honestly never expected the type of attention that both my tweet and my Facebook post about my displeasure with the Royal Rumble would bring. I was just expressing an opinion, and it seemed to be in line with what many of you had on your mind last night as well. The response on both Twitter and Facebook dwarfed anything I'd received in the past, and I hope WWE will recognize this unprecedented response as a sign that a little tweaking might be needed in order to save this Wrestlemania from the prospect of 75,000 people booing, turning their backs, or walking out of its main event. Last night's comments were not meant as a knock on Dave Bautista. I like and respect Dave, and am proud of what he's accomplished both inside and outside the ring. But Dave is intense, and unlikely to handle a heated 50/50 crowd with the same wink and a nod that has served John Cena so well. Besides, we're not looking at a spirited 50/50 response at Mania; we're looking at the potential of something akin to a mutiny - and I think Dave deserves better than that. On the bright side, WWE has 10 weeks to make this thing right for its loyal audience - and the potential to make this Wrestlemania the most talked about and interesting of them all. Where there's a will, there's a way. But unless Daniel Bryan is involved, that way just doesn't seem possible to this particular wrestling fan."
The World vs WWE:
Rikishi is the latest star to air negative feelings towards the WWE creative department, he was not happy with how his boys were booked at the Rumble... "And wth are you guys @wwe doing with WWEUsos really ?? Writers suck BULLs--t"
Batista:
Batista will be turned heel at some point post WrestleMania.
Royal Rumble heat:
Jamie Noble was in charge of this years Royal Rumble match, and the fact there were very few highlights, has caused some heat on him. He did not get the cast of the match together until 6pm on the night to go through the running order, and creative plans for the match, leaving very little time. Wade Barrett and Xavier Woods lost their spots to JBL and El Torito respectively.
Elimination Chamber:
In addition to the Chamber match, the rest of next months PPV card is expected to look like this... * CM Punk vs. Kane * Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio * The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
WWE try out:
This pleases me... Pro Wrestling NOAH star Kenta is at the WWE PC this week having a try out, arranged by William Regal. Kenta is my favourite worker, I would love to see him get a chance at WWE level.
Sin Cara:
WWE have already ''Given up'' on Hunico as Sin Cara, but they will not get rid of the character yet, as he is to appear in the Scooby Doo movie, and earns a lot in merchandise sales for them.
AJ Styles:
AJ Styles says he thought he would retire with TNA... "Yeah it is upsetting. I thought that I'd retire in TNA but you know, this is a business and sometimes things don't work out. People don't understand this is how I pay my bills and sometimes it just doesn't work out and we don't see eye to eye. There are a lot of people who left and wrestled for different companies because of their contracts." And took a shot at ex WWE guys in TNA... "It makes me wonder if TNA thought it would boost ratings or was it that Spike wanted TNA to have higher ratings. I know that Spike like big names of their shows, which led to Christian and Kurt Angle being signed. I blame it on ratings; they wanted to see them rather than seeing TNA grow more gradually."
WWE star re-signs:
Lilian Garcia has signed a new WWE contract today.
Cena reveals locker room rule:
"Rule number one: don't rib unless you want to be ribbed. If you prank someone, someone is going to get you back. It may not be the person you pranked, because they might not be good at pranks, but we've got our homies. We've got our wolf. We call in another prankster and he'll get you back. So, you got to respect peoples personal space and don't rib unless you want to be ribbed."
The New Age Outlaws became the new Tag Team Champions in the pre show match, beating The Rhodes Brothers. This is a WWE record, a 14 year gap in between their last and current reigns, is the longest in the promotions history. Personally, It was joyous to hear ''Tag Team Champions Of The World''!!! again Bray Wyatt won the opener beating Daniel Bryan, in what was probably the match of the night, and the start of a busy night for the Wyatt's. Brock Lesnar vs Big Show was a non event, Lesnar attacked Big Show with chairs before the match could start, when the bell did ring, the match only lasted a couple of minutes before Brock hit the F5 to get the win. He then continued assaulting Show with chairs for another 10 minutes. Randy Orton retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, beating John Cena with help from The Wyatt's. They actually came out to get Orton, who had trashed them in a pre match promo, but Cena, thinking they were after him threw the first punch then turned into an RKO. Orton beat a quick retreat, leaving The Wyatt's to pick the bones of a beaten Cena. The only thing worse than this match was Cena's acting as he left the arena, pretending to be dazed and confused. Then the Royal Rumble match... 1 - CM Punk (Made it to the end before Kane returned and pulled him out) 2 - Seth Rollins (Made it to the end, was eliminated by Roman Reigns) 3 - Damien Sandow (Eliminated 1st, by CM Punk) 4 - Cody Rhodes (Eliminated, accidentally by Goldust) 5 - Kane (Eliminated quickly by Punk) 6 - Alexander Rusev (Eliminated by a group of stars) 7 - Jack Swagger (Eliminated by Kevin Nash) 8 - Kofi Kingston (Eliminated by Roman Reigns, but had a couple of his special spots) 9 - Jimmy Uso (Eliminated by Dean Ambrose) 10 - Goldust (Eliminated by Reigns) 11 - Dean Ambrose (Eliminated by Reigns) 12 - Dolph Ziggler (Eliminated by Reigns) 13 - R-Truth (Eliminated quickly by Ambrose) 14 - Kevin Nash (Eliminated by Reigns) 15 - Roman Reigns (Runner up, Eliminated by Batista) 16 - The Great Khali (Eliminated by The Shield) 17 - Sheamus (3rd place, Eliminated by Reigns) 18 - The Miz (Eliminated by Luke Harper) 19 - Fandango (Eliminated by El Torito) 20 - El Torito (Eliminated by Reigns) 21 - Antonio Cesaro (Eliminated by Reigns) 22 - Luke Harper (Eliminated by Reigns) 23 - Jey Uso (Eliminated by Harper) 24 - John Bradshaw Layfield (Eliminated by Reigns) 25 - Erick Rowan (Eliminated by Batista) 26 - Ryback (Eliminated by Batista) 27 - Alberto Del Rio (Eliminated by Batista) 28 - Batista (Winner) 29 - Big E. Langston (Eliminated by Sheamus) 30 - Rey Mysterio (Eliminated by Seth Rollins). Notes, Roman Reigns set the record of most eliminations in a single match, with 12, beating Kane's 11 from 2001, although, there is some dispute, as he had help eliminating Khali. El Torito became the smallest man to ever enter a Royal Rumble match, beating Hornswoggle's record. Some advertised stars were pulled on the night, including Darren Young, Titus O'Neill, Wade Barrett, and Xavier Woods. And other planned / teased returns for Rob Van Dam, Evan Bourne, Jake The Snake, Razor Ramon, Adam Bomb, 2 Cold Scorpio and Jimmy Wang Yang did not come to fruition, Bourne apologised on Twitter, but said he will be back soon. Fans were furious with the exclusion from the Royal Rumble match of Daniel Bryan, the crowd booed loudly after the last entrant emerged, and chanted for him to enter for the remainder of the bout, and after the show went off the air, causing great and legit offense to the winner Batista, who was roundly booed as he celebrated and then left the ring. He was seen to argue with fans as he left, and then before going to the back, he started to do the ''Yes'' chant, but with his middle fingers turned to the audience. WWE officials were furious with this, and he is in trouble backstage over it. Former wrestlers too, were left angry by the lack of Daniel Bryan in the Rumble, most notably Mick Foley, who had promised to put a brick through his TV screen if Daniel Bryan did not win the Rumble, when he found he was not even in it, he launched a scathing attack on the promotion... "Wait...WWEDanielBryan isn't even IN the RoyalRumble? That just kind of sucks. Does @WWE actually hate their own audience? I've never been so disgusted with a PPV." He furthered his argument, later, with a thinly veiled dig at having Batista win... "As I mentioned on Twitter, I've never felt so disgusted at the conclusion of a WWE (or any) PPV. Like many of you out there, I just don't get it. This Daniel Bryan thing is a phenomenon. You get it. I get it. The fans in Pittsburgh (yes, I was thinking of writing 'RIGHT TH...but I'm just not in a cheap pop mood) got it. But tonight, for the first time, I had to admit to myself that the powers that be are just not going to get it. And that makes me sad. I'm just honestly sad, just flat out f-cking sad (yes, I dropped an F-bomb there to emphasize how F'ing sad I am for the guys who bust their butts night in and night out - Ziggler, Punk, Bryan, etc - with no hope of getting their shot at this year's Mania. You know who else I'm sad for? Me. In my two years as an official WWE Ambassador, I never once had to lie about my enthusiasm for the company or the product. Now, although I am no longer officially an Ambassador for WWE (believe it or not, my only official role in WWE is as GM for Saturday Morning Slam, a contract that ends in one month) I was till looking forward to being part of the biggest event of the year. I'll probably end up going anyway. But I'm about 1/6th as excited about it as I was just a few hours ago. I wanted so badly to hear 75,000 WWE fans chanting 'YES' - and seeing fans walk away absolutely ecstatic about the outcome of a PPV for the first time in a while...a long while. But when given the chance to make it happen (unless they've got something MAJOR up their sleeve) WWE's answer tonight was a resounding 'NO, NO, NO'." That is tame compared to his Son Dewey's rant, however (To follow)... Other stars including The Hurricane, Lance Storm and Armando Estrada also criticised the company. Big Show may have been injured going into his match vs Lesnar, he hurt his hand in a match on a live show the night before vs Kane, and the match had to be stopped early. X-Pac withdrew from an indy show to go to the Royal Rumble, but did not take a spot in the match. AJ Lee vs Naomi and another unconfirmed match did not get added to the PPV. WWE were furious with the crowd, for hijacking the show. Curtis Axel is also angry about being omitted from the match. After their victories, Batista, Billy Gunn and The Road Dogg have all been moved from the Alumni page to the active roster on .Com.
Sting:
Reports were flying around last night that Sting had signed his WWE deal, that is at this time unconfirmed. The reports came from a fan blogging site, and did not cite any reputable source.
Total Diva's:
Summer Rae will join season 2 of Total Diva's, probably in place of Jo Jo Offerman.
TNA signings:
Santana Garrett and Shanna have reportedly been signed by TNA.
Dewey canes Hunter:
Mick Foley's Son Dewey was irate with the Royal Rumble, and used his anger as a stick to beat Triple H. Telling him he would be nothing, if not for his Father... "Sorry people who know much about wrestling, but this company right now is in some serious s--t. This is really bad for their company because one or two individuals truly believe that their opinions reign much higher over the millions and millions of people who watch their show religiously on a weekly basis. It's such a horrible feeling obviously because it hits close to home. You have these guys who work their asses off 320+ days a year, who barely see their loved ones, and they get completely disrespected and disregarded because Triple f--king H thinks they're 'too small' or not star material. My dad made your ass, and people told my dad all his life that he would amount to nothing. So Triple H should know from experience that the people that work their asses off and that are told that they are worthless, are the ones that make the company the best it can be. Without my dad, Triple H is just a mid-carder. My dad went out of his way to make sure that he turned Triple H into the intimidating, scary, cerebral assassin, son of a b---h that he has become. So it's about time that people who deserve to be the best are given the opportunity to show it. WWE is a f--king dictatorship and it is just truly a shame."
Raw tease:
* Will RAW bring the first face-off between Batista and Randy Orton? * Will Sheamus seize the moment like only he can? * Can The Shield keep from mauling one another before WrestleMania? * Is another team up for taking out The New Age Outlaws before WrestleMania? * What Bray Wyatt does next will be must-see Also expect WWE to make more of Daniel Bryan's recent concussion, to try to dissolve some of the anger from fans. The promotion also say they have big plans for him this year.
WWE block all competition:
WWE have taken out a no compete contract with the city of Santa Clara for the entire WrestleMania 31 weekend, meaning no other shows, or fan conventions from any other promotion can happen any where in the city whilst WWE are in town.
It's the most wonderful night of the year... I love the Royal Rumble Before we start, would you like me to bring a PPV live update feature onto the page for tonight's Royal Rumble?, basically I will post what is happening as it happens, match order, any high spots, results, and running order and eliminations in the Rumble match etc. If not I will keep it over on Shaggy's Wrestling Page. Comment below...
AJ Styles blames opponent for accident:
AJ Styles says Roderick Strong was to blame for a recent ring accident, in a match between the two... ''As far as I know, he's okay, he's fine. He didn't seem real badly hurt at the time after the show. I think he's okay, but I haven't heard anything. I can tell you this - the same way that I've been giving it for thirteen years is the same way that I had done it on Saturday. Everything was great on my part; there was no slip, there was no accident by me. There was nothing that I did that went wrong. If it sounds like I'm putting all the blame on Roddy, it's because I am. He would probably tell you the same thing. It's probably one of the safer moves in wrestling to take. I don't know if Roddy freaked out, I don't know exactly what happened. It's not a reckless move. Sometimes people do crazy things that you don't expect, and that was one of them. There's one way you don't want to tilt your head, and that's forward. You can tilt it any other way you want, except forward. Any time you take a face bump, you know not to tilt your face forward.''
Sin Cara interview:
On Hunico taking over the gimmick... ''It's something that's not his fault. We traveled together when I was in the WWE and he was a very nice person.'' On refusing to speak English... ''I don't speak it. The truth is, I don't like that language, I can speak Japanese to you all you want. Before I wrestled as Mistico, I wrestled in Japan for two years and I love that language and I keep studying it. I never studied English, I don't like the English language. You shouldn't need to communicate in the ring, the wrestling should do all the talking. The fans need to feel like everything isn't planned ahead. Not knowing English didn't scare me.'' On incident with Prime Time Playaz... ''I wasn't scared when Darren Young and his partner Titus O'Neil told me I didn't know any English. During a match I slapped him and said, "I don't need to know English, I am a wrestler not a clown!. I may be an acrobat, but this is my job." Rey was in my corner and he thought I kicked him, but when he saw me slap him more times he told me, "you wanted to destroy him didn't you?" On WWE wasting his talent... ''It's shocking WWE never did more with my image. It's an image that sells more merchandise than many wrestlers who've been in the WWE for years. My action figures, my shirts, sell more than many of the wrestlers who have been in WWE for years. In December, my merchandise was the second best selling only behind John Cena. I read some of the comments on WWE.com that said why isn't Sin Cara in storylines, his merchandise sales are only behind John Cena's.'' On The Rock... "Rey Mysterio and The Rock are the most noble people in the WWE... One day I was at a gym working out near an arena and The Rock came up to me and gave me a hug. I was surprised. He's always with his hood on and with his earphones. He has told me he likes my work. That's a moment I will never forget, I never expected something like that, especially from someone as huge as The Rock." Personal Note, I feel bad for any star who fails to make it at WWE level, it is the pinnacle of the industry, whether your a fan of the E or not, that is an un-arguable point IMO, but for him to blame others for his failing's is at best unfair and at worst delusional. Slapping PTP and telling them he is no clown, I have seen a 10 minute blooper reel that says otherwise... And refusing to speak English... If you live in a English language country, and work with speakers of that language it is common sense that you will have to make an effort to learn it, you don't have to like it to use it. I see what WWE mean by his being impossible to work with.
Royal Rumble:
Kevin Nash has checked into the WWE hotel. And Gene Snitsky is also in town, he visited a live event last night. Hmmm... The Final Card is... * Randy Orton vs John Cena (WWE World Heavyweight Title)... * Big Show vs Brock Lesnar.... * Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt... * 30 Man Royal Rumble Match... The Rhodes Brothers vs The New Age Outlaws (Tag Team Championship) (Pre Show match)... Ricardo Rodriguez will be on the Spanish announce team. Post your predictions in the comments section...
Chavo Guerrero remembers the birth of John Cena's rapper gimmick:
"One time, and this is a true story, we were in South Africa and [Cena] started battle rapping. He started rapping with someone and it was awesome. He went five minutes just talking about things around the room. And we were like, 'Oh my gosh. Where did that come from?' Tommy Dreamer heard it and Tommy took it to Shane McMahon and Shane McMahon heard it and took it to Vince McMahon and next thing you know he's a rapper on TV…and he had already been with us six months or so. Slowly but surely he just became John Cena the superstar."
Injuries:
Charlotte returned from an injury lay off last night in a match vs Bayley. And Daniel Bryan got in the ring for the first time since his concussion at a live show last night.
Goldust rules out facing Cody:
"The dream match I did have I do not anymore at WrestleMania. So right now I want to continue to be the WWE tag team champions and have someone big step up to try to face us at WrestleMania. I think we need to try to be on that card and put on one hell of a show."
Hulk Hogan:
Hulk Hogan is confirmed to appear at WrestleMania 30, but his role is not known yet. He will not be able to get physical though, doctors have told him, he will not even be allowed to throw punches, never mind have a match or hit his finisher.
Lita:
Lita has taped an appearance on ''Tattoo Titans'', the episode will air on February 13.
TNA Hall Of Fame:
TNA will induct Kurt Angle into their Hall Of Fame during the UK tour. He refused to be inducted last year following an arrest and stint in rehab. The induction will take place in London on February 1.
Matt Hardy on the future of wrestling:
"The wrestling industry is looking for something to spark it again. It's looking for the next act to make it exciting. In the 80s it was Hulkamania and Rock n Wrestling. In the 90s it was the Attitude Era with Stone Cold, The Rock and DX while on the other side WCW had the nWo. I would suggest to the promotions is to make a sophisticated product that doesn't insult fan's intelligence. For many, many years various promotions have had the attitude that 'It's just wrestling. The fans will buy it.' I don't think wrestling competes with other wrestling programs now, it competes with the great dramas on TV now: Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead. Sure it's a fictional show with zombies, but it sets parameters so you know how the Walking Dead universe works, and they stay very consistent mythos. It's good storytelling that does not insult the fans' intelligence and I think wrestling has to follow that lead."
