— As reported earlier, WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat was hospitalized Wednesday night after suffering a brain aneurysm. He is reportedly in stable condition. His son, WWE developmental wrestler Richie Steamboat, recently opened an account on Twitter and has posted numerous messages concerning his father’s health.
He wrote yesterday afternoon, “Please keep my dad in your thoughts & prayers. The issues are worse than expected but he could be worse. God will help him through it!!!” Then added today, “Thanks again everyone for the prayers & msgs. Dad is fine right now. God & you guys have helped us & things will get better as time passes.”
— Today is WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart’s birthday. He turns 53 years old.
— WWE canceled it entire Fourth of July weekend tour due to poor ticket sales and a result, performers and personnel have a rare weekend off. The events have been rescheduled for December.
— The search term “WWE Undertaker Marries” was among AOL.com’s “Top Searches” today.
— NXT Rookie Alex Riley suffered a wound to the back of his head while defending his FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship against Kaval at last night’s Florida Championship Wrestling television taping in Tampa, Florida, reports www.pwinsider.com.
Riley suffered the injury after hitting his head on the guardrail, which was in due part to a kick from Kaval. The match was immediately stopped and medical personnel assisted Riley to the back.
Seeing as the match was the final bout of the three-episode taping, FCW President Steve Keirn came out to apologize to the fans, noting it will take place at a different time. He said he had a standby match, which saw Percy Watson upend Big E. Langston.
— WWE developmental wrestler AJ Lee was on the road with the Raw brand this past week, working in the role of hostess at live events. Lee, who has been under contract to WWE since May 2009, was crowned “Queen of FCW” this past February after beating Serena in a match.
— Former WWE performer Gene Snitsky was backstage visiting friends at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Ricky Steamboat was hospitalized Wednesday night after experiencing pain in his neck and shoulder, reports the official WWE website. According to medical officials, his condition is most likely not related to his performance on Monday night, and his medical prognosis is “good to excellent.”
Meanwhile, Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer reports Steamboat suffered a brain aneurysm Wednesday night. His condition has been disclosed as stable, but he’s expected to remain hospitalized indefinitely. It was also noted that the aneurysm is not believed to be related to Monday’s angle.
Due to Steamboat’s condition, WWE has pulled video of Monday’s NXT angle off of its YouTube channel, as well as photos off of its official website.
Former WWE wrestler Batista created a lot of buzz earlier this month when he announced to TMZ.com that he will be fighting for the Strikeforce MMA promotion and already had his first opponent picked out.
The latest is that a deal still has not been reached between Batista and Strikeforce, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the negotiations and brought up the idea of pitting Batista against fellow former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley, who is currently under contract with Strikeforce.
When recently asked about facing Bobby Lashley in the cage, Batista said he would do it, but he wants a few fights to build to Lashley. Scott Coker thinks if they can get Lashley vs. Batista on CBS with a good semi-main event then they can do big ratings.
Lashley is still recovering from a knee injury that caused his most recent fight to be postponed. Lashley’s recovery is actually behind schedule and he will be out of action a bit longer than initially expected.
In training for his MMA debut, Batista has hired a wrestling coach, a boxing coach and a jiu jitsu coach.
WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Credit to reader Daniel Smeriglio & Wrestling News World for this report:
* Jack Swagger opens SmackDown in the ring with a promo about beating Big Show last week. He brags about his victory. Big Show comes out and interrupts. He beats down Swagger but his jumped from behind by Cody Rhodes. Rey Mysterio comes in for the save.
* Teddy Long announces tonight’s main event will be Jack Swagger vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship.
* Kofi Kingston b. Dolph Ziggler
* CM Punk is shown with his arm in a sling.
* Matt Hardy is a special guest on The Peep Show. Prior to the segment, ladders are setup in the ring. Hardy is reinstated and it is announced that Drew McIntyre is out due to issues with his visa. Matt Hardy attacks Christian.
* Cody Rhodes is shown looking in a mirror telling himself he’s dashing. He said his motivation for his attack earlier was the Money in the Bank match.
* Kane vs. Luke Gallows (w/CM Punk)
– SES attacks Kane and beats everyone up. Serena comes in the ring and begs Kane not to hurt CM Punk. A video is shown of Serena drinking at a bar on May 31st and being confronted by SES. CM Punk was with them hence he couldn’t have attacked Undertaker. Serena is left alone in the ring.
* MVP b. Chavo Guerrero
– Prior to the match Chavo gets on the mic and says he deserves a Intercontinental Championship shot if he wins tonight.
* A video package for Ricky Steamboat’s new DVD is shown.
* Kelly Kelly b. Michelle McCool via pinfall.
* Rey Mysterio comes out and cuts a promo on his win at Fatal Four-Way. It is announced that Rey will face Jack Swagger at Money in the Bank.
* Rey Mysterio & Big Show b. Jack Swagger & Cody Rhodes
– Show & Rey get the win after Swagger gets disqualified for not releasing the ankle lock on Rey. After the match Mysterio sells his injury. That concludes this week’s edition of SmackDown.
— Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett’s respective visa issues have been resolved, reports www.F4WOnline.com. Barrett is expected to return to Raw this Monday while McIntyre will return to SmackDown once creative feels it’s right to bring him back from the deportation angle.
— The cover art for WWE’s forthcoming DVD set on the best of Monday Night Raw in 1993 and 1994, Raw “The Beginning”: The Best of Seasons 1 & 2, has been released. The cover, which features The Undertaker, Yokozuna, Bret Hart and Doink the Clown, among others, can be viewed here.
— WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes will be coming out of retirement to team up with sons Goldust and Cody Rhodes against the trio of Trent Barreta, Caylen Croft and Curt Hawkins on July 9 in Kissimmee, Florida at the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall. The Florida Championship Wrestling live event will also feature a Divas Bikini Contest.
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart has written a blog entry responding to Martha Hart’s lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment over using the likeness and footage of Owen Hart.
“I feel that it’s ridiculous for anyone to think they are serving the best interests of Owen’s memory or his children to pretend he wasn’t a wrestler,” Hart stated. “Not only was he a wrestler, he was a great one and proud of it. I personally believe Martha Hart has done nothing to keep his memory alive and sadly, he fades from view a little more every year. I do suspect this lawsuit is more about publicity, ego, and small-mindedness than it is about pro-wrestling and all of those that are in it.
“I know Owen was always proud of his body of work. His fans have never forgotten him and most of today’s WWE wrestlers and hundreds of employees have never forgotten him. They speak endlessly of loving memories that speak volumes on what kind of person he was. I saw Owen on TV a few weeks ago against a young Matt Hardy and it put me in such a good mood all day long. Why would anyone want to prevent that? Martha needs to accept the sad truth that he’s gone, but we all deserve to be able to salute and honor him for being the great man and the great wrestler that he was.”
– The situation with Wade Barrett’s work visa is said to be not as serious as it’s been made out to be. Apparently everyone knew the situation was coming as Barrett had been talking about it for weeks. He is expected to be back in the country as early as today and back on WWE TV as early as this coming week. There is still no word on Drew McIntyre’s return but it’s believed that he may be out for a bit longer.
– WWE officials have told the members of Nexus to play the heel role while in public in front of fans. They’re not allowed to pose for photos or sign autographs and are wearing the ‘N’ armbands while out.
– The decision has made that The Nexus stable will remain on the RAW roster and won’t be doing any run-ins on SmackDown. Most expect that this may change eventually.
sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com
— WWE’s creative team is said to be pleased with the Diva pairing of Michelle McCool and Layla, known as “Lay-Cool.” Some within the company previously felt TNA’s “Beautiful People” concept made their women’s division look second rate by comparison, but now feel they’ve beaten the rival promotion at their own game.
Layla recently refuted fans’ allegations that “Lay-Cool” is copying “The Beautiful People,” writing on Twitter: “Cuz all of the tweets about this subject, For the Record, I do not watch TNA. So copy cat thing…kinda NOT!! This is All I will say. Done.!!”
Reportedly, the inspiration behind the “Lay-Cool” gimmick was due to creative watching “The Beautiful People” on TNA programming.
— Tuesday’s episode of NXT garnered a 0.93 cable rating for Syfy, an increase from last week’s 0.80 number. With that being said, viewership was actually down, from 1.21 million viewers to 1.05 (1,048,000). The all-time record viewership figure is 1.00 million viewers, which was scored on May 4.
— Today is Cody Rhodes’ birthday, who turns 25 years old.
Former WWE superstar Bryan Danielson has written a new blog with more details on his WWE release:
“As with anyone who gets fired from their job, especially when they feel its unjust, I am angry. Very angry. But I can’t fault WWE for how they handled my release. My contract contained a 90 day no-compete clause in the event I was let go, yet the WWE has graciously allowed me start wrestling again on any show that’s not taped for television or pay per view.”
Danielson speculated about his future following the completion of his 90-day no compete clause, including the possibility of wrestling for TNA:
“As far as what happens after 90 days, nobody knows. I’ve “heard†that TNA is interested. There are petitions going around to get me back into WWE and the last several weeks there have been fans chanting my names at their shows. People have even brought signs showing their support. And though most of the signs get taken away and though WWE may not be listening to your chants or petitions, I truly appreciate all the support over the last several weeks. It is both overwhelming and heartwarming. But regardless of what offers come in, I am in no rush to make any rash decisions. I enjoy my freedom as much as I enjoyed the benefits offered by being in WWE.”
— As reported earlier, CM Punk recently underwent surgery on his arm and is expected to be kept out of action for one to two months. The surgery was a planned and scheduled procedure and not something that was immediately needed due to an injury. Dr. James Andrews’ team performed the surgery last week in Birmingham, Alabama. (source: PWInsider.com)
— World Wrestling Entertainment has signed Joe Anoa’i to a developmental contract, reports the Wrestling Observer. He is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika, the younger brother of former WWE star Rosey and the cousin of Rikishi and the late Umaga. He’s listed at 6 foot 3, 280 pounds. It was largely expected Anoa’i would enter the world of professional wrestling in case he didn’t make it in the NFL. He was a first-team All-ACC defensive tackle at Georgia Tech in 2006, his senior year. After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. Upon being released by the Vikings, he was signed by the Eskimos, and accepted a spot on the team’s practice roster.
— It was Straight Edge Society member Serena’s birthday yesterday. She turned 24 years old.
— Commenting on her release from World Wrestling Entertainment last week, Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) remarked the following on Twitter:
“It’s been a wk since my release and has felt like the longest wk of my life! It was so unexpected and I didn’t see it coming. But, I have to accept and I’m moving onwards and upwards. 3 yrs w/WWE.. it was an incredible time. I learned so much..not just how to wrestle. @ FCW,I was passionate 2 learn as much as I could, and I felt that I did. What hurts, is that I never wrestled on TV, something I really wanted. Perhaps 1 day! Thank u 2 all my FANS..hope u continue to support me. Thnk u to @WWE for everything. I will miss it! Journey has just begun 4 me! See u all soon!! :) love u!”
The former WWE ring announcer is currently accepting bookings for autograph signings, wrestling performances and ring announcing. Those interested in booking Fong should contact Steve Woolf at celebritysignings@sbcglobal.net.
— Jerry Lawler’s recently re-launched Memphis Championship Wrestling television show drew a 0.1 rating with 1,620 viewers for its June 19 episode, a far cry from the 20+ ratings and 70 market share in the Memphis market in the same time slot a number of years ago. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
— NXT ring announcer Jamie Keyes is on Twitter at the following link.
– WWE creative is looking at having one of the two Money in the Bank winners cash their title shot by SummerSlam in August, reports f4wonline.com. This would be done so only one superstar would be carrying around a briefcase for the rest of the year.
– On Friday’s SmackDown, 6 competitors will be announced for the World Heavyweight title Money in the Bank match. WWE’s website has confirmed that there will be eight participants in the match. The final two spots were planned for CM Punk and Drew McIntyre but Punk is injured and McIntyre can’t work due to his work visa expiring. No word yet on who will fill the two remaining spots.
– WWE is reportedly losing interest in the whole RAW guest host concept. There’s been talk of only having one Guest Host per month or scrapping the gimmick entirely.
– On Tuesday’s NXT show, Titus O’Neil was the first rookie to be eliminated from Season 2. Following the release, he wrote on Twitter:
“Just want to say to EVERYONE that Zack Ryder is one of the BEST people in the WWE & he is well worth following. I really respect him. He is a good man.”
The official WWE website has announced that Big Show, Christian, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Kane will compete in the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match at next month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Though six participants were announced, it has been confirmed that eight wrestlers will be taking part in the match.
Here is the updated card:
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Randy Orton, John Morrison, R-Truth, Evan Bourne, The Miz, Ted DiBiase, Chris Jericho and Edge (Winner earns right to challenge the WWE Champion at any time, at any place, for up to one year)
SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Big Show, Christian, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Kane (Winner earns right to challenge World Heavyweight Champion at any time, at any place, for up to one year)
– Former WWE Diva Mickie James will be wrestling in New York City for Impact Championship Wrestling on August 2nd. Her opponent will be WSU champion Mercedes Martinez. It will be James’ first post-WWE match in the United States since leaving the company earlier this year. In July, she’ll be working 3 shows for the WWC promotion in Puerto Rico and 2 shows for the SMASH promotion in Japan.
– The Nexus group’s theme music is “We Are One” by the band 12 Stones.
– The ratings are in for Week 2 of Chris Jericho’s ABC game show “Downfall” and they’re not good. Tuesday’s show drew a 2.3 overnight rating with 4.1 million viewers. Week 2 was down from last week’s season premiere, which did a 3.1. With only 6 episodes taped and ratings on the decline already, the chances of ABC ordering more episodes after the initial run don’t look good.
– FlashGameshows.com has an interview up with Chris Jericho, who talks about how he got the “Downfall” gig and what it’s like hosting a game show where contestants get thrown off the roof of a skyscraper.
– If you haven’t seen Chris Jericho’s new “Downfall” show, you can watch the first 2 episodes online at Hulu.com.
To follow up on our earlier report regarding the work visa issues with Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre -Â we’re told at this point that WWE does not know when McIntyre will be back. Barrett might be able to return as soon as next week, but nobody knows for sure.
According to a source, WWE creative was told at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings to presume assume neither man would be back until SummerSlam in August. Up until now Wade Barrett had been the centerpiece of the new Nexus group on RAW. It is possible Barrett or McIntyre could both be back soon, but that was the initial word as of today.
It should be noted that current WWE Champion Sheamus was signed by WWE around the same time as Barrett and McIntyre. The belief as of right now is that he is okay in regards to his work visa, but given the fact how things were handled with Barrett and McIntyre he could possibly be next. This is definitely causing major issues for WWE creative.
The first “Pros’ Poll” for the second season of NXT took place Tuesday night, signaling the end of one of the eight contestants from the weekly series.
The WWE Universe and the WWE Pros votes were combined to tabulate the first NXT Poll. Kaval is ranked No. 1, while Titus O’Neil came in last, ranking at No. 8. With the ranking, O’Neil has been eliminated from the NXT competition.
The combined results of the NXT Poll are as follows:
— Goldust wrote a post Tuesday evening on Twitter saying he has retired.
“i am retired,” he wrote, adding, “byeeeeeeeee.”
Though it should be noted that in a previous tweet, he said he was very tired coming off the road and heading to the beach, so it’s likely he was joking.
The multi-time Intercontinental Champion has been largely relegated to Superstars since being drafted to Raw in April, having only competed once on WWE’s flagship program. He once again appeared on Superstars at Monday’s taping in Philadelphia, teaming up with Yoshi Tatsu to take on Zack Ryder and Primo.
— In addition to Kelly Kelly, R-Truth and Cody Rhodes, both Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio were working through injuries this past week, reports F4WOnline.com.
In the case of Orton, he suffered a neck injury that prevented him from wrestling at Sunday’s live event in Wheeling, West Virginia. Meanwhile, Mysterio is dealing with a minor groin injury. Neither ailment is serious enough to keep the wrestlers from working through the pain.
— Corresponding with storylines, the official WWE website announced Tuesday that Ricky Steamboat suffered cracked ribs, internal injuries and a sprained neck as a result of a clothesline by Skip Sheffield and a 450° splash by Justin Gabriel on Raw.
SEScooops.com can confirm that The Undertaker and longtime girlfriend Michelle McCool were married on Saturday at a private ceremony in Houston, Texas. The two have been romantically linked since 2007.
The weekend wedding marks the third time around the block for the Undertaker and the second for McCool.
Among the wrestling personalities who attended were Torrie Wilson, Lisa Marie Varon and Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman (wife of Booker T), who is pregnant with twins.
WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt tells Courant.com that the lawsuit filed by the late Owen Hart’s widow, Martha, against WWE, Vince and Linda McMahon is without merit.
Martha Hart is suing the WWE for continuing to profit off the likeness of her late husband, especially as it pertains to the new Hart Family DVD set. Martha Harat issued a statement this week saying the WWE filed a lawsuit against her because she “had the nerve” to pursue a wrongful death claim following her husband’s death.
McDevitt now says Martha’s statement is false. this afternoon. According to him, WWE didn’t sue her because she brought the wrongful death claim. However, it did petition a court in Connecticut to hear the claim, instead of the Missouri court where Hart had filed her lawsuit, which was settled before going to trial.
McDevitt calls Hart’s statement “pejorative nonsense” and said her current lawsuit is nothing more than “a personal attack” on the McMahon family. He denies the insinuation that WWE is trying to deny Hart and her children compensation from the Hart Family DVD and says WWE handled the aftermath of Owen Hart’s death in a “humanitarian” way.
Here’s a live report of what happened after Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air:
WWE Champion Sheamus wrestled John Cena to a no-contest.
Sheamus grabbed the mic and called out Cena, saying he won’t even make it to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
Cena ran out to a huge pop from the crowd. Sheamus attacked Cena before bell and then went for several pin attempts.
Sheamus was in control for most of the match, not even letting Cena get his shirt off during the beatdown. Cena was on the match for nine seconds and got up just before the referee could count him out. Cenea tore off his shirt and went crazy. He hit two shoulder blocks, the five knuckle shuffle and went for an Attitude Adjustment, which Sheamus blocked.
Cena was able to lock in the STF when the Nexus came out and interfered. The entire RAW locker room came out and chased off the Nexus crew.
Cena’s music played and he and Orton celebrated to end the show.
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:
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin This Weekend: “This one could very end when the first guy lands his best right hand but I’m sticking solidly with Brock to leave the Octagon as the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’ve said all along that this will be Lesnar’s toughest fight especially with so many unanswered questions about Brock’s long inactivity and what affects suffering from diverticulitis may have had on the athletic beast of a man.”
“I know that Shane Carwin is a fabulous athlete and his record speaks for itself. However, I do know Brock Lesnar on a personal level and I also know that his intensity and focus are amazing traits and that he is at his best when he is either doubted or forced into a corner. Many MMA insiders feel that Brock’s layoff due to illness will be his downfall in Saturday night’s main event on pay per view. I happen not to share in that opinion and am counting the down the hours as this is one airplane trip with which I’m anxiously looking forward.”
Bryan Danielson: When I said Daniel Bryan had become relevant in the 13 or so weeks that he had been on WWE TV I meant that in a positive light and stand by the statement as many outside the WWE world had no familiarity with the talented grappler before he appeared on NXT no matter his exposure on Ring of Honor which does not have a large TV audience.
JBL’s To Wrestle Again? “Emailer…No…I do not expect JBL to EVER wrestle again. Last time John and I talked he was playing golf in St. Andrews, Scotland which is a helluva lot better gig than traveling up and down the road with ‘the boys.’ Sorry…but that’s a fact.”
The New WWE All Stars Video Game: ” I started the THQ voice overs today for the WWE All Stars video game which will be released in early 2011. I’m really enjoying the process and will hit it hard two more days this week to get us rolling and will be staying busy with this project throughout July. The King and I will be the announcers on the game with the Fink handling the ring announcing.”
Following Monday’s RAW, the following matches are confirmed for the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 18th:
Steel Cage Match for theWWE Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (c)Â Jack Swagger
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. The Miz vs. R-Truth vs. John Morrison Winner receives a title shot against the WWE Champion.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
8 SmackDown Superstars (To Be Announced) Winner receives a title shot against the World Heavyweight Champion.
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