– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has secured the lead role for Hercules, reports Deadline.com.
Production on the film is scheduled to begin in “early 2013,” which could coincide with Johnson’s involvement with WWE in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 29.
The Brett Ratner-directed action film will be co-produced by Paramount and MGM. The screenplay is based on Radical Studios’ graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.
– WWE Executive Vice President of Creative Stephanie McMahon was a special guest speaker at the The SportsBusiness Journal’s 2012 Covington & Burling Sports Media & Technology Conference in Times Square in New York City. Click here to see WWE.com’s photos of the event.
– AXS.com is currently holding a pre-sale for the Dec. 28 SmackDown live event in Minneapolis at the Target Center with the passcode Sheamus. Sheamus vs. Big Show and Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio are advertised as the main events.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield announced Wednesday on Facebook that he has signed a contract with WWE to appear as a commentator on a full-time basis. He had been sporadically filling in as color commentator after Jerry “The King” Lawler suffered a heart attack during the Raw episode preceding Night of Champions. He is now the commentator for SmackDown with Josh Mathews, replacing Michael Cole.
He wrote, “Very happy WWE and I have worked out a deal for me to return on a full time basis. There came a need when my friend Jerry Lawler had a heart attack and was not able to work, however, I realized how much I enjoyed being back and this was the basis for my decision to return.
“I now just enjoy doing commentary, and no, have no desire to ever be in the ring again. I am in the best shape I have probably ever been in due to the mountain training, but a twisted knee, ankle or back and I lose my dream of the Seven Summits-not worth the risk to me and I had my time and I loved it. Commentary is where I want to be.
“I will doing Smackdown with Josh Matthews. I have filled in on Main Event some but mainly when Miz has a large part in the show and can’t do commentary.
“Raw is 100% Jerry’s. He and Michael are a great team, I enjoy listening to Jerry and there are no plans for a three man booth with me in it. I am happy on Smackdown.
“It looks like I will be doing PPVs as a representative for the Smackdown brand as part of a three man booth with Cole and King.
“I cannot say enough how impressed I am with Michael Cole, there is so much more to the commentary game now and he is the best I have seen. Josh prepares well and we don’t have the sync that Michael and I have yet, but we will get there. Josh is fun to work with, I love when I get him so frustrated he throws his hands up in the air not knowing what I will say next. Michael and I had a year of commentary behind us already when I returned, Josh and I have only been doing it for a short time.
“I don’t know where Josh buys those horrible sweaters and gets that spiky haircut though.
“And yes, I do have fun ribbing my old boss and Okie friend JR. It’s all in good fun.”
– Triple H will appear live in studio on Boomer and Carton in the Morning on WFAN in New York City Thursday promoting tickets going on sale for WrestleMania 29 on Saturday.
– WWE will hold a live event at Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on April 18, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale next Thursday via AikenPromotions.com.
– After recovering from his heart attack in September, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler returns to the Raw announce table this Monday at 8/7 CT on USA Network. The legendary grappler addressed his return in a Twitter message Wednesday.
“Really excited about returning to Raw this Monday night in Columbus, Ohio!! I’ve missed everyone!” he wrote.
– WWE has released online the Wade Barrett video package that aired on Wednesday’s episode of WWE Main Event.
– Mick Foley appears on Imus in the Morning Thursday to promote his new holiday children’s book, “A Most Mizerable Christmas,” The show is syndicated on radio, and also airs on the Fox Business Network from 6:00 a.m. to 9:20 a.m.
– TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced via Twitter that Kurt Angle and Sting will face two members of Aces & Eights Thursday night on Impact Wrestling. This is the final show before Turning Point, which will see Kurt Angle take on Aces & Eights rep Devon.
– In the following video, Robbie E and Robbie T bring in Miss Tessmacher to take a shot at getting on “The List”.
– This week’s featured match on TNA Xplosion on Challenge pits AJ Styles against Robbie T.
As seen Monday on Raw, WWE overhauled its plans for Survivor Series on November 18, 2012.
On the show, Vince McMahon mandated that CM Punk will defend his WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Ryback and John Cena at the pay-per-view event. With this turn of events, Team Punk is now known as Team Ziggler, while Team Foley has an empty fifth slot. Prior to the change, The Miz quit the group in protest of Punk’s leadership, and was replaced by Wade Barrett after Paul Heyman aggressively sought him.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE changed their plans for multiple reasons. Among them was the belief that the originally scheduled main event, Team Punk vs. Team Foley in Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match, would draw dismal pay-per-view buy numbers. With rare exceptions, tag team matches as main events are generally mediocre earners on pay-per-view. The entire Bragging Rights concept was dropped for that very reason.
What also swayed plans for Survivor Series were the pay-per-view buy figures for Hell in a Cell on DirecTV being “surprisingly strong.” Privately, McMahon credited Ryback for the result and felt placing him in a ten-man tag team match, even though he would likely be left standing, would not be beneficial to him. McMahon feels they need to capitalize on Ryback’s momentum, which would require the muscle-bound grappler to challenge for the WWE Championship in the main event.
Speaking to Fighting Spirit Magazine (available at FightingSpiritMagazine.co.uk), Booker T recalled his physical altercation with Batista on May 8, 2006 at a commercial photo shoot in Encino, California for that year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
Batista, who rose to main event status in a relatively short period of time, was already unpopular within the locker room due to his lack of respect for those who came before him coupled with a sense of entitlement. That day, Booker T took issue with The Animal’s poor demeanor.
According to eyewitness reports, Booker T challenged Batista to “[go] into an empty room and go for it.” The two fought for approximately five minutes in the room, with Booker T dominating the muscle-bound wrestler. After the two were separated by fellow wrestlers, Batista snuck in one last sucker punch on Booker T just as he did immediately after the decorated wrestler closed the door to signal the start of fray.
Finlay, who was among the wrestlers who broke up the brawl, said during an earlier interview with the publication that the story was blown out of proportion. Booker T disagreed with his assessment.
“It wasn’t blown out of proportion. He took a pretty good beating,” said the SmackDown General Manager.
“The thing is, when you’re in a fight, it’s different from an MMA fight. That’s the thing with me. I’ve fought my whole life. You don’t just call a person out to a fight if you don’t know their background, what they’ve been through, and how to test them. That was his mistake, and I think it was definitely a case of him underestimating me, and thinking he was the bigger guy. For me fighting is in the blood, and it’s something I grew up doing. Honestly though, I hope Batista does well (in MMA), even just for the business’ sake.”
The cover artwork for WWE’s The Attitude Era DVD and Blu-Ray has surfaced online and it features a collage of over 40 Superstars, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Sable, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Mike Tyson, Dude Love and Val Venis.
Here is the cover, courtesy of WWEDVDNews.com.
This three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-Ray is scheduled for release on Nov. 20. The synopsis reads: “In the late-90s, WWE was struggling for ratings survival while a cultural shift in the viewing audience’s taste was occurring. “Saying your prayers and taking your vitamins” had lost its luster amongst the rebellious masses who preferred “flipping the bird” and “laying the smackdown”… Enter Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Mankind and the notorious crop of edge and fearless Superstars who ushered in The Attitude Era. Now in this 3DVD set fans can own all the infamous moments from this controversial and revolutionary era that redefined sports entertainment for an entire generation. Over 8-hours of envelope-pushing content includes all the agression, antics and innuendos that proved to be the perfect cocktail for an explosion of popularity.”
– A WWE-themed edition of The Soup will air on the USA Network on Monday, November 26, 2012 immediately following Raw.
The E! program, which recaps various pop culture and television show moments of the week, has semi-regularly featured clips from WWE programming over the years.
– WWE will hold a Raw live event on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands at the Ahoy Sports Palace. Bell time is 8:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday.
– WWEShop.com has released a CM Punk Cell Phone Cover.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura appears on Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN at 9:00 p.m. He will be promoting the new season of Conspiracy Theory on truTV, which premieres tonight at 10:00 p.m.
Linda McMahon, former president and CEO of WWE, failed in her bid for a Senate seat in Connecticut, losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy on Tuesday. This follows her 2010 loss to Richard Blumenthal in the race for the state’s other seat in the Senate.
The total cost of losing two elections has ranged from $90 to $97 million, according to estimates. McMahon spent $50 million of her personal fortune in her failed 2010 campaign, and is believed to have spent $40 to $47 million the second time around. Between both campaigns, McMahon has now spent a cumulative total of over $90 million in pursuit of federal office. That is more than any other American in history.
WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who worked under the employ of McMahon, criticized her exorbitant spending on two failed Senate campaigns in a series of Twitter messages Wednesday. After asking his followers whether McMahon won her race, he wrote, “Can spend 90 million on a losing election but won’t give the people that earned that money for them medical or retirement help of any kind!”
Piper then re-tweeted a message comparing her failed Senate campaigns to another McMahon family outside-the-ring venture that went bust; the World Bodybuilding Federation: “It’s like the WBF all over again; money spent on alternate endeavors earned from the blood & sweat of the boys.”
Continuing to stick up for “the boys,” while also corroborating a rumor that mid-level WWE talent had to cover their hotel and travel expenses during WrestleMania XXVIII week in Miami, Florida despite the sports-entertainment organization generating a record-breaking $102.7 million in economic impact for Miami-Dade County, he also re-tweeted, “They can spend 90 mill on elections but still make midcarders pay their and their family own way for wrestlemania. crazy.”
– In this week’s edition of “WWE Inbox,” Eve, David Otunga and others name which of their peers they could see in the White House. Also, Superstars share their most embarrassing pocket dials.
– John Cena is featured on the cover of the December 2012 issue of WWE Magazine. The headline reads – “JOHN CENA – Ultimate Main Event Superstar!” Also featured are the 25 Most Apocalyptic In-Ring Moments, Superstar Scars and Daniel Bryan’s “Startling Secret.”
– Matt Hardy will be the guest tonight live on “In Your Head” beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. Listen and chat live www.IYHwrestling.com call in and talk to him yourself at 508-644-8503.
– Following his fourth straight loss to Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston on Tuesday’s SuperSmackDown LIVE, The Miz explains on “Backstage Fallout” why he is upset with vocal WWE fans. Plus, William Regal makes a vow after making his in-ring return.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed that he was a fan of Ultimate Warrior growing up.
Joey Styles tweeted Johnson on WWE.com’s article on the fifteen greatest Superstar entrances and “The Great One” responded, “Honored to be on it. Wrestlemania 6: My fav Warrior entrance of all time. #OnFire.”
– The late “Ravishing” Rick Rude is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– As seen during Monday’s Raw broadcast, WWE aired a vignette teasing the debut of a new Superstar called “Fandangoo.” During tonight’s SuperSmackDown LIVE broadcast on Syfy, WWE aired a similar vignette, but with the spelling of the character’s name modified to “Fandango.” It is a term that originally described a style of folk and flamenco music and dance.
Here is the vignette, which also features a song different from the one used in the first video.
– In light of former WWE CEO Linda McMahon’s loss tonight to Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy in Connecticut’s U.S. Senate race, David Aldridge, a sports reporter for Turner Sports (most notably, the NBA), took the opportunity to poke fun at her defeat with a wrestling reference.
He tweeted, “The Senate election in Connecticut is not over,” said state director of voting Earl Hebner. #Montreal.”
Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy is the projected winner against Linda McMahon in Connecticut’s U.S. Senate race, according to The Associated Press and NBC News.
The Associated Press called the race for Murphy just 30 minutes after the polls closed, as he was leading 54% to 45%.
The former WWE CEO spent $50 million of her personal fortune in her failed 2010 campaign against Richard Blumenthal, and is believed to have spent $42 million against Murphy. Between both campaigns, McMahon has now spent a cumulative total of over $90 million in pursuit of federal office. That is more than any other American in history.
– Monday’s Raw from the United Kingdom scored a 2.78 cable rating, down from 2.94 last week.
Viewership was slightly lower than last week as Monday’s show averaged 4.07 million viewers compared to 4.10 million viewers.
Raw drew 4.07 million viewers in the first hour, 4.28 million in the second, and 3.88 million in the third. By comparison, last week’s show drew hourly figures of 4.30 million, 4.22 million, and 3.78 million. It was the twelfth straight week where viewership declined from the third hour to the second hour.
– WWE has released a video of The Miz letting fans know that WrestleMania 29 tickets go on sale this Saturday. Visit Ticketmaster.com and WrestleMania.com for more information. (Watch)
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Conway announced on Twitter that he is returning to the ring on Saturday, November 24 in Evansville, Indiana for New Focus Wrestling as he takes on Johnny Richards. He has been unable to wrestle since July due to a biceps tear.
Promoting her return to Canada this Friday at TNA’s live event in Windsor, Ontario, Gail Kim spoke to SLAM! Wrestling on a number of topics, including her desire to compete more than she had in WWE.
“(TNA) has really focused on women’s wrestling in a different manner than WWE, and I just enjoy it more here,” Kim says of the differences between both leagues. “I’ve experienced both major promotions twice now, and I can honestly say that TNA is a better fit for me.”
Now after wrestling for thirteen years, Kim finds herself working with girls who don’t have nearly as much experience as her, such as Miss Tessmacher. She says she’s enjoys working with the greenhorns as much as the veterans.
“I love both aspects of it—working with girls that have been doing it for ten years-plus like Mickie James and Tara, and with those who are looking forward towards the future,” said Kim. “And I enjoy being able to help some of the more inexperienced girls that I can help—I remember my first match back was a tag match with Brooke Tessmacher; she didn’t really know that much in the ring back then, but she has come so far in the past year.”
Kim says that while becoming the first TNA Women’s Knockouts Champion is one of her favorite moments of her career, she feels more accomplished with her pro-women’s wrestling cause.
“If you think about the whole picture, the thing that makes me most proud is fighting for that women’s division and it actually happening,” said Kim. “It wasn’t overnight, it took a lot of begging and pleading to wrestle. For that to happen, and for it to become successful, that was a dream come true.”
Kim also remarks on being named the top women’s wrestler of 2012 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, her marriage to celebrity chef Robert Irvine (the two met on Irvine’s TV show Dinner: Impossible), and more. The full article is available here.
– Two matches were taped Tuesday in Birmingham, England for WWE Saturday Morning Slam
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd
* Ted DiBiase vs. Jinder Mahal
The commentators were Josh Mathews and R-Truth.
– In the following video, Cody Rhodes shows Wade Barrett a thing or two about how to play WWE ’13.
– The official WWE website has a poll asking who poses a bigger threat to WWE Champion CM Punk at Survivor Series; John Cena or Ryback? Ryback currently leads the poll 51% to 49%.
WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia posted a message on Twitter today encouraging her followers living in Connecticut to vote for Linda McMahon as U.S. Senator.
Voting day!!!! If u live in CT I hope u will vote 4 @Linda_McMahon 4 Senator! Worked 4 her 4 10yrs! Great Lady!! Go Linda!! #Vote@WWE
Some of the Diva’s followers have speculated that she could get in trouble with WWE for publicly showing support for McMahon after Brian Jossie, who portrayed A.W., claimed in an August interview with Connecticut’s The Day that he was released from his contract with the sports-entertainment organization because he encouraged his followers to vote for her.
Upon being informed of his termination, Jossie said he received a phone call from Jane Geddes, Vice President of Talent Relations, telling him he committed a major faux pas with his pro-Linda tweet.
“For some reason they don’t want to associate her with anything to do with wrestling because it’s in the past,” Jossie said. “Vince (McMahon) doesn’t want any association with her campaign. They told me it’s two totally different entities, which I didn’t know. I thought I was doing a good thing.”
WWE, however, rejected Jossie’s claims in the article, attributing his release to poor judgment on live television and social media. Spokesperson Brian Finn stated, “WWE is a non-partisan organization. Superstars as well as employees are free to support any political party or candidate they choose. Unfortunately, Brian Jossie, playing the character of A.W., was terminated because he continued to exhibit poor judgment by making offensive and inappropriate comments on live television and on social media.”
– According to the latest issue of Power Slam, Carlito has an open offer to return to WWE, whenever he desires. The magazine, however, notes that the former WWE Superstar is enjoying the freedom of working independent groups.
The second generation grappler was released from his contract with WWE in May 2010 due to a violation of the company’s drug testing program and subsequent refusal to attend a rehabilitation facility for a reported addiction to painkillers.
– Promoting his tour this month of the U.K., Chris Jericho spoke to Glasgow radio station Radio Caley (@RadioCaley) and presenter Colin Stone (@Colin__Stone) where he discussed Fozzy’s new album “Sin & Bones,” whether he’ll return to WWE (13.08) and his matches this year with Dolph Ziggler (14.57). Plus, Jericho has some words for Drew McIntyre (10:34).
– Santino Marella and Layla appear at Smyth’s Toys, Unit 6&7, Shane Retail Park, Boucher Road, Belfast, Ireland, tomorrow beginning at 3:30 p.m. as they sign for the first 400 fans.
– Catalina Hager, wife of Jack Swagger, denies a claim that the Superstar has asked for his release from WWE.
In response to this tweet, “Has jack asked for his wwe release @CrankyVince seems to think so,” she wrote, “Absolutely NOT TRUE.”
The Twitter account spoofing Vince McMahon that also leaks confidential WWE information on occasion cryptically suggested in a message last Thursday that a wrestler had asked for his release from the sports-entertainment organization. In a follow-up, the account indicated Sunday that Swagger asked for his release.”
– On this week’s “Backstage Fallout” for Raw, Antonio Cesaro, The Prime Time Players, Team Co-Bro’s and the Uso brothers discuss happenings from the program.
– WWE will hold a Raw live event in Laredo, Texas at Laredo Energy Arena on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. John Cena, CM Punk and Ryback headline.
– Dave Kapoor, who portrayed The Great Khali’s mouthpiece Ranjin Singh, has been unable to fulfill his duties as head creative writer of Raw in recent weeks due to a medical issue. According to ProWrestling.net, Kapoor suffered a burn of some sort which has prohibited him from traveling. Ed Koskey, head creative writer of SmackDown, has filled in for Kapoor at Raw events in the meantime.
– During Monday’s Raw broadcast, WWE aired a vignette teasing the debut of a new Superstar called “Fandangoo.” It displayed the words Fabulous, Angelic, Noble, Dapper, Astonishing, Naughty, Graceful, Opulent and Outstanding. A voice then asked, “Do you mind if I cut in?” (Yah, we do).
Fandangoo is the new gimmick for Johnny Curtis, who has been testing out an ‘exotic dancer’ gimmick at recent WWE live events.
– Stephanie McMahon speaks in Spanish in a newly released Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate campaign ad geared towards Latino voters in Connecticut. Stephanie says her mother understands the hardships many Connecticut families are facing since they faced similar hardships years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs_ecZge_Iw
– A new episode of The Legends of Wrestling premieres this Thursday on WWE Classics On Demand with Jim Ross, Pat Patterson, Michael Hayes and ‘The Road Dogg’ Brian James joining host Gene Okerlund for a no-holds-barred discussion and a special look at “The History Of Monday Night Raw.”
– WWE will hold a live event in Stockton, California on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 23, 2012.
– An account on Twitter spoofing Vince McMahon that also leaks confidential WWE information on occasion (located @CrankyVince) cryptically suggested in a message last Thursday that a wrestler had asked for his release from the sports-entertainment organization. In a follow-up, the account stated Sunday that Jack Swagger asked for his release: “WELL FUCK JACK SWAGGER AND HIS REQUEST. WHO THE FUCK IS JACK SWAGGER?”
The account has drawn concern from WWE officials since last year, who believe it is being administered by an employee within proximity of McMahon or a former employee with close ties to organization due to the amount of sensitive information being released.
– Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page has posted a video of himself and Jake “The Snake” Roberts distributing Halloween candy to trick or treaters. Roberts recently moved in with Page to lose weight and train for one last pro wrestling run. (Watch)
– Former WWE Superstar Batista is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– The Miz is featured in WWE’s promotional advertisement for Survivor Series taking place November 18, 2012 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is shown fulfilling his “Awesome Bucket List,” which includes climbing the highest mountain and walking on the moon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPY2WqzadL8
– WWE has released the promotional video for Classics On Demand programming during the month of Decemeber, “Season’s Beatings.” The synopsis reads: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when WWE Classics On Demand presents “Season’s Beatings”. Get in the holiday spirit all December, with your favorite festive moments and matches from over the years.”
– The official WWE website has published an article ranking the 15 greatest ring entrances in sports-entertainment history.
“What’s more impressive, pulling up in an expensive sports car or walking through hellfire?” WWE states. “A calm walk through darkness or a mad dash to the ring?”
The list ranks 15. Ultimate Warrior, 14. Goldust, 13. Alberto Del Rio, 12. Glacier, 11. The Sandman, 10. The Rock, 9. Rey Mysterio, 8. Gangrel, 7. Goldberg, 6. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, 5. Hulk Hogan, 4. Kane, 3. Chris Jericho, 2. Triple H, 1. The Undertaker.
– Matches taped Monday in Birmingham, England for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were Jimmy Uso vs. Jinder Mahal and Justin Gabriel vs. Tensai.
In a pre-taping dark match result, Tyson Kidd defeated Michael McGillicutty.
– WWE developmental Briley Pierce turned 28-years-old Sunday. He is the younger brother of WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler.
