— WWE.com has announced that Daniel Bryan will face World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry on this week’s episode of SmackDown.

The synopsis reads: “After nearly cashing in last week, Daniel Bryan will face Mark Henry this Friday on SmackDown. Can he survive another encounter with the World Heavyweight Champion?”

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall filmed a “shoot” interview last Saturday for RF Video where she discussed her career and what she witnessed backstage while working for WWE.

— Jimmy and Jey Uso discuss their new entrance theme, “So Close Now,” in an article published on WWE.com. David Dallas, the artist who performs The Usos’ new entrance theme, hails from New Zealand but is also of Samoan descent.

The Usos say, “It’s an honor. The Usos are young and rising WWE Superstars, like David Dallas who is a young rising rap artist. We both represent our heritage in two totally different ways.”

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall stated on Twitter that she was attacked by a cat on Monday night.

“Hands were gushing blood, swollen and hurt so bad,” she wrote. “Now am in the ER. Changing view on cats. 12 bites!”

She also posted images of her bloodied hands, and noted she was merely trying to pick up the cat.

— Melina has opened a store on eBay, which features autographed photos and outfits she wore in WWE.

She has also been added to the Frank & Son Collectible Show, which takes place December 17 at 16549 San Jose Ave Rowland Heights, California 91748 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Maria Kanellis and Traci Brooks are also scheduled to appear.

— Melina is returning to her roots as she has been announced for Wrestling All Star Pros’ upcoming tour of Mexico. The multi-time champion is of Mexican descent.

Other former WWE talent scheduled for the tour taking place Nov. 4-20 include Vladimir Kozlov, Chris Masters, Tommy Dreamer, Carlito, The Boogeyman, Super Crazy, Eugene, Trevor Murdoch, Jillian Hall, Serena, Mr. Aguila and referee Marty Elias.

Details on the tour are available here.

— “Future Legend” Melissa Anderson (a/k/a Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed) has launched a page on Facebook.

— David Hart Smith will be at the Big Time Wrestling events in Newark, California on Oct. 14, 2011 and Dec. 9, 2011.

— WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart stated in an interview with The Cardboard Connection that he is looking to write a follow-up to his memoir, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. However, he says it could “take years” for the book to come out. “I’m just waiting as my life continues to unfold,” Hart said.

Hart was also asked to name his favorite wrestling performers in the industry today and the first names out of his mouth were The Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki. “They’re getting better and better,” Hart said. “I like Daniel Bryan. I love his style. I love his incorporation of actual wrestling holds and submissions and his style. I’m a big fan of Cena. I’m a big fan of [Randy] Orton.”

The full interview can be accessed here.

— The Miami Herald reports that WWE will be hosting its WrestleMania XXVIII ticket kickoff party in early November in Miami, home to the 2012 version of the mega event. Further details were not disclosed.

— Former WWE stars Vladimir Kozlov and Jillian Hall have been announced for Legends of the Ring XIII, which takes place Saturday, October 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Monroe, New Jersey.

— Former WWE Diva Terri Runnels was accompanied by two large bodyguards for her appearance at Saturday’s sparsely attended K&S Wrestlefest event in Essington, Pennsylvania. It marks as her first public appearance since she filed a lawsuit against her former partner Jerome “New Jack” Young, accusing him of libel for what she calls a series of slurs he’s stated online about their sex life and her appetite for drugs and alcohol.

— WWE returns to the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 28, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall responded to comments regarding her shift in weight after appearing noticeably heavier at an independent wrestling show and autograph signing on Saturday.

“Yeah… I gained some weight! Forgive me for being pregnant then being depressed,” Hall wrote. “Guess I was right about not wanting to come back so quickly.”

Hall announced in March that she had suffered a miscarriage fourteen weeks into her pregnancy.

— Former women’s wrestling champion Madusa (a/k/a Debrah Miceli) wed her fiancée of six months this past Saturday in Memphis, Tennessee. She had the wedding broadcast online.

— Former WWE talent Maria Kanellis and Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) are advertised to appear at the Frank & Son Collectible Show in City of Industry, California on Saturday, August 27 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Visit www.frankandsonshow.com for more information.

— A fan on Twitter informed Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine of critical comments runner-up Luke Robinson made during a recent interview. Robinson stated last week that Leavine used pity to win the contest by saying he has children to take care of.

Leavine wrote to Robinson on Twitter, “All the BS aside its over now. You want to run your mouth? Remember if you make it here-I’m already in the locker room.”

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall participated in her first match since leaving WWE on June 18 at an independent show in Orlando, Florida. She reveals in an interview with Diva-Dirt.com that she was not completely ready to return to the squared circle and was nervous as a result.

“My nerves came from me not knowing if I was ready to be in a ring again,” Hall explains. “When I left WWE, there was a part of me that truly thought that chapter of my life was over. I had turned down many requests to do a match before taking the Orlando show because it just didn’t feel right and on top of that my body wasn’t and still isn’t 100%. You wouldn’t think it, but it was a very emotional day for me.”

She continued, “I was nervous up until the very moment I walked out that night. I wasn’t sure how the people would react to me. When I walked out and turned “Jillian” up, it felt very natural like I had done it yesterday. I was literally afraid I was going to throw up when I took my first bump, but that, also, was very natural. The crowd accepted me even though I wasn’t 100% and that’s something I really appreciated.”

The interview is available here.

— Saturday night in Orlando, Florida, former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall competed in her first match since parting ways with WWE last November.

Competing for Pro Wrestling Xtreme, Hall scored a victory over Santana Garrett (who appeared on TNA programming last year as part of Orlando Jordan’s entourage).

Prior to her match, Hall noted on Twitter that she was incredibly nervous. She wrote, “I’m super nervous to get back in the ring tonight. Plus, I’m sick!… Just made myself cry.. Gotta pull it together!!!”

— Former WWE star Shelly Martinez is featured in the comedy web series The Megan and Miley Show. The latest episode, entitled “Quiet Please”, has been posted online.

To view it, click here.

— ECW founder Tod Gordon celebrates his 56th birthday today.

— Former WWE star Jim Neidhart was arrested yesterday for driving without a license and for operating an unregistered vehicle after being pulled over at 1800 Orient Road in Tampa, Florida. He was released after paying a $750 surety bond.

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall returns to the ring for Family Wrestling Entertainment in Brooklyn, New York on May 14 at St. Finbar’s Gym. She will face TNA Knockout Winter in her return match. Tickets are on sale at fwewrestling.com. Eric Young will also be on hand for the event.

— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson” appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight on ABC.

— WWE is holding an event on November 11, 2011 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Tickets go on sale April 20, 2011.

source: PWInsider.com

— Former WWE Divas Torrie Wilson, Lilian Garcia and Candice Michelle hosted an online show this past Monday night discussing the second episode of Tough Enough as well as their time in the wrestling industry. The girls also interview Kevin Nash, who discussed Scott Hall’s health. To view the episode, here.

— Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall has been announced for Women Superstars Uncensored’s internet pay-per-view on June 25, her first wrestling appearance since parting ways with WWE. She is advertised to make a “major announcement.”

Regarding her return to the squared circle, Hall wrote on Twitter: “Apparently, I need to get myself back into ring shape for a couple of shows coming up…”

— Former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle will be appearing for GoDaddy and Danica Patrick this Sunday in California at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

— Jillian Hall, who has not wrestled since being released from her WWE contract on November 19, 2010, has announced plans to return to the squared circle.

The former WWE Divas Champion is accepting bookings for signings and wrestling appearances via jillian9hall@aol.com.

— Former WWE Divas Lilian Garcia and Candice Michelle hosted a Tough Enough aftershow this past Monday night discussing its premiere as well as their time in the wrestling industry. Both Tommy Dreamer and Torrie Wilson called in to the program. To view the episode, here. Torrie Wilson joins the program next week as a regular.

Next week’s episode will start at its normal time, 11:15 p.m. ET/ 8:15 p.m. PT, via ustream.tv/afterbuzztv.

— NBC has launched a WWE Tough Enough app via iTunes.

— Former WWE talent Sean “X-Pac” Waltman was taken to the emergency room last night at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York Saturday after landing his chest on a guard rail during a Pro Wrestling Syndicate event in Lake Ronkonkoma.

As Waltman was going through security at a nearby airport following the show, the wound, which had been glued shut, opened and blood started gushing out. An ambulance was called and he was rushed to the hospital. Waltman has since been released and was expected to fly home Sunday.

— Ashley Massaro, Maria Kanellis, Tiffany and Katie Lea kick off the “DivaMania Tour” on Saturday, March 19 at Starters Riverport 17 West 2nd St. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The autograph signing takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. The former WWE Divas will then host a party at Starters beginning at 11:30 p.m. For more information call 610-625-2300. Admission to each event is $10.

Jillian Hall was due to appear at the event, but canceled after announcing her pregnancy. She has since been replaced by Ashley Massaro, who will be making her first wrestling related appearance since 2009.

source: f4wonline.com

The Miami Herald recently conducted an interview with Jillian Hall and the former Divas Champion noted her unhappiness towards the end of her tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment, which concluded in November.

“I wasn’t really happy with what I was doing with the company for a while,” Hall said. “I just reached a point where I felt it was time to move on and see what else is out there for me to do.”

Hall also indicated that she is not sure she would return to the organization should the opportunity present itself.

“I don’t know that I really want to go back,” Hall said. “I love the company and the people in it. I just think that part of my life is over. I’m saying that now, but it can change a month from now. Who knows?

“Right now I’m so up in the air whether I want to continue wrestling or pursue other avenues. There is a part of me that definitely wants to wrestle again. There is another part of me that hurts and says, ‘Don’t do it anymore. Give your body a rest.’

She also discussed plans to reunite with former colleagues Maria Kanellis and Taryn Terrell (a/k/a Tiffany) for the 2011 DivaMania Tour, with appearances at various clubs around the world. Terrell and Scott Celebrity Management president Andrew Scott concocted the idea, which Hall found interesting.

“I thought that for one, it’s not going to hurt my body,” Hall said. “For two, it will give me the opportunity to meet fans and enjoy myself with some friends. I plan on having a lot of fun with the girls.”

— Maria Kanellis announced on her Twitter account that she, Jillian Hall and Taryn “Tiffany” Terrell will be doing a tour across the world in 2011 called Divamania. Details, however, have yet to be disclosed.

— WWE will tape the 600th episode of SmackDown on Feb. 15, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.

— The WWE SmackDown taping on Mar. 22, 2011 will be held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Tickets go on sale Jan. 15, 2011.

— Former WWE Diva Jillian Hall confronted speculation that she has undergone plastic surgery during an interview earlier this week with Diva-Dirt.com. She claimed that she has only had work done to her breasts and hair.

The former WWE Divas Champion also noted that she’s taking a few months off before she decides her future in the wrestling industry.

— Next year’s WWE Hall Of Fame Ceremony will take place on Apr. 2 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Ticket information is expected to be released soon.

— WWE has launched a Tribute to the Troops account on Twitter.

Former WWE Diva, Jillian Hall joins Diva Dirt for her first post-WWE interview today. We spoke to Jillian about her release, the story behind her requesting her release, working as a trainer in FCW and much more. We discuss Jillian’s career from the independents to OVW, to SmackDown and Raw, including her thoughts on working with JBL, Melina and others. Jillian talks about her singing gimmick and why she wanted to drop it to be taken more seriously. She also discusses her infamous 5-minute long Divas Championship reign last year.

The interview can be downloaded/streamed here:

On requesting her release & unhappiness in WWE: “I asked for my release back in the beginning of September. I’d been thinking about it around the time of SummerSlam and the beginning of September, I decided to ask for my release. I had a talk with my boss [John Laurinaitis] and he told me that he didn’t really want to release me at the time. You know, me and John get along. I have no problem with the company, WWE was awesome to me. They were there for me through everything for a long time. They hired me when I was pretty much nothing and they kept me around. They never fired me; I saw a lot of people come & go but they kept me and I love them for that. I just wasn’t happy with where I was at the time so I did ask for myself.”

How she became a trainer in FCW & her eventual release: “He [John Laurinaitis] was going around finding other areas where I might be happy and one of the things that came up was maybe you could train the Divas in FCW since you live in Florida. I said, ‘I’m open to that’. I’m tired of traveling. I’d traveled for a long time. I wanted to sleep in my own bed for a week straight without having to leave for a little while. He said, ‘You’d only have to do a couple of days a week’ and I was fine with that. So we talked about it for a couple of weeks and I started doing that for a couple of months for a couple of months and then they came to terms with the actual release.”

— Kaval noted on Twitter that he underwent an MRI on his left ankle today.

He wrote, “Thanks to all for the best wishes. Left ankle MRI today, awaiting results. Stay tuned.”

— Several other WWE stars are said to be working through injuries. One wrestler noted that a lot of guys need time off, and there isn’t a Christmas break as in years to past to rest. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Former WWE Diva Jillian Hall confirmed on Twitter that she has opened a Facebook account. Her page can be accessed here. The account notes that she is ‘considering’ accepting independent bookings via jillianhalluv2@yahoo.com.

— Jillian Hall revealed last night on her Twitter account that she asked to be released from World Wrestling Entertainment a few times before it ultimately occurred.

“Many don’t know the truth about my release, but the truth is I asked for my release a couple times before I actually was officially released,” she wrote. “No hard feelings towards WWE. This is just where I am in my life right now.”

— Kaitlyn appeared in a backstage segment with Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler on last night’s episode of SmackDown and revealed that SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long had signed her to the brand following her victory of NXT.

She is now listed as a SmackDown Superstar on WWE.com.

— This week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.52 cable rating, with 472,000 viewers. The replay did a 0.15 rating, with 137,000 viewers. (source: PWInsider.com)

— Bobby Heenan is reportedly in very poor health at a Florida hospital.

Lanny Poffo, brother of Randy Savage, said on the Who’s Slamming Who podcast this week that he heard from a friend that the WWE Hall of Famer “might be on his last legs.”

The wrestler formerly known as The Genius said Heenan has been “in and out of a coma” in a Tampa area hospital and is “not aware of anything.”

Heenan has been in poor health in recent years due to surgery on his throat and reconstructive jaw surgery.

This is obviously terrible news. We wish Bobby a quick and full recovery.

— There was much second-guessing among those in WWE regarding the content of pay-per-view events compared to television programming. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— The WWE website has added Jake “The Snake” Roberts and The Gobbledy Gooker to its Alumni section. Of talent released last Friday, Jillian and Tiffany were added to the page.

— World Wrestling Entertainment dismissed two to four creative team writers last week, in addition to Christopher DeJoseph, according to pwinsider.com. Their names have yet to be disclosed.

The writers were reportedly cut loose because company officials were displeased with the results of the last financial quarterly report and felt it would be in their best interest to acquire new writers with fresh ideas.

WWE has been actively scouting potential writers in recent months.

— WWE removed the profiles of those released Friday from the company website Monday. Those removed were Tiffany, Jillian Hall, Luke Gallows, Shad Gaspard, Vance Archer and Caylen Croft. Referee Aaron “Goose” Mahoney, however, was not removed.

— Greg Sansone from The Score appeared on the November 19 edition of Right After Wrestling and revealed that he was told that there will be a fourth season of NXT, featuring male wrestlers, beginning in early December. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

— Tiffany issued an additional statement on being released today by World Wrestling Entertainment.

“I am sad that I won’t be able to work with Drew (McIntyre). He is the best thing in my life and I know he is going to do amazing things with WWE,” she wrote on Twitter. “WWE is still a major part of my family and will always be. I am so proud of my husband and will be his biggest cheerleader. If it wasn’t for WWE, we would have never met. I love you Drew. Thanks for being my rock.”

— Jillian Hall, who was released today by WWE, commented on her termination on Twitter.

“I am doing very well and I’m in a great place in life! I have a lot to say, but there’s no room here, lol,” she wrote. “Thank you so much for your support.”

World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed this afternoon that the organization has come to terms on the release of the following superstars and divas:

• Shad Gaspard
• Luke Gallows
• Vance Archer
• Caylen Croft
• Tiffany
• Jillian

In typical fashion, WWE wished each them the best in all future endeavors.

After checking with a WWE source – we can confirm that even more releases are expected either today or in the very near future.

WWE recently released 7 wrestlers from developmental contracts and a long-time WWE is also gone .. You can read more on those stories below:

• WWE Releases 7 Developmental Talents
• Creative Writer Parts Ways With WWE

— Jillian Hall announced on her Twitter account Saturday that she is taking a break from World Wrestling Entertainment airwaves to work as a trainer for the company’s up-and-coming female talent.

“Taking a break to sharing my knowledge with the younger ladies,” she wrote. “Hoping to guide them in the right direction…Just wanna put rumors to rest.”

It was reported last week that WWE officials had decided to remove Hall from the main roster and assign her a trainer role within the organization.

— Kofi Kingston, who was featured on numerous commercial advertisements promoting the debut of SmackDown of Syfy, was noticeably absent from Friday’s show. The Ghanaian grappler was actually on hand for the event as he took part in a dark match before the live broadcast, defeating Tyler Reks. (source: PWInsider.com)

— Viewers can catch replays of WWE SmackDown on mun2 every Saturday night at 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. The program can also been seen in high-definition on Universal HD at 9:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.

— There have been rumors as of late regarding Jillian Hall’s future with World Wrestling Entertainment. While her standing with the organization remains fine, plans are being made to retire her on-air character, reports PWInsider.com. She would be removed from the main roster and subsequently work as a trainer for WWE’s female developmental talent in Tampa, Florida.

No word yet on when the move will occur, but it is the company’s plan.

— Tyler Black worked his final independent date this past Saturday in Chicago, Illinois, teaming with Jimmy Jacobs. The former ROH World Champion is living in Tampa, Florida and has been working out at WWE’s developmental promotion in the area. He will now be working exclusively for the company.

— Wade Barrett and David Otunga were the sole members of Nexus to work Raw’s recent tour overseas. Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Michael Tarver stayed in the United States to work SmackDown live events.