WWE taped tonight’s RAW this afternoon from the O2 Arena in London, England

WWE is taping tonight’s RAW Supershow this afternoon from the O2 Arena in London, England. We’ll have full results up later this afternoon.

– Dean Ambrose defeated Alex Riley in a dark match that took place prior to this afternoon’s tapings.

Ambrose got the win after nailing Riley with a running knee to the head.

– WWE taped the following matches before RAW for this week’s WWE Superstars show:

* Eve Torres vs. Kelly Kelly
* R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger

WWE proudly announced Monday that WrestleMania XXVIII set new records for pay-per-view buys and gross sales. According to WWE.com, preliminary estimates show that WrestleMania garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys with global gross sales in excess of $67 million.

The event was seen around the world on pay-per-view in more than 105 countries and 20 languages

WWE superstar The Rock tweeted a message on Monday stating that Wrestlemania 28 set the all time record for pay-per-view buys & made more money in one day than any PPV event ever:

“BREAKING NEWS: Wrestlemania 28 sets all time PPV buys & one day global gross record. #TeamBringItWorldwide THANK YOU!

The final number will be reported during WWE’s second quarter 2012 earnings later this year.

— Courtesy of Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match at Extreme Rules has been changed to a no-disqualification, no count-out “Extreme Rules” Match, WWE.com has confirmed.

More details on the match are available here.

— WWE has released the synopsis for Classics On Demand programming during the month of May: “Relive the insane moments that made you say…OMG! From unbelievable moves to shocking moments, it’s a jaw-dropping month full of the unexpected. It’s “OMG! Month” all May on WWE Classics On Demand.”

— WWE will hold a SmackDown taping on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

— Alicia Fox and William Regal will be signing autographs Thursday in Cardiff, Wales to promote WWE’s The Best of Raw and SmackDown 2011 video release at the HMV on Queen Street.

— During an interview with Steven Muehlhausen of The Fight Club Chicago, boxing analyst Percy Crawford said he spoke to Paul Heyman about Brock Lesnar working with famed boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. before Lesnar fought Shane Carwin in July 2010. Crawford says Lesnar rejected the offer.

“I actually offered … his close friend Paul Heyman to hook him [Lesnar] up with Floyd Mayweather, Sr. [and] Heyman said, ‘You know, that’s not a bad idea. Let me talk to Brock and get back with ya’,” Crawford said. “And then it was like, ‘uh, Brock’s kinda comfortable in Minnesota. We’re gonna go with what we have’.”

— WWE conducted an angle at SmackDown live events last week where ring announcer Lilian Garcia nearly came to blows with Natalya during a heated confrontation. Fed up with the third generation wrestler’s shabby treatment of her, Garcia aggressively shoved Natalya’s jacket back at the SmackDown Diva following her losses to AJ. Garcia addressed the matter on Twitter Sunday, writing, “She bettr watch out 4 this Latina Heat!!”

Natalya responded, “Latina heat? Maybe try showing The Queen of Harts a little respect… Thank you!” She also vowed to make Garcia tap out to the Sharpshooter.

— Following CM Punk’s victory over Chris Jericho at Sunday’s Raw live event in Nottingham, England, the Straight Edge Superstar, John Cena, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger appeared ringside to celebrate Vickie Guerrero’s birthday—she turns 44 years old on Monday. After Cena led the Capital FM Arena audience in singing “Happy Birthday To You” to Guerrero, Punk snuck up on the birthday girl by smashing her in the face with a chocolate cake. She then broke kayfabe by posing in the center of the ring with Punk and Cena.

Guerrero was taken by surprise by the moment. She wrote on Twitter, “My birthday is tomorrow the 16th!!!! The RAW crew surprised me tonight at show! It was so much fun! I showered the cake out of my hair and down my back….that was the sweetest shower ever!!!!”

— Rey Mysterio, who has been sidelined since August due to injury, is heading to Japan next month to promote the SmackDown brand’s upcoming tour of Tokyo. WWE will hold shows at Sumo Hall on August 9 and 10.

— WWE will hold two shows in Germany this November: at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg on November 2 and Arena Leipzig in Leipzig on November 3.

WWE Hall of Famer Edge appeared at the Wizard World Comic Con event in Toronto over the weekend and took part in a Q&A Session. Credit to SEScoops.com reader Ahmed Khokhar for this recap:

Edge had autograph signings, a panel and then a photo-op with fans. During the panel Edge answered a few fan questions. Edge also stated that he feels that he is healthy enough to have one more match but WWE won’t allow him; for which he was grateful for.

Edge said that if he were to have one more match that it would be with Christian. He also told us that he got the call after wrestlemania from the WWE and they said that his career that they won’t allow him to wrestle anymore. Edge also commented on his DVD on which he said his favorite moment in the whole DVD is the extra on the Blu-Ray of him playing with his dogs. He said that he is content with his life and said that he didn’t want to be a guy in his 50s with a pony tail and still wrestling.

– SmackDown newcomer Damien Sandow is overseas with WWE this week and is headed to London for Tuesday’sSmackDown from the O2 Arena. It’s possible he will make his TV debut this week, or he could just work a pre-show dark match.

– William Regal has been teaming with Tyson Kidd on the current WWE tour. The duo has defeated Hunico and Camacho at the past few live events. Prior to their matches, Regal has introduced Kidd “the most underrated wrestler with WWE.”

– Fans of former WWE superstar MVP shouldn’t get their hopes up about him ever returning to the company. While he’s been open about the possibility of returning one day, he changed his tune over the weekend. When asked by a fan on Twitter if he’ll ever return to WWE, he responded, “Never again.”

– Last week on RAW, General Manager John Laurinaitis revealed that he is responsible for Brock Lesnar’s WWE return. During an interview with the WWE website, here’s what Laurinaitis said about Lesnar bringing “legitimacy” back to WWE:

“Brock has achieved incredible success on every level. He’s the only athlete to ever win the WWE Championship, the UFC Heavyweight Championship and an NCAA Division I Heavyweight Championship. Quite frankly, I couldn’t imagine a better man than Brock more suited to be the face of WWE. No offense to John Cena, who’s an outstanding athlete in his own right, but he’s no Brock Lesnar.”

– WWE’s contest to win a free trip to WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey has ended. The sweepstakes launched on April 1st and the 100 winners were announced on Sunday night.

– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is filming new episodes for his MacMillan River Adventures hunting show. A future episode of the show will feature a special appearance from with music legend and avid hunter, Ted Nugent.

Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow will be taped this afternoon from the O2 Arena in London, England. The show will be taped around 3pm (Eastern) and we’ll have spoiler results here on the site this afternoon.

The main event of tonight’s RAW will be CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Mark Henry in a match with no disqualifications and no count outs.

No word yet if Brock Lesnar will be appearing live to continue the feud with John Cena. WWE has teased a follow-up on Brock Lesnar’s latest attack on John Cena, but it’s unlikely that Lesnar flew overseas for an in-person appearance.

The advertised dark match main event for this show is John Cena vs. Kane in a Last Man Standing Match.

– The feud between WrestleMania 28 celebrity guest Flo Rida and WWE wrestler Heath Slater continued on Twitter over the weekend.

The WWE website has also picked up on Flo Rida’s recent video challenge to Heath Slater [View Here] and the back and forth tweets between them.

No word yet on whether Flo Rida plans to actually step in the ring, but it appears they’re building towards something.

– Today’s wrestling bithdays include former WWE wrestler Paul London (32), Vickie Guerrero (44) and WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele (75).

– Mick Foley’s WrestleMania 28 raffle raised more than $60,000 for RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence charity in the US.

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

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at Extreme Rules:

“Getting tons of folks asking for predictions for the upcoming Lesnar vs. Cena bout at Extreme Rules in Chicago on PPV. The only thing that I know for sure is that the live audience in Chicago will be restaurant quality. Is Cena ‘due’ after losing to Rock at WM28 or will Lesnar lose his first WWE bout in years? It makes for some compelling, episodic TV, in my opinion, but one has to consider Lesnar’s likely ‘ring rust’ when analyzing this main event and making educated guesses.

“Cena vs. Lesnar is what a main event should be, too close to easily call a winner.”

The Rock’s Desire To Become WWE Champion Again

“Rock says he wants to be WWE Champion again. Time will tell if he can pull that one off but if that were to occur it would likely be following some intriguing, episodic TV leading into the big match. I think that it’s going to be a compelling year regarding the WWE Title.”

Whether The Undertaker Has Retired Or Not:

“I might be naive and I know that I’m out of the loop, which, BTW, isn’t a gripe, but IF Undertaker was going to retire, don’t you think that WWE would make a HUGE deal of it? Can you think of another wrestler’s retirement that would be as impactful as the Undertaker’s at this point in time? So….I am still of the mindset that Undertaker will return to the ring at the appropriate time.”

Scott Hall’s ex-wife Diana Hall said that she wasn’t surprised by his arrest on charges of choking his girlfriend.

During an interview with the Charleston Post & Courier, Dana Hall says that she believes the charges and that the girlfriend’s attorney’s claim of a “peaceful and amicable” relationship is a lie.

“This relationship is not peaceful and amicable, but sick, unhealthy, disturbing, disgusting, unstable, violent and enabling, just to name a few.”

