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WWE Seeking New Creative Director, Morrison & Benjamin

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– Puerto Rico’s World Wrestling Council promotion has announced that WWE Superstars Primo and Epico will wrestle former WWE superstars Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison at the June 30th Anniversario show from Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

– WWE is looking to hire a new Creative Director for the upcoming WWE Network. A job listing posted at EntertainmentCareers.net lists the following job description:

“The WWE is launching a new TV Channel. We are looking for a Creative Director to help define and create the new Network’s brand identity, positioning and programming promotion. This position is a newly created role reporting to the Vice President.”

“He/she works closely with the VP to develop concepts and ideas to be used for promoting the Network and various WWE programs.”

“The Creative Director will be manage a team and oversee the day-to-day On-Air creative team and provide creative guidance and assistance to the Managers, Producers, and Associate Producers.”

Don West Leaving TNA Wrestling

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Longtime TNA employee Don West has given notice that he’s leaving the company, according to PWInsider.

West had been with the company since it was founded in 2002 and served as a lead announcer along with Mike Tenay until he was replaced by Taz. He has also been the head of TNA’s merchandise department since 2009, a role West was so good at that TNA sources have said will be nearly impossible to find somebody to fill his shoes.

West, who first got national television exposure as the zany pitchman for the Shop At Home network, brought his unique brand of sales skills on the road with TNA, where he’d set up a merchandise table inside the ring and other unique offers.

If you are not familiar with West’s work on the Shop at Home network, it’s absolutely legendary. You will NOT be ABLE to BELIEVE the INSANE deals he offered – selling everything from signed Barry Bonds baseball bats to MUST HAVE Beanie Baby collections. Here’s a classic clip from Don West on Shop At Home:

Jericho Says He’s Done With WWE, Reaction To His Suspension

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Following Chris Jericho’s Brazilian flag incident last week, the feeling in the WWE locker room was that his co-workers were shocked and upset at how it played out – but Jericho was simply playing the role of a wrestling heel.

Ringside VIDEO Of Jericho’s Flag Incident In Brazil

As a public company breaking into a new international market, WWE was obligated to take action and suspend Jericho for a serious violation of a law in Brazil.

Jericho continues to imply on Twitter that he’s done with WWE. When asked by a fan whether he’ll be turning his suspension into a storyline when he returns, he replied,
“Haha! Why bother ?? Im done”

Whether or not Jericho does return to WWE television after his 30-day suspension expires at the end of June, his metal band Fozzy is going on tour overseas shortly after.

Punk & Piper Disagree With WWE’s “Masters Of The Mic” Rankings

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WWE’s recent “Top 25 Masters Of The Mic” list continues to generate a lot of discussion online.

In his latest blog, Jim Ross spoke about the list and summed up his thoughts with, “The best talkers, without fail, on the list were all from the generation of instinctual speakers who would select the appropriate bullet points and take it from there.”

View Here: WWE’s “Top 25 Masters Of The Mic” List

One man who agrees with Jim Ross about the best interviews being ‘unscripted’ is WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who came in at #2 (behind Steve Austin). Piper tweeted the following message about his spot on the list and why he deserves to be ranked higher than John Cena, The rock and even Steve Austin:

“I don’t know if this is true. Told the WWE put out a book of greatest mic men. Told I was not no.1. Lost the last piece of respect & cred. LOL..Before this petty who is best goes to far, cause I love them all. Imagine if the WWE would let Rock, Austin,Piper, Cena do a Pit! Magic. Simple. All there interviews were scripted! There lay the difference! “#2. The book is full of Sh*t. And everyone, including all the boys know it!”

WWE Champion CM Punk, a longtime Roddy Piper fan, says it’s a joke that Steve Austin was ranked above Piper:

“that list is a joke because Piper isn’t number one. Typical WWE revisionist history/political favoritism.”

Triple H Advertised For RAW Before SummerSlam

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– Mick Foley worked last night’s WWE SmackDown live event in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As he’s been doing at several recent live events, Foley served as a special enforcer, this time for the United States title match between Santino Marella and Jack Swagger. Santino got the win and Foley gave Swagger a taste of Mr. Socko.

– Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson are being advertised for the upcoming June 5th SmackDown taping from Columbia, South Carolina. Anderson will serve as the special enforcer for the Sheamus vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio cage match at the event.

– Speaking of Triple H, WWE is advertising that he’ll be appearing at the August 13th RAW Supershow, the final RAW before WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.

There continues to be talk of Triple H and Brock Lesnar’s match taking place at SummerSlam.

RAW Preview For Tonight, Birthdays, New Cena Merch

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– Tonight’s WWE RAW Supershow takes place from the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, LA. Tonight’s RAW will focus around John Cena’s main event feud with the Big Show, as well as CM Punk’s ongoing program with Daniel Bryan.

WWE will also address the fallout from Chris Jericho’s incident in Brazil last week. WWE started a new rivalry between Jericho and Randy Orton last week, but will need to come up with something new for Orton at No Way Out due to Jericho’s 30-day suspension.

Matches advertised locally for the lve crowd inclue John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis in a Handicap Match and WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan.

SEScoops.com will have the CHAT ROOM open tonight during RAW.

– This weekend featured several wrestling birthdays, including WWE Diva Natalya (30) and Eric Bischoff (57) on Sunday. Today’s birthdays include Headbanger Mosh (41) and WWE legend Kamala (62).

– WWE is selling new John Cena “Salute the Cenation” youth t-shirt.

 

Sound Off 220: WWE Bears Responsibility For Jericho’s Actions

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DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 220)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes

It’s a “Memorial Day Madness” edition of the Sound Off with the latest on Brock Lesnar appearing at last night’s UFC show and possibly returning to MMA, Chris Jericho’s suspension, why it’s too harsh and WWE should bear some responsibility for it, TNA’s lawsuit against WWE, an “Over The Limit” PPV with candidates for both best and worst match of the year, Raw makes no sense, Impact Wrestling impresses, Extreme Rules buyrate disappoints and a GRANDSLAM! What is a grandslam? You’ll have to listen to find out.

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

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

Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster

Friend The Solomonster on Facebook @ facebook.com/thesolomonster

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

TLC 2012 Coming To NYC, Latest “Are You Serious” Video

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– WWE will debut at the new Barclay Center arena in Brooklyn, New York (new home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets) on December 16th for this year’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

– In the latest WWE Are You Serious video, Road Dogg and Josh Mathews return with more “garbage juice” for the WWE Universe, including a clip of the electric guitar playing Superstar, Man Mountain Rock:

JR Blog: Masters Of The Mic List, Jericho-Brazil, Punk-Bryan

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

WWE’s “Top 25 Masters Of The Mic” List: “Obviously, any ‘list’ is partially designed to create controversy and this one certainly has. Steve Austin was ranked #1 and Captain Lou Albano was ranked #25 and in between there were many surprises. Many fans including @CMPunk felt that Roddy Piper should have been #1..Hot Rod was #2 … The best talkers, without fail, on the list were all from the generation of instinctual speakers who would select the approiate bullet points and take it from there.”

WWE’s “Top 25 Masters Of The Mic” List

Chris Jericho’s Brazil Incident: “Bit of advice for those traveling outside their own borders…know the country of which you are traveling’s laws and customs. Take no risks that might be perceived as disrespect and certainly do not break any local laws. When in Rome….”

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan “Any one that did not thoroughly enjoy Punk vs. Bryan last Sunday on PPV cannot be made happy as it relates to enjoying a wrestling match. Those who say that size primarily matters when evaluating main event talent are about a generation removed from reality.”

Brock Lesnar Attends UFC PPV, Might Fight Again For UFC

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Brock Lesnar was cageside at Saturday night’s UFC 146 pay-per-view and could be returning to the organization next year, according to UFC president Dana White.

At the UFC 146 post-show press conference, Dana White was asked whether there was anything to Lesnar being at the show. He responded, “maybe” and smiled. White said, “He was here, I think that says it all.”  He said Brock Lesnar contacted him and requested to meet with him at the UFC event face to face. When asked directly if Lesnar could be returning to UFC and responded, “Possibly, yeah.”

Lesnar is signed with WWE through Wrestlemania 29 in April 2013. While Lesnar’s multimillion dollar deal did come with unprecedented stipulations (limited appearances, the ability to wear his own sponsors, etc.), it’s unknown whether he would be able to fight for UFC before next April. If Lesnar’s WWE contract allows him to fight for the UFC,  White said he would be open to it and thinks the audience understands WWE and UFC are separate environments.

Check out this video of Dana White talking about Brock Lesnar’s possible return to the UFC:

Preview For Next Week’s Live Impact – New Time

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Next Thursday, TNA Impact Wrestling goes live every week in a new time slot – 8pm EST.

The main event for the historic broadcast will see TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode vs. Sting in a lumberjack match.

Devon will defend the Television Championship against the choice of the fans. Starting this Monday, the TNA website will reveal one challenger each day. Voting will open at noon eastern time on Thursday, May 31st and fans will decide who Devon defends the title against that night.

TNA will announce matches for Slammiversary and Brooke Hogan will debut as the new head of the Knockouts Division. Check out this promo hyping her arrival:

80-Minute Vince Russo Podcast Interview

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The Inside The Ropes podcast just interviewed former WWE, WCW & TNA writer – Vince Russo.

‘In this full 80 minute interview, Inside The Ropes hosts Robert and Kenny go head to head with the most controversial man in professional wrestling: Vince Russo. In addition to what you heard on the broadcast episode of ITR #19 – Vince discusses the worst of mid-90s WWF, his relationship with Bret Hart and the Montreal Screwjob, how Steve Austin may have been the most paranoid WWF champion of all time, and his further dealings as head writer for both WWE Raw, WCW Nitro and TNA Impact.’

You can listen to the interview at Inside The Ropes.

 

New Talent, PPV Renamed Overseas, Santino’s Video

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— The South Wales Evening Post has an article up stating that Welsh wrestler Stevie Starr has been offered a WWE development contract and will be moving to Florida, pending his medical physicals.

– WWE’s upcoming No Way Out pay-per-view will be called “No Escape” in Germany next month because Germany already ran a “No Way Out” pay-per-view earlier this year. February’s Elimination Chamber PPV was marketed as “No Way Out” in Germany due to restrictions on the “chamber” name due to national history (World War 2).

– The new episode of “Santino’s Foreign Exchange” features the one and only Santino heading backstage before a show as he “stalks … err, follows his fellow Superstars to see what they do in their spare time.”

Sin Cara’s Return, Ryder’s Latest Video, Backstage Fallout

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– WWE announced on Friday’s SmackDown that Sin Cara will be making his long awaited return to television on next week’s broadcast.

– The Miz replaced Chris Jericho in the main event of Friday night’s RAW live event from Guayaquil, Ecuador, losing to WWE Champion CM Punk. John Laurinaitis and David Otunga opened the show with an announcement that Miz was replacing Jericho due to Jericho’s suspension.

– Eve Torres, Damien Sandow and others are featured in the latest episode of WWE’s Backstage Fallout from SmackDown:

– Mr. Long Island Iced Z is back with the latest installment of hte Z! True Long Island Story:

No Way Out: World Title Match, Cena vs. Big Show Stipulation

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Alberto Del Rio became the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight championship on Friday’s SmackDown. He defeated Kane and Randy Orton in a three-way match to earn a title shot against Sheamus at next month’s No Way Out pay-per-view.

As of this weekend, only Sheamus vs. Del Rio and John Cena vs. Big Show are confirmed for the event.

Several More Rumored Matches For No Way Out

It’s worth noting that local advertising for No Way Out states that John Laurinaitis will be in the Big Show’s corner for his main event match against John Cena. The stipulation has yet to be announced on television, but could be announced this Monday night.

More On TNA’s Lawsuit Against WWE: WWE Lawyer Comments

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TNA’s lawsuit against WWE has been picked up by The Associated Press and includes several new details not included in our original report.

To recap, TNA is suing WWE after former TNA employee Brian Wittenstein left TNA, was hired by WWE and provided WWE with sensitive company information, including details of TNA talent contracts. WWE released Wittenstein and contacted TNA about their former employee leaking information to WWE, however TNA feels WWE waited too long before contacting them (approximately 3 weeks).

The AP article states that TNA and WWE employee Brian Wittenstein had signed a non-disclosure agreement when he left TNA and agreed he would not pass on confidential information.

WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt told the AP that WWE never asked Wittenstein to disclose any information about TNA and when he did, they fired him and then sent the information back to TNA. McDevitt told the AP:

“To us, it’s no good deed goes unpunished kind of thing. They sued us for doing the right thing.”

The AP tried to reach TNA’s lawyers and Wittenstein for comment but phone calls were not returned. The next hearing on the TNA vs. WWE lawsuit is set for June 11th.

Upon checking with reliable sources in TNA, we can report that basically, nobody’s willing to talk about it at this time.

* EDITORIAL: Will RAW Moving To 3 Hours Be The DOWNFALL Of WWE? (Great Read)

WWE Ranks The Top 25 “Masters Of the Mic” – Best Talkers

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WWE has ranked the Top 25 “Masters of the Mic” – a list of the best talkers in WWE history.

WWE Ranks The Top 50 WCW Superstars

Here is the list – Comment Below and tell us if you agree with the rankings.

25. Captain Lou Albano
24. Rick Rude
23. Santino Marella
22. Ted DiBiase Sr.
21. The Miz
20. Jesse Ventura
19. Triple H
18. Paul Heyman
17. Edge
16. Vince McMahon
15. Billy Graham
14. Mick Foley
13. Hulk Hogan
12. CM Punk
11. Randy Savage
10. JBL
9. Bobby Heenan
8. Dusty Rhodes
7. John Cena
6. Jake Roberts
5. Chris Jericho
4. Ric Flair
3. The Rock
2. Roddy Piper
1. Steve Austin

WWE Suspends Jericho 30 Days: Jericho, HBK & Storm Comment

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After initially suspending Chris Jericho “indefinitely” for the Brazilian flag incident that took place at Thursday night’s WWE live event, WWE has now announced that Jericho will be suspended for 30 days:

“WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24.”

Following the incident, Jericho did not immediately return home to the United States. He flew onto Ecuador with the WWE crews and just flew back into Miami this morning.

NEW Ringside Video Of Jericho’s Incident In Brazil

Upon returning home to the United States, he wrote:

“Just landed in Miami and its the longest walk to passport control ever! Like I’m talking I need a staff and a donkey…. Longest immigration line in the world. The last five days have been like a really bad video game-”Worst Business Trip Ever!” by Activision”

WWE had no idea Jericho was going to desecrate the Brazilian flag. It was merely Jericho improvising and being a heel without understanding what he was doing is a felony in Brazil. Jericho’s longtime friends Shawn Michaels and Lance Storm have commented on the incident:

Shawn Michaels: “I’ll stand behind @IAmJericho any day of the week & twice on Sunday…what’s the big ‘E’ stand for in WWE anyway!!”

Lance Storm: “Thoughts on @IAmJericho He didn’t do anything that hasn’t been done a million times in wrestling. Wrong place & times change.”

As a result of his suspension, Jericho has been pulled from all upcoming live events over the next 30 days. Daniel Bryan will replace Jericho in WWE title matches against CM Punk in the coming weeks. Jericho is still advertised for next month’s No Way Out PPV, but will not be competing due to his suspension.

The Rock Reveals When He’ll Return To WWE

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was asked by a fan on Twitter about when he will return to WWE television. The Rock responded with the following message:

“They asked I come back start of 2013. Have 3 films to shoot so trying to make it work. Miss that electricity though man.”

The Rock will be back in time to jumpstart the road to WrestleMania 29 and cross promote his G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D movie, in theaters March 29th.

VIDEO: The Rock Says He’ll Be At WrestleMania 29

Video: Ringside Footage Of Jericho’s Brazil Incident

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News On King Mo’s Debut, Sacrifice Buyrate, Nese’s Release

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– In anticipation of MMA fighter “King Mo” making his TNA debut this fall, TNA is having a custom throne built for his ring entrances. As previously reported, Mo has been seeking career advice from Sting and Hulk Hogan and will begin training at OVW this summer.

It’s expected King Mo will debut by November and his contract would see him working one Impact taping per month during the Bellator MMA fighting season.

– There is talk of using Douglas Williams as an agent for TNA live events or as a trainer at OVW

– According to early estimates, TNA’s recent Sacrifice PPV did around 8,000 to 9,000 buys. Sacrifice was the first PPV event that TNA posted on Youtube for purchase after it aired live, so they likely made some additional revenue from the online buys.

– To update the story of Anthony Nese being released from TNA, it was reportedly his decision to leave. Nese asked TNA for permission work a June 1st internet pay-per-view event for the PWS promotion in a tag team match against the legendary Great Muta. TNA turned down his request so he asked to be released so he could perform on the iPPV, which they granted.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Shaul Guerrero Debuts New Gimmick, AWA Star Sues WWE

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– Former AWA Tag Team Champion Doug Somers is suing WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon over WWE using AWA footage of him without consent. The lawsuit, which was filed in Georgia but has since been moved to federal court, claims Somers unwillingly appeared on four DVDs, WWE Classics on Demand, books and other materials.

WWE and the McMahons have filed motions to have the case dismissed. Their defense is that WWE purchased the rights to the AWA’s tape library and intellectual property back in 2003 (for a seven figure sum) that allows them to use the AWA footage however they want.

– FCW Divas Champion Raquel Diaz (real name Shaul Guerrero, daughter of Eddie and Vickie Guerrero) debuted a new gimmick at Thursday night’s FCW TV tapings. She now has blonde hair and crazy makeup that fans in attendance have compared to pop singer Lady Gaga.

There had been talk last year of doing a similar gimmick on the main roster with current WWE Divas champion Layla.

Check out these pictures of the beautiful Raquel Diaz:

[nggallery id=14]

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

Jim Ross Comments On Chris Jericho’s Incident In Brazil

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross appeared on Sports Talk 1400 radio in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday and commented on Chris Jericho’s “indefinite suspension” from WWE.

Video of Chris Jericho’s Incident In Brazil From Last Night

Here’s what Jim Ross said about Chris Jericho’s actions:

“He was playing the part of a wrestling villain in an entertainment based entity,” Ross said.

“It’s not like he was at a sporting event like soccer and disrespected the flag, but rules are rules and they have strict rules regarding the flag in their company… He’s playing a character, did an ad lib, and unfortunately he stepped over the line for the local culture, so he’s been suspended indefinitely and hopefully it will work out.”

Jericho was nearly arrested on Thursday night after denigrating the Brazilian flag during his match with CM Punk at WWE’s first-ever event from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Video: Paul Heyman Interviews Mike Tyson About Jon Jones DUI

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Brock Lesnar’s legal representative Paul Heyman landed WWE on the front page of ESPN and their hot-as-hot-can-be TRENDING section with a surprise “Breaking News” edition of The Heyman Hustle. (ESPN.com)

Heyman, who was not live at Raw this Monday, but was in Las Vegas, interviewed WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson on the recent DUI arrest and fall from grace of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones.

So Heyman, who is now back on WWE television in one of the company’s top storylines, got a scoop no other member of the MMA media did – interview Mike Tyson about Jon Jones.

Check out the video of Heyman’s exclusive interview with Mike Tyson:

(Fixed) Video: Chris Jericho’s Flag Incident In Brazil

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As previously reported, WWE has suspended Chris Jericho for an incident that took place at Thursday night’s live event from Sao Paolo, Brazil that almost saw Jericho thrown in jail. During the main event match between Jericho and WWE Champion CM Punk, Jericho took a Brazilian flag from ringside and kicked it. Because denigrating the Brazilian flag is illegal in the country, police came to the ring and ordered Jericho to apologize or be taken to jail.  Jericho apologized to the live crowd and the match continued.

Check out the following videos of the incident –

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