Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Rock Re-Uniting WWE

There has been speculation for weeks that The Rock may once again reunite with the WWE shortly. In prior years, The Rock has distanced himself from professional wrestling, but in recent interviews, The Rock has warmed up to the idea of returning to the WWE on a short-term basis.
Comments by The Rock in recent interviews began fueling speculation that the WWE was interested in bringing in The Rock in to face John Cena at WrestleMania 26. The Rock was scheduled to guest host the RAW that Mike Tyson hosted just a few weeks ago, but that had to be moved so The Rock could promote his new movie, Tooth Fairy.
Sources are now indicating that The Rock may return to the WWE sometime this summer. It is entirely possible that The Rock's return may be more than a one-time RAW hosting gig and may actually lead to a match against John Cena at Summerslam.
In a recent interview, this is what The Rock had to say: "Will I go back? Absolutely. The goal is to go back and do something special. I talked to Vince (McMahon) a couple of months ago and we're trying to come up with something."

Update on Hurricane, Place of WM 28

Last night after TMZ posted the report on Hurricane Helms being found with a soma last week before being arrested, Chris Jericho wrote the following on Twitter: “This just in! TMZ charged with beating a dead horse and grasping at straws…”
- There was a report over the weekend saying that Hurricane Helms was being kept home from the WWE TV tapings this week. Helms noted on his Twitter last night that he was driving to Memphis, Tennessee, the sight of tonight’s SmackDown and ECW tapings.
WWE’s live RAW chat on their website last night, there was a fan poll about WrestleMania in 2010. The choices fans could vote on for where they would like to see the event were:
* Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA
* Metro Dome in Minneapolis, MN
* Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY
* Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
* Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

Gregory Helms Found with a Narcotic When Arrested

WWE Superstar Gregory Helms, who was arrested along with Chris Jericho last Wednesday for public intoxication, was in possession of one muscle-relaxer, according to the police report that was obtained by TMZ.

The report stated, “a search of Helm‘s purse revealed one white round pill.” Cops say the pill found in his possession was a Soma, which is the generic version of the muscle relaxer Carisoprodol and a “schedule four narcotic.”

The report also states that Helms told cops he had a prescription for the pill but was unable to show proof of it at the time of his arrest. Cops did not pursue charges against Helms for the possession of the narcotic.

TMZ contacted WWE headquarters, but as of press time, they have not called back for comment.

Update on Raw's Guest Host, Update on Royal Rumble

NASCAR driver Carl Edwards will be hosting next week’s WWE RAW. The WWE website is pointing out how good of friends Edwards is with John Cena.
- This year’s Royal Rumble match was the third shortest Rumble match ever at just over 49 minutes long. The 1988 and 1995 Rumbles are the other two shortest.
- The original ending for the 30-man Royal Rumble match on Sunday had Edge eliminating Chris Jericho to get the win. WWE decided to change the finish and have Edge eliminate John Cena last.

What Happened after Raw gone off the air

When the show went off the air last night, John Cena came out to make the save for Bret Hart, running Vince McMahon and Batista off.
Sheamus vs. Cena for the WWE Title was the dark main event. Batista interrupted, killing Cena with the steel steps and beating him down. Batista left and the show then ended with Cena getting up to clean house of Sheamus.

Update on Smackdown's Elimination Chamber Match, Stacy on Psych, DX title defending

As noted before, the SmackDown brand’s Elimination Chamber match is expected to see the winner earn a title shot for WrestleMania. Qualifying matches will likely take place on this week’s SmackDown.
Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler will be appearing on USA Network’s Psych this coming Wednesday night
The WWE Unified Tag Team Titles will be on the line at next week’s RAW as DX will defend in a Triple Threat against the teams of Big Show & The Miz and CM Punk & Luke Gallows.

Edge hosting Cutting Edge, Raw's Elimination Chamber Match is Set of WWE championship

Edge will host a segment of The Cutting Edge on this week’s SmackDown. His guest will be The Undertaker.
Announced for WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view later this month will be a WWE Title match with Sheamus defending against John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Kofi Kingston inside the Chamber.


Raw as on Feb 1

Tonight’s RAW kicks off from Nashville, TN with the usual opening video and song by Nickelback. We get a graphic hyping the confrontation between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon tonight and a graphic for tonight’s host, William Shatner.

- We go to the ring where Justin Roberts introduces the winner of the 2010 Royal Rumble, Edge. Edge makes his way out to a mixed reaction at first.

Edge takes the mic and the crowd boo’s him. He says he’s back and he feels good. Edge says he is back in the main event of WrestleMania. Edge talks about winning the tag belts with Chris Jericho and then going down with an injury. He says doctors told him he would be back in March, April or maybe never. Edge says he was sitting at home a few weeks ago, watching The Slammy Awards, where Chris Jericho thanked him for getting injured so he could team with Big Show. Edge said then, he made himself a promise that he would not miss WrestleMania this year. Edge says he realized who he is and that’s the Ultimate Opportunist. Edge says he proved the doctors wrong, rehabbed harder than he has ever before and he did. He promised himself he would enter the Royal Rumble and win it, which he did. Edge says all Jericho has now is a Slammy and his mugshot on TMZ. Edge says Taker has beat him at WrestleMania before and this year, unlike HBK, if he wants Taker again he will have him.

Edge says he could go after Taker or Sheamus but he’s going to wait and make his decision, possibly after Elimination Chamber, he says. Edge says The Rated R Superstar will headline WrestleMania this year. Edge’s music hits and he poses until his music is interrupted and out comes the WWE Champion Sheamus to the ring.

Sheamus says Edge hasn’t been back long yet and he’s already mouthing off. Sheamus tells Edge things have changed since he left. Edge cuts on Sheamus, calling him an evil Ronald McDonald. They both talk about facing John Cena and Randy Orton. Sheamus tells Edge his time was a long time ago. Sheamus says he’s going to walk out of Elimination Chamber still WWE Champion. Sheamus tells Edge to run off to SmackDown because he doesn’t want to ruin his RAW moment by ripping his head off. Edge doesn’t budge and Sheamus warns him to get out of the ring. They come face to face. Sheamus slaps Edge and knocks him down with a right hand. Sheamus goes for the big boot but Edge counters. Edge mounts Sheamus on the mat and unloads with lefts and rights. Sheamus gets up and turns around into a big spear from Edge. Edge’s music hits and he heads to the back, leaving the WWE Champion laying in the ring.

- We go to Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler, talking about the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view as we go to a promo for the show. Cole mentions Sheamus will defend the WWE Title against 5 other opponents in the match.

- We see John Cena heading to the ring as Jerry Lawler announces all matches on tonight’s RAW will be Elimination Chamber Qualifying matches. Commercial time.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes

Back from the break and John Cena makes way out to the ring to a thunderous pop. Out next is his opponent, Cody Rhodes. The bell rings and Cody kicks at Cena and nails him with rights. Cody backs Cena into the corner and goes to work.

Cody hits a side leg sweep for a 2 count and gets another quick 1 count. Cody continues the offense with a neckbreaker and another pin attempt. Cody drops a big knee on Cena and goes for yet another pin attempt. Cody misses the next knee drop and Cena hits his firearms off the ropes. Cody counters the backdrop and rolls Cena up for a 2 count. Cena hits the big slam this time and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cody counters the Attitude Adjustment and hits a big clothesline. Cody drops Cena on his face and gets a 2 count. Cody goes to the top and hits a moonsault for a 2 count. Cena runs into a boot in the corner but hits the Attitude Adjustment out of nowhere for the pinfall and the win.

Winner: John Cena

- We go to a video showing the history between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon with highlights from the 1997 Survivor Series. We go backstage where Josh Matthews stops Vince McMahon and asks if he’s seen Bret Hart tonight. Vince says no and we probably won’t because Bret won’t show up tonight. Vince walks into his office and looks at someone. We can’t see who it is. Vince says what a surprise, walking into his office like this. Vince calls the person a Canadian. It’s William Shatner, tonight’s host. Shatner says he can’t wait for Bret Hart to embarrass Vince tonight. Big pops here for Shatner. Shatner walks off and Vince calls him a lousy guest host as we go to commercial.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Jack Swagger vs. Triple H

Back from commercial and out comes Jack Swagger for another Elimination Chamber Qualifying match. His opponent Triple H is out next to a big pop. The bell rings and they lock up. Swagger takes Triple H to the mat to start and they roll around until Triple H gets to the ropes.

Triple H hits the high knee off the ropes and clotheslines Swagger over the top rope and to the floor. We take another commercial break.

Back from the break and Swagger counters Triple H and DDT’s him for a 2 count. Swagger counters again and drops Triple H and gets another close count. Swagger applies an abdominal stretch and slams Triple H out of it. Triple H dumps Swagger back over the top rope and to the floor. They fight on the floor with Swagger slamming Triple H into the apron. They go back in the ring. Swagger nails a big powerslam and covers Triple H for another 2 count.

Swagger applies a headlock on the mat now. Swagger keeps in control now as Triple H tries to fight back. Swagger goes for the big splash off the second turnbuckle pad but Triple H puts his knees up. Triple H fights back now and drops Swagger for a 2 count. Right hands by Triple H in the corner now. Triple H hits the spinebuster but only gets 2. Swagger counters another move and drops Triple H. He goes for the corner splash again and hits it this time for a 2 count. Swagger lifts Triple H for a slam and points at the WrestleMania sign. Triple H counters and hits the Pedigree for the pinfall and the win.

Winner: Triple H

- Lawler hypes that Randy Orton will face Shawn Michaels in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying match up next. We go back to a break.

- Back from the break and we get some weird vignette of William Shatner singing the lyrics to several WWE Superstar theme songs.

- We go backstage with DX in the locker room. Triple H wants to walk but Hornswoggle interrupts them yelling. Triple H asks about Shawn super kicking him last night but all seems to be cool. Triple H tells Shawn to lighten up. Shawn says it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. He was supposed to win and go on to end Undertaker’s streak. Triple H tells him he’s obsessed and needs to let it go. Triple H talks about the Elimination Chamber and says he would have no problem headlining WrestleMania with Shawn. Triple H tells Shawn he needs to beat Randy Orton tonight. Shawn walks off.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

We go to the ring where Randy Orton makes his way out for the next Chamber qualifier. Orton gets a mixed reaction from the crowd. Before Shawn Michaels makes his way out, we go to commercial.

Back from the break and we get highlights of Randy Orton at last night’s Rumble. We go to the ring where Shawn Michaels makes his way out for the match. The bell rings and they lock up with Orton taking it to the corner. They break it up and stare each other down. They lock up again and go back to the corner. Another stare down in the corner. HBK chops Orton in the corner and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Orton rolls out to the floor to regroup. HBK comes after him but Orton gets in the ring first. Orton goes for the second rope DDT but HBK pulls him to the floor and chops him before taking it back in the ring. HBK drops Orton and gets a 2 count. Orton tosses HBK into the corner and he goes down. Orton hits the big backbreaker and starts stomping.

They trade chops and rights now until Orton dropkicks HBK for a 2 count. Orton takes Shawn to the top and uppercuts him. Orton goes for a superplex but HBK fights him off and to the mat. Orton goes back up top but HBK knocks him back down to the mat. HBK hits the top rope elbow drop and gets pumped. HBK goes for Sweet Chin Music but Orton ducks it and goes for an RKO. HBK counters with an atomic drop, a chop and another drop. HBK with a forearm off the ropes. HBK goes to jump to his feet but Orton catches from behind and rolls him up for the win.

Winner: Randy Orton

- After the match, HBK is pissed off as he heads to the back. We go to another video hyping the confrontation between Vince McMahon and Bret Hart. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and Ted DiBiase runs into Randy Orton backstage. Ted congratulates Orton on winning and apologizes for what happened at the Rumble. Orton cuts him off, gets in his face and walks off.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase

We go to the ring where Mark Henry is making his way out for the next Elimination Chamber Qualifying match. Out next is his opponent, Ted DiBiase. The bell rings and they lock up. Henry shoves Ted to the mat. They lock up again and Henry drops Ted with a shoulder off the ropes. Henry shoves Ted again and clotheslines him over the top rope.

They go at it on the floor now. Ted uses the ringpost on Henry. Henry drops Ted with a headbutt and drops Henry into the ring steps. Ted slams Henry’s arm into the steps and runs back in the ring. Henry follows but Ted goes right to work on the arm. Ted counters a move with a kick but runs right into a clothesline. Ted with a boot to the face out of the corner. Ted comes off the top rope but Henry catches him. Ted slides out and goes back to work on Henry’s arm. Ted goes for Dream Street but Henry counters. Ted drops Henry by his arm and covers him for the pinfall out of nowhere.

Winner: Ted DiBiase

- We go to ringside where Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole talk about the late Hall of Famer Jack Brisco, who passed away today. They show a video package of highlights from Brisco’s career. We take a commercial break after the video.

- Back from the break and Kelly Kelly is backstage talking with Gail Kim. Maryse walks up and says she’s looking forward to her title match with Gail. Apparently it’s not happening tonight. Maryse says she thinks Mickie James & Michelle McCool have been acting like little girls on SmackDown and she doesn’t want to act like that. Maryse says they need to show them how women do it, says something in French and walks off.

- We go to William Shatner’s room where Big Show is talking with The Miz. Miz says Shatner is going to give them a Unified Tag Team Title shot. In comes CM Punk, Serena and Luke Gallows. Punk says he’s here to claim his tag title shot that they didn’t get last week. Show tells Serena she gives bald people a bad name. Shatner jumps in and asks what the problem is. He announces next week on RAW, it will be DX vs. The Miz & Big Show vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows for the tag titles. Shatner plugs his stuff and does some comedy.

- We go backstage with DX again. Triple H tells Shawn it’s not the end of the world that he can’t face Undertaker. Triple H reminds Shawn that he’s Mr. WrestleMania. Triple H tells Shawn there’s plenty of other guys he can face at Mania. Shawn says not for him and walks off.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show

We go to the ring where Kofi Kingston comes out for tonight’s last Chamber Qualifying match. We go to commercial as he enters the ring.

Back from commercial and out comes Big Show with a new t-shirt. He comes out when the music hits for The Miz. WWE’s United States Champion comes out to ringside for commentary. The bell rings and Kofi tries some kicks but Show overpowers him. Show with a big headbutt. Show continues to beat Kofi up, tossing him across the ring.

Kofi ducks a move and Show gets stuck on the top rope. Kofi dropkicks Big Show over the rope and to the floor as we go back to commercial break.

Back from the break and Show is controlling Kofi in the ring. During the break, Show caught Kofi with a big spear to take control of the match. Show works over Kofi on the mat now. Kofi fights out but Show drops him with another headbutt. Kofi rolls out to the floor. The Miz gets up from the table and taunts Kofi. MVP comes running out of the crowd and attacks Miz all the way to the back. Show brings Kofi back in the ring but Kofi drops his neck over the ropes. Kofi goes to the top rope but slips off. Show drops him. Kofi hits a dropkick on Show then dropkicks his knee out. Kick to the head by Kofi. He hits the Boom Doom Drop on Kofi for a 2 count. Kofi mounts Show in the corner with right hands. Show grabs Kofi’s throat but he tries to fight off. Kofi’s thumb went in Show’s eye. Show accidentally hits the referee with the knockout punch and he goes down. Kofi goes back down as Show checks on the referee. Show calls for another referee to come down and he calls for the bell. Show gets disqualified. Show apologizes and says he didn’t mean to, begging the referee.

Winner by DQ: Kofi Kingston

- After the match, officials come down and put the referee on a stretcher. Show is pissed as he kicks the ring steps. Show is yelling it was an accident as he walks up the ramp.

- We see Vince McMahon heading to the ring before taking another commercial break.

- Back from a break and Jerry Lawler is in the ring. He introduces a personal friend of his and tonight’s guest host, William Shatner. Shatner comes out with The Bella Twins. He enters the ring and falls on top of Lawler, knocking them both to the mat. Shatner introduces the best there was, is and ever will be… Bret Hart. The music hits and out comes The Hitman to a big pop.

Bret enters the ring and gets a nice reaction from the fans. Bret says he’s had about a month to think about what happened the last time he was on RAW. Bret says he came back for all the right reasons, thinking he could put it all behind him. He says he thought wrong. Bret says he didn’t come tonight to make peace or get closure, he came to talk to Vince McMahon face to face. Bret tells Vince to get his ass out here or he will come up there with a camera crew and find him. Bret says he don’t like to wait and he’s getting madder.

Vince comes strutting out to the stage in typical McMahon fashion. Vince says he has some things to get off his chest also but says he has never regretted anything he’s said or done to Bret. Hart calls Vince the world’s greatest liar. Bret says Vince couldn’t lace up his father’s jock strap, talking about Stu. Bret talks about having a stroke eight years ago and being in a wheelchair, wondering what it would be like to walk again. Bret says he found the courage to stand up and get past it but says he felt pathetic sometimes. Bret says he promised himself then he would never feel pathetic again in his life. Then, he says, he came back to RAW and offered Vince his hand and Vince kicked him, leaving him in the ring feeling pathetic again. Bret says he has a problem with that.

Bret says he worked for Vince 14 years and always thought that one day Vince would appreciate him. Bret says Vince described him as chewing gum that lost it’s flavor a few weeks ago. Bret says this stick of chewing gum has just enough flavor in it to kick Vince’s ass. Vince says Bret’s name and gets the crowd to pop, going over all Bret’s nicknames. Vince says Bret being the best is all a crock of crap. Vince says Bret isn’t a hero and the crowd boo’s. Vince says he can’t understand what the fans see in Bret. Vince says he thinks Bret is pathetic. Vince says Bret has no personality and says if it weren’t for Bret’s opponents like HBK or Austin who had personality, Bret would be nothing. Vince says Bret has no charisma, no command over the English language and a hound dog looking face. Vince disses Bret’s hair and the way he dresses. Vince says Bret deserves to be screwed.

Vince says he mentioned before how Stu Hart might go into the WWE Hall of Fame. Vince says he thought about it and says Stu won’t be going into the Hall because he doesn’t deserve it. Bret kicks Vince in the gut and unloads on him with right hands. Bret goes to lock on the Sharpshooter. Out of nowhere, Batista rushes the ring and beats Bret down. Batista holds Bret facing Vince. Vince rips into Bret’s face and spits on him. They toss Bret aside. RAW goes off the air with Vince McMahon irate and the crowd chanting for John Cena.

MVP speaks on The Miz

ESPN has an interview online with MVP in their Video Games section that was done to promote last night's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Below are the highlights:

Thoughts on The Miz: Any time you have two talents on the screen, the whole point is to create compelling television. You want to create something that the fans are going to tune in to watch. I've known Miz for a long time. We were both at the now-defunct Deep South developmental territory, and dude works hard. He works really, really hard at his craft. I remember him vaguely as that kid from "The Real World," and I had no respect for him, but he earned my respect by working hard and practicing and improving his craft. Now we're both at a level where we both want to be in that top tier; he's bringing his A-game, I'm bringing my A-game and neither one of us is going to back off. It's just a matter of you have to step your game up, and when we do that, the fans win. It's a win-win for everybody because we step our games up, the fans get to be entertained and the higher-ups get to watch us evolve and grow. Hopefully we're the main-eventers that you're going to watch tomorrow.

If his program with The Miz will go until Wrestlemania: It's interesting, because with stuff like that, you never know. I don't know, but I'd love to see Miz at Wrestlemania for the United States championship. That would be huge. I just don't know if he'll be able to avoid me that long.

Thoughts on Bret Hart returning: I had met Bret Hart for the first time, and Bret Hart is just one of those guys who I respected immensely. It's not often when I have a moment where I'm star-struck, if you will. But having the opportunity to talk to Bret Hart and shake hands with somebody who I think so highly of, and then see him inside the ring with Shawn Michaels, it was a historic moment. And to be there and to watch it take place was a privilege because it was definitely a moment in time that will be remembered in our industry

Big Update on ECW

ProWrestling.net is reporting that WWE is still planning on overhauling the ECW brand, however the changes won't likely be made until after WrestleMania this year. Many SyFy executives have been pushing for WWE to make changes to the brand, and at this point the feeling is that the company will drop the ECW letters, rename the show, and focus it more on younger superstars, which is something WWE has already put into motion. It's also being said that SyFy is pushing for WWE to incorporate more Science Fiction oriented story lines, and conspiracy theory type angles.

Update on WWE DVD, Wrestlemania Press Conferrence

The DVD for WWE’s 2010 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will be released on March 23rd.
- FYE stores are offering a free poster with the purchase of WWE’s new John Morrison DVD that comes out on February 20th.
- WWE was planning to release the new Best of RAW 2009 DVD on Bluray in Canada but for some reason that was canceled. The 2010 Royal Rumble pay-per-view will be released on Bluray however.
- Several names including Vince McMahon, John Cena, Big Show, Batista, Mark Henry, Eve and Kelly Kelly were in attendance for the WrestleMania press conference in Atlanta this morning. Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed were also there, among others.

Joey Mercury is set to return!!

Word is that former WWE Tag Team Champion Joey Mercury (Matthews) is set to return to WWE. Mercury was last released from WWE in March of 2007 but was telling some people in early 2009 that WWE’s John Laurinaitis was bringing him back in. That never happened but apparently he is set to return to the SmackDown brand soon.
Mercury held tag team gold with John Morrison in the past, who is also on the SmackDown brand.

PPV poster n Snyposis for Wrestlemania

Left is the official promotional poster and synopsis for WWE’s WrestleMania pay-per-view for this year, courtesy of iNDEMAND:
Nothing bigger, nothing more spectacular, and nothing can compare to WrestleMania. Watch as John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, and all your favorite WWE Superstars carve out a place in history at WrestleMania XXVI, Sunday, March 28 at 7pm ET/4pm PT, live on pay-per-view. A World Wrestling Entertainment Production.