– Alberto Del Rio, Aksana, Antonio Cesaro and other Superstars discuss last night’s SmackDown events in Backstage Fallout. Chris Jericho also explains why he wore a Dolph Ziggler T-Shirt while attacking “The Showoff.”
“Pink. Very summery, with kind of some pastel blues, is it teal? Is that what you call that? I saw the front, it says “It’s not showing off if you back it up.” And that’s pretty much the epitome of what Chris Jericho does every single night,” he says. “So I don’t know if this is a shirt for Dolph Ziggler. It’s definitely not the shirt of someone who’s “losing his touch,” now is it Mr. Ziggy? So uh, come to think of it, I don’t really like this anymore, it’s cheap fabric, pink’s not really my color, so I’ll just give this to you. See ya next week Dolph!”
– Days after AJ was named the new General Manager of Raw, no new GM was slated for SmackDown. WWE.com has an article asking whether the blue brand needs a resident General Manager.
– Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion will be launching a professional wrestling school in Poughkeepsie, New York. Dreamer, Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins will be the instructors. E-mail school@houseofhardcore.net for more information.
– Former WWE superstar Dave Batista was at Comic-Con in San Diego on Thursday along with Wu Tang Clan rapper RZA to promote their new “Man With The Iron Fists” movie. Batista announced the following on Thursday afternoon:
– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez invaded the Mattel panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday. The following video has been posted online of the incident:
– There continues to be buzz behind the scenes in WWE about the signing of Sara Del Rey and how she has a different look than what WWE typically goes for in their Divas. She works a more serious in-ring style than most of the WWE roster (most similar to Beth Phoenix) and could be used as an opponent of Kharma.
Aside from Del Rey having a different look than the barbie dolls WWE gravitates towards, she is also older than the usual Diva signing at 31 years old.
– Alberto Del Rio is expected to receive a big push this year for a number of reasons. Aside from the lack of roster depth on SmackDown, Del Rio has said publicly on several occasions that he does not plan to wrestle for many more years.
Especially since WWE’s other Mexican stars have their own baggage (Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara), Del Rio is perceived as having leverage behind the scenes and will be taken care of accordingly.
– Randy Orton, who is currently serving a 60-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program, is scheduled to compete in a future World Heavyweight Championship Match. On September 18 at the SmackDown taping at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he will face Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio in a Triple Threat Match for the belt.
WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H is advertised to make a special appearance at the event.
As we’ve been reporting in recent weeks, Randy Orton is expected to return to the SmackDown brand’s main event scene upon his return. Despite WWE’s typical reluctance to push wrestlers with two Wellness strikes against them, WWE’s lack of roster depth will likely result in Orton’s return to the the top SmackDown cards.
– Former WWE developmental wrestler Marcus Owens stated on Twitter that he will be filming a new reality series for VH1 next month in Atlanta, Georgia. He was released from his contract with the wrestling organization earlier this year.
– Evenue.com is holding a pre-sale for the September 11 SmackDown taping at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The passcode is SHEAMUS.
Following a recent concussion, Alberto Del Rio was pulled from his World Heavyweight title match against Sheamus at No Way Out just days before the show. A #1 contender’s match was held on the June 11th “go home” RAW and Dolph Ziggler went on to challenge Sheamus instead.
As it turns out, Del Rio was actually medically cleared to wrestle by No Way Out, but WWE had no way of knowing he’d be healthy in time. The talent roster is already stretched very thin with so many top names out of action (Orton, Mysterio, Jericho), but the company is taking concussions very seriously erred on the side of caution by replacing Del Rio with Ziggler.
The night after the pay-per-view, Del Rio wrestled Santino in a comedy match on RAW. The idea was to get Del Rio back in action without him having to face a stiff worker (like Sheamus) in his first match back after a concussion.
Del Rio will now likely get his World Heavyweight title shot against Sheamus at Money in the Bankon July 15th. Like last year, there will be two Money in the Bank ladder matches on the card.
WWE cracked down on two Twitter accounts that had been snarking the organization and its employees last week as both @WWE_Creative and @CrankyVince were suspended on Thursday. While the account mocking WWE’s creative direction returned online following some profile tweaks (now located @WWECreative_ish), the McMahon parody remains down.
The @CrankyVince account spoofed McMahon’s demeanor and mindset with random musings depicting the WWE Chairman as an eccentric, sex-crazed, drug-addled egomaniac. It had drawn alarming concern from organization officials since last year, which due to the sensitive nature of the tweets, believed it was being handled by an employee within close proximity of McMahon. The account would divulge legitimate company information, which is a breach of Twitter’s Terms of Service. According to F4WOnline.com, the McMahon mockery account is reportedly administered by an assortment of current WWE employees. The publication, however, would not disclose specific names.
Before its suspension, @CrankyVince had endorsed an alternative account (located @PremiumVince). The account has posted several messages in Cranky Vince’s trademark tone since the suspension of the premiere account.
The @CrankyVince account was coincidentally shut down the day it released a message stating that Alberto Del Rio wanted to quit WWE.
“WHAT? DEL RIO WANTS TO QUIT? TELL THAT POMPOUS ASS: NO. THEN, TELL HIM TO GO FUCK HIMSELF. THEN, FUCK YOU,” the tweet read.
F4WOnline.com reports that Del Rio clashed with upper-level management that day and threatened to quit WWE. One company source says Del Rio was frustrated with his standing and contemplating a departure. A second source said the incident ‘wasn’t that big a deal’ and that both sides were wrangling over a contract matter. A third source believes the spat was a combination of both accounts.
Del Rio has leverage; he has no issues with income and could return to Mexico as a heralded former WWE Superstar and son of noted luchador Dos Caras. A company employee expressed skepticism Monday night that Del Rio had legitimately suffered a concussion, noting that he was “too injured” to work the No Way Out pay-per-view event on Sunday but healthy enough to work Raw. The employee believes the concussion was a cover excuse for issues that materialized between Del Rio and officials, necessitating his removal from the title match against Sheamus.
– Rory McAllister, who appeared for WWE from 2006 to 2008 as a member of The Highlanders, was asked via Twitter about WWE ‘criminally’ disregarding Drew McIntyre. He responded, “Drew has all the tools to be a player but has to grow a set and not be “happy to have a job.” He’s better than that!”
The WWE Superstar who Vince McMahon predicted would be a ‘future World Champion’ has languished since being drafted to the Raw brand in April 2011. He was largely confined to dark matches, WWE Superstars and putting over talent before transferring back to SmackDown late in the year, where the trend continued.
– WWE’s second- and third-generation talent celebrate Father’s Day this weekend by taking a trip down Memory Lane and explaining what it was like growing up with a grappling father. Those sharing stories include Ted DiBiase, Alberto Del Rio, Tamina, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes. Natalya, daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, did not take part in the feature. (Article)
– Netflix has added three WWE titles to their streaming service: The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions, The Best of Raw and SmackDown 2011, You Think You Know Me? The Story of Edge.
– Alberto Del Rio is featured in WWE’s promotional video. for Money in the Bank. The pay-per-view event takes place July 15 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
– The former Bella Twins were asked via Twitter today if they will be appearing on television anytime soon. Nicole responded, “Ridiculousness on MTV in August… And possibly somewhere else :).”
– Papa Shango is today’s featured WWE Superstar on WWE.com.
– On Monday’s RAW, Dolph Ziggler won a #1 contenders match and will now face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title at No Way Out. Following Ziggler’s match, Mick Foley tweeted the following endorsement:
“Another excellent match involving @HeelZiggler . I think I detect some type of trend here”
Paul Heyman re-tweeted Foley’s comment and said that he agrees.
– To update Alberto Del Rio’s concussion sustained at last week’s SmackDown tapings, the WWE storyline is that it occurred when the Great Khali chopped his head during their match last week.
As previously reported, he injury actually occurred when Sheamus slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo on the stage.
WWE announced through their Mobile Alert service Monday that Alberto Del Rio will be unable to face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out on June 17. A new No. 1 contender will be determined on tonight’s Raw SuperShow. The message reads:
“BREAKING NEWS: Due to a concussion on SmackDown, Del Rio wont face World Champion Sheamus @ No Way Out. New #1 contender to be named on tonight’s Raw (8/7 CT).”
Del Rio suffered a “serious concussion” at last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbia, South Carolina. During a skirmish, Sheamus slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo, leading to the injury. He was subsequently pulled from this past weekend’s SmackDown live event tour.
A WWE source told sports blog Corey Unfiltered (coryradford.blog.com) Friday that Alberto Del Rio suffered a “serious concussion” at last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbia, South Carolina. During a skirmish, Sheamus slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo, leading to his concussion. Kane replaced Del Rio as Sheamus’ Steel Cage Match opponent in the post-taping bout and at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Salisbury, Maryland.
Del Rio’s injury puts his World Heavyweight Championship Match against Sheamus at No Way Out on June 17 in jeopardy since WWE officials believe he will not receive medical clearance in time for the pay-per-view event. Contingency plans are being discussed in case Del Rio is unable to compete, including removing Kane from the WWE Championship Match against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Other plans broached include a Battle Royal or a Beat the Clock Challenge to take place at this Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Manchester, New Hampshire
Meanwhile, WWE heads Vince McMahon and Triple H are becoming increasingly worried that Del Rio cannot be relied on due to injury concerns. He is being compared to former WWE star Mr. Kennedy (now known as Mr. Anderson in TNA Wrestling), whose reputation for being injury prone partially led to his release from the organization in 2009.
Alberto Del Rio, who is still recovering from surgery following a groin tear last year, is believed to have suffered a concussion during last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbia, South Carolina. Therefore, he may be unable to compete against Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out on June 17. WWE officials brainstormed alternative scenarios Friday in case Del Rio is unable to wrestle at the pay-per-view event.
Looking to get under the skin of the World Heavyweight Champion, Del Rio brought out Ricardo Rodriguez to make light of the Irish brawler by mimicking his distinctive red hair, outfit and gestures. The real Sheamus then appeared, where the fight would eventually spread to the steel stage. The Celtic Warrior slammed Del Rio’s head against the metal WWE logo, leading to his possible concussion.
Del Rio did not appear as scheduled for tonight’s SmackDown live event in Salisbury, Maryland. Rather, Sheamus defended his strap against the winner of a match pitting Kane against The Great Khali.
iN DEMAND has revealed the promotional poster for WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event taking place July 15 and it features Alberto Del Rio in a Forbes-like magazine cover. The official description suggests that only one Money in the Bank Ladder Match will be held, rather than two in the past.
The synopsis reads: “A guaranteed championship match hangs 20 feet above the ring in a steel briefcase. One man will scale the heights and seize his destiny. Don’t miss John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and all your favorite WWE Superstars at WWE Money in the Bank, Sunday, July 15, live on pay-per-view.”
The following matches booked for upcoming live events give an idea of the feuds WWE will be going with after Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view:
* CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan is advertised for the June 4th RAW Supershow from Greenville, South Carolina.
* John Cena is scheduled to face Lord Tensai and John Laurinaitis in handicap matches at RAW live events.
* Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio in Last Man Standing matches are advertised for SmackDown live events.
– The new season of Shawn Michael’s MacMillan River Adventures will premiere on Tuesday, January 26th at 11:30pm EST on The Outdoor Channel.
– Ted DiBiase announced on Twitter that he and his wife welcomed a healthy new baby boy yesterday – Tate McKinley DiBiase. Congratulations to the DiBiase family!
– On the way back from promoting WWE in Japan this past weekend, Alberto Del Rio stopped in China to take part in a press conference announcing that SmackDown will be holding a live event at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on August 11th. WWE will be running Tokyo, Japan on August 9th and 10th. WWE is considering doing regular tours of China.
– WWE will this week’s episode of SmackDown tonight from The Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Confirmed for the final SmackDown before Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view are a non-title match between Sheamus and Randy Orton, “exclusive comments” by Alberto Del Rio and appearances from John Laurinaitis and the Big Show.
Matches advertised locally include Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Orton, Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight and Sheamus vs. Bryan in singles action.
SEScoops will have live coverage of tonight’s SmackDown tapings – check back tonight for spoiler results of Friday’s show.
– Alberto Del Rio did not appear on Monday’s RAW and will appear ‘exclusively’ on SmackDown this week because he was traveling back from Japan on Monday, where he did promotional work for WWE over the weekend.
– WWE United States Champion Santino Marella wrote on Twitter that he’s been working with a sore back.
– Alberto Del Rio, replacing the the suspended Rey Mysterio, is currently in Tokyo, Japan doing promotional work for WWE. Del Rio will be attending a baseball Hanshin Tigers baseball game on Saturday in Shibuya, Japan and will be shooting t-shirts into the crowd. Later in the day, he’ll have an autograph signing at the Tower Records in Shibuya.
– The WWE Youtube channel has posted the following video looking at the most devastating slaps in WWE history:
— WWE is expected to hold a Tag Team Championship Match at Over the Limit where Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defend the straps against either Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger or a multiple tag team match including Epico and Primo and possibly Darren Young and Titus O’Neil.
— In attendance news the May 4 Raw live event in Huntsville, Alabama drew 4,000 paying $150,000; May 5 Raw in Knoxville, Tennessee drew 6,000 paying $200,000; SmackDown on May 5 in Asheville, North Carolina drew 2,000 paying $65,000; Raw on May 6 in Chattanooga, Tennessee drew 4,800 paying $115,000; May 6 SmackDown in North Charleston, South Carolina drew 3,500 paying $120,000.
— Alberto Del Rio will arrive in Tokyo, Japan late Wednesday night to embark on a promotional tour. He appears on Television Kanagawa on Friday at noon. He is scheduled for an autograph session on Saturday. He will then attend that day’s Hanshin Tigers vs. Yokohama Bay Stars baseball game at Yokohama Stadium as he is scheduled to shoot T-shirts into the crowd. He’ll also be at Tower Records in Shibuya at 6:00 p.m. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
— Sheamus will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio on May 20 at Over the Limit. The Mexican grappler’s victory over Sheamus on the April 6 SmackDown guaranteed him a future World Heavyweight Championship Match.
Other matches scheduled for the event include John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis and WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan.
— Today marks the ten year anniversary of “WWE.” On May 5, 2002, Vince McMahon’s sports entertainment organization launched a “Get The F Out” marketing campaign and changed all references on its website from “WWF” to “WWE,” while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. The next day, a press release was issued announcing the official name change from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that evening during Raw.
The name change stemmed from an abbreviation dispute with the World Wide Fund for Nature. In 2000, the environmental organization sued the World Wrestling Federation for unfair trade practices, claiming the wrestling company had violated a 1994 agreement regarding international use of the WWF initials. On August 10, 2001, an English court ruled in favor of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
— As reported earlier, Mark Henry was removed from advertising for this week’s Raw brand house show tour in Tennessee; he was slated to wrestle John Cena and WWE Champion CM Punk. Dolph Ziggler will take Henry’s place in Cena’s matches.
— WWE referee Chad Patton turns 36 years old today.
— WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative Stephanie McMahon was joined by Sheamus, Mark Henry, Eve and Alberto Del Rio at a be a STAR Alliance rally Friday morning in the South Bronx as they stressed the importance of putting an end to bullying.
“It’s the most important initiative of WWE right now,” said Stephanie. “I’m incredibly proud to be a part of the be a STAR Alliance.” She then asked the pre-teens how many of them had been bullied; more than half of the crowd raised their hands.
“You’re not alone. That’s why WWE and The Creative Coalition have partnered together for the be a STAR initiative,” she said.
— Marcus “Buff” Bagwell is at home recovering after being involved in a serious car accident last week while traveling near his hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Former WCW colleague Marc Mero wrote Friday on Facebook, “A Miracle! My friend and Pro wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell is home and recovering from a near life ending accident. I can’t thank you enough for your prayers. I believe God has a greater purpose for his life. We are texting each other as he can’t talk right now due to his injuries. His wife Judy said he will have a full recovery! I can’t wait to see him again!”
– WWE Studios is partnering with IM Global on a new ‘romantic thriller’ movie titled, Dead Man Down. The movie will star Colin Farrell, Naomi Rapace, Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper.
Filming for the movie will begin this coming Monday in Philadelphia. Dead Man Down is not expected to feature any WWE superstars. WWE will co-finance the $30 million project and promote it.
– WWE will be wrapping up its post-WrestleMania European tour tonight, with the RAW brand holding a show in Antwerp, Belgium and SmackDown running a show in Glasgow, Scotland tonight. Both rosters will fly back this weekend for Monday’s RAW Supershow from Detroit.
– The decision to move Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez over to SmackDown was made a few weeks back. WWE felt that SmackDown needed another top heel. Del Rio and Rodriguez have been added to the SmackDown roster page of the WWE website.
— Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon participated in the first debate for Republican Senate candidate hopefuls on Thrusday night from Norwich, Connecticut. Other participants included attorney Brian Hill, attorney Peter Lumaj, former congressman Christopher Shays and attorney Kie Westby.
As you can imagine, McMahon’s history with WWE came under fire, with Westby attacking her by saying, “I have been in private practice for over 32 years, and during the course of that time, I have worked with dozens upon dozens of entrepreneurs. These are real jobs, not men bulked up on steroids or women prancing around in bikinis.”
McMahon responded that she earned her fortune as WWE CEO “the old-fashioned way” – “I’m very proud of earning my money the old-fashioned way, and putting people to work throughout the state.”
For more on Thursday night’s debate, visit NorwichBulletin.com.
— Former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio and his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez have officially switched to the Smackdown brand. Del Rio toured with the SmackDown brand during this week’s European tour and has an upcoming title shot against Sheamus.
— WWE.com is advertising a Six-Man Tag Team match for tonight’s episode of SmackDown on Syfy as World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Great Khali will join forces against Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry. Other matches airing include AJ vs. Natalya, Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle vs. Camacho and Hunico, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil, Ryback vs. James Lerman and Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio.
— Brodie Lee, who recently signed a developmental contract with WWE, will report to Florida Championship Wrestling shortly. He concluded his independent wrestling commitments over the weekend.
— WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase has changed his Twitter handle to twitter.com/MDMTedDiBiase.
— Former WWE star Johnny Stamboli turns 35 years old today.
– Joey Styles mentioned on Twitter this week that he’s still hoping to induct Paul Heyman into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.
– Alberto Del Rio wrestled at Wednesday’s live event in Sheffield, England, winning a quick match over Mason Ryan. Live reports that we’ve read stated that it looked like Del Rio was working very “safe” and not taking any risks.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Jim Ross attended the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion show on Wednesday night from Las Vegas last night. Austin was introduced by Jim Ross and received the Iron Mike Award. Ross wrote on Twitter that it was an honor to introduce Austin and that Austin asked him to do it.
Speaking of Austin, he was interviewed for the latest issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine.
Former WCW star Konnan recently appeared on the MLW.com podcast and stated that Alberto Del Rio was ready to quit WWE and return to Mexico before he was called up to the main roster:
“The trainers over at FCW told me that when [Del Rio] came in, he was terrible. He said basically, I’m not making any money here [in developmental], I’m going home. My wife is pregnant and I’m out. I’m going back to Mexico.”
“John Laurinaitis told one of the trainers, we’re going to be inducting Mil Mascaras into the Hall of Fame and we kind of want someone to induct him. We need to push a Latino guy. Just put him on the road and see how he does.”
– Randy Orton wrote the following on Twitter in response to fan comments after he was pulled from The Marine 3.
“I respect our military. That’s why I’ve gone to Iraq or Afghan 3 times and met thousands of soldiers. Funny that’s not mentioned.”
– The WWE website is continuing its new feature looking at ‘potential contenders’ for certain superstars .. After looking at who might be upcoming challengers to Brock Lesnar and Sheamus, the latest feature looks at possible opponents WWE Tag Team Champions Primo and Epico. Among the teams listed are Alex Riley & Mason Ryan, The Miz & David Otunga and Brodus Clay & Santino Marella.
– Alberto Del Rio earned a shot at Sheamus’ World Heavyweight Title after defeating the champion by disqualification on Friday’s SmackDown. WWE did not announce whether the match will take place at Extreme Rules. Both Christian and Daniel Bryan are also due for title shots in the coming weeks.
