Randy Orton suffered a legitimate concussion at WWE’s Smackdown house show from Madrid, Spain on Sunday. The injury occurred during the triple-threat main event match for the World Heavyweight title against Christian and Sheamus. WWE’s Wellness Policy requires performers who suffer concussions to pass an ‘Impact Concussion Test’ before returning to action.
Randy Orton tweeted the following on Friday afternoon:
“About to take an Impact test. It will determine if I can be cleared to fight Christian, after receiving a concussion. Wish me luck.”
We’ll keep you posted with his status when we get an update.
In his latest Youtube video release, the Ultimate Warrior responded to fan questions asking him if Hulk Hogan’s recent request for a “truce” between the two of them would result in him not releasing the “karma is coming to collect” videos that he’s promised.
Warrior says that despite Hogan wanting to end their war of words, the scathing videos he has recorded are still coming – because Hogan has spent years trying to discredit him and destroy his legacy.
“I dont hate you terry, but I despise the absolutely disgusting example you have set as a man.”
Celebrity news site TMZ.com has picked up on the news of Shawn Michaels’ new hunting show, which premieres on the Outdoor Channel later this month.
Their article, titled, “WWE Legend Shawn Michaels: Animal Killing Machine,” leads off with this tongue-in-cheek description of the show:
‘Ex-WWE legend Shawn Michaels is grabbing life by the horns — and slaughtering it with a CROSSBOW … killing all sorts of majestic wildlife for a new hunting television show.’
HBK spoke to TMZ.com about his new show, defending his passion for hunting:
“I am a Christian, I am an American, I am a family man, and I am a predator, and MacMillan River Adventures will allow my long-time fans and newfound friends to see what really makes Shawn Michaels the man that he is today.”
One of Shawn’s reps told TMZ that the former WWE champion isn’t just hunting for sport – he eats everything he kills.
Check out these picture of Shawn Michaels hunting:
Former WWE star Batista was interviwed this week by f4wonline.com’s Wrestling Observer Radio Show. Here are some highlights of what Big Dave said about:
Why He Left WWE:: Batista said he left WWE because he felt like he didn’t fit in anymore. He feels like wrestling is in a bad spot right now and has gone down hill since the whole PG direction. Batista said it leaves a bad taste in his mouth and became too unbelievable & hokey. He added that the things he learned from guys like Triple H and Ric Flair, you couldn’t do anymore. He said you couldn’t use your tools anymore. Batista said he felt like he became disconnected from the business and became unhappy with it. He still believes in WWE as a company but there wasn’t a place for him anymore.
Batista said he gave WWE about 7 months notice that he wanted to finish outright. He wanted to go out the right way and give WWE plenty of notice. That 7 months ended up turning into 9 months because they needed him longer. Batista made it clear that Vince left the door wide open for him to come back. He said he enjoys having that opportunity there to go back, if he wants.
His MMA Career That Never Got Off The Ground: He had reached out to Strikeforce while with WWE and the MMA promotion expressed interest but he didn’t actually sit down with them until he left WWE. His plan was to become a profesional MMA fighter and actually had a 3-fight deal on the table with Strikeforce that would have seen him fight on CBS, Showtime and pay-per-view – all leading to a fight against Bobby Lashley. Batista cited scheduling, his movie work and financial differences, among other things, as to why the deals never worked out. They had another deal almost ready to be signed that would have sent him directly to pay-per-view to fight but his manager Cesar Gracie didn’t think everything was fair. When UFC bought out Strikeforce earlier this year, the deal fell apart.
Underutilized Talent In WWE & Who Has Potential: Batista thinks WWE blew a huge opportunity by releasing Ken Anderson and was “shocked” when he got released. Batista also named Ted DiBiase Jr., Kofi Kingston and Sheamus as superstars he sees with huge potential.
Mason Ryan: He doesn’t think Nexus star Mason Ryan is an attempt by WWE to copy him. He thinks Ryan is a great guy after meeting him in London and is curious to see where his career goes.
Whether He Would Return To WWE: Batista has no desire to ever work the full time schedule again, but says the door is open for him to return at some point for a final run so he can get closure on his career and officially retire. He is interested in working with WWE behind the scenes in some capacity as well.
Acting & MMA: He doesn’t want to be a full-time actor and doesn’t think he will ever be qualified to be one. He is also looking to continue his MMA training and eventually get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
For all the broskis out there, Mr. Long Island Iced Z himself, Zack Ryder, is back with another installment of his online video show, the Z! True Long Island Story. This week’s show was taped on Monday, after the Monday Night RAW show from Long Island that he was left off. WWWYKI:
— Former ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli were on hand for this week’s WWE television tapings in New York and Rhode Island. Both worked out in the ring in front of officials before each show.
Castagnoli signed a developmental contract with WWE in November 2006 but was released a short while later for reasons that have yet to be publicly disclosed.
— WWE has released a commercial ad promoting SummerSlam, which takes place August 14, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It is branded as “The Biggest Event of the Summer.”
The commercial features The Miz, Chris Masters, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox and The Bella Twins emerging from the ocean and scurrying to a beach house to watch SummerSlam.
The commercial is available here.
— Damage starring Steve Austin airs tonight on Spike TV at 11:00 p.m.
— Desmond Wolfe has been removed from ImpactWrestling.com’s roster page. This is often an indication that a wrestler has parted ways with TNA Wrestling.
Wolfe has been sidelined from in-ring competition since September due to medical leave. He resurfaced on TNA programming last month as the commissioner of Xplosion.
— For the second consecutive year, TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Mickie James will be wrestling at the World Wrestling Council (WWC) Anniversary show in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, which takes place Saturday, July 16. Event information is available at superestrellaswwc.com.
— Impact Wrestling’s Facebook page is advertising the following match for tonight’s Impact Wrestling broadcast: “Tune in to tonight’s IMPACT on Spike to see the return of Austin Aries, Kid Kash and Jimmy Rave in a 3-way match as the countdown begins to Destination X on July 10!”
Randy Orton posted the cover art for WWE’s upcoming Randy Orton: The Evolution Of A Predator video release.
Previously titled The Randy Orton Experience, it is scheduled for release in North America on September 6 via three-disc DVD and a two-disc Blu-ray sets. The synopsis reads:
“He’s one of the most popular superstars in the WWE, but he has never been the subject of a home entertainment release—until now. This 3-disc set takes an in-depth look at WWE’s Apex Predator from Elimination Chamber through the road to WrestleMania and Orton’s brutal bout with CM Punk. Along the way, fans learn about the Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Family and opponents contribute never-before-seen interviews about Orton’s past, present, and future. In addition the set is packed with some of Orton’s most memorable matches and moments from his career.”
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson continues to tease John Cena online as he compared the WWE Superstar to the Disney character Goofy while at Disneyland yesterday.
He posted a photo of himself alongside Goofy with the caption reading: “Just bumped into John Cena! I was gonna knock the goofy off his ass, but I’ll save that ass whuppin for Wrestlemania.”
— WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan has signed a deal with Triumph Books to write his autobiography. Scott E. Williams, who co-wrote autobiographies on Terry Funk and Bill Watts, will help Duggan write the book.
— Shawn Michaels will be speaking at the Atascadero Bible Church in Atascadero, California tonight from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. He will discuss his faith in God, tell stories about his wrestling career and discuss the outdoors.
— Michael Tarver was removed from WWE.com’s Raw roster page on Wednesday after being released last week. He took to Twitter to comment on his immediate future:
“Thanx for the kinds words guys but im just getting warmed up wwe was just the beginning ,,,,,,,,GOD HELP US …..stay tuned…”
“Whats going on family ,fyi im about to go H.A.M. all over the web starting this sunday night ,you havent seen my potential yet ,stay tuned..”
“Im cancerous so when I dance you wouldnt want to bomb either if you responded back with a battle rap you wrote for JOHN CENA ,stay tuned… Having some fun ,,,,,stay tuned…”
— Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash are advertised to appear at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo this weekend in Calgary at the BMO Centre.
— Big Show appeared as the Intercontinental Champion for a match against Alberto Del Rio at a Raw live event last week in Spain. Wade Barrett currently reigns as the Intercontinental Champion.
After Monday’s RAW from the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island went off the air, fans saw a Street Fight WWE championship match between John Cena and The Miz. During the match, Sheamus, R-Truth, and C.M. Punk ran down to the ring and attacked Cena. Steve Austin finally ran in and cleaned house with a generous helping of Stone Cold Stunners. Cena recovered and hit Miz with the Attitude Adjustment for the pin.
Here’s a video from what went down after RAW, shot by a fan who was at the show:
Sin Cara’s first few months in WWE have been rockier than expected, with WWE officials being dissatisfied thus far with the Mexican wrestling star’s in-ring work, namely, his ability to wrestle the “WWE style.” A number of measures have been to protect Sin Cara reputation, including moving him to SmackDown (a taped show, where botched moves can be edited out easier) and the recent signing of one of Sin Cara’s greatest rivals from Mexico, Averno.
As the first superstar signed to WWE under Triple H’s overhauled talent development division, many believe that he’s been cut more slack that most would get because he is Triple H’s pet project. Cara is said to be frustrated with having to learn a new style of wrestling, but is grateful that he is considered ‘protected’ for the time being.
Sin Cara and Chavo Guerrero had a lousy match at Over The Limit, and Chavo is the one who took all the heat for being unable to carry Cara.
In related news … When Sin Cara first signed with WWE, he told his previous boss, CMLL owner Paco Alonso, that he was very appreciative for giving him his big break in wrestling and would be open to working a few CMLL shows each year as a way of showing his gratitude. Alonso rejected the gesture and is said to still hold a grudge that Sin Cara left his promotion for WWE. WWE signed Sin Cara, one of the top stars in Mexico, as a way of expanding their business in the territory, which is already threatening CMLL’s business.
As noted earlier this week, CMLL trademarked the name ‘Sin Cara’ for use in Mexico since WWE never did so.
– After undergoing successful stomach surgery on Wednesday, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ros wrote the following on Twitter regarding the procedure:
“Surgery done. 11 staples used, came home, bleeding restarted, back to doc & now resting @ home. Sore but will be ok. Thx 2 all.”
— The WWE website announced this week that Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine will not be headed to the main roster any time soon, but instead will begin training at the company’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling.
– Former high school coach Joseph Simone, 22, was arrested at Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Providence, Rhode Island for impersonating a State Trooper. Simone was arrested earlier this year on charges of child pornography, solicitation and extortion.
– The May 23rd episode of WWE RAW was the most-DVD’d episode of RAW ever, with 458,000 homes recording the show for later viewing. Factoring in the viewers who recorded the show, the 3.4 rating that RAW scored that night actually gets bumped put to around a 3.86.
Former WWE superstar Trevor Murdoch, partner of the late Lance Cade, recently had a series of tryout matches with WWE and tells Pitch.com that he will be returning to the company soon after being released back in July 2008.
Here are some highlights of what Murdoch said about:
His Recent WWE Tryouts: “They went great actually. The first night I wrestled Evan Bourne. The second night I wrestled Jey Uso. My concern going back wasn’t the wrestling part. It was there’s a lot of new faces on the WWE roster. They’re almost all new faces. And I was concerned that I was going to get back there and on one was going to know me or everyone was going to snub me a little bit. “Who’s this guy?” and “he’s just going to try to take our spot.” But when I went back, everyone was super nice and were extremely respectful and excited to see me. It was a very welcoming experience. Not to mention that I had two really good matches.”
What It’s Like To Make It Back To WWE: “I’ve been doing this since I was 18 years old. So I’m at an age where when I went to WWE the first time I was 25 years old and I’m really excited that I’m still at a young enough age that I’m going to be able to go back and do some good things on TV. My [5-year-old] son is now old enough to see me and understand that daddy is on TV and he loves pro wrestling. So I’m fired up to be able to get back to working on TV again for sure.”
What His Role Will Be When He Returns: “I’m kind of an open book and can do whatever I gotta do to have a good time but also to put on some good matches and also focus more on the sports entertainment side rather than just the pro wrestling. When I went in the first time, I wouldn’t say I was naive, but I was more focused on the just the wrestling part. Whereas, now that I’m a little bit older and I look back on it … I’m going to focus just as much on the entertainment part as I am the wrestling part. The last time I was there, I was like, I was trained by Harley Race. The cream will rise to the top. I’m a pro wrestler. As long as I have great matches, everything will be fine. That’s only one part of it.”
Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is back with another video blog from his new official website, RealXPac.com. In this edition, Waltman talks about:
– What did he think about Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart burying the hatchet after 13 long years?
– How did he and the creative team come up with the 1-2-3 Kid gimmick?
– What was it like working with Wrestling Society X?
– Does he regret partying so much and living that crazy lifestyle for so many years?
— A tag team rematch from Raw, Ezekiel Jackson, Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, is advertised for this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Sin Cara scored the three-count for his team on Monday.
— New WWE ring announcer Eden Stiles confirmed on her ModelMayhem.com profile that she has a Twitter account at twitter.com/EdenStiles.
— Chris Jericho is hosting tonight’s episode of the Sixx Sense, which airs on channel 164 on XM Satellite Radio, located at channel 164. The former WWE star is filling in for Nikki Sixx, who is currently on tour with Motley Crue.
— Christian appears for Cricket from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, located at the Cricket Communications Mobile Store in Louisville, Kentucky.
— Tyson Kidd’s Rookie Lucky Cannon was eliminated from NXT Redemption Tuesday night.
He joins Byron Saxton and Jacob Novak among those eliminated. The remaining contestants are Redemption Points leader Titus O’Neil, Conor O’Brian and Darren Young. The date of the next elimination was not announced.
Cannon, who was involved in an on-screen romance with program host Maryse, was unceremoniously dumped by the French Diva following his expulsion. He also lost his final match on NXT, succumbing to Titus O’Neil.
— Matches taped Tuesday night in Providence, Rhode Island for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Kane vs. Tyson Kidd
* Yoshi Tatsu vs. Chavo Guerrero
Matches taped Monday night in Uniondale, New York were Zack Ryder vs. Primo and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Drew McIntyre.
Randy Orton suffered a legitimate concussion at WWE’s Smackdown house show from Madrid, Spain on Sunday. The injury occurred during the triple-threat main event match for the World Heavyweight title against Christian and Sheamus. Orton was asked on Twitter why he didn’t wrestle on RAW, to which he responded:
“because I was knocked out in Spain. U can’t wrestle, or should i say, perform, the day after a concussion.”
In case Orton is not medically cleared to wrestle Christian at Sunday’s Capitol Punishment pay-per-view, the concussion angle WWE ran on RAW will be the explanation.
In the event that a WWE performer suffers a concussion, WWE’s Wellness policy requires that hey must pass an Impact Concussion Test.
We’ll be following this story throughout the week, so stay tuned to SEScoops.com for the latest on Randy Orton’s medical status.
– TNA executive Eric Bischoff has taken another jab at the fans who follow pro wrestling news on the Internet (the “10%’errs”) and the websites that cover the industry. He tweeted on Wednesday:
“The 10%’ers know nothing about journalistic integrity (think MSNBC) and are typically horrible writers (thay kant rite gud), too.”
— The Ultimate Warrior has responded to online rumors that he used to work as a male escort in the Atlanta area back in the 1980s before entering the pro wrestling business. Over the weekend, a fan asked Hulk Hogan on Twitter about the rumor, to which Hogan responded,
“he was more than a male escort. You guys figure it out. HH”
Warrior addressed the situation on Wednesday, effectively denying the reports and taking another shot at Hogan and his ex-wife, Linda:
“Warrior God for ULTIMATE time. Demand is HIGH. Escort limited to pro-wrestlers wives. Reserve right to refuse service. No, HH. Linda, no.”
Warrior’s remark about wrestlers wives being escorts are a reference to a recent claim he made about Hulk Hogan letting other wrestlers sleep with his (now) ex-wife, Linda. Warrior recently said he’s practically the only person to turn down an offer from Hulk to sleep with Linda.
Here are detailed spoiler results for next Thursday’s (6/23) episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, courtesy of TNAInsider.com:
* Bully Ray beat Scott Steiner with a chain shot to the throat in a Bound For Glory series match. Eric Bischoff immediately calls out Sting for what he did to Hulk Hogan last week. Sting comes out and gets in EB’s face. He says he’s a cancer, a dirt bag and just not a nice person. He backs him in a corner, punches him, hits a Scorpion Deathdrop and then paints EB’s face red. He locks in a Scorpion Deathlock until Bischoff passes out and leaves.
* Velvet Sky & Miss Tessmacher vs. Miss Jackie & ODB. Winner via kick to the crouch from Jackie to Velvet, Miss Jackie & ODB.
* Bound for Glory Tag Series Match, Crimson & Matt Morgan vs. Beer Money. Winners via Carbon Footprint to Robert Roode, Crimson & Matt Morgan.
* AJ Styles comes to the ring. He talks about the history of the X Division and how it built the company. Names from the past like Kid Kash or Jerry Lynn might be showing back up. He says for one night only the six-sided ring will be back and how he’s back in the X Division. Samoa Joe comes out and says he agrees with what he says. He says they should hook it up again. Christopher Daniels comes out and says they’re right, the X Division built things and moved up to the top of the card. He asks if they should do the match everybody wants one more time? He asks AJ if he’s up for AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels one last time? AJ agrees and they shake on it. Joe is mad and has some words for AJ as everybody leaves.
* Shima Xion vs. Frederico Palacio vs. Dakota Darsow. Winner via 450 Splash to Darsow, Shima Xion.
* Falls Count Anywhere Match, Velvet Sky vs. Winter with the match starting backstage. Winner via Angelina Love hitting her finisher while the referee was distracted, Winter.
* Non-title match, X Division Champion Abyss vs. Sting. Winner via disqualification after Sting used Abyss’ barbwire glove, Abyss.
Behind the scenes at Monday’s WWE RAW from Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum, New York city DJ Peter Rosenberg conducted an exclusive interview with Rey Mysterio.
The master of the 619 spoke about how his body is holding up, whether he sees his days in the ring coming to an end anytime soon, the possibility of working as a heel, working with his son and Eddie Guerrero in the summer of 2005 and more.
— The latest update on CM Punk’s status with WWE is that he is still planning on taking a leave of absence once his contract expires this year. Those close to the Raw Superstar say he feels like he hasn’t been treated like a “top guy,” which will factor in his decision.
— Former WWE creative member Chris DeJoseph (a/k/a Big Dick Johnson) announced on Twitter that he landed a job with the CBS reality show Big Brother.
He wrote, “I loved my time at WWE but working on a new show is damn refreshing!”
— It was reported earlier that developmental wrestler Wes Brisco was likely been released from his WWE contract after his profile was removed from the Florida Championship Wrestling roster page. He and his father, WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco, are also no longer advertised for autograph signings at this weekend’s FCW live events.
The ratings are in for Monday’s special 3-hour “WWE All Stars” episode of Monday night RAW, featuring “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as the guest General Manager.
The 3-hour broadcast drew a 3.05 cable rating with 4.49 million viewers.
The final two hours of the show, RAW’s usual timeslot, did a 3.26 rating with 4.83 million viewers. This is slightly up from last week’s show, which did a 3.21 rating with 4.97 million viewers.