(credit to f4wonline.com)

While nobody seems to know what it is, it’s being reported that something big has been planned for tonight’s Smackdown/NXT taping at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA. Not sure if the two are connected, but Drew McIntyre may be making his return tonight as well. It is scheduled to be a WWE Supershow taping featuring stars from both brands.

Comment: I can guarantee that however big it may be, it cannot possibly be as big as Matt Hardy’s gut.

source: www.f4wonline.com

Drew McIntyre’s visa issue has been solved as he appeared at last night’s SmackDown live event in Savannah, Georgia to cut a promo. It is expected that McIntyre will be reinstated to the SmackDown brand at tonight’s television taping.

After losing to Matt Hardy on the June 25 edition of SmackDown, Theodore Long informed McIntyre that his work visa had expired and that he would be deported back to Scotland immediately. This storyline had a basis in reality, since his visa had indeed expired and as a result he was taken off television.

Meanwhile, Wade Barrett returned to Raw last night after resolving his own visa problems. Both Barrett and McIntyre paid visits to their home countries last week to fill out necessary paperwork pertaining to their respective visas. In that regard, everything is said to be fine now.

For those curious about Sheamus’ legality, he had his visa taken care of in late May. He, Barrett and McIntyre were simultaneously signed to developmental contracts in April 2007 following tryout matches during WWE’s annual European spring tour.

WWE issued the following release this morning:

WWE(R) Debuts in China at Expo 2010 Shanghai

STAMFORD, Conn., Jul 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Expo 2010 Shanghai today announced that they will present the first live sports entertainment event in China on Sunday, August 22 at 7 PM (local Shanghai time) in the Expo Cultural Center. The 90 minute event, titled “WWE Raw(R) Presents SummerSlam(R)” will feature WWE Superstars John Cena(R), Rey Mysterio(R), Chris Jericho(R) and others.

“WWE Raw Presents SummerSlam” is free of charge to Expo attendees on August 22. Tickets can be obtained at the Expo Cultural Center from 9:30am the day of the event. WWE expects to fill the 8,000 person arena capacity. WWE will be one of about 15 shows performing on the main stage at the Expo Cultural Center, which is the newest, most state-of-the-art arena in China.

“WWE is honored that the Chinese government and Expo 2010 Shanghai have offered us this rare, historic opportunity to perform at the successful Shanghai World Expo,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “We are thankful to be allowed to entertain the attendees and our fans in the region at Expo 2010 Shanghai.”

Expo 2010 Shanghai opened on May 1 to great international fanfare and will run until October 31, 2010. More than 240 countries and international organizations are participating in Expo 2010 Shanghai, with about 145 international pavilions. Many world leaders have attended during the first month, including United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, and many others.

Expo 2010 Shanghai expects to see more than 70 million visitors from around the world, and has already had more than 10 million attend.

The theme of Expo 2010 Shanghai is “Better City, Better Life,” representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments. Through different sub-themes, Expo 2010 Shanghai will create blueprints for future cities and harmonious urban life styles, providing an extraordinary educational and entertaining platform for visitors of all nations.

WWE opened an office in Shanghai in 2007, introducing its unique brand of sports entertainment content to China, and has steadily grown in awareness and popularity. This will be the first opportunity for Chinese fans to sample the live event part of the WWE experience.

-As announced on Raw tonight, the Hart Dynasty will defend their Unified Tag Team titles against Jimmy and Jay Uso.

-Regarding the anonymous Raw GM, it’s not Steve Austin.

– WWE.com has announced that tonight’s RAW will open with its anonymous General Manager announcing the fate of The Nexus after their recent attacks on John Cena, Bret Hart, Vince McMahon and the WWE Legends.

While the item does not mention this, it is believed that with his visa issues now behind him, Wade Barrett will be back on the show tonight as well. There will be no guest host.

(partial source: www.f4wonline.com)

— NXT Rookie Alex Riley is booked to compete in a match on Tuesday’s episode of NXT, but may be pulled after suffering a wound to the back of his head at Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling television taping in Tampa, Florida. The injury is said to not be serious.

— The Undertaker’s former manager, Paul Bearer, recently resurfaced under the guise of his alternate wrestling persona, Percy Pringle III. Promoting his managerial appearance for the National Wrestling Alliance in a video promo, Pringle makes an inside reference to his WWE character being killed off, saying, “And now I’m back. After a long, long absence. Yes, some say I’ve risen from the grave. Oh yes indeed!”

To view his promo, click here.

— No guest host was announced for tomorrow’s Raw, which takes place in Nashville, Tennessee. As of yesterday, the creative team had not fully completed writing the show.

— According to WWE Magazine’s “Best of WWE” Special Issue, which was released last Tuesday, WWE Studios’ upcoming comedy film starring Paul “Triple H” Levesque will be released in theaters next summer. Also note, the magazine refers to the film as Inside Out, but it has since been changed to The Chaperone. The film is currently being filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana.

— R-Truth revealed in an interview with WWE Magazine that he has another entrance theme in the works which would be specifically performed at pay-per-view events.

“The new song is called “Right Time,” R-Truth told WWE Magazine. “It’s hip-hop with some metal guitars in it. The lyrics will encourage crowd participation, too. The song just talks about going through life, doing the right things and keeping your head up.

— Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia is auctioning off several new items worn on television and in photo shoots, including the top worn during her infamous “The People’s Strudel” interview with The Rock. You can view the auctions here.

UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar defeated Shane Carwin on Saturday night at UFC 116 by submission in the second round of the fight.

Carwin came out strong in the first round, dropping Lesnar with a vicious uppercut and almost putting the champion away with a fury of ground and pound. Lesnar survived the round and came back strong in the second round, making Carwin submit from an arm-triangle choke.

After the fight, Lesnar thanked referee Josh Rosenthal for not stopping the fight when he appeared to be in trouble. Lesnar said:

“He hit me pretty good, and I don’t know, I ended up there on the ground. I just had to go into survival mode and stay busy. I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing to go on. I wasn’t hurt. I thought if I just kept moving — I could feel Shane’s punches getting less and less — and I thought, well, if I can get out of here then I’m just going to exert a lot energy. I realized there was [not a lot of time left], so I just tried to stay busy. He’s a beast. He definitely won the first round [laughs].”

Former WWE personalities Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Steve Austin, Jim Ross and Bill Goldberg were shown in attendence. Lesnar’s longtime friend Paul Heyman was also with Lesnar throughout the weekend.

At the post-show press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Lesnar’s next title defense will be against undefeated heavyweight Cain Velasquez. No date has been announced, but the fight is expected to take place later this year.

— Abraham Washington is under consideration for the Raw General Manager position. He was reportedly slated for the role a few months ago before it was assigned to Bret Hart.

— To correct an earlier report, Mark Calaway (a/k/a The Undertaker) and Michelle McCool’s wedding actually took place in Austin, Texas, where the two reside. It was originally reported that the wedding took place in Houston.

— WWE’s forthcoming DVD set highlighting Friday Night SmackDown! in 2010 is scheduled for release on October 25, 2010, according to WWE Magazine’s “Best of WWE” Special Issue.

— A number of names with ties to the world of professional wrestling were mentioned as attending Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas including Dwayne Johnson, Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Jim Ross and Batista. There were people saying that The Undertaker had specifically said he would be attending the event. On another note, Paul Heyman stayed at the house Brock Lesnar rented this past week to prepare for his fight against Shane Carwin.

— Teddy Hart, who was suspended by AAA earlier this year, has now been officially released. His father, B.J., told AAA that Hart had received an offer from WWE. He was reportedly released for his own safety as more than half the locker room wanted to kill him.

— As of Saturday, Wade Barrett was scheduled for Monday’s Raw taping in Nashville. His visa issues were resolved this past week.

— As reported earlier, WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat was hospitalized Wednesday night after suffering a brain aneurysm. He is reportedly in stable condition. His son, WWE developmental wrestler Richie Steamboat, recently opened an account on Twitter and has posted numerous messages concerning his father’s health.

He wrote yesterday afternoon, “Please keep my dad in your thoughts & prayers. The issues are worse than expected but he could be worse. God will help him through it!!!” Then added today, “Thanks again everyone for the prayers & msgs. Dad is fine right now. God & you guys have helped us & things will get better as time passes.”

— Today is WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart’s birthday. He turns 53 years old.

— WWE canceled it entire Fourth of July weekend tour due to poor ticket sales and a result, performers and personnel have a rare weekend off. The events have been rescheduled for December.

— The search term “WWE Undertaker Marries” was among AOL.com’s “Top Searches” today.

— NXT Rookie Alex Riley suffered a wound to the back of his head while defending his FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship against Kaval at last night’s Florida Championship Wrestling television taping in Tampa, Florida, reports www.pwinsider.com.

Riley suffered the injury after hitting his head on the guardrail, which was in due part to a kick from Kaval. The match was immediately stopped and medical personnel assisted Riley to the back.

Seeing as the match was the final bout of the three-episode taping, FCW President Steve Keirn came out to apologize to the fans, noting it will take place at a different time. He said he had a standby match, which saw Percy Watson upend Big E. Langston.

— WWE developmental wrestler AJ Lee was on the road with the Raw brand this past week, working in the role of hostess at live events. Lee, who has been under contract to WWE since May 2009, was crowned “Queen of FCW” this past February after beating Serena in a match.

— Former WWE performer Gene Snitsky was backstage visiting friends at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Ricky Steamboat was hospitalized Wednesday night after experiencing pain in his neck and shoulder, reports the official WWE website. According to medical officials, his condition is most likely not related to his performance on Monday night, and his medical prognosis is “good to excellent.”

Meanwhile, Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer reports Steamboat suffered a brain aneurysm Wednesday night. His condition has been disclosed as stable, but he’s expected to remain hospitalized indefinitely. It was also noted that the aneurysm is not believed to be related to Monday’s angle.

Due to Steamboat’s condition, WWE has pulled video of Monday’s NXT angle off of its YouTube channel, as well as photos off of its official website.

Former WWE wrestler Batista created a lot of buzz earlier this month when he announced to TMZ.com that he will be fighting for the Strikeforce MMA promotion and already had his first opponent picked out.

The latest is that a deal still has not been reached between Batista and Strikeforce, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the negotiations and brought up the idea of pitting Batista against fellow former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley, who is currently under contract with Strikeforce.

When recently asked about facing Bobby Lashley in the cage, Batista said he would do it, but he wants a few fights to build to Lashley. Scott Coker thinks if they can get Lashley vs. Batista on CBS with a good semi-main event then they can do big ratings.

Lashley is still recovering from a knee injury that caused his most recent fight to be postponed. Lashley’s recovery is actually behind schedule and he will be out of action a bit longer than initially expected.

In training for his MMA debut, Batista has hired a wrestling coach, a boxing coach and a jiu jitsu coach.

Check Out: VIDEO of BATISTA Training For His MMA Debut

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

SmackDown *SPOILERS*

WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Credit to reader Daniel Smeriglio & Wrestling News World for this report:

* Jack Swagger opens SmackDown in the ring with a promo about beating Big Show last week. He brags about his victory. Big Show comes out and interrupts. He beats down Swagger but his jumped from behind by Cody Rhodes. Rey Mysterio comes in for the save.

* Teddy Long announces tonight’s main event will be Jack Swagger vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship.

* Kofi Kingston b. Dolph Ziggler

* CM Punk is shown with his arm in a sling.

* Matt Hardy is a special guest on The Peep Show. Prior to the segment, ladders are setup in the ring. Hardy is reinstated and it is announced that Drew McIntyre is out due to issues with his visa. Matt Hardy attacks Christian.

* Cody Rhodes is shown looking in a mirror telling himself he’s dashing. He said his motivation for his attack earlier was the Money in the Bank match.

* Kane vs. Luke Gallows (w/CM Punk)
– SES attacks Kane and beats everyone up. Serena comes in the ring and begs Kane not to hurt CM Punk. A video is shown of Serena drinking at a bar on May 31st and being confronted by SES. CM Punk was with them hence he couldn’t have attacked Undertaker. Serena is left alone in the ring.

* MVP b. Chavo Guerrero
– Prior to the match Chavo gets on the mic and says he deserves a Intercontinental Championship shot if he wins tonight.

* A video package for Ricky Steamboat’s new DVD is shown.

* Kelly Kelly b. Michelle McCool via pinfall.

* Rey Mysterio comes out and cuts a promo on his win at Fatal Four-Way. It is announced that Rey will face Jack Swagger at Money in the Bank.

* Rey Mysterio & Big Show b. Jack Swagger & Cody Rhodes
– Show & Rey get the win after Swagger gets disqualified for not releasing the ankle lock on Rey. After the match Mysterio sells his injury. That concludes this week’s edition of SmackDown.

— Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett’s respective visa issues have been resolved, reports www.F4WOnline.com. Barrett is expected to return to Raw this Monday while McIntyre will return to SmackDown once creative feels it’s right to bring him back from the deportation angle.

— The cover art for WWE’s forthcoming DVD set on the best of Monday Night Raw in 1993 and 1994, Raw “The Beginning”: The Best of Seasons 1 & 2, has been released. The cover, which features The Undertaker, Yokozuna, Bret Hart and Doink the Clown, among others, can be viewed here.

— WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes will be coming out of retirement to team up with sons Goldust and Cody Rhodes against the trio of Trent Barreta, Caylen Croft and Curt Hawkins on July 9 in Kissimmee, Florida at the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall. The Florida Championship Wrestling live event will also feature a Divas Bikini Contest.

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart has written a blog entry responding to Martha Hart’s lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment over using the likeness and footage of Owen Hart.

“I feel that it’s ridiculous for anyone to think they are serving the best interests of Owen’s memory or his children to pretend he wasn’t a wrestler,” Hart stated. “Not only was he a wrestler, he was a great one and proud of it. I personally believe Martha Hart has done nothing to keep his memory alive and sadly, he fades from view a little more every year. I do suspect this lawsuit is more about publicity, ego, and small-mindedness than it is about pro-wrestling and all of those that are in it.

“I know Owen was always proud of his body of work. His fans have never forgotten him and most of today’s WWE wrestlers and hundreds of employees have never forgotten him. They speak endlessly of loving memories that speak volumes on what kind of person he was. I saw Owen on TV a few weeks ago against a young Matt Hardy and it put me in such a good mood all day long. Why would anyone want to prevent that? Martha needs to accept the sad truth that he’s gone, but we all deserve to be able to salute and honor him for being the great man and the great wrestler that he was.”

To read the full blog, click here.

– The situation with Wade Barrett’s work visa is said to be not as serious as it’s been made out to be. Apparently everyone knew the situation was coming as Barrett had been talking about it for weeks. He is expected to be back in the country as early as today and back on WWE TV as early as this coming week. There is still no word on Drew McIntyre’s return but it’s believed that he may be out for a bit longer.

– WWE officials have told the members of Nexus to play the heel role while in public in front of fans. They’re not allowed to pose for photos or sign autographs and are wearing the ‘N’ armbands while out.

– The decision has made that The Nexus stable will remain on the RAW roster and won’t be doing any run-ins on SmackDown. Most expect that this may change eventually.

Source: Wrestling Observer

sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com

— WWE’s creative team is said to be pleased with the Diva pairing of Michelle McCool and Layla, known as “Lay-Cool.” Some within the company previously felt TNA’s “Beautiful People” concept made their women’s division look second rate by comparison, but now feel they’ve beaten the rival promotion at their own game.

Layla recently refuted fans’ allegations that “Lay-Cool” is copying “The Beautiful People,” writing on Twitter: “Cuz all of the tweets about this subject, For the Record, I do not watch TNA. So copy cat thing…kinda NOT!! This is All I will say. Done.!!”

Reportedly, the inspiration behind the “Lay-Cool” gimmick was due to creative watching “The Beautiful People” on TNA programming.

— Tuesday’s episode of NXT garnered a 0.93 cable rating for Syfy, an increase from last week’s 0.80 number. With that being said, viewership was actually down, from 1.21 million viewers to 1.05 (1,048,000). The all-time record viewership figure is 1.00 million viewers, which was scored on May 4.

— Today is Cody Rhodes’ birthday, who turns 25 years old.

Former WWE superstar Bryan Danielson has written a new blog with more details on his WWE release:

“As with anyone who gets fired from their job, especially when they feel its unjust, I am angry. Very angry. But I can’t fault WWE for how they handled my release. My contract contained a 90 day no-compete clause in the event I was let go, yet the WWE has graciously allowed me start wrestling again on any show that’s not taped for television or pay per view.”

Danielson speculated about his future following the completion of his 90-day no compete clause, including the possibility of wrestling for TNA:

“As far as what happens after 90 days, nobody knows. I’ve “heard” that TNA is interested. There are petitions going around to get me back into WWE and the last several weeks there have been fans chanting my names at their shows. People have even brought signs showing their support. And though most of the signs get taken away and though WWE may not be listening to your chants or petitions, I truly appreciate all the support over the last several weeks. It is both overwhelming and heartwarming. But regardless of what offers come in, I am in no rush to make any rash decisions. I enjoy my freedom as much as I enjoyed the benefits offered by being in WWE.”

— As reported earlier, CM Punk recently underwent surgery on his arm and is expected to be kept out of action for one to two months. The surgery was a planned and scheduled procedure and not something that was immediately needed due to an injury. Dr. James Andrews’ team performed the surgery last week in Birmingham, Alabama. (source: PWInsider.com)

— World Wrestling Entertainment has signed Joe Anoa’i to a developmental contract, reports the Wrestling Observer. He is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika, the younger brother of former WWE star Rosey and the cousin of Rikishi and the late Umaga. He’s listed at 6 foot 3, 280 pounds. It was largely expected Anoa’i would enter the world of professional wrestling in case he didn’t make it in the NFL. He was a first-team All-ACC defensive tackle at Georgia Tech in 2006, his senior year. After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. Upon being released by the Vikings, he was signed by the Eskimos, and accepted a spot on the team’s practice roster.

— It was Straight Edge Society member Serena’s birthday yesterday. She turned 24 years old.

— Commenting on her release from World Wrestling Entertainment last week, Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) remarked the following on Twitter:

“It’s been a wk since my release and has felt like the longest wk of my life! It was so unexpected and I didn’t see it coming. But, I have to accept and I’m moving onwards and upwards. 3 yrs w/WWE.. it was an incredible time. I learned so much..not just how to wrestle. @ FCW,I was passionate 2 learn as much as I could, and I felt that I did. What hurts, is that I never wrestled on TV, something I really wanted. Perhaps 1 day! Thank u 2 all my FANS..hope u continue to support me. Thnk u to @WWE for everything. I will miss it! Journey has just begun 4 me! See u all soon!! :) love u!”

The former WWE ring announcer is currently accepting bookings for autograph signings, wrestling performances and ring announcing. Those interested in booking Fong should contact Steve Woolf at celebritysignings@sbcglobal.net.

— Jerry Lawler’s recently re-launched Memphis Championship Wrestling television show drew a 0.1 rating with 1,620 viewers for its June 19 episode, a far cry from the 20+ ratings and 70 market share in the Memphis market in the same time slot a number of years ago. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— NXT ring announcer Jamie Keyes is on Twitter at the following link.

– WWE creative is looking at having one of the two Money in the Bank winners cash their title shot by SummerSlam in August, reports f4wonline.com. This would be done so only one superstar would be carrying around a briefcase for the rest of the year.

– On Friday’s SmackDown, 6 competitors will be announced for the World Heavyweight title Money in the Bank match. WWE’s website has confirmed that there will be eight participants in the match. The final two spots were planned for CM Punk and Drew McIntyre but Punk is injured and McIntyre can’t work due to his work visa expiring. No word yet on who will fill the two remaining spots.

– WWE is reportedly losing interest in the whole RAW guest host concept. There’s been talk of only having one Guest Host per month or scrapping the gimmick entirely.

– On Tuesday’s NXT show, Titus O’Neil was the first rookie to be eliminated from Season 2. Following the release, he wrote on Twitter:

“Just want to say to EVERYONE that Zack Ryder is one of the BEST people in the WWE & he is well worth following. I really respect him. He is a good man.”

The official WWE website has announced that Big Show, Christian, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Kane will compete in the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match at next month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Though six participants were announced, it has been confirmed that eight wrestlers will be taking part in the match.

Here is the updated card:

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Randy Orton, John Morrison, R-Truth, Evan Bourne, The Miz, Ted DiBiase, Chris Jericho and Edge
(Winner earns right to challenge the WWE Champion at any time, at any place, for up to one year)

SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Big Show, Christian, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Kane
(Winner earns right to challenge World Heavyweight Champion at any time, at any place, for up to one year)

– Former WWE Diva Mickie James will be wrestling in New York City for Impact Championship Wrestling on August 2nd. Her opponent will be WSU champion Mercedes Martinez. It will be James’ first post-WWE match in the United States since leaving the company earlier this year. In July, she’ll be working 3 shows for the WWC promotion in Puerto Rico and 2 shows for the SMASH promotion in Japan.

– The Nexus group’s theme music is “We Are One” by the band 12 Stones.

– The ratings are in for Week 2 of Chris Jericho’s ABC game show “Downfall” and they’re not good. Tuesday’s show drew a 2.3 overnight rating with 4.1 million viewers. Week 2 was down from last week’s season premiere, which did a 3.1. With only 6 episodes taped and ratings on the decline already, the chances of ABC ordering more episodes after the initial run don’t look good.

– FlashGameshows.com has an interview up with Chris Jericho, who talks about how he got the “Downfall” gig and what it’s like hosting a game show where contestants get thrown off the roof of a skyscraper.

– If you haven’t seen Chris Jericho’s  new “Downfall” show, you can watch the first 2 episodes online at Hulu.com.