Friday 30 March 2012

The bets are o for Cena/Rock At Wrestlemania

The Rock 5/4 to lay the smack down at WrestleMania XXVIII












The Rock is the 5/4 outsider to defeat 10-time WWE Champion John Cena in Sky Bet’s WrestleMania XXVIII market as the online betting company opens the book on professional wrestling for the first time in its history.







The actor, has not competed inside the squared circle since swapping wrestling for Hollywood in 2007 and is an outside bet against the organisation’s golden boy Cena (4/7).







The Undertaker is also in action against Triple H in a ‘Hell in the Cell’ encounter, aiming to continue his remarkable run at WrestleMania, where he has won 19 consecutive bouts.







Unsurprisingly, ‘Taker is 1/7 favourite to beat the former D-Generation X founder – who is 4/1 to end his opponent’s streak.







Elsewhere, CM Punk (4/6) takes on Chris Jericho (5/4) for the WWE Championship, Daniel Bryan (11/4) faces Irish star Sheamus (1/4) for the World Heavyweight title and Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes (10/11) defends his belt against the Big Show (4/5).







Sky Bet’s wrestling compiler Ben Wright said: “Rock v Cena is a hard match to call, one that everyone has been weighing up for an entire year.







“When these two superstars enter the ring and the microphones are dropped, it’s going to be a match to remember.







“If anyone can stop the Undertaker’s streak becoming 20-0 it is Triple H. With Shawn Michaels as special guest referee ‘The Game’ has the advantage over ‘Taker and at 4/1, there is good value in the Undertaker’s WrestleMania legacy coming to an end in Miami.”







Sky Bet’s WrestleMania XXVIII betting: http://www.skybet.com/wrestling/wrestlemania-xxviii

Tuesday 27 March 2012

CM Punk Interview Highlights

WWE Champion CM Punk spoke with The Chicago Tribune to promote WrestleMania 28. Here are some highlights:




His relationship with Vince McMahon:



"(We) have a lot more one-on-one conversations. I wont say he takes the time to talk to me now, because he always did, but I think he views me differently now. He used to view me as maybe talking to a boy. Now he thinks he’s talking to a man after I stood up and did everything I did over the summer. I always thought I was a main event player. The difference is now he knows I’m a main event player."



Having no relationship with The Rock:



"I don’t think I have a realtionship with The Rock. Over the past few weeks, it’s been better. Probably because I’ve been outspoken (about him) in the media. Of course, everything gets sensationalized and twisted. I don’t hate The Rock or fault him for coming back. I just think heaping credit on The Rock for ratings, buyrates – that’s where I get offended. It’s a team effort 365 days a year. Me and the entire locker room bust our (butts) and all our super stoked. Give credit where credit is due. Wrestlemania had a huge buyrate last year, not because of one guy. The numbers out there prove he hasn’t done much else, like the Survivor Series buyrate."



Wrestling websites:



"I think you have to (read them). Anybody who dismisses it -- that's (crap). You have to have your fingers on the pulse of everything. You have to read it."



A possible movie career:



"(WWE) offered me a movie when I first told them I wasn’t re-signing. I immediately turned it down. They probably figured I would jump at a movie because I’m not a movie star. That’s not to say that if the right thing doesn’t come along, I won’t do it. That’s not my priority. … I think WWE films signed on three new movies. I’m sure one of them is probably slated to be a CM Punk vehicle. I haven’t heard anything yet. Nothing is set in stone. Take that for what it’s worth. I think I would love to do a movie if it’s the right project. I’m not going to be in 'The Marine 3' just because they offered it to me. If it’s something good, I’ll do it. I’d love to do it – as long as it doesn’t interfere with my wrestling schedule."

Sunday 25 March 2012

DVD Review - Stone Cold Steve Austin - The Bottom Line on the most Popular Superstar of all time

DVD Review: Stone Cold Steve Austin – The Bottom Line on The Most Popular Superstar of all Time.

By Phil Allely

‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is one of the select few professional wrestlers who even non wrestling fans recognise (joining Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and perhaps even Bret Hart in that elite group). Austin with his no nonsense attitude, swagger, bird flipping disregard for management and beer drinking ways cut a swathe through the WWE in the min 1990s and almost single-handedly took the company to new heights in terms of popularity and growth. If it wasn’t for a serious neck injury he could still be at the top of the pile today.

After making his name in the USWA and being unceremoniously fired by WCW, Austin joined the WWE and within a short space of time he found his feet, creating the ‘Stone Cold’ character and he never looked back.

This four disc set consists of an interview based career retrospective and eleven full matches from various promotions, plus an entire disc of promos/skits.

I have been fortunate enough to personally interview Steve and the man featured here is indeed the real thing, there are no persona’s here. It is nice to hear the man himself discuss the more controversial parts of his in-ring life, the injuries, the highs, the lows and just what wrestling means to him.

Match wise we have a nice mix of singles scraps against such luminaries as Shawn Michaels, Dude Love, Undertaker and more, there are also tag efforts alongside the likes of Ric Flair to relish as well.

When I interviewed Steve he had just finished working on the new commentaries to some of the matches here (with Jim Ross), these are fun to view and you can see why they were chosen. All in all this is a must have release for many reasons, fans old and new will lap it up.

Available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.




Arn Anderson Interview Highlights

Wrestling legend and current WWE producer Arn Anderson recently spoke with Mike Mooneyham of The Post & Courier. Here are some highlights:

Going into the WWE Hall of Fame with the Horsemen:

"I’m never going to be one of those guys who asked what took so long. I’m just floored by the fact that it’s happening. It’s a very elite group. I feel like I had — and am still having — a successful career. But the highlight of that career would have to be the three years I spent with that group of guys. It was a special time. I called it the golden years of the business. Both the WWF and NWA were thriving. Just to be pretty prominently figured into that group of guys is something you can tell your great grandkids about. There’s nothing like the first group. Obviously that’s special."

Thinking about what could have been:

"There’s two times when it bothers me. It bothers me when I see a match go south and I’m sitting there on headsets, and I know at that moment in time if I was in there, I could fix it. Or when it’s done really well. That’s the two times that I really miss it. And I think I might have come along too soon. What kind of value do you reckon Arn Anderson would have to this industry if I walked in the door right now with the knowledge I had at 30 years old and healthy? I know that sounds like a really conceited comment, but look at the experience level of the guys, through not any fault of their own. They’re coming in sometimes only a year right out of FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) right into the lion’s den, and it’s tough."

Today's performers vs. stars of his era:

"By the time I got in the spot I had in ‘85, I had three really intensive years of 300-plus matches a year. How good would guys like John Cena, Randy Orton or Batista have been if they would have had 900 matches in their first three years? Can you fathom that? So we had a distinct advantage at the time. I would love to still be wrestling if my body would accommodate it in these times."

Thursday 22 March 2012

Nigel McGuinness Interview Link

Here is the link to my interview with former TNA star Nigel McGuinness...

http://www.famemagazine.co.uk/2012/03/22/wrestler-nigel-mcguinnes-exclusive-interview/

Victory Road 2012

Hollow Victory for Roode



By Phil Allely



TNA’s Victory Road PPV was primarily a one match card. That match was World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode versus Sting in a non-title ‘No Holds Barred’ revenge encounter. With Sting back on top form and Roode building his reputation as top company bad guy this was built up as a good old fashioned ‘heel/face’ war.



As a main event this was a fine effort from both men. Veteran Sting especially deserves credit for once again turning back the clock, the ‘you’ve still got it’ chants were well deserved here. Battling in and out of the ring and trading near falls, this was a pretty even scrap, until the finish that is.



Recently we have seen Roode take any route he can to retain his gold, here it was Sting himself who gave him the assist. The Stinger misjudged a ‘scorpion death drop’ and struck his own head on a discarded steel chair, leaving Bobby the opportunity to make the cover.



Post-match Roode gave TNA President Dixie Carter loads of verbal abuse and beat down Sting.



Victory Road kicked off with a short match that went down well, but wasted the talent involved. James Storm superkicked Bully Ray to net himself the No 1 contender spot for the World Title. Ray’s speech lasted longer than the swift match.



The X Division picked things up next, champ Austin Aries tackled Zema Ion in a nicely paced battle. Aries retained with a ‘brainbuster’/submission move combo.



Matt Morgan and Crimson’s attempt to wrestle the Tag Team belts from Samoa Joe and Magnus failed as the duo once again let their ego’s take control. A frustrated Crimson dropped his partner to allow the champs the chance to take the win.



The only title change of the night saw Devon overcome Robbie E (and big Robbie T) with an assist from Brooke Hogan of all people.



Knockouts Title holder Gail Kim successfully defended her championship next, opponent Madison Rayne worked hard in this one, both ladies gelled well to create a nice in-ring story too.



Combos Mr Anderson/Jeff Hardy and Daniels/Kazarian then put forth a decent, but slightly pedestrian match-up. There were plenty of near falls, high risk moves and double teams, but they lacked something in delivery, Styles nailed a ‘Styles Clash’ on Kaz for the win.



Jeff Hardy continued his career rejuvenation with an impressive fight with Olympic Hero Kurt Angle. With Hardy and Angle in the (Impact!) zone there was no stopping them from pulling out all of the stops. The finish came after a hard looking Hardy ‘swanton’ left Jeff prone to a rope-assisted pin by Kurt.



Victory Road was an OK event for TNA, but lacked balance, storyline progression and yet again featured too many cheap shot finishes for our liking.



Roode’s berating of Carter certainly incited the reaction intended and will surely set him up for a fall at the hands of the company President. Here’s hoping Lockdown (with its steel cage Storm/Roode Title match) can bring things back to an even kilter for TNA and offer less muddled or confusing finishes as well.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Big Daddy V for WrestleMania 28/

Former WWE Superstar Big Daddy V (Nelson Frazier Jr.) was scheduled for the Wild Out Wrestling promotion's "Betrayed" event on March 31st at the Giant Flea Market in Union City, Tennessee. The former WWE King of the Ring was set to take part in a multi-man match with Kamala Jr. - Team Kamala vs. Team Showtime.

Kamala Jr. announced last night on Facebook that the event has been moved from March 31st to April 14th due to Big Daddy V being booked by WWE.

A source very close to Big Daddy V reports that WWE has him booked and he will indeed be at WrestleMania 28.

WWE DVD Review: Survivor Series 2011

WWE DVD Review: Survivor Series 2011


Survivor Series is one of the WWE’s longest running and iconic PPV events of the year. It is also one that had almost outstayed its welcome a short time ago, fortunately the WWE decided to retain its use and we can still enjoy the annual November event that is Survivor Series. Unfortunately the team-based match-ups which formed a big part of these events have slowly been removed from the card as the years unfold.

Whereas previous years have offered forth a few traditional style Survivor Series matches alongside the rest of the card the 2011 effort had just one such match-up. That’s not to say that this is a poor effort by the WWE, on the other hand the matches here were pretty damn good.

Highlights include the in-ring return of former WWE superstar (and recent multi-million selling movie star) The Rock teaming with his WrestleMania opponent John Cena against the pairing of R-Truth and The Miz, you can also witness CM Punk versus Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship. Henry and the Big Show battle it out over the World Heavyweight Championship. Dolph Ziggler tackle high flyer John Morrison and a decent (yet short) diva’s scrap between Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix. There is also of course the sole Survivor Series style encounter featuring Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston versus Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Jack swagger, Hunico and Dolph Ziggler.

Survivor Series 2011 ticked a few boxes along the way with its well-paced old school match-up, the divas encounter was fair, the rest of the under card entertained too. Of course we all want to see more of the original SS style encounters, but things do move on and this wasn’t too bad an effort at all. The Rock/Cena teaming worked well. Rock especially faring good in a match where ring rust would surely have been noticeable. Here’s hoping their WrestleMania encounter lives up to its hype too.

Survivor Series 2011 is available now at all good retailers.

www.silvervision.co.uk

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Steve Austin Interview Highlights

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin was interviewed by The LAW this past week about his new movie Recoil. The LAW can be heard every Sunday night at 11pm EST with Dan Lovranski, Jason Agnew and John Pollock on TSN 1050 Toronto and online at liveaudiowrestling.com. Here are some highlights, courtesy of Chris Maffei:




Talent Having Problems with The Rock returning: "My thoughts on that are, you earn what you get in this business. Rock has earned the ability to come and go as he wants, because the business still needs him, it can still use him, and it can elevate the profile with having such a mainstream guy there. I don't know about the promos between John (Cena) and Rock. I think some of them have gotten kind of personal, you wonder how much of it's a work and how much of it's a shoot. At the end of the day, it's a worked business. Again, I think it's a good thing for Rock to be involved with this. He's earned his right to come and go and do whatever he wants."



Current talent being vocal to creative: "(CM) Punk was a guy, and is a guy who, man, that guy flew by the seat of his pants. He was pissed off, he vented, he cuts great promos. He worked himself out of a bad situation into a great situation. He knew when it was time to pick his spot, when he contract was gonna be up. That guy's been around the horn a few times, and he's been kicked around a little bit. He saw how the other guys were being treated, and he needed, and deserved, and earned the right to be treated in that same fashion. Guys, you gotta pick your spot, but you gotta be vocal. It is a very interesting machine these days. They need voices to question them. They need voices to inspire them, or fuel them, to rethink some of the things that they're doing and make it a better product."



Returning under the right circumstances: "There's nothing up in the air for me. If there's something that presents itself as a business opportunity, then I have an open ear to listen to it. It would have to be right for myself, my opponent, and obviously the company. I'm not lobbying for another match. There's always talk. People ask, 'am I capable of having another match?' Yeah. If I was in a bad situation, I would get back in the ring full time if I had to, but I don't have to. I'm happy doing what I'm doing."

The Rock interview highlights

The Rock recently spoke with Cleveland.com about facing John Cena at WrestleMania 28, returning to wrestle for WWE and more. From the embedded video below, here's some of what Rock had to say about Cena:




"Coming back into this world, I felt like I needed something real to sink my teeth into as a performer. [This is] very real. Whatever Cena has said in the past publicly, three or four years ago, I always remembered it. Then, that gave us a nice launching point. It's not personal. I don't personally hate John, I don't hate anybody but the tension is nice and real and I like it. I think it plays well into what we're doing at WrestleMania. People feel that. I don't have to be your friend, I don't want to be your friend. But when we go out there, let's entertain the people.



But that tension is very palpable and it's nice and real. I've come close a couple of times to slapping the lips off his face. It's OK. I like his lips where they're at for now. [Laughs.]"

Sunday 11 March 2012

New Animal comments

WWE Hall Of Famer Road Warrior Animal, who hosts Extreme Pro Wrestling Radio on 100.3 KFAN in Minneapolis, Minnesota, stated during a recent show that he doesn't think Sting is a wrestling icon until he passes through WWE.

"Sting is not in the same league as guys like Triple H, Stone Cold, The Rock. Sting will never be considered a legend or icon until he lets his pride go and joins WWE. He needs to bury his personal issues and just get into the WWE. Sting has to come over to the WWE to be that guy, it's a bigger stage. Impact is one thing, the WWE is a way bigger thing," Animal said.

Animal also takes credit for Sting's arrival to the National Wrestling Alliance in 1987.

"The NWA was looking for a spot for Sting and I said make him a brother in paint and then Sting joined us (Road Warriors) in our six-man matches," he said.

On the best singles worker of all time, Animal said, "Easily, (Ric) Flair!"

TNADVD Review - Turning Point 2011/Final Resolution 2011


TNA DVD Review: Twin Pack – Turning Point 2011/Final Resolution 2011

The latest in the line of TNA twin pack presentations pairs up two of late 2011’s finest outings for the TNA roster, each pay-per-view offering a fair amount of quality matches, storyline developments and in-ring action.

First up is Turning Point 2011 which was main-evented by TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode defending his championship against his former friend "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles. Elsewhere "The Charismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy faced "The King Of The Mountain" Jeff Jarrett in an epic contest. Robbie E defended his TV title against Eric Young. Mexican America battled Ink Inc. in a six person brawl. X Division Champ Austin Aries took on Jesse Sorenson and Kid Kash. Rob Van Dam fought Christopher Daniels. Velvet Sky defended her TNA Knockouts belt against returning knock out Gail Kim. The undefeated Crimson tackled Matt Morgan in a big man scrap and Mr Anderson and Abyss teamed to face Immortal’s Bully Ray and Scott Steiner.

Final Resolution 2011 on the other hand saw Sting set up a steel cage match between Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett. If Jeff Jarrett lost the match, either he or his wife, Karen Jarrett, would be fired. If Jarrett won, Hardy would be fired. There was also a 30 Minute Ironman Match between Bobby Roode & "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Other matches included Rob Van Dam versus Christopher Daniels. Mickie James faced Gail Kim in a TNA Knockouts Title cat fight. Austin Aries collided with Kid Kash for the X Division gold and James Storm battled Olympic medalist Kurt Angle in a war of wills.

Turning Point 2011 and Final Resolution were fine efforts from TNA, by putting them together in one DVD box set the company are certainly giving value for money.

Twin Pack: Turning Point 2011/Final Resolution 2011 is available now from all good retailers.





Robert 'Kurrgan' Maillet Interview

http://www.famemagazine.co.uk/2012/03/11/robert-maillet-interview-i-went-from-the-wrestling-ring-to-knocking-out-iron-man/