– The Thursday, July 30th edition of WWE SmackDown drew 2.443 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. This week’s SmackDown was up from last week’s show, which averaged 2.353 million viewers.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair issued the following statement on the passing of fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper to celebrity-gossip website TMZ:

“We’ve shared the ring, traveled the world, maintained a friendship throughout the ups and downs of the wrestling world, and battled to see who was the better heel. It’s almost impossible to express my grief. My condolences to his children and to his wife Kitty. I’ll miss you Roddy. The world will never be as Rowdy without you.”

WWE paid homage to the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in the form of a video tribute on his life and career, which they posted on their official YouTube channel a couple of hours after the news of Piper’s passing broke online.

For those who missed it, Piper passed away on Thursday due to cardiac arrest.

Above is the video tribute WWE released to honor Piper on Friday evening.

MMA fighter and aspiring pro wrestler Colt Toombs took to social media on Friday evening to comment on the passing of his father, one of the biggest legends in the history of pro wrestling — “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

As reported earlier today, Piper passed away at age 61 from cardiac arrest on Thursday, and was body was found in his Hollywood home on Friday.

“My father Roddy Piper was a great man and my best friend,” wrote Toombs. “I will miss him forever and will alway try to be the man he raised me to be.”

My father @R_Roddy_Piper was a great man and my best friend I will miss him forever and will alway try to be the man he raised me to be

— Colt Toombs (@ColtToombs) July 31, 2015

Now that the news has spread that WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has passed away at age 61 due to cardiac arrest, the reactions are starting to come in on social media.

Below are a number of reactions on the passing of Piper from pro wrestling personalities:

RIP Roddy Piper. THE most Rowdy of characters, of all time. He was very good to me… Condolences to his family. #RIPRoddy

— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) July 31, 2015

Sad to hear about Roddy Piper.He once worked 91 nights w/out a day off.WWE wouldn't be what it is today w/out him.Wonderful athlete & friend

— Jesse Ventura (@GovJVentura) July 31, 2015

RIP @R_Roddy_Piper You will be missed my friend. Much Love! @antmaurizio pic.twitter.com/YU50ALMLFE

— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) July 31, 2015

https://twitter.com/JamesStormBrand/status/627252060216397825

https://twitter.com/WWEAJLee/status/627255679745675264

Saddened about the passing of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. He was truly a legend and icon, and will never be forgotten… #ThankYouRoddy #RIP

— Triple H (@TripleH) July 31, 2015

Following the devastating news that WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper passed away at his home in Hollywood aged 61, WWE have issued the following statement:

WWE is deeply saddened that Roderick Toombs, aka “Rowdy” Roddy Piper — WWE Hall of Famer and Intercontinental Champion — passed away today at the age of 61.

WWE extends its sincerest condolences to Toombs’ family, friends and fans.

“Roddy Piper was one of the most entertaining, controversial and bombastic performers ever in WWE, beloved my millions of fans around the world,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross was one of the first wrestling legends to take to social media to comment on the passing of fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on Friday.

Word spreading like wildfire here in Charlotte of the sudden death of @R_Roddy_Piper of an apparent heart attack in California. #RIPHOTROD

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 31, 2015

I'm inducting Jim Crockett, Sr tonight into @NWALegends Hall of Heroes w/ a heavy heart. #RIPRoddyPiper my friend. Thoughts w/ his family.

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 31, 2015

WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan, who has been in the hot seat in the media regarding his leaked racist rants, took a break from that subject to talk about the passing of one of his biggest career rivals, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Hulk Hogan told TMZ Sports that he is devastated over the news of his friend Roddy Piper — saying, “I will forever miss him,” and “He was my best friend. He is a legend.”

Hogan added, “God’s gain is our loss. May his family in this time of need, find peace. Much love forever, HH.”

An update has surfaced with more information regarding the untimely passing of one of WWE’s biggest legends, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

According to a new TMZ article, Piper died from cardiac arrest in his sleep on Thursday night. He was found on Friday.

Piper’s representative told TMZ:

“I am devastated at this news. Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all.”

A family member issued this statement:

“Our family is saddened by the sudden passing of our father and beloved husband, Roderick Toombs aka Rowdy Roddy Piper.”

WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has passed away at the age of 61. He died of cardiac arrest at his home in Hollywood on Thursday night and was found on Friday. Piper’s representative told TMZ:

“I am devastated at this news. Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all.”

A family member issued this statement:

“Our family is saddened by the sudden passing of our father and beloved husband, Roderick Toombs aka Rowdy Roddy Piper.”

Piper was one of the biggest wrestling stars back in the 1980s and in 2006 he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma but last year revealed he was cancer free.

From everyone at SEScoops, we would like to express our deepest condolences to Roddy Piper’s family, friends and fans around the world.

• WWE Issues Statement On Passing Of Roddy Piper
• Jim Ross Comments On Passing Of Roddy Piper
• Hulk Hogan: “Roddy Piper Was My Best Friend, I’ll Forever Miss Him”
• Triple H, Kurt Angle, AJ Lee, Sheamus & Others Comment On Passing Of Roddy Piper
• Colt Toombs Comments On The Passing Of His Father, Roddy Piper

Rey Mysterio spoke to Channel Guide Magazine this week to promote AAA’s upcoming TripleMania 23 PPV on August 9th, where he’ll have his first-ever match against Myzteziz (the original Sin Cara in WWE).

Rey spoke about enjoying his freedom since leaving WWE earlier this year, which was a major factor in his decision to leave.

“I wanted my family time before anything else. Family to me comes first, especially now in this stage of my career. I knew that I wasn’t going to have a strong commitment to another company if I was going to sign with someone else. I wanted to do something on my own terms and call my own shots. That time came. I’m doing a couple of events for AAA and independent work. Not too much wresting, but signings and appearances. I think the second major factor in this is I have been on the grind doing this for 25 years. So my body needed to rest without a doubt.”

Regarding his upcoming ‘dream match’ with Myzteziz, Mysterio says fans have been wondering which of them is the top luchador in the world and it’s time to answer that question.

“I think there is a lot of similarities and comparisons to me and him,” Mysterio said. “There is a certain similarity with the style. Here is where the rumors take place with the contact lenses. There were rumors he had said I was copying it from him. At the end of the day he is a great performer. I admire him for his skills. I think once Mexico had stars taken away from AAA like Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Konnan and myself. We all took our careers into WCW and many in WWE.

“This new star was born. Now there is talk who is better. It’s a dream match. After all the gossip and rumors, this match is finally happening. It’s due to the fans that saw something in each of us. It’s time to show who is the best.”

There’s much more, including Rey’s thoughts on wrestling for AAA and his desire to branch out into acting and even comic books. To read the full interview, visit ChannelGuideMagBlog.com.

WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan appeared on a recent episode of the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast and spoke about his preference for separate RAW and SmackDown rosters, as well as his original plans for his WWE Intercontinental Championship run. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On his original plans for his I-C title run: “One of the things I wanted to do when I came back [from injury], was do something with the Intercontinental Championship. And my big spiel, my big pitch for this thing, like, I want to be the Intercontinental Champion and I only want to be on Smackdown. I don’t want to be on RAW. I want to be on Smackdown because one of my things was I would never have gotten this opportunity if there wasn’t split brands, if there wasn’t two [world] titles. If there was just the one main title, [WWE] would never, ever given me the opportunity.”

On doing another brand split in WWE: “I knew coming back from my neck surgery that I was not going to be the top good guy, as far as the booking is concerned. I’m not talking about popularity, as far as placement of people. And one of the things that really can hurt you is that if people see you as that and people want you to be that and you’re not that, is that they can take it out on other people. Right? Like, taking it out on somebody like Roman [Reigns] when [WWE] are trying to push him and that sort of thing.” Bryan added, “if you put [Roman Reigns] and I on different shows, then it’s better for him and it’s better for me.”

“Right now, [WWE] are not going to put Cesaro in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship program with Seth Rollins. I mean, [WWE] might, but I don’t think [WWE] will though. [WWE] would do that with [Cesaro] and me and the Intercontinental Championship and it might not be the main event of pay per views, but if it carries Smackdown, if that’s the main story on Smackdown, it can show everybody, like, I think WWE doesn’t think people are capable of some of this kind of stuff. I don’t think [WWE] thought I was capable of carrying that kind of stuff until [WWE] gave me the opportunity and it turns out I was. And until you give them the opportunities, give somebody like Cesaro an opportunity to do that and show that he can do it, you know, like, that was part of my thing too. People like Cesaro, people like Cody Rhodes, you know, people like Ryback. Give them these opportunities to carry a show like they carry a program and it would just be good for everybody, and, not only that, good for morale, I was hoping. Like, I have all these greater things. I want everyone to be happy at work. I want us all to enjoy it and be like, ‘hey, if I work hard and if I’m good and if I get good crowd reactions, I am going to get further’.”

Check out the complete interview at Podbay.fm.

• CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date, Ronda Rousey/WWE Update + FEDOR Is Returning!

The mass exodus from TNA continues as James Storm announced Friday that he has parted ways with the company.

Finished up my duties with Impact Wrestling yesterday. Today begins a new chapter in my life. I'm excited for what the future holds. #Thanks

— James Storm (@JamesStormBrand) July 31, 2015

Storm added that he’s not retiring from wrestling.

Oh… I'm not done wrestling. Just working on a new saddle for a fresh horse. #CowboyWay #WeWantTheCowboy

— James Storm (@JamesStormBrand) July 31, 2015

Brian Fritz of the Sporting News previously reported that Storm requested to be released from his contract on June 25 in Orlando, Florida while taping upcoming episodes of Impact Wrestling and had it granted.

Storm had been with TNA since its inception in June 2002. He, along with Abyss, were the company’s only remaining original members.

Primarily a tag team wrestler, Storm has held 13 tag team championships during his time with TNA, winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship a record seven times and the TNA World Tag Team Championship a record six times. On October 18, 2011, Storm won his first and only world title when he defeated Kurt Angle to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

• WWE no longer has big plans for Lana?

Earlier this week, the team over at WrestlingDVDNetwork.com confirmed the full match listing and content fans can expect to see from WWE’s ‘Sting: Into The Light’ DVD & Blu-Ray release.

They also note that the WWE release will be available in Australia on October 7th (pre-order now), in the USA on October 13th (pre-order now).

Unfortunately for fans in the UK and Europe release dates have not yet confirmed (pre-order soon) however you can check out the full listing for WWE’s ‘Sting: Into The Light’ DVD & Blu-Ray release:

Disc 1 – Documentary:

• Now or Never
• NWA Clash of the Champions – March 1988
• California Kid
• Driving to Success
• WCW Great American Bash – July 1990
• WWE Consumer Products
• Franchise
• Black and White
• WCW Starrcade – December 1997
• WWE Community Relations
• Moment of Truth
• The Last Nitro – March 2001
• WWE Digital Media
• A Transformation
• WWE Executive Management
• WWE Survivor Series – November 2014
• Signed
• WWE WrestleMania XXXI – March 2015

Disc 2 – Stories:

• Talker
• Inner Circle
• Hulk-A-Dear
• Getting Chased at the Mall
• WCW SuperBrawl ’91
• SharpDeathShooterLock?
• Rappelling
• Shake
• IGN Visit
• Behind the Scenes: ID Shoot
• WrestleMania XXXI Axxess
• The Freedom Fighters vs. David Johnson & The Invader
  Memphis Wrestling • November 1985
• The Blade Runners vs. Tracey Smothers & Ricky Gibson
  Mid-South Wrestling • March 2, 1986
• UWF Tag Team Championship Match
  Sting & Rick Steiner vs. Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner
  Universal Wrestling Federation • May 29, 1987
• NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
  Ric Flair vs. Sting
  Clash of the Champions • March 27, 1988
• Sting vs. The Great Muta
  WCW / NJPW SuperShow • March 21, 1991
• WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
  The Steiner Brothers vs. Lex Luger & Sting
  WCW SuperBrawl • May 19, 1991
• Submit or Surrender Match
  Sting vs. Cactus Jack
  WCW Power Hour • November 23, 1991

Disc 3:

• King of Cable Tournament Match
  Sting vs. Rick Rude
  WCW Clash of the Champions XXI • November 18, 1992
• WCW International World Heavyweight Championship Match
  Sting vs. Vader
  WCW Slamboree • May 22, 1994
• Sting vs. “Stunning” Steve Austin
  WCW Saturday Night • April 8, 1995
• Sting vs. Hulk Hogan
  WCW Monday Nitro • November 20, 1995
• “Winner gets both WCW Tag Team Titles”
  Sting vs. The Giant
  WCW Great American Bash • June 14, 1998
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
  Sting vs. Goldberg
  WCW Monday Nitro • September 14, 1998
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
  Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page
  WCW Monday Nitro • April 26, 1999
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
  Sting vs. Bret “Hit Man” Hart
  WCW Monday Nitro • October 18, 1999
• Sting’s WWE Debut
  Survivor Series • November 23, 2014
• Sting vs. Triple H
  WrestleMania XXXI • March 29, 2015

WrestlingDVDNetwork.com confirmed these Blu-Ray exclusives:

• NWA World Tag Team Championship Match
  Sting & “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
  Clash of the Champions • June 8, 1988
• King of Cable Tournament Match
  Sting vs. Flyin’ Brian Pillman
  WCW Saturday Night • November 7, 1992
• Sting vs. Scott Steiner
  WCW Monday Nitro • May 27, 1996
• WCW United States Championship Tournament Match
  Sting vs. Booker
  WCW Spring Stampede • April 16, 2000
• Triple H and Sting: Face-to-Face Confrontation
  Fastlane • February 22, 2015
• Sting Speaks!
  RAW • March 23, 2015

– Renee Young will be back this Wednesday at 4pm EST on the WWE Network for a 30-minute episode of ‘Unfiltered.’ Her guest this week will be WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella.

The synopsis for the episode reads: “Renee Young gets up close and personal with Nikki Bella in this supersized Unfiltered conversation!”

– WWE have issued a statement regarding the news confirmed by Daniel Bryan that his book had made him a New York Times Best Selling author:

Daniel Bryan’s book makes New York Times Best Sellers list

Daniel Bryan broke the news today on Twitter that his autobiography “Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania” made The New York Times Best Sellers list for the week of July 25.

The autobiography, which covers Bryan’s life and career as a WWE Superstar, was released July 21 and made the list at No. 18 for adult nonfiction. “Yes!” is also WWE’s 25th book to reach The NYT Best Sellers list since the formation of WWE Books in 1999.

Get an exclusive preview at the first two chapters of the best-selling “Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania” and order now.

The official WWE website has a new feature and interview with Cesaro billed as the “Brass Ring” interview, including a photo of Cesaro holding a brass ring, which is an obvious reference to Vince McMahon’s comments during his appearance on the “Stone Cold Podcast.” Below are some of the highlights.

On his style and in-ring work: “I’m the living proof that the WWE Universe wants to see wrestling. They want to see in-ring action. Do I think I can stand in the ring with each and every [main-eventer]? Yeah. Do I think I can beat ’em? Yeah. And that’s the allure of my style. I can beat anybody on any given day, and I don’t compromise. Do they have catchphrases and T-shirts and everything? Yes. But my calling card is what I do in the ring, and that’s something I’m very proud of. I produce the most exciting matches with pretty much any person on the roster. Pick any guy on the roster and I can tell you a match I had with them that people can still remember.”

On teaming with Tyson Kidd: “We were the only ones that successfully defended our titles at WrestleMania, and I’m extremely proud of that. We really, in my opinion, were the best tag team ever. And friendship is something I’m very traditional with. That’s another thing that’s just important to me. That’s part of being a professional, a Renaissance man so to speak. Older values of older times, that are not as much around anymore, are still very important to me.”

On Vince McMahon’s infamous comments: “The infamous podcast. You can’t really reason or explain something, because once people get a certain impression, that’s really hard to change. With anything, it’s kind of similar here, in that the only way to respond to such an outlandish comment is to prove it wrong, and that’s what I’m doing. Usually when people ask me about [the podcast], the way I respond is that two months and 22 days after that podcast, me and Tyson Kidd won the WWE Tag Team Championships. That’s my response to that. And that’s a pretty good response.”

On grabbing the brass ring: “To me, this is how I grab the brass ring. This is what I do. I wrestle. And I wrestle my heart out. That’s what I leave in the ring every single night. That’s my heart. Fighting spirit. If you like it, you like it. That’s what I do.”

Check out the complete interview at WWE.com.

• CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date, Ronda Rousey/WWE Update + FEDOR Is Returning!

Kevin Nash recently spoke with Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald ahead of tonight’s Legends of Wrestling Night at Marlins Park where the Miami Marlins host the San Diego Padres.

During his interview, he spoke about a number of topics including the currents state of the business, his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, WWE NXT and more.

If you want to check out the full interview Nash had with Scott Fishman in the Miami Herald, you can do so by clicking on this link, check out highlights below:

On why he believes the business is in an up cycle right now:

“I think a lot of the credit has to go to Paul Levesque [Triple H],” Nash said. “He really understands the business. One of the most poignant things he ever said to me was, ‘It’s not only the fact we have to replace the guys in the ring, but we have to teach the guys with the handhelds and steady cams. I’ve got guys who have been carrying cameras for 30 years now. They aren’t going to be doing this forever.’

“What they’ve done with NXT and Full Sail [University] is basically also focus on the production. People don’t realize how important the cameras are. This is a hands-on experience and proving ground, A to Z, from people in the truck and all the way up. It’s about pushing this product and having it continually grow.”

On WWE’s developmental system (NXT):

“They have built a basic farm system,” Nash said. “There isn’t anybody in the realm in competing with them. They have taken the market. It now goes Raw, SmackDown and NXT. There are now three brands. There are a lot of guys I watch today. I’ve been a fan of [Dolph] Ziggler since day one. I saw the big 6-foot-8 kid down at NXT. [Big Cass], I think really has a chance. He is a big guy and athletic. I think he has a chance to make it.”

On his induction into the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame:

“It’s an incredible honor,” he said. “For me, I was probably more excited to walk down the aisle in front of almost 80,000 people in the stadium, but it was an incredible honor. I’m in the cream of the crop.”

Part-time WWE performer Rob Van Dam took part in a Q&A at the Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday and confirmed the fact that he is in between WWE contracts right now.

Van Dam noted that going to TNA or ROH right now would breach his WWE agreement. He said he does have a valid merchandise deal with WWE and intends to return, however he noted that he is not currently in a big rush to get back.

RVD also mentioned the possibility of doing a “retirement tour,” but noted that it’s not something that’s officially planned at the moment. He added that he will wrestle until an undisclosed time, noting he has an age in mind where he will stop, which he claims “isn’t too far off.”

• CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date, Ronda Rousey/WWE Update + FEDOR Is Returning!

The Wednesday, July 29th edition of Ring Of Honor on Destination America drew 171,000 viewers, up from last week’s show, which drew 139,000 viewers. It’s worth noting that this week’s show was only the 11pm EST. airing, as the 8pm EST. airing was dropped. Last week’s 11pm EST. replay airing drew 37,000 viewers.

This week’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, which also aired on Wednesday night on Destination America, drew 343,000 viewers for their 9pm EST. airing. This is up from last week’s 9pm EST. airing, which drew 317,000 viewers. The Impact Wrestling midnight replay this week drew 64,000 viewers, down from last week’s 71,000 viewers. TNA drew a combined total of 407,000 viewers this week, up from the 388,000 viewer total last week.

• CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date, Ronda Rousey/WWE Update + FEDOR Is Returning!

As reported on Thursday via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, former WWE magazine writer Brian Solomon pitched an idea back in 2002 for Brock Lesnar, who was debuting with WWE at the time, to be used as a bad ass gay character.

Former WWE creative team member Seth Mates took to social media to address the report, pointing out that anyone in WWE could pitch ideas and were always welcome to do so. He confirmed that such a pitch was made, but claimed it wasn’t necessarily “on the table” as the previous report claimed.

Additionally, Mates claimed some of the facts were off, such as the writer who pitched it and when it was pitched.

Below are Mates’ comments:

ANYONE within WWE could pitch ideas to creative; just because they did does not mean that certain ideas were ever actually on the table

— Seth Mates (@SethMates) July 30, 2015

Some bad info out there today, including the names of those who did pitch, when it was done, etc … though yes, there was such a pitch

— Seth Mates (@SethMates) July 30, 2015

• CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date, Ronda Rousey/WWE Update + FEDOR Is Returning!

– In the Tough Enough Digital Extra video shown above the cameras catch Billy Gunn losing his cool with the competitors and in particular ZZ over their in-ring performance at this stage in the competition.

On the Tough Enough Twitter account, a short video was also shared showing ZZ in the ring with Booker T and NXT’s Jason Jordan also reacting:

.@RealBillyGunn & @BookerT5x were not pleased with @ToughZZ and his drills. @JasonJordanJJ also reacts! #ToughEnough pic.twitter.com/c8pcqkviT3

— WWE Tough Enough (@WWEToughEnough) July 31, 2015

– As noted yesterday Darren Young and Titus O’Neil (The Prime Time Players) were confirmed as the guests for next week’s show and were photographed on the back of a fire truck.

The Tough Enough Twitter account has since shared a number of photos showing the challenge the competitors faced with the Orange County Fire & Rescue Department in Florida:

Here is an inside look at today's challenge #ToughEnough pic.twitter.com/QoTumAMDbs

— WWE Tough Enough (@WWEToughEnough) July 30, 2015

More images from today #ToughEnough pic.twitter.com/gtEAbTOIWN

— WWE Tough Enough (@WWEToughEnough) July 30, 2015

Chris Jericho is the latest wrestler to speak out regarding Hulk Hogan and his racist comments that left him terminated from his position within the WWE last Friday.

Jericho discussed the controversy on the most recent episode of his podcast Talk Is Jericho where he also interviewed “Mr. Belding” aka Dennis Haskins of “Saved By The Bell.”

“All I know is that Hulk has always been a nice guy to me and I’ve seen him sign hundreds and hundreds of autographs for kids, waiting for an airplane and I was there standing next to him,” Jericho explained.

“It doesn’t excuse what he said. I’m not saying anything about that. I’m just saying I think he has got a good heart and was maybe caught in the wrong place, saying things that he shouldn’t have said, but all you can say is that I hope Hulk rebounds and comes back from this and I hope he digs down deep inside and finds out what kind of a person he really is.”

“And I think, if he can do that, then people will get a chance to see the real Hulk and terrible, terrible situation and Hulk should not have put himself in that position. Like I said, man, it’s a tough thing. A lot of times, friends do things that you wish they hadn’t have done, but you don’t abandon them completely.”

Chris Jericho also shared his thoughts on The Miz replacing Hulk Hogan as a judge on Tough Enough and admitted that he believes the show now has “more energy than it had before.”

“[I’m] sorry to see Hulk Hogan go, but I think in the long run, Miz might not have the tenure that Hulk has, but he has more personality in the soundbites and maybe a little bit more passion,” Jericho said.

You can listen to the full interview with Dennis Haskins of “Saved By The Bell” on Talk Is Jericho by clicking on this link.

Global Force Wrestling has announced the first names that will be competing at the second GFW Amped TV tapings on August 21st in Las Vegas:

• Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Lance Archer)
• The Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson)
• Shelton Benjamin
• Candice LeRae
• Eric Young

Tickets are available now at GFWAmpedLive.com.

Following Thursday night’s Impact Wrestling tapings from Orlando, the following matches have been confirmed for TNA Bound For Glory:

TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Carter III (c)
Special Referee: Jeff Hardy

TNA King of The Mountain Title Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Bobby Roode (c)

TNA Bound For Glory takes place on Sunday, October 4th from the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina.

On Thursday night, TNA taped the final show of their “8 tapings in 9 nights” schedule. Thanks to Jeremy and WrestlingInc.com for the following spoilers:

– Micah defeated Jessie Godderz in a match for Xplosion

– Tigre Uno defeated Kenny King to retain the X Division Title

– Jeremy Borash tried filming a guy in a Bigfoot costume but he ran away, then came back and dances

– Dixie Carter cut a promo and announced a #1 contender’s match with the five winners of Lethal Lockdown

– Chris Melendez defeated Eric Young in a Lumberjack Match. Melendez wrestled on one leg and retrieved his other leg from Young

– Gail Kim defeated Jade to retain the Knockouts Title. Rebel and Marti Belle attacked Gail after the match but Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne made the save

– Awesome Kong came out for a staredown with Gail

– EC3 defeated Rockstar Spud to retain the World Heavyweight Title. Ethan ordered Jeff Hardy to attack Spud but he refused. Matt Hardy ran out but Tyrus beat him down. Ethan ordered Jeff to hit Matt or get fired. Hardy hit a low blow on Tyrus and Jeff nailed Etha

– Abyss cut a promo on James Storm and left The Revolution. Manik removed his mask and also left. Mahabali Shera came out and issued a challenge to Storm

– Drew Galloway defeated Lashley, Bram and The Wolves in an elimination match. Galloway gets a title shot at Bound For Glory

– Jeff Hardy quits working for EC3. Matt Hardy is revealed to be in the Bigfoot costume and will face Tyrus at Genesis

– Awesome Kong defeated Brooke Tessmacher

– Trevor Lee defeated DJ Zema Ion and Tommaso Ciampa in a Triple Threat

– Shera defeated James Storm in a No DQ Match with help Abyss and TJ Perkins

– Rebel, Marti and Jade defeated Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne in a handicap match

– Dixie, Galloway and Ethan cut promos to hype the main event of Bound For Glory

– Galloway and Matt Hardy defeated Ethan and Tyrus. Jeff Hardy is announced as the guest referee for the BFG main event

Justin LaBar at WrestleZone.com reports that John Cena underwent surgery on his nose on Tuesday to correct breathing issues resulting from Seth Rollins’ jumping knee to the face on RAW.

LaBar notes that more reconstructive surgery could be required.

As noted earlier, Cena is no longer being advertised for this weekend’s live events or Monday’s RAW. Cena has now also been pulled from next weekend’s live events tour of Australia.

Cena had been the top advertised start for the 3-night tour, which already saw Hulk Hogan being replaced by Shawn Michaels as the Guest GM for the shows.