– The next time WWE returns to Kansas City, the site of last night’s WWE RAW, will be on February 14, 2015 for a WWE SmackDown television taping. Tickets for that event are on sale right now with the code WWEPRE.
– The “mid-season finale” edition of WWE Total Divas this past Sunday night drew 826,000 viewers for E!, according to Zap2It.com.
– Apparently the reason current WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee can’t be added to the cast of E!’s “Total Divas” reality show is because of the fact that she is married to former WWE Superstar CM Punk.
– Jim Ross has finally published his long-awaited editorial feature on the famous Undertaker vs. Mick Foley “Hell In A Cell” match from the WWE King Of The Ring 1998 on the FOX Sports website. You can check that out at FOXSports.com.
(Partial Credit: F4WOnline.com)
WWE has announced that Paige and Alicia Fox will be joining the cast of Total Divas next season, which premieres Sunday, January 4th, 2015. WWE.com reports:
“When ‘Total Divas’ returns with all-new episodes on Jan. 4 at 10/9 CT, a new duo emerges to shake up the dynamics of the cast: WWE Divas Paige and Alicia Fox. Former WWE Divas Champion Paige is a raven-haired Diva who preaches a simple message: She wants to mix it up in the ring. She first began battling when she was 13, following her family of English wrestlers, and gained prominence inside the WWE’s NXT Division, as the first NXT Women’s Champion. Similarly, the stunning and lithesome Alicia Fox has proven herself to be far more ferocious and eccentric than anyone ever expected. The talented Ms. Fox has etched her name in WWE record books as the first African-American woman to win the Divas Championship. Together, the two ladies, along with friend WWE Diva Rosa Mendes, form a clique in the locker room that rivals The Bella Twins and WWE Diva Cameron, leaving Nattie stuck in the middle.”
The Total Divas Season 3 mid-season finale airs this Sunday, October 26th at 9/8 CT on E!
– WWE.com has published a pretty hilarious feature titled, “Classic Rivalries Retweeted” – with fictional social media posts from various WWE legends.
– The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys played The Ultimate Warrior’s theme music during on third downs during their win against the New York Giants on Sunday from Cowboys’ Stadium.
– Here’s this week’s “After Total Divas” show:
Renee Young and Alicia Fox recap Episodes 8 and 9 of Season 3 of E!’s “Total Divas.”
TMZ recently caught up with WWE Divas Cameron, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox and asked them about the subject of “wardrobe malfunctions.”
Cameron and Mendes both claimed to have experienced one. Mendes said “didn’t want to talk about her wardrobe malfunctions,” while Cameron admitted to having one at WrestleMania. (Photos of which you can see here).
This led to Mendes copping to hers. “[My] butt [was] shown on Main Event,” said the newest member of the Total Divas cast. (You can check out Rosa’s Main Event wardrobe malfunction here).
The trio was also asked why WWE Divas often date wrestlers, which led to Rosa saying, “We’re around each other so much, it’s kind of like, like we’re around each other more than our families, so we tend to see each other more, so that’s why it usually happens.”
Alicia Fox added, “I’m not looking for a wrestler, I’m looking for a cowboy.” Rosa said she’s looking for a “muscle man.”
You can check out the video of this at TMZ.com.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently posted the following blogs on his official Facebook page:
THE NEW NATTIE
I’m just catching up on the #TotalDivas episodes I missed while I was out in Western Canada. How about the new look for Nattie ? Sometimes, when wrestlers are as consistently good as Nattie, they tend to get taken for granted. Maybe this bold new look will remind #WWE of the great wrestler and person they’ve had in their midst all this time.
Foley also posted this one:
THE AMBROSE DDT
I’ve been asked so many times since WWE Monday Night Raw – literally dozens…and dozens of times – how I feel about Dean Ambrose – WWE using the Mick Foley #DoubleArmDDT at the conclusion of the show.
Easy answer: I love it! Besides, it’s not exactly MY DDT, anyway, I saw a young Kenta Kobashi (who went on to become an all-time great in our business) using it on a 1991 tour doe All-Japan wrestling, and thought “I can pull that off!” And so I did. I wish Dean nothing but the best with it, and hope it’s a regular part of his arsenal on his rocket-ride to the top of WWE.
I’m flattered any time I see a WWE Superstar or Diva borrow anything from the Foley library – be it a move, a phrase, or just the idea of giving fans their money’s worth each time they step into the ring.
You can catch me TONIGHT from 5-7 pm, signing #WWE comics at the #Papercutz booth and TOMORROW from 11-1 with #VirgilFilms at the NEW YORK COMIC CON! You can also catch me LIVE on the #HardcoreLegendTour when it hits #Riverhead & #Brooklyn NY #Marietta & #Cincinnati OH #Providence RI #Nashville & #Memphis TN #Rome & #Atlanta GA as well as signings in #Queens NY #Brick & #Rahway NJ & #Gaffney SC. Get tix and info at http://www.realmickfoley.com/events/
It’s obvious Ambrose has some huge fans out there. Where do you see his career heading, an who would you like to see him face along the way?
— with Hey Kewynxiito Xd.
You can check out more Foley blogs, including one about his Santa Claus project and one about Damien Sandow and The Miz, by checking out his official Facebook page at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.
Peter Rosenberg is back with another exclusive interview as part of his “Wrestling With Rosenberg” series. On Monday, he interviewed WWE Divas Nikki Bella and Natalya ahead of last night’s WWE RAW from Brooklyn. Here are some of the highlights:
Natalya talked about the ongoing filming of Season 3 of Total Divas. She hinted that she still has a lot of drama going on in her life.
Nikki agreed that relationships are hard and require a lot of work. Natalya said being on the road with WWE can be very hard since you have so many commitments.
Peter said his wife is in the same industry, but doesn’t work directly with him every day. Natalya and Nikki talked about the difficulties of being around their significant other so often. Natalya said when Tyson Kidd isn’t on the road with her, she travels with The Great Khali and his English is actually excellent, despite what we see on television. She revealed he also speaks Japanese pretty well.
Peter asked about Nikki turning on Brie at SummerSlam and said he’s frustrated that their TV storyline has been stale. Nikki agreed, saying she pitched different ideas for their storyline but at the end of the day, she doesn’t write the show.
Peter asked if Nikki and Brie ever went too far with the angle. Nikki said at one point she cut her sister’s leg open with one of her high heels and she just got caught up in the moment. She revealed that Brie got her back recently when she slapped her in the face on RAW. Nikki says she almost blacked out and Brie told her, “That’s your first receipt.”
Nikki said she and Brie have been watching footage of Bret and Owen Hart’s feud from the mid 90’s, because she thinks that’s the best sibling feud WWE ever did.
There is much more to the interview, which you can watch above.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross tweeted the following about his experience calling the action at Friday night’s Battlegrounds MMA pay-per-view:
Thanks to all that watched @GoBGmma PPV & for the feedback. It was a new challenge of which I will study & improve. @sonnench=excellent
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) October 5, 2014
– Cameron joined Alicia Fox and Renee Young on this week’s After Total Divas:
– While plans could change, the current idea is that Roman Reigns’ appearance on Monday’s RAW will be “via satelitte,” even though he will be in the area for Ringside Fest on Sunday.
– Below is the official synopsis for Sunday’s edition of WWE Total Divas:
“Bryan’s injury takes a turn for the worst and Brie is left helpless. Eva is stunned when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.”
Regarding reports that Vince McMahon doesn’t want a cast member of WWE Total Divas to become WWE Divas Champion, it’s said that it was merely behind-the-scenes chatter until Total Divas cast member Cameron spoke out about it.
Cameron said the following regarding the alleged “rule” during her recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast:
“The whole thing we have been fighting is being on the show (means) not being able to have a chance at the title.”
As far as the rule itself is concerned, most believe that WWE officials do not want the Divas title to be confused due to the several month delay in Total Divas being taped and actually airing on television.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Sunday’s edition of WWE Total Divas on E! drew 999,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Viewership was down for the latest edition of the show, as the previous week’s episode drew 1.188 million viewers.
– Below are the RAW Fallout videos for this week’s show.
The word making the rounds these days regarding Total Divas is that Vince McMahon reportedly does not want anyone on the cast of that reality show to hold the WWE Divas Championship. People who know Vince, however, claim that this is one of those Vince “rules” that could change at any minute.
Speaking of Total Divas, it is said that there is a lot of booking frustrations regarding the reality show recently. McMahon reportedly goes through “phases” where he wants the storylines on Total Divas to synch up with the storylines on RAW, however the reality show is taped so far in advance that it has become problematic in that there are communication issues as to what content airs when and people have trouble all being on the same page.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– The September 21st episode of WWE Total Divas drew 1,188,000 viewers on E!. Despite the fact that it went head-to-head with Night of Champions, the show was up over 200,000 viewers from the previous week.
– Following John Cena’s win by disqualification over Brock Lesnar at WWE Night of Champions, Cena is now 2-4 all time in singles matches against Lesnar.
– NXT Diva Bayley posted the following promo on Instagram, vowing to capture the NXT Women’s Title from Charlotte at Friday’s live event in Cocoa, Florida:
– Below is a post-Night Of Champions video interview with John Cena.
– Below is this week’s “After Total Divas” web episode.
The following are highlights of a new Main Event Radio interview with Trish Stratus:
Transitioning from Fitness to Pro Wrestling: “In fitness you’re training for asthetics to look good and to sculpt your body a certain way. In wrestling you’re training to perform. In fitness I was traveling all over the world but in wrestling it was 300 days a year, so it was a little bit of an adjustment. But I loved it, the challenge, taking in new things and taking in a new industry altogether. I’m kind of like a tomboy so a lot of the sports played – varsity hockey and soccer. I was kinda known as the goon on the team so I was used to being rough and able to take it. I used to wrestle with my cousins when I was a kid. When I first started, I had my share of bruises and my moments where I thought this is tougher than I thought but I loved it, embraced it and looked forward to the challenge.”
Working with Test and Albert as “T&A”: “They were awesome. Test, God bless him, was actually a jerk to me. He was pretty mean to me, was giving me tough love at the beginning. He made me prove myself first. Albert was amazing, great friend, and still a great friend. They gave me the opportunity to be by their side. I really got to learn front row. Take it all in, see the reactions, the mannerisms and all these little things that makes a good performance and got to use these things when I got to be on the other side of the ropes.”
Main Eventing an episode of Monday Night Raw: “Completely an honor to be able to have that spot. We both arrived and couldn’t believe it; it was like we’re WHAT tonight! We knew this was our chance to prove that the women could hang with the boys. We worked just as hard as they did, the fans embraced it. We came back to big applause from our co-workers which meant a lot. I’m very blessed to have the career I did and have the people that I worked with to support the career I did. It’s not a one-man show. It takes two to tango and it takes even more to put on a wrestling production. I’m just so grateful for all the people I was surrounded with.”
WWE Hall of Fame Induction: “Just an honor. You’re being recognized by your peers; your colleagues. Going in as the youngest was nice instead of hustling and bustling being an old bird coming up onto the stage. It was nice to be in my prime. And we represented the modern day divas, [Lita] this year and me last. I’m curious to see who they will choose next. A huge honor.”
Thoughts on Total Divas: “I enjoy the show. I think it’s great. I enjoy watching the drama just like you do. It’s a reality show. We are glued to it to watch things unfold. It’s enough of a glimpse into the wrestling world without too much to give our secrets away so I appreciate that.”
If she is pondering an in-ring return: “Every time I have returned it’s been on the basis that the door is never closed. If some awesome opportunity pops up and it sounds fun and challenging and it’s something I haven’t done before. That’s kind of how each thing has happened. I have a great relationship with WWE and we’re always chatting ideas. You never know, retirement is used very loosely in the wrestling world. There are lots of great workers right now. Seeing Brie and Stephanie in there a couple of weeks ago made me kind of excited again. So we’ll see what happens. You know if that Stephanie keeps up her ways there is one woman that I know can put her in her place, just saying…me!”
Check out the complete interview at MainEventRadio.com.
– JoJo Offerman, who was one of the stars of season one of WWE Total Divas, was the ring announcer for NXT Takeover 2 on Thursday night. She also worked as the ring announcer for the NXT television tapings the following night and sang the national anthem before both of the events.
– As noted, Hideo Itami made his official WWE in-ring debut at the aforementioned NXT TV tapings on Friday. Itami’s first match will air on next Thursday’s edition of NXT TV on the WWE Network. Itami’s first match was against Justin Gabriel. He taped additional matches at the tapings and will be featured in each NXT TV show over the next four weeks.
– Below is a video of The Bella Twins arguing with each other while promoting Total Divas season three in New York City.
– Below is the “All Access” video for the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
The following are highlights of a new The Rack radio interview with WWE Diva and Total Divas star Eva Marie:
How has being in WWE changed your life: “You know what, honestly, it’s changed my life. I am so grateful for the opportunities; not only being a part of WWE but being a part of ‘Total Divas’. I mean, when I first came in, yes I did do the WWE Divas Search but I originally due to my tryout, I got my developmental deal and I was not supposed to move until July to the Performance Center, which is in Orlando, but this last minute thing came up for ‘Total Divas’ so I went ahead and auditioned for that and got it. As soon as I got it, I moved within 48 hours. “Ever since then, I’ve been on the road. So, not only has it changed my life so drastically and so fast, but it’s also made me grow in so many different ways. The only downside is I am brand new; I am a brand new entertainer/wrestler so I’m learning as I go on the road and on TV. That’s extremely hard especially because I’m a perfectionist so I take everything to heart but on the flip side, it’s the best thing in the world. So, there’s always pros and cons to everything and I wouldn’t change a thing. “I think that’s what is so awesome about ‘Total Divas’, you get a little bit of everything from everyone. The Bellas: They’ve been here I think going on their 9th year, so they’ve been here a while. Then you have some like myself, who is brand new coming in; then you have the Funkadactyls and you get to see what they go through. In Season 3, at the end of the day it is a business and we are entertainers but everybody is just on a different level and you’ll see how each one of us deals with that and I think the audience can’t wait to see the trials and tribulations we go through.”
What is the biggest struggle she’d had to overcome so far: “I think being away from family; I’ve never been on the road or with any job for as long a period of time; 290 days of the year, that’s a lot. So, you’re missing birthdays, you’re missing certain holidays or celebrations or you’re home for a day and then back on the road the next day. So, for me, that’s the biggest adjustment. And then, you’re on different time zones, so you’re trying to contact your family by making phone calls or whatnot; you’re constantly busy and in different time zones, so that’s the biggest transition that I’ve had to make and that’s really hard just because I’ve never done that before. There’s nothing like the WWE; there’s no off-season. It’s not like football, it’s not like baseball where they have an off-season; WWE is year round. So, there is no break for us, at all.”
What was it like to be a part of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans: “To be even a part of WrestleMania is a huge accomplishment because WrestleMania is the Super Bowl of wrestling. It’s the biggest event of the year, the second biggest is SummerSlam, but to be even a part of (WrestleMania) was insane, considering just one year prior I was just watching from the sidelines going ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy’. And then, to actually be in a match with the rest of the main roster divas was insane because there is literally nothing like it; you cannot even describe what’s it’s like to walk out there and be surrounded by 80,000+ people all excited about to watch the show go down. So, I was just extremely grateful to even be part of such a big show that night.”
Has the dynamic changed on ‘Total Divas’ with certain people departing and certain members coming in (Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes): “I think in any situation, especially for ‘Total Divas’, it’s good to add new people, like mix it up and stir things up a little bit. But, as far as that, I love the original cast but that’s just me being a little biased.”
What was it like planning her wedding to Jonathan: “You know what, it was an amazing experience and I’m so glad that I did it, but it was so stressful because it was like right up to SummerSlam. So, literally, SummerSlam happened and I got married the next week. So, there was so much going on and planning a wedding is already stressful enough but to be on the road as well, trying to get everything taken care of, is extremely hard. I mean, that’s what you’re also going to see on ‘Total Divas’, is all of us girls not only out on the road but we’re trying to juggle our everyday lives with family, husbands, boyfriends and then, you know, performing in the ring and entertaining. So, you see us trying to juggle everything, especially with the struggle is were on the road about 290 days a year. It’s pretty hard to plan things when you’re doing it via text or via e-mail all the time.”
Check out the complete interview at WildTalkRadio.com.
– In addition to the press conference that is scheduled for today to promote this week’s NXT Takeover 2 special on the WWE Network, Triple H will also be hosting a live Twitter Q&A at 3pm EST. on Thursday. Fans can submit questions by using the hash-tag “#NXTTakeover.”
– The cast of Total Divas will be on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this coming Friday. The show will be available at PodcastOne.com.
E! issued the following press release, touting the ratings success of Sunday’s season three premiere of WWE Total Divas.
E!’s “Total Divas” kicked off its third season premiere with a pop on Sunday, September 7 (9-10:00 pm). Delivering over 1.2 million total viewers and 821K Adults 18-49, the series was up +15% and +17% respectively versus the season 2 premiere.
Back for an all-new season where sisterhood meets over-the-top drama, viewers were introduced to the brazen WWE Diva, Rosa Mendes™, and saw Nikki Bella™ pursue freezing her eggs unbeknownst to her longtime boyfriend, WWE Superstar John Cena™.
The unprecedented inside look at the lives of the women of the WWE® was the most watched E! season 3 premiere in more than three years.
On the digital front, “Total Divas” garnered 26,000 Tweets and ranked as the #1 ad-supported cable program of the night (excluding sports).
Viewers of Sunday night’s highly rated “Total Divas’” premiere stayed tuned for a new episode of “#RichKids of Beverly Hills” (10 – 10:30 pm), which followed EJ Johnson as a celebrity Grand Marshal of San Francisco’s Pride Parade. The episode, which also documented socialite Dorothy Wang’s return to the dating scene after recent heartbreak, retained nearly two-thirds (64%) of its lead-in and delivered over half a million among Adults 18-49 (516K). The second season continues to pace ahead of season 1 by +6%.
– The season three premiere of WWE Total Divas on E! this past Sunday night drew 1.23 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The show faced strong competition in the form of NFL’s Sunday Night Football, which drew 21.20 million viewers. By comparison, the season three premiere edition of Total Divas drew along the lines of what the past seasons have drawn, as the season one premiere drew 1.3 million viewers back in July of 2013 and the season two premiere drew 1.072 million viewers.
– WWE is advertising Dean Ambrose for the September 22nd edition of RAW in Memphis, Tennessee. That is the post-Night Of Champions edition of the show, which has led to additional speculation that Ambrose may appear at next Sunday’s pay-per-view. As noted in the past, Ambrose is currently off filming the WWE Studios film “Lockdown,” which wraps up the day before Night Of Champions.
– Batista recently made an appearance at the Chicago Wizard World convention to promote his new blockbuster movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. WWE Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle site has exclusive photos from the event.
– Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are once again being paired together at WWE live events. After WWE seemed to pull the plug on the group that many fans are referring to as the ‘new’ Nation of Domination, Big E and Kofi (with Xavier Woods at ringside) teamed together to defeat NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension. Big E and Kofi worked as heels.
Here’s a photo of them together after their match:
– Below is the official trailer for WWE’s new “John Cena: Greatest Rivalries” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled to be released in October.
http://youtu.be/Z0ccMM-QoZQ
– Below is the official synopsis for next week’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which airs Sunday night on E!:
“Brie regrets quarreling with her husband when he delivers devastating news; Nikki’s secret has John fearing the end of their relationship; and Trinity is blindsided when Ariane puts the future of the Funkadactyls at risk.”
– Following the season three premiere of WWE Total Divas, which aired on Sunday night on E!, WWE Diva Rosa Mendes tweeted the following regarding her revelation that she took time off from WWE to go to rehab.
I just want to thank everyone for their lovely supportive tweets, it wasn't easy to tell everyone why I was gone, but now I'm so glad I did.
— Rosa Mendes (@LaRosaMendes) September 8, 2014
– Speaking of last night’s Total Divas season three premiere, below is the “After Total Divas” for this week’s show
WWE Diva Summer Rae was a guest on Turnbuckle Weekly with Chuck Carroll and spoke about the new season of Total Divas on the E! Network. The full interview can be heard at Cleveland.CBSLocal.com and begins around the 26-minute mark.
Summer Rae said she’s happy to no longer be the new girl on Total Divas, which will have its third season premiere on Sunday. That title now belongs to Rosa Mendes, who didn’t get the warmest reception from other Divas.
“The new girls who don’t know much about her, I’m sure the veterans have said don’t trust her or this or that,” she said.
She noted that she chose to judge Mendes on her own merits, but skepticism among the other Divas will play a role in the third season of the show.
Summer Rae said the five-week break she had from WWE while filming The Marine 4 afforded her a fresh start with a lot of the Divas, but said Natalya wasn’t quite ready to let bygones be bygones.
“I really didn’t have a problem with her coming into the season. After doing the movie I kind of wanted to start fresh with everyone,” she said. “Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t start fresh if both people don’t want to. So, Nattie is definitely a wound that will perhaps [be] reopened this season.”
Other topics discussed include:
* What to expect on Total Divas this season
* When filming wrapped for the third season
* How her relationship has improved with WWE Divas
* How her grudge with Nattie may play out in Total Divas
* How breaking from Fandango will impact her career
* Rosa Mendes joining the cast
* Cold shoulder give to Rosa by other Divas
* Her top secret role in The Marine 4
Here are some more highlights of what she said about:
What to expect this season on Total Divas:
“This season is so much drama. Of course we have a new Diva, Rosa, coming in. A fiery Latina that stirs the pot to say the least. Thank goodness it’s not just me anymore. We have a wedding, baby news, scares, a possible break up… it’s crazy.”
Breaking from Fandango:
“I loved being paired with Fandango. A couple of the girls (who are paired with guys) were asking me about this the other day… I love the partnership of Diva and Superstar. It gives you a great opportunity to show personality and become a character without having to be in the ring. It’s very tough to get that character across if you’re only working and wrestling. … I’m just trying to figure out who I am now and not get lost in the mix of only being a Total Diva… I have some ideas and things like that.”
Starring in The Marine 4:
“I’m not going to say my weapons were bigger and cooler than The Miz’s, but my weapons were WAY bigger than The Miz’s… The thing with Total Divas is you get to see the behind the scenes, which you wouldn’t get until the DVD came out… My specific character in (the movie) is very top secret until the show comes out, but what I will say is Mike was extremely helpful to me and very professional on the set. I definitely saw a different side of Mike than “The Miz” that he is backstage. He was great. He is really good at doing acting.”