Former WWE Superstar Alex Riley was recently a guest on Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about his time with the company. During the interview, Riley revealed how he was treated backstage by the likes of “The Chairman Of The Board” Vince McMahon and former WWE Champion Triple H, as well as if he would have stayed with WWE had he not been released.

Riley was signed to WWE back in 2007 when he was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his main roster debut and was paired with The Miz in 2010 for some time before embarking on a singles career. During his time with the company he also served as a color commentator on shows such as WWE Superstars, NXT, and Main Event before his release in May of last year. Check out here what he had to say:

How he was treated by Triple H and Vince McMahon:

“Vince McMahon [and] Triple H, they were straight [with me]. They were straight shooters and I always loved when somebody would say, ‘We’re just not gonna do it right now, sorry’ rather than bulls—ting me, and they never did. I heard – and I kind of got the feeling – that Vince was always a pretty big supporter of mine, so, hey, what a compliment to have. And I hope I’m making them very proud right now.”

If he would’ve stayed with WWE had he not been released:

“I don’t know, because I would’ve been torn. I really really love that job, but WWE is very in this way. They own you. They would’ve owned me, I don’t think I would have been allowed opportunities to do anything else.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling welcome a former WWE Superstar who has transitioned quite well into the world of acting as part of the SMASH Netflix series “GLOW” as Kevin Kiley Jr. (FKA Alex Riley) joins today’s program. This is a revealing and emotionally charged interview to say the least. Kevin opens up greatly about his time in the WWE and the trials and tribulations that helped mold his future outside of the wrestling business as well as address the longstanding rumors of his tension with John Cena and if that played a part into his departure from the company. We also get the story behind his very positive move into acting and the change of a lifetime being cast on Netflix’s GLOW revival. The full episode is available at this download link.

Did he expect this massive fan response to GLOW following his departure from WWE:

“Absolutely not. When the WWE and I decided to part ways after ten years there wasn’t much I didn’t do at WWE when it came to broadcasting and NXT back and fourth and the run with The Miz and all that stuff and the main event at WrestleMania, it was fantastic. I kind of got to the end of it and was trying to figure out what I was going to do career wise moving forward and I was trying to get into some broadcasting and acting which had always been a big dream of mine and obviously some of the WWE guys have gone on to do some acting, certainly The Rock and Cena is trying to parlay into some acting but I was just unsure and didn’t know. I had a tape put together while I was with WWE of the backstage things I had done and a lot of the broadcasting things I had done and sent it off to a bunch of people. One of them was a manager in Hollywood and he loved it and thought it was great and thought I could get some work right away or at least had a good shot at getting work but I don’t think anyone could have predicted this. This has been so far an out of the park home run type of thing for it just being this early in my acting career and it really being like the perfect role. When the audition came across his desk and he passed it down to me I remember reading it and thinking (uh-oh) that it is kind of eerie the type of role that it was.”

“I just thought it was such an eerie thing and was a; Well what if I do get this? I thought it could be interesting. The fact that I got it and the amount of success that it has had has been absolute incredible and I feel very fortunate to be a part of the whole thing and a kind of stars aligning in the right way and here I am talking to you guys so I can’t complain.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKGQbB_bTcE]

His actual role on the show as Steelhorse:

“Yeah and it is that all these things have been a great ride since the moment that I got the script. My manager explained to me that they weren’t just auditioning and that this was a guest star role (which I am learning now is a very important spot), it is a spot where they dedicate the plot of one story to your character and how you are involved in the plot moving forward. He said to me that they are not just auditioning wrestlers for this, they are auditioning actors for this and pretty much anybody in Hollywood that they think has a shot at this or fits this type was going to go up for this role and so I got it. The fact I got the part from that was incredibly exciting and to find out that it is a Netflix original series, I started paying a lot more attention to in addition to watching a ton of Netlix. It is the new movie now. I listened to Kevin Spacey say how a lot of prime time actors are going to be moving into episodic television because they have the opportunity to make their character a ten hour character and there is a lot more time and space to develop these stories and these characters and it is not just an hour and a half of special effects cut up and put in the box office. I think that is the truth and I think now that you are seeing certainly with Netflix a lot of these original series he (Spacey) is on “House of Cards”, “13 Reasons Why” and a lot of great stories with great plots and great characters that Netflix is now making and turning out and it shows and “GLOW” is right up there with all of that. It is a fantastic show and if you haven’t seen it please go out and check it out. It is like I stepped right out of the WWE and stepped right onto a team that of the best in Hollywood and from my first moment and turning every corner and finding out that it is just even bigger and bigger of a project than I had known about before has been just absolutely incredible.”

Was he happy with his role in WWE in a broadcasting role prior to his departure:

“Did I like it, I guess I’ve been asked this question before and this is how I’ve addressed it: No I did not. I don’t mean to be blunt but of course I didn’t. I went there to be a wrestler, I wanted to be a wrestler very badly and I certainly was athletic enough and certainly had the tools and a lot of tools to be the best wrestler there. I always felt like I had what it took to be the WWE Champion. To be 250lbs and ex-professional football player and to be sitting behind the desk was highly frustrating for me. That being said, I loved when the red light was on and I was talking WWE because it was fun and I always was a huge fan of WWE and always knew the product better than anybody else and had a great perspective of what it took to not only climb through High School and College to be a semi-professional football player because I’ve been an athlete my entire life so you weren’t going to put anybody on that panel that had more athletic experience in different realms and who could give a perspective of what happens inside of the ring. I had my ass kicked in the ring a lot of times and I kicked a lot of ass in the ring so I had perspectives on both. But no, absolutely not because I felt I should have been in the ring and it was about two years of my career that I was in great shape and proved it when I came off the desk and I wanted to be out there. That being said I was apart of the company and was able to work extremely hard and give them what I had behind the desk so in that regard it was a good thing.”

Addressing the John Cena rumors and if it played into his departure from the company:

“I guess I’m not saying anything that other people haven’t already kind of said. It is kind of out there but I’ll say this. There was an incident and it certainly affected the path of my career, however I am not going to talk about it right now and I’ve kind of gone back and fourth in my own times morally with do I say anything or do I not. I am not in the habit of destroying anybodies career so it is just something at this point that I don’t want to address further than that but one day I certainly will. It was a hard situation to deal with.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDbnNS-fJ_o]

For this and every other episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling please subscribe to us on iTunes, Podomatic, Player FM, Tune In Radio and The IRW Network, The EXCLUSIVE home of The Triple Threat Podcast featuring Shane Douglas & TMPToW. As well as follow us on Twitter @TwoManPowerTrip

H/T to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling for the transcription

– Former WWE Superstar Alex Riley, who was cut back in May of this year, will be guest starring on the upcoming “GLOW” series from Netflix about the 80’s women’s wrestling promotion, according to The Wrestling Observer. Riley has been pursuing his acting career since being released from WWE.

– Carmella noted on Twitter that she suffered a black eye during the brawl with Nikki Bella on this week’s SmackDown. She tweeted the following on their No DQ match at TLC this coming Sunday:

Woke up today with a black eye & welts all over my forehead..Wait until you see what Nikki looks like when I'm done w her at #wwetlc ??

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) November 30, 2016

– Xavier Woods plays Tetris with NXT’s Tye Dillinger, Angelo Dawkins, Dash Wilder and Brennan Williams in these new UpUpDownDown videos:

– A new WWE Ride Along will be filmed tonight after Extreme Rules with Byron Saxton, Michael Cole and JBL as they drive to Baltimore for Raw.

– Alex Riley has not tweeted since being released on May 6th but he issued his first tweet tonight, a message to Cody Rhodes on his WWE departure:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/734568333601832960

The last time WWE did a big round of cuts, it was Thursday, June 12, 2014, when they released JTG, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Teddy Long, Camacho, Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu, and referee Marc Harris. Since then, the company moved in a different direction, electing to allow most contracts to expire. It made enough sense: It’s not the type of thing you necessarily want to publicize. For whatever reason, that changed today, Friday, May 6, 2016.

While WWE doing a big round of cuts is surprising in and of itself, the choices themselves aren’t necessarily out of left field. Let’s take a look at who got cut and why it may or may not make sense:

Zeb Colter (Wayne Keown): Veteran wrestler and booker Dutch Mantel had has career revived for one last big run starting in 2013 as Jack Swagger’s manager. Billed as having served with Swagger’s father (who was portrayed by fellow southern veteran Jimmy Golden) in Vietnam, he reprised his mid-’90s Uncle Zebekiah gimmick as a Tea Party-loving heel and was cutting some of the best promos in the business. However, the character had largely run its course and, except for a six week run last fall, he had been off TV for two years. A lot of people already thought that he was gone, as he’s been taking independent bookings, using his Dutch Mantel Twitter account again, and the official Zeb Colter Twitter account had its “Verified” check mark removed.

El Torito (real name unknown; formerly Mascarita Dorada): The Mexican mini star had nothing to do after Los Matadores were dissolved, having been off TV since last fall. Unless WWE brought in someone from Mexico to be his opponent as a house show opening match act, what could they even have done with him? It’s a shame since it’s so talented. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off in Mexico.

Alex Riley (Kevin Kiley Jr.): He was never really given a shot. His initial babyface turn on The Miz got over to a surprising degree with live crowds, but that fizzled. He could talk well and improved in the ring and occasionally got a minor spotlight (like his match with Shinsuke Nakamura airing on NXT next week) but he clearly hasn’t been any kind of priority for a long time. He didn’t wrestle for an eight month stretch last year and only worked 29 matches to date in 2016.

Hornswoggle (Dylan Postl): He had been off TV for the better part of two years, barely wrestled, and failed a drug test last fall. If WWE was going to do a round of cuts, it was inevitable that he’d be on the list, though not necessarily due to any fault of his own. He deserves credit for lasting a decade in the company, especially since he was brought it seemingly to sabotage Finlay’s push.

Cameron (Ariane Andrew): The former “Tough Enough” contestant never really improved to the point she could carry her end of a match, though she was a very entertaining personality on “Total Divas.” That, and her boyfriend Vinny becoming a fan favorite character, clearly helped extend her run. Even if she had improved more, she had a big hill to climb with fans after saying on Tough Enough that Melina vs. Alicia Fox was the greatest match she had ever seen. She had just nine matches this year, had been off TV since a January NXT appearance, and hadn’t been on main roster television in about a year.

Santino Marella (Anthony Carelli): He had announced his retirement at a house show in his home town of Toronto almost two years ago, though he had teased returning at times on social media. That seemed a lot less likely after this:

Well folks bad news, we had semi-emergency surgery today, had to remove all the hardware in my neck, not sure what recovery will entail

— Santino Marella (@milanmiracle) December 12, 2014

It was honestly pretty surprising that he was still under a talent contract at this point, especially if releasing him was in the cards.

Wade Barrett (Stu Bennett): He had announced he wasn’t renewing his contract. While a lot of his setbacks in WWE were just bad luck with injuries, he was completely derailed by the transition from Bad News Barrett to King Barrett. He went from a guy who was funny but able to be taken seriously as a tough guy to a total joke who ran around wearing a crown.

Damien Sandow: They built to his babyface turn with the Damien Mizdow gimmick…then it fizzled. Then he vanished. What happened? Who knows?

WWE has announced the release of multiple Superstars on Friday, including:

• Hornswoggle
• Alex Riley
• Cameron
• Zeb Colter
• El Torito
• Santino Marella
• Wade Barrett
• Damien Sandow

As per WWE.com, “WWE wishes them the best in all of their future endeavors.”

We’ll update this post if there are any more cuts.

WWE Superstar Alex Riley recently appeared on “The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast and spoke about the status of his knee, his plans for his WWE return and how frustrating it was being a WWE announcer when he wanted to be in the ring.

On the status of his injured knee following his third surgery on it:

“The rehab [has] taken a little bit longer than I would have originally liked. When the doc got in there, he saw a couple of other things and tried to do this stem cell procedure. Basically, when he got in there [he noticed] I was missing a lot of cartilage kind of on the lateral side of my knee, so he kind of did this procedure that hasn’t really been approved yet, but it was Dr. Andrews down in Pensacola [Florida], who is a fantastic doctor and gets a lot of professional athletes. Like, he did a stem cell procedure, and unbeknownst to me and the WWE, it took a little bit longer for the recovery. But I’m glad he did it. My knee feels great.” Riley added, “until my knees completely give out, not one of them, but both of them, I will be in there fighting it out.”

On if being an athlete helps you break into pro wrestling:

“I think being an athlete and being used to the contact and the brutality of tackle football certainly helps. I think it’s something that will get you used to what you have to do as an athlete in the WWE. Now, mentally, I don’t think so. I think it hurts you because wrestling is something that is very individualistic and even your coaches, they know from what they did and what they were successful at, but nobody can tell you how to be you. And I think what happens to athletes that come in here is that they’re so used to ‘run to that line and catch the ball and we’ll pat you on the back and say ‘good”. That’s not how this business works. This business is ‘you have to create a path. You have to create a line of your own and then maybe we’ll throw you the ball, maybe we won’t’.” Riley continued, “you have to think for yourself [in professional wrestling]. You have to have your own ideas. You have to have your own beliefs. You have to believe in something so strongly and really be willing to die for it, in a way, because you’re going to be tested when it comes to that and your character, who you are, [and] what you stand for has got to come from inside and nobody can tell you that. And I think that was a lot of what my struggle was at first. I didn’t really know who I was unless a coach was telling me where to go or ‘do this drill’ or do that.”

On Titus O’Neil and Mojo Rawley:

“[O’Neil]’s a big guy. He [has] got a lot of talent. He’s certainly a good athlete. And when it comes to professional wrestling, you put him out there and JBL says it all the time, and I don’t know if I completely agree with it, but he has everything that it takes to be a world champion. And when you’re being told things like that and it just is not happening [it is frustrating]. Titus came in a year and a half after I was in FCW and when it’s not happening, he just made the choice where he’s going to start kicking in doors until he gets at least somewhat of what he thinks he deserves. So he [has] done a great job in that regard. He has not quit. He [has] fought and he’s being rewarded for it.”

On his announcing gig and how he’d rather be in the ring:

“When they had taken this from me and for whatever reason I was doing the commentary, and, again, certainly a good opportunity to do it, but do I think I should have been in the ring [instead]? 100%. Did it feel like a cage? Yes. In the regard that I was sitting there every single Monday night watching people out there that I felt that I was better than, but I couldn’t get in there.” Riley added, “I’m sitting there every night talking about people, telling people how great they were or how great they are and how bad I was and that’s B.S.”

On how he plans to “go for it” when he returns:

“When I come back, I promise you, I’m going for it. Now whether I become WWE [World Heavyweight] Champion or I’m in NXT for the next three years, regardless of where I am or where I’m placed, I’m swinging for the fence, so it’s going to make a loud noise and I’m sure you guys are going to hear it, but I have no more, I don’t want to say I have no more fear because I certainly fear things, but very little. Very little at this point.”

• *NEW* Photo Gallery: Awesome Bikini Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY At The Beach!

– WWE remembered the 9/11 tragedies on Friday with the following tweet:

WWE remembers September 11, 2001, and honors the lives lost 14 years ago. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/drFypG4rgf

— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2015

– We have been covering the fact that Alex Riley has been teasing his return to the ring for a while. Riley posted the following on Twitter today:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/642320541878251521

– WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas was backstage at the NXT television tapings this week. Below is a photo of Lita backstage at the show with John Laurinaitis, Terry Taylor and Scott Armstrong.

#Peoplepower is @WWENXT for tonight's event. Should be explosive @WWE @AmyDumas @WWEArmstrong #TerryTaylor pic.twitter.com/DBOdTUflGX

— John Laurinaitis (@JohnLaurinaitis) September 10, 2015

• Well-Known UFC Star BADLY Breaks Hand, Posts GRAPHIC Post-Surgery Photos!

Alex Riley does not sound pleased about WWE Tough Enough and the company’s efforts to find new talent from the WWE Universe.

Riley posted the following tweets over the weekend, complaining about the show’s concept and reminding WWE that he’s already under contract and ready to step up and become the next big thing.

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/615528730912493568

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/615529334292529152

Riley returned to the ring earlier this year and is currently out of action after undergoing surgery to repair degenerative arthrosis in his knee.

The following is a preview for tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network, featuring Alex Riley’s “shot at redemption” against NXT Champion Kevin Owens: (more…)

Next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network will feature NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. Alex Riley and Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch in a #1 contenders match. Riley posted this video hyping his shot at redemption:

Dana Brooke tweeted the following about her NXT debut, where she defeated Blue Pants:

🎀❤️ #DanasDebut less than 1hr! Let's trend it & make it EPIC ! I'm so grateful 4 the ❤️! @WWENXT #WWENXT #danadebuts pic.twitter.com/Gi8VldOIBe

— Ash By Elegance (@Ashamae_Sebera) April 15, 2015

– The name of Sheamus’ new theme song is “Hellfire.” The song was done by a band called CFO$.

– Connors Cure bracelets have been selling out at the WWE live events in the U.K. this week.

– 2K Sports noted on social media that the upcoming WWE 2K16 video game will have the largest roster of Superstars and Divas of any WWE video game in history.

– Alex Riley has been calling out NXT Champion Kevin Owens on Twitter lately. In his most recent tweet, Riley claimed he could double the WWE Network subscriber count from 1.3 million to 2.6 million. Riley tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/586563661239574530

• Former WWE Star Says He Has Beef With CM Punk Over Eve Torres!

– Brad Maddox and Tamina Snuka are currently backstage at the site of tonight’s RAW, according to PWInsider.com. Maddox has been off TV since being ‘fired’ by The Authority and recently returned to the ring at a WWE live event. Tamina has been cleared to return to action after missing several months.

– WWE star Alex Riley tweeted the following in response to AJ Lee retiring from WWE:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/584546286705238016

Of course, this is a reference to the “6/16/13” that AJ had tattooed on the back of her neck to commemorate the day she captured the WWE Divas Championship for the first time. Riley is getting a lot of negative responses to his tweet.

– Alex Roley spoke to WWE.com about getting back in the ring with NXT after two years on the sidelines as a commentator.

When asked if he was at peace with never wrestling again before his recent return, Riley said:

“It was never over in my mind. Although I had people in WWE and in very high-powered, prominent positions telling me I was never going to wrestle again. I heard things like, “if you have anything in common with Alex Riley, you should be worried.” Honestly, hearing those things was more painful than I can put into words. But in my mind, I lived everyday like I was hours away from WrestleMania. That’s how you know you love something. It’s when there is zero chance of you ever getting to see it, touch it, do it again and you go on faith and never stop pursuing it.”

– The latest SmackDown Fallout video features the big post-SmackDown interview with Stardust that he’s been hyping on social media. Stardust spoke to Tom Phillips about the WWE Intercontinental Title Ladder Match at WrestleMania:

– Next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network will feature matches and footage from the recent Arnold Sports Festival from Columbus, Ohio. Alex Riley will face NXT Champion Kevin Owens and Ohio’s Alexa Bliss challenges NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks.

– Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady are the new #1 contenders to Blake & Murphy’s NXT Tag Team titles after defeating The Lucha Dragons on this week’s show.

– This week’s WWE NXT BreakDown video features Alex Riley talking about his return to the ring, where he defeated CJ Parker. Riley gets emotional and says he was told he would never be back in the ring.

While nothing is official yet, there is speculation going around that Sheamus could potentially make his WWE return on tonight’s edition of RAW from Newark, New Jersey.

Speaking of tonight’s RAW, the WWE Network is advertising Alex Riley to return to the RAW pre-show tonight, however that appears to be a case of the Network not updating their listings. As things stand now, tonight’s RAW pre-show is set to feature the usual trio of Scott Stanford, Corey Graves and David Otunga.

Part-time WWE performer Chris Jericho has launched an official t-shirt store at ProWrestlingTees.com. He tweeted the following about the store, which shows off some of the t-shirt designs.

Check out my NEW online store for NEW @TalkIsJericho & Jericho merch designs!http://t.co/u5kztxTlFa @OneHourTees pic.twitter.com/Me3Bz5DF2F

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) March 2, 2015

• Why Was Brock Lesnar At Saturday’s UFC 184 PPV?! FNID OUT HERE!

– CM Punk and Colt Cabana are both scheduled to appear on a future episode of IFC’s “Maron” with Marc Maron.

– Following this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, Adam Rose and Fandango are now both official for the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31. With those two added to the mix, the updated list features Rose, Fandango, The Miz, Curtis Axel and Ryback. More names will likely be added on Monday’s RAW.

– Speaking of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Alex Riley has continued his social media campaign with his focus now being on obtaining a spot in the match. He tweeted the following today:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/571329215825633282

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/571330937558081536

• VERY Detailed Update On Reason BROCK LESNAR Walked Out On WWE On Monday!

– Last night at Fastlane, Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan in the main event to retain his No. 1 contender status for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship heading into WrestleMania 31. With the main event now out of the picture for Bryan, what will he be doing at the show.

According to PWInsider.com, the names being talked about most for his opponents are Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus.

– According to the WWE Network schedule, Alex Riley is slated to host tonight’s Raw Pre-show with Corey Graves and Scott Stanford. David Otunga had been serving as an analyst in place of Riley in recent weeks.

– Click here to check out WWE.com’s Five-Point Preview for tonight’s RAW.

• Does Vince like Finn Balor? Backstage News On His WWE Future

– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans who impressed them more in last night’s Tag Team Turmoil match on SmackDown, Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan. With nearly 9,000 votes cast, Bryan is leading with 62% of the vote.

– WWE.com has another poll asking fans if the referee was right to stop the Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn NXT Title match at Takeover on Wednesday. With over 8,000 votes, 57% have voted, “Yes – the official’s duty is to protect a Superstar’s well-being.” 43% voted, “No – a match should end by pinfall or submission.”

– Alex Riley returned to the ring at last night’s WWE NXT TV tapings and began a feud with a top NXT star. Riley received a huge reaction from fans and was reportedly in tears after one match due to the response. He tweeted the following about the experience:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/566227737372024832

After being pulled from Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, part-time wrestler and NXT announcer Alex Riley continues to express frustration with WWE on social media.

Using the hashtag #RileyWalks, Riley has been re-tweeting messages from fans about how he should be in the Rumble and about how WWE should push him. Here are some of his recent tweets, which began during Monday’s WWE RAW:

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/559904260813766656

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/559906173072453634

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/560139637948424192

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/560154075455815680

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/560477097786114048

WWE had several notable names backstage at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday. The company was hoping to swerve the internet by having so many names at the show, with the thought being some of those names would leak.

Among those in attendance at the show were Chris Jericho and Nikolai Volkoff. Sean Waltman was rumored to be backstage at the show as well, although that has yet to be confirmed.

One WWE performer who was scheduled to work the Royal Rumble match but didn’t was Alex Riley. Riley was taken off of his normal job as part of the pre-show panel so that he could work the match, but for whatever reason he wasn’t used.

• MMANEWS.COM: Updates On CM Punk’s UFC Debut — Who His Opponent Will Be, etc.

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

– WWE broadcast team member Scott Stanford will be back on the official WWE RAW pre-show on the WWE Network tonight. Stanford will join the regular RAW pre-show hosts Byron Saxton and Alex Riley in place of the usual third member of the team, Booker T.

– Ryback posted the following tweet to follow up on the “firing” storyline from last Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.

https://twitter.com/Ryback22/status/554434660940644352

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee In Their Private Time, Hanging w/ Celebrities, Partying & MORE! [View Here >>]

Alex Riley returned to in-ring action at the WWE live event in Beaumont, Texas on Sunday night. Riley worked as a heel and lost to Darren Young in singles action.

Meanwhile, Riley has continued his “#FreeRiley” Twitter campaign and is now using “#RileyWalks” hash-tags to continue his social media storyline.

Below are some of Riley’s tweets from before his match on Sunday night.

Let's see who else wants to fight for there life with me? @wwe #FreeRiley #RileyWalks

— Alex Riley (@AlexRileyWWE) January 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/551874830870392832

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/551873302487003137

https://twitter.com/AlexRileyWWE/status/551917477878173696

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee Together In Las Vegas This Past Weekend

The WWE Network aired a brief TLC “Fallout” post-show after last night’s pay-per-view. The show opened with the panel, which featured Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about John Cena winning his “Tables Match” tonight, which earned him the right to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman praised Cena, saying he’s the best — besides Lesnar.

Dean Ambrose was shown in the ring recovering from the television monitor exploding on him. Ambrose destroyed what was left of the monitor.

On commentary, Michael Cole promoted the Cena vs. Lesnar match and pointed out that it will be the final meeting between the two.

NXT announcer Alex Riley recently spoke to Chad Dukes of CBS Radio Washington DC 106.7 The Fan. He discussed his return to the ring, the #FreeRiley hash tag and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about: