The following matches were taped on Tuesday night for this Friday night’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
– A 20-man battle royal for the U.S. Title
– Divas Champion Nikki Bella vs. Emma
– Seth Rollins vs. Ryback
– The New Day (Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston) vs. Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, and Curtis Axel
– Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title
For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers, click here.
WWE issued a statement Thursday night to Yahoo! Sports in response to an article highlighting CM Punk’s criticism of the sports-entertainment organization’s medical tactics in a podcast interview.
“WWE takes the health and wellness of its talent very seriously and has a comprehensive Talent Wellness Program that is led by one of the most well-respected physicians in the country, Dr. Joseph Maroon,” the statement reads.
Nearly ten months after his final appearance for WWE, Punk finally addressed the circumstances behind his departure from the sports-entertainment organization in an explosive two-hour interview with Colt Cabana on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast (click here to listen).
During the interview, Punk said the main reason he left the company was because of his health. He was particularly critical of Dr. Chris Amann, WWE’s Senior Ringside Physician, who misdiagnosed an MRSA infection he had on his back for months as a “fatty deposit.” A doctor with no affiliation to WWE who examined Punk said he could have died from it.
Prior to this, Punk said he was pressured on more than one occasion by WWE officials to return to action while injured.
“I got a concussion in the Royal Rumble,” Punk said, referring to the 2014 match. “It’s pretty godd*** obvious. I knew I had a concussion. Everyone knew I had a concussion. And they were like we want you to take this test and I said your test is bull***. I took the test while texting you [Colt Cabana] and listening to my headphones and I “passed” with flying colors. But then they were like we want you to go to the ring and run the ropes. And I was like but I just passed your test and they were like yeah, but we still think you have a concussion. I was like so your test is worthless. I’m not going out in the f****** ring like a two-week rookie to run the ropes in front of everybody. Let’s just call it [a concussion] now.”
Punk was also pressured to wrestle just as he was to begin rehab from elbow surgery. He recalled, “I remember when I was supposed to go back to Birmingham and get cleared before I came back to wrestle from my elbow. One day I was just at TV and it was the same thing … I’ll probably just cut a promo and then Michael Hayes comes up to me and goes, “Alright, you’re working so and so,” and I was like no I’m not. I just got this laser eye surgery and I don’t want anyone f****** up my eyes. And he’s like you really should have told somebody, and I was like told them what … my elbow! And he goes no, I just checked and they said you’re cleared. I was like I haven’t even gone to Birmingham to see Dr. [James] Andrews yet, what do you mean I’m cleared? I talked to Dr. [Chris] Amann and Dr. Amann was like I called him [Dr. Andrews] and I told him how you were and he said OK and he cleared you. I was like what kind of witch doctory bull**** is that? Like I’m going to go see him before I f****** wrestle. Book that s***, I’m not wrestling tonight.”
Punk noted that he would forward to undergoing surgery just so he could get some time off from WWE’s strenuous road schedule.
For the first time since bolting from WWE in January, CM Punk publicly addressed the circumstances behind his departure from the sports-entertainment organization in an explosive two-hour interview with Colt Cabana on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast. (Listen Here)
Punk spoke extensively on Vince McMahon and Triple H as he went after them on issues relating to creative direction and mismanagement. Brian “Road Dogg” James, who works behind-the-scenes for WWE, argued with fans criticizing the company on Twitter Thursday night after the interview came out.
After a fan James follows on Twitter wrote, “Fuck you Vince. Fuck you Hunter.” James responded, “You only hear one side of the story!” After the fan said what Punk revealed about McMahon and Hunter made him angry, James said, “I understand that but are you sure you have all of the facts? There are always 2 sides to every story. Just to be clear, I don’t know the truth either! I just know how these stories get told around our industry.”
James then had lengthy exchange with a fan expressing his unhappiness with Punk feeling unhappy and mistreated behind-the-scenes in WWE. This fan wrote to James, “I hope no one else is holding those emotions inside & not speaking up about it.” James responded, “It’s crazy but do you always get treated perfectly at work? It’s a team and we need team players, everyone can’t win!”
The fan then wrote, “Never was a big Punk mark, but seems like he was very unhappy & mistreated behind the scenes.” James wrote back, “How was he “mistreated”? After the fan said “just his words,” James wrote, “I get it, but you just asked me if anyone else was being “mistreated” so I was interested as to what he meant by that.”
The fan then said, “Well, from what I heard, he was beat up & needed a break that he never got, he wasn’t paid handsomely & claimed the he deserved to be in the main event of WrestleMania, which is why he felt miserable.” James responded, “Did you just read what you typed? He didn’t get to be in the main event so he got hot!!! C’mon man! I like Punk but dang.”
After the fan again said it was Punk’s words, James remarked, “So if VKM or HHH did a podcast would you believe every word of those too?”
James continued, “When I quit and then got release papers, I dogged the company too. It’s what you do when you aren’t honest with yourself.”
The fan then remarked to James, “I’m not taking sides, but I wanna hear WWE’s response to what he said.” James responded, “Well you never will. The way everyone is reacting, I don’t believe it’s in the WWE’s best interest to give one.”
After it appeared both sides were going to have a stalemate until his contract expired, Punk recalled getting a text message from Triple H on June 11—two days before his wedding with AJ Lee. Punk told Hunter he was getting married and they could discuss the matter when he returned home from the honeymoon. Then, on the day of his wedding, Punk received a FedEx with termination papers. James addressed the topic to the fan, saying, “As far as release papers on his wedding day, wasn’t his wedding a secret? How did they know it was his wedding day?”
James continued, “If he has no hard feelings why all the negative talk. He was “The Man” and that guy runs hard all year long. I’m done!”
James continued responding to the fan after the fan wrote, “& he wanted to know, why John Cena is the only one, that gets his “Make-A-Wish” showcased, when has had equal amount of grants.”
“I’m not sure that’s true. Like I said, I’m done. It’s he said she said stuff and it’s history. #HappyThanksgiving,” James wrote.
The exchange concluded after the fan says “Maybe he’s just a little salty, about not being the top guy anymore.” To this remark, James said, “Yep, maybe!”
James also responded to this fan question: “Why were vince and Hunter such jerks to cm punk?”
“A business relationship is between 2 or more people, you’ve now heard 1 side of the story,” James stated. “You’ll never hear the other. That’s his story. I can tell you some too if you’d like!”
During the interview, Punk was particularly critical of Chris Amann, WWE’s Senior Ringside Physician. Punk said Amann misdiagnosed and ignored a MRSA infection on his back for months and that the first doctor he went to after leaving WWE was stunned to hear that he wrestled with it. This doctor said he could have died from it. A fan asked James, “Why didn’t the wwe doctors treated his injuries right? Or even the @WWE?”
“Can’t even believe you just asked that! We have a trainer and a dr. Talent goes to doc of their choice! Dang,” James wrote.
James again compared the situation to his own several years ago when he parted ways with WWE on bitter terms. A fan wrote, “@WWERoadDogg is bashing @CMPunk now. Coming from the hypocrite who trashed HHH on a shoot video a few years ago and now is up his ass.” James responded, “I did exactly what Punk did. I parted ways from the company and I bashed them. Call me what you will mate.”
James continued, “And if you call being friends with someone being “up their a**” then I guess you’re right. Not bashin Punk, just counter points.”
The fan then remarked, “There’s just a lot of us who hate what WWE has become. After hearing what Del Rio and Punk have said it’s not hard to see why.” James responded, “I understand your complaint and you’re definitely entitled to it. I don’t want to bash Punk but there is another side.”
Following all this, James stated to his Twitter followers, “Didn’t mean to argue and I’m sorry to those I offended. I’ll just keep quiet on this subject. I’m passionate about the business. I’m sorry.”
CM Punk talks about WWE firing him on his wedding day – details
During his 2-hour tell-all interview with Colt Cabana, CM Punk accused Ryback of being a steroid guy and breaking his ribs on purpose.
For the first time since bolting from WWE in January, CM Punk addressed the circumstances behind his departure from the sports-entertainment organization in a two-hour interview with Colt Cabana on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast.
Beginning at 51:50, Punk gripes about his experience working with Ryback, who he brands as a dangerous worker and steroid user. Punk says wrestling Ryback “took twenty years off my fucking life” and blames him for injuring him on multiple occasions.
“I’m already beat up and I have to wrestle steroid guy,” Punk says as he recalled being asked to work a program with Ryback in the fall of 2012 since management felt he could carry him in matches. “I call it like I see it. He’s very hurty, sometimes deliberate. There was one time he kicked me in the stomach as hard he could and he broke my ribs, right at the tail end. I never got an apology for that. He was something else. A real piece of work that guy.”
Later in interview, Punk takes a jab at Triple H for failing to elevate Curtis Axel after promising he would. Punk offered to work with the third-generation wrestler, but WWE officials ignored his request. Instead, he was continuously booked in matches with Ryback—now paired with Paul Heyman—who he had requested to management to not to work with. Punk later agrees to work with him and gets injured in their first encounter.
“I go up to Ryan [Ryback’s real name] and I go, ‘Hey man, clean slate. Let’s fucking kill this. Let’s fucking show them that you’re better than they think you are. Let’s show them I’m better than they think I am and let’s turn this mid-card shit into a fucking main event,” said Punk.
Imitating Ryback’s voice, “‘Yeah, I’m really excited, blah, blah, blah.'”
Punk recalls, “First night out, Gorilla Press through a table…fucking misses the table. Dumps me on the concrete fucking ground. Tilts my fucking pelvis, fucks me up for weeks.”
Punk later asks Ryback if he hurt him on purpose or if he’s “dumb as fuck.”
He continues to Cabana, “I’m compensating because my knee is still fucked, both my knees, you know what I mean? The one I just had surgery on six months ago and the one that was fucking torn up and I refused to have surgery on. I just wanted to rehab it, which I did. And now it’s at the point where I walk up to him and I go, ‘You can’t tell me you didn’t do that on purpose because you’ve done it so many times now. You either tell me right now you’re dumb as fuck and you suck, or you did it on purpose. And he was like, ‘I’m dumb as fuck. I’m sorry.'”
Punk says, “At that point, there was nothing I could do. In my mind it was like, ‘Great. Fuck, there’s nothing I can do.'”
Ryback responded:
https://twitter.com/Ryback22/status/538068948278083584
CM Punk talks about WWE firing him on his wedding day – details
As we have noted in the past, TNA is planning on a complete and total overhaul for the company when they officially relaunch their promotion during their Impact Wrestling television debut on their new cable home — Destination America — in January.
One of the major changes in terms of television presentation is the way the company plans to handle their announce team.
It’s believed that the longtime commentary team of Mike Tenay and Taz will cease to exist when TNA launches of Destination America, as one source claims the “new and improved” TNA will be going with a two-man announcing team that will consist of Taz and former WWE announcer Josh Mathews.
As far as Mike Tenay is concerned, it is believed that he will still remain in an on-air role in some capacity.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
As previously reported, TNA has announced a set of Impact Wrestling television tapings at the Manhattan Center in New York City, New York for January 7th, 8th and 9th.
As things stand right now, the plan is to do the first show either live or on a one or two hour delay.
It’s said that most of these decisions depend mainly on whether or not Destination America, TNA’s new cable home in the United States, is willing to confirm the Wednesday, 9pm EST. time slot, which is expected.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
During his 2-hour must-listen podcast interview with Colt Cabana, former WWE Superstar CM Punk reveals that The Shield faction was originally his idea.
Punk says WWE was discussing forming a new heel stable that would have him, Daniel Bryan, Big Show and Seth Rollins.
He had the idea to select three wrestlers from developmental who would be his “protectors.” Punk selected Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero). Triple H shot down Hero, who was replaced by “their guy,” Roman Reigns.
Punk was very frustrated at the time and wasn’t going to “go to war” for Hero to be part of the faction. He understood that WWE had big plans for Roman Reigns, who would learn a lot working with Rollins and Ambrose.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has broken his silence on the circumstances that led to his WWE departure in a lengthy interview with Colt Cabana on the Art of Wrestling Podcast.
There is a tremendous amount of material covered in the 2-hour podcast and we highly recommend you listen to the podcast to hear everything from Punk himself. We’re covering Punk’s final days in WWE below – but the podcast covers three years of Punk’s WWE run, dating back to Money in the Bank 2011
After years of working through injuries and WWE’s “toxic” creative environment, Punk requested a meeting with Vince McMahon and Triple H at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
“I looked Vince in the eye and I said, ‘I do not love this anymore. I’m f—– sick, I’m f—— hurt, I’m f—— confused, I don’t know as a business what we’re doing anymore. Every day you tell me it’s a team effort, but every day it’s an individual effort by me to find what’s necessary to even f-n come here. It’s not fun. I have zero passion for this. I’m concussed, I’m hurt, and alls you care about is what segment I’m in and how soon I can get my gear on and how soon I can pee in this cup and I don’t want to do it anymore.’
“I mentioned something about the piss test and Hunter said, ‘Well, you know, Dave (Batista) just took the same piss test you did.’ And I just looked at Hunter and went, ‘Well, did you?’ And he had nothing to say. I said (to McMahon), ‘Look, I thought when I re-signed three years ago I told you if I couldn’t be all that I said I could be, you could f—– fire me. And, if I was a fraud and anything less and fell short of the f—— mark – I said, ‘I sold more shirts than John Cena until I turned heel for you. You said you owed me one. I worked guys that were dangerous and you said you owed me one. I did all these things and alls I wanted was the main event of WrestleMania. And it’s fine if you don’t think that is me and I’m not the caliber of that Superstar, but then you need to f—— fire me. Because I do not want to be here and I do not want to be anything else.’ And then I will go somewhere else and get over because I can.
“You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment, I no longer want to be here. It boggles my mind how Daniel Bryan has not figured into your plans to be in the main event of WrestleMania because this is his year. Just like two years ago when it was my year and I was white f—– hot, just like he is now, and what did you do? You fed me to this guy.’ And I pointed to right at Hunter. Vince was like, ‘This is the concussion talking. I can’t believe you’re saying any of this. It is a main event – you’re wrestling Triple H.”
“I politely turned to Hunter and I said, ‘With all due respect, I do not need to wrestle you. You need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would have been best for business. But, you had to come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to Truth and Miz. It didn’t make any business sense and now I’m in the position where I can tell you I don’t have to nor do I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. I don’t care if I was supposed to win – which I was – I didn’t want to give him the f—— privilege.
“I said a lot of s— in there. I told them again – and Hunter was gritting his teeth, and he never liked me. Me and him in a room together – it was always negative vibes.”
“Hunter told me I was in the main event because I wrestled The Undertaker,” Punk continued. “I turned to him and said, ‘Tell me I got paid the same amount of money as you, Brock, Cena, Rock, or whoever.’ And once again, he had nothing to say. I was like, ‘I’m out of here.’ Vince, with tears in his eyes, went in for a hug, and it was like a reluctant patting on the back, then I looked at Hunter and he stuck his hand out and I shook his hand. I said, ‘Goodbye,’ and I walked out.”
Punk said he had not officially quit the company at this point, which is “when the story got really good.”
Vince McMahon texted him a week later and asked if he was ready to return yet, a sign that Vince really was not getting the message. Punk had been wrestling for months with a mass on his back that he says WWE doctors refused to properly diagnose. Punk went to a doctor that AJ Lee recommended who told him the mass was “a full-blown staph infection.” When Punk told the doctor that he worked with the mass on his back for three months, Punk said the doctor told him: “You should be dead. You could have died.”
Punk said Vince contacted him to tell him he’s suspended for two months, with the suspension ending the day after WrestleMania. After the two month suspension was up, nobody from WWE contacted him. The next thing he heard about it was Vince McMahon telling investors that he was “on a sabbatical” and then his royalty checks stopped coming.
The royalty check issue was the “final straw” after all he had put up with. Punk recalled getting a text from Triple H on June 11, two days before his wedding to AJ Lee. Punk said he explained his situation to Hunter – he was getting married, going on his honeymoon and they could continue the discussion when he got back. On the day of his wedding, he received a FedEx package with his termination papers.
“I was fired on my wedding day,” Punk said. That pushed him over the edge, especially clauses in the letter saying he forfeits all royalties and WWE claims a breach of contract retro-active to January.
Punk hired one of the top lawyers in Los Angeles to deal with the matter. Punk said he cannot talk about the terms of the settlement, but he “got everything I wanted and more.” He said WWE owes him an apology for calling him a quitter in his home town of Chicago.
Punk said WWE was terrified of him going to TNA, but Punk’s lawyer told them that Punk “absolutely despises pro wrestling” and he’s “never going to wrestle again.”
“There is no working relationship, and there never will be ever again. That wedding day thing was pretty ridiculous”
WWE Superstar and current “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins told Sam Roberts during a recent podcast interview that he didn’t expect to face Dean Ambrose at the most recent WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
“It came about sort of unexpectedly,” Rollins said. “I didn’t think we were going to go back there after SummerSlam and the night after, but the opportunity presented itself and we were able to capitalize on our opportunity as we have on all of our opportunities in the past.”
Rollins alao spoke about not being allowed to bleed during the HIAC match with Ambrose. “I don’t think it was that terribly difficult,” he said. “Sometimes it’s difficult for guys in our era who saw the other Hell in a Cell matches that preceded us and how much in our opinion the blood maybe the blood added to the match. One thing that’s great is we’ve gone without it for so long that a good portion of our audience doesn’t know the difference.”
Check out the complete Seth Rollins appearance on the Sam Roberts podcast above.
The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with Christian:
Working with Edge on the show Haven: “It was fun [working together again]. We hadn’t seen each other for a while with him being up in Nova Scotia for the better part of four years filming there and me working for WWE. He just had a daughter. I just had a daughter. Between children and both of us having different schedules, I think we had probably seen each other once in about a year. We just happened to be in the same city at the same time and had dinner for two or three hours, and that was all we had seen each other in about a year. So it was cool to get to go up to [Nova Scotia to film ‘Haven’] and spend some time with him and hang out and catch up and also act with him. It was a great experience.”
Their characters on the show: “With Edge and Christian, we were like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the Bill & Ted of WWE. We were kind of goofy, kind of funny, humorous, but then when we had to be serious in the ring, we would get serious. With his character, Dwight, on ‘Haven,’ and my character, McHugh, it’s more of a serious tone, serious guys, trained professionals at what they do. So that dynamic was a little bit different, but we still have that chemistry like what we had in WWE. Knowing where each other was in the ring kind of carries over onto the ‘Haven’ screen as well.”
Working WWE vs. Haven: “With WWE, you’re live every single week. You’re in an arena, and there can be anywhere from 12,000 to 20,000 people watching you perform. The performances might have to be a little bigger, when you portray your character may have to be a little bigger, because not only are you performing for the person in the front row, but you’re also performing for the person in the very back row. They have to kind of see everything, too. So it’s more like stage acting, like theater. When you’re on the ‘Haven’ set, you’re kind of bringing it down, making it a little bit smaller, not having to project as much, and figuring out that happy medium. WWE is live. There is no second take. Me, personally, I thrive under pressure. I feel like that I do better when the stakes are bigger like that; so I always put a lot of pressure on myself when I go out there to perform. Within three hours [of Raw] there are a lot of moving parts. There are times where things change because of the reaction of the live audience, and sometimes you have to ad-lib a little bit and do different things. It doesn’t leave any room for error. With ‘Haven,’ it’s a smaller set, and you’re kind of bringing everything down a little bit and you’re trying to tap a little more into your emotions, where you’re just kind of talking and trying to convey your character a little bit more using a little smaller scale — not as over the top like in WWE.”
Has he thought about working WWE creative? “No. I’ve always liked being on the performance end of it. I’ve come up with different ideas, but as far as being a creative writer, I’m not sure about that. I’ve always liked the performance end of it and wrestling, getting in the ring in front of a live crowd.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
Apparently the original plan for Monday’s post-Survivor Series edition of RAW was to include a segment with Vince McMahon and John Cena, which would have ultimately led to a period with no authority figure on the show throughout the evening.
Instead, they went with the Daniel Bryan angle, concluding with the return of the “Anonymous GM,” however that has also been some discussions of having weekly General Managers of the evening, some of which may end up being celebrities.
(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The current working plan within WWE right now is to promote all of the RAW shows that WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar appears on during WrestleMania season around Lesnar, with the idea of positioning him as the top draw in the company, as those behind-the-scenes are of the legitimate belief that he is in fact the top ticket-seller on the current roster.
– Despite previous reports to the contrary, WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley’s recent comedy show in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday night was not the one that was filmed for a future WWE Network special.
(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– As of pretty recently, WWE officials were still looking at a potential John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins triple-threat TLC match for next month’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, however there has been some talk lately of holding off Orton’s first return appearance until at the actual PPV itself..
Also expected for the TLC PPV is a gimmick match of some sort between Big Show and Erick Rowan. What kind of gimmick match the two will have is not yet known, but it is believed that it will not be a straight singles contest.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Although this was believed to be the case already, we can confirm that next week’s edition of RAW, which as seen on this past Monday’s show was referred to as “Cyber Monday,” will in fact have the theme where fans are able to vote on various matches and stipulations via the WWE App throughout the majority of the show.
– Sting’s WWE debut at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view was apparently not a last-minute decision at all. Sting reportedly kept the information to himself while promoting WWE 2K15 on the road, and had already filmed a lot of the pre-taped footage that aired for his entrance weeks in advance.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
There continues to be discussion within top WWE circles that NXT Women’s Champion and daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair — Charlotte — will be receiving her call up to the main roster in the very near future.
Most are under the assumption that she will be appearing on the main WWE roster shortly after the upcoming NXT “Takeover” live WWE Network special on December 11th.
Additionally, many considered her appearance at the recent WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Party to be a sign that they are moving her in the direction of the main roster sooner rather than later.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– There has been some talk among Hollywood circles that part-time WWE performer and Hollywood A-list actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is rumored to take over Mark Wahlberg’s role in the “Transformers” movie franchise. According to current rumors, Rock and Bruce Willis are being tagged as potential co-stars for the “Transformers 5” movie.
– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:
November 20th in Tampa for NXT drew 225 fans
November 21st in Cocoa Beach for NXT drew 175 fans
November 24th in Indianapolis for RAW drew 9,000 fans
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
There has been some talk within WWE lately of bringing back Paul Heyman as a regular character on WWE television in the very near future.
The current plan is to have Heyman re-appear on WWE television on the December 1st edition of RAW from Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the idea being that he would serve as the mouth-piece to build towards WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar’s WWE television return.
Lesnar’s TV return is currently scheduled for the following week’s show, which is the December 8th “Slammy Awards” edition of RAW from Greenville, South Carolina.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Apparently the plan behind-the-scenes in WWE right now is to focus heavily on making SmackDown come off as a show equal to that of Monday’s RAW.
A recent example of this was when the company decided to make the announcement on SmackDown regarding the Team Cena members being fired if their team lost in the Survivor Series main event this past Sunday night.
The idea is to attempt to strengthen the SmackDown brand to the point that the casual audience no longer views RAW as the “A show” and SmackDown as the “B show,” but rather both shows as equal.
WWE is of the belief that when SmackDown changes to Thursday’s in January that the storylines that take place on that show have to be of great importance, as to make SmackDown appear to be a “can’t miss” show, specifically while WWE re-trains their television audience to become accustomed to tuning into SmackDown on the new night.
It’s worth noting, however, that WWE has gone this route many times in the past, and generally speaking, they stick with it at first, but typically lose interest quickly and return back to the old status quo.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Regarding the Sheamus injury situation, the WWE Superstar apparently underwent surgery this past week, or at least gave off the impression that he did.
According to one source, the angle where Mark Henry slammed Sheamus through the announce table was done by design as part of a work that was going to result in him suffering an “undisclosed injury.”
WWE has not yet confirmed the injury, and all that was told to specific members of the media was that Sheamus suffered a “stinger,” which is a type of injury that generally doesn’t require surgery.
Additionally, there has been no follow-up from WWE regarding the situation, and usually when a talent undergoes an operation, especially a top name, they play that kind of stuff up pretty big.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Apparently the key reason WWE decided to heavily promote the WWE Network live special edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast with Vince McMahon as the guest was to lure the people who subscribed to the Network for the free month of November into returning for the month of December.
The special “Steve Austin Show” podcast with Vince McMahon is scheduled to air on the WWE Network immediately after next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, so it’s pretty safe to assume that it will be one of the key focal points in terms of repetitive promotion throughout the show on Monday night.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The front page of WWE.com currently features a poll asking fans who win a match between The Undertaker and Sting. With over 46,000 votes cast thus far, The Deadman is leading the poll 64% to 36%.
– Paul Burchill, who competed for WWE from 2005 to 2010, is featured in latest edition of “Where Are They Now?” on WWE.com.
While planning life after WWE, Burchill says the thought of continuing to wrestle barely crossed his mind.
“Having wrestled with the best in the world, I got my fix,” Burchill told WWE.com. “I didn’t want people to remember me as the wrestler. I needed to do a little less for myself and a little more for others.”
Today, Burchill works as a firefighter-paramedic with the Jeffersontown, Kentucky, fire department, in addition to being a member of the Jeffersontown police department’s SWAT team and a paramedic with Yellow EMS in Louisville. He is also looking to become a registered nurse, with a goal of attending graduate school to earn a master’s degree and become a family nurse practitioner. To read the full article, click here.
– Three mid-1990s episodes of Raw have been added to the WWE Network vault: December 18, 1996; January 15, 1996; January 22, 1996.
Following the news that Yoshi Tatsu suffered a broken neck at the hands of AJ Styles’ Styles Clash finisher, UK indy wrestler “Lionheart” Adrian McCallum is pleading for AJ Styles to stop using the move.
McCallum argues that while the move itself is not inherently dangerous, several experience athletes have been seriously injured by Styles Clash, including two suffering broken necks.
He posted the following message on Facebook:
“I’ll make the assumption he sees this somehow so please read and share… I’d like to openly address him…
Firstly, I hope things are well for you and family… I wanted to write you because I feel it’s important someone speak up in a more formal and diplomatic manner, as opposed to simply throwing abuse via anonymous social media ramblings…
Here’s the truth… The move is not directly dangerous… It’s a simple move in principle… Arms and legs locked, you fall forward, guy looks up/back, easy… The Styles Clash ‘on paper’ is a fairly safe and basic process…
That said, what is dangerous, is the instinctual reaction of your opponent… The wrestler taking the move, who like any wrestler taking any move, their safety and welfare is the priority…
Without ANY injuries, it could be argued that the mechanics of the move are unnatural, and injury could easily happen due to the physical restrictions and instinctual habits of the recipient… The numbers now are surely too great to even call it an argument?
I’m more than happy to be educated on my statistics, but there can be no move in wrestling history that carries more (documented) serious and potentially career threatening injuries than this… This, is what makes the move dangerous, whether indirectly or not…
Thus far, more specifically the last 12 months, several performers, actual experienced athletes, have been injured with this, 2 of them now with broken necks… The question I want to put to you honestly is, what does it take? What will it actually take for you to stop using this move, at the very least on an independent level, with people not necessarily exposed to the experience of working with you and taking the move semi regularly… How honestly will you feel the day you receive the news that the man you just wrestled has a broken neck and will never walk again? Statistically, that day is coming… It is a mathematical certainty…
I take this opportunity now, to openly and publicly beg you… Please, stop using the Styles Clash… You are unquestionably one of the greatest in ring performers of our time, I truly believe that… But the time is now, to put all pride, ego, blame aside, and acknowledge that irrelevant of fault, circumstance or anything else, the move is a direct risk and a danger to the safety and well being of your fellow wrestler…
All the best.
A”
TNA sent in the following preview for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:
IMPACT WRESTLING ‘THANKSGIVING THROWDOWN’ TO AIR ON YOUTUBE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 9/8C
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (November 25, 2014) Thanksgiving is here. A time to fill your face with delicious food, spend time with family and friends, and shop til’ you drop.
Since IMPACT WRESTLING is taking a week off of Spike and returning Dec. 3, TNA is sharing an online exclusive of the best Turkey Bowl matches of all time when ‘Thanksgiving Throwdown’ premieres on YouTube this Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 9/8c.
‘Thanksgiving Throwdown’ is hosted by everyone’s favorite turkey, Jeremy Borash, and gives the viewer Turkey Bowl’s most hilarious moments when grown men must put on the famous TNA turkey suit.
Also, ShopTNA is starting Black Friday early for fans who watch the show. Get an exclusive offer which will be revealed during the ‘Thanksgiving Throwdown’ YouTube broadcast. One lucky fan that places an order at ShopTNA through Black Friday will win a World Heavyweight replica belt.
So, gather the family and watch TNA’s “Thankgiving Throwdown’ premiering Wednesday at 9/8c exclusively on YouTube with on-demand replays available through midnight on BlackFriday.
The El Rey Network sent in the following preview for tonight’s episode of Lucha Underground:
EVERYTHING IS LEGAL IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF LUCHA UNDERGROUND
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26th AT 8PM ET/PT ON EL REY NETWORK
El Rey Network will air the fifth episode of their action packed original wrestling series “Lucha Underground,” from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett on Wednesday, November 26th at 8:00PM ET/PT. In the brand new episode entitled “Boyle Heights Street Fight,” Konnan questions whether he has made a mistake by putting his young protégé, Prince Puma, into the ring with experienced street fighter Big Ryck as there is nothing off limits in a street fight.
The new 39-episode series combines ancient lucha libre tradition, extraordinary athleticism and a flare for theatrics in each hour-long episode. Every Wednesday, viewers will have a backstage and and ringside seat as masked villains and heroes tell their stories while facing off to battle for wrestling supremacy resulting in programming that is unlike anything else on the screen.
The following are results of this week’s edition of WWE Main Event on the WWE Network. The report was written by Chris Aiken of F4WOnline.com.
WWE Main Event from Fort Wayne, Indiana featured a fairly hot crowd compared to crowd reactions over the last few weeks on WWE TV. The show opened with Miz cutting a promo in the ring shadowed by Mizdow. Miz basically put himself over and also said he wanted to thank someone for helping him win the titles. Mizdow became giddy until Miz said he wanted to thank his moneymaker. By the way, Mizdow was way over with this crowd as this act continues to grow in popularity.
>Tag team champions The Miz & Damien Mizdow beat Los Matadores (with Torito). The bullfighters got in some offense early on. Mizdow caused a distraction and got knocked off the apron, allowing Miz to cut off the bullfighter. Miz started to get heat on him as the crowd chanted “we want Mizdow.” Likewise, the crowd kept popping for Mizdow’s faux-selling and antics during the match. Eventually, the matadors made a hot tag and the fresh matador ran wild with a flying headscissors and a senton off the top rope. Mizdow lowbridged the top rope and sent the fresh matador sailing out to the floor. Mizdow made a blind tag and the crowd popped before he delivered the skull crushing finale. Miz made a bling tag and covered the fallen matador for the pinfall.
Backstage, Renee Young tried to interview Fandango and Rosa Mendes but the couple just gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. They made out before leaving Renee hanging on the interview.
Fandango (with Rosa Mendes) beat Adam Rosa (with the Bunny & the Rosebuds). The crowd seemed to be unsure who to cheer for. Fandango showed a lot of fire and aggression. He backdropped Rose on the ring apron at one point in the early portion and dominated most of the match. The Bunny led cheers for Rose before flirting with Rosa at ringside. Rose made a comeback and executed a swinging neckbreaker only to run into a boot when charging into a corner. The Bunny tried to cause a distraction but Fandango knocked him off the apron. Fandango threw a clothesline and Rose took a Curt Hennig bump. Then, Fandango delivered a legdrop off the top for the pin.
Somewhere backstage with a Thanksgiving feast as a backdrop, Natalya told Tyson Kidd she was thankful for him. Layla and Summer Rae interrupted a loving embrace and stormed into the scene. Layla said Tyson is thankful for headphones because Nattie talks a lot. Tyson laughed and Nattie was mad he failed to take up for her. Tyson agreed his wife did talk a lot. Layla then shoved a pumpkin pie in the face of Nattie and Summer sprayed whip cream on her face. The heels stormed out as Tyson held Nattie back. He told her to save it for the ring.
Natalya (with Tyson Kidd) beat Layla (with Summer Rae). This was a good, albeit short, match as Nattie sold really well throughout and the crowd was into it. Nattie still had pie on her face as the match began. At the outset, Nattie jumped out of the ring to shove Summer down at ringside. Natalya was a house of fire until Layla cut her off. The crowd would start chanting “Nattie’s husband” at Tyson and he would put on his headphones to drown out the chants. The more Natalya sold the more the crowd got behind her and they even started chanting “Nattie” at one point. Layla applied an upside down vertical leg scissors over the top rope only to get sent crashing to the floor. Nattie made a comeback. Layla missed an attempted double springboard crossbody off the middle rope. Directly thereafter, Natalya applied the sharpshooter and Layla tapped out for the submission.
Dean Ambrose beat Kane. They brawled early on before Ambrose executed a tornado DDT followed by a neckbreaker. Kane cut him off and began to pummel him. Ambrose fired up, hit a dropkick, then a crossbody and he sent Kane over the top rope to the floor. Ambrose looked to do a tope but Kane cut him off before a commercial. After the break, Kane grounded Ambrose and began to get heat on him. Ambrose fired up again and went for his slingshot clothesline but ran into a big boot. Kane got heat on him as the crowd started a “let’s go Ambrose” chant.
Ambrose started a comeback and dove off the middle rope with a missile dropkick. Ambrose followed up an elbow smash in a corner with a running bulldog for a nearfall. Ambrose again went for the slingshot clothesline and Kane once again cut him off. Ambrose blocked a chokeslam and sent Kane over the top rope to the floor. Ambrose dove through the ropes with tope. At ringside, Kane rammed Ambrose into the ringpost. Kane draped Ambrose on the top turnbuckle and went for a superplex. Ambrose blocked it and shoved him off then dove off the top with a flying elbow drop on a standing Kane.
Ambrose climbed to the top again and dove off into a chop to the throat from Kane. Ambrose escaped the clutches of Kane when he went for a tombstone. On the third attempt, Ambrose hit his slingshot clothesline. Kane countered Dirty Deeds and Ambrose countered a chokeslam. A moment later, Ambrose rolled up Kane with a schoolboy for the pinfall.