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Mysterio Talks About His Time Away & Revenge On Dio Rio

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WWE.com currently features an interview with Rey Mysterio, who returned to Monday’s RAW Supershow after months off television. Here are some highlights of what Mysterio said about:

Returning On RAW: I tell you, it was overwhelming, the amount of crowd reaction that I received tonight. It was insane. It’s almost been a year, since August, that I’ve been in the ring. I would’t change it for nothing in the world, I’ll tell you that. It is the best feeling in the world, to be able to be out there and perform for your crowd.”

Getting Revenge On Albero Del Rio: “Well, I definitely got a piece of what I wanted tonight. I didn’t eat the whole pie, I got a slice of it, But, there’s plenty of time and Rey comes back with vengeance. He’s going to take care of business that should have been taken a long time ago. Unfortunately, it hasn’t. But again: I am back and I am back to stay and I’m back to take care of business. Alberto Del Rio, he’s going to see me around.”

* WWE’s Plans For RANDY ORTON When He Returns, Major Heat On WWE Diva

RAW 1,000: Pre-Show Announced, WWE’s Official Preview

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WWE sent out the following press release on Wednesday for Monday’s 3-hour 1,000th RAW Celebration:

STAMFORD, Conn., July, 18, 2012 – WWE® (NYSE:WWE) today announced the details of Monday Night Raw’s historic 1,000th episode this Monday when the longest-running weekly television show in U.S. history moves to a three-hour format with a new start time of 8/7C on USA Network. Raw has aired more original episodes than some of the most popular television series of all time, including The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP – MAIN EVENT
A little more than one week after he won his first Money in the Bank® Ladder Match for a WWE Championship contract, WWE Superstar John Cena® will cash in live on Raw’s 1,000th episode against WWE Champion CM Punk® in the main event.

WWE LEGENDS
Raw’s 1,000th episode will showcase the most memorable moments from the past two decades and celebrate the unmatched staying power of Monday Night Raw starting at 8/7C with a reunion of WWE Superstars Triple H® and Shawn Michaels® of D-Generation X®, the anti-establishment group which revolutionized sports-entertainment. In addition, some of the most iconic WWE Superstars that made Raw an extraordinary success, including Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson, Bret Hart® and Mick Foley™, will make special appearances.

BROCK LESNAR® RESPONDS TO TRIPLE H®
The episode also marks the return of Brock Lesnar®, who will make his first live appearance in nearly three months and will respond directly to Triple H®’s challenge for a match at SummerSlam®.

DANIEL BRYAN® AND AJ®’S WEDDING
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan® may have lost to WWE Champion CM Punk at Money in the Bank with AJ™ as the special guest referee, but that didn’t deter him from expressing his love for the unpredictable WWE Diva. The two will celebrate their tumultuous love affair on Raw’s 1,000th episode with a wedding.

MOST INTERACTIVE SHOW ON TELEVISION
The 1,000th episode of Monday Night Raw will also look toward the future as the count towards another 1,000 episodes begins. The show ushers in a new era of interactive programming, where viewers will become part of the action by using social media platforms like Tout, Twitter, Shazam®, Instagram and Facebook to have a voice in the show and control outcomes live. The best fan touts, tweets, photos and comments will be featured during the telecasts, on WWE.com, at live events, and on social media reaching WWE’s more than 100 million social media followers.

MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRE-SHOW
On July 23 at 7:30/6:30C, WWE will host a special Monday Night Raw Pre-Show that will stream live on WWE.com and on WWE’s official YouTube channel, FanNation (YouTube.com/WWEFanNation). Fans can also relive the very first episode of Monday Night Raw at http://youtu.be/oozq-oOgdjI.

Since its debut, Monday Night Raw has been among cable’s most watched regularly scheduled programs. To see how WWE Superstars are preparing for its new permanent start time, 8/7C, watch USA’s new promo:

Former WWE Writer Says Triple H Is Wrong Opponent For Lesnar

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Former WWE creative writer Court Bauer recently spoke with Steven Muehlhausen about the upcoming [unconfirmed] Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam. Bauer, who worked with Triple H during his time with the company, thinks Triple H is the wrong opponent for the former UFC Heavyweight champion:

“He’s (Lesnar) a top a draw. It’s just how you apply a talent like that. Its kind of like, you look at movies. Everyone lays an egg, a rotten egg. But there’s still a lot of box office power behind them. You just gotta find the next one. The followup is critical for his success in WWE. I don’t feel Triple H is the right matchup for a lot of reasons both mechanically in the ring and in terms of long term investment.

If they (WWE) are really paying Brock Lesnar five million dollars for 20-25 dates and they brought in Paul Heyman for dollar X for X amount of dates. Do you believe that’s helping the company’s future by having Triple H beat him or lose to him when there’s so many, so many young talent that could use that TV exposure, could use that win if they are going to beat Brock Lesnar or even losing to Brock Lesnar look better? Triple H is not even a part-time wrestler at this point. So you really have to question the decision making going on there.”

John Cena Reaches Divorce Settlement With Ex-Wife Elizabeth

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John Cena and ex-wife Elizabeth Huberdeau have reached a settlement in their divorce proceedings, according to TMZ.com.

It was previously reported that Huberdeau felt “blindsided” when Cena unexpectedly filed for divorce in May. Huberdeau was convinced the WWE Superstar was unfaithful during their marriage and had vowed to prove it in court. Her attorney Raymond Rafool stated then they were receiving tips of Cena’s extramarital affairs which, if proven true, could have affected their prenuptial agreement.

But now, Rafool tells TMZ.com the former couple have managed to reach a private agreement: “All matters [in the divorce] have been settled and resolved amicably.”

The terms of the settlement are confidential.

Stephanie and J.R. At Next Week’s Raw Site, Rey’s Best Matches

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– Both Stephanie McMahon and Jim Ross will be in St. Louis, Missouri next Monday, the site of that day’s unprecedented 1000th Raw episode.

The WWE Hall of Famer appeared Wednesday on KREF Sports Talk 1400 The Ref and confirmed he would be on the show. He said he has no idea what his role will be.

McMahon, who participated in a Twitter chat Tuesday and hinted but did not confirm an appearance on Raw, will be in the area that day for a ‘be a STAR’ anti-bullying at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis’ Herbert Hoover location (2901 N. Grand Ave.). She will be joined World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, The Miz, Eve and American Idol finalist James Durbin. Click here for event details.

– WWE.com has posted a list counting down Rey Mysterio’s ten greatest matches since his 2002 debut in the sports entertainment promotion. His gripping bout against Chris Jericho at The Bash on June 28, 2009 tops the list. Other matches ranked as his greatest include his encounter with Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania 21, winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22, a Falls Count Anywhere affair with Chavo Guerreroa at No Mercy (2006) and facing Shawn Michaels on the Eddie Guerrero tribute episode of Raw on November 14, 2005.

– WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper is today’s spotlighted Superstar on WWE.com.

(source: PWInsider.com)

HOF Announcer at RAW 1000, WWE Sued, Steve Austin

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Jim Ross just appeared on The Ref 1400 AM in Norman, Oklahoma. On the show he said he would be attending this Monday’s Raw 1000 JR said that he will be in St. Louis He said that at this time he has no idea what his role will be.  He then tweeted the statement out.

The Dallas Morning News published an article about Jimmy Papa filing a federal lawsuit against WWE to collect royalties for at least 11 ring entrance tracks, including “Bad Street U.S.A.”, “Mr. Bang Bang”, “Master of the DDT”, and other. Full story here.

– WWE and THQ have put out a Stone Cold Steve Austin promo of the highly anticipated upcoming WWE ’13 Game

[Video] Hulk Hogan Tweets a Post-Surgery Video

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– Hulk Hogan posted a post-surgery video update from the hospital. He had another round of surgery due to lingering health issues. Hogan,  is shown in his hospital bed along with long-time friend and business partner Jimmy Hart.  He makes lighthearted comments about having another World Title run when he gets out of the hospital. TNA temporarily wrote Hogan him off TV with an attack by the Aces and Eights group on last week’s Impact, while he went to get the surgery.

Batista On Returning to WWE, CM Punk at Comic-Con, The Miz

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– Former World Heavyweight Champion Dave Bautista may have warmed up to the idea of returning to WWE despite it’s PG environment that he has publicly critizcised in the past.  During a Q&A session at Comic Con last week, Bautista said, “I’m not against going back. It’s just definitely not going to be this year.”

– Wednesday headline acts for the Wizard World Ohio Comic Con in September were announced,  including  Stan Lee, William Shatner, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Eliza Dushku and WWE champion C.M. Punk. Punk will appear on Saturday, September 29. The event is Sept. 28-30 at the Greater Coumbus Convention Center.

– WWE’s The Miz will return to the celebrity SiriusXM Celebrity Fantasy Football League. Miz, the defending league champion, is advertised for a kick-off event at Times Square in NYC on Thursday, July 19. Other stars announced for the event at the Hard Rock Cafe include NFL RB Maurice Jones-Drew, guitarist Zakk Wylde, actor George Wendt, former NFL QB Rich Gannon, Steve Phillips and comedians Artie Lange and Nick DiPaolo.

WWE Posts, Summerslam Music Video, Kelly Kelly Video.

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– Kelly Kelly who has been missing from the WWE for weeks, appears in a new WWE Youtube video about her obsession with Beanie Babies.

WWE released a video of WWE stars lip-synching the Summerslam theme song to “prepare for this year’s Summerslam.” The music video includes John Cena, WWE champion C.M. Punk, Daniel Bryan, World Heavyweight. champion Sheamus, U.S. champion Santino Marella,  Tag champion Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, Divas champion Layla, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Cameron & Naomi, Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks, and Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd.

Brock Lesnar on 4 Raws, Y2J’s Future, Bret Hart at Wrestling Show

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– Brock Lesnar is scheduled for four upcoming Raw’s episodes. Including the 1000th episode this Monday in St. Louis, Missouri, Brock is advertised to appear at the August 6 show in San Antonio, Texas. August 13th in Dallas, Texas. And the Post-Summerclam Raw on August 20th from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

– Bret Hart’s will make a special appearance on August 4th in Nashville, Tennessee for Crossfire Wrestling. Compeating on the card that night include; Goldust, Harry Smith, Brian Christoper, Jillian Hall, Shane Douglas, and others.  Hart will also participate in a wrestling  seminar will be from 10 AM – 2 PM all at the Tennessee Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Details are at http://www.crossfirellc.vze.com/

– Chris Jericho has no appearances scheduled for after SummerSlam.

WWE Wins Lawsuit, The Miz at Award Show, Striker on Twitter

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— WWE won their lawsuit against Italy’s Interactive S.P.A. over money owed for licensing WWE TV to Italian cable networks Sportitalia Channel and SI Live, along with the rights to an Italian language version of WWE.com. The suit was filed in February of 2011, WWE claimed they were owed $551,087.50 for the TV rights and $129,752.20 for the website rights, plus interest. Interactive didn’t respond, resulting in a ruling in WWE’s favor for $580,839.20.

— The Miz has announced he will attend the 2012 Social TV Awards with Maryse, to present 4 awards.   **Watch Triple H Pedigree The Miz During A Commercial Break on Raw**

– WWE’s twitter has confirmed that commentator Matt Striker is now on twitter as “Matt_Striker_” . He was asked whether the nicknames he uses for Superstars on commentary are ad-libbed and responded

Ultimate Warrior Accused of $28k Fraud

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TMZ.com is reporting the The Ultimate Warrior was named in a police report with the Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Department in New Mexico He is accused of scamming  a wrestling merchandise collector out of $28k of  merchandise, including ring-worn wrestling trunks.

Christopher Elias,  a sports memorabilia dealer named claims he struck a $28k deal with Warrior, in which the wrestling legend agreed to send Elias a bunch of classic merchandise from his personal collection. Elias, also claimed that The Warrior was supposed to sign twenty wrestling belts & ten Wrestlemania posters of his.

Check out the full article on TMZ.com

 

*SPOILERS* WWE – SmackDown Taping Results – 7/17

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The following report comes to us from Nick White of PWInsider

SUPERSTARS:

– Brodus Clay won a squash over indy guy.

– Cody Rhodes beat Tyson Kidd in a good match.

– The Usos beat Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman.

– Sin Cara beat Drew McIntyre.

– Main event: Santino Marella and Layla beat Aksana and Antonio Cesaro.

SMACKDOWN:

– The show opened with Rey Mysterio. They showed his return from Raw. Rey told his hometown crowd that he was back. Alberto Del Rio came out with Ricardo Rodriguez. Alberto said he was robbed against Sheamus. Dolph Ziggler came out saying he is the future champion. He would have won at Money In The Bank but apparently he thinks Alberto did something to stop that from happening. Rey asked them why don’t they just fight. Sheamus came out and joined Rey. We have a tag match for later.

– Titus O’Neill, Darren Young, Hunico and Camacho beat Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Epico and Primo. After the match, Big Show came out and destroyed them all. WWE really knows how to build the tag division back up.

– Damien Sandow beat Zack Ryder.

– Next was The Peep Show with AJ and Daniel Bryan. Christian show a clip of the two planning the wedding. AJ said she forgave Bryan for how he treated her in the past. Christian asked if it was true love. They both did the YES thing and the crowd joined in. Christian asked if they should get married and the crowd was split. He asked the crowd if they knew what they were doing and it was split again. He then asked if AJ knew what she was doing and she slapped him in the face. As AJ and Bryan went to leave Christian said not so fast. Your fiance will face an ex of yours, Kane.

– Kane beat Daniel Bryan when he got DQ’d after AJ interfered. AJ teasted that she was going to kiss Kane, but didn’t. She then kiss Bryan outside.

– Road Warrior Animal was tonight’s legend. He killed Heath Slater. That followed with Slater saying he is sick of fighting legends. This brought out HHH who hit the Pedigree. I think that was a dark angle.

– Sheamus and Mysterio beat Del Rio and Ziggler by DQ when Ricardo interfered at the end.

DARK MATCH:

– John Cena beat The Big Show and Cody Rhodes. John Laurinaitis was there and got laid out as well.

WWE Clashes With Conn. Newspaper Over “Eugene” Character

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WWE “set the record straight” via WWE.com Tuesday regarding its programming and storylines following a negative blog post by Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant concerning the mentally challenged character Eugene, who appeared for the organization from 2004 to 2007 and once in 2009. Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher stated in an editorial last week blistering Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign that her job creation method included making fun of retarded men, which led McEnroe to describe the former character in an editorial.

He wrote, “Eugene is a mentally retarded WWE character who is, unmistakably, played for laughs. In [the following video], we see him strolling a stadium corner, ogling a skin mag and sporting a huge “my name is Eugene” name tag. He walks into the women’s locker room and “hilarity” ensues. Entirely at his expense. In its latest “how dare you” letter to a Connecticut newspaper, the WWE argues that Eugene is an underdog who repeatedly triumphs. Maybe. That does not change the fact that his mental retardation is essentially a comic device.

“If a video like the one above-linked or the one below surfaced in connection with any other campaign, the candidate would have some serious ‘splainin’ to do. Somehow, because she is associated with so many hundreds of dehumanizing videos, Linda McMahon is inoculated against the shame of any one of them. The thing to remember is that, solely on the strength of a career of spewing out this boorish dross, she claims to deserve one of this nation’s 100 Senate seats.”

McEnroe also enclosed a video of Eugene exclaiming “I want to see her boobies!” to Diva Search contestant Carmella DeCesare on a 2004 episode of Raw.

WWE responded, “It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroe’s latest blog post, that he does not understand WWE’s programming. Like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, it is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions weekly. His assertion that the Eugene character was “essentially a comic device” is inaccurate and lacks total perspective.”

In their statement, WWE enclosed a video of the man behind Eugene, Nick Dinsmore, offering a “truthful portrayal” of the character. The sports entertainment organization adds, “We will continue to implore the media to make accurate descriptions of our characters and storylines versus taking sound bites, scenes and footage out of context that mischaracterizes WWE’s content.”

Dinsmore states in the video, “Hi, my name is Nick Dinsmore, and for five years I had the privilege of playing a character on WWE television, Eugene.

“The character Eugene was unique in the fact that he was a person with special needs. The WWE has and continues to showcase a wide variety of characters and a fictious WWE Universe. This WWE Universe comes to you each and every week and entertains millions and millions of fans.

“When I was playing the role of Eugene, I wanted to display a character that had not only special needs, but incredible qualities; honesty, strength, very playful, quite naïve at times. But my favorite quality was his heart and desire. He went after his dreams and achieved at any cost and didn’t let anything stand in his way.

“Once the fans started to see that he could live his dream, he was winning championships, he was meeting his idols, more and more people cheered for Eugene and wanted to see him succeed. No different than in the movie Forrest Gump when he started to do good for himself, everybody cheered him on, everybody wanted him to do better. Eugene’s no different and the people treated him the same way, they wanted to see him succeed. I’m proud that I got to portray a true hero.

“Eugene had a lot of forces, a lot of “bad guys” against him. Probably the meanest, nastiest, dirtiest, devious of them all was the sinister character Mr. McMahon. But even with all those forces against him, Eugene always came out on top—even pinned Mr. McMahon one time.

“I’m proud to have been a part of the WWE, an organization that has the commitment to individuals with special needs. WWE is a proud supporter of The Arc (the world’s largest community-based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Special Olympics.

“Nobody ever really came up to me and said, “Oh you’re doing a bad thing, oh, I can’t believe you did this.” If anything, I got a lot of positive affirmation. I met several people with special needs and without a doubt, they would always run to me and just want to hug me. That one instance for them to be able to meet what I hope would be their hero is a little bit indescribable and is an incredible feeling.

“Characters like that have to overcome adversities and face everyday challenges, and they always come out on top.

“It’s Hollywood, where the good guys always win!”

Batista Not Against Returning To WWE, Kelly Shows Her “Toyz”

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– What’s Trending caught up with former WWE champion Dave “Batista” Bautista last Thursday at the San Diego Comic-Con to chat about his upcoming film, The Man with the Iron Fists, and was asked about possibly returning to WWE.

“I’m not against going back,” Batista said. “It’s just definitely not going to be this year.” (Article link)

– A kid of the ’90s, Kelly Kelly showcases her vast Beanie Baby collection on this week’s webisode of Superstar Toyz.

– The official Twitter feed of WWE has confirmed that WWE Superstars color commentator Matt Striker is now on the website at Matt_Striker_. He was asked whether the nicknames he uses for Superstars on commentary are ad-libbed and responded “All of my insanity is on the fly.I know some dont care for my brand of commentary but opinions r like a**holes, ever1 has ’em.”

– WWE was at one point Tuesday the top trending topic on Yahoo.com.

Stephanie McMahon Suggests She Will Be At Next Monday’s Raw

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Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative, fielded questions Tuesday via twitter.com/WWEmoms in support of TheOnlineMom.com and suggested that she will be at next Monday’s unprecedented 1000th episode of Raw. The proud mother of three girls answered queries on parenting, WWE’s “be a STAR” anti-bullying initiative, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Vickie Guerrero, women’s wrestling and more.

Q: tell us about yourself?
A: I’m an executive at WWE and proud mother of 3 girls

Q: How old are your girls
A: This summer they will be 6, 4 and 2

Q: what do ur girls think of wrestling & r they interested in doing it ?
A: yes they love to watch their dad and their Pop!

Q: What is it like working with your dad?
A: Challenging and fun

Q: Will you be at #RAW10000 ?
A: tune in at 8pm on USA and find out!

Q: How hard was it to potty train your kids?
A: working on my 2 yr old now…lots of poopy pants to clean up!

Q: Wht is it like working with your husband?
A: truthfully I hardly see him at the office

Q: I heard about the Be A STAR initiative. What’s that all about?
A: be a STAR is WWE’s anti-bullying initiative and it is near and dear to my heart –

Q: How did your husband propose?
A: On one knee:)

Q: what do u think of women wrestling ?
A: love that our programming features strong, smart, athletic women

Q: I love the star program. SO great WWE is doing it
A: 1 out of 4 kids is bullied. As a mom, who has children in school, this is a serious issue

Q: What is your favorite thing about the wwe?
A: that we put smiles on people’s faces :)

Q: How did the WWE get involved in Make a Wish Foundation?
A: WWE has a 30 year relationship with @MakeAWish dating back to when I was a kid.So far we’ve granted over 3500 wishes and counting.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your kids?
A: cuddle:)

Q: What more do you hope to accomplish in the near future?
A: Give our fans the best creative experience possible

Q: love to hear more about your great work with the Military. have many family members who appreciate it
A: free tickets, visits to military bases and hospitals, annual special Tribute with the Troops-10yr I am also a proud member of the USO Metropolitan Board of Directors anniversary this year.

Q: is it hard to juggle work & look after your 3 girls? X
A: Constant struggle

Q: If in the future any of your three daughters want to date a WWE superstar, would they receive your blessing to do so????
A: they would have to go through Triple H first.

Q: @SMH4life I’d be willing to bet that Steph isn’t even doing the tweeting. She needs to do an actual chat like in 2002 on MSN
A: you’d lose that bet!

Q: do you ever worry that some stuff might be too edgy for younger kids?
A: WWE programming is PG

Q: Could you imagine picking a girl up for a date & have to talk to her dad, Triple H, first? LOL!
A: My dad had a talk with everyone of my dates first – Vince McMahon is pretty intimidating too!

Q: Do you think it sets a good example for kids watching at home to have Jerry Lawler constantly call Vickie Guerrero fat?
A: Vickie Guerrero is a strong character who stands up for herself

Q: Does the WWE participate in other great causes? Great to discuss with our mommy friends
A: Yes. WrestleMania Reading Challenge and other literacy programs, MDA, @MakeAWish and @beaSTARalliance

Q: who’s your role model
A: My parents

Q: Stephanie any advice on how to balance work, family and making a difference
A: Love your children as hard as you can, be good to people, work hard, play hard.

Thank you everyone for participating and making ?#WWEMoms? trend! See you next Monday night on ?#Raw1000?! ~Steph ?#wwemoms?

Bella Twins @ Comic-Con, Rumble Pre-Sale Password, WWE & Tout

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– Nicole and Briana Garcia known in the WWE as the Bella Twins issued the following press release:

Ciao, Bella! Nicole and Briana Garcia Take Chicago Comic Con! The dynamic duo, Brianna and Nicole Garcia, known best as former pro wrestlers “The Bella Twins,” make being smart, sassy, and sexy look easy. The former WWE Divas Champions, who were discovered at the International Body Doubles Twins Search in 2006, have surprised the world with their fun-loving personalities, immense physical abilities (and attributes) and hot-blooded charm. Check them out at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Friday through Sunday, August 10-12.

– WWE issued a press release that Tout, a social media app that they have invested in, climbed up toward the top of the charts after being featured on Raw. The app downloaded 30,000 in the hours after RAW and climbed to #6 from #37

WWE  listed itself as “an investor and strategic marketing partner” in Tout

Tout.com’s CEO Michael Downing:

“The partnership with WWE has proven that when you give enthusiastic fans the ability to easily share and interact with real-time video status updates, they will jump at the chance. WWE’s passionate fan base and tremendous reach across a variety of media assets create an extraordinary opportunity to engage fans and followers. We are uniquely positioned to provide this technology, and look forward to rolling it out across a diverse range of media and brand properties.”

– The 2013 Royal Rumble will take place Sunday, January 27th 2012 at The US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Now through  Thursday, July 19 at 10:00pm you can purchase pre-sale tickets with the password: WWELIVE

Raw Raitings, Mysterio’s Return Match, Triple H’s Raw Appearance

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– Last night’s 7/16 WWE Monday Night RAW drew a 3.44 (3.4) cable rating, with 4.88 million viewers. The first hour drew 4.72 million viewers, the second hour drew 5.03 million viewers. The show was #3 for the night on cable TV, behind TNT’s programing, and #1 in all adult demos, all adult male demos, and all teen viewers. It was the highest rating of the year among males 12 – 17 and increased in males 18 – 34 & 18 – 49.

– Local advertising is promoting  Rey Mysterio will be returning to the ring in a dark match at the SmackDown tapings tonight in San Diego. Mysterio will team with John Cena in  tag team main event against Big Show and John Laurinaitis.

Footage of Triple H giving The Miz a Pedigree during a raw commercial break aparently aired in international markets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xzh71KJGY0

WWE SmackDown Tapings, Rikishi Pays Tribute on RAW

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– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown tapings will take place from the Valley View Casino in San Diego, California. Confirmed for tonight’s show is Rey Mysterio’s return to SmackDown, Christian’s Peep Show with guests Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee plus World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus in action against an un-named opponent. Advertised locally is Rey Mysterio and John Cena vs. Big Show and John Laurinaitis. Triple H is also advertised to make an appearance.

– Rikishi acknowledged on Twitter that the Samoan Spike used on RAW last night was a tribute to the late Umaga and the Bonzai Drop was a tribute to the late Yokozuna. Rikishi returned to RAW last night and picked up a win over Heath Slater.

WWE Responds To Allegations Of Encouraging Steroid Use

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A Connecticut newspaper writer has once again drawn the ire of WWE for editorial remarks they feel are inaccurate and damaging to their corporate reputation.

In a May Darien Times editorial criticizing Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign, Joshua Fisher dismissed WWE’s product as “barely above pornography.” The article drew a strongly-worded response from WWE in defense of their product, which led Fisher to point out televised incidents that could be defined as pornography, such as Edge and Lita’s unprecedented Live Sex Celebration and Trish Stratus stripping her clothes off and barking like a dog for company chief Vince McMahon.

Fisher wrote another column last week criticizing Linda McMahon where he stated that it’s strange that she says she’s not a career politician “because she can bob and weave a question like some of the best politicians around.” He also dismissed Linda’s boastful proclamations of creating jobs.

He writes, “Mrs. McMahon loves to point out how she’s created jobs. But she does not like to answer questions about those jobs. While CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, she created jobs that included making fun of retarded men, demeaning women and possibly encouraging steroid use — this does not even touch on how it possibly has influenced the future bullies of American schools.”

Fisher’s remarks rattled WWE, who feel his ‘misstatements’ are damaging to their corporate reputation. WWE issued a letter to the Darien TimesTuesday in response to Fisher, which was also published on WWE.com. Darien Times also published the letter, with editor Brian Flinn noting the previous editorial WWE is referring to “is all based on fact.” In the letter, Fisher included links to various videos and articles of matters WWE asserts are inaccurate.

Dear Mr. Fisher:

It is regrettable that we find it necessary to once again point out that you have made inaccurate statements and mischaracterizations in the Darien Times regarding WWE, this time in your editorial on July 12. Although this was an opinion piece, you are still required to report accurately and not distort the truth. This is now at least the second instance in which you have made misstatements that damage WWE’s corporate reputation.

Your assertion that WWE has made “fun of retarded men” is inaccurate, takes our content completely out of context and fails to factually portray a storyline. WWE featured a character — an actor playing a role — named “Eugene,” who was a person with intellectual disabilities. He was often faced with difficult challenges, situations and rivals, including some of the most villainous and dastardly WWE characters. What you failed to convey is that Eugene, like most of WWE’s “good guys,” overcame the obstacles, prevailed and was a hero to our millions of fans.

Your statement that WWE was “demeaning women” is also inaccurate and again takes our content out of context and makes no mention of storylines. WWE has produced a variety of powerful and heroic female characters throughout the years that have come up against malicious villains, who are also actors playing a role. And yes, those “bad guys” do reprehensible things, but they eventually pay a price for their behavior. Our television audience would not be nearly 40 percent female if we were degrading women.

As it relates to the foregoing clarifications, it is important to note that WWE programming, like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions every week. Without Darth Vader there is no Luke Skywalker. We, too, create protagonists and antagonists and tell stories of good versus evil.

You also wrote that WWE has been “encouraging steroid use,” which is a blatant misstatement of fact. WWE prohibits steroid use and conducts a minimum of four random drug tests per year for all talent, and any performer that tests positive is suspended. WWE began testing for steroids in 2006, before many major sports leagues, and we currently have one of the most comprehensive talent wellness programs in all of sports and entertainment, managed by world renowned third party medical experts. Additionally, WWE has always encouraged its talent to live a healthy lifestyle, as they are the company’s greatest asset. For more information about WWE’s talent wellness program, please visit corporate.wwe.com.

In your editorial, you also state that WWE “influenced the future bullies of American schools.” The fact is that WWE promotes anti-bullying and has created a global initiative called be a STAR (ShowToleranceAndRespect) designed to teach children how to deal with conflict in the real world. We recognize the power and influence of our brand and spend a considerable amount of time and resources to make sure children understand the difference between what they see on television, where storylines and conflicts are resolved in the ring, versus how to deal with challenges in everyday life.

WWE expects you will print this letter in as public a manner as that in which you made the foregoing false statements. In the future, we request you contact us for factual information about our company before attempting to characterize our programming as you continue to do so erroneously.

Sincerely,

Brian Flinn

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Jim Ross Blogs About Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank PPV

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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 As always, you can check out Jim Ross’ delicious line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about Sunday’s Money in the Bank PPV:

Overall Show:” Thoroughly thought that I got my money’s worth Sunday night when purchasing the MITB PPV. I did not have high expectations of the event going into it but MITB exceeded my expectations. The primary bouts that needed to deliver did, by and large.”

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan: “Thought the @CMPunk vs. @WWEDanielBryan bout was excellent and the match of the night for my money. AJ fit well into the bout and did not adversely affect the outcome and allowed the bulk of the story, bell to bell, to be about the WWE Title, the WWE Champion, and the #1 contender.”

John Cena’s MITB Win: “@JohnCena winning the Raw MITB bout did not come as a shocker but I didn’t buy the PPV to be ‘surprised.’ Really some hard work by all in that final bout. Very impressed with every man’s effort.”

Ziggler’s MITB Win: “Big night for @HeelZiggler aka Dolph Ziggler winning the Smackdown MITB Ladder match and putting on an amazing athletic display.”

Punk Responds To Cena’s Title Challenge, Sunny Addresses Rehab

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– John Cena announced at the conclusion of Monday’s Raw SuperShow his intention to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on next week’s historic show and face CM Punk for the WWE Championship. The Straight Edge Superstar offered his thoughts on Cena’s challenge on Backstage Fallout.

“Well, I survived tonight. I’m confident I’ll survive next week, but that’s a big challenge and that’s all I ever wanted,” Punk says when asked of Cena’s challenge. “I’ve taken down every single person who’s stepped in front of me and my WWE Championship so far and that includes John Cena. I got no problem beating him again and I got no problem making history on the 1000th Raw and making sure that John Cena is the first person to unsuccessfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Either way, take my word for it, [the WWE Championship] is coming home with me.”

The Miz, A.W. and The Prime Time Players also offer their thoughts on Raw events.

– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch checked into a rehabilitation program sponsored by WWE yesterday after being admitted to an emergency room late Friday night for consuming nearly two gallons of vodka. The trailblazing WWE Diva addressed the matter via Facebook.

“Heartfelt thank yous go out to everyone for your support… Im doing something I need to do for me. I’ll be fine… I promise. xoxoxo,” she wrote Monday night.

Daffney Emotionally Talks TNA Lawsuit, Career-ending injuries

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In her first interview since filing a lawsuit against TNA last year, Daffney speaks exclusively to Diva Dirt about the extent of her injuries that caused her to file a lawsuit against the company, how she’s feeling now, her future in wrestling and much more.

In this near two hour emotional interview, Daffney opens up about her injuries and lawsuit, as well as discusses her memories of WCW, including whether she had heat on her for winning the Cruiserweight Title, whether she saw the end of WCW coming, what it was like in the infamous Power Plant and more. Daffney talks about her brief time under a WWE contract and her most recent stint in TNA, including being pigeonholed as the “hardcore” Knockout who takes crazy bumps.

Daffney also talks to us about her return to wrestling in an out-of-the-ring capacity with SHINE Wrestling which debuts on iPPV this Friday. The Scream Queen tells us the backstory behind SHINE, how she got involved, her role on the shows and more.

Listen to the full interview here.

Quotes

On being pigeonholed into doing hardcore spots: “It started off as Abyss asking me to take the tacks in the match and I agreed, then I think it snowballed from there. I almost wish I hadn’t been painted in such a light that I was just hardcore and that I couldn’t deliver a good match in the ring. I feel like there’s so much more to my ring work. I may not be the best technical wrestler in the world, but I felt like I had learned enough of my sport that I could deliver some good matches. I don’t think I was ever taken seriously after that. It was like, ‘She’s the one that’s going to go out there and Taylor [Wilde]’s going to jump from the stage and put her through a table, but we’re not actually going to see a good match’. […] Looking back in hindsight, I almost wish things didn’t go that route and that we had just more straight-up matches. I think that might’ve been good for me in the long run.”

The extent of her injuries: “I don’t think people realize how badly I’ve been hurt. […] I was there the night [in WCW] Goldberg kicked Bret [Hart] in the head and he had that crazy concussion. In the beginning of 2000, we were going to England for a tour and Bret was coming to do the tour with us and he was just going to be speaking. He said to me, we were on the bus talking, he said: ‘I don’t think I’ll ever wrestle again’. I was like, wow. How many years has this man been wrestling? This is his entire life and he had a career-ending injury and he won’t be able to do it anymore. [I thought] no, no, just give him some time. As time went on, he just never came back. I’m not comparing my career with his by any means — he’s an icon and he’s Bret Hart — but as time has gone on, I don’t think I’m going to be able to wrestle anymore. I kind of had to think back on him telling me that, and be wise and stay away from the ring to accept it. It’s really hard. I think if I got in the ring and took any more bumps, I wouldn’t be able to function as a normal human being. It would just be too hard on my body.”

Her lawsuit against TNA: “What you guys have read about the details that just came out not too long ago, all of that is true. People expected it to be resolved very quickly, but just know that we’re doing everything we can to move it along as quickly as possible but it takes two sides. It’s still ongoing.”

Daffney on her WWE release in 2003.

An emotional Daffney: “I don’t think I’m going to be able to wrestle anymore.”

Buff Bagwell Addresses His Recent Arrest For Reckless Driving

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The American Males, Marcus Alexander “Buff” Bagwell and Scott Riggs, recently sat down with BDSIR’s Mike Knoxxx, Chris Spotface McClain, Mr. Lopez and KME. During the interview, Bagwell explained his recent arrest on reckless driving.

View Here: Buff Bagwell’s Mugshot Picture

Bagwell says he walked in on his dead friend on April 12 and at the end of April, flipped his Jeep and his doctors put him in a self induced coma for three to four days. He suffered a broken jaw, broken nose, broken eye socket, which were fixed, but had broken his neck again. On July 9, Woodstock police took a warrant for his arrest even though his car was the only one in the accident. He thought he had a seizure (stemming from his accident), which his brainwaves confirmed.

Bagwell says “in the state of Georgia, even if you are God and they take a warrant for your arrest, you’ve got to go to jail, turn yourself in, get fingerprinted and they set a court date and in court you can tell your story.”

Bagwell was going turn himself in on Wednesday and the court knew, but they came over Monday and arrested him anyway because the papers he filed didn’t go through. Following the car accident, his wife told him that it was fourteen years to the day that he broke his neck in WCW (April 22, 1998). Bagwell says he plans on wrestling again soon but hasn’t been medically cleared.

Riggs joins the show.

Knoxxx asks them why WCW took the tag team belts off The American Males in 1995 after only one week. Bagwell says they were the cutting edge of the new generation wrestlers with earrings and goatees since good guys in the early 90s babyfaces were still clean-cut. He says they were fighting an uphill battle from day one but he and Scotty wanted to fight there own battles. He feels they were both good wrestlers

Riggs says Kevin Sullivan and Jimmy Hart were in charge and wanted them to be more like the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express or The Fantastics and they weren’t. He says though the gimmick caught on with fans, it wasn’t what the office wanted.

Bagwell says they respected the veterans but they knew their style was what was coming up. Luger and Sting ragged on them and thought it was uncool and none of the other wrestlers dug it at first but once the nWo came out and had a similar style it was more acceptable.

Bagwell says they were doing music videos before the New World Order did nd WCW spent $80,000 on them. Riggs says they were the only babyface tag team during their run.

Spotface asks about The American Males working a dark match at the 1995 Starrcade. Bagwell says he didn’t mind working a dark match because it meant you were on our way.

Mr. Lopez asks Bagwell about his various partners. Bagwell says he thinks he is the only guy to have the tag belts with about four or five different guys in WCW and that he loves tag team wrestling.

Bagwell says The American Males and Harlem Heat had some of the greatest matches ever in WCW but when he wrestled Booker T in their first match in WWE, it was bad and were booed out of the building.

KME asks Bagwell why WWE had him wrestle Booker T in Tacoma, Washington rather than the site of the following week’s show, Atlanta, Georgia. Bagwell believes they had the match in Tacoma because they planned to fire him.

Bagwell and Riggs also talk about Bagwell’s crowd reaction when Vince McMahon said his name on television, rumors about Bagwell’s mother telling Jim Ross that his son was too sick to work, promises Jim Ross made to Bagwell, Chris Benoit, Bagwell’s fight with Shane Helms, wrestler deaths and more. The full interview is available here.

Animal On Road Warriors Not Doing Jobs, His Son In NFL

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Arda Ocal of The Score Television Network had a chance to speak to Joe ‘Road Warrior Animal’ Laurinaitis. Highlights:

On how the Road Warriors gained the reputation as a tag team that “refused” to do jobs in the 80s:

“I think the whole thing [not jobbing] is kinda blown out of proportion. If you look back on our career, we lost to Ronny Garvin – the belts to them in Georgia, that was in year one. In the AWA, we lost against Greg and Jim Brunzel . Doing the job wasn’t the problem, it’s when the job got ridiculous and they wanted us to look foolish. I think we were one of the guys that stood up for ourselves and said, ‘listen man, we want this business to grow as a whole’- the business was on a growing trend. Don’t make us look foolish when we’re helping you grow… Hawk and I never refused to do jobs, we did jobs for a whole year straight for WWF… this is a business and we all give and take.”

On his son, NFL player James Laurinaitis, possibly following in his fathers footsteps one day:

“James loves the wrestling business. I got pictures in my book that I wrote that he was power bombing his sister in the trampoline. I’d come home off 50 days on the road tired and he’s got his buddies in the pool and trying to suplex the guy off the diving board saying, “come on daddy let’s do the finish’… He’s got a future, he’s a natural add it. James is good on the mic, I’ve told him always be comfortable and say how you feel on the mic. He’s a good athlete- you never know what could happen.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wyDpq1x2nLU

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