– This week’s edition of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange” is now online. Here is the synopsis: “It’s Thanksgiving, Santino style! To cap off a “very American year” for the former U.S. Champion, Santino and crew head out to find the perfect holiday meal … and you won’t believe what’s – or is that, WHO’S – for dinner.”
– Friday’s SmackDown broadcast on Syfy concluded with John Cena emerging from the backstage area to lock Dolph Ziggler into the STF on the ramp. Following the episode, AJ Lee remarked on Twitter, “Yay for Cena beating up Dolph. I love when Cena ends up on top. *…waits for the Internet to explode…*
– Former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix turns 32-years-old on Saturday.
– Following reports in recent months indicating that The Undertaker’s in-ring career is uncertain, F4WOnline.com confirms that WWE brass spoke with the legendary wrestler this week and he’s “on board for a high-profile match.”
– The Miz, AJ Lee and Alicia Fox paid a visit to Riley’s Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, last Friday to spread some holiday cheer. WWE has released the following video of their visit.
– Layla has been announced to appear with Sheamus at Barnes & Noble 3400 Forest Dr. Columbia, South Carolina, on Dec. 1. They will be signing copies of the new WWE Encyclopedia. Call 803-787-5600 for more information.
– The featured match on next week’s (11/28) episode of WWE Main Event will be John Cean vs. Damien Sandow.
– WWE Hall of Famer Edge noted on Twitter that he’ll be handing out 1,000 turkeys this morning in Asheville, North Carolina behind the Westgate Mall. The vent is in conjunction with Ingles Markets. He wrote, “on our way out” – so it appears he might be joined by his girlfriend, former WWE diva Beth Phoenix.
– AJ Lee says she learned a few lessons on Monday’s RAW:
Things I learned from Raw: Never be afraid to be the only woman in the room…,
– WWE superstar The Miz attended Friday night’s NBA basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN.com. Miz was there to promote tonight’s Survivor Series PPV from Indianapolis.
– WWE stars AJ Lee, David Otunga and Alicia Fox volunteered at Gleaner’s Food Bank in Indiana over the weekend. Here are some Tweets sent out about the event:
Gleaner’s Food Bank: “@WWEAJLee all the volunteers made a huge difference in the lives of many children today! Thanks a ton again for comin out today AJ”
AJ Lee: “Food banks like @GleanersFBIndy have helped my family and I very much over the years. Good people. Felt amazing to give back even a little.”
David Otunga: “Giving is good for the soul! RT @nadjima69: @WWEUniverse@GleanersFBIndy David Otunga is really generous”
Check out these pictures of AJ, David Otunga & Alicia Fox volunteering at Gleaner’s Food Bank:
– Former WWE diva Kharma returned to the ring last night at the SHINE 5 iPPV event. Wrestling as Amazing Kong, she teamed with former WWE diva Jazz and defeated teh team of Mercedes Mertinez and Rain.
– It’s been reported over the past week that WWE is looking to call up several divas from developmental to add some depth to the women’s division. According to a reliable source, there are also plans for NXT Champion Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to make their long awaited debuts on the main roster very soon.
– Following the “evidence” that Vickie Guerrero has produced in recent weeks regarding AJ Lee and John Cena’s alleged affair, AJ says she has some evidence of her own against Vickie and will present it at Survivor Series:
Former WWE Diva Amy “Lita” Dumas spoke to WWE.com this week to promote the new WWE ’13 video game. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
Her Favorite Attitude Era Moment:
“I could make a laundry list. I think the first thing for me that was definitely Attitude Era–based and my first really main storyline with WWE was with Eddie Guerrero & Chyna vs. myself & Essa Ríos. [I was] the first woman Chyna interacted with, and to be in there with them was great. They had their funny story going on, and you never knew what my story was with Essa Ríos, so that was one.”
I think also, when I had a run in with Triple H & Steve Austin when they were together as The Two-Man Power Trip. Looking back on that, I was just excited to be out there with Triple H and “Stone Cold.”
Today’s WWE Divas vs. Attitude Era Divas
“I think the women of The Attitude Era really did a good job at figuring out who they were and what they wanted to portray to the fans. So each woman was such an individual — you were never going to get Lita and Ivory confused. You’re not going to get the two confused, as opposed to now, is it the hot athletic girl with the short shorts on? No, it’s the other hot athletic girl with the short shorts on. It was about setting yourself apart.”
Which Current Diva Would Succeed In The Attitude Era & Who She Would Like To Wrestle:
“I think it’s interesting to see the Divas of today and to see who the fans are attaching to. Obviously, right now, it’s AJ Lee, who’s not the strongest; she’s not one of those classically hot chicks. But she sets herself apart, and you have emotion when she’s out there and you get a sense of who she is, and so I think that’s really cool to see the kid that wasn’t supposed to make it being the one that’s out there, and that’s who the fans want to know more about.”
– Linda McMahon’s US Senate campaign got ugly towards the end, with other Republicans distancing themselves from her in the days leading up to election day. Connecticut’s Hearst Newspaper broke a story about the McMahon campaign printing up fliers before the election that stated her opponent, Chris Murphy, was to blame for the extended power outages after Hurricane Sandy.
They also stated that Murphy received campaign contributions from individuals and companies affiliated with the major utility companies. Linda’s fellows Republicans who were asked to hand out the fliers refused to do so.
– As noted yesterday, WWE is looking to bring up a few new Divas from developmental due to the very thin women’s roster. While the women’s division is built back up, WWE will be feuding AJ Lee with Eve Torres in the coming months.
– WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu has been working at WWE developmental over the past week and has been teaming with NXT star Percey Watson. The new duo picked up three wins over the weekend.
– Prior to returning to the squared circle on Raw Monday, AJ Lee appeared on The Opie & Anthony Show where she remarked on how much she missed competing in the ring and how prior to assuming the the role of General Manager of Raw, she felt she didn’t need to focus on anything else besides wrestling. However, after being thrust into the authority figure role, she realized how there is so much more to the professional wrestling industry than grappling techniques.
“I was like, ‘I’m just going to wrestle and I don’t need to do anything else. And, I would hear so much advice that there’s so much more to this business than that,” said Lee. There are so many levels and ways for people to connect to you. And, I didn’t get it until I was thrust into this role (as Raw GM) and learned from everybody else that was in it. Now, I appreciate that part of it more than I ever did before. So, I miss the wrestling, but I know that there’s time for that.”
– The official WWE website looks back at the career of George Gray as his One Man Gang and Akeem personas are highlighted in an Alumni profile. WWE says of the retired wrestler, who now works as a death row prison guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, “The One Man Gang shocked the WWE Universe when he transformed into Akeem, “The African Dream.” The big man has boogied from Deepest, Darkest Africa to WWE.com’s Alumni page, with exclusive photos, videos and career highlights!”
Posted November 2nd, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: AJ Lee.
– WWE.com has released an info-graphic time line looking at which past General Managers were in power for the longest. (View Here)
– WWE.com has also published a list of the Top 10 No-So-Scary Superstars in history:
10. The Yeti
9. The ECW Zombie
8. Mordecai
7. Zodiac
6. Mantaur
5. Seven
4. The Executioner (1996)
3. Braun the Leprechaun
2. Giant Gonzales
1. Zeus
– Former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus appeared on The Morning Show in Canada to talk about her new “Stratusphere Yoga For Men” DVD. Oh yeah, the interview takes place in bed:
Sam Roberts caught up with WWE Diva AJ Lee at the recent Ringside Fest event in New York City. AJ spoke about the odd gifts fans have given her, her days in Indy Wrestling, being a fan, the ability to cry on command, and who has the worst breath in WWE. Here are some brief highlights and the interview:
Getting Into Her “Crazy” Character: “I don’t think I can cry on cue; I just feel what’s happening,” A.J. said about her on-air character. “It’s real when it’s happening and I’m there and I’m her and I just kind of react to it.”
The Worst Breath In WWE: “I don’t know about (bad) breath, but I will say it’s very difficult to kiss someone when – there was this one match where Bryan and I had just wrestled. I don’t know if you’ve wrestled before, but you get severe cottonmouth. (laughs) It is not prime-time for macking. So, that one was a little odd,” A.J. said.
Posted October 31st, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: AJ Lee.
– WWE returns to the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana on Saturday, January 12th, 2013. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– As previously reported, WWE superstar Derrick Bateman underwent another knee surgery on Tuesday. It is believed that the surgery was a success. Bateman has been interacting with fans on Twitter and revealed that the surgery was a result of “some Swissman” dislocating his knee cap.
The Swissman he’s talking about is believed to be WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro. The two wrestled on Saturday Morning Slam this past weekend, so that was likely when he was injured. Here’s a clip of Cesaro vs. Bateman from Saturday Morning Slam – and the spot where it’s believed Bateman was injured:
– The John Cena – AJ Lee affair storyline will continue next week, with Vickie Guerrero saying that she will produce incriminating video footage of the two on RAW:
– As previously reported, the WWE developmental wrestler formerly known as Pac wrestled at Friday night’s WWE NXT show from West Palm Beach, Florida. Pac wrestled under his new ring name, Ben Sacilly.
– WWE Diva AJ Lee recently spoke to Gameological.com to hype WWE ’13 and talked about being a huge gamer/geek:
“I wanted to talk about being really excited about Resident Evil coming out, and there’s no one, people in locker room going, “Uh…” and I’m like, “Let me go find Kofi [Kingston].” [Laughs.] I think there’s a bigger amount of people now. There used to be a different generation of people that were into partying or hanging out. Now we’re getting all nerdy, and there are comic books and video games. So amongst the guys I’m not a minority, but definitely amongst the girls.”
– Here is a video hyping the on sale date for WrestleMania 29 tickets:
– John Cena and Vickie Guerrero have been going back and forth on Twitter today regarding the storyline “affair” between John Cena and former RAW GM AJ Lee.
After getting called out by Cena for not showing her “proof” of the affair, Vickie has now promised to expose the truth and reveal her proof on Monday’s RAW from Charlotte, NC.
– Here are some numbers from WWE’s recent live event tours:
RAW Brand’s Northeast US Tour:
* 10/19 in Trenton, NJ: 6,500 fans and $200,000 gate
* 10/20 in Reading, PA: 5,000 fans and $160,000 gate
* 10/21 in Hartford, CT: 6,000 fans and $150,000 gate
SmackDown’s Tour of Egypt:
* 10/18 in Cairo: 5,000 fans and $300,000 gate
* 10/19 in Cairo: 9,000 fans and $650,000 gate
* 10/20 in Cairo: 6,500 fans and $300,000 gate
– On Twitter Thursday, John Cena responded to Vickie Guerrero’s allegations that he had an affair with AJ Lee, which led to the diminutive Diva stepping down from her post as Raw General Manager by the WWE Board of Directors on Monday.
“Ok @ExcuseMeWWE not gonna go back and forth so ill leave it with this.. U got proof of an ‘affair’ with @WWEAJLee and I, show @wwe,” Cena wrote in response to Guerrero stating the day prior that his “actions” with Lee are “interesting” to her. “Just truly think its sad that @WWEAJLee lost her job because of ‘allegations’ that is a bigtime blunder by @wwe #BringBackAJ.”
In response, Guerrero said she will have proof this Monday on Raw. She wrote to Cena, “Ask and you shall receive…tune into RAW this Monday as I have the “evidence” #CougarInCharge.”
– Northeast Wrestling has announced that prices for former WWE performer Barbie “Kelly Kelly” Blank’s autographs and photo-ops at her appearances on Saturday, November 3 at the Galleria at Crystal Run in Middletown, New York, and Sunday, November 4 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Waterbury, Connecticut have been reduced.
Autographs and photo-ops are now $30 each, or save $10 by purchasing a combo for $50. Additional autographs and photo-ops are available for $25 that day. Those who have already pre-ordered the items will be refunded the difference. (Event Details)
– Kenn Doane, formerly known as Kenny and Kenny Dykstra in WWE, is now playing football at Nichols College after not playing since high school. Though listed as a tight end on the school’s official website, he primarily plays defense on a limited basis. Through eight games into the season, he has eight solo tackles and five assisted tackles.
On Monday’s WWE RAW, we saw Vince McMahon relieve AJ Lee from her duties as the General Manager of RAW. The idea of AJ Lee being removed as RAW GM was scripted months ago, as far back as late August.
At the time, Ric Flair was to be brought in as the new authority figure. With next Monday’s RAW taking place from Charlotte, North Carolina, there’s more speculation that Flair’s return is imminent. However, just a few days ago, people in WWE were under the impression that WWE won’t touch Flair until they were certain it would not hurt their case on the ongoing TNA vs. WWE lawsuit.
WWE is being so careful about not playing into TNA’s argument that “WWE is tampering with TNA talent” that they won’t even let Jerry Brisco visit his son Wes in Orlando because it could be seen as ‘a WWE executive meeting with a TNA contracted wrestler.’
While Flair will be joining WWE as soon as the coast is clear, some people in WWE have been surprised that Vince McMahon is being so cautious about the situation, when the old Vince would not be intimidated by anybody and would have done whatever he wanted.
Raw’s Managing Supervisor, Vickie Guerrero, who was appointed the position on Monday’s show after AJ Lee decided to step down as brand General Manager by the WWE Board of Directors for allegedly fraternizing with John Cena, is furthering the storyline on Twitter.
After announcing that she will on hand for Raw’s entire tour of the United Kingdom next month, she tweeted Wednesday morning, “How rude of me, I keep thanking @WWEAJLee for my new success, but I am sending a special “thank you” to @JohnCena #CougarInCharge.”
John Cena responded to her remarks shortly thereafter, tweeting, “Bit of advice @ExcuseMeWWE I know u r proud of your ‘actions’ but if u wanna run your mouth about me, it wont work. Ask @therock.”
As the storyline goes, Guerrero claimed to the WWE Board of Directors that Lee and Cena had a “business dinner,” and Lee decided not to fight the accusations to avoid dragging Cena’s name through the mud.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also weighed in on the matter tweeting in response to Cena’s remark, “@JohnCena @ExcuseMeWWE @WWE Where’d U take @AJLee for your “business dinner”? Golden Corral? McDonalds? #CheapJabroni.”
– The preliminary pay-per-view buys estimate for WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event on September 16, 2012 is 189,000 worldwide. This is up from 161,000 buys for last year’s show headlined by WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Triple H.
The break down is 100,000 domestic buys (53 percent) and 89,000 international buys (47 percent).
The event was headlined by WWE Champion CM Punk vs. John Cena.
– Ringside Collectibles hosted former Raw General Manager AJ Lee at Ringside Fest 2012, the ninth annual Ringside Fest. She discussed the event, her first ever Mattel WWE action figure and more.
– Former WWE Superstars John Morrison and Melina have canceled their advertised appearances at “Chiller Theatre” this weekend at the Sheraton Parsippany in Parsippany, New Jersey.
– Following a meeting with the WWE Board of Directors at the company’s headquarters, AJ Lee announced on Raw Monday that she had decided it was best to resign as brand General Manager following accusations she’d been “fraternizing” with an undisclosed Superstar (she denied the accusations).
After rejected Paul Heyman’s plea to become the new General Manager of Raw, Vince McMahon introduced Vickie Guerrero as “Managing Supervisor” of the program. Guerrero then alleged that Lee had an affair with a Superstar, and following more taunts, the two came to blows.
Later in the show, Cena was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Lee, which led to her resigning as Raw General Manager.
– Two matches were taped Monday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil
– Delayed one week due to Rey Mysterio having the flu, Mysterio and Sin Cara will face Team Rhodes Scholars tonight on Raw in the Tag Team Tournament Final. WWE’s mobile service issued a text message stating that the masked grappler will compete as scheduled: “Rey Mysterio is in NJ and will compete tonight on RAW presented by Hot Pockets brand sandwiches.”
The winners will face WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan next Sunday at Hell in a Cell.
– WWE Tag Team Champion Kane is now on Twitter at KaneWWE. The account has been verified by the micro-blogging site, thus confirming its legitimacy.
– Raw General Manager and video game aficionado AJ Lee spoke to Inside Gaming about THQ’s WWE ’13 in the following video interview.
– Hours before Raw takes place in her home state of New Jersey, Raw General Manager AJ Lee teased an angle concerning her authority position.
“Been called to an emergency meeting with the WWE Board of Directors at #WWE Global HQ. #Confused #RAW,” she tweeted.
– This week’s episode of WWE Download is online. Here is the synopsis: “Dolph Ziggler presents a new edition of WWE Download that’s sure to leave a mark. Watch painfully embarrassing accidents found on the Web, including a fool in a giant spool, the man who could be Shockmaster’s son and more, when you subscribe to WWE on YouTube!”
– Melina is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– Tamara Sytch, famously known as Sunny, was today granted her request from Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court that she be admitted to a treatment center in Pennsylvania. WWE, which offers rehabilitation assistance to all former contracted talent, will provide transportation from court to the treatment center and cover all associated expenses.
She wrote on Facebook today hours after her request was granted in court, “HEY GUYS! IM OFF TO REHAB FOR 3 MONTHS! NOT BECAUSE IM DRINKING AGAIN OR HIT ROCK BOTTOM, BUT TO GET MYSELF TO THE PLACE I NEED AND WANT TO BE. MY ATTY, ROB SERAFINOWICZ, WILL BE UPDATING YOU PERIODICALLY TO KEEP YOU APRISED. I AM WELL AND HAPPY! LOOKING FORWARD TO A NEW CHAPTER IN MY LIFE! SOMEDAY ILL FIND HAPPINESS IN A RELATIONSHIP AGAIN….THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! ESPECIALLY THANKS TO THE WWE! LOVE YOU!”
On Oct. 9, Sytch was arrested for the fifth time in one month and her second time in less than 24-hours, for allegedly violating a protective order stemming from an original September arrest.
– Speaking to WWE Magazine, AJ Lee was asked what’s the best piece of advice she was given in regards to becoming General Manager of Raw. She reveals it came from another powerful woman.
“I think it’s to realize that I’m the boss—and Stephanie McMahon actually told me that. She said, “You’re in charge now, and no on can take that from you. You have to believe in that, within yourself, or no one else will,” said Lee. “For her to say drink it up, you’re in charge, and everybody has to deal with that—well, it really means a lot coming from Stephanie because I look up to her in so many ways.”
– Promoting THQ’s WWE ’13 in New York City two weeks ago, AJ Lee couldn’t contain her excitement about being featured as a playable character in the game.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so surreal, I can’t even wrap my brain around this,” she told ESPN.com minutes after playing as herself for the first time. “This is over 10 years in the making for me and just a dream come true. I’m the luckiest person in the world.”
For her first match, Lee opted to face Stephanie McMahon.
“They asked me who I wanted to fight, and I’m so obsessed with Stephanie I knew I wanted to face her,” Lee said. “I love her, but for some reason I also want to fight her, so it was so amazing to see what it would look like if we were in the ring together.”
Lee also offered an assessment of her digital character in the interview.
– Chris Jericho tweeted Tuesday, “Just hosted a 10 hr min-series for @VH1Classic Details and air times coming soon! Now it’s back to LA for…u guessed it…more filming!”
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus appears at Colonial Honda in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts on Tuesday, October 23 at noon.
– After being forced to wrestle Kane on Monday’s RAW, WWE announcer Matt Striker Tweeted a message that resumes the storyline of “AJ being incompetent” and “not fit to be RAW GM” –
Plz dont misunderstand. AJ is a talented, bright young lady; but a GM should be fair and just and not delegate based on whim. #Unfit2lead
– JournalEnquirer.com has published an article looking at WWE collecting $22.7 million in state tax credits for TV & Entertainment production in Connecticut over the last three years.
– Here’s the latest episode of WWE Inbox featuring WWE talent calling out Brodus Clay for being messy and debating which superstar has the best beard:
WWE.com has an article up questioning whether John Cena “passed the torch” to Ryback on Monday’s WWE RAW by leading the crowd in a “Feed Me More” chant and endorsing Ryback as CM Punk’s opponent at Hell in a Cell:
“Ryback, who has been nothing short of a force of nature since his arrival in April, now carries the weight of the WWE Universe on his broad shoulders. Handed to him by Cena — a 10-time WWE Champion — Ryback also carries with him the hopes and dreams of an entire locker room. Whether it’s because Cena isn’t yet healthy enough to do battle, or perhaps because the Cenation leader sees something special in the rising Superstar, the burden is now on Ryback to answer the call.
Few have been afforded the opportunity to challenge for WWE Championship gold; fewer still have claimed it. Standing now at the precipice of greatness, when Hell in a Cell descends on Ryback and Punk come Oct. 28, will Ryback live up to the enormous expectations thrust upon him by Cena and carry that torch to a title reign?”
DISCUSSION: Comment below and tell us what you thought about John Cena putting Ryback over on Monday’s RAW. Is it too soon to put the WWE Championship on Ryback, is that exactly what he needs to complete his monster push and establish him as WWE’s top new babyface?
– WWE RAW General Manager AJ Lee was recently interviewed by Trentonian.com to promote next week’s RAW from New Jersey. AJ, a New Jersey native, once again stated that she hopes to wrestle in front of her home town crowd next April at WrestleMania:
“I’d like to still be general manager and put myself in a match. I’m loving every second of (being general manager), but I really want to wrestle in New Jersey.”
AJ said she’d book herself in a Divas title match against Eve Torres.