Hulk
Hogan Pro Wrestling God Tours Casinos; Sports Entertainment
News Update, by Greg Tingle - 23rd January 2012
From
Bondi Beach, Australia to Japan, Canada, the USA -
most of the world knows of Hulk Hogan.
Who
can forget the Hulk-A-Mania Australian tour from a
few years ago where he feuded with long time rival
Ric Flair, and how about the wrestling angle at the
then Star City Casino (now The Star), where it appeared
at first that Hogan and Flair went at it for real
when Flair implied he "had" Hogan's wife
"Jennifer", before Hulk did! Now, that would
start a fight and boy did the blood flow. The action
was so hot that Seven News decided to purchase the
video camera footage from the Media Man agency for
a considerable sum.
The
red did turn to green, as the old wrestling kayfabe
saying goes, but not anywhere near as much as the
Australian promoter or Hogan would have preferred.
The
arena numbers in Australia were on the downside so
much that it was largely responsible for TNA Wrestling
deciding not to to ahead with an Australian tour.
The
only American (or actually global) pro wrestling -
sports entertainment company that he since graced
Australian shores is the one and only WWE, headed
up by promoter genius Vince McMahon. Once in a while
Hogan teases a return to the WWE, and the two do have
some line of communication. Take note that McMahon
has old Hogan rival Flair getting inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame again (with the other 3 Four Horseman
members) the night before WrestleMania, so anything
can and does still happen in the WWE. Read up on other
recent Media Man WWE news for more on that matter.
This
writer would like to see Hogan and Flair both become
official WWE spokespersons at some point, but if its
to be - they need to make the move soon. Father time
is ticking away.
Pro wrestling cousin of sorts, UFC from the MMA world
is about to hit Sydney, Australia for a third time,
but it ain't wrestling. Note, Brock Lensnar from the
UFC and pro wrestling world, has left the UFC recently
suffering a loss at the hands of Alistair Overeem
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, USA.
Hardcore
pro wrestling fans of the WWF and ECK ilk will likely
know this bit of trivia. It was Lesnar that "injured"
Hogan's back in 2002 which was the official reason
that The Hulk didn't visit down under back then. The
back story is that Hogan and McMahon couldn't come
to business terms. What's left to say but that's the
pro wrestling industry.
Wrestling
icon Hulk Hogan was at Speaking Rock Casino and Entertainment
Center last week.
Hogan was there for the Micro Championship Wrestling
event held at the venue.
Hogan
was accompanied by the Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs and
Jerry Sags, as well as Ed Leslie, better known as
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, the former
WWF Tag Team Champion (having held the title with
wrestling legend Greg "The Hammer" Valentine).
Micro
Championship Wrestling has a show promoted by Hogan
on TruTV. The show, which screens as midget wrestling
which has been up and running since August. Note we
called them midgets, not dwarfs, so haters lay off
ok. Some of the wrestlers also like to be called "little
people". Whatever, they are full of excitement,
talent and fun, and don't mind sharing it with the
world.
Australia's
Foxtel doesn't currently get TruTV, so we can't enjoy
Hogan's midget wrestling show on the box at this stage,
but we're hopeful time will change that. Foxtel is
going to soon get a new Factual channel, so there's
hope yet wrestling fans.
Hogan
is the most recognisable figure in the history of
professional wrestling from his success in the business
since the 1980s. Hogan's also had many of movies and
a host of other high profile shows and projects. Hogan's
star power even eclipsed "Stone Cold" Steve
Austin, Gorgeous George (Wagner) and Bruno Sammartino
(for you old school wrestling fans out there).
Hogan
enjoyed high level feuds with the likes of Andre the
Giant, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Paul "Mr
Wonderful" Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Jake "The
Snake" Roberts, "The Magnificent" Don
Muraco, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and "Macho
Man" Randy Savage.
On
the big screen Hogan has starred in "No Holds
Barred," "Suburban Commando" and "Mr.
Nanny." He has also made appearances in Rocky
III and Walker, Texas Ranger. One can argue that current
WWE superstars, John Cena, "The Rock" and
Steve Austin took off where Hogan finished as far
as mixing wrestling and movies. Roddy Piper is widely
regarded as the most talented actor that pro wrestling
ever produced. From time to time Piper does his famous
"Pipers Pit" talk show segment for the WWE
as well as helping out a few other smaller wrestling
promotions.
Hogan
even had his own reality TV show called "Hogan
Knows Best.", and it wasn't long before daughter
Brooke, did her own "Brooke Knows Best"
show.
Hogan
became a household name while in Vince McMahon's World
Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known as WWE, which
enjoyed a live event in Las Cruces, New Mexico on
Sunday at the Pan American Centre.
He
is currently signed to the Impact Wrestling - Total
Nonstop Action wrestling promotion and has a range
of business projects on the go including in the TV,
gaming, casino and internet b2b sectors.
Recently,
Hogan has made headlines on celebrity websites for
his divorce, his son Nick's car crash, daughter Brooke's
music career and the pending removal of his world
famous moustache (to satisfy some Hollywood movie
producers).
Other
Ric
Flair is almost as famous as long time rival Hulk
Hogan, who along with Flair is currently under contract
to Impact Wrestling. Most would argue that Flair is
one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history, while
Hogan has earned more income from wrestling and wrestling
related activities than just about anyone else.
*
The writer has a b2b agreement with the WWE (WWE Shop)
*
Wrestling legend Andre The Giant gets online slot
game via Richard Branson's Virgin Casino.
*
Hogan recently released his Kinnect-based "Hulk
Hogan's Main Event" game which got mixed reviews
from the gaming industry. The game promo goes "Get
pumped and bring the pain in the first full-body wrestling
game on Kinect for Xbox 360! In Hulk Hogan’s
Main Event Hulkamaniacs can train with wrestling icon
Hulk Hogan himself. As your mentor, Hulk will help
you build your own wrestling personality and school
you in the art of showmanship to win over the crowd.
Entertain roaring fans with brutal stunts, combos,
even devastating chair hits, that will knock your
opponent to the mat or out of the ring. The crazier
and wilder your motions, the more high impact your
wrestling performance is in your living room ring!"
*
Hulk Hogan is also tipped to be soon getting his own
online slot game. His Hulk-A-Mania game is being developed
by Endemol Games. Endemol is the company behind the
famous Big Brother franchise, so you know they know
about marketing and publicity. The Media Man agency
is tipped to soon come to business terms with Endemol.
Wrestling
News Media: WWE Australian Tour; International Hulk
Hogan, Austin and Piper News, by Greg Tingle
Professional
wrestling aka "sports entertainment" continues
to be a red hot commodity in both Australian and overseas
markets.
The
United States may be the birthplace of pro wrestling
but Australians have long been recognised as some
of the most passionate fans on the planet, dating
back to the good old days of the original World Championship
Wrestling which was broadcast on Kerry Packer's Channel
Nine circa 1970 - 78.
Early
on into 2012 and pro wrestling appears to be heading
towards another golden era in pro wrestling with more
focus been giving to wrestler's with tremendous athletic
gifts such as CM Punk, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho
and the soon (likely) to be returning, Brock Lesnar.
Sydney,
Australia, will soon once again be host to the WWE
Live Tour, as the gentle giants tour down under, also
doing Melbourne and most other capital cities, promoted
by Melbourne based Dainty Entertainment. The WWE Tour
is set to hit Australia on the 30th August 2012.
Not
to be outdone, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
is set to return to Sydney via All Phones Arena on
3rd March 2012, but sadly Brock Lesnar will not be
going there, having recently retired from UFC - MMA
compeition, following his loss against Alistair Overeem.
This
development of course may be WWE's gain, aiming to
secure Lesnar for their yearly showcase event - WrestleMania.
WWE
RAW World Tour 2012, Australia details...
Presented
by: Dainty Group
WWE's
unique brand of action packed entertainment is returning
to Australia with WWE RAW. Fans will be able to see
all their favourite WWE Superstars including John
Cena®, Alberto Del Rio®, CM Punk®, The
Miz® and many more*.
*Card
subject to change
WHEN:
In Brisbane from 19.30, Thursday, August 30th
In Sydney from 19.30, Friday, August 31st
In Melbourne from 19.30, Saturday September 1st
WHERE:
Live
from the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Live from the Sydney AllPhones Arena
Live from the Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Tickets
go on sale on Thursday, December 8th at 9am and can
be purchased at:
Online: www.ticketek.com.au
Charge by Phone: 132 849
*
Card subject to change
TOUR
DATES
Thu 30 Aug - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Fri 31 Aug - Allphones Arena, Sydney
Sat 1 Sep - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Let's bodyslam ourselves into what's news on some
of the world's hottest pro wrestlers...
"Stone
Cold" Steve Austin - 'STONE COLD' STEVE AUSTIN
Tebow Can HAVE My 3:16 If ...
Before
there was Tebow 3:16 in the NFL ... there was Austin
3:16 in the WWE ... and now the wrestling legend says
he's willing to surrender his iconic numbers to the
NFL star, pending one GIANT condition.
TMZ
spoke with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin --
who tells us he watched Tebow's Mile High Miracle
this weekend and was blown away when he learned Tim
threw for exactly 316 yards in the playoff victory.
FYI
-- the numbers have a special meaning with Stone Cold,
who created the famous faux bible verse back in the
'90s to humiliate his enemies -- "Austin 3:16
says I just whooped your ass!!!"
Now,
Austin tells us, "Austin 3:16 still rules"
... but adds, "If Tebow can throw for 316 yards
again this weekend then hell, he can have the numbers
and I'll have no problem with it."
Austin
continues, "A guy named John was using it before
me ... so if Tebow can do it again, more power to
him!"
"I
wish him all the luck in the world," Austin says
... adding, "I'm not a Denver fan but Tim's a
great role model for kids." (Credit: TMZ)
Hulk
Hogan...
Hulk
Hogan to shave off his iconic moustache...
Hulk
Hogan is going to shave off his iconic moustache.
The
wrestling legend has revealed he is planning to take
a razor to his famous facial hair and long hair in
the coming weeks for some movie auditions.
Hulk
- who has starred in several films, including 'Rocky
III' and 'Suburban Commando' - said: "I'm getting
ready to go to some auditions; I'm getting ready to
shave my head and moustache so that should be scary!"
The
TNA Wrestling star has also revealed he had to have
a "hole drilled" into his head to clear
an infection in his mouth.
The
58-year-old grappler underwent surgery in October
to get dental implants and then after having a teeth
mold fitted he got an infection which wouldn't clear
up which was revealed to have been caused by a metal
tack left in his mouth by a dentist.
He
told TMZ.com: "The theme for today is kids take
care of your teeth, because if you stuff candy in
your mouth you're going to rot your teeth out.
"After
many years of not taking care of teeth correctly I
had to finally have surgery and a couple of glitches
in the system and we got an infection.
"I
had surgery and they drilled a hole in my head - which
I needed to let all the hot air out - cleaned everything
up so I'm good to go. But it feels like somebody punched
me in the face."
Over
the course of his five decade spanning career, Hulk
has only been seen a handful of times without his
moustache in the ring and on screen.
It
is not yet known if the 12-time world heavyweight
champion will recover in time to join the rest of
the TNA roster for the Maximum IMPACT Tour of the
UK later this month.
The
tour kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Nottingham
Capital FM Arena before heading to the Manchester
MEN Arena.
The
company's flagship TV show 'IMPACT Wrestling' - which
is broadcast on Challenge TV in the U.K. and Ireland
and Spike TV in Canada and the U.S. - will then be
filmed for the first time outside of the U.S. at London's
Wembley Arena on Jan. 28.
The
tour will feature a host wrestling's biggest names,
including Kurt Angle and AJ Styles and will also be
the last ever appearance made in the UK by grappling
icon Sting.
Hulk Hogan Surgery Scare - Metal Tack Removed, Will
Shave Off Iconic Mustache?...
Hulk
Hogan is going to shave off his iconic mustache.
The
wrestling legend has revealed he is planning to take
a razor to his famous facial hair and long hair in
the coming weeks for some movie auditions.
Hulk
– who has starred in several films, including
'Rocky III' and 'Suburban Commando' – said: "I'm
getting ready to go to some auditions; I'm getting
ready to shave my head and mustache so that should
be scary!"
The
TNA Wrestling star has also revealed he had to have
a "hole drilled" into his head to clear
an infection in his mouth.
The
58-year-old grappler underwent surgery in October
to get dental implants and then after having a teeth
mold fitted he got an infection which wouldn't clear
up which was revealed to have been caused by a metal
tack left in his mouth by a dentist.
He
told TMZ.com: "The theme for today is kids take
care of your teeth, because if you stuff candy in
your mouth you're going to rot your teeth out.
"After
many years of not taking care of teeth correctly I
had to finally have surgery and a couple of glitches
in the system and we got an infection.
"I
had surgery and they drilled a hole in my head - which
I needed to let all the hot air out - cleaned everything
up so I'm good to go. But it feels like somebody punched
me in the face."
Over
the course of his five decade spanning career, Hulk
has only been seen a handful of times without his
moustache in the ring and on screen.
It
is not yet known if the 12-time world heavyweight
champion will recover in time to join the rest of
the TNA roster for the Maximum IMPACT Tour of the
UK later this month.
The
tour kicks off on Thursday January 26 at the Nottingham
Capital FM Arena before heading to the Manchester
MEN Arena.
The
company's flagship TV show 'IMPACT Wrestling' –
which is broadcast on Challenge TV in the UK and Ireland
and Spike TV in the US - will then be filmed for the
first time outside of the US at London's Wembley Arena
on January 28.
The
tour will feature a host wrestling's biggest names,
including Kurt Angle and AJ Styles and will also be
the last ever appearance made in the UK by grappling
icon Sting.
"Rowdy"
Roddy Piper...
Wrestling
Legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Reveals One Last
Match...
Professional
wrestling legend, and star of the cult horror classic
movie by John Carpenter "They Live", Roddy
Piper announced on his Twitter that he expects to
wrestle one last match. A fan asked Piper about the
possibility of having a final match and Piper responded,
via the social networking site, "I have not been
asked to be in Royal Rumble. I tell u a secret, promise
to keep it? I am going to do 1 more balls to wall
match!"
Andre
The Giant (the late) - set to appear in an online
slot game at Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment - PartyCasino.
The game was developed by North Sydney based NextGen
Gaming. You can trust the Media Man and Wrestling
News Media network to keep following up the story.
WWE
producing "Legends House"...
WWE
continues to develope a slew of new content for the
launch of their upcoming 24/7 channel, WWE Network.
"Legends House" is set to be a part of the
launch as a reality series focusing on WWE legends
living together in the a house. WWE has promoted the
show and the new network via WWE RAW on the USA Network.
The
concept of the show is expected to be similar to traditional
reality set-up like MTV's "Real World" and
CBS's "Big Brother", yet with larger-than-life
personalities of WWE peformers it will be must-see
TV for any wrestling fan, as well as for fans of the
reality TV genre.
No
legendary stars have been confirmed for the series
yet, but there's plenty of speculation.
The very controversial and foul mouthed Iron Sheik
is rumored to a part of the cast. On social media
many fans have chatted about what legends they would
want to see on "Legends House." Hacksaw
Jim Duggan, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, and Dusty Rhodes
were among some of the names being tossed around between
fans on Twitter and Facebook. We're hoping Jake "The
Snake" Roberts, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka,
Sgt Slaughter, Billy "Superstar" Graham,
Don "Magnificent" Muraco, Paul "Mr
Wonderful" Orndorff, "Cowboy" Bob Orton,
and Dusty "The American" Dream also get
serious consideration. A similar pitch was made to
Media Man three years ago, however at the time a number
of financial related aspects slowed concept to reality.
This time around the project looks to be moving full
speed ahead and the Media Man agency will be offering
strong media coverage should the project keep moving
forward. For the record, we think its going to cross
the finish line and put a nice little pay cheque in
a few people's pockets. Let's hope the legends are
looked after fairly for all their blood, sweat and
tears they put out over the years.
The
Late News...
Shaquille
O’Neal Close to WWE WrestleMania Deal?; Latest
on Brock Lesnar’s Return...
According
to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Shaquille "Shaq"
O’Neal has reportedly been closing in on his
WWE WrestleMania deal, and he may have already agreed
to business terms.
WWE
creative has been told to start thinking about weaving
O’Neal into storylines - likely for a match with
The Big Show (Paul Wight).
Due
to its John Cena vs. The Rock main-event, WrestleMania
28 is a strong contender to set the all-time buyrate
record, and WWE is striving to do everything it can
to push the interest and buy rates to the moon. Adding
Shaquille O’Neal into the equation, especially
with Shaq should help further the event’s must
see statue as WWE’s biggest WrestleMania of all-time.
Regarding
a Brock Lesnar return, no one has been provided any
reason to expect it will happen at this year’s
WrestleMania, but it might just happen. WWE top brass
Vince McMahon reportedly told at least one creative
staff member that it is not a foregone conclusion
a Lesnar return would include the return of Paul Heyman
as his manager.
Recently
returned WWE Superstar, Chris Jericho, for what its
worth, has been having little verbal jabs at Lesnar,
so we will have to see if that develops into something
more.
In
any event, this years WrestleMania should be awesome.
For
recent updates on pro wrestling keep checking the
Wrestling News Media www.wrestlingnewsmedia.com web
blog along with the website of our friends over at
Wrestling.net.au
Wrestling
News Media: WWE, Kevin Nash, Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan,
Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Andre The Giant, Steve Austin,
The Rock, John Cena, UFC - 7th November 2011
Kevin
Nash aka 'Diesel' returns to WWE Raw on Monday's episode
from the United Kingdon. Nash is scheduled to resume
his feud with an "injured" Triple H as part
of the build-up to an expected singles match in the
near future. Plus, more build-up for The Rock &
John Cena teaming up at Survivor Series. Nash continues
to run his official website, sporting gaming in the
mix, but his site could do with a major update, not
that ours is perfect either. Great to see Nash become
relevant again and Triple H should bring out the best
in him, but don't expect a Shawn Michaels 5 star classic.
WWE
TV Network News Update...
During
WWE's quarterly conference call with investors this
past Thursday, WWE CEO Vince McMahon had some harsh
words about talk show host Oprah's cable TV network
and contrasted the Oprah model with WWE Network plans,
which McMahon was very optimistic about during the
conference call.
"I
would say I suppose the one of the notorious ones
(branded TV Network models) would be the Oprah Network,
which is a miserable failure on all accounts because
you have a brand like Oprah and it does take a genius
to figure out that, 'Okay, why don’t we have
Oprah do what she does best in our very own network,'
and that's the one thing that doesn't happen,"
McMahon said. "So, in terms of the introduction
of a network theory, you're saying, 'Okay, let's take
Oprah, but let’s don’t use, let’s not
whatever we do, we don’t use her and what she
does best. Let’s just try and take an Oprah name
and try and brand that in a big round about way,'
which obviously from a common sense standpoint, it
doesn't make sense... We know what our WWE attributes
are. So, we have the opportunity to enhance all of
that and bring further viewers, lapse viewers, and
as well as current viewers and new viewers from a
younger age set of two to 11 into the network, which
will be extraordinary, because we are giving the audience
what they want, not what they don't want."
Mick
Foley WWE Return...
Mick
Foley returned to WWE at Wednesday's Raw house show
in Dublin, Ireland, which started WWE's bi-annual
European Tour. Foley, who has hinted at a WWE return
for several weeks, is in the U.K. for his own promotional
tour.
Piper campaigning for Piper's Pit with Rock &
Cena...
WWE
Hall of Famer Roddy Piper has taken to Twitter to
campaign for a Piper's Pit segment with The Rock and
John Cena prior to their tag team match at Survivor
Series.
"IF
THE WWE DOESN'T PUT THE ROCK, CENA, PIPER IN PIPER'S
PIT THEY ARE CHEATING EVERY FAN IN THE WWE UNIVERSE.
THINK THERE AFRAID? i'M NOT," Piper tweeted Friday.
"SPAM THE WWE FOR PIPERS PIT WITH CENA AND ROCK.
I PROMISE, IT WILL BE EPIC."
Ric Flair staying put in TNA; Interesting in more
business deals...
For
the meantime Flair will be staying in Impact Wrestling
(formally known as TNA). Flair continues to endorse
Carolina's Education Lottery, and is keen to see a
Ric Flair online slot game become a reality, following
in the footsteps of Hulk Hogan and the late Andre
The Giant, both expected to have their slots online
in a number of months.
WrestleMania
28 press release; Rock vs. Cena...
STAMFORD,
Conn., November 2, 2011– WWE® announced today
that tickets for its annual pop culture extravaganza,
WrestleMania XXVIII, will go on sale this Saturday,
November 5 at 10 AM ET. WrestleMania XXVIII will take
place Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Sun Life Stadium
in Miami, FL. The event will be headlined by the highly
anticipated main event featuring “the most electrifying
man in all of entertainment,” The Rock® against
WWE Superstar John Cena®.
Ticket
prices range from $25-$850. There will also be a limited
number of “Gold Circle” VIP Packages available
for $1,500. The Gold Circle packages include seating
in the first four rows ringside, an exclusive Gold
Circle VIP Stadium Entrance, a collectible WrestleMania
XXVIII ticket holder and the commemorative WrestleMania
XXVIII take-home folding chair. Tickets can be purchased
through all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com
or by calling 1-800-745-3000. All tickets are subject
to service charges and facility fees.
Last
year, a capacity crowd of 71,617 fans from all 50
states and 30 countries attended WrestleMania XXVII
at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. WrestleMania is
more than just a one day event, it’s a week long
celebration, as WWE will be taking over the greater
Miami area during WrestleMania Week. In addition to
WrestleMania XXVIII, other activities will include:
WrestleMania Axxess – WWE’s four day interactive
fan festival; WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals;
WrestleMania Pro-Am Golf Tournament and the 2012 WWE
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Additional information
on these events will be announced in the future at
www.wrestlemania.com.
Sylvester Stallone speaks to Entertainment Tonight
about his Steve Austin injury during 'The Expendables'...
Entertainment
Tonight's Nancy O'Dell (one-time WWE Raw guest host)
caught up with Sylvester Stallone on-set at his new
movie, "Bullet to the Head," to discuss
the film's progression before an April 2012 scheduled
release date. Stallone noted he's still feeling the
effects of neck surgery that was required after he
suffered an injury at the hands of "Stone Cold"
Steve Austin shooting "The Expendables"
last year. Austin was required to tackle Stallone,
who accidentally landed on a pile of bricks. Stallone
said, "It's never really the same. "You're
just able to function a little bit better."
Hogan and Diamond Dallas Page starring in new movie...
Hulk
Hogan and Diamond Dallas Page are scheduled to be
featured in an upcoming movie, "Black River,"
that is currently in production. According to a synopsis
released by filmmakers Corn Bred films, the movie
centers around several murders, a local town secret,
and a father who lost his son and whose life "rapidly
deteriorates into a storm of violence, murder, and
small town intrigue."
UFC 138 Gets Fox Sports...
After
more than a devade of working his arse off and telling
anyone who would listen that mixed martial arts would
one day surpass soccer as the world’s most popular
sport, UFC president Dana White has finally gotten
to the super big time in the sports media world.
The
UFC, the major league of MMA, will debut on network
television on Saturday when Fox Sports airs the heavyweight
title bout between champion Cain Velasquez and No.
1 contender Junior dos Santos live at 9 p.m. ET/6
p.m. PT from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The
seven-year deal between the UFC and Fox, which runs
through 2018, is an affirmation of the brilliant work
done in the last decade by White and UFC co-founders
Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta (casino, gaming and entertainment
entrepreneurs from Station Casinos) in building a
sport from the ground up.
The
Velasquez-dos Santos match up is an interesting clash
of styles, pitting Velasquez’s top line wrestling
and awesome conditioning against dos Santos’
terrific boxing and underrated jiu jitsu.
The
match up would have been a huge pay-per-view main
eventer, but when he finally landed the network deal,
White didn't hesitated to offer it as the first Fox
main event. The show will essentially serve as a one-hour
promo for the UFC, and there could be no better way
to showcase the sport at its best than by putting
the two top fighters in the sport’s marquee division
on network television in front of the largest possible
audience.
“This
is a throwback to the old days of boxing,” White
said. “We are putting a big fight – a huge
fight – on free TV to expose this thing to a
new audience. Our goal has always been to bring big
fights back to network television. We are thinking
long-term for the future of this sport. It is an investment
in the future of the UFC. Fans that have never seen
the UFC before will see this show, and that’s
why we decided to put Cain and Junior in this position.
“I
know for a fact this is going to be an awesome fight.
I know it is going to be great. That’s why it
was these two [fighters] in this position. I have
no worries at all this is going to be a great fight.”
As
its popularity has grown, the UFC has added a vast
array of businesses. There is now a UFC video game,
a UFC magazine and UFC-branded gyms. There are DVDs,
trading cards, action figures, fan festivals and tons
of clothing.
The
turnaround that White and the Fertittas engineered
with the UFC, which they bought for $2 million in
Jan. 2001, is every bit as impressive as what Vince
McMahon did with the old WWWE -Titan Sports, bringing
it to WrestleMania and sports entertainment level.
White
and the Fertitta brothers engineered a similar turnaround
with the UFC. Less than five years into their ownership,
they were $44 million in debt and on the verge of
selling the company.
White,
though, believed deeply in the sport and in putting
on the best, most evenly matched fights he could.
Then, he encouraged his fighters to compete in a fan-friendly
style, awarding cash bonuses for Fight of the Night,
Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night.
In addition, White often pays fighters locker-room
bonuses, which are above and beyond what fighters
are contracted to earn, if he likes their matches.
Those bonuses have gone in excess of $1 million at
times.
Making
the best fights he could and rewarding the fighters
who delivered entertaining bouts are key reasons for
the UFC’s skyrocketing popularity and is largely
what made the Fox deal possible.
The
UFC flourished on cable. Its deal with Spike saved
the company and helped it to get to the point where
every major broadcast network had some degree of interest.
It’s
still got a long way to go however. UFC fighters aren’t
nearly as well known as stars in other sports or sports
entertainment. No UFC fighter is close to WWE's The
Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin or Impact Wrestling's
Hulk Hogan.
White
is banking on the Fox deal to help bring the UFC into
the mainstream. Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon,
who fought on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality
show on Spike, is convinced Fox will propel the sport
to the next level.
“This
is just the beginning,” Lauzon said. “The
UFC took a huge jump when they got on TV with ‘The
Ultimate Fighter,’ [though] no one really understood
how big of a deal it was until after the fact. Look
how far the UFC has come with just Spike, basically.
“Now
that they have Fox, and it’s going to take another
tremendous jump. I think that Lorenzo Fertitta was
saying it’s a commercial for the UFC. They’re
going to use these Fox shows to get attention and
funnel people into the pay-per-view.”
Prior
to this deal, Velasquez would be preparing to defend
his belt on pay-per-view. But White, 42, grew up in
an era when there was still plenty of live boxing
on television. He religiously watched fights on the
weekends on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”
and during the week on USA Network’s “Tuesday
Night Fights.”
The
biggest stars in the sport competed in those fights.
But when pay-per-view came along, boxing promoters
took their stars off network television and put them
on PPV, where they were fighting in front of a significantly
smaller audience.
White
never forgot that, and when he took over the UFC,
he vowed that he would honor the “Wide World
of Sports” tradition and put big fights on free
television when he got the opportunity.
There
are few bigger bouts than a heavyweight championship
match. Velasquez, who defeated former WWE megastar
Brock Lesnar 13 months ago to win the belt, is an
unlikely star in many ways.
A
two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, he
is soft-spoken and polite and not the kind of person
to draw attention to himself. But he’s a fierce
fighter who has become a fan favorite because of his
aggressive, entertaining style.
He
was on the set of Fox’s NFL pre-game show and
has made dozens of appearances as he’s prepared
to face dos Santos. Seeing the growth of the sport
up-close has been mind-boggling to him.
“I
saw it growing because it’s a very fun sport
to watch, and it appeals to a young audience,”
Velasquez said. “I never saw this, though. This
is well beyond what I thought would ever be possible.”
And
it’s only going to get bigger. The Fox contract
will expose the sport to many who haven’t given
it a chance and will help White cultivate an entirely
new segment of fans.
The
UFC may never become bigger worldwide than soccer,
as White predicts, but that’s hardly a problem.
The
combination of a network TV deal and White’s
firm commitment to putting first-rate fights consistently
on Fox will guarantee that the UFC’s growth spurt
is nowhere close to being finished.
Make
no mistake, UFC is right up their with WWE and most
say its already far surpassed professional boxing
(while taking away legions of fans from the sweet
science).
White
and his UFC are on top of the world, right next to
WWE's Vince McMahon, who he has deep respect for.
Tickets
are on sale Friday 28th January, opening at 9am via
Ticketek. WWE has thus far named for the "World
Tour" - John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, The
Miz and Wade Barrett.
Dates
and venues:
Friday
1st July - Sydney (Acer Arena)
Saturday 2nd July - Melbourne (Rod Laver Arena)
Sunday 3rd July - Perth (Burswood Dome)
Monday 4th July - Adelaide (Entertainment Centre)
Tuesday 5th July - Brisbane (Entertainment Centre)
Wrestling
News Media: Snooki, 'The Rock' and 'Mania: When Headlocks
and Hollywood Collide - 1st April 2011
One
is the queen of MTV's Jersey Shore; the other is WWE's
resident Mexican aristocrat. One is famous for being
perhaps the worst of the tanned, bouffant-wearing,
gum-chomping Italian stereotype. The other invites
fans' wrath with a wink and a smile as he drives the
world's most expensive cars to the ring and insists
on being introduced by his own personal ring announcer
- in Spanish.
Only
one entity - and one extravaganza - could bring these
two very different stars together: World Wrestling
Entertainment's 27th annual WrestleMania on Sunday.
Snooki will participate in a six-person, inter-gender
grudge match while Alberto Del Rio will vie for the
World Heavyweight Championship in his WrestleMania
debut. Both promise to thrill 70,000-plus screaming
fans in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
"It's
going to be the peak of my career," said Del
Rio, a native of Mexico. "My family, my entire
country, is going to be proud of me because I'm going
to go out there and become the new World Heavyweight
Champion. I'm going to die out there trying to become
the World Heavyweight Champion."
So
what's behind the infatuation with WrestleMania? Why
do fans come from around the world and dole out hard-earned
money to watch this spectacle on pay-per-view? What
is it about WrestleMania that makes fathers and sons
and daughters jump out of their seats and grown, muscle-bound
men in tights speak in hushed reverence?
Simply
put, it is pro wrestling's greatest annual event.
All wrestlers who grew up as fans dream of performing
in it and look forward to watching it. Even in the
choreographed world of professional wrestling, there
is nothing staged about the emotion and excitement
from anyone who performs at WrestleMania.
"As
a kid, all I wanted to do was be a wrestler,"
said Del Rio. "Now that I'm here in WWE - WrestleMania
is our NBA, our Super Bowl, our World Series of professional
wrestling. As a wrestler, as a performer, I always
dreamed of being in something like that."
For
the fan, WrestleMania's appeal is as nuanced as wrestling's
longtime popularity. Wrestling's magnetism goes hand-in-hand
with the dawn of the television age in the 1950s,
but WrestleMania took it to another level. It is a
marriage of headlocks and Hollywood that began in
1985, when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon teamed up the
charisma of Hulk Hogan and the diabolical lunacy of
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper with the star power
of Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper. (Credit:
News Corporation).
Wrestling
News Media: Shawn Michaels' Speech At WWE Hall Of
Fame Induction 2011: 'Thank You' - 2nd April 2011
Thank
you. ["HBK!" chant. "Thank you Shawn!"
chant. Whoa! Some other chant.] The damnedest thing
on my way to my Hall of Fame speech, a damn roast
broke out. Thanks. I knew there was no way you was
gonna say anything nice about me. For the 15 years
we've known each other he never has, and he never
will. He's like the Fonz trying to say he's sorry.
[Muttering.]
I
know how tough it was for you to say . That was a
huge deal for him to even recognize that I worked
in this line of work for 36 years. You're not aware
of this, but we shared a big moment there. There's
some psychiatrists going, "They're starting to
heal."
I'm
nervous, so don't give me cat calls. [Cat calls.]
I've been going over what I'm gonna say. ["One
more match!" chant.] You're killing me with the
one more match thing. Seriously, I know it's good
TV, he'll have a nervous breakdown. We sold out the
building! He had a heart attack!
["We
love you Shawn!"] I'm serious. For the love of
God, help me out here. I don't even know where to
start. You know there are things that go between ...
I can't say, I'm not supposed to say. That's one of
the reasons I was OK to retire. Coincidentally, this
is the first year where we're not doing it live. They'll
chop it up in post to make sure it's ok to air.
When
I was 19 years old, I didn't want to be a sports entertainer.
I didn't know at the time. I told my mom and dad,
I want to do what those guys do it on TV. Making it
was going to be going out in San Antonio and wresting
in front of 25 people. Fast forward, and I'm a 45-year-old
man, and I get to stand here and say thank you.
Along
the way, I wasn't really aware of it. I was raised
by a loving family, sitting right down here, who loved
me every step of the way and supported me. But for
whatever reason when I started doing this line of
work at 19 I spent the next 26 years searching for
validation. I don't even know why. But what my peers
thought of me and what you thought of me was the most
important thing in my life. And I worked myself into
the ground. It was so important to me that you thought
I did a good job. I know that sounds patronizing,
but I want to thank you so much for giving me that.
I'm
very thankful to all the other inductees and especially
Triple H for making this fun and amusing. Because
as much as I've tried to not make it a deep and heavy
cry fest, I can't do it. There are no words to express
how much I lived and breathed to do this every night
for so many years. And it begs the question, how am
I gonna be OK away from this?
Last
Monday the Undertaker had mentioned Shawn Michaels
will walk into the Hall of Fame with a ton of regrets.
If this had happened in 1998, that might've been true.
At that time, I was good at my job, but there's no
way I could've stood here with no regrets. And although
my family would've been proud of me, I know there
would've been a little disappointment for them and
a certain guy backstage whose name I'm not allowed
to mention. [Crowd WOOs. Guy next to me says "RIC
FLAIR!" I believe him!]
I
came back in 2002 after being told I'd never wrestle
again, for one more match. That was nine years ago.
I'm thankful I can stand before you with absolutely
no regrets. [Missed a part about God and his family.
Sorry.] Since they came into my life, I've had not
a regret. Not a second goes by that I'm not thankful.
The most precious gift of all is my little family.
I love you all so much, and I want to thank you for
being so selfless and letting daddy finish what he
started.
It
was very important to me to come back and go away
on my own terms. I love my two children more than
anything in the world. Thank you so much for letting
daddy go wrestle. [I have a daughter. Totally about
to tear up.]
There
are countless WWE superstars that I've had to create
with. I'd love to mention everybody, but I don't want
to make this too long. I don't wanna be that guy.
[Crowd WOOs.] You guys are implying that. I'm not
saying that. Every year there's somebody, and we're
like, dude there's WrestleMania tomorrow. I'm gonna
assume you know who you are.
Because
I did my best to make sure before I left to tell you
how awesome it was for me, and how much I appreciate
you guys [makes crazy hand gestures] putting up with
me when I wanna do something you don't do all that
much. I appreciate your time and patience. I appreciate
you being a part of my life. A lot of times all we've
got is each other. We're like guys in a fox hole together.
But when we're with each other, we're all we got.
We can stab each other in the back, but can't nobody
else do it.
I
wanna thank you for allowing me to be a part of that
fraternity. We're always gonna look at everybody else
and say you're not gonna understand it. And that's
OK. It's something we're gonna take to our graves.
And
lastly there's all of you. The WWE universe, the fans.
I love every one of you, even when you bother me at
5 in the morning, even when I cuss you, you still
come back and forgive me. You have been a part of
my life and family for so many years, it begs the
question, why would a 19-year-old kid from a wonderful
upbringing seek validation from strangers?
One
thing people used to always say that separated me
is that I could make a connection with you. I don't
know if I did a good job, but for the last 26 years
whether you were connected to me I have no idea, but
I was connected to you. I have never won Most Popular,
I wasn't the prom king, I wasn't the homecoming king,
so I guess in my adult life the most important thing
to me was that you believed in me and thought I was
good. On this night, 2011 Hall of Fame, I feel it,
I thank you, I love my ring. And I love each and every
one of you.
I
know this has been sappy. I can't help it. And if
you're not down with that, I got two words for you.
("Suck it!" from the crowd.)
WWE
News: Jim Ross new blog on WWE Hall of Fame &
announcing future, Daniel Bryan interview on Miz,
Cena, cattle mutilation (Credit:
Pro Wrestling Torch)
By
James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
--
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has published a new blog
on jrsbarbq.com
discussing this year's WWE Hall of Fame class, Paul
Orndorff's cancer revelation, historical Royal Rumble
events, his announcing future, and other topics in
the news.
On
the Hall of Fame: "I hope that the class does
have a WCW/Atlanta feel but the class will likely
be 6-8 inductions tops. Plus, WWE will want to not
over do posthumous inductions if at all possible."
On
his announcing future: "Have I called my last
event in any thing? I hope not and that's not my plan
but my broadcasting work may not include regular WWE
work but something outside the genre." Ross said
he feels he's a "long shot" for the Univ.
of Oklahoma announcing job, but he's "not retreating"
on pursuing his dream job.
--
WWE U.S. champion Daniel Bryan has an interview with
Jon Waldman of Slam Wrestling covering a variety of
different subjects from his first year in WWE.
Bryan
said he would have liked to have learned more from
The Miz on Season 1 of NXT, he hasn't seen his infamous
2003 Velocity match against yellow-pants-wearing John
Cena "in years," and he won't use the Cattle
Mutilation submission on TV.
On
possibly wrestling Cena again: "I thought it
was a good match and it gets me excited because I
know we both progressed in our careers and if we ever
got to wrestle again it would be really good."
On
not using Cattle Mutilation on TV: "I didn't
really believe the Cattle Mutilation would get over
with the WWE Universe, and the reason why is because
it's such a TV-oriented product. There are a lot of
downfalls to it. You can't see the other guy's face,
and on top of that, it's very difficult to do it to
big guys; I don't have long arms."
Tough
Enough Returns, by Greg Tingle - 7th January 2011
WWE
officially announced on Monday that USA Network has
ordered ten episodes of the "Tough Enough"
series beginning Monday, April 4, the night after
WrestleMania 27.
Media
Man Australia is often quotes and featured in the
press regarding pro wresting. Portfolio includes:
ABC
Radio, ABC TV, The Australian Worker, Pro Wrestling
Torch, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Oregonian,
The New York Times Online, Baltimore Sun (Ring Posts),
Gambling911...
Professional
wrestling, or pro wrestling, is the performance, management,
and marketing of a simulated sport and performing
art which combines elements of catch wrestling, mock
combat and theatre. Modern professional wrestling
usually features simulated striking and grappling
techniques, which are modelled after diverse sets
of global wrestling and pugilistic styles.
Professional
wrestling can vary from sports entertainment like
WWE to a legitimate sport like Japanese wrestling
and even lucha libre style wrestling found in Mexico.
(Credit:
Wikipedia).
