WWE Confirms Tonight’s Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement

WWE has announced the following on Twitter:

Congratulations to THE BUSHWACKERS, Class of 2015 inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Sting challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania

Triple H wasted no time pontificating about what he thought was Sting’s motivation for coming to WWE. Finally face-to-face with the individual who has caused The Authority a great deal of strife since Survivor Series, The Game discussed Sting’s legacy, citing WWE’s purchase of WCW and his own legacy overshadowing The Stinger’s. With that, the WWE COO left the face-painted franchise of WCW with a simple ultimatum. Sting could turn around and walk away and Triple H would ensure Sting’s legacy remain in-tact through WWE Network, DVDs, action figures, video games and even the WWE Hall of Fame.

Conversely, Sting could remain in the ring and Triple H would make him sorry he ever set foot in WWE. The former WCW Champion remained expressionless, steadfast in his silence and The Game realized there was only one way for the situation to go.

Attacking The Vigilante initially proved to be a mistake, Sting beat Triple H to the punch, but The Cerebral Assassin took down his adversary and unleashed the rage that has been pent up since Survivor Series. With Sting reeling, The King of Kings reached under the ring and retrieved his signature sledgehammer. As he re-entered the ring, he was stopped in his tracks as Sting’s legendary black baseball bat made its first appearance in WWE.

With the very weapon that took out The nWo on numerous occasions pressed firmly under Triple H’s chin, The Game was backed into the corner and forced to drop his sledgehammer. Sting then made his own ultimatum, pointing to the WrestleMania sign, issuing the challenge the WWE Universe has been waiting for.

Sting turned to leave and The Cerebral Assassin attacked but was quickly taken down by the bat. Bringing The Game back to his feet, The Stinger put him down once more with the Scorpion Death Drop.

Moments after the confrontation, it was announced that at WrestleMania, not only will Sting battle Triple H in a veritable dream match, but the icon of WCW will compete inside a WWE ring for the first time ever.

WWE Network Announces Birthday Marathon For One Year Anniversary Week, No New Content

This week marks one year since the WWE Network launched. You would think that new content would debut on the WWE Network to celebrate the anniversary week but that is not the case. With the exception of the new NXT and Superstars episodes, there is currently no new content planned to premiere this week.

Instead, WWE has announced a "birthday marathon" of their best Network content that will begin after tonight's RAW. They wrote the following:

In honor of WWE Network's first birthday, the fastest-growing digital subscription service ever will air a marathon of its best programming, immediately following Raw. New subscribers to WWE Network can sign up now and get the rest of February FREE on The Road to WrestleMania.

Don't miss WWE Network's 24-hour birthday marathon, starting immediately after Raw with WWE 24: WrestleMania 30. Also, catch other amazing programs such as Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, the "Stone Cold" Podcast, NXT TakeOver: Rival, The Monday Night War, WWE Legends' House, and much more!

Total Divas Recap 02/22/15

Photo: Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in 'Muscle & Fitness' Magazine

WWE Addresses CM Punk Allegations Regarding the WWE Medical Staff & Subsequent Defamation Lawsuit Filed by Dr. Chris Amann, Video Included

The WWE says it has proof that CM Punk NEVER had a baseball-sized lump on his back at the Royal Rumble -- and insist they have the video that shows he's lying through his singlet.

Punk first brought up the alleged lump on a podcast back in November -- when he claimed he was misdiagnosed by a WWE ringside doctor ... and it eventually led to a life-threatening staph infection.

The doctor filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Punk -- and now, the WWE is making it clear they have the doc's back.

"WWE continues to have the utmost confidence in the ability and expertise of our world-class team of physicians, including Dr. Amann," the organization said in a statement.

This is where it gets aggressive ...

WWE says it completed a full investigation into Punk's allegations and made the following conclusions:

-- "CM Punk did not discuss this alleged condition with WWE’s team of physicians and trainers, nor did he discuss it with anyone in our Talent Relations department. WWE has no medical records documenting this alleged condition.
-- The first time WWE was made aware of this alleged condition was when we received a letter from CM Punk’s attorney on August 22, 2014 after WWE terminated his contract.
-- "There is clear video evidence from the 2014 Royal Rumble, which allows all to decide whether there is any appearance of a baseball-sized growth on CM Punk’s back."

You can view the video here.

source: tmz.com

ROH CEO On WWE Trying To Limit WrestleMania Week Events, Promoters Being Afraid Of Vince

Ring of Honor CEO Joe Koff recently spoke with Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com. Koff commented on WWE cracking down on other wrestling promotions that try to run in the area during WrestleMania weekend and said ROH plans on being in the Dallas area in 2016:

"We'll be fine. We'll be in Fort Worth or Dallas [in 2016]. That's not going to become a problem, and if it becomes a problem then we'll deal with it. Everything they do I respect. They're in business just like I'm in business and they're there to protect their franchise like I'm there to protect my franchise. I have no fault with that. They can't put everything out of business. They made it a little less convenient for the fans that are going into WrestleMania weekend, but like I said, it hasn't stopped us from selling out that show. Look, I'm purposely there when they are there because they bring in a ton of fans and they bring in a lot of international fans. "WrestleMania is our Super Bowl and if I can be near it, I'm going to be near it."

Koff also commented on working with promoters back in the 1980's and said they were scared of Vince McMahon and what he was doing:

"One of the things I learned when I was working with the promotions is that they were very fearful of Vince McMahon and what he was doing and I think it took their eye of the ball and I think they didn't know how to compete. The economics scared the local promoters. They just got scared of it and they didn't know how to fight it because they didn't have some kind of national distribution to deal with. The one thing about professional wrestling and the one thing we have is we've got distribution. We're in 40 percent of the country. We're in 40 million homes. We have the capability to be reached 40 million homes through TV. That's something that most other promotions don't have. Because we have that, I'm not that concerned about what everyone else is doing. I'm only concerned in bettering my product, keeping my eye on my ball and not worrying about the rest of the business."

Rumor Mill - Sting And Triple H Rehearsing Their ‘WrestleMania’ Match At WWE Performance Center

Sting is set to confront Triple H this Sunday at WWE’s Fast Lane pay-per-view, but it appears that the two of them will be face-to-face before Sunday’s show, as Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that Sting and Triple H are not only rehearsing their WrestleMania match at the WWE Performance Center, but they’re also going over their face-to-face confrontation that will take place this Sunday.

Throughout Sting’s professional wrestling career, there have been a lot of people who have come out and called Sting a “spot misser,” claiming that Sting — especially during his TNA run — would constantly forget spots, and even miss spots during matches. Sting’s work has been criticized as well, as some people in the business say that he’s not capable of carrying a bad worker to a good match, which is why he’s wrestling Triple H at WrestleMania instead of The Undertaker, as people within WWE feel — especially after last year’s WrestleMania– that age has finally caught up to The Undertaker, and it has greatly affected his work in the ring.

Sting’s very first WWE match will be at the biggest event in the history of professional wrestling — WrestleMania– against a WWE legend, in front of the biggest crowd he’s ever performed for. That’s a lot of pressure. Not to mention that Sting is in his mid-50’s, and this will likely be his one-and-only WWE match. So, WWE, Triple H, and Sting are rehearsing it in advance to assure that it will be good, or at least memorable.

When Sting steps through the ropes at WrestleMania 31, it will have been well over a year since his last professional wrestling match. So, the rehearsals likely are to not only ensure that the match is good, but to make sure Sting knocks off all of the ring-rust, and is in good shape for his match with Triple H, because it’ll likely be between 15 and 20 minutes long.

It’s very likely that Sting and Triple H will do something physical at this Sunday’s Fast Lane, which is why they’re working out their segment at the WWE Performance Center. Sting is also set to appear on at least two more episodes of Monday Night RAW after Fast Lane to build to his match with Triple H at WrestleMania.

WWE Physician Suing CM Punk & Colt Cabana For Defamation

WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann has filed a defamation lawsuit against CM Punk and Colt Cabana over comments made on Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast last November.

Amann claims Punk (whose real name is Philip Brooks) and Cabana (whose real name is Scott Colton) made false statements about him, were defamatory and put him a false light by improperly insinuating “a lack of integrity … and/or inability or lack of competence to perform his professional duties as a medical doctor.”

Amann is seeking more than $1 million in compensatory damages, as well as an undetermined amount of punitive damages.

In the suit, Amann claimed Punk “repeatedly and falsely impugned the integrity” of him as a doctor by saying he misdiagnosed a growth on Punk’s back as a fatty deposit and disregarded requests to remove it.

The suit alleges that Punk never sought treatment for or showed him the lump and that he never prescribed Punk antibiotics for a lump or concussion. A lengthy transcript of the podcast was provided as an exhibit.

Amann alleges Cabana helped Punk falsely depict him as a lazy and bad doctor. He claims they “knowingly fabricated the false and disparaging statements” about him, knowing they would be heard by others.

His complaint stated the statements made by Cabana and Punk “are highly offensive in that they accuse [him] of a gross lack of integrity as a medical doctor, an inability to perform his professional duties as a medical doctor, and in placing the financial interest of his employer above life-threatening health conditions of his patients.”

CLICK HERE for complete coverage by The Cook County Legal Journal.

Vince McMahon On His Favorite Superstar, Topping 'Mania 3, Who Will Replace Him When He Dies, More

As noted earlier, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon is on the cover of the March issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. The issue contains an interview with McMahon, thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader "The Brass Ring" for sending in these highlights:

His favorite WrestleMania moment:

"WrestleMania III in front of what was the largest indoor attendance record- 93,000 people at the Silverdome in suburban Detroit. When Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant. I think that's been the biggest moment thus far."

If the company will surpass the WrestleMania III record:

"I think there's a good opportunity with an announcement we'll make soon." [Editor's note: the interview was likely conducted before WWE announced that WrestleMania 32 would take place at AT&T Stadium outside of Dallas, TX]

The future of WWE if he retires or goes "up to that big ring in the sky":

"Our future from a corporate standpoint is extremely strong because we have so many talented executives, and they all bring different strengths to the table. Steph and Paul will certainly have significant roles going forward. I think when I kick, the organization is going to change, and I think for the better, because there's no one person who can do all that I can do because of my background. There's no one individual who's going to take my place."

His favorite WWE Superstar:

"That would be Undertaker because of his loyalty, his longevity, and his extraordinary commitment to his character. We have lots of fun creating fun. [Superstars] try to crack each other up from time to time, and we all have tried to get Undertaker to break character, and we can't do it. He is such a professional and an extraordinary human being behind the character. He's committed to his craft and has worked through his injuries."

McMahon also discussed if he is worried for his safety while wrestling, inspiration for the McMahon character, if he was concerned about making others look small, his fitness and nutrition regime, what the WWE corporate gym's like and more.

WWE Responds to Cassandra Frazier's Lawsuit

WWE issued the following response to PWInsider in regards to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Cassandra Frazier, widow of former WWE star Nelson Frazier Jr., who appeared as Viscera, Mabel and Big Daddy V:

"WWE has not been served with a lawsuit by Cassandra Frazier. If served, we will vigorously contest this lawsuit brought by the same lawyers who have been soliciting people to sue WWE without merit."

What Sean Waltman Has Said About Triple H Potentially Assaulting Chyna, More on Waltman’s Own Issues with the Former Diva

As we reported several weeks ago, Chyna revealed during an interview with Vince Russo that while she and Triple H were in a relationship, Triple H physically assaulted her. Triple H quickly issued a statement denying the assault claim.

In an update on that story, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reports Sean Waltman, who also had a relationship with Chyna, has told him a similar story about Triple H assaulting Chyna, but later admitted all Triple H did was push Chyna out of the way.

No further details were provided by Waltman as he said he cared not to be involved in a “mudslinging” story with Triple H and Chyna.

Furthermore, while Waltman was an admitted junkie during his relationship with Chyna, he revealed the claim she makes in her book, which is that she was raped in college, is not true as Chyna later told Waltman it wasn’t true.

Additionally, Waltman has denied much of what Chyna had to say publicly about him during the time they were together.

**Update**

Waltman posted the following response on his twitter page:

"I haven't read whatever was written about me in The Observer, so it's hard to comment. One thing I can tell you is that Paul never hit Joanie."