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Tribute To The Troops Rating Bombs On NBC, Latest “Are You Serious?” Video

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– Saturday night’s 1-hour WWE Tribute To The Troops special on NBC drew only 1.3 million viewers, a sharp decline from what the show has drawn in recent years. The show put NBC in last place among the major networks for the 9pm (EST) hour, well behind CBS, ABC & FOX.

To get an idea of how bad the viewership has declined from previous years, here are the ratings for WWE’s Tribute to the Troops NBC special since 2009:

2012: 1.3 million
2011: 2.1 million
2010: 2.3 million
2009: 2.4 million

– Here’s the latest installment of WWE’s “Are You Serious?” YouTube series, featuring Holiday #garbagejuice:

Why is Goldust dressed like a Christmas tree? Watch the painful clip in this week’s edition of “Are You Serious?” Plus, find out what Road Dogg got Josh Mathews this holiday season, only on WWE on YouTube!

* News On Former WWE Superstars Returning In Time For The ROYAL RUMBLE

Edge Talks About Returning To WWE & His Most Recent Surgery

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Retired WWE Hall of Famer Edge answered some fan questions on Twitter on Sunday regarding his career-ending neck surgery, returning to WWE television and more.

When asked whether his most recent neck surgery would allow him to step back in the ring again, Edge said no, it was to relieve pain and create a comfortable lifestyle for him.

Edge made it clear that he won’t be wrestling again, saying, “Doctors told me I’ll never wrestle again. I have 3 plates in my neck. That’s alot.”

When asked if he’s consider a return to WWE television in a non-wrestling capacity, he said it’s a possibility.

“Raw GM would still involve lotsa travel, which at this point still bothers my neck,” he wrote. “As I recover more, who knows.”

TNA Impact Wrestling For Thursday: Open Fight Night, Austin Aries, “Bro-off”, Gail Kim

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TNA Wrestling has released the preview for this Thursday’s “Open Fight Night” episode of Impact Wrestling, the final show of 2012. Confirmed for the show is a “Bro-off” between Jessie Godderz and Robbie E, as well as Gail Kim issuing a challenge. Plus, fall-out from angles with Austin Aries and Bobby Roode, and Bully Ray, Hulk Hogan and daughter Brooke.

Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING on SpikeTV at 8/7c – the final IMPACT of 2012! If you can’t watch it Thursday, make sure to set your DVR to record it!

– Thursday’s broadcast features the return of OPEN FIGHT NIGHT! It’s the last chance for the IMPACT WRESTLING Superstars to settle any and all grudges before the New Year! Who will get called out? Tune in and find out!

– Austin Aries is still enraged that Bobby Roode cost him his chance at regaining the World Heavyweight Title during last week’s CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY! Will Aries call out Roode this week during OPEN FIGHT NIGHT? If so, will Roode step up to the challenge?

– This week’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast will also feature the first ever “BRO-OFF” between Robbie E and Jessie! Who is the biggest “BRO” on IMPACT? How will Robbie and Jessie settle the challenge?

– The lovely TNA Knockouts will be in action on OPEN FIGHT NIGHT! Gail Kim has made it known that she plans to call out a specific Knockout to fight her! Who does Gail have a score to settle with? Find out on Thursday night!

– PLUS, what will be the fallout from the shocking ending to last week’s broadcast when Hulk Hogan walked up on Bully Ray and his daughter Brooke?

All this and much more on Thursday’s “OPEN FIGHT NIGHT” edition of IMPACT WRESTLING on SpikeTV at 8/7c!

Michelle McCool Talks Natalya: Backstage Tension, Teaching Her How To “Wrestle”

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The webmasters of MichelleMcCool.net sent along the following interview with former WWE diva (and wife of The Undertaker), Michelle McCool:

So, we’ve all survived the Mayan apocalypse. Now what? Celebrate, of course! And what better way than with another MichelleMcCool.Net Exclusive? So, let’s see: since 2005, MichelleMcCool.Net has done over 50 exclusive projects with Michelle — including interviews, vlogs, blogs, live chats, fan giveaways, and more. What could we possibly have up our sleeve this time? Well, brace yourselves: this one will get them talking!

Michelle’s going on the record to talk about her former counterparts — yes, the WWE Divas! From stories on the road, in the locker room, from backstage, to in-your-face encounters as told by the Pride of Palatka herself!

We call it: “12 Days of Divas.” Every day, for twelve days, we’ll post a new clip that features Michelle sharing personal stories regarding her old colleagues. At the end of our 12-day exclusive, the clips will be available in full, and free to download.

Kicking things off, we have Michelle talking about the Queen of Harts, Natalya!

First Meeting: “We kind of got off on a rough start (and i laugh about it now, we tease each other now). I remember we had a production meeting, and it was her first day there. I don’t talk during production meetings, people don’t generally say anything. She raises her hand and says she just wants to give everyone a tip on how to keep self-tanner on longer. At the time, I’m like, are you kidding me right now? She’s got nerve! I wish I had some of that, just an ounce of it in me to just be like: “Yeah, I’ve got something to say!” That was my very first encounter with her.”

Teaching Nattie how to “Wrestle”: “Apparently, something got all over the Internet about me trying to teach her how to ‘wrestle’ and all of this other stuff — which was completely false, as many things on the Internet are. But word got around, and there was nobody around the ring at the time, so it was just one of those things where ‘who felt the need to go to the Internet and start this stuff?’ It was just kind of shady. It was just kind of unspoken… there was a little bit of tension there. I don’t know if she thought I did it, or if she did it. A couple weeks went by, we sat down and talked about it and actually became really good friends.”

Polar Opposites: “We have two very, very different personalities. I’m more reserved, soft-spoken, and I have to get warmed up to people before I open up to them — and she’s completely opposite.”

Working with Nattie: “Obviously, she’s a great worker. That’s beyond words. She’s constantly showing up to the ring — you know when Nattie’s in the building, because she comes running down the ramp, slides in the ring and tries to leg-pick or take them down in some form or fashion. Which is awesome!”

Storyline with Nattie: “So, it was pretty late in my career, right before LayCool broke up. She was definitely fun to work with, a total team player. She would come up with stuff she’d want us to use. She’d be like: “Hey! Why don’t you say this about me?!” And we’d be like… really? We did her dad’s goatee thing, and she showed us all of that. She gave us other way on how to impersonate her dad, her or Bret. She was the one feeding us material, just showing us the type of business she’s willing to do. She knows what’s good for the business and knows that it’s just a character on TV.”

Trusting Nattie: “We could trust that the ideas we were pitching off one another weren’t going to be automatically shut down because she was going to end up saying something else. We really worked together, coming up with storylines, how to keep things going, fighting for every pay-per-view, fighting to get on TV. She was always willing to do something above and beyond. She just got it.”

Tables Match: “Our program ended at TLC. Fit Finley came up to us and told us we had a table’s match, and we told him to shut up — we didn’t believe it. We were always told that WWE didn’t want the girls to wrestle like the guys, your punches can’t look too good, and you can’t do punches or kicks, all of these guidelines, so we definitely didn’t think we were going to get a Tables match.”

Rehearsal for TLC/Near-death experience: “We had rehearsal the night before the pay-per-view, put some ideas together, go through some stuff — and oh, my gosh! You can ask Nattie: I’ve never had a near-death experience in my life until that night. It was so super-scary. I remember I was going to pull Nattie up in the corner for my Faith Breaker, off the top turnbuckle. Somehow, I go to pull her up, and we both tumble over the outside. All I’m thinking about is protecting her, but I’m looking down and my head is about to land on the apron and I’m about to break my neck, literally. My toes are curled over the top rope, just so that I can hold onto the both of us… I can see in slow-motion, Randy Orton, who was at ringside, is running over to help. Fit is across the ring and can’t help, and Arn Anderson was there — literally, we almost died. It was absolutely terrifying. But did it stop us from doing it? No. We figured it possibly couldn’t happen twice… right?”

Fighting for Nattie: “I remember fighting like crazy for Nattie to get the spotlight in that match, because not everybody was fighting for that. I thought: she’s the one that helped us; she’s the one that we were picking on during this whole storyline. She should be the one that pushes us through the table, she should be the one that gets her hand raised — she should be the one that puts LayCool to shame. She deserves this. And it was like, this hard, hard battle. That was her moment and I don’t think it would have been fair for anybody else to take that away from her or for anyone to try and take that away from her.”

WWE RAW Results From Christmas Eve (12/24)

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* A vignette airs showing Alberto Del Rio accidentally running over over Santa Claus, the Guest Host for the evening.

* Kane pinned Cody Rhodes after hitting the chokeslam.

* Sheamus pinned World champion Big Show in a “Lumberjack Frost Match” with thelumberjacks wearing Santa hats. The match was a non-title match and ended after Big Show missed a KO punch attempt and got hit with the Brogue Kick.

* There was a Santa’s Little Helper 8-Diva tag match. Kaitlyn pinned Eve Torres to win the team for the babyface team.

* Zack Ryder pinned David Otunga. Otunga cut a promo before the match talking about Alberto Del Rio was really the victim even though he’s the one that ran over Santa Claus.

* The Miz and Kofi Kingston defeated Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro after Miz pinned Wade Barrett. This was described by one of our correspondents as a very good match.

* The Great Khali defeated Brad Maddox. Khali and Hornswoggle were dressed as elves. Khali sang “We wish you a Merry Christmas” after.

* WWE champion CM Punk and Paul Heyman came out for a promo. Punk apologized for not being able to wrestle and blamed it on Ryback, saying he ruined Christmas by keeping Punk out of action. It was announced that CM Punk vs. Ryback on the first RAW of 2013 will be a TLC match.

* Daniel Bryan made Damien Sandow tap out to the No Lock.

* The Usos, Brodus Clay, Santino, Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd defeated 3MB, the Prime Time Players & Tensai.

* John Cena pinned Alberto Del Rio in a “Miracle on 34th Street” match where there were weapons hidden inside gift boxes. Lots of weapons used and this one was described as a really fun match. Santa Claus (Mick Foley) did a run-in and had Mr. Socko with him.

* After the main event, John Cena, Mick Foley and Alberto Del Rio gave out gifts to the fans at ringside.

* Latest On SHELTON BENJAMIN, John Morrison, Mark Henry & More Returning to WWE Soon

 

Sound Off 251: Did TLC Mark A Changing Of The Guard?

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DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 251)

*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes

olomonster is full of holiday cheer with a 90-minute Christmas edition of the Sound Off! After watching a ridiculous amount of wrestling this week (much of which was quite good), he has live thoughts from the TLC PPV in Brooklyn with a candidate for MOTY and why the show felt like a changing of the guard, unbearable hype for the WWE app, Ric Flair’s return on Raw, why the Slammies need to die, defending Tensai as a comedy figure, Great Khali’s new Twitter and an idea for a new Fan Axxess attraction, Hulk Hogan wanting the TNA World title, booking Jack Swagger’s return, defining each of WWE’s eras over the years, and what’s the most disappointing PPV in recent memory? A packed show, so hit the eggnog and turn up the volume. Happy holidays!!

Want your question on the air? Send feedback to [email protected].

Wanna subscribe to the Sound Off via iTunes? CLICK HERE!

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Solomonster Sounds Off by The Solomonster is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hulk Hogan Says He Wants To Be TNA World Champion In 2013

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TNA star Hulk Hogan was recently interviewed by the UK’s Guardian website as part of a “Celebrity Christmas Wish Lists” feature. Here’s what’s on Hogan’s wish list, including some interesting comments about wanting to not only wrestle again – but to also be TNA World champion:

1. Thirty years of life: I want my youth back. I wouldn’t change anything, though. I’d wrestle all over again. The same matches.

2. 747 jet I would like my own private jet plane again. I’d take all the wrestlers with me on the plane. I don’t just want a little Learjet, I want a 747. That would be a wild plane.

3. Knee surgery I’ve had eight back surgeries, I’ve had knee replacements, I’ve had both hip replacements. I only need one more surgery – to fix my right knee – then I’m going to go for the TNA world title. I want to be 59 years old and be the champion.

4. Hair I want a full head of hair.

Matt Hardy Calls Ryback 2012’s Breakout Star & Comments On The State Of Tag Team Wrestling

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Matt Hardy appeared on the Inside The Ropes radio show this week and spoke about a number of topics, including the state of tag team wrestling in WWE:

“I would love to see the tag divisions be highlighted more. I think until the WWE or TNA find their next white hot star or angle that’ll get record ratings or even improve ratings, starting to sell out more arenas, thats what all the companies are looking for that top star. The top guy in the WWE right now is John Cena but until they find the next Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin, they’re going to be engulfed, obsessed with that. While they’re obsessed with finding the new face of the company, tag team wrestling is always going to be secondary or even further down,” said Hardy.

“We were lucky because Stone Cold, The Rock, DX were so hot, we were selling out arenas every night so they had time to say “OK lets invest some time into the tag division” I think until they have their top 2 or 3 stars and their top programs, breaking records and doing good pay per view numbers, tag teams will just be an afterthought. It’s sad and I hate it, but it’s just the state of the game.”

Hardy also weighed in on Ryback’s breakout year:

“I think they’ve done an amazing job establishing Ryback, getting people to connect with him. In terms of him having longer, more competitive matches which will eventually be a necessity if you’re going to be a player. If Ryback can do that and follow through and retain his character and that fanbase then that’s great. He’s definitely the breakout star of 2012 and they took a guy who for years hadn’t really done anything and made him a star and made people care about him so kudos to that and hopefully he can continue and grow as a performer,” said Hardy.

You can listen to the full interview below, where Matt also talks about Extreme Rising, the Divas division in 2012, Ring Of Honor, Luke Hawx and his plans for 2013:

The Miz’s Babyface Turn, Royal Rumble Participants, End Of The World

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– WWE has confirmed that this year’s Royal Rumble match will feature 30 Superstars. As previously reported, the Royal Rumble fan fest taking place in Phoenix the day before the event will feature a Battle Royal, with the winner earning a spot in the Rumble match.

– WWE superstars Christian and Tyson Kidd joked around on Twitter about the 12/21/12 “end of the world” hype turning out to be a bust.

Christian: “Mayans: Come for the apocalypse, stay for the jokes on Twitter.”

Tyson Kidd: “I hope this Mayan deal isn’t like the cable company coming to your house. Any time between 8-5.”

– The Shield member Seth Rollins tweeted the following explanation of his group’s recent attacks:

“People don’t like the idea of justice because it forces them to pick a side. Action begets reaction. #believeintheshield #justicelives”

– WWE officials currently have mixed feelings regarding The Miz’s recent babyface turn. His character needed to be freshened up and he’s been getting solid reactions from live WWE crowds, however most feel that he needs to continue improving his “good guy” persona.

* Find Out Who Is Scheduled To Win The ROYAL RUMBLE (Direct Link)

Updated Survivor Series Buyrate, AJ, Ziggler & Langston At NXT

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– WWE has released updated business data that shows the this year’s Survivor Series, headlined by CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Ryback, for the WWE Championship, drew 212,000 buys. This is down from last year’s Survivor Series, which featured The Rock and John Cena teaming up against The Miz and R-Truth and did 281,000 buys.

– WWE Diva AJ Lee and her new associates Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston will be appearing at the January 9th WWE NXT live event from Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, FL. For more information, visit the official NXT site.

– Here’s the latest episode of Santino’s Foreign Exchange, featuring a special appearance from “Yoshi Claus.”

* Find Out Who Is Scheduled To Win The ROYAL RUMBLE (Direct Link)

Sin Cara Knee Surgery Update, WWE Troops Special Tonight, Backstage Fallout

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– WWE Superstar Sin Cara turns 30 years old today.

– Speaking of Sin Cara, the knee surgery that he underwent on Wednesday was arthroscopic, according to f4wonine.com. He is not expected to be out of action for too long.

– A 1-hour encore of WWE’s Tribute to The Troops will air tonight on NBC at 9pm (EST).

– Here’s the latest edition of WWE Backstage Fallout:

“In the latest edition of “Backstage Fallout,” Santino Marella comments on his win over the massive Tensai, Kaitlyn reflects on being attacked by her former friend AJ Lee and Antonio Cesaro sounds off on his match with Ryback. Watch the exclusive interviews now!”

Jim Ross Blog: Undertaker’s Return, Big E Langston, Flair & Foley Wrestling Again

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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 JR wrote about:

Undertaker’s Return: Many are asking about the return of the Undertaker as mentioned by HHH Monday Night on Raw. “Not seeing the last of the Deadman” can mean a variety of things, one can assume. In my perfect world it would be Taker vs _________ at WrestleMania 29 where “The Steak” would extend to 21-0. For some Twitter followers who are seemingly hell bent on Taker losing at WrestleMania, I’d be reluctant for them to handle my taxes. It makes zero sense for “The Steak” to ever die, in my humble opinion.

Big E Langston: The addition to Big E Langston is significant, especially, for @HeelZiggler notwithstanding @WWEAJLee. I’ve seen a lot of Big E in NXT and he’s a physical beast with uncanny natural strength and surprising agility for a 280 pounder. “E” is no Clydesdale and his football background has enhanced Langston’s athleticism. Aside from @TheMarkHenry, Langston is likely the strongest man on any WWE roster. As I have said here on multiple times, I’d suggest that you keep an eye on Big E Langston whose upside is significant. But, as always, “Potential will only buy the groceries for so long.”

Foley & Flair Wrestling Again: Do I ever expect to see @realMickFoley or Ric Flair wrestle again? To answer a frequent question on that matter, the answer is simply “No.” They don’t need to grapple again in a bout but being involved occasionally in the isolated incident might be OK… depending on what the demands of said incident were. Just my two cents.

Watch This Week’s “The JBL and Cole Show”, New Age Outlaws Added To Another WWE Event

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– The official website of the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, are now advertising The New Age Outlaws, “Road Dogg” Jesse James and “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn, for next Wednesday’s Raw live event. As reported earlier, the five-time WWE Tag Team Champions will also appear at Thursday’s Raw live event at Madison Square Garden and Friday’s show in Uniondale, New York.

– This week’s The JBL and Cole Show features John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Micheal Cole outside of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, before Sunday WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event. The synopsis reads, “Outside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, “The Wrestling God” and one of WWE’s most outspoken announcers visit with Alex Levine from The Gaslight Anthem to join The Prime Time Players, Alicia Fox and WWE fans in a “Millions of Dollars” chant. Watch the latest episode of the hilarious “JBL & Cole Show”!”

Owen Hart’s Widow Turns Down WWE HOF Offer, Zack Ryder’s Latest Show

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– WWE recently reached out to Martha Hart, widow of the late Owen Hart, about getting Owen inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013. According to PWInsider.com, WWE inducting Owen would be part of a settlement agreement that would involve Martha Hart ending her ongoing lawsuit against WWE. She reportedly turned down the offer.

* Update On Who WWE Wants In 2013’s HALL OF FAME Class

– Zack Ryder will be appearing in Levittown, New York at the FYE store on Hempstead Turnpike next Friday, December 28th at 3pm. The signing is limited to the first 400 fans.

– The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that former WWE announcer Ernest “The Cat” Miller is now the Director of Chuck Norris’ World Combat League.

– Here is the latest episode of Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story, featuring “Another Very Broski Christmas”:

Wade Barrett Talks About His Arm Injury Earlier This Year, Being Out Of Action & Seeing Others Advance

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Wade Barrett was interviewed in the new issue of WWE Magazine. Here are some highlights from WWE.com:

The Night He Injured His Arm On RAW (2/20/2013):

“I remember Big Show picking up Dolph Ziggler and throwing him down on top of me. I’d guess Ziggler would be about 12 feet in the air being thrown down on me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch him with both hands, so I figured I’d catch him with one hand because of the angle of his trajectory, so all that weight landed squarely on one of my arms, which just snapped at the elbow joints and, unfortunately, required surgery to fix it. It was initially diagnosed as a partially dislocated elbow, but after MRIs, we discovered it was completely dislocated, with additional tearing of two ligaments that go between the bones of the arm. They had been completely severed, which required surgery immediately. It looked fine initially, but I was aware how far out of place the bone was. Then obviously, my whole arm went numb. That’s when I realized I was going to be out for a long time.”

The Recovery Process & Being Away From The Ring:

“I took myself away from wrestling for a while. A lot of people think when you’re off you need to study wrestling nonstop. At that point in time, that was completely the wrong thing for me. The worst thing was being around wrestling. Such as, I had to go to WrestleMania this year and do a lot of signings and AXXESS, and I hated every second of it simply because I don’t want to be at WrestleMania unless I’m there to compete. I really was working on my rehab and doing a WWE Studios film, “Dead Man Down,” with Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard. That was a great thing to get involved with while I was out. But really, the whole time I was out, I was pretty furious about how things had happened.”

Seeing Other Nexus Members Advance While He Was Out Of Action:

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m actually a big supporter of the majority of the guys from The Nexus. Heath Slater has done a great job. I’ve always found him entertaining, so it’s not shocking to me. Justin Gabriel is a great performer, too. It comes as no surprise to me that I feel no jealousy, really. I was always very pleased to see their success.”

Is He Softening His Views On Heath Slater?

Barrett: I don’t know about changing my mind regarding The One-Man Band. I’ve always personally found him incredibly entertaining, which is one of the reasons why, in the past, I surrounded myself with guys like him. I think he’s a complete buffoon, don’t get me wrong, but personally, I find him very funny.

Sin Cara Talks About Following In Rey Mysterio’s Footsteps, His Biggest Hurdle In WWE

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Sn Cara recently spoke to WWE Magazine about a number of topics, including following in Rey Mysterio’s footsteps, the hardest part of adapting to the WWE style of wrestling and more. Here are some highlights from WWE.com:

Following In Rey Mysterio’s Foot Steps:

“I think being compared to Rey Mysterio is a great honor! In Mexico, Rey’s an icon, so to be mentioned along with him is in no way a bad thing. But I also don’t see myself as a Rey Mysterio clone. Our styles are similar, but each of us has something distinct, as well. I’ve learned a lot from Rey. Being his partner has been one of the highlights of my career.”

The Hardest Thing About Adapting To Life in WWE:

“By far, the most difficult thing I’ve had to adapt to is the fact that 95 percent of the Superstars speak English and only English. I’m a Mexican-born luchador, and I never felt I was going to need English. I lived in Mexico; I had a career there. It’s not that I never wanted to learn English; I just never had the need to. So working in an English-speaking environment has been quite the challenge! But I’m taking classes, and I study at home and on the road.”

His Rival With Hunico (Black Sin Cara) In WWE:

“I loved it. It was cool to have to wrestle myself, in a way, because originally he had the same outfit I had. Then when he changed to the black version of my gear, it felt almost like I was wrestling my shadow. Something that I couldn’t get rid of but was also a dark reflection of myself. There was a lot about that rivalry I enjoyed. And when it was over, I showed everyone who the real Sin Cara was!”

TNA Reveals Who Is Behind 1/3/13, TNA Wrestler Of The Year, Angle Settlement

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– TNA star Kurt Angle announced on Twitter today that he has reached a legal settlement with Wafi Wahidi, the man Angle claims scammed him out of thousands of dollars in connection to the development of various mobile apps for his Angle Foods company:

– TNA’s official website is running a Wrestler of the Year poll, with the winner to be announced on the next live Impact on January 3rd. The five nominees are:

* Jeff Hardy
* Austin Aries
* Bobby Roode
* James Storm
* Bully Ray

You can vote for TNA Wrestler of the Year at ImpactWrestling.com.

– On Thursday’s Impact Wrestling, it was revealed that the 1/3/13 promos that have been airing on TNA television are indeed for the return of Sting. Here’s the latest video:

WWE Owed $45 Million By Bankrupt Video Game Publisher THQ

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WWE sent out the following statement on Friday regarding this week’s bankruptcy filing by their video game publisher THQ.

WWE Responds To THQ Filing

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) is listed in THQ, Inc.’s recent bankruptcy filing as an unsecured creditor holding a claim of approximately $45 million reflecting the entirety of the existing multi-year agreement.

Any impairment of a current THQ account receivable would be immaterial to WWE’s financial statements. Even if the impact of THQ’s bankruptcy were detrimental to WWE, the Company does not believe that the ultimate economic impact for financial statement purposes would materially and adversely affect the results of operations or financial position of WWE in light of the strength of the WWE brand and the historical performance of WWE’s video game business.

* Rumored ROYAL RUMBLE Winner Revealed & Who He Will Challenge At WM29

MAILBAG: Will HHH Taking Over WWE Be A Good Thing?

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SEScoops Mailbag for December 21st

(please submit YOUR questions to [email protected]) or follow @solomonster on Twitter and submit them that way!

Q: Who creates the [wrestler’s ring attire]? Do [they] design their own attire or do WWE officials make the decision about it? Rey Mysterio is one prime example because he always has new and updated wrestling gear almost every week. – Gary from Malaysia

A: My understanding is that in many cases, both sides work together. There are people in WWE who offer creative ideas for t-shirt designs and the like, but the wrestlers have a great deal of input into things as well. As far as ring attire goes, look no further than, say, Mantaur or any number of wacky characters over the years as evidence that WWE has their own input into what certain guys should be wearing. The same for be said for The Shield right now – obviously, it’s part of their gimmick. On the flip side, Zack Ryder and the Ghostbuster-themed tights he was recently sporting on Raw would be a great example of a wrestler having significant input into his own attire.

Q: With reports of Jeff Hardy leaving TNA early next year, what do you think will happen to the company once he is gone because I thought he was one of their top merchandise sellers? – Tyler from Davis, FL

A: Personally, I don’t think Jeff Hardy is going anywhere. As far as the fate of TNA were he to leave, it would hurt them a bit, but it wouldn’t be a killer. He does sell the most merchandise, and there has, in fact, been an increase in the number of PPV buys with him as champion (a report in the Wrestling Observer newsletter cited Final Resolution as having done 11,000 buys with Hardy in the main event, a 38% increase over what Aries and Roode were doing as champion). His impact on the ratings has been virtually non-existent. TNA is going to continue to do the same numbers they always do, by and large.

Q: Out of all the WWE champions in history, who do you think is the greatest of all time? – Ravonn from New York City

A: Greatest of all time means different things to different people. Are we talking pop culture impact? Ticket sales and PPV buys? Most title reigns? I’d say each era has its own greatest. Bruno would have been the best of his era, Hogan the best of his, Austin for the Attitude Era, and Cena for the PG Era. You take each of those guys out of the equation and business during that era suffers greatly as a result.

Q: When Triple H takes over WWE, do you think that [will be] a good thing or a bad thing? – Euquine from New York

A: I think it will be a good thing. I already like his approach to handling the developmental system. It feels like a priority now and that largely has to do with Hunter. Then again, I think they realized they needed to create new stars and fast, so really, they had no choice. But he’s an old school guy and we need more of that in today’s wrestling.

Q: Many view John Cena as the Rock of this age, who himself was like Hulk Hogan. In the same way, many draw comparisons to Stone Cold. In that way, who was the Stone Cold of the previous generation? If it was Cena-Rock-Hogan, then who was CM Punk-Stone Cold? – Jeff T.

A: Closest thing I could compare Austin to from the generation that came before would be Roddy Piper. Like Austin, he was a good worker, but had an even better personality. He was controversial at a time when not many others dared to do or say the things that he did. Some would call CM Punk the “Stone Cold” of the modern era, but I think that’s doing a disservice to Punk. He’s great in his own way.

Q: Can you please explain the whole Muhammad Hassan situation that happened on Smackdown that led to his release? Was it really the scene of him chanting some prayers, and some masked people coming and strangling Undertaker with a piano rope that led to his departure? I mean, if that was solely the main reason, Undertaker’s charater did far more extreme things like that, isn’t it? Hassan was a good character, able to draw a tremendous amount of heat, and I feel it’s a pity he was released. – Tej

A: I don’t recall him doing anything wrong. The reason WWE got in so much hot water for airing that angle (which really was pretty stupid) was because they did so on the same day as a terrorist attack in London. While Smackdown was a taped show and they could have, in theory, edited that segment out of the show, they had already sent the tape to UPN, so it was out of their hands. They received a lot of backlash over it and it came out later that the network had basically pressured WWE not to feature the Hassan character on the show going forward. I suppose they could have moved him over to Raw, but I think the damage was done and his goose was cooked at that point.

Q: What do you think would be a harder challenge, facing Ryback in an eating contest or Stone Cold in a beer drinking contest? – Kirk from Fort Worth, TX

A: Trick question. The correct answer is sitting through 3 hours of Raw every week.

Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!

The Rock Added To First Two WWE TV Tapings Of 2013, Tribute To The Troops Viewership

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– The Miami Herald is reporting that The Rock has been officially added to the first two WWE television tapings of 2013.

The Rock will be appearing on the January 7th edition of WWE RAW from Tampa, Florida. That show will also feature CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Ryback in a TLC match.

The Rock will also be appearing at the following night’s SmackDown tapings from his hometown of Miami, Florida (airing 1/11).

* New Pictures of The Rock’s Smokin’ Hot Girlfriend

– Last night’s WWE Tribute to the Troops 10th anniversary special on the USA Network drew 2.34 million viewers. By comparison, Tuesday night’s Super SmackDown show drew 3.33 million viewers.

(Source: PWInsider.com)

Update On The WWE Network & WWE Negotiating With Investor Partners

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With the WWE Network launch still on WWE’s radar but without a definitive date, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE is in negotiations with at least one investment company about joint venturing on the new television channel.

According to their source, WWE’s plan for how the Network will be presented has changed dramatically in recent months and people will be “stunned” when the plans are revealed.

Aside from the XFL, when WWE partnered with NBC, Vince McMahon rarely partners with companies for major undertakings like this. While WWE likes to have as much control as possible with their projects, the upside is that WWE will be able to share a lot of the costs associated with launching and running the Network.

WWE will also be saving a lot of money by featuring most of their own content on the Network, which saves them the need to license expensive shows. There is still a lot of upside to the WWE Network, but there is also fear in WWE that the company is at risk of over-exposing the television product even further.

* Rumored ROYAL RUMBLE Winner Revealed & Who He Will Challenge At WM29

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Big Show On Burn Notice Tonight, Todd Grisham Hosting New ESPN Boxing Show

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– Some WWE RAW delayed-viewership data from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE RAW on 11/19 had 336,000 homes watching via DVR or tape delay, while the following week (11/26) had 292,000 homes watching delayed.

– WWE Attitude Era superstar Steve Blackman now has a profile on the Alumni section of WWE.com.

– As part of WWE Week on the USA Network, WWE World Heavyweight champion Big Show will be guest starring on tonight’s episode of Burn Notice.

– ESPN has announced that former WWE announcer Todd Grisham has signed on to be the studio host of ESPN’s new Friday Night Fights series, debuting January 4th.

* SIN CARA Undergoes Knee Surgery: VIDEO of THE SHIELD Destroying His Knee On SmackDown

Sin Cara Undergoes Knee Surgery

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WWE superstar Sin Cara says he will be undergoing surgery “minor” today. Cara has been working through an injured knee for several weeks and was attacked by The Shield on Tuesday’s Super SmackDown show to explain his time away from television.

Sin Cara tweeted on Thursday:

https://twitter.com/wwe/status/281790417782063104

WWE.com has an article up about the procedure and does not list a time frame for his recovery. Here is video from Tuesday’s SmackDown of Sin Cara’s match against Damien Sandow and The Shield’s post-match attack:

Major Update On Ric Flair’s WWE Return: Kept Secret, Original Plan, Punk Feud

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With Ric Flair’s surprise return to WWE RAW on Monday, it’s believed that TNA’s ongoing lawsuit against WWE is the reason that Flair’s return was not promoted in advance and why Flair has not signed a contract with WWE.

Flair has always been a strong ratings draw and Monday was no exception. When Flair was on television, RAW viewership rose from around 4.1 million viewers to 4.7 million viewers, with big spikes in the key male demographics.

Flair’s return has been planned for several weeks. There have been several angles discussed regarding how to reintroduce the 2-time Hall of Famer, including one where he would introduce his daughter, Ashley, who is currently training at NXT as Charlotte. Originally, Flair was not supposed to do anything physical, but those plans went by the wayside.

When Flair arrived in Philadelphia, he was ordered to undergo an EKG to make sure his heart was healthy enough for him to get physical on RAW with Punk, Heyman and The Shield.

* VIDEOS of RIC FLAIR’s Return On RAW – WHOOOOOO!!

Even though Ric Flair told WWE.com after RAW that he could be ready to wrestle CM Punk in 60 days, there is virtually no chance of Flair wrestling in a WWE ring again. That said, Flair will be doing an on-air angle with CM Punk (presumably after Punk’s program with the Rock is over). With CM Punk adamant that he’s the Best in the World and the most dominant pro wrestling champion of the past 25 years, there’s plenty of material for Flair and Punk to work off of.

Flair’s return was kept a secret from most of the WWE crew. There was some buzz that he might be appearing, but he was kept in a trailer away from everybody else. Even as names were leaking out on Monday about who was at RAW (Billy Gunn, Boogeyman), WWE did a good job of keeping Flair’s return a surprise.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Backstage News On Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara Being Written Off WWE TV

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On Tuesday’s Super SmackDown show, both Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio were written off television as a result of beat-downs by The Shield. Sin Cara’s attack took place on the show, while Mysterio’s was a “phantom” attack that took place before the cameras were rolling. As we’ve been covering, Sin Cara been working through a legitimate knee injury, although the extent of the damage is unknown at this time. He will be taking time off and will get checked out by doctors to determine whether surgery is needed.

Pictures of Sin Cara Unmasked

As for Rey Mysterio, the “severe neck injury” he suffered at the hands of The Shield is being used as a way to get him off television. WWE sources indicate that Mysterio is not injured and his departure from WWE television could be related to the confidential family situation that kept him off TV earlier this month. After briefly returning to WWE to wrestle at TLC and RAW, Mysterio flew back home to San Diego after RAW and is not expected back in the immediate future.

* MORE On WWE Bringing Back Several Former Mid-Card Wrestlers Soon

 

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)