Three matches were taped Tuesday night at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York for upcoming episodes of WWE Saturday Morning Slam:
* Sin Cara vs. a masked luchador
* Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd
* The Miz vs. Justin Gabriel
In a dark match result, Johnny Curtis beat Michael McGillicutty following a top rope leg drop.
(source: ProWrestling.net)
Matches taped Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were Tyson Kidd vs. David Otunga, and The Prime Time Players vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.
A taping was also held for WWE Saturday Morning Slam on The CW. Bouts taped were Sin Cara vs. Jinder Mahal, and Justin Gabriel vs. Zack Ryder.
A dark match was held before both tapings as Kofi Kingston beat WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose following Trouble In Paradise.
(source: ProWrestling.net)
– Randy Orton is booked for tonight’s WWE SmackDown taping from Philadelphia and will be at next Tuesday’s show form Buffalo, NY. After that, he’s set to begin working on the WWE Studios movie, 12 Rounds: Reloaded.
– Justin Gabriel and his partner Tyson Kidd have their sights set on the new WWE Tag Team Champions, Daniel Bryan and Kane. Gabriel tweeted on Monday:
New Tag Champs. These 2 guys are great; but not as a team. Should we wait for the self destruction or go after them?! Either way. #Airstrike
— Dr Black (@darewolf333) September 17, 2012
– Forbes has released a list of the 20 best-selling licensed entertainment products. WWE ranks #7 on the list with an estimate of $700 million. The top ten looks like this:
1. Disney Princess – $1.6 billion
2. Star Wars – $1.5 billion
3. Pooh – $1.09 billion
4. Cars – $1.05 billion
5. Hello Kitty – $800 million
6. Mickey & Friends – $750 million
7. WWE – $700 million
8. Toy Story – $685 million
9. Peanuts – $600 million
10. Sesame Street – $515 million
– Triple H is said to be a strong supporter of Damien Sandow, with WWE’s most intellectual superstar in line for a major push this year.
– NXT starBray Wyatt (formerly Husky Harris) noted on Twitter that he will be returning “very soon” after missing several months of action due to injury.
– After asking fans for suggestions of what they should name their new tag team, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd posted a video on Tout on Tuesday saying that they’re considering the name “International Airstrike.”
– WWE.com updated its roster page this week to reflect recent storyline developments.
Eve and Curt Hawkins are now official members of the SmackDown roster. On last week’s episode of SmackDown, Eve defeated Kaitlyn to become the SmackDown Assistant General Manager to Booker T. Hawkins appeared on the show with Tyler Reks as they debuted male stripper characters. Reks was briefly listed on the page before he was granted his contract release on Tuesday.
AJ Lee is officially a member of the Raw roster after being named Raw General Manager by WWE chief Vince McMahon on Raw 1,000. Despite controlling the program, she continued to be listed as a SmackDown Diva.
– This week’s episode of WWE Superstars is headlined by Justin Gabriel vs. Cody Rhodes. Also featured are Yoshi Tatsu vs. Damien Sandow, Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger and Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre. (Watch)
– Jim Ross, who will commentate matches at tonight’s WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, tweeted prior to the event, “I have plenty of time 4 any NXT talent who wants to be great. To be physical & smart. To work diligently to improve. To the others, nothing.”
– Three matches were taped Tuesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars: Tyson Kidd vs. Heath Slater, WWE Divas Champion Layla vs. Natalya and Justin Gabriel vs. Cody Rhodes.
In a pre-taping dark match, Brodus Clay squashed a local wrestler whose name was not announced.
– WWE will hold a SmackDown taping in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Consol Energy Center on December 18.
– Trish Stratus will appear at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival on August 11 in Bowmanville, Ontario. The festival boasts a star-studded line-up of over thirty country music artists including Tim McGraw, Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, Alabama, and Big and Rich. Additional details are available here.
In his first match since flooring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with a clothesline and subsequent Go to Sleep on Raw 1,000, CM Punk appeared as a babyface at Saturday’s SmackDown live event at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. He retained the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Daniel Bryan and Kane. Attendees largely ignored his apparent heel turn on Monday as he was loudly cheered throughout the match.
Chris Jericho rekindled his partnership with Christian as the duo took on Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler donned a Jericho “WANNA-BEE” T-Shirt, which Jericho ripped off during the contest. The match concluded with Jericho striking Rhodes with the Codebreaker.
Drew McIntyre appeared as a babyface on the show as he rushed the ring to aid Ted DiBiase from an attack courtesy of Camacho and Hunico—after DiBiase defeated Hunico due to interference from Camacho. The third generation wrestler then proposed they have a tag team match, which all agreed to. The match concluded with DiBiase escaping Hunico’s sleeper attempt and hitting him with Dream Street.
Other match results were Kaitlyn over Natalya, Jinder Mahal over Percy Watson, Justin Gabriel over developmental wrestler Leo Kruger and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus over Alberto Del Rio in a Last Man Standing Match.
(source: Pro Wrestling Torch)
Matches taped Tuesday evening in Manchester, New Hampshire for this week’s episode of WWE NXT are as follows:
* Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Kaitlyn vs. Natalya.
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty
Justin Gabriel faced Hunico in a match taped for WWE Superstars.
In a battle of WWE developmental wrestlers, Big E Langston faced Dean Ambrose in a pre-taping dark match. Langston, who was billed from Manchester, beat Ambrose. Prior to the match, Ambrose cut a heel promo denouncing the city of Manchester.
(source: PWInsider.com)
– Mark Henry recently announced on Twitter that he was undergoing surgery and would retire if he could not return to action at 100%. There was a lot of speculation that Henry’s surgery was for his nagging groin injury, but it was actually his shoulder that was operated on. If his physical therapy and recovery go as planned, Henry is expected to be back in action this summer.
– Justin Gabriel returned from injury on last night’s episode of WWE NXT. He teamed with Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson to defeat JTG, Michael McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis. Gabriel used a leaping tornado DDT as his finisher and looked to be in great shape in his return match.
– WWE employee Joey Styles is now taking independent bookings for personal appearances through WrestlingMarx.com.
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Justin Gabriel stated Monday afternoon Twitter that he suffered an elbow injury during the Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match at WrestleMania XXVIII and therefore will be sidelined for six weeks.
“Just had X-rays and MRI on elbow,” Gabriel wrote. “Good news: no surgery needed. Bad news: out for six weeks.”
The WWE Tag Team Champions stood tall against their challengers was Primo and Epico defeated The Usos and the pairing of Tyson Kidd and Gabriel.
WWE announced Friday evening that the WWE Tag Team Championship will be on the line when champions Epico and Primo defend the straps against both The Usos and the new tandem of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd in a WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match prior to Sunday’s WrestleMania XXVIII pay-per-view broadcast. The match will stream live on WWE.com and YouTube at 6:30 ET/3:30 PT.
Gabriel and Kidd joined forces following a hard-fought battle on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. Kidd approached Gabriel in the locker room about forming a partnership, stating, “We can go out there and we can tear the house down every single night; we’re two of the most under-utilized Superstars here in WWE. But that just be getting around spinning our tails. So I was thinking, how about you and I form a tag team and we go after those tag team titles?”
WWE.com has published an article previewing the match. Rosa Mendes will accompany Epico and Primo for the bout.
— After a hard-fought battle on WWE Superstars, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd met in the locker room and discussed forming a tag team together. Kidd reasoned, “We can go out there and we can tear the house down every single night; we’re two of the most under-utilized Superstars here in WWE. But that just be getting around spinning our tails. So I was thinking, how about you and I form a tag team and we go after those tag team titles?”
WWE.com asks, “Should WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico be worried?” Video of their encounter is available on WWE.com.
— A person who works for WWE’s public relations division revealed which Miami, Florida hotel the company is staying at for WrestleMania XXVIII on Twitter as she posted a photo of the issued WrestleMania hotel room key with the location noted—InterContinental Miami. However, security is high at the hotel as non-guests are not permitted in the building.
— WWE Champion CM Punk stated Friday on Twitter that footage was being shot at Sun Life Stadium for his upcoming DVD set. He wrote, “At sun life stadium with LF checking things out. Filming more DVD silliness. LF in the house! So stoked.”
— WWE posted this photo Wednesday of Rey Mysterio meeting media in Miami, Florida. The account tweeted, “Rey Mysterio talks to Telemundo @holtzchildren @jhsmiami about meeting the kids at the hospital.”
Mysterio stated in recent months that he hoped to return from injury in time for WrestleMania XXVIII, but a match did not come to fruition.
— WWE.com has published an article officially announcing Randy Orton’s starring role in The Marine: Homefront, the third installment of WWE Studios’ Marine franchise. Fans will be able to get a first look at production of the film during this weekend’s WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, where fans can audition for a small role in the screenplay.
Production for the straight-to-video release begins June 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Orton plays a Marine who must rescue his kidnapped daughter.
— Numerous WWE stars were on hand for Lilian Garcia’s concert Wednesday evening at the Gibson Miami Showroom including Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Vickie Guerrero, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel, Maxine, Titus O’Neil, Aksana and John Laurinaitis.
– Bret Hart has addressed the rumor that he will induct the late Yokozuna into the WWE Hall of Fame later this month, writing on Twitter:
“As much as I wouldn’t mind, it’s not true. No one’s contacted me about it, at least.”
– Aside from Jim Ross and Goldust, Perry Saturn was also in Tampa over the past week evaluating developmental talent at Florida Championship Wrestling. Saturn tweeted:
“Just finished a week @ WWE training center in Tampa. It was a great time. There’s a bunch of hard working, good people there. Wicked cool!”
– The official Facebook page of the Nationwide Arena has published photos from last night’s WWE Superstars match between Justin Gabriel and Hunico and of fans outside the venue.
— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia had a wardrobe malfunction at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Columbus, Ohio as the strap of her shoe broke as she made her ring entrance. Despite the untimely mishap, she continued on to the ring to handle ring announcements for the show.
— A match featuring Justin Gabriel vs. Hunico was taped tonight in Columbus, Ohio for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars.
Matches taped Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio were Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks; Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly.
— Rey Mysterio has been announced to appear at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con taking place on June 3 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other wrestling stars appearing at the event include CM Punk, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, Gail Kim, Melina, John Morrison and Paul Bearer.
— AfterbuzzTV.com will begin airing a SmackDown recap show this Sunday afternoon with former professional wrestler Ric Drasin and Patricia Summerland of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling as hosts. Maria Menounos, who created AfterbuzzTV.com, has trained at Drasin’s wrestling school in Sherman Oaks, California for her WWE matches.
— WWE e-mailed a general schedule to people attending WrestleMania Axxess and former WWE Diva Lita will be among the stars on hand for the festivities. The former WWE Women’s Champion is advertised to appear at the event on WrestleMania XXVIII morning at 8:00 a.m.
— Matches taped Tuesday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel
* Jinder Mahal vs. Ted DiBiase
— On behalf of ‘be a STAR,’ the anti-bullying alliance co-founded by WWE and The Creative Coalition, David Otunga spoke at an anti-bullying rally in Springfield, Massachusetts on Monday.
“Most people know me as being a WWE superstar in this larger than life character with muscles, larger than life, even arrogant character, but they don’t know that when I was a kid I was just like them,” Otunga told www.wwlp.com. “I was insecure, I was short I was picked on, I had thick glasses and I was smart, that didn’t help, because everyone called me a nerd.”
— Raw Interim General Manager and WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis teased at the conclusion of Friday’s SmackDown that Kane would face Aksana, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long’s assistant, in a match on next week’s show. WWE’s Board of Directors announced Tuesday that Laurinaitis will be in charge of SmackDown next week, while Long will control Raw SuperShow.
— WWE is attempting to file a trademark for the term Kayfabe. It is for merchandise use as the organization released a line of T-shirts last week labeled Kayfabe Tees.
— SmackDown Superstar Justin Gabriel turns 31 years old Saturday.
— Rey Mysterio appears at Chicago World of Wheels at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center 9301 W Bryn Mawr Ave. Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
source: PWInsider.com
— During a phone interview with WWE.com Thursday, Shawn Michaels lost his composure when faced with pointed questions pertaining to Triple H and The Undertaker’s Hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania XXVIII.
After being asked “If Triple H wins at WrestleMania, will he be better than you?” Michaels grew increasingly incensed in his response, saying he is the best in-ring performer ever and that he cannot help that the spotlight falls on him whenever he shows up. Before hanging up, he tells the WWE.com interviewer to leave him alone in his retired life.
— Thanks to interference from Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks drew a victory over Mason Ryan on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. It is his first televised singles victory since the March 17, 2011 WWE Superstars, where he beat JTG.
Other matches featured include Alex Riley vs. Michael McGillicutty and Jinder Mahal vs. Justin Gabriel. The episode is available here.
— WWE developmental wrestler Corey Graves (a/k/a Sterling James Keenan) turns 28 years old Friday.
— Tuesday’s SuperSmackDown LIVE! show featuring a Champion vs. Champion match between WWE Champion CM Punk and World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan garnered a 1.7 rating with 2,326,000 viewers.
It is SmackDown‘s lowest rating since the September 16, 2011 show, which drew a 1.78.
— Following her actions involving John Cena and Zack Ryder on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, Eve has turned over a new leaf. She wrote to Zack Ryder today on Twitter, “I miss you.”
— WWE.com is advertising a match between Justin Gabriel and Jinder Mahal for today’s episode of WWE Superstars. Other bouts taking place include Alex Riley vs. Michael McGillicutty and Mason Ryan vs. Tyler Reks.
— Mike Sydal, brother of WWE Superstar Evan Bourne, turns 28 years old today.
source: PWInsider.com
— A press conference Thursday to kick off WWE’s first-ever live event tour in Abu Dhabi “turned chaotic” when Kane attacked John Cena, according to WWE.com. Cena, however, put The Big Red Monster through a table in front of members of the media.
Video and photos of the incident are available here.
— Through Twitter, Marco Corleone has been lobbying Alex Koslov (a/k/a Peter Orlov) to return to EMLL following his release from WWE last week.
— Matches airing on today’s episode of WWE Superstars on WWE.com are Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu, Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel, Jack Swagger vs. Santino Marella and tag team action pitting Epico and Primo against JTG and Michael McGillicutty.
— In today’s birthdays, Shelly Martinez turns 32 years old while Madusa turns 49.
source: PWInsider.com
— Former WWE star Kenny Dykstra worked a dark match at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He put over Justin Gabriel.
— A match pitting Trent Barreta against Tyson Kidd was taped tonight in Bridgeport, Connecticut for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars.
Matches taped Monday night in Boston, Massachusetts were Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre; Epico and Primo vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.
— John Cena is featured on the cover of the Holiday 2011 issue of WWE Magazine.
sources: PWInsider.com, ProWrestling.net
— WWE Hall of Famer Superstar Billy Graham, 68, was hospitalized Monday in Phoenix, Arizona for pneumonia. He is on antibiotics and in stable condition.
“Billy had a bad cough last night when I spoke to him,” said his agent Scott Epstein. “He said he also had a low grade fever and was going to go to the ER as a precaution. Valerie (his wife) called me this morning to tell me he was admitted. She will update me later this evening.”
— Matches taped Monday in Liverpool, England for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Alex Riley vs. Michael McGillicutty
* Curt Hawkins vs. Justin Gabriel
— Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso beat Derrick Bateman and Trent Barreta in a dark match at tonight’s tapings in Liverpool, England.
sources: 1Wrestling.com, ProWrestling.net
— The official website of the USA Network is listing a three-hour episode of Raw for Monday, December 12 from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. EST. A two-hour broadcast of WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops program will air the following evening at 9:00 p.m. EST.
The three-hour Raw takes place six days before TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.
— A match pitting Justin Gabriel against Jinder Mahal was taped Tuesday night in Greenville, South Carolina for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars.
— Ultimate Warrior tweeted the following regarding TMZ’s article Tuesday titled “ULTIMATE WARRIOR – Wall Street Occupiers Are iPad-Toting Hypocrites!”: “Contrary to the post, Mr Warrior did not call anyone a hypocrite but the video message itself is awesome.”
Regarding the Wall Street Occupiers, he told TMZ, “I find it a little ironic that most of these kids own iPads and iPhones and all these material things. They’re a big part of the consumerism that goes on in this country. The biggest statement you can make is not to participate in the consumerism of it all. Don’t buy the stuff. Start living your own life. Practice what you preach.”
source: PWInsider.com
— The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has added Jake Carter to their roster page. He is Jesse White, son of former WWE star Vader. He signed a developmental contract with WWE in April following a tryout at the organization’s developmental facility in Tampa, Florida.
White, 25, originally committed to the University of Oklahoma and was touted for the National Football League, but retired following a hip injury. He then followed his dad’s footsteps to the world of professional wrestling.
— Theodore Long kicked off Friday’s SmackDown by announcing that the first match of the night would feature 41 Superstars in the largest Battle Royal in WWE history. Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis then revealed the winner would earn a title match against the champion of his choosing.
Randy Orton won the 41-Man No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal, last eliminating The Miz. Battle Royal elimination order is as follows: 1. Cody Rhodes, 2. Johnny Curtis, 3. JTG, 4. Michael McGillicutty, 5. Derrick Bateman, 6. Yoshi Tatsu, 7. Titus O’Neil, 8. Matt Striker, 9. William Regal, 10. Percy Watson, 11. John Morrison, 12. Dolph Ziggler, 13. Trent Barreta, 14. Jey Uso, 15. Ted DiBiase, 16. Tyson Kidd, 17. Daniel Bryan, 18. Tyler Reks, 19. Curt Hawkins, 20. Drew McIntrye, 21. Justin Gabriel, 22. Mason Ryan, 23. Primo, 24. Santino Marella, 25. Alex Riley, 26. Kofi Kingston, 27. Zack Ryder, 28. David Otunga, 29. Jimmy Uso, 30. Ezekiel Jackson, 31. Heath Slater, 32. Sin Cara (Negro), 33. Christian, 34. R-Truth , 35. CM Punk, 36. Sheamus, 37. Wade Barrett, 38. Jack Swagger, 39. Jinder Mahal, 40. The Miz.
— Matches scheduled to air on tonight’s episode of SmackDown are as follows:
* Sheamus vs. Heath Slater
* Justin Gabriel vs. Wade Barrett
* A.J. and Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix and Natalya
* Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
* The Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal
* Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara
* Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso
* Mark Henry defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian in a Lumberjack Match
— The Miz announced this afternoon on Twitter that he has launched a YouTube Channel. He posted a video of his first words about being fired by WWE, which was filmed Wednesday during his new Sirius XM Radio show, First and Awesome.
— After R-Truth and The Miz were fired on this week’s episode of WWE Raw SuperShow, WWE.com transferred their respective profiles to the Alumni section.