— Ric Flair was unable to make a scheduled appearance for WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race’s World League Wrestling promotion yesterday because his morning flight to Missouri was canceled and he failed to board a later one. World Wrestling Entertainment sent Raw Superstar Ted DiBiase on short notice to replace Flair at Race’s event.
— SoCal Val interviews Sarita and Rosita backstage before tonight’s TNA Victory Road pay-per-view event. The duo will challenge Angelina Love and Winter for the TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship. (Video link)
— The TNA Genesis DVD is on sale this Tuesday at major retailers and ShopTNA.com.
— Generation Me member Max celebrates his 26th birthday today.
— Darren Young, who was selected as one of six former NXT contestants to return to the show in its fifth season, NXT Redemption, was listed as a member of the Raw roster upon its premiere. He had been largely relegated to WWE Superstars in recent months but is now competing for a spot in the sixth season of NXT.
— Former WWE creative member John Piermarini said on his Twitter account that Brodus Clay was originally tapped for the role of Ted DiBiase’s bodyguard last year. The role, however, went to Virgil.
— WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper said on Twitter that he’s filming a piece for Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week.
— The March 5 SmackDown live event in Albuquerque, New Mexico drew 6,000 fans and gate of $170,000. The March 6 show in Waco, Texas drew 4,000 fans for a gate of $120,000.
– Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
With today’s date being 2/21/11, expect to see the culmination of WWE’s 2/21/11 teaser videos on RAW. The arena website has been advertising an appearance from The Undertaker, so don’t be surprised if those cryptic videos were for his return.
The dark match main event for RAW will be John Cena and Randy Orton teaming up against WWE Champion The Miz and Nexus leader CM Punk, with Michael Cole as referee.
– Ted DiBBiase and his younger brother Brett will be appearing at the 3/16 FCW show from the Charlotte Harbor Event Center. The DiBiase brothers will be greeting fans and signing autographs before the show.
– Future WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be appearing at the Detroit Autorama in Detroit, Michigan on 2/27 from 1-4pm.
– Former WWE diva Stacy Keibler was at Sunday’s NBA All Star game and was seen mingling with various NBA stars on the court after the game was over. Check out this picture of Keibler chilling with Lebron James:
— Those spoken to within WWE aren’t aware if there is any particular incident or reason that Ted DiBiase isn’t receiving a stronger push on television. However, more than one person feels Maryse is struggling to work as an effective valet. One source indicated that the former glamour model appears much more concerned with drawing attention to herself and getting herself over rather than enhancing DiBiase’s matches and overall presentation.
— One WWE source doubted reports of the entire list for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class being set in stone. Although discussions have begun, the source does not believe there is much locked in—besides Shawn Michaels. However, the insider strongly feels that reports of Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons being enshrined this year are correct.
— Wade Barrett is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling.
To help promote next Sunday’s Raw live event at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, Valley24.com conducted an interview with WWE star Ted DiBiase, Jr. The son of “The Million Dollar Man” discussed the toll of traveling throughout the world on a weekly basis, the strain of injuries, WWE’s attitude towards injuries, and more.
When asked how often he is on the road, DiBiase said ‘it’s most of the time’.
“I think the correct answer is a minimum of 257 days a year and I believe it’s actually really more than that,” he said. “It’s most of the time.”
He was also asked about the possibility of his brother, WWE developmental wrestler Brett DiBiase, joining NXT at some point.
“That’s actually out of my control. It very well could happen,” he replied. “If you see him there, you’ll see him on RAW or Smackdown but we’ll definitely see him soon, eventually, I would predict.
“He’s a talented and he’s dying to get up here. He’s ready.”
In regards to WWE’s attitude towards injuries suffered by wrestlers, he feels it’s excellent.
“WWE does an excellent job especially in the area of head injuries, as far as concussions. I know I was actually slapped in the face one night and it knocked me out. I had a mild concussion and they would not let me wrestle for three weeks to a month. I did other things in the show, but they wouldn’t let me perform in the ring. That’s the thing, as a company, we take very serious now. We go through a lot of steps, a lot of tests and stuff and we have our doctors who are certified to handle us and make the call.
WWE announced this afternoon on the company website that United States Champion Daniel Bryan will defend his title against Ted DiBiase tomorrow night at the Survivor Series.
The match was advertised on Ticketmaster.com earlier this week before WWE made the match official today.
The officially announced card is as follows:
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett (with John Cena as the special guest referee) Should Barrett win, Cena is freed from The Nexus. Should Barrett lose, Cena is fired from WWE.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge vs. Kane (c)
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kaval
WWE United States Championship Match
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase
WWE Divas Championship Match
Natalya vs. Michelle McCool and Layla (c)
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (c)
Survivor Series Elimination Match
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, MVP, Kofi Kingston and Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Tyler Reks
— Word amongst those in WWE is that Jerry Lawler was unable to appear in Manchester, England for today’s Monday Night Raw taping due to an injury that prevented him from making the trip overseas.
A company source believes the WWE Hall of Famer suffered a knee injury.
Michael Cole and Josh Matthews called the show that will air tonight.
— Two matches were taped today in Manchester, England for this Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars: Ezekiel Jackson vs. Primo (with AJ), and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder.
— The Nov. 5 episode of WWE SmackDown drew a 1.82 cable rating, with 2,772,000 viewers. It is the second highest rating for the program since moving to Syfy.
— According to WWEDVDNews.com, WWE has plans to release a multi-disc DVD set on Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase next year. The title is currently in production.
— Today is Raw Superstar Ted DiBiase’s birthday. He turns 28 years old.
— Chris Jericho is now considered a former WWE Superstar as his profile on WWE.com has been moved to the Alumni section.
Jericho, who has been touring Europe with his band Fozzy since his departure from the organization, will be taking parting in a WWE function this Saturday at Ringside Collectibles’ Ringsidefest this Saturday at Caroline’s on Broadway in New York City. He will be signing autographs and taking part in a Q&A session. Kane and The Miz are also scheduled to appear.
— Battle royals notwithstanding, Goldust’s match with Ted DiBiase at Bragging Rights was his first bout on a pay-per-view broadcast since the December 2002 event Armageddon. Additionally, he had not competed in a singles bout on pay-per-view since February 2002 — against Rob Van Dam.
— Two matches for this Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars were taped prior to Monday’s Raw broadcast: Tyson Kidd vs. Zack Ryder; Mark Henry vs. Jey Uso.
— Yoshi Tatsu beat Primo in a dark match prior to the Superstars taping.
— Ted DiBiase and Maryse are advertised to appear at the Best Buy in Miami, Florida on Saturday, November 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
— WWE’s creative department has not been spending as much time with Vince McMahon as they have in the past. It is said that a lot of work is being done via e-mail as opposed to actual meetings.
In related news, the majority of the creative writers are said to be pleased that Stephanie McMahon is out on maternity leave.
“It’s one less hurdle,” said a company source. “Plus, Vince isn’t as tense when she’s not around.”
— The pre-sale for the Raw taping taking place December 6 at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky is MONDAY. The pre-sale begins tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com.
Warning: The following article contains a *Spoiler* for next Monday’s RAW:
Melina made her return to WWE programming during Monday’s television taping in San Antonio, Texas. She performed a run-in following a Six-Diva Tag Match pitting Alicia Fox, Jillian and Tamina against Eve, Gail Kim and Natalya, attacking the Divas Champion. Her return will be televised during next Monday’s episode of Raw.
It was her first appearance inside a WWE ring since she underwent surgery for a torn ACL suffered last December. She spent the past few weeks at the company’s developmental facility in Tampa, Florida training for her return.
WWE creative brass initially planned on inserting Melina into the ongoing John Morrison vs. Ted DiBiase program as means to feature mixed tag matches, but said plans were nixed last week. Instead, she will going after Fox’s Divas Championship. A three-way feud between Melina, Fox and Eve is tentatively planned, though Maryse may be put in the mix.
Meanwhile, Maryse and DiBiase’s “power couple” placement is an offshoot of plans initially tapped for the French beauty and The Miz last year. Plans were changed when Maryse took a hiatus to recover from knee surgery and Miz got over well enough with the audience that she was no longer needed by his side. Maryse was ultimately placed with DiBiase in an effort to get him over.
Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the info used in this report
— WWE announced on its website this afternoon that Randy Orton has joined Twitter. His account is located at twitter.com/RealRKOrton.
Following Orton’s Triple Threat Match victory over Chris Jericho and Edge last night on Raw, “The Viper” was the No. 1 most-popular trend on Twitter for more than 15 hours. During this time, John Cena persisted Orton to join the social networking site.
“CeNation. I have told Randy about the overwhelming demand 4 him on Twitter. What he does now is up to him,” Cena posted this morning. Later that afternoon, Cena tweeted, “The Viper lurks. [Orton] is seriously considering joining very soon.”
— Regarding the John Morrison vs. Ted DiBiase program, it is expected to be prolonged through at least September as tentative creative plans call for the two Raw Superstars to face off at Night of Champions.
— WWE has added a third show to it’s upcoming tour of Puerto Rico. The event takes place on September 4, 2010 at the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Hato Rey. Tickets go on sale July 31, 2010. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
— Ted Dibiase noted on his Twitter account that he was pulled over early Sunday morning for driving over the speed limit. He wrote: “I was doing 83 in a 70…He gave me ticket and then chatted me up about wrestling for 15 min! Thought he might rip it up….Nope”
He posted the following photo of himself after receiving the ticket.
— WWE Monday Night Raw on September 20th, 2010 will be held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tickets go on sale June 7th, 2010 at noon.
— Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling. You can view the cover here.
(sources: Pro Wrestling Torch, Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
— Randy Orton has told friends he doesn’t expect his shoulder injury to keep him out of action for long. While he initially feared the worst when he suffered the injury at Over The Limit, it appears he will be healed in time for next month’s Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, which he is advertised for.
Though Orton appeared to suffer the injury during his match with Edge on Sunday, he entered the match hurt. He worked a tag match with John Cena against Batista and Sheamus the previous night and was nursing the arm late in the bout. It doesn’t appear a bump caused the injury as after making a tag to Cena, he immediately grabbed his arm and held it in pain for the remainder of match.
— Ted DiBiase suffered a concussion very early in his match with R-Truth this past Sunday night at Over The Limit when Truth slapped him across the face and knocked him loopy. An audible was called due to the injury, as DiBiase was tabbed to blame Virgil for his loss, subsequently knocking him out with the Dream Street. It remains unclear at this time whether Santino Marella hitting Virgil with the Vulcan Neck Pinch in a comedy segment the following night on Raw constituted his character being written off, or if it will happen within the next few weeks.
Regarding DiBiase, he won’t be allowed to wrestle until medically cleared. He is expected to be kept out the ring for a few weeks so he can heal.
– Ted DiBiase suffered a concussion very early in his match with R-Truth this past Sunday night at Over The Limit when Truth slapped him across the face and knocked him loopy. Despite this, DiBiase continued to work, taking several more bumps before the bout was prematurely concluded.
DiBiase is expected to be kept out the ring for a few weeks so he can heal. He did not compete at last night’s Raw taping in Toledo, Ohio.
– Mike Jones, who was brought back to WWE to reprise his “Virgil” bodyguard character, is working on a show-by-show basis. It remains unclear at this time whether he will be a permanent fixture on Raw.
– The decision to debut “the mystery trio” seen last night on Raw was made last week after plans for The Colóns to feud with The Hart Dynasty were dashed as a result of Carlito’s refusal to enter a company-mandated rehabilitation program. More call-ups from developmental are expected as it believed that one or two more FCW workers will be summoned to the main roster in the near future.
– The submission hold Batista has been utilizing as of late was featured on Blake Norton’s recently released documentary profiling WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, Surviving the Dungeon. In the piece, Hart can be seen placing the scissored armbar on Norton and referring to it as “The Stu Lock.”
— Ted DiBiase was diagnosed with a concussion following his match with R-Truth last night at Over The Limit. (source: PWInsider.com)
— On Twitter, Goldust has received a number of questions and comments concerning his split personality persona in TNA Wrestling, Black Reign. He has asked fans not to mention it.
“Listen guys black reign sucked, keep it goldie,” he wrote.
Black Reign was voted Worst Gimmick of 2007 in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.
— Former WWE star Gene Snitsky has surfaced on Twitter. You can visit his page at twitter.com/therealsnitsky. He has plans to release his first t-shirt, which reads “It’s Not My Fault.”
— Bret Hart canceled his appearance at the BTW WrestleFest convention yesterday in Fremont, California due to a scheduling conflict with his Calgary Hitmen hockey team. He noted on his official website that the Hitmen were in a semi-final game last night in Brandon, Manitoba with the championship game scheduled for today. Furthermore, he expects to be on hand for tomorrow night’s Raw in Toledo, Ohio, but as of yesterday, wasn’t completely sure.
Regarding the United States Championship, upcoming Raw live events list three-way U.S. Title bouts between R-Truth, The Miz and Ted DiBiase. It’s expected that one of the three will receive the belt once Hart’s run as champion concludes.
— Matches pitting John Cena against Edge with the WWE Championship on the line are advertised for upcoming Raw live events.
— The Blade has conducted an interview The Miz promoting tomorrow night’s Raw in Toledo, Ohio. He discusses the toll wrestling’s had on his body, the worst injury he’s suffered, and more. (Article link)
The Ultimate Warrior has posted another (very long) blog on his website firing back at the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s comments that he doesn’t belong in the WWE Hall of Fame because he was a terrible worker and a didn’t appreciate what the industry did for him.
Warrior shoots HARD on DiBiase .. Here are just a few quotes from Warrior man:
DiBiase’s Christianity & Past Sins: “Let’s be honest, here, Father Teddy. (What irony, having to instruct a man-of-the-cloth to be honest.) It was never guilt that made you change your ways to become a man of God. It was gluttony — and your dark desire to continue getting away with it. You’ve never had the discipline, in your whole life, to restrain your appetites for anything — and you still don’t. All you’ve done is substitute vices and indulgences. When you were in the business and your ego was powered by your gimmick and your fame and celebrity, you were gluttonous for sluts and salacious thoughts and living. When it was all over, the superficiality of celebrity was gone and you had nothing to cling to anymore to cover up your natural repulsiveness. Even the worst whores have standards. Once you were nothing, without the TV and the Million Dollar Man gimmick (which WWF footed the entire bill for), they wanted nothing to do with you anymore. You crawled home on your knees to your wife and God, all seemingly in the desire to be forgiven. But all you’ve truly done is use religion as an excuse and means to continue getting away with other forms of self-indulgent gluttony.”
DiBiase Calling Himself a Warrior: “Let’s get real, Teddy. You certainly never, ever came close to looking or acting like a warrior at any time during your life. On some level, it seems to me and I imagine many others, associating oneself with the concept “warrior†should or would have something to do with self-discipline, meaningful sacrifices, inner strength, digging deep within oneself to be the best one can be, integrity, honor, etc. More especially so in your case, now, since your goal as a man-of-the-cloth is to guide people away from the forces that lure them to be the worst they can be. And to do this you use the Bible’s inspiring stories of warrior-like individuals who practiced these honorable virtues, right?”
Warrior’s Success vs. DiBiase’s: “You say the only time I had a great match was when someone was leading me around by the nose. Once and for all, let’s stop the bullshit and put things in no uncertain terms: without guys like me, Ted Dibiase, you never would have worked a Main Event match in the WWF.
“You were so smart about the business, Teddy, you were too stupid to figure out how it really works. Guys like you funded petty cash. Guys like me — and Hogan and Savage at the time — paid the mortgages and the travel bills and the production costs of the whole operation. Your profit making contribution was like hitting three cherries on a nickel slot machine. Mine was like hitting the Powerball Jackpot. I earned my limousine. Yours was provided as part of your silly gimmick. Reality check: my quarterly royalty checks were for more money than you made in a whole year. It was never about who could draw money with a guy like you — it was always about who could draw money with a guy like me. Guys like you were one-of-many. Guys like me were one-of-a-kind.”
Satan’s Pig: “I really think this is where you fail the best in being a fraud, a hypocrite — a real snake-oil salesman. In fact, you fail so successfully at gluttony, I think you missed the calling of what would have been your best gimmick. The one that truly fits: Satan’s Pig. You are the embodiment of Satan’s Pig. Your face, body, mind and spirit provide the perfect image of it. Amazing, isn’t it? After all these years of stumbling around to squeeze yourself to a gimmick, you finally come face to face with your best gimmick — the real you.”
This stuff is just the tip of the iceberg – Warrior goes in-depth on his relationship with Vince McMahon as well as paragraph after paragraph of why he thinks DiBiase is a complete hypocrite and a fake Christian.
To read Warrior’s full blog entry, visit UltimateWarrior.com.
— In light of Beth Phoenix’ removal from television as a result of a torn ACL, there is talk of splitting up Lay-Cool — Michelle McCool and Layla — and having them feud with each other. It’s also been said that Melina may return to SmackDown once she’s cleared to wrestle, which is expected to take place in June. (source: PWInsider.com)
— In an interview with WWE Magazine, Ted DiBiase is asked what he won’t miss from his days in The Legacy, to which he replied playing with G.I. Joe action figures. He then relays a bizarre story of Rhodes once seriously asking him to play with said toys.
“Well, he wanted to play “War,” and I thought it was some video game or card game. Then he pulled all these dolls out of his bag. He lined them up and started making noises like, “Pow! Pow! Boom!” It was just bad,” DiBiase said. “I thought it was a joke, but he told me I needed to take it more seriously. I felt inclined to play along because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Never again.”
— WWE was the No. 2 trending topic on Yahoo.com yesterday.
– WWE needs another strong heel on the SmackDown brand and two names that have been discussed for the spot are Kofi Kingston and MVP.
– Developmental talent Brett DiBiase, brother of Ted DiBiase, will be going in for knee surgery next week and will be missing several months of action. There had been plans for Ted DiBiase to lead a new group of second generation wrestlers, which would include his brother Bret as well as Joe Hennig, son of the late Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. With Bret out of commission, there’s been talk of putting Carlito and Primo in the stable but that hasn’t been officially decided on.
With the fate of DiBiase’s new “priveleged sons” group on hold, WWE still wants to bring Joe Hennig to the main roster and pair him with DiBiase. Hennig, a standout developmental talent, was originally scheduled for this season of NXT until officials decided not to have any second generation stars on this season.
— Triple H is tentatively booked for television and pay-per-view events due to lingering neck problems.
— While Ezekiel Jackson’s injury at yesterday’s SmackDown live event in Glasgow, Scotland has not yet been diagnosed, the early belief is that he suffered a torn quadriceps.
— Ted DiBiase was busted open hard way at yesterday’s Raw live event in Ireland during his bout with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes, requiring several staples in his head to close the wound.
— Today is Dustin “Goldust” Runnels’ birthday as he turns 41 years old.
– When the call was made to break up Randy Orton’s Legacy stable, talk began of a new group forming with Ted DiBiase as the leader. Plans called for DiBiase to team with his brother Brett and rising developmental superstar Joe Hennig (son of the late “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig) in a group called “The Fortunate Sons.” DiBiase referenced that title during his promo on RAW this week. Whether WWE will still go forward with that idea remains to be seen.
– WWE is getting back to the mentality of recruiting standout athletes into developmental instead of just muscleheads with “the right look.”
– The Georgia Dome in Atlanta might see two straight nights of WWE action next year. With WrestleMania 27 confirmed for the Dome, there is talk of having the next night’s RAW in the same stadium (with most of the upper sections scaled off, obviously). Next year’s Hall of Fame ceremony will likely take place at either the Phillips Arena or the Fox Arena.
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for the information used in this report)
In an interview with the MondayNightMayhem radio show, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase had some harsh words for former co-worker The Ultimate Warrior, who was in talks with WWE about being part of this year’s Hall of Fame class.
DiBiase says he’s glad Warrior was not inducted into the Hall of Fame this year over WrestleMania weekend. “I’m glad he wasn’t there. I’m glad he wasn’t there because he’s somebody I don’t particularly care for, and quite frankly, he was somebody who got a big push, DiBiase said. “He’s one of those guys that has never really appreciated what was done for him, and all you have to do is watch the DVD. There’s a lot of guys that did well in the industry that may have been lacking in some areas.”
DiBiase worked with the Ultimate Warrior during Warrior’s run at the top of the World Wrestling Federation, but says the only way the man from Parts Unknown would have a good match is if his opponent carried the match.
“Here’s a guy who the only reason he ever had a great match, every great match he had was directly depended upon who he was wrestling. And if the guy across the ring from him couldn’t lead him around by the nose, he couldn’t have a good match. So the fact that he wasn’t called on doesn’t bother me at all. I thought that since he lived out in that area, I thought that could have happened, and quite honestly, it would have been a very tense backstage environment if he and I were together. He’s one of those guys who has been given so much in terms of an opportunity in our industry, who even to this day doesn’t appreciate it, and I don’t know for the life of me who he thinks he is.”
To listen to the entire interview, visit MondayNightMayhem.com.
WWE Raw superstar Ted DiBiase spoke to Eric Cohen of About.com this week to promote the release of his new WWE Studios DVD, The Marine 2. During the interview, DiBiase told a story from his childhood when he brought his father’s Million Dollar title info school one day for show and tell.
“One time in fourth grade we had show and tell,” DiBiase recalled. “I stole my dad’s briefcase and I took it to show and tell. Everybody else is walking in with their backpacks and sack lunches pulling out these dolls and stuff. I’ve got this briefcase and everybody was like what is that.
“I was just saying it was a briefcase. When it came my turn, I put the briefcase up on the table, punched in the code, opened the briefcase, and there it is in all of its glory, the Million Dollar Belt. So I stole the Million Dollar Belt and took it to show and tell. So yeah, I was the most popular kid in class for a time after that.”
To read a full interview with DiBiase, visit About.com.
Early reviews are coming in for the latest WWE Studios release, “The Marine 2,” starring WWE Raw superstar Ted DiBiase and the reviews are surprisingly positive. IGN.com gave a surprisingly favorable review (6/10) saying:
While we wouldn’t expect Shakespeare any time soon, Ted DiBiase obviously has sufficient acting chops to carry the film. That said, the wrestler-turned-action star lacks the kind of distinct and intimidating visual presence of somebody like Cena. In truth, for as tough and capable as the man appears, there’s something all too vanilla about DiBiase. He looks like a normal, Mid-Western good-old-boy in prime physical condition, more likely to hold open the door for the lady at the market than single-handedly assassinate a group of highly trained killers. Regardless, his athletic skills are hardly in question as he does so with a good deal of command.
Overall, The Marine 2 isn’t exactly a great film – honestly, it’s barely a good film – but it’s significantly better and more creatively crafted than anything we’ve seen hit direct-to-video shelves in quite some time. If you liked the original or if you’re just a WWE fan looking for a fun, action-packed night at home, you’d do well to check this out.