Who’s In Atlanta – Dreamer, Lita, ‘The Cat’, Shane, Kong, More

– Tommy Dreamer, Lita and Ernest Miller are all in Atlanta meeting with friends in the company.

– Sin Cara and Awesome Kong are both in Atlanta, while Lita appeared at AXXESS as we noted earlier.

– Shane McMahon is not in Atlanta for the show. Vince, Stephanie and Linda McMahon are all there and attended the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony last night.

– The company has brought in a lot of the developmental crew just in case they are needed for extra roles tonight. The training staff of Tom Prichard, Norman Smiley and Steve Keirn is also in town.

It’s Official – Big WrestleMania Match Changed

– Mark Henry beat Primo this morning at WrestleMania Axxess.

– Following Vladimir Kozlov’s victory over Tyler Reks yesterday at WrestleMania Axxess, The Corre attacked the RAW Superstar. The faction used the steel steps to crush The Moscow Mauler’s shoulder against the ring post.

Via WWE.com, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced that – as a result of the assault – Kozlov would not be able to compete in the Eight-Man Tag Team Match at WrestleMania XXVII. Instead, Kofi Kingston will assume his position. They have also posted this note on their Facebook.com page as well.

Cody Rhodes Speaks Out - WrestleMania match, mask, more

2 WWE WrestleMania AXXESS Reports – 4.02.11

Source: PWinsider

I went to my third Axxess session this morning from 8-12. It was a slower start but the place got packed quickly.

Sheamus and Shawn Michaels did in- ring interviews.

There was a wrestler imitation contest in the ring.

Vladimir Kozlov defeated Tyler Reks and after the match was the angle where The Corre jumped Vladimir Kozlov. They hit his arm with the steps. Later on they said that he was “injured” and might not make it to WrestleMania.

Drew McIntyre also defeated Chris Masters.

The talent that I met were: Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez (both really cool), Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust (both very nice), Kane (nice guy), Jim Ross (very personable), Cody Rhodes (awesome guy), and Triple H (really cool dude).

I also got my picture taken with Paul Bearer in The Undertaker’s Graveyard attraction. Paul was very friendly.

It was a crazy day so I didn’t see everyone but the other talent that I saw signing were: Vickie Guerrero, Laycool, JTG, Great Khali, Ted DiBiase Jr and Sr, Sgt Slaughter, Mark Henry, William Regal, Zack Ryder, Jerry Lawler showed up late. The Diva photo booths had Melina, Alicia Fox, The Bella Twins, and Tamina. Most crazy day yet but still awesome! I have 2 more sessions left tomorrow!

A source sent this one in:

I just got back from the 1 p.m. session, and here are a few highlights.

John Morrison did an in-ring Q&A. One person asked him who his favorite person to wrestle was, and he said “Melina.” He laughed and went on to name The Miz, CM Punk, Sheamus, and a few others. He said Snooki had a cheer leading background, and she was going to surprise everyone with her athleticism.

Kevin Nash sat down at the legends table to sign, and everyone started chanting “Diesel.” He signed one autograph and they informed him he needed to move to the “Slim Jim” area table, and everyone started booing loudly as he left the area. Harley Race replaced him at the Legends table. I saw Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel, Chavo Guerrero, Ron Simmons, and there may have been a few I missed. Gail Kim, Natalya, and Rosa were taking pictures with fans.

My buddy won the trivia the contest and afterward was interviewed by a Mexican television station, then spotted by the “Tonight Show” w/ Jay Leno, and they interviewed him as well. So apparently there should be segment on Leno next week dedicated to the fans at Axxess, maybe on Tuesday when Rock appears. They were interviewing some pretty scary people too, so who knows how they will portray it.

Great Khali beat Zack Ryder and Chavo Guerrero defeated Heath Slater.

WWE WrestleMania AXXESS Report 4.01.11

Source: PWinsider

My second day at Axxess was Friday. It was a lot more crowded than Thursday but still really good with more in- ring events.

Matt Striker was having a trivia contest with fans.

Zack Ryder and Tyson Kidd lost to Roddy Piper and Rob Dyrdek.

The Miz did an- in ring promo.

