The following are highlights from the latest online Q&A from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On whether Backlash or Extreme Rules is a better follow-up to WrestleMania: “It all depends on the attractions….the talents invovled.”
On if anyone can match Shawn Michaels in his prime: “NXT will continue to make major contributions to the WWE primary roster over time. Some really good, potential stars there.”
On if RAW and SmackDown should go back to the elaborate stage set ups: “I haven’t given that much thought. Not big on my radar.”
On WWE switching talent from heel to face too often, specifically Alberto Del Rio: “Decision makes, due to the lack of main event depth, are constantly looking for the best roles for their top guys. ADR as a fan favorite was an experiment in my view but he’s a better villain.”
On which wrestling schools are the best: “Start with Lance Storm’s Academy in Calgary and take it from there.”
On if we’ll see the return of “The Stooges” Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco in the current HHH/Vince McMahon power struggle: “Highly unlikely.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.
-WWE Superstar CM Punk has officially been added to the WWE live event in Philadelphia on October 13th.
-The FOX News Latino website recently interviewed current World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio mainly talks about performing as a heel in WWE. You can read that interview online at FOXNews.com.
-The official WWE website has added a video of The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) and Natalya on E! News. You can watch that clip online at WWE.com.
-The Bella Twins were recently guests on NFL AM on the NFL Network. Nikki and Brie talked about Total Divas, as well as this Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. You can check out their appearance on the show online at WWE.com.
-Former pro wrestler and current WWE executive Terry Taylor turns 58 today. Taylor was born on August 12, 1955. Also celebrating a birthday today is former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman, who turns 41.
-Australian newspaper Sunshine Coast Daily has an interview on their website today with current WWE Superstar and the host of this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, The Miz. The article focuses mainly on Miz wrestling with nerves prior to going through the curtain at WWE events. You can read the interview online at SunshineCoastDaily.com.
-Current WWE talent Ricardo Rodriguez continues to hype up his on-air problems with Alberto Del Rio. In a new tweet posted late Sunday night, Rodriguez talked about tonight’s WWE RAW show in Sacramento. Rodriguez wrote:
“Well hello San Francisco… Got a lot of thinking to do tonight for tomorrow’s RAW from Sacramento! #RAWcardoRAWdriguez
WWE Superstar The Big Show officially returned to in-ring action for the first time since suffering the injury that has kept him on the shelf for the past several months. Show was cleared to return to wrestle last Monday, but was not featured on RAW that night due to the fact that the show was already written prior to his availability.
Following extensive rehabiliation at the new WWE Performance Center, Big Show had his first match at the WWE live event on Sunday night in Oakland, California. Show was part of a Battle Royal match that opened the event, where the winner would get a shot at Alberto Del Rio in the main event of the show. Big Show won the Battle Royal and earned a shot at Del Rio’s World Heavyweight Championship, however, did not leave Oakland as the new title-holder.
Check back here at the website later for a full report from the WWE live event in Oakland on Sunday night.
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez, who returned from his Wellness Policy suspension on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, commented on the savage attack he received at the hands of Alberto Del Rio after he cost his boss a match against Rob Van Dam. Rodriguez tweeted the following:
“It’s been 2 days and still can’t grasp what happened on RAW. 3 years of friendship. Hurt Not just by my boss but my friend. #Betrayed”
-Also on Twitter, WWE Superstar Wade Barrett commented on getting half of his beard shaved by Daniel Bryan on Monday’s WWE RAW show. Barrett tweeted the following:
“Undecided as to whether I will re-grow the beard. It is perhaps a little uncouth and more suited to “tough and tasty dunces”.”
After Monday’s edition of WWE RAW went off the air, Mark Henry and Kane came out to make the save for Daniel Bryan, as he was being attacked by The Shield. In the end, Bryan was left alone in the ring and everyone in Green Bay got to go home off one final “Yes!” chant.
The advertised dark match main event, which was set to feature a “Champion vs. Champion” match between World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and WWE Champion John Cena, did not take place. There was no dark match main event for the fans in Green Bay.
-WWE is advertising a dark match main event of Randy Orton, Sheamus and Rob Van Dam vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) for Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event television taping.
-As previously noted, the WWE RAW dark match main event for tonight’s show in Green Bay features John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio in a “Champion vs. Champion” match. Starting with next Monday’s RAW, the dark match main event will feature John Cena and Mark Henry taking on all three members of The Shield in a Handicap Match.
-For whatever this is worth, WWE is no longer advertising Brock Lesnar for the post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW. Lesnar is still scheduled for tonight’s RAW and next week’s RAW, the final two editions of the show leading into the annual SummerSlam pay-per-view.
-WWE is advertising the following lineup for the live event on September 22nd in Hidalgo, Texas:
–John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose [Champion vs. Champion Match]
–Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton [Special Challenge Match]
–Mark Henry vs. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns [2-On-1 Handicap Match]
-South Africa’s Daily News is currently running a story regarding several WWE Superstars, including Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio, visiting a teenager in the hospital who was attacked by bullies at his school. Apparently in the midst of the attack, the bullies performed a tombstone piledriver on the kid.
For more information on this unfortunate story, visit IOL.co.za.
-The following is episode 38 of Booker T’s “Reality Of Wrestling” show from YouTube.
– WWE has announced four additional matches for tomorrow night’s Raw broadcast through the Raw Five-Point Preview on the company website.
It was announced on last week’s show that WWE Champion John Cena will take on Ryback in a Tables Match, with former WWE Tag Team Champion partners Daniel Bryan and Kane meeting in a singles match. Also announced for the program are Rob Van Dam vs. Fandango, Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn in a non-title match, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian in a non-title match, and Mark Henry and The Usos vs. The Shield.
Tomorrow night’s episode was filmed last Tuesday in Laredo, Texas, at the Laredo Energy Arena.
– The series premiere of Total Divas takes place tonight on E! at 10:00 p.m. Previewing the episode, the official website of WWE states, “Watch The Bellas, The Funkadactyls and Natalya prepare for WrestleMania, as two new Diva hopefuls, Eva Marie and JoJo, arrive, ready to make a name for themselves in WWE.”
Vince McMahon promoted the show on his Twitter account. He wrote, “Total Divas get personal this Sunday night #TotalDivas.”
Meanwhile, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus asked her Twitter followers today whether they are looking forward to the show. She added, “Wishing all the girls good luck + my gal @NatbyNature – represent girls!” Natalya responded, “Thanks!!! Super excited…I’m so grateful to be a part of something that taught me SO much about myself.”
– Lilian Garcia, who rarely appears at house shows in the United States, appeared as the ring announcer at Friday’s and Saturday’s events in Georgia.
– On Friday’s SmackDown broadcast (taped Wednesday in Corpus Christi, Texas), Rob Van Dam lost in under a minute to Alberto Del Rio after the ECW Original was distracted by the match official, leading the World Heavyweight Champion to strike him with brutal kick to the face. The reason for the match outcome was because Del Rio had broken a rib or ribs the night before in a match against Sheamus and was therefore unable to properly compete.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was quite impressed with Bray Wyatt and Damien Sandow’s performances on Friday’s SmackDown broadcast.
“OK, good night for real this time. By the way, @WWEBrayWyatt is my new hero…with all due respect to @RRWWE. Intoxicating stuff, bro,” Foley wrote on Twitter following the show. “I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE! With all due respect to @WWEBrayWyatt, following the end of #Smackdown, it is @TheDamienSandow who is my true hero.”
“The Hardcore Legend” then wrote on Saturday, “I’ve been laughing to myself all day – thinking about @TheDamienSandow on #Smackdown last night. Can’t wait to see that match at #Summerslam.”
– WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele is scheduled for an autograph singing today beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble 1565 Niagara Falls Blvd. Amherst, New York, as he signs copies of his autobiography Animal. Call 716-837-7209 for more information.
– CM Punk’s reference to Brock Lesnar being a former UFC Heavyweight Champion was edited off the RAW replay that aired in Australia this week.
– At Thursday night’s WWE TV tapings, JBL and Josh Matthews did commentary for Main Event (airing 7/31). Michael Cole and Alex Riley did commentary for the SmackDown show that will air next Friday, August 2nd.
– The 2013 WWE TLC pay-per-view will take place on December 15th from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Tickets are now available via online pre-sale.
– The dark main event after last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Houston, TX saw World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio defeat Dolph Ziggler in a street fight. The finish came after Del Rio hit Ziggler with a steel chair. After the match, Ziggler avoided another chair shot from Del Rio and hit him with a Zig Zag to end the show.
– World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio suffered a broken rib in his match with Sheamus on Monday night. He’s not expected to miss any ring time.
– Speaking of Del Rio, his brother Memo Montenegro was released from NXT last week because his ring work was not very good and WWE was not satisfied with his lack of improvement.
– WWE’s storyline of Brad Maddox running RAW and Vickie Guerrero running SmackDown has been in the works for several weeks now.
– With planning well underway for next year’s WrestleMania XXX show, several big changes were made to the top planned matches. Of course, with 9 months to go, the card is far from finalized.
– Randy Orton suffered a low-grade concussion during his match against Alberto Del Rio at last week’s SmackDown taping. He’s not expected to miss any in-ring time. He is still advertised for this weekend’s live events in Georgia and next week’s tour in South Africa.
Del Rio reportedly has some heat with the WWE locker room, because Orton is not the first person he’s injured. Several people on the roster think that Del Rio is careless in the ring.
– WWEShop.com is selling a new Limited Edition signed photograph of Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam from 2006’s ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view from the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York.
– MTVHive.com has an article up about 21-year-old rapper Milo, who says he’s a huge fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“Hands down, my favorite wrestler was the Rock. He was just everything to me and I loved the fact that he was kind of not really a good guy. He’s constantly the sh*t-talking character and does the good thing after sufficiently busting someone’s balls.”
– Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool was backstage at last night’s RAW from Austin, Texas. No word if her husband The Undertaker was visiting as well.
– Dolph Ziggler spoke to WWE.com cameras during RAW and commented on his ongoing feud with Big E Langston (and AJ Lee). Ziggler admitted that Langston is incredibly strong and it’s going to be hard getting the big man off his feet when they eventually meet in the ring.
– Darren Young and Titus O’Neil of the Prime Time Players were interviewed for the WWE App during RAW and said they’re both interested in furthering their singles careers. Both men wrestled (and lost) in singles matches on RAW.
– R-Truth was interviewed by Tony Dawson for the WWE App during RAW and commented on the Wyatt Family beating him down last week. Truth said the Wyatts are crazy and he could only hold his own for so long before succumbing to the 3-on-1 numbers game.
– World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio was also interviewed for the WWE App during RAW. Josh Mathews mentioned Damien Sandow watching Del Rio’s match earlier in the night – but Del Rio said he doesn’t even know who Sandow is and isn’t worried about him cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.
– Gambling lines for tomorrow night’s WWE Payback pay-per-view event have skyrocketed in recent days, with Alberto Del Rio being favored 17 to 1 to defeat Dolph Ziggler in the World Heavyweight Championship Match. Betting odds are also in favor of Curtis Axel claiming the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Wade Barrett in a three-way affair also including The Miz, as well as AJ Lee defeating Kaitlyn for the WWE Divas Championship. In the Three Stages of Hell Match, Ryback is favored to win the Lumberjack Match, with John Cena taking the Tables Match and subsequent Ambulance Match to retain the WWE Championship.
– WWE counts down The Shield’s most brutal attacks since the group’s inception in this “Top 10” video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT9hKBiIbWg
– Six years ago today, WWE Hall of Famer “Sensational” Sherri Martel died at her mother’s residence in McCalla, Alabama. A toxicology released later that year stated that she died of an overdose with multiple drugs in her system, including high amounts of oxycodone.
Former NWA World Women’s Champion Tiffany Roxx posted this message in remembrance of Martel, “RIP Sensational Sherri. You were one of my biggest inspirations and I’m still learning from your work.”
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler appeared at a WWE live event for the first time in four weeks at Saturday’s show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Ziggler, who was donning street clothes, accompanied Big E Langston in his match against Alberto Del Rio as well as AJ Lee in her match against Divas Champion Kaitlyn. Langston lost his match via disqualification while Lee lost her match via pinfall.
Ziggler has not been medically cleared to wrestle again after sustaining a serious concussion last month.
– The official YouTube account of WWE released the following video previewing this month’s slate of Classics On Demand programming; the theme is “Ring Royalty.” This includes a profile on Jerry “The King” Lawler, the 1999 edition of the Royal Rumble, various King of the Ring moments and the 2007 video release, Triple H: King of Kings – There is Only One.
– Former WWE wrestler Big Bully Busick turned 59-years-old on Sunday.
– Tonight’s edition of WWE RAW takes place from Kansas City, Missouri. No matches have been announced for the show yet, but expect to see fallout from Extreme Rules, including the “no contest” finish to John Cena vs. Ryback, Brock Lesnar winning his Best of 3 series with Triple H and The Shield walking away with the United States and Tag Team championships.
– Big E. Langston vs. Alberto Del Rio is rumored for this week’s WWE TV tapings. Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger at Extreme Rules to earn a shot at Dolph Ziggler’s World Heavyweight championship, but Del Rio will have to go through Big E Langston first, since Ziggler is out of action with a concussion.
– WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia tweeted the following picture of herself with UFC legend Matt Hughes, who was in attendance for last night’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view:
During a recent interview with WWE Magazine, former World Heavyweight champion talks about why he became a babyface:
“It was the WWE Universe who put me in this position. They wanted to see me as a good guy, so I want to do whatever they want because, at the end of the day, we’re here for them. It actually has nothing to do with my old name. I was using the “Dos Caras” name to pay tribute to my father because that was the name my father used for years and years all over the world. So no — it doesn’t have anything to do with my personality.”
He also was also asked if he’ll ever wrestle in a mask again:
“I don’t think that’s going to happen in WWE. Maybe someday when the WWE Universe decides that it’s time for Alberto Del Rio to retire. Maybe, and this is just maybe, I will do my last match in WWE, and then I will go to Mexico to contest one more match in my homeland, and then after that I will retire and spend time with my family and give back to my community and my family, something after all these years in the ring.”
Prior to the debut of his Funkasaurus gimmick, WWE superstar Brodus Clay briefly had a stint as Alberto Del Rio’s enforcer. During a recent interview, Clay openly discussed his early days in WWE and how being paired with Del Rio held him back:
“Coming out of NXT I felt that I was robbed and I finished second and I cut a pretty good speech on the crowd. I told them I was going to get some back because I was angry, and being with Alberto Del Rio was basically similar to when I was with Snoop. My role was to get his back and make him look as tough as possible and me smiling and cracking jokes wasn’t going to do that. So I had to put my personality in the back seat to take care of the job, but I knew it was a doorway for me to get my own personality an opportunity.
So the time with Alberto was good in terms of learning and Alberto’s a great competitor and his experience helped me a lot, but as soon as I got a chance to be me, I never was a guy who was angry, that mean tough guy is usually the scariest guy in the room, I always noticed the guy that looked the meanest and act the meanest was terrified, that’s why he looked mean. And the guy who was smiling at you before he fought you was the guy you really worried about because he’s not sweating you.
So that’s kind of like how I was, even body guarding with guys I was more of a talker and ran my mouth and smiled and stuff and it kept people off, especially if a guy’s is fired up and you’re laughing at him or smiling or winking at him it just messes with their mind. That was more who I am. Shaquille O’Neal was the same way. If you looked at him before a basketball game, he was silly, joking around, dancing, but come tip-off he was the business and I’m trying to be more like that.”
– WWE suerstar Sin Cara was in attendance at last night’s WWE RAW from Washington, DC, but was not used. He checked in on the social media app Foursquare from the Verizon Center arena and noted that he was doing cardio at their gym. Sin Cara has reportedly been cleared to wrestle and should be back in action soon.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following after last night’s RAW:
“Swagger legit messes up my ankle and tonight I was temporarily paralyzed after he hit me off the apron. This ain’t no storyline anymore. Beyond grateful I got feeling back in my arms and legs and am grateful to be able to function and live to fight another day!”
– World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following message and photo after getting beaten by Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter on RAW:
Enjoy this moment @RealJackSwagger @WWEZeb because you two made a mistake, I'm still on my feet,and i will break you both in pieces
– F4wonline.com reports that WWE is planning for Alberto Del Rio to have a grand entrance at WrestleMania 29 for his match against Jack Swagger. Del Rio has not driven any of his ultra luxury cars to the ring in several months. Earlier this month, Jack Swagger teased on Twitter that he’ll be driving this 18-wheeler to the ring at WrestleMania:
– WWE Diva Rosa Mendes has been documenting her “MuscleMania” workouts online and revealed that she did her first pullup ever over the weekend. She posted the following tweet and Tout video:
– With World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio starting to get over as a babyface, f4wonline.com reports that there are people within WWE that think Del Rio no longer needs Ricardo Rodriguez by his side. One has to question this line of thinking, as Ricardo is arguably more over than Del Rio.
After getting attacked by Jack Swagger on RAW and suffering a “broken ankle” (according to WWE), Ricardo is expected to be off television for a week to sell the injury.
– Rey Mysterio tweeted the following update on the status of his knee on Monday:
– During a backstage interview at RAW that aired exclusively on the WWE mobile app, Layla told Matt Striker that she’s been on the WWE roster longer than any other Diva. She also said the Bella Twins returning will make things more competitive, but they need to watch out for her.
– WWE has been running an angle at recent live events where Ricardo Rodriguez appears on the big screen before Alberto Del Rio’s matches and challenges the audience to see if they can say Alberto Del Rio’s name longer than he can during Del Rio’s entrance.
– There was some talk backstage at Monday’s RAW that Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter’s feud with Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez is not going as well as WWE was hoping for. The angle was designed to further solidify Del Rio as a top babyface, but so far they’ve seen mixed results.
That said, Vince McMahon has been strongly behind Swagger & Colter’s gimmick and they are getting strong heel heat at live events.
– It was reported in January that WWE’s creative team had plans for Randy Orton to turn heel following numerous requests on the part of The Viper. F4WOnline.com reports Wednesday that plans for Orton to become a villain again are still in place and it is expected to take place soon after WrestleMania.
– WWE officials announced Wednesday that Damien Sandow will replace Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez at the Friday, March 15 NXT live event in Immokalee, Florida.
**Sandow to Replace Del Rio at NXT Live Event**
Immokalee, Fl – March 6, 2013
WWE NXT officials have announced that due to scheduling difficulties, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez will be unable to attend the NXT Live Event in Immokalee, FL. However, officials are proud to announce that WWE Superstar Damian Sandow will now be making a special guest appearance to meet and greet with fans in attendance prior to the show. The session highlights what will be a historical night as NXT travels to Immokalee for the first time.
Nicknamed “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses,” Sandow burst onto the scene in the WWE last year and hasn’t looked back since. Vowing to raise the moral value in the organization, Sandow has stood face-to-face with WWE greats like John Cena, The Rock and D-Generation X. Damien Sandow has quickly become one of the most recognizable faces on WWE’s Flagship programs, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown
The appearance of Damien Sandow is in conjunction with the WWE NXT Live Tour, which takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Immokalee, FL. Bell time is 7:30pm while doors open at 6:30pm. Eight action packed matches are slated for the card that will feature over twenty NXT Superstars and Divas. NXT is the official developmental system for the future stars of WWE.
Tickets range from $10 to $35 and will be available at Buddy’s Home Furnishings (1097 W Main St) in Immokalee, FL Tickets and additional information on the shows are available at NXTWrestling.com. NXT Live is sponsored by Buddy’s Home Furnishings and Brand Source Printing.
QUICK GLANCE
WHAT: NXT Live with WWE Superstar Damien Sandow
WHEN: Friday March 15, 2013
Seminole Casino – Immokalee
506 South First Street
Immokalee, FL 34143
TIME: Autographs 6pm VIP, 6:30pm All others Bell Time is 7:30pm
INFORMATION
For more information please login www.fcwwrestling.com
