Source: PWTorch.com Newsletter

For those wondering, Floyd Mayweather Jr’s legal issues surrounding a shooting did indeed cause him to arrive late at the building for RAW last week. A WWE source says that company officials handled him “with kid gloves” and noted Mayweather was noticeably, but understandably, distracted.

His delayed arrival caused a lot of last minute re-writes by the RAW creative team and they had to bring him up to speed on what he’d be doing on the show. One source says that Vince’s birthday celebration was moved to the opening segment because Mayweather wasn’t ready to go yet. In a show of just how chaotic things were backstage, during the broadcast Michael Cole plugged a Kofi Kingston match for later in the evening which never took place.

Labels: floyd mayweather, kofi kingston

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

There’s been a lot of news coming out this week regarding future guest hosts for Monday Night RAW. It was announced on RAW that actor and former WWE writer Freddy Prinze Jr. will host next week’s show.

Earlier this week, news broke that former RAW General Manager Mike Adamle would be returning to guest host the show in 2 weeks on August 24th, which is expected to be a RAW Roulette show. Adamle is currently a sports anchor and reporter for Chicago’s NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV and announced on the air that he’d accepted an invitation from WWE to host RAW on 8/24.

Now, word is coming out that there may be a different guest host when RAW rolls into Las Vegas on the 24th. According to PWInsider, there’s buzz going around the WWE office in Stanford, CT that boxing champ Floyd “Money” Mayweather is rumored to be hosting that show – not Adamle.

Mayweather lives in Las Vegas and has a big fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19th to promote.

Labels: floyd mayweather, mike adamle

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

NEW YORK, N.Y., May 19, 2008 – The WWE on MyNetworkTV will kick off a night early with a first ever broadcast presentation of “WrestleMania” on Thursday, October 2nd at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT), announced the network’s president, Greg Meidel. This special presentation featuring the best moments of “WrestleMania XXIV” including Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show® will be followed by the premiere of “WWE SmackDown” on Friday, October 3rd at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

In making the announcement, Meidel stated, “We’re thrilled to bring fans even more of their favorite WWE action on MyNetworkTV. These side-by-side primetime events are sure to deliver two nights of edge-of-your-seat, action-packed entertainment.”

“WWE SmackDown” will be presented on MyNetworkTV weekly on Fridays and showcase a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars, including Edge®, Rey Mysterio®, Batista®, MVP™ and Undertaker®. It will feature all the action, excitement, drama and great athleticism that have made it for nine years one of the most popular programs among males on broadcast television, and one of the top ten English language prime time programs among Hispanic households.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon added, “What better way to introduce MyNetworkTV viewers to the WWE brand than to schedule our first-ever broadcast television debut of ‘WrestleMania.’”

“WrestleMania” is one of the biggest annual sports entertainment events. In addition to the Mayweather/Big Show match, this year’s lineup featured the retirement of the legendary Ric Flair following an emotional loss to Shawn Michaels, as well as the crowning of the Undertaker as the new World Heavyweight Champion and Kane as the new ECW Champion. Additional celebrity appearances included a performance of “America the Beautiful” by John Legend, special guest hostess Kim Kardashian, BunnyMania Lumberjack Match Master of Ceremonies Snoop Dogg and Raven-Symoné along with 50 children honored by WWE in its largest ever Make-A-Wish event. “WrestleMania XXIV” was the highest grossing live event for both the WWE and its venue, The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Labels: big show, floyd mayweather, wrestlemania

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry on his website. Some highlights from this entry:

- Gasp….Floyd Mayweather did not actually get $20M for his fight at WM24 or so we have been told…the boxing media, always known to never "hype" an event is appalled, pray tell. I don’t know exactly what "Money" made for the fight, but I assure you he was pleased and who’s to say that the monies he negotiated won’t be flowing in for a while longer?

- I recently read where wrestling websites exist solely on the back of the WWE, which I find perplexing. I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment, but everyone has a right to their opinion. Without the WWE there is lots of other wrestling to cover globally, not to mention the ever growing mixed martial arts biz.

- I did not solely create the idea of the WWE Legends Video Game, but thru the Legend’s Program that I did help launch, the video game concept was an idea I floated around the WWE about 10 years ago. It was akin to always wondering what it would be like for, say, Roger Clemens pitching to Mickey Mantle in a baseball video game. Now wrestling fans will be able to book some amazing dream matches with many of the greats that will be featured on the Legends Video Game. Yes, some old timers won’t want to be a part of the process, but what can one do? Those veterans who want to help other old timers who did not plan for their future or drank their future away, etc would be well served to be a part of the video game and donate their earnings to those more needy, if that was there mindset. At least the Austin vs. Hogan match could be booked on the Legends Video Game.

- I can’t be sure why certain things jump into my mind, but this morning I thought about when I used to travel with Don "The Spoiler" Jardine, whose car was always immaculate and smelled so fresh, which was a contrast to the cigar stained, beer spill odors of so many other wrestlers. Don always had classical music on the radio, as well, and gave me a great education of what it took to be a great, wrestling villain. More people who have had long, productive careers in the wrestling business had one common denominator and that was that they worked the territories and were able to exchange ideas and philosophies on long car trips. It’s amazing what happens when one doesn’t have access to a cell phone, etc. A conversation actually takes place.

- I read where Kurt Angle has been having more neck problems, which gives me cause for genuine concern. Getting that "one more match" and then "another match" out of a flawed body is flirting with disaster. I have great respect for Kurt’s athletic ability and helped hire him in the WWE and I hope he doesn’t stick around as a wrestler for one match too many. Especially when he has so many other skills that have little to do with putting on a singlet and risking his long term health.

- For the record, I am not a fan of stripping any one of a title and feel that titles should be won and lost inside the ring. I know I am old school, I get reminded of that on a fairly regular basis, but that’s my story and I am sticking to it.

Labels: floyd mayweather, jim ross, kurt angle

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: PWPIX.net

The PPV numbers are in for WrestleMania 24, and they are considerably lower than WWE and Floyd Mayweather expected. WrestleMania 24 drew 1,058,000 buys which works out to $23.8 million. This is less than last year’s 1,200,000 buys and $24.4 million for WrestleMania 23. The numbers were released this morning with WWE’s first quarter earnings report, which had the company listed as pulling in $19.5 million in net earnings over the first quarter of 2008.

ProWrestling.net reports that Vince McMahon was targeting 1.4 million buys for WrestleMania 24, and this number is viewed as a disappointment for WWE. Floyd Mayweather publicly predicted the number would beat out WrestleMania 23, which featured Donald Trump. Nonetheless, $19.5 million is a pretty decent first quarter figure.

Labels: floyd mayweather, vince mcmahon, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

Credit: WrestlingObserver.com Newsletter

In regards to Floyd Mayweather’s future with WWE, the finish at WrestleMania was obviously booked to leave a major door open for a return, but having him work a ‘B’ PPV show isn’t a good financial decision. Up to this point WWE has not spent any money on Mayweather merchandise, nor has there been any publicity in that direction. WWE’s next major PPV is SummerSlam, which Mayweather couldn’t do more than a cameo for, if that, because he’ll be training for De Lay Hoya.

There is talk about Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, but Rumble would be most likely for a Mayweather appearance since historically it’s been a big money show.

Believe it or not, the most lucrative celebrity appearance prior to Mayweather was when Dennis Rodman joined the NWO in WCW. They got a big buy rate and tons of media from him just making an appearance, and then got an even bigger buy rate out of him doing a match, and then did an even bigger PPV buy rate once again when he did the tag match with Karl Malone. However, when they brought him back the fourth time it barely made any impact on the numbers and had next to no media coverage.

Floyd already made his two PPV appearances and his face was on RAW for weeks. If WWE can get De La Hoya, who they wanted for WrestleMania, later on then they will definitely do some huge numbers, but without him they likely wouldn’t be able to justify paying Mayweather anything close to what he got for WrestleMania 24.

Labels: floyd mayweather, survivor series, wrestlemania

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

Credit: ProWrestling.net

Floyd Mayweather Jr’s run with WWE is now considered to be done, but it ended on great terms. Guys in the locker room thought he was humble and respectful, contrary to his reputation. He took a lot of time posing for pictures with wrestlers backstage at WrestleMAnia 24 on Sunday, and took the whole experience very seriously. More than one person in the company has stated that he was the best celebrity or athlete the company has ever worked with.

Big Show got along well with Mayweather, but it’s said that he wasn’t particularly fond of some of his friends and bodyguards. Show thought Mayweather was very levelheaded for a person who made as much money as he has at such a young age.

Right now it sounds like Floyd only has one fight left on his deal with Golden Boy Promotions, and is then planning to launch his own promotional company. The feeling is that his WWE experience served as on-the-job training to some extent for his future in promoting. Floyd learned a lot from working with WWE and wasn’t afraid to talk about it backstage.

WWE officials are said to be open to the idea of working with Floyd again, but there’s nothing planned right now. Next on the agenda for Mayweather is fighting Oscar De La Hoya in September. It’s possible that WWE and Mayweather will do some sort of cross-promotion for any of his upcoming fights, but there’s no indication that he will be returning to the wrestling ring anytime soon.

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Mayweather’s crossover is money

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and advisor Leonard Ellerbe were strolling through a Smith’s Food & Drug grocery store in Las Vegas not long ago. As they were pushing their shopping cart and minding their own business, the well-to-do young African-American men were interrupted by a pair of decidedly middle-class elderly white women.

The women giggled as they asked Mayweather if he would mind posing for a photograph with them.

“We love you on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ” Ellerbe recalls one of the women saying to Mayweather.

As they walked away, a wide grin creased Mayweather’s face. He turned to Ellerbe, his best friend and de facto manager, and shook his head.

“Leonard, now I know I’ve crossed over,” Mayweather said.

He’s arguably the biggest attraction in combat sports. He is part of the best-selling bout in boxing history and his appearance at WrestleMania 24 on Sunday in Orlando, Fla., was such a hit, Ellerbe says, that the wrestling pay-per-view record of 1.25 million is expected to be topped.

In the past year, Mayweather had a prominent role on a hit television series. He was part of a boxing match that sold the unheard-of number of 2.4 million pay-per-view subscriptions. He followed that with sales of 900,000 for his bout with Ricky Hatton, a man who was making his pay-per-view debut in the U.S. and whose American television ratings had been tepid, at best.

Click HERE to read the rest of the story

Labels: floyd mayweather, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

From Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Floyd Mayweather has won over pretty much everyone within WWE who was originally against bringing him in with his enthusiasm and excitement at WrestleMania. Although it took a lot of work to get the final match that everyone saw at Mania, most within the company feel it was all worth it. Mayweather was really pumped up when he got backstage after his match and said he wants to do it again. The only strike against Floyd within WWE is that his entourage eats more of the catering than any other wrestler's guests in history.

Labels: floyd mayweather

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Show's over: Mayweather wins his WWE debut

In one of the most hyped WWE events in decades, close to 70,000 fans filled the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida to witness Floyd Mayweather Jr. knock out "The Big Show" in a no-holds barred wrestling match at Wrestlemania XXIV.

Mayweather wore protective mitts and used his speed to run in circles with Big Show chasing. At some point Big Show began to pummel one of Mayweather's bodyguards. Mayweather would later jump on Big Show's back and applied a sleeperhold, which Big Show would eventually break and begin to batter Mayweather with chops, a sideslam and variety of other moves.

The handlers of Mayweather would pull their employer out of the ring and attempt to take him to the back, Big Show would follow in pursuit and attack Mayweather on the outside before throwing him back in the ring.

The Big Show would later attempt to finish Mayweather off with the chokeslam, bout the move was prevented by Mayweather's team members who would interfere in the match. While Big Show was distracted, Mayweather would attack him with a chair. He would give Big Show a low blow, sending the giant wrestler to his knees as he would land a few more chair shots before taking off one of the mitts and using a pair of brass knuckles to land a right hand that knocked Big Show out.

The ref would count him out at 11.41 of the contest.

Click HERE for the rest of the story

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: PWInsider

The backstage word among those I spoke to was that Floyd Mayweather Jr. was raving to everyone about how much fun he had wrestling Big Show last night and would love to come back. The feeling backstage was that the bout was entertaining and both did a great job.

The consensus among everyone seems to be that Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels was the match of the night. I don't know how it came across on television, but I will never forget the site of Ric Flair walking the aisle to the ring as golden fireworks erupted in the background of the stadium. What a truly wonderful moment.

