— Scott Hall was arrested on April 6, 2012 in Seminole County, Florida. According to a public report posted online, Hall was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff’s office at 9:31 p.m. The report, however, does, not disclose what charges were filed.
— The official theme song for Extreme Rules is “Adrenaline” by Shinedown.
— Maryse Ouellet appears at the Frank and Son Collectible Show 19649 San Jose City of Industry, California 91748 on May 12, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
— Former WWE manager Paul Bearer turns 58 years old on Tuesday.
The recent confrontation between WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose and WWE legend Mick Foley from WrestleMania 28 weekend in Miami has been a hot topic in the wrestling world over the past week.
To recap, Dean Ambrose confronted Mick Foley at the Intercontinental hotel (where the WWE crew was staying) and called him out for the destructive effect that Foley’s hardcore style of wrestling has had on the industry. The idea behind the program is to build the angle as if it was a legitimate confrontation and use the buzz from the confrontation to kickstart Ambrose’s character.
Ambrose and Foley have been exchanging words on Twitter over the past few days, with Foley acting like he doesn’t know who Ambrose is:
“Having a blast with my kids at Disney. Not really concerned about some guy I’ve never heard of.”
“Three months ago,people asked me about facing TAKER at Mania – now, it’s a guy from FCW. TITANIC 3D isn’t the only ship sinking this week.”
Dean Ambrose responded with the following rant about Mick Foley and the damage that his hardore style of wrestling inflicted on the wrestling industry:
“Must be nice to be so arrogant and oblivious. Guilt free family funtime. Just great. Good for you. @realMickFoley”
“Nah, In a perfect world id rather see his house repoed and his family starved than see Mick make another dime off wrestling”
“#wwe I Just watched Edge’s full Hof speech. Big fan of Edge, too bad he had to retire so young #ThanksMick”
“He raised the bar of stupidity so high everyone ruined themselves tryin 2 get 2 it”
“#wwe Atleast Edge got to have a hof career. Alot of people didnt even get the chance to have one at all #thanksmick”
“#wwe likes to pretend Mick Foley never existed. Wwe is still apologizing for him by sterilizing the product. #raw”
“Btw..I have zero fear of reprisals from the office for wat ive said about mick foley cuz nobody high up in #wwe has any respect for him”
– The WWE RAW crew is headed overseas today for the company’s annual post-WrestleMania European tour. This year’s tour will include WWE’s first-ever live event in Moscow, Russia, with WWE already looking to return to Russia in 2013.
Approximately 6,000 tickets have already been sold for Wednesday’s show and WWE is hoping for a sellout. As previously reported, Triple H is being advertised for this week’s live event from Moscow – a sign that WWE is really trying to make an impact in the market prior to their return next year.
– WWE made several references to UFC on Monday night, something the company was reportedly against just a few weeks ago.
Before RAW went on the air, the USA Network aired a cut-in from the Verizon Center where Michael Cole told viewers that RAW would be going live in a matter of minutes – and mentioned former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is in the house. During RAW, both Cole and Brock Lesnar mentioned Lesnar’s UFC past. It is unknown at this time what led to the change in policy regarding mentioning UFC on WWE television.
As we saw on RAW, the storyline behind Brock Lesnar’s return is that John Laurinaitis brought Lesnar in to bring “legitimacy” back to WWE and take out John Cena once and for all.
UFC and WWE have worked together before as it relates to Brock Lesnar. WWE allowed UFC to use WWE footage of Lesnar when Lesnar first entered the UFC. UFC also gave WWE the green light to feature Brock Lesnar in the WWE ’12 video game.
– WWE is planning to release talent in the coming weeks. As of this weekend, the latest talk is that WWE has decided on who will be released – but the releases will not be made public until everything is finalized and talent has been notified.
– WWE sent out an e-mail last night telling customers that Daniel Bryan’s new “YES!” t-shirt is on back-order after being on sale for just 3 days.
WWE officials are expecting the chants to die down, but there were still many “YES!” signs and chants at Monday’s RAW from Washington, D.C.
– WWE-Careers.com has a new job listing up for a new Editor-In-Chief of WWE.com.
– WWE announced last night that RAW will return to Washington, DC on Saturday, December 29th for TV tapings. They’re taping on Saturday night due to the New Year’s holiday. The pre-sale begins this morning and the password is WEEDC.
– John Cena wrote the following message on Twitter after Monday’s RAW:
“Interesting #raw tonight. Make sure u check out @Syfy #DreamMachines tomorrow after #smackdown.”
– RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis tweeted the following after RAW, playing into the storyline that he is the person responsible for bringing Brock Lesnar back to WWE:
“Bringing #BrockLesnar back to WWE was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He personifies what the era of #PeoplePower is all about.”
– After petitioning for a match with Lord Tensai on Twitter, Yoshi Tatsu got what he wanted on RAW – so to speak. Tatsu, who got squashed by Tensai so badly that the referee stopped their match, wrote:
“I don’t want to have an excuse. I couldn’t do anything today. But I have a reason to have to win to Lord Tensai !!! #YoshiRevolution”
“Thank you for cheering last night. Lord Tensai is too strong for me so far. But I will never give up like @JohnCena !!! #YoshiRevolution”
– WWE Tag Team Champion Epico Tweeted the following about being left off RAW again:
“Well, the tag team champs were left off #Raw for another week…… But this time we’re not gonna cry…. We’re just gonna take matters into our own hands…”
The Bella Twins are leaving WWE when their contracts expire at the end of this month, according to reports on several reliable newsletter sites.
They reportedly have given their notice to WWE and do not plan to renew their contracts. The Bellas have been with WWE since 2007 when they signed developmental deals and have worked as wrestling divas and company spokeswomen.
They are already being advertised for an autograph signing on May 19th in City of Industry, California – and are listed as their real names, Brianna & Nicole Garcia.
The belief is that the Bellas simply want to move on to do other things.
They tweeted on Monday night:
“Don’t believe what you hear #! Tune into WWE Superstars this week you won’t be disappointed Besos! B&N #WWE”
“Don’t believe what you hear #BellaArmy How about that Cena and Brock fight?!! Wooaaahhhhhh! #RAW”
– WWE will present a special live edition of SmackDown tonight on SyFy at 8pm from the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The show will feature an “Old School” theme, with the following WWE Legends booked to appear:
Gene Okerlund, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Sr., Mick Foley, Sgt. Slaughter, Tony Atlas, Pat Patterson, Hillbilly Jim, Howard Finkel, Jimmy Hart, Mae Young and Roddy Piper.
No matches have been announced for the tapings, but WWE says punishment is in store for World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus after he hit referee Chad Patton with a Brogue Kick last week. WWE is teasing that John Laurinaitis may strip Sheamus of the title and award it to the #1 contender, Alberto Del Rio. Chad Patton told the WWE website over the weekend that he doesn’t believe that Sheamus has been punished enough yet for his attack.
The dark match main event is advertised as Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show.
– After Monday’s RAW from Washington, DC went off the air, Dolph Ziggler came out and started talking trash to John Cena. Cena gave him an Attitude Adjustment and left Ziggler on the mat to end the show.
– It was announced on RAW that next week’s show will feature CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Mark Henry in a match with no disqualifications and no count outs. The stipulation is a result of CM Punk facing Henry on the past 2 weeks of RAW and the match ending without a conclusive result.
– The WWE RAW crew is headed overseas for a two-week tour today. Triple H is advertised for WWE’s first show in Moscow, Russia this Wednesday.
– Damien Sandow wrestled a dark match prior to Monday’s RAW from Washington, D.C. The SmackDown newcomer cut a heel promo before defeating JTG via submission.
– Friday’s SmackDown drew a 1.93 cable rating with 2.72 million viewers.
– Matches taped on Monday night for this week’s Superstars were Kofi Kingston vs. Curt Hawkins and Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly.
Brock Lesnar will wrestle John Cena at WWE Extreme Rules in less than three weeks on April 29th. John Laurinaitis announced the match at the start of Monday’s RAW. Lesnar came out and thanked John Laurinaitis for having the wisdom to bring legitimacy back to WWE.
John Cena’s music then hit and he entered the ring. Cena slapped Brock Lesnar in the face. Lesnar charged him, taking him down and pummeling him before the WWE officials and wrestlers hit the ring to keep the men apart. Cena’s mouth was bloodied in the scuffle and a replay showed Lesnar nailing Cena square in the face with a nasty punch.
The ring was full with people separating Lesnar and Cena, but the two broke free several times and brawled on the ground.
CM Punk responded to a report published here today stating concern among WWE officials that the reigning champion is “too small” to adequately face Brock Lesnar in a potential match-up.
The report also acknowledged management’s concern over Punk’s appearance backstage as he often looks beaten and battered.
Punk tweeted Monday afternoon:
“Dirt sheets can call me small, skinny, beat up, road-tired, fat, ugly, no friends etc…everyone else calls me champ. Everyone.”
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 wrote about:
The WWE Title Picture:
“The WWE Title picture certainly became even more interesting Monday night when reigning Champion @CMPunk found himself with a bull’s eye on his chest not only from the challenge last week of Mark Henry but also from the renewed pursuit of Chris Jericho @IAmJericho, @TheRock who said that he would be WWE Champion again, @JohnCena who always has his sights set on the top prize in WWE plus Brock Lesnar who certainly feels that he is the alpha male in WWE but to validate such must be WWE Champion.”
Brock Lesnar’s WWE Return Last Week:
“Many fans are still buzzing about the return of the enigma known as Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is a complex, dominating and driven athlete who made an immediate impact last week when he F5’ed John Cena without warning.”
“I find it odd that many fans can’t understand why Brock Lesnar came back to WWE after retiring from MMA competition. I always thought that Brock would return to WWE but the timing of his return did somewhat surprise me. Lesnar is a businessman, a competitive athlete and knows a potential, golden opportunity when he sees one.”
“‘The Next Big Thing’ returns to WWE a little older, although he is still young, and likely wiser this go around which makes the former NCAA National Champion and WWE Champion that much more dangerous”
Damien Sandow’s WWE Debut:
“Keep an eye on Damien Sandow who debuted on Smackdown Friday night. He’s bright, athletic and motivated. I fully expect him to be successful at the next level. I love his ‘Lou Thesz-like’ robe and towel combo. I have high expectations for Sandow who’s got a solid work ethic and is a student of the game notwithstanding a well spoken individual.”
Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania:
“I don’t have a crystal ball but I’d be surprised to see HHH, @ShawnMichaels and the Undertaker, all together, ever being in the ring as participants at a WrestleMania or any other WWE event ever again. The final chapter of an amazing book was seemingly written and the book closed on Sunday in Miami.
— CM Punk has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Brock Lesnar but there is concern among WWE officials as to whether it would be an equal match-up due to their difference in size. Lesnar is seen as a “beast” whereas Punk is considered relatively skinny for a top level WWE Superstar. Furthermore, management wants Lesnar’s programs to be box office bonanzas and Punk is seen at best fifth in the pecking order, behind The Rock, John Cena, Triple H and Undertaker. There is also concern over Punk’s appearance backstage; he has been described as walking around looking like he just walked out of a car accident. Officials notice this as he often walks around backstage with a heat pack or an ice pack in tow and generally looks beaten and battered.
— Dolph Ziggler appeared to take a passive aggressive shot at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson over The Great One’s limited schedule with WWE last week via Twitter. A user wrote to the WWE Superstar, “Couldn’t decide which flexforce WWE figure to buy between your action figure and @therock ‘s.. chose the rock in the end!” Ziggler responded, “Typical, just make sure you only play with it 4-5 times a year….” Ziggler addressed his remarks gaining attention on wrestling news websites.
“glad my #ATH session where i answer 200 questions while on a treadmill took 1 of my 100 jokes & made it “news” #getoverit,” Ziggler wrote. He added in a separate post that he thought his comment was pretty funny and those upset should get a sense of humor.
– There are many people in the WWE locker room already judging Brock Lesnar’s physical condition from his appearance last week on RAW. Lesnar appeared “doughy” during his return and many feel his wrestling performances will be affected if he does not get into better shape.
Questions are being raised over his desire to get in excellent shape at this point in his life and perform at a high level.
– WWE’s stock price struck a new 52-week low Monday morning at $8.12 per share. The stock is trading at $8.20 per share as of Monday afternoon.
WWE’s stock price hit the 52-week low mark twice last week, hitting $8.55 on Wednesday and $8.27 on Thursday.
– Jim Ross stated on Twitter Monday that he’s writing an article for WWE.com on his various broadcast partners over the years, including those outside of WWE.
– CM Punk and Mark Henry are pictured on the latest issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow takes place from the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.
After his surprise appearance at the end of last week’s RAW, returning superstar Brock Lesnar will be on RAW tonight to discuss why he’s back. John Cena will also address Brock Lesnar’s return – and the devastating F5 that Lesnar delivered to him last week. Cena will also show off his new “Dream Machine” custom car, which is being done to promote the new Dream Machines show on SyFy that premiers after tomorrow night’s live SmackDown special.
WWE diva Eve Torres tweeted over the weekend that she’s ready to make some “serious career moves” – which in her case, probably means making out with any top superstar she can find.
SmackDown stars advertised for RAW include World Heavyweight champion Sheamus, Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan (YES!), Cody Rhodes, Intercontinental champion the Big Show, Alberto Del Rio and Christian.
Hardcore legend Mick Foley has been advertised for RAW as well.
Tonight’s RAW will also feature an appearance by the stars of the new Three Stooges movie.
The advertised dark match main event will see WWE Champion CM Punk and John Cena teaming up against Kane and Chris Jericho.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has addressed the long asked question: “Is Wrestling fake?”
His Twitter response to the question was, “Only when I lose my friend..”
— Former WWE talent Luke Williams (a/k/a “Bushwhacker” Luke) recalls giving WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis his start in the professional wrestling industry during an interview with SportsTownChicago.com.
“We broke him in the business,” Williams said of Laurinaitis, who broke into the National Wrestling Alliance in 1986 as a flagbearer for The Sheepherders. “We were in NWA and he came in and Dusty [Rhodes] put him with us. Dusty was the booker at the time and he put him with us to learn the business. When he first started, he carried our flag and after a year or so, we went into the six-man’s and all that. John is a very educated man; he’s got a bachelor’s in business. I left in 1988 to go to WWE and he went to WCW and teamed up with Shane Douglas.”
— WrestlingFigs.com reports Jerry “The King” Lawler will appear at Pulp Comics 4413 Queen St. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada on May 5 from noon to 4:00 p.m. For more information, call 905-353-0666 or e-mail info@pulpcomics.ca.
WWE Champion C.M. Punk appeared on FOX DC on Monday to promote tonight’s RAW from the Verizon Center. CM Punk, who was arguably the most high-profile member of the WWE locker room that was unhappy about The Rock returning to WWE, said he now feels differently about the situation.
“The Rock has proved me wrong, and him coming back is great.”
Since his views on The Rock have changed in the past several weeks, he is going to take a “wait and see” attitude before commenting on Brock Lesnar’s return to the company.
“Brock, unfortunately, has that cloud over his head of him kind of cracking under the pressure of being WWE Champion and splitting before, so we’ll have to wait and see what he does.”
Punk also talked about bridging the gap between ‘old school’ wrestlers and today’s generation and talks about a potential dream match against WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Here’s video footage of Punk’s appearance on FOX DC this morning:
Alex Riley, who played college football years ago at Boston College, discussed the similarities between football and professional wrestling in an interview with NBC Washington promoting tonight’s Raw SuperShow at the Verizon Center.
“I always tell people that when you’re a football player, you’re really a number under a jersey,” Riley said. “As a WWE Superstar, you’re a total personality. From the moment you walk through the curtain, they see everything.
“You’re not covered at all. You’re out there in trunks, they can see your face at all times. I think there’s nine or 10 cameras out there that can catch the way you’re feeling, what you say, the way you look, how you move at any moment once your start performing. It’s very difficult to learn how you’ve always gotta be in character.”
After spending three years in Florida Championship Wrestling honing his craft, Riley earned a spot on WWE’s main roster in 2010. He says he could not have written a better start to his WWE career.
“I started on NXT and it was a lot of fun having The Miz help me out because he was such an established performer already, so to go into that show with him was a gift. And then to be a part of his run as WWE Champion was incredible. The situation was incredible. Being able to be in the ring with guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Roddy Piper and to help headline Wrestlemania with Miz, Rock and John Cena, I couldn’t have asked for any more,” Riley says.
Check out this video footage of FCW star Dean Ambrose confronting WWE legend Mick Foley at the WWE hotel in Miami over WrestleMania weekend.
WWE Champion CM Punk and NXT’s William Regal are both talking about the confrontation on Twitter – giving Ambrose his first real exposure among the WWE universe. Punk encouraged his followers to “cast judgement” on the video and called it the only thing he finds interesting lately.
– WWE officials are expecting Brock Lesnar will help pop a big rating for tonight’s RAW. Lesnar is not expected to travel overseas to the UK this week for WWE’s annual post-WrestleMania live events tour, which will include a rare taped UK RAW next week.
– Several readers emailed us saying that the song WWE is using to promote WrestleMania 29 is called “Surrender” by the band Angels & Airwaves.
– WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu continues to taunt Lord Tensai and Sakamoto on Twitter. Speaking of Tatsu, fans started a #SaveYoshiTatsu campaign this weekend as WWE releases are expected soon. Tatsu actually told his fans not to join the “#SaveYoshiTatsu” movement because he thinks it makes him look weak.
– Larry Zbyszko’s son Tim Zbyszko made his professional wrestling debut on Saturday night for the I Believe In Wrestling promotion out of Orlando, Florida. Tim Zbyszko defeated Gorilla Hanley in his first match.
– Randy Orton wrote the following on Twitter in response to fan comments after he was pulled from The Marine 3.
“I respect our military. That’s why I’ve gone to Iraq or Afghan 3 times and met thousands of soldiers. Funny that’s not mentioned.”
– The WWE website is continuing its new feature looking at ‘potential contenders’ for certain superstars .. After looking at who might be upcoming challengers to Brock Lesnar and Sheamus, the latest feature looks at possible opponents WWE Tag Team Champions Primo and Epico. Among the teams listed are Alex Riley & Mason Ryan, The Miz & David Otunga and Brodus Clay & Santino Marella.
– Alberto Del Rio earned a shot at Sheamus’ World Heavyweight Title after defeating the champion by disqualification on Friday’s SmackDown. WWE did not announce whether the match will take place at Extreme Rules. Both Christian and Daniel Bryan are also due for title shots in the coming weeks.
– Rey Mysterio says he’s trying to return to the ring within the next few weeks. He wrote on Twitter Sunday night:
“I really miss performing for all of u & thank u 4 all the LUV,i am pushing myself to come back from my injury by May! Almost their!1 LUV!”
– Despite losing his job as the General Manager of SmackDown, Teddy Long will remain on WWE television as the new lackey to RAW & SmackDown GM John Laurinaitis.
– With development of the upcoming WWE ’13 video game well underway, THQ is reportedly revamping the Create a Superstar mode. WWE ’13 will allow players to create 64 wrestlers, up from 32 in last year’s game.
Speaking of THQ, video game blog JoyStiq.com has an article up looking at the recent financial troubles the company has been dealing with. Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of video game publisher Take Two, predicts THQ might not be in business by the end of the year:
“THQ has had some good games, but their quality levels aren’t even remotely … the quality hasn’t measured up. THQ won’t be around in six months.”
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Former WWE superstar Skip Sheffield made his return to television on Friday’s SmackDown, returning as Ryback. WWE has already added Ryback’s bio to the SmackDown roster page – and is said to be in line for a big push. His bio reads:
“One only needs to observe how Ryback’s fellow Superstars study him to understand his ruthless reputation. They stare in awe as if they’re watching disaster footage, looking on in shock as Ryback’s ferocity both impresses them and leaves them fearful of being his next target.
How can anyone measure such an intimidating beast in comparison to the rest of his WWE competition? Few words may deem suitable as he starts to make his mark in the ring, but Ryback will eventually unleash more of his overwhelming power on his adversaries — and will not stop until he has left a long line of battered opponents in his wake.”
Posted April 9th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.
Damien Sandow made his WWE television debut on Friday’s SmackDown. A promo aired featuring Sandow proclaiming that education and entertainment are closely linked – which doesn’t bode well for today’s society. He says today’s society is entertained by crap and gone are the days when the masses were captivated by the works of Shakespeare and Mozart.
Hit up the comments below and tell us what you think about Damien Sandow’s debut promo.
“A newcomer to SmackDown, Damien Sandow has a unique brand of wisdom.”
— Given Brock Lesnar’s admitted distaste for WWE’s strenuous road schedule, there is skepticism on the accomplished grappler remaining content for the entire one year duration of his contract with the sports entertainment organization. One veteran wrestler who worked with Lesnar during his prior run with WWE doesn’t think that he will able to handle working for the promotion for an entire year.
The wrestler said to Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller on Monday night following Raw, “I give him four months before he cracks.”
Lesnar loathed the travel schedule so much that in 2003 he bought a private plane and hired a pilot to alleviate the stress of going through airports. Even with that and a seven-year contract for a $1 million downside guarantee, he ultimately gave notice that he would finish up at WrestleMania XX.
— Kelly Kelly suggested Friday night on Twitter that she broke up with her boyfriend, NHL player Sheldon Souray.
“Kharma is a ***** ..have a nice life,” she wrote following SmackDown. Kelly wrote “eww” minutes later after a Twitter user remarked that Souray should bring her to one of his hockey games.
Both messages have since been deleted. The WWE Diva then tweeted a quote from The Notebook suggesting the couple remains together.