The Rock was in the initial plans for Extreme Rules, however, he was removed from them prior to Wrestlemania 29. There was an idea pitched to plant the seed of Rock vs. Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XXX next year but the angle didn’t happen on Raw the night after the pay-per-view because of Rock’s injury. The Rock’s getting injured at WrestleMania 29 and flying home to Miami led to the angle being called off, for the time being. According to those close to the situation, Rock was the one who came up with the angle with Lesnar.
The absence of The Rock and Brock Lesnar on RAW led to a chaotic environment backstage at RAW, since the script had to be re-written.
While The Rock was out of town on Monday night, Brock Lesnar still could have been used. However, due to the nature of Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract (limited appearances), the decision was made to not use one of those limited dates if they didn’t have something big for him.
According to the WWE officials, this will be a rematch between The Rock and Brock Lesnar from SummerSlam 2002. Brock will be the current WWE champion. The Rock will compete in a 30 men Royal Rumble and will win the rumble to face the beast for WWE championship at grandest stage of them all WrestleMania. This is one of the Main Events at WrestleMania XXX according to the WWE Officials as they are working on this match and the story line related to it.
Believe it or not, there has already been talk surrounding creative plans for next year’s Wrestlemania XXX pay-per-view. The company has a tendency to write backwards and we can confirm there was an idea pitched to do The Rock vs. Brock Lensar at the show next year, however, Rock apparently wants a match with Undertaker and didn’t want to get locked into something with Lesnar. Things can change a lot between now and then but it looks like Rock, Lesnar and Undertaker are in play for Wrestlemania XXX next year.
Former WWE champion The Rock has made his first public comments since losing a high-profile match to John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 29.
The comment was a response to a tweet sent by UFC President Dana White before WrestleMania. White tweeted Sunday night:
“Hey @TheRock good luck 2 nite at Wrestlemania! Kick some ass bro!!!”
Rock replied Monday morning at 6:00 AM:
“Appreciate that brother! A helluva show. My tequila bottle awaits when I get home. Can’t wait for #UFC159. #Bones.”
Earlier today it was reported that The Rock left Raw due to issues over creative plans within the WWE and his character. According to one wrestling news website, The Rock suffered a groin injury last night at WrestleMania 29 during his bout with John Cena.
Shortly before WWE Raw went on the air, ring announcer Justin Roberts addressed the live crowd explaining that The Rock suffered a strained abdominal muscle and he would not appear on tonight’s show as previously advertised.
The Rock himself addressed the issue on his Twitter page (@TheRock) by tweeting, “In the middle of last nights Wrestlemania match i tore my abdomen & adductor muscles off the bone. Just part of the job. But as we know..”
He followed up with a second tweet thanking his fans, “..It’s all about #JustBringIt. WWE Universe THANK YOU for all the love & well wishes. Means everything to me. #LeaveItAllInTheRing”
Triple H’s left hand is badly swollen after suffering a muscle contusion in his match against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29 on Sunday night. Hunter is having a hard time moving both his hand and arm. You can view a photo Hunter posted on Twitter below:
Triple H
@TripleH
"Hand and arm not working, head to toe pain...... loved every minute!!!!! #WRESTLEMANIA29 pic.twitter.com/ky0D4BhS1P"
12:38 AM - 09 Apr 13
Brodus Clay was excited for his bout at Wrestlemania 29 but posted some somber Tweets in light of his 8-Person Tag Team match getting cut from the pay-per-view due to time constraints.
You can read his Tweets below:
Before Wrestlemania:
Brodus Clay
@BrodusClay
"This place can't hold this much Funk. Watch it tonight. Tons of Funk. Here's how: http://www.wrestlemania.com #WrestleMania29"
7:59 PM - 07 Apr 13
After Wrestlemania:
"In life we have set backs and disappointments sometimes you need your heartbroken to know how much you love it #365toredemption Nyadonothat"
3:42 AM - 08 Apr 13
"funkateers much love don't get down we will work harder! we will be better! best thing about being down is getting back up #hardindapaint !"
3:49 AM - 08 Apr 13
The Bella Twins On Getting Cut From Wrestlemania, Happy For Their Boyfriends
The verified Twitter account of The Bella Twins featured a photo of them “group hugging” with Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes prior to their match at Wrestlemania. You can view it below:
The Bella Twins
@nicoleandbri
"Group Hug. Getting ready for our match. @TheDamienSandow @CodyRhodesWWE #Teamwork #Wrestlemania #WM29"
12:07 AM - 08 Apr 13
After the match was cut due to time constraints, the following was Tweeted:
The Bella Twins
@nicoleandbri
"Sad & disappointed there wasn't enough time to see The Rhode Scholars & Bella's #Wrestlemania victory! But there's always #RAW tonight! B&N"
2:50 PM - 08 Apr 13
Both Brie (who is dating Daniel Bryan) and Nikki (who is dating John Cena) were happy for their boyfriends and their success at the show:
The Bella Twins
@nicoleandbri
"But we are happy for 2 very big wins last night 😊 2 champs with 2 happy girls! ❤😘 #Wrestlemania"
3:18 PM - 08 Apr 13
Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to defeat Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship on tonight’s edition of WWE Raw.
Richard Reacts: FINALLY! Dolph Ziggler has been a literal workhouse for the better part of a year. He withstood the dreadful Spirit Squad gimmick and head-scratching booking. Let’s just hope WWE didn’t do this to blowoff the briefcase and switch the title back Tuesday night at Smackdown. Ziggler has earned a credible reign as World Heavyweight Champion. Here to show the world!
Justin Roberts
@JustinRoberts
"And NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION @HeelZiggler #RAW pic.twitter.com/hNoZytP4Uh"
1:19 AM - 09 Apr 13
Below are highlights from Paul Heyman’s recent appearance on the Busted Open Show on Sirius-XM radio:
On what brought him back to WWE:
“Well, Brock Lesnar made the decision to go back to WWE and once he got back in I guess he realized that it’s the same boat that it was 10 years ago with all the politics and everything. If you’re going to get involved with a whole bunch of politics obviously you need your New York Jew along with you. It was a matter of Brock going back and then it was just a natural fit for me to go back with him. Once I was in there, the first person that obviously I let know I was coming back was CM Punk, who is the person that I was fighting with Vince McMahon over back in 2006 when I decided to leave. So it became a natural fit for us to get back together as well and it just took off from there.”
On the differences between CM Punk and Brock Lesnar:
“It’s two totally different relationships. My job with CM Punk differs dramatically from my job with Brock Lesnar. It’s very easy for me to talk about Brock Lesnar because I am Brock Lesnar’s biggest fan, and how could I not be? The man is legitimately the only person in history to hold the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Championship, the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship and the Undisputed WWE Heavyweight Championship. I could talk about him all day long; I am such an admirer of his talents and his greatness and I think the world of him as a human being. As far as CM Punk goes, to be very honest with you, we’ve never defined my role with him on television; I don’t refer to him as my client because we’re just friends. We are best friends and we wanted to work together on television. We wanted to work together in front of everybody and so we just did it. I’m there for whatever he needs me to be; whether that’s as a confidant or a strategist or be ring side with him when he’s wrestling or just hang out with him in the ring and admire him from a close distance when he’s actually speaking, because I think he’s a better talker than I am. I think CM Punk does the best interviews in the industry, and I’m actually learning from him when I’m standing that close.”
On his current run in WWE:
“Career highlight. Absolute career highlight. I am working with my two best friends in the world. We are in two of the three main events of the largest Wrestlemania in my home market, New York. The stadiums in New Jersey but the market is New York. To be in two of the three main events at Wrestlemania is a pretty big deal. To do it with my two best friends on our own terms, this is an absolute fantasy come true.”
Below are highlights from CM Punk’s recent appearance on the Busted Open Show on Sirius-XM radio:
On working with Paul Heyman:
“When they first put us together, I think a lot of people were like, ‘Well, what’s Paul going to do? Punk doesn’t need anybody to talk for him.’ I think just being out there with Paul and I think people see him and me interacting and see how much fun we’re having; there have been so many inappropriate jokes I’ve made in the middle of live television shows to Paul when everybody else is worried about what’s going on in the ring or hitting their cues or other stuff. I’m just out there with my friend goofing off and having fun and I think a lot of the fans see that and it drives them crazy. It just pisses them off for some reason. So Paul adds that dynamic. Here’s these two very unlikable characters and their like the best of friends. There’s a very strange television dynamic going on there. He’s having a blast. He tells me all the time. He loves it. I’m glad I’m a part of it and he’s having so much fun.”
On working with The Rock:
“I wasn’t happy with those matches. Were they the best they possibly could have been? Yeah, I think so. But I never like anything I do. I also don’t watch anything I do. You can’t look back. I know when I do stuff that’s good and I know when I do stuff that’s bad and I just kind of leave it at that. I don’t know if it was built up to be this huge showdown and I don’t know if it just fell short, I personally, I don’t think they were bad, but maybe something a little bit missing. Maybe I’d change my mind if I actually bothered to go back and watch but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”
On his microphone skills:
“I don’t know. I think that’s something you’re born with. Everyone says it’s the ‘it’ factor. You either have it or you don’t. I don’t know if you can teach it. I don’t know how to teach somebody how to get over in pro wrestling. I think that’s something that you have to cultivate yourself. Nobody ever told me, ‘hey, do this specifically, this is what’s going to work,’ to me, it was just work hard, always try to learn something, listen to the guys who have been there before and take little bits and pieces from everybody else. But nobody was specific like, ‘if you go out there and do this, that’s going to be CM Punk and that’s going to make people go bananas.’ I’ve always been that way. When I was a little kid and getting beat up I would still talk shit, nothing could stop me from talking shit. I was a little punk kid, that’s how the name Punk came about. People didn’t like the music I listened to. People didn’t like my mohawk, I was a little brat.”
On the infamous “pipe bomb” promo:
“People still don’t get it. It’s funny too now that I’m a bad guy, there’s a lot of people out there that when I was the hero they’re like, ‘Great, he’s great that he said that and went out there and just did it,’ and now that I’m a bad guy they’re like, ‘It was scripted and he’s phony and he’s bullshit.’ The truth of the matter is, I went out there with a live microphone and I said whatever the hell I wanted. But I’m a businessman and I wasn’t about to burn my bridge. I wasn’t about to go out there and just start swearing, but I went out there and aired my grievances. There was a bunch of junk that I wrote that I handed to Vince that he was like, ‘ok, say that,’ and I said none of that. I said whatever the hell I wanted, because I was out the door; I was leaving. I was going home, so I didn’t care. Legit, 100%. Looking back on it, it really was like a magical time because the most powerful thing in the world is when somebody just doesn’t give a fuck; and I didn’t care. What were they going to do? Were they going to fire me? Come on. I was going to Australia the next day. If they fired me I didn’t have to go to Australia the next day. That would’ve been fine with me. But I had no idea, I wasn’t like, ‘this is going to be great and this going to rejuvenate me and my career.’ No, I was just done. I didn’t care.”
WWE issued the following press release late Sunday evening, April 7, 2013:
WRESTLEMANIA® SHATTERS RECORDS
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – April 7, 2013 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) announced tonight that WrestleMania 29 became the highest grossing live event in its history and broke the record for MetLife Stadium’s highest grossing entertainment event. WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza grossed $12.3 million, as 80,676 fans from all 50 states and 34 countries converged on MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The event is broadcast around the world on pay-per-view in more than 100 countries and 20 languages.
The previous MetLife Stadium record for an entertainment event’s gross revenue was a U2 concert on July 20, 2011, which grossed $8.9 million. This is the fourth consecutive year that WWE broke the host venue’s record for the highest-grossing entertainment event.
“On behalf of the great state of New Jersey, I want to thank all of the fans that came from around the world to beautiful MetLife Stadium for WrestleMania 29,” said New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie. “WWE put on a show like no other and electrified the capacity crowd.”
“WrestleMania came home and had an incredible impact on the entire New York/New Jersey region,” said John P. Saboor, Senior Vice President of Special Events, WWE. “We want to thank our fans as well as our public and private sector partners for their support. We now turn our attention to the Big Easy for next year’s historic 30th anniversary of WrestleMania.”
WrestleMania 30 takes place on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. Ticket information will be announced later this year.
Top Five All-Time Attendance Records at WrestleMania:
1. 93,173: WrestleMania 3, Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan, March 29, 1987
2. 80,676: WrestleMania 29, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, April 7, 2013
3. 80,103: WrestleMania 23, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, April 1, 2007
4. 78,363: WrestleMania 28, Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida, April 1, 2012
5. 74,635: WrestleMania 24, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida, March 30, 2008
