– Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley turns 36 today.
– Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis tweeted the following 4 messages during Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event . She wrote in consecutive messages:
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed online rumors that he’s a candidate to star as Lobo, DC Comics’ intergalactic bounty hunter. The Lobo character is a space-bike riding, cigar smoking mercenary who lives for mindless violence and destruction. Photo appears below.
– WWE is having difficulty registering a trademark for the name “Ryback.” WWE’s submission to register the name was initially rejected back in January because the US Patent & Trademark Office felt the name was a surname, which you cannot copyright. WWE responded that Ryback is not a surname, but were rejected once again because the USPTO was not satisfied with WWE’s reasoning.
– WWE recently registered the trademark “WWE Spotlight” as a name for a new television show. Spotlight was the name of one of WWE’s syndicated shows back in the 1980’s.
– WWE is said to have big plans for Tyson Kidd, with him qualifying for the SmackDown brand’s Money in the Bank match just the beginning.
– There had been online reports that the SmackDown brand’s Money in the Bank match would feature nine participants, but the updated preview on the WWE website says the match is finalized at seven (Christian, Santino Marella, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Tyson Kidd, Tensai and Damien Sandow). The preview reads:
“The competitors in the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder Match have been decided, and the field is an exciting one featuring a diverse mix of styles … With seven qualifiers official, the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder Match is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling encounters of the year.”
– Following Ryback’s win over Curt Hawkins on Tuesday’s live SmackDown, both Hawkins and his tag partner Tyler Reks sound like they’re not done with WWE’s most dominant superstar.
Well that meathead @Ryback22 clearly cheated tonight… Good news is I have an in with the SmackDown GM next week, we go way back.
– On SuperSmackDown LIVE: The Great American Bash, a fight between Damien Sandow and Zack Ryder left Eve—wearing a white dress—completely covered in punch. Backstage Fallout caught up with Eve to get her reaction to the party mishap. Tyler Reks also reacts to whether he feels guilty for Ryback’s massacre of Curt Hawkins. Also offering comments on SmackDown events are Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter.
– Lilian Garcia will sing the National Anthem on Sept. 30 prior to the NFL game between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
– Former WWE announcer Todd Grisham is in Las Vegas, Nevada covering UFC 148</em. and will be interviewing company president Dana White for MMA Live on ESPN.
– Following his appearance on Raw SuperShow, Diamond Dallas Page has been added to the Alumni section on WWE.com.
– WWE officials have reportedly been impressed with Ryback’s crowd reactions at live events. Fans are starting to chant his “Feed Me More” catch phrase and there is optimism that his character will take off.
As previously reported, Vince McMahon is said to be a strong supporter of Ryback. As a way of getting live crowds to support Ryback (and put heel heat on his opponents), WWE has been announcing that his “local talent” victims hail from the rival cities of where that WWE event is taking place.
– WWE developmental diva Tenille Tayla will soon report to Florida Championship Wrestling to begin training. She has been under WWE contract since last year, but underwent shoulder surgery shortly after getting signed. She wrote on Facebook:
“Thankyou to all my family and friends for the love and support. It’s been a long hard journey but happy and proud to say I am now getting a chance to fulfil my dream of not only living in the USA but working for the WWE. I am so excited to start this new journey in my life… Can hardly believe it still! :D Hellooooo Tampa!! Let’s get this show on the road!”
Posted June 30th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.
– Ryback addressed comparisons to Bill Goldberg during an interview with the July 2012 issue of WWE Magazine. When asked what his look tells WWE Universe members, Ryback responded, “All the Rob Van Dam comparisons are fine with me because we actually have the same airbrush guy. I feel like I’m a colorful person in terms of my personality and what people are going to see over time. The plain black look just didn’t cut it for me. It worked for Austin, it worked for Goldberg, but I’m not Austin or Goldberg—I’m Ryback.”
He was also asked why people should care about him over anyone else: “I bring an intensity and excitement that nobody’s seen in a long time. When you watch a Ryback match, you’re going to be entertained one way or another, whether it lasts for two minutes or twenty minutes.
– The late Chris Benoit’s theme song is available for purchase via iTunes. “Whatever” was released under WWE’s 2002 compilation album Forceable Entry. The song is being sold by Sony, which was released under their label.
– Former WWE Superstars Hillbilly Jim, Jacques Rougeau, Hardcore Holly and Michael Tarver have been announced for Legends of the Ring 15, which takes place October 13 at the Crowne Plaza in Monroe, New Jersey.
– WWE will hold the second NXT tapings tonight from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. WWE superstars scheduled to appear include Sheamus, Sin Cara, Hunico, Camacho, Natalya, and Justin Gabriel. Jim Ross will also be in attendence and is expected to call some of the action. Check back later tonight spoiler results from the tapings.
– David Otunga and his fiance Jennifer Hudson are rumored to be finally getting married this fall.
– WWE has shut down its European Shopzone website. All European orders will now be handled through the main WWEShop.com site.
– As previously reported, several WWE superstars are hesitant to work with Ryback. There is fear that his inexperience, intensity and sloppiness will lead to a series injury. Despite all this, Vince McMahon is Ryback’s biggest supporter and loves how the character is doing so far. The company is not happy about the Goldberg chants that occur during his matches and the production team has been told to edit them off television when they can, which is really only possible when he wrestles on SmackDown, which is a taped show.
– Dave Meltzer stated Tuesday on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE has Ryback continuously facing independent wrestlers at televised events because their contracted talent are wary of wrestling him. Additional details were not disclosed.
– WWE.com has posted a video of Michael McGillicutty, Tyson Kidd, Jack Swagger and Jerry Lawler reacting to Big Show knocking out Vince McMahon during the Chairman’s return to Raw SuperShow.
– Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool is today’s featured star on WWE.com.
— CHIKARA will hold “The Foggiest Notion” event on Saturday, June 23 at Bera Creek Country Club outside London, Ontario, Canada at 7:30 p.m.
Posted June 13th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.
– Vader, a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, made his first WWE appearance in over six years on Raw SuperShow. “The Man They Call Vader” dispatched Heath Slater with a Vader Bomb.
– In a 2-on-1 Handicap Match on Raw SuperShow, Ryback dismantled local competitors Willard Fillmore and Rutherford “P.S.” Hayes. Both Fillmore and Hayes compete for the New England based independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling: Fillmore as “American Sasuke” Mikaze and Hayes as Scotty Slade.
– Tickets for WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event on September 16, 2012 at the TD Bank Garden in Boston, Massachusetts go on sale on June 23 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
– Lance Storm, who recently injured his elbow, tweeted the following Monday night: “Got my elbow X ray results back, fractured bone spur. Will not keep me out, just causes pain. Now the long wait for the ortho appointment.”
– An interesting note about the “local talent” that Ryback has been squashing each week. As a way of giving Ryback an extra edge to get him over with live audiences, WWE has been announcing that the jobbers hail from the rival city of where the event is being held. For example, when WWE was recently in Columbia, South Carolina, it was announced the jobbers hailed from Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson is a rival school of the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
– More on Ryback’s latest victims from RAW, Arthur Rosenberg and Stan Hansky (indy wrestlers Kirby Mack and Stoney Hooker). Prior to being sacrificed to Ryback, they read a poem together, which was meant to be a rib on Lanny “The Genius” Poffo, brother of the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
The belief is that Poffo was ribbed because of his recent comments about Randy Savage refusing to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame unless the entire Poffo family (including their father, Agenlo Poffo) was inducted as well.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include hardcore legend Mick Foley (46) and WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel.
– Triple H has been added to next week’s WWE SmackDown tapings (6/12) from the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Triple h appeared at this week’s SmackDown tapings and laid out Drew McIntyre with a pedigree in a segment that won’t air on television, so it’s possible he’ll have a similar role at next week’s tapings.
– WWE has big plans in store for Ryback, who has continuously steamrolled enhancement talent since debuting on SmackDown in April.
SuperLuchas.net reports Vince McMahon has notified creative to script Ryback as dominant as possible in future outings. The WWE Chairman is very high on the SmackDown Superstar as he feels he can be his company’s version of Bill Goldberg.
– Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson, who is now retired, resurfaced Saturday at a wrestling convention in Monroe, New Jersey. Now 41, the former WWE star appeared unrecognizable to some attendees as he has put on a great deal of weight during his time away from the spotlight. He has moved on from the industry as he returned to college following retirement and earned a degree in criminology from Huston–Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.
– Former WWE star Rob Conway is scheduled to compete in a NPC Bodybuilding contest on Saturday.
– Brock Lesnar is now being advertised for Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, the night after Extreme Rules. The arena website has the following teaser for RAW –
“See Brock Lesnar in Dayton for the FIRST TIME EVER in a WWE Ring. Witness this historic event the night after he faces John Cena at Extreme Rules!!!”
– The latest “local talent” to feel the wrath of Ryback at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was Justin Mane of the Midwest Wrestling promotion. Mane will be sacrificed to Ryback on Friday’s SmackDown.
– Here’s a new episode of WWE Inbox featuring WWE superstars and divas answering questions sent in via social media:
– Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar’s recent WWE promos, according to Mark Madden on Chairshots Radio. Heyman is working with Lesnar independently and there are no plans for him to work directly with WWE.
– Derrick Bateman’s profile pages have been removed from WWE.com and the Florida Championship Wrestling website, which is usually a sign that the talent has been released. Bateman stated on twitter that his profiles being taken down is “meaningless.” When asked again if he has been released, he replied, “people read into things way to much.”
– The “local talent” that Ryback squashed on Friday’s SmackDown was 18 year old James Hill, who wrestles in the UK as Jimmy Meadows. He told Thisisleicestershire.co.uk that he got booked on RAW through UK veteran wrestler Robbie “The Wildcat” Brookside.
– Ratings for SmackDown have taken a downturn in recent months, with the yearly average dropping down to a 1.97 after last week’s show. This is the same average rating SmackDown drew for 2011, so WWE has lost the progress SmackDown made after many shows this year drawing above 2.0.
– Brodus Clay teamed up with his “little brother” Hornswoggle on SmackDown in a tag team match against Hunico and Camacho:
Hornswoggle tweeted the following about his new partner:
“Had an amazing time joining @BrodusClay on #SmackDown tonight!!! WWE Universe, tell “them” that you want to see more of the “Tiny-Dactyl”!”
– The official WWE website has a new article up looking at the dominant first month of Ryback’s career “as he paves a destructive path where mere mortals fear to tread.” The article says Ryback “channels” five powerful WWE legends with his destructive in-ring style: The Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg, Psycho Sid, JBL and Bam Bam Bigelow.
Here is video of Ryback’s match from SmackDown against a “local athlete” –
— WWE.com is advertising a Six-Man Tag Team match for tonight’s episode of SmackDown on Syfy as World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Great Khali will join forces against Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry. Other matches airing include AJ vs. Natalya, Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle vs. Camacho and Hunico, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil, Ryback vs. James Lerman and Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio.
— Brodie Lee, who recently signed a developmental contract with WWE, will report to Florida Championship Wrestling shortly. He concluded his independent wrestling commitments over the weekend.
— WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase has changed his Twitter handle to twitter.com/MDMTedDiBiase.
— Former WWE star Johnny Stamboli turns 35 years old today.
— WWE’s Breaking News mobile alert service issued a text message to mobile subscribers Monday reading
“BREAKING NEWS: CM Punk spotted in London pub. Is it CM Punk or CM Drunk? Exclusive video on Raw tonight.”
WWE.com published an article regarding this, advertising: “What will the footage show? What does this mean for CM Punk’s longtime pledge against alcohol? How might this news affect the main event of Raw, featuring the WWE Champion against Mark Henry in a No Count-Out, No Disqualification Match for the title?”
— English wrestler Pac was backstage at Monday’s Raw SuperShow in London, England. He currently works for Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA.
— Ryback’s opponent on last week’s episode of SmackDown was independent wrestler Bobby Shields.
[vsw id=”sB74TaqoPiU” source=”youtube” width=”600″ height=”335″ autoplay=”no”]
Former WWE superstar Skip Sheffield made his return to television on Friday’s SmackDown, returning as Ryback. WWE has already added Ryback’s bio to the SmackDown roster page – and is said to be in line for a big push. His bio reads:
“One only needs to observe how Ryback’s fellow Superstars study him to understand his ruthless reputation. They stare in awe as if they’re watching disaster footage, looking on in shock as Ryback’s ferocity both impresses them and leaves them fearful of being his next target.
How can anyone measure such an intimidating beast in comparison to the rest of his WWE competition? Few words may deem suitable as he starts to make his mark in the ring, but Ryback will eventually unleash more of his overwhelming power on his adversaries — and will not stop until he has left a long line of battered opponents in his wake.”
Posted April 9th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.
— Two matches are advertised for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown on Syfy as Alberto Del Rio will face World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus while Randy Orton battles Kane in a WrestleMania XXVIII rematch. If Del Rio can defeat The Celtic Warrior, he will earn a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship.
Other matches airing include R-Truth vs. David Otunga and Mark Henry in a Handicap Match and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Nikki Bella. Also slated is the SmackDown debut of Ryback, who formerly competed as Skip Sheffield.
— WWEShop.com has released a Daniel Bryan Yes Authentic T-Shirt.
— Christian appears for Florida Championship Wrestling on May 18 at Orlando Armory 2809 S. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, Florida. Belltime is 7:00 p.m.
– Could Mark Henry be heading to Raw? The official website of the Thompson-Boling Arena is advertising the SmackDown star vs. John Cena in a Special Challenge Match for a Raw live event taking place at the venue on May 5. All other talent advertised for the show are members of the Raw roster. A Triple Threat Match featuring Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk and Chris Jericho is also scheduled.
– Former WWE star Billy Gunn celebrated one year of sobriety last week. His wife wrote Saturday on his Twitter account:
“*HACKED BY YOUR WIFE* Congrats on your ONE YEAR Sobriety! One day and one step at a time! you got this baby!! love you!”
Gunn, whose real name is Monty Sopp, has admitted to drug use in interviews. His lengthy tenure with WWE ended in 2004 following a visit to a rehabilitation facility.
– Seldom seen Raw Superstar JTG is on the road this week with WWE. He did job duty to Ryback (a/k/a Skip Sheffield) at Raw live events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
— The February 2012 issue of WWE Magazine features an interview with Natalya and Beth Phoenix and they are both asked which male-dominated stipulation match they would like to see introduced to the Divas Division. Both say Ladder Match.
“I want to compete in the first-ever Diva Ladder Match. Beth and I think it would be amazing, and I believe we could really pull it off,” Natalya says.
Beth adds, “I actually like to consider myself a pioneer for the ladies’ Ladder Match because if you check out Ladder Matches 2: Crash and Burn, it actually features my Ladder Match from Louisville, Kentucky, in OVW. I have been campaigning for WWE to let me compete in one and have even volunteered to put my Divas Championship on the line in it against absolutely anybody. I have the experience and truly believe the bar could be raised with that bout. There is no doubt in my mind that it would be the most spectacular Divas match of all-time.
— WWE performer Ryan Reeves (a/k/a Skip Sheffield, Ryback) has changed his Twitter handle to twitter.com/ryback22. The former Nexus member is competing at WWE live events this weekend under the Ryback persona.
– Jim Ross was involved in an automobile accident on Saturday. He was not injured. Ross tweeted:
“Bad day..got hit by a pickup..totaled my Escalade or so body shop thinks. Seat belt and airbag saved me.”
— Skip Sheffield competed as his Terminator gimmick “Ryback” in the opening match at Friday’s WWE SuperShow in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He defeated Alex Riley with a series of power moves and a spear.
— ‘be a STAR,’ the anti-bullying alliance co-founded by WWE and The Creative Coalition, is filming public service announcements this weekend at the annual Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
sources: PWInsider.com
Posted January 21st, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.