New Matches Set for WWE Elimination Chamber

- Antonio Cesaro defeated Dolph Ziggler in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match on tonight’s SmackDown to earn a spot in the Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. Christian returned to action on tonight’s show and defeated Jack Swagger to earn the final spot in the Chamber.

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family was also announced. Here’s the updated card after tonight:

Elimination Chamber for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro vs. Christian vs. Randy Orton

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family

CM Punk’s Status, Interesting “Did You Know” at NXT, WWE Stock, Lana-Rusev Update

- CM Punk has now been removed from all WWE live events and TV tapings, including WrestleMania XXX Axxess. He’s still booked for a Wizard World Louisville Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky on March 28th.

- WWE stock closed at $24.19 per share today after peaking at $24.82. This is the highest since November 1999.

- WWE NXT Diva Lana will indeed be coming to the main roster with Alexander Rusev. A vignette for the duo aired on tonight’s SmackDown.

 - WWE aired a “Did You Know?” at last night’s NXT TV tapings that said NXT was voted the best wrestling TV show of the year. They did not mention that it was the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that made that vote.

Daniel Bryan Talks Relationship with Brie Bella, Favorite Wrestling Moves, More

- Daniel Bryan was recently interviewed by Reyan Ali of The Classical. Here are some highlights:

You’ve had an enormous career in terms of all the people you’ve come across on the independents or in WWE. You must have seen hundreds of hours of matches. In terms of finishing holds besides your own, do you have any favorites and, on the flip side, ones you really dislike?

I still think the Superkick is the best finisher ever. It was just so good. There’s so many [favorites]. I think Antonio Cesaro’s finish right now is cool. I always loved the Piledriver, so an adaptation of the Piledriver is very awesome to me. I’ve always loved submission holds, so I love the Sharpshooter, that sort of thing. I love Dean Malenko’s Cloverleaf.

The things that I never really liked as finishers were the stuff that was wacky, stuff like the Von Erichs [who] did the Tornado Punch, you know what I mean? [Laughs] The Ultimate Warrior—even though he was my favorite as a kid—[had] the Press Slam, and then he’d hit the ropes a couple of times and give ‘em the Big Splash, the Hulk Hogan Legdrop—stuff like that was all stuff [where] I was just like, ‘Eh.’ To be fair, I honestly always hated the Rock Bottom. To me, it was just like, ‘Uh, that’s weird and stupid.’

Considering the success of Total Divas and your big role on the show, what do you think of the idea of Daniel Bryan as a reality show star?

Oh my gosh, it’s so surreal. If you would have asked probably anybody in my high school who was the least likely person in our graduating class to be on a reality show, I probably wouldn’t have [been] the top as far as the least likely, but I would be up there in the top 10 percent, you know what I mean? [Laughs] Even my friends from the independents: ‘Hey, will Bryan ever be on a reality show?’ ‘No, he has no interest.’ It’s just very surreal. [The cameras are] not following me around, they’re following Brie around, so it’s not exactly the same thing. But [considering] just that I’m in it, my friends and family are like, ‘This is crazy.’ [Laughs]

Aside from what the cameras pick up, what’s your relationship with Brie like?

We very rarely get time off, so for us, it’s mostly just recovering from wrestling. A lot of times, I’ll leave on Friday and I don’t get home ’til Wednesday, so then I have the rest of Wednesday, which I’m exhausted [for], and then Thursday, [for] which I spend a lot of the day packing for the weekend. We don’t go on a lot of dates per se. Our lives are relatively boring in comparison to what you would think.

But when we do get some time off, like for Valentine’s Day [2013], we had like four days off, and we went to Sedona, Arizona, which is like a little piece of Heaven. We did some stargazing. We went hiking. We went on this guided spiritual tour thing. It was so much fun. It was beautiful. It was out in the mountains and all that kind of stuff. That’s kind of the thing that we’re into.

Dean Ambrose on Who He Wants to Feud With, His Previous Character and More

- Dean Ambrose was recently interviewed by Reyan Ali of The Classical. Here are some highlights:

You poured so much into the Jon Moxley character over the years. What’s different about Jon Moxley compared to Dean Ambrose? Can you tell me about the relationship between those guys?

Eh, I mean, a name’s just a name. I don’t think that’s all that big of a deal. You could call me an autobiographical kind of wrestler because if you went through my career, looking at me character-wise or by what I was doing at the time, you can kind of see that [my place in] real life would reflect in what I was doing in wrestling. To me, it’s very important that everything I do is real; it always has been to me. Everything I do is real or it’s really a reflection of me. I’ve never been a completely 100 percent fictional character.

That works for some people—and there have been some great ones—but I’ve almost always just been an exaggerated mirror image of what you get when I roll out of bed in the morning. If I’m in a good mood, if I’m feeling arrogant, happy, sad, funny, angry, whatever it is, you’re going to get some sort of reflection of that in the performance. I mean, the guy I was four or five years ago—I’m not really in the same place then as I am now. Giving that same image off wouldn’t be authentic.

Last things to ask: Who do you travel with? Who do you want to feud with in the future?

I travel with The Shield. We keep it very tight and travel together. I’ll travel with Claudio [Castagnoli] sometimes—Antonio Cesaro. I get along with pretty much everybody. I’m really easy to get along with. I can be pretty quiet and keep to myself. I’m a guy who just kind of sits in the back of a room [to] watch and learn and see what everybody’s doing. I’m a super laid-back, easy-to-get-along-with kind of guy.

As far as who I’d like to feud with in the future, there’s so many [people] it’s hard to count. I’m sure eventually, it’s going to happen one day where either any of the three of us in The Shield are going to be looking across the ring from each other. You know, when that happens, that’ll be a good day because hopefully, it’s in a position where we’re doing it in a high-profile scenario for a lot of money.

Randy [Orton] is a guy. I’m on the same side of the fence as Randy right now, but Randy’s a guy that I love watching work. He’s a guy [where] I’ll always stop and watch his matches.

[Voice rises enthusiastically] Christian is just so unbelievably good. I mean, I always knew Christian was really good. Working with Christian, he’s been here for so long and has so much experience, you realize his brain is a super-evolved version of my brain [with] the way he sees matches play out, the way he comes up with things, especially in tag matches and stuff like that. Christian’s a guy who I’ve only had a small sampling of working with. Christian’s a guy I want to spend a lot more time in the ring with.

It’s awesome working with RVD, too. I’m a big ECW fan, so I got to work with him on a loop in California, and he’s cool. He’s friggin’ RVD. He’s got all the RVD spots and he’s ageless and stuff. There’s just countless guys that you want to work with for one reason or the other. I’m looking forward to diving headfirst into all of them.

Sin Cara Signs with WWL, JR on Fans Hijacking Events, NXT

- The World Wrestling League promotion in Puerto Rico announced today that the original Sin Cara has just signed with the promotion.

- WWE will hold another set of NXT TV tapings on February 28th at Full Sail University, the night after the live NXT: Arrival special on the Network. WWE will be selling two day passes to the live special and the tapings for just $45. 

- Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section on jrsbarbq.com and commented on fans booing and hijacking shows:

“Its impossible to make everyone happy but all promotions should use fan feedback as an important element in their decision making”

Bad Sign for a Possible CM Punk Return for WrestleMania Week

- CM Punk has been removed from the WrestleMania XXX Axxess lineup.

Fans who had purchased tickets for his April 5th VIP Autograph session were emailed and notified that Ric Flair would be replacing Punk. No explanation was offered to fans in the email, so apparently WWE is not ready to comment on the Punk situation.

Fans are given the option of taking a refund or exchanging their ticket for one of the other VIP sessions, or attending the session with Flair.

Is CM Punk Leaving a Work or Shoot?, HHH Stays Hidden at NXT Tapings, WWE Classics

- Regarding Punk’s status with WWE, several sources reiterate that this is not part of some big storyline. It’s always possible that Punk and WWE officials will come to terms and the whole thing could played off as an angle but as of right now, that is not the case at all.

- Today was the last day that WWE’s Classics On Demand service will run.

- It’s worth noting that Triple H did not make an appearance in front of the rowdy crowd at last night’s WWE NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University. Regarding the CM Punk chants that we reported on last night, one fan wrote to us and described it as one of the most disrespectful things they have ever seen from a wrestling crowd. Fans were chanting for Punk during other wrestler entrances and during their matches. Another fan said it had to be a nerve-wracking night for WWE officials because of the Punk fans.

Punk to UFC?, Heyman Added to Network Special, What HHH Did on Thursday

- While doing media for UFC 169 yesterday, Dana White talked about CM Punk possibly joining UFC. Here’s the quote courtesy of BJPenn.com:

“He quit [the WWE]? Really? No, he hasn’t said a word to me [about fighting in the UFC]. He hasn’t reached out to me. I was with him all night in Chicago, he never said a word about it. He just showed up. We talked about a lot of things, fighting was not one of them. I like him, he’s a great guy. It’s a little late to get into the game, but who knows if he can fight? I don’t know. We’ll see what happens, but I like him a lot. He’s a nice guy.”

- Triple H spent Thursday morning giving international media interviews and a tour at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Here’s a photo:

John Cena, Sheamus, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The New Age Outlaws have been added to the WWE NXT: Arrival live special on the WWE Network February 27th. Paul Heyman will also be appearing.

Austin Talks CM Punk Leaving/Returning to WWE, Justin Bieber and More

- Steve Austin appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show last night, discussing CM Punk leaving WWE, Justin Bieber and more. Regarding Punk, Austin believes that Punk will be back with the help of Vince McMahon or for the money.

Austin gives Justin Bieber an intervention:
 
Austin goes off on a Prius driver:
 
Austin and Arsenio call out Barry Manilow:
 
Austin speaks on CM Punk leaving WWE:

Which WWE Star Is Replacing CM Punk?, Backstage News on Punk’s Status with WWE

- While CM Punk is still being advertised for Elimination Chamber and may appear on some other advertisements for upcoming live events, word is that he will eventually be pulled from those as well. In the last week, two different people with knowledge of Punk’s situation have noted that he was “as good as gone” from WWE when his deal expired in July and one person said they didn’t expect him to even last until July.

Regarding Punk talking to Vince McMahon at RAW before he went home, word now is that Punk didn’t see Vince until 7:30pm. Earlier reports said that Vince had the creative team start re-writing RAW just after 6pm when he found out Punk was leaving. The reason the Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio match on RAW went so long is because it came during the period that was laid out for Punk’s segment and the match had to go a second segment to cover the time.

There has been a working assumption within WWE creative for several weeks that Punk was leaving in July and would not sign a new deal. Sheamus will be replacing Punk at all SmackDown tapings where Punk was largely advertised as the main star.

Is Sting Coming In a Big Deal to WWE?, Backstage Update on His Arrival

- WWE has been working on concepts for Sting t-shirts pushing the theme of calling him “A Man Called Sting” since WCW trademarked the phrase and WWE owns the intellectual property rights to it. A memo came in to WWE’s merchandise department last week to start working on the ideas for Sting.

 Regarding Sting signing a deal, as of Monday the word is that he has not signed but is very close. Another source noted that internally, the idea of Sting coming in has not been talked about as a high priority issue compared to deals to get names like Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Batista or The Rock.

Did Punk Quit Due to a Concussion?, Video of Punk’s Recent Comic Con Q&A, WWE Stock

- We noted earlier that ESPN Cleveland reporter Casey Kulas reported the following about a backstage argument CM Punk had with WWE officials at RAW:

“My info on CM Punk: I do know from sources that at #Raw in CLE there was heated exchange backstage between Punk & staff. Topic – concussion. Punk was heard arguing with staff saying “I passed all your damn concussion test” and “I’m not going out and telling fans that BS”"

In regards to that story, Punk was banged up in the Royal Rumble match on Sunday and did take a concussion test on Monday but it showed that he did not have a concussion. The concussion test had nothing to do with his departure.

- WWE stock closed at $21.43 per share today.

 - Below is video from CM Punk’s now much talked about Q&A at the Wizard World Comic Con in Portland this past weekend:

Is Dolph Ziggler Leaving WWE?, Nash Talks Punk and Bryan, Foley on Punk

- Kevin Nash tweeted about Daniel Bryan being left out of the Royal Rumble and CM Punk leaving WWE:

“Bryan wasn’t going to win the Rumble. He gets tossed out.His fantastic base would be more upset than him not in it at all..Just my opinion”

“Punks beat up and burned out,works his ass off.Phil is a very smart guy he may just need to decompress.”

- Mick Foley also tweeted about Punk:

“I know that @CMPunk has been frustrated for quite some time. To his great credit, he never let that prevent him from giving less than 100%”

“You’re right @trakdown – my message about @CMPunk was a little confusing. Quite simply, be it on PPV, TV or house shows, he ALWAYS gave 100%”

- Finally, Dolph Ziggler chimed in and says he’s not going anywhere, at least for a year. He tweeted:

“keep voicing your opinions @WWEUniverse but please stop asking me if im going to quit, its annoying i still have a year left”

Cena Comments on WWE Controversies, WWE Couple In NYC Today, Eaton Video

- John Cena says it’s an interesting time on both sides of the WWE curtain, a reference to the recent controversies that have been in the news. He tweeted today:

“Interesting time 4 @WWEUniverse on both sides of curtain. Strap in, hold on, 1 helluva ride is coming! #wrestlemania30″

- Natalya and Tyson Kidd are in New York City today filming for Total Divas. Natalya tweeted:

“Ready to take over NYC today with @KiddWWE! You’ll never guess what we have planned! #TotalDivas #WWE”

 - Bill Apter of 1wrestling.com spoke with wrestling legend “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton on Sunday, as seen in the video below:

 

Triple H Talks Wyatts vs. Shield, Jake’s Induction, Lesnar and More

- WWE.com has published their latest interview with Michael Cole and Triple H. Here are some highlights:

* Triple H didn’t give in to Paul Heyman’s demands on RAW because Randy Orton doesn’t just get thrown in the ring with anyone. Batista earned his WrestleMania title shot and Triple H isn’t going to take that away from him. If Brock Lesnar wants something, he has to earn it. Lesnar had the chance to qualify to enter the Elimination Chamber but Heyman doesn’t believe Lesnar has to qualify for anything.

* Triple H announced Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Titles on Monday’s RAW.

* Triple H was not hoping The Shield would win the qualifying match just so they could protect Orton in the Chamber match. He announces two more “epic” qualifying matches for SmackDown

* He doesn’t think it’s a big deal that The Wyatt Family cost The Shield the match on RAW. He says everyone should move on and forget about it.

* He called Jake Roberts one of his personal favorites and an all-time great. He’s glad to see Jake has reached a place in his life where he can accept what’s due, the Hall of Fame induction.

JR: CM Punk’s WWE Exit, Sting-WWE, Undertaker’s Streak, Austin Wrestling Again

- WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his Q&A section of jrsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights:

CM Punk’s WWE exit and if it will upset viewers if “The Authority” continues to misuse popular talent: “You’re mixing fiction w/ real life which isn’t a compatible combination. No one can make all of today’s fans happy.”

If the door is open in WWE for Sting to come in to the company: “Door has been open for years. I assume that it still is.”

Undertaker and his WrestleMania streak: “The Streak is as big an element to WrestleMania as any thing can be. Whoever fights Taker there will be in a key spot. I like the mystery and all the rampant speculation that comes with the topic. Once a decision is made as to who Taker will perform with then the next round of complaining will likely commence.”

If Steve Austin will ever wrestle again: “This has been addressed dozens of times. I think that it is less than 50/50 Austin ever wrestles again. It’s been over 10 years and he’s moved on to other successful projects such as his podcast.”