— WWE has confirmed that January’s Royal Rumble event will be returning to the traditional 30-man format, down from 40 men last year.
The 25th annual Royal Rumble takes place on Sunday, January 29, 2012 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
— As he alluded to on his Twitter account last week, developmental wrestler Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black in ROH) will be touring with the RAW brand all next week. There’s been some talk that he’ll be wrestling against the returning R-Truth, but that’s not confirmed at this time.
Black is seen as one of the top stars at Florida Championship Wrestling along with Dean Ambrose (formerly John Moxley), who started touring with WWE last week
Tough Enough contestant Jeremiah Riggs blasted WWE’s developmental system and talent scouting in a lengthy diatribe this week after being informed that WWE would not be using him.
Speaking to AroundTheOctagon.com about his recent tryout at WWE’s developmental camp, Riggs said Florida Championship Wrestling is full of “clones” who are “are all the same – long hair, pony tail, boring as can be.”
Riggs called FCW “all politics,” where the developmental wrestlers try to “kiss ass” to get ahead. “People are real phony there including the trainers,” he claimed. Riggs also railed Tough Enough peers Andy Leavine and Luke Robinson, saying he had more talent and potential than both.
Since the release of the article, numerous developmental wrestlers have said off the record that Riggs was one of the most disliked individuals to have tried out for WWE in years. They feel Riggs carried himself as if he “was doing everyone a favor” by going to FCW, which upset his peers. Developmental talent Seth Rollins added on Twitter that Riggs was “ten words away from a beatdown.”
Riggs, meanwhile, has given his side of the story in a new interview with IWantWrestling.com.
— John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio is advertised for the July 30 Raw live event show at the Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois. CM Punk, however, is not advertised for the show taking place in his home state. The Straight Edge Superstar has not renewed his contract with WWE, so it appears that if he does indeed leave the company, it would be by then.
— Randy Orton, Alicia Fox, Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali and Sheamus, among others, were trending on Twitter last night during SmackDown.
— This week’s episode of WWE Superstars featured 23 minutes and 45 seconds of wrestling action, up from the 21 minutes and 59 seconds the week before.
— WWE developmental wrestler Tyler Black celebrates his 25th birthday today while Kamala turns 61 years old. WWE Diva Natalya turned 29 years old on Friday and former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro turned 32 years old on Saturday.
– Former TNA knockouts champion Awesome Kong is expected to debut for WWE next month, shortly after WrestleMania. There had been plans to debut her a few times since she signed in December 2010, but she’ll be on WWE television after WrestleMania.
– WWE is looking to hire a new VP of Talent Relations to work under John Laurinaitis. That spot was formerly held by Ty Bailey, who is now working for Triple H behind the scenes.
– Former Ring of Honor champion Tyler Black, who is currently training at WWE developmental, is currently slated for the next season of WWE NXT.
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the info used in this report)
— Former ROH World Champion Tyler Black confirmed on his Twitter account this afternoon that his official WWE ring name is Seth Rollins.
“There it is. Let the hate begin,” he wrote, referencing his listed name on his Twitter account.
His Twitter handle has been changed to WWERollins.
— Linda McMahon will debate Richard Blumenthal tonight at 7:00 p.m. The debate will be streamed lived at politics.blogs.foxnews.com.
— Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars garnered an 0.68 cable rating for WGN America, with 688,000 viewers. The 1:00 a.m. replay drew a 0.18 cable rating, with 148,000 viewers.
Solomonster with reaction to last week’s special Sound Off, why Chris Jericho will be missed, Flair and Foley on Impact, shitty Smackdown premiere, Raw sinks to new lows, WWE kissing Foley’s ass, Summerslam buyrate, Tyler Black’s new name and more!
— Former ROH World Champion Tyler Black said on his Twitter account that his “possible name change” is Seth Rollins, not Zack Rollins as had been reported.
“Good first night in an FCW right,” he wrote. “New name, fresh start. I’ll change the Twitter when it gets confirmed.”
— Currently featured on the front page of YouTube.com is a video advertisement promoting tonight’s debut of SmackDown on Syfy. Also featured are brief spots on Kofi Kingston, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Big Show and The Undertaker.
— WWE returns to the Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana on December 12, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale October 22, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
— Former Ring of Honor World Champion Tyler Black made his WWE developmental debut at Thursday’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event, losing to NXT season two finalist Michael McGillicutty. He was introduced as Seth Rollins.
— Matt Hardy vowed Wednesday on his Twitter account that he plans to reinvent himself in the coming weeks. Hardy wrote on Twitter:
“You will all understand the motives behind Matt & MATTHEW, The Hardy Show is about to go to never before seen heights, OMEGA is coming back, and in the next few weeks I am gonna totally reinvent myself, all the way from my body, to my hair, to my wrestling “look” & persona. ”
“Even the people that are my critics & doubters will take notice and appreciate all the changes. I am prepared to work harder than I ever have.”
— The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling updated its roster page with three new performers — Calvin Raines (a/k/a Patrick Brink), Conor O’Brian (a/k/a Ryan O’Reilly), and Damien Sandow (a/k/a Idol Stevens). All three are previously released developmental wrestlers signed over the summer.
— There have been rumors as of late regarding Jillian Hall’s future with World Wrestling Entertainment. While her standing with the organization remains fine, plans are being made to retire her on-air character, reports PWInsider.com. She would be removed from the main roster and subsequently work as a trainer for WWE’s female developmental talent in Tampa, Florida.
No word yet on when the move will occur, but it is the company’s plan.
— Tyler Black worked his final independent date this past Saturday in Chicago, Illinois, teaming with Jimmy Jacobs. The former ROH World Champion is living in Tampa, Florida and has been working out at WWE’s developmental promotion in the area. He will now be working exclusively for the company.
— Wade Barrett and David Otunga were the sole members of Nexus to work Raw’s recent tour overseas. Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Michael Tarver stayed in the United States to work SmackDown live events.
Former ROH Champion Tyler Black, who is expected to start at WWE developmental any time now, spoke with The Sun in the UK about signing with the company. Here are some highlights:
Which Superstar encouraged him to sign: “I’ve spoken a lot to Evan Bourne and he has encouraged me to make the move.â€
Picking WWE over TNA and ROH: “To be honest, and no disrespect meant, but it wasn’t a hard decision to make. You have to want to test yourself against the best and WWE is the pinnacle of our industry. They were actually the last to make me an offer. I was renegotiating with ROH and TNA had made an offer, but when WWE came in it was no contest.â€
What’s Next for Him: “I understand that I may have to sacrifice a little artistic integrity — and I don’t know if I’ll have to change my name — but I’m so excited about the challenge that lies ahead. If I knew exactly what I was doing I’d probably try to keep it from you, but the truth is I don’t know. All I know is I will report to Tampa (WWE developmental territory FCW) and go from there. I wouldn’t be averse to starting on NXT. I think it’s a really great concept. It’s a chance to get your character to stand out.â€
Reigning Ring of Honor World champion Tyler Black announced on this week’s ROH on HDNet show that the rumors are true – he’s heading to WWE.
During an interview segment with Jim Cornette, Black confirms there was a bidding war for his services and everybody knows – you can’t outbid a billionaire from Connecticut. What would happen if he made history and became the first World champion from another promotion to show up on WWE RAW? How much would he be worth then? Check it out:
Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin joined The Wheelhouse (Wheelhouseradio.com) on Thursday August 26th to promote the upcoming Glory By Honor IX IPPV live in New York City’s Manhattan Center on September the 11th on GoFightLive.tv.
The card is headlined by ROH World Champion Tyler Black taking on Roderick Strong for the ROH World Championship with Terry Funk as the Special Guest referee, the Kings of Wrestling vs. the debutng Charlie Hass & Shelton Benjamin, Colt Cabana & El Generico vs. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino in a double Chain match and more! For more information visit ROHWrestling.com
The following are some quotes from The Wheelhouse’s interview with Cary Silkin:
Tyler Black leaving ROH for WWE: “I’m angry on losing a talent like Tyler Black and hope that he’s is going to do well. But one good thing Bower (host of The Wheelhouse) is I’m used to this having gone through it with a number of guys. They thought Ring of Honor was finished last September…when Nigel and Bryan simultaneously left, that was a hell of a blow. We can go on and on, CM Punk, Matt Sydal, Samoa Joe, Homicide and so on and so forth. But somehow we always come out on the other side ok…I hate to see Tyler leave but he’s not done yet.â€
Homicide possibly returning to ROH: “Sure there’s a possibility. He can’t participate; he has a clause where he can’t compete till sometime until the middle of September…but we would love to have Homicide back in ROH…he has rich history in Ring of Honor and I hope we can do something with him down the road.â€
Was Bryan Danielson Contacted to Return to ROH? “Yes there were. I had a feeling there was something going on and no one is going to ever say for sure. But we spoke to Bryan and it just didn’t jive with the offers we made to him and his counter offers and this and that. There were some indications to me that he wasn’t going to be along very long. He’s a guy that deserves the best there is no doubt about it and I’m glad for him…Had he been available were would have certainly spoken to him but he didn’t indicate that and we wish him the best.â€
To download the complete interview go to The Wheelhouse’s website over at Wheelhouseradio.com and click “podcasts.”
– ROH Champion Tyler Black has changed his Twitter name from ROHBlack to WWEBlack. Black recently signed a WWE developmental deal and is expected to start full-time at FCW in September.
– Michelle McCool and Layla are confirmed for next Monday’s 900th episode of RAW. LayCool will be there to make an offer to Divas Champion Melina.
– WWE will return to the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington on October 15th at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale September 11th at 10am.
– WWE has released the first Ted DiBiase t-shirt that says “Everyone Has a Price.â€
– WWE developmental wrestler AJ Lee worked a match with Layla at Sunday’s SmackDown live event in Odessa, Texas. The prospective Diva came up short in her match with the WWE Women’s Champion as Layla hit her with the “Lay-Out†neckbreaker for the victory.
– Reigning Ring of Honor champion Tyler Black reported to Florida Championship Wrestling this week. He participated in this week’s training sessions and is expected to finish up with Ring of Honor next month.
– TNA Wrestling has released former X-Division and Tag Team champion Homicide. Homicide wrote on Twitter:
“my tna days is over, thank u for the staff members and the boys and girls in the locker room, had a great run, bbllaattt187 for life.”
He also noted he would be taking the next month off to rest his body before announcing his next move.
- After being forced to pull out of a scheduled independent show on 8/28 due to WWE commitments, Daniel Bryan will be making it up to the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) by appearing at their 9/11 show. NYWC sent out the following today:
WWE’s Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) is confirmed for Sept 11
We here at the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) are pleased to announce that Bryan Danielson who is currently known as Daniel Bryan in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will be appearing at “Never Back Down” on September 11, 2010 at the Sports Arena in St. James, NY. Bryan felt terrible about canceling his prior scheduled appearances with the NYWC and the WWE has allowed him to compete for us on September 11th. We would like to thank Bryan and WWE for going above and beyond for our fans to make his appearance possible. Make sure to purchase your tickets right away because this event will sell out fast! Tickets to “Never Back Down” are available now at NYWCWrestling.com.
According to multiple sources within World Wrestling Entertainment, the company has signed reigning ROH World Champion Tyler Black to a contract.
It is believed that Black signed a developmental deal with WWE, but it has not been confirmed. He is expected to start with the company in September.
Black, who has been with Ring of Honor since 2007, has several title defenses scheduled next month. He will defend the ROH World Championship at the Glory by Honor Internet pay-per-view on Sept. 11 against Roderick Strong.
Black recently indicated on his Twitter account that he had some “decisions” to make, which sparked rumors that he would be joining WWE.
Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the info used in this report
Tyler Black became the new Ring of Honor World Champion at last night’s eighth anniversary event in New York City, defeating Austin Aries in a re-match from Final Battle 2009.
Roderick Strong, who sat alongside Kenny King and Jim Cornette as ringside judges for the match, issued a title shot challenge to Black following the bout.
Complete event results are as follows: Roderick Strong beat Brian Kendrick… The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated Harlem and Lance Bravado… Necro Butcher and Eddie Kingston defeated Joey Ryan and Erick Stevens in an an Unsanctioned Anything Rules Match… Davey Richards forced El Generico to tap out… The Briscoes (c) defeated The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) in a Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion Match… Delirious beat “Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King, “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown and Steve Corino in a Four Corner Survival Pick 6 Challenge Match… Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana beat “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen… Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries to win the ROH World Championship.
