The word in WWE is that John Cena will not be appearing live in person on any WWE televised programming until the October 28th edition of WWE RAW. Cena will make his live return with the company at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view on Sunday, October 27th, and return to WWE television the next Monday night.
As far as Cena’s role when he returns, many have questioned if he will be on RAW or SmackDown, since he is challenging for Alberto Del Rio’s World Heavyweight Championship in his return match, and the World Heavyweight Championship is seen more as a SmackDown-brand title, whereas the WWE Championship is seen more as a RAW-brand title. The plan, as of right now, is for Cena to appear on both RAW and SmackDown following the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, leading up to the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November. Following the Survivor Series event, Cena is scheduled to go on the road for WWE live events, but only appear on television on RAW on Monday night’s.
Originally, the plan was to promote a singles match between Bray Wyatt and The Miz for the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view on October 27th. Due to Wyatt’s recent calf injury, those plans might be pushed back to the November Survivor Series pay-per-view.
The talk backstage in the company is that if Wyatt is not medically cleared for an in-ring return in time for a match at the Hell In A Cell show, WWE will work around the injury by having Wyatt stalk and torment Miz as a way to extend the build to the match until Wyatt can physically compete.
– There is talk backstage in WWE that the ongoing Big Show storyline will lead to a singles match against Triple H at November’s Survivor Series pay-per-view from Boston.
-As previously reported, AJ Lee has been medically cleared to return to in-ring action following a recent concussion scare. According to one report, while AJ is unlikely to work a match at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, there has been talk of adding a match featuring AJ and Tamina Snuka against The Bella Twins
iNDEMAND has posted their official preview for WWE’s upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, November 24th from Boston, MA.
The poster (below) features The Wyatt Family. The event synopsis reads:
Some were born to survive. Others were born to rule. Watch the Wyatt Family, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and your favorite WWE Superstars as they battle to survive at WWE Survivor Series, Sunday, November 24 at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
– The Wyatt Family—Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper—are featured on the promotional poster for the Survivor Series.
The twenty-seventh annual pay-per-view takes place Sunday, November 24 in Boston, Massachusetts at the TD Garden.
– Tom Phillips, who has been commentating WWE NXT matches since last September, has been added to NXT talent page on WWE.com.
Prior to joining WWE last year, Phillips called basketball games for the Big Ten Network. He was a wrestling fan growing up as he watched “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, as well as Extreme Championship Wrestling since it was based in his hometown of Philadelpha, Pennsylvania.
– The official WWE website has a released a poll asking fans who is the most sadistic Superstar on SmackDown. With over 19,000 votes cast, Orton is leading the poll at 58%. Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Ryback and Alberto Del Rio trail.
Take this for what it’s worth, but local advertisements in the Boston area for the 2013 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view are currently listing Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton as well as CM Punk “getting his hands on Paul Heyman, once and for all” as the top billing for the show.
The 2013 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view emanates from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, November 24, 2013.
Before Survivor Series, however, is WWE Battleground, which is the next pay-per-view offering from WWE. WWE Battleground emanates from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York on Sunday, October 6, 2013.
Local advertisements currently running in Boston for November’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view focus on the CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman feud, as well as the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton feud.
With Daniel Bryan’s ongoing feud with Triple H and Randy Orton, it seems logical that we’ll see a Team Bryan vs. a “Corporation” Team.
Whether this is a case of early advertisements still floating out there, or if this is an indication that both top programs will continue after the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view, remains to be seen.
WWE Survivor Series takes place on Sunday, November 24th from Boston’s TD Garden arena.
The following are highlights from a recent website Q&A from WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On whether or not the Internet Wrestling Community is killing the business: “Far from it. So, no.”
On whether or not WWE still views Survivor Series as one of the “Big 4” PPVs: “I can only speak for myself but I’d say yes. Having 12 PPV’s makes it challenging for all of them to be special.”
On if he’d like to see Jake “The Snake” Roberts back in WWE, possibly in the Royal Rumble: “I’d love to see Jake clean, sober & healthy living a happy, productive life.”
On if there is a reason WWE holds PPVs on Sunday nights: “I’d assume that there is research to indicate that Sunday is the best night for WWE PPV’s plus it is and has become a tradition that I don’t see changing. Plus, it works well with the cable and satellite operators which is critical.”
On his opinion of Abdullah The Butcher, and if he deserves to be in the WWE Hall Of Fame: “Abby had an amazing, LONG career and was an independent business man who was a main event star around the world. He was unique.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.
– Tickets for this year’s WWE Survivor Series from Boston, MA officially go on sale this Saturday morning. There is currently an online pre-sale underway with the code SURVIVOR.
– The Miz is heading overseas to the United Arab Emirates to promote next month’s WWE live events tour of Abu Dhabi.
– Dolph Ziggler noted on Twitter that he’s doing a lot of media appearances today to promote tonight’s SmackDown tapings from Minneapolis, MN.
-NXT will be holding a live event this Thursday from the former FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida.
-The pre-sale for this year’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view is currently ongoing, and will run through September 6th. The pre-sale password for tickets is: SURVIVOR.
-As previously reported, Jerry “The King” Lawler was going to wrestle Memphis Wrestling legend Austin Idol in his singles comeback match at the Memphis reunion show being put together by Lawler’s son, Brian Christopher. Lawler will instead face Jeff Jarrett in the main event of the show, which will also feature Rikishi, Koko B. Ware, The Rock N’ Roll Express, Doug Gilbert, Jimmy Valiant, Bill Dundee, The Spellbinder, Reggie B. Fine and others.
-Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling (BCW) promotion announced plans for a special 20th anniversary show on October 19th at St. Claire College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada with “The Outsiders” Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, as well as former TNA stars Petey Williams, Angelina Love, Rhino, Cody Deaner, Johnny Swinger and Tyson Dux.
– WWE has released updated business data that shows the this year’s Survivor Series, headlined by CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Ryback, for the WWE Championship, drew 212,000 buys. This is down from last year’s Survivor Series, which featured The Rock and John Cena teaming up against The Miz and R-Truth and did 281,000 buys.
– WWE Diva AJ Lee and her new associates Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston will be appearing at the January 9th WWE NXT live event from Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, FL. For more information, visit the official NXT site.
– Here’s the latest episode of Santino’s Foreign Exchange, featuring a special appearance from “Yoshi Claus.”
– Survivor Series drew only 8,500 fans at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was reportedly heavily papered, with tons of free tickets given out in the days leading up to the show.
– The October 22nd edition WWE RAW had 337,000 homes watching on DVR or tape delay. The following week, October 29th, had 241,000 homes watching delayed.
– Following her recent departure from WWE developmental, there are currently no plans to bring Raquel Diaz (Shaul Guerrero) back to the company.
– Earlier this week, Mick Foley tweeted that he won’t be wrestling WWE Champion CM Punk because he can’t and rumors to the contrary are false. While there was talk of a Punk vs. Foley match at one point, the belief is that Foley is no longer physically able to wrestle a full match and we’ve probably seen the last of him in a WWE ring.
– WWE has released new “plush” backpacks of Rey Mysterio and John Cena called “Backpack Pals.”
– WWE sent out a survey this week asking fans if they ordered Survivor Series, and if they didn’t, why not.
– The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey is running a promotion where you can get 4 tickets to the upcoming December 10th RAW taping for $100 by using the code WWEPROCK.
– Here’s a schedule of WWE’s upcoming DVD releases:
* 11/27: WWE Hell in A Cell 2012
* 12/11: The Top 100 Raw Moments
* 12/18: WWE Survivor Series 2012
* 12/26: The Best of WWE PPV Matches 2012
* 1/15: WWE TLC 2012
* 1/29: The Best of Raw and Smackdown 2012
* 2/12: The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2
* 2/25: Royal Rumble 2013
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about last night’s Survivor Series PPV:
CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Ryback “Biggest match of the night as far as the promotion was concerned was the WWE Title Bout featuring @CMPunk, @JohnCena, and @Ryback22. It seemed that this match accomplished several things including getting Punk to becoming a 365 day WWE Champion and on an apparent, collision course to meet the @TheRock at the Royal Rumble, or so it seems. That could always change between now and then considering that WWE could shock us with a TLC PPV ending that would surprise.”
Big Show vs. Sheamus “@WWESheamus vs. @WWETheBigShow was the closest thing to an old school match on the PPV. I love their pacing as I’m not into today’s, microwave, move a second mind set on which some fans embrace. Sheamus’ chair shot attack on Show was memorable and straight from Idaho. I’m a fan of this rivalry.”
The Debuts Of Rollins, Abrose & Reigns: “The inclusion of the NXT talents into the equation intrigues me and I’m anxious to see how these three, talented young men evolve on WWE programming over the next several weeks. @WWERollins, @TheDeanAmbrose, and @RomanReigns all have something viable to contribute but, as usual, it will depend on how they continue to invest in their game and maximize their ‘playing time.’ Bottom line, WWE has brought three, potentially viable talents into the mix in an impactful manner which I find refreshing.”
“I’ve seen all three of these young, NXT talents enough to know that their in ring skills are, by and large, solid and that they all possess the necessary personalities to contribute to WWE for years to come. This trio’s introduction was one of the brightest aspects of the Survivor Series for me.”
– Despite not appearing on camera at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, Jack Swagger and JTG were backstage.
– To keep their debuts a surprise, NXT stars Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns flew into Indianapolis separately from the rest of the WWE crew.
– Here’s the latest episode of the WWE Download Youtube show:
– Last night’s Survivor Series was not a sell out, with most of the balcony area tarped off.
– Viewership for WWE’s YouTube pre-show, which featured 3MB vs. Santino and Zack Ryder, peaked at 3,380 simultaneous viewers. This is way down from WWE’s previous PPV pre-shows.
– It was announced at Survivor Series that WWE will return to the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN on March 11th, 2013 for a live RAW taping. Tickets go on sale December 22nd with the pre-sale password WWEHOLIDAY.
– After Survivor Series went off the air, WWE officials tended to Ryback at ringside and helped him walk to the back.
Here are some tweets from various WWE personalities reacting to last night’s Survivor Series PPV:
Jim Ross: “Controversial conclusions are just that…controversial. #SurvivorSeries ending fit that bill. Seeing 3, #NXT talents on #WWE PPV a positive”
Vickie Guerrero: “@WWEAJLee has once again shown her immature self on RAW. Photo shopped pics of me…these are ridiculous accusations”
Justin Gabriel: “Myself, @reymysterio, @TheSinCaraWWE and @KiddWWE survivors at Survivor Series! My tag partner @kiddWWE was def our MVP! #workhorse”
Tyson Kidd: “Loved tagging with @reymysterio @thesincarawwe @brodusclay and of course my partner in crime @Justin__Gabriel Future is bright. Also….first time in 15 years a sharpshooter wasn’t used in a screwjob ending at survivor series”
Wade Barrett: “Anyone know if Kofi has woken up after his Bull Hammer? Feels great to be on the winning team yet again. #SurvivorSeries #TeamZiggler”
Rey Mysterio: “619 luv to every1 that tuned in to Survivor Series and enjoyed our match! Thx 4 the good response,Teamed up with the Future SS* of WWE!”
Kaitlyn: “It felt good to wipe the smile off @evemarietorres’ face. Would’ve felt better to be holding the title. #survivorseries. Now where the HELL is @aksanawwe … #survivorseries”
Antonio Cesaro: “may bad luck come to u at #survivorserise” can’t be worse than your spelling… still #USChampion
Tonight, WWE Survivor Series 2012 takes place from Indianapolis, Indiana. SEScoops.com will have exclusive live coverage of the event, so you won’t miss any of the action. We’ll be live blogging the 3-hour show, posting detailed updates for the entire 3-hour broadcast. If you’re not ordering Survivor Series on pay-per-view, this is the best way to experience it. We’ll see you here tonight!
Here is the final card for Survivor Series 2012:
WWE Championship:
CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena vs. Ryback
World Heavyweight Championship:
The Big Show (c) vs. Sheamus
Survivor Series Elimination Match:
Team Foley (Randy Orton, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Kane) vs. Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes)
United States Championship:
Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. R-Truth
Divas Championship:
Eve Torres (c) vs. Kaitlyn
Online Pre-Show:
Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal
Plus – AJ Lee gets back at Vickie Guerrero tonight. In response to Vickie’s videos and voicemails of the alleged AJ-Cena affiar, AJ has promised to produce evidence against Vickie Guerrero with her “hand in the cookie jar.”
WWE Survivor Series is just a few hours away and we’ve got a backstage update on what’s being planned for tonight’s big show.
After suffering a concussion last week and undergoing an MRI on Friday, there has been no official update on the status of Cody Rhodes. If he is unable to compete tonight, his rumored replacements are Tensai and Ricardo Rodriguez. Ricardo is using Twitter to push for his inclusion in the match, tweeting the following over the weekend:
I'm volunteering my self to replace Mr. Rhodes in the Survivor Series Tag Match this Sunday. My Kung Fu is awesome! @WWE@WWEUniverse
He’s also encouraging fans to tweet the hashtag #RRforSS to show support for him.
The Prime Time Players are not booked for a match as of this writing, but they are expected to work the show in a match involving Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. Titus O’Neal tweeted on Sunday:
As for the WWE Championship main event between CM Punk, John Cena and Ryback, CM Punk was booked to retain as of a few days ago and we haven’t heard anything about changes to that plan.
Rhodes suffered a concussion and hurt his shoulder at Tuesday’s WWE Main Event taping in Cleveland, Ohio. His status for the Team Foley vs. Team Ziggler match at Survivor Series remains uncertain.
– This week’s WWE Classics On Demand programming updates are as follows: NWA Clash of Champions VII (6/14/89), Monday Night Wars: Nitro (7/7/97), Monday Night Wars: Raw (7/7/97), Tuesday Night Titans (8/23/85), NWA’s WCW on TBS (5/21/88).
Iron Sheik match airing are: NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs. Hossein Arab – Madison Square Garden (12/17/79), The Iron Sheik vs. Caesar Pavon – AWA All Star Wrestling (2/10/79), The Iron Sheik vs. Tito Santana – WWF at Philly Spectrum (1/21/84), Sting vs. The Iron Sheik (NWA Wrestlewar ’89).
“Outrageous Personas” matches airing are: The Rock vs. The Undertaker vs. Kane vs. Big Show vs. Mankind – Raw (9/13/99), Cactus Jack, Big Van Vader, Abdullah The Butcher and The Diamond Studd vs. Sting, El Gigante and The Steiner Brothers (WCW Halloween Havoc 1991), The Godfather vs. Goldust (WWF Backlash ’99), Tajiri and William Regal vs. Hurricane and Rosey vs. The Heart Throbs vs. Maven and Simon Dean vs La Resistance (WWE Backlash 2005), Money Inc. vs. Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior – WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event (11/14/92).
– Lilian Garcia, who continues to recuperate after being struck by a car Oct. 27 in Los Angeles, California, resulting in multiple contusions and lacerations on the left side of her body, stated on Twitter Friday that she will live tweet during Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
“Miss u all so much that I plan 2 tweet Live on Sunday night as I watch @WWE #SurvivorSeries!” she wrote. “So join me & tweet along!! #ItsADate ;)”
– Seth Rollins may have tweaked his knee at Thursday’s WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University. He wrote, “Sick night at @fullsail. Defending my title feels pretty damn good. My knee? It’ll be fine. @NXTWrestling has some of the best fans.”
– This week’s edition of “Z! True Long Island Story” is a best of show. Here is the synopsis: “You begged for more of the best webisodes of “Z! True Long Island Story,” so here they are! Check out this edition on YouTube for all of the clips Zack personally picked for his Broskis.
– There is still a chance WWE will add another Team Elimination match to Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Prior to WWE changing the pre-show tag match to Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. 3MB, there was talk of adding Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. Primo, Epico, Darren Young and Titus O’Neal.
Since Gabriel & Kidd replaced Santino & Zack Ryder in the pre-show match, it’s possible that Team CoBro could replace them in the rumored elimination match.
– WWE NXT Diva Sasha Banks made her TV debut at last night’s tapings from Full Sail University, wrestling Paige. The former Mercedes KV tweeted:
Made my #NXT TV debut against @RealPaigeWWE! So thankful! Dreams do come true. #WWENXT
– There is said to be interest on WWE’s part in signing independent wrestler Ricky Reyes, whose multiple tryouts with company officials have been well received. The word among WWE cirles is that William Regal and Triple H were both complimentary of his work and that creative writers were discussing potential character ideas for him a few weeks ago.
– 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. Slater remarked on the change via Twitter, stating, “Looks like our opponents have changed. No worries, #3MB is ready for anyone. Prepare for your face to be melted.”
– Two dark matches were held before Thursday’s set of WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Layla beat Alicia Fox and Fandango defeated Garrett Dylan.
– Sin Cara appears at HH Gregg 8921 US 31 S., Indianapolis, Indiana, tomorrow from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Call 317-888-2192 for more information.
– 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.
