– TNA President Dixie Carter announced on Twitter that Impact Wrestling is moving to a “new” time later this month:
BIG NEWS! Beginning May 30th, #IMPACTLive moves back to its old time at 9/8C on @SpikeTV! See ya Thursdays at 8/7C until then, though!
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) May 8, 2013
– ImpactWrestling.com has an exclusive interview up with Magnus talking about his starring role in the Mickie James music video “Somebody’s Gonna Pay.”
– WWE officials are interested in booking The Undertaker & Kane vs. The Shield at SummerSlam, however it will all depend on whether the Dead Man is willing to participate.
– The reason The Miz was not at Monday’s RAW is that he was finishing filming the WWE Studios movie The Christmas Bounty. He is scheduled to return at next week’s RAW from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
– Former WWE star Shane Helms was backstage visiting at Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings from Raleigh, North Carolina:
Stand back!!!!! Hurricane coming through! My good friend @ShaneHelmsCom in Raleigh with me and Teddy Long! pic.twitter.com/qwn2aj89Eb
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) May 7, 2013
– Ring of Honor star Mike Bennett is said to be on WWE’s radar, however people in ROH don’t expect him to leave any time soon. There is also renewed speculation that WWE is interested in Mark and Jay Briscoe.
– To promote the limited theatrical release of the WWE Studios horror movie No One Lives, Brodus Clay will be hosting a Q&A this Friday night after a 7pm screening of the movie at the AMC Veterans 24 theater in Tampa, Florida. No One lives is being shown in 23 states.
– This week’s WWE Five-Star Match of the Week was chosen by Paul Heyman and he picked The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar from SummerSlam 2002. Heyman told WWE.com:
“First of all, I disagree with the designation that it’s The Rock vs. Brock. It is Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock. Brock deserves top billing. And he deserves top billing because he won the match. [Brock] did not win the match with outside interference. In fact, The Rock hit me with a Rock Bottom through a table. I was not an equation. Brock Lesnar defeated The Rock cleanly to become the Undisputed WWE Champion, and in doing so, he put his boot on the neck of The Attitude Era and anointed himself the new reigning monarch of the WWE Universe.”
WWE’s The Best of Madison Square Garden will be released as a three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray August 27th, according to WWEDVDNews.
Among the DVD’s highlights will be WrestleManias 1 and 10, John Cena’s 2008 Royal Rumble victory and the career of Bruno Sammartino. Sammartino recently took part in an interview with WWE that will be featured on the Best of MSG project.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“For nearly 50 years, Madison Square Garden has been the home of WWE. From sell out crowds cheering on Bruno Sammartino’s incredible championship run to the birth of Hulkamania, the inaugural WrestleMania, a stunner heard round the world and several legendary moments in between, WWE presents the moments that have helped legitimize the moniker World’s Most Famous Arena.
This collection showcases over 20 of the greatest matches and moments at MSG spanning all generations of WWE. Along with interviews from several WWE legends and Superstars, fans will relive several of the key moments in history that shaped the WWE of today.”
As noted earlier, WWE officials were very pleased with Antonio Cesaro’s match against Kofi Kingston on last week’s Main Event show. Cesaro is getting most of the credit for the match’s success, which is believed to be the reason he’s getting a match against Randy Orton on this week’s Main Event.
He was booked strong on RAW, making quick work of Zack Ryder and then cutting a post-match promo that was very similar to the promo he cut after defeating Yoshi Tatsu at last week’s NXT TV tapings.
Cesaro ripping out one of Kofi Kingston’s dreadlocks fulfilled his claim that, “You took something from me, now I’m going to take something from you.” After failing to reclaim the United States Championship, it appears he’s moving on and is being repositioned as an upper-midcard act that will eventually be a World Heavyweight title contender.
– Former WWE Superstar Batista Tweeted on Wednesday that he’s about to head overseas to the UK for five months to work:
Getting ready to head to #LA one more time before I'm off to the #UK for five months. Can't wait to get to work! How's your #humpday?
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) May 8, 2013
– WWE COO Triple H has responded to UFC fighter Chael Sonnen saying that he wants to “buy” WWE. When asked by a fan on Twitter if there’s any legitimacy to the reports, Triple H said, “He can buy some stock.”
Triple H also noted on Twitter that the company’s new Performance Center in Orlando, Florida will open this July.
– After Tuesday night’s WWE TV Tapings from Raleigh, North Carolina concluded, Mark Henry came out for an in-ring interview with Josh Mathews. Henry said that he’s ready for a fight – which brought out the Big Show. The two monsters teamed up against Randy Orton and Sheamus. Our live correspondent noted that Orton got one of the loudest pops of the night for his apearance.
The match lasted around 5-10 minutes, with Orton and Sheamus hitting an RKO & Brogue Kick on Big Show and Henry, respectively, for the win.
– Prior to Tuesday night’s WWE TV tapings from Raleigh, North Carolina, NXT superstar Adrian Neville (formerly PAC) defeated Curt Hawkins in what was described as a very exciting match. The crowd was very into this one, with Neville hitting a standing Shooting Star Press before finishing Hawkins off with his top rope corkscrew Shooting Star Press.
In case you haven’t seen Neville’s finisher before – behold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dVgdLp3mU0Y
The following matches are scheduled for Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown:
– Chris Jericho vs. Ryback.
– WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose.
– WWE United States Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes.
– Big E. Langston vs. Jack Swagger.
– Big Show vs. Tensai.
Also appearing on the show are World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler, Teddy Long, Alberto Del Rio, Kane, Randy Orton and Mark Henry.
– Tonight’s episode of WWE Main Event will feature
* Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro.
* Justin Gabriel & The Usos vs. 3MB.
– Sin Cara tweeted that he’s been medically cleared to return to the ring and will be back on WWE television next week.
– Rosa Mendes, who was sent home from WWE’s recent European tour due to her ‘unprofessional’ conduct, also noted on Twitter that she’s getting ready to return, but did not give a specific timeframe.
Monday’s episode of WWE RAW scored a 2.9 rating and averaged 3,916,000 viewers, down from last week’s 3.07 rating with 4,285,000 viewers. Raw ranked #2 on cable for the night behind the NBA Playoffs on TNT.
Here’s the hourly viewership:
Overall, this was the least-watched RAW of 2013.
DISCUSSION: The WWE Universe is clearly sending the company a message that the current television product is not keeping them engaged. Comment below and tell us what you would change about WWE – and how low you think RAW’s ratings have to go in order for big changes to be made.
* Ryback in The Highlight Reel led to Teddy Long announcing Chris Jericho vs. Ryback later on.
* WWE United States champion Kofi Kingston pinned Cody Rhodes with Trouble in Paradise.
* Big E. Langston vs. Jack Swagger ends up in a non contest when Alberto Del Rio (doing announcing) and World champ Dolph Ziggler get involved as do ladders. It ended with Del Rio standing tall.
* The Shield’s Dean Ambrose beat WWE Tag Team champ Daniel Bryan by DQ. The Shield interfered and Kane got involved. Finally, Kofi Kingston hit the scene but the referee saw him nail Ambrose causing the DQ. This looked to set up a six man at the PPV.
* They showed Mark Henry attempting to break a world record in strength by pulling an 18 wheeler truck.
* Big Show KO’d Tensai like nothing. He went after Brodus Clay after but Randy Orton hit the scene and scored with the RKO.
* Chris Jericho beat Ryback by DQ after Ryback put him through a table at ringside and slammed him into the ringpost.
The following matches were taped on Tuesday night from Raleigh, North Carolina for this week’s episode of WWE Main Event:
* Randy Orton defeated Antonio Cesaro.
*Justin Gabriel & The Usos defeated 3MB.
– The talk backstage at RAW is that Evan Bourne will be back in action soon, according to PWInsider.com.
– ESPN.com has updated their weekly WWE Power Rankings, with World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler once again claiming the top spot. Here’s this week’s Top 10:
1. Dolph Ziggler
2. Mark Henry
3. The Shield
4. Ryback
5. Triple H
6. Antonio Cesaro
7. Jack Swagger
8. Sheamus
9. Randy Orton
10. John Cena
The ESPN article gave a RAW a good review and said that Extreme Rules is “shaping up to be one of the most anticipated pay-per-views of the year.”
– Northeast independent wrestler Smith James announced on Twitter that he’s been signed to a WWE developmental deal:
https://twitter.com/biggamejames12/status/331846389535498240
https://twitter.com/biggamejames12/status/331846661422858240
https://twitter.com/biggamejames12/status/331847618638520320
https://twitter.com/biggamejames12/status/331848395721416704
https://twitter.com/biggamejames12/status/331848669584318465
James was trained by former ECW World Champion & TNA announcer Taz at his finishing school on Long Island. Taz tweeted the following congratulatory message to James:
https://twitter.com/officialtaz/status/331849852319305728
Referee Matt Bennett, who has worked for Jersey All Pro Wrestling, has also been signed to a WWE deal and reported to developmental this week.
(Source: PWInsider.com)
Mickie James has released her second country music album, titled “Everybody’s Gonna Pay.” The album can be purchased now at Amazon.com
Here is the track listing:
1. “Somebody’s Gonna Pay”
2. “Best Damn Night”
3. “Whatever Turns You On”
4. “A Good Time”
5. “Long Way Down”
6. “If I Can’t Be Me”
7. “Goin’ Fast”
8. “I’m Gone Song”
9. “80 Proof”
10. “Hurts Don’t It”
11. “I Just Wanna Do My Thing”
12. “Hardcore Country” (Bonus Track)
Last October, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus joined Mickie James for the filming of the “Somebody’s Gonna Pay.” TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett was also on the set for the video shoot.
Diamond Dallas Page inducts Jake “The Snake” Roberts into the prestigious Cauliflower Alley Club, followed by Jakes inspirational speech.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin announced that some big names will be appearing on his podcast soon:
Coming soon to #steveaustinshow…@RealKevinNash@JRsBBQ Terry Funk and @BretHart. A main event lineup for damn sure.
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) May 7, 2013
– Monday’s WWE RAW had a Trendrr.tv social media score of only 195,239, down 4% from last week and the lowest score of the year. RAW ranked #4 on cable for the night, behind the two NBA Playoff games and “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” on VH1.
– Here’s the latest installment of WWE Backstage Fallout:
Forget “Fandangoing”! Watch as R-Truth teaches Tons of Funk some new moves in the Raw edition of “Backstage Fallout.”
– The Bella Twins tweeted about abandoning AJ Lee in their Divas tag match on RAW last night:
You take our #1 Contender spot, we take away your win. Haters Gonna Hate, Bellas Gonna Ball. Besos! B&N #RAW
— Nikki & Brie (@NikkiAndBrie) May 7, 2013
– Sheamus tweeted the following about the beat down Mark Henry gave him on RAW:
https://twitter.com/WWESheamus/status/331613492522143744
– Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly appeared on TMZ Live to discuss Miley Cyrus on the Maxim Hot 100 yesterday:
– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be announcing the drivers at Saturday’s Bojangles Southern 500 NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway.
– The Rock was scheduled to be in London this week to promote “Fast & Furious 6” but has not been cleared by his doctors to fly overseas.
– CM Punk continues to attend professional sports events during his time off from WWE and was spotted at Monday night’s Chicago Cubs baseball game against the Texas Rangers. Punk tweeted this photo from the game:
— player/coach (@CMPunk) May 7, 2013
– As seen on last night’s RAW, Fandango came out with a different dancer other than NXT Diva Summer Rae. Despite not being used, Summer Rae was backstage at the show and noted on Twitter that she’ll be at tonight’s SmackDown tapings.
– Next week on RAW, Chris Jericho will have a dance-off with Fandango.
– SyFy sent out a survey this week asking fans about a potential second season of Chris Jericho’s Robot Combat League show. The survey asked fans their opinion on Jericho’s job as host and asked if there should be special appearances by wrestlers and MMA fighters.
– WWE will be taping this week’s Smackdown and Main Event shows tonight in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Main Event will feature Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro, while Smackdown will see Chris Jericho hosting the Highlight Reel with his special guest, Ryback.
– During Monday’s RAW, commercials aired in the New York Area that WWE RAW will be held from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the first time ever on July 15th.
– WWE signed two new licensing deals last week. The first is with Funko, which will see a new WWE line of their Pop! Vinyl collectible figures and 3D board games. They other is with Cardinal Games, which will be for WWE-branded puzzles, trivia, and card games. The new products are expected to be released in late summer/early fall.
* Hilarious Video: DAMIEN SANDOW Sings Randy Orton’s Theme Song
(Partial Source: PWInsider.com)
– Last Thursday’s TNA Impact Wrestling show drew a 0.94 rating and averaged 1.104 million viewers, down from 0.99 and 1.226 million viewers the prior week. This was the lowest viewership for Impact all year.
– Friday’s WWE Smackdown show drew a 1.82 rating with 2.471 million viewers, down from a 1.96 rating and 2.751 million viewers the prior week. This ties the second lowest rating for SmackDown of 2013. The NBA playoffs led the night with roughly four million viewers.
– After Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air, WWE Champion John Cena teamed up with tag team champions Team Hell No against The Shield. The Shield dominated early. At one point, Seth Rollins came in with a stel chair as Cena was about to win the match. The Sheild tried to triple power bomb Cena, but Daniel Bryan came back into the ring with a chair to run The Shield off. (Thanks to Jeff Burke).
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is returning to the ring for the first time since suffering a heart attack live on Monday Night RAW last year. Lawler is scheduled to team with former NWA World champion Dory Funk Jr. on May 25th in Ocala, Florida for Funk’s !Bang! promotion.
* ROMAN REIGNS Undergoes 17 HOURS Of Tattoo Work – BEFORE & AFTER Photos
– Ryback will be Chris Jericho’s special guest on the Highlight Reel this Friday on SmackDown.
– Randy Orton vs Antonio Cesaro will take place on Wednesday’s Main Event.
– Sheamus vs. Mark Henry was announced on Monday’s RAW for Extreme Rules.
It was announced on Monday’s WWE RAW that John Cena’s WWE Championship defense against Extreme Rules will be a Last Man Standing match. Later in the show, Mark Henry vs. Sheamus was also added to the the show. With that match set – here’s the updated card:
WWE Extreme Rules takes place on Sunday, May 19th from the Scotttrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
