– WWE has re-hired Fit Finlay as a producer, according to PWInsider.com. Finlay was released in March of 2011 after he allowed the Miz to interrupt the Star-Spangled Banner at a house show with several members of the United States military at ringside, which brought some negative attention to the company.

– Barry Piotrowski, who was one of Ryback’s squash victims at Smackdown in Indiana two weeks ago on SmackDown, spoke with the Northwest Indiana Times about his tryout for the role and more. Here are some highlights of what Piotrowski said about:

Doing the job: “Yeah, I got my butt whipped, but I got my foot in the door, and I got some good pointers and some good compliments.”

The tryout: “It was basically a tryout for one of the two spots, and I got picked,. William Regal helped work with me to get me ready.”

The Experience: “When you see all the cameras, the lights … the large screens, and you see they way they build it up and then tear it down …. it’s really impressive.”

The Feedback He Got: “They told me they liked what they saw, and they said to keep checking their website for future shows where I could be available. One thing they did mention is that I need to be more confident out there. They said that the crowd won’t be taken by you if they sense you don’t have confidence.”

The article also refers to the fact that Piotrowski is a cancer survivor, having overcome Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

* List Of LEGENDS Appearing at RAW 1,000 & WWE Signing LOTS Of New Talent

TNA is encouraging fans to call DirecTV and demand that they keep SpikeTV and Impact Wrestling on the air. DirecTV and Viacom are in a dispute over money (what else) and all of Viacom’s channels are currently off the air on DirecTV.

Fans can call DirecTV now at 1-800-531-5000 and tell them to keep SpikeTV and Impact Wrestling on the air.

Hulk Hogan says issued the following statement: “I’ve had a world of piledriving punishment dished out to me, brother – but I’ve never been hurt like I am right now since I heard that DirecTV is dropping Spike, so you can’t see IMPACT! You’ll also be choked off from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET – 26 channels in all! So, I need all my Hulkamaniacs to call DirecTV now and tell them you need your channels, brother! Otherwise, I might be runnin’ wild on you, brother!”

* Major Changes Behind The Scenes In TNA Regarding AUSTIN ARIES & The Company’s Top Feuds

Wrestling fans with DirecTV might be out of luck this Thursday night if they’re expecting to watch Imact Wrestling on Spike TV.

DirecTV and Viacom (parent company of Spike TV, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, CMT and others) have been unable to reach an agreement regarding carriage fees, so the channels have been pulled from the cable service. The previous contract expired over the weekend.

DirecTV EVP Derek Chang made the following statement on the matter:

“We have absolutely no problem compensating Viacom fairly, but they have now knowingly put our customers in the unreasonable position of either accepting their extravagant financial demands or losing some of their favorite TV shows.”

“We feel our customers should not have to pay more for these networks than the customers of any other TV provider. We reiterated this to Viacom today and have not heard back from them.”

“DirecTV added that Viacom demanded the channels get taken down and said, “We asked Viacom to allow us to keep the channels up while we continue to negotiate, but they refused. We’re working diligently on a new agreement to keep making these channels available at a fair price to our customers.”

We’ll post an update when this situation changes and if DirecTV & Viacom are able to come to terms on a new agreement.

– Indy wrestler PAC wrote the following on Twitter about the reports of him joining WWE:

Rumours are funny…

— BASTARD (@BASTARDPAC) July 9, 2012

THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me well wishes, truly humbled and grateful…but PLEASE don't believe EVERYTHING you read…

— BASTARD (@BASTARDPAC) July 9, 2012

– Triple H is being advertised for WWE RAW from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA on August 20th. He’s also advertised for the following night’s SmackDown taping from the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, CA.

– InsideHalton.com has an interview with WWE United States Champion Santino Marella.

– WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth will be appearing at an upcoming Florida Championship Wrestling live event from the Charlotte Harbor Event Center in Punta Gorda, FL on Friday July 13th. As part of the FCW Summer Slamarama Tour, Kingston and Truth will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.

– With the news of Sara Del Rey joining WWE, there is speculation that she could be hired to help train WWE divas, but that news is not confirmed.

With nearly 1,000 episodes in the history books, the WWE website has ranked the 50 Greatest Matches in the history of Monday Night RAW. You can view the entire list at WWE.com. Here are the top 10:

10. Owen Hart vs. The British Bulldog: European Title tournament finals (March 3, 1997)

9. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H: Falls Count Anywhere Match (Sept. 22, 1997)

8. Rob Van Dam vs. Edge vs. John Cena: WWE Championship Triple Threat Match (July 3, 2006)

7. The Rock vs. Mankind: WWE Championship Match (Jan. 4, 1999)

6. Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena: WWE Championship Match (July 25, 2011)

5. The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy: Undisputed Championship Ladder Match (June 1, 2002)

4. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels: World Heavyweight Championship Match (Dec. 29, 2003)

3. Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid: WWE Championship Match (July 11, 1994)

2. Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect: Loser Leaves WWE (Jan. 25, 1993)

1. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (April 23, 2007)

– WWE Legend Bob Backlund was said to be “super over” with the WWE locker room at Monday’s RAW from Denver, especially with the younger members of the roster. A lot of people were talking about how great Backlund looked, considering he’s 62 years old.

Backlund spoke to WWE.com after his appearance and said he couldn’t believe that fans popped the way they did when he came out. Backlund said he was thrilled to be there and is looking forward to RAW 1,000 and said the fans are responsible for WWE’s success.

– The Rock announced on Monday night that he’ll be appearing at the 1,000th RAW celebration on July 23rd and he still has his sights set on winning the WWE Championship one last time. The Rock will indeed be there in person and is expected to make some sort of major announcement at the show. The Rock will begin filming Fast 6 shortly after the appearance, either in late July or early August.

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)

– Zack Ryder will be filming this week’s episode of “Z! True Long Island Story” from the San Diego Comic Con. Ryder will appearing at the event with other WWE Superstars and the Mattel toy designers.

– WWE Superstar Ezekiel Jackson wrote on Twitter that he is working on being featured more on WWE TV.

– Former WWE Diva Jillian Hall says that Heath Slater is ripping off her singing gimmick. She tweeted this week:

Does it make me a bad person to be annoyed by Heath slater's rip off?? Lol.. And I say that in the nicest possible way :)

— . (@Jillianhall1) July 10, 2012

– Batista’s recent announcements that he’s appearing in the “Man With the Iron Fist” Tarantino movie and directing a rap music video are not the “major announcement” he and his agent have been hyping on Twitter for months.

Batista says that announcement is still forthcoming and that fans are going to flip out when they find out what the news is:

https://twitter.com/davebautista/status/222536596023545856

The identity of WWE’s abandoned Anonymous RAW General Manager was finally revealed on Monday night.

The Anonymous RAW GM was the Interim General Manager for Monday’s show, with Michael Cole once again reading the GM’s emails from a ringside podium.

WWE’s resident sleuth Santino spent the show investigating the true identity of the mystery authority figure – which turned out to be none other than … Hornswoggle.

Hornswoggle was almost certainly not WWE’s original plan for the character’s identity, but apparently WWE felt the need to give the angle closure and tie up that loose end before a new permanent RAW GM is named on RAW 1,000.

WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Monday night after RAW from Denver, Colorado. The following is a live report of the show, courtesy of Omar Villalobos & PWTorch.com:

Smackdown started off right after Raw went off the air.

(1) Alberto Del Rio beat Sin Cara via armbar submission.

Big show and Zack Ryder were shown backstage, with Show saying he should be Smackdown GM instead of Ryder. He threatened to KO him, but out came Great Khali. Ryder informed Show that he was his opponent tonight.

(2) Primo (w/Epico and Rosa Mendes) beat Darren Young (w/Titus O’Neil and AW). Primo got a roll-up pin to upset D-Young.

World Hvt. champion Sheamus was shown with Ryder along with Jericho backstage. Sheamus challenged Jericho to a match, and Ryder made it official.

(3) Dolph Ziggler & Cody Rhodes beat U.S. champion Santino & IC champion Christian. Ziggler got the win with a roll-up.

(4) Big Show beat Great Khali in two minutes. Show KO’ed Khali, who got a loud pop after initially knocking down Show.

WWE promoted the Money in the Bank PPV pre-show match of Kofi & R-Truth vs. Hunico & Camacho.

(5) Ryback beat Tyler Reks. Ryback actually had to work for the victory, as it wasn’t handed to him. The crowd was still chanting Goldberg’s name, but everyone was chanting, “Feed me more,” by the end of it.

(6) Damien Sandow beat Justin Gabriel. Sandow put on a great match, dominated most of it, and ended up winning.

(7) World Hvt. champion Sheamus beat Chris Jericho in a non-title match. Very exciting match – the best of Smackdown. After surviving not one, but two Walls of Jericho, Sheamus came back with a Brogue Kick to win. A great 18-minute match.

Alberto Del Rio came out to attack Sheamus at the top of the ramp. He gave him a cross-arm submission, which appeared to end the Smackdown episode.

Del Rio then he came to the ring and – probably just for the live crowd – trash-talked to the crowd. Sheamus then came back to the ring selling the left arm injury. After exchanging, Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick to Del Rio to send us home happy. End of the Smackdown taping.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Kevin Nash: “Happy Birthday to my old friend @RealKevinNash who turned 53 today and has two major motion pictures in theaters at this time. Back in the day WCW honchos did not think that Kevin speak well until they heard him on my WSB Radio Show in the early 90’s. His nWo attitude was well in place long before he was ever able to utilize it.”

Most underrated commentator he’s worked with: “I’d say Terry Funk. He was funny as hell, understood every facet of the business, paid attention to the story being told in the ring, and was much more interested in getting the talent ‘over’ than himself. We had some great broadcasts together in WCW. Terry is rarely thought of as a broadcaster as his in ring skills were so extraordinary. The Funker was one of the absolute best in ring talents that I ever saw. It was an honor to work with him even if he was from Texas.”

UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen to WWE?: “I see Sonnen, the admitted pro wrestling fan, sticking with UFC. I believe that Chael is a star, an attraction and UFC isn’t overloaded with marketable star power at the moment. No company that hangs their hats on PPV revenue is over loaded with star power as these special athletes/performers who more the needle don’t grow on trees nor can they be developed over night.

“Chael is 35, very late to begin a career at the highest level of sports entertainment, WWE. Is it too late? Probably not but ‘we’re burning daylight’ here. I’m guessing Sonnen has 3-5 viable fights left in him which would take him until he’s 37-38 years of age. If I were advising Chael I’d recommend that he stick with UFC and keep making those significant pay days in a sport that he has trained for years in which to become excellent plus no one in UFC can sell a fight/event like Chael Sonnen. That works behind a mic too and it’s obvious that UFC has little to no broadcasting depth at this time.

“So the ‘Sonnen to WWE’ rumor is just that as far as I’m concerned and I will believe that the ‘American Gangster’ is WWE bound when I see him walk on RAW. Not before.”

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

– Sin Cara defeated Heath Slater on RAW to qualify for the SmackDown brand’s Money in the Bank match this Sunday on pay-per-view.

The match participants now include: Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Damien Sandow and Sin Cara.

– A commercial aired during RAW hyping the interactive features that are coming to the show starting July 23rd. It plugged WWE’s Facebook page, Twitter account Youtube channels and stated “One of the most widespread social networks in the universe rises to a whole new level.” Each week, fans can “help create RAW.”

Viewers are encouraged to use Twitter, Shazam and a new WWE app called Tout – where fans can record their videos and share them on RAW. WWE hyped the #RAWActive name for the new interactive features coming to the show.

* Big Returns Planned For RAW 1,000 & New Talent Headed For WWE

WWE announced on Monday night on RAW that The Rock will be appearing on the 1,000th RAW celebration on July 23rd.

The Rock also tweeted on Monday night:

RAW's 1000th episode. The People's Champ returns.. As promised, my goal: THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP. #RELENTLESS

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 10, 2012

Austin Aries defied the odds at TNA’s Destination X pay-per-view by defeating Bobby Roode in a great match to win the TNA World Heavyweight title.

Austin Aries & Bobby Roode Comment On TNA World Title Change

We want to know what you think about Austin Aries’ move to forfeit the TNA X Division title to pursue and ultimately capture the TNA World Heavyweight title.

CM Punk, Dixie Carter & More Congratulate Austin Aries

Are you upset that Bobby Roode’s 8-month reign has come to an end?

Do you expect Austin Aries to get a long title run?

Is this a sign that TNA’s creative team is serious about getting behind Aries as the face of the company?

Hit up the comments below and share your thoughts on Aries’ title win.

– WWE will be holding a rare double television taping tonight from Denver, Colorado, with both Monday Night RAW and Friday’s SmackDown being taped. These will be the “go home” shows before Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view.

As of Monday afternoon, no matches have been announced for either show. As previously reported, the WWE website is teasing a follow up to AJ’s actions at the end of last week’s show for tonight’s RAW.

The advertised dark match main events are WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis a handicap match.

Zack Ryder will serve as the General Manager of tonight’s SmackDown taping after winning the Great American Bash Battle Royal on last week’s show.

– Episode 24 of WWE Download with Dolph Ziggler is now online.

“In this week’s “WWE Download,” Dolph Ziggler compares some of his fellow Superstars to the “stars” of these cringeworthy YouTube videos.”

New TNA Champion Austin Aries has issued his first public comments since capturing the title at Sunday night’s Destination X pay-per-view.

CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Nigel McGuiness & More Comment On Aries’ Title Win

Aries tweeted on Monday:

Too many thoughts and feelings to express right now, but…..It's a #GREAT day to #BGR8.

— Daniel Healy (@AustinAries) July 9, 2012

Bobby Roode, the former champion, offered his own thoughts on the events that transpired last night and says a “Big decision” lies ahead after the conclusion of his 8-month title reign:

A lot of emotion today. Last night @AustinAries and i tore it down. The last 256 days has been a hell of a ride. Now…. A big decision…..

— Robert Roode (@RealRobertRoode) July 9, 2012

– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Shelton Benjamin (37), PN News (46), Marc Mero (52) and Kevin Nash (53).

– Tommy Dreamer will be revealing some of the talents for his new House of Hardcore promotion later today. The promotion will hold its first live event on October 6th from Poughkeepsie, New York.

– The Bella Twins will be appearing in the new issue of Maxim Magazine. The Twins appeared in the Spanish issue of Maxim a few months ago.

– Matt Morgan continues to tweet cryptic messages about his future in pro wrestling. Morgan, who is rumored to be returning to WWE in the coming months, was asked on Twitter if he’s signed with the organization. He responded:

@EslamShepherd well, I KNOW the answer to that one, and very soon EVERYONE WILL KNOW the answer. #ChangeIsGood

— Matt Morgan (@BPmattmorgan) July 9, 2012

WWE developmental is about to have a huge influx of new talent, including several of the world’s top independent workers. Here is an update on some of the latest rumored names headed to FCW in the coming months:

– International wrestling star PAC has signed a developmental deal. PAC is known for his death-defying style and has been called “The Man That Gravity Forgot”. He most recently worked for Dragon Gate in the US and Japan.

– Matt Taven has been offered a deal and he is currently undergoing testing. Taven worked a dark match at the most recent FCW TV taping and has worked for Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate USA.

– Sara Del Rey has been offered a developmental deal and is currently undergoing medical testing. She is been one of the top female indy workers of the past several years, with impressive runs in SHIMMER, CHIKARA and Ring of Honor.

– Mercedes Martinez is also rumored to have been offered a developmental deal after attending recent WWE tryouts at developmental.

Sources within WWE says expect to see a lot of top independent talents signed in the next few months as part of Triple H’s initiative to overhaul the developmental system.

(Sources: f4wonline.com, pwinsider.com)

In recent weeks, we’ve seen some “ruthless aggression” from Alberto Del Rio, who has delivered brutal attacks to the likes of Sheamus and Sin Cara.

It was reported back in 2011 that Vince McMahon wanted to see a more aggressive Del Rio. WWE is now moving forward with those plans and Del Rio is expected to continue his mean streak.

Del Rio is expected to win the World Heavyweight Title sometime later this year.

The WWE legend expected to appear at tonight’s RAW Supershow will be former WWE Champion Bob Backlund.

We received an email from a fan over the weekend who said he went to a fair in Minnesota and Backlund was telling people he would be at RAW.

Now, f4wonline.com is reporting that Backlund was visiting his mother at her rest home in Minnesota this weekend and told people there that he was headed to Denver, Colorado – site of tonight’s RAW.

The two-time WWE Champion last appeared on WWE television in 2007 when WWE was celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Monday Night RAW.

WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is in the news once again for her latest outrageous antics at an independent wrestling show over the weekend.

Sunny appeared for the FTW promotion on Long Island, New York over the weekend and had her thong removed in the middle of the ring during a match. She described the event on Facebook:

“If you haven’t already heard, last night at FTW in Long Island, Damien Darling removed my thong in the ring mid-match…It waas HOTTTTTTTT! To book us in August, contact me at 1originaldiva@gmail.com!! Thanks! We always put on the best show of the night ;).”

Sytch then revealed she had her thong removed during a match to gain attention online:

“How long b4 the dirt sheets pick THIS ONE up? that’s why it was done, hehe,”

The following video has surfaced of the “incident” –

CM Punk, Dixie Carter, Colt Cabana and others congratulated Austin Aries via Twitter on winning the TNA Title at Destination X last night. Their tweets are below.

I didn't see it, but congrats to @austinaries @SamoaJoe and @zematna Looks like somebody finally gets it. Kudos.

— player/coach (@CMPunk) July 9, 2012

Congrats @AustinAries!! What a year it has been. You have fought hard and deserve this!

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) July 9, 2012

I owe a lot to @AustinAries for the time we spent working together. Good luck and congrats to A Double. You deserve it brother.

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) July 8, 2012

Congrats to @AustinAries. #Champ

— Colt Cabana? (@ColtCabana) July 9, 2012

Proud tear in my eye. Wonder at how great life can be sometimes. Another of my ROH peers. Proved it wasn't hype.

— Nigel Mcguinness (@McGuinnessNigel) July 9, 2012

Life is made of moments. This was one of them. Congrats to Austin Aries. @ TNA Impact Wrestling Zone http://t.co/lj9OhefV

— Dave Lagana (@Lagana) July 9, 2012

Work with great people, hand them the ball, believe and trust in their work and don't put negativity into the world. Result = #DestinationX

— Dave Lagana (@Lagana) July 9, 2012

Here is the official preview for Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling, courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Preview Thursday’s block of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING on SpikeTV

– Witness the aftermath of the “Destination X” Pay-Per-View event! NEW World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries will be there! What will he have to say about his big win on Sunday night? How will former champion Bobby Roode react? Don’t miss it!

– Plus, the broadcast will feature the NEW X Division Champion, Zema Ion! Ion survived the X Division tournament and Ultimate X Match on Sunday night to claim the championship!

– In a huge Bound For Glory Series match on Thursday’s SpikeTV broadcast, Kurt Angle battles Mr. Anderson! Which superstar will pick up points in the ongoing competition for a shot at the World Title?

– The Knockouts Title will be on the line on Thursday as Miss Tessmacher defends the gold against former champion, Gail Kim

– Plus, Joseph Park goes to war with Bully Ray!

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

* News On The “ACES & EIGHTS” Mystery Group – What Do They Want?

Following Sunday’s TNA Destination X pay-per-view, here’s the updated standings for TNA’s ongoing Bound For Glory series:

(1) Samoa Joe: 37 points (4-2)

(2) James Storm: 36 points (3-1-1)

(3) Jeff Hardy: 21 points (3-1)

(4) Kurt Angle: 20 points (2-3)

(5) Magnus: 14 points (2-1)

(6) Mr. Anderson: 9 points (1-2-1)

(7t) The Pope: 7 points (1-3)
(7t) Rob Van Dam: 7 points (1-2)

(9) Daniels: 5 points (1-3)

(10t) A.J. Styles: 0 points (0-2)
(10t) Bully Ray: 0 points (0-3)
(10t) Robbie E.: 0 points (0-4)

TNA sent out the following press release on Monday announcing that a “TNA Rewind” show will begin airing every week before Impact, starting this Thursday at 7pm (ET):

Don’t miss three hours of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night on SpikeTV! Get your weekly TNA recap starting at 7/6c with the new “Rewind” broadcast immediately followed by IMPACT WRESTLING LIVE at 8/7c!

It’s three hours of Total Nonstop Action featuring your favorite wrestling superstars – including “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan, “The Icon” Sting, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam, “Cowboy” James Storm, the lovely and lethal Knockouts, the high-flying X Division athletes and many more! TNA IMPACT WRESTLING takes place from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida! IMPACT WRESTLING is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling, airing in over 120 countries worldwide!

* News On The “ACES & EIGHTS” Mystery Group – What Do They Want?

– Austin Aries defeated Bobby Roode in the main event of TNA Destination X to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

– Zema Ion also won the X-Division Championship Tournament at Destination X after winning the Ultimate X match that also featured Mason Andrews, Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt. They all won qualifying matches earlier in the show.

– Speaking of Sonjay Dutt, he suffered either a dislocated elbow or shoulder during the X Division match. He reportedly popped it back into place himself and continued working the match.

– There have been online reports in recent weeks that TNA star Magnus announced to fans during a recent meet and greet at the London Film and Comic Con that he would not be re-signing with TNA when his deal expires this year. Magnus has since addressed the rumor and denied that he has any intention of leaving TNA.

* News On The “ACES & EIGHTS” Mystery Group – What Do They Want?