– TNA star Eric Young appeared on CNN’s “Starting Point” to promote his new show on Animal Planet, “Off The Hook: Extreme Catches,” which premiers on Monday, July 30th at 9pm (EST). Young did not mention TNA by name, but spoke about wrestling, extreme fishing and more. A few clips from Off The Hook were shown, including one of him shopping for pantie hose, which he stuffs with bait when hunting for sharks.

– Thursday’s TNA Impact Wrestling did 1,578,000 viewers, up from last week’s 1,316,000 viewers. Preliminary data shows that the show drew around a 1.1 cable rating. The final number will be released by Monday.

– TNA senior official Earl Hebner tweeted inappropriate message on Thursday night to a user he is following:

“I Will take ur blow j when u are ready 2 give it 2 me.”

The tweet was deleted immediately, however it was re-tweeted by several people on Twitter. The message was likely meant to be a direct message and not meant to be public.

* Find Out Which Former WWE Superstars Are Part Of ACES & EIGHTS

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his website, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:

The differences with wrestling companies: Leadership, resources, infrastructure, networks, upper management.

Who should wrestle The Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble: CM Punk.

Should MMA be an Olympic sport: Personally, I’d love it.

His personal dream match: Undertaker vs Lesnar for one. Rock vs HBK. Cena vs Austin. Rock vs Undertaker.

Thoughts on the Undertaker and Kane reunion on Raw 1000th: Enjoyed the nostalgia…likely a one off deal I’m guessing.

Thoughts on the current WWE product: I’d personally enjoy seeing more athletic skills featured, more physicality and drama.

Favorite WWE Diva: Actually several that I like specifically the ones w/ solid, in ring skills.

Chances of Mae Young’s son, the hand, becoming WWE champion by the end of 2012? About as good as your’s or mine…highly unlikely.

Type of match which are hardest to call: Royal Rumble was the most challenging bout to call or a cold bout between two guys phoning it in.

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently spoke to WWE.com about his legendary feud with the late comedian Andy Kaufman:

Why The Incident Is Still Talked About 30 Year Later:

“It was the first time something like that had happened. I don’t know if I should tell this or not, but one night I was flying back on the plane with Vince McMahon. And he said, “You know, King, I’ve never told you this before, but I was so jealous when you got Andy Kaufman and did all that stuff with him down there in Memphis. Because he was from New York, and I thought we could have done all that stuff up here.” But he also said, “But I’ll be honest with you. There’s no way on Earth we could have done it as well as you guys did it.”

How The Angle Would Have Been Different In The WWE:

“It would have been a first. Vince loves firsts. To this day, you hear on Monday Night Raw that you’re going to see something for the first time ever. That’s big. And this was the first time any big deal Hollywood star was involved to that extent in wrestling. Vince realized, everybody realized, because it got so much national exposure. Everything back then was still regionalized. Cable TV hadn’t hit yet. The country was divided up into wrestling territories because of TV coverage. Once Vince saw you could use a Hollywood star to get that nationwide exposure, here comes Cyndi Lauper with Captain Lou and Wendi Richter, and then Mr. T gets brought in. The ball got rolling, and it hasn’t stopped to this day. Just in the past year, Hugh Jackman was in there punching Dolph Ziggler.”

Andy Kaufman Paving The Way For Celebrities In Wrestling:

“I really feel, in my heart of hearts, that he was responsible for that. I certainly believe that Andy Kaufman deserves a spot in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, we would not be where we are today without his involvement. I really feel that way. Even at Raw 1,000, we had Charlie Sheen challenging Daniel Bryan to a match. It’s Andy Kaufman revisited as recently as last night.”

Dixie Carter tweeted that two Bound For Glory Series matches took place at Friday night’s TNA live event from Dayton, Ohio. Rob Van Dam pinned Kurt Angle and Magnus pinned Jeff Hardy. Both winners were awarded 7 points each. RVD’s win moved him up to fifth place (now tied with Hardy).

The current Bound for Glory standings are as follows:

(1) Samoa Joe: 47 points (5-3)

(2) James Storm: 45 points (4-1-2)

(3) Kurt Angle: 34 points (4-4)

(4) Mr. Anderson: 30 points (4-3-1)

(5t) Rob Van Dam: 28 points (4-3)
(5t) Jeff Hardy: 28 points (4-4)

(7) Daniels: 26 points (4-3)

(8) Magnus: 21 points (3-4)

(9) A.J. Styles: 16 points (2-3-1)

(10t) The Pope: 7 points (1-5)
(10t) Bully Ray: 7 points (1-4)

(12) Robbie E.: 5 points (1-8)

Upcoming Bound for Glory series matches include:

Kurt Angle vs. Magnus (7/28 live event)
A.J. Styles vs. RVD (7/28 live event)
Mr. Anderson vs. Magnus (7/29 live event)
James Storm vs. Kurt Angle (8/3 iMPACT!)

<a href=”http://stg.sescoops.com”><b>* Find Out Which Former WWE Superstars Are Part Of ACES & EIGHTS</b></a>

– Following Vince McMahon’s announcement on RAW that AJ Lee is the new RAW General Manager, no new GM was announced on Friday’s SmackDown. WWE.com has an article up speculating whether the show even needs a GM.

– Following Antonio Cesaro’s victory over WWE United States Champion Santino Marella (non-title match) on this week’s SmackDown, the Swiss superstar says he now wants a title shot:

“After my victory over @milanmiracle on tonight’s #smackdown I demand to be named the #1 contender for the US Championship”

– Several developmental wrestlers have tweeted that Thursday’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University had an amazing atmosphere.

Seth Rollins tweeted the following about the historic show, which saw the crowning of NXT’s first-ever NXT champion:

“Response has been overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has my back. We’re in this together. #futureisnow”

* Picture of the NEW NXT Champion – With The New Title Belt

– During a recent interview with the Phoenix New Times, TNA star Rob Van Dam compared WWE to TNA:

“In Total Nonstop Action, individual wrestlers have a lot more freedom to artistically express themselves versus WWE. When we have our matches, they are known to be more athletic, more competitive in nature, and that’s what wrestling fans really appreciate. And the fact there’s more of a focus on wrestling in Total Nonstop Action over the other major company on TV. Whereas WWE has been known to feature more of the 400-pound giants that aren’t necessarily going to (perform) quite as impressively.”

– WWE United States champion Santino Marella is back with Episode 26 of his Foreign Exchange Youtube show:

– Here’s John Cena’s latest Tout, promoting his appearance in the kids movie “Fred 3,” which airs tonight on Nickelodeon:

– Alberto Del Rio is the new #1 contender to Sheamus’ World Heavyweight Championship. He won a Fatal 4 Way match on SmackDown that also involved Kane, Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio. The match will likely take place at SummerSlam and there’s been talk of a third man being added to the match.

– Kevin Nash continues to rant about an NWO reformation taking place involving WWE Champion CM Punk:

“CM Punk can pick who he wants if not me I’m cool with that .just think the brand is so strong an he can continue it with his skill and edge”

– Here is the latest episode of WWE Backsage Fallout featuring backstage interviews from Friday’s SmackDown:

* News On LESNAR vs. TRIPLE H Storyline Plans & Dean Ambrose’s WWE Debut

According to TribLive News, The Great Khali had to have a tumor removed from his pituitary gland at UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here’s an excerpt from the article.

The tumor removed during a four-hour procedure on Wednesday led to the growth spurt that caused Singh to achieve a height of 7 feet, 1 inch and a weight of 347 pounds, according to UPMC neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon, who led the surgical team.

Maroon said Thursday the tumor causes a condition called acromegaly, which can be fatal if left untreated.

Khali is expected to recover within two to three months.

– Arda Ocal from TheScore sat down with Mick Foley after his appearance at Raw 1000th. Here are some highlights from the interview.

On RAW 1000: “I personally got a kick out of it. I had said previously that I would have liked to do something more substantial (at RAW 1000) like cut a serious promo, but there will be time – I can do that 2 months from now, for example. Looking at the legends dressing room, 2 things were noticeable – how fortunate we were to be among those selected to take part in RAW 1000, and this one is very telling, it was a locker room full of legends and they’re talking about Heath Slater and how much they enjoyed their interaction with him”

On playing at ‘Just for Laughs’ and how important that is: “Montreal, because there’s so many indsutry people there, it can be a tough crowd. They’re not necessarily going to laugh at everything, but they’ll take it in and I’m hoping that some of my fans will attend and make it an exciting atmosphere”

Announced an all-but-confirmed WWE involved comedy show to happen immediately after Summerslam in Los Angeles at another venue in the city: “I guess I can announce it here right? Big show, in the United States, California…Post SummerSlam comedy show at The Improv in Hollywood. It’s a done deal, I just have to figure out who’s on it. The woman at The Improv is asking if I want her to book other comics, and I’m like ‘Give me a few days, because if I can get the WWE stamp of approval, I’d love to have Santino host it, I’d love to have William Regal share some stories, I’d love to have J.R. share some stories and then I’ll do my thing. And then at the end we all come out, and it doesn’t matter how good or bad any of us do individually, I think people are going to love that atmosphere and they get the guys they like doing what they like them to see.”

On the WWE Hall of Fame and when he’d like to go in: “I do hope it’s this year. It would mean a lot to me honestly. One of the most telling moments of my relationship with WWE is when I got the phone call asking if I’d mind if they mentioned my book on their show when I was working with another company. When I heard the book being mentioned, every reservation I had or any semblance of bitterness vanished you know. I used to go around, not making a big deal out of [the WWE Hall of Fame]. Its like being in a relationship, if you give too much of yourself you risk being hurt. So if I said ‘Oh of course I’d love to be in the Hall of Fame’ I’d be letting them have that and make my career seem less important if I didn’t get it.”

On who he’d like to induct him: “I think who it would come down to is one of two people, Terry Funk or Jim Ross. It would hurt me to not have one of them there, because Terry, he was a mentor and wrestler. And J.R. put his reputation, possibly his job on the line to bring me in because Vince was not sold believe it or not on Mick Foley, he was not a Mick Foley fan when I came into the company and it took quite a while for him to become one.”

WWE taped 3 weeks of WWE NXT on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Credit to PWInsider.com & Andres Santiago for these results:

Dark Match
– Bo Dallas vs Dean Ambrose
Dallas won with a rollup.

Episode 1

The taping itself started with a video from Dusty Rhodes hyping up the championship match.

– Derek Bateman vs Antonio Cesaro (w/ Aksana)
Cesaro won with the Neutralizer.
During the match there was a few “Shave Your Legs” chants directed at Cesaro.

– Tamina Snuka vs Sofia Cortez
Snuka won with the Superfly Splash.
After the match, Raquel Diaz attacked Tamina and drew an L on her forehead with lipstick.

– Kassius Ohno vs Jake Carter
Ohno won with the Rolling Elbow.
After the match, Ohno continued attacking Carter until Richie Steamboat came out for the save.

– Michael McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis vs Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel
Gabriel got the pin after hitting a double team powerbomb / neckbreaker on Curtis.

Byron Saxton had an interview segment in the ring with Seth Rollins and “The Punjabi Nightmare” Jinder Mahal. Rollins cut a promo about how hard his life was growing up and how wrestling saved him. That was why his dream is to one day be a champion in the WWE. Mahal started cutting his promo in Punjabi, before speaking in English. He said Rollins was a born loser, but winning the NXT Championship is Mahal’s birthright. They then brawled until Rollins drove Mahal off.

Episode 2

– Jason Jordan and Mike Dalton vs Hunico and Camacho
Hunico won with the Angle Slam on Dalton.

The Usos cut a promo challenging The Ascension to a fight. The Ascension jumped them from behind and left after hitting Total Elimination on both Jimmy and Jay.

– Big E Langston vs Jake Donovan
Langston killed Donovan and quickly beat him with the Big End.

– Gold Rush Tournament Finals to crown the first NXT Champion – Seth Rollins vs Jinder Mahal
Rollins won with the Black Out.

Before the match, Howard Finkel did the ring announcing, the whole roster came out on stage to watch, and Dusty Rhodes brought the belt into the ring.

After the match, Rhodes presented Rollins with the belt and HHH came down to congratulate him as well. All the babyfaces then came down to join Rollins’ celebration.

Mid-Taping Dark Match
Brodus Clay squashed an unnamed jobber.
After the match Clay danced with Cameron, Naomi and some kids from the crowd.

Episode 3

– Richie Steamboat vs Kassius Ohno
Steamboat won via DQ after Ohno kept poking him in the eyes.

After the match, Ohno attacked Steamboat and hit the rolling elbow to the back of the head. Once Ohno left, Ricky Steamboat came out to check on Richie. He also berated the refs for letting that happen.

– Audrey Marie vs Paige
Paige won with the Knight Light.

– Percy Watson vs Leo Kruger

At Thursday night’s WWE NXT tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Floroda, Seth Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal to become the first ever NXT Champion.

After the match, Triple H and Dusty Rhodes came to the ring and raised Seth’s arm in victory. He was awarded the new NXT Championship belt.

WWE taped 3 NXT shows at this week’s tapings.

Check out this picture of Seth Rollins with the NXT Championship:

Here is an updated list of wrestling related books due out for the rest of 2012.

* 7/31 WWE My Favorite Match by Jon Robinson

* 8/31 Rastlin: A Southern Survey by David McClister and David Lewis

* 9/1 Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle by Booker T Huffman and Andrew William Wright

* 9/1 Red Headed Geek: My Short and Painful Career as a Rasslin’ Manager by Billy C. Wirtz

* 9/3 WWE Encyclopedia Second Edition by Brian Shields and Kevin Sullivan.

* 9/27 WWE General Manager’s Handbook by Jake Black

* 10/1 Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons by Steven Johnson, Greg Oliver and Mike Mooneyham featuring a foreword by JJ Dillon.

* 10/1 A Battle Royal in the Sky: The Life and Death of Wrestling’s 100 Greatest Gods and Gimmicks by Rich Tarantino and Jon Chattman

* 12/1 Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story by Jimmy Snuka and Jon Chattman with forewords by Mick Foley and Roddy Piper

Books that are due to be releeased in 2013.

* 2/1/13 The 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time: The Definitive Shoot by Larry Matysik

* 2/1/13 Harley Race King of the Ring (paperback) by Harley Race and Gerry Tritz

* 2/1/13 Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling by Pat Laprade and Bertrand Hebert

– WWE.com has added the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all-time, The Honky Tonk Man, to its Alumni section: “The Honky Tonk Man tried to make the WWE Universe twist and shout with his unique brand of rock ‘n’ roll. Don’t be cruel, grab yourself a “Hunka Hunka Honky Love” and check out his new WWE Alumni profile, with exclusive photos and videos!

– UFC’s Dana White recently spoke to The Province about the best promoters and he put Vince McMahon at number two, find out who was number 1.The full article appears at this link.

– Check out the 8th episode of of Booker T’s “Reality of Wrestling” showcasing the top unsigned talent from around America

http://youtu.be/30NwbFZGGrQ

– Former WWE Superstar Tatanka tweeted he was contacted to appear on the 1,000th episode of RAW. However, he never made it to the event because, according to him, company officials never followed up on the matter with him.

Hello #TeamTatanka! Wished I could've surprised u all & brought back what we all love! @WWE called & office confirmed but no follow-up @ end

— Tatanka (@NativeTatanka) July 24, 2012

Tatanka adds he was disappointed with WWE’s efforts for the milestone program.

With such an Historic Event #RAW1000 I was surprised that the show was not more than what it was. Missed it completely w/a show on 4 19 yrs!

— Tatanka (@NativeTatanka) July 24, 2012

“The Native American” also retweeted a fan remark

https://twitter.com/KWilliams1984/status/227863533520576512

– Making the online wrestling news rounds is video from is 2003 Rap Battle with John Cena. Warning, this is extremely explicit!

– Despite many expectations, Ric Flair was absent backstage at the 1,000th RAW on Monday. Many in the WWE believe that Flair will be back with the mega company eventually, but they are being cautious because of the recent TNA/WWE lawsuit. The company officially said they were not actively pursuing Ric Flair in a filing related to the suit and have no desire to give evidence to the contrary.

– Chris Jericho is now officially being advertised for the post-SummerSlam RAW, which will take place in Fresno, California on August 20th.

– Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion “Wildfire” Tommy Rich turns 56 years old today.

– Ring of Honor star Roderick Strong turns 29 years old today.

– The Pioneer Press in Minnesota printed an article on the death of Jack Danielson, who wrestled as Blackjack Daniels in the AWA, The Southeast and Mid-West.

Danielson, also worked under the name Jack “The Ripper” Daniels was trained Stan Kowalski and Tiny Mills. He worked a number of territories in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly working as the protege of his trailers. He and Mills worked regularly in the Missouri-Kansas area in the 60s, feuding with the Medics for the Central States tag team championship drew quite a few huge crowds.

Danielson was 83.

– Check out this week’s episode of WWE Superstars featuring these matches:

* Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Zack Ryder vs. Michael McGillicutty
* Layla vs. Natalya
* Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre

– THQ has recently updated the official roster for WWE ’13 video game. Here are the names revealed so far.

CM Punk
John Cena
Sheamus
Mark Henry
Steve Austin
Mike Tyson
Chris Jericho
Mankind
Big Show
Miz
Undertaker
Attitude era Mark Henry from the Nation of Domination

The game is slated for a October 30th release date.

– In addition the roster updates that was reported earlier, THQ has announced some other game features.

* WWE Live will let players experience the atmosphere of a live WWE event, including authentic sound effects, crowd participation levels and compelling commentary, as well as attention-grabbing “Spectacular Moments” – impressive maneuvers like ring breaks and barricade crashes captured with multiple camera angles.

* Predator Technology 2.0 will provide a gameplay experience that’s smoother than ever, with hundreds of new animations.

– Money In The Bank briefcase holder Dolph Ziggler is in line for an eventual World Heavyweight title run, likely this year. Ziggler has been winning everybody over with his work rate and his ability to bump around the ring in ways that make his opponents look like a million bucks.

Because of his willingness and ability to take convincing looking bumps, many of WWE’s top babyface wrestlers are eager to work with him.

– The following is a video preview for the new NBC reality show “Stars Earn Stripes,” which will feature WWE Diva Eve Torres competing with other celebrities to earn money for military charities:

— The Manila Standard Today has an article up on Rey Mysterio’s international promotional tour, which you can read at this link. Mysterio will be visiting Manila, Japan, China and Taiwan during the tour. Mysterio stopped in Manila first, where he was part of a meet-and-greet prior to appearing at the finals of the Philippines’s pro basketball league at SMART Araneta Coliseum. While there, Mysterio presented the league’s commissioner with a replica WWE Title belt. WWE Smackdown and Bottom Line airs on AKTV in the Philippines, which is the country’s first free TV channel dedicated to sports. The reason that Mysterio was selected to promote Smackdown programming on this tour was due to his strong international appeal.

– The following matches will air on this week’s WWE Superstars:

* Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Zack Ryder vs. Michael McGillicutty
* Layla vs. Natalya
* Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre

– WWE spokesman Brian Flinn recently spoke out on the latest criticism aimed at WWE during Linda McMahon’s Connecticut Senate campaign, claiming that the WWE TV product is violent. Linda’s chief opponent, Chris Shays, has previously stated that McMahon benefited from violence and brutality as CEO of WWE. Here is what Flinn had to say:

“WWE’s 13 million weekly TV viewers and our 100 million social media followers would disagree that WWE’s content is violent. WWE programming is TV-PG and family friendly, with women making up nearly 40 percent of our audience. Contrary to the assertion about our content, WWE is in the business of putting smiles on people’s faces.”

WWE will hold another round of NXT tapings tonight from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. The tapings will feature an appearance from the Big Show as well as several WWE divas. Jim Ross will be calling the action for the main event of each show that is taped and Howard Finkel will be on hand for ring announcing duties.

William Regal also noted on Twitter that he’ll be at the show.

The tapings will feature the finals of the Gold Rush tournament to crown the first ever NXT Champion: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal.

Seth Rollins tweeted on Wednesday that the match is the biggest match of his career:

“Tomorrow night everything changes. All I’ve ever wanted in my life was to hold a title in WWE. 30 hours from now I’ll be setting new goals.”

“Tomorrow night at @fullsail we converge for more @WWENXT tapings. On the card? The biggest match of my career. I’ve never been more ready.”

The following is a preview for tonight’s live Impact Wrestling on Spike TV, courtesy of TNAWrestling.com:

– This past week, The Aces and 8s gang unleashed a path of destruction on IMPACT WRESTLING! What will be the fallout on Thursday night? Will the mysterious group continue to make IMPACT their personal warzone?

– Thursday’s IMPACT will also feature the TNA debut of Chavo Guerrero! The wrestling world will hear from Chavo for the first time!

– Two HUGE “Bound For Glory Series” matches are scheduled for the broadcast: AJ Styles vs. James Storm and Kurt Angle vs. Bully Ray

– In Knockouts tag team action, Mickie James teams with Tara to battle Gail Kim and Madison Rayne

– New X Division Champion Zema Ion will defend his title on Thursday’s IMPACT

– Recent TNA Gut Check contestant Sam Shaw will get a second chance to prove himself on Thursday, after he was attacked by The Aces & 8s gang this past week

All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV

– The Undertaker was said to be very relaxed backstage at RAW 1,000. He is currently scheduled to return to WWE storylines around Survivor Series in November.

– With The Rock announcing on Monday’s RAW that he’ll be wrestling for the WWE Championship at next year’s Royal Rumble, the current working plan is for The Rock to win the WWE Championship at the Rumble (likely from a heel CM Punk) and then go on to defend agaisnt John Cena at WrestleMania 29. Despite Rock & Cena’s WrestleMania 28 match being hyped as “Once In a Lifetime,” Cena winning the Royal Rumble could set up a scenario where a rematch would take place.

– CM Punk’s surprise heel turn at Monday’s RAW 1,000 was the big “summer storyline” that WWE has been planning for quite some time. Previous summer angles have included Vince McMahon’s limo blowing up, the formation of Nexus and CM Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo from last year.

(Source: f4wonline.com)

– Dolph Ziggler continues to build his reputation as the best bump taker in WWE. Ziggler is the person who comes up with most of his scary looking bumps, including the spot at Money In The Bank where Tensai threw him into the announcer’s table and he landed upsidedown on one of the chairs.

View Here: Dolph Ziggler’s Insane Bump From MITB

– WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race was backstage for RAW 1,000 but not used. There were many more Legends backstage at RAW 1,000 than actually made it on to television.

– Early advertising for next year’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view on May 19th, 2013 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis states that it will be the first WWE PPV after WrestleMania 29, however WWE has reportedly booked a PPV event for April 28th. There is talk that this April 28th show will be a new pay-per-view.

– Despite the ratings success of Monday’s RAW 1,000 show, virtually nobody in WWE is excited about the show expanding to 3 hours on a weekly basis.

(Source: f4wonline.com)

– Derek Foore, the 2010 NAIA national wrestling champion from Notre Dame, is currently training at WWE developmental as Chad Baxter. Many people have compared him to a young Kurt Angle.

Marcus Anthony, a former OVW star with a muscular physique, is now training at FCW as Lincoln Broderick.

– Kelly Kelly’s relationship with WWE remains strained. Some people in WWE expected her to return at RAW 1,000 and be back full time, but she did as of the weekend, she had not informed WWE of a time when she was going to come back or any future plans asking for more time off.

– Former WWE Diva Kia Stevens (Kharma) revealed on Twitter this week that she was recently released by the company. Sources in WWE indicate that she had a reputation for being difficult to work with and was stubborn about different suggestions to modify her character. Another big issue was her weight. She had been training in Florida and did lose weight, but was still not where WWE wanted her to be.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

As reported earlier this week, Monday’s 1,000th RAW celebration did a 3.86 overall rating with 6.04 million viewers, WWE’s best-ever rating for a 3-hour RAW. The final two hours, RAW’s old timeslot, did a a 4.03 rating and 6.31 million viewers.

The open segment featuring an appearance from Vince McMahon and the DX reunion did 5.58 million viewers, a very strong showing for the typically-weak first hour of 3-hour broadcasts. In another surprising development, the second quarter hour then gained another 27,000 viewers. The six-man with Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho and the Charlie Sheen interview lost 395,000 viewers.

Brodus Clay squashing Jack Swagger and the backstage segment with WWE Legends gained back 326,000 viewers. Daniel Bryan & AJ’s wedding at the top of hour two was the huge ratings winner for the night, gaining 616,000 viewers (3.91 rating). The Rock’s appearance with Punk & Daniel Bryan in the ring gained 575,000 viewers for a 4.28 quarter rating.

The Miz defeating Christian for the Intercontinental championship lost 895,000 viewers, losing the previous segments’ big spike in viewership.

The SummerSlam Challenge segment featuring Triple H, Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon gained 334,000 viewers. Brock Lesnar’s brawl with Triple H gained 90,000 more viewers. Heath Slater’s Legends segment gained 25,000 viewers for a 3.99 quarter rating in a timeslot that usually loses a lot of viewers.

The Undertaker’s return with Kane gained 293,000 viewers. WWE Champion CM Punk vs. John Cena with The Rock and Big Show appearing gained 389,000 viewers and peaked the show with a 4.43 overrun rating.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– The dark main event that took place after Tuesday’s night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Kansas City, Missouri saw World Heavyweight champion Sheamus defeat Alberto Del Rio. During the match, John Laurinaitis came out and hit Sheamus with a steel chair. After the match, Sheamus cleared the ring of all the heels to send the fans home happy.

– Also at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, Triple H’s appeared in an off-camera segment and confronted Damien Sandow. Triple H joked about giving Sandow a pedigree on RAW 1,000 the previous night – before delivering another pedigree to Sandow.

– Matt Hardy posted the following video on Youtube hyping an upcoming match against former WWE superstar Carlito for the MCW promotion based out of Niles, Ohio: