— 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.
— In the latest episode of WWE Inbox, John Cena, R-Truth, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, among others answer your Twitter questions, including who they think is the worst persona in WWE history.
— According to multiple accounts on Twitter, WWE talent and employees are staying at the luxurious InterContinental Miami hotel for WrestleMania week in Miami, Florida. The Rock, John Cena, The Undertaker and The Miz have been spotted there within the past two days.
— WWE Hall of Famers Dory and Terry Funk will appear at WrestleMania Axxess on Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm and again on Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
– In preparation for his match with John Cena at WrestleMania 28, The Rock has been doing his in-ring training with Curt Hawkins.
– Randy Orton is being considered for the lead role in upcoming WWE Studios film, The Marine 3. Orton was originally supposed to star in Marine 2, but was injured at the time, so that role went to Ted DiBiase.
– Did you know .. Daniel Bryan is not the only vegan title holder in WWE. During an appearance on Much Music in Canada this week, WWE Champion CM Punk revealed that he is also now a vegan. However, because of how WWE has portrayed being a vegan as a heel characteristic, don’t expect Punk’s latest lifestyle change to be mentioned on television.
– TNA has reportedly been pushing for WWE to mention them at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, but it’s unlikely to happen. Flair will be appearing at the Hall of Fame ceremony whether WWE mentions TNA or not.
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins defeated Michael McGillicutty via Curb Stomp in a dark match at Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Cleveland, Ohio. Rollins, who reigns as Florida Heavyweight Champion, also competed at SmackDown live events over the weekend and is slated to be on hand for Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbus, Ohio.
— The following matches were taped Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly
— The WWE SmackDown taping scheduled for May 29, 2012 has been moved to the River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was originally scheduled to take place at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
— Matches taped Tuesday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut for this week’s episode of WWE NXT Redemption are as follows:
* Maxine vs. Tamina Snuka
* Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu
* Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso
* Percy Watson vs. Titus O’Neil
WWE developmental wrestler Xavier Woods, who formerly competed as Consequences Creed for TNA Wrestling, competed in a pre-taping dark match. He defeated Hunico in a singles match.
Woods appeared before the WWE audience for the first time at Raw live events over the weekend. He defeated Curt Hawkins on all three shows.
— With SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long taking control of Raw Supershow Monday night, he announced last Friday on SmackDown that David Otunga would face The Great Khali in a singles match. The match did not take place despite his announcement and being advertised on WWE.com. Instead, Otunga accompanied John Laurinaitis ringside for the United States Championship Match between Jack Swagger and Santino Marella while Khali squashed Curt Hawkins in a pre-show dark match.
— The Miz debuted a new T-Shirt on Monday’s Raw SuperShow prior to his encounter with Big Show. The shirt, which is labeled The Miz Onslaught of Awesomeness Augmented Reality Authentic T-Shirt, is available for purchase on WWEShop.com.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery highlighting Lex Luger’s career with World Championship Wrestling.
— Former WWF star Killer Khan turns 65 years old Tuesday while former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion David Flair turns 33.
— WWE developmental wrestler Xavier Woods, who formerly competed as Consequences Creed for TNA Wrestling, appeared before a WWE crowd for the first time at Friday’s Raw live event in Cornwall, Ontario. He defeated Curt Hawkins in a singles match.
Woods signed a developmental contract with WWE in July 2010 and has appeared for Florida Championship Wrestling ever since.
— Prior to Eve’s victory over Natalya on Friday’s SmackDown, the third generation wrestler confronted Eve to give her opinion on the situation with Zack Ryder. The dueling Divas have extended their feud to Twitter. Natalya wrote of Eve’s actions, “After SD last night I’m more disgusted than ever by @EveMarieTorres’ behavior toward both @ZackRyder and @JohnCena. #TeamZack.”
Eve responded, “And I’m disgusted by… you @NatbyNature. I wouldn’t expect u, or any of these people to know how it feels to be beautiful & have to use it.”
— WWE will hold a Raw live event at Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia on July 27, 2012. It was originally scheduled to take place on May 6, 2012.
— Randy Orton will face World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. The synopsis reads: “This Friday at 8/7 CT on Syfy, Randy Orton will return to SmackDown with his eyes locked on Daniel Bryan – just two weeks after the World Heavyweight Champion gave WWE’s Apex Predator a concussion that kept him out of the Elimination Chamber Match.”
— Matches taped Monday night in Portland, Oregon for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox in a non-title match
* Santino Marella vs. Curt Hawkins (accompanied by Tyler Reks)
No pre-show dark match was held.
— WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat turns 59 years old Tuesday.
— During a phone interview with WWE.com Thursday, Shawn Michaels lost his composure when faced with pointed questions pertaining to Triple H and The Undertaker’s Hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania XXVIII.
After being asked “If Triple H wins at WrestleMania, will he be better than you?” Michaels grew increasingly incensed in his response, saying he is the best in-ring performer ever and that he cannot help that the spotlight falls on him whenever he shows up. Before hanging up, he tells the WWE.com interviewer to leave him alone in his retired life.
— Thanks to interference from Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks drew a victory over Mason Ryan on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. It is his first televised singles victory since the March 17, 2011 WWE Superstars, where he beat JTG.
Other matches featured include Alex Riley vs. Michael McGillicutty and Jinder Mahal vs. Justin Gabriel. The episode is available here.
— WWE developmental wrestler Corey Graves (a/k/a Sterling James Keenan) turns 28 years old Friday.
— Matches taped tonight at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma for this week’s episode of WWE NXT Redemption are as follows:
* Derrick Bateman vs. Heath Slater
* Darren Young vs. Percy Watson
* Trent Barreta vs. Tyson Kidd
* Kaitlyn vs. Maxine
* Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso
— Brodus Clay squashed WWE developmental wrestler Damien Sandow in a dark match at tonight’s SmackDown SuperShow taping in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sandow was accompanied by Abraham Washington.
— The February 4 episode of A.M. Raw garnered a 0.59 cable rating, with 723,000 viewers.
— Matches taped Monday night in Corpus Christi, Texas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly
* Evan Bourne vs. Michael McGillicutty
— Former WWE star Michael Tarver stated on Twitter that he has began training for a career in mixed martial arts.
— WWE will hold SmackDown live events at Jack Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan on March 10, 2012 and Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan on March 11, 2012.
— Brodus Clay’s Raw SuperShow debut also marked as opponent Curt Hawkins’ first match on the program. The former WWE Tag Team Champion was drafted to Raw last April in the Supplemental Draft.
— WWE has announced a Falls Count Anywhere Match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett for this Friday’s episode of SmackDown. The match will be taped Tuesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana.
— Matches taped Monday night in Chicago, Illinois for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Alex Riley vs. JTG
* Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
— Evan Bourne appears at Best Buy in St. Louis, Missouri on January 28, 2011 starting at 11:00 a.m.
— Midcard Mafia, the animated web series starring Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins, has been marked private on Reks’ YouTube account. Reks and Hawkins mentioned having heat with WWE over the series in their latest episode.
— WWE officials have discussed holding after-show programs for Raw and SmackDown on the WWE Network. As reported earlier, a Raw pre-show is also in the works.
— Former WWE stars Carlito, Chavo Guerrero and Kenny Dykstra are advertised to appear for World Wrestling Council from Jan. 6-8, 2012. On the 7th in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Carlito will defend the Universal Heavyweight Championship against Dykstra.
— New Japan Pro Wrestling is looking to tour the West Coast of the United States, possibly in 2012. They toured the East Coast last spring.
— The Dec. 16, 2011 WWE SuperShow in Fort Myers, Florida drew 5,500 fans paying $155,000. The Dec. 17 WWE Supershow in Long Island, New York drew 7,000 fans paying $285,000.
— Shelly Martinez released the following video message from the set of her latest photo shoot:
— WWE brought Lilian Garcia back to the organization to permanently replace Tony Chimel as the ring announcer for weekly SmackDown tapings. Chimel, 50, will continue working for WWE at television tapings in the production office backstage. Company officials asked Garcia late last week if she wanted to return and a deal was reached Monday upon her arrival in Tampa, Florida.
Garcia, who turned 45 years old in August, retired from her job as Raw ring announcer in 2009, citing a wish to settle down with her husband and being burned out from WWE’s strenuous travel schedule. During her time away, she continued to pursue her music career, and hosted AfterBuzzTV.com’s post-shows for Raw and Tough Enough.
— Matches taped Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Florida for this week’s episode of WWE NXT are as follows: Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks; Darren Young and JTG vs. Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil; Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman.
Yoshi Tatsu beat WWE developmental wrestler Damien Sandow in a dark match prior to the taping.
— WWE Hall of Famer Superstar Billy Graham, 68, was hospitalized Monday in Phoenix, Arizona for pneumonia. He is on antibiotics and in stable condition.
“Billy had a bad cough last night when I spoke to him,” said his agent Scott Epstein. “He said he also had a low grade fever and was going to go to the ER as a precaution. Valerie (his wife) called me this morning to tell me he was admitted. She will update me later this evening.”
— Matches taped Monday in Liverpool, England for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Alex Riley vs. Michael McGillicutty
* Curt Hawkins vs. Justin Gabriel
— Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso beat Derrick Bateman and Trent Barreta in a dark match at tonight’s tapings in Liverpool, England.
— WWE developmental wrestler Naomi is pictured in the official WWE souvenir program exclusive sold at the ongoing European live event tour.
Zack Ryder tweeted a cell phone shot of the page featuring Curt Hawkins and Trent Barreta, which includes Naomi.
Though Naomi placed in second in last year’s all-female season of NXT, she is the last remaining contracted contestant to be situated in developmental. A.J., Aksana and Kaitlyn are all members of the SmackDown roster, while Maxine appears on NXT. She has, however, appeared at several non-televised events since the season’s conclusion.
— Inspired by the recent surge of news surrounding former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, Brooke Anderson will join Eve, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox in a WWE ring to interview them for a special segment on the syndicated tabloid television news program The Insider. The segment was scheduled to air on Wednesday’s show, but was postponed.
Eve tweeted, “Our @TheInsider segment should be airing later this week :-) We’ll keep you posted!”
— The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has added Jake Carter to their roster page. He is Jesse White, son of former WWE star Vader. He signed a developmental contract with WWE in April following a tryout at the organization’s developmental facility in Tampa, Florida.
White, 25, originally committed to the University of Oklahoma and was touted for the National Football League, but retired following a hip injury. He then followed his dad’s footsteps to the world of professional wrestling.
— Theodore Long kicked off Friday’s SmackDown by announcing that the first match of the night would feature 41 Superstars in the largest Battle Royal in WWE history. Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis then revealed the winner would earn a title match against the champion of his choosing.
Randy Orton won the 41-Man No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal, last eliminating The Miz. Battle Royal elimination order is as follows: 1. Cody Rhodes, 2. Johnny Curtis, 3. JTG, 4. Michael McGillicutty, 5. Derrick Bateman, 6. Yoshi Tatsu, 7. Titus O’Neil, 8. Matt Striker, 9. William Regal, 10. Percy Watson, 11. John Morrison, 12. Dolph Ziggler, 13. Trent Barreta, 14. Jey Uso, 15. Ted DiBiase, 16. Tyson Kidd, 17. Daniel Bryan, 18. Tyler Reks, 19. Curt Hawkins, 20. Drew McIntrye, 21. Justin Gabriel, 22. Mason Ryan, 23. Primo, 24. Santino Marella, 25. Alex Riley, 26. Kofi Kingston, 27. Zack Ryder, 28. David Otunga, 29. Jimmy Uso, 30. Ezekiel Jackson, 31. Heath Slater, 32. Sin Cara (Negro), 33. Christian, 34. R-Truth , 35. CM Punk, 36. Sheamus, 37. Wade Barrett, 38. Jack Swagger, 39. Jinder Mahal, 40. The Miz.
— Matches taped tonight in Dallas, Texas for this week’s episode of NXT: Redemption are as follows: A.J. vs. Maxine, Derrick Bateman vs. Percy Watson, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks.
A match pitting former Corre teammates Ezekiel Jackson and Heath Slater was taped for WWE Superstars. Matches taped last night in Oklahoma City were Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre and JTG vs. Santino Marella.
— Want to have a cyber friend date with Shelly Martinez? Have something you been wanting to ask? Just want to get to know her in a more personal way? Buy some time and have her all to yourself!
Shelly is offering cyber friend dates through ShellyMartinez.org, which allows people to purchase time with the former WWE Diva. Those who book cyber friend dates for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for next week get a two-for-one special: Shelly and Amber O’Neal.
WWE has announced that effective immediately, NXT Redemption is moving to Wednesday afternoons at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT on WWE.com.
WWE.com made the announcement prior to the start of tonight’s regularly scheduled episode, which reads: “WWE Universe, tune in to WWE.com Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT for an all-new episode of WWE NXT Redemption! For complete coverage of WWE NXT, including results, photos, video clips and full episodes on demand, visit NXT.WWE.COM any time.”
After WWE made the announcement on Twitter, Derrick Bateman wrote, “Ok. Nevermind. It airs at 4 tomorrow? Glad I know now…… #WALKOUT”
Matches taped tonight in Biloxi, Mississippi for tomorrow’s episode are: Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater, JTG vs. Yoshi Tatsu, Derrick Bateman vs. Titus O’Neil, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.
— Mason Ryan returned to television at tonight’s WWE Superstars taping in Columbus, Ohio as he competed in a match against JTG. The Welsh grappler resumed competing at live events two weeks ago after being sidelined since late June due to an undisclosed injury.
The taping also saw the return of Tyler Reks and Percy Watson to television. Reks, teaming with Curt Hawkins, squared off against Percy Watson and NXT contestant Titus O’Neil. Reks and Hawkins would later appear on Raw Supershow during a backstage segment with Alberto Del Rio.
— Drew McIntyre beat Primo via Future Shock in a dark match.
— ESPN.com published an article on Mick Foley’s recent stand-up comedy appearance at The Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore, New York. ESPN mentioned some of his comedy bits and noted “He started the comedy journey 2 1/2 years ago, but took a long layoff while working for TNA Wrestling. Now a free agent, he’s focused on finding the same confidence in comedy that made him a squared-circle icon.”
— Curt Hawkins recently declared on Twitter that he wouldn’t shave his beard until he received a match on Monday Night Raw. The sparingly seen Raw Superstar ended the protest after two weeks. He explained, The whole creepy beard thing wasn’t working out for me as a single man in NYC. Open to suggestions on a new form of protest.”
— Brodus Clay extended his winning streak to five on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars, defeating Brandon James in under one minute. He has been paired with enhancement wrestlers on the WWE.com show since returning to action last month.
— A WWE house show in Wichita Falls, Texas has been moved to Feb. 5, 2012. The original date was Sept. 25, 2011.
— Tyler Reks is scheduled to appear at Hansel Ford in Santa Rosa, California today from noon until 1:00 p.m.
— Triple H is booked for all Raw and Smackdown television tapings in his role as Chief Operating Officer of WWE for the forseeable future.
— Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio are scheduled for upcoming SmackDown television tapings in California. Both talents are scheduled for the August 9 in Sacramento, the last show before SummerSlam, and August 16 in Bakersfield.
— Curt Hawkins attended EVOLVE’s internet pay-per-view event last Tuesday in New York City.
— John Laurinaitis, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, turns 46 years old today.
— For tonight’s episode of SmackDown, WWE.com is advertising Christian addressing the WWE Universe after losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton last week. Matches scheduled to take place are as follows:
* Daniel Byran vs. Sin Cara
* Kane vs. Wade Barrett
* Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase
* Christian and Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry and Sheamus
— Former WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder reunited on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. Hawkins assisted Ryder in garnering a victory over Vladimir Kozlov. This was followed by an in-ring celebration.
“The Broskis Are Back @TheCurtHawkins & @ZackRyder WWWYKI,” Ryder wrote on Twitter.
Hawkins added, “Thanks for the support, it’s just the beginning & we’ll need all your help. I like #MajorBroskis but Broskis of Destruction made me laugh.”
— Former WWE star Jimmy Wang Yang celebrates his 30th birthday today.
— WWE Superstars Chris Masters, Curt Hawkins, Dolph Ziggler and JTG appear on tonight’s episode of Silent Library, which airs at at 7:00 p.m. on MTV. A replay airs at 2:30 a.m.
— NXT Season 3 contestant AJ Lee worked this past weekend’s SmackDown live events, teaming with Beth Phoenix in a tag team bouts against Layla and Kaitlyn. Lee and Phoenix split the series, losing on Saturday and winning on Sunday.
— A Twitter account has been launched for WWE Classics On Demand.
— Last week’s episode of SmackDown featured 32 minutes and 17 seconds of in-ring action, down from 34 minutes and 13 seconds the week before.