If it was up to JBL and one guy had to be called up tomorrow, who would he call up? “Adrian Neville. Not a doubt in my mind. I think he’s just phenomenal. I don’t know about his promo skills as I haven’t seen them as much, but he’s a guy who could go out there and perform on any card, anywhere in the world and be a help to that card. I would love to see him up in the WWE. He’ll be there I just don’t know the time frame.”
The English contingent in NXT: “I believe Paige will be a big star, but as far as shaking up the (divas) division goes that remains to be seen. I hope she does but you don’t know until they get there.
“Danny Burch, I saw him cut a promo the other day which I thought was phenomenal. In fact I told him afterwards that it was one of the best promos I’ve heard done in recent memory. Danny Burch, I’m a big fan of his I think he will do well it’s just a matter of finding a spot for him.”
Calling people up to the WWE: “You don’t want to bring guys in just to bring them in, you want to bring them in and make an impact with them like they have with these other guys and I think that’s why it takes longer sometimes than what people want.”
His experience at NXT: “It’s a revitalization for me. I haven’t been around anything other than the WWE for 15-20 years and so for me to see more of how I started and the passion, not just with the performers but with the crowd down there, it’s a great environment.”
Jake “The Snake” Roberts issued the following statement regarding a possible appearance at WWE’s 2014 Royal Rumble:
“Daily questions on Rumble. Here is my official statement. I have had no contact from WWE. I publicized returning at the Royal Rumble as my goal about a year ago. Looking back, setting goals that are entirely in someone else’s hands was not the best idea. My advice, and my practice now is to set goals that you can control. Do your best to control your destiny. If the Rumble happens, I will do my best to put on a memorable performance. If they want to keep me around, I know I can do some cool stuff. It if doesn’t, I still have plenty to look forward to. That’s all on the Rumble and WWE for a while. Please enjoy the rest of these holidays with your loved ones. Thanks again for all the support. Remember, the Snake ALWAYS bites back.”
– Batista is once again being advertised on UNLVTickets.com for the WWE live event on February 16th from Las Vegas. He was pulled from advertising last week after the UNLV website spoiled the surprise, but now that WWE has officially announced his return, he’s back on the site.
– WWE NXT star Alexander Rusev turned 28 years old on Wednesday. Rusev is rumored to be one of the next developmental stars to be called up to the main roster.
– Part 2 of Steve Austin’s interview with Jim Cornette for the “Steve Austin Show: Unleashed” is now online at PodcastOne.com.
– The former Second City Saints (CM Punk, Colt Cabana and Ace Steel) reunited on this week’s Art of Wrestling podcast. Chicago native Cliff Compton was also on the show, along with former WWE tag team wrestler Antonio Thomas of the Heartthrobs. You can listen here.
The following are results from the TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings that were held on Tuesday, December 3, 2013. The following results will air during the December 26th edition of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:
– Brooke Tessmacher comes to the ring. She calls out Bully Ray for blaming her for the end of the Aces and Eights faction. Tessmacher claimed that she tried to get him to make up with her, but he blew her off so she said he was just a fat old man who didn’t have any friends. Bully Ray gets mad and says the only reason he had her around in the first place was to use her while she was still attractive.
– Joseph Park def. Bad Influence in a Monster’s Ball match. Park ended up getting busted open in the match, resulting in him turning into Abyss. In the end, Park picked up the win over Bad Influence.
– Lei’D Tapa def. ODB in a Knockouts match.
– Zema Ion def. Eric Young in a singles match.
Dixie carter announces they will have a coronation for Magnus next week.
– Ethan Carter III, Rockstar Spud, and TNA Tag Team champions The Bromans beat Sting and Jeff Hardy in a handicap match
– After the match, Jeff Hardy paid tribute to Sting and then said that he was tired of all of the mess that was TNA and pretty much said this was the last time we’d see him in TNA until things changed. Sting tried to convince him otherwise but Hardy refused and walked out.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Complete WWE RAW Results (12/23)
WWE RAW (12/23)
Here are some quick thoughts about this weeks edition of Christmas Raw. Did you watch it?
The WWE Diva’s are awesome to look at. Not so awesome to watch wrestle.
12-diva’s Jingle Bells Match: The tag team division has been completely turned around. At one point it seemed like there was barely a tag team division. AJ Lee is the best women’s wrestler on the roster, why aren’t we seeing her in great matches. I guess I know why, because of Total Diva’s. That doesn’t mean there can’t be great woman’s wrestling. NO!
John Cena, CM Punk, and Big E. Langston victorious to end Christmas Raw
CM Punk John Cena & Big E Langston vs The Shield I enjoyed the match, Cena, Punk and Big E all out there. The end seemed silly though. Why would there suddenly be a disqualification, because the two illegal Shield members saved themselves from being pinned by Big E? It doesn’t make sense, but still the match was better than the Good Santa vs Bad Santa, which I thought for sure would close the show. Therefore it gets a YES!
The USOS vs The Prime Time Players: The match was fun to watch. Good tag team action YES!|
The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all celebrate after the match. Barf
The USOS & Prime Time Players Curtain Call Before the match Darren Young mistakenly refer to Austin Texas as Houston, to get some sort of heel heat, I didn’t have a problem with this. I did have a problem with after the match, The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all doing the Millions of Dollars dance. Here’s why I have an issue with it. This is starting to become a thing, with Superstars hugging after the match, we saw it a few weeks ago with the Michael Strahan, Miz, Titus O’neil segment. We saw it with Big Show, Rey Mysterio and The Rhodes. Forget about ruthless aggression, these guys are all becoming wimps! It’s OKAY for two fan favorites to dislike each other, and not hug at the end. I’m not saying they need to attack each other after the match… but I’m hoping it’s just a lighthearted Christmas episode thing, and not a growing trend. Although with the recent article of WWEshopping their television shows to TV Network’s including Disney. We might see everyone hug at the end of matches in the future. NO!
“Bad Santa’ full of Christmas Cupcakes
Good Santa Vs Bad Santa:It is what it is I guess. Mark Henry playing the good Santa, Damien Sandow playing the bad Santa with produced backstage segments contrasting the two. The announcers played it up as you would have expected. The whole concept is silly. Bah Humbug! NO!
Live Announcing: I would say it was a good thing that Michael Cole and JBL announced the show live from Stanford CT. (They had pre-recorded cut-in’s from the arena, but voiced most of Raw Live) it gave it a fresh feel, JBL made some topical references as he eluded to on twitter. The Batista announcement which clearly wasn’t scheduled for the show originally was added in, and the live commentary allowed for reaction from JB and Cole. Did you miss Jerry “The King” Lawler? I did not. YES!
@NEIL_MALONE@WWE@GoToBermuda pre taped? Not sure u noticed, our commentary was live. The Romo reference should have given that away.
“Santa Claus is an Illegal Immigrant” – Zeb Colter
The Real Americans vs Los Matadores: Another good tag team match on Raw. We saw the Antonio Cesaro swing, which if you haven’t’ seen live is an awesome thing to watch. With all the tag teams in the WWE, I think the WrestleMania pre-show match should involve all the tag-teams that one make it to the PPV. Perhaps the winner can face the champions. YES!
RAW OVERALL: NO! Call me scrooge if you will, but the over cheesy holiday wrestling show, should go on Smackdown! I think Raw looses it’s coolness by being lame. If Disney pony’s up the cash this could be what you see on RAW every week so get used to it! There was some good action on the show which I enjoyed, no real progression of WWE story lines but the big announcement of The Animal Batista, which was awesome to see.
Emirates 24/7 has published an article with Saudi newspaper columnist Khaled Al Suleiman blasting John Cena and WWE ahead of their first live tour in the country in February 2014. Suleiman wrote:
“John Cena… you are not welcome here… a few years ago I could have said you are welcome but my bitter experience with my children and their obsession with John Cena have made me loathsome to the idea of his coming… to stop him from coming, I am even ready to face him in the ring although such an idea is suicidal.”
“Over the past years, my home has been turned into a wrestling ring where human bodies fly around and pillows are thrown all over as screams do not stop as if my home became Madison Square in New York… during those years, the shelves, walls and drawers in my home have been filled with pictures of wrestlers and their frightening bodies… now they are coming to control our minds at our home… you are not welcome… what we, adults and children, need is not a wrestling ring to engage in savage and horrifying fights, but a stage where all the talented compete to demonstrate their human skills and nature not savagery.”
– Sheamus and Chris Jericho will be appearing at the “Autorama” event in Pittsburgh, PA during Royal Rumble weekend. With the Rumble taking place in Pittsburgh, there’s already speculation that they could be appearing on the PPV.
Sheamus has been out of action since August with torn labrum in his left shoulder. Jericho’s no stranger to dramatic returns, including his surprise appearance at the 2013 Royal Rumble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjTJUYnTJs0
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was the top trending search term on Yahoo! this weekend as a result of high-profile P.R. rep Justine Sacco’s controversial tweet where she wrote, “Going “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Sacco is a former WWE spokesperson and her past association with the organization is what led to Vince trending.
– Chris Hero (formerly Kassius Ohno in NXT) revealed in a shoot interview with RF video that Triple H and John Cena are high on NXT star Enzo Amore, who has been out of action since November with a broken leg.
– Jim Cornette revealed on Twitter that he’s working on a book about his old Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion.
– WWE has published the following time-lapse video of the WWE ring being set up:
“It is a gladiator’s stage, a legend’s spotlight and, quite literally, an artist’s canvas. But what goes into creating a wrestling ring?
– AJ Styles’ agent Bill Behrens released the following statement over the weekend:
“We continue positive discussions with TNA but not exclusively. AJ has not yet agreed to a new deal nor signed a contract with anyone.”
– Former Ring of Honor tag team champions Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, who have been wrestling in NXT as the American Pitbulls, are still not signed to WWE. There is some talk that TNA is interested in signing them if WWE does not get them under contract.
TNA is looking to sign a lot of indy talent in early 2014 to freshen up their roster, with company officials reportedly interested in Chris Hero and several NYC-based wrestlers.
In WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross’ latest column, he offers his thoughts on the possibility of broadcasting again for WWE, fan speculation over Sting facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania, and Jeff Hardy.
Whether he would consider broadcasting for WWE again: “Yes I’d consider broadcasting again and feel motivated to do so but it takes two to Tango and most companies aren’t looking to hire 61 year old guys with Bells palsy. I never let my facial paralysis define me but unfortunately some companies do along with the stigma that being a long time ‘pro wrestling guy’ has to some narrow minded, uncreative decision makers.”
Will he boycott WrestleMania?: “I’m sorry if I offend some who think that I’m boycotting WM30 because of my own, admitted, lofty ego, but any talent being a part of any event is largely up to the promotion. If a promotion extends an offer and the talent roadblocks it, then that’s another story. I’m not boycotting any offer to broadcast anything if it’s a win-win arrangement. At this stage of the game, it has to be fun and something where I can be myself behind the mic.”
Fan speculation of Sting facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30: “I get daily questions on whether a Sting vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania is ever going to happen. I have no answer to that query but I can say that it’s seemingly fish or cut bait time as the window off opportunity is rapidly closing on an attraction that fans have been clamoring for years.”
Jeff Hardy: “Yep…I’m a wrestling fan and I enjoy sampling TNA occasionally. Really liked seeing Jeff Hardy last week. Jeff is still a top hand in anyone’s company.”
Much more is featured in his post, including thoughts on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wrestling again, working alongside Paul Heyman, who he wants to see inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014, and Ring of Honor. To read his full post, click here.
It appears now that WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee will not be punished for her obscenity-laced tirade against NBC Universal personality Michelle Beadle at last week’s Tribute to the Troops event at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Pierce County, Washington. According to F4WOnline.com, the matter is “over and done with” after Lee and WWE Superstar boyfriend, CM Punk, were spoken to.
After news of the incident caught fire online Sunday, WWE hit damage control in order to downplay the story and keep it from being reported by the mainstream media since the idea of a wrestler behaving abusive toward a celebrity “is the exact last thing they want public.” Organization officials asked Beadle—one source in WWE said “begged”—to go on Twitter and “say what happened and leave it at that.”
She wrote, “Once and once only: I’ve known CM Punk for years. Considered him a friend. When I saw him at the arena, I said ‘hey f&$?face’. The exact same way I talk to everyone. His girlfriend was no where near this. And I kept walking along with my assistant and two members of WWE PR. Next thing I know, I’m being yelled at. I honestly thought it was a joke. Period. The event went on and it was amazing. So I hope we can move on from this ridiculously lame ‘story.’ As for the crazies, BLOCKED! And Happy freaking Holidays!!!”
Beadle and Punk dated for a brief period of time, with one person with knowledge of the situation describing their dating period as “a second” to F4WOnline.com.
Punk confided to people close to him that he was unhappy with WWE’s handling of the matter. The day after the incident, he stated on Twitter, “It’s difficult to always try to do business the proper way with a company that refuses to practice the same standards.” Despite this friction, those close to him don’t expect him to bolt from the promotion, nor would company officials want him to.
In a separate matter, some company officials were upset with Punk for tweeting about hockey on Sunday, since it was the day of a pay-per-view. After news of the incident surfaced, he directed a number of messages to the mascot of the Los Angeles Kings.
The following is a non-spoiler list of confirmed matches for the December 27th edition of WWE SmackDown:
– Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs. The Usos
– Cody Rhodes vs. Antonio Cesaro
– Ryback & Curtis Axel vs. The Prime Time Players
– Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Daniel Bryan vs. Damien Sandow
– Big E. Langston vs. Dean Ambrose
– Mark Henry vs. Roman Reigns
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
For complete WWE SmackDown spoiler results for the December 27th edition of the show, click ahead to page two …
Part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was recently named by Forbes as the highest-grossing actor of 2013, commented on Twitter on the subject. The Rock tweeted the following:
WWE is advertising the January 6, 2014 edition of RAW, the first of the new year, as having an “Old School” theme.
“Old School RAW” will take place from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The dark match main event advertised for the live crowd that night is Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T as the special guest referee.
The following are highlights from a new online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Batista’s WWE return: “Good to hear WWE talk of Batista’s return on January 20. Dave is a major player and WWE has the opportunity to capitalize on his established reputation and accomplishments. Hopefully, there is a long term, strategic plan for ‘The Animal’ that has been established.”
On Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and The Wyatt Family: “6 man tag with Rhodes Brothers and Daniel Bryan vs. the Wyatt Family seemingly did what it was supposed to do. Reasons the match worked…there is an established story and the talents had the ring time to tell said story. No fan favorites are executing better in WWE, IMO, than the Rhodes boys and Bryan.”
On TNA and three-man announce teams: “On a recent interview, I mentioned that one of the reasons that I had no interest in going to TNA was that I had no desire in affecting the chemistry of broadcasters Mike Tenay and Taz. Yes, a three man booth would obviously be possible but I’m not a big fan of three man announce teams in pro wrestling, as a rule. Mike and Taz do a great job especially when they are on point calling holds, near falls, etc and keeping a ‘sports feel’ on the in ring action. They certainly don’t need me. I did enjoy the three man announce team of McMahon, King, and me back in the day. It’s good having the boss sitting right next to you as it helps greatly with communication and creative direction. In those days, a quick huddle, so to speak, during commercial breaks was timely and efficient. With that said and as I’ve mentioned here before, I see my broadcasting days in pro wrestling aka sports entertainment as history. It’s time to do other things that interest me and my style of play by play really doesn’t fit in today’s genre.”
On Wade Barrett: “I’d still like to see William Regal associated with “Bad News” Barrett, in some manner, of whose new, TV persona I haven’t quite understood as of yet. I applaud Barrett getting some TV time because that’s where it all starts and am anxious to see where his creative journey takes him. The talented Brit has a marketable upside, IMO.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
The USA Network recently issued the following to promote next week’s edition of WWE RAW:
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW – 8/7c
The Superstars and Divas from the World Wrestling Entertainment® Universe take the stage live in front of thousands in attendance at The Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA and the millions of fans watching at home. MONDAY NIGHT RAW continues to be the most watched regularly scheduled year-round program on basic cable television. RAW Superstars include John Cena, CM Punk, AJ Lee, Daniel Bryan, Kane, The Miz, Eve and Zack Ryder.
The following are highlights from a recent Pougkeepsie Journal interview with TNA star Bully Ray:
On his surprise appearance at the last House Of Hardcore event: “It was great. I came up in a company, ECW, that was really good at shocking people. I think wrestling, across the board, needs that shock and awe feel. I do shock really well as I did in TNA in the last year as the president of Aces and Eights. What I did at House of Hardcore, people were buzzing, the wrestling world was buzzing, the internet was buzzing. It got a ton of hits on YouTube. It’s good for wrestling.”
On the importance of wrestling companies thinking outside the box: “It’s very important for companies to do things like that. It keeps it interesting for people and it keeps people into wrestling across the board. Nobody really, in wrestling, is knocking them dead right now and selling out every arena.”
“Wrestling is where it is right now. There’s a demographic that will always tune in and always buy merchandise and always buy the shows. But whenever you do something like I did at House of Hardcore, and people go, ‘hey HOH and TNA are working together,’ it’s lightning in a bottle. It’s a spark. TNA is also putting on a loaded card that night that people are going to want to be there in person for.”
Check out the complete interview online at PougkeepsieJournal.com.
The following is a blog from Jim Cornette from F4WOnline.com explaining the context of the recent Samoa Joe remarks:
I haven’t been on the internet much the past few days because, well, it’s Christmastime, but I just found out that Samoa Joe is of the belief I may have made disparaging comments about him in a recent interview, and I want to clarify those statements. Whether someone has misrepresented my meaning to Joe, whether he read a transcript of the audio podcast and did not know the context, or whether this is simply internet rumor from people challenged in the comprehension of the use of irony or sarcasm, I’m not sure. But my comments in effect were praising Joe, not disparaging him.
In response to a question about the TNA-AJ Styles situation, I expressed the opinion that AJ was right in standing up for himself and the money he wanted, but that it was a sad fact that at TNA’s level of business and the way they’ve booked their talent, he’s probably not worth to them what he wants, and should be making in wrestling.
I recalled that in a conversation with Delirious in 2012, when we were trying to come up with available names to book in ROH that would truly sell tickets, and where the ROH alumni were then and how they were faring, I bemoaned the fact that AJ, Jeff Hardy, Joe and a few other ROH alumni were bigger draws BEFORE they got on national TV than after, because of the way they’d been booked. I have always been a fan of Samoa Joe–I’ve seen him booked perfectly as a dominant badass with a literate promo style–Gabe Sapolsky did it and it really shouldn’t be that hard. Joe and Kurt Angle had TNA’s most successful PPV main event ever the one time they were allowed to be themselves. He should be in a franchise position there today.
But it’s also true that you can only take a top talent and put fake tattoos on their faces, take them from face to heel, suit to firedancers, have them lose the big one, have them lose a lot of small ones, kidnap them and throw them in trunks or whatever else has been perpetrated on that talent in the name of “entertainment” for so long and not devalue said talent. Nature Boy Buddy Rogers couldn’t have taken that treatment on national TV for 5 years and still sold tickets. And it’s not just Samoa Joe, TNA has managed to get a lot of guys “under” instead of “over.”
So, the illustratation was not intended to be critical of Samoa Joe. It was intended to disparage the knuckleheads that had a potential money ballplayer and blew it, the guy who couldn’t book Lassie in a pet shop, and the company that devalues their talent and then offers them less money, but not Joe. I apologize to him, wish him Merry Christmas, and offer him the chance to come on my podcast–The Jim Cornette Experience, every week on MLW.com–and let me apologize to him publicly. As Bill O’Reilly would say, “We here at the Experience regret the error.”
– Apparently WWE came up with the idea of having Batista return on the January 20th edition of WWE RAW early last week. The idea behind it is an attempt to try and spike the RAW rating for that night. If true, apparently the advertising issues with local arena websites had no impact on WWE’s plans to have him return on RAW on January 20th.
– The following is the RAW Backstage Fallout video for this week:
Even though WWE used Big Show in a diaper to promote next week’s New Year’s edition of WWE RAW, he is not currently scheduled to appear on the show. WWE is running a non-televised live event in Toronto at the same time as RAW next week, which takes place in Richmond, Virginia.
The updated advertisements for the non-televised live event includes John Cena, Randy Orton, Big Show, Kane, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio, Sin Cara and Zeb Colter. The advertisements for RAW the same night in Richmond include CM Punk, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Curtis Axel, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
The deal for Batista to return during WrestleMania XXX season is something he and Triple H have been working on for a few months. Batista is scheduled to work some television tapings, pay-per-views and even some of WWE’s non-televised live events. The deal calls for Batista to stick around for at least some time after WrestleMania XXX in April.
Before announcing his return on RAW on Monday night, the original plan called for Batista to return as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. WWE had copy of the promotional materials that were scheduled to be sent to local arenas and apparently those were sent out prematurely without notice that Batista’s inclusion in them was to be held off until he officially debuted at the Rumble.
Apparently as a result of the information leaking early on official arena websites, among other places, WWE was quite upset. One source joked that it was a good thing Vnice McMahon was overseas visiting the U.S. Troops when the news leaked, or he may have killed someone.
One person who recently saw Batista this past weekend noted that he has put on a lot of size and muscle and appears to be more ripped than usual.
– Apparently Heath Slater has been given some time off from WWE to deal with some personal issues. As of right now, there’s no official word as to when he’ll be coming back. As a result, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal have been keeping the 3MB gimmick alive by themselves.
– WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler recently spoke to The Washington Times about Arn Anderson helping him backstage in WWE. Ziggler stated:
“Absolutely Arn. He’s taken a liking to me because of my work ethic. I’m the guy who doesn’t necessarily win all the time, always out there giving a great match, [and] making someone else look better. He crushed for so many years like that, so I feel like he relates to me sometimes. He pulls me aside and gives me a lot of pointers. [WWE Hall of Famer] Pat Paterson is another one. Guys who are so good and so smart with the business, loving the business, and [when] they see someone else loving it, they try to pass on their wisdom.”
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans who has the better beard — Daniel Bryan or Santa Claus. At last check, Bryan was winning the poll with 65 percent of the vote.
– Former WWE and WCW Superstar Diamond Dallas Page has added the following holiday video from his “Accountability Crib” to his official YouTube channel:
– Wrestling legend and one-half of the famous “Midnight Express” tag-team, “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, was hospitalized on Sunday in Jonesboro, Arkansas due to complications from diabetes. The issues have resulted in some leg problems for the former Tag-Team Champion. Eaton just recently overcame some heart complications after having a Pacemaker installed.
– For those wondering about the physical condition of Bill Goldberg following a lengthy absence from active wrestling, the former WCW mega-star recently told a fan on Twitter that he still works out six days a week. Goldberg tweeted:
