– While the official buyrate is still months away from being released, early estimates for the WrestleMania 29 pay-per-view are coming in and they do not look good. Even though WWE stated publicly that they were confident that WM29 show would sell similarly to last year’s record-breaking show, the company substantially lowered their internal projections in days leading up to WrestleMania. According to one source, the WrestleMania 29 buyrate is “downright shocking.”
– Tyson Kidd tweeted the following on Tuesday regarding his road to recovery:
I squatted heavier tonight than I routinely did before my injury. Funny thing, as I get stronger the road to recovery gets tougher
– As we reported a few weeks ago, there had been plans for Booker T to turn heel. Those plans have reportedly been dropped and there is now talk of Teddy Long becoming the new heel General Manager of SmackDown.
– WWE will return to the XL Center in Hartford, CT on June 3rd for RAW. Tickets go on sale April 19th.
– Titus O’Neil will be appearing at tonight’s Tampa Bay Storm arena football game, with a meet & greet event taking place before the game. For tickets, visit TampaBayStorm.com.
– Tyson Kidd tweeted the following injury update on Thursday:
3 months since my knee surgery-for those asking I'm still a few months away from getting back in the ring#workhorse
– The black eye that Chris Jericho had on Monday’s RAW did not occur that night, but actually at the March 19th SmackDown taping during his match against Jack Swagger.
– Here are some recent WWE attendance figures, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
3/22: RAW in Charlottesville, Virginia drew 4,800 fans for $160,000
3/23: RAW in Fairfax, VA drew 5,000 fans for $200,000
3/23: SmackDown in Norfolk, VA drew a sellout of 8,300 fans for $282,000
3/24: RAW in Salisbury, Maryland drew a sellout of 5,300 fans for $195,000
3/24: SmackDown in Baltimore, MD drew 7,000 fans for $300,000
– Tyson Kidd posted the following video on Tout this week showing the physical training he’s undergoing as he prepares for his WWE return. Kidd says his recovery is going great and he is currently ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation:
– Sin Cara recently suffered a concussion, which likely took place during his match against Jack Swagger on RAW (3/11). He was evaluated on 3/18 and underwent Impact concussion testing. He missed last weekend’s WWE live events and didn’t work Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings.
– With Monday’s RAW having taken place from Pittsburgh, PA, many people expected Bruno Sammartino to appear on the show, since Pittsburgh is his where he lives. WWE decided against Sammartino even appearing backstage because they want his big return to take place at WrestleMania weekend.
– Tyson Kidd continues to train for his in-ring return and noted on Twitter that he’s been doing jumping exercises at physical therapy. He wrote:
Starting to do some jumping exercises at therapy. @D1Sports rebuilding me better than ever
– WWE wrestler David Otunga was interviewed by DreadCentral.com and shared an interesting story about getting on-the-job training from the LAPD and encountering a confused WWE fan during the filming of WWE Studios’ “The Call” starring Halle Berry:
“One of the funniest calls we responded to was that a guy had threatened to stab someone’s dog. So, we rolled up, and the victim comes out, and he starts staring at me, and he’s like, ‘Wait a minute, this is going to sound crazy, but aren’t you David Otunga?’ And, I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ And he’s like, ‘I watch you on WWE every week! Wait a minute; what are you doing with the cops? Are you a cop now?'”
– Tyson Kidd posted the following Tout video on Friday:
“Making advancements. Stability starts with the core. Loving physical therapy, building a better version #workhorse”
– Rey Mysterio will be wrestling CM Punk at WWE live events after Elimination Chamber in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 29. Mysterio had been booked for an upcoming promotional tour of Qatar and Turkey, but has been replaced by Mark Henry.
– JBL and Michael Cole will be taping a new episode of their “JBL & Cole” show this Sunday outside of the New Orleans Arena, site of Elimination Chamber. The show starts at 3:30pm and will feature Alicia Fox and Ricardo Rodriguez as guests. Once again, they’ll be giving away 2 free tickets to the fans with the best sign.
– Tyson Kidd tweeted the following injury update on Tuesday:
“For those asking recovery is going great physically. Mentally tough. Everyday either gym or physical therapy. On the path to 2 legs again”
– JBL and Michael Cole will be taping a new episode of their “JBL and Cole” show on Sunday, outside of the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The show starts at 1pm and they will be giving away two free tickets to the Royal Rumble.
– The three men who played police offers on RAW during the backstage segments with The Rock were local indy workers Dave Dutra (All Pro Wrestling), JR Kratos (Supreme Pro Wrestling) and Julio Pedrosa.
– Following his interview with WWE.com this week where he updated fans on the condition of his knee injury and responded to CM Punk recently calling him a “work horse” in his latest Pipe Bomb promo, Tyson Kidd tweeted the following message on Thursday:
– WWE is taping this week’s Main Event and Smackdown shows from San Antonio, TX. Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro will be taking place on Main Event. For SmackDown, the only thing advertised is Del Rio’s Championship fiesta.
– WWE returns to Providence, Rhode Island on March 16th for a RAW brand live event. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster.com tomorrow morning with the pre-sale password WWEPROV.
– Mick Foley is the latest WWE personality to be booked for an upcoming Comic Con event. Foley will be appearing at the Niagara Falls Comic Con in June.
– WWE.com has published an interview Tyson Kidd, who recently suffered a bad knee injury that he described as “ligament and meniscus tears in his right knee and a fracture in his tibia platea.” The article states that he’ll be out for 6-8 months.
– Today marks 20 years since WWE Monday Night RAW debuted on the USA Network. The first episode of RAW aired on January 11, 1993.
– As reported last night, Tyson Kidd recently suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee. He had a large amount of blood drained from the knee on Tuesday and WWE officials are saying he will be out of action for approximately 6 months.
– Here is Episode 100 of Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story. Find out below if this will be the final episode of the series:
– Multiple radio stations in the Indianapolis, Indiana are conducting ticket giveaways for Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The giveaway extends to WWE as they will be hiding tickets in downtown Indianapolis and giving out clues on where they are beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Twitter.
– Dolph Ziggler stated on Twitter Thursday that he will be debuting new ring gear this Sunday at Survivor Series as he he leads Team Ziggler. He wrote, “new gear for @wwe #SurvivorSeries sunday, thinking @britneyspears bodysuit from toxic vid meets al czervic.”
– WWE’s next NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, are scheduled for Thursday, December 6.
– Tyson Kidd is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– In a change to Sunday’s Survivor Series Pre-Show contest, the official WWE website announced Thursday that Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd will square off against two members of 3MB. Gabriel and Kidd replace Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in the bout.
– Smith Hart, brother of Bret Hart, offered his predictions for WWE’s Hall of Fame Class of 2013 via Twitter. He believes Mick Foley, Bob Backlund, Carlos Colon, The Honky Tonk Man and Lawrence Taylor will be enshrined.
– Some Target department stores are selling WWE’s 2008 DVD release on Edge, Edge – A Decade of Decadence, as well as the 2008 DVD release on The Rock, The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment, for $5.00 each.
– Two matches were taped Tuesday in Birmingham, England for WWE Saturday Morning Slam
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd
* Ted DiBiase vs. Jinder Mahal
The commentators were Josh Mathews and R-Truth.
– In the following video, Cody Rhodes shows Wade Barrett a thing or two about how to play WWE ’13.
– The official WWE website has a poll asking who poses a bigger threat to WWE Champion CM Punk at Survivor Series; John Cena or Ryback? Ryback currently leads the poll 51% to 49%.
– The official WWE website has published an article ranking the 15 greatest ring entrances in sports-entertainment history.
“What’s more impressive, pulling up in an expensive sports car or walking through hellfire?” WWE states. “A calm walk through darkness or a mad dash to the ring?”
The list ranks 15. Ultimate Warrior, 14. Goldust, 13. Alberto Del Rio, 12. Glacier, 11. The Sandman, 10. The Rock, 9. Rey Mysterio, 8. Gangrel, 7. Goldberg, 6. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, 5. Hulk Hogan, 4. Kane, 3. Chris Jericho, 2. Triple H, 1. The Undertaker.
– Matches taped Monday in Birmingham, England for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were Jimmy Uso vs. Jinder Mahal and Justin Gabriel vs. Tensai.
In a pre-taping dark match result, Tyson Kidd defeated Michael McGillicutty.
– WWE developmental Briley Pierce turned 28-years-old Sunday. He is the younger brother of WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler.
– Following a meeting with the WWE Board of Directors at the company’s headquarters, AJ Lee announced on Raw Monday that she had decided it was best to resign as brand General Manager following accusations she’d been “fraternizing” with an undisclosed Superstar (she denied the accusations).
After rejected Paul Heyman’s plea to become the new General Manager of Raw, Vince McMahon introduced Vickie Guerrero as “Managing Supervisor” of the program. Guerrero then alleged that Lee had an affair with a Superstar, and following more taunts, the two came to blows.
Later in the show, Cena was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Lee, which led to her resigning as Raw General Manager.
– Two matches were taped Monday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:
* Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil
– As seen Monday on Raw, Wade Barrett complained to program General Manager AJ Lee about not competing on the show. He did wrestle earlier as he faced Tyson Kidd in a match taped for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars.
In a second match taped for the show, David Otunga took on Michael McGillicutty in a battle of former Nexus members.
– As reported earlier, one of the theme songs for WWE Hell in a Cell is “Sandpaper,” the lead single off of the Chris Jericho–fronted metal band Fozzy’s latest album, “Sin and Bones.” The song’s music video premiered tonight on WWE.com.
– WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia appears on The Nick and Artie Show tonight, which airs at 1:00 a.m. on DirecTV’s Audience Network.
– Mexican professional wrestler and WCW alumnus El Dandy turns 50-years-old on Tuesday.
– Per a huge announcement by SmackDown General Manager Booker T, Kane and Daniel Bryan will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship on Oct. 28 at Hell in a Cell against the winners of an eight-team tournament.
The bracket revealed on SmackDown showed the following first-round match-ups: Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso; Santino Marella and Zack Ryder vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd; Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil); and Epico and Primo vs. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara.
– This week on “Backstage Fallout” for SmackDown, The Miz addressed the chaos on “Miz TV,” which resulted in the show’s host being punched in the face by World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Wade Barrett also boasted about his dominance after defeating Zack Ryder. Plus, Big Show talks about becoming the No. 1 contender to World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus at Hell in a Cell. (Watch)
– After sustaining a season-ending injury during last Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker immediately thought about Triple H.
“I’m laying there on the turf at the Edward Jones Dome and there’s one thing going through my mind and it’s the image of Triple H tearing his quad tendon off his knee in the ring,” Carriker said on 4th & Pain. “Why I’m thinking about that, I don’t know… I think that’s because it’s exactly where I felt it in my leg.”
Like Carriker, the WWE Superstar tore his left quadriceps muscle in May 2001 and suffered a similar injury at a pay-per-view event in January 2007. The full story is available here.
– The top two matches advertised for Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Sarnia, Ontario did not take place. Originally scheduled for the event were Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship and Daniel Bryan and Kane defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. Instead, Sheamus defended the belt against Alberto Del Rio in a singles match, Dolph Ziggler faced Tyson Kidd, Wade Barrett took on Yoshi Tatsu, Kofi Kingston wrestled Ted DiBiase, and Kane and Bryan faced The Prime Time Players.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler’s miraculous recovery from a heart attack on the Sept. 10 Raw is featured in a full page story in the latest issue of The Globe tabloid.
– During an interview with WWE Magazine, Santino Marella revealed that even he though he previously said he was content with his standing in WWE, he now aspires to win a World Title.
“There are only four individual titles on the main roster of WWE, and to be one of four champions on a roster of many is pretty prestigious. I’ll continue to keep training and then hopefully one day will win the World Heavyweight Title or the WWE Championship,” Marella said. “The fans have always expressed their desire for me to enjoy success against the top guys. It was nice seeing them react to me at Elimination Chamber and to know that they still hope I do well.”
When asked which wrestlers backstage don’t understand his jokes, he revealed Cody Rhodes and The Miz.
“But that’s because they can’t laugh at themselves,” Marella said. “They’ll laugh at someone else, but when it comes to themselves—they take things way too seriously.”
– In the opening match of Saturday’s SmackDown live event in Sarnia, Ontario. Tyson Kidd picked up an upset victory over Dolph Ziggler The Canadian grappler noted of the experience via Twitter: “Sarnia definitely saw some firsts tonight! You had to be there to really experience it #WWESarnia.”
Matches taped Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were Tyson Kidd vs. David Otunga, and The Prime Time Players vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.
A taping was also held for WWE Saturday Morning Slam on The CW. Bouts taped were Sin Cara vs. Jinder Mahal, and Justin Gabriel vs. Zack Ryder.
A dark match was held before both tapings as Kofi Kingston beat WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose following Trouble In Paradise.