WWE Champion CM Punk was at the Philadelphia Comic Con event over the weekend and participated in a Q&A session. Among the topics discussed, Punk talked about his brutal travel schedule:

“I was home Thursday. And, before that, two weeks ago, I was home for 22 hours. It’s not healthy – I need to go home and hibernate, I know I really do. A lot of people go, ‘You look really tired today.’ Thanks. Downtime doesn’t exist.”

Punk also addressed the amount of wrestlers currently suspended (Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Evan Bourne) and WWE’s thin talent roster:

There’s two guys and the talent pool has never been thinner. How many guys are suspended right now? (laughs) Yeah, they’re wearing us out, but we can handle it – it’s me and Cena. We need more guys, but I like to be outside [making appearances]”

You can see video of the Q&A session, including Punk revealing that WWE has already created a new belt to replace the “spinner” title, here.

Check out these pictures of The Rock on the set of his new movie Pain & Gain, about a pair of Florida body builders who get swept up in an extortion and kidnapping plot:

[nggallery id=19]

– Several fans have sent in word that Ric Flair was spotted out in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday night – the host city of tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow.

Update On Ric Flair Leaving TNA & Possibly Returning To WWE

– Former WWE superstar Sid Vicious noted on Twitter over the weekend that he’s received a “big offer” to make an upcoming appearance.

With WWE recently contacting dozens of legends to appear at the 1,000th episode of RAW on July 23rd, this could be what he’s referring to.

Plans For WWE’s 1,00th Episode of Monday Night RAW

– WWE is starting to contact businesses it believes are infringing on Daniel Bryan’s “Yes!” catch phrase, which they have trademarked.

(Partial Source: PWinsider.com)

WWE Champion CM Punk was at the Philadelphia Comic Con event over the weekend and participated in a Q&A session. CM Punk was asked about the possibility of WWE retiring the “spinner” belt and introducing a new WWE Championship belt. Punk confirmed that not only are there plans to replace the spinner belt – but the new belt already exists:

“I email people that you people don’t know exist and I bother them constantly about this damn thing. There is a new title. I’ve seen it. I’ll probably get in trouble for saying it, but I don’t think it’s any better than the current one.”

“It’s better than [the spinner belt]. They literally just made it. It’s about 20 pounds heavier than this one. I keep preaching that I want to be the guy – if I’m not the guy who doesn’t produce a new title, then I’ll be a liar, and I don’t want to be a liar. It’s out there, and it’s coming soon. Probably a lot sooner than the ice cream bars.

He also discussed the current state of WWE’s roster, Eddie Guerrero, Steve Austin wrestling again, The Rock’s return to WWE and more.

Punk’s comments about the spinner belt can be seen around the 34-minute mark:

– TMZ.com’s recent report about a $100,000 lien against John Cena’s home has led some readers to speculate whether John Cena is having financial difficulties.

It’s worth noting that the situation is a result of Cena (or whoever was put in charge to pay the contracts who are renovating his Florida home) simply not paying the bills on time. He had a similar issue last year, when a roofing company filed a $15,000 lien on the home, claiming they were not paid for work performed.

Cena makes millions of dollars a year from WWE and is most likely very wealthy. It’s been widely reported that the renovation of their Florida home was the final straw that pushed their marriage to the brink.

– With Dolph Ziggler apparently breaking off on his own and returning to singles action, WWE once again had Mason Ryan work as Ziggler’s bodyguard at last night’s Birmingham, Alabama live event.  Ziggler defeated Zack Ryder in what was described by many as the best match on the show.

Ziggler cut a promo before the match stating that he has dropped what was holding him back (presumably Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger) and is now associating himself with greatness (Mason Ryan).

– Mark Henry, who is currently recovering from recent shoulder surgery, says he’s the healthiest he’s been in 5 years. Henry tweeted over the weekend:

“I’m the healthiest I’ve been in 5 years. U haters go to hell to the fans I’m healing great the Hall of Pain! LIVES!!”

NFL Player Says He Can Beat Mark Henry In Arm Wrestling

– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart will be conducting his first wrestling seminar for the Crossfire wrestling promotion on August 4th at Tennessee’s Nashville Fairgrounds. Former TNA and WWE developmental talent Cassidy Riley will be working with the students in the ring.

– Suspended WWE superstar Chris Jericho was in Atlanta over the weekend prepping for Fozzy’s upcoming performances in the UK. Fozzy will play the at Download Festival this weekend, Saturday, June 9th. Jericho said Fozzy will debut their new song at the Download Festival and tweeted this picture of them rehearsing in Atlanta:

– WWE’s 1,000th RAW will feature cameo appearances from many former WWE superstars. WWE has reportedly reached out to 20-30 legends to appear on the 3-hour July 23rd episode, which will kick off the new 3-hour interactive era of RAW.

News On A DX Reunion At The 1,000th RAW

For much more on what WWE has planned for the RAW 1,000th Episode Celebration, check out our RAW 1,000 news page.

– The WWE website has a new article up looking at Christian recently capturing the Intercontinental title – and how far he’ll go to stay champion. The article speculates that Christian, who has wrestled as a heel for a good portion of his WWE career, might resort to heel tactics:

“Considering a history of jealousy and other nefarious traits, what might Captain Charisma do to stay on top after injuries and setbacks kept him from it for so long?”

For now, the WWE Universe can merely trust that this Christian really is for the Peeps. And, if the signature smile proves to be a signal of another con job during his current title run, all we can do is simply grin and bear it.”

– Matt Striker replaced Lilian Garcia as announcer at weekend live events because Garcia was dealing with a family situation in South Carolina. She tweeted the following great news:

“In SC w my dad celebrating the fact that his test results came back negative 4 Cancer. Been a rough few months waiting 4 results! #OverJoyed”

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)

Lots of news from WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling:

– Jim Ross is in Tampa this week working with WWE’s developmental talent and confirmed on Twitter over the weekend that Thursday will be FCW’s final tapings at the FCW Arena.

– JR says FCW has several new prospects to evaluate this week and was asked about the potential of FCW’s two top stars, Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose. Ross said Seth Rollins has “big upside potential” and Dean Ambrose has “unlimited potential.”

Both Rollins and Ambrose have been wrestling dark matches at recent WWE live events and are expected to be brought up to the main roster soon.

– Thursday’s final TV taping will feature the long awaited rematch between Dean Ambrose and William Regal.  Ambrose tweeted the following about the match:

“June 7, Tampa. It will be difficult to watch,bad people doing terrible things, violent, ugly, uncomfortable. Me vs @realkingregal. He’s gonna try to finish the job he did on my shoulder,the gimmick shoulder that cost me the fcw title. My goal is to punch him in the mouth repeatedly, until I’m sure that he will have to go get dentures soon after his broken nose is fixed.”

Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow takes place from the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

UPDATE: Ric Flair Spotted Near Site Of Tonight’s WWE RAW

The following is being advertised for tonight:

– John Cena returns to RAW and will react to Big Show’s comments from last week and the news that their match at No Way Out will be a steel cage match

– An update on Dolph Ziggler breaking off on his own

– The next chapter of WE Champion CM Punk’s storyline with Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee

– Cody Rhodes continues his quest to recapture his Intercontinental championship from Christian

There has been no mention of Brock Lesnar or Triple H for tonight.

Advertised locally (likely dark matches) are CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis in a Handicap match.

TNA Champion Bobby Roode was recently interviewed the UK Mirror during a recent media tour to promote TNA’s Maximum Impact tour next January. Here are some highlights of what Roode said about:

Impact Going On The Road: “I have a huge opinion on it. Obviously, I’m not the man who pays the bills; I’m not the wallet, so to speak, But in order for us to take that one step further I think it’s a necessity for us to step away from Orlando and do our television tapings elsewhere in the country. For us to be… I’m not going to say ‘legit’, because I believe that we’re a legit company but it’s just… for that more professional look and a different look it’ll make our company that bit better.”

His New Look: “Well, for eight years, people have had to witness how dry and curly it gets towards the end of a 30 minute match. And it was giving me a headche, It was certainly time for a change, to look a bit more modern. And it is in keeping with all the suits I wear. I look more hip.”

Ric Flair Leaving TNA & Whether He Will Be Missed: “I believe so. I think just the name, having that legendary name around was beneficial, But I don’t think it is going to hurt us, we have a lot of talent. I think Impact Wrestling can stand on its own without Ric Flair but its always nice to have a guy like that around. He has always been a pro. He’s a fun guy to be around. He’ll always be the Nature Boy. He has been one of my main inspirations. I really don’t know [about the legal situation] and I really don’t care to know.”

Scott Steiner’s Twitter Rants: “Scott’s Scott. He’s a good friend of mine so I can’t speak bad of Scott. He’s a character. Obviously he has some ill feelings to certain people but those are his own personal issues and don’t involve me. I don’t believe I have any enemies in the business and I want to keep it that way.”

Impact Wrestling Going Live: “It’s huge – a win win situation for all of us, fans and those of us in the company. When you go live, anything can happen. It excites me because it means I have to be on. When the camera’s on whatever happens, happens. And I’m sure that anticipation applies across the board in the locker room, too. Everyone feels the same way.”

Mexico’s SuperLuchas.net is reporting that Randy Orton violated WWE’s Wellness Policy after he tested positive for the steroid Dianabol.

The report states that Randy Orton first tested positive for marijuana, which carries a $2,500 fine but does not result in a Wellness Policy violation / suspension from WWE. However, when Orton tested positive for weed, WWE then ordered an additional drug test for other substances, which is when he came up positive for Dianabol as well.

More Backstage News On Randy Orton’s Suspension

Dianabol (methandrostenolone) is a steroid that can be ingested orally or injected. The substance was very popular in the bodybuilding community until it was banned by Congress in the United States under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

This report has not yet been independently verified by Rajah.com, so for now, take the Super Luchas Magazine report as a rumor.

Thursday night kicked off a new era for Impact Wrestling, with TNA’s flagship show going live and moving to a new start time – 8pm (eastern). Ratings are in for the show – and unfortunately for TNA, the first episode of the new era got off to a rocky start.

Thursdays’ live Impact drew a 0.89 cable rating and averaged 1.296 million viewers. It was the lowest rated first run, non-holiday Impact in years.

The rating was down 12% from last week’s taped show, which did a 1.01 rating with 1.43 million viewers.

– TMZ.com has posted an update on John Cena’s divorce – and the gossip site says that the Florida home that Cena and his wife were remodeling was a major factor.

It has already been reported that the extensive home renovation was causing a an “unbearable strife” between the Cenas.

New documents uncovered by TMZ show that one of the contractors that was working for them filed a $110,000 lien on their house, claiming he was not paid for work he performed.

Picture of John Cena’s Florida Mansion

– Booker T has posted a his latest “Fave 5” video, naming the 5 WWE superstars that are on his radar:

* Backstage Details on RANDY ORTON’s Suspension (Drugs He Used, When Writers Found Out)

– RAW’s 1,000th episode on July 23rd will feature a DX reunion, as Shawn Michaels and Triple H will be “getting the band back together” for the special night.

– John Laurinaitis will no longer be teaming with Big Show in handicap matches against John Cena at WWE’s upcoming live events. Cena is not getting off the hook that easy – because Lauinaitis is being replaced with Tensai.

Cena defeated the team of Big Show and Tensai at Friday night’s WWE live event from Alexandria, Louisiana. June’s RAW brand live events now list John Cena vs. Big Show and Tensai as one of the top matches.

– To promote the DVD release of Hulk Hogan’s “No Holds Barred” on July 3rd, WWE has launched Twitter accounts for the movie’s two main characters – @Rip and @Zeus.

It was announced on SmackDown that WWE Champion CM Punk will defend against Daniel Bryan and Kane in a 3-way match at WWE No Way Out.

With that match set, here’s the updated card for No Way Out on Sunday, June 17th:

Steel Cage Match
John Cena vs. Big Show

WWE Championship Match:
CM Punk (c) vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus

– Sin Cara returned to action on Friday night’s SmackDown, defeating Heath Slater. Sin Cara, who was trending worldwide on Twitter during the broadcast, debuted new red & white ring gear.

Video of Sin Cara’s Return Match (No Botched Spots!)

– SmackDown tag team Darren Young and Titus O’Neil are now known as the Prime-Time Players.

– In the following SmackDown Backstage Fallout video, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater and others talk about this week’s show:

VIDEO: SIN CARA’s Return Match – See His New “RED & WHITE” Mask & Ring Gear

– As reported earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson will be a playable character in the upcoming WWE ’13 video game. Tyson recently filmed several promos for WWE at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The footage will likely be used to promote WWE ’13.

– Bill DeMott confirmed on Twitter that he will be replacing Tom Prichard as the head trainer at Florida Championship Wrestling. The former Tough Enough coach wrote:

“I have been given the opportunity to lead developmental training system. Nothing is better then being surrounded by productive positive people! We r blessed for how it started and where it’s going!”

– The WWE website has an article up looking at the “15 shocking outcomes you didn’t see coming.” Some of the events include John Cena defeating Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules, WWE buying WCW, Steve Austin turning heel and aligning himself with Mr. McMahon, Barry Horrowitz winning a match on RAW back in 1995 and more. You can view the list here.

– CM Punk retained the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan at Friday night’s RAW live event from Alexandria, Louisiana. After the show, Punk tweeted:

“Well tonight sucked. Nothing like being rewarded for hard work. I did see @MichelleDBeadle shot out of a cannon though. That was awesome.”

A fan replied and apologized for the crowd reactions to which Punk replied:

“Wasn’t you. It was me.”

As we reported this week, there are plans for Daniel Bryan to continue touring with the RAW brand and wrestling CM Punk over the next several weeks. A “submission match” stipulation has been rumored for their upcoming bouts.

– Developmental wrestler Seth Rollins (former ROH Champion Tyler Black) wrestled at the Alexandria, LA show as well – defeating Michael McGillicutty. Fans who were in attendance noted that Rollins was very over with the fans and looks to be ready to be called up to the main roster.

– Jim Ross’ Twitter account was hacked again on Friday. JR tweeted:

“2nd time in a month I’ve had to change twitter password. However, have all the fun you want. It’s EZ to be a jackass behind keyboard.”

– Lex Luger turns 54 years old today.

– WWE Champion CM Punk will be appearing at the Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia today from 2pm until 6pm.

TNA has issued the following for the new TNA Hall of Fame.

Comment below and tell us who you think should be the first person inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame.

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING ANNOUNCES “TNA HALL OF FAME” WITH FIRST INDUCTEE TO BE ANNOUNCED AT “SLAMMIVERSARY” ON JUNE 10

NASHVILLE, TN – (June 1, 2012) – TNA IMPACT WRESTLING announced the beginning of a “TNA Hall of Fame” with the first inductee to be announced at this year’s 10th Anniversary celebration, “Slammiversary” in Arlington, Texas.

TNA President Dixie Carter announced the news as part of the first live IMPACT WRESTLING event of the summer from Universal Studios.

This is TNA’s chance to recognize the great contributions of the people who gave so much to make this 10-year anniversary possible.

“This 10 year milestone is an incredible achievement for TNA,” stated TNA President Dixie Carter. “In honor of that, we felt it was time to begin recognizing the contributions of those who have made the greatest impact on our success.”

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

Randy Orton’s Suspension: “Amazed at the amount of questions we have received on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding Randy Orton’s 60 suspension from WWE for a 2nd violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy. Not too sure what there is to not understand … Bottom line is that the business as always been about such things as “when one door closes, another door opens” and that “being in the right place at the right time” and both are still valid and viable in today’s ever changing world and that includes sports entertainment.”

Backstage Reaction To Randy Orton’s 60-Day Suspension

Paul Heyman’s Twitter Rant: “As @HeymanHustle pointed out on Twitter earlier this week and as I’ve mentioned here many times, talents need to become much more motivated and aggressive in obtaining meaningful exposure and then ‘maximizing their minutes.’ As the old sales cliche goes, one won’t get the order until one asks for it. To add to that cliche with another, one can’t sell goods out of an empty wagon. Translation…do what ever is necessary to professionally and legally get noticed and then be able to back it up once your number is called. There has never been a more opportune time for talents who have the drive, determination, ingenuity, and physical talent to elevate as roster depth at the top of the card is ripe for the pickings.”

Paul Heyman Rants & Gives Advice To Young Talent

Brock Lesnar Meeting With UFC Last Weekend: “What would I think of Brock Lesnar attempting to become a ‘two sport’ guy and perform in WWE and fight in UFC at the same time frame? I’d suggest that it would be ill advised and that it can’t be done on the highest level of each genre in an efficient manner. Obviously, a person could do it, theoretically, and enhance his earnings over the short haul but it seems as if it would be too taxing an issue on one’s body to attempt such a feat. I have no idea is that idea is even on Lesnar’s radar but we’ve gotten the question here a great deal. I’m not in touch with Brock and haven’t been for years so my take on the matter is merely one man’s opinion.”

As always, you can check out JR’s amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.

– As you can imagine, there was panic in WWE this week over RAW’s 2.7 rating. Even though Monday was Memorial Day, WWE’s flagship show is entering dangerous territory with that low number, especially with RAW about to go 3 hours next month.

– Personal trainer Joe DeFranco has published part 2 of his article describing Triple H’s personalized workouts.

– The official theme song for WWE’s No Way Out pay-per-view is “Unstoppable” by the band Charm City Devils.

– Former WWF announcer Sean Mooney is now the co-anchor for NBC Tucson, Arizona affiliate KVOA. Mooney lives in Arizona also runs a production company in the area.

– Mr. Long Island Iced Z is back with another installment of the Z! True Long Island Story:

Diana Hart Smith was on Inside The Ropes this past Thursday and she had a lot to say about Sarah Ferguson originally being in her spot at SummerSlam, how the Montreal Screwjob might have started back at One Night Only in England, how she thinks HBK and HHH were teachers pets to Vince AND that she has a hush hush project coming up with Linda Hogan. Here are the highlights:

On How SummerSlam Came To Wembley:

It wasnt meant to happen. It was meant to be Shawn and Bret I think, It was to take place in the Capitol Center in Washington. Davey told Vince ‘You could do some really great business on the bank holiday weekend for SummerSlam’ Vince began to put some things together in his mind. He must have known Davey Boy and Sky TV were getting over. It was pretty sudden like June. It broke all sorts of records and sold more tickets than at that time Madonna or Michael Jackson. They sold the whole thing out in like 11 hours which is just unbelievable. I was a part of it. I was an integal part of it.

How Diana was almost pulled from the match:

Even though I was supposed to be a big part of this brother vs. Brother in law. They weren’;t sure they wanted me to even go to the show. They were going to bring in Sarah Ferguson and she was going to raise the hand of the winner. I guess they thought they’d sold all the tickets and it doesn’t really matter. We can replace Diana with Sarah Ferguson. I was written out of it, I was really hurt by it. I wasn’t planning on being a part of it. Sarah had some bad publicity and I was back in the match.

How she got involved with HBK/Bulldog angle:

It was right after the Iron man match. I’d asked Davey for a long time if I could be involved, manage him or something. Vince got really into the idea and Davey came up to me just after WrestleMania and said they wanted to use me. They kinda kept us in the dark each week about what was going to happen. At first it was Shawn was going to make advance towards me. The big conclusion that you didn’t get to see was it was me going after Shawn all along and some fan would have filmed the footage on a video camera. Davey and I were a bit like ‘Where does that leave us?’ It makes Davey look stupid and his wife look like a tramp who went for Shawn. Davey presented his case to Vince and it just kinda got pulled and they wrapped up the storyline.

Memories of One Night Only in England with Davey Boy/Shawn and finish being changed?

It was a shock. You have to do what you’re told. I thought ‘those bastards’ why are they doing this to him and in England. Where does it leave him? They made Davey their first European Champion, they made the belt for him and now they take it away from him. Sometimes if I wonder if it was connected to the Montreal Screwjob. Sometimes I don’t wanna think that because then I start thinking about these conspiracy theories. It was something in the works then and we didn’t know it. I was aware that Chyna would be getting together with me. I thought she was un-necessarily rough with me. I know Chyna is strong, I felt she was un-necessarily aggressive with me.

On atmosphere backstage at One Night Only with Shawn and Bret being bad?

I could feel it. I wasn’t there all the time but I felt like Shawn and Hunter were getting carried away with being the teachers pets.

Feelings on the Screwjob?

I was in Vancouver and managed to get home to see it. I would never have fathomed they would have done this to Bret. My Dad thought it was part of the storyline. We thought it was part of something that started back in England at One Night Only. Owen was disgusted and a lot of guys wanted to quit.

Did she support Bulldog getting out of his WWF contract after Montreal?

I didn’t want him to do it. I wanted him to stay. It cost Davey $100,00 to get out of it. I didn’t want him to do it. I felt terrible for what happened to Bret but I didn’t want Davey to lose the money. The funny thing is the same day Davey paid the $100,000, They gave Owen a $100,000 bonus for re-signing and staying with the company.

Did she ever hold WWF accountable for Owen’s death in 1999?

I always believe it was an accident. I never thought it was anything more than an accident.

Do you think it was soon for Bulldog to come back in 1999?

It was Davey’s call but in hindsight, i think he should have waited. He was anxious to show everyone….. He wanted to show WCW, ‘Look what you let go?’ and it was almost a kind of a ‘Take a look at me now’

Thoughts on her book in 2001 Under The Mat ?

I hate the book and I wish it was never written. I wish the person writing it with me had done it differently. They took the bad parts of my stories and left out all the good stuff.

Her Future:

I look forward to doing a project with Linda Hogan. I’m awaiting news on that. She has some irons in the fire. She said if anything turn out, she wants me to be on board.

To hear the interview check out Inside The Ropes on Facebook (Facebook.com/theinsidenetwork) or listen to the show at Insidetheropes.podbean.com.

Later this weekend the full 90 minute plus interview will go up where she discusses her beef with Debra, accusations of flirting with Steve Austin and more about her life with the Bulldog.

– Chris Jericho has responded to Paul Heyman’s Thursday night Twitter rant about what today’s young superstars need to do in order to become main eventers:

“I agree with @HeymanHustle diatribe and I would like to add one more piece of advice. To really make it in this business…. you have to be willing to take a chance. And if that pisses some people off than so be it! Stop being so nice. Nice doesn’t cut it.”

Read Paul Heyman’s Twitter Rant Here (Great Read)

– There is once again talk of WWE merging the Intercontinental and United States title. With WWE recently bringing back the classic IC title and the US title held by comedy act Santino Marella, WWE will likely drop the US title after a unification match.

There are no plans to unify the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight title because WWE likes having both belts defended on the separate RAW and SmackDown live events.

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)