– Shane McMahon’s name was brought up during recent internal WWE talks in regards to creative but the feeling was that he’s gone and there are little chances of luring him back any time soon.

– WWE is looking to run more shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

– Stan sent word that this week’s episode of WWE NXT had 19 minutes and 48 seconds of in-ring action, up just a bit from the previous week.

– A few agents in WWE are grumbling about the push of Mason Ryan.

• Related News: Concern Over Mason Ryan’s Physique/Wellness

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— WWE.com has announced that Daniel Bryan will face World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry on this week’s episode of SmackDown.

The synopsis reads: “After nearly cashing in last week, Daniel Bryan will face Mark Henry this Friday on SmackDown. Can he survive another encounter with the World Heavyweight Champion?”

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall filmed a “shoot” interview last Saturday for RF Video where she discussed her career and what she witnessed backstage while working for WWE.

— Jimmy and Jey Uso discuss their new entrance theme, “So Close Now,” in an article published on WWE.com. David Dallas, the artist who performs The Usos’ new entrance theme, hails from New Zealand but is also of Samoan descent.

The Usos say, “It’s an honor. The Usos are young and rising WWE Superstars, like David Dallas who is a young rising rap artist. We both represent our heritage in two totally different ways.”

The Honky Tonk Man appeared on Busted Open, which airs every Monday and Wednesday on Sirius 92 and XM 207 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Direction of wrestling: “I think what WWE has done, and I don’t mention what TNA a lot because sometimes I don’t even know if they’re still in business. Anyway, they’re so ratings-driven right now, and they have been for a couple of years. They’re so afraid that if someone picks up that remote control, and clicks to another channel, the person might not come back and watch the show. And the wrestlers today; they are not fans of wrestling.

“They’re not wrestling historians, and the fans themselves, and the wrestlers. I say it: They’re fans of a TV show called, ‘Raw.’ I think it had a lot to do with it. It started there, and then of course it went into this hardcore level, and then to the x-rated level, and…For somewhere down along the line…Well, look at this past Wrestlemania. The biggest feud they had, and the longest feud they had was between the TV commentators. I mean, when you have to dig that deep in the barrel, and believe me, TV commentators, and referees do not sell tickets!”

Intercontinental Title/Feuds: “It was a catalyst to move me from mid-upper card status to main event status. Of course it was…The belt meant that, it meant that much…and you hit the nail on the head. These belts have been so devalued. They mean absolutely nothing. No one knows who…Well they got like 4, 5 different World Champions, they finally brought Tag-Team Champions back now, and, they had European and Hardcore, and they dropped those and, and for sometimes a guy like not so long ago, he was World Champion for one day.

“And these feuds went on for, I was with The Ultimate Warrior for 6 months, 7 months. I was with Randy for almost a year. I was with Jake for 6 or 7 months. So, during that course of time, you have a chance then to, like you said, develop this character, work on it, make it work with your opponent, so that it creates interest for the fans. Listen, if the fans are not interested, they’re going to stay home. I really think the slow burn will always work, and to me it’s like a movie: If you kill The Terminator in the first 10 minutes of the movie, why would you stay for the next 2 hours? It’s one of those things where if Hollywood hasn’t forgotten how to do it, they still can do it.”

On the lack of superstars: “I think because they don’t give the young fellows enough time to develop. To take em’ down, and say it’s a minor league in Florida, and have em’ down there for 2 years, and they’re self-contained being somewhat brain-washed I guess to do just WWE-style wrestling, and learn how to read a script, and practice reading a script, and memorizing it. That’s not really how you become a Superstar or that’s not how you learn this business. It’s a hands-on type thing that you have to practice and do, day-after-day, night-after-night, different parts of the country, riding the cars with different guys. Learn different points-of-views, learn different styles. And then you put it all together and after about 5 years, you say, “Gosh, I’ve been doing this all wrong, and then you start to understand how to be a star.

“And that’s the point I was trying to make, that these young fellas…Nothing against them, they’re obviously good talents, and they could be Superstars, if given the right time and opportunity. Not just to be thrown in the ring, or thrown on the Raw or Smackdown show, and , I would…myself personally; I would hate to have to try to start over the way the business is structured today. Because I don’t know that I could do it. I don’t know that..If they only gave me 1 shot at it, could I make it work or give me 2 Raw shows, and then cut me or send me back to the minors? That’s a very difficult situation.

“The independent scene is my bread, and butter, but they are so cut-throat to each other, that it’s like, I might be in 1 town 100-miles away, there’s a show the next night, and they fly in a whole new talent. It’s like, ‘No, we’re not gonna’ use that guy’s talent because we don’t like him, and his promotion,’ or, ‘He’s trying to run in our back yard,’ and it’s not just in America, it’s around the world I see this because I travel everywhere. But if they would get together, and they said, ‘Look, let’s 3 of us guys, promoters, get together, and run 3 shows straight in a row of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Friday, Saturday, Sunday,’ and use these guys this way, I think it would work.

“What I don’t understand is with WWE; with the amount of money they have behind them, and the size of the bank account, why don’t they just open up a territory themselves, and say, ‘OK. We’re going to run all of the state of Texas for the next year. Then we’re going to move out to California to do that,..,’ I mean I think it would be cost-effective for them. And they could develop some real stars. You could see a star start to develop. Believe me, you cannot, like I said, go out there, spend two years out in a training camp, or a year out in a training camp, and all of a sudden be thrown out there on TV, and say, ‘OK, make it or break it!’ This it can’t be done!”

Arda Ocal of The Score Television Network spoke with former WWE Superstar “The Native American” Tatanka while he was in Toronto to promote his upcoming appearances for CWI Wrestling (www.cwiwrestling.com). Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Looking back on the two-year undefeated streak and why it didn’t lead to something bigger than it did:

“It did lead to a big thing, it lead up to Yokozuna, lead up to Ludvig Borga. Ludvig Borga was the one who actually defeated me. But Ludvig Borga, (WWE) had big plans for him, they really wanted to push him to the sky. They really wanted to do some real big things with Ludvig Borga, but it just never caught with him.”

Does Tatanka think about the WWE Hall of Fame, has his name come up at all and who you would he like to induct him?

“Ricky The Dragon Steamboat would be awesome, and the reason for that is because when I started the business, I was in the North Carolinas and we just hit it off. Im one of those guys that beleive that you never become successful by yourself.”

* Whether or not there was ever any other consideration for a character for Chris Chavis before Tatanka was chosen.

* His Wrestlemania IX match with Shawn Michaels in 1993 and having the honour of “opening WrestleMania.”

The five minute video interview can be accessed here.

Christian reportedly suffered a leg injury at Wednesday’s SmackDown live event in Brussels, Belgium.

Christian hit the mat early in his bout against Sheamus holding either his knee or ankle. After consulting with the referee, he stood up on one leg to receive the Brogue Kick and was subsequently pinned. He was then assisted to the backstage area by personnel.

Following the brief match, Sheamus talked to fans at ringside, signed autographs and posed for pictures.

SEScoops.com reader Joreon, who was at the Brussels show, sent int he following report regarding the Christian situation: 

“I attended tonight’s Smackdown house show in Brussels, Belgium and we witnessed a possible legitimate injury to Christian in his match with Sheamus. I did not see what caused it but very early on in the match Christian was down holding either his knee or ankle. After shortly consulting with the referee he got up on one leg, took Sheamus finisher while standing on one leg, was pinned and then had to be helped to back by the ref and another guy which I assume was a trainer. The match was cut way short because of this and it seemed like Sheamus tried to make up for it by staying longer then usual after the match talking to fans at ringside and signing autographs and taking pictures.

— This year’s WWE Tribute to the Troops event will not be open to the public when it takes place December 11 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Only military personnel will be permitted to attend the event, which is why it has not been publicized. Last year’s event at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas was open to the public as a free show.

— Shelly Martinez will be participating in shooting for a television pilot next week in Las Vegas, California.

She tweeted, “OMG got a pilot to shoot next week in VEGAS!!!!!!!!! Details soon ;) #kayfabe.”

— Chris Jericho turns 41 years old today while Nick Patrick turns 52.

source: PWInsider.com

SEScoops.com reader @DannyPlatt93 was at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Liverpool, England and sent in this video from after the taping ended.

World Heavyweight champion Mark Henry does his best Spin-a-Rooney –

Here’s another view of Mark Henry’s spin-a-roonie – followed by an RKO:

After nailing Mark Henry with an RKO – Orton took center stage and did his own version of the spin-a-roonie:

— Gregory Iron, a 25-year-old independent wrestler with cerebral palsy, has posted a video online petitioning for a spot in next year’s Royal Rumble.

Iron drew attention in July after CM Punk confronted him at an independent show in suburban Chicago. The WWE Superstar appeared in the ring to tell Iron, “You’re awesome! You overcome more than I ever have just waking up every morning. The fact that you became a pro wrestler, I’m only assuming it’s because it was something you wanted to do. You didn’t let anybody tell you that you couldn’t do it … I saw something special watching you in this ring.”

— Kelly Kelly is advertised to host an “Ugly Sweater Christmas Party” on Friday, December 9, 2011 at Jackson’s in Tampa, Florida. The WWE Diva will participate in a VIP Meet and Greet, which includes a photo on the red carpet and an autograph. Tickets are available here.

– Rey Mysterio wrote the following update on Twitter this weekend:

“About to start therapy! Working really hard, main goal is to be back in the ring by WM28 Miami!”

– There were said to be several production related problems at Monday’s RAW tapings in Liverpool. Among the problems were issues with pyrotechnics and time constraints.

The Maxim magazine segment with Kelly Kelly as well as the finish of the main event between John Cena and Zack Ryder vs. The Miz and R-Truth were re-filmed, as well as ringside segments with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

– Former WWE Diva Maryse’s first post-WWE appearance will be at the 2012 WrestleReunion event in Los Angeles, CA. The convention is being held the weekend of 1/27-1/29 at the LAX Westin Hotel. For more details, visit WrestleReunion.com.

– Former WWE Diva Lilian Garcia recently wrapped a studio session on her new album and will be filming her second music video this Thursday and Friday.

– WWE will return to Newcastle, England on April 20th, 2012. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 19th.

WWE remembers former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Frazier, who passed away earlier this week:

“Newly-signed” WWE superstar Kevin Nash returned to the ring on Tuesday at the RAW brand’s live event from Newcastle, England.

Nash teamed with The Miz and R-Truth to lose to the team of John Cena, Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston. Mick Foley served as the special guest referee for the match.

According to several live reports sent in by fans who were at the show – Nash didn’t do too much in the ring, but looked good. Only one fan mentioned that it looked like Nash “phoned it in.” Most of the match was wretled by The Miz and Zack Ryder.

Aside from refereeing that tag match, Mick Foley also appeared after CM Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio and gave Dolph Ziggler (who was interfering on Del Rio’s behalf) an up close and personal look at Mr. Socko.

Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) and Jimmy Korderas (@jimmykorderas) of #AftermathRadio on thescore.com spoke with former WWE Superstar Tonga Fifita, best known as Haku (WWE) and Meng (WCW): Highlights:

Being “King” of the WWE in 1988, taking the title as “King” of the WWE from Harley Race at the 1989 Royal Rumble:

“When they gave me the opportunity to take the title as “King” from Harley Race, wow. I know his work, I know his wrestling, but I know my respect for this man. I sit back and took a few deep breaths. That was something in my heart, it was an honor to be the next “King”.

His reputation of being the toughest man in the locker room:

“(Wrestlers) just wanna throw my name out for the heck of it. I think we were all tough. You had to make the people believe that in wrestling for us to make some money. For us to have all those angles on TV, and to bring them back for all this good stuff. Everybody was tough those days to make money and protect the business.”

Thoughts on his tag team match at Wrestlemania VI in Toronto, Ontario where he teamed with Andre The Giant against Demolition, why he spent most the time in the match:

“That’s how smart Andre was. All he wanted me to do was to go out there and look strong, because obviously I was still young then, and my career was still going, not that he was finishing up but he was past his prime. He told me ‘Boss, go out there, do your thing, and whenever I wanna come in, ill call you (laughs).”

An incident with Jimmy Jack Funk in 1987:

“I didn’t take his eyeballs off. I was ready to, my hands were in there, ready to take his eye off, but then I realized how stupid we were.  Here we are brothers on the road together. I told Jim after all these things, and he got fired for it, and all these things here, And I feel bad for him Jim. It was something that happened at that moment.”

Other topics discussed include:

• His storyline with The British Bulldogs, “stealing” Matilda going towards WrestleMania 4 and how that is many fans’ most vivid memory of him
• Working these days at a Toyota dealership and how he got connected with them.Why he decided to retire from professional wrestling
• Validating pretty much any altercation story you may have heard about him, whether backstage or after hours
• Comparing his time in WWE and WCW and how Meng was more like the real Tonga Fifita

To listen to the full podcast interview, click here.

The ratings are in from Monday’s RAW Supershow from Liverpool, England – and its a whole lot of bad news for WWE.

Monday’s RAW drew a 2.88 cable rating with just 4,015,000 viewers.

RAW continued the disturbing trend of losing viewers in the second hour. Hour 1 this week did a 2.94 rating (4.17 million viewers) while hour two did a 2.81 (3.86 million viewers). This is the 8th time in the past 11 weeks that RAW lost viewers in hour two – something that almost never happened prior to this year.

By comparison, the NFL’s Monday Night Football game on ESPN did a 12.32 rating – up nearly 40% in total viewers from the wek before – so RAW did have stiff competition.

Former WWE star Chris Jericho was interviewed by TheSuplex.com this week and addressed rumors that he’ll be returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble. Jericho said:

“Well, there’s been rumors that I’m coming back pretty much every week since I left… I still have no plans. I know people get mad at me when I say that. I’ve just been enjoying what I’m doing right now, and if other people don’t understand that I’m sorry. I apologize. I never said I wouldn’t go back to wrestling again.

“As of right now, we’ve been doing so much stuff with the band, and then when we’re done with this tour, I’ll have some stuff in Hollywood that I’ll be working on, stuff that kind of transpired from Dancing with the Stars. I’ve never considered myself just a wrestler. I’m an entertainer… It’s one of those things that when the time comes, if it comes, I’ll know it, and maybe I’ll have a really cool idea that no one has ever seen before, and when that happens then I’ll think about it.”

Jericho was asked whether there’s anything left for him to accomplish in wrestling. Jericho responded with a blunt, “No.”

“That’s the thing, f I never wrestle again, I’ll have no regrets… I could be done. I know some people don’t like that or understand it. I don’t want the big WrestleMania sendoff with the cheering and the thing, no f—ing way. I just want to disappear and never be seen again.”

Other items discussed include:

• FOZZY’s new album
• His thoughts on the CM Punk angle/direction WWE took over of the summer
• We ask who should be elevated in the WWE
• He gives his thoughts on Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger

Here’s video footage of the interview:

WWE taped this week’s NXT and another match for Superstars on Tuesday from Liverpool, England:

WWE NXT:

* Rookie Challenge opens the show. Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman vs. Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil is set for tonight.

* Tyson Kidd beat Trent Baretta in a great match.

* Jimmy Uso beat JTG.

Superstars:

* Daniel Bryan beat William Regal in the match of the night so far, exciting, fans into it and great.

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Chyna appeared on The Howard Stern Show Monday to promote her first professional pornographic film, Backdoor To Chyna. She notably states during the interview that she recently wrote a letter to Vince McMahon regarding a possible return to WWE, which she last appeared for in 2001.

• Check Out: Disturbing Pictures from “Backdoor To Chyna”

Chyna says, “It’s been a decade, right? (The fans are) like “Chyna we miss you, we love you,” it’s an incredible, this fan respect that I have, you know? So, they’re like “when are you going back?” and I was like “you know, that’s a good question.”

Stern chimes, “You wrote Vince and you said, “Vince, I want to come back to the WWE.” Chyna responds, “I didn’t say that.”

She explains, “I wrote him a legal letter, it was very professional instead of like the trainwreck, all over, like crazy. Had my stuff together and I wrote him a certified letter by lawyer and said, “Hey, are you ready to put everything aside personally, and would you like to do business with me?”

WWE responded, “We’re not interested at this time.”

Paul Heyman interviews “The Baddest Dude on the Planet” Brock Lesnar about THQ’s WWE ’12 video game in a video published Tuesday. His former manager asks, “Did you have a favorite opponent during that run, or a single moment that stands out in your mind?”

Brock responds, “I went through a lot of guys. I went through Ric Flair. I went through Hulk Hogan. I went through Undertaker. But there’s a guy that I didn’t get to go through. There’s a Hall of Famer, there’s a legend that I didn’t get to go through and there’s a guy that felt threatened by me at the time and there was a guy that felt that I had everything given to me.

“And that guy’s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

“If that’s the match that I wanted to have and I look back and felt robbed by, that’s the one that I would want. That’s the one that sticks out the most in my mind. All these other matches, yeah, they were great. I was on top of the world and I was beating the Hall of Fame legends. I was the first legend killer.”

The interview concludes with Heyman asking Lesnar if he thinks we’ll see him pull off an F-5 anytime soon. He smilingly responds, “I think you can purchase the game and do it all you want.”

Lesnar also discusses Alistair Overeem, maintaining his personal life, being included in WWE ’12, his diet, and more.

— John Morrison says he will discuss his future following his final advertised appearance on tonight’s Raw SuperShow.

“I’ll post more about the future next week,” Morrison tweeted Sunday night. “Right now I’m planning on tearing the house down at RAW tomorrow in Columbia SC!”

— A Memphis Street Fight between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler is being locally advertised for the January 2, 2012 Raw SuperShow in Memphis, Tennessee.

— Former WWE Superstar Rob Conway turns 39 years old Monday. He placed second in the Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships on November 5, thus qualifying for the NPC National Bodybuilding, Figure, Bikini and Men’s and Women’s Physique Championships in Miami, Florida.

source: PWInsider.com

Click Here for Pictures of Trish Stratus in "Bounty Hunters"

The movie “Bounty Hunters” (formerly “Bail Enforcers”) starring former WWE diva Trish Stratus has been sold to MPI Media Group for U.S. distribution.

• PICTURES of TRISH STRATUS Filming BOUNTY HUNTERS

Slated for a Spring 2012 release, here’s the official press release from TrishStratus.com regarding the movie:

Santa Monica, CA /TrishStratus.com/ – Raven Banner Entertainment has sold U.S. rights to Bounty Hunters to MPI Media Group. Starring seven-time WWE champion and fitness icon, Trish Stratus, MPI plans a spring release for the film.

The deal was negotiated by Greg Newman, Executive VP of MPI Media Group and Michael Paszt and James Fler of Raven Banner Entertainment.

Other territories sold include: Canada (Anchor Bay), UK/Ireland (Lionsgate), Japan (Fine Films), France (Antartic), Australia/New Zealand (VM Distribution), Germany (MIG Film Group), Pakistan (Cine Entertainment), Thailand (M Pictures) and India (Star Entertainment).

“I’m looking forward to delivering Stratusfaction worldwide” stated the wrestling star, Trish Stratus.

Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his official website with numerous answers to fan questions. He gives his take on The Undertaker’s wrestling future, the status of Air Boom following Evan Bourne’s thirty-day suspension, whether Batista will return to WWE, and more.

Q: Hey JR, With Evan Bourne’s current suspension, do you feel that this may affect the Tag titles & Air boom’s status as a tag team, knowing there’s a ppv coming up or do you think they may not even have the titles defended at Survivor Series?

A: Won’t do them any favors. Not good…disappointing.

Q: Is the Undertaker a part time Wrestlemania preformer or is there a chance we will see him on a semi-regular basis?

A: What I love about Taker is his unpredictability. I see Taker back at WM28 w/o question. After that, I don’t know.

Q: To me the big money match WWE has had for the past few years is Undertaker vs John Cena at WrestleMania. Will it ever happen now and why hasn’t it happened yet?

A: Hard to predict. I’d say less than 50/50.

Q: Do you think that Dave Batista will come back?? because he is my favorite WWE superstar :) but please let him to come back if you can thanks you.

A: I’d never say never on Batista but I’d be shocked if he attempted to come back and compete as a full time wrestler.

Q: Do you think the Chris Benoit we enjoyed watching wrestle and who we knew as one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation will ever have any of his matches shown again, for example on the WWE On demand site?

A: I’d be shocked to see Benoit’s career have much exposure on any platform going forward.

– Evan Bourne, who is currently serving a thirty-day suspension as a result of his first violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program, took a dig at the organization’s constant shilling of Twitter during television broadcasts. Bourne tweeted:

“I wonder if WWE ’13 will have our twitter handles, random tweet pop ups and Cole talking tweets? Might make gameplay as annoying as viewing.”

“My guess is WWE 13: “The Network”. You are Vince and control the WWE with a WWE “Univers(e)al” Remote. Create history and earn money!”

– Kelly Kelly announced on Twitter that she has set up a page on Google+.

– Monday’s Raw saw Mason Ryan quickly defeat JTG. The appearance marked as JTG’s first match on the show since being transferred to Raw in April via the Supplemental Draft.

Former WWE star Sean Waltman says he would love to join his friends Kevin Nash and Triple H back on WWE television, but he doesn’t think it will be happening any time soon.

During Monday’s RAW, Waltman wrote a few messages on Twitter talking about why Vince McMahon isn’t ready to bring him back just yet.

“I would love to one day return home to WWE. I still need more time doing well. Not long ago I attempted suicide. I understand Vince’s fear.”

He also thanked WWE for saving his life and spending tens of thousands of dollars on sending him to multiple stints in rehab.

“You can thank WWE’s Wellness Policy for me being here tweeting with you. They spent almost as much on me as they have on Scott.”

Stephanie McMahon Says WWE Has Spent Over $100,000 Sending Scott Hall To Rehab

Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho was interviewed by LeftLion.co.uk to promote his metal band Fozzy. Here are some highlight of what WWE’s first Undisputed champion said about:

His Ability To Come and Go From Wrestling:

“It wasn’t a conscious decision. I’ve always had other things I wanted to do, and I always had an opinion, which can be a dirty word with certain people. I stopped wrestling for no other reason than my contract ended in 2010, and there was a huge glut of Fozzy opportunities, so I moved on to the next thing that was happening for me. Hey, I love wrestling, and I never say never about going back – but right now I wanna see Fozzy as big as we can get it, and that’s my goal.”

Whether He’s Surprised About Shoot Videos:

“Not at all. When you’re a fan, you love hearing insider talk. Personally, I’d never do the three-hour sit-down shoot video; I’d write a book about it instead.”

Many Of His Friends In The Business Dying:

“It sucks. I was watching Raw earlier, and Hunter (HHH) was talking about how lucky he was to have all these friends in the business and he gave a list, and I thought, fuck, my friends died. It’s not happened in recent times, thank God, but there was a period not so long ago where guys were going down one after the other. It is a very tough business, and I feel so lucky that I never got into the drugs and pills. I was always a drinker – I still am to this day, and I can probably drink more than most, but if I want to go a week or two between having those drinks, I can. I don’t know, man. Maybe because of the music side of my life, and because I didn’t have all my eggs in one basket, wrestling wasn’t the be all and end all.”

The State of the Wrestling Industry:

“Its an experience thing. I think my generation of guys was one of the best because we were going around the world learning their craft before we ever got to the WWE. Now there’s a lot of guys there who have less than five years experience. And I don’t think I really, really knew exactly what I was doing until I came back in 2008 when it came to manipulation of a crowd. I had great stuff before that, don’t get me wrong – but it wasn’t until then that I felt on certain nights that I was the best in the world. It takes years to become truly great at anything, and the guys there at the moment haven’t had five years experience, never mind ten or fifteen.”

Check Out: CM Punk Calls Out Chris Jericho Last Week & Jericho Responds