Extreme Rules poster, Interviews with Punk/Show/Ryback/Kofi/Hogan/Homicide, Another Mania celeb?, Mania's impact, WWE's April Fool's joke, Cena does good, Smackdown audience, Raw sellout, extended Mania pre-show, what happened after Raw, and Questions on WWE's counting, rival territories, personality vs. "workrate", the nWo, and Evan Bourne

WWE has released the poster for Extreme Rules. Shockingly, there's no mention of The Rock (who at least at one point was advertised to be a part of the show).

C.M. Punk talked about WrestleMania, The Undertaker, controversial remarks, and more. I'd love to see others take his attitude.

Pee Wee Herman could very well be at WM29. He's reportedly on good terms with WWE and has visited at NXT, so this might happen. I see why WWE wants these kinds of appearances, but I definitely tune in for the wrestlers.

Here's a look at WrestleMania's expected economic impact, which is of course measured in MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Things look good for WWE for the shortish-term with this much interest in things. I still worry about how things will look with no part-timers in a few months.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Big Show talked ahead of WrestleMania. So there you have it, no chokeslams. This was actually the first I had heard of that. I knew that they didn't like any kind of choking with wires or anything after the Benoit incident. I think a chokeslam is very different from what happened there, but I see what they're going for.

WWE earned tons of points for me by making an April Fool's post about Pat Patterson's famed "tournament" win to become the first-ever Intercontinental Champion. The website can be pretty entertaining at times. 

Ryback was interviewed to promote Mania. He's got the right attitude about the Goldberg chants. I definitely see the comparisons between the two, but I think it's time to retire that chant (along with "What?").

John Cena met with patients at the Walter Reed Medical Center. Truly a good person outside of WWE.

Kofi Kingston talked about his merchandising. I wonder if any non-wrestling fans ever recognize that he's buying an action figure of himself.

Hulk Hogan talked about Triple H taking over for Vince McMahon. A LOT of fans think Vince should retire., and he won't "always be around". That said, Hogan for once didn't say anything too off-the-wall. HHH definitely has some fans for his behind-the-scenes work.

Homicide talked about retiring. I reluctantly agree with his assessment of the business. I hope he becomes one of the teachers the business needs. So many guys just kind of go out there and show what they can to do instead of telling a good story. Some guys don't "get" the mindset of what makes you successful in a big company. I wish he would have gotten further in either major promotion (though I have no idea how he'd do in WWE without his famous gimmick). Entertaining stuff. The accents alone are worth it. I about died with the Te'o talk.

Smackdown's audience was 2.85 million on Friday, slightly down from the previous week. It happens. I just hope business stays good.

Raw sold out! Cool. I hope future editions do well, too.

Here's another Ryback interview. I definitely wasn't expecting a current WWE fan to bust out a "Big" John Studd reference. Wow. Good read all in all. And yes, Skip Sheffield is a really goofy name (and gimmick). "Yep yep yep, what it do?" actually happened. I can see it making a future WWE.com article about goofy gimmicks like Sparky Plugg, Oz, etc..

WrestleMania's pre-show will be an hour, beginning at 6 p.m. EST and featuring Wade Barrett vs. The Miz. That's right. The Bella Twins, Naomi and Cameron are on the main card and two people who have headlined PPVs in WWE Title matches are warming the crowd up.

After Raw, The Shield lost to John Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback via DQ when Roman Reigns used a steel chair. The babyfaces then hit their finishers to end the show. Nothing shocking there.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1.

Education in our society is at a tragic all-time low. Gone are the days when it was highly respected to come from a long line of scholars and to be schooled in the way of Plato or Aristotle. Sadly, we have been thrust into a new Dark Age were such egregious errors as the one highlighted are not just commonplace, but taken for granted as a part of everyday life. The ignoramuses who make these errors, instead of being publicly made a laughingstock for their duncery, are permitted and even encouraged to continue making foolish mistakes. Only through the education of the masses by one as uniquely qualified as myself can such a mockery of all things intelligent be abolished. You're welcome!

Seriously, though, it is a pretty stupid error. It wouldn't shock me if person/s in positions of power noticed that they were wrong about the anniversaries but ran it anyway because they figure not enough people knew and/or cared. "25th Anniversary" is a pretty good marketing gimmick.

2. That's actually a really good idea in theory, but how do you do it in practice? I'd like to hear this idea fleshed out because it's definitely an interesting idea. I don't know how wise it would be to split top stars into "non-WWE" territories and have them go on the road, since the WWE brand name is so much bigger than those of the other names mentioned in 2013. I just don't know how well "WCCW Smackdown", for instance, would do. There's got to be a way to make it work. Maybe factions?

3. The Internet loves some hyperbole. Call Cena's next match before it happens, move for move and spot for spot. I mean, if "anyone" can do it, it shouldn't be too hard. I'll be waiting. And absolutely a strong technician can succeed. Punk, Jericho, and Angle all fit into that category.

4. Yeah, Hogan turning heel was pretty big. He had been the stale "prayers and steroids vitamins" guy for so long that it was a complete shock when he turned heel. Plus, he was a much bigger star than Sting. Probably still is. How many movies, commercials, etc. has Sting been in? I rest my case. Though for what it's worth, I've heard the argument that the nWo would have worked fine without Hogan and in fact him getting involved only assured that it would eventually fail (since, of course, he had to be the focal point). I'm not saying I endorse that argument, but it's certainly intriguing.

5. I could post Slowpoke here, but this was question could have been sent in before Bourne returned and they're just now answering it. But yeah, he's back. Don't jump to conclusions, though. There's a big difference between working an NXT show and being a part of the main roster. It could be a while before they put him back on TV.

More wrestling tomorrow, and a Blue Echo podcast will be recorded.