– The final roster for WWE 2K14 will be revealed tonight on WWE RAW. As of this writing, there are still 13 mystery characters that have not been announced yet.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler returned to the ring over the weekend at Northeast Wrestling’s “Under The Stars II” event from Fishkill, New York. Lawler defeated former WWE announcer Matt Striker.
The storyline for the match was that Matt Striker was trying to hit Lawler with a heart punch, in hopes of debilitating him and taking his job on WWE television.
– Check out the following Total Divas bonus clip, with Natalya preparing Eva Marie for her WWE debut:
Eva Marie looks to Natalya for encouragement in this “Total Divas” mid-season finale bonus clip.
The following are highlights from a recent interview with both Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jim Ross:
Jerry Lawler on if he will ever wrestle on a full-time basis following his heart attack: “I don’t wrestle on a full-time schedule anymore, but I still enjoy getting back in there. It’s exercise and it’s fun. I’ve enjoyed doing this my entire career. If I can do it once or twice a week, it’s cool for me. It’s just getting back on the horse again. I don’t worry about it. I don’t sit around and wonder if it’s going to be the same thing that‘s going to happen to me again. I don’t think anything different about it.”
Jim Ross on leaving WWE and pursuing other opportunities: “I’ll be doing just normal type stuff now. After going on the road for a few years, and I loved it, I lived my dream and that’s the greatest thing in the world. But I’m short of the 40-year mark in the business and it made sense to slow down a bit. I’m healthy and there’s other things I’d like to try. It’s a good time to be JR. I’m really happy with the way things worked out.”
Check out the complete interview with Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross online at PoughkeepsieJournal.com.
-Recently “retired” WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross noted on Twitter that he is currently finishing up two WWE-related projects. JR wrote:
Finished @toppscards project for @WWE…2days of writing my thoughts on a great array of talents including some first timers.
-Speaking of JR, he also posted this tweet about reuniting with former WWE RAW broadcast partner Jerry “The King” Lawler this Saturday at the Northeast Wrestling show:
Excited to be heading to Fishkill, NY 4 Sat’s Wrestling under the Stars @ Dutchess Std. JR & @JerryLawler signing @ 4pm. @newwrestling1
-And one one final Twitter note, WWE recently teased a big WWE Studios announcement via social media on Friday. That announcement is that WWE Studios will be hosting a Q&A panel for two upcoming films at the New York Comic Con in October. The Q&A panel will be for “See No Evil 2,” which stars WWE Superstar Kane, as well as the new film “Leprechaun: Origins,” which features WWE Superstar Hornswoggle.
The event is scheduled for Sunday, October 13th at the Javits Center in New York City. For more information, visit Facebook.com.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross will be reuniting with his former on-air broadcasting partner, Jerry “The King” Lawler, this Saturday at NEW’s Under The Stars 2 in Fishkill, New York. For more information, visit NortheastWrestling.com.
-Former WWE Superstar Lex Luger was recently interviewed by the Christian Broadcast Network. Fans interested in checking out that interview can do so online at CBN.com.
-The Canadian Dad blog recently interviewed WWE Superstar Damien Sandow. Fans interested in checking out that interview can do so below:
-WWE Hall Of Famer and former WWE broadcaster Jim Ross will be a special guest on Ariel Helwani’s “MMA Hour” show at MMAFighting.com today. The official description for JR’s appearance on the show reads as follows: Legendary pro wrestling broadcaster Jim Ross will discuss his departure from WWE and aspirations to work in the MMA world.
-Speaking of JR, as noted previously, he will be a guest once again on the Steve Austin Show this week. The interview was taped last week, and is expected to air online this Thursday. Tuesday’s edition of the “Steve Austin Show” will likely be part two of the Jerry Lawler interview. You can check out past editions of the Steve Austin Show online at PodcastOne.com.
-Also on Helwani’s “MMA Hour” today will be WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. The official description for Piper’s appearance reads: Pro wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will discuss his connection to Ronda Rousey, his MMA fighter son, his thoughts on the sport and his part in the “Klondike Celebrity Challenge.”
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is the special guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show,” which was posted online today. Lawler’s appearance is a two-part interview, with part one available right now online at PodcastOne.com.
-Speaking of WWE Divas, both Layla and Alicia Fox will be appearing on The Food Network program, “Cupcake Wars” on Saturday, September 21st at 8:00pm ET. The two Divas will serve as guest judges of a cupcake contest where the winners get to go to the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
-WWE Hall Of Famer, and one-half of the infamous Road Warriors, Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis celebrates his 53rd birthday today. Laurinaitis was born on September 12, 1960.
One year ago today (September 10th), WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler experienced a near-fatal cardiac arrest live on Monday Night RAW.
It was widely reported that Lawler had suffered a heart attack, but he clarified in an interview last spring that he went through Sudden Cardiac Arrest, which according to the Mayo Clinic, “usually results from an electrical disturbance in your heart that disrupts its pumping action, stopping blood flow to the rest of your body.”
Lawler remarked on the one year anniversary of the occasion this morning via Twitter. He wrote,
“Thanks for all the thoughts & prayers from everyone about cardiac arrest 1 year ago today…thank God & Doc Sampson everything is fine now!”
According to one source, multiple WWE Superstars had their luggage lost during their flight to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for Monday’s live edition of WWE RAW.
This was evident on the actual show this week, as WWE RAW commentator and Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was wearing a green WWE t-shirt, instead of his usual “King” gear, as the airlines lost his luggage.
There is no word on who else was a victim of their luggage being lost on the flight, other than it was multiple Superstars within the company.
-The official Variety website has a story up on their website today focusing on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson vs. Vin Diesel in Hollywood. You can check that out online at Movies.Yahoo.com.
-The E! channel will be running a marathon today featuring every past episode, except the series premiere, of WWE Total Divas.
-As reported previously, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will continue his in-ring return tour this Friday, as he wrestles current TNA Impact Wrestling star and founder Jeff Jarrett. Lawler posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account regarding the event:
“This Friday night, Resorts Casino, Tunica, MS. Memphis wrestling legends in action!!!”
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was spotted at a screening of the original “King Kong” movie in his hometown of Memphis, TN. this past Friday.
Speaking of Lawler, he wrestled his first singles match since suffering a heart attack live on RAW last year. Lawler worked against Mike Rapada in Covington, TN. at the Crestview Middle School on Saturday evening.
-The following is the official preview for tonight’s edition of Total Divas:
“Nikki’s wrestling career is in jeopardy when she suffers an injury. Eva does a photo shoot for Maxim while JoJo becomes jealous. Ariane is nervous when Vincent starts talking about marriage.”
-The pre-sale for this year’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view is currently ongoing, and will run through September 6th. The pre-sale password for tickets is: SURVIVOR.
-As previously reported, Jerry “The King” Lawler was going to wrestle Memphis Wrestling legend Austin Idol in his singles comeback match at the Memphis reunion show being put together by Lawler’s son, Brian Christopher. Lawler will instead face Jeff Jarrett in the main event of the show, which will also feature Rikishi, Koko B. Ware, The Rock N’ Roll Express, Doug Gilbert, Jimmy Valiant, Bill Dundee, The Spellbinder, Reggie B. Fine and others.
-Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling (BCW) promotion announced plans for a special 20th anniversary show on October 19th at St. Claire College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada with “The Outsiders” Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, as well as former TNA stars Petey Williams, Angelina Love, Rhino, Cody Deaner, Johnny Swinger and Tyson Dux.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will be the next guest on the “Steve Austin Show” podcast. The latest edition of the show, which features Shane “Hurricane” Helms and was released today, can be accessed online at PodcastOne.com.
-WWE Superstar William Regal will be holding “An Audience With A Wrestling Villain 2” on Monday, November 11th at The Frog & Bucket Comedy Club on Oldham Street in Manchester at 11:00PM. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ErosComedy.
-30 Rock star Judah Friedlander has signed on to pen the introduction to the Headlocked comic book, which features contributions from pro wrestling stars such as Jerry “The King” Lawler, Rob Van Dam, Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Ken Anderson, Christopher Daniels, Beth Phoenix and others. For more information, visit Kickstarter.com.
-The latest edition of the TNA Impact Wrestling podcast is now available online. The podcast, which is hosted by Jeremy Borash and Christy Hemme, features special guest Eric Young this week. Additionally, the teaser for the podcast notes that Howard Stern responded to TNA wrestler Bobby Roode’s recent remarks. Check it out online at iTunes.com.
-As noted previously, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has booked himself in a match on the one-year anniversary of his heart attack on WWE RAW. Before he works that match, however, Lawler is scheduled to wrestle Mike Rapada on September 7th in Covington, Tennessee.
-WWE Hall Of Famer and RAW announcer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently announced that he will be returning to the ring for a singles match on Friday, September 13th. The 9/13 match for Lawler will mark the one-year anniversary of his on-air heart attack last year live on RAW. Lawler will wrestle Austin Idol at the Resorts Casino in Tunica, MS.
-WWE’s official website covered the Bill Goldberg spear of the Mami Marlins pitcher on Saturday. You can read their story online at WWE.com.
-There is a new interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler talking about the grand opening of his new museum in Tunisa, MS. Lawler also talks about Ben Affleck being cast as the new Batman. Lawler is a major DC Comics fan, and even owns an actual Batmobile. Check out the interview online at MemphisReport.com.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Terry Funk has opened a new official online store. Fans can purchase Funk t-shirts and other merchandise at RealTerryFunk.com.
-Former WWE Superstar Bill Goldberg has been announced as the first headline attraction for the WrestleCon event in New Orleans. Goldberg will appear for an autograph session and public Q&A with fans on Saturday, April 5th. For more information, visit WrestleCon.com.
-The Associated Press picked up the story of WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler re-opening his museum at the new location in Tunica, Miss. You can read the story online at GulfLive.com.
-WWE is returning for the first time in over three years to the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida for a WWE SmackDown television taping on October 29th. Advertised to appear is Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, Big Show, The Shield, Dolph Ziggler and Christian. For more information, visit WTSP.com.
-WWE finally posted the new episode of “The JBL & Cole Show” on their official YouTube channel. This week’s edition of the show features the back-story to the shaving of Cody Rhodes’ mustache. Check it out below:
-The grand opening of the Jerry Lawler Museum at the new location in the Resorts Casino Tunica in Tunica, MS will take place on Saturday, August 24th at 2pm. Lawler will be appearing to sign autographs for two hours in honor of the opening.
-WWE has added TNA Impact Wrestling ring announcer Christy Hemme to their WWE Alumni page on WWE.com.
-Yahoo! has an article up covering the return of Maria Menounos to the ring at the SummerSlam Axxess event on Sunday. As noted, Menounos will team with Natalya to take on the duo of Brie Bella and Eva Marie. You can check out the story online at Yahoo.com.
-Another Dolph Ziggler interview, this time with the folks from 4th and Pain, can be heard below.
-The official preview for episode four of WWE Total Divas, which airs head-to-head against the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view this Sunday, reads:
“Nikki becomes self-conscious about her weight. Ariane considers getting breast implants. Natalya tells her fiancé that she would like more romance.”
-The official website of WWE has an interested piece up on the site today focusing on the old Hulk Hogan’s Rock N’ Wrestling animated series. The article features comments from Jimmy Hart, actor Brad Garrett (who voiced Hogan for the cartoon) and Andy Heyward, the head of DIC Entertainment. You can read the full article online at WWE.com.
-The Memphis Flyer website has a piece up on their website today talking about Jerry “The King” Lawler’s involvement in the Headlocked! comic book series. You can read that story online at MemphisFlyer.com.
-WWE will be running live events in Syracuse, New York on October 4th, and Rochester, New York on October 5th. Tickets will officially go on sale this Saturday, August 17th.
Longtime Memphis pro wrestling announcer and promoter, Corey Maclin, died in an auto accident that took place at 11pm E.T. on Tuesday night in Panola County, Mississippi.
Maclin worked alongside the legendary Lance Russell for a long period of time, and even co-promoted events with WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler in the local Memphis area.
Maclin was 43 years of age, and married with six children at the time of his passing.
-Former WWE Diva Beth Phoenix, current TNA Impact Wrestling star Mr. Anderson, as well as WWE Hall Of Famer and current weekly RAW color-commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler are all involved in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new comic book project titled, “Headlocked: The Last Territory.”
The official Kickstarter page for the project lists the following synopsis:
What is Headlocked?
In one sentence, it’s a wrestling cable drama in a comic book!
Headlocked is a coming-of-age story chronicling a college theater major’s quest to become a professional wrestler. It begins from the moment he unexpectedly falls in love with wrestling and follows his journey through the insanity of the wrestling business as he chases his dream of making it to the bright lights and the big stage of the WFW.
On a deeper level, Headlocked is an examination of wrestling as an art form. Our main character, Mike Hartmann, is a college theater major that drops out of school to try and break into the wrestling business. So the reader will learn more about the craft of wrestling through the eyes of a performance artist.
To further our theme of wrestling as art, we use wrestlers to contribute to the book artistically. Our interior artist, Michel Mulipola, is a wrestler from New Zealand. And our cover artist, you might have heard of him….
WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler!
If you read further, you’ll see we have a metric ton of awesome guest contributors from the world of comics and wrestling lined up to help make this even better!
Check out the official Kickstarter page for more information on the comic book and to donate to the project.
-A fan recently asked former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho for his thoughts on the current number one contender to the WWE Championship, Daniel Bryan, on his official Twitter page (@IAmJericho). Jericho’s response was simple, but encouraging. “Amazing,” exclaimed Jericho. “Next WWE champ.”
Daniel Bryan challenges John Cena for the WWE Championship at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view on Sunday, August 18th.
– The dark main event that took place after Wednesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Corpus Christi, Texas (SPOILERS) saw Dolph Ziggler defeat Big E Langston by pinfall. Ziggler and Langston are rumored to be squaring off at SummerSlam.
– WWE returns to Corpus Christi on Thursday, December 19th for the final SmackDown TV taping before WWE’s Christmas break.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler is getting back in the ring once again to wrestle his first singles match since suffering a heart attack last year on RAW. Lawler will be wrestling former WWE announcer Matt Striker on September 21st for Northeast Wrestling. The show takes place at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York.
Also on the show, the Outsiders will reunite (sort of), as Kevin Nash teams with Scott Hall’s son Cody, with Scott in their corner. Also appearing on the show are Jim Ross, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, John Morrison and The Godfather.
-Former WWE Superstar Percy Watson was recently interviewed where he talked about, among other subjects, his release from WWE. You can check out that interview online at AlwaysAList.com.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will be throwing out the first pitch at the upcoming Gateway Grizzlies vs. Rockford Aviators baseball game on August 9th. Also attending the game will be WWE Hall Of Famers Harley Race and Rocky Johnson, as well as Baron Von Raschke, Ken Patera and Larry Matysik.
-Speaking of Lawler, as we exclusively reported earlier, “The King” was said to be the butt of many jokes at RAW on Monday for needing a flight to make it to the show on time after driving in the wrong direction for several hours. The mockery has made its’ way to Twitter now, as Lawler’s broadcast partner Michael Cole took a shot at “The King” in a recent tweet. Cole wrote:
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler returns to the ring this weekend for the first time since suffering a heart attack on Monday Night RAW last year. Lawler has been medically cleared to compete, and will be participating in an 8-person inter-gender tag team match at the !BANG! TV Sound Stage in Ocala, Florida.
Here are the participants for the match:
Jerry “The King” Lawler, Dory Funk Jr., Johnny Magnum and Jessica Power-House Hill vs. Cory “Wild” Weston, Quinton “Drop-Back” Hitchcock, Romero Youngblood and Hollywood Heather
Lawler spoke to Ocala.com said this about his decision to get back in the ring:
“[My doctor] said everything looked great, that I was good to go,” said Lawler. “I asked if I can go back to doing what I’ve always done, and he said it wouldn’t be a problem, that it actually should be good because it will be cardio work, which is good for me. Anything to get my heart rate up. I asked if taking a body slam would be an issue. He said nothing like that would affect my heart.”
Lawler revealed that he is still dealing with a memory loss issues stemming from the heart attack – and it should show everybody that even somebody that never used drugs, smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol that you can still have a fatal heart attack.
– WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter will be appearing at an MDA fundraiser today in Charlotte, N.C. today.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler tweeted the following apology after suggesting that Triple H might have suffered a stroke during his match with Curis Axel on RAW:
– Here’s the latest installment of WWE Backstage Fallout, featuring WWE superstars reacting to Paul Heyman announcing Curtis Axel as his newest client: