On Tuesday night, the WWE Network will air a second edition of “ECW Exposed” with Paul Heyman and Joey Styles. The episode was taped this past Monday night and will mostly feature Heyman answering questions from Twitter, similar to the initial episode from earlier this week.
Also new on the WWE Network, as noted earlier today, is a special preview of WWE’s new “Macho Man” Randy Savage DVD. That special is scheduled to air immediately after WWE RAW on Monday, so you can expect it to be pushed hard during the show, which is also the WWE Survivor Series “go-home” edition of RAW.
Today would have marked the 62nd birthday of WWE legend “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Speaking of Savage, WWE will be showing a preview of the new Macho Man DVD on the WWE Network following Monday’s edition of RAW. The preview for the special reads as follows:
“A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story.”
Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan announced via social media that he is no longer with the Resistance Pro Wrestling (RPW) promotion.
“For those interested, I’ve left Resistance Pro Wrestling, officially and unofficially,” Corgan wrote on Twitter. “Details to follow in the coming weeks. And though this is by no means a way to reach them, I’d like to thank the talented wrestlers, managers, and valets I’ve worked with.”
RPW is a local, Chicago-based indy promotion that had a television deal with the AMC Network until AMC dropped all unscripted programming.
Apparently Brad Maddox has not been released from WWE. His profile page was reportedly moved to the WWE alumni section on WWE.com back when he was “fired” by The Authority earlier this year.
He has been listed in the alumni section since May, despite the fact that he appeared on a WWE segment on the WWE App where he spoke about “sitting home without a job” for months.
According to various reports, TNA star Ethan Carter III has suffered a torn bicep. EC3 is expected to undergo surgery for the torn bicep at some point in the next week.
Due to the injury, EC3 is now off of the lineup for this weekend’s House Of Hardcore VII iPPV from Philadelphia, Pennyslvania.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On calling the New Japan Pro Wrestling PPV: “As many of you may know by now, I will be sitting ringside on January 4th in Tokyo for the annual Wrestle Kingdom 9 event from New Japan Pro Wrestling and promoted on PPV in the USA and Canada by Global Force Wrestling. My manager Barry Bloom and Jeff Jarrett had been in talks for a good while attempting to come up with a win-win deal for both parties and they finally succeeded. It wasn’t until this past Monday, the day before the announcement was made on Tuesday November 11, that Jeff and I actually spoke and that was via phone. It had been 15 years since we last spoke.”
On his broadcast partner for the show: “I have no idea who will be my broadcast partner even though Jeff and I have discussed it but the decision at the end of the day will be his. I’d assume we will know that info in a couple of weeks. Whoever it has has to be a preparation freak because many in the English speaking universe are not going to be as familiar with the talents as the hard core fans who religiously follow NJPW. It will be our job to explain the talent’s backgrounds, the storylines, etc while not ignoring holds, strategy, the transitions and the basics of presenting each match as if it were a legit sporting event without insulting the audience.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson took part in a photo shoot for a new Guess ad in Malibu this past Wednesday.
– The name for the new NXT stable, which consists of Chad Gable, Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton may be “Shoot Nation.” As noted recently, the group wears U.S.A. amateur wrestling singlets to go with their amateur wrestling backgrounds, kind of like the old “Varsity Club” faction back in the original NWA.
– Speaking of NXT, the official Facebook account for the developmental territory recently reached the milestone number of 2 million fans.
– Scott Hall’s son Cody Hall is planning to move to Japan soon to train at the official New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo.
– Stephanie McMahon noted on Twitter on Thursday that she returned from WWE’s European tour early on Wednesday morning. She tweeted the following about her busy day, including the photo below of her training.
Got in from UK at 2:30AM ET, up at 6:30 to take kids to school, full day at office, put kids to bed,… http://t.co/pOfCMhbwqL
As noted recently, Alberto Del Rio’s settlement with WWE allows him to drop the non-compete clause that was part of his WWE deal. As a result, Del Rio will be free to work for the AAA Lucha Underground promotion.
Lucha Underground’s next set of television tapings are scheduled for January 17th, so it’s expected that he will start with the promotion then.
It’s worth mentioning that Del Rio appears to be a pretty significant draw outside of WWE in international markets, particularly Spanish-language markets, as he recently helped sell out an 8,000 seat building in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico for a AAA live event.
As of right now, there is no word yet as to how WWE SmackDown moving to Thursday nights will affect WWE’s international television deals.
Traditionally, Australia has been the first country to get SmackDown each week, however as noted recently, with the upcoming time slot change, Canada will now be the first country to get SmackDown on a weekly basis, as the show will be airing on Sportsnet 360 every Wednesday night.
– WWE cameras filmed Jerry Lawler singing with Tom Nunnery at the Blue Note Bar and Grill on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday night. This was likely for the Lawler project that WWE has been working on, which is expected to be either a new DVD or a WWE Network special of some kind.
– The latest edition of “WWE Inbox,” which you can view below, features WWE Superstars and WWE Divas telling stories about the first cars they ever owned.
– WWE Diva Eva Marie was recently on vacation with her family. During the vacation, cameras were rolling to film footage for a future episode of Total Divas. She apparently got to drive a Ferrari F430 GT on a closed course and indicated that it was likely filmed for the reality show.
– Tickets for the next NXT live special, “Takeover Evolution,” scheduled for December 11th on the WWE Network are officially sold out. The NXT television tapings the following night are said to be sold out as well.
– The following are some excerpts of a new ABC 2 News feature on Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) with comments from WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas:
“It’s great to see MCW still going strong. They saw something special in me and I slept on their couches many nights when I was coming up on the independent scene. I’m glad I’m able to give back to them and my fans now in a way I was never able to in the WWE.”
“I’m really enjoying the chance to get up close and personal with fans and up-and-coming wrestlers. It’s given me the chance to see how many lives I’ve impacted and that’s pretty special. I was in the WWE during a special time when female wrestlers were given a chance to shine. I’m just now getting the chance to reflect on my career and what I accomplished. Now I have a chance to give back and help the next generation reach their goals too.”
– According to MetsFan4Ever, a former WWE backstage worker who has broken WWE news and produced multiple shows scripts on Reddit.com in recent months, talent cuts are on the horizon.
“I’ve heard releases are coming. This is probably the start of things,” he said in response to speculation of WWE and The Great Khali parting ways after his profile was moved to the Alumni section. “I’ve been told about a few. But I don’t want to speculate as of right now.”
In June, MetsFan4Ever broke news of JTG’s release shortly before it was announced on WWE.com.
– As reported Thursday, WWE Studios and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will team up again for a sequel to “Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania” set to be released in the spring of 2016 and Hulk Hogan will be prominently featured in the cast of characters. In this video message, “The Hulkster” weighs in on the news.
Week 3 of Lucha Underground is in the books and the upstart promotion continues to deliver some of the best wrestling matches on television anywhere. Last night’s episode was no exception, with a 3-way main event featuring lucha stars Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Drago.
Even if you’re not familiar with any of the three competitors, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t the “match of the week” from any of the top wrestling promotions on television.
Comment below and tell us what you thought about the match.
Tommy Dreamer’s “House Of Hardcore VII” event takes place this Saturday night at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This weekend’s event will be the first time ever that the promotion is available live on internet pay-per-view. The $14.99 stream includes 14-day access to a video on demand replay. You can order the iPPV now at RFVideoNow.com.
Below is the final lineup for the event, which is also expected to feature a lot of surprises.
Tag Team Match
– The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks
Old School Extreme Rules Match
– Ethan Carter III vs. Tommy Dreamer with Beulah McGillicutty
Aries Open Challenge Accepted
– Austin Aries vs. Drew Galloway
Tag Team Match
– The Wolves vs. Harry “DH” Smith & Lance Archer
Singles Match
– Christian York vs. Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins)
Singles Match
– Eddie Kingston vs. Jigsaw
– Velvet Sky, Thea Trinidad (Rosita), Gail Kim, CW Anderson and others are also scheduled to appear.
As noted earlier, The Great Khali and WWE have officially parted ways. The speculation on Khali’s departure first came when his profile was moved to the alumni section of WWE’s official website. Since then, the rumors have been confirmed.
Update: Brad Maddox is still with WWE. His Superstar profile was moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com earlier this year when he was “fired” by The Authority. He’s been on the Alumni section of the website since May.
Maddox last appeared for WWE on a WWE App segment last month where he spoke about sitting home for months with no job.
– WWE will be teaming up with Warner Bros. again for a sequel to the “Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery” animated movie. The film, which is set for a Spring 2016 release (around the time of WrestleMania 32) will star Hulk Hogan in the leading role.
The first movie, featuring John Cena, Brodus Clay, Michael Cole, Kane, AJ Lee, Santino Marella, The Miz, Vince McMahon, and others was released on DVD earlier this year.
– Speaking of the Hulkster, he attended Thursday night’s Golden State Warriors vs. Brooklyn Nets NBA game and gave a speech before the game hyping the crowd and promoting WrestleMania 31 from Santa Clara, California. Here’s video of the appearance:
Hulk Hogan talks to the crowd before the Golden State Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 107-99.
Courtesy of Tumblr user Kerry McKend, check out this video of Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose “rocking out” with weapons at the WWE Live Event form Glasgow, Scotland.
WWE Superstar The Great Khali (Dalip Singh Rana) was moved to the WWE alumni section of the official company website tonight.
While no announcement has been made thus far, there has reportedly been talk within many wrestling circles that Khali was going to be exiting the profession in the near future.
We will update you whenever any additional details on this story become available.
– WWE has added WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar to the advertising for the February 9th edition of WWE RAW in Columbus, Ohio.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was scheduled to appear at the Northeast Wrestling event in Danbury, Connecticut this Friday, however WWE reportedly pulled him from the appearance so he could appear at their WrestleMania 31 ticket party at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Replacing Booker at the independent event will be Bully Ray.
