– WWE contacted Rikishi to participate in Sunday’s 30-Man Royal Rumble Match but the veteran wrestler is unable to appear due to a prior commitment, Jerry “The King” Lawler revealed in an interview with New York Post promoting WrestleMania Axxess.
“I do know that they had contacted Rikishi, but he had a prior commitment that he could not get out of. My son Brian told me that it was just a commitment he literally could not get out of even though he really wanted to [be in the Rumble],” Lawler said.
Lawler also hinted that former stars could resurface as surprise entrants.
“The Royal Rumble has become our next biggest and most fan-favorite pay-per-view. It’s so unpredictable. I know for a fact, I don’t know who it will be, but there’s always some surprise entrants. There will be some people that you didn’t have a clue they were going to be involved in the Rumble.”
– This week’s edition of The JBL & Cole Show features appearances by Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels, who have some kind words for JBL. Plus, Hornswoggle faces off with Daniel Bryan and his “magician’s assistant” in the “SUPERStar Search.”
– Darren Young is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
WWE Hall of Famers “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels were rumored for Monday’s 20th Anniversary RAW from their home state of Texas, but neither man showed up. It turns out, both men were in Las Vegas. Here’s what they wrote about not attending RAW:
Hitting the hay in Las Vegas. Hope RAW was a fun show. I was already booked here at the Shot Show in Vegas, as I am every year. #hunting
Michaels said he won’t be at tonight’s SmackDown tapings from his home town of San Antonio and said it’s unfortunate that some WWE fans don’t appreciate that he has non-WWE commitments.
Jim Ross also tweeted about Austin and Michaels missing Raw:
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be appearing at the next WWE NXT tapings on January 10th, 2013 from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
– The following dark matches took place at Thursdays WWE NXT tapings from Winter Par, Florida:
* Conor O’Brian defeated Oliver Gray with a leg drop.
* Wade Barrett defeated Alex Riley with the Bull Hammer.
* Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel defeated Damian Sandow and Antonio Cesaro afterSandow was hit with a Lionsault by Gabriel and then a Springboard Elbow by Kidd.
– WWE has uploaded the following YouTube video looking back at the brief career of Scott Goldman, better known as Colt Cabana:
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently spoke with Phil Strum of The Poughkeepsie Journal and talked about life after WWE and getting a second chapter of his career after being forced into early retirement due to injury. Here’s what Michaels said about:
Life After WWE: “I’m enjoying it immensely. It works for me. I’m a lazy person by nature, so retirement is right up my alley. I would have done it sooner, obviously, but apparently you have to work before you retire, so it would have been in my best interest to get that out of the way. I’m enjoying it very much.”
The Second Chapter Of His Legendary Career: “It was a gift. The first — I never said I retired the first time. I guess, in my mind, retirement is when you leave on your own terms. The first one, being told I was never going to wrestle again as the result of a back injury, obviously that’s not the way you envision your career ending. Having dealt with that and gone through it and having the opportunity for a second chance, and that the second chance, as you say, being almost a decade, was at first, honestly as much of a shock to me as it was to everybody else.”
“The genuine intention was to come back for one match and sort of see how everything did. To honestly feel like, holy cow, I feel like I can do what I used to do. I went with that until I felt that the peace within me that I could walk away again and it would be on my terms, my timing and all those things you wish and you envision being like. I got the opportunity to do that.”
Julie Hart and Earl Hebner both joined Inside The Ropes to talk about “The Montreal Screwjob” and their thoughts after 15 years.
The highlights from Earl Hebner’s chat are:
His thoughts when he heard Bret didn’t want to drop the belt to Shawn: “Bret had plenty of time to drop the belt. He could’ve dropped it in the United States. I didn’t know much about the deal with those two but he could’ve dropped the belt to anyone, hell he could’ve dropped it to me. But he had an ego and he didn’t wanna do it. Time was running out. If you’re leavin you drop the strap, he didn’t wanna do it. If you remember Alundra Blayze went down there and dropped the Womens belt in the trash. Now if you have a $3 million deal to go to another company, why would you even hesitate to drop the belt? I mean why? Your moneys already guaranteed when you get there. Just drop it and go. A lot of people put him over, made him who he is. So he’s gonna refuse to drop it and make those guys look like idiots? This business is a work.”
On him telling Bret he swore on his kids lives he wouldn’t let anything happen in Montreal: “I was sitting on a plane with Bret. His very words “Will you count me out?” I said “If you keep your shoulder up, I will not count you out” Which I didn’t count him out. Did he get pinned 1.2.3? You stop and think about my position. I’m thinking about the guys in the back. Austin, Undertaker, Rocky all the guys that put him over as being the Worlds Champion, we made him what he was, so he’s leaving us and he’s screwing us because he doesn’t want to drop the belt. So on my way to the ring, I’m thinking it’s not fair. Someone asked me, I won’t say who, about two minutes before I walked to the ring, I said I can’t tell you what I’m gonna do, but when I walked to the ring, I thought about all the boys back in the dressing room, so it wasn’t right for him to screw 25 guys because of his stubbornness, so thats why I did what I did. When McMahon and Sgt Slaughter came to the ring, whether I had done it or not, that bell was gonna ring. The only thing that made it more official is that I motioned for the bell.”
If he thinks Montreal was a work: “It could have been a work. McMahon, Bret, WCW could’ve all been in on it for all I know. I’m gonna go 50/50 on it. I think it was but I can’t say for sure, but look where Bret is now.”
In the rest of the chat, Earl talks about the relationship between Shawn and Bret, how Undertaker felt about the situation the next day, his conversations with Bret since Montreal, Bret’s 2010 return and whether he was contacted to appear by the WWE at WrestleMania 26 and more. Check it out below.
The highlights from Julie Hart’s Chat:
When Bret got suspicious that he might get screwed: “It wasn’t really till we got to Montreal. I remember someone came to Bret and told him that they’d saw Shawn getting into an elevator with Vince in his hotel and that kinda got Bret a little worried. That was earlier in the day. The kids and I had gone shopping and when we got back, Bret said he had to go talk to our lawyer who was in town with us as well. The source, I can’t tell you who it is, but the source had said what happened, so bret went over to our lawyer to talk about it and that’s when Bret really started getting nervous.”
WWE making Vince into the Mr McMahon character: “I thought that was horrible but thats what Vince does right? Thats how he markets things. I felt sorry for Bret because he was such a good person to Vince and I felt like “jeez why did you have to go and do that?” But you look at everything now and how things have played out. It was all about the business, and it’s still all about the business. Those things, I guess, shouldn’t have been taken so personal.”
Her reaction to people who think Montreal was a work: “Firstly, no it wasn’t work. It was as raw as…..you’d have to be there to experience the emotions that Bret went through. I can honestly say on my childrens head, that none of that stuff was set up. It was as real as you would ever get. That camera was in the place in the right time. It was never set up, it’s sad that people would think that. I know, I was there, my kids were there, I saw what it did to Bret emotionally, for our marriage after that, we were never the same…..”
To hear Julie’s full chat where she talks about how Bret was in 1997, who she saw backstage at Montreal, why she talked to Hunter after the match, why Bret wore a wire and much more, listen below.
– Shawn Michaels was asked by a fan on Twitter if he was annoyed that Ric Flair wrestled again after their match at WrestleMania 24, which was billed as Ric Flair’s retirement match. Michaels replied, “Not even slightly” and said that Flair asked for his permission to wrestle again.
– Forbes.com has released its Social Business Power Rankings, with WWE coming in at #14 (tied with Kraft Foods).
– WWE released the following video of Kaitlyn interviewing the stars of WWE Studios’ The Day, which is being relesaed this week on DVD and Blu-ray:
“The Day” is WWE Studios’ cult hit about nightmarish 24-hour look into a band of survivors fighting to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The cast, crew and WWE Superstars met with fans at a special screening and Kaitlyn snagged exclusive interviews with the film’s stars. “The Day” comes to DVD and Blu-ray on November 27!
Former WWE Superstar Marty Jannetty revealed the severity of his ankle injuries stemming from his prolonged wrestling career on Facebook Sunday with a photo; one ankle is positioned sideways, and the other one requires a cast.
Jannetty is in dire need of surgery, but cannot afford it. He recently criticized his former employer, WWE, on the social networking website for financially assisting former talent with substance abuse problems and not those with debilitating injuries stemming from their time laboring for the company. He questioned whether he needs to abuse pain medication before he can receive financial assistance from the sports-entertainment organization.
Jannetty also ripped his former tag team partner and best friend, Shawn Michaels, for displaying little sympathy toward his ailments as well as his “fallen brothers,” at an autograph signing last month in California. The tag team specialist showed Michaels an old wrestling program and said how sad it was that eight of the sixteen individuals who competed at the event died prematurely. Michaels’ response was that he doesn’t keep up with “that kind of stuff” and that he has other things to do, such as ride his tractor. Then, when Jannetty showed his shot ankle to Michaels, he only said “Damn!” and did nothing more. Bret Hart, on the other hand, who was never his tag team partner nor his best friend, vowed to take action in assisting him.
Here is Jannetty’s post: “hey thanx for all of you expressing wonder and concern over them ugly looking ankles I got..maybe I shouldnt say too much right now for.. certain reasons.. but just know, they still work..and some days they dont really hurt that bad..it took a ton of hard work, training the ass off so that I could make it to the level where yall all know me at all..unlike Shawn, I wasnt a natural gifted athlete.. which is one of the reasons I tend to lean towards my students at the wrestling schools, who work the hardest, over those who may be a lil bit better but are naturals…oh, speaking of our Golden Boy Shawn..some of yall may have seen a lil while back where I said a couple of negative things about him, and..take it for what it is..I recently texted him about it..saying I wanted to apologize for things said in moments of extreme pain.. well, the Golden Boy yall love so much returned text saying, “I told you Marty, Im out of touch with the internet so I dont know what youre talking about”(the dude tweets more than anyone I know)..then he send a 2nd text saying, “are you still in high school?”….
“hmm, for apologizing ?? no one made me do that, I just felt it in my heart, and the lil bitch comes back with that?..I guess thats something the spoiled rich kid didnt learn about in high school or other wise…this is the same brat, who recently in an LA Rockers Reunion show, when I showed him an old wrestling program and said to him, “bruh, isnt this sad, look at all our fallen brothers just off this one card (it was about 8 of the 16 guys on the card had died, all fairly young..Curt hennig, Big Boss Man, Rick Rude Road Warrior Hawk, etc) and his response was..”Marty, I dont really keep up with that kind of stuff, I just got other things to do, like ride my tractor”…well, anyway, I said all that to say>> when he saw my f”ed up ankles, he had the same reaction Bret Hart did when he saw them..a Ron Simmons moment, they both said>>>”DAMN!!”…difference being, Bret, who was never a tag team partner, nor best friend at one time..took action..told me what we can do to get it fixed or burn the people who should but wont fix it..Shawn on the other hand, never did more than say DAMN!..well, moving on..for all of you sports peeps out there and you in particular Donut, yall all know that when you have one injury or ailing part, you focus on it during the next event trying to protect it..which Donut, yep, thats how I broke the collar bone last night in a match(Hedges, you were a pleasure to work with, wasnt anything you did and I think our match was GREAT!!)..bumping is an art, a must, and a thing you have to protect yourself with when doing…bumped a bit different last night, got a new injury now..one that will heal..but Im tired or this shit..Im tired of being in such pain daily, when it could all be fixed..or should I go out and snort Peru and drink up Russia b4 the ones who I served, serve me???? and only need serving in a just way..aint wanting SHIT for free..this is OWED!!..but…this post was just to say THANK YOU!! to all those who expressed concern on the emails..love ya all..we’ll be fine!! and back again!!”
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown, Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam tapings will take place from the Crown Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The only match confirmed for the tapings is the big 6-man tag match for WWE Main Event: Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. Alberto Del Rio, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil.
– On this week’s “painful” edition of WWE Download, multiple clips of Shawn Michaels overselling Hulk Hogan’s offense during their match at the 2005 SummerSlam are shown. (Watch)
– WWE officials were surprised that tickets for the company’s debut event in Brooklyn, New York, WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, did not immediately sell out. Nonetheless, they were happy with first day sales.
– After The Sun reported last month that Stacy Keibler and A-list actor George Clooney had split up, Life & Style Weekly says the former WWE Diva has moved into his Los Angeles home.
“She’s 100 percent moved in,” an insider told the publication. “She spends her summers with him in Lake Como, Italy, and all her stuff is at his place in LA.”
– Former WWE tag team The Rockers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, reunited on Saturday night at the Big Event Wrestling Convention in New York City. They signed autographs and took pictures with fans.
– Here’s the latest Are You Serious video – and as usual, it’s dripping with #GarbageJuice.
“Road Dogg and Josh Mathews have a smorgasbord of awful video clips, including one from The Million Dollar Man. What is the WWE Hall of Famer doing at a public swimming pool? Find out in this edition of “Are You Serious?” on WWE on YouTube!”
WWE.com has an article up looking at wrestling schools and the people who trained today’s Superstars and Divas, such as Tyson Kidd, Natalya, Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Damien Sandow and more.
Daniel Bryan, who was trained by WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, told this story about almost killing the Heartbreak Kid during his training:
“One night I nearly killed Shawn Michaels. This was before his return from his back injury. I was trying to do a thing where I’d spring off the second rope onto the top rope, spin and do a hurricanrana. Keep in mind, at the time I was 175 pounds, and that’s a lot of weight to land on somebody’s shoulders.
“I was trying to do it on Brian Kendrick, and it wasn’t working. We thought Brian was too small. He was probably 150 pounds at the time. Shawn watched us do it a couple of times, and he got in the ring and wanted to do it with me. I go to do the hurricanrana, land on him and he ends up landing right on his head and rolls right out of the ring. We all freaked out. That was the night I nearly killed Shawn Michaels.”.
– Tonight on Raw, Bret “Hit Man” Hart will step inside a WWE ring in Montreal, Canada, for the very first time since the infamous “Screwjob” at the 1997 Survivor Series. According to sources at the event, the WWE Hall of Famer is scripted to appear in multiple segments.
– As an homage to Sheamus banned finishing maneuver, WWE.com ranks the ten greatest kicks in WWE history. Topped by Shawn Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music, the list also ranks: #2 Randy Orton – Punt, #3 Rob Van Dam – Van Daminator, #4 Sheamus – Brogue Kick, #5 “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – Stompin’ a Mudhole, #6 Hulk Hogan – Big Boot, #7 Booker T – Scissor Kick, #8 Trish Stratus – Chick Kick, #9 Tajiri – Buzzsaw Kick, #10 Kofi Kingston – Trouble in Paradise. (Article)
– WWE returns to American Airlines Arena at Miami, Florida on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 for a SmackDown taping. Talent advertised to appear include Randy Orton, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan, Ryback, Antonio Cesaro, Kane, Sin Cara and Natalya.
– WWE.com has compiled a list ranking 15 former Superstars that should make a one-night comeback. It reads: 15. Scott Steiner, 14. Honky Tonk Man, 13. Michelle McCool, 12. Steve Blackman, 11. JBL, 10. Mick Foley, 9. Edge, 8. Shane McMahon, 7. Goldberg, 6. Trish Stratus, 5. Shawn Michaels, 4. Bret Hart, 3. Batista, 2. Ultimate Warrior, 1. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
– WWE has released a preview clip of a Saturday Morning Slam segment showcasing sports-entertainment’s history of dancers.
– Jim Ross complimented former WWE Women’s Champion Jacqueline via Twitter Wednesday, writing, “WWE never had a better pro, tougher Diva than Jackie Moore. She made all WWE Divas better.”
– Following his appearance on Monday’s WWE RAW [via satellite], WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels says he’s leaving the spotlight once again and is looking forward to returning to his private family life:
Well, the upside is this…the noisy trucks are gone & tomorrow I go back to my life of ranching,family & #MRA…one handed for a while!!:-)
– Speaking of the Divas Battle Royal, it’s worth noting that Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix were featured on the preview graphic for the match, despite the fact that neither of them was at RAW.
The WWE website has a storyline interview up with Shawn Michaels, who will no longer be in Triple H’s corner at SummerSlam after Brock Lesnar’s vicious attack on Monday’s RAW. Here are some highlights of the storyline-driven article:
Brock Lesnar Breaking His Arm: “I’m not happy about what Brock Lesnar did to me, but life goes on. I have kids and a family, and things that have to get done. Thankfully, I’m left-handed and ambidextrous so I’m not slowed very much. The physical work around the ranch is going to take a back seat for a while.”
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar: “Brock is a whole different kind of cat. He’s not the same guy he was 10 years ago. The problem is getting caught in the jaws of the alligator. Eventually, you have to tie up with him. Once he gets ahold of you — I don’t care if it’s an arm, leg, ankle or wrist — he now has an ability that I don’t think he had before. He might have had it, but I don’t think he had the wisdom, knowledge and experience at that time to utilize it in the respect that he does now. And that makes him a ton more dangerous. That is going to be something Hunter hasn’t faced before. I think that Hunter has the tools to defeat Brock, but it’s going to be tough. If he attacks him in the right respect, and avoids getting caught in the jaws of the alligator, he has a chance. But, if I had the answer to beating him, I wouldn’t be walking around with a broken arm.”
Not Attending SummerSlam: “All the nagging injuries that I’ve had over the last 25 years were made a little worse in that thrashing I took in the parking lot [on Raw]. It’s more an issue of me needing to heal a lot of stuff.”
– During an interview that appears in the September issue of WWE Magazine, Triple H spoke about the burden that comes with holding the World Heavyweight title and how some wrestlers are not ready for the responsibility that comes with being champion. “I had a conversation with Sheamus, and he told me, ‘I want to be that guy.’ And I asked if he understood what that really means,” Hunter said.
– Despite Shawn Michaels’ recent involvement in the Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H SummerSlam storyline, Michaels still has no plans of wrestling again.
– After having the sympathy of the WWE locker room following his recent WWE release, Abraham Washington lost a lot of that support with his Tweets and his media interviews in the days that followed.
– Charlie Sheen is still expected to have some sort of role at SummerSlam. If he does appear at the show, it would be unusual that WWE did not advertise him advance to create some extra buzz (especially in the Los Angeles area) for the show.
– WWE.com has announced that Kevin Rudolf will perform “Don’t Give Up,” SummerSlam 2012’s official theme song, live on pay-per-view this Sunday.
– SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia talked exclusively to RedCarpetTips.com about her top red carpet and beauty tips. The WWE Diva says it takes a lot of work to look good.
“The first thing is the dress… then the day of, you know, just the curlers and the hair and the make-up,” Garcia says, also noting tanning. She says “It’s a process!”
– WWE.com has released a poll asking fans whether Shawn Michaels’ injury on Raw will affect Triple H’s chances of defeating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
– Shawn Michaels tweeted on Tuesday that he his “highly unlikely” to appear at SummerSlam this Sunday, but the WWE website has followed up with a report that he won’t be there. Michaels suffered a [storyline] broken arm at the hands of Brock Lesnar on RAW and was scheduled to be in Triple H’s corner for his match against Lesnar
– Linda McMahon won Tuesday’s GOP U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut by defeating former U.S. Representative Christopher Shays. She is now the Republican nominee for November’s Senate race. For more on this story, visit StamfordAdvocate.com.
– After Shawn Michaels was loaded into an ambulance following the conclusion of Monday’s RAW, WWE.com caught up with Triple H, who said Shawn was taken to the hospital with a broken arm. Triple H said his fight with Brock Lesnar this Sunday at SummerSlam is now even more personal and the former UFC Heavyweight champion better show up to face what’s coming to him.
– Paul Heyman tweeted the following after RAW, taunting Shawn Michaels:
I hope @ShawnMichaels recovers from this very quickly. It's terrible he got taken out before @WWE#SummerSlam. But those are the breaks!
– Yoshi Tatsu appeared to have injured his arm during the SmackDown brand’s tour of Asia. Tatsu wrestled Jinder Mahal in Shanghai, China this weekend and was visibly in pain during the match. He was checked out by trainers afterwards. No word yet on the extent of the injury, but we’ll follow up when more details become available.
– Wade Barrett has looked good during the SmackDown tour of Asia this weekend, picking up wins against the likes of Justin Gabriel and Ted DiBiase. Barrett used his Winds of Change move to finish off DiBiase (instead of Wasteland), another sign that Barrett is continuing to evolve his in-ring style. Some fans who attended WWE live events this week noted that Barrett looked rusty, while a few others reported that it appears Barrett is working a more deliberate, physical style.
– With WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels scheduled to appear on Monday’s “Go Home” episode of WWE RAW, WWE is advertising that Michaels will be there to support Triple H and is teasing an altercation involving Michaels, Triple H and Brock Lesnar.
– WWE announced Friday via Twitter that Shawn Michaels will appear on Monday’s episode of Raw, the final episode before SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar issued a threatening warning to HBK on Monday’s show that he would see him before SummerSlam. Michaels will be in Triple H’s corner when he faces Lesnar at the pay-per-view event. Triple H is also advertised to appear at Raw, which will take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
– Former WWE Superstar Billy Gunn evaluated WWE developmental talent this week at Florida Championship Wrestling headquarters. Regarding this, Gunn wrote on Twitter, “Thanks to everyone in fcw for a great week of training had fun and learned alot the future is looking great if your a wrestling fan.” Gunn may further his partnership with WWE. As reported last week, management was impressed with Gunn and his interactions with Shawn Michaels on Raw 1,000 and the belief is he’ll receive at least one match on a future televised show.
– WWE.com has published photos from the SmackDown brand’s second night of action in Tokyo, Japan. John Laurinaitis, who competed on the show despite his removal from storylines, is not shown in any of the photos.
– Monday on Raw, Shawn Michaels revealed he will be in Triple H’s corner when “The Game” faces Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Lesnar then issued a warning to HBK, telling him that he’d see him before SummerSlam. Michaels, however, is not advertised to appear on Raw—the final Raw before SummerSlam—by either WWE or host venue American Airlines Center.
Michaels was asked on Twitter what he would say if Lesnar challenged him to a match following his bout with Triple H and responded, “What I tell everybody, No thanks, I’m retired.” HBK is also not worried about getting beat up by the large framed wrestler: “Added to the list of 10,437 guys who have done the same over 25 yrs:-).”
– In honor of Kelly Kelly’s return to Raw on Monday, WWE.com has published photos and videos highlighting the blonde Diva’s greatest moments.
– Kamala will address his accusations towards Wrestlers Rescue and MWF and why he hasn’t accepted checks from both organisations today on Inside The Ropes radio at 5:00 p.m. EST. Visit www.facebook.com/theinsidenetwork for show information.
– It was rumored for weeks that Brock Lesnar would attack WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels on this past week’s “HBK Appreciation Night” edition of WWE RAW from San Antonio, Texas. The angle was reportedly scrapped due to the big celebration WWE had planned for after RAW went off the air, which featured appearances from the Undertaker, Vince McMahon and more.
Lesnar told Michaels on RAW that he’ll be seeing him before SummerSlam on August 19th. With the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stating that a big angle is planned for Monday’s “go home” episode of RAW, it’s possible we will see Lesnar destroy Michaels on Monday night.
– UFC fighter Diego Sanchez, the man credited with creating the extremely popular “YES!” chant now used by Daniel Bryan in WWE, recently told OpposingViews.com that he’s close with Daniel Bryan and his team has reached out to Bryan’s people working together:
“My team has reached out to them and we’ll see what happens. We both are the ‘Yes’ men and if we could help each other that’s what it’s about. It’s about that positivity and motivating yourself to do things you could never do when unmotivated.”
– The August 6 episode of garnered a 3.08 cable rating over the course of three hours, the same rating as last week. Raw also averaged a 3.23 rating from 9:00 through the 11:00 p.m. overrun, which is identical to last week.
Unlike the last two weeks, the rating for the third hour of Raw declined from the second hour. The program garnered a 3.26 rating in the second hour before declining to a 3.19 in the third. The first hour drew a 2.80 rating compared to 2.79 the week before.
Overall viewership declined 130,000 from last week to 4,360,000 viewers. Raw averaged 4,070,000 viewers in the first hour, 4,650,000 in the second hour and 4,470,000 in the third hour. It was the least watched episode overall since June and least watched from 9:00 through the 11:00 p.m. overrun since July 9.
– Shawn Michaels stated on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that he has declined a behind-the-scenes role with WWE. When asked on Twitter how he would react if offered an executive position by WWE chief Vince McMahon, Michaels replied, “He has, and for now, I’ve declined.”