From: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

A while ago, WWE had a storyline idea where Gary Hart (who passed away last week) would form a heel stable called 'Black Friday Management' with Umaga as the main star. The stable would have had a criminal vibe as Hart would be dressed with a mob style business suit. Also, the plan was for him to be independent of WWE on television, and he'd be presented as a recruiter of international talent for the company. They also wanted him to be accompanied by an Asian girl based on the Catholic School Girl assassin character in the movie Kill Bill. The entire storyline plan never got off the ground because Hart angered Vince McMahon back in 1989. When John "Earthquake" Tenta was starting out in WWE, they had plans to use Gary Hart as his manager. On the day of Hart's scheduled WWE debut, he showed up at the airport in the city of his debut taping, but no one from the company came to pick him up. When someone finally did, he arrived to the arena mad about his treatment. Hart got into an argument with a road agent and left the building, pretty much bailing on WWE. A few days later, an upset McMahon called Hart, noting he bought him a plane ticket to come to work. Hart reacted by saying that he would send him a check for the ticket. Hart sent the check, but McMahon never cashed it in. Also, in recent years there were some feelers sent out to him about working with the developmental wrestlers, or helping out on the creative team. Hart would answer them by saying that he wouldn't last a month in the company. However, he had expressed interest in recent years about joining WWE as a manager. People on creative such as Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes and Court Bauer would remark at times that The Great Khali or Umaga would be much more effective if they had Hart as the mouthpiece.

Big Show was told that he was staying heel after WrestleMania to work a title program with Undertaker.

Another storyline idea being tossed around is a Big Show vs. Great Khali program, although that probably won't be taking place until later in the year.

Labels: floyd mayweather, gary hart, the big show, the great khali, umaga

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE is telling people who bought this year's WrestleMania's package down in Florida that details for next year's packages on April 2.

WWE.com has announced the official rules for the Big Show-Floyd Mayweather match. Here they are.

*There must be a winner.

*The ways to win are by pinfall, submission or knockout.

*Anything goes in the match.

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry. While I have included some selections from the blog here, I highly recommend checking out the full blog, as JR discusses Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels' promo from Raw and tells several stories about Gordon Solie, who Ross confirms he will be handling the induction of at this weekend's Hall Of Fame.

- Was Ric Flair in vintage form Monday night or what? Where has that rendition of "the greatest in ring performer ever" been? Of course, "Naitch" has never left, has always been with us, and I am being a wise ass, but Monday night Flair went "old school" and was able to completely be his unedited, incomparable self. When talents are allowed to be extensions of their natural personalities sometimes one gets great results like we saw Monday night when Ric confronted HBK.

- Flair brought the original NWA Title Belt to RAW as many of you saw and that piece of wrestling history is still as awe inspiring as it was the first time I saw it in person in 1974. Several WWE Superstars gathered around to actually get a close up look at history and, like young kids, wanted to touch the championship belt worn by Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes (Ric’s first, in ring role model), Tommy Rich, Kerry Von Erich and the Giant Baba. I’m probably leaving someone out, but you get the point.

- I think I am actually more excited this year than I was last year at this time, when I was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (what would the over/under have been on that one at various times in my WWE tenure?) because I get to induct my wrestling announcing influence into the WWE Hall of Fame and get to broadcast the Flair-Michaels match at WM24.

- Wrestlemania 24 at the Citrus Bowl has sold over 60,000 tickets for north of $5.7M, but there are some WM24 tickets still available. I am told that folks who have attended events at the Citrus Bowl won’t recognize it, as the WWE has done an amazing job of converting the old stadium into an amazing TV set for the annual Global Extravaganza. My first experience in the Citrus Bowl was broadcasting an XFL game there. It was week one of the season along side Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman. The Orlando Rage won late in the game and the next week I was elevated to the national game where I carried, er, worked with former Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

- Finally, let’s all understand one thing. Floyd Mayweather is a world class performer with a world class ego and a world class bank account. Granted, none of that is new news. But the point is this, Mayweather will do all he physically can do to over achieve in his match with the Big Show Sunday night, because that is what world class athletes do, they over achieve. It might be because of Floyd’s ego or simply his competitiveness, but Mayweather will most likely shock us all with what he brings to the dance. I have been told that Mayweather has been taking his preparation for WM24 extremely seriously. That’s not hype but simple fact. Mayweather is really good at channeling a young Muhammad Ali inasmuch as Floyd has realized that the big money for him is being an antagonist, which encourages the consumer to pay their cash to see Floyd get his ass whipped. Ali personally told me many years ago that’s what his school of thought was for much of the early part of his career. As the legend goes and it is true, Ali was a fan of wrestling villains. Floyd "gets it" and has reinvented himself to become a persona fans want to see humbled. Stay tuned as things should be most interesting in this one come Sunday.

Labels: floyd mayweather, jim ross, ric flair

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: floyd mayweather

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Following last weeks near brawl that took place between the posse for Floyd Mayweather and WWE wrestlers following the weigh-in for the Mayweather-Big Show match for WrestleMania XXIV, tensions will for sure be running high tonight for RAW. I would expect Mayweather to not be on the show tonight, or if he is only to be on and have little or no contact with Show after last week. The angle can only be protected so much, and with two live TV's left before Mania, they really have to watch how this thing goes or it could be a disaster.

A lot of people will be holding their breath when the bell rings at Mania between Mayweather and Show. There is no question that anytime you put a non-wrestler in a match with this much exposure, there is cause for concern. In the past the company has been somewhat lucky that others have been able to pull it off, but with Mayweather, there has been this underlying tone since the start that this thing could explode, and if it does, the company will have major egg on its face.

The biggest "non-wrestler" that ever headlined a Mania was NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who was in the main event at WM XI. The big difference between where Taylor is and where Mayweather is comes from the stance that Taylor was a total team player in the feud, working with his opponent, the late Bam Bam Bigelow, in the weeks leading up to the match to make it as good as it can be. Of course Taylor blew out in about 4 minutes, but overall it was a good enough match to seem real and get over with the fans.

The stakes now are so much higher, that the company cannot afford for this thing to bust. They have sold an estimated 65,000 for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, will have millions more watching on PPV, and with Mayweather involved, there is more mainstream coverage of the even that otherwise would not garner it. There has been talk of having the match on last as the true "main event," but I feel that would be a mistake just in case it IS a total bomb. You put the WWE triple threat title match on last as a protection so that fans can still walk away happy.

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross updated the blog section of JRsbarbq.com and addressed Jeff Hardy’s suspension in detail. He also speaks on the "Battle of the Posses" incident on Raw. Below are some of the highlights:

The 60 day suspension, without pay, for a second violation of the WWE Wellness Program of Jeff Hardy is making headlines on several fronts. This is Jeff’s second strike and with one more he is out of the WWE, which would be a terrible waste of talent and opportunity. To say I am disappointed in these recent events would be an understatement and for those of us who have long believed in Jeff and have pulled for him throughout his career, these self inflicted wounds are especially distressing. For any one to accurately predict what the future holds for Jeff is nothing more than speculation. Only Jeff can determine those answers but the one thing a talent can ill afford to lose is the company’s trust they work for. Obviously trust has to be an issue at this point in time between the WWE and Jeff Hardy. I can remembering sharing with Shawn Michaels many years ago during one of his darkest periods that I still believed in Shawn and, luckily for all involved, HBK made it back to the WWE a better man and is a bigger asset today for the WWE than he was in his prime. Jeff is still a young man and can still be a big time player in the WWE if Jeff so chooses. Interesting days lie ahead for Jeff Hardy and I for one hope he is able to address his issues, take responsibility for his actions, and get back on the road to happiness and success.

One thing I want to add here is that the wrestling business is challenging, at best, and by the general nature of the beast doesn’t feature too many "easy days at the office". If one is not having fun in the business, the end is inevitable and becomes not a matter of if but when. I would love to know if Jeff was having fun in the business or if it was burn out or simply other issues that caught up to him. I can relate with the pressures of the business weighing heavily on those who care and sometimes that weight can be perceived as insurmountable.

Many I have spoken with have mentioned the passion in which the "Battle of the Posses" was presented Monday night on Raw. That was not manufactured passion and the entire matter could have easily gotten out of hand and still may before all is said and done. Mayweather’s people tried to impose their physical will on many WWE Superstars which did not set well with some. Even after the TV show ended there were still several wrestlers fuming about the cheap shots "Money’s" Posse took. I would not be surprised if both sides weren’t looking forward to the next time they all "gather at the river". Mayweather and his entourage kept largely to themselves on Monday, in what was a tension filled day leading up to the live, 3 hour TV show.

I still have no idea exactly what sort of stipulations the Mayweather-Big Show contest will feature. Upon further review, does it matter? I can only assume Floyd will wear boxing gloves as he customarily does and that Show will not as he customarily does. In the old days when there would be a traditional boxer vs. wrestler match that was usually what occurred. My guess is that we will likely not know the exact nature of the bout until WM24.

Labels: floyd mayweather, jeff hardy, jim ross

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: floyd mayweather, the big show, wrestlemania 24

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

Click below to hear the latest on Jeff Hardy, Ashley and the wild scene last night on RAW between Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show. Click below to hear Matt Loede and John Sefcik in this latest audio edition of Turnbuckle Talk!

Labels: ashley massaro, floyd mayweather, jeff hardy

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments