— World Heavyweight Champion Christian is advertised to make an announcement on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE.com’s synopsis reads: “With World Heavyweight Champion Christian and Randy Orton both set to be in action on SmackDown, the champion says he has a special announcement to make … and WWE COO Triple H will want to hear what he has to say.”
— Brodus Clay defeated All Pro Wrestling talent “Big Country” Jody Kristofferson in a dark match prior to last night’s SmackDown taping in Sacramento, California.
More information on Kristofferson is available here. His father is Kris Kristofferson, a famous musician and actor.
— Savio Vega turns 47 years old today while Fred Ottman (a/k/a Tugboat and Typhoon) turns 55. Also celebrating a birthday today is Roadkill, who turns 35 years old. He briefly appeared on ECW in 2006.
— It was announced on SmackDown that Christian will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match at SummerSlam.
Christian vs. Orton is the first official match for the SummerSlam. It was also announced on Raw that a battle royal will take place the following week to determine the No. 1 contender to Divas Champion Kelly Kelly. The winner will then challenge her at the pay-per-view event.
— WWE announced Friday that its Board of Directors declared the Company’s regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share for all Class A and B shares of common stock. The record date for the dividend will be September 15, 2011, and the payment date will be September 26, 2011. (Read press release)
— Christian will appear at the Cricket Communications Mobile Store 8800 Dixie Hwy in Louisville, Kentucky today from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call 502-933-8081 for more information.
— In a preview of tomorrow night’s WWE Championship Match on Raw, Rey Mysterio beat The Miz via pinfall Saturday night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bret Hart was the special ringside enforcer for the World Heavyweight Championship Match between Christian and Randy Orton. Towards the end of the match, Hart stopped Christian from bringing a chair into the ring. The World Heavyweight Champion was ultimately disqualified.
— WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is advertised to appear at tonight’s Norfolk Tides baseball game tonight in Norfolk, Virginia. The game begins 6:15 p.m. at from Harbor Park.
— A commercial aired during tonight’s episode of NXT: Redemption promoting next week’s episode of Raw as the first show of the “post-McMahon Era.”
Also advertised is the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament as Rey Mysterio and The Miz will face off to determine the new title holder.
— Two days past his title victory over Randy Orton, Christian defeated The Viper once again in a dark match at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The eight minute long championship match concluded with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase distracted Orton, allowing Christian to roll up his opponent.
— Former WWE talent Sean Waltman stated last night on Twitter that the final few minutes of Triple H and Vince McMahon’s segment on Raw was “the real deal.” Waltman has since clarified his remarks.
— The July 16 episode of A.M. Raw on the USA Network garnered a 0.67 cable rating, with 821,000 viewers overall.
— With The Nexus likely being dropped following CM Punk’s departure from WWE, Mason Ryan is expected to be repackaged. WWE’s creative has discussed using him as a bodyguard for either The Miz or Alberto Del Rio.
— The latest issue of WWE Magazine, which features Rey Mysterio on the cover, pays tribute to the late Randy Savage. Enclosed in the issue is a photo of every “Macho Man” outfit from WWE’s photography archive, totaling over 100.
— The Capitol Punishment DVD will feature a single extra, a backstage interview with Christian following his loss to Randy Orton.
— Sin Cara suffered his first WWE loss last night on SmackDown as he was downed by Christian following the spear. Sin Cara picked up thirteen consecutive victories on television and pay-per-view prior to the loss.
— The Great Khali’s brother Ranjin Singh revealed on SmackDown that Jinder Mahal is their brother-in-law.
— Cody Rhodes pinned Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson in a non-title match on SmackDown, ending his ten match winning streak on television and pay-per-view.
— Wade Barrett lost to Kane last night on SmackDown, extending his losing streak to twelve consecutive losses on television and pay-per-view.
— Ted DiBiase lost to Daniel Bryan last night on SmackDown, extending his losing streak to seven consecutive losses on television.
— WWE.com is advertising the following for tonight’s episode of SmackDown: “The relentless brutality of Mark Henry comes face-to-face with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton tonight on SmackDown. Has The World’s Strongest Man become something that even The Viper can’t stop?”
Other matches taking place include Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase, Sin Cara vs. Christian, Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes and Kane vs. Wade Barrett.
— Dolph Ziggler took to Twitter to comment on online reports that he took adult film star BiBi Jones on a date after meeting her at a Britney Spears concert last week.
He wrote, “Wow! To anyone it may concern: no, i am NOT dating anyone! and YES I do frequently listen to Britney Spears!”
— Yoshi Tatsu celebrates his 34th birthday today. In yesterday’s birthdays, Alicia Fox turned 25, Cody Rhodes turned 26 and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk turned 67.
— Randy Orton stated on Twitter that he passed the ‘Impact test’ he underwent on Friday. Therefore, he is cleared to wrestle Christian at tomorrow night’s Capitol Punishment pay-per-view event.
The WWE World Heavyweight suffered a concussion during Sunday’s SmackDown live event in Spain and had to pass the test in order to be medically cleared to return to the ring.
— Shawn Michaels participated in an interview with Joey Styles yesterday that will soon be published on WWE.com. The wrestling legend will discuss his new hunting show, which premieres on the Outdoor Channel later this month.
— Monday Night Raw will be held on September 12, 2011 at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario.
— Dark Rising, a 2007 horror movie Christian appeared in, is now available on Netflix.
— A tag team rematch from Raw, Ezekiel Jackson, Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, is advertised for this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Sin Cara scored the three-count for his team on Monday.
— New WWE ring announcer Eden Stiles confirmed on her ModelMayhem.com profile that she has a Twitter account at twitter.com/EdenStiles.
— Chris Jericho is hosting tonight’s episode of the Sixx Sense, which airs on channel 164 on XM Satellite Radio, located at channel 164. The former WWE star is filling in for Nikki Sixx, who is currently on tour with Motley Crue.
— Christian appears for Cricket from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, located at the Cricket Communications Mobile Store in Louisville, Kentucky.
— Sheamus beat Christian and Mark Henry in a Triple Threat match last night on SmackDown to become the new No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The Celtic Warrior will challenge Randy Orton for the strap on next week’s episode of SmackDown.
— WWE developmental wrestler A.J. made her official WWE debut on last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown. Accompanied by Natalya, the NXT Season 3 contestant partnered with Kaitlyn in a losing effort to Alicia Fox and Tamina. Her bio has been moved to the SmackDown Superstars section on WWE.com.
A.J., a longtime wrestling fan who as recently as a few years ago would post on WWE Diva message boards, commented on her breakthrough on Twitter.
She wrote, “And it only took me 13 years… So incredibly happy and proud right now. Thanks for all the support. Think I broke my DVR rewind button…”
— The Great Khali turned on Ranjin Singh last night on SmackDown, placing his own brother in the Vise Grip. After leaving Singh completely incapacitated, Khali left the ring with Jinder Mahal.
Busted Open satellite radio show with Christian
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Christian on his brief reign as World Heavyweight Champion and the fans outcry over the quick change: “Obviously, I kind of look at it two ways. There are very few people that ever have a chance to become World Heavyweight Champion. I did that, got a taste of it, I know what it takes to get to that point now and the way I look at it, I stay positive about it and I look forward to being able to call myself a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.”
“I was really surprised by the outpouring of all the stuff on Twitter, all those sorts of things. It was pretty surprising. I think a lot of it happened before…..obviously, the show is done on Tuesday and shown on Friday, so there are a lot of things people were going on hearsay before the show even aired, before they even saw it, so you kind of have to take that with a grain of salt.”
“I think Randy and I have great chemistry and going forward there should be some exciting times for myself. I look forward to the challenges, and like I said, I got a taste of being World Heavyweight Champion. I know what it takes to get there and I look forward to being the World Champion again`. I won’t stop until it happens.”
Christian on if it was bittersweet that he won the title after Edge was forced to vacate it: “Of course, it was a tough pill to swallow. He’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were in sixth grade. I knew that he was having issues with tingling and things like that in his arms. He had neck surgery years ago, so I think he realized that at some point, it may come back to bother him again at some point in his career. The day after Wrestlemania he went and had everything checked out and it turned out he had the spinal stenosis and the whole thing and he was in serious risk of permanent damage to himself. All it takes is a fall, or to do something one wrong way and the risk of paralysis was even there. Nothing is worth that type of risk.”
“He called me right after he got the news and obviously he was very upset about it. We got off the phone and I started thinking about it a little bit. I called him back and I said I understand why you’re upset, but you can look at it two ways. You can look at it that way or you can look at it this way. Your career has been amazing. There’s not many people that can say they had the type of career you had, done the things that you’ve done. You’ve always done things the way you wanted to do them. If this is it, your last match was at Wrestlemania in front of seventy thousand plus people in one of the main events, and you walked out as the World Heavyweight Champion. I said I don’t know if you can write a better ending to a script than that. And he’s like ‘Man, I didn’t even think about that.’, and right away I think he kind of felt better about it. It took him a couple days to kind of let it sink in, but that being said, he realizes there’s not much he can do about it now except look forward to the future.”
“None of us were expecting any of this to happen, it just happened and it’s one of those things where when you get a chance to step up, you gotta step up and I feel like I did.”
Christian one if he is more over now than he has ever been: “I think people know that every time I go out there, I leave it all in the ring, regardless. So I think there’s a certain respect with that and I think that’s just grown over the years because I feel like over the course of my career…..people know that I never take a night off. I’m out there every night working my butt off trying to do what I do, and that is entertain every single person that paid their hard earned money for a ticket. So I think people realize that and I think over time, I feel like that’s grown, definitely.”
— It has been confirmed the WWE production team was ordered to work on a video piece honoring Randy Savage for inclusion on tonight’s Raw.
Last night’s WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view opened with an “In Memory Of” graphic paying tribute to the wrestling legend, who passed away on Friday.
— Randy Orton praised Christian for their World Heavyweight Championship Match last night at WWE Over the Limit.
“Got to give it to Christian,every match we have against each other is a ppv match,” he wrote. “Tonight was just like any other Seattle was a great host!”
— On this day twelve years ago, Owen Hart died when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri at the Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
After losing the World Heavyweight Championship just two days after he won it, Christian hopes to keep the “emotional wave” going. Though his best friend, Edge, has retired, he will nonetheless be a part of it.
“It was two guys that grew up as fans and broke into the business together. We’ve both gone up and down different paths, and things like that. We were both able to realize a dream. Yeah, it was real emotional. The flipside of that is that unfortunately Edge has to retire, and the landscape has all changed,” Christian told SLAM! Wrestling, referring to roster changes and post-WrestleMania fallout.
“I’ve just got to go out and do what I do every night, and that’s go out and perform. I think one of the things that the people, the fans, know about me is that every time I step in the ring, I give everything I have to entertain everyone that’s spent their hard-earned dollars on a ticket for a WWE event. I think that’s apparent. I think that’s what people know about me, that every night I leave it in the ring. I’m just going to carry that emotion away with me and bring it to my matches and all those sorts of things. The rest should take care of itself.”
Christian, does however, refute the notion that he was ever in Edge’s shadow.
“[Edge] got everything he worked for, and he deserved it. He’s one of the best,” he said. “That being said, everyone takes different paths, and mine was a longer way, for whatever reason. But I never got down on myself, never tried to compare myself — ‘Oh, he’s doing this, and I’m doing this.’ I never looked at it that way, and you can’t look at things that way. You have to look at your situation, and ‘how do I make the best of my situation every single night?’ That’s what I looked to do. I never looked at being second banana to anybody, I never felt that way, ever. If other people did, that’s the way they looked at it, but I never did.”
“Captain Christian” believes that leaving WWE for TNA Wrestling in 2005 was greatly beneficial to his career.
“It was just one of those things that I needed for myself at that time. I was just worn down from the road schedule, from being on the road for eight years. I just needed to be home and recharge the batteries for a couple of years, do some things with family and friends,” he said, continuing.
“When I left WWE, I always knew that I wanted to come back when the time was right. I felt that I did that. Since I’ve come back, especially coming back from the injury that I had, I feel that I’ve done some of the best work of my career. It’s probably the most exciting time of my career up to this point.”
Christian also discusses his “peeps,” how he dealt with suffering a torn pectoral muscle last year, the rising stars of SmackDown, and more. The article is available here.
WWE star Christian was interviewed this week on by Brian Fritz of the Between The Ropes radio show. Here are some highlights of what Christian said about:
Edge’s Retirement: “I knew he was having a little bit of trouble before WrestleMania. I knew that his neck had been bothering him a little bit. Obviously, none of us knew the extent of it… He called me right after he got the news so I knew right away. Obviously, he was pretty shaken by it, taken by surprise, and things like that. We all were. One of the things we discussed is what an amazing career he’s had. You can compare it to some of the best that have ever lived.”
His Short Reign As World Heavyweight Champion: “Obviously it was overwhelming, surprising, and flattering to an extent. It’s the age that we live in now with the internet and with spoilers and people like that, the show hasn’t even aired yet and people are giving opinions and these other sort of things. You have to take it with a grain of salt. The most important thing is that Randy (Orton) and I put on an amazing match for the fans.”
Whether He Thought He’d Ever Be Champion: “I did I always believed in my talent. I think it shows every time I step through the ropes. It was always my goal and I was never going to give on it. I always believed it would happen … Obviously, I wanted to hold it longer than five days, but that’s what happens. I look forward to become a two-time World champion.”
— As of last week, a match pitting Sin Cara against Chavo Guerrero was planned for this Sunday’s WWE Over the Limit pay-per-view event.
— The SmackDown brand will tour South Africa in early July with two shows scheduled for the 9th and 10th Johannesburg. Justin Gabriel, who is from the country, will be emphasized as a top babyface at the events. He is advertised to partner with Randy Orton in matches against Christian and Sheamus.
— The following bonus features will be included in the Blu-ray version of WWE Extreme Rules, available May 31, 2011:
* Edge’s Retirement Announcement – April 15 SmackDown
* John Cena’s Draft Night – April 25 Monday Night Raw
* The Rock’s Birthday Celebration – May 2 Monday Night Raw
It was announced at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Nashville, Tennessee that Randy Orton will be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian at WWE Over the Limit on May 22.
Later during the show, Wade Barrett challenged Ezekiel Jackson to an Intercontinental Championship Match at the event.
The announced card is as follows:
“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)
Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson
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 said about:
John Morrison’s Neck Surgery: “Good news on John Morrison’s surgery to repair a neck issue. Not major or overly invasive and Morrison should be back in the ring in a month or two or so we assume. John would be best served to return later rather than sooner, make sure that he’s 100%, at a minimum, not to mention it would be cool seeing him on Raw rehabbing himself back into ring shape which builds anticipation for his return. One suggestion to Morrison is to watch various Shawn Michaels bouts from different times of HBK’s career to see how Shawn kept reinventing himself in route to becoming the best in the business.”
UFC Offering Fighters Health Insurance: “A tip of the hat to UFC for their new fighter’s insurance referendum. Many fighters seem to need ample help in managing their lives and this aspect of their life is imperative to address. Very strategic maneuver by UFC notwithstanding it is the right thing to do.”
Monday’s RAW: “Monday Night Raw was an interesting, two hour broadcast. Thought the Lawler stuff was the most compelling content of the night other than Cole invoking the Mother’s Day dialog that I found to be uncomfortable. Having been to the rodeo a time or two, I realize that was obviously Cole’s intention. The Triple Threat Main Event was executed very well. Really good, TV main event.”
Christian’s Short Title Reign: “WWE promoting Smackdown inside Raw was strategic and timely. Nice positioning. It also tells me that Christian losing the World Title wasn’t any where near his ‘professional, death knell’ as some fans declared and that Christian just may be set for a significant period of time of his career especially considering the overall lack of depth within the business, as we speak.”
“I see Christian becoming much more viable than he has been in the past and it seems that him losing the World Title has ignited that theory.”
– As previously reported, RAW superstar John Morrison is undergoing neck surgery today. Morrison’s girlfriend Melina wrote the following on Twitter regarding the procedure:
“I’ve been keeping family posted so I’m sorry for late responses. Regarding John’s injuries, I waited 2see if Jomo wanted people to know … yes John is having surgery right now for a neck injury. He went in positive and that made me smile. I will keep you all posted.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels wrote the following on Twitter on Monday regarding John Morrison’s procedure:
“Word is John Morrison has 2 undergo surgery. I wish him the best & a speedy recovery. Ur 1st injury is always the hardest… JoMo, take ur time & heal!! U WILL comeback!! Stronger & better. Best of luck & go gut’s.”
– TNA star AJ Styles was asked by a fan on Twitter what he thinks about Christian’s short World Heavyweight title reign. Styles responded @AJStylesOrg:
“Q-Christian losing the title? Well, it’s nothing he can’t get back. He is one the best wrestlers I ever been around. I’m a fan of his also.”
– Kevin Nash said on Sunday’s Live Audio Wrestling radio show that he recently received an email stating that Lex Luger is now in charge of WWE’s Wellness Policy.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. JR talked about a number of topics, including his recent visit to the Legends of the Ring fan convention in New Jersey.
Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Hulk Hogan Back In WWE: “Do I think that Hulk Hogan will ever return to WWE? This is a classic, never say never answer IMO….BROTHER! Crazier things have happened BROTHER and one could theoretically see some sort of PR role for Hulk down the road. Who knows? Not something that I dwell on to be honest with you BROTHER.”
Randy Orton Defeating Christian: “Christian and Randy Orton had a great, TV match on Smackdown but I don’t buy into the ‘tragedy’ that some fans flooded us with here on our site due to Christian losing the World Title. It isn’t as if the loss ended Christian’s career and who’s to say that ‘Captain Charisma’ won’t regain the title at a later date? Those that truly understand the nature of the genre have a different mindset than those who are knee jerking themselves silly.”
Shane Helms’ Motorcycle Accident: “How’s Hurricane Helms after his near tragic motorcycle accident? Helms and his girl friend were severely injured in a motor cycle accident last week and seemingly just dodged a fatal bullet. My late father would never let me own a motorcycle and I assume situations like this are the reasons why. I wish Gregory Helms and his lady friend only the best in healing and regaining their health. They are both lucky from what I hear to still be with us.”
If you didn’t see Friday’s episode of SmackDown, watch this video of Randy Orton defeating Christian to capture the World Heavyweight championship, ending Christian’s 5-day reign
WWE’s YouTube channel also posted this post-match video of Christian:
Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown on Syfy will feature fallout from Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, including the first title defense by new World Heavyweight champion Christian. Here’s a preview of what’s confirmed for tonight’s show:
* Christian celebrates his World Heavyweight title victory and defends the title against an opponent to be chosen by the live audience
* Sin Cara takes on Tyson Kidd
* Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan.
* WWE Tag Champion Big Show vs. Ezekiel Jackson
* Layla b. Alicia Fox.
If you haven’t heard by now, there’s some crazy stuff that goes down on tonight’s show. You can check out complete *SPOILER* results for tonight’s SmackDown by clicking here.
At Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida – Randy Orton defeated Christian to become the new World Heavyweight champion.
The match was made earlier in the night after Teddy Long let the fans decide Christian’s opponent between Orton, The Great Khali and Mark Henry.
This makes Christian’s World Heavyweight title reign one of the shortest in WWE history at just 2 days.
Check out this video footage (shot by an SEScoops fan) of Randy Orton celebrating with the World Heavyweight title:
What do you guys think about WWE pulling the plug on Christian’s first World Heavyweight title run?
– New World Heavyweight champion Christian’s first title challenger is expected to be Mark Henry.
– WWE will tape this week’s episodes of NXT and SmackDown tonight from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The dark match main event that’s being advertised locally is Randy Orton and Christian vs. Sheamus and Wade Barrett.
– The Big Show will be making a guest appearance on the USA Network’s hit show, Burn Notice. Show will be playing villain Griffin Black on the fourth episode of the upcoming season.
– The Rock tweeted the following last night after his RAW birthday celebration:
“U have all help make my birthday one of the greatest days of my life.. strong love and thank u.. standing tall tonight and proudly lead America with the Pledge of Allegiance was a dream come true.. ELECTRIFYING.”
– Layla wrote the following on Twitter regarding her win over Michelle McCool at Extreme Rules:
“That was the hardest thing I ever had 2 do @McCoolMichelleL I will always have respect, gratitude & love for U! Our memories will stay with me. forever Flawless love ya.”
– Next week’s episode of Tough Enough will feature a special appearance from John Morrison and a “shocking” double elimination. Here’s the official preview:
“Next Monday, Tough Enough is all new and the contestants are on the ropes — literally! But who’s really hanging by a thread? There’s only one thing more heartbreaking than a dreamer losing the fight, and this is it: Get ready for a shocking double elimination you won’t believe! WWE Superstar John Morrison guest stars.”
— Brodus Clay suffered a severe gash on his head last night at Extreme Rules after being driven into a ladder by Christian. A great deal of blood gushed from his wound and it is said that he may have suffered a concussion.
Joey Styles noted on his Twitter account that the wound required 12 stitches.
Christian was also banged up from the match.
— The April 29 episode of WWE SmackDown garnered a 1.96 cable rating, up from 1.87 the previous week.
The two-hour program averaged 3.05 million viewers, up from 2.8 the week before.
— Raw draftee Chris Masters beat Primo in a dark match prior to tonight’s Raw in Miami, Florida.
— WWE.com is now listing Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez as a member of the Raw roster. While Del Rio was moved to Raw in last week’s Draft, Rodriguez, however, was not officially.
Meanwhile, Ranjin Singh is still listed a member of the Raw roster despite being drafted to SmackDown along with The Great Khali last Tuesday.
— Bret Hart posted the following on Twitter regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.
“I hope before his trip 2 hell, dad, Owen, Bulldog, & Pillman gave Bin Laden torturous stretching. As a dual-citizen, couldn’t be more proud.”
— WWE.com has posted a photo retrospective of Christian’s career. “Captain Charisma” captured the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time last night at Extreme Rules.