SEScoops

Category: WWE

  • Update On Randy Orton, Categories For 2010 Slammy Awards

    — Randy Orton was not backstage at Monday’s Raw in Philadelphia, although he was watching the show and was in communication with personnel during the broadcast.

    It was not disclosed why Orton didn’t work the show.

    — The following categories have been announced thus far for the 2010 WWE Slammy Awards:

    * Shocking Moment of the Year
    * Match of the Year
    * Superstar of the Year
    * Diva of the Year

    — WWE returns to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2001 for an event at the Wells Fargo Center. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. via ComcastTix.com.

    source: PWInsider.com

  • What Led To Kaitlyn Winning NXT, Notes On Eliminated Rookies

    It is said that fan balloting for the winner of NXT played a huge part in WWE’s decision to have Kaitlyn beat Naomi for the season three crown.

    While the company does not disclose details on how eliminations are determined, Kaitlyn won a vote — advertised as 50 percent audience and 50 percent Pros.

    Besides Kaitlyn, AJ is expected to be retained on television, likely with Primo on Raw. While not confirmed, it is expected that Kaitlyn will join the Smackdown brand to continue her interaction with Vickie Guerrero.

    In regards to the runner-up of NXT season three, Naomi, many people within the company are high on her as a long-term project due to her stellar athletic ability.

    Meanwhile, there is no clear-cut decision on the future of Maxine and Aksana. It’s expected that both will continue working Florida Championship Wrestling events.

    Jamie Keyes was released following her elimination and a number of people were surprised to see her brought back for last night’s show. The other women were on the road every week with WWE following their elimination.

    source: PWInsider.com

  • Goldust Undergoing MRI This Week, Reason For Eve Missing Raw

    — Goldust is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his shoulder tomorrow.

    “I have to get an MRI on my shoulder Thursday, so please say prayers that nothing is too terribly wrong,” he wrote on Twitter.

    — Eve Torres missed Monday’s Raw because she was preparing to leave the United States Tuesday for Afghanistan. She, Kelly Kelly, Big Show and Vince McMahon are heading overseas to pay a visit to troops stationed in the country. Footage from the trip will air during WWE’s Tribute to the Troops special airing later this month on NBC.

    — The Thanksgiving Day episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America drew a 0.48 cable rating, with 516,000 viewers. The midnight replay garnered a 0.14 rating, with 150,000 viewers.

    source: PWInsider.com

  • NXT Season 3 Winner Crowned, Alex Koslov’s Ring Name, More

    — Matches taped this week for tomorrow night’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America were David Hart Hart Smith vs. Tyson Kidd, Darren Young vs. William Regal, and Tyler Reks vs. Trent Barreta.

    — The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has added WWE developmental wrestler Peter Orlov to their roster page. He is former AAA talent Alex Koslov.

    — Kaitlyn was announced as the winner of the third season of NXT Tuesday, beating Naomi.

    WWE does not disclose details on how eliminations are determined, but Kaitlyn won a “vote” — advertised as 50 percent audience and 50 percent Pros.

    See 200+ modeling photos of Kaitlyn ->

    source: PWInsider.com

  • *Spoilers* Updated Card For WWE TLC (12/19)

    Warning: The following contains Spoilers for Friday’s WWE SmackDown:

    Here’s an updated look at the card for WWE’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, set to take place on December 19th:

    TLC Match for the World Heavyweight Title
    Kane (c) vs. Edge

    Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio (Based on Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, this appears to be a TLC match but the stipulation has not been confirmed)

    Also being advertised locally for the show but not yet confirmed by WWE is Randy Orton challenging The Miz for the WWE Championship.

  • Complete NXT Season 4 Cast List Revealed

    WWE has announced the official list of Rookies and Pros for NXT Season 4:

    – Conor O’Brian will be coached by Alberto Del Rio.

    – Derrick Bateman will be coached by Daniel Bryan.

    – Byron Saxton will be coached by Chris Masters.

    – Johnny Curtis will be coached by R-Truth.

    – Brodius Clay will be coached by Ted DiBiase.

    NXT Season 4 begins next week and will air exclusively on WWE.com.

  • JR Blog: Lawler’s RAW Match, Miz As Champion & More

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

    Lawler’s TLC Match vs. The Miz: “Loved the Miz-Lawler show closer in the impromptu TLC bout for the WWE Title. I thought a really solid story was told, that the pacing of the match was at a level that could be easily processed and, equally as important, retained, and the closing moments had ample twists and turns that made a somewhat predictable conclusion appear to be up for grabs.”

    Lawler Video Package On RAW: “BTW…the Lawler video package was money. Great job of editing and presentation. This established method of building up a match or a performer is just as effective today as its ever been. It was great stuff that as a viewer that I would love to see more of in the future. It certainly made some of the younger viewers aware of who the King is/was other than just being a long time announcing fixture on Raw and a WWE Hall of Fame broadcaster. Lawler’s body of work inside the ring is what he’s most proud of and deservedly so.”

    The Miz As WWE Champion: WWE Champion Miz’ persona as a resourceful, athletic, brash, self confident, young man who is beatable on most given nights was illustrated perfectly on Raw IMO. Personally, I like those attributes in an antagonist champion. Miz’s verbal skills are getting better and better and he has the opportunity to become one of the biz’s best all time talkers before all is said and done if he keeps improving.

  • Randy Orton Injured & Details On His New WWE Movie

    Former WWE champion Randy Orton suffered a knee injury on last week’s RAW from Orlando, the night he lost the WWE championship to The Miz. During the segment where Nexus beat down Orton prior to his title defense against Wade Barrett, Nexus member Husky Harris inadvertently caused the injury by kicking Orton in the knee.

    Orton was kept off Sunday’s live event in Maryland and did not wrestle on RAW, but he’s not expected to miss much ring time. That said, the injury caused quite a scare among WWE management, who simply cannot afford to lose another top star with so many big names currently out of action.

    Speaking of Orton, he posted a few newsworthy items on Twitter over the past few days. Orton’s upcoming WWE Studios project, That’s What I Am, has been accepted into the upcoming Santa Barbara and Palm Springs Film Festivals.

    Orton also updated fans on the possibility of him appearing on an episode of the hit reality show about tattoos, LA Ink. Orton, who is clearly a big fan of body art, said he heard back from the producers of LA Ink and is considering flying out to Los Angeles to tape an episode. He noted that if he does appear on the show, he’d be getting a new tattoo and not just touch-up work on his existing tattoos.

  • CM Punk Getting Good Reviews For RAW Commentary

    As previously reported, CM Punk was added to the RAW announce team as a way to keep him on television while he rehabilitates a lower back injury. Vince McMahon is a fan of 3-man announce teams and likes the edginess that Punk brings to the show.

    Punk has been given the green light to make inside jokes an reference sensitive topics on commentary, such as Alex Riley’s recent DUI arrest. After two weeks on commentary, he’s been getting positive reviews from WWE management.

    A few readers sent in word that the t-shirt that Punk wore on RAW is Ring of Honor’s shirt for Colt Cabana (formerly Scotty Goldman during his brief WWE run.) Punk and Cabana have been close friends for years dating back to their time together in ROH.

  • Vince Still Wants Lesnar, HBK Teasing Announcements & More

    – As we saw on Monday’s King of the Ring episode of RAW, footage was shown of former WWE star Brock Lesnar. Lesnar’s name was also mentioned several times throughout the broadcast. According to f4wonline.com, some people within WWE believe Lesnar being mentioned on RAW was a way of getting people talking about the possibility of Lesnar participating in some capacity at WrestleMania. While most have acknowledged that the chances of Lesnar being able to wrestle are virtually impossible due to his UFC contract, Vince McMahon remains optimistic and thinks he can still pull it off.

    – Jerry Lawler, The Miz and Michael Cole were all trending topics (worldwide) on Twitter last night during RAW.

    – Former WWE star Shawn Michaels continues to hype some “special announcements” he’s going to make on Twitter. HBK wrote this week:

    “Hope 2 have a few “special” announcements coming in the very near future. We’ll see:-)”

  • Matt Hardy Critiques RAW & Says Things Need To Change

    Former WWE superstar Matt Hardy went on Twitter last night after watching RAW and says things desperately need to change, because the business he loves is dying a slow death. Hardy wrote on Twitter.com/matthardybrand:

    “For the 1st time in a while, I watched Raw straight-thru on DVR after getting home tonight.. That was a long 3 hours. Business needs change.

    I’m really happy for my friends & the guys that are getting to perform & make a living in the biz, but I feel the biz is slowly fading.

    There desperately needs to be a new era ushered in that changes the entire landscape and mindset of professional wrestling.. And soon.”

  • What Happened After RAW: Lawler Birthday Celebration

    Here’s a recap of what happened after Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air, compiled from several live reports sent in from fans who attended the show:

    After the credits aired and the cameras stopped filming, Wade Barrett came back and called out John Cena. Cena came through the crowd but was quickly confronted by the members of Nexus.

    After a brief staredown, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry came to Cena’s aid and chased off Nexus. John Cena battled Barrett and fought Wade Barrett for a few minutes before hitting the Nexus leader with the Attitude Adjustment and the 5 Knuckle Shuffle.

    Cena grabbed a microphone and told the crowd it was Jerry “The King” Lawler’s birthday. Several divas came out with a cake for Lawler and the entire arena sang happy birthday. Cena and Lawler got into a food fight and everybody went home happy.

  • Royal Rumble Poster, WWE Possibly Ending Spinner Belt

    — WWE officials have discussed ceasing the “Spinner” belt as a result of The Miz becoming champion. A revamped WWE Championship has been ready since late last year.

    — The first promotional poster for the 2011 Royal Rumble has surfaced online and it features a slew of WWE Superstars including Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and John Cena. The 24th annual Royal Rumble event takes place on Jan. 30, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Here’s the poster:

  • Main Event For SmackDown, Matches Taped For WWE Superstars

    — A match between Edge and Kane to determine the stipulation of their World Heavyweight Championship Match at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chair was announced tonight on Raw for this week’s episode of SmackDown.

    — Matches taped tonight in Philadelphia for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were David Hart Smith vs. Tyson Kidd and William Regal vs. Darren Young.

    — The SmackDown taping on Feb. 22, 2011 will be held at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. Tickets go on sale Dec. 11, 2010. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

  • King of the Ring Matches Announced – Raw vs. SmackDown

    The WWE website has revealed the brackets for the King of the Ring tournament taking place tonight on Monday Night Raw. All four matches are interpromotional battles.

    Bracket One

    * John Morrison vs. Cody Rhodes

    * Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio

    Bracket Two

    * Ezekiel Jackson vs. Drew McIntyre

    * Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston

  • WWE Interviews Luger – Talks Dream Opponent, Health Update

    WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011’s holiday downloadable content pack features Lex Luger as a playable character. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion talked to WWE.com to discuss his video game character, the Allied Powers, the legacy of Lex Luger, and more.

    He also updated fans on his recovery from a spinal stroke three years ago.

    “I’m getting more strength and endurance back. I’m able to do more things from my spinal cord injury, which I’m very thankful about,” Luger told WWE.com. “I still continue motivational speaking with guys like The Million Dollar Man. And I have a business called Total Package Fitness out here in Atlanta. We do wellness consultation, exercise, nutrition and supplementation. That’s what I always loved doing.”

    When asked if there is dream match he never had in his career that he would create in the game, he named John Cena, Triple H and Randy Orton as opponents he’d like to match up against.

    To read the interview, click here.

  • Update On Vince McMahon, Cena Attending Tonight’s Raw, Finkel

    — According to sources within WWE, Vince McMahon has taken a more active role within the company again now that his wife Linda’s campaign for U.S. Senator from Connecticut has concluded.

    — John Cena noted on his Twitter account that he stopped by the site of tonight’s Raw this afternoon and that he plans on attending the show with a ticket.

    “Love it here in philly,” he wrote. “Still got my tix and stopped by arena early to say hi to old pals. Tonight will be fun.”

    — Video has surfaced online of WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel emceeing a couple’s wedding. To view the video in question, click here.

    source: f4wonline.com

  • Legendary Mexican Wrestler Advertised For WWE Event In 2011

    WWE issued a press release today promoting the company’s Raw live event at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. John Cena’s cousin Juan, a legendary Mexican wrestler, is advertised to appear at the event.

    WWE RAW WORLD TOUR COMING TO FEDEXFORUM JAN. 9

    -Tickets go on-sale Dec. 4 at 10 a.m.-

    Memphis, Tennessee — The Superstars of WWE RAW are returning to Memphis for WWE RAW WORLD TOUR at FedExForum on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at 5 p.m.

    Tickets start at $15 and go on-sale Saturday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, the FedExForum Box Office or by phone at (800) 745-3000. All tickets are subject to additional fees and service charges. WWE fans who would like to purchase tickets before the rest of the general public can sign up for FedExForum Event Alerts at fedexforum.com by Wednesday, Dec. 1. Event Alert subscribers will receive an e-mail invitation to the online presale that will start at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2 and end Friday, Dec. 3 at 10 p.m.

    Fans won’t want to miss a lineup of their favorite RAW Superstars that includes Juan Cena (John Cena’s Cousin & Legendary Mexican Wrestler), The Miz, Randy Orton, The Nexus, R Truth and the WWE Divas and is sure to bring electrifying entertainment to the crowd. Card is subject to change.

    For more information go to fedexforum.com or wwe.com.

  • Goldust To “Tell All” In Upcoming Book, Lawler Turns 61, More

    — Cody Rhodes revealed in an interview with WWE Magazine that the contents of his brother Goldust’s forthcoming book, Cross Rhodes, were surprising to him.

    “I’ve heard my dad’s stories, I saw his DVD, and I’ve heard some of Goldust’s stories. But even as his brother, there was so much that I hadn’t heard,” Rhodes said. “He was very open in the writing of this book and talked very honestly about his career and his choices and how the things that have happened to him have affected it. I honestly think it’s going to shock readers.”

    When asked to dish out some of the dirt in the book, Rhodes says Goldust openly discusses working and traveling with Marlena.

    “Cross Rhodes is one of those ‘dirty secret’ books, and anyone who’s a Goldust fan is going to find something interesting,” he added.

    — Jerry “The King” Lawler celebrates his birthday today as he turns 61 years old. “Mean” Gene Okerlund also turns 68 years old, while former WWE Champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield is 44.

    — Percy Pringle (a/k/a Paul Bearer) noted in a blog post that his father was involved in an accident yesterday as his car popped out of gear and ran over his foot. After being evaluated in an emergency room, it was discovered that he had not broken a single bone.

  • John Cena’s Mexican Cousin Making His WWE Debut Tonight

    John Cena noted this afternoon on Twitter that he will be on hand for tonight’s Raw live event in Salisbury, Maryland to watch his Mexican cousin Juan’s first match for WWE.

    “CeNation,” John wrote. “Just received western union tellagram via carrier pigieon from mexican cousin Juan. Apparently he just got hired by wwe…, And would like me to watch his first match tonight in salisbury md. I got nuthin but time on my hands. Ill be there!”

    Neither John nor Juan are being advertised for the event by WWE, but the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center has John listed for the show.

  • Matt Hardy Films Reality Show, MVP Vents Frustrations & More

    – Matt Hardy, Gregory Helms and a few of their friends filmed an episode of NBC’s Marrige Ref show this weekend. The filmiing took place inside a wrestling ring on Matt Hardy’s property in North Carolina. The show will air on NBC in December. Hardy wrote the following on Twitter about the taping:

    “Had a blast being a part of NBC’s “Marriage Ref” shoot today featuring Kimo in my BCR Dome.. Me, Helms, Shatter & Aden worked Kimo hard.”

    – MVP and Chris Jericho went back and forth a bit on Twitter, with both men poking fun at the way MVP has been booked in recent months. Jericho asked MVP, “are you still with the company?” MVP replied, “Barely it would seem. Just barely.”

    A fan later asked why does MVP always get “screwed over” on SmackDown, to which he replied, “If you find out let me know please! Lol.”

  • Shelton Benjamin Talks WWE Release, Otunga & More

    Former WWE star Shelton Benjamin was recently interviewed by Blackvoices.com. Here are some highlights of what Benjamin said about:

    Why WWE Let Him Go:

    “Honestly, I’m still wondering that myself. What I think it boils down to is that I’d been there for so long and they had such high hopes for me. For me to continue in the position that I was in I would have gotten to the point where family would have lost faith in me. I think while I’m still young every now and then you need to completely disassociate yourself from the company to freshen yourself up. It would be one thing for me to say I am gonna leave and take three months off and when I come back I’ll be fresh and new, but it’s a total other thing to disassociate yourself from the company completely. The point that they didn’t resign me doesn’t really bother me because I felt like I needed to go and near the end of my career work for me wasn’t fun.”

    “I remember when I first started I could not wait to get to work. Near the end, I couldn’t stand when I had to wake up and go to the airport. It was one of those things where we were both in agreement that I needed to step away. Do I believe that’s a permanent departure? No. If you have watched the history of the WWE or if you have ever worked there and you were ever any good; you don’t have just one run with the WWE. The door is open for me to come back. We parted ways on good terms, but as far as a lot of the decisions they made with my career, I’m still dumbfounded.”

    Which African American WWE Star Deserves To Be World Champion:

    “The first person that comes to my mind is MVP. If you look at his career, at one point it looked like it was going that route. For whatever reason, it just stopped. I felt like fans were accepting him so he would be the first on my list. I believe Kofi Kingston is on the cusp. I won’t say he’s quite ready yet but people put the title on guys who aren’t ready all the time. Those two would be first on my list. Most of the other Black guys are just inexperienced right now and none of them have shown me anything that would validate putting the world title on them and that’s not to say they won’t be later. I forgot about Mark Henry and I don’t want to leave him out of there.”

    People Saying David Otunga Is Getting Pushed Because Of His Famous Fiancé, Jennifer Hudson:

    “No, I don’t think he’s very good. My guess would be probably, but at the same time whether he’s any good or not this is a show. Just by him being in the WWE makes news. People are gonna tune in just to see David Otunga – just to see if he’s good or bad. Jennifer Hudson’s husband is a pro wrestler. That’s gonna draw and it will be foolish on the part of WWE not to take advantage of that. Do I think him being married to Jennifer Hudson helps? Without a doubt. He still has to go in there and perform. Just because he has the job and they’re using him doesn’t mean that it’s gonna stay that way. No disrespect to David because he’s a great guy and I’ve worked with him. I expect him to improve, but if I was running a wrestling company and David Otunga was signed on my company, you’re dammed right I’m gonna put him in everyone’s face. That’s the proof for me.”

  • JR Blog: King Of The Ring, CM Punk Announcing RAW, Lesnar

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:

    CM Punk Joining The RAW Announcing Team:

    “Yes…I do feel that CM Punk has the potential to become an entertaining and informative color analyst on WWE TV. The key is going to be for Punk to put in the same amount of effort into becoming a skilled broadcaster that he did in becoming a wrestler. We saw Punk evolve from beginner to Indy star to World Champion in WWE. It is arguably easier for a beginning broadcaster to become proficient in a two man booth as opposed to a three man booth but it can be done.”

    Brock Lesnar’s UFC Status & Next Fight:

    “Read on Yahoo Sports where UFC President Dana White and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar haven’t spoken since Brock’s last fight. Not sure what to read into that except it is somewhat unusual for the head honcho and one of his company’s biggest attractions to not be communicating directly. Knowing Brock, he’s probably in the woods in some isolated place hunting deer or some other big game.”

    “Both Lesnar and White are unique individuals with strong personalties but I would think that they will be speaking sooner than later about Brock’s long term future and next opponent … To me Brock Lesnar’s next opponent is a no brainer. It should be Frank Mir who is as good as they come in verbally selling a PPV fight in UFC. Mir hung Lesnar’s first loss on Brock to which the Minnesotan avenged evening their personal score at 1-1. Why not have the ‘rubber match?’

    Monday’s King of the Ring Tournament:

    “Yes…I am very anxious to watch Raw this Monday and see how the King of the Ring Tournament goes. Looking at the qualifiers it would seem that several could theoretically win the tourney. Somehow, King Sheamus has a ring to it but so does King Morrison. The bigger question may be who gets the nod, a Raw wrestler or a Smackdown wrestler? I just hope that none of the matches are rushed”

    Visit JRsBarBQ.com to read more blogs from Jim Ross and to check out his excellent line of BBQ products – great for the holidays!

  • Report On WWE HOF Building, Sheamus Corrects Reporter

    Fox’s Orlando based affiliate WOFL-TV 35 has a piece on Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty lobbying World Wrestling Entertainment officials to build a permanent home in the city. WWE confirmed to the news station that it is in very preliminary stages of considering a possible Hall of Fame building.

    The piece also features a look at WWE’s elaborate production setup for Monday Night Raw and brief interviews with Sheamus and Natalya. The Celtic Warrior was quick to correct the reporter labeling him as a wrestler, noting that “Superstar” is the correct term.

    To view the piece, click here.

  • Report On Riley’s WWE Status, WWE Cleverly Edits SmackDown

    — People within WWE thought the timing of Alex Riley’s arrest last week for Driving under the influence didn’t do him as favors, but he survived the company’s latest round of talent cuts in spite of many speculating that he would be fired.

    Shawn Michaels and his family were involved in a car accident the night after termination papers had been finalized, while Riley’s arrest on a DUI charge took place the day before. Many feel Riley is lucky Michaels nor his family were hurt, because if they were, it is very likely that he would have been let go.

    — WWE cleverly edited the episode of SmackDown held in Manchester, England so that it would appear that Alberto Del Rio’s ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez was on hand for the event when he actually wasn’t—due to a cost-cutting measure. A clip of Rodriguez introducing Del Rio was played to the live audience while clips from other television events were shown during the broadcast.

    source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter