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WWE News
WWE News: All the news items you can handle from Saturday's newspaper coverage of WrestleMania
Mar 29, 2008 - 12:12:27 PM


By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

The latest news from Saturday's newspaper articles in Florida and elsewhere covering WrestleMania includes aerial photos from the Citrus Bowl, interviews with wrestlers, and the now-infamous Nipplegate that has taken on a life of its own.

- Local Ch. 13 in Orlando published aerial photos of the Citrus Bowl, where a dome-shaped structure is covering the ring at the 50-yard-line. The rest of the stadium is completely vulnerable to the weather. "Actually to have an event like ours in a stadium which has no place to hang lighting or sound or anything, we really do have to construct this infrastructure to support all of that,” said CEO Linda McMahon. Ch. 13 is promoting a candid, sit-down interview with Ric Flair on their OnDemand cable channel. Article link.

***

- Miami Herald published a story with quotes from the family and colleagues of the WWE Hall of Fame inductees. The main event portion of the ceremony airs on USA Network tonight. Gordon Solie's daughter, Pam Allyn, told Jim Varsallone on Gordon being inducted into the Hall: "We are very grateful to Vince McMahon and WWE for this honor. For the family, this will be an experience full of memories to behold for many years. I only wish that dad were here to accept the accolades."

Matt Hardy had several things to say about Flair. "I think Ric Flair is the best in-ring performer that has ever been in our sport," he said. "You look at guys like Hogan who's extremely popular and a money making machine and Steve Austin, but no one had that span that Ric Flair did. For 30 years, this guy has been in a top spot and a top money maker."

Flair has repeatedly referenced the "twice on Sundays" line in recent promos. Cody Rhodes shed some light on where that might have come from during a recent conversation with Flair. "I asked Ric one night in Tokyo, Japan, `When you were the world heavyweight champion, how often were you working?' He said, 'Eight days a week.' I said, 'There are seven days in a week.' He said, `Twice on Sunday.'"

You also see the influence Flair had on the great Santino Marella, who said Flair changed his entire outlook on wrestling after his out-of-the-crowd IC Title victory in Italy last year. "When I won the [Intercontinental] title in Milan, Ric gave me a speech that night, and it changed my attitude toward the business forever," Santino said. "It made me really, really appreciate what I am a part of.''

Elijah Burke commented on the influence of Rocky Johnson in a tough business for minorities at the time of Johnson's career. "He was one of the guys, far and few between at that time, that we had to look onto and gave us hope that, hey, I too, one day, can be a WWE superstar," Burke said. "There wasn't many that we had. We had Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas and then we had the American Dream Dusty Rhodes, daddy.''

Hall of Fames Quotes article.

***

Orlando Sentinel published three articles this morning covering the WrestleMania hype and Flair vs. Michaels.

- Scott Maxwell in the Orlando Sentinel has a story on "Nipplegate," which has picked up buzz in Orlando because the nipples of wrestlers have been removed from posters and banners in Orlando. Mayor Buddy Dyer said there's a city ordinance against the display of men's nipples. "It does seem a little overboard," he said. Maxwell wrote that there is no city ordinance against the display of men's chest in public. Apparently it was a mix-up when city officials asked WWE to create less-provocative posters and signs to promote Mania in the city. Article link.

- Andrea Adelson published a story on how Michaels and Flair are approaching the potential retirement match for Flair. Michaels said the realization Flair may no longer be part of the regular roster hasn't quite sunk in.

"It's sort of like getting out of bed and seeing the sun shining," Michaels said. "It's something that's been a part of you every day that you've allowed yourself not to appreciate it at times. But when it's cloudy and dreary and ugly, you say, 'Man, I miss when the sun is shining.' I think that's something we're going to realize when that day comes."

Adelson also has a break down of the Hall of Fame inductees, with a "scorecard" of information for the Hall of Fame ceremony tonight. Article link.

- Brian Fritz interviewed several wrestlers for his Orlando Sentinel piece on who's going to steal the show at this year's Mania. Shawn Michaels said it's come to the point where it's tough to steal the show when everyone already expects you to steal the show. "The thing is, when you say something and then do it, it becomes part of you and people always expect it," Michaels said. "After a while, it becomes hard. It becomes your challenge. Can you meet that challenge? Can you rise to the occasion? That's all I ever try to do." Article link

***

- U.K. Sun published an interview with Big Show, who talked in character about not caring whether his match against Mayweather looks good. "I just want to embarrass the hell out of him," he said. Show, apparently in a grumpy mood during the interview, commented on Steve Austin and Chris Jericho doubting Mayweather's $20 million payoff.

"Steve’s so damn negative he’s not going to believe anything. He has got to be the richest grumpiest man I have ever met," Show said. "Steve has got so much money, that if I had his money I’d burn mine."

He continued, "But I fully believe that Mayweather has the incentives that if he does a certain number of PPV buys he’ll get every bit of that $20 million. As for me, I actually paid to be in this match just to get my hands on the little bastard." U.K. Sun article.


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