Wrestling Notes & News,
– Shane McMahon’s name has come up in a story about a fraudulent deal to purchase Maxim magazine. The New York Post reports that convicted stock swindler Calvin Darden Jr. had put together an offer to buy the magazine but was arrested on Wednesday for lying to investors in raising money for the purchase. Darden Jr. made investors believe his wealthy father was going to buy the magazine and was trying to defraud McMahon out of $20 million.
———————————————–
John Cena recently spoke with Zap2It.com to promote his BodyChange fitness program.
Regarding Daniel Bryan maintaining his popularity and continuing to grow, Cena said, “Predicting the next WWE Superstar is like predicting the crooked stock market at the turn of the 19th century. You just can’t. That’s what’s beautiful about the WWE audience, that’s why I love it so much. It changes everyday, every arena, every city. I don’t know who will be next but I will keep trying to put people front and center so the WWE Universe gets a good look at people.”
Cena was asked his thoughts on the CM Punk situation and if he knows what’s going on. Cena said, “Don’t even know. There’s one dude who knows all the answers to that and that’s him.”
Cena revealed that he filmed Total Divas and the BodyChange footage while he was recently out with an injury. Cena also talked about the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame, working with Make-A-Wish and more.
———————————————-
– Former WWE star Scotty 2 Hotty just finished up a two-week stint at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. He has been working in the ring with the NXT talents.
———————————————–
– Below is the poster for WWE Studios’ next horror movie, Oculus. No WWE Superstars are appearing in this movie and it comes out in theaters on April 11th.
————————————————
– We noted before that it was a Vince McMahon decision to make changes to Big E and Cesaro’s name this past week. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer adds that somebody within WWE thought “Antonio” sounded like the name of a guy who wasn’t tough, and that’s why he’s just being called Cesaro now.
————————————————
– Regarding Rey Mysterio possibly being injured at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, WWE’s internal injury report for this week came out and Rey was not listed on there. Either WWE officials don’t know if Rey is injured, it’s being kept off internal reports or the injury wasn’t significant.
————————————————
– The WWE NXT Arrival pay-per-view will air on the WWE Network at 8pm EST on February 27th. Word is that it will be a two-hour event.
————————————————
– Summer Rae tweeted about being the first WWE Diva cast in a WWE Studios’ movie:
“I am so humbled to be the first ever @wwe diva featured in a @WWEStudios production, Marine 4! I cant tell you how excited I am! @FoxHomeEnt”
———————————————–
– Former WWE star Big Daddy V turns 42 years old today.
———————————————–
– WWE.com recently spoke with NXT star Sami Zayn about his 2 of 3 Falls rematch against Cesaro at the WWE NXT Arrival event later this month. Zayn talked about why he wants to win the match:
“I want to prove that I am the best NXT has to offer. I want to prove that to Triple H, Shawn Michaels and my boyhood hero, Bret Hart, who will be in attendance that night. I want to make John Cena, the guy at the top of our industry, see that Sami Zayn is going to be the guy out of NXT to keep your eye on. I want to prove it to the fans who’ve believed in me all along. I want to prove to the people that never believed that I even belonged here, just how wrong they are. Above all else, I not only want to prove it to Cesaro, I need to prove it to myself.”
———————————————–
This morning, the WWE sent out the following announcement,
WWE® and Mattel Extend Partnership
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. and STAMFORD, Conn., February 14, 2014 – Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a multi-year extension of their global master toy licensing agreement through 2019.
Since 2009, Mattel and WWE have developed a wildly popular and diverse portfolio of innovative toys currently available in more than 50 global markets around the world. WWE action figures have ranked as the number 1 action figure property in the U.S.[1]; and consistently hold a top ranking. Sporting cutting-edge innovations such as FlexForce® figures that incorporate signature WWE Superstar moves, and plush Brawlin’ Buddies™, Mattel has brought the world of WWE to life in the playroom like never before.
“WWE and Mattel’s action figure line is consistently ranked in the top two thanks to our creative marketing campaigns, tremendous retail support and seamless infusion of cutting-edge innovations,” said Doug Wadleigh, Senior Vice President, Global Brands Marketing, Boys and Entertainment for Mattel. “We are excited to continue our partnership with WWE as they expand their global footprint and leverage our global scale to deliver WWE toys to kids around the world.”
With more than 15 million viewers in the U.S. tuning into WWE programming each week, Mattel will continue its mission to bring authentic, fun and safe ways for fans of all ages to enjoy the action-infused storylines of WWE television programming.
“Mattel has invested significant resources in consumer insights and raised the bar for design innovations for WWE, while expanding our line into new categories,” said Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products, WWE. “Their unparalleled support has allowed us to further engage fans through authentic, quality products, meaningful experiences and standout presence at retail.”
—————————————
– While filming for a pilot episode began a few weeks ago, HBO has officially picked up The Rock’s half-hour comedy/drama “Ballers.” The Rock stars and is the Executive Producer while Mark Wahlberg is also Executive Producer. Filming for the first season of the show will begin later this year.
—————————————
– Colin Cassady vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Corey Graves has been announced for Saturday’s WWE NXT live event in Orlando. Tickets are available at this link.
—————————————-
– WWE’s website has published a list of the 10 greatest Elimination Chamber matches. The top 5 looks like this:
5. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Umaga (No Way Out 2008)
4. John Cena vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox (No Way Out 2009)
3. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle vs. Carlito vs. Chris Masters vs. Kane (New Year’s Revolution 2006)
2. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash (SummerSlam 2003)
1. Triple H vs. Booker T vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 2002)
