– We reported earlier this week that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is being considered for a role on the new season of Tough Enough, which begins the night after WrestleMania. RAW star William Regal is also being considered for the show and would serve as one of the coaches, similar to Al Snow’s role on the original show.
– WWE has signed Mexican wrestler El Hijo de Medico Asesino to a developmental deal. He’s expected to head to Florida Championship Wrestling in the coming weeks.
– Following last week’s brutal beatdown of the Big Show by Wade Barrett’s new group on SmackDown, a feud between the 7 foot giant and Ezekiel Jackson is in the works.
– Sources from WWE developmental note that Mason Ryan is still considered green in the ring and on the mic. Ryan is generally well liked by his peers and understands he’s still at the beginning of what looks to be a promising career. According to a WWE source, when Mason Ryan won the Florida Championship Wrestling title last summer, he didn’t understand why he was being pushed so hard over other developmental talents that he thought were farther along than him.
— Wade Barrett vs. Big Show was announced last night on SmackDown for next week’s show. Earlier in the evening, the former leader of The Nexus attacked Big Show, preventing him from winning the Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender’s Match.
— CM Punk made his live event debut as a member of The Nexus at last night’s Raw house show in August, Georgia. With assistance from his new allies, he defeated Mark Henry in a singles match. The faction continued beating Henry down following the match until some babyface Raw Superstars made the save.
— Jim Ross said on Twitter he’s heading to Florida Championship Wrestling’s Tampa facility next week to work with WWE developmental talent.
— Tickets for the Apr. 5 SmackDown taping at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina go on sale Jan. 22 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
— WWEDVDNews.com has released the cover art for World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming DVD set on Big Show, Big Show: A Giant’s World. The cover features the WWE Superstar grasping a miniature wrestling ring.
To view the cover art, click here. The three-disc set is scheduled for release on Feb. 22.
— In the segment-by-segment numbers for Monday’s Raw, the WWE Title Match between The Miz and John Morrison drew a 3.1 for the first quarter and a 3.2 for the second quarter; Maryse, Melina and Alicia Fox vs. Brie Bella, Eve Torres and Natalya tumbled to 2.9; the in-ring segment with CM Punk, Wade Barrett and The Nexus setting up main event stipulations grew the rating to a 3.2; Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth fell to 3.0; backstage interviews with Randy Orton and The Nexus fell to 2.7; beginning of the Steel Cage Match between Orton, Barrett and Sheamus grew to 3.2 and then increased to 3.8 for the overrun. From start to finish, the Steel Cage Match gained 1,611,000 viewers.
Overall, the show drew a 3.08 cable rating, with 4.51 million viewers.
— The January 3, 2010 edition of Monday Night Raw scored a 3.06 cable rating. The rating is slightly down from last week’s show, which scored a 3.06.
— WWE talent Glenn Jacobs (a/k/a Kane) and Mises Institute faculty will be participating in an “Economics in One Lesson: High School Seminar” in Knoxville, Tennessee on February 11. The seminar is being sponsored by the Tennessee Liberty Alliance. Click here for more information.
— WWE’s forthcoming three-disc DVD set on Big Show, Big Show: A Giant’s World, is set for release on February 22, 2011.
— Big Show has landed a role in the upcoming Nickelodeon series “Supah Ninjas, which is centered around a group of high school kids who are ninjas.
A casting call was issued today for a stand-in for the WWE Superstar with the casting director asking for a Caucasian male “6’9′ or taller who is 400 to 475lbs.”
— The New Year’s Eve edition of SmackDown drew a 1.43 cable rating, with 2,205,000 viewers. It is a record low rating for a first-run episode of SmackDown on Syfy.
— WWEShop.com is offering 20% off orders of $75 or more with the code “2011”.
— A number of mainstream news outlets including Entertainment Weekly and Variety are covering the revival of WWE’s Tough Enough reality series on the USA Network. A blogger for Entertainment Weekly queried if Al Snow would be returning as a trainer, but a USA representative stated that decisions about judges and mentors have yet to be made.
Snow currently works for TNA Wrestling as a producer.
— The Rupp Arena is no longer advertising Rey Mysterio for this Saturday’s Smackdown live event in Lexington, Kentucky. Alberto Del Rio will instead face Big Show.
— Former WWE star Jim Powers celebrates his 52nd birthday today. He announced his retirement from professional wrestling last month.
— Big Show is substituting for the injured John Cena at Raw live events for the remainder of the week. He is facing Wade Barrett in a Steel Cage contests.
The remaining SmackDown live events will be headlined by Triple Threat matches featuring World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. CM Punk vs. Kane.
— WWE has removed Ashley Valence’s profile from the company website’s Divas section. No official announcement was made her regarding her departure.
— The self-proclaimed “Original Diva” Tammy Sytch (a/k/a Sunny) revealed today on her Facebook account that she was interviewed by WWE.com. It will be posted next month.
— It was announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown that Ezekiel Jackson has joined the Friday night brand. He will make his debut on next week’s show.
— Big Show and Randy Orton have been announced as this year’s WWE representatives at the annual Washington Auto Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. Big Show will be appearing at the event on Wednesday, Feb. 2. while “The Viper” will be there the following day.
— The Dec. 16 episode of WWE Superstars garnered a 0.6 cable rating, with 734,000 viewers. Viewership was up from previous week, which was a 0.5 cable rating, with 537,000 viewers
— Video has surfaced online of Vince McMahon, Big Show, Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres visiting U.S. troops stationed in Kandaha, Afghanistan. McMahon is briefly interviewed, as he discusses WWE’s annual visit overseas.
Eve Torres noted of the trip on Twitter: “What a truly amazing trip. A strong reminder of how much I appreciate our country & our daily luxuries (like indoor toilets!) Thnk u troops!”
— Due to an injury suffered by Wes Brisco at the Nov. 20 Florida Championship Wrestling live event in Punta Gorda, he and Xavier Woods were stripped of the FCW Tag Team Championship Thursday. Titus O’Neil and Damien Sandow were determined as the new champions the following night in Plant City, Florida.
— New promotional material for upcoming WWE live events no longer advertise Juan Cena as appearing. Edge is being advertised in place of Juan for said shows.
— Big Show will be signing copies of Knucklehead following this Tuesday’s SmackDown taping at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. He is also advertised to appear in Pasadena, Texas on Sunday, Dec. 19 from noon until 2:00 p.m. at FYE #1328 located at 276 Pasadena Town Square.
— Shawn Michaels has signed a deal to endorse the Chuck Norris Total Gym.
Below is the synopsis for WWE’s upcoming three-disc DVD set on Big Show, The Big Show: A Giant’s World, which is set for release on Feb. 22, 2011:
Big Show lays claim to the title of “World’s Largest Athlete” and anyone that doubts it may be on the receiving end of his devastating knockout punch. The 7-foot giant has been a staple of the Sports Entertainment scene since his WCW debut in the 90s, and h as battled some of the all-time greats, including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Undertaker, Triple H, John Cena, and more.
He’s also cast his enormous shadow in the worlds of television and movies with roles on Royal Pains, Saturday Night Live, The Waterboy, MacGruber, and Knucklehead.
Now for the first time ever, Big Show’s mammoth career will be highlighted in a DVD set. This 3-disc release will include a never-before-seen documentary on the life and times of Big Show featuring new candid interviews where Show discusses how a giant lives in an average-sized world, his sports entertainment career, and more.
— Michael Porter, who worked as a ring announcer for World Wrestling Federation live events in the West Coast from 1988 to 1993, died on Oct. 23.
His cause of death has yet to be disclosed, but it is said that he was having heart problems.
— While the exact gross amount for the two-day theatrical release of WWE Studios’ Knucklehead has yet to be disclosed, the film reportedly garnered less than $1,000 total.
It is said that company officials did not expect to make much money off the film at the box office due to it basically being a straight-to-video release. The film was given a limited release in theaters to ward off the perception.
WWE Studios’ Knucklehead drew virtually no business during its ‘limited engagement’ this past weekend.
A chart listing the top grossing films, with the bottom movie making $75, did not rank the WWE produced film. Even further, numerous websites that feature histories of all theatrically released movies and how much business they did – including last weekend – don’t have it listed.
The film was only scheduled for last weekend in select theaters – a total of six. It will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 9.
— It was announced on Friday’s SmackDown that Lay-Cool member Layla would defend the Divas Championship against Natalya at Bragging Rights, as opposed to Michelle McCool. The WWE website has updated its preview page for the match to reflect the announcement, removing McCool’s image.
— WWE Studios’ much anticipated Knucklehead opens today in theaters for a “special limited engagement.” For a complete list of theater locations, click here.
— The promotional poster for Survivor Series has been updated to solely feature Wade Barrett. The previous poster featured the seven member slate of Nexus; two of which are inactive due to injury (Skip Sheffield and Michael Tarver), while Darren Young is no longer affiliated with the group. Check out the poster:
— The Wrestling Observer Newsletter speculates that due to The Undertaker’s health, matches pitting “The Deadman” against Kane for WWE’s tour of the U.K. next month have been changed to Triple Threat bouts with the inclusion of Big Show.
— In an update on the condition of Patrick Henry, older brother of WWE Superstar, Mark Henry, doctors have taken him off the medication that was keeping him in a coma and he is expected to be revived today. Henry had several surgeries to stop the bleeding and pressure on his brain caused by the stroke he suffered on Oct. 3.
— Both Maryse and The Miz walked the red carpet at last night’s Jackass 3D premiere in Los Angeles, California.
— WWE Legends Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and Terry Funk were announced Thursday as playable characters for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011. Also announced for the game were Raw Superstars Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim.
— The cover art for World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming DVD set on Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, has been unveiled. To view the cover art, click here.
The two-disc set will be released on Tuesday, December 28, 2010.
— WWE is holding a SmackDown live event tonight in Monterrey, Mexico at Arena Monterrey. Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Jack Swagger are the top Superstars advertised for the event.
– Two bouts were taped for this Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars prior to Monday’s RAW from Cincinnati, Ohio:
* Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jey and Jimmy Uso
* The Great Khali vs. Primo
– WWE did not acknowledge the passing of former talent Mike Shaw (a/k/a Bastion Booger) during tonight’s Raw. His passing also has yet to be acknowledged on the company website. Shaw died Saturday at his home in Skandia, Michigan, reportedly due to a heart attack.
– The trailer for WWE Studios’ next feature film, Knucklehead, has surfaced online. It debuted in theaters last week before presentations of Legendary. The comedy film stars Big Show as an oversized orphan who enters an amateur MMA fight to save the orphanage that raised him. Like Legendary, Knucklehead will be released in a select number of theaters before it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is currently scheduled to hit theaters in November:
— Though Matt Hardy claimed in a video blog entry late last night that he was still in the U.K. in spite of online reports of him being sent home following an apparent backstage incident the day before, he did not work the final event of the European tour, which took place in Skegness, England. He did not offer a response to that portion of the report. Additionally, in his video he blamed “a stooging punk” for the story hitting the net.
In regard to his health, Hardy said he has never felt better. He claimed to have dropped over twenty pounds since changing his diet to eliminate red meat. Apparently, he managed to drop seven additional pounds during the international tour as he wrote on Twitter Thursday night that he was planning a YouTube entry concerning his recent health breakthroughs as he had dropped thirteen pounds at the time.
“Definitely gonna do a YT entry soon about my recent health breakthroughs concerning my digestive process,” Hardy wrote. “In 3 weeks, I’ve dropped 13 lbs.”
Check out the video here:
— Big Show appeared on Sky Sports News last week to promote WWE Studios’ upcoming comedy film, Knucklehead. He also discussed his size, a potential career in boxing, and said UK citizens have a better sense of humor than Americans.
— NXT Season 2 contestant Titus O’Neil was on the Florida Gator sidelines during their game against South Florida on Saturday. Meanwhile, Todd Grisham was spotted at yesterday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game. (Source: prowrestling.net)
— The trailer for WWE Studios’ next feature film, Knucklehead, is being played in theaters before Legendary.
The comedy film stars Big Show as an oversized orphan who enters an amateur MMA fight to save the orphanage that raised him.
Like Legendary, Knucklehead will be released in a select number of theaters before it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is currently scheduled to hit theaters in November.
— NXT season two winner Kaval made his debut for the SmackDown brand during last night’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, coming up short to Drew McIntyre.
His profile is now listed on the SmackDown Superstars page.
— The lone extra on WWE’s SummerSlam DVD release is Josh Mathews conducting an interview with Daniel Bryan regarding his return to the company.
— In a Night of Champions first, no belt will be on the line when Big Show squares off against CM Punk at the annual WWE pay-per-view event. The match was announced tonight on WWE.com.
— Ousted NXT Rookie Diva Aloisia posted a pseudo-shoot blog on her official website Wednesday blasting her former NXT Pro, Vickie Guerrero. The 6’9″ lady grappler pokes fun at Guerrero’s weight and says her replacement, Kaitlyn, deserves someone better than a ‘washed up middle-aged “Pro” who’s been resting on her laurels for about the past 20 years or so.’
Aloisia also wants to know why past lingerie photos of her are so ‘unforgivable’ when Guerrero took part in a nude photo shoot for WWE.com.
“I find out that maybe the “real” reason I was fired was because of some ridiculous lingerie photo shoot I did when I was 18,” she said. “Um, EXCUSE ME, but if what I did was so unforgivable then can someone please explain why my “favorite” person, VG, has a (censored) nude photo shoot posted on the WWE.com website?”
She also calls out Beth Phoenix, who mistakenly called her ‘Aloisha’ in a tweet last week.
“And Beth Phoenix, honey…I’ve got you in my sights as well,” Aloisia wrote. “Every time you look in your rear view mirror, that’s me you see coming up behind you. And yes, I stole that line from Mad Men.”
Thanks to SEScoops reader and Sound Off listener Jeronimo Cárdenas for the results and photo:
-Dark match was Alberto Del Rio over some local wrestler before NXT. Guy was good… not great, but looked good.
— The NXT battle royal was really confusing live, but the 450 at the end did the trick.  It’s amazing to witness live.
–Smackdown opened with Cody Rhodes and Kofi Kingston going to a draw after Kane came out and destroyed both men. He then cut a promo vowing to kill Jack Swagger later.
-Drew McIntyre def. Christian.
-CM Punk and the SES in the ring for a promo before Big Show interrupts. Show brought out various ladders that didn’t accomodate his size, but then brought out a custom ladder specially made for his size. SES attacked Show, but he eventually got rid of them and went after Punk. It culminated with Big Show taking Punk to the top of the ladder and removing his mask! See the photo below.
-Kelly Kelly and Chris Masters def. Layla and Trent Barretta. Rosa Mendez came out and distracted Layla by jumping rope.
-Dolph Ziggler def. Matt Hardy.
-Jack Swagger brought out his “father” (SITE NOTE: played by former WCW star Bunkhouse Buck) with “evidence” that would clear him from Kane’s accusations. It was just a bunch of silly photos with Swagger and his dad doing athletic contests during the Memorial Day holida. Kane came out and called BS, then attempted to chokeslam both men. Swagger fought back and Rey Mysterio came out and attacked Swagger, leading to Kane chokeslamming Swagger’s dad while poor Jack watched from outside the ring.
-Best moments were the Christian-McIntyre match and the Big Show segment with CM Punk (Paul Wight was really over with the crowd.
— Big Show briefly appears in a rap video/advertisement promoting USA’s hit medical drama Royal Pains. You can view the video here. Mark Feuerstein will guest host next week’s episode of Raw taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
— A Divas segment taped last Tuesday was edited off Friday’s SmackDown broadcast. The segment featured Michelle McCool and Layla interrupting a conversation Kelly Kelly and Tiffany were having backstage. Lay-Cool took credit for getting rid of “Piggie James” and “The Glamazon,” telling the two SmackDown Divas they were next.
— WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel, Melina and Beth Phoenix will be taking part in tonight’s Raw Live Chat on WWE.com.
– Actor Mark Feuerstein, star of the USA Network original series Royal Pains, will guest host WWE RAW on June 14th from Charlotte, NC. Feuerstein co-stars in the upcoming WWE Studios movie Knucklehead with WWE’s Big Show.
– Speaking of Feuerstein and Big Show, Big Show will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of “Royal Pains,” which will be filming today in New York City. Big Show will play a character named Donald “The Trashman” Green – a “7 Foot, 470 lb. Giant from a horror film.” The episode, titled “Keeping The Faith,” will also feature a cameo from Henry “The Fonz” Winkler. (Source: PWInsider.com)
– Tueday’s episode of WWE NXT on SyFy scored an 0.9 cable rating and averaged 1,253,000 viewers.
— Matches taking place on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America are as follows:
* Evan Bourne and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder and Chavo Guerrero
* MVP vs. Carlito
* Beth Phoenix vs. Layla
— This Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC, The Bella Twins, R-Truth and Big Show, along with NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon, will be appearing on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. On the episode, these five stars teamed up to help out Amanda and Derrick Suggs, a couple with two children of their own who also adopted Amanda’s younger siblings to prevent them from being placed into foster care.
In another note, WWE is not referenced in the TV Guide preview for the episode, solely Jeff Gordon.
— As reported earlier, former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced at the Winter Music Conference in Miami that her upcoming music album would be in English and dance-based. While at the WMC, she attended numerous events and parties, mingling with numerous people from the recording industry. You can view several photos of her partying and more at the following link.
— Rey Mysterio’s autobiography, Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask, will be released in paperback on Oct. 26.
— The WWE website is advertising a match between Unified Tag Team Champ Big Show and Edge for this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
— Both Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes have officially been moved to Raw following their appearance on Monday’s show as their respective profiles are now listed on the Raw Superstars section within the company website.
Likewise, Shelton Benjamin has officially been moved to SmackDown. He appeared on last week’s broadcast, winning a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.
— Former WWE manager William Moody (a/k/a Paul Bearer) noted on his Twitter account last week that he did voice-overs for WWE’s forthcoming video game, SmackDown vs. Raw 2011.