“I completely believe he did this to her, as he has tried to do it to me in the past and to others. It’s deplorable… It is a sick/codependent/abusive relationship of major proportions that needs to be seriously addressed, not schmoozed over so that the sickness can continue.”

Scott Hall denies the charges.

* Scott Hall’s Latest MUGSHOT Picture

— “Miss USA” and Tough Enough contestant Rima Fakih has denied signing with WWE. She wrote Saturday on Twitter, “Not signed! #rumor.”

Fakih suggested last month during an interview with German celebrity gossip website Promiflash.de that she had signed a contract with WWE, stating, “You are the first to respond to me, but I can now tell you that I will definitely be part of WWE.”

— For the second consecutive night, WWE conducted an angle at a SmackDown live event where ring announcer Lilian Garcia nearly came to blows with Natalya during a heated confrontation. Fed up with the third generation wrestler’s shabby treatment of her, Garcia aggressively shoved Natalya’s jacket back at the SmackDown Diva following her loss to AJ at Saturday’s show in Manchester, England. Natalya was none too pleased with this.

“I didn’t appreciate Lilian Garcia’s attitude tonight throwing my jacket at me! Watch yourself ya little mutt!” she wrote on Twitter.

— WWE Hall of Famer Greg “The Hammer” Valentine appears at the Friendship Flea Market in Friendship, Indiana on June 9 and 10. Call 859-341-9188 for more information.

— Last week at WrestleMania XXVIII, The Undertaker and Triple H met inside Hell in a Cell in a bout that was branded as “the end of an era.” The latest issue of WWE Magazine, which features The Undertaker on the cover, plays up the “the end of an era” storyline as they ask “Will The Deadman Rise Again?”

Despite speculation that The Undertaker’s match last week may have been his last, many WWE employees now believe he is able to compete in a few more matches and will almost certainly work WrestleMania XXIX. This belief is based on The Undertaker appearing less injured following his WrestleMania outing compared to the prior year’s.

— Booker T is filming his upcoming Reality of Wrestling web series Saturday in Houston, Texas, according his Twitter account. The show will premiere on May 1 on YouTube.

— WWE will hold a live event at the Indoor Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland on November 8, 2012.

Jon Chattman of The Huffington Post conducted an interview with Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace where they discuss how they’ve had to retire Chris Benoit’s WWE theme song “Whatever” altogether because of the incomprehensible tragedy that took place five years ago.

Over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007, Benoit killed his wife Nancy and strangled his seven-year-old son Daniel before committing suicide via hanging. Chattman, a music blogger, asks band frontman Raine Maida and guitarist Steve Mazur if they still play “Whatever” following the event.

“I couldn’t imagine singing that to be honest, it’s so tied into him and the tragedy that happened, I just couldn’t get it out of my head,” says Mazur.

Maida adds they’ve removed the song from their catalog. Chattman thinks it “sucks” they no longer play it since it’s such a “kickass” song.

— WWE conducted an angle at Friday’s SmackDown house show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Ireland where ring announcer Lilian Garcia nearly came to blows with Natalya during a heated confrontation. Fed up with the third generation wrestler’s shabby treatment of her, Garcia aggressively shoved Natalya’s jacket back at the SmackDown Diva following her loss to AJ.

— Brie and Nikki Bella are scheduled for next week’s television events at The O2 Arena in London, England but not any house shows. As reported earlier, the twin duo is expected to part ways with WWE after their respective contracts expire on April 30.

— WWE will hold a SmackDown house show at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.

— Former WWE Women’s Champion Lita turns 37 years old on Saturday.

source: PWInsider.com

— Edge threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Friday’s Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles game at Rogers Centre. The WWE Hall of Famer was joined by Tommy Dreamer on the field. The official Twitter feed of the Blue Jays has released a photo of Edge gripping a baseball.

Edge appears at Wizard World Toronto Comic Con (taking place at at Metro Toronto Convention Centre) today from noon to 4:00 p.m. Details on the Edge VIP Experience are available here.

— WWE returns to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 7, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

— WWE is holding two live events today; Raw at O2 World Berlin in Berlin, Germany and SmackDown at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

– Kevin Nash says he is keeping himself in shape in case WWE officials are in need of his services. Nash tweeted on Friday:

“Waited 7 months after the Rumble,just staying ready if WWE needs a fit,52 year old gray headed 6-10″ dude”

The legendary grappler teased the possibility of returning to TNA Wrestling last month during an interview with The Sun due to the close proximity of their television tapings and having numerous friends in the organization.

– Madusa, who formerly competed as Alundra Blayze for WWE, continues to target the organization’s female performers through social media. She wrote on Facebook this week:

“OMGOSH….. SO I FORGOT TO ADD… WHILE HAVING A BEER I AM THINKING OF KICKING SOME DESERVING DIVA’S ASS!! lmao..”

— WWE returns to the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland on November 8, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale April 20, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. (thanks to Devin Cutting)

We’ve got some new details regarding Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s next movie project, courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter.

The Rock has signed on to star in Lore, a sci-fi action movie that’s being described as “Men in Black with mythological creatures.”

Warner Bros, is in the process of picking up the adapted screenplay of Lore. The deal reportedly went down this week in a “high-activity bidding situation” that heated up as soon as The Rock became attached to the project.

Lore will be based on the book/graphic novel written by Ashley Wood and T.P. Louise. The screenplay for Lore was written by Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott.

– Some of the WWE crew experienced travel difficulties during this week’s European tour. Drew McIntyre was among the superstars complaining about the travel situation on Twitter:

“You ain’t stopping me from getting home you bloody useless airports. Looks like I’ll be taking 4 flights but im going home if I gotta swim!!”

The Big Show also dealt with some issues while traveling overseas –

“Boarding now! Off to Ireland! Seven hour flight and can’t fit in the restroom. Oh joy to be a giant! Lol.”

– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus received a hero’s welcome at Thursday night’s SmackDown live event from Dublin, Ireland. Sheamus received a thunderous ovation from his hometown crowd and defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his title. After the match, Sheamus told the live crowd that he won the World Heavyweight title for the people of Ireland and plans to make them proud as champion.

– WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix also got a big crowd reaction at the RAW brand’s live event from Poland. Phoenix, whose family is from Poland, tweeted the following about the experience:

“Poland was a dream. Reunited with my dad, enjoyed an incredible “welcome home” ovation,& some quality facetime with the one I love! #blessed”

WWE is returning to a “12 PPVs per year” format this year – and with that change, the company is reviving the defunct No Way Out event that used to be the final show before WrestleMania. WWE No Way Out 2012 takes place on June 17th from East Rutherford, New Jersey and will feature steel cage matches with stipulations.

The official synopsis for the upcoming DVD release of WWE No Way Out 2012 reads:

“After a three year hiatus, WWE No Way Out is back and recharged! The annual pay-per-view that became notorious for its brutal, main event Steel Cage Matches gets reincarnated, but this time the Superstars of WWE will take the thematic event a step further, as they find new and innovative ways to prevent opponents from escaping. All stipulations in place, which may include Lumberjack, Strap, Chain, Steel Cage, Handcuff Matches or more will ensure no respite from the chaos inside the ring.”

Earlier this week, Chris Jericho hosted the Revolver Golden Gods Awards ceremony. WWE Champion CM Punk won the award for ‘Most Metal Athlete.’ Chris Jericho accepted the award on Punk’s behalf – and then destroyed it. Check it out –

[vsw id=”BqQ9OhiECSI” source=”youtube” width=”600″ height=”335″ autoplay=”no”]

— After his run-in with Heath Slater at WrestleMania XXVIII, rapper Flo Rida has posted a video on his official YouTube page that shows him training to fight The One-Man Southern Rock Band.

Flo Rida is seen punching pads with photos of the WWE Superstar taped on them. He states, “Heath Slater, I’m coming for you … I don’t like talk, I like action.”

[vsw id=”Jqxs6UER3CE” source=”youtube” width=”590″ height=”330″ autoplay=”no”]

— The official website of the Scottrade Center is advertising Raw SuperShow on July 23, 2012 as the historic 1000th episode of the program. The start time is set for 6:15 p.m., which suggests it will be a three-hour episode.

— WWE returns to the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on Saturday, December 29, 2012. It will be a Raw SuperShow taping airing on New Year’s Eve. Tickets officially go on sale this Saturday via Ticketmaster.

— CM Punk wasn’t on hand to accept the “Most Metal Athlete” Award during the 2012 “Revolver” Golden Gods Awards ceremony Wednesday night in Los Angeles, California so the show’s host, Chris Jericho, accepted the award on the WWE Champion’s behalf.

“I want to accept this for him, and even though he beat me at WrestleMania, and basically embarrassed me, I will give this to him in good standing,” Jericho said before smashing Punk’s award over his knee and tossing it off the stage.

Video and photos from the incident are available here.

— At Monday’s Raw SuperShow at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., WWE had arena security confiscate signs referencing Lord Tensai’s prior characters—Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train. The signs were taken away prior to his match against Yoshi Tatsu. During the bout, the crowd could be heard chanting “Albert,” which Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler did not acknowledge.

While Cole referred to Lord Tensai as a returning WWE Superstar in his Raw SuperShow debut last week, there has not been any specific references made to any of his former personas on television. However, WWE.com has acknowledged that he previously competed as Albert and A-Train before “embarking on a journey of self-discovery in Japan.”