— WWE posted this photo Wednesday of Rey Mysterio meeting media in Miami, Florida. The account tweeted, “Rey Mysterio talks to Telemundo @holtzchildren @jhsmiami about meeting the kids at the hospital.”
Mysterio stated in recent months that he hoped to return from injury in time for WrestleMania XXVIII, but a match did not come to fruition.
— WWE.com has published an article officially announcing Randy Orton’s starring role in The Marine: Homefront, the third installment of WWE Studios’ Marine franchise. Fans will be able to get a first look at production of the film during this weekend’s WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, where fans can audition for a small role in the screenplay.
Production for the straight-to-video release begins June 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Orton plays a Marine who must rescue his kidnapped daughter.
— Numerous WWE stars were on hand for Lilian Garcia’s concert Wednesday evening at the Gibson Miami Showroom including Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Vickie Guerrero, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel, Maxine, Titus O’Neil, Aksana and John Laurinaitis.
— WWE.com has added Darren Young, Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson to the SmackDown roster. All three wrestlers have largely appeared on WWE NXT. Meanwhile, Maxine and Titus O’Neil are still listed as NXT talent.
— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia will be performing at the Viper Room in Hollywood, California (located on 8852 Sunset Boulevard) on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which are $10, are available for purchase here.
— Former WWE star Diamond Dallas Page says he auditioned for a movie short starring Kevin Spacey. He wrote on Twitter, “I just NAILED an audition for a movie short as a Pirate starring Kevin Spacey… Cross your fingers.”
— Jim Ross stated on the following on Twitter, “Going 2 OU-Texas A&M hoops Saturday. Recorded a short sound byte to air prior to Sooners intro. Spring football starts Mon!”
— It was reported Friday that the official website of WWE developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling had removed Calvin Raines, Leroy Parks, Marcus Owens and Peter Orlov from their roster page. Owens, whose real name is Jay Nobles, confirmed on Facebook that he was released by WWE on Friday. He vows to show that WWE made a mistake in letting him go.
“I will now travel the world and show them that they totally dropped the ball!” he wrote Monday on his Facebook fan page.
He continued, “I just wanna say to everyone following me that this journey is not over. Sometimes you have to take a step back and analyze what is really important in order to be happy. Happiness is not determined by how much money you make but, what you truly enjoy!”
— Aksana, Derrick Bateman, Kaitlyn, Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil have been removed from the roster page of the official website of Florida Championship Wrestling. All five talents continued to appear for the developmental league after their promotion the main roster.
— WWE brought Lilian Garcia back to the organization to permanently replace Tony Chimel as the ring announcer for weekly SmackDown tapings. Chimel, 50, will continue working for WWE at television tapings in the production office backstage. Company officials asked Garcia late last week if she wanted to return and a deal was reached Monday upon her arrival in Tampa, Florida.
Garcia, who turned 45 years old in August, retired from her job as Raw ring announcer in 2009, citing a wish to settle down with her husband and being burned out from WWE’s strenuous travel schedule. During her time away, she continued to pursue her music career, and hosted AfterBuzzTV.com’s post-shows for Raw and Tough Enough.
— Matches taped Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Florida for this week’s episode of WWE NXT are as follows: Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks; Darren Young and JTG vs. Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil; Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman.
Yoshi Tatsu beat WWE developmental wrestler Damien Sandow in a dark match prior to the taping.
— The following matches were taped Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for this week’s episode of NXT Redemption:
* Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu
* Jimmy Uso vs. JTG
* Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young and Tyler Reks
— The following matches were taped Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Jinder Mahal vs. Trent Barreta
* Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tyson Kidd
— A Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza employee told an attendee at tonight’s WWE television tapings that the event drew 4,000 fans. This is approximately half the venue’s capacity.
— WWELiveTour.com has removed Kevin Nash from all events he was advertised for, including next week’s tour of Yokohama, Japan.
— Epico and Primo beat Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil in a dark match at tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Epico and Primo were accompanied by Rosa Mendes.
— Jonny Greco, who was considered a valuable member of the Cleveland Cavaliers video production crew, has joined WWE. Cleveland.com has an article on his hiring.
Darren Young’s thirty-day suspension for his first violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program expired on Friday. Therefore, he is now eligible to resume performing for the organization.
WWE announced on October 6, 2011 that the NXT contestant had been suspended for thirty days due to his non-compliance with their drug testing policy. On the subequent episode of NXT, program host Matt Striker implied that Young had been eliminated from the competition due to his infraction as he referred Derrick Bateman and Titus O’Neil as the final two competitors.
Two other wrestlers are currently serving drug related suspensions with WWE: Heath Slater and Evan Bourne. Slater is eligible to resume performing on November 16, 2011 while Bourne can on December 1, 2011.
— The October 31 episode of the Raw SuperShow garnered a 3.1 cable rating, down two-tenths from 3.31 the week before. Overall viewership was also down, from 4.71 million viewers to 4.49.
For the second consecutive week, Raw’s rating declined during the second hour, from 3.21 to 3.00. Overall viewership decreased by 236,000. The first hour of last week’s show averaged 4.93 million viewers before declining to 4.50 in the second.
— Matches taped tonight in Greenville, South Carolina for this week’s episode of WWE NXT were: Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Johnny Curtis and Tyson Kidd; Kaitlyn vs. Tamina; A.J, Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil vs. Derrick Bateman, JTG and Maxine.
— The October 29 episode of A.M. Raw scored a 0.69 cable rating with 792,000 viewers.
WWE has announced that effective immediately, NXT Redemption is moving to Wednesday afternoons at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT on WWE.com.
WWE.com made the announcement prior to the start of tonight’s regularly scheduled episode, which reads: “WWE Universe, tune in to WWE.com Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT for an all-new episode of WWE NXT Redemption! For complete coverage of WWE NXT, including results, photos, video clips and full episodes on demand, visit NXT.WWE.COM any time.”
After WWE made the announcement on Twitter, Derrick Bateman wrote, “Ok. Nevermind. It airs at 4 tomorrow? Glad I know now…… #WALKOUT”
Matches taped tonight in Biloxi, Mississippi for tomorrow’s episode are: Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater, JTG vs. Yoshi Tatsu, Derrick Bateman vs. Titus O’Neil, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.
— Randy Orton caused Cody Rhodes to heavily bleed on SmackDown following an errant shot to the head with the ring bell. Cameras quickly cut to close-up shots of Orton’s face, with Rhodes’ back only being visible for the remainder of the segment. Personnel covered Rhodes’ head with a towel before Orton struck him with an RKO on the broadcast table.
The replay, however, showed blood streaming from the back of Rhodes’ head.
According to fans in attendance at Tuesday’s taping, pools of bloods were scattered around the ring following the segment.
— Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger was among the wrestlers gathered around the ring during John Laurinaitis’ address at the beginning of SmackDown. He worked a dark match prior to the taping, losing to Trent Barreta.
NXT talent also appeared ringside: Darren Young, Derrick Bateman, Maxine and Titus O’Neil.
— Mason Ryan returned to television at tonight’s WWE Superstars taping in Columbus, Ohio as he competed in a match against JTG. The Welsh grappler resumed competing at live events two weeks ago after being sidelined since late June due to an undisclosed injury.
The taping also saw the return of Tyler Reks and Percy Watson to television. Reks, teaming with Curt Hawkins, squared off against Percy Watson and NXT contestant Titus O’Neil. Reks and Hawkins would later appear on Raw Supershow during a backstage segment with Alberto Del Rio.
— Drew McIntyre beat Primo via Future Shock in a dark match.
— ESPN.com published an article on Mick Foley’s recent stand-up comedy appearance at The Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore, New York. ESPN mentioned some of his comedy bits and noted “He started the comedy journey 2 1/2 years ago, but took a long layoff while working for TNA Wrestling. Now a free agent, he’s focused on finding the same confidence in comedy that made him a squared-circle icon.”
Maxine, who appeared as a contestant on the third season of NXT, resurfaced on tonight’s episode.
The program kicked off with Hornswoggle proposing to A.J. as he got down on one knee and gave her a candy ring. Derrick Bateman interrupted the proceedings and argued with Hornswoggle’s protégé, Titus O’Neil. Hornswoggle and O’Neil chased Bateman to the backstage area, leaving A.J. alone in the ring. Maxine then jumped A.J. from behind, laying her out.
Bateman was later accompanied by Maxine for his match against O’Neil and revealed that she is his girlfriend as well as the love of his life. Maxine then spoke and said Hornswoggle can’t handle a real woman like her.
Maxine interfered on Bateman’s behalf during the match, grabbing O’Neil’s foot. This allowed Bateman to roll-up O’Neil for the pinfall victory. Post-match, the newly formed couple proceeded to make out while O’Neil complained to the referee about her interference.
— Although WWE has billed Money in the Bank as CM Punk’s final appearance for the organization, he is among those advertised for tomorrow’s Monday Night Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
He is not advertised for shows after Monday.
— The Chicago Tribune has posted an article regarding WWE star sightings this weekend in Chicago, Illinois. The article features a photo of John Cena posing for a photo with fans at O’Hare International Airport and notes that his Money in the Bank opponent CM Punk threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday’s Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. The story also notes that Mark Henry, Darren Young, Titus O’Neil and Eden Stiles were seen dining at The Fifty/50 on Saturday.
— Maryse will be on hand for tonight’s Money in the Bank Live Chat on WWE.com tonight at 8:00 p.m.
— Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov are advertised to appear at the Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin tomorrow beginning at 11:00 a.m.
— Video has surfaced online of Vince McMahon, Big Show, Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres visiting U.S. troops stationed in Kandaha, Afghanistan. McMahon is briefly interviewed, as he discusses WWE’s annual visit overseas.
Eve Torres noted of the trip on Twitter: “What a truly amazing trip. A strong reminder of how much I appreciate our country & our daily luxuries (like indoor toilets!) Thnk u troops!”
— Due to an injury suffered by Wes Brisco at the Nov. 20 Florida Championship Wrestling live event in Punta Gorda, he and Xavier Woods were stripped of the FCW Tag Team Championship Thursday. Titus O’Neil and Damien Sandow were determined as the new champions the following night in Plant City, Florida.
NXT season two contestant Titus O’Neil accidentally posted an image of his genitalia on Twitter shortly after midnight on Thursday. He then attempted to cover up his miscue by claiming a hacker did it.
“Whomever is sending Inappropriate Crap thru and to My Twitter account PLEASE STOP!!” he exclaimed. “Its the same reason My daily post haven’t gone thru!!”
It should be noted, however, that his post decreeing the supposed hacker was made four minutes after the nude photograph was sent. More incriminating is that both posts were made via Blackberry’s Twitter app.
While the nude image was quickly deleted, a follower of O’Neil’s captured the entire ordeal via screengrab and is thus roaming online.
— Though Matt Hardy claimed in a video blog entry late last night that he was still in the U.K. in spite of online reports of him being sent home following an apparent backstage incident the day before, he did not work the final event of the European tour, which took place in Skegness, England. He did not offer a response to that portion of the report. Additionally, in his video he blamed “a stooging punk” for the story hitting the net.
In regard to his health, Hardy said he has never felt better. He claimed to have dropped over twenty pounds since changing his diet to eliminate red meat. Apparently, he managed to drop seven additional pounds during the international tour as he wrote on Twitter Thursday night that he was planning a YouTube entry concerning his recent health breakthroughs as he had dropped thirteen pounds at the time.
“Definitely gonna do a YT entry soon about my recent health breakthroughs concerning my digestive process,” Hardy wrote. “In 3 weeks, I’ve dropped 13 lbs.”
Check out the video here:
— Big Show appeared on Sky Sports News last week to promote WWE Studios’ upcoming comedy film, Knucklehead. He also discussed his size, a potential career in boxing, and said UK citizens have a better sense of humor than Americans.
— NXT Season 2 contestant Titus O’Neil was on the Florida Gator sidelines during their game against South Florida on Saturday. Meanwhile, Todd Grisham was spotted at yesterday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game. (Source: prowrestling.net)
— WWE newcomer Alberto Del Rio has already developed a bad reputation among those in the locker room, reports the Pro Wrestling Torch. He has complained to fellow wrestlers about the company’s decision to remove the mask he donned while working in Mexico. Many feel he should be thrilled with the push WWE officials have given him thus far rather than moaning.
— Eve Torres has opened a fan page on Facebook, which you can view at the following link. The WWE Diva also has plans to open an official website in the near future.
— Eliminated NXT Rookie Titus O’Neil (real name Thaddeus Bullard) said he chose his ring name because of its Biblical reference as Servant to God, not to mention that he’s a fan of NBA Superstar Shaquille O’Neal.
The first “Pros’ Poll” for the second season of NXT took place Tuesday night, signaling the end of one of the eight contestants from the weekly series.
The WWE Universe and the WWE Pros votes were combined to tabulate the first NXT Poll. Kaval is ranked No. 1, while Titus O’Neil came in last, ranking at No. 8. With the ranking, O’Neil has been eliminated from the NXT competition.
The combined results of the NXT Poll are as follows:
— John Cena served as Co-Grand Marshal along with the “Gillette Fusion ProGlide Believers” at yesterday’s Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway. You can view an image of the WWE Champion chatting with NASCAR driver and past Raw guest host Joey Logano here.
Thanks to reader Archie for these live spoilers from Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings:
Dark Match:
* Jimmy Wang defeats Tyler Reks with a moonsault in a good match. Reks cut a heel promo before the match.
SmackDown, Airing Friday:
* Chris Jericho comes out to start SmackDown and says he will win the Chamber. Edge comes out to a big pop. He talks about spearing Taker last week. Jericho tells Edge to pick the RAW Champion for WrestleMania for his own good. The lights flicker and Edge spears Jericho.
* Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler takes place until Drew McIntyre comes down in a suit. Dolph tries to take advantage but Kane chokeslams him for the win. Drew comes in and hits his finisher on Kane but Kane reverses it.
* Rey Mysterio cuts a promo backstage and says he will win the Elimination Chamber.
* John Morrison & R-Truth vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows is announced for tonight.
* Cryme Tyme defeated Trent Baretta and Caylon Croft in a good tag match.
* John Morrison is interviewed and says his ankle won’t make him miss the Chamber. Truth comes in and says he will win the Chamber but tonight, he and Morrison will beat Punk and Gallows.
* CM Punk and the Straight Edge Society come out. Punk cuts a promo and says he will win the belt at Elimination Chamber this Sunday. Tons of heat for Punk.
* Punk & Gallows vs. Morrison & Truth ends in a no contest. What looked like Undertaker’s pyro went off during the match, everything stopped but nothing happened. Match is restarted. Morrison was really playing up his ankle injury. The referee called for the bell when Morrison went to kick Punk but kicked the ring post and went down in pain. SES beats Morrison and Truth down until Rey Mysterio comes in for the save. They beat him down and pose in front of Rey to a ton of heat.
* Teddy Long is shown backstage. He says he will take action against Shawn Michaels for super kicking him on RAW. Mickie James comes in and Vickie Guerrero announces it will be Mickie vs. Michelle McCool next week with Vickie as the referee.
* Maria, Matt Hardy and The Great Khali vs. The Hart Dynasty is up next. The Dynasty gets the win when Natalya pins Maria. Maria walks up the ramp pissed off with Matt right behind her apologizing.
* Maria is shown backstage arguing with Matt Hardy about him letting their team down. Michelle McCool and Layla come in and make fun of them.
* Edge vs. Batista is next. No pyro for Batista, simple entrance but a big pop. Edge comes out to a big pop also. Batista stalls to start the match. Edge takes the mic and says John Cena was right about Batista. Finally they wrestle and it’s a good match. Edge spears Batista and Taker’s bell hits and he appears in the ring. Taker chokeslams Edge. Taker chases Batista off. Chris Jericho appears in the ring and hits the Codebreaker on Edge. Taker comes back out and stares down Jericho to end SmackDown after Jericho motions to the World Title.