– Bo Dallas wrestled at last night’s WWE SmackDown live event in Hammond, Indiana, losing to Wade Barrett.

– Mick Foley has been named as the new General Manager of Saturday Morning Slam. He tweeted:

https://twitter.com/realMickFoley/status/312941026371317760

Foley also said that he will try to tweet with fans on Saturday mornings after each episode.

– WWE.com has an article up looking at former WWE Superstar Batista landing the role of “Drax The Destroyer” in the upcoming Marvel Comics movie Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The article puts him over as “one of the most dominant, powerful WWE Superstars of all time.”

•  Picture of “Drax The Destroyer” – Character Batista Will be Playing

Speaking of Batista, he told fans on Twitter that he’ll be accompanying boxer Nonito Donaire, known as “The Filipino Flash,” to the ring for his upcoming fight against Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13th from New York City.

Drax The Destroyer

Batista Signs On For “Guardians Of The Galaxy”

Former WWE superstar Dave Bautista has officially signed on to play Drax The Destroyer in the big screen adaptation in the Marvel Comics story  “Guardians of the Galaxy” – scheduled to premiere on August 1st, 2014.

Chris Jericho at NXT

– Chris Jericho will be appearing at the next NXT taping from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL on Thursday, March 21st.

Ric Flair In New York On WrestleMania Sunday:

– Ric Flair will be appearing at the Wrestlecon event on WrestleMania Sunday, April 7th. WrestleReunion made the following announcement this week:

“WrestleReunion has worked with almost every star that has been available to work with except for a few. We are getting ready to fix that problem on WrestleReunion Sunday. We are pleased to announce that we have just reached a deal to bring “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Fifi the Maid to Wrestlecon on Sunday April 7th at 10am. We will announce pricing and presale information as soon as we can.

WrestleReunion Founder “The Big Cheese” Sal Corrente is very excited to be working with the legendary Ric Flair and the lovely Fifi along with William Regal and Nitro Girl Spice on Wrestlemania Sunday. All of the above guests will start signing at 10am.”

– Following last week’s departure of creative team member Eric Pankowski, Vince McMahon was reportedly much more hands-on producing and scripting this week’s RAW.

While there were a few factors that led to Pankowski’s release, the straw that broke the camel’s back was his decision to book last week’s Fatal 4 Way match between Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show to determine The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 29 opponent.

Several people reportedly told him that it was a bad idea – but he went through with it anyways. Vince McMahon did ultimately sign off on that match, but that could have been his way of letting Pankowski’s work speak for itself.

– During a recent interview with IndyStar.com to promote “The Marine 3”, The Miz revealed that his next movie role will be “The Christmas Bounty.” The film begins filming in April and is due out this winter.

– Several movie news sites are reporting that former WWE Superstar Batista is still being considered for a major role in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” superhero movie that comes out in August 2014.

• News On Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler & The Miz’s Matches For WM29

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

– WWEShop.com has released a new line of retro t-shirts, including one for former superstar Batista.

This is the first new Batista merchandise the company has released since his departure back in 2010. Draw your own conclusions here.

– Edge continues to answer fan tweets about his life after wrestling. He tweeted on Tuesday:

"@THEJakeMo:-not at all, I still love wrestling, it just doesn't consume my life like people assume it should. To me that's not healthy

— Adam Copeland (@RatedRCope) November 13, 2012

– Here is WWE’s latest Backstage Fallout video, with The Miz, Kaitlyn and others reacting to RAW and hyping Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV:

– MMA heavyweight John Shaddock told ProMMANow.com that he wants to be the next man to fight former WWE superstar Batista (1-0). No word yet on whether Batista is interested in another fight or if he’ll focus on his budding acting career.

– WWE referee Brad Maddox, who will be wrestling Ryback on RAW for a chance to earn a $1 million WWE contract, says his training will be documented on WWE.com:

https://twitter.com/BradMaddoxIsWWE/status/267471212832239617

https://twitter.com/BradMaddoxIsWWE/status/267390887749906432

– Jack Swagger, who is currently off television, continues to wrestle WWE live events and picked up another win over Ted DiBiase picked up a win over Ted DiBiase at last night’s live event in Lisbon, Portugal.

Swagger is sporting a new look (long, slicked back hair) and is expected to be repackaged & brought back later this year with a strong push.

* PICTURE of JACK SWAGGER’s New Look (Long, Slicked Back Hair)

Speaking to Fighting Spirit Magazine (available at FightingSpiritMagazine.co.uk), Booker T recalled his physical altercation with Batista on May 8, 2006 at a commercial photo shoot in Encino, California for that year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event.

Batista, who rose to main event status in a relatively short period of time, was already unpopular within the locker room due to his lack of respect for those who came before him coupled with a sense of entitlement. That day, Booker T took issue with The Animal’s poor demeanor.

According to eyewitness reports, Booker T challenged Batista to “[go] into an empty room and go for it.” The two fought for approximately five minutes in the room, with Booker T dominating the muscle-bound wrestler. After the two were separated by fellow wrestlers, Batista snuck in one last sucker punch on Booker T just as he did immediately after the decorated wrestler closed the door to signal the start of fray.

Finlay, who was among the wrestlers who broke up the brawl, said during an earlier interview with the publication that the story was blown out of proportion. Booker T disagreed with his assessment.

“It wasn’t blown out of proportion. He took a pretty good beating,” said the SmackDown General Manager.

“The thing is, when you’re in a fight, it’s different from an MMA fight. That’s the thing with me. I’ve fought my whole life. You don’t just call a person out to a fight if you don’t know their background, what they’ve been through, and how to test them. That was his mistake, and I think it was definitely a case of him underestimating me, and thinking he was the bigger guy. For me fighting is in the blood, and it’s something I grew up doing. Honestly though, I hope Batista does well (in MMA), even just for the business’ sake.”

– An account on Twitter spoofing Vince McMahon that also leaks confidential WWE information on occasion (located @CrankyVince) cryptically suggested in a message last Thursday that a wrestler had asked for his release from the sports-entertainment organization. In a follow-up, the account stated Sunday that Jack Swagger asked for his release: “WELL FUCK JACK SWAGGER AND HIS REQUEST. WHO THE FUCK IS JACK SWAGGER?”

The account has drawn concern from WWE officials since last year, who believe it is being administered by an employee within proximity of McMahon or a former employee with close ties to organization due to the amount of sensitive information being released.

– Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page has posted a video of himself and Jake “The Snake” Roberts distributing Halloween candy to trick or treaters. Roberts recently moved in with Page to lose weight and train for one last pro wrestling run. (Watch)

– Former WWE Superstar Batista is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.

– Egyptian website TheNational.AE has an article up looking at WWE’s recent tour of the country. Senior Vice President and Managing Director of WWE International Ed Wells is optimistic about WWE’s expansion into the Middle East:

“WWE’s programming in the Middle East, and Egypt in particular, has very strong audience figures and we have seen steady growth of the popularity of the brand in these markets in the past 12 months.”

– Batista’s new movie “The Man With The Iron Fists” drew approximately $8.22 million at the box office during its opening weekend, finishing in fourth place (behind Wreck It Ralph, Flight and Argo). This is considered to be on par with what Universal Pictures was expecting, but it’s on the lower end of what comparable movies have done in their opening weekends. For more on the weekend box office numbers, visit BoxOfficeMojo.com.

During a recent interview with Collider.com, Batista explained the differences between acting and wrestling:

“For me, it’s funny because I tell actors it’s so intimidating for me to be on this little intimate set, with the cameras pointed at you. Somebody says ‘action’ and all eyes are on you and you have to follow a certain script. Acting is harder. It’s more intimidating. When you’re out in front of so many people, it’s just so conversational. It’s easy, and it’s something I could do at any given moment.”

– Funeral services for Brad Armstrong will take place this morning at 11am at the 1st United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia.

– IGN.com recently reviewed “The Man With The Iron Fists” – the new RZA/Quentin Tarantino movie starring Russell Crowe and former WWE superstar Batista. They gave the movie a 7.1/10, calling it a “chaotic, sometimes messy, but in the end, a fun kung fu film.”

As for Batista’s performance:

“David Bautista, as Brass Body, contributes some memorable fight scenes, but fails to dazzle in between.”

– Here’s episode #40 of “Are You Serious?” hosted by Road Dogg and Josh Mathews, including mockery of Ron Simmons’ WWE debut as the helmet-wearing gladiator, Faarooq Asaad:

– Barbie Blank, formerly WWE Diva Kelly Kelly, underwent an MRI on her neck on Friday. She tweeted:

Getting MRI on my neck #damnyoustinkfaces

— Barbie Blank (@TheBarbieBlank) November 2, 2012

When asked by a fan what is wrong with her neck, she replied:

Nothing to serious just making sure its all good ?“@SuzanneFrato: @TheBarbieBlank what happend Barbi???”

— Barbie Blank (@TheBarbieBlank) November 2, 2012

– Former WWE superstar Batista is thanking his fans for supporting his movie, “The Man With The Iron Fists,” which is estimated to do a projected opening weekend total of around $8.5 million:

https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/264620025451802624

– The UK’s Daily Mail website has an article up looking at former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, who recently showed off a new “rocker” look on her way to Las Vegas this week.

– Movie site ComingSoon.net reports that Batista’s next movie “Riddick” will be be rated R. No release date has been given yet.

Pictures Of Batista Wearing A Yellow Spandex Jumpsuit
At His IRON FISTS Movie Premiere

– Zap2It.com has a press release up announcing details for Season 2 of Steve Austin’s reality competition show Redneck Island, which premieres on November 10th. The contestants include:

* Justin Campbell (Ragland, Ala.) – A 26-year-old laborer from Alabama, he loves jug fishing and has dreams of becoming a chicken farmer.

* Joe Durdaller (Burke, Tex.) – This 23-year-old Texan, who finally realized “anything is more fun with whiskey and women,” played semi-pro football before his current gig as a casino bartender.

* Nick Honea (Albertville, Ala.) – A student who, at 26 years old, enjoys the finer things in life: chasing women, drinking beer, hunting and junkin’.

* Wade Jones (Our Town, Ala.) – Everyone’s favorite country store manager, this 40-year-old redneck loves singing his heart out at karaoke and is proud of his redneck car collection.

* Kyle Medina (White House, Tenn.) – This height-loving high school wrestling coach spends his spare time mudding, hunting and getting crazy after a few beers.

* Darren Sweet (Hiddenite, N.C.) – A tree trimmer from the Carolinas, he’s taught himself to fix just about anything and owns more than 20 guns.

* William Worley (Gloucester, Va.) – This 47-year-old software engineer has big plans for fun if he wins the money, including buying a tractor, a crab boat and pots for a huge redneck party.

* Angela Croke (Josephine, Tex.) – As a stay-at-home-mom, this 34-year-old Texan loves spending time with her two kids, and her third child: her lifted diesel truck.

* Heather Maier (Louisville, Ky.) – Proud owner of one of the loudest burps in Kentucky, this 24-year-old supportive living assistant could show everyone a thing or two about jello wrestling.

* Lisa McCreless (Pinson, Ala.) – A manager at a loan company, this 32-year-old redneck worked in a meat packing factory at age 14 and loves shooting pistols.

* Kelly Moss (Oakfield, Tenn.) – Sports a tattoo of her favorite gun on her back and has worked on a pig farm. This 29 year old is a member of the Army National Guard and works at a steakhouse restaurant.

* Donna Stickley (Lake Wales, Fla.) – This 25-year-old, hog-hunting hair stylist is not afraid to get down and dirty, she once won a “dirty girl” competition at a mud fest.

* Eliza Bentley Weber (Memphis, Tenn.) – A sports bar and outdoor gear shop employee, this 33-year-old deer-hunting enthusiast traces her redneck roots to growing up living a “country club” redneck lifestyle.

* Shawna Willson (Lakeland, Fla.) – Hailing from the Sunshine State, this 26-year-old stay-at-home-mom can proudly kill and clean a chicken in less than 10 minutes.

Former WWE superstar Batista pays homage to Bruce Lee with a yellow spandex jump suit

– Monday’s WWE RAW was the #1 trending TV show on the Get Glue social media site for Monday night. The social media engagement still couldn’t save RAW from it’s lowest non-holiday rating in 15 years.

– Justin Gabriel’s non-title win over US Champion Antonio Cesaro on Monday’s RAW snapped his 12-match (TV/PPV) television losing streak. Gabriel posted a Tout video last night asking Cesaro for a title shot.

– New Jersey-based independent wrestler Starman was at Monday’s RAW from East Rutherford, NJ but was escorted out of the show for being overly disruptive and “trying to get himself over.”

– Batista is in Los Angeles this week to do media work and attend the red carpet premiere for The Man With The Iron Fists movie.

* Listen To The Full MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS Soundtrack – All New WU TANG Music!

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

Former WWE superstar Dave Batista is featured on the cover of the November issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. The issue also looks at “the best bodies in wrestling” with stories on Mark Henry and David Otunga. They rank the ten best wrestler physiques:

– John Cena
– The Rock
– Paul Orndorff
– Bill Goldberg
– Hulk Hogan
– Rick Rude
– Triple H
– Superstar Billy Graham
– Scott Steiner
– The Ultimate Warrior

The also named the five worst physiques in wrestling:

– Dusty Rhodes
– Yokozuna
– George “The Animal” Steele
– Abdullah the Butcher
– Haystacks Calhoun

Here’s a picture of Batista on the cover of Muscle & Fitness:

– Newly crowned Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston will defend against former champion The Miz at WWE Hell In A Cell on Sunday, October 28.

– WWE will be holding a SmackDown taping on Tuesday, January 8 from Miami, Florida. There will be a ticket pre-sale on Friday morning with the password GoHeat.

– A new trailer has been released for “The Man With the Iron Fists,” the Quentin Tarantino/RZA movie (due out November 2) that features former WWE superstar Batista as “Brass Body” –

– SuperLuchas.net is reporting that Batista could be returning to WWE at the 2013 Royal Rumble. Their reports have been hit-or-miss, so take this one as a rumor for now.

– WWE Diva Tamina Snuka is currently out of action with an injury. Her last televised match was the Divas Battle Royal (won by Kaitlyn) on the August 20th episode of RAW. It’s speculated that her back is injured, but we don’t have confirmation on this yet.

– Barbie Blank is now a brunette. The former WWE diva known as Kelly Kelly visited Hollywood stylist Erick Ohair on Tuesday and tweeted this picture of her new look:

WWE Champion CM Punk was interviewed by Ariel Helwani for the MMA Hour show and spoke about Batista’s MMA debut this past Saturday night. Punk acknowledged that Batista looked “really nervous” but says he was impressed that Batista was able to control his ‘butterflies’ and score the first round TKO.

VIDEO Of BATISTA’s MMA Debut

Here’s what Punk said about:

Batista’s Decision To Do MMA: “I think it’s awesome, too. Dave just wanted the experience. He wanted to fight even if it was just one time. It was something that he wanted to do. He loves it so he put his mind to it and did it, and I think that amazing. I don’t think anybody can criticize that. He has no delusions of grandeur. He’s not trying to get a big, fat UFC contract. He’s not trying to coast on his name from the WWE. He’s just fighting because he wanted to experience it.”

Critical Fans: “The haters, if you’re doing something right you’re going to get criticized. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who can do what Dave did, and those are the ones that are going to criticize him. To me, those are the funniest ones. They say funny stuff. They make the funniest comments and they’re fun to laugh at.”

Former WWE superstar Dave Bautista was victorious in his MMA debut against Vince Lucero, a 40 fight MMA veteran who took the fight on a weeks notice. Bautista won via TKO in the first round after four minutes.

The fight started rough for the former WWE superstar as he ate a bunch of punches immediately after the bell rang, but he was able to clinch up and survive. After settling in a bit, Bautista scored a takedown where he easily achieved mount and back mount, which is where he forced the stoppage as he rained down unanswered punches.

After the fight, Bautista admitted that he was nervous once he stepped into the cage saying,

“The nerves got the best of me early and he hits like a f*cking horse.”

When asked if we would see him compete again, Bautista stated,

“I definitely want to fight again. I’m better than what I showed tonight.”

Full Results from CES MMA: Real Pain Main Card

* Dave Bautista def. Vince Lucero via TKO in the first-round
* Chandler Holderness def. Todd Chattelle via TKO in the first-round
* David Loiseau def. Chris McNally via TKO in the first-round
* John Howard def. Brett Chism via TKO in the second-round
* Mike Campbell def. Gemiyale Adkins via unanimous decision
* Calvin Kattar def. Saul Almeida via unanimous decision
* Luis Felix def. Marc Stevens via unanimous decision

Here’s a clip of the fight – watch it while you can before it gets pulled:

– Contrary to rumors and speculation, Skyler Moon has not been released from her developmental contract with WWE, according to PWInsider.com. Her bio was removed from the official NXT website in August, sparking rumors that she had parted ways with the company. She revealed yesterday via Twitter that she has an eating disorder after it was falsely reported last week that she had checked into a rehabilitation center. Her message was deleted shortly thereafter.

– Kia Stevens, who more recently competed as Kharma in WWE, has launched a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KiaStevensProject. She confirmed the account on Twitter today and noted to stay tuned for updates. On the page she lists herself as an “Entertainer, Professional Ass-Kicker, Philanthropist and Motivational Speaker.”

– Weigh-ins for former WWE talent Dave Bautista’s mixed martial arts debut on Saturday will take place Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Marriott Downtown hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.

– WWE will hold a Raw and SmackDown SuperShow on Saturday, Dec. 15 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Ticketmaster.com is currently holding a pre-sale with the password WWEWBS.

(Los Angeles, CA – October 1, 2012) — Due to an unforeseen incident, Rashid Evans has officially pulled out of the highly anticipated fight with former WWE superstar DAVE BAUTISTA set for October 6th. The scheduled fight will go on as planned with Vince Lucero stepping in to take Evans’ place as Bautista’s debut MMA opponent. The fight remains scheduled for 8 PM ET/5 PM PT at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island with Cesar Gracie as the play by play announcer.

Picture of Batista’s New Opponent For His MMA Debut Saturday Night

The six time WWE World Champion is not going to let this small set back stop him from realizing his long time dream of making the move to Mixed Martial Arts. The Bautista camp is business as usual, continuing with his grueling pre-fight training determined to make Dave’s debut fight a successful one, regardless of who ends up in the opposite corner at the starting bell.

Vince Lucero, a 40 year old MMA veteran has an impressive number of fights behind him with 42 professional bouts and 11 KOs. Fights include two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, whom he fought less than two years ago, former UFC heavyweight contenders Justin Eilers, Homer Moore and Christian Wellisch, Strikeforce veteran Ruben Villareal and former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) contender Jimmy Ambriz in addition to fighting for the Bellator Fighting Championships in 2011. The sheer experience under Lucero’s belt is sure to make him a formidable opponent for Bautista’s debut fight.

Tickets for this highly anticipated fight are available now at www.ticketmaster.com. The fight is also available on DirecTV Pay Per View (that will include a free 7PM ET preshow) and worldwide live streamed with full screen HD by Vividas starting at 9PM ET at www.bautistamma.com for $29.95. The show, titled “Real Pain,” is presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports in association with June Entertainment and 4zero1 Entertainment Group. Real Pain features 14 bouts, including four former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) contenders.

Bautista, 43, will also star in the upcoming November 2nd Quentin Tarantino blockbuster, The Man With the Iron Fists as the aptly named Brass Body. Fans can catch full interviews with Bautista, see the undercard lineups, the official The Man with the Iron Fists trailer, and watch the title fight streaming live at www.bautistamma.com.

– Paul Heyman’s HeymanHustle.com has an exclusive photo shoot with Barbie Blank – formerly Kelly Kelly, in her first post-WWE project. She and UFC fighters Ryan Bader and Gray Maynard shot an ad campaign with the Let It Fly energy drink.

– Paul Heyman has written a column for WWE.com looking at his “Top Ten” Heyman guys, including Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Mick Foley.

– Batista’s new opponent for his MMA debut this Saturday night is Vince Lucero. He is a former IFL fighter with a 22-22 record. There are various reports going around about why Batista’s original opponent, Rashid Evans, was pulled from the fight, including injury and an arrest for a parole violation [TMZ]. Here’s a picture of Batista’s opponent this Saturday, Vince Lucerno:

[image credit: Sherdog.com]

– Dolph Ziggler has a new T-Shirt after recently retiring his pink top. Coming in blue, it reads “Stealing the Show” on the front, with the back stating “And Your Girlfriend.” To view an image of the WWE Superstar modeling the T-Shirt, click here.

– With Halloween just a few weeks away, WWE plans to release zombie-themed merchandise this month for various superstars and divas.

– WWE Studios’ “12 Rounds: Reloaded” movie starring Randy Orton will be going straight to DVD.

– During a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com to promote his MMA debut this weekend, former WWE superstar Batista revealed why he decided to cross over to MMA:

“I know some people have a hard time understanding it. I’m obviously never going to make the money that I made in the WWE, and it’s not like I think I’m going to go become UFC champion. I just want the experience. I don’t have any ulterior motive. I just want to do it because I love it so much.”

Batista is currently without an opponent for Saturday’s fight after his original opponent, Rashid Evans, was pulled from the card.

* Picture of BATISTA’s Marilyn Monroe Tattoo

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

– The restaurant scene on RAW featuring Kane, Daniel Bryan and Dr. Shelby (with a cameo by Mae Young) was a spoof of the 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally.” Virtually everyone in WWE are fans of Kane and Daniel Bryan’s segments, most notably, Vince McMahon.

– Dolph Ziggler is all over Buffalo, New York today doing media appearances hyping tonight’s SmackDown tapings. As of this writing, there are still plenty of tickets available.

– The June Entertainment group has posted a series of new videos featuring former WWE superstar Batista talking about his upcoming MMA debut and his role in the new Quentin Tarantino movie, The Man With The Iron Fists. To view them all, visit June Entertainment’s DocuDave playlist. Here’s a video of Batista talking about the movie:

* New PICTURES of BATISTA Training For His MMA Debut

(Partial Source: f4wonlnie.com)

Former WWE superstar Batista appeared on Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live” on Thursday night after Impact Wrestling and talked about his upcoming MMA debut on October 6th.

Pictures Of BATISTA Training For His MMA Debut

The most newsworthy development of Batista’s appearance is that he does not see MMA as a long-term career for himself and he “definitely” sees himself returning to WWE one day.

Batista said it was important to him to compete in legitimate fights, but left WWE on good terms and will be back when the “PG stuff” blows over.

Batista named The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Triple H as WWE superstars he wants to work with when he returns. Batista said he never got a chance to feud with Lesnar in WWE and thinks they could do big business together.

When asked if he would fight Lesnar in an MMA fight, Batista said “of course” and noted that he’s open to any big MMA fights.

Former WWE superstar Batista appeared on Providence, Rhode Island’s RPWRI Channel 12 morning show on Friday to hype his upcoming MMA debut on October 6th.

Batista talked about the differences between WWE and MMA, MMA training being the toughest thing he’s ever done in his professional career and not caring about wins and losses – but just wanting to fight.

Here’s the video interview:

MMA Fighter David Bautista comes to RI