– 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.
– Chris Jericho will be getting his own Internet show soon titled, “But I’m Chris Jericho.” The show will be funded by the Canada’s Independent Production Fund, which recently approved funding for 15 scripted drama shows, including Jericho’s.
The format appears to be 10 4-minute episodes. The shows will be written by Bob Kerr, Craig Brown and Gary Rideout Jr. No word yet on when it will debut online.
– It was announced on RAW that until a new permanent RAW General Manager is announced, previous General Managers will be returning each week as guest hosts. After Mick Foley hosted this week’s RAW, other former General Managers who would be eligible for the hosting gig include: Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, Stephanie McMahon, Bret Hart, Mike Adamle, Jonathan Coachman, Vickie Guerrero, William Regal and of course, the Anonymous General Manager.
– WWE Champion CM Punk appeared on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday night. The appearance was taped on Monday afternoon in Manhattan, less than an hour from where RAW was held. Punk spoke about WWE’s use of Twitter, does snow angels, takes a shot at New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow and more.
— Chris Jericho returns to WWE RAW next week. His suspension ends later this week.
— It was announced during RAW that while the Board of Directors looks for a replacement for John Laurinaitis, they are “reaching out to former General Managers” to host the show each week.
Mick Foley is this week’s RAW and SmackDown host.
— There is once again talk of Metallica playing at a WWE pay-per-view. WWE hyped Metallica’s upcoming Orion Music Festival in New Jersey and its rumored that the band could play at SummerSlam.
The band’s “Memory Remains” song was one of the theme songs at WrestleMania 28 and was used to hype the Triple H vs. Undertaker match.
— WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is accepting independent bookings for the remainder of the summer and the fall through 1originaldiva@gmail.com.
Sunny made headlines over the weekend after risque pictures from her cell phone leaked online. The culprit behind the leaked bikini picture is rumored to be an ex boyfriend.
— WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is accepting independent bookings for the remainder of the summer and the fall through 1originaldiva@gmail.com.
Sunny made headlines over the weekend after risque pictures from her cell phone leaked online. The culprit behind the leaked bikini picture is rumored to be an ex boyfriend.
– After retaining his World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night at No Way Out, a weary Sheamus shared his thoughts on both the victory and his opponent, Dolph Ziggler.
“He pushed me as far as anyone has pushed me as World Heavyweight Champion,” The Great White says to WWE.com. “And I’ll be honest, there was a couple of really close ones out there where I had just enough to kick out. Make no mistake about it, I love to fight, Dolph Ziggler proved to tonight that he likes to fight too, and I’ll be honest, he’s this close away (makes hand gesture) from breaking into the next level. My hat’s off to him.”
He continues, “But again, I walked away at No Way Out as World Heavyweight Champion, and tonight, I think I’ve deserved a few more pints.”
– Counting down to five days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho referenced King Kong Bundy’s tendency to demand a five count for pinfalls whenever he dominated his opponent in a squash match:
– Vince McMahon took another stab at Jim Ross in a backstage segment on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, which saw the WWE Chairman make a horribly contorted face ridiculing the Hall of Fame broadcaster’s affliction with Bell’s palsy. Ross suffers from the condition, which sometimes results in temporary paralysis of his facial muscles. NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood producer Joe Franciosi, who worked as a creative writer for WWE in 2010, said he discovered why Ross is often ridiculed by company brass after encountering the legendary broadcaster.
“I sat through tons of meetings where Vince and tons of others would just shred JR,” Franciosi wrote on Twitter. “I wondered why till I met him.”
– Counting down to seven days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on June 14, Chris Jericho tweeted Saturday, “”7 deadly sins, 7 ways to win, 7 holy paths to hell and your trip begins.7 downward slopes, 7 bloodied hopes, 7 are your burning fires, 7.”
– The following matches will take place on tonight’s WWE SmackDown:
* CM Punk & Sheamus vs. Kane & Daniel Bryan
* Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox
* Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater
* Jack Swagger vs. Christian
* Ryback vs. two local wrestlers
* Tyson Kidd vs. Damien Sandow
*SPOILERS* For Tonight’s WWE SmackDown
– Suspended WWE superstar Chris Jericho’s countdown continues. Here’s what Jericho tweeted about today marking 8 days until he’s cleared to return:
Willie Aames and Adam Rich were the stars of 70s sitcom "8 Is Enough." Whatever happened to them?#datedreference
– Kenn Doane (a/k/a Kenny Dykstra) was asked on Twitter whether John Cena was good or bad to him during his time in WWE (which lasted from 2006 to 2008). Recalling a negative backstage encounter with Cena:
The encounter would have occurred on November 15, 2011 when he faced Justin Gabriel in a dark match before a SmackDown taping in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Doane has not attended a WWE show since.
– Counting down to nine days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on June 14, Chris Jericho tweeted Thursday:
Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9…..
– WWE Hall of Famer Sgt Slaughter appears at next Thursday’s Newark Bears game at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark, New Jersey. He will meet and greet with fans, sign autographs and take pictures before and after the 6:35 p.m. game. Click here for more information.
– According to a source within WWE, several company employees believe Chris Jericho was suspended for thirty days due to the act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a Raw live event in São Paulo on May 24 for political reasons. Linda McMahon is campaigning for U.S. Senator of Connecticut and many feel the organization suspended him out of concern over what the Connecticut media would think if they read a story online about their wrestlers defacing an international flag.
– Following his appearance on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, WWE.com had added Vader to their Alumni section.
– WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on September 8. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.
– WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario on September 9. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.
– During a TV interview on Monday to promote last night’s RAW, CM Punk was asked about his recent Twitter beef with Chris Brown, where he called out the singer for his “alleged” domestic violence of singer Rihanna. Punk said that he wanted to wrestle a charity match against Brown with the proceeds going to a women’s shelter.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include WWE referee Jack Doan (40) and ECW original Jerry Lynn (49).
– Chris Jericho’s suspension countdown continues, with 11 days to go until he’s cleared to return to action. Jericho tweeted the following lyrics from the movie Spinal Tap:
“”These go to 11? “Why don’t you just make ten louder and call ten the loudest” “these go to 11?”
– The Miz is currently filming the WWE Studios movie The Marine: Homefront: and is not expected to be back on RAW for the next few weeks. Miz noted on Twitter that he has to wake up at 4AM each day for filming.
– John Laurinaitis no longer officially serves as WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations; his bio has been removed from the WWE Corporate website’s index of executive officers. Therefore, the former ‘Dynamic Dude’ is solely an on-air performer for WWE. However, he is still branded as the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations in his WWE.com Superstars profile and on his Twitter account.
Laurinaitis had overseen the Talent Relations department since April 2004, when he replaced Jim Ross. He was hired as a road agent after the sport entertainment organization’s acquisition of certain assets of World Championship Wrestling in March 2001.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who oversees the talent relations and talent development departments, has been added to the website.
– Counting down to twelve days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho tweeted Monday, “I was 12 years old when I started my first band, The Amplifiers. Our song was called ‘Cop Shop’. I still remember how it goes!”
– Triple H is today’s spotlighted WWE Superstar on WWE.com.
– Sources within WWE have confirmed that WWE Tag Team Champion R-Truth suffered a broken foot. He did not go on the Raw brand’s tour of Spain last week-Kofi Kingston partnered with Zack Ryder and Brodus Clay at events.
– Counting down to thirteen days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho tweeted Sunday, “Jason Voorhees was the killer in the Friday The 13th movies. 13 is the name of the new Megadeth album. I have 13 black socks…”
– Tom Prichard, who WWE recently released from his role as head trainer of Florida Championship Wrestling, is now on Twitter. He is accepting bookings via bookdrtom@aol.com.
– Tommy Dreamer is today’s Superstar of the Day on WWE.com.
– SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced via Twitter that she will be releasing an extended play album.
She tweeted Saturday, “Breaking news!! Will be releasing my EP Album this summer!!! Stay tuned for more details!!!”
Garcia previously released an album in 2007.
– Counting down to fourteen days remaining on his thirty-day WWE suspension due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24, Chris Jericho tweeted Saturday, “Its been 14 years of silence 14 years of pain….”
He also wrote Friday, “15 years ago I was in the Top Of The Super Junior tournament for New Japan Wrestling. I didnt win The 15 Amendment gives u the right to vote.”
– Former WWE star Nunzio recently landed a job as a court officer in Clarkstown, New York.
— Chris Jericho’s Brazilian flag kicking incident took place at the beginning of his match against CM Punk and the two wrestled for about 8 minutes before WWE officials took action. John Laurinaitis, who was in charge of the WWE crew in Brazil, came to ringside and told Jericho to apologize, which he did. Jericho was not rushed out of the building or the country. He left with the rest of the roster for Ecuador.
– With RAW’s ratings on the downswing in recent weeks, another bad viewership trend for WWE is that there are also fewer people watching the show on delayed viewership (DVR).
Back when The Rock returned to WWE in February 2011, DVR viewership increased dramatically to around 400,000 viewers per week. Over the past 6 weeks, DVR viewership has ranged between 277,000-370,000.
– Chris Jericho’s metal band Fozzy will be playing at the Grammercy Theater in New York City on August 30th. Tickets go on sale this Friday morning at LiveNation.com.
– Shawn Michaels made a surprise appearance at WWE developmental today. Jim Ross tweeted on Tuesday evening:
“Great of @ShawnMichaels to stop by FCW today and speak to all the talents. A Super surprise from HBK. Memorable message to all.
– WWE Champion CM Punk responded to a fan on Twitter who complained about Monday’s RAW drawing a 2.92 rating:
“You a wrestling fan or a ratings fan? I’ll take cross over seg telling a good story over covering a non-wrestler with condiments any day.”
— Remember when Goldberg took his frustrations out on a limo? Relive the “Clash of the Week” on the latest edition of “Are You Serious?” as Road Dogg and Josh Mathews give the WWE Universe what they want.
— Jim Ross will be at the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida this week for the last set of FCW Wrestling tapings. A match pitting Dean Ambrose against William Regal is scheduled for the event.
“Gonna be a great week in Tampa this week. Gonna do a little commentary Thurs nite at FCW. Love working w/ WWE Development talents,” Ross wrote.
— Chris Jericho is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Revolver.
Chris Jericho, who is currently serving out a 30-day suspension, was not at Monday’s RAW. Following his incident in Brazil last week, many talents in the WWE lcoker room are said to be “walking on eggshells” and not wanting to do anything to get in trouble with management. The feeling is that the whole incident was blown out of proportion and Jericho, a veteran wrestler, got into trouble for just doing his job.
Speaking of last week’s WWE tours, both the RAW and SmackDown crews are still recovering from the hectic week. The RAW crew in particular had a very rough time with traveling due to the missed flights that caused last week’s Brazil show to be rescheduled. The missed flights created more problems with the hotel rooms booked for the wrestlers – with several veterans stepping up and helping the younger stars coordinate their reservations.
— Chris Jericho, who is currently serving a 30-day suspension for denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo, Brazil on May 24, has started a countdown on Twitter.
He wrote Sunday, “27-My Dads number when he played in the NHL. Also my ranking in the top 50 WCW superstars of all time. Also today’s date.”
He then wrote Monday, “Day 26 is an R&B group formed by P-Diddy in 2007. I was also 26 years old when I won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the first time.”
— WWE.com has published an article chronicling John Laurinaitis’ rise from a skateboarding ‘Dynamic Dude’ to undisputed figurehead of both Raw and SmackDown.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.
Following Chris Jericho’s Brazilian flag incident last week, the feeling in the WWE locker room was that his co-workers were shocked and upset at how it played out – but Jericho was simply playing the role of a wrestling heel.
As a public company breaking into a new international market, WWE was obligated to take action and suspend Jericho for a serious violation of a law in Brazil.
Jericho continues to imply on Twitter that he’s done with WWE. When asked by a fan whether he’ll be turning his suspension into a storyline when he returns, he replied,
“Haha! Why bother ?? Im done”
Whether or not Jericho does return to WWE television after his 30-day suspension expires at the end of June, his metal band Fozzy is going on tour overseas shortly after.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
WWE’s “Top 25 Masters Of The Mic” List: “Obviously, any ‘list’ is partially designed to create controversy and this one certainly has. Steve Austin was ranked #1 and Captain Lou Albano was ranked #25 and in between there were many surprises. Many fans including @CMPunk felt that Roddy Piper should have been #1..Hot Rod was #2 … The best talkers, without fail, on the list were all from the generation of instinctual speakers who would select the approiate bullet points and take it from there.”
Chris Jericho’s Brazil Incident: “Bit of advice for those traveling outside their own borders…know the country of which you are traveling’s laws and customs. Take no risks that might be perceived as disrespect and certainly do not break any local laws. When in Rome….”
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan “Any one that did not thoroughly enjoy Punk vs. Bryan last Sunday on PPV cannot be made happy as it relates to enjoying a wrestling match. Those who say that size primarily matters when evaluating main event talent are about a generation removed from reality.”
After initially suspending Chris Jericho “indefinitely” for the Brazilian flag incident that took place at Thursday night’s WWE live event, WWE has now announced that Jericho will be suspended for 30 days:
“WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24.”
Following the incident, Jericho did not immediately return home to the United States. He flew onto Ecuador with the WWE crews and just flew back into Miami this morning.
Upon returning home to the United States, he wrote:
“Just landed in Miami and its the longest walk to passport control ever! Like I’m talking I need a staff and a donkey…. Longest immigration line in the world. The last five days have been like a really bad video game-”Worst Business Trip Ever!” by Activision”
WWE had no idea Jericho was going to desecrate the Brazilian flag. It was merely Jericho improvising and being a heel without understanding what he was doing is a felony in Brazil. Jericho’s longtime friends Shawn Michaels and Lance Storm have commented on the incident:
Shawn Michaels: “I’ll stand behind @IAmJericho any day of the week & twice on Sunday…what’s the big ‘E’ stand for in WWE anyway!!”
Lance Storm: “Thoughts on @IAmJericho He didn’t do anything that hasn’t been done a million times in wrestling. Wrong place & times change.”
As a result of his suspension, Jericho has been pulled from all upcoming live events over the next 30 days. Daniel Bryan will replace Jericho in WWE title matches against CM Punk in the coming weeks. Jericho is still advertised for next month’s No Way Out PPV, but will not be competing due to his suspension.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross appeared on Sports Talk 1400 radio in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday and commented on Chris Jericho’s “indefinite suspension” from WWE.
Here’s what Jim Ross said about Chris Jericho’s actions:
“He was playing the part of a wrestling villain in an entertainment based entity,” Ross said.
“It’s not like he was at a sporting event like soccer and disrespected the flag, but rules are rules and they have strict rules regarding the flag in their company… He’s playing a character, did an ad lib, and unfortunately he stepped over the line for the local culture, so he’s been suspended indefinitely and hopefully it will work out.”
Jericho was nearly arrested on Thursday night after denigrating the Brazilian flag during his match with CM Punk at WWE’s first-ever event from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
As previously reported, WWE has suspended Chris Jericho for an incident that took place at Thursday night’s live event from Sao Paolo, Brazil that almost saw Jericho thrown in jail. During the main event match between Jericho and WWE Champion CM Punk, Jericho took a Brazilian flag from ringside and kicked it. Because denigrating the Brazilian flag is illegal in the country, police came to the ring and ordered Jericho to apologize or be taken to jail. Jericho apologized to the live crowd and the match continued.
Former WWE superstar John Bradshaw Layfield has posted a reaction on his Facebook page regarding the incident that occured involving Chris Jericho at Thursday night’s WWE live event from Brazil. As previously reported, Jericho was nearly arrested after denigrating the Brazilian flag during his main event match against CM Punk.
JBL, who had his own international incident several years ago for “goose stepping” at a live event from Germany, had this to say about Jericho’s incident:
“After seeing reports of Chris Jericho in Brazil-it was what I suspected–Chris trying to entertain and be a heel. Apparently a Brazilian Flag comes into ring and Chris grabs it and kicks it (or something to that effect). Compare that to Sgt Slaughter burning the flag or all the crazy stuff that has gone on. This is nothing. EXCEPT we are in a new era and now that isn’t acceptable.
Chris did what most old heels would have done, he reacted and a decade ago it would have been loved for the heat. However, times change and we have to as well-Chris acknowledged this and apologized. Chris is a wonderful person and one of all time great entertainers-there was no malice here from what I see and know about Chris. A mistake was made and is being dealt with.
As far as being illegal, please, if done in an entertaining arena it is considered as such. Like saying you can prosecute Anthony Hopkins for cannibalism because of his role in ‘Silence of the Lambs’. I understand the arguements, I went through same thing in Germany and it was never considered a problem in Germany-only over the Internet and the Internet reporters. Chris’ intent was to entertain not insult anyone in Brazil or the great Brazilian fans.
Times change and for the better. Chris did what a ton of older heels would have done and he reacted. He is being punished and he apologized. He is one of all time greats and a great friend, old habits are hard to change but we must.
Times change and we have to change with it, and we all will.”
Chris Jericho has commented on the “international incident” that took place at Thursday night’s WWE live event from Sao, Paulo, Brazil that almost landed him in jail.
In a statement he issued to the WWE website, Chris Jericho said:
“I made a bad judgment call in the course of entertaining [WWE] fans in Brazil. I apologized to the people in the crowd for showing disrespect. It was a bad move. I did it with [our] fans’ entertainment in mind and I’ll accept the consequences for that.”
Chris Jericho later tweeted the following message on Twitter:
“Just for the record I love Brazil and wish we could’ve spent more time here. Beautiful country!”