— Backstage Fallout following Friday’s episode of SmackDown has Daniel Bryan explaining why he broke up with AJ after she cost him the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. AJ is then shown being consoled by Kaitlyn, who refuses to answer the WWE reporter’s questions. Former Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long also addresses his new position as John Laurinaitis’ assistant.
– WrestleMania XXIX will take place one year from today at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Regarding potential weather for the event, the Weather.com forecast today calls for a high of 60 degrees with a low of 39 degrees and winds up to 25 mph.
— “Rowdy” Roddy Piper said on Twitter that he will traveling to Toronto following his appearance at Tuesday’s live SmackDown. He was complimentary of the CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho match at WrestleMania XXVIII, writing, “It stirred many emotions. That’s good thing. I have great respect for @CMPunk and @Iamjericho.”
— WWE has a three-hour Raw SuperShow scheduled for June 11 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the final show before No Way Out on June 17 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A three-hour Raw is also scheduled for April 23. (thanks to Devin Cutting)
— Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash will participate in an autograph together on May 19 at the Frank & Son Collectible Show in 19649 San Jose, City of Industry, California. Additional details will be released soon.
— Jerry Lawler appears for USA Championship Wrestling on April 7 at the Old Burns Gym in Burns, Tennessee. The event begins at 8:00 p.m.
— Zack Ryder is the latest WWE Superstar to try out Diamond Dallas Page’s yoga program DDP Yoga (available at www.ddpyoga.com). Other WWE talent utilizing the fitness workout include Chris Jericho, Curt Hawkins, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Mick Foley, Santino Marella, The Miz, Titus O’Neil and William Regal.
After failing to capture the WWE Championship from CM Punk at WrestleMania 28 in an epic 30+ minute battle, Jericho posted the following on Twitter on Monday morning:
“Feel like I got run over by a truck…and in a way I did. The better man won last night. I guess its time for me to move on.”
When Jericho first returned to WWE, there were online reports that he would be leaving shortly after WrestleMania. More recently, we reported here on SEScoops that Jericho will be sticking around for several more months, so him “moving on” is likely not his departure from WWE – and probably moving on from his feud with Punk.
– In part two of CM Punk and Chris Jericho’s WWE.com WrestleMania diaries, Jericho defends his use of DDP Yoga, which Punk said was a joke and “not real yoga” earlier this week:
“All I know is that DDP Yoga works for me. It’s the best training I’ve had in my life and it’s funny how I’ve been wrestling 10 years longer than CM Punk, but he’s the one who’s always walking around with more ice on him than an eskimo in February. I’m pain-free.”
– Zack Ryder was interviewed by the The Miami Herald this week and said this about his “Broski” character:
“This character, if you look at the Internet and the colanders, was way before ‘Jersey Shore’ hit TV. It was probably even before ‘Jersey Shore’ was auditioning or casting for their first season. This wasn’t a ‘Jersey Shore’ rip-off. This was Long Island, where I grew up. I thought it would make me different and stand out. Everyone needs to be different. Maybe I was a little goofy behind the scenes or backstage, but once that bell rang, it was no joke.”
— WWE Champion CM Punk revealed his favorite WrestleMania match during an interview with Marvel.com promoting WrestleMania XXVIII.
“WrestleMania 13, right in my backyard of Chicago. Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin,” he said. “I can remember every punch thrown, every bodyslam and every submission move. It’s just one of those perfect matches that told a story. There’s just so many to choose from, but this match is the one that sticks out the most.”
The Straight Edge Superstar also discusses his impending WrestleMania match with Chris Jericho, belief in Captain America, his kinship to Tony Stark and more.
— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia has joined The Creative Coalition and WWE’s “Be a STAR” campaign as she, American Idol contestant James Durbin, Alicia Fox, David Otunga, The Miz, Rey Mysterio and Dolphins’ mascot T.D. will encourage students at two Miami-Dade schools this week to take a against bullying by showing tolerance and respect.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Lita will participate in a meet and greet for FWE Wrestling on April 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Legged Dog Studios 80 Greenwich Street New York City.
— Kamala Jr. called in to The Roman Show Wednesday and stated that his father Kamala may have to have his right leg amputated. The wrestling legend had his left leg amputated late last year due to complications of high blood pressure and diabetes. Those interested in making a donation to assist Kamala’s medical bills can do so by contacting Kamala Jr. at jr@kamalajr.info.
— WWE.com has posted a “Dueling Diary” chronicling WWE Champion CM Punk and Chris Jericho’s similar paths to WrestleMania XXVIII.
— WrestlingFigs.com reports WWE Hall of Fame Rocky Johnson, Kevin Nash and Ernest Miller will appear at WrestleReunion 7 this weekend at the Miami Beach Deauville Resort 6701 Collins Ave. Miami, Florida.
— A book titled Montreal, Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling will be released next February.
— TNA star Rob Van Dam has written a blog titled, “The Rise and Fall of The Medical Kush Beach Club” for Paul Heyman’s website, which you can check out at HeymanHustle.com. RV announces a new documentary called The Boardwalk Hempire he’s Executive Producing with Tommy Chong about the rise and fall of the Medical Kush Beach medical marijuana dispensary.
— Chris Jericho’s representatives have negotiated an extension on his current WWE deal, which was originally for six months. The challenger for CM Punk’s WWE Championship at WrestleMania has extended his contract for several months, and will be “full time” in WWE through the summer.
It is not known what happens to the Fozzy concert tour that was originally scheduled for the summer, but Jericho’s tenure in WWE for what he has been jokingly calling “this tour of duty” has been confirmed as “extended,” which means he will either continue feuding with CM Punk or be a major part of the WWE draft to help the Smackdown brand after WrestleMania.
– Chris Jericho responded to a fan on Twitter this week and said the wrestler(s) he wanted to wrestle but never got a chance to were Owen Hart and Bret Hart. Jericho also joked about online reports saying his match will open WrestleMania 28, writing:
– Following The Rock’s concert on RAW (VIDEO), a fan asked him on Twitter about “keeping kayfabe” when Cena has not been. The fan told Rock that he’s still owning Cena, despite Rock working within the “limitations” of keeping things kayfabe. Rock replied with the following:
”Breaking kayfabe” is easy, cheap and never entertaining. Boys who are desperate do it all the time.”
John Cena replied with the following:
“Agreed @therock People should stick to the difficult stuff like mom jokes, sexuality, and making light of someones appearance. #WM28?
– The 2012 WWE Draft still does not have a formal date set. WWE has a 3-hour RAW scheduled on April 23rd, so that date has been discussed for the draft. As we reported earlier this week, WWE is promoting Mark Henry vs. John Cena for RAW-brand live events events in May, so Henry could be headed to Monday nights this spring.
– Boxing legend Mike Tyson will be appearing at WWE’s AXXESS events in Miami on March 30th. Tickets for Mike Tyson’s appearances will go on sale at the WWEShop website tomorrow (Thursday).
– In a sign that the WWE Championship feud will continue beyond WrestleMania, WWE is advertising CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the 4/7 RAW brand live event from Greensboro, NC.
– WWE returns to Mexico this May with a 3-show live events tour:
5/24: Hermosillo (Multipurpose Centre)
5/25: Aguascalientes (Monumental Bullring)
5/26: Guadalajara (Vicente Fernandez Gomez Arena)
(Credit to pwinsider.com for some of the info used in this report)
– CM Punk has responded to Chris Jericho’s promo from RAW, which has been dubbed, the “CM Drunk” promo. Jericho got very personal with the WWE champion, revealing to the WWE Universe that the reason CM Punk lives a straight edge lifestyle is because his father was a drunk. Punk responded to the events that transpired on RAW with the following tweet on Monday night:
“I don’t want any sympathy. Save it for Chris. Shit just got next level.”
“I will hurt you. Everybody has skeletons in the family closet. Keep my father out of it.”
The WWE website noted on Monday night that they tried getting a word with Punk after RAW, but he had nothing to say.
UPDATE: Chris Jericho tweeted the following on Tuesday morning:
“Hmmmm @cmpunk did I strike a nerve? Told you I was the Best In The World….. #norulesinwar”
– Speaking of CM Punk, he recently spoke to Luis Gomez of ChicagoTribune.com regarding the production of his WWE DVD project. Punk told Gomez that the final day of filming will likely take place at April’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place in his home town of Chicago:
“I think (WWE) wanted to do a ‘Road to Wrestlemania’ DVD. I was like ‘Who gives a s*** (about the road to Wrestlemania)?’ The pay per view after Wrestlemania is in Chicago. That was a no brainer to me – coming home. The last day of filming will probably be the pay per view. I’ll get my sisters in there and (Colt) Cabana.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross arrived in Tampa, Florida on Monday to evaluate the WWE developmental talents at FCW. JR will be in attendance for Thursday’s FCW TV tapings.
– Could Mark Henry be heading to Raw? The official website of the Thompson-Boling Arena is advertising the SmackDown star vs. John Cena in a Special Challenge Match for a Raw live event taking place at the venue on May 5. All other talent advertised for the show are members of the Raw roster. A Triple Threat Match featuring Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk and Chris Jericho is also scheduled.
– Former WWE star Billy Gunn celebrated one year of sobriety last week. His wife wrote Saturday on his Twitter account:
“*HACKED BY YOUR WIFE* Congrats on your ONE YEAR Sobriety! One day and one step at a time! you got this baby!! love you!”
Gunn, whose real name is Monty Sopp, has admitted to drug use in interviews. His lengthy tenure with WWE ended in 2004 following a visit to a rehabilitation facility.
– Seldom seen Raw Superstar JTG is on the road this week with WWE. He did job duty to Ryback (a/k/a Skip Sheffield) at Raw live events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
– Seth Rollins, a WWE developmental wrestler, challenged Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at Sunday’s SmackDown live event in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a back and forth match which concluded with Rhodes hitting Cross Rhodes on Rollins for the pinfall victory.
Rollins is touring with the SmackDown roster this week. He beat Drew McIntyre the previous night in East Lansing, Michigan.
– Chris Jericho stated on Twitter that his light-up jacket malfunctioned at Sunday’s Raw live event in Buffalo, New York. He wrote,
“Great show and crowd in Buffalo tonight! No casualties either…except for my jacket. Time to call in the electronic pit crew at #raw….”
– Former WWE manager Paul Bearer has been announced to appear at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, which takes place June 1-3 at Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is being advertised under his real name, Bill Moody.
— It was announced at Monday’s Raw SuperShow at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts that Night of Champions will take place at the same venue on September 16, 2012. There will be a pre-sale this week on Ticketmaster.com with the code WWENOC.
— Triple H will compete at WWE’s Road to WrestleMania event at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2012 as he teams up with CM Punk and Randy Orton in a Six-Man Tag Team Match against Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler.
Also announced for the show: World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry; John Cena vs. Kane in a Last Man Standing Match; R-Truth vs. The Miz; Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder.
— WWE Champion CM Punk shot footage for his upcoming DVD Monday in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Oh hey. Day 1 of filming for this little DVD thing I’m doing. No time like 5:30 AM to capture my true crabby essence,” he wrote on Twitter. “Man. This DVD is going to be so great. #LWF #MAW #SDW #IWA #IWC #ROH #OVW #WWE.”
McIntyre, who was fired by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long last Friday on SmackDown, cut a promo prior to the match proclaiming that his lawyers had found a loop hole and a victory over his opponent would give him his job back.
— World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan stated the following on Twitter Sunday regarding Ring of Honor’s 10th Anniversary show in New York City: “Congratulations to Ring of Honor for celebrating their 10th Anniversary tonight… I wouldn’t be where I am today without the people there.”
— Smashing Pumpkins frontman and independent wrestling promoter Billy Corgan will appear on Chris Jericho’s Rock of Jericho show this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. on XM 164.
— Zack Ryder plans to release Z! True Long Island Story based action figures in the near future.
Jim Ross has published a new blog entry on his official website. Highlights are as follows:
The Undertaker wrestling Triple H for the third time at WrestleMania: “Concerned that Taker vs. HHH is their 3rd Wrestlemania bout? Heck, no. Their history is a vital part of the fabric of WWE, their first match was 11 years ago, and the way the match ended last year with Undertaker being carted out of ‘his event’ adds to the drama. These two, great professionals will make it a daunting task for any one to follow them assuming that they don’t go on last which would surprise me. The mere fact that it is quite likely that HHH vs. Taker will NEVER happen again is enough for this fan to want to see WM28.”
Chris Jericho facing CM Punk at WrestleMania XXVIII: “They have many similar traits that I like and respect. I appreciate each man’s journey to the big dance. I respect that even though many ‘experts’ said that neither would ever ‘make it’ that each persevered and have earned star status. However, at the end of the day, their match isn’t, in my view, about who is the best in the world but rather who will leave Miami as the #1 man in WWE, the WWE Champion.”
Will any WCW fixtures such as Sting and Diamond Dallas Page ever get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?: “I’d say that there is a good chance that happens. More and more talents who earned their proverbial stripes outside WWE will be inducted in years to come.”
Who’s the best WWE Diva?: “Assuming this is referring to wresting and if so I’d suggest that would be Beth Phoenix. Like many fans, I’d love to see Beth face @Kharma but I have no idea if that will be at WM28 and could be saved for after April 1 when it would possibly get more focus. Obviously, the talents would love for it to be as a part of WrestleMania and I can’t blame them for that.”
Natalya’s flatulence based persona: “Thoughts on Natalya’s flatulence, TV persona? Likely not something that I would have thought of but I can’t recall any time that Ms Neidhart has been in more discussions or the subject of more questions that she is now. Hopefully, this new found notoriety will lead to bigger and better things for her. She has lots of talent.”
Ross also weighs in on best ‘Bounty’ pro wrestling storylines, if he likes Twitter, WWE’s ongoing General Manager storyline and more. His post is available here.
– Boston’s TD Garden, the site of Monday’s RAW, is advertising The Rock and Shawn Michaels will be appearing in person.
The dark match main event will see CM Punk & John Cena vs. Kane & Chris Jericho.
– As of this week, there is still no word on whether Shaquille O’Neal will be appearing at WrestleMania. Shaq has stated several times that he will be at WrestleMania, even saying back in December that he would be wrestling the Big Show. The WWE website posted an article last week denying that Shaq would be appearing at WrestleMania, which caused even more confusion.
For months, it was rumored that Shaq’s involvement with WWE would kick off next Monday’s RAW from Boston’s TD Garden. If Shaq doesn’t appear on that show or isn’t referenced in some way, he most likely won’t be a part of WrestleMania and it can be assumed his negotiations with the company fell through .
– Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy has been announced to play the Download Festival, one of the biggest rock festivals in the UK. Other bands announced for the show are Metallica, Tenacious D, Killswitch Engage and Corey Taylor. Fozzy will perform on Saturday, June 9th.
– WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross, Bret Hart and several others had high praise for both CM Punk and Chris Jericho after their promo on RAW. Jim Ross wrote:
“It’s going to be hard for anyone to follow the pure wrestling match that @CMPunk & @IAmJericho will have at WM28 Trust me on that”
Bret Hart, who was referenced by CM Punk during the promo,tweeted:
“That was probably the best promo I’ve seen in months & I’m not saying that bc of the shoutout. Punk & Jericho were on the top of their game”
Chris Jericho also tweeted the following after he attacked CM Punk, gave him the Walls of Jericho and left him for dead at the top of the ramp:
“And THAT is how you prove a point…. @CMPunk #raw”
– Kofi Kingston had staples removed from his head before yesterday’s RAW in Portland. The injury occurred during the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view several weeks ago.
– Brodus Clay was backstage at RAW, although he didn’t appear on television as advertised. No word yet on why Clay was promoted once again without being used, but we’ll be looking into this today.
– Chris Jericho has chimed in on the Twitter feud between his WrestleMania 28 opponent CM Punk and singer Chris Brown. Jericho says Punk is wasting his time and should be focused on more important things:
“Glad to see @cmpunk wasting his time threatening rappers. I don’t care about anybody else’s business except mine-which is winning at WM28.”
-FCW star Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black) confirmed on Twitter that FCW diva Leah West (Irena Janjic) has indeed been let go. West was trained by former WWE star Lance Storm and was signed to a developmental deal early last year.
– Speaking of Seth Rollins, he’s been campaigning on Twitter to have the song “2nd Sucks” by A Day To Remember become his new theme song. Rollins has been asking followers to tweet @whereisadtr and @jeremymckinnon and tell them that “2nd Sucks” would be a perfect theme for him.
— The official Twitter feed of the WWE Insider stated Monday: “BREAKING NEWS: @IAmJericho is medically cleared to compete tonight on #Raw. More to come on WWE.com.”
Jericho was knocked out during Sunday’s Raw Elimination Chamber Match. Later in the show, he was shown backstage being examined by medical personnel.
— In an interview promoting tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Minneapolis, Kofi Kingston discussed fulfilling his dream to become a professional wrestler and his pre-WWE connection to fellow Superstar Alex Riley via Boston College.
Regarding Riley, Kingston said, “We have a developmental territory, which is in Florida, FCW, and you know, Riley and I weren’t close friends but we ran in the same circles of people and one day at practice, I’d been signed for about a year and some change, and he had just showed up, he walked in and I was like, man that looks like Riley … there’s no way he’d be here, though. We went through the whole practice, we’d even like talk to each other and then at the end, he was like, ‘hey, did you go to BC?’ And I was like, I knew it was you! So it was crazy.”
– After arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota for tonight’s Raw SuperShow, Vickie Guerrero wrote the following on Twitter:
“I’m here in Minneapolis with a heavy heart….I will focus on good thoughts.”
Her late husband, Eddie Guerrero, who was found dead in a Minneapolis hotel room prior to a WWE television taping on November 13, 2005.
– John Cena won the “Here to Rumble” award on Saturday night at the Cartoon Networks’ second annual Hall of Game Awards show from Los Angeles. The show, which was hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, airs tonight at 7 p.m. on the Cartoon Network. RAW superstar The Miz also appears on the show as a presenter.
– The WWE website tracked down Chris Jericho backstage after his match at Elimination Chamber. Jericho, who got knocked out during the match and was never officially eliminated, said:
“I was not eliminated from the Chamber. He (C.M. Punk) never beat me. C.M. Punk proved nothing!”
Check out this video of Jericho’s post-match interview:
– Chris Jericho was knocked out during Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match. Later in the show, he was shown backstage getting checked out by medical personnel and looked to be totally out of it. The WWE website posted the following update on Chris Jericho’s condition:
“The WWE Universe is buzzing about what Jericho has to say regarding his departure at the hands of The Straight Edge Superstar. Although he was unable to comment earlier, WWE.com is attempting to locate him in Milwaukee’s Bradley Center tonight to get his thoughts on the Raw Elimination Chamber Match and CM Punk.”
– WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix wore white wrist tape and a plaid belt at last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view to pay homage to WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper.
– The “Major Announcement” that John Laurinaitis was teasing for Elimoination Chamber turned out to be the surprise returns of Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry and Christian. All three Superstars returned to show their support of Laurinaitis and suggested that he become the permanent General Manager for not just RAW, but SmackDown as well.
An article on the WWE website is teasing that we may find out if Laurinaitis will get the job of permanent General Manager tonight on RAW.
– WWE’s website posted a video with CM Punk and Sheamus after last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Punk believes Chris Jericho is going to want a title shot at WrestleMania 28 because of the events that went down during their chamber match. Punk says he welcomes any and all challengers for WrestleMania and regardless of who he faces, he will walk out WWE Champion.
You can check it the WWE website’s interview with CM Punk by clicking here.
Sheamus says he chose to face World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 28 because he’s already been a two-time WWE Champion and the next step is to become World Heavyweight Champion. Sheamus guarantees he will leave WrestleMania as the new champion.
— The official Twitter feed for Raw Interim General Manager and WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis says he will making a huge announcement tomorrow night at Elimination Chamber. The statement reads,:
“FYI: I plan to make a HUGE announcement at Elimination #Chamber tomorrow. It might stop the show, and will certainly be a Game changer.”
Let the speculation begin. “Game” changer could have something to do with Triple H. “Stop the show” sounds like it involves the “Show Stopper” – Shawn Michaels. We’ll find out Sunday night.
— The official Twitter feed of Chris Jericho’s heavy metal band Fozzy wrote on Friday:
“Just got confirmation for some HUGE gigs this summer!!!! Stay tuned friends..”
— Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.com for tomorrow night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.