NXT announcer Alex Riley posted a series of tweets on Tuesday in what appears to be a plea to WWE to let him back in the ring. He’s also been retweeting comments from fans saying that he deserves a push from the company. Riley tweeted:
On Monday’s WWE Hell In A Cell “go-home” edition of RAW, two announcements were made regarding the pay-per-view “Kickoff Show.”
Hosting the “expert panel” at Sunday’s Hell In A Cell “Kickoff Show” will be WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T, along with his usual partner Alex Riley and special guest, Paul Heyman.
Additionally, a “Mizdow TV” segment was confirmed, with Damien Mizdow (aka Damien Sandow) and special guest, The Miz.
Make sure to visit us here on the website this Sunday night for the best WWE Hell In A Cell live results coverage on the web!
It was revealed during Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which was the “go-home” show for this Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view that Daniel Bryan will appear on the “Kickoff Show” to address being stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In addition to that, it was recently announced that Bryan will be answering questions from fans during the pre-show as well. Fans interested in submitting questions for the leader of the “Yes! Movement” can do so on Twitter with the hashtag: #WWEKICKOFF.
Speaking of the “Kickoff Show” for this Sunday’s pay-per-view, the expert panel for the evening will include Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Christian. As noted earlier today, Josh Mathews, who generally hosts these panels, was released from the company.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On Alex Riley’s commentary style: “Impressed with Alex Riley on the pre game and post game ‘panel’ on the WWE Network. Alex comes by his talking skills naturally and seemingly has a long, productive future in his current role. I enjoyed working with Alex in NXT and feel he’s a potential star on the Network.”
On Josh Mathews: “Host Josh Mathews also seemed more comfortable in his host role on the panel but the panelists talking over each other endlessly needs to lessen. I think that these pre and post game shows have unlimited potential. I like the casting of Mathews in this new role.”
On TNA’s upcoming “Lockdown” pay-per-view: “TNA has a PPV this Sunday emanating from South Florida called Lockdown. It troubles me that Kurt Angle is once again being saddled up and ridden into a mid card match at this stage of his game. Just an observation and not attacking TNA Impact who I hope continues to develop their own identity and they play to their strengths which is bell to bell physicality and aggressive storytelling.”
– Apparently the trio of Josh Mathews, Alex Riley and Booker T will be the regular WWE pre-show and post-show panelists every week for RAW. Each week the group will be joined by a special guest, such as “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who served as the guest on the panel this past Monday night.
– In the latest SEC filing, WWE revealed that they currently have 133 wrestlers on their main and developmental rosters. Additionally, WWE has 762 corporate employees.
– WWE Superstar Tensai, who as previously reported is likely being transitioned into a television announcer, worked last night’s set of WWE NXT television tapings. Tensai was announced as Jason Alberts. Also on commentary last night were William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Alex Riley. The commentary team for the first set of tapings included Phillips, Saxton and Regal. The second set featured Phillips, Riley and Alberts.
– Speaking of last night’s NXT television tapings, NFL star of the New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski was reportedly in attendance during the show.
– There are several notable WWE Superstar birthdays today. WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T celebrates his 49th birthday today. Booker was born on March 1, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. (28), WWE Diva Emma (25) and former WCW star Scotty Riggs (43).
The following are highlights from a recent WOIO-TV CBS-19 Cleveland interview with WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler:
On the most underutilized Superstar in WWE: “Tyson Kidd, Heath Slater, Alex Riley I’m a big fan of his work. There’s a million guys that don’t always get the spotlight… I’ve worked 100 jobs in my life and I’ve never been with more hard working people that aren’t just in it for themselves, they’re in it for the fans and for the respect of their peers. There’s one or two probably that got under my radar that aren’t the hardest workers in the world, everybody else wants what’s best for the company. They want what’s best for themselves. We’re there to help the company and there’s so many other names on that list, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder those guys that have been fans since they were 5-years old.”
On Nicky of The Spirit Squad or Kerwin White’s caddy was a better gimmick: “It depends, because they both kinda sucked. Let’s see, which one was more heartbreaking to hear about? Actually, the Kerwin White caddy thing was pretty cool… you’re going off with Chavo Guerrero, this name that’s synonymous with awesome history for years. We don’t have too many Attitude era guys that are still around, or before that, who can take people under their wing, and I got that chance. That was amazing. But also in the Spirit Squad, losing every night – which is kinda my thing anyway – but sharing the spotlight with 5 guys… I had a blast with those guys by the way, working with DX, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, everybody you could possibly name and we had a blast. So both ended up being pretty cool.”
On his diet and workout routines: “I would say 70% of the time I eat moderately healthy and 30% of the time I eat whatever the hell I want because I work out so hard. Because I know that every Monday, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday I have to be in a pair of underwear trying not only to be in OK shape, but I want the boss to say ‘that guy can be my champion’, so I have to look like a million bucks every single day…. Every morning no matter what, six days a week if not seven I force myself up and on that treadmill or elliptical and get your body going… Eat and enjoy yourself, we’ve got too many nerdy people who are weighing turkey slices. Get out of here, you know what’s good and you know what’s bad. Eat what you like and be moderately healthy but go kill it in the gym.”
– WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio will be in attendance at today’s amateur wrestling tournament in Mar Vista High School at Imperial Beach, California. Mysterio will be there in support of his nephew, who will be competing in his first ever tournament.
– WWE announcer Alex Riley was in attendance at the Dallas Cowboys vs. Oakland Raiders NFL game on Thanksgiving. Riley was there representing WWE along with his girlfriend. Riley posted the following tweet, which includes a photo of them together at the game:
– One of the most feared moves in WWE is highlighted in this week’s edition of 30 Second Fury: Santino Marella’s Cobra.
– Alex Riley, who now appears a color commentator on WWE Superstars alongside Tom Phillips, recently tweaked his look for the show. The 32-year-old is sporting thick-rimmed glasses while calling the matches.
– Former WWE wrestler Tiger Ali Singh appeared as a guest speaker on Friday in Burlington, Ontario on behalf of the Halton Regional Police Services for their ‘Toys for Tots’ campaign launch. According to SLAM! Wrestling, Singh stated at the event, “There were lots of children in attendance and my message to them was a simple one… no matter what religion, colour or race you are, “sickness and poverty do not discriminate and neither should the spirit of giving.”
– Alex Riley’s father, Kevin Kiley, was recently included on the Talkers website’s “Sports Talk Heavy Hundred 2013” list. Kiley, along with his partner Chuck Brooms, were listed at number 74. You can check out the complete list online at Talkers.com.
– The following is a non-spoiler list of confirmed matches for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
3MB vs. The Usos & R-Truth
The Funkadactyls vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper
Alberto Del Rio vs. The Great Khali
John Cena vs. Ryback
For those interested, we have complete spoilers for tonight’s SmackDown up on the newsboard.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently posted a new tweet praising the efforts of Fandango and CM Punk on Friday’s taped edition of WWE SmackDown. Ross called the match between the two Fandango’s best match since joining the main roster in WWE. JR wrote, “Very good match on #SmackDown w/ @CMPunk vs @WWEFandango. Fandango’s best outing. Punk never has a bad bout. @WWE.”
-Speaking of JR, the longtime WWE announcer responded to a fan on Twitter who asked for his thoughts on Alex Riley’s work as a commentator on Friday’s edition of SmackDown. JR noted that he thought Riley did a good job filling in for JBL alongside Michael Cole.
-JBL also shared his thoughts on Riley’s work. JBL wrote on Twitter, “Congrats to @AlexRileyWWE on @wwe Smackdown. Heard he did a great job, well done.”
-TNA Impact Wrestling executive Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the new WWE reality show, “Total Divas” in a new tweet posted on his official Twitter account. Bischoff wrote, “Had a chance to check out Total Divas on E! via TiVo. Props to WWE (Kevin Dunn). Basic “Kardashian” format, but will grow the brand! Smart!”
-WWE Studios’ “Leprechaun” movie starring Hornswoggle finishes filming this weekend. “Leprechaun” is currently slated for a March 2014 release.
-Michael Cole and Alex Riley were the announcers for next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on Thursday evening in Houston, Texas. If interested, you can check out our full WWE SmackDown Spoiler Results from the show.
-WWE Diva Natalya was recently interviewed by FOX News to promote the debut of “Total Divas” on E! this Sunday. Natalya, who is currently married to WWE Superstar Tyson Kidd, will be featured on the show. You can check out the interview online at FOXNews.com.
– This week on WWE Superstars, Jey and Jimmy Uso join The Bella Twins for an Eight-Person Mixed Tag Team Match against Brodus Clay, Tensai and The Funkadactyls.
Alex Riley and Damien Sandow also square off on the show.
– The official WWE website has published an article remembering the WCW Hall of Fame, It was established in 1993 to honor alumni of the National Wrestling Alliance and Jim Crockett Promotions, the predecessors of World Championship Wrestling. Seventeen wrestlers were honored over the course of three years, including Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race and The Crusher
– Former WWE Women’s Champion Jacqueline is currently featured in the “Diva Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– This week’s episode of WWE Superstars is highlighted by Sin Cara squaring off against Michael McGillicutty, footage of which is available below. The masked wrestler returned to action last week after being sidelined since March due to a concussion suffered in a match with Jack Swagger. He made his televised return on Wednesday’s broadcast of WWE Main Event, defeating Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett in a non-title match.
Also on the show, Alex Riley goes up against Cody Rhodes. A clip from the match is available here.
– Amit Swami, who manages The Great Khali when the WWE Superstar returns to his native India, was arrested Friday for allegedly attacking a shopkeeper in Rewari.
Ajay Kumar filed complaint that Swami and other individuals barged into his shop Thursday evening, dragged him outside, and assaulted him. Swami claims that his family members had asked him to settle their domestic dispute as Kumar had been troubling them.
– Former WCW competitor Alex Wright turns 38-years-old today. Today, He is the owner of a wrestling promotion in his native Germany, New European Championship Wrestling, and still occasionally competes.
– WWE will hold its annual shareholders meeting at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut on Friday, April 26th.
– During a recent interview with CBS0-19 in Cleveland, WWE Superstar Alex Riley was asked why he stopped appearing on television:
“I don’t know, it’s a very competitive company. There’s a lot of people here and a lot of talent. So you have to constantly re-invent yourself and constantly be entertaining on a daily basis and find new ways to entertain and I’m trying to do that” …
“I was shoved into a main event spot very early in my career, which I don’t think a lot of people quite get that opportunity, so I was very lucky to get that opportunity. I wanna earn it, a lot of that had to do with Miz, so when I come back this time it’s going to be all me and I want to earn it.”
– WWE will be taping Main Event and Smackdown tomorrow night from Jacksonville, Florida.
– NXT star Corey Graves worked this weekend’s WWE live events, losing to Brodus Clay. Graves be at tonight’s RAW from Atlanta, Georgia.
– WWE ran an angle over the weekend where Alex Riley lost to Tensai three times in the same segment, once by a dance contest and twice by pinfall. Riley tweeted the following about his
– Injured WWE Superstar Alex Riley tweeted this week that he’s begun lifting weight again as he trains for his upcoming return to the ring. He’s been out of action since September when he underwent knee and elbow surgery.
Riley Riley has been working out another WWE superstar who hasn’t been on television much in recent months, Mason Ryan. The two of them have been using the hashtag “#RebuildTheRareBreed” to refer to their workouts.
– WWE champion CM Punk teased on Twitter a few weeks ago that he’ll be making a guest appearance on a popular television show, but said he’d have to clear it with WWE before he could reveal what the show was.
There’s a rumor going around that the show will be AMC’s popular “Walking Dead” zombie show. CM Punk has tweeted about how much he loves the show.
– Following up on our earlier report about NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal being backstage at the site of tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling, Hulk Hogan tweeted this afternoon:
Want some?you know the rest,got my other son Shaq watching my back tonight on IMPACT! Come get some Aces and8's. HOLLYWOOD4LIFE2SWEET
– DreadCentral.com has published photos of WWE Studios’ upcoming flick, No One Lives, starring WWE Superstar Brodus Clay.
The synopsis of the film, which premieres next month at the Toronto International Film Festival, reads: “A ruthless criminal gang takes a young couple hostage and goes to ground in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. When the captive girl is killed, the tables are unexpectedly turned. The gang finds itself outsmarted by an urbane and seasoned killer determined to ensure that no one lives.
“No One Lives, written by David Cohen and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, is a smart and original horror movie with at its heart a killer in the grip of a dark and twisted love affair.”
– Matches taped Monday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Epico and Primo
* Alex Riley vs. Jinder Mahal
No pre-taping dark match was held.
– Former WWE Superstar Chris Masters is advertised to appear at Traditional Championship Wrestling’s Saturday, Sept. 15 television taping in Memphis, Tennessee at Cook Convention Center under the name Chris Adonis.
– WWE.com updated its roster page this week to reflect recent storyline developments.
Eve and Curt Hawkins are now official members of the SmackDown roster. On last week’s episode of SmackDown, Eve defeated Kaitlyn to become the SmackDown Assistant General Manager to Booker T. Hawkins appeared on the show with Tyler Reks as they debuted male stripper characters. Reks was briefly listed on the page before he was granted his contract release on Tuesday.
AJ Lee is officially a member of the Raw roster after being named Raw General Manager by WWE chief Vince McMahon on Raw 1,000. Despite controlling the program, she continued to be listed as a SmackDown Diva.
– This week’s episode of WWE Superstars is headlined by Justin Gabriel vs. Cody Rhodes. Also featured are Yoshi Tatsu vs. Damien Sandow, Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger and Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre. (Watch)
– Jim Ross, who will commentate matches at tonight’s WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, tweeted prior to the event, “I have plenty of time 4 any NXT talent who wants to be great. To be physical & smart. To work diligently to improve. To the others, nothing.”
– As fans lined up outside the American Airlines Center for Raw, a WWE crew member said Daniel Bryan would debut a new T-Shirt this Sunday at SummerSlam. He surveyed fans on four shirt designs and asked them to pick the one they like.
– Two matches were taped Monday night in Dallas, Texas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty
* Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre
According to a fan account, Curtis debuted a new look in his match.
No dark match was held before the taping.
– Following her victory over Beth Phoenix and Eve on Raw, Kaitlyn posted a Tout of Layla gearing up the Texas native for her match against Eve on SmackDown. A position in SmackDown General Manager Booker T’s administration will be on the line when they fight.
– Kelly Kelly returned to WWE programming Monday on Raw as she scored a singles match victory over Eve following a surprise hurricanrana. The WWE Diva explained how it felt to be back on Backstage Fallout.
“It feels so great, oh my gosh, I can’t even describe it,” Kelly said. “Just walking through the curtain and hearing the crowd react, ’cause I doubt they had any idea that I was coming back tonight; I didn’t make any mention of it. I just wanted everyone to be surprised and excited when I walked out and they were so into the match and they were cheering my name. I missed that so much. I’m so glad to be back, it’s been great.”
Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Alex Riley and Daniel Bryan also react to Raw events.
– Less than two weeks ago, WWE.com published a photo gallery of Divas who have appeared at SummerSlam over the years, many of which featuring former Women’s Champion Sable. WWE then promoted the photo gallery on the site’s main page late last week, but with all photos of the former Diva removed.
– WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose competed in his first WWE match since mid-June at Friday’s Raw live event in Jacksonville, Florida. He defeated Alex Riley in a singles match.
– Japanese wrestlers are highlighted on this week’s episode of WWE Vintage Collection: Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (WCW Monday Nitro – December 30, 1996), Antonio Inoki vs. Lord Steven Regal (WCW Clash Of The Champions – August 24, 1994), Mr. Fuji and Tiger Chung Lee vs. Eddie Gilbert and Tony Garea (WWF live event – February 18, 1984), The Great Muta vs. Masahiro Chono (WCW/New Japan Supershow – January 4, 1993).
– Dean Malenko, who works for WWE as a producer, turns 52-years-old on Saturday. Also celebrating a birthday Saturday is Kensuke Sasaki, who turns 46-years-old.
– WWE Champion CM Punk sported a different hair style during his Street Fight Match victory over Daniel Bryan at Friday’s Raw live event in Jacksonville, Florida. In a change from his regular slicked back look, he sported a hairstyle similar to his time with The Nexus early last year.
– Once a promising talent in WWE’s midcard scene, Alex Riley’s role in the company has been greatly curtailed since last year. According to PWInsider.com, the Raw Superstar is in the doghouse stemming from a hostile backstage encounter with John Cena.
Cena was reportedly poking fun at Riley in front of their wrestler peers, and in response, the Raw talent angrily reacted to Cena’s “rib”—a violation of the unspoken rules of the WWE locker room. Though Riley’s exact actions are not known at this time, his unfavorable reaction to WWE’s premiere star was not considered a good move.
“A-RY” was asked to weigh in on the matter via Twitter and responded “I’d rather not comment about this… At this time.”
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson congratulated WWE via Twitter on their milestone 1,000th episode of Raw: “Congratulations @WWE for an historic & monumental night of television: 1000th episode of RAW. Honored to perform on it.”
– William Regal stated on Twitter that he will be on hand for tonight’s WWE NXT taping at Full Sail University.