WWE superstar Jack Swagger, who is currently off television but is working live events, is currently sporting a new look. Swagger is being kept off television to reset his character and is expected to return later this year with a big push:
WrestleMania 29 Ticket Update: 50,000+ Tickets Sold, $10 Million Grossed
WrestleMania 29 tickets went on sale this week, with a limited pre-sale on Thursday and to the general public on Saturday morning.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE sold around 50,000 tickets through Saturday and have already grossed over $10 million.
As of Saturday, tickets were already sold out for the $2000, $800 and $600 sections. This year’s WrestleMania has the highest ticket prices by a long shot, with some seats in the second level (“200” section) of the stadium were selling for as much as $200 plus after fees.
WWE has added several sections of ‘limited view’ seats and added more “platinum” seats through Ticketmaster.
Additional seats will be released when the production setup is finalized in the coming months.
* Pictures of Developmental Diva SASHA BANKS (Formerly Mercedes KV)
Final Card For Tonight’s TNA Turning Point PPV
Here is the final card for tonight’s TNA Turning Point pay-per-view from Orlando, Florida:
Ladder Match For The TNA World Championship:
Austin Aries vs. (c) Jeff Hardy
#1 Contender’s Match:
Bobby Roode vs. James Storm vs. AJ Styles
Tag Team Championship Match:
Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez (c) vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian
No DQ Match For The Television Championshpip
Magnus vs. (c) Samoa Joe
Devon vs. Kurt Angle
X Division Championship:
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Joey Ryan
Tara & Jesse vs. ODB & Eric Young
DOC from Aces & Eights vs. Joseph Park
Big Show At NXT Next Week, Edge’s “Haven” Show Renewed
– The SyFy channel’s original series Haven, which features occasional appearances by WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland, has been renewed for a fourth season.
– WWE World Heavyweight champion Big Show will be appearing at the next WWE NXT television taping from Full Sail University on Thursday, November 15th at 6:30pm (EST). WWE sent out an announcement this weekend for the appearance:
“WWE World Heavyweight Champion Big Show will be at the next WWE/NXT event at Full Sail Live, along with the WWE Divas and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross calling all of the action. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., and the event starts at 6:30. WWE and Full Sail University will be videotaping this event. During the event, a selection of local area specialty food trucks will be on site, so come hungry. Food truck service begins at 5 p.m.”
JBL Talks About His WWE Return & Fandango (Video), Piper Denies Rumor, Hardy Wins Title
– WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper has responded to talk that Vince McMahon was unhappy with the recent Piper’s Pit segment that he hosted on WWE RAW several months back. He tweeted:
I read that Vince was angry at the last Piper's Pit. Not a word was said to me. For the record, I DIDN'T WRITE THAT CRAP! #bemadatwriters
— Rowdy Roddy Piper (@R_Roddy_Piper) November 9, 2012
– Former WWE superstar Matt Hardy captured the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight championship from Kevin Matthews at last night’s PWS live event from Rahway, NJ.
– WWE announcer JBL has posted the following YouTube video talking about his full-time return to the company and his thoughts on WWE’s latest gimmick character, Fandango:
The Rock Hypes WM 29 & Jumps Off Building, Austin’s Show Returns Tonight
– Season 2 of the CMT show “Redneck Island” starring WWE Hall of Fame “Stone Cold” Steve Austin premieres tonight at 9PM (EST). The episode will replay at midnight and at 2AM.
– With WrestleMania 29 tickets officially going on sale to the public this morning, WWE superstar The Rock tweeted the following message assuring fans that he will indeed be there:
Gave @WWE Universe my word I would "Electrify" Met Life Stadium @Wrestlemania like never before. Tickets on sale today..#TeamBringItStrong
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 10, 2012
– Speaking of The Rock, he’s currently in London filming scenes for the movie Fast Six and tweeted the following picture from the set. The Rock will be jumping off the roof of Wembley Stadium tonight for the movie and tweeted:
WEMBLEY STADIUM. Me & #Fast6 director Justin Lin. Tonight we make history. Yup.. #RockJumpsOffWembley pic.twitter.com/2iJo2XeL
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 9, 2012
CM Punk Puts Over Bryan & Cesaro, NXT Diva Gets A New Name, Ryback’s Birthday
– WWE Superstar Ryback (real name Ryan Reeves) is celebrating his 31st birthday today.
– WWE Champion CM Punk tweeted the following on Saturday about his longtime friends Antonio Cesaro and Daniel Bryan:
At the gym with @AntonioCesaro and @wwedanielbryan. Really proud of how far we've come. The secret to success? Hard work. No substitute.
— player/coach (@CMPunk) November 10, 2012
– WWE NXT Diva Mercedes KV is now known as Sasha Banks. Since arriving at developmental Banks has been training in the ring and doing some ring announcing at NXT live events.
* Pictures of Developmental Diva SASHA BANKS (Formerly Mercedes KV)
This Week’s Episode Of Santino’s “Foreign Exchange”, Mick Foley Praises Randy Orton, WWE Returning To Alaska
– This week’s episode of “Foreign Exchange” is now online. Here is the synopsis: “Santino gets some (static) feedback about this week’s very European edition of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange.” Find out why, and be warned: you may need some hankies when you watch the end of this week’s webisode on WWE on YouTube!”
– Mick Foley praised Randy Orton via Twitter Friday upon watching his Falls Count Anywhere showdown with Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown: “Love the intensity @RandyOrton brings to every match. I seem to remember Randy having an amazing match of this type with a legendary brawler.”
– WWE will hold a live event at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska on January 17, 2013 at 7PM. They will also run at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska on January 18th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale December 1.
Matt Hardy Weighs In On Why Some ECW Wrestlers Didn’t Mesh Well In WWE, Extreme Rising iPPV And More
Hosts Jack E. Jones and One Inch Biceps welcomed Matt Hardy of Extreme Rising to IYH Wrestling Radio. Matt was on the show to publicize the upcoming Extreme Rising show on Saturday, November 17 from the Golden Dome in Monaca, PA that will be on IPPV (http://www.WWNlive.com). Matt will be wrestling “The Franchise” Shane Douglas in the main event that evening.
Highlights of this interview included the following:
When he wrestled in June for Extreme Rising for the first time, was he unsure how the fans would react to him?
“No, I was pretty sure and I think I pretty much had it to a T. I’m pretty good at being on the pulse of how wrestling fans are going to be. I knew it was going to be a very mixed bag, because wherever I go there’s going to be diehard Matt Hardy/Hardy Boyz fans, which are younger kids or people that followed us through our WWE career; they’re going to be there and they’re going to be supportive regardless of whatever. But then the diehard ECW and extreme-niche fans, because I’m not an extreme original or an ECW original, I knew those people it was going to be an uphill battle. And you know, it’s one of those things in time only you earn their respect, especially when you walk into their promotion and on your debut match you’re in the main event against Jerry Lynn, who is one of the ECW icons. I knew it was going to be a mixed bag for sure. The people that were diehard extreme wrestling fans, they gave me a hard time, which was great. And my fans were there cheering, so it’s OK. As long as I’m invoking emotion from people, it’s fine. I’ll channel it in the appropriate way in the ring. As long as they’re entertained and I’m invoking emotion, I’m good.”
Were there people that didn’t want some of the ECW guys to succeed when they would come over to the WWF?
“I think so…The thing that made ECW so good – Paul Heyman was such a genius booker/promoter because he highlighted everyone’s strengths. I mean, he would take whatever the best qualities were about someone and he would keep pushing that, pushing that, and pushing that and get everything they could out of it, and that’s what gets characters over. That’s what gets characters or wrestlers to connect with the crowd emotionally. Public Enemy, they had their deal; they were hip-hop gangstas and they did the hand motion and they would put people through tables, and they ended up being a huge act. When they came to the WWE and were forced to wrestle a couple matches; I know there were some guys who didn’t like them. They ultimately had a match with the Acolytes which was very very ugly. Taz was another guy who was over huge in ECW. Once he came to WWE, you can see that never translated. Once again, they took away from playing to his strengths and what his character was built around. And the examples keep popping up over and over if you look at Paul Heyman’s ECW originally. Sandman, he came out and he would drink beer and he would cane people, and he was over like crazy and people bought tickets to see him. 911 was another example of a guy who was very limited as far as being a complete wrestler overall but he became a huge star there; he was really over…At WWE sometimes they expect people to be a more well-rounded performer 360 degrees and be able to do everything, and my thought is if it’s business and you’re trying to make money you want your acts to be as over as they possibly can be. And if that means like protecting them in some areas that they’re weak at, then why not do it because it’s your investment in the first place. But that’s not always how the WWE crew thinks.”
This interview is available for listening at https://www.iyhwrestling.com/viewnews.php?autoid=4836.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield Talks Full-Time WWE Return and Fandango, This Week’s “WWE Superstars”, Kelly Kelly
– John “Bradshaw” Layfield posted a new video on YouTube discussing his decision to make a full-time return to the WWE announce booth for SmackDown. The former WWE Champion takes some light-hearted jabs at fellow announcers, says he sees Wade Barrett as a future World Heavyweight Champion and after witnessing Fandango in dark matches, believes the character has potential to be “pure money.”
– The official WWE website has posted highlights of this week’s episode of WWE Superstars from the United Kingdom, which features Justin Gabriel vs. Tensai and Jimmy Uso vs. Jinder Mahal. The full episode is available on WWEOnHulu.com.
– Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
Mick Foley Weighs In On Whether Ryback Can Be The Face of WWE, His WrestleMania 29 Dream Match, HOF Rumors
Mick Foley appeared on Busted Open with Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman. The program airs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Sirius 92 and XM 208 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., visit www.facebook.com/bustedopen for more information. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Brad Armstrong: “I got to be honest, I just found out from you guys. I did not know that Brad Armstrong had passed away. (Mick was in Korea last week) He was one of the most respected guys. I remember Vader wrestling Brad in ’92 and him coming back and saying ‘What an honor it was to be to share the same ring with that guy.’ Brad was appreciated by people backstage, but I don’t think fans had an idea of how great he was. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Armstrong family. We were really tight with the Armstrongs, especially when I lived in Florida, Scotty, Brian, and Bullet would come by our gym and we really got to know the Armstrongs well. Scotty Armstrong is one of my favorite guys to see, now when I go back, man, I cant believe at 51 years old Brad is gone.”
Possibly entering the Hall of Fame next year: “There is so much to do from my perspective at Wrestlemania. There is a rumor that I may have something additional to do this year. I’m alluding to the Hall of Fame rumor that I started several months ago. (Laughs) If there is going to be a time and place, it seems like a good time and place. I don’t even know where Wrestlemania is next year, but wherever it is, it wouldn’t be as cool as being inducted say at the Garden or nearby, especially with my family there. Let’s face it, I would save a ton of money on airfare. (Laughs)”
What would be his dream match be at Wrestlemania 29: “I would love to see Rock and Punk. I really would. I don’t know if there are talking about any guest returns, but say Rock wins the championship and Punk as a contender I think would be really compelling. I love the way he has done everything not to be the cool heel. That he has managed to get people to hate him when he was among one of the most beloved, maybe Cena was the most popular, and maybe the most beloved, but outside that prime Cena age, people loved Punk. He has managed to be really effective with it and do some of his most captivating stuff. When you’re in the ring with him, and standing face to face you realize you’re dealing with greatness there.”
Is the WWE in a dangerous position relying on part time wrestlers?: “No, I think it’s great as long as you don’t over play that hand. Other than Rock as a special occasion, he’s an A-list actor that brings an incredible amount of outside interest to anything he does. Why not go all the way with the guy and see what happens? Why not give it a try, you never know unless you try. At first people thought this was a one dimensional Goldberg thing, he still gives the Goldberg chants. But I can’t remember the last time somebody has gotten over, Umaga to some extent, by just crushing people. He is such an impressive guy and he uses his strength functionally to put two or three people up on his shoulders, it’s really impressive.”
Can a guy like Ryback be the face of WWE?: “I don’t know, but you don’t know until you do it. And as far as being able to pick up the stick and that ability to talk adds to our characters. But who’s to say Ryback’s character should be a guy who talks a lot. You might want to keep it surrounded by mystery, like the way of Undertaker, sometimes the less he said the more effective he was. I went to give Ryback a little encouragement before his cell match and he just disappears into his character like great performers do. If you got a guy that can disappear into a character and it’s that impressive then I think, A, he might develop into a great talker, or B, he might not need to be one, or C, it might not make a difference.”
Are wrestling fans hard to please?: “I think it’s the nature of the business; people are going to complain about everything. Daniel Bryan for example, is a much bigger star and who could have seen that happen? He broke down the next barrier with humor. Most people love the team ‘Hell No’ even though that wasn’t my choice. I think you can’t keep wrestling fans happy all the time. I realized when I was stupid enough to go out there on the Internet and see what people were saying about me, a lot of people don’t like me either. You can’t please all the people all the time.”
His book: “Man, I would love to recruit him (Miz). I shed many figurative tears when Punk went bad, realizing the book would have a much less chance. My goal for the book, I wrote a blog called ‘I love this book,’ my goal is for it to do well enough that I can do another one. I love the idea of being able to do something positive and work hand in hand with WWE’s Be A Star Campaign. To the point where I met with Triple H over a year ago and we were talking about ways I would be able to work with the company, and the last thing I said when I was leaving the office is, I would really like to do a children’s book. I said it’s not about the money; it’s the perfect opportunity to work with Be A Star.I really want the book to do well enough so I can do another one.”
Team Ziggler: “I like the direction that the pay-per- view is headed. I don’t know if a Survivor Series classic matchup is enough of a draw on top as a pay-per-view. I think as a semi main event it’s really good and anything that gives Ziggler spotlight I think is a positive. And if I can recruit the Miz, which I would really love because it would be good for the book.”
His WrestleMania moment: “It’s got to be the one with Edge, I’ve told that story when I do my shows about realizing being surrounded by charred flesh and blood, even as the referee was counting to three, I was like, ‘I got my moment, I got my moment.’ When I made that phone call home, which I had to do under direct orders after every single pay-per-view, my wife answers the phone and said, ‘Is Edge okay?’ That was my magic WrestleMania moment and then being dramatically brought down to earth.”
Three New Matches Announced For TNA Turning Point – Final Pay-Per-View Card
TNA Wrestling announced three more matches for Sunday’s Turning Point pay-per-view event during Thursday’s Impact Wrestling broadcast. This includes Rob Van Dam defending the X Division Championship against Joey Ryan.
Also announced is Joseph Park facing Aces & Eights member Doc (formerly known as Luke Gallows) and ODB and Eric Young taking on Tara and Jesse.
The announced card for the event is as follows:
* LADDER MATCH: WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – Austin Aries vs. (c) Jeff Hardy
* #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH – Bobby Roode vs. James Storm vs. AJ Styles
* TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. (c) Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez
* NO DQ TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP – Magnus vs. (c) Samoa Joe
* Devon vs. Kurt Angle
* X DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP – Joey Ryan vs. Rob Van Dam
* Tara & Jesse vs. ODB & Eric Young
* DOC from Aces & 8s vs. Joseph Park
Drew McIntyre Remembers His Mother Following Passing
Drew McIntyre announced via his Twitter page that his mother Angela Anne Galloway died on Saturday at age 51. He posted the following message in remembrance.
“Angela Anne Galloway passed away on Sat 3rd of November 2012 with her family by her side, no words were needed everything spoken through eye contact.
We opened our lives and hearts to world to share Mum and the kind of person and inspiration she was as we are so proud of all she had fought and accomplished and if she could inspire just one person it was worth it… the response was simply overwhelming for our family.
The night before she passed hundreds and thousands of people were thinking and praying for her and that was unbelievable to know that so many people knew Angela Galloway.
I wish we could thank everyone individually as everyones words have touched us all. From my WWE family, my brothers and sisters and even those we don’t know, but we were all connected through the thoughts and prayers for her which were simply unreal.
We say goodbye tomorrow and its going to one big celebration with Mums request of no black, we re getting colourful.
She watched and inspired me to live my dream. At Wrestlemania in Atlanta my father Andrew Snr, brother John and Mum all came over for the family trip of a lifetime. I had them stay at the W hotel and made sure my brother and I took Mum and Dad to the W nightclub (if you know the W it tends to be where the over the top American socialites spend their time), the image will always stay with me. We then travelled across 5 states stopping for Raw and Smackdown tv tapings (they also met my boss Vince McMahon backstage at Smackdown who was so warm to them, with my Dad struggling to find words to say being a little bit taken aback, she didn’t say anything and just smiled at him as he was allowing me to live my dream) We then travelled over 1000 miles in a seven seater National lampoon style having adventures along the way and at our final stop in New Orleans on the final night we took a horse and carriage around the amazing city.
Tomorrow befitting of our Queen she takes her final journey in the exact same manner. There will be no moments silence either as we are celebrating a woman who put more energy and achieved more than anyone could in 5 lifetimes, when we say goodbye it will be a round of applause because she had did it, she had overcame and she had succeeded in life.
Thank you everyone
The Galloway family.
Angela Anne Galloway
1961-2012
She is the heart of our family
A true testament of the human spirit
An inspiration to everyone she ever came in contact with
She was a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, an aunt and she was our mother
Through memories and her legacy Angela Galloway will never be forgotten.”
Jim Ross Talks About Jerry Lawler’s Return & Calling Triple H vs. Taker At WM28
The Miami Herald has published the latest part of its recent interview with WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross. Here are some highlights of what Ross said about:
Jerry Lawler’s WWE Return: ““Jerry’s cardiologist and our doctors are not going to allow Jerry to come to work and start traveling again until they’re 100 percent sure he’s ready to roll,” Ross said, “because travel does take a lot out of you .. I speak to him, and when we don’t talk, we text about everyday or two,” Ross said. “He is doing great. He’s feeling great. He’s the luckiest man in the world, quite frankly. I don’t know where else he could have been, unless he was actually sitting in a doctor’s office, when that heart attack occurred, that he would be alive today.
Calling The Undertaker vs. Triple H WM28 Match: “That was a big honor for me — one of those bucket list type matches — especially when I hadn’t been that busy up to that point. I always enjoy going to WrestleMania, and that was a big added bonus for me.”
“Vince McMahon was the reason I called the Hell in a Cell match [at WrestleMania 28], and for that I’ll always be indebted because, to me, I don’t think we’ll ever see. Now I may be wrong, but it’s my personal opinion; I don’t think we’ll ever see Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels in a ring in their gear ever again together. So for me to be able to do a little bit of commentary on that match for that reason was extremely gratifying.”
Triple H Talks About Punk vs. Austin Dream Match, Undertaker’s Streak, Lesnar
WWE superstar/executive Triple H spoke to the New York Post this week to promote Wrestlemania 29 tickets going on sale this Saturday. Here are some highlights of what The Game said about:
WWE Making Changes To The AXXESS Fan Fest: “Wrestlemania isn’t just a one-night event, it’s a week-long event. All of the things that we’ll do in the New York-New Jersey area, we’ll have events on both sides of the Hudson. From Wrestlemania Axxess, which is our fan event that goes on all week, which is going to be revamped this year with a lot more meet-and-greets and autograph signings with our superstars, which is the biggest part of it. There’s also going to be a VIP experience that allows fans unprecedented access to backstage and the inner workings of what happens on a Monday Night Raw or Pay-Per-View event. That’s going to be a really unique experience. From that taking place at Izod Center to Hall of Fame being at Madison Square Garden, to Raw the next night being back at the Izod Center, to Wrestlemania itself, there is going to be stuff that happens all week long. We come in and take over the whole area.”
Getting Another Shot At Undertaker’s Streak: “[Laughs] It’s New York, it’s Wrestlemania, there’s going to be 70,000 people going crazy in MetLife stadium, it’s going to be tough for me not to want to be involved in that.”
The CM Punk vs. Steve Austin Dream Match: “One thing I have learned in the WWE is never say never. I’d be surprised if Austin ever threw the trunks on again. You get to a certain point in your life where your mind thinks you can do a lot of things that you maybe can’t. I’d be surprised but I’ve learned in this business to never say never so you never know. I guarantee you CM Punk will be involved in Wrestlemania somehow. That’s one of the interesting things, The Rock came out earlier this year and guaranteed that at some point in time he would be the WWE Champion and it was his mission. Well it’s not 1999 anymore, it’s not 2002, it’s a different year and there’s a different group of guys. CM Punk has had a lock on that thing for a while and it’s no cakewalk for The Rock. It’s not like he’s going to walk back in here and take over. It’s going to be interesting to see.”
It’s also worth noting that Triple H said, “Brock Lesnar has been discussing his return being at Wrestlemania” and he also mentioned Bruno Sammartino’s history at Madison Square Garden when talking about the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony taking place from the famous arena.
Does Stephanie McMahon Plan To Run For Federal Office?, Viewership For SuperSmackDown Live, Ted DiBiase
– WWE Executive Vice President of Creative Stephanie McMahon was a special guest speaker Wednesday at the The SportsBusiness Journal’s 2012 Covington & Burling Sports Media & Technology Conference in Times Square in New York City and was asked whether she has plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps and run for office. She simply replied “No.”
McMahon addressed the status of the WWE Network during the conference, noting, “Right now we’re looking at a pay subscription model, not unlike HBO.” She also singled out as Ryback as the WWE Superstar to “watch out for.”
– Tuesday’s SuperSmackDown LIVE broadcast on Syfy averaged 2.202 million viewers over the course of two hours, according to TVByTheNumbers.Zap2It.com. This is significantly down from WWE’s last advertised as live SmackDown broadcast in July, which drew approximately 3.2 million viewers. The figure is also down from last Friday’s taped broadcast, which drew 2.878 million viewers.
The final rating is expected to be released later today.
– Ted DiBiase, who turns 30-years-old today, tweeted, “Thanks everyone for the Birthday Wishes!! Hope to see everyone here in Europe with us at WrestleMania 29!! Tickets on sale Saturday!! Get’m.”
Injury Updates On Mark Henry, Evan Bourne & Christian, Rosa Mendes Returns To Primo & Epico
– WWE Diva Rosa Mendes left the WWE RAW crew this week to work on SmackDown alongside Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, however she was back with Primo and Epico for Wednesday’s RAW live event in Belfast, North Ireland.
– Here are some injury updates on the following WWE Superstars, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
* Mark Henry’s recovery from shoulder surgery is going well and it’s believed he’ll be back in action before the end of the year.
* Christian also had shoulder surgery several months ago and will be back in action either at the end of this month or in December.
* Hunico is scheduled to return by the end of January after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.
* Evan Bourne should healthy to return in early spring after undergoing surgeries on his arm and foot this year.
CM Punk Appearing On Popular TV Show, Maddox a “Triple H Guy” & More
– WWE Main Event has been averaging around 1.46 million viewers and a 0.9 rating since its premiere on Ion, which is better than TNA Impact Wrestling draws on Spike TV.
– WWE referee-turned-wrestler Brad Maddox is considered Triple H’s latest project. Maddox was not seen as having major potential while training as a wrestler at WWE developmental, but there’s a strong chance he’ll (somehow) win his match with Ryback on RAW and earn his contract.
– WWE Champion CM Punk has apparently made a deal to appear on a very popular television show. Punk appeared on Colt Cabana’s Art Of Wrestling podcast last week and said that he can’t reveal which show he’ll be appearing on for a few weeks and still has to clear it with WWE, but thinks WWE would have selected another superstar for the acting gig if it had gone through them originally.
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Michael Cole On JBL & Lawler’s Returns, WWE Planning Major UK Stadium Show
– With all the talk of Wade Barrett wanting WWE to bring a pay-per-view event back to the UK’s Wembley Stadium, we can confirm that WWE officials have been meeting with representatives from several major stadiums (75,000+) in the UK about holding a major show there.
WWE recently met with representatives from a stadium in London as well as Manchester’s Old Trafford soccer stadium. On Friday, WWE will meet with officials from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
– Michael Cole tweeted the following message about JBL returning to WWE full time as an announcer:
Congrats to @JCLayfield for his return! Look forward to the sparring. Surprised you could drag yourself off golf course!
— Michael Cole (@MichaelCole) November 8, 2012
He also wrote this about Jerry Lawler’s upcoming return to WWE on Monday night:
4 days and counting to the return of @JerryLawler and I can't wait! All is right in the world again. #LongLiveTheKing
— Michael Cole (@MichaelCole) November 8, 2012
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Former WWE Star Says The McMahons Needs To Quit Politics Following Latest Loss, WWE en Espanol, John Morrison
– Chris Mordetzky, who appeared as Chris Masters for WWE, feels the McMahon family needs to step away from competitive politics after former WWE CEO and President Linda McMahon spent upwards of $100 million on two failed U.S. Senate campaigns.
He tweeted Tuesday upon learning of McMahon’s loss to Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy for a Senate seat in Connecticut, “100million dollars later its time for the McMahons to quit politics.”
– WWE has posted the latest episode of WWE en Espanol, with Jerry Soto and Marcelo Rodríguez.
– Former WWE Superstar John Morrison is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
Kharma Returning To The Ring This Month, WWE UK Tour Figures
– Former WWE diva Kharma is returning to the ring for the first time since parting ways with the company. Wrestling as the Amazing Kong, she’ll be appearing at the NWA Florida Underground event on 11/17 from St. Petersburg, Florida. She’ll be teaming with Jazz against the team of Allisin Kay and Taylor Made.
– Here are some recent WWE attendance figures from the UK tour:
* RAW (10/31) from Strasbourg, France drew 4,000 fans for $250,000
* RAW (11/1) from Nantes, France drew 3,200 fans for $200,000
* SmackDown (11/1) from Lyon, France drew 3,800 fans for $270,000
* RAW (11/2) from Newcastle, England drew 8,000 fans for $440,000
* SmackDown (11/2) from Hamburg, Germany drew 6,500 fans for $460,000
* RAW (11/3) from Manchester, England drew 14,000 fans for $800,000
* SmackDown (11/3) from Leipzig, Germany drew 4,700 fans for $365,000
* RAW (11/4) from Nottingham, England drew 6,800 fans for $375,000
* SmackDown (11/4) from London at Wembley Arena drew 9,700 fans for $600,000
* RAW (11/5) from Birmingham, England drew a sellout of 10,000 fans
* RAW (11/6) from Glasgow, Scotland drew a sellout of 4,600 fans
* When DOLPH ZIGGLER Will Cash In MITB, WWE Pushing New Talent As Main Eventers Soon
(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
CM Punk Comments On The End Of WWE’s PG Era, WWE ’13 Sales, UK Tour Ticket Sales
– Ticket sales for WWE’s current tour of the UK have been disappointing. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that none of the shows are selling out and ticket prices are being slashed to help fill the arenas.
– Early in-store sales for WWE ’13 have been strong, especially with 20% of of retail stores closed last week due to Hurricane Sandy. As previously reported, pre-orders for the game were also very strong.
– In response to fans hoping to see the end of WWE’s PG era now that Linda McMahon lost her Senate campaign, WWE Champion CM Punk tweeted the following message:
Enough about the PG era and Linda. Nothing to do with one another. Stop living in the last. Eyes front, one foot in front of the other…
— player/coach (@CMPunk) November 8, 2012
Jim Ross Checks In From WWE’s UK Tryout Camp, Punk Serving As Grand Marshall Of Thanksgiving Parade
– As previously reported, WWE Champion CM Punk will be participating in Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We’ve now received word that Punk will servce as the parade’s Grand Marshall.
– WWE’s new Saturday Morning Slam show for children is averaging around 1.1 million viewers each week (around a 0.7 rating).
– Jim Ross tweeted the following update from the UK about this week’s WWE tryout camp:
Solid day @ #WWE tryouts. Better morning than afternoon. Perhaps conditioning & focus an issue. Competition wide open. Day 2 Thursday.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 7, 2012
On Thursday morning, he wrote:
Morning session @ UK tryouts going in good way. More enthusiasm & retension. Promos later & matches. #WWE
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 8, 2012
Excellent day @ #WWE UK tryout camp. Good group of young athletes. Some Indy wrestlers, strong man competitor, high level rugby players, etc
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 8, 2012
#WWE tryouts include Brits, Scotsmen, French, Germans, Polish, New Zealand talents. It's been a productive week. Appreciate the passion.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 8, 2012
Top Stars Advertised For WM29, Barrett Wants SummerSlam At Wembley Stadium
– WrestleMania 29 tickets went on pre-sale this morning. Tickets go on sale to the public this weekend.
– After the first WrestleMania 29 promotional came out and featured The Rock, Brock Lesnar and John Cena, additional promotional material that’s been released since then features the same 3 wrestlers.
View Here: First WrestleMania 29 PPV Poster
– In response to this weekend’s WrestleMania 29 ticket launch, SmackDown star Wade Barrett is telling his fans on Twitter that WWE should bring SummerSlam back to Wembley Stadium, which hosted hte event back in 1992:
“Wrestlemania 29 tickets go on sale this Saturday and I’ve no doubt that the Brits will again make up a disproportionately large % of sales. After showing that they are the best fans on the planet this week in Brum, I think it’s about time Summerslam made a return to Wembley. There is no place in the world i’d rather beat Sheamus than over the centre-circle of the greatest stadium in the world.”
Adding more fuel to the fire, Wade Barrett selected this week’s WWE Classics “Five-Star Match of the Week” and picked (you guessed it..) Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from SummerSlam 92. Barrett commented told WWE.com:
“[The Bulldog] was from just down the road from me, near Wigan. I’m from Preston, very close. He was my idol as a kid, so this was a great moment and great to have a pay-per-view like SummerSlam in the U.K. I hope we get that again one day.”