The latest on the condition of WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is that he is conscious and fully coherent and is moving to a different hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Diamond Dallas Page noted that Roberts’ condition is stable, he’s coherent, talkative and a little grumpy.
The reason Roberts is changing hospitals is because the pneumonia and fluid has spread from his lungs to other organs in his body and the new hospital is apparently better equipped for his condition.
There hasn’t been many updates regarding the condition of Jake “The Snake” Roberts since he was hospitalized in Las Vegas earlier this week.
As noted, Roberts fell unconscious during an airplane flight to a wrestling event that he was scheduled to attend, and that he may be dealing with double pneumonia.
It’s worth noting, however, that Roberts has regained consciousness, as he has been having conversations with friends in the hospital.
After much hype and anticipation, the new The Monday Night War program finally hit the WWE Network this past week. Thus far, the original pilot episode that aired a few weeks back and two new episodes are available for streaming on the Network.
After announcing the launch of the WWE Network, this program was probably the most hyped original piece of programming to hit the Network. In fact, they purposely saved it in order to entice the initial round of subscribers to stick around for another six months.
The second episode of the series was very similar to the nWo DVD that was released a few years back.
So, after all of the hype and build for the newest WWE original series, was it worth the wait? After flying through the first three episodes, unfortunately it does not seem to add much to the Monday Night War discussion.
There are a few shortcomings that are immediately apparent. Most importantly, it seems to gloss over an entire era in just under an hour. The first episode was off to a great start, with Ted Turner’s acquisition of WCW serving as an adequate launching point. It was a quality pilot for the series and it was expected that the company would take a slow, in-depth look at the era.
However, episodes two and three of the series quickly took the wind out of the sails. The nWo episode, while entertaining, provided nothing that was not already available on the nWo DVD that was released a few years back. In fact, nearly all of the commentary that was featured on the Monday Night War episode was directly lifted from that release.
The same held true for the third episode, which discussed the Attitude Era. Instead of offering a fresh perspective, it basically took the same approach as the DVD box set that was released a few years back. This episode also relied on commentary that is many years old.
My question after watching the first three episodes is simple: Where do they go from here? At the end of episode three, they were already to the end of the Attitude Era and discussed the acquisition of WCW, basically glossing over the entire feud in a little less than an hour.
Above is a new teaser clip for episode one of season three of WWE Total Divas, which premieres next Sunday night, September 7th at 9pm EST. on E!. The clip features the returning Rosa Mendes talking with Natalya backstage at a WWE event.
The official synopsis for episode one of this season of Total Divas reads as follows:
“Season 3 begins with Nikki planning her future without her current boyfriend John Cena; at the same time, life turns topsy-turvy for Eva when she’s forced to choose between family and her husband; and tensions are high when a former Diva returns to the roster, revealing a dark secret.”
The following are highlights of a new Journal Star interview with R-Truth:
On a shoulder injury he is dealing with: “We take some devastating hits out there. A lot of times we’re out there injured. I’m injured now. I’m about 80-85 percent. I hurt my shoulder. But, as they say, the show must go on. So I’m out there.”
On his career highlight: “Getting the WWF contract, the WWE contract, just coming here. My highlight is being able to do all I want to do. You can’t pick one thing. I’m working for the biggest company there is, doing what I want to do. I’ve lived the dream. I’ve accomplished the goal.”
– As noted, former “Saved By The Bell” star Dennis Haskins, better known as “Mr. Belding,” was backstage at WWE RAW this past Monday night. While at the show, he taped some footage for the latest edition of the JBL & Cole Show, which you can check out below.
– WWE added the latest edition of their “Unseen Photos” monthly feature for August to their official website. Joey Styles, who runs WWE.com, tweeted the following link to the feature on his official Twitter account.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan recently appeared on The Roz And Mocha Show for an interview. During the discussion, “The Hulkster” was asked about fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who he called a “constant bitch.” You can check out audio of the interview at Kiss925.com.
– The following are some clips from matches on this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
The following are highlights of a recent online Q&A update by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On how he would run TNA: “No reason to comment on TNA as I’ve made myself clear that I have no desire to return pro wrestling full time much less take over rebuilding a company.”
On the Vince McMahon is dead/limo storyline: “Wasn’t a fan of the storyline with or without the tragic Benoit component. The storyline was totally unbelieveale.”
On how to make RAW and SmackDown feel more different: “There are many obvious albeit subtle things WWE could do to economically change the look of Smackdown vs. RAW. The shows sounding different is a major, positive change. Using different colors on ring posts, mat cover, etc all would help. EZ fixes all.”
Check out more of JR’s online Q&A at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Earlier this week, WWE debuted the first episode of their new animated series on their official website and YouTube called “Cheap Pops.” The episode has since been removed from both sites.
The show was produced by LowBrow Studios, which is a company that creates animated content for the internet and television. Mike Parker, the creative director of the company claims that the episode had to be removed “super fast.”
“Welp. I don’t know any details, but WWE had to take Cheap Pops down super fast,” Parker wrote on Facebook. “It was doing great, thanks for all the shares…but yeah. We’ll see what happens!”
The series, which was dubbed “THE MOST ABSURD WWE SERIES EVER,” featured Kane getting a makeover, Brock Lesnar going hunting and former WWE character Adam Bomb visiting the doctor.
The following are highlights of a new Alternative Nation interview with Hornswoggle:
On a backstage conversation he had with The Rock: “I told him, ‘I met you backstage the night you came back in [Anaheim], when you were revealed as the guest host for WrestleMania, and you thought I was a Make a Wish kid. You tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Did you have a good time tonight buddy?’ Then you walked off and you realized it, then you said to Big Show, ‘Hornswoggle thinks I thought he was a Make a Wish kid, and I did think he was.’”
On the Vince McMahon son angle: “I did that for about three months, where I was his son, maybe longer, and there were days in the beginning where I would go, ‘Oh my god, I’m working with the most powerful man in wrestling.’ Then I realized that he’s joking around, he’s playing ribs on guys more than I am. You just realize that he is this billionaire, but still just loves this business. When it comes to wrestling, I use that word instead of sports entertainment, I use wrestling all the time, because I am a wrestling fan. CM Punk once said this is still wrestling to us, this isn’t sports entertainment to us, because we grew up on wrestling.”
On Finlay: “My old buddy, my ‘Dad’ Dave Finlay. He’s still working backstage as an agent and producer, and he has helped me more than anybody else in this company. He has gone to bat for me more times that he probably wanted to, and that’s because he literally cares about me as a son.”
The following are highlights of a new CBS Atlanta interview with Bill Goldberg:
Will Sting wrestle in WWE?: “You never know what WWE is doing. You never know what any of these guys are doing. You don’t know if they’re publicizing it to ramp up for an in-ring return or an appearance of if they’re just hinting at it so that they can sell more video games. You just never know.”
What wrestling appearance he’ll make (mostly signings): “I obviously look at the roster before I choose to attend one of these, which plays a huge role in whether I do it or not. For the most part it’s a good time.”
Tony Stewart situation: “It’s a tragedy on both sides. Nobody knows what happened. Nobody knows what’s in Tony’s mind. Everybody knows his past as far as his aggressive driving and his willingness to trade paint, which is what NASCAR is all about. … I think the only fault of Tony in this situation is being part of the group of guys the last 20 years that have shown their emotion on television and have been allowed to get out of their cars and do whatever it is they have done. They set bad examples for kids like (Kevin) Ward. … I just don’t think it’s within the realm of possibility that Tony Stewart could run somebody down. There’s zero validity to that.”
As noted earlier this week, Daniel Bryan was pulled from the advertising for WWE’s upcoming European tour. It had been noted that Bryan would not be wrestling on the shows, which begin in November, however he would appear and cut an in-ring promo or get involved in some sort of non-physical segment.
For what it’s worth, a WWE source claimed that if Bryan wasn’t going to be able to appear on the tour, he would be pulled from the advertising, which is exactly what happened earlier this week.
The fact that Bryan was pulled from the tour could be a sign that he has received the update he has been waiting on regarding whether or not he will need another surgery. However, that is strictly a rumor at this point.
WWE executive Stephanie McMahon wrote an editorial feature for the Huffington Post regarding Connor Michalek, the late young WWE fan who was close to so many of the talent and workers in the company.
“This remarkable little boy was not going to let anything stop him from living his life, and doing the things that made him happy,” said Stephanie. “He was beautiful, inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. I hugged him one more time, and before he left, he looked back at me as if he was trying to tell me something. It felt as though our souls had touched.
“That night, I couldn’t sleep. My husband asked me what was wrong and I told him. ‘I just can’t stop thinking about that little boy and his dad. I wish there was some way we could help them.’ And my husband simply said, ‘You did. For four hours last night that little boy didn’t feel sick, he didn’t even think about being sick, and that is the greatest gift you could give.’ I knew he was right.”
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans who they feel will be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The options are Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Sheamus. With over 12,000 votes cast, Reigns is in a commanding lead with over 40 percent of the votes. After him are Cena and Ambrose, with the rest falling way behind in the vote.
– Sinn Bodhi posted the following update on Jake “The Snake” Roberts via Twitter:
With @JakeSnakeDDT at hospital, he's more worried about disappointing fans then getting better! We told him 2 shut up &beat this phnemonia!
As noted recently, Dean Ambrose could potentially work the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, as filming for the WWE Studios movie “Lockdown,” which he stars in, is scheduled to wrap up the day before the WWE pay-per-view.
It’s also worth noting that Ambrose is scheduled for both the RAW and SmackDown shows after Night Of Champions.
– As noted recently, Brock Lesnar is being advertised locally for the October 21st edition of WWE SmackDown, which is the final edition of the show before the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. According to WWE officials, the reports are untrue and Lesnar is not scheduled to appear at the SmackDown taping.
– The WWE Magazine officially shut down on Thursday. The final issue of the magazine is scheduled to be released on September 16th.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is being advertised for the October 21st edition of WWE SmackDown, which is being taped in Wichita, Kansas and is also the final taping before the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
– As noted recently, “Shocked Undertaker Guy” was hired by WWE for an animated series. The series is a new WWE.com feature, which you can check out at WWE.com. Below is the official synopsis for the first episode, “Cheap Pops”:
“Watch what happens when Daniel Bryan faces more than one Kane, Adam Bomb goes to the doctor and Brock Lesnar goes hunting on the first episode of WWE’s new animated series, “Cheap Pops!””
– For all of the statistic junkies out there, it’s worth noting that when John Cena lost to Brock Lesnar at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, it broke a 15-match winning streak that Cena was riding, which included television and pay-per-view matches.
– Below is the latest edition of WWE Inbox, which features several WWE Superstars and WWE Divas talking about the new official WWE logo.
– Recently released WWE talents Ricardo Rodriguez and Yoshi Tatsu have been working out lately at the Team Vision Dojo wrestling school in Orlando, Florida. Also working out at the school are former NXT talent Shaul Guerrero (aka Raquel Diaz) and TNA Knockout Brittany.
– Below is the official cover art for WWE’s new “Macho Man” Randy Savage DVD and Blu-ray video.
– WWE and Rogers Communications in Canada decided to include a small archive of content on the WWE Network due to the fact that the launch was rushed so that the company could improve their subscription numbers between now and the end of the year.
– There is talk of having Bayley defeat Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship at the upcoming NXT Takeover 2 special. The idea behind this is to get the belt off of Charlotte so that she can be called up to the main roster, which would also give Ric Flair a regular role on WWE television.
– As noted last week, TNA Knockout ODB parted ways with TNA. Apparently her departure came as a result of her contract expiring and the company choosing not to renew it.
– Below is a video preview for next Friday’s TNA “One Night Only: World Cup” pay-per-view.
It is going to be extremely hard for TNA not to spoil their plans for Bound For Glory when the company tapes their next set of Impact Wrestling television tapings in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in September.
Because of the fact that the September 5th and 6th tapings in North Carolina were switched to “One Night Only” pay-per-view tapings, TNA will likely only tape Impact Wrestling episodes at the Bethlehem tapings.
When the Bethlehem tapings are complete, TNA will have at least a month-worth of post-Bound For Glory episodes in the can.
As part of the company budget cuts, TNA has released several office workers, as well as merchandise front man Jimmy Jay, who was the protege of Don West. The company also released Dewey Barnes, who was another merchandise worker that actually appeared on television as an enhancement talent for Ethan Carter III.
It is being said that the TNA office crew was a “skeleton crew” to begin with, so with this latest round of cuts, the crew is even smaller now.
– TNA Tag-Team Champions The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) are under contract to TNA until the end of 2014. It is believed that TNA has an option in their contracts that allows them to roll-over the deal to the next year if they choose to.
– The Hardy Boys will be making their tag-team debut at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia for Tommy Dreamer’s House Of Hardcore promotion on November 15th.
