The following are highlights of a recent interview with Alberto Del Rio:

On carrying the legacy of his wrestling family: “It’s a big responsibility to carry on this tradition of wrestling in my family. I had great people showing me, teaching me, and now I’m in the WWE.”

On fans cheering him over Batista: “That night, I was the favorite for all of them. That wasn’t the plan for the self-declared ‘bad guy’ of the movie. I was doing everything to get a boo from the crowd. I was destroying Batista that night, kicking and punching him, taking him to the limit, but the WWE universe cheers who they like.”

On not being a typical Mexican high-flying type wrestler: “When I came to the WWE, I remember people saying ‘Alberto is the biggest Mexican we’ve ever seen.’ As long as the Latin audience keeps supporting the WWE, the WWE will support the Latin audience.”

Check out the complete interview at AustinChronicle.com.

– The latest edition of the “30 Years Of WrestleMania” podcast, which features Renee Young interviewing Mick Foley, is now available at PodcastOne.com.

– WWE is advertising a steel cage match between John Cena and Randy Orton, as well as Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio, for the company’s return to Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York on March 22nd.

– The shirt that Jerry “The King” Lawler wore on RAW last night in his hometown of Memphis was said to be a hot topic of discussion backstage during the show. Lawler tweeted the following about the shirt after the show:

My Raw shirt tonight in Memphis was a tribute to Elvis & his gold lame’ suit. From the Graceland gift shop! pic.twitter.com/nuX4aDuhAR

— Jerry Lawler (@JerryLawler) March 11, 2014

• PHOTO: Triple H Giving Speech To WWE Locker Room

– The newest member of the WWE broadcast team, Byron Saxton, made his official main roster debut at Monday’s edition of RAW. Saxton served as a backstage interviewer in a segment with Sheamus.

– It was confirmed on Monday’s RAW that at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Batista and Alberto Del Rio will be squaring off in one-on-one action. The match was made in a backstage segment that featured Triple H and Batista. With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE Elimination Chamber:

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship:
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus Cesaro vs. Christian

Factions Collide:
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family

The Animal Returns To Singles Action:
Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio

• Details On When CM Punk WILL RETURN To WWE + Hogan/Taker WWE Return News

There was talk backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW that Alberto Del Rio has been making noise about potentially leaving the company when his current WWE contract expires, according to a report at PWInsider.com.

Apparently Del Rio has been frustrated after going from being a top guy on the SmackDown brand to what he considers to be someone simply being fed to Batista. A lot of the talk in the company is that due to Del Rio’s age, him talking about retirement in the past and the fact that he has had a considerable amount of success and notiriety in Mexico, that maybe it’s getting close to the time that he eventually walks away.

There is no definitive word at this point as to whether or not Del Rio has started working on a new contract, but there is at least a certain amount of concern over his future after the talk at RAW this past Monday night.

• BIG Changes Made To WMXXX Plans, KURT ANGLE Coming To WWE?! + WWE HOF *SPOILERS*

WWE has added the latest edition of their “Backstage Fallout” series on YouTube. The RAW “Backstage Fallout” video for this week, which can be viewed above, is accompanied by the following description: “Batista and Alberto Del Rio talk about their encounter on Raw.”

– Rey Mysterio wants to wrestle Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania in a Mask vs. Hair match.

During an interview with WWE Magazine (February 2014 issue), Mysterio said:

“Ever since the moment that Alberto Del Rio came into the company, he’s been trying to push me aside to a certain degree. I almost feel like he wants to take over the Hispanic fanbase, which is something I feel would be impossible at this point.”

“If I were to pick a dream [WrestleMania] match-up … it would be against him, and I would definitely put my mask on the line. I want it to be a classic lucha libre-style match, Mask vs. Hair.”

Make sure to check out our WrestleMania XXX news section for all news leading up to April’s huge event.

As previously reported in a spoiler article based off of Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar’s match at the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 26th is now confirmed to be a one-on-one match against Big Show.

The Lesnar-Big Show match was made official during SmackDown this week, as Lesnar’s on-air manager Paul Heyman accepted the match against Big Show on his behalf during a MizTV segment.

With the Lesnar-Show match now official, here is the updated official lineup for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view:

WWE Royal Rumble Match
– Confirmed participants thus far: Batista and Alberto Del Rio

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena

– Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show

Batista and Alberto Del Rio have been exchanging some tweets this week, with Batista warning Del Rio not to “turn a work into a shoot.”

During Monday’s Old School RAW, Alberto Del Rio defeated Sin Cara and cut a promo announcing himself as an entrant into the 2014 Royal Rumble. Baitsta then tweeted:

https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/420393440246251520

Del Rio responded:

Really batista hahahahah

— Alberto El Patron (@PrideOfMexico) January 8, 2014

I'm the one wining all the major titles while u were getting ur ass kick by your plumber (Vince lucero)
See u at the rumble

— Alberto El Patron (@PrideOfMexico) January 8, 2014

Vince Lucero was the MMA fighter Batista defeated in his first and only professional MMA bout, back in October 2012. Del Rio continued:

Like we say in #Mexico
U can buy muscles but U can't buy Huevos cabron

— Alberto El Patron (@PrideOfMexico) January 8, 2014

Batista then tweeted:

“Seems 2 me that some C level stars in a B level star era have bought into their own hype. Don’t turn a work into a shoot. #realitycheck”

The tweet was later deleted. According to a source in WWE, Batista deleted tweet was a big topic of discussion among the wrestlers this week. With Batista expected to be featured in a main event program when he returns to WWE on the January 20th episode of RAW from Dayton, Ohio, the feeling is that his tweet about this being a “B level star era” is a sign that he’s bringing a big ego with him.

– It was announced at Old School RAW that at this week’s WWE SmackDown, the main event will feature the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton in singles action against the WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston in a non-title match.

– WWE Superstar Batista responded to comments made by Alberto Del Rio at Old School RAW via the following tweet on his official Twitter account:

So I hear Alberto Del Rio is talking trash. Just one question… Who the hell is Alberto Del Rio?!!!

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) January 7, 2014

– Speaking of Twitter, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross tweeted this one about Jerry Lawler’s condition:

I'm told @JerryLawler is ok. Tests proved to be positive as in fine. Chest pains over weekend. He got checked out. He's good.

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) January 7, 2014

It was announced during Old School RAW in Baltimore on Monday during a backstage segment that Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt will be teaming up to compete in a tag-team match on next week’s edition of WWE RAW.

Also on RAW, two Royal Rumble participants have been confirmed. As we previously reported, Michael Cole announced on commentary that Batista has officially entered himself into the 2014 Royal Rumble match. Additionally, Alberto Del Rio officially entered the match. Del Rio announced his participation in the Rumble during an in-ring interview he did after defeating Sin Cara in singles action.

– WWE announcer JBL tweeted the following photo of himself, Ted DiBiase and Alberto Del Rio from backstage at tonight’s Old School RAW with a pretty great caption:

Three generations of one stolen gimmick! @VivaDelRio @MDMTedDiBiase #everyManHasHisPrice #OldSchoolRaw @wwe pic.twitter.com/nNVj4o5YQJ

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) January 6, 2014

– Here are photos of the set and turnbuckles that will be used at tonight’s Old School RAW:

– Alberto Del Rio noted on Twitter that he’ll be in action at tonight’s WWE Live Event from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Del Rio has been out of action for a few weeks after suffering a concussion during a match with Sin Cara on RAW.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR spoke at length about how tough it is for young people to break into the wrestling business and why WWE’s Performance Center is not necessarily the best route for discovering the next Steve Austin or The Rock:

“Unfortunately, nothing is ever going to replace gaining experience working in front of paying customers no matter how large or small the ‘house’ may be. Today’s talents don’t have multiple territories in which to learn their craft and that is going to affect the genre adversely over time and actually already is …”

“Fans are dying for new attractions on every wrestling TV that airs. These attractions and new stars don’t grow on trees and are next to impossible to manufacture. I’m not even sure that they can be manufactured to last over the long haul. It’s a combined effort of the athletic, young talents who want to play on the first team IE be a star and the daily coaching and mentoring that they receive. Coaches in the genre can’t teach “IT” but they should be able to identify “IT” and at that point heavily invest in the individual.”

WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio’s father, pro wrestling legend Dos Caras, had what was billed as his Japanese retirement match on December 4th at Korakuen Hall in front of an audience of 888 fans. Caras teamed with fellow Mexican wrestling legend Mil Mascaras to defeat the team of Nosawa and Mazada for the Tokyo Gurentai Tag-Team Championships.

Caras has a couple of scheduled matches remaining before he officially retires from the ring, including a return to Mexico where he will team with his son, Alberto Del Rio, in one of his final official in-ring appearances.

WWE.com is reporting that Alberto Del Rio suffered a concussion during his match against Sin Cara on Monday’s “Slammy Awards” edition of WWE RAW.

Video of Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara From RAW – See How It Happened

Their statement reads:

“After speaking with Del Rio following his match, it was determined that he suffered the injury as a result of a top-rope sunset flip powerbomb. Following some initial testing, Dr. Amann diagnosed Del Rio with a concussion and will be re-evaluating him tomorrow, as well as administering an ImPACT test to determine a timetable for the former World Heavyweight Champion’s recovery.”

We’ll post an update as soon as it becomes available.

• Photo of El Torito UNMASKED

WWE has once again changed the scheduled lineup for their final “Holiday Week” live events at the end of December.

The new main event for the WWE live event on December 28th in Newark, New Jersey is John Cena and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio in a tag-team match.

Originally, WWE was advertising Cena vs. Del Rio as a singles match, and later Cena vs. Randy Orton as a singles match, but the latest advertisements are promoting the aforementioned tag-team match.

The new tag-team main event is an addition to a card that will also feature Big Show vs. Kane in a steel cage, with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T serving as the special guest referee.

As we’ve been reporting, CM Punk has been working through several injuries in recent weeks, with Punk himself tweeting this week about his busted ribs.

For those wondering (nobody), yes, it's extremely painful and difficult (humbling as well) to dead lift with busted ribs. #whocares?

— player/coach (@CMPunk) December 5, 2013

A source backstage at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Tulsa, Oklahoma says that Punk appeared to be sick and very banged up. He wrestled United States champion Dean Ambrose at the show (in a non-title match).

There was concern that Punk suffered a concussion and there was talk going around that he hurt his back on the November 25th episode of WWE RAW.

There continues to be talk behind the scenes that both CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio are still planning to retire “sooner than later.”

• Super Sexy SELFIE Photos of ROSA MENDES

(Source: PWInsider)

– As recently announced, Raw and SmackDown tapings are slated to take place at The O2 Arena in London, England next May. Advertising for the event in an area publication, however, features two errors, as John Cena is being promoted as Ryback while CM Punk is labeled as Alberto Del Rio.

– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans who is the most talented “Total Diva.” With over 2,000 votes cast thus far, Natalya is winning the poll at 41%. She is currently trailed by Brie Bella (17%), Nikki Bella (16%), Naomi (9%), JoJo (7%), Eva Marie (6%) and Cameron (4%).

– Former WWE Diva Trinity turns 42-years-old on Sunday. Now a stuntwoman and roller derby player, she came out of retirement for one night only in the spring for TNA Wrestling.

– WWE RAW is scheduled to return to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on February 10th. Before that show, WWE will be running events in Oakland, California on February 7th and San Jose, California on February 8th.

– WWE Superstars Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio are being advertised to work at the December 30th WWE live event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the live RAW on the same night (December 30th) in Richmond, Virginia. WWE Superstar John Cena is also being advertised for the WWE live event in Toronto on December 30th, so if those advertisements are true, he will not be appearing on RAW that night in Richmond.

Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (11/25): With VIDEOS

WWE RAW (11/25): The “YES!”

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs The Wyatts

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts

The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”.  Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.

I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.

Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.

CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield.  I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.

Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!

The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio 

I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.

The Kosher Butcher!

The Kosher Butcher
Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this.  Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of  both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.

Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:

– Sunday’s episode of WWE Total Divas on E! drew an average of 1,411,000 viewers, up from the previous week.

– Alberto Del Rio recently did an interview with DigitalSpy.com to promote Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Unifying The WWE & World Heavyweight Titles: “Of course that can happen, but I don’t think it’s something that we need right now. I think it’s okay if we’ve got the WWE Title with one person and the World Heavyweight title with another one. That way you have two different storylines and you’re talking about two major titles to be defended and be present in every single pay-per-view.”

WrestleMania XXX: “To be honest, no. It’s the same for everybody else, we don’t know what we’re going to be doing. I know I’m gonna be there, that’s for sure. I’m going to be in one of the main matches. I don’t know if it’s going to be for

Day seven of the WWE European tour continues on Tuesday with half of the WWE roster remaining in Manchester, England for the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping, while the rest of the roster travels to Newcastle, England for a non-televised live event.

Announced already for the SmackDown television taping is an arm-wrestling contest between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and former champion Alberto Del Rio. The two will continue to hype their upcoming title rematch at the WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, November 24th.

Confirmed for the WWE Main Event portion of the television taping is a WWE Divas Championship match between current title-holder AJ Lee and Natalya.

Also official for the SmackDown television taping is an appearance of WWE Superstar CM Punk.

Unless WWE continues their recent trend of false-advertising, you can count the following Superstars out of SmackDown and Main Event on Tuesday: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and The Shield. Orton vs. Bryan is advertised as the main event for the WWE Championship at the live event in Newcastle, as well as a six-man tag-team match featuring Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz vs. The Shield.

Make sure to check back here at the website on Tuesday afternoon for live play-by-play spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping.

On Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW from Manchester, England, a main event segment was revealed for this week’s SmackDown.

The current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and former champion Alberto Del Rio, will be the participants in an arm-wrestling contest.

Also announced for this week’s SmackDown on Monday’s RAW was an appearance by WWE Superstar CM Punk.

WWE SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, England. Make sure to check back here at the website for live spoiler coverage of SmackDown.

-Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley makes his mixed-martial-arts (MMA) fighting return this Friday, November 8th against Tony Melton at the Xtreme Fight Night (XFN) event at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For tickets, visit HardRockCasinoTulsa.com.

-WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio recently received permission from WWE to wrestle on one of his father Dos Caras’ retirement shows in Mexico in February of 2014. Del Rio tweeted the following:

La despedida oficial de mi padre Dos Caras sera organizada por mi para el proximo año y yo estare presente luchando a su lado febrero 2014

— Alberto Del Rio (@VivaDelRio) November 5, 2013

The above tweets says the following in English, according to Google Translation: The official farewell my father Dos Caras will be organized for me for next year and I will be fighting beside this February 2014.

New Matches Confirmed For The WWE Survivor Series PPV On November 24, 2013

-It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina that John Cena will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Alberto Del Rio at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 24th. The match had been expected for a while, but was not official until the announcement at SmackDown.

More Rumored Survivor Series Matches

-As previously reported, Triple H announced that the new “corporate Kane” has been named the “Director Of Operations” for WWE. The announcement came as part of the latest sit-down interview that “The Game” did with Michael Cole for the official WWE website. You can check out the complete video interview online at WWE.com.

Complete WWE SmackDown Spoiler Results For Friday, November 8, 2013

– The Miz addressed portraying a babyface while promoting yesterday’s Raw in Greenville, South Carolina.

“I was hated, now I’m kinda liked,” The Miz said on Carolina Now, a talk show airing on the area’s CW station. “It’s a weird situation for me, because I’m used to going out there and having thousands of people boo me. But now having them cheer me, it’s kind of a whole new thing. I enjoy the positivity.”

Footage from the segment is available here.

– Alberto Del Rio payed a visit to a children’s hospital today in Charlotte, North Carolina, prior to SmackDown.

Great time at the children's hospital in #Charlotte, thanks to @RyanFoundation for having me here #WWECharlotte pic.twitter.com/41X7usRUOv

— Alberto Del Rio (@VivaDelRio) November 5, 2013

– Former WWE developmental wrestler Ryan Nemeth, who appeared as Briley Pierce from 2011 through this year, turned 29-years-old on Monday.