– Tuesday’s live “old school” SmackDown special drew a 1.5 cable rating. SmackDown typically draws around a 2.0 on Friday nights.
– The Rock is in talks to star in a new movie called Lore, which has been described as a “hybrid of traditional narrative and graphic novel.”
Vulture.com compared the movie to Men In Black, writing that MIB’s take on Aliens will be similar to how Lore presents monsters. No word yet on when filming will begin.
– Brock Lesnar will not be wrestling any matches before Extreme Rules later this month. His match against John Cena will be his first WWE match in over 8 years.
– With the recent signing of Brock Lesnar, there are some people in WWE that are hoping it will help the company recruit more amateur wrestlers.
– The Dean Ambrose vs. Mick Foley feud continued on Wednesday night, with Ambrose tweeting the following messages about Foley:
“I wonder if Mick would be so happy sitting on his high horse if it was his kids in wheelchairs.”
“I’d rather go work in a gas station than apologize for what I said in Miami, Spin it however you want cuz I didnt ask for anybodys opinion”
— Former WWE diva Amy “Lita” Dumas was in Miami for WrestleMania weekend and spoke to fans at the Axxess fan fest about the current state of WWE’s Divas division. In the following video, Lita talks about being frustrated with the situation, calling it a “bummer” to see what the division has become after her and Trish took it to unprecedented heights 10 years ago:
– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is getting some negative media attention this week for his involvement in the WrestleMania 29 press conference back in February. Christie, whose spending as governor has been under scrutany, is the subject of an article on Bloomberg.com titled, “Christie Airborne for WrestleMania as Helicopter Flights Triple.”
Christie took a 36-minute helicopter ride from Ewing, NJ to East Rutherford for the press conference, which taxpayers around $1,500. While nobody likes to see wasteful spending from government officials, the disgruntled taxpayers probably didn’t get the memo that WrestleMania typically brings the host city approximately $50 million in additional revenue.
– Just days after his arrest for domestic violence, Scott Hall was back in the ring this week – working with Larry Zbyszko and Chasyn Rance at the Team Vision Dojo in Florida. Hall’s son Cody, Zbyszko’s son Tim and indy worker Santana Garrett were among the students training at the dojo. (Thanks to Al Haft of Florida Pro Wrestling)
Zbyszko posted the following image of the trainers and students on his Facebook page:
Daniel Bryan spoke with GQ.com before Tuesday’s live SmackDown in Hampton, Virginia. Here are some highlights:
The Popularity Of His “YES!” Chant& The Night After WrestleMania:
“I thought the whole thing was unreal, that all these people were getting behind me. Or maybe they weren’t getting behind me. Maybe it’s just fun to chant “Yes!” But it was really cool. I came out and did a post-show [non-televised] dark match, and there was a really special moment where they were behind me 100%.”
UFC veteran Tito Ortiz was interviewed in Sweden over the weekend by Karyn Bryant of MMAHeat.com. Tito talks about being interested in a WWE career once his current contract with UFC expires.
Ortiz begins talking about WWE around the 6-minute mark – and says he might be the next man to follow in Brock Lesnar’s footsteps to WWE.
Years ago, there were often rumors about Ortiz being interested in working for WWE, but it never happened. Tito has made more comments about joining WWE during media interviews this week.
– Earlier this week, we reported that early PPV buyrate data suggested that WrestleMania 28 was on track to do approximately 1.1 million buys. More data is coming in – and right now, it’s looking like like WrestleMania 28 drew approximately 635,000-700,000 buys in the United States alone. This does not include PPV buys in Canada. Last year’s show drew 679,000 ‘domestic’ buys, but that includes US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
While the numbers look promising that WWE will soundly break 1 million buys, these are all first-week estimates. WWE is not expected to release the final numbers until the end of May.
– WWE officials are looking to hold a live Tuesday SmackDown 2 days after next year’s WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view. WWE is looking to capitalize on the WrestleMania momentum, and the feeling is that the show will be hot enough that WWE can get away with holding live television shows on the two consecutive days following Mania.
Rikishi fired off a series of messages on his Twitter account Tuesday evening criticizing WWE for not utilizing him on the “Blast from the Past” edition of SuperSmackDown Live. His sons, Jey and Jimmy Uso, competed against Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd on the live broadcast and he strongly feels he should have accompanied them for their match. The former WWE Superstar wrote:
* I wanted to be there with my sons @WWEUSOS but you know the deal. #NoDeal I want what I want @WWE!!! Sry fans maybe next time on @TERRITORYLEAGUE
* U can’t play this . I put in my time to call my own shots in this business.. find another SUCKER !!! You loss I WIN …
* Dnt be scared to put me on TV . I won’t steal the show. But you know I’m damn sho gonna give the ppl what they wanna see.POP GOES THE CROWD
* You say #blastfromthepast . I say #blastmyazz .. I’m too legit to quit !!! Dancin off u can’t touch this !! Ppls request ,, #kidgames
* The ppl are NOT stupid !! I see all ur tweets… I’m not a greedy man . I’m a fair man !! But I’m NOT dumb either. POP GOES THE CROWD!!
Rikishi also retweeted a message from wrestler cousin Black Pearl ripping his sons’ segment on the show: “Boring ass segment with no pop.. should of paid @TheREALRIKISHI what he deserves.. #epicfail cover up.”
Hall’s lawyer Loredana Nesci tells TMZ that he did NOT choke his girlfriend, even though his girlfriend Lisa Howell told police at the time that Hall grabbed her by the throat and tried ripping her out of her car. Police observed multiple signs of injury on Howell, including red marks around her neck, so Hall was arrested.
Hall’s lawyer still denies that her client got violent, telling TMZ:
“The police arrested Mr. Hall against the wishes of Ms. Howell, who insisted that the argument did not result in violence. Ms. Howell claims that there was no physical abuse.”
Hall’s girlfriend refused to press charges, but police saw the marks on her neck, which were grounds for an arrest.
Hall’s lawyer maintains that he and Lisa Howell have a [wait for it] “peaceful and amicable relationship.”
As we reported earlier this week, former WWE wrestler John Morrison recently shot a commercial with actress Jessica Alba. E! online did a video feature looking at the commercial – but did not say what the commercial was for (or mention Morrison by name). Here’s the video:
— The latest issue of Power Slam reports John Hennigan (a/k/a John Morrison) has hinted to friends that he will return to WWE later this year. The former WWE Superstar stated during an interview with Poughkeepsie Journal last month that “the door is open” for him to return to the organization.
“I left on really good terms with everybody and what I wanted to do was take time off to heal, get refreshed and take a little vacation. Shows like this are a fun show and a way to keep sharp. I really like wrestling. That’s why I do it,” Hennigan said of his match against Finlay for Northeast Wrestling. “I was working a 250-plus day a year schedule and I wanted to be refreshed. Right before I left, I felt like I was going to work. I wasn’t enjoying it as much as when I started. I’m excited to come to Poughkeepsie and do all this stuff. That’s the kind of attitude you need to have in sports entertainment.”
— Shane Helms’ online show Highway 2 Helms airs tonight at 6:00 p.m. at GeekWeek.com. This will be his first time doing the show since his involvement in a motorbike accident in North Carolina last May.
— Maryse Ouellet will appear at the Philadelphia Comic Con on Sunday, June 3. The event takes place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Former Miss USA Rima Fakih was back in court this morning and plead no contest to her DUI case just hours before her trial was set to begin. She plead no contest to misdemeanor ‘driving while visibly impaired’ – in exchange for prosecutors dropping the more serious charge of driving while intoxicated.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 9 and she is facing up to 93 days in jail. She said today:
“You learn, you pay your price for making mistakes and you move on. I’m very happy I can put this behind me.”
Fakih was arrested in Detroit back on December 3rd after cops saw her speeding and weaving through traffic. According to the police report, Fakih was “disoriented” and slurring her speech. Her blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit and cops found a half-empty bottle of wine in the car.
– At the press conference that took place just hours before WrestleMania 28, The Rock named Brock Lesnar as one of the people he’s looking to wrestle.
– Christian is being advertised for the upcoming SmackDown live event from Salisbury, Maryland on June 9th. Christian will get a shot at the Big Show’s Intercontinental title. The main event for the show will see Daniel Bryan challenge Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title in a Last Man Standing Match. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– The next 3-hour RAW Supershow will take place on June 11th from Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
— Alex Riley, Brodus Clay, David Otunga and Natalya answer your Twitter questions in the latest episode of WWE Inbox. This week’s questions are: “Do you have any pre-show superstitions you must do?” and “If you could team up with any WWE Superstar or Diva, dead or alive, who would it be?”
— CM Punk responded to a report published here Monday stating that WWE officials are concerned with him being “too small” to adequately face Brock Lesnar in a potential match-up as well as his “battered” appearance backstage. He wrote, “Dirt sheets can call me small, skinny, beat up, road-tired, fat, ugly, no friends etc…everyone else calls me champ. Everyone.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson saw his message and showed his support for the WWE Champion.
“Amen,” Johnson wrote to Punk. “The credit will always belong to the man who is actually in the arena” #KeepDoingItStrongChamp.”
— The advertised main event for the June 18 Raw SuperShow at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island is WWE Champion CM Punk, John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan, Kane and Mark Henry.
-WWE writer Ed Koskey is the creative force behind the Mick Foley vs. Dean Ambrose feud – and was there in person when Ambrose confronted Foley at a hotel in Miami during WrestleMania weekend [Video]. WWE is using the feud to introduce Ambrose to the WWE Universe in preparation for his imminent television debut.
– During an interview with MMAHeat.com producer Karyn Bryant to promote UFC’s live event this weekend from Sweden, MMA legend Tito Ortiz teased that he is considering a career with WWE once his UFC contract is up.
– SmackDown newcomer Damien Sandow worked another dark match prior to Tuesday’s live SmackDown special from from Hampton, Virginia. He defeated Yoshi Tatsu.
Matches for today’s WWE NXT include Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty and Percy Watson vs. Johnny Curtis.
– Bobby Lashley will face James Thompson on May 6th for the Super Fight League in New Delhi, India. Lashley is rumored to be fighting Fedor Emelianenko later this year.
News broke on Tuesday that former WWE superstar Scott Hall was arrested (again) last week for allegedly choking his girlfriend after being drunk for days.
Hardcore legend Mick Foley forged his legendary reputation by putting his body on the line, sacrificing his well-being and taking bumps that most men wouldn’t dare attempt. You might think that Foley is enjoying his time away from the ring, but the Long Island native recently had a ‘vision’ – and wants to take one more big bump. Foley tweeted this week:
“I believe I do have one more big bump left in me – delivered on my terms, with a @WWE Superstar who respects what I’ve done”
“My final bump came to me as a vision. I know exactly what I want to do, where I want to do it, and who I want to do it with.”
Considering the fact that developmental star Dean Ambrose has been calling out Mick Foley for “destroying a generation” with his envelope-pushing bumps, one has to wonder whether Ambrose will try to make a name for himself by fulfilling Foley’s vision and ending him once and for all.
Foley also revealed that he spoke to WWE officials prior to WrestleMania 28 and requested that he and Jim Ross do commentary for the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and the Undertaker:
“Wish I’d been a small part of HIAC. I asked @WWE early on about me and JR doing commentary; I guess they liked half of the idea.”
– Despite speculation that his match at WrestleMania 28 might have been his last, the talk backstage at WrestleMania was how great the Undertaker looked in the ring. After undergoing two major surgeries in the past year, the belief is that Undertaker has several more matches left in him and will almost certainly work WrestleMania 29.
– There is a lot of buzz at Florida Championship Wrestling that Terry Taylor is being brought back to help with the new developmental project that will be located in Stamford, Connecticut.
– Former Miss USA and WWE Tough Enough contestant Rima Fakih is scheduled for court today in Michigan to address charges stemming from her recent drunk driving arrest. Recent online reports have stated that Fakih is returning to WWE soon.
– United States Senate candidate Linda McMahon will participate in Connecticut’s first Republican candidate debate on April 19th. McMahon will be joined by opponents Chris Shays, Brian Hill, Kie Westby and Peter Lumaj.
– While official numbers are not yet available, early indications from cable companies show that WWE’s WrestleMania 28 drew approximately 1.1 million PPV buys.
WWE was initially hoping for 1.3 million buys, but lowered their expectations to 1 million by WrestleMania Sunday.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Dustin “Goldust” Runnels (46), ECW original Balls Mahoney (40) and WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race (69).
– Chris Jericho will be appearing on Adam Carolla’s podcast this Friday at AdamCarolla.com.
After his recent arrest in Florida for “doctor shopping” and attempting to illegally obtain close to a thousand powerful prescription pain pills, TMZ.com reports that former WWE superstar Maven Huffman will be entering a WWE-sponsored rehab program.
James Flynn, the attorney representing Maven Huffman, told TMZ:
“Yes, Maven is planning on working with the WWE and he was really impressed by their gesture to assist him. It is Maven’s sincere hope to use his experience to aid in the prevention of substance abuse and serve as an example to his fellow wrestlers and community at large. Maven would also like his supporters to know that he is humbled by the outpouring of support he has received over the past week and he sincerely apologizes to any of his family members, friends, and fans who have had to read the press surrounding recent events.”
Flynn said that Huffman will cooperate with authorities, but is not admitting to any crimes.
Posted April 11th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Maven.
On Tuesday’s live SmackDown special, WWE announced another match for WWE Extreme Rules – Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan in a Best of 3 Falls match for the World Heavyweight championship.
With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE Extreme Rules, which takes place on Sunday, April 29, 2012 from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
Lesnar’s First Match In 8 Years
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
2 of 3 Falls Match for the World Heavyweight Title
Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
Other matches that look to be in the works but are not yet announced include CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Title and Randy Orton vs. Kane.
– Following Tuesday’s SuperSmackDown LIVE, Mick Foley continued his Twitter feud with WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose, writing:
“I had a slight problem at Smackdown, so I took care of it. I didn’t ask WWE to send him home, but I’m glad they did. Sayanora scumbag.”
Ambrose stated earlier on the website that he was sent home from SmackDown, enclosing an image of his flight notice. He wrote,
“Looks like they must have been in a hurry to get me outta Virginia tonight.”
Ambrose later followed up with the following messages:
“Fuming in atl airport over a jack n coke. Hey #wwe was it something i said?”
“ok,so I get sent home from tvs? cuz MICK feels uncomfortable? like I did something wrong? like I’M a criminal? #hardcorelegend=softcorebitch”
“I realized Im really good at getting chewed out on the phone. The key is to put it on speaker and walk away, occasionally saying “uh huh””
The feud is based on a viral video [View Here] shot WrestleMania XXVII weekend where Ambrose confronted Foley at the InterContinental Miami hotel. Ambrose has since taken several shots at the Hardcore Legend on Twitter [Read Here], saying Foley needs to held accountable for “ruining a generation.”
— The term “Scott Hall arrest” was at one point the No. 1 trending term on Yahoo.com Tuesday evening. It was reported Tuesday that the former WWE star was arrested last Friday in Florida on a charge of domestic violence against his girlfriend.
— WWE Hall of Famer Don Muraco has been announced to appear at Pro Wrestling World in the Merchants Square Mall 1901 S. 12th St. Allentown, Pennsylvania on June 1 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
– Monday’s RAW Supershow drew a 3.1 cable rating and averaged 4.29 million viewers. This is down from last week (3.43 rating with 5.01 million viewers) and has to be a disappointing number, with the show heavily focused around the Brock Lesnar vs John Cena feud.
– FCW star Dean Ambrose tweeted a photo of scars on his back and said he met with WWE doctors on Tuesday morning –
“Fun morning trying to explain gross barbwire scars and excessive nerve damage to #wwe doctors,#thanksmick”
Ambrose has been feuding with Mick Foley since WrestleMania weekend when he confronted Foley at a Miami hotel [VIDEO] and got in his face, blaming him for badly damaging the wrestling industry and its competitors with his hardcore style. Ambrose has been ranting about Foley on Twitter – click here see what he wrote.
Comment below and tell us what you think about the Ambrose – Foley feud.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Week 2 of the Brock Lesnar – John Cena Feud:
Hottest start to a Monday Night Raw that I can remember in years. The show opening brawl between Brock Lesnar and John Cena was shocking and physical. These two wasted no time verbally lambasting the other and ‘passed go’ and went right to the smashmouth, literally, aspect of the rivalry.
Lesnar has ‘it’ and his presence is stark/sobering. When the former WWE and UFC champion makes his way to the ring, all eyes are on him.
John Cena is tough as a $2 steak. No hyperbole just fact. Cena’s former coach at Springfield College told me that John was a physical, workhorse who anchored their offensive line as an All American center and was the hardest worker on the team. Cena getting a busted lip had him smiling. That was awesome.
Lesnar’s interview with Josh Mathews was excellent.
Young Talent Like Brodus Clay, Dolph Ziggler & Cody Rhodes:
“At my stage of the game, I enjoy watching these young guys evolve and I have the patience to allow such to occur in a natural, organic manner. Unfortunately, younger fans want instant gratification much like they want their pizzas delivered in 30 minutes or less. I’d rather enjoy the aroma coming from the kitchen for hours before enjoying that great meal.”
As always, you can (and should!) purchase Jim Ross’ amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.
— Christian is being advertised to face Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship at SmackDown house shows in June.
Also advertised for the events is Sheamus defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Bryan in “Last Man Standing” bouts.
— Rosa Mendes, manager of WWE Tag Team Champions Epico and Primo, continues to voice her displeasure with the group being treated unfairly. She wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon in regards to not Epico and Primo not competing in a match on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, “We didn’t grace the #usa network last night!!! I love the fact that my alpha male partners are undefeated!! Champions 4 life!”
— WWE will hold a Raw live event on June 23, 2012 at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. WWE Superstars advertised for the event include John Cena, CM Punk, Kane, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston.
