It's been a while ... welcome back to the "Chicago" edition of The Weekender, your source for all the latest happenings on WWE Universe. It's my first-ever trip to the "Second City", and am looking forward to the city's culinary specialties, such as deep-dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs.
We've got an action-packed WWE Judgment Day weekend ahead in Chi-town, with two big Live Chats for our members.
First off, the United States Champion, Montel Vontavious Porter, will be our special guest for the Judgment Day Live Chat on Sunday night, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET with WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel as your chat host throughout the night at the AllState Arena.
Look for unannounced Superstars and other special guests to join the Live Chat during Judgment Day. Set up an e-mail reminder for Judgment Day above.
The special guests don't end Sunday ... join the Live Chat on Monday night for Raw Mega Monday Live Chat coverage, with special Superstars guests live from Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.
We'll also have a special guest to kick off the chat. Lead guitarist Keith Nelson (above, second from left) of the Grammy-nominated band Buckcherry will join the Live Chat at 8 p.m. ET to talk about the band's current album and tour.
Buckcherry's latest, “Rescue Me,” is the official theme song for WWE’s Judgment Day (Listen). The song is off the band’s Atlantic Records album, Black Butterfly, which is in stores now. (Get it on iTunes ... I did!).
Check out Buckcherry’s music video contest. Visit Buckcherrytalktome.com and enter to be a part of the band’s latest music video. (Enter now). Set up an e-mail reminder below for the chat.
Time to get packing for Chicago. I'll see you all there this Sunday night on the Live Chat! Until then, you stay classy WWE Universe!
As I type this edition of The Weekender, we are only 50 hours away from the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
I'll be there live in Houston starting tomorrow, and will be blogging all weekend long.
But even if you can't make it to "Space City" (named so because of its Houston Space Center), you can still follow along with all the action in numerous ways here on WWEUniverse.com.
First, we haveFOUR HUGE Live Chats (formerly "Live Blogs") every night here on WWEUniverse.com. Here's the schedule. Enter your e-mails in the boxes below to set up e-mail reminders for yourself.
Don't forget to check out Twitter, the hot micro-blogging service, to provide you with the latest news updates from the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
You can set up a Twitter account for free at Twitter.com, and follow along with our updates from our official WWE Twitter accounts, including updates on the latest photos, videos, and news from the Lone Star State.
Here's our list of current Twitter accounts, with more to come...
Also, during WrestleMania week, feel free to post your experiences at Axxess, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, or at the big show itself Sunday night on your Twitter account from your cell phone, and your "tweet" might become part of our Live Blog chat coverage during the show. Just be sure to start or end your "tweet" with "#wwe" in your posting so we can find it.
Well, that's all from me for now. See you all tonight with me and WWE.com editor Lennie DiFino on the SmackDown blog.
Saturday, March 28, 2009, 01:04 AM EST
[The Weekender]
Greetings WWE Universe! Welcome to another edition of "The Weekender", your guide to the latest happenings on WWE's online community, and a preview of what's on tap!
First, I want to send my utmost congratulations to my Live Blog co-host and WWE.com's resident historian, legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel, on his upcoming induction into the WWE Hall of Fame next weekend.
My earliest memories of WWE are full of "Fink" moments ... from his announcement of "NEEEEWWWWWWW WWE Champion!" at WrestleMania, to "It is now time, for the ROYAL RUMBLE!!", Howard has been part of the soundtrack to the greatest highlights in company history.
Yes, Howard has also had his down moments, from having his car damaged outside Monday Night Raw when Mr. Perfect threw Shawn Michaels into Fink's windshield outside Manhattan Center, to getting dunked in the Diva mudpit. But the highlights outnumber the few lows. And getting to work week after week with one of the most knowledgable wrestling minds in history has been one of the top pleasures I've had in my role as Community Leader.
There has never been a WrestleMania without Howard Finkel, and this year, it is fitting that "The Fink" will be enshrined in his proper place ... The WWE Hall of Fame.
Congrats Fink from all of us working on WWEUniverse.com, and I'm sure, from the Universe members as a whole.
Now, let's talk some Universe news...
WM25 LIVE BLOG SCHEDULE: The big week is finally here. We are on the home stretch to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania! And WWEUniverse.com is along for the ride, bringing you exclusive Live Blog coverage all week long.
Here are the four big Live Blogs coming up this week...
Set up e-mail reminders for all the chat sessions in the boxes below...
More big news ... WWE is using Twitter, the hot micro-blogging service, to provide you with the latest news updates from the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania next week in Houston, Texas.
You can set up a Twitter account for free at Twitter.com, and follow along with our updates from our official WWE Twitter accounts, including updates on the latest photos, videos, and news from the Lone Star State.
Here's our list of current Twitter accounts, with more to come...
Also, during WrestleMania week, feel free to post your experiences at Axxess, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, or at the big show itself Sunday night on your Twitter account from your cell phone, and your "tweet" might become part of our Live Blog chat coverage during the show. Just be sure to start or end your "tweet" with "#wwe" in your posting so we can find it.
Well, that's all from Stamford ... it's WWE's biggest week of the year, and it's just getting started. Stay tuned to WWE.com all week long for the latest news. And I hope to see you in Houston as we celebrate the 25th edition of WrestleMania!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009, 03:54 PM EST
[The Weekender]
One of the advantages of being WWE Universe Community Leader is that I get to see many of the cool WWEShop items before they hit the shelves in the Web store.
Today, a copy of THQ's upcoming "WWE Legends of WrestleMania" game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 arrived at the dot-com HQ today, just a few days before the THQ staff join the Raw Live Blog Monday night to discuss the new game.
Above, you can see Video Content Coordinator Matt Zimmer working with King Kong Bundy and Mr. Perfect. The entrances are deja-vu-inducing, with classic music and graphics, detailed down to Mr. Perfect's towel toss. Amazing.
Of course, the ring announcer for the game is WWE.com's one-and-only resident historian Howard Finkel, who took some time to battle some of the WWE.com staff. Fink's weapon of choice -- the Honky Tonk Man. He even defeated one unnamed staffer in just 30 seconds! (No, it wasn't Jamie Noble!)
If you want more details about the game, or have questions for the THQ development team, stop by the Live Blog on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and join the chat.
We'll have clips of the game to show, The Fink, and more. Visit the box below to set up an e-mail reminder for yourself.
Sunday, February 22, 2009, 02:33 AM EST
[The Weekender]
We're on the Road to WrestleMania and Houston, Texas, WWE Universe! The fine folks at WWE.com have cooked up some great new features for the site as we count it down to April 5.
First, the new 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania mini-site is live and kicking! This is the nerve center of all of our WrestleMania coverage on WWE.com, including links to photos, videos, and of course, WWE Universe Forums. This is the place to get all charged up for the big night at Reliant Stadium.
Second, WWE.com's new "Smash Ups" feature gives you all the tools to make your own WWE highlight video, including hundreds of clips, still art and background music. And, some lucky video maker will win $5,000 in the process. It's a must-try! I'm enjoying the videos already made by the Universe ... great job all around.
Of course, WWE Universe will be a big part of our Road to WrestleMania, and the weekly Live Blogs will be coming at you each and every Monday night. Drop your e-mail address in the box below to get a reminder for Monday night's blog, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. You never know who may stop by during our Raw coverage ... your favorite Superstar or Diva perhaps?
Keep checking back in the WrestleMania Forums for your chance to discuss the latest matches at the "Showcase of the Immortals." And we have other fun stuff planned (remember "McMahon-isms" about the Chairman?), so stay tuned and stay classy, Universe!
