Former WWE wrestler Chris Masters launched a new online video show called “Real Time with Chris Masters.”
In the first episode, Masters talks about drug abuse in professional wrestling, including his own struggles with addiction.
“I’ve been through this,” Masters said. “I’ve been through addiction. I’m not proud of it. I shouldn’t be alive. I went through a period where ingested 70 pills daily on a regular basis, and I still lived to tell about it.”
Masters also talks about the drug issues of Matt Hardy and Travis Tomko, as well as ESPN’s recent E:60 piece on Scott Hall.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another update, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Lita At RAW: “Good seeing Amy Dumas in Atlanta. She’s staying busy but was smart w/ her money and owns property in Atlanta and Nicaguara. Still looks great and has a wonderful spirit. A true pleasure to be around.”
“‘Lita’ likely can help the biz in many ways including, perhaps, a short term run as Lita but could certainly help greatly in WWE developmental.”
Barry Windham Update: “Barry Windham’s primary issue is dealing with his recent heart attack but I’m told he’s stable and receiving good care. BW was an amazing talent back in the day and at one time was arguably top 3-4 in the world.”
Survivor Series: “Seems to me that the ‘hook’ for Survivor Series is whether or not John Cena & The Rock will maim each other while teaming which could lead to bigger days down the road. Honestly, Miz & Truth winning in the newly remodeled MSG would shock me but who knows? Intriguing and vital night for WWE on tap at their next PPV. “
Earlier today, we posted a press release from WWE regarding WrestleMania XXVIII tickets going on sale this Saturday morning.
WWE will be holding a special online pre-sale tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 10 AM ET.
WWE’s official Facebook page posted the following announcement today – including the pre-sale password for WM XXVIII tickets:
“Tickets for WWE WrestleMania XXVIII go on sale to the public this Saturday, but as a follower of our official WWE Facebook page, you can get your tickets to the biggest event of the year TOMORROW in a special online pre-sale, starting at 10 AM ET! Use the pre-sale code EPICNIGHT to get your seats, and we’ll see you in Miami April 1!”
Update: WWE’s Twitter account posted another pre-sale password for tomorrow: “SHOWCASE”
– Former WWE diva turned adult film star Chyna will be taking over Rick’s Cabaret in New York City on Thursday, November 10th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm ET.Chyna will pose for photos with fans and sign complimentary copies of her Vivid Entertainment release, Backdoor to Chyna.
– Former WWE superstar Bull Buchanan was interviewed this week by Alex Marvez CourierPress.com. Buchanan spoke about his time as John Cena’s enforcer.
“The fun part of it probably boomeranged on me,” Buchanan said. “Everything I had done to that point in my career had been so serious.
“I took this as something where I could be a little more tongue-in-cheek. Vince, though, had always seen me as a killer brutalizing people in the ring and throwing them around. This was different.”
WrestleMania 28 tickets go on sale this Saturday, with a special pre-sale event taking place on Friday in Miami. WWE will be releasing the pre-sale password online later today – we’ll post that here when it becomes available.
WWE issued the following press release on Wednesday.
WrestleMania® XXVIII Tickets On Sale This Saturday
WWE® announced today that tickets for its annual pop culture extravaganza, WrestleMania XXVIII, will go on sale this Saturday, November 5 at 10 AM ET. WrestleMania XXVIII will take place Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. The event will be headlined by the highly anticipated main event featuring “the most electrifying man in all of entertainment,” The Rock® against WWE Superstar John Cena®.
Ticket prices range from $25-$850. There will also be a limited number of “Gold Circle” VIP Packages available for $1,500. The Gold Circle packages include seating in the first four rows ringside, an exclusive Gold Circle VIP Stadium Entrance, a collectible WrestleMania XXVIII ticket holder and the commemorative WrestleMania XXVIII take-home folding chair. Tickets can be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.
Last year, a capacity crowd of 71,617 fans from all 50 states and 30 countries attended WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. WrestleMania is more than just a one day event, it’s a week long celebration, as WWE will be taking over the greater Miami area during WrestleMania Week. In addition to WrestleMania XXVIII, other activities will include: WrestleMania Axxess – WWE’s four day interactive fan festival; WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals; WrestleMania Pro-Am Golf Tournament and the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Additional information on these events will be announced in the future at www.wrestlemania.com.
Here’s the official WrestleMania 28 seating chart (click to enlarge):
Interview with Former WWE Tag champions Demolition
Hosted by Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) of TheScore.com
Why the original Smash Randy Colley (Moondog Rex) was replaced by Barry Darsow:
Bill Eadie : “It was well known that Randy was part of the Moondogs. To try to have another persona, your also popular as that previous persona. It was fortunte for me cause Randy is a good friend of mine, but Barry is alot more professional, and a much closer friend.”
Barry Darsow: “When I got the call to come up there, Vince called me and told me I have the chance to be partners with Bill Eadie, I just said yes right away, I just jumped at the chance.”
If Demoition are a rip off of the Road Warriors: (Eadie) “We knew what we could do, we felt we were successful. I thought we did it better. This is an ego driven business, so if you don’t have confidence in yourself, you need to get out of the business. There’s gonna be fans that say that we are rip offs, but there’s gonna be Demolition fans that say they (Road Warriors) were the rip offs. I cant be worried about that. My main concern and his (Barry Darsow) main concern is we went to work each day, and we did the best we could.”
Other Topics Discussed Include:
– Why Demolition is so popular compared to their other personas and which personas they enjoyed working as the most
– Who came up with the Demolition character
– Were Demolition better as a babyface or heel tag team
– How important Mr. Fuji was to the success of the team
A bikini-clad Kelly Kelly pressed against a red sports car is featured on the cover of the December 2011 issue of Maxim.
The issue features a Q&A with the blonde starlet. When asked to name her favorite wrestler, she says “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. “He’s always been my idol,” she says. Kelly also says she would like to get in the ring with Lindsay Lohan.
“She needs some sense knocked into her,” she says.
Check out these pictures of Kelly Kelly in the new issue of Maxim Magazine:
At Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Greenville, South Carolina, it was announced that World Heavyweight champion Mark Henry will defend against the Big Show at Survivor Series.
With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, November 20th from New York City’s Madison Square Garden:
We also encourage you to check out our revamped MMA News section here on SEScoops.com. We’ve hired 2 new writers and are getting back to covering MMA news – if you’re an MMA fan, don’t miss it.
* Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes in an awesome Street Fight following a hanging DDT on the outside off the barricade to the floor and then an RKO inside the ring. This was a great brawl through the crowd with Rhodes’ mask being used as a weapon. Orton bagged Rhodes after.
* Ted DiBiase defeated Tyson Kidd.
* World champion Mark Henry was interviewed backstage. He began bullying Daniel Bryan, mocking his Money In The Bank briefcase, saying Bryan could never beat him. He challenged Bryan to wrestle him tonight and Bryan accepted.
* Alicia Fox pinned Natalya.
* Big Show comes out and says he’s going to knock out Mark Henry once for every week of Smackdown where their business goes unfinished. Christian comes out and says Show had his chance and failed. He insults the South (Show is originally from Aiken, SC). Show acts like he was going to KO Christian, then promises he won’t. Instead he chokeslams him and leaves him laying.
* Sheamus comes out for his scheduled match against Christian but he’s out from the chokeslam. Wade Barrett comes out and offers to replace him and they ring the bell.
*After a break, we see Sheamus brawling backstage with Christian and Barrett until they are all separated by security.
*Backstage, Big Show tells Daniel Bryan to take special care of his briefcase, because Show will be in his corner tonight against Mark Henry.
*Sin Cara vs. the debuting Epico from WWE developmental. Hunico interferes and they double team Cara. They nailed a double team move but messed it up and did it again. That’ll be edited.
*World champion Mark Henry defeated Daniel Bryan by DQ when Big Show interfered and knocked out Henry. Bryan acts like he might cash in but is nailed by Henry and hit with the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry nailed Show with the briefcase. No cashing in.
Afterward, Teddy Long announced Show vs. Henry for Survivor Series and we end with a staredown.
UFC has released the official promotional poster for the upcoming “UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem” event on December 30th.
The event has been given the tagline, “It doesn’t get any bigger than this” – and the main event between two of the UFC’s biggest heavyweight beasts is sure to live up to the hype.
— The t-shirt CM Punk wore on Monday’s RAW was from the action comedy movie, “Big Trouble in Little China.”
— The WWE website features a video of WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio saying that he agreed to give CM Punk a title shot at Survivor Series just so he could get out of Atlanta.
— As we reported earlier this morning, WWE annuonced today that Evan Bourne has been suspended for 30 days after his first violation of the company’s Wellness Policy. WWE issued a press release announcing the Bourne suspension, the first time they’ve done this in a long time.
Following the recent Wellness suspensions from Sin Cara, Mike Chioda, Darren Young, Heath Slater and now Evan Bourne, some WWE superstars believe the suspensions are related to WWE cracking down on synthetic marijuana, which is a legal substance.
Former WWE champion The Ultimate Warrior took part in another autograph signing this week in California and appeared in character – facepaint, ring gear, title belt and all.
TMZ.com cameras caught up with Warrior, who went on a rant about the Occupy Wall Street protests that are currently underway in New York City and spreading across the country. Warrior stated:
“I find it a little ironic that most of these kids own iPads and iPhones and all these material things. They’re a big part of the consumerism that goes on in this country.”
He added, “The biggest statement you can make is not to participate in the consumerism of it all. Don’t buy the stuff. Start living your own life. Practice what you preach.”
WWE has announced that tag team champion Evan Bourne has been suspended for 30 days.
The official statement from the WWE website reads:
“In accordance with its Talent Wellness Program, WWE has suspended Matthew Korklan (Evan Bourne) for 30 days effective immediately for his first violation of the company’s policy.”
Bourne’s suspension will keep him out of action through Survivor Series.
Air Boom lost non-title matches on both Friday’s SmackDown and Monday’s RAW. It remains to be seen whether WWE will take the tag titles off them, but this is a major setback for Bourne.
— After Monday’s WWE RAW from Atlanta, GA went off the air, John Cena and C.M. Punk defeated The Miz and R-Truth in a tag team match. Both Cena and Punk hit their finishers on Miz and Truth.
After the match, Cena said he was tricked by R-Truth’s attack (dressed as the villain from the Scream movies) – so the crowd deserves a treat. The treat was Miz getting another Go To Sleep by CM Punk to end the show.
— Former WWE Womens champion Amy “Lita” Dumas was backstage at Monday’s RAW. She lives in Atlanta and was just visiting.
TNA World champion James Storm says he could be out of action for up to two months after suffering a concussion at last Wednesday’s Impact Wrestling television tapings from Macon, Georgia.
– Last weeks’s 10/28 edition of WWE SmackDown on SyFy drew a 1.96 rating and averaged approximately 2.8 million viewers for the 2-hour broadcast.
This is down from the previous week’s 2.18 rating (with over 3 million viewers) and the lowest rating the show has done in several weeks. SmackDown was up against Game 7 of the World Series, so we’ll see this week if the show rebounds without that competition.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has provided an update on the health status of Barry Windham. Ross tweeted on Monday:
“Talked to Mike Rotunda today here in Atlanta, and he said Barry Windham was improving from heart attack and liver issues. Still hospitalized.”
This is the first we’ve heard about liver issues from Windham. Windham suffered a heart attack last week. His brother-in-law and former tag team partner Mike Rotunda found him and got him the life-saving medical assistance he needed.
— The “Michael Cole challenge” match scheduled for RAW between Michael Cole and Jim Ross was bumped from the show due to time constraints. Jim Ross was indeed in Atlanta and tweeted the following after RAW:
“4 the record, I’m in Atlanta. Was informed by Raw GM’s office, my services weren’t needed. Cole wants 2 make fun of my 3 surgeries. Classy.”
Ross and Cole will wrestle on next week’s show, with the stipulation being that the winner remains a RAW announcer and the loser is off television for the foreseeable future.
— Despite Boston’s TD Garden website pulling Mick Foley from advertisements for the November 14th RAW Supershow featuring The Rock, local advertisements that aired last night in Boston
still said Foley would be appearing at that show – as a special guest referee.
WWE announced yet another new show that’s planned for the upcoming WWE Network – a daily live studio show that sounds similar to ESPN Sports Center.
Here’s the official announcement – along with 5 potential names for the show, which WWE is polling fans about.
“In 2012, WWE Network’s new daily live studio show will connect you to the Superstars like never before. Tune in to score breaking news, exclusive match analyses, topics of the day, interviews, highlights, and commentaries, then go online and on-air to voice your opinion live with our show hosts and daily guest stars, including WWE Superstars like John Cena, Randy Orton, Kelly Kelly, Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, the Miz and more!”
You can vote here on which of the following names you think best suits the show:
* WWE Power Center
* WWE Action Center
* WWE Event Center
* WWE Live Event Center
* WWE InterAction Center
Horror movie website Bloody-Disgusting.com is reporting that former WWE wrestler Dave Batista has been offered a role in the upcoming Universal Pictures film Riddick, starring Vin Diesel.
Directed by franchise creator David Twohy, Riddick will be the third installment of the Pitch Black / Chronicles of Riddick series. Aside from Vin Diesel and Karl Urban, other rumored cast members include Andreas Apergis, Katee Sackhoff (White Noise 2: The Light, Growl, The Haunting in Georgia) and Bokeem Woodbine (Total Recall, Devil).
It’s worth noting that TMZ.com reported last week that production on the latest Riddck has been shut down due to Vin Diesel’s One Race Films production company failing to pay the owners of the Montreal studio where the movie is being shot, as well as members of the crew.
As we reported here earlier today, CM Punk appeared at the Ringsidefest collectibles event in New York City over the weekend and took a shot at former WWE star Chris Jericho.
Punk was introduced as “the best in the world at what he does” – to which he clarified, he’s the best wrestler the world, but Jericho is the best in the world at what he does – which is, dancing with celebrities.
Chris Jericho has responded to Punk’s comment, tweeting the following on Monday afternoon::
“What’s worse…Dancing With Celebrities or Playing With Muppets?”
