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Hornswoggle Undergoes Gallbladder Surgery, Zack Ryder “Apologizes” On YouTube Show, Saturday’s Birthdays

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– Hornswoggle revealed on Twitter that he has been off the road due to gallbladder surgery.

“Who needs a gall bladder anyway? As much as I miss home at times when on the road, these 4 weeks home have gotten me anxious! #brutal”

– On this week’s episode of Z! True Long Island Story, Zack Ryder “apologizes” to WWE for grabbing the brass ring when he was only supposed to reach for it. He also campaigns for a match against Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania and a “USA Guy” vignette airs. (Watch)

– In today’s birthdays, former WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino turns 77 years while Barry Darsow (a/k/a Demolition Smash, Repo Man) turns 53 and Afa Jr. (a/k/a Manu) turns 28.

– Shane McMahon is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.

Santino Marella Determines International Correspondent For “Foreign Exchange”, Stephanie McMahon Touts Tout

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– After weeks of watching Johnny Curtis and Yoshi Tatsu battle it out to become the first Foreign Exchange international correspondent, Santino Marella makes his decision on this week’s webisode. (Watch)

USA Today has published an article on Tout, an online social networking service and microblogging service WWE has invested in. Traffic to the website has exponentially grown in recent months, and is now being used by various non-WWE celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Kelly Ripa, Jeff Probst and United States Presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Stephanie McMahon, who serves as a member of the company’s Board of Directors, touted the application.

“Video expression is the next evolution from text,” said McMahon. “TV producers are so engaged because you can put the Touts anywhere and really drive traffic to our channels.”

Former Longtime WWE Photographer Goes Off On Linda McMahon

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Tom Buchanan, the man responsible for taking many of WWE’s most famous photos  as the company’s chief photographer from 1987 to 2001, posted a long on Facebook status update on Friday slamming Linda McMahon’s political aspirations.

Though Buchanan considers the former WWE CEO a pleasant woman, he feels she is highly unqualified for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut:

“She has failed at just about every enterprise outside of the wrestling industry; she has hoarded vast profits for her own family while shutting out her workers; she has slashed the company workforce even while rolling in profits; and, in spite of a lifetime of opportunity she has failed to gain any direct relevant government experience that will translate to success in the United States Senate.”

Here is his post in its entirety:

(Caution: Extended POLITICAL POSTING about Connecticut…please do not read any further if politics, and the future direction of our nation offends you.)

It’s time for me to weigh-in on the Connecticut Senate Race in which Linda McMahon is challenging Representative Chris Murphy. If you are a Connecticut voter I hope you will hear me out, and if you find my comments interesting I hope you will share them with your friends and neighbors. I live in Vermont now, but for about 14 years I worked for Linda McMahon at WWF/WWE (1987-2001). She has done well as the CEO of a professional wrestling company, and Linda is nice enough in person, but based on my direct and personal experience I think she would be a terrible selection as a United States Senator. Please let me explain why.

First, we need serious people in the U.S. Senate who have legislative experience and an ability to work quietly to craft compromise legislation. Linda has no such experience. She has worked exclusively as a chief executive at her own company where she is accustomed to telling subordinates what to do, and always getting her way. Compromise is simply not part of Linda’s experience set, and she has made no effort to gain that needed skill and experience. She could have served as a state senator for a few years, or even served as an elected city or county level official, but she doesn’t seem to have an interest in the nitty-gritty skills required of a successful legislator.

Second, we need quiet Senators who have a demonstrated ability to work with others, and not seek personal glory. The United States Senate already has an abundance of famous rich people stoking their egos and unable to get along, or to even try to reach consensus. Linda McMahon is a self-styled celebrity executive worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and that is exactly what we don’t need any more of in Washington.

Third, Linda McMahon has twice sought to purchase the Senate seat by using her extraordinary wealth to buy name recognition and organizational support. In her 2010 campaign she spent a reported $50 million, and she’s spending lavishly again now. In every state there are outstanding legislators who have distinguished themselves over many years, but these experienced and successful legislators have been dissuaded from running for national office by the need to raise vast sums of money to compete with millionaire wannabes. Linda’s approach is troubling because she is using money in place of experience, but also because it intimidates good citizens with relevant experience, driving them away from politics and inflicting long term harm on the democratic process itself.

Forth, Linda McMahon has shown very little business success beyond the wrestling world, and in the wrestling world her success is as much a credit to the creative enterprise of her husband as it is to her own business dealings. Linda’s flagship company, WWF/WWE, has excelled in recent years, but most of her business interests beyond wrestling have failed miserably. WWF/WWE tried to move into professional football by launching the XFL, but even with the buy-in of NBC Television that effort fell flat. She tried to develop a franchise around professional bodybuilding with a company called World Body Building Federation (WBF), but after two years and many millions of dollars, the effort was shuttered as a failure. Part of the bodybuilding project was a TV show called Bodystars and a nutritional supplement called ICOPRO, but both of those side efforts quickly collapsed in an embarrassing pile of financial rubble. Linda also made an effort to break into the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) with two cars and a professional support team, but that lasted just a couple of years before the company slammed head-first into a marketing and financial crash-and-burn. Linda tried to redevelop a hotel complex in Las Vegas as a WWF themed attraction, but there too the company was in over its head, and when the project bogged down Linda shrugged and silently walked away from the expensive fiasco. And Linda took a very hands on approach to creating a restaurant franchise with a splashy flagship in Times Square, but it was an abysmal failure wrought with poor management and embezzlement, and it imploded with a balance sheet dripping brilliant red ink. Linda has even tried to muscle the company into Hollywood movies, but hasn’t had much success in that venue beyond the occasional film driven by wrestling talent and promoted on the existing wrestling programs. In short, Linda McMahon has shown financial success with the core wrestling product, but just about every time she has stepped outside of the wrestling business she has failed miserably. That’s a bad record to bring to the management of the United States of America.

Fifth, WWE has faced near-bankruptcy on several occasions and only made it through the periods of collapse by blind luck, and with the hard work and sacrifice of its staff. It might be alright for an executive to risk the bankruptcy of a business, but we need Senators who won’t risk the bankruptcy of the nation. Linda has shown time and again that she is willing to risk it all, and too often that risk has ended in failure and ruin.

Sixth, when Linda ran for the Senate in 2010 she proudly boasted to her corporate shareholders of slashing the company workforce, while at the same time the company was swimming in profit and the McMahon family was extracting dividends worth tens of millions of dollars. Her long standing loyalty to wealthy shareholders above hard workers is deeply disturbing, and not the kind of leadership that will serve the interests of most Americans.

Seventh, when WWF/WWE shifted from private ownership to a public company valued at more than a billion dollars, Linda granted free stock to family friends, but provided her long time employees with worthless ‘offering price’ options that granted no value whatsoever for their years of hard work. It was those workers who struggled through one downturn after another, and who helped the company claw its way from near bankruptcy to a billion dollars in value, but Linda kept the profits for her own family and gave the workers no piece of the enormous value they had created. Linda has consistently enriched herself at the expense of the workers, and has consistently failed to pass along meaningful value to the line-workers who create that wealth. We need United States Senators who recognize the contributions of workers, and who understand the importance of rewarding work over wealth. Linda is demonstrably not that person.

I could keep going with paragraph after paragraph critiquing Linda McMahon’s lack of appropriate experience, lack of a relevant skill set, and lack of meaningful support for the workers who have made her very, very rich. But I won’t.

Look, Linda McMahon is a pleasant person and I enjoyed working with her, but her business experience is limited; she has failed at just about every enterprise outside of the wrestling industry; she has hoarded vast profits for her own family while shutting out her workers; she has slashed the company workforce even while rolling in profits; and, in spite of a lifetime of opportunity she has failed to gain any direct relevant government experience that will translate to success in the United States Senate.

When voters go to the polls in Connecticut they need to play the role of a Human Resources Hiring Manager. From that perspective Linda McMahon is a fine person and she certainly has a nice professional presentation, but her resume is completely lacking in the relevant job skills, and her experience is heavy on failure and light on success. She has had ample opportunity to gain the requisite experience but hasn’t made any effort to do so, and clearly doesn’t deserve to waltz into the United States Senate simply because she is a passable actress with a nice smile and a fat checkbook.

Official Preview For Final “Impact Wrestling” Before BFG

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TNA Wrestling has released has the official preview for next Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, the final episode before Bound For Glory. No matches have been announced, only teases of confrontations between Team Hogan and The Aces & 8s, Bobby Roode and “Cowboy” James Storm, and TNA World Heavyweight Championship Austin Aries and Jeff Hardy.

IMPACT Preview: The Final Countdown To Bound For Glory | Thursday 8/7c on SpikeTV

Preview Thursday’s huge TNA IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV LIVE at 8/7! If you can’t watch it on Thursday night, make sure to set your DVR to record it!

– IMPACT will feature the final countdown to Sunday’s “Bound For Glory” epic event! Team Hogan is set to battle The Aces & 8s, as Sting will join forces with Bully Ray – but does the gang have one more trick up their sleeves before Sunday night? Find out Thursday night on SpikeTV!

– “Bound For Glory” will also feature the culmination of the year-long war between former partners Bobby Roode and “Cowboy” James Storm, with MMA superstar and TNA newcomer King Mo serving as Special Enforcer! With Storm and Roode both scheduled for Thursday’s broadcast, will all hell break loose again before the Pay-Per-View?

– Also appearing on Thursday’s IMPACT on SpikeTV will be World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries and his challenger in the “Bound For Glory” main event – “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy! The countdown to the biggest main event in Bound For Glory history begins on IMPACT WRESTLING!

All this and much more on Thursday’s LIVE broadcast, plus “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, TV Champion Samoa Joe, Chavo Guerrero, Knockouts Champion Miss Tessmacher and many more of your favorite superstars!

(source: ImpactWrestling.com)

Chris Jericho Says He Won’t Be At WrestleMania, SmackDown Social Media Score

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– Friday’s WWE Smackdown did a 74,561 Trendrr.tv social media score, down a sharp 24% percent from last wee and the lowest score in over two months. SmackDown ranked #4 on cable behind the two MLB Wild Card games and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

– Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho says he won’t be at WrestleMania 29 next April from the MetLife Stadium in the NY/NJ area.

One of his Twitter followers wrote him, “Im going to Wrestlemania next year at Metlife stadium. Hope to see @IAmJericho there live!” Jericho responded with:

It was reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week that Jericho’s contract negotiations with WWE fell through.

* Rumored Matches For WRESTLEMANIA 29

John Cena Says He’ll Be At Raw On Monday, Joey Styles Proud To Be A “Heyman Guy”

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– John Cena confirmed Friday via Twitter that he will be at Monday’s Raw in Sacramento, California, despite recovering from surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow two weeks ago.

“Still not medically cleared but @wwe @CMPunk I WILL be at #raw THIS MONDAY in Sacramento #nevergiveup #riseabovecancer,” he wrote.

Cena also responded to a request to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to spread breast cancer awareness: “Hey @TheEllenShow as long as it’s not Monday. I’m going to Sacramento for #RAW.”

– Joey Styles posted a lengthy blog on Facebook explaining why he’s the proudest “Paul Heyman Guy.” The Vice President of Digital Media Content for WWE.com credits Heyman for seeing potential in him that no one else did.

“Put simply, Paul Heyman was the only one in professional wrestling to have seen enough potential in me to even give me an audition. He didn’t even bother asking permission of his boss, ECW Owner Tod Gordon (who ended up asking me who the hell I was and what I was doing in his locker room while catching me in my underwear changing into my suit),” Styles writes. “Regardless of that humiliating incident that was the reason I switched from “tightie whities” to boxer briefs, three months later, when Paul became the Creative Director and Executive Producer (we used the term Booker back then because there was an actual book of upcoming wrestling cards that was constantly updated), the first thing he did was make me “The Voice of ECW.”

“That’s right, Paul started his dream career as a professional wrestling Booker with the entire industry watching him and most people routing for him to fail by letting an unknown 21 year old announcer host his weekly television show.”

John Cena Appears In NYC, Sunny Writing Autobiography, Rock-Hercules

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– John Cena participated in the 10th annual 2012 IMG Sports Marketing Symposium in New York City on Wednesday, speaking about WWE’s use of social media. Cena was not wearing a sling, but had his elbow wrapped up in a black cloth.

– During an interview with Empire Magazine, director Brett Ratner said that his upcoming Hercules movie starring The Rock will be unlike anything either of them has ever worked on:

“There’s no definitive Hercules film. This will be the definitive Hercules. I promise you that. It’s starring The Rock. And it’s different than anything he’s ever done and it’s different than anything I’ve ever done.”

– WWE Hall of Famer Sunny tweeted that she’s writing her autobiography and is looking for a publisher:

* SUNNY’s Recent Mugshot Picture: Arrested 3 Times In 3 Days

Zack Ryder’s Latest Show, More On WWE’s Recent Tryouts, Godfather, Martel

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– Wrestling legend Rick Martel has been added to the Alumni section of WWE.com.

– Diva-Dirt.com is reporting that independent wrestlers Brittney Savage, Gabby Gilbert and Luscious Latasha were among the women who participated in the most recent WWE tryout camp. There were two other women at the tryouts without any wrestling experience – a fitness model and a friend of Gerald Brisco.

– Former WWE superstar The Godfather is now on Twitter at @WWEGodfather. He currently manages the Cheetahs strip club in Las Vegas and says he’d be open to returning if WWE called.

– Zack Ryder is back with Episode #87 of his Z! True Long Island Story:

Vince McMahon To Deliver “State Of WWE Address” On RAW

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You knew when RAW’s rating hit a 2.5 that it wouldn’t be long before we got an appearance from the Chairman himself.

WWE announced today that Vince McMahon will return to WWE RAW on Monday night to deliver a “State of the WWE Address.”

WWE.com is teasing:

“What will The Chairman have to say? Will he address the performance of Raw General Manager AJ Lee? Could her job be in jeopardy?

In addition to addressing the current state of affairs within WWE, does Mr. McMahon have anything to say regarding its future? Could The Chairman have a message directly from WWE’s Board of Directors?”

Special appearances and major announcements from Vince McMahon have been a tried-and-true method of jolting declining ratings in the past. We’ll find out on Monday night what the boss has in store for us this time.

* MAJOR Changes Coming To WWE: Find Out What VINCE Will Announce On RAW

Edge Talks About Retirement And Working With Tommy Dreamer’s New HOH Promotion

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WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland was interviewed this week by the Whig Standard to hype the first live event for Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore this Saturday night from Poughkeepsie, NY. Here are some highlights of what the Rated R Superstar said about:

On whether he had advance knowledge that his in-ring career would end so suddenly: “None of us did,” Copeland said. “I knew there were issues, but we didn’t the extent of what the issues were. It kind of caught all of us — me probably least of all just because I was like ‘whoa, something weird is happening here…’ I knew something (was wrong). No one else really knew because I didn’t tell anybody else. I think Christian was the only who knew because he rode with me. And he knows me. Him, I’ll confide in. And Tommy, there were nights where he carried my bags up for me because I had no strength in my arms. He knew, too. But generally, it was like you just go out, you do your thing and you don’t say anything and then you get back and you do it again.”

House of Hardcore: “I think it can be a place that I know Tommy kind of wants it to be — where guys can have a little bit more freedom to maybe not have quite as many restraints,” he said. “That doesn’t mean light bulbs or any of that crap. I think it just (means) if guys want to go out and try some different things, they’ll have the freedom to do it. And I’m sure they’ll be told ‘hey, that didn’t work,’ but you don’t know unless you try. I think you’ll probably have the Young Bucks and (Brian) Kendrick and (Paul) London go out and try a million things,” he said of some of the stars on tap at the debut show. “Half of them might work, half of them might not, but it will be cool to watch the process of what does and doesn’t. Or where things should be tweaked.”

Taking on a Backstage Role for HOH: “I told Tommy … ‘man I don’t mind helping out, helping guys put their ideas together in a way that makes sense, or helping guys after the fact if they want,’ and just kind of being hands-on with (Dreamer) in the back and help him out in that respect. That’s something that is a little foreign to the wrestling veteran, believe it or not. I’ve had a lot of young guys come up and ask me throughout the years, and it’s always nice to see them implemented and then when it works, it’s even nicer. It’s like ‘OK, good, I didn’t give bad advice.’ But I’ve never been in a backstage role where I wasn’t also wrestling, too. That could be kind of neat, just to, I guess for lack of a better term, kind of give back in that respect.”

Edge also denied that he was offered a new deal by WWE and the company has not said anything negative to him about his work with Tommy Dreamer’s promotion.

Live Report From CM Punk’s DVD Premiere From Thursday Night In Chicago

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Here is a live report from CM Punk’s DVD premiere event from Chicago, Illinois, sent in by reader LongWayToTheTop:

I lined up around 1 PM and there were maybe 100 people in line. Punk had pizza delivered for us…awesome from the start. Eclectic mix of fans. Drunk dude in front of us staggering around, kids behind us making posters. Lesnar/Markout Man was there. A fairly jovial atmosphere. My favorite moment was when, waiting outside the theater, a “change the channel” chant broke out towards a guy in a 3rd story apartment watching TV. He then moved the TV towards the window and put on porno. “Yes” chants immediately followed. Gotta love Chicago.

When we got inside I noticed the theater was nowhere near capacity. The building seats around 1400 and there were maybe half that by my estimation. The center rows were reserved for Punk and his friends/family.

Marty Derosa got the show started and introduced Lita, Cliff Compton, and told us Colt refused to come out unless we started a chant for him. We did, and Colt introduced Punk. After a quick word the movie started and we were welcomed with…Triple H in bed. It was his movie Inside Out. Admist “No” chants Punk got on stage and yelled to stop the movie and play the right one.

I won’t go into detail on the documentary, but suffice to say it was awesome. Lots of clips of his IWA and ROH days, and an in depth look at him in WWE up to the pipe bomb promo. The crowd cheered most of the wrestlers when they started talking, but gave a chorus of boos toward Triple H and Cena.

Afterward Punk, in an ode to Andy Kaufman, announced that he bought everyone milk and cookies. Sure enough, in walks Lita with several large boxes of cookies. Dudes were tossing cartons of chocolate milk into the crowd. Fans started to try and crowd the stage to meet Punk but he told everyone to sit back down and we’d all just enjoy the moment. Very cool and very surreal as we all just sat and ate milk and cookies with Punk.

He did a short Q&A answering about two dozen questions. Sad to say most of the questions were kind of lame. Someone asked what he would have said about Vince when his mic was cut off. Punk said there was nothing planned, he told them to cut his mic as soon as he started talking about Vince. Someone asked who he would want to wrestle if he could and the answer was an obvious Steve Austin.

When he finished up with questions he thanked his friends, thanked the fans, and we gave him a standing ovation as he left. All in all, a great movie and a great night for CM Punk.

Jeff Hardy Talks About Turning His Life Around After Hitting Rock Bottom

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Brian Fritz interviews Jeff Hardy for Between The Ropes:

On what he won’t do in a match any more that he used to do: “I just wrestle a lot smarter. I try to tone down my thoughts a bit. I have a very vivid imagination. I have all these ideas that I think may be possible. But I’m very careful about what I do. I almost hesitated doing the swanton at last year’s Lockdown pay-per-view, this year’s Lockdown pay-per-view because it was scary and I was terrified I was going to get injured bad. But I went for it and it turned out great. I just think overall I wrestle a lot smarter. I don’t do as much as I used to do. And I just take better care of myself.”

The craziest thing he has thought about doing in the ring but never did: “I have to say, and I still think about it a lot, it would be a reverse … like a moonsault 450. I think it’s been done before. I know I could do it. I’m just scared to even try but especially like a backflip off the top rope and missing your feet. Instead of hitting a leg drop, you know, take a complete back bump on it so it would be like a reverse moonsault 450 if you know what I’m saying.”

On what the past few years have been like for him: “Up and down, and down, down, down and then on a straight incline since last year’s Victory Road. I was in a dark place there for a while. My legal situation was horrible as far as stress and I about went crazy during all that. Luckily, it’s over now and I’ve done everything I’ve had to do. I’m on my second year of probation now and everything with that is going extremely well. Everything is great and I have nothing to complain about.”

On what was his darkest moment during his troubles: “The darkest moment was probably, I’d have to say, it may have been Victory Road, when I was unable to perform because after all the years it finally caught up with me. I was out of my mind to even perform against one of the guys I looked up to as a kid, you know, Sting. That was probably rock bottom. That allowed me to go home and take care of everything I needed to take care of and get better and pretty much start over. I have a second chance, one more shot and luckily I got that and have improved ever since and have been on a steady incline.”

When that happened at Victory Road, did you immediately know you screwed up on did it take a while to sink in? No, I knew I messed up. I totally knew I messed up. And driving home that next day, I knew I had messed up for the last time. That’s what I knew that day. It took a while, about six months, and I came back. I totally knew I messed up.”

Punk’s Top WWE Moments, WWE’s Sordid Love Triangles, Picture Of Road Warrior Animal & His Son

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– WWE.com has posted a “Pipebombs” list of CM Punk’s Top 15 WWE moments, which you can view here.

– The WWE website also has a feature counting down the Top 10 “Sordid WWE Love Triangles.” Here’s the list:

1. “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Jake “The Snake” Roberts & Cheryl Roberts
2. Edge, Matt Hardy & Lita
3. Tommy Dreamer, Raven & Beulah
4. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk & AJ Lee
5. Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth
6. Edge, Big Show & Vickie Guerrero
7. Shawn Michaels, Rick Martel & Sensational Sherri
8. Triple H, Kurt Angle & Stephanie McMahon
9. Zack Ryder, John Cena & Eve
10. Christian, Chris Jericho & Trish Stratus

– NFL star James Laurinaitis, son of WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal, was interviewed by the NFL network on Thursday night and spoke about his father’s wrestling career. James said his father was always “Joe” at home and was very supportive of him, keeping his screaming & face painting for when he was on the road. Check out this picture of the father and son together:

NXT Stars On WWE.com, Justin Roberts On Cabana’s Podcast, Foley-Saudi Arabia

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– WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts is Colt Cabana’s guest on this week’s Art of Wrestling podcast. You can listen to the show here.

– Mick Foley announced on Twitter he will be appearing at the Gamer’s Day 2012 convention at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Saudi Arabia on October 18th. Foley will be representing WWE and THQ to promote WWE ’13.

WWE.com has added a new section for NXT. The section includes coverage for the original WWE NXT incarnation of the brand, as well as the current “WWE developmental version. For the first time, several NXT developmental talents have image galleries on WWE.com, including NXT Champion Seth Rollins, Kassius Ohno, Richie Steamboat, Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas, Paige and more.

* Celebrity Says John Cena Gave Him “Moonshine” Alcohol At WrestleMania

Former WWE Stars Wrestling For New Title In Japan, Post-Impact Video, Pillman

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– Today marks the anniversary of Brian Pillman’s death. The controversial WWE superstar was just 35 years old when he passed away in 1997. He was found in his hotel room in Bloomington, Minnesota after he failed to show up for a WWE pay-per-view that night. RIP.

– Several former WWE stars will be competing in an 8-man tournament to crown the first champion of the new Japanese Wrestling New Classic promotion. Former WWE stars in the tournament include Tajiri, Carlito, and Tommy Dreamer. Carlito will wrestle Tajiri in a firest round match on October 26 from. For more information, visit the WNC Facebook page.

– Here is this week’s Impact Wrestling post show:

King Mo drops in after his Debut on IMPACT WRESTLING. James Storm talks about King Mo and his opponent Mike Tenay gives his perspective on tonights episode and Borash seemed to have a revolving door of Knockouts on set.

UFC President Reveals Whether He Would Sign Brock Lesnar Again

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UFC President Dana White was interviewed for StarTribune.com this week and spoke about the possibility of Brock Lesnar fighting in the Octagon again.

When asked directly if he’d bring Lesnar back, White responded, “Sure, I’d bring him back. He was the one who wanted to retire, and then he hooked back up with the WWE and did some stuff over there.”

Lesnar is currently under a 1-year contract with WWE and is expected to be offered another contract before his deal expires around WrestleMania 29.

Despite reports that Lesnar and Dana White’s face-to-face meeting earlier this year did not go well, Dana White says he still sees money in the former UFC Heavyweight champion.

“If Brock called me tomorrow and said, ‘Hey I’d like to come back,’ I’d work with him,” White said.

* When Brock Lesnar Will Return To WWE TV & Who He Will Wrestle This Year

WWE SmackDown Preview: Punk-Ziggler, Sheamus-Miz, Ryback & More

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The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s WWE SmackDown on Syfy:

* WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler.

* World Heavyweight champion Sheamus vs. Intercontinental champion The Miz.

* WWE Tag Team champs Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio & David Otunga.

* Tag Team Tournament Match: Prime Time Players vs. Kofi Kingston & R Truth.

* Big Show vs. Tensai.

* Ryback vs. Primo.

*SPOILERS* For Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Show

Updated Card For TNA Bound For Glory (10/14)

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Following Thursday’s Impact Wrestling, here’s the updated card for next weekend’s TNA Bound For Glory pay-per-view

TNA World Title Match:
Austin Aries (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting & Bully Ray vs. Aces & Eights

James Storm vs. Bobby Roode
King Mo as the guest referee

TNA Tag Team Title Match:
Daniels & Kazarian (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Kurt Angle & AJ Styles

Al Snow vs. Joey Ryan

TNA Knockouts Title Match:
Brooke Tessmacher (c) vs. Tara

Hulk Hogan Threatens To Sue Website Over Sex Tape, Mick Foley Book Tour Dates

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– TNA star Hulk Hogan is threatening to sue the website Gawker.com for posting video footage of his infamous sex tape. Hogan’s attorneys will be sending a “nasty cease and desist letter” to the website for posting a video preview of the 30+ minute tape as well as a very detailed description of its contents.

Hulk’s lawyer David R. Houston tells TMZ.com:

“This tape was made secretly without Hulk’s knowledge or permission. We are going to do everything in our power to figure out who did it. Anyone displaying the tape will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Gawker.com claims the tape was sent to them anonymously.

– Mick Foley has announced the following dates for his upcoming appearance tour to promote his new children’s book, “A Most Mizerable Christmas”:

* 10/9 in Hamilton Township, NJ (Barnes & Noble).
* 11/15 in Rockford, IL at (Barnes & Noble in the Cherryvale Mall).
* 11/17 in Valpairso, IL (Barnes & Noble in the Valpairso Marketplace).
* 11/18 in Indianapolis, IN (Barnes & Noble in Castleton Square).
* 12/1 in Jefferson, NH (Santa’s Village).
* 12/16 in Huntington, Long Island (Book Revue).

 

Steve Austin and CM Punk Tease Match In Sit-down Interview

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The official YouTube account of WWE Games posted an eleven-minute video Thursday of Jim Ross moderating a sit-down discussion between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and CM Punk. The discussion, which was shot SummerSlam weekend, centered on Austin facing Punk in THQ’s WWE ’13 video game, while also teasing a real-life match between the two. The video, however, was removed within hours.

There are differing accounts on why the video was removed. According to PWInsider.com, the video was released prematurely. ProWrestling.net says it was “not the correct version,” according to a THQ employee. The video will be released again.

During the debate, the two discuss what would happen if Punk competed in the “Attitude Era” and Austin was wrestling today. Austin puts over Punk and John Cena as present-day Superstars worthy of hanging with “Stone Cold,” while dismissively labeling “the rest of the locker room” as happy to be on television. Punk says he would have been a champion during the “Attitude Era,” which causes Austin to laugh.

The interview concludes with a firm handshake and Austin proclaiming that he would defeat Punk in both the video game world and in real-life.

WWE Touts Ratings Success Of Premiere Episode Of “WWE Main Event” On ION

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ION TELEVISION’S NEW ORIGINAL SERIES, WWE® MAIN EVENT®, DEBUTS WITH STRONG FIRST MATCH

NEW YORK, October 4, 2012 – Obama vs. Romney was not the only match viewers tuned into on Wednesday night. According to Nielsen overnight data released today, ION Television’s brand new series, WWE Main Event, garnered the highest male audience in the last year with the most Men 18-49 (422,000), Men 25-54 (444,000), and Men 2+ (876,000). At 8:00pm ET/PT, the premiere of the new weekly series, which featured WWE Champion CM Punk™ against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus™, was the #4 program in the time period among Men 18-34, #4 among Men 18-49, and #5 among Men 25-54. In addition, WWE Main Event out-delivered the last game of the MLB regular season on ESPN and ESPN2 among all key men and adult demos. Finally, the premiere delivered 518,000 Women 2+, finishing ahead of most female cable networks.

“The viewers have spoken,” noted Brandon Burgess, CEO, ION Media Networks. “Fans of the WWE are passionate and seem to have a knack for finding their favorite Superstars wherever they live. Needless to say, we are particularly pleased that WWE has found a new home on ION Television, and we congratulate our new partner in the success of the premiere.”

“Our partnership with ION Television is off to a strong start,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. “We expect our fans will make WWE Main Event the number one show on the network as they have done for WWE programs with all of our other TV Partners.”

WWE Main Event, airing Wednesdays at 8:00pm ET/PT, features the WWE Superstars and Divas of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown, including John Cena®, WWE Champion CM Punk™, World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus™, Alberto Del Rio®, The Miz®, Kofi Kingston®, Eve® and Alicia Fox®. It’s a must-see for longtime devotees and those looking for character-driven, high-octane entertainment. The original series will showcase live events filmed across the country, as well as a stop in Europe.

*Spoilers* For WWE Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View & WWE’s Tag Team Tournament

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Following Wednesday night’s of WWE Main Event, the updated brackets have Santino Marella and Zack Ryder facing Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow in one semi-final match.

The other semi-final match will feature Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. the winner of Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neil (which takes place on Friday’s SmackDown. )

As we know, the winners of the tournament will face Kane and Daniel Bryan for the WWE Tag Team Titles at Hell In a Cell.

In a spoiler update, Rhodes and Sandow are scheduled to win the tournament and challenge for the titles at Hell In a Cell later this month.

The plan is for Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara to lose to Sandow and Rhodes in the finals due to interference from Young and O’Neil. This would lead to a second tag team match at Hell In a Cell – Mysterio and Cara vs. Young and O’Neil, which would be a rematch from the finals.

* VIDEO: WM28 Celebrity Singer MGK FLIPS OUT At The Microsoft Store

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Rapper MGK Talks About Performing At WrestleMania, Says Cena Gave Him Booze

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Rapper MGK says performing at WrestleMania was the scariest moment of his career – but Cena helped calm his nerves by giving him some moonshine.

JR Blog: Jim Ross Appreciation Night, His Segment With Punk On RAW, Ryback, Ricardo

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about :

Jim Ross Appreciation Night: “I have to tell you that the award that WWE presented me was the nicest thing that I’ve ever been bestowed including my 2007 WWE Hall of Fame ring. The “Voice of WWE’ engraving brought me to tears I’m not ashamed to say.”

His Segment With CM Punk On RAW: “The segment that @CMPunk and I were involved in, of course along with the irrepressible @HeymanHustle Paul Heyman, was the highest rated quarter hour of the three hour broadcast which is a tribute to the WWE Champion and his evil sidekick.”

Ryback Evolving: “Ryback is just starting to come into his own. I got a tweet from a teacher that said his students were chanting “Feed Me More” prior to their lunch at school recently. Ryback is a unique talent who will hopefully carve out his niche much like other power and strength guys have over the years which takes a little more time and perseverance than many traditional talents. Ryback’s exposure Monday night was timely for him and his progression.”

Ricardo Rodriguez:”Ricardo Rodriguez is an underrated asset for WWE in my eyes. Rodriguez ‘gets it’ and will hopefully end up being a bigger star in WWE than what some fans perhaps currently perceive him.”

* VIDEO: WM28 Celebrity Performer MGK FLIPS OUT At The Microsoft Store

Chavo & Hernandez Interview: Chavo Joining TNA, Teaming Together, BFG

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Monday Night Mayhem with Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez
Hosts: The Big Mosh and Todd Vincent
Recap by Kahlil Thomas

How the situation presented itself for Chavo to become part of the TNA roster and why the company has indeed lived up to his personal and professional expectations thus far: “To be honest, I didn’t really know if I was going to TNA, or if I was gonna stop wrestling, or what I really was going to do. I knew I was going to take some time off, and regroup, and regain some of my sanity after going 12 years in the WWE. Sometimes you have to do that. We just started talking back and forth a bit, me and TNA, over a two-month period, and we decided that would be a good fit. We tried, and it has been working really, really good. I’m just so happy to be there. It’s just nice to have people really appreciate your work, because sometimes people just expect that and never thank you, so it’s a good thing.”

Their initial thoughts when they found out they were going to team up together and why their tag team is “a completely different dynamic” from Los Guerreros or The LAX: (Hernandez): “When Chavo came to TNA, everyone talked about the family heritage and experience, but what they don’t realize is that this guy is reinventing himself. Every match, he’s breaking out something you haven’t seen before, or he hasn’t done in a while.”

(Chavo): “Don’t confuse our tag team with Hernandez’s previous tag team partners. Much respect to Homicide. He’s my boy. And with Konnan, the only thing we have in common is that we are Latinos. We are not LAX. They are not just plugging me in as ‘the new Mexican guy.’ It’s a completely different dynamic. This is not Los Guerreros or LAX. It’s completely different.”

Why they are looking forward to their three-way Match (vs. Kurt Angle/”The Phenomenal AJ Styles and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels/Kazarian) for the TNA World Tag Team Titles at Bound For Glory: (Hernandez): “Kurt Angle, in my opinion, is hands down the best performer in the world right now. That’s just how it goes. AJ is AJ. He is the man. This guy truly is phenomenal. He could do anything his body lets him do it’s just crazy. It’s going to take all of my power and everything Chavo can come up with to become (TNA World) Tag Team Champions.”

(Chavo): “Kazarian and Daniels are the champs, and they are both really good. They both know how to hold onto those Tag Team belts. I think we match really well against them, because one thing they don’t have is the power. I’m just looking forward to getting to Bound for Glory and facing them.”