With CM Punk now over one year into his historic WWE title reign, f4wonline.com reports that one of the main reasons Punk has held on to the championship for so long has to do with The Rock.
There have been several instances over the past year when WWE has strongly considered having Punk drop the title. However, Vince McMahon has repeatedly stuck with Punk as champion because The Rock agreed to wrestle CM Punk for the WWE Championship during the summer.
The Rock announced at RAW 1,000 that he wants to win the WWE Championship one more time before he retires. Since then, The Rock and CM Punk have been exchanging trash talk on Twitter and the feeling is that The Rock would not be happy if Punk dropped the belt and his WWE title match was against someone else.
– Last week’s 11/23 edition of WWE Smackdown on Syfy drew 2,572,000 viewers, down from the previous last week. The show aired during Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, which might have had an impact on viewership.
– Here’s a list of which RAW segments were cut from the Hulu Plus verison of the show, courtesy of Kaleb Perkins:
* Backstage segment with Rosa Mendes/Alberto Del Rio/Hornswoggle/The Great Khali.
* Alberto Del Rio vs. The Great Khali.
* Backstage segment with Vickie Guerrero/Paul Heyman/CM Punk.
* Alicia Fox vs. Tamina Snuka.
* Tensai vs. Kofi Kingston.
* Backstage segment with Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodriguez/Rosa Mendes.
* Video package with some of the WWE wrestlers on the USS John C. Stennis.
* Damien Sandow vs. Zach Ryder.
* Backstage interview with Josh Mathews/CM Punk/Paul Heyman.
– WWE.com has a poll up asking fans, “Do you think The Shield is out to right wrongs and stop injustice in WWE?” With almost 4,000 votes cast, the current results are:
38% Yes. I believe they stand for honor.
62% No. They have malevolent intentions.
COMMENT BELOW and tell us what YOU think about The Shield’s intentions. Are they really here for justice – or are they just henchmen for CM Punk and Paul Heyman?
– The next Wizard World Comic-Con event takes place this weekend in New Orleans, with WWE Champion CM Punk and former WWE divas Lita, Maryse and The Bella Twins among the wrestling stars appearing.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was courtside at Monday night’s NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Charlotte Bobcats.
JR watched RAW when he got home from the game and tweeted this about Wade Barrett’s commentary during Kofi Kingston’s match against Tensai:
England's @WadeBarrett stood out on commentary tonight on #RAW. Stellar..he gets it. Push comfort zone boys aside & go to the top. #WWE
Julie Hart and Earl Hebner both joined Inside The Ropes to talk about “The Montreal Screwjob” and their thoughts after 15 years.
The highlights from Earl Hebner’s chat are:
His thoughts when he heard Bret didn’t want to drop the belt to Shawn: “Bret had plenty of time to drop the belt. He could’ve dropped it in the United States. I didn’t know much about the deal with those two but he could’ve dropped the belt to anyone, hell he could’ve dropped it to me. But he had an ego and he didn’t wanna do it. Time was running out. If you’re leavin you drop the strap, he didn’t wanna do it. If you remember Alundra Blayze went down there and dropped the Womens belt in the trash. Now if you have a $3 million deal to go to another company, why would you even hesitate to drop the belt? I mean why? Your moneys already guaranteed when you get there. Just drop it and go. A lot of people put him over, made him who he is. So he’s gonna refuse to drop it and make those guys look like idiots? This business is a work.”
On him telling Bret he swore on his kids lives he wouldn’t let anything happen in Montreal: “I was sitting on a plane with Bret. His very words “Will you count me out?” I said “If you keep your shoulder up, I will not count you out” Which I didn’t count him out. Did he get pinned 1.2.3? You stop and think about my position. I’m thinking about the guys in the back. Austin, Undertaker, Rocky all the guys that put him over as being the Worlds Champion, we made him what he was, so he’s leaving us and he’s screwing us because he doesn’t want to drop the belt. So on my way to the ring, I’m thinking it’s not fair. Someone asked me, I won’t say who, about two minutes before I walked to the ring, I said I can’t tell you what I’m gonna do, but when I walked to the ring, I thought about all the boys back in the dressing room, so it wasn’t right for him to screw 25 guys because of his stubbornness, so thats why I did what I did. When McMahon and Sgt Slaughter came to the ring, whether I had done it or not, that bell was gonna ring. The only thing that made it more official is that I motioned for the bell.”
If he thinks Montreal was a work: “It could have been a work. McMahon, Bret, WCW could’ve all been in on it for all I know. I’m gonna go 50/50 on it. I think it was but I can’t say for sure, but look where Bret is now.”
In the rest of the chat, Earl talks about the relationship between Shawn and Bret, how Undertaker felt about the situation the next day, his conversations with Bret since Montreal, Bret’s 2010 return and whether he was contacted to appear by the WWE at WrestleMania 26 and more. Check it out below.
The highlights from Julie Hart’s Chat:
When Bret got suspicious that he might get screwed: “It wasn’t really till we got to Montreal. I remember someone came to Bret and told him that they’d saw Shawn getting into an elevator with Vince in his hotel and that kinda got Bret a little worried. That was earlier in the day. The kids and I had gone shopping and when we got back, Bret said he had to go talk to our lawyer who was in town with us as well. The source, I can’t tell you who it is, but the source had said what happened, so bret went over to our lawyer to talk about it and that’s when Bret really started getting nervous.”
WWE making Vince into the Mr McMahon character: “I thought that was horrible but thats what Vince does right? Thats how he markets things. I felt sorry for Bret because he was such a good person to Vince and I felt like “jeez why did you have to go and do that?” But you look at everything now and how things have played out. It was all about the business, and it’s still all about the business. Those things, I guess, shouldn’t have been taken so personal.”
Her reaction to people who think Montreal was a work: “Firstly, no it wasn’t work. It was as raw as…..you’d have to be there to experience the emotions that Bret went through. I can honestly say on my childrens head, that none of that stuff was set up. It was as real as you would ever get. That camera was in the place in the right time. It was never set up, it’s sad that people would think that. I know, I was there, my kids were there, I saw what it did to Bret emotionally, for our marriage after that, we were never the same…..”
To hear Julie’s full chat where she talks about how Bret was in 1997, who she saw backstage at Montreal, why she talked to Hunter after the match, why Bret wore a wire and much more, listen below.
– On Monday’s RAW, Big Show destroyed a steel chair on the RAW stage to intimidate his challenger at next month’s TLC PPV, Sheamus. In response to Big Show’s spectacle, Sheamus tweeted:
– The Miz will be a guest host on the television show “Extra” this Thursday. He’ll take part in a segment with former WrestleMania competitor Maria Menounos at The Grove in Los Angeles.
– Zack Ryder tweeted the following about his match on RAW against Damien Sandow:
I was on #RAW…I lost…but I had an entrance…I’ll take it……
– It was announced on Monday’s RAW that the main event of WWE’s upcoming TLC PPV will be a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWE Championship between CM Punk and Ryback. Ryback tweeted:
Local advertisements in the New York area had been promoting Punk vs. Ryback as a Tables Match, so the decision to make it a TLC match was made recently.
– Here is the latest episode of WWE’s Backstage Fallout series, feturing behind-the-scenes interviews from Monday’s RAW. This installment includes Dolph Ziggler talking about his loss to John Cena, AJ’s reactions to Tamina’s threat and kissing John Cena again, and The Prime Time Players.
– WWE announcer JBL posted a Facebook.com on Monday night about his upcoming mountain climb of Mt. Aconcagua, also known as “Mount Death.” He wrote:
“Less than 7 weeks out from Mt Aconcagua-nicknamed “Mt Death” some estimates are as high as 60% success rate but seems like closer to 30% is more accurate. Numbers are all over the place as records are not kept that well and some are embellished for marketing.”
“This is the highest mountain outside of Asia, by far my toughest test. Since it is only 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean wind chills can be deadly. I might need a little luck, however, if weather is OK I believe I have a great chance of making it.”
– Mick Foley tweeted the following during Monday’s RAW about Dean Ambrose:
Earlier this year, Mick Foley and Dean Ambrose were feuding on social media, with Ambrose calling out Foley for “destroying a generation” of wrestlers by championing the hardcore style of chairs and barbed wire. Ambrose confronted Mick Foley at a hotel in Florida during WrestleMania 28 weekend and there was talk of Ambrose debuting on the main roster in a feud with Mick Foley, but they eventually called a truce and the angle was dropped.
– TNA president Dixie Carter announced on Twitter that TNA Lockdown 2013 will take place outside of Orlando, Florida. The location will be announced on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling and she teased, “First time we have ever been to this great city.”
– Independent wrestling promotion AAW is calling out Ken Shamrock on Twitter for no-showing his scheduled appearance at this past Saturday night’s AAW show in Merrionette Park, Illinois. He was set to face Sami Callihan. AAW tweeted the following about the incident:
– WWE is advertising that The Rock will be appearing live when WWE returns to Lafayette, Louisiana on February 18th for a WWE RAW taping. A ticket pre-sale begins this week with the password CHAMP.
– 3MB member Drew McIntyre tweeted the following on Monday, teasing a “huge announcement” from the band:
They later posted a Tout video from a bar on Bourbon Street titled, “Our First Single.” In the video, 3MB is on stage at a bar and asks the crowd if they’re ready to hear “real music” from 3MB, but it cuts off before the single can be heard:
– Here is footage of the interview Michael Cole conducted with The Shield that aired on Monday’s RAW:
– The following matches for this week’s WWE Superstars prior to Monday’s RAW from Lafayette, Louisiana:
* David Otunga vs. Santino Marella
* JTG vs. Brodus Clay
– After Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air, Ryback sold his latest beatdown from The Shield and slowly made his way to the back. The advertised dark match main event between CM Punk and Ryback never took place.
– The Miz, R-Truth, Layla, Eve and WWE CEO Vince McMahon will not be on hand for tonight’s Raw in Lafayette, Louisiana, since they are overseas visiting U.S. troops as part of a handshake tour. The group visited military bases in Bahrain today.
– Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock no-showed his scheduled appearance for AAW Wrestling on Saturday in Merrionette Park, Illinois. He was advertised to face Sami Callihan. The promotion released the following message Sunday via Twitter regarding his absence: “Everyone was on edge all day yesterday regarding Shamrock. Here’s the story behind it. Ken canceled his plane ticket yesterday and didn’t inform his agent or AAW staff. Classic definition of a no show.”
– WWE will hold a live event at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 1, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Ticketmaster.ca will hold a pre-sale beginning December 14, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
– Jim Ross remarked via Twitter of Raw returning to his former stomping grounds tonight: “#WWE #RAW Lafayette, La Mon night. Memories of Ernie ‘Big Cat’ Ladd, weekly, Mid South live events, rowdy, villain hating fans, & gr8 food.” He added that he will not be on hand for the show.
Jim Ross has published a new blog on his official website offering his thoughts on Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns as well as potential candidates for induction into next year’s WWE Hall of Fame class.
Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns explaining the motive behind their recent assaults on Raw tonight: “Apparently the three men in black, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns will be interviewed by @MichaelCole tonight on Raw. I hope that we get some revealing info but not too much as I feel these three can be significant contributors on RAW but I also feel that this info needs to come over time especially with WWE doing tons of episodic TV. As a fan, I don’t need every question answered tonight and, hopefully, their comments will elict even more interest/questions.
“Count on this…no matter what the three, NXT talents have to say, it will be dissected and thoroughly analyzed. In today’s social media crazed, info heavy world of sports entertainment, everything is under a microscope and there are more ‘experts’ sounding off than ever before. Don’t take that as a knock and if you do… Lighten Up Francis.”
Dean Ambrose: “Ambrose has a little Roddy Piper and Brian Pillman traits in him or so it seems to me. His FCW/NXT bout a few months ago with @RealKingRegal was stellar. I called it with Dusty Rhodes and we had a blast. Ambrose is a blue chip stock and is arguably the most ‘unpredictable’ of the three. Perhaps ‘complex’ is an adequate word to describe Ambrose at this point in time.”
Seth Rollins: “Rollins reminds me of @CMPunk in some areas of Rollins’ game or at least the formative CM Punk of a few years ago. I perceive that as a good thing. Rollins is an Iowa kid who has a sound, skill set, confidence, toughness and is the current NXT Champion. He has a natural swagger and wrestles with a chip on his shoulder which I embrace.”
Roman Reigns: “Reigns is a former Georgia Tech nose tackle and has reshaped his body from 300+ to 260ish and is of Samoan decent, father is WWE HOFer Sika, and at times has reminded me of @TheRock when I first inked ‘The Great One’ to his WWE contract. In that I mean the obvious heritage matter but also the physical frame, intellect, and overall, natural athleticism. We can only hope that Roman Reigns can approach The Rock’s accomplishments inside the squared circle some day. Only time will tell if that lofty goal can be reached but Reigns can be special. Watch someone interpret what I just said as being that JR is predicting Roman to be the next Rock. Hey, I wish.”
The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013: “The WWE HOF inductee list for 2013 is going to be intriguing. I am not in that loop so I don’t know who is or isn’t being considered. There are many right answers as to who should be inducted and we all have our favorites. I’d love to see the great Bruno Sammartino inducted if for no other reason than for his family and his fans. Seeing Bruno step up to the podium in Madison Square Garden would rekindle the memories of a beloved era of the business many of us remember with fondness.
“Bob Backlund needs to be inducted some day. Is it in 2013? Who knows. Bob’s record as WWE Champion is damned awesome even when compared to Sammartino’s untouchable accomplishments.
“Mick Foley would likely steal the show if inducted. Mrs Foley’s baby boy has become quite the standup comedian and public speaker and would be a great Attitude Era representative.
“Is this the year for Macho Man Randy Savage to be inducted? That one is arguably past due.”
– WWE officials are high on developmental wrestler Corey Graves, formerly known as Sterling James Keenan on the independent circuit. He is expected to gain the NXT Championship following the promotion of current belt holder Seth Rollins to the main roster.
– A backstage segment featuring Darren Young and Titus O’Neil was cut from Friday’s SmackDown episode.
– Colt Cabana has released his latest Creative Has Nothing For You webisode, entitled “REJECTED SCRIPTS ILLUSTRATED.”
– Mick Foley is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– Here’s a look at several TNA’s upcoming live events:
* November 30 in Bemidji, MN
* December 1 in Fargo, ND
* December 2 in Grand Forks, ND
– Scott Steiner and TNA will be back in court on November 30th in Nashville, Tennessee. TNA is attempting to get Steiner’s breach of contract lawsuit thrown out.
– Former TNA Knockouts Angelina Love and Velvet Sky will be appearing together on the cover of the latest edition of “Models Mania Magazine” – which you can see below:
WWE’s Vince McMahon, The Miz, R-Truth, Eve Torres and Layla are currently overseas visiting United States troops stationed abroad in the Middle East. Footage from the trip will air during WWE’s 10th annual Tribute To The Troops show. The two-hour show will premiere on the USA Network on Wednesday night, December 19th (9pm EST), with a one-hour version airing that weekend, Saturday, December 22nd (9pm EST).
Layla tweeted the following picture of the WWE crew on board a US Navy vessel –
The Syfy Channel sent out the following press release today officially announcing the new “Robot Combat League” series, hosted by former WWE superstar Chris Jericho:
SYFY’S ROBOT COMBAT LEAGUE OFFERS RINGSIDE SEATS TO GROUNDBREAKING, HIGH-OCTANE CLASHES OF STEEL
WWE CHAMPION CHRIS JERICHO TO HOST
Series Debuts Tuesday, February 26 at 10 P.M. ET/PT
NEW YORK, N.Y. – November 26, 2012 – Syfy announces a gripping new reality series premiering Tuesday, February 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT which reinvents gladiatorial combat for the 21st century. Each week, Robot Combat League will feature tournament-style battles between eight-feet tall, state-of-the-art humanoid robots controlled by human “robo-jockeys”. Hosting the series is Chris Jericho, the wildly popular WWE wrestler and multifaceted performer.
The idea of robots in battle has captured the imagination for generations. Now, through ground-breaking engineering, the fusion of a human’s fighting spirit with a powerful robotic machine built for destruction has become a reality. This extraordinary new series will feature twelve teams consisting of a fighter (a “robo-jockey”) and a robotics engineer (a “robo-tech”) from myriad backgrounds including a race car driver, an Olympic athlete, a National Guard helicopter pilot along with a mix of professional fighters and software engineers. Each team is paired with its own unique robot and will fight in a first-of-its kind competition using a high-tech exo-suit that translates their movements to their robot. Each fight consists of three rounds of intense action, with the winning team advancing in the competition.
In his role as host, Jericho will set up each week’s fight and provide viewers with a play-by-play commentary of the fighting action. Jericho began wrestling at age 19 and is one of the most popular champions in the history of the WWE. In 2001 he was crowned the first ever WWE Undisputed Champion and has been named one of the top five most charismatic performers of all-time. Jericho was also a popular contestant on season 11 of Dancing with the Stars and is the lead singer of the #1 charting hard rock band, Fozzy. The two-time NY Times best-selling author grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and now currently resides in Tampa, Fla.
The robots of the Robot Combat League were designed and created by robotics expert, Mark Setrakian, a leader in the sport of robotic combat. In his distinguished career, Setrakian has developed life-saving robotic systems, and pioneered cutting-edge creature effects, animatronics and control technology for such films as Men In Black, The Grinch and Hellboy. Setrakian combines a keen study of biology with innovative engineering to create robots with uncanny organic movement, earning his reputation as the man who brings machines to life.
Robot Combat League is produced by Smart Dog Media, with Craig Plestis serving as executive producer.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com ), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
– This year’s WWE Tribute to the Troops taping will take place on December 9th from from the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Tickets for the event will be given to military personnel and their families stationed at the following locations:
* Naval Station Norfolk
* Naval Air Station Oceana
* Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/Fort Story
* Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads
* Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
* Norfolk Naval Shipyard
* Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.
WWE is taping the special from the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA on 12/9/12. Celebrities appearing at this year’s 10th annual Tribute to the Troops show include Kid Rock, Flo Rida and the Muppets.
– WWE.com is reporting that at 372 days, CM Punk has now surpassed “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s 1988-1989 WWF title reign, which ended at WrestleMania 5 at 371 days. Punk tweeted this morning:
CM Punk now has the 6th longest WWE title reign in history. Punk’s next milestone will be on December 4th, when he’ll tie John Cena’s 380-day reign. Once he surpasses that, he’ll have the longest WWE title reign since Hulk Hogan’s 4-year reign in the 1980’s.
Solomonster rants on Black Friday, praises Austin Aries and a fun edition of Impact, talks about the debuts of Ambrose/Rollins/Reigns and why they are the future, other NXT names possibly being promoted, a disturbing trend in WWE and the reason why Raw often feels like Groundhog Day, potential choices for Royal Rumble winner, the WrestleMania “bus” controversy, Vince McMahon’s old Playboy interview, and who do you think is the better role model – Rock or Cena? Someone get Heyman his balloons!
– Shawn Michaels was asked by a fan on Twitter if he was annoyed that Ric Flair wrestled again after their match at WrestleMania 24, which was billed as Ric Flair’s retirement match. Michaels replied, “Not even slightly” and said that Flair asked for his permission to wrestle again.
– Forbes.com has released its Social Business Power Rankings, with WWE coming in at #14 (tied with Kraft Foods).
– WWE released the following video of Kaitlyn interviewing the stars of WWE Studios’ The Day, which is being relesaed this week on DVD and Blu-ray:
“The Day” is WWE Studios’ cult hit about nightmarish 24-hour look into a band of survivors fighting to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The cast, crew and WWE Superstars met with fans at a special screening and Kaitlyn snagged exclusive interviews with the film’s stars. “The Day” comes to DVD and Blu-ray on November 27!
