– Following the second consecutive week of being attacked on RAW by Brock Lesnar, WWE is reporting that Mark Henry suffered a dislocated and fractured elbow due to the kimura that Lesnar applied to him at Old School RAW.
– WWE added the following video promo hyping the announcement that Batista will be an official participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match:
– It was revealed during Old School RAW on Monday night that on next week’s edition of WWE RAW there will be a tag-team match that features Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt vs. The Usos.
– Former WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock recently tweeted the following to Vince McMahon:
@WWE @VinceMcMahon – Vince lets chat. Thank you. Ken
— KEN SHAMROCK (@ShamrockKen) January 7, 2014
The following are results from the WWE Superstars matches that were taped on Monday night in Baltimore, Maryland prior to Old School RAW:
WWE Superstars (Air date: January 9, 2014)
– Natalya def. Summer Rae in Divas action to open the show. Nattie picked up the win via Submission via her Sharpshooter. The match was kept relatively short.
– Ryback def. Dolph Ziggler in a pretty basic match. The finish here came when Ryback hit Ziggler with his Shellshock finisher for the 1-2-3.
– It was announced at Old School RAW that the main event of WWE Main Event this Wednesday will be R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. The Real Americans in tag-team action.
– Cody Rhodes may have injured his ankle during the tag-team match at Old School RAW on Monday night. According to reports, following the match on Monday, Rhodes removed his boot in the ring and had to be helped to the back by Goldust and the referee. We should have more on this later.
(Partial Credit: PWInsider.com)
It was announced during Old School RAW in Baltimore on Monday during a backstage segment that Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt will be teaming up to compete in a tag-team match on next week’s edition of WWE RAW.
Also on RAW, two Royal Rumble participants have been confirmed. As we previously reported, Michael Cole announced on commentary that Batista has officially entered himself into the 2014 Royal Rumble match. Additionally, Alberto Del Rio officially entered the match. Del Rio announced his participation in the Rumble during an in-ring interview he did after defeating Sin Cara in singles action.
The official WWE website has added a video interview from backstage at Old School RAW. The interview features Josh Mathews interviewing Jerry Lawler live and in-person about the rumors of his health. The article notes the following:
JERRY LAWLER GIVES A HEALTH UPDATE: WWE APP EXCLUSIVE, JAN. 6, 2014 (2:00)
Jerry Lawler addresses the rumors that circulated about his health and gives a update on his well being. To get a first look at more exclusives like this, check out the official WWE App!
Check out the video interview online at WWE.com.
Following the video package promoting Batista’s WWE return at the January 20th edition of RAW, WWE announcers Michael Cole and JBL revealed that Batista is confirmed as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match.
Also on RAW, while Jerry Lawler was not in attendance to do his usual commentary, Michael Cole and JBL did say that his condition was not as serious as it is being reported on the internet. They then plugged the WWE App for updates on his condition.
Old School RAW in Baltimore opens with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair coming right out. Flair struts his way to the ring and does a bunch of his catchphrases, and even his trademark strut, until Randy Orton’s music hits. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion comes to the ring. Orton says he has respect for Flair. He says tonight is about him. Orton asks Flair to step aside and give him the ring because he has something to get off of his chest. Orton talks about Stephanie McMahon giving John Cena his title rematch at the Royal Rumble. Orton says he has nothing left to prove and asks The Authority to reverse their decision and take away Cena’s rematch. Orton says he has proved that he is “the man.” Flair cuts him off and says he’s not sure he’s the man. Flair says when he was young and the champion you went out every night to defend the title. Flair says that’s why he’s got two Hall Of Fame rings. Flair says he’s been hearing that Orton’s just been crying about things. He says he should prove he’s the man and beat Cena again. Orton says Flair always had someone watching his back, he’s all alone. He calls Flair the most overrated wrestler in history. Orton says Flair is standing in his ring and if he doesn’t leave it, he won’t be responsible for what happens next. Flair says he’s not leaving. Flair says he and Triple H hand-picked him ten years ago because he was the best, but he’s always had an immature, punk attitude. Flair questions Orton’s manhood. Orton threatens to go old school on Flair’s ass right now. Before he can do anything, John Cena’s music hits. Cena makes his way to the ring and hugs Flair. Cena questions Orton’s decision to take his frustrations out on Flair. Cena takes exception to Orton calling Flair overrated. Cena puts over Flair a bit and then tells Orton that if going old school means fighting, he’s thinking about it too. Cena tells Orton if he’s feeing froggy, he should jump. Orton backs down and leaves the ring.
Jerry Lawler Update
Michael Cole and JBL are shown at ringside wearing old school announcer jackets. They mention that Jerry Lawler is not here tonight because he is feeling under the weather. They plug the WWE App for more details on his condition.
Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos & Rey Mysterio
When we return from RAW, The Usos and Rey Mysterio are shown together in the ring. The lights go out, “we’re here.” The Wyatt Family, including Daniel Bryan in his new gear, all come to the ring together. Harper and Uso start things off for their respective teams. Harper quickly gains control of the offense. Both guys tag out and now Bryan and Mysterio are the legal men. Bryan, with a mean look on his face, is wrestling a more aggressive and vicious style. Mysterio throws Bryan out to the floor next to Bray, who is seated in his rocking chair in the aisle. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note. When we return from commercial, Erick Rowan and Uso are in the ring, with Rowan in control. We get some highlights of action that took place during the commercial, via the WWE App. Rowan tags Bryan back in, who picks up with Uso where Rowan left off. Bryan gets in some offense and then tags Rowan back in. Uso blasts Rowan with a superkick and then tags Mysterio back in. Mysterio comes in and is flying all over the place. Mysterio hits the 6-1-9 on Rowan and tags Uso in. Uso goes to follow up with his top-rope splash but misses. Bryan tags himself in, and then Harper tags himself in. The two stare each other down. Usos and Mysterio end up getting the win, as they rolled the Wyatt member up from behind for the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Usos & Rey Mysterio
Tonight’s Fan’s Choice
Backstage, we are told that Great Khali would face Damien Sandow in one-on-one action tonight. We are informed that there will be a special referee, who will be voted on by the WWE Universe via the WWE App. The options for special ref are Bob Backlund, Arn Anderson and Sgt. Slaughter.
Backstage: Kane & Brad Maddox
Kane and Brad Maddox talk backstage. Kane asks Maddox about what he said about him to The Authority last week. Maddox asks if Kane is going to threaten him with physical violence. Kane says he will not because that would result in his termination. He says if he were to be terminated, however, he would be forced to return as The Monster and he would destroy Maddox.
Backstage: Big E. Langston Runs Into Legends
Backstage, WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston is shown walking to the ring. He notices Nikolai Volkoff singing the Russian national anthem. As he keeps walking, he sees The Million Dollar Man, who tells him everyone has a price, followed by his evil laugh. Then he runs into Irwin R. Schyster, who tells him he better pay his taxes. Langston smiles the whole time and keeps walking. We head to commercial.
According to WrestleZone.com, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been released from the hospital and is back at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, the site of tonight’s Old School RAW show.
As previously noted, Lawler’s son Brian Christopher, who is at Old School RAW in Baltimore tonight, noticed that his dad looked ill and informed WWE about this. WWE then encouraged Lawler to check himself into a local hospital, where he received blood work.
No word as to whether or not Lawler will appear at Old School RAW tonight as originally planned.
– WWE announcer JBL tweeted the following photo of himself, Ted DiBiase and Alberto Del Rio from backstage at tonight’s Old School RAW with a pretty great caption:
Three generations of one stolen gimmick! @VivaDelRio @MDMTedDiBiase #everyManHasHisPrice #OldSchoolRaw @wwe pic.twitter.com/nNVj4o5YQJ
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) January 6, 2014
– Here are photos of the set and turnbuckles that will be used at tonight’s Old School RAW:
The following are some more tweets from celebrities talking about tonight’s Old School RAW:
Found this picture from 2009 when @WWE was nice enough to help out my friends at USA Cares #OldSchoolRAW pic.twitter.com/cMYLWyjjPE
— Dennis Miller Show (@DennisDMZ) January 6, 2014
Watch for #JerrySpringer moments on tonight's @WWE #OldSchoolRaw at 8pm ET/7 CT on @USA_Network #jerryjerry #wwe #raw pic.twitter.com/n4GXkztxTv
— Jerry Springer Show (@SpringerTV) January 6, 2014
I won my sixth PRCA title back in '94. Can't wait to see @WWE #RAW turn back the clock to '94 for #OldSchoolRaw pic.twitter.com/Z2BnsxWjs0
— Ty Murray (@TyPBR) January 6, 2014
– Comic actor Pee-Wee Herman tweeted the following on Monday about tonight’s Old School RAW:
Special episode TONIGHT! Monday Night RAW live 8-11pm ET on USA! Slammy Award for me in 2010! #OldSchoolRAW @WWE pic.twitter.com/T0RFpn3R7X
— Pee-wee Herman (@peeweeherman) January 6, 2014
– Musician Jewel also tweeted about Old School RAW, writing:
My "Pieces of You" album was released in 1995. Can't wait to see @WWE #OldSchoolRAW turn back the clock to the 90s http://t.co/AyEbmfmZ6O
— Jewel (@jeweljk) January 6, 2014
As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized on Monday in Baltimore.
According to an article on MemphisPort.com, Lawler had some blood work done and is now doing fine. The report claims that Lawler is still in a Baltimore hospital and there is no word as to whether or not he will be at Old School RAW tonight as originally scheduled.
For more information, check out the article at MemphisPort.com.
– Wyatt Family member Luke Harper posted the following interesting tweet regarding tonight’s Old School RAW show in Baltimore, Maryland:
It Always Seems To Begin in Baltimore……
#FollowTheBuzzards
#WyattFamily
#RAW
— Luke Harper (@LukeHarperWWE) January 6, 2014
– Speaking of Old School RAW, WWE is promoting a pre-show Twitter chat with WWE Hall Of Famer Howard Finkel. The following was posted on the official WWE Twitter account:
Before #OldSchoolRAW on @USA_Network, join WWE HOF'er @HowardFinkel for a Twitter Chat at 7 ET! Use #OldSchoolChat to post ?s for #TheFink!
— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2014
High Spots recently released the following promotional video trailer for their upcoming DVD release of the new shoot interview they conducted with AJ Styles.
– Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.616 million viewers, down from the 2.852 million viewers that the show drew the previous week.
– WWE Diva AJ Lee recently posted the following tweet on her official Twitter account:
Got a tooth knocked out…which I’m pretty sure is just karma for punching Frosty the Snowman in the face every night on live events.
— A.J. (@WWEAJLee) January 6, 2014
Breaking news coming out of Baltimore, Maryland – site of tonight’s WWE RAW.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been hospitalized.
Lawler was vomiting and experiencing chest pains this afternoon and it quickly became clear he needed urgent medical attention.
The news comes from a reliable source who is backstage at RAW right now.
Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack on September 10th, 2012 during a live episode of WWE RAW from the Bell Centre in Montreal.He underwent an angioplasty the following day to improve blood flow to his heart and returned to the ring just 8 months later.
Update (5:40pm EST): Kevin Cerrito of Memphisport.com is reporting that Lawler had blood work done at the hospital and is now “doing fine.”
– Apparently Brock Lesnar is going to do something “devastating” to one of the old school wrestlers that are returning for tonight’s Old School RAW special in Baltimore. Expect Lesnar to do something similar to that in which he did last week to Mark Henry, only this time to an old school guy.
– There is a new Kickstarter campaign going around to fund a documentary on tag-team wrestling legends the Rock & Roll Express. You can contribute online at Kickstarter.com.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Nature Boy” tweeted the following on Monday:
49ers win! WOOOOO! Congrats SF! Obviously my pep talk worked! WOOOOO! #OldSchoolRaw
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) January 6, 2014
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page tweeted this one:
Is it just me or is it a bit #RAW out there today? RT if you agree :0) #OldSchool
— Diamond Dallas Page (@RealDDP) January 6, 2014
The folks at HighSpots.com filmed a shoot interview with former TNA wrestler AJ Styles at his home last week. The shoot interview will be released on DVD, and will contain the following, according to promotional materials:
“The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles has been the face of TNA for the past 11 years, but that all changed on December 15th 2013 when his contract expired. Highspots caught up with AJ in his man-cave in Gainesville, GA on Jan 2, 2014 and he opens up about what led to those negotiations breaking down, his relationship with Dixie, what it feels like to be a free agent after all these years, returning to the indies and would he ever go to work for Vince. AJ also reflects on his classic matches and angles during his time in TNA and shoots on the “money” guys that didn’t care about the product. You don’t want to miss this over two hour interview with the Phenomenal AJ Styles.
As a bonus disc, we’re also including the interview we did with AJ Styles in Feb 2006 in Birmingham, AL. Between the two interviews, we cover his entire career.
Also, as a special for people that preorder only, we’re going to include an out of circulation DVD called “Dream Team” featuring matches that AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels did at live events circa 2007.”
You can pre-order the DVD online at HighSpots.com.
The following are highlights from a recent Bleacher Report interview with former WWE Superstar Road Dogg Jesse James:
On his work in WWE and TNA, doors never being closed in wrestling: “That’s very true for me. I don’t think Hunter and Vince tuned in to the other show on that other channel. So I think I was good to go.
“But thank God and heaven above that no door is ever truly closed and I’ve gotten another opportunity here. And I hope I’m giving back to the product as much as it gave to me over the years. Even if I wasn’t appreciative of it at the time, I’m sure appreciative of it now.”
On the drug addictions fading from the wrestling business: “For sure it has. It used to be a rock and roll party lifestyle. It’s not like that any more. It’s more like a sports organization. And if you want to make it here? You certainly can’t be on drugs. That’s all there is to it.
“If you’re a starving artist of a professional wrestler, and you’re on drugs and want to make it, you aren’t going to make it here. They’ve weened that out of the lifestyle. And it was a lifestyle. It was just like a rock band. Every night a different town, different people and different things to do. It was easy to lose your way.
“I’m not afraid to share my story with the young guys coming up. Don’t lose your head, because you’ll lose your job. (laughs). And that’s nowhere to be.”
On his catchphrases and how often people say it to him in person: “(Laughs). A hundred thousand? Every time one of the Sports Center guys says it or someone says it during a basketball game, I still get tweets out the ying yang. And it’s just words that were in the rolodex of society anyway, I just put them together and put them in a sing-song way.
“So I don’t know if I get all the credit for it, but it’s pretty cool. It does mean that something I did in this world stuck.”
Check out the complete interview online at BleacherReport.com.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Tonight’s Old School RAW: “Hope everyone enjoys the Old School Raw tonight live from Baltimore. Lots of wrestling history in that old Arena including Superstar Graham beating Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Title, several JCP major shows including Great American Bash events and Ron Simmons making history by beating Vader for the WCW World Title back in the day.”
“I’m curious to see how the “Old Schoolers” will be used tonight on the 3 hour broadcast. Will they be embraced or embarrassed in the name of ‘entertainment?’
“Hopefully the Legends will be allowed to be themselves tonight on RAW and not be over produced and have their entire promos written by a creative team member. Tonight would be a good night to go really ‘Old School’ and let the verbal creativity flow from those who are good at extemporaneous speaking.”
Daniel Bryan & The Wyatt Family” “WWE creative must hit it out of the park tonight on the Daniel Bryan, who’s soon to be known as Daniel Wyatt based on weekend WWE live events, and the Wyatt Family storyline. I’ve never seen a talent over the last few years get ‘over’ to the level of Bryan and then be booked so curiously. Hopefully, at the end of the day, this will come full circle and please many fans but at least Bryan is still getting quality TV minutes and his bell to bell in ring work is virtually untouchable.”
Talent Getting Over Organically: “Talents who get over organically are few and far between these days and they can never be taken for granted or not recognized. The ‘buzz’ doesn’t last forever. Wrestlers who connect with the fans is a wrestling booker’s dream. Creative types who do not listen to their paying customers IE Fans just aren’t that bright when all is said and done.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account on Monday:
Old School #Raw tomorrow. Put me in @TripleH, @StephMcMahon, and @VinceMcMahon! I think I still got it! It's best for business. #wwe
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) January 6, 2014
– Booker also posted this one about Rob Van Dam working at his Reality Of Wrestling show this weekend:
#OldSchoolRaw tonight and then @TherealRVD at @BTROWrestling this weekend! This is a good week! Anyone else excited?
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) January 6, 2014
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross’ has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com:
Ross commented on rumors that he’s in talks with Jeff Jarrett and Toby Keith about starting a new wrestling promotion, saying that it’s simply not true. He said that he’s not spoken to Jeff Jarrett since the day he left WWE back in 1999, which he called “a day that doesn’t rank too high on my list of fun days at work.”
He did mention having dinner with Toby Keith when both men were attending the Sugar Bowl college football game. “We did talk the wrestling biz some but that’s not unusual for me in any conversation after a 40 year career within the genre,” he said. “We also talked country music, business investments, OU football and we spent the afternoon together with ESPN’s Brad Nessler who’s another wrestling fan. Yes, TNA came up a time or two but that was really a non issue in our conversations.”
As for whether he would be interested in returning to the wrestling business on a daily basis, he said it would take a “mighty healthy offer” for him to consider it.
“The politics and paranoia that go along with today’s rasslin business isn’t healthy for me to be around on a full time basis especially at this stage of my life. Plus, I have a specific philosophy regarding how the business should be presented that doesn’t seem to be in fashion these days. ”
There’s much more to this blog, including JR’s thoughts on tonight’s Old School RAW and much more.
– TNA star Sting is scheduled to make some rare pro wrestling house show appearances this weekend. “The Icon” is set to work the Friday, January 10th event in Bristol, Tennessee, as well as the Saturday, January 11th event in McMinnville, Tennessee.
– TNA’s “Unfinished Business” pay-per-views this month are scheduled to feature matches that took place at TNA’s “Destination X” and “No Surrender” 2013 shows.
(Partial Credit: PWInsider.com)