TPIB

Punk may have his pride and he may be stubborn when it comes to getting what he wants, but at the end of the day, he is just like any other wrestler in the sense that the money will dry up eventually. It may be a year or it may be 10 years, but Punk will need a paycheck at some point and there is no place that will give him a better paycheck than WWE.

Curt Hawkins comments on his release, courtesy of PWTorch.com: I know I'm a bit late on commenting on these releases. I've known about them since they happened, I'm just a procrastinator. In reference to the Hawkins interview above, if I was Hawkins, I would be relieved too. They haven't used Hawkins for much more than a jobber since they split him and Zack Ryder up. I also enjoyed Hawkins' tweet to Mark Henry on the day Hawkins got released. I can't post it here, but it's worth a read. For the most part, these releases were a long time coming and the fact that guys like JTG, Hawkins, Yoshi, Brodus, and Camacho were employed as long as they were is a mystery that even Sherlock Holmes (the actual guy, not Damien Sandow) could not solve. As far as Aksana goes, she's never really been of any use and definitely falls under the "dead weight" category. Evan Bourne's release was probably a relief to Bourne, I imagine. Wasn't he cleared to compete more than a year ago? In any case, Bourne is one of those guys who never really seemed to get a fair shot in WWE. Whether it was suspensions or injuries, Bourne never stayed active long and that's a shame as he seems to have some legitimate talent. I'm kind of surprised by them letting Theodore Long go. As long as he's been with WWE and in the business overall seemed like they would keep him around in some capacity. I legitimately expected Long to be inducted to the Hall of Fame at some point. I thought he would be one of those guys who would have lifetime employment with WWE. Drew McIntyre was the release I was most disappointed about. I've always been a fan of McIntyre's and it just seemed like WWE was wasting his potential. Maybe it's just me, but I always saw McIntyre as being too good for the 3MB group. They seemed to have a lot of confidence in McIntyre early on, but they gave up on him pretty quickly. As far as Jinder Mahal goes, I've only grown to hate him more over time. He didn't have charisma, he didn't have in-ring ability, he didn't have mic skills. He was a bore to watch and I don't recall a time where he was ever over. Was Marc Harris the referee who kept screwing up matches and JBL tore into him on commentary? If so, then good riddance.

Supposedly, Vince was handling the CM Punk situation personally for a while, but that was a couple of months ago. Even Vince has probably given up on it by now. I think that, until Punk's contract officially expires next month, we really can't rule anything out. In 2011, he was legitimately going to leave before re-signing with WWE at the last minute. It's not impossible to think that he could do something similar. It's possible that he is just putting the squeeze on WWE and hoping they will make it worth his while. With that said, I have given up all hope of seeing CM Punk in a WWE ring again. Payback was the best opportunity for him to return and it didn't happen. I would love to be wrong, but I don't see him coming back. Time for me to put my money on a new horse.

I'm not complaining because CM Punk wants to retire, I'm complaining because of the way he did it. Instead of giving the fans one last match and going out on a positive note with a lot of fanfare, he decided to just go home and sit out the rest of his contract because he wasn't happy with the creative direction of the company (supposedly). I think Punk fans the world over would have a different reaction if Punk would have had one last match and then retired from the business. Unless Punk had some sort of serious injury that would have kept him from competing, then the right thing would have been to compete one last time. Competing in a match with 29 other guys is no way to finish a career.

Well, it looks like the show is going to feature career highlights of The Ultimate Warrior, but it won't be an entire show dedicated to him as they have announced a tournament to crown a new #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title that will start on tonight's RAW.

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, April 14, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, April 15, at 12AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, AL Confirmed Matches/Events RAW to Feature Career Highlights of The Ultimate Warrior Beginning of a Tournament to Name a New #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title Build to Extreme Rules

WWE.com has confirmed that Stone Cold Steve Austin will make an appearance at WrestleMania.

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, April 7, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, April 8, at 12AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA Confirmed Matches/Events WrestleMania XXX Fallout

John Cena vs. Erick Rowan has been announced for RAW. For the Hogan announcement, I really hope it's something actually regarding this year's WrestleMania and is not just the announcement about the WrestleMania I Main Event getting inducted.

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, March 10, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, March 11, at 12AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue FedExForum in Memphis, TN Confirmed Matches/Events Hulk Hogan to Make an Announcement Regarding WrestleMania The Undertaker to Appear John Cena vs. Erick Rowan Build to WrestleMania XXX

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, March 3, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, March 4, at 1AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL Confirmed Matches/Events Brock Lesnar to Respond to The Undertaker 6-Man Tag: The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family "Need for Speed" Star Aaron Paul to Appear as the RAW Guest Host Build to WrestleMania XXX

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, Feb. 24, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, Feb. 25, at 1AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue Resch Center in Green Bay, WI Confirmed Matches/Events WWE Network Launch Special Return of Hulk Hogan WWE Elimination Chamber Fallout

Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio and Big E vs. Jack Swagger for the Intercontinental Title has been added to the card. I guess Batista vs. Del Rio was inevitable, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. As far as the IC Title match goes, I would have rather seen Big E vs. Mark Henry. Sure, it probably would've been a train wreck, but it would have been more interesting.

It's become a common theme for WWE pay-per-views anymore that WWE does exactly what everyone expects them to do, which is not a good thing at all. As someone who is (or, at least, was) a big fan of the Royal Rumble Match, it's especially frustrating to see this awesome concept get worse and worse every year. I honestly thought that last year's Rumble was the worst, but they outdid themselves this year. Much like everyone else, I knew that Batista would be winning the Rumble this year, but I was really hoping WWE would prove me wrong and do something exciting and unexpected. Even the "surprises" in the Rumble Match were terrible. Sheamus returning was no big shock and Kevin Nash was definitely a "who cares" entry. When JBL entering the Rumble is the biggest and most entertaining surprise, there is something wrong there. So, did Wade Barrett give up his spot for Kevin Nash or JBL? Either way, what did "voodoo" have to do with either one of those guys? Unless he was making a "finger poke of doom" reference about Nash, I don't get it. What didn't help the Rumble at all was that Batista looked terrible. Not only was his gear ridiculous, but he just looked like a has-been in the ring. Rey Mysterio being the #30 entrant was a complete joke. When the timer came up for the last entrant, I found myself thinking, "There is no way that they would dare put Rey in the #30 spot" and look what happened. I was 100% with the crowd as they booed almost the entire match from the time Rey came out until Batista won. Pittsburgh definitely represented pretty much every fan in the world with their attitude throughout the night. I was so amused by the fans completely hating Orton/Cena. It was a match that no one wanted to see, yet it was built up as "the biggest rematch in history". When the fans chant "we want Divas", you know that you have put together a really terrible championship match. Not to mention that it was just a bad match all around (why can't Cena or Orton do proper submissions?). Judging by his predictions, Flair seems to be booking the show. He picked Batista to win the Rumble, Orton to retain, and Lesnar to beat Big Show, all of which happened. Hm...... Also, Isn't it adorable how Duggan actually thought Ziggler would win the Rumble?

WWE Presents: WrestleMania XXX, which will come to you, live on pay-per-view at a special start time of 7/6c, from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The official theme songs for WrestleMania XXX are "Celebrate" by Kid Rock, "Legacy" by Eminem (f/ Polina), and "In Time" by Mark Collie, which are all available now on iTunes. http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/posters/wwe-wrestlemania-xxx-poster-1a.jpg Confirmed Matches/Events Hulk Hogan to Appear as the Host of WrestleMania XXX Stone Cold Steve Austin to Appear The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar Winner Gets Added to Title Match: Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple Threat: Randy Orton © vs. Batista vs. Triple H or Daniel Bryan 6-Man Tag: The Shield vs. Kane & The New Age Outlaws John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt 30-Man Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational: AJ Lee © vs. Naomi vs. Cameron vs. Brie Bella vs. Nikki Bella vs. Natalya vs. Eva Marie vs. Summer Rae vs. Emma vs. Layla vs. Aksana vs. Alicia Fox vs. Rosa Mendes vs. Tamina Snuka WWE Tag Team Championship: Fatal 4-Way: Pre-Show Exclusive: The Usos © vs. Rybaxel vs. Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Participants Big E Fandango Alberto Del Rio Dolph Ziggler Damien Sandow Titus O'Neil Christian Sheamus Mark Henry Big Show The Miz Kofi Kingston Cody Rhodes Goldust Heath Slater Jinder Mahal Drew McIntyre R-Truth The Great Khali Sin Cara Rey Mysterio Justin Gabriel Zack Ryder Brodus Clay Darren Young Santino Marella Brad Maddox

The fifth annual WWE Elimination Chamber will come to you, live on pay-per-view, on February 23 from the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. The official theme song for WWE Elimination Chamber is "Doomsday" by Nero, which is available now on iTunes. http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/posters/wwe-elimination-chamber-2014-poster.png Confirmed Matches/Events WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Elimination Chamber Match: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro vs. Christian 6-Man Tag: The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio Intercontinental Championship: Big E © vs. Jack Swagger WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws © vs. The Usos Darren Young vs. Titus O'Neil Kickoff Exclusive: Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel

Bad News Barrett tweeted out the following Friday afternoon: Barrett has also been removed from the official list of participants for the Royal Rumble Match. When I read Barrett's tweet, my first thought was Papa Shango.

http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/shows/raw2012.png When United States: LIVE, Monday Night, Jan. 27, at 8/7c on the USA Network United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, Jan. 28, at 1AM on SkySportsHD3 Venue Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH Confirmed Matches/Events Royal Rumble Fallout

I'm assuming that Daniel Bryan has been cleared to compete, seeing as they booked Bryan vs. Bray for the Rumble. Speaking of which, CM Punk will be entering the Rumble Match at #1, which made me think, when was the last time that a Superstar was forced to start at #1 in the Rumble? I know that it has happened before, but the last instance I can remember was in 1999 when Vince put Austin in the match at #1 and Michaels (as the Commissioner) put Vince in at #2. Surely it has happened more recently than that. I would love to see Punk enter at #1 then go on to win the whole thing, but the combined reality of Kane screwing Punk over and the fact that Batista seems to be all but guaranteed to be the one to win makes me doubt Punk will win. For anyone who is curious, WWE has confirmed 21 of the 30 participants in this year's Rumble Match. I fully expect Sheamus to make his return in the match and I would not be surprised to see Rob Van Dam and/or Chris Jericho take part in it. Depending on where their matches fall on the card, I wouldn't be surprised to see Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, Big Show, or Brock Lesnar join the match. I'm rather disappointed and a bit surprised that WWE decided to put the WWE Tag Team Title match on the pre-show. In my opinion, I would rather see the tag title match on the card and Bryan/Bray on the pre-show. Speaking of which, I think it is pretty much well-known at this point that WWE is aiming towards a Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes match at WrestleMania, so there's no doubt in my mind that the Rumble will see the start of that angle. I also cannot help but notice how many first-timers are in this year's Rumble as, if I'm not mistaken, eight of the announced participants have never been in a Rumble before (Langston, Fandango, Xavier, Harper, Rowan, & The Shield). I expect very little from either Fandango or Xavier Woods and Harper & Rowan will likely not do anything special, but it will be interesting to see what they have planned for the Langston and The Shield in the match with Langston being Cena's "pet project" and the whole dissension angle with The Shield. I really hope they will put Roman Reigns over again and have him make a big impact on the Rumble Match by just going through a bunch of guys (similar to what they did with Reigns at Survivor Series). I really hope this year's Rumble Match makes up for that horrible Rumble last year.

I think Batista is pretty much a lock to win. If not Batista, then I see CM Punk winning it (Punk is the one I want to win, but I know better than to think they won't go with Batista).

The 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place the night before WrestleMania XXX on April 5 from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA and will air, live, in its entirety at 9/8c on the WWE Network. http://i43.tinypic.com/359iq8l.jpg Class of 2014 Inductees The Ultimate Warrior (1/13/14) Jake "The Snake" Roberts (1/27/14) Lita (2/10/14) Paul Bearer (3/3/14) Carlos Colon (3/14/14) Mr. T (3/17/14) Razor Ramon (3/24/14)

The 27th annual WWE Royal Rumble will come to you, live on pay-per-view, on January 26 from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The official theme song for the Royal Rumble is "We Own It" by 2 Chainz & Wiz Khalifa off of the Fast & Furious 6 Soundtrack. http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/posters/wwe-royal-rumble-2014-poster.jpg Confirmed Matches/Events 30-Man Royal Rumble Match WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt WWE Tag Team Championship: Kickoff Exclusive: Goldust & Cody Rhodes © vs. The New Age Outlaws Royal Rumble Match Participants Batista (1/6/14) Alberto Del Rio (1/6/14) CM Punk (1/13/14) (First Entrant) Kofi Kingston (1/13/14) Fandango (1/13/14) The Miz (1/13/14) Big E. Langston (1/13/14) Goldust (1/13/14) Cody Rhodes (1/13/14) R-Truth (1/13/14) Xavier Woods (1/13/14) Rey Mysterio (1/13/14) Dean Ambrose (1/17/14) Seth Rollins (1/17/14) Roman Reigns (1/17/14) Luke Harper (1/20/14) Erick Rowan (1/20/14) Damien Sandow (1/20/14) Jimmy Uso (1/20/14) Jey Uso (1/20/14)

If there was ever a time to solidify Big E. Langston's face turn, then this is the best chance for WWE to do it. What better way to kick off a major face push than to give Langston the Intercontinental Title in his first shot at the title? The title has certainly done nothing for Curtis Axel (because, let's face it, nothing will be able to 'save' Axel), that's for sure.

Cena is coming back already!? That's bad news for me. I was just getting used to Cena not being on WWE television :sad: With that said, it makes no sense whatsoever to me that Cena is getting a World Heavyweight Title match for no apparent reason. It's no secret that I don't like Alberto Del Rio as a champion, but he still deserves better than getting jobbed out to John Cena just because it's John Cena. I honestly thought that they were going to have Vickie announce the match, then have her do a "haha, just kidding", revealing that she just dropped Cena's name to cost Del Rio the match against Ricardo Rodriguez. Also, they've added a rematch between CM Punk and Ryback to the card. This is kind of a letdown to me because I have no interest in seeing another match between Punk and Ryback. If it was a Hell in a Cell Match, then I might be interested, but, as of now, it's not. I was hoping that the Punk/Heyman feud would be over at Hell in a Cell, but that doesn't look likely now.

The fifth annual WWE Hell in a Cell will come to you, live on pay-per-view, on October 27 from the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, FL. The official theme song for Hell in a Cell is "Out of Time" by Stone Temple Pilots (f/ Chester Bennington), off of their newest album, "High Rise". http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/images/posters/wwe-hell-in-a-cell-2013-poster.png Confirmed Matches/Events WWE Championship: Hell in a Cell: Special Referee- Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan 2-on-1 Handicap Hell in a Cell Match: CM Punk vs. Ryback & Paul Heyman World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto Del Rio © vs. John Cena WWE Tag Team Championship: Triple Threat Tag Match: Goldust & Cody Rhodes © vs. Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns Divas Championship: AJ Lee © vs. Brie Bella Intercontinental Championship: Kickoff Exclusive: Curtis Axel © vs. Big E. Langston