Tag: WrestleMania

Backstage Updates On The Rock’s WWE Future

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is reportedly not being considered for a match at WrestleMania 38 from AT&T Stadium in Dallas next year.

It’s been reported that WWE has had plans for The Rock to wrestle at WrestleMania 38, likely in a match against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, or a tag team match with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, where Reigns would team with one of the brothers, and Rock with the other.

In an update, Ringside News recently reported that The Rock is not being considered for a WrestleMania 38 role because they already have something else in mind for him – WrestleMania 39 in 2023 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Rock is said to be a “virtual lock” for when WrestleMania returns to the Hollywood/Los Angeles area in 2023.

With Rock vs. Reigns likely for 2023, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter points to Brock Lesnar vs. Reigns being likely for WrestleMania 38 in 2022. The Observer noted this week that the Rock vs. Reigns match will take place if, when and where Rock wants it to, and that his schedule is so busy that there is no lock for anything. It was also noted that with Rock vs. Reigns being the idea for 2023, that likely means Lesnar vs. Reigns will be the top match for next year.

If WWE saves Lesnar vs. Reigns for WrestleMania in 2022, it will be interesting to see what they have Lesnar do in the next few months. Lesnar has reportedly signed a new deal that includes between 8 and 12 matches, which would carry him through early 2023 some time.

Recent reports have said WWE wants Rock to appear at the 2021 Survivor Series pay-per-view in New York City, to celebrate 25 years since his WWE debut. It’s always possible that The Rock returns to WWE TV before 2023, but he is considered to be almost a done deal for WrestleMania 39.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces WrestleMania 37 Location Change, Venues For Upcoming WrestleManias

WWE has announced that the location for WrestleMania 37 has changed. The location was Los Angeles, California but now WrestleMania 37 will be at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Raymond James Stadium was the original location for WrestleMania 36. As noted, the location was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to COVID-19.

The dates for WrestleMania 37 are April 10 and April 11. In the coming weeks, WWE will be announcing ticket availability and safety protocols for the event.

WWE also announced dates and locations for WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39.

WrestleMania 38 will be in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium on April 3, 2022.

WrestleMania 39 will be in Los Angeles, California at Sofi Stadium on April 2, 2023.

Below is the “WrestleMania Report” that WWE posted on Twitter. The video features Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, and Paul Heyman.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Says WrestleMania Should Move To Two Nights Permanently

Corey Graves interviewed Triple H on After The Bell to talk about WrestleMania and his experience watching it as it was the first time it was held in the Performance Center with no fans. Graves asked Triple H if he ever imagined that the Performance Center would one day be used to host a WrestleMania.

“After the first two shows and the live Smackdown, the first one, it seems like this barrage of just events happening,” Triple H said. “The moment in time when I walked in there and they had now transferred it from the kind of Raw and SmackDown set to repositioning everything, and I got in there in the giant WrestleMania sign that Kevin Owens would end up jumping off of was in the Performance Center. It was surreal and just, I don’t know, a crazy experience.

“I called Canyon, who runs development for me, and we were talking. I remember the moment walking into that building for the first time when we were scouting locations, and it was like a knickknack store from like a importer from Korea or something. It was all these like shelves to the ceiling of these knickknacks as far as you could see, and I remember walking in there and just rows and rows and rows and rows of all this stuff. If you would have said to me, in that moment in time, it’s a nice building right? We’ll have WrestleMania in here in a few years. You’re out of your mind, but here we are. I can’t recall anything crazier.”

Graves asked Triple H about things that he liked from WrestleMania this year. Triple H gave credit to Rhea Ripley for putting on a great match with no crowd at such a young age as she was getting more comfortable working in front of a crowd.

“It’s hard for me, at this point in my career, to imagine going out there in front of nobody and trying to pull that energy and that level of performance. Imagine if you’re Kevin Owens, just climb up that thing 30 feet, just fall off there and land on that table, just do it. That takes something special to go out there and have that performance. You here Rock talk about that and you know it. The the electricity and the connection between our fans and what we do, there’s nothing like it,” Triple H said. “I thought Charlotte and Rhea Ripley had an amazing match, and to me, I think Rhea Ripley, 22 years old, you’re just kind of getting to where you’re starting to feel comfortable with crowds. Then they take the crowd away and go like do it again.”

Along with the Boneyard Match, the Firefly Fun House Match created a lot of buzz at WrestleMania. Triple H called the match an acid trip and gave credit to John Cena and Bray Wyatt for taking it as far as they did.

“Man, my hats off to everybody that was a part of it from a cinematic scope as well. The Fun House, I just knew conceptually what the thought was. Everybody that I would ask like, ‘hey, how’d that go?’ I’d get the same response, ‘people are either gonna love it or hate it.’ I was like really? And most of the people that shot it were like, ‘I have no idea what we shot,’ because it’s it all goes together. Like if it all goes together well, it might be awesome, might be the worst thing anybody’s ever seen. I kept getting that. I was like, oh my God. I didn’t know what to expect. It’s like this crazy acid trip,” Triple H admitted. “You talk about reinventing and getting outside the box, my hats off to Cena on that. To get outside the box of your own character and everything that you’ve done and be that self aware and be okay with putting that out there for everybody and Bray as well, it was a crazy trip, and it just delivered something completely unique and business changing.”

Triple H has talked about the idea of a holding WrestleMania for more than one day before, and he elaborated more on the idea. He compared WrestleMania to a festival with all of the events that happen around WrestleMania.

“Well, I mean my opinion is my opinion, but I think it was much more enjoyable than the eight-hour extravaganza,” Triple H admitted. “I think at some point that is probably what it should be. It’s just become so big. When you think about it, in a way, it started out as a concert that ended up being a festival, and it’s this week-long thing. When you think about it in that manner now, you know, the Thursday would have been Hall of Fame, Friday was SmackDown, Saturday was going to be Takeover, Sunday would have been WrestleMania [and] Monday would have been RAW. It’s a week-long festival, and I think that big main-stage attraction needs to be those two nights and it’d be this weekend of events.

“I do think that’s probably a change that that out of chaos comes the genius and maybe that is the genius of it. And I know there’s been people saying that for a period of time, but that’s a major shift, and it doesn’t come easy. I think people in the world look at stuff like that. They go, ‘why don’t they just make it two nights?’ Yeah, because that’s really easy. There you go two nights.”

Source: After The Bell podcast via Wrestling Inc.

ESPN To Air Classic WWE WrestleMania Events

ESPN is set to air classic WWE WrestleMania events to build to WrestleMania 36, according to a press release sent to us by WWE today.

ESPN will air classic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays, on their flagship cable network, and then on their mobile app.

The first showing will be this Sunday at 7pm ET as ESPN airs WrestleMania XXX from 2014. WrestleMania 32 will then air on Sunday, March 29 at 7pm ET, and WrestleMania 35 will air on Sunday, April 5 at 3pm ET.

Variety noted that this is the latest example of ESPN working to fill its schedule with “unorthodox content” in the wake of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic, which has put a stop to many sporting events.

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

Below is the full announcement sent to us by WWE:

ESPN To Air Encore Presentations of WrestleManiaSpecial Content Initiative Begins This Sunday with WrestleMania 30 on ESPN

ESPN today, in collaboration with WWE, announced it is airing encore presentations of historic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays on ESPN and streaming via the ESPN App. The special content initiative begins this Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. ET with the airing of WrestleMania 30. The full schedule is below:

WrestleMania 30 (airs Sunday, March 22, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 6, 2014

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin kick off the 30th anniversary of the “Showcase of the Immortals” before a record-breaking crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar attempts to end the most celebrated streak in WWE history, Undertaker’s 21 consecutive victories at WrestleMania; witness the emotional culmination of Daniel Bryan’s “Yes! movement” in a championship triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton and Batista.

WrestleMania 32 (airs Sunday, March 29, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 3, 2016

The largest crowd in WWE history filled Jerry World at AT&T Stadium for WrestleMania 32, as more than 101,000 fans witness the “Show of Shows.” Roman Reigns takes on Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event; Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks in a match to crown the first-ever WWE Women’s Champion; the world famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders welcome The Rock to AT&T Stadium; and Shane McMahon stuns the WWE Universe with a death-defying leap in his Hell in a Cell match against Undertaker.

WrestleMania 35 (airs Sunday, April 5, 3 p.m. ET) – from April 7, 2019

WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium features a significant moment in WWE’s Women’s Evolution as the “baddest woman on the planet” Ronda Rousey takes on Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a “Winner Take All” Triple Threat match for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, marking the first time women were the main event at WrestleMania; Kofi Kingston finally gets a shot at realizing his lifelong dream of becoming WWE Champion against Daniel Bryan; and Batista faces his one-time friend and mentor Triple H in a “no holds barred” match.

“This unique opportunity is a byproduct of the terrific working relationship we’ve enjoyed with WWE over the years and the unprecedented circumstances we all find ourselves in,” said Burke Magnus, executive vice president, programming, ESPN. “WrestleMania is one of the most popular global events in sports and entertainment and the spectacular content it provides will be a treat for fans.”

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, WWE. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

These three encore presentations will air in advance of this year’s WrestleMania, which for the first time ever, will be held as a two-night event streaming live on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET on WWE Network and available on pay-per-view. WrestleMania will be hosted by three-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski. As WWE previously announced, only essential personnel will be on closed sets at multiple locations, including WWE’s training facility in Orlando, during the production of WrestleMania.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

2019 WrestleMania Weekend Events – WWE, ROH, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, MLW & WrestleCon

WrestleMania Weekend Events:

WrestleMania Axxess

NXT vs. NXT Alumni
Thursday, April 4 (6-10 p.m.)
The past meets the present as former NXT Superstars battle current Superstars from the black-and-gold brand. The matches will include Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze, Dominik Dijkaovic vs. Harper, SAnitY vs. Undisputed ERA, and Kassius Ohno vs. Aiden English.

Cruiserweights Collide
Friday, April 5 – Sessions 1 and 2 
Cruiserweights from 205 Live, NXT UK and NXT will soar to new heights in inter-brand bouts on Friday’s Axxess sessions. Featured matches will include Tyler Bate vs. The Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa vs. Jordan Devlin, Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews vs. Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis, and Albert Hardie Jr. vs. Gran Metalik. Session 1 runs 1-5 p.m., and Session 2 runs 6-10 p.m.

NXT UK Tapings
Saturday, April 6 – Sessions 1, 2 and 3
Each of Saturday’s three Axxess sessions will feature an NXT UK TV taping for future airing on the award-winning WWE Network. Don’t miss the rare opportunity to watch the United Kingdom’s best and brightest Superstars competing stateside. Session 1 runs 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Session 2 runs 1-5 p.m. and Session 3 runs 6-10 p.m.

Brands Battle
Sunday, April 7 (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.)
Two 20-Superstar Battle Royals — one for male Superstars and one for female Superstars — will take place the morning of WrestleMania. Both Battle Royals will feature Superstars from NXT and NXT UK, and the Men’s Battle Royal will additionally feature Superstars from 205 Live.

Women Collide
Monday, April 8 (12-4 p.m.)
One day after female Superstars main-event WrestleMania for the first time in history, the WWE Women’s Evolution continues to take center stage at Axxess. Watch top female Superstars from NXT, NXT UK, Raw and SmackDown LIVE collide, with matches including Io Shirai vs. Sonya Deville, Toni Storm vs. Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair, Piper Niven vs. Zelina Vega, Candice LeRae vs. Kay Lee Ray and more!

*Talent listed and depicted above are subject to change.

 

MLW -Rise of the Renegades (Fusion TV Tapings) April 4 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom

Impact Wrestling – United We Stand – April 4 – Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey – Steaming on Fite TV

MLW – Battle Riot II (Fusion TV Tapings) April 5 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom -2 Hour Special airing on beIN SPORTS

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard “Festival of Honor” April 5 – Hulu Theatre at MSG (Pro wrestling fans from all around the globe have an opportunity to get up close and personal with the biggest stars in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with Meet & Greet experiences)

NXT TakeOver: New York – April 5 – Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

WrestleCon – April 5 & 6 – New York City Hilton Midtown

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard – April 6 – MSG – PPV, Fite.tv, ROH HonorClub or NJPW World

WWE Hall of Fame – April 6

WrestleMania 35 – April 7

The Rock Wants To Wrestle At WrestleMania 35

The Rock’s WrestleMania 29 encounter against John Cena was Dwayne Johnson’s last WWE match except for an extremely brief contest with Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32. The People’s Champ reportedly wants to wrestle once again at next year’s WrestleMania and WWE might have a big opponent for him.

Dave Meltzer spoke about The Rock’s desire to perform at WrestleMania 35 during Wrestling Observer Radio. WWE wanted The Rock to tag with Ronda Rousey against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at this year’s show in New Orleans, but they substituted Kurt Angle in Johnson’s place. If The Rock can find time in his busy schedule, then WrestleMania 35 could be a possibility.

“[The Rock] wants to wrestle at WrestleMania,” Meltzer said. “You know [WWE] wanted him last year. He was originally in the Kurt Angle position, he had filming stuff.

“If there’s a movie project or something [The Rock] has to film at that time or a week later or something it makes it difficult because of the injury risk. If he doesn’t have anything much going on I would think that he would. My impression is that he wants to wrestle, you know The Rock loves wrestling.”

The Rock suffered a pectoral injury during his WrestleMania 29 contest which caused shooting for Hercules to be delayed costing the Paramount and MGM film a considerable amount of money. Movie studios have since been leery of allowing The Rock to wrestle due to the amount of money they have invested in him.

The Rock’s name is known on a global scale and having him back in WWE could help the company in foreign markets where his movies are extremely popular. Johnson’s age could also play a factor on whether he chooses next year to wrestle once again, but at any age, he will still be The Rock.

“If there’s no movie project on the table that he wants to do and he wants to do WrestleMania I’m sure Vince isn’t gonna go, ‘hey we don’t need you, we don’t want you,” Meltzer said. “Especially [WWE] is trying to break into China because The Rock’s movies are doing just giant business in China. Even if they weren’t [doing well in China] he’s The Rock and he’s one of the biggest movie stars in the world, some say he’s the biggest, I don’t know if he’s the biggest, but he’s up there.

“Time will tell, it’s up to offers and schedules, you know? It’s not like WrestleMania is going to be the number one thing but I think at 46 [years old], he’ll almost be 47 next year, I think in [The Rock’s] mind he’s probably going, ‘if I’m gonna do another match next year might be a good time.’ Because do you really want to do it at 48, 49? Maybe, but I know he doesn’t want to go in there when he doesn’t have his speed anymore and when he’s not as good as he once was. I don’t see him wanting to be that guy… maybe he would.

“Because let’s face it he can get through anything just based on the fact that he’s technically sound and he has incredible charisma and he’s The Rock. It’s not like he has to go in there and do a bunch of really quick armdrags and things like that. He can just talk his way through a match or just basic his way through a match. But I don’t see him as a guy who wants to go in there when he’s diminished.”

Meltzer said The Rock wouldn’t come back to WWE for a bad angle either as he revealed that someone told him a match against Roman Reigns might be a possibility.

“Someone suggested to me the idea of [The Rock] and Roman Reigns in a match. At first, I thought, ‘eh it doesn’t really appeal to me,'” Meltzer said the more he thought about it, Rock vs Reigns makes sense. They have a built-in storyline due to their family heritage, and The Rock would have no problem giving his cousin the win. It would also be a huge moment in Reigns’ career as WWE keeps pushing him as the next face of the company.

“I feel like that could be something that could appeal to [The Rock],” Meltzer continued. “Again, for Roman Reigns, if they’re trying to get Roman Reigns over something big, I mean The Rock will do the job for him that’s not even a question. In [WWE’s] mind if they want to get Roman over as a big Superstar, you know that’s a match that makes sense from everyone’s perspective.”

WrestleMania 35 will take place on April 7th, 2019 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Source: WrestlingINC

The Rock Returning To The Ring For WWE Soon?

There has been talk of The Rock being interested in returning to the ring at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

No word yet on who The Rock might face but Elias has teased a confrontation with The Great One in recent media interviews. Elias recently spoke with Busted Open Radio and told Rock that WWE is his company now but he’s welcome to “come on back” if he wants.

Elias said, “I’m well aware all the things The Rock has done in the wrestling business and in life. The guy is just a next-level human being. I was getting comparisons here because he played guitar a few times or whatever on television and I wanna throw this out there. He’s done that maybe five times, maybe six times or something like that on WWE television on Monday Night Raw. Rock if you’re out there listening, I’m doing it every single week. I’m doing it out there in front of millions of people all around the world every single week. I’m doing in in front of 10,000 in-person live every show I go to. So why don’t you come walk with Elias so I can show you how it’s really done?”

Regarding The Rock possibly wrestling at WrestleMania 35, his in-ring future has been discussed within WWE and it’s expected that he would at least make an appearance at the show if there is no scheduling conflict.

WWE wanted Rock to team with Ronda Rousey to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon earlier this year at WrestleMania 34 but that obviously did not happen. One of the potential issues was related to insurance as movie producers insure actors in case they get sick, injured or die during filming. Rock suffered an injury during his 2013 WrestleMania 29 match with John Cena and was forced to miss media for Pain & Gain. The injury also forced Hercules production to be pushed back several weeks. NPR once reported that a delay of just one day can cost up to $250,000 for big-budget movies.

Rock ended up doing a quick squash with Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32 after originally expressing interest in working a regular match. The squash came after an insurance company had issues covering Rock for a planned movie if he were to wrestle the full match. Rock wrestling at WrestleMania 35 will likely come down to if the movie can still get insured.

Rock spoke with WWE’s Cathy Kelley at the recent Skyscraper premiere in New York City and said he can’t wait to get back in the ring.

“I can’t wait to get back to a WWE ring,” Rock said. “People always ask me ‘what’s it like being in a WWE ring?’ I always tell them there’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like inside a WWE ring because there’s a certain live crowd acumen that is second to none. That was always and will always be the best part of my job when it comes to wrestling. Whether I’m wresting a match or just giving a promo. That connection with the audience, there’s nothing like it.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Daniel Bryan Getting Ready For His Return To The Ring This Weekend (Video)

WWE has posted a video showing WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan training for his return to the ring this Sunday at WrestleMania. In the video above Bryan can be seen attempting a backflip for the first time in three years!

Jeff Jarrett Joins Us To Talk WWE Hall of Fame Announcement

We’ve been promoting this huge interview with The Chosen One, Jeff Jarrett. Jeff and Ed Boston talk about numerous topics including the big announcement of Jeff being included in the class of 2018 WWE Hall of Fame, Jeff being a 3rd generation wrestler and how this announcement is a family recognition, and how his faith has helped sustain him during the ups and downs of life.

There are a couple of questions that our followers submitted and much more.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

WWE Considering London As Host City For Wrestlemania

Image result for WWE Considering London As Host City For Wrestlemania

Could a future WrestleMania be coming to London? The answer may not be as cut-and-dry as it once was.

According to The Independent, fans at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando were given a survey about which cities they would like to see host future iterations of the event, and London was on the list.

There’s no question that a WrestleMania show in London would sell out – the city is a hotbed for wrestling, both for WWE and the UK’s independent scene. Tens of thousands of fans travel from Europe to the U.S. for ‘Mania and the attendant festivities each and every year, and London would be a much easier trek for them than, say, Dallas.

WWE has long avoided hosting a worldwide Pay-Per-View event outside of the contiguous United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico simply because of the time zone issue. With WWE’s core audience located in the U.S., a show outside in London would either have to air early in the day, take place in the middle of the night, or air on a tape delay. In the case of SummerSlam 1992 – the last major event held in the U.K. – they chose tape delay, but even the young Internet of the day hosted spoilers before the show aired in the U.S.

Now that PPV has been replaced by the WWE Network as a revenue stream, though, things like timing and spoilers won’t hurt the financial performance of any individual show. With that in mind, putting on a show – even WrestleMania – that airs at noon ET is less of a concern.

Source: WhatCulture.com