– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was backstage at last night’s RAW from Corpus Christi, Texas. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted last week that Vince had missed two weeks of WWE TV tapings and wasn’t scheduled back until after SummerSlam.
– NXT and Cruiserweight Classic competitor Kota Ibushi plans to continue working with WWE, but recently revealed that he refused to sign a full-time deal that was offered to him. Courtesy of Japanese wrestling site Enuhito.com, Ibushi said [translated], “I refused to sign the full time deal with WWE. But I think I may keep wrestling in WWE.” He added that he plans to continue wrestling in Japan and already has some matches booked.
– Indian hip-hop duo Kru172 announced on Twitter that they created Jinder Mahal’s new theme song heard last night on RAW.
So excited to announce that we've performed the entrance music for @JinderMahal! Thanks @WWE for the opportunity #MondayNightRaw
– Last night on RAW, Tom Phillips conducted a backstage interview with Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. New Day member Big E, who is currently out of action nursing a contused groin, made this spot-on observation about Young Boy Tom:
Tom is the kind of man you'd let date your daughter but regret it when you found him gargling your toilet water. #WorryAboutYourOwnNuts
Meanwhile, WWE posted this photo of Phillips interviewing the Canadian duo, confirming the #Tomspiracy that Phillips does in fact crouch to appear shorter than the wrestlers.
– Jinder Mahal is already working WWE Superstars. He faced Jack Swagger at last night’s pre-RAW tapings in Anaheim. The other match taped saw Sami Zayn face Curtis Axel.
– Jonathan Coachman will interview RAW guest star Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs on Wednesday’s “Off The Top Rope” segment on SportsCenter. Coach tweeted on the interview:
We have a very special guest this week. Diddy will be our guest on Off the Top Rope. We will ask why he hosted Raw https://t.co/6V8207qAzx
– WWE has not announced their official preview for tonight’s SmackDown but we know that Rhyno vs. Heath Slater will take place. WWE tweeted this teaser for tonight’s show from the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, CA. We will have live coverage later.
Former 3MB member Jinder Mahal made his WWE return on Monday’s RAW from Atlanta. While he returned to form 2MB with Heath Slater, RAW GM Mick Foley announced that just one roster spot was available and it would be decided by a match between the two.
Mahal turned on Slater and quickly won the match, earning the roster spot.
After RAW, he spoke about his return to the company:
– In addition to the Booty O’s cereal that was announced at this week’s San Diego Comic Con event, Kofi Kingston revealed on Twitter that The New Day will also be getting their very own Funko Pop vinyl pop toys. They’ll be released for the holidays and will be available exclusively at Toys R Us.
– Former SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long appeared on Steve Gerweck’s podcast this week and revealed that Shelton Benjamin and MVP have both signed with WWE and will be returning soon. Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that former 3MB member Jinder Mahal is also in talks with the company.
– John Cena granted his latest Make-A-Wish prior to Monday’s RAW from Worcester, MA. Here’s is a photo of Juan and his family, who traveled from Texas to meet him:
The crew at WrestlingDVDNetwork.com continued their week of match reveals for the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-Ray set today by announcing that these three will be included:
NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
Former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal spoke to Slam Wrestling this week and says he was caught off guard when WWE told him he was being released.
“I was surprised, because we were pretty well booked on everything. We were on a lot of the live events, a lot of the overseas tours. We were always on Raw and Smackdown, and if we weren’t, we would do Superstars or Main Event in the week. So yeah, I was surprised.”
Despite the career setback, Mahal plans to continue wrestling and will be using the ring name he used in Calgary prior to signing with WWE, Raj Singh. Fans who miss 3MB can still see two of them together, since Mahal and Drew McIntyre are taking bookings together.
“I want to keep wrestling. I’m still young and I would like to go back to WWE someday and accomplish things that I never got to do, work with people that I never got to work with.”
“Me and Drew are taking bookings together. Yeah, there is a lot of interest because we’re fresh off TV, and we were tag teaming on TV, and we spent a fair amount of TV time together. There’s no limit. We want to wrestle everywhere, all over the world. We’re excited, both young and hungry. We both want to work our tails off and some day, one day, get back to the WWE.”
Mahal says he’s looking forward to showing fans a side of himself he wasn’t able to display in WWE and is open to wrestling for Ring of Honor or New Japan Pro Wrestling.
WWE has added Brodus Clay, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Jinder Mahal, Yoshi Tatsu, Theodore Long, JTG and Camacho to their “Alumni” section of WWE.com today following their release from the company.
Speaking of today’s releases, Yoshi Tatsu commented on his official Twitter account about his release from WWE today. Tatsu tweeted the following:
"I want to say thank you to @WWE & #WWEUniverse & #YoshiArmy for these 6 years. It's been an amazing experience.
Some details have come to light on today’s WWE releases, which included Brodus Clay, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Jinder Mahal, Yoshi Tatsu, Theodore Long, JTG, Camacho and referee Marc Harris.
Word is that Mark Carrano, who has been featured on Total Divas and works in Talent Relations under Triple H, is the person who made not, if not all, of the WWE releases today by phone. There is a lot of talk among people in WWE that the cuts are not done and that there will be more releases on the administrative side of the company as well, possibly as soon as tomorrow. It’s said that the success, or lack thereof, of the WWE Network is what is causing the talent cuts and the potential office cuts.
Regarding Tatsu’s release, it’s being said that there’s been a feeling for some time within the company that he had really regressed in the ring.
As far as Clay is concerned, there are reports that claim he “fell out of favor” with WWE creative.
In terms of the Teddy Long release, his contract actually expired, and it was well known within WWE that he would be leaving the company as an active performer soon.
Out of all of the releases, the general consensus within those actually in WWE is that Camacho and Hawkins were the two most surprising releases, as Camacho was very popular within NXT circles and Hawkins still had several years remaining on his existing deal.
We reported earlier today that WWE released ten different talents from the active roster. Those names included Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Theodore Long, Camacho, Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu and referee Marc Harris.
The official WWE website has updated their list, with JTG being the latest to get the “best wishes in his future endeavors.”
Former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal, who was officially let go from the company earlier today, posted the following comments on his official Twitter account regarding his release:
Thanks to @WWE for the amazing opportunity. Got a chance to see the world and do many amazing things. Excited to see what the future brings.
WWE.com has announced the release of 10 talents today:
Aksana
Jinder Mahal
Drew McIntyre
Brodus Clay
Evan Bourne
JTG
Yoshi Tatsu
Curt Hawkins
Teddy Long
Camacho
Marc Harris (referee)
– Aksana, a former bodybuilder, fitness model and personal trainer signed with WWE developmental back in 2009. She was part of the third season of WWE NXT and has been on the main roster since August 2011.
– Jinder Mahal signed with WWE developmental back in 2010 and made his main roster debut in April 2011. He was part of the 3MB stable.
– Drew McIntyre was signed to WWE developmental and trained with Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. He made his main roster debut in 2009 and was hand picked by Vince McMahon as his “Chosen One.” A former Intercontinental Champion, McIntyre would later join the now-disbanded 3MB stable.
– Brodus Clay originally signed with WWE back in 2006 and trained at the Deep South Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territories before being released in February 2008. He was re-signed in January 2010 and trained at Florida Championship Wrestling before becoming a contestant on NXT Season 4. He made his debut as the “Funkasaurus” back in 2012 and later teamed with Tensai (later known as Sweet T) as part of the Tons of Funk tag team.
– Evan Bourne was signed to a developmental deal back in 2007 and competed at Ohio Valley Wrestling through 2008, when he was brought up to the main roster. He would later capture the WWE Tag Team Titles with Kofi Kingston as part of the Air Boom tag team. In March 2012, he was involved in a car accident which broke his foot in four places and dislocated it in five. He never returned to WWE television, despite telling fans on Twitter that he’s been healthy and ready to return, as soon as WWE had something for him.
– Curt Hawkins was signed to WWE developmental back in 2006 and is a former WWE Tag Team Champion along with Zack Ryder.
– Yoshi Tatsu signed with WWE developmental back in 2007 and wrestled for Florida Championship Wrestling through 2009. In 2009, he was part of the revived ECW promotion and wrestled on the main roster through 2013, when he was brought down to NXT.
– Teddy Long was a longtime authority figure in WWE and had been with the company since 1998.
– Camacho had been with WWE since 2009. His final feud in NXT was with Adam Rose.
These cuts are part of WWE’s ongoing effort to reduce costs. According to sources in WWE, don’t be surprised to see more cuts in the coming months.
The following are results of the matches taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The matches were taped on Monday night in Albany, New York prior to the start of WWE RAW.
– The Usos def. 3MB in a non-title match. Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal represented 3MB in this one. The finish saw The Usos hit their top-rope splash for the 1-2-3.
– Paige def. Alicia Fox in a non-title match. The Divas champ picked up the win via her Scorpion Cross-Lock submission finisher.
The following are highlights of a new Digital Spy interview with Drew McIntyre:
And how long will you, Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater be sticking together before the inevitable break-up? “Maybe for us personally we’ll try and get one song out before we have the break up. We’ve been talking about bringing out an album for the last year and a half. With Guns N’ Roses and Chinese Democracy it took Axl ten years – maybe we’ll try and break that record.”
Do you think that CM Punk will make a return to the WWE in the foreseeable future? “Personally I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what’s going to happen. You can never tell what’s going to happen in sports entertainment, that’s what the boss always says.”
And what do you think about the rumors of Sting finally making his debut with the WWE? “He’s somebody who’s never been in the company, if that was to happen it would obviously be a very big thing, but as I always say – don’t believe everything you read on the internet until it actually happens!”
After WrestleMania and that incredible promo, we had the sad death of Warrior – do you have any favorite memories of the Ultimate Warrior? “The first ever VHS I ever owned, my brother and I, was WrestleMania VII. We watched that thing to bits – I think the tape chewed itself up. It was Warrior vs Macho Man [Randy Savage], the Retirement Match. The one time he didn’t run to the ring! The match lasted 40 minutes, so it was probably a good idea!
“That was a fond memory of my childhood… I can probably recite that entire Retirement Match. It was one of his greatest matches and he was such an incredible character. It was crazy, such an unbelievable character that’ll be around forever. He’s immortal now.”
It was so great that he got that Hall of Fame induction… “You could see how much it meant to him – how much it meant to have his family there. You can never say that it’s a good time for something like that to happen. He had an incredible weekend, with his daughters there. It’s such a shame, but he’s going to live forever like all the great Superstars do.”
The following are results of the match taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The match was taped on Monday night in Washington, D.C. prior to WWE RAW:
– Heath Slater (with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) def. Kofi Kingston in singles action. The crowd was pretty into Kingston in this one. This was a mostly back-and-forth type of match, which ended with the 3MB member getting the victory.
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. For complete spoiler results, click ahead to page two.
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel
– Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara
– Goldust vs. Fandango
– Batista vs. Sheamus
– The Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka
– Jack Swagger vs. Jimmy Uso
– The Miz vs. Mark Henry
– Bray Wyatt vs. Big Show
For complete spoiler results for this week’s WWE SmackDown, click ahead to page two …
– WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal spent some time with the members of the rock band “Tool” prior to Monday’s RAW. McIntyre noted on Twitter that the band performed a private concert for 3MB, tweeting the following message (and photo):
The following are the official nominees for the “LOL Moment of the Year” Slammy Award, which will be presented by The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) on Monday night.
– The Rock concert during the RAW 20th Anniversary show
– Vickie Guerrero getting fired as RAW General Manager
– Titus O’Neil throwing up on JBL, Michael Cole and Zeb Colter on SmackDown
– The Great Khali and Jinder Mahal attempting to charm Santino Marella’s “Cobra”
For whatever reason, WWE decided to cut the tag-team match between The Prime Time Players and 3MB that was taped on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
3MB came out as “The Fabulous 3Birds,” a parody of “The Fabulous Freebirds” gimmick from the 1980s and 1990s. Heath Slater played the role of Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Drew McIntyre played Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy and Jinder Mahal played Buddy Roberts.
You can check out the complete match online at WWE.com.
– Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho is in Regina and Calgary this weekend with his new cover band, Coverboy. The band features Jericho, Brent and Todd from Slash’s band and Spider from Loverboy. For more information, visit CoverboyRocks.com. (Thanks to reader Brent Donnelly for sending along the info.)
– Former WWE NXT star Xavier Woods made his official WWE main roster debut on RAW Country this past Monday night. Woods debuted as R-Truth’s “new partner” and the two defeated The Rhinestone Cowboys on RAW. The Rhinestone Cowboys, for those who missed it, were 3MB dressed up in country gear.
Woods and R-Truth have teamed together before, wrestling as “Truth & Consequences” in TNA several years ago (when Woods was known as Consequences Creed).
– One of the main angles on this coming Monday’s WWE RAW, the Survivor Series “go-home” edition of the show, will be The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) returning from “vacation” to address the performances of Kane, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero on last week’s show.
– There is some speculation that the 3MB group in WWE will be permanently switching to The Union Jacks after debuting the look at last week’s WWE television tapings in England. Additionally, there is speculation that the group will switch up their look for the “RAW Country” edition of RAW this coming Monday night.
WWE taped matches in Greenville, South Carolina on Monday night prior to WWE RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The following are quick results of those matches.
-Naomi defeated Alicia Fox in a Divas match to open the show. This was said to be a typical Divas match, so basically it was exactly what you would expect.
-Zack Ryder defeated Jinder Mahal. The Long Island native picked up the victory via pinfall over the 3MB member in the main event of this week’s WWE Superstars show.
– It was announced last week that Curtis Axel would defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Big E Langston tonight in the WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff, which streams live at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. However, it now appears that the match has been nixed, as the match is no longer advertised on the Hell in a Cell page on WWE.com, not to mention that the page previewing the match, has been deleted.
No match is being advertised for the WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff, with the following stated: “Find out who will be the next WWE Champion and watch John Cena’s in-ring return when WWE Hell in a Cell airs live on pay-per-view tonight at 8 ET/5 PT, and don’t forget to check out the Kickoff, which streams live at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT!”
– Konnan, who is always vocal about WWE on his podcast and on Twitter, feels a number of WWE Superstars should be removed from television—due to poor performance and/or lack of marketability. In response to a fan on Twitter asking him which two talents should be written off television, he responded with eight, including reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, all three members of 3MB, and three WWE Divas.
“Brad Maddox, JoJo, Rosa, 3MB, Axel, Aksana, would write dem off,” said Konnan.
Konnan, however, is high on two wrestlers he feels are underutilized. In response to a question asking who should be pushed, he stated, “Ziggler and Cesaro.”
– Tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell, Cody Rhodes and Goldust will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against the team of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, as well as Jey and Jimmy Uso. Rollins vows to reclaim the gold.
“Tonight is for reclamation. @WWEUsos & the #RhodesDynasty may be bonded by blood, but talent outperforms tradition. Believe that. #HIAC,” he wrote on Twitter.
– In a change to Sunday’s Survivor Series Pre-Show contest, the official WWE website announced Thursday that Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd will square off against two members of 3MB. Gabriel and Kidd replace Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in the bout.
– Smith Hart, brother of Bret Hart, offered his predictions for WWE’s Hall of Fame Class of 2013 via Twitter. He believes Mick Foley, Bob Backlund, Carlos Colon, The Honky Tonk Man and Lawrence Taylor will be enshrined.
– Some Target department stores are selling WWE’s 2008 DVD release on Edge, Edge – A Decade of Decadence, as well as the 2008 DVD release on The Rock, The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment, for $5.00 each.
