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Wrestling
News Media: Hogan, Flair, WWE, CM Punk, McMahon, Jim Ross, Cena, Rock, Kevin Nash...
- 12th July 2011 Wrestling
News Media: Wrestling Legends Update, WWE, Australia, Movies and more - 19th June
2011 Pro
wrestling legend Randy 'Macho Man' Savage dies in car accident, by Greg Tingle
- 20th May 2011 Wrestling
News Google
News search for WWE WrestleMania
official website WWE Hall
Of Fame website Profile Wrestling Wrestling
News Media: Snooki, 'The Rock' and 'Mania: When Headlocks and Hollywood Collide
- 1st April 2011 One
is the queen of MTV's Jersey Shore; the other is WWE's resident Mexican aristocrat.
One is famous for being perhaps the worst of the tanned, bouffant-wearing, gum-chomping
Italian stereotype. The other invites fans' wrath with a wink and a smile as he
drives the world's most expensive cars to the ring and insists on being introduced
by his own personal ring announcer - in Spanish. Only
one entity - and one extravaganza - could bring these two very different stars
together: World Wrestling Entertainment's 27th annual WrestleMania on Sunday.
Snooki will participate in a six-person, inter-gender grudge match while Alberto
Del Rio will vie for the World Heavyweight Championship in his WrestleMania debut.
Both promise to thrill 70,000-plus screaming fans in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. "It's
going to be the peak of my career," said Del Rio, a native of Mexico. "My
family, my entire country, is going to be proud of me because I'm going to go
out there and become the new World Heavyweight Champion. I'm going to die out
there trying to become the World Heavyweight Champion." So
what's behind the infatuation with WrestleMania? Why do fans come from around
the world and dole out hard-earned money to watch this spectacle on pay-per-view?
What is it about WrestleMania that makes fathers and sons and daughters jump out
of their seats and grown, muscle-bound men in tights speak in hushed reverence? Simply
put, it is pro wrestling's greatest annual event. All wrestlers who grew up as
fans dream of performing in it and look forward to watching it. Even in the choreographed
world of professional wrestling, there is nothing staged about the emotion and
excitement from anyone who performs at WrestleMania. "As
a kid, all I wanted to do was be a wrestler," said Del Rio. "Now that
I'm here in WWE - WrestleMania is our NBA, our Super Bowl, our World Series of
professional wrestling. As a wrestler, as a performer, I always dreamed of being
in something like that." For
the fan, WrestleMania's appeal is as nuanced as wrestling's longtime popularity.
Wrestling's magnetism goes hand-in-hand with the dawn of the television age in
the 1950s, but WrestleMania took it to another level. It is a marriage of headlocks
and Hollywood that began in 1985, when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon teamed up the
charisma of Hulk Hogan and the diabolical lunacy of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
with the star power of Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper. (Credit:
News Corporation). Wrestling
News Media: Shawn Michaels' Speech At WWE Hall Of Fame Induction 2011: 'Thank
You' - 2nd April 2011 Thank
you. ["HBK!" chant. "Thank you Shawn!" chant. Whoa! Some other
chant.] The damnedest thing on my way to my Hall of Fame speech, a damn roast
broke out. Thanks. I knew there was no way you was gonna say anything nice about
me. For the 15 years we've known each other he never has, and he never will. He's
like the Fonz trying to say he's sorry. [Muttering.] I
know how tough it was for you to say . That was a huge deal for him to even recognize
that I worked in this line of work for 36 years. You're not aware of this, but
we shared a big moment there. There's some psychiatrists going, "They're
starting to heal." I'm
nervous, so don't give me cat calls. [Cat calls.] I've been going over what I'm
gonna say. ["One more match!" chant.] You're killing me with the one
more match thing. Seriously, I know it's good TV, he'll have a nervous breakdown.
We sold out the building! He had a heart attack! ["We
love you Shawn!"] I'm serious. For the love of God, help me out here. I don't
even know where to start. You know there are things that go between ... I can't
say, I'm not supposed to say. That's one of the reasons I was OK to retire. Coincidentally,
this is the first year where we're not doing it live. They'll chop it up in post
to make sure it's ok to air. When
I was 19 years old, I didn't want to be a sports entertainer. I didn't know at
the time. I told my mom and dad, I want to do what those guys do it on TV. Making
it was going to be going out in San Antonio and wresting in front of 25 people.
Fast forward, and I'm a 45-year-old man, and I get to stand here and say thank
you. Along the
way, I wasn't really aware of it. I was raised by a loving family, sitting right
down here, who loved me every step of the way and supported me. But for whatever
reason when I started doing this line of work at 19 I spent the next 26 years
searching for validation. I don't even know why. But what my peers thought of
me and what you thought of me was the most important thing in my life. And I worked
myself into the ground. It was so important to me that you thought I did a good
job. I know that sounds patronizing, but I want to thank you so much for giving
me that. I'm very
thankful to all the other inductees and especially Triple H for making this fun
and amusing. Because as much as I've tried to not make it a deep and heavy cry
fest, I can't do it. There are no words to express how much I lived and breathed
to do this every night for so many years. And it begs the question, how am I gonna
be OK away from this? Last
Monday the Undertaker had mentioned Shawn Michaels will walk into the Hall of
Fame with a ton of regrets. If this had happened in 1998, that might've been true.
At that time, I was good at my job, but there's no way I could've stood here with
no regrets. And although my family would've been proud of me, I know there would've
been a little disappointment for them and a certain guy backstage whose name I'm
not allowed to mention. [Crowd WOOs. Guy next to me says "RIC FLAIR!"
I believe him!] I
came back in 2002 after being told I'd never wrestle again, for one more match.
That was nine years ago. I'm thankful I can stand before you with absolutely no
regrets. [Missed a part about God and his family. Sorry.] Since they came into
my life, I've had not a regret. Not a second goes by that I'm not thankful. The
most precious gift of all is my little family. I love you all so much, and I want
to thank you for being so selfless and letting daddy finish what he started. It
was very important to me to come back and go away on my own terms. I love my two
children more than anything in the world. Thank you so much for letting daddy
go wrestle. [I have a daughter. Totally about to tear up.] There
are countless WWE superstars that I've had to create with. I'd love to mention
everybody, but I don't want to make this too long. I don't wanna be that guy.
[Crowd WOOs.] You guys are implying that. I'm not saying that. Every year there's
somebody, and we're like, dude there's WrestleMania tomorrow. I'm gonna assume
you know who you are. Because
I did my best to make sure before I left to tell you how awesome it was for me,
and how much I appreciate you guys [makes crazy hand gestures] putting up with
me when I wanna do something you don't do all that much. I appreciate your time
and patience. I appreciate you being a part of my life. A lot of times all we've
got is each other. We're like guys in a fox hole together. But when we're with
each other, we're all we got. We can stab each other in the back, but can't nobody
else do it. I
wanna thank you for allowing me to be a part of that fraternity. We're always
gonna look at everybody else and say you're not gonna understand it. And that's
OK. It's something we're gonna take to our graves. And
lastly there's all of you. The WWE universe, the fans. I love every one of you,
even when you bother me at 5 in the morning, even when I cuss you, you still come
back and forgive me. You have been a part of my life and family for so many years,
it begs the question, why would a 19-year-old kid from a wonderful upbringing
seek validation from strangers? One
thing people used to always say that separated me is that I could make a connection
with you. I don't know if I did a good job, but for the last 26 years whether
you were connected to me I have no idea, but I was connected to you. I have never
won Most Popular, I wasn't the prom king, I wasn't the homecoming king, so I guess
in my adult life the most important thing to me was that you believed in me and
thought I was good. On this night, 2011 Hall of Fame, I feel it, I thank you,
I love my ring. And I love each and every one of you. I
know this has been sappy. I can't help it. And if you're not down with that, I
got two words for you. ("Suck it!" from the crowd.) News WWE
Australian Tour 2011 Tickets
are on sale Friday 28th January, opening at 9am via Ticketek. WWE has thus far
named for the "World Tour" - John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, The Miz
and Wade Barrett. Dates
and venues: Friday
1st July - Sydney (Acer Arena)
Saturday 2nd July - Melbourne (Rod Laver Arena)
Sunday 3rd July - Perth (Burswood Dome)
Monday 4th July - Adelaide (Entertainment
Centre)
Tuesday 5th July - Brisbane (Entertainment Centre) Awesome
Kong signs with WWE WWE
is believed to have offered former TNA Women's Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong
a contract. She
wrote the following earlier today on her Twitter account: "My dreams just
came true today. I got my dream job. Yes, THAT one." WWE
sources indicate there's been discussion of Kong joining the organization in recent
weeks. One source claims she paid a visit to WWE's headquarters Stamford, Connecticut
a month ago. While
the signing has not been confirmed, sources believe it was finalized last week. WWE
News: Jim Ross new blog on WWE Hall of Fame & announcing future, Daniel Bryan
interview on Miz, Cena, cattle mutilation
(Credit:
Pro Wrestling Torch) By
James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor --
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has published a new blog on jrsbarbq.com
discussing this year's WWE Hall of Fame class, Paul Orndorff's cancer revelation,
historical Royal Rumble events, his announcing future, and other topics in the
news. On
the Hall of Fame: "I hope that the class does have a WCW/Atlanta feel but
the class will likely be 6-8 inductions tops. Plus, WWE will want to not over
do posthumous inductions if at all possible." On
his announcing future: "Have I called my last event in any thing? I hope
not and that's not my plan but my broadcasting work may not include regular WWE
work but something outside the genre." Ross said he feels he's a "long
shot" for the Univ. of Oklahoma announcing job, but he's "not retreating"
on pursuing his dream job. --
WWE U.S. champion Daniel Bryan has an interview with Jon Waldman of Slam Wrestling
covering a variety of different subjects from his first year in WWE. Bryan
said he would have liked to have learned more from The Miz on Season 1 of NXT,
he hasn't seen his infamous 2003 Velocity match against yellow-pants-wearing John
Cena "in years," and he won't use the Cattle Mutilation submission on
TV. On
possibly wrestling Cena again: "I thought it was a good match and it gets
me excited because I know we both progressed in our careers and if we ever got
to wrestle again it would be really good." On
not using Cattle Mutilation on TV: "I didn't really believe the Cattle Mutilation
would get over with the WWE Universe, and the reason why is because it's such
a TV-oriented product. There are a lot of downfalls to it. You can't see the other
guy's face, and on top of that, it's very difficult to do it to big guys; I don't
have long arms." Media Robert.Zimmerman@wwecorp.com Adam
Hopkins
203-352-8675
Adam.Hopkins@wwecorp.com Investor
Contact:
Michael Weitz
203 352 8642
Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com Articles Media
Man Portfolio Wrestling
With The Past The
Big Chief With The Big Heart Rowdy
Roddy Piper wrestles with a new foe: cancer WWE
News: JBL on Shawn Michaels angle, Gagne tragedy, Working for his wife on Wall
Street A
tight new hold on our TV? News JR's
Place official blog Pro Wresting Torch
Wresting Observer Newsletter Wresting
News Media blog World
Wrestling Entertainment blog (by Media Man) Wrestling
News Bret
Hart Returns to WWE Raw - January 2010, Stu Hart May Be Inducted in WWE Hall Of
Fame Chris
Jericho On Fire WWE
new talent progresses to upper ranks. Read JR's
blog and WWE News Paul
Heyman pushs forward Tommy Dreamer and ECW Mickey
Rourke May Appear at WrestleMania 2010 WWE
Legends Of WrestleMania Game Released Roddy
Piper Did Some Of The Best Promos Ever In Lead To WrestleMania Ric
Flair No Longer Associated With WWE - January 2010 JBL
Blogs Remain Hottest In Industry Vince
McMahon Warns Wrestlers And WWE To Shut Up Re Leaks To Media et al 
Public
Congratulations WWE For Supporting the US Troops At War ECW
Background World
Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is engaged in the development, production and marketing
of television programming and live events and the licensing and sale of branded
consumer products featuring the World Wrestling Entertainment brand. World
Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated media and entertainment company,
principally engaged in the development, production and marketing of television
programming, pay-per-view programming and live events, and the licensing and sale
of branded consumer products featuring our highly successful World Wrestling Entertainment
brand. WWE is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in London, Los Angeles,
New York and Toronto. We are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
WWE. (Credit: WWE). Television
programs WWE runs
three major television programs each week. Each show has their own cast of wrestlers.
WWE calls these casts brands. RAW is WWE's main show and has ran on Monday nights
since 1993. SmackDown! has been running since 1999. It used to be on Thursday
nights but moved to Friday in 2005. ECW is a program that started in 2006. ECW
is based on the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) company that ran from 1993
until its bankruptcy in 2001. Once
or twice every month, WWE produces a pay-per-view event. These events have more
important matches. The biggest pay-per-view of the year for WWE is called WrestleMania.
WrestleMania has run since 1985. (Credit:
Wikipedia). Websites WWE.com Articles US
wrestling girds loins for Asia Rowdy
Roddy Piper wrestles with a new foe: cancer Wrestling
star rescues Queensland film | 
