– Paul Heyman announced on Monday night that Brock Lensnar will deliver an in-person response to Triple H’s SummerSlam challenge at the 1,000th RAW Celebration on July 23rd.
– WWE tag team title holder R-Truth returned to action on Monday’s RAW in an 8-man tag team match. He was out of action for several weeks with a foot injury.
– Eve Torres returned to WWE television on RAW. She had been away filming the new NBC reality show “Stars Earn Stripes.”
– WWE.com has a poll up asking what will Brock Lesnar’s response be to Triple H’s SummerSlam challenge tonight on Raw.
As of Monday afternoon, 75% think Lesnar will accept the challenge while 25% think he will reject the challenge due to his ongoing storyline lawsuit against WWE.
– Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Power Slam magazine.
– WWE talent will be at San Diego Comic-Con on July 12th along with Mattel toy designers Bill Miekina, Derek Handy and Mattel’s director of marketing Enrique Ruvalcaba.
– John Cena attended a New York Mets MLB baseball game last week.
– To update the news of Brock Lesnar responding to Triple H’s SummerSlam challenge tonight on RAW, WWE is now advertising that Lesnar’s “camp” will respond on his behalf.
As noted earlier in our RAW preview, neither Lesnar or Triple H are advertised/expected to appear live tonight.
– As the Interim General Manager of this week’s RAW and SmackDown shows, Teddy Long wrote on Twitter that he’s been granted access to the @WWERawGM Twitter account this week. The account has been inactive since John Laurinaitis was fired last month.
– The final part of “Cut That Promo” featuring former WWE superstar John Morrison and TNA Gutcheck reject Joey Ryan is now online. The footage was originally Filmed on June 7th during the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival at IO West. The earlier parts can be viewed at host Christian Rosenberg’s Youtube channel. Here’s the 6th and final part:
– The AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas is advertising that Brock Lesnar will appear at the August 6th RAW Supershow from the city.
The event is being promoted as “Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night” – so don’t be surprised to see WWE put heel heat on Lesnar headed into SummerSlam by having him attack Michaels, the hometown hero & longtime friend of his SummerSlam opponent.
– WWE.com has an article up comparing RAW’s 1,000 episodes to other popular shows, such as The Simpsons, Law and Order, Seinfeld, Friends, Lost, Roseanne and more. The article states, “Granted, not all of these shows ran close to 1,000 episodes, and some of them have long since ended, but each carved out its own place in the annals of TV lore.”
– On the latest episode of Santino’s Foreign Exchange:
“Santino goes all Kung Fu this week as he must fight for the honor of WWE Diva Kaitlyn. Also, the beard is back, baby!”
– Bill Goldberg, who last competed for WWE in 2004, reportedly contacted Brock Lesnar about returning to the sports entertainment organization to work an angle with him. Lesnar, however, only has two major dates left on his current contract; Triple H at SummerSlam and whoever his WrestleMania XXIX opponent will be.
– Alicia Fox and John Cena visited wounded warriors and members of the U.S. Military at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland last week. Click here for a video piece on their visit.
– Former WWE Superstar Antonio is on Twitter at promisethomas. He has wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling since his departure from WWE in 2006.
– Former WWE star John Heidenreich turns 43 years old Thursday.
– The WWE website is now officially advertising Brock Lesnar for the 1,000th RAW celebration on July 23rd from St. Louis, Missouri.
– In a dark match that took place after Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, John Cena defeated Big Show and Tensai in a handicap match. It was advertised as Show and John Laurinaitis teaming, but instead Tensai replaced Big Johnny. Cena got the biggest pop of the night. Late in the match, Show accidentally hit Tensai with the WMD. Cena hit Show with the Attitude Adjustment and pinned Tensai. Afterward, Big Johnny came out and hit Cena with a chair. Cena came back and took him out with the AA. The crowd was happy. (Credit: prowrestling.net)
It was announced on Monday’s RAW that Brock Lesnar will respond to Triple H’s SummerSlam challenge on next week’s show.
During the show, local commercials aired in St. Louis promoting an appearance by Brock Lesnar at the upcoming 1,000th episode celebration on 7/23 from the Scottrade Center.
The commercial stated that Lesnar would be in St. Louis and questioned, “but what part will he play?”
Lesnar is also advertised for the August 13th edition of RAW, the final show before SummerSlam.
No word yet on whether Lesnar will be at RAW next week to answer Triple H’s challenge in person.
According to WWE sources, Lesnar will be back on television before then to hype his match with Triple H at the pay-per-view – with some people expecting him to appear at the 1,000th RAW celebration on July 23rd.
– Speaking of the 1,000th RAW show, former WWE superstar Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) says he won’t be there.
– WWE announced on RAW last week that a legend would be competing on RAW each week. Vader was the first surprise legend and by all accounts, had a solid match with Heath Slater. On this week’s show, there was no returning legend in action, despite appearances from Mick Foley and Roddy Piper.
WWE has reportedly abandoned the storyline of a legend wrestling on RAW each week. Instead, a former General Manager will be brought in each week to host RAW and SmackDown. Mick Foley is this week’s host and Vickie Guerrero has been confirmed for next week.
– Brock Lesnar is being advertised for August 13th WWE RAW Supershow, the week before SummerSlam. This is the only upcoming show that Lesnar is currently advertised for, so it’s likely that Paul Heyman will continue to appear on WWE television as his representative.
Even though Paul Heyman rejected Triple H’s challenge to Lesnar for a match at SummerSlam, the match will indeed headline WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.
– WWE is still advertising John Laurinaitis for future WWE live events through the summer, despite him getting fired by Vince McMahon at No Way Out.
– Chris Jericho will return to WWE television next week on RAW and is advertised for all upcoming RAW shows through Summerslam.
Jericho’s metal band Fozzy will be featured on the upcoming Rockstar Uproar Tour, which runs from August 15th through September 30th. One of the dates on that tour is August 19th (the night of Summerslam). Fozzy is not performing that night, which will allow Jericho to appear at SummerSlam. He’s not listed at any WWE events after SummerSlam.
– Despite Brock Lesnar’s rocky relationship with WWE, plans are still in place for him to fight Triple H at SummerSlam in August.
One scenario discussed for the match would be for Vince McMahon to be in Triple H’s corner and John Laurinaitis to be in Lesnar’s corner. This would involve John Cena defeating Big Show at No Way Out and Vince McMahon firing Laurinaitis at the pay-per-view. Laurinaitis, with the backing of WWE’s Board of Directors, would then return with Brock Lesnar as his enforcer to take out Triple H, who would be aligned with Vince McMahon.
– In recent months, we’ve seen several UFC fighters express interest in wrestling for WWE after their MMA careers are over, including Tito Ortiz and Roy Nelson. Add another big name to the list of UFC fighters willing to step into a WWE ring – Frank Mir.
Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar’s arch nemesis in the UFC, was recently asked by the Chronicle Journal about the possibility of following Brock Lesnar to WWE when he retires from the Octagon. Mir replied:
“Not opposed to the idea. I can’t do a back flip or anything.”
After Brock Lesnar attended last month’s UFC 146 pay-per-view, there were online reports that his meeting with UFC President Dana White did not go well – and that White was pissed off because he felt Lesnar only showed up in Vegas to fuel his WWE storyline.
Vince McMahon was said to be furious with Lesnar over the publicity stunt and almost certainly did not know about the situation in advance. Whether or not Dana White knew what was going on has been a hot topic of discussion in WWE and UFC in recent weeks – with it still being a strong possibility that this is all some sort of ploy by Lesnar to increase his bargaining power / leverage with WWE.
The feeling in WWE is that even though Lesnar got a one of a kind deal with WWE (huge money for limited appearances), there’s little to no chance that he could fight in the UFC before WrestleMania 29 next April.
Some in UFC still believe that Lesnar’s WWE deal is non-exclusive the meeting with Dana White really was to discuss a potential UFC return for Lesnar this year. Even if Lesnar was contractually able to fight for UFC, his heart really isn’t into MMA and he can no longer compete at the top level due to his past health issues.
Paul Heyman tweeted the following cryptic message on Monday night:
“@WWE #TheBossIsBack Yes, Brock Lesnar and I are indeed back. WHERE? Remains to be seen! Ahem …”
Triple H will be at Sunday’s No Way Out pay-per-view to address “his future, pending lawsuits against WWE and Brock Lesnar.”
WWE sources we’ve spoken to do not expect Brock Lesnar to be at No Way Out, but that could change by Sunday and it’s possible Lesnar’s appearance could be kept a secret until then.
Despite Lesnar’s ongoing issues with WWE, there are still plans for him to wrestle Triple H at SummerSlam on August 19th.
– Cody Rhodes, who is currently in Turkey doing media appearances for WWE, tweeted the following over the weekend regarding the WWE website’s recent list about the Top 15 wrestling families:
“The geniuses at WWE.com (the same geniuses that left Thunderbolt P off the greatest talkers list) have assembled a new list… the top 15 wrestling families. As the least bias of my name, if you were basing these off of the bottomline, I could see number 5, maybe 6.. 8 though?? You might be able to hear me laughing all the way from Turkey. I hope we’re not paying these guys much.”
– To update the story of Brock Lesnar’s strained relationship with WWE, Vince McMahon said to be so furious at Lesnar for attending UFC 146 and meeting with Dana White that Triple H had to talk him out of doing something drastic.
Triple H is still scheduled to wrestle Lesnar at SummerSlam and has been pushing hard for WWE to not cancel the match, a sign that Triple H will be going over at the PPV.
For those wondering why there has been no mention of Brock Lesnar on WWE television over the last couple weeks, there is said to be “nuclear heat” on Lesnar, some of which stems his recent appearance at the UFC 146 pay-per-view.
Brock Lesnar visited the event and met with UFC President Dana White without the advance knowledge of Vince McMahon. Even before the UFC incident, Lesnar has been extremely difficult to deal with behind the scenes. Lesnar was high maintenance during his first run with the company nearly a decade ago. Now, he’s back, making much more money and working far fewer dates.
WWE has taken a few shots at Lesnar on television in recent weeks, including the Big Show’s promo talking about being a “fighter, not a sports entertainer” and Triple H’s taped promo on RAW where he was not wearing an arm brace to sell Lesnar’s recent attack.
WWE has had to deal with contract negotiations with megastars before (The Rock, Steve Austin), but Lesnar is a different animal because he does not like the wrestling business and has the option of going back to UFC to make huge money to fight a few more times.
Instead of keeping Brock Lesnar’s character on television through video packages or appearances by Paul Heyman, he’s now off the radar entirely until it’s time for WWE to start building towards his match against Triple H at SummerSlam.
After SummerSlam, Lesnar is not expected to make any more appearances for many months. It’s known that Lesnar’s contract requires very few appearances – and it’s now believed that the number of required dates is even fewer than previously reported. He is not scheduled to wrestle at Survivor Series and might not be back until 2013. It’s known whether he’ll even be at the Royal Rumble, so right now, the only events that are locked in are SummerSlam and WrestleMania 29.
– WWE announced Wednesday through their Mobile service that Triple H will be appearing at No Way Out. The announcement states:
“Breaking News: WWE COO Triple H is confirmed to appear at No Way Out on Sunday, June 17, to address his future, pending lawsuits against WWE and Brock Lesnar.”
– Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have been announced to appear at an autograph signing taking place Saturday, June 23 at Frank & Son Collectible Show 19649 San Jose Ave, City of Industry, California. Other wrestling figures appearing at the event include Buff Bagwell, George “The Animal” Steele, Harley Race, Lex Luger, Nikolai Volkoff, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Tito Santana and Wendi Richter.
– Drew McIntyre turns turns 27 years old Wednesday while Konnan turns 48.
– Brock Lesnar is contracted for approximately twenty-four dates over the duration of his contract with WWE. Since he fulfilled six dates in April and May, he will be off television until the build-up for SummerSlam. He’ll also be needed in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XXIX and thus is not scheduled for any appearances in the fall.
– A source within WWE says Vince McMahon is getting tired of scripting Raw at the last minute. The WWE Chairman regularly demands partial or full script re-writes on the day of the show. A script for an episode last month was not completed until after the show went on the air.
– Tuesday’s SmackDown taping emanated from ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. She did interviews with local television stations outside the Colonial Life Arena while fans stood in line to enter the venue.
Regarding the event, Garcia tweeted Tuesday, “When I moved from Spain my 1st US home was Columbia, SC. Well 2nite I get 2 announce #WWE #SmackDown in Columbia! Gamecock country! #Excited.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are the highlights:
Randy Orton’s Suspension: “Amazed at the amount of questions we have received on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding Randy Orton’s 60 suspension from WWE for a 2nd violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy. Not too sure what there is to not understand … Bottom line is that the business as always been about such things as “when one door closes, another door opens” and that “being in the right place at the right time” and both are still valid and viable in today’s ever changing world and that includes sports entertainment.”
Paul Heyman’s Twitter Rant: “As @HeymanHustle pointed out on Twitter earlier this week and as I’ve mentioned here many times, talents need to become much more motivated and aggressive in obtaining meaningful exposure and then ‘maximizing their minutes.’ As the old sales cliche goes, one won’t get the order until one asks for it. To add to that cliche with another, one can’t sell goods out of an empty wagon. Translation…do what ever is necessary to professionally and legally get noticed and then be able to back it up once your number is called. There has never been a more opportune time for talents who have the drive, determination, ingenuity, and physical talent to elevate as roster depth at the top of the card is ripe for the pickings.”
Brock Lesnar Meeting With UFC Last Weekend: “What would I think of Brock Lesnar attempting to become a ‘two sport’ guy and perform in WWE and fight in UFC at the same time frame? I’d suggest that it would be ill advised and that it can’t be done on the highest level of each genre in an efficient manner. Obviously, a person could do it, theoretically, and enhance his earnings over the short haul but it seems as if it would be too taxing an issue on one’s body to attempt such a feat. I have no idea is that idea is even on Lesnar’s radar but we’ve gotten the question here a great deal. I’m not in touch with Brock and haven’t been for years so my take on the matter is merely one man’s opinion.”
As always, you can check out JR’s amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.
— Current creative plans call for The Undertaker to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXIX.
Meanwhile, the latest issue of Inside Wrestling features Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker on the cover with the headline reading “SNEAK PEAK? The World Clamors for Lesnar-‘Taker At WrestleMania 29!”
— A Smackdown live event is scheduled for Sunday, August 12 at Linco Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan.
— SmackDown live event attendance figures: May 23 in Poughkeepsie, New York drew a sellout crowd of 2,500 paying $110,000. May 24 in Hermosillo, Mexico drew a sellout crowd of 3,000 paying $90,000. May 25 in Aguascalientes, Mexico drew 4,000 paying $90,000. May 26 in Guadalajara, Mexico drew 4,500 paying $125,000. May 27 in Lake Charles, Louisiana drew 3,000 paying $100,000.
One of the major stories over the weekend was Brock Lesnar making an unannounced appearance at Saturday night’s UFC 146 pay-per-view. UFC President Dana White announced at the post-fight press conference that Lesnar texted him and said he wanted to meet with him face-to-face. White smiled every time he was asked about what Lesnar was doing there and said it was a possibility that Lesnar could return to the UFC for another fight.
There has been a lot of speculation about Lesnar’s meeting with UFC, including how much WWE knew in advance, with some people believing the whole thing was a work and part of the “Lesnar has left WWE” storyline.
WWE sources have indicated that WWE had nothing to do with the meeting. Lesnar told WWE officials afterwards that he met with Dana White at the show, but nothing came of it. Lesnar reportedly pitched the idea of “doing something” with UFC while still working with WWE, but Dana White turned him down because he’s very cautious about mixing “sports entertainment” with legitimate MMA competition.
Even if Lesnar does not fight in the UFC prior to WrestleMania 29 (or ever again), he still got people buzzing about his appearance and added further “legitimacy” to the WWE storyline that he’s no longer under contract with them.
Brock Lesnar was cageside at Saturday night’s UFC 146 pay-per-view and could be returning to the organization next year, according to UFC president Dana White.
At the UFC 146 post-show press conference, Dana White was asked whether there was anything to Lesnar being at the show. He responded, “maybe” and smiled. White said, “He was here, I think that says it all.” He said Brock Lesnar contacted him and requested to meet with him at the UFC event face to face. When asked directly if Lesnar could be returning to UFC and responded, “Possibly, yeah.”
Lesnar is signed with WWE through Wrestlemania 29 in April 2013. While Lesnar’s multimillion dollar deal did come with unprecedented stipulations (limited appearances, the ability to wear his own sponsors, etc.), it’s unknown whether he would be able to fight for UFC before next April. If Lesnar’s WWE contract allows him to fight for the UFC, White said he would be open to it and thinks the audience understands WWE and UFC are separate environments.
Check out this video of Dana White talking about Brock Lesnar’s possible return to the UFC:
As we reported earlier this week, there is currently a lot of scrambling behind the scenes regarding Brock Lesnar’s storyline with Triple H and how the angle will play out.
After original plans called for a Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H grudge match at SummerSlam in August, WWE officials are now talking about holding the match at July’s Money In The Bank pay-per-view or even as early as No Way Out next month.
The main issue that’s causing all the problems is the fact that Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract only requires him to make a limited number of appearances. WWE has already burned through 5 of them (4 RAWs and his match at Extreme Rules) and has a certain number set aside for the build to WrestleMania 29 next year.
It’s believed that WWE only has around 24 dates to use Lesnar this year, so they have been changing their plans a lot trying to figure out how to best use him.
– With the news of John Cena’s divorce becoming public last week, WWE officials are said to be doing whatever they can behind the scenes to keep John Cena upbeat and positive.
– WWE announced on RAW that Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view will feature a 30-minute pre-show that will be broadcast live on Youtube.com. WWE was so impressed with the viewership numbers for the Extreme Rules Youtube pre-show last month that this will most likely become a regular feature each month.
WWE is making big money from their new YouTube partnership, so expect to see the WWE Youtube channel continue to post tons of videos.
– WWE’s website has a new storyline article up looking at Brock Lesnar’s lawsuit against WWE – and whether Paul Heyman’s involvement in the lawsuit has anything to do with his personal vendetta against the company. The article speculates:
“Following the abysmal ECW December to Dismember pay-per-view in 2006, a very public disagreement about who was to blame for the subpar show saw Heyman part ways with WWE either by resignation or termination, depending on whether you ask Heyman or WWE. Heyman remained publicly silent about his acrimonious split from WWE. Did Heyman sign a non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreement or was the Extreme mastermind simply biding his time until an opportunity for vengeance materialized or both?”
“From a business standpoint, as a representative of Lesnar’s, recouping even a small percentage of Lesnar’s seven-figure contract is a nice commission for Heyman. The question is: Does Heyman (who turned down multiple offers to return to wrestling during his five-year absence from WWE, indicating income is not an issue for him) relish suing WWE as personal payback rather than a pecuniary payday?”
– There is said to be panic among WWE officials over how to book the Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H. While the initial plan was for the match to take place at SummerSlam in August, certain people are pushing to have the match take place next month at No Way Out.
WWE rushed into the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match and had less than three weeks to hype it – leading several employees to believe that doing the same thing with the Lesnar vs. Triple H match would be a huge mistake.
Comment below and tell us if you think WWE would be making a mistake by having Brock Lesnar face Triple H next month instead of at SummerSlam.
– Triple H’s trainer Joe DeFranco has a new blog up looking at the new workout routine he created to get Triple H back into ring shape. It’s a very interesting read and worth checking out. DeFranco also listed Triple H’s staggering list of injuries:
– Over a dozen high ankle sprains
– Torn biceps tendon
– Torn quadriceps muscles/tendons in both legs
– 2 elbow surgeries to remove 9 bone spurs that were the size of teeth
– Torn adductor muscle
– Torn Piriformis muscle
– Knee surgery
– Torn calf muscle
— Announced exclusively on WWE.com, WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth will defend their titles for the very first time at WWE Over the Limit on May 20, taking on Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. (Match Preview)
— WWE.com has added Rob Van Dam to their Alumni section. The website writes, “Rob Van Dam’s innovative maneuvers, laid back demeanor and airbrushed attire made him ECW’s most popular Superstar of all time, and he later became WWE Champion at a historic contest in New York City. Check out RVD’s career milestones, photos and videos, the latest addition to WWE.com’s Alumni section!” (Profile)
This continues a trend of WWE.com acknowledging former talent affiliated with TNA Wrestling as Sting was added to the section last week and a playlist of Hulk Hogan’s wildest interviews was uploaded. Furthermore, three TNA Wrestling stars who succumbed to Brock Lesnar during his rise to the top of WWE—Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle and Hogan —were shown in a series of video packages on the April 23 Raw SuperShow.