– As we reported earlier this week, WWE is currently looking for Triple H’s next match to take place at WrestleMania 29. While things could change between now and next April, the current plan is for Triple H to get his rematch against Brock Lesnar at the show.
– One of the wrestlers that received a tryout with WWE last week was NWA Hollywood wrestler Nick Madrid, who was trained by Lance Storm. WWE has already signed six other students from Storm’s wrestling school to developmental contracts.
– Chris Jericho will be appearing at J&R Records in New York City tonight with his band Fozzy from 5:30-6:35pm. The band will be signing copies of their new album, “Sin and Bones.”
Jericho posted the following video on Tout last night promoting the appearance:
– Monday’s WWE Raw drew a 3.1 rating and averaged 4.48 million viewers for the 3-hour show, which is even with last week’s post-SummerSlam episode. Here’s the hourly breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.9 rating (4.16 million viewers)
Hour 2: 3.3 rating (4.79 million viewers)
Hour 3: 3.2 rating (4.49 million viewers)
– Even though WWE prohibits “blading,” WWE Champion Punk used a razor blade to cut his head open during his steel cage match against Jerry Lawler on RAW.
The spot occurred when Punk was thrown into the cage. Punk then appeared to hand the blade off to referee Charles Robinson. We have not heard anything about Punk getting any backstage heat for the blade job.
– There is some talk in WWE that late comedian Andy Kaufman could be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year. Aftr his attack on Jerry Lawler at the end of last week’s RAW, CM Punk tweeted that his attack was for Andy Kaufman. On RAW, Kaufman was mentioned during Punk and Lawler’s in-ring promo.
If Kaufman is part of next year’s class, that would eliminate any chance of Randy Savage being inducted next year, since WWE is sensitive about inducting more than one deceased person per year.
– DreadCentral.com has an article up looking at the WWE Studios horror movie, No One Lives, featuring Brodus Clay. The sysnopsis reads:
“A ruthless criminal gang takes a young couple hostage and goes to ground in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. When the captive girl is killed, the tables are unexpectedly turned. The gang finds itself outsmarted by an urbane and seasoned killer determined to ensure that no one lives.”
– WWEShop.com is selling new Santino Marella “Milan Miracle” t-shirts.
– The last-minute cancellation of Saturday night’s UFC pay-per-view was a hot topic of conversation backstage at Monday’s RAW. There was even some discussion of WWE taking a shot on RAW and talking about how WWE ‘never cancels PPV events.’
– After appearing on Monday’s RAW as “Harold” during Daniel Bryan and Kane’s anger management session, it’s believed that indy wrestler Scorpio Sky turned down TNA’s recent contract offer. Sky recently competed in TNA as Mason Andrews and was offered a deal, however he decided to attend WWE’s 3-day tryout camp in California last week before signing anything with TNA.
WWE will air more anger management skits next week on RAW (likely done in the same format as this week, with one airing per hour). The skits were all filmed before SummerSlam.
– Former WWE superstar John Morrison noted on Twitter that he and former WWE diva Melina are working on a new web project, The Darkness Descending: Redemption. For more on the series, visit.
– The WWE website has a new “Where Are They Now” feature on former WCW star Crowbar. Crowbar, real name Christopher Ford, is now a physical therapist working with several hospitals in northern New Jersey.
– WWE remains very supportive of Ryback’s character, with hopes that he could eventually be a main event star. We noted earlier that audiences are really getting into his “Feed Me More” chant, without WWE having to pipe in sound effects.
After seeing the damage done to other new wrestlers who are pushed very hard at first and then reigned in, WWE is looking to build up Ryback very slowly and is just now having him wrestle mid-card talent.
– WWE filmed a lot of footage for the upcoming WWE Network over the past week at WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT. The latest time-frame for the Network’s launch is early 2013.
– Triple H did not work last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Green Bay, Wisconsin, despite being advertised.
– Green Bay Packer wide receiver Donald Driver was in the crowd for Tuesday’s SmackDown show.
– The dark match that took place after Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings saw World Heavyweight champion Sheamus defeat Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio in a triple threat match.
The following matches were taped on Tuesday night for this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown.
– Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
– Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow
– Kaitlyn vs. Natalya
– Darren Young and Titus O’Neil vs. Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel
– Alberto Del Rio vs. Kane
– Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler
It’s worth noting that Rey Mysterio was back in action after recently suffering a concussion, so the post-concussion impact test mandated by WWE’s Wellness Policy must have shown that the damage was minimal.
At Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings, it was confirmed that Kaitlyn, #1 contender to the Divas championship, will get her title shot against Layla at Night of Champions next month.
With that match set, here’s the updated card for the PPV:
WWE Championship Match
CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
WWE Divas Championship Match
Layla (c) vs. Kaitlyn
– Former WWE superstar Batista will be appearing on the Spike TV show MMA Uncensored next Thursday night (9/6), immediately following TNA Impact Wrestling. Batista will be there to discuss his upcoming MMA debut fight on October 6th from Rhode Island.
– As we reported last night, WWE Diva Cameron (one of Brodus Clay’s dancers, real name Ariane Andrew) was arrested in Tampa, Florida on 8/24 and charged with Driving Under the Influence.
Her arrest report reveals that she refused a blood alcohol test at the scene of the arrest, which took place at the corner of Jim Walter Boulevard and West Shore Boulevard North at 2:24 AM.
It’s worth noting that listed her occupation as a “sales associate” for Wells Fargo (not a WWE performer), perhaps hoping that she could stay under the radar without news of the arrest going public.
On Tuesday night, ESPN broadcasters (and former WWE stars) Jonathan Coachman and Todd Grisham hosted SportsCenter together for the first time ever. Credit to SEScoops.com reader Eric Sturrock for sending along this recap:
Todd Grisham and The Coach hosted ESPNEWS Sportscenter together for the first time together. They started the show off with Grisham saying “Welcome to Sportscenter alongside The Coach I’m…..” Coach cut him off “Does it really matter who you are?”
Their first story together was about WR Mike Wallace showing up to the Pittsburgh Steelers, They talked about his money showing up. Coach: “His millions..” Grisham: “And millions….” Coach: “And Millions.”
Later, they joked about who would read one story, then when they did a live cut in to tennis they sarcastically joked about how exciting it was. At the end of the show Coach told a story about two tennis players who are dating eating snowcones, Todd said “Interesting story.” Coach: “Well, that’s what I get paid for.”
Grisham tweeted this picture of the two of them together:
Peter Rosenberg has done it again. The New York City-based radio DJ has conducted exclusive interviews with all of WWE’s top superstars and spoke with boxing champion and WrestleMania 24 celebrity Floyd Mayweather on Tuesday..
Mayweather spoke about a potential dream fight with Manny Pacquiao, his close friendship with Triple H, his past experience working with WWE (and breaking Big Show’s nose) and dropped the bombshell news that he will be appearing at WrestleMania 29 from the Met Life Stadium in NY/NJ next April. “I’m about to go back to the WWE,” he said.
When pressed for a follow-up, he clarified: “WrestleMania.”
– Triple H is said to be a strong supporter of Damien Sandow, with WWE’s most intellectual superstar in line for a major push this year.
– NXT starBray Wyatt (formerly Husky Harris) noted on Twitter that he will be returning “very soon” after missing several months of action due to injury.
– After asking fans for suggestions of what they should name their new tag team, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd posted a video on Tout on Tuesday saying that they’re considering the name “International Airstrike.”
– WWE officials are very happy with the crowd reactions Ryback has been receiving in recent weeks, with audiences really catching on to his “Feed Me More” catchphrase. PWInsider.com reports that the chants are all legit and WWE is not piping in any sound effects for Ryback.
– The WWE website is speculating that CM Punk might finally get to main event a pay-per-view when he defends the WWE Championship against John Cena next month at Night of Champions.
– Dolph Ziggler posted the following video on Tout hyping his match with Randy Orton on Friday’s WWE SmackDown:
– Following online reports that WWE is planning a Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H rematch for either Survivor Series in November or Hell in a Cell in October, f4wonline.com is now reporting that the talk backstage at RAW was that WWE is going to hold off on Triple H wrestling again until WrestleMania 29.
Triple H’s emotional speech on RAW was booked because WWE felt fans did not fully buy into Triple H’s retirement tease at SummerSlam.
– Former WWE Champion JBL has posted his latest Wrestling God video blog with his thoughts on Monday’s WWE RAW:
In his first interview since retiring from pro wrestling, former WWE Superstar Tyler Reks (@GbeTuft) talks to Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) and Jimmy Korderas (@JimmyKorderas) about making this tough decision, how his mind wasn’t fully made up until the drive from Summerslam 2012 to RAW, how the day unfolded to when he had “the conversation”, Curt Hawkins’ reaction especially after finally being given a new gimmick, life after wrestling, his new company Local Marketing 2.0 (www.localm2.com), whether or not he will cut his distinct hair, career highlight at RAW 1000, and much more.
– ABC News has an interview up with TNA star Hulk Hogan, who talks about his home town of Tampa, Florida. The interview is mostly Hulk Hogan talking about why he loves Tampa and the best local spots for tourists to visit. Hogan was asked if he’s voting for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney and said, “I’m going to keep that a secret.”
– The TNA website has posted a batch of pictures of Sting and Mickie James from this weekend’s Jimmy V Golf Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina
– TNA President Dixie Carter continues to tease a big announcement for the upcoming TNA UK Fan Party in London, UK, tweeting the following image on Tuesday (click to enlarge):
As noted earlier, Dixie Carter teased a big announcement at their TNA fan party on September 1st in London. She posted this graphic for “TNA Gutcheck UK” as a “little hint” about the announcement.
– Quinnipiac University has released new polling data that shows Linda McMahon is currently leading her Democratic challenger Chris Murphy 49% to 43% in a battle for one of Connecticut’s United States Senate seats.
“The poll is good news for Linda McMahon. In our first likely voter poll in Connecticut, McMahon has a 3 point advantage in a too-close-to-call-race. Her edge is due to her double- digit lead among independent voters and being close among women, a group she struggled with in her 2010 run,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.
“McMahon has worked on her image in the last two years, and it shows. Voters like her more now than they did when she faced Richard Blumenthal in 2010.”
– Monday’s WWE RAW had a Trendrr.tv social media score of 376,761, up a sharp 18% from last week’s post-SummerSlam episode and even with two weeks ago. Raw ranked #2 on cable TV Monday night, trailing “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” again, which had twice the social media activity that RAW had.
– Ever wondered how much WWE Superstars have to eat to look the way they do on television? Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper has an article up looking at the diets of various WWE superstars.
Big Show enjoys “a 20-egg omelette, milk, juices and a tub of ice cream” for breakfast.
“I tend to over-eat when the food is good, but I’m not a glut. I don’t drink, though an occasional glass of beer makes me happy.
“The thing is to be hungry all the time. But I’ve got the power to keep my hunger under control.”
John Cena takes down eight eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. At lunch, he has two chicken breasts, fresh vegetables and brown rice, and for dinner, grilled fish or chicken, brown rice, vegetables and salad.
– Here is the latest episode of Backstage Fallout with The Miz, Kofi Kingston & R-Truth, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow reacting to events from Monday’s RAW:
Mick Foley posted the following message on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, setting the record straight on his relationship with Triple H and stating that he is very happy being a WWE Ambassador:
“Can I clear up this rumor about me not getting along with Triple H?
Triple H is the man responsible for bringing me back to WWE. I am very happy in my role as WWE Ambassador, and have a variety of WWE projects due out in the next few months: a children’s book, a set of cards that I did the writing for, and the WWE13 game that I am apparently featured prominently in. I am hoping to use the release of the book to become a much larger part of WWE’s “Be A STAR” campaign.
WWE has gone out of their way to clear considerable chunks of time for me, including the Montreal and Edinburgh comedy festivals and the upcoming Singapore Writer’s Festival (more on that in a few days) and February tour of Australia.
And if I ever feel like I need a quick Foley fix; like I absolutely need to hear thousands of people chanting my name? Well,pretty much any house show I want to appear at is just a phone call (or text) away.
There is no higher form of flattery for me than showing up on another WWE Superstar’s highlight video. I was thrilled to be there three times for Triple H.
Bottom line: I’m happy. I’m part of the company I love, and I get to try things on my own. Thank you, Triple H, for bringing me back to WWE.”
The WWE website caught up with several superstars following Monday’s RAW, including Triple H, Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion CM Punk.
– Following his attack on Jerry Lawler, Punk said he needed to get staples in his head to close a gash in his head that took place during the steel cage match. Looking forward to Night of Champions, Punk said he had the pleasure of beating John Cena in his home town last year (Chicago) and will have the pleasure of beating Cena in his own home town of Boston next month.
– Daniel Bryan talked about the shouting match he got into with a fan at ringside that cost him his match against R-Truth. Bryan insisted he doesn’t have anger issues and says Kane is really the one that needs professional help. Bryan also talked about his new nickname – “Mr. Small Package.”
– After his emotional speech from RAW, WWE.com cameras tried to get a word with Triple H, but he kept walking by without making a statement.
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus is now on Twitter at @WWESheamus.
– Josh Mathews continues to play up the storyline that WWE is an “unsafe working environment.” After leaving the announcer’s booth on RAW and running away through the audience when Kane came to ringside, Matthews tweeted:
Until I'm told action will be taken against Superstars like Kane for attacking me, I'll keep a safe distance. Disciplinary action? Please?
– WWE announcer Michael Cole missed the call of an important spot during the steel cage main event of Monday’s RAW between CM Punk and Jerry Lawler. Towards the end of the match, Punk used a Rock Bottom on Lawler, which was intended to be CM Punk’s latest shot at The Rock. Cole missed the spot and WWE officials were not happy about it.
– The release of the upcoming WWE Encyclopedia has been pushed back from September to November 19th.
– WWE is advertising CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena and Kane as the main event for the December 28th RAW live event at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY.
– The Rock announced over the weekend that he tore his hamstring at WrestleMania 28 during his main event match with John Cena. It’s believed that the hamstring was only partially torn and Rock rehabbed the injury while filming “Pain & Gain” with director Michael Bay. Rock reportedly limping backstage after his match with John Cena, but not enough to make anybody think that he was seriously injured.
– Richie Steamboat is this week’s WWE NXT Superstar of the Week and Audrey Marie is the NXT Diva of the Week.
– Ashley Flair’s profile has been added to the NXT website. As previously reported, she’s now known as Charlotte in NXT, with no references to the Flair name. She is listed as the daughter of “one of the greatest Superstars of all time” who looks to change the face of the Divas division. Her bio also mentions that she was an accomplished cheerleader and volleyball player in high school.
– Mick Foley thinks that Triple H’s comments on RAW about not wanting to be a guy who “hangs around too long” and destroys his body might have been directed at him. Foley tweeted:
– It was announced at Monday’s RAW that WWE will return to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday, March 10th, 2013 for a RAW live event at 5pm. The pre-sale begins today with the password CHAMP.
– The WWE RAW crew is headed down under for a short tour of Australia this weekend. WWE will be in Brisbane, Australia on Thursday, Sydney on Friday and Melbourne on Saturday.
– Cody Rhodes noted on Twitter that he and Hornswoggle are doing local media in Green Bay this morning to promote tonight’s SmackDown tapings.
