– The official WWE website has published an article highlighting the various Superstars and Legends who received their debut Mattel action figures this year, which includes The Shield, Bruno Sammartino, Antonio Cesaro, The Funkadactyls, Kaitlyn and Miss Elizabeth. One WWE Superstar admits to being weirded out by his toy.
“I stared at [my figure] for a couple of minutes, and then I put it down and said ‘I’m just going to pretend that this is a thing that doesn’t exist,’ because it weirds me out,” United States Champion Dean Ambrose. “It’s strange to see stuff like that.”
Cesaro added, “It’s got my trademark ‘Cesaro smirk.’ The first time I saw it was somebody on Twitter — that’s @AntonioCesaro by the way — sent a picture of me during an entrance, and I thought, ‘I don’t remember that.’ Then I realized it was my [Elite] action figure in front of a self-made WWE set. That’s how accurate these figures are nowadays.”
– Joyce Farhat, the widow of WWE Hall of Famer The Sheik (Ed Farhat), has passed away, according to SLAM! Wrestling and PWInsider.com.
Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu, The Sheik’s nephew, stated on his Facebook page that Farhat passed away on Wednesday evening after being ill for a while. She had been on life support.
Joyce appeared as The Sheik’s valet and spoke on behalf of her late husband in 2007 at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
– WWE.com has an article up looking at “Action Figure Firsts” in 2013 – Superstars who got their first WWE action figures this year.
– WWE’s William Regal posted an essay on Twitter about what young wrestlers should do in order to make it in WWE. Regal encourages talent to find a good wrestling school with a reputable trainer, get the basics down first, study the greats, become a great talker and train for endurance and strength instead of bodybuilding. You can read the full essay here.
– Former WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. is working on a movie about the career of his father called “The Price Of Fame”. Here’s the trailer:
– Vince McMahon’s “Million Dollar Mania” giveaway, which saw the WWE Chairman give away his personal wealth to Raw viewers for three weeks in 2008, is now considered a misfire by WWE.
The official WWE website is polling fans on the greatest catastrophes in the history of professional wrestling and McMahon’s ratings-drawing strategy is listed as an option. Other choices include The Shockmaster’s debut, Papa Shango’s voodoo curse on Ultimate Warrior, the hiring of Mike Adamle, the Kennel from Hell Match, Sycho Sid speaking on the mic, the lights going out during the May 1996 In Your House 8: Beware of Dog pay-per-view, the Brawl for All tournament, the formation of The Dungeon of Doom, and Scott Steiner speaking on the mic.
– Yahoo! TV UK has published article speculating on The Undertaker’s return to WWE airwaves and what his involvement may be. Sam Moore feels the obvious choice involves the Wyatt Family.
“Bray Wyatt proclaims to be controlled by the Devil and it would make perfect sense if The Undertaker was indeed the higher power orchestrating everything,” wrote Moore. “The move would not only integrate the deadman into WWE’s most interesting storyline but also be a massive boost to The Wyatt Family who desperately need to be made to look as legitimate as possible. This role could also work well for The Undertaker because he wouldn’t have to get physical a great deal, just talk and put over some of the younger guys.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Greg “The Hammer” Valentine has been announced to appear at the Kentucky Flea Market taking place Dec. 28-31 at the Kentucky Expo Center 937 Phillips Lane Louisville, Kentucky.
– Dolph Ziggler did an interview with Chris Van Vliet of Channel 19 in Cleveland, OH:
Dolph Ziggler answers fan questions in his hometown of Cleveland, OH. He talks about why he hasn’t received a push lately, having a dream match at Wrestlemania 30 against The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels, whether he liked the Spirit Squad gimmick or being Kerwin White’s caddy better, who he would like to face in a 60-minute Iron man match and much more.
– In a fallout match from the Survivor Series, Jimmy and Jey Uso take on the Real Americans on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. Plus, Zack Ryder squares off against Fandango. Courtesy of WWE’s YouTube account, here are highlights from both matches.
– WWE rookie Diva Summer Rae celebrated her thirtieth birthday on Thanksgiving Day.
“Being home & being able to spend time with my family made today a great birthday & Thanksgiving,” she wrote on Instagram. “Laying on the couch with the pups, watching movies with the fam, & eating a great meal. Oh & it wouldn’t be complete without my birthday candles in the pumpkin pie!”
– According to WrestlingFigs.com, Rob Van Dam will appear at the Frank & Son’s Collectibles Show tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event takes place at 19649 San Jose Ave. City of Industry, California.
Former WWE Superstar Bill Goldberg appeared at the C4 Comic Con in Winnigpeg a few weeks ago and was asked about the possibility of appearing at WrestleMania XXX for WWE in 2014. Goldberg noted that Triple H has called him multiple times and they have talked, but there is no official deal in place.
Goldberg spoke about being open to coming back, as he would like his son to see him wrestle at least once on a major stage, but he said he would only do it if the price was right. Goldberg said he would never call WWE personally and ask to return. He said the ball is in their court and that they know what needs to be done if they want him to return. One source noted that Goldberg’s financial demands were very significant.
Goldberg also talked about WWE trying to push the idea of him getting an enormous pop, saying “think of the pop you’ll get,” but Goldberg claims they are using the wrong negotiation tactics by saying things like that.
– The premiere of the WWE Studios film “Christmas Bounty” starring The Miz drew 828,000 viewers on ABC Family on Tuesday night. The movie drew a 0.3 cable rating in the adult 18-49 demographic.
– As previously reported, Chris Benoit’s son David Benoit is interested in becoming a professional wrestler. Benoit has trained with Harry Smith, among others recently, and along with Scott Hall’s son Cody Hall is attempting to see if he can get into the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo. Benoit’s ultimate goal is to apparently get to WWE one day.
As we previously reported, Davey Richards has pulled out of his scheduled appearance on the Pro Wrestling NOAH shows because of a neck injury that he suffered.
Some feel that Richards suffered the injury during his tag-team match against The Ascension in WWE NXT. The injury appeared to happen when Richards was dropped on his head, as there was apparently immediate concern that he was hurt. Richards was checked out after the match, however, and apparently had not suffered any serious injuries.
Apparently nobody had heard anything else until the news came out that he had pulled out of his scheduled appearance with NOAH.
– AJ Styles and Jesse Sorensen are now accepting independent bookings through Bill Behrens at [email protected].
-Aside from the Impact Wrestling episode that aired on November 20th, TNA announcers Taz and Mike Tenay have not been present at recent television tapings. TNA has been bringing the announcers to Nashville to do taped commentary for the shows.
The following are highlights from a recent Miami Herald interview with TNA Knockout Lei’D Tapa:
On being a TNA Knockout: “It’s an honor to work with TNA and to be a Knockout. It’s a great opportunity.”
On participating in TNA’s Gut Check: “I’m just really grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in the [TNA] Gut Check. That put me on the radar — to get me out there and get known. It was the perfect opportunity for me and the right moment for me to be in front of the right people. For TNA to give me the opportunity to be with them and to grow as a wrestler and as an entertainer, I’m really honored and thankful.”
On working with Gail Kim: “It’s an honor to work with Gail Kim and I’m so glad I have the opportunity to be doing what we’re doing right now. She’s a great teacher to me. She’s helping me to keep growing and giving me advice. She’s a phenomenal athlete and a great, great talent. Before I started wrestling, I would watch her on TV to see how she works. Not only is she a beautiful woman, she’s a strong woman. I always believe that being a woman stands for something, and when I look at her, that’s what I see.”
– WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler held a drinking game with fans on his official Twitter account during his match on WWE Main Event on Wednesday night. The game was set up for fans to take a shot everytime he “almost dies” during the match. Fans interested in checking out the tweets from Ziggler can do so at @HEELZiggler.
– The following is a new tweet from the official Twitter page of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
Major announcement coming Monday on my 1st ever Evening w/ Jim Ross show in USA. NYC is locked in. Date, ticket info, etc days away.
– WWE officials have indeed been negotiating with Hulk Hogan about a return to the company. According to one source, there is at least discussion of having Hogan team with John Cena, presumably at WrestleMania XXX.
– Former WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page recently took part in an “Ask Me Anything” chat on Reddit. Fans interested in reading the transcript from the chat can do so online at Reddit.com.
– Former WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels will be appearing together at the Houston Autorama at various times this weekend. For more information, visit Autorama.com.
– The WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view this year at the TD Garden in Boston had 13,500 fans in attendance, with 12,000 paid. WWE announced the attendance as 15,297.
– There are already plans for WWE Superstar and current member of The Shield, Roman Reigns, to get a huge push in the 2014 Royal Rumble match. The idea is to use him similar to the way Kane and Kevin Nash have been booked in the past, where he would rack up a number of impressive eliminations during the match.
According to reports, WWE NXT writer Ryan Ward is making a push for Triple H to sign top former Ring Of Honor stars Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Apparently the two also received good reactions from NXT trainers Billy Gunn and Bill DeMott.
WWE is going to allow both Richards and Edwards to finish out their commitments with Ring Of Honor, including the upcoming ROH show in New York City on December 14th, but the company has apparently told them not to take any additional dates with ROH.
– We recently reported via Indian media outlets that a giant by the name of Rajesh Kumar said he was training in Japan to wrestle for WWE and was motivated after meeting WWE Superstar The Great Khali. People in Indian apparently refer to Kumar as “The New Khali,” however, WWE claims to have no affiliation with anyone with Kumar’s name.
– The latest WWE update on Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards is that there were no issues with their most recent tryout with the company. Richards and Edwards are scheduled to return for the next set of WWE NXT television tapings in January, but have not been offered official contracts as of yet.
– Two big pro wrestling-related weddings are now official for the early part of 2014. WWE Superstar The Miz and his fiancee, former WWE Diva Maryse are set to get married in February. WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan and his fiancee, current WWE Diva Brie Bella are set to get married in April.
– Many are unaware, but a little known fact about WWE Diva JoJo Offerman, who is also one of the stars of the WWE Total Divas reality show, is that she is the daughter of Major League Baseball legend Jose Offerman.
– The reason WWE Superstar Christian has yet to return to action is because he has yet to be cleared by doctors from the concussion he suffered a couple of months ago. The current expectation is that Christian will be back on WWE television by early December.
– As noted previously, WWE’s Linda McMahon was sitting ringside at this past Monday night’s edition of RAW in Uniondale. McMahon wrote on Twitter about her experience, tweeting the following:
Had so much fun sitting ringside tonight for #WWE#RAW at Nassau Coliseum!
– Puerto Rican wrestler Sebastian Guerra, who is a 21 year old, 6-foot-5 and 285-pound independent worker, was at the same WWE tryout camp that included Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Joey Ryan and several others a few weeks ago. WWE apparently wants Guerra to gain additional experience and learn the English language better before doing something with him. As a result, Guerra is expected to head to Ohio Valley Wrestling for further training and to attempt to improve his English by living there.
– Current word is that Paul Heyman is not expected back on WWE television for several more weeks. As previously reported, Heyman is expected to be brought back when Brock Lesnar makes his television return to the company.
– According to the latest indications, tickets for the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view are nearly sold out already.
– Speaking of tickets, WrestleMania XXX ticket sales were just under the 40,000 mark for the first week. Due to the higher ticket prices, when looking at things from a live gate perspective, it was the second largest grossing first weekend in history, trailing only WrestleMania 29.
– The following is a clip from the documentary portion of the new WWE RAW 20th anniversary DVD box set:
The following are highlights from the latest online Q&A by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Curtis Axel’s short Intercontinental Title reign: “It’s all about casting. Axel is more relevant now that he was just a few months ago. Short reign create awareness.”
On whether or not WWE will drop the “big gold belt” when they unify the titles: “I have no idea what WWE creative is doing or is going to do but if I had to guess I’d say the WWE Titles stays and the World Title goes. Bottom line is that I don’t know.”
On whether or not the WWE & World Titles should be unified into one championship: “Again, I don’t know exactly what is going on but it appears that WWE wants to have one primary title going forward. I don’t spend much time on the creative plans of any pro wrestling company.”
On not being “big-headed” even though he’s a great, successful announcer: “I’d surmise it is the way in which I was raised by my Mom and Dad. Plus, who likes being around pompous, arrogant, entitled people? I certainly don’t.”
On the job Renee Young is doing in WWE currently: “Renee has plenty of talent and should continue to do well in WWE as I see her role expanding and then see other opportunities coming her way.”
Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.
Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts
The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”. Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.
I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.
Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.
CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield. I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.
Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!
The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio
I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.
The Kosher Butcher!
The Kosher Butcher Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this. Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.
Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:
