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.
Mexico pro wrestling legend Konnan recently spoke about Michael Hayes having heat with several wrestlers and employees in the WWE these days during a recent edition of his MLW Radio show.
Konnan had the following to say about Hayes, including rumors that he may soon be replaced:
“I was a huge Michael Hayes fan, Freebirds fan, when I was growing up, when I used to watch him in Atlanta. Every time I’ve seen Michael, he’s always been very cool with me backstage. But having said that, I will say this, he does have a ton of heat with people. I do know a couple people that told me that if they got fired they would kick his ass before they left the company. And I just found out today that he did get mega heat I guess for having drinks with Rosa [Mendes]. So much so, that he might be replaced. Boom.”
Check out the complete interview online at MLW.com.
Full Story On Michael Hayes/Rosa Mendes Drinking — CLICK HERE!
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch appeared on The Undisputed Wrestling Show on Thursday, where she discussed the start of her career in the professional wrestling industry, Chris Candido, Paul Heyman swindling her, her upcoming autobiography, and more.
Earlier this week, former WWE creative writer Court Bauer revealed on the MLW Radio podcast that senior producer Michael Hayes was unofficially suspended by WWE for being spotted consuming alcoholic beverages with Rosa Mendes shortly after the Diva performer returned to work following her completion of a rehabilitation program for issues with substance abuse—Mendes returned to the road in August after being sent home in April from a European tour for what was cited by WWE to multiple wrestling news outlets as “personal reasons.” Yesterday, WWE appeared to confirm the report by issuing the following statement to wrestling news outlets: “Michael is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.”
Sytch, who too addressed her longstanding issues with substance issue in the past year, weighed in on the situation with the following: “I think he is way out of line. As a recovering alcoholic myself, the last thing you want is for somebody to offer you drinks when you are trying to stay sober. If he did that then shame on him.”
Sytch spoke for approximately 75-minutes (listen here). To visit their Facebook page, click here.
Baurer said of Hayes in his podcast, “Because of this lapse in judgment, he was told he’d be basically suspended from school for a few weeks. He’s not going anywhere; he’s still in the company. He’s still very much involved, so it’s not the end of Michael Hayes.”
-The documentary special on the life of MMA legend Frank Shamrock airs tonight at 11:00pm E.T. on Spike TV. The documentary features, among other things, Frank and brother Ken Shamrock attempting to bury the hatchet after years of issues.
-WWE Superstar The Miz promoted the upcoming tour of Abu Dhabi in a new interview, which you can read online at KhaleejTimes.com.
-WWE issued the following simple statement on the situation involving Michael Hayes, which we reported earlier today. The statement reads:
“Michael is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.”
Related News: Undertaker’s Rumored Opponent For WrestleMania XXX
It is rumored that WWE official Michael Hayes has been suspended by WWE for giving alcohol to WWE Diva Rosa Mendes just days after she returned from work and underwent treatment for alcohol dependency.
Former WWE writer Court Bauer recently revealed on the MLW Radio Show that Hayes is taking time off from WWE to deal with “personal issues.”
Hayes had been working directly with Triple H on booking live events. During his absence from WWE, former WWE Superstar Brian “Road Dogg” James has been taking on a bigger role behind the scenes. Aside from working TV tapings and live events, James is also working a lot at WWE headquarters and attending creative meetings. Most WWE superstars like the idea of James being part of the creative process, since he’s been in the business for decades.
WWE has yet to release a statement regarding Hayes’ absence.
* Tons of Backstage News On John Cena, Vince McMahon & Plans For WrestleMania XXX
(Information from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter & f4wonline.com was used in this report)
– WWE creative team member Michael Hayes has been away for a few weeks dealing with a personal issue.
– With Shawn Michaels’ surprise appearance on Monday’s RAW and upcoming gig as the special guest referee at WWE Hell in a Cell, there’s buzz in WWE that he can be talked back into wrestling a match at WrestleMania XXX.
– WWE officials, including Triple H, feel that Aksana has the “it” factor. Expect to see her in a more prominent role in the coming months.
(Information from PWInsider.com was used in this report)
– 2013 will mark WWE’s 50th Anniversary, with a DVD set and other events planned to commemorate the milestone. Technically, the WWWF was around before 1963, but that’s the year when it was announced that Buddy Rogers had won a tournament in Rio de Janeiro to become the first Worldwide Wrestling Federation world champion.
– Michael Hayes is still the head booker of WWE’s live events. That job used to be done by WWE’s head of talent relations, but the company feels that Hayes is better suited for running the house shows than the current head of talent relations, Jane Geddes.
– There are several reasons for WWE turning The Miz to a babyface character. Aside from the fact that he’s got two movies coming out next year and would have a harder time promoting them as a heel, fans have really been getting behind him in recent months. The Miz did a great job being an annoying, self-centered jerk for most of his WWE career, but it’s also clear that he loves his job and is passionate about the business.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Stephanie McMahon speaks in Spanish in a newly released Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate campaign ad geared towards Latino voters in Connecticut. Stephanie says her mother understands the hardships many Connecticut families are facing since they faced similar hardships years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs_ecZge_Iw
– A new episode of The Legends of Wrestling premieres this Thursday on WWE Classics On Demand with Jim Ross, Pat Patterson, Michael Hayes and ‘The Road Dogg’ Brian James joining host Gene Okerlund for a no-holds-barred discussion and a special look at “The History Of Monday Night Raw.”
– WWE will hold a live event in Stockton, California on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 23, 2012.
– Here are recent WWE attendance figures:
* SmackDown on August 9th in Tokyo drew 5,500 fans ($520,000 gate)
* RAW on August 10th in Tupelo, MS drew 5,200 fans ($160,000 gate)
* SmackDown on August 10th in Tokyo drew 7,000 fans ($640,000 gate)
* RAW on August 11th in Biloxi, MS drew 4,000 fans ($130,000 gate)
* SmackDown on August 11th in Shanghai, China drew 6,500 fans ($600,000 gate)
* RAW on August 12th in Texarkana, AR drew 3,600 fans ($110,000 gate)
* SmackDown on August 12th in Taipei, Taiwan drew 9,000 fans ($750,000 gate)
– WWE.com has an interview up with Michael “PS” Hayes about the song he recently recorded, “Freebird Road”, as a tribute to his late friend, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy. About the song, Hayes said:
“This is one of those things that makes me content with my life. If I never do another thing with my life, I know I’ll be happy that I was able to honor my friend this way.”
– The 1,000th RAW Celebration last month had a higher-than-usual percentage of fans watching the show on DVR/tape delay (11.7% of the total audience).
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Devin sent the following: The FCW event at the Armory in Orlando, Florida has been moved to Thursday, August 2nd. It’s original date was Wednesday, July 25th. The FCW event at the Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, Florida has been moved to Friday, August 17th. It’s original date was Friday, July 27th.
– Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis attended last night’s Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event in Reseda, California.
– WWE’s YouTube channel was ranked #6 for the week ending July 18th. They had 2,717,804 views.
– As seen yesterday, Michael Hayes paid tribute to the late Terry Gordy of The Fabulous Freebirds and WWE’s website did a feature on the group. There has been talk of inducting The Freebirds into the WWE Hall of Fame.
– Vince McMahon issued a directive to WWE scouts recruiting athletes as prospective talent; they must meet a size requirement of 6’2″ and 240 pounds. The WWE chief is concerned that many of his top-tier talents are approximately 200 pounds, thus small by his standards. His remark to Daniel Bryan on last week’s episode of Raw Supershow where nobody would believe him to be a WWE Superstar if he was spotted in a grocery store was based on his frustration with his roster’s lack of sufficient size. McMahon believes many of his top stars are not reaching the masses because they don’t possess ‘the Superstar look.’
– WWE creative writer Michael Hayes has replaced John Laurinaitis as the matchmaker for live event shows.
– Rey Mysterio’s sixty-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program expires on Monday. WWE has yet to advertise Mysterio for any upcoming events.
– The late Earthquake is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. He died on June 7, 2006 at the age of 42 following a lengthy battle with bladder cancer.
(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
— Jim Ross stated on Twitter that he has accepted “The Michael Cole Challenge.”
He wrote, “You asked..YES I’m taking the Michael Cole Challenge this Monday in ATL. What do I have to lose? Old dogs can still hunt BTW. Lets do this!”
If J.R. can defeat Cole on the Raw SuperShow, he will reclaim his seat at the announce booth and Cole will quit.
— Former WWE star Chris Masters deleted a message he posted on Twitter today alleging that a female member of the SmackDown roster maintains sexual relations with head creative writer Michael Hayes in order to keep her job. He says he was only “hypothetically speaking.”
Masters wrote earlier, “So if I had to tell you one smackdown diva who gave freebird hayes an “Oral” agreement to keep her job, who’d you guess?”
— Former WWE Superstar Edge turns 38 years old today.
Recently released WWE star Chris Masters posted a blind item on his Twitter account (twitter.com/wwemasterp) Sunday alleging that a female member of the SmackDown roster maintains sexual relations with head creative writer Michael Hayes in order to keep her job.
He wrote, “So if I had to tell you one smackdown diva who gave freebird hayes an “Oral” agreement to keep her job, who’d you guess?”
Similar allegations regarding sexual politics in the WWE lockerroom have been made as Taryn Terrell (a/k/a Tiffany) stated last December that she would not trade sexual favors with individuals in positions of power in order to maintain employment with the sports entertainment organization.
“No…if I have to sleep with people in power to keep or continue progressing in my job, I’d rather be poor,” she wrote on Twitter in response to a specific question about whether she would return to WWE.
She later retracted her remark, saying it wasn’t about WWE or anyone in particular, but rather a generalized statement of companies she’s worked for.
Jim Ross stated on Twitter that he will in Stamford, Connecticut next Wednesday to tape episodes of WWE Classics On Demand’s roundtable discussion show, Legends of Wrestling. He will be joined by “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Diamond Dallas Page, Michael Hayes and host “Mean” Gene Okerlund.
“One show will address many of the rogues, outlaws, mavericks, etc that have dotted the pro wrestling landscape over the years. Men and women who were strong, independent thinkers and who, at times, were major a pain in the ass for promoters,” Ross added on his official website.
“The second topic is scheduled to be the impact that athletes and celebrities from outside the world of wrestling have played in the business. The celeb card has been played for decades including guys like Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano being special referees. I’ve tried to forget Jay Leno ‘wrestling’ once upon a time but I will have plenty to say about that hideous idea.”
Diana Hart Smith, the outspoken mother of recently released WWE talent Harry Smith, continues to lash out at Michael Cole via Twitter after calling the WWE broadcaster effeminate on Monday. She wrote the following messages on the microblogging site on Thursday, including calling creative writer Michael Hayes a transvestite.
* “Does the reMARKable Michelle Cole have rabbies or perhaps mange. Just wondering because he is such a dog for a diva. That’s what he is, right?”
* “When Michael Hayes wrestled in Germany in late 70s as a transvestite, was his name Suzi Sykes or Suzy Sails? Any1 know?. He was quite the lady.”
* “Michelle Cole=reMARKable 2 staff&Vince 2.? wuld pedigree Harry b w/whores like MC. Recall early days gttng wedgied by HHH/DX & he cried on live TV.”
The former wife of “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith also noted during her diatribe that Harry is heading to Japan at the end of the month for the Inoki Genome Federation.
Harry, meanwhile, apologized for his mother’s critical remarks. He says he has no ill will towards Michael Cole nor WWE.
“In regards to my Mom’s twitter remarks about Michael Cole and the WWE, these are only her opinions she’s expressing. I hold no ill feelings towards the WWE, and I don’t want it to look like I’m influencing these posts in any way shape or form,” he wrote on Facebook. “I’m a man of honor and integrity and try to be like my Grandfather Stu Hart. If I have something to say to or about someone I’ll say it to their face. I really dislike twitter, so I can’t post this myself on there.”
The self-proclaimed “Voice of WWE” did Smith no favors during his lone broadcast booth appearance on an episode of Raw last year as he criticized the third generation wrestler’s verbal ability and lack of charisma.
— Tyson Kidd was accompanied by SmackDown head writer Michael Hayes at last night’s WWE Superstars taping in Nashville, Tennessee. He faced Trent Barreta.
WWE officials have discussed reviving the manager role for some heel performers who can’t speak at a main event level.
— WWE Executive Vice President of Television Production Kevin Dunn’s compensation for 2010 was $746,154 in salary, $608,400 in stock grants and $359,000 in other income for a total of $1,713,554.
— Former WWE Superstar The Honky Tonk Man is scheduled for an autograph signing this Sunday at Legendary Ink in the Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The signing begins at 2:00 p.m. For more information, call 410-787-2002.
— Billy Kidman, who currently works for WWE in a producer role, celebrates his 37th birthday today.
source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
— Tyson Kidd was accompanied by Michael Hayes during tonight’s WWE Superstars taping in Nashville, Tennessee. He faced Trent Barreta.
Hayes reigns as the head creative writer for the SmackDown brand.
— It was announced tonight on NXT: Redemption that the first elimination of the ongoing season will occur on next week’s show, which emanates from Corpus Christi, Texas.
— WrestleMania XXVII is officially released today on DVD and Blu-ray. A clip of The Undertaker vs. Triple H match can be seen here.
— WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is scheduled for an appearance at Pulp Comics in Niagara Falls this Thursday from 4:00 p.m. through 7:00 p.m.
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published an article on WrestleMania XXVII featuring quotes from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, as well as SmackDown Superstar Cody Rhodes. The Rock reveals his plans for the event.
“What I can guarantee in Atlanta is that I will put my boot to candy [rear-ends] live in front of 75,000 strong members of Team Bring It,” Johnson told the newspaper.
— The official website of the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. is listing Capitol Punishment in place of Fatal 4-Way. The pay-per-view event takes place Sunday, June 19. (Event page)
It’s worth noting that John Cena is not advertised for the event. Advertised are Edge, Randy Orton, The Miz, Big Show, Rey Mysterio and the WWE Divas.
— Head SmackDown writer Michael Hayes celebrates his 52nd birthday today. Today also marks as the 24th anniversary of WrestleMania III.
Many within WWE have speculated that Michael Hayes’ role as the head writer of SmackDown is in jeopardy. His right hand man Chris DeJoseph was recently let go and the program has garnered dismal ratings since moving to Syfy.
In recent years, non-main event talent preferred SmackDown to Raw because there was more room for career growth. Currently, WWE’s Friday night brand features veterans garnering most of the spotlight with only a few exceptions.
One WWE source said that while Hayes received much praise for pushing younger talent, his focus is generally on the veterans. Writers who have worked under him are the real reason young talent are showcased on SmackDown.
source: Pro Wrestling Torch
— Based on the initial advertisement that was cut for Bragging Rights, the original plan was for John Cena and Big Show to be the respective captains of Raw and Smackdown.
Read More: Team SmackDown Members & Buried Alive Match Confirmed
— It is said that creative writer Michael Hayes brainstormed the finish to The Undertaker vs. Kane match at Hell in a Cell, which saw Paul Bearer turn on “The Deadman” by using the mystical urn’s “mysterious incandescence” to weaken him. The portly manager then handed the one-time dentist the object, which he then used as a weapon against Booger Red.
— In attendance notes, Saturday’s Raw live event in Stockton, California did 4,500, while Monday’s Raw television taping in Seattle, Washington drew 8,500. Last Wednesday’s SmackDown live event in Hidalgo, Texas drew a sellout crowd of 7,000 fans.
(sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch)
Former WWE star Charlie Haas went on a rant last night on Twitter/charliehaas following Sheamus’ destruction of Daniel Bryan on RAW.
Haas, who has been on the wrong side of WWE’s hit-or-miss booking, said:
“WWE creative is a joke. Way to kill off Daniel Bryan. Your brightest youngest star. Michael Hayes must have written this sh**. Please retire.”
Responding to a fan who challenged Haas’ comments above, he wrote:
“Don’t be a mark. They all have a say in the writing. Hayes is the most powerful of them all. He can change anything on any show.”
Haas followed up with the following, saying WWE has a deep roster, but creative only focuses on building up a handful of stars.
“There is great talent in WWE, they just don’t know how or refuse to write for them all. When the Monday night wars were going on, everyone on the roster had a story line. From Crash Holly to Stone Cold. Its an easy formula. Look at ROH everyone on the roster has a story line and is used. Not to be biased, but facts are facts. Every wrestler is unique and brings something to the table, that is what is great about the pro wrestling business.”
“As much as my passion was suppressed at WWE, my desire to prove all wrong burns .. I’m not done. But am done talking about WWE creative. New chapter. A lot to be thankful for. I am thankful for WWE time and the WWE fans.”
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