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Tara Discusses TNA, WWE, Her Longevity & Future In Wrestling

Daniel Pena
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Former WWE Women’s Champion and TNA Knockouts Champion, Lisa Marie Varon, better known as Tara in TNA and Victoria in WWE, joins us for an exclusive interview about her career.

Lisa talks about many topics including her time in WWE, her current run in TNA, the reaction to her YouTube video with Brooke Tessmacher about the “Thanksgiving Thong Thunder” match, what it’s like teaming with Brooke and writing for Chicago Athlete magazine. Plus, Lisa reminisces on the “good old days”, the golden era of the Divas division, what it was like being part of the first ever Divas cage match (this week is the anniversary of that match) and much more.

The full interview is available here.

Highlights below:

Talking about her longevity in wrestling and being on TV for nearly 10 years: “I’m very lucky. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had injuries — a torn ACL in 2002, my elbow in the cage match with Mickie — but I don’t know how nothing has taken me out. I do work out hard and listen to my body when I need rest. It was hard in WWE to travel four days a week and maintain the healthiness in your body. I was very lucky to get seriously put out.”

“It’s very unusual for a 40-year-old to be competing against 20-year-olds coming in the ring. It’s tough. It’s a bit intimidating for me. I’m looking for the fountain of youth as well. But I think I have accomplished a lot, because I’m still good out there in the ring. I don’t feel like I’ve lost my flow.”

“My age was 29 and a half when I started in this business. I get a lot of people on Twitter, they always ask me, “Am I too old to get in the business?” and I hate saying that you’re never too old to get in the business, but when they look for the wrestlers, they do generally look for the 18-25 year olds that they can mould and create into their own. There’s always that special 30-year-old. I was better in my 30s than in my 20s, like being physically in shape and at my peak. I like to be a positive role model for people my age, even though I don’t act my age. [Laughs]”

Her future in wrestling & wanting to stay at her best: “When I do sign my contract, I sign year-to-year with TNA. I had the option [to do that] which I was very lucky [to have]. I have to listen to my body. I want to be on TV as long as I’m at my best. I don’t want to be where you see me limping down to the ring and feel sorry for me. That’s kind of why I left WWE. I don’t know if you remember the last couple of years of my career at WWE, what did you think of me? You kind of felt, “Oh my gosh, she’s not a champ”. I was helping the new talent look good in the ring, so that wasn’t really my best. I was really flattered that I was able to do that and everybody had confidence in me to make people look good in the ring but that didn’t make me feel like I was giving the fans the best Victoria. I wasn’t happy doing that, so I moved on. But I had a terrific, terrific career there.”

On Gail Kim’s TNA return: “You know what? That girl! I’m gonna kick her butt. I text her and I said, “I heard you’re coming today”. She goes, “Where’d you hear that from?” I didn’t want to say who I’d heard it from so I said, “Oh, just a rumor on the internet” and she goes, “You can’t believe everything you read”. I know that was my favorite saying. You can’t read every internet site. There are some things that are reported wrong. I saw her at the show and I go, “What the heck?!” and she goes, “Hahaha!” I said, “I knew you were coming! I don’t know who you’re trying to pull one over!”

“But I’m so excited to have her back. Her and I were travel partners. We get along so well and I’m so happy to have an old friend back in the ring. I wanted to win that number one contender’s match, though. I’ll be honest with you, because Gail Kim and I can really throw down in the ring. We never got the opportunity in WWE. We had a couple of matches but it was just a match thrown here and there, but I think we can really work up to something dangerous. I’d like to do another cage match, maybe, with her. That’d be awesome!”

Sarita Hospitalized After Taking Hard Fall During Match

Daniel Pena
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Sarita was hospitalized Tuesday after taking a hard fall during a two out of three falls match in Mexico City, Mexico.

Sarita, who performs as Dark Angel for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, slipped on the top rope while attempting to dive and crashed onto the hardwood floor. She was placed on a stretcher and immediately hospitalized.

Wednesday evening on Facebook, Sarita thanked her fans for their well wishes and stated that while she remains sore, she has since recovered. She says she fully intends on competing in today’s CMLL bodybuilding competition, which she has won five years in a row.

She wrote, “Gracias a todos por la buena vibra! Ando dolorida por la lucha y caida de ayer, pero estoy completa! Tengo toda intencion de presentarme manana en el concurso de fisicoconstructivismo. Espero verlos ahi, la entrada es con el boleto de las luchas de este viernes. Ustedes me inspiran, GRACIAS!”

Meanwhile, Power Slam reports she has made a full recovery from her facial paralysis.

JR Blog: The Rock, Undertaker’s Retirement, Zack Ryder

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQcom. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:

The Rock Helping WWE: “People who feel that Rock isn’t good for WWE are missing a helluva story unfolding as he brings amazing PR and media coverage to WWE not to mention that he sells lots of PPV’s of which everyone on the team benefits. I’ve actually had Tweets from fans that feel that Rock returning to WWE hurts the biz and other talents which I believe is completely wrong.”

Undertaker’s Retirement: “If ‘Taker was retired or planning on doing so, don’t you think that WWE would have made a HUGE deal of it? Of course they would have. A man with, arguably, the most storied, tenured career in WWE, ever, will not go quietly into the night or without fanfare. I can easily see Undertaker defending ‘TheStreak’ on April 1, 2012 at WM28. Exactly when he returns isn’ t on my radar but he will return and, just as his retirement will be some day, it will be HUGE news.”

JR’s Future On RAW: “Am I returning to Raw? There are no plans of which I am aware that has me returning to RAW on a regular basis however things change on somewhat of an on going basis. I enjoy dropping by on Raw from time to time. I had a great time in Boston recently.”

Zack Ryder’s Status In WWE: “Do I think that Zack Ryder deserves to elevate on the WWE roster? Yes..I’d suggest giving him the ball and seeing what happens. Ryder has worked diligently to brand himself via social media but will have to be taken more seriously inside the ring to get to where he wants. However, that can’t occur unless his number is called. Ryder is one of many WWE talents that seem to be “this close” to moving on up to the East side. Sometimes it’s just a right place, right time sort of deal that brings everything together. Again, all talents should maximize the minutes of TV time no matter how short or the circumstances.”

Gail Kim Happy To Be In TNA, Discusses Controversial WWE Exit

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Speaking to SLAM! Wrestling, Gail Kim explains why she disobeyed WWE by controversially eliminating herself from the Divas Battle Royal on the August 1 episode of Monday Night Raw. She says it was the culmination of all the disrespect she felt from WWE.

“I don’t regret what I did at all. It was a respect thing,” Kim says. “I was told to get eliminated as soon as possible, so that’s what I did. I saw my decision as a case of either continuing to take their lack of respect or doing something about it.

“Nobody knows what I went through in terms of disrespect during my time there, but that move wasn’t just about me it was a culmination of all the disrespect I felt that all the other women and the women’s division as a whole had received too, I was taking a stand.

“While a lot of fans watching Raw noticed what I did, nobody from WWE noticed, that just shows how much they didn’t care. I went up to Johnny [John Laurinaitis] after and spoke about the Battle Royal and his reaction towards the match was, ‘Yeah, I heard it was pretty shit.’ I was amazed and I then told him how I eliminated myself and he just laughed.

“How can fans take the division seriously if the people working for the company aren’t? If it had been one of the men who had eliminated themselves they would have been punished, but because it was the women nobody cared, not even after I had told them.”

A few days later Kim announced on Twitter that she had quit WWE, however, she was not permitted to bolt. What followed was a standoff between WWE and their former Women’s Champion, which saw her forced to sit out the remainder of her contract.

“WWE are notoriously known for being controlling when it comes to your career, that night of the Battle Royal I went to Johnny and told him I quit, I said I don’t want your money; I just want to be free. He told me that it shouldn’t be a problem, but of course it was,” Kim says.

“They didn’t want me to work elsewhere, at this time I told him, ‘What does it matter if I leave or not? You’re not using me, it’s not like I’m valuable to you just let me go,’ but there was no budging.”

After sitting at home for over two months waiting out the remainder of her contract, Kim finally made her much anticipated return to TNA Wrestling on the October 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, when she aligning herself with Madison Rayne and Karen Jarrett. Being a TNA Knockout means everything to her.

“I’m just so excited to be back in the company, I can’t speak for anybody in particular but the feeling I got when I came back was that there were no hard feelings about my previous decision to leave. Being back here feels like time has never passed.

“I think everyone kind of expected me to return. I said in my last interview when I was leaving that I would probably be back, everyone has been real welcoming, it’s like being a part of a family here at TNA. It’s great to see the growth that this company has made since I’ve been gone, it’s nice to see the direction its going and where they want to be heading.”

She adds, “I’m just so happy to be here and to now be a part of a company once again that actually cares about wrestling.”

The full article is available here.

CM Punk Discusses His Problems With Vince, The Rock & The Miz

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CM Punk appeared on the The Hot Click podcast and did not hold back his opinions on The Rock, Vince McMahon, The Miz, his near exit from the WWE and a slew of other topics. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

On not sleeping: “We just did a European tour. I would honestly say on the European tour if you want to average it all out, I slept two hours a night… Eventually it gets to you. I know when I start seeing things that I really need to try… It’s not like I’m forcing myself to stay awake. It’s a thing. I got in late last night. I met up with my buddies, H20, the band and we went out. I got back to my hotel maybe at two in the morning and I had to meet in the lobby at 6 AM so I got a 5:30 wakeup call and next thing I know it’s 3:30. I’m reading comic books in my hotel room.”

How hard it is being straight edge: “It’s not hard at all. A lot of people ask me that. I almost think it’s a really weird question. How hard is it for you to wear glasses? How hard is it for you to have back hair? I was born this way so, no, it’s not hard at all.

“I just turned 33 so I’m assuming I’m what you call an SEOG: Straight Edge Old Guy. There are not a lot of us. I know everybody that was straight edge when I first claimed straight edge, when I was like 15-20, everybody fell off; everybody sold out. There’s like me and my friend Natalie back in Chicago. It’s like you find somebody else who’s straight edge and you stick together.”

On almost leaving WWE: “The last 12 months… I was leaving, I was out the door. I wasn’t quitting. My contract was up and I was like, “You know what, my contract’s up. I fulfilled my obligations to you. You have fulfilled your obligations to me and you let me slip through your fingers.” That was my attitude and I was leaving. One of the conditions of me resigning, I was like, look, if I resign I’m all in. I’m back to old form CM Punk. I’m not sleepwalking through this. I’m not just going to be a robot. I’m going to get excited about things again. I’m going to
watch all the matches and I’m going to praise people, yell at people, give people my opinions, and help out guys. That’s what I’ve been doing.

If he ended up staying for the money: “No, it’s not about money. It’s funny; on Twitter I get a lot of hilarious tweets. I’ll be crabby and complain about somebody. I’ll have my headphones on in the airport and I’m eating. I don’t know if anyone knows what it’s like to have someone legitimately walk up to you and wave their hand like an inch away from your face because I have headphones on and I can’t hear them. I don’t know if anyone knows what that’s like but that happens to me multiple times a day then I complain about it, and then on Twitter I get, ‘Oh, shut up crybaby. That’s why you’re rich.’ I was rich before I had any money. Being rich has nothing to do with anything monetary. No, it wasn’t about money. I’m not a money guy.

“I know people who are wealthy and they’re miserable. I was miserable. I was coming to work every day and I was like, ‘This is ridiculous. I’m seeing all this stuff. Miz is the main event of WrestleMania. What is wrong with this world? Okay, I gave it all.'”

If The Miz has a problem with his comments: “No, Miz knows exactly how I feel. I’ve told him about it… I think Miz doesn’t know how to deal with that. It’s just my brutal honesty. I think you got to just let it roll of your back or you get confrontational about it.
“I was strictly basing it on the fact that I was the best bad guy. In my world, the best bad guy wrestles the best good guy. I was specifically told, ‘Hey, leading up to WrestleMania we don’t really know what you’re going to do yet but you’re going to be John Cena’s little TV feud.’ I was like, ‘I’m nobody’s TV feud. That’s bullsh-t.’ They just continued to piss me off.”

What made him re-sign with WWE: “The chance to change this place. One of my best friends in the world is Lars Frederiksen. He plays guitar for a band called Rancid. He told me a story about when the Ramones went into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Marky didn’t want to do it; half of the Ramones were dead. The Ramones, as a band, were always musically shunned and he didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to show up, accept the award. Lars told him, “Look, you have to. It’s your responsibility. You paved the way for guys like me. You have to go accept this award because you think not accepting it is this big middle finger to the establishment but actually accepting the award and being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – that’s the middle finger.

“Lars and Joey Mercury, two people who are wise beyond their years, told me, ‘You can’t change the place from your couch.’ I said that on television. That was all real. That’s the truth. I couldn’t change this place from my couch so I resigned and I’m trying to change it.”

If he’s happy about re-signing: “I’m very happy. I’ve never been busier in my entire life. I had conversation with Vince McMahon. I was like, ‘Look, I’m not holding you up for money. I’m not holding out for this contract but if you’re going to sign me you’re going to sign me to the best money deal possible and if it’s your prerogative to not use me but pay me that ridiculous amount of money. I don’t see you being that stupid.'”

His relationship with Vince McMahon: “Honestly, I don’t think if Vince ever got me. I don’t think he does. I don’t know what’s not to get but some people just don’t see things. I don’t know if this is a good example but I don’t know if Vince gets The Rock. Vince gets Cold Stone Steve Austin. He gets that guy. I don’t know if he gets The Rock but he recognizes that he’s a hell of a talent. I might throw myself in that category. I don’t know if Vince 100% gets me but he finally has recognized, ‘Alright, this kid is the real deal.’

“I’ve been the same guy since I stepped foot in the WWE. I’ve always acted like a top guy, not in the regards of, ‘I need a limo and first class travel.’ I have never let anybody tell me that I can’t or I suck or anything like that. I’ve always had an air of confidence about me, which always rubs people the wrong way. It’s like the whole ‘best in the world’ thing. If I didn’t honestly believe that, and it’s obviously borderline narcissistic and egotistical but it’s like, well, if you don’t think you’re the best in the world at what you do then you should at least aspire to be the best. Why do you do what you do?”

If Vince likes to knock people down: “I don’t try to run the show. It’s his company; it’s his baby. I think the WWE has knocked me down a peg or two. That’s the most frustrating thing about what we do. I don’t know if this is the Brock Lesnar legacy. It’s just like holy crap, strap a rocket to this guy and give him everything. Then all of a sudden a year later Brock’s like, ‘Oh, I want to go home.’ I don’t know if there’s a fear that that’s going to constantly happen, which is legitimate. I can see that. You put yourself in Vince’s shoes and it’s like, okay, I get that.

I take this responsibility very seriously. When you are the champion and you are on top, you’re pulling the train. It’s the tradition in pro wrestling where everybody thanks everybody. ‘Thank you for the tour.’ The guys on top are the ones that are drawing the houses. You’re the reason why everyone on the undercard is getting paid. I get being spooked about that. We’ve done it way too often with guys like Wade Barrett, Sheamus, with me. I remember the first time they made me champion. Raw ratings went up. I got numbers, house show attendance went up. Then it’s like you just constantly cut these guys legs out from under them. After awhile it’s just like everyone’s middle of the road.

Clashes with Vince McMahon: “There was the Tony Atlas story. Tony wrote about it in his book but I didn’t read it so I don’t know exactly how accurate it was. I was ECW Champion at the time. I was still living in Louisville, Kentucky. I would go to OVW still and I would maybe work a Dark Match for them and watch the show, talk to guys. Long story short, there was some backstage OVW politics that unbeknownst to me was going on. I went up to Tony to introduce myself because he was down there to talk to the guys about saving your money and drugs and what not.

“I said, ‘Hi, Mr. Atlas. My name’s CM Punk. How are you doing?’ He grabbed my arm and he’s like, ‘What is this?’ I didn’t get where he was going. I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Oh the X’s. I’m straight edge and I explained it to him.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no, your arms. They’re taped up.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I tape up my arms so I can ‘x’ up. It’s a straight edge thing.’ He looks at me and he says, ‘It looks like you have two broken arms.’ I was just like, ‘Great, okay.’ I didn’t know where he was going and I was confused. ‘Okay, sir, alright.’ He said, ‘I don’t think you get it. If you don’t listen to your coaches, you’re never going to make it to television.’ Then I was like, ‘Alright I appreciate whatever this is. Thank you, sir.’

“Then I worked the dark match and we had this great dark match. It was like this eight man tag and there was a whole bunch of talented guys in it. Then in the post show meeting, Tony Atlas goes on and on about how everyone’s great, everyone has a great attitude, the show is great, the only match he didn’t like was that last one. That last match sucked. There was a guy in it with a bad attitude. He basically just started singling me out. I had already lost my mind at this point. I stood up like legit De Niro, ‘Are you talking to me?’ He was like, ‘Yes, you have a bad attitude and I’m going to put it in the report and I hope you get fired.’ He said a lot of ridiculous things.

“I stood up and started walking down and was like, ‘Are we fighting?’ It turned into this big legendary thing where he just started giving me a bunch of s–t and I gave it right back to him. I was like, ‘Look, I’m on television and I’m one of Vince’s champions.’ It turned into this thing and two weeks later we were in England and Vince is like, “I need to talk to you for a minute.

“He’s like, ‘The Tony Atlas thing – what happened?’ I explained to him the story and he’s like, ‘These old timers don’t watch the show. You got to be respectful.’ He said, ‘Sometimes, you just got to eat a little s–t. I eat s–t all day. I eat red s–t, green s–t, blue s–t, all kinds of s–t. I’m eating s–t all day.’ I laughed and I looked at Vince and said, ‘I had eaten enough of his s–t and I was full and he looked a little hungry so I thought maybe he wanted to eat a little s–t of his own.’ He smiled and said, ‘I like that. That’s good.'”

The Rock returning to WWE: “I think it’s great. Bottom line is it’s a business. If Rock is going to put asses in seats then yay for us. There are a lot of misconceptions about how I feel about it. Obviously people love asking me because they know they’re going to get the 100% truth. He comes back and he says that he’s never going to leave again and then he doesn’t come back for months. Yes, he’s doing Survivor Series and, yes, it sold out in a half hour. Let’s be honest. It’s the Garden and it’s the 25th anniversary of Survivor Series. The show was going to sell out but I get the bragging. ‘Oh, it sold out in a half hour.’

“I sold out the Garden – me and JBL in a cage match so I have that distinction. I can say that I sold out Madison Square Garden, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. The problem I have with Dwayne is that he came back, he said he’s never leaving again and I don’t appreciate all this, ‘Oh, the WrestleMania buy rate was up. Oh, it’s because of Dwayne.’ Was it? Or was it because of me and Randy Orton or was it because of Miz and John Cena? That’s unfortunately something that you can’t really ever figure out. A lot of people like to live and die by the ratings.

“It’s a big news story that he came back, absolutely. I think he even tweeted me one time saying something like, ‘The Rock in the main event makes more money than CM Punk could in a lifetime,’ which is obviously a fallacy. That ultimately is where I have the problem with Dwayne. He lives in a fantasy world. No matter if I like or hate whoever I’m working with, I say, ‘hello,’ to them. I fraternize with them. It’s a brotherhood backstage. I’m with these people more than I’m with my little sisters and my family. I just don’t appreciate going from limo to dressing room, from dressing room to the ring and not saying ‘hi’ to any of the boys.

“That’s what he does. I was just at a Guns N’ Roses show backstage in Chicago and that’s exactly what Axl Rose does and Axl’s a lot cooler than Dwayne. Part of me gets it but for anybody who wants to say I have a bad attitude or a chip on my shoulder about it – absolutely. I think anybody should. There are guys in that locker room that bust their ass and there are guys that should be in the main event at WrestleMania. Eventually it will happen for everybody as long as you’re passionate about it. I’m passionate about. Yeah, it pisses me off.”

Former WWE Star Arrested On Battery, Referee Entered Rehab

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— Former WWE talent Sean Christopher Haire (a/k/a Sean O’Haire), 40, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Savannah, Georgia on a simple battery charge, according to the official website of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Bond was set at $1,850.00.

This is not the former WCW World Tag Team Champion’s first run-in with the law. In 1992, Haire was arrested for assault. In 2006, Haire was found guilty of assaulting a woman at “Club Hypnotic” in June 2004. He was also involved in a fight in Hilton Head on March 30, 2007, in which he sustained fractures to his face and skull, including his orbital bone. In September 2009, Haire was arrested for allegedly choking his girlfriend.

— Brian James (a/k/a Road Dogg), who now works as a producer for WWE, stated during a recent “shoot” interview that not only has the organization paid to put him in a rehabilitation center, but has paid for at least one stint for all three of his brothers—Scott, Steve and Brad.

Scott is WWE referee Scott Armstrong. He returned to the organization in February 2011 after being released one year prior. Steve briefly competed for WWE in 1992 as Lance Cassidy. Brad was under contract to WWE in 2006 and 2007. He made sporadic appearances on ECW as a guest commentator.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

October PPVs Draw Poor Numbers, WWE’s “Biggest Turkeys”

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— According to WWE’s latest performance indicators, the buy estimates for the October 2011 pay-per-view events—Hell in a Cell and Vengeance—totaled 322,000. Both shows drew under 200,000 buys, with Hell in a Cell drawing approximately 180,000 and Vengeance drawing approximotely 142,000. They are both down from last year’s shows in October.

— WWE.com has published a feature highlighting “the biggest turkeys” to ever step foot inside the squared circle. Among those profiled are Gobbledy Gooker, Vito, Bart Gunn, Fake Razor Ramon, Kizarny, Mike Adamle and Michael Cole.

— WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart is scheduled to appear at Dr Fleas 8 Westmore Drive Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, December 3 from noon to 3:00 p.m. Call 519-600-1831 for more information.

Many Rewrites At RAW, Foley’s WWE Status, HBK DVD

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– The script for Monday’s RAW from Hershey, PA was rewritten several times – which the reason that Brodus Clay and advertised guest host Jonah Hill did not appear on the show. Jonah Hill was never scheduled to appear at RAW in person. He filmed several taped segments for the show – but after all the rewrites, it was decided that his segments no longer fit with the show and the decision was made to not air them.

Jim Ross was reportedly backstage at RAW and originally booked to work an angle – but the segment was scrapped.

– Regarding Mick Foley’s status within WWE, creative team member Brian Gewirtz is a big supporter and feels Foley is creative and a good performer. On the other side of the coin, it’s said that Triple H always buries Foley, arguing that he doesn’t seem like a tough guy and fans don’t take him serious in the ring.

Foley performed a standup comedy show in New York City immediately after WWE Survivor Series last weekend – with Zack Ryder, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler among the WWE superstars who attended.

– WWE has been holding announcer tryouts in recent weeks, with several former superstars being considered for the open spots.

– As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has signed a deal with Total Gym to star in a workout DVD. If the first DVD does well, they plan to do a series starring The Heartbreak Kid.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Vince’s Vision For The WWE Network, WWE-Twitter News

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The WWE Network

– WWE is looking to brand the WWE Network “the most interactive network on TV.” The idea is to feature programming that keeps people in front of their computers, cellphones and iPads.

One idea is to have tweets from fans scrolling at the bottom of the screen, like an ESPN news ticker.

– There’s a running joke going around WWE is that up-and-coming superstars should worry less about having good matches and interviews – and focus on being entertaining on Twitter.

– On a related note, Vince reportedly is wanting certain Superstars to change their Twitter usernames. Dolph Ziggler’s Twitter name @HEELZiggler is on the chopping block – since Vince doesn’t want to promote insider terms like “heel.”

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Update On Undertaker’s Status For WrestleMania 28

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After the latest round of surgeries on his hip and shoulder, the Undertaker is gearing up to push his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 20-0 next year.

Last year around this time, it was still too early to tell whether the Undertaker would be healthy enough to wrestle at WrestleMania. This year, the Dead Man’s health is in great shape and it’s virtually a lock that he’ll be wrestling in Miami on April 1st, 2012.

With just over 4 months to go, WWE has an opponent in mind picked for the Dead Man.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Original Plans For Awesome Truth, Punk vs. Miz Feud

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The Miz

Prior to R-Truth’s failure of a recent WWE drug test, there were plans for Awesome Truth to capture the tag team titles from Air Boom (Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston) after Survivor Series.

Evan Bourne’s suspension put those plans on hold. After R-Truth also failed a Wellness test, those plans were scrapped entirely.

As previously reported, it’s believed that both Evan Bourne and R-Truth violated the Wellness policy by smoking synthetic marijuana together at a party several weeks ago. WWE suspended Bourne almost immediately while allowing R-Truth to remain active until after his main event match at Survivor Series – which rubbed many superstars the wrong way.

The real winner in the whole situation will be the Miz. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the former WWE champion and WrestleMania 27 headliner is headed back into the WWE title picture – with a possible title shot at the Royal Rumble.

A Miz vs. CM Punk feud over the WWE title? Yes, please!

John Cena Giving Away Ford Mustang, WWE Renting Building

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— John Cena has teamed up with Ford to give you a chance to win a Mustang customized by the twelve-time world champion. Click here for details.

— WWE is renting 66,000 square feet of production space in South Norwalk, Connecticut as the Stamford-based entertainment company expands its business, city officials and the building’s landlord announced on Wednesday. WWE has been talking about expanding their production for several years and this is considered a major step towards their planned cable network launch.

A WWE spokesperson told The Hour they were expanding the company, but did not know how many positions would be working out of the facility. The full article is available here.

— Michelle will be participating in her first online chat since parting ways with WWE tonight at 6:00 p.m. on MichelleMcCool.net.

She tweeted, “6:00EST….michellemccool.net ~ be there!! LIVE chat with mwah!! Believe me, I don’t make promises I can’t keep~promise it’ll be FLAWLESS!”

John Morrison Done With WWE Next Week, TNA Interested

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John Morrison

After almost a decade with WWE, RAW superstar John Morrison’s days as a WWE superstar are almost over. His final scheduled appearance with WWE will be next Monday’s RAW Supershow.

According a source, Morrison’s WWE contract actually expired over the summer – and he signed a short-term extension that is now up.

Morrison has been unhappy with his role in WWE for quite some time – and the feeling is apparently mutual, with WWE not making much of an effort to keep the Prince of Parkour.

Word going around is that TNA is very interested in bringing in Morrison and Melina as a couple. With his star power coming off a lengthy run in WWE,  TNA would make Morrison the centerpiece of the company’s X-Division. No word yet if Morrison has spoke with TNA yet, directly or in-directly.

At to whether Morrison would be interested in TNA, we’ve heard conflicting stories. Morrison has been dealing with nagging back and neck injuries and will likely take time off to heal.

One reliable source said Morrison is interested in leaving the wrestling business entirely and getting into acting.

We Want To Know: What do you think about Morrison leaving WWE? Did he reach his full potential – or could WWE have gotten much more out of him? Would he be a good fit in TNA?

Chyna Says She Dated 1980s WWF Star, Bearer Discusses Austin

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— Kayfabe Commentaries recently sat down with “The Ninth Wonder of the World” Chyna to dish on a number of topics including Triple H, Sean Waltman, WWE, TNA, past suicide attempts and more. During the “YouShoot” interview, she reveals that she dated Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake when she was 18 years old. This would have occurred in 1989 when Beefcake was a top star in the World Wrestling Federation.

— Paul Bearer was interviewed for WWE’s latest Steve Austin video release, Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time, and recalls seeing the future Hall of Famer at Chris Adams’ wrestling school in Dallas, Texas. He was teaching the young students how to do interviews and felt Austin stood out before he even saw him showcase his abilities.

“So when I first saw Steve, he just stood out. Head and shoulders above ’em all, before I ever heard him talk or see him get in the ring for the first time. You kind of scan all of them and he stood out,” Bearer said. “So once Chris Adams got the students into the ring, he started teaching them and then I got my chance to start teaching them about how to do interviews with the cameras; he was a natural.

— WWE filmed interviews for their upcoming video release on The Rock this past week.

source: PWInsider.com

Matt Hardy Jail Update, Michelle McCool On The Hotseat, Maria

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— The Fayetteville Observer reports Matt Hardy remains jailed as of Wednesday in the Moore County Detention Center in Moore County, North Carolina pending one million dollar bond. Hardy, who was arrested Friday evening after being kicked out of rehabilitation center for failing a breathalyzer test, is scheduled for court next Monday in Moore County District Court due to three prior arrests.

— Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis will be hosting Top Rope Promotions’ Spindle City Rumble in New Bedford, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. Click here for more information.

— The latest issue of Inside Wrestling features a lengthy interview with former WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool. The magazine is currently on newsstands.

— “Rowdy” Roddy Piper tweeted the following regarding the Penn State rape controversy: “I don’t know the truth on the Penn St. affair. I know this, if someone did that to my boy, I’d kill em, with my bare hands. I know that’s true.”

Kelly Kelly Scheduled For Court, WWE Offers Wrestler Contract

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— Kelly Kelly was recently caught running a red light in Tampa, Florida. She is scheduled for a mandatory court appearance in December and was fined $250. The fine now stands at $274 due to it being overdue.

— Among the U.K. wrestlers who WWE recently evaluated were Andrew Tyson, Adrian McCullum and Erin Marshall. Tyson was believed to have been offered a developmental contract pending visa application. McCullum worked a dark match against Justin Gabriel at the November 8 SmackDown taping in Liverpool, England.

— Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis said she resumed wrestling training on Tuesday. She tweeted, “Felt so good to be in the ring.”

She will be returning to the squared circle on February 25, 2012 for New York City based promotion Family Wrestling Entertainment. Her opponent has not been announced.

source: Wrestling Globe Newsletter

Sunny Trashes Ashley Massaro On Facebook, Ashley Responds

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Tammy “Sunny” Sytch trashed Ashley Massaro on Facebook after she failed to introduce herself to the WWE Hall of Famer this past weekend at a collectible memorabilia and media star show in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Ashley Massaro can kiss my hof ass…not once did she introduce herself to me,” she wrote. “Not once and she dressed like a stripper.”

The 2005 Diva Search winner was made aware of her inflammatory remarks and fired back on Twitter. Massaro explained that she did not introduce herself to Sytch due to previous insults.

Massaro writes, “Just a few words I’d like to share. This may be a bit long so bare with me. When I arrived at WWE I ALWAYS greeted every single talent there with the utmost respect and made it a point to shake hands and greet everyone my entire tenure. NOW when some piglet talks smack about myself and half the divas roster, and then gets bothered by the fact that I did not do the same after she bashed myself and my friends, she can go eat another meatball sub and stay the f away from me.

“Do you honestly think I respect you after the things you said? Well I don’t and I hope I’ve made that clear. Mind your own life and I’ll do the same. You got a problem HIT ME UP! Don’t cowardly talk about me on your Facebook or in interviews.

“Get a life you beached whale and stop with the jealousy because I see right through you. I love my life, my fans, my punx and my family. You’re just pissed because the rest of us you tried to throw under the bus haven’t gained 70 pounds. So hate on hater, I’ll be happy living my life and laughing at your poor attempts to make others feel bad. You make yourself look so foolish talking bad about others. Get some self confidence and maybe a diet. Lol.”

Massaro then retweeted twenty anti-Sytch remarks and closed, “Ok I’m done. I have no time for talking about this loser, too much positivity in my life to focus on. But if she wants a war, you know where to find me.”

Matches Taped For NXT & WWE Superstars, Low Attendance

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— The following matches were taped Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for this week’s episode of NXT Redemption:

* Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu

* Jimmy Uso vs. JTG

* Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young and Tyler Reks

— The following matches were taped Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars:

* Jinder Mahal vs. Trent Barreta

* Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tyson Kidd

— A Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza employee told an attendee at tonight’s WWE television tapings that the event drew 4,000 fans. This is approximately half the venue’s capacity.

source: ProWrestling.net

Ratings Are In For Monday’s RAW Supershow

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Monday’s post-Survivor Series WWE RAW Supershow drew a 3.20 cable rating with 4,723,000 viewers.

This week’s show did hours of 3.24 and 3.17. As you can see, the trend continued this week of viewers tuning out from one hour to the other.

Hour one averaged 4.76 million viewers while hour two averaged 4.68 million viewers.

This is the 15th straight week that RAW’s final hour has dropped from the first.

*SPOILERS* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results

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Not so fast ... Click to enlarge

WWE taped Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Wilkes Barre, PA. Credit to pwinsider.com for this report:

WWE SmackDown Spoilers (Airing This Friday)

– Mark Henry comes out on a crutch and cuts promo saying he will fight through his leg injury. Big Show comes out. H tells Henry that what he just did to him, Henry did to Show. Henry called Show the world’s largest loser. Show laid out Henry with KO punch. Daniel Bryan came out and cashed in MITB. We have a new champion.

Not so fast. Teddy Long comes out and says Henry was not cleared to compete. He takes Title off of Bryan and gives it back to Henry. This set up a Fatal 4 Way for the Number one contendership. The winner faces Henry for Title next week, then winner of that match faces Big Show.

– Hunico beat Justin Gabriel.

– Alicia Fox joins commentary. Divas tag match. Beth & Natty vs. AJ and Kaitlyn. Very quick. Natalya wins with The Sharpshooter on AJ.

– Zack Ryder was backstage playing the WWE ’12 video game. Sheamus comes in. Comedy ensues. They are tagging tonight vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. Now Long is on the screen and getting heavy boos. Henry comes in and is pissed about defending next week. Funny stuff from both. Long makes it a steel cage match for title next week.

– Ted DiBiase vs. Heath Slater. At the bell, Jinder Mahal pops up on screen speaking a foreign language. He is talking to DiBiase. He self translates saying that Ted turned his back on his wealthy family. The match begins while he’s talking.  The crowd is not into this match at all. It’s almost as if we haven’t been given a reason to care about either of these two in years. It’s a shame, they are working their asses off. Decent match. Ted DiBiase goes over clean.

– Cody Rhodes cuts promo backstage. He talks about throwing water at an announcer. Then says he’s gonna win the 4-way.

– The Fatal 4-way is up next. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes.

– