— A commercial aired during tonight’s episode of NXT: Redemption promoting next week’s episode of Raw as the first show of the “post-McMahon Era.”
Also advertised is the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament as Rey Mysterio and The Miz will face off to determine the new title holder.
— Two days past his title victory over Randy Orton, Christian defeated The Viper once again in a dark match at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The eight minute long championship match concluded with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase distracted Orton, allowing Christian to roll up his opponent.
— Former WWE talent Sean Waltman stated last night on Twitter that the final few minutes of Triple H and Vince McMahon’s segment on Raw was “the real deal.” Waltman has since clarified his remarks.
— The July 16 episode of A.M. Raw on the USA Network garnered a 0.67 cable rating, with 821,000 viewers overall.
According to a new report, the plan for Money in the Bank as recent as a few days before the pay-per-view was to have Alberto Del Rio cash in his briefcase and leave the show as the new WWE Champion, regardless of what happened between John Cena and CM Punk.
There had been several ideas tossed around for the Punk-Cena storyline and WWE decided over the weekend to give Punk the WWE Title and go from there.
– At Tuesday’s WWE Smackdown tapings from Minneapolis, Minnisota, SmackDown’s Money in the Bank briefcase holder Daniel Bryan announced that he will be cashing in his contract at … Wrestlemania 28.
– In a dark match prior to Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, Michael McGillicutty defeated Trent Barreta.
– Matches taped tonight in Minneapolis, Minnesota for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
– Monday’s episode of RAW, the night after WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, drew a 3.2 cable rating with 4.83 million viewers. The show did hours of 3.15 and 3.29.
While Monday’s rating is up from last week’s 2.9 number, a 3.2 is still not a great number considering the incredible amount of buzz WWE has received in recent weeks and the overwhelmingly-positive reviews coming out of Sunday’s PPV.
– The July 16th episode of WWE’s AM RAW did a 0.67 rating with 821,000 viewers.
Former WWE star Gene Snitsky claimed Tuesday afternoon that his Twitter account was hacked after a homophobic diatribe was posted minutes earlier in response to widespread criticism over his unfavorable view of The Miz. He claims the account fell into the wrong hands and that he actually has the utmost respect for the WWE Superstar.
“It’s come to my attention someone has hacked my acct!!! Some people just have way too much time on their hands! Ill b deleting this acct,” he wrote.
“Sorry if this acct has fallin into the wrong hands! Thanks to all my wonderful fans!!!!! Keep an eye out for new acct coming soon!
“I personally have the utmost respect for mike and enjoyed workin w him! Im sure he will say the same! Sorry again for twitter hackers!
“Ill do my best to find out who is Responsible, im truely sorry to those who were offended! Thanks again! From the REAL Snitsky.”
He deleted the account shortly after his post. Coincidentally, the hacker’s diatribe and Snitsky’s apology both originated from an iPhone in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.
Former WWE talent Gene Snitsky posted multiple inflammatory remarks this afternoon on his Twitter account in response to widespread criticism over his unfavorable view of The Miz.
“Love the haters on twitter!!!! I beat the miz in 30 secs and he could nvr hold my jockstrap! Im a div 1 athelete, former NFL player! Fags,” he wrote.
“Do your research you fuckin no life pieces of shit! Lmao… Anyof you mommys boys ever accomplish nethin b sides sniffin ur moms panties.
“Get out of your mommys basement and stop jerkin off to gay porn u wanna beez!!!!! Rotflmao at these nerds!!!!
He also called a follower of his a “retard” in response to a remark that The Miz has a job. The former Heat Superstar then boasted that he’s featured in WWE’s upcoming video release, OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History, while The Miz isn’t.
“Oh and dont 4get im on the top 50 omg moments in WWE!!! Haha jackasses! Dont c miz on there!!!!! You DMF’s,” he wrote. “My time is money…. You idiots arent worth either! Lol peace out to all my beloved fans!!!! Have a wonderful day.”
Snitsky capped off his diatribe by saying The Miz couldn’t carry his jockstrap and that fans of the WWE Superstar are “Mizarks.”
– Monday’s RAW featured a promo video hyping the return of John Morrison, who tweeted the following regarding the video package and his medical status:
“watching RAW, @WWE – thanks for the amazing video – damn I’ve got a lot of goofy nicknames!”
“I’ve been working hard to rehab my neck, and nerve damage. I’m hoping to get cleared soon.”
peaking of Morrison, he and Drew McIntyre have been added to this Friday night’s FCW event at the Melbourne Auditorium in Melbourne, Florida.
– According to one of our WWE sources, the current plan for CM Punk is for the storyline to play out off television for the next few weeks – ie. on CM Punk’s Twitter account, the WWE website, etc. Expect some newsworthy tweets and interviews from Punk.
Several ideas have been thrown around WWE in regards to the CM Punk storyline – including WWE using Punk’s kidnapping of the spinner belt as a way to finally get rid of it in favor of a new WWE championship belt.
– With Sin Cara’s future in WWE unknown, Rey Mysterio is expected to get a huge push this summer. Apparently there is something big planned for Mysterio at Summerslam and the following night’s RAW in San Diego.
– According to Bryan Alvarez, Vince McMahon is expected to be backstage at Summerslam although it’s unknown if he will appear on camera.
– Randy Orton vs. Christian in a no-disqualification match for the World Heavyweight championship is being discussed for SummerSlam next month.
— Tenille Tayla, a 22-year-old Australian women’s wrestler who signed a developmental contract with WWE earlier this year, announced this morning via Facebook that she will be undergoing surgery on her shoulder tomorrow due to the numerous dislocations she’s incurred throughout her wrestling career.
She wrote, “To give you all a quick rundown, I have decided to undergo surgery on my shoulder after the many dislocations I’ve incurred throughout my career. The surgery will take place tomorrow (Wednesday). Looking forward to getting it over with, rehab and hoping to pick up where I left off at the end of the year!”
— “Bright Lights Bigger City” by R&B artist Cee Lo Green is the song that was used during last night’s promotional advertisement for SummerSlam. The pay-per-view event takes place August 14 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
— Chris Jericho’s second autobiography, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps, will be released via paperback next February.
In his latest video blog, former WWE star Sean Waltman reviews Sunday’s critically-acclaimed Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Waltman also clarifies his tweets from Monday night, where he stated that the storyline from RAW with the board of directors forcing Vince McMahon into retirement is legitimate.
Former WWE star Gene Snitsky, who took shots at The Miz throughout his reign as WWE Champion via Twitter, continues to belittle his former colleague.
During Chavo Guerrero’s Twitter diatribe of John Cena on Saturday, the third generation grappler took a potshot at The Miz. He wrote, “And frankly no one believes it anymore. If Miz can kick your ass then the clerk at the store can kick your ass, so please deliver if you say that..”
The former Heat headliner wholeheartedly agreed with Chavo’s critical assessment of The Miz.
“Well said chavo!” Snitsky typed. “Wtf is seriously scared of the fukn Miz? Ru kiddin me!!!!”
A follower of Snitsky’s said The Miz “is awesome,” to which he replied, “RU fukn kiddin me? Heez a putz and i mean that.”
He also ripped WWE Monday night for trying to insult the fans’ intelligence by implying that John Cena would be dismissed from the organization.
“Well here we go again with the wwe trying to insult our intelligence!” Snitsky wrote. “Does anyone really think John Cena is gettin fired? Wtf cmon rukidinme.”
Snitsky was backstage looking for work at last month’s SmackDown taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He revealed recently on Twitter that he was not offered a contract to return.
On Monday afternoon, former WWE champion John Cena posted a message on Twitter apologizing to The Rock for all the remarks he’s made regarding The Rock’s absence from WWE television. Cena wrote:
“I would like to take a moment to publicly apologize to Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson. In an effort to make WM28 as big as possible I tried to expose rock for his flaws. Very childish and immature on my behalf. My comments about the rocks absence were both unprofessional and childish. I am sorry.”
The Rock responded with a message on Twitter, asking WWE to keep John Cena on the roster so he could whoop his candy ass at WrestleMania.
It was announced on RAW that Cena would not be fired (despite losing the WWE title to CM Punk at Money in the Bank), which prompted another anti-Cena tweet from The Rock after RAW:
“Cena – get back on your tour bus, call up your favorite yum rocket, take your apology and stick it straight up your phony ass.”
If anybody knows what a “yum rocket” is … Well, if you do – maybe it’s best that you keep it to yourself…
— Kazarian took a shot at Sin Cara, who was suspended yesterday for 30 days due to a violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program.
“The Flux Capacitor is what makes time travel possible,” Kazarian wrote regarding the name of his finisher. “If you STEAL it, you violate the Wellness Policy and get suspended 30 days. Just sayin’.”
— Matt Morgan underwent MRIs on his lower back yesterday. The TNA star has been dealing with spasms of late that have been increasingly painful.
He is expected to receive the results within the next few days.
— Jeremy Borash celebrates his 37th birthday today.
— Abyss is advertised to appear for Pro Wrestling Destination on Saturday, August 20 in Reno, Nevada. Visit www.pwdwrestling.com for event information.
— Darren Rovell, a sports business reporter for CNBC, noted on his Twitter account that last night’s angle on Raw in which Vince McMahon was relieved of his duties of WWE chief and replaced by his son-in-law, Triple H, may cause issues with WWE stock.
“The No. 1 material risk against WWE stock is Vince McMahon leaving the business,” Rovell wrote. “Tonight’s plot could be an SEC violation.”
— Tough Enough contestant Ivelisse Velez was among those backstage watching Vince McMahon’s announcement on a monitor at the start of Raw. It is not publicly known if she has signed a contract.
WWE developmental wrestler Percy Watson was also spotted amongst the crowd.
— Former WWE star Eric Escobar has launched a Twitter account.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wrote the following on Twitter on Monday regarding his new WWE DVD set, which is being billed as the “final” Austin DVD:
“WWE film crew to come down to the Broken Skull Ranch in a few days. Filming last SCSA DVD. Please send your questions to my twitter acct. “
“Also send any suggestions on matches you would like to see from WCCW, USWA, WCW, ECW, and of course WWE. Thanks for the help. Gonna be good.”
– WWE Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine, who was profiled on Monday’s RAW, is currently training at Florida Championship and wrestled on last Saturday’s show from Fort Meyers, where he lost to Peter Orlov.
– RAW announcer Michael Cole is the latest WWE personality to appear on Shawn Michaels’ hunting show on the Outdoor Channel. Michaels tweeted the following about tonight’s episode:
“Just reviewed [tonight’s] MRA show. I sure hope everybody has a sense of humor. @MichaelCole is gonna b hated in the outdoor biz as well:-)”
– WWE will tape NXT and SmackDown tonight from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. TV matches for SmackDown include Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight and Cody Rhodes vs. Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Title. On tonight’s NXT, it’s expected that the field of Rookies will be cut down to 2. The remaining contestants are Titus O’Neil, Darren Young and Derrick Bateman.
– Stan sent word that there was 1 hour 36 minutes and 59 seconds of in-ring action at Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view – which is more in-ring action than we saw at last month’s Capitol Punishment show.
– WWE will be returning to Chicago’s All State Arena on December 26th for a RAW taping.
– After going on sale earlier this week, WWE has already sold out of VIP travel packages for WrestleMania 28. Silver, Gold and Platinum packages are still available.
– WWE announcer Todd Grisham Tweeted the following on Monday after RAW – which is unfortunately probably just a joke:
“This just in…Triple H’s first act as new WWE Chairman is to reinstate WWE Ice Cream Bars.”
Former WWE superstar Chavo Guerrero Jr. was interviewed this week by Arda Ocal (@Arda_Ocal) and Jimmy Korderas (@JimmyKorderas) on the Right After Wrestling radio show. Here are some highlights of what Chavo said about:
His Twitter Rant About John Cena: “He hasn’t contacted me since I made those comments. People ask me why did you call him directly? And I did. Many of us did. I called him lazy on twitter. Don’t get me wrong. He works hard. In the gym. But he always has the exact same comeback. I just remember watching him and saying this isn’t the way we (myself and Eddie) taught you. And we keep seeing him doing the same shoulder tackle, hip-toss 5-Knuckle-Shuffle.”
His WWE Release: “It was really a longtime coming. I went into the creative offices (after putting over Yoshi Tatsu on Superstars) and asked who’s the better wrestler. They said me. I then asked how many countries speak Spanish. And then I asked who have you invested 10 years of television time into. They said me again. And I said they have no legs to stand on. I’ve always been about business but that’s when I said I’m not doing this anymore.”
His Career After Eddie’s Passing: “I always thought the WWE really dropped the ball after Eddie passed. I always thought the WWE didn’t really want to cash in on Eddie’s death. But I remember wrestling Triple H and the fans really went crazy for it. But they went with Rey for WrestleMania 22. And I went into Vince’s office and told him that could be me. The fans could really get behind me. And instead that went into me turning heel and having a great program with Rey”
Who He Still Wants To Wrestle: “I would love to work with AJ Styles. We always used to call him ‘AJ Steals’ because we thought he was always stealing our moves. But I knew him since he was just a kid breaking into the business. But I would also like to work with Kurt Angle again and to see him again. But in the WWE, I guess a heel Randy Orton would be good to work against.”
He also discussed:
– Is there another run left for Chavo Guerrero?
– Being a part of a new new vitamin company and his upcoming book and DVD release
At the end of Monday’s episode of RAW, we saw Triple H return to television and announce that he would be taking over Vince McMahon’s duties behind the scenes, effectively relieving Vince of his day-to-day duties.
Former WWE star Sean Waltman went on Twitter following RAW and said that Vince McMahon really is stepping down from his job as Chairman and CEO:
“The text [Triple H] sent me today makes much more sense now. That was the real deal, that last 5 or however many minutes.”
Waltman also noted that WWE should “careful that this doesn’t really affect the stock price.”
In the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, Rey Mysterio and The Miz meet next week on Raw to determine the undisputed title holder.
Vince McMahon announced at the top of the show that eight of the top Superstars would compete in a WWE Championship Tournament and that a new titleholder would be determined that night. Before Mysterio and The Miz could compete in the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, McMahon demanded that the ring be cleared due to important business he had to conduct. Triple H then informed McMahon that he had been relieved of his duties as WWE Chairman and that he would be taking his place.
WWE Championship Tournament Results
* The Miz defeated Alex Riley in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated R-Truth in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
Here’s a live recap of what happened after Monday’s episode of WWE RAW from Green Bay went off the air, courtesy of reader Doug Simmons:
Vince McMahon removed his jacket, tie, and belt and acted like he wanted to fight. John Cena’s music hit and out he came Cena got in the ring to talk to Vince, who said, “Screw you” and slammed the mic down. He slapped Cena and knocked his hat off.
Cena backed Vince into the corner, then Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, and The Miz ran in and beat down Cena. Santino Marella, Evan Bourne, and Zack Ryder hit the ring and made the save. All of the heels powdered, leaving only Ziggler in the ring with the babyfaces.
Cena hit Ziggler with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Sanctio hit The Cobra. Ryder hits his finisher. Cena gave ziggler the Attitude Adjustment, and Bourne nailed his finisher. The babyfaces celebrated with the ringside fans.
— Regarding Sin Cara’s suspension from WWE for violating the company’s Wellness policy, reports are now coming out that Sin Cara’s violation came back on June 20th – almost a month ago. WWE Spokesperson Robert Zimmerman was contacted at the time by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com and responded with:
“As per our Talent Wellness Program policy if there is a violation the company will make the necessary announcement.”
That announcement was delayed until today.
There was a lot of heat on Sin Cara for failing the test, as he had been promoted heavily as Triple H’s first major international hire in his new position. It’s unknown whether he was working unpaid, which the company used to do while they wrote suspended workers out, or whether he be paid royalties for his appearance at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
As noted earlier, it’s possible they may not bring him back.
— During today’s BS Report hosted by ESPN’s Bill Simmons, he and Rob Stone were discussing the Money in the Bank PPV. Bill announced that CM Punk has been booked for their show later this week. We’ll keep you posted when we get the official date.
— According to Alex Jones and prisonplanet.com, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura’s controversial “Conspiracy Theory” has been picked up for a third season, despite the former Minnesota Governor’s insistence he won’t fly unless a federal court rules that TSA ceases to grope him at airports. Ventura will still host “Conspiracy Theory” from a war room and offer his opinions and perspectives, but will not fly to investigate cases and interview sources. The third season will also feature his son Tyrel as a reporter, as well as Oliver Stone’s son Shawn.
On Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, just as WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon was set to fire John Cena, Triple H’s music hit and the WWE legend made a surprise return to television.
Triple H dropped a bombshell – that WWE’s Board of Directors had voted that despite everything he’s done to turn WWE into the global phenomenon that it is today, he is being relieved of his day-to-day operations.
Vince McMahon’s duties will now be handled by Triple H himself.
The father and son-in laws had an emotional moment, with both men shedding tears as the show went off the air to “Thank You Vince” chants from the crowd.
COMMENT BELWO: What you think about this storyline?
— It was announced during tonight’s Raw that Randy Orton will face Kane in a Street Fight on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Also announced for the show is Ezekiel Jackson defending the Intercontinental Championship against Cody Rhodes.
— The July 15 episode of WWE SmackDown scored a 1.72 cable rating, down from 1.73 the week before. The program averaged 2.72 million viewers over the course of two hours
SmackDown continues to trend below a 1.9 average rating in 2011. The program has not exceeded a 1.9 rating since April 29.
— The term “WWE Champion” is trending worldwide on Twitter tonight. This was noted by Michael Cole on Monday Night Raw.