— Former Dragon Gate USA star Brodie Lee has reportedly signed a developmental deal with WWE, according to PWTorch.com. Lee is nearly 7 feet tall.
— There continues to be a lot of speculation regarding The Miz’s role at WrestleMania 28. Miz, who successfully defended the WWE title against John Cena in the main event of last year’s show, is rumored to be involved in this year’s Rock vs. Cena match in some capacity. WWE is said to have a storyline ready for The Miz after WrestleMania and his recent losing streak is part of the buildup to that angle.
— Former ROH star Chris Hero, now known as Kassius Ohno, made his debut on Florida Championship Wrestling television this weekend:
Dolph Ziggler appeared on sportstalkNETWORK to discuss tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Cleveland, hosting WWE Download, Vickie Guerrero, The Rock returning to WWE and more. Highlights are as follows:
Being a WWE Superstar: “I’m never truly satisfied with anything and I never will be and that’s why I’ve been lucky to get this far but it is everything and even more… our roster and even guys not even on the main roster work so hard tirelessly to put on a great show for the fans and it never ends and there’s no off-season.”
If there is competitive rivalry between he and The Miz since they both hail from Ohio: “Absolutely and we love it! We’re buddies but we also bust each others chops and we push each other as much as we can. We both want to be ‘the next guy’.”
Backstage resentment of The Rock being in the main event at WrestleMania XXVIII: “I’m going to take advantage of that one way or the other and get some eyes on us that we normally wouldn’t have – we’re going to stretch out to different genres and different age groups of people who have seen The Rock in the movies or Disney and they don’t know what it’s like to see a WWE show and their going to see the greatest show and the biggest WrestleMania of all time. So I see that as a positive – as an opportunity – The Rock is coming back and give us somewhat of a rub and more eyes are going to see me steal the show at WrestleMania in Miami on April 1st.”
– Psych star James Roday will be guest starring on Monday’s RAW to promote The Miz’s appearance on Psych this Wednesday. This is how the upcoming episode for Wednesday is being promoted:
“Mike “The Miz” Mizanin guest stars on PSYCH next Wednesday in “Shawn and the Real Girl.” Shawn (Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) go undercover to investigate the attempted murder of a contestant on a reality show called, “Missed Connections,” a Bachelorette-type dating show where eligible men compete for the affections of a woman each contestant has crossed paths with in the past but has never actually met. Guest stars also include Greg Grunberg, Wayne Brady and Lindsay Sloane.”
– “Ryback” Skip Sheffield continues to rack up wins at WWE live events, defeating JTG at Friday night’s live event from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He’s expected to get called up to the main roster soon.
– Here’s the latest SmackDown Backstage Fallout video featuring interviews with The Miz, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero.
— WWE creative have talked about Brodus Clay feuding with The Miz if or when he resumes appearing on television again.
The Funkasaurus has appeared at recent Raw live events. He was reportedly removed from television last month due to Vince McMahon’s unhappiness with his ring work.
— Alberto Del Rio was backstage at this week’s television events but not used. He returned to the ring at this past weekend’s SmackDown live events after sustaining a groin tear during the tag team main event of the December 19, 2011 edition of Raw SuperShow.
— The Raw live event on March 2 in Cornwall, Ontario drew 2,500 paying $70,000. Raw on March 3 in Ottawa, Ontario drew 3,500 paying $155,000. Raw on March 4 in Bangor, Maine drew 5,500 paying $175,000. Smackdown on March 3 in Albany, Georgia drew 4,200 paying $135,000. SmackDown on March 4 in Macon, Georgia drew 5,000 paying $140,000.
— It was announced at Monday’s Raw SuperShow at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts that Night of Champions will take place at the same venue on September 16, 2012. There will be a pre-sale this week on Ticketmaster.com with the code WWENOC.
— Triple H will compete at WWE’s Road to WrestleMania event at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2012 as he teams up with CM Punk and Randy Orton in a Six-Man Tag Team Match against Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler.
Also announced for the show: World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry; John Cena vs. Kane in a Last Man Standing Match; R-Truth vs. The Miz; Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder.
— WWE Champion CM Punk shot footage for his upcoming DVD Monday in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Oh hey. Day 1 of filming for this little DVD thing I’m doing. No time like 5:30 AM to capture my true crabby essence,” he wrote on Twitter. “Man. This DVD is going to be so great. #LWF #MAW #SDW #IWA #IWC #ROH #OVW #WWE.”
— With SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long taking control of Raw Supershow Monday night, he announced last Friday on SmackDown that David Otunga would face The Great Khali in a singles match. The match did not take place despite his announcement and being advertised on WWE.com. Instead, Otunga accompanied John Laurinaitis ringside for the United States Championship Match between Jack Swagger and Santino Marella while Khali squashed Curt Hawkins in a pre-show dark match.
— The Miz debuted a new T-Shirt on Monday’s Raw SuperShow prior to his encounter with Big Show. The shirt, which is labeled The Miz Onslaught of Awesomeness Augmented Reality Authentic T-Shirt, is available for purchase on WWEShop.com.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery highlighting Lex Luger’s career with World Championship Wrestling.
— Former WWF star Killer Khan turns 65 years old Tuesday while former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion David Flair turns 33.
— With next week’s Raw SuperShow emanating from the city of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio, a special event will be presented: The Rock in concert and John Cena rapping.
— The Miz lost in short order to Big Show on Monday’s Raw SuperShow via WMD. This extends the former WWE Champion’s losing streak to nine consecutive losses in televised singles matches. He has not won a televised singles match since the December 5, 2011 Raw.
— SportsCenter anchor Robert Flores was in attendance at Monday’s Raw Supershow in Boston, Massachusetts.
— The announced attendance for Monday’s Raw SuperShow at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts was 16,286.
– Kane is featured on the new poster for WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on April 29th from Chicago, IL. Below are the official event synopsis, courtesy of InDemand:
“Extreme times call for extreme rules. Don’t miss John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, The Miz and all your favorite WWE Superstars put it all on the line at Extreme Rules, Sunday, live on Pay-Per-View.”
– THQ will not be releasing any more Downloadable Content for the WWE ’12 video game.
– The Miz is overseas in Poland today doing promotional work for WWE.
– Happy birthday to WWE announcer Booker T, who turns 47 years old today.
– Zack Ryder is scheduled to appear at The Steiner Sports Store in Garden City, New York at 7pm this evening. For more information, you can call 800-242-7139.
— The Miz has as much heat as anyone in WWE, but it has little to do with him not catching R-Truth during the Six-Pack Challenge on last week’s Raw SuperShow. Rather, the animosity is being attributed to his obnoxious behavior as many of his co-workers are turned off by it.
“The feeling is he’s like a little frat boy who is loud and has to be the center of attention,” the Wrestling Observer says.
As reported last week, it is widely believed within WWE that his work has regressed, both in the squared circle and verbally. When he was low on the totem pole, he appeared motivated and forced management to make him a headliner. He is now back to mid-card status and isn’t giving WWE much reason to elevate him again.
— Ultimate Warrior has been announced to appear for Northeast Wrestling on March 23, 2012 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. He will sign autographs, cut a promo and it’s being teased that he will do something physical.
The show will also feature John Hennigan vs. Dave Finlay and the first-ever match between Melina and Velvet Sky. Matt Hardy, Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lawler are scheduled to appear as well.
— Friday would have marked as Louie Spicolli’s 41st birthday. The veteran of ECW, WWE and WCW died on February 15, 1998 at the age of 27 after overdosing on somas and wine.
— California based independent wrestler Joey Ryan is competing in a contest put on by Major League Baseball in which the winner moves to New York City for the upcoming season. The contest, which is determined by votes, has been narrowed down to 50 finalists and concludes on February 22. To view his video entry, which was filmed at the Ring Ka King tapings in India, click here.
– The Miz has fallen out of favor with WWE management in recent months – and the Survivor Series buyrate and R-Truth’s botched move from RAW are not the only reasons.
Miz was a big favorite of several influencial decision makers a year ago around the time he won the WWE Championship because of the way he handled media appearances and represented the company.
The feeling now is that Miz has regressed, both in the ring and on the microphone. The feeling is that when Miz was booked as a mid-carder before, he was hungry and forced officials to make him a headliner. Miz is now relegated back to mid-card status and isn’t giving WWE much motivation to elevate him again.
– WWE recently signed 21 year old UK wrestler Andre Tyson to a developmental deal. He wrestled in the UK as MVK Valkabious and is expected to start at FCW soon.
– As previously reported, WWE has signed former ROH star Chris Hero. The medical issue that prevented WWE from signing him sooner is now believed to be his naturally elevated testosterone/epitestosterone levels. It took months and many rounds of testing to prove that the high testosterone level was natural.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Posted February 8th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: The Miz.
— The Rock is advertised for the Raw SuperShow following WrestleMania taking place April 2, 2012 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The advertised main event is an Eight-Man Tag Team Match pitting John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton and Big Show against Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kane and Mark Henry.
— Raw Superstars are advertised to appear at the April 3, 2012 SmackDown taping at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The advertised main event is a Ten-Man Tag Team Match pitting John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Big Show and Sheamus against Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Mark Henry and The Miz.
— Steve Austin says Jake “The Snake” Roberts is worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame. He wrote the following after reading Roberts’ thoughts on entering the Hall:
“JAKE THE SNAKE ROBERTS DEFINITELY DESERVES TO BE IN THE H.O.F. AND THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE. One of my fave all time workers.”
— This week’s WWE Classics On Demand updates are as follows: Extreme Championship Wrestling (January 20, 1998), WWF Mania (January 9, 1993), World Class Championship Wrestling (February 18, 1984).
During the Six-Pack Challenge on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, R-Truth attempted an over-the-top-rope somersault plancha onto The Miz but his fall was not broken. R-Truth landed on his back onto the arena floor, causing his head to bounce off the mat. The announce team stated that medical staff determined he was unable to continue to compete; he was assisted to the backstage area during the commercial break.
Following Raw, Joey Styles stated on Twitter that the Raw Superstar is fine following the ordeal and that he did not suffer any injuries. He wrote,
“Breaking News! Somehow, @RonKillings is OK and has no injuries after flipping over the top rope, missing @MikeTheMiz and hitting the floor.”
R-Truth is scheduled to compete in the Raw Elimination Chamber Match at Elimination Chamber on Feb. 19. He will face WWE Champion CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, The Miz and Kofi Kingston.
Check out this footage of the nasty spot (at the 3:10 mark):
During an interview with GulfNews.com, WWE star The Miz says he will be the latest pro wrestler to cross over into Hollywood and plans to appear in a movie this summer. When asked if he’s interested in making movies fulltime, The Miz said:
“I did a movie. I just filmed a cameo in a movie that will be coming out in August. So definitely look out for that, because I’m amazing in it. I’m a method actor. I’m like Christian Bale and Daniel Day Lewis all wrapped into one. I really feel my characters, I really get into it.”
He also talked about the difference between his wrestling character and Mike Mizanin:
“As you can see I’m The Miz right now but when I leave here, I just tone down into Mike. But you know, you always got to feel your character and really understand him and where he comes from. Just the art of acting, you got to understand these type of situations.”
Does The Miz hae the potential to cross over into acting? His up the comments below and tell us what you think.
Posted February 6th, 2012 in News, WWE. Tagged: The Miz.
WWE officials contemplated months ago of putting The Miz back in the WWE Championship picture come January. That did not happen and he has not won a televised singles match since the December 5, 2011 edition of Raw. There are people within WWE who believe top officials are blaming him for the Survivor Series drawing a disappointing buy number. Teaming with R-Truth, he appeared in the main event against John Cena and The Rock.
The pay-per-view event, which featured The Rock’s first wrestling match in over seven years, is estimated to have garnered 260,000 buys worldwide. It was reported that of that figure, 160,000 pay-per-view purchases came from the United States.
The estimate compares to 244,000 buys in 2010 and 235,000 in 2009, which nearly got the show scrapped from the annual pay-per-view line-up.
– An angle took place on Friday’s SmackDown in which it was suggested that Natalya had accidentally farted during a backstage confrontation with Aksana and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.
For those who were turned off by the talented diva being featured in a bathroom-humor segment, get ready for more – as WWE will be continuing the “Natalya farting” gimmick in the coming weeks.
– John Cena hit a milestone on Monday by netting 10 million fans on Facebook, becoming the first WWE Superstar to do so. He has since accumulated over 108,000 additional fans.
– In a trivia note, The Miz’s television record since losing the WWE Championship to John Cena in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules on May 1, 2011 is 15-32.
– Nigel McGuinness is working on a documentary about the end of his wrestling career. He also appears in a commissioner role for a West Virginia independent wrestling organization.
— John Morrison answered numerous fan questions for the fansite Starship-Pained.com including a query regarding life after WWE.
“I feel like I got off an express train walked to my car, and sped away. I’m still busy as all hell, but now, I’m the one driving,” he said.
He was also asked, “What do you think will help you get to the next level when you return to WWE?”
Morrison said, “JoMo needs to cut promos.”
— Popthecrowd.com has compiled a list of the top 25 most followed professional wrestling personalities on Twitter. The Rock heads the list with over 1.8 million followers. He is trailed by John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Shawn Michaels, Zack Ryder and Kelly Kelly.
— Greg “The Hammer” Valentine is scheduled to appear at WrestleReunion in Los Angeles, California later this month and he will be dying his hair jet black for the occasion. The WWE Hall of Famer will appear alongside The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart for a special “Rhythm and Blues” photo op.
— Participants for WWE’s annual Raw Elimination Chamber Match are tentatively scheduled to include Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, John Cena, Kane, R-Truth and The Miz. The outcome of the bout is expected to based on whether Cena’s match with The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII will have the WWE Championship on the line.
— When Vince McMahon told Alberto Del Rio to work stiffer and appear more aggressive in the ring, it was indicated that he was due for another WWE Championship reign in 2012.
Del Rio is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks after suffering a torn groin during the Six-Man Tag Team Match on the December 19, 2011 Raw SuperShow.
— Darryl McDaniels, founding member of the hip hop group Run–D.M.C., was seated among the audience at Tuesday’s Raw live in New York City. McDaniels has past history with WWE as he performed the “Wrestlemania Rap” at WrestleMania V.
— Dave Meltzer stated on the Dec. 27 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Zack Ryder being placed in a romance storyline with Eve Torres and away from the main event scene stems from the staggeringly low quarter hour rating for last week’s Raw SuperShow main event, which saw Long Island Iced-Z, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan stand tall against The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler.
The main event garnered a 2.67 cable rating (2.55 for the first half of the bout), which was the lowest-rated main event on Raw in 2011 and possibly the lowest since Dec. 8, 1997 for a non-holiday show in its regular time slot. The overrun gained 59,000 viewers, which is considered terrible.
The Ryder/Torres storyline is slated to continue for at least a few weeks.
— Tony Chimel resurfaced at Tuesday’s WWE television tapings in Indianapolis, Indiana as the ring announcer for WWE NXT and WWE Superstars. He takes over for Eden Stiles, who parted ways with the organization last week. Chimel was removed as SmackDown ring announcer earlier this month due to Lilian Garcia’s return to the company.
– Long before Monday’s RAW from Chicago went live on the USA Network, fans at the arena were chanting CM Punk’s name. They were also chanting, “Cena Sucks.”
During a video package that aired before RAW, The Rock received some boos when he was shown on the screen.
– A lot of signs were confiscated at Monday’s RAW, including signs for Colt Cabana, Cliff Compton and Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. Cabana, a close friend of CM Punk, is also Chicago native.
– The Miz suffered a nasty bruise on his shoulder during tonight’s RAW when R-Truth threw him into the steel steps. He’s not expected to miss any ring time, but his entire shoulder is black and blue.
Posted December 27th, 2011 in News, WWE. Tagged: The Miz.
– TNA Knockout Tara is backstage at tonight’s RAW in Chicago. She wrote on Twitter:
“WWE Raw is in Chicago tonight. Can’t wait to see some of the gang! Super excited to see @EveMarieTorres . I miss her so much. SLUMBER PARTY!!!!”
– The Miz vs. WWE Champion CM Punk in a steel cage match is the new main event for tomorrow’s RAW live event in New York City.
– WWE’s website has a new article up on Alberto Del Rio’s injury from last week’s RAW. Del Rio has a groin tear and will need surgery. WWE doctor Chris Amann told the website:
“We were able to look at an MRI, and it appears as though he has a groin injury that’s severe enough to require surgery. Fortunately for Alberto, the surgery is minimally invasive and the recovery time is usually four to six weeks.”
— Ultimate Warrior is advertised to appear for PCW Wrestling. The event takes place Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Oak Lawn Pavillion 9401 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Lawn, Illinois.
The former WWE Champion will participate in an autograph signing at the event. Event information is available here.
— The Bella Twins have begun selling ring worn wrestling gear through their official website, NicoleandBrianna.com. Many of the items put up for sale last week have already sold out.
— The Miz appears at KMART 250 Floresta Blvd. San Leandro, California on January 15, 2012 starting at 10:00 a.m. Call 510-895-9055 for more information. Wristband Policy is in effect.