Paul Heyman tweeted the following cryptic message on Monday night:
“@WWE #TheBossIsBack Yes, Brock Lesnar and I are indeed back. WHERE? Remains to be seen! Ahem …”
Triple H will be at Sunday’s No Way Out pay-per-view to address “his future, pending lawsuits against WWE and Brock Lesnar.”
WWE sources we’ve spoken to do not expect Brock Lesnar to be at No Way Out, but that could change by Sunday and it’s possible Lesnar’s appearance could be kept a secret until then.
Despite Lesnar’s ongoing issues with WWE, there are still plans for him to wrestle Triple H at SummerSlam on August 19th.
Florida divorce attorney Raymond Rafool recently spoke to Lawyers.com about his client Liz Huberdeau’s divorce from WWE superstar John Cena. Rafool says the main issue that will determine what Liz receives in a divorce ruling be the judge’s interpretation of their prenuptial agreement, which was signed just 16 days before they married:
“In this case, it appears the preliminary issues will be the interpretation of the prenuptial agreement, the application to the parties’s property, assets and income, whether the agreement itself is enforceable or not, which we always consider, and in the mean time addressing the temporary needs of our client in conjunction with and in spite of certain terms of the premarital agreement.”
When asked what he’s sensing from John Cena, Rafool said:
“What John has on his mind only John knows, so I can’t give you any other reasons. At this time my client is going to maintain everybody’s privacy.”
– On Monday’s RAW, Dolph Ziggler won a #1 contenders match and will now face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title at No Way Out. Following Ziggler’s match, Mick Foley tweeted the following endorsement:
“Another excellent match involving @HeelZiggler . I think I detect some type of trend here”
Paul Heyman re-tweeted Foley’s comment and said that he agrees.
– To update Alberto Del Rio’s concussion sustained at last week’s SmackDown tapings, the WWE storyline is that it occurred when the Great Khali chopped his head during their match last week.
As previously reported, he injury actually occurred when Sheamus slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo on the stage.
Former WWE superstar John Bradshaw Layfield was at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut on Monday. Bradshaw wrote the following message on Facebook about his visit, WWE sponsoring his upcoming “Seven Summits” mountain climbing adventure (and the danger involved), a possible return to WWE television and more:
“Did hours of TV today for future shows, mainly stuff for Seven Sumits but also some specials/DVD type stuff. For those asking, if I am alive and make this mountain-yes, I would expect to be on WWE TV, but there are NO plans by me or them. It was all focused on this mountain and the tech I need to transmit pics and videos back for the social pages. I do expect to be on WWE TV in the future but no idea the role and they don’t know either. Maybe it is just a cameo or a spot to promote the Seven Summits for Kids-who knows? I know I have a huge mountain waiting on me in Russia that 15-30 people a year die on according to Wikipedia, so my focus is on me getting my old self up and down this mountain and raising money for the kids I work with. Then we will see about WWE and they will have a chance to see what they want me to do.”
JBL recently told Bermuda’s Royal Gazette newspaper that he’s already lost 35 pounds while preparing for the adventure.
– Local advertisements for next week’s RAW Supershow are stating that John Laurinaitis has a new role – “Assistant to the WWE Board of Directors.” This could be a sign that John Cena will defeat Big Show at No Way Out this Sunday, since Laurinaitis will be fired as General Manager if Big Show does not win the match.
– Injured WWE superstar Mark Henry will be in Harlem, New York today to film footage for WWE’s Outside the Ring Youtube show. He tweeted on Tuesday morning:
“#wwe I will be doing the day in the life today in Harlem. Show called Outside the ring. Starting at 125th Lenox got to get my coffee.”
Henry confirmed that his recent surgery was on his shoulder (not his knee or groin) – and that his recovery is going well.
– On last night’s RAW, Vince McMahon rode John Laurinaitis’ scooter from the ringside area to the entrance ramp – and then pushed it off the stage. According to a report at f4wonline.com, Vince’s spot with the scooter was not in the script and nobody knew he was going to do it in advance.
– After Monday’s RAW went off the air, Vince McMahon “regained consciousnes” from Big Show’s knockout punch and was helped to the back by trainers.
John Cena then wrestled David Otunga, John Laurinaitis and Big Show in a handicap match. After accidentally knocking out McMahon just 20 minutes prior, Show accidentally knocked out David Otunga during the match, which allowed Cena to get the win. Cena then hit the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis to send the fans home happy.
– The main event for Friday’s WWE SmackDown will be WWE Champion CM Punk and World Heavyweight champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler.
– John Laurinaitis’ executive assistant Eve Torres addressed her absence from WWE television on Twitter on Monday night:
“I know you all have missed me on Raw, but rest assured I’m handling some very important business. That’s what business women do.”
– Following the Big Show’s knockout punch on Vince McMahon at the end of RAW, the WWE website has an “injury update” on the WWE chairman – and his status for Sunday’s pay-per-view is now up in the air.
The latest storyline development is that McMahon is experiencing “concussion-like symptoms” and might not be able to sit ringside for the John Cena vs. Big Show match at No Way Out. McMahon promised on RAW to fire John Laurinaitis if Big Show can’t defeat John Cena at the event.
After RAW went off the air, McMahon “regained consciousness” and was helped to the back by trainers.
Vince McMahon will be ringside this Sunday night at WWE No Way Out when Big Show wrestles John Cena in a steel cage match. If Big Show does not win – John Laurinaitis will be fired. Dolph Ziggler also won a #1 contenders match on RAW to replace the injured Alberto Del Rio and face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight championship.
It was also announced on RAW that Layla will defend the Divas title against Beth Phoenix and Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga will be the pre-show match on Youtube.com, starting 30 minutes prior to the PPV.
With those matches set, here’s the updated card for WWE No Way Out:
Steel Cage Match (Vince McMahon at Ringside)
Big Show vs. John Cena If Cena wins, Laurinaitis is fired
WWE Title Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
World Heavyweight Title Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Christian (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
– Vader, a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, made his first WWE appearance in over six years on Raw SuperShow. “The Man They Call Vader” dispatched Heath Slater with a Vader Bomb.
– In a 2-on-1 Handicap Match on Raw SuperShow, Ryback dismantled local competitors Willard Fillmore and Rutherford “P.S.” Hayes. Both Fillmore and Hayes compete for the New England based independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling: Fillmore as “American Sasuke” Mikaze and Hayes as Scotty Slade.
– Tickets for WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event on September 16, 2012 at the TD Bank Garden in Boston, Massachusetts go on sale on June 23 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
– Lance Storm, who recently injured his elbow, tweeted the following Monday night: “Got my elbow X ray results back, fractured bone spur. Will not keep me out, just causes pain. Now the long wait for the ortho appointment.”
Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) of The Score Television Network once again sat down with WWE Hall of Famer Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. Highlights are as follows:
Wrestlemania VIII with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and winning the Intercontinental Championship: “When I realized I was going to wrestle Roddy Piper, my gut instinct told me that Piper was going to keep the title for a while, and I would sort of be back up to him. It didnt work out like that, and I’m glad it didn’t because I kind of had my heart set on a good healthy long run as the Intercontinental champion. I thought at the time I got the title that I earned it and I wanted to have my chance. When i lost it to “The Mountie” I thought ‘They never gave me my chance.’”
On Piper ‘passing the torch’ to him and other wrestlers not doing the same: “For him to pass the torch down to me, kind of thing, was a pretty big step for me. At that time a lot of wrestlers didn’t want to make that kind of effort for me, and I’m not sure why or what their arguments might have been. So many guys when I look back on my career, like even when I won the World Title I was supposed to go over on ‘Warrior’, i would have gone over on ‘Warrior’ at the ‘Rumble’, never happened. I was supposed to wrestle Jake Roberts first at ‘Survivor Series’, never happened,” … “its too bad in the case of Jake Roberts, he’s a guy that, I had this great career and never wrestled Jake Roberts one time.”
On creating the ladder match and Shawn Michaels stealing the idea: “[Vince] told me to pick anybody I wanted, I said ‘I’ll pick Shawn’ because I was good friends with Shawn back then. I went to Shawn and said ‘We’re going to do a ladder match’ and he didn’t know what it was either. I tried to explain it to him. I knew it was a million dollar idea. Once I showed him how to do it I knew it would be a great idea” … “And then Shawn stole then idea from me. It was the idea that was the the million dollar idea. A lot of guys could have had a great ladder match, a lot of guys have. But it was the idea that I brought forth that they stole from me.”
TNA Entertainment Releases Statement Regarding Current Litigation
NASHVILLE, Tenn — TNA Entertainment, LLC President Dixie Carter releases a statement in regard to the recent TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) the company filed against WWE in the Davidson County Circuit Court in Nashville, Tennessee.
TNA President Dixie Carter states, “We were not surprised that the Court originally granted a swift temporary restraining order against WWE to prohibit interference with TNA’s contracts and business relationships. I’m pleased that the Court has now replaced that temporary measure with the most recent judicial Order. The Judge’s current Order sends a strong message about the importance of TNA protecting its trade secrets. Obviously, the accuracy of what WWE has represented remains important, so I look forward to the discovery process and what is revealed during litigation. As always, we will vigorously protect TNA and its brand from damage at the hands of any and all sources, no matter who is involved.”
WWE announced through their Mobile Alert service Monday that Alberto Del Rio will be unable to face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out on June 17. A new No. 1 contender will be determined on tonight’s Raw SuperShow. The message reads:
“BREAKING NEWS: Due to a concussion on SmackDown, Del Rio wont face World Champion Sheamus @ No Way Out. New #1 contender to be named on tonight’s Raw (8/7 CT).”
Del Rio suffered a “serious concussion” at last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbia, South Carolina. During a skirmish, Sheamus slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo, leading to the injury. He was subsequently pulled from this past weekend’s SmackDown live event tour.
– Former WWE announcer Jack Korpela issued a survey to his Twitter followers asking which current WWE or TNA Wrestling Superstar has the most potential to be a major “crossover” star. When a person named CM Punk, he responded, “CM Punk has the in ring talent and great mic skills. Could use a few more pounds of muscle though.”
Another person vouched for Punk’s potential. Korpela reiterated, “He’s damn good. Needs to improve physique though. Hogan, Rock, Austin all looked the part.”
When a person named Dolph Ziggler, Korpela said his height works against him. He wrote, “Is an amazing talent. Great physique, charisma and mic skills. Only thing working against him is he isn’t tall.” However, he then clarified, “Ziggler has it all and he CAN make it. All I’m saying is it’s harder for the smaller guys to get over.”
– Ezekiel Jackson was backstage at last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbia, South Carolina, but not used. He also did not participate in this weekend’s SmackDown live event tour. He stated on Twitter that he will be attending tomorrow’s SmackDown taping in Manchester, New Hampshire.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was trending worldwide on Twitter on Saturday night after the controversial Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley boxing fight. Fans were so upset with the judges’ decision that Bradley won the fight that they accused promoters of rigging the results, which is where the Vince McMahon reference came from.
Despite the fact that McMahon’s name trended in a way that reflects negatively on the world’s most famous wrestling promoter, f4wonline.com is reporting that there was actually talk over the weekend of mentioning Vince trending on RAW tonight.
– WWE Diva AJ Lee tweeted the following about tonight’s RAW:
“Excited for Raw. I know you all have so many questions. And my answer to them is this… In the end, everyone gets what they deserve.”
WWE Champion CM Punk replied:
“sweet, so I’m getting a puppy and a six month vacation? You’re so sweet. OR ARE YOU?! ?#crazychicks”
– Former World Heavyweight Champion Vader was spotted in Hartford, Connecticut last night, the site of tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow. There’s no word on whether Vader will be at RAW or meeting with WWE, but he’s in town.
– John Laurinaitis no longer officially serves as WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations; his bio has been removed from the WWE Corporate website’s index of executive officers. Therefore, the former ‘Dynamic Dude’ is solely an on-air performer for WWE. However, he is still branded as the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations in his WWE.com Superstars profile and on his Twitter account.
Laurinaitis had overseen the Talent Relations department since April 2004, when he replaced Jim Ross. He was hired as a road agent after the sport entertainment organization’s acquisition of certain assets of World Championship Wrestling in March 2001.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who oversees the talent relations and talent development departments, has been added to the website.
– Counting down to twelve days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho tweeted Monday, “I was 12 years old when I started my first band, The Amplifiers. Our song was called ‘Cop Shop’. I still remember how it goes!”
– Triple H is today’s spotlighted WWE Superstar on WWE.com.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced via Twitter that today is his first day shooting Empire State.
“On set. 1st day of shooting EMPIRE STATE. True story drama of the biggest heist in US history. Let’s have some fun,” Johnson wrote.
His co-stars include Liam Hemsworth, Emma Robberts, Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano, Jerry Ferrara and Chris Diamantopoulos. Empire State is scheduled for release in June 2013.
– Former Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Marcus Anthony is branded as Lincoln Brodrick in the newly released Florida Championship Wrestling roster guide. The heavily muscled wrestler has yet to appear for the developmental promotion after signing a contract with WWE in February.
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus jumps onto the E3 stage with Kevin Pereira and Blair Herter to discuss the “Attitude” campaign and more in this WWE ’13 E3 2012 gameplay demo video. Watch the WWE Superstar lay out all the exciting details.
During the interview, Sheamus expressed his disappointment with his WWE ’13 score being the same as The Miz. The Celtic Warrior says The Awesome One “couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart appears at this Friday’s Reading Phillies game taking place at First Energy Stadium 1900 Centre Ave/Rt 61 South, Reading, Pennsylvania.
– The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has removed Eli Cottonwood from their roster page, which would indicate that he has been released from his developmental contract with WWE. F4WOnline.com confirms he parted ways with the organization, for another line of work.
Other talent removed from the website were Cameron, Damien Sandow, Maxine and Naomi, who no longer appear for the promotion after graduating to WWE’s main roster.
– Former WWE Superstar Lance Storm was asked via Twitter, “Chances of Ryback being the next Goldberg?” He responded, “ZERO. He should just try to be a successful Ryback.”
– Booker T talks about his most memorable moment from Raw, which was his match against Buff Bagwell in the show’s first-ever WCW main event.
“My favorite moment from Monday Night Raw would have to be the night myself and Marcus Bagwell main-evented on Monday Night Raw,” Booker reveals. “It’s such a sweet night for me, actually coming from WCW.”
T continues, “That night for me man, a new chapter to the Booker T saga. It was a night that I’ll remember for the rest of my career.”
– Benicio Salazar, who had been appearing in Florida Championship Wrestling as a masked character, is now pictured on FCWWrestling.info without a mask. His bio, however, was not modified.
“I have spent much time scouting the superstars of FCW,” Salazar explained through a translator. “My true identity will NEVER be revealed and the fact that I will become the next big FCW attraction is all my opponents need to know.”
– As of this weekend morning, there were two scripts going around for tonight’s 3-hour RAW. One of the scripts featured many appearances from Vince McMahon while the other barely included him at all.
– Following WWE Intercontinental champion Christian’s appearance at Sunday’s TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view, we can report that Christian was not happy that he was selected to appear at the show. That said, he was friendly and got along with everybody backstage.
– Cody Rhodes, who is currently in Turkey doing media appearances for WWE, tweeted the following over the weekend regarding the WWE website’s recent list about the Top 15 wrestling families:
“The geniuses at WWE.com (the same geniuses that left Thunderbolt P off the greatest talkers list) have assembled a new list… the top 15 wrestling families. As the least bias of my name, if you were basing these off of the bottomline, I could see number 5, maybe 6.. 8 though?? You might be able to hear me laughing all the way from Turkey. I hope we’re not paying these guys much.”
– To update the story of Brock Lesnar’s strained relationship with WWE, Vince McMahon said to be so furious at Lesnar for attending UFC 146 and meeting with Dana White that Triple H had to talk him out of doing something drastic.
Triple H is still scheduled to wrestle Lesnar at SummerSlam and has been pushing hard for WWE to not cancel the match, a sign that Triple H will be going over at the PPV.
– JBL’s recent announcement that WWE will be sponsoring his “Seven Summits” mountain climbing adventure has been picked up by several national media outlets. JBL noted on Twitter that he’ll be at WWE headquarters today in Stamford, CT.
Last week, JBL says it was “highly likely” that he’d be returning to WWE after it was announced they were contributing $250,000 towards his goal. He has since clarified that comment:
“For those asking, thanks–but NO return planned, got a mountain to climb and if I don’t die I could be back on @wwe tv for a shot r two.”
– Sources within WWE have confirmed that WWE Tag Team Champion R-Truth suffered a broken foot. He did not go on the Raw brand’s tour of Spain last week-Kofi Kingston partnered with Zack Ryder and Brodus Clay at events.
– Counting down to thirteen days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho tweeted Sunday, “Jason Voorhees was the killer in the Friday The 13th movies. 13 is the name of the new Megadeth album. I have 13 black socks…”
– Tom Prichard, who WWE recently released from his role as head trainer of Florida Championship Wrestling, is now on Twitter. He is accepting bookings via bookdrtom@aol.com.
– Tommy Dreamer is today’s Superstar of the Day on WWE.com.
The following events occurred Sunday night at TNA Wrestling’s Slammiversary pay-per-view event:
– Bobby Roode beat Sting in the main event to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The finish came when Roode grabbed a beer bottle that James Storm left at ringside during his appearance earlier in the show and bashed Sting over the head with it. Following the match, Sting wailed on Roode throughout the Impact Wrestling Zone and hit him with a Scorpion Death Drop off the entrance ramp.
– Miss Tessmacher captured the TNA Women’s Knockouts Championship from Gail Kim. The title change ends Kim’s record 210-day reign as champion.
Tessmacher rolled-up Kim, who had been gloating for dominating the match. Kim appeared in shock from the loss while Tessmacher appeared emotional. Christy Hemme then appeared on scene to interview the new champion, who called her victory “truly epic” and proclaimed, “God Bless Texas.”
– Mr. Anderson beat Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam in a #1 Contender’s Match to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. Anderson will face Bobby Roode on this Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.
– James Storm answered Crimson’s open challenge and defeated him in approximately two minutes via Last Call. This ends Crimson’s 470-day undefeated streak.
– AJ Styles and Kurt Angle captured the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Daniels and Kazarian. Daniels and Kazarian captured the belts at last month’s Sacrifice pay-per-view event from Magnus and Samoa Joe.