Month: January 2021

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Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders for the WrestleMania 29 DVD (due out May 14th) and the synopsis reveals some interesting details about the show.

The synopsis, which you can read below, talks about “several returning legends” and Triple H being part of the show:

It only happens once a year, and in 2013, The Showcase of the Immortals comes to the greater New York City area for WrestleMania XXIX! From MetLife Stadium, the biggest stars in WWE and several returning legends compete on sports entertainment’s grandest stage. Last year, fans witnessed The Rock defeat John Cena in one of the most epic matches of all time. What legendary Superstars will thrill the WWE Universe at WrestleMania this year?

Plus, John Cena, CM Punk, Big Show, Triple H, Sheamus, and several major Superstars strive to cement their legacies and create moments that will own a permanent place in WWE lore.

* Major Swerve Coming In WWE Storylines, Changes Made To Sunday’s PPV Plans

– Shelly Martinez hosts #SaveWrestling, which can be heard every Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on www.vocnation.com. The debut edition of the podcast is now online at the website.

– Santino Marella, who is currently sidelined with a neck injury, noted on Twitter Tuesday that he underwent a procedure.

“Neck procedure went well today in Pittsburg, shouldn’t be too long now before I’m back in action, I’m hoping!,” he wrote.

– The latest edition of WWE en Espanol is now online.

See photos of The Undertaker taken last week

– Next week’s WWE RAW will see the return of the “Old School RAW” theme.

– Fandango will debut this Friday on SmackDown.

– WWE posted the following exclusive locker room interview with Paul Heyman after his encounter with Mr. McMahon on RAW:

* MAILBAG: Will DOLPH ZIGGLER Cash In At WrestleMania 29?

WWE rolls into Albany, New York tonight to tape this week’s episodes of Main Event and SmackDown.

No matches have been announced for Main Event. SmackDown will feature Dolph Ziggler challenging World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. Ziggler won a fan poll on last week’s show to determine who would wrestle Del Rio this week.

SmackDown will also feature fallout from Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show failing to earn a shot against the Undertaker at WrestleMania and the latest from Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger. Other superstars advertised to appear include The Shield, Mark Henry, Ryback, Kane & Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, and Sin Cara.

The arena is listing two bonus dark matches, featuring Alberto Del Rio vs. Show for the World Heavyweight Title and The Shield vs. Randy Orton, Ryback & Sheamus in a six-man tag match.

* Pictures of The UNDERTAKER’s Return from RAW

New York City’s Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg got exclusive interviews with several WWE Superstars at this week’s WrestleMania 29 media press conference, including John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock and Mark Henry.

All of them have big expectations for this weekend’s WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view – and CM Punk has a special message for “smart” fans:

* WRESTLEMANIA 29 Results We Are Going To AXXESS, HOF & WM29 and Will Have Exclusive Photos From All The Events!

Sonya Deville returns to WWE TV on SmackDown

January 4, 2021 | News | No Comments

Image: WWE

Sonya Deville is back on WWE television.

For the first time since August, Deville appeared on SmackDown tonight. Deville had been temporarily written off TV when she lost a Loser Leaves WWE match to Mandy Rose at SummerSlam.

Deville was shown walking backstage on tonight’s SmackDown. It was announced on commentary that she’s been reinstated to the roster.

.A man was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief after breaking into Deville’s home in August. Deville thanked police for their assistance and noted that thankfully everyone was safe.

Rose was also at Deville’s home when the man who was stalking Deville broke in.

Deville and Rose had been set to face each other in a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam, but it was changed to a no DQ Loser Leaves WWE match. Dave Meltzer reported on the stipulation change at the time:

There was a late change in the Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville match. Two nights before the show it was changed from a hair vs. hair match to a no DQ loser leaves town match. The backstory behind this is that Deville’s lawyer told her it would not be a good thing for her to show up with her hair cut so much and she had court dates from her stalker case early in the week. The original idea was not to shave her bald, but to cut off most of her hair for some sort of an acting role. No word on how long she’ll be gone but she’s not leaving WWE.

Rose was moved to the Raw roster in September and is now in a tag team with Dana Brooke.

Deville’s return comes in advance of the Royal Rumble taking place on Sunday, January 31.

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Rob Van Dam posted an audio statement via iPadio.com on Friday morning, confirming our earlier report that his TNA contract did in fact expire last week. Here’s what RVD said about what’s next for him, and whether he’d return to WWE:

“Of course, I have been reading a lot of tweets concerning my contract as of late with TNA. Questions such as, ‘Is it true your contract is up?’, ‘Has your contract expired?’, ‘Are you re-signing with TNA?’,’Are you joining WWE?’,’What’s the deal?’ I appreciate all of the questions and I’m happy you brought it up, happy to address it – just not right now. I plead the Fifth due to the grounds that it may be detrimental to my ongoing business affairs. Thank you for understanding and very soon, we’ll talk about just that.”

You can listen to RVD’s audio statement below. Please note, there’s some “adult” language:

* Update On Former WWE Mid-Card Wrestlers Returning Soon

Earlier this week, DirecTV announced that WrestleMania will be seeing a price increase this year, with the HD feed selling for $69.99 and the SD version going for $59.99. Both are $5 increases from last year. The cost of ordering the show is certainly high, but it’s on par with the price of a Floyd Meathweather PPV boxing fight, so WWE is not overly concerned that it will hurt the number of buys.

Based on annual trends of repeat viewership numbers and the continued trend of viewers shifting to the HD broadcasts, it’s projected that WWE will see an additional $900,000 profit for WrestleMania 29 from the price increase alone. Even if WrestleMania does not draw as many buys as last year, it could still shatter the company’s all-time pay-per-view revenue records.

With a sellout crowd at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, WrestleMania 29 is poised to be the second-largest WrestleMania crowd in WWE history (behind WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome) and has already grossed over $11 million for the company.

* WWE Superstars Upset With Their Lack Of Direction, More WM29 Undercard Matches

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

During an interview with Ring Rust Radio, Ken Shamrock revealed that he is seeking a return to WWE. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

On a return to WWE and how winning the World Title would cement his legacy: “Oh, definitely. I’ve tried to reach out, but I’ve been hitting some walls. I’m not sure if my messages are getting through or not. In my career, if you follow my career and watched everything that I’ve ever done from the time I was in high school to where I’m at now, I’ve always been able to reach the pinnacle. In football, I was able to win championships and go to bowl games in college, be an All-American linebacker and there were a lot of things I was able to accomplish. In my professional career, every time I jumped into an organization, I always reached the top and the title. I know with NWA with Jeff Jarrett, TNA, I was their first heavyweight champion, so I was able to reach that pinnacle. With Pancrase, I was their first champion and was also able to bring it to the U.S. using my character. I also reached the level in the UFC as a heavyweight champion, one of the first of all time, also rookie of the year, fighter of the year. I got into pro wrestling, I’ve got tag team champion, Intercontinental champion, King of the Ring. There were several times where I wished I had got that opportunity, and probably should have had that opportunity, to at least challenge for the Heavyweight Championship belt. I never got that opportunity, and I’m not sure why, but it is what it is. I will keep fighting to try and get that opportunity and close this thing up to be probably one of the only persons in sports history to go into several different organizations and become world champion in every one of them.”

On Brock Lesnar and the transition from wrestling to MMA: “People go, ‘What about Brock Lesnar?’ Brock Lesnar was not a true MMA fighter. Brock Lesnar was basically eye candy for MMA. He came in there, he was big, he was strong, he won a few matches, he captured the title and then he was out. Not much of a career. He is a true pro wrestler and amateur wrestler, so I think it’s a lot easier making the transition from being an amateur wrestler and pro wrestler into MMA than it is being an MMA fighter into pro wrestling.”

On Vince McMahon vs. Dana White: “That would be awesome. The only thing is that this is what I know about Dana [White], and you can ask anyone, Dana always talks and talks and talks, but I’ve never seen him do anything. I saw Vince talk, talk and talk, and he has done something, he has gotten into the ring, he has participated with the fighters and the wrestlers. I have not seen Dana White do that. I’ve seen him call out Tito [Ortiz] like they were gonna fight, and it never happened. I’ve never seen Dana interact with his business the way that Vince has. Vince has stepped in the ring against guys he’s pissed off. Hey, you gotta give him credit for that. He stepped into the lion’s den, per say. He did step into the Lion’s Den one time!”

The audio interview is available here.

Photos of Ken Shamrock looking sick ->

– WWE Diva AJ Lee spoke with NJ.com about WrestleMania 29 taking place 10 minutes away from where she used to live:

“Everything has worked out so amazingly, especially for it to be after this whirlwind year that I’ve had. To have WrestleMania literally 10 or 15 minutes from the motel I used to live in with my family is kind of insane.”

– CM Punk will throw out the first pitch at Friday’s New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins baseball game at Citi Field. Paul Heyman will be with him.

– Here is video of WWE stars visiting children’s hospitals in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday:

* WrestleMania 29 Betting Odds From Las Vegas – Find Out Who Is Favored To Win!