– During a backstage interview at RAW that aired exclusively on the WWE mobile app, Layla told Matt Striker that she’s been on the WWE roster longer than any other Diva. She also said the Bella Twins returning will make things more competitive, but they need to watch out for her.
– WWE has been running an angle at recent live events where Ricardo Rodriguez appears on the big screen before Alberto Del Rio’s matches and challenges the audience to see if they can say Alberto Del Rio’s name longer than he can during Del Rio’s entrance.
– There was some talk backstage at Monday’s RAW that Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter’s feud with Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez is not going as well as WWE was hoping for. The angle was designed to further solidify Del Rio as a top babyface, but so far they’ve seen mixed results.
That said, Vince McMahon has been strongly behind Swagger & Colter’s gimmick and they are getting strong heel heat at live events.
– It was reported in January that WWE’s creative team had plans for Randy Orton to turn heel following numerous requests on the part of The Viper. F4WOnline.com reports Wednesday that plans for Orton to become a villain again are still in place and it is expected to take place soon after WrestleMania.
– WWE officials announced Wednesday that Damien Sandow will replace Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez at the Friday, March 15 NXT live event in Immokalee, Florida.
**Sandow to Replace Del Rio at NXT Live Event**
Immokalee, Fl – March 6, 2013
WWE NXT officials have announced that due to scheduling difficulties, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez will be unable to attend the NXT Live Event in Immokalee, FL. However, officials are proud to announce that WWE Superstar Damian Sandow will now be making a special guest appearance to meet and greet with fans in attendance prior to the show. The session highlights what will be a historical night as NXT travels to Immokalee for the first time.
Nicknamed “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses,” Sandow burst onto the scene in the WWE last year and hasn’t looked back since. Vowing to raise the moral value in the organization, Sandow has stood face-to-face with WWE greats like John Cena, The Rock and D-Generation X. Damien Sandow has quickly become one of the most recognizable faces on WWE’s Flagship programs, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown
The appearance of Damien Sandow is in conjunction with the WWE NXT Live Tour, which takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Immokalee, FL. Bell time is 7:30pm while doors open at 6:30pm. Eight action packed matches are slated for the card that will feature over twenty NXT Superstars and Divas. NXT is the official developmental system for the future stars of WWE.
Tickets range from $10 to $35 and will be available at Buddy’s Home Furnishings (1097 W Main St) in Immokalee, FL Tickets and additional information on the shows are available at NXTWrestling.com. NXT Live is sponsored by Buddy’s Home Furnishings and Brand Source Printing.
QUICK GLANCE
WHAT: NXT Live with WWE Superstar Damien Sandow
WHEN: Friday March 15, 2013
Seminole Casino – Immokalee
506 South First Street
Immokalee, FL 34143
TIME: Autographs 6pm VIP, 6:30pm All others Bell Time is 7:30pm
INFORMATION
For more information please login www.fcwwrestling.com
– WWE officials are said to be angry that Glenn Beck turned down their invitation to appear on RAW. F4Wonline.com reports that WWE plans to mock Glenn Beck on Monday’s RAW and Stephanie McMahon called for a big rewrite of Monday’s RAW script.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following messages over the weekend, taunting Genn Beck to accept WWE’s RAW invite:
“Hey @GlennBeck let’s do a little debate on a show that people actually watch unlike yours!!! I’ll bring the Vicks in case you need to cry”
“It’s cool @GlennBeck ! I’ll go easy on you, I know how sensitive you are. “I’m already booked”?! Huevos! Yeah sure, buddy!”
“This is probably the most people have riled up for @glennbeck! You’re welcomed for being famous again burro ! #ignorance”
– Here’s the latest Backstage Fallout from Friday’s SmackDown:
– WWE issued a survey this week to its “Fan Council,” which notably included a query gauging interest in the possibility of a Monday Night Raw pre-show on WWE.com or the WWE app.
– Former WWE Diva Maryse is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– This week’s episode of The JBL & Cole Show is now online, which features Ricardo Rodriguez and Aksana going head to head in the SuperStar Search.
– With Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger set for WrestleMania 29, Ricardo Rodriguez took a shot Swagger’s new manager Zeb Colter:
“Well this is gonna be interesting! Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez Vs Jack Swagger w/Mustache guy at Wrestlemania.”
“Btw, this Mustache guy looks like he’s going on a safari adventure and didn’t get to see the lions and thats why he’s mad.”
– Former WWE Diva Eve Torres is featured in the latest episode of the “Gracie Way” Youtube series, teaching law enforcement in Arizona:
Join Rener, Eve, and Brian “T-City” Ortega on their recent GST trip to Arizona where they get a private speed-shooting lesson from 6-time world champion, Rob Leatham. Laugh at Rener and T-city’s impromptu speed-shooting contest, watch in awe as Eve memorizes 52 names before lunch on day 1 of the GST course, and more!
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown on Tuesday night from Jacksonville, Florida. Here are the results:
* Big Show is shown arriving on his bus. He comes to the ring and talks about how Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez are suspended. Big Show says the recent events between he and Del Rio are Booker T’s fault, which brings out the SmackDown GM. Booker announcers Big Show vs. Kane for tonight.
* Cody Rhodes defeated Kofi Kingston.
* The Great Khali defeated Titus O’Neil.
* Mark Henry came out and destroys Khali, which the crowd loved. Henry announces the Hall of Pain is back and he wants a spot in the SmackDown brand’s Elimination Chamber match. Booker came out and announced Henry vs. Randy Orton.
* Big Show defeated Kane in a quick match.
* Alberto Del Rio is shown outside in the parking lot, where he’s taken the wheels off Show’s tour bus. Show ran out to the parking lot but gets a bunch of paint dropped on top of him from the roof. Del Rio laughed and drove off.
* Jack Swagger squashed Justin Gabriel.
* Tensai beat Drew McIntyre by DQ when 3MB attacked him. Brodus Clay made the save for Tensai.
* Antonio Cesaro beat Sin Cara.
* Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber match.
– It was announced on RAW that Jack Swagger’s ankle lock submission finisher will now be known as the Patriot Act.
– Vickie Guerrero announced on RAW that she is the reason Brock Lesnar is back on WWE television. She revealed that she re-signed Lesnar to impress Vince McMahon, hoping that he would make her the permanent General Manager of RAW again.
– WWE.com has published an exclusive video of World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio celebrating with his father, Dos Caras, backstage at the Royal Rumble after his successful title defense against The Big Show.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following about the Royal Rumble, including Bret Hart giving him a pair of his classic shades and using duct tape to prevent Big Show from getting to his feet in Alberto Del Rio’s Last Man Standing match:
“Getting Those awesome glasses from Mr. Hart, Alberto Del Rio retaining the WHC, and good ol’ Duct Tape. Tonight was a great night! #SiSiSi”
– Speaking of Bret Hart, the Hit Man noted on Twitter that he was “very proud” the phrase Sharpshooter was trending worldwide during the Royal Rumble.
Ricardo Rodriguez spoke to SmackTalk Radio Live this week to hype the Royal Rumble. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
First time he met Alberto Del Rio:
“It was actually that day he debuted, that was the first time I met him. I knew who he was before because I’ve been a huge wrestling fan for most of my life. I didn’t recognize him at first because of the mask, but once I found out who he was I thought it was awesome because I had done so many shows back in California with his uncle Mil Mascaras….but I didn’t meet him until that day…and that was nerve wrecking for me because it was my first time in a WWE event and I had just kinda been picked up for it….it was also the first day I met Vince.”
Fans cheering him and Del Rio now:
“Since in the company, we’ve been bad guys so it’s pretty much all we knew…but this transition has been interesting because it’s not something we asked the fans to do, they started applauding, they started cheering…It started slowly by our crazy antics or Del Rio’s crazy wrestling ability, the crowd started turning and cheering for us, it’s been interesting because it isn’t something we’ve asked the crowd to do.”
Whether he will be in the Royal Rumble on Sunday:
“Well it’s up to the boss, I mean if he lets me I would love to. If Del Rio lets me partake in the Rumble I would love to be a part of it. I think I have to one-up myself and get two eliminations this time as opposed to one.”
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event tapings will take place from Sacramento, California at the Sleep Train Arena. No matches have been announced for either show, but CM Punk and The Rock are advertised for Friday’s SmackDown.
– WWE announced on their Facebook page that they’ll be partnering with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to promote next week’s “No Name Calling Week” anti-bullying campaign.
– San Francisco Giant Sergio Romo was at ringside and backstage for Monday’s WWE RAW from San Jose, California. World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following picture of himself with Sergio Romo and Ricardo Rodriguez at the show with the caption, “Mexican Super Stars in San Jose” –
– Former WWE diva Beth Phoenix is now working with RetroWrestling.com to sell autographed pictures and merchandise beginning in January 2013, including action figures, glossy photos and event programs. For an extra £5, they will include a picture of Beth Phoenix holding the item that was personally signed for you. For more information, including a video of Beth Phoenix (with a cameo by Adam “Edge” Copeland), visit RetroWrestling.com.
– The WWE Studios movie “The Day” will be available on DVD on November 27th. Here’s the official trailer:
– Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly noted on Twitter that Facebook recently banned one of the pictures from her new calendar, which you can buy at her official website. Here’s the picture that was “too hot” for Facebook:
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 :
Jim Ross Appreciation Night: “I have to tell you that the award that WWE presented me was the nicest thing that I’ve ever been bestowed including my 2007 WWE Hall of Fame ring. The “Voice of WWE’ engraving brought me to tears I’m not ashamed to say.”
His Segment With CM Punk On RAW: “The segment that @CMPunk and I were involved in, of course along with the irrepressible @HeymanHustle Paul Heyman, was the highest rated quarter hour of the three hour broadcast which is a tribute to the WWE Champion and his evil sidekick.”
Ryback Evolving: “Ryback is just starting to come into his own. I got a tweet from a teacher that said his students were chanting “Feed Me More” prior to their lunch at school recently. Ryback is a unique talent who will hopefully carve out his niche much like other power and strength guys have over the years which takes a little more time and perseverance than many traditional talents. Ryback’s exposure Monday night was timely for him and his progression.”
Ricardo Rodriguez:”Ricardo Rodriguez is an underrated asset for WWE in my eyes. Rodriguez ‘gets it’ and will hopefully end up being a bigger star in WWE than what some fans perhaps currently perceive him.”
A new masked luchador character made his WWE debut at Tuesday’s Saturday Morning Slam tapings from Buffalo, New York in a match against Sin Cara.
The wrestler, who was billed as “El Local,” was actually Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, in a mask. Prior to joining WWE, Ricardo Rodriguez wrestled as the masked wrestler Chimaera.
Check out this picture of Ricardo Rodriguez’s new luchador character:
– With The Miz making a surprise return to WWE at MITB, everybody was happy to have the former WWE Champion back in the locker room. The Miz was sporting a new haircut and the feeling was that The Miz has improved his look during his time away. It’s expected he’ll be featured as a top heel performer worker this fall.
Prior to getting called up to WWE, Rodriguez competed at FCW (and at independent shows) as “Chimaera.”
– John Cena will be returning to the WWE title picture later this year. Commercials aired during Monday’s RAW in the Boston area hyping September’s Night of Champions pay-per-view from the city.
The voiceover said, “John Cena returns to his hometown of Boston to try and re-capture championship glory.”
— TMZ.com reports that Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez was pulled over police on his way to Monday’s RAW from Greensboro, North Carolina and was given a speeding ticket.
Rodriguez was going 70 MPH in a 55 MPH zone close to the Greensboro Coliseum attempting to make Raw on time and paid a $200 speeding ticket, which was increased due to him speeding in a construction zone
Perhaps Ricardo was just taking the speeding theme of WWE’s upcoming “Over The Limit” pay-per-view a bit too seriously.
— The live crowd at Monday’s RAW Supershow from Greensboro was said to be hot all night, with John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton and Kane getting big pops from the crowd. Vickie Guererro and John Laurinaitis were the most over heels.
Fans were said to be very surprised when Brock Lesnar’s music hit – and shocked when Paul Heyman walked out instead. There was a “holy sh*t” chant and one fan who wrote in called it a mark-out moment.
– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez will be teaming together during WWE’s upcoming tour of Puerto Rico. The duo will be facing WWE tag team champions Primo and Epico at the three scheduled shows.
– Zack Ryder noted on Twitter he will be testing out a new format for his Z! True Long Island Story show this week, which premiers on Friday.
– Former WWE superstar Matt Bloom (Albert/A-Train) will be debuting in the coming weeks as Lord Tensai. Upon his return, Tensai is expected to push him into a top feud with either John Cena or Randy Orton, much like we’ve seen with Kane.
– WWE has published the latest episode of WWE Inbox, featuring superstars and divas talking about the Most Annoying Superstar and predictions on who will win at WrestleMania 28 between The Rock and John Cena:
– The referee who officiated Eve’s match against Alicia Fox on Monday’s Raw SuperShow is Brian Nguyen. He has officiated in Florida Championship Wrestling for the past two years as Ryan Tran.
– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart will appear Wilmington Blue Rocks game in Wilmington, Delaware on June 14, 2012. Details are available here.
– In Friday’s birthdays, Melina Perez turned 33 years old, Rick Steiner turned 52 years old and Nikita Koloff turned 53 years old.
– On this week’s webisode of Foreign Exchange, Santino Marella patrols the Texas border, rounding up WWE’s international Superstars including Natalya, Primo and Ricardo Rodriguez.
— According to Amazon.com, the second edition of the WWE Encyclopedia will be released on September 3, 2012. The updated volume will include entries on WWE Superstars that debuted in 2009, 2010 and 2011. It is 400 pages and will be released by Brady Games.
— Jinder Mahal, Johnny Curtis and Ricardo Rodriguez, who now exclusively appear at WWE shows, have been removed from the www.fcwwrestling.info roster page.
— Kofi Kingston appears at Best Buy 7017 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri on January 28, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Call 314-487-4999 for more information.
— Florida Championship Wrestling will hold their next television taping on Thursday, February 2, 2012 at the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida.
— To update Mark Henry’s health and why he dropped the World Heavyweight title last night months earlier than originally planned, Henry’s injury is either a severely pulled groin or a torn hamstring. Henry’s situation is so bad that he was in no condition to perform last last night but they needed to get the belt off of him.
– Daniel Bryan wrote the following on Twitter regarding his title win at TLC:
“Six years ago CM Punk and I wrestled a 45 minute match in Florida in front of probably 36 people. It’s fun watching us pretend to be superstars when we’re really just a couple of Indy schmucks.”
– Gabe Sapolsky commented on Daniel Bryan’s World Heavyweight title win at TLC:
“I think a boundary was broken last night by two remarkable athletes and people. This just validates that the best talent and the new generation of stars can come from the independent wrestling scene. I believe we have today’s new stars in Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. the new Punks and Bryans are at the top of their game in each promotion.” Give it a shot and enjoy the ride to the top of WWE. Congrats to Punk and Bryan. they both deserve this and worked hard for it.”
– Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez got a ton of respect backstage at TLC for the insane bump he took off the top of a ladder through a table outside the ring. Mick Foley, known for taking a bump or two in his day, commented on the impressive stunt:
“Hope @RRWWE is feeling ok today..for real. Ricardo, that was one HECK of a bump, my friend! Worried about that mustard stain on the tux, too.”
– Friday’s edition of SmackDown drew a 1.99 rating with 2,881,000 viewers.
– Regarding the mystery RAW General Manager, creative has not been told anything about the character except not to do anything with it each week. Some believe the angle is done with but it hasn’t been confirmed within the company. There have been recent RAW shows where the General Manager’s podium is set up and never used, and some weeks it’s not set up at all.
– Ricardo Rodriguez has been on the road with WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio lately as his ring announcer and to do interference during his matches. Up until Del Rio won the title, Rodriguez would not be booked for live events and has been working FCW shows.
– David Arquette’s official bio for the upcoming season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars mentions his WCW World Title reign:
“The eccentric actor hopes to place the Mirrolball on his trophy case next to the WCW world heavyweight championship title belt he inexplicably won in 2000.”
— Following the Eight-Man Elimination Tag Team Match on the Raw Supershow, John Cena chased Alberto Del Rio away to close the broadcast. CM Punk came down the aisle and harassed Ricardo Rodriguez, pressing him back to the ring before tossing him in. Punk and Cena stood on each side and Cena started a thumbs-up, thumbs-down game with the crowd. Rodriguez, however, escaped from the ring.
There was a long moment as Cena and Punk stared at each other and glanced to the crowd for direction. Cena offered Punk his hand, and as the fans encouraged them to embrace, they clasped hands and raised their arms together. Cena pointed at Punk and smiled to the crowd.
– In the opening segment of Monday’s Raw Supershow, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H fired Kevin Nash after Nash revealed that he had snuck into his office and sent a text to himself from Triple H’s phone, instigating his attack on CM Punk at SummerSlam. Nash was then shown leaving the venue with John Laurinaitis.
In accordance with the storyline, Nash’s profile has been removed from WWE.com’s Raw Superstars section. He is once again listed as a WWE Alumnus.
– WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes is advertised to appear at Florida Championship Wrestling’s Oct. 15 live event at the Suwanee County Coliseum 1302 SW 11th St. Live Oaks, FL. Belltime is 7:30 p.m. Visit FCWWrestling.com for more information.
— WWE.com is now listing Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez as a member of the Raw roster. While Del Rio was moved to Raw in last week’s Draft, Rodriguez, however, was not officially.
Meanwhile, Ranjin Singh is still listed a member of the Raw roster despite being drafted to SmackDown along with The Great Khali last Tuesday.
— Bret Hart posted the following on Twitter regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.
“I hope before his trip 2 hell, dad, Owen, Bulldog, & Pillman gave Bin Laden torturous stretching. As a dual-citizen, couldn’t be more proud.”
— WWE.com has posted a photo retrospective of Christian’s career. “Captain Charisma” captured the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time last night at Extreme Rules.
— The conclusion to last night’s Divas Tag Team Tables Match between Michelle McCool & Layla and Beth Phoenix & Natalya reportedly went as planned as the table used in the bout was tested beforehand to make sure that it would not break when the Divas Champion shoved Lay-Cool off the turnbuckle. Natalya then splashed them to break the table, giving her and Phoenix the win.
— WWE’s next special edition magazine will be a “Year in Photos” issue, featuring hundreds of photos from the past year.
— Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez worked under under a mask at Friday’s Florida Championship Wrestling Christmas Supershow in Fort Myers, Florida, losing to Richie Steamboat. He performed as Chimaera, a character he portrayed on the independent circuit before joining WWE.
