Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio captured the AAA World Heavyweight championship on Sunday night at AAA’s Guerra de Titanes event.
“El Patron” is now the first wrestler in history to hold World Heavyweight titles in WWE, CMLL and AAA. Congrats to Del Rio!
He’s expected to start with AAA’s Lucha Underground promotion when the company holds its next set of tapings on January 17th .
Dolph Ziggler took a shot at John Cena on Twitter last night, encouraging fans to vote for him instead of Cena for the Social Media Champion Slammy Award. Ziggler tweeted on Sunday:
https://twitter.com/HEELZiggler/status/541631522554806272
https://twitter.com/HEELZiggler/status/541632245262733312
https://twitter.com/HEELZiggler/status/541632918352052224
After recently coming to terms on a new agreement, WWE expects Rey Mysterio to be back on television soon. Mysterio had been attempting to get out of his WWE contract, but WWE wanted to extend his deal since he missed a significant amount of the last year due to injuries. With WWE short on top draws in the Hispanic market, it’s said that Vince McMahon had to bend a bit to Mysterio’s requests.
As of this week, Mysterio’s plans to wrestle for AAA and Lucha Underground have been put on hold.
Aside from returning to the ring, WWE plans to utilize Mysterio outside of the ring, using him for promotional work and as an ambassador of the company
Through all the ups and down, Mysterio has been with since 2002, longer than most of the locker room. It’s unlikely that any other wrestling promotions could give him the money and worldwide exposure that WWE can, which was one of the deciding factors that led him to remain with the company.
(Source: f4wonline.com)
Show begins with a recap of the year ROH has had, from AJ Styles’ return, to the relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling being announced, to their first live PPV, Best in the World, to Michael Elgin winning the ROH World Championship at the event and Jay Briscoe winning it three months later at All Star Extravaganza VI. We get a small introduction video to Final Battle before going live to Terminal 5 in New York City, where Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino and Nigel McGuinness are on commentary. Terminal 5 looks very cool but you can see how difficult it must have been for some fans due to the set-up. There is a big screen on the stage that throughout the night played entrance videos like in WWE, Steve Corino referred to it as the, “Carytron”, named after former ROH owner and current ambassador Cary Silkin.
1) Hanson pins Caprice Coleman with the Spinkick of Doom to defeat Caprice, Mark Briscoe and Jimmy Jacobs in a Four Corner Survival match. Solid opener, Hanson looked really good and Mark Briscoe was very over with the NYC crowd. Some wild spots here such as the big man Hanson doing a Suicide Dive to the outside and turning Mark inside-out with a Cartwheel Clothesline. Hanson didn’t get much of a reaction when he came out but at the end the fans were applauding him.
We get the promo for Adam Page vs. Roderick Strong which is up next, but when we come back, Jimmy Jacobs wants to speak. He tries to talk about The Decade and how this, “could be” the night Adam Page proves his worth, but BJ Whitmer cuts him off and says that, “he will” prove his worth.
2) Roderick Strong def. Adam Page by referee stoppage after Adam Page refused to submit to the Stronghold. Physical match that told a good story, Page went all out to try and beat Roddy but Roderick was just too good. Page hit his signature leaping clothesline over the guardrail on Roderick, and Strong dropped Page with a backbreaker against the apron. Roderick got the win when he hit the End of Heartache and followed it up with the Stronghold which Page refused to tap out from because BJ Whitmer at ringside told him not too. Referee Paul Turner stopped the match because Page was obviously not going to break the hold. Very good story told here.
3) Michael Elgin def. Tommaso Ciampa with a Modified DDT after Nigel McGuinness unintentionally (or intentionally?) distracts Ciampa after he accidentally hit the referee. Nigel McGuinness made it clear to Ciampa on Ring of Honor Wrestling a couple of months ago that if he ever hit an official again he would be fired. This was an okay match, didn’t deliver as expected, crowd was pretty quiet during it or booing Elgin.
4) The Young Bucks & ACH def. The Addiction & Cedric Alexander when The Young Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Cedric followed by a 450 from ACH to pick up the win. Extremely fun match, Young Bucks were incredibly over with the crowd. The Addiction made a special Marvel themed entrance along with Cedric, and The Young Bucks came out with ACH wearing a Bullet Club t-shirt. Very fast paced, exciting match.
We see an advertisement for the next time Ring of Honor will be on Pay-Per-View, Sunday, March 1st, with the 13th Anniversary Show live from Las Vegas, Nevada.
5) Moose def. RD Evans with a Spear after Veda Scott came down and turned on RD by low blowing him. Not a good match, big disappointment, fans weren’t into it at all. Evans missed a springboard spot which may have been an attempt at comedy but it just didn’t translate with the audience. Not much else to say here, Moose, Stokely Hathaway, Prince Nana and Veda Scott all left together.
6) Jay Lethal def. Matt Sydal with the Lethal Injection in a good match to retain the ROH World TV Championship, in a match that was plagued by the crowd who didn’t seem interested in it and made silly chants throughout. Truth Martini got involved near the end to distract Sydal as he was going for the Shooting Star Press, which he wound up missing, leading to the fatal Lethal Injection.
7) reDRagon def. Timesplitters when Kyle O’Reilly pinned KUSHIDA off Chasing the Dragon to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championships. Match of the night here, Alex Shelley was very over with the crowd, as good as their matches in Japan. Near the end O’Reilly hit KUSHIDA with everything and even locked in Armageddon but wasn’t able to finish KUSHIDA before he and Fish finished it with Chasing the Dragon. Go out of your way to watch this match.
We get a promo for the main event, the crowd are loud when we comeback which is a testament to the build of this match and the hype surrounding it.
8) Jay Briscoe def. Adam Cole in a Fight Without Honor to retain the ROH World Championship after he hit Cole with the Jay Driller onto the ROH World Championship title. A very violent match which saw both men get color, Jay put Cole through two tables, Cole staple a piece of paper that he had attached to a chair at ringside which read, “Reserved for Mrs. Briscoe” to Jay’s head, several moves onto thumbtacks, Cole put thumbtacks into Jay’s mouth and then superkick them out and two consecutive Jay Drillers, the final coming as Cole crawled on his hands and knees toward the ROH World title only to look up and see Jay standing above him, an incredible image before Jay finished the match, to end this 18 month old rivalry.
The final image from the ring as Final Battle goes off the air is both men laid out in the ring, the wreckage of tables, thumbtacks, chairs, signapore canes laying around as well as streamers, before we go to an advertisement for the 13th Anniversary Show on Sunday, March 1st.
Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, featuring the 2014 Slammy Awards.
The show will be hosted by comedian/actor Seth Green, who guest-hosted RAW back in July 2009.
RAW will also feature the final hype for Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.
The dark match main event will see John Cena & Dean Ambrose teaming up against Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.
Join us here tonight for our weekly Live Coverage of WWE RAW!
The Undertaker is now being used to promote WrestleMania 31 in March 2015 after being conspicuously absent from the first WrestleMania 31 promotional artwork.
One of WWE’s tour buses at Saturday night’s WWE house show in Augusta, Ga. featured a photo of The Undertaker next to the WrestleMania 31 logo. It’s still unknown whether the Dead Man will lace up the boots once again at WrestleMania after the but this is an encouraging sign.
[tps_header]WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, who will be returning to action later this month after recently undergoing hernia surgery, officially married his longtime girlfriend Galina Joelle Becker over the weekend. The wedding took place at Disney’s Castaway Cay, which is a private island that Disney uses as a regular destination for their cruise line.
Courtesy of Reigns’ official Instagram page, here are some photos from the wedding:[/tps_header]
It was reported earlier today that David Ferrier, best known for his appearances in the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as one-half of the Heavenly Bodies as “Gigolo” Jimmy Del Ray, passed away Saturday night at the age of 52. There are conflicting reports on the nature of his death.
PWInsider.com broke news of Ferrier’s death this morning, reporting that he is believed to have died from a heart attack. F4WOnline.com, however, is reporting this afternoon that he died from injuries in an automobile accident.
According to Dave Meltzer, Ferrier was driving near the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa at about 6:10 p.m. on Saturday night when he went over a grass shoulder “for unknown reasons” and crashed into a lamp post. He was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he died from injuries suffered in the accident.
Ferrier began his career in 1985 for Florida Championship Wrestling, where he adopted the name Jimmy Backlund. He mostly competed as preliminary wrestler during the territorial days and later on in the independents, as well as in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. He joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1993, where he replaced Stan Lane as one-half of the Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard after Lane retired from the squared circle to become a commentator for the World Wrestling Federation. The Heavenly Bodies were managed by James E. Cornette, and won the SMW Tag Team Championship on three occasions. During this time with he was branded with the “Gigolo” moniker. While Del Ray was an agile and able wrestler, he had a slightly pudgy midsection that shook, or “jiggled” when he did a taunting dance.
Alongside Cornette, the Heavenly Bodies debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in the summer of 1993, and would challenge the Steiner Brothers for the World Tag Team Championship—they were defeated. At the 1993 Survivor Series in the Boston Garden, the Heavenly Bodies faced The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship. It was the first time where a championship recognized by another organization was defended on the show.
The Heavenly Bodies were generally used as a heel tag team for early matches on cards, where they would often put over babyface tandems. The duo was split in August 1995 after Del Ray was released from his contract. It was rumored at the time that an incident with a fan at a hotel led to his dismissal.
Del Ray soon made a few appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling alongside Prichard and wound up in World Championship Wrestling in October 1996 under the name Jimmy Graffiti, where he competed for two months. He made a few appearances on WCW Monday Nitro and participated in the three-ring, sixty-man “World War 3” battle royal before a knee injury forced him to retire the following year.
After retiring, he worked as an instructor for Steve Keirn’s Florida professional wrestling school and would occasionally appear at area independent shows to manage a new Heavenly Bodies tag team. By the early 2000s, he had moved on from the wrestling industry and was running a hardwood flooring company in Tampa, Florida.
The pro wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts worlds are reacting to the blockbuster news of former WWE Champion CM Punk signing a multi-fight deal with UFC.
Congrats on @CMPunk signing apparently w/ @ufc is he going to fight? What weight? Will sell PPV's w/o question. Smart biz by @danawhite
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 7, 2014
Lots of @ufc fighters will be calling out Punk because Punk's going to sell PPV's and they want some of the $$. Plus, Punk's a rookie.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 7, 2014
Just as Lesnar brought many wrestling fans to @ufc to see him lose, Punk will being newer & younger fans to @ufc out of curiosity/ to win.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 7, 2014
I am the proudest wife in the world. pic.twitter.com/N02RJzumQK
— AJ Mendez (@TheAJMendez) December 7, 2014
WHA?!?!?! @CMPunk!!?!!!!?!! #cantwait
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) December 7, 2014
Awesome to see my homie Punk at UFC 181 announcing his new career as a UFC fighter! Congrats & wish… http://t.co/PdXNQHDccS
— ?Rey Mysterio? (@reymysterio) December 7, 2014
https://twitter.com/LanceStorm/status/541438876972498944
Congratulations @CMPunk . A looooong way from Cristal River!
— MVP (@The305MVP) December 7, 2014
How many 0-0 fighters in the modern era has @UFC signed? @CMPunk will bring new interest to UFC and that's what "promotion" is all about.
— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) December 7, 2014
David Ferrier, who is best known for his appearances in the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as one-half of the Heavenly Bodies as “Gigolo” Jimmy Del Ray, has passed away.
PWInsider.com has confirmed that Ferrier died Saturday night following what is believed to have been a heart attack. He was 52-years-old.
Ferrier began his career in 1985 for Florida Championship Wrestling, where he adopted the name Jimmy Backlund. He joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling in the early 1990s, where he replaced Stan Lane as one half of the Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard. The Heavenly Bodies were managed by James E. Cornette, and won the SMW Tag Team Championship on three occasions. During this time with he was branded with the “Gigolo” moniker. While Del Ray was an agile and able wrestler, he had a slightly pudgy midsection that shook, or “jiggled” when he did a taunting dance.
Alongside Cornette, the Heavenly Bodies debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in the summer of 1993, and would challenge the Steiner Brothers for the World Tag Team Championship—they were defeated.
At the 1993 Survivor Series in the Boston Garden, the Heavenly Bodies faced The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship. It was the first time where a championship recognized by another organization was defended on the show.
The Heavenly Bodies were generally used as a heel tag team for opening matches, where they would often put over babyface tandems. The duo was split in August 1995 after Del Ray was released from his contract. It was rumored at the time that an incident with a fan at a hotel led to his dismissal.
Del Ray soon made a few appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling alongside Prichard and wound up in World Championship Wrestling in October 1996 under the name Jimmy Graffiti. He made a few appearances on WCW Monday Nitro and participated in the three-ring, sixty-man “World War 3” battle royal before a knee injury forced him to retire the following year.
After retiring, he worked as an instructor for Steve Keirn’s Florida professional wrestling school and would occasionally appear at area independent shows to manage a new Heavenly Bodies tag team. He had moved on from the wrestling industry by the early 2000s and was running a hardwood flooring company in Tampa, Florida.
Below is a complete list of categories and nominees for the 2014 Slammy Awards. To cast your vote, visit WWE.com.
Televised Awards To Be Announced During RAW
Match of the Year
The Shield vs. Evolution – Extreme Rules
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Last Man Standing Match at Payback
Team Cena vs. Team Authority – 5-on-5 Traditional Elimination Match at Survivor Series
Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 30
WWE Superstar of the Year
Brock Lesnar
Dean Ambrose
John Cena
Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan
Roman Reigns
Bray Wyatt
WWE Diva of the Year
AJ Lee
Paige
Nikki Bella
Brie Bella
LOL Moment of the Year
Damien Mizdow as The Miz’s Stunt Double
Mr. T thanks his mother at the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame
Vickie Guerrero throws Stephanie McMahon in a pool of pudding on Raw
El Torito vs. Hornswoggle – WeeLC Match at Extreme Rules
Extreme Moment of the Year
Brock Lesnar hits 16 German suplexes at SummerSlam
Kane hits Daniel Bryan with Tombstones on floor, steel steps and table on Raw
Chris Jericho hits a cross-body on Bray Wyatt from the top of a steel cage on Raw
Seth Rollins Curb Stomps Dean Ambrose through cinderblocks on Raw
Surprise Return of the Year
Hulk Hogan returns as the guest host of WrestleMania 30 on Raw
Ultimate Warrior returns to WWE at WrestleMania 30, Raw, Hall of Fame
Batista returns on Raw
The Rock returns to interrupt Rusev and Lana on Raw
“This is Awesome” Moment of the Year
Yes! Movement occupies Raw
Stephanie McMahon gets arrested and taken away on Raw
Sting debuts to help Team Cena defeat Team Authority
Hulk Hogan, The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin meet at WrestleMania 30
The OMG Shocking Moment of the Year
Brock Lesnar defeats The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak at WrestleMania 30
Seth Rollins turns on The Shield on Raw
Bray Wyatt’s choir surrounds John Cena inside Steel Cage on Raw
Nikki Bella turns on Brie Bella at SummerSlam
WWE.com Exclusives To Be Announced During RAW Pre-Show
“Tell Me You Didn’t Just Say That” Insult of the Year
Nikki tells Brie she wished she died in the womb on Raw
Paul Heyman raps on John Cena on Raw
Chris Jericho insults The Authority after Stephanie’s arrest on Monday Night Raw – July 28, 2014
The Rock insults Rusev and Lana on Raw
WWE Tag Team of the Year
Gold & Stardust
The Usos
Los Matadores with El Torito
Slater Gator with Mini Gator
The Miz & Damien Mizdow
Breakout Star of the Year
Rusev with Lana
Roman Reigns
Paige
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
Hashtag of the Year
#OccupyRAW
#RKOOuttaNowhere
#MoscowMooseKnuckle
#EatSleepSuplexRepeat
#NineNinetyNine
Fan Participation Award
“You Sold Out” – Seth Rollins
“Nine Ninety-Nine” – WWE Network
“We The People” – Jack Swagger
“I’m Afraid I’ve Got Some Bad News” – Bad News Barrett
“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” – Bray Wyatt
Double-Cross of the Year
The Authority turns on Randy Orton on Raw
Seth Rollins betrays the Shield and joins The Authority on RAW
Nikki Bella betrays her twin sister Brie Bella at SummerSlam
Mark Henry turns on his friend, Big Show, on Raw
Animal of the Year
Gator (Hornswoggle)
Torito
Bunny
Grumpy Cat
Best Actor
The Miz
Batista
The Rock
Mizdow
NXT Superstar of the Year
Adrian Neville
Sami Zayn
Tyler Breeze
The Ascension
Anti-Gravity Moment of the Year
Seth Rollins dives off the balcony at WWE Payback
Adrian Neville’s Red Arrow
Dean Ambrose dives onto lumberjacks at SummerSlam
Kofi Kingston in the Royal Rumble Match
Faction of the Year
The Authority
The Wyatt Family
The Shield
The Rosebuds
Tweet It! Best Twitter Handle (aka Social Champion)
@HEELZiggler (Dolph Ziggler)
@JohnCena (John Cena)
@ZackRyder (Zack Ryder)
@Ryback22 (Ryback)
@nicoleandbri (Nikki & Brie Bella)
@RealPaigeWWE (Paige)
Raw Guest Star of the Year
Larry the Cable Guy
Jerry Springer
Kevin Hart
Hugh Jackman
Betty White
Rivalry of the Year
The Shield vs. Evolution
Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
Rusev vs. The USA
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Best Couple of the Year
Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella
Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Jimmy Uso & Naomi
Tyson Kidd & Natalya
– Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer and original Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard, is getting a tryout with WWE this weekend.
– The latest edition of “WWE Top 10,” which you can see below, takes a look at the ten kisses that “rocked” WWE the most.
Santana Garrett, formerly known as Brittany in TNA, reportedly decided against signing a new contract offered to her by the promotion.
Brittany was in the middle of a storyline with Samuel Shaw and Gunner, however it appears she’s done with TNA for now.
She is expected to instead do some modeling work, as well as some other potential non-TNA wrestling stuff. For example, she worked Friday night’s Shine internet pay-per-view, something she wouldn’t have been allowed to do while under contract to TNA.
WWE has announced some of the nominees for several of the categories for this Monday’s “Slammy Awards.”
Below are the nominees for each listed category, which you can vote on now at WWE.com.
– Faction of the Year: The Authority, The Wyatt Family, The Shield, The Rosebuds
– Couple of the Year: Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, Jimmy Uso & Naomi, Tyson Kidd & Natalya
– Animal of the Year: Gator Hornswoggle, El Torito, The Bunny, Grumpy Cat
– Best Twitter Handle or Social Media Champion: Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Ryback, Zack Ryder, The Bella Twins, Paige
– Rivalry of the Year: The Shield vs. Evolution, Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority, Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, Rusev vs. The USA, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
– RAW Guest Star of the Year: Larry the Cable Guy, Kevin Hart, Jerry Springer, Hugh Jackman, Betty White
– WWE will be airing a TLC special called “Demolition Derby: The Best of TLC” immediately after Monday night’s “Slammy Awards” edition of WWE RAW, which is also the TLC pay-per-view “go-home” show. The TLC special will air live on the WWE Network and will be hosted by WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley.
– Speaking of the WWE Network, the documentary series “WWE Rivalries” is set to return on Tuesday, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper rivalry. The official description for the show reads as follows:
“In the rivalry that launched WrestleMania, animosity between Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper would fuel the fire of their historic battles.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley told fans in attendance at his Valley Park, Missouri comedy show that he is “likely to appear on RAW again next week.”
– Chris Jericho held a Twitter Q&A recently and addressed the recent rumors that he could be appearing at Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 31 next year. The first ever WWE Undisputed Champion claimed that he will not be at either show. He also spoke about the CM Punk podcast, noting that he’s glad Punk got everything off of his chest. You can follow Jericho on Twitter @IAmJericho.
Jey Uso of The Usos tag-team in WWE recently responded to Vince McMahon’s speech on the live “Steve Austin Show” podcast about the current generation in WWE during a recent interview with Turnbuckle Weekly.
Below is an excerpt from the interview.
“I know he wouldn’t say something without any meaning behind it. I feel like he was just trying to light a fire under the locker room. He wants guys to go out there and grab that brass ring, step out on a limb, and go out there and get it. I feel like some of the guys, including myself… when me and my brother first came it is kind of like walking on egg shells. We don’t want to mess up because we’re new guys. We’re young we don’t know what to do.
“As far as ambition, I feel like we do have a good crew. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take some years to get used to this thing. But as soon as we got our feet deep in the ground and our claws deep in the dirt, we’re going to be ok. I love my group of guys. I love my locker room. If you look at it we have some great talent in there. It is going to take time. It’s going to take time. That’s all I can say about it.”
The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T:
Today’s independent wrestling scene: “You have a lot of good talent. Of course, there are not a lot of spots on the WWE roster for all of them at one time. They are essentially going to be out there for a while, which is a good thing in a way. They get a chance to travel around the world and seeing what it’s like out there and get paid to do it at the same time and hone their craft. So when they make it to the WWE roster, they’ll be ready. I watched that kid Adrian Neville before he ever made it to the roster. That kid was awesome. This new kid, formally Prince Devitt, I saw him on the scene doing his thing way before he made it to WWE. He was awesome. Now you have other young guys who are going to have that opportunity to do that same thing.
“With my Reality of Wrestling, it’s about getting these guys prepared for what it’s going to take to make it on the television roster and make it in the locker room. I love what is going on in the independent scene. This is really my first year getting the chance to go around and see what it’s like in other places. I love what I’m seeing out there with Pro Wrestling Syndicate, Northeast Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling and WildKat in New Orleans. There is a lot of good stuff out there.”
Not wanting to do one more run: “Never in a million years would I have thought I would have been able to go where I’ve gone in my career. It’s almost way too soon for me to be in the position I’m in, but I’m loving my position. Being able to give back and teach the game to these young guys, I’ve always wanted to be in this position. I was thinking about retiring when I was like 30 years old. All these wrestlers talk about having one more run in them. I don’t’ think I got one more run. I don’t want one more run. I don’t want it. To do a Rumble, I can do that. One night, where I can go in and it will be over real quick. I’d be happy with that.
“I don’t want to be one of those wrestlers that wishes to put their boots on when I’m 60. I don’t want to look at any of my old outfits then. My wife wants me to keep all my old outfits. I want to sell them all. I want to put them on eBay. You think I’m going to be 70 years old with all these action figures and outfits looking back at Harlem Heat’s glory days. It’s really for my grandkids. It’s been great. I’ve had the greatest life the last almost 25 years than any man could ask for. It’s a dream. I wouldn’t trade it in for the world. I always wanted to do the work and make it to the other side. That’s where I’m at in my life. It’s a great place.”
CM Punk speaking out on Colt Cabana’s podcast: “With me personally, certain business should be between yourself and the person you’re doing business with. You never know where you’ll have to go in the future. I’ve never been about burning bridges. I don’t know if he burned a bridge or not. I don’t know. It’s a personal thing more than anything for him to walk away. He had to have a certain feeling about something. It could be a lot of things, but it’s personal. For me, I can just say I’ve always looked at the business as a job. It’s never been nothing more than me getting a script and me going out there and performing. Of course, I’ve always wanted to make a decent pay like everybody else. You have to realize where I come from and a guy like CM Punk comes from. That may be the difference. Hopefully, Punk finds his way back to WWE. Me, personally, I was one of the guys who noticed his talent when I first saw him. I brought him to a wrestling show down here in Houston when he was a kid and before he was this ‘straight-edge superstar’ and all that stuff. I saw talent in him. Then when he did the whole pipe bomb thing, I saw even more talent in him.
“I felt he was really going to break out and last a long time in this business. I wouldn’t say a lifer, but a guy who was going to have a long career and give back. To see it abruptly end like that, there are so many fans out there that love CM Punk and want to see him in the middle of that ring. It’s the sad part.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
Longtime SEScoops.com reader Hank Romero of the iPop-E pop culture video blog recently attended the Wrestlemania 31 On-Sale Party at Levi Stadium. He interviewed fans of all ages about WrestleMania 31 as well as and NXT Superstars Charlotte & Tyler Breeze. Check it out below:
WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt was recently a guest on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show. Bray spoke about a number of topics, including the controversial hologram from the conclusion of WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, Sister Abigail and his former Wyatt Family members, Rowan and Harper.
Regarding the hologram that appeared at the end of the Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose match at Hell in a Cell, Wyatt said:
“One thing and I want to get this out there so no one’s misconstrued, that was not Abigail. I don’t think anyone has looked closely enough. I think everyone skipped over that part and chocked it up to being some fancy illusion or something. I don’t ever do something just to be doing it. There’s always a point behind everything.”
He added that the Wyatt Family is not officially broken up, despite Rowan and Harper’s recent feud.
“There is no breakup. That’s another thing I’d like to get out there. There’s friction between [Harper & Rowan] and that’s kinda part of the issue, is relinquishing some of that. When the Wyatt Family is needed, the Wyatt Family will always be, and that’s the way I designed it, and that’s the way it will go on for ten, fifteen, who knows how long. The Wyatt Family is far from over, I can assure you of that.”
Regarding the recent revelation that Erick Rowan is apparently a genius, Wyatt said:
“He’s done some things since we split that I haven’t necessarily agreed with. I’m not so sure he’s a genius with a big IQ, I’m actually a hundred percent sure of that. [Laughs] But Harper is the Intercontinental Champion and that’s exactly where he belongs and why he needed to go out on his own.”
Wyatt is currently engaged in a heated feud with Dean Ambrose, an opponent that he’s been dealing with for years.
“This feud with me and Dean, if you look back at the Shield and all that, me and Dean Ambrose years ago would just be killing each other with bull ropes in armories all over Florida in front of ten people. I think it will go on forever. As long as we both can walk and survive after TLC.”
– The new season of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s “Redneck Island” premieres on CMT tonight. Austin will be joined by a new co-host, Jessie James Decker, for what will be the fourth season of the program. For more information, visit CMT.com.
– In the interview below, Colt Cabana talks about his first podcast with CM Punk.
The following is an excerpt of a new interview with TNA President Dixie Carter from The Independent.
In the excerpt below, Dixie explains why she won’t make a play to try and sign CM Punk right now.
“CM Punk’s in a place right now where he’s happy and I wouldn’t attempt to try to get him to come wrestle for us until he’s in a place where he wants to wrestle. I respect what he’s done so much, he was in my opinion at the top of his game, and it’s hard walking away from a big paycheck, but he did it. You wouldn’t want to ask him to walk to a new paycheck until his head is in the right place.”
The following are highlights of a new interview with Magnus:
His current status with TNA: “I haven’t….I’m still under contract. There’s been no discussion of any of that. I already knew I was booked for the (UK) tour. I think I was one of the first names advertised when the dates were first booked. I think it was just one of those things where when they did the finalised line-up. There’s…..as of now, as of right now, I still have a contract. That’s about as much as I’m willing to discuss.”
How Sting went to bat for him in a situation with Jim Cornette: “Jim Cornette – who I have a lot of respect for and get on with and now – he was not necessarily on ‘Team Magnus’ when I first showed up. And with good reason! I didn’t fucking belong there! I didn’t know a fucking headlock from a headlight!….Jim Cornette looked at me and was like “Alright kid, keep your mouth shut and your ears open and maybe we’ll get through this!” Sting kind of reprimanded him a little bit and was like “Actually, Jim, he’s got some really good ideas and I pretty much want to do the match that we’ve already discussed.” He was like “Eh, ok…alright then” It ended up being a good piece of business and Cornette was happy.”
What he didn’t enjoy about being part of AJ Styles’ last match in TNA: “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful – but I don’t know if it was as much them having faith in me or…or if I was an easy person to have the heat on, at least. There were some very unfortunate circumstances around the AJ thing….I suffered a concussion when I won the title in the match with Jeff…I was pretty much on auto-pilot. I was in a bad way….I’ve never had one since…..That then meant that we weren’t able to do what we wanted to do with AJ. It’s my understanding that we were to do a straight up match, but that wasn’t possible. They did the best thing they thought they could do…..It wasn’t wrestling. It was just an angle.”
His love of U.K. television in the 1990’s: “(Gladiators) was part of that Saturday night line up….Friday night was swimming, fish and chips and ‘Top of the Pops’. Saturday was football practice or a game, and then that night it would be ‘Blind Date’, ‘Noel’s House Party’ and ‘Gladiators’.”
Growing up as a wrestling fan: “When I was a kid, like a small kid, we didn’t have Sky. We didn’t have satellite TV. But I was still completely familiar with the WWF and that’s really a testament to how incredible their marketing is. Even though I never really had access to it because I couldn’t see it on TV, u still knew who everybody was. …For me, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart was held on a pedestal with superheroes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and stuff….He was like a real hero….Probably around 1996/97 was when I started to get back into it when Shawn Michaels and HHH started doing DX….That was where the first time it started to pique my rebellious teen interest…From the age of 13 it was formulating in ny head that that was what I wanted to do.”
Check out the complete interview above.
As we have noted in the past, when TNA makes the move from Spike TV to Destination America in January, it is expected that former WWE announcer Josh Mathews will be replacing Mike Tenay as the play-by-play man for Impact Wrestling.
This news has since been pretty much confirmed on Twitter by both Mathews and Taz. Below are some of the recent tweets about the subject.
“@BUTTERBEAN2019: I miss @realjoshmathews in #WWE #Raw”. January, my friend. @DestAmerica @IMPACTWRESTLING
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) December 2, 2014
.@OfficialTAZ "vast high octane" lol! I'm gonna have the best analyst in the biz, who can beat up every other analyst across all platforms.
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) December 3, 2014
