As noted, The Undertaker will be appearing on tonight’s WWE RAW from Pittsburgh.
WWE just announced that Taker is coming to RAW to confront his WrestleMania 32 opponent Shane McMahon and the man who made the match, Vince McMahon. WWE tweeted:
BREAKING: #Undertaker will be LIVE TONIGHT on @WWE #RAW on @USA_Network to confront both Shane & Vince McMahon! pic.twitter.com/O3QNaYYqLQ
— WWE (@WWE) March 14, 2016
WWE announced the following:
Jacqueline to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016
Jacqueline, a true trailblazer for women in the sports-entertainment industry, will take her well-deserved place in history in her hometown of Dallas, Texas, when she is enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016. The news was broken by FoxSports.com, who got exclusive comments from the Hall’s latest inductee.
Her journey to sports-entertainment immortality began in the late 1980s in Dallas, where she trained under the nefarious Skandor Akbar. The lone female in Akbar’s academy, Jacqueline cut her teeth in the world-famous Sportatorium, where the Von Erich Family and Fabulous Freebirds engaged in one of the most heated rivalries ever.
She traveled to Memphis and Japan to further hone her craft before bursting onto the national scene with WCW in 1997. As the manager of the devilish Kevin Sullivan, Jacqueline showed she was just as tough as any man, clobbering Sullivan’s opponents with vicious blows and slamming them onto unforgiving arena floors.
Jacqueline jumped to WWE in 1998, aiding Marvelous Marc Mero in his quest to take back the spotlight from Sable. The hard-hitting competitor ended up taking some glory for herself, winning the reinstated WWE Women’s Championship with a victory over the blonde bombshell. She captured the championship once again in 2000.
In addition to her in-ring battles, Jacqueline took on a number of other jobs within WWE. She served as a trainer and mentor to hopeful Superstars and Divas on the first season of the reality show Tough Enough and donned stripes to enforce the rules as a WWE referee. She returned to the ring in 2004, answering the open challenge of Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero. Though Guerrero treated Jacqueline like a joke, the fierce Diva brought the fight to Guerrero and shocked the world by pinning him to capture the title. True to her groundbreaking nature, Jacqueline became the third woman ever to hold the Cruiserweight Championship and the first to do so in WWE.
Now, on the eve of WrestleMania 32, the trailblazing Diva will add another accolade to her incredible resume, as she is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
———————————————
Source: FOX Sports
As noted, WWE has announced former Women’s Champion Jacqueline, a Texas native, for the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame class. Jackie spoke with FOX Sports about the induction and what she’s been up to. Below are highlights:
FS: What was your first reaction when you heard from WWE that you’d be inducted into the Hall of Fame in your home state?
Jacqueline: I was so overjoyed. It’s a great honor, it’s the highest honor to receive in WWE, and to be in my home town… it means so much to me.
FS: Are there any current WWE Divas on the roster who remind you of yourself?
Jacqueline: I think Naomi and Sasha Banks are pretty tough women. But there’s a lot of talent in WWE right now. Naomi kind of reminds me of me, or Jazz. There’s a lot of talented women. I think that’s because of the trainers.
FS: What have you been up to now that your in-ring career has wound down?
Jacqueline: On the record, I’m not retired. I’m just not active right now. I keep busy. If push comes to shove, I can step in the ring right now. I might be rusty, but you don’t forget. It’s just in you, you don’t forget that… I’m keeping myself busy. I’m painting now, I do art paintings and drawings. That keeps me pretty busy.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley and his daughter Noelle Foley will be starring in an upcoming WWE Network series.
A pilot for the show has already been filmed, according to PWInsider, and it’s said to be along the lines of “The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness.” The pilot is said to be very funny and they are working on plans for more episodes.
This past Sunday in Hanahan, South Carolina OSCW (Old School Championship Wrestling-www.oscwonline.com) presented the first ever Battle of The Vampires as Kevin Thorn faced today’s guest on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, The Vampire Warrior Gangrel. A true innovator of the vampire persona, Gangrel remains one of the most sought after talents touring the country nearly 16 years removed from being the leader of the WWEs Brood faction which helped launch the careers of both WWE Hall of Famer, Edge and his tag team partner Christian. John and Chad also take a walk on the dark side as they travel with Gangrel back to his days in Stampede, Puerto Rico, All Japan Pro Wrestling and all the stops in between that led him to WWE in 1998. His entire run as the sinister blood-spitter is recapped as well as the subsequent returns following his original departure. There is also a quite poignant moment in the show as Gangrel speaks on the place his late wife, Luna Vachon SHOULD have on the wrestling business and how today’s diva couldn’t hold a candle to the performer Luna was in ring and her love of professional wrestling.
THE TWO MAN POWER TRIP OF WRESTLING IS ACCEPTING LISTENER SUBMITTED QUESTIONS FOR OUR NEXT INTERVIEW WITH FORMER WWE SUPERSTAR, RENE DUPREE. IT WILL BE A 100% NO HOLDS BARRED & ANYTHING GOES PODCAST. QUESTIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL: bookings@tmptofwrestling.com
Full Episode Download Link:
http://www.tmptow.po…T20_57_41-08_00
Gangrel On The Legacy Of Luna Vachon & How She Needs To Be Remembered For Her Love Of Wrestling:
Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling: Gangrel EPISODE PREVIEW:
If you use any of the quotes from this podcast, please credit The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling with a H/T to John & Chad for the transcription
Admiring his place in the Attitude Era & being an identifiable persona associated with it:
I do because the WWF was never a “goal-goal”. It was always cool because I was with Luna and she would always say you want to go there, but there were other places like Japan. I really love Japan. At the same time I had a choice to stay with All Japan and do a year contract with Baba in 98 or go with WWF and Luna talked me into it and into going with the WWF one and in the long run that was probably the best move because the Attitude Era blew up in 98 and that’s probably why if it wasn’t for Japan I probably wouldn’t be wrestling today. But the Attitude Era has kept me flowing and was just so huge that a lot of the guys out there aren’t working anymore so the few guys that can work get out there and work because there is so much work for us.
The short amount of time Gangrel had on WWE TV and leaving behind quite the memorable impact:
It really was a short amount of time for me because technically I probably only had a year run of TV matches because when I went out with my neck injury (with a broken neck) I was out a year. It really was a short run but it was amazing and I never really until you said it sat back and thought that I leave a footprint. I always thought I was just very blessed to be working.
How much influence did he have on the overall character (entrance, music, etc):
Well they told me and Vince McMahon himself told me that they would never use a vampire character and that “I’m not using a vampire character”. It was Vince Russo that somehow got a little bit of control and slid it in there. When they signed me they told me don’t get upset because we are going to send you home and you are probably going to sit at home for about a year and don’t worry. I was under contract for like a week and they called me up and said can I still do the vampire thing. He (Vince Russo) came up with that entrance. It all happened on a Friday night and it debuted on a Sunday or that Monday, it happened over a weekend. They came up with the lift and the fire and what I had influence over was the outfit, the goblet, the spraying of the blood but the entrance with the ring and the fire was all Vince Russo. It’s because we are all KISS fans and it’s kind of a tribute to KISS (laughing).
Did the Bloodbath also originate with the creative team:
No, that was me and Edge sitting around and talking one day. We both had watched the movie Blade and there was thing where the lights are flashing and there is like a rave and its a bloodbath. That was all me and Edge just ripping that out of the movie Blade.
Bringing together The Brood with an underrated talent like Christian and a soon to be mega star Edge:
Edge was their man from the get-go. They basically told me they to make sure everyone liked him and to guide him along. Christian, slid in there and Christian is underrated. I wasn’t always a Christian fan but I was always a fan of that he could put a match together like no other. He could take a match and make anybody look good and still get his stuff in. He’s a little smaller and he questioned everything but it was to question it because that is who he was. They knew with Edge he was their guy before he had any character and they didn’t know what to do with him and that basically the vampire thing was there and the Brood was born out of that.
The name Gangrel and subsequent legal troubles WWE ran into over the license from White Wolf Publishing:
They messed up when they put that name on me and it was copyright written with White Wolf (a role playing game). So they had to lease the name from them for five years. So when the lease was up, I was up. Mentioning the Raw 15th Anniversary when I went back to do that it sparked a big thing where White Wolf had sold the name to somebody else and they tried to sue WWE for five million dollars for the 15th Anniversary show. When it all went to court it turned out when the judge hit the gavel he said that the guy who has been wrestling as Gangrel for the last fifth-teen years, he’s Gangrel. There are so many different licenses that WWE won’t touch the name Gangrel or mention it. You will see in the WWE Encyclopedia they changed the name to David Heath.
Anytime they mention doing something it takes two weeks of lawyers to run things through. That’s why you won’t see me doing Legends contracts. I don’t know how THQ got me in that game a few years back and maybe because they knew they were going out of business and they were going bankrupt anyway that they didn’t care because the company was folding. It was like their one off “FU” to everybody.
Gangrel also talks his history wrestling in Stampede, developing the Vampire character from the Lost Boys movie, the Undertakers role in WWE, his return in 2005 tag teaming with Viscera, OVW and much more.
Roman Reigns has been spotted in Pittsburgh and PWInsider reports that he is scheduled for tonight’s RAW.
There has been a lot of speculation about Reigns’ status after he underwent nose surgery in late February. Reigns has not appeared on WWE TV since the beatdown from Triple H that week but he did appear at the WrestleMania 33 press conference last week.
For what it’s worth, Jerry Lawler sounded like he had some inside information when he mentioned during his interview with Cerrito Live that Reigns was having issues returning on time.
The WWE website does not have Reigns listed for tonight.
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, Shane McMahon, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and more.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day will defend against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev on tonight’s show but no other matches have been confirmed as of this writing. WWE is focusing on the following points for tonight:
* Will Dean Ambrose cause chaos after losing at Roadblock?
* Can Shane McMahon withstand Vince McMahon’s cruel machinations?
* Will #KOMania become #WrestleZaynia?
* Expect more from Lana and Brie Bella tonight
* Chris Jericho’s unfinished business with AJ Styles
Today The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling welcomes one half of TNA Impact Wrestlings explosive tag team known as THE WOLVES as former TNA Tag Team Champion Davey Richards joins the show. John and Chad get an up to date injury status on the ailment that unfortunately shelved Richards coming off the last day of the recent TNA UK tour as well the actual timetable for his return. They also go deep into Daveys back-story and discuss his affinity for the Dynamite Kid, learning from his wife (Angelina Love) some of the finer angles in wrestling history and how he began training with the intense Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff. Daveys epic Ring of Honor title run is also broken down in great detail and some of his greatest matches and feuds are discussed. Lastly and of course we break down the long time partnership with Eddie Edwards and all of the phenomenal promotions they have wrestled in are given the just due they truly deserve as one of the more polished tag teams in recent memory.
THE TWO MAN POWER TRIP OF WRESTLING IS ACCEPTING LISTENER SUBMITTED QUESTIONS FOR OUR NEXT INTERVIEW WITH FORMER WWE SUPERSTAR, RENE DUPREE. IT WILL BE A 100% NO HOLDS BARRED & ANYTHING GOES PODCAST. QUESTIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL: bookings@tmptofwrestling.com
Full Episode Download Link:
http://tmptow.podoma…T21_00_00-08_00
Davey Richard On The Wolves Short Time In NXT & Triple H’s Comments Following Their Departure:
Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling: Davey Richards EPISODE PREVIEW:
If you use any of the quotes from this podcast, please credit The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling with a H/T to John & Chad for the transcription.
How has his recovery from his recent injury on the TNA UK tour been thus far:
It’s going well. I had surgery February 17th. I tore my left ACL and it’s just of those things that it’s weird but it’s funny to see fans write and say that me and Eddie are injury prone and it displays their innocence but obvious ignorance. It’s weird. My whole stint in Ring of Honor I was never hurt and I never got hurt in Japan and my only two injuries I’ve ever had in wrestling which are breaking my leg (which is not a serious thing, it was a hairline/tiny fracture) and blowing my ACL both happened to happen in the span of one year. You take a twelve year career and I’ve got hurt twice and it just happened to be in the same year. It was a long time coming and to be kind of honest I am glad it happened and I know that sounds weird but there have been a lot of things wrong with my movement and my body and not that I was beat up it was a lot of things that were off balance. Knowing how predisposed I was to injury I was really lucky because I could have done some very serious damage to my body with how imbalanced I was.
Is the reported timetable for his return accurate:
I literally blew my ACL on January 31st in Birmingham and on February 17th had surgery. On February 15th I did 500 squats. Im recovering now and nobody can believe that I am recovering as fast as I am. I laugh when people say I may be out 6-9 months and I kind of say yeah we will see because if you understand the science of it you understand that the body is giving it the fuel to repair itself. I also had a really great orthopedic surgeon and have great physical therapist.
Following his injury, did Daniel Bryan’s forced retirement hit closer to home:
It is absolutely just terrible and it just sucks! There is just no other word for it and I’m trying to be diplomatic here but it just sucks. At the same time I am happy because before he had to retire he got to the top and he got to main event a WrestleMania and on top of that as bad as injuries got, it could of gone a lot worse. With me having a medical degree I’ve seen how bad head injuries can get and so he got out and it sucks but at the same time he is alive and is going to be okay and it could have been a lot worse. It’s sad on one hand and happy on the other.
Does Davey himself have a history of concussions:
I know I got knocked out and when I woke up I didn’t know where I was but that was back in my ever first month of training when a fat dude dropped a leg on my head. But I’ve never been knocked out in TNA. In Ring of Honor when I won the title from Eddie at Best in the World I got knocked out. Other than that just one time in Japan and those are the only three times that I’ve ever had it happen. I’ve never experienced a traumatic brain or post-concussion symptoms at all and believe me if I did that right there would have been my last match. I get my blood work done every three months and get my hormones tested because hormonal abnormality will show things like a traumatic brain injury or post concussive syndrome symptoms so I’m pretty diligent about getting everything tested for that and everything is always good and within the normal limits.
Kurt Angles recent TNA departure and the reaction in the locker room:
As far as I’m concerned it was one of gratitude because when you really truly care for someone like how that locker room cares for Kurt and Kurt cares for that locker room it’s always sad to him go. Hes got to do what is best for him and his family and his body. He’s done all he needs to do and he needs to go and be with his family and heel up. He’s the one guy I really wanted to wrestle and I did not get that chance and that really sucks. As it is going to play out he gave me a very special gift which people will see soon. I am sad to see him go but it is for the best.
TNA’s transition to POP TV:
It’s been fine with me. I came in at the very end of Spike TV but it seems like right before me and Eddie got there TNA kind of left a bad taste in people’s mouths which is unfortunate but I had nothing to do with that and I don’t want to and simply don’t know the whole circumstances behind that because it kind of is what it is. With Destination America, they started off really good and I think they just thought all pro wrestling (not just TNA) on their channel was going to do gangbusters and when they saw that it wasn’t they turned their back on pro wrestling. Us getting with POP they’ve done everything they said they were going to do and have been very gracious with us and it’s been smooth sailing. It’s been an absolutely positive experience for me personally but the thing with me is and I’m probably not the best person to ask. TNA has been a positive experience for me because I wasn’t there in what people say was the “dark” time like with Bischoff and Hogan and what other people say are “dark” times with Vince Russo. Everyone has their own dark period and I havent experienced that.
The Wolves matches with The Hardyz and The Dudleys in TNA & performing with big name talent:
The match with the Hardyz surprised me with how it all came together. Those two guys you would never know and maybe they don’t know or think they knew how famous they were when you put together a match with them. They are just so giving and they want to make everyone look good and are very unselfish. Jeff Hardy literally had zero regard for his own body and it was a lot of fun working with those guys, it was very easy and they carry a certain aura about them.
Bubba is the kind of guy and kind of wrestler that I was trained to wrestle against. When (Paul) Orndorff trained me I was always taught first and foremost you have to earn your respect in the ring and that is the very definition of Bubba. He is hard, but he is fair. When you go out and do your job you don’t have problems with him and thank god we never had any problems. It’s funny because when we started the whole “Best of 5” he didn’t want to hear our ideas and they took care of the match and said just do your spots and take this and by the end of it and in the last match he’s telling jokes in the ring and he’s doing our ideas. He will probably kill me for saying this but he’s tough as nails in his exterior but he is a big teddy bear and a really nice guy. D-Von I only knew just in that feud and he is a super, super nice guy and I have nothing but good things to say about all four of those guys. It was a blessing.
In a full 90 minute interview Davey Richards discusses his biggest feuds and matches in TNA thus far as well as his time in ROH, feud with Eddie Edwards, becoming a tag team, wanting a singles push, wrestling in Japan and loving the atmosphere, The Dynamite Kid and training with Paul Orndorff.
It was noted last week that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was scheduled to appear on an upcoming episode of WWE RAW for a WrestleMania 32 related angle, as Foley is also expected to appear live at the big event in Dallas on April 3rd. Foley is booked to appear on tomorrow’s RAW in Pittsburgh, according to PWInsider.
Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker will also be appearing this week.
