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Former Women’s Champ Won’t Be On Raw, Mysterio To Face Bryan

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– Madusa, who captured the WWE Women’s Championship as Alundra Blayze, says she will not be on hand for tonight’s historic 1000th episode of Raw due to “prior engagements.”

“Good luck, congrats and many blessings to all that have a wonderful and historical time at WWE 1000 epic night! Don’t forget to watch….. Your one and only …..STILL WWE’s/WWF’s champion! Just to set it straight… I will not be there. Prior engagements,” she wrote on Facebook.

Shane Helms, formerly known as The Hurricane, also confirmed that he will not be on the show due to his contractual status with another wrestling organization.

– Rey Mysterio is scheduled to face Daniel Bryan at the August 9 SmackDown live event in Tokyo, Japan.

– Sid Vicious spoke to Memphisport.com about his son Frank not telling other Big Brother houseguests who his dad and possibly appearing on tonight’s historic Raw episode celebrating 1,000 episodes.

(source: PWInsider.com)

Major Rock Band Possibly at Raw, Rey in Tokyo, WCW Nitro

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– Major rock band Green Day is in St. Louis, staying reportedly at the WWE Hotel There is no confirmation on weather they will be on RAW1000 tonight or not. The Smackdown theme song is “Do You Know Your Enemy?” By Green Day.

— WWE has stopped airing reruns of WCW Monday Nitro on its Classics On Demand service. The last Nitro aired was from September 1998 featuring Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan. The Monday Night Wars program was hosted with Matt Striker, showing that weeks episode of Raw as well. RAW will continue to air as The History of Monday Night RAW.

— Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan has been added to the August 9th SmackDown show in Tokyo, Japan.

*Spoiler* On Names On Hand For Tonight’s Episode Of Raw

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The Undertaker and wife Michelle McCool are slated to be on hand for tonight’s historic 1000th episode of Raw in St. Louis, Missouri, PWInsider.com reports.

The website also states that a “shocking name” may be at the show and were trying to confirm.

Former WWE Women’s Champion Amy “Lita” Dumas was spotted Sunday night checking into the hotel WWE talent are staying at.

There are rumors on Twitter of Steve Austin being spotted in St Louis, but they have not been confirmed.

Tara Says She’s In St. Louis, WWE Discontinues Nitro, Michaels

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– TNA Impact Wrestling star Tara, formerly known as Victoria in WWE, stated at 8:20 a.m. via Twitter that she is in St. Louis, Missouri—site of tonight’s historic Raw episode celebrating 1000th shows.

“BrookeIMPACT Just landed in St. Louis. Call you from car,” the post reads.

She meant to send the message private to fellow TNA star Miss Tessmacher, but accidentally made it public. The post has since been deleted.

Tara noted last Friday that she would love to be at Raw, but won’t: “For all who’ve asked, yes I’d like to be at #RAW1000. I won’t be there in body, but Monday I’ll be with @WWE in spirit. #GhostOfVictoria.”

– WWE has discontinued airing reruns of WCW Monday Nitro on its Classics On Demand service—stopping at September 1998 with Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan as the center storyline. The program featured an interlude with Matt Striker, who in its last few episodes would often describe Nitro’s storylines in a mocking tone. The show was packaged with Raw as Monday Night Wars; Raw will continue to air as The History of Monday Night Raw.

– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. He is advertised to appear on Raw as part of a D-Generation reunion.

List Of Former WWE Stars In St. Louis For Tonight’s Raw 1000

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WWE officials have reached out to numerous former talents in recent months for tonight’s Raw celebrating 1000th episodes. The following former WWE Superstars have been confirmed as being in St. Louis, Missouri, site of tonight’s epic show:

* Billy Gunn

* Bob Backlund

* Bret Hart

* Diamond Dallas Page

* “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

* Jim Ross,

* John “Bradshaw” Layfield

* Mae Young

* “Mean” Gene Okerlund

* Mick Foley

* Psycho Sid

* Road Warrior Animal

* Ron Simmons

* “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

* Ryan Shamrock

* X-Pac

Fan Incident w/ CM Punk, Extreme Rules, Raw Ticket Prices

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– Fans were on  hand at the St. Louis airport last night, to greet WWE Superstars arriving for RAW 1000. A fan reportedly asked CM Punk for an autograph but was turned down by the WWE Champion because  he was rude in his approach.

This led to a second fan causing a scene inside the airport by yelling at CM Punk. According to reports, Punk threw the second fan’s  autograph book in a trash can. Airport police came over to an annoyed Punk.  Eye witnesses reported seeing other WWE starsasking fans if they knew “the fat guy”, referring to the second fan.

Tweets referencing the insident from CM Punk and Ricardo Rodriguez

— VividSeats.com has done a chart looking at ticket prices for Raw here.

 

— WWE Extreme Rules will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on May 19th, 2013. The pre-sale at here begins tonight during the 1,000th RAW.

Dolph Ziggler Talks WM29 Opponent & Jericho Feud

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During a recent interview with the Trentonian, Dolph Ziggler said he would still like to wrestle Zack Ryder at WrestleMania 29 from the Metlife Stadium in NY/NJ.

Ziggler, who currently holds a Money in the Bank briefcase with an opportunity to wrestle the World Heavyweight champion at any time, says he’d still want to wrestle Ryder even if he’s champion by next year’s big show:

“If I’m World Champion, I’d rather be in the ring with Zack because he worked hard to be there.”

During a recent interview on Chad Dukes’ radio show, Ziggler called Ryder one of the hardest working performers in WWE.

Ziggler also talked about his new feud with with Chris Jericho, which kicked off on last week’s RAW. Ziggler said he’s looked up to Jericho since he’s been a teenager, but stayed in his heel character during the interview and said he got the upper hand on the rocker during their exchange:

“For once, someone was witty enough, quick enough to shut Jericho up.”

Ziggler Talks Legends Getting Airtime, Vickie, Swagger, Ryder

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Dolph Ziggler was recently interviewed by ChadDukesWrestling.com to hype tonight’s 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW. Here are some highlights of what Ziggler said about:

RAW going to three hours: “So many of us are fighting for precious minutes on Raw and Smackdown. And two hours sounds like a lot, and soon to be this coming Monday, the 1000th Raw, three hours, but it’s like we are fighting to get out there and show how great we are. And not always do we get the chance, there are several awesome Superstars chomping at the bit every single Monday who get left off the show.”

Zack Ryder’s dedication: “I used to think, ‘Cena is never home.’ Maybe one day a month to pay his bills. But Ryder is constantly filming that show, buying equipment for it, finding another outlet, or way ya know, way to get himself noticed. And it doesn’t always pay off on Monday Night Raw but it sure has paid off with a following.”

Legends Getting Air Time Instead of Young Talent: “You can get angry about it, you can use it to motivate you, but here’s the fact: if they didn’t draw ratings, or money, or people, or merchandise, we wouldn’t bring them back. Obviously, somebody or everybody wants to see these guys and I understand that. These guys are the guys who over the last 10-15 years have been carrying the show, they’ve been the superstars, they’ve gone on to bigger and better things, and they’re an attraction. They’re a draw. You’d be dumb to say you didn’t want to see what they’re gonna do. They’re taking my spot theoretically and I wanna see what they’re gonna do. All I can do is go out there and do my best and work harder than everyone else, stay outspoken, not change, and do everything, so those other 320 days a year when I’m out there I let everybody know that this is gonna be the next guy.”

Teaming with Jack Swagger: “Me and Swagger, were believe it or not, no one cared if we didn’t have any promo time, and we were a hell of a tag team. Great legitimate, college, Division-1, but kicking athletes. I loved going out there with him and he’s such a big, especially standing next to me, he’s huge. He looks 7-feet tall next to me, which is awesome. He’s so strong and good at what he does and I thought we complimented each other great. Of course, not as much attention was paid to us, it was kinda like, ‘okay, here’s Vickie talking we’ll boo her,’ cause she’s great at what she does. And then we’ll go out for a couple minutes and ya know nothing too important. It was important matches to us, but not really to the audience.”

Working with Vickie Guerrero: “I love having Vickie in my corner. Since day one I thought that this was a great, we compliment each other, we talk to each other, even during matches. I love having her out there with me. She’s gotten me so far I think, I’ve kept her relevant at certain times, she’s kept me relevant at certain times, we compliment each other. And I think one day down the line we will have a split up and maybe we’ll go our separate ways, but right now I love what I’m doing.”

Sound Off 229: Will We See A New Face During Monday’s Wedding?

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Solomonster has live thoughts from last night’s TNA BaseBrawl show in Brooklyn, including praise for Jeff Hardy, and a somewhat ho-hum edition of Impact with Aces & Eights attacking the world. Plus, thoughts on the MITB PPV and this week’s Raw 1000 show, including ideas for how to book the AJ/Daniel Bryan wedding, Brock Lesnar’s return and the main event finish with John Cena and CM Punk.

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List Of Raw Wrestlers That Have Died – Writer Slams WWE

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New York Post sportswriter Phil Mushnick has once again taken aim at WWE and company chief Vince McMahon over the staggering number of wrestlers to have died before the age of 45. He quipped in his column Sunday,

“A former WWF/WWE content man wonders if, in the upcoming 1,000th episode of Raw, Vince McMahon will present a roll call of WWF/WWE TV performers who didn’t live past 45. Or would that take too long?”

In the past, Mushnick has branded the professional wrestling industry, particularly WWE, as a “death mill.” Although the majority of the performers died after parting ways with WWE, Mushnick attributed their premature deaths to their lifestyle while under the employ of McMahon. Other media outlets have likewise provided statistics showing the high number of wrestlers who have died young from car crashes, suicide, heart failure and steroid-related health problems.

Of individuals who appeared on Raw as a wrestler, manager or referee and died before the age of 45, the list includes the following 28 names:

* Bam Bam Bigelow

* Bertha Faye

* Big Boss Man

* Brian Pillman

* “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith

* Chris Benoit

* Chris Duffy

* Crash Holly

* Crush

* Earthquake/Golga

* Eddie Guerrero

* Giant Gonzalez

* Joey Marella

* Johnny Grunge

* Kanyon

* Lance Cade

* Marianna/Miss Cleavage

* Mike Awesome

* Mr. Perfect

* Owen Hart

* Rad Radford

* Rick Rude

* Road Warrior Hawk

* Skip

* Test

* The Executioner (a/k/a Terry Gordy)

* Umaga/Jamal

* Yokozuna

Additionally, of individuals who competed on Raw and died between the ages of 46 and 50, the list includes the following names: “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Ludvig Borga, Luna Vachon, Rocco Rock, Sensational Sherri and Steven Dunn.

Kelly Kelly Returning From Hiatus, Morrison and Melina Appearance

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– Kelly Kelly returns to WWE this week after being granted time off the road in late May.

She tweeted Sunday, “On the road again. Can’t wait to see everyone at the #raw1000.”

Kelly, who had been on the road on a weekly basis since joining WWE in 2006, was reportedly granted a break to spend time with her family and boyfriend. She last competed on television on the May 21 Raw SuperShow, losing to Beth Phoenix.

– WWE and Party City hosted a pizza party for Make-A-Wish kids on July 15 before Money in the Bank in Phoenix, Arizona. At the Party City celebration, Alex Riley, William Regal and Tyson Kidd met Dylan, Max and Joshua, who are all WWE Circle of Champions honorees from Make-A-Wish. Party City will host a donation drive in stores where WWE fans can donate $1 to Make-A-Wish through Aug. 18. (Article)’

– Former WWE Superstars John Morrison and Melina appear at the Steel City Con this Saturday and Sunday. The event is being held at the Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Vince McMahon: UFC’s Raiting’s “Abysmal”, Talks Social Media & More

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WWE Chairman Vince McMahon answered questions from The Hollywood Reporter Promoting  Monday’s Raw 1000.  You can view the full article here

McMahon on UFC as competition: “We’re in show business, they are a sport. Their ratings are abysmal. They are in the pay-per-view business, and they do reasonably well there. We just set a record for WrestleMania. We had 1.3 million buys for this year’s WrestleMania, and our pay-per-view numbers for our shows have been up 30 percent since then. So, we are looking pretty good.”

McMahon on social networking and the interactive nature of WWE Raw: “Back in the early days, our performers elicited a response — a boo or a cheer. Today, we use all this social media. We are going to do Tout, in which the WWE just invested. With that, you get a 15-second video shout-out that goes straight to our TV programs. Beginning with the 1,000th show, people can participate in terms of the types of matches and what actually happens on air. It will be the most interactive TV programming in the world.”

McMahon on why WWE performers move on to Hollywood: “Our talent is taught not to be prima donnas, to be on time and know their lines. And quite frankly, people in Hollywood, once they see what we do, they are amazed. Our talent doesn’t demand the biggest trailer or a certain amount of grape juice or whatever the hell it is. Our talent is extremely flexible and knows how to act, so it’s a logical extension for them.”

 

AJ Talks About Her Wedding & Growing Up A Wrestling Fan

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WWE Diva AJ Lee appeared on Mark Madden’s radio show on 105.9 The X this weekend to promote Monday’s RAW.

During the interview, AJ revealed that she has been getting career advice from WWE Champion CM Punk and John Cena. AJ Lee has been a lifelong wrestling fan and loves the business, something that very few divas on the WWE roster can say.

AJ has been compared to the “first lady” of WWE, Miss Elizabeth, in recent months and says she feels like she’s having her Miss Elizabeth moment this Monday with her wedding to Daniel Bryan.

Here is audio of the appearance:

* Storyline SPOILERS For AJ Lee & Daniel Bryan’s Romance

Diva To Return At RAW1000, WWE Network Pre-Show, More

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–  Kelly Kelly will return to WWE this week after taking some time off the road since  May.

– Kelly, has been Active with WWE Since 2006, was given time of to spend time with her family and boyfriend. She last appeared on television on the May 21 Raw SuperShow, losing to Beth Phoenix.

– Sources indicate the WWE May have a 30 minute to one hour Raw pre-show to air on the new WWE Network. There’s also talk that some of the WWE YouTube shows will be produced on the WWE Network as 1/2 hour episodes. The WWE originally expected to launch the Network April 1st 2012, however that date was moved to the ambiguous “Fall 2012”. Insiders are speculating that may be pushed back now to early 2013.

– WWE recently sent Gerald Brisco and Canyon Cemen were to recruit new WWE Talent in Colorado Springs, CO. Bobby Lashley & others train MMA in Colorado Springs.

 

George “The Animal” Steele on John Cena: “He’s Nothing Special”

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– The Inside The Ropes podcast recently spoke with George Steele, Chris Masters, Tully Blanchard, Michael Tarver, JJ Dillon, Lex Luger, Pete Gas, Sean Oliver, Raven and Stevie Richards to celebrate 1,000 episodes of WWE RAW. Here are a few highlights:

George Steele on watching RAW:
“I record RAW every Monday. But with my DVR it takes me ten minutes to watch it. I fast forward through most of it.”

Steele on John Cena:
“I’ve seen a million John Cena’s, he’s nothing special. Think about it, there are so many that are better out there today.”

Michael Tarver on Ryback:
“Ryback is an absolute beast. He’s not like the 2012 sloppy Brock Lesnar, this guy is actually good and he’ll be a World Champion soon.”

Raven on his RAW experiences:
“To be honest, I never really enjoyed my time at WWE so I don’t know if I have a great mount that I remember. Probably one of the Hardcore matches but they all morph into one.”

Raven on the “Wind Beneath My Wings” segment with Steve Austin:
“I absolutely loved being a part of that. it was so cheesy. I had so much fun. You’ve got to give props to Stephanie McMahon for going out there and making a total fool of herself. We were all so out of tune. It was fantastic.”

CM Punk Reveals His Favorite Raw Moment, Who Inspired Him

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WWE Champion CM Punk appeared on The Bower Show on ESPN 97.9 FM Hartford Connecticut on Thursday (audio available here) to promote the historic 1000th episode of Raw. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

* When asked to name his favorite moment in the illustrious history of Raw, Punk said though there have been many great moments, his personal favorite involves former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky. In the autumn of 2004, Snitsky punted a baby doll into the audience, which Punk says always makes makes him laugh.

– When asked whether there was a Raw moment that made him want to become a professional wrestler, he cited watching “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on television as a child as the reason that CM Punk came into existence.

– Punk said he can play the saxophone, and is the only instrument he plays.

– Punk was asked about WWE’s upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release, CM Punk – Best in the World. He says the title is the complete package and tells his entire story.

“To me, it’s the best DVD that WWE has ever done because it’s not a wrestling DVD,” Punk said. “It’s a human story.”

– Punk said he’s never “crossed streams” with Triple H or anyone else, doesn’t own skinny jeans and has never owned a pair of Crocs™.

(source: ProWrestling.net)

Samoa Joe & Magnus Capture Tag Belts In Japan, Guerrero Article

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– Samoa Joe and Magnus are the new GHC Tag Team Champions for Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. They captured the belts Sunday in Tokyo from Akitoshi Saito and Jun Akiyama, ending their seventh-month reign.

Magnus wrote on Twitter, “New GHC/ Pro-Wrestling NOAH World Tag Team Champions… @SamoaJoe and yours truly. Ryogoku Sumo Hall Tokyo, it was an honor!”

Christopher Daniels also competed at the event, NOAH Great Voyage, losing to GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru.

The Miami Herald published an article acknowledging Chavo Guerrero’s arrival to TNA Impact Wrestling this Thursday on Impact. With Chavo’s arrival, two members of the legendary Guerrero family are now affiliated with TNA. Chavo is the nephew of TNA Spanish language broadcaster Hector Guerrero.

– Madison Rayne returns to TNA Impact Wrestling live events next weekend in Ohio and Pennsylvania as she challenges Miss Tessmacher for the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship. She tweeted, “I’m rly glad to be heading back on the road next weekend for house shows in OH/PA!!!! @BrookeIMPACT is gonna be in MY backyard! #gonnabegood.”

WWE Star Returns To Action, Former TNA Star Competes

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Last night in at a SmackDown live event in Sioux City, Iowa 3rd generation superstar Ted DiBiase Jr made his return from injury to defeat Jinder Mahal.

DiBiase cut a face promo giving a shout-out to Iowa National Guardsmen at ringside. DiBiase hit his Dream Street to pick up the win.

– FCW star Xavier Woods, the former Consequences Creed in TNA, worked last night’s SmackDown live event. He lost to Damien Sandow. Sandow cut a heel promo before the match and mentioned that Woods has wrestled all over the world and won seven titles

WWE Hall of Fame Rumor, YouTube Ranking, Maria, FCW

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– Devin sent the following: The FCW event at the Armory in Orlando, Florida has been moved to Thursday, August 2nd. It’s original date was Wednesday, July 25th. The FCW event at the Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, Florida has been moved to Friday, August 17th. It’s original date was Friday, July 27th.

– Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis attended last night’s Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event in Reseda, California.

– WWE’s YouTube channel was ranked #6 for the week ending July 18th. They had 2,717,804 views.

– As seen yesterday, Michael Hayes paid tribute to the late Terry Gordy of The Fabulous Freebirds and WWE’s website did a feature on the group. There has been talk of inducting The Freebirds into the WWE Hall of Fame.

HHH Addresses Orton’s Suspension, Says It’s Hard To Find Talent

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Promoting this coming Monday’s historic 1000th episode of Raw, Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H, addressed a number of topics including Randy Orton’s ongoing sixty-day suspension for his second violation of WWE’s Talent Wellness Program.

Orton, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, the site of Monday’s show, will be unable to appear due to the suspension. Though Levesque won’t divulge what Orton did wrong, he notes “The Legend Killer” will be back once the suspension concludes.

“It is important to remember that all of our wrestlers are human but they also have to be accountable,” Levesque says of Orton’s suspension.

As WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events, Levesque’s corporate role is to discover tomorrow’s Superstars. He admits it’s a struggle.

“We’re trying to teach them to be the Stone Colds and the Undertakers of tomorrow, but the one thing we can’t teach is charisma,” said Levesque. “You can teach people to do moves and create story lines and the psychology of what we do, but you can’t teach someone to be the Rock. It’s an innate ability to walk into a room and have everyone pay attention. Put aside the athleticism and what happens in the ring, what our business is really about is connecting with people emotionally. If you are emotionally connected to your character, then people will want to see you. It’s true in Hollywood and movies. You don’t have to be the best actor, just be a presence.”

Triple H, The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin created on-screen personas “fans loved, hated or loved to hate” on Raw in the late ’90s. Levesque feels they were the first stars of reality television.

“Every guy we have, whether it’s me, whether it’s the Undertaker, whether it’s John Cena playing the character John Cena, is a performer,” said Levesque. “What we did is very much the beginning of reality television. ‘Jersey Shore,’ whether people want to believe it or not, is a scripted kind-of show. They don’t give them every single word, but they give them premises and they set things up. It’s not a documentary where you follow them around brushing their teeth. And that’s what we are — we blur that line and that’s what people find intriguing.”

Levesque also offers insight on The Rock and Kane’s on-stage personalities, WWE’s decision to make their shows “PG” television, critics denouncing wrestling as “fake,” and more. Read more here.

Mysterio Thanks The Fans, New FCW Champion Crowned

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– The FCW Heavyweight Championship has changed hands once again. Richie Steamboat defeated Rick Victor at this weekend’s live event from St. Augustine to capture the title.

– FCW star Xavier Woods is on the road with the SmackDown brand this weekend.

– Rey Mysterio has tweeted a thank you message to fans for supporting him through his rough few months:

 

Picture Of Mark Henry’s Amazing Weight Loss

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During his time away from WWE, Mark Henry is working on dropping weight. He noted over the summer that he was down to 404 pounds and from the looks of these pictures, is well under 400 now. Henry is looking thinner than we’ve seen him in years and could be a new man by the time he returns to WWE television:

[nggallery id=75]

(Pictures from Mark Henry’s Twitter page @TheMarkHenry)

Doane Says Punk Isn’t The “Best In The World”, Sunny Update

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– Kenn Doane, who appeared as Kenny Dykstra for WWE, was asked on Twitter whether WWE Champion CM Punk is the “Best in the World” as he so often proclaims. The former WWE World Tag Team Champion says no, and that the “Best in the World” tag belongs to “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” or possibly even “The King of Kings.”

“#bestintheworld is The Rock. He draws, talks, not a good wrestler, but 2/3 isn’t bad,” Doane wrote. “Or HHH #bestintheworld draws, talks, wrestles. CM Punk is up there but I wouldn’t say the best.”

He was then asked about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and responded, “Austin isn’t wrestling so I didn’t qualify him. Only those still active. Number 1 is The Rock.”

– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, who checked into a rehabilitation program sponsored by WWE on Monday after consuming a “dangerous” amount of vodka, addressed her current progress via Facebook.

“I know i have to do this.. getting myself mentallly in gear. its hard,” she wrote Thursday.

Sytch then noted, “ok// over the next 28 days, im going to need some visitors and support… who is up for the challenge???”

– Former WWE talent Shawn Stasiak turns 42 years on Saturday. He is retired from professional wrestling and now works as a chiropractor. Today also marks as the forty-ninth birthday of Giant Silva of “Oddities” fame.

MAILBAG: Will Cena Rank Among The Greats Like Hogan & Austin?

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SEScoops Mailbag for July 21st

(please submit YOUR questions to [email protected])

Q: What happened with Jeff Hardy in 2008-09? He was chasing Triple H for the WWE championship on three consecutive PPVs and finally won it at Armageddon and lost it at Royal Rumble only a month later. Same thing in the summer with CM Punk. Was there a suspension when he left the company or did he just want to leave? – Dave M.

A: I think Hardy winning the title at Armageddon was done just as a feel good moment. I was never of the impression that they intended for him to be champion heading into WrestleMania or anything, especially after he burned the company a year earlier by getting suspended right before he was scheduled to win Money in the Bank at WM24. When Hardy left in the summer of 2009, that was because he refused to sign a new contract and wanted out. His contract actually expired in June, but he agreed to sign an extension and wrestle a few extra months to help put Punk over.

Q: I’ve been watching TNA Impact this summer and have to say I’m impressed. I love the way they’ve used Aries, Daniels, Ion and the BFG series just to name a few. However, I think I’ve figured out what they’re up to with Aces and Eights after watching last week’s Impact. Obviously this group brings back recollections of the early nWo days. I think Eric and Hulk are trying to re-create the earlier “Outsider” version of the nWo. Aces and Eights are being built to be a darker and more edgy version of the early nWo, which I think could be great. What do you think? – Bill from Ohio

A: Darker, perhaps. But only because they’re dressed in riot gear and made to look like terrorists. Frankly, I think the original nWo concept was more edgy in that it was made out to be an invasion by a rival promotion, at least until WWE took WCW to court and forced them to stop deceiving their audience into thinking they were actually invading. Ratings were up for Impact this week and this Aces and Eights group was all over the show, so perhaps it will get more people interested.

Q: Do you think with [Raw going] three hours every week that we will see actual Diva matches and not 2 minutes of crap? I remember back in the day when they used to go to commercial during Diva matches! – Cristian Anaya

A: Really? Maybe there were a few Alundra Blaze matches on Raw in the mid-90’s that ran through a commercial break, but I honestly don’t ever remember that happening with too many women’s matches. As much as I’d like to see them give the Divas a chance to actually, you know, wrestle, I still don’t see them giving them much more time, even with three hours. I fear their priority will be more comedy skits, Tout videos and Twitter trends.

Q: I have read multiple stories about why Mr. Kennedy was released by WWE. Do you know what actually happened and what WWE’s official story was? – Malcolm Kelly, London, England

A: There was never any “official” story from WWE beyond them wishing him well in his future endeavors. In reality, many main event performers (allegedly John Cena and Shawn Michaels were among them) that worked with Kennedy complained to management about him being a reckless worker and hurting people. The incident on Raw where he dropped Randy Orton wrong on a suplex and Orton chewed him out in front of everyone backstage was the final straw.

FCW Wrestler Competes At WWE Show, Watch Foreign Exchange

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– WWE has released this week’s episode of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Here is the synopsis: “Santino Marella is up to his old tricks. What’s on his scheming mind now? Plus, William Regal returns to “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Subscribe to see the clips that didn’t make it in the original interview, only on WWE on YouTube!”

– WWE developmental wrestler Roman Leakee competed at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi. He interrupted Curt Hawkins’ heelish spiel and promptly defeated him.

Leakee is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika of “The Wild Samoans” and brother of former WWE Superstar Rosey. A former defensive standout for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and a Team captain, Leakee was also a first team All ACC selection at defensive tackle.

– There was a rope break at Friday’s Raw live event in Jackson, Mississippi during the United States Championship Match between Santino Marella and The Miz. Eight minutes into the ten minute match, Marella hit the ropes, causing the the top rope to collapse.

– John Cena is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com.

(source: Pro Wrestling Torch)