– Though UNLVTickets.com’s advertisement promoting an appearance by Batista for WWE’s upcoming live event at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, February 16, 2014 was removed, there are still some radio ads in the area saying he’ll be at the show.
– A Six-Man Tag Team Match pitting Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes and Goldust against The Wyatt Family that was taped Wednesday night in San Antonio, Texas was edited off Friday’s SmackDown broadcast on Syfy.
– Eddie Edwards, who is currently working for WWE on a trial basis in Orlando, Florida, said at last night’s Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Reseda, California said that it would be his farewell show. Edwards, however, did not reveal his future plans.
– Independent wrestler Slyk Wagner Brown now runs a wrestling school in Waterbury, Connecticut. Those interested in visiting the school can contact him at SWB4Real@yahoo.com. He says he trained Eddie Edwards and former TNA Knockout Roxxi.
– In anticipation of tomorrow night’s Unification bout between WWE Champion Randy Orton and World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, WWE is counting down the top ten Unification Matches in wrestling history. In addition to WWE, this includes bouts from WCCW, AWA, NWA and WCW.
– WWE Tag Team Champion Cody Rhodes was asked on Twitter whether he’s “pumped” for the upcoming WWE Network and responded, “I’ve done about 11hours of interviews for it so far, so Hell Yeah…”
– Celebrating birthdays Friday are Brad Rheingans (60) and Boris Zhukov (54).
– Former WWE performer Lisa Marie Varon’s Chicago, Illinois-based The Squared Circle restaurant will be airing WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Sunday night. An “Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest” is also scheduled to take place. (The Squared Circle On Twitter)
WWE Superstars and new tag-team Ryback and Curtis Axel were interviewed by WWE.com following their victory in a non-title match over the current WWE Tag-Team Champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes on SmackDown this past Friday night.
Ryback claimed that nobody is hotter than he and Axel right now in WWE. The two went on to talk about how they feel they deserve a WWE Tag-Team Championship shot.
WWE has yet to announce the official WWE Tag-Team Championship match for their upcoming TLC pay-per-view, however there have been rumors of a potential four-way match on the show for the tag-titles. The way WWE is booking Ryback and Axel, it appears as though whatever match they set up for the tag-titles at TLC, whether it be the rumored four-way or not, they will likely be involved.
The December 7th edition of the SmackDown “Backstage Fallout” video has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
This week’s “Backstage Fallout” for SmackDown features the duo of Ryback and Curtis Axel gloating about their non-title victory over the current WWE Tag-Team Champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes.
Additionally, the show features current WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston talking about his upcoming title defense against Damien Sandow at the WWE TLC pay-per-view.
You can watch this week’s SmackDown “Backstage Fallout” below:
– WWE will be holding a live event tonight from Stockton, CA. On Saturday night, the company has shows in Vancouver, BC and Sacramento, CA. On Sunday, they will be in Yakima, WA and Spokane, WA.
Monday’s “Slammy Awards” edition of RAW takes place from Seattle, WA and Tuesday’s Smackdown taping takes place from Portland, OR.
– Several WWE Superstars have tweeted today about “Giving Tuesday,” a national movement to attempt to give back to your community. Below is one of the tweets WWE has posted which contains a link to more information on the “Giving Tuesday” movement:
– Speaking of Twitter, WWE Superstar and one-half of the current WWE Tag-Team Champions Cody Rhodes is holding a contest on Twitter encouraging fans to bring signs to tonight’s WWE SmackDown television taping at the BOK Center in Oklahoma. Rhodes tweeted the following:
During a recent interview on the Between The Ropes podcast with Brian Fritz, Cody Rhodes talked about the possibility of wrestling his brother Goldust at WrestleMania XXX:
“I can’t deny the fact I’ve heard all these rumblings of Goldust versus Cody Rhodes and all I can say is that if it’s something the fans want, if it’s something the WWE Universe wants, then they’ll get it. And it’s not always right away. And there’s more things going on and there’s a lot of ‘that’s best for business expression’ but it it’s something that fans want, I could see it being a very high possibility.”
One half of WWE’s tag team champions, Cody Rhodes, was interviewed by Ben Morse of Marvel.com this week to promote Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what Cody said about:
Teaming With His Brother: : I talked to some people this morning who talked to me last year around WrestleMania and I think they’re as shocked as I am to say, as it is for me to hear, to be one half of the Tag Team Champions with [my] brother Goldust. He’s 44-years old and in the best shape of his career. He didn’t even work for WWE when we started heading in this direction so it’s been a wave of surprise after surprise. It’s excellent. It’s a very happy time in my career and I’m not easily satisfied with what I do. I’m always trying to climb that ladder and this is one of the few times that I’ve looked around, surveyed the landscape, and been pretty happy.
How Long He Plans To Remain A Tag Team Wrestler: “I was talking with Christian, of all people, the other day. I guess he’s been a Tag Team champion like 10 times. Edge was a Tag Team Champion [like] 12 times. I’m at five now and I feel it’s pretty early in my career. I was actually pretty relieved when I heard Edge’s statistics specifically, because I don’t want to be considered a tag team guy. But I do have lots of time left in my career and if there was ever a tag team I want to be remembered for, it would be the one I’m currently in with my own brother …. I’m currently not, to answer your question, itching to get back into the singles world.
Survivor Series: “I’ve been a survivor twice. Both times I ended up like taking a bullet at the end of the match, one for Wade Barrett and one for Randy Orton. So this is a match I think I’ve got good experience in. It’s the match that’s the cornerstone of the pay-per-view. I think some people still remember the Thanksgiving classic that is the Survivor Series with these awesome pairings and “Mean” Gene [Okerlund] would interview all these colorful characters together. That still exists.”
“It’s still the beating heart of that Survivor Series match. You have the polar opposites of the Shield and the Real Americans on one side. You have a character as ridiculous as Goldust, myself, you have the Usos who are also two brothers and you have Rey Mysterio. That’s what I like, the collection. I’ll tell you flat out, it’ll steal the show. There are excellent matches on there, Alberto [Del Rio] and [John] Cena, there’s Randy [Orton] and Big Show. But no match is going to come close to this and those guys can deal with that. It’s the Survivor Series match. I’m very excited about it.”
– It was announced on Monday’s special country-themed edition of WWE RAW that at the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show this Sunday there will be a Hall Of Fame expert panel. Representing the panel for the Kickoff Show will be WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T.
– Also announced on RAW this past Monday night is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between the current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes, and The Real Americans – Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro.
– According to online reports, WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes is currently working through a case of bronchitis.
– Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho announced the debut of his new podcast on Monday. Jericho revealed that WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be his first guest. Jericho tweeted the following:
– Former WWE Superstar Ken Doane, who has caused a lot of controversy in the past, recently posted on Twitter that he is “entertaining the idea of doing a shoot interview.” Doane tweeted the following:
Entertaining the idea of doing a shoot interview… hands down the best one ever. #NoHoldingBack
– While still unofficial, it appears as though the six-on-six confrontation featuring The Wyatt Family and The Shield vs. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and The Usos on Monday’s RAW was the beginning of the build towards a traditional elimination match with all twelve men at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday, November 24th.
– According to reports, WWE Superstar Damien Sandow is currently being groomed for a top position in the company. Sandow, who was given a win over Kofi Kingston on RAW on Monday, recently cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase unsuccessfully against current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Since then, company officials within WWE are starting to work Sandow into a top-tier position.
– In a newly published article on WWE.com, the editorial staff provides their predictions for the next WWE Champion, with Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Antonio Cesaro, Big E Langston and Roman Reigns—who is depicted holding the WWE Championship—listed. A poll is also taking place, which Reigns currently leads.
– Former World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg is highlighted in the latest “30 Second Fury” video, as thirty of his memorable spears are highlighted.
– Former WWF manager Harvey Wippleman, who has been involved with the wrestling industry for thirty-five years, shares his times and struggles with Colt Cabana on Art of Wrestling. The podcast is available at TSMRadio.com/coltcabana>. Scott Hall, George South and Michael Elgin were also recently interviewed.
-Originally the plan for WWE Survivor Series was to feature a traditional eight-man elimination match with The Wyatt Family and one other WWE Superstar against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and two other WWE Superstars. According to recent reports, those plans have changed and the new idea is to have Erick Rowan and Luke Harper against Punk and Bryan in a regular tag-team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
-Another match planned for Survivor Series on November 24th is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes and The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. There is a chance that The Usos and The Shield will be added to the match, however that is unofficial at this point.
-As noted, Brandi Runnels, the real-life wife of WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes, is returning to the company and officially reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this past Monday. Runnels, who will go under the name Brandi Rhodes during this run with the company, is said to be on the “fast-track” to debuting on the main roster.
-WWE executive Gerald Brisco was recently recruiting and scouting talent at the National All-Star collegiate wrestling meet. There is no specific word on who, if anyone, Brisco signed, however he is a trusted eye when it comes to finding amateur wrestlers that would likely make a smooth transition into pro wrestling.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Monday’s WWE RAW: “Perplexing and unique night in many ways for Monday Night’s edition of Raw. The final two segments of the show had me scratching my head especially that surprising, last commercial break. The obvious, over riding theme of the broadcast was the issue between the South Carolina native Big Show and WWE COO HHH. That’s the match that fans seemingly want to see based on the feedback that I have received and my own take as a fan. I’m curious to see what more will be done to ignite the WWE Title bout at Survivor Series between the ‘Biggest Gamecock of them All’ and Randy Orton considering that HHH has more antagonist momentum than does RKO or so it seems.”
On Cody Rhodes & Goldust: “The reunion of the Rhodes Brothers has been a breath of fresh air within WWE over the past several weeks. Really enjoyable to see their storyline evolve. The grandsons of a plumber have been involved some the best matches on any WWE TV show the past several weeks. That’s not a coincidence. Dustin Runnels aka Goldust rebirth, not only as a performer but as a man, has been nothing short of miraculous.”
On WWE Survivor Series: “I’d love to see some classic, Survivor Series moments featured on Raw and Smackdown to remind fans what the PPV used to represent in WWE. The event has a history and that history should be marketed including having at least one traditional, elimination tag team match.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
– Chas Betts, who was a member of the United States Olympic team in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2012, has signed a contract with WWE. Betts officially begins his formal WWE training on Monday at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
-Brandi Runnels, the real-life wife of one-half of the current WWE Tag-Team Champions, Cody Rhodes, officially starts with WWE on Monday.
Photos From Cody & Brandi’s Wedding Last Month
Runnels, who was previously with WWE as “Eden Stiles” before ultimately quitting, will also report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Monday. Runnels will be working under the name “Brandi Rhodes” on her new run with the company.
-WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair is scheduled to make an appearance at a mixed-martial-arts event in Florida on Saturday, November 23rd. The MMA Unleashed promotion announced that Flair will be appearing at a pre-show meet-and-greet at the event scheduled for the Charlotte Harbor Event Center in Punta Gorda, Florida. For more information, visit XSELive.com.
-The official WWE website has released a number of storyline-driven interviews following Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in Miami, Florida. Included were Cody Rhodes and Goldust, who talk about their defense of the WWE Tag-Team Championships on Sunday night, AJ Lee vowing to be the WWE Divas Champion forever and Fandango talking about his “secret weapon,” Summer Rae, and their victory in the mixed-tag-team match at Hell In A Cell. You can check out all of these interviews online at WWE.com.
– WWE announced Sunday afternoon that Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel would be unable to compete in the WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff Match after sustaining an undisclosed injury, which was later reported as an injury to his hips on Raw. Company officials weren’t sure what his diagnosis would be until Friday, which is why nothing was announced until yesterday afternoon.
Many of Axel’s co-workers consider the news very disappointing since he’s popular among them and viewed as a person who goes forward with whatever he’s asked to do.
At this time, the severity of his injury, as well as the status of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, is unknown.
– Speaking to Shannon Rose, Vito talked about wrestling in a dress as part of his character in WWE years ago, working for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as his professional wrestling academy.
– At WWE Hell in a Cell, as Cody Rhodes and Goldust successfully fended off The Shield’s Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and The Usos to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. The brothers emerged victorious Rhodes pinned Seth Rollins following a Cross Rhodes.
Following the match, Goldust praised his brother on Twitter, writing: “I watched my brother @CodyRhodesWWE perform magic tonight when i tagged him in. He killed it! #ProudBrother #RhodesDynasty #TheBrotherhood4Life! @wwe.”
– During The Usos vs. The Shield match on Monday’s RAW, JBL criticizing Cody Rhodes while they were both doing commentary was a result of Vince McMahon pushing JBL to do so. Vince often feeds lines to all 3 RAW announcer, but when he has something he really wants to get across, he will have JBL do it.
Vince was reportedly very frustrated with Cody, because he did not take Vince’s direction to be aggressive on commentary.
– WWE creative is working one some kind of segment between The Miz and Bray Wyatt for Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Since Wyatt is injured and not returning to the ring for a few more weeks, it’s possible we’ll see the Wyatt Family beat down Miz on the show to build momentum towards an eventual match with Bray.
– The originally scheduled main event for Monday’s Raw in Memphis, Tennessee was to have featured WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The Shield in a Handicap Match. Vince McMahon, however, changed creative plans over the course of the day, as a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship was instead announced for this Sunday at Hell in a Cell (Cody Rhodes and Goldust will defend their belts against The Shield and the Uso brothers) and United States Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Daniel Bryan was added to the show at the last minute.
Speaking of Ambrose, he appeared to have tweaked his knee after being tossed out of the ring during his show-opening match against Bryan. He was limping slightly backstage following the match, but it is not considered serious.
– In a tag team match pitting Hell in a Cell opponents, CM Punk and Big E Langston defeated Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel and Ryback on Raw. Following the bout, there was a lot of talk backstage of Punk appearing hurt.
– While Xavier Woods was backstage at Raw, there were no plans for him to appear on the broadcast.
The official YouTube account of WWE 2K14 has released clips previewing the entrances and finishing maneuvers of Cody Rhodes, David Otunga and Yokozuna.
Cody Rhodes
David Otunga
Yokozuna
The video game will be released on Oct. 29 in North America and Nov. 1 in Europe.
Following Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, some new items have been revealed for this coming Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
RAW on Monday is scheduled to feature, among other things, an official contract signing between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan for their Hell In A Cell match for the vacant WWE Championship at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels, who will serve as the special guest referee for the aforementioned Orton-Bryan title match, will also be appearing on Monday’s RAW.
Also announced for RAW on Monday, as we reported previously, is Triple H “dealing with the Rhodes Brothers” for winning the WWE Tag-Team Championships from The Shield’s Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns on last week’s show, as well as more information on “The Game” stripping Big Show of his name.
Finally, WWE will follow-up on the storyline concussion that RAW General Manager Brad Maddox suffered after being on the receiving end of a Big Show knockout punch on Friday’s SmackDown.
– Coming off the heels of Cody Rhodes and Goldust winning the WWE Tag Team Championship from The Shield at the conclusion of Raw on Monday, WWE counts down the grandest Raw finales in the history of the program.
– Prior to Friday’s WWE live event in Mexico City, Mexico, Rey Mysterio and AJ Lee appeared at an autograph signing together, drawing a large crowd. Lee remarked of the event on Twitter, “I may or may not have asked Rey for an autograph… for a friend…also named AJ.”
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans which of the following WrestleMania matches they you like to see simulated in WWE 2K14: The Undertaker vs. CM Punk – WrestleMania 29 (42%), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Rock – WrestleMania XV (35%), Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon – WrestleMania X (18%), Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase – WrestleMania IV (6%).
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On meeting up with Shane McMahon in New York City this week: “Great hooking up with Shane McMahon for a few minutes while I was between meetings Tuesday in NYC. Shane looks great and honestly has seemingly never been in better shape. He’s head of a company in China working in the cable/satellite TV world and affiliated projects so he is staying busy notwithstanding having a lovely wife and three healthy, strapping sons. Funny how one remembers things of significance in wrestling jargon but it was 17 years ago when Shane and his wife married which marked the week that JJ Dillon abruptly left WWE and Bruce Prichard and I were in South Africa producing a TV show for WWE’s TV affiliate there. I think that was the show that I worked on commentary with Honky Tonk Man. Damn….17 years…man, how things change and time flies.”
On what he feels Hulk Hogan should do with his future in wrestling: “I have no dog in the hunt and nor do I know any insider “dirt” but for my two cents Hulk Hogan would be better off re-signing with WWE in a limited role that would put him back in the global, WWE mix and add a jolt to his career which never hurts anyone than re-signing with TNA. Even though Hogan says he has ‘one more match left in him’ that fact, if true, is irrelevant to my way of thinking. Hogan’s opportunity to do PR work, appear occasionally at live events and on a timely basis on TV and to have his likeness on more, sellable products is logical to me. If it is the dollars holding this matter up as in a bigger guarantee now and not willing to wait on the WWE business model to generate more, new Hogan bucks, then the deal may be simply and only about the immediate cash which isn’t a sin either.”
On the lack of time limits in pro wrestling today: “One thing that hurts pro wrestling today is the elimination of all time limits and a logical set of rules that cause matches to end. The elimination of time limits, on TV and at live events, eliminates a long established conclusion to a match of which many things can spin off.”
On The Rhodes Brothers winning the WWE Tag-Team Championships: “The last two segments of RAW were specifically good as the Rhodes boys won the tag titles from the Shield thanks to the Big Show’s holiday ham sized right hand. Arguably not the greatest method for the Rhodes family to win but, the bottom line, the grandsons of a plumber became WWE Tag Champions in a division that until recently hasn’t had much cache.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
