— Matches taped tonight in Dallas, Texas for this week’s episode of NXT: Redemption are as follows: A.J. vs. Maxine, Derrick Bateman vs. Percy Watson, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks.
A match pitting former Corre teammates Ezekiel Jackson and Heath Slater was taped for WWE Superstars. Matches taped last night in Oklahoma City were Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre and JTG vs. Santino Marella.
— Want to have a cyber friend date with Shelly Martinez? Have something you been wanting to ask? Just want to get to know her in a more personal way? Buy some time and have her all to yourself!
Shelly is offering cyber friend dates through ShellyMartinez.org, which allows people to purchase time with the former WWE Diva. Those who book cyber friend dates for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for next week get a two-for-one special: Shelly and Amber O’Neal.
— Tyson Kidd feels his Twitter remarks regarding the Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara match at Hell in a Cell were taken out of context by websites labeling it as a jab. The SmackDown Superstar wrote, “Love when things get taken out of context. You know what happens when you assume.”
Kidd said of the match, “Best part about being either Sin Cara? Having the mask means you don’t have to show your face after that performance.”
— Matches taped tonight in Lafayette, Louisiana for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were:
– WWE Superstars matches taped last night before the SmackDown tapings in St. Louis were Brodus Clay vs. local wrestler Bryan Thomas and Daniel Bryan vs. Trent Baretta.
– Several WWE stars were interviewed for Edge’s new DVD at Monday’s RAW Supershow.
– A new Steve Austin DVD box set will be released on October 3rd in the UK. “The Steve Austin Collection” will be bundled with several of his recent DVD action movies, including Born to Fight (Knockout), The Stranger and Hunt to Kill.
– Alex Riley announced on Twitter this week that he’s getting his very first WWE t-shirt and action figure soon. Riley’s action figure comes packaged with The Miz in one of Mattel’s “Battle Packs.”
– After Vince McMahon went ballistic backstage at RAW last week, Vince was said to be in a much better mood this week. Vince was reportedly upset because Alberto Del Rio mentioned his name on television, which Vince thought spoiled his eventual television return.
— It was reported two weeks ago that Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine, who is currently training in Florida Championship Wrestling, was suspended for 30 days due to a violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program. WWE, however, never publicly announced the suspension. The latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter speculates that it could be due to Leavine being considered a developmental wrestler and not a main roster talent.
— Chavo Guerrero, Sr. (a/k/a Chavo Classic) knocked WWE’s attempt to market Sin Cara. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion wrote the following on Twitter (in Spanish): “Whoever hired Sin Cara does not know the Hispanic market.”
— Alex Riley’s father, Kevin Kiley, Sr., has been hired as the morning talk show host for WKRK FM in Cleveland, Ohio. The CBS affiliate is switching from a music to an all-sports format.
— Following the Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly match on Raw, The Score in Canada accidentally cut to a feed of Eastbound and Down. During the brief cutaway, four seconds of bare-breasted women aired. The Score then briefly cut to a Steve Austin music video featuring “Somewhere Down in Texas” by George Strait before returning to the broadcast with the Alex Riley highlight video.
— Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT will highlight past contestants who have gone on to superstardom including A.J., Alex Riley, Brodus Clay, Daniel Bryan, Justin Gabriel, Kaitlyn and Wade Barrett. The synopsis of tonight’s episode reads: “WWE NXT is WWE’s launching pad to Superstardom. Six NXT Graduates have gone on to win WWE Championships, including Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. After Tuesday’s LIVE SuperSmackDown, tune in to NXT.WWE.COM at 10 ET/7 PT for the NXT Graduates special!”
— Chris Masters is advertised to appear at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet 13963 Alondra Blvd. Santa Fe Springs, California (Space H-5) on Saturday, September 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
— WWE has announced that the first Raw match of the “post-McMahon Era” will be Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz in the finals of the WWE Championship Tournament.
Their announcement reads: “The final round of the WWE Championship Tournament kicks off Raw tonight at 9/8 CT as Rey Mysterio and The Miz clash Raw to determine the undisputed holder of WWE’s golden prize. Who will be crowned the new WWE Champion?”
— WWE developmental wrestler Naomi acted as the guest host of last night’s Raw live event in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
— Kelly Kelly, Justin Gabriel and Alex Riley are advertised to appear at this Wednesday’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event at the Orlando Armory in Orlando, Florida. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
— Former WWE Superstar Kenzo Suzuki celebrates his 37th birthday today. He is currently wrestling in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he holds the AJPW World Unified Tag Team Championship with The Great Muta.
— Mason Ryan, who has been sidelined since late June to an undisclosed injury, is advertised to appear at the September 25 Raw live event in Lubbock, Texas.
— Ring of Honor wrestler Jimmy Jacobs was backstage at Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event in Chicago, Illinois and Monday’s Monday Night Raw event in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
There was talk of using Jacobs at Money in the Bank as a security guard in an angle to pull Randy Orton off Christian, but it didn’t happen. He also worked out in front of company personnel prior to Raw.
— Alex Riley spoke to Chad Dukes of CBS Washington to promote tomorrow’s Raw live event in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. In his interview with Dukes, Riley describes what it’s like experiencing various finishing moves from other WWE Superstars. He also gives his thoughts on CM Punk leaving WWE after winning the Championship at Money in the Bank.
In the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, Rey Mysterio and The Miz meet next week on Raw to determine the undisputed title holder.
Vince McMahon announced at the top of the show that eight of the top Superstars would compete in a WWE Championship Tournament and that a new titleholder would be determined that night. Before Mysterio and The Miz could compete in the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, McMahon demanded that the ring be cleared due to important business he had to conduct. Triple H then informed McMahon that he had been relieved of his duties as WWE Chairman and that he would be taking his place.
WWE Championship Tournament Results
* The Miz defeated Alex Riley in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated R-Truth in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
— Paul Bearer’s Twitter account was hacked last week due to a phishing attack. The account has since been reclaimed. His primary account is located here.
— Colt Cabana, who performed in WWE as Scotty Goldman, noted on Art Of Wrestling that he would be attending Money in the Bank.
The pay-per-view event takes place next Sunday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
— Alex Riley and Kaitlyn will be appearing at the 2011 Connecticut Women’s Expo on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Event information is available here.
— Former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Gillberg celebrates his 52nd birthday today.
WWE talent Alex Riley has been cleared of charges stemming from driving under the influence in Tampa, Florida in November 2010, reports TMZ.com.
His lawyers went before a judge earlier this month and argued that police had no probable cause for a traffic stop that led to his client’s arrest. The judge agreed, rendering the field sobriety test and the officer’s observations about Riley inadmissible.
Riley was arrested in Tampa, Florida on November 17, 2010, at 1:14 a.m. on charges of driving under the influence, after refusing to be tested. He was released at 9:33 a.m. on a $500 bond. Riley was also charged with driving with a suspended license.
To read the story, which also includes his mug shot, click here.
— WWE.com has moved Alex Riley’s profile from the SmackDown roster page to the Raw roster page.
Riley was moved to the SmackDown brand in the 2011 Supplemental Draft. He debuted on the April 29 episode of SmackDown, interrupting Randy Orton and given an RKO in response. This was his only television appearance on the brand. Riley continued to appear on Raw, alongside The Miz. The Miz fired Riley as his assistance on the May 23 Raw, blaming him for his lack of success in regaining the WWE Championship. It was announced the following Monday that the Anonymous Raw General Manager had hired Riley, therefore moving him back to Raw.
— Former WWE creative writer Court Bauer posted a message on his Twitter account today indicating that he had a meeting at WWE’s corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
“Interesting meeting and day here in Stamford, Bauer wrote. “Deja vu all over again.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what Jim Ross said about:
Chris Jericho’s 3rd Book & WWE Return:
Chris Jericho is looking at doing a 3rd book! Amazing. I can’t even put a plan together to write one while wanting to stay away from a full blown autobiography at this time. Jericho is uber talented in many areas and has likely not wrestled his last WWE bout. The thing about Jericho is that he’s going to do things on his time line and that he enjoys doing. When or if he becomes ready to return to WWE he will. The Winnipeg native and Fozzy front man certainly doesn’t ‘owe’ any of us one more match.
Alex Riley Getting A Babyface Push:
– Yes emailer….Alex Riley has upped his game the past two weeks on Raw while beating up The Miz. The key to Riley’s rise to stardom and latching on to something tangible at the next level is his continued ability to shine and to get on a roll. The roll has started but how long will it be sustained? That’s always going to be the question no matter the talent. Riley-Miz has been some of my favorite, MNR content the past two broadcasts. It feels new and fresh.
The New WWE ’12 Video Game:
– The THQ rendition of the WWE12 video game is going to really be slick. THQ has some very educated and intelligent fans of the genre working on this game and I look for it to be the most ecstatically pleasing and exciting to play video game that THQ/WWE has done to date.
– Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn were said to be “freaking out” backstage at RAW on Monday due to the technical difficulties that plagued the first fifteen minutes of the broadcast.
– This is interesting. The only time Alex Riley has ever appeared on WWE Smackdown after being drafted from RAW was on April 29th. He appeared in the opening segment and was immediately RKO’d by Randy Orton. Many forget he’s technically a SmackDown! superstar.
– The PWO Wrestling independent promotion released the following statement on Tuesday, announcing one of its top stars has signed with WWE:
Matthew Justice (real name Matt Hannan) was a longstanding competitor in PWO Wrestling, having been a part of the organization since its formation in the fall of 2007. Known for his high-octane aerial style, and calm, laid-back demeanor, Justice instantly stood out. After a three and a half year PWO career that saw many highs and lows, this past March, Matt agreed to terms to take the next step of his career, signing a developmental contract with WWE Inc. After his final ever PWO match, which aired two weeks ago on PWO TV on SportsTime Ohio, we said goodbye to Matt. This footage from when PWO TV went off the air was shown for the first time ever anywhere this past Sunday night on PWO TV. Check it out here:
— WWE has discussed adding a United States Championship Match between Sheamus and Kofi Kingston to this Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
— Jim Ross, who suffered a hand injury on Raw, adamantly stated on Twitter today that he will be ready for his scheduled tag team match at Extreme Rules.
— Jon Moxley of Dragon Gate USA signed a developmental contact with WWE this week. He will report to Florida Championship Wrestling next week.
— Silvervision has announced that WWE’s upcoming three-disc DVD set on Rey Mysterio, Rey Mysterio: The Life of a Masked Man, will feature a total of twenty matches—two ECW matches, six WCW matches and twelve WWE matches.
— A match pitting Trent Barreta against SmackDown newcomer Tyson Kidd was taped Tuesday night in Greensboro, North Carolina for this week’s episode of WWE Superstar.
WWE Superstars announcer Jack Korpela complemented the match on Twitter, writing: “Don’t miss WWE Superstars this week on WWE.com! @trentylocks and Tyson Kidd just had an incredibly thrilling match. Best I’ve ever called.”
— NXT Season Four winner Johnny Curtis beat Alex Riley in a dark match prior to last night’s television tapings in Greensboro, North Carolina. Riley, who drafted to SmackDown earlier in the day, stated before the match that he would show why doesn’t need The Miz.
— Raw Superstar Vladimir Kozlov celebrates his 39th birthday today.
— It was reported yesterday that WWE officials discussed moving The Undertaker to Raw to make up for a top babyface character being transferred to SmackDown during the 2011 WWE Draft. While the draft came and went without The Deadman changing brands, company sources indicate he’ll join Raw upon his return to television.
— SmackDown announcer Jack Korpela has launched a Twitter account.
— Numerous WWE related terms trended on Twitter during today’s WWE Draft including Kelly Kelly, Alex Riley, Drew McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, William Regal and Jack Swagger.
— Florida based wrestling valet Trina Michaels plans to attend this Monday’s Raw taping in Miami. She will be visiting friends in WWE.
— Sin Cara teamed up with John Cena at last night’s Raw live event in Birmingham, England.
Earlier in the night, Cara defeated Alex Riley. Cena faced The Miz in the main event, which resulted in the WWE Champion being disqualified due to interference from Alex Riley. Cara appeared ringside to combat the duo. By orders of the Anonymous Raw General Manager, a match was set between the two sides, which resulted with the babyfaces going over.
— John Morrison faced WWE Champion The Miz and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match at Friday’s Raw live event in Dublin, Ireland. Alex Riley interfered in the match, resulting in Cena and Morrison facing The Miz and Riley. The babyface wrestlers won the contest.
On the same show, No. 1 Contender R-Truth participated in a dance contest with fans and Melina.
— The official theme song for WWE Extreme Rules is “Justice” by Rev Theory.
— Though not advertised by WWE, Alex Riley told a fan at yesterday’s WrestleMania Axxess event that he would be accompanying WWE Champion The Miz for his match against John Cena tomorrow night at WrestleMania XXVII.
— The following wrestlers are not advertised for tomorrow night’s WrestleMania XXVII pay-per-view event. However, a dark match battle royal is expected to take place, featuring male wrestlers not booked for the telecast.
Raw: Alex Riley, David Hart Smith, David Otunga*, Evan Bourne, Goldust*, Husky Harris*, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Mark Henry, Mason Ryan*, Michael McGillicutty, Michael Tarver*, Primo, R-Truth, Skip Sheffield*, Ted DiBiase, The Great Khali, Tyson Kidd, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder
SmackDown: Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Curt Hawkins, Drew McIntyre, Hornswoggle, JTG, Kofi Kingston, Trent Barretta and Tyler Reks
Divas: Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve, Gail Kim, Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly, Maryse, Melina, Natalya, Nikki Bella and Rosa Mendes
* David Otunga, Goldust, Husky Harris, Mason Ryan, Michael Tarver, Skip Sheffield are currently inactive.
– Chris Jericho made his debut on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars tonight and scored a 19 out of 30 points, better than a lot of the other teams. Jericho and his partner Cheryl Burke performed the Cha Cha.
– Next week’s WWE RAW from Chicago will be the final episode prior to WrestleMania 27. The show will feature an in-person appearance from The Rock and a face-to-face confrontation between Triple H and The Undertaker.
– Alex Riley is back on the RAW brand as WWE’s new “Vice President of Corporate Communications.”
– WrestleMania Rewind week continues on Friday’s SmackDown, which will feature a rematch from a past WrestleMania event.
– RAW superstaer Sheamus declared at a WWE live event over the weekend that he will no longer be known as “King Sheamus.” Sheamus cut a promo before a match with Yoshi Tatsu and said ever since he won King of the Ring, he has been on the biggest losing streak of his career. He declared, “Long Live the Celtic Warrior.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was the ring announcer for the Randy Orton vs. The Miz WWE title match at yesterday’s RAW live event from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Miz got the win after Alex Riley hit Randy Orton with his briefcase.
– Speaking of Alex Riley, on that same live event from Oklahoma City, he competed in a match with John Morrison, with the stipulation being that he’d get a spot on the RAW roster if he won. Riley lost the match, so he’s still in limbo.
— WWE Champion The Miz announced at last night’s Raw live event in Wichita, Kansas that he has rehired Alex Riley, who was dismissed as his apprentice two weeks ago on Raw. The duo partnered against John Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match, which they lost.
— Triple H spoke to children and their fathers Friday at a “Fatherhood and Mentoring Rally” held at the Boys & Girls Club in Stamford, Connecticut. He was also promoting the video release of The Chaperone.
— At a cost of $10, Walmart is selling The Chaperone packaged with WWE’s 2008 DVD title on Triple H, King of Kings.
— The Miz vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship is advertised for WWE’s upcoming WrestleMania Revenge tour of Ireland in April.
— The night after WrestleMania XXVII is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s next advertised appearance on Monday Night Raw. However, a company source is under the impression that he will appear live the week before the pay-per-view extravaganza.
— Alex Riley is touring with the Raw brand for the second consecutive week since his on-screen dismissal. At last night’s show in Springfield, Missouri, he beat Yoshi Tatsu in a singles match and competed in a battle royal.
— A World Heavyweight Championship Match between Edge, Alberto Del Rio and Wade Barrett is advertised for WWE’s WrestleMania Revenge Tour events in England on on April 17 and 18.
— This week’s episode of WWE Superstars featured 16 minutes and 57 seconds of in-ring action, down from 17 minutes and 40 seconds the previous week.
— Alex Riley was challenged by John Cena on Raw under the stipulation that if he were to lose, he would be fired as The Miz’s apprentice. The Anonymous Raw General Manager decreed that the match would be contested via Steel Cage Match, with the only way to win would be to escape the cage. Despite assistance from the Miz, who promised not to interfere with the match, Riley lost when Cena forced his way out of the cage.
— As seen on Raw, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rebutted John Cena’s remarks from last week’s show, mocking his rapping ability and denying his allegations that he doesn’t “love WWE.” “The Great One” took to Facebook to comment on tonight’s promo.
“I was passionate about my words tonight ’cause I meant them,” he wrote. “It’s not a joke to me. It’s my word. My family. My LOVE for my fans and WWE.”
— WWE returns to the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia for a Raw taping on July 25, 2011.
— There was some confusion surrounding Alex Riley and his elimination during the Royal Rumble last night because he was not supposed to go out when he did. He was supposed to hang on to the ring ropes when he was thrown over. This explains why the announcers were asking about him after he had been eliminated. They didn’t call his elimination.
— As Kevin Nash was getting up from the ground following his elimination from the Royal Rumble, a referee told him something. He then stared down Big Show as he was exiting the arena. It’s thought that this may have been a backstage audible due to the crowd’s receptive reaction to him and WWE planning something for him going forward.
— The song used during the video promoting Randy Orton’s match against The Miz at the Royal Rumble is “Machine Gun Blues” by Social Distortion.