John Cena visited WWE’s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling on Thursday and wrote about the experience on Twitter – putting over the sons of former WWE star Mike “IRS” Rotundo.
Cena was asked which developmental stars he thought had the most talent and potential. Cena responded:
“”Bo Rotundo and his brother “Husky” Harris aka Wyndam Rotundo.”
Cena was asked about the progress of Ricky Steamboat Jr., who is said to be one of the most promising superstars in the developmental system.
“Very well. Taken much more calculated, violent striking style. Shows much promise“
Former ROH champion Tyler Black (now Seth Rollins in WWE developmental) responded to John Cena’s endorsement of the Rotundos and Ricky Steamboat Jr., tweeting:
“Of course @johncena would say the Rotunda brothers are FCW’s best. I mean, who else could it be? (scratches head in wonder) :-)”
Credit to SEScoops.com reader Corey for the following WWE SmackDown spoilers from Bakersfield, California.
Dark Match:
* Bo Rotunda defeated Joey Ryan.
WWE SmackDown (Airing Tonight on SyFy)
* Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes successfully defended against Ezekiel Jackson.
* Justin Gabriel beat Tyson Kidd with the 450 splash in what was said to be an exciting match.
* WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan via submission in a non-title match.
* WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly and AJ Lee defeated Alicia Fox and Natalya.
* Mark Henry won a battle royal to become the new #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Title. The match came down to Henry, Sheamus, Wade Barrett and Sin Cara. Henry ended up eliminating Sin Cara in the end to win. SmackDown ends with Henry and Randy Orton staring each other down.
Dark Match Main Event:
*Orton and Sheamus defeated Christian and Alberto Del Rio. Sheamus chases Alberto to the back as Orton RKOs Christian.
— Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde, the original Sin Cara, is eligible to resume performing since his thirty-day suspension for his first violation of the company’s drug testing policy expired on Tuesday. Alvirde’s future with the organization, however, remains in doubt. Developmental talent Jorge Arias (a/k/a Hunico) assumed the character at this week’s and last week’s SmackDown tapings and there is talk it may be permanent as company officials are reportedly sour on Alvirde due to his performances and attitude.
— This Sunday’s SmackDown live event in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada has been canceled. A Raw live event scheduled for that day was also canceled.
Meanwhile, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston are advertised as a tag team for Friday’s and Saturday’s Raw live events in Saskatchewan.
— Jose Vargas, Brodus Clay’s opponent on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars, is California based independent wrestler Orion. He competes for Legion Championship Wrestling.
— Syfy and WWE announced today its first ever WWE Smackdown live special, SuperSmackdown Live, on Tuesday, August 30 at 8-10PM/ET on Syfy, originating from the INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The reason for the schedule change is because the original September 2 air date falls on Labor Day weekend. Officials are anticipating a poor rating for that day and therefore the show will air three days earlier.
— WWE recently filed trademark applications for the terms “Future Endeavored,” “Future Endeavor” and Mr. Future Endeavor.” The terms are for John Laurinaitis’ on-screen character.
Lisa Wright, who is the program director of the national non-profit organization Council for Unity, wrote a letter to the Be A Star Alliance questioning their affiliation with WWE after receiving an e-mail concerning the “fat jokes” being directed towards performer Vickie Guerrero on television.
She asks how the anti-bullying organization’s partnership with WWE fits their mission to show tolerance and respect since professional wrestling consists of name calling and threats culminating in violence.
Her statement reads:
“I recently received an e-mail regarding your alliance with the WWE. The e-mail pointed out the “fat jokes” about Vickie Guerrero. Wrestling as I perceive it consists of name calling and threats culminating in violence to settle conflicts. How does this fit with your mission to `Show Tolerance and Respect?’ Are you saying this behavior is alright for entertainment value? As an employee of a member organization listed on your website, your questionable judgment reflects poorly, not only on you, but on all the organizations listed there.
“As an organization whose mission is to prevent violence and bullying, we must be careful who we partner with and what messages that partnership sends. As we look for funding, ways to market our mission, and new partnerships, we must remain aware of the cultural forces that impact those that we serve. Furthermore, we must be sensitive not to promote the very negative behaviors that we have spent our professional lives trying to prevent. I fail to see how an alliance with the WWE will do that. We must be aware that in our business, as in life, actions speak louder than words. The WWE may, in principal, be against bullying and the violence that so often accompanies it, however, the very nature of the business is not conducive to a culture of inclusion and peace that we here at the Council for Unity seek to create. To that end, we respectfully request the removal or our organization from your web site.”
WWE and The Creative Coalition teamed up for a party centered around SummerSlam and the “be a STAR” initiative last Thursday in Los Angeles, California promoting anti-bullying. Contrary to the campaign, Jerry Lawler made jokes concerning Guerrero’s weight days later on Raw while she occupied the announce booth for a segment.
DISCUSSION: We want to know what you think .. WWE claims to be an anti-bullying organization – so does their constant ridiculing of Vickie Guerrero’s weight violate that? Or are the “Vickie is fat” jokes part of the ‘entertainment’ ?
SYFY PRESENTS FIRST EVER LIVE WWE® SMACKDOWN® SPECIAL ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 30 AT 8PM/ET
NEW YORK – August 18, 2011 – Syfy and WWE announced today its first ever WWE Smackdown live special, “SuperSmackdown Live,” on Tuesday, August 30 at 8-10PM/ET on Syfy, originating from the INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
The Tuesday night special will feature WWE’s biggest Superstars and Divas, including World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton®, Christian®, Sheamus™, Mark Henry®, Sin Cara™, Cody Rhodes™, Wade Barrett™, Daniel Bryan™, Brodus Clay™, Natalya™ and Alicia Fox™.
The special will re-air in SmackDown’s regular time slot on Friday, September 2 from 8-10PM (ET/PT).
SmackDown is averaging 3.1 million total viewers for 2011 to date.
Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view featured the surprise return of one of the biggest pro wrestling stars of the 1990’s – Kevin Nash. Nash brutally attacked CM Punk following his WWE championship win, allowing Alberto Del Rio to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and leading to a great deal of speculation as to who hired Kevin Nash to attack Punk. Nash was on RAW this week to explain his actions, but his explanation that a powerful friend texted him with instructions to “stick the winner” of the WWE title match did little to make sense of what really went down the night before.
We’ve got a few new backstage details regarding Nash’s WWE return:
– WWE did everything they could on Sunday night at SummerSlam to keep his return a surprise. Nash was flown into Los Angeles on Saturday and was kept in a secluded area of the Staples Center up until the main event where he did his run-in. In another measure to prevent news from leaking out about the surprise appearance – Nash’s return was not listed on WWE’s official booking sheet for the show.
– Despite a lot of resistance from Nash, WWE forced Nash to dye his hair jet black prior to appearing on television. Nash is said to be very comfortable with his silver-haired look, but WWE officials think it makes Nash look too old and would not cave.
It’ been said that Nash had a similar situation in TNA Wrestling, where company officials wanted him to dye his hair to look younger, but Nash got his way with TNA management.
– Earlier this week, we reported that the Young Bucks tag team (formerly Generation Me in TNA) received a WWE tryout prior to Monday’s RAW from San Diego, California. WWE announcer Booker T spoke about the Bucks’ tryout on Twitter – and made reference to a recent Rob Van Dam interview where RVD called out the Bucks for being cold to him backstage in TNA and not even shaking his hand.
Booker said that at Monday’s tapings, the Young Bucks did not introduce themselves to him when they walked by him backstage. Booker T said later in the day, one of the Young Backs was leaning on his jacket yet still never introduced himself to Booker.
The Young Bucks are a talented team with a ton of potential, but they will never get too far in the business by offending the legends in the locker rooms.
– Booker was asked why he’s not still wrestling. Booker said he’s done it all and has nothing left to prove. He then said he wants to finish like he started – strong.
– When asked by another Twitter follower whether he would ever reunite with his former tag team partner Goldust, Booker said that they talk about it all the time, and to never say never.
Goldust later replied to Booker’s tweet, saying that he and Booker could capture the WWE Tag Team Titles again soon.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Not Commentating At SummerSlam: “Obviously I would have liked to have been a part of the Summer Slam announce team but I enjoyed Tweeting throughout the show and gained about 2,000 new followers as a result.”
The Live Crowd At SummerSlam & Which Match Stole The Show: “The Staples Center live audience really did their share in making the PPV feel special. It can’t be overstated how important the live audience is to any TV broadcast. I felt that Christian vs. Orton stole the show Sunday and that the final, two Summer Slam main events delivered as they should.”
RAW’s 3-Man Announcing Team: “I thought the three man announce team had a solid night in SD and it shows that we are all working hard to establish rhythm and develop chemistry. I’ve read where some think that I’m the ‘3rd wheel’ in the scenario which is somewhat insulting but motivating at the same time.”
The New Stone Cold DVD: “Worked Tuesday night viewing the new Stone Cold DVD with Steve Austin and the talented WWE TV production crew. Austin’s FOUR DVD set will be in stores around the end of November and should be on shelves worldwide for the holidays. @steveaustinBSR and I did alternate commentary ala a narration on Steve’s Wrestlemania bouts vs. Bret Hart (WM13), HBK (WM15), and the Rock (WM17). Even though these matches have been on other DVDS they have never had our alternate commentary which will provide fans will a unique, inside look at the matches in both an informative and humorous, at times, manner. This was one of the most enjoyable broadcasting experiences that I’ve had in years.”
“The closing music video for the 2+ hour documentary portion of the Austin DVD is as moving as any I’ve ever experienced in the business.”
– To update the news of Rey Mysterio working through a knee injury, Mysterio tweeted on Wednesday night that he underwent an MRI on the knee yesterday – which is not true. Mysterio actually underwent on MRI last week – and Rey mentioning the MRI this week was a way to continue the reality-based storyline from Monday’s RAW where Rey suffered an injury at the hands of Alberto Del Rio.
According to a WWE source Rey Mysterio’s latest knee injury will probably not require surgery – but he will take time away from the ring instead and undergo physical rehabilitation to heal the knee.
– WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler wrote on Twitter that he is currently suffering from a pulled groin.
Ziggler defeated Alex Riley in a dark match prior to Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, but did not wrestle on RAW. He and Vickie Guerrero did [hilarious] commentary during the Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley match.
– WWE’s On Demand cable channel will be debuting a new Legends Roundtable next Monday featuring wrestling’s biggest outdoor events.
– During a recent interview with Charlotte Magazine, RAW superstar R-Truth reveals the origin of his “Little Jimmy” gimmick. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that it was WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon who came up with the ‘conspiracy’ gimmick and the Little Jimmy scapegoat character. Truth also told the magazine that he ad-libs 90% of his promos and that he’s still working on a hip-hop mixtape.
– As we reported earlier this week, we might see a professional boxing match at next year’s WrestleMania 28 pay-per-view between Monte Barrett and David Tua. Barrett, who is friends with John Cena, told 8countnews.com that he will be meeting with Vince McMahon and John Cena next week to discuss.
– Lilian Garcia noted on Twitter that she will be shooting a music video for hew new single this weekend.
— Championship Wrestling International announced Thursday that Kevin Nash has been pulled from their 2011 East Coast Invasion due to his obligations with WWE. The ten-day tour kicks off today in the eastern region of Canada.
“Wrestling fans, we regret to inform you that Kevin Nash will not be with us for the Invasion Tour of the Maritimes,” said Donnie Abrue, Head of Talent Relations.
“As most fans are aware, Kevin Nash recently returned to World Wrestling Entertainment. Nash has been under contract to WWE for several months and was free to work elsewhere as long as WWE wasn’t in need of his services at that time. Nash competed in the main event for CWI this past May without any issue.”
— Gail Kim announced today on Twitter that she had to cancel her advertised appearance at this November’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con in Austin, Texas. She did, however, reveal that she will be appearing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next week, but did not release further details.
Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho appeared on the Between The Ropes radio show this week – and we’ve got a detailed recap below.
Jericho has been performing with his metal band Fozzy in recent months, but has indicated on several occasions that he’s open to returning to WWE when the time is right.
Here are some highlights of what Jericho said about:
Whether he can believe it’s been 12 year since his WWE debut:
“It doesn’t really seem like it was 12 years unless I think really hard about all the stuff that’s taken place since then. But I can remember writing that promo that I did like it was yesterday in the apartment I was in on the floor, just kind of writing down ideas and writing out the whole promo because back in that time there was no writers or creative as they call it. It was basically you were just on your own. You might have a couple of ideas to throw around but most of it was just coming from your own brain and just saying it the way you wanted to say it. There was no rehearsals or anything like that. You would just go out there and do it. So that’s the biggest change between the WWE in 2011 and the WWE of 1999.”
The current PG-13 programming in WWE:
“I don’t care about PG-13 or Attitude Era. If you’re a great performer, you can make it work no matter what it is. And I never really cared because I might have gone 5% into the Attitude Era or 5% into the overly PG era but I pretty much just did my thing and made it work with whatever was given to me by the boss of the company. That’s a copout if people say ‘well, I don’t like it because it’s PG-13 or I can’t work within the PG-13 system’. That’s BS. It doesn’t matter. If you’re a good guitar player, you can play Van Halen or Georg Jensen jazz. It’s just an excuse.”
Simplistic storylines and playing into the current one with CM Punk:
“That’s what it’s always been about man. It’s always been about that and the best guys can do that no matter what rules or guidelines are given to them. That’s why the Punk thing worked so good because it was something different. It was Punk vs. the status quo of the WWE. It wasn’t so much the insider topics. I’m sure guys like you and me thought that was funny but your average person doesn’t have a clue about stuff like that. They just know that Punk is doing something he’s not supposed to be doing and saying something he’s never said before. That’s also why I don’t think the thing (Kevin) Nash worked out so well this week because they went too inside.”
You can subscribe to Between The Ropes on iTunes at this link.
In a major publicity coup, Fusion® Ammunition has released an the first video of former Undisputed UFC, WWE and NCAA heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar following his recent life-saving surgery.
Fusion® is well known as one of Brock’s major sponsors, and this video is nothing short of fascinating. You can check out the video featuring Brock’s comments along with some amazing hunting footage below. Fusion® issued a press release regarding their exclusive video, which reads:
ANOKA, Minn. – August 17, 2011 – Federal Premium’s Fusion® spokesperson and MMA superstar BROCK LESNAR declares “he’s back.” After a 2nd stint with diverticulitis causing surgery in May, Brock is ready to return to the Octagon. Before he begins training again, Lesnar stormed the prairies of North Dakota for a prairie dog hunt south of Bismarck, ND.
Don’t Count Him Out
Lesnar went under the knife and had a foot of his colon removed on May 26, 2011 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. After a short hospital stay, he went home to Alexandria, Minn. and then onto his farm in Saskatchewan where he has been since recovering. Lesnar feels like a new man and believes becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion again is in his future.
Check out this first video footage of Brock Lesnar following his colon surgery:
Last week on SmackDown, we saw developmental wrestler Hunico make his WWE television debut, donning the mask of Sin Cara while the original Sin Cara (Luis Ignascio / Mistico) finishes up this 30-day suspension this week.
A WWE source has informed us that it was in fact Hunico working as Sin Cara once again at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Bakersfield, Californi – set to air on Syfy this Friday night.
Luis Ignascio, will be eligible to return to WWE this weekend – but many are questioning whether he’ll be brought back at all. After a rocky start in WWE over the past several months due to blown spots, poor matches and an overall underwhelming rookie year, the original Sin Cara reportedly has “nuclear” backstage heat on him.
– Former WWE star John Bradshaw Layfield posted an interesting blog on Facebook today – explaining that he feels the pay-per-view industry is on the verge of being totally revolutionized, and it will be to the benefit content providers of WWE, TNA and UFC.
“PPV will change also dramatically over the next decade. PPV sold over the Internet is in its infancy, but with Internet enabled TVs growing-that will change.
Now imagine this. WWE or UFC does a PPV and they really now do sell it worldwide. Every Internet receiver in the world can buy it-no longer do they have to rely on a local Internet company in China or India-they own their own channel and sell it direct. This involves an education process, but one I think is taking place and will happen over the next 7-10 years.
PPV numbers will go up by a multiple of what they are now and all revenue is kept by the content owner. WWE could sell the PPV for $4.99 in Africa or China where they don’t have a cable partner and you can’t charge as much-but open it up to millions that way. Or, if you sell it for the current amount-you keep all the money.
Costs are a onetime issue. They remain the same-so all the extra income is pure bottom line profit.
See a change coming? I do.
A smaller group like TNA that has still marketable recognizable worldwide stars can do this as well and wouldn’t need cable deals all over the world to make it work. The Internet gives them a worldwide cable deal that they own. To me, this should be their model now.
I believe UFC will be the biggest sport in the world due to the fact that they can draw stars from virtually every continent and use them in front of their worldwide audience. When it comes time for a company with a billion people worldwide watching weekly to sell PPVs-what is five million buys. Futuristic? Yes. Will it happen? I believe it will.
So is wrestling dead? Not by a long shot, in fact it’s best days could easily be ahead-it’s just the way it is distributed will change…for the better.
Makes a Wrestling god want to come back….OK, maybe not, but will be fun to watch. “
Posted August 17th, 2011 in News, WWE. Tagged: JBL.
Since launching his new One Warrior Nation project to get his fans to realize their full potential and live purposeful, meaningful lives, the Ultimate Warrior has begun posting motivation videos which he’s titled, “injections of inspiration.”
We’ve got parts 1 and 2 below .. Part 2 is worth checking out, as Warrior addresses fans “in character” as the Ultimate Warrior:
INJECTIONS OF INSPIRATION #1 With “Dr. Warrior”
INJECTIONS OF INSPIRATION #2 (Warrior Talking As “Ultimate Warrior):
— According to a promoter who reached out to Melina Perez to book her for an independent wrestling event, the former WWE Diva’s representative is asking for $3,000 per appearance, as well as first class travel and hotel accommodations.
— Japanese based promotion Inoki Genome Federation announced today that recently released WWE talent Harry Smith will appear on their Aug. 27 show.
— Kevin Eck, who announced last Wednesday that he was leaving his job as sports content editor and professional wrestling blogger at The Baltimore Sun to become a member of the WWE creative team, officially starts with the entertainment organization on Aug. 29.
— K-Mart is running a promotion where customers receive a free WWE Fathead with purchase of $30 or more WWE merchandise.
– Back in 2009 when Donald Trump “bought” the WWE RAW brand – Vince McMahon and argued with Trump that he was the one who coined the signature phrase, “You’re Fired!” Now, WWE really is trying to secure the rights to a phrase used when announcing to the world they’ve parted ways with one of their superstars.
According to the US Patents and Trademarks office, WWE has filed to trademark the terms “Future Endeavored”, “Future Endeavor” and “Mr. Future Endeavor” last week.
– The official website of WWE’s developmental system (FCW) has re-added the talent profiles of former Tough Enough contestants Cameron Lynn, Ariane Andrews and Caylee Turner.
– World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton appeared on a morning news broadcast in Bakersfield, California on Tuesday and tweeted a picture of himself and John Cena Barney the Dinosaur:
Maxine, who appeared as a contestant on the third season of NXT, resurfaced on tonight’s episode.
The program kicked off with Hornswoggle proposing to A.J. as he got down on one knee and gave her a candy ring. Derrick Bateman interrupted the proceedings and argued with Hornswoggle’s protégé, Titus O’Neil. Hornswoggle and O’Neil chased Bateman to the backstage area, leaving A.J. alone in the ring. Maxine then jumped A.J. from behind, laying her out.
Bateman was later accompanied by Maxine for his match against O’Neil and revealed that she is his girlfriend as well as the love of his life. Maxine then spoke and said Hornswoggle can’t handle a real woman like her.
Maxine interfered on Bateman’s behalf during the match, grabbing O’Neil’s foot. This allowed Bateman to roll-up O’Neil for the pinfall victory. Post-match, the newly formed couple proceeded to make out while O’Neil complained to the referee about her interference.
— Kevin Nash is advertised to wrestle TNA Wrestling star Scott Steiner at UCW’s September To Remember events, which take place on Aug. 31, 2011 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada at St. Antonio Hall and Sept. 1, 2011 in Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada at the Apple Dome.
Meanwhile, Northeast Wrestling announced today that Nash will fulfill his future obligations for the promotion. Their statement reads: “We have just confirmed with the Big man himself – “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash – he will be in Waterbury, CT on Friday, September 30th and Poughkeepsie, NY on Saturday, Oct. 1st. He will be in action both nights and signing autographs and taking photos with the fans.”
— Mick Foley says he’s not upset about not being included in WWE’s Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century DVD.
“I’m not surprised I’m not on that greatest stars disc,” he wrote on Twitter. “I only had 9 matches with @WWE in the 21st century. Not hurt at all.”
— Tammy Sytch, Nikolai Volkoff and Samu appear at Sports Heroes & Legends 10 Giffords Lane Staten Island, New York this Friday from from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
— WWE announced Monday that referee Mike Chioda has been suspended for 30 days due to a violation of their Talent Wellness Program. According to a company source, he may have failed his test last week, but officials delayed suspending him because they wanted him to appear at SummerSlam. It was not revealed what Chioda failed for, but a company source said “the other referees are sweating.”
— Seldomly seen Raw Superstar Tyler Reks was asked on Twitter whether he’s disgusted with his lack of television time in recent months.
He replied, “Frustrated, yes. But even more determined to seize my opportunity when it comes. It drives me to work hard in practice.”
Reks has yet to compete on television since being drafted to the Raw brand in April.
— The August 15 episode of Raw scored a 3.29 cable rating, up from 3.10 the week before. Though the overall rating increased from the prior week, it dropped as the show wore on. The first hour drew a 3.4 before dropping to a 3.18 in the second.
Last night’s program averaged 5,055,000 viewers over the course of two hours, up from 4,542,000 viewers
– It looks like we will be seeing more of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne teaming up. tweeted the following on Monday night after RAW:
“Me and @findevan beat the tag champs tonite AND we’re trending worldwide. Maybe we should team up more often.(*hand on chin pondering) hmm..”
– In another sign that WWE’s tag team division is picking up steam, The Usos wrote on Twitter that that they are watching WWE Tag Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty closely.
— The August 13 episode of A.M. Raw did a 0.45 cable rating, with 562,000 viewers. The previous week’s show drew a 0.45 cable rating with 507,000 viewers.
— Recently released WWE talent Harry Smith, WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and Necro Butcher are advertised to appear at Collector’s Realm 44 Raymond Ave. Poughkeepsie, New York this Saturday from 1:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m.. Visit www.collectorsrealm.iwarp.com for more information.