— Chris Jericho has once again responded to query regarding a return to WWE.
He was asked Saturday on Twitter if he will be returning to WWE and responded, “Still no plans right now.”
He also said it was a “Dumb move on their part” to not include him in WWE ’12.
— Hornswoggle followed through on his Muppet tattoo promise to TMZ by getting Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Statler and Waldorf inked to his body—joining his Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, Bunsen and Beaker tats.
He got inked in honor of the Muppets’ visit to Raw SuperShow. The smallest member of the WWE roster is a big Muppets fan so he’s adding to his Muppets tattoo collection before Monday night. Images are available here.
— “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan has been added to The Big Event, which takes place Saturday, November 12 at the Courtyard Marriott LaGuardia Airport 9010 Ditmars Blvd East Elmhurst, New York.
This month former WWE Superstar Chris Masters speaks to The Wrestling Press about his recent release, the reasons behind his first departure with WWE and his experience of drugs in wrestling, plus various other subjects.
Here’s what he had to say:
On the subject of being released for the first time by WWE: “I really kind of brought it on myself and I accepted it. I was very young at the time and I was thrust into success at such a quick rate that I was irresponsible and I didn’t really appreciate the opportunities given.”
On his experience of drugs in wrestling: “I was in Europe, Spain, working a tour and I looked in the mirror and it felt like I just reached a point where I thought enough of this. I had to get my life back on track, I had to get my health back on track and I wanted to be with WWE again. I looked back to the things I had lost in the last four years and it was like I just kept losing, losing and losing that eventually I wouldn’t have anything”
On his recent release from WWE: “I was a million times better in my second run with the company; I was one of the better all-round guys in that place. You got a lot of guys who are really green and I am at the peak of my career. For me it’s a controversial release, they dropped the ball.”
We also have interviews with TNA’s Jeremy Borash who talks about the company’s upcoming UK tour and an interview with former WWE developmental star Rampage Brown who talks about learning his craft at Florida Championship Wrestling.
As well as many other original features, such as; Welcome back, Triple H – Does the Hell in a Cell gimmick still have legs? – Heels too cool, they become faces – Mike Bennett and his effect on ROH fans – I know wrestling’s great when… – The Rock at Survivor Series – and much, much more.
The Wrestling Press is a free monthly digital magazine covering pro wrestling from all over the world, with commentary from America, England, Japan and Germany. Featuring many interviews, nostalgia, opinions, previews and reviews from mainstream and independent wrestling.
— WWE.com has announced that Daniel Bryan will face the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXVIII. There is also a poll asking visitors who Bryan should cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase against—Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Sheamus or Sin Cara.
— WWE recently asked fans to help name a program looking back at the “Monday Night War” for their soon to be launched WWE Network. WWE has since registered a trademark for “The Monday Night War,” which was one of the poll options.
— WWE will hold a live event at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
— As reported earlier, WWE is no longer advertising Mick Foley for the November 14 Raw SuperShow at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been removed from www.wwelivetour.com and www.tdgarden.com. Mick Foley claims in an interview published today that he has yet to hear from WWE regarding a possible return to the organization.
He told NewsDay.com, “Working a couple of days a week compared to all week is not problematic… Would not be a deal breaker at all. That’s assuming I get that phone call… I’m sure there’s a lot of people on that list. I might have to scale back on some things, but that would be OK.”
— Maxim’s “Salute To The Military” issue, which hits newsstands next week, features a two-page spread on Kelly Kelly. The spread features a brief interview with Kelly regarding WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops effort.
— As per Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, if CM Punk can defeat World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, he’ll face Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series.
Laurinaitis stated to WWE.com: “After giving this CM Punk situation serious consideration, I’ve reached a decision. In my deliberations as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw, I concluded that although Punk is extremely talented, he has lost several matches recently. As a result, I’ve decided that he must prove he’s worthy of a WWE Title opportunity. This Monday night, Punk must compete against World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. If Punk wins, he will face Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series. I wish both men a good match.”
— Former WWE talent Marty Wright (a/k/a The Boogeyman) is reportedly persuading WWE colleagues for a cameo appearance on Monday’s Halloween themed Raw SuperShow. He remains in good shape at 47 years old and has continued to appear in character since parting ways with the organization in 2009.
According to WWE’s updated monthly Key Performance business figures, September’s Night of Champions pay-per-view (featuring Triple H’s in-ring return against CM Punk) drew only 165,000 pay-per-view buys.
By comparison, this number is dead even with last year’s Night of Champion event.
WWE has been doing approximately 64% of PPV buys from the United States, so applying that figure to the Night of Champions buyrate, the show did approximately that translates to roughly 105,000 buys from the United States and 60,000 buys internationally.
For more on WWE’s monthly financial numbers from the company’s corporate site, click here (.PDF).
— Maryse Ouellet celebrated her release from WWE’s shackles Friday at a night club in Los Angeles, California. She posted a photo on Twitter of a cake that reads “Congratulations on your release Maryse Be Sexy.” She captioned the pic as “lets get this party started.”
Meanwhile, Eve Torres praised her longtime rival. She tweeted, “(Maryse) is an incredible performer & a beautiful woman inside & out. She taught me how to have fun in the ring. #ThankYouMaryse.”
— Alex Riley is still working through a hip injury he suffered during WWE’s tour of Mexico earlier this month. He underwent an MRI following the tour and was cleared to wrestle this past week. He returned to action at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping as he took part in the post-broadcast 41-Man Battle Royal.
— WWE will hold a live event at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Sunday, January 22, 2012. The event is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
— WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff turns 62 years old Saturday.
WWE announced Friday the release of Maryse. Their official statement reads:
“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Raw Diva Maryse as of today, October 28, 2011. WWE wishes Maryse the best in all of her future endeavors.”
Maryse said following WWE’s announcement that she’s having a “release party” tonight in Los Angeles, California.
“I’M OUT and sexier than ever! Thanks to all my fans, colleagues and @WWE Universe. Time to party! ‘Release’ party tonight at @trousdale LA,” she wrote on Twitter. “Im Happy, im Smiling, and FREE.”
Maryse had not appeared on television since July due to abdominal hernia surgery. She stated recently that she expected to return to action in the near future.
Posted October 28th, 2011 in News, WWE. Tagged: Maryse.
At Sunday’s WWE Vengeance pay-per-view, the ring collapse that took place during the Mark Henry vs. Big Show match could have been the perfect opportunity for Bryan to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and challenge a badly injured Mark Herny right then and there.
The WWE caught up with Daniel Bryan this week and asked him why he didn’t capitalize on that golden opportunity.
Bryan also talks about growing his beard out until WrestleMania 28.
“There’s only two types of people in this world who don’t have beards. That’s children and women. I’m a man. I’ve got a beard!”
It was announced this week that Trish Stratus, Vickie Guerrero, the Bella Twins, Alicia Fox and Kharma will be downloadable characters for the upcoming WWE ’12 video game as part of the “DLC Pack #2”
WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix wrote the following on Twitter about Kharma’s inclusion in the game:
“now that WWE12 allows @kharma and I to face off, I know I will be virtually glamslamming her this holiday season b4 the real thing”
Kharma, not one to take trash talk from anybody, replied to Beth Phoenix with the following:
Thanks to Manny for the following WWE SmackDown spoilers from Tuesday’s tapings in Houston, Texas. These will air Friday on SyFy.
Dark Match:
* Drew McIntyre beat Johnny Curtis in a squash.
SmackDown, Airing Friday:
* Teddy Long opens the show and talks about the fate of the World Heavyweight Title. Christian comes out and as usual wants a title shot. CM Punk interrupts him and apparently Teddy has brought some RAW stars to tonight’s show. Punk vs. Christian is announced for tonight.
* The Miz and R-Truth beat Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston in a quick non-title match when Truth pinned Kofi. Truth and Miz cut a promo after the match and teased that The Rock may take out John Cena before they can.
* Backstage segment with Daniel Bryan, Tyson Kidd and Santino Marella. Santino proposes Bryan vs. Kidd to see who’s best later tonight.
* Wade Barrett beat Trent Baretta in another quick match.
* Randy Orton beat Dolph Ziggler in another non-title match. This will probably end up being match of the night. Orton won with the RKO. After the match, Orton had a staredown with Cody Rhodes, who did commentary for the match.
* Backstage interview with Matt Striker and the fake Sin Cara. He has a new look and is out to get the original Sin Cara.
* Daniel Bryan defeated Tyson Kidd in less than five minutes with the LaBell Lock. I’m pretty sure Bryan came out to a new theme song as well.
* Michael Cole got our attention and ripped on Jim Ross some more, showing the fake photos from RAW again. Cole says JR has accepted his challenge and The Michael Cole Challenge is on for Monday.
* Big Show comes out to talk about Vengeance and the match against Mark Henry. Show says he has a rematch coming and out comes Henry. Henry said he’s moving on from Show but they had a staredown to end the segment.
* CM Punk defeated Christian in the main event that saw interference from Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus. Sheamus distracted Christian, allowing Punk to hit the GTS for the win.
— Various Indian media outlets report that a land encroachment complaint has been filed against The Great Khali, who plans to set up a wrestling academy in Paonta Sahib. A local resident has alleged that his acre of land is within the area purchased by the WWE Superstar. Though police have started an investigation, they are waiting for him to return settle the dispute.
— Awesome Wrestling Entertainment announced Thursday they have signed Perry Saturn to a contract. The former WWE star competed for the first time in over five years on October 15 at their Night of the Legends pay-per-view event. He defeated C.W. Anderson.
— Shelly Martinez stated on Twitter she will be hosting a dating show.
She wrote, “I am so stoked Got film dates for a new project!! I will b a segment host on a new dating web series Details soon!!”
— Batista will be a playable character in THQ’s WWE ’12 video game, set for release on November 22, 2011 in North America and on November 25 in the United Kingdom.
THQ posted a screenshot on their official website denoting Batista as a character in the game.
— The Scripps Howard News Service has an article on former WWE star Bull Buchanan, who now works as supervisor at a SONY distribution and packaging center in Carrollton, Georgia. He believes his transformation from a serious enforcer to the more light-hearted B2 character who briefly seconded John Cena turned off Vince McMahon, leading to his departure from WWE in 2003.
“The fun part of it probably boomeranged on me,” Buchanan said. “Everything I had done to that point in my career had been so serious. I took this as something where I could be a little more tongue-in-cheek. Vince, though, had always seen me as a killer brutalizing people in the ring and throwing them around. This was different.”
Sunday at Vengeance, John Cena debuted new ring gear, replacing his trademark “jorts” with shorts featuring a variety of camouflage designs. He says this will be a permanent move.
“The jean shorts, for the moment, have been retired,” Cena tells WWE.com. “These are military-issued camo, and I think they will stand out. I have every U.S. Military service branch represented: Army, Marine Corps., Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard. I’ll be changing it up from time to time.”
Cena, however, clarified that he hasn’t ditched the denim completely.
“They’re always in the closet,” Cena said. “Maybe when they come back in style 30 years from now I’ll bust them out for the WWE Hall of Fame or something.”
Cena also discussed his new “Rise Above Hate” shirt, which features the logo of the anti-bullying “be a STAR” campaign printed on the sleeve.
“I wanted to make a positive statement,” Cena said. “I have a varied group of loyal fans out there that will literally back me through thick and thin. I’m known for crazy graphics and colors on my shirts, and I’ve pretty much run through the entire rainbow. I didn’t want the message to be drowned out with a graphic or anything like that, so we went real simple and put the words ‘Rise Above Hate’ with ‘Hustle, Loyalty, Respect’ on the back.
Rumors circulated Thursday that WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco had passed away after suffering a mild stroke recently. Jim Ross has confirmed the rumor as a hoax.
“Just talked to Jerry Brisco and he is ALIVE and doing well,” he wrote on Twitter.
Diamond Dallas Page believed the rumor to be true as he offered condolences on Twitter.
DDP wrote, “Gerald Brisco was a Great Wtestler! A Great TV character but most of a Great Man! And he will be Extremely missed! RIP Brother!”
He later clarified his remarks, writing, “Just found out Gerry is Alive and well! Thank God! Damn some times I hate the twitter thing.”
Page’s statement upset Brisco and members of his family.
Brisco wrote on Facebook, “I’m well enough to kick DDP butt for putting this out there and upsetting my family.”
– WWE is currently searching for a producer for the WWE Network – with the starting salary ranging from $300,000-400,000 and benefits. While this sounds like a great job opportunity for most, there is a lot of uncertainty in the television industry as to whether the network will be successful – and whoever gets that job could look bad if the network flops.
Industry insiders believe that the WWE Network’s best chance for success would be for WWE to buy an existing network (with its own clearances already in place) – but WWE’s efforts to buy an existing network have not panned out so far. In the event that WWE has to start their network from scratch – the situation is much more of an uphill battle. WWE will be investing so much money in the network that many believe it could “make or break” the company.
– Sunday’s WWE Vengeance pay-per-view from San Antonio, Texas drew approximately 8,000 fans, which is considered disappointing.
– We reported several weeks ago that there is a new initiative in WWE to announce wrestlers at their legitimate weights. After a few weeks of that – WWE has modified the policy – and the minimum weight wrestlers will be announced at is 210 pounds. Wrestlers under 210 will be announced as 210 or higher – while wrestlers actually weighing more than 210 will be announced at their real weights. This policy is a throwback to the old school territory days, where no wrestlers were announced as being less than 220 pounds – as a way to portray them as ‘larger than life.’
– Former WWE executive Donna Goldsmith, who left WWE earlier this year after working closely with Vince McMahon for many years (in the marketing department and later as the company’s COO) – has just started her new job as the General Manager of Operations for the 2014 New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee.
– Expect to see even more references to Twitter on WWE television in the coming months. Vince McMahon is said to be a huge fan of the social media service and has several ideas about how to integrate Twitter into WWE programming even further.
WWE announcers are encouraged to constantly reference Twitter, with the idea being that if they mention Twitter a lot at the beginning of shows, they will get topics trending worldwide and can talk about the topics even more.
At the 2012 Royal Rumble – WWE is planning to have superstars tweet right before they go through the curtain and enter the Rumble.
– Vince McMahon freaked out several weeks ago when he saw the company’s latest t-shirt for Zack Ryder. The phrase printed on the t-shirt that got so much heat from Vince was – “Take care, spike your hair.”
Because Vince McMahon hates Spike TV right now (due to their affiliation with TNA), Vince was so mad that he almost pulled shirts from being sold. Eventually, he agreed to sell the existing shirts that were still in stock – but forbid any more from being printed. A new Zack Ryder shirt without the “Spike your hair” phrase is now on sale.
On Monday’s RAW, it was announced that John Cena and The Rock will be teaming up at Survivor Series against the team of The Miz and R-Truth. With The Rock currently in New Orleans while filming the new GI Joe movie, Miz and R-Truth will be traveling to the city today to train with The Rock in preparation for their upcoming match.
Aside from the big Rock-Cena tag team main event – we have news on several other matches discussed for the big event.
WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk and World Heavyweight champion Mark Henry vs. the Big Show are among the matches we’re likely to see.
Despite the fact that WWE is reporting that Triple H suffered a back neck injury at the hands of Kevin Nash and RAW and will miss up to 6 weeks, expect The Game back in time for some sort of gimmick singles match with Nash at Survivor Series.
Also discussed is a traditional 5-on-5 elimination matches with the following competitors:
– Randy Orton, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Kane and Blue Sin Cara vs. Christian, Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, Brodus Clay and Black Sin Cara.
At one point, WWE had been discussing David Otunga, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Mason Ryan, Zack Ryder and one more partner, but last we heard, this match is not going to happen.
WWE Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes spoke to SkySports.com this week to promote WWE’s upcoming return to the UK. Here are some highlights of what Cody said about:
His feelings for the Intercontinental Championship: “I’ve had the opportunity to have a very open platform on how I feel about the Intercontinental title. I feel about it in the same way that a lot of fans have felt about it and I was glad that I could be honest about it. At one point it was probably the most revered title in the WWE and it was in the hands of some of the most revered Superstars and talents.
“Without getting too specific, somewhere in the last five or seven years it kind of got lost. That was why I decided to bring back the classic look of the title because there is also a classic feel that comes with it. That’s the type of Intercontinental Champion I wanted to be…It should say a lot to be Intercontinental Champion. Today it seems like the Money in the Bank Briefcase means something, but I kinda wanted to trump that with something that used to be that way. That’s how I feel and it’s on a definite upswing.”
His Protective Face Mask: “It’s funny because things in sports entertainment get misconstrued. What we do is entertainment, but what happened with me was a little bit more than that. My nose was legitimately broken, my septum was horribly deviated, but it was the most lucky break I guess I ever had. I’m definitely not afraid to take it off and I’ve enjoyed the few times I’ve gotten away with taking it off and I can see it being around for a while, but not so much a major fixture of myself. I’m trying to make it like Triple H; he’s got his sledgehammer and I’ve got my mask.”
The Best Looking & Ugliest WWE Crowds: “The best-looking crowds is a tough one, but consistently the worst looking crowd that I ever see – and if I tell them that I’m not lying and trying to get under their skin, I’m just telling the truth – is Vienna, Austria. I got up close and personal at a signing with them and my God…”
The December 2011 issue of WWE Magazine has an article highlighting ten features in THQ’s upcoming WWE ’12 video game and it is disclosed that “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Mick Foley will be playable characters via downloadable content pack.
The magazine states: “WWE ’12 boasts a WrestleMania-sized roster of icons that, for the first time ever, can be used by gamers right off the bat. Superstars such as Demolition, Ricky Steamboat, Kevin Nash and others are available initially: future downloadable greats will include the likes of Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage and Mick Foley. Oh yeah, and they’ll also offer alternate attire for Edge and Christian, a throwback to their late-’90s tag team heyday, just for the benefit of those with flash photography.”
THQ announced the first group of downloadable characters earlier this week: Shawn Michaels, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross and Michael Cole.
— Eve Torres posted a message on Twitter apparently in response to Madusa saying she should stay out of the ring and stick to modeling after watching her compete against Beth Phoenix at Sunday’s Vengeance pay-per-view.
Torres wrote, “To answer some questions I have received, having a couple of photoshoots doesn’t make you a “model”. I was never a model. My degree is in engineering, & I pursued dance professionally for a while. Now I’m a WWE Diva & not going anywhere anytime soon. Deal with it!”
Though Torres says she is not a model, she lists herself as one in her Twitter bio: “Double-U Double-U EEEE Diiiiiva. Def: An athlete, actress, model, performer, traveler, public speaker, philanthropist, and a hard workin’ woman!”
— WWE Classics On Demand is currently running a video package highlighting Paul Bearer’s career prior to select shows. Bearer, in character though without his hair dyed, appears following the package and plugs the video on demand service.
— Caryn Mower, who in 2000 briefly appeared as Stephanie McMahon’s personal trainer Muffy, now works a stuntwoman. She is filming stunts this week for the upcoming ABC comedy-drama series GCB, starring Kristen Chenoweth.
Posted October 26th, 2011 in News, WWE. Tagged: Madusa.
As WrestleMania has become the global phenomenon we know it as today, state government officials around the United States have been going all-out trying to entice WWE to bring the annual event to their city.
The Miami Herald has published a new article looking at what the city of Miami did to land WrestleMania 28.
City officials promised WWE a $250,000 subsidy, along with other perks, and access to Miami-Dade county’s three largest venues – Sun Life Stadium, the Miami Beach Convention Center and the American Airlines Arena – for WrestleMania weekend activities.
To gear up the locals for next April’s blockbuster event, city officials will be hanging WrestleMania banners from light posts along the highways. A “street team” of approximately 200 volunteers has been assembled to help increase awareness about WWE events taking place next April.
Mike Sophia of Miami-Dade’s Sports Commission told the Miami Herlad, “This event is as big as it gets. WrestleMania is up there in the league with Super Bowls and Final Fours. To be honest with you, when I got the [WrestleMania] bid book, I looked at it and I put it on the corner of my desk and I said, ‘Nah, this isn’t us.’”
Comparing WrestleMania to the biggest annual sporting event in the world, Sophia said, “[WrestleMania] looks exactly like a Super Bowl. It’s exactly something we could and should do. If you want to sit down and split hairs as to whether it strictly fits the definition of a sporting event, I’m not going to have a great argument.”
Former WWE tag team The Headbangers have resurfaced on the independent scene and are calling out the top tag teams in the industry today.
Mosh and Thrasher are now working with the Wrestle Axxess independent promotion and have posted a series of videos calling out the tag team champions of WWE, TNA and Ring of Honor. Check ’em out:
Headbangers call out WWE tag champions Air Boom (Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne)
Headbangers call out TNA tag champions Mexican America
Headbangers call out ROH tag champions Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin