WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler will not be at tonight’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Lawler, who was recently hospitalized with diverticulitis, will be replaced by Booker T, who will join Michael Cole and JBL for commentary on the show.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
The official WWE website has a new poll up for a future episode of the WWE Network original series, “WWE Countdown.” The poll asks for fans to vote on who they feel the “most royal Superstar in history” is.
The options for the poll are as follows:
– “The King of Harts” Owen Hart
– King Booker (Booker T)
– “Macho King” Randy Savage
– Don Muraco (WWE King of the Ring 1985 Tournament winner)
– Jerry “The King” Lawler
– “The King” Harley Race
– Sheamus (WWE King of the Ring 2010 Tournament winner)
– “The King of Kings” Triple H
– Tito Santana (WWE King of the Ring 1989 tournament winner)
– William Regal
– “The Billion Dollar Princess” Stephanie McMahon
– Bret Hart (King of the Ring 1991 and 1993 Tournament winner)
– “King of Wrestling” Jim Duggan
– Bad News Barrett
– King Mabel
You can cast your vote for the poll at WWE.com.
The WWE Network aired a brief TLC “Fallout” post-show after last night’s pay-per-view. The show opened with the panel, which featured Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about John Cena winning his “Tables Match” tonight, which earned him the right to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman praised Cena, saying he’s the best — besides Lesnar.
Dean Ambrose was shown in the ring recovering from the television monitor exploding on him. Ambrose destroyed what was left of the monitor.
On commentary, Michael Cole promoted the Cena vs. Lesnar match and pointed out that it will be the final meeting between the two.
The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T:
Today’s independent wrestling scene: “You have a lot of good talent. Of course, there are not a lot of spots on the WWE roster for all of them at one time. They are essentially going to be out there for a while, which is a good thing in a way. They get a chance to travel around the world and seeing what it’s like out there and get paid to do it at the same time and hone their craft. So when they make it to the WWE roster, they’ll be ready. I watched that kid Adrian Neville before he ever made it to the roster. That kid was awesome. This new kid, formally Prince Devitt, I saw him on the scene doing his thing way before he made it to WWE. He was awesome. Now you have other young guys who are going to have that opportunity to do that same thing.
“With my Reality of Wrestling, it’s about getting these guys prepared for what it’s going to take to make it on the television roster and make it in the locker room. I love what is going on in the independent scene. This is really my first year getting the chance to go around and see what it’s like in other places. I love what I’m seeing out there with Pro Wrestling Syndicate, Northeast Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling and WildKat in New Orleans. There is a lot of good stuff out there.”
Not wanting to do one more run: “Never in a million years would I have thought I would have been able to go where I’ve gone in my career. It’s almost way too soon for me to be in the position I’m in, but I’m loving my position. Being able to give back and teach the game to these young guys, I’ve always wanted to be in this position. I was thinking about retiring when I was like 30 years old. All these wrestlers talk about having one more run in them. I don’t’ think I got one more run. I don’t want one more run. I don’t want it. To do a Rumble, I can do that. One night, where I can go in and it will be over real quick. I’d be happy with that.
“I don’t want to be one of those wrestlers that wishes to put their boots on when I’m 60. I don’t want to look at any of my old outfits then. My wife wants me to keep all my old outfits. I want to sell them all. I want to put them on eBay. You think I’m going to be 70 years old with all these action figures and outfits looking back at Harlem Heat’s glory days. It’s really for my grandkids. It’s been great. I’ve had the greatest life the last almost 25 years than any man could ask for. It’s a dream. I wouldn’t trade it in for the world. I always wanted to do the work and make it to the other side. That’s where I’m at in my life. It’s a great place.”
CM Punk speaking out on Colt Cabana’s podcast: “With me personally, certain business should be between yourself and the person you’re doing business with. You never know where you’ll have to go in the future. I’ve never been about burning bridges. I don’t know if he burned a bridge or not. I don’t know. It’s a personal thing more than anything for him to walk away. He had to have a certain feeling about something. It could be a lot of things, but it’s personal. For me, I can just say I’ve always looked at the business as a job. It’s never been nothing more than me getting a script and me going out there and performing. Of course, I’ve always wanted to make a decent pay like everybody else. You have to realize where I come from and a guy like CM Punk comes from. That may be the difference. Hopefully, Punk finds his way back to WWE. Me, personally, I was one of the guys who noticed his talent when I first saw him. I brought him to a wrestling show down here in Houston when he was a kid and before he was this ‘straight-edge superstar’ and all that stuff. I saw talent in him. Then when he did the whole pipe bomb thing, I saw even more talent in him.
“I felt he was really going to break out and last a long time in this business. I wouldn’t say a lifer, but a guy who was going to have a long career and give back. To see it abruptly end like that, there are so many fans out there that love CM Punk and want to see him in the middle of that ring. It’s the sad part.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
– WWE has added WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar to the advertising for the February 9th edition of WWE RAW in Columbus, Ohio.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was scheduled to appear at the Northeast Wrestling event in Danbury, Connecticut this Friday, however WWE reportedly pulled him from the appearance so he could appear at their WrestleMania 31 ticket party at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Replacing Booker at the independent event will be Bully Ray.
WWE has announced an official WrestleMania 31 On-Sale Party for Friday, November 14th from 6pm until 9pm at the Intel Plaza inside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the host of next year’s show. Tickets for WrestleMania 31 go on sale to the public the next morning.
Superstars scheduled to appear at the party include Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Charlotte, Tyler Breeze, Rosa Mendes, Booker T, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. The event is scheduled to be hosted by NXT’s Corey Graves and Fan Axxess emcee Christian Litke.
Additionally, a DJ will be playing throughout the night and fans in attendance will have their first opportunity to get official WrestleMania 31 merchandise.
On Monday’s WWE Hell In A Cell “go-home” edition of RAW, two announcements were made regarding the pay-per-view “Kickoff Show.”
Hosting the “expert panel” at Sunday’s Hell In A Cell “Kickoff Show” will be WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T, along with his usual partner Alex Riley and special guest, Paul Heyman.
Additionally, a “Mizdow TV” segment was confirmed, with Damien Mizdow (aka Damien Sandow) and special guest, The Miz.
Make sure to visit us here on the website this Sunday night for the best WWE Hell In A Cell live results coverage on the web!
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T tweeted the following about reaching a new milestone on Twitter.
Thank you to all my fans for getting me to 1 million followers on Twitter! I'm honored & humbled by the support! I can dig this suckas!!!
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) September 22, 2014
– WWE legend The Undertaker is featured on the latest edition of “Canvas 2 Canvas,” which you can check out below.
Booker T’s Reality Of Wrestling promotion issued the following …
Booker T and Reality of Wrestling are bringing the fight to breast cancer this Saturday night when ROW presents live wrestling from the Clear Lake Sports and Recreational Center. All fans in attendance are asked to wear pink to help with ROW’s “Pink Out” Initiative. At the event, donations on behalf of the Susan G. Komen foundation will be accepted. Booker T and his wife, former WWE Diva and Nitro Girl Sharmell, will match all donations received. In addition, special commemorative “Pink Out” Reality of Wrestling T-shirts are already available for purchase with all the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Tickets and merchandise for the show are available at Realityofwrestling,com.
Are you currently undergoing cancer treatment or are you a breast cancer survivor? Reality of Wrestling wants you to be their special guest. To receive a free ticket and special t-shirt for the event please contact Porsche Anderson at 713-927-2830. Representatives from the Memorial Hermann Breast Cancer Center will be in attendance with information about breast cancer awareness, ways for people to get involved and other information.
“Breast cancer is something that affects everyone. Not just the person who is afflicted with the illness. We all know someone who has been affected by this disease. Sharmell and I want to do our part to help get rid of cancer. And that is something we can all dig!” – Booker T
For more information on the upcoming show and ticket information, please visit Realityofwrestling.com.
– Mexican wrestling legend Konnan noted on Twitter recently that the El Rey Network is looking to see if they can have Alberto Del Rio (aka El Patron) appear at the AAA Lucha Underground taping in Los Angeles in September and October.
– Below is a new Facebook blog from WWE Hall Of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham.
“Hello Facebook friends. I wanted to honor a man that grew up in Houston watching me perform and then became one of the great mega performers himself. None other than the “bad to the bone” Booker-T !!! Here is a photo of us together backstage at Raw, two nights after I was inducted into the WWE 2004 Hall of Fame, something that I am very proud of. Booker T has more charisma in one finger than half of the current WWE roster combined. A great, humble man of class and dignity. I love and respect this man that caused fans to jump out of their chairs when they saw him hit the ring !! There will never be another one like him. Thank you Booker for the excitement that you brought and bring to wrestling, and more importantly, thank you for your friendship, Superstar.”
Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool took part in the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” recently. Prior to taking the ice bucket of water, McCool extended the challenge to Layla, Booker T, Chavo Guerrero, Vickie Guerrero, Chilli, MVP and her husband, The Undertaker.
Below is a video of McCool doing the “Ice Bucket Challenge.”
http://youtu.be/w2gLJBFmN7M
Her husband, The Undertaker, accepted the challenge. Below is his “Ice Bucket Challenge” video.
http://youtu.be/nKUFLwvI4sc
– Brock Lesnar has been added to the post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW on August 18th in Las Vegas and the September 15th RAW from Lafayette, Louisiana, the “go-home” show before Night of Champions.
– David Otunga will be appearing on this afternoon’s episode of ABC’s General Hospital at 2pm EST. Otunga appears as himself and visits the character Alice, who is a former pro wrestler.
– WWE Hall of Famer Booker T threw out the first pitch at last night’s Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics MLB baseball game:
Now onto more important questions @BookerT5x, what did you think of the spinaroonie???? @WWE @astros pic.twitter.com/0lF67GGDo0
— Houston Astros Orbit (@OrbitAstros) July 30, 2014
– In a pretty surprising note, during the WWE RAW Backstage Pass post-show on the WWE Network on Monday night, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T mentioned the infamous backstage fight between Chris Jericho and Bill Goldberg from years ago. He didn’t go into specific details on what happened during the fight, but did mention it.
– Also on the RAW post-show, Renee Young interviewed AJ Lee, who spoke about her return on Monday night. Lee noted that it feels good to be reunited with her baby, the WWE Divas Championship. She said she only came out to congratulate Paige the same way Paige did for her after WrestleMania XXX, and that she just happened to leave with what is rightfully hers.
It was revealed during Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which was the “go-home” show for this Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view that Daniel Bryan will appear on the “Kickoff Show” to address being stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In addition to that, it was recently announced that Bryan will be answering questions from fans during the pre-show as well. Fans interested in submitting questions for the leader of the “Yes! Movement” can do so on Twitter with the hashtag: #WWEKICKOFF.
Speaking of the “Kickoff Show” for this Sunday’s pay-per-view, the expert panel for the evening will include Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Christian. As noted earlier today, Josh Mathews, who generally hosts these panels, was released from the company.
As promised, here is the second half of the list…
The WWE roster was absolutely stacked following the acquisition of WCW. This was especially true after the top WCW superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, and Kevin Nash eventually signed with the company.
It quickly became apparent that there was too much talent to adequately feature everyone on a weekly basis. This led to the WWE splitting into two separate brands in the form of Raw and SmackDown. The brand extension seemed fresh at first, but it quickly lost traction after superstars were constantly shifted from one brand to the other as a way to increase ratings.
The brand extension era is characterized by pay-per-views that did not perform as well as those in the Attitude Era, largely because fans did not want to pay to see only half of the roster.
During the summer of 2001, the WWE was under attack and at risk of a hostile takeover. After finally winning the Monday Night Wars, the WWE had to find a way to integrate the influx of talent that was acquired with the purchase of WCW.
Their first attempt at doing so would come in the form of the Invasion storyline, which saw former WCW and ECW employees “invading” the WWE in an attempt to take over the company. If this sounds a bit like the nWo’s plot to conquer WCW, well that’s because it is essentially the same story.
Ultimately, the program forced the WWE to fend off the intruders by forming a coalition to battle Team Alliance, which was led by Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the respective on-screen owners of WCW and ECW at the time.
Many fans have cited the Invasion storyline as one of the most entertaining periods in recent WWE history, as it featured a number of matchups that had previously been unimaginable. However, there were many aspects of the storyline that could have been handled better, resulting in a program with great potential that was squandered by poor booking. Here are ten reasons why the Invasion storyline was not as memorable as some fans recall.
– The WWE Extreme Rules pre-show panel tonight will consist of Josh Mathews, Alex Riley, Booker T and Sheamus.
– The following is the official trailer for WWE’s upcoming “Wrestling’s Greatest Factions” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for a May 26th release.
http://youtu.be/4R6X79Gyu3M
– As previously noted, Daniel Bryan was listed as questionable for next week’s edition of WWE RAW, which takes place in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also announced that he would not be appearing at the non-televised WWE live events in Toronto, Rockford and Peoria. It was later announced on WWE Main Event that Bryan would in fact be appearing in St. Louis for RAW next Monday night.
– The new WWE NXT announcer Rich Brennan (real name Rich Bocchini) was originally the announcer for Booker T’s “Reality Of Wrestling” promotion out of Houston, Texas. His background included announcing for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League, as well as the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League. He was also once the Communications Manager for Comcast Sports Houston.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan was at WWE’s studios in Stamford earlier this week filming several hours of interviews for future WWE projects.
– The Ultimate Warrior Legends Roundtable that aired on the WWE Network this weekend, which featured Josh Mathews, Booker T, Sgt. Slaughter and Ted DiBiase, was filmed on Thursday.
– WWE Network will be debuting a new series called “Best of WWE Hall Of Fame” next week. The series will look back at some of the different WWE Hall Of Fame inductions over the years.
The following are highlights of a new FatDuckTech.com interview with Booker T:
On whether or not his upcoming second book was easier to write than his first: “This book here was totally different to the first book. The first book was really personal, this was just wrestling. Not a whole lot of wrestling stories about certain guys, drunken stupors or anything like that, like most wrestling books, it’s just a chronicle of Booker T’s career. Where he came from, totally the bottom of the totem pole, to close out a company, to be one of the only guys from that company to make it in WWE, and still to be here this many years later, a Hall Of Famer. it’s a quite a telling tale, both for the fans that read it as well as young wrestlers I think they’ll be intrigued.”
“Everything is chronicled in the book. Thank god for YouTube and Dailymotion. You can go back and find all of that stuff, and everything is there. Some of this stuff, I have to go back and watch it and go “Wow, OK, NOW I remember that.” It’s going to be totally accurate in terms of every little bitty thing that I did in professional wrestling. As well as a lot of cool stuff too.”
On his infamous promo about Hulk Hogan from WCW Spring Stampede: “Yeah, yeah (laughs). You know — Live TV? We weren’t taught as well as we were in WWE, especially back then.”
“We had the reigns to just talk and do whatever we wanted to do. I tell you, it’s a promo that’ll live in infamy, but there’s nothing you can do to run away from it, you know. Perhaps my most embarrassing and regretful moment in my wrestling career, but I bounced back from it.”
On the chances of a Harlem Heat reunion tour: “You know I never say never, but I’m so far past putting my tights and my boots on, going out and being a wrestler. I’m just over that stage of my life.”
“Some guys it’s just really hard for them to let it go, but for me it’s been really easy to let that stage of my life go, just because I’ve done everything that I’ve wanted to do in pro wrestling. I’ve won all the titles, I’ve been all over the world, I’ve seen it all. There’s just nothing left to prove.”
“Now I just want to be the greatest promoter I could possibly be, and perhaps follow in the footsteps of Paul Boesch and Vince McMahon and have my own mega-company one day.”
Check out the complete interview at FatDuckTech.com.
– Independent pro wrestler Steven Walters, who frequently works for Anarchy Wrestling out of Cornelia, Georgia, has signed a developmental deal with WWE. He is expected to start with the company in Orlando in mid-April.
– Chris Harrington recently compiled a list of the 20 wrestlers who have appeared in the most WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view matches in history. That list looks as follows:
1. The Undertaker 161
2. HHH 158
3. Big Show 156
4. Kane 155
5. Chris Jericho 149
6. Rey Mysterio 129
7. John Cena 124
8. Edge 123
9. Booker T 119
10. Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels 114
12. Chris Benoit 113
13. Ric Flair 105
14. Christian and Steve Austin 90
16. Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust 90
17. Sting 83 and Lex Luger 83
19. Hulk Hogan and C.M. Punk 82
– Apparently the trio of Josh Mathews, Alex Riley and Booker T will be the regular WWE pre-show and post-show panelists every week for RAW. Each week the group will be joined by a special guest, such as “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who served as the guest on the panel this past Monday night.
– In the latest SEC filing, WWE revealed that they currently have 133 wrestlers on their main and developmental rosters. Additionally, WWE has 762 corporate employees.
– The official WWE website has a new article up on the life of wrestling legend Billy Robinson, who as previously reported, passed away in his sleep on Monday at age 74. You can check out their article at WWE.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T will serve as the host of WWE’s new “WCW Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches Vol. 1” DVD and Blu-ray set, which is scheduled for a March 11th release.
– Former WWE Superstar posted the following on his official Twitter account regarding his sons, The Usos, winning the WWE Tag-Team Championships from The New Age Outlaws on Monday’s WWE RAW:
Congratulations to my sons finally the new tag team champions hard work good salad always pays off we… http://t.co/Bx1Ig7mEgr
— JR FATU,, (@TheREALRIKISHI) March 4, 2014
– WWE Superstar Tensai, who as previously reported is likely being transitioned into a television announcer, worked last night’s set of WWE NXT television tapings. Tensai was announced as Jason Alberts. Also on commentary last night were William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Alex Riley. The commentary team for the first set of tapings included Phillips, Saxton and Regal. The second set featured Phillips, Riley and Alberts.
– Speaking of last night’s NXT television tapings, NFL star of the New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski was reportedly in attendance during the show.
– There are several notable WWE Superstar birthdays today. WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T celebrates his 49th birthday today. Booker was born on March 1, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. (28), WWE Diva Emma (25) and former WCW star Scotty Riggs (43).
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke to Philly.com this week as part of their series celebrating Black History Month and great African American pro wrestlers. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Being Remembered As A Legend: “For me personally, I’m just glad to be a part of the history. That’s something I always say is good to do in life, is to leave our mark in this lifetime. I always wanted to be mentioned in the same breath as all of the great wrestlers. I’ve never really considered myself a wrestler. I always considered myself an entertainer, but I always wanted to be better than the guy next to me. I always wanted to go out and entertain the fans.”
Turning His Life Around As A Troubled Youth: ““I just had to change,” he said. “Either I was going to change or not. It was a crossroad. All the mistakes I made coming up prepared me to be the man I’ve become today. I needed those experiences to mold the person people see before them today.
Not Labeling Himself A ‘Black Wrestler’: “Throughout my whole time in wrestling on the road, going out and being around some of the whitest people in the world I’ve never had any problems with anybody. It was never black or white. Booker T was just a wrestler. I did that by design. When people see me come out of that curtain, it’s never been a black guy. It’s just been Booker T and I’ve always tried to make it that way.”