– WWE Hall Of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart will be holding a Twitter Q&A with fans this coming Wednesday @BretHart.
– The following is the official preview for this Sunday’s edition of Total Divas on E!. It will be the third episode of the current second-half of season one:
“Brie has a difficult time accepting Bryan’s notoriety. Nattie feels that Eva is trying to get too close to TJ. Nikki has to cope with John’s demands.”
– MLB star Josh Reddick is currently backstage at WWE RAW hanging out with friends. Reddick has been teasing a “beard-off” with Daniel Bryan on tonight’s show.
– There has been some discussion of “The Road Dogg” Jesse James making an appearance on tonight’s country-themed edition of RAW.
– WWE Superstar David Otunga will be on ESPN Chat on Tuesday afternoon discussing WWE and his recent cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. For more information, visit ESPN.com.
WWE issued the following statement on Monday afternoon regarding the cancellation of their WWE Classics On Demand service:
“Beginning February 2014, WWE will no longer offer WWE Classics On Demand, our subscription video-on demand content delivered through cable television providers, as we are focusing our resources on other initiatives. As communicated on our recent earnings call, we continue to aggressively pursue launching a WWE Network; however, no launch date has been set.”
– Former WWE Superstars Ted DiBiase and The Godfather, along with former WWE Divas Kelly Kelly and Maryse have been announced for the Steel City Comic Con in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from December 6th through December 8th. For more information, visit TimesOnline.com.
– Former ECW tag-team “The Impact Players,” Justin Credible and Lance Storm reunited on the latest edition of “Pro Wrestling 101.” The two discuss understanding your character and how to “find yourself” as a wrestler. You can check that video out below:
– As noted earlier, today marks one year since The Shield made their WWE TV debuts at last year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. WWE.com has an article up looking at the faction’s first year on the main roster.
– Chris Hero, formerly Kassius Ohno in NXT, tweeted the following last night about his return to the indies this weekend:
Crawling into bed. Been a physically/emotionally draining weekend. Wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you all for making this so special.
— Chris Hero (Is Back) (@ChrisHero) November 18, 2013
– NXT star Judas Devlin noted on Twitter that he’s headed to Nashville, the site of tonight’s RAW. Devlin has been out of action due to a spinal injury. Based on his tweet, he might be working a dark match or could be used as an extra on the show.
* Badass PHOTOS of THE SHIELD Doing Crossfit #Shieldiversary
– WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio was interviewed by The Tennessean newspaper to promote Monday’s RAW in Nashville. The newspaper reported that Mysterio will be at RAW tonight, despite the fact that WWE hasn’t given any indications that he will. You can check out the complete interview online at Tennessean.com.
– The Extreme Rising promotion announced on Monday that Matt Hardy and Luke Hawx will be continuing their feud, as the two will square off with each other in a match at their next event on December 28th at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan appeared on Oprah Winrey’s “Where Are They Now?” television show on OWN this past Sunday night. Hogan talked about being “60 years young” on the show. He said he dreamed about being a pro wrestler as a kid, but never thought he’d actually get to do it. He spoke about going to pro wrestling school and having his leg broken on purpose to try and run him out of the business. He said he healed up and went back.
They chronicled Hogan’s time on the “Hogan Knows Best” reality show. He mentioned that he had hoped the show would save his marriage, with the idea that his whole family would be on the same team. He said that when the camera’s went off, however, “everybody went to their separate corners.”
Hogan talked about hitting rock bottom when “Hogan Knows Best” was cancelled and his son Nick was in the infamous car accident. Hogan said at that time he was drinking heavily and contemplated suicide often.
“The Hulkster” spoke about growing tired of negativity and putting up with “verbal abuse.” He said he felt like he had to go through all of that to become the person he is today. He said he swore after his divorce that he would never get married again. Hogan then introduced his new wife Jennifer and credited her with teaching him how to be in a peaceful space. He teared up when talking about his new bride and chalked it up to being happy.
Hogan mentioned that he doesn’t wrestle anymore because it would put him at risk to having to go through more surgeries. “I had my day, and it was a great day,” said Hogan.
Hogan’s episode of “Where Are They Now?” which was approximately 10 minutes in length, will re-air on the OWN channel on Friday night.
The following press release was issued today:
Never Give Up(TM) By John Cena(R) Now Available At Kmart(R) Stores Across The Country
Kmart is proud to announce the launch of exclusive boy’s apparel line, Never Give Up(TM) by John Cena, available at Kmart stores nationwide, online at Kmart.com and on ShopYourWay.com.
Drawing inspiration from WWE(R) Superstar John Cena, the collection is currently available in boys’ sizes 5-16. For fall 2013, the line includes on-trend military-inspired camo prints, graphic tees, hoodies, cargo pants, outerwear, headwear and accessories priced from $7.99 – $29.99. A follow-up spring collection is anticipated to launch in-stores and online in early 2014.
“I am very excited that my new collection has arrived at Kmart,” said Cena. “Through this apparel line, we can collectively bring the positive message of ‘Never Give Up’ to all my young fans.”
Never Give Up is the latest addition to Kmart’s growing portfolio of celebrity brands within the Shop Your Way social shopping platform. Through ShopYourWay.com, members can receive exclusive news about the collection, connect directly with John during live chat sessions, find information about in-store appearances and enter sweepstakes.
Cena fans will have an opportunity to meet the WWE Superstar as he promotes the Never Give Up collection during an in-store appearance and autograph signing on Tuesday, November 26 at Kmart’s Penn Station store in New York City. Please visit www.ShopYourWay.com/JohnCena for more information.
WWE Superstar Sheamus spoke to NOLA.com on Friday night at the WrestleMania XXX promotional event. When asked about who his dream WrestleMania opponent is, he replied:
“I’d definitely like to take on The Undertaker. That’s definitely a dream of mine. I just feel like I can bring a new dynamic in there with him.”
He also commented on his favorite WrestleMania match of all time:
“When I understood more about the skill (of wrestling), it was Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII. I watched both of their careers expand from the tag team division.”
Former WCW and TNA announcer Scott Hudson was recently interviewed by WGD Weekly. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
TNA’s chances of survival on long term basis: “At this point I would have to say they want to because they are making the cuts and making the business decisions that they have to make to get to that eventuality. But, in a business climate like this where scripted sports entertainment is suffering even at the highest level and with their pay roll and their business model and their pay scale, I think it’s going to be tough. If they continue in my opinion it’s going to be as a much scaled down version of what they have now. Not to say they can’t make it, but if they get into another year from now, say twelve months from right now if they are still around, it will be a much different looking company than what you see now.”
The backstage vibe on WCW hiring Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara: “Eric was the one who gave them (the roster) this mega bucks deal and they were making a lot of money with creative control over what their character was doing and how many dates they were working, and now the guy who was making that deal was gone, and their cackles are up, they are ready to get into a fight with the corporate hiercy at WCW at the time. And then here comes Vince [Russo], and Ed [Ferrara], and Bill Banks, all three of them came down from WWF, guy that they didn’t know who are they gonna push, who are they friends with, who do they hate, so you had all this kissing up going on. Kiss you on the cheek in the front, stab you in the back with a knife, that was going on everywhere in WCW and the sad truth is, none of that was necessary, because Vince, and Ed, and Bill, and eventually Eric all got along and we all just wanted the company to succeed. Those four guys were gonna be terrific together, the creativity and the management there would have been of the charts, but the talent was so frightened of losing their spot and their money and their control, that it just became almost like a tornado inside the dressing room.”
Personal views on Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo: “First, I want to say you won’t ever hear me say anything bad about either Vince or Eric. I had nothing but a great relationship with both of them to this day, in 2013; I would follow them into battle. If they wanted to start up a new company and they wanted me in, I’d be there. I had zero problems with either one of those men and I would do whatever they wanted. I just think the world of both of them.”
– Weather issues in the mid-west United States resulted in travel issues for many WWE superstars returning from WWE’s overseas tour. Instead of flying directly into Nashville for tonight’s RAW, talent had to land in Birmingham, Alabama and drive to Nashville from there. As you can imagine, the crew is exhausted from the European tour and everybody is looking forward to a few days off after tomorrow’s SmackDown tapings.
– WWE will tape this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from Atlanta, Georgia. Check back Tuesday night for our weekly Live Coverage of the tapings.
– As reported last week by the Wrestling Observer, World Heavyweight champion John Cena has been working through a number of nagging injuries since returning to action at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Although Cena had an injury scare at last week’s overseas live event from Leeds, he is simply “banged up” in general due to his chaotic schedule and returning to the road sooner than he probably should have.
(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)
– WWEShop.com is selling a new t-shirt for the legendary Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
– Here’s a link to CM Punk on comedian Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast: WTFPod.com.
– Several readers have sent in word that their cable companies alerted them that WWE will be ending their Classics on Demand service in January. The latest talk regarding the WWE Network is that it will be launching in February 2014, so the cancellation of WWE Classics on Demand is a sign that those plans might finally be going through.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley did a comedy show last night at the Performing Arts Center in Smithtown, New York. The show was mostly Foley telling stories from his career, which Foley says raised $1,500 for the Holiday Magic charity.
WWE cameras were on hand to record the sold out show, with WWE looking to air the show on the WWE Network, when it eventually launches. Foley noted several times that he wasn’t sure how WWE would edit the show, since there was some non-PG material.
Joey Styles was at the show and introduced Foley at the beginning. Brodus Clay and former WWE talent Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse were in attendance at the taping. Former WWE writer Jen Bloodsworth opened for Foley.
The show also featured balloon version of Mick Foley, The Rock, Vince McMahon and of course, Santa Claus:
https://twitter.com/MrPoppinTwist/status/402402589578653696/photo/1
– The latest issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine featuring WWE Superstar David Otunga on the cover hits newsstands today.
Today my @muscle_fitness cover officially hits newsstands! #OtungaMFCover #DreamsComeTrue pic.twitter.com/CuxQbEpUfe
— David Otunga (@DavidOtunga) November 18, 2013
– Today (November 18th) marks 1 year since The Shield made their WWE debut. Shield member Seth Rollins is encouraging people to tweet the hashtag #Shieldiversary to show their support.
#Shieldiversary #WWENashville #RAW
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) November 18, 2013
– Speaking of big debuts, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his WWE debut 17 years ago from yesterday (11/17) at the 1996 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross tweeted that he remembers that day well – and The Rock replied:
@JRsBBQ Honored to have you call the match my friend. Hope you're well. Miss ya
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 18, 2013
– WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil noted on Twitter that he and Darren Young are doing media in Nashville today to promote tonight’s RAW.
Up EARLY Doing Media 4 @WWE #Raw throughout Nashville w/ @DarrenYoungWWE as we get ready 4 #RAWCountry 2Nite Live on USA 8PM#PTPInTheHouse
— Titus O'Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) November 18, 2013
Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and will feature a special country music theme.
Here’s a preview for tonight, the “go home” show for Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view:
– Country music band Florida Georgia Line confirmed that they will be appearing tonight.
– WWE is teasing several surprises for RAW Country.
– The Authority returns from vacation.
– The Wyatt Family looks to get revenge against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan ahead of their match this Sunday.
– The latest from Director of Operations Kane.
– WWE 2K14 footage of the fan-picked most devastating submission maneuver will air.
The advertised dark match main event is John Cena defending the World Heavyweight championship against Alberto Del Rio.
SEScoops.com Brings you the Tweets Of The Week. A soggy WrestleMania on sale party at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Piers Morgan talks WrestleMania XXX, Eddie Guerrero remembered and more.
WWE TWEETS OF THE WEEK
.@WrestleMania 30 tickets are officially available! Go to http://t.co/mYkMkYgU5O to order tickets for the biggest event of the year! #WWE
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) November 16, 2013
It might be raining, but fans are still in line for #Wrestlemania tickets and meeting @WWE Superstars pic.twitter.com/oOxmmKGBiz
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) November 16, 2013
WrestleMania 30 is now on sale! Click here to get your tickets: http://t.co/kzWk01oa9D #wwe #wrestlemania #nola
— Caesars Superdome (@CaesarsDome) November 16, 2013
Look out @MBSuperdome The 4 Horsemen ride again next year for @WrestleMania XXX! @likuidm5 @solomonster @SuperBlade pic.twitter.com/K37pZCJvTA
— Noah The Mark ? (@DJNoah80) November 14, 2013
Woah! It's @KaneWWE at #WWEBrussels #BestForBusiness?? pic.twitter.com/62HxcnSage
— Justin Roberts (@JustinRoberts) November 8, 2013
Very disappointed to be missing #WWELiveUK …you up for a WrestleMania 30 trip in April, @spencermorgan93 ? See my buddy @BrockLesnar …
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 14, 2013
I feel beyond blessed to have had my first match tonight at #nxtsebring I had the best time ever! I… http://t.co/x6G6EQgVYb
— Joseann Offerman (@ItsJoseann) November 17, 2013
https://twitter.com/ExcuseMeWWE/statuses/400566771096510464
Miss him “@hiropiter: R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero #VivaLaRaza #ThankYouEddie #WillNeverForgetEddie http://t.co/bZl7rbUTo8 http://t.co/eG9uJqp9b2
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) November 13, 2013
1 week until #RAWCountry takes over Nashville! http://t.co/SF5OaTuCV9 @FLAGALine #WWEMusic
— WWE Music Group (@WWEMusic) November 12, 2013
So pumped! We're guest starring on @WWE Monday Night Raw this week! Speaking of pumped – maybe @JohnCena will lend us his workout routine…
— Florida Georgia Line (@FLAGALine) November 16, 2013
– TNA is reporting that AJ Styles is receiving booking requests from wrestling promoters in the UK, Puerto Rico and Canada following his “unsanctioned and unauthorized” TNA World Heavyweight Championship title defense at the Wrestle-1 event in Japan this past Saturday.
– Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke to the RCWR Show about what led to him leaving TNA back in 2005. DDP said the following:
“Uumm, money; hahaha. I came back for one reason, to show that I could still go at 49. I was 49 years old when I was bouncing around out there like that in TNA and I wasn’t about the same weight I was at 44, not the same but I wasn’t that far off. I just really wanted to come back for that one year, you know, rack it up, have some fun matches, you know, make some money and then when it came time to renegotiate the contract we just didn’t agree and I was like no big deal, thank you very much, I had a great time. I was really done. I didn’t have the run I wanted in the WWE, obviously. I did have a great little run with Christian, we had a great WrestleMania but you know, two and a half years later I wanted to show that DDP could still go and that was the only reason that I did it. It was more about showing that what was possible with DDP yoga than it was about being in the ring, so I obviously had lived the dream on a whole different level at WCW and I make a lot of money. I wasn’t going back for the money, of course you want to make a lot of money but I’m not going to beat up my body unless I’m making a certain number because for me to risk hurting my knees anymore or for me to risk hurting my back, my hips and my ankles, for me its pivotal that my body be in the best shape that I can be in. I don’t want to be broken down and beat up like so many of my other brothers.”
You can check out the complete interview online at BlogTalkRadio.com.
WWE Superstar and current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena recently posted a new tweet on his official Twitter account where he teases a sneak-peak at “something BIG that will be happening soon.”
Cena tweeted the following:
Check it out @WWEUniverse @eonline The 1st sneak peek at something BIG that will be happening soon: http://t.co/FzXnfnZloz #changetime
— John Cena (@JohnCena) November 17, 2013
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On The Undertaker’s last match: “When Taker decides to hang up his boots and perform a his last WrestleMania that decision should become the focal, promotional point of that particular WrestleMania event. Nothing could be booked that would be bigger or more memorable. I still think that is should happen in Cowboy’s Stadium aka Jerry’s World in Arlington, Texas with 100,000 strong in attendance but only when Taker is ready.”
On a WrestleMania event in London: “Apparently John Cena made a comment about WWE hosting a WrestleMania in London some day. I’d assume that Cena was speculating while interacting with the fans in attendance at a live, WWE event as I’ve never heard any serious talk about WWE holding their biggest, annual event in London or any where else that it can’t be live in North America on a Sunday night at 7 pm eastern time. Could it happen? Any thing can happen in WWE if they choose to pull the trigger. Will it happen? I have serious doubts.”
On controversial UFC 167 main event on Saturday night: “Unfortunate decision Saturday night in the main event at UFC 167, at least in my uneducated and arguably biased opinion as Johny Hendricks got hosed in his split decision loss to George St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Title. This are major issues the state of Nevada has to address as inconsistent judging and embarrassing finishes can drive away PPV customers which can cost the UFC big money if the paying customers become overly frustrated with PPV events.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
The following are results from the WWE live event in Minehead, England. The event was held on Saturday, November 16, 2013.
– The Prime Time Players def. Hunico & Camacho in the tag-team opener of the evening.
– The Great Khali def. Jinder Mahal in a snoozefest.
– The Bella Twins def. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka in Divas tag-team action. AJ seemed fine. Nothing that would indicate that she passed out just 24 hours earlier.
– Curtis Axel def. R-Truth to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship. After the match, ring announcer Tony Chimel hit a “Stone Cold Stunner” on Axel for getting too cocky. Before Chimel could get back to doing his ring introductions, he was interupted by The Bella Twins, one of which came out and gave him a big kiss.
– The Usos def. 3MB in a tag-team match. Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre represented 3MB in this one.
– Ryback def. Justin Gabriel in a pretty decent match. Not a squash like you would expect, it was actually a pretty back-and-forth contest.
– Paul Heyman came out and did the same routine he’s been doing the past several shows. He was beaten up by CM Punk with the kendo stick and then The Wyatt Family came out to set up the next tag-team match.
– CM Punk & Daniel Bryan def. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in a tag-team contest. This actually served as the main event of the evening here in Minehead. The crowd was really into this match, and seemed to enjoy the show throughout in general.
The following are results from the WWE live event in Vienna, Austria. The event was held on Saturday, November 16, 2013.
– Goldust & Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns to retain the WWE Tag-Team Championship in the opening match of the evening.
– Santino Marella def. Fandango (with Summer Rae) in what was mostly a comedy match.
– The Miz def. Fandango. That’s right, Fandango worked back-to-back matches and lost them both.
– Zack Ryder def. Damien Sandow. Sandow cut his typical heelish promo before the match. The crowd was kind of dead for this one.
– The Real Americans (with Zeb Colter) def. Los Matadores (with El Torito) in what was mostly another comedy match. The crowd was actually pretty into this.
– Big E. Langston def. Wade Barrett in singles action.
– Randy Orton def. Big Show to retain the WWE Championship in a pretty basic match. Crowd was pretty into Orton. Big Show had his supporters as well.
– Natalya def. Aksana in a pretty typical Divas match. The Total Divas star picked up the win via submission after applying her Sharpshooter hold.
– Dean Ambrose def.Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE United States Championship in what was positioned as the co-main event of the evening.
– John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Cena was actually pretty over as a babyface here. These two had a pretty good match, but nothing particularly special. Good show overall.
– As previously reported, WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee collapsed during her match on the current WWE European tour on Friday. Lee returned to action the following night in Minehead and worked a full match without any issues.
– The following is a video of Kane’s speech at the Liberty Political Action Conference back in September. Kane talks about the TSA and more.
http://youtu.be/hGO8CWDOV0w
– WWE is teasing multiple additional “surprises” for Monday’s edition of “RAW Country.” As previously reported, one of the surprises will be the appearance of country music band Florida Georgia Line.
– Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho was mentioned in the Horoscope section of the latest edition of The National Enquirer. The publication wrote the following about him:
“The rock star wrestler turned 43 on Nov. 9. This upcoming year is filled with turmoil behind the scenes for Chris but cosmic patterns show he’ll come out on top, making more money than ever! His intense Scorpio nature helps him in and out of the ring.”
