-WWE will soon be releasing Wyatt Family sheep masks for sale on the official WWE Shop website, as well as at WWE live events.
-WWE NXT will run the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) arena in Tampa, Florida this Thursday.
-WWE Superstar and the current owner of the WWE Championship Money In The Briefcase, Randy Orton, is on the cover of the newest edition of WWE Magazine.
-The official WWE website has a new Q&A up with “Total Divas” host Eva Marie. You can check that out online at WWE.com.
– Two former NFL players are currently training at WWE developmental: Dean Muhtadi (former Green Bay Packer and Arizona Cardinal) and Brandon Carter (former New Orleans Saint).
– WWE legend Paul Bearer made a special appearance at Saturday night’s WWE RAW live event in Biloxi, Mississippi. Bearer came out and spoke about the upcoming Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar SummerSlam main event, explaining why both men are dangerous, when he was interrupted by Heath Slater.
Slater accused Bearer of stealing his spotlight and challenged him to a match. Bearer said he isn’t a wrestler, but knows somebody who would be glad to fight him – Ryback. Ryback came out and destroyed Slater.
– Chris Jericho did a Q&A session with fans on Twitter on Saturday night. When asked what he thinks about The Miz and if Miz should get pushed more, Jericho responded:
Love him! Future of the company “@CAPTINREX119: what is your personal opinion of @mikethemiz Would you liked to see him pushed more?”
– Devin sent the following: The FCW event at the Armory in Orlando, Florida has been moved to Thursday, August 2nd. It’s original date was Wednesday, July 25th. The FCW event at the Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, Florida has been moved to Friday, August 17th. It’s original date was Friday, July 27th.
– Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis attended last night’s Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event in Reseda, California.
– WWE’s YouTube channel was ranked #6 for the week ending July 18th. They had 2,717,804 views.
– As seen yesterday, Michael Hayes paid tribute to the late Terry Gordy of The Fabulous Freebirds and WWE’s website did a feature on the group. There has been talk of inducting The Freebirds into the WWE Hall of Fame.
– The FCW Heavyweight Championship has changed hands once again. Richie Steamboat defeated Rick Victor at this weekend’s live event from St. Augustine to capture the title.
– FCW star Xavier Woods is on the road with the SmackDown brand this weekend.
– Rey Mysterio has tweeted a thank you message to fans for supporting him through his rough few months:
It's been almost a year since I've been in the ring & want to take the time now to thank every single one of U that has been supporting me!
– Following up on Del Rio squashing Sin Cara at Monday’s RAW, f4wonline.com is reporting that there’s no reason to believe Cara is in the dog house or at risk of being released. RAW was in Loredo, Texas (close to the Mexican border) and WWE wanted to get a lot of heat on Del Rio for squashing the Mexican babyface.
– Diamond Dallas Page and Bob Backlund have been added to the Alumni section of WWE.com.
– FCW will hold another round of tryouts from September 28th through October 1st at the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida. The tryout camp costs $1,000 and at least one developmental contract will be awarded.
Bill DeMott, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Taylor, Steve Keirn, Norman Smiley, and Joey Mercury will serve as the trainers.
– The latest WWE Backstage Fallout video is now online, featuring backstage interviews from Tuesday’s Smackdown:
“What does Eve have to say about being the punchline of the party in this SuperSmackDown edition of “Backstage Fallout”? Does Tyler Reks feel guilty for Ryback’s destruction of Curt Hawkins? Plus, Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler punch their tickets for Money in the Bank.”
– Several new wrestlers started at Florida Championship Wrestling on Monday, according to FCW head trainer Bill DeMott.
– WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper will be launching his “Rod Pod” podcast soon after hyping it for several months. Piper tweeted that the postcast will be “NO RULES!!!”
– WWE released the following comedy video promote RAW’s expansion to 3 hours starting July 23rd:
Credit to Spyke from the FCW Street Team for the following results from Friday night’s FCW Summer Slamarama live event in Melbourne, Florida:
Brodus Clay, Naomi, Cameron, Paige, and FCW Divas Champion Raquel Diaz signed autographs before the show.
* Leakee d. Colin Cassidy via Samoan Drop & pinfall.
* Big E Langston & Lincoln Broderick d. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper (Brodie Lee) via The Big Ending & pinfall.
* Aiden English d. Garrett Dylan via pinfall after hitting his finisher, The Director’s Cut.
* Summer Rae won the FCW Divas Summer Slamarama Swimsuit Contest.
* Mason Ryan d. Joel Pettyfer via Jackhammer and pinfall.
* Corey Graves & Jake Carter w/ AW d. Jason Jordan & CJ Parker via roll-up pinfall after AW causes the distraction.
* FCW Divas Championship Match: Caylee Turner d. Raquel Diaz via pinfall to win the Divas Championship! Raquel was crying post-match.
* Triple Threat Match: Brad Maddox (FCW Jack Brisco 15 Champion) d. Bray Wyatt & Leo Krueger via pinfall on Wyatt.
Bray Wyatt went down early in the match, and appears to have injured his shoulder badly. Match ended quickly after some confusion. Wyatt was taken to the back fairly quickly.
– FCW held a live event last night (Wednesday) from Orlando, Florida. The main event saw new FCW Champion Bo Dallas retain his title against Seth Rollins, Antonio Cesaro and Kassius Ohno in a Fatal 4-Way match.
Dallas recently captured the FCW Heavyweight title at FCW’s 6/16 show from Crytal River, Florida. The title changed hands twice that night, with Seth Rollins dropping the belt to Rick Victor and Bo Dallas defeating Victor the same night to become champion.
California-based wrestler Buggy Nova has apparently signed a developmental contract with WWE as she made her Florida Championship Wrestling debut at Wednesday’s Summer Slamarama event in Orlando, Florida, according to multiple attendees.
Buggy, who possesses an “alternative” look, participated in a Diva swimsuit competition as well as a dancing contest. Byron Saxton emceed the competitions and announced her as Natalie—her real name.
Buggy was first evaluated by WWE officials at the January 16 Raw SuperShow in Anaheim, California. She was invited to the following day’s SmackDown taping in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she wrestled AJ in a tryout match before company brass. She was evaluated the following month at a SmackDown taping in Fresno, California, where she once again faced AJ in a private match.
Buggy is 22-years-old and billed at 5’8″ and 135 pounds. Trained under the Ballard Brothers, she has been wrestling on the independent circuit since 2009.
– At Wednesday’s Florida Championship Wrestling event at the Orlando Armory in Orlando, Florida, posters were placed advertising Evan Bourne for their next event at the venue on July 25. He is advertised for a meet and greet.
Bourne is recovering from a serious car accident in March, where he broke his foot in four places and dislocated it in five. He issued an update on his health last week via Twitter: “More xrays taken today! My bones look good in the right light. Physical therapy starts next week….finally!”
– Canyon Ceman, who serves as Senior Director of Talent Development for WWE, was offered advice on succeeding in his executive role by veterans of the professional wrestling industry. They have advised him to learn from their experience, the Wrestling Observer reports.
Ceman, a noted volleyball player and former volleyball executive, was hired in March to recruit talent for WWE. While some have questioned his ability to recruit talent since he comes from a non-wrestling background, top-tier organization officials are high on Ceman as they feel his sports management knowledge is superb.
– Dennis Haskins, who portrayed Mr. Belding on Saved by the Bell, is advertised for Pro Wrestling Syndicate’s September 14 event taking place at the Rahway Recreation Center in Rahway, New Jersey. He will appear as commissioner at the event, which will be broadcast online.
– Former wrestler Perry Saturn has been working as a coach at WWE developmental and wasa at the final 3 FCW TV tapings.
– The following matches will take place on today’s WWE Superstars show:
* Justin Gabriel vs. Hunico
* Zack Ryder vs. Michael McGillicutty
* The Prime Time Players vs. The Usos.
– Below are attendance figures and the live gates from the past week’s WWE live events, including the RAW brand’s tour of Spain:
* RAW on June 6th in Madrid, Spain drew 6,000 fans for $270,000
* RAW on June 7th in Seville, Spain drew 4,700 fans for $230,000
* RAW on June 8th in Valencia, Spain drew 4,700 fans for $215,000
* RAW on June 9th in Barcelona drew 6,500 fans for $300,000
* SmackDown on June 9th in Salisbury, MD drew 4,000 fans for $125,000
* SmackDown on June 10th in Binghamton, NY drew 3,000 fans for $100,000
– Bill Goldberg has not wrestled in years, but his name has been chanted on both WWE and TNA television in recent weeks (during Ryback and Crimson’s matches). Goldberg tweeted the following about fans comparing these wrestlers to him:
“WWE or TNA ……anytime fans would chant my name years after I’ve retired ….it’s an honor. Glass half-full.”
– WWE has renewed its efforts to scout new young talent. WWE’s recent training camp at Florida Championship Wrestling where over 20 wrestlers were brought in for tryouts is an example of this initiative. WWE is painfully aware that the past several years have produced very few marketable superstars and are now playing catchup for the sake of the company’s future.
– Bill DeMott, the new head of WWE’s developmental program at FCW, is getting positive reviews for his work thus far. In the past, DeMott was characterized as being a bully who would unnecessarily overwork the trainees, but the feeling is that he’s matured a lot since his last stint there and is doing a great job.
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 wrote about last night’s final Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings:
“The atmosphere Thursday night at the last FCW TV taping was intimate and exciting from the sell out, turn away crowd .. I had a blast blast broadcasting w/ WWE HOFer Dusty Rhodes as you will hear if you are able to assess the show which many watch on You Tube.”
“Lots of kids stood out. Rollins, Steamboat, Cesaro, Ohno, Bo Dallas, Bray Wyatt, Brad Maddox, Ascension, Big E Langston, Jason Jordan, Paige, and several others.”
“Loved the @thedeanambrose vs @realkingregal bout that had a shockingly, real, physical conclusion. That match was on hour three and will likely air in July but I’m not sure of any of the air dates. When FCW’s TV show runs its course on the Brighthouse Network in Florida, FCW will be replaced by NXT. I’m unaware if the rebranded NXT will air on WWE.com ( doubtful) but will air outside the USA where NXT is currently airing.”
As always, you can (and should) check out Jim Ross’ amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.
– At Thursday night’s final FCW TV tapings, the highly anticipated rematch between Dean Ambrose and William ended in a no contest due to referee stoppage. During the match, Ambrose caused Regal to bleed from the head and the officials stopped the match.
Ambrose flipped out and attacked the referees and wrestlers who came into help Regal. He then applied Regal’s Regal Stretch hold on him. When Regal finally got free, he applauded Ambrose, who proceeded to knock him out with his Knee Trembler move.
Also at the tapings, Vickie Guerrero’s daughter Raquel Diaz cut a promo. She has a totally new look, sporting bleach blonde hair and crazy makeup.
– The official match listing for the upcoming WWE: Best of Falls Count Anywhere Matches DVD and Blu-Ray set has been released. You can view the complete match listing, as well as pre-order the product, at Amazon.com.
Hosted by Mick Foley, the collection will feature matches spanning 30 years from WWE, NWA, WCW, & ECW and will be released on 6/26.
Tonight will mark the end of an era, as WWE’s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling holds its final television taping.
The main event of tonight’s show will feature a grudge match between Dean Ambrose and William Regal.
Regal tweeted the following on Wednesday night about their match:
“Dear Dean,in only a few hours our lives will change.For what I am about to do to you may my children forgive me.William.@TheDeanAmbrose”
Ambrose has been taunting Regal on Twitter all week, explaining how he intends to pick him apart piece by piece:
“June 7, Tampa. It will be difficult to watch,bad people doing terrible things, violent, ugly, uncomfortable. Me vs @realkingregal.”
“He’s gonna try to finish the job he did on my shoulder,the gimmick shoulder that cost me the fcw title @BrandonTheKing @RealKingRegal”
“My goal is to punch him in the mouth repeatedly, until I’m sure that he will have to go get dentures soon after his broken nose is fixed.”
On Wednesday night, with just hours remaining before their match, Ambrose wrote:
“Only one guys gonna walk away tomorrow night. I’m in a place right now you would never wanna be.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, who is at FCW this week and will be calling tonight’s Ambrose vs. Regal math along with Dusty Rhodes, tweeted this on Thursday morning:
“HUGE day @ FCW. Newest kids will get awaited info while final TV taping @ FCW facility starts @ 7 tonight. Dream & I calling Ambrose-Regal.”
Check out the first encounter between Dean Ambrose and William Regal from 1 year ago, FCW TV (6/11/11):
– As we’ve been reporting, Florida Championship Wrestling is holding a tryout camp this week in Tampa, with Jim Ross, Shawn Michaels, Dusty Rhodes and Perry Saturn among the legends evaluating talent.
23 athletes are at the invite-only camp, including a number of amateur wrestlers recruited by Gerald Brisco. With William Regal wrestling Dean Ambrose at the final FCW taping later this week, Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes will be handling commentary for the show.
– Speaking of Dean Ambrose, his online feud with Mick Foley has died down once again. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are influential people in WWE that are against continuing the angle and using Mick Foley to introduce Ambrose to the main roster.
– Mexico’s SuperLuchas website recently stated that Randy Orton tested positive for the anabolic steroid Dianobol. A new report by F4Wonline.com states that they have been unable to confirm what Orton failed for and stated that it would be surprising if it was true, because Dianobol stays in your system for up to 6 weeks and is easily tested for.
– WWE has a new article up ranking the top 10 King of the Ring winners. Here’s the top 10:
10. King Mabel
9. Kurt Angle
8. Edge
7. Brock Lesnar
6. Harley Race
5. Bret Hart
4. Triple H
3. Booker T
2. Randy Savage
1. Steve Austin
– WWE and Triple H plan to continue the drastic overhaul of Florida Championship Wrestling in the coming months. Many talents were said to be shocked that Tom Prichard was recently fired as head trainer and replaced with Bill DeMott.
– WWE video game publisher THQ closed down their San Diego offices this week, the studio behind last year’s WWE All-Stars game. This comes the same week that THQ sold the UFC game license to EA Sports, another ominous sign for the struggling company.
– FCW’s Mark Harris appeared on Monday’s RAW as the referee for the Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Tyler Reks & Curt Hawkins tag title match.
– In the latest episode of Superstar Toyz, Hunico shows off his mask collection:
– Chris Jericho’s metal band Fozzy will be playing at the Grammercy Theater in New York City on August 30th. Tickets go on sale this Friday morning at LiveNation.com.
– Shawn Michaels made a surprise appearance at WWE developmental today. Jim Ross tweeted on Tuesday evening:
“Great of @ShawnMichaels to stop by FCW today and speak to all the talents. A Super surprise from HBK. Memorable message to all.
– WWE Champion CM Punk responded to a fan on Twitter who complained about Monday’s RAW drawing a 2.92 rating:
“You a wrestling fan or a ratings fan? I’ll take cross over seg telling a good story over covering a non-wrestler with condiments any day.”
Lots of news from WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling:
– Jim Ross is in Tampa this week working with WWE’s developmental talent and confirmed on Twitter over the weekend that Thursday will be FCW’s final tapings at the FCW Arena.
– JR says FCW has several new prospects to evaluate this week and was asked about the potential of FCW’s two top stars, Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose. Ross said Seth Rollins has “big upside potential” and Dean Ambrose has “unlimited potential.”
Both Rollins and Ambrose have been wrestling dark matches at recent WWE live events and are expected to be brought up to the main roster soon.
– Thursday’s final TV taping will feature the long awaited rematch between Dean Ambrose and William Regal. Ambrose tweeted the following about the match:
“June 7, Tampa. It will be difficult to watch,bad people doing terrible things, violent, ugly, uncomfortable. Me vs @realkingregal. He’s gonna try to finish the job he did on my shoulder,the gimmick shoulder that cost me the fcw title. My goal is to punch him in the mouth repeatedly, until I’m sure that he will have to go get dentures soon after his broken nose is fixed.”
— SuperLuchas.net reports WWE has not contacted Alex Shelley. A friend of Shelley’s who wrestles for the organization informed the former TNA Wrestling star that there is interest in signing him.
Shelley plans to take a hiatus before negotiating with WWE. The website reports that he wants to bypass developmental and head straight to the main roster.
— The final Florida Championship Wrestling television to emanate from FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida reportedly takes place Thursday night with Jim Ross announcing and William Regal facing Dean Ambrose. The organization’s official website has a show listed for June 21.
— WWE developmental wrestler Richie Steamboat competed at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Augusta, Georgia, losing to Damien Sandow. He was originally scheduled to face Drew McIntyre.
— Remember when Goldberg took his frustrations out on a limo? Relive the “Clash of the Week” on the latest edition of “Are You Serious?” as Road Dogg and Josh Mathews give the WWE Universe what they want.
— Jim Ross will be at the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida this week for the last set of FCW Wrestling tapings. A match pitting Dean Ambrose against William Regal is scheduled for the event.
“Gonna be a great week in Tampa this week. Gonna do a little commentary Thurs nite at FCW. Love working w/ WWE Development talents,” Ross wrote.
— Chris Jericho is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Revolver.