— WWE announced at last night’s Raw live event at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee that Monday Night Raw will be held at the venue on January 2, 2012.
— Jerry Lawler beat Jack Swagger in a singles match at Saturday’s Raw live event in Memphis, Tennessee. The former World Heavyweight Champion succumbed to Lawler following the Crown Drop.
— WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race appeared at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Cape Girandeau, Missouri and introduced Ted DiBiase, who trained nearby at his school. The SmackDown Superstar said that thanks to Harley, he is living his dream.
He then lost to Sin Cara.
— In an exclusive interview with WWE.com, Christian discusses Edge’s actions at SummerSlam, the decisions being made by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H, and why he feels he will have a huge advantage entering a steel cage with Randy Orton this Tuesday on SuperSmackDown.
— Rey Mysterio underwent surgery Friday after sustaining an injury to his knee. The procedure included a repair to two major ligaments in his knee and bone spurs removed.
Mysterio wrote Saturday night on Twitter: “Pain comes & goes but coping through it! Had acl, pcl, & bone spurs removed! Never felt pain like this one! All good though thx to y’all!619”
He blew out his knee while attempting a baseball slide during a match against Alberto Del Rio on the August 15 episode of Raw. There is talk that he may not be able to return to action until WrestleMania XXVIII.
— Wade Barrett posted a storyline related message on Twitter after he refused to perform against a local competitor on Friday’s SmackDown broadcast
He wrote, “After the dregs that WWE management gave me on Smackdown tonight, they can kiss my English arse from now on. #twofingeredsalute.”
— A match pitting CM Punk against John Cena is being advertised by cable outlets for this Tuesday’s live SuperSmackDown special on Syfy. WWE has not announced the match yet.
— Kaitlyn accidentally revealed in a Twitter message intended as a private message that she hates her WWE entrance theme (“Let’s Go” by Hollywood Records).
“To be honest, I don’t have any criteria really or a timeline . I just hate the generic music they have for me. And u thought it would be,” she wrote.
Kaitlyn said upon learning her mistake, “Oh snap! U stop reading my DM’s hahah I accidently posted a message meant for a DM.”
— Jerry Lawler is advertised to host tonight’s Raw live event at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
— Rey Mysterio underwent surgery Friday after sustaining an injury to his knee. He posted an update regarding his health on Twitter. Mysterio wrote:
“Morning to all! 24hrs after surgery at home recouperating! Pain is insane! Going crazy.. Thx 4 the support! 619 luv!”
The masked star blew out his knee, believed to be his ACL, while attempting a baseball slide during a match against Alberto Del Rio on last week’s episode of Raw. There is talk that he may not be able to return to action until WrestleMania XXVIII.
— A spokesperson for The Great Khali announced this week that the WWE Superstar is in support of Anna Hazare, an Indian activist who has been fasting for the past twelve days to protest corruption within the Indian Government. He noted that he was in support of the issue at hand, not a specific political party.
— Former WWE Diva Lauren Jones, who attended last night’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi, turns 29 years old today. A native of the area, she watched the show from the front row and went backstage afterwards.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Kurt Angle’s Olympic Hopes: “Will Kurt Angle make the next USA Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team? I seriously doubt it but I’d love to be wrong. It would make a helluva story if it happened but it’s a long shot at best in all due respect to Kurt. Honestly, at that level one must devote all their time to achieving their goal.
The Bret Hart – HBK DVD: “Previewed the documentary portion of the @BretHart and @shawnmichaels_ DVD Thursday night and it was main event money. Those two WWE HOF’ers were honest and open to every question. I did not lob softballs and they did not avoid any questions. It was a very emotional and compelling piece of business. The DVD hits stores around October 25 and will obviously be on shelves for holiday shopping. I can’t recommend it strongly enough.”
Undertaker’s WWE Future: “When is the Undertaker returning or is he retired? When the Undertaker retires don’t you think that every wrestling fan in the free world will know it ASAP via WWE? Taker is not retired. I do not know when he’ll return and neither do those who Tweet us and act as if they do.”
A few weeks ago, there was a picture circulating online of The Undertaker with what appeared to be a shaved head (VIEW HERE). This week, a new picture has surfaced of the Dead Man on the ocean – check it out:
— Mick Foley posted a blog regarding his experience at the “Gathering of the Juggalos” earlier this month and addressing rumors of a potential return to WWE. Foley wrote:
“As I mentioned, there’s this rumor out there that I might be returning to WWE sometime soon, and if the rumor proves to be true, my chances of returning to this one-of-a-kind atmosphere in 2012 will be dramatically reduced.”
— Based on the graph WWE released for pay-per-view buys in their latest key indicator, Money in the Bank was listed as 265,000 buys. However, another breakdown in the estimates lists July pay-per-view purchases at 185,000. The other buys incorporated into the graph are being credited to WrestleMania XXVII, which came in after the last key indicator was released.
— The Miz appears at Walmart 1105 Wellington Rd S., London, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, Sept. 12 beginning at noon. Call 519-681-7500 for more information.
— WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio is missing this weekend’s Raw live events because he was due to return to Mexico to renew his work visa. He will be on hand for Monday’s Raw in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
— The Score in Canada will be airing NXT on Wednesday nights at 9:00 p.m. beginning Aug. 31, 2011. College football will air in NXT‘s former spot on Thursday nights.
— “WWE Magazine’s” 2011 poster book, which hits newsstands this Tuesday, features 20 giant photos of the likes of CM Punk, John Cena, The Rock and Randy Orton. Click here to view the issue’s cover.
— The Ventura County Star has published an article on the wrestling dominated play, “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.” Kristoffer Diaz’s play will be performed Tuesday through Oct. 9 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, California.
— Mason Ryan returned to action at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi. The Welsh grappler beat Zack Ryder in the second match of the night.
Ryan has been sidelined since late June due to an undisclosed injury.
— WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio will face Sin Cara in a non-title match this Tuesday on SuperSmackDown.
— WWE ring announcer Eden Stiles participated in her first angle at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi as she was attacked by The Bella Twins. This led to Divas Champion Kelly Kelly and Eve hitting the ring to fend off the twin duo. Kelly and Eve beat Nikki and Brie in a subsequent match.
— The Great Khali turns 39 years old today while WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter turns 63. Also celebrating a birthday is former WWE Women’s Champion Jazz, who turns 38.
— With General Manager Theodore Long unable to attend tonight’s SmackDown due to unforeseen circumstances, COO Triple H called on WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart to serve as the Special Guest General Manager. Christian, however, showed up with a court order stating that no Superstar would get a World Title match until he was granted his rematch – including the new No. 1 contender Mark Henry. The Excellence of Execution then announced that Christian will face World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton in a Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Title on this Tuesday’s live SuperSmackDown in Wichita, Kansas.
— Former WWE Diva Lauren Jones, who sporadically appeared for SmackDown in 2004 and 2005, was invited to tonight’s Raw live event at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Mississippi. A native of Jackson, she watched the show from the front row and went backstage afterwards.
Jones mutually parted ways with WWE in June 2005 because company officials pushed her to become a wrestler when she wanted to pursue other opportunities. WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, who brought Jones to the organization in 2004 after she appeared as a model for a WWE Magazine photo shoot, has since made overtures to the entrepreneur/entertainment personality about returning to the organization. She garnered mainstream attention earlier this month as Hollywood starlets Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston and Charlize Theron were all photographed wearing a high-heel shoe she had designed, the Lauren Jones ‘Franci’ Sandal.
Ric Flair is suing the website who wrote a scathing exposé story earlier this week about the personal and financial hardships he’s put himself and his family through over the past 20 years. Despite the fact that most of the article’s facts were pulled straight from court documents the countless lawsuits that Flair’s been involved in (ex-wives, business associates, horrified flight attendants), Flair claims the Grantland.com investigative piece written by Shane Ryan falsely states that he suffers from Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy — a disease caused by years of alcohol abuse which often leads to heart failure.
The following statement was released by Flair’s representatives, Legacy Talent and Entertainment:
“Mr. Fliehr has declined to comment on the “Grantland” story published this week, as he has consistently with media inquiries regarding legal affairs. While the information gleaned from courthouse records may be credible, Mr. Fliehr is currently evaluating his legal options with respect to falsehoods in the story, specifically the untrue statement that he suffers from alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Our client understands that these allegations are part of the territory when you are not only famous, but a living legend. Ric Flair is a sports entertainer, which has been a lifelong passion that he still enjoys delivering to his fans today, along with his work outside of the ring with various charitable causes. We will be sure to advise Mr. Fliehr against running for County Treasurer and instead to continue entertaining his millions of fans all over the world as he has been doing for the past 35 years.”
With the man who originally played the character Sin Cara (Mistico) recently being suspended for 30 days due to a violation of WWE’s Wellness policy, developmental wrestler Hunico has been portraying Sin Cara on WWE television.
Tuesday’s SmackDown taping from Calgary was the first show the man formerly known as Mistico was able to return from his suspension. Sin Cara wrestled Heath Slater on Tuesday night in a match that has been described by one fan in attendance as a “botch fest.” WWE was forced to re-shoot several parts of the match due to blown spots.
There had been reports that some wrestlers were already rolling their eyes at Sin Cara for having such a bad match in his first night back – but PWInsider.com is reporting that it was actually Hunico that wrestled as Sin Cara on Tuesday night – not Mistico.
According to their report, Sin Cara showed up to the arena on Tuesday night, met with WWE management and was sent home during the SmackDown taping.
WWE sources have indicated that Hunico will be portraying the character of Sin Cara moving forward. The Sin Cara character is still very popular with young audience and sells a lot of t-shirts, but most in the company are under the impression that Mistico’s days in WWE are numbered.
– WWE star Rey Mysterio is undergoing knee surgery this morning, which will likely keep him out of action for the rest of 2011. Mysterio attended a Lil Wayne rap concert on Thursday night and tweeted the following about the show:
“U only enjoy life once! At Lil Wayne concert in da 619 wit my son Dom & my homies K-dawg & Mad One! Walking in 4 surgery tmrrw morning!619!”
– Matt Hardy has checked in with another update on Twitter, saying he’s gotten a brand new car and jokes around staying sober:
“Was lucky enough to get a brand new car thx to my pals help-1st song that played on my XM radio was “SOBER” by Tool! A sign-I do think!”
“It’s goin to be a great day thx 2 my Lord & amazing circle of family & friends that I love so much! The circle will never go unbroken again!”
Bret Hart entered the ring as the guest general manager of Smackdown. He spoke about the live Smackdown next Tuesday and said it was his decision. Sure, it was. He said Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton will take place on that show. Out came Christian, who said it was not his fault for losing at SummerSlam. He blamed Edge and said he couldn’t concentrate during the SS match. Christian wants his rematch Tuesday on live SD.
Bret told Christian to stop being a crybaby. He said he’s an embarrassment to the WWE Universe and to Canada. Yikes! He said he has to work his way back up. Christian called Bret an embarrassment and said he’s the only relevant Canadian. Christian presented a court order to Bret that says he gets his rematch before anyone else gets a title shot. Bret gave it to him for next Tuesday and added that it will be in a steel cage match.
Mark Henry came out and said he’s been here for 15 years. He said this is disrespect and that he earned his shot. He said someone’s gonna get hurt. He wants the winner of the cage match. He was trying to bully Bret. Out comes Sheamus, who tells a story about how his uncle castrated a black bull. He is gonna do the same. He clears Henry from the ring.
They did a retake of Sheamus and Henry.
1. Christian defeated Daniel Bryan. Christian won with the Killswitch. An excellent match, just as you would expect from these two.
Wade Barrett came out for a match against a local wrestler. He said he is responsible for attacks on John Cena and others. He said he has shaken WWE to its very core (get it, Corre?). He says there is no way he will face this guy. He said it was an embarrassment and then left. That was the end of the segment. Seriously.
2. Sin Cara beat Heath Slater. There were a couple of botched moves and a quick roll up for the win. They had to reshoot the finish because it was so bad the first time. The kids love Sin Cara, though.
3. Randy Orton defeated Ted DiBiase (w/Cody Rhodes). Cody said he performs miracles and is resurrecting the Intercontinental Title. The paper bags were handed out. It was a nice match with lots of great spots. They had obvious chemistry with one another. Orton got the win with the RKO. Cody was pissed and hit CrossRhodes on DiBiase after the match. He put a bag on his head and their relationship appears to be finished.
4. Kelly Kelly beat Tamina. Kelly Kelly won with her new finisher.
Jinder Mahal was schooling The Great Khali and telling him he needs to take care of Ezekiel Jackson, which is coming up next.
Randy Orton vs. Christian in a cage match was officially advertised for the live Smackdown show.
5. Ezekiel Jackson defeated The Great Khali. Jackson broke out of the Vice Grip and put Khali in the Torture Rack. Impressive.
Randy Orton cut a promo on the big screen. He basically asked how many times he has to fight Christian.
6. Sin Cara defeated Heath Slater. They redid the match completely. No kidding. And, shockingly, it was way better the second time.
7. Sheamus defeated Mark Henry by countout. This was a slow plod. Sheamus scored the countout victory after throwing Henry into the announce table. Afterward, Henry killed Sheamus with the World’s Strongest Slam onto the ring steps.
With CM Punk emerging as the breakout star of 2011 – there has been a lot of talk about how Punk and« John Cena’s big match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view would deliver with customers. Aside from being one of the top merchandise sellers for WWE in recent months – Punk can add “ability to sell PPVs’” to his resume.
According to the latest numbers released to WWE stockholders, July’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view did over 265,000 worldwide buys – up a staggering 100,000 buys (60%) from 2010’s MITB event.
Money in the Bank is now the 3rd top grossing PPV of the year, behind WrestleMania 27 and the Royal Rumble.
It started off when Austin responded to one of Zack Ryder’s tweets, where Ryder talked about drinking the beer Bud Light Lime. Austin to Zack Ryder that he shouldn’t put a lime in a beer after Ryder talked about drinking Bud Light Lime.
Punk, known for his straight-edge drug and alcohol-free lifestyle, told Austin that the lime is used “to make it not taste like piss” and that beer is “still poison.”
Austin replied with the following remark:
“you oughta mind your own business…stay focused on Nash and leave the beer drinking to me…Punk.”
Now one to back down from a jab, Punk replied to Austin with:
“focus is my middle name…Steven.”
Austin then ended the exchange with the following:
“my middle name is Whoop Ass…now go about your business before you step in a big pile of what did I get myself into now??”
There was a major corporate restructuring of WWE’s official website last week as Brian Kalinowski, the Executive Vice President of Digital Media and Mark Keys, the Vice President of Digital and Interactive Content Production and Social Media, were both let go. WWE.com is now part of a new division called WWE Creative, led by Stephanie McMahon-Levesque. There will be other changes and restructuring as part of her vision and concept.
Kalinowski spearheaded the website’s recent overhaul, with the notable addition of more video content. He was also responsible for the restructuring of WWEShop.com. Many people were initially critical of Kalinowski since he was recruited from outside of the professional wrestling industry and didn’t understand its uniqueness. However, he grew to learn the business and was considered a strong leader by colleagues. Many people feel he was dismissed due to Stephanie taking control of the website, rather than his job performance.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that a bigger power struggle is ongoing, between Stephanie and Kevin Dunn, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Television Production. Unlike her father, Vince McMahon, Stephanie is not fond of Dunn. Those close to the situation indicate that Dunn is aware that he will ultimately lose the power struggle, but he should be fine as long as Vince is around. Dunn is one of the few people Vince listens to and values the opinion of.
The digital media department was unhappy with Kalinowski’s departure from the organization, but morale had already sunk; they were previously informed that Stephanie would be in charge of department and everything going forward would be coordinated through her office.
– Former WWE star MVP wrote the following on Twitter about Matt Hardy:
“I spoke 2 Matt & Jeff today. It’s a difficult time for Matt but he’ll be ok. Life has ups & downs! For some more than others. Matt has people who care about him that will see him get the help he needs! It’s real easy for those of you that are free of imperfection to hurl insults at those who aren’t. Life is about PEAKS & valleys!”
We’ve got a TON of Matt Hardy news from the past week at our Matt Hardy News Page – definitely check that out to catch up on all the craziness.
– The original Sin Cara (Mistico) returned to action this week at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Calgary and already had people ‘shaking their heads’ at him backstage. WWE had to do two re-takes during Sin Cara’s match against Heath Slater due to several blown spots – something his WWE run has been plagued by thus far.
On Monday’s RAW, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston defeated David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty to capture the WWE tag team championships. WWE, Bourne and Kingston have been asking fans on Twitter to pick a name for the new team.
The names suggested by WWE included:
Flight Club
Dreadlock & Load
Boom Raiders
The Wing Men
The Boom Squad
The Kingston Duo
Fly Guys
The Bourne Supremacy
Altitude Era
The Legion of Boom
It appears that Bourne and Kingston have settled on a name, as Bourne tweeted the following on Wednesday:
“@TrueKofi and I are ushering in a new Altitude Era for the WWE tag team division. As @joerogan says, #buckleup”
DISCUSSION: What do you guys think about the name Altitude Era? How about some of the other names WWE came up with (Drealock & Load?!) Comment below and tell us what YOU would name Bourne and Kingston!
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can check out over at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Matt Hardy: “What are my thoughts on the controversy surrounding Matt Hardy? (Been asked this one a ton the past couple of days.) We brought Matt and Jeff to the WWE and they had some amazing outings over the years as many remember. They were, generally, excellent to work with and I like them a great deal on a personal basis. However, I am not in touch with either, only know what I read about them, and can only hope that whatever issues they may have or have had are put behind them much sooner than later. I wish them only good health and happiness.”
WWE Rebuilding The Tag Team Division: “Are tag teams making a come back in WWE? I can only say that I hope so and if last week’s Raw is any indication it would seem that there is a good chance the tag team scene is going to receive added exposure and the chance to develop. There are many younger fans today who have never experienced quality, tag team wrestling done on a major scale as was done in WWE in generations past. Some fans actually are bigger fans of tag team wrestling than one on one bout.”
Todd Grisham Leaving WWE For ESPN: “Thoughts on Todd Grisham going to ESPN? I think it is a good move for all involved. Todd will fit well at ESPN with former WWE alums Jonathan Coachman and Max Bretos. Grish knows sports, especially soccer, and is very comfortable doing studio work. He’s a good human being and a talented guy who I know will do wonderful work in Bristol.”
Ultimate Warrior In The Hall Of Fame: “Will the Warrior ever go in the WWE Hall of Fame? Please Lord let’s not start a trend here….I really don’t know. Does Warrior deserve recognition? Based on many others who are in the WWE HOF I’d say of course. Would Warrior’s live acceptance speech be memorable? Oh, yeah.”
Ross also spoke about whether Brock Lesnarwill ever wrestle for WWE again, Dr Death Steve Williams’ WWE run and more. As always, head over to JRsBarBQ.com for Jim Ross’ delicious line of BBQ products.
– The Young Bucks tag team got some locker room heat in WWE last week when they rubbed several veterans the wrong way by not shaking hands with people and introducing themselves.
WWE producers took a jab at the Young Bucks on RAW this week – scripting a segment where Kevin Nash was shown shaking hands with people backstage.
– As noted here earlier this week, WWE has signed independent wrestler Sterling James Keenan. Keenan is going by the name “Corey Graves” at Florida Championship Wrestling.
– Zack Ryder wrote on Twitter this week that WWE sold the most Broski t-shirts in one night ever at Monday’s RAW from Edmonton.
– It’s been confirmed that the highly anticipated Steve Austin DVD project will be a 4-disc DVD set and a 3-disc Blu-ray set.
— Four weeks after being diagnosed with a hernia injury, Maryse underwent successful abdominal hernia surgery on Wednesday. She wrote on Facebook:
“I am home now, and feeling good, still very tired from the anesthesia, but its normal, i will be posting pics of my tummy when they remove the bandages, my doctor did an amazing job and the scar should be very small in my belly button! be sexy.”
The French Diva was scratched from a No. 1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal on the August 2 episode of Raw and announced the following day via Twitter, “I won’t be going physical for awhile, im getting abdominal hernia surgery.”
— Mississippi based newspaper Clarion Ledger features an article on Ted DiBiase promoting Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, where the SmackDown Superstar will be making a special appearance.
The Mississippi Coliseum show brings DiBiase before a hometown crowd, a longtime wish. “I have wrestled on six different continents. I have wrestled live in front of over 73,000 people at Wrestlemania and all over the world, in front of millions of people on TV, and I think I’m more excited about Friday night than I have been for any of those.
— Former WWE & TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley will make his return ot the ring this weeeeknd in Japan for Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion against Eric Hammer. Hammer is the protege of fellow wrestler/MMA fighter Josh Barnett.
Former WWE superstar Harry “D.H.” Smith will be wrestling on the same card, which takes place from Tokyo.
— WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race will be “guest-hosting” this weekend’s Smackdown house show tour in his home state of Missouri
— WWE announced on Thursday that it will be opening a new international office in Turkey. To read the company’s full press release on the new office, head over to MarketWatch.com.