– Former WWE announcer and ESPN host Todd Grisham celebrates his 38th birthday today. Grisham was born on January 9, 1976.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley joked on Twitter that the content during his comedy shows scheduled for this weekend may not make WWE too happy. Foley tweeted:
I'm pretty sure this week's shows are going to get me fired from @WWE. Should be fun!
– WWE has added the following video to their official YouTube channel featuring bloopers from the shoot of the WWE Royal Rumble 2014 commercial. The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “Randy Orton, Goldust and other WWE Superstars come unhinged in these outtakes from the 2014 Royal Rumble speed dating commercial.”
WWE will tape this week’s Main Event and SmackDown on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
As announced at Old School RAW on Monday night, the main event for this week’s WWE Main Event will be a tag-team match featuring R-Truth & Xavier Woods vs. The Real Americans.
The confirmed main event for this week’s SmackDown, which was also announced at Old School RAW, is a non-title match between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston.
Also advertised for the taping in Philadelphia tonight is WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley.
Anyone who is attending tonight’s taping, feel free to submit a live report to be published here on the website.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has published a new Facebook blog about The Shield, speculating whether they will break up or not. Here’s an excerpt:
“I don’t know if there’s going to be a true split between the SHIELD. or if the weeks long rift is going to turn out to be a false alarm. I think there has to be an eventual parting of the ways, if only because it’s been obvious from the start that all three members – Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose had promising singles careers ahead of them. But if/when that split happens, the WWE Universe will be ready for it.
In a business where things seem to move at warp speed, where we sometimes are in such a hurry to turn out a product that we forget to take our time with it, storylines can often jump onto our screens on our screen like a quick, microwaved meal – they gets the job done, but without any real passion in the craftsmanship, and ultimately, completely unmemorable. But WWE has taken the time to put the right spices into this angle, and when it emerges from the oven, it’s going to fully seasoned, and baked with that old world craftsmanship – something we can all savor for a while.”
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has published a blog on Facebook talking about Daniel Bryan joining the Wyatt Family. Here’s an excerpt:
“For the record, I am a huge daniel Bryan fan. I thought a Bryan win would have been best for business at “Hell in a Cell”. I think Bryan winning the Royal Rumble, and the potential of 75,000 strong in New Orleans chanting “YES” at the conclusion of Wrestlemania – providing an image for the ages….and sending people home HAPPY – will be what’s best for business in April. But could this recent turn of events with Bray Wyatt be what’s best for business now?
It could be.
Personally, I see the WWE World heavyweight Championship in Daniel Bryan’s future. But in the meantime, he has a chance to do something almost as important and prestigious; he has a chance to help MAKE somebody.
Last month, I mentioned that Bray Wyatt (yeah, I know I called him Way Bryatt on the TLC PPV) had that “IT” thing – those tricky two letters that can spell the difference betweeen a talented performer and a star, between an asset to the company and a main eventer. But even a peformer with that “IT” factor needs something else to get them there – a bridge of sorts to get lead them on that next step of the journey. Every performer in our business needs that intense personal issue, that rivalry, that FEUD that truly puts them on the main event map.”
Besides WrestleMania 29, which is annually WWE’s top video release, WCW nostalgia has been driving WWE’s DVD sales.
According to WWE business numbers released last week, WCW titles rank as the second, third and fourth top WWE video releases of 2013. Through the end of November, the most shipped DVDs have been WrestleMania 29 (174,000), The Best of WCW Monday Nitro, Vol. 2 (121,000), WWE: Goldberg – The Ultimate Collection (86,000), WCW War Games: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches (80,000), WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (64,000) and WWE: For All Mankind- The Life and Career of Mick Foley (59,000).
It should be noted that the Goldberg DVD had only been out for less than two months, with 74,000 sold in the first month. It greatly outsold the Triple H video released two weeks prior, Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come, which was not ranked as a top-seller.
As of late, actual sales have hovered around the 60% mark of total shipments.
The DVD market appears to be declining, with shipments of WrestleMania and other top WWE-themed titles being significantly down compared to the year before. The top WWE DVD releases at the same point in 2012 were WrestleMania XXVIII (236,000), The Rock: The Epic Journey of Dwayne Johnson (150,000), CM Punk – Best in the World (114,000, released in October), WWE: Undertaker – The Streak (102,000), WWE: The Greatest Superstars of WrestleMania (96,000), nWo: The Revolution (94,000, released in November) and Royal Rumble (89,000).
WWE has plans to release more titles featuring the best of World Championship Wrestling. WrestlingDVDNews.com reported last week that WWE’s upcoming WCW’s Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for release on March 11, 2014, will be the first title released in a series highlighting the greatest WCW matches on pay-per-view.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley has been tweeting since Monday night about his desire to be part of the RAW Christmas special that aired this week. Foley initially tweeted:
Here is the “feel good” Christmas-related story Foley wrote about on Twitter:
“Sure, I would have like to be on #RAWChristmas – but it’s not my show, and not my call. So, I’m going to look at the glass of milk half-full and share a nice behind the scenes story.
A couple months ago, I heard from a longtime Santa -a large man who had fallen on tough times, and had been unable to play the Santa role he loved, because he no longer owned a suit for his large frome. Following the Santa match on RAW, Mark Henry gave me his Santa suit, and I had it in a box bound for Kentucky the next day.
The Kentucky Santa sent me a photo a couple days later – the suit fit perfectly :)
‘Fandango dishes on the worst dancer, his own reflection and if he will replace Summer Rae this winter.’
– John Cena is featured on the latest Outside The Ring video:
“WWE Superstar John Cena steps from the ring to behind the desk where the leader of Cenation shined as a guest co-host of ESPN’s hit show, ‘SportsNation’.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley will be dressing up as Santa Claus to take photos with fans on Friday from 4pm until 6:30pm at Finishing Touch Photo in Setauket. Foley asked that fans please don’t bring merchandise for him to autogrpah as this is strictly a photo session. For more information, visit FinishingTouchPhoto.com.
– WWE Diva and Total Divas star Naomi’s interview with JET Magazine has officially been released. Fans interested in checking out the interview can do so online at JETMag.com.
– WWE is giving away four autographed copies of their new TriviaMania board game signed by WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio. The contest ends at midnight on December 17th. For more information, visit WooBox.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley’s son Hugh Foley has written a new book called “Crazy Christmas.” Hugh was assisted by comic book illustrated Jill Thompson on the project. The book features Mick Foley as a character.
It was announced during the TLC “go-home” edition of WWE RAW on Monday night, which was also the Slammy Awards special, that Fandango will be facing Dolph Ziggler in the TLC Kickoff Show match.
Also announced for the TLC Kickoff Show is the “expert panel.” For the final WWE pay-per-view of 2013, WWE Hall Of Famers Mick Foley and Booker T will join WWE Superstar The Miz to hype up the TLC pay-per-view.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is teasing that at midnight on Monday, he will reveal some “big news” for Cactus Jack fans. For more information, visit RealMickFoley.com.
– Speaking of Foley, he will be signing copies of his “WWE #1” comic book on December 14th in New York City at the Midtown Comics store on Fulton Street. The comic will be officially released on Wednesday, January 11th.
– Due to the strong sales of WCW-related titles, WWE is already coming up with multiple ideas for a bunch of similar WCW-related DVD releases.
– Next Sunday night’s edition of Total Divas is the episode that will feature Daniel Bryan’s real-life proposal to Brie Bella.
– Lex Luger’s autobiography is scheduled for a paperback release in May of 2014.
– The following is the official synopsis for the new “WWE #1” comic book, which was written by WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:
“Pandemonium Squared,” Part 1 of 4. An all-new adventure straight from the world of WWE’s powerful, ongoing clashes. It all starts with a fierce battle between WWE Champion John Cena and Mark Henry, but quickly turns into all-out chaos! Soon virtually every WWE Superstar faces off in a no-holds-barred Brawl to End it All – but what has caused the wrestlers to virtually go berserk? Can Vickie Guerrero and Booker T manage such chaos, or will Mr. McMahon have to step in? Featuring CM Punk, Fandango, Sheamus and more! “
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently spoke to Previews World regarding his new WWE comic book, “WWE #1” and how several WWE Superstars are excited to check it out:
“I know a few of them are really excited. Guys like CM Punk who grew up as huge fans are dying to see what they look like in a comic book. I’ve had that chance, when WWE did their book in 1999, and WCW did theirs in the early nineties.”
Following the tragic death of actor Paul Walker over the weekend, production has been shut down on The Rock’s new film “Fast & Furious 7.” After rushing to get the movie completed in time for a July 2014 release, producers are now considering scrapping the entire film and starting over. Fast & Furious 7, which has a $200 million budget, was more than halfway finished at the time of Walker’s death.
During an interview with Entertainment weekly, The Rock said:
“He was motivated by work that allowed him to take care of his family, number one, and that also allowed him the power and the leverage to help people in need and in crisis. The most important thing that we had in common was the importance of family time and being a great father to our daughters. We bonded over that. It was always the number one topic we would talk about. We would talk about silly guy things, his fast cars and my pickup trucks, or we would talk about the beautiful energy of Hawaii — but it always ultimately came back to family. And very specifically, the beautiful and important bond between a father and his daughter, and how we both realized that over the years.”
He praised Walker’s professionalism, calling the actor “a very calming presence on set.”
The Rock also tweeted on Wednesday morning:
Losing a loved one jolts our hearts to the core… It also has a way of helping us move forward to live & love as greatly as possible. #PW
– WWE’s storyline with the Big Show and Triple H has been dropped. At one point, there was talk of them wrestling at the Royal Rumble, but Big Show was brought back to television early and wrestled Randy Orton at Survivor Series. Big Show has already been moved out of the Authority storyline – and competed in an unrelated 6-man tag match last night on RAW.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley appeared on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom radio show this morning. It will be be replayed at BobandTom.com later this afternoon.
– During a Total Divas Q&A on Twitter Sunday night, Natalya was asked if Divas Champion AJ Lee could make it as a Total Diva. She replied, “It’s not for everyone.”
– WWE NXT Diva Charlotte shared an encouraging text message from her father Ric Flair on Instagram:
– WWE NXT Champion Bo Dallas is scheduled to defend his title against Adrian Neville at the WWE NXT live event on December 5th in Tampa, Florida.
– The Kentucky.com website has an article up promoting Mick Foley’s upcoming one man show at The Mall in Lexington Green on December 4th. You can check that article out online at Kentucky.com.
– WWE has added a nearly four-minute clip on YouTube from the latest Michael Cole and Triple H interview from WWE.com. The clip focuses on Triple H revealing that he wants there to be one undisputed champion in WWE. You can watch the clip below:
– Actor Paul Walker, best known for his roles in the Fast and the Furious action movies, died on Saturday in a car crash in Southern California, his publicist announced. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson commented on his co-star’s passing.
“All my strength, love & faith to the Walker family during this heartbreaking time,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “We find our strength.. in his light. Love you brother.”
The latest installment of the movie franchise, Fast & Furious 7, was recently filmed in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The movie is scheduled for release next year with Walker involved.
– In honor of The Miz’s new ABC Family movie Christmas Bounty, 30 Second Fury takes a look at his devastating finishing manuever, The Skull Crushing Finale.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley is scheduled to appear at two events in Indiana on Sunday. At 11:00 a.m., he will be participating in an autograph signing in Cincinnati at the Moeller High School Thanksgiving show and at 8:00 p.m., he will be holding a comedy show at the Laughter House in Muncie.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently joked about his participation in an upcoming fruitcake eating competition on his official Twitter account. Foley tweeted the following:
Suddenly, I'm having second thoughts about that fruitcake eating competition on 12/7. But, somehow I'll find the fortitude to see it through
– New main roster WWE Superstar Xavier Woods recently revealed his favorite wrestler in a new tweet posted on his official Twitter account. Woods tweeted the following:
– Former TNA star Matt Morgan and recently released WWE NXT star Chris Hero (aka Kassius Ohno) are scheduled to headline the next NWA-Florida Underground event in Tampa, Florida this Friday, November 29th. For more information, visit FUWrestling.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is scheduled to make an appearance at the Kalamazoo Wings hockey game on Friday, January 24th. For more information, visit MLive.com.
– Retired NFL quarterback Joe Thiesmann criticized the current WWE product in a new tweet he posted while watching WWE RAW this past Monday night. “Raw needs more wrestling and less gum flapping,” wrote the NFL legend, which ended up being covered by The Washington Post. For more on that story, visit WashingtonPost.com.
WWE has added the complete Survivor Series “Kickoff Show” that aired prior to the pay-per-view on Sunday night to their official YouTube channel.
Fans interested can check out the pre-show special, which featured the Hall Of Fame panel consisting of Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T, as well as the “Kickoff Show” match between The Miz and Kofi Kingston.
Watch the full WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show below:
– Mick Foley will be performing at the Déjà Vu Comedy Club in Columbia, Missouri tonight at 8pm.
– After reports that Mysterio was limping after his return to WWE on Monday’s RAW, Mysterio was said to be fine at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings. He teamed with the Usos in a 6-man tag match against The Shield.
– It was announced on Monday’s special country-themed edition of WWE RAW that at the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show this Sunday there will be a Hall Of Fame expert panel. Representing the panel for the Kickoff Show will be WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T.
– Also announced on RAW this past Monday night is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between the current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes, and The Real Americans – Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley did a comedy show last night at the Performing Arts Center in Smithtown, New York. The show was mostly Foley telling stories from his career, which Foley says raised $1,500 for the Holiday Magic charity.
WWE cameras were on hand to record the sold out show, with WWE looking to air the show on the WWE Network, when it eventually launches. Foley noted several times that he wasn’t sure how WWE would edit the show, since there was some non-PG material.
Joey Styles was at the show and introduced Foley at the beginning. Brodus Clay and former WWE talent Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse were in attendance at the taping. Former WWE writer Jen Bloodsworth opened for Foley.
The show also featured balloon version of Mick Foley, The Rock, Vince McMahon and of course, Santa Claus:
