— Today marks the eleven year anniversary of the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro. The show began with Vince McMahon appearing via satellite from Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of that evening’s Raw is War broadcast on TNN, announcing that he had purchased World Championship Wrestling. The show ended with a simulcast on Raw with an appearance by Shane McMahon on Nitro as he interrupted his father’s gloating over the purchase to explain that he actually owned WCW.
WWE has posted several clips from the episode including Ric Flair’s emotional WCW farewell speech, Booker T vs. Scott Steiner: in a Title vs. Title Match, Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero in a Cruiserweight Title Match, Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo vs. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Vince McMahon firing Jeff Jarrett, Sting vs. Ric Flair and Shane McMahon saying he bought WCW.
— Kelly Kelly says “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson is her favorite ’80s Superstar. She says of the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame inductee to WWE Magazine in an interview, “I admire everything he accomplished in the ring. He was the greatest bad guy ever.”
She also reveals the best thing about being on the road as a WWE Diva: “Traveling with the girls. We have a lot fun getting in trouble together.”
— WWE talents’ scheduled flight today at 9:30 a.m. from Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Boston, Massachusetts for tonight’s WWE live event at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in nearby Providence was delayed for several hours due to bad fog conditions and other weather related issues. The flight took off in the early afternoon so they will be able to make it to the show on time.
Eve commented on the matter on Twitter, writing, “Meanwhile…. we had another terrrrrible travel day, courtesy of Air Canada! Fun times.”
— Following a run-in on the set of Extra this week, Maria Menounos is teaming up with Kelly Kelly to take on Beth Phoenix and Eve at WrestleMania XXVIII. The television hostess is held in high regard in WWE as it was noted to F4WOnline.com that many people in the organization deemed her better looking than nearly all of the Divas after seeing her in person backstage at past shows.
— Vickie Guerrero, who largely only appears at televised events, is working this weekend’s live event tour.
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins defeated Michael McGillicutty via Curb Stomp in a dark match at Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Cleveland, Ohio. Rollins, who reigns as Florida Heavyweight Champion, also competed at SmackDown live events over the weekend and is slated to be on hand for Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbus, Ohio.
— The following matches were taped Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly
— The WWE SmackDown taping scheduled for May 29, 2012 has been moved to the River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was originally scheduled to take place at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
— Eve Torres posted a blog on her official website saying she plays a character on WWE programming.
“I know all of you have been tuning into Monday Night Raw every Monday on USA, but here is a brief recap of some of the recent developments in my character,” she wrote. “How can anyone blame me for my actions?? This is the beginning of a new era for Eve Torres, and I don’t regret a thing!”
Kelly Kelly responded to her post via Twitter, “So you really don’t use people? Good to know after reading this blog that your acting as a “character.”
— SmackDown Diva Alicia Fox will be competing on tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I’m pumped for the show and feeling ‘Foxy’ as usual. Time to blow the roof off the Gardens diva style #DivaDuty!!!!” she tweeted.
— WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan appeared at the Variety Club telethon in Iowa this past weekend. He has appeared at the event in the past.
— Kelly Kelly posted a pseudo-shoot statement Monday night on Twitter lambasting fellow WWE Diva Eve Torres’ mucky behavior in recent weeks.
“I’ve seen what u guys have been saying about @EveMarieTorres And you know what I agree she is a sipping on that skankjuice,” she wrote. “I mean who hooks up with her guy’s best friend and uses everyone of the people she works..well Ive seen the real her and she’s no friend of mine.”
Kelly continues, “Just when you think you know someone…YOU DON’T.”
— Former ECW star Francine and her husband Joe welcomed the birth of their first son, Connor Joseph, Monday afternoon. She gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Molly Rose, on July 28, 2009.
Francine retired from the professional wrestling industry in 2006 following her short-lived stint with WWE.
— John Cena expects The Rock to bury him this Monday on Raw.
He wrote on Twitter, “Flying to LA for fri night at staples. Then back to Daytona for green flag @ 500. Then off to Portland just in time for Dwayne to bury me… Sounds like a fun few days. Giddy up.”
— WWE.com is pushing fans to vote for Kelly Kelly as “Favorite Buttkicker” for the 2012 Nick Kids’ Choice Awards. She joins a list of nominees including movie stars Tom Cruise, Taylor Lautner and Jessica Alba.
— Jack Swagger was referenced during SportsNation‘s “101 Most Disrespectful Moments” episode on ESPN2. A clip was shown of a basketball player doing push-ups following a dunk and host Michelle Beadle said he reminded her of Jack Swagger.
Regarding this, Swagger tweeted, “I was mentioned today on ESPN’s Sport Nation today.. No big deal #YearofSwag.”
— WWE interviewed more than 75 Superstars, Divas, and Hall of Famers in anticipation of WrestleMania XXVIII, asking them all one question: “What is your WrestleMania moment?” Kelly Kelly, however, says she’s still waiting for her’s.
“I’ve never contested a singles match at ‘Mania—I’ve always been in either Lumberjill bouts or a Battle Royal. I’m praying that, in years to come, I will have that tag bout or singles match or whatnot,” she says in their WrestleMania XXVIII issue.
“At The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, we had Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda and Molly Holly come in. They’re Divas I used to watch when I was younger, so it was really cool just to be in the same ring with them. I’ve rewatched the match, but I’m still waiting for that moment.”
She continues, “I make sure to keep all of my outfits, though; they’re in a big suitcase. But they’re little outfits, so they don’t take up much room.”
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery of every wrestler to fall victim to The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
— Aksana and Hornswoggle will appear at the March 11 Columbus Blue Jackets game taking place at Nationwide Arena 200 W. Nationwide Blvd. Columbus, Ohio. Game time is 6:00 p.m.
— Randy Orton’s condition after suffering a concussion on last Monday’s Raw SuperShow when World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan smashed The Viper over the head with his title will be re-evaluated on February 27.
“Randy sustained head trauma following his match with Big Show, in which Daniel Bryan interfered, and he was evaluated in the training room immediately afterward,” WWE physician Dr. Michael Sampson told WWE.com. “Due to his symptoms as well as his neurological evaluation, he was diagnosed with a concussion. We will be doing more testing to see how he’s going to do as far as short term vs. long term.”
The concussion rendered Orton unable to compete in tonight’s SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match.
— Kelly Kelly is upset with American Airlines losing her luggage for her trip to this week’s WWE shows.
“Seriously American air u lose my bag and tell me u have no idea where it is,” she wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for nothing, guess that’s what platinum status gets you.”
— Nickelodeon has announced The Kids’ Choice Awards 2012 nominees and Kelly Kelly is up for “Favorite Butt Kicker.”
Nickelodeon says of the “sexy, smart and powerful” WWE Diva, “Beauty and buffness, that’s a tough combo, to say the least. This WWF star Kelly Kelly is so hardcore that she has double the power of other ladies, and double her first name! But can she go up against Hollywood’s elite?”
Her competition is Jessica Alba, Tom Cruise and Taylor Lautner. Voting begins February 24.
— Vickie Guerrero announced on Twitter that she is on Facebook at Vickie Guerrero Fan Mail. The page is located at www.facebook.com/MyVickieGuerrero. She noted getting ready for a photo shoot with WWE Magazine next month.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stated on Twitter that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is Warner Bros.’ second biggest opening of all-time in China.
— Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who recently went through Divas Boot Camp with Alicia Fox, Kelly Kelly and Eve, will be a special guest ring announcer on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, WWE announced.
He’ll be the guest ring announcer for the Divas match. The participants of the bout have not been announced.
— WWE has applied to trademark the term “Funkasaurus.” Brodus Clay was referred as Funkasaurus on last week’s Raw and SmackDown.
— Kelly Kelly celebrates her twenty-fifth birthday today.
— Matches taped Monday night in Corpus Christi, Texas for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly
* Evan Bourne vs. Michael McGillicutty
— Former WWE star Michael Tarver stated on Twitter that he has began training for a career in mixed martial arts.
— WWE will hold SmackDown live events at Jack Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan on March 10, 2012 and Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan on March 11, 2012.
— Brodus Clay’s Raw SuperShow debut also marked as opponent Curt Hawkins’ first match on the program. The former WWE Tag Team Champion was drafted to Raw last April in the Supplemental Draft.
— John Morrison answered numerous fan questions for the fansite Starship-Pained.com including a query regarding life after WWE.
“I feel like I got off an express train walked to my car, and sped away. I’m still busy as all hell, but now, I’m the one driving,” he said.
He was also asked, “What do you think will help you get to the next level when you return to WWE?”
Morrison said, “JoMo needs to cut promos.”
— Popthecrowd.com has compiled a list of the top 25 most followed professional wrestling personalities on Twitter. The Rock heads the list with over 1.8 million followers. He is trailed by John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Shawn Michaels, Zack Ryder and Kelly Kelly.
— Greg “The Hammer” Valentine is scheduled to appear at WrestleReunion in Los Angeles, California later this month and he will be dying his hair jet black for the occasion. The WWE Hall of Famer will appear alongside The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart for a special “Rhythm and Blues” photo op.
— Layla is slated to enter the Divas Championship picture upon her return from injury due to the feeling that Beth Phoenix’s feud with Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres has worn out. Natalya is also expected to vy for the title in 2012.
— WWE referee Justin King will undergo undisclosed surgery in a few weeks and is expected to be sidelined for several months. The surgery is not related to any injuries on the job.
— Will hold a Raw SuperShow at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on April 23, 2012. Tickets go on sale February 25, 2012.
— WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts turns 32 years old Thursday.
– Some people within WWE are predicting the lowest buyrate of the year for Sunday’s WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.
– As we reported recently, Kelly Kelly has reportedly been trying to get her real name (Barbara Blank) out there, in the event that she does leave WWE down the road. When she recently launched her official website, she had originally bought the domain BarbaraBlank.com, but was told by WWE to use her WWE name and thus, she opened WWEDiveKellyKelly.com.
– Most of Jim Ross and Michael Cole’s interactions on RAW in recent months has been unscripted. JR is from an era where performers had to improvise on the mic, so he and Cole are trusted to work off bullet points instead of a full script.
– Ultimate Warrior says he is in talks with MTV regarding The Warrior Show, which features the legendary sports entertainer directing an extreme motivational mind/body/soul work-out that combines intensity, passion, comedy and inspiration.
He tweeted Thursday, “So Exec Producer at MTV sends email: “I saw the sizzle reel for The Warrior Show and LOVED it. I think it’s really really great.” We talk…
– Kelly Kelly has responded to online reports saying she is looking to position herself for a career outside of WWE.
She tweeted, “Don’t believe everything you read! Wwe is my home.”
The report originated from this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which states she plans on pursuing acting and modeling work late next year under her real name, Barbara Blank.”
— A pre-sale for SmackDown in Orlando, Florida following WrestleMania XXVIII kicks off Friday at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com. The password is WWEEBSHOW.
— Hot on the heels of former WWE performer Maryse Ouellet’s decision to move on from the professional wrestling industry and attempt to make it in the fashion industry, Kelly Kelly may also be positioning herself for a career outside of WWE.
The WWE Diva is looking to position herself for acting and modeling gigs late next year and is pushing her real name, Barbara Blank, instead of Kelly Kelly. Whether it’s her just trying to have a backup plan, testing the waters to see if there’s interest in her, or her outwardly looking at something different, nobody knows.
— WWE referee Marc Harris is sidelines with a broken nose.
— Shelly Martinez is offering a free 8×10 with every pre-order of a Martinez Girlz T-Shirt. To see the T-Shirts, which read #kayfabe, #FunTimeGang and #TheMartinezGirls, click here.
— F4WOnline.com reports there is going to be a “pretty good hint” about who WWE’s viral videos are teasing on the December 19 Raw SuperShow.
This week’s viral video is titled “Look Within.” A boy is shown in the video saying a “prophet” will “emerge to destroy the weak” and “it will be the end of the world as you know it.”
— Triple H was in charge of Monday’s Raw SuperShow due to Vince McMahon’s absence. The WWE CEO, as well as Kofi Kingston, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, are in Afghanistan visiting U.S. troops. Footage from their trip will air during WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops special.
— A forum has been set up on Kelly Kelly’s newly launched website.
She tweeted, “The forum is up at http://www.wwedivakellykelly.com. I will be reading your posts! Hope you enjoy my new site :)”
— WWE has launched a Facebook page for WWE Legends’ House, the new reality show for WWE Network premiering in 2012. The synopsis for the series reads:
“A reality series featuring many of your favorite WWE Legends, all forced to live under one roof. See what happens when the most colorful and combustive personalities in WWE history shack up, break bread, and bruise egos.”
— Kelly Kelly is scheduled to appear on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Friday, which airs on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations.
— Lilian Garcia has released a behind the scenes trailer previewing her first music video, U Drive Me Loca. The SmackDown Diva’s music video will be officially released Friday via LilianGarcia.com.
— Kevin Nash stated this evening on Twitter that he’s packing his wrestling gear for tomorrow night’s Raw SuperShow in Tampa, Florida.
He wrote, “Made up my mind, packing my wresteling gear. Someones getting a beat down in Tampa tomorrow night on Raw.”
As of Saturday, both Nash and Triple H were scheduled for the event. The official website for the St. Pete Times Forum removed Triple H from advertising today after he had been scheduled for the show.
— WWE is cracking down on Twitter accounts parodying their employees as many have been shut down. Twitter, however, has a rule where they permit parody accounts as long as it is stated that the account is a parody in the description. Nonetheless, two popular accounts remain active: twitter.com/DumbKellyKelly and twitter.com/crankyvince. The account parodying Kelly upset her as she recently blocked it.
— Molly Holly has been announced as the special guest referee for a match pitting Jillian Hall against TNA Knockout Traci Brooks at Women Superstars Uncensored’s show on January 21, 2012 in Stirling, New Jersey. The event will be released on DVD.
— The WWE SmackDown taping on January 31, 2012 will be held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
— WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase has been announced for New Orleans Comic Con taking place January 28-29. 2012.
— Kelly Kelly was recently caught running a red light in Tampa, Florida. She is scheduled for a mandatory court appearance in December and was fined $250. The fine now stands at $274 due to it being overdue.
— Among the U.K. wrestlers who WWE recently evaluated were Andrew Tyson, Adrian McCullum and Erin Marshall. Tyson was believed to have been offered a developmental contract pending visa application. McCullum worked a dark match against Justin Gabriel at the November 8 SmackDown taping in Liverpool, England.
— Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis said she resumed wrestling training on Tuesday. She tweeted, “Felt so good to be in the ring.”
She will be returning to the squared circle on February 25, 2012 for New York City based promotion Family Wrestling Entertainment. Her opponent has not been announced.
– As previously reported, Mick Foley filmed an episode of NBC’s 30 Rock the other day where he had to do a kissing scene. Foley said on Twitter that he was on the set of 30 Rock dressed as his mask-wearing late 90’s alter-ego, Mankind.
– Kelly Kelly lashed out at Beth Phoenix on Twitter as she feels “The Glamazon” is a hypocrite for participating in numerous WWE.com photoshoots. She wrote,
“Wanna talk about arrogant? You have more diva focus photoshoots than any other diva combined! You say you’re not a model #hypocrite.”
– A source within WWE stated the following regarding tomorrow night’s Survivor Series pay-per-view broadcast: “Get ready for a three hour Twitter commercial. Don’t say I never warned you.”
— Kevin Nash will battle Big Show during WWE’s two-event tour of Yokohama, Japan. He will face his longtime rival in a singles match on November 30. The following night, he teams up with The Miz to take on “The World’s Largest Athlete” and John Cena.
— Jim Ross stated Friday on Twitter that he talked to Gerald Brisco and he is feeling much better after suffering a minor stroke last month. The WWE Hall of Famer previously suffered three strokes in June 2009.
— Kelly Kelly and Daniel Bryan will appear at KMART 5100 Sinclair Lane, Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday, December 18 at noon. Call 410-483-3500 for more information.
— Raw SuperShow will be held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday, January 30, 2012.