January 27, 2012
How Has Punk's Life Changed Since "The Promo"?
WWE champion C.M. Punk says "a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff" has changed since his memorable Raw promo in June 2011 that led to his MITB PPV triumph and quick departure from WWE. "I think certain people in the company have finally started to build faith in me," Punk told Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com. Punk also said he senses he's more visible as a celebrity, even though he doesn't like to think of himself as a celebrity despite being on TV.
"I was so burnt out before I re-signed," Punk added. "To just go, 'Okay, if I'm going to be back in, I'm going back 100 percent.' To just dive back in head-first while still being so burnt out took a toll on my body. Mentally, I'm okay. I think, for some reason, I got re-charged - I'm happy when I'm doing cool stuff," Punk said about his current state full-time for WWE again.
source: pwtorch.com
WWE.com Evaluates John Laurinaitis' Job Performance
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw John Laurinaitis might have one less title preceding his name Monday – that’s when Chief Operating Officer Triple H rolls into town for Raw SuperShow to deliver a formal evaluation of the man who took his job. Laurinaitis has been on the clock since Oct. 10, 2011, when he supplanted Triple H as GM following a controversial “no confidence” vote in The King of Kings by WWE’s Board of Directors. Since then, the self-proclaimed “Mr. Excitement” has incurred the wrath of both John Cena and WWE Champion CM Punk for allowing Zack Ryder to compete through grievous injuries (though that may not have been entirely Laurinaitis' fault) and voicing his intentions to cheat Punk out of the WWE Championship at the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble.
Add to this the fact that the WWE Universe is well aware of Triple H’s own beef with Laurinaitis, and there’s a good chance The Game will go the CM Punk route and tear "Big Johnny" a new one on national television, opening the door for Punk to kick Laurinaitis’ head in at the Royal Rumble event.
Then again, this is a job evaluation, not a railroading. In his capacity as COO, Triple H has to examine all angles, good and bad. Mr. Laurinaitis has had some measurable success in his term as Interim Raw GM. Maybe The King of Kings will show mercy on his subject, who has already begun a pre-emptive campaign for a second chance. What our COO will decide is anyone’s guess, but in the meantime, consider that we’re fans too at WWE.com. We’re part of the WWE Universe as much as anyone, not to mention WWE employees. Our jobs are affected by Mr. Laurinaitis’ performance, and in that spirit, we’d like to present our own personal evaluation of Mr. Laurinaitis’ performance, and what we think Triple H might have to say on certain matters...More?
source: wwe.com
This Day in Wrestling History - Andre the Giant Passes Away
Andre Rene Roussimoff May 19, 1946 - January 27, 1993
Due to his immense stature it seemed inevitable that Andre would excel in the wrestling world. He had just started to make a name for himself in the ring as "Monster Eiffel Tower" or "Monster Roussimoff" when French-Canadian wrestler Edouard Carpentier first laid eyes on him. Carpentier was impressed with Andre's raw talent and decided to bring him to North America. Andre began wrestling under the name Jean Ferre in Canada for Grand Prix Promotions. In a short time Andre went from the undercard to being a headlining name. Inspired by the movie King Kong he acquired the nickname, "The 8th Wonder of the World," which stayed with him for the rest of his career.
By the time Andre had performed in front of 20,000 wrestling fans in Montreal, his legend had reached Vince McMahon, Sr. at the World Wide Wrestling Federation's (WWWF) headquarters. McMahon would forever alter Andre's life. In 1972, McMahon signed Andre to wrestle for the WWWF and changed his name to capitalize on his colossal size. "Andre the Giant" became one of the most recognizable names in wrestling. Andre performed under his new name at Madison Square Garden, where he easily defeated his opponent Buddy Wolfe without breaking a sweat. Before long, Andre's venues were sold out and wrestlers lined up to perform in his shadow. As Andre's fame grew to stardom, he was featured in Sports Illustrated in the largest feature they had ever published...More?
source: andrethegiant.com
Andre the Giant vs Big John Studd
January 26, 2012
More on Triple H's Return to Raw
Triple H is also being advertised for the March 12th RAW Supershow from Cleveland, the same show that The Rock is scheduled for. Triple H will likely be appearing on RAW regularly until WrestleMania beginning next week for the John Laurinaitis angle.
source: wrestling observer
This Day in Wrestling History
A big legal blowup takes place in New York. World Champion Joe Stecher had been slated to face the winner of Wladek Zbyszko vs. Ed "Strangler" Lewis. However, Lewis defeated Wladek, but Wladek came back and defeated Lewis. Lewis then left the International tournament to go on tour. Wladek then lost convincingly to Alex Aberg but Aberg would not wrestle a catch as catch can match. This left the door open for the Masked Marvel; however, tournament promoters would not let the Marvel wrestle Stecher. An injunction is granted by the court to prevent "The Masked Marvel Mort Henderson" or Strangler Lewis from leaving the Sam Rachman promoted International tournament to face Joe Stecher at the Jack Curley promoted Madison Square Garden show.
January 26, 1916
WCW president J.J. Dillon bans the use of the powerbomb after Kevin Nash injures The Giant when attempting the move.
January 26, 1988
January 25, 2012
WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Edge Tribute from Tommy Dreamer
Former ECW star Tommy Dreamer looked back on the career of WWE Hall of Fame inductee Edge in his latest newspaper column. "Edge’s marvellous career was cut short by a neck injury. At the time, he was at the top of his game — the WWE’s heavyweight champion," Dreamer wrote.
"But he was forced into retirement at the orders of doctors. It came down to this: he was told if he took one more fall or bad move, he could end up paralyzed or worse — dead. He went out too soon, but he went out on top of the industry.
The neck injury was just one of many he sustained in his illustrious career. I was with him when he tore his pectoral muscle. I was also with him when he tore his achillies tendon. I could see how beat up he was after matches. Watching him in the ring, you couldn’t tell, but he walked like a 90-year-old with crippling arthritis after.
"I would help him carry his luggage to rooms because he had little to no strength in his arms, yet night after night, he continued to go into the ring and do what he most loved doing since he was a kid. I am very proud to see him being inducted in WWE Hall of Fame this year, but even more proud to call him my friend."...More?
source: thewhig.com
