– Following Vince McMahon’s announcement on RAW that AJ Lee is the new RAW General Manager, no new GM was announced on Friday’s SmackDown. WWE.com has an article up speculating whether the show even needs a GM.
– Following Antonio Cesaro’s victory over WWE United States Champion Santino Marella (non-title match) on this week’s SmackDown, the Swiss superstar says he now wants a title shot:
“After my victory over @milanmiracle on tonight’s #smackdown I demand to be named the #1 contender for the US Championship”
– Several developmental wrestlers have tweeted that Thursday’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University had an amazing atmosphere.
Seth Rollins tweeted the following about the historic show, which saw the crowning of NXT’s first-ever NXT champion:
“Response has been overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has my back. We’re in this together. #futureisnow”
Several of WWE’s top developmental prospects from Florida Championship Wrestling debuted on Week 2 of the new season of WWE NXT from Full Sail University.
Former FCW Champion Seth Rollins (former ROH World Champion Tyler Black) wrestled in the opening contest and efeated Jiro. Rollins cut a promo after the match and said he has arrived in NXT and plans to “change the world.”
South African wrestler Leo Kruger, another former FCW Champion, cut a promo and called himself the “Alpha Male Lion.” He later defeated Aiden English via submission in a match that he dominated from bell to bell.
Richie Steamboat was the third FCW alumnus to debut in NXT, defeating Rick Victor. After the match, Steamboat celebrated with his father, WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Richie Steamboat vowed to take the Steamboat name to new heights in WWE.
Check out these pictures of the new FCW Arena at Full Sail University:
– Thursday night’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event featured a tag team match involving several of the promotion’s top talent. Seth Rollins (Tyler Black) and Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) defeated the team of Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) and Big E. Langston. Prior to signing with WWE, Cesaro and Ohno previously teamed together as the Kings of Wrestling. Ohno tweeted the following about the match:
“Finally got my hands (& elbow) on @AntonioCesaro. Teamed w/ @WWERollins v. him & @BigELangston. I think poor Swisso is still KO’d. #future
– Zack Ryder says he will debut his new catchphrase on the next Z! True Long Island Story, which will premiere later today.
– WWE star Curt Hawkins, who was fired on NXT by William Regal earlier this week, continues to play up the storyline and says he’s headed to the independent scene to work with Kevin Steen and Sami Callihan:
“I’m so fired… I’m gonna kill @KILLSTEENKILL & @samicallihan on the indys. #NXT sucks”
— Ezekiel Jackson beat Hunico via Torture Rack in the first match held Thursday night at WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida. In a battle of WWE developmental wrestlers, Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in the second bout. Rollins obtained the victory in the seven-minute match following a foot stomp to Ambrose’s head.
— Alicia Fox, David Otunga, Lilian Garcia, Rey Mysterio and The Miz joined “American Idol’s” James Durbin, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, and the Miami Dolphins’ Twan Russell and “T.D.” at Miami’s Hialeah Gardens and JFK Middle Schools Thursday to spread the word of anti-bullying and tolerance.
The Miz discussed the barrage of insults he gets over social media every day, and how he uses positivity to counter it. “Every time you have a negative thought or are going to post a negative tweet ,” the former WWE Champion said. “I challenge you to do something positive, say something positive. I guarantee you and that person will feel great about themselves.”
WWE.com has published articles from both events here and here.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson discusses how he overcame failure to become The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment in a “Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena” exclusive video.
— WWE developmental wrestlers Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Xavier Woods all mentioned on Twitter that they will be competing at next week’s WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida.
— The March 23, 2012 episode of WWE Vintage Collection featured WWE Hall of Famers competing against each other. Matches that aired are as follows (thanks to Devin Cutting): Billy Graham vs. Curt Hennig (WWF Championship Wrestling – January 8, 1983), Paul Orndorff vs. Pedro Morales (WWF Prime Time Wrestling – March 2, 1987), Texas Tornado vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (WWF television taping – February 18, 1991), Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash Of The Champions – June 14, 1989), The Fabulous Moolah vs. Sherri Martel (WWF live event – August 28, 1987), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWF SmackDown – November 16, 2000).
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins defeated Michael McGillicutty via Curb Stomp in a dark match at Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Cleveland, Ohio. Rollins, who reigns as Florida Heavyweight Champion, also competed at SmackDown live events over the weekend and is slated to be on hand for Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Columbus, Ohio.
— The following matches were taped Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
* Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly
— The WWE SmackDown taping scheduled for May 29, 2012 has been moved to the River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was originally scheduled to take place at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
– Seth Rollins, a WWE developmental wrestler, challenged Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at Sunday’s SmackDown live event in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a back and forth match which concluded with Rhodes hitting Cross Rhodes on Rollins for the pinfall victory.
Rollins is touring with the SmackDown roster this week. He beat Drew McIntyre the previous night in East Lansing, Michigan.
– Chris Jericho stated on Twitter that his light-up jacket malfunctioned at Sunday’s Raw live event in Buffalo, New York. He wrote,
“Great show and crowd in Buffalo tonight! No casualties either…except for my jacket. Time to call in the electronic pit crew at #raw….”
– Former WWE manager Paul Bearer has been announced to appear at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, which takes place June 1-3 at Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is being advertised under his real name, Bill Moody.
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre at Saturday’s SmackDown live event in East Lansing, Michigan. He previously toured with the main roster in late December as he beat Tyson Kidd in singles matches at three consecutive SmackDown live events.
— Mick Foley commented on the reaction to his public concern for WWE’s on-screen treatment of Eve.
“Not everyone agreed with my comments, but from time to time I feel like a should add my voice to certain subjects,” he tweeted.
Foley wrote this week that WWE is sending a “mixed message” with the name-calling toward Eve since it contradicts their anti-bullying campaign ‘be a STAR’ and John Cena’s motto to “Rise Above Hate.”
– WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black in ROH) appears to be going on the road this weekend with WWE for the SmackDown’s live events in Michigan. He tweeted on Friday:
“I hear Michigan is nice this time of year…”
In recent weeks, WWE has been taking one or two top FCW wrestlers on the road to give them experience traveling with the WWE crew and being in the locker room with the main roster.
– WWE officials have reportedly been very impressed with Dolph Ziggler’s WWE Download Youtube show.
– During last night’s event in Toronto, WWE held a special promotion during intermission where fans that purchased Dolph Ziggler’s new T-shirt were able to meet him for a quick signing before the second half of the show started. TNA does this regularly at their house shows, offering special merchandise “deals” that include a signing session.
– Chris Jericho has chimed in on the Twitter feud between his WrestleMania 28 opponent CM Punk and singer Chris Brown. Jericho says Punk is wasting his time and should be focused on more important things:
“Glad to see @cmpunk wasting his time threatening rappers. I don’t care about anybody else’s business except mine-which is winning at WM28.”
-FCW star Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black) confirmed on Twitter that FCW diva Leah West (Irena Janjic) has indeed been let go. West was trained by former WWE star Lance Storm and was signed to a developmental deal early last year.
– Speaking of Seth Rollins, he’s been campaigning on Twitter to have the song “2nd Sucks” by A Day To Remember become his new theme song. Rollins has been asking followers to tweet @whereisadtr and @jeremymckinnon and tell them that “2nd Sucks” would be a perfect theme for him.
– Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow takes place from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the final RAW before Sunday’s 25th anniversary Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Advertised locally are John Cena vs. Kane and CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler.
Injured stars Alberto Del Rio and Sin Cara are being advertised for tonight’s show, although it’s unknown whether they will actually appear. Sin Cara is expected to be out of action for several months and the latest we’ve heard about Del Rio is that he wouldn’t be back in time for the Rumble. The ad promoting Del Rio and Sin Cara also mentions Chris Jericho, so it’s not as if the ad is outdated, since Jericho just returned.
Randy Orton, who returned to action on Sunday, is also scheduled for tonight’s show.
– Developmental stars Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose impressed WWE officials and reportedly have spots on the main roster but have not been called up yet because of Triple H’s new policy that creative must have a longterm plan in place for new talent before they debut. (Credit: f4wonline.com)
Florida Championship Wrestling standout Seth Rollins wrestled Tyson Kidd at this week’s SmackDown live event in Detroit, Michigan. Rollins, working as a babyface, got the win in what was said to be a great match, despite the fact that the live crowd was not very into the action. Rollins and Kidd tweeted the following about the match:
Kidd: “Funny things happen when you mix a dose of Tyson Kidd with a talented and hungry athlete #workhorse”
Rollins: “Thank you Detroit! Holy $h*t that was awesome! So glad to be back! Can’t wait til next time. Get ready Buffalo…here we come!”
Multiple WWE sources have indicated that Rollins will debut on television “sooner than later.”
– This week’s RAW ratings are delayed a day due to the Christmas holiday.
– WWE Champion CM Punk was denied access to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the site of tonight’s WWE live event and the venue where he captured the title at November’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Punk tweeted on Tuesday evening:
“Sellout the Horizon on a Monday, refused entry to the Garden on Tuesday. My life is awesome. Some serious Larry David shit.”
– Former ROH World champion Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black) made his WWE debut in a dark match prior to tonight’s SmackDown TV tapings from Indianapolis. Rollins wrestled as a heel against Skip Sheffield, who won the match.
– Friday’s 12/23 edition of Smackdown did a 1.97 rating with 2,742,000 viewers.
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins, who was scheduled to work this week’s Raw house show tour, will instead appear on SmackDown events this week.
— WWE officials have given thought to John Laurinaitis competing in a wrestling match in the near future. WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations was previously a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Ace, and wrestled for such promotions as the National Wrestling Alliance and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is credited as the inventor of the “Cutter” maneuver, dubbed by Laurinaitis as the “Ace Crusher.”
— Commercials in the Boston, Massachusetts area are advertising John Cena vs. Kane for the March 5, 2012 Raw Supershow at the TD Garden. It was also announced that CM Punk would be defending the WWE Championship.
— The Bella Twins appear at Don Beyer Kia located at 7416 Richmond Highway Alexandria, Virginia 22306 this Thursday beginning at 2:00 p.m.
– Haku’s son Donny Marlow debuted on Superstars last week as the mystery man alongside Hunico. He is seen to have potential, but at 33 years old, he’s not that young any more and WWE felt its time to take the training wheels off already.
– Seth Rollins is going on the road with WWE next week. He’s seen as the FCW star with the most potential, despite not being as polished as they’d like. The hope is that he learns to connect with the crowds better after getting experience working live events.
– While Seth Rollins is viewed as the developmental wrestler with the most upside right now, Dean Ambrose is right behind him and is a more well-rounded talent. Ambrose can talk and is a better worker than many of WWE’s main eveners.
– With CM Punk and and Daniel Bryan’s recent success as well as the potential of Rollins and Ambrose, the stigma behind being an “indy” worker is not as bad as it was even six months ago.
– WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins will be traveling with the main WWE roster during the post-holiday live events beginning December 26 so producers and management can evaluate him firsthand.
Company officials have also given thought in recent weeks to calling Rollins up to the main roster permanently.
– Raquel Diaz (Shaul Marie Guerrero, daughter of Vickie and the late Eddie Guerrero), defeated Audrey Marie via Gory Bomb at last night’s Florida Championship Wrestling taping to become the new Florida Divas Champion. Vickie Guerrero commented on her daughter’s accomplishment on Twitter:
“Shaul won her first FCW championship last night and retains Queen of FCW! I’m so proud of her.”
— Randy Orton has been announced to appear at the Washington Auto Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, D.C. on February 1, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
– MTV has tried several times to get The Miz to return for another “Real World Challenge” – but he’s not interested in returning to the network that gave him his first national television exposure. Miz told FayObserver.com this week:
“MTV gave me my start, and I’m always grateful to them. But, I’m done with doing a challenge. I’m tired of the drama that comes with that, and I don’t know the kids any more. I’d be the first one voted out. I know the game; I was a mastermind at that. I enjoy watching, though.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes says WWE developmental star Seth Rollins (former ROH World champion Tyler Black) has huge potential to be a star when he’s called up to the main WWE roster. Dusty tweeted on Thursday:
“Tyler black the real thing , I be put-stamp on future champ.”
– THQ has released a preview video of Vickie Guerrero’s character in the new WWE ’12 video game, which will be available in an upcoming DLC pack release. The video shows off Vickie’s two finishing moves – a spear and a top-rope frog splash, a tribute to her late husband. Check it out:
– The Miz is scheduled to appear on Thursday night’s edition of Conan O’Brien’s late night TBS talk show to promote the upcoming “Tribute To The Troops” special. The Conan website previews The Mizs’ appearance:
“The last time WWE Superstar The Miz came by, he gave Conan the nickname ‘The Ginja Ninja.’ We have a feeling our nickname would be “The Delicate Hypochondriac.” Which is not intimidating at ALL. Check out the actually-intimidating Miz in action on the WWE Tribute to the Troops special.”
– To update the health status of Barry Windham, he’s said to be doing much better – but still has a long way to go before he gets back to 100%. Windham suffered a heart attack last month.
– Maria Menounos, host of the celebrity news show “Extra,” tweeted the following about her her training for her celebrity bout at the WWE Tribute to the Troops taping next week in North Carolina:
“Started training for WWE Thursday p.m. and a.m. So bruised and beaten up. Trained in an outdoor ring during our mini L.A. hurricane…Gotta work really hard if I’m going up against Beth Phoenix and the gang. Nervous…ok terrified…can’t turn back now, can I?… I went through the basics the other night – hip toss, arm drag. etc. Will learn more this week!”
– Two of the top talents at WWE developmental are set to be evaluated by WWE producers, as FCW standouts Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) and Seth Rollins (Tyler Black) will be appearing at live WWE events later this month.
Check out this match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins from the September 18th episode of FCW television – an FCW 15 Championship Match with a 30 minutes time limit.
– In a dark match that took place prior to WWE’s Night of Champions event, Daniel Bryan defeated Heath Slater.
– Former Ring of Honor stars Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black) and Antonio Cesaro (formerly Claudio Castagnoli) wrestled at Saturday night’s Florida Championship Wrestling show from Brooksville, FL. Rollins, who just celebrated one year at WWE developmental, defeated Cesaro, who just signed with WWE.
Forme Ring of Honor champion Tyler Black, who is now training at WWE developmental as Seth Rollins, recently responded to a number of fan questions on Twitter regarding his upcoming debut and more. Here are some highlights of what Rollins said about:
Why he left ROH for WWE:
“I love ROH, but the life span of someone in this profession is short…unless you’re a Flair or Hogan type…which I do not ever want to be. So we have to make a lot of money as fast as we can. WWE is the ONLY place in our industry right now where that is possible. In addition, it was always my dream to wrestle for and entertain as many people as I can. I grew up on WWE and main eventing Wrestlemania has been a Dream of mine for a long time.”
Who came up with his FCW name and what he would use if he could change it:
“Myself and The American Dream (Dusty Rhodes) came up with it together. If I could change it I would go back to using Tyler Black”
Comparisons between he and CM Punk:
“Gladly. He and I are separated in age by like 7 years I think, but we carry a lot of the same ideologies. We are both Midwestern kids raised on hard work and internal drive. We both found a lot to relate to in a certain genre of music and its subculture. And we both love professional wrestling. It is remarkable that we both happened to carve similar paths on our way to success, but beyond all those things….we are our own men. My vision of this business is much different than his and we carry ourselves completely different as well. At the end of the day, our similarities won’t really matter. We’ll both be stars..Hall of Famers..and our differences will be what we are remembered by.”
Check out this video of Seth Rollins’ debut at Florida Championship Wrestling from last October:
– Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson announced on Twitter on Monday that he’s signed on to appear in the next “G.I. Joe” movie. Rock posted a picture of himself with the G.I. Joe logo and the caption, “It’s official: Call the Pentagon, get me my big ass gun – Rocks a JOE! “
– Diamond Dallas Page revealed on Twitter that he’s backstage in Las Vegas for tonight’s WWE RAW. Page posted a picture of himself and several WWE crew members in front of a steel cage – a strong indication that we’ll see a cage match on tonight’s show. DDP is expected to make a cameo on tonight’s show to promote the new Best of WCW Nitro DVD set.
– Former ROH champion Tyler Black (now Seth Rollins in FCW) recently had this to say on Twitter about wrestling in the rain at a recent FCW show and his upcoming WWE TV debut:
“Wrestled in the pouring rain for the first time in my near 7 year career. It was awesome. Kind of made me realize I’ve been having a lot of fun in FCW. But at the same time I can’t wait to get on the road and take WWE…and the world..by storm. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be and in my heart of hearts I feel that my time is near.”
— New Florida Tag Team Champions were crowned last Thursday in Tampa, Florida as Big E Langston and Calvin Raines (a/k/a Patrick Brink) defeated Richie Steamboat and Seth Rollins.
Steamboat and Rollins had reigned since March 25.
— WWE developmental wrestler AJ Lee beat Rosa Mendes in a dark match prior to Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Lee worked this past weekend’s SmackDown live events, teaming with Natalya against Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes. The babyfaces won both matches.
— Mason Ryan has been announced for autograph signings at the June 3 Florida Championship Wrestling live event at Largo Minnreg Hall in Largo, Florida and the June 4 show at the Charlotte County Fairgrounds in Port Charlotte, Florida.