– Paul Bearer teased an appearance on tonight’s landmark edition of Raw with the following Twitter message: “What a wonderful tune…. “Meet me in Saint Louis.” He also posted messages alluding to taking a flight.
The legendary manager last appeared on Raw on the April 23 show as part of Kane’s ongoing feud with Randy Orton. He was kidnapped by Orton and then stuck in a storage freezer while strapped to a wheelchair. Kane later came for Bearer, only to roll him back into the freezer and say, “I’m saving you…from me.”
Meanwhile, Kenn Doane, who appeared as Kenny and Kenny Dykstra for WWE, stated late last night on Twitter that he will be at Raw when asked whether he will watching the show on television. He then wrote this afternoon on Twitter, “St. Louis is nice this time of year.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons has been spotted in St. Louis, Missouri.
– American Idol contestant and wrestling fan James Durbin appeared at a ‘be a STAR’ anti-bullying rally in St. Louis, Missouri today along with Eve, The Miz and WWE Executive Stephanie McMahon.
– Madusa, who captured the WWE Women’s Championship as Alundra Blayze, says she will not be on hand for tonight’s historic 1000th episode of Raw due to “prior engagements.”
“Good luck, congrats and many blessings to all that have a wonderful and historical time at WWE 1000 epic night! Don’t forget to watch….. Your one and only …..STILL WWE’s/WWF’s champion! Just to set it straight… I will not be there. Prior engagements,” she wrote on Facebook.
Shane Helms, formerly known as The Hurricane, also confirmed that he will not be on the show due to his contractual status with another wrestling organization.
– Rey Mysterio is scheduled to face Daniel Bryan at the August 9 SmackDown live event in Tokyo, Japan.
– Sid Vicious spoke to Memphisport.com about his son Frank not telling other Big Brother houseguests who his dad and possibly appearing on tonight’s historic Raw episode celebrating 1,000 episodes.
The Undertaker and wife Michelle McCool are slated to be on hand for tonight’s historic 1000th episode of Raw in St. Louis, Missouri, PWInsider.com reports.
The website also states that a “shocking name” may be at the show and were trying to confirm.
Former WWE Women’s Champion Amy “Lita” Dumas was spotted Sunday night checking into the hotel WWE talent are staying at.
There are rumors on Twitter of Steve Austin being spotted in St Louis, but they have not been confirmed.
– TNA Impact Wrestling star Tara, formerly known as Victoria in WWE, stated at 8:20 a.m. via Twitter that she is in St. Louis, Missouri—site of tonight’s historic Raw episode celebrating 1000th shows.
“BrookeIMPACT Just landed in St. Louis. Call you from car,” the post reads.
She meant to send the message private to fellow TNA star Miss Tessmacher, but accidentally made it public. The post has since been deleted.
Tara noted last Friday that she would love to be at Raw, but won’t: “For all who’ve asked, yes I’d like to be at #RAW1000. I won’t be there in body, but Monday I’ll be with @WWE in spirit. #GhostOfVictoria.”
– WWE has discontinued airing reruns of WCW Monday Nitro on its Classics On Demand service—stopping at September 1998 with Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan as the center storyline. The program featured an interlude with Matt Striker, who in its last few episodes would often describe Nitro’s storylines in a mocking tone. The show was packaged with Raw as Monday Night Wars; Raw will continue to air as The History of Monday Night Raw.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. He is advertised to appear on Raw as part of a D-Generation reunion.
WWE officials have reached out to numerous former talents in recent months for tonight’s Raw celebrating 1000th episodes. The following former WWE Superstars have been confirmed as being in St. Louis, Missouri, site of tonight’s epic show:
New York Post sportswriter Phil Mushnick has once again taken aim at WWE and company chief Vince McMahon over the staggering number of wrestlers to have died before the age of 45. He quipped in his column Sunday,
“A former WWF/WWE content man wonders if, in the upcoming 1,000th episode of Raw, Vince McMahon will present a roll call of WWF/WWE TV performers who didn’t live past 45. Or would that take too long?”
In the past, Mushnick has branded the professional wrestling industry, particularly WWE, as a “death mill.” Although the majority of the performers died after parting ways with WWE, Mushnick attributed their premature deaths to their lifestyle while under the employ of McMahon. Other media outlets have likewise provided statistics showing the high number of wrestlers who have died young from car crashes, suicide, heart failure and steroid-related health problems.
Of individuals who appeared on Raw as a wrestler, manager or referee and died before the age of 45, the list includes the following 28 names:
* Bam Bam Bigelow
* Bertha Faye
* Big Boss Man
* Brian Pillman
* “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith
* Chris Benoit
* Chris Duffy
* Crash Holly
* Crush
* Earthquake/Golga
* Eddie Guerrero
* Giant Gonzalez
* Joey Marella
* Johnny Grunge
* Kanyon
* Lance Cade
* Marianna/Miss Cleavage
* Mike Awesome
* Mr. Perfect
* Owen Hart
* Rad Radford
* Rick Rude
* Road Warrior Hawk
* Skip
* Test
* The Executioner (a/k/a Terry Gordy)
* Umaga/Jamal
* Yokozuna
Additionally, of individuals who competed on Raw and died between the ages of 46 and 50, the list includes the following names: “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Ludvig Borga, Luna Vachon, Rocco Rock, Sensational Sherri and Steven Dunn.
– Kelly Kelly returns to WWE this week after being granted time off the road in late May.
She tweeted Sunday, “On the road again. Can’t wait to see everyone at the #raw1000.”
Kelly, who had been on the road on a weekly basis since joining WWE in 2006, was reportedly granted a break to spend time with her family and boyfriend. She last competed on television on the May 21 Raw SuperShow, losing to Beth Phoenix.
– WWE and Party City hosted a pizza party for Make-A-Wish kids on July 15 before Money in the Bank in Phoenix, Arizona. At the Party City celebration, Alex Riley, William Regal and Tyson Kidd met Dylan, Max and Joshua, who are all WWE Circle of Champions honorees from Make-A-Wish. Party City will host a donation drive in stores where WWE fans can donate $1 to Make-A-Wish through Aug. 18. (Article)’
– Former WWE Superstars John Morrison and Melina appear at the Steel City Con this Saturday and Sunday. The event is being held at the Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
WWE Champion CM Punk appeared on The Bower Show on ESPN 97.9 FM Hartford Connecticut on Thursday (audio available here) to promote the historic 1000th episode of Raw. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
* When asked to name his favorite moment in the illustrious history of Raw, Punk said though there have been many great moments, his personal favorite involves former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky. In the autumn of 2004, Snitsky punted a baby doll into the audience, which Punk says always makes makes him laugh.
– When asked whether there was a Raw moment that made him want to become a professional wrestler, he cited watching “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on television as a child as the reason that CM Punk came into existence.
– Punk said he can play the saxophone, and is the only instrument he plays.
– Punk was asked about WWE’s upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release, CM Punk – Best in the World. He says the title is the complete package and tells his entire story.
“To me, it’s the best DVD that WWE has ever done because it’s not a wrestling DVD,” Punk said. “It’s a human story.”
– Punk said he’s never “crossed streams” with Triple H or anyone else, doesn’t own skinny jeans and has never owned a pair of Crocs™.
– Samoa Joe and Magnus are the new GHC Tag Team Champions for Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. They captured the belts Sunday in Tokyo from Akitoshi Saito and Jun Akiyama, ending their seventh-month reign.
Magnus wrote on Twitter, “New GHC/ Pro-Wrestling NOAH World Tag Team Champions… @SamoaJoe and yours truly. Ryogoku Sumo Hall Tokyo, it was an honor!”
Christopher Daniels also competed at the event, NOAH Great Voyage, losing to GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
– The Miami Herald published an article acknowledging Chavo Guerrero’s arrival to TNA Impact Wrestling this Thursday on Impact. With Chavo’s arrival, two members of the legendary Guerrero family are now affiliated with TNA. Chavo is the nephew of TNA Spanish language broadcaster Hector Guerrero.
– Madison Rayne returns to TNA Impact Wrestling live events next weekend in Ohio and Pennsylvania as she challenges Miss Tessmacher for the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship. She tweeted, “I’m rly glad to be heading back on the road next weekend for house shows in OH/PA!!!! @BrookeIMPACT is gonna be in MY backyard! #gonnabegood.”
Promoting this coming Monday’s historic 1000th episode of Raw, Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H, addressed a number of topics including Randy Orton’s ongoing sixty-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program.
Orton, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, the site of Monday’s show, will be unable to appear due to the suspension. Though Levesque won’t divulge what Orton did wrong, he notes “The Legend Killer” will be back once the suspension concludes.
“It is important to remember that all of our wrestlers are human but they also have to be accountable,” Levesque says of Orton’s suspension.
As WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events, Levesque’s corporate role is to discover tomorrow’s Superstars. He admits it’s a struggle.
“We’re trying to teach them to be the Stone Colds and the Undertakers of tomorrow, but the one thing we can’t teach is charisma,” said Levesque. “You can teach people to do moves and create story lines and the psychology of what we do, but you can’t teach someone to be the Rock. It’s an innate ability to walk into a room and have everyone pay attention. Put aside the athleticism and what happens in the ring, what our business is really about is connecting with people emotionally. If you are emotionally connected to your character, then people will want to see you. It’s true in Hollywood and movies. You don’t have to be the best actor, just be a presence.”
Triple H, The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin created on-screen personas “fans loved, hated or loved to hate” on Raw in the late ’90s. Levesque feels they were the first stars of reality television.
“Every guy we have, whether it’s me, whether it’s the Undertaker, whether it’s John Cena playing the character John Cena, is a performer,” said Levesque. “What we did is very much the beginning of reality television. ‘Jersey Shore,’ whether people want to believe it or not, is a scripted kind-of show. They don’t give them every single word, but they give them premises and they set things up. It’s not a documentary where you follow them around brushing their teeth. And that’s what we are — we blur that line and that’s what people find intriguing.”
Levesque also offers insight on The Rock and Kane’s on-stage personalities, WWE’s decision to make their shows “PG” television, critics denouncing wrestling as “fake,” and more. Read more here.
– Kenn Doane, who appeared as Kenny Dykstra for WWE, was asked on Twitter whether WWE Champion CM Punk is the “Best in the World” as he so often proclaims. The former WWE World Tag Team Champion says no, and that the “Best in the World” tag belongs to “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” or possibly even “The King of Kings.”
“#bestintheworld is The Rock. He draws, talks, not a good wrestler, but 2/3 isn’t bad,” Doane wrote. “Or HHH #bestintheworld draws, talks, wrestles. CM Punk is up there but I wouldn’t say the best.”
He was then asked about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and responded, “Austin isn’t wrestling so I didn’t qualify him. Only those still active. Number 1 is The Rock.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, who checked into a rehabilitation program sponsored by WWE on Monday after consuming a “dangerous” amount of vodka, addressed her current progress via Facebook.
“I know i have to do this.. getting myself mentallly in gear. its hard,” she wrote Thursday.
Sytch then noted, “ok// over the next 28 days, im going to need some visitors and support… who is up for the challenge???”
– Former WWE talent Shawn Stasiak turns 42 years on Saturday. He is retired from professional wrestling and now works as a chiropractor. Today also marks as the forty-ninth birthday of Giant Silva of “Oddities” fame.
– WWE has released this week’s episode of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Here is the synopsis: “Santino Marella is up to his old tricks. What’s on his scheming mind now? Plus, William Regal returns to “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Subscribe to see the clips that didn’t make it in the original interview, only on WWE on YouTube!”
– WWE developmental wrestler Roman Leakee competed at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi. He interrupted Curt Hawkins’ heelish spiel and promptly defeated him.
Leakee is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika of “The Wild Samoans” and brother of former WWE Superstar Rosey. A former defensive standout for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and a Team captain, Leakee was also a first team All ACC selection at defensive tackle.
– There was a rope break at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi during the United States Championship Match between Santino Marella and The Miz. Eight minutes into the ten minute match, Marella hit the ropes, causing the the top rope to collapse.
– John Cena is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.
– TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Miss Tessmacher, who appeared for WWE in 2007, clarified comments she made concerning her former employer this week in regards to its utilization of female talent. When asked on Facebook whether she would ever return to the organization, she wrote, “Why would I want to go back to wwe where they have 3 min matches that typically have no meaning. The women aren’t utilized to the potential they bring. They aren’t cared about or a priority.”
She now says, “Let me clear this up. My comment that was said of the WWE Divas was not to discredit the girls in any way. They are all spectacular and tremendous athletes. My opinion is based on the fact I strongly feel they are not used to their own capabilities and talents. I do think if they were believed in more as the Knockouts where from the company they work for they could showcase themselves better as all around athletes and not just a character or gimmick. I do believe the Knockouts division is the best in the bis and we are used to our potential. At Impact Wrestling women’s wrestling does matter!”
– Nick Dinsmore, formerly known as Eugene in WWE, publicly thanked TNA Impact Wrestling for giving him the opportunity to compete in a dark match prior to Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast.
“I would like thank @IMPACTWRESTLING for giving me the opportunity to wrestle a dark match last night in front of the TNA Impact Zone fans,” he wrote Friday on Twitter.
– WWE’s flagship program Raw SuperShow will celebrate its 1000th episode this coming Monday. During her near seven-year run, Trish Stratus participated in 160 matches-the most of any female-and created many memorable moments along the way. The legendary grappler is recalling the memories on her official website, TrishStratus.com, as she ranks her top five moments and top five matches. The quintessential Diva also offers an inside look with comments on each one of these Stratusfy-ing appearances. She ranks her match against Lita on the Dec. 6, 2004 episode of Raw, the first time in history that the Divas were solely featured in the show’s main event, as her top match.
She says of the bout, “What an amazing feeling for Lita and I to be given the trust and confidence to close out our flagship show in the main event of Monday Night Raw. Plus, a true testament to the hard work of the women’s division as a whole.”
– Sidelined SmackDown Superstar Mark Henry stated during a radio interview this week that he’s going to London, England to watch the 2012 Summer Olympics kicking off next Sunday. He participated in the 1992 and 1996 Games as a member of the United States weightlifting team.
– Japanese wrestler Shinjiro Ohtani, the first WCW Cruiserweight Champion, turns 40 years old on Saturday.
– Twelve-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, 43, wed his girlfriend of two years, actress Giovanna Yannotti, 25, Friday. It is his second marriage after divorcing Karen Smedley, now known as Karen Jarrett, in 2008. He also announced big news.
“I’m Married! Kyra Kody Giuliana @ Guess What? We’re Due to Have Another Baby. Life is Awesome!” Angle tweeted.
The couple already have one child together; on January 22, 2011, Yannotti gave birth to a daughter named Giuliana Marie Angle.
– A “Bound For Glory Series” match featuring Christopher Daniels versus Robbie E was taped Thursday before Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast.
– Sam Shaw, who was assaulted by the “Aces and Eights” gang before his scheduled “Gut Check” match on Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast, has appeared on TNA Wrestling programming in the past. The Florida-based independent wrestler portrayed the character “Lupus” at the ECW-themed pay-per-view, Hardcore Justice, in August 2010. He is a product of the Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling.
Dolph Ziggler appeared on Between The Ropes with Brian Fritz (interview available at BetweenTheRopes.com) to discuss this coming Monday’s 1000th episode Raw, his favorite moments on the show, his strive for perfection, whether he is impatient when it comes to being a world champion and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Whether or not he has been satisfied with a match: “(laughs) Honestly, nothing off the top of my head has me satisfied. I’ve come backstage a couple of times and said ‘OK, that was pretty good’ but I’ve never been fully, 100% satisfied with anything. That’s just something that always drives me to want to be better than everyone else. I don’t want to be a 20-time WWE Champion. I want to be the best ever and that drives me every single day.”
What stands out as his favorite Raw memory involving himself: “I’ve had several … my first match as Dolph Ziggler on Raw I had against Batista and I didn’t know if I was going to get chewed up and spit out or be one of the mainstay guys. We ended up having a hell of a match and we went back and forth and I said ‘OK, I can hang with these guys, back to square one and start working on everything I can’. That was a huge thing for me, to come back to the roster after being gone for a while and be able to hang with the top guys in the business and say ‘OK, I’m going to learn from these guys and make myself better’.”
What Raw era he would have liked to be a part of not counting the current one: “I know a lot of fans say the Attitude Era. I enjoyed watching that but I’m more of an old-school, classic guy. I try and live my life like a throwback to some of the legends like early Curt Hennig, Mr. Perfect. I like the ’80s. Not just because it was such a huge influence on my childhood — and that’s when I started watching when I was five years old — but those guys were larger than life stars and they were always doing something cool.”
Whether or not he is impatient when it comes to being his time and becoming a world champion: “Of course I do. I’m never satisfied. I’m never happy. I could be the World Champion, I could beat everyone on this roster and steal the show every single night and I would never be satisfied with the position that I’m in. It’s frustrating. They are so many superstars and there are only so many minutes of time each week on WWE programming whether it’s Monday night on Raw or Friday night on Smackdown.
“Either way, I’ve always found that I’ve kept at it. I’ve made myself vocal backstage. I stood up for what I believe in and if I thought something didn’t make sense, I said something about it. It’s not something you can just walk in and start doing. But if you’ve earned some respect from your peers, if you’ve earned it from a legend, you’re able to speak your mind if you see something that’s wrong. And I thought I need to be in a better position to help the WWE. I need to be in a higher spot on the card. I’m that good at my job and slowly but surely, one way or another, it’s a little slower that I would have liked but everything I’ve done is paying off right now.”
Nick Dinsmore, who appeared as the beloved character Eugene for WWE for several years, competed in a dark match prior to Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast on Spike TV. Under the Nick Dinsmore name, he lost to TNA Wrestling veteran talent Kazarian.
Dinsmore has ties to TNA as he works as a trainer and wrestler for developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling and also appeared as the character “Dr. Nicholas Dinsmore” for their Indian-based satellite promotion Ring Ka King last year.
Dinsmore’s appearance comes days after he “stood up for WWE” in response to negative media portrayals toward the Eugene character and the sports entertainment organization. Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher stated in an editorial last week blistering Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign that her job creation method included “making fun of retarded men” during her reign as WWE CEO, which spurred Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant to assert in an editorial that the Eugene character was “mentally retarded” and “unmistakably, played for laughs.”
WWE then issued a statement “setting the record straight” regarding its programming and storylines: “It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroe’s latest blog post, that he does not understand WWE’s programming. Like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, it is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions weekly. His assertion that the Eugene character was “essentially a comic device” is inaccurate and lacks total perspective.”
Dolph Ziggler was reportedly livid with Sin Cara following Sunday’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a World Heavyweight Championship Contract at Money in the Bank.
According to SuperLuchas.net, a source within WWE says Ziggler vocally complained backstage over the SmackDown Superstar working stiffly and failing to protect him during a high risk maneuver off the top turnbuckle known as The Spanish Fly.
The errant spot nearly injured Ziggler, not to mention spurred a dubious Twitter trending topic—”Botch Cara.”
According to the source, Ziggler plans to file a formal complaint to WWE officers over Sin Cara so they can review the case further and decide whether the the high-flying grappler faces punishment.
In Sin Cara’s defense, footage indicates that Ziggler caused the spot to fail by slipping twice on the rope. Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer stated Friday, “Ziggler slipped halfway through the move when Sin Cara’s back was already bent far enough he could do nothing but fall. It’s only Sin Cara’s fault if he had ESP and would have known Ziggler was about to slip.”
Thursday on Impact Wrestling, a mysterious group of six masked men known as “The Aces and Eights” intervened on three occasions—at least four are former WWE wrestlers.
The Bound for Glory series points leader “Cowboy” James Storm called out Kurt Angle in the evening’s first match on Open Fight Night. Angle, however, never surfaced; instead he was left laying on the floor backstage after a vicious attack from the gang.
Midway through the show, TNA “Gut Check” contestant Sam Shaw was beat down during his pre-tryout match interview with Jeremy Borash. His scheduled contest was canceled as he was assisted to the back by medical personnel, Bruce Prichard, Al Snow and Taz.
With Aries seemingly moments away from finishing Bobby Roode in the main event, the nefarious gang appeared for a third time as they took down the World Heavyweight Champion while Roode watched from the corner of the ring. Roode extended a friendly hand to the gang, but was instead attacked with kicks and punches.
One of the attackers was former WWE Superstar Mike Knox, who participated in a dark match for the promotion in May. He was joined by three other former WWE talents—former developmental wrestler Wes Brisco, the wrestler formerly known as Luke Gallows, and D’Lo Brown, who works as a road agent for the organization. Organization officials are rotating wrestlers who won’t be part of the eventual reveal into the attacks to make it harder to guess who is involved.
Gallows has participated in all of the group’s attacks while Brisco debuted last week. Brown is not expected to be part of the group’s final roster.
Meanwhile, sources close to Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Cliff Compton, who appeared as Domino for WWE in 2007 and 2008, say he has not participated in the angle after competing in a dark match for the promotion in late May. Former WWE Superstar Chris Masters, who has been campaigning via Twitter to join the organization after working a dark match last month, has also not participated in the angle.
After competing at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in San Diego, California, Road Warrior Animal stopped by the 100.3 KFAN-FM studios for Extreme Pro Wrestling Radio to discuss this coming Monday’s historic 1000th episode of Raw SuperShow and confirmed his and other former WWE Superstars’ involvement on the program.
The WWE Hall of Famer may have spoiled the payoff of Heath Slater’s returning Raw legend angle while addressing rumors of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s involvement with the program—who has not been announced to appear by WWE.
When asked whether The Rattlesnake will encounter Slater on the show, Animal responded, “Austin will definitely give him the stunner, ya know thats coming! Fans get ready, you’re gonna see a stunner!”
Animal, who appeared on Raw in 1997 and 1998, also confirmed that he will be on hand for the festivities: “I will be making an appearance…people will see that my spikes from SmackDown were excellently repainted! Yeah, I’ll be there all painted up, with bells on boys! If it happens it happens, I’m ready!”
On what else to expect for the unprecedented show, he said, “It’s gonna be star studded, on my flight alone is me, DDP and Bret “Hitman” Hart!”
– Linda McMahon and her husband, WWE CEO Vince McMahon, earned $30.6 million in 2010, according to a tax return provided to The Associated Press on Friday by Linda.
The endorsed Republican candidate in the race for Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate seat says her 2011 returns will eventually be released.
The vast majority of their income came from stock dividends. They paid $4.7 million in federal taxes. (Article)
– Former WWE Champion Dave “Batista” Bautista took part in a photo shoot for men’s magazine GQ on Thursday to promote the upcoming Quentin Tarantino produced Kung Fu movie The Man with the Iron Fists. The noted wrestler appears in the flick with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu and mixed martial artist Cung Lee.
– Former WWE tandem Perry Saturn and Terri Runnels have been announced to appear a The Big Event 3. The event takes place Saturday, October 6 at the Courtyard Marriott LaGuardia Airport 9010 Ditmars Blvd. East Elmhurst, New York.
Ezekiel Jackson was backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in San Diego, California, but not used.
Once a protected figure in WWE’s midcard scene, the Guyanese wrestler’s role in the company has been greatly curtailed in recent weeks. He has only competed in three televised matches through June and July, all of which he lost. He also no longer appears on house shows after a lengthy stretch of being regularly used. Despite his wrestling struggles, he maintains a positive attitude.
Jackson tweeted this week, “I’ve crossed the 200k followers threshold… thanks for following me here on twitter and my life and career.. “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. — AYN RAND.”
Don’t miss TNA IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV! If you can’t watch Thursday, don’t forget to set your DVR to record it! It’s two hours of Total Nonstop Action featuring your favorite wrestling superstars – including “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan, “The Icon” Sting, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam, “Cowboy” James Storm, the lovely and lethal Knockouts, the high-flying X Division athletes and many more! TNA IMPACT WRESTLING takes place from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida! IMPACT WRESTLING is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling, airing in over 120 countries worldwide!
Preview Thursday’s huge LIVE broadcast as the road to the August 12 “Hardcore Justice” Pay-Per-View event continues:
– This past week, The Aces and 8s gang unleashed a path of destruction on IMPACT WRESTLING! What will be the fallout on Thursday night? Will the mysterious group continue to make IMPACT their personal warzone?
– Thursday’s IMPACT will also feature the TNA debut of Chavo Guerrero! The wrestling world will hear from Chavo for the first time!
– Two HUGE “Bound For Glory Series” matches are scheduled for the broadcast: AJ Styles vs. James Storm and Kurt Angle vs. Bully Ray
– In Knockouts tag team action, Mickie James teams with Tara to battle Gail Kim and Madison Rayne
– New X Division Champion Zema Ion will defend his title on Thursday’s IMPACT
– Recent TNA Gut Check contestant Sam Shaw will get a second chance to prove himself on Thursday, after he was attacked by The Aces & 8s gang this past week
All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV
Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana is offering a discount on tickets for the Tuesday, July 31 SmackDown taping due to sluggish ticket sales. The venue issued the following notice to regular customers: “For a limited time, purchase a ticket and get upgraded to the next price level at no extra cost. That means if you purchase a ticket for $35, you’ll be upgraded to a $45 seat.”
Since last fall, multiple SmackDown events have drawn poor ticket sales, particularly in the Midwestern United States. There have been several instances where almost all of the camera side of the host venue has been tarped off, along with a large part of the upper bowl. One show in Toledo, Ohio was among the worst attended WWE events in years, drawing approximately 3,200 fans with only 1,600 paying. Raw Superstars John Cena and Triple H were added to several shows this summer to alleviate the disappearance of top SmackDown talent Randy Orton following his sixty-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program.
Both Cena and Triple H are advertised to make special appearances in Indianapolis, Indiana. It will also mark as the SmackDown return of Orton.
– WWE’s creative committee is rumored to be leaning toward CM Punk retaining the WWE Championship next Monday on Raw SuperShow when John Cena cashes in his Money in the Bank contract. According to PWInsider.com, there is a lot of talk within the organization that Cena will be the first person to not win a title directly after cashing in the briefcase.
– WWE.com has published an article recalling fifteen of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “rarest, heart-pumping” moments on Raw. Moments noted are his Raw debut against Salvatore Sincere, capturing the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley, preparing for his first WrestleMania match against The Sultan, his explanation for joining The Nation of Domination, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin forfeiting the Intercontinental Championship to him, awarding gifts to The Nation of Domination, The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection win the World Tag Team Championship, a Steel Cage Match versus Shane McMahon, facing Ric Flair, and The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection reuniting to battle Evolution, among others.
– The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling by Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis will be released Tuesday in E-book form.