— Next Friday on the first SmackDown of 2012, World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will put his title on the line against Big Show and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes will defend his coveted gold against Booker T.

— Following an unsuccessful stint on Raw, Drew McIntyre returned to Smackdown on Friday’s show. His resolve and worth was called into question by Teddy Long in a backstage segment as the General Manager matched him up against Ezekiel Jackson. If McIntyre couldn’t win, Long said he’d have to start thinking about letting him go. While McIntyre argued with the referee about having his feet on the second rope during an attempted pinfall, Jackson swooped in and grabbed him by the tights to roll him up for the win.

After the match, McIntyre demanded that Long not count the match as a loss, claiming the referee was biased. Long would retort that he disliked losers, but especially ones who make excuses.

— Shelly Martinez posted a video fulfilling Dolph Ziggler’s request to the “Blue Meanie Dance.”

— WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel handled ring announcing duties at this week’s Raw live events.

— Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel denied the assumption that he is upset with Lilian Garcia returning to WWE as SmackDown ring announcer.

“Not true; glad she’s back!” he tweeted in response to an angry message regarding his perceived attitude toward her return. “But what is true is that you need to look in the mirror to see who the real bawbag is! BLOCKED!”

The WWE Hall of Famer added in regards to possible “heat” between the two: “Heat? That’s an NBA team that plays in Miami! Happy for Lilian and her WWE return!”

The assumption is based on Finkel appearing annoyed when asked about Garcia’s return during last Monday’s WWE.com live chat. He also agreed with a fan’s remark that he should be brought back as a ring announcer.

— Triple H, who came out to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica at Wrestlemania XXVII, cut a video promo at the heavy metal band’s 30th anniversary show Saturday night at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California.

“The Game” appeared in character as he thanked Metallica for providing the soundtrack to his wrestling career. The video message was played on a large screen while personnel cleared the stage after Death Angel performed.

source: PWInsider.com

— Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel appears unhappy with Lilian Garcia’s return to WWE. When asked for comment on the her return to the organization as SmackDown ring announcer during WWE.com’s live chat Monday, he initially ignored the subject.

“The Fink” wrote “Genku already stirring the pot” in response to a fan’s query. He then said he has “even bigger news” than Garcia’s return to WWE, which was Dusty Rhodes joining Twitter.

Finkel then appeared annoyed when a chat moderator posted a YouTube video of Garcia’s 2007 song ¡Quiero Vivir!. When asked for comment later, he simply wrote, “Good for her.” The following fan comment was then posted: “Fink, you should return to announce. Belong on tv not computer.” He responded, “AMEN.”

— WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts says he will be making a big announcement this week.

He wrote, “For my 1000th tweet, I’d like to announce… A big announcement this week right here on my Twitter… Stay tuned!”

— Dolph Ziggler stated Tuesday night on Twitter that he sustained a hairline mandibular fracture of his jaw from the punch Hugh Jackman struck him with on Raw and therefore would wear a mouth guard at this weekend’s live events. TMZ.com reports today that sources close to the WWE Superstar say he made the injury up.

TMZ adds, “There is no MRI and no fracture, although we are told Hugh really did pack a punch and Ziggler was in pain.

“We’re told the WWE wasn’t in on the scam.”

— Award-winning actor Hugh Jackman describes his most recent roles as a star on Raw SuperShow and new film Real Steel in an interview with WWE.com.

— WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel appears at tonight’s Florida Championship Wrestling event at the FCW Arena 4535 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, Florida. Belltime is 7:00 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. Visit www.fcwwrestling.com for more information.

— Claudio Castagnoli, who recently signed a developmental contract with WWE, has been added to the Florida Championship Wrestling website’s roster page. As reported earlier, the former Ring of Honor talent is now known as Antonio Cesaro.

The website has also added Jason Jordan, Australian women’s wrestler Leah West (a/k/a Irena Janjic) and Corey Graves, who formerly competed in Ring of Honor and other independent leagues as Sterling James Keenan.

— WWEShop.com has released a new Randy Orton T-Shirt; Randy Orton Coiled Viper Authentic T-Shirt.

— WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel is advertised for an autograph signing at this Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event at the FCW Arena 4535 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, Florida.

WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel appeared on Right After Wrestling with Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas (available here). Highlights from the interview are as follows:

What was the initial plan for SummerSlam in 1988: “To the best of my recollection, SummerSlam came around 1988 and then the Royal Rumble came in soon after. It was always the second biggest event we were going to produce. The WWE worked on producing pay-per-views from the ’80’s through the ’90’s until now. When we first started with WrestleMania, pay-per-view was just at the cusp of its origin. And we needed something else that would whet the appetite of the consumer after WrestleMania and that’s where SummerSlam came into play.”

The Fink’s favorite SummerSlam moments: “As far as my favorite match at SummerSlam that would have to be SummerSlam ’91 where Bret Hart faced Mr. Perfect. Not only was it one of the best matches in SummerSlam history or in Madison Square Garden in NYC, but it was truly one of the greatest matches off all time.”

Being a veteran in WWE, how he feels about the ‘fourth wall’ being broken down with this CM Punk angle: “I wasn’t initially comfortable with it but it’s cutting edge. I had mixed emotions to it. Some people have had their jaws drop over the past previous weeks. So although I had mixed emotions about it, I’m actually digging the hell out of it now!”

Other Interview Topics

– How the WWE product is now changing, with focus on the Divas and the tag-team division.

– His memories of the ‘biggest’ SummerSlam in history – 1992 in front of 80,000 fans in England – and if he was nervous.

— According to sources within WWE, Vince McMahon has taken a more active role within the company again now that his wife Linda’s campaign for U.S. Senator from Connecticut has concluded.

— John Cena noted on his Twitter account that he stopped by the site of tonight’s Raw this afternoon and that he plans on attending the show with a ticket.

“Love it here in philly,” he wrote. “Still got my tix and stopped by arena early to say hi to old pals. Tonight will be fun.”

— Video has surfaced online of WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel emceeing a couple’s wedding. To view the video in question, click here.

source: f4wonline.com

– Monday’s Last night’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW drw a 3.1 cable rating, down from last week’s 3.1, and had 4.5 million viewers, down from 4.8 million last week. The show was taped on Monday afternoon from Manchester, England.

– WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel will serve as the ring announcer for next week’s 3-hour “Old School” RAW from Hershey, PA. Mean Gene Okerlund will also be on hand conducting interviews.

The following names from the past have been confirmed for the show:

– Rowdy Roddy Piper
– Jimmy Snuka
– Dusty Rhodes
– Ted DiBiase
– Arn Anderson
– The Iron Sheik
– “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
– Sgt. Slaughter
– Nikolai Volkoff
– Irwin R Shyster

— Monday’s Raw saw Eve Torres become the No. 1 contender to Alicia Fox’s Divas Championship as a result of her victory over Maryse. Immediately following the bout, Howard Finkel expressed his displeasure with the Raw Divas division, but more specifically, Torres.

“I have had it with the Raw Diva division,” the WWE Hall of Famer remarked during the live Raw chat on WWEUniverse.com. He added, “I DO NOT hate Divas…..I am not a fan of who is the # 1 contender.”

— At the July 6 Friday Night SmackDown television taping, WWE ran a vignette before the Atlanta crowd introducing a new Diva by the name of AJ Lee. The vignette, however, was cut from the broadcast. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a decision was made to introduce one new character at a time — currently Alberto Del Rio — thus explaining why vignettes introducing Lee have yet to surface. Once Del Rio makes his official debut in WWE, the promotion of Lee will commence.

Lee, who’s real name is believed to be April Jeanette, is 23 years old and has been under contract to World Wrestling Entertainment since May 2009. At 5 foot 2 and 99 pounds, she is the smallest female performer affiliated with either major wrestling organization. Prior to joining WWE, Lee worked independent wrestling shows throughout the Northeast. She has been competing professionally since September 2007.