– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is expected to make more WWE television appearances leading up to SummerSlam, where he’ll be in the corner of Triple H for his match with Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar promised Michaels on RAW that he’ll be seeing him before SummerSlam.
– With Brock Lesnar’s current deal scheduled to expire around WrestleMania 29 next April and only a number of dates remaining on his current contract, many people within WWE expect the company to offer him a contract extension.
Getting Lesnar to sign on for another year would be a very expensive proposition for WWE, but the company is confident they can use the former UFC heavyweight champion to sell several blockbuster matches and elevate other superstars by having them work with Lesnar.
As for Paul Heyman’s future, most expect him to continue working with WWE in some capacity. It has been reported in recent weeks that his current agreement with WWE has him on board through SummerSlam.
After Monday’s WWE RAW from San Antonio, Texas went off the air, the “Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night” festivities continued.
John Cena warmed up the crowd and introduced a tribute video that was shown on the big screen and was described by several fans in attendance as incredible. Cena then called Shawn Michaels to the ring.
Shawn Michaels came out with Triple H, followed by CM Punk – who broke from his heel character and thanked Michaels for inspiring him. Punk said he’s had Shawn’s autograph since he was 15 years old.
Vince McMahon then came out and told Shawn that he’s like a son to him and said, “I love you son.” They hugged and it was an emotional moment that the crowd was very into. Hunter then called out the entire locker room – including The Undertaker, who was the only wrestler to get his own entrance.
Undertaker told Shawn that he’s directly responsible for 3 of his Top 5 matches of all-time. He then thanked Shawn for being a friend, and they hugged.
Shawn was presented with a commemorative plaque to honor his work for San Antonio’s AT&T Center. Out came John Laurinaitis, who immediately got Sweet Chin Music and thrown out of the ring. Triple H and Vince McMahon threw Johnny back into the ring. The crowd chanted “one more time” and got what they wanted – another Sweet Chin Music right to the face of Big Johnny.
Michaels ended the show by thanking everyone for supporting him throughout his career. He, Triple H, and Undertaker then posed together in the ring, in a scene that was very similar to what we saw at WrestleMania 28 after the “End of an Era” match.
Check out these pictures that Shawn Michaels tweeted from after RAW:
In his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, Shawn Michaels appeared on Raw to show his support for Triple H and announce that he would be in his corner at SummerSlam. Afterward, Michaels and Triple H stared off with Brock Lesnar, who vowed to see HBK before the pay-per-view event.
Earlier, Daniel Bryan told Raw General Manager AJ Lee that after he defeats John Cena tonight, she’ll have to turn the WWE Championship Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam into a Fatal 4-Way Match. Lee, however, informed Bryan that he already has a match at SummerSlam against Kane.
Here is the updated SummerSlam card, which takes place August 19 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California:
* Triple H (with Shawn Michaels) vs. Brock Lesnar
* World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
– This Friday on SmackDown on Syfy, Chris Jericho presents “The Highlight Reel” with guests Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero.
– Kelly Kelly returned to WWE programming Monday on Raw as she scored a singles match victory over Eve following a surprise hurricanrana. She is scheduled to appear on the SmackDown brand’s two-show tour of Tokyo, Japan beginning Thursday.
Kelly, who had been on the road on a weekly basis since joining WWE in 2006, was reportedly granted a leave of absence in May to spend time with her family and boyfriend. Prior to tonight, her last televised appearance occurred on the May 21 Raw.
– During commercial breaks at Monday’s Raw at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, Shawn Michaels career highlights were shown as part of his Appreciation Night. WWE also sold a commemorative Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night T-Shirt at the venue.
In a new interview with Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) of theScore Television Network and the Baltimore Sun, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels addresses multiples topics, including:
– His new sponsorship with Deuce Watches and how he was heavily involved in the creative process for the watch
– His show McMillan River Adventures has been renewed and the crew is currently filming new episodes
– How on MRA he is abilty to show his passions for topics that he couldn’t while portraying HBK in WWE (his ties with and appreciation for the military, for example)
– Thoughts on tonight’s HBK appreciation night
– Praise for Damien Sandow, who interacted with DX on RAW 1000 and advice he gave him
– Responding to recent comparisons of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk to this generation’s Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart
– D-Generation X alumnus Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is in San Antonio, Texas promoting tonight’s “Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night” themed Raw with the WWE Hall of Famer himself. Michaels tweeted a picture of himself with Waltman promoting the show at a radio station.
– WWE.com has published a story highlighting 15 of the most lovable losers in WWE history, which are described as: “Some WWE Superstars aren’t lucky enough to win a championship during their in-ring career. Some may not even win a match. However, despite their squared circle shortcomings, their refusal to give up has endeared them to the WWE Universe.”
Talent listed include Rad Radford, Virgil, Who, The Young Stallions, Outback Jack, Barry O, Sam Houston, “Iron” Mike Sharpe, “Playboy” Buddy Rose, Leaping Lanny Poffo, Duane Gill, Barry Horowitz, Colin Delaney, S.D. Jones and Brooklyn Brawler.
– CM Punk is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Power Slam.
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from San Antionio, Texas and is being advertised locally as “Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night.”
Michaels will be doing media appearances in San Antonio this morning and will on hand for RAW, although it’s still unclear whether the “HBK Appreciation” segments will air on television. The Showstopper tweeted over the weekend that even he is still in the dark about the situation:
"@pmac83: so is ure appreciation night actually going to be on tv or just for the SA fans"–Don't know, either way, I gotta be there:-)
For fans in antecedence tonight can win autographed Deuce Brand Shawn Michaels watches by bringing “MacMillan River Adventures” signs to the show and tweeting a picture of themselves with the sign.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently spoke to the Miami Herald about his working relationship with WWE and the possibility of wrestling again:
“Obviously, I want to do things that will help. You don’t want to bring me back for no other reason. It would depend on what it was. I am not as young as I once was. Do I think about that stuff? Yeah. It’s one of those things that I know that I can do it. At the same time I can also drink a six pack and be able to drive home, but do I want to give that a whirl? No.”
“”Yeah, I can fall off this or go through this, but then I end up getting hurt and can’t do my other show. I have other responsibilities. I can’t take piano lessons with my daughter because I’m up with my knee in a brace and pushed my knees too far. I do have to give more thought to that kind of stuff. I can’t just go in with reckless abandonment. At least at this point nobody has even asked about that stuff, so I haven’t really given it that much thought.”
Michaels also spoke about a recent hunting trip with Steve Austin:
“We had the opportunity to laugh and chuckle about the old days, laugh and chuckle about where we are now and how different we are from the old days when we were both competitive with each other. Watching him hit it off with Keith is a cool thing. It was an all-around good time with Steve. It was amazing that we got a hunt in at all, but we did. That’s one we are very excited about.”
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was interviewed this week by Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas of The Score and spoke about WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan’s feud being compared to his feud with Bret Hart and other classic feuds, like Steamboat vs. Flair:
“I’m remiss at saying, ‘boy, it’s a big compliment to them!’ I hope they take it as a compliment… it’s just weird. If Bret and Shawn are something to be compared to, it’s only because we have a [Ric] Flair and [Ricky] Steamboat to be compared to. If that’s what we’re talking about, then I’m deeply complimented and honored to have that, and I hope that they are too.”
“I do know that they are both very talented. It does not surprise me one bit that they have phenomenal matches, that they can continue to have something very special and consistent through the years because they’re both very talented. They both bring so much to the table… they don’t rest on their laurels, they’re two guys that want to continue to improve, continue to get better. Those are the same things that Bret and I strived for in each other, in ourselves and in our matches.”
Chris Masters appeared on Inside The Ropes radio Thursday night. Highlights are as follows:
How he finds Vince McMahon backstage: “He’s above and beyond everybody. Even The Hulkster. He’s the guy that put this stuff together. They’re an odd family. They are good at business. People who are business savvy tend to come off a little cold. They don’t get too close to the performers. My first meeting with him was very cool. I told him in due time, I could definitely be a huge player for WWE.”
Who came up with Masterpiece gimmick: “Dr Tom Prichard changed my name to Masters. My friend Matt Morgan and I were sitting one day and he said Masterpiece. I brought it to Jim Cornette and he ran with it, WWE ran with it. I joke that I give 10 per cent of my salary to Matt Morgan. I’m just kidding. He always ribs that he’s responsible for it but I tell him he just had one moment of brilliance (laughs).”
On working with John Cena in 2005/06: “That guy had some heavy fists. Carlito and I used to joke around that in tag matches with Cena and HBK, we would literally rush to get to Shawn Michaels, because he wasn’t as heavy with hands and the other guy would be stuck with Cena and you’d be potato’ing each other left and right. I remember at the Elimination Chamber I felt like I was in a real shoot fight. It’s not that he’s bad, he just gets really fired up and he’s got big hands, he doesn’t realise his own strength.”
Thoughts on his TNA dark match and ending up working for Dixie: “I think there’s a good chance I’ll be working them in the future. It’s a different vibe to WWE. I like that Dixie Carter makes herself accessible to the talent. Jason Hervey came up to me after the match with a camera and just let me talk, it wasn’t some writer giving you stuff to say. There was a good reaction from the crowd. All in all it turned out as good as it could go. I’ve planted all the seed I could. It’s up to them if they want to capitalise, if not I’ll just go about my way.”
To hear the rest of the interview where Masters discusses how he broke into wrestling, his first WrestleMania, working a program with HBK, The WWE’s Wellness Policy and the infamous Pec Dance gimmick, head over to www.facebook.com/theinsidenetwork.
– Former WWE star David Hart Smith turns 26 years old today.
– Matches for today’s WWE Superstars include:
* Cody Rhodes vs. Zack Ryder
* Layla vs. Natalya
* Tyson Kidd vs. Heath Slater
– Shawn Michaels noted on Twitter that today marks the first day of filming for Season 3 of his MacMillan River Adventures hunting show.
– According to the latest business figures released by WWE, WrestleMania 28 now looks to have drawn approximately 1,216,000 buys (713,000 domestic, 503,000 international) – up from last month’s estimated 1,114,000 number.
– WWE officials were impressed with Billy 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. Meanwhile, many backstage feel Sean “X-Pac” Waltman didn’t appear in great shape on the milestone episode so it is unlikely that he’ll be brought back for a match.
Some people were surprised that with WWE’s TV-PG directive and Linda McMahon running for United States Senate, officials had no problem having Waltman appear on television despite his involvement with a sex tape years ago. Some people backstage were also joking about how friendly Gunn was with everyone considering that he challenged Triple H and Shawn Michaels to a “shoot” fight years ago.
– After AJ Lee was named General Manager of Raw last week on Raw 1,000, her first act in the position was to grant Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson a WWE Championship Match at the Royal Rumble. The angle, however, was nixed due to time constraints and Johnson announced that he would face whoever the WWE Champion is at the pay-per-view event.
WWE plans to downplay Johnson’s upcoming title shot until after the Survivor Series on November 18 as to not draw attention away from any of the other shows they have to promote in the meantime. Officials also want Royal Rumble, which takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, to be sold out by November.
On this week’s episode of MLW Radio presented by www.WWNLive.com, Konnan spoke about how much the culture has changed in the locker room since the 90s as well as past habits that later caused health issues.
“It was really hard [to stay clean] in the era I came in. It was like a party. The very first time I went to WWE for a dark match, Shawn Michaels was in the showers smoking a joint with Curt Hennig out in the open. There’s no way you could do that today. You used to have guys just shaking as they’d walk into a hotel. Just shaking from the somas and nobody really NARC’d on anybody.”
“I did have health issues from pain pills and anti-inflammatories and a whole bunch of other [stuff], but those are the two that really [messed] me up. A lot of vicodin.”
Also, Konnan, Court Bauer and Mister Saint Laurent shared stories about the best wing-men in wrestling, including hilarious road stories about Ted DiBiase, Scott Hall, Dean Malenko, Kevin Nash and more.
The new episode of MLW Radio is available for free at: www.MLW.com and on iTunes each and every Monday. You can also find more information about the show here.
– Hailing from one of the more storied and successful families in the pro wrestling history, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. made his TNA Impact Wrestling debut on Thursday. After lauding the Guerrero family legacy and proclaiming that it was his time to shine in TNA, he was attacked by Gunner and Kid Kash, who took exception to his remarks. Guerrero’s aunt Vickie, who appears for WWE as the mouthpiece of Dolph Ziggler, congratulated her nephew’s debut for the Nashville-based wrestling promotion.
“I am proud of @mexwarrior with his debut on TNA!! A true professional Miss him and his family xxoo,” she wrote on Twitter.
Don’t expect Vickie to ever join Chavo in TNA. She stated last year in a Twitter message that she would never turn her back on her WWE family: “I would never go to TNA…no disrespect to anybody…WWE is my family…period.”
– WWE.com has released a poll asking fans to choose their favorite all-time team of D-Generation X—Shawn Michaels and Triple H or Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. Chyna, who partnered with both D-X gangs, was omitted from the poll.
– SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia has posted a new photo shoot on her official website, LilianGarcia.com. The website also features her WWE theme song, which is solely played off-camera at events.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was recently interviewed by the Miami Herald. Here are some highlights of what HBK said about:
Being Retired & Wrestling Again
“I certainly don’t get the itch. That is something that does not happen to me. I think I do get satisfied when I get to go back to do an appearance and get to be a special referee or just an autograph session. Things like that, which is something I really enjoy. Certainly, I don’t stay on the sidelines longing to be in the spotlight, but the time that I am, it’s always a great deal of fun.
“I still try to do a good job and try not to phone it in. It’s almost like two different parts of your life. The first part of your life is geared toward one direction, and the second part of your life is more geared toward another. I’m guessing that is sort of where I’m at, but not forsaking or forgetting the first part by any stretch. I’m appreciative for it and thankful for it.”
CM Punk Saying That He Would Have Made It On TV Back In 1993 When RAW Had Its First Episode:
“I certainly understand the point he was trying to make. It was a different time, and there was a different attitude toward us guys, but because he is a fighter and doesn’t take a lot of guff from folks — for the same reasons that he is on now and the same reason he accomplished what he has in his career now, which is a testament to him — for all of those reasons, all the good reasons and positives because he is a fighter, I think he would have been on the first show.
“I think I understand the point he was trying to make. It was a different time. There were stereotypes that needed to be broken back then, and thankfully, it was done. Hopefully, it has made a difference for Punk and the others. I think because of the type of dude he is, I don’t think he would have had anything to worry about.”
– TNA Impact Wrestling star Tara, formerly known as Victoria in WWE, stated at 8:20 a.m. via Twitter that she is in St. Louis, Missouri—site of tonight’s historic Raw episode celebrating 1000th shows.
“BrookeIMPACT Just landed in St. Louis. Call you from car,” the post reads.
She meant to send the message private to fellow TNA star Miss Tessmacher, but accidentally made it public. The post has since been deleted.
Tara noted last Friday that she would love to be at Raw, but won’t: “For all who’ve asked, yes I’d like to be at #RAW1000. I won’t be there in body, but Monday I’ll be with @WWE in spirit. #GhostOfVictoria.”
– WWE has discontinued airing reruns of WCW Monday Nitro on its Classics On Demand service—stopping at September 1998 with Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan as the center storyline. The program featured an interlude with Matt Striker, who in its last few episodes would often describe Nitro’s storylines in a mocking tone. The show was packaged with Raw as Monday Night Wars; Raw will continue to air as The History of Monday Night Raw.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. He is advertised to appear on Raw as part of a D-Generation reunion.
This past weekend Shawn tweeted “Another Dude obsessed w/my hair #homo” in response to a fan query concerning his hairline on Thursday. He subsequently deleted the tweet after garnering negative feedback.
– AJ Lee tweeted following her participation at MITB
Personal feelings aside, it was an honor to be in the ring with the two absolute best in the world, @CMPunk & @WWEDanielBryan . I'm lucky.
– Dustin Runnels aka Goldust returned to the ring this past weekend in Hollywood, Florida for the NWA Ring Warriors promotion. He lost to Vordell Walker via DQ when “Iceman” Buck Q interfered in the match.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels posted a homophobic remark on Twitter in response to a fan query concerning his hairline:
“Another Dude obsessed w/my hair #homo”
Michaels subsequently deleted the message after getting a lot of negative feedback.
– Kelly Kelly is advertised to appear at the SkyBar Lounge in Bakersfield, California this Friday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The $40 ticket includes an amazing line up of food catered by Cafe Med restaurant, a photo with Kelly Kelly and two autographs.
The appearance was booked without outside of WWE as they are not promoting it on their website.
Sixteen months after signing up on Twitter.com and gaining nearly 8 Million followers, Charlie Sheen shut down his account Thursday.
His final message sated “reach for the stars everyone. dogspeed cadre. c out,”
Sheen was touted by WWE as the Social Ambassador for the 1,000th episode of Raw. WWE.com stated “the “winning” actor will entertain his 7.5 million Twitter followers and the WWE Universe all night long with his unique 140-character analysis of the action.” His status for next week’s RAW remains unclear.
Sin Cara is today’s WWE.com Superstar of the day.
Shawn Michaels posted a video on Friday selling merchandise.
– Mark Henry tweeted this week that he’s been losing weight during his time away from WWE and is now down to 405. He’s looking to drop another 30 pounds.
– Former WWE personality Mike Adamle has taken “personal time” off from his job as a newscaster for NBC’s Chicago affiliate. He’s been off the air since May 14th and nobody has heard from him since. Adamle disappeared for months several years ago and later revealed he was getting psychiatric help during his time away.
– In the following video, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels talks about his hunting show, his upcoming WWE RAW appearances and more:
– Today, June 27th, marks 10 years since John Cena made his WWE television debut on WWE SmackDown.
During the 6/27/02 episode, Kurt Angle made an open challenge to anybody who had not wrestled before so he could show them “ruthless aggression” and make them tap.
A virtually unknown wrestler named John Cena came out and answered the challenge. He had a competitive match with Angle, but experience won out and Angle was victorious. After the match, Cena went to shake Angle’s hand, but Angle just laughed at him.
Later in the show, several of WWE’s top superstars congratulated Cena for a valiant effort. The Undertaker shook Cena’s hand and told him he did a good job.
– Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures hunting show had its Season 2 premiere on Tuesday night. While the show was airing, Michaels did a Q&A on Twitter and answered several wrestling-related questions from fans.
Among the highlights, Michaels said the episode of his show featuring a guest appearance from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will air later this year – while an episode featuring Jim Ross will air in 2013.
When asked who has the most potential to be a main eventer in WWE, Michaels says he barely watches WWE anymore but has always had his eye on Dolph Ziggler.
Michaels also called CM Punk a “nice guy” and said Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam “should be good.”
During the Twitter Q&A session, Michaels encouraged fans to get “#MRA” to trend worldwide – which they did, first time a show on the Outdoor Channel has trended worldwide.
– Rey Mysterio’s 60-day suspension ends today and is able to return to action this week. He is expected to return to television next week.
– Carl Dantes sent in the following preview for Tuesday’s night’s Season 2 premiere of Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures hunting show:
Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures begins its second season this June 26, 2012 on The Outdoor Channel every Tuesdays at 11:30pm eastern (8:30 pm pacific), Wednesdays at 8:00am eastern (5:00am pacific) and Saturdays at 7:00pm eastern (4:00pm pacific) Ch-606 on DirectTV, Ch-396 on Dish Network, Ch-406 on XFINITY TV.
The premiere episode will feature hosts Shawn and Keith stalk the world’s largest land animal with a crossbow in this African adventure. They are hunting for elephant in Zimbabwe, Africa. See just how dangerous it can be when they have a close encounter with a big elephant.
– WWE.com announced Thursday that United States Champion Santino Marella has challenged Ricardo Rodriguez to a Tuxedo Match at No Way Out on Sunday. The website asks, “Who’s best suited for the cummerbund-crushing contest: The Milan Miracle or Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer?”
Click here for a WWE.com video of Marella issuing his challenge to Rodriguez.
– Former WWE Divas Lita and Torrie Wilson, as well as WWE Champion CM Punk, attended Wednesday’s New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field. Wilson is in a relationship with Yankees star Alex Rodriguez while Lita dates Punk.
– Shawn Michaels is promoting the upcoming season of the Outdoor Channel’s MacMillan River Adventures on June 23 at a Bass Pro Shop location in Gurnee, Illinois. The autograph session is free and takes place from noon to 2:00 p.m.
– Linda McMahon, who spent $50 million of her own money in her first Senate run in Connecticut, has been spending and loaning her campaign much less so far as she makes a second bid, according to federal elections records. The Associated Press reports McMahon loaned her campaign $5.1 million through mid-May and spent $3.8 million as of late April.
– WWE.com is advertising the Raw Supershow taking place August 6 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas as Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night.
– WWE developmental wrestler Bo Rotundo is now listed as Bo Dallas on the official website of Florida Championship Wrestling.
– Bill Goldberg and Brian Knobbs were among the celebrities at the Jim Kelly Celebrity Classic VIP Charity Gala Sunday night in Buffalo, New York. Goldberg appeared on stage a few times to quiet the crowd while Kelly spoke but mostly kept out of sight at the event. Knobbs was very accessible as he took pictures and mingled with guests all night long.
– Chris Jericho’s metal band Fozzy will be playing at the Grammercy Theater in New York City on August 30th. Tickets go on sale this Friday morning at LiveNation.com.
– Shawn Michaels made a surprise appearance at WWE developmental today. Jim Ross tweeted on Tuesday evening:
“Great of @ShawnMichaels to stop by FCW today and speak to all the talents. A Super surprise from HBK. Memorable message to all.
– WWE Champion CM Punk responded to a fan on Twitter who complained about Monday’s RAW drawing a 2.92 rating:
“You a wrestling fan or a ratings fan? I’ll take cross over seg telling a good story over covering a non-wrestler with condiments any day.”