– WWE Hall of Famer Edge was asked by a fan on Twitter if he’ll be at next week’s “Old School” RAW, but he replied, “No.”
– Following WWE’s announcement that Donald Trump will joining the WWE Hall of Fame, that virtually guarantees that Cyndi Lauper, who was also rumored, won’t be part of this year’s class.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio will be appearing with his brother, NXT star Memo Montenegro, at the NXT live event on March 15th from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Immokalee, Florida. Ricardo Rodriguez will also be there.
– “The Marine 3” star The Miz is featured in the latest edition of WWE Inbox:
In this Awesome edition of “WWE Inbox,” The Miz answers your Twitter questions about his film, “The Marine 3: Homefront,” due out March 5. Find out his thoughts on explosions, performing his own stunts and more.
– Monday’s WWE RAW drew a 3.30 cable rating and averaged 4.66 million viewers. Here are the hourly numbers:
Hour 1: 4.82 million Hour 2: 4.67 million Hour 3: 4.49 million
– TheAtlanticWire.com has an article up about Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter’s new ultra-conservative gimmick in an article titled, “The WWE’s Tea Party Wrestler Is Making Conservatives Hit the Mat.”
– Speaking of Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter, World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio will respond to their “State of the Union” on Friday’s SmackDown:
– Poor Zack Ryder. With WrestleMania 29 approaching, the Long Island Broski seems to have given up hope that he’ll get a match on the show. He tweeted this week:
“I can’t wait to order my new gear for WrestleMania……Axxess.”
– World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio will wrestle Dolph Ziggler on tonight’s episode of WWE Main Event on Ion. Here’s what both men had to say about the match:
Del Rio: “We had an spectacular #MainEvent and #SmackDown show here in Little Rock,Arkansas. You guys were amazing. Thanks. And don’t miss #mainevent this Wednesday you’ll see one of the best matches ever on the show!! WHC Alberto Del Rio vs Ziggler”
Ziggler: “I’d hate to have to follow my match on #MainEvent (wednesday night on @IONtv) or any of my matches #ZigglersBetter”
– Mark Henry did an interview with Power 92.3 in Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday:
– WWE.com has published a photo gallery of R-Truth’s recent promotional tour of Qatar.
– World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following on Monday afternoon hyping his match with the Big Show this Sunday at WWE Elimination Chamber:
This time is not about destiny,it's about pride and respect,@wwebigshow doesn't stand a chance this Sunday at #WWECHAMBER in NOLA ADR/WHC
– Mark Henry tweeted the following about his plan to win the SmackDown brand’s Elimination Chamber match this weekend and challenge the World Heavyweight champion at WrestleMania:
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown on Tuesday night from Jacksonville, Florida. Here are the results:
* Big Show is shown arriving on his bus. He comes to the ring and talks about how Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez are suspended. Big Show says the recent events between he and Del Rio are Booker T’s fault, which brings out the SmackDown GM. Booker announcers Big Show vs. Kane for tonight.
* Cody Rhodes defeated Kofi Kingston.
* The Great Khali defeated Titus O’Neil.
* Mark Henry came out and destroys Khali, which the crowd loved. Henry announces the Hall of Pain is back and he wants a spot in the SmackDown brand’s Elimination Chamber match. Booker came out and announced Henry vs. Randy Orton.
* Big Show defeated Kane in a quick match.
* Alberto Del Rio is shown outside in the parking lot, where he’s taken the wheels off Show’s tour bus. Show ran out to the parking lot but gets a bunch of paint dropped on top of him from the roof. Del Rio laughed and drove off.
* Jack Swagger squashed Justin Gabriel.
* Tensai beat Drew McIntyre by DQ when 3MB attacked him. Brodus Clay made the save for Tensai.
* Antonio Cesaro beat Sin Cara.
* Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber match.
In response to back-to-back attacks by World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio on No. 1 contender Big Show, SmackDown General Manager Booker T announced Tuesday night that he has suspended the Mexican grappler from this week’s SmackDown.
“Following the incidents last Friday on SmackDown as well as this week on Raw,” Booker told WWE.com, “it is my duty as GM to suspend Alberto Del Rio. He will not be in action this Friday night and will not be in the building.”
WWE teased in the announcement: “While there is no question these latest developments will make a profound impression on this week’s edition of the blue brand, one has wonder how it will affect the upcoming World Title Match between Del Rio and The World’s Largest No. 1 contender at Elimination Chamber.”
– During a recent interview with Yahoo! Deportes over the weekend, WWE World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio revealed that WWE has backed off on their plans to continue touring Mexico. The company previously saw Mexico as a huge new market, however Del Rio cited the country’s declining a economy and the poor attendance and merchandise sales during WWE’s 2012 Mexico as reasons why WWE is now backing off.
Del Rio said he is very thankful that WWE gave him the opportunity to become the superstar he is today and standing by him through some very difficult situations (he did not elaborate). Del Rio says when he retires in a few years, he hopes to work behind the scenes as a WWE producer/agent and help develop younger talent.
– NXT wrestler CJ Parker, who has been out of action for several months with a wrist injury, tweeted that today is a huge day for him because he’s getting checked out by his doctor and will find out when he can return to action.
– It appears that the WWE Intercontinental Cup will not begin on this week’s Main Event as advertised. Matches taped for Main Event were Tensai vs. Titus O’Neil and Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro.
Wade Barrett tweeted that he will be making a “huge announcement” regarding the Intercontinental Cup.
– WWE.com has published an exclusive video of World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio celebrating with his father, Dos Caras, backstage at the Royal Rumble after his successful title defense against The Big Show.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following about the Royal Rumble, including Bret Hart giving him a pair of his classic shades and using duct tape to prevent Big Show from getting to his feet in Alberto Del Rio’s Last Man Standing match:
“Getting Those awesome glasses from Mr. Hart, Alberto Del Rio retaining the WHC, and good ol’ Duct Tape. Tonight was a great night! #SiSiSi”
– Speaking of Bret Hart, the Hit Man noted on Twitter that he was “very proud” the phrase Sharpshooter was trending worldwide during the Royal Rumble.
It’s been widely reported that WWE turned Alberto Del Rio babyface because the company needs a strong Latin hero to replace Rey Mysterio. One of the big reasons WWE decided to go full force with his babyface turn and put the World Heavyweight championship on him is because UFC just did a surprisingly huge pay-per-view buyrate when Mexican fighter Cain Velasquez defeated Junior Dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight championship.
Del Rio’s title win came a week after the news Velasquez’ impressive drawing power and the timing of WWE’s decision is no coincidence.
As noted earlier this week, WWE is considering Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania. Whether or not Del Rio is still champion by then remains to be seen.
– WWE officials have broached the possibility of an Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler match at WrestleMania 29, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. However, it was noted that the match may not necessarily be for the World Heavyweight Championship currently held by Del Rio.
– Current plans call for this Sunday’s 30-Man Royal Rumble Match to feature 90-second entrance intervals. However, it will likely be altered based on the pay-per-view event’s remaining time.
– Alberto Del Rio appeared on Good Day Sacramento Tuesday promoting that evening’s SmackDown taping at the Sleep Train Arena. In the following video, he is set out to surprise some kids.
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event tapings will take place from Sacramento, California at the Sleep Train Arena. No matches have been announced for either show, but CM Punk and The Rock are advertised for Friday’s SmackDown.
– WWE announced on their Facebook page that they’ll be partnering with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to promote next week’s “No Name Calling Week” anti-bullying campaign.
– San Francisco Giant Sergio Romo was at ringside and backstage for Monday’s WWE RAW from San Jose, California. World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following picture of himself with Sergio Romo and Ricardo Rodriguez at the show with the caption, “Mexican Super Stars in San Jose” –
– Following Alberto Del Rio’s recent World Heavyweight title win, there is once again talk that he could be paired with Rosa Mendes.
– The Shield has recorded another video from an “undisclosed location” – sending a message to Randy Orton, Ryback and Sheamus. Here’s the latest from Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns:
– The following matches were taped prior to RAW for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Kofi Kingston vs. Michael McGillicutty
* Zack Ryder vs. JTG
– WWE announced on RAW that new World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio will hold a a fiesta on Friday’s SmackDown celebrating his big win.
– After losing the Divas championship to Kaitlyn on RAW, Eve Torres announced during an interview on the WWE App that she is quitting the company. As noted earlier today, Eve recently gave notice to WWE that she is leaving to get married and pursue other non-wrestling projects.
Here’s video of Eve’s final WWE match and Kaitlyn’s Divas title win:
– WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro announced on SmackDown that he will be participating in the Royal Rumble match later this month. The updated list of entrants now includes:
* John Cena
* Randy Orton
* Sheamus
* Dolph Ziggler
* Antonio Cesaro
* Heath Slater
* Drew McIntyre
* Jinder Mahal
– Speaking of Cesaro, he and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes continue to talk trash back and forth on Twitter. It’s possible this will lead to a confrontation between the two at an upcoming SmackDown or NXT show.
– Here’s the latest episode of WWE Backstage Fallout:
In the SmackDown edition of “Backstage Fallout,” get an exclusive interview with the new World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio. Plus, find what Divas Champion Eve has to say all the haters in the WWE Universe.
WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio defeated the Big Show in a Last Man Standing match on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown to capture the World Heavyweight championship. The match was taped on Tuesday night from Miami, Florida and shows that WWE is going full force with his push as a babyface Latin hero.
After a hard fought match that included the use of tables, chairs and ring steps, the finish came after Del Rio flipped the ringside announcer’s table onto a fallen Big Show, preventing him from getting to his feet before the 10 count.
Knowing the news would be widely reported online by wrestling news websites like us, WWE “spoiled” the news by announcing the title change on their official website shortly after it occurred on Tuesday night.
Del Rio tweeted the following on Friday night after his title victory aired on SmackDown:
The quest for the world Heavyweight champions started 2 years ago…
As previously reported, Sin Cara will be teaming with Randy Orton against Epico and Primo at this weekend’s Live Events tour of Puerto Rico. Orton is filling in for Rey Mysterio, who is currently out of action dealing with personal issues.
– The dark match main event after Sunday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Richmond, VA saw Sheamus and Big Show wrestle to a no contest.
– It was announced at Saturday night’s WWE RAW tapings (for the show airing tonight) that World Heavyweight champion Big Show would wrestle Alberto Del Rio on this Friday’s SmackDown. The match never took place at Sunday night’s SmackDown tapings and Del Rio did not appear on the show.
– With Alberto Del Rio flirting with a babyface turn, his romance with Rosa Mendes has been dropped.
– WWE has made the call to put the new Fandango gimmick on hold. No word on whether it’s been dropped entirely, but WWE is no longer running vignettes and there are no plans for him to debut any time soon.
– Chris Jericho recently contacted WWE about returning for a short run leading up to WrestleMania that would involve Jericho putting over young talent. The sides are still talking, but as we’ve seen in the past, the major issues holding up the deal are Jericho not being able to commit to a full-time schedule (due to his outside projects) and Jericho wanting full control over said outside projects.
– We’ve been reporting in recent weeks that Sin Cara has been battling a knee injury. Sin Cara appeared to be injured at Sunday’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, with Jim Ross noting on Twitter that the masked superstar looked “banged up” at the show.
After his loss to Cody Rhodes on RAW, the feeling is that Sin Cara might be taking time off soon. As of a few weeks ago, WWE was still planning to feature a Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio match at WrestleMania 29 in April.
– After TLC and Monday’s RAW, it appears that WWE is pushing Alberto Del Rio as a babyface. However, Del Rio says things are not as they appear. Del Rio tweeted late Monday night:
Don't any of you get any ideas that I'm going to be a good guy! If you mess with my best friend all the rules go out the window!
– WWE 13 was the 9th best selling game of November. Despite this, overall sales have been strong for the game.
– Before Randy Orton got injured at Sunday’s Tribute to the Troops taping, WWE was planning for Randy Orton to face Alberto Del Rio at this weekend’s TLC pay-per-view.
– Speaking of Alberto Del Rio, WWE is considering turning him babyface in early 2013. While this would be difficult because his Mexican aristocrat gimmick is pure heel, the company is badly in need of a top Hispanic worker. Rey Mysterio has 2 Wellness strikes against him and is in the tail end of his career, while Sin Cara has failed to take off as to company had hoped.
– WWE has released the following video looking at Ryback’s current feud with The Shield leading up to the 6-man tag main event at TLC:
– WWE taped the following matches for this week’s WWE Superstars prior to RAW from Newark, New Jersey.
* Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd
* Brodus Clay vs. Michael McGillicutty.
– It was announced on Monday’s WWE RAW that this week’s episode of Main Event will feature Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio.
Due to the 12/12/12 Hurricane Sandy benefit concert that will be airing on most broadcast networks on Wednesday night, the show will start 90 minutes earlier than usual, at 6:30/5:30c.
– The late Bad News Brown now has a Superstar profile on WWE.com.
– Alberto Del Rio recently spoke to the The Miami Herald to promote WWE’s upcoming SmackDown taping from Miami, FL on January 8th. Del Rio told them that his family will be in attendance for the tapings, including his father, Mexican wrestling legend Dos Caras. Del Rio will be driving a 1965 Ford Mustang to the ring that night and plans on giving it to his father as a birthday present after the show.
– Former WWE developmental diva Raquel Diaz (Shaul Guerrero), daughter of Eddie & Vickie Guerrero, is now back and Twitter and commented on a possible return to WWE one day. She wrote:
– Vince McMahon, The Miz, R-Truth, Eve Torres and Layla returned to the United States on Tuesday evening after visiting US troops stationed abroad in the Middle East.
– In this edition of “Backstage Fallout” for SmackDown World Heavyweight Champion Big Show has some words of warning for Sheamus for their Chairs Match at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Plus, Rosa Mendes “scouts” Alberto Del Rio.
– SmackDown color commentator John “Bradshaw” Layfield announced via Twitter that he will debut a new show on WWE.com next week: “Looking forward to The JBL Show debut next week! @wwe .com will carry it. @MichaelCole may also appear some. #dollarwithadime.”
– In the United Kingdom, The Miz is currently featured in a television commercial for Smyths Toys.
– This week’s episode of Z! True Long Island Story is a “Best Of” episode.
– The official WWE website has released highlights of this week’s episode of WWE Superstars, featuring Santino Marella and Zack Ryder vs. 3MB, as well as Justin Gabriel vs. Darren Young. The full episode is available on WWEOnHulu.com.
– WWE announced the following Facebook regarding its return to Australia next year: “The RAW World Tour comes to Australia this July with 5 stops in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Tickets will be available starting Wednesday, November 28 at 9:00am local time on Ticketek.com.”
– Alberto Del Rio is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
