– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown tapings take place from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. As announced on RAW, Mick Foley will serve as the Interim General Manager for this week’s SmackDown. Triple H and John Laurinaitis are both advertised for the tapings.
The advertised dark main event advertised is John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis in a Handicap Match.
– WWE will return to East Rutherford, New Jersey’s IZOD Center, the site of Sunday’s No Way Out pay-per-view, on 10/22 for a RAW Supershow taping. Already advertised for that night is an 8-man tag team match featuring John Cena, CM Punk Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Big Show, Daniel Bryan, Kane and Alberto Del Rio.
– A few people in WWE mentioned on Twitter that traffic problems on the New Jersey Turnpike have made it difficult for the WWE crew to make it from Long Island, New York to Baltimore, Maryland for tonight’s SmackDown taping.
Natalya wrote that it took her 6 hours to make the trip, with many talents not arriving in Baltimore until around 5am this morning.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson is headed to Broadway. Spike Lee will direct Mike Tyson’s one-man Broadway show, “Undisputed Truth.”
Undisputed Truth will feature Mike Tyson talking about his tumultuous life story. The limited run of six performances will be held at New York’s Longacre Theater.
– WWEDVDNews has confirmed more upcoming WWE Superstar DVD projects are in the works. Both Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston will be getting DVDs highlighting their careers. Here are confirmed release dates for the Superstars Collection DVD series:
* John Cena and Zack Ryder: 7/10
* Daniel Bryan and Sheamus: 8/7
* Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston: 9/4
* Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio: October
Silvervision recently announced that they will not be producing Superstar Collection DVD’s in the UK and Europe, so these might be US only for now.
– Vader continues to tweet about his surprise appearance on last week’s RAW Supershow:
Mon.Night Raw #1trend in the World,World Wide on twitter was Vader Time! What time is it? Still the man after all these years.You bet!
Prior to getting called up to WWE, Rodriguez competed at FCW (and at independent shows) as “Chimaera.”
– John Cena will be returning to the WWE title picture later this year. Commercials aired during Monday’s RAW in the Boston area hyping September’s Night of Champions pay-per-view from the city.
The voiceover said, “John Cena returns to his hometown of Boston to try and re-capture championship glory.”
– After his feud on RAW with John Cena, there has been talk of moving Big Show to the World Heavyweight title picture on SmackDown.
– Among the WWE related terms that were trending worldwide during RAW were Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Cyndi Lauper, Roddy Piper and Chris Jericho.
– WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel will be taking some time off this weekend.
– Abraham Washington tweeted the following about his new Primetime Players team walking out on their match against his former clients, Primo and Epico:
– Former TNA star Amazing Red was backstage at Sunday’s WWE No Way Out pay-per-view and was telling fans he had a tryout earlier in the day. Red was reportedly brought in by WWE announcer Matt Striker.
– With the upcoming 1,000th Episode of RAW and the new WWE ’13 video game both featuring legends from the Attitude Era, there has been talk of WWE doing an Attitude Era DVD set. Mick Foley tweeted about a possible Attitude Era DVD earlier this year and Booker T mentioned during No Way Out that he was recently interviewed about the era.
– Pop music icon & WrestleMania I celebrity Cyndi Lauper made her first WWE appearance on RAW in over 20 years. It was rumored that she was there to promote a new reality television show, but it was not mentioned. WWE did plug her new CD, “Bring Ya to the Brink.”
Roddy Piper noted on Twitter that Lauper was brought in to update the WWE Universe on what she’s doing now and to also help promote the upcoming 1,000th RAW.
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THQ issued the following press release on Tuesday morning:
The ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’ Returns Mike Tyson Returns To The Ring
The campaign premise of “Live the Revolution” continues, as THQ today announced the return of the incomparable Mike Tyson to the ring – virtually – in WWE® ’13, the revolutionary next installment in the WWE flagship videogame franchise. Often touted as the “baddest man on the planet,” the boxing legend and former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world will be available as an exclusive playable character for consumers who pre-order the videogame at any participating retailer in the UK for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system (while supplies last).
Tyson made headlines with WWE (NYSE: WWE) in early 1998 as part of the company’s groundbreaking “Attitude Era,” a time period prominently featured in WWE ’13 through a brand new single-player campaign. He is best remembered for his appearances leading up to and at WrestleMania® XIV, where he was recruited by D-Generation X (DX) to serve as a ringside enforcer during the main event match between DX member Shawn Michaels® and Stone Cold Steve Austin® for the WWE Championship. Tyson, sporting a sleeveless DX t-shirt and black jeans – the same look as his playable character in WWE ’13 – interfered in the match, allowing Austin to secure the victory and ultimately abandoning his presumed alliance with the renegade faction. Tyson returned to WWE on January 11, 2010 as a guest host on Monday Night Raw® and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2, 2012.
“As one of the most dominant champions in boxing history and one of the most memorable guests to ever be featured on WWE programming, Mike Tyson led an incredible revolution that changed the way fans perceive the sport,” said Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President, Global Brand Management, THQ. “He was a tremendous addition to the ‘Attitude Era’ and is certain to attract a wide variety of fans to ‘live the revolution’ offered in WWE ’13.”
“The baddest man on the planet is back – and only in WWE ’13,” said Mike Tyson. “Fans everywhere can now relive what I experienced during the ‘Attitude Era.’”
– After John Laurinaitis was fired by Vince McMahon at No Way Out, Kevin Nash joked on Twitter that he’ll now be in charge of RAW. Nash received a lot of feedback from fans when he was nowhere to be seen on RAW. He then tweeted:
My bad. thought I was gonna run Raw tonight. Reread the email and it said 'hope you go raw dog tonight'. Great night for me anyway!
– WWE has released a new DLC pack for the WrestleFest on iOS game. The “Rowdy Pack” includes WWE legends Roddy Piper & “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, as well as Kane, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes and the classic SmackDown arena.
After Monday’s RAW from the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, NY went off the air, Big Show slapped John Laurinaitis’s chest twice then left.
John Cena then gave the people what they were clamoring for all night – Zack Ryder. Ryder came out, grabbed John Laurinaitis and stopped him from running away. Ryder brought him into the ring and gave him a Broski kick, which got a huge pop from the crowd.
Triple H’s music then hit and he took a microphone. He said that it looks like Big Johnny’s chest was red, but his back was white. Cena took the cue to deliver a few chops to his back (making it red) and then Hunter delivered a Pedigree on the former RAW General Manager.
Triple H and Cena left together, leaving John Laurinaitis there alone. When he finally got to his feet, he walked to the ramp but was surprised by Vince McMahon. Vince acted like he was concerned and was going to help him, but then delivered a low blow and left him laying to end the show.
– Eve Torres, who served as John Laurinaitis’ Executive Administrator while he was in control of Raw and SmackDown, will address her WWE future Tuesday on Twitter.
When asked Monday night where she’s been, she responded, “You’ll get an answer… tomorrow!” Zack Ryder wrote a message hoping that like Laurinaitis, she too is terminated. She responded to Ryder, “You wish.”
– Tensai was backstage at Monday’s Raw SuperShow at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York but not used on either the broadcast, WWE Superstars or in a dark match. It is the first Monday show since his return to WWE in April in which he did not appear at all. The character is reportedly being repackaged.
– Zack Ryder’s father sat ringside at Monday’s Raw.
– Zack Ryder posted a brief video of himself expressing his dissatisfaction with being left off Monday’s Raw SuperShow in his hometown of Long Island, New York.
– On Monday, WWE’s stock price set a new 52-week low and reached its lowest mark since April 2003. The stock closed at $7.59 per share after setting a 52-week low of $7.44 per share. A 52-week low was previously set Friday with $7.48 per share.
– WWEShop.com will release a new Christian T-Shirt in the near future. Click here for a preview.
— Chris Jericho returns to WWE RAW next week. His suspension ends later this week.
— It was announced during RAW that while the Board of Directors looks for a replacement for John Laurinaitis, they are “reaching out to former General Managers” to host the show each week.
Mick Foley is this week’s RAW and SmackDown host.
— There is once again talk of Metallica playing at a WWE pay-per-view. WWE hyped Metallica’s upcoming Orion Music Festival in New Jersey and its rumored that the band could play at SummerSlam.
The band’s “Memory Remains” song was one of the theme songs at WrestleMania 28 and was used to hype the Triple H vs. Undertaker match.
– CM Punk’s current WWE Title reign is now the longest since John Cena’s reign from September 17th, 2006 to October 2nd, 2007.
– Former WWE diva Stacy Keibler is rumored to be pregnant with George Clooney’s child. Keibler was spotted at Clooney’s Lake Cuomo getaway over the weekend with what appeared to be a “baby bump.” A rep for Keibler had “no comment” for TMZ when asked about the possible pregnancy.
– Injured WWE star Wade Barrett was spotted at the Saloon restaurant in Philadelphia over the weekend, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
– Friday’s SmackDown a 1.75 cable rating, up just a bit from the previous week. The show averaged 2.41 million viewers, which is actually down from the week before.
New York City radio DJ Peter Rosenberg of the Hot 97 hip hop radio station has landed yet another exclusive interview with a WWE superstar – Daniel Bryan. Rosenberg interviewed Bryan, who was in town to hype tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow from Long Island, NY.
– Setting the record straight on his backyard wrestling past
– Training with Shawn Michaels and William Regal
– Working at McDonald’s
– Vince McMahon’s reaction to him being a vegan
– How he CM Punk don’t fit the mold of the typical WWE main eventer
– Their match at No Way Out last night
– Original plans for his feud with Mark Herny
– A funny story about him, Ryback & Cody Rhodes at Panera Bread restaurant
– Which WWE superstars need a push & who WWE should sign
You can check out the 25-minute video interview below, courtesy of RosenbergRadio.com:
– According to court documents filed in TNA Entertainment’s lawsuit against WWE for interference with existing contracts, the organization terminated Ric Flair’s contract on May 11, 2012. Flair, however, is still listed as a member of the active roster on ImpactWrestling.com.
Flair missed a live event he was scheduled to appear at the day before his contract was terminated. He has privately claimed that he quit the organization.
– Former WWE talent Nidia Guenard was backstage with her young daughter at TNA Wrestling’s live event at Bayou Music Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday night. She resides in the area and was a guest of Tara’s.
Guenard left the professional wrestling industry entirely in 2005 and is now pursuing a culinary career.
– Zema Ion will appear at Millennium Wrestling Federation’s eleventh anniversary show taking place September 22 at Memorial Hall 590 Main St. Melrose, Massachusetts. (Event Information)
– WWE’s Breaking News mobile alert service reported Monday afternoon that former General Manager and Executive Vice President of Talent John Laurinaitis will give his farewell address on tonight’s Raw SuperShow. Laurinaitis added on Twitter:
They haven't taken away my Twitter accounts yet … Tonight on #Raw, I say farewell with the class and dignity that #PeoplePower deserves.
John Cena’s Steel Cage Match victory over Big Show at No Way Out carried the stipulation that Laurinaitis would be terminated if The World’s Largest Athlete couldn’t pick up the duke.
– This week on WWE Download, Dolph Ziggler looks at a few guys who can’t quite hit their targets, and showcases several of Zack Ryder’s “shining” moments.
— WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is accepting independent bookings for the remainder of the summer and the fall through 1originaldiva@gmail.com.
Sunny made headlines over the weekend after risque pictures from her cell phone leaked online. The culprit behind the leaked bikini picture is rumored to be an ex boyfriend.
— WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is accepting independent bookings for the remainder of the summer and the fall through 1originaldiva@gmail.com.
Sunny made headlines over the weekend after risque pictures from her cell phone leaked online. The culprit behind the leaked bikini picture is rumored to be an ex boyfriend.
– After retaining his World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night at No Way Out, a weary Sheamus shared his thoughts on both the victory and his opponent, Dolph Ziggler.
“He pushed me as far as anyone has pushed me as World Heavyweight Champion,” The Great White says to WWE.com. “And I’ll be honest, there was a couple of really close ones out there where I had just enough to kick out. Make no mistake about it, I love to fight, Dolph Ziggler proved to tonight that he likes to fight too, and I’ll be honest, he’s this close away (makes hand gesture) from breaking into the next level. My hat’s off to him.”
He continues, “But again, I walked away at No Way Out as World Heavyweight Champion, and tonight, I think I’ve deserved a few more pints.”
– Counting down to five days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho referenced King Kong Bundy’s tendency to demand a five count for pinfalls whenever he dominated his opponent in a squash match:
– Since returning to WWE, Tensai has often been subject to ridiculing chants referencing his past persona, A-Train, which talent are forbidden from acknowledging on-air. Contrary to popular belief, Tensai says he’s not bothered by them.
@CMPuLs3 Not at all. Why would they? It's who I was. Glad they remember.
– WWE will hold a SuperShow at the Bancorp South Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi on August 10, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10:00 a.m.
– Kevin Nash is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. He claimed late last night on Twitter that he would be running tonight’s Raw SuperShow.
“Running Raw tomorrow night, going to be epic,” he wrote.
TNA star Matt Morgan reportedly fulfilled his remaining obligations for the company over the weekend he weekend and has been teasing a return to WWE.
Morgan is still scheduled to do a promotional tour for TNA in Australia next week, according to f4wonline.com.
One hurdle preventing Morgan from jumping to WWE is the ongoing lawsuit between TNA and WWE. It had been widely speculated that Ric Flair was in the process of leaving TNA for WWE, but WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt told a court last week that currently has no interest in Flair – a sign that WWE is staying away from signing TNA talent until the lawsuit blows over.
– Christian was interviewed by the WWE website after succesfully defending the Intercontinental title against Cody Rhodes at No Way Out Christian promised that his 4th IC title reign will be his best and says fans should get ready for a long title run.
– John Cena’s father appeared at Saturday night’s WWE Supershow live event from lowell, Massachusetts and got involved in the WWE title match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
At one point in the match, Punk and Bryan were fighting on the outside when Punk held gryan’s arms behind his back and allowed Cena Sr. to headbutt Bryan in the chest. Cena’s dad has appeared at several WWE live events in the Northeast before.
– The first theme song for WWE’s 2012 SummerSlam pay-per-view is “Don’t Give Up (Rhythmic Remix)” by Kevin Rudolf. WWE released the following promo video for SummerSlam:
At Sunday’s WWE No Way Out pay-per-view, John Cena defeated Big Show in their main event steel cage match to save his job and send John Laurinaitis packing.
Shortly after Vince McMahon fired Laurinaitis, the WWE website posted a backstage video of the former RAW General Manager recovering from his post-match beatdown by Cena. Jinder Mahal and Sakamoto came in and The Great Khali also appeared, offered to shake Laurinaitis’ hand before pulling it away. The segment ended with Khali, Mahal and Sakamoto dancing around.
While John Laurinaitis was fired as the General Manager of RAW, he’s is still being advertised for tonight’s RAW and all WWE live events through the summer. In what could be a spoiler regarding his new role in WWE, he’ listed as the new “Assistant to the WWE Board of Directors.”
– Dean Ambrose was back on the road with WWE again this weekend, working against Alex Riley at RAW brand live events. WWE Champion CM Punk tweeted the image to the right (click to enlarge) of Ambrose walking out to the ring and called him “our secret weapon.”
Punk also re-tweeted a comment from former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky that said:
– Injured WWE superstar Evan Bourne will be appearing at the FCW live event on 7/23 from the Orlando Armory in Orlando, Florida.
– As seen at WWE No Way Out, Abraham Washington dumped Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes and aligned himself with new #1 contenders, the Primetime Players (Titus O’Neil and Darren Young.) AW tweeted the following about his new clients:
“AW doesn’t only stand for #AllWorld, it also stands for the #ArtofWar. The Colons were nothing but pawns and I’m the King. #CheckMate! For those of you who question my tactics, Tough S#!T, The PTP’z are the future of the #WWE. Can anybody out there say #MillionsOfDollars? I told the #Colons that I would give them the ultimate spotlight tonite and I delivered. Too bad they had to see them on their backs,lol!!!”
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York and will feature fallout from Sunday’s No Way Out pay-per-view.
With Vince McMahon firing John Laurinaitis at No Way Out, tonight’s show will feature fallout from the PPV and build to next month’s Money in the Bank show.
With John Laurinaitis no longer the RAW GM, have we seen the last of him?
At No Way Out, Triple H challenged Brock Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam. Triple H is advertised for tonight’s show – Paul Heyman or Brock Lesnar be there to accept his challenge?
Grammy Award winning pop legend and WrestleMania 1 celebrity Cindy Lauper will be guest starring tonight.
After Vader’s surprise return on last week’s RAW, it was announced that tonight’s show will feature another “old school” wrestler in action.
Long Island native Zack Ryder is also teasing a “Ryder Revolution” tonight.
– Kevin Nash joked with fans on Twitter that he will be taking over as the General Manager of Monday Night RAW now that John Laurinaitis has been fired:
While it’s highly unlikely that Kevin Nash will be the new RAW General Manager, there’s a chance we will see him on WWE television over the next several weeks – either as one of the weekly “old school” matches (ie. Vader last week) or with a cameo on the 1,000th episode of RAW on 7/23.
– CM Punk has had one of the longest WWE title reigns in years, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that WWE is not entirely sold on long term title reign for the Chicago native.
Once again, WWE officials came very close to having CM Punk drop the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan. Sunday’s No Way Out pay-per-view was the second consecutive event that WWE nearly pulled the trigger on the title switch.
While WWE is said to be very pleased with the way Punk has performed as champion (despite his title defenses not main eventing WWE PPVs), the company is also very high on Daniel Bryan and there is a feeling that more money could be made with Punk chasing Bryan for the championship.
– Former WWE Women’s Champion Madusa was sitting ringside beside the announcers for last night’s No Way Out PPV. She had a monster truck show on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium (the site of WretleMania 29), which is across the street from the IZOD Center. Paul Heyman was backstage visiting with his kids for Madusa’s monster truck show.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Big Vito (48) and wrestling legend Larry “The Axe” Hennig (76).
– Below is the latest episode of WWE’s Are You Serious, with Josh Matthews and “Road Dogg” BG James looking back at some forgettable moments in wrestling history:
– Kelly Kelly noted on Twitter that she spent Father’s Day with her dad at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. The former Divas champion is currently taking time off from WWE and her management company is actively searching for television projects for her.
– WWE will be releasing a new t-shirt for Intercontinental Champion Christian next week.
– Writer Paul Guay is currently working on a screenplay for a movie about wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino. Guay told F4Wonline.com that the movie will be completely different from previous movies about the wrestling business. He previously wrote the Jim Carrey movie “Liar, Liar.”
– Paul Heyman’s “Heyman Hustle” site has released another promo video featuring Mike Tyson, who talks about “returning to the ring.” It’s believed that the videos are hyping Tyson being a playable character in the upcoming WWE ’13 video game: