SEScoops

Category: WWE

  • Kimbo Slice At WrestleMania? Plus, Del Rio’s Manager Wrestles

    – As we reported earlier this week, former UFC fighter Kimbo Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson) will be making his pro wrestling debut in Japan next month for Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion. Kimbo, who became famous videos of his Miami bare-nuckle boxing videos went viral, will face IGF champion Shinichi Suzukawa in his first match.

    According to a source within WWE, the company is interested in bringing in Kimbo Slice to work WrestleMania 27. With an appearance by Brock Lesnar virtually a dead issue at this point, people within WWE think Kimbo has enough mainstream popularity to draw attention to the company’s showcase event.

    – Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez made his WWE ring debut last night on NXT, defeating Del Rio’s Rookie Conor O’Brian to eliminate him, in what’s best described as a comedy match. Rodriguez wrestled under a mask on the independent scene prior to signing with WWE and has been training at Florida Championship Wrestling.

    – Former Price is Right host Bob Barker will be at WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta, according to SportsTalkNetwork.com. Barker is said to be a long time wrestling fan and won the Slammy Award in December for Best RAW Host.

  • Jim Ross Comments On Appearing At SmackDown Tapings

    As previously reported, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made a surprise appearance at this week’s SmackDown tapings from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    Ross did an in-ring segment with fellow Oklahoma native Jack Swagger during the tapings and refereed the dark match main event that took place afterwords.

    According to Ross, his appearance will not be televised. Ross wrote the following on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the experience:

    “Just lv’ing Tulsa where I refereed the non tv main event, Rey/Kofi vs Kane/Del Rio. Made it full circle as I reffed my 1st bout n Tulsa n 74

    “My backstage interview w/ Swagger was 4 live audience only & won’t air on SDown. Had a fun day. Didn’t know I was going until early this am.”

  • Jim Ross Make Surprise Appearance At SmackDown Tapings

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made his return to WWE at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    In a segment that may or may not air on TV this Friday night, Ross appeared to a huge ovation from his home state crowd and did an interview but was interrupted by fellow Oklahoma native Jack Swagger.

    According to our correspondent in attendance, Swagger put down Oklahoma and Ross before starting his match.

    WWE sometimes has local stars cut in-ring promos when they are in their home city or state. It’s possible that the segment with Ross won’t air on TV but just was a treat for the fans in attendance.

    After the SmackDown tapings ended, Jim Ross was the special guest referee in the dark main event. The match saw Rey Mysterio and WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston defeat Alberto Del Rio and Kane.

    After the match, Ross and Del Rio got into it. Mysterio and Kofi snuck up from behind and Ross pushed Del Rio over them to end the show.

  • *Spoiler* Wade Barrett’s New Stable Gets A Name

    Wade Barrett’s version of The Nexus is now going by The Core on Smackdown.

    The faction features Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

    They will debut the new name on this Friday’s edition of Smackdown.

  • NXT Elimination Announced, SmackDown Scores Viewership High

    — The results of the second poll of the fourth season of NXT were revealed on tonight’s episode and it was announced that Alberto Del Rio’s Rookie, Conor O’Brian, has been eliminated from the competition.

    A disappointed O’Brian spoke on the microphone and declared his experience on NXT as real and fun. Suddenly, Ricardo Rodriguez walked on-stage and declared O’Brian a loser. O’Brian told Ricardo to kiss his rat tail. Ricardo continued chastising O’Brian in Spanish before being chased to the backstage area by the eliminated NXT Rookie. O’Brian re-emerged and said “You all absolutely suck” to no one in particular. He then announced that the rat has left the building.

    — The January 14 episode of WWE SmackDown on Syfy scored a 1.9 cable rating, tying the previous week’s ratings high.

    The program garnered 2.98 million viewers over the course of two hours, setting a new benchmark on Syfy. The previous week’s show averaged 2.85 million viewers.

    — The terms Mason Ryan, Daniel Bryan, John Morrison and Mark Henry trended worldwide on Twitter last night during Raw. In a first, the term FCW also trended.

    source: Pro Wrestling Torch

  • McMahon Discussed For Tough Enough Role, How Old Is Batista?

    — Vince McMahon has been discussed for a major role on the revival of Tough Enough on the USA Network. However, it’s considered a long shot because the show will be filmed in Los Angeles and would take a major time commitment.

    — The following two matches were taped tonight in Tulsa, Oklahoma for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America: Chavo Guerrero vs. JTG, Chris Masters vs. Curt Hawkins.

    — Tyler Reks beat Percy Watson in a dark match prior to tonight’s television tapings in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    — Six-time world champion Batista celebrates his 42nd birthday today.

    source: Pro Wrestling Torch

  • Latest On HHH’s In-Ring Return, Tag Team Discussed For HOF

    — There’s nothing medically preventing Triple H from returning to the ring at this point as he is fully healed from surgery on his torn bicep muscle. Rather, his return is being strategically planned so that it makes the most impact.

    He is advertised to face King Sheamus in a New York City Streetfight at WWE’s Mar. 19 Raw live event at Madison Square Garden.

    — The only names currently being ‘heavily discussed’ for induction into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class are The Fabulous Freebirds, which most notably consisted of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts.

    — WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele will be appearing at the Wrestling Universe 34-29 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Flushing, Queens NY. 11358 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Feb. 19.

    sources: Pro Wrestling Torch, f4wonline.com

  • Macho Man Confirmed For New WWE All Stars Game (VIDEO)

    Screenshots of Randy Savage in the new WWE All Stars Game:

    Video game website IGN.com has announced that former WWE and WCW champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage has been confirmed for the upcoming “WWE All Stars” video game.

    Randy Savage has not worked with WWE directly in many years. This past fall, WWE and Savage collaborated for the first time since the early 1990s, when WWE released a DVD set based on Savage’s career. Many hoped the Savage DVD set would result in Savage’s long-awaited return to WWE television, but that never happened and he wasn’t even interviewed for the project.

    For those unfamiliar with the new WWE All Stars game, it will feature superstars from today as well legends previous generations. The game will feature “over the top” and “highly stylized” characters, along with arcade-style play (opposed to the SmackDown vs. RAW series, which is more of a ‘simulation’.)

    “Macho Man” Randy Savage joins an already stacked roster that includes names like Steve Austin, The Rock, Bret Hart, Triple H, John Cena and more.

    Check out this video of  Savage promoting the game (including new gameplay footage of Savage):

  • Kimbo Slice To Make Wrestling Debut, Goldust’s Injury

    – Goldust provided the following injury updated on his Twitter today:

    “The injury is healing….but this kind of injury takes time to heal…my shoulder was destroyed bad.”

    — Earlier today, we reported that Chris Jericho commented on Mason Ryan’s WWE television debut on RAW – jokingly calling him “Batistwo.” A few more wrestlers have commented on the debut:

    FCW star Ken Li: “Big congrats to Mason Ryan!! Good seeing him on Raw!!”

    Tyler Reks: “Big Barry, torture rack, break your back”

    Zack Ryder: “What? Steve Blackman joined the Nexus tonight?”

    — The move that Mason Ryan delivered to John Cena on RAW was his finishing move in FCW, which he calls the House of Pain.

    – MMA fighter Kimbo Slice will make his pro wrestling debut on February 5th for WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion in Japan.

    Slice will be taking on Shinichi Suzukawa in an “IGF Championship” match, says their website. That show will also feature fellow MMA fighter Josh Barnett and former WWE star Shane Helms.

    COMMENT BELOW: Based on what you’ve seen of Kimbo Slice in UFC – do you think he’d make a good fit in the pro wrestling world?

  • Former WWE Writer Explains What Vince McMahon Really Wants

    In the six years that he was a writer for World Wrestling Entertainment, Ring of Honor producer Dave Lagana worked directly with Vince McMahon and got a good sense of what makes the legendary wrestling promoter tick. Lagana has posted a blog titled, “Hey Pal: What Does Vince McMahon Want From Wrestling?” .. Here are some highlights of what Lagana said about:

    Know Your Brand: “Coke is a brand. Tide is a brand. You are a brand. Vince would always make this one point very clear: “Perception is Reality.” Vince McMahon is a brand. From how he walks, to how he carries himself, to the speech patterns he uses. What he does, works for him. Don’t believe me? Check out his net worth. Vince would sit down with talents to talk with them, to get inside their heads and find out who they are. The best characters always come from inside the person playing them. Vince prided himself with finding a little nugget inside a talent and running with it. All the great characters are a piece of themselves, with the volume turned up.”

    What’s Your Finish: “No matter if it was a storyline being pitched to Vince or details of a match, he’d always ask ‘What’s your finish?’ He wanted to see if you had thought about where you were going, the goal. While this sometimes could be perceived as a power game, it also made you prepare differently for the next time.”

    No Sneezing: “If there is one thing Vince McMahon hates… it’s sickness. “There is no such thing as sick”, was the usual response when someone would try to use it as an excuse. Vince is a workaholic and if anything gets in the way of his work, it makes him angry. Paul Heyman would joke that Vince would get angry with his own sneezes. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t control it. ”

    To read the full blog, visit Lagana’s site at IWantWrestling.com.

  • First 21 WWE Stars Announced For The Royal Rumble Match

    Royal Rumble 2011
    Royal Rumble: January 30th

    The following 21 WWE Superstars have been announced by WWE.com as competitors in the first-ever 40-Man Royal Rumble Match, which takes place Jan. 30 in Boston.

    * Alberto Del Rio
    * CM Punk
    * Cody Rhodes
    * Daniel Bryan
    * Darren Young
    * David Hart Smith
    * David Otunga
    * Husky Harris
    * John Cena
    * John Morrison
    * Mark Henry
    * Michael McGillicutty
    * Primo
    * R-Truth
    * Rey Mysterio
    * Sheamus
    * Ted DiBiase
    * Tyson Kidd
    * William Regal
    * Yoshi Tatsu
    * Zack Ryder

  • Next Week’s Raw Main Event, What Happened After Raw, More

    — A Champion vs. Champion Match was announced for next week’s Raw between WWE Champion The Miz and World Heavyweight Champion Edge.

    — Immediately following Raw, Michael Cole announced that a 2-on-1 Handicap Match would take place with WWE Champion The Miz and CM Punk vs. John Cena because Randy Orton was unavailable. Babyface Raw wrestlers then came out and ran off The Nexus. Orton then came out to participate in the match. Cena applied the STF on Punk, but Cole, the special guest referee, turned away. Orton and Cena argued with Cole, who replaced by another referee. The babyface tandem hit their respective finishers on Punk and The Miz for the win.

    — WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase celebrates his 57th birthday today.

    source: PWInsider.com

  • Mason Ryan Debuts On RAW & Joins Nexus (PICTURES)

    On Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, an unknown man come down to the ring at the end of the John Cena vs. CM Punk main event. The man is WWE developmental talent Mason Ryan.

    Ryan came down to the ring and went face to face with John Cena. He attacked Cena and then went face to face with CM Punk. After Punk put his arms up in a crucifixion pose, Ryan delivered a boot to Punk’s face, before beating down Cena more. Out comes Nexus. Ryan then got in front of CM Punk, got down on one knee and was given a Nexus armband. The new 5-man Nexus stood in the middle of the ring to end RAW.

    Mason Ryan is a former UK Gladiators competitor known as “Goliath” and has been training at WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. He is the reigning FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

    Check out these pictures of MASON RYAN:

  • News On Tough Enough Trainers, Matches Taped For Superstars

    — In regards to WWE reaching out to Al Snow, Hardcore Holly, or other former Tough Enough personnel to be part of the show’s revival on the USA Network, one company insider said, “Not a chance in hell.” It was also stressed that WWE would be much more likely to go with those currently affiliated with the organization.

    — Matches taped tonight in Little Rock, Arkansas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America are as follows:

    * David Hart Smith and Darren Young vs. Primo and Zack Ryder

    * Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu

    — William Regal beat NXT Rookie Johnny Curtis in a dark match prior to tonight’s Raw broadcast in Little Rock, Arkansas.

    sources: Pro Wrestling Torch, prowrestling.net

  • More On Punk Getting Assaulted By Fan, Adamle DUI Update

    — To update the news of former WWE RAW General Manager Mike Adamle being arrested last week and charged with DUI, TribLocal.com is reporting that Adamle’s lawyer Dean Dickie says they will be fighting the arrest.

    Although Adamle failed a field sobriety test and showed “erratic behavior” prior to the arrest, Dickie argues that Adamle’s blood alcohol content was only 0.04, which is below the legal limit in the state of Illinois. Adamle has publicly disclosed that he takes medication to treat epilepsy (a brain disorder that results in seizures).

    A doctor quoted in the TribLocal article stated that several common epilepsy medications could impair a person’s motor skills or driving ability, so that defense could be used by Adamle’s lawyers when he’s in court on February 14th in Skokie, Illinois to defend himself against the charges.

    — It was reported here that CM Punk got into an altercation with a fan at Sunday’s WWE super show event from Shreveport, Louisiana. A few fans who were at the show have sent in recaps of what went down and there are new details to report. Following his match, CM Punk got in the faces of several fans at ringside, including a few young children. Punk told one of the kids, said to be around 10 years old, to slap him. The fan slapped Punk, who told the fan to slap him again. The fan complied, when Punk allegedly grabbed the child by the shirt and told him to do it again. The child began to cry and his parents began yelling at CM Punk. Punk was heard yelling that the child scratched his eye during the provoked attack.

  • Backstage News On Maryse & DiBiase, This Year’s HOF Class

    — Those spoken to within WWE aren’t aware if there is any particular incident or reason that Ted DiBiase isn’t receiving a stronger push on television. However, more than one person feels Maryse is struggling to work as an effective valet. One source indicated that the former glamour model appears much more concerned with drawing attention to herself and getting herself over rather than enhancing DiBiase’s matches and overall presentation.

    — One WWE source doubted reports of the entire list for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class being set in stone. Although discussions have begun, the source does not believe there is much locked in—besides Shawn Michaels. However, the insider strongly feels that reports of Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons being enshrined this year are correct.

    — Wade Barrett is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling.

    source: Pro Wrestling Torch

  • Update On This Year’s 40-Man Royal Rumble Match

    As previously reported, it’s been announced that the 2011 Royal Rumble match will feature 40 competitors instead of the usual 30.

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross posted the following on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the news:

    “If having 40 men in the Royal Rumble match helps sell ppvs, then its a really good idea. 40 sounds good to me. Makes the main event bigger.”

    “Watch what I say, the 40 man royal rumble match will be over analyzed by many. Gives 10 more paydays & adds ‘biggest ever’ mkt’ing hook”.

    After checking with a WWE source, it appears Ross’ idea of selling more pay-per-views is exactly what WWE is going for by adding 10 more men to the match. With 40 men involved in the Rumble, expect the interval between each man entering the match to be reduced from 2 minutes to 60-90 seconds.

  • Ted DiBiase Talks Travel, Dealing With Injuries, His Brother

    To help promote next Sunday’s Raw live event at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, Valley24.com conducted an interview with WWE star Ted DiBiase, Jr. The son of “The Million Dollar Man” discussed the toll of traveling throughout the world on a weekly basis, the strain of injuries, WWE’s attitude towards injuries, and more.

    When asked how often he is on the road, DiBiase said ‘it’s most of the time’.

    “I think the correct answer is a minimum of 257 days a year and I believe it’s actually really more than that,” he said. “It’s most of the time.”

    He was also asked about the possibility of his brother, WWE developmental wrestler Brett DiBiase, joining NXT at some point.

    “That’s actually out of my control. It very well could happen,” he replied. “If you see him there, you’ll see him on RAW or Smackdown but we’ll definitely see him soon, eventually, I would predict.

    “He’s a talented and he’s dying to get up here. He’s ready.”

    In regards to WWE’s attitude towards injuries suffered by wrestlers, he feels it’s excellent.

    “WWE does an excellent job especially in the area of head injuries, as far as concussions. I know I was actually slapped in the face one night and it knocked me out. I had a mild concussion and they would not let me wrestle for three weeks to a month. I did other things in the show, but they wouldn’t let me perform in the ring. That’s the thing, as a company, we take very serious now. We go through a lot of steps, a lot of tests and stuff and we have our doctors who are certified to handle us and make the call.

    “We’re taken care of.”

    The interview can be accessed here.

  • RAW Preview: John Cena vs. CM Punk, Royal Rumble Hype

    Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from Little Rock, Arkansas. The show will be headlined by the return of John Cena, who will square off against Nexus leader CM Punk. This will be Cena’s first appearance on RAW in two weeks. He’s been sidelined since the show when Punk joined Nexus and took Cena out with his Go To Sleep Finisher.

    After being injured in late December and keeping a light in-ring schedule while recovering, Cena returned to WWE’s live events tour this weekend. Cena wrestled on Friday and Saturday, but was pulled from Sunday’s live event from Louisiana. No explanation was given to the crowd on Sunday as to why Cena would not be able to compete as advertised, but WWE is still hyping his match against CM Punk for tonight.

    With only two weeks until the Royal Rumble, expect to see more matches and Rumble match participants announced tonight. Thus far, WWE Champion The Miz vs. Randy Orton is the only RAW brand match announced for the show.

    The dark match main event being advertised locally is WWE Champion The Miz and CM Punk vs. John Cena & Randy Orton, with Michael Cole as special guest referee.

  • New Details On The Chaperone, Aloisia Returning To Television

    — Silvervision.co.uk has released the artwork for WWE Studios’ The Chaperone, which is set for release on DVD and Blu-ray in March following a brief theatrical run.

    The updated synopsis is as follows: “All that former getaway-driver Ray Bradstone (WWE Superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque) wants is to start a new life and patch things up with his daughter Sally (Ariel Winter, Modern Family). Unable to find honest work, he reluctantly agrees to do one last job with his old bank-robbing crew, led by Phillip Larue (Kevin Corrigan, Superbad). But when the opportunity arises to be a “chaperone” on Sally’s school field trip, Ray resolves not to repeat his past mistakes and leaves the crew in the lurch. When the robbery goes awry and the money ends up on the school bus, Larue chases them all around New Orleans, with the police in hot pursuit. Now Ray must stay one step ahead of Larue, the cops and 30 out-of-control teenagers all whilst trying to spend a little bit of quality time with his daughter on one of the craziest field trips ever!”

    — Aloisia (a/k/a Isis the Amazon), the six foot nine woman WWE cut ties with just as she was advertised to debut on NXT Season 2, is scheduled for this weekend’s Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors television tapings in New Mexico.

    — Former WWE talent Kevin Thorn celebrates his 34th birthday today.

    source: PWInsider.com

  • Royal Rumble To Feature 40 Participants, Jericho Book Tour

    — Joey Styles just announced on Twitter that this year’s Royal Rumble will be the biggest Rumble in WWE history. Styles wrote on @JoeyStyles:

    “This year, there will be 40 participants in the Royal Rumble Match instead of 30. It will be the biggest Royal Rumble Match in history!”

    — The following dates have been announced for Chris Jericho’s upcoming book tour to promote his new book, “Undisputed”:

    2/15 (7:00 PM) BookEnds in Ridgewood, NJ
    2/16 (Noon) Borders Books in New York, NY.
    2/16 (7:00 PM) Book Revue in Huntington, NY
    2/19 (2:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in McLean, VA
    2/22 (7:00 PM) Borders Books in Torrance, CA
    2/25 (7:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in Tampa FL.
    2/26 (3:00 PM) Borders Books in Winter Park, FL

  • Wade Barrett’s New Nexus Group, Kong’s WWE Debut & More

    — On Friday’s SmackDown, we saw Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson align themselves with Wade Barrett in what appears to be a new incarnation of the Nexus group. It’s worth noting that in promoting upcoming SmackDown live events, WWE is advertising Wade Barrett’s new group “Nexus.”

    — Speaking of the SmackDown Nexus group, WWE is advertising Ezekiel Jackson as simply “Ezekiel,” so he may be dropping his last name.

    — Fans interested in attending the WWE SmackDown taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York can use code LISD4PACK to purchase four tickets for $60. This promotion ends Friday.

    — Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who recently signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, will be starting with the company soon, according to Mike Mooneyham.

  • Val Venis Fighting To Help Those Abusing Prescription Pills

    Former WWE and TNA wrestler Sean Morley, best known as “Val Venis” during WWE’s Attitude Era, has launched ScriptDanger.com to raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription medication.

    The site’s mission statement reads:

    “The purpose of ScriptDanger.com is to effectively spread the powerful message that prescription drug abuse is a dangerous activity that can and will lead to life destroying addiction and ultimately death. Sean Morley (aka Val Venis) inspires and motivates people to refrain from abusing prescription drugs and provides resources for those who currently need help. Sean speaks to schools, sports teams, church groups, corporations, small and large businesses, and many other organizations around the world.”

    The site includes some startling statistics about prescription drug abuse. Between 1995 and 2005, treatment for dependence on prescription drugs grew by more than 300 percent.

  • Candid Pictures From Michelle McCool’s Twitter Page

    Here are some recent pictures from WWE diva Michelle McCool’s Twitter page:

  • John Cena Pulled From Sunday RAW Brand House Show

    John Cena was advertised to appear at Sunday’s RAW brand live event from Shreveport, Louisiana, but was not at the show.

    Cena, who wrestled Friday night in Tennessee, had been scheduled to CM Punk on the show, but was replaced by Mark Henry. No reason was given for Cena’s absence.

    Here are quick results from the show:

    * John Morrison won a battle Royal to get a title shot later in the night.

    * Daniel Bryan beat Ted DiBiase and retained the US Title.

    * Alberto Del Rio beat R Truth.

    * Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov beat Nexus members David Otunga and Husky Harris.

    * CM Punk defeated Mark Henry.

    * The Miz defeated John Morrison to retain the WWE championship.

    * Kofi Kingston defended the Intercontinental championship against Dolph Ziggler.

    * Edge retained the World Heavyweight title against Kane.