Crave Online recently spoke with actor Eric Roberts, who co-stars in The Condemned 2 alongside WWE Superstar Randy Orton. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On Randy Orton being a “natural” at acting:
Randy Orton is a natural. He’s big and tall with lots of presence. He’s really sweet. I was like ‘Wow! That’s really nice.’ He comes across with such strong presence and he’s such a big guy and he comes across like he could be a problem walking in the room but he’s the sweetest man you’ve ever met. He’s humble too.
On his character Frank, who is the father of Orton’s character:
He’s old school. Old school has his rules and rules are made to be broken. That’s pretty much the long and short of it. He thinks you have to do things a certain way and his way is not up to date. It’s a father and son coming of age kind of thing.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Monday’s RAW and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On Monday’s RAW:
“WWE was without a great deal of star power Monday night but had one of their better shows IMO nonetheless. It seems that talents who are still present realize that the door is open for them to step up and take ownership of the fleeting albeit lucrative top spots in WWE and become permanent residents of the main event neighborhood of the Promised Land.”
On Alberto Del Rio possibly turning on Zeb Colter:
“I see ADR turning on the villain Zeb Colter some time soon and becoming the Hispanic fan favorite that WWE desperately needs. It’s unfortunate that Alberto wasn’t able to keep his commitments to Mexico’s AAA after rejoining WWE. That’s never a good situation. No one wins in this particular situation.”
On changes to Bray Wyatt’s character:
“I’m confused about what Bray Wyatt is becoming with the purported, super natural powers, etc and need that story explained better to me. Still think that Wyatt will one day be a huge fan favorite. Not today, but after a good, hot bad guy run. Has Wyatt inherited Taker’s eerie demeanor?”
– Featured above is a behind-the-scenes clip from Batista’s recent Muscle & Fitness shoot.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Bob Backlund is the guest on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast. The official description for the show, which you can download at PodcastOne.com, reads as follows:
“WWE Hall of Famer & World Champ Bob Backlund has plenty of stories about his days in pro-wrestling – from his chance meeting with Superstar Billy Graham at a North Dakota YMCA to being mentored by the Funk Brothers to the one-minute long phone call with Vince McMahon, Sr that changed his pro-wrestling career! Hear about Bob’s early days in the territories living in his car, his 1982 match against Ric Flair, dropping the belt to the Iron Sheik at MSG, and his amazing philosophy on the benefits of a Positive Mental Attitude!”
– WWE Shop has finally released New Day socks for the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The New Day. Kofi Kingston tweeted the following about the product, which you can also see pictured below.
We heard you. And we're finally giving you what you've been asking for for the past 9 months… New Day Socks! https://t.co/5M7brLbmDZ
In an interview with Ring Rust Radio, former WCW Champion Goldberg discussed who he would choose for his final opponent, and detailed his controversial WrestleMania 20 match with Brock Lesnar. You can listen to the full podcast here. Here are some highlights:
On his ideal opponent for his final match ever:
It would be Austin for sure. Brock would be a good one since we have unfinished business. At the end of the day that everyone clamors for, and I even clamor for, would be Austin and me. There will always be a question mark there unless we were to do something one on one. It’s kind of a match made in heaven.
Was he happy with his match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20:
No, I mean you play the cards you are dealt. At the end of the day, we were up against an impossible task to entertain a group of people that 100 percent know you are both leaving after that match. Utter distain is what we received from the fans. Would I change anything about? Yeah, I would change everything about it. At the end of the day, if you take it for what it was, it was an interesting match. The overtone was so skewed, it was just such a weird situation and insurmountable task. Would I change anything? Yes. Would I change everything? Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaYKReWh8p0
Why he feels he never clicked in WWE:
Because I was a football player and competitor in life and those were a bunch of fraternity boys.
Goldberg is currently working on an action film called Check Point, to be released next year.
An ESPN camera crew will be following Ric Flair backstage at WWE Survivor Series later this month. As previously reported, ESPN has begun work on a 30 For 30 special on the 16-time World Champion. In addition to Flair, they’ll be getting footage of active WWE wrestlers discussing The Nature Boy’s accomplishments in the wrestling business.
According to Ric Flair’s agent, ESPN began shooting for the documentary project last week.
ESPN has done 30 For 30 specials on NXT, The Von Erichs, Scott Hall, WWE, Vince McMahon, and many other wrestling personalities. As of press time, there’s no word on when Flair’s episode will air.
Survivor Series 2015 will take place on November 22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE taped this week’s SmackDown on Tuesday night from Colorado Springs, CO. Here are the full results from the taping:
– The show starts with a promo from Zeb Colter and Alberto Del Rio on MexAmerica.
– WWE United States champ Del Rio defeats Neville in a non-title match. Del Rio worked heel and Neville down after the match until Jack Swagger made the save.
– The Usos defeat The Ascension in under five minutes.
– Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan defeat Sin Cara, Kalisto, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil in a Survivor Series-style elimination match. All four Wyatts survive.
– Ryback defeats King Barrett. Ryback countered a sleeper hold and Shellshocked Barrett for the win.
– Natalya defeated Tamina Snuka.
– WWE Intercontinental champ Kevin Owens defeats Dean Ambrose by DQ. They brawl after the match and SmackDown ends with Ambrose in the ring.
WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham revealed on Facebook that he has signed a Legends contract with WWE. He says Triple H personally presented him with the offer.
Here’s what Graham had to say:
“Hello Facebook fans around the world. I am thrilled to report to all of you that Triple H, via a telephone conversation, has offered to give me an official WWE Legends contract. I of course said yes, and thank you very much! I have received that contract, and signed and mailed it back to the WWE. So I am officially back in the WWE family, proving that miracles still happen !! I did go to the Smackdown show held here in Phoenix on October 27th, as some had reported on the internet. I met with WWE Talent Relations executive Mark Carrano to go over various opportunities for me in the future. Mark Carrano is a real class act and gentleman and was very encouraging on the future release of my WWE merchandise sometime after the first of the year, along with attending WrestleMania 32 in Dallas as part of the meet and greet fan access festivities. So, I want to thank Triple H and Mark Carrano for making this exciting event happen for me. I am officially back home in the family of the WWE where I belong !!!!”
Goldust will be returning to WWE television soon and is making it known on Twitter that he’s got his sights set on the first title he won in WWE: the Intercontinental Championship held by Kevin Owens.
A few weeks removed from being sued by ratings giant Nielsen Audio for tampering with their sample, there’s more bad news for Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. The “shock jock”/former TNA interviewer/former best friend of Hulk Hogan may have paid more people to strategically listen to his show than previously thought.
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Nielsen Audio released a statement declaring that for the second month in a row, they are not listing ratings for WBRN-FM in Tampa Bay. The key is that the tampering that led to the lawsuit was completely eliminated by the end of September, so it looks like Nielsen found evidence of additional tampering by Clem. In text messages with the listener he paid who then went to Nielsen, he referenced having at least one past similar relationship.
Beasley Media Group (parent company of WBRN) President Bruce Beasley issued this statement:
We cooperated fully with Nielsen to ensure the accuracy of their past and forthcoming ratings. Therefore, we were blind-sided and disappointed to learn that Nielsen Audio will exclude WBRN-FM from the October 2015 ratings. The fallout from this dispute may inflict collateral damage on Beasley, which, indisputably, has done nothing wrong.
– The following is the latest trailer for The Masked Saint, which is scheduled for a January 8th release next year. The movie features WWE Hall Of Famer Roddy Piper in what appears to be his last-ever theatrical release.
– The Hard Knocks South Gym out of Tampa, Florida posted the following photo of John Cena today. The photo features Cena squatting a new personal record of 611 pounds.
– As noted, Nikki Bella is currently out of action dealing with a neck injury. In addition to the neck problem, F4WOnline.com is reporting that Nikki is dealing with a “nagging hip injury.”
– Batista is scheduled to appear on tonight’s edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to promote his role in the new James Bond “007: Spectre” movie.
– Goldust continues to tease an imminent WWE return. Goldust tweeted the following today:
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte recently spoke with The Reno Gazette-Journal to promote her Wizard World Reno appearance on November 20th. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the shadow and legacy of her dad Ric Flair: “If I didn’t acknowledge the fact that my father is Ric Flair, people will ask why. If I do, well, either way someone is going be negative because of what my dad has meant to the industry, and I take that (legacy) very seriously.”
“I feel the pressure to continue to get better to fulfill my own legacy but also continue my dad’s. I want to make an impact in the industry like my father did but in my own way, whether it be refining the (Divas) division or reinventing a major pay per view.”
On her Figure Eight submission: “My coach Sarah (Del Rey) and a couple other people in the ring were like, ‘Oh, you can bridge out of that, that’s cool!’ Then (NXT wrestler) Simon Gotch said, ‘You should call it the Figure 8 because it’s twice as good as your dad’s.'”
Monday’s November 2nd edition of WWE RAW from Denver, CO drew a 2.32 rating and averaged 3.248 million viewers. This is down from last week’s show, which did a 2.46 rating with 3.354 million viewers.
The main event featured a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match with Team Reigns defeating Team Rollins ahead of their WWE Championship match in less than two weeks.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for this week:
— The official WWE website has confirmed that Tatanka has signed a Legends contract. Tatanka had previously wrote on Facebook that he would be seeing fans in Dallas during WrestleMania 32 week. Here’s the company’s official statement:
As he announced via Twitter Monday, Tatanka — a mainstay of WWE programming in both the early 1990s and mid-2000s — has signed a WWE Legends contract. The Native American Superstar was a fan favorite in the WWE Universe, appearing in several WrestleManias, crushing opponents with his End of the Trail finishing maneuver and wowing fans with his signature war dance. Please join WWE in congratulating Tatanka.
Lucha Underground star Big Ryck will not be returning to the show for season two, according to an exclusive report by Ryan Satin over at ProWrestlingSheet.
The man formerly known as Ezekial Jackson recently informed producers of the show that he will not be attending this month’s tapings from Boyle Heights, California.
At this point it’s unknown why Ryck won’t be returning to The Temple, but the news was said to be a surprise to people close to him.
Earlier this month, a rep for Big Ryck issued a statement denying rumors that he was retiring from active competition.
Kayfabe Commentaries issued the following today to promote the new Scott Hall shoot interview they are set to release soon. Above is trailer number one for the shoot interview. Trailer number two is featured below.
Kayfabe Commandos, YouShoot returns again with a highly requested guest, years in the making.The only wrestling series dedicated to the territory system is gearing up to start again and we have a brand new series debuting in January.
Check it out …
Sometimes it seems as if the uncensored, unapologetic series YouShoot were made solely for a particular guest. One could make that case as Scott Hall sits down in the hotseat at last!
Scott tackles all your questions ranging from his exploits with drink and drugs, to the Kliq, to his storied in-ring career, and so much more. Play the YouShoot games with another totally open and honest guest on this shoot series that changed them all!
Your videos and questions, as always, are the real star of the show. So hey yo…say hello to the Bad Guy! And yes, there’s an entire chapter on Scarface…
– Featured above is a video preview of the latest episode of “The WWE List,” which premieres at 4:30pm EST. today on the WWE Network.
– WWE Hall Of Famer The Iron Sheik is the scheduled guest for this Friday’s edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast. The show will be available at PodcastOne.com.
– Becky Lynch tweeted the following ahead of her trip to Dublin, Ireland for the WWE live event later today.
Exactly 3 years ago I left Dublin for my @WWE try out. What a crazy, amazing journey it's been!So excited to be at #WWEDublin tomorrow
WWE Hall Of Famer Larry Zbyszko recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast and spoke about his recent time at the WWE Performance Center, his memories of the late Dusty Rhodes and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the transition from wrestling to commentary: “For me it worked out great. I had a good twenty year career. By about 1992 I was thinking I’d start settling into the broadcasting thing. It was a good time, I was lucky with the body that I didn’t get hurt and didn’t have any artificial parts, didn’t have any major surgeries, none of that stuff. It kept me alive with the new generation and gave me more publicity because I was on Monday Nitro, then I was on some of the syndicated shows so I had a lot of publicity with the new generation and it was a great job. I worked out and kept myself in good shape and would golf a bunch, I was home so much the wife would get sick of me. It was kind of like the perfect ending to a good twenty year career. Anybody who does that it’s almost like you’ve got this special gift of gab or you are full of bullshit because either you can do a good interview for a couple of minuets and weren’t good color guy but for some reason I felt right at home. I had to soften my character up because for twenty years I was a big asshole and people believed I was an asshole and I softened up the character to where everybody loved me and then I was too old to hate and then I was a legend when I went against the New World Order.”
On memories of Dusty Rhodes and Dusty’s turn to join the NWO: “They came to me and it was up to me whether it went that way or not. I knew it would make Dusty happy and me and Bischoff and me and Hall were the two biggest buy rates that they ever did and definitely was the cherry on the cake with everything else. It was a one time deal but I remember Dusty dropped an elbow on me and landed all his weight with that elbow he dropped in the Scott Hall match, the bastard (laughs). Me and Dusty had a good relationship. Especially when I would come down and do stuff for the Crockets and TBS and Dusty always treated me right. He always recognized the talent. The last time I saw Dusty the poor guy, he didn’t look too good. He looked pretty grey. The last time I saw Dusty right before he died I had got the weird feeling that something was going to happen and I would wind up like him. I realized after he died that since Dusty was so involved with the Performance Center that now unfortunately that Performance Center lost a lot of knowledge when Dusty passed and I think there is a void left that I can fill.”
On his recent work at the WWE Performance Center: “You get emotionally involved whether you want to or not. I go there and I look at the faces of these young men and women and they will come to me and ask can you watch my match and you end up getting involved emotionally. I’m old school and what’s in me is you do what is good for the business otherwise no one makes money. Some of these guys and chicks at the school are great and are going to be good and have great potential. It breaks your heart because with others you want to say; did you ever think about getting a job? You get kind of emotionally involved with it and I can’t help it and I kind of steer myself to people I know are going to be good for the business.”
On getting to see old friends and his reaction to the passing of Rowdy Roddy Piper and The Ultimate Warrior: “You don’t get to see the guys too often and even though you spent so much of your life working with them and especially at the point we are at now when I go to Mania I’ll see a bunch of the guys and that will be cool but it’s amazing that they are dropping. Like with Piper, that shocked me and I never expected him to go. The Ultimate Warrior. That was wild. At 54 he looked like he was 80. I didn’t recognize the guy when I first saw him in the hotel, he looked like some old guy who was just shuffling by and I thought that’s the Warrior? Something wasn’t right and I’m surprised he didn’t keel over on stage.”
On the Dangerous Alliance: “The fans seemed to really like it and it was a cool group of guys. Me and Arn as the Enforcers, we were really over. Rude and Bobby Eaton fit right in and a young “Stunning” Steve with Paul E. so it was a good group of guys but the only thing with a group fortunately for me and Arn at 40 years old we clicked and it was great but it should have gone on a little longer. To be in a group you really couldn’t stick out, you were just part of a group and I had come from a school where it was better to stick out and be a single. But I was over 40 and Bill (Watts) came in at that time of the Dangerous Alliance so that’s when I kind of pulled myself out, got my knee fixed and wound up doing the broadcasting thing.”
– Dolph Ziggler did a Q&A with fans on Twitter this week and had this to say about the importance of technical wrestling ability in today’s ‘Sports Entertainment’ environment:
WWE Divas champ Charlotte recently took to Twitter to address UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey saying she’s ready to enter the WWE and that there’s “a lot more than can be done” with women in the company. Here’s what Charlotte had to say:
As we reported yesterday, Rousey made the comments in an interview with Rolling Stone. Here’s what she said about possibly joining WWE:
“I’m ready. I’ve seen NXT, I remember Nattie and Charlotte’s match for the title. Nattie was actually training with the original Four Horsewomen to get ready for that fight. I have so many obligations, but I really want to find a way to make it happen. I’m a huge fan wrestling, and I would like to see the position of women in the sport continue to improve, so if I can be a part of it, great.”
“I’m really encouraged by the progress I’ve seen with what they’re doing with the women in WWE, but I feel like there’s a lot more than can be done. They’re doing some of it now, too. I’m really excited that they’ve brought up all these great women from NXT, who are all different from the normal mold they would use for the Divas division. I’m not going to take credit for anything, but I definitely want to be part of it as much as I can.”
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans who would they rather have as a Survivor Series Team Captain – Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt or The Undertaker. With over 8,000 votes cast, The Undertker leads the pack with 32%, followed by Roman Reigns (25%) and John Cena (18%).
– John Cena tweeted the following on Tuesday. Cena is currently out of action until late December and is rumored to be filming a new fitness-themed reality show for the FOX network.
So far, testing week, has been more problematic than successful. Hopefully today turns the corner. #NGU
– Nikki Bella has provided an update on the injury that kept her off television on Monday night, revealing that it’s a neck injury that she’s dealing with.
Former WWE Superstar Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) recently spoke with Alex Obert of Journeyofafrontman.comto discuss his involvement with Global Force Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, his former tag team partner Zack Ryder, Hornswoggle, FCW, his Create A Pro Wrestling Academy and more.
Myers also spoke about his longtime friend Tyson Kidd, who is currently recovering from neck surgery. Back on June 1st, Kidd suffered a broken during a non-televised match with Samoa Joe that nearly cost him his life.
5% of people survive this injury. 16 staples, 4 screws and a rod later and luckily I survived to tell my story. pic.twitter.com/hXpXpA0aAF
Here’s what Myers said about Tyson Kidd’s road to recovery:
“He’s one of my best friends. I talk to him every day. Super sad about what happened to him. I’m hoping for the best. I’m hoping he comes out on the other side. Hopefully his in-ring career isn’t over, it’d be a shame. He lives and breathes wrestling.
He’s been sitting home with a broken neck for six months, but he doesn’t miss a thing. He watches every single current wrestling thing. He’s watching the Network and old stuff. I sent him a care package of DVDs and stuff when he first got hurt just cause I knew he was gonna have so much downtime to do that. And that’s where we bond, we’re both sick in the head in love with wrestling. That’s how we became friends in the first place. And on top of that, he is just one of the best wrestlers in the world. Technically, from bell to bell, he’s just top-notch.”
The Usos made their WWE television return on Monday night’s RAW in Denver, Colorado, as part of Team Roman Reigns in the traditional five-on-five Survivor Series main event. Jey Uso has been away from WWE since the spring with a shoulder injury.
In addition to returning on RAW, The Usos are scheduled to work the WWE European tour, which kicks off this week. Also, they are scheduled to appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday night with Jonathan Coachman.
WWE posted the following clips of The Usos’ return on social media:
This Thursday, WWE will be holding a free WrestleMania 32 On-Sale Party at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Steve Austin, Lita, Booker T, Lana, Corey Graves, Mark Henry, executives of the Dallas Cowboys, and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams will all be in attendance.
There are several NXT matches scheduled for the launch party, including:
Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
Asuka vs. Peyton Royce
The Hype Bros. vs. Blake & Murphy
Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss
Tickets for WrestleMania 32 go on sale at the stadium box office on Thursday at 4:00 p.m and online.
If you’re looking to get WrestleMania 32 tickets this week and don’t want to wait until the general public gets access on Thursday, take advantage of this online pre-sale event one day early:
