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WWE Heavily Pushing Daniel Bryan’s Return At First SmackDown On Thursday Night

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WWE is heavily pushing the in-ring return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion on next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, the first episode of the show to air in the new Thursday time slot.

Below is a message issued on the official WWE website regarding Bryan’s in-ring return at next week’s SmackDown:

“Will Danial Bryan compete when SmackDown makes its move to THURDAYS, this week at 8/7 CT on Syfy? Yes!

WWE.com has learned that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion will make his in-ring return to action on SmackDown monumental Thursday night premiere. The news comes on the heels of Bryan’s announcement during the Dec. 29 edition of Raw that he would once again lace up his boots after a long-standing injury to battle in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match.

Who will The Beard face? Will he pick up right where he left off? And will The Authority have anything to say about it? Find out this Thursday night at 8/7 CT on SmackDown!”

Too Cool Speaks On Helping The Rock Early On, Rusev, Relationship With Vince McMahon

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The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with the former three-man tag-team, “Too Cool,” which consisted of Rikishi, Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher and Scotty 2 Hotty:

Brian Christopher on The Rock: “He would pick my brain because he was getting a lot more TV time than I was, so he would ask me how I thought his interview went and I would tell him he need to work on this or you need to pause a little bit longer before you say this…we then worked on his moves together and came up with things like ‘The Peoples Elbow.'”

Brian Christopher on defeating the Legion of Doom: “I’ll never forget that because the Road Warriors at the time couldn’t believe that they were about to lay down to a couple of 215lbs guys because their egos were as big as you could get and their muscles were as big as the steroids would get them.”

Scotty 2 Hotty on wrestling whilst still in school: “That was awesome, I was still in high school at the time which is just crazy for me to think about now. I was with the WWF when I was in high school, I was in a locker room at a WWF event with Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart then two days later I’m sitting back in class. I was getting to wrestle some of the biggest names in the world, it was an amazing experience.”

Rikishi on the Rusev/Rock segment: “Oh my god, we were all happy, anytime you work with The Rock that’s a treat because Rusev’s not the champ. It was a good deal, Rock knew Rusev came from our school and he didn’t have to do that but he did, family looking out for family. That segment with The Rock just took Rusev to another level, and I was very excited.”

Rikishi on Vince McMahon: “He is the type of person that likes it when you go over and talk to him and ask him questions they may have about their character. Nine times out of ten when they’ve finished talking to him he hasn’t really answered their question but at the same time they’re not.”

Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.

Jim Ross Q&A: WWE Announce Team Changes, Young Bucks To WWE?, Montreal Screwjob

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The following are highlights of a new Q&A update from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On the Montreal Screwjob and if Sgt. Slaughter knew about it in advance: “I was shocked that it occurred and Lawler nor I knew about it in advance. It happened and we called what we saw….HBK winning the WWE Title. After all these years I do not recall if Sarge knew or not.”

On the new WWE announce team changes: “I’ve got no horse in the race nor do I keep up with it that much but am hopeful that everyone comes together with the necessary chemistry to make the shows better as best that they can. I like Alex’s potential but I do know that he wants to wrestle. A shake up occasionally is generally necessary but time will tell how well the new trios work together. I hope that they all find their groove. I’m sure that they all knew what was coming unlike when I went from RAW to Smackdown back in 2008.”

On The Young Bucks in WWE: “I have no idea if the Young Bucks will ever appear in WWE but they are a very good, young team. Shane’s fall was spectacular but the Foley match had more drama because he was working with Taker, IMO.”

On working with Matt Striker at Wrestle Kingdom 9 and if Savio Vegas will be on the Ross Report: “WK9 was a blast to be a part of and I had fun working with Matt Striker. Savio being on the podcast is a good idea an I will look into it when I find his contact info.”

Check out more highlights from JR’s Q&A section on his official website JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Update On When Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan Will Make Their Return

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The storyline “firing” of Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan, which took place on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, is expected to be resolved before or during the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th.

As things stand right now, Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan are all expected to be participants in the 30-man over-the-top Royal Rumble match during the pay-per-view.

Part Two Of Chris Jericho’s Interview With Hulk Hogan, JR’s Next “Ross Report” Guest

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– The guest on next week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast will be none other than masked pro wrestling legend Len “The Grappler” Denton. Denton will be on the program to promote his new book, “Grappler: The Diary of a Masked Madman.” The show will be available next Tuesday night at 9pm on PodcastOne.com.

– Part two of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Chris Jericho’s “Talk is Jericho” podcast is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TIJ – EP107 – Hulk Hogan Pt2 & Speewee returns

“Hulkamania continues on TIJ! Wrestlemania 1 & 3 in-depth, Andre the Giant stories, Macho Man Randy Savage, Hulk’s last conversation with Ultimate Warrior just before Warrior passed, the NWO, Hulk’s thoughts on the death of WCW, “Buzzkill,” Mr. T, Hulk’s surprise appearance at WM30, and the true story of his audition for Metallica! Plus, Speewee returns & you’ll never believe whose tongue was in his mouth!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

CM Punk, Jim Ross To Appear On “Inside MMA” Tonight On AXS TV

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WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross and new UFC fighter CM Punk are scheduled to appear together on tonight’s edition of “Inside MMA,” which is basically a “SportsCenter” version of an MMA talk show. The program airs at 10:30pm EST. on AXS TV.

Ross will be appearing to promote his one-man shows that will be held on Friday, January 23rd in Sayreville, New Jersey at the Starland Ballroom, as well as a matinee show on January 25th at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Punk, of course, will be on the program to discuss his upcoming debut in the UFC.

Viewership For TNA Impact Wrestling’s Premiere On Destination America

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Viewership data is in for Impact Wrestling’s premiere on Destination America and it looks like TNA is going to have an uphill battle head.

Wednesday’s 2-hour Impact Wrestling broadcast averaged 263,000 viewers. This translates to a 0.2 national cable rating.

By comparison, the final first-run episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV back in November drew 980,000 viewers.

(Update: There’s a report from f4wonline.com that states Impact Wrestling drew 368,000. This number includes the replay show, which did 105,000 viewers. The original airing did 263,000).

Despite the fact that Impact lost the majority of its audience in the Destination American premiere, Impact was still the most watched show on the network this week. Changing nights next week (when Impact moves to Friday) also won’t help matters, but it will take several weeks before we learn what the new ‘normal’ is for TNA’s flagship show.

TNA Impact Wrestling *Spoilers* For The Next 2 Weeks

Why Jerry Lawler Was Moved To SmackDown, WWE Polls Fans On Fired Superstars, Stephanie McMahon

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– With SmackDown moving to Thursday nights on Syfy, WWE announced changes to the announce teams for both SmackDown and Raw yesterday. Beginning this Monday, Michael Cole, Booker T and John “Bradshaw” Layfield will handle play-by-play and color commentary on Raw. Then, when SmackDown debuts next Thursday on Syfy, Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Byron Saxton will call the action—Tom Phillips is off the announce team. The broadcast team for WWE pay-per-view events will continue to feature Cole, Lawler and Layfield.

While this change appears sudden, in the case of Lawler, WWE officials have wanted to remove him from the broadcast booth at Raw “for a long time.”

“They wanted to get rid of Lawler on Raw for a long time, but after the heart attack, they figured they couldn’t,” stated Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer on the F4WOnline.com message board Thursday night in a thread about the announce team changes. “This relaunch of Smackdown gave them the chance.”

– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans which fired WWE Superstar they would bring back if allowed. With over 15,000 votes cast, Dolph Ziggler is leading the poll at 68%. Ryback follows at 26% with Erick Rowan following him at 7%.

– Stephanie McMahon and WWE Chief Financial Officer George A. Barrios will participate in a presentation at the 17th Annual Needham Growth Conference for investors in New York City on Tuesday. Their remarks are expected to being around 5:30 pm ET. You can listen to a live audio webcast on the presentation online at ir.corporate.wwe.com under Events & Presentations.

WWE considering another major change for Raw and SmackDown – details ->

Tonight’s TNA Impact Tapings Sold Out, More News From This Week’s Shows

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– Reps from Destination America were at Wednesday and Thursday night’s tapings and were said to be satisfied with what they saw.

– Tonight’s “Lockdown 2015” Impact Wrestling taping from New York City has been sold out for weeks, although some tickets might be made available later today. Every match on the Lockdown show will take place inside a steel cage.

– Attendance at last night’s show was said to be in the 350-400 range, lower than Wednesday night.

– The dim lighting we saw on Wednesday’s Impact premiere on Destination America is being called a “work in progres.” The lighting was brighter last night and it’s something TNA is still experimenting with.

– As noted earlier this week, Dave Sahadi did not attend Wednesday’s Impact tapings from NYC. He was in Nashville overseeing the installation of new post-production equipment the company will be using for Impact on Destination America.

(Information from PWInsider.com was used in this report.)

WWE Pulling Content From Netflix & iTunes, Steve Austin Wraps Movie & More

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– In an effort to boost sales for the WWE Network, virtually all WWE content has been removed from Netflix and iTunes.

– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently wrapped production on a new movie titled “The Echo Effect,” which was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Here’s a photo of Austin and fighter/actor Michael Jai White on set:

– Lana has been tweeting that she and Rusev are currently in Russia for the Christmas holiday, which is celebrated there on January 7th.

Sami Zayn Returns To NXT (Video), Preview For Next Week’s Show

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NXT Champion Sami Zayn returned on this week’s episode for the first time since capturing the gold at TakeOver R: Evolution and the subsequent beatdown he suffered at the hands of Kevin Owens.

NXT General Manager William Regal announced that former NXT champion Adrian Neville will get a rematch on next week’s show, when NXT moves to Wednesday nights at 8pm EST on the WWE Network. Also advertised for next week:

  • Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey
  • Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd

*Spoilers* For Next Week’s Episode of NXT

WWE SmackDown Preview & Spoilers For Tonight (1/9)

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WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas. Here’s a spoiler-free preview, followed by spoiler results on Page 2:

– Big E vs. Adam Rose

– The Ascension in action

– Alicia Fox vs. Naomi

– Tag Team Champions The Usos  vs. Gold & Stardust vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow

– IC Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Sin Cara (Non Title Match)

– Seth Rollins and Big Show vs. Roman Reigns & A Mystery Partner

Hit up Page 2 below for complete spoiler results:

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/23)

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The following are spoiler results for the Friday, January 23rd episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from the Manhattan Center in New York City, courtesy of WrestlingINC.com:

– Havok vs. Gail Kim starts when they brawl on the ramp. The match ends in DQ when Havok shoves the referee. Havok drags Kim back to the ring for more punishment but the lights go out and Awesome Kong is here. Havok attacks but Kong no-sells it. Kong clotheslines Havok over the top rope and her music hits.

– Koya, the former Mahabali Shera from India, defeated Tigre Uno in a squash match. James Storm and The Revolution cut a promo on The Hardys. Apparently it will be Storm vs. Matt Hardy tonight.

– Feast or Fired match is next. British Bootcamp 2 winner Mark Andrews came out and took a seat in the crowd before the match began. The briefcases are on poles and wrestlers in the match are Rockstar Spud, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, DJ Zema Ion, Crazzy Steve, Sam Shaw, Gunner, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Bram, Magnus and Austin Aries. Spud climbs on top of Shaw to grab the first case. Aries acted like he was going to do a dive but ran to the top rope and grabbed the second case instead. Aries then dives out and retreats to the back. Apparently The Beautiful People got one of the cases, possibly for BroMans?, at the start of the match but nobody noticed. Magnus gets the last case.

– Ethan Carter III comes out with Tyrus. He calls Jeremy Borash to the ring for a match. JB is wearing jeans and a hoodie, and has Spud with him. EC3 talks trash and when JB takes the mic, he attacks EC3. JB had the upperhand until EC3 got pissed. He spit on Spud. Spud attacked but Tyrus took him out. UK star Mark Andrews from British Bootcamp 2 came over the barrier from his seat in the crowd. He hit the ring and helped Spud take out Tyrus and EC3.

– Matt Hardy vs. James Storm is next. Hardy gets the win with a small package. After the match, Storm offers to shake hands but Abyss attacks Hardy from behind. Storm ties Hardy up and Abyss grabs Janice but Jeff Hardy makes the save. He challenges Abyss to a Monster’s Ball match for next week and gets the crowd to chant “Monster’s Ball.”

-Low Ki and Eric Young defeated Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode. MVP and Kenny King distracted the referee, allowing Young to hit Roode with a steel chair. Ki got the pin on Roode.

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/16)

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The following are spoiler results for the Friday, January 16th episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from the Manhattan Center in New York City, courtesy of WrestlingINC.com:

– MVP and his new growing faction start the show. They reveal their name is the Beatdown Clan or BDC for short. Eric Young comes out and gets booed. He says what fans think doesn’t matter to him. EY talks about hating Bobby Roode. MVP calls out new World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley but Kurt Angle comes out instead. Angle goes face to face with Samoa Joe and punches him.

– Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle by submission when the referee went down and Joe hit Angle with a low blow. The BDC beat Angle down after the match until Roode made the save.

– Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode begins in the aisle and they start brawling around the ring.

– Roode sits down in the middle of the ring for a promo. He’s pissed off and says this crap in TNA has gone too far. Roode says he’s going to make EY pay for his sins tonight.

– The Hardys vs. The Wolves II is next. The Revolution watches the match from the balcony. Jeff Hardy had a great spot at one point where he went to the top, walked from one turnbuckle to the other and then dove out onto The Wolves. The Hardys get the win and the two teams shake hands. This was said to be as good as you’d expect.

– Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode begins in the aisle and they start brawling around the ring. They brawled through the crowd and there were “we can’t see you” chants. Young wins with a piledriver on a chair.

– MVP and Kenny King comes out. MVP says tonight is a night for celebrating and Lashley will be competing. This could have been for the live crowd.

– JB announces a Feast or Famine match for another episode.

– Velvet Sky and Angelina Love defeated Brooke Tessmacher and Taryn Terrell. BroMans were at ringside with The Beautiful People. Awesome Kong appears after the lights go out. She chokeslams Zema Ion. Havok’s music hits and out she comes. Her and Kong face off in the middle of the ring but security breaks it up before anything happens.

– Low Ki vs. Austin Aries for the X Division Title is next. Ki gets the win to become the new champion, just one night after losing it. Ki got the win after Kenny King attacked Austin Aries on the top rope.

– MVP calls out Bobby Lashley and he shows this time. MVP says he got Lashley everything he has. MVP says The BDC (Beat Down Clan) owns the World Heavyweight Title. Lashley says the title is his. Lashley wants nothing to do with this and MVP is offended. They hug but Low Ki attacks and Lashley gets beat down by the group. Ki hits a double stomp to the back and MVP hits him with the belt. As they leave, MVP says the title doesn’t belong to Lashley, it belongs to The BDC.

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/23)

Doc Gallows Talks Success In NJPW & WK9, CM Punk’s Move To UFC, Finn Balor

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The following are highlights of a new Chad Dukes Wrestling Show interview with Doc Gallows:

On being a star in Japan: “In Japan, traditionally, whether you’re a baseball player, a musician, a baseball player, a pro wrestler, which thank god it’s very popular right now, you get kinda special treatment. These sponsors, these businessmen, I guess it’s kind of a status thing for them to take us out. So we get to eat in five-star restaurants all night long, we get to eat as much as we want, drink as much as we want, which is good sometimes, bad others. It’s a change in lifestyle, it really is… Over there they wanna buy the stuff off our backs. So I literally wear different gear to the ring every single night and then these collectors are waiting at the hotel to buy my stinky tights.”

On the Aces & Eights group: “As evidenced by my career, I’m a bit of a faction man. That was just a really neat, I really dug the vibe of it. I thought got to be myself a little bit for the first time, which translated into what I think became the Bullet Club success for me and stuff. I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but Mike Knox is probably my very best friend in wrestling, best friend since we laid eyes on each other. He’s my dude and getting to do that and be on TV with him, actually at one point there was talk of making us more of a TV tag team and running us for the tag belts and stuff, which never came to fruition… It was a great group of guys. Devon, I’m completely fond of him, we became friends. D-Lo Brown, he’s my boy as well. Just the whole thing, Garrett, Wes, no matter what you think of those guys in-ring or otherwise, it was a great group of guys, we had each other’s backs, we were friends outside the ring, and anytime you do that- it’s kinda like at WWE, Mercury, CM Punk, and I as the Straight Edge Society- anytime that you have that with guys, like we have in the Bullet Club now, it translates, people get it. It has a real feeling because it is real.”

On the end of the Straight Edge Society: “I felt like in 2010 when the Straight Edge Society ended that it was a shame because we had some real momentum. We came into Summer Slam 2010 and whatever mistakes Serena Deeb made, I don’t know, I can’t care to comment on, she got fired and [Joey Mercury] tore his pec in that match we had with Big Show. So it was kinda like the Straight Edge Society imploded in one night, so we never got to finish the storyline which I always thought was a shame.”

On CM Punk’s UFC move: “The UFC move shocked me. I knew some of the other entertainment stuff he was doing, I knew he was training his ass off, I knew he was a huge fan of it, so I kinda had an inkling. And then he announced it or they announced it, whatever, and I texted him and said, ‘Holy Crap dude, congratulations, I had no idea.’ I just talked to him in Japan, I know he’s training his butt off in Milwaukee and he’s really digging that. I hope for all the best for him.”

On Joey Mercury: “If there was ever a guy who knew this business from the inside out and could teach it to other people and knew how to convey it, it was Joey. I was in my mid-20s when Straight Edge thing was going, 25, 26 years old. Who better to stand on the ring apron and tag with, who better to second out to a match CM Punk. Joey and I tagged on six or seven overseas tours, we tagged on all the house shows, and I just think the world of both [Joey Mercury & CM Punk] as in-ring performers, as entertainers, and as people. Getting to be with those guys it was kinda like going to medical school after college or something.”

On Finn Balor: “He’s a guy who can go, he has a charisma, not so much a charisma but he has mystique. And I think that when mystique’s gone, like now in a lot of cases, that it hurts. But if you look at like a Bray Wyatt, and there’s mystique there, I love him, huge fan of him, he’s a friend of mine, and I love what he’s doing and what they’ve done with him. And I think that Devitt, if they can capture him just right, he’s gonna be able to captivate an audience and be a major league, big fight feel superstar in that company.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

Jim Ross Blog: Thoughts On Wrestle Kingdom 9, Calling The PPV With Matt Striker

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The following are highlights of the returning Jim Ross blog:

On calling Wrestle Kingdom 9 with Matt Striker: “Matt Striker and I wanted to truly broadcast and not narrow cast this event inasmuch as we focused on the new fans to this brand. Some established NJPW fans have taken me to task on Twitter regarding this philosophy but I would not change a thing. In order for the PPV to make money it had to draw new viewers of NJPW so that was our game plan going in. Having to adjust to new equipment and to each other we had a rougher start than I’d have wanted but as the show progressed I felt like we came together well. Funny story….I think that the TV Asahi folks forget that we were there as we were never counted in to the start the show or to the video packages and not even off the air. We went by our instincts and it seemed to work out pretty well. Yes, we worked the entire four hour PPV plus sat there for the 30 minutes or so pre show festivities and never heard ONE WORD from the TV truck.”

On the final three matches on the WK9 event in Japan: “The final three bouts of the show were as good as I can recall broadcasting in years. Great in ring psychology, a logical pace, uniqueness from match to match, physicality to an almost uncomfortable degree to watch degree and crisp execution. They reminded me somewhat of the WM25 bout between HBK and Undertaker, Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WM13 and a handful of Flair-Steamboat bouts. Emotion, execution, and energy all in place with that magnificent, New Japan physicality. It was a fan’s dream.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Dixie Carter On Why TNA Chose Destination America, Talks Changes Coming To TNA, More

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The following are quotes and notes from TNA President Dixie Carter’s interview on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com. Notes from the interview come from F4WOnline.com.

On TNA’s move to Destination America

– She tried to really sell the move to Destination America, as you’d expect. She said they said “they’re the largest paid TV programmer in the world.” Said in all meeting with networks they didn’t just want to be an average show on the network in the eyes of the network, she wanted to go somewhere where they would be a top priority, get maximum support from the network, lots of promotion, more hours etc. Said both she and the network feels it’s a big opportunity for growth for both of them. Said she kept the wrestlers as up-to-date as she could, but it was tough with confidentiality agreements etc. Tried to spin-it as it may look like a step back, but it’s a step forwards in-terms of potential growth, claims she got a lot of support from the talent and they to are optimistic, and that they too felt they should be somewhere where they’re a priority. Said it may be a challenge for people to find the channel, but once they do and they begin to grow and their “global affect and what that plan is begins to take hold” it’s going to be like “something they’ve never had.”

On demographics

– When discussing wrestling demographics she said when they first went to Spike they had to fight to get their ratings and demographics information from them. Said they wanted to start attempting to appeal to a broader audience males, females, young, old etc. Pushed the “unlocked” shows they’re going to be a kind of a “director’s cut.” Says wrestling fans are becoming more and more interested in what goes on behind the scenes and they intend to provide some of that with this show. Also said she’s currently in negotiations trying to secure a TV deal in Canada.

– Said TNA is still their corporate name, the confusion is down to them having one show in the US, of course called Impact Wrestling, where as in other parts of the world that isn’t the case.

On announcers for TNA shows

– Talked about the changes to the announce team, she said there is nothing more you can do to change the basic framework of the show than have a new voice, she said Tenay is going to be doing things on Impact that will be very insightful and that’s what he’s absolute best at, said he will play a big part in one of their new shows, also said how they’re going to be using the announcers going forward is going to different, which is intriguing (I feel).

Other notes from the interviews

– Put over John Gabruick as a great motivator for the locker room.

– Said they are planning to do more house shows and more One Night Only shows, but right now Impact is their priority. JR pushed her on the subject and she said they’re going to give the touring a “breather” when the television takes off they plan on doing it again but doing it right.

– Was asked about deals with Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, King Mo etc. says she wants work with Mo and they have an existing deal, Tito is interested in doing something with them, but they’re not working with Rampage right now. When discussing him by the tone in her voice their seems to be a bit of tension or disappointment there.

– Asked if Vince Russo is going back said there are no plans and there have been no discussions. But said when focused he can be a tremendous talent.

– Said in meetings with every network they said “why in the world did they (Spike) let you go.”

You can listen to Dixie Carter’s interview with Jim Ross as part of the latest “Ross Report” podcast by visiting PodcastOne.com.

  • PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner Together In Las Vegas Just A Few Days Ago, Hanging Out With Celebrities & MORE!

WWE Announces Daniel Bryan’s First Return Match On Television

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WWE has announced the official return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.

Bryan’s first match back since undergoing neck surgery and dealing with his long road to recovery will be next Tuesday night, January 13th.

WWE is pushing Bryan’s return as the main attraction in the advertising for the show on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where WWE will tape the first edition of WWE SmackDown to air in its’ new time slot on Thursday night on the SyFy Network.

WWE Testing Virtual Reality Technology

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WWE is currently in the early stages of testing out virtual reality technology.

The annual Consumer Electronic Shows (CES) convention is currently underway in Las Vegas and WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Offer George Barrios broke the news during a “Masters of Trailblazing Content” seminar.

According to virtual reality blog VRFocus.com, Barrios told the audience that WWE is currently testing VR content at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, but the technology is still a long way from being ready for a consumer rollout. Barrios said:

“It’s very, very early days… it’s very expensive; the amount of cameras and post-production needed. We’re early days on what the content might be. We saw the live content – Cirque du Soleil – and we were blown away.”

Other companies currently developing VR content include the NBA, Artists Den, Skybound Entertainment.

WWE Announces New Broadcast Teams For RAW & SmackDown

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WWE sent out a press release on Thursday announcing new broadcasting teams for RAW and SmackDown.

Starting on Monday, RAW will be called by Michael Cole, JBL and Booker T.

When SmackDown moves to Thursdays next week, the action will be called by Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton.

Pay-per-views will feature Cole, Lawler and JBL.

Hit up Page 2 below for the official press release, which dubs Michael Cole “the voice of WWE for more than 15 years.” Bah gawd!

Ziggler Doing Improv Tonight In Hollywood, Monday Night War Finale & More

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– After being “fired” on RAW and being pulled from this weekend’s WWE live events, Dolph Ziggler will be doing improv tonight in Hollywood California at Second City Hollywood. He’ll be joined by Lucha Underground star Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) and Ziggler’s brother, Ryan Nemeth. For ticket information, visit SecondCity.com.

– The “season finale” of the Monday Night War series on the WWE Network airs this coming Tuesday.

– The Bellas Twins will be appearing at the New Orleans Wizard World convention on Saturday.

– NXT will be holding live events in Citrus Springs, FL and Fort Pierce, FL this weekend.

– WWE and 2K Sports announced today that the WWE SuperCard mobile game has surpassed 5 million downloads since it was released back in August.

Lucha Underground Crowns First Champion, Next Set Of Tapings, New Talent

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Prince Puma was crowned the first-ever Lucha Underground champion on last night’s show.

Lucha Underground will hold their next batch of television tapings later this month, with shows scheduled for January 17th, 18th, 24th and 25th from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. There is talk of Lucha Underground holding tapings every other weekend from now through April.

The promotion is in talks to bring in a lot of fresh faces for the upcoming tapings. Last week, the Young Bucks tweeted about receiving an “insulting” offer to work a few shows. Company officials obviously weren’t happy with the tweet, but are still trying to strike a deal with the duo.

Independent Willie Mack and former TNA Knockout Sarita (Sarah Stock) have been in talks with the promotion, as has Guam Olympic wrestler Jeff Cobb. Cobb attended a WWE tryout camp last year but was not signed.

In late 2014, there was some concern that Lucha Underground’s ratings were not up to par, especially with the show’s expensive production costs. El Rey canceled the original series Matador (featuring former WWE Diva Eve Torres) after only one season, which got some people wondering where things stood with Lucha Underground. That said, there’s no immediate danger of the show being canceled.

News from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was used in this report. Visit f4wonline.com for subscription information.

Daniel Bryan Returnig To The Ring Before The Royal Rumble?

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It has been reported for a while now that WWE is planning on keeping Daniel Bryan out of the ring until his return in the Royal Rumble match at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th, however that may not end up being the case.

As of right now, Daniel Bryan is listed in the advertising, promoted as wrestling Kane in a singles match at the WWE live event on January 16th in St. Louis, Missouri.

The official website for The Scottrade Center lists the following for the aforementioned 1/16 live event in St. Louis:

WWE returns to St. Louis for the first time in 2015 with a special Friday night live event at Scottrade Center on January 16!

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Steel Cage Match

Roman Reigns vs. The Big Show

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Plus more of your favorite WWE Superstars including:
Chris Jericho
Cesaro
Jack Swagger
R Truth
The Divas
And Many More!

* Card is subject to change.

Impact Attendance, Production Issues, Dixie Carter Not In Attendance & More

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– The attendance for last night’s TNA Impact Wrestling Tapings from the Manhattan Center was 450-500 fans.

– TNA President Dixie Carter was not in attendance at Impact. She was in Los Angeles attending a Television & Critics Association event and was joined by Sgt. Chris Melendez and Mr. Anderson.

– The opening segment for Impact featuring the wrestlers brawling outside the Manhattan Center was actually taped on Tuesday night. The live show was kicked off by wrestlers brawling into the arena.

– There were a lot of production issues at Impact. No word yet on who directed the show, but it was not David Sahadi, who had been directing TNA’s shows. TNA was using the Manhattan Center’s production equipment, not their own, which was part of the reason why production did not go very smoothly. The fact that Impact aired on tape delay really worked in TNA’s favor, since they had some time to clean up the show.

– There was a lot of stalling in between segments at the taping. At one point, there was no action for about 15 minutes, with a loud “We Want Wrestling” chant breaking out.

– Tommy Dreamer was backstage at Impact working as an agent.

Del Rio Calls Out Racists In WWE Again, New 2K15 DLC Coming Next Week & More

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– Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio called out the “racists in WWE” at this weekend’s WWL event from Puerto Rico, where Del Rio captured the WWL Heavyweight Championship. The comment came during a segment with heel authority figure Richard Negrin, whom Del Rio joined later in the show as part of the Gentleman’s Club stable.

– It’s believed that Triple H was the WWE executive who informed Kevin Nash that his legends contract was being suspended as a result of his assault arrest.

– 2K Games recently confirmed that the “WWE 2K15 Moves Pack” DLC will be released on January 13th. Some of the moves included are a spinning powerbomb, spike Tombstone piledriver and backslide driver.

Marcus Stephenson of 2K Games noted on Twitter that the Moves Pack was not included in the 2K Season Pass because they wanted to keep the price down for the season pass, which was already pretty high at $24.99.

– John Cena recently granted another Make-A-Wish for WWE fan Amere at the most recent RAW tapings in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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