– SmackDown star Rey Mysterio returned to the ring on Monday’s live event from Newcastle, England. Mysterio and Edge defeated Alberto Del Rio and Cody Rhodes in tag team action. Rey was on the sidelines for a few weeks due to an inner ear infection but is now healthy and is expected at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings.

– On Monday’s RAW, two matches were announced for Smackdown this Friday:

* World Heavyweight Champion Kane vs. Big Show

* Edge vs. David Otunga in a Lumberjack match. If David Otunga loses, he’s out of Nexus.

— Rey Mysterio is active for the SmackDown brand’s live event tour of Europe, but has not been wrestling. An angle is taking place at live events where Mysterio comes out to face Alberto Del Rio in a match, but is then attacked. This subsequently leads to Kofi Kingston facing Del Rio.

Mysterio is suffering from an inner ear imbalance—which is causing him dizziness and nausea.

— Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw will be pre-recorded due to the time difference in England. The event is being held at the Manchester Evening News Arena and begins at 2:30 p.m. EST.

— WWE returns to the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales on Apr. 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Nov. 10, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

— The WWE website is advertising a match pitting The Miz against Rey Mysterio for tonight’s Raw.

— The WWE website has removed Katie Lea Burchill from its Alumni section. The former WWE Diva recently debuted in TNA Wrestling under the name Winter.

— WWE Hall of Famer Bobby “The Brain” Heenan celebrates his 66th birthday today.

— The October 29 episode of SmackDown scored a 1.65 cable rating, setting a record low mark for the series on Syfy. The Oct. 22 episode was the series’ previous low, with a 1.70 rating.

Smackdown averaged 2,444,000 viewers over the course of two hours, setting a low mark on Syfy. Viewership was down ten percent compared to the previous week’s 2,662,000 number.

— The advertised dark match main event for the November 22 Monday Night Raw taping is a Fatal Four Way Match with Randy Orton defending the WWE Championship against John Cena, Wade Barrett and Sheamus.

— A match pitting Rey Mysterio against The Miz was originally scheduled for tonight’s Raw broadcast, but is considered doubtful after Mysterio missed weekend live events due to an inner ear imbalance—which is causing him dizziness and nausea.

(sources: Pro Wrestling Torch, pwinsider.com, f4wonline.com)

— Rey Mysterio was originally scheduled to face Alberto Del Rio at Saturday’s WWE Fan Appreciation Supershow in Hartford, Connecticut, but Triple H worked the bout instead. The SmackDown Superstar missed the event because he is dealing with an inner ear injury that is preventing him from taking bumps.

— It was announced at WWE’s Fan Appreciation Supershow that tickets for the Royal Rumble go on sale this Saturday. The event takes place on January 30, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

— Today is Tyler Reks’ birthday. He turns 32 years old.

— WWE Legends Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and Terry Funk were announced Thursday as playable characters for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011. Also announced for the game were Raw Superstars Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim.

— The cover art for World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming DVD set on Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, has been unveiled. To view the cover art, click here.

The two-disc set will be released on Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

— WWE is holding a SmackDown live event tonight in Monterrey, Mexico at Arena Monterrey. Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Jack Swagger are the top Superstars advertised for the event.

– Reader Bradley Webber sent in word that a new trailer for the upcoming film entitled “Lemmy” has been posted on the Download Festival Facebook page. Triple H is listed as one of the stars slated to be featured in the film. Lemmy is the lead signer of the heavy metal band called Motorhead who sings Triple H’s theme song. You can view the video here.

– Paul Bearer announced on his Twitter account that is going to be a grandfather — again.

“Just found out before I took off from DFW that I’m going to be a grandpa again,” he wrote. “My oldest son and his wife are pregnant.”

He then noted that his first grandchild passed away, and that he has two granddaughters, 2 1/2 and 6.

– Rey Mysterio is featured on the cover of the latest issue of WWE Kids Magazine.

— WWE has discussed turning Kaval heel and having him feud with Rey Mysterio early next year.

When the NXT season two winner was initially signed, Mysterio was one of the people pushing for a program with him. However, injuries to both wrestlers derailed potential plans.

— Ricky Steamboat is still recuperating from a capillary burst of the brain at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. When the WWE Hall of Famer returns to work, he is expected to assume a role at Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer.

— Last week, WWE pushed Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton as their first encounter in a singles match on Monday Night Raw. That is incorrect, as on the July 5, 2004 episode of Raw, Orton pinned Jericho following interference from Batista.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– There’s been talk of a major heel turn taking place at tonight’s SummerSlam pay-per-view and the WWE superstar moving to the “dark side” may surprise you. According to sources who have been a part of recent WWE creative meetings, the idea has been brought up several times of John Cena turning heel on Team RAW during the main event.  Cena turning heel is far from confirmed, but its one of 3 possible scenarios being discussed for the finish of the main event. Cena turning heel has been brought up in the past, but it has not gotten this much consideration in quite some time.

– Several ideas are being talked about for the Kane vs. Rey Mysterio match at SummerSlam. We’ve reported here for weeks that WWE plans to have  The Undertaker appear on the show in some capacity. One idea under discussion was for a casket to be brought to ringside and at the end of the match when either Kane or Rey was about to be thrown in, Undertaker would come out and attack Kane to kick off their feud. There are plans for The Undertaker and Kane to wrestle at Night of Champions in September and then again at Hell in a Cell in October.

(Partial credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— John Cena is hosting today’s edition of the syndicated entertainment and gossip news television program TMZ on TV. Check your local listings for time and channel.

TMZ.com has posted a preview of tonight’s show with the WWE Superstar quoted as saying, “No f**king excuses. You’re on my watch now and if I don’t have an excellent show tomorrow, you’re all fired!”

— Rey Mysterio is being advertised to appear at tomorrow night’s Raw live event in San Diego, California. He is scheduled to take part in an eight-man tag team match alongside John Cena, Edge and John Morrison against four members of The Nexus. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship and The Miz vs. Evan Bourne for the United States Championship are also advertised for the event.

— WWE Champion Sheamus took part in an in-studio interview yesterday with Sky Sports to promote SummerSlam. Footage of the interview can be viewed here.

The promotional poster and synopsis for WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event taking place on Sept. 19 has been released.

“On Sunday, September 19th, WWE brings you the one night of the year when every championship is on the line! Don¹t miss John Cena, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Edge, Rey Mysterio, and all your favorite WWE Superstars as they battle for championship gold! Don’t miss “WWE: Night of Champions” on Sunday, September 19th, live on Pay-Per-View!”

— Goldust wrote a post Tuesday evening on Twitter saying he has retired.

“i am retired,” he wrote, adding, “byeeeeeeeee.”

Though it should be noted that in a previous tweet, he said he was very tired coming off the road and heading to the beach, so it’s likely he was joking.

The multi-time Intercontinental Champion has been largely relegated to Superstars since being drafted to Raw in April, having only competed once on WWE’s flagship program. He once again appeared on Superstars at Monday’s taping in Philadelphia, teaming up with Yoshi Tatsu to take on Zack Ryder and Primo.

— In addition to Kelly Kelly, R-Truth and Cody Rhodes, both Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio were working through injuries this past week, reports F4WOnline.com.

In the case of Orton, he suffered a neck injury that prevented him from wrestling at Sunday’s live event in Wheeling, West Virginia. Meanwhile, Mysterio is dealing with a minor groin injury. Neither ailment is serious enough to keep the wrestlers from working through the pain.

— Corresponding with storylines, the official WWE website announced Tuesday that Ricky Steamboat suffered cracked ribs, internal injuries and a sprained neck as a result of a clothesline by Skip Sheffield and a 450° splash by Justin Gabriel on Raw.

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Despite winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Sunday’s Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, Rey Mysterio does not appear on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. The reason for this is because he was given Tuesday’s television taping off so he could take his family on vacation to Hawaii. Mysterio’s contract with WWE gives him one weekend per month off from live events but he’s supposed to appear at all television tapings and pay-per-view events.

— As seen at last month’s Over the Limit pay-per-view, CM Punk had his head shaved after losing to Rey Mysterio in a Straight Edge Society pledge vs. hair match. Since this time, Punk has donned a mask to the ring in order to hide his shaven head. While Punk’s fully shaved head has yet to be revealed on WWE programming, an extra on the newly released Over the Limit DVD set shows Punk completely bald. The extra is a “G-TV-like” segment showing an upset Punk with a bare head in the locker room. However, Punk quickly gets over his loss (and lack of hair) as he engages in a group hug with The Straight Edge Society.

— WWE canceled it entire house show schedule for the weekend of July 4th due to poor ticket sales. The events have been rescheduled for December.

— Regarding Rey Mysterio’s World Heavyweight Championship victory at last night’s Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, the title switch was done for a few reasons, reports www.f4wonline.com.

For starters, company officials were unhappy with Jack Swagger’s reign as Champion as he hadn’t gotten over to the degree they would have liked. It’s also being said that Mysterio has been unhappy the company as of late and this was management’s way of appeasing him. Additionally, plans for Mysterio to take a month long vacation were scrapped when Undertaker went down with multiple facial injuries, so giving him a title run persuaded him to stick around.

— The official WWE website has posted a feature counting down the top 25 Intercontinental Champions of all-time. “Macho Man” Randy Savage was deemed the greatest IC Champ of all-time as he is ranked No. 1 on the chart. He is trailed by Chris Jericho, Ultimate Warrior and Mr. Perfect.

— WWE returns to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on August 29th, 2010 at 5 p.m. Tickets go on sale June 26th, 2010 at 10 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

(source: www.f4wonline.com)

Undertaker suffered a broken orbital bone, a broken nose and a concussion in his match last Tuesday against Rey Mysterio, which aired on Friday’s episode of SmackDown.

It is believed Undertaker suffered injury while taking the seated senton move by Mysterio during the match.

He has been recommended to take time off due to the injury, which would take him past the Fatal 4-Way event. It’s being said that it’s a 50/50 chance as to whether he would be able to wrestle on the show.

Due to the lack of depth on the SmackDown brand, Rey Mysterio has been called back to action to fill Undertaker’s scheduled position on live events and television. He was set to take time off from the road for a scheduled vacation. No decision has been made regarding the World Heavyweight Championship bout at Fatal 4-Way, but logic would have Mysterio as the replacement if Undertaker can’t wrestle.

— Undertaker suffered a busted nose at this week’s SmackDown television taping in Cleveland, in due part to Rey Mysterio’s “619” maneuver. He bled for a few minutes before the dark match concluded. Unlike two instances at Sunday’s Over The Limit pay-per-view, no trainer was sent out to stop the bleeding.

Many within WWE feel the company’s stance on blood is a direct result of Linda McMahon campaigning for office. One of the main reasons the company has prohibited blood from appearing on television is due agreements that have been made to attract high-level sponsors such as Coca-Cola. The feeling is the rule would only change in case WWE’s popularity tapers. Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer believes WWE’s PG stance will remain in effect until either their licensing agreement with Mattel expires, which is years from now, or another wrestling company, such as TNA Wrestling, diminishes their popularity.

— WWE referee Justin King is off crutches after a “freak” non-wrestling accident in January left him with multiple fractures in his leg. However, he has not fully recovered as he was dealing with a noticeable limp at Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling television taping.

— Though Hornswoggle is portrayed as child-like on WWE programming, he’s very much an adult. Today is his birthday as he turns 24 years old.

– Word going around WWE on the reason for CM Punk losing at Over The Limit and getting his head shaved is because Rey Mysterio is expected to take a bit of time off following Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings. It’s unknown yet if Rey is taking time off for knee surgery or to simply spend time with his family and rest up his body. (Source: f4wonline.com)

– Actor Ashton Kutcher will be the special guest host on next week’s RAW.

– Michael Cole said on RAW tonight that he will call out Daniel Bryan on tomorrow night’s NXT for a public apology. Cole says if Bryan doesn’t apologize, he’s going to sue him.

– Goldust defeated Dos Caras in the dark match prior to Monday’s RAW.

– There were audio issues with Monday’s RAW broadcast where the sound dropped out for several seconds a few times throughout the broadcast.

— Rey Mysterio is once again complaining about his pay, according to WWE sources. Though some feel he’s had legitimate gripes in the past, he’s developed a reputation within WWE for being overly paranoid over his pay. He feels he’s being short-changed compared to some of the other top performers in the company. (source: www.pwtorch.com)

— The following was issued: “And now ladies and gentleman, viewers to www.MichelleMcCool.Net of all ages we present to you *insert drum roll here* the exclusive second part to MichelleMcCool.Net’s 5th Anniversary Interview! In this half, we get a little more personal with Michelle as the questions and answers go “Beyond the Ropes.” Michelle talks about her experience at WrestleMania Axxess this year, what she thinks about support from the gay community, her body and what parts she has problems with most, who she’d like to have an on screen relationship with, which wrestling family is Flawless, her favorite and least favorite classes in school, who she enjoys doing WWE appearances with most, how she got involved with Krav Maga and much more! With questions that have never been asked before and answers never before revealed, you’ll definitely want to check out the conclusion to our two part exclusive 5th Anniversary interview with Michelle McCool!”

You can read the interview at www.MichelleMcCool.Net.

— On Twitter, Goldust commented on his brother, Cody Rhodes, being called a “legend.” He does not agree with the assessment.

“Someone said my bro was a legend. No he is far from it,” Goldust wrote. “He must pay his dues, and in time he will become a legend.”

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Current creative plans call for Jack Swagger to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Undertaker at SummerSlam. A match between Triple H vs. Edge is also being talked about for WWE’s annual summer pay-per-view.

– Rey Mysterio is said to be unhappy with WWE after they prevented AAA from holding a Rey Misterio Jr., Cup this year. Mysterio asked WWE for permission, but turned him down, saying they don’t want him appearing on a AAA show even if it’s merely to present a trophy.

— NXT Rookie David Otunga is scheduled to work SmackDown house shows. Company officials feel he has star potential but want him to get more experience on the road since his wrestling isn’t close to ready.

– Since his match at WrestleMania with Batista, WWE Champion John Cena has been suffering from back and knee problems.

– In addition to the neck problems Triple H is suffering from right now, one of The Game’s surgically repaired quads is giving him trouble. Right now, Triple H is scheduled to work only television and PPV events. He was kept off WWE’s European tour to rest up for his Street Fight with Sheamus at Extreme Rules.

– Rey Mysterio had to be assisted leaving Tuesday’s television taping in London, England following his show closer dark match with CM Punk.

– John Morrison may have suffered an injury during the company’s ongoing tour as he did not work Tuesday’s SmackDown taping. However, it should be noted that it is not 100% confirmed.

— WWE.com confirmed this week that Ezekiel Jackson underwent successful surgery to repair his torn quadriceps. According to WWE, the recovery process could sideline the final ECW Champion for up to six months. Tough break for the young star.

— Injuries continue to mount for WWE as Rey Mysterio had to be assisted leaving last night’s television taping in London, England following his show closer dark match with CM Punk. Meanwhile, John Morrison may have suffered an injury during the company’s ongoing tour as he did not work last night’s SmackDown taping. However, it should be noted that it is not 100% confirmed.

— It has been confirmed that Beverly Mullins, who briefly appeared as a backstage announcer for ECW under the name Courtney Taylor, has been released from her WWE developmental contract. Her image was quietly removed from the official website of Florida Championship Wrestling last week, which often indicates that a performer has parted ways with WWE.

Mullins took time off following her debut on ECW and never returned to the main roster as Savannah ended up in her former role.

— The WWE Raw house show on November 10th, 2010 will be held at the Municipal Hall in Graz, Austria. Tickets go on sale April 30th, 2010.

source: PWInsider.com

— Matches taking place on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America are as follows:

* Evan Bourne and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder and Chavo Guerrero
* MVP vs. Carlito
* Beth Phoenix vs. Layla

— This Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC, The Bella Twins, R-Truth and Big Show, along with NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon, will be appearing on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. On the episode, these five stars teamed up to help out Amanda and Derrick Suggs, a couple with two children of their own who also adopted Amanda’s younger siblings to prevent them from being placed into foster care.

In another note, WWE is not referenced in the TV Guide preview for the episode, solely Jeff Gordon.

— As reported earlier, former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced at the Winter Music Conference in Miami that her upcoming music album would be in English and dance-based. While at the WMC, she attended numerous events and parties, mingling with numerous people from the recording industry. You can view several photos of her partying and more at the following link.

— Rey Mysterio’s autobiography, Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask, will be released in paperback on Oct. 26.

In an interview with MediaTempo.com, Rey Mysterio said he would like to retire in three years.

“I plan to take three years to announce my retirement in a historic event,” Mysterio said. He added that when he retires, his body will “thank him for not exploiting it anymore” after a number of injuries and operations so he can devote himself to his family.

The high-flying superstar also discusses his thirty-day Wellness Policy suspension last year, saying it was “cleared up” with proper documentation following his time served. While he felt his body needed the time off, he was emotionally distraught about his image being hurt.

Mysterio said he would like to follow in the footsteps of numerous Lucha libre stars who have starred in movies, saying there have been talks of a potential movie within the next two years to fulfill a dream he’s had “for a long time.”

— After losing to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania, CM Punk challenged The Master of the 619 to a rematch last night on SmackDown, pledging to put his hair on the line for another opportunity to “save” him. With that being said, it has not yet been announced when the match will take place.

— Cryme Tyme’s four-year run came to an end last night on SmackDown as Shad turned on JTG following their loss to John Morrison and R-Truth. Shad subsequently cut a promo saying it’s “his time.”

He later issued the following statement on Twitter: “MY TYME!!!! MY TIME!!!! MY TYME!!!! MY TIME!!!! MY TYME!!!! MY TIME!!!! MY TYME!!!! MY TIME!!!! MY TYME!!!! MY TIME!!!! MY TYME!!!!”

— WWE returns to the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio on June 26th, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale April 10th, 2010 at 10 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

– At Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown! tapings, Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and pinned Chris Jericho to capture his first World Heavyweight championship, just 18 months after making his WWE television debut. Swagger will be feuding with former champions Chris Jericho and Edge in the coming weeks. Adding to this is news that WWE has booked Jack Swagger vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho as the dark match main event for the 5/25 Smackdown taping from Cleveland, OH.

– The Undertaker is also being advertised for the Cleveland SmackDown taping, contrary to reports that he will be taking time off soon after WrestleMania,

– CM Punk and Rey Mysterio will continue their feud from WrestleMania.

Also, as we reported last week, Batista is Leaving WWE For Several Months, so expect an angle to explain his departure.