– In what could be viewed as a response to the 22-page legal letter that was sent to WWE on behalf of CM Punk, the company has removed nearly all of his merchandise from his Alumni page on WWEShop.com this week. There are only four items available on the site now, three of which were lowered in price.
– Below is a new Michelle Beadle interview where she talks about her love for WWE and Paul Heyman.
http://youtu.be/8xlEa6kf2T4
Former WWE Diva Trish Stratus recently spoke with Slam! Wrestling and revealed that Bully Ray was one of the people considered as the person who would induct her into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
“I think fans would be surprised to know that Bubba Ray Dudley [TNA’s Bully Ray] was on the list,” said Trish. “He’s on it because he was kind of giving me a trust/tough love when I first came in. But once I proved myself to him, he really opened up and was really kind and giving and would advise me on a lot of things.”
Stratus continued, “So when we finally worked together, once he saw that I was willing to take the table and I used to tell him: ‘Don’t protect me, don’t go easy on me, I just want to do it and do it good and make the fans proud,’ and he appreciated that. So we’ve became really close friends and we had a great relationship and he really helped me a lot.”
Check out the complete interview at Canoe.ca.
– As noted in our WWE Main Event report last night, NXT Tag-Team Champions The Ascension made their WWE main roster debut in the main event of the show, defeating Los Matadores.
– Mick Foley recently spoke with the folks at Lethbridge Herald and spoke about still being a fan of WWE. Below is an excerpt from the interview.
“I watch it almost every week with my children. I’m still a fan of the product, which means I can voice my opinion, usually positive but occasionally I’ll have some constructive criticism that I’m not shy about voicing. All in all, I like the direction of the company and I think they’ve got a lot of great talent and building for the future.”
You can check out the complete interview at LethbridgeHerald.com.
– In addition to the press conference that is scheduled for today to promote this week’s NXT Takeover 2 special on the WWE Network, Triple H will also be hosting a live Twitter Q&A at 3pm EST. on Thursday. Fans can submit questions by using the hash-tag “#NXTTakeover.”
– The cast of Total Divas will be on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this coming Friday. The show will be available at PodcastOne.com.
– Christian has reportedly been cleared to return for a while now, however the word is that WWE has “nothing for him” at the moment.
– As noted on Tuesday, there were some rumors online stemming from a new Diamond Dallas Page interview that claimed Chris Jericho broke his toe while executing a “Lionsault” during his steel cage match on RAW. Jericho recently chimed in on Twitter to deny these rumors. Below are those tweets.
Heard a rumour that I broke my foot last night in the cage match. Turns out it was just a toe jam…HAHA GET IT? @wwe @MaulerMMA
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) September 10, 2014
Nope! “@andysalazar: @IAmJericho Did you break your toe?”
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) September 10, 2014
MMANEWS.COM: Joe Rogan TRASHES WWE Fans, HOT UFC Ring Girl Photos & MORE! [GO >>]
Vince Russo has been having a field day on Twitter since David Schwarz of Spike TV released a statement in response to comments he made during a recent interview. Below are some tweets from Russo in response to Schwarz and Spike.
Dear Spike/TNA,
Which is it? Spike doesn't know who I am? OR, I caused the Spike/TNA break-up? Please make up your mind-I'm super confused.
— Vince Russo (@pyroballyhoo) September 9, 2014
I want to thank Mr. Schwarz of Spike TV for giving me the topic of discussion for my podcast, "The Swerve" which will be released tonight.
— Vince Russo (@pyroballyhoo) September 9, 2014
In case SPIKE TV "didn't know"–THIS is who Vince Russo is!
http://t.co/Nz1GKOUEJP pic.twitter.com/m2yY4uTmtT
— Vince Russo (@pyroballyhoo) September 10, 2014
Speaking of Russo, he is the guest on the latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast. The official description for the show reads as follows:
TRR – Ep30 – Vince Russo
“JR talked to Vince Russo the day before he was fired from TNA Impact, so you won’t hear much discussion about the current state of the promotion or its beleaguered future. What you will hear though is plenty of stories about Vince’s run in WWE during the Attitude Era, his longtime creative partner Ed Ferrara, both of his abbreviated runs at WCW, his relationship with Vince McMahon, Owen Hart, The Undertaker, & The Rock. Plus, JR & Vince Russo go head-to-head on wrestling philosophy & psychology.”
You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
MMANEWS.COM: Joe Rogan TRASHES WWE Fans, HOT UFC Ring Girl Photos & MORE! [GO >>]
Former WWE and WCW Superstar Sean O’Haire (real name Sean Haire) has passed away at age 43.
He died on Monday, according to a Tribunes.com obituary.
The cause of death for Haire has not yet been revealed, however it is known that he passed away at his home in South Carolina.
The following are results of the WWE SmackDown television taping, which took place on Tuesday night, September 9th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
– The Usos, Mark Henry & Big Show def. Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Goldust & Stardust in eight-man tag-team action to open up this week’s show.
– Bo Dallas def. Justin Gabriel in singles competition. Jack Swagger was at ringside during the match, taunting Dallas as he competed against Gabriel. In the end, Bo picked up the 1-2-3 after hitting Gabriel with his “Bo-Dog” finisher.
– Paige def. Summer Rae in a non-title Divas match. Layla was at ringside during the bout. AJ Lee was on commentary. Paige picked up the win by using AJ’s “Black Widow” submission hold to force Summer to tap out.
– Mark Henry def. Rusev in the International Arm-Wrestling competition that was advertised on Monday’s “season premiere” of RAW. Rusev called for an immediate rematch, which he won when Lana threw powder in Henry’s eyes.
– Dolph Ziggler & R-Truth def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow in tag-team action. They gave this match a decent chunk of time and when all was said and done, this was said to be a pretty fun little tag-team contest.
– Roman Reigns & Chris Jericho def. Seth Rollins & Randy Orton in another solid tag-team contest. Jericho reversed an Orton draping-DDT attempt into a roll-up for the 1-2-3 for the win. This week’s SmackDown ended with Jericho and Reigns celebrating their victory.
The Monday, September 8th “season premiere” edition of WWE RAW scored a final cable rating of 2.88, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 2.88 final draw marks an increase compared to the 2.81 rating that the show drew last week.
As noted earlier today, Monday’s RAW averaged 3.986 million viewers, which was also up from the average of 3.920 million viewers who tuned into the show last week.
The surprising part about this week’s RAW numbers is the fact that the show managed to increase in both the final rating and in overall viewership despite heavy competition from the NFL, which premiered its’ double-header of Monday Night Football against RAW.
– WWE announces two new matches for Night of Champions: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins and Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho.
– Seth Rollins comes to the ring for a promo. He does “Where Are They Now?” looking at the three members of The Shield. Dean Ambrose is one of the most talented superstars to ever step foot in the WWE, but he made a huge mistake by going toe to toe with him. Nobody knows where Ambrose is, including Ambrose himself. As for Roman Reigns, Rollins says all he’s ever heard is that Reigns is the future of WWE. Rollins says that he created Reigns and now he’s going to destroy him. Rollins says that he’s the greatest strategist of all time and that he’s the best thing that The Shield produced. He says he’s a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion, which brings out Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger.
Colter says that Rollins isn’t a strategist, but a coward and a sell out. This leads to a match between Rollins and Swagger.
– Seth Rollins defeated Jack Swagger in a very good match after hitting a jumping knee to Swagger’s head and the Curb Stomp.
– Video package airs recapping John Cena’s in-ring segment with Paul Heyman from RAW.
– Backstage, Heath Slater and Titus O’Neal are hatching a plan to catch Adam Rose’s bunny.
– Cesaro defeated Zack Ryder by submission with a modified clover leaf. Cesaro was in control for most of the match, although Ryder did get in some offense.
– Renee Young interviews Cesaro after the match. Cesaro says the reason he is going to win at Night of Champions because he is simply better than Sheamus. He says he will prove that he is the King of Wrestling, and that he will have the gold to prove it very soon.
– Video package airs looking back at the Bella Twins’ segment with Jerry Springer from RAW.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension defeated Los Matadores. The Ascension dominated most of the match with power moves and got the win with their Fall of Man finisher.
WWE has officially confirmed additional matches for the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which is scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 2014. Below is the latest official lineup.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Goldust & Stardust
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
– Rusev vs. Mark Henry
– Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
– Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
Make sure to join us here on 9/21 for WWE Night Of Champions live results coverage.
E! issued the following press release, touting the ratings success of Sunday’s season three premiere of WWE Total Divas.
E!’s “Total Divas” kicked off its third season premiere with a pop on Sunday, September 7 (9-10:00 pm). Delivering over 1.2 million total viewers and 821K Adults 18-49, the series was up +15% and +17% respectively versus the season 2 premiere.
Back for an all-new season where sisterhood meets over-the-top drama, viewers were introduced to the brazen WWE Diva, Rosa Mendes™, and saw Nikki Bella™ pursue freezing her eggs unbeknownst to her longtime boyfriend, WWE Superstar John Cena™.
The unprecedented inside look at the lives of the women of the WWE® was the most watched E! season 3 premiere in more than three years.
On the digital front, “Total Divas” garnered 26,000 Tweets and ranked as the #1 ad-supported cable program of the night (excluding sports).
Viewers of Sunday night’s highly rated “Total Divas’” premiere stayed tuned for a new episode of “#RichKids of Beverly Hills” (10 – 10:30 pm), which followed EJ Johnson as a celebrity Grand Marshal of San Francisco’s Pride Parade. The episode, which also documented socialite Dorothy Wang’s return to the dating scene after recent heartbreak, retained nearly two-thirds (64%) of its lead-in and delivered over half a million among Adults 18-49 (516K). The second season continues to pace ahead of season 1 by +6%.
– Diamond Dallas Page noted during a recent interview that Chris Jericho texted him after last night’s RAW, telling him that while he was fine after doing the dive off of the top of the steel cage during his match with Bray Wyatt, he thinks he suffered a broken toe while doing the Lionsault spot during the bout.
– As noted earlier today, while KENTA will be appearing at the NXT Takeover 2 special on the WWE Network this Thursday, he will not be wrestling an actual match. The belief right now is that they will shoot an angle during the special to set up his first official match, which is expected to take place at the NXT television taping the following night.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
Monday’s “Season Premiere” edition of WWE RAW drew a 2.88 rating with 3.986 million viewers.
This was up from last week (Memorial Day), which did a 2.81 rating and 3.920 million viewers.
Considering the fact that RAW was up against the first NFL Monday Night Football game of the season, the rating held steady and was on par with two weeks ago.
Here’s the hourly breakdown:
RAW ranked #3 on cable for the evening, behind both Monday Night Football games on ESPN (which averaged 11.5 million viewers).
– WWE stock has been rising lately due to the belief that rolling out the WWE Network internationally will greatly increase the subscriber count.
– Triple H will be hosting a NXT Takeover 2 press conference on Wednesday to promote this Thursday’s live special on the WWE Network.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross is scheduled to appear at the Homeland Grocery store on Lindsey Street in Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday from noon until 2pm. There will be free food available and JR will be taking photos and signing autographs with fans who show up.
Jerry Springer tweeted the following after his appearance on Monday’s RAW:
My final thought for @BellaTwins, take care of yourselves and each other. I need to take care of my leg now! #Raw #WWE
— Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) September 9, 2014
In case you missed me on @WWE #RAW last night, the @BellaTwins still need help: http://t.co/qTldwfhGbr pic.twitter.com/FuAy6Jui4y
— Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) September 9, 2014
– Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio will be appearing at The Wrestling Guy Store in Huntington Park, California at 1pm on September 20th.
– Former WWE Tag-Team Crime Time (JTG and Shad Gaspard) played in a celebrity football game hosted by hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg this past weekend. The event was a charity event to raise money for cancer awareness.
– Former WWE Diva Eve Torres wrote the following on her official website about an upcoming movie project she will be doing in Beijing, China with Jackie Chan:
“I am SUPER excited to announce that I am off to Beijing, China for a sweet role in an upcoming film! I am totally thrilled because I will be working with one of my childhood idols, Jackie Chan! I will be learning from the best, working hard, and having a blast, so I may have limited internet access in China. I will try to keep you guys posted with pictures, blogs, and updates over the next couple months!”
– NXT Champion Adrian Neville tweeted the following about his appearance on Monday’s RAW show in Baltimore, Maryland:
Incredible evening. Thank you all for the support. That's just the tip of the iceberg~! #NXTTakeover #Fatal4Way
— ADRIAN NEVILLE (@WWENeville) September 9, 2014
– Early ticket sales for TNA Bound For Glory in Tokyo, Japan are said to be encouraging.
– Due to the fact that TNA Bound For Glory will be airing in the United States several hours after it happens n Japan, there is talk that the show may be taped and transmitted to TNA’s Nashville studios with just the crowd sound. There is also a good chance that Mike Tenay and Taz will end up doing voice-overs from Nashville as a cost-cutting measure.
– Sanada is still using the name Seiya Sanada when working for the Wrestle-1 promotion in Japan, as opposed to The Great Sanada name he’s been using in TNA. With no TNA dates on the schedule for October, Sanada will be remaining in Japan to work after next week’s TNA tapings in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
As we reported on Monday, Vince Russo made some comments about Spike TV during an interview on the Pro Wrestling Report. For those who didn’t see them, below is what Russo had to say.
“I’ve been holding this back for years and I finally get to say this. I felt like Hannibal Lechter when he was strapped in and had his mouth wired shut. Spike TV is a horrible partner. Why TNA would ever want to partner with Spike is beyond me, unless there were no other options. If Spike TV were the only option to stay on television, then I would understand it. They are a horrible partner. They know nothing about the wrestling business. They way they advertised and marketed the program over the years was absolutely atrocious.
I can tell you this from a position where I worked with the USA Network, I worked directly with Bonnie Hammer. She was the female version of Vince McMahon. She knew what she was doing. When you had Bonnie Hammer at USA and Vince McMahon, the sky was the limit. If TNA signs another deal with Spike TV, great for them. It will move along for another two years and everyone will work, but the product will not grow on Spike TV. My hope for TNA is that a new network comes along and embraces TNA and gives them the time and investment to help grow the product. I can’t say this enough. TNA on Spike TV will never grow.”
David Schwarz, Senior Vice President of Communications with Spike TV, took exception to Russo’s comments and offered the following response:
I want to start by saying we enjoyed a great relationship, a very collaborative relationship with Dixie Carter and her team over the years. We took TNA from a late night spot on Saturday nights, doing 500,000 viewers, to a two-hour time slot that did two million viewers over time. Spike went out of its way, not in just adhering to its contract, but above and beyond the contract. We paid Hulk Hogan, we paid Eric Bischoff, with our money. We financed many shows. We financed U.K. shows. We helped promote. We gave TNA a prime time slot of Thursdays from 9-11 p.m. I think his comments are way off base. Clearly, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s somebody who thinks more of himself than really exists. Vince Russo never meant anything to Spike TV. He had nothing to do with negotiations. Nobody cares about Vince Russo at Spike TV. Nobody cares or knows who he is. We have a great relationship with TNA. We went above and beyond for them, as they did for us. Dixie helped promote our shows. What Vince Russo is saying is complete nonsense.”
– Seth Rollins had a close call during Monday’s RAW. When the steel cage was being lowered, Rollins just made it into the ring in time. You can check out a GIF image of this below.
– The following independent wrestlers were part of Adam Rose’s “Rosebuds” on Monday’s RAW: Thea Trinidad (Rosita), Mandy Leon, Kacee Carlisle and Damien Darling.
– Chris Jericho wrote the following on Instagram regarding his leap off of the top of the steel cage at Monday’s RAW:
“I haven’t done this since an indie show near #Calgary in 1993. Guess I was just waiting for the right time to bust it out again… What’s that? I’m 43 now? NO WAY!!!! #thatshowyadoitkids #baltimorerocks #y2jisbackbaby #wweraw @wwe”
– WWE is reportedly hopeful that Daniel Bryan will be back in time to work the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November. It is said, however, that they do not want to rush him back before he is ready, as they do not want to risk him suffering another injury.
– There is some talk within WWE that the person behind the Bunny costume in Adam Rose’s entourage will be revealed to be Darren Young.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
Marvel Studios are currently restructuring Batista’s contract, a deal that will result in “The Animal” receiving a considerable amount of extra pay, as well as some guaranteed big-time movie roles in the future.
As things stand now, Batista is already locked in for the “Guardians of the Galaxy” sequel, as well as a role in the third “Avengers” film, which is scheduled for a May 2015 release.
As far as his role in pro wrestling is concerned, it is said that Batista’s people don’t want him to have any involvement with WWE. He is, however, currently in talks with WWE, however the belief is they will come second to his movie career.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
With new matches being officially announced on Monday’s “season premiere” of RAW in Baltimore, below is the latest official lineup for the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, September 21, 2014.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Goldust & Stardust
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
– Rusev vs. Mark Henry
Make sure to join us here on 9/21 for WWE Night Of Champions live results coverage.
ROH issued the following to announce their new syndicated television clearance …
BALTIMORE (September 9, 2014) — Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) (the “Company” or “Sinclair”) announced today that it has entered into its first syndication deal for the Company’s Ring of Honor Wrestling product (“ROH”). WATL-TV, the MyNet affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia will air ROH weekly on Saturdays, beginning September 13, 2014. “This is a very exciting start to developing ROH’s broader syndication distribution,” stated Joe Koff, COO of Ring of Honor Wrestling.
“Since purchasing ROH three years ago, we have upgraded the production quality, added live events and expanded the audience footprint to 76 television markets reaching over 44 million households. We will add an additional 2.4 million television households through today’s announcement and are in discussions with additional companies for syndicated distribution. This is an excellent product with a loyal fan base, which has helped ROH become one of the fastest growing major wrestling franchises in the country. We look forward to expanding ROH’s footprint and continuing to offer entertaining original content.”