— WWE Superstar and host, Santino Marella shares with Michael McGillicutty and the WWE Universe just how dirty he will get to prove he’s a diligent worker.
— WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose faced Zack Ryder at Friday’s Raw live event in Glens Falls, New York. Ambrose was disqualified after he removed the turnbuckle pad and whipped Ryder into it.
— Former WWE Superstar Billy Kidman turned 38 years old on Friday. He is currently a producer on WWE’s Raw brand.
— WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are advertised to appear at Aaron’s Rental & Sales in Mobile, Alabama on Saturday, June 2 beginning at 4:00 p.m.
— WWE’s European DVD distributor Silvervision announced via Facebook that anyone who ordered the following pre-order titles will be refunded in full due to production errors: The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions DVD, The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions Blu-ray, The Biggest Matches in ECW History DVD, The Biggest Matches in ECW History Blu-ray, WrestleMania XXVIII DVD, WrestleMania XXVIII Blu-ray.
— Sheamus appears at Saturday’s Market in Middletown, Pennsylvania today from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Santino Marella is also appearing at Bryant and Stratton College in Syracuse, New York beginning at 2:00 p.m.
— In the latest edition of Backstage Fallout, Sheamus tells the WWE Universe what he thinks his chances are at Over the Limit, Kaitlyn talks about her “vicious” match with AJ and more WWE Superstars react to SmackDown events.
— Former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz turns 37 years old on Saturday while Doug Basham turns 41. Ortiz sporadically competes on the Florida independent circuit while Basham is no longer active.
— WWE will hold a SuperShow at the Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana on June 29, 2012. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.
— Kevin Nash is advertised to face Mark Vandy at EWF Wrestling presents “Diesel Powered” on June 16 at Borderman Gymnasium in Converse, Indiana. (Event Information)
Full Sail University issued the following announcement:
WWE and Full Sail University are combining forces to make entertainment history! The WWE franchise NXT is moving full-time to Full Sail University and Thursday, May 17th, 2012 will be its inaugural event. A powerhouse night of hard-hitting action returns to the Full Sail Live Venue as WWE invades the Full Sail University campus!
The night will feature a special appearance by WWE’s own Triple H and includes a WWE Superstar Showdown with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus going against Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship and Kofi Kingston and R-Truth going against Epico and Primo for the World Tag Team title!
Want to sit ringside? Wear your favorite WWE shirt and bring your most creative wrestling sign and you could find yourself closer to the action than you ever imagined.
This event is free to all Full Sail students and staff with a valid Full Sail ID. Please send your ticket request to events@fullsail.com for tickets!
Ed Bassmaster, who has amassed over 230 million views on his hidden camera prank themed YouTube channel, stated Tuesday on Facebook that John Cena denied his request for a photo opportunity on Tuesday while riding a shuttle bus with the WWE Superstar at Tampa International Airport.
“So I’m at the airport in Tampa and I get on the shuttle bus. It’s just me and John Cena. I ask him for a quick pic and he says “I’m on my way home” without even making eye contact with me. Thanks John, it wasn’t for me. It was for my 4 year old little nephew. My three year olds John Cena doll is going in the trash when I get home,” wrote Bassmaster.
Bassmaster issued an apology Thursday shortly after news broke that Cena had filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart and wife of three years, Elizabeth Huberdeau.
“Never judge a book by its cover. John Cena filed for divorce today. Evidently he had good reason to be short and unpleasant towards me. I apologize for my statement, and the doll will not go in the trash,” he wrote.
Beginning next Thursday, WWE’s WWE NXT and FCW Wrestling tapings will emanate from Full Sail University’s multi purpose performance venue in Winter Park, Florida. Tickets for the events are free to university staff and students with ID as long as they are reserved in advance.
The events, which are being branded as WWE Superstar Showdown, are taking place near the company’s developmental facility in Tampa, Florida as means to integrate Florida Championship Wrestling talent on NXT more smoothly. Company officials hope the “university feel” will give the show better crowd reactions as well as to upgrade the look of Florida Championship Wrestling programming.
Triple H, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, is heavily involved with the project. He was said to be a high on the facility after scouting it with other WWE executives last year.
Triple H is advertised for Thursday’s event, which will also feature World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio and WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Epico and Primo. Events are also scheduled for June 14, July 5, July 19, August 9, August 23, September 6 and September 20.
As part of the buildup to the Rock vs. John Cena match at WrestleMania 28, The Rock held a “Rock Concert” on the March 12, 2012 edition of WWE RAW.
With the news of John Cena filing to divorce his wife this week – the lyrics of The Rock’s takes on a different meaning:
“Rock saw Cena makin’ out with Eve, Grabbin’ on her thigh, tuggin’ on her weave. Cena was havin’ the time of his life, I guess he didn’t tell her that he’s got a wife. Let’s rock. Everybody let’s rock. Divorce lawyer’s right up the block, but we’re dancing because Cleveland Rocks.”
While there’s no indication that John Cena and Eve were romantically linked off-camera, it is known that The Rock and John Cena were legitimately taking personal shots at each other during their promos hyping WM28. With TMZ.com reporting that John Cena did not hide his marital problems with his co-workers in the WWE locker room, it appears The Rock’s remarks about Cena’s wife and a “divorce lawyer right up the block” hit closer to home than we realized at the time.
Here’s the video of The Rock’s “Rock Concert” from RAW (3/12/12):
TMZ has posted an update on John Cena’s filing for divorce from his high school sweetheart wife of 3 years, Liz Huberdeau.
John Cena’s relationship with Liz began to sour shortly after they got married in 2009, with their arguing escalating in recent months. One of the big issues they would reportedly fight about was the remolding of their Florida home. [Picture of Cena’s Mansion]
Cena has been a “wreck” in recent months over the state of his crumbling marriage – and was outspoken about his personal troubles backstage with his co-workers.
Even with their romantic relationship fizzling out, John Cena’s wife was ringside at a recent WWE RAW Supershow event from Bostin right before WrestleMania 28. Cena gave his wife a big kiss on RAW. Unfortunately, we now know that things were falling apart at home for the longtime couple.
– According to ABC News, WWE CEO Vince McMahon has donated $2,500 to U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
– THQ announced yesterday that Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Edge, Eddie Guerrero and Curt Hennig have been added to the WrestleFest mobile game. A new RAW is WAR arena has also been added.
– WWE’s website has a new article up with SmackDown’s Damien Sandow, looking at the top 10 ignoramuses in WWE history. He listed Steve Austin, Mankind, Santino Marella, Ultimate Warrior, Zack Ryder, Dusty Rhodes, Brodus Clay, Brooklyn Brawler, Booker T and CM Punk.
– The latest episode of WWE’s Outside of the Ring features Mark Henry visiting the Arnold Schwarzenegger museum in Austria. Henry was not at last weekend’s RAW live events or this week’s RAW & SmackDown TV tapings, so he was apparently overseas:
– WWE is billing the World Heavyweight Title Match at Over the Limit as an “international incident of epic proportions,” with each of the participants being from different countries – Sheamus (Ireland), Alberto Del Rio (Mexico), Chris Jericho (Canada) and Randy Orton (USA).
– During CNBC’s “Mad Money,” host Jim Cramer was asked yesterday about WWE stock. Cramer’s response, “SELL, SELL, SELL, no growth!”
– Conservative website BreitBart.com has published an article about CM Punk’s Twitter comments from Monday – when Punk told a fan on Twitter “kill yourself” and another to “drink bleach” because they do not support gay marriage. The site called Punk “another Dan Savage-style eloquent spokesperson for the same-sex marriage cause.”
The site conveniently did not mention Punk’s apology just hours after he made the tweets.
John Cena has filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart and wife of three years, Liz Huberdeau, reports The Miami Herald and TMZ.com. The WWE Superstar claims their marriage is “irretrevably broken.”
The couple signed a prenuptial agreement that allows Cena, who possesses assets worth $18 million, the ability to take back all gifts and presents. Huberdeau has already hired powerful Miami attorney Raymond Rafool, who is best known for facing Hulk Hogan in his ugly divorce battle against ex-wife Linda. Rafool allegedly took 70% of the legendary grappler’s assets and Huberdeau reportedly wants a similar take. A source close to the situation told The Miami Herald that this divorce would “dwarf the Hogan divorce in nastiness.”
Rafool released a statement, claiming, “Although it is indeed unfortunate that John Cena decided to divorce his high school sweetheart Liz Cena; particularly, after they have come so far in their lives and in his career together, Liz will and really has no choice but to pursue all of her rights and entitlements.
“Sadly, divorce is not the way Liz thought her perfect love story would end.”
Huberdeau’s attorney adds that Cena “blindsided her” with the divorce filing. They had been having issues as the WWE Superstar approached her recently with a pre-divorce financial settlement agreement that she refused to sign due to her belief the relationship would work out.
— Announced exclusively on WWE.com, WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth will defend their titles for the very first time at WWE Over the Limit on May 20, taking on Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. (Match Preview)
— WWE.com has added Rob Van Dam to their Alumni section. The website writes, “Rob Van Dam’s innovative maneuvers, laid back demeanor and airbrushed attire made him ECW’s most popular Superstar of all time, and he later became WWE Champion at a historic contest in New York City. Check out RVD’s career milestones, photos and videos, the latest addition to WWE.com’s Alumni section!” (Profile)
This continues a trend of WWE.com acknowledging former talent affiliated with TNA Wrestling as Sting was added to the section last week and a playlist of Hulk Hogan’s wildest interviews was uploaded. Furthermore, three TNA Wrestling stars who succumbed to Brock Lesnar during his rise to the top of WWE—Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle and Hogan —were shown in a series of video packages on the April 23 Raw SuperShow.
– WWE United States Champion Santino Marella wrote on Twitter that he’s been working with a sore back.
– Alberto Del Rio, replacing the the suspended Rey Mysterio, is currently in Tokyo, Japan doing promotional work for WWE. Del Rio will be attending a baseball Hanshin Tigers baseball game on Saturday in Shibuya, Japan and will be shooting t-shirts into the crowd. Later in the day, he’ll have an autograph signing at the Tower Records in Shibuya.
– The WWE Youtube channel has posted the following video looking at the most devastating slaps in WWE history:
– WWE’s Senior Vice President of Digital Jason Koch attended Ad Age’s Engagement/Social TV conference on Wednesday. He talked about a recent social engagement test that performed at a recent live event in Huntsville Alabama.
WWE encouraged the fans in attendance to post pictures from the show to Twitter and also had fans vote on a stipulation for the show’s main event. Koch stated that that 25% of the fans in attendance voted, which is considered to be a very strong sign of customer engagement.
It’s expected that WWE will continue to encourage fans at live events to promote WWE on social media. For more on the story, visit AdAge.com.
– As seen on this week’s NXT [watch here], Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins returned and are now the official “NXT security,” as appointed by John Laurinaitis.
– WWE has added Antonio Cesaro to the SmackDown roster page. Jim Ross called Cesaro a “potential impact player” in his latest blog.
– Earlier this week, the WWE website kicked off a new viral video campaign that states a “Revolution” is coming. There is already buzz behind the scenes that the Revolution is leading up to the inroduction of Dean Ambrose o the main roster.
– Speaking of Dean Ambrose, he took another shot at Mick Foley on Wednesday. Foley announced on Twitter that doctors told him that due to all the concussions he experienced during his in-ring career, he has to drastically limit his time in front of a computer screen. Ambrose wasted no time throwing this in Foley’s face, writing:
“You reap what you sow :) @realMickFoley #thanksmick”
Ambrose and Foley have been feuding since WrestleMania 28 weekend, with Ambrose repeatedly criticizing Foley for ruining professional wrestling and “destroying a generation” of performers by glorifying the hardcore, physically damaging style of wrestling.
– The next 3-Hour WWE RAW Supershow will take place on June 11th from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. WWE has yet to announce a theme for the show. The advertised dark match main event is an eight-man tag match: John Cena, C.M. Punk, Sheamus & Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Kane & Lord Tensai.
JTG debuted his new look on this week’s NXT, thanks to Alicia Fox, who accompanied him to the ring for his win over Yoshi Tatsu. JTG also showed off some new moves:
– WWE is once again looking to sign Mexican wrestlers. With Sin Cara’s career getting off to a very rocky start, Rey Mysterio’s recent issues and even Alberto Del Rio stating that he does not plan to be wrestling in a few years, the company scouting a young, charismatic, English-speaking high-flying Mexican star.
– With John Cena recently turning 35 years old, there has been talk that Vince McMahon is already on the hunt for his next “John Cena.”
Over the past 30 years, Vince McMahon has hand-picked Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and now John Cena as the top babyface in the company.
At 66 years old, Vince McMahon is still the king of WWE with a hand in virtually every aspect of the company, but he will be delegating more responsibilities to Triple H and Stephanie as time goes on. It’s been said that the next top baby face to carry the torch in WWE could be Vince’s final hand-picked face of WWE.
– FCW star Kassius Ohno, the former Chris Hero, is reportedly out of action due to a cervical sprain that happened at the April 26th FCW tapings in a match against his former partner Antonio Cesaro.
Ohno did a twisting dive to the outside of the ring onto a group of wrestlers but came up short and landed on the top of his head. He finished the match but was then taken to the hospital for x-rays.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this entry, JR posted some random thoughts about a variety of topics. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
– “Keep an eye on Antonio Cesaro who will compete Friday night on Smackdown. Potential impact player”
– “Education, intelligence and natural athleticism are three elements that are closely evaluated when looking at potential WWE performers. I still believe ‘IT’cannot be taught but can be cultivated/enhanced.”
– “Excited for what I perceive will be a big week in Florida next week. I’m loving working in WWE Development”
Paul Heyman returned to WWE on Monday’s RAW to announce that Brock Lesnar has quit WWE. The original plan was for Lesnar to appear on last week’s RAW and quit himself – but the decision was made to bring Paul Heyman in instead.
It was widely reported that Monday’s RAW was rewritten several time throughout the day in the hours leading up to the show – and Heyman’s segment was one of the parts that was constantly being edited.
As for how the Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H storyline will play out, we can confirm that match is currently scheduled to be the main event of SummerSlam. Beyond that, there’s a lot of secrecy surrounding the feud, with only a limited few Vince & Stephanie McMahon, John Laurinaitis, Triple H and Brock Lesnar among those in the know. Even the WWE writing team is in the dark about how everything will fall into place.
— With Linda McMahon running for Senate in Connecticut this year, Vince McMahon is once again contemplating a second “Stand Up for WWE” campaign to refute all the negative media coverage he expects his sports entertainment organization to receive.
The WWE CEO has told people that the company will be more aggressive toward the persecution from “the liberal media” given what is expected to occur once the Senate race heats up. An individual close to the matter said that if Linda doesn’t perform well in the campaign, the organization will be very outspoken.
— WWE developmental wrestler Kassius Ohno is currently sidelined due to a cervical sprain. The injury occurred at the April 26 Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings in Tampa, Florida when Antonio Cesaro attempted a twisting dive maneuver onto numerous wrestlers but fell short and on top of Ohno’s head. He finished the match but he was taken to a local hospital for X-rays.
— Mike Shaw, who performed as Norman the Lunatic for World Championship Wrestling and Bastion Booger for the World Wrestling Federation, would have turned fifty-five years old on Wednesday. He died of a heart attack on September 11, 2010.
— WWE is expected to hold a Tag Team Championship Match at Over the Limit where Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defend the straps against either Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger or a multiple tag team match including Epico and Primo and possibly Darren Young and Titus O’Neil.
— In attendance news the May 4 Raw live event in Huntsville, Alabama drew 4,000 paying $150,000; May 5 Raw in Knoxville, Tennessee drew 6,000 paying $200,000; SmackDown on May 5 in Asheville, North Carolina drew 2,000 paying $65,000; Raw on May 6 in Chattanooga, Tennessee drew 4,800 paying $115,000; May 6 SmackDown in North Charleston, South Carolina drew 3,500 paying $120,000.
— Alberto Del Rio will arrive in Tokyo, Japan late Wednesday night to embark on a promotional tour. He appears on Television Kanagawa on Friday at noon. He is scheduled for an autograph session on Saturday. He will then attend that day’s Hanshin Tigers vs. Yokohama Bay Stars baseball game at Yokohama Stadium as he is scheduled to shoot T-shirts into the crowd. He’ll also be at Tower Records in Shibuya at 6:00 p.m. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
– Vince McMahon was reportedly encouraged by YouTube viewing numbers for the United States Championship Match between Santino Marella and The Miz before Extreme Rules. He felt with more promotion the numbers could be even higher.
– Ezekiel Jackson responded to a Twitter user relaying an online rumor that misbehavior backstage resulted in WWE abandoning plans to push the SmackDown Superstar again. He wrote, “Wow, and u witnessed this? Or rumours?”
– The May 5 episode of A.M. Raw garnered a 0.61 cable rating, with 723,000 viewers.
(Sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider)
Earlier this year, WWE Champion CM Punk was forbidden from accompanying UFC fighter Chael Sonnen to the ring when he had a fight in Chicago, so it appears a double standard was in play. Part of the reason Punk wasn’t allowed to appear at the UFC show was because WWE management was concerned nobody would acknowledge Punk as a cornerman, which would hurt his perceived star power.
Despite WWE perceiving Triple H as a bigger name than CM Punk, Triple H did not get any mainstream media attention and was overshadowed by singer Justin Beiber, who was also part of Mayweather’s crew on Saturday night.
– Paul Heyman wrote the following on Twitter about WWE Superstars Jimmy and Jey Uso:
“Amazing seeing @WWEusos … remember, I haven’t been around for half a decade … The last time I saw these two, they were little kids doing splashes off the top rope in the Omni before the show when I managed their Dad. Yes, that makes me old, but I recognize TALENT. @WWEusos are talented. Time for these young Samoans to eat up the competition!”
— At Tuesday’s SmackDown taping at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia, WWE had arena security confiscate signs referencing The Bella Twins at the door. The twin duo parted ways with the company last week.
— Kicking off a new era, the former Bella Twins changed their Twitter handle Wednesday to nicoleandbri and are now referring to themselves as Nicole and Brianna.
“#BellaArmy as you can see changes have been made! Spread the word that we are @nicoleandbri now! This officially starts the new #BellaEra,” the former WWE Divas stated.
— Lilian Garcia, who is working to raise awareness of black mold allergy, has written an article on the ailment for FitPerez.
She writes, “Have you ever heard the expression,”It’s a blessing in disguise?” Well that couldn’t be more true about the story I’m about to share with you. My name is Lilian Garcia and I’m a WWE Diva and musician. I’m the longest running WWE Diva the company has ever had. In my eleven years with WWE, my job has required me to look my best at all times. But because of what happened to me 17 years ago, hasn’t always been easy, yet I wouldn’t have it any other way. Allow me to explain.” (Full Story)
— Former WWE Champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield is pleased with Paul Heyman’s return to WWE. He tweeted, “Big fan, and friend, of Paul, he’s great talent and mind. Great move by WWE!”
— Alicia Fox, Dolph Ziggler, Hornswoggle, Kaitlyn and Johnny Curtis responding to questions on the worst movie of all-time and “most shocking” WWE moment of all-time in the latest edition of WWE Inbox
— Via Twitter, Paul Heyman was asked to give his opinion on the best female wrestler. He responded, “Easy answer. @TheBethPhoenix. And she could rock in MMA, too.”
— WWE will hold a live event at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota on Sunday, August 26.
— A photo of Brock Lesnar standing over John Cena is featured on the cover of the latest issue Power Slam.