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Paul Heyman Loving His Current Run & Compares CM Punk To Brock Lesnar

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Paul Heyman recently spoke to Fighting Spirit Magazine and talked about having an “absolute blast” with his current WWE run and the the differences between managing Brock Lesnar and CM Punk stating. Here’s what Heyman said about:

His Current WWE Run: “I’m having an absolute blast, it’s the best of all circumstances. … Because I’m working with people I absolutely adore working with. I originally came back to work with Brock Lesnar and I couldn’t think of a better scenario to come back to WWE (than) with Brock. Then, after Summerslam when Brock went away, I was going away, too, and then came the opportunity to work with C.M. Punk.”

The Differences Between Lesnar & Punk:“With Brock, I did all the talking and I advocated the position and then he backed it up in the ring. With Punk, it would not make any sense for me to do all the talking. I should do very little talking. ‘Ladies and gentleman, my name is Paul Heyman and I’m here to represent the WWE champion C.M. Punk,’ and then boom. That’s all I should really every say. So, it’s a Meyer Lansky-type of position more so than the guy that [is] up front completely delivering the message for — by way of example — Brock Lesnar.”

Live Notes From WWE In Hartford: Ryback Slams Heyman, Swagger & McGillicutty

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Here are some live notes from Sunday night’s WWE RAW live event from Hartford, Connecticut:

– Jack Swagger wrestled on the show, losing to Brodus Clay in the opening match. Swagger has a new look, sporting a slicked-back haircut.

– Michael McGillicutty defeated David Otunga in about 22 seconds. McGillicutty, son of late wrestling legend Curt Hennig, cut a babyface promo before the match and has been rumored to be getting a push on WWE television soon.

– The advertised “Last Man Standing Match” between CM Punk and Ryback wound up being a traditional match with no stipulation. Ryback won via DQ after Paul Heyman interfered and struck him with the WWE title belt.

After the match, Ryback struggled getting Heyman up for his Shellshocked finisher and slammed him down to the mat instead. Punk tried making the save for Heyman but Ryback laid him out to end the show.

* Rumored Finish For PUNK vs. RYBACK & A BIG Return Planned For The Royal Rumble

CM Punk vs. Ryback News, Honey Boo Boo Offered Wrestling Training, Booker T

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– With WWE Champion CM Punk and Ryback’s big pay-per-view match just six days away, the two wrestled each other at this weekend’s live events in preparation for Hell in a Cell. According to various live reports from fans who have seen the first Punk vs. Ryback matches, they are working well together and getting better every night. CM Punk is obviously leading Ryback in the matches and WWE officials are hopeful that they’ll have a good match inside Hell in a Cell.

– Speaking of Punk & Ryback, as of this weekend, their match is the only one that’s scheduled to take place inside Hell in a Cell this Sunday.

– SmackDown General Manager Booker T served as the honorary team captain of the NFL’s Houston Texans on Sunday when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens. Booker T was there with his wife Sharmell and got a big pop when he was introduced to his hometown crowd.

* Picture Of Booker T & Sharmell At Yesterday’s NFL Game

– Following reports that WWE is interested in bringing in 7-year old reality TV star Alana Thompson (“Honey Boo Boo”) for WrestleMania 29, James Pittaro, the ownerof New Jersey’s D2W Pro Wrestling Academy, has offered to train her in the ring. If she accepts the offer, she will be trained by TNA (and D2W) star Robbie E.

Booker T Talks About What’s Holding Dolph Ziggler Back From Main Events

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WWE SmackDown general manager Booker T was a guest on the PWTorch Livecast radio show last Friday, which you can listen to at BlogTalkRadio.com.

One of the topics discussed was Dolph Ziggler’s standing with the company and why he has yet to reach the main-event level on a regular basis. Booker T says Ziggler’s got the tools to be headlining shows, but needs to be more selfish in the ring.

“One thing I tell him is he has to be more selfish” Booker said. “He needs to start thinking about himself a whole lot more. He thinks about the other guy he’s in the ring with way too much.”

Ziggler is known as one of the best bumpers in the business and always makes his opponents look great by ‘selling’ their moves. While that has certainly put him on the map as a promising up and coming talent, Booker T thinks he’ll be stuck in the upper mid-card if he doesn’t focus more on advancing his career.

“Until he starts doing that, he’s not going to get over like he should,” Booker said.

* Rumored Finish For PUNK vs. RYBACK & A BIG Return Planned For The Royal Rumble

WWE Finalizes The Purchsae Of The Mid-South Tape Library

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After months of negotiating, WWE has finally completed its deal to acquire the tape library of Mid-South Wrestling from the family of Bill Watts.

WWE will be getting 1,200 hours of Mid-South footage from the late 1970s to the 1980s. The footage was purchased from Bill Watt’s ex-wife Ene, who got the footage in her divorce settlement with Watts.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross spoke to the Miami Herald about the deal:

“If fans are able to somewhere down the road buy volumes where they can see X number of weeks of television or by the year where there’s X number of episodes on a multi-disc set, they’re going to see how it was like reading an action adventure book. One chapter led to the next chapter led to the next with a crescendo and then a payoff, and then the book continues.”

He continued, “I think the episodic nature of it will be very entertaining, and then the other thing is there are a lot of guys who really established their body of work in that company that went on to do some really great things later in their careers on a higher level [nationally and internationally]. Seeing a young Ted DiBiase [in Mid-South], Ric Flair as the traveling NWA champion, guys like the Junkyard Dog and Butch Reed who was a great antagonist and a great protagonist — probably under-rated, by and large — and there were so many guys who came through there like the Steiner brothers and Magnum T.A. Guys like that, people will get to see their formative years, and to me it’s always fun as a fan because you can see glimpses of greatness, but you can also see a little bit of green, varying levels. So there’s inexperience, too, and it’s unique to see how they evolved.”

* RYBACK vs. CM PUNK: WHO Should Win? Discuss It Here

TNA To Tape Four Episodes Of Impact Wrestling In England Next January

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TNA announced Sunday that two double television tapings for Impact Wrestling will be held in England this January.

TNA Tours The United Kingdom In January: Manchester TV Taping Announced

IMPACT WRESTLING returns to the UK and Ireland in January 2013 for ‘The Road To Lockdown’ Tour – promising fans a steel cage match on every show. The action-packed live events will take place in Dublin (January 21), Glasgow (23), Nottingham (24), Manchester (25) and at London’s Wembley Arena (26). The show at Wembley will see two episodes of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING taped for broadcast in more than 120 countries around the globe, including on Challenge TV in the UK and Ireland.

• Lockdown steel cage comes to the UK and Ireland for first time ever
• Wembley show to be broadcast on Challenge TV and around the world
• Live events also set for Dublin, Glasgow, Nottingham and Manchester

Two episodes of hit Challenge TV show to be recorded at Manchester Arena | Booking fees waived for TNA UK event tickets bought via ‘October offer’ link | Competition launched to find the best fan signs on the TNA January Tour

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING ANNOUNCES MANCHESTER TV TAPING

Two episodes of top-rated Challenge TV show TNA IMPACT WRESTLING will be recorded at Manchester Arena on January 25, 2013 – the first time TNA has ever filmed the programme in the UK outside of London.

The event will form part of the TNA ‘Road To Lockdown’ Tour of the UK which also features huge live shows in Glasgow (Jan 23), Nottingham (Jan 24) and a previously announced double TV taping at London’s Wembley Arena (Jan 26).

All four events will feature a steel cage match and worldwide wrestling stars including TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and AJ Styles.

The Manchester and Wembley shows will air over a period of four weeks on Challenge TV in February, as part of the channel’s special ‘TNA in the UK’ month. They will also be broadcast on Spike TV in the US and in more than 120 other countries around the world.

To celebrate the news, TNA IMPACT WRESTLING has teamed up with gigsandtours.com to waive the booking fee on tickets bought throughout the rest of October for TNA’s UK January Tour dates.
The offer* is open to those booking via the dedicated web link www.gigsandtours.com/go/TNAOffer or the ticket shop on the TNA Wrestling UK Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tnawrestlinguk

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING will also be running a competition to find the best fan signs brought to the UK events, with one winner at each show receiving an exclusive backstage pass.

Dominic Wilkins, Acting Director of Challenge TV, said: “TNA IMPACT WRESTLING is a huge hit with Challenge TV viewers so it is with testament to this bourgeoning UK fan base that TNA is filming two more shows in Manchester, as well as two at London’s Wembley Arena.

“Viewers will be able to catch these four new programmes as part of our ‘TNA in the UK’ month during February. They will follow on from the premiere of the exclusive new series TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp which airs on Challenge during January 2013.”

TNA President Dixie Carter added: “I’m so excited for the rest of the world to see how loud and crazy the fans in Manchester are. We’re going to have some fun!”

The TNA Road To Lockdown Tour also comes to Dublin, Ireland, on Monday January 21.

* Offer is no booking fee charged on full price TNA January 2013 UK event tickets bought from 9pm on October 21 until 11.59pm on October 31. Only available via exclusive closed web link and TNA UK Facebook Ticket Shop. Offer is subject to availability and non-retrospective.

MORE DETAILS ON THE JANUARY UNITED KINGDOM TOUR

More TNA Superstars have been added to the January tour of the United Kingdom – plus Fanfest InterAction packages have been announced! Fans can meet TNA IMPACT WRESTLING stars before each tour event | Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels, Magnus, Kazarian and Miss Tessmacher have been added to the UK tour lineups!

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING has released a strictly limited number of Fan Interaction tickets for the January 2013 ‘Road To Lockdown’ Tour, giving British fans the chance to meet some of the world’s most famous wrestlers.

The eagerly awaited passes go on sale at 10am on Friday August 31 and will be available for the live events in Glasgow (January 23), Nottingham (24) and Manchester (25) and the double Challenge TV taping at London’s Wembley Arena (26).

Tickets cost £32.50 each, or £35 for London, and have been limited in number in order to improve the fan experience for January 2013. There will be eight top TNA superstars at each meet and greet. Each wrestler will sign a maximum of two items per fan.

Austin Aries, Miss Tessmacher, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian and British superstar Magnus have all joined the roster for the ‘Road To Lockdown’ Tour, which will feature a steel cage match on every show.

Worldwide wrestling stars already announced for the Tour include Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, James Storm, AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam and Gail Kim.

Fan Interaction tickets can be bought from www.gigsandtours.com / 0844 811 0051 or www.ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 826 2826. Those purchasing Fan Interaction tickets must also have a regular event ticket, which are sold separately, in order to gain access. Full details of the shows are:

Tickets can be bought from www.gigsandtours.com / 0844 811 0051 or www.ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 826 2826. Full details of the UK and Ireland events are:

Monday January 21
Dublin National Stadium
818 719 300

Wednesday January 23
Glasgow Braehead Arena
0844 499 9990

Thursday January 24
Nottingham Capital FM Arena
0844 412 4624

Friday January 25
Manchester Arena
0844 847 8000

Saturday January 26
London Wembley Arena
0844 815 0815

TNA Knockout Says One Of Her Goals Is To Compete For WWE, Shawn Daivari Featured On CNN Website

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– Sarita, who has not appeared for TNA Wrestling in six months, is setting grappling goals outside the promotion. The internationally-acclaimed wrestler revealed during an interview published Saturday on ESPNDeportes.com promoting breast cancer awareness that she wants to become the Women’s Champion of Puerto Rican based promotion World Wrestling Council, as well as compete for WWE. She believes she has the ability to accomplish both tasks and considers them immediate goals.

“I have many plans in the short term; I want to be champion of the World Council, plus I would like to fight in the WWE. I’m very focused on continue to succeed in the wrestling world,” she said.

Sarita, whose real name is Sarah Stock, publicly considered WWE a goal of hers when she began her professional wrestling career in Canada, but largely remained mum on the subject after gaining fame in Mexico as well as TNA Wrestling. She briefly competed for WWE’s former developmental promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling, as a non-contracted talent during a wrestling tour of the United States in 2003. She was evaluated by WWE officials during an event tour through Canada the following year, but was not offered a contract.

Sarita also remarked on the differences in wrestling styles between Mexico and the United States, being away from her family in Canada most of the year, and how her family has dealt with the effects of cancer. A translated version of the story is available here.

– As reportedly recently, former WWE talent Shawn Daivari choked an unruly train passenger unconscious while en route to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, after police were slow to respond to another passenger hitting an emergency button. It has drawn attention from CNN, which has posted footage of the incident on its website.

Sound Off 242: Is Ryback Ready To Be WWE Champion?

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DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 242)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Solomonster talks about Ryback getting the nod to face Punk at Hell in a Cell, how best to handle the finish, Bound for Glory results and the interesting new roll call of champions, the rebirth of Samoa Joe, why Aces and Eights is killing TNA and the nWo was more effective, the problem with invasion angles, when exactly did ROH begin to change and does Rick Rude belong in the Hall of Fame?

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

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

Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster

Friend The Solomonster on Facebook @ facebook.com/thesolomonster

Subscribe to The Solomonster on YouTube @ TheSolomonster

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

Jeff Hardy Featured On “Final Resolution” Poster, Note On TNA’s Upcoming UK Tour, Chavo Guerrero’s Birthday

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– The promotional poster for TNA Wrestling’s upcoming Final Resolution pay-per-view event has been released and it features Jeff Hardy.

Final Resolution

Final Resolution takes place December 9, 2012 in Orlando, Florida at the Impact Wrestling Zone.

– TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter will make an announcement concerning the promotion’s upcoming UK Maximum Impact Tour during tonight’s Impact Wrestling airing on Challenge.

– One half of the reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions, Chavo Guerrero, turned 42-years-old on Saturday.

Max Moon Featured On “Are You Serious?”, SmackDown Crew Leaves Egypt For Raw, Raven Featured

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– Josh Mathews and Road Dogg take a look at one of the most eccentric wrestlers of all-time, Max Moon, on this week’s episode of “Are You Serious?” Plus, Puppet H is back, who introduces “WCW’s Bad Gimmick Roulette” with 3 Count. Also featured are clips of Josh Mathews, and Bobby Lashley ordering Simon Dean to scarf down twenty double-cheeseburgers.

– After concluding a three-event tour in Egypt, the SmackDown crew left the country early Sunday morning United States EST time (late Sunday morning in Egypt) for tomorrow night’s Raw at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia tweeted early Sunday: “On the plane w/ all the @WWE Superstars as we get ready 2 leave Cairo. Thk u Egypt 4 ur hospitality & such a grt tour!”

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

3 Nights Of WWE On USA In December, Attitude Era Called “Disastrous” For Culture

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– The USA Network will be airing 3 straight nights of WWE programming in December:

* December 17th (8-11pm EST): WWE Monday Night RAW
* December 18th (8-10pm EST): Live WWE SmackDown Special
* December 19th (9-11pm EST): WWE Tribute To The Troops

– Sut Jhally, the writer and director of “Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying, and Battering” says that WWE’s Attitude Era under then CEO Linda McMahon was “disastrous for culture,” saying it taught millions of young males that to be a real man, you have to be “abusive, degrading, and disrespectful to women.”

Jhally, a communications professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says he did not produce the documentary for political reasons but believes that McMahon should be held accountable for WWE’s influence on society during her time with the company.

SmackDown Social Media Score, More On The Passing Of Mike Graham

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– Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode drew a 74,556 social media score, according to Trendrr.tv. This is down slightly from last week’s score (78,605), but was enough to rank SmackDown as the #1 show on cable in terms of social media activity.

– As previously reported, there have reportedly been some conflicting reports on whether Mike Graham (Mike Gossett) died on Thursday night or Friday morning. Police have not yet released official details on his death which is rumored to be a suicide until the investigation is complete.

Several local Florida news outlets have covered the death of Graham. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that Graham’s pro wrestling radio show co-host, Tedd Webb, says that Graham died on Thursday while he was in Daytona Beach visiting Biketoberfest. Biketoberfest began Thursday and runs through Sunday.

* WWE Planning A Major Return At The ROYAL RUMBLE, New Superstar About To Debut & More

WWE Struggling Over The Finish Of CM Punk vs. Ryback

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WWE’s upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is just a week away and the creative team is reportedly still struggling to come up with a finish for the CM Punk vs. Ryback match.

Ryback is in the midst of a monster push and WWE officials are concerned that CM Punk defeating Ryback cleanly will take away from his momentum. At the same time, WWE has been planning for CM Punk to keep the WWE Championship until the Royal Rumble, when he is expected to defend against The Rock.

The match is being held inside the HIAC steel cage, so a disqualification finish is not an option. One idea that’s been pitched is for Brock Lesnar to do a run-in and help fellow “Paul Heyman Guy” CM Punk win the match. This could set up a potential Brock Lesnar vs. Ryback match, but would also require WWE to use up another one of Lesnar’s already-limited number of appearances.

COMMENT BELOW and tell us how YOU would book the finish of CM Punk vs. Ryback at Hell in a Cell. Should CM Punk drop the WWE Title? Can Ryback’s momentum continue if CM Punk defeats him clean?

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Linda McMahon’s Campaign Spending, Zack Ryder’s Show Ending Next Year?

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– WWE Vintage Collection on October 20th, 2012 featured these matches:

* The Goon vs. Doug Allen (WWF Superstars – August 10th, 1996)
* Ken Shamrock, Steve Blackman & Ron Simmons vs. The Nation Of Domination (WWF Unforgiven 1998)
* Kevin Greene vs. Steve McMichael (WCW Great American Bash 1997)
* Ric Flair & DX vs. The Spirit Squad (WWE Raw – November 27th, 2006)

– Zack Ryder tweeted the following over the weekend, teasing that his Z! True Long Island Story series could be coming to an end next year:

– Linda McMahon has spent approximately $28 million on her current United States Senate campaign. Combined with her previous (unsuccessful) campaign, she has spent a staggering $78 million of McMahon money to get elected.

Top Women’s Wrestlers Of 2011 And 2012 Named, Reby Sky Highlighted By Sports Illustrated; Tiger Mask IV

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– As reported this week, Gail Kim has earned the number one position in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s fifth annual “PWI Female 50” list, which ranks the top 50 women’s wrestlers in North America from September 1, 2011, through August 30, 2012. She succeeds Madison Eagles, who ranked No. 1 in last year’s list.

The top 10 has been released, which ranks: 1. Gail Kim. 2. Beth Phoenix. 3. Cheerleader Melissa. 4. Sara Del Rey. 5. Jessicka Havok 6. Layla. 7. Miss Tessmacher. 8. Saraya Knight. 9. Mercedes Martinez. 10. Tara. The full list is available at PWI-Online.com.

Kim remarked on the achievement via Twitter, writing to PWI, “Thanks so much for recognizing all female talent. I appreciate the recognition of hard work and feel flattered for the honor!”

– Independent wrestler Reby Sky is today’s “Lovely Lady Of The Day” on the official website of Sports Illustrated, SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. Jimmy Traina says of the Queens, New York native, “Reby Sky has been in Hot Clicks before because of her New York Giants fandom. She’s now a pro wrestler and dating former WWE superstar Matt Hardy.”

Sky competed at Friday’s SHINE Wrestling internet pay-per-view in Ybor City, Florida, where she defeated Kellie Skater after performing the Twist of Fate.

– Japanese wrestler Tiger Mask IV turns 42-years-old Saturday. He currently works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Mason Ryan Resurfaces On Santino’s “Foreign Exchange”, Will John Layfield Be At Raw?, The Funkadactyls

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– Mason Ryan, who has not appeared on WWE programming since May, resurfaces on this week’s edition of Santino Marella’s Foreign Exchange. Plus, Marella recruits Yoshi Tatsu and Johnny Curtis to devise “the perfect plan” to finally touch Michael McGillicutty’s beard.

– Via Twitter, John “Bradshaw” Layfield denied an online report that he will commentate Monday’s Raw at East Rutherford, New Jersey. He subsequently noted on Facebook that he will call the following night’s SmackDown taping in Providence, Rhode Island.

– The official WWE website has published new photos of Cameron and Naomi, The Funkadactyls.

Official Preview For Impact Wrestling – Third Match Announced For “Championship Thursday”

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ImpactWrestling.com has released the official preview for next week’s “Championship Thursday” edition of Impact Wrestling and it is noted that Rob Van Dam will defend the X Division Championship against Zema Ion in a Bound For Glory re-match.

IMPACT Preview: Championship Thursday Returns – Jeff Hardy Defends The World Title

Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV as “Championship Thursday” returns and the road to the November “Turning Point” event continues! If you can’t watch on Thursday, make sure to set your DVR to record all the action.

– “Championship Thursday” is back, and the World Heavyweight
Championship will be on the line as new titleholder “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy defends the gold against an opponent to be select by “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan! The contenders that Hogan will pick from are: Mr. Anderson, James Storm, Bully Ray, and Kurt Angle

– What do The Aces & 8s and Devon have planned next after their assault last week? Can Hulk Hogan, Sting, Bully Ray and the TNA roster find a way to turn the tide against the biker gang? The war continues on Thursday’s broadcast on SpikeTV!

– In a “Bound For Glory” rematch, new Knockouts Champion Tara (with her Hollywood boyfriend Jessie Godderz) will defend the gold against Miss Tessmacher on Thursday’s broadcast

– Also as part of “Championship Thursday”, new X Division Champion Rob Van Dam will put his title on the line against former champ Zema Ion!

All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV LIVE at 8/7c

“Backstage Fallout” For This Week’s SmackDown, Sin Cara Joins Twitter, How Old Is Scott Hall?

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– This week’s SmackDown edition of “Backstage Fallout” has 3MB sounding off. Plus, Antonio Cesaro responds to his latest win over an American challenger, Ted DiBiase. Theodore Long also addresses an iPad Eve left behind, which is suggested to feature classified information.

– The official Twitter feed of WWE announced Friday that Sin Cara is on the micro-blogging website at twitter.com/TheSinCaraWWE. WWE also released a Tout video of the masked grappler holding a piece of paper featuring the URL. He has had the account since September, but it was not confirmed until now.

– One of the most controversial wrestlers of all-time, Scott Hall, turns 54-years-old Saturday.

WWE Hell In A Cell 2012: Updated Card For Sunday

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Hoping to regain the Intercontinental Championship from the Superstar who took it away from him on Main Event, The Miz announced during Friday’s SmackDown broadcast that he will invoke his rematch clause against Kofi Kingston at Hell in a Cell.

The official WWE website has released a match preview.

Delayed one week due to Rey Mysterio having the flu, the Tag Team Tournament Final will be finalized on Raw when Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio take on Team Rhodes Scholars. The winners will face WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan at Hell in a Cell.

The announced card for Hell in a Cell, which takes place Oct. 28 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, is as follows:

* WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Ryback

* World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Big Show

* WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. Tag Team Tournament Winners

* Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

* Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio

Rating For Impact Episode Following Bound For Glory, Knockout Appearing On MTV Show

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– The post-Bound For Glory episode of Impact Wrestling drew a 0.99 cable rating. This is up from mid-0.8 numbers the previous two weeks but is the same figure as the Sept. 27 show.

The program averaged 1,248,000 viewers, an improvement on year-low viewership the past two weeks, but fewer than the Sept. 27 show, which drew 1,265,000. Thursday’s show was down five percent compared to the summer average and down eleven percent compared to the overall average for 2012.

There was a one-tenth increase from last week in males 18-49, the program’s biggest demographic. The 18-34 demo remained the same as the past two weeks.

– TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Tara will appear on upcoming episode of MTV’s Made, a self-improvement reality television series. The episode was scheduled to air Friday, but has been moved to November 10, she noted on Twitter.

In the episode, Tara coaches an unemployed woman aspiring to become a professional wrestler.

(source: Pro Wrestling Torch)

Eric Bischoff Compares Bruce Prichard To Vince Russo, Creating Innovative Storylines

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Eric Bischoff called into Extreme Pro Wrestling Radio on 100.3 FM The Fan in Minneapolis (on Twitter at EPWRadio) to discuss a number of topics with Big D, Tim and Crisco including the creative team for TNA Wrestling, who was going to be the third man in the nWo storyline before Hulk Hogan got on board, his current relationship with Vince McMahon and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Comparing Bruce Prichard with Vince Russo in their roles writing for TNA Wrestling what are Bruce’s strengths: “It’s hard to compare, two entirely different people with entirely different skill sets and backgrounds and experiences and things like that so it’s kind of a waste of energy to try and compare them other than to say they are two completely different people. I enjoyed working with Vince, I don’t wanna ever sound like I didn’t. It was a challenge for me and it was a challenge for Vince because of our personalities and because of the way we approach things, but it was never personal for me…in TNA and I don’t think it was for him either.

“I like working with Bruce a lot because Bruce has more experience than I do. I’ve been in the business for 25 years and I have a lot of experience but Bruce has more than I do. Not only does he have more experience than I do but he experienced the peak of WWE, the formulas that worked there and the processes that work there, he understands production very very well. I’m actually very impressed with his knowledge of production. I love his sensibility and his philosophy regarding wrestling story and finishes in particular. We see, not eye to eye, because that’s not very good when two people agree on everything.

“We do have our moments, we had one about 24 hours ago I thought was going to last for 24 hours. But I respect him, he’s been there, he’s done that a couple times and he has the t-shirts. His philosophy is rooted very much in strong wrestling fundamentals. Wrestling is no different from comedy, it’s no different than drama, it’s no different than a really good action film, in that it all comes down to basic storytelling fundamentals.

“If you focus on the fundamentals, if you focus on the details and don’t shortcut, chances are your stuff will probably be pretty good. It’s when you try to get so off the wall and throw so much stuff up against the wall and try and be wacky for the sake of being wacky and you abandon simple fundamental story telling that’s when you crater and that’s what I like about working with Bruce. Even though we may disagree on certain things I know that when he is disagreeing he’s disagreeing from a point of good strong fundamentals and I respect that.”

Is there an angle or storyline that hasn’t been done yet: “First of all, if I did…or if I could..I wouldn’t do it here. Secondly, I’d be lying to you if I said I saw some secret sauce back in the cupboard in the back that nobody has figured out yet. Nah, I don’t think there is. Again, I don’t know how many different basic stories there are but someone told me a longtime ago that was a film major, basically there is seven basic stories…boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. There’s only seven different ways to tell a story and the art of storytelling and entertainment is just finding ways that feel new and camouflaging those seven basic stories so that it feels like something you haven’t seen before.

“I think we’re there with professional wrestling particularly over the last 15 years because of the just plethora of programming that’s out there. Going back to when Nitro was three hours and Thunder was two and Raw was three and then it was two and then it was three again and Smackdown is two hours then there’s a bunch of shows in syndication, a bunch of replays on cable. It’s like, I don’t know how we’ve survived as long as we have… Well, I do but it’s hard, it’s really hard to come up with a story that hasn’t been done before that the audience will accept. It’s funny, we just got done doing two days of really intensive research in a couple different cities. Fascinating research by the way. I’m a little bit of a research nerd.

“One of the things I have known for a longtime but it becomes very apparent when you’re sitting in a focus group of people who are identified as serious wrestling fans is that they’re very… they take ownership, they’re very particular, they’re almost obsessive compulsive about it for the most part and they expect you to treat their product, because they look at it as their product, with a tremendous amount of respect. The minute you try to get too cute with it, you really piss them off. So when you ask me, is there some new storyline, some new way of doing it, some new angles, some new talent, whatever…

“Yeah, there’s a couple different things we could try that have never been done before but I’m pretty sure how the audience would react that because it would be too far outside their box and comfort zone. It’s just like Nascar fans, if Nascar decided if instead of turning left for 400 miles they’re gonna turn right? People would just have seizures and die all over the country. Yeah, it’s never been done before, it’s really cool, feels different, feels fresh. It would be horrible, it’s the same with wrestling. You gotta be real careful with that, believe me…I have the scar tissue to prove it.”it.

Bischoff also remarks on scrapped plans to bring Sting into the now, his thoughts on son Garett’s wrestling career, his current relationship with Vince McMahon, and more. Click LIKE and listen to the interview here – www.facebook.com/extremeprowrestlingradio.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin Says Sheamus Isn’t Ready To Be Champion Yet, John Cena’s European Tour Status

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– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who writes a column for Fighting Spirit Magazine, offered his opinion on reigning World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus during a recent issue while discussing WWE’s World Titles and how their importance level has never been lower. Though Austin considers the Irish grappler talented, he doesn’t feel Sheamus is ready to be champion.

Austin wrote, “Sheamus is a big talented dude, no doubt about it. Can he get to where the company wants him to go? That remains to be seen, and there’s a lot of work required from both him and the company in order to jump to that superstar level. He’s doing fine for the amount of time he’s been in the business, and there is no disrespect intended, but there are so many aspects that go towards making a guy draw money with the title.”

Austin also remarked that the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championships should be unified as soon as possible. An article on Austin’s comments is available here.

– John Cena, who is currently nursing an arm injury after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow on Sept. 18, tweeted Thursday on whether he will take part in WWE’s tour of Europe kicking off Oct. 31 in Strasbourg, France.

“And to all the @wwe folk wondering if I am traveling with #raw to Europe, I most certainly AM. See u there!” he wrote.

Ryback Thankful For Second WWE Opportunity, Kaitlyn Takes On Beth Phoenix, Lita In Connecticut

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– In the latest issue of WWE Magazine, cover-dated November 2012, WWE Superstars were asked what they are thankful for. In Ryback’s case it is WWE giving him a second opportunity.

“I’m thankful for WWE not giving up on my career, and instead offering me another opportunity to live my dream,” said Ryback. “They could have wished me luck in my future endeavors, but they didn’t. Instead, they gave me a second chance at life.”

Ryback’s current WWE run is actually his second with the organization. He was released from his first developmental contract, which he earned after competing on Tough Enough 4, in January 2007. He regrouped a year and a half later and resurfaced at WWE’s former developmental league, Ohio Valley Wrestling. He was re-signed to a developmental contract shortly thereafter and has been with the sports-entertainment company ever since.

– Two matches are featured on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars as Kaitlyn takes on Beth Phoenix and Michael McGillicutty goes one-on-one with Tensai. Highlights from the episode have been posted on WWE.com. The full episode is available on Hulu Plus.

– Former WWE Women’s Champion Amy “Lita” Dumas appears at Ken’s Cards & Collectibles 27 Mill Street Berlin, Ct. on Sunday, Nov. 11 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

– Rey Mysterio is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.

Bound for Glory Bombs At Movie Theaters, Mickie James Injury Update, TNA Stars In Macon, Georgia

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– On Sunday, TNA Impact Wrestling once again teamed up with Screenvision, a leading innovator in cinema advertising and alternative content programming, to bring Bound For Glory to fans nationwide in over 100 theaters across the United States. The turnout, however, was disastrous.

According to the Wrestler Observer Newsletter, it is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 people nationwide attended the 100 theater showings altogether. These figures are way below previous TNA shows, and also below UFC shows. UFC ceased airing shows in movie theaters since it wasn’t considered cost effective.

– Mickie James, who recently underwent surgery on an undisclosed injury, posted an update Friday via Twitter: “Check up w/ Doc Yesterday. Hearing I can drive again *as long as I’m not medicated* & start back in the gym *no heavy lifting/abs.”

James also noted yesterday that due to the injury, she will be unable to face Taeler Hendrix at USA Championship Wrestling’s “Tennessee Homecoming 2012? event tomorrow night at the Old Burns Gym in Burns, Tennessee.

– AJ Styles and Miss Tessmacher appear at Direct Auto Insurance 1390 Gray Hwy. Macon, Georgia on Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Chris Jericho Talks About It Being Difficult To Return To WWE, The WWE ‘Bubble’

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Chris Jericho recently spoke with Patrick Lennon of The Star promoting Fozzy’s upcoming U.K. Tour.

Here’s what Jericho said about WWE:

“I don’t know if it’s bulls—, but there is very much that attitude in WWE – sometimes ‘If you’re not with us you’re against us.’ It’s been there so long I find it kinda weird.”

“As you and I know, WWE lives in its own world and you can see that for any outside ventures that they do.”

“I’m always cool with them and always open to going back, but it’s difficult – I would have liked to have done more, maybe, but they want your time exclusively and the longer I’ve been there, the less time I have. Hopefully we’ll work together in the future.”

“If we don’t, well, I can walk away knowing I had an amazing run and achieved everything I wanted to achieve in wrestling.”

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