Post by Head Booker on Apr 1, 2008 13:01:52 GMT -6
source: pwtorch.com
--A number of people in WWE weren't pleased with how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came off this past Saturday night. He did not leave a positive impression on a number of wrestlers at the Hall of Fame banquet.
A number of sources report that Johnson did not hang out with old friends before and after his speech at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He showed up for the speech, delivered one that offended many in WWE and was believed to be too long, and then left.
Some of his former colleagues are saying that Johnson came across as "aloof" and "totally Hollywood," as if he were "above WWE now," not to mention everyone in WWE as well. One of those people include one-time friend Steve Austin, who was openly displeased and taken aback by Johnson's demeanor.
Here is one wrestler's comments regarding Johnson's Hall of Fame speech: "This wasn't a roast. This was supposed to be a tribute to his dad and grandfather. Instead, he did an hour plus of comedy, running way long, then did a short tribute to his dad and grandfather, then left. It was rude of him."
WWE had plans to control the length of the Hall of Fame speeches, but the induction ceremony ran way over the planned length in large part due to Johnson's drawn out speech. Flair's Hall of Fame speech ran long as well, but everyone was forgiving of that considering that it was his night.
After the event, pretty much everyone backstage shared in their resentment and disappointment on Johnson's conduct at the Hall of Fame. The belief backstage was that Johnson had no reason to treat old friends like discards from a past life.
Johnson's speech went on first because he had to catch a plane immediately to Las Vegas, where they are filming his latest movie, Space Mountain. After he left, two individuals took shots at him during their Hall of Fame speeches. When praising John Cena, Ric Flair made a point to say that Cena, "Will never leave our business for Hollywood." Triple H mentioned, "Rock fans," and then said, "Oops, am I supposed to say Dwayne fans now?"\
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-- There's been recent talk of moving C.M. Punk to the RAW brand.
-- WWE is pushing their advertising offices in New York City to work towards getting more higher profile companies to advertise with the company, especially major auto companies. It's been a major headache for the office because management has pressure on them to get Fortune 500 companies to sign on and that's a hard sell due to the stigma of professional wrestling and wrestling fans.
Source: Sports Illustrated
--World Wrestling Entertainment invited writers from Sports Illustrated to watch several top WWE superstars (including Mayweather and the Big Show) rehearsing their WrestleMania matches inside the Citrus Bowl.
Sports Illustrated has posted a detailed article describing the unique scene. Here are some highlights:
-- Vince McMahon and Floyd Mayweather went over the speecifics of Mayweather's match in the ring on Sunday afternoon. As McMahon strolled around the ring, doing a Muhammad Ali-like shuffle and then raising his arms in the air, Mayweather laughed and followed suit, raising his arms to the empty stadium after throwing a few jabs as McMahon knelt before him with a headset, talking to the production crew.
-- Mayweather told SI: "My ultimate goal is to entertain the fans and entertain the people. A lot of people on the outside say that wrestling is not this and its not that, but believe me, wrestling is real. They're not just entertainers, they're athletes. There are hard slaps and hard punches."
-- McMahon told SI: "We always have this magical curtain backstage. A lot of athletes want to be on the show but you never want to cross the line but we've wanted to do something with Floyd for sometime and he's always waned to do something with us."
-- While Mayweather and McMahon talked through Mayweather's match, WWE champion Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H went through the motions of their three-man match, tumbling around the ring in street clothes.
-- The original plan for Money in the Bank was indeed to have Jeff Hardy go over, but his suspension obviously changed that.
-- The consensus from everyone is that Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels was the match of the night.
-- WWE officials told Florida's Channel 6 that they are investigating last night's pyrotechnic incident that injured dozens of fans and sent several to the hospital.
-- Floyd Mayweather Jr. was raving to everyone about how much fun he had wrestling Big Show and said would love to come back. The feeling backstage was that the bout was entertaining and both did a great job. Triple H worked with both men all weekend plotting out the match.
--As we reported last night, Kevin Nash was backstage at WrestleMania XXIV at the Citrus Bowl. To put an end to speculation, Nash was not there looking for any type of WWE deal but was there to visit with Triple H and wanted to be there for Ric Flair's match against Shawn Michaels. Nash left WWE on very good terms and was even offered a management position in the company that he declined. He remains good friends with Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
--This afternoon Ric Flair was a guest on Mark Packer's syndicated radio show "Primetime With The Packman". Flair got very emotional during the interview and shed some light on his future in pro wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Flair said that he will not be going into announcing, but will be working with WWE in a "public relations" capacity moving forward. The Nature Boy has several years left on his WWE contract.
Flair also added, "They're doing something big for me on Raw tonight but no one will tell me what it is.
--A number of people in WWE weren't pleased with how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came off this past Saturday night. He did not leave a positive impression on a number of wrestlers at the Hall of Fame banquet.
A number of sources report that Johnson did not hang out with old friends before and after his speech at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He showed up for the speech, delivered one that offended many in WWE and was believed to be too long, and then left.
Some of his former colleagues are saying that Johnson came across as "aloof" and "totally Hollywood," as if he were "above WWE now," not to mention everyone in WWE as well. One of those people include one-time friend Steve Austin, who was openly displeased and taken aback by Johnson's demeanor.
Here is one wrestler's comments regarding Johnson's Hall of Fame speech: "This wasn't a roast. This was supposed to be a tribute to his dad and grandfather. Instead, he did an hour plus of comedy, running way long, then did a short tribute to his dad and grandfather, then left. It was rude of him."
WWE had plans to control the length of the Hall of Fame speeches, but the induction ceremony ran way over the planned length in large part due to Johnson's drawn out speech. Flair's Hall of Fame speech ran long as well, but everyone was forgiving of that considering that it was his night.
After the event, pretty much everyone backstage shared in their resentment and disappointment on Johnson's conduct at the Hall of Fame. The belief backstage was that Johnson had no reason to treat old friends like discards from a past life.
Johnson's speech went on first because he had to catch a plane immediately to Las Vegas, where they are filming his latest movie, Space Mountain. After he left, two individuals took shots at him during their Hall of Fame speeches. When praising John Cena, Ric Flair made a point to say that Cena, "Will never leave our business for Hollywood." Triple H mentioned, "Rock fans," and then said, "Oops, am I supposed to say Dwayne fans now?"\
------------------------------------------
-- There's been recent talk of moving C.M. Punk to the RAW brand.
-- WWE is pushing their advertising offices in New York City to work towards getting more higher profile companies to advertise with the company, especially major auto companies. It's been a major headache for the office because management has pressure on them to get Fortune 500 companies to sign on and that's a hard sell due to the stigma of professional wrestling and wrestling fans.
Source: Sports Illustrated
--World Wrestling Entertainment invited writers from Sports Illustrated to watch several top WWE superstars (including Mayweather and the Big Show) rehearsing their WrestleMania matches inside the Citrus Bowl.
Sports Illustrated has posted a detailed article describing the unique scene. Here are some highlights:
-- Vince McMahon and Floyd Mayweather went over the speecifics of Mayweather's match in the ring on Sunday afternoon. As McMahon strolled around the ring, doing a Muhammad Ali-like shuffle and then raising his arms in the air, Mayweather laughed and followed suit, raising his arms to the empty stadium after throwing a few jabs as McMahon knelt before him with a headset, talking to the production crew.
-- Mayweather told SI: "My ultimate goal is to entertain the fans and entertain the people. A lot of people on the outside say that wrestling is not this and its not that, but believe me, wrestling is real. They're not just entertainers, they're athletes. There are hard slaps and hard punches."
-- McMahon told SI: "We always have this magical curtain backstage. A lot of athletes want to be on the show but you never want to cross the line but we've wanted to do something with Floyd for sometime and he's always waned to do something with us."
-- While Mayweather and McMahon talked through Mayweather's match, WWE champion Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H went through the motions of their three-man match, tumbling around the ring in street clothes.
-- The original plan for Money in the Bank was indeed to have Jeff Hardy go over, but his suspension obviously changed that.
-- The consensus from everyone is that Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels was the match of the night.
-- WWE officials told Florida's Channel 6 that they are investigating last night's pyrotechnic incident that injured dozens of fans and sent several to the hospital.
-- Floyd Mayweather Jr. was raving to everyone about how much fun he had wrestling Big Show and said would love to come back. The feeling backstage was that the bout was entertaining and both did a great job. Triple H worked with both men all weekend plotting out the match.
--As we reported last night, Kevin Nash was backstage at WrestleMania XXIV at the Citrus Bowl. To put an end to speculation, Nash was not there looking for any type of WWE deal but was there to visit with Triple H and wanted to be there for Ric Flair's match against Shawn Michaels. Nash left WWE on very good terms and was even offered a management position in the company that he declined. He remains good friends with Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
--This afternoon Ric Flair was a guest on Mark Packer's syndicated radio show "Primetime With The Packman". Flair got very emotional during the interview and shed some light on his future in pro wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Flair said that he will not be going into announcing, but will be working with WWE in a "public relations" capacity moving forward. The Nature Boy has several years left on his WWE contract.
Flair also added, "They're doing something big for me on Raw tonight but no one will tell me what it is.
