G.I. Joe: Retaliation looks to be having a strong opening weekend at the box office. According to Deadline.com, early data shows the movie pulled in $10.5 million on Thursday (including $2.5m from some Wednesday midnight screenings) and around $15 million on Friday. If they can keep up that pace, it will do around $45-50 million for the four-and-a-half day Easter weekend. Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore, better than the first installment’s (B+).
Which WM29 Match He’s Most Looking Forward To:
“What match am I looking forward to the most at WM29? Several have my interest and ALL are important for those involved on a variety of levels. I certainly look forward to the Shield’s 6 man tag in their debut at the ‘Big Event.’ Very curious to see how @TripleH and Brock Lesnar engage. I love these physical, hellbent for leather type of matches. The Streak is a WM highlight and no element in WrestleMania history has been more significant than the Undertaker going 20-0 at the Super Bowl of WWE. As one who had a hand in signing both @JohnCena and @TheRock I am proud that they are going to close the show, again, but also am nervously anxious to see how they follow all that precedes them. Big time players step up and play when the game’s on the line and closing a WrestleMania event is akin to the game being on the line.”
How He Think Fandango Will Do At WrestleMania:
“I honestly feel that he will do well & have a surprisingly good match with the great Chris Jericho, @IAmJericho. I know that Fandango can wrestle because I’ve seen him pre-Fandango in NXT and it is unfortunate that some fans have already indicted this young man before they’ve see the new persona in action. Just because one doesn’t like the gift wrapping doesn’t mean that the package inside, inside the ropes in this case, won’t be a pleasant surprise.”
Kurt Angle In The WWE Hall Of Fame:
“Do I think that Sting or Kurt Angle will ever be inducted into the WWE HOF? Absolutely, is my best educated guess. When? I have no idea but I hope I’m around to see both inductions.”
What He’s Looking Forward To At WrestleMania:
“Everything about WrestleMania. I mean, I remember as a kid my fondest memories were of watching ‘Mania and dreaming of becoming a WWE superstar. That’s probably cliche because a lot of people say it. But I’ll tell you something fella, I was the kid coming from Ireland that snuck down a 2 a.m. to watch pay-per-views when my dad and ma were asleep.
“I was creeping down these wooden stairs and these wooden floors. It was actually brutal, it was great when they had carpets, no problem at all. But when they got rid of the carpet and varnished the floors, I’d literally be treading down on tippy-toes all the way down so I wouldn’t be heard on the day before school.
“I was in for every pay-per-view but WrestleMania was special. To be involved in WrestleMania 26 when I was there with Triple H — first of all, I can’t believe I’m here and two, I can’t believe I can get paid for this. And of course, last year was special with Daniel Bryan.
“But every year you evolve and every year you strive to push the boundaries. That’s what is going to happen this year I think. It won’t be with The Undertaker, it won’t be for the World Heavyweight championship, but I guarantee you that whatever I’ll be involved in is going to be very special.”
What Is So Special About Performing At WrestleMania:
“Every time I go out there, I get those goosebumps and I get that feeling in my stomach of nerves. I think that never goes away because you’re always with a different crowd and it’s special to you and it means so much to you. You always get nervous, I always get nervous.
“But for ‘Mania, it was incredible. I remember being at the stadium and being all hyped up. I’d literally been on Raw for maybe four months, I’d already been WWE champion — I’d done a awful lot very quickly. This was another step being in there with such a superstar like Triple H.
“I just remember walking the ramp and looking around and going, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable, it’s like a huge football stadium.’ Then, I remember going down and…I was blown away. I remember my knees, for just a half a second, just got weak. I actually thought I was going to go down. I composed myself and I went down that ramp. It felt like it took me 5 minutes to get to the ring. That’s how long that entrance way was for that ‘Mania.
“I remember getting in there and seeing Irish flags and trying to pick people out. It was absolutely incredible.”
His Favorite WrestleMania Moments:
“I loved the Roddy Piper vs. Adrien Adonis match with Jimmy Hart involved. It wasn’t a long match but it was an exciting and fun match with guys like Jimmy Hart being pulled in by Adrien Adonis, Roddy Piper being on fire and both of them being pulled over the top rope. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake coming down and cutting Adonis’ hair and him freaking out. That, to me, was a great match.
“I also loved Bret and Shawn at WrestleMania XII. I was really torn, I liked both of them but I was more a Bret Hart fan at the time. When he lost, I was gutted. Another great — well, I don’t know if it was great, but a hyped-up match — was Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan. I was never a Hogan fan, I was an Ultimate Warrior fan. I just like Warriors’ energy in the ring. I just remembering hoping Warrior would beat Hogan.
“Those are the type of matches that are great, where you’re torn between the two.”
Bret Hart Motivating Him to Become a WWE Superstar:
“He was the first person, it was unbelievable. I always wanted to be a WWE superstar, I just knew it was the route to go. I remember I was working at a club called Lillie’s Bordello where I worked part-time just to get some extra cash.
“He came in to the club in Dublin and I asked him a question about getting a career in WWE. First, he sat down and he was there with his daughter. He sat me down and gave me some really great advice.”
His Dream Opponent:
“Undertaker. Absolutely Undertaker. I was absolutely gutted [when I lost the four-way between myself, C.M. Punk, Big Show and Randy Orton]. That was the match I wanted. The ‘Dead Man’, he’s one of the biggest legends and greatest superstars there ever will be in our business. To be able to step into the ring with him at WrestleMania, fella, there would be nothing bigger.
The International Olympic Committee Eliminating Amateur Wrestling:
“I think the people on the committee have completely lost their marbles. I think that is the most bizarre, ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life. They’re literally removing one of the core sports of the Olympics that’s been there since the very beginning: Greco-Roman wrestling. And they’re taking it out to put in, what? What’s in there now? Badminton? Table tennis? Fly-fishing? Stamp collecting? Is stamp collecting in the Olympics now?
“I’ll be honest, that’s lost all credibility with me. I think that should be one of the core sports. Taking it out is ridiculous. I think they should be removed from their position in the committee because they have no idea what they’re doing.”
Carlo’s Bakery from reality TV show Cake Boss delivered a WrestleMania 29-themed cake to WWE headquarters on Friday. Stephanie McMahon noted on Twitter that the cake was a surprise and thanked owner Buddy Valastro. The cake features a huge MetLife Stadium and an Empire State Building with the WrestleMania 29 logo on it. On the side, it says, “From Your Tag Team Partners At Met Life Stadium, NJ & NYC.”
* Non-Title:
Wade Barrett def. R-Truth via Bull Hammer Elbow.
* Natalya & Layla def. Alicia Fox & Aksana by Alicia Fox tapping out to Natalya’s Sharpshooter.
* Jimmy & Jey Uso def. The Prime Time Players by Jey Uso pinning Darren Young following the Superfly Splash.
Detailed Results
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The show kicks off with the main attraction of WWE Main Event as, following a successful Triple Threat title defense against both The Miz and Chris Jericho on RAW, Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett went one-on-one with R-Truth in a non-title match. In the end, it was Wade Barrett putting R-Truth down with the Bull Hammer Elbow en route to picking up the win. After the match, Wade Barrett says that the match he just had was “bloodthirsty trench warfare” and he will defeat all comers. Barrett continues, saying that he “destroyed” Chris Jericho and The Miz on RAW before making his way to ringside, getting in the face of Main Event’s color commentator, The Miz, and shoving Miz back into his seat! Miz would not take the disrespect from the Intercontinental Champion as Miz attacks Wade Barrett at ringside, but after Miz rolls Barrett into the ring, Wade quickly rolls out on the other side of the ring, making a narrow escape from The Miz.
Backstage, Sheamus comments on the potential of Big Show joining him and Randy Orton in the 6-Man Tag Match against The Shield at WrestleMania, but Sheamus says that, when “goats” fly out his “arse”, he will consider it.
In a rare Main Event appearance, the Divas were in action as the team of Layla & Natalya faced the team of Alicia Fox & Aksana. In the end, it was Natalya locking in the Sharpshooter on Alicia Fox, forcing Alicia to tap out to pick up the win for herself and Layla.
In tag team action, the second-generation competitors Jimmy & Jey Uso faced The Prime Time Players, Darren Young & Titus O’Neil. In the end, it was Jey Uso landing the Superfly Splash on Darren Young en route to picking up the win for himself and his twin brother.
WWE Superstar Randy Orton has been pushing WWE management to turn him heel for quite some time now – and it appears that the Viper could finally get his wish at WrestleMania 29. There has been talk of Orton turning on his teammates Sheamus and Big Show at WrestleMania 29 during or after their match against The Shield, who are expected to win the contest.
Another superstar that could be turning heel is Kofi Kingston. Kofi has been a babyface for his entire WWE career since his debut in 2007, but there’s a feeling that his character needs to be freshened up.
CM Punk will be getting some time off after WrestleMania 29. The former WWE Champion has been dealing with several nagging injuries in recent months, but has downplayed the extent of how banged up he is. Punk’s latest injury took place on last week’s RAW during his no DQ match with Kane. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was his arm or his hip or his knee.
Punk was originally scheduled to wrestle at last week’s WWE live events, but did not compete. He’s also been pulled from all upcoming WWE live events through WrestleMania 29, so he can rest up and be healthy for his match against The Undertaker.
Punk most likely will not be working most live events immediately after WrestleMania, but is still scheduled for all RAW TV shows and is still advertised for WWE’s European tour the week after WrestleMania. The feeling in WWE is that Punk has been giving 110% to the company during a time when they needed him (especially during his title reign) and has earned the time off.
