In the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, Rey Mysterio and The Miz meet next week on Raw to determine the undisputed title holder.

Vince McMahon announced at the top of the show that eight of the top Superstars would compete in a WWE Championship Tournament and that a new titleholder would be determined that night. Before Mysterio and The Miz could compete in the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, McMahon demanded that the ring be cleared due to important business he had to conduct. Triple H then informed McMahon that he had been relieved of his duties as WWE Chairman and that he would be taking his place.

WWE Championship Tournament Results

* The Miz defeated Alex Riley in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament

* R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament

* Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament

* Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament

* The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament

* Rey Mysterio defeated R-Truth in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament

— The following matches will be featured on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown on Syfy:

* Jack Swagger vs. Sin Cara

* Big Show and Kane vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater for the WWE Tag Team Championship

* Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio

* Layla vs. Michelle McCool

* Alberto Del Rio and Brodus Clay vs. Christian and Randy Orton

— Matches pitting Sin Cara against Sheamus for the WWE United States Championship and Jerry Lawler against Jack Swagger with Michael Cole in his corner are booked for upcoming WWE live events.

— Vickie Guerrero is scheduled for tonight’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event in Gainesville, Florida. Its is likely that she will be participating in an angle with her daughter, who performs as Raquel Diaz.

source: F4WOnline.com

— It was reported yesterday that WWE officials discussed moving The Undertaker to Raw to make up for a top babyface character being transferred to SmackDown during the 2011 WWE Draft. While the draft came and went without The Deadman changing brands, company sources indicate he’ll join Raw upon his return to television.

— SmackDown announcer Jack Korpela has launched a Twitter account.

— Numerous WWE related terms trended on Twitter during today’s WWE Draft including Kelly Kelly, Alex Riley, Drew McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, William Regal and Jack Swagger.

— Florida based wrestling valet Trina Michaels plans to attend this Monday’s Raw taping in Miami. She will be visiting friends in WWE.

source: F4WOnline.com

It was announced tonight on Raw that the Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross vs. Jack Swagger and Michael Cole match at Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view is a Country Whipping Match. Presumably, it is a strap match.

The updated line-up for Extreme Rules is as follows:

WWE Championship Triple Threat Steel Cage Match
The Miz (c) vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison

World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Last Standing Man Match
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Country Whipping Match
Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross vs. Jack Swagger and Michael Cole

Falls Count Anywhere Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

— The Raw crew concludes their near two-week long international tour today and tomorrow in Qatar. The shows, however, will be without the “Sexy, Smart and Powerful” WWE Divas as they are prohibited from wearing clothing that doesn’t cover their legs or shoulders in public. Qatar is an Islamic country with strict dress laws.

Eve Torres and The Bella Twins, among others, have already flown back to the United States.

— Michael Cole had his Extreme Rules tag team partner, Jack Swagger, join him as a woman, who looked vaguely like the Queen of England, enter the ring and knight him on this week’s episode of Raw. The entire segment was cut from the encore telecast on Sky Sports in the UK, as well as most references to it.

This was not the only segment cut from the replay as R-Truth smoking a cigarette was also edited out.

— Donald Moore (a/k/a Dr. Cable Jones), who was released from his developmental contract with WWE in November, is considering resuming his wrestling career on the independent scene after undergoing major shoulder surgery. (Thanks to Don Tintle)

source: PWInsider.com

SESCOOPS will be doing LIVE COVERAGE of EXTREME RULES

Following Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings (set to air this Friday), here’s the updated card for Extreme Rules:

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
The Miz (c) vs. John Cena vs. R-Truth

Ladder Match for the Vacant World Heavyweight Title
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Tag Team Match
Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross vs. Michael Cole and Jack Swagger

– The Undertaker has been announced for the WrestleMania 27 Axxess event in Atlanta this year. Taker will be meeting fans and signing autographs on Saturday, April 2nd for VIP ticketholders.

Other stars who will be making VIP appearances include Edge, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and The Miz with Alex Riley.
like he’s going to get that opportunity.

– John Cena and Triple H will be starring in two new WWE Studios films, set to be released later this year. Blood Brothers starring John Cena and Inside Out starring Triple H are both scheduled to be released between September and November.

– Speaking of Triple H, he will be interviewed for an upcoming episode of VH1’s Rock Docs show that will profile Motorhead lead singer Lemmy. Triple H and Lemmy are longtime friends and as many know, Triple H’s theme music is performed by Motorhead.

– Part of the reason WWE had Jim Ross do the off-air segment with Jack Swagger at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings in Oklahoma was so that the crowd, Swagger’s home state crowd, wouldn’t boo Kofi Kingston in their match t hat followed the JR segment. The idea was to have Swagger put down Jim Ross, who they knew would get a big reaction.

–  The pre-sale code for the WWE Smackdown taping in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday 4/5 is WWESD. This will be the first Smackdown taping after Wrestlemania 27. (Credit: Devin Cutting)

– WWE newcomer Mason Ryan got some mainstream media publicity this week in the UK, with BBC covering his RAW debut from Monday night.

— As reported earlier, some Smackdown performers have been called to appear at tonight’s Raw and vice versa for this week since the two shows will air on consecutive days on the USA Network. Expect more brand crossover in the months going forward as according to current creative plans, the separation of brands will be on the back burner through WrestleMania. (source: f4wonline.com)

— Catalina White, a former WWE developmental talent, revealed on her Twitter account that she married Jack Swagger over the weekend.

— WWE returns to the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana on Mar. 5, 2011. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com Here are some highlights of what Jim Ross had to say about:

Helms’ Verbal Attack On Shawn Michaels: “I’m not getting involved in that matter nor am I commenting on it. You would be amazed at how many people have asked me my thoughts on this subject of which I have none.”

Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston: “Saw a short clip of Kofi-Swagger from Smackdown Friday Night. These two hungry, athletic young men have chemistry without question. Next to Lawler’s show stealing performance with Miz last Monday on Raw, IMO, once again, Swagger-Kofi was the best WWE, TV match on the air last week.”

MVP’s WWE Release: “MVP requested his WWE release to explore other options as I understand it. I personally like MVP and have always enjoyed our relationship. He’s a talented guy who has endured and overcome some major league challenges in his life. MVP’s life might make for a good movie as a matter of fact. I always preferred the antagonist MVP better than the fan favorite MVP but that’s merely a personal preference. The guy is a survivor and he will perceiver and be just fine. Being off the road during the holidays isn’t a bad thing and it gives him time to assess what he wants to do. We had some particularly fun conversations when Oklahoma had their home and home college football series with MVP’s fav team, ‘The U.’ ”

Visit JRsBarBQ.com for Jim Ross’ great line of BBQ products.

— Among those hugged by John Cena following the result of the WWE Championship Match at the Survivor Series was Michael Cole, which appears peculiar given the Raw announcer’s heelish persona. The two are close behind the scenes and was done to add realism to the storyline of Cena being fired from WWE.

— It was reported over the weekend that WWE axed the mascot character accompanying Jack Swagger ringside in recent weeks, the Swagger Soaring Eagle. The mascot’s fate will be revealed on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown.

— Tony Smith, a referee in Florida Championship Wrestling, worked this week’s set of WWE televised events.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

— According to sources within WWE, Triple H is expected to return to television “at any time.”

“The Game” has been sidelined since April, after he underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon. He was expected to return over the summer, but he suffered a torn biceps while shooting a film for WWE Studios.

— WWE has reportedly axed the mascot character accompanying Jack Swagger ringside in recent weeks, the Swagger Soaring Eagle. The mascot did not accompany Swagger for his match with Daniel Bryan last Monday on Raw.

— Twin WWE Divas Brie and Nikki Bella celebrate their birthday today. They turn 27 years old.

source: F4WOnline.com

— Stephanie McMahon appears in a new advertisement on behalf of her mother’s Linda Senate campaign, titled “When I Was Young.”

To view the video, click here.

— It was reported earlier that Chavo Guerrero is playing the role of Jack Swagger’s eagle mascot. Current creative plans call for the mascot’s identity to revealed on television. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Matches taking place on tonight’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows: Mark Henry vs. Jey Uso, Zack Ryder vs. Tyson Kidd, MVP vs. Curt Hawkins, and the advertised main event of Tyler Reks vs. Chris Masters.

— It has been confirmed that Chavo Guerrero is playing the role of Jack Swagger’s eagle mascot.

— Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.56 cable rating, with 570,000 viewers. The 1:00 a.m. replay drew a 0.14 cable rating, with 132,000 viewers.

— Chris Masters suffered a sizable black eye at the conclusion of his WWE Superstars tag team match with MVP against Drew McIntyre and “Dashing” Cody Rhodes.

source: PWInsider.com

— WWE Legends Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and Terry Funk were announced Thursday as playable characters for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011. Also announced for the game were Raw Superstars Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim.

— The cover art for World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming DVD set on Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, has been unveiled. To view the cover art, click here.

The two-disc set will be released on Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

— WWE is holding a SmackDown live event tonight in Monterrey, Mexico at Arena Monterrey. Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Jack Swagger are the top Superstars advertised for the event.

— WWE’s first DVD chronicling the unparalleled championship career of Chris Jericho’s is officially released today.

Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho features nineteen matches, a multitude of interviews, and a documentary chronicling his wrestling career from humble beginnings in Canada to superstardom in World Wrestling Entertainment.

For more information on this three-disc set, click here.

— This Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Jack Swagger will be appearing at the Express Credit Auto located at 1 SW 74 Oklahoma City, OK, 73139.

— MVP and Matt Striker will be appearing on MSNBC News Live today at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC, according to WWE.com. They will be discussing the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.

See MVP’s mug shot ->

source: PWInsider.com

— As seen this past Friday night on SmackDown, Jack Swagger’s “father” appeared. He was portrayed by Jimmy Golden, better known as former WCW performer Bunkhouse Buck. Golden competed in World Championship Wrestling from 1994 to 1997 and is a former WCW World Tag Team Champion, having won the title in 1995 alongside Dick Slater.

— WWE’s upcoming three-disc DVD set on Chris Jericho has been re-titled Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho. It is set for release on September 21. Meanwhile, the “Best of Smackdown 2010” DVD will be a three-disc set with a run time of approximately eight hours. It is set for release in October.

— Sheamus appeared at the Kansas City Royals game on Friday night. Appearing on the big screen, the WWE Champion cut a promo at the start of the Major League Baseball game promoting tonight’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view and appeared again at its conclusion.

— Regarding Rey Mysterio’s World Heavyweight Championship victory at last night’s Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, the title switch was done for a few reasons, reports www.f4wonline.com.

For starters, company officials were unhappy with Jack Swagger’s reign as Champion as he hadn’t gotten over to the degree they would have liked. It’s also being said that Mysterio has been unhappy the company as of late and this was management’s way of appeasing him. Additionally, plans for Mysterio to take a month long vacation were scrapped when Undertaker went down with multiple facial injuries, so giving him a title run persuaded him to stick around.

— The official WWE website has posted a feature counting down the top 25 Intercontinental Champions of all-time. “Macho Man” Randy Savage was deemed the greatest IC Champ of all-time as he is ranked No. 1 on the chart. He is trailed by Chris Jericho, Ultimate Warrior and Mr. Perfect.

— WWE returns to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on August 29th, 2010 at 5 p.m. Tickets go on sale June 26th, 2010 at 10 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Current creative plans call for Jack Swagger to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Undertaker at SummerSlam. A match between Triple H vs. Edge is also being talked about for WWE’s annual summer pay-per-view.

– Rey Mysterio is said to be unhappy with WWE after they prevented AAA from holding a Rey Misterio Jr., Cup this year. Mysterio asked WWE for permission, but turned him down, saying they don’t want him appearing on a AAA show even if it’s merely to present a trophy.

— NXT Rookie David Otunga is scheduled to work SmackDown house shows. Company officials feel he has star potential but want him to get more experience on the road since his wrestling isn’t close to ready.

WWE World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger recently spoke to Mike Mooneyham of South Carolina’s Post and Courrier newspaper. Here are some highlights of what Swagger said about:

Being World Champion: “It’s been unbelievable, it’s such an incredible honor. I don’t think it’s completely sunk in yet. This last month or so has been so surreal. I’ve tried to enjoy it a much as I can.”

His Current role: “Right now I think what you see is the respect I have for the championship. It’s the top of the game and there’s nothing bigger. I need to carry myself in such a way of a world champion because it is such an honor. Other than that I wouldn’t read too much into the character. I’m just portraying a champion.”

His Dream Feud: “A dual program with The Undertaker, who I think is the greatest wrestler ever, and Rey Mysterio. It would be Jack Swagger vs. Rey Mysterio vs. The Undertaker for the world heavyweight title. That would be great.”

Visit PostandCourrier.com to read the full interview.

Related: Pictures of Jack Swagger’s hot new wife, Catalina White

— As reported earlier, WWE SmackDown moving to the SyFy Channel this fall will spell the end of the company’s new NXT show on the cable network. While there was talk that the series was “canceled,” WWE is reportedly not ready to pull the plug yet and is currently seeking a new home for the show. According to sources, WWE has had preliminary discussions with the Bravo cable network, which is also part of the NBC Universal family (along with USA Network & SyFy.) There’s also the possibility of airing the show on WWE.com.

— With Friday Night Smackdown‘s planned move to Syfy this fall, sister station Universal HD will begin airing weekly replays alongside Raw and NXT on Saturday evenings.

— WWE World Heavyweight champion pulled double duty on Monday, wrestling on a SmackDown live event in Nottingham, England and then traveled  two and a half hours to London so he could appear in the final segment of WWE RAW, which was taped from London. (Source: PWTorh.com)

– As noted yesterday, Triple H missed the RAW live event on Wednesday in Austria. We’ve received word that The Game also missed last night’s show in Newcastle, England. He was advertised to wrestle John Cena in the main event, but Cena wound up facing Sheamus instead. No word yet on why Triple H has been missing shows this week.

– WWE’s new masked lucha libre superstar Dos Caras Jr. worked his second WWE event in Newcastle last night, losing again to  Christian. A few reports we read from the Austria show earlier in the week said Dos Caras and Christian had the match of the night.

– Bret Hart worked as the special ringside enforcer for the Edge vs. Jack Swagger match at last night’s show in Berlin. Bret first got involved in the match towards the end when Swagger put his feet on the ropes while pinning Edge. Swagger later was DQ’d after a low blow.

After the match, Swagger attacked Edge while Bret looked on. Swagger brought a chair in the ring but Bret stopped him from using it on Edge. Swagger kicked Bret in the gut and backed him in the corner before swinging the chair. Bret ducked the chairshot and Edge speared Swagger. Bret then put Swagger in the Sharpshooter and made him tap out. Edge cut a promo, putting Bret over and they embraced. Edge and Bret closed the show by greeting the fans at ringside.

— As a result of his World Heavyweight Championship victory on last week’s SmackDown, the official WWE website is listing Jack Swagger as a member of the SmackDown roster. On another note, Batista is still listed as a member of SmackDown despite solely appearing on Raw since winning the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber.

— WWE’s latest DVD project, Hart and Soul: The Hart Family Anthology, will be officially released on Tuesday. This three-disc set is packed with a revealing documentary tracing the Hart family history, as well as matches featuring all the members of the Hart family. Bret Hart, Owen Hart, “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, among others, are featured on the cover of the DVD. You can view its artwork here.

— A segment that aired on Friday’s SmackDown involving Jack Swagger backstage with Mickie James, Tony Atlas, Slam Master J and Shelton Benjamin was not the same as the one aired in the arena. The arena version featured James, Atlas and Slam Master J discussing Cryme Tyme splitting up, with Swagger wanting them to talk about him instead. Then as he walked by Shelton Benjamin, he said,” You still have a job here?” Furthemore, the original segment went longer than what was aired.

— Money in the Bank winner Jack Swagger was trending on Twitter in the New York City area while last night’s SmackDown taping was taking place.

— Shawn Michaels is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling, which you can view at www.pwi-online.com. The headline reads: “Heart-broken Kid.”

— WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts noted on his Twitter account yesterday that he did voice-over work for THQ’s upcoming WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 video game.

— In yesterday’s birthdays, SmackDown star Trent Barreta turned 23 years old while WWE producer Mike Rotunda turned 52.

— In an update on WWE’s plans for a television network, they are looking to launch it eighteen months from now. Furthermore, they are looking at original non-wrestling programming to air alongside the wrestling features.

A number of names have been suggested including The WWE Network, WWE S&E (for Sports & Entertainment), WWE 365, WWE.tv, WWE Net and WWE 24/7/365. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— WWE will be holding its third annual art exhibition tonight at the Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa Scottsdale showcasing various artistic works of WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends. Vince McMahon, Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler, among other others, are advertised to appear at the event.

— Today is Jack Swagger’s birthday as he turns 28 years old.

SmackDown *SPOILERS*

Thanks to reader Archie for these live spoilers from Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings:

Dark Match:

* Jimmy Wang defeats Tyler Reks with a moonsault in a good match. Reks cut a heel promo before the match.

SmackDown, Airing Friday:

* Chris Jericho comes out to start SmackDown and says he will win the Chamber. Edge comes out to a big pop. He talks about spearing Taker last week. Jericho tells Edge to pick the RAW Champion for WrestleMania for his own good. The lights flicker and Edge spears Jericho.

* Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler takes place until Drew McIntyre comes down in a suit. Dolph tries to take advantage but Kane chokeslams him for the win. Drew comes in and hits his finisher on Kane but Kane reverses it.

* Rey Mysterio cuts a promo backstage and says he will win the Elimination Chamber.

* John Morrison & R-Truth vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows is announced for tonight.

* Cryme Tyme defeated Trent Baretta and Caylon Croft in a good tag match.

* John Morrison is interviewed and says his ankle won’t make him miss the Chamber. Truth comes in and says he will win the Chamber but tonight, he and Morrison will beat Punk and Gallows.

* CM Punk and the Straight Edge Society come out. Punk cuts a promo and says he will win the belt at Elimination Chamber this Sunday. Tons of heat for Punk.

* Punk & Gallows vs. Morrison & Truth ends in a no contest. What looked like Undertaker’s pyro went off during the match, everything stopped but nothing happened. Match is restarted. Morrison was really playing up his ankle injury. The referee called for the bell when Morrison went to kick Punk but kicked the ring post and went down in pain. SES beats Morrison and Truth down until Rey Mysterio comes in for the save. They beat him down and pose in front of Rey to a ton of heat.

* Teddy Long is shown backstage. He says he will take action against Shawn Michaels for super kicking him on RAW. Mickie James comes in and Vickie Guerrero announces it will be Mickie vs. Michelle McCool next week with Vickie as the referee.

* Maria, Matt Hardy and The Great Khali vs. The Hart Dynasty is up next. The Dynasty gets the win when Natalya pins Maria. Maria walks up the ramp pissed off with Matt right behind her apologizing.

* Maria is shown backstage arguing with Matt Hardy about him letting their team down. Michelle McCool and Layla come in and make fun of them.

* Edge vs. Batista is next. No pyro for Batista, simple entrance but a big pop. Edge comes out to a big pop also. Batista stalls to start the match. Edge takes the mic and says John Cena was right about Batista. Finally they wrestle and it’s a good match. Edge spears Batista and Taker’s bell hits and he appears in the ring. Taker chokeslams Edge. Taker chases Batista off. Chris Jericho appears in the ring and hits the Codebreaker on Edge. Taker comes back out and stares down Jericho to end SmackDown after Jericho motions to the World Title.