E!’S “THE SOUP” CELEBRATES WWE IN A SPECIAL EPISODE PREMIERING ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST
Following A Regularly Scheduled Episode at 10pm, “The Soup” Host Joel McHale Welcomes WWE’s Biggest Superstars For A No-Holds-Barred Special Salute to WWE at 10:30pm
Los Angeles, CA, November 19, 2012 – Just in time for Thanksgiving, E!’s “The Soup” is serving up a special night filled with not one, but two brand new episodes on Wednesday, November 21st!
Starting at 10pm ET/PT, Joel McHale presents a fresh new episode of “The Soup” with his tongue-in-cheek humor audiences have grown to love. As if that weren’t enough, immediately following at 10:30pm ET/PT, Joel welcomes to the set some of WWE’s most popular Superstars and Divas including The Miz, Eve Torres, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan and Hornswoggle, along with the legendary announcers Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler for the special episode, ” The Soup Salutes WWE- Pile Driving Clips in your Face.”
CHECK OUT A SNEAK PEEK FEATURING JOEL MCHALE, THE MIZ, EVE TORRES AND HORNSWOGGLE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AecKn9Qj_TM
Complete with plenty of pec bouncing, “The Soup Salutes WWE- Pile Driving Clips in your Face” delivers the most hilarious WWE moments and themed clips. From David Hasselhoff engaging in creepy conversation with the WWE Divas and Hulk Hogan doggy-paddling Donald Trump to safety, to more ‘sober’ fist pumping on “Jersey Shore” and classy romance on “Love Games,” this special episode continues the tradition of presenting the “best” of the funniest moments in television. Plus, “The Soup” cameras follow as some of the WWE Superstars stop by the “Fashion Police” set to give Joan and Melissa Rivers a run for their money!
So, grab a chair and tune in to a night of “The Soup,” November 21st beginning at 10pm ET/PT, only on E!
– Linda McMahon’s US Senate campaign got ugly towards the end, with other Republicans distancing themselves from her in the days leading up to election day. Connecticut’s Hearst Newspaper broke a story about the McMahon campaign printing up fliers before the election that stated her opponent, Chris Murphy, was to blame for the extended power outages after Hurricane Sandy.
They also stated that Murphy received campaign contributions from individuals and companies affiliated with the major utility companies. Linda’s fellows Republicans who were asked to hand out the fliers refused to do so.
– As noted yesterday, WWE is looking to bring up a few new Divas from developmental due to the very thin women’s roster. While the women’s division is built back up, WWE will be feuding AJ Lee with Eve Torres in the coming months.
– WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu has been working at WWE developmental over the past week and has been teaming with NXT star Percey Watson. The new duo picked up three wins over the weekend.
– WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres recently spoke to WithLeather.Uproxx.com about the current state of WWE’s Divas division:
“We never really know what they’re thinking. As much as people think we really know what’s going on, we really don’t. On Mondays at 4:00 p.m., half the time I have no idea what’s going on. Right now, we have a great group of girls – hungry girls – who all want to contribute to the Divas division. That’s what I really care about. Obviously, I’m delighted that I’m part of an interesting storyline, but whatever I can do to help this division and get it back on top is just something that I – and all of the other girls – am willing to do, whether that means helping new talent that comes up or re-polishing the talent that already exists on the roster.”
– Here’s footage of Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Alicia Fox hosting an anti-bullying rally in Memphis on Tuesday:
– WWE is currently running a poll on Twitter where fans can vote who WWE Champion CM Punk should choose to face at Hell in a Cell: John Cena or Ryback. Click here to cast your vote.
– Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer has updated his position of WWE’s stock, downgrading to “not a buy.” On his “Mad Money” CNBC show that aired on Tuesday night, Cramer said, “It has no growth. That’s not enough for me.”
– Dolph Ziggler posted a video on Tout challenging Kane to a match on Friday’s SmackDown:
– WWE Diva’s Champion Eve Torres recently did a SNAPS photo shoot for her official website, EveTorres.com. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot:
– WWE will air the one-hour documentary from their recent WCW Clash of the Champions DVD set on pay-per-view beginning November 5th.
– WWE.com currently has a poll up asking fans if they think we’ll see a CM Punk vs. Ryback match after the conclusion of last week’s RAW, when the two went face to face. As of this writing, over 80% of fans have voted “Yes.”
– Following up on the news that Hulu Plus only airing a 90-minute version of WWE RAW each week, it appears the reason is that WWE’s agreement with the USA Network gives them exclusive rights to air RAW in its entirety. Other outlets, such as Youtube and now Hulu Plus, have access to video clips and the shortened version of the broadcast.
– WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres and her fiancee Rener Gracie will be doing TV media appearances in Oklahoma City this morning to promote tonight’s WWE RAW and talk about Eve’s work helping women and children learn self defense.
– The Honky Tonk Man stated on Facebook that he is interested in assuming the Raw commentator’s position for one night only while Jerry “The King” Lawler recovers from Monday’s heart attack.
The WWE Legend is the first cousin of Lawler, though the two have long had an unsteady relationship due to family issues. He addressed his relationship with Lawler: “Jerry and I have not seen eye to eye on the pro side of the business sometimes, but we buried the hacthet a few yrs. ago. I am what I am and he is what he is. He is my first cousin with our mothers who are sisters who are both passed on now. Jerry and I had a 100 matches against each other. We had a respect not as family but as professionals. He was a master at talking and in ring work. I myself copied his work. I can only hope he can be the King again.”
– Eve Torres announced on Twitter Thursday that she is engaged to Rener Gracie, her boyfriend of several years.
Enclosing a photo of her engagement ring, she tweeted, “I’ve never been so happy! @RenerGracie.”
– WWE.com takes a look back at the influential career of Scott Hall with his addition to its Alumni section: “Who’s the WWE Alumni that climbed to the top of WWE and helped revolutionize sports-entertainment as a founder of The New World Order? Survey says: Scott Hall (aka Razor Ramon). Check out The Bad Guy’s new profile page with exclusive photos, videos and more.”
WWE also notes his reputation within the professional industry with the following sentence: “The talented performer wasn’t always in prime condition, but few were better than Hall when he was on his game.”
– Eve Torres posted a Tout message Wednesday concerning the safety of the WWE Superstars.
“I firmly believe that the safety of the WWE Superstars is the most important thing there is. And I’m fully confident that Booker T will make the right decision on SmackDown,” she said.
– WWE Divas Champion Layla is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com. Click here to view her photos and videos.
– EOnline.com has published an article on WWE Diva and Stars Earn Stripes winner Eve Torres’ admiration for noted American politician, commentator and author Sarah Palin, who she met during filming of the NBC reality show—Palin’s husband Todd was a contestant on the show.
“She was really a lovely woman,” said Torres. “We didn’t talk politics, but she was excited for me when I won. She was proud that I did it for the girls out there. She was really sweet.”
Torres also had dinner with the Palins. “At the end of the day, she’s a mom and a nice woman,” Torres said.
– Booker T has been announced to appear at an NXT live event taking place Friday, Sept. 21 at Charlotte Harbor Event Center 75 Taylor Road, Punta Gorda Florida 33948. The SmackDown General Manager will participate in a Meet and Greet before the show.
– In attendance figures for last week’s Raw brand tour of Australia, the Aug. 30 show in Brisbane drew 8,000 paying $750,000. Aug. 31 in Sydney drew a near sellout of 15,000 paying $1.3 million. Sept. 1 in Melbourne drew a near sellout of 14,000 paying $1.3 million.
SmackDown on Sept. 1 in Des Moines, Iowa drew 4,800 paying $145,000. The following night’s show in Madison, Wisconsin did 3,000 paying $80,000.
– During an interview with HispanicBusiness.com, Eve Torres spoke about being a person of mixed culture and difficulties she’s faced working in a “man’s world.” She also revealed that she’ll be starring in a “blockbuster” action movie soon.
– WWE is holding a ticket pre-sale tomorrow for the 12/28 WWE RAW live event from Long Island, New York’s Nassau Colliseum. The password is WWENASSAU. The main event for WWE’s final live event of 2012 will see John Cena & Kane vs. CM Punk & Daniel Bryan.
– WWE is currently seeking a new Associate TV Producer. For details, visit AWN.com.
– Monday’s episode of WWE RAW had a Trendrr.tv social media score of only 295,822, down 21% from last week the lowest score for RAW in the past 5 weeks.
RAW ranked #2 on cable for the third consecutive (trailing “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” on VH1).
– The season finale of NBC’s Stars Earn Stripes reality series drew only 2.88 million viewers on Monday night.
– Check out this video of Eve and her partner completing the final mission of Stars Earn Stripes to win the competition:
WWE Diva Eve Torres issued the following statement regarding her and her partner Grady Powell winning NBC’s Stars Earn Stripes competition. From her official website:
“What a rollercoaster tonight’s episode was! From thinking that I was going home in the emotional shootout, to winning the whole thing and earning a total of $150,000 for the USO!!! I’m still in disbelief! It just goes to show what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself, and don’t count yourself out too early. I went into this competition knowing I wasn’t the strongest, the fastest, or the most experienced, but I believed in my ability to learn quickly, and follow the lead of my operative, Grady…. Ok… I’ve just got to say it… A WOMAN WON STARS EARN STRIPES! Woooohoooooo. And Grady won a sweet F-150 Ford Truck! He better let me go for a ride in it some day!
Thanks to everyone who supported me and Grady Powell “Team Long Hair Don’t Care”! It was an amazing experience, and one that I will never forget. This competition exposed me that much more to the bravery and skill of the people protecting our country, both domestically and abroad. While I am proud of my success in this competition, I know that it doesn’t come close to comparing to the accomplishments of our nation’s real heroes. My appreciation for our troops is unwavering, and I hope that through Stars Earn Stripes, every one of you got a glimpse of what our law enforcement, and service men & women truly stand for. Regardless of your opinions on the war, I hope we can all agree that our troops make incredible sacrifices for our country’s well-being. Next time you see a uniformed military/law-enforcement, or meet one of our country’s veterans, remember to thank them for their service. I am sure they would appreciate the gesture.”
– After four weeks of competition, Eve Torres reigned supreme in NBC’s reality program Stars Earn Stripes.
Torres collected a $100,000 check for the USO in the final moments of the two-hour finale. She and her mentor, former Army Green Beret Grady Powell, won an elaborate contest that included jumping out of a helicopter, climbing aboard a ship and shooting targets.
Olympic gold-medal skier Picabo Street finished in second; actor Dean Cain was third; and Todd Palin, husband of former Gov. Sarah Palin, was fourth.
Torres will be interviewed on G4’s Attack of the Show! Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. to discuss her big win.
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus wants to see your “Sons of Sheamus” photos and he will retweet them. Tweet your photos to @WWESheamus, using #SOS.
– WWE developmental wrestler Xavier Woods turns 26-years-old Tuesday while former WWE Superstar Kharma turns 35.
– World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus is now on Twitter at @WWESheamus.
– Josh Mathews continues to play up the storyline that WWE is an “unsafe working environment.” After leaving the announcer’s booth on RAW and running away through the audience when Kane came to ringside, Matthews tweeted:
Until I'm told action will be taken against Superstars like Kane for attacking me, I'll keep a safe distance. Disciplinary action? Please?
– After his WWE contract was terminated last week on RAW, Chris Jericho’s WWE wrestler profile has been moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com.
– Former World Heavyweight champion The Great Khali turns 40 years old today.
– WWE tag team champion Kofi Kingston will be appearing at the National Guard Storefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin today from 11am until 1pm.
– WWE.com has an article up looking whether Eve Torres has a “hidden agenda” as Booker T’s assistant on SmackDown. Eve addressed the situation on Twitter over the weekend:
I'm a little confused as to why everyone is questioning my behavior on SmackDown. What ever happened to good sportsmanship and hard work?
– Monday’s post-SummerSlam episode of Raw rebounded from last week’s 2.84 rating to draw a 3.1. The program averaged 4,478,000 over the course of three hours, an improvement from 4,134,000 the week before. Viewership peaked during the second hour with 4,657,000, while the first and third hours both drew 4,352,000 viewers.
– The second edition of the WWE Encyclopedia is now scheduled to be released on November 19, 2012, according to Amazon.com. The 400-page book was originally scheduled to be released on September 3.
– Eve Torres has launched a store at evetorres-com.myshopify.com. She notes, “I created Shop Eve to connect and share special items and memories with my loyal fans. All photographs and specialty items are individually signed. The article products are all items I’ve worn in actual matches, photo shoots, or special milestones in my career. I hope you enjoy your purchases, and please send your feedback regarding items you would like to see in the store to ShopEveTorres@gmail.com!”
– Ezekiel Jackson noted on Twitter that he will be not on hand for tonight’s SmackDown taping in Bakersfield, California.
Check out these pictures of WWE Diva Eve Torres and her husband, Rener Gracie.
According to Google, Rener Gracie is a 4th degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a head instructor at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy and co-creator of Gracie University, the world’s largest online jiu-jitsu training program.
– The Trendrr.tv social media score for Monday’s 3-Hour WWE RAW was 369,933, down 8% from last week (401,202). RAW ranked #5 on cable TV, trailing “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” (VH1), “Teen Wolf” (MTV) and Shark Week programming (Discovery).
– The series premiere of NBC’s “Stars Earn Stripes” reality show featuring WWE Diva Eve Torres drew 5.15 million viewers for the two-hour premiere.
– John Cena posted the following gym video to Tout on Tuesday:
Solid @Tout showing full frontal #snatch. 110k, some catch and stability issues, but ill fix em. Thanks UT #hookem
– After Shawn Michaels was loaded into an ambulance following the conclusion of Monday’s RAW, WWE.com caught up with Triple H, who said Shawn was taken to the hospital with a broken arm. Triple H said his fight with Brock Lesnar this Sunday at SummerSlam is now even more personal and the former UFC Heavyweight champion better show up to face what’s coming to him.
– Paul Heyman tweeted the following after RAW, taunting Shawn Michaels:
I hope @ShawnMichaels recovers from this very quickly. It's terrible he got taken out before @WWE#SummerSlam. But those are the breaks!
– NBC’s new Stars Earn Stripes reality show premieres tonight at 8pm ET and will feature WWE Diva Eve Torres as one of the contestants.
– Tyler Reks noted on Twitter that he and Curt Hawkins will be working this week’s RAW and SmackDown tapings.
– Booker T’s new book ‘From Prison to Promise’ will be in stores on September 1st and can be pre-ordered now through Apple’s iBook service. Booker was at the Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con event over the weekend and sold around 300 copies of his book.
– Chris Jericho was asked what he thinks about AW’s release on Twitter over the weekend. He replied:
It’s a drag. But it’s not the attitude era anymore “@J_Edwards56: What you think of AW getting Future Endeavored?? Ur from the Attitude Era
WWE Diva Eve Torres was recently interviewed by IGN.com to hype her involvement in the new NBC reality show “Stars Earn Stripes,” which debuts tonight on at 8pm ET. Here are some highlights of what Eve said about:
Her Reaction To Being Selected For Stars Earn Stripes: “To be honest, I thought it had my name written all over it. First of all, my connection with the military. I’m a strong supporter of the military, and I’ve been overseas to support them and entertain the troops. So the fact that I could raise money for military charities was an awesome opportunity. On top of that, I was like, “Wait, I get to shoot guns, jump through helicopters and climb through mud?” I was a tomboy growing up. I love that kind of stuff. I don’t think I knew how difficult it was going to be. I definitely didn’t, but I was excited.”
Main Eventing RAW Last Month: “It was an extremely cool moment. Not only was I in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, but there are is a very small number of women who have had that opportunity to main event RAW. To be one of those women was an honor for me, to be a part of that. It’s something that I can say that I’ve done and I’m very proud of.”
RAW’s New General Manager, AJ Lee: “I’m not impressed. I think she is not fit for the job, and I think you need a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman to have that job – and that’s me,” Eve said, playing up the storyline. “I have the experience, I have the expertise, I was executive administrator for many months and I should be the next one in that role. So I’m not okay with it, and we’ll go from there.”
– WWE Champion CM Punk and Eve Torres filmed a “kitchen cage match” special with celebrity chef Graham Elliot on Thursday. Elliot, who hails from Punk’s hometown of Chicago, tweeted a picture of himself with Punk and Eve, which you can view here.
– Wade Barrett wrestled his second match since returning from injury at Thursday’s SmackDown live event in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Justin Gabriel. A live report from the show that a fan sent in said Barrett appeared to work a stiffer style, a sign that Barrett could be incorporating more of his bare knuckle boxing / fight club experience into his matches.
– Former WWE superstar Billy Gunn was at Thursday night’s WWE NXT tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Gunn was at WWE developmental last week and reportedly impressed WWE officials at RAW 1,000 to the point where there’s been talk that he could wrestle for the company again.