Title Match & Big Segment For RAW – ‘Rock Concert’ Returns
WWE announced that Kaitlyn will get another shot at the Divas Championship, taking on Eve Torres on Monday’s 20th Anniversary episode of RAW. Eve lost by intentional countout in their match last week on RAW.
– It was announced on SmackDown that The Rock will bring back the “Rock Concert” on the twentieth anniversary episode of Raw on Monday. His last “concert” segment was in March of last year, leading up to the Rock vs. John Cena match at WrestleMania 28.
TNA iMPACT! Rating
Thursday night’s episode of iMPACT! Wrestling drew a 1.02 (1.0) cable rating, with 1.29 million viewers, down from the 1.14 rating last week to relatively normal levels for the promotion. The show’s viewership was also back in line with regular numbers, down 25% from last week’s 1.62 million.
The show ranked #42 among overall viewers, #35 among males 18 – 34 and #29 among males 18 – 49. The show was down 0.1 in both demos.
Dixie Carter Congratulates Mick Foley
Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter today:
Congrats @RealMickFoley on your HOF induction. Very deserved!!!
WWE Planning Major Expansion Of Developmental System
Credit: Orlando Informer
WWE is reportedly planning a major expansion of their NXT developmental system. As noted earlier here on the website, the plan as of right now is for WWE to relocate the NXT program to a new property in Orlando. The company is said to be very happy with how the NXT tapings at Full Sail University have gone and want to continue putting the product in Orlando, which is a tourist-heavy area.
The territory is currently based in Tampa; the idea is currently said to be making a “campus environment” that would be similar to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. In addition to the physical expansion, the company will continue to hire new talent, with El Generico’s hiring believed to be the first in a wave of indy stars joining the developmental system this year.
It is worth noting that this is being called a “rumor,” so take it with a grain or two of salt.
WWE Confirms Mick Foley To 2013 Hall Of Fame
The following is from WWE.com:
On Saturday, April 6, 2013, three-time WWE Champion, New York Times best-selling author and Hardcore Legend Mick Foley will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame … right here, in New York City’s Madison Square Garden!
The beloved WWE Superstar who famously hitchhiked from upstate New York to MSG to watch his boyhood hero Jimmy Snuka battle Don Muraco in a Steel Cage Match is the first inductee announced for the Class of 2013.
A New York native, Foley grew up on Long Island in the 1970s, fantasizing about one day becoming a charming and attractive WWESuperstar known as Dude Love. His sports-entertainment career took a very different path, though, as he grew to become Cactus Jack, a lawless maniac from Truth or Consequences, N.M., who put his body through unspeakable trauma in the pursuit of mayhem.
Foley gained national attention in WCW in the early ’90s where his physical wars with Vader and Sting earned him repute as one of the genre’s most exciting brawlers. But it was in the macabre underworld of Japanese Hardcore Matches that the madman became a cult hero. Sports-entertainment fans in North America traded grainy VHS tapes of Foley battling sadistic opponents in rings littered with barbed wire, broken glass and even C4 explosives. By the time he reemerged in the American wrestling scene in ECW, the videos had turned him into the most dangerous grappler on the planet.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross helped bring Foley into WWE in 1996 where he was reinvented as Mankind, a demented sociopath who lurked in boiler rooms and hid his scarred face under a leather mask. Mankind was every bit as reckless as Cactus Jack — perhaps even more so. That was made clear at 1998’s King of the Ring event where he was thrown from the roof of the Hell in a Cell and plummeted 20-feet through an announce table below in what was the single most shocking visual in sports-entertainment history.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Foley’s willingness to sacrifice his body for entertainment’s sake endeared him to WWE fans. With that, the twisted, frightening Superstar revealed himself as a goofy, intelligent lug who wrote the tender, best-selling biography “Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks” and set a ratings record when he hosted a hilarious version of “This Is Your Life” with The Rock on Raw in 1999. On the emotional night when Foley realized his childhood dream of winning the WWE Title, it felt like a victory not just for Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy, but for the entire WWE Universe.
Mick Foley retired from full-time competition in 2000, although he would return to action on multiple occasions over the next decade — most famously to battle Edge in a blistering Hardcore Match atWrestleMania 22. Still, Foley has stayed busy, performing standup comedy, publishing multiple books — most recently with the children’s holiday tale “A Most Mizerable Christmas” — and leading a team into battle at the 2012 Survivor Series. But The Hardcore Legend’s unique legacy as a Superstar who was somehow dangerous, goofy and intelligent all at once was cemented long ago.
Want to be in attendance when Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy joins the WWEHall of Fame? Tickets for the Induction Ceremony go on sale to the general public this Saturday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. ET, and will be available at the MSG box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, various Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Ticket prices range from $50 to $150.
TNA raising prices on remaining PPVs
As part of TNA re-structuring their PPV model this year, TNA will raise the prices on two of their four remaining PPVs.
According to Multichannel News, which covered TNA’s PPV restructuring, Slammiversary in June will be priced at $39.95. Also, Bound for Glory in October will be priced at $44.95. The other two events, Genesis on Sunday and Lockdown in March, will remain at $34.95.
The new “TNA Wrestling: One Night Only” themed events will be priced at $14.95. The new PPV series will debut in April, with future shows airing on the first Friday of each month.
WWE Releases Complete 2013 PPV Schedule
WWE released the following 2013 pay-per-viewscheduleto it’s mediaaffiliateson Friday, including the dates & locations of the shows:
* Royal Rumble – 1/27/13 – Phoenix, AZ
*Elimination Chamber- 2/17/13 – New Orleans, LA
* WrestleMania – 4/7/13 – East Rutherford, NJ
* Extreme Rules – 5/19/13 – St. Louis, MO
* TBD – 6/16/13 – Chicago, IL
* Money In The Bank – 7/14/13 – Philadelphia, PA
* SummerSlam – 8/18/13 – Los Angeles, CA
*Night OfChampions – 9/15/13 – Detroit, MI
* Over The Limit – 10/6/13 – Buffalo, NY
* Hell In A Cell – 10/27/13 – Miami, FL
* Survivor Series – 11/24/13 – Boston, MA
* TLC – 12/15/13 – Houston, TX
Photo of the Big Reunion at NXT Last Night, JR and Cole Working with Announcers
Jim Ross and Michael Cole were working with the NXT announcers at last night’s tapings. JR tweeted:
“Enjoyed working backstage tonite @WWENXT w/ @MichaelCole helping WWE’s young broadcasters. Great crowd, fun nite, thx @ShawnMichaels!”
- There was a big reunion last night at NXT with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Billy Gunn. Nash noted on Twitter that he finally got to be a member of DX. Their reunion was interrupted by Damien Sandow, who exchanged words with Triple H and ended up taking Sweet Chin Music from Michaels. Here is aphotoofthe reunion:
