– It would appear that WWE’s kid-friendly program, Saturday Morning Slam, is through as it is no longer listed as an active show on the company website and the new television season has begun without it airing.
According to this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are rumors of creative differences between CW executives and WWE officials as executives at the network apparently wanted WWE to alter the program’s format from taped matches to a news magazine—similar to NBA Inside Stuff—negotiations fell apart from there. For the time being, it’s a subject that nobody is officially discussing.
The show is rated TV-G (one level lower than WWE’s general TV-PG rating), and due to being aimed specifically at children, it does not feature any moves or holds aimed at the head or neck due to what is seen as their violent nature.
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans whether Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella should have kept quiet about their relationship. With over 11,000 votes cast, 66% say “No. They have nothing to hide and being open and honest about their relationship is the best policy.” The other option is “Yes. Revealing their engagement and being part of “Total Divas” is just one big distraction to their in-ring careers.”
– Celebrating birthdays Thursday are WWE Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Armstrong (74), John Morrison (34), Danny Basham (36) and Mikey Batts (30).
– WWE Saturday Morning Slam will be returning soon, according to WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. Foley tweeted that WWE will resume taping the children’s show in a few weeks – and that he’ll be back as the General Manager.
– WWE NXT will be holding a live event tonight from the Tampa Arena in Tampa, Florida, with WWE Diva Rosa Mendes advertised to appear.
– Due to a scheduling conflict, the planned WWE SmackDown tapings on September 17th at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh has been cancelled. That night’s SmackDown will now tape from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. WWE returns to the Consol Energy Center on October 7th for a live RAW taping. Here’s the official statement from the arena:
“All tickets purchased for the September 17 WWE Smackdown Event will be honored on Monday, October 7. Fans that cannot attend the rescheduled date should go to their point of purchase for refunds. World Wrestling Entertainment would like to thank all of our fans that have purchased tickets for this event.”
– According to SaturdayMorningSlam.com, last Saturday’s episode of WWE’s children-aimed program on The CW, Saturday Morning Slam, marked as the show’s season finale. While the show is off the air beginning this week (The CW released its schedule for this Saturday’s slate of “Vortexx” programming and Saturday Morning Slam is not listed, with Dragon Ball Z Kai instead airing in the 10:30 a.m. time slot), it will resume airing in the future.
There is a graphic on MyVortexx.com teasing a new season of Saturday Morning Slam “coming soon.”
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported last week that executives of the network treated Saturday Morning Slam as its other children series, with only a specific number of episodes ordered.
– WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is targeting junk food as she spoke out on their warning labels in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
In regards to what actually qualifies as junk food, she states, “The further a food gets away from its original form, the more processed it is, the more “junky.”
Since orange juice is full of sugar, would it qualify as junk food?
“Orange juice is okay, a natural sugar that your body can process. The crap in soda – your body says, “Hmm, not sure what this is, I’ll just store that for now,” she states.
The multi-time champion believes it would be a “great idea” if government officials legislated warning labels on junk food similar to those found on cigarette packages.
“I’m constantly surprised how unaware people are about what they’re putting into their bodies. People just don’t know!” said Stratus. “I think if people realized how detrimental some of this junk food is to their health, they really would think twice. And maybe it wouldn’t stop them from eating it, but it certainly might cause one to see the benefits of practising moderation.”
[muscletees]- Saturday Morning Slam, WWE’s children-aimed program on The CW, is officially off the air.
The CW released its schedule for this Saturday’s slate of “Vortexx” programming and Saturday Morning Slam is not listed. Instead, Dragon Ball Z Kai will air in the 10:30 a.m. time slot.
The changed had been expected as WWE ceased taping matches for the program last month. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported last week that executives of the network ordered a specific number of episodes, therefore explaining its abrupt hiatus. It is not publicly known whether the show will resume airing.
– WWE released the following video promoting this Sunday’s Extreme Rules Pre-show, which will feature a match between The Miz and Cody Rhodes. The synopsis reads, “If you’re looking for two Superstars hungry for the limelight in WWE right now, look no further than The Miz and Cody Rhodes.Both will get the chance to shine on the pay-per-view stage this Sunday when they square off in the Extreme Rules Pre-Show, streaming live at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube and Facebook.”
– According to WrestlingFigs.com, WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele will sign copies of his book “Animal” at Barnes & Noble Huron Village 3235 Washtenaw Ave. Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m. Call 734-973-0846 for more information.
– As previously reported, WWE has not taped any new matches for Saturday Morning Slam in the past two weeks and there is talk that the show could be coming to an end.
The reason Saturday Morning Slam is in limbo is because the current season of the Vortexx block of children’s programming (featuring SMS) is ending later this month. WWE will be meeting with CW Network executives soon to discuss whether to renew Saturday Morning Slam for a second season this fall.
– The following video is the latest edition of “WWE Hangout” with special guest Brodus Clay:
– The Fandango vs. Chris Jericho dance-off booked for Monday’s RAW was originally scheduled to take place at Extreme Rules.
– It appears that WWE’s Saturday Morning Slam show could be ending soon. The CW Network is rumored to have only purchased a limited number of episodes of the show – and there have not been any new matches taped for Saturday Morning Slam in the past two weeks.
Here are spoiler results from Tuesday night’s WWE Main Event & Saturday Morning Slam tapings from Hershey, PA, sent in by reader Derek J.:
Main Event:
– Kane defeated Antonio Cesaro. AJ Lee tried to distract Kane, but Daniel Bryan yelled No! to her. Kane won with the Chokeslam.
Backstage, Matt Striker talks to Sheamus about picking Big Show for the third member of his team against The Shield.
– The Bella Twins defeated Naomi and Cameron after Cody Rhodes came out and caused a distraction.
Saturday Morning Slam:
– Kofi Kingston joins Josh Matthews on commentary.
– 3MB defeated Zack Ryder and Justin Gabriel. 3MB provides a beatdown of the faces until General Manager Mick Foley comes out. He tells Kofi Kingston that he is in a match right now.
– Kofi Kingston defeated Heath Slater in what was said to be a very entertaining match.
– Mark Henry defeated Daniel Bryan with the World’s Strongest Slam.
At Tuesday night’s WWE television tapings from Oklahoma City, Booker T revealed during the Saturday Morning Slam tapings that the new General Manager for SMS will be 2013 Hall of Famer Mick Foley.
WWE issued a press release on Tuesday afternoon announcing that a new General Manager will be determined for Saturday Morning Slam after various WWE superstars competed for the job over a 3-week period.
It’s possible that Mick Foley is the interim General Manager until that competition takes place and a permanent GM is named.
WWE issued the following press release on Tuesday morning:
VORTEXX ON THE CW ANNOUNCES UPCOMING THREE-WEEK SPECIAL ON WWE SATURDAY MORNING SLAM
WWE Superstars Battle to Become the General Manager and All-Powerful Boss of Saturday Morning Slam
LOS ANGELES (February 26, 2013) – Vortexx on The CW, an affiliate of Saban Brands, today announced a WWE Saturday Morning Slam special to debut during the five-hour kids television block, airing on March 2, March 9 and March 16 at 10:30 a.m. During this three-week special, fans can expect to see larger-than-life WWE Superstars battle it out in the fight to be named the General Manager of WWE Saturday Morning Slam.
In the first episode, which airs on March 2, mayhem breaks out among the Superstars of WWE Saturday Morning Slam. It’s time to bring in a powerful General Manager to reign them all in. As the WWE Superstars start to jockey and compete for the chance to become boss, things get even more heated.
The battle to be boss continues on March 9 when four top WWE Superstars face off to impress the powers-that-be. The electrifying conclusion to the story will air on March 16 when the new General Manager of WWE Saturday Morning Slam will be crowned.
“We are very excited to offer our fans the opportunity to witness all of the extreme in-ring action leading up to the crowning of the WWE Superstar who will become the General Manager of WWE Saturday Morning Slam and rule over them all,” said Elie Dekel, Co-President of Vortexx. “We hope the fans are just as eager as we are to see who will claim the ultimate title.”
WWE taped matches for this week’s Main Event & an upcoming episode of Saturday Morning Slam on Tuesday night from the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas. Here are the results:
WWE Saturday Morning Slam
* Damien Sandow defeated Zack Ryder.
* Antonio Cesaro defeated Justin Gabriel.
WWE Main Event (Airing Wednesday)
* Chris Jericho hosted the Highlight Reel. His guest was supposed to be The Miz, but he announced The Miz was injured by Antonio Cesaro on RAW, so his new guest is Alberto Del Rio. Chris Jericho told Del Rio that he’s going to win the Elimination Chamber match this Sunday and wrestle him for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania. As the two were arguing back and forth, Dolph Ziggler came out with AJ Lee and Big E. Langston. Ziggler promised to cash his Money in the Bank briefcase by WrestleMania 29. Del Rio challenged Ziggler and he accepted.
* Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler by submission with his cross armbreaker.
* Matt Striker interviewed Paul Heyman, who had the WWE Championship belt with him. Heyman talked about the stipulation of Punk’s match with The Rock at Elimination Chamber, where Rock will be stripped of the title if he gets disqualified or counted out.
WWE taped the following matches on Tuesday night from San Diego, California for a future episode of Saturday Morning Slam:
– Kaitlyn defeated Aksana by pinfall after hitting a the spear.
– Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes with White Noise.
– Justin Gabriel defeated Health Slater with the 450 splash. Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre were at ringside, but got ejected during the match because they were dancing at ringside and distracting from the match.
– WWE taped the following matches for this week’s episode of Main Event on Tuesday night from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
* Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton
* The Usos vs. The Prime Time Players
– WWE has reportedly released NXT star TAC (Brandon Carter) from his developmental deal. Carter’s NXT profile has been removed from the NXT Superstars roster page, but can still be accessed here.
– With Saturday Morning Slam moving to a new timeslot this weekend (10:30am), WWE has released the following video hyping the show:
WWE taped this week’s episode of Main Event on Tuesday night from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Here are the results:
* Antonio Cesaro and Randy Orton wrestled to a no contest after The Shield came down and attacked Orton during the match. The Miz came down to make the save for Orton, but Cesaro brawled with Miz while The Shield put Orton through a table.
* The Usos defeated The Prime Time Players. Brad Maddox was on commentary for this one.
WWE also taped matches for an upcoming episode of Saturday Morning Slam. Here are the results;
WWE taped this week’s episode of Main Event and a future episode of Saturday Morning Slam on Tuesday night from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. Here are the spoiler results:
WWE Main Event (Airing This Wednesday)
* Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler in about 20 minutes.
* Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett defeated Zack Ryder in a non-title match.
Saturday Morning Slam
* Kofi Kingston Kingston defeated Epico. Short comedy match.
* The Miz defeated Darren Young. The Miz won with the Skull Crushing Finale. The Miz was very over with the crowd, with loud “Miz Is Awesome” chants throughout his match.
WWE taped this week’s WWE Main Event & Saturday Morning Slam shows from Bossier City, Louisiana. Here are the results:
WWE Main Event Taping
Michael Cole and JBL did commentary. Promo videos aired for John Cena and Damien Sandow. A Tout video from Cody Rhodes played hyping up his tag team partner.
1. John Cena defeated Damien Sandow via submission in 15:00. Sandow cut a promo before the match using big words and mocking Cena. Sandow tried leaving the ringside area early in the match, but Cena chased hi up the ramp. Back in the ring, Sandow got the upper hand and did his cartwheel. Cena fought back but was thrown outside the ring. Sandow did several cartwheels during the match. In the end, Sandow reversed the AA, but Cena made him tap out with the STF.
2. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro defeated Zack Ryder in 9:00. Cesaro hit Zack Ryder with his Swiss Death European uppercut outside of the ring, threw him into the ring and hit his finisher for the win.
Cesaro cut a promo about being the best champion in WWE, which brought out Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston. Kofi challenged Cesaro to a match on Main Event next week, which was accepted.
Saturday Morning Slam Taping:
1. Kane defeated Jinder Mahal (w/Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater) in 5:00. 3MB tried to attack Kane, but Daniel Bryan came out to help. Kane won with a chokeslam off the top rope.
2. Daniel Bryan defeated Heath Slater in 10:00. Slater tapped out to the No Lock.
– At Tuesday’s WWE TV tapings, John Cena wrestled Heath Slater in a match that was taped for this week’s Saturday Morning Slam tapings. For whatever reason, the match did not air on this week’s show. No word yet on why the match didn’t air.
– Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode scored a Trendrr.tv social media score of 73,010, up 7% from last week.
– WWE has ranked the “The 50 Most Beautiful People in Sports Entertainment History.” You can view the complete list at WWE.com. Here’s the Top 10:
10. Torrie Wilson
9. Cody Rhodes
8. Sunny
7. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
6. Stacy Keibler
5. The Rock
4. Eve
3. Trish Stratus
2. Randy Orton
1. Miss Elizabeth