There was a WWE All Stars game competition in the ring. The participants THAT I remember were: Jim Ross, The Usos, John Morrison, Ted DiBiase Sr., JTG, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Masters, Sgt. Slaughter, and Sheamus. As mentioned on the site, Jey Uso won.

I met Maryse and Alicia Fox at a diva photo booth. The other booths had Melina, and Beth Phoenix.
Talent I met were: Wendi Richter (such a sweetheart!), Tamina, Santino Marella, and Vladimir Kozlov (all very cool), Wade Barrett (awesome dude), Justin Gabriel (just as nice as Thursday night), and Teddy Long and Drew McIntyre (both very cool and talkative). Snooki also appeared in a photo booth. You could buy her book for $25 plus tax and she would sign it and take a picture with you. I purchased one and met her. She was pretty cool.

Other talent that signed were Dolph Ziggler, Christian, R-Truth, Alex Riley, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyler Reks, Trent Baretta, Bill Demott, and Booker T, Roddy Piper, and Arn Anderson. John Cena and Edge signed for whoever had VIPs for them. Overall it was a great day. I will be going back Saturday morning with a VIP ticket to meet Triple H.

More WWE Axxess Notes, WWE HOF Tonight, ‘Mania Note

– Craig Brown from Morning Madness sent the following report from Axxess regarding an autograph session with The Miz: “I got to the signing about 8.30am there was already a lot of people in line waiting to meet The Miz. He come out a bit early, about 8.50 then started the signing. He was ripping in to fans with Cena and Rock T-Shirts. He looked tired but greeted every fan politely and joked with a lot of fans. I said to him, ‘I hope you don’t end up in the Jericho situation (the other people in the feud being put over more important then him).’ He responded, ‘I don’t get overshadowed. I make the shadows.’ I would say overall there was about 180 – 200 people there.”

– The WWE will not be streaming the Hall of Fame ceremony tonight. Instead, they will air the one-hour condensed version on Monday prior to RAW, and then sell the rest on the DVD for WrestleMania XXVII.

– Ken Borsuk from The Greenwich Post is in Atlanta for WrestleMania weekend, and he has already done various stories with superstars. He has a piece on Vickie Guerrero, CM Punk and Michael Cole at http://www.acorn-online.com/

– Hulk Hogan has seen the trailer for the documentary Don’t Bleed on Me and commented on his Twitter, “Wonder if Vince is still gonna move forward with Abdulah? HH.”

Will Riley accompany Miz at WrestleMania?, The Rock-Jay Leno

– Though not advertised by WWE, Alex Riley told a fan at yesterday’s WrestleMania Axxess event that he would be accompanying WWE Champion The Miz for his match against John Cena tomorrow night at WrestleMania XXVII.

– The Rock will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this Tuesday, April 5. He is also scheduled to be on RAW this Monday.

Mark Henry Not Happy?, Exclusive Axxess News & Notes!

The following news and notes were sent by numerous sources:

– Attended the Axxess morning session, Mark Henry has to be the biggest jerk in WWE. Completely rude to fans all morning, and he stiffed a kid out of a picture by saying “respect my privacy”. Dude, you’re at Axxess for a reason, to meet the fans!

– Just got done with Morning Madness, Randy Orton was very humble and in good spirits. It took around 2 hours to get through but we joined the line when we woke up rather than rushing down early. On to the ROH next.

– Hi! Justin Roberts just tweeted the following film form Axxes: www.twitvid.com/QTWCQ The Corre attacked him right after his match. WWE has confirmed that this happened just now, and they are using the term:Breaking news. The whole WWE tweet was:Breaking news out of #Axxess: @TheCorreWWE just assaulted Vladimir Kozlov after his match with Reks. Updates to come… Twitter.com @WWE and @AnnouncerJustin Just in: Joey Styles tweeted this photo og kozlovs arm. http://yfrog.com/h3jk9grj It sure looks bad.

– The party at the hotel bar lasted til the wee hours of the morning…The WWE was represented nicely by Hall of Famers Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, Harley Race, and Hall of Fame inductee Joe (Road Warrior Animal) Laurinaitis, Sunny…Nexxus was represented by Husky Harris and Mike McGuillicutty, Divas in attendance were Brie Bella, Nattalya, Melina and Rosa Mendes…Jim Ross was also there, as well as John Morrison, Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, Kevin Nash, Sean (Xpac) Waldman and Joey Styles…Most were very happy to sign autographs and take pics with fans…Most of top talent were not seen at the bar but were freely walking through the lobby stopping to sign and chat with fans…Seen in the lobby throughout the day were Hall of famer Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hall of Fame Inductee Drew Carey, Gold Dust, Jerry The King Lawler, Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart, Lita, Randy Orton, Broadus Clay, Kelly Kelly, Dolph Ziggler and Edge. Quick note about Axxess…Way too many people are allowed in and lines were ridiculously long to meet mid card talent…You cannot meet any of the top talent without VIP ticket. I have attached photos of Ric Flair and Steve Austin as well. You can click here to view them.

VIDEO: Incident At Axxess Changes WrestleMania Match?

Earlier at Axxess today, Vladimir Kozlov defeated Tyler Reks. Once the match was over, The Core came out and attacked him.

There have been rumors of Kofi Kingston replacing Kozlov in the 8-man tag team match at WrestleMania XXVII tomorrow, and now it looks like that will happen. Below you will find the video of the match and the post-match incident…

Surprises at WWE Axxess, JR to call WrestleMania, Ric Flair

– The early evening session of WrestleMania AXXESS on Friday saw an angle and match where Roddy Piper and MTV star Rob Dyrdek beat Tyson Kidd and Zack Ryder. The footage will be used for Drydek’s show.

– WWE Hall of Famer Wendi Richter made a surprise appearance at Friday’s WrestleMania Axxess event. She may appear at Sunny’s HOF induction as well. We’ll see later tonight.

– Jim Ross told fans at Friday’s WrestleMania Axxess event that he would be calling some matches at WrestleMania XXVII. This is what we’ve been reporting despite Ross’ constant denial in recent weeks. The denial is likely because he was unaware of the WWE creative plans.

– TNA Wrestling Superstar Ric Flair is staying at WWE’s hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
It is said that he will be attending tonight’s WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, to witness Shawn Michaels’ enshrinement.

2 WWE matches at Axxess + Cena’s advice to Snooki

– This week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America featured 11 minutes and 39 seconds of in-ring action, down from 27 minutes and 34 seconds last week.

– Two matches featuring RAW Superstars were held at yesterday’s WrestleMania Axxess event in Atlanta, Georgia.

Daniel Bryan beat Ted DiBiase via submission while Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov defeated Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso in a tag team affair.

– John Cena recalled his first appearance at WrestleMania, which took place in in 2004, to MTV.com.
He squared off against Big Show for the United States Championship, but before his music hit and he walked through the curtain into the arena, he felt distracted.

“I was worried my car was going to get towed,” Cena said. “I was not allowed TK. It was cool because it was a moment of stardom wedged between reality. I truly love moments like that.”

He also offered Snooki advice for her match on Sunday. “I told her it’s just like an afternoon at the shore,” he said. “You’re supposed to go out and have a good time, and if trouble starts, just keep swinging until the cops come.”

Cole’s Major Issues, AXXESS

– As noted earlier here on the website, Michael Cole is in some deep shit as it pertains to his homophobic tweet earlier today. In the “corporate reality world”, almost nobody apologizes for things like this unless there is major pressure to do so from the higher-ups. That was indeed the case today as Cole was notified by WWE management to remove the tweet ASAP and issue an apology. WWE isn’t happy about it. Also, WWE and GLAAD were just in a major spat over remarks made in several recent John Cena interviews as well as a segment on RAW where he addressed The Rock. WWE pretty much promised them that nothing like this would happen again and now we’ve got the incident today. Trust me when I tell you this is going to be made into a big deal in the media. Ask Dana White what happened several months ago when he did the same thing. It’s not good news for WWE.

– All the big WWE “draws” are expected to be at the WrestleMania 27 press conference next Wednesday. They include Triple H, The Rock, Edge, John Cena and yes….. Snooki if she’s not tanked!

