WWE will return to PPV with Brock Lesnar's first WWE match since Wrestlemania 20 in 2004 this Sunday at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL featuring the following lineup:

*Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena - Extreme Rules.

*WWE champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - Chicago Street Fight.

*World champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - Best of Three Falls.

*Randy Orton vs. Kane - Falls Count Anywhere.

WWE will add several more matches over the course of their TV taping this weekend.

Labels: 2012 extreme rules, brock lesnar, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

With Brock Lesnar locked in for WrestleMania 29, new speculation is that his wife Sable may be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year. This has not been confirmed by anyone in WWE but we do know that officials are interested in inducting a woman each year.

Labels: brock lesnar, sable

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- Many fans are still buzzing about the return of the enigma known as Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is a complex, dominating and driven athlete who made an immediate impact last week when he F5′ed John Cena without warning.

- The WWE Title picture certainly became even more interesting Monday night when reigning Champion @CMPunk found himself with a bull’s eye on his chest not only from the challenge last week of Mark Henry but also from the renewed pursuit of Chris Jericho @IAmJericho, @TheRock who said that he would be WWE Champion again, @JohnCena who always has his sights set on the top prize in WWE plus Brock Lesnar who certainly feels that he is the alpha male in WWE but to validate such must be WWE Champion.

- After watching HIAC from WM28, challenging because I don’t like listening to myself (I know…I could have muted the sound but my wife wanted to hear the commentary) I am hard pressed to name any match that was more better executed that what I saw between HHH and Undertaker. Their match stole the show, in my opinion, and was one of the best bouts that I ever had the honor of calling. The gutteral physicality was extraordinary.

I don’t have a crystal ball but I’d be surpirsed to see HHH, @ShawnMichaels and the Undertaker, all together, ever being in the ring as participants at a WrestleMania or any other WWE event ever again. The final chapter of an amazing book was seemingly written and the book closed on Sunday in Miami.

- Speaking of FCW, keep an eye on Damien Sandow who debuted on Smackdown Friday night. He’s bright, athletic and motivated. I fully expect him to be successful at the next level. I love his ‘Lou Thesz-like’ robe and towel combo. I have high expectations for Sandow who’s got a solid work ethic and is a student of the game notwithstanding a well spoken individual.

Labels: Damien Sandow, jim ross, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

CM Punk responded to a report published here today stating concern among WWE officials that the reigning champion is “too small” to adequately face Brock Lesnar in a potential match-up. The report also acknowledged management’s concern over Punk’s appearance backstage as he often looks beaten and battered.

Punk stated Monday afternoon, “Dirt sheets can call me small, skinny, beat up, road-tired, fat, ugly, no friends etc…everyone else calls me champ. Everyone.”

Labels: cm punk

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE Divas Brie and Nikki Bella, seem to be on their way out of the company. The Bella Twins’s WWE contracts are coming to an end in a few weeks, according to the Wrestling Observer, and they likely will not renew their deals.

American Icon Autographs president Sean Jacoby claims that the twins’ WWE contracts are set to expire on April 30th and they won’t be re-signing. He adds that he is currently handling their post-WWE bookings including the May 19th autograph session at Frank and Sons in California.

The Bellas have been with WWE since 2007 and made their television debuts in 2008.

Labels: bella twins

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

Gus Ramsey, a reporter for ESPN, stated on Twitter Wednesday that WrestleMania 28 garnered 1.9 million pay-per-view buys.

“accidentally deleted my earlier tweet. Rock and Brock each sign 1 year deals. WM28 did 1.9M buys. WWE was targeting 1.5M,” he wrote.

The message has since been deleted.

Labels: wrestlemania 28

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Brock Lesnar signed his one-year deal with WWE before he arrived in Miami during WrestleMania 28 weekend. The decision was made over the weekend to keep Lesnar off WrestleMania and have him return on RAW the next night.

The main reason for keeping him off WrestleMania was to not cloud the end of the story between John Cena vs. The Rock because the idea is for Lesnar to be kicking off a “new chapter.”

Labels: brock lesnar

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Morale is said to be low among some of the WWE writers after some were not invited to the post-WrestleMania 28 party. The main writers like Brian Gewirtz, Ed Koskey and Michael Hayes were there.

Labels: brian gewirtz, Ed Koskey

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

From TMZ:

WWE superstar Randy Orton has been 86'd from the lead role in the upcoming movie "Marine: Homefront" ... amidst outrage from several Devil Dogs who claim Randy deserted them during his brief stint in the USMC.

A rep for WWE tells us, "WWE demonstrated poor judgment in signing Randy Orton for the 3rd installment of the film."

The rep adds, "Despite Randy's popularity, the fact that he was dishonorably discharged from the USMC made it inappropriate for him to be cast in this film."

The move will surely satisfy Cpl. Mike Vinn ... one of Randy's former unit members who was FURIOUS the wrestler was ever up for the role in the first place ... since Orton received a bad conduct discharge in 1999 after going AWOL on two separate occasions and disobeying an order from a commanding officer.

Orton was court-martialed and served 38 days in a military prison.

Before Orton was scrapped from the project, Vinn told TMZ, "I am disgusted that his face and the word Marine are being used next to each other -- real or fake -- because of the fact that he quit us, the country, and the Marine Corps. [Randy] in the role of a Marine is a disgrace to those that have worn and are wearing that uniform."

Labels: randy orton

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

John Cena called The Rock out to the ring at the conclusion of Monday’s Raw SuperShow, but was instead greeted with a brutal F5 courtesy of Brock Lesnar. WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross went on Twitter to address the recently-retired mixed martial artist’s shocking return to sports entertainment.

“Why’s Brock Lesnar back? I’d suggest 2 earn BIG money. He’s done w/ UFC & still young. He’s a complex, supreme athlete. Interesting times,” he wrote.

Ross continued, “I don’t know of Lesnar’s contractual matters w/ WWE. None of our business. I did his 1st few deals. Let’s not over think this. Brock’s back!”

Ross also responded to a remark stating that he once said that Lesnar would never return to WWE, writing, “Never full time IMO. But enough to matter.”

Labels: Brock Lensar, jim ross, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

Monday Night, the Raw after WrestleMania XXVIII got off to a quick start, but had an even bigger ending.

The games played between Vince McMahon and the WWE paid off, as former WWE Champ Brock Lesnar made his huge return in the final segment when he gave John Cena an F-5.

The last time we saw Lesnar in a WWE ring was WrestleMania XX, when he lost an awful match to Bill Goldberg, which was the last WWE match for both he and Bill, and was basically a showcase for Steve Austin, who was the guest ref.

The first thought is that the WWE is going to pull a replay, and have Lesnar and Cena stay apart for a year, just like the 12 month wait we just had for Rock and Cena, that paid off in a match that a lot thought wasn't as good as we waited for.

No doubt that Lesnar didn't look from the TV point of view like the guy we remember taking over the WWE with Paul Heyman back in the late 90's. He looked flat, a lot smaller, and nowhere near the 260 that Michael Cole said he was.

Now the game of poker shifts to timing. Does the WWE play the same game and make the fans wait a year for Cena-Lesnar in NY for WM 29? Or do we push it up quicker, maybe having a match at SummerSlam or even sooner?

There's a thought to make the two stay away from each other, but what sense does that make after what happened on Monday night?

It's another WWE gamble, but one that at least Monday night got one of the bigger pops we've seen in quite a long time.

Labels: brock lesnar, john cena, the rock, wrestlemania 28

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments