Today's News

Hogan to WWE:

Hulk Hogan's WWE return is now confirmed, according to PWI. He, along with fellow Hall Of Famer and former manager Jimmy Hart will be at the WWE Network Raw launch party on February 24.

The Hall Of Famer and WWE have had a deal agreed for some time, but WWE were in two minds about when and where to bring him in, they have now made up their minds it seems.

WWE injuries:

Naomi's eye injury continues to worsen, swelling is now causing problems with her nose, WWE are monitoring the situation and may advise her to undergo surgery to repair the damage. Naomi was scheduled to face and beat AJ Lee for the Diva's Title at WrestleMania, that may not happen now, she could be out for several months.

Christian has a black eye from a ''Potato shot'' at a live show over the weekend.

Layla:

Layla continues to rail against the WWE line on her injury. After insiders suggested that her career may well be over, earlier this week, she has today responded with...

"I will be back soon ... Don't listen to the rumors!!!"

She also denied having the knee injury that WWE say is keeping her off TV at the moment.

John Cena:

The Make-A-Wish foundation have thanked and congratulated John Cena for delivering his 400th Wish...

"We would like to thank John Cena for his commitment to Make-A-Wish, and congratulate him on being the first celebrity to grant 400 wishes!"

MVP defends Chris Benoit:

"When I got signed, we traveled together, we trained together, and he was hugely responsible for my success. Of course, you can't condone what he did, but I tell people all the time, there's an issue with mental illness. There's a stigma attached to it. If someone has cancer, we feel sorry for them, but if somebody has a mental breakdown, we don't feel the same way. All those negative connotations make people sometimes not want to get help if there's something going wrong. What Chris did was horrible, it was tragic, but I knew him personally, and I knew that he loved his wife and child, and I had been to that home and I had interacted with them personally."

Raw notes:

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam were backstage. Austin to interview Zeb Colter for his podcast and RVD lives in the area and was visiting friends, and went to talk to Triple H.

The third Hall Of Famer was named (More later).

Alberto Del Rio vs Batista was confirmed for Elimination Chamber.

Michael Cole and Seth Rollins took shots at CM Punk before and during the show. A fan tweeted that Cole took to the mic as the countdown for Raw going live began, in response to a large CM Punk chant starting. He reportedly said ''How about you go away''. Another fan said he followed with, ''It won't last long''. So he may have been talking to someone in the back, however another fan posted a video of all three commentators starting a ''Go away'' chant in response to the Punk chants, but WWE have had the video taken down.

Rollins did refer to Punk, in an ad break, he said ''CM who'' and then popped for Dean Ambrose as the best US champ ever.

Batista continues to make himself popular. He walked out on John Cena and Daniel Bryan after the post show dark match, and walked to the back, rather than celebrate in the ring with his team mates.

NXT announcer Byron Saxton debuted.

Shelton Benjamin did not make his WWE return in the pre show match. Some sites reported he faced Tyson Kidd.

SummerSlam:

SummerSlam is to be held in the Staples Center this year.

Hall Of Fame 2014:

The third inductee is... Lita. Here is her tribute package...

Many stars have paid tribute, including her friend and rival Trish Stratus...

"I'm so happy for Amy! Lita was someone who connected with our audiences right from her very first appearance in the WWE ring. She embodied a generation's battle to be authentic. Everything about her attitude – from her body language to her outfits – told girls and boys to be true to themselves. Her induction proves that she left an impression and she, rightfully, will now take her place amongst our industry's best."

Current Diva's shared their tributes here...

Her coach Dory Funk wrote...

"Lita was in the First Funking Conservatory training camp. She was the only girl in camp with 15 other men. Nothing was easy. She earned their respect by working hard and asking no privileges because she was a girl. After a double training session on the first day of training, she was up the next morning at 5:00am for a photo shoot with !BANG! TV producer and photographer Marti Funk on the Rainbow River. Lita came directly from the two hour photo shoot to training in the gym at 8:00am."

Not everyone was complimentary... I am not a big Twitterer, usually only for the PPV comms, but I had a brief look to see the reaction to the news, and was saddened by claims that Lita was only getting the induction as an FU to CM Punk, who has in the past been romantically linked with Lita.

I may not have agreed with everything Lita has ever done, but she absolutely deserves this recognition IMO. She was a trailblazer and an innovator, and with the other great roster of female talent during her era, took women's wrestling to previously unprecedented levels. Her PPV career deserved to be better, only 1 Mania match, and 5 Survivor Series appearances, but she has earned this on merit.

It probably means the promised ''One more run'' will now not happen, however, which is a shame, because she can still go, and looks great doing it.

Lita has released the following statement about her honour...

"YO! Congrats to all of us! I heard you on social media, repping "LITA HOF 2014" signs at shows, and hashtagging your little hearts out. Your voices were heard! What better place than Wrestlemania 30! I was so proud watching my bestie enter the 2013 class in the Hall of Fame. I know how hard she had worked, I watched her develop as a wrestler, talent, and woman over the years. I know fans were excited to see our generation of women represented in the HOF. Often in the same breath, I heard support from fans expressing their desire for me to join the ranks of my piers as well. I had hoped at some point I would, but didn't realize it would be just around the corner. I tend to have an expect the worse philosophy so I won't be let down, which seems like a pessimistic outlook when I tend to be such a positive person. Maybe not pessimistic, maybe more self preservation. So much goes into selecting each class and watching each person touches me in a slightly different way, although it is always a similar sense of joy for each person to be able to have that moment where they are able to reflect on their journey and the fans have an opportunity to show their support. When I played with my band, The Luchagors, my guitar player, Shane, had this exact opposite approach. Every day was going to be "the best day ever" "the best show ever" "the best meal ever" Every event was about to be the best ever. The thought of that ideology, while endearing, was SO annoying to me! It just clashed with my self preservation. This show at this BBQ joint 35 minutes south of Louisville, KY is NOT going to be the best ever, and that's okay. But, just stop saying it is! Let's just revel in the awkward, "fun"comfortable moment that we are all sharing. Not everyone can say they have played a show in a BBQ restaurant with the 97 year old owner hooked up to a respirator shoved in the corner in a wheelchair. Should I say hello? Maybe better to act like I don't notice she's there? I know, dedicate a song to her. I can't make this s--t up, people. I appreciate that not every day is the best day ever. At this point in my life, I can reflect on everything I've ever been through and know that I have learned, grown, and evolved from it. I can appreciate the good and the bad and derive an equal appreciation from each event. For every weird Texas Chainsaw BBQ show, there was a run in at a TLC match at the Astrodome. For every full body cry I've had, I have had uncontrollable laughter. So, here I am Class of 2014 Hall of Fame, the dumpster diving punk rock kid that was never supposed to make it, but with too much kid power to let anything get in my way, gearing up to give a speech and accept my position in front of the ultimate under dog of a city. It seems kind of like the best thing ever- xxx, Amy"

TNA:

TNA will tape a Sacrifice PPV on April 27.

The Japanese PPV will be called Outbreak.

Dixie Carter has personally reached out to a 12 year old British Boy that was kicked out of school for having the TNA logo shaved into his hair. She promised to send him a box full of merch to show his support without it affecting his education. (Pic on our Facebook).

Emma:

WWE have released Emma's first Titan Tron video. She has also been moved onto the active roster on .Com.

WrestleMania 40:

Sgt Slaughter says the main event of Mania 40 will be...

"I predict it will be in a spaceship going around Mars. Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan. Or Shane McMahon's children."

Elimination Chamber:

Doomsday by Nero is the official song for the PPV.

WWE Network:

WWE have released this ad promoting the one week free trial of the Network on WWE.Com.

WWE Movies:

Santino Marella will take over from Arnie in a sequel to his movie Jingle all the way, and The Miz and Summer Rae will star in Marine 4, it was announced today.

R-Truth:

R-Truth talked with rapper Wiz Khalifa about working on a track together at last night's Raw.

Hall Of Famer praises CM Punk's ''Smart'' move:

Terry Funk says CM Punk is playing an interesting and smart game, trying to get his Mania main event, and by walking away, is challenging Vince McMahon to give him what he wants...

"It's a smart move on [Punk's] part. If you look at what Vince has done, if someone has drawn him some money they will be on the card at WrestleMania, no matter what has happened between them. CM Punk will be back, because if he isn't, Vince leaves money on the table. If being in the last match at WrestleMania is his wish, then he's going to try and make it come true, the only way possible. He's put the ball back in Vince's court, and that's difficult because Vince has the only court. This is what made it so good about having several places to go [in years past]. Do you think CM Punk worries about the dollars? For all the great ones, it's not about that. They might tell you that they're in it for the money, but they're not - they're in it for the performance, and so is CM Punk."