You knew when RAW’s rating hit a 2.5 that it wouldn’t be long before we got an appearance from the Chairman himself.

WWE announced today that Vince McMahon will return to WWE RAW on Monday night to deliver a “State of the WWE Address.”

WWE.com is teasing:

“What will The Chairman have to say? Will he address the performance of Raw General Manager AJ Lee? Could her job be in jeopardy?

In addition to addressing the current state of affairs within WWE, does Mr. McMahon have anything to say regarding its future? Could The Chairman have a message directly from WWE’s Board of Directors?”

Special appearances and major announcements from Vince McMahon have been a tried-and-true method of jolting declining ratings in the past. We’ll find out on Monday night what the boss has in store for us this time.

* MAJOR Changes Coming To WWE: Find Out What VINCE Will Announce On RAW

– WWE has quietly dropped the storyline where General Managers AJ Lee and Booker T are depicted as incompetent, leading chief Vince McMahon to fire them both and have both shows overseen by one individual. Some people desired that Ric Flair being place in the role, but the company’s current lawsuit with TNA Wrestling over business practices had made that possibility feasible at this time.

The company also quietly dropped the storyline where announcer Josh Mathews threatened to sue both General Managers for an unsafe working environment.

– WWE chief Vince McMahon has nixed the idea of holding a thirty-minute “UFC-style” countdown show just prior to the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013. He is, however, interested in holding such a show for WrestleMania XXIX.

– Independent wrestlers Ethan HD and Jorel Nelson both received tryouts at WWE’s talent evaluation session in Tampa, Florida earlier this week.

* VIDEO: WM28 Celebrity Singer MGK FLIPS OUT At The Microsoft Store

(source: F4WOnline.com)

Despite the strong build for a match between WWE Champion CM Punk and Ryback, it is only being teased at this point and no concrete plans will be made until November or December. The match may not even occur since there has discussion of Ryback facing Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIX, with The Deadman’s undefeated streak at the pay-per-view extravaganza going up against Ryback’s overall undefeated streak. However, some people within WWE have speculated that Undertaker may not even work next year’s show.

With the curtain call finish to his WrestleMania XXVIII match against Triple H, and his wife, Michelle McCool, recently giving birth to a child, it is possible that the bout was his final wrestling match. WWE’s original plans called for the legendary wrestler to compete at WrestleMania XXIX and start building toward a match at around Survivor Series. Many feel he’ll ultimately wrestle on next year’s show, but it’s not considered certain. Whether he competes on the show or not, it will be entirely up to him and not Vince McMahon.

(source: F4WOnline.com)

Promoting her new music album, SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia appeared Monday night on The Nick and Artie Show, a sports/entertainment talk show hosted by comedian Nick DiPaolo and former Howard Stern Show comedian Artie Lange. The hosts did not take it easy on the WWE Diva and songstress as she was grilled throughout the interview with questions regarding Vince McMahon’s alleged sexual exploits, WWE wrestlers using steroids, and WWE’s futile attempts at comedy, among other topics. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

– Artie asks Lilian whether she slept with any wrestlers before she got married, and if WWE chief Vince McMahon ever made a pass at her. She says “no,” adding that she “has really good friends.” Artie says she has morals, but then ponders how she could get a job working for Vince McMahon by having morals.

“He’s awesome,” Lilian says of the Chairman of the Board. “This is my eleventh year working with the company. I’ve been the longest-running Diva there. I would not have stayed or come back—’cause I was gone for two-and-half-years—and I came back. I would not have come back if it was a bad organization. It’s been amazing. It’s a great organization.”

– Artie says he hates today’s wrestlers because “they’re all in too good shape.” He prefers “big goofy-looking guys” like King Kong Bundy over muscular John Cena-types. Nick says “they’re all juicing.” In response, Lilian notes that all of the WWE wrestlers get drug-tested. “Fitness has come a long way. If you look at anybody years ago, fitness has come a long way,” she adds.

Artie asks Lilian whether she has ever used steroids since she’s muscular. She replies “no,” adding that she works out and is a jump rope enthusiast.

– Artie asks Lilian whether she ever saw Vince McMahon force himself on a girl during a “SmackDown Christmas party.”

“First of all, we don’t have SmackDown Christmas parties, so, no (laughs),” Lilian responds.

Artie then asks Lilian whether “she accidentally got in the wrong door and saw Vince McMahon date-raping a girl.” She responds, “Are you just jealous of him?” Artie says “in some ways,” and notes that he has “heard stories about him.” He says he’s heard stories about Vince having “steroid-rage” and being a “date-raper.” Lilian smiles and says Vince is “an amazing man.”

– Following a commercial break, Artie takes issue with WWE’s attempts at comedy. An audio clip of a verbal exchange between Lilian and Tazz from over ten years ago is played, with Tazz first asking Lilian her name. After she states her name, he points to his “nose,” and asks her what is in his hand— “nothing.” Tazz breaks out laughing and says, “Exactly, Lilian knows nothing.” Artie says the dialogue must have been so embarrassing for her, deeming it “unfunny” and “terrible.”

Lilian says “it’s supposed to be a simple ha-ha.” Artie responds, “It’s not even that, it’s not even close. It’s not even in the ha-ha neighborhood. It makes all of you look terrible. You’re a good-looking woman. You’re talented. Don’t be involved with that. Next time you say to Vince, “I can’t do the joke.” You have to stand up for yourself. You don’t want that on tape.”

“It’s okay,” Lilian responds.

For part one of the interview, click here. For part two of the interview, click here.

– As reported earlier, Vince McMahon made a surprise live appearance during Monday night’s RAWactive experience. During his brief appearance, the Chairman of the Board took the opportunity to denounce Josh Mathews’ announcing abilities after replacing Jim Ross on the broadcast.

In response to Matt Striker asking him his thoughts on the show, McMahon responded, “I think, generally speaking, everything is pretty good about Raw, except one particular announcer.” Striker then asks, “That Josh Mathews has to go, doesn’t he?” The WWE chief responds, “Yes, he does.”

The official WWE website has posted the video.

– On Facebook, Madusa was asked to give her thoughts on Nora Greenwald, better known as Molly Holly in WWE. Greenwald has stated in interviews that she felt Madusa didn’t personally like her since she was rigorous training her at the WCW Power Plant. Madusa admits to being tough on her then, but that she always liked her.

“I personally have ALWAYS BEEN HER FAN.. have always stuck up for her,” wrote Madusa. “She may not think so or have reservations on some of my tactics training her in wcw or working with her however I truly thought she was the last of the greats…..”

Madusa also responded to the rumor of Beth Phoenix leaving WWE: “If so, it’s a loss to the WWE…”

– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was said to be in a bad mood at Monday’s WWE RAW from Oklahoma City, unhappy with the creative direction of the show in recent weeks. Another major reason for McMahon’s attitude has been RAW’s depressing ratings, most notably – the ratings of the final hour of the show.

Video Of Vince McMahon’s Speech From Jim Ross Appreciation Night

– Shaul Guerrero’s status is unknown at this time. She was believed to be released by WWE over the weekend and tweeted a message on Monday saying, “Thank you all for your love and support, WWE has been one of the highlights of my life. I learned so much and consider them family.”

PWInsider.com reports that Diaz is still under WWE contract, despite her leaving developmental and stopping her training. WWE officials are hopeful that she just needs time off and will eventually return.

– Here’s the latest episode of Backstage Fallout featuring interviews from Monday’s WWE RAW:

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon showed his appreciation for Jim Ross after Monday’s RAW, giving one hell of a speech for his longtime employee. You can see video of the speech at WWE.com.

McMahon said nobody appreciates JR more than he does and said he’s the best play-by-play man in wrestling history – even better than Ross’ idol, Gordon Solie.

He told an incredible story that Jim Ross is so dedicated to his job that one time, he passed a kidney stone at ringside during a WWE pay-per-view.

He is the most dedicated worker in the history of the business. Jim Ross has been one of the He would, and has done anything & everything for WWE over the years. He is a part of Americana.

For all their ups and downs over the years, for all the absurd, embarrassing moments Jim Ross has had to endure at the whims of Vince McMahon, perhaps the most touching moment came when McMahon said, “Jim Ross is an American icon and my friend.”

Following Monday’s Raw broadcast in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a Champion vs. Champion match took place, replacing the advertised match between CM Punk and John Cena. Cena did not appear at the show since he is still recovering from arm surgery two weeks ago.

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus faced WWE Champion CM Punk. The Celtic Warrior won by disqualification after being struck by Punk with the WWE Championship.

After the match, Vince McMahon appeared before the live audience to resume Jim Ross Appreciation Night. The WWE chief kindly spoke of Ross, dubbing him the best announcer ever, “including Gordon Solie,” and noted his dedication to the business, from recruiting talent to “joining a certain club” in Oklahoma City.

Triple H then appeared and made remarks similar to McMahon. He stated that “every boy in the back” wants J.R. to call his match. He then brought out Danny Hodge and Bill Watts, who spoke kindly of their friend. Pre-recorded messages from Jerry “The King” Lawler and University of Oklahoma football head coach Bob Stoops then aired on the TitanTron.

Triple H was then joined by the locker room, who gave Ross a standing ovation. Sheamus presented Ross with a glass sculpture declaring Ross as the “Voice of WWE.” The crowd chanted “Thank You J.R.” and he became teary-eyed.

Ross gave a speech about being a fat kid from Oklahoma who worked nineteen years to get to the top of his game and encouraged all kids staying out late on a school night to follow their dreams and passionately do what they love.

(source: F4WOnline.com)

– People were joking backstage at Vince McMahon’s excitement over the NFL replacement referee debacle.

– WWE Intercontinental champion The Miz will guest star on the 10/1 episode of Disney XD series “Pair of Kings”. In the episode, Miz plays a “mythical human-like sponge creature” named Damone, who absorbs everyone’s confidence.

– Speaking of The Miz, he’s featured on the promotional poster for this year’s Survivor Series (click to enlarge):

– Here is the latest episode of WWE Inbox:

Former WWE creative Court Bauer appeared on this week’s MLW.com postcast podcast Konnan and Mister Saint Laurent. Bauer shed some light on tension between John Cena and Vince McMahon – and how Cena’s recent elbow surgery is involved:

“John Cena has this procedure done in Birmingham, AL. WWE.com puts out there that he’ll be down for only two weeks and that life will go on. It was basically like removal of fragments and bone spurs in his arm or his elbow, which if you follow sports, baseball players have it done all the time, usually in the office season. NFL guys will have it done here or there. It’s a pretty easy deal. So, I don’t think anyone was thinking it was going to be this long stretched out thing, but then the reports came out about how long John Cena was going to be down for. John Cena then took to Twitter saying that WWE.com got the story wrong and that he’s going to be out for a full six [weeks] and he just buried WWE.com and all the guys over there. The story obviously then switched to ‘now he’s out six weeks.'”

“From what I know, Vince McMahon himself, in the agent meeting, the producers meeting, told everyone straight up the dude is out for just two weeks, ‘we dodged a bullet and that he’s very much in the mix moving forward.’ That was Tuesday, he said that. Then Cena had very different things to say and I understand WWE.com did talk to James Andrews [Cena’s doctor], who WWE and Cena did give them the blessing to talk to. That’s standard protocol at WWE. They always try to interview the doctor, get insight so they can have the news. Sometimes it’s a kayfabe site and sometimes it’s a legit news site. Sometimes it’s a TMZ site, but that’s the story. They interviewed him and Dr. James Andrews did say he’d be out just two weeks.”

“So you have to wonder if Vince and the doctor said it and Cena is saying six weeks, there is an interesting issue there. Is it that John Cena wanted the full six weeks out? Was John Cena then told something after Tuesdays that conflicted with this? But it was very quickly thereafter they reported it on the website that this was not in fact the situation. The reality of it is, John Cena is coming off a divorce, he’s beaten up. He’s got a bad neck, a bad hip, bad everything. He’s closing in on 36. The wear and tear of a guy like that, that goes, goes, goes and is a company man, you gotta think about.”

“And if you’re Vince McMahon, you look at the clock, you look at the calendar and you think, is it time to build the next John Cena?”

* SIN CARA UNMASKED By Accident On Monday’s WWE RAW (PICTURE)

Former WWE Superstar Tyler Reks recently spoke to Wrestling101.com and revealed that his pro wrestling career is probably over. Regarding his WWE release, Reks said:

“Triple H called me for the first time since I left the other day and we had a great conversation and he told me the door will always be open for me to come backstage and say hi to all of the guys when they come into town.”

Reks also gave a look at the average WWE Superstar’s dealings with Vince McMahon:

“I never really had any dealings with Vince on a daily basis, I had a conversation with him in his office when I was debuting on ECW where he told me what he expected and he asked a bunch of questions about me and my family and if I had any questions for him, it was about five to ten minutes in his office and I was a little timid.”

“A year later when I went over to SmackDown as the new Reks, the same thing happened and I was little bit more comfortable. If I saw him walking down the halls, I would stick my hand out and get a handshake and just ask him how he was but that would be about it, that’s basically most people’s interaction with him throughout their entire course in the WWE unless they’re are a top guy. Vince is a very busy guy.”

– On Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s morning sports talk program First Take, Skip Bayless mentioned WWE while discussing the controversial conclusion of the Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks game on Monday Night Football.

“I never thought I would see the day when the NFL would turn into the WWE,” Bayless said over the work of the replacement officials, who awarded a disputed touchdown to the Seahawks on the final play of the game.

The matter also drew comparisons to Vince McMahon and the XFL, with both terms trending worldwide on Twitter Monday night.

– Speaking to WWE Magazine, Tensai explains why he switched from singlets to trunks years ago and why we won’t see his helmet and robe ever again.

“When I first debuted, I used to wear singlets and, to be truthful, I liked them. But it was suggested to me that I move from them to the classic trunks. It was very uncomfortable for the first month, but now I love them. Let’s be honest—with my body type, I probably shouldn’t be wearing them, but I like them. They offer a much cleaner look at me in the ring, and red is such a powerful color,” Tensai said.

“The helmet and robe you saw when I returned was meant to get your attention, but changing out of it takes too much time and pulls away from my goal, which is to destroy.”

The Hartford Courant and The New York Times are reporting that Vince and Linda McMahon are 51 days late on paying their property tax bills for a million dollar condo they co-own in Stamford, Connecticut.

Chris Murphy is using this as an opportunity to take shots at his opponent for the Connecticut Senate seat.

The McMahons were late on paying half of their annual $54,110 tax bill. On Friday, they paid the full year bill, plus $1,217 in interest.

Murphy claims that Linda was “caught red-handed skipping out on the taxes on her $4 million luxury penthouse at the Trump Tower and only paid it back today.”

McMahon’s campaign responded that the city of Stamford only mailed the tax bill two weeks ago (September 13) and it was “the only bill received by the McMahons for this tax period.”

Her campaign spokesman claimed Murphy was “just another corrupt, career politician who will do or say anything to get elected to higher office.

– Linda McMahon announced Thursday night that she and her husband Vince would pay back, with interest, creditors listed on their bankruptcy filing in 1976. According to Politico.com, the debt totals more than $1 million to 26 creditors. Her announcement came two days after Connecticut publication The Day found bankruptcy records outlining the McMahons’ debts at a National Archives facility in Massachusetts. Linda previously said she couldn’t locate the documents.

Linda’s Senate opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy, was not impressed with her gesture. “Even after this stunning and desperate late-night reversal by Linda McMahon, questions still remain,” Murphy spokesman Eli Zupnick said. “Voters deserve to know who she still owes, how she plans to pay them back, how much, and why she only now decided to make right on her debts.”

An article on the matter is available here.

– Former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty is now on Facebook. Now 42, he continues to compete independently after leaving WWE in 2007.

– The following matches were featured on the September 21 episode of WWE Vintage Collection on Canada’s The Score: Bradshaw vs. William Regal (WWE Raw – June 10, 2002), Booker T vs. Lance Storm (WCW Monday Nitro – August 7, 2000), Bret Hart vs. Goldust (WWF Monday Night Raw – January 22, 1996), Sting vs. Ric Flair (WCW Clash Of The Champions – June 23, 1994). (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

MLW Podcast
Hosts: Konnan and Court Bauer
Available for free at MLW.com,on iTunes

This week on MLW Radio, available right now on www.MLW.com, Konnan spoke with co-host Mister Saint Laurent as well as Court Bauer about a recent locker room incident with Kurt Angle while Kurt was wrestling for AAA at TripleMania. The incident was the result of an earlier MLW Radio podcast in the spring where Konnan had revealed that while he was in TNA, Kurt Angle had confided in him that Vince McMahon had tried to lure Kurt back to WWE by regularly sending him flowers. Kurt responded via Twitter vehemently denying the allegations. Fast forward to TripleMania in August, per Konnan:

“Remember when we were talking about Kurt Angle? I was like, hey, cool dude. I even marked out when I heard he was coming to TNA, but give me a break about the flowers thing. People sending him tweets telling him ‘Konnan said you got flowers from Vince’ and he said I was delusional.”

“Well he showed up in Mexico for a show, for Triplemania, about a month and a half ago and we hadn’t talked since [the flower controversy]. He came in and literally for like the first three hours he wouldn’t even speak a word to me. He wouldn’t even look at me when I was going over the match. Obviously I’m going to have to tell the guy that he did say [Vince sent him flowers]. Maybe he doesn’t remember it, but we have to squash it because I can’t work like this.”

“And then I don’t know what happened, but he just totally chilled out. Without me talking to him, all of a sudden he’s very serious, wouldn’t talk or look at me and then the next minute he was alright and like hugging me.”

– F4WOnline.com published a report clarifying rumors of WWE’s handling of Monday’s Raw show after broadcaster and wrestler Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack while commentating.

According to a WWE employee backstage at the event, it was a very chaotic scene but he did not see any pray groups. Contrary to speculation, there was never any talk of halting the show.

WWE chief Vince McMahon was not at Lawler’s side during the entire ordeal, as reported. He briefly checked on the backstage commotion during a commercial break before resuming his producing duties at Gorilla Position. Rather, Paul “Triple H” Levesque directed orders backstage.

All of broadcaster Michael Cole’s on-air verbiage concerning Lawler was directed by McMahon word-for-word.

– As reported earlier check out footage of the two WWE fans running into the ring at a House Show during the intermission of Saturday’s WWE live event in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They were immediately tackled by security and ejected from the arena.

http://youtu.be/GZy85BibHL4

– WWE is currently running storylines where both RAW and SmackDown’s General Managers are having major problems with their jobs. AJ Lee’s angle is that she’s unstable and incompetent, while Booker T is being sued by one of his announcers. There is speculation that the General Managers being unable to handle their brands will lead to Vince McMahon firing them both and bringing in a big name to both shows.

– Matches for today’s WWE Superstars include:

* Layla vs. Natalya
* US Champion Antonio Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel
* Damien Sandow vs. Alex Riley
* Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Primo & Epico.

– With Devon parting ways with TNA and expressing interest in returning to WWE, sources are not optimistic that he’ll get signed as a wrestler. WWE management was very fond of Devon back when he was one of the Dudley Boyz (more so than Bully Ray), but he has a much better chance of getting brought in as an agent or a trainer at developmental. Devon and Ray’s Team 3D wrestling academy has produced several promising young talents, so that will only help his chances of working behind the scenes.

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Wrestle Reaction Radio with Lex Luger
Show airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Available at Wrestlereaction.net

Lex Luger on the PG rating and how it affects the business: “I think [WWE] draws from a broader audience with the PG versus the edgier style…a lot of parents have always told me, especially if they have younger kids, which of course, you have to keep them in mind for your branding, those ten and unders..the parents don’t like to have to watch the show with their hand on the channel changer the whole time…so, I like it to be a little more broadbased myself, personally, but I understand why it tends to always go towards the edgier storylines…”

On Kevin Nash’s recent comments about Eddie Guerrero/Chris Benoit: “I don’t know what context that was in…it’s definitely an outrageous quote. I do think size was emphasized more in our era and fans got used to that, but I think there’s been a huge transition…I understand Kevin. He likes to stay controversial. He’s a very sharp guy, marketing-wise, and I know Kevin will make those statements, but I remember, back when I worked with Kevin, he put Rey Mysterio over in the middle of the ring…to me, the diversity now of high-flyers, big guys, little guys, in-between guys, guys that still have the muscled physiques with height, guys who don’t, different body types, getting away from that reputation of WWE being all drug-enhanced. I love what they’re doing now.”

On never winning the World Heavyweight Championship in WWF during his ’93-94 run: “In spite of some of the rumors I’ve heard through the years, I was never promised a world title from Vince McMahon. Timing’s everything..and the company’s going through a huge transition from, I think, the economy at that time..there were circumstances going on where wrestling was down, we were in Europe a lot because house shows were down in the U.S. …there’s a lot of economic factors going on as far as who would be champion and who wasn’t…Bret [Hart] was sort of thinking about retiring…there were a lot of things going on back then, and they gave me an incredible run with that Lex Express, the SummerSlam was a spectacular event…the buyrate from that pay per view was not what they wanted..I think they just decided to head in a different direction…”

On whether or not he actually named “The Kliq”: “I don’t know if I can take sole credit for that..I would like to maybe give Davey Boy [Smith] the credit for that. Davey Boy and Owen Hart. I used to travel with them and they were much more clever and entertaining than I, so if there were any names put out there, I would really have to give them credit for that, not me. I just went along with it.”

On “The Narcissist” gimmick and what he thought about its potential: “I had trouble grasping or getting my arms around what [Vince McMahon] wanted to do…once we did it and he took me out, introduced me at the WrestleMania as these girls at Cesar’s Palace carry out these huge mirrors, that was a lot of fun and I was definitely gaining some momentum. It was quite the shock when he came to me and said ‘I’m gonna dress you in red, white, and blue and have you come off a helicopter and slam Yokozuna and become a good guy, but once again, Vince McMahon does things that a lot of us would doubt. He’s very daring and he did it. But yeah..in retrospect, I would have a little more time as The Narcissist because that really was a lot of fun and I did think it was gaining some momentum.”

On leaving WWE and going to WCW: “Money was definitely a factor but the contract I was offered at the time by WCW, for my career earnings, was not really a big inducement. Eric Bischoff was not a big fan of Lex Luger personally and really wanted me to prove myself a little bit…Eric took wonderful care of me after that…but at the time, it wasn’t really a large contract offer by some of the other standards in the industry. But in WWE at the time, my contract had run out..and this is unprecedented, some people don’t grasp this..but I had no contract. Vince and I went on just a handshake, a temporary agreement, for over five months…and I had talked with Sting, a few weeks before the initial Nitro show, and just out of casual conversation with Sting, I mentioned I wasn’t under contract with WWE…Sting was blown away by that, so he went to Eric Bischoff..and that’s how the whole thing started..”

Lex Luger talks about a lot more of his career, the product of today, his future plans and much more in this 40-minute interview. Check it out at WrestleReaction.net and be sure to tune in live every Tuesday night from 7-8 EST!

Inside The Ropes Radio with Pete Gas
Show airs Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m.
Available at InsideTheRopes.podbean.com

On meeting Hulk Hogan for the first time, when he was a teen: Vince was renting a house near where the house he’s in now was being built. Vince was cool, he let us drink in the house. He let us drink beer but the one condition would be we gave him our keys and we weren’t allowed to leave. He knew kids would be kids and so he would go and get us some beer. So we’re swimming in the pool and we hear Vince’s car pull up and we hear a Harley Davidson coming up with it, so we go out and see Hulk Hogan get off the bike, coming towards the house and he’s carrying our beer. So at the 15th Anniversary of Raw, I had mentioned that to Hogan. I went over and introduced myself and fortunately he remembered me. I was honored. I told him, “The last time I saw you” and I’m telling him the story and he’s looking at me and he says, “so I was carrying your beer?” and I was like “Well, yeah I guess if you think about it you were.” And he said “So you owe me one? Go get me a f—ing beer!” I went up to the concession stand and got him a beer, I guess that was my payback.

How The Mean Street Posse was formed: It was the idea of a few people. Vince Russo, Ed Ferrara, and Chris Chambers who really ran with it. They wanted Shane to have some heat going into WrestleMania. One day Shane called us to come to his office, I’ll never forget it was a Friday. Rodney and I used to work out at the Titan building. He called us into his office. He says to us, “Sunday at 10 o clock can you go over to the studio, and dress really preppy. Here’s the script.” He then ripped it up and said “f— the script” and told us to tell stories about what we did as kids and he told us Chris Chambers would splice it and fix it and we’d be on Monday Night Raw. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week little stint. They brought us to Albany the week before WrestleMania for Raw. By the time we got to WrestleMania, I remember sitting in the front row, Isaac Hayes was in the row behind taking pictures of us. There were a bunch of signs with our name on it. We went and about ten days later, Shane handed us checks and he said, “Do you guys have any vacation time?” and he said, “We wanna take you on the road for a little while.”

On Bradshaw almost injuring him early in his career: We were facing Farooq and Bradshaw, The Acolytes. Bradshaw went to hit me with a steel chair and I took it, straight to the head. Now Shane had told us certain things about respect and that after the matches you shake hands and thank the other guy for the match. So I wasn’t going to let him know I was hurt, so I shook his hand afterwards and said thank you. He told me six months later that through doing that I earned his respect. The next day, two specific people approached me. Mick Foley checked if I was OK, and Chris Jericho, who told me that I’d proved I was tough and next time to put my hands up if I get hit with a chair shot.

Thoughts on Shane leaving the WWE and relationship with Vince: They’re very close. Vince was the best man at his wedding. There’s no animosity there. Shane keeps things very close to himself. Shane had something to prove to himself, he wanted to do something for himself and start his own business. As far as his relationship with his family, they’re so close. A couple of weeks ago, Shane’s company went public and he was in New York ringing the bell and I know his father was right by his side.

– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch claims she is now sober after checking out of her WWE-sponsored rehabilitation program on Thursday. The legendary Diva was admitted to an emergency room on the evening of July 13 for consuming a large amount of vodka, and her boyfriend, independent wrestler Damien Darling, insisted that she seek professional help.

She wrote on Facebook Thursday evening, “FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, FREE AND SOBER AT LAST!…….DONT WORRY, I HAVENT TURNED INTO A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN!”

– Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of WWE, Inc. (WWE), turns 67-years-old Friday.

The WWE head has no intention to ever retire. “This is not a job,” he told Bloomberg last year regarding retirement. “I love what I do.” He said he hopes there are people who will tell him he’s slipping. “It would only be then that I would decide to go to a beach somewhere and sit back and discover that they’re right, I am senile. Other than that, I intend to be, as they say, die in the chair. That’s the way I would like to go.”

– Former WWE Superstar Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake appears for World’s Best Wrestling Wrestling on October 6th, 2012 in Sardinia, Ohio at Chad D.Heckler Building gymnasium. (Event Information)

Jim Ross recently spoke to WWE.com for the “WWE Classics” column about his experience doing commentary on WWE television with Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.

JR says Vince McMahon lives and breathes WWE, which added an extra layer of depth to their commentary:

“Much like Bill Watts, the owner of Mid-South Wrestling and UWF who I broadcasted with a generation earlier, Vince knew exactly what he wanted to see and hear on the broadcasts that he created and produced. I cannot think of any occasion where I was ever better prepared for a broadcast than when working with McMahon. Traveling with the head honcho and talking the product 24/7 certainly kept one completely immersed in the moment and informed of WWE’s creative direction. When we went on the air, we were thoroughly prepared, ready to inform and entertain … or adlib on the fly if need be, especially when the chairman would call an audible.”

Two things Vince McMahon is known for are his work ethic and his disdain for sleep. JR says no matter how many hours Vince worked in a day, he was always ready to “turn it on” when the cameras began rolling and immerse everybody (even him and Jerry Lawler) in the world he created:

“One thing that I’ve always admired about Vince is his untiring work ethic and relentless pursuit of the brass ring. McMahon often said “that sleep is our enemy” and no matter how many hours we put in at work prior to going on the air, Vince was always ready to go over the top, become larger than life and fulfill his role as the voice of WWE.”

“Most fans don’t realize how challenging it is to broadcast live TV, especially in a hybrid genre such as WWE. Unlike the on-air talents in the NFL where they have producers figuratively joined at their hip, providing them with info and tidbits of data, we WWE announcers are responsible for getting ourselves ready for every broadcast. Luckily for me, Vince McMahon, who created the product, was my broadcast partner and I fed off of him. I traveled the same road as Vince in the creative sense.”

“Obviously, we had different styles and backgrounds, but, along with Lawler’s brilliance, that’s what helped make our three-man team special. Vince was an outstanding storyteller and he knew the direction that he wanted the product to take. “King” and I simply had to listen and emotionally invest while coming up with our own material to complement what McMahon established.”

Linda Sánchez, the U.S. Representative for California’s 39th congressional district, is being criticized for promoting WWE’s multi-platform, nationwide anti-bullying campaign, “be a STAR,” at a rally last Friday at Whittier, California’s Parnell Park in the Los Angeles area. She had a Twitter exchange with Irv Muchnick, author of CHRIS & NANCY: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death and Wrestling Babylon, regarding her appearance, who noted his displeasure with his favorite congressperson on football brain injuries being “coopted by WWE/Linda McMahon propaganda.”

Sánchez responded to his remark, tweeting, “As a mother & lawmaker, bullying prevention is very important 2 me. I speak w/ kids re: the dangers of bullying any chance I get.” Muchnick then wrote, “Respectfully, I don’t think you know background of why WWE, biggest bully on the block, is involved in this campaign….”

Sánchez’s communications director, Adam Hudson, responded to Muchnik’s concerns Monday via e-mail: “We saw your Tweets regarding Linda speaking at anti-bullying events with the WWE and other celebrities. I’m happy to follow up on why Linda was there if you would like. Regards.”

Muchnick then gave a lengthy response stating his belief that prominent politicians such as herself and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also spoke at the anti-bullying rally, should not get in bed with WWE by covering, “or, worse, extolling the company’s self-aggrandizing propaganda.” He details the hypocrisy of WWE promoting an anti-bullying campaign when the sports-entertainment organization, or rather, the McMahon family, has ingrained a toxic culture of bullying in their workplace. He notes, “WWE became part of the Be A Star campaign in the first place only because the company was dealing with the public relations fallout of controversial actions, gestures, and public utterances of its performers, which put them at odds with organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.”

Muchnick then lists examples of WWE compromising its anti-bullying campaign, including company chief Vince McMahon mocking announcer Jim Ross’ affliction with Bell’s Palsy in a backstage segment on the June 11 episode of Raw. He details, “Recently, to great televised and dressing-room glee, the Monday Night Raw program on the USA cable network broadcast a parody of on-and-off announcer and company executive Jim Ross. Mocking Mr. Ross’s bouts with the disease Bell’s Palsy, which has partially paralyzed his face, the talent performing the parody twisted his own mouth theatrically and grotesquely, while a commentator chimed in with unrestrained mirth. Here, the on-air bullying anecdote harshly illuminated the same methods in WWE’s backstage relations with its own employees.”

Muchnick adds, “I think our conversation on this matter can advance public understanding of the bullying issue, as well as provide fodder for the Senate race in Connecticut between Ms. McMahon and her Democratic opponent, Chris Murphy.”

To read Muchnick’s full response on the matter, click here.

– CM Punk’s WWE Championship victory over John Cena and Big Show Sunday at SummerSlam extended two pay-per-view streaks. His win marked as his ninth consecutive successful title defense on pay-per-view. However, despite his reign atop WWE, it was the eighth consecutive pay-per-view in which he did not defend the title in the main event.

– WWE Universe members didn’t waste any time in chanting “Kobe Bryant” during the WWE Tag Team Championship Match between Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and The Prime Time Players at SummerSlam in response to The Players’ manager A.W. being released following a Kobe Bryant rape joke on Raw weeks ago. A.W. was informed of the chants on Twitter and responded, “To all the fans that showed their support with the chants and tweets I really want to say “THANK YOU”!!! You guys are truly.. #UNSTOPPABLE!”

A.W. also reacted to WWE confiscating a sign at SummerSlam Axxess today that featured a printed screenshot of WWE chief Vince McMahon distorting his face in a backstage segment on Raw two months ago to ridicule Jim Ross’ facial paralysis: “That really sucks! People pay their hard earned money to show their support for @WWE and that’s how they get treated. #Bully.”

– Jim Ross took a swipe at WWE’s past pay-per-view efforts Sunday via Twitter, writing, “SummerSlam has been a ‘clean’ show devoid of bad attempts at humor or endless non wrestling content. Big money matches merit big $$ effort.”

– WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson is backstage at tonight’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. He has been in Los Angeles the past few days to promote THQ’s upcoming WWE ’13 video game, which features the legendary boxer as a playable wrestler.

– At today’s SummerSlam Axxess event at the Nokia Plaza at L.A. LIVE, a fan brought a sign reading “BE A STAR” and featuring a printed screenshot of WWE chief Vince McMahon distorting his face in a backstage segment on Raw two months ago to ridicule Jim Ross’ facial paralysis—it was confiscated by security.

The Wrestling Observer reported then that there was concern among WWE higher-ups over McMahon’s mean-spirited portrayal of Ross as it could blow up in the organization’s face if media outlets and Linda McMahon’s U.S. Senate competition caught wind of it. The Creative Coalition, which formed a multi-platform, nationwide anti-bullying alliance with WWE, “be a STAR,” would appear hypocritical by conducting business with an organization that practices what they preach against.

– Former WWF and WCW wrestler Tim Horner turns 53-years-old Sunday.

(source: PWInsider.com)