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JR Reveals How He Got to Work WrestleMania, More on Ryder Wanting a New Diva

- Jim Ross revealed the following about the decision for him to work WrestleMania 28 and Hell in a Cell. Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker all wanted him to call the match.

“HHH, Taker & HBK all wanted me to call HIAC @ WM28. WWE upper mgmt made it happen. It was confirmed late Friday night.”

- As noted before, Zack Ryder wrote on Twitter that he was looking for a new WWE Diva to be by his side. WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix responded:

“@ZackRyder you need a Diva that will join in for some gym, tanning and watch your backski when the chips are down #justsaying”

The speculation is that Layla, who has been cleared to return, will end up siding with Ryder for a feud with Eve Torres.

Chris Masters Addresses Triple H’s Weight Loss Jab, Conquering Drug Addiction

In May 2006, Chris Masters’ booming career with WWE at the time would come to a screeching halt when he was sent to a drug rehabilitation center due to his addiction with painkillers. Speaking to Power Slam, the former WWE Superstar addresses the matter.

“It was a developing thing that kind of escalated in 2006 and became a problem. You know, I had to go away for a couple months to rehab after the company became aware of my problem. It took a while to get over that. I went into rehab, not even ready to deal with the mindset that I was an addict,” he says.

“It was so much responsibility and I don’t think I was mature enough to handle all that opportunity that was given to me. I didn’t really appreciate it, I made a lot of mistakes and it kind of derailed my career. It took a while for me to get myself back on track, but I did, and now I’m completely fine, clean and sober. But I’m a walking miracle. At one point, I was taking 75 painkillers a day.”

Masters lost a noticeable amount of muscle mass by the time he returned to WWE programming on the August 28, 2006 episode of Raw with color commentator Jerry Lawler acknowledging him as the “leaner and meaner Chris Masters.” Masters appeared in a backstage segment on the October 2, 2006 Raw with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Eric Bischoff in which he said he was “thinking about writing a book on nutrition.” Triple H quipped in response, “Really? What are you going to call it: How To Lose Fifty Pounds In Four Weeks?” Interviewer Greg Lambert feels the remark was deliberately intended to ridicule his loss of muscle, which conflicted with what WWE was purportedly trying to achieve with its Wellness policy.

Masters responds, “First of all, let me say that Triple H is a big ball-buster. I don’t think he’s as devious as people make him out to be, but he’s a ball-buster, albeit an equal opportunity ball-buster: he takes shots at Shawn Michaels all the time. They were always taking jabs at each other. So, it might have been the wrong message, yes, at the time. But I don’t think it was meant as a malicious thing.”

A few weeks later, John “Bradshaw” Layfield made a similar crack at Masters’ expense in reference to MVP’s No Mercy opponent Marty Garner. He said, “The guy looked like he had escaped from a concentration camp: the guy was as skinny as Chris Masters.”

Masters responds, “I won’t take anything JBL says too seriously, because the guy’s an idiot [laughs]. Look at his body! Who is he to criticize anybody? But I didn’t realize it was such as a big deal. People wanted to point the finger and say [the weight loss] was because I was on steroids … But that wasn’t my problem. I didn’t go away because of that or come back leaner because of that: it was because I would wake up every morning in rehab and run two miles as my therapy. I wasn’t able to do as much weight training. So, I did gradually lose a lot of weight. I didn’t realize, coming back, it would be so dramatic and people would make such a big deal about it.”

Masters packed the muscle back as months later his physique had noticeably enlarged. Lambert asks, “Was that because you been stung by [the comments]?”

“Part of it was. Eventually, it wore on me, but not at first,” Masters says. “I was happy with myself: I didn’t mind being smaller. But after a certain point, it probably go to me, so I cut back on the aerobics and running, and went back on the heavy weights.”

Masters was suspended by WWE in August 2007 and November 2007 as a result of violations of their drug testing policy. This led to his first release from he company on November 8, 2007. He says of the events, “I hadn’t overcome my prescription pain pill problem. I had taken something that hadn’t been prescribed to me, and I got red-flagged for that.”

Masters eventually conquered his drug addiction and was rehired by WWE in June 2009. He explains what led him to change his ways.

“I’d got fired from the job I always wanted. I’d blown through six figures worth of money, and I knew I had to change my ways. We’ve seen a lot unfortunate tragedies in the business. I’ve seen Test and Umaga, who I knew well, pass away and it always affects me. There’s always a sense of relief that I was able to catch myself and not let it get to that point. It gets to a point where you either hit rock bottom or you’re going to die,” Masters says.

“I hit rock bottom, then a second rock bottom, and, by the third, it finally woke me up. The same thing has happened to Matt Hardy. But I hear now, it looks like he’s doing great. Hopefully, he’s reached enough rock bottoms that now, he’s back on track.”

The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 04/02/12

The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 04/02/12 by John Canton (Twitter @johnreport)

I’ve returned from Miami. It was an amazing five days that I’ll never forget. I’ll be posting my WrestleMania recap on Wednesday and I’ll write about my other WrestleMania weekend experiences likely on the weekend. For this column, as I do every Tuesday, the focus will be on Raw. Let’s get to it.

Live from Miami, Florida this is the Raw Deal…

In the locker room, John Laurinaitis addressed the WWE roster that was sitting together in one room. He said he won the right to be GM of both shows and wasn’t going to abuse that power. He booked Santino into a match against Ziggler & Swagger for the US Title. CM Punk showed up. He said he spoke for everybody. “We all consider you to be a giant toolbox.” JL said Punk would defend the WWE Title against Mark Henry. Laurinaitis: “Welcome to a new era. And that era is people power.” I guess that era also means that Smackdown talent gets title shots against Raw talent. I know it really doesn’t matter and you know who was going to win that Punk/Henry match, but from a logic standpoint I’d like some consistency. They ended up saying “people power” way too many times during the show.

The Rock entered the arena first. Huge ovation. One of the loudest reactions you will ever hear. It lasted for about four minutes. Loud “you still got it” chant from the crowd. I agree although he did appear to be gassed a bit during the Cena match. I’m not hating. Just saying. He said that they made history at WrestleMania and that it was great for him to truly say that “finally The Rock has come back…home.” When Rock said he wanted to thank John Cena, the fans started a “Cena sucks” chant and Rock put him over saying he gave him a tough match. He said it was an honor for Rock to compete with Cena in the biggest match of all time. “We made history at WrestleMania and we did it for the fans.” He didn’t say WWE Universe. I love him for that. Crowd was hot for all of this. Rock thanked friends, family and the people (the millions – three times). “In 1995, The Rock was cut from the Canadian Football League. Now do you have any idea how much you have to suck to get cut from the Canadian Football League?” I’m Canadian and love football, but don’t watch it. Rock said he stands before us as the People’s Champion.

“For those of you that think this is the end – well The Rock says this, he guaran-damn-tees that this is just the beginning.” It’s not really the beginning. It just means he’s not done after this. The loud “yes” chants started up from there followed by a “thank you Rocky” chant. That’s the first moment where I really wished I had stayed one more day to be at this show. Rock danced, a dude whistled, Rock pointed out it was a dude and said it was a John Cena fan to a big ovation. Funny stuff. Rock said he woke up with a vision that some people said was impossible. “Would the people like to hear that vision?” Loud “yes” chants again. “That vision is this: That The Rock one day will walk down that aisle as the jabroni beating, pie eating, trailblazing, eyebrow raising, one vision in mind, don’t need no revamping – The Rock’s going to be the WWE Champion.” Huge reaction to that with more “yes” chants. “Thank you. I love you. That will come true one day.”

That was an amazing promo. The question is when is he going to go after the WWE Title? Due to a busy movie schedule this will be the last time we see him for many months, I presume. I guess this likely means he’ll be wrestling at WrestleMania next year and possibly before that. They could do something where he’s in the Rumble, wins it and gets the title shot that way. I’m not sure. Let the speculation begin. On behalf of the fans I say thanks to Rock for coming back. I don’t know when we’ll see him again, but I’m glad he returned and made this weekend so memorable.

They aired a clip of a Cena promo pre-WrestleMania talking about how if he lost to Rock then he loses everything.

Santino walked out for his match. They went to commercial.

(Commercial)

United States Title: Santino vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger /> Hey, the US Title still exists! That’s nice to know. The heels dominated Santino early. It went to break about two minutes in.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Santino made his comeback on his opponents. Loved the awkward headbutt on Swagger. Santino took out the Cobra, but Ziggler countered with a neckbreaker. Ziggler hit his Fameasser after Swagger held Santino for two, which led to them arguing. Swagger dropped him with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Santino came back, hit Ziggler with a slingshot into the corner and then the Cobra to the face for Swagger for the win at 7 minutes. /> Winner: Santino

Analysis: *1/2 It was fun, but we didn’t get to see a whole lot of it due to the commercial thrown in there. I’d love for Ziggler to have a more prominent role, of course.

Post match, Ziggler & Swagger went after Santino. When Santino made it to the top of the ramp, Brodus Clay stood beside Santino. Loud “Funkasaurus” chant. This crowd ruled. Ziggler ran at Clay, so Clay dropped him with a headbutt that Ziggler sold better than anybody else possibly could. The segment ended with Brodus doing his dance along with his girls while Santino also joined in. Perhaps Brodus finally has a feud? I’m fine with that.

(Commercial)

The debut of Lord Tensai was next. It was the man formerly known as A-Train, as I’m sure most are aware. He had tattoos on his chest and some Japanese writing on his head. He had an assistant named Sakomoto with him.

Lord Tensai vs. Alex Riley /> This was a squash that took about three minutes. There were some brief “A-Train” chants and also some “yes” chants because this crowd loved chanting that word during the entire show. Loud “Daniel Bryan” chant as well. The announcers acknowledged that he was in WWE before, but didn’t say what his name was before. He won with a double choke bomb, which led to the ref ringing the bell because Riley was hurt so bad. /> Winner: Lord Tensai

Analysis: 1/2* After the match, Tensai spit something on his hand and then gave Riley the claw, which had some kind of substance on it. I thought the debut was okay. The announcers put it over as being very impressive and scary. I’d agree with that assessment. It will be interesting to see what role he’ll have going forward. I’d imagine he gets a strong push very soon.

The WWE Champion CM Punk was shown walking in the backstage area.

(Commercial)

Back from break, they aired Cena’s “in the stands” promo saying that nobody will remember second place. He said WM28 was his legacy. Cole wondered how Cena would react and promised that Cena would be out later in the show.

WWE Title: CM Punk vs. Mark Henry /> Punk walked into the ring selling the back injury from his match on Sunday with Chris Jericho and Henry was the perfect opponent for him to go up against because of his power based offense. Henry’s at his absolute best as a worker when he’s working over a smaller wrestler and trash talking the whole match. I liked the spot where Henry went for a bearhug, so Punk gave him a series of elbows to the head and then dropped him with a DDT. The offense didn’t last long as Henry continued to dominate the action with a boot to the face. Punk avoided a corner splash and missed on his attempted springboard clothesline. They went to break at the six minute mark.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Punk went to the top for a double axe. Henry countered with a knee to the gut. Was that another “Daniel Bryan” chant I hear? Yes I do. Then a “CM Punk” chant one more time. Every time Punk kicked and chopped Henry the crowd chanted “yes.” A hard kick to the head knocked Henry down. Punk hit the Flying Elbow off the top. Punk couldn’t hit his bulldog out of the corner. Henry dumped him over the top to the floor so Punk took the bump on his side rather than the traditional flying bump over the top. Punk got counted out at the 13 minute mark. /> Winner: Mark Henry via DQ

Analysis: *** I really enjoyed this match. The hot crowd helped, but also the story told in the match was perfect in terms of it being the smaller babyface champion trying to hold off a dominant heel challenger. I’m fine with the finish because it will allow them to go back to the feud if the opportunity presents itself and they can probably put on another good match.

Post match, Henry gave Punk the World’s Strongest Slam on the floor outside the ring. John Laurinaitis showed up to say that he saw problems on the horizon for Punk, including a natural disaster. It should be pointed out that Tensai means “a natural disaster” so that likely suggests Punk will be feuding with him very soon.

Chris Jericho walked out with a microphone. He had a different shiny jacket on. He said he and Punk should celebrate their classic match with a drink. Jericho said he’d lead Punk down the lonely road of alcoholism. Then he opened up a bottle of something and poured it on Punk’s head. Jericho slipped on the liquid as he hit him with a kick. He continued as if nothing had happened. He got another bottle. It looked like Jack Daniels. Then he broke the bottle on Punk’s head. What was the liquid? Not sure. Ice tea perhaps. It was a strong angle that keeps the Punk/Jericho story going, which is fine by me. I’d expect a rematch at the Extreme Rules PPV in Chicago, which means it will have a stipulation as well.

(Commercial)

Back from break, we saw pictures of Sheamus beating Bryan with the Brogue Kick in a matter of seconds. I’ll write more about it on Wednesday. Needless to say, I wasn’t a huge fan of that moment.

The new World Champion Sheamus was introduced. He got a good pop. The crowd was strongly behind D-Bry at WM28 though, so it wasn’t a massive ovation. Before Sheamus could say anything, Alberto Del Rio’s music started to play and he arrived in the arena along with Ricardo Rodriguez, who did a wonderful entrance. I’d still love to know why they kept ADR off of WM when he had returned from his injury a few weeks ago.

Del Rio said he was a new challenger for Sheamus. The crowd was chanting “Si! Si! Si!” for him. That was fantastic. I love this crowd! Sheamus said people don’t want to see him talk. They want to see him Brogue Kick somebody in the face. Del Rio said JL gave him a match on Smackdown. If Del Rio wins, he gets a future World Title shot. A loud “Daniel Bryan” chant started up once more. Del Rio’s microphone went out. Oops. Sheamus ended up hitting Del Rio with a Brogue Kick to end the segment. I thought Del Rio should have sold the kick a bit more by laying on the ground for a few seconds instead of simply rolling out of the ring. It was fine for what it was.

Backstage, Daniel Bryan was with AJ. They were watching Sheamus on a monitor. Josh Mathews tried talking to him about his 18 second loss at WrestleMania. Loud “Daniel Bryan” chant from the crowd. Bryan said nothing to Mathews. He just stared at him. Josh left.

They plugged Cena coming out later to call out The Rock.

(Commercial)

More still shots from WrestleMania, this time focusing on Alex Rodriguez and girlfriend Torrie Wilson sitting at ringside. The same Torrie Wilson that referred to myself as a “good friend” with pic included of the two of us. She’s outstanding. She doesn’t watch much wrestling anymore, but does a lot of appearances at wrestling conventions.

They showed Machine Gun Kelly at ringside. He got booed again because he did John Cena’s entrance at WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston /> It’s weird seeing Cody without the IC Title. They worked for a bit with Cody dropping Kofi with the Disaster Kick. That was the cue for the Big Show, whose music started up. He showed him a clip from WrestleMania. They were still shots of Big Show knocking out Kofi with the punch to win the IC Title at WrestleMania. Cody turned back around and Kofi hit him with Trouble in Paradise for the win. Match went about two minutes. /> Winner: Kofi Kingston

Analysis: NR More of an angle than a match. It was a good babyface moment with Show continuing to get his revenge on Cody. The match was pretty much an afterthought.

They aired the video from last week where Cena talked about how nobody remembers second place. Cena said he had to win the match more than anything in his entire life. Friends are speculating that Cena may “hang it up.” That was lame by Cole. Nobody would believe that.

(Commercial)

Back from break, they bragged about Twitter trending by saying 14 topics were #1 on Sunday. I’d rather brag about the $8 million they made in ticket sales.

In the locker room, Mark Henry was approached by a returning Abraham Washington. Abe wanted to represent Henry as guidance for his career. I guess he’ll be Mark’s manager? I’m fine with that. They need more managers.

The announcers went over some of the big moments from WM28 by focusing on Rock’s win, Undertaker’s win and Team Johnny’s win. Lawler blamed Eve for it.

Eve showed up on the ramp. She talked about how she had her WrestleMania Moment when she kicked Zack Ryder in the nuts. Loud “we want Ryder” chants. She was happy that Laurinaitis was running both shows. “Let’s hear it for people power.” Not a very good promo.

They played a clip from earlier in the show when Rock thanked John Cena.

(Commercial)

The Miz vs. Zack Ryder /> Why not have a segment where Ryder talks about what happened with Eve? He deserved a promo on this show. He’s one of the worst booked characters on the show that needs to be more angry at a moment like this. Miz was in a celebratory mood since he got the win for Team Johnny. Miz snapped on a chinlock in this match that didn’t even get three minutes. Ryder fired himself up for the babyface comeback and hit the Broski Boot for a two count. Miz countered a neckbreaker by tossing Ryder shoulder first into the turnbuckle, which led to the Skull Crushing Finale for the win at about 3 minutes. /> Winner: The Miz

Analysis: * Ryder is such a poorly booked character that even when a heel like Cole rips on him you believe it because it’s true. Whoever books finishes must love the “throw the guy into the shoulder” spot that because they do it on one show per week it seems.

They showed John Cena’s locker room. There was an attempt to convince us that he had just arrived to the show.

(Commercial)

More pics from WrestleMania. The set looked amazing except for those damn palm trees that blocked my view. I’ll have more on that on Wednesday.

The announcers plugged Randy Orton vs. Kane (Smackdown guy vs. Raw guy technically) and Sheamus vs. Del Rio (Smackdown guy vs. Raw guy also). If Del Rio wins he gets a future title shot.

John Cena Main Event Promo /> Cena walks out in his new green ring gear. Blame the loss on the color change? The crowd was loud for Cena, a mixture of cheers and boos. “I never thought of losing, but now that it’s happened the only thing to do is to do it right.” He mentioned that he talked a lot prior to WrestleMania. He said he wasn’t going to make excuses and that he meant every single thing that he said. He said he never thought he was going to lose because if you think like that then you have already lost. I like how he was gracious in defeat. He addressed the speculation about how he would react to the fans. The crowd started up with a “you’re a loser” chant. That’s fantastic. Cena asked if this would be the day when he lashed out at the WWE Universe. Their response? “YES! YES! YES!” He said that will not happen. He said that as a man he will admit defeat. “Last night I lost to The Rock.” More “yes” chants. Cena thanked those that supported him from his friends and family to Machine Gun Kelly, who got booed again. He said if he let anybody down he apologized and will work his ass off to try to be the best that he can be.

He transitioned to the idea that he was there to call out The Rock. He said he’s not there for that because they settled it last night. Loud “we want Lesnar” chant. Cena stopped to ponder that chant and said it was always an interesting crowd at Raw. He invited Rock to the ring not to talk trash or fight. He said “Dwayne Johnson, after all he’s been through with me, has earned my respect.” He called him a champion, an inspiration and he can truly consider him the greatest WWE superstar in this industry. More “YES! YES! YES!” chants. Cena says we should have one more celebratory moment for The Rock. Cena talked about how tough the last year was. Another “we want Lesnar” chant. I guess the crowd was ready to move on. Cena said he came up short and that The Rock was the better man. More “yes” from the crowd so Cena busted out the “YES! YES! YES!” himself. Haha that was fun. He looked into the camera: “Daniel Bryan, you owe me one.” Loud “Daniel Bryan” chants. Cena wants to congratulate Rock on his victory. He looked at the entrance.

No sign of The Rock. Instead, the music of Brock Lesnar started up. The arena exploded in cheers! Wow! That was an amazing reaction. It looked like everybody was standing up and they were cheering loudly for the former WWE Champion. Over the weekend we got word that he had signed with WWE, but didn’t know when he would appear on screen. Everything about the return was awesome except the awkward fan that tried emulating the Lesnar entrance. The crowd chanted “holy shit” as Lesnar walked around the ring. Cena enjoyed that reaction. Lesnar walked into the ring. Cena applauded him. Lesnar extended his hand, Cena shook it and Lesnar put him on his shoulders. F5 to Cena. That’s one of my favorite finishing moves. Cena sold it great while Lesnar was standing over him. When the camera focused on Lesnar’s face it looked like Lesnar said he had been waiting a long time to do that. Lesnar celebrated as the show came to the close.

Wow. What a memorable ending to Raw. You don’t see great moments like that very often. Cole was yelling about how the landscape and complexity of WWE has been changed due to Lesnar. I liked that line because he is a big name for two reasons. The first reason is because he’s a former WWE Champion that hasn’t been in WWE for eight years. The other reason is because since leaving the company he has become a bigger star thanks to his UFC career, which has now ended. It was reported on PWInsider that his deal calls for two appearances per month for the next year with additional ones to be negotiated if all parties agree. In other words, he’ll be on most editions of Raw between now and WrestleMania 29. I have no idea if they’ll do Lesnar vs. Cena right away or if they will wait a few months on it. I think Lesnar vs. Rock is a possibility at WrestleMania 29 although that depends on if that would be the WWE Title match. It’s hard to say at this point. What matters is that Brock Lesnar is back. I’m a huge fan. Always have been. Yes, he left eight years ago and it upset a lot of us. If WWE can forgive him, I think fans should too. He wants to be back in the business where he first became a star, so let’s embrace him. Welcome back, Brock. We missed you.

Here’s the video of Lesnar’s return. Go to 10:45 in this clip. Listen to that pop. Wow.

——————-

Three Stars of the Show /> 1. The Miami crowd – Amazing performance. Thanks for making me wish I was there! Yes! /> 2. The Rock – That was an awesome promo. I’ll miss him while he’s gone and look forward to his return whenever that is. /> 3. Brock Lesnar – Welcome back.

8 out of 10 /> Last week: 6 /> 2012 Average: 6.32 /> 2012 High: 9 (January 30) /> 2012 Low: 4 (January 9) /> Last 5 Weeks: 6, 6.5, 6, 7, 6

A score of 8 makes this the second highest rated Raw of the year for me, behind only the 9 I gave the January 30 show.

The Miami crowd was incredible. I’m not sure what percentage of the crowd were people from the area and what percent were people who had come into the city over the weekend, but they all deserve a lot of praise for this performance. I’ll never forget this Miami crowd. It was one of the better crowds in the history of WWE.

It was a very newsworthy show since Rock talked about how he was going to go after the WWE Title, Lord Tensai made his debut, the “people power” era officially began and Brock Lesnar made his big return. The Raw after WrestleMania is usually one of the better shows of the year. This one didn’t disappoint.

It’s a shame there was no Daniel Bryan on the actual broadcast other than that quick backstage segment. The crowd really wanted to see him and instead he was only a part of the dark match. Is “yes” the new “what” chant? I hope so. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also more current.

Here’s a clip of Daniel Bryan after Raw ended. There was a dark match. He was the last one in the ring. Listen to this reaction.

That was hilarious. I hope it doesn’t turn him face because I love his heel act so much. It may be hard to stop if he gets reactions like this on a regular basis.

How would you rate 04/02 Raw on the 1-10 scale?

I’ll be back on Wednesday night with a WrestleMania review column. I’m not sure what else I’ll write about during my time in Miami, but I’ll most likely save it until Saturday’s Canton’s Corner column.

Keep checking out thejohnreport.net for more of the fine work of the TJR staff.

John Canton – thejohnreportnet@yahoo.com /> thejohnreport.net /> Twitter @johnreport /> Facebook Facebook.com/thejohnreportnet

WWE News

Triple H Gives Update On Wife Stephanie’s Weight, How They Juggle Family Life

Shocking photos surfaced late last year of WWE executive Stephanie McMahon appearing in tremendous physical shape, which she credited to her extreme desire to defeat her battle with the bulge following the birth of her three children. Dave Palumbo, who assisted Stephanie in achieving her weight loss goal, spoke to husband Triple H last week in an interview for RXMuscle.com to ask him how she’s doing with that. The WWE Superstar admits she’s having trouble maintaining her desired physique.

“She’s looking forward to doing that although I think it’s taking her a little bit longer than she was hoping to,” he says of her intention to participate in a photo shoot this summer revealing her abdominal muscles. “Not that she’s been strict, her body’s just been a little bit resistant to change coming up, all the stuff she was doing. But she’s working hard at it. I think once we get past WrestleMania here, she’ll be able to work a little harder.”

He continues, “For Steph, it’s tough. She’s an executive here, which is a 24/7 job, and then on top of that, three kids and then trying to get in shape. It’s a full-time gig to say the least. She’s full hands-on mommy. When the kids are up at the crack of dawn, she’s up and by the time we get home from the office and we train at night, she’s going to bed at one in the morning and getting up with them at six, it takes its toll.”

With their tireless work for WWE, Triple H explains how they are able to juggle family life. He says that while they have assistance taking care of their three children, their work schedule revolves around them.

He says, “We have help, we couldn’t do what we do without help, certainly. At the level and going as much as we are you have to have a team in some way, shape or form. But, that being said, it’s one of the things we really are adamant about. For me and for Steph, our kids and our family comes first, so we take our kids to school every day. We make sure we’re home, if not to eat dinner with them, to put them to bed at night. If we have to work more later, we do. We work all other stuff around that. We try to be with them as much as we possibly can and work everything else around them.”

Eve Addresses WrestleMania Heel Turn, Lilian Garcia Thanks Fans, Chris Nowinski

– Sunday night at WrestleMania XXVIII, Eve accompanied Zack Ryder to the ring for the match between Team Johnny and Team Teddy. Eve subsequently distracted Ryder, costing him and Team Teddy the bout. She added further insult to injury after the match by hitting Ryder below the belt, thus completing her heel turn. Eve explained the next night on Raw that she used Ryder to get her “WrestleMania moment.” She added further on Twitter, “I feel on top of the world right now and don’t feel the need to explain myself to anyone.”

She also responded to The Miz taking credit for Team Johnny’s victory at WrestleMania XXVIII, writing, “Your welcome.” Eve wrote minutes later, “So sorry… my uneducated assistant wrote that last tweet for me. Last time I let that happen. *You’re welcome!*”

– SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia kicked off Sunday’s WrestleMania XXVIII pay-per-view event with a stirring rendition of “America the Beautiful.” With her performance at the show, she surpasses Aretha Franklin for most musical performances at WrestleMania with three. The WWE Diva took to Twitter to thank fans for their amazing support.

“Reading all ur amazing tweets has literally brought tears to my eyes. U will never know how much it has meant 2 me! Luv u!!” Garcia wrote.

– Live Audio Wrestling reports former WWE Superstar Chris Nowinski was among those in attendance at Saturday’s WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

More Details on Why Sheamus Squashed Daniel Bryan, Update on Madusa’s Check

- There is a lot of speculation on the WWE royalty check that was posted by Madusa earlier. The check is legit but people are wondering if she was really paid $305,000 or if that’s how much the DVD’s listed made. Madusa’s comments on her Facebook indicate that she received that much money from WWE. She said after taxes, she will see “next to nothing” of that $305,000. Hopefully we get some kind of clarification soon.

- PWInsider reports that WWE wanted to surprise everyone at WrestleMania 28 and do something that nobody was expecting, which is part of the reason why Sheamus squashed Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Title.

Besides this and breaking the record from Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero, officials were hoping to get the Brogue Kick over as a dominant move.

For those wondering, Daniel Bryan is not being punished and there is said to be no heat on him.

WWE Twitter

WWE: #WWE VIDEO: Experience the new http://t.co/q0DHqiJn http://t.co/ak507pjO

WWE: #WWE VIDEO: Experience the new http://t.co/q0DHqiJn http://t.co/ak507pjO

WWE: VIDEO: In #WWE Superstar Toyz this week, @ReyMysterio invites you to his crib in the 619 for a look at his sweet rides! http://t.co/xxEP9E4V

WWE: VIDEO: In #WWE Superstar Toyz this week, @ReyMysterio invites you to his crib in the 619 for a look at his sweet rides! http://t.co/xxEP9E4V

WWE: #WWE VIDEO: CM Punk receives medical attention: http://t.co/q0DHqiJn Exclusive, April 2, 2012 http://t.co/ItsmSeFI

WWE: #WWE VIDEO: CM Punk receives medical attention: http://t.co/q0DHqiJn Exclusive, April 2, 2012 http://t.co/ItsmSeFI

WWE: VIDEO: Exclusive #WWE #Raw ‘Backstage Fallout’ interviews. Hear from @EveMarieTorres, @BrodusClay, @truekofi & more. http://t.co/3ip5q1xX

WWE: VIDEO: Exclusive #WWE #Raw ‘Backstage Fallout’ interviews. Hear from @EveMarieTorres, @BrodusClay, @truekofi & more. http://t.co/3ip5q1xX

WWE: WWE NEWS: Should kissing be banned in WWE? http://t.co/5axszwKt

WWE: WWE NEWS: Should kissing be banned in WWE? http://t.co/5axszwKt

WWE: WWE NEWS: 28 WrestleManias, 28 Moments http://t.co/ia66yl3v

WWE: WWE NEWS: 28 WrestleManias, 28 Moments http://t.co/ia66yl3v

WWE: RT @JoeyStyles: @ZackRyder after #WrestleMania 28 @EveMarieTorres http://t.co/sLqkNaK0

WWE: RT @JoeyStyles: @ZackRyder after #WrestleMania 28 @EveMarieTorres http://t.co/sLqkNaK0

WWE: RT @JoeyStyles: @ZackRyder before #WrestleMania 28 @EveMarieTorres http://t.co/W6LGUwup

WWE: RT @JoeyStyles: @ZackRyder before #WrestleMania 28 @EveMarieTorres http://t.co/W6LGUwup

WWE: RT @WWERawGM: Thank you so much for all of your kudos and congratulations. This is truly the dawning of a new era of #PeoplePower. #BigJ …

WWE: RT @WWERawGM: Thank you so much for all of your kudos and congratulations. This is truly the dawning of a new era of #PeoplePower. #BigJ …

WWE: RT @milanmiracle: Grazie to the Funkysaurus @BrodusClay! I’m dialing Mama Marella right now! #Raw

WWE: RT @milanmiracle: Grazie to the Funkysaurus @BrodusClay! I’m dialing Mama Marella right now! #Raw

Older News

Former Women’s Champion Posts Royalty Check from WWE, Receives $305,000

- Former Women’s Champion Debra “Madusa” Miceli posted a photo of one of her WWE royalty checks on Facebook last night. She since deleted the post but the photo remains. The photo shows that WWE recently paid Madusa $305,563.46 in royalties. It provides an interesting look at how WWE pays past performers.

The breakdown looks like this:

* She was paid $39,921.21 under a “Direct Video” category for her appearance in what appears to be WWE’s Top 50 Most Shocking Moments DVD.

* WWE paid her $171,431.78 under the “Video” category for her appearance on the Greatest Superstars of the 90′s DVD.

* Under the same category, WWE paid her $81,014.78 and $9,891.90 more for the “Most Shocking” DVD.

* Madusa was paid $3,303.79 for her appearance on the WrestleMania Box Set.

The check from WWE indicates that she was paid the $305,563.46 for a time period of October 1st, 2011 to December 31st 2011.

WWE and Triple H Respond to FCW Reports

WWE.com has addressed the online rumors that Florida Championship Wrestling is shutting down, vehemently denying the “erroneous” report by an “unreliable online news source.”

The WWE website reached out to WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Paul Levesque (Triple H) to address this issue:

“It is absolutely not true. FCW is not closing. I don’t know how the rumor started but I believe it’s a situation where the ‘dirt sheets’ want to believe they have the scoop on everything. If anything, we are in the process of ramping up our entire developmental system. It’s the lifeblood of our company. It’s what feeds our future and in no way are we going to close it down.”

Triple H acknowledged that there are plans to overhaul the developmental system and revealed that there is a “major announcement” coming shortly after WrestleMania regarding the future of WWE developmental:

“WWE’s developmental system is being revamped, not shut down. If anything, it’s going to get bigger and better than ever. WWE Developmental cultivates the future talent of WWE. By no means is it going to get smaller or shut down.”

WWE RAW Supershow and AM RAW Ratings for This Week, SummerSlam Tickets

- A pre-sale is currently going on for tickets to the 2012 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. The password is SLAM. The pre-sale ends on Saturday when tickets go on sale to the general public via Ticketmaster.

- The March 17th episode of WWE’s AM RAW scored a 0.63 rating with 659,000 viewers.

- Last night’s WWE RAW Supershow from Philadelphia scored a 3.1 rating with 4,382,000 viewers. The show did hours of 3.14 and 3.06. This week’s show kept the bad trend as they lost 216,000 from hour one to hour two.

Christian Discusses Edge’s Induction, WrestleMania 29 and His Injury

- Christian recently spoke with Patch.com to promote tonight’s SmackDown tapings in Newark. Here are some highlights:

His most recent injury: /> “It was without a doubt the most frustrating injury I have had in my career. It was a high-ankle sprain. It was very frustrating. I tore some ligaments as well and had to rehab it for seven weeks.”

Edge’s WWE Hall of Fame induction: /> “He deserves it. He’s had an amazing career and when you sit back and realize what he accomplished over his career, you can put him right up there with the very best in the history of the business.”

WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey and the cold weather: /> “I have an advantage because I am a Canadian. I think I’m used to the cold weather, so (the weather next year) might fit me pretty good. It will be cool, I know everyone is looking forward to bringing WrestleMania back to that area. It’s going to be awesome being at that stadium and that area and hopefully it won’t smell or anything like that.”

WWE’s Reaction to Shane Douglas Stunt at RAW, WWE Live Events Swapped

- The WWE live event in Savannah, Georgia has been moved from June 2nd to June 3rd.

The show in Augusta, Georgia has also been moved – from June 3rd to June 2nd.

- Most people within WWE did not know Shane Douglas was in the building for last night’s RAW Supershow until they read it online. Douglas was trying to unmask and be seen on TV but it didn’t work out that way.

Security, believing Douglas had sneaked into the show, detained Douglas as he tried to get an ECW chant going and walked from the arena out into the concourse. The people that were with Douglas exited the building and once he produced a ticket for security to see, they had to let him exit as well.

Douglas flew back home to Pittsburgh last night after RAW. The stunt was done as a way to promote his upcoming Extreme Reunion project.

Source: PWInsider

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