Two years after Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson uttered the infamous words "Fruity Pebbles" to describe John Cena prior to WrestleMania 27, the WWE is taking their connection with Fred Flintstone one step further with the making of a new "Flintstones" animated movie--guest-starring WWE Superstars.
According to Lords of Pain.net and Variety.com, WWE was expected to announce this week that they would be partnering with Warner Bros. on an animated DVD movie based on the classic "Flintstones" cartoon series. The idea behind the project is for WWE superstars to make animated cameos in the movie as cartoon "Flintstones"-style versions of themselves.
The movie is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2015, according to Variety.com.
WWE Champion John Cena, who has worked loosely with the Flintstones franchise and has been featured on several Fruity Pebbles cereal boxes, and CM Punk are expected to be in the film, along with voiceovers from WWE owner Vince McMahon, 13-time world champion Triple H and more.
The connection between Flintstones and WWE goes all the way back to when The Rock returned to WWE RAW on Feb.27, 2011 for the first time in seven years, and likened Cena to "Fruity Pebbles" for the megastar's colorful tee shirts and apparel. It stuck with fans, some of whom even chanted "Fruity Pebbles" to Cena during his matches over the last few years.
The company is also co-producing a "Scooby Doo" film with Warner Brothers that will feature Triple H, AJ Lee, Brodus Clay, Cena and others.
In other news, it looks like World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler might be getting closer to a highly-anticipated return to the ring following his concussion earlier this month.
According to Pro Wrestling.net, WWE is advertising Ziggler for live events in Bethlehem, Pa. on Saturday and Poughkeepsie, New York on Sunday. He is also being advertised for WWE Raw next Monday as well as Tuesday's Smackdown taping. Ziggler has been out of action ever since he was kicked in the face by Jack Swagger on May 7 during a Smackdown taping. The concussion forced him to miss his first Pay Per View title defense at Extreme Rules against Swagger and new No.1 contender Alberto Del Rio. With the company looking like they are invested in Ziggler as a world champion, he has been given time to heal without writers needing to strip him of the title for storyline purposes.
On the injury front, WWE.com reported this week that Kofi Kingston will be out of action from four to eight weeks for elbow surgery following this week's Smackdown taping where Ryback put him through three tables.
"According to WWE medical physician Doctor Michael Sampson, Kingston would walk out of Edmonton with a c-collar neck brace as a result of this incident, strictly as a safety precaution," the site reported.
The injury is a detriment to the show's mid-card, where Kingston, a three-time Intercontinental Champion, has flourished in the last five years, and comes at a time where the WWE is short in their card, with CM Punk, Mark Henry and Ziggler out of action due to injury and Cena nursing a nagging leg injury.