— The May 11 episode of WWE SmackDown garnered 1.7 cable rating, down from 1.92 the week before. It was the lowest-rated first-run Friday episode in 2012.
The program averaged 2,530,000 viewers, down from 2,710,000 last week. It was the least-watched first-run Friday episode since March 30.
— WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase has been announced to appear for Pro Wrestling Syndicate on June 1 at the Rahway Rec Center 275 East Milton Ave. Rahway, New Jersey.
– Santino Marella, Layla, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger were interviewed backstage at Monday’s RAW for the latest Backstage Fallout video:
Former WWE champion The Miz was interviewed by Pittsburgh’s Fan Morning Show on Monday to promote last night’s RAW Supershow. Here are some highlights of what Miz said about:
Loving His Role As a Heel Character:
“I don’t want to be liked. I enjoy people hating me, I enjoy the Tweets that I get at @MikeTheMiz with people going, ‘You suck, you’re the worst, I can’t stand you. I don’t like you.’ Some people don’t like to hear negative things. That’s what feeds me. That’s what makes me want to do better and prove everyone wrong. So that’s basically why I’m so good.”
Starring In The New WWE Studios Film, The Marine: Homefront:
“I’m doing a movie — Marine: Home Front. I’m huge. I’m going to be a huge movie star. I’m the most must-see WWE superstar, I’m a huge movie star. I mean, it’s going to be the whole chi-bang.”
Vince McMahon Originally Wanting Him to be “WWE’s Ryan Seacrest”:
“It’s funny you bring up Ryan Seacrest. When I first came to WWE, they wanted me to be the host of Smackdown! I go into Vince’s office and he’s like, ‘Alright, Miz. We want you to be like the Ryan Seacrest of the WWE.’ By the way, I didn’t even think Vince McMahon even knew who Ryan Seacrest was.
“But, whenever your boss tells you, ‘We want you to be the Ryan Seacrest of this.’ That’s just a bad thing in general. Especially when you’re in WWE. You want to be the guy that’s tough. ‘Hey, I’m The Miz!’ But, no. I’m in there like, ‘Hey, What’s up! Welcome to WWE’s Friday Night Smackdown!’
“… Then, I turned that into the most must-see former WWE champion. And [I steal] the show. Everybody [watches] me.”
– With the news of John Cena’s divorce becoming public last week, WWE officials are said to be doing whatever they can behind the scenes to keep John Cena upbeat and positive.
– WWE announced on RAW that Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view will feature a 30-minute pre-show that will be broadcast live on Youtube.com. WWE was so impressed with the viewership numbers for the Extreme Rules Youtube pre-show last month that this will most likely become a regular feature each month.
WWE is making big money from their new YouTube partnership, so expect to see the WWE Youtube channel continue to post tons of videos.
– WWE’s website has a new storyline article up looking at Brock Lesnar’s lawsuit against WWE – and whether Paul Heyman’s involvement in the lawsuit has anything to do with his personal vendetta against the company. The article speculates:
“Following the abysmal ECW December to Dismember pay-per-view in 2006, a very public disagreement about who was to blame for the subpar show saw Heyman part ways with WWE either by resignation or termination, depending on whether you ask Heyman or WWE. Heyman remained publicly silent about his acrimonious split from WWE. Did Heyman sign a non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreement or was the Extreme mastermind simply biding his time until an opportunity for vengeance materialized or both?”
“From a business standpoint, as a representative of Lesnar’s, recouping even a small percentage of Lesnar’s seven-figure contract is a nice commission for Heyman. The question is: Does Heyman (who turned down multiple offers to return to wrestling during his five-year absence from WWE, indicating income is not an issue for him) relish suing WWE as personal payback rather than a pecuniary payday?”
– WWE will this week’s episode of SmackDown tonight from The Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Confirmed for the final SmackDown before Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view are a non-title match between Sheamus and Randy Orton, “exclusive comments” by Alberto Del Rio and appearances from John Laurinaitis and the Big Show.
Matches advertised locally include Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Orton, Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight and Sheamus vs. Bryan in singles action.
SEScoops will have live coverage of tonight’s SmackDown tapings – check back tonight for spoiler results of Friday’s show.
– Alberto Del Rio did not appear on Monday’s RAW and will appear ‘exclusively’ on SmackDown this week because he was traveling back from Japan on Monday, where he did promotional work for WWE over the weekend.
WWE will hold its first NXT & Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings from Florida’s Full Sail University later this week. Aside from simply using Full Sail’s production facility to film NXT & FCW, WWE has announced that university’s entertainment-focused degree programs will have the opportunity to gain real-world experience by working with WWE to produce NXT.
Throughout the taping schedule, Full Sail University students, staff, faculty and the general public will be invited to attend the live tapings on the campus. All proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales will go towards a scholarship fund for students enrolled at or planning to attend Full Sail University.
WWE COO Triple H, who has been very hands on with bringing NXT & FCW to Full Sail, had this to say about the new relationship:
“WWE has always been a leader in creating superstars in front of the camera. Now, with this unique partnership with Full Sail University, WWE will develop stars behind the camera as well. With the opportunity to host events at Full Sail’s top-notch facilities and the chance to tap into Full Sail’s greatest resource, its students, we are excited to provide real-world experience while giving us a fresh, creative perspective from ambitious students.”
Mark Henry revealed on Twitter on Monday night that he will be undergoing surgery today – and he plans to retire from WWE if he can’t get back to 100% physically:
“[Tuesday] I go under the knife. When I return I will be the fire breathing, pain inflicting,face melting better than ever Mark Henry!
Listen up! IF NOT! I will walk away. I have to much PRIDE to not deface any one in the WWE. The Hall of Pain is open for business!”
While this isn’t confirmed, word going around is that he’s having surgery for the groin injury that he suffered a while back that led to him dropping the World Heavyweight title and the end of his ‘unstoppable monster’ push in late 2011.
Henry has stated in recent interviews that he plans to retire if he is unable to come back from the injury at 100%. There was talk earlier this year before WrestleMania that Henry felt his career was winding down, so we might have seen the last of the World’s Strongest Man.
– After Monday’s RAW Supershow from Pittsburgh, PA went off the air, two dark matches took place. First, WWE Champion CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho. The main event of the evening saw John Cena, Randy Orton and Sheamus defeat Lord Tensai, Kane and Dolph Ziggler in a 6-man tag match.
– Among the WWE-related terms trending worldwide on Twitter last night during RAW were “go puck yourself”, Sheamus, John Cena, Brodus Clay, David Otunga, Alicia Fox and CM Punk, among a few others.
– Vince McMahon appeared on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars semifinals on Monday night during a video package looking at contestant Maria Menounos. About Maria, Vince said, “She’s daring, loves to perform, a great work ethic. And when you have those qualities and are gutsy on top of it, you make it to the top.”
Menounos went on to score a 29 out of 30 for the ‘jive’ dance that followed.
This week on MLW’s Konnan Show presented by Masked Republic’s LuchaShop.com, Konnan had a lot to say about Rey Mysterio’s recent suspension for violating WWE’s drug testing policy.
“Rey Mysterio, I can guarantee you categorically, he doesn’t do any drugs. He’s a guy that really lives up to his role model image. He’s got two little kids that he really wants to be an example for. He’s even told me, ‘Dude, please do not come to my house high.’ He really wants to be a good role model. He’s not on the juice or anything.”
“What can Rey really be on? It can’t be the juice and he definitely doesn’t do any hard drugs. He was taking a dietary supplement because he has a problem with his love handles. It was something that would burn fat and I think just like anything that’s fat burning it probably had some sort of amphetamine in it. So that’s where we’re at right now. He’s actually still going back and forth with WWE on that.”
“It kind of pisses me off because they know who is on what and they’ve given other guys passes. I won’t get into names or details because Rey will catch heat, but this is my opinion. They know he’s not on anything.”
Konnan also revealed that WWE plans to delay the expiration date of Mysterio’s contract to make up for time lost due to injury. MLW’s Konnan Show with Konnan and Mister Saint Laurent is available for FREE on MLW.com, iTunes (search: KONNAN SHOW) and syndicated by Stitcher.com.
– Zack Ryder, who celebrates his twenty-seventh birthday today, lost to WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose in a pre-Raw SuperShow dark match in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Matches taped for WWE Superstars were Lord Tensai vs. Tyson Kidd and Alex Riley vs. Heath Slater.
– To correct an earlier report, Jim Ross is not in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for tonight’s Raw SuperShow. Rather, his wife is on hand for the event.
– Maria Kanellis has been announced to appear at Legends of the Ring 14 on Saturday, June 2 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, New Jersey.
Triple H is shown walking backstage wearing his arm brace and bumps into John Laurinaitis. He says it was hard to watch Brock Lesnar break his arm, but Triple H has his support and sympathy. Triple H says he’ll explain himself in front of the world soon – and good luck this Sunday against John Cena at WWE Over The Limit 2012.
COO Triple H comes out as Cole and Lawler banter about his recent beef with Brock Lesnar and John Laurinaitis. Replay is shown of Lesnar attacking Triple H from 2 weeks ago and ‘breaking his arm’. Triple H says Brock Lesnar talking about bringing “legitimacy” back to WWE offends him. He is Offended by Lesnar’s arrogance and stupidity. It offends Undertaker, HBK, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, Sammartino. He was embarrassed he bought into Lesnar’s hype. Simpleton farm boy from Minneapolis. He knew Lesnar was going to be the next big thing and he knew he would shoot to the top. But when he did – and when he got challenged, he quit. When it wasn’t so easy, Brock Lesnar quit. And went to the UFC. When he got there, he shot to the top. But when he got his ass kicked a bit, when he got beaten, he quit, like he did before. Lesnar then looked at Cena and thought he could come back and take him out – and was beaten. Cena wouldn’t quit like Lesnar did in the past – and what Lesnar did after losing to Cena – QUIT.
Brock Lesnar’s music hits – and out comes Paul Heyman and another man holding an envelope. Paul Heyman says Triple H is doing damage control and trying to spin the story – when it’s an open and shut case. WWE breached Brock Lesnar’s contract. They bring a fighter into an entertainment corporation and are surprised when he wants to fight? He doesn’t understand Brock Lesnar. Triple H is served with a lawsuit. Brock Lesnar expected more from Triple H. Heyman continues to run Triple H down until Triple H grabs him by the face and has him asking, “What are you doing?!” Triple H tells Heyman to tell Brock Lensar – he’s going to get everything he deserves. Triple H leaves – but Heyman grabs the mic and says Triple H just screwed up again – he just assaulted him – and now he’s going to have lawsuit #2 on his hands and he’ll see him in court.
Footage is shown from last week of John Laurinaitis and the Big Show’s feud, with Show getting in trouble for mocking his voice. Tonight, Big Show will fight Kane – and he’ll be fired if he does not apologize. Also tonight – the return of John Cena after Lord Tensai’s assault 2 weeks ago. Laurinaitis and Cena will go face to face.
CM Punk and Santino Marella vs. Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes
Cult of Personality hits and your WWE Champion CM Punk is out to the ring for a tag team match. Out next is Santino Marella. Out next is Intercontinental Champion followed by Daniel Bryan. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk start off as the crowd chants yes. Rhodes thrown to the outside. Bryan enters the ring but Punk throws him out as well. Punk and Santino in the ring as Punk dives through the ropes onto both heels. Punk calls for Santino to do the same dive attack – but his attempt comes up short and he never makes it out of the ring. Commercial. Back from commercial and CM Punk is working over Santino. Santino makes a comeback, but Cody Rhodes tags in Daniel Bryan, who beats up Santino. Crowd very into Daniel Bryan and chanting “Yes!” as he punches and kicks Santino. Cody tagged in, continues to beat down Santino, Bryan tagged back in. Bryan and Rhodes functioning very well as a tag team and controlling Santino. Punk gets involved for a moment but the heels have isolated Santino. Santino finally make the hot tag to CM Punk, who unloads on Cody Rhodes. Punk hits a signature bulldog and the crowd is getting into it. Punk taunts Bryan. Punk kicks Cody Rhodes with a brutal kick. Cody Rhodes almost gets the cobra, turns around and walks into a Go To Sleep for the 1-2-3 pin. Great closing moments with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes working really well together.
Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho is on for tonight. Commercial.
Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox
Back from the break and Alicia Fox is in the ring waiting as Beth Phoenix comes out. They go back and forth until Beth hits a big clothesline. WWE Divas Champion Layla comes out and watches from the stage as Beth beats Alicia down in the corner. Beth presses Alicia high over her head and tosses her to the mat before hitting the Glam Slam for the win, all while staring at Layla.
— WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes revealed on Twitter that he will partner with Daniel Bryan tonight on Raw SuperShow in a tag team match against WWE Champion CM Punk and United States Champion Santino Marella.
— Syfy will air SmackDown live on Tuesday, July 3; the event takes place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ticketmaster.com is holding a pre-sale this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. with the password SMACK.
— Monday’s broadcast of Inside Edition featured a piece on Jennifer Hudson and fiancée David Otunga visiting Six Flags in Illinois 24 hours after the songstress’ former brother-in-law was convicted Thursday of murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.
— Former WCW and WWE talent Robert Fuller (a/k/a Col. Robert Parker, Tennessee Lee) turns 61 years old on Monday.
There is speculation behind the scenes that TNA star Matt Morgan will be leaving the company soon to return to WWE.
Morgan’s TNA contract does not expire until October, but it states that Morgan was obligated to make a certain number of appearances for TNA – which he has already completed. It’s believed that once his contractual obligations were met, he would become a free agent and legally could jump to WWE.
Matt Morgan has stated in various interviews that he loves TNA and does feel some loytalty to them, but WWE has sent out feelers to him and he would have a hard time turning down a chance to return to the ‘big leagues’ if the chance presented itself.
Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow will take place from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
It will be the “go home” show prior to Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view – so expect to see the final hype for John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis and WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan. Confirmed for tonight:
– John Cena will be in attendence
– John Laurinaitis has demanded Big Show apologize for mocking him on RAW last week. .
– Triple H will also be appearing live tonight to address the Brock Lesnar attack. WWE is teasing an altercation between Triple H and Paul Heyman. WWE is not advertising Lesnar for tonight’s show so he likely will not be appearing live.
– SmackDown stars advertised to appear include Sheamus, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Cody Rhodes, Alberto Del Rio and Christian.
The advertised dark match main events are WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho in an “Anything Goes” match and a 6-man tag match with Randy Orton, John Cena and Sheamus vs. Lord Tensai, Kane and Daniel Bryan.
– There is said to be panic among WWE officials over how to book the Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H. While the initial plan was for the match to take place at SummerSlam in August, certain people are pushing to have the match take place next month at No Way Out.
WWE rushed into the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match and had less than three weeks to hype it – leading several employees to believe that doing the same thing with the Lesnar vs. Triple H match would be a huge mistake.
Comment below and tell us if you think WWE would be making a mistake by having Brock Lesnar face Triple H next month instead of at SummerSlam.
– Triple H’s trainer Joe DeFranco has a new blog up looking at the new workout routine he created to get Triple H back into ring shape. It’s a very interesting read and worth checking out. DeFranco also listed Triple H’s staggering list of injuries:
– Over a dozen high ankle sprains
– Torn biceps tendon
– Torn quadriceps muscles/tendons in both legs
– 2 elbow surgeries to remove 9 bone spurs that were the size of teeth
– Torn adductor muscle
– Torn Piriformis muscle
– Knee surgery
– Torn calf muscle
— WWE.com has posted a list counting down the top twenty-five Intercontinental Champions of all-time and Randy Savage comes in at number one. He is trailed by Chris Jericho, Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect and Pat Patterson. To view the complete list, click here.
— BarbershopWindow.com has released a “Kamala” Benefit T-Shirt, with all proceeds going to aid the legendary wrestler’s medical bills. The first seventy-five customers who order the shirt will receive an autographed photo of WWE developmental wrestler Kassius Ohno (a/k/a Chris Hero).
The former WWE Superstar has undergone amputation of both of his feet due to his ongoing battle with diabetes.
— Mick Foley will perform stand-up comedy this Thursday in Williamstown, New Jersey at Antony & Cleopatra’s. Call 856-629-2211 for event information.
— Jim Ross makes his return to the announce booth this week as he is slated to broadcast the debut episode of WWE NXT at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. It is not known whether he will broadcast the FCW Wrestling taping.
Speaking of the WWE Hall of Famer, he wrote Sunday night on Twitter that he was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—the site of tonight’s Raw SuperShow—with his wife.
— David Otunga is expected to return to television shortly after fiancee’s Jennifer Hudson’s former brother-in-law was convicted Thursday of murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. Otunga and Hudson were spotted at Six Flags less than 24 hours after the verdict was announced.
— Daniel Bryan will be appear on 105.7 the X Tuesday morning in Pennsylvania to promote the evening’s SmackDown taping in Hershey.
– WWE.com has published an articleon a “short, grainy video filled with quick cuts showing scenes of revolution and revolt from different time periods in recorded history, ending with the ominous promise that, “A Revolution is Coming.” WWE website writer Alex Giannini writes:
“It’s no secret that WWE has a long history of soon-to-debut Superstars releasing video teasers as portents of things to come; could this video be signaling the next major force to be reckoned with inside the squared circle? Or is it a sign of something else entirely? Does the footage lay down the groundwork for a new movement, something that may change the WWE landscape forever? Perhaps the video alludes to a new pay-per-view event, sweeping changes on Raw and SmackDown, or the next great YouTube show.”
Comment below and tell us what you think the “Revolution” will be.
– A WWE SuperShow is scheduled for July 14, 2012 in Tuscon, Arizona. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.
– WWE has released the sixteenth episode of WWE Download with Dolph Ziggler.
— Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg along with WWE’s Sheamus, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Eve, and Stephanie McMahon rally against bullying with the Be a Star Alliance:
— Former WWE superstar Edge recently spoke to SiriusXM radio personality Sam Roberts about his retirement, his dream last match, getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Matt Hardy and more:
With WWE’s weekly RAW tapings starting earlier beginning in July and NXT/Florida Championship Wrestling tapings moving to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida (near Orlando), there are big changes are in store for WWE’s upcoming television tapings schedule.
As reported over the weekend, WWE is currently discussing taping a new show on Monday nights prior to RAW – a show that will be overseen by Triple H without the “finger prints” of Vince McMahon on it.
WWE will tape SmackDown on Tuesday night from Hershey, PA. Daniel Bryan will be appearing on local Hershey, PA radio station “105.7 The X” tomorrow morning around 7AM to promote the show.
This Thursday (5/17) will be the first NXT/FCW tapings from Full Sail University. Full Sail announced on Facebook over the weekend that this week’s first set of NXT/FCW tapings are already sold out.
Aside from taping NXT and FCW television this Thursday night, the tapings will also feature a special appearance from Triple H as well as two matches featuring WWE superstars: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio and WWE Tag Team champions R Truth & Kofi Kingston vs. Epico & Primo. Jim Ross is also scheduled to be at Full Sail University this Thrusday and might return to the commentary table alongside with William Regal.
— Jim Ross suggested Sunday on Twitter that he would be broadcasting this Thursday’s WWE NXT and FCW Wrestling tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida alongside William Regal.
The WWE Hall of Famer, who generally shies away from rumors and speculation, re-posted the following remark: “Regarding the new @WWENXT and #FCW tapings at Full Sail University, @JRsBBQ and @RealKingRegal may end up announcing those shows. #WWE.”
— After locking lips with her “friend” Antonio Cesaro following his victory on SmackDown, Aksana divulges some surprising details regarding the newcomer in an interview with WWE.com. (Watch)
— The official YouTube account of WWE uploaded several clips from 1995 episodes of Raw last week and subsequently took them down.
Jonathan Coachman, who now works as a sports anchor for ESPN, says his past history as a WWE commentator and wrestling villain affected his initial credibility with the sports television network.
“It really held me back for a while. There were certain people (ESPN executives) that were fearful of some negative backlash that they hired a guy best known for wrestling,” he tells The Hutchinson News.
“It was frustrating. I knew where I should be, at and I knew where I wasn’t. But I also knew the reason.”
Coachman also recalled sports reporting at Kemper Arena when Owen Hart died at WWE’s Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
“There were no cell phones back then,” he said. “Everyone back at the station was going nuts. I worked all night. The next morning, I was on ‘Good Morning America’ and ‘Mike and Mike in the Morning.'”
— The latest episode of WWE’s “Are You Serious?” webisode features clips of the “Donald Trump” vs. “Rosie O’Donnell” match on Raw, Josh Mathews attempting to dance, Road Dogg singing and Lilian Garcia’s shoe malfunctioning in the “Fail of the Week.”
— Ranjin Singh, the former mouthpiece of The Great Khali, has been removed from the SmackDown Superstars page on WWE.com. His profile now resides in the Alumni section. He has not appeared on WWE programming since being attacked by The Punjabi Giant on the May 27, 2011 SmackDown. He remains with the organization as the head creative writer for Raw SuperShow.
— Titus O’Neil and Darren Young’s entrance theme is “Move (Get It In)” by Woo Child.
— The official Twitter feed of Marvel’s The Avengers named Shawn Michaels and his children Avengers Fans of the Day on Friday after the WWE Hall of Famer posted several Avengers related messages.
— WWE Hall of Famer Sunny appears for Women Xtreme Championship Wrestling on May 19, 2012 at Patriot Auction Gallery in Martinsburg, West Virginia. (Event Details)
— Pro Wrestling Torch reports that during an autograph session Saturday afternoon at Delaware Army National Guard, WWE Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes teased that he may be jumping ship to the Raw brand when WWE holds their annual Draft.
— The Miz hosted a ‘be a STAR’ anti-bullying rally for Woodlawn School students in Schenectady, New York on Friday. The WWE Superstar shared his experiences about being bullied and advised students to never laugh at bullies and to show tolerance and respect. (Article)
— WWE Magazine has released a limited edition “2012 Roster” issue featuring profiles and pictures of all of the WWE Superstars.
— Trendrr.TV reports that last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown saw a slight increase in social media activity with a score of 53,839. Last week’s show scored 50,470.
— In this week’s episode of Z! True Long Island Story, Zack Ryder laments his return to WWE Superstars. Also featured are cameos by Dolph Ziggler and Scott Stanford, the latest dig on Trent Barreta’s disappearance and a segment on Ryder’s new growth chart product line.
— Beth Phoenix competed at Friday’s Raw live event in Glens Falls, New York, losing to WWE Divas Champion Layla. It was her first match since losing the WWE Divas Championship to Nikki Bella on the April 23 Raw SuperShow.
— WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele stated Friday on Twitter that he was released from the hospital following an extensive stay. He added, “Praise the LORD, GOD is so good.”