– There have been some jokes going around WWE lately regarding the people that Triple H surrounded himself with as the WWE’s talent development division. They have been mostly guys in their 20s, with several described as jacked-up meatheads that doesn’t know anything about the wrestling business.
Additionally, the first few talents Triple H has brought in have been busts thus far. Sin Cara’s early run was plagued by botched spots and injuries, and Kharma’s now on maternity leave, so neither had much of an impact.
– An interesting story regarding Brodus Clay is that when he finished shooting a movie for WWE Studios earlier this year, he asked the creative team if they had anything for him – and proposed that he be pushed as an indestructable monster heel that would destroy baby faces and induct wrestlers into his personal “House of Pain.” He was reportedly told it was a great idea.
Meanwhile, Clay remains on the sidelines while Mark Henry is getting the biggest push of his career with a gimmick that’s eerily similar to Clay’s idea.
Still no word on when WWE plans to have Brodus Clay return to RAW, despite several advertised appearances in the past month.
– Vince McMahon has reportedly been on the warpath as of late – shooting down a lot of ideas presented to him by the creative team. One recent situation involved Mick Foley’s recent return to television. Last week’s Christmas-themed live Tuesday SmackDown featuring Foley as Santa Clause was an idea pushed through by Brian Gewirtz, despite Vince not liking the idea.
Vince recently ordered that The Bella Twins be made a top priority and wants them to be featured on television more. Vince loves having the Bellas represent WWE in public appearances and recently reamed out the writing team for blowing a number of opportunities to feature the twin beauties.
– Vince’s son Shane was in the news this week, as his latest product, “YOU On Demand,” is set to launch in China this month. The service, which recently signed a deal with Gravitas Ventures to bring independent movies to streaming services, hopes to reach 11 million homes by the end of 2012.
Former WWE superstar Duane Gill, best known for his run as the Bill Goldberg parody character “Gillberg”, recently told Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas of Thescore.com that Bill Goldberg hated him.
If Bill Goldberg ever tried to get in contact with him while he was doing the “Gillberg” gimmick in WWE. Also speaking about when he did the segment with The Rock and Goldberg on an episode of Raw in 2003 on the segment “Rock Concert II”: “Goldberg hates my guts. He wanted to kill me. I remember the night I did meet him, the night we did The Rock Concert were I was dancing all the ring and all. They just wanted me to just stand there and tap my foot. So I had to explain to Mr. McMahon about what I wanted to do and he started laughing his ass off and he goes, “lets do it (laughs).”
On his wrestling school “Gillberg’s Pro Wrestling Academy.” What makes his wrestling school so successful that it will branch to multiple locations. What made his decision for him to branch out the wrestling school: “We have yet to advertise and were packed. We’re loaded with students. I would imagine the article on WWE.com “Where are they now” had a lot to do with helping me there. I just want to take it to the next level. I just wanna teach the way we teach. I teach old school ways. It’s taught proper and it’s really good.”
How long did he feel that the “Gillberg” character in WWE would last the first time he did when he wrestled Luna Vachon on an episode of Raw on the debut of the character; explains how much of a response he got from the WWE crew backstage: “It was actually supposed to be a one night deal. When I came back through the curtian, I got the highest honor I ever received in pro wrestling. When I came through that curtain, every McMahon, every writer, producer, boys, everybody in the back that was working was standing there clapping, and had tears in there eyes cause they were laughing so hard. That was the highest honor I ever got.”
His thoughts on working for WWE without being under contract with WWE for almost 10 years. Did he feel that if he never got anything from WWE, would he have thought about pursuing other interest in his life: “I’m a mark. I love professional wrestling, and to be honest with you, I love the WWE. Let me put it to you this way, I didn’t give a crap what I was doing, there were times where I wrestled four or five times a night. I didn’t care man. I was there. I was in the locker room with Hulk Hogan, Brutus Beefcake, Jake The Snake, Macho Man. I went to the bar, I sat down to have drinks with them, and I got to rub shoulders with the best of the best. To me it was everything.”
Check out this video of when Goldberg and Gillberg went face-to-face on WWE RAW:
– Jim Ross, who is in Tampa evaluating talent at FCW, tweeted the following on Tuesday night about a new non-wrestling project:
“Had a productive day in Tampa. A significant day on tap Wednesday in Florida. Great mtg tonight on an intriguing outside wrestling project.”
– WWE Diva Eve Torres interviewed actor, soldier and Dancing With the Stars winner JR Martinez for a segment to air on WWE’s Tribute to the Troops special.
– Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, who was backstage at Monday’s RAW, tweeted that he filmed a 2 hours of interview footage for WWE Network show about the Monday Night War. Waltman wrote:
“I did a 2 hour interview at RAW yesterday for a 15 episode series focusing on the Monday Night Wars to air on the new WWE Network.”
– Facebook has released its list Top-Trending Lists of 2011 – and John Cena was the #3 trending athlete of the year, behind soccer stars Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cena ranked above David Beckham, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and other international sports stars – which is a real testament to the power of WWE’s social media influence.
– WWE will be releasing a new Wade Barrett shirt soon.
Check out the official video trailer for UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem, which takes place later this month on Friday, December 30th.
The fight will mark Brock Lesnar’s return to the octagon, with the winner receiving a UFC Heavyweight title shot against newly crowned champion, Junior Dos Santos.
– Former WWE Superstar Batista was in Los Angeles this week promoting The Scorpion King 3. Batista taped at least one segment for E! Entertainment.
– Steve Austin and Chris Jericho will be participating in the first ever Rock & Roll Roast for guitar legend Zakk Wylde. The event takes place on January 19th, 2012 at The Grove in Anaheim, California.
– Lilian Garcia appeared on the RAW Afterbuzz online show this week after RAW, hosted by former WWE diva Maria Kanellis. Garcia spoke about her return to WWE this week – and revealed she heard about WWE’s interest to bring her back.
Lilian said she was in Las Vegas for a marathon when she got the call to return on Friday. Lilian flew straight from Vegas to Tampa, Florida where Monday’s RAW was held. She said everyone backstage embraced her with open arms and at first she was surprised about being put on SmackDown but is excited about the opportunity.
– Randy Orton did a radio appearance last week in North Carolina on 1065 The END . Orton talked about wanting to feud with Triple H again, WrestleMania, his work mentoring kids about anger management and more. You can watch the 23-minute interview here:
– During a recent interview with the UK’s The Skinny, TNA star Ric Flair revealed he has no plans to retire any time soon.
“To be honest I have no plans on retiring from the industry anytime soon. I feel that I still have so much to give to TNA. If the time ever comes that I cannot contribute anything to the company that is when I would have to consider my position within TNA.”
“I am privileged that I have a limited schedule in TNA so my time in many respects is my own. Just now I like to spend time with my family and love to do some fishing. When I retire I’ll be doing more of the same.”
– With TNA’s recent announcement that they have a working relationship with Ihio Valley Wrestling, the company sent its first two stars to OVW this week to begin training there. Rob Terry and Anarquia appeared at Tuesday night’s OVW event from from New Albany, Indiana at the National Guard Armory.
– AJ Styles and The Pope will be headed to Mexico on December 16th for AAA’s Guerra de Titanes pay-per-view. AJ will face El Mesias while Pope will team with Gunner and Chessman to face Los Psycho Circus in six-man action.
– The first TNA Impact Wrestling tapings of 2012 will take place on January 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th and 17th.
WWE’s December 5th RAW Supershow from Tampa, FL drew a 2.97 cable rating and averaged 4,352,000 viewers. This is down form last week’s 3.23 (4,483,000 viewers) and RAW’s 2nd lowest rating in the past 10 weeks.
Once again – the trend of RAW losing viewers in hour two continued, with hourly ratings of 3.02 and 2.91. RAW lost approximately 100,000 viewers in hour two.
The NFL Monday Night Football game between the Chargers and Jaguars did not do a great rating, so the competition on cable was not too bad this week.
WWE Tough Enough contestant and 2010 Miss USA Rima Fakih was reportedly WASTED when she was arrested for DUI over the weekend in Michigan.
According to the police report, Fakih was pulled over when officers noticed the her speeding and weaving through traffic in Detroit early Saturday morning.
Cops say Fakih “immediately identified herself as Miss USA” and then flunked two breathalyzer tests. Fakih blew a 0.19 and then a 0.20 – more than double Michigan’s legal limit of .08.
Police searched her car and found a half-empty bottle of wine behind the driver’s seat.
She was arrested on suspicion of DUI and If convicted, Fakih could face some serious jail time.
As previously reported, shortly after her arrest, Fakih denied the entire situation on Twitter – claiming she wasn’t even in Michigan, was not in jail and the person who was arrested was somebody else with the same name. The tweets were then deleted and Fakih’s attorney Donald Elder confirmed the arrest.
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw the third installment of the “It Begins” video trailers, with this week’s promo titled, “Look within.” According to a report on PWInsider.com, insider sources continue to state that the person returning to WWE at the January 2nd edition of RAW from Memphis will be Chris Jericho.
Some had speculated that the “It Begins” videos were leading up to the return of the Undertaker, but the latest on his return is that he won’t be back until after the Royal Rumble.
– After The Rock claimed that his new “Boots To Asses” t-shirt was the best selling WWE t-shirt, CM Punk responded by re-tweeting the following message from one of his followers:
“The Rock comes up with another lie..Claiming his shirt is the most sold in WWE. We all know it’s the @CMPunk T-Shirt, that’s most sold.”
Punk also updated fans on the x-rays he had done on Tuesday, revealing that it was his right hand that might be fractured.
Punk posted the following picture of his x-ray – coincidentally doing one of John Cena’s hand gestures with the caption, “Hustle. Loyalty. Respect.”
Randy Orton was recently interviewed by THQ to promote the new WWE ’12 video game. Here are some highlights of what Orton said about:
His Favorite Rivalry In WWE: “John Cena in ’09. I had a four month storyline where we exchanged titles. We had a memorable “Iron Man” match, and we traded wins and losses. I’m the anti-John Cena. If he’s kissing babies, wearing necklaces, then I’m doing the opposite. He’s a beast in the gym, and beast on the mic. He’s also in movies and everything, but I don’t see myself doing much more of that. I’m a WWE Superstar to the bone.”
His Health & When He’ll Retire: “I’d like to make it into my 40’s and compete and retire, but not because my neck is bad or anything like that, but so I’m able to go out on top on my own terms, like HBK. So many in the business can’t say that, but I want to finish on top and stay healthy. I’ve been using a lot of the advancements in preventative medicine more recently. I took a page out of John Cena’s book to do things for my muscular/neuro connection. I’m training specifically for what I do in the ring. Explosive movement or plyometrics. I just want all of my limbs stay in their sockets, so at the final bell, I can say that I did it all.”
His Dream Opponent From Any Generation: “My dad (“Cowboy” Bob Orton) got to wrestle his old man, but it’d be cool to do that as well. He was one of the best ring technicians, and everyone always had good things to say about my father. He was the innovator of a lot of moves, and he helped bring the business to where it is. I’d want to wrestle him in a straight up, babyface hour broadway.”
– WWE has been cracking down very aggressively on Twitter accounts that impersonate or parody their superstars and overall product.
With their huge push to integrate Twitter into the WWE Universe, the company is said to be overly-protective about fans being mislead by other parties trying to benefit from their intellectual property. Several Twitter accounts have been shut down in the past few weeks as a result of this new policy.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not backstage at Monday’s RAW, which is a rare thing. With Vince gone, Triple H was in charge of things backstage.
Among the WWE personalities backstage were AJim Ross, Sean Waltman, Layla and former diva Cherry.
– 1980s WWF star B. Brian Blair is recovering from appendectomy surgery. Blair was hospitalized for almost a week after his appendix burst and poisoned his intestines. Had the situation not been addressed when it was, he could have been facing severe medical complications.
Pregnant WWE Diva Kharma is engaged to be married. According to TMZ.com, her fiance proposed to her several months ago – and presented her with a very unique engagement ring – it’s actually a wrestling ring with a diamond, set inside of a normal ring.
No official date has been set for the wedding yet but TMZ reports that Kharma is looking to tie the knot in June of 2012.
Kharma, who is currently out on maternity leave, is still a member of the WWE roster.
While most people expect her to return to WWE once she delivers her baby and recovers, there have been others within the company who are skeptical that a new mother will immediately go back to work traveling 4+ days per week.
It’s worth noting that Kharma was trending worldwide on Twitter during RAW, despite the fact that she hasn’t been on WWE television in many months.
After Monday’s RAW from Tampa went off the air, there was a 41-man battle royal with the winner getting a WWE Championship match against CM Punk immediately.
Dolph Ziggler appeared to be eliminated early in the match and it came down to Zack Ryder, Cody Rhodes and Jack Swagger. After Ryder eliminated Rhodes and Swagger, Ziggler snuck in an eliminated Ryder to win the match and get the shot at Punk.
Out came CM Punk to defend the title against Ziggler with Vickie Guererro in his corner. There were “Vicky sucks” and “we want ice cream” chants during the match. Punk hit Ziggler with a knee in the corner and followed up with the Anaconda vice to get the win.
– Lilian Garcia confirmed on Monday night that she is indeed returning to WWE. She tweeted:
“Yes! It’s true!! All happening so fast! I am returning to WWE as the SmackDown Announcer!! So excited!! And video trailer out tomro! Big wk”
– WWE tag champion Evan Bourne returned to WWE television at Monday’s RAW from Tampa. Bourne wrestled before RAW in a match taped for Superstars and was shown briefly backstage during RAW. He missed 30-days after his first violation of the company Wellness Policy.
– Big Show was reportedly not at RAW because because he was attending the American Country Awards in Las Vegas, which aired on FOX. Big Show did a comedy skit where he chokeslammed host Trace Adkins and then presented an award.
During Monday’s RAW, WWE briefly flashed the URL “Youtube.com/user/lookwithin2012” – which revealed the 3rd video in the “It Begins” Series. To view the first 2 videos in the series, click here.
– The Miz is scheduled to appear on Thursday night’s edition of Conan O’Brien’s late night TBS talk show to promote the upcoming “Tribute To The Troops” special. The Conan website previews The Mizs’ appearance:
“The last time WWE Superstar The Miz came by, he gave Conan the nickname ‘The Ginja Ninja.’ We have a feeling our nickname would be “The Delicate Hypochondriac.” Which is not intimidating at ALL. Check out the actually-intimidating Miz in action on the WWE Tribute to the Troops special.”
– To update the health status of Barry Windham, he’s said to be doing much better – but still has a long way to go before he gets back to 100%. Windham suffered a heart attack last month.
– Maria Menounos, host of the celebrity news show “Extra,” tweeted the following about her her training for her celebrity bout at the WWE Tribute to the Troops taping next week in North Carolina:
“Started training for WWE Thursday p.m. and a.m. So bruised and beaten up. Trained in an outdoor ring during our mini L.A. hurricane…Gotta work really hard if I’m going up against Beth Phoenix and the gang. Nervous…ok terrified…can’t turn back now, can I?… I went through the basics the other night – hip toss, arm drag. etc. Will learn more this week!”
– Two of the top talents at WWE developmental are set to be evaluated by WWE producers, as FCW standouts Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) and Seth Rollins (Tyler Black) will be appearing at live WWE events later this month.
Check out this match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins from the September 18th episode of FCW television – an FCW 15 Championship Match with a 30 minutes time limit.
TNA President Dixie Carter was recently interviewed by Tennessean.com and had this to say about the following topics:
How TNA has changed with the times: “We’re not just a wrestling company anymore. We do our own booking. We do our own promotion and public relations. We’re a licensing company. We have toys, Halloween costumes, trading cards. We make our own music. All of those things are sold and promoted around the world. But we still do more than 500 hours of television a year.”
How TNA Keeps Up With WWE: “I don’t care who you are, competition makes you better. There’s a reason there’s a Lowe’s across the street from every Home Depot and a CVS across the street from every Walgreens. I think we’ve made WWE better, just as they’ve improved us.”
TNA’s Ongoing Challenges: “When a company first starts out, you have to do whatever you can to get into the business. Then, once you’re established, you spend a lot of time getting out of all the bad contracts that got you into the business. Deals with companies, bad partnerships or licensing deals. We’re still working through some of those now that we’ve found our footing.”
The Next Trend in Wrestling: “Maybe pulling back the curtain a little more. People now are so reality driven. The way we view wrestling in the coming years might respond to some of that. Fans will be able to see a little bit more than they’re used to. They’ll be able to see more of the wrestlers’ unscripted emotions and drama.”
Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow takes place from Tampa, Florida at the St. Petersburg Times Forum.
Triple H was previously advertised for tonight’s RAW, but his name was pulled from the arena website – so take that for what it is.
No matches have been announced for the show as of Monday morning, however we reported earlier today that John Cena is vowing to recapture the WWE championship tonight.
WWE’s upcoming Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view is less than 2 weeks away – and we’ve yet to hear anything about the event on WWE television thus far – maybe, just maybe, they’ll start promoting that show tonight.
Smackdown talent advertised for RAW includes Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, and Hunico.
The advertised dark matches for tonight’s Raw show are C.M. Punk vs. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, and a 41-man battle royal featuring wrestlers from both brands.
The Sports Business Daily Journal published an article on Monday that includes many new details on the upcoming WWE Network, including a firm launch date, the scope of the channel’s distribution at launch lots more. Here are some highlights of what we now know:
– WWE is looking to launch the Network on April 1st, 2012 – the day of the company’s biggest pay-per-view of the year, WrestleMania XXVIII.
– WWE executives have told cable and satellite operators that it is expecting to reach 40 million homes at launch – a huge number for an upstart network.
– Comcast executives are representing WWE in its negotiations to get picked up by the nations other top providers, including Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks.
– WWE also expanded its programming search beyond wrestling, which their sources indicated could include some professional team sports.
– WWE has leased space in South Norwalk, Connecticut (close to the company’s headquarters in Stanford) dedicated to the Network. WWE has not yet named a President of the WWE Network, although it’s said they are looking for somebody with reality-show experience. WWE has retained Sucherman Consulting Group to hire 200 employees to staff the network.
– WWE’s Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle Wilson is overseeing the launch of the Network.
– The article states that “most, if not all” of WWE’s annual 13 pay-per-view events would migrate to the WWE Network. Early surveys by WWE indicated that the “Big 4” traditional shows (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series & the Royal Rumble) would air exclusively on the Network. Later, another survey indicated WWE had changed their mind on that plan and would have the “Big 4” remain on pay-per-view – with the other “off-brand” shows airing on the Network.
John Cena says it’s time for him to get the WWE title back – and he plans to do so tonight on RAW.
WWE has not yet announced a WWE championship match for RAW – but Cena tweeted the following on Monday morning:
“Raw tonight. Going to bench now..then to st Pete times forum. Time to get wwe championship back.”
Based on what we’ve heard from reliable WWE sources, CM Punk’s next opponents are scheduled to be The Miz and Alberto Del Rio – with John Cena shifting gears to his feud with The Rock.
The dark match main event for tonight’s RAW will see WWE Champion CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio.