Final push for WrestleMania upon us
WWE has its final Raw and Smackdown shows this week heading into WrestleMania, so look for both shows to close strong.
Hall ceremony Friday night
For years now, the WWE held its Hall of Fame induction ceremony the night prior to Mania.
This year, however, the event will take place on the WWE Network Friday.
The one-hour Red Carpet show starts at 7 p.m. with the Hall of Fame starting immediately after.
Kurt Angle is the headliner for a relatively strong class.
In a surprising twist, longtime WWE basher, Jim Cornette, will induct The Rock & Roll Express into the Hall.
Longtime reader Tom Davenport of Washington thinks handing a live microphone to Cornette is a mistake.
For those who aren鈥檛 familiar with Cornette, he was one of the top managers of the 1980s in the NWA and early-90s and managed Rock & Roll蘑菇视频 bitter enemy, The Midnight Express.
He worked for the WWE into the late-90s, but his mentality is extremely old school and he is not a fan of what professional wrestling has become and he bashes it every chance he gets.
However, I respectfully disagree about Cornette saying something that he shouldn鈥檛 and I have my own thoughts.
If Cornette does anything to disrespect the WWE on a live microphone, it will make Rock & Roll look bad and I think Cornette has too much respect for them both personally and professionally.
Plus, if Cornette did sound off against WWE, it would mean his dear friends, Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton of the Midnight Express, would never get their due credit in the WWE Hall.
I guess we will find out Friday night.
NXT Takeover: Orlando Saturday
Part of the reason the WWE moved the NXT show to last night was because if it did NXT Friday, it would have to tear down the setup for the Hall show Saturday and then tear it back down to set back up for Raw and Smackdown.
So to eliminate extra work for its crew, WWE moved the shows around and the NXT show starts Saturday at 8 p.m.
The top matches include Bobby Roode defending the NXT title against Shinsuke Nakamura and the undefeated Asuka defending the Women蘑菇视频 title against Ember Moon.
Mania week hard on WWE employees
Although WWE employees will always talk about how exciting Mania week is, it is also very time-consuming and exhausting.
On Friday I spoke to one of my several friends who work for WWE, and the stretch they are on is rough.
The Raw brand had a house show Friday night, it and Smackdown both have them today, both brands have shows Monday, and Smackdown has its live show Tuesday.
Then both brands, not to mention all production employees, are off to Orlando through next Tuesday.
Almost every WWE employee who is at TV will be on the road for 10 straight days, and the in-ring talent even longer.
Mania countdown concludes
Mania XXX saw Daniel Bryan beat Triple H and then Bryan beat Randy Orton and Batista in a triple threat in the main event to win the WWE championship.
But the event will always be known as the night The Streak ended as Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker.
I was there and I am telling you, although a WWE connection jokingly said 鈥渟omething shocking is going to happen.鈥�
Mania 31 saw Seth Rollins cash in to win the WWE championship, but people forget about his excellent bout with Randy Orton earlier in the night.
Also, Sting finally made his Mania debut against Triple H.
A WWE-record 101,763 fans attended Mania 32 last year at AT&T Stadium.
It was amazing to see that big of a crowd at a wrestling show in person, but several injuries limited the card.
Rare Undertaker video
Earlier this week, The Undertaker made an appearance at a University of Texas spring practice.
Two video clips, totaling about 10 minutes, were available as of Friday night at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2699753-undertaker-attends-texas-football-practice-uses-wrestling-career-as-motivation?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=wwe.
Hardy蘑菇视频 to WWE imminent?
A few weeks ago, it was mentioned in this column that The Hardy蘑菇视频 were negotiating with WWE.
The brothers have been offered deals and their merchandise site has been shut down.
That has led several reputable wrestling journalists to think The Hardy蘑菇视频 could return to WWE as soon as Mania.
What kind of buzz would it stir if they showed up on Raw or Smackdown this week?
And could their return be why The Uso蘑菇视频 defeated American Alpha for the Smackdown Tag titles this past week?
Jericho v. Hart
Last week, I mentioned how I wanted to discuss who has been the biggest Canadian-born pro wrestling star in this week蘑菇视频 column, and the feedback sent in via email, Facebook and Twitter has been amazing.
But due to the amount of Mania news in this week蘑菇视频 column, I have to table this specific piece until after Mania.
Keep sending feedback!
Legendary announcer loses wife
Pittsburgh native Jan Ross, wife of Jim Ross, the best play-by-play announcer in wrestling history for my money, passed away Wednesday after complications from being hit by a car Monday.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Ross, who I have met several times, and the extended Ross family.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.