– This week’s RAW did a 3.7 rating with a 5 share, according to Nielsen Media Research, with the promotion of Vince’s big announcement likely keeping the rating steady against football. That is up from last week’s 3.6, and the peak quarter hour was a 4.0 in the first segment. The show did hours of 3.8 and 3.6.
Also, Heat did a 0.9 cable rating, with a 1.5 share. Velocity (in a new 11pm ET time slot) did a 0.6 cable rating, with a 1.3 share. The WWE Experience did a 0.5 cable rating, with a 1.3 share.
[Credit: PWInsider.com, WrestlingObserver.com]
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Kurt Angle did an in depth interview for The Sun in the U.K. that can be found in full here. Here are some highlights:
– When asked who the best wrestler in the world was, Kurt said, when he’s healthy he believes it’s him, and he’s ecstatic when people call him the modern Ric Flair.
– He rated HHH, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero at the top level with Randy Orton & Edge getting there, Undertaker & Show as solid “big men” and said Christian and Jamie Noble as top workers who usually don’t get the credit.
– Perhaps a clue as to why he’s supposedly getting lockerroom heat with the boys? “But when it comes down to it, I don’t think anybody has as much technique, credibility and charisma as I do – I have the whole package.”
– The 2003 Rumble match with Chris Benoit is his favorite, as well as the SummerSlam match with Eddie Guerrero, who he hopes to feud with for a long time, since their out-of-ring rivalry is extended into the ring.
– He expects to be around in the ring for a long time to come. He said if Vince ever asked him to play the G.M. role again, he’d probably say no because the storyline – while it kept him on TV – painted his character in a corner and he would have prefered that Eddie and Cena make him look silly, and he coming back at them.
– While the job of he and Taker as the two biggest names on SD is to put younger wrestlers over, he says that the two biggest names should also face off at Mania, and wants to face Undertaker there. This has been the rumored match so far, and Kurt said that Taker and he think they can have one classic match at Mania, and even though Taker’s undefeated there, “I lay down for no one.”
– He said he and Lesnar were best friends, and expects he’ll do well in football. He said Lesnar wasn’t happy in wrestling, but he thinks he’ll come back at some point, and said “if he’s smart he’ll come back.”
[Credit: WrestlingObserver.com]
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Following are notes from today’s Wrestlemania 21 press conference in Los Angeles, from WrestlingObserver.com and Brandon Chow:
– About 600-800 fans were there
– Each wrestler cut about a 2 minute promo. Coach came out first and got good heel heat. Other than him and Angle, everyone else got cheered. Each wrestler or diva came out separately, as Coach introduced them each to their theme music.
– Coach introduced Vince McMahon first. While Vince went on about the history of Wrestlemania, he did say that there are 14 PPV’s a year, and 4 of them are RAW/Smackdown combined shows, but that Wrestlemania is the only show where wrestlers from each brand could compete against each other.
– McMahon wrapped up, and Coach then introduced JBL. He got a good reaction, plenty of people chanting his name. He really did not say much other than that it was great to return to where he defeated Guerrero for the title.
– Coach brought Trish out next, and she guaranteed 100% Stratisfaction at Wrestlemania. She also said that since Hollywood is the home of beautiful people, she will have no problem fitting right in.
– Kurt Angle made a surprise appearance (subbing for Big Show). He was greeted with chants of “you suck.” Angle brought up the fact that he competed in the Olympics, and that WM would be another big achievement in his life.
– Randy Orton talked about seeing his dad at the first WM, and about his own first WM last year.
– Rey Misterio mostly spoke in Spanish to the press.
– Torrie Wilson said little, other than introducing a representative from the Staples Center. That person mentioned that Staples has hosted All Star games and playoffs, but won’t be completed until getting a WM.
– HHH was last, teasing a fight between him and Orton, but nothing happened. HHH told Randy Orton to sit down, and Orton had no mic, so he eventually sat down. At the end, the whole lineup posed for group photos, with HHH at the dead center, next to JBL.
– During each promo, the wrestler or Diva stayed in character. When each star came out though, they would shake hands with the other wrestlers, or in the case of the divas, kiss on the cheek. Orton and HHH were the only one’s who did not greet each other.
– The event lasted about 30 minutes. There was press there, but mostly print reporters and photographers. There were about 3 TV cameras there.
[Credit: WrestlingObserver.com]
