— Claudio Castagnoli, who recently signed a developmental contract with WWE, has been added to the Florida Championship Wrestling website’s roster page. As reported earlier, the former Ring of Honor talent is now known as Antonio Cesaro.
The website has also added Jason Jordan, Australian women’s wrestler Leah West (a/k/a Irena Janjic) and Corey Graves, who formerly competed in Ring of Honor and other independent leagues as Sterling James Keenan.
— WWEShop.com has released a new Randy Orton T-Shirt; Randy Orton Coiled Viper Authentic T-Shirt.
— WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel is advertised for an autograph signing at this Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event at the FCW Arena 4535 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, Florida.
— WWE has announced that Cody Rhodes will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Ted DiBiase at Night of Champions.
— Following SmackDown, Matt Striker caught up with Christian to get his thoughts on the now-rocky relationship with his former best friend Edge. Instead, the Toronto native promoted his Twitter account and called on fans to start a campaign to make him the No. 1 contender to the winner of the Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry World Heavyweight Title Match at Night of Champions.
The official WWE website confirmed Friday evening that The Rock will be returning to the squared circle at the Survivor Series on November 20. He will be participating in a Traditional 5-on-5 Tag Team Match at the show.
Their statement reads: “WWE sources have confirmed that The Rock and John Cena will be a part of a Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Tag Team Match.”
The Rock indicated earlier in the day on Facebook that he would be aligning with Cena at the Survivor Series as he posted the promotional poster for the event with the headline reading: “The Rock and John Cena Join Forces. Never Before. Never Again.”
— WWE Studios announced Friday it has acquired all United States distribution rights to the Toronto International Film Festival cult hit The Day, Doug Aarniokoski’s visceral action thriller.
“The Day is a renegade thrill-ride that will not disappoint audiences,” said newly named WWE Studios President, Michael Luisi. “We went to Toronto looking for films to showcase and expand the WWE Studios brand and found exactly that with Doug’s exceptional film.”
— Former WWE Divas Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Maria Kanellis and Angela Fong appear at the Frank & Son Collectible Show (16549 San Jose Ave City of Industry, California 91748) on Saturday, December 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Rock announced today on Facebook that he and John Cena will be joining forces at WWE Survivor Series on November 20th from New York City’s Madison Square Garden:
“I’m not waiting til Wrestlemania 28…
I’m coming to Survivor Series in November and ELECTRIFYING New York City like never before!
TEAM BRING IT – BOOTS TO ASSES.”
The recently released WWE Survivor Series Video Promo stated that The Rock would be in the house – but now it appears The Rock will actually be getting back in the ring. As reported here earlier this week, WWE has been pushing very hard to get The Rock to wrestle at Survivor Series.
Rock also posted a new version of the Survivor Series pay-per-view poster which reads, “The Rock and John Cena Join Forces: Never Before, Never Again.”
– WWE recently took out a $200 million line of credit with JP Morgan Chase Bank to finance the planned WWE Network and help the company expand its digital library.
– At this time, WWE has not yet finalized exactly what will air on the network. Of course, the backbone of the network will be WWE’s massive library of television footage spanning multiple decades from almost every major national wrestling promotion in history. There’s also the WWE Studios films that WWE can air at very little additional cost. Beyond that, several ideas have been discussed, including reality shows and scripted sitcoms starring current and past WWE superstars.
– WWE will be pushing hard to have the network launched by the end of 2012.
– WWE has been working on trademarking the name “The Network” – a name that was actually considered for the Nexus faction at one point.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the official promo video for the WWE Network:
– Mick Foley has launched his official website at RealMickFoley.com. Foley is expected to return to WWE in the coming months.
– Canadian independent wrestler Anthony Fiasco received a WWE tryout before the show in Ottawa this past week.
– A new horror film is in the works titled, “Zombies vs. Wrestlers” and will feature Shane Douglas in one of the starring roles. Zombies vs. Wrestlers is said to be a “serious horror movie” and not satire. Douglas is also listed as a producer for the film, which is currently seeking additional funding.
– There have reportedly been several departures from WWE in recent weeks, including:
Joel Satin (Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis)
Jen Bloodsworth (former NXT head writer and WWE website contributor)
Sirius XM’s Busted Open Interview: Beth Pheonix
Hosts: Doug Mortman and Mike Riker
Busted Open can be heard Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Sirius 94, XM 208
Beth on working with Goldust: I have nothing but great things to say about Goldust, and really what he brings to us is the time that he spends working with us. He has such a wide variety of opinions and experience on the business, things that like, you know he’ll come to me with advice that I never really would have seen it that way you know. And he has a completely different perspective, and he has really, really put in so much effort and cares about the divas division and I have nothing but glowing things to say about him. If you see what you want to see and your liking what you are seeing, Goldust is a big part of that.
Beth on CM Punk vs. HHH: Well this match, you know, maybe has as much meaning for all of us on the roster as it does for the WWE Universe. Because if HHH loses, he is no longer the COO of the company. And on the other hand, CM Punk has kind of been the one guy to stand up and step up for all of us who have felt pushed aside or under-appreciated, so it really is kind of a conflict of heart. Because I like what HHH has been doing as the COO, he has really you know made some changes in the company that have affected us in a positive way. So um, you know, I understand Punk’s gripes, but at the same time me as a talent, I really like what HHH has done so it’s really a toss up. I think it could go either way, and it’s really going be the match I want to see the most.
Beth on her relationship with Natalya: Myself and Natalya have been longtime best friends in the wrestling business, you know we respect each other and we have very similar stories. I grew up really, you know, idolizing her family so we have a lot of, um, our mission is really what we have in common aside from other things, but you know we are our own thing. It’s unfortunate what happened with Karma because I would have loved to have her as an opponent at some day, at some point, but right now like I said it’s just all about me and Natty and that’s all we are really worried about.
Beth on CM Punk giving buzz to the wrestling world: I think there’s like a feeling of kind of like an anti-establishment growing, you know like a revolution. I think there’s like, there’s a feeling that, you know, that we got back when Stone Cold was standing up to Vince McMahon. I would make comparisons back to that because, you know, CM Punk has basically stepped outside the box and stopped being a nice guy and said what’s on everyone’s mind. But rather than being villainized for it, we all kind of support him on that and saying like wow, thank you, thank you for being the one to stand up and say something. So, there are a lot of us that, certainly over the summer it was probably the hottest topic in wrestling in years, and um I feel like going forward this match is going to be a determining factor in where the company goes as a whole.
Beth Phoenix and CM Punk have been rumored to be romantically linked. In fact, many believe Beth Phoenix was drafted to RAW this year so the two could travel together. Check out this video of Beth Phoenix giving CM Punk her finisher back in July when WWE was in New Zealand and Punk was allegedly “leaving WWE” .. Beth Phoenix finally gets her payback on Punk after he gave her his Go 2 Sleep finisher at the 2010 Royal Rumble!
The following is a detailed recap from Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown taping, airing tonight (9/16) on Syfy:
Edge came out to start the show and received a standing ovation and a “thank you, Edge” chant. He said he misses the fact that in real life, theme music and pyro doesn’t go off when he walks into a room.
Cody Rhodes came out to interrupt. Cody handed a bag to Edge and told him to take it home as a reminder of what Smackdown is now. Edge left, saying that if Cody kept talking, he was going to fall asleep in the ring.
Rhodes flipped out and complained that everyone in the crowd needed a paper bag. Someone wearing a paper bag punched Cody. The person took the bag off and revealed himself to be Ted DiBiase, who beat on Cody until he escaped.
1. Daniel Bryan defeated Sin Cara by DQ. The match was fought under Sin Cara lighting. Bryan won by DQ when Sin Cara had him upside down in the ropes and repeatedly stomped on his face. At the end of the match, the real Sin Cara came out and had a staredown with the fake Sin Cara, who is noticeably taller and heavier. They had a cheer-off and then fake Sin Cara left.
Trish Stratus turned up in a backstage segment with Teddy Long and Aksana.
2. Beth Phoenix beat A.J. A squash match. Beth did an impressive overhead press that would have been more impressive if A.J. weighed more than 80 pounds.
There was a backstage segment with Edge, Christian, and Trish.
3. Sheamus and Justin Gabriel beat Wade Barrett and Christian. No Americans in this match, just like the British Commonwealth! Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Barrett, and Gabriel followed up with a 450 Splash for the win.
4. The Great Khali fought Heath Slater to a no-contest. Jinder Mahal came out and bitched at Khali in their native tongue. Jinder interfered for the apparent no-contest. Khali cleared the ring and it was over.
5. R-Truth beat Evan Bourne. He won using his finisher after Bourne missed his top rope finisher.
Edge hosted The Cutting Edge with Randy Orton and Mark Henry. They talked and then they brawled. The locker room stormed to the ring to break them up. Henry cleaned house and then posed with the belt.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. JR previews Night of Champions and had this to say about the following topics:
Whether The WWE Title & The World Heavyweight Title Will Ever Be Unified:
“No , I never see one, major champion in WWE meaning that I don’t think that the WWE/World Heavyweight titles will ever be united which essentially means that I don’t see the brand split going away any time soon.”
“Will the WWE title belts ever be redesigned? Beats me. No idea and I’m really not a ‘belt guy’ as it relates to what they look like. We get this question all the time.”
What he thinks of Brock Lesnar returning to the Octagon in December?
“My instinct says it may be too early. I’m surprised that Brock is returning to headline a UFC PPV so soon after surgery and especially against an opponent like Overeem who is a world class striker. I’m a Lesnar fan without question and hope that he can take Overeem down and avoid a knockout.”
Will Batista and/or Chris Jericho ever return to WWE?
“Again, I have no info on such but my guess is that yes they will at some point in the future and likely for a limited time engagement. Perhaps that’s just my wishful thinking and I could be dead wrong. Both would help score a bigger Wrestlemania 28 number of PPV buys, IMO.”
As always, check out JRsBarBQ.com for Jim Ross’ amazing line of BBQ products!
During a recent interview with MovieFone.com to promote his new movie Inside Out, WWE star Triple H was asked about the differences between pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. Specifically, he was asked, “How do you think WWE and pro wrestling needs to evolve as UFC and MMA grows in popularity?
Triple H answered with the following response, saying that it’s actually UFC that needs to evolve right now, not WWE:
“I don’t think we have to evolve. It’s two totally different things. I think now especially there’s this thing like, “oh it’s very similar.”
“I don’t see us needing to evolve to what UFC does because quite frankly sometimes the fights are long and boring, guys lying around and sometimes the fights are fast and over in five seconds. I’ve always thought one of the things about us, if you look at us solely from a sports standpoint, is that we always give you a good show. We’re never going to give you a crap game.”
“I think if anybody needs to evolve, it’s them. Give more of an entertainment standpoint. Give more form; they just have fighters who walk in in T-shirts and shorts and just stand there and then they fight and then they win and then they go “thanks, I’d like to thank my sponsors” and then they leave. The whole world was up in arms when Brock was flipping people off and was cussing at the beer company because they didn’t give him any money and everyone thought, “oh my god, he’s disrespectful,” — the whole world was talking about it. They couldn’t wait to see him get beat up. And then he did well, and he beat some guys and then people jump on his bandwagon going “Brock’s the greatest.” I’m good friends with Floyd Mayweather and Floyd would be the first to tell ya, “I make the most money in boxing and I have the biggest buyers because I have the biggest mouth.” He’d be the first guy to tell you that. That’s what it’s about. Sports is entertainment.”
Many people are shaking their heads at the ineptitude of Triple H’s remarks, including his Night of Champions opponent, CM Punk. Punk tweeted the following on Thursday:
“”@arielhelwani: RT @MMAFighting Triple H: UFC Needs to Evolve More Than WWE aol.it/qVzzuK” RIDICULOUS!!!!! Laugh out loud ignorance.”
DISCUSSION: What do you guys think? Is Triple H off his rocker when he says that WWE is doing just fine right now and it’s actually UFC that needs to alter its company strategy? Hit up the comments below and tell us what you think.
— The latest issue of Power Slam features an interview with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the WWE Hall of Famer is asked if he envisages himself returning to the squared circle for one more match. Austin responded:
“Awww, man. Look, I’ll tell you this much: If I was going to do anything in WWE, I’d do something with Punk.”
“Like I said, I love what he’s doing, and there’s a lot of parallels. I’m not saying it’s definitely going to happen, but if I could cherry-pick my opponent, and all the stars lined up, I’d love to work a program with him.”
— Events.org is offering fans a chance to “get up close and personal” with CM Punk as the philanthropic foundation is holding an auction to meet “The Straight-Edge Superstar” prior to WWE’s Raw taping on December 26, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The auction, which concludes Saturday, can be accessed here. Experience includes four tickets to the event. Airfare and hotel are not included.
Video footage has been released of Shawn Michaels and Triple H hunting for alligators in Florida from “Shawn Michaels’s MacMillan River Adventures” show. The full episode aired earlier this week on Outdoor Channel and replays on Saturday night. Part 2 of the DX gator hunt airs on next week’s show:
Beth Phoenix appeared on Between The Ropes with Brian Fritz. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
On teaming with her good friend Natalya to form the Divas of Doom: “I got hired by the WWE and was in the developmental system and she ended being hired shortly thereafter. From first sight, people were like wow, you guys could be sisters, you look so similar and we have a very similar power style in the ring. And we just really became close and became friends and became each others support units although we didn’t really cross paths on the show too much. But behind the scenes we would really be close. She’s really the only diva that I trust with everything as a friend and in the ring. That’s why as my ally I’m so excited to be able to work with her and to form this Divas of Doom because it’s like going to work with my best friend which is pretty cool.”
On the potential feud with Awesome Kong (Kharma) that didn’t happen: “I was really disappointed that things turned out that way because I was probably the most excited out of everybody (of Kong joining the company) because not only does she have this mystique about her but I can remember for years when she was doing things elsewhere that was always the comparison. That was my far off, distant dream opponent I supposed because I got asked more than anything else ‘what are you going to do when you meet Kharma’. At the time, it wasn’t a possibility but then when she came in, I was so excited because I was like wow, this could actually come true. This could actually happen and I think it would be something epic for the divas that we haven’t had in a long time. Nobody was more disappointed than me.”
On whether or not Melina and her personality didn’t fit with others: “I never had anything but respect for Melina. I’m not a super social person. I have my best friend in Natalya. That’s who I stick to and I don’t go out and party or anything like that or socialize a lot with the other divas. You know, I didn’t really get to know her personality maybe but speaking from my own personal experience, I respect her very much and what she did and she has a great passion for this business. And I know whatever the future holds for her she’ll do a great job with it.”
During the interview, Triple H was asked about wrestling legend Ric Flair and his infamous partying ways. Triple H had this to say about Ric Flair, who is still going hard after all these years:
“Ric is one of my best friends. Ric doesn’t know when to walk away. Ric doesn’t want to be told to walk away. And Ric can’t afford to walk away. Ric has lived every day of his life like it’s the last for almost the fifty years he’s been in the business. In Ric’s mind, it’s still 1982, he’s on top of the world, he’s young, he’s got a lot of money. Ric has never questioned spending.”
“We have a term on the road where if you go out and you have a crazy night that you spent a ludicrous amount of money or you just lose it one day and you can’t go through another airport and you’re trying to get a jet instead, we call it ‘Naitching.’ Ridiculously spending money for no point is called ‘Naitching.’”
Triple H also spoke about the competition between WWE and UFC – which is leading many to say that Triple H is stuck in the “WWE bubble” and out of touch with reality. To read what Triple H had to say about WWE vs. UFC, hit the link below:
— Former WWE Diva Lilian Garcia announced on Twitter that she has teamed up with AfterBuzzTV.com to host a live aftershow reviewing Raw.
She wrote, “Ready for my news? Starting Oct 3, I will be one of the hosts on Afterbuzz TV for a show that was my life for 10 years – Monday Night Raw! Very excited!”
The show will stream live every Monday night immediately following Raw at ustream.tv/afterbuzztv. Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis previously announced that she would be a host on the show.
— Former WWE star Ricky Ortiz has launched an account on Twitter at beastortiz. He presently wrestles for the Urban Wrestling Federation and various Florida independents. He has also tried his hand at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in recent months.
— Rhythm and Blues will reunite as The Honky Tonk Man and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine are advertised to appear at the Haunted Halloween Flea Market at the DuPage County Fairgrounds 2015 W. Manchester Wheaton, Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. Visit www.zurkopromotions.com for more information.
As reported earlier, former WWE and TNA wrestler Matt Hardy was arrested at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport once again this week in North Carolina and charged with DWI (Driving While Intoxicated).
TMZ.com has published the police report (.PDF) from Matt Hardy’s arrest and the details are just unbelievable.
Matt Hardy was at the airport on Monday afternoon when police received several phone calls from concerned drivers who said Matt’s car “almost hit two drivers three separate times.”
When an airport police officer spotted Hardy, the wrestler’s car, “swerved into the curb and then back onto the road.”
Once Hardy was pulled over, the officer claims Hardy was asked to step out of the vehicle. Matt proceeded to open his door and get out of the car – WITHOUT PUTTING IT IN PARK. The police report reads, “The vehicle rolled forward and I yelled for him to put the vehicle in park.”
Matt Hardy was observed to have “slow and slurred speech, sleepy eyes and a very lackadaisical demeanor.”
Hardy was asked to walk in a straight line but – “after taking two steps, Mr. Hardy lost his balance and failed to stay on the line.” He was given a second chance but only made it “two or three steps” before failing to remain “heel-to-toe” and lost his balance again. Hardy took another field sobriety test where he had to stand on one leg. “He was unable to hold his leg up past 1 second.”
Hardy took a breathalyzer test – which showed that he had zero alcohol in his system. [SEE? HE WASN’T DRINKING! HE’S BEING FRAMED! Oh wait …]
Cops then called in a “Drug Recognition Officer” to perform even more tests – and they determined Hardy was under the influence of “Central Nervous System depressants” and arrested him on the spot. Hardy’s blood was taken for drug testing – and those results are not in as of this writing.
Hardy is due back in court [for this offense] on November 30th.
Shortly after the arrest, Matt Hardy’s girlfriend Reby Sky tweeted, “F*ck this.”
According to sources within WWE, Kevin Nash is currently scheduled for this Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event in Buffalo, New York.
In the opening segment of last week’s Raw Supershow, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H fired Nash after the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion revealed that he had snuck into his office and sent a text to himself from The Game’s phone, instigating his attack on CM Punk at SummerSlam.
Nash was then shown leaving the venue with John Laurinaitis. Two days later, WWE formally announced his released from the organization. Nash then said on Twitter that both parties couldn’t reach financial terms.
For more on Kevin Nash’s “release” from WWE and what his future holds, check out our official Kevin Nash News Page.
WWE officials are reportedly trying very hard to get The Rock to wrestle at Survivor Series in November.
Original plans called for The Rock to appear at the 25th anniversary show and participate in some sort of angle, but not wrestle until WrestleMania 28.
Something has changed in the past 2 weeks and now WWE is ready to jump the gun and give away Rock’s in-ring return 6 months before his showdown with John Cena next April.
As previously reported, there has been talk of doing a best of 3 series between Rock and Cena.
Whether or not The Rock will wrestle at Survivor Series has been a controversial topic behind the scenes in WWE this past week.
— WWE has changed the structure of their creative staff with a “home team” and “road team” initiative. Road teams will travel to each week’s television tapings while home teams will work at company headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut to develop future shows. WWE creative head Stephanie McMahon, a mother of three children, and Brian Gewirtz will reportedly stay at home to avoid going on the road on a weekly basis.
— The official website of the New Orleans Arena is advertising Edge for next month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event taking place October 2: “Witness the Superstars of both Raw and Smackdown live under the same roof for a PPV extravaganza live event featuring: John Cena, Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Edge, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, The Big Show and many more Superstars live!”
WWE paid tribute to the “Rated-R Superstar” following last night’s SmackDown taping in Toronto, Ontario with “Edge Appreciation Night.” He also hosted “The Cutting Edge” with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Mark Henry during the taped show. He is also advertised for next Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Dayton, Ohio.
As reported earlier, former WWE and TNA wrestler Matt Hardy was arrested once again this week in North Carolina and charged with DWI (Driving While Intoxicated).
According to police, Matt was arrested on Monday, September 12th. He was arrested by Airport Police at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
He tweeted on Tuesday that there’s some sort of conspiracy against him – claiming he was framed and apparently has a “bulls eye on his head.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was asked on Twitter what he thinks about Matt Hardy’s latest DWI arrest. Ross responded:
“Really, what’s left to say?”
Matt Hardy now has several court dates scheduled stemming from three separate incidents.
The first on September 28th for his August 20 DWI arrest that led to his release from TNA. That arrest brought charges of Driving While Impaired and Exceeding Safe Speed.
Next he has a court date on October 11th, from a different incident, where was charged with Reckless Driving – Wanton Disregard.
Finally, from Monday’s latest arrest, he appears in court on November 30th to face charges of driving while impaired.
In an interview with BoxingScene.com, heavyweight boxing contender Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett announced that he’s heading to train at WWE’s developmental territory at the end of October.
Barrett, whose professional record is 35-9-2 (with 20 knockouts), recently scored a unanimous decision win over rival David Tua last month, will be heading to Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa for two weeks next month and will later return for a two month period. Barrett told BoxingScene.com:
“I gotta call [WWE senior director of talent relations] Ty Bailey this week and go through some of the particulars, but I know whatever it’s gonna be, it will be a lot of hard work. I told him I will commit 110% and put my best foot forward with everything that I do.”
The 40-year-old Barrett is a friend of John Cena and recently told Boxing Scene that he’s interested in fighting David Tua once again at WrestleMania 28 – and would do so inside a steel cage.
— Many people speculated that Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, who participated in Tough Enough and guest-hosted an episode of Monday Night Raw last November, would have a WWE contract waiting for her if she opted for a professional wrestling career. She, however, says that’s not the case.
Fakih was asked yesterday on Twitter when she would be going to WWE and replied, “WWE doesn’t seem interested in me maybe @TNA or mud wrestling might be LOL.”
— Sin Cara spoke to Nexos Latinos for a brief interview regarding his wrestling background and training regime. When asked why he wears a mask, he replied, “The mask adds a certain mystique to my image. It makes people wonder who I really am and gives additional interest to Mistico.” He adds that it’s difficult for him to see through the mask since he can’t see half the time.
The interview, which is in Spanish, can be accessed here.
— Tickets for WWE’s Raw live event on December 29, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. go on sale September 24 via Ticketmaster.