– Thursday’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling drew a 0.96 cable rating, down from 1.07 the week before.
Thursday’s show averaged 1.22 million viewers for the 2-hour broadcast, down 200,000 viewers from the week before (1.42 million viewers).
Impact ranked #46 on cable and #35 among the coveted males 18-34 demographic.
– Here’s this week’s Impact Rewind show:
Former WWE, WCW and ECW star Raven spoke with Inside The Ropes Radio this past Thursday night about the following topics:
Origins of The Raven Character: “I was talking to DDP one day, I was saying I was having trouble getting booked anywhere. Page goes “it’s because you’re a chicken shit heel” He said “you should be more of a bad ass” I didn’t wanna be a bad ass because everyone wants to be a tough guy. Page had mentioned the Point break movie and said I looked like one of the red hot chilli pepper guys. He said I should do something alternative, so I drew on all the emotional baggage from my childhood and I created the Raven character. It annoys me when Page says he created it, which is ridiculous because I had to create the character, the promos, the concept. I came up with the idea that Dreamer and I went to summer camp and Beulah was the fat chick.”
His Johnny Polo Gimmick: “I’d been in the business like 4 years. They made me an Associate Producer of raw. They were grooming me to be on the booking committee. I used to write the second rate shows like All American. He also made me a manager because he thought I was too small, at the time the guys were bigger, all the smaller guys were in the tag team. I didn’t like the Johnny Polo moniker. If anything the way I talk didn’t fit me. I didn’t feel I was the character. I wanted to wrestle. Shane McMahon should’ve been Johnny Polo, with the silver spoon in his mouth.”
Returning To WWE in 2000: “I get hired by JR. He says he can’t give me a big downside because I’d just got clean. Unfortunately, Vince McMahon hated me. Michael Hayes told me Vince had said “Who the fuck hired Johnny Polo?” I still had heat for walking away. Who would dare walk away from the 4th floor office?! Then I was in the hardcore thing and got it over.”
Wworking with CM Punk In TNA: “He had a very inflated sense of self importance at the time. He thought he was so much better than he was. Not that he was bad, he just wasn’t as good as he thought he was. I don’t watch wrestling anymore, because it’s too disappointing but I was doing a personal appearance where they show PPVs and you’re watching the show. Wow, watching him, he became phenomenal. The two pay per views I seen, he was the best thing on them. I have nothing but respect for him. It was just back then, he had an inflated sense of self importance.”
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Former WCW Heavyweight Champion, WWE Legend and current NWA Ring Warriors star Vader joined Kayfabe Wrestling Radio Tuesday Night. In a nearly 15 minute interview, he discussed his recent WWE return for the lead-up to RAW 1000, where he learned to wrestle and how he got into New Japan Pro Wrestling, using the moonsault and the logistics of using such a move, his upcoming match with NWA Ring Warriors, the classic series with Cactus Jack, his historic match with Ron Simmons, his interactions with both of his famous managers: Jim Cornette and Harley Race, the difference between Japan and American wrestling audiences and so much more.
How he came to be in New Japan Pro Wrestling: “I was in need of things for a short time, so I went over to Europe with the CWA and Otto Wanz and I would actually go over and stay 4-5 months of the year; go over in the spring and coming back in November or December after the Bremen tour and there was 4 or 5 different cities we’d run that cumulated the European tour. I started over there in 1986-7 after a short stay in AWA; I was young, the beer was cold and the houses were full. It was just a great time; Otto ran a class act and there was some talent there, there really was a lot of good wrestlers there and really that’s where I learned to wrestle. I held the World Title over there three times for Otto. So, that was a good start, and from that point, actually, Masao Hattori, he was a referee and associate for (Antonio) Inoki and Inoki had sent him over. I had met Masa Saito in CWA, and he had had a little run in with the law and actually his first match back on television was with Greg Gagne, “Big” Scott Hall and myself against Masa Saito, Larry Zbyszko, and a third party, I can’t remember his name. There’s where I was introduced to Masa and I’m don’t know if he was really in great ring shape, but I guess he was impressed because it was from that match that my career started over in Japan.”
His use of the moonsault and the first time he performed the move life: “I think, and I’m making this claim on your show so, it was against Davey Boy Smith in the WCW pay-per-view, and I threw the first 400 pound moonsault ever, on a live pay per view. I have never done one in the ring; I had a trampoline at home that I had dug in for my son, ground level, and I was practicing there. I could do a flip and land on my feet on the trampoline and I got pretty good where I could do about three or four in a row. So, I got 2 Cold Scorpio and went out before the matches; of course, Scorpio could go out and do just about anything off the ropes, a very talented wrestler and good friend of mine, and we went out there and threw a couple and he said ‘If I can do it, you can do it’, so I did one before the show and it worked out well. So, I told Davey Boy, and if you knew Davey Boy you knew that was no way he was going to happen, so basically I had to work on him for an hours saying ‘I can do it, I can do it’ and he actually made me go back out to the ring with Scorpio and said ‘Let me see if you can do it’ so I had to throw a second one.”
His classic series with Cactus Jack and if they were given more leniency to be more stiff and hard hitting: “You know what, first of all, Cactus Jack; I call him Jack (Mick Foley), he’s a big strong guy and the reality of it and I’d say this to his face; he’s a good friend of mine, a great friend of mine, but he’s not the most athletic guy in the world and not the strongest guy in the world. He doesn’t spend much time in the gym and is not the big, muscled up guy, but, literally, he’s a genius in the ring. I mean some of the stuff he came up with, in that period and year after year throughout WCW and WWE, what he’s come up with; I mean, any guy that can make a living putting a sock on his hand, in my mind is pretty good and to get over with it like he did with it. He’s definitely a Hall of Famer, and I’m sure he’ll get his due soon. But, we did have some great matches, and it was a different era and we did what we wanted to do. I don’t ever remember going into a discussion, saying ‘This is what we want to do’, we just pretty much did what we wanted to, within reason, of course.”
About his return to WWE for the Raw 1000 lead up and the reaction he got: “You know what, as far as I’m concerned, WWE is a class act. I appreciated the opportunity; I had a lot of fun, saw a lot of old friends and caught up. (They were) just a class act from A-to-Z, so I was grateful… I was surprised; I wouldn’t go so far as to say overwhelming. I was surprised, it was a good reaction; a great crowd. (Heath) was a good worker, a good wrestler. I got the call a few days before from the office; I was actually in Florida on business so I went up there and it turned out very well.”
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart spoke to the Montreal Gazette about appearing on Monday’s RAW Montreal, the first time in 15 years since the Montreal Screwjob that he’s returning to the scene of the crime.
“Over the years … in the last couple of years anyways, since we sort of got back on good terms again, I always thought: ‘I wonder what will happen when they’re in Montreal…they’ll have to think that maybe it would be a good idea to bring me into that,'” Hart told the newspaper in a Friday interview. “I didn’t expect it in some ways and wondered if it would ever happen, and here it is.”
Hart added, “It’s truly a special night that I’ve been waiting for since the Screwjob, and it would be great to put a better cap on things.”
WWE has not yet announced what Bret Hart will be doing at RAW, but you can bet it will be another “RAW Moment” for the ages.
Former WWE superstar Batista appeared on Providence, Rhode Island’s RPWRI Channel 12 morning show on Friday to hype his upcoming MMA debut on October 6th.
Batista talked about the differences between WWE and MMA, MMA training being the toughest thing he’s ever done in his professional career and not caring about wins and losses – but just wanting to fight.
Here’s the video interview:
Pay-per-view provider iNDEMAND has released the official promotional poster and synopsis for WWE’s upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
The synopsis reads:
“Hell in a Cell. It is the Devil’s Domain, a hellish prison without mercy, compassion, or escape. It is WWE’s most unforgiving structure, and one hell of an event. Don’t miss CM Punk, John Cena, Sheamus, and your favorite WWE Superstars at WWE Hell in a Cell.”
The pay-per-view poster, which circulated online several weeks ago, features WWE Champion CM Punk depicted as the devil, playing up the “hell” in a cell theme:
– Several WWE superstars have been using the hashtag #RollinsvsRhodes to give their predictions for the upcoming match between NXT Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes. The match takes place at the upcoming NXT live event on September 14th from Ft. Pierce, Florida. Here are some highlights of what the following superstars have said:
Daniel Bryan: “I love good wrestling… which means I can’t wait to see my old rival @WWERollins square off against @CodyRhodesWWE on NXT #RollinsVSRhodes”
Ted DiBiase: “Heard about #RollinsVSRhodes coming up. Should be a great match up, however, my bets are on Rhodes.”
NXT Star Big E. Langston: “#RollinsVsRhodes 9/14. Should be held in the yard at Ft. Leavenworth w/ each combatant in prison garb a la “Life,” but Ft. Pierce will do.”
Tyson Kidd: “Looks like poor @CodyRhodesWWE can’t handle others like @WWERollins making a buzz. Maybe Blackout time?? #rhodesvsrollins”
– To commemorate 10 years since WWE re-introduced the World Heavyweight championship, the WWE website has ranked the Top 15 WWE World Heavyweight Champions of All Time.
15. Goldberg
14. Daniel Bryan
13. Randy Orton
12. Kane
11. CM Punk
10. Chris Jericho
9. John Cena
8. Mark Henry
7. Rey Mysterio
6. Sheamus
5. Booker T
4. The Undertaker
3. Edge
2. Batista
1. Triple H
– Vince McMahon is said to be a big fan of the Prime Time Players, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil. McMahon loves the team’s “swagger” and their celebratory dance.
Despite the recent setback they suffered when their manager Abraham Washington was released, the duo is still in line for a tag title run and is rumored to be feuding with Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara later this year.
– WWEShop.com has released new Authentic t-shirts for Santino Marella and Ryback, as well as “basic” shirts for John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus and Zack Ryder.
– Here is the latest episode of WWE’s Outside The Ring Youtube series, featuring Divas Champion Layla and Brodus Clay:
(Partial source: PWInsider)
– Following a poor reception to the WWE Network from both cable distributors and consumers alike, WWE’s plans for the fledgling channel are being revamped, FightNetwork.com’s Live Audio Wrestling reports Friday. The project has undergone some major changes behind-the-scenes with the entire concept being revamped, a WWE source told the website.
Cable and satellite-television providers have expressed little to no interest in carrying the wrestling-centric channel due to the belief it’s not viable. And while WWE has considered making the network a pay-subscription channel, the internal belief is that it would be extremely difficult to make the venture profitable in today’s climate.
Despite these dilemmas, WWE plans to eventually get the project off the ground in some form or fashion. Details are scarce but the company is expected to make an announcement in the future regarding some sort of partnership.
– Their are numerous accounts on Facebook purporting themselves as Kaitlyn. The popular WWE Diva confirmed Friday via Twitter that she does not have an account on the social networking website: “Guys I don’t have a Facebook or an instagram account OR a Lisa frank dream diary! (it’s NOT a diary… It’s a journal).”
– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch announced on Facebook that she will appear at Saturday’s EVOLVE 17 iPPV event in Voorhees, New Jersey. Sytch, who recently completed a rehabilitation program sponsored by WWE, is also scheduled for an autograph session at the event. (Event Details)
– TNA Wrestling star Kurt Angle will serve as a member of the broadcast team for the debut event of mixed martial arts organization World Series of Fighting airing Nov. 3 on NBC Sports Network, MMAJunkie.com reported Friday.
The legendary grappler will serve as an analyst alongside veteran combat-sports broadcaster Michael Schiavello and mixed martial arts legend Bas Rutten. The event, which takes place at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will feature former WWE and TNA Wrestling star Bobby Lashley in action.
Angle wanted to announced for NBC for the wrestling competition in the 2012 Olympics but wasn’t chosen.
– Former TNA Knockout Lacey Von Erich gave birth to a boy last week following twenty hours of labor. She tweeted, “My beautiful baby boy was born 8/30/12 at 5:32pm! 20 hours of labor! Ouch! Home, happy, and healthy now! ;) pic.twitter.com/30YOrPBG.”
– This week’s featured match on TNA Xplosion on Challenge pits Christopher Daniels against Garett Bischoff.
– Jim Ross suggested Friday on Twitter that he will be celebrated by WWE when Raw emanates from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Monday, October 1 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
“Monday October 1 @WWE Raw in #okc is going to be special for yours truly,” Ross wrote. “More details to come but I’d be great to have a full house.”
– Former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky, billed as Gene Snisky, headlines Resistance Pro Wrestling next Friday at Excalibur, 632 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654. He and other Resistance Pro stars will participate in a meet and greet before the show. (Event Information)
– Check into GetGlue.com tonight during SmackDown on Syfy to receive an Antonio Cesaro and Aksana Night of Champions sticker.
– The Biography Channel will be airing their Biography piece on The Rock on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday at 4:00 a.m.
– The Wrestling Observer stated this week that there is good chance that Chris Sabin could be leaving TNA Wrestling in the near future, following Alex Shelley, Devon, Matt Morgan, Ric Flair and Velvet Sky. However, no additional details on his contractual status were given.
Reports first surfaced in June that Sabin could be leaving the promotion this year when his contract expired. His girlfriend, Velvet Sky, however, denied the claims. “People, Chris Sabin is NOT, I repeat, NOT leaving TNA! I’M getting lots of those questions. Please stop believing everything u read,” she tweeted then.
The wrestling standout is currently sidelined after undergoing surgery on his ACL in June.
– Christopher Silvio, a 5’8″, 186-pound wrestler from Ohio Valley Wrestling, faced Kid Kash in a dark match following last night’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast.
– TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries and AJ Styles appear at Direct Auto Insurance 125 John W. Morrow Jr Pkwy. Gainesville, Georgia on Saturday from noon to 2:00 p.m. Call 770-534-4766 for more information.
Speaking to Digital Spy, The Miz takes credit for Daniel Bryan’s success after mentoring him two years ago on NXT.
“I taught Daniel Bryan everything he knows. So, he’s welcome. The reason he was World Heavyweight Champion was because of me,” he said. “The first thing I told Daniel Bryan when he came here… I said ‘Do you have a catchphrase?’ He came up with some lame catchphrase and so what happened? Guess what – Daniel Bryan went out and got himself a catchphrase. My advice basically gave him what he needs to be successful in the WWE.”
His dream match would be with an individual he tangled with last year in a tag team bout at Survivor Series last year.
“I would say The Rock. The reason I wanted to be a WWE Superstar was because of The Rock. I used to watch him in The Attitude Era. There was no-one more electrifying and no-one more must-see than The Rock. Seeing that I just always wanted to have a singles match with him,” he said.
“I had a tag match with him at a sold-out event at Madison Square Garden, which I was the main event in. I don’t mean to brag about that but I sold out Madison Square Garden in two minutes. Note to self.”
The Miz also reveals that his career highlight Raw involves The Rock.
“I’ve had so many cool moments on Monday Night Raw. I remember when The Rock first came back and every time his music played everyone would go ‘Aaaaah!’ Well since they did that every time and I was getting overlooked by everyone – and I was the WWE champion at the time – I decided to dress up as The Rock and come out with the music,” The Miz said. “I thought people would know it was me from the beginning, but they were just so amazed that The Rock was there. I think Cena was getting beaten up and all of a sudden you hear ‘If you smell…!’ and everyone goes ‘Aaaaah!’ and all of a sudden I walk out like I was The Rock. Then there was another ‘Aaaaah!’ and then I took off the sunglasses thinking people will get it now… No! An even bigger eruption happened.
The Miz also comments on whether he wants to follow The Rock’s trail in movies, whether there is any chance of the Diva Search being brought back, his favorite type of match, and why WWE continues to be successful, among other topics. The full interview is available here.
After months of negotiating and venting publicly about the uncertainty of his future in pro wrestling, Bully Ray has re-signed with TNA Wrestling, according to PWInsider.com.
The contract was reportedly signed this week and is a 2-year deal. Ray will remain on the active roster and will also continue as an agent behind the scenes, assisting with the production of TNA’s live events and television shows.
Devon, however, is leaving TNA and the feeling is that the company really didn’t do the right thing by him. Devon has gotten himself into great shape and worked hard to get younger talent over, including Garrett Bischoff. He was also one of the most well-liked and respected members of the roster, which makes his departure even more surprising.
Despite not being signed to the same wrestling promotion for the first time since 1996, Ray and Devon will continue to work together as the head trainer of their Team 3D Wrestling Academy in Florida.
Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley has signed with the new World Series Of Fighting mixed martial arts promotion and appeared at a press conference for the company on Thursday.
The organization will hold it’s first event this November, which will be broadcast on NBC Sports (formerly Versus) and will take place from from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lashley, currently with a 7-2 record, will fight on WSF’s debut show against an opponent TBA.
The following matches are advertised Sunday’s TNA No Surrender pay-per-view from Orlando, Florida:
– World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries challenges anyone from Aces & Eights
– Bound For Glory Series Semifinal: Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe
– Bound For Glory Series Semifinal: Bully Ray vs. James Storm
– The Bound For Glory Series Final: TBD vs. TBD
– Tag Team Championship: AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian
– Magnus vs. Rob Van Dam
– X Division Championship: Sonjay Dutt vs. Zema Ion
– Knockouts Championship: Tara vs. Miss Tessmacher
– James Storm finished in first place of the 2012 Bound for Glory Series “regular season.” After Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe on Thursday’s Impact, Storm finished with 73 points, while Joe (in second place) had 68 points.
– James Storm, Samoa Joe, Bully Ray, and Jeff Hardy were the Top 4 finalists in the 2012 Bound For Glory Series and will square off this Sunday at No Surrender in two semi-final matches:
* James Storm vs. Bully Ray
* Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy
The two winners advance to the finals and will wrestle later in the evening at No Surrender to determine the winner.
– A 1-hour “Countdown to Bound for Glory” special will air on Spike TV on Sunday, October 14 at 7PM (Eastern). The pre-show will feature backstage interviews and a bonus match.
Chris Jericho was interviewed by Brian Fritz of Between The Ropes this week and said there’s a 50/50 chance of him wrestling at WrestleMania 29 next year. Jericho, who is currently touring with Fozzy, says the metal band’s 2013 tour schedule will dictate whether he’s able to wrestle at the Met Life Stadium next April:
“Last week I lost the thing (retirement match) and then it’s like on a Wednesday and when are you coming back. What is the percentage? I don’t know. Depends what we have going on tour wise. I don’t think we have anything booked as of yet. I know we’re going to Australia at the beginning of March with Metallica.”
“There’s always a chance. Once again, it all depends on what’s going on with Fozzy and where we’ll be at with the band. There’s always a chance. I definitely don’t want to make this something where I’m on for another year again. If there’s something where I can pop in from time to time. I think that would be pretty cool. Let’s say as of right now there’s a 50/50 chance.”
* News On More Wrestlers Joining CM PUNK & PAUL HEYMAN’s Alliance
Vince McMahon’s dream to expand his sports-entertainment empire through a dedicated cable channel appears very much in doubt.
Faced with numerous outstanding hurdles, Wrestlezone.com reports Thursday that plans for the WWE Network have been indefinitely placed on hold. Although WWE’s television shows draw strong ratings, the organization has yet to strike a single deal with a cable or satellite-television provider to carry the channel one year after officially announcing its formation. And while WWE has considered making the network a pay-subscription channel, similar to HBO or Showtime, internal studies have shown less than 100,000 homes would be willing to pay a monthly fee.
WWE was expected to hire approximately 200 employees, including a general manager to run the channel. According to sources close to the head of its Human resources department and Vice President of programming, the company has issued a hiring freeze. It is said that any recent hires are in jeopardy of being terminated.
WWE initially timed the launch of the network for April 1, 2012 to coincide with its pay-per-view extravaganza, WrestleMania. The company even had a clock counting down to the April launch date on its site, which eventually disappeared. The launch was reportedly pushed to November 2012, then February 2013. Now, with the infrastructure set up as it is, the network will be virtually impossible to get off the ground within the next year.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what Jim Ross wrote about
Wrestlers Staying Retired: “Of all the wrestlers that I have know to actually say they were “retiring” I truly feel that @ShawnMichaels (HBK) and Edge will stay that way. Don’t think that @JCLayfield will return to the ring either but a visit to the announce desk could happen on occasion if the stars were aligned.”
The Miz On Commentary: “@MikeTheMiz did as well as one could do Monday night on RAW with likely little notice and preparation. With all the social media info and other data to get in the show, it’s a damn tough job.”
CM Punk’s New DVD: “Watched the @CMPunk DVD and loved it. One of the best DVD’s that I’ve seen in years. If fans don’t buy it because Punk is now positioned as a villain on TV then they are naive and missing the boat.”
Another Upcoming WWE Tryout Camp: “I’m making plans to travel to Birmingham, England this November for a sanctioned, invitation only, WWE try out camp.”
Our good friend Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com recently interviewed legendary Superstar Jake “The Snake” Roberts, where he discussed his first WWF run. During the interview, Roberts discussed signing with WWE, the “Snake” gimmick, hating snakes, working his first WrestleMania, his favorite opponents during that era, working with Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior being fired before their feud and much more.
First signing with the WWF Well, it was quite the experience. I had been working in Mid-South and not really being given a fair shake there. I was told I was number five on the babyface list, yet I was going on last every night. So, that kind of tells you something. Bill Watts hired a guy to be his administrator. It was Terry Taylor of all people, you know, the Red Rooster.
I remember going to talk to Terry and I said, ‘Look, I’m number five on the babyface list, yet I’m going on last every night. This is just not going to work.’ He said, ‘Well, what can I tell you?’ And I said, ‘Well, I can tell you something. Here’s two weeks notice and I’ll see you.’ So, that’s what I did. I was young, dumb and stupid, not thinking. I didn’t have a job set up. So, I went home that night saying, ‘I really screwed up. I just quit my job and I don’t have a place to go to get some work done.’
The next morning, I called Vince [McMahon] and I was told that he was going to be out of town for two weeks and that he would get back with me then. I thought, Oh, my god. Now, I’ve really screwed up. About 30 minutes later, the phone rang and it was Vince. He wanted me to fly up and meet with him, so I flew up and met with him. Basically, we sat down and he said, ‘We have an idea of you wearing lime green pants or purple pants — tights — and having knee high lace up boots and carrying a snake.’ I said, ‘Dude, that’s just not me. I wear karate pants and I wear slip on boots. Because the last thing I want to do when I do is know that I wasted 5 years of my life lacing up boots.’
I actually did do the math of that and if you spent 20 minutes a day lacing up your boots, it adds up over 15-20 years, man. So, it was going to be about four months of my life lacing up boots if I did that. So, that’s the reason I went to pull ones. You know, it’s funny how you think of stupid shit, but I’m good at that. So, he just kind of looked at me and said, ‘Well, that’s a shame because there’s somebody who’s going to be wearing purple and lime green with knee high snake skin boots and they’re going to make about a million a year.’
So, I looked at him and I said, ‘You know what? I would look very good in spandex. With purple and green and knee high boots. I think I’d look just wonderful.’ And that was how I went to work.
If he owned snakes before signing with the WWF: No. I hated the sons of bitches. I’m terrified of them… I came up with the idea. In Mid-South, I wanted to use a snake and Bill Watts was quick to tell me that this isn’t a damn circus. ‘We’re not going to have any circus clowns or circus geeks carrying snakes.’ Gee, he was so right. What a stupid idea…
They [WWF] had come back with it. They said, ‘Have you thought about this before?’ I said, ‘Well, Jake ‘The Snake’? Kind of fits.’ [Laughs.] They said, ‘Well, good. You’re going to carry a snake.’ I said, ‘No problem.’ Not thinking that I was terrified of them and hated the sons of bitches. Next thing you know, I’ve got a damn snake… They supplied them. There was a guy in Stamford, Connecticut named Albert that supplied all the snakes…
What a miserable damn job that was, carrying a 100 pound snake in a box and carrying my wrestling gear and clothes. Back then, we’d go on the road for a month to six weeks at a time. Carrying all that shit was just really, really brutal, man. It really tore my ass up. You wake up in a hotel room at 5 AM — there’s no bellmen at the Red Roof. You’ve got to do it yourself. Then you get your rental car and you’ve got to turn that back in. So, you’ve got to take all that shit back out and put it on the bus to the airport. Then, when you get there, you’ve got to carry it all the way over to the skycaps. If they are available because a lot of airports didn’t have skycaps. So, what does that mean? That means I’m carrying that stupid shit.
So, here I am carrying 150 pounds of gear, walking around with that stuff. That’s not healthy to do, really. It wore my ass out.
Being a big star despite not having a bodybuilder physique: I wasn’t all jacked up and juiced up. The one time I did go up, it was after my neck surgery. I went up to about 275 pounds. I had gotten up juiced and jacked because I was trying to get myself over the neck surgery. I went in after the neck surgery to see Vince and he goes, ‘That’s not what we want.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? This is not what you want?’ Because I had really put on a lot of beef on my upper body.’ He said, ‘You know, if we wanted Hogan to carry a snake, we’d have Hogan carry a snake. We don’t want you looking like that. You want you to be very sensuous, very sexual, smooth. Be different.
Well, ain’t that a bitch. So, he told me that he didn’t want to hear about me being in the gym. [Laughs.] So, I went home and sat by the pool for a month, snorted cocaine and drank. So, there you go. … Well, I shouldn’t have done what I did. That’s for damn sure.
His feud with Hulk Hogan being cut short: The angle was stopped because the people were chanting DDT and Vince did not want that. That’s when they really took me from being a heel to being a babyface and my job then became getting all the other heels ready to wrestle Hogan. So, I guess they thought, ‘If we can’t use him as a heel, we’ll just beat him as a babyface.’ But, it didn’t matter. If you’re good enough and you go out there and you do your job, people don’t remember if you won or lost. They really don’t. They just want to be entertained.
Ultimate Warrior being suspended right as their program started I was looking forward to making the son of a bitch miserable. You’ve got to learn how to do it. You know? You take a juice monkey, you lean on him. You make him toss you around the ring but every time he picks you up, you get a little bit heavier. Pretty soon, they’re blowing and going and they don’t have any air left and you can pretty much do anything you want to them. They’re like a little baby. You can roll them around the ring, pick your nose and put boogers on the back of their head. They don’t give a shit because they’re so blown up. You’ve just got to know how to do that and I know how to do that. I am a snake.
Roberts also discussed working with Randy Savage and how Elizabeth’s family cut the feud short, a gross story from a match he had with Andre the Giant, helping The Undertaker out early in his career and much more. You can check out the full interview at WrestlingINC.com by clicking here.
– Reports surfaced online this week stating that WWE officials pulled Christian from television since he’s expected to appear at next month’s TNA Hall of Fame ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona as part of an agreement the rival wrestling organizations reached to allow Ric Flair to appear at Wrestlemania XXVIII. According to PWInsider.com, the reports are incorrect.
Multiple WWE sources state that Christian requested time off from the road since there were no major storylines planned for him and to also rest his ankle. He is still having trouble with his ankle, which sidelined him late last year and at the start of the year.
It is not known when he will return to the ring although he was at one point scheduled for next week’s television events in Canada.
– Following her latest dramatic episode on Monday’s Raw, General Manager AJ Lee addressed her mental state before announcing that WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart will be returning to Raw in Montreal for the first time in 15 years, this Monday at 8/7 CT.
Katarina Waters, known as Winter in TNA Wrestling, has parted ways with the organization.
According to K-Waters.net, her official fansite, Waters parted ways with the organization after her contract was not renewed. The website stated Thursday, “Just wanted to make an update and let everyone know Kat’s contract with TNA is officially up! Which means she is free to do DVDs, bookings, iPPVs, and whatever else! If interested please send emails to [email protected].”
Waters was expected to leave the promotion after she was advertised last month to appear on iPPV for Pro Wrestling Syndicate’s subsidiary female promotion, B.L.O.W. Wrestling, on October 11—event taking place at the Rahway Recreation Center in Rahway, New Jersey. Though contracted TNA Wrestling talent are permitted to appear for independent wrestling promotions, they are prohibited from appearing on shows which are broadcast.
Following her release from WWE on April 22, 2010, Waters debuted in TNA Wrestling in October of that year as Winter. During her first year in the promotion she managed to win both of the promotion’s women’s championships, teaming with Angelina Love to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship in December 2010 and winning the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship in August 2011. However, her role was greatly deemphasized after Bruce Prichard took over the promotion’s creative reins in October 2011 as she was sparingly used from that point forward. Her last televised appearance occurred five months ago on the April 6, 2012 episode of Impact Wrestling.
Waters is the third former TNA Women’s Knockout Champion to leave the promotion this year, trailing Angelina Love and Velvet Sky.
– The official WWE website is advertising Randy Orton for this weekend’s SmackDown live event tour of Ontario after “The Viper” was briefly pulled from listings. He will also appear at a non-televised Raw and SmackDown event on Sept. 15. It will be his last live event appearance until November since production for his latest film role, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, begins Sept. 26 and will go through the month of October. He is, however, advertised to appear at all SmackDown tapings in the meantime.
– All Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Kevin Nash will appear for the promotion at their Sept. 23 event in Yokohama as he partners with Keiji Mutoh (a/k/a Great Muta) in a “Special Tag Match” against Seiya Sanada and Taiyo Kea. The match would mark as an nWo reunion, with Nash being a member of the original New World Order faction and Mutoh being a member of nWo Japan.
– In the biggest match of her career, WWE NXT season three winner Kaitlyn faces her friend, and Divas Champion, Layla, at Night of Champions on Sept. 16. Regarding the upcoming bout, Kaitlyn tweeted Thursday, “2 years of Workin hard behind the scenes and flyin under the radar… It’s MY time at #NOC. let’s make this #NightOfKaitlyn @WWEUniverse.”
