Flair funeral covered, Interviews with Rock+Cena+Booker/Trish+Stephanie/Angle/Punk/AJ Lee/Henry/HBK+Bret, legends hanging out with WWE, big Punk entrance on Sunday, celebs at Mania, Mania pre-show update, more on DDP Yoga, Legend signs new WWE deal, vanished star at Mania weekend, Shane McMahon on Twitter, Generico's NXT name confirmed, and Questions on heel announcers, secondary titles, "moves of doom", Mania moments, and X-Pac

Reid Flair's funeral was covered, with quotes from his father. That's still really sad to read about.

The Rock was focused on in a piece for the Washington Post. I'm sure Cena's coworkers love that he just threw them all under a bus. There's putting someone over and then there's blowing everyone else's candle out. I agree that some guys need to step it up, but there are definitely some motivated individuals on the roster who want to make the most of each second of TV time.

Trish Stratus and Stephanie McMahon talked about the former's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Trish's reasoning for choosing her makes sense.

Harley Race, Larry Zbyzkzo, DDP, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Bret Hart, Dominic DeNucci, and Tommy Dreamer are all in town for WrestleMania festivities. Cool. I hope Jake stays out of trouble (if he sticks with DDP, he should be fine).

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.


Kurt Angle talked about his career slowing down. What does it say about TNA that it's almost always considered a possibility that some of their top guys will one day go/go back to WWE? And yes, it's always great to have someone work with Angle because he has such an amazing work ethic and ability to tell a story. They don't make many wrestlers like Angle these days.

Living Colour will play "Cult of Personality" live at WrestleMania for C.M. Punk's entrance. THAT'S how you use celebrities/musical acts. That will be awesome. Great song.

Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner will be a part of Monday's Raw. Don't care. Next.

Charlie Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Tyson, and Snooki will be involved in WrestleMania. Dear God no. Hopefully it's just to give opinions on who will win matches or something. I've had my fill of celebrity appearances and comedy segments.

There might be another match added to the WrestleMania pre-show, likely involving a lot of talents who aren't booked already. Maybe some kind of lumberjack match or battle royal in other words. Meh. I guess it'd get some people paid and fill some time (and get everyone involved another match under his belt), so I can't scoff at the idea. It wouldn't shock me to see some NXT names involved.

Diamond Dallas Page and Jake "The Snake" Roberts promoted DDP Yoga. I continue to be happy about what it's done for Roberts and Hall.

John Cena talked about facing The Rock at WrestleMania, among other things. You know, I don't really fauly WWE for going with him as the top guy. He's earned it through years of hard work. That said, I do think it's beneficial to not have the top face be as dominant and as much of a focus of the show.

C.M. Punk talked to ESPN. I'm a straight-up mark for this guy. He's so refreshing. He's not your cookie-cutter PG "sports entertainer". He's a straight-up old school pro wrestler who brings his own attitude to the table. Note the contrast between his interview (where he put over The Shield as future World Champions and hyped Fandango) and Cena's earlier comments about the other members of the roster.

Honky Tonk Man has signed a multiple-year deal with WWE, presumably a Legends contract where they can use his likeness for games and the like. I'm surprised that he's not in the Hall of Fame.

Here's another story on AJ Lee being a part of Mania. She has had a pretty good run as a character. I like that she has good things to say about the up-and-coming Divas and wants to be really successful. I do think there are some Divas coming along well in NXT. If WWE's smart, they'll reignite the Divas division.

Rey Mysterio will be at WrestleMania weekend. No word on what his role will be or what kind of ring-shape he's in.

Shane McMahon in now on Twitter. Anyone else miss the hell out of him? Let the speculation of a WWE return begin. I haven't seen anything to suggest that he isn't just visiting for Mania weekend. I know he's got a big executive role in a non-wrestling company and that's presumably eating up a lot of his time.

The former El Generico has been officially rechristened Sami Zayn, and is also now on Twitter. Some sites had his name incorrectly listed as "Sammy Sane" before this confirmation, just going off of how it was thought to be announced. THIS IS WHY YOU WAIT FOR IT TO BE OFFICIAL. Anyway, I hope he ascends to great heights in WWE.

Here's another interview with John Cena. I wish we got this Cena more on TV.

John Cena, Mark Henry, and C.M. Punk talked after the WM29 press conference. Henry made good points about autograph etiquette. Some people feel entitled to autographs and interactions with performers. Punk keeps up his status as super-heel. Cena hasn't been the top face for 10 years. I'm going to give the interviewer the benefit of the doubt that he knew that and just misspoke. The "heel turn" was pretty funny.

Here's a recap of the HBK/Bret Hart Q&A. Those dream matches sound great! Yes, even Cena vs. Hart (in their prime). Cena's a lot better than he's given credit for because everyone focuses on the "five moves of doom". HBK vs. Punk or Bryan would also be amazing. I don't think there's too much talking at all. The talking makes the wrestling mean more.

For my take on PWInsider.com's questions:
1. I've never heard of anyone being confused about why the heel announcer was defending the heels. I do think he goes after Matthews too much. It was funny for a little while, but it's way past its expiration date.

2. Well, fortunately they do mean something since they're routinely feuded over. Are they as important as they could/should be? No. But to say that they don't mean anything is absurd.

3. Thankfully someone else realizes this. People get their jimmies WAY too rustled about the "five moves of doom" thing. If you go see a band play, they're going to do their signature songs. It's the same thing.

4. There are several that could work here. Austin vs. Rock at WM17 and Rock vs. Hogan at WMX8 are two of the most memorable moments to me since I was a little Jimmy then.

5. I see what you did there. That was actually funny in a sick way.

More wrestling tomorrow, and a Blue Echo podcast recorded later in the day.