– Following Thursday night’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, Jim Ross flew to Waterloo, Iowa for this weekend’s big George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame event. Jim Ross and Gerald Brisco will be evaluating talent at a big training camp that will be held.

– WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston will be appearing at tonight’s FCW live event from Punta Gorda, Florida at the Punta Gorda Charlotte Event Center.

– The Rock tweeted that’ he’s begun his “insane” training for the the upcoming Fast 6 movie and still has his sights set on the winning the WWE Championship:

Been on an insane training & diet regimen preparing for FAST 6. I come home to THIS from my girls.. pic.twitter.com/kOK7soKD

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 12, 2012

Cocks eyebrow..RT: @S217Ahmed: Epic training for a championship waiting to return into the hands of The Brahma Bull. http://t.co/Pjd07mP5

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 12, 2012

TMZ.com and Batista announced Early Friday Morning that he will will make his professional MMA debut for the CES MMA league on October 6th from Providence, Rhode Island.

Batista’s MMA opponent will be Rashid Evans (not UFC Fighter Rashad Evans).

Batista attempted to join Strikeforce in 2010 however, they could not come to terms.

http://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/223682981494132736

WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Monday night after RAW from Denver, Colorado.  This was due to the cancellation of their event in Colorado Springs.

More: Smackdown Tappings Canceled in Colorado Springs

Matches Tapped:

Sin Cara vs Alberto Del Rio
Primo vs Darren Young
U.S. champion Santino Marella & IC champion Christian.  vs Dolph Ziggler & Cody Rhodes
Big Show vs The Great Khali
Ryback beat Tyler Reks
Justin Gabriel vs Damien Sandow
World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs Chris Jericho (Non-title)

*SPOILERS* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For Tonight  

WWE taped the next 3 episodes of NXT on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Credit to PWInsider.com for the following spoiler results

WWE NXT Taping – Full Sail, Orlando Florida – July 12, 2012

Dark Match:

Alex Riley defeataed Antonio Cesaro (w/ Aksana) with the TKO.

Episode 1

The taping started with a video of Dusty Rhodes announcing an 8 man “Gold Rush Tournament” to crown the first NXT Champion

The 8 participants were:

– Richie Steamboat
– Bo Dallas
– Seth Rollins
– Leo Kruger
– Michael McGillicutty
– Drew McIntyre
– Jinder Mahal
– Justin Gabriel

– 1st Round Tournament Match: Richie Steamboat defeated Leo Kruger
with the Sling Blade.

– Big-E Langston squashed Adam Mercer and won with his finisher, the Big Ending.

– Raquel Diaz defeated Audrey Marie with the Gory Bomb. Diaz cut a promo on her way to the ring saying she was starting an “Exfoliating Ugliness” tour tonight. After the match, she put makeup on Audrey in the corner.

– Mike Dalton and Jason Jordan defeated Hunico.

– 1st Round Tournament Match – Seth Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre with the Blackout. McIntyre was in control of Rollins for most of the match, as he worked on Rollin’s arm.

Episode 2

– 1st Round Tournament Match – Michael McGillicutty defeated Justin Gabriel with the McGillicutter.

– Kassius Ohno defeated CJ Parker with a Rolling Elbow to the back of Parker’s head.

– 1st Round Tournament Match – Jinder Mahal defeated Bo Dallas with the Camel clutch.

Episode 3

– Tamina Sunka and Paige defeated Kaitlyn and Caylee Turner when Paiage rolled up Turner with a small package.

– Heath Slater cut a promo challenging anybody in the back to a match. Out came WWE Attitude Era star Scotty 2 Hotty! Scotty 2 Hotty won with the worm.

– The Usos defeated The Ascension via DQ when O’Brian pushed Jay off the top rope. The ref called for a DQ because Cameron was the legal man. Ascension jumped Jimmy afterwards before leaving.

– 2nd Round Tournament Match – Jinder Mahal defeated Richie Steamboat with the Camel Clutch.

– 2nd Round Tournament Match – Seth Rollins defeated Michael McGillicutty with a running powerbomb into the corner followed by the Blackout.

After the match, Jinder Mahal came down to confront Rollins. Dusty Rhodes came out and announced Rollins vs Mahal to crown the first champion will be held on July 26 at the next tapings.

Dark Match Main Event:

– Kane defeated Cody Rhodes with the Chokeslam.

– It’s interesting to note that almost all of the tweets from WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose have been deleted. This could be another sign that his WWE debut is imminent (@TheDeanAmbrose).

– WWE has posted the official Money in the Bank contract online, which you can view here (.PDF).

– WWE diva Kharma’s profile has been moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com. She tweeted on Thursday afternoon:

Getting a flood of dm's. I guess the cat's out of the bag.

— Awesome Kong (@MeanQueenK) July 12, 2012

Yes. I have been officially promoted to the alumni section of the WWE roster.

— Awesome Kong (@MeanQueenK) July 12, 2012

Kharma has been training for her upcoming WWE return.

* Pictures: The Former BELLA TWINS Get Implants

– Former WWE superstar Dave Batista was at Comic-Con in San Diego on Thursday along with Wu Tang Clan rapper RZA to promote their new “Man With The Iron Fists” movie. Batista announced the following on Thursday afternoon:

https://twitter.com/davebautista/status/223519522798313473

– John Bradshaw Layfield posted the following update on Twitter regarding his Seven Summits mountain climbing adventure:

Just booked mountains in Africa, South America and Antarctica all by January! @wwe #sevensummitsforkids training starts Sunday!

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) July 12, 2012

– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez invaded the Mattel panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday. The following video has been posted online of the incident:

As reported earlier, former WWE divas Nikki Bella Twins (Nicole Garcia) confirmed on Twitter this week that she recently underwent breast augmentation surgery.

Love how "Nikki's" my boobs are trending worldwide! Ha what can I say… I wanted my own set of #TwinMagic ;) haha Besos! Nikki

— Nikki & Brie (@NikkiAndBrie) July 12, 2012

The two were spotted on the red carpet at Wednesday’s ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. Check out these recent pictures of the Nicole new additions – including a few pictures from Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards:

– Former WWE superstar Dave Batista is at Comic Con in San Diego today along with Wu Tang Clan rapper RZA to promote their new “Man With The Iron Fists” movie.

Pictures Of New WWE Action Figures From Comic Con

– WWE.com has a new article up titled, “Bank on the Kid” looking at Tyson Kidd’s involvement in the SmackDown brand’s Money in the Bank match this Sunday.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross revealed that the NXT Championship Tournament begins at tonight’s tapings from Full Sail University:

Its going to be an exciting nite @ Full Sail University tonite. NXT Championship Tourney begins! Join us!!

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 12, 2012

Props to our friends at Ringsidecollectibles.com for sending along the following photos from this week’s San Diego Comic-Con of Mattel’s WWE action figure line, including lots of new products:

[nggallery id=34]

WWE.com has a storyline interview up with Chris Jericho, who hypes his involvement in the RAW brand’s Money in the Bank match this Sunday. Here’s an except of Jericho’s comments:

“Money in the Bank Ladder Matches can be almost like stunt shows in a lot of ways. But this is not going to be like that. Sometimes there are guys trying to make a name for themselves, so they’re going to take more and more risks. We’ve already all made names for ourselves, already have WWE Hall of Fame careers. We’re not taking risks to prove anything. We have nothing to prove, but we have everything to gain.”

“I’m sure there are still going to be dangerous moments – there always are. But I think you’re going to see more intensity, more brutality, with the ladder used more as a weapon, at least that’s the way that I see it. That’s my strategy.”

“I think you’re going to see four guys that come out of there feeling every moment of the match, and feeling every moment of our careers. After doing this for 22 years, I get into a match like this knowing that I’ll feel every match I’ve had in those 22 years.”

– Indian wrestling legend Dara Singh passed away at his home in Mumbia, India this morning, according to various local and national reports. The 84 year old legend competed in free-style pro wrestling tournaments in the 1950’s before moving on to become a Bollywood movie star. For more on his passing, visit the Times of India.

– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has landed a role in the sequel to the 2010 hit “Grown Ups.” The film will star Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolf, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, Salma Hayek, and Paulina Gretzky, daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky. Austin previously worked with Adam Sandler in the 2005 comedy “Longest Yard.”

(Sources: IndiaTimes.com, VH1.com)

– There continues to be buzz behind the scenes in WWE about the signing of Sara Del Rey and how she has a different look than what WWE typically goes for in their Divas. She works a more serious in-ring style than most of the WWE roster (most similar to Beth Phoenix) and could be used as an opponent of Kharma.

Aside from Del Rey having a different look than the barbie dolls WWE gravitates towards, she is also older than the usual Diva signing at 31 years old.

– Alberto Del Rio is expected to receive a big push this year for a number of reasons. Aside from the lack of roster depth on SmackDown, Del Rio has said publicly on several occasions that he does not plan to wrestle for many more years.

Especially since WWE’s other Mexican stars have their own baggage (Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara), Del Rio is perceived as having leverage behind the scenes and will be taken care of accordingly.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– As previously reported, Fit Finlay is back with WWE and will resume his role as a producer. Finlay met with WWE during WrestleMania weekend and did state in an interview that he was meeting with WWE to discuss a new deal. Since WrestleMania, Finlay has been working with former WWE wrestler Tajiri and helped launch his new Wrestling New Classics promotion in Japan. Now that Tajiri’s new promotion is off the ground, Finlay was free to return to WWE.

– John Laurinaitis’ power behind the scenes continues to dwindle, with several other people now running the talent development division under Triple H. Laurinaitis had been involved in talent development and booking live events, but now he’s limited to a performer and possibly handling company payroll.

Despite being fired weeks ago, Laurinaitis continues to work dark matches, teaming with the Big Show against John Cena in handicap matches. It’s expected Laurinaitis will be brought back to television in some capacity in the coming months.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

WWE is finalizing plans for the upcoming 1,000th episode of RAW. Big names already confirmed include The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Mick Foley, Bret Hart and a DX reunion (Shawn Michaels and Triple H).

There will likely also be appearances from Vince and Stephanie McMahon, with Shane McMahon being a long-shot and Linda McMahon considered unlikely, due to her ongoing Senate campaign and their efforts to distance her from the WWE product. There will also be a slew of “2nd tier” legends appearing (the usual suspects).

As for the Undertaker, it will depend on whether WWE plans for him to work SummerSlam. The show is so stacked already that it would not make sense to bring him in unless they will be building towards an upcoming match.

With the audience of RAW’s 1,000th episode expected to be one of the largest of the year, WWE will capitalize on this by making Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H official for SummerSlam.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Kurt Angle is working on a fictional comedy movie called “Singlet: The Dana Kelly Story” about a former Olympic boxer who is trying to make a return to the Olympics as a weightlifter. Angle is reaching out to TNA fans to help fund the project.

– There is some confusion surrounding WWE letting Wes Brisco leave and work for TNA. Brisco, 29, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco and had been getting rave reviews at WWE developmental before getting let go. He’s on the smaller side and a great athlete, which would have made him a good fit for WWE’s planned cruiserweights show. For whatever reason, WWE let him go and now he’s being considered for a regular spot on TNA’s roster.

– There has been talk of TNA bringing in Chris Masters as one of the masked men who attacked Sting, but he’s booked to wrestle in Russia the night before Bound for Glory. This would make wrestling in Phoenix the following night difficult, but not impossible.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– TNA recently announced that Bound for Glory on October 14th will take place from Phoenix, Arizona at the Grand Canyon University Arena. The basketball arena typically holds 5,000 fans. Capacity will be closer to 3,500 when the stage is set up.

There is talk of Sting and Hulk Hogan teaming up against the new Aces & Eights mystery group that attacked Sting and have been taunting Hogan on Twitter. Even though Hogan is extremely limited in what he can do in the ring, Sting could work most of the match and Hogan could get in a few of his signature spots in what would be a “special attraction” match.

– TNA President Dixie Carter could be crossing over into the world of reality television. The production company behind “Real Housewives” of Beverly Hills and Orange County are working on a new “Real Housewives of Nashville” and Dixie Carter is one of the women under consideration for the show. Due to her high profile, she’s in the top tier of candidates and there’s a good chance she’ll be cast.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– As previously reported, Ric Flair’s first wrestling appearance since leaving TNA will be the Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos show on August 12th from Cave-in-Rock, IL. Flair will hosting the event on the main stage but will not be wrestling at the event.

Almost everyone expects Ric Flair to be back in WWE when the TNA vs. WWE lawsuit dies down and WWE can find a role for him.

– A new women’s promotion called Shine will debut on July 20th in Ybor City, Florida. Affiliated with Dragon Gate and Evolve, the promotion will run regular iPPVs.

The first show, which will see Daffney as the host, will feature the following card:

Sara Del Rey vs. Jazz

Nikki Roxx vs. Rain

Veda Scott vs. Kimberly

Santana Garrett vs. Tina San Antonio

Tracy Taylor & Su Yung vs. Allysin Kay & Taylor Made

Reby Sky vs. Jayme Jameson

Mercedes Martinez vs. Leva Bates

Christina Von Eerie vs. Cherry Bomb

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow drew a 3.17 rating with 4.42 million viewers, virtually even with the previous week. Considering the fact that RAW was up against the MLB Home Run Derby (4.79 rating and 6.88 million viewers), the rating is considered a strong showing for WWE and a good sign of momentum headed into Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Digging deeper into the numbers, A.J. Lee proved to be a big ratings draw for WWE, with the overrun segment featuring her decision of “who she was going to marry” gained 711,000 viewers. Considering the fact that the segment featured CM Punk, Daniel Bryan (typically not big ratings draws) and no John Cena, this is great news for WWE. Even more noteworthy is that the teenage male demographic, which has been hurting badly this year, saw a major spike during the overrun. Because the Punk/Bryan/AJ storyline has not moved the numbers in recent weeks, it can be assumed that the hotshot marriage angle was responsible for the uptick.

Here are some of the larger quarter hour viewership changes:

– Christian & Tyson Kidd vs. Tensai & Dolph Ziggler and Lawler vs. Cole angle lost 416,000 viewers from the previous quarter hour (AJ/Punk/Bryan opening segment & Sheamus vs. Swagger).

– Brodus Clay vs. Drew McIntyre and Stephanie McMahon talking about her and HHH renewing their vows on RAW several years ago gained 102,000 viewers.

– Heath Slater vs. Sin Cara and the Bob Backlund angle lost 21,000 viewers.

– Lawler vs. Cole and WWE revealing that Hornswoggle was the mystery RAW GM also lost 21,000 viewers.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Tonight on Spike TV, TNA’s weekly programming expands to 3 hours with the addition of the 1-hour “Impact Rewind” pre-show that will air at 7pm (ET), prior to Impact.

“Impact Rewind” originally started off as a post-game show and was the creation of Eric Bischoff and Jason Harvey. Despite critical acclaim, the show was cancelled after a few months due to low ratings. Now the show returns as a lead-in show for Impact with the hope that fans will get conditioned to tuning in earlier and the beginning of Impact at 8pm (ET) will have a solid wrestling lead-in.
Impact moving to 8pm in May was done to help offset the eventual competition from the NFL, which returns in the coming weeks.

One challenge facing Rewind is that it won’t have the benefit of airing right after Impact and the occasional Impact main event that ran long and into the Rewind timeslot, helping boost Rewind ratings.

The show that used to air before Impact, World’s Worst Tenants, drew approximately 650,000 viewers. Since networks typically have a harder time selling advertising during wrestling shows, the feeling is that TNA will have to produce higher ratings than “Worst Tenants.”

Coincidentally, TNA expanding it’s weekly programming to 3-hours comes just 11 days before WWE RAW does the same thing on July 23rd.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

World Heavyweight champion Sheamus was recently interviewed by Digital Spy. Here are some highlights of what Sheamus said about:

Defeating Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds at WrestleMania: “It was phenomenal. It was my second WrestleMania, I had my whole family there. I opened the WrestleMania show, became the World Heavyweight Champion in 18 seconds so a record was made there and it was an incredible experience for me, one I will never forget.”

Whether He Wanted A Longer Match: “I was happy to walk out heavyweight champion regardless! I obviously wanted to have a WrestleMania match, something special, but the problem was I just didn’t trust Daniel Bryan. The Raw before that he screwed me out of the match with Kane by using [his girlfriend] AJ as a distraction. I wasn’t sure if he was going to do that again, so it made perfect sense to me. I didn’t want him walking away or running away and getting himself disqualified or getting me disqualified. He’s done that in the past. I saw the opening with AJ, I took it, I ripped his head off and I walked out World Heavyweight Champion in a record 18 seconds.”

Why He Got Into Wrestling: “I watched it for years. I watched it since World of Sport on ITV. People like Regal, Robbie Brookside, Dave Taylor, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy. Then Sky came along with WWE and I’ve been a fan ever since I can remember.”

The Future Of WWE: “I think we’re evolving all the time. If you look back in the ’80s at what the superstars were like and what they’re like now. We’re much more athletic. We can move better than we ever have. I think we’re the best athletes in the world. We never take any time off, we’re on the go minimum four days a week. I don’t think anyone else can do what we do, so right now we’re in a great place. We’re putting on very exciting, entertaining matches for everybody and I think that you see our fans are enjoying it more than ever.”

Suffering A Neck Injury Early In His Career: “I trained for about two and a half months and then I got hurt, I got into WWE properly in ’05. You can’t think about that. If you go in thinking that you might hurt yourself, then you’re gonna hurt yourself. You’re going to be more likely to cause something to strain or mess up. I think that you have to have a good mind about you. But it also gives us a good message to give to fans – please don’t try what we do – we’re highly trained and still injuries can occur. If you want to imitate what we do, buy the action figures or play the video games. Don’t actually physically try what we do.”

Whether He’s Looking Ahead To WrestleMania 30 Yet: “No, you can’t. You have to think one pay-per-view at a time. I’ve got the Money In The Bank match, a world title match, soon with Alberto del Rio on Monday, July 16. You’ve got to work on the next one and the one after that. You can’t look too far ahead. Obviously it’s going to be great and it’ll be here in no time, but the way you do it is one week at a time, and that’s the way I try to be successful. Keep your eye on the prize and everything else will fall into place.”

Who He Wants To Wrestle At WrestleMania: “I definitely think The Undertaker. The Undertaker is the one I want for WrestleMania XXIX or XXX. Obviously something like that would be – his streak – no-one has ever beaten him on his streak and I could be the first to ever do that.”

Doing More Acting: “I’m just concentrating on my career right now. I have a lot to achieve, a lot to accomplish. Everything else is a bonus. Don’t get me wrong, if they want me to do it and it feels right I’ll gladly do it, but WWE is right now where my priority lies.”

His Favorite Gimmick Match: “The street fight. I love a street fight. Candlesticks, chairs, brawling everywhere, not worrying about the count. Just a good old-fashioned fight where anything and everything gets picked up and used. It’s definitely my favorite match, it definitely suits me and favors me more than anything.”

– Heath Slater tweeted the following message after getting beat up by yet another WWE Legend (Bob Backlund) on Monday’s RAW:

All of these so called legends are making me sick. Stay out of my spot light. 1000th Raw is very soon, so all of you better watch out.

— HEATHXXII (@HEATHXXII) July 10, 2012

As we’ve been reporting, wWE officials are planning a big payoff to the Heath Slater – Legends angle, expected to take place at RAW’s 1,000th episode.

– There is a lot of excitement behind the scenes in WWE surrounding Tyson Kidd’s push and his involvement in Sunday’s Money in the Bank match. Kidd, widely considered to be one of the most underutilized members of the roster, is determined to steal the show.

With just days to go until Money in the Bank, there was actually some concern that Tensai’s recent attack of Kidd would result in him being taken out of the match.

– Episode 24 of WWE Inbox is now online, with Jack Swagger, Alicia Fox and other Superstars answering Twitter questions from fans, including any weird talents they may have.

ROH World Tag Titles Vacated!

How will new champions be crowned?

Due to the unfortunate departure of Kenny King, one half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions, The All Night Express has been officially stripped of the ROH World Tag Team Titles, thus rendering the championship titles officially VACANT.

As a result ROH officials have determined that there will be an 8 Team Tag Tournament beginning on August 3rd in Baltimore at The Du Burns Arena with the entire opening round of matches being featured at the “Ring of Honor Wrestling” TV Tapings.

ROH officials have also determined that the tournaments semi-finals and finals will take place at a later date. With that being said, ROHWrestling.com was also informed that the first team entered into the field will be:

The 7-Time Former ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe!!

* More New X Division Talent To TNA, Power Struggle Behind The Scenes

WWE Superstar the Big Show recently spoke to AZCentral.com to hype Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what Big Show said about:

Is He Like His WWE Character?: “I think my persona when I’m a bad guy is me in a bad mood on a bad day amplified. I don’t run around like I do on TV; if I did, I’d be in a lot of trouble ( laughing). Sometimes my family and my wife will see me on TV and say, “I’ve seen that mood before, like the time you went for the jelly and the jar was empty.”

“One beautiful thing about being a WWE superstar is that you may have things going on in your life that are stressful and weighing on your mind. For 15 or 20 minutes, you’re in front of the crowd and you can let off all that steam and all that pressure. It’s like therapy.”

His Long Career & Turning 40: “I’ve had an 18-year career, and physically and mentally, I feel fantastic. I have too much fun doing what I’m doing to stop. Barring injuries, I plan on doing this a while longer. Obviously, the sun sets on every athlete at some point, but I don’t think that time is near.”

“Forty is a little bit hard for a man. It’s like, “Where the hell did it go? I remember 30 like it was yesterday!” But after going through the birthday, I was able to mellow out and calm down and realize it’s just another year, and you’re still doing what you love, so don’t worry. But there were probably about two days there where I was freaking out.”

Advice To Young Wrestlers: “(Laughing) Well, back when they used to talk to me, I would see a lot of the younger guys were frustrated. Everybody wants to be Undertaker or Triple H or John Cena. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s consistency, consistency, consistency. You have to go out there every night and deliver, and when the opportunity is presented to you, it’s up to you to come through.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:

Possible NXT Championship Tournament: “There is talk of having a tournament to crown a NXT Champion which, if and when it is held, could create some amazing opportunities for several young athletes looking to get noticed with the hopes of making it to a Raw or Smackdown WWE roster.

Kane: “I’ve been extremely impressed with Kane the past several weeks as I have previously mentioned here. The veteran continues to deliver in a big way inside the ropes which is where it counts the most. Kane is a great success story as he migrated through the independent scene to earn a HOF level career in WWE. When I first saw Kane, it was in an arena of maybe 100 fans, he looked a great deal like Sycho Sid in size and wrestled under a mask known as the Unibomber. We had him come to a WWE TV, which I think was in Georgia, for a try out and officials were impressed with his size, athleticism and demeanor. No major star that I can recall has been easier to work with than the highly intelligent and articulate Kane. I have great respect for the man….even though he tried to BBQ me once upon a time.”

Bob Backlund’s Return to RAW: “Good seeing Bob Backlund on Raw Monday night but in hindsight I’d have loved to have seen Bob make his cameo while RAW was in the northeast. Perhaps he wasn’t available. The former champion is in amazing condition for a guy in his 60’s but Bobby has always been a cardio freak and his strength was always grossly underrated. I have no knowledge of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Class but Backlund has to be high on the list of potential inductees. Backlund was a two sport All American in College both on the gridiron as a defensive end and on the mat 190.”

As always, you can check out Jim Ross’ delicious line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.

Daniel Bryan spoke to USAirwaysCenter.com this week to hype Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what Daniel Bryan said about:

His Match With Punk on Sunday: “I don’t know what fans can expect. Obviously, whenever I wrestle CM Punk, they’re going to get a great wrestling match. But the one thing that is unknown about this whole thing is that AJ is going to be our referee. So when you put a 95-lb woman in a referee shirt, you never know what’s going to happen.”

How They Can Take It Up A Notch: “Well, it’s interesting. This is a pay-per-view match and it’s for the WWE Championship, so that obviously ups the intensity. I expect to be in the main event of the pay-per-view, so anytime that happens, and you have two guys with as much pride as me and CM Punk, you know it’s going to be intense.

What Caused Vince To Push Him: “Well, I think a lot of it was just opportunities. We were in a situation where Mark Henry and a lot of other guys were hurt. Then when I cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and won the championship, they gave me an opportunity to see what I could do. They gave me the opportunity to go out there and talk on the microphone in the ring. And the more that I was able to go out there and do it, and perform well, the more responsibility they were able to give me. “Okay, he did good last week, let’s give him a little more time this week. Let’s see if he can be out there for 10 minutes or 12 minutes on the microphone and hold people’s interests.” Luckily, I’ve been able to do it.”

“If you would have asked my high school English teacher if I would have been able to stand out in front of 10,000 people and talk on a microphone. He would have said, “Wait a second, this guy stuttered doing a book report.” So yes, it’s been pretty crazy.”

Who Will Win Money in the Bank: “Gosh, I think it’s a toss-up. Initially, I would say John Cena, but he’s never been in a Money in the Bank match and until you’ve been in one of those, you don’t know how they are or what’s going to happen. You’ve also got Chris Jericho, Kane and Big Show, who have all been in this match before. But I guess if I had to put my money on it, I would put money on John Cena.