— Courtesy of Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match at Extreme Rules has been changed to a no-disqualification, no count-out “Extreme Rules” Match, WWE.com has confirmed.
— WWE has released the synopsis for Classics On Demand programming during the month of May: “Relive the insane moments that made you say…OMG! From unbelievable moves to shocking moments, it’s a jaw-dropping month full of the unexpected. It’s “OMG! Month” all May on WWE Classics On Demand.”
— WWE will hold a SmackDown taping on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
— Alicia Fox and William Regal will be signing autographs Thursday in Cardiff, Wales to promote WWE’s The Best of Raw and SmackDown 2011 video release at the HMV on Queen Street.
— Ezekiel Jackson beat Hunico via Torture Rack in the first match held Thursday night at WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida. In a battle of WWE developmental wrestlers, Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in the second bout. Rollins obtained the victory in the seven-minute match following a foot stomp to Ambrose’s head.
— Alicia Fox, David Otunga, Lilian Garcia, Rey Mysterio and The Miz joined “American Idol’s” James Durbin, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, and the Miami Dolphins’ Twan Russell and “T.D.” at Miami’s Hialeah Gardens and JFK Middle Schools Thursday to spread the word of anti-bullying and tolerance.
The Miz discussed the barrage of insults he gets over social media every day, and how he uses positivity to counter it. “Every time you have a negative thought or are going to post a negative tweet ,” the former WWE Champion said. “I challenge you to do something positive, say something positive. I guarantee you and that person will feel great about themselves.”
WWE.com has published articles from both events here and here.
— WWE Champion CM Punk revealed his favorite WrestleMania match during an interview with Marvel.com promoting WrestleMania XXVIII.
“WrestleMania 13, right in my backyard of Chicago. Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin,” he said. “I can remember every punch thrown, every bodyslam and every submission move. It’s just one of those perfect matches that told a story. There’s just so many to choose from, but this match is the one that sticks out the most.”
The Straight Edge Superstar also discusses his impending WrestleMania match with Chris Jericho, belief in Captain America, his kinship to Tony Stark and more.
— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia has joined The Creative Coalition and WWE’s “Be a STAR” campaign as she, American Idol contestant James Durbin, Alicia Fox, David Otunga, The Miz, Rey Mysterio and Dolphins’ mascot T.D. will encourage students at two Miami-Dade schools this week to take a against bullying by showing tolerance and respect.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Lita will participate in a meet and greet for FWE Wrestling on April 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Legged Dog Studios 80 Greenwich Street New York City.
Alicia Fox began her journey with WWE six years ago after WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis discovered her in a fashion catalog. Speaking to Accidental Sexiness, the SmackDown Diva believes her and Kelly Kelly’s hirings was triggered by organization officials experimenting models being taught how to wrestle.
“I did a couple of things for Venus Swimwear in Jacksonville,” Fox said. “I think at the time Kelly Kelly and I were doing it [modeling] together at age 17, 18. I think it was just an experiment for the company [WWE] to see if it was even possible to teach models how to wrestle.
“It was a great learning experience for the both of us because we could step out of our backyard and kind of grow into the world. I think neither Kelly nor I ever imagined being here. This is our sixth year. We didn’t know what was going to happen, but I don’t think we would have thought we would be here for six years already.”
Before she was contacted by WWE, Fox had her sights on going to school to become an ophthalmologist. She never gave thought to becoming a WWE Diva prior to receiving the life-changing phone call.
“I was going to be an eye surgeon, which is extremely funny now because I don’t like blood or science or anything like that,” Fox said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Now I feel more than blessed to still be in WWE and have this opportunity. It has been so far so good. I don’t want to go back to being an ophthalmologist or an eye surgeon or something like that.”
The WWE Diva also discusses fashion, working with 2012 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Edge, WrestleMania XXVIII and more. The article is available here.
— WWE has announced that they will be offering pay-per-view streaming on the iPhone and iPad beginning with WrestleMania XXVIII.
“Attention, iPad and iPhone users! Coming soon, WWE pay-per-view streaming will be available for purchase online – just in time for WrestleMania XXVIII,” WWE states. “You can reserve your spot now by visiting https://www.wwe.com/ppv or https://www.wwe.com/shows/howtowatch using your Mac or PC. Check back soon for updates on streaming to your iOS device for The Biggest Spectacle of Them All, WrestleMania, on April 1.”
— The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox will appear on the syndicated entertainment news program Extra on Monday. The WWE Divas were filmed last Thursday at The Grove in Los Angeles chatting with Maria Menounos.
— Jerry “The King” Lawler will appear at the Salem Red Sox game taking place on July 28 at LewisGale Field 1004 Texas St. Salem, Virginia.
– The referee who officiated Eve’s match against Alicia Fox on Monday’s Raw SuperShow is Brian Nguyen. He has officiated in Florida Championship Wrestling for the past two years as Ryan Tran.
– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart will appear Wilmington Blue Rocks game in Wilmington, Delaware on June 14, 2012. Details are available here.
– In Friday’s birthdays, Melina Perez turned 33 years old, Rick Steiner turned 52 years old and Nikita Koloff turned 53 years old.
– On this week’s webisode of Foreign Exchange, Santino Marella patrols the Texas border, rounding up WWE’s international Superstars including Natalya, Primo and Ricardo Rodriguez.
— Eve Torres posted a blog on her official website saying she plays a character on WWE programming.
“I know all of you have been tuning into Monday Night Raw every Monday on USA, but here is a brief recap of some of the recent developments in my character,” she wrote. “How can anyone blame me for my actions?? This is the beginning of a new era for Eve Torres, and I don’t regret a thing!”
Kelly Kelly responded to her post via Twitter, “So you really don’t use people? Good to know after reading this blog that your acting as a “character.”
— SmackDown Diva Alicia Fox will be competing on tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I’m pumped for the show and feeling ‘Foxy’ as usual. Time to blow the roof off the Gardens diva style #DivaDuty!!!!” she tweeted.
— WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan appeared at the Variety Club telethon in Iowa this past weekend. He has appeared at the event in the past.
— Randy Orton will face World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. The synopsis reads: “This Friday at 8/7 CT on Syfy, Randy Orton will return to SmackDown with his eyes locked on Daniel Bryan – just two weeks after the World Heavyweight Champion gave WWE’s Apex Predator a concussion that kept him out of the Elimination Chamber Match.”
— Matches taped Monday night in Portland, Oregon for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox in a non-title match
* Santino Marella vs. Curt Hawkins (accompanied by Tyler Reks)
No pre-show dark match was held.
— WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat turns 59 years old Tuesday.
— Syfy issued a press release Friday announcing that a WWE SuperSmackDown Live special will air on Tuesday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m.
“SuperSmackDown Live will feature WWE’s biggest Superstars and Divas, including World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Big Show, Sheamus, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Alicia Fox,” the press release reads. “The special will encore in SmackDown’s regular time slot on Friday, February 24 at 8PM (ET/PT).”
— Natalya has posted her first blog on her newly launched website, NattieNeidhart.com. She recalls the Kids Wrestling Association, the first wrestling promotion she ever worked for.
“What kids grow up with a wresting ring their yard? Harts! Whenever there wasn’t snow, my grandfather Stu had a ring set up outside, facing his kitchen. It was the perfect place for the Hart grandkids to…wrestle!”
— NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood owner David Marquez announced Friday on Twitter that Shelly Martinez will act as the promotion’s event hostess.
He wrote, “Happy day! @NWAHollywood has come to terms with @funtimeshelly to act as Official Hostess of our events. Join us 2/12 & see what FUN is!”
Sunday’s show in Glendale, California will feature a “Come-As-You-Are No DQ Street Fight” pitting “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana against Tough Enough contestant “Big Nasty” Eric Watts and Cedric the Hitman. Event details are available at www.nwahollywood.com.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Chyna rambled at length on Twitter on Wednesday, incoherently posting over 200 messages throughout the day. She discussed her issues with Vince McMahon and Triple H, early wrestler deaths, her belief that her influence in the wrestling industry is overlooked, as well as accusations of drug and alcohol use. A Twitter user wrote to former D-Generation X mate Shawn Michaels of her diatribe: “need to pray for Chyna, the girl is losing her mind HBK.” He responded, “Already have. More never hurts.”
Chyna responded, “Ha ha ha Pray? No my mind is just fine thank you. Real good! Better than ever now. And yes livid!”
— WWE.com has yet to post this week’s episode of WWE NXT Redemption. Advertised for the show is Alicia Fox squaring off with her former NXT Rookie, Maxine.
— “Mr. Puroresu” Genichiro Tenryu turns 62 years old Thursday.
— Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who recently went through Divas Boot Camp with Alicia Fox, Kelly Kelly and Eve, will be a special guest ring announcer on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, WWE announced.
He’ll be the guest ring announcer for the Divas match. The participants of the bout have not been announced.
— WWE has applied to trademark the term “Funkasaurus.” Brodus Clay was referred as Funkasaurus on last week’s Raw and SmackDown.
— Kelly Kelly celebrates her twenty-fifth birthday today.
Friday’s episode of SmackDown saw Alicia Fox drop Natalya with a Scissors Kick for the decisive win. Then with Natalya still reeling, Tamina blasted her own partner with a kick to the face, followed up by a Superfly Splash from the top rope. Former Diva Cherry, a close friend of Natalya’s, was alarmed by WWE’s shabby treatment of the third-generation grappler.
She tweeted, “WWE have lost their minds! I have no idea what the hell they’re doing to Natalya! You’re wasting the talent of one of the best wrestlers you’ve got!”
Regarding the loss, Natalya wrote, “It’s not how hard you get hit, but how Many times you get hit, get up and keep on fighting. That’s hart…I mean heart.”
— Alicia Fox has commented on the damage she did to Beth Phoenix’s face during their match on RAW last night. Phoenix tweeted pictures of a nasty looking bump on her left temple. Fox tweeted on Tuesday afternoon:
“@TheBethPhoenix wow!!!! I think your face looks better than ever!!!! Next one I’ll put more STANk on it!!!! Kiss kiss”
— CM Punk and The Rock were both listed on Guyism.com‘s list of the “Top 75 Guys We Wish We Were in 2011.” The Rock ranked #17 and CM Punk ranked at #5. Actor Ryan Gossling got the #1 spot. The description for CM Punk reads:
“C.M. Punk, the straight-edge champion of the WWE, kept things interesting in 2011 with his outspoken critique of the company, his feuds with John Cena and Alberto Del Rio, and his short-lived retirement from the company. With the year that he’s had, it’s clear the WWE needs him. We just hope debuting a new theme song, ‘Cult of Personality,’ is a sign the sober wrestler is back for good.”
— WinnipegFreePress.com is reporting that UFC heavyweight fighter Brock Lesnar has plead guilty to “improper tagging of an animal” on a November 2010 hunting trip. The other two charges were dropped. Lesnar will pay a $1,725 fine and his hunting license will be suspended for six months.
— The official website of the Izod Center is advertising a Santa Claus Little Helper Diva Tag Team Match pitting Kaitlyn and Tamina against A.J. and Alicia Fox for the December 30, 2011 SmackDown live event.
Following weeks of dissension, Kaitlyn attacked her long time partner at last week’s SmackDown taping and aligned herself with Beth Phoenix and Natalya. The angle, however, was scrapped as it did not air during the show broadcast. WWE has not followed up on their relationship since then.
— Vickie Guerrero made a special appearance Friday at an El Paso, Texas fire station for a good cause. The hometown native was on hand for “Operation Super Hero,” a food and toy drive organized by “Operation Hope.”
KTSM News Channel 9 was on hand for the event. The story is available here.
— Steve Austin will launch his official website, BrokenSkullRanch.com, on Sunday.
— WWE announced Thursday that the Divas Championship Match between Beth Phoenix and Eve at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view will be a Lumberjill Match.
WWE explains: “The Divas Championship Match at Survivor Series should be a one-on-one affair. However, nothing in this rivalry has been evenly contested, thanks to the underhanded tactics of The Glamazon and Natalya. Now, the decks will be stacked a little more equally, as Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Natalya and the rest of the WWE Divas will be ringside to make sure the action stays in the ring.”
— John Cena says family business caused him to be scratched from his scheduled appearance this Saturday on ESPN’s College GameDay.
“I want to apologize to espn’s gameday crew. I thank them for their hospitality, but I have some immediate family bizz that needs handling,” Cena wrote on Twitter.
— Chris Masters, David Hart Smith, Melina and Vladimir Kozlov are now free to join TNA Wrestling since their respective ninety-day no-compete clauses with WWE expired Thursday. All four wrestlers were released on August 5, 2011.
The clause prohibits released talent from appearing for wrestling promotions with national television outlets for ninety days.
Masters caused fans to speculate he would be joining the Orlando based promotion with a Twitter message he posted two days following his departure. He wrote, “After a day of digesting,I must say WWE wasn’t doing anything with me.So its probably best I go make my IMpact somewhere else.”
Meanwhile, Melina was asked at last month’s pre-launch party for Saints Row: The Third if she has plans to join TNA. The former WWE Women’s Champion said she’s “still deciding.”
— Inspired by the recent surge of news surrounding former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, Brooke Anderson will join Eve, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox in a WWE ring to interview them for a special segment on the syndicated tabloid television news program The Insider. The segment was scheduled to air on Wednesday’s show, but will instead air today.
The official Twitter feed of WWE wrote Friday: “Tune in to @TheInsider tonight on your CBS station for @WWE Divas @EveMarieTorres, @RealKellyKelly & @AliciaFoxy! Check local listings!”
— WWE developmental wrestler Naomi is pictured in the official WWE souvenir program exclusive sold at the ongoing European live event tour.
Zack Ryder tweeted a cell phone shot of the page featuring Curt Hawkins and Trent Barreta, which includes Naomi.
Though Naomi placed in second in last year’s all-female season of NXT, she is the last remaining contracted contestant to be situated in developmental. A.J., Aksana and Kaitlyn are all members of the SmackDown roster, while Maxine appears on NXT. She has, however, appeared at several non-televised events since the season’s conclusion.
— Inspired by the recent surge of news surrounding former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, Brooke Anderson will join Eve, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox in a WWE ring to interview them for a special segment on the syndicated tabloid television news program The Insider. The segment was scheduled to air on Wednesday’s show, but was postponed.
Eve tweeted, “Our @TheInsider segment should be airing later this week :-) We’ll keep you posted!”
— Numerous Twitter users noted today that Beth Phoenix is no longer following CM Punk and Amy “Lita” Dumas on the microblogging website. Punk appeared on Dumas’ Atlanta based radio show, Punkrockalypse, Sunday night. The former WWE Women’s Champion was backstage at the following night’s Raw SuperShow.
The November 2011 issue of Maxim features an article on Punk and it’s noted that Phoenix has been his girlfriend for approximately a year.
— The official Twitter feed of WWE issued the following notice Wednesday: “Watch The Insider tonight on CBS stations for Eve, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox! Check local listings for time & channel!”
— Darren Young turns 32 years old Wednesday. WWE.com announced on October 5 that Young was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of their Talent Wellness Program. He is eligible to resume performing on Friday.
— Characters are still being finalized for THQ’s WWE ’12 video game (scheduled for released on November 22 in North America and on November 25 in the United Kingdom) and Batista may be included.
A THQ representative stated on Twitter this week that there’s “still a chance” the former WWE Champion will be in the game.
— As seen on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, Alicia Fox withdrew her “Hot in Herre” inspired entrance theme in favor of a new entrance theme. WWE released her new theme on iTunes today and it is titled “Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Party.” Former WWE Diva Maria used the theme in 2005 and 2006 before being given “With Legs Like That.”
— The October 23 episode of A.M. Raw scored a 0.41 cable rating, with 417,000 viewers.
— WWE developmental wrestler Tito Colon was brought on the road this weekend for an evaluation. At last night’s WWE Supershow in Corpus Christi, Texas, he partnered with Primo, his real-life cousin, and lost to Jey and Jimmy Uso.
Prior to Carlito’s dismissal from WWE, creative plans were in place for Tito to be promoted to the main roster and form a three-man stable.
— Zack Ryder announced on Twitter that he is holding a Broski Halloween Costume Contest. He wrote, “Tweet me a pic of your Zack Ryder costume by 11/1. Winner will received package of signed ZR merchandise! 4 Runner ups will receive signed Zack Ryder 8×10. Happy HalloWOOWOOWOOeen!”
— Bill DeMott and Alicia Fox were at Florida Championship Wrestling’s headquarters in Tampa last week mentoring WWE’s female developmental talent.
SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles has earned the number one position in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s fourth annual “PWI Female 50” list, which ranks the top 50 women’s wrestlers in North America from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. She succeeds Michelle McCool, who ranked No. 1 in last year’s list.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated attributes their decision to ranking Eagles as the top women’s wrestler in North America with the following: “This year’s list was unlike any other in the four-year history of the “Female 50.” For one thing, there was no obvious frontrunner in either WWE or TNA. Last year’s number one, Michelle McCool, retired after a few lackluster months. The WWE Divas title dropped in prominence and was held for a significant amount of time by Brie Bella who, while improved, doesn’t exactly conjure thoughts of Sensational Sherri or Trish Stratus.”
Mickie James and Madison Rayne were also considered for the top spot, but for a variety of reasons, were ultimately deemed not worthy.
“So we made a bold decision. We looked to the indies. Two possible candidates were SHIMMER champion Madison Eagles and WSU champion Mercedes Martinez. It was a difficult choice to make,” the magazine explains. “Fortunately for us, Martinez and Eagles faced off in March for Eagles’ SHIMMER title. Eagles managed to win a terrific match, which proved to be the deciding factor in our decision.”
PWI also explains how the “Female 50” was determined: “To determine this list, we evaluated each woman’s innate wrestling ability, accomplishments during the past year, physical strength and conditioning, quality of opposition, charisma, and title success.”
Some women’s wrestlers contracted to WWE and TNA, such as Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Tamina and Brooke Tessmacher, were left off the “Female 50” because PWI felt they did not earn a spot over some of the independent talent listed. The magazine explains, “While being on WWE’s or TNA’s global platform helps your chances, it doesn’t mean you get a free passage onto the “Female 50.”
1. Madison Eagles
2. Mercedes Martinez
3. Mickie James
4. Natalya
5. Madison Rayne
6. Cheerleader Melissa
7. Beth Phoenix
8. Tara
9. MsChif
10. Sara Del Rey
11. Eve Torres
12. Angelina Love
13. Layla
14. Sarita
15. Kelly Kelly
16. Serena Deeb
17. Velvet Sky
18. Ayako Hamada
19. LuFisto
20. Winter
21. Brie Bella
22. Angel Orsini
23. Melina
24. Daizee Haze
25. Nikki Roxx
26. Gail Kim
27. Jazz
28. Maryse
29. Christina Von Eerie
30. Portia Perez
31. Rosita
32. ODB
33. Nicole Matthews
34. Rachel Summerlyn
35. Jessicka Havok
36. Brittany Force
37. Kellie Skater
38. Tina San Antonio
39. Melanie Cruise
40. Cherry Bomb
41. Sassy Stephie
42. Tasha Simone
43. Alicia Fox
44. Amber O’Neal
45. Allison Danger
46. Kacee Carlisle
47. Brittany Savage
48. A.J.
49. Melissa Coates
50. Jessica James
— It was announced tonight on Raw that a #1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal will be held on next week’s show to determine the #1 contender to the Divas Championship. The winner will face Kelly at SummerSlam.
— The Miz is advertised to appear on MTV’s The Challenge: Rivals After Show this Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m.
– Matches taped tonight in Hampton, Virginia for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley
* David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty vs. Chris Masters and Santino Marella
Participants are as follows: A.J., Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve, Gail Kim, Kaitlyn, Maryse, Melina, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes and Tamina.
— Dolph Ziggler debuted a remixed version of his theme song, “I Am Perfection,” tonight on Raw prior to his match against Evan Bourne.
— WWE.com is advertising the following for tonight’s episode of SmackDown: “The relentless brutality of Mark Henry comes face-to-face with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton tonight on SmackDown. Has The World’s Strongest Man become something that even The Viper can’t stop?”
Other matches taking place include Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase, Sin Cara vs. Christian, Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes and Kane vs. Wade Barrett.
— Dolph Ziggler took to Twitter to comment on online reports that he took adult film star BiBi Jones on a date after meeting her at a Britney Spears concert last week.
He wrote, “Wow! To anyone it may concern: no, i am NOT dating anyone! and YES I do frequently listen to Britney Spears!”
— Yoshi Tatsu celebrates his 34th birthday today. In yesterday’s birthdays, Alicia Fox turned 25, Cody Rhodes turned 26 and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk turned 67.
— Former ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli were on hand for this week’s WWE television tapings in New York and Rhode Island. Both worked out in the ring in front of officials before each show.
Castagnoli signed a developmental contract with WWE in November 2006 but was released a short while later for reasons that have yet to be publicly disclosed.
— WWE has released a commercial ad promoting SummerSlam, which takes place August 14, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It is branded as “The Biggest Event of the Summer.”
The commercial features The Miz, Chris Masters, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox and The Bella Twins emerging from the ocean and scurrying to a beach house to watch SummerSlam.
The commercial is available here.
— Damage starring Steve Austin airs tonight on Spike TV at 11:00 p.m.
— Alicia Fox appears as a guest on tonight’s episode of The Mo’Nique Show at 11:00 p.m. on BET. The former Divas Champion will chat with the Academy Award-winning comedienne on the critically acclaimed late night talk show.
— Michael Cole returned to NXT: Redemption last night for a one-night-only appearance. He filled in for William Regal on commentary, who was absent.
— WWE will be airing the documentary portion of the February 2011 DVD release The Big Show: A Giant’s World beginning July 4.
— Former WWE star Big Bully Busick celebrates his 57th birthday today.