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@MartyDerosa slams with #WWECoverbands
As an aspiring comedian and ’smart’ wrestling fan whose constantly tuned into the ever-flowing internet chatter of other like-minded fans, it was a real treat to see the ‘WWE Universe’ get blasted by a super-nova of the ridiculously funny hash-tag trend #wwecovrbands on Twitter this week. Started by Twitter user @Bar_Nez and Chicago comedian @MartyDerosa this past Wednesday, the joke started with one tweet between the two wrestling fans, steamrolled out of Chicago, and onto becoming a world-wide trending topic by the end of the day. WWE superstars like @CMPunk, @IamJericho (Chris Jericho), and @ZackRyder joined in on the rock ‘n wrassl’n humor as well. I found myself writing and reading other tweets about this joke for well over 2 hours while at work on Wednesday. It may not have been a productive day at the office, but it was certainly a day where I laughed hardest ever at any job I have ever had.
Here is the origianl Tweet that started the whole thing…
@Bar_Nez @martyderosa @WWE Jinder Mahal & Oates #wwecoverbands
The joke formula is pretty simple. You take a pro wrestling star’s stage name and combine it with the name of a popular (or once popular) musical act. It sounds silly because it is, but the results are entertaining even if you can’t come up with a clever phonetic spin on the formula. Here is a collection of the some of the funniest #WWEcoverband tweets posted this week. You can share your own #WWEcoverband joke with me @KevKellam.
@WWEMagazine : Husker Duke the Dumpster Droese
@Mikki_Sixx Akeem the African Dream Theater
@Mikki_Sixx Billy Guns ‘N’ Roses
@Joekillgallon The Velvet Undertaker
@RyanBudds Greg the Hammer My Bloody Valentine
@joemcadams They Might Be Andre the Giants
@CMPunk George Straight Edge Society
@MartyDerosa Crosby, Stills, Kevin Nash & Eric Young.
@GlitterCheese Daniel Bryan McKnight
@BdRick DJ Jazzy Jeff Hardy
I could go on and on for days. There is literally thousands of the smile-enducing gems like these on this page on twitter.com. Check out Marty Derosa continue to make Pro Wrestling funny with NWA World Champion @ColtCabana with their weekly web series, “Creative Has Nothing For You” where they spoof the behind-the-scenes life of wrestlers at the bottom of the card. The comic/wrestler duo also produce the must-see $5 Wrestling DVD series for Highspots.com, which had a sold-out crowd for a live show in Miami during Wrestlemania weekend earlier this month.
WWE Extreme Rules at Allstate Arena on Sun April 29th
WWE has not dragged their feet in the wake of their annual Super Bowl-level show, Wrestlemania 28 by bringing former WWE and UFC Champion Brock Lesnar back to the fold to challenge John Cena. The main event match will go down right here in Chicago under shadows of 747 airliners at the Allstate Arena at Sunday, April 29th at Extreme Rules. There are several other big matches announced for the show including hometown hero CM Punk in action. Here is a preview of the announced matches for the show. If your going to the show, tweet me your thoughts about the show @kevkellam
Extreme Rules Match: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
Lesnar shocked the WWE Universe and sent rumbles through UFC fandom, with his epic return to WWE on the night after Wrestlemania. With no words and a Miami crowd jumping out of their seats, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion passed off on shaking hands with John Cena and slammed him with an F5. Lesnar’s reported deal with WWE currently has him working a limited amount of dates over the next year with a hefty price tag of around $5 million dollars attached to his work. Unlike dragging the eventual fight between Lesnar and Cena out like WWE did with the Rock and Cena, they are burning up a feud between the two mega-stars as quickly as possible. For the most part, Lesnar has bested Cena in each of their confrontations including bloodying the 10 time WWE Champion which is rare in today’s WWE. Lesnar has the advantage, and Cena needs to win this anything-goes match especially after his huge lost to the Rock at Wrestlemania 28. This match is also intriguing as it’s Lesnar’s first WWE match in 8 years.
WWE Championship Chicago Street Fight: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
Though the Extreme Rules Pay Per View is being sold with Lesnar vs. Cena, this match built around the manipulative Jericho attacking WWE Champion CM Punk’s straight-edge lifestyle and his family’s past issues with substance abuse. Punk has been humiliated by Jericho who poured whiskey on a vulnerable Punk, and smashed the bottle on his head. Punk wants revenge on the sacred stage of his hometown Chicago and his family int he front row. Jericho is playing up the controversial issue of Punk possibly breaking his no alcohol on this week’s past RAW in London. On RAW this coming Monday, we should get more rage from Punk and mind games from Jericho. With the Street Fight rules look for the match at Extreme Rules to be a wild outside-the-ring brawl with Punk’s family playing a role.
World Heavyweight Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan may have been squashed at Wrestlemania in 18 seconds with his diehard internet following turning on WWE, and turning his catchphrase ‘YES!’ into a new fun chant. The Celtic Warrior Sheamus may be the new World Heavyweight Champion but a majority fans are not buying the big Irishman even with him pitted against the hated General Manager John Laurinitis on Smackdown in the past few weeks. Bryan has vowed to not have another “fluke” in Chicago at Extreme Rules, and promises to make Sheamus tap out to his neck-cranking ‘Yes Lock’. If the two other main events are underwhelming, this will be the match that fans walking out of the show will be talking about.
Brock Lesnar storms back into WWE
Former UFC and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar made waves this past Monday on USA Network, when he returned to WWE. His presence at the American Airlines Arena the night after Wrestlemania was overwhelming as grown male 20 something dudes in the crowd jumped up and down as the “Next Big Thing” walked down the ring and confronted mega-star John Cena. Cena offered a handshake to Lesnar, only to get an F5 slam to the canvas which elicited a huge pop from the Miami crowd.
Less than 24 hours earlier fans were watching the Rock defeat John Cena and The Undetaker steal the show in a brutal fight with Triple H at Wrestlemania 28, but the talk of the wrestling world is now focused on Lesnar and his return. Let’s look at all the possible matches we could get out of this addition to the roster.
Lesnar vs. CM Punk
The pride of Chicago, the Straigh Edge superstar, and WWE Champion are all titles held by CM Punk. The tattooed rebel has been the guy for WWE in 2011 and this year seems like he’s really getting the ‘ball’ as he defeated Chris Jericho at WM28 on Sunday and will headline Extreme Rules later this month at the Allstate Arena. So Lesnar should definitely set his sight on this guy if he wants to continue to shake things up, but Punk will not go down easily.
Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan
It’s doubtful that the intimidating Lesnar will cross paths with the former World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan (a.k.a Bryan Danielson) but if they did ever meet in the ring it would a hard-hitting gritty battle that fans would not forget. Daniel may be playing a heel character who avoids unfiltered fights with his bigger opponents, but he has legit background in Martial Arts and it would interesting to see him apply those skills in a pro wrestling match with a beast like Lesnar.
Lesnat vs. The Undertaker
This is a rematch fans have been asking for since Undertaker traded words with Brock after his UFC 121 loss to Cain Valasquez. Right after losing his Heavyweight title in the Octagon, ‘Taker who was attending the fight, made a verbal crack as Lesnar on camera as he walked by. The tense scene started a whirlwind of internet rumors in late 2010 about Lesnar’s WWE return and a match with the Deadman to challenge his Wrestlemania undefeated streak.
Lesnar vs. The Rock
Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson returned to WWE on ‘featured status’ role appearing sporadically, in the road to his main eventy WM28 match with Cena in Miami. Apparently the show did real well with Johnson’s movie-star appeal attached to it, as preliminary numbers have over 1.9 million homes watching the show domestically on Pay Per View. If WWE wants to pull the trigger on another ‘money match’ then what’s bigger than the former champ of the UFC taking on the champ of Hollywood action movies for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29 next year in New Jersey?
What do you think? Tweet me @kevkellam and let me know
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WWE Champion CM Punk shoots the puck at the United Center
WWE Champion CM Punk once again showed why he is a Chicago sports star when he appeared last night at the United Center for the Chicago Blackhawk’s home game against the Vancouver Cannucks. Punk whose proudly displayed his love for the Cubs in the past, appeared during the Blackhawk’s second intermission classic ‘Shoot the Puck’ challenge on Comcast SportsNet where fans and celebrities take three shots at the net from center ice for prizes and charities. Watch CM Punk in the Shoot the Puck challenge on CSN
Though the Straight Edge Superstar did not score, he joked that he gets the “fighting” part of hockey better than the shooting and skating parts of the game. Punk is getting ready for the biggest pro wrestling show of the year, WWE’s Wrestlemania XXVIII where he will defend the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho on April 1st.
Last night’s game had a WWE feel to it as several fights broke out between the bitter rivals in the NHL’s Western Conference with even all-star Hawks forward Patricke Kane adding to the battle with a body check on Cannuck’s Andrew Alberts. The Hawks won in overtime 2 to 1.
To read more pro wrestling blogs, check out @KevKellam on Examiner.com with the Pro Wrestling Examiner. Wrestling fans mark down your calendars, Rumble Radio will present a live pre-Wrestlemania chat show extravaganza live on WXAV.COM on Wednesday, March 28 th at 7pm CST. Tune in for a fun and hilarious rassl’n talk days before the big show. Follow@RumbleRadio on Twitter and Facebook to get podcast info to download the show.
Last night’s WWE RAW from Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Arena drove the WWE truck into the final stretch to the biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania XXVIII with all of the major matchups getting a some developments. So did get the always-fickle wrestling fans of the world hyped up for 4 hour Pay Per View on Sunday, April 1st? Let’s find out.
Are you so busy with your go go life to read this recap? Well lazy person, plug in yor ear buds and listened to this Rumble Radio recap of the March 19th ep of WWE RAW. Read the full review below this podcast player.
Rumble Radio: WWE RAW Recap 3.19.12 by Kev Kellam on Mixcloud
CM Punk & Chris Jericho steal the show This opening segment where manipulative mastermind Chris Jericho apologized to Chicago’s own WWE Champion CM Punk for revealing that the Straight Edge star’s father was an alcoholic last week, was the best bit of this week’s RAW. Jericho interrupted Punk’s promo via satellite on the Titantron where said like a true liar (Rollin’s Band anyone?) he said he was speaking to him as ‘Chris’ not Jericho, and that it was wrong of him to disrespect Punk’s father and his family. He promised Punk that he would never speak of his father again only to turn his venom toward Punk’s sister for history of drug abuse. Punk going ballistic and getting bleeped on national TV was engaging and intense. The only part missing from this segment was Punk being able vent this fuming anger out on another superstar, otherwise this segment made this fued the second hottest storyline going into WM28.
Yo Adrian! The Rock uses the Itallion Stallion to trot into Wrestlemania 28 Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson appeared once again on tape, cutting a promo in Philly in front of the famous Rocky statue. Rocky as in the beloved underdog character from the classic boxing movie series. If I had to explain who Rocky is to you, you need stop reading this and go watch one of those movies which will make shadow box for days.
The Rock recalled as a 12 year old boy standing in front of this statue and aspiring to be the ‘greatest of all time’. He recalled his memorable Mania victories over Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan while also comically sneaking in tribute lines from the Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage which all leads him to defeating one more great star: John Cena at Wrestlemania 28. The Rock made it clear if he can beat Cena he feels he will be the greatest. The mix of machismo and ball-busting by Johnson continued when he claimed he will take one of Philladelphia signature cheesesteaks shove into a certain orifice on John Cena’s body. Even though seeing Rock in front of the live wrestling crazy Philly fans would have been energetic, the narrative with the ‘Rocky’ movie references made this seem special and focused.
Not even a car crash can stop Super-Cena! Yesterday this blogger was busy over at Examiner.com covering news that WWE franchise player John Cena had been invovled in a legitimate car accident before RAW. In the linked article Cena said he was fine after the accident but WWE still wanted to play it up because of the internet chatter it created in the afternoon. It did not Cena from making another Superman comeback to lift the 400lb Henry over his head and slam him for an Attitude Adjustment. The Rock then shocked the Philly fans, hit the ring, teasing some anticipated physicality with Cena only to slam Henry with a Rock Bottom. The Rock then strutted out of the ring with Cena looking bewildered and exhausted. It was not an mind-blowing scene but the final confrontation before their match next week is still something to savor and wait for. Let’s just hope Rock and Cena can exceed the hype in Miami.
World Champion Daniel Bryan humbles the Long Island Iced Z Zack Ryder is campaigning on his web show “Z! True Long Island Story” and his Twitter to get on Wrestlemania by being a member of Smackdown Teddy Long’s team in the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny 6-on-6 Tag Team battle. That campaign took a mistep when the red hot World Champion Daniel Bryan whipped off his Rough Ryder, and moved it into the neck-cranking Labell Lock forcing the Broski to tap out. Tapping out two weeks before ‘RyderMania’, Are you serious Bro?! Daniel Bryan who’s been taking a page from the Macho Man’s ‘Treat your Girlfriend really Bad’ book with the adorable AJ, is at the highest level he has ever been in WWE so far. Last week it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Royalm Rumble Sheamus was going over on Bryan for the World title at ‘Mania, but now it seems like the title could stay with the American Dragon.
Cody Rhodes punches out the Big Show Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes at ringside, continued to mocked the Big Show with embarrassing video retelling his past Wrestlemania failures. Flashing back to Show’s 2008 lost to middleweight boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Rhodes assaulted the 450lb giant Show after he handcuffed him to the ropes. Rhodes danced around the ring while pummeling Show with his boxing gloved fists. It’s odd seeing the World’s Biggest Athlete on the receiving end of a merciless beating, and even more odd it was with boxing gloves. Cody, you got that beautitful IC title belt why didn’t you smash him with that? Wrestling logic is not real life logic.
Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny: Catfighting cougars! Two new wrestlers announced! Kofi Kingston and R-Truth were trumped by Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. The post-match cat fight between the cougarlicious Vickie Guerrero and the Russian hottie Aksana who are opposing sides of the Team Teddy Long and Team John Laurinitis war, was entertaining. Guerrero screaming like a banshee is just pure hilarity. Thought this made for good TV it teases both of theses women being added to the 6-on-6 match which is off putting when you consider all the talented dudes like Zack Ryder who are deserving of those precious few spots on Wrestlemania Pay Per View card.
The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H ramble on to WM28 WWE shifted the show-closing segment away from Rock and Cena and putting it on the Hell in a Cell match between ‘the last of a dying breed’ Triple H, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels. After last week’s flub where ‘Taker got the date of Mania wrong in his promo, this story needed to get a boost and it got some help seeing the two legendary wrestlers and their legendary special guest referee in the ring together. Yet at the end of the show it felt slightly soft on delivery even with ‘Taker and Triple H glaring at one another and promising to ‘end’ the other. “Taker whose usually spot on, went a little overboard when he asked Trips if he was willing to sacrifice his life to beat ‘Taker’s undefeated streak at Mania.This story is still fun to follow, but it should be hair-raising by this point with all of the factors involved.
WWE RAW came to Cleveland,Ohio with a rap/rock battle between John Cena and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson as they prepare for the most talked about match in Wrestlemania history on April 1st. The live show on USA Network last night also featured developments in the fueds between WWE Champion CM Punk and Chris Jericho as well as the Undertaker and Triple H with the special guest ref for their match, Shawn Michaels. Let’s rundown RAW and see if WWE is keeping it exciting before Wrestlemania XXVIII on April 1st in Miami.
You don’t like reading? Well busy person, Listen to Rumble Radio’s @KevKellam in this RAW podcast recap. It’s only 10 minutes.
The Rock rocks while John Cena gets ‘thuganomic’
The show opened with mega-star John Cena decked out in his old-school ‘Thuganomic’ gear in a basketball jersey and bike-chain necklace. The 10-time WWE Champion then cut a rare rap (if you didn’t know, Cena has mad skillz) where he dissed the Rock. It was a short sweet 5-7 minute segment that opened up RAW strong, and left viewers anticipating Rocky’s musical rebuttal with his signature musical promo. Watch John Cena’s rap on the Rock from WWE RAW
In stark contrast, Rock took his time with his show-closing ‘Rock Concert’ where he satirized Cena and his ‘ladyparts’ for 20 minutes in front of a Cleveland crowd that sat on their hands most of the night. After three weeks of getting bested at the end of RAW by Cena, Rock had a strong comedic performance with his acoustic jam that implied he made love to Cena’s mother. Rock did stretch himself a little thin with his karaoke spin on Queen’s “We Will Rock You” but the crowd signing along to it, did not expose him. The Cenation is going to decry the Rock for reading off a music sheet and the Titan tron, but at the end of the day Rock provided some very entertaining live TV.
There are many 20 something ‘Attitude’ era fans who have flipped their allegiances recently from Rock to Cena, as he’s been rightfully put into question Rock’s absence from WWE when he leaves to make movies. Aftermath radio host Arda Ocal went so far as to say that Rock’s act was “phoned in” on RAW, and that Cena is coming off better in feud where most thought he would be outclassed by one of the greatest talkers in WWE history.
Chris Jericho calls CM Punk’s father a ‘drunk’. Yes, he went there.
WWE Champion CM Punk got humbled on RAW this week when his Wrestlemania challenger Chris Jericho appeared on screen after Punk made the Miz tap out, to reveal that Punk’s father was an alcoholic and that his legitimate Straight Edge lifestyle exists out of fear. Jericho who returned to WWE after a hiatus, truly humiliated Chicago’s own CM Punk who held his head down while he walked to backstage area. Even with the Rock, Cena, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels, this exchange was the most dramatic of the night. Punk came off uncharacteristic and exposed in a rare scene of emotional vulnerability while Jericho was once again a very despicable villain playing mind games. Punk vs. Jericho for the WWE Championship at Mania could steal the show. Two weeks ago this story was about who is the ‘ Best in the World’ now it just got very personal. It will interesting to see Punk’s response next week.
The Undertaker messed up the date for WM28, but he scared Shawn Michaels
The HeartBreak Kid had his career ended in 2010 by the Undertaker when he lost a “Career vs. Streak” Match at Wrestlemania 26. That reality hanged over the confrontation between Michaels and ‘Taker with the news that Michaels will be the special guest referee in the Hell in a Cell match with Taker and Triple H. Yet the segment which seemed like a home run on paper fell flat, and featured the usually on-the-point Undertaker making a clear mistake when said Wrestlemania is on April 21st, when the show is actually on April 1st. Read all the jokes that fans and comedians made online about the Deadman’s mistake here. No worries here as WWE still planted some strong seeds of dissent on RAW with Michaels teasing his ability to screw either Undertaker out of his 19 year running undefeated Wrestlemania streak or his Degeneration X buddy, Triple H. Read about the Undertaker’s list of injuries and how he’s overcome them all.
Team Teddy Long vs. Team Laurinitis announced for Mania
Yesterday on WWE.COM before RAW went on the air, it was announced that the warring General Managers Smackdown’s Teddy Long and RAW’s John Laurinitis would each field a 6 man team at Wrestlemania, with the winner getting a control of both WWE shows. The interest in the match is lukewarm with fans right now after it consumed an excessive amount of TV time and has been tying up so much talent like United States Champion Santino Marella to get over two non-wrestling characters and their quest for power. The angle played out on RAW last night with Laurinitis’s goons like Mr. Jennifer Hudson, David Otunga beating on the beloved Marella in a post-match brawl. This 6-on-6 man match could be a fitting match to open the ‘Mania 28 Pay Per View. The sad part about this match is it’s presence on the Mania card writes off the chance of seeing the metal mayhem of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match with bodies flying and crashing.
Zack Ryder needs to remember Broskis before Hoeskis with Eve
This was a brief segment with the self-proclaimed Internet Champion Zack Ryder trying foolishly to get the cooniving ‘hoeski’ Eve to go on date with him. Does’nt he remeber that this backstabber only flirted with him before to climb up the WWE ladder? Maybe all that hair gel is going to his brain. Maybe Ryder can find a new lady to chase and get back in the ring.
Mil Mascaras announced for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012
If you have no idea who WWE was talking about last night when they announced on RAW the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame who will participate in a ceremony with Edge and the Four Horseman on March 31st in Miami, then check this out. “The Man of a Thousand Masks” is pretty much one of the greatest Mexican luchadores of all time, who was one of the first cross the border and continue to be successful. Though everybody will be talking about Edge and Ric Flair have to say in their induction speeches, it will be a treat for Lucha fans to see one of their own get the honors. USA Network will air a one-hour special of the WWE Hall of Fame 2012 on late night on the day before Wrestlemania 28 Saturday, March 31st.
To read more pro wrestling blogs, check out @KevKellam on Examiner.com with the Pro Wrestling Examiner / Wrestling fans marked down your calendars, Rumble Radio will present a live pre-Wrestlemania chat show extravaganza live on WXAV.COM on Wednesday, March 28 th at 7pm CST. Tune in for a fun and hilarious rassl’n talk days before the big show. Follow@RumbleRadio on Twitter and Facebook to get podcast info to download the show.
WWE RAW rolled into Boston’s TD Garden last night with a churning truckload of drama and hype for Wrestlemania 28 on April 1st. The live show on USA Network was driven by the mega-feud between Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson and John Cena trading a verbal bombs at each other during various pre-taped segments with a big face-off to close out the show. WWE also featured WWE Champion and Chicago’s own @CMPunk in action with Sheamus as his tag team partner against World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho.Oh and we have new champion to talk about to. Here is a full rundown of this week’s RAW.
The Rock had the funniest moments of this week’s RAW with his Boston history segments which saw him throw Cena merch into Massachusetts Bay, talk about his “Clydesdale”, and tear his Wrestlemania 28 opponent to shreds. When Rocky riffed WWE making a John Cena troll doll, he said it was ridiculous that it was even made and was likely owned by a “30 or 40 year old man whose a VIRGIN!”
John Cena may have been in his hometown, but he got booed at the beginning of the night only to have his hometown crowd behind him a the end of the night. Cena’s empty arena promo in the first hour and his live face-off with the Rock at the end of the night, all played into his favor. The leader of Cenation came up short at November’s Survivor Series when he got out-shined by the Rock when the two rivals tagged togehter against R-Trtuh and The Miz. Now Cena has all of the momentum as he verbally rattled the wrestler-turned-movie star, The Rock. Even after the fun taped segments, Rocky is eating Cena’s dust right now on the road to Wrestlemania.
CM Punk is the WWE Champion and the champion in the hearts of the Windy City wrestling fans, but he got caught in a rollup pin tonight by his ‘Mania challenger Chris Jericho in a tag match on RAW. Jericho reverse the small package rollup at the last second to catch Punk’s shoulders, pinning the WWE Champion in a non-title contest just weeks before they go one-on-one in Miami on Pay Per View. This bout was the best wrestling match of the night which was dominated by taped promos and talking segments with Daniel Bryan and Sheamus also smashing around the ring to the delight of Beantown. Even with the results spoiled here, you should go to www.youtube.com/wwe to rewatch it for the action.
Shawn Michael’s theme music started RAW with his sarcastic promo where the now retired superstar talked about egging his Degeneration X buddy Triple H into a Wrestlemania rematch with the Undertaker. The tension got real hot, real quick when Triple H got into the discussion and said he was going to beat the Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak at Mania because he knows Shawn Micales “could not do it”. The Game is of course referencing the Heartbreak Kid losing to the Undertaker two years in a row at Mania in 2009 and 2010. The big twist came when Michaels revealed he was going to be the referee for the Hell in the Cell Match at Wrestlemania 28.
Overall WWE did a fine job to sustain the heat for the biggest wrestling event of the year with this week’s RAW. If you never watch WWE throughout the year, this probably the best time to tune in and catch up on all the bodyslamming soap opera before WM28 on April 1st.
To read more pro wrestling blogs, check out @KevKellam on Examiner.com with the Pro Wrestling Examiner / Wrestling fans marked down your calendars, Rumble Radio will present a live pre-Wrestlemania chat show extravaganza live on WXAV.COM on Wednesday, March 28 th at 7pm CST. Tune in for a fun and hilarious rassl’n talk days before the big show. Follow @RumbleRadio on Twitter and Facebook to get podcast info to download the show.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship blew into Chicago for UFC on Fox and it was Rashad Evans facing Phil Davis in a light-heavyweight bout at the United Center. The last time the UFC had held an event in Illinois was UFC 90 in 2008.
In the main event, Evans (22-1-1, 12-1-1 UFC) won a unanimous decision over Davis (9-1, 5-1 UFC). The five-round bout was scored 50-45. The loss was the first for Davis in his 10-fight career, but more surprisingly was the way in which he lost the fight, by being outwrestled.
Davis was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American at Penn State, so being outwrestled had to be a blow to his game plan.
Davis standup was much improved from his previous bouts, but his lack of maturity as a complete MMA fighter was evident throughout the fight. His transitions from standup to takedowns were not as fluent as you would want facing an ex-champion in Evans. “MMA takedowns come down to transitions, so you can be the best college wrestler in the sport, but if you don’t have good transitions from your punch to your takedowns then you’re not going to have a good shot,” said Evans.
Evans also believes it was his experience in the cage that helped him win the decision. “I believe that he (Davis) needs a couple of more years before his stand up is better than mine,” Evans said.
With the win, Evans’ next bout will come against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones. The bout is scheduled to take place at UFC 145 in Atlanta at the Philips Arena on April 21.
This is a battle of former training partners under Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting. Evans left Jackson’s gym after it became apparent that the two would eventually have to fight for the title.
Evans now fights out of Imperial Athetics (aka “Blackzilians”) in Boca Raton, Fla., a gym he co-founded with several Brazilian fighters.
READ MORE HERE
Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mma/blog/2012/01/ufc_of_fox_evans_wins_over_dav.html
Chicago Cop Stops Opponent
The heavyweights were in action in the “Windy City,” as Mike Russow, a Chicago police officer, took on Jon Olav Einemo. Russow was the subject of many a chant, the most prevalent of which was the audience shouting “CPD.”
You know, because he works for the Chicago Police Department.
It’s still not clear whether the fans were chanting that for support of Russow or simply to entertain themselves while they watched a plodding heavyweight fight between two guys who looked gassed by the time the second round was over.
The long and short of it is that Russow used his considerable girth to lay on top of Einemo and wear him out until the final horn sounded. He was awarded the unanimous decision victory, keeping his perfect record in the UFC alive at 4-0.
Yippee.
Source: http://www.mmamania.com/2012/1/28/2755048/ufc-on-fox-2-prelims-results-recap-for-evans-vs-davis-in-chicago
Q101 knows who we will be rooting for (and we have a pretty good idea who will be the crowd favorite when UFC on Fox 2 comes to the UC in Chicago Jan. 28! Read on:
An elbow injury has forced Mark Munoz out of next week’s UFC on Fox 2 co-main event bout against Chael Sonnen in Chicago.
Munoz will be replaced by Michael Bisping, who will now fight Sonnen to determine the next challenger for middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Bisping had been scheduled to fight Demain Maia on the card. Maia will now fight Chris Weidman.
Also: The Ultimate Fighting Championship postponed its March show in Montreal.
UFC 145 was scheduled for March 24 at the Bell Centre. But the UFC scrapped it for now, citing scheduling complications and a desire to deliver a “championship card.”
UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright said he expects Montreal to stage a show later this year.
Most of the fights announced for the March show will be shifted to a card set for April in Atlanta.
Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal tested positive for a banned steroid following his win over Lorenz Larkin on a card at the Hard Rock Hotel on Jan. 7, the Nevada Athletic Commission announced Tuesday.
He has denied using any illegal substances. Lawal, who has the right to appeal, faces a one-year suspension, a fine and a reversal of his victory to a no-contest.
Source: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/in-brief-137552718.html
As the gravity of what just happened sank in, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s sickness became severe.
“I’m really not feeling good, let someone else talk,” White announced to reporters late Friday night following the first-round technical knockout loss and subsequent retirement by heavyweight Brock Lesnar, the organization’s most popular fighter.
Indeed, White has some thinking to do.
PHOTOS: UFC 141
Even though he fought only seven times in the UFC Lesnar was a pay-per-view audience magnet because of his compelling past as a “champion” in the scripted action of World Wrestling Entertainment.
He reigned as heavyweight champion, headlined UFC 100, continued to generate the most Internet traffic of any mixed martial arts fighter and actually has fights left on his contract.
His departure is sobering, perhaps sickening.
Looking around, the UFC’s next most popular champion, Georges St-Pierre, is recovering from a knee injury and likely out of action for nine months. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva has cleaned out his division. And Lesnar’s conqueror, Alistair Overeem, is a lesser-known veteran of other circuits who made his UFC debut Friday.
Overeem’s next fight ikely will be in the summer against UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, who will be making his first title defense.
White and UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta took the high road with Lesnar Saturday even after the fighter blew off the post-fight news conference of his final fight.
White said, “When a guy decides he wants to retire, you let him do it. This is not, ‘Go hit a ball with a stick for the next two or three years on your way out.’ This is the real deal, guys. We’ll figure it out.”
Fertitta maintained he’d have to “look up” how many UFC fights Lesnar had on his UFC contract, adding, “Doesn’t matter. If he’s done, he’s done.”
What complicates this situation is the depth of the behind-the-scenes plotting about Lesnar’s post-UFC career.
He told the MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd that he was poised to retire if he lost Friday after battling for two years the effects of the intestinal disease diverticulitis. Lesnar said if he won in Las Vegas, he would pursue a chance to recapture the belt he took from Randy Couture in 2008 and lost three title defenses later to Cain Velasquez in October 2010.
“Tonight is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon,” Lesnar said.
Said White: “I had no idea he was going to do that. There were no signs.”
Some wonder if Lesnar, 34, would have bolted from the UFC if he could have beaten Overeem and Dos Santos, exiting with belt in hand.
There have been rumors dating to last year that Lesnar was exploring a return to WWE. He told The Times recently he wouldn’t shy from doing business with Vince McMahon.
The WWE will start a new television network April 1 when it stages its annual Wrestlemania event in Miami, and it is feasible he could be added with a UFC blessing to appear at the event alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena and special guest Shaquille O’Neal.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-brock-lesner-ufc-114-20111231,0,2143070.story
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