– WWE Champion CM Punk’s appearance two weeks ago at the Chicago Comic Con impressed Wizard World officials since he drew a larger audience than fellow WWE Superstar John Cena has in the past. Cena did not draw nearly what the event’s organizers expected the few times they have used him.
– This week on WWE Inbox, Superstars answer questions on what they do during their downtime to relax and whether they had an imaginary friend as a child. On the topic of downtime, The Miz says his father asked him a question about taking a vacation, which Miz said is going home and sitting on his couch in-between traveling. Additional respondents are Antonio Cesaro, Drew McIntyre, Natalya and Tyler Reks.
– Mark Henry and Eve are scheduled to appear at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, Alaska on Thursday afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Event Information)
WWE.com announced Wednesday that Rey Mysterio suffered a concussion during his match Sunday against The Miz at SummerSlam.
The website notes that according to a backstage source, WWE personnel “suspected [a concussion] because he hit his head.” The following day, precautionary impact testing was conducted and “showed that [Mysterio] is below baseline, which means he sustained some sort of concussion.”
The website has confirmed that Mysterio is not medically cleared to compete at this time. The San Diego native did not appear on Raw or SmackDown, and has been removed from all events through a least this coming weekend.
During the Intercontinental Championship Match, The Miz executed a “brutal sit-down powerbomb” which snapped Mysterio’s head against the canvas. WWE.com attributes the trauma suffered from the maneuver to The Awesome One’s successful title defense.
WWE physician Michael Sampson says Mysterio “had the first [test] on Monday, which showed us that he was below baseline. The physical exam was normal, but neuropsych testing was below normal. That’s the beauty of neuropsych testing. Based on reaction time and memory, we can measure on a computer, and he was below his baseline. That saves [Mysterio] from causing further injury from the concussion.”
WWE.com has confirmed that Mysterio will not return to the squared circle until he is at baseline and passes an exertion test. “To be determined at baseline, Mysterio must pass the aforementioned impact/neuropsych test later in the week. Only then will he be permitted to undergo exertion testing,” the website notes.
WWE.com’s backstage source estimates that Mysterio “will probably be taking [the impact test today] if he’s still symptom-free, or later on this week.”
– During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, The Miz revealed that WWE has begun voice-over work for the company’s new Scooby Doo movie, due out in 2014:
“I just did voice-over work for it [last week], and it was fun. But, you know what is weird about that? You are doing voice-overs, and you are just standing there with a microphone. To get you into the character, like say my character was running, then I would be running in place next to the microphone. It doesn’t look that cool. But, I guarantee you that the movie will be laugh-out-loud funny and the movie seems like it will be really good. It’s going to be weird to see myself animated, although I am already pretty animated in real life.”
– The 30-minute WWE SummerSlam pre-show is now online and can be viewed at YouTube.com. The pre-show includes Antonio Cesaro defeating Santino Marella for the United States Championship.
– Here’s the latest episode of WWE Download featuring Dolph Ziggler:
Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) of theScore is at SummerSlam Axxess this weekend and got exclusive video interviews with a number of WWE Superstars and Divas. Here are a few more clips he sent in:
The Miz feels critics are wrong when they say the IC title lacks prestige and it’s a step down to hold it at this point in his career (after having won the WWE title and main evented WrestleMania):
Mark Henry is at peace with the idea that his WWE career may be over and his latest World Heavyweight title run might have been his last hoorah. He also talks Olympians that he scouted for WWE while in London:
Reks and Hawkins joke about finally being done working Ryback and Reks getting pink eye during their matches. Hawkins also talks about working with The Rock, helping him get back into ring shape, prior to WrestleMania 28:
– The Miz spoke to the Los Angeles Times this week and revealed that his movie, “The Marine 3: Homefront” will hit theaters in Spring 2013, around WrestleMania 29. The Miz hyped
“I think it will be an absolute incredible movie and I can’t wait for its release. It is about a Marine who just got home from a tour and one of his sisters gets kidnapped by terrorists. He then has to go in and save them. I think I play the best Marine of all of them but, of course, that’s just my opinion.”
– Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte appeared at the WWE and B.A. STAR’s Summerslam Kick-off Party in Los Angeles on Thursday night. RAW Social Media Ambassador Pauly D. (“Jersey Shore”) was the D.J. of the party. Check out this picture of Ryan Lochte at WWE’s SummerSlam party:
Deadline.com has announced a partnership between Warner Bros. Home Video and WWE Studios to co-produce a Scooby-Doo animated feature that will find Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at WrestleMania.
WWE Superstars Triple H, John Cena, Kane, The Miz, Brodus Clay, Santino Marella, Sin Cara, AJ Lee and chief Vince McMahon are slated to appear in animated format and provide voiceovers for the film.
WWE.com summarizes the film’s plot: “When Shaggy and Scooby win tickets to WrestleMania, the entire gang travels in the Mystery Machine to WWE City to attend the epic event. However, when a mysterious ghostly bear appears and threatens to ruin the show, Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred work with WWE Superstars to solve the case.”
Warner Bros Home Entertainment will distribute the film via Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and digital download while WWE will use its considerable resources to promote the title, said WWE Studios President Michael Luisi.
– Raw General Manager AJ Lee announced Monday evening via Twitterthat The Miz will defend the Intercontinental Championship this Sunday at SummerSlam.
“As Raw GM, I’ve decided at #Summerslam this Sunday, @Mikethemiz will defend his Intercontinental title vs @reymysterio .How awesome is that?” she wrote.
– Tenille Tayla stated on Twitter that her name in WWE developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling is Emma.
“You may now call me…. EMMA!! New ring name – check! Let’s get this show on the road ;) Ready or not here I come #WWE #NXT #DIVA,” she wrote Monday.
The 23-year-old Australian wrestler reported to FCW last month after a year a on the sidelines due to shoulder surgery.
– Former professional wrestler Mike Graham is doing a weekly radio show in Tampa, Florida at WHNZ at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evenings. (Thanks to Mark Schreiner)
– Two former NFL players are currently training at WWE developmental: Dean Muhtadi (former Green Bay Packer and Arizona Cardinal) and Brandon Carter (former New Orleans Saint).
– WWE legend Paul Bearer made a special appearance at Saturday night’s WWE RAW live event in Biloxi, Mississippi. Bearer came out and spoke about the upcoming Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar SummerSlam main event, explaining why both men are dangerous, when he was interrupted by Heath Slater.
Slater accused Bearer of stealing his spotlight and challenged him to a match. Bearer said he isn’t a wrestler, but knows somebody who would be glad to fight him – Ryback. Ryback came out and destroyed Slater.
– Chris Jericho did a Q&A session with fans on Twitter on Saturday night. When asked what he thinks about The Miz and if Miz should get pushed more, Jericho responded:
Love him! Future of the company “@CAPTINREX119: what is your personal opinion of @mikethemiz Would you liked to see him pushed more?”
– Earlier this year The Miz filmed a cameo for comedy movie ‘The Campaign’ starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. During his scene, the Miz introduced Will Ferrell’s character at a campaign rally. Unfortunately, the scene was cut during post-production.
Miz can still be seen in another scene standing in the background as an extra, but he no longer has a speaking part.
– Sunday’s episode of the HBO series ‘The Newsroom’ featured a mention of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The episode looked back on the night Osama Bin Laden was killed. Before the news was announced by President Barack Obama, The Rock tweeted that “great news” was about to break. One of the characters knew that The Rock has a cousin that is a Navy SEAL and guessed that his tweet was related to Bin Laden.
– Former WWE Diva Maryse has launched her new jewelry store at HouseofMaryse.com, where she’ll sell her original necklaces, rings and earrings. Several former and WWE divas have given Maryse great feedback on Twitter, including Eve Torres and The Bella Twins.
– Speaking of Maryse, she and her boyfriend, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, attended the “MDA Show of Strength” event last night in Los Angeles, California to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The couple Touted this video while on their way to the event
– David Otunga noted on Twitter that filming has completed for the upcoming WWE Studios film, “The Hive,” which stars Halle Berry and will be in theaters next year. Otunga plays a police officer in the movie and shaved his trademark goatee for the role.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz will be hosting the Season Preview of his “1st and Awesome” radio radio show tonight on Sirius (Channel 210) and XM (Channel 87) at 6pm ET.
– WWE’ SmackDown crew is headed overseas this morning for a live events tour of Asia, with shows scheduled for Japan, China and Taiwan. Here is the tour schedule:
Thursday, August 9th
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Japan
Friday, August 10th
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Japan
Saturday, August 11th
Oriental Sports Center
Shanghai, China
Smackdown opened with Vince McMahon announcing Booker T was the new General Manager of Smackdown. Alberto Del Rio came out and said he wouldn’t be wrestling until Summerslam. Sheamus came out, leading to Booker announcingt Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Lord Tensai for tonight.
*World champion Sheamus defeated Tensai.
*Eve Torres attempted to get in with Booker. Instead, it turned out Teddy Long had been given a job and told Eve to take a hike.
*Antonio Cesaro defeated WWE United States champ Santino Marella in a non-title match.
*Matt Striker interviewed Daniel Bryan. Basically a backdrop for Bryan to say “No” a lot.
*Daniel Bryan & WWE Intercontinental champ The Miz & Dolph Ziggler defeated Chris Jericho & Kane & Christian.
*Matt Striker interviewed Randy Orton, who said he would defeat Alberto.
*Ryback defeated Jinder Mahal via DQ when Mahal nailed him with a foreign object and ran to the back.
*Darren Young pinned R-Truth.
*WWE Divas champ Layla congratulated Booker T. Cody Rhodes popped up and said he that although he ended Booker’s career, they can work together. Booker told him he would wrestle Sin Cara next week.
*Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio by DQ when Ricardo interfered as Orton was going for the RKO.
Dark Match: John Cena defeated Big Show and Cody Rhodes
– Although the WWE heavily promoted a 1,000th RAW pre-show on Youtube.com all week long and on s RAW, WWE didn’t have one. The company opted to tape Superstars instead.
– The Miz defeated Christian to win the WWE Intercontinental championship on RAW1000
– During the Daniel Bryan A.J. wedding segment, A.J. said she had accepted another man’s proposal and wasn’t marrying Bryan. Vince McMahon’s music hit, and out came the WWE Chairman. He said “Said it’s not the type of proposal people were thinking of. Instead, it was a business proposal” With that he asked for the WWE Universe to welcome the new General Manager of Raw…….. AJ!
AJ laughed, skipped around Daniel Bryan and left Bryan at the altar.
– WWE has released this week’s episode of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Here is the synopsis: “Santino Marella is up to his old tricks. What’s on his scheming mind now? Plus, William Regal returns to “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Subscribe to see the clips that didn’t make it in the original interview, only on WWE on YouTube!”
– WWE developmental wrestler Roman Leakee competed at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi. He interrupted Curt Hawkins’ heelish spiel and promptly defeated him.
Leakee is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika of “The Wild Samoans” and brother of former WWE Superstar Rosey. A former defensive standout for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and a Team captain, Leakee was also a first team All ACC selection at defensive tackle.
– There was a rope break at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi during the United States Championship Match between Santino Marella and The Miz. Eight minutes into the ten minute match, Marella hit the ropes, causing the the top rope to collapse.
– John Cena is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.
– Former WCW star The Stro (Maestro) confirmed on Facebook that WWE has signed one of his students, KC McKnight, to a developmental contract:
“Congratulations to one of my finest students K.c. McKnight for signing a WWE contract recently. Very proud of him. He has worked hard in the US and Japan. So much heart and dedication to the business. It is his time now to show that and much more to the world. Show them what you’re made of brother! You deserve the best! God bless you always.”
– The New York Post features an article on the third annual “Sirius XM Celebrity Fantasy Football Draft,” which took place Thursday morning in New York City. WWE superstar The Miz was at the draft for the second year in a row, and spoke about his appearance:
“Obviously, I work for a living, I’m a WWE Superstar for a living, but winning this gave a bunch of Make-a-Wish participants happy because I donated the money I won last year to that charity”
– WWE Champion CM Punk appeared on “The Bower Show” on 97.9 ESPN earlier Thursday to promote Monday’s RAW 1,000 Celebration. The Chicago native named “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as one of his top influences and said his favorite RAW moment in history is when Gene Snitsky kicked a baby into the crowd. You can listen to his appearance below:
– Both Stephanie McMahon and Jim Ross will be in St. Louis, Missouri next Monday, the site of that day’s unprecedented 1000th Raw episode.
The WWE Hall of Famer appeared Wednesday on KREF Sports Talk 1400 The Ref and confirmed he would be on the show. He said he has no idea what his role will be.
McMahon, who participated in a Twitter chat Tuesday and hinted but did not confirm an appearance on Raw, will be in the area that day for a ‘be a STAR’ anti-bullying at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis’ Herbert Hoover location (2901 N. Grand Ave.). She will be joined World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, The Miz, Eve and American Idol finalist James Durbin. Click here for event details.
– WWE.com has posted a list counting down Rey Mysterio’s ten greatest matches since his 2002 debut in the sports entertainment promotion. His gripping bout against Chris Jericho at The Bash on June 28, 2009 tops the list. Other matches ranked as his greatest include his encounter with Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania 21, winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22, a Falls Count Anywhere affair with Chavo Guerreroa at No Mercy (2006) and facing Shawn Michaels on the Eddie Guerrero tribute episode of Raw on November 14, 2005.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper is today’s spotlighted Superstar on WWE.com.
— WWE won their lawsuit against Italy’s Interactive S.P.A. over money owed for licensing WWE TV to Italian cable networks Sportitalia Channel and SI Live, along with the rights to an Italian language version of WWE.com. The suit was filed in February of 2011, WWE claimed they were owed $551,087.50 for the TV rights and $129,752.20 for the website rights, plus interest. Interactive didn’t respond, resulting in a ruling in WWE’s favor for $580,839.20.
– WWE’s twitter has confirmed that commentator Matt Striker is now on twitter as “Matt_Striker_” . He was asked whether the nicknames he uses for Superstars on commentary are ad-libbed and responded
@allnewtpir All of my insanity is on the fly.I know some dont care for my brand of commentary but opinions r like a**holes, ever1 has 'em
– With The Miz making a surprise return to WWE at MITB, everybody was happy to have the former WWE Champion back in the locker room. The Miz was sporting a new haircut and the feeling was that The Miz has improved his look during his time away. It’s expected he’ll be featured as a top heel performer worker this fall.
– Dolph Ziggler won the SmackDown Money in the Bank match to earn him the right to challenge the World Heavyweight champion at any time over the next year. Ziggler defeated Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Santino Marella and Sin Cara.
– John Cena captured the RAW brand’s MITB briefcase in the main event of the pay-per-view. Cena can now challenge the WWE Champion at any time in the next year. Cena defeated Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Kane and … The Miz.
The Miz made a surprise return to WWE television at Money in the Bank when he announced himself as an entrant in the match. Miz was qualified to participate as a former WWE Champion. Miz has been off television for several months shooting the WWE Studios movie, The Marine: Homefront.
– There are still conflicting reports as to Kharma’s status with WWE. She is still listed as “Alumni” on the WWE website and WWE’s Twitter account. Kharma re-tweeted the following message from a fan on Friday:
– The Miz has finished filming his scenes for the WWE Studios movie, The Marine: Homefront.
– WWE Superstar David Otunga has begin filming the WWE Studios movie The Hive, starring HAlle Berry. Otunga will likely be off television while working on the project. Otunga noted on Twitter that he’s shaved off his signature goatee for the movie and is now clean-shaven. Check out this picture of Otunga’s new look:
– The latest episode of Backstage Fallout has been posted, featuring a look at Zack Ryder’s performance as guest GM on Smackdown, Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Reks and more:
– Santino Marella is back with Santino’s Foreign Exchange, with the US Champion asking various WWE Superstars and Divas about how they spent their 4th of July:
– The Miz will be in New York City on July 19th for the Sirius XM Radio Fantasy Football Kickoff Event at the Hard Rock Cafe. The event begins at 10am.
– The following matches are advertised for the August 3rd WWE SuperShow in Jacksonville, FL:
* Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. The Big Show
* WWE Championship Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
* WWE Special Challenge Match: Chris Jericho vs. Kane
– The Miz has a new look for his role in the WWE Studios film, “The Marine: Homefront. Click the thumbnail below to see the full size image:
– Despite being fired by Vince McMahon at No Way Out (and getting disposed of by John Cena on RAW), John Laurinaitis continues to work WWE live events.
The main event of this weekend’s RAW shows (Bethlehem, PA on Friday, Wheeling, WV on Saturday and Huntington, WV on Sunday) will be John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis.
The storyline behind Laurinaitis still appearing at live events is that WWE’s Board of Directors are “making him fulfill his contract obligations.”
Fans attending these RAW-brand shows expecting to see WWE Champion CM Punk will be out of luck, because this weekend’s SmackDown shows (Springfield, IL & Bloomington, IL) will feature CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane and Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio as the top matches.
– After finishing up shooting scenes in Philadelphia, Wade Barrett is headed to New York this weekend to continue filming for WWE Studios’ Dead Man Down, due out in 2013.