Former WWE star Melina Perez has been reported safe after concerns were raised about her whereabouts amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
We’re relieved to share that Melina has made contact and is safe. We want to thank everyone for their concern, support, and outreach during this time. Your kindness and compassion means the world to us. ? #ThankYouhttps://t.co/GcsH0bDVQ8
— A Matter Of Pride Wrestling ???? (@LGBTQwrestling) January 12, 2025
A Matter of Pride Wrestling, which had initially expressed fears over the former pro wrestler’s safety, provided an update on social media, stating, “We’re relieved to share that Melina has made contact and is safe. We want to thank everyone for their concern, support, and outreach during this time. Your kindness and compassion means the world to us”.
The 45-year-old Los Angeles native had been unresponsive during the wildfire crisis, prompting worry from various wrestling organizations and fans.
Melina Perez is proud to have been a WWE Diva, despite what others may think of the term or of the Divas era.
In the 1990s, WWE introduced the term ‘Diva’ to address female talent, and would retire the phrase in 2016, with the women being called ‘Superstars’ like their male counterparts.
Despite the term once being a staple of WWE programming, Diva is now on WWE’s banned terms list, never to be uttered on TV.
Negative Stigma
The Divas era has faced criticism from fans, as the focus was more on soap opera-style storylines than in-ring skill.
The urban legend is that John Laurinaitis, then WWE’s Head of Talent Relations, would hire talent using a binder of modeling photos, instead of seeking established female wrestlers.
Speaking with MCW Backstage Pass, Melina addressed her time as a WWE Diva and the stigma around it (via 411 Mania.)
“It’s a weird thing, because ‘diva’ gets tied up with the model search and that’s not it. And that’s the hard part where the term ‘diva [era]’ is thought of as ‘model days’ right when it wasn’t even that — well kind of, but regardless, each woman who held that title did their best, gave it their all.
“the term ‘diva [era]’ is thought of as ‘model days’ right when it wasn’t even that.”
Melina
“I mean, blame the — I’m kind of blaming Diva Search. But it was really, you can’t blame them for getting an opportunity. It’s like Tough Enough, I mean you can’t blame the people who did Tough Enough, and that’s what the Diva Search was.”
A Change in Perspective
Nowadays, WWE takes women’s wrestling more seriously, with female matches often headlining TV.
Speaking about the change, Melina said that she’s pleased that there are more opportunities now, but doesn’t regret her Divas era days.
“I’m never gonna change and look down on my time, because everyone’s like, ‘Okay, do you wish that you were in this era because of all the opportunity?’ No, I love what I went through.”
Booker T has revealed one former WWE Women’s Champion that the locker room wasn’t a fan of during her time with the company.
Recently, the two-time WWE Hall Of Famer took to his podcast “The Hall Of Fame” to discuss several professional wrestling topics. During that time, Booker touched on former WWE Women’s Champion Melina, and her time with WWE.
Booker noted “I really like Melina now,” but did admit that he “did not like Melina in her day, no one did.” This is something that has certainly been brought up by others before.
Candace Michelle once noted that she and Melina “hated each other” and almost had a shoot fight inside the ring.
Melina doesn’t get recognized as a WWE legend the way her peers such as Trish Stratus and Lita do. Booker speculates if that’s because “the departure of Melina more than anything.”
“She was one of those that owned it, she wanted to be the best in the ring and she was hell to deal with in the locker room,” Booker said.
“I think she would attest to that, perhaps, these days … And I have always said this, as far as talent go, there was nobody better than Melina.”
He then went on to explain an interaction he had with Melina, admitting she was “very controversial in WWE when she was there,” but never doubted her greatness inside of the ring.
When he got the opportunity to tell Melina that, she “almost started crying.”
“None of it had to do with her in-ring prowess or anything like that,” Booker T said in regards to Melina’s backstage heat. “… I said, ‘Melina, I always thought you were the best female wrestler in that damn locker room in your time,’ and I really believe that.”
Melina hasn’t been full-time with WWE since 2011. However, she has made sporadic appearances since then. She was a surprise entrant in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble.
Although there were rumors about her returning to the company, nothing ever came to fruition.
Fans can expect to see at least two more former WWE stars make a return to work the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
According to PWInsider, former Superstars Cameron and Melina are booked to be surprises for the bout. There are currently 11 spots available in the match and with these names added, WWE will have to fill 9 more spots.
Melina worked for WWE from 2004 through 2011 where she was a two-time Divas Champion and a three-time Women’s Champion. There was some talk of her returning to the company in September 2020, but she confirmed a few months later that while the two sides did have a discussion, they couldn’t come to an agreement. She was last seen on WWE TV on January 4, 2021 at WWE Raw Legends Night.
Cameron was under contract from 2011-2016. She did wrestle a match for AEW in 2020.
The following women have been announced for the match: Nikki A.S.H., Rhea Ripley, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Zelina Vega, Carmella, Aliyah, Natalya, Naomi, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Charlotte Flair, Mickie James, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and Summer Rae.
Tomorrow night (Aug. 20), Emergence will air on Impact Plus. In the main event, Christian Cage will defend the Impact Wrestling World Championship against Brian Myers. Also set for the card will be an X-Division Title clash between champion Josh Alexander and Jake Something. The Impact World Tag Team Titles will also be on the line as Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson meet Violent By Design, and the team of Rich Swann and Willie Mack.
We now have four more matches to round out the event. On the go-home show for Emergence, it was announced that Decay will collide with Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Fallah Bahh & No Way. Another newly announced matchup is Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Melina and Trey Miguel.
Also announced on the recent episode of Impact is a one-on-one match between Matt Cardona and Rohit Raju. It was also revealed that Madison Rayne is making her return to take on Taylor Wilde.
Here’s a look at the final Emergence card.
Christian Cage (c) vs. Brian Myers – for Impact Wrestling World Title
Josh Alexander (c) vs. Jake Something – For X-Division Title
Impact World Tag Team Championship:
The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Violent By Design vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack – for Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Titles
Deonna Purrazzo & Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Melina & Trey Miguel
Decay vs. Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Fallah Bahh & No Way
Former WWE women’s champion Melina was reported to have agreed to a new contract with the company late last year but she never returned to the promotion as people were expecting.
The female star recently had an interview with WrestleTalk where she cleared the air on her status with the promotion and the reports of her return.
Melina first confirmed that she had talks with the company officials about a potential return last year. However, she revealed that she couldn’t sign a contract because of her injured knee:
“It was talks of [a return]. Talks of seeing if it was possible and all that stuff. Everyone made such a big deal out of it. I was in talks with [WWE], but I never signed a contract,
There was nothing going on.” said Melina, “Just ‘hey would you consider, would you be open?’. I’m like ‘hell yeah’. Well it turned out I have like a bad knee, and I can’t wrestle.”
The former diva’s champion also explained that her re-signing wasn’t guaranteed even if she didn’t have a bad knee and it was possible that the company might not have signed her even if she was cleared:
“Who knows if I didn’t have a bad knee if they would have signed me? Or you never know, if I had a good knee they wanted to see if I was open to it, but probably not get signed. That’s just the way wrestling is. It’s never a guarantee.”
Melina has not been a part of the WWE roster since her release in 2011. Though she did make a cameo during the Raw legends night earlier this year in January.
Posted February 25th, 2021 in WWE, News. Tagged: Melina.
Melina has further commented on reports that she had signed with WWE.
It was first reported by PWinsider.com back in September that she had come to terms with the company to make a return. There was even talk of her being part of the RAW roster when she did come back as a full-time performer on WWE television.
A few days after the initial report came out, she expressed her frustration with wrestling news websites about it.
She responded to a fan on Twitter asking what happened to her WWE return. She wrote the following:
“The dirt sheets lie about stuff like that for clicks. That’s why I was upset a few months back. The dirt sheets lie about so much & fans deserve better. Best to follow the promotions & the wrestlers, along with people like @VickieGuerrero, @LilianGarcia & @ChrisVanVliet.”
It has to be noted that while Melina is denying that she signed with WWE and perhaps that is indeed the case, there have been past instances of wrestlers not always telling the truth as a way to keep things a surprise such as WALTER.
Melina departed from WWE in 2011 after joining the company back in 2004. She didn’t make an appearance until the Raw Reunion episode that took place on 22 July this year.
This was her first appearance in nearly eight years, and she was in a backstage segment with Candice Michelle, Naomi, and Kelly Kelly. During the segment as Michelle attacked Kelly for the 24/7 Championship, she was revealed as a special guest referee.
The former WWE Women’s Champion spoke about her appearance on the episode and said that she gained closure from her return and described it as “therapeutic”, in an interview with Post Wrestling.
Melina said that she needed to say her goodbyes and open up to people she worked with. She felt they were previously too scared to say what they felt.
“Oh my, it was therapeutic. I needed that, because I needed closure, I needed closure, I needed to say goodbye to the people I needed to say goodbye to. I needed to talk to the people who we never said goodbye but we never said our feelings. So it’s like some of the girls I worked with, I told them how I felt and the funny thing is they started telling me how they felt. You know, I always thought I was an oddball but we all thought we were oddballs and we kind of were never too scared to open up to each other so it was very therapeutic and now I have my sisters, and now I’m there for them that much more after being out of there, so it was beautiful.”
You can watch Melina’s appearance on the Raw Reunion episode in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQLHKjbn7tc
Reflecting Back On Her Wrestling Career
Melina also reflected back on her journey through wrestling in a post on Instagram. Melina revealed that she started wrestling at Empire Wrestling Federation around 20 years ago and she didn’t plan to wrestle on TV. Her love of wrestling is the only reason she got into the business.
Here is the caption from her post:
“Let me start with: WATCH @nwa’s PPV #IntoTheFire this Saturday @ 6:05pm!!! The order link is in my bio!!! I have so much to say but I have to run errands and get ready for this weekend. But 1st, feel free to swipe left and if you continue to read this… just in case you’re one of the few that assumed I came out of a magazine and into the ring back in the day (which there’s nothing wrong with! We have legends that found their wrestling calling like that so don’t try to take away anyone’s accomplishments because of it), on a Wednesday, around 1999-2000, I started wrestling at @ewfempire. I loved wrestling and I didn’t know they had classes! It never occurred to me that it could be a career! For me it was like taking a cardio class at the gym and I was doing it because I had love for it. It wasn’t to be on tv. I mean, who am I? I’m just an average girl from SoCal. There’s prettier people than me, taller, stronger, faster… there’s no way a dream like that could come true for someone like me. That’s what I thought. So you have to understand, I wasn’t out to make history, to gain approval, to be rich or famous. I loved it and wanted to see how far I could go so I could make my parents proud. Even they thought it was crazy. ? When I got a contract, I wanted to entertain people the way I was entertained when I watched. My intentions were that simple. But the journey in fulfilling those intentions weren’t. LOL. Oh well. It was worth it because we made history. We inspired creativity & strength. It was worth it for the hearts I did touch. Even if it was only a few. I may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I may not be a favorite but I know I did my part in telling the stories that needed to be told and when it came to entertaining. I can end my career today knowing that and being secure with it.”
Former WWE Superstar Melina continues to speak about wanting to wrestle at WWE’s upcoming all-women’s pay-per-view event, Evolution. Recently, Melina was actually called out by current WWE Superstar Naomi for a match at Evolution when Cathy Kelly interviewed her at the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards.
Melina briefly responded to her on Twitter but gave a more extensive reaction when she was recently interviewed by “Ring The Belle” where she talked about a wide range of topics. “I wanted to hug her face off. I would love to have a match with her. I would love it.” The former WWE star continued by stating that Naomi is a good person and that they could make magic together in a match. She brought up how WWE Hall of Famer Lita has stated in the past that Melina and Mickie James had the most amazing matches. She credits it due to them having great chemistry and that’s because they’re friends and love each other. She added that the creativity between the both of them was just so amazing. “So, I feel like it’s gonna be the same way with Trinity.” Melina stated that Naomi’s eagerness, wanting to work and being a great person, as well as so creative, would be a beautiful thing if they ever had a match.
The Evolution pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, October 28, 2018 in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
Posted October 4th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: Melina.
A lot of fantasy booking is being done in regards to the upcoming WWE Evolution pay-per-view (PPV).
The WWE is getting ready for its first all-female PPV in history. It all goes down on October 28th from Uniondale, New York. Several match-ups have already been announced for the card. Past WWE stars such as Lita, Trish Stratus and Beth Phoenix are all scheduled to compete.
One name WWE fans have been throwing out for a possible appearance is former WWE Women’s Champion Melina. She departed WWE in 2011 after winning five titles with the company.
Recently, Melina was actually called out by current WWE Superstar Naomi for a match at Evolution. Cathy Kelly interviewed Naomi at the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards. When she asked Naomi who she’d like to face at Evolution, Melina was the first name that came to mind.
Melina has caught wind of Naomi’s comments and recently replied on Twitter. She said having a match with Naomi would be “insanely magical.” Melina also mentioned she’s very proud of Naomi’s in-ring accomplishments:
“.@NaomiWWE , I know in my heart having a match with you would be insanely magical. I absolutely adore you! Thank you for always being such an incredible person. Sending you all my love & please know, I’m so proud of you.”
.@NaomiWWE , I know in my heart having a match with you would be insanely magical. I absolutely adore you! Thank you for always being such an incredible person. Sending you all my love & please know, I’m so proud of you. pic.twitter.com/wl9l5AlYNU
– Former WWE Superstar and three-time Women’s Champion Melina is set to make her in-ring return on Friday, March 23rd for Australian Wrestling Entertainment (AWE). This seems to be Melina’s first match since dislocating her knee last March in England during an indy match. Initially Melina feared the injury would end her professional wrestling career. For more information on Melina’s AWE appearance click here.
– Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia was recently a guest on Renegade Radio with Jay Ferruggia to talk about her career with the professional wrestling juggernaut. Garcia also spoke about what it was like to work with former WWE Champion-turned Hollywood mega-star The Rock:
“[The Rock] would always make me blush. And so, all of a sudden [WWE’s creative writers were] like, ‘Ah, that’s so cute. Let’s do that, let’s put her in situations where she would totally blush.’ And he would call me out sometimes at ringside, you know, and there I am and I’m just blushing,” Garcia said. “So it just became fun and he loved working together and vice versa. I’m blessed, I’m blessed that I had that situation with him, for sure.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgB18qsHgKd/
You can listen to Garcia’s interview on Renegade Radio with Jay Ferruggia by clicking this link here.
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions
– Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee (real name AJ Mendez) has announced that she will be hosting a book signing on Saturday, March 24th at a Barnes & Noble Bookstore in East Brunswick, New Jersey. The event will be used to help raise awareness of mental illness and fight stigma:
Jersey! Who wants to hang out with me and help an amazing cause?! Join me, March 24th, at the NAMIWalks NJ 2018 Kick-Off Event to help me raise awareness of mental illness & fight stigma! There will be a book signing too! More info here: https://t.co/3kzlQaoTFZpic.twitter.com/T6W2URdFw5
Melina Perez recently spoke to the Huffington Post at length about her character and how she was perceived backstage in WWE, check out our original post on the news here.
Perez is currently the Women’s Champion for revered UK Independent promotion Southside and another top UK star has taken to Twitter to vent his (and other’s) frustrations on the former WWE star’s alleged attitude backstage.
Ryan Smile is the current reigning Over The Top Champion and has performed on several high profile cards across the UK this year, including shows for Southside. He posted the following on Twitter:
Former WWE Superstar Melina Perez recently spoke to Huffington Postabout several wrestling topics. Perez commented on her time in WWE and how it affected her personal life. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Her time working in WWE:
“I talk to people now, and they thought I was so confident,” Melina expressed. “I was doing all this awesome stuff onstage, and they didn’t realize I was going through so much loneliness and hurt backstage. It was like high school.”
Her on-screen character affecting her personal life:
“I’m proud of that character, then and now, because it was just a character – and she was great at being a bitch – but when it came to my personal life, it felt like everyone around me thought that’s who I was,” Perez said. “I just felt so invisible.”
“At the time, it felt like, ‘What did I do [in wrestling]?’ – especially since it felt like the whole world hated me. I was this big villain [on TV],” she shared. “I’m such a tender-hearted person, it all did effect me.
– Becky Lynch appears on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast this week, which is available on iTunes. She discusses the Divas Revolution, her introduction to the professional wrestling industry and more.
– John Hennigan (formerly known as John Morrison in WWE) and Melina will make a rare appearance together this Saturday for Maryland Championship Wrestling at 1000 Joppa Farm Road, Joppa, Maryland 21085. They will appear together for photos and Melina will accompany Hennigan to the ring for a match against “The King Of Swerve” Shane Strickland. Visit MarylandWrestling.com for more information.
– Eve Torres Gracie (formerly known as Eve in WWE) gave birth to a boy on Monday. Her husband, Rener Gracie, broke the news this afternoon on Instagram.
M Live recently spoke with WWE Diva and Total Divas star Brie Bella to promote Saturday’s WWE live event at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On how Daniel Bryan is doing: “He’s doing really really good. He feels great. His number one goal is to get back into the ring and he’s doing everything in his power to make that happen.”
On her favorite WWE wrestlers, past and present: “For past superstars, for a woman, I’d have to say Melina. She had the sex appeal and I loved the way she stood out in the ring. As far as past men go, I loved Jeff Hardy. He reminds me of my husband in a way. He’s quieter, but has a presence in the ring that’s like, wow.”
“For present superstars, Paige has been really amazing in our division. I love her aggression. She just has it. For men, besides my husband, who’s injured right now, I would say Dean Ambrose. He’s a maniac. Everything about him is great. He’s fun to watch. When his matches are over, I always wish there was a little more to watch.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross has updated the blog section of his official website. Below are some highlights.
On Friday’s edition of Impact Wrestling: “Thought Impact Wrestling Friday night was one of their best TV shows in a good while and arguably the best wrestling show of the TV week. If TNA simply keeps their talk managed and succinct while focusing on what their talents do best and that’s wrestle they are going to be line over the long haul IMO. It’s not that their talents can’t promo but today’s audiences generally don’t want to have to listen to the ‘never ending promos’ that are over scripted and over thought. Kudos to Rockstar Spud & EC3 on a compelling performance.”
On Melina’s appearance on the Ross Report: “We are getting some amazing feedback on our Ross Report Podcast with @RealMelina this week especially from women. I hope that you will check it out as Melina is brutally honest and opens her heart for all to hear. Download for free at podcastone.com and iTunes or listen to it right here on the home page of our site.”
On Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31: “I think fans should give Roman Reigns an opportunity to prove himself on the big stage at WrestleMania vs. Brock Lesnar. Wouldn’t shock me to see Lesnar win the match even though Reigns is the favorite because of the unknown status of Lesnar’s WWE contractual arrangement.”
Former WWE Diva Melina was a guest on The Ross Report podcast this week, which you can listen to at PodcastOne.com.
She spoke about a number of topics, including her WWE run, what she’s doing these days and more. She also commented on the long standing rumors that she cheated on her ex-boyfriend, Lucha Underground star, with Batista.
Melina and Mundo dated on-and-off for 11 years and revealed that the rumors of her cheating on him with Batista ultimately led to them splitting up. Melina flat out denied the rumor and said she is still asked about it 10 years later. She added that Batista is a great friend and a real life hero.
– The next two all-new episodes of Total Divas will center on Eva Marie. The synopsis for this Sunday’s show is as follows: “Eva blindsides Jonathan with news that she should have delivered before they got married. Also: Rosa’s job is threatened; and Nikki retaliates.” It is titled “Baby Not on Board 312.”
The synopsis for the all-new episode airing on Sunday, January 18 reads “Eva is faced with a life-threatening medical issue; Paige gets a bit too close to Nattie in the ring; and what starts out as a friendly competition between Nikki and John escalates into a serious fight.” It is titled “Twin Leaks.”
– Attendance at last night’s SmackDown and Main Event tapings in Laredo, Texas was said to be very poor.
– Former WWE Divas and Women’s Champion Melina, who has not granted many interviews since parting ways with WWE in 2011, spoke to Jim Ross on Tuesday for a Ross Report podcast that will be released next month on PodcastOne.com.
– NXT Superstar Mojo Rawley appeared at the NXT live event in Lakeland, Florida on Saturday night with his shoulder still in a sling. He told fans that he would be back in two months and also tweeted the following about his recovery.
– The official website of the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, is advertising WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the Dec. 15, 2014 Raw.
Lesnar is also advertised for the following dates: Dec. 8, 2014 – Greenville, South Carolina; Dec. 29, 2014 – Washington, D.C; Jan. 12, 2015 – New Orleans, Louisiana; Jan. 19, 2015 – Dallas, Texas.
– The WWE Network has incorporated “Continue Watching” and “Watchlist” functions.
With the “Watchlist” function, you can add any episode or series and quickly access it through the “My Account” tab. The “Continue Watching” function allows users to resume watching any Network video they stopped watching.
– Former WWE Diva Melina has launched a podcast on iTunes and her official website, “Getting Real with Melina.” She doesn’t talk about wrestling, but rather, random subjects that amuse her. In the second edition, the former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion talks about skinny dipping, a Craig’s List post called Satan’s Marionette Puppet and actor Dolph Lundren.
– Best friends and former WWE Women’s and Divas Champions Melina and Jillian Hall released this video on YouTube capturing their wild road trip escapades—”COOKIES & CREAM The Adventures of Jillo & Marley.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3vcCEWqohg
Since parting ways with WWE in 2010, Hall has continued to wrestle on the independent circuit. Meanwhile, Melina recently indicated on Twitter that she currently has no interest in resuming her in-ring career (she last wrestled in September 2012).
– NXT Diva Bayley is the profiled in the latest edition of the NXT 10-Count on WWE.com, where the California native answers 10 questions submitted by fans.
Bayley’s wrestling fandom inspired her to become a wrestler herself. She says of her path to WWE, “I’ve been wrestling for a little more than five years now. I went to my first live wrestling show when I was 12 years old for this independent promotion called Big Time Wrestling in Northern California. Since that night, I never missed a show of theirs. I knew once I was of age and my mom allowed it, I wanted to begin training with them. Once I did, I was wrestling there twice a week for more than four years before I got to come to NXT.”
The article features a picture of a young Bayley wearing a Team Xtreme T-Shirt. She says The Hardy Boyz and Lita, as well as “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Rock, Lita, Eddie Guerrero, Ivory, Victoria and Triple H, are her wrestling inspirations.
Bayley says she would like to face former WWE Women’s Champion Ivory (when asked which past or present Diva she would like to face). “She was amazing in the ring,” said Bayley. “She would be a huge challenge and I could learn a lot from her. She was also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met – very happy and energetic.”
Bayley also talks hobbies, headbands and whether she would attempt to hug The Undertaker. To read the full interview, click here.
– The official WWE website has released a poll asking fans which former Diva they would most like to see return to the organization.
With over 9,000 votes cast, Kelly Kelly is coming out on top with a figure of 23%. She is trailed by Lita (17%), Trish Stratus (13%), Eve (11%), Melina (8%), Beth Phoenix (6%), Victoria (6%), Michelle McCool (5%), Stacy Keibler (4%), Torrie Wilson (4%) and Maxine (2%).
– Former rivals Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Triple H exchanged messages on Twitter on Saturday.
After “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” wrote, “From shootin FAST 5 to WRESTLEMANIA, to me being a brown neck livin’ in a redneck trailer park. Great to be back Atlanta!” WWE’s Chief Operating Officer responded, “Congrats Rock! No one works harder! #inspiration #passion #7Bucks.” Enclosed was a Forbes graphic of Johnson acknowledging the story of only having had seven dollars to his name following the unceremonious conclusion of his football career in 1995.
Wishing “The Game” well on his 44th birthday, Johnson wrote back, “Thank U Trip! Happy Birthday bud!”
– CM Punk is featured on the cover of the latest issue of the United Kingdom-based magazine PowerSlam (see here). Also featured is an interview with WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross where he responds to a question about all of those “embarrassing scenarios and on-air digs and ridicule from Vince McMahon and others” in WWE over the years.
MichelleMcCool.Net has released more highlights from their recent interview with former WWE diva Michelle McCool, wife of the Undertaker.
Coming Up: “I guess Melina and I came in around the same time, because her guys are the ones that put me out with their finisher so that I could train at Deep South [Wrestling] for a little bit longer. We’ve started around the same time in WWE, but obviously she’s been in the business longer.”
Melina’s Reputation: “Throughout her career, she may have had some run-ins or problems with a lot of people backstage. Personally, I was never one of them. All of the things that she supposedly had done or whatever issues were going on, I was not a part of that. So, I didn’t have a problem with her. That’s not my business — I try to stay out of people’s business, if it doesn’t personally affect me, then I don’t really need to get into the drama!”
Working with Melina: “So, I never actually had a problem with Melina and we worked a lot together. When she came to SmackDown, we worked a program together. We had a match at the Pay-Per-View, Night of Champions. There, we put a mark on things — we totally got in trouble!”
Punished For Being Good: “We got in trouble for our match at Night of Champions. We got in trouble for our match being quote-on-quote “too good… for girls.” So, I don’t care how much I get in trouble if that’s what I’m getting in trouble for. It started where I dropped kicked her on her slipt-entrance to the mat — crazy, crazy bump — which she was always game for. The crazier, the better! We always worked well with each other, always wanted to come up with something different; some new way to come out of her moves, get into one of my moves, something you don’t always see the girls do.”
Pushing the Envelope: “It was that day [Night of Champions] I was like: “could you not tell anybody, but do you think we could do a DDT on the barricade?” And she was like: “Ohhhh! Yeah!!!” — Not even thinking twice about it. We kind of hid it all day, even though we did ask our agent for approval, I think it was Fit — which is no secret that he was always fighting for the girls. We just made sure that we can stand up and get our balance, but we never actually did the bump. She was the one who was going to take the huge bump, and there was no doubt, no hesitation, that she would make it look ridiculous — and it did! [During the match] She finally takes the bump, it looks sick, pops off — up to that point, that was the best match I’ve ever had. We had the pay-per-view, we had time, I was really proud of that match.”
Big Time Trouble: “The next day, one of the agents came up to us and was like: “I can’t believe y’all did that! You have no idea! We were all backstage, scared to death!” We were like: “…What? We know how to safely bump. We wouldn’t do anything that would put either one of us at risk. We’re totally fine! If the men can do it, why can’t we do it?” He said: “It looked too good! You can’t go out there throwing punches like that, or taking bumps like that — that looks better than some of the guys! You can’t do that!” Finally, I remember Chris Jericho, who was by the ring, hears all of this going on. He said: “Look, if the guys can’t follow what the girls are doing, then the guys need to step it up! I thought it was awesome. They did great. And it’s not their problem that it looked that great!” I was like… “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Because out of respect, we can’t say anything, and here comes one of the boys — Jericho, of all people, sticking up for us!”
Trouble before: “Off topic, But Lisa [Tara/Victoria] and I got in trouble before, too. After finishing our match, Lisa comes into the locker room, and I’ve already changed, I’m in my business/casual, ready to leave the arena, and she comes in and says: “Get dressed! We have to go out there and do the match again!” I’m like: “What?! You’re always joking, always ribbing…” She goes: “No!! I swear!! The punches we threw on the turnbuckle, we can’t throw them — they look too good!” So, we went out and we had to re-do our whole entire match. That’s just like me and Melina getting in trouble.”
OK. One Backstage Altercation: “I’ve never personally had a problem with her, but towards the end of my career, there was one little incident. People wanna know: this is the “juicy, juicy details” of the Michelle and Melina problem! We were in the locker room and it was one of those Halloween deals. All of the girls were dressed, and literally ten minutes before we’re all going out, nobody has a clue what is going on. Nobody is giving us finishers, nobody has no idea what is going on. So, we’re bouncing ideas, and I remember it was me, The Bellas, and Melina… I can’t remember who may or may have not been in there. I do remember throwing an idea out there and it was Brie or Nicole who said, “Yeah. That sounds like a cool idea,” then there’s Melina, who just kind of rolls her eyes and huffs. Her back is to me, but I’m like: “Melina, if you don’t like the idea, just tell me what you want to do — I’ll do it. I don’t care.” She says: “Nope. That’s fine.” So I say: “Well, we’re in a room full of mirrors. The next time you want to roll your eyes, you might want to kinda not do it in a room full of mirrors.” That’s the biggest problem I’ve ever had with Melina! Isn’t that just awful?! …I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice. It’s the silliest thing ever, obviously. We got over it, but it was kind of humorous. So, that was my only Melina run-in right there. Honest to God, nothing else between us… but a bunch of good matches.”
– Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com reported on November 18 that former WWE wrestlers John Morrison and Melina were involved in a domestic dispute the prior weekend, resulting in police being summoned to the residence they share in Los Angeles, California. He said details of the story would likely be published on TMZ.com, but ultimately, was not acknowledged. In a post on the F4WOnline.com message board Saturday, Meltzer explained why additional details regarding the incident have not been revealed.
“There was an incident reported to them (TMZ) but no police report to back it up so you can’t really go forward with the story,” wrote the Wrestling Observer editor. “Same reason I haven’t said anything. I checked with police and if they were called, there was no report.”
Since news of the incident surfaced online, Morrison has continued performing at wrestling events and comedy clubs. Perez, on the other hand, has continued to remain out of the public spotlight entirely. She last appeared at a wrestling show on October 12 in Tijuana, Mexico, accompanying Morrison for a match. She stopped tweeting a few days prior, and subsequently canceled an autograph signing she was scheduled to appear at later that month.
– Speaking to USA Today, music mogul-turned-boxing promoter 50 Cent believes the sport of professional boxing could benefit from utilizing WWE-style theatrics.
“(We should) use some of the theatrics that you see in WWE and bringing them into a sport that doesn’t have a question mark — we know boxing is real. We don’t say ‘is that real?’ like wrestling. If you add those different elements to it you can offer something that would be entertaining enough to watch the entire show,” said 50 Cent.
Details on 50 Cent’s promotion plans are available here.
– There are rumors that former WWE stars John Morrison and Melina were involved in a domestic violence dispute over the weekend. F4wonline.com reports that police were called and details will likely be on TMZ in the next 24 hours.
Speaking of Morrison, he and former WWE wrestler Chris Masters recently filmed a commercial for Wells Fargo Bank. Check out this picture of them on the set of the commercial: