— Sources say that Triple H is quite high on Drew McIntyre and is one of the driving forces behind the young wrestler’s current push. Vince McMahon has also singled McIntyre out as somebody he sees to have great potential.

— Speaking of Drew McIntyre, there was a minor backstage issue with his Hell in a Cell opponent R-Truth at last week’s pay-per-view. According to F4Wonline.com, R-Truth was preparing to go out to the ring when a WWE producer told him to remove the camouflage vest he was wearing because that’s now DX’s thing. He approached Stephanie McMahon about the issue, who said that he should probably discuss the issue with Triple H. At that point, R-Truth decided to take the vest off and head to the ring for his match without it.

Silicon Valley’s MercuryNews.com has an article that looks at WWE’s transition from TV-14 programming to TV-PG, with quotes from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

McMahon explains that desepite the success WWE saw during the edgy Attitude era, the time was right to shift towards more family friendly programming. “We just followed our audience and tried to listen to them,” McMahon said. “It’s a more sophisticated product. It’s just the right move business-wise, but more specifically the right move in terms of reaching our audience.”

Since going PG, WWE has picked up a number of new sponsorships, including Pepsi, 7-Eleven stores, Mattel toys and the Army National Guard.

Vince also said by toning down WWE’s programming, they are moving farther away from being in direct competition with mixed martial arts. “You really can’t compete with that,” he said. “Why not deliver a more sophisticated product and not go to those extremes? If the audience wants those extremes, they know where to go and how to get it.”

Wait, what?! WWE? Sophisticated? WWE? World Wrestling Entertainment?

The article also notes that singer Ozzy Osbourne will be hosting Raw this fall.

Silicon Valley’s MercuryNews.com has an article that looks at WWE’s transition from TV-14 programming to TV-PG, with quotes from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

McMahon explains that desepite the success WWE saw during the edgy Attitude era, the time was right to shift towards more family friendly programming. “We just followed our audience and tried to listen to them,” McMahon said. “It’s a more sophisticated product. It’s just the right move business-wise, but more specifically the right move in terms of reaching our audience.”

Since going PG, WWE has picked up a number of new sponsorships, including Pepsi, 7-Eleven stores, Mattel toys and the Army National Guard.

Vince also said by toning down WWE’s programming, they are moving farther away from being in direct competition with mixed martial arts. “You really can’t compete with that,” he said. “Why not deliver a more sophisticated product and not go to those extremes? If the audience wants those extremes, they know where to go and how to get it.”

Wait, what?! WWE? Sophisticated? WWE? World Wrestling Entertainment?

The article also notes that singer Ozzy Osbourne will be hosting Raw this fall.

— Congratulations to SmackDown announcer Todd Grisham, who is getting married next weekend in Pennsylvania. Grisham will miss the Tuesday’s taping in Columbia, SC as he and his new bride will be on their honeymoon!

— — Ring announcer Justin Roberts’ profile has been moved from the SmackDown section to the Raw section. Roberts took over the ring announcing duties for Monday Night Raw last week as a result of Lilian Garcia’s departure from the company.

— After suffering a knee injury at a live event last month, WWE Diva Kelly Kelly posted a message on Twitter.com/realkellykelly saying that he’s returned to the gym. She returned to action this past Monday on Raw.

— Former WWE superstar Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson is the new World Champion for the Nu Wrestling Evolution promotion. He won the title at a live event in Malta on October 2nd, after defeating former WWE superstar Chuck Palumbo & Tiny Iron in a three way match. Here’s Ken Anderson celebrating his big win:

On Monday, we asked what you thought about WWE’s Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View. 1,556 fans voted and here are the results:

• What a Waste (40%, 616 Votes)
• Average (39%, 604 Votes)
• Great Show (21%, 336 Votes)

Feel free to comment on this post and tell us why you voted the way you did.

We’ve got a new poll up, let’s hear what you think!

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read at JRsBarBQ.com in its entirety. Some highlights from this entry:

Steve Austin in the UK: Got an email from old pal Steve Austin late last night. He’s in the UK promoting his next film “Damage” which will be released imminently on DVD. I’ve seen the trailer and liked what I saw and plan on supporting Steve by purchasing this action packed, fight filled film when it becomes available. Many Austin fans waited some 13 hours to be a part of a signing there this week. Steve also detailed seeing his first soccer game in person and he told me that he had a blast and had a better understanding and appreciation for the game.

NWA Title Up For Auction: 75K is the asking price for Ric Flair’s coveted NWA World Title Belt? Wow…good luck on getting that number to the party selling the treasure. This is not a positive development in the big picture, at least in my humble opinion, and it quite frankly makes me sad. But it is also none of my business.

False Roddy Piper Rumors: I’m happy to hear that the early week reports regarding the severity of Rowdy Roddy Piper’s illness were erroneous and that Rod is on his way to feeling much better. One of my fondest memories is having dinner at WM25 with Roddy and Ric Flair, among other pals, and listening to the stories. If a camera had been rolling we would have had “Gold, Jerry, Gold!” Feel better Hot Rod.

Future RAW Guest Hosts: I’ve heard of some big names that are likely candidates to host Monday Night Raw in coming weeks and many are most intriguing. It looks as if WWE is committed to this process of having a guest celeb from some walk of life host the company’s top TV priority as an avenue for the host to promote their own products or agendas. I thought Big Ben did a solid job Monday night and from what I was told by those that were in Wilkes-Barre that the Steelers QB and his O-Line had a blast. I would estimate that Roethlisberger signed at least 100 pieces of swag for WWE personnel while he was at Raw.

— Happy birthday to Paul Burchill, who turns 30 day and WWE United States champion The Miz, who turns 29.

Miz posted a message on his Twitter.com/mikethemiz page saying, “thanks for all the birthday wishes the mizfits remember. what am i doin on my bday? working of course have a thq video game appearance.”

— Former TNA creative team member Dutch Mantel has posted a blog this week where he talks about working with The Undertaker before he became a star. Mantel wrote on TheWorldAccordingToDutch.blogspot.com:

“When I first became acquainted with Mark, he was the complete opposite of what he is today. His hair was cropped short and he had no tattoos. When I first laid eyes on him, he actually looked too clean cut to be a wrestler. Today, he is a walking tat advert. He turned out to be a great guy and for a man his size, he moved like silk”

He continued, “At first glance, Mark had all the physical tools to succeed in the pro wrestling business. He had the size, the look and the raw talent to be a HUGE star. His next hurdle he would face would be to decide if he possessed the temperament to succeed. Over the next several months, I got to know Mark Calaway’s temperament very well and he passed the test.”

— Happy birthday to Paul Burchill, who turns 30 day and WWE United States champion The Miz, who turns 29.

Miz posted a message on his Twitter.com/mikethemiz page saying, “thanks for all the birthday wishes the mizfits remember. what am i doin on my bday? working of course have a thq video game appearance.”

— Former TNA creative team member Dutch Mantel has posted a blog this week where he talks about working with The Undertaker before he became a star. Mantel wrote on TheWorldAccordingToDutch.blogspot.com:

“When I first became acquainted with Mark, he was the complete opposite of what he is today. His hair was cropped short and he had no tattoos. When I first laid eyes on him, he actually looked too clean cut to be a wrestler. Today, he is a walking tat advert. He turned out to be a great guy and for a man his size, he moved like silk”

He continued, “At first glance, Mark had all the physical tools to succeed in the pro wrestling business. He had the size, the look and the raw talent to be a HUGE star. His next hurdle he would face would be to decide if he possessed the temperament to succeed. Over the next several months, I got to know Mark Calaway’s temperament very well and he passed the test.”

During an interview with the UK Sun this week to promote his new movie Damage, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin says he’s spoken to former WWE superstar Jeff Hardy about his ongoing issues, but you can only do so much to help another person.

“I called him a while back and talked to him,” he said. “He’s a good looking kid, he’s got a really unique style, people love him, he has his own kind of charisma. I wish he could put it all together and get his personal demons behind him. He got caught with a lot of stuff and we’ll see what happens.”

Austin said he’s reached out to other WWE superstars when he they were having issues with drug addiction.

“I’ve called a few guys when I hear some of them getting into problems,” he said. “I try to give my two cents to the situation. They’ll all swear that everything is cool, it turns out things aren’t cool. [Vince McMahon] has offered to pay for rehab for anybody who wants it. Some people have taken him up on it, some people haven’t. I get made when people point the finger at Vince and say it’s his fault. It’s not his fault. He’s a third generation promoter who runs a wrestling company. I take responsibility for all my actions. I think everybody should. I refuse to think that it’s Vince McMahon’s fault for any of this.”

He said Jeff Hardy has a unique situation for WWE. One hand hand, he’s one of the most charismatic and popular superstars on the roster, but there’s such a risk of him screwing up that they’ve never been able to fully get behind him.

“Man. This last thing I just heard about the other day when I was driving back from Texas to L.A.,” he said. “They never gave that guy a full green light push, but you can’t keep him down. All the calamity and trouble he gets into, but people love him. If they ever fully gave him a green light push, who knows what would happen? But you can’t do that because you don’t know what he’s going to do because all of a sudden you have all of this time and money invested and then he screws up. So who knows what’s going to come out of it, if he’s going to do time or whatever. He has some serious stuff going against him.”

During an interview with the UK Sun this week to promote his new movie Damage, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin says he’s spoken to former WWE superstar Jeff Hardy about his ongoing issues, but you can only do so much to help another person.

“I called him a while back and talked to him,” he said. “He’s a good looking kid, he’s got a really unique style, people love him, he has his own kind of charisma. I wish he could put it all together and get his personal demons behind him. He got caught with a lot of stuff and we’ll see what happens.”

Austin said he’s reached out to other WWE superstars when he they were having issues with drug addiction.

“I’ve called a few guys when I hear some of them getting into problems,” he said. “I try to give my two cents to the situation. They’ll all swear that everything is cool, it turns out things aren’t cool. [Vince McMahon] has offered to pay for rehab for anybody who wants it. Some people have taken him up on it, some people haven’t. I get made when people point the finger at Vince and say it’s his fault. It’s not his fault. He’s a third generation promoter who runs a wrestling company. I take responsibility for all my actions. I think everybody should. I refuse to think that it’s Vince McMahon’s fault for any of this.”

He said Jeff Hardy has a unique situation for WWE. One hand hand, he’s one of the most charismatic and popular superstars on the roster, but there’s such a risk of him screwing up that they’ve never been able to fully get behind him.

“Man. This last thing I just heard about the other day when I was driving back from Texas to L.A.,” he said. “They never gave that guy a full green light push, but you can’t keep him down. All the calamity and trouble he gets into, but people love him. If they ever fully gave him a green light push, who knows what would happen? But you can’t do that because you don’t know what he’s going to do because all of a sudden you have all of this time and money invested and then he screws up. So who knows what’s going to come out of it, if he’s going to do time or whatever. He has some serious stuff going against him.”

The WWE Studios feature film “Suckerpunch” starring the Big Show has been renamed to “Knucklehead” and has some new additions to the cast, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Big Show will be joined by Mark Feuerstein (USA Network’s Royal Pains) and Melora Hardin (HBO’s Hung).

In “Knucklehead,” fight promoter Memphis Earl (Feuerstein) is in debt and thinks his luck is about to change when he comes across the 7-foot lifelong orphan, Walter Kronk (Big Show). He tries to convince Kronk to wrestle professionally and Kronk finally agrees to wrestle on behalf of his fellow orphans, setting up a road trip. Filming kicked off this week in New Orleans.

The Hollywood Reporter article also notes that Big Show recently finished shooting the SNL feature film “MacGruber.” Last month, Chris Jericho wrote on Twitter that he and the Great Khali were also filming scenes for the MacGruber movie, so it looks like WWE will be well-represented there.

The WWE Studios feature film “Suckerpunch” starring the Big Show has been renamed to “Knucklehead” and has some new additions to the cast, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Big Show will be joined by Mark Feuerstein (USA Network’s Royal Pains) and Melora Hardin (HBO’s Hung).

In “Knucklehead,” fight promoter Memphis Earl (Feuerstein) is in debt and thinks his luck is about to change when he comes across the 7-foot lifelong orphan, Walter Kronk (Big Show). He tries to convince Kronk to wrestle professionally and Kronk finally agrees to wrestle on behalf of his fellow orphans, setting up a road trip. Filming kicked off this week in New Orleans.

The Hollywood Reporter article also notes that Big Show recently finished shooting the SNL feature film “MacGruber.” Last month, Chris Jericho wrote on Twitter that he and the Great Khali were also filming scenes for the MacGruber movie, so it looks like WWE will be well-represented there.

The following is from the official website of TNA Wrestling:

PREVIEW FOR TONIGHT’S “iMPACT!” ON SPIKE AT 9/8c – HUGE TAG TEAM MAIN EVENT, STING ANSWERS AJ STYLES AND MORE!

– In a major tag team main event, it will be Kurt Angle teaming with Mick Foley to take on the team of “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan and Abyss!

– “The Icon” Sting will respond to TNA World Heavyweight Champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles after their candid sitdown interview this past week

– The TNA Legends Championship will be on the line as Kevin Nash defends against Hernandez

– ODB will defend the TNA Knockout Women’s Championship against Tara

All this and much more, including more news on the “Bound For Glory” Pay-Per-View event, tonight at 9/8c on Spike!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

TNA iMPACT! *SPOILERS* for Tonight:
Thanks to reader Dylan Wolfe for this live report:

*Abyss comes out holding barbed wire cuts a promo in the ring.  He challenges Foley to face him in a Monster’s Ball match.  Foley, holding a barbed wire bat starts to cut a promo on Abyss but Abyss cuts him off and points out all the things he accomplished in his TNA career.  He rips on Foley playing with socks. Foley agrees to the match but says Dr. Stevie will be the referee and if Abyss uses thumbtacks, he will lose.  Out comes Stevie, who rips on Abyss.  Lauren gets involved and she and Abyss are laid out by Stevie and Daffney.

**TNA Legends champ Kevin Nash vs. Hernandez ends when Eric Young attacks Hernandez.  Young tells Nash that he owes Young a favor now.

*Amazing Red defeats Samoa Joe for the TNA X Division Championship after Bobby Lashley gets involved.

*D’Angelo Dinero & Homicide defeated Suicide & Daniels when the Pope pinned Daniels.

*They hold a contract signing for a Double Tag Team championship Ladder Match at the PPV with Scott Steiner & Booker T vs. The British Invasion vs. Beer Money vs. Team 3D.  It ends in a huge brawl.

*Taylor Wilde, Sarita, Christy Hemme & Hamada defeated The Beautiful People & Alyssa Flash & Traci Brooks in an elimination match.

*Sting responds to AJ Styles’ comments last week.  He says that after what Styles had to say, he gave things a lot of thought but in the end, he knows he can still get the job done.  Kurt Angle comes out and started ripping on Sting.   Angle told Sting to stop his whining and just retire and get it over with.  Sting dared him to try and retire him right now.  They got into it and Styles hit the ring.  Angle challenges Styles to face him next week and Styles accepted.

*The Motor City Machineguns came out to debut their new entrance music but were jumped by an angry Samoa Joe.  Joe called for Lashley to come out so Joe can kill him.  Lashley hits the ring and they brawl all over the building.  Joe jumped off an alcove and put Lashley through the spanish announcers’ table.

*ODB defeated Tara to retain the TNA Knockouts title.  Awesome Kong tried to kill Poison the Tarantula with a sledgehammer but Tara stopped her.

*Abyss & Matt Morgan defeated Mick Foley & Kurt Angle, sort of.  Foley and Angle were replaced by Stevie and Dafney as the match went on.  Richards took a bump into tacks.

The following is from the official website of TNA Wrestling:

PREVIEW FOR TONIGHT’S “iMPACT!” ON SPIKE AT 9/8c – HUGE TAG TEAM MAIN EVENT, STING ANSWERS AJ STYLES AND MORE!

– In a major tag team main event, it will be Kurt Angle teaming with Mick Foley to take on the team of “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan and Abyss!

– “The Icon” Sting will respond to TNA World Heavyweight Champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles after their candid sitdown interview this past week

– The TNA Legends Championship will be on the line as Kevin Nash defends against Hernandez

– ODB will defend the TNA Knockout Women’s Championship against Tara

All this and much more, including more news on the “Bound For Glory” Pay-Per-View event, tonight at 9/8c on Spike!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

TNA iMPACT! *SPOILERS* for Tonight:
Thanks to reader Dylan Wolfe for this live report:

*Abyss comes out holding barbed wire cuts a promo in the ring.  He challenges Foley to face him in a Monster’s Ball match.  Foley, holding a barbed wire bat starts to cut a promo on Abyss but Abyss cuts him off and points out all the things he accomplished in his TNA career.  He rips on Foley playing with socks. Foley agrees to the match but says Dr. Stevie will be the referee and if Abyss uses thumbtacks, he will lose.  Out comes Stevie, who rips on Abyss.  Lauren gets involved and she and Abyss are laid out by Stevie and Daffney.

**TNA Legends champ Kevin Nash vs. Hernandez ends when Eric Young attacks Hernandez.  Young tells Nash that he owes Young a favor now.

*Amazing Red defeats Samoa Joe for the TNA X Division Championship after Bobby Lashley gets involved.

*D’Angelo Dinero & Homicide defeated Suicide & Daniels when the Pope pinned Daniels.

*They hold a contract signing for a Double Tag Team championship Ladder Match at the PPV with Scott Steiner & Booker T vs. The British Invasion vs. Beer Money vs. Team 3D.  It ends in a huge brawl.

*Taylor Wilde, Sarita, Christy Hemme & Hamada defeated The Beautiful People & Alyssa Flash & Traci Brooks in an elimination match.

*Sting responds to AJ Styles’ comments last week.  He says that after what Styles had to say, he gave things a lot of thought but in the end, he knows he can still get the job done.  Kurt Angle comes out and started ripping on Sting.   Angle told Sting to stop his whining and just retire and get it over with.  Sting dared him to try and retire him right now.  They got into it and Styles hit the ring.  Angle challenges Styles to face him next week and Styles accepted.

*The Motor City Machineguns came out to debut their new entrance music but were jumped by an angry Samoa Joe.  Joe called for Lashley to come out so Joe can kill him.  Lashley hits the ring and they brawl all over the building.  Joe jumped off an alcove and put Lashley through the spanish announcers’ table.

*ODB defeated Tara to retain the TNA Knockouts title.  Awesome Kong tried to kill Poison the Tarantula with a sledgehammer but Tara stopped her.

*Abyss & Matt Morgan defeated Mick Foley & Kurt Angle, sort of.  Foley and Angle were replaced by Stevie and Dafney as the match went on.  Richards took a bump into tacks.

TNA WRESTLING AND SPIKE PRESENT “GLOBAL IMPACT 2” – THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 AT 11PM ET (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TNA “iMPACT!”)

This Thursday night, October 8 at 11pm ET, TNA Wrestling and Spike will present the “Global Impact 2” special, featuring an international showdown between TNA Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling from the world famous Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan!

The one-hour epic event will air immediately following that night’s TNA “iMPACT!” broadcast! Music throughout the broadcast is performed by the band “Five Finger Death Punch” with tracks off their album “Way Of The Fist”. TNA Wrestling would also like to congratulate Five Finger Death Punch for currently having the #7 album in the country, titled “War Is The Answer”.

Matches set to air on the broadcast are as follows:

MAIN EVENT MAFIA VS. NEW JAPAN MAIN EVENT:
Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii and Karl Anderson

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Team 3D (TNA) vs. Togi Makabe and Toru Yano (NEW JAPAN)

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
The Motor City Machineguns (TNA) vs. Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito (NEW JAPAN)

Last year’s “Global Impact” was one of the most acclaimed events in TNA history, and this year’s broadcast will certainly be just as monumental! Don’t miss it on Thursday, October 8 at 11pm ET right after “iMPACT!”. Check out the special preview video below:

TNA WRESTLING AND SPIKE PRESENT “GLOBAL IMPACT 2” – THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 AT 11PM ET (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TNA “iMPACT!”)

This Thursday night, October 8 at 11pm ET, TNA Wrestling and Spike will present the “Global Impact 2” special, featuring an international showdown between TNA Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling from the world famous Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan!

The one-hour epic event will air immediately following that night’s TNA “iMPACT!” broadcast! Music throughout the broadcast is performed by the band “Five Finger Death Punch” with tracks off their album “Way Of The Fist”. TNA Wrestling would also like to congratulate Five Finger Death Punch for currently having the #7 album in the country, titled “War Is The Answer”.

Matches set to air on the broadcast are as follows:

MAIN EVENT MAFIA VS. NEW JAPAN MAIN EVENT:
Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii and Karl Anderson

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Team 3D (TNA) vs. Togi Makabe and Toru Yano (NEW JAPAN)

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
The Motor City Machineguns (TNA) vs. Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito (NEW JAPAN)

Last year’s “Global Impact” was one of the most acclaimed events in TNA history, and this year’s broadcast will certainly be just as monumental! Don’t miss it on Thursday, October 8 at 11pm ET right after “iMPACT!”. Check out the special preview video below:

Hey guys, just a quick note. The site was down again for several hours on Wednesday afternoon/evening. As a result, thousands of users were unable to access the site. The switch over to our new website platform and server has not been a smooth one to say the least. We apologize for the downtime and are doing everything we can to get things straightened out. The worst is over, stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted with any updates. Thanks again for your continued support.

– SEScoops.com Staff

Hey guys, just a quick note. The site was down again for several hours on Wednesday afternoon/evening. As a result, thousands of users were unable to access the site. The switch over to our new website platform and server has not been a smooth one to say the least. We apologize for the downtime and are doing everything we can to get things straightened out. The worst is over, stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted with any updates. Thanks again for your continued support.

– SEScoops.com Staff

Kurt Angle has landed another acting gig and will be starring in a straight-to-DVD independent zombie movie, titled “River of Darkness.” It gets better.

Set to be released some time next year on DVD, the synopsis at DreadCentral.com reads:

Unspeakable evil has fallen on a quiet river town. Sheriff Logan [Angle] is thrust into a chilling nightmare of death and mayhem that paralyzes the town. He then learns of the community’s seedy past and the evil that has risen from purgatory to exact revenge on the town. He is confronted by the spirits of old river squatters, “The Jacobs Boys,” who possess the very essence of evil.

The zombie Jacobs boys will be played by none other than Kevin Nash and Psycho Sid Vicious. WOW.

The movie will also feature an appearance by Ray Lloyd, better known to WCW fans as Glacier.

Kurt Angle has landed another acting gig and will be starring in a straight-to-DVD independent zombie movie, titled “River of Darkness.” It gets better.

Set to be released some time next year on DVD, the synopsis at DreadCentral.com reads:

Unspeakable evil has fallen on a quiet river town. Sheriff Logan [Angle] is thrust into a chilling nightmare of death and mayhem that paralyzes the town. He then learns of the community’s seedy past and the evil that has risen from purgatory to exact revenge on the town. He is confronted by the spirits of old river squatters, “The Jacobs Boys,” who possess the very essence of evil.

The zombie Jacobs boys will be played by none other than Kevin Nash and Psycho Sid Vicious. WOW.

The movie will also feature an appearance by Ray Lloyd, better known to WCW fans as Glacier.

Earlier this week, we picked up on the story that CM Punk was booked to lose his World Heavyweight title at Hell in a Cell just weeks after winning it due to a backstage altercation with the Undertaker. Undertaker reportedly confronted Punk  on WWE’s recent European tour about dressing sloppy and not carrying himself like a World champion on the road. Punk was said to be confrontational towards then Undertaker, explaining not all champions (he mentioned John Cena by name) dress the part at all times.

There’s now a another story going around regarding CM Punk’s backstage demeanor.  According to F4WOnline.com, Punk caught heat with WWE officials for openly expressing the belief that he felt it was too soon for him to drop the World Championship.

While most believe the original story (Punk having an “attitude” when Undertaker confronted him about not dressing like a champion), both stories generally point to the same thing: Punk’s perceived attitude problem was a factor in him being dropping the World Heavyweight title so soon.

Punk getting punished because of his perceived attitude has generated two different reactions from the locker room. Punk has a reputation as being “aloof” and rubbing many people the wrong way, so those people were naturally pleassed to see him get put in his place. There are also wrestlers that feel Punk’s actions weren’t bad enough to warrant taking the title off him, especially since the Undertaker’s is in rough physical shape and does not work most house shows.

Earlier this week, we picked up on the story that CM Punk was booked to lose his World Heavyweight title at Hell in a Cell just weeks after winning it due to a backstage altercation with the Undertaker. Undertaker reportedly confronted Punk  on WWE’s recent European tour about dressing sloppy and not carrying himself like a World champion on the road. Punk was said to be confrontational towards then Undertaker, explaining not all champions (he mentioned John Cena by name) dress the part at all times.

There’s now a another story going around regarding CM Punk’s backstage demeanor.  According to F4WOnline.com, Punk caught heat with WWE officials for openly expressing the belief that he felt it was too soon for him to drop the World Championship.

While most believe the original story (Punk having an “attitude” when Undertaker confronted him about not dressing like a champion), both stories generally point to the same thing: Punk’s perceived attitude problem was a factor in him being dropping the World Heavyweight title so soon.

Punk getting punished because of his perceived attitude has generated two different reactions from the locker room. Punk has a reputation as being “aloof” and rubbing many people the wrong way, so those people were naturally pleassed to see him get put in his place. There are also wrestlers that feel Punk’s actions weren’t bad enough to warrant taking the title off him, especially since the Undertaker’s is in rough physical shape and does not work most house shows.

Credit to Billy Krotchsen of PWInsider.com for the following:

WWE Smackdown Taping Results
Trenton, New Jersey – Airing 10/9

*Smackdown opens with Teddy Long in the ring discussing the Bragging Rights PPV. Long says John Cena is welcome to come to Smackdown if he doesn’t win the Iron Man Match against Randy Orton. CM Punk comes out and tells Long not to focus on Cena, but on him. He complains he has to wrestle Batista tonight. He demands a rematch against The Undertaker tonight and that Scott Armstrong (ref from Breaking Point) be the referee.

*Vince McMahon comes out and announces at Bragging Rights that The Undertaker will defend the World championship against CM Punk, Batista and Rey Mysterio. He says the action will begin right now and calls out Mysterio for his match….

*Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho in a good match with a 619 and top rope splash.

*WWE Women’s champ Michelle McCool defeated Eve Torres.

*Backstage, Vickie Guerrero complains to Teddy Long that it’s unfair that Eric Escobar doesn’t have a PPV match. She says it’s also not fair that Undertaker has to be in a Four Way at the PPV. In Spanish, Escobar tells Long he won’t be disrespected. Guerrero reminds Long he’s on probation.

*WWE Intercontinental champ John Morrison defeated Dolph Ziggler. Maria was at ringside watching but didn’t become involved beyond taking a chair Ziggler had set up to “use later” and sitting on it. When Ziggler went for the chair and saw it wasn’t there, he was distracted, allowing Morrison to nail him with a kick for the win.

*Backstage, Maria asks Ziggler to speak to her. Ziggler tells her that he has a personal life and a professional one. He tells her he sees big things in his future, but she isn’t one of them and walks off. Maria starts to cry.

*Drew McIntyre & Kane defeated R-Truth & Matt Hardy when McIntrye pinned Hardy with the double underhook DDT.

*Backstage, Batista and Rey Mysterio agree that whatever happens in the Four Way at the PPV, they will remain cool and hug.

*WWE World champ The Undertaker comes out and discusses winning the belt in the Hell in A Cell. He says that at the PPV, he’s going to win and take all of their souls.

*CM Punk defeated Batista by countout.

Warning: The following contains  minor *Spoiler* for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown:

At Tuesday night’s SmackDown taping, Vince McMahon announced that The Undertaker will defend his new World Heavyweight championship against CM Punk, Batista and Rey Mysterio at Bragging Rights.

With that match added, here’s a look at the current card:

60 Miute Iron Man Match: No DQ or Countout
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena
* If Cena loses, he has to leave Raw

SmackDown vs. RAW Bragging Rights Match
All the winning Raw wrestlers from that night’s matches vs. all the winning Smackdown wrestlers

World Heavyweight Title Match
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio

— Rob Van Dam has posted a message on his WWE Universe page that WWE officials probably won’t be thrilled with. Here’s what RVD posted to promote his weekly BlogTalkRadio.com radio show:

THE SUBJECT…HYPOTHETICALLY…

WOULD YOU RATHER SEE RVD GO TO WWE OR TNA?

GO TO ROBVANDAM.COM TO RVD RADIO 10/07/09 FROM 9-11 PM E.S.T.

– Last weekend at WWE Hell in a Cell, WWE crowned new WWE & World Heavyweight champions. If it feels like WWE’s top titles have been changing hands a lot this year, you’re right. Believe it or not, in the first 10 months of 2009, the WWE Championship has changed hands 7 times while the World Heavyweight title has changed hands 8-times. Remember the days when the champion would keep the title for a year?

– WWE Shop’s top sellers list shows that “The Hardys” popularity isn’t waining among the WWE Universe. Jeff Hardy and/or The Hardys take up 5 of the top 10 spots, taking #1, #5, #7, #8 and #9. John Cena has spot #2, #3 and #6, while DX take #4 and #10.

— In addition to Ted DiBiase vs. Evan Bourne, two more matches we’ll see on this week’s Superstars (taped at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings):

* Shelton Benjamin vs. Sheamus

* Cryme Time vs. The Hart Dynasty