— Zack Ryder has drawn complaints from fans over his YouTube show Z! True Long Island Story being transferred to WWE’s auspices under their revamped YouTube channel. The WWE Superstar took to Twitter to respond to fans saying he “sold out.”
“I’m confused…Doesn’t one need to receive money to “sell out”?” he wrote.
— WWE developmental wrestler Kenneth Cameron lost to Santino Marella in a singles matches at Friday’s Raw live event in Topeka, Kansas. Cameron is 6’3″, 216 pounds and billed from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England.
— Spike TV will air The Marine 2 starring Ted DiBiase immediately following Impact Wrestling at 11:00 p.m.
— New Dolph Ziggler T-Shirts are set for release soon.
– Thursday night’s Florida Championship Wrestling live event from the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida featured two big title changes, according to the official FCW Twitter account.
Mike Dalton is the new Florida Heavyweight Champion, defeating Leo Kruger, who has been rumored for the main WWE roster. Dalton has previously competed as Mattias Wild and Mike McGrath. He was trained by Lance Storm and signed by WWE in 2010.
Bo Rotundo and Husky Harris , the sons of Mike “IRS” Rotunda, defeated Brad Maddox & Briley Pierce for the belts. Bo recently returned to action after being out for months with a lacerated kidney.
– Episode 51 of Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story is now online – check it out here:
— CM Punk appears on the latest episode of Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast and confirmed that WWE is working on a DVD about his career that will be released later this year. The podcast is available at www.welovecolt.com.
Chicago Tribune reported in November that WWE was filming a “straight-to-DVD documentary” on Punk at the time.
— After taking a hiatus from Twitter to sell his storyline injuries, Zack Ryder has resurfaced on the micro-blogging website.
“When I’m healed, I’ll take Z012 back into my own hands! I’m not sure if I’ll rise above hate but I will rise above & fist pump Kane’s face!” he wrote.
“Resting & trying to heal up…Kane, we coming for you Broski!”
— WrestlingFigs.com reports that WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be appearing at Texas Frightmare Weekend at the Hyatt Regency Hotel DFW Airport adjacent to Terminal C on May 4-6, 2012.
This week’s installment of the Z! True Long Island story is now online. Episode 50 features cameos from Dolph Ziggler, who vows to become WWE champion at the Royal Rumble, Ryder’s former tag partner, Curt Hawkins and more.
– The WWE’s website posted the following storyline update on Zack Ryder’s condition, noting that he suffered a herniated disc during Kane’s attack on him from RAW:
“Zack Ryder remains hospitalized after being chokeslammed by Kane through the stage on Monday’s Raw SuperShow. Upon further examination by WWE medical personnel, the former United States Champion has suffered a herniated disc as a result of the fall.”
– After Randy Orton returned to action on Sunday’s WWE live event, the talk at RAW was that Orton is returning to action from injury sooner than he should.
– WWE has released the new “Little Jimmy” t-shirt R-Truth was wearing on RAW. Truth also hinted on Twitter that he’ll be getting new theme music soon featuring .. Little Jimmy.
– Triple H will return on next week’s RAW Supershow. He will be there to give a “formal job evaluation” to Interim RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis and determine whether Laurinaitis will keep his job or not.
– After Kane chokeslammed Zack Ryder through the stage on RAW and the former United States Champion was taken away in an ambulance, the storyline is that Ryder has suffered a broken back. Expect Ryder to miss a few weeks of television due to the storyline injury.
– Matches taped for this week’s WWE Superstars prior to RAW were were Kofi Kingston vs. Michael McGillicutty and Brie Bella vs. WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix.
Episode 49 features Zack Ryder reacting to losing the United States title to Jack Swagger on RAW, Ask The Heel with Dolph Ziggler, Broski and Sign of the Week and more
— Zack Ryder, who lost the United States Championship to Jack Swagger on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, posted a cryptic message on Twitter Wednesday regarding his YouTube series Z! True Long Island Story.
“Workin’ on Episode 51 of Z! TLIS…yes, 49 is the next Episode…#hmmm,” he wrote.
— Lilian Garcia handled ring announcing duties at Tuesday’s WWE NXT and WWE Superstars tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada, replacing Tony Chimel. Chimel replaced Eden Stiles late last month on both programs following her departure from the organization.
— Rey Mysterio is advertised to appear at Indianapolis World of Wheels at the Indiana State Fairgrounds 1202 E 38th St. Indianapolis, Indiana on February 11, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
He is also scheduled to appear at Dallas Cavalcade of Customs at Dallas Market Hall 2200 Stemmons Fwy. Dallas, Texas on February 18, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Jack Swagger became the new WWE United States Champion on Monday’s’s RAW Supershow after he defeated a badly injured Zack Ryder, who was selling the attack from Kane last week.
Ryder wrote the following on Twitter last night about his United States Title loss:
“So I’m not the US champ anymore. Sorry to let my Broskis down. I will make no excuses for tonight…I will be United States champion again!”
Swagger stated in a recent interview that 2012 was going to be his year and he had his sights set on the United States championship.
As we’ve been reporting in recent weeks, Zack Ryder’s segments on RAW have been drowing very low ratings, which could be the reason WWE decided to take the US title off him.
Either Ryder will be put back in the role of “chasing the title” (which is typically a better ratings draw than a babyface champion) or shuffled around in the mid-card.
– Following the attack he sustained at the hands of Kane on RAW, there has been talk of keeping WWE United States Champion Zack Ryder off television for a few weeks to sell his injuries. Ryder had been booked to defend the US title against Jack Swagger on RAW – we’ll see if that match actually happens. Ryder hasn’t been tweeting since the attack to keep in with the storyline.
Ryder was reportedly at Lucasfilm studios in California on Thursday, according to pwinsider.com. No word yet on what he was doing there .
– WWE will be bringing back the “Roulette wheel” gimmick for next week’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.
Advertised locally for the tapings is Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan.
– Actor Dennis Haskins, best known as Mr. Belding on the mid-90’s television show Saved By The Bell, says he will be at Monday’s RAW Supershow from Anaheim, California. Haskins tweeted:
“2 be clear, don’t know IF I will be on. Going as a fan. Friends in and out of the ring! :) it’ll be great! @ZackRyder @mikethemiz”
– WWE’s SmackDown tapings on April 3rd at the Amway Center will go head-to-head in Orlando, Florida with the TNA Impact Wrestling tapings at the Impact Zone.
— On Monday’s Raw, Eve made her way to the ring ready to battle Divas Champion Beth Phoenix, but instead of The Glamazon’s entrance theme playing, the arena went red and Kane’s music played. United States Champion Zack Ryder ran to the ring to try and help her escape to his car, which suspiciously had a flat tire. The segment lost 544,000 viewers to score a 2.39 cable rating. F4WOnline.com adds that it marks as the lowest-rated quarter hour for a non-holiday episode of Raw “in perhaps a decade.”
— Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler is scheduled to be a guest on Friday’s edition of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The talk show program airs at 12:35 a.m. Eastern/11:35 p.m. Central on NBC.
— WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase appears alongside Mickie James at Frank & Son Collectible Show 16549 San Jose Ave. City of Industry, California on January 14 from noon to 2:00 p.m.
– Zack Ryder was “seriously injured” at the hands of Kane on RAW, according to a new storyline article on the WWE website.
Ryder is recovering from injuries and it’s unlikelyhe will be able to defend the United States Title on next week’s RAW.
Ryder will reportedly undergo “further evaluation” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California before next week’s RAW.
– The backstage reaction to Brodus Clay’s debut was overall very positive. While many are taking a “wait and see” approach to how the character develops over the coming weeks,he got a lot of praise for pulling off the gimmick well and coming off as believable.
– Another moment that went over well at RAW was the announcement of Edge’s induction into the Hall of Fame. Edge is still very well liked in the WWE locker room and even though he will be the youngest person ever inducted, nobody was saying he doesn’t deserve it.
– WWE Tag Team champion Kofi Kingston noted that he was home for the first time on a Tuesday night in a long time so he and Evan Bourne won’t be in action together on this week’s SmackDown.
— John Morrison answered numerous fan questions for the fansite Starship-Pained.com including a query regarding life after WWE.
“I feel like I got off an express train walked to my car, and sped away. I’m still busy as all hell, but now, I’m the one driving,” he said.
He was also asked, “What do you think will help you get to the next level when you return to WWE?”
Morrison said, “JoMo needs to cut promos.”
— Popthecrowd.com has compiled a list of the top 25 most followed professional wrestling personalities on Twitter. The Rock heads the list with over 1.8 million followers. He is trailed by John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Shawn Michaels, Zack Ryder and Kelly Kelly.
— Greg “The Hammer” Valentine is scheduled to appear at WrestleReunion in Los Angeles, California later this month and he will be dying his hair jet black for the occasion. The WWE Hall of Famer will appear alongside The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart for a special “Rhythm and Blues” photo op.
Lilian Garcia At Vince McMahon's Walk of Fame Star (Click To Enlarge)
– While strolling Hollywood Thursday night, SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia came across Vince McMahon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She tweeted:
“Walking around Hollywood & guess who’s Star I came across?! LOL What a coincidence!”
– The official Twitter feed of WWE Games is teasing big news.
“January is SUCH a big month for @WWEGames. And that’s not just because of #WWE12… #cryptictweet”
– SmackDown announcer Booker T revealed his “Fave Five” Thursday on Twitter, which ranks his five favorite WWE Superstars.
WWE’s United States champion Zack Ryder is back with his latest Z! True Long Island Story video. This week’s episode includes Ryder’s reaction to Kane trying to drag him under the ring on RAW, a musical tribute to Eve Torres, a cameo from his former tag team partner Curt Hawkins and more:
In case you haven’t seen enough of MTV’s Jersey Shore on WWE and TNA programming in recent years, it appears Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino could be headed to Miami this April.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, someone in WWE creative recently brought up the idea of bringing in The Situation to do something with Zack Ryder at WrestleMania 28.
At this point, we don’t know if WWE has reached out Sorrentino, whether there’s any interest on his part or what his role at WrestleMania would be. He could appear in a backstage segment, he could be in Zack Ryder’s corner or even work some sort of tag team match like his Jersey Shore co-star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi did at last year’s show.
We’ve reached out to The Situation for his reaction to this story and will post an update when it becomes available.
Either way, we want to know – what you think about The Situation appearing at WrestleMania?
— Dave Meltzer stated on the Dec. 27 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Zack Ryder being placed in a romance storyline with Eve Torres and away from the main event scene stems from the staggeringly low quarter hour rating for last week’s Raw SuperShow main event, which saw Long Island Iced-Z, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan stand tall against The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler.
The main event garnered a 2.67 cable rating (2.55 for the first half of the bout), which was the lowest-rated main event on Raw in 2011 and possibly the lowest since Dec. 8, 1997 for a non-holiday show in its regular time slot. The overrun gained 59,000 viewers, which is considered terrible.
The Ryder/Torres storyline is slated to continue for at least a few weeks.
— Tony Chimel resurfaced at Tuesday’s WWE television tapings in Indianapolis, Indiana as the ring announcer for WWE NXT and WWE Superstars. He takes over for Eden Stiles, who parted ways with the organization last week. Chimel was removed as SmackDown ring announcer earlier this month due to Lilian Garcia’s return to the company.
— In a dark match that took place after Monday’s RAW from Chicago, CM Punk defeated The Miz in a steel cage match.
— To follow up on the news of WWE filing to trademark the name “WrestleFest” for use in video games, it turns out WWE is actually not looking to revive the classic arcade game franchise.
Another company has been developing a new game titled, “WrestleFest” and WWE filed for the trademark to protect its intellectual property rights. WWE has reportedly sent the company a cease and desist letter.
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw United States champion Zack Ryder and Eve Torres team together in a mixed tag match. After defeating Tyson Kidd and Natalya, they spent a few minutes celebrating together and appeared to have some chemistry. Ryder and Eve will reportedly be working together on television in the coming weeks, as the company thinks both can benefit from being paired up.
– During a recent WWE creative meeting, the idea was pitched of moving CM Punk to the SmackDown brand later in 2012, to help provide the show with additional star power. Punk has not been a strong ratings draw on RAW, so the idea is that his character could be more of an asset on SmackDown, where he could continue to deliver great matches and promos without having to be relied upon to deliver ratings.
– Speaking of the WWE champion, Punk is the driving force behind Zack Ryder’s recent push.
– Jack Swagger has launched a new online video series called “Topless Q&A.” Swagger answers questions from fans while at home with his shirt off. If you’re into that sort of thing, Head over to Beeyoo.com/RealJackSwagger.
F4WOnline.com reports that WWE officials are considering taking the WWE Championship off CM Punk due to ‘terrible ratings patterns’ for his weekly segments on Raw.
The matter was broached prior to Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view event, which saw Punk ultimately retain the strap in a Triple Threat Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match against Alberto Del Rio and The Miz. The trend of lackluster ratings for his segments continued the following night on Raw as the program’s overrun, which saw the Straight Edge Superstar, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder overcame The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler, only gain 59,000 viewers.
Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer analyzes: “That’s almost impossible given people tune in to see the following show, which basically meant wrestling fans must have been tuning out in droves (they were during the first half of the match but then started gaining at 11 p.m., but hardly gained anything).”
The main event garnered a 2.67 cable rating (2.55 for the first half of the bout), which Meltzer says is by far, the lowest-rated main event on Raw in 2011 and possibly the lowest since 1997 for a non-holiday show in its regular time slot.
Zack Ryder was interviewed by CarrollCountyTimes.com this week to hype Sunday’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view. After months of campaigning, Ryder finally gets a shot at Dolph Ziggler’s United States championship – which will cap off one of hell of a year for the Long Island native.
Here are some highlights of what Mr. Long Island Iced Z said about:
Taking Control of His WWE Career: “Earlier this year, probably January or so, I looked myself in the mirror and said this career is not where I want it to be. I had nothing to lose; I was on a path to get released. What were they going to do? Fire me? Not put me on TV? I wasn’t on TV anyway. My life was going to change one way or the other. I knew I was either going to get fired or get noticed. I got noticed.”
His Broski character: “Ninety-nine percent of that character is me. It is me — I’m a big kid living the dream, listening to boy band music, fist pumpin’ in the club, spiking my hair.”
Facing Dolph Ziggler at TLC: “If I won the United States Championship Sunday, it would be a perfect end to a storybook, roller coaster year. Starting from nothing and working my way up to being United States Champion, I don’t think it gets better than that.”
— Kane is advertised to face John Cena at the December 30, 2011 Raw live event in Hartford, Connecticut. He has also been announced for Raw live events taking place in New York City, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. later this month.
— Zack Ryder is advertised to appear at Mick Foley’s comedy show tonight in Long Island, New York from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The pre-show meet and greet with Ryder at McGuires Comedy Club will include a raffle for two tickets to WWE’s Saturday live event in Long Island, where Foley is advertised as special referee for the main event. Foley’s comedy performance is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Details are available here.
— Frank and Son Collectibles in City of Industry, California holds an autograph session this Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with Candice Michelle, Maria Kanellis, Melina Perez, Torrie Wilson and Traci Brooks.
Zack Ryder has uploaded Episode #43 of his Z! True Long Island Story series. This week’s show features a special appearance from Dennis Haskins, best known as “Mr. Belding” from the 90’s sitcom “Saved By The Bell.” Are you serious, bro?!