The Rock, John Cena & Miz to face off on RAW

The USA Network issued the following press release today:

THE ROCK®, JOHN CENA® AND THE MIZ® TO FACE OFF LIVE ON RAW® NEXT MONDAY ON USA AT 9/8c

Final Raw Prior to WrestleMania® XXVII

STAMFORD, Conn., March 23, 2011 – After their war of words, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will finally confront WWE Superstar John Cena® and WWE Champion The Miz®, live in person, March 28th on Monday Night Raw at 9/8c on USA Network. The verbal sparring was ignited when The Rock triumphantly returned to WWE last month. The fireworks will emanate live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
The Rock will be The World’s Most Electrifying Host in Entertainment at WrestleMania XXVII on Sunday, April 3rd at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, live on pay-per-view. The Rock is expected to lay the SmackDown® on all the pomp and festivities that make WrestleMania the world’s greatest, annual pop culture extravaganza.

For all the latest updates, ‘Like’ The Rock at www.facebook.com/DwayneJohnson or follow him at www.twitter.com/TheRock.

WrestleMania XXVII will be broadcast in more than 100 countries around the world. Check with your local cable operator or satellite provider to order the pay-per-view on Sunday, April 3rd. For more information on WrestleMania and WrestleMania events, please visit www.wrestlemania.com.

Backstage Locker room reaction to The Rock & his return!

- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been well-received amongst the WWE locker room. One WWE employee noted that everyone in the company should be pleased he’s appearing at WrestleMania because it means more money for everyone.

- As noted earlier here on the website, the night after WrestleMania XXVII is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s next advertised appearance on Monday Night Raw. However, a company source is under the impression that he will appear live the week before the pay-per-view extravaganza.

JR Blogs: The Rock's future, Lawler's title match, Y2J

Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry. Check out the highlights:

On attending the funeral of Jerry Lawler’s mother: “I enjoyed my short visit with Jerry Lawler, his family and friends in Memphis this week as Jerry’s 90 year old mother, Hazel, was laid to rest on Wednesday morning. Mrs. Lawler was a truly wonderful lady who was full of life and personality. I stayed at King’s house on Tuesday night and we sat outside and visited for hours until finally calling it a day about 2 a.m. Laughter was no stranger to the two of us even under the circumstances of the visit.”

On Jerry Lawler’s WWE Title Match at Elimination Chamber: “Jerry is genuinely excited about being in the main event of a WWE PPV which will be this Sunday in Oakland at the Elimination Chamber vs. the Miz for the WWE Title. I would not miss this PPV for the world because I believe that shocks and surprises from WWE will abound over the next few weeks leading into WM27 and no one can argue that Jerry Lawler upsetting Miz to win the WWE title wouldn’t be a HUGE shocker.”

On his upcoming appearances: “Confirmed this week that I will be appearing on Saturday May 7 at the Legends of the Ring function in Monroe, N.J. at the Crowne Plaza hotel.”
On the WWE All Stars game: “The new, THQ produced WWE All Star Video game is getting more and more play as the anticipation builds to it’s release the Tuesday of WM27 week. There will be a tie in with JR’s Family BBQ on this exciting new game so please watch for details.”

On whether we will see Rock wrestle at Wrestlemania 27: “Emailers…of which there have many many…Why is it that so many people think that it’s going to be Rock vs. Cena at WM27 in a wrestling match? Rock has said publically that his in ring wrestling days are history. End of story. It was made clear Monday night that Rock was going to HOST Wrestlemania. Is it possible to see some sort of physical interaction in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome between ‘the Great One’ and Cena? Of course, any thing is possible….except Rock wrestling in an official match but that doesn’t mean that the potential for physicality doesn’t exist.”

On Chris Jericho’s new autobiography and media appearances: “Chris Jericho is pounding the pavement promoting his new book ‘Undisputed’ which I finished last week and now my wife is reading. She’s enjoying it too and, as I mentioned last week, I STRONGLY urge you to buy Chris’ latest but only if you want a candid, honest look behind the scenes at the challenging, frustrating albeit rewarding and crazy life of a big time WWE star. Chris was really good on ‘Red Eye’ and on my wife’s favorite, The Wendy Williams Show this week.”

On his WWE Axxess schedule: “My WM27 Axxess appearances at this time are Friday night at the THQ function which, I think ,starts about 8 pm, Saturday morning from 10-noon with the King at the WWE HOF booth, and Sunday at noon for a Q&A.”