Wrestling News for 01/31/12
By chicknwings
— Former WWE star John “Morrison” Hennigan will face Shelton Benjamin on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience iPPV, which takes place on February 4th. The show will begin at 7PM ET, and will be available on iPPV at gfl.tv
— Also scheduled for the show are the following matches…
* MVP vs. Chris Masters
* Melina vs. Jillian Hall
* Also appearing are Carlito Colon, Luke Gallows, Rhino, Jimmy Yang, Shawn Daivari, Gene Snitsky and Billy Gunn
— As noted earlier here on the website, ROH will run two iPPV events, one on March 30th and one on March 31st, over WrestleMania weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The shows will take place at the War Memorial. The first talents have been announced for the shows. Here is a full list below:
* ROH champ Davey Richards
* ROH TV champ Jay Lethal
* ROH Tag Team champions The Briscoes
* Charlie Haas
* Shelton Benjamin
* Jim Cornette
* Michael Elgin with Truth Martini
* Roderick Strong
* Eddie Edwards
* Kevin Steen
* The Young Bucks
* TJ Perkins
* Kyle O’Reilly
* Adam Cole
* Cedric Alexander
* Caprice Coleman
— Mick Foley and WWE Diva Eve Torres are currently working to put together a “WrestleMania dream vacation” with proceeds going to RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). Foley says if interest is there and if they can work out the details, this will be done as an online raffle. The winner would receive a round-trip flight to Miami, 2 tickets to WrestleMania 28, 2 tickets to the Hall of Fame, 2 tickets to Axxess plus lunch with Eve and three other Divas.
— Mick Foley will be appearing on ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap show tonight. Foley’s wife will go live with Antonio Sabato Jr’s family while Sabato’s wife will live with Foley.
— Stan sent word that the 2012 Royal Rumble pay-per-view had 1 hour 37 minutes 2 seconds of in-ring action. The actual 30-man Rumble match ran for right at 55 minutes.
— A local advertisement that aired during last night’s RAW Supershow confirmed John Cena vs. Kane for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. As noted on Monday, there may be a Last Man Standing stipulation added to the match and WWE is looking at doing a big payoff to the Cena-Kane feud at the pay-per-view.
— After last night’s WWE RAW Supershow, Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk for WrestleMania 28 in Miami looks to be on. Earlier on Monday, Jericho wrote that he had something to say on RAW and CM Punk commented back. Jericho wrote the following last night after RAW was over: “Told u I had something to say…. #raw.”
— The Miz wrote on Twitter that he lasted longer than anyone in the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble and out of over 700 entrances in the history of the Royal Rumble, his performance last night was the 14th longest.
— Kayfabe Commentaries sent out the following today… GEORGE “THE ANIMAL” STEELE ON SWERVING SAVAGE, SCREWING SANTANA, AND SELLING OUT Around 1986, Bruno Sammartino cornered George “The Animal” Steele in the locker room and began a conversation about the “cartoony” direction in which the WWE was headed. Bruno was turning to a man he naturally assumed would be a partner in mutual disgust about the federation they both served for many years becoming a living toy catalogue. Steele replied, “Talk to me after my match.” That match featured Steele joining The Junkyard Dog in the center of the ring and doing wild dances with young fans who were invited into the ring. The minute Steele hit the lockers, Bruno was waiting. “You’re one of them!” he exclaimed. This story is one of many in the new edition of the ongoing historic chronicle “Timeline: The History of WWE” which was released today by Kayfabe Commentaries. The year featured in this particular episode is 1986, and George “The Animal” Steele talks at length about the changes the business was undergoing, and the changes that the old-world stalwart was undergoing as well. Steele was warming to the new direction, and when told by McMahon and agents to push the envelope as far as he could, Steele did that. He says McMahon wanted to see how far the tongue-in-cheek ring comedy could bend before breaking. And while it challenged the beliefs he held of the business, the money and the change in fan attitude made Steele commit to diving right in to the new world. Part of the reason for Steele’s acceptance was that he was being put into a major feud in 1986. He would square off against the late Randy Savage in marquee matches that would headline arenas and national TV broadcasts, including NBC’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. Savage was warring with I.C. Champ Tito Santana and was being groomed for long term plans. But the fans absolutely fell in love with the ‘beauty and the beast’ angle involving Elizabeth. The roar of the fans ultimately cost Santana a long-term run against Savage, as Vince elected to drop those plans and run in the direction of Steele vs Savage. Steele recognized the opportunity to secure his retirement from wrestling, rather than teaching, as was his plan prior to this. His time with Savage involved enduring Randy’s legendary jealousy, which Steele fed with endless jabs suggesting Steele’s love for ‘young broads.’ Though Steele did this half-jokingly, the comedy came from Savage’s heated reactions, as Vince, Steele, and Savage would plan angles and spots involving Elizabeth. Savage was often irate, and Steele admits part of his reasons for the comments toward Elizabeth were to get a genuine reaction. Ah. Old school wasn’t dead yet. Steele’s edition of “Timeline: The History of WWE” is chock full of these stories and insight, as George spends more than two hours taking us back in the time machine Kayfabe Commentaries has created. The DVD is on sale at kayfabecommentaries.com.