– During a recent interview with Charlotte Magazine, RAW superstar R-Truth reveals the origin of his “Little Jimmy” gimmick. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that it was WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon who came up with the ‘conspiracy’ gimmick and the Little Jimmy scapegoat character. Truth also told the magazine that he ad-libs 90% of his promos and that he’s still working on a hip-hop mixtape.
– As we reported earlier this week, we might see a professional boxing match at next year’s WrestleMania 28 pay-per-view between Monte Barrett and David Tua. Barrett, who is friends with John Cena, told 8countnews.com that he will be meeting with Vince McMahon and John Cena next week to discuss.
– Lilian Garcia noted on Twitter that she will be shooting a music video for hew new single this weekend.
— WWE’s Capitol Punishment pay-per-view event featuring R-Truth vs. John Cena drew approximately 200,000 buys, according to business figures released for the month of June 2011 on their corporate website.
The preliminary figure is up from 143,000 buys for the previous June’s pay-per-view event, Fatal 4-Way.
Capitol Punishment was also up from the previous month’s pay-per-view, Over the Limit, which drew approximately 150,000 buys. Cena was also featured in the main event, but against The Miz in an “I Quit” Match.
— Sin Cara, who is currently serving a 30-day suspension due to his first violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program, is advertised for an event WWE.com has just listed; a SmackDown taping in St. Louis, Missouri taking place September 27.
Regarding the masked grappler’s status with WWE, many employees are under the impression that management “had decided to cut bait on him.” Creative wasn’t informed until a day or two prior to Money in the Bank that he needed to be written off television and were also told to not “put any thought into any scenarios for him going forward.” A final decision regarding his immediate future has not been made.
— Both John Morrison and R-Truth are backstage at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
— A match pitting Heath Slater against Trent Barreta was taped for this Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars.
— Justin Gabriel beat WWE developmental wrestler Hunico in a dark match prior to tonight’s SmackDown taping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gabriel hit the 450° splash on the masked grappler for the win.
— The July 23 episode of A.M. Raw did a 0.37 rating, with 452,000 viewers.
In the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, Rey Mysterio and The Miz meet next week on Raw to determine the undisputed title holder.
Vince McMahon announced at the top of the show that eight of the top Superstars would compete in a WWE Championship Tournament and that a new titleholder would be determined that night. Before Mysterio and The Miz could compete in the final round of the WWE Championship Tournament, McMahon demanded that the ring be cleared due to important business he had to conduct. Triple H then informed McMahon that he had been relieved of his duties as WWE Chairman and that he would be taking his place.
WWE Championship Tournament Results
* The Miz defeated Alex Riley in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler in the first round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
* Rey Mysterio defeated R-Truth in the second round of the WWE Championship Tournament
Five-time WWE Tag Team Champion Road Dogg appeared on Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca, which airs Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sirius 92 and XM 207. Highlights from his interview are as follows:
R-Truth’s current push: “If you ask me, the WWE is about ten years too late. They had this guy ten or twelve years ago. I actually kind of recruited him to be my tag team partner cause Billy (Gunn) had just blown his shoulder out and was gonna have surgery and he was gonna be out for a year. I saw Ron Killings perform in Memphis when I was on break from WWF at the time and I saw him perform and I just thought ‘Man, this guy is great’. I saw something in him…and the next thing I know, we were tagging together.”
“I know they switched it up a little bit and turned him heel and it’s working for him man, so I say you work it girl….he’s doing great. I don’t follow the show as closely as I probably should, but I do turn over when I hear my brothers reffing or Ronnie Killings is on. I love to watch him work, he’s a great athlete, he looks great, he’s a great guy and I love him. Nothing but love for Ronnie Killings.”
Triple H’s role within in WWE: “He’s a really level headed guy. He’s not very emotional. He’s not going to let his emotions rue the day whether he hired somebody because he doesn’t like them. If somebody is talented, they’re going to get an opportunity and that’s how he is. And I think he’s always kind of had a knack to get over. Even if it was being attached to somebody that was gonna get over, bringing a faction together that was gonna get over. He always knew what to do from very young in his career. He knew who to get with, who to hang out with, and what to say and what to do. As far as a skill set to be in that position he definitely has that.”
“Now that’s not saying that he didn’t marry the boss’s daughter and that all helped him along the way. I’m not saying that he got married because of the gig. I’m saying that that may have helped him achieve the ultimate goal of getting where he is now. One day, him and Steph are going to run that company, and that’s just the bottom line. Vince always held things tight to his vest and handled things himself, and I think Hunter and Stephanie will do the same thing in the future. I think the right guy is in the right spot, and I think he’ll continue to make good decisions as far as making WWE profitable.”
Working with Chyna: “To be quite honest with you, and I’m sure steroids are no secret in this business. I’m sure that she was probably on some steroids because she was a monster. I saw her train and it was just incredible to watch her and see how she grew and everything. I haven’t spoken to her in a long time. I know she’s had her own demons that she’s dealt with and so I hope she’s doing well. I didn’t see her on TV when she was on there. Billy (Gunn) talked to her when he was down there in Orlando when they filmed that TV and he said she’s doing really well.”
“She was a great girl. She was really one of the guys without trying to saying anything, everybody always ribbed her about being a guy. She wasn’t a guy, she was a girl. She definitely had the attitude and camaraderie. She had a great sense of humor, she was funny. I’m sure she still is, but we all become someone other than ourselves when we use drugs and use too much alcohol. Before that all happened to her, I think the wrestling world brought it out in her because she wasn’t like that at first. She wasn’t eccentric at all. She wasn’t like that. She was really level headed and fun to be around and so I hope she’s doing well now.”
— The adult male who R-Truth threw a soda at last night on Raw was played by actor Kelci Jones.
A fan wrote, “The father on Raw tonight was actually an actor from Omaha who was with his nephew(s). He is active in the local arts and music scene in Omaha, Nebraska.
“His name is Kelci Jones. He is a friend on Facebook and stated yesterday that he would be on with his nephew. I was curious how that was going to play out. He stated that Vince McMahon ‘liked his swagger.'”
— It was reported on Sunday that masked Mexican professional wrestler Averno has signed a contract with WWE. He is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Super Luchas, with the headline saying “he has a foot in WWE.”
— WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal is scheduled for a book signing on June 11 at 2:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at the HarMar Mall 2100 North Snelling Ave. Roseville, Minnesota.
R-Truth may be getting his shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship at Captiol Punishment on June 19th – as per an announcement by the Anonymous RAW General Manager made after RAW went off the air.
Joey Styles tweeted the following after RAW:
“Raw’s GM has ordered R-Truth to apologize next week on Raw to earn a WWE Title Match with John Cena at Capitol Punishment. Video on WWE.com.”
Video of the post-RAW announcement by the RAW GM can be seen at here:
— Creative plans as of this past weekend were for R-Truth to confront John Cena tonight on Raw. This is a strong sign that Capitol Punishment will feature a match between both Raw Superstars.
— Vickie Guerrero remarked last Thursday on her Facebook account that her boyfriend, who was also her personal trainer, cheated on her with a married woman. She also made the news public on Twitter.
Guerrero wrote, “I did change gyms, my trainer/boyfriend was cheating on me with a married woman who has kids. She continued, “Its all good, the truth will always come out, karma will bite you #cheaters.”
— Though Triple H is being advertised for tonight’s Raw taping Omaha, Nebraska, it should be noted that the advertisement was done months ago. It is unlikely that he will be appearing at tonight’s show.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
R-Truth’s Recent Push :“R Truth seems to have finally found a viable niche and he is one of the brighter aspects on Raw. Truth is embracing his new persona and I happen to think it fits him well.”
Randy Savage In The WWE HOF: “I have no idea if or when Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE HOF or if he will go in with his former wife and valet, the late Miss Elizabeth. As I have said many times, it is obvious that both are deserving.”
Alex Riley Attacking The Miz: “I was impressed with the interaction between Alex Riley and The Miz Monday night on Raw as was, seemingly, the live audience in Portland. I am intrigued to see where Riley on Smackdown, I assume, and Miz, continue to evolve. Riley looked very impressive doling out the physicality on Miz on MNR.”
Jeff Hardy’s Current Situation: “I have no definitive comments to make on the “Jeff Hardy incident’ as I don’t follow TNA that closely nor do I know the accurate details of the issues at hand for Jeff other than he has had a court case pending that has seemingly dragged on forever which means the legal meter has been running, one would assume, for weeks and weeks. I like Jeff, I signed both Jeff and his brother Matt to WWE contracts, and hope that any personal issues that he may have can be resolved sooner than later and for good.”
Hulk Hogan’s Legacy: “What will Hulk Hogan’s legacy be at the end of the day? I can’t see why it won’t be excellent. If Hogan is judged on his contributions to the business of pro wrestling then it’s a no brainer. Hulk’s legacy is intact IMO as I don’t choose to judge him or anyone else by personal issues that happen in many of our lives. ”
As always, we highly recommend you check out JR’s site and sample his amazing line of BBQ products, his BBQ sauce and main event mustard can be found in the fridge at SEScoops global headquarters at all times!
– WWE is considering holding a steel cage match at the upcoming Capitol Punishment pay-per-view from Washington, D.C. on June 17th. The cage match would either be for either the WWE championship or the World Heavyweight title.
– John Cena wrote the following on Twitter after RAW about:
Punk’s Ring Attire: “It was a tribute to randy savage. It was f’n awsome. I was proud to be out there with him.”
Alex Riley Attacking The Miz: “Kudos to Alex Riley for finally growing a set. Good fighting tonight kid.”
– Kofi Kingston’s ring gear on RAWwas created by a 6-year-old fan named Luke from Canada. Luke was the winner of a WWE Magazine contest where the readers were invited to design ring gear for a WWE superstar, with the winner’s design getting used on television.
– Chris Jericho wrote the following on Twitter last night about R-Truth, who has been great lately on the mic:
“Here’s a Jericho prediction: @RonKillings is gonna be the next big thing in the WWE. And I have a better track record than Harold Camping”
— The Raw crew concludes their near two-week long international tour today and tomorrow in Qatar. The shows, however, will be without the “Sexy, Smart and Powerful” WWE Divas as they are prohibited from wearing clothing that doesn’t cover their legs or shoulders in public. Qatar is an Islamic country with strict dress laws.
Eve Torres and The Bella Twins, among others, have already flown back to the United States.
— Michael Cole had his Extreme Rules tag team partner, Jack Swagger, join him as a woman, who looked vaguely like the Queen of England, enter the ring and knight him on this week’s episode of Raw. The entire segment was cut from the encore telecast on Sky Sports in the UK, as well as most references to it.
This was not the only segment cut from the replay as R-Truth smoking a cigarette was also edited out.
— Donald Moore (a/k/a Dr. Cable Jones), who was released from his developmental contract with WWE in November, is considering resuming his wrestling career on the independent scene after undergoing major shoulder surgery. (Thanks to Don Tintle)
On Monday’s episode of RAW, John Morrison called out R-Truth for being out of shape due to his habit of smoking cigarettes. Morrison defeated Truth and took his spot in the WWE title match at Extreme Rules, leading to a beat on Morrison by R-Truth. R-Truth then got a pack of cigarettes from a fan at ringside and lit up a cigarette, blowing smoke on the beaten body of John Morrison.
According to TMZ.com, the largest anti-tobacco organization in the world is now demanding an apology from WWE for the segment, which they call borderline evil.
Patrick Reynolds, Executive Director of TobaccoFree.org, is demanding a public apology from R-Truth for smoking in front of children on a broadcast that’s promoted as family entertainment. Reynolds told TMZ.com:
“For him to smoke in front of [children] is irresponsible. At best, it’s thoughtless, and at worst, if he calculated appealing to kids by posing as a bad-boy outlaw, it’s evil.”
In response, WWE issued the following statement to TMZ.com:
“The negative effect smoking has on one’s health and physical performance was a part of a storyline on last night’s Monday Night Raw. Negative depictions of tobacco use on television are not unusual and can be seen on other TV-PG shows.”
What do you think about the situation? COMMENT BELOW and tell us if WWE should apologize for R-Truth’s smoking on RAW.
— WWE announced Tuesday morning via Joey Styles that Randy Orton will face CM Punk in a Last Man Standing Match Sunday at Extreme Rules.
Orton cleanly defeated Punk in a fifteen minute match last night on Raw. It was a re-match from their bout at WrestleMania, which was also won by Orton.
— After R-Truth mercilessly attacked John Morrison last night on Raw, the WWE Superstar grabbed cigarettes from an audience member and blew smoke in Morrison’s face. Earlier, The Shaman of Sexy derided his former tag team partner for his smoking habit and challenged him for his position in the title match at Extreme Rules, which he won.
R-Truth’s bit with the cigarettes did not air during the Raw broadcast in the UK.
— Kofi Kingston’s was advertised for yesterday’s SmackDown live event in Liverpool, but did not compete. He did, however, appear alongside the SmackDown roster, who entered the arena to congratulate Edge after saying farewell.
– WWE will tape Friday’s epiosde of SmackDown this afternoon from the O2 Arena in London, England. Confirmed for SmackDown is a WrestleMania Rematch with Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio and a retirement party for Edge hosted by Alberto Del Rio.
WWE will also tape NXT today from London. We will have live spoiler coverage around 3pm EST today.
– Prior to Monday’s taped episode of WWE RAW aired on the USA Network, R-Truth post the following spoiler on his Twitter account:
“Being mr nice guy got me no where! I lost my chance to become WWE champion! Wait’al they get a load of me!”
When his Twitter followers began complaining that he spoiled RAW, Truth deleted the deleted the tweet. Oops! Spoiling a big angle on RAW is a good way for Truth to get heel heat.
– Jim Ross wrote the following comments on Twitter after last night’s RAW:
“Well….not exactly what I had in mind tonight from London. However, paybacks are hell. Ham & egg announcers knocking me are laughable.
“As Chris Farley said in Tommy Boy, ‘Me need sleepy.’ Extreme Rules tag will be bowling shoe ugly but it will be fun…I hope.”
— Sin Cara teamed up with John Cena at last night’s Raw live event in Birmingham, England.
Earlier in the night, Cara defeated Alex Riley. Cena faced The Miz in the main event, which resulted in the WWE Champion being disqualified due to interference from Alex Riley. Cara appeared ringside to combat the duo. By orders of the Anonymous Raw General Manager, a match was set between the two sides, which resulted with the babyfaces going over.
— John Morrison faced WWE Champion The Miz and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match at Friday’s Raw live event in Dublin, Ireland. Alex Riley interfered in the match, resulting in Cena and Morrison facing The Miz and Riley. The babyface wrestlers won the contest.
On the same show, No. 1 Contender R-Truth participated in a dance contest with fans and Melina.
— The official theme song for WWE Extreme Rules is “Justice” by Rev Theory.
— John Cena and Randy Orton defeated CM Punk and The Miz in a tag team contest following Monday’s Raw broadcast.
— CM Punk broke his nose during the opening segment of Raw.
— Goldust (a/k/a Dustin Rhodes) was backstage at Raw.
— Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Nunzio refereed a dark match between Zack Ryder and Percy Watson.
— Before David Otunga could hit the ring to face King Sheamus, Mark Henry’s music hit as “The World’s Strongest Man” stormed the ring. Otunga’s scheduled bout with Otunga was ruled a No Contest. Otunga was not injured as creative plans called for him to not actually wrestle.
— A number of people backstage were cracking up at R-Truth saying the wrong city by his mistake prior to his match with Mason Ryan.
— John Cena and CM Punk had a “battle rap” during one of the show’s commercial breaks.
— WWEDVDNews.com has confirmed that World Wrestling Entertainment will release a video on D-Generation X titled Final Conflict on April 5 in North America. It will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray.
The three-disc set will pick off where the 2007 set left off with matches from their rivalries with The Legacy and JeriShow. It will also contain brand new interviews with Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
— Continuing their angle from Monday’s Raw, SmackDown Superstar Alberto Del Rio lost to R-Truth in a singles match at Friday’s Raw live event in Augusta, Georgia. He lost to the former United States Champion for the second consecutive night at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Lexington, Kentucky.
— Chris Masters celebrated his 27th birthday Saturday.
— John Cena is being advertised to appear at several upcoming SmackDown live events.
— JTG filled in for R-Truth as Johnny Curtis’ WWE Pro on last night’s episode of NXT. The Raw Superstar wrote last night on Twitter that he is “back in action,” after being sidelined since last week due to a health scare.
— The Dec. 18 episode of A.M. Raw. scored a 0.23 cable rating, with 282,000 viewers.
— R-Truth posted a message on his Twitter account yesterday acknowledging online reports that he was recently hospitalized after experiencing a health scare when he went into convulsions. HE wrote:
“Wanna say Thank you to EVERYONE who sent prayers and get wells to me! That’s what’s up!!! 1luv”
Truth wrestled at last weekend’s Tribute To The Troops tapings, but missed Monday’s Raw
— Raw Superstar Ezekiel Jackson is scheduled to appear on upcoming SmackDown live events. He did not work Monday’s television taping.
— WWE Champion The Miz appears on The Seven on MTV today at 5 p.m. ET.
— R-Truth is sidelined for two weeks due to walking pneumonia. He caught it last week and went into convulsions while traveling. Colleagues were by his side when he went into convulsions and rushed him to the hospital. Medics told him he was very lucky because oxygen wasn’t getting to his brain and if he hadn’t been hastily rushed to the hospital, he could have died.
The Raw Superstar has suffered from fatigue as of late, which is being attributed to the road schedule.
— Goldust responded to an earlier report that he is upset that his autobiography Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness, was not mentioned once on Monday’s Raw.
“One of the sites on the internet said I was upset that they snubbed me…lol….too funny…IT IS NOT TRUE,” he wrote on Twitter. “I couldn’t be prouder of the book and its progress.”
– Former WWE superstar Dave Bautista is currently training for his professional Mixed Martial Arts debut some time in early 2011, but that doesn’t mean his days inside the ring are over. Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion has announced that Batista will be wrestling on their December 3rd show in Japan. We’re looking into this story and hope to have more details shortly.
– John Cena has not appeared at WWE live events as of late because he’s been in New Mexico filming Blood Brothers for WWE Studios.
– As we reported here earlier this month, Hollywood actor Freddy Prinze Jr. has returned to WWE’s creative team. Prinze was at Sunday’s WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view and will be working with talent backstage producing interviews. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The early PPV buyrate numbers are in for WWE’s Night of Champions 2010 pay-per-view and once again – the downward trend continues.
According to early estimates, this year’s event drew 169,000 buys, down a sharp 36.7% from 267,000 last year. WWE will report the official number in its third quarter 2010 earnings report, which will be released on November 4.
The preliminary buyrate expected to rise a bit before the final results are in, but it’s becoming more apparent by the month that WWE’s pay-per-view business is in bad shape and big changes are needed.
This year’s Night of Champions was $5 more expensive than last year and was headlined by Randy Orton winning the WWE title in a Six-Pack Challenge and the first match of the latest Undertaker & Kane feud.
– We reported earlier this week that CM Punk appeared to suffer a back or hip injury at Sunday’s Bragging Rights pay-per-view. CM Punk noted on Twitter hat he underwent an MRI yesterday, his birthday. Punk has been pulled from the next few WWE live events as a precaution and the results of the MRI should be available in the next few days. We’ll follow up on this.
– Several national media outlets have picked up on the story that WWE merchandise is no longer banned at Connecticut voting stations on Election Day.
– Vince McMahon is reportedly the person behind R-Truth’s new theme song. The idea is that like a real hip hop performer, R-Truth will release a few songs a year that will get played on WWE programming.
– WWE Monday Night Raw on January 24th, 2011 will be held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Tickets go on sale December 4th, 2010. (Credit: Devin Cutting.)
(Credit to pwinsider.com for some of the info used in this report)
— Yesterday’s media report of Tough Enough being revived is true as those close to the situation indicate it’s a done deal that the reality television show will reemerge on the USA Network. Time slots being discussed include 11:00 p.m. following Raw and Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m.
— HollywoodLife.com’s report earlier this month of Justin Bieber possibly singing “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania XXVII is true, according to a company source. WWE officials are hopeful the land the singer for the event and are currently negotiating with his representatives.
— WWE aired a video package with R-Truth’s new song last night on Raw in an attempt to get fans familiar with its lyrics so they’ll sing along. They feel it’s not nearly as over as his initial one, but are still trying to get it over.