NEWS AND NOTES

courtesy Wrestling-Online Network

> RAW RATINGS
- Monday Night RAW this week did 4,211,000 viewers with a 3.15 rating,
down over 500,000 viewers from the post-Royal Rumble show last week. Hour
one pulled in 4,428,000 viewers, hour two dropping slightly to 4,221,000
and then a drop to 3,983,00 viewers in the third and final hour. (Ratings
credit: PWInsider.com)

> OVER 400 PAY-PER-VIEWS ON WWE NETWORK FROM DAY 1
- WWE.COM has published a list of the pay-per-view archive that will be
available right from the first day of the launch of the WWE Network come
February 24. Over 400 pay-per-views from WWE, WCW, and ECW, will be
available to stream as part of the $9.99 per month price. The shows are
supposed to air uncut and unedited with some of them carrying a disclaimer
at the beginning of the broadcast. The Over The Edge pay-per-view from
1999, the one where Owen Hart passed away, is also listed although it will
be interesting to see if that gets any editing. The WWE Network starts on
February 24 and will be available to stream on several devices including
Android, iOS, Playstation, Roku, and others. You can access the list of
PPVs at 
http://www.wwe.com/inside/every-pay-per-view-on-wwe-network-26179147

> HOF AND POST-WM RAW LOCATION GETS A NEW NAME
- The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the post-WrestleMania RAW
will no longer be marketed as coming from the New Orleans Arena as the
owners of the building have signed a deal for a new name! The arena will
now be called the Smoothie King Center following a $40 million deal over
10 years with the NBA team New Orleans Pelicans. The change is still not
reflected on Ticketmaster.com for future ticket sales but everything will
remain the same except the name of the arena. Tickets for both the Hall of
Fame and Monday Night RAW are still available although both carry a notice
on Ticketmaster that not many seats are left.

> WWE.COM TAKES A LOOK AT THE SUPERSTARS WHO CAME FROM ROH
- In a rare interview acknowledging other wrestling companies around,
WWE.COM talked with several Superstars who came through the ranks of Ring
of Honor as well as its founder, Gabe Sapolsky. The ones interviewed are
Seth Rollins, Colt Cabana, Antonio Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan, leaving out
one very important member of the ROH group - CM Punk. There is mention of
CM Punk however in the article as well as others such as Samoa Joe and Low
Ki. WWE.COM even provided links back to ROH’s website and Dragon Gate
USA’s website, which is Sapolsky’s current job. You can read it at WWE.COM.

> ADAM “EDGE” COPELAND BECOMES A DAD FOR THE FIRST TIME
- Former 11 time WWE and World Heavyweight champion Adam “Edge” Copeland
appeared on the George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight show this week to talk
about several topics including professional wrestling. Stroumboulopoulos
asked Copeland about his time in the WWE and his retirement. Copeland said
that hew knew it was time to hang up his boots and he didn’t want to end
up like Mickey Rourke in the movie The Wrestler. Copeland explained all
the pain he went through and how he avoided the pain killers but
sympathized with those who fell for them because it’s easy to forget the
pain once you start popping them in. The discussion turned to his match
with Hulk Hogan winning the tag team titles together and Copeland said
that was the most fun time he’s ever had. He went over how Hulk Hogan was
so laid back at the time and told him that he will do whatever he asks
him. The man formerly known as Edge said he pitched the idea to have a
double boot and double leg drop for the climax of the match and Hogan
agreed, even letting him get the pin to win the titles. In the final
segment of the show, the host asked what was the most romantic thing that
he’s ever done and Copeland answered with having a baby. He revealed that
he’s still new to fatherhood as the baby was born just six weeks ago.
Copeland’s girlfriend and mother of his baby is former WWE Women’s
champion Beth Phoenix, who before dated CM Punk. You can see the interview
at http://bit.ly/LC2Qb1

WWE ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE OVER THE EDGE PPV ON NETWORK
- In the first public comments regarding the inclusion of the Over The
Edge pay-per-view where Owen Hart died on the WWE Network, WWE said that
the show will indeed air however portions of it will be edited. KDKA-TV in
Pittsburgh talked with WWE’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon prior
to the Royal Rumble pay-per-view and asked about the particular
pay-per-view and McMahon replied at the time that the company has not made
its decision yet. But after WWE released the list of shows and Over The
Edge was listed, KDKA-TV followed up and received a statement saying, “WWE
Network will be airing the 1999 Over The Edge pay-per-view. However,
portions of the event will be edited out of respect for Owen Hart.” Over
The Edge, the 1999 pay-per-view, remains the only WWE PPV to have never
made it on home video due to the tragic events that happened that night.
Regarding the inclusion of Chris Benoit on the WWE Network, McMahon said
that it was an incredible challenging decision to make however as a
company they do what’s right for the fans. “We try to give them exactly
what they want to see,” McMahon added.

> UNDERTAKER RETURNING ON FEBRUARY 24 RAW
- PWInsider.com is reporting that The Undertaker will be making his return
on WWE television on the February 24 edition of Monday Night RAW, the day
that the WWE Network is officially launched to the public. It is around
the usual time that the Undertaker returns to kick off his road to
WrestleMania, lately his only physical participation inside a WWE ring
during the year. The last time that the Undertaker was on WWE TV was at a
Smackdown event in April, getting triple-bombed by The Shield. The
February 24 show will also have the fallout from the Elimination Chamber
pay-per-view and the direction of WrestleMania will start to get more
clear after that show.

> CENA BECOMES MOST LIKED U.S. ACTIVE ATHLETE ON FACEBOOK
- Despite the boos and the “Cena Sucks” chants, one thing is for sure: A
lot of people like John Cena! WWE announced yesterday that Cena has passed
Kobe Bryant to become the most-liked active U.S. athlete on Facebook with
more than 18.6 million followers. Cena is also the seventh most-followed
athlete in the world and has more Facebook followers than Kevin Durant,
Michael Phelps and Tony Hawk combined. WWE has eclipsed 260 million fans
through its global social media networks, further cementing its position
as one of the most followed brands in the world. Currently, WWE has more
than 172 million Facebook fans and 82 million Twitter followers across all
of its networks. WWE’s network of Facebook pages has more followers than
the NFL and its 32 teams’ pages combined.

> WWE AND KABOOM! BUILDING PLAYGROUND DURING WM WEEK
- WWE and KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to
ensuring that all children get the balance of active play they need to
become healthy and successful adults, announced a partnership to build a
playground in New Orleans during WrestleMania Week. KaBOOM! and WWE are
teaming up to build a new playground at Woodland West Elementary School in
Harvey, Louisiana, which serves more than 700 children in grades K-5. To
kick-off the project, WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston hosted a Design Day at
Woodland West Elementary today during which children had the chance to
brainstorm, draw and design their dream playground. Elements from the
drawings will be incorporated into the final design for the playground.
The children will have their final design come to life during WrestleMania
Week on Friday, April 4, when WWE Superstars, WWE employees and community
volunteers will spend the day mulching, shoveling and hammering together
to build them the playground of their dreams. “We’re proud to play a small
role in the great work that KaBOOM! does to ensure kids have opportunities
to stay active in safe environments,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand
Officer, WWE. “Our partnership with KaBOOM! enables us to leave a lasting
impact on children in New Orleans.”