-Former WWE Superstar Matt Hardy recently posted a video clip of himself presenting his fiancee’ Reby Sky with her birthday present. You can check out the video at Facebook.com.
-All three members of The Shield, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns will be appearing at The Chicago Wizard World Comic Con on August 10th at 3pm. Roman Reigns promoted the appearance in a new tweet posted on his official Twitter account on Tuesday. For more information, visit WizardWorld.com.
-Jim Ross recently noted on Twitter that he will be appearing at Homeland Stores on Lindsey Street in Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday from 1-3pm.
-Mick Foley posted a new tweet on Tuesday where he confirmed that Lisa Marie Varon, aka former TNA Knockout Tara and former WWE Diva Victoria, will be appearing at the WWE Hall Of Famer’s stand-up comedy show in Chicago on Thursday, August 8th.
This week’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event television shows will be taped before a live audience at the BHO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Illinois this evening.
Already confirmed for the show, as announced on Monday’s WWE RAW show, is a MizTV segment with special guests Big E. Langston and AJ Lee.
The advertised dark match main event is Sheamus, Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam vs. The Shield. However, for whatever this is worth, the advertised dark match main event for RAW between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio never took place on Monday night.
Make sure to check back here on the website later this evening for live WWE SmackDown spoiler results.
-WWE is advertising a dark match main event of Randy Orton, Sheamus and Rob Van Dam vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) for Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event television taping.
-As previously noted, the WWE RAW dark match main event for tonight’s show in Green Bay features John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio in a “Champion vs. Champion” match. Starting with next Monday’s RAW, the dark match main event will feature John Cena and Mark Henry taking on all three members of The Shield in a Handicap Match.
-For whatever this is worth, WWE is no longer advertising Brock Lesnar for the post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW. Lesnar is still scheduled for tonight’s RAW and next week’s RAW, the final two editions of the show leading into the annual SummerSlam pay-per-view.
-WWE is advertising the following lineup for the live event on September 22nd in Hidalgo, Texas:
–John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose [Champion vs. Champion Match]
–Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton [Special Challenge Match]
–Mark Henry vs. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns [2-On-1 Handicap Match]
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross has once again updated the Q&A section of his official website. Below are highlights:
On Goldberg’s new DVD and a match between he and The Undertaker: “The compliation Goldberg DVD will do good. I’ve not seen it but likely will check it out. Goldberg vs. Taker in their heyday would have been nice. Who wins would have depended on where and when it was but I’d lean toward Taker.”
On whether or not JR will ever start his own podcast: “Likely not. Too much work. :) Not enough money.”
On Bray Wyatt’s in-ring ability: “Many of us have seen him wrestle a great deal in NXT. He’s a keeper.”
On his favorite Mid-South Wrestling angles: “Had many favorites and am looking forward to the Mid South DVD WWE is releasing on Sept 10. Ted [DiBiase] and [Junkyard] Dog were hard to beat.”
On one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen’s WWE run: “He had great heart and passion.”
On Dean Ambrose’s potential when The Shield eventually breaks up: “The goal is always for any entity to have more sizzle and potential when they split and become single stars. Ambrose will be interesting to follow along with Rolins and Reigns.”
On if he feels the U.S. and Intercontinental Titles should be unified: “I don’t see the value in doing so. It’s not hard to make them both mean more.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com.
-As of this writing, there are no concrete plans for WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel as far as a match at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. It is possible that Axel will be added to the SummerSlam pay-per-view pre-show, as the company has recently been putting title matches on the “PPV kickoff” specials.
-Despite the fact that he has not yet been officially cleared to return to in-ring action, WWE Superstar The Big Show is expected to be ready to return to the ring in time to follow-through on SummerSlam booking plans. Current plans feature a two-on-three handicap match between all three members of The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) and the big-man duo of The Big Show and Mark Henry.
Additionally, Big Show is expected to return at the WWE RAW show on August 5th to shoot the angle for the aforementioned pay-per-view match.
According to reports, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield have had some backstage heat on them since their debut in WWE. Though there is some speculation, no definite reasoning has been brought to light as to what is causing the backstage heat.
There were talks at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view on Sunday night, which took place in Philadelphia, PA, of having Damien Sandow defend his briefcase against Cody Rhodes at this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.
Rob Van Dam took to Twitter following the Money in the Bank pay-per-view tweeting about having to recieve fourteen stitches after his match saying, “Always wanted a Frankenstein zipper.”
[muscletees]- We received word from multiple fans who were in attendance at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Omaha, Nebraska that Shield member Roman Reigns appeared to have hurt his ankle during a six-man tag match against Randy Orton, Big Show and Kofi Kingston. The spot occured while Reigns was on the ring apron with Randy Orton.
Reigns was seen limping around the ring during the end of the match and was helped to the back by a referee right after the finish. A post-show beatdown by the babyfaces took place but only Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were involved.
– WWE is currently planning Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for SummerSlam in August. There continues to be speculation that Orton is turning heel soon, with the WWE Payback promo videoreinforcing this possiblity.
– Speaking of Randy Orton, he brought back his skull punt at Extreme Rules during his match against The Big Show. The punt was phased out of Orton’s move set a while back due to it’s risk of causing concussions to his opponents. Orton will not be using the move on a regular basis – and was done to play into the “Extreme” theme of Sunday’s pay-per-view.
– Roman Reigns tweeted the following about Big Show after the brawl that took place at the end of Friday’s SmackDown:
“@WWETheBigShow bought crushed my face.. You should have finished me off. #MISTAKE Watch your back.”
– WWE Divas Natalya tweeted the following about her work with the Nothing But Nets campaign this while while in Rwanda with Alicia Fox::
“Goodbye, Rwanda. Will never forget this experience… Can’t wait to see all of these children again soon!”
– WWE has published the following video looking back at the Top 20 celebrities who have appeared at WrestleMania:
A list of 10 was not enough! From the biggest names in Hollywood sitting ringside to those who dared to enter the ring; these 20 famous men and women helped make WrestleMania a must-see event!
After tonight’s WWE RAW in Lafayette ended, Cody Rhodes came to the ring to look at the new WWE Title belt.
The Rock picked on Cody’s mustache and asked several fans at ringside if he should get a look at a Rock Bottom. Cody gets back on the mic and says he made a mistake.
Cody ended up taking a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. The Rock grabbed the new WWE Championship belt and celebrated with it to end the show.
Dr. Tom Prichard joined the VOC Wrestling Nation recently to give his thoughts on the debut of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns, working with the trio down at FCW, his new wrestling project, and the overall state of the wrestling business. The VOC Wrestling Nation is the flagship program of the VOC Nation Radio Network, and can be heard every Wednesday at 5PM ET worldwide at VOCNation.com. Here are some highlights from the chat with Dr. Tom:
On Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns’ WWE debut: “I don’t know if you can find anything in wrestling that hasn’t been done before, but I look at it the other way. At least these guys finally had the opportunity not to just show up, but to make an impact on a (top) guy like Ryback, who is making an impact right now.”
On the WWE product: “WWE is in a transitional period. The powers that be (HHH) know that they need new blood. The lifeblood of the business is getting new talent and putting them in the mix.”
On Roman Reigns: “Out of the three, Roman Reigns is the greenest, yet he still has talent and untapped potential and charisma to be a major star. Reigns is Sika’s son, so he has the bloodline. He played football in the past, and has overcome a number of personal challenges in his life that none of us can ever imagine.”
On which of Rollins, Ambrose, or Reigns has the most star potential: “The dark horse is Roman Reigns. As far as charisma and working ability, Ambrose is at the top of the list. Rollins has the passion and the attitude that can put you over the top. You have three guys that have their own individual “it factors”. All three guys are smart. Ambrose is crazy like a fox. Rollins is wild like a maverick, but finally understands that there are rules that you need to play by; he has his beliefs, and he won’t sacrifice what he believes in, but he’s finally figured out (how to work the system).”
On his departure from WWE developmental: “When anyone new comes in, they want their team. When Bill DeMott came back, I knew that the writing was on the wall. Canyon Cemen, who took over Ty Bailey’s place, is very new to the business and really knows nothing. I was very honest with him when I probably shouldn’t have been. I told him that he came across like an a—hole in his initial meeting with the talent, and the writing was on the wall from there. I understand how it works. HHH wants his own people. If they can’t produce stars, but proof will be in the ratings.”
On how to be successful in wrestling: “It’s more how you handle yourself backstage than anything. If you show up at the arena at 12:30, you have 9 hours before showtime where the (powers that be) can see you and judge you. Someone much wiser than I told me on a plane ride not too long ago, that you have to understand who you can be honest with and who you can’t.”
On his new wrestling school: “We have a new wrestling project coming to Knoxville called Next Level Wrestling. It’s going to start in January. January 3rd is the open house for Next Level Training (the wrestling school).” VOCNation.com will have all of the information regarding the project as it develops.
At Tuesday night’s WWE Main Event tapings from Grand Rapid, Michigan, the group of rouge group of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns struck once again.
During the opening contest between Tyson Kidd and Santino Marella, the “NXT 3” hit the ring and got to work. They threw Santino Marella out of the ring and delivered a 3-man powerbomb on Tyson Kidd before exiting through the crowd.
WWE.com is now covering the the story – and we’ve got video footage of their latest attack.
As we reported on Tuesday night, Michael Cole will interview all three men next week on WWE RAW.
– Chad Baxter, a former collegiate wrestling champion WWE released last week from developmental, complained about the organization’s stagnant product on Twitter days later, writing, “Im sick of seeing the same matches on @WWE #Boring #Overplayed.”
When asked why WWE would release him, as well as fellow developmental wrestlers Chase Donovan and Nick Rogers, he wrote, “Its a mystery! Unfortunately I don’t know the answer why this happened.” He then re-tweeted a message stating, “WWE was stupid releasing you.”
Baxter added that he has plans to continue wrestling.
– The debut of Roman Reigns at Survivor Series has drawn comparisons to that of another Samoan wrestler who made a surprise debut at a WWE pay-per-view event: Manu. The two grapplers are close cousins, with Reigns being the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika and Manu being the son of Afa—Sika and Afa were enshrined together in 2007. Manu, who continues to compete on the independent circuit as Afa Jr., weighed in on Reigns’ WWE debut via Twitter Monday, writing, “My Partner in crime growing up. My cousin Roman Reigns debuted last night. #Proud #ImTheOnlyOneMissingNow #SeeYaSoon #TryNstopMe.”
– The 2010 movie Tooth Fairy, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, airs on FX tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
– Mick Foley, The Miz, Kofi Kingston and Natalya visited Saint Maria Goretti School in Westfield, Indiana on Monday to talk about the power of reading, and to kick off the WrestleMania Reading Challenge. A photo gallery of the event can be seen at Facebook.com.
– Chris Jericho was asked on Twitter who he would want to induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame. He replied:
– WWE’s official Twitter account noted that the @WWEThoroughbred account claiming to be NXT star Roman Reigns is a fake, despite the fact that the NXT website linked to it. WWE verified that Reigns can be found on Twitter at @WWERomanReigns.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about last night’s Survivor Series PPV:
CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Ryback “Biggest match of the night as far as the promotion was concerned was the WWE Title Bout featuring @CMPunk, @JohnCena, and @Ryback22. It seemed that this match accomplished several things including getting Punk to becoming a 365 day WWE Champion and on an apparent, collision course to meet the @TheRock at the Royal Rumble, or so it seems. That could always change between now and then considering that WWE could shock us with a TLC PPV ending that would surprise.”
Big Show vs. Sheamus “@WWESheamus vs. @WWETheBigShow was the closest thing to an old school match on the PPV. I love their pacing as I’m not into today’s, microwave, move a second mind set on which some fans embrace. Sheamus’ chair shot attack on Show was memorable and straight from Idaho. I’m a fan of this rivalry.”
The Debuts Of Rollins, Abrose & Reigns: “The inclusion of the NXT talents into the equation intrigues me and I’m anxious to see how these three, talented young men evolve on WWE programming over the next several weeks. @WWERollins, @TheDeanAmbrose, and @RomanReigns all have something viable to contribute but, as usual, it will depend on how they continue to invest in their game and maximize their ‘playing time.’ Bottom line, WWE has brought three, potentially viable talents into the mix in an impactful manner which I find refreshing.”
“I’ve seen all three of these young, NXT talents enough to know that their in ring skills are, by and large, solid and that they all possess the necessary personalities to contribute to WWE for years to come. This trio’s introduction was one of the brightest aspects of the Survivor Series for me.”
WWE.com has an article up looking at the trio of NXT stars that attacked Ryback at Survivor Series: NXT Champion Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Here’s what they wrote about each man:
Seth Rollins: “Seth Rollins is the first ever WWE NXT Champion, having won a tournament to crown the inaugural titleholder. This native of Davenport, Iowa, came into NXT with a sterling reputation from his work on the independent circuit and immediately made an impact in WWE’s developmental system. Perhaps the word best used to describe Rollins would be “chaotic.” His in-ring style is calculated, yet frantic. Employing a combination of high-risk maneuvers and devastating strikes, Rollins’ offense is spectacular and elicits show-closing ovations.”
Roman Reigns: “Like his fellow WWE NXT standouts, Roman Reigns is a fierce competitor and an exceptional athlete. Inside the ring, Reigns is a heavy hitter, and he is just as aggressive outside the ring. The powerhouse always acts with a sense of purpose, depicting power and commanding respect. Put simply, Roman Reigns views himself as the most valuable commodity in NXT.”
Dean Ambrose: “Dean Ambrose is every bit as effective as Rollins, but there’s something slightly off about this dangerous competitor. From the moment he marched onto the scene, WWE NXT fans were unable to take their eyes off Ambrose. Fearless, wild and always unpredictable, the iconoclast more than lived up to his reputation as a world-class competitor and infamous troublemaker.”
“In October last year, Ambrose created quite a stir when WWE champion CM Punk appeared at NXT for an autograph signing. Ambrose decided to verbally assault Punk on the microphone, resulting in a raucous and unforgettable scene when The Straight Edge Savior challenged Ambrose that evening. The 30-minute showdown between the two physical competitors blew away the lucky fans who witnessed it.”
WWE NXT Champion Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were the men who attacked Ryback and allowed CM Punk to retain the WWE Championship at Survivor Series.
All 3 men were identified by Michael Cole and are expected to appear on tonight’s RAW.
In case you missed it – here’s a video clip of the appearance:
– Former WWE talent Adam Copeland (a/k/a Edge) appeared on a Canadian morning radio show Wednesday promoting his upcoming appearances on Syfy’s supernatural drama series Haven. He explained that he cut his signature locks last spring prior to his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame because he didn’t want to be a 40-year-old with a ponytail and there were no tables, ladders and chairs in his life. The 14-minute interview is available here.
– WWE developmental talent Joe Anoa’i, brother of former WWE Superstar Rosey and WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna, recently changed his ring name in NXT from Leakee to Roman Reigns. His new character is a successful businessman who dons three piece suits and hits just as hard outside the ring in business negotiations.
– Former WWE talent Maryse Ouellet will host a launch party for House of Maryse, her jewelry line, at the Lily Bar & Lounge at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 15 beginning at 11:00 p.m.
– Ticketmaster.com is currently holding a pre-sale for the Dec. 28 Raw at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island with the passcode WWENASSAU. A match pitting John Cena and Kane against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan is being locally advertised for the event.
– Former WWE talent Maryse Ouellet will host a launch party for House of Maryse, her jewelry line at the Lily Bar & Lounge at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 15 beginning at 11:00 p.m.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Ross spoke at length about Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Finish of the Main Event: “The conclusion of the Survivor Series seemed to provide more questions than answers regarding the focal point of the promotion, the free or fired stipulation put on John Cena. One has to assume that there will be significant follow up on this matter on Monday Night Raw from Orlando. Will we be surprised at what we hear on Raw? Will Cena indeed be leaving WWE? How could Cena be reprieved?”
Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler: “Good to see Kaval compete in a WWE PPV bout after all his year’s of paying his dues. I like Kaval’s style and have always been a fan of Ziggler’s in ring work. Dolph had some excellent bouts with Rey Mysterio a year or so ago and I feel that Kaval could also really light it up versus Rey down the road.”
Morrison vs. Sheamus: “Morrison vs. Sheamus featured two men that WWE has seemingly advanced more at this time than some of the aforementioned athletes and Morrison upsetting Sheamus surprised me. I did not see that one coming which made the match end up being more enjoyable. IMO Morrison has a ‘touch’ of a young HBK in him in some shape, form or fashion and we can only hope that some day Morrison will be compared to the legendary Shawn Michaels in more detail. However, there are miles to travel before that might happen as performers like HBK come along once in a generation if we’re lucky. Nonetheless, the more physical Morrison is the better I personally like him as opposed to the more ‘finesse’ version of Morrison. John was very physical at Survivor Series.”
“Sheamus is a keeper, without question, whose best days are obviously still ahead of him even though Sheamus has had a taste of what it’s like to be WWE Champion. And, yes, I get the fact that Sheamus is the first “Irish born WWE Champion.” Got it. Check. 10-4.”