— WWE.com is advertising the following for tonight’s episode of SmackDown: “The relentless brutality of Mark Henry comes face-to-face with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton tonight on SmackDown. Has The World’s Strongest Man become something that even The Viper can’t stop?”
Other matches taking place include Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase, Sin Cara vs. Christian, Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes and Kane vs. Wade Barrett.
— Dolph Ziggler took to Twitter to comment on online reports that he took adult film star BiBi Jones on a date after meeting her at a Britney Spears concert last week.
He wrote, “Wow! To anyone it may concern: no, i am NOT dating anyone! and YES I do frequently listen to Britney Spears!”
— Yoshi Tatsu celebrates his 34th birthday today. In yesterday’s birthdays, Alicia Fox turned 25, Cody Rhodes turned 26 and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk turned 67.
— Tonight’s WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view opened with a “In Memory Of” graphic paying tribute to Randy Savage, who passed away on Friday.
CM Punk performed a Macho Man style diving elbow drop during his match against Big Show and Kane, but missed. Wade Barrett also performed a flying elbow from the second rope in his match against Ezekiel Jackson.
Savage was never mentioned by the announcers during the pay-per-view broadcast, nor did any video package air.
— Daniel Bryan beat Drew McIntyre via submission in a dark match prior to tonight’s WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view broadcast.
— Paul Bearer will be appearing at Sports Heroes and Legends 10 Giffords Lane Staten Island, New York on Friday July 22 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
It was announced at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Nashville, Tennessee that Randy Orton will be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian at WWE Over the Limit on May 22.
Later during the show, Wade Barrett challenged Ezekiel Jackson to an Intercontinental Championship Match at the event.
The announced card is as follows:
“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)
Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson
— Sin Cara made his WWE debut at tonight’s Raw live event at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois, defeating Primo.
A fan in attendance said that while his performance was “solid”, he doesn’t know how to work a “WWE style” match. He also performed about eight headscissors variations.
— Wade Barrett captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Kofi Kingston on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown.
Just as Kingston was about to hit Trouble in Paradise on Barrett, the leader of The Corre countered with Wasteland. Seconds later, her captured his first championship in WWE. Justin Gabriel hit Kingston with the 450 Splash following the match.
— The March 24 episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.57 cable rating, with 544,000 viewers. The midnight replay did a 0.17 rating with 140,000 viewers.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Jeff Hardy’s Legal Situation: “No…I do not care to discuss the pending legal matters regarding Jeff Hardy’s alleged drug issues in North Carolina. Firstly, I haven’t kept up with the situation nearly as much as most nor do I know all the facts surrounding the matter. I hope that this seemingly never ending tale can end sooner than later for everyone’s sake who is involved. It seems as if it has been going on forever which means that defense attorney fees will be costly.”
Wade Barrett’s Future: “Yes….I do think that Wade Barrett is a bright future in WWE and I also think that after WM27 concludes that Barrett will be among many younger talents that will be expected and counted upon to raise their game and to build equity into future, main event opportunities in WWE. Barrett is and looks athletic and can talk. I like his upside.”
Lack Of New Top Stars: “Experts can debate all they want about why there is a lack of quality, main event depth in the business nowadays but to me the answer is extremely simple. The death of the wrestling territories has caused significant damage to the major companies abilities to replace aging, main event level stars with younger albeit experienced stars who have a proven track record of main event success in a profitable, regional territory. Case closed.”
Corre leader Wade Barrett was recently interviewed by Sky Sports to promote WrestleMania 27. Here are some highlights of what Barrett said about:
Whether He’ll Wrestle at WrestleMania 27:
“It’s not officially set-up but in some capacity, I’m definitely going to be performing on the show. I can’t confirm anything. I’ve been feuding with the Big Show for some time now so I’d love to do something with him. I think I’ve got a score to settle with him and hopefully that will be at WrestleMania. But if not, I’ll be involved in some capacity.”
Triple H Saying He’s Got Nothing Left To Do In WWE:
“Yes, I think so. I think a lot of people heard that and maybe were a bit disgruntled by it. Triple H certainly has beaten everybody there is to beat. He really is one of the best in history. But there really are a lot of young lions coming through at the moment. Triple H has certainly never beaten me. We’ve never been in the ring together. I would like to do battle with him one day.”
Keeping In Touch With Chris Jericho, His NXT Season 1 Pro:
“Even though he’s not in the WWE at the moment, who gives me a lot of advice. We’re constantly texting and calling each other,” Barrett said. “As soon as I do something right or do something wrong, he’ll let me know pretty quickly. I’m hopeful that in some point in the future he’ll be back in the WWE.”
To read more from Wade Barrett, including what he thought about Nexus’ memorable debut on RAW last year, visit SkySports.com.
– We noted before that The Undertaker appeared on the ramp and then disappeared during last night’s dark main event after the SmackDown tapings with Edge and Big Show vs. The Corre and Alberto Del Rio. A reader who was at the show wrote in and said before he disappeared, Undertaker stopped Wade Barrett from leaving when he tried to leave the match and go to the back.
– Chris Jericho appeared on G4’s Attack of the Show last night and talked about why WWE doesn’t like the term “belt” for its championship titles Check it out:
Corre leader Wade Barrett was interviewed this week by Philadelphia radio host Brian Soscia. You can listen to an audio clip of the interview at MixPhiladelphia.com. Here are some highlights of what the former bare-knuckle boxer said about:
Why “Corre” Has Two R’s: “Corre Spelling: “We sent Heath Slater to the place to register trademarks and Heath isn’t the best at spelling. Then, we were set with Corre with two r’s.”
Nexus’s Debut: “We went through it that day exactly what we were going to do. We didn’t realize the kind of impact it would have,” he said. “We didn’t appreciate how it would look to the fans seeing the ring torn down. We knew it would be big, but we didn’t anticipate the reaction it would get.”
Rumors Of Him vs. Undertaker at WM27: “That’s not the case. I’ve had people Tweeting those rumors. I’ve certainly not heard that (from WWE). At the moment, certainly nothing has been organized,” Barrett said, while also indicating he would gladly accept the match if it were offered to him.”
Here are some highlights of what The Corre leader Wade Barrett talked about during a recent interview with Postcrescent.com:
Unscripted Promos: “A lot of the times we’re shoved out in front of the camera and I may be out there talking for 10 minutes straight or doing it back and forth with someone for 10 or 15 minutes. A lot of times you are having to ad-lib.”
“There’s no way anybody can memorize all the stuff we have to come out and say. Generally, I’ll have an idea of what’ I’m gonna say, but in terms of crowd interaction and things like that, sometimes the crowd will be chanting stuff at me, so I’ll want to say something in response to that. Sometimes whoever I’m talking with might throw me a curveball – like John Cena’s very good at ad-libbing. He used to throw a lot of curveballs at me when I was out there talking with him, so I have to be very much reactive to what’s going on around me.”
The Most Painful Move He’s Felt In WWE: “That would probably have to be Justin Gabriel’s 450 splash. It’s a spectacular looking move, but the velocity of him spinning around combined with the fact that he’s jumping 10-feet in the air or whatever it is, makes for a very heavy impact. That’s definitely one of the most painful moves I’ve ever had to take.”
Is It Easier To Be A Face Or Heel?: “I think it purely depends on the individual. I know I’ve always felt more comfortable being an antagonist and on the few occasions in my career when I’ve tried to go out and be the fan favorite, back in my days in the U.K., I just never did a good job with it. I was always very bad at getting the fans to get behind me and cheer for me and clap for me, so I knew very early in my career that I would be a better antagonist than protagonist. … Some guys are better fit for certain roles and I think I’m a better fit as a heel.”
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw the first face-to-face confrontation between CM Punk’s Nexus and Wade Barrett’s Corre group. Following the main event of RAW, members from both groups will be part of Sunday’s Royal Rumble match. According to a WWE source, WWE’s current plans are for the two groups to feud well beyond WrestleMania.
– Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas said on the Right After Wrestling podcast that WWE recently sent out their annual Wellness Policy letter to former talents offering to pay for drug or alcohol rehabilitation treatment, if anybody feels they need the help.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross wrote on Twitter that he would be doing some ring announcing for the upcoming WWE live event in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Sunday, 3/13.
Ross also mentioned that he is taping interviews related to Ted DiBiase Sr. and Gorgeous George this week.
– Dustin “Screech” Diamond of Saved by the Bell fame (and Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling) will be appearing for the AAW indy promotion on 2/15 from Merrionette Park, Illinios. Screech has issued an open challenge to the AAW roster.
— Members of The Corre, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett, have been added to the SmackDown Superstars page on WWE.com.
Barrett announced the formation of the group last night on SmackDown.
— Lizzy Valentine recently revealed to fans on her Facebook account that the casting director for the upcoming season of WWE Tough Enough urged her to submit an application for the USA Network reality show. In an update on the situation, Valentine said she declined registering for the show. She will instead perform for MTV2’s Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors as she is on hand for this weekend’s tapings at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
— Those spoken to within WWE aren’t aware if there is any particular incident or reason that Ted DiBiase isn’t receiving a stronger push on television. However, more than one person feels Maryse is struggling to work as an effective valet. One source indicated that the former glamour model appears much more concerned with drawing attention to herself and getting herself over rather than enhancing DiBiase’s matches and overall presentation.
— One WWE source doubted reports of the entire list for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class being set in stone. Although discussions have begun, the source does not believe there is much locked in—besides Shawn Michaels. However, the insider strongly feels that reports of Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons being enshrined this year are correct.
— Wade Barrett is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling.
— On Friday’s SmackDown, we saw Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson align themselves with Wade Barrett in what appears to be a new incarnation of the Nexus group. It’s worth noting that in promoting upcoming SmackDown live events, WWE is advertising Wade Barrett’s new group “Nexus.”
— Speaking of the SmackDown Nexus group, WWE is advertising Ezekiel Jackson as simply “Ezekiel,” so he may be dropping his last name.
— Fans interested in attending the WWE SmackDown taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York can use code LISD4PACK to purchase four tickets for $60. This promotion ends Friday.
— Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who recently signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, will be starting with the company soon, according to Mike Mooneyham.
— It was reported earlier that World Wrestling Entertainment laid a copyright claim on the trailer for WWE Studios’ upcoming Triple H themed movie The Chaperone, which surfaced on YouTube Thursday. Regarding this, it is said that company executives hated the version of the trailer that hit the web since it was bootlegged with very poor video quality. They also didn’t want to give off the impression that it is a low-budget independent film.
— CM Punk is being advertised in place of Wade Barrett for the (dark match) main event at the Jan. 17 Raw taping at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is slated to partner with The Miz against John Cena and Randy Orton.
— WWE returns to Mexico for a Raw live event tour this May. Dates and locations are as follows: May 11th – Multi-Purpose Center in Hermosillo; May 12th – VFG Arena in Guadalajara; May 13th – Sports Palace in Mexico City; May 14th – Arena Monterrey in Monterrey.
— Wade Barrett vs. Big Show was announced last night on SmackDown for next week’s show. Earlier in the evening, the former leader of The Nexus attacked Big Show, preventing him from winning the Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender’s Match.
— CM Punk made his live event debut as a member of The Nexus at last night’s Raw house show in August, Georgia. With assistance from his new allies, he defeated Mark Henry in a singles match. The faction continued beating Henry down following the match until some babyface Raw Superstars made the save.
— Jim Ross said on Twitter he’s heading to Florida Championship Wrestling’s Tampa facility next week to work with WWE developmental talent.
— Tickets for the Apr. 5 SmackDown taping at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina go on sale Jan. 22 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
Warning: The following contains a Spoiler for Friday’s WWE SmackDown:
At Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, former Nexus member Wade Barrett made a surprise appearance and attacked the Big Show during a #1 contender’s match that was won by Dolph Ziggler.
After Barrett was kicked out of Nexus on Monday’s RAW, his is now reportedly being moved to the SmackDown brand, reports PWInsider.com.
Barrett will not be turning face as part of his exit from Nexus and will not be putting much more of a fight to get back with his former group. Nexus will move on without Barrett, with CM Punk as its new leader as we begin the new year.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Miz vs. Morrison’s Match From Monday’s RAW:
“Great start to Raw with Miz vs. Morrison. These are two of the individuals that WWE is counting on to be big time players in the future. They both put forth great effort in the falls count anywhere match for the WWE Title. I enjoyed their hard work and the overall physicality of the contest. Both men likely want to be known not only as successful, main eventers, first and foremost, but also tough, physical wrestlers, as well. Each took positive steps forward on that goal.”
“Miz is establishing that he is a talented, charismatic WWE Champion who can be beaten on any given night. That combo has worked for ages.”
“Morrison can wow any discerning fan with his athleticism and his physicality is becoming more prominent in his matches and I like that trait with any wrestler.”
The Elevation Of Wade Barrett & Sheamus:
“Some of the exchanges between Wade Barrett and Sheamus were physical and both men showed intensity and a gear change. Both Barrett and Sheamus have definitive up sides and both fit into the same category with Morrison and Miz as men that WWE needs to get to the next level and to stay there. Again, this is no simple feat and the ascension is a process that takes varying amounts of time depending on the individual along with being at the right place at the right time with all the stars surrounding the process being aligned properly.”
Reports That Awesome Kong Has Signed With WWE:
“I don’t know if WWE has signed female star Awesome Kong or not but if they have then I think it is a smart hire. After meeting her at the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) function a year or so ago in Las Vegas, I wrote that I thought she would be a nice fit in WWE because Kong is so unique. If she does sign, I’d bet a case of BBQ sauce that her name changes. If the Kong rumor is true, and this is just my two cents, I hope that Kong NEVER wrestles a man in WWE.”
As always, visit JRsBarBQ.com to check out Jim Ross’ delicious line of BBQ products!
Randy Orton beat King Sheamus and Wade Barrett in a Steel Cage Match tonight on Raw to become the No. 1 Contender to the WWE Championship. He will face The Miz at the Royal Rumble on January 30.
Due to Barrett’s loss in the match, he has been banished from The Nexus and CM Punk is officially the leader of the group. Earlier in the evening, Punk offered the Englishman his opportunity to compete in the Steel Cage Match. Were Barrett to win, he would remain leader of The Nexus. However, were he to lose, he would be banished from the group forever.
– Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW will take place from the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.
No matches have been announced yet, but local advertising for the show has been promoting John Cena and Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett and The Miz with Michael Cole as the special guest referee as the dark match main event.
Over the weekend, WWE creative discussed Nexus and Wade Barrett returning to television tonight. They were kept off last week’s show to sell the beatings they too at the hands of John Cena at the TLC pay-per-view.
One issue that may come into play tonight is the massive blizzard that hit the North East on Sunday and whether all of the RAW superstars will be able to make it to the arena. Several superstars and Divas were unable to make Sunday’s WWE live event at Madison Square Garden, which resulted in a bunch of last-minute substitutions. WWE’s production trucks are reportedly at the Times Union Center already, but all of the talent getting there is a different story.
— The conclusion to John Cena’s lengthy program with Wade Barrett was moved up from the Royal Rumble to Sunday’s WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view due to injuries sustained by Randy Orton, which limited his availability.
— The Los Angeles Times has a story on the surging popularity of Reby Sky, a 24-year-old Playboy model who hosts Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors on MTV2 and pro wrestling talk show Busted Open on Sirius 125/XM 241.
Sky wrote last week on Twitter that she had rejected a contract offer from World Wrestling Entertainment, which caused a spike in online searches related to her. Searches pertaining to Reby Sky broke the top 20 in Google Trends twice this week. The spike in interest caused her website to shut down due to capacity issues.
The tweet, which has since been deleted, indicated that she could not accept WWE’s offer due to her contract with MTV.
Nexus leader Wade Barrett was interviewed this week by IGN to promote Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. You can read the full interview at IGN.com. Here are some highlights of what Barrett said about:
His Experience As A Bare Knuckle Boxer In The UK:
“Yeah, that’s something I started doing in my early 20’s. I used to live in Liverpool and I knew some people who were involved in that world. They made me an offer to do some fighting for them. It was something that wasn’t strictly legal. It was something that was under the cover of darkness, as it were. But it was something that I enjoyed at the time and I made some decent money out of it and it was something that I was quite successful at. So I enjoyed doing it.”
The Nexus Storyline Still Going & Being So Successful
“Yes. I think with how fast and how often Pay Per Views come around nowadays and how quick storylines turn around and evolve – and you’re right, things do move a lot faster now – but that being said I think it’s a testament to the writing and the performances that we’ve managed to keep it fresh and keep ourselves relevant in the fans’ minds so that people are still enjoying it and it’s not something that’s gotten old quickly. I think that’s a testament to how hard people have work and how well we’ve been able to pull off the ideas that the creative geniuses have come up with. I think if it’s good TV then it’s going to keep on going and there’s no reason to stop it. And hopefully it’s going to keep on being on TV for a while longer yet.”
His WWE Title Match Against Randy Orton at Survivor Series:
“This time I’m going to be on my own against Randy Orton with John Cena as the referee, and it’s a huge moment for me and it really shows how much I’ve come in the last year, considering one year ago I was wrestling in developmental for FCW and I wasn’t on TV or anything like that,” said Barrett. “And now, less than a year later, I’m Main Eventing one of the top pay-per-views of the year. It’s a big honor and I’m very proud of it.”
— Goldust suffered an injury to his eye during his bout against Ted DiBiase at last night’s Raw live event in Cardiff, Wales. He wrote on Twitter that he was heading to the hospital for eye surgery, but noted hours later the procedure had been called off and that he was okay enough to resume performing.
— Edge has missed the first shows of SmackDown’s live event tour of Europe to film the third season finale of Syfy’s Sanctuary. He will play the role of “an abnormal” named Thelo, with the episode scheduled to air in spring 2011.
— Wade Barrett’s father was in attendance at last night’s Raw live event in Cardiff, Wales, which saw the leader of The Nexus lose to Randy Orton, with John Cena serving as special guest referee. Barrett attended high school in Cardiff.
With WWE’s creative team working on storyline plans for early 2011, one top feud that’s being discussed is Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett.
Barrett and Sheamus are two of the real success stories of WWE’s recent youth movement and the two men squaring off presents a fresh match-up that many are excited to see.
Barrett is said to be “super over” with WWE management and the Nexus leader has been pushed as the RAW brand’s top heel, a spot that was held by Sheamus earlier this year. Barrett has followed in the foot steps of Sheamus, getting over and generating a ton of heat after top programs with John Cena and Randy Orton.
As we reported here earlier in the week, there are plans for Barrett to continue feuding with John Cena until the end of the year and then move on to a WrestleMania feud with The Undertaker, providing the Dead Man is healthy.
— It was announced on Friday’s SmackDown that Lay-Cool member Layla would defend the Divas Championship against Natalya at Bragging Rights, as opposed to Michelle McCool. The WWE website has updated its preview page for the match to reflect the announcement, removing McCool’s image.
— WWE Studios’ much anticipated Knucklehead opens today in theaters for a “special limited engagement.” For a complete list of theater locations, click here.
— The promotional poster for Survivor Series has been updated to solely feature Wade Barrett. The previous poster featured the seven member slate of Nexus; two of which are inactive due to injury (Skip Sheffield and Michael Tarver), while Darren Young is no longer affiliated with the group. Check out the poster:
