Tons Of WrestleMania 27 Live News & Notes Inside

Source: Pwinsider.com

I just got back to the hotel from WM27. I will say that LIVE, this was an awesome show! Being in an arena the size of the Georgia Dome with the “smartest” of the “smart” fans is definitely an experience.

The crowd was pretty pissed when Sheamus/Bryan came out for the dark match…. which turned into a battle royal… that ended with Sheamus eliminating Bryan and then Khali eliminating Sheamus? … Not sure about that one, but I will say that Khali is over as the goofy giant gimmick.

The Rock intro LIVE was completely awesome. Loudest pop of the night by far. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands with every word that he said. Great way to start off the show.

The opener of Del Rio/Edge was solid. The crowd was ready for two things that never happened. Everyone was waiting for Christian to turn on Edge… never happened. Then everyone was expecting Del Rio to win the belt…. never happened. The car being destroyed was pretty lame from the section I was in.

The Mysterio/Rhodes match was actually pretty good. Mysterio got a decent pop. Everyone were I was sitting (smart fan central) was expecting Rey Rey to win and when Cody got the victory everyone was pretty shocked but were happy that Rhodes didn’t get buried.

The Snoop Dogg/Teddy Long segment was like… eh… whatever. Snoop did get a good pop from the crowd and so did Regal’s bit. Hornswoggle got groans from my section of the arena. But I will say that his “rap” was over with the crowd, they popped for it.

The 8-man was my first restroom break. I literately walked to the restrooms and walked back in what was like 5 minutes and the faces were doing the trumpet celebration. The replays of Slater getting KO’d were a little excessive I thought.

Rock/Eve/Mae Young. OK segment. Of course Rock being in it was the only reason anyone was interested. It is what it is.

Orton/Punk was a great match. Great psychology and Punk is just awesome with the facials. Dueling chants through the whole match “Let’s Go Punk/RKO” over and over again. Crowd popped for the springboard clothesline countered into the RKO finisher. Great match.

Rock/Mean Gene. Again. The crowd only cared because Rock was in the segment… although Pee Wee got a nice pop. Crowd loved the Cena insults from Rock. The Austin/Rock stare down got a good pop with everyone waiting to see what happens next. Great teaser.

Hall of Fame. Abby and Bob Armstrong got great pops. Sunny and Animal/Ellering got decent pops. Hacksaw got the HOOOOOOOOOOO pop. HBK got standing ovation and a great pop. The crowd was really happy to see him.

Booker got a good pop (most likely from the remains of the old WCW crowd that were there). JR got a good pop too. Everyone was really happy to see him from my section with a lot of comments of “I’m definitely getting the DVD now that JR is calling the second half of the show”. Cole is a heat magnet. I hope he is either the GM or is a manager. He is awesome in that role. When Swagger came out, everyone agreed that going from winning Money In The Bank to seconding Michael Cole was just criminal. Lawler got a great pop coming out with the AWA/Memphis cape. Stone Cold got an awesome pop coming out on the ATV (not bigger than the Rock’s though). The match itself was okay. The middle of the match dragged. Cole beating down Lawler and using the ankle lock was just so unbelievable. Swagger eating the Stunner got a big pop. EVERYONE where I was sitting wanted to see the piledriver… but we knew it wasn’t going to happen. Lawler’s win got a good pop. Austin/Lawler celebration was fine for what it was. For the record, live, Lawler never drunk any beer, the cameras would pan off him and he would toss them out of the ring. It was real smooth how he did it. Great production. Booker coming in the ring got a good pop. The crowd wanted the Spinarooni and they got it… and then a Stunner. Big pop. Then the GM chime and the overturn. The crowd was chanting BS the whole time. Josh Matthews eating a Stunner made NO sense but the crowd popped anyway. But I guess it was the only way to get JR and King in the booth. If Cole isn’t the GM, this booking made NO sense.

Everyone was very surprised that Taker/HHH was next. Everyone was expecting Snookimania. HHH’s entrance was awesome. I would say that his pop was about that of Austin’s but not quite the Rock. Taker was about the same pop too and his entrance was awesome LIVE. This match wasn’t great from a solid workrate but being there live, there was those moments of “Triple H could really win this one”. The Taker Tope was just awesome. The three Pedigrees, the Choke Slam, Last Ride, and Tombstone all got big pops and the crowd was hanging with the counts. I was shocked to see the chairshot to the head. I cringed like a lot of others in my area, but I will say that since we hadn’t see one in a long time, it meant WAY more. During the finish exchanges with the kickouts, my area started a loud “THIS IS AWESOME” chant and there was that “rumbling” vibration in the arena. The Triple H Tombstone got a huge pop, everyone thought it was over. When Taker kicked out and we got the GameHammer… EVERYONE was looking for HBK… but he never showed. The Hell’s Gate finish was out of nowhere. And everyone around me, including me, thought the finish was anti-climatic…. mainly because we were looking for HBK to cost HHH the match. HHH sold huge after the match and so did Taker… although a lot of us “smart” fans were trying to figure out if he was selling or it was legit. This was definitely the match of the night, purely for emotion, although the ending, LIVE (I’m sure JR sold it well in the broadcast) was kinda lame.

6-person diva match. My whole section went to the restroom. And like the 8-man, I walked off and came back within 5 minutes and it was over.

The Miz “Hate Me Now” promo was awesome, no pun intended. The crowd was popping for the Miz and the promo video. The Miz got a great pop and people were chanting “MIZ IS AWESOME” in my area. While Miz was in the ring, we saw the choir come out and the crowd starting booing. I want to clarify, the crowd was NOT booing Miz (although it may have come off that way), they were booing the choir.
The Cena “DMX Prayer” promo was NOT over with the crowd. The adult portion (majority) crowd absolutely, in the XPac Heat way, HATED this video. They HATED the choir sing. They HATED the Red/White/Blue theme. And they HATED Cena’s entrance. And in my section there was a split of kids cheering and booing Cena. That was interesting.

Side Note, I thought it was really, really lame to use religion, a gospel choir, and the American Flag/Colors to try to get the crowd to cheer Cena. They should just embrace it and turn Cena.

The match itself was nothing to go home about. It was your standard match. The crowd was really just sitting on their hands for the majority of this one. Everyone was waiting on the ref bump and Rock run in… We got the ref bump and a Riley interference. Of course Super Cena could not be pinned. The outside brawl and then collision into the crowd got a pop. The crowd hated the Double Countout and LOVED that Cena did NOT win the belt. They popped for Miz being announced still champion.

Then The Rock came out to the pop of the night. Rock restarted the match and Cena goes the AA and Rock jumps in the ring. The Rock Bottom got a huge pop. Miz pinning Cena got a great pop. Everyone was happy that Miz won. Then Rock got a huge pop for the spinebuster and People’s Elbow. After the show went off the air Rock posed for a while and then left.

I would say that it was great show. I think that the last two matches should have been Cena/Miz THEN HHH/Taker… but if Rock is back and will be in the ring, okay, it makes sense for Rock to close the show.
I will say that this show was awesome to attend live. I am interested to see how it came off on TV. It is definitely time to turn Cena… at least do something like Cena is a face to the kids but heel to everyone else? He needs something. I’m not a Cena hater, but The Marine salute, the lame t-shirts, and the “never die” gimmick is very slate and overdue for a change. But it was an awesome show. Definitely worth the money I paid to see it!

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.”

More RAW notes from last night

A source sent the following in:

Last night’s RAW in Fresno, CA was great.

The arena was pretty much a sold out crowd.

Triple H’s return got the biggest pop of the night. Undertaker’s entrance was the only flaw I saw. He came out to early. I watched it when I got home. What you saw on there is what we saw.

I’m surprised by the John Cena promo at the start of the show. That was more of an. “Attitude Era” promo than “PG Era” promo. I’m also still surprised they are using the word “ass”. Cena had mix reaction from the crowd at the beginning of the show.

The crowd lost interest in the Miz/Cena vs. Corre match. I think it had to do with 3 heels & 1 face in the match. It was a huge surprise to see them win. When the match started, I looked at the time and knew something had to be wrong.

The Lawler & Cole interview was good. I did not expect Cole to bring Lawler’s mom into it. That got a lot of heat from the crowd.

Randy Orton got a huge pop before he made h is run in with Punk. Security was moving people out of the way when he came out and when Cole ran from Lawler neither had to jump the guard rail because they have it where could run through by where they keep the bell/time keeper.

All the matches were good. Good promos as well. Cena/Orton vs. Miz/Punk (Cole as ref) was a good dark match. I was wondering why Jerry and Josh stayed at the announcers table during the match. The reason was Jerry went into the ring and chased Cole out near the end. While Cole slipped away Jerry was able to pull the ref shirt off of Cole and while that was going on, in the ring Cena & Orton hit their finishers at the same time and did a double pin. The crowd left happy.

There were a few Punk chants where I was sitting (during his match on RAW). Kids, women and some guys loved Cena.

RAW notes and partial Superstars *Spoilers!*

Source: pwinsider.com

*Triple H received the biggest reaction of the night, even more than Undertaker, Randy Orton or John Cena.

*Undertaker missed his cue and came out before his music started, then had to return to the back.

*After Raw went to commercial during the staredown, Triple H exited the ring and posed on the ramp. He left and Taker followed, posing on the way out.

As we noted earlier on the blog, Triple H vs. The Undertaker is set for Wrestlemania with Streak vs. Career and Shawn Michaels as the referee has been discussed. There have been absolutely no talks between Sting and WWE.

*The dark match saw John Cena and Randy Orton defeat WWE champion The Miz and CM Punk in a match where Michael Cole was the guest referee. Jerry Lawler came out and chased away Cole, pulling off his referee’s shirt in the process. Lawler then became ref and the bout ended with Orton and Cena hitting their finishers, with Lawler counting the pin. Lots of people wondering where The Rock was tonight, by the way.

WWE Superstars:

*Santino Marella, with Tamina pinned Tyson Kidd.

*WWE United States champion Daniel Bryan defeated Ted DiBiase. During the match, Yoshi Tatsu came out and gave Maryse flowers. She took them, then hit DiBiase with them. Bryan used the LeBell Lock for the submission.

*The show is legit sold out.