— Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel appears unhappy with Lilian Garcia’s return to WWE. When asked for comment on the her return to the organization as SmackDown ring announcer during WWE.com’s live chat Monday, he initially ignored the subject.
“The Fink” wrote “Genku already stirring the pot” in response to a fan’s query. He then said he has “even bigger news” than Garcia’s return to WWE, which was Dusty Rhodes joining Twitter.
Finkel then appeared annoyed when a chat moderator posted a YouTube video of Garcia’s 2007 song ¡Quiero Vivir!. When asked for comment later, he simply wrote, “Good for her.” The following fan comment was then posted: “Fink, you should return to announce. Belong on tv not computer.” He responded, “AMEN.”
— WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts says he will be making a big announcement this week.
He wrote, “For my 1000th tweet, I’d like to announce… A big announcement this week right here on my Twitter… Stay tuned!”
— Hot on the heels of former WWE performer Maryse Ouellet’s decision to move on from the professional wrestling industry and attempt to make it in the fashion industry, Kelly Kelly may also be positioning herself for a career outside of WWE.
The WWE Diva is looking to position herself for acting and modeling gigs late next year and is pushing her real name, Barbara Blank, instead of Kelly Kelly. Whether it’s her just trying to have a backup plan, testing the waters to see if there’s interest in her, or her outwardly looking at something different, nobody knows.
— WWE referee Marc Harris is sidelines with a broken nose.
— Shelly Martinez is offering a free 8×10 with every pre-order of a Martinez Girlz T-Shirt. To see the T-Shirts, which read #kayfabe, #FunTimeGang and #TheMartinezGirls, click here.
– MTV has tried several times to get The Miz to return for another “Real World Challenge” – but he’s not interested in returning to the network that gave him his first national television exposure. Miz told FayObserver.com this week:
“MTV gave me my start, and I’m always grateful to them. But, I’m done with doing a challenge. I’m tired of the drama that comes with that, and I don’t know the kids any more. I’d be the first one voted out. I know the game; I was a mastermind at that. I enjoy watching, though.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes says WWE developmental star Seth Rollins (former ROH World champion Tyler Black) has huge potential to be a star when he’s called up to the main WWE roster. Dusty tweeted on Thursday:
“Tyler black the real thing , I be put-stamp on future champ.”
– THQ has released a preview video of Vickie Guerrero’s character in the new WWE ’12 video game, which will be available in an upcoming DLC pack release. The video shows off Vickie’s two finishing moves – a spear and a top-rope frog splash, a tribute to her late husband. Check it out:
— Former WWE performer Dave Bautista is scheduled for international sexologist Dr. Susan Block’s radio show, The Dr. Susan Block Show, this Saturday night. He will be joined by adult film star/motorcycle stunt rider Destiny Dixon, Playboy Cyber Girl Angela Sommers, Penthouse Danni Girl Samantha Saint, adult star Victoria White and webcam girl Daisy Delight. The show airs live from 10:30 p.m. to midnight PST via http://tinyurl.com/RadioSUZY1.
— Spike TV will air WWE Films’ The Marine 2 on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. The direct-to-DVD movie features Ted DiBiase playing Sgt. Joe Linwood, a Marine Force Recon sniper.
— Eve Torres and Rosa Mendes stated on Twitter that they will be on hand for WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops events, which takes place Friday through Sunday in North Carolina. The Tribute to the Troops taping will be held on Sunday at Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville.
— Alberto Del Rio is scheduled to appear at Kmart 250 Floresta Blvd. San Leandro, California on Sunday, January 15, 2012 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
— During this week’s episode of NXT, the newly released commercial promoting the WWE Network was slightly different than the one that aired during Monday’s Raw SuperShow. When WWE Legends’ House is highlighted, WWE Hall of Famer Iron Sheik is shown.
— Former WWE talent Jacques Rougeau released his autobiography online Thursday, Les secrets les mieux gardés, enfin révélés. The book, which is written in French, hits stores in Canada next week.
— Ultimate Warrior announced the following on Twitter: “Coming soon.. Your chance to get a personalized video from Mr Warrior OR a personalized promo from the Ultimate Warrior! Team Warrior.”
– There is talk that WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler may be added to the Triple Threat TLC Match for the WWE Championship at TLC later this month. Currently in the match are CM Punk, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio. This would continue Ziggler’s recent streak of working double duty at WWE pay-per-view events.
According to our WWE sources, company officials are said to be very pleased with Dolph Ziggler’s work this year. There’s something “old school” about Ziggler’s current push – how he’s climbed the ranks from obscurity to a mid-card US title run and then an eventual spot in the main events.
– CM Punk took a shot at athletes who use performance enhancing drugs today on his Twitter:
“If you’re a professional athlete and you use performance enhancing drugs, you’re a pussy.”
– Former WWE Superstar Rikishi noted on Twitter that he needs surgery on one of his eyes.
– There have been some jokes going around WWE lately regarding the people that Triple H surrounded himself with as the WWE’s talent development division. They have been mostly guys in their 20s, with several described as jacked-up meatheads that doesn’t know anything about the wrestling business.
Additionally, the first few talents Triple H has brought in have been busts thus far. Sin Cara’s early run was plagued by botched spots and injuries, and Kharma’s now on maternity leave, so neither had much of an impact.
– An interesting story regarding Brodus Clay is that when he finished shooting a movie for WWE Studios earlier this year, he asked the creative team if they had anything for him – and proposed that he be pushed as an indestructable monster heel that would destroy baby faces and induct wrestlers into his personal “House of Pain.” He was reportedly told it was a great idea.
Meanwhile, Clay remains on the sidelines while Mark Henry is getting the biggest push of his career with a gimmick that’s eerily similar to Clay’s idea.
Still no word on when WWE plans to have Brodus Clay return to RAW, despite several advertised appearances in the past month.
– Vince McMahon has reportedly been on the warpath as of late – shooting down a lot of ideas presented to him by the creative team. One recent situation involved Mick Foley’s recent return to television. Last week’s Christmas-themed live Tuesday SmackDown featuring Foley as Santa Clause was an idea pushed through by Brian Gewirtz, despite Vince not liking the idea.
Vince recently ordered that The Bella Twins be made a top priority and wants them to be featured on television more. Vince loves having the Bellas represent WWE in public appearances and recently reamed out the writing team for blowing a number of opportunities to feature the twin beauties.
– Vince’s son Shane was in the news this week, as his latest product, “YOU On Demand,” is set to launch in China this month. The service, which recently signed a deal with Gravitas Ventures to bring independent movies to streaming services, hopes to reach 11 million homes by the end of 2012.
Former WWE superstar Duane Gill, best known for his run as the Bill Goldberg parody character “Gillberg”, recently told Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas of Thescore.com that Bill Goldberg hated him.
If Bill Goldberg ever tried to get in contact with him while he was doing the “Gillberg” gimmick in WWE. Also speaking about when he did the segment with The Rock and Goldberg on an episode of Raw in 2003 on the segment “Rock Concert II”: “Goldberg hates my guts. He wanted to kill me. I remember the night I did meet him, the night we did The Rock Concert were I was dancing all the ring and all. They just wanted me to just stand there and tap my foot. So I had to explain to Mr. McMahon about what I wanted to do and he started laughing his ass off and he goes, “lets do it (laughs).”
On his wrestling school “Gillberg’s Pro Wrestling Academy.” What makes his wrestling school so successful that it will branch to multiple locations. What made his decision for him to branch out the wrestling school: “We have yet to advertise and were packed. We’re loaded with students. I would imagine the article on WWE.com “Where are they now” had a lot to do with helping me there. I just want to take it to the next level. I just wanna teach the way we teach. I teach old school ways. It’s taught proper and it’s really good.”
How long did he feel that the “Gillberg” character in WWE would last the first time he did when he wrestled Luna Vachon on an episode of Raw on the debut of the character; explains how much of a response he got from the WWE crew backstage: “It was actually supposed to be a one night deal. When I came back through the curtian, I got the highest honor I ever received in pro wrestling. When I came through that curtain, every McMahon, every writer, producer, boys, everybody in the back that was working was standing there clapping, and had tears in there eyes cause they were laughing so hard. That was the highest honor I ever got.”
His thoughts on working for WWE without being under contract with WWE for almost 10 years. Did he feel that if he never got anything from WWE, would he have thought about pursuing other interest in his life: “I’m a mark. I love professional wrestling, and to be honest with you, I love the WWE. Let me put it to you this way, I didn’t give a crap what I was doing, there were times where I wrestled four or five times a night. I didn’t care man. I was there. I was in the locker room with Hulk Hogan, Brutus Beefcake, Jake The Snake, Macho Man. I went to the bar, I sat down to have drinks with them, and I got to rub shoulders with the best of the best. To me it was everything.”
Check out this video of when Goldberg and Gillberg went face-to-face on WWE RAW:
– Jim Ross, who is in Tampa evaluating talent at FCW, tweeted the following on Tuesday night about a new non-wrestling project:
“Had a productive day in Tampa. A significant day on tap Wednesday in Florida. Great mtg tonight on an intriguing outside wrestling project.”
– WWE Diva Eve Torres interviewed actor, soldier and Dancing With the Stars winner JR Martinez for a segment to air on WWE’s Tribute to the Troops special.
– Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, who was backstage at Monday’s RAW, tweeted that he filmed a 2 hours of interview footage for WWE Network show about the Monday Night War. Waltman wrote:
“I did a 2 hour interview at RAW yesterday for a 15 episode series focusing on the Monday Night Wars to air on the new WWE Network.”
– Facebook has released its list Top-Trending Lists of 2011 – and John Cena was the #3 trending athlete of the year, behind soccer stars Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cena ranked above David Beckham, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and other international sports stars – which is a real testament to the power of WWE’s social media influence.
– WWE will be releasing a new Wade Barrett shirt soon.
Check out the official video trailer for UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem, which takes place later this month on Friday, December 30th.
The fight will mark Brock Lesnar’s return to the octagon, with the winner receiving a UFC Heavyweight title shot against newly crowned champion, Junior Dos Santos.
– Former WWE Superstar Batista was in Los Angeles this week promoting The Scorpion King 3. Batista taped at least one segment for E! Entertainment.
– Steve Austin and Chris Jericho will be participating in the first ever Rock & Roll Roast for guitar legend Zakk Wylde. The event takes place on January 19th, 2012 at The Grove in Anaheim, California.
– Lilian Garcia appeared on the RAW Afterbuzz online show this week after RAW, hosted by former WWE diva Maria Kanellis. Garcia spoke about her return to WWE this week – and revealed she heard about WWE’s interest to bring her back.
Lilian said she was in Las Vegas for a marathon when she got the call to return on Friday. Lilian flew straight from Vegas to Tampa, Florida where Monday’s RAW was held. She said everyone backstage embraced her with open arms and at first she was surprised about being put on SmackDown but is excited about the opportunity.
– Randy Orton did a radio appearance last week in North Carolina on 1065 The END . Orton talked about wanting to feud with Triple H again, WrestleMania, his work mentoring kids about anger management and more. You can watch the 23-minute interview here:
— WWE brought Lilian Garcia back to the organization to permanently replace Tony Chimel as the ring announcer for weekly SmackDown tapings. Chimel, 50, will continue working for WWE at television tapings in the production office backstage. Company officials asked Garcia late last week if she wanted to return and a deal was reached Monday upon her arrival in Tampa, Florida.
Garcia, who turned 45 years old in August, retired from her job as Raw ring announcer in 2009, citing a wish to settle down with her husband and being burned out from WWE’s strenuous travel schedule. During her time away, she continued to pursue her music career, and hosted AfterBuzzTV.com’s post-shows for Raw and Tough Enough.
— Matches taped Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Florida for this week’s episode of WWE NXT are as follows: Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks; Darren Young and JTG vs. Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil; Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman.
Yoshi Tatsu beat WWE developmental wrestler Damien Sandow in a dark match prior to the taping.
WWE Tough Enough contestant and 2010 Miss USA Rima Fakih was reportedly WASTED when she was arrested for DUI over the weekend in Michigan.
According to the police report, Fakih was pulled over when officers noticed the her speeding and weaving through traffic in Detroit early Saturday morning.
Cops say Fakih “immediately identified herself as Miss USA” and then flunked two breathalyzer tests. Fakih blew a 0.19 and then a 0.20 – more than double Michigan’s legal limit of .08.
Police searched her car and found a half-empty bottle of wine behind the driver’s seat.
She was arrested on suspicion of DUI and If convicted, Fakih could face some serious jail time.
As previously reported, shortly after her arrest, Fakih denied the entire situation on Twitter – claiming she wasn’t even in Michigan, was not in jail and the person who was arrested was somebody else with the same name. The tweets were then deleted and Fakih’s attorney Donald Elder confirmed the arrest.
— F4WOnline.com reports there is going to be a “pretty good hint” about who WWE’s viral videos are teasing on the December 19 Raw SuperShow.
This week’s viral video is titled “Look Within.” A boy is shown in the video saying a “prophet” will “emerge to destroy the weak” and “it will be the end of the world as you know it.”
— Triple H was in charge of Monday’s Raw SuperShow due to Vince McMahon’s absence. The WWE CEO, as well as Kofi Kingston, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, are in Afghanistan visiting U.S. troops. Footage from their trip will air during WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops special.
— A forum has been set up on Kelly Kelly’s newly launched website.
She tweeted, “The forum is up at http://www.wwedivakellykelly.com. I will be reading your posts! Hope you enjoy my new site :)”
— WWE has launched a Facebook page for WWE Legends’ House, the new reality show for WWE Network premiering in 2012. The synopsis for the series reads:
“A reality series featuring many of your favorite WWE Legends, all forced to live under one roof. See what happens when the most colorful and combustive personalities in WWE history shack up, break bread, and bruise egos.”
— Kelly Kelly is scheduled to appear on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Friday, which airs on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations.
— Lilian Garcia has released a behind the scenes trailer previewing her first music video, U Drive Me Loca. The SmackDown Diva’s music video will be officially released Friday via LilianGarcia.com.
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw the third installment of the “It Begins” video trailers, with this week’s promo titled, “Look within.” According to a report on PWInsider.com, insider sources continue to state that the person returning to WWE at the January 2nd edition of RAW from Memphis will be Chris Jericho.
Some had speculated that the “It Begins” videos were leading up to the return of the Undertaker, but the latest on his return is that he won’t be back until after the Royal Rumble.
– After The Rock claimed that his new “Boots To Asses” t-shirt was the best selling WWE t-shirt, CM Punk responded by re-tweeting the following message from one of his followers:
“The Rock comes up with another lie..Claiming his shirt is the most sold in WWE. We all know it’s the @CMPunk T-Shirt, that’s most sold.”
Punk also updated fans on the x-rays he had done on Tuesday, revealing that it was his right hand that might be fractured.
Punk posted the following picture of his x-ray – coincidentally doing one of John Cena’s hand gestures with the caption, “Hustle. Loyalty. Respect.”
— CM Punk stated Tuesday on Twitter that he was undergoing an X-ray examination today. He wrote, “Heading for X-rays, then gym. Because broke shit don’t stop me.”
He added, “Soon to be a dirt sheet headline: Punk gets X-rays.
“Going to go jump in a volcano then gym. Because hot lava don’t stop me.
“Soon to be dirt sheet headline: Punk jumps into volcano.”
— Tough Enough contestant and former Miss USA Rima Fakih is scheduled for a court hearing on December 21, 2011 in 30th District Court in Highland Park, Michigan due to her arrest Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving. If convicted, Fakih faces up to 93 days in jail, plus fines, court costs and the possibility of community service. (Article link)
— Lilian Garcia, SmackDown’s new, full-time ring announcer, has been added to the SmackDown Superstars page on WWE.com.
Randy Orton was recently interviewed by THQ to promote the new WWE ’12 video game. Here are some highlights of what Orton said about:
His Favorite Rivalry In WWE: “John Cena in ’09. I had a four month storyline where we exchanged titles. We had a memorable “Iron Man” match, and we traded wins and losses. I’m the anti-John Cena. If he’s kissing babies, wearing necklaces, then I’m doing the opposite. He’s a beast in the gym, and beast on the mic. He’s also in movies and everything, but I don’t see myself doing much more of that. I’m a WWE Superstar to the bone.”
His Health & When He’ll Retire: “I’d like to make it into my 40’s and compete and retire, but not because my neck is bad or anything like that, but so I’m able to go out on top on my own terms, like HBK. So many in the business can’t say that, but I want to finish on top and stay healthy. I’ve been using a lot of the advancements in preventative medicine more recently. I took a page out of John Cena’s book to do things for my muscular/neuro connection. I’m training specifically for what I do in the ring. Explosive movement or plyometrics. I just want all of my limbs stay in their sockets, so at the final bell, I can say that I did it all.”
His Dream Opponent From Any Generation: “My dad (“Cowboy” Bob Orton) got to wrestle his old man, but it’d be cool to do that as well. He was one of the best ring technicians, and everyone always had good things to say about my father. He was the innovator of a lot of moves, and he helped bring the business to where it is. I’d want to wrestle him in a straight up, babyface hour broadway.”
— Regarding rumors of WWE changing the appearance of the WWE Championship, while some in the organization are pushing to get rid of the “spinner” strap, no official change is currently planned.
— The Sin Cara Goteo De Oro T-Shirt featuring the shape of a penis embedded in a gold design that was pulled within hours of being listed on WWEShop.com last week was briefly supplied by WWE’s Japan Shop (WWEJapanShop.jp) in very limited quantities. The Japan affiliate mailed out the shirt and one has surfaced on eBay.
— The pre-sale code for the April 2, 2012 Raw SuperShow in Miami, Florida is WMWEEKMIA. The pre-sale kicks off tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
— Monday’s Raw SuperShow was the No. 1 most-mentioned show on social media in all of broadcast and cable TV, according to trendrr.com.
– WWE has been cracking down very aggressively on Twitter accounts that impersonate or parody their superstars and overall product.
With their huge push to integrate Twitter into the WWE Universe, the company is said to be overly-protective about fans being mislead by other parties trying to benefit from their intellectual property. Several Twitter accounts have been shut down in the past few weeks as a result of this new policy.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not backstage at Monday’s RAW, which is a rare thing. With Vince gone, Triple H was in charge of things backstage.
Among the WWE personalities backstage were AJim Ross, Sean Waltman, Layla and former diva Cherry.
– 1980s WWF star B. Brian Blair is recovering from appendectomy surgery. Blair was hospitalized for almost a week after his appendix burst and poisoned his intestines. Had the situation not been addressed when it was, he could have been facing severe medical complications.
Pregnant WWE Diva Kharma is engaged to be married. According to TMZ.com, her fiance proposed to her several months ago – and presented her with a very unique engagement ring – it’s actually a wrestling ring with a diamond, set inside of a normal ring.
No official date has been set for the wedding yet but TMZ reports that Kharma is looking to tie the knot in June of 2012.
Kharma, who is currently out on maternity leave, is still a member of the WWE roster.
While most people expect her to return to WWE once she delivers her baby and recovers, there have been others within the company who are skeptical that a new mother will immediately go back to work traveling 4+ days per week.
It’s worth noting that Kharma was trending worldwide on Twitter during RAW, despite the fact that she hasn’t been on WWE television in many months.
After Monday’s RAW from Tampa went off the air, there was a 41-man battle royal with the winner getting a WWE Championship match against CM Punk immediately.
Dolph Ziggler appeared to be eliminated early in the match and it came down to Zack Ryder, Cody Rhodes and Jack Swagger. After Ryder eliminated Rhodes and Swagger, Ziggler snuck in an eliminated Ryder to win the match and get the shot at Punk.
Out came CM Punk to defend the title against Ziggler with Vickie Guererro in his corner. There were “Vicky sucks” and “we want ice cream” chants during the match. Punk hit Ziggler with a knee in the corner and followed up with the Anaconda vice to get the win.