— The latest issue of WWE Magazine has a feature on the breakout stars to watch this fall. Those profiled are Justin Gabriel, Johnny Curtis, Jinder Mahal, Zack Ryder, A.J. and Kaitlyn, with all six explaining in their own words why they’re WWE’s next breakout star.
A.J. stated, “I’m trying to redefine the word ‘Diva.’ Divas don’t have to be super-girly, ultra-feminine Barbie dolls—there’s room in WWE for girl-next-door types. I see myself as the ultimate underdog, and a lot of people can relate to that. Not everyone is super-jacked and strong and the superwoman type. Some of us just have to fight. I’m just like every little kid out there. What I bring is a lifetime of watching and enjoying WWE—I’m kind of like a fan who snuck her way in. I’m sort of proud of that.
“I might come off as this bubbly person, but that’s because I come from a rough past. Before I even started in WWE, I was living in a car. I wasn’t scouted for WWE. I paid my dues, and literally starved for two months making ends meet. Beth [Phoenix] was at my tryout and gave me a special, awesome pep talk, saying, ‘Yeah, you can do this.’ Then I got signed.”
— Former ECW star Axl Rotten stated on Twitter that if he doesn’t come up with $5,000 by the end of the month, he will be evicted from his home. He was asking for PayPal donations. The message, however, has since been deleted.
— AT&T U-verse is mistakenly advertising Kane vs. Rey Mysterio and Sheamus vs. Randy Orton as the top two matches for SummerSlam. Both contests took place at last year’s event.
— Months ago, WWE developmental wrestler Maxine was slated to be called up to the SmackDown brand to manage Tyson Kidd. The storyline, however, was nixed, as was her promotion.
Aksana debuted on last week’s episode of SmackDown as a catsuit clad vixen it’s said that the role was originally pegged for Maxine. The decision to nix the NXT Season 3 contestant’s promotion was said to be due to a “breach of etiquette” on her part.
— Chris Masters, who was released last Friday from his WWE contract, stated on Twitter that he has a ticket to SummerSlam.
Masters wrote, “So my former employers in town.and I have a ticket to SS.Hey I am a fan!”
— Aaron James, who lost to Brodus Clay on yesterday’s episode of WWE Superstars, is Tough Enough contestant A.J. Kirsch.
– Rey Mysterio had an MRI done on his knee over the weekend after suffering an injury at a live event on Friday night. The MRI results were not in as of Monday afternoon – but Rey is said to be “very worried” about the situation, since this is the same knee he’s had several surgeries on already.
On Monday’s RAW, Mysterio was scheduled to wrestle The Miz, but was attacked by The Miz on his way to the ring before the match could begin.
We’ll post a follow-up here as soon as more information becomes available.
– As of Tuesday morning – only four matches have been announced for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. The creative team had a few more matches lined up a few weeks ago, but several of them have been scrapped. It’s expected that at least 2 more matches will be added to the card prior to Sunday. There has been talk of featuring fewer but longer matches on the card.
– Earlier this week, we posted a video of former WWE and WCW star Bill Goldberg saying he will “probably” return to wrestling this year – and his ideal opponent would be “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Goldberg had a lot of fans contact him on Twitter regarding his return to wrestling – and responded to the possibility of a match with Austin with the following:
“Austin would be a dream match. But let’s all be realistic.”
— WWE.com has announced that Sheamus will battle Mark Henry at SummerSlam.
The synopsis reads: “Announced exclusively on WWE.com, Mark Henry and Sheamus will collide at SummerSlam in a rivalry that has quickly grown more intense than the summer sun itself. Will the fight of The Celtic Warrior be enough to defeat the meanest “Fella” in the land?”
— WWE developmental talent Aksana debuted on tonight’s episode of SmackDown in a backstage segment with Theodore Long.
Catsuit clad and with dark hair, the NXT Season 3 contestant tried to seduce the SmackDown General Manager into giving her his phone number. Long gave Aksana his card and wrote his personal number on the back. She said, “I can’t wait to do business with you.”
— CM Punk is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Power Slam.
— It was announced on SmackDown that Christian will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match at SummerSlam.
Christian vs. Orton is the first official match for the SummerSlam. It was also announced on Raw that a battle royal will take place the following week to determine the No. 1 contender to Divas Champion Kelly Kelly. The winner will then challenge her at the pay-per-view event.
— WWE announced Friday that its Board of Directors declared the Company’s regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share for all Class A and B shares of common stock. The record date for the dividend will be September 15, 2011, and the payment date will be September 26, 2011. (Read press release)
— Christian will appear at the Cricket Communications Mobile Store 8800 Dixie Hwy in Louisville, Kentucky today from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call 502-933-8081 for more information.
Alberto Del Rio has once again been victimized by WWE’s haphazard booking as his long planned match with John Cena at SummerSlam was nixed hours before last night’s Raw telecast in Hampton, Virginia.
Creative overhauled the match line-up for SummerSlam Monday afternoon after deeming their creative plans for CM Punk for the event as “awful.” Del Rio was effectively removed from the title picture as a result. WWE’s braintrust felt that had Punk not been slotted in the title match, his much talked about storyline would extinguish.
Though Del Rio had the rug pulled out from under him once again, creative has the 34-year-old pegged for a title run this fall. WWE announced today they will present a landmark tour across Mexico this October and a number of high ranking officials feel the countryman returning as a conquering hero will garner a great deal of media attention.
Meanwhile, The Miz was at one point scheduled to reign supreme in the WWE Championship Tournament on Raw. Creative later changed their mind and the WWE Championship was awarded to Rey Mysterio, who got to hold the belt for approximately an hour and a half.
— It was announced tonight on Raw that a #1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal will be held on next week’s show to determine the #1 contender to the Divas Championship. The winner will face Kelly at SummerSlam.
— The Miz is advertised to appear on MTV’s The Challenge: Rivals After Show this Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m.
– Matches taped tonight in Hampton, Virginia for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley
* David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty vs. Chris Masters and Santino Marella
Participants are as follows: A.J., Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve, Gail Kim, Kaitlyn, Maryse, Melina, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes and Tamina.
— Dolph Ziggler debuted a remixed version of his theme song, “I Am Perfection,” tonight on Raw prior to his match against Evan Bourne.
— Days after being suspended by WWE for a violation of the organization’s Talent Wellness Program, Sin Cara has been removed from all SummerSlam promotional material. His image is no longer featured on the promotional poster, nor the microsite.
Regarding the masked grappler’s status with WWE, many employees are under the impression that management “had decided to cut bait on him.” Creative wasn’t informed until a day or two prior to Money in the Bank that he needed to be written off television and were also told to not “put any thought into any scenarios for him going forward.” A final decision regarding his immediate future has not been made.
— Triple H attended Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s wedding, which took place Saturday in Ohio Township, Pennsylvania. “Big Ben” is a huge wrestling fan, and guest hosted an episode of Monday Night Raw in October 2009.
— Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson turns 36 years old today.
– With Sin Cara’s future in WWE unknown, Rey Mysterio is expected to get a huge push this summer. Apparently there is something big planned for Mysterio at Summerslam and the following night’s RAW in San Diego.
– According to Bryan Alvarez, Vince McMahon is expected to be backstage at Summerslam although it’s unknown if he will appear on camera.
– Randy Orton vs. Christian in a no-disqualification match for the World Heavyweight championship is being discussed for SummerSlam next month.
— Tenille Tayla, a 22-year-old Australian women’s wrestler who signed a developmental contract with WWE earlier this year, announced this morning via Facebook that she will be undergoing surgery on her shoulder tomorrow due to the numerous dislocations she’s incurred throughout her wrestling career.
She wrote, “To give you all a quick rundown, I have decided to undergo surgery on my shoulder after the many dislocations I’ve incurred throughout my career. The surgery will take place tomorrow (Wednesday). Looking forward to getting it over with, rehab and hoping to pick up where I left off at the end of the year!”
— “Bright Lights Bigger City” by R&B artist Cee Lo Green is the song that was used during last night’s promotional advertisement for SummerSlam. The pay-per-view event takes place August 14 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
— Chris Jericho’s second autobiography, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps, will be released via paperback next February.
Cable prodider iNDEMAND has released the official promotional poster and synopsis for WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, which takes place on August 14th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California:
“With superior abilities and infinite power, the superpowers of the WWE Universe descend on Los Angeles for a collision so monumental, it threatens to lay waste to the City of Angels. Don’t miss John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, and all your favorite WWE Superstars at SummerSlam, live on pay-per-view.”
The Save Mart Center in Fresno, California has released the lineup for the upcoming WWE live event that’s taking place at the arena on August 6th – and the card looks like an indication of what feuds WWE had planned for the summer. Here’s the lineup:
* John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Title
* Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz in a Fans’ Choice Match (Street Fight or No Holds Barred)
* The Big Show vs. R-Truth
* Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Evan Bourne for the US Title
— Former ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli were on hand for this week’s WWE television tapings in New York and Rhode Island. Both worked out in the ring in front of officials before each show.
Castagnoli signed a developmental contract with WWE in November 2006 but was released a short while later for reasons that have yet to be publicly disclosed.
— WWE has released a commercial ad promoting SummerSlam, which takes place August 14, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It is branded as “The Biggest Event of the Summer.”
The commercial features The Miz, Chris Masters, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox and The Bella Twins emerging from the ocean and scurrying to a beach house to watch SummerSlam.
The commercial is available here.
— Damage starring Steve Austin airs tonight on Spike TV at 11:00 p.m.
– Five young talents have been added to the official roster page of Florida Championship Wrestling, the official developmental territory of WWE:
Three superstars: Alexander Rusev, Dean Ambrose, and Ethan Levin.
Two divas: Audrey Marie and Eden Stiles.
– Following an unsuccessful bid for United States Senate last November, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon is still strongly considering another run next year. McMahon’s publicists issued a brief statement to Connecticut’s Hearst Newspaper this week, saying: “It is still a very strong consideration.”
– WWE has announced details for the upcoming SummerSlam Axxess convention. The 2-day event will take place on August 13th and 14th from the Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles. Tickets will go on sale July 9 at 10 AM PST. For more information on the event, click here.
In a new interview with John Pollock of The Fight Network, WWE legend Kevin Nash says he is hoping for a match against the Big Show at SummerSlam.
Nash revealed that there were talks of him having some kind of match with Big Sho at WrestleMania, but acknowledged that it wouldn’t have been fair for him to get a match on the show and take the spot of another young WWE star who worked all year to work their first WrestleMania.
Regarding his WWE return at the Royal Rumble earlier this year, Nash his brief few minutes as part of the Rumble was better than anything that happened to him during his five years with TNA.
Nash also talked about WWE’s revamped developmental system and how he and other WWE legends like Shawn Michaels might get involved and help Triple H locate and groom the superstars of tomorrow.
– As previously reported, WWE is currently working on how to use The Rock on television in the coming months. While nothing is confirmed just yet, we can confirm that the creative team has a few ideas of what to do with The Rock at SummerSlam and Survivor Series in the fall.
– After Randy Orton captured the World Heavyweight tile last week and ended Christian’s 5-day title reign, WWE is already looking forward to Orton’s next heel challenger. While an extended feud between Orton and Christian was discussed, right now it’s looking like Mark Henry will be the next title challenger. It should be said that Mark Henry as a top heel world title challenger is a scenario that’s been discussed many times in the past, but is not an indication that a title reign is in his future.
– There are currently plans for The Great Khali and his manager Jinder Mahal to form a heel tag team together and feud with WWE tag champions Kane and the Big Show.
– As we recently reported, plans for former WWE superstar Dave Batista to make his professional MMA debut for the Strikeforce promotion fell through when the company was purchased by UFC earlier this year. With Batista’s MMA career still not off the ground yet, there has been speculation as to whether a return to WWE would be in the cards for him.
According to a reliable source, WWE’s creative team does still talk about Batista and how he would fit into current and future storylines. No matter what happens with Batista doing mixed martial arts, the general feeling is that he has not wrestled his final match in a WWE ring.
– With SummerSlam just three months away, WWE is working on the top feuds that will make up the card.
The current plan for WWE Champion John Cena is for him to defend against RAW newcomer Alberto Del Rio. Despite coming up short in title matches at the last 2 pay-per-views, Del Rio is still seen as a top talent by management and is almost certainly a future world champion.
Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth was talked about as well, but with John Morrison recently undergoing neck surgery, the Mysterio-Truth match was moved up to Over the Limit. John Morrison and R-Truth could now take place at SummerSlam.
– Next week’s episode of NXT: Redemption will see the first elimination of this season. Voting is underway at WWE.com. Here’s a look at the current standings:
— WWE’s key decisions regarding tonight’s Draft were not decided as of last night—namely, who the company will designate as the top babyface on SmackDown. Company officials have discussed moving The Undertaker to Raw to make up for a top babyface character being transferred to SmackDown.
The main hold-up is that Vince McMahon wants the premiere matches for SummerSlam decided imminently, which will decide where talent goes.
— Many within WWE feel that roster cuts will be made following the Draft. It is said that a number of wrestlers on the bubble are nervous.
— The Miami New Times is holding a contest for two tickets to next Monday’s Raw taping at the American Airlines Arena. They are asking fans to invent a wrestling move.
– Wade Barrett announced on RAW that Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty are officially Nexus members.
– Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel beat John Cena & David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on Monday’s RAW. The finish camed when Otunga laid down for Slater to pin him. Cena & Otunga won the belts from “Dashing” Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre the night before at Bragging Rights.
– There is talk of holding next year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden. SummerSlam has taken place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles the past two years and it had been reported that Los Angeles was going to be a regular host-city for SummerSlam, but nothing is confirmed at this time.
– The mystery RAW General Manager will be making some “very special messages” at the December 26th RAW live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Michael Cole will be there to deliver the messages.
– After reports that The Undertaker is taking time off to heal a shoulder injury, it’s been announced that the Dead Man will no longer be appearing at the SmackDown live event on October 31st at the TD Garden in Boston, MA.
– Last week’s episode of Smackdown on Syfy drew a 1.74 cable rating with 2,662,000 viewers.
(Partial credit to pwinsider.com for some of the info used in this report)
Solomonster with reaction to last week’s special Sound Off, why Chris Jericho will be missed, Flair and Foley on Impact, shitty Smackdown premiere, Raw sinks to new lows, WWE kissing Foley’s ass, Summerslam buyrate, Tyler Black’s new name and more!
– Some of the celebrities at WWE’s SummerSlam Kickoff party this weekend included Lou Ferrigno, Verne Troyer, Lauren Storm, Joe Manganiello of True Blood fame, former RAW host Clark Duke, Carmen Electra and Booboo Stewart of Twilight fame, who is also a TNA website columnist. Rapper and producer Jermaine Dupri was the DJ for the party.
– WWE was taking signs from fans as they entered the Staples Center for last night’s SummerSlam event. WWE usually takes signs before the show goes on the air in the crowd. WWE confiscated all Daniel Bryan or Bryan Danielson signs and had pre-made signs to give to fans in exchange for any signs they had that WWE didn’t want in the crowd. Fans noted that there was a big stack of Daniel Bryan signs that were taken at the door.
– According to our sources, the decision to bring Daniel Bryan back for SummerSlam was made a few days ago. The talk backstage last night is that Bryan will get a United States Title shot against The Miz at WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view.
– As of Monday morning, Daniel Bryan is the 6th most searched term on Google.com. (Google’s Hot Trends)
– Former WWE Diva Candice Michelle was backstage at SummerSlam visiting friends.
