As expected given the strong promotional campaign, appealing leads and pre-Valentine’s Day weekend timing, “The Vow” got off to a phenomenal start Friday, grossing in the $15 million territory Friday, according to industry estimates posted by Deadline.

“Safe House” is not going down without a fight, however. It likely earned about $14 million Friday, and when all is said and done, it will likely join “The Vow” in the $35-42 million territory for the weekend.

The 3D re-release of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” will land in third with about $9 million as it prepares for a weekend in the mid-$20 millions. Surprisingly close-behind, Deadline forecasts, will be “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” Though it likely only grossed in the $7 million territory Friday, the family film is expected to pickup steam Saturday and could find itself flirting with a $25 million weekend total.

“I am beyond disappointed that he tested positive for marijuana,” said White. “It is now in the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”

The fighter, who lost to Carlos Condit in the show’s main event, tested positive for marijuana metabolites. With a suspension likely, he will not have the opportunity to face Carlos Condit in an Interim Welterweight Championship rematch that was being eyed for early summer.

This marks Diaz’s second marijuana-related failure in Nevada–the first came after his 2007 win over Takanori Gomi in a fight of the year candidate. As such, it is possible Diaz will be looking at a suspension of one year.

“I am still waiting for all the steroid and drug test results to come back,” wrote Kizer in an email to mixed martial arts media. “We did have at least one positive test. I will send out an email later today on that matter.”

Given Diaz’s previous suspension and the rumor that something on his side was preventing UFC from moving forward with a Condit-Diaz rematch, some are speculating that Diaz is the culprit.

But until confirmation comes, there is no reason to point any fingers or assume anyone is more guilty or innocent than anyone else.

Hits Daily Double projects “A Different Kind of Truth,” the band’s first studio album since 1997 and the first since 1984 to feature David Lee Roth, to score opening week sales of 180-200,000. That data is based on extensions of the confirmed opening-day sales figures.

Should the projection hold, “Truth” will land in the same ballpark as 1998′s “Van Halen III.” That album, which featured Gary Cherone as vocalist, opened to the tune of 191,000.

Elsewhere, The Fray’s “Scars and Stories” will open in the 90-100,000 range, a far cry from the 179,000 tally for 2009′s self-titled release. That drop was to be expected, however, as the band’s profile has fallen greatly over the past few years.

Paul McCartney’s “Kisses from the Bottom” will debut in the 65-70,000 territory, while Dierks Bentley’s “Home” should be good for about 60,000.

According to @FrontRowBrian, who has scooped a number of key mixed martial arts stories recently, “An issue arose from Nick’s camp last night. Nick will NOT be able to compete.”

While there had been mixed signals from the fighters’ management regarding the bout, the reporter says that both camps were very much interested in the fight prior to the emergence of the presently-undisclosed Diaz issue.

Condit won the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Diaz at Saturday’s UFC 143. Diaz, believing he should have won as the aggressor, ripped the decision in his post-fight interview, and actually declared his intention to quit mixed martial arts.

Though not pegged as a robbery by analysts, fan reaction to the decision was mixed enough to put a possible rematch on the radar. And insofar as either rematch outcome would heighten interest in the eventual title unification bout with the sidelined Georges St. Pierre–a Diaz victory would provide a returning GSP with his most marketable opponent, while a Condit victory would silence doubters and solidify him as an elite fighter–an effort was made to put the follow-up bout together.

Ultimately, it looks like that fell through. It is unclear if Condit will participate in another fight as he awaits GSP’s return to competition.

Tuesday’s two-hour premiere of “The River” started slowly, garnering just a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating and 7.5 million viewers. Given the curiosity inflation that typically accompanies a drama premiere of the sort, the number is a definite disappointment.

Worse, as the show progressed, it turned off a sizable portion of its audience. After beginning with a 2.5 rating at 9PM, it steadily dipped by a tenth each half-hour, closing its opening night with a 2.2 at 10:30PM.

The 9PM viewership average was 8.2 million, compared with 6.8 million for hour two.

Given that trend and the already-disappointing introductory viewership, should not hold his breath on “The River” turning itself into a hit.

WWE.com made the announcement Tuesday, following up on a storyline from Monday’s telecast. Last week, Triple H was about to wish Laurinaitis well in his storyline future endeavors, but Undertaker interrupted the proceedings.

At that point, in storyline, WWE’s Board of Directors took over the evaluation and has now confirmed that “Mr. Excitement” will stay on the show.

Technically, the “Men” drop was less substantial than those impacting “How I Met Your Mother” and “Mike & Molly,” but its fall was the most newsworthy.

Why? In dropping to a 4.2 adults 18-49 rating with 12.9 million viewers, “Men” not only reached a new season low but also, for the first time in a long time, forfeited its crown as the network’s Monday kingpin.

Final adjustments could change the picture, but as of right now, “2 Broke Girls” was CBS’ leaders in the demo. The freshman comedy, which should be receiving its second season renewal soon, attracted a 4.3 with 11.4 million viewers.

Earlier in the night, “How I Met Your Mother” posted a 4.0 and 10.0 million; “Mike & Molly” aired at 9:30 with a 3.4 and 11.0 million, before “Hawaii 5-0″ closed the night at a 2.7 and 9.8 million.

– Over on NBC, “The Voice” debuted as a monster, responsible for a massive 6.6 adults 18-49 rating and 17.4 million viewers. “Smash” followed with a healthy 3.8 and 11.5, giving NBC a significant boost in the Monday at 10PM timeslot and debuting as the network’s top-rated scripted comedy.

One point of potential concern comes from the big drop throughout the hour; the 10PM portion scored a 4.2, while the 10:30PM portion was good for only a 3.4.

Some drop was going to be inevitable due to the size of the lead-in; “The Voice” scored a 7.7 at 9:30, and some of those viewers likely lingered for an extra minute or three before departing NBC, thus inflating the opening half-hour of “Smash.” But if the inflation effect is not the only culprit, then it could be argued that “Smash” failed to engage some curious viewers.

If that is the case, a decline should be expected for upcoming airings.

Still, for NBC, it has some serious breathing room before needing to sound the panic alarm.

And, in this moment, it is irrefutable that the “Smash” premiere was a winner from a ratings standpoint.

Retention for “Smash” was not superb, but at a 3.8, the show performed significantly better than anything NBC has recently run in that Monday at 10PM timelsot. It is also very difficult to retain audience from an appointment competition series like “The Voice,” so one should not assess the “Smash” retention rate the way he would that of a sitcom that leads out of another sitcom.

“Smash” will undoubtedly finish the week as NBC’s top-scripted series.

Let’s face it–there was no possibility that Monday’s “The Voice” would retain even a strong majority of the audience that tuned in for the post-Super Bowl premiere.

But if the well-reviewed music competition series managed to attract even a portion of the inflated viewer total to its new timeslot–one that was very difficult for fellow NBC music series “The Sing-Off” this fall–the scheduling decision would make sense. After all, FOX’s “Glee” ended up trending downward following its post-Super Bowl airing last year.

And if a strong Monday airing for “The Voice” helped bring eyeballs to NBC’s acclaimed, pivotal new drama “Smash,” NBC’s strategy would be an absolute slam dunk.

It appears both goals were achieved. According to TV Media Insights, “The Voice” delivered an impressive 10.6 overnight metered market rating. Though down considerably from the near-20 rating for Sunday’s episode, Monday’s timeslot premiere number notably exceeds the 7.5 drawn by the first season premiere.

Observers are wise not to make too many firm conclusions about the fast national data from the overnights–we have seen some notable disparity in recent weeks–but there is no way this will not hold up a home run rating for “The Voice.” As it stands, the show outdrew all of CBS’ comedies in the overnights, which measure total households. Since it skews younger than those shows (or at least did last season), a very strong young adult demo performance is expected.

And, when the dust settles, it is possible “The Voice”‘s adults 18-49 number will best those for the most recent “American Idol”.

“Smash” followed with a healthy 7.7 overnight rating, enough to win its 10PM timeslot. It is not a surefire bet this show will skew as young as “The Voice,” but given its lead-in and the typical composition of the NBC audience, it seems very likely that the final numbers for the debut will be impressive.

And so now that “Smash” received the ideal sampling, the burden falls on the quality of Monday’s pilot. Was it good enough to lock viewers in for future broadcasts?

During Monday’s RAW main-event, R-Truth attempted a dive to the outside. The Miz did not catch Truth to break his fall, and Truth landed hard on the mat.

According to Joey Styles, R-Truth was not seriously injured, although Miz was still subject to heat from management, including Triple H, over the situation.

– In other RAW injury news, PWInsider says that Eve Torres suffered a broken nose from the impact of a Beth Phoenix clothesline. Her final segment with Kane had been taped prior to the match, which explains why there was no sign of a nose injury in that clip.

OKLAHOMA CITY –WWE COO Triple H gave his answer to The Undertaker’s WrestleMania XXVIII challenge, and The Deadman responded. Chris Jericho earned the right to be the final entrant into Raw’s Elimination Chamber Match and John Laurinaitis announced that WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be on Raw SuperShow next week!

The menacing Kane terrorized Eve
Continuing his quest make John Cena embrace hate, Raw SuperShow ended with The Big Red Monster cornering Eve backstage. Kane told her that he fears for the safety of anyone who gets in the way of his quest to make Cena embrace the hate.

Chris Jericho def. WWE Champion CM Punk, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, The Miz & Dolph Ziggler
The stakes were certainly high in Raw SuperShow’s main event – the winner would be the final entrant into Raw’s Elimination Chamber Match at WWE Elimination Chamber. That prospect was enough to fuel each Superstar involved in the Six Pack Challenge as the winner would be able to conserve the most energy inside the unforgiving structure.

Before the contest on Raw SuperShow turned into a free-for-all, Truth, Kingston, Miz and Ziggler all focused their attention on Jericho, no doubt retaliating for the first-ever Undisputed Champion’s comments earlier in the evening. The WWE Champion waited, grabbed Miz and tried to take the early victory. From this point on, the match became every Superstar for himself as the battle raged in and out of the ring. However, with Miz outside the ring, R-Truth attempted to hit a somersault dive over the ropes but The Awesome One moved out of the way. This resulted in a very hard landing for Truth, and WWE doctors determined that Truth was unable to continue in the match.

As the battle raged, none of the Superstars were able to maintain any momentum or an advantage for very long. This only kept the WWE Universe in Oklahoma City on the edge of their seats, no doubt making them envious of their counterparts in Milwaukee who will witness these Superstars battle inside the Elimination Chamber in two weeks. After tossing Chris Jericho from the ring, CM Punk seemed to have a clear path to victory when he caught Ziggler with the GTS. With the ring cleared, CM Punk pinned The Show Off but Jericho pulled the WWE Champion out of the ring, tossed him over the announce table and stole the victory!

John Laurinaitis announced John Cena vs. Kane in an Ambulance Match at WWE Elimination Chamber. He also announced that Shawn Michaels will be on Raw SuperShow next week!

Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox and Tamina def. Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins
Divas Champion Beth Phoenix believes there are no Divas that can compete on her level. In a Eight-Diva Tag Team Match on Raw SuperShow, it seemed that The Glamazon did not want to bother battling any of the Divas on the opposing team. She aggressively tagged in Brie Bella who took issue with the Divas Champion being so assertive. The argument that broke out allowed Tamina to gain the upper hand in the contest and secure the victory with a Superfly Splash. From outside the ring, The Glamazon watched Tamina with great interest, perhaps seeing a new and formidable opponent.

The Great Khali & Randy Orton def. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett
It certainly seemed like a peculiar pairing, but The Great Khali and Randy Orton teamed up on Raw SuperShow and dominated the contest early. However, the teamwork between The Viper and The Punjabi Playboy was definitely uneasy as both Superstars aggressively tagged each other in. This allowed Rhodes and Barrett to gain an advantage over WWE’s Apex Predator. Each competitor seemed poised to outdo each other, as all four ring warriors will battle inside SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber. As Orton seemed to have the victory well within his grasp, The Punjabi Playboy once again tagged himself in to finish off the Intercontinental Champion with a huge chop. The Viper was not pleased about Khali stealing the victory and confronted the giant. WWE’s Apex Predator ducked a huge chop and took down The Punjabi Superstar with a huge RKO.

WWE Champion CM Punk confronted Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho finally spoke his mind on Raw SuperShow. WWE’s first-ever Undisputed Champion delivered a bold statement and message to the WWE Universe and all the Superstars and Divas, that they are all “Jericho wannabes.” Jericho explained that he did everything before everyone else, that he was the trendsetter in WWE. He then set his sights on WWE Champion CM Punk, claiming that he, not Punk, was “the best in the world.”

As Jericho continued to present his case, The Voice of the Voiceless made his way to the ring, itching to use his pipe-bomb. However, as Punk stood face to face with Jericho, he dropped the microphone and proudly held the WWE Championship high in the air. The Straight Edge Superstar turned his back, giving Jericho a chance to attack. When Jericho did not attack, CM Punk left the ring and returned to the locker room.

Sheamus def. David Otunga
David Otunga made his way to the ring to express his support for John Laurinaitis to remain Raw’s Interin General Manager. As a result, WWE COO Triple H announced that Otunga would have a match at that very moment. His opponent was the winner of the 2012 Royal Rumble Match, Sheamus. Otunga was clearly unprepared for the contest and was forced to compete in his business casual attire, but The Celtic Warrior was ready to unleash his fury. While WWE’s resident lawyer did build a small amount of momentum, The Celtic Warrior dismissed the case with a powerful Brogue Kick and sentenced Otunga to defeat.

NASCAR driver Carl Edwards informs John Cena that the Cenation leader will be the honorary starter of the Daytona 500.

Big Show def. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan
The intense rivalry between Big Show and World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan spilled over to WWE Raw SuperShow. The rivalry became heated after The World’s Largest Athlete inadvertently trampled Bryan’s girlfriend, AJ, during a battle on SmackDown. With a neck brace helping her ease the pain, AJ made her way to the ring to support the World Champion on Raw SuperShow.

Using his agility and athleticism, Bryan took an early advantage, but Big Show’s sheer size quickly shifted momentum in his favor. As the melee spilled to the outside of the ring, there were a number of close calls involving AJ potentially being injured. As The World’s Largest Athlete charged Bryan, the World Champion ducked out of the way and AJ was nearly trampled again. This prompted Daniel Bryan to grab his girlfriend and retreat from ringside. As a result, Big Show was declared the winner by count-out,

Triple H answered The Undertaker’s Challenge
Before WWE COO Triple H addressed the situation involving The Undertaker, he informed the WWE Universe that Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ fate as Interim Raw General Manager would be decided by the Board of Directors later.

When The Game turned his attention to The Deadman, he acknowledged that The Phenom’s return to Raw SuperShow last week was indeed to challenge Triple H to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIII. The Cerebral Assassin spoke of his respect for everything that The Undertaker has done in his career. However, The Game also claimed that last week when The Phenom returned, he did not feel intimidated by The Undertaker. WWE’s COO played two videos, one that highlighted the dominant force that The Deadman has represented in WWE, and another that captured the aftermath of their epic struggle at WrestleMania XXVII, when The Phenom had to be carried out on a stretcher. Triple H turned down The Undertaker’s challenge, and claimed he had too much respect for The Deadman and saying “it’s over.”

Before The Game could leave the ring, a video played showing The Undertaker in a room watching clips from the physical battle at The Show of Shows last year in Atlanta. The Phenom’s message for Triple H was clear, give The Deadman another epic WrestleMania match, and have one more chance to end The Streak and further cement the legend of The Game.

Main event announced
Raw SuperShow kicked off with the announcement of the evening’s main event. Raw Elimination Chamber participants; CM Punk, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho would square off in a Six Pack Challenge to determine whose Elimination Chamber pod would be the last to open at the pay-per-view event.

Madonna’s performance, which also featured LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA and Cee-Lo Green, drew 114.0 million viewers, a total that actually exceeds the average for the entire game (111.3 million). BEP drew 110.3 million against a 111.0 million game average last year.

It earned a 47.4 household rating.

In other big ratings news, NBC’s post-game airing of “The Voice” absolutely crushed the numbers posted by “Glee” last year. “The Voice” drew an impressive 37.6 million viewers and a 16.3 adults 18-49 rating, figures that “American Idol” will not even dream of touching this year.

According to NBC, “The Voice” delivered the best demo rating for a post-Super Bowl telecast since “Grey’s Anatomy” aired in the slot six years ago.

NBC reports that 111.3 million viewers watched the game, which gives the telecast the slight edge over last year’s record-setting audience of 111.0 million.

The final portion of the game from 9:30-9:58PM averaged a whopping 117.7 million viewer total, indicating the massive interest in the result.

The broadcast was also a big winner with adults 18-49 (40.5 rating, best in sixteen years) and households (47.0 rating, best in 26 years).

Following Sunday’s “Super Bowl,” “The Voice” delivered a 19.4 overnight metered market rating. Up significantly from last year’s underwhelming post-Super Bowl numbers for “Glee,” the overnight ratings forecast a big premiere audience for “The Voice”–one that should easily eclipse that of any “American Idol” airing this season.

The early response to Sunday’s “Voice” episode was very positive, but the conversion of post-Super Bowl viewers into regular viewers is not clockwork. Still, it appears impossible that “The Voice” will not perform decently Monday night, and that should mean good news for “Smash,” which airs out of the competition show.

As for the Super Bowl, the Patriots-Giants nailbiter just slightly missed a record in the overnights, although the final data could certainly tell a different story. The game’s 47.8 overnight trailed last year’s Packers-Steelers game and the Super Bowl XXI matchup between the Giants and Broncos on the all-time list; both of those games delivered a 47.9.