WWE announced today that Edge and Christian will be appearing on the final RAW of 2014.
That event takes place on December 29th at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and others are also advertised.
Source: F4WOnline
WWE is still working on their physical Hall of Fame, rumored for the Orlando, Florida area.
MMA boss Dan Lambert of American Top Team, who is an old school pro wrestling title belt collector, mentioned in an interview this week that WWE contacted him for a major piece he owns – the original WWWF title that Bruno Sammartino held. WWE apparently gave Lambert a few other title belts in exchange for the title that Bruno held.
Lambert didn’t specify when WWE contacted him but this confirms that the company has been collecting pieces for a physical Hall of Fame.
WWE issued the following:
WWE and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Team up for WWE Immortals
Free-to-Play Mobile Game Developed by NetherRealm Studios Scheduled for Worldwide Launch Next Year
Burbank, Calif. and Stamford, Conn. – December 11, 2014 – WWE and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are creating WWE Immortals, a free-to-play mobile game that will feature epic Superstar battles in a fantastically re-imagined WWE world. WWE Immortals is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, the creators of the best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise and Injustice: Gods Among Us, in conjunction with Phosphor Game Studios, and will be available worldwide on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices in 2015.
“It’s amazing to be working with WWE to offer a new way for fans to experience the brand on mobile platforms,” said Greg Ballard, Senior Vice President, Mobile, Social and Emerging Platforms, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “NetherRealm Studios are experts in creating award-winning games and the team is working hard to deliver the same quality of engaging gameplay with WWE Immortals.”
“We are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios to create WWE Immortals and bring a new action-packed mobile experience to our passionate fan base,” said Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products, WWE. “By tapping into NetherRealm’s legendary game development studio along with the unparalleled reach of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, we are creating a new way for fans to engage with the larger-than-life WWE characters.”
Additional details, including gameplay features, will be announced leading up to the game’s launch next year.
WWE will hold the NXT Takeover: R Evolution event tonight from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The pre-show begins tonight at 7:30pm EST with Renee Young, Jason Albert, Alex Riley and a special announcement from NXT’s Corey Graves. Below is the card:
NXT Title Match
Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville
(If Zayn loses, he will quit NXT.)
NXT Tag Team Title Match
Simon Gotch and Aiden English vs. Kalisto and Sin Cara
NXT Women’s Title Match
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
Finn Balor and Hideo Itami vs. The Ascension
Kevin Owens debuts
CM Punk appeared on Fox Sports Live Wednesday to talk about his new deal with the UFC. Here are the highlights.
* Punk said that he feels great. He said that he was surprised at the amount of positive feedback but only scrolled through his Twitter briefly. He said that he knows he’s a polarizing figure and knows plenty of people want to see his demise.
* He said he wasn’t sure if he deserved a shot in the UFC, and time would tell. Punk said that respect is earned, not given.
* Punk said that he can’t approach MMA with a fear of failure, even though there’s a big chance that he could fall flat on his face. He said after crapping his pants on national TV, he’s not scared of anything.
* He still hasn’t decided on a weight class or a fight team, but he said he’s leaning towards middleweight. Punk said surrounding himself with the right people is key to his success. He doesn’t want to go somewhere that people begrudge him for getting the opportunity. He said sticking near Chicago is important to him.
* When asked about sparring time, Punk said he’s only had a few opportunities to spar full-on and it was with inexperienced people. He said that striking would be his weakest point. He said that he’s trained Brazilian jiu jitsu so infrequently that he considers himself a “white belt for life.”
* He said Dana White and Vince McMahon may be similar in some respects, but so far he’s being treated the way he wants to be treated in the UFC. Punk says Vince has his way of doing things and is stubborn, but Dana White is stubborn as well. He says the two are similar, yet different.
* Punk says he wishes he would have gotten into MMA earlier, and says many other wrestlers would have went to MMA if the money was better earlier, pointing out Kurt Angle.
* Punk says his favorite fighter all-time is Dan Henderson, and joked that his favorite current fighter is himself. He then says he’s a big fan of Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor.
* Punk also said that he was excited about the Chicago Cubs signing Jon Lester, and spoke about his love of the Chicago BlackHawks.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
As noted, WWE recently added The Undertaker to WrestleMania 31 promotional material, including a newly painted tour bus.
The Wrestling Observer reports that the current plan is for Taker to face Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. That is still dependent on Taker telling WWE he will be working the show but he has not done so as of this week.
Even if Taker doesn’t wrestle, the idea is to use him in some form at WrestleMania because he’s still under contract with a seven figure guarantee.
Source: PWInsider
While no one will say this publicly, privately there are several WWE talents who believe Vince McMahon’s comments on Steve Austin’s podcast about grabbing the “brass ring” were a joke.
It’s no secret that Vince is the one who controls how WWE’s talents are used and there’s only so much they can do to get a push themselves.
There’s a feeling that Vince won’t blame himself for WWE’s issues but they also realize that they can’t make more money anywhere else so they are stuck.
Source: PWInsider Elite
There are people within WWE who believe AJ Lee is leaving the company after Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view. It has not been confirmed that she’s leaving but that is being talked about backstage.
There was some online speculation after RAW that AJ’s acceptance speech for the Diva of the Year Slammy Award was her way of saying goodbye. It’s possible that the speech really becomes her farewell if the speculation on her departure turns out to be true.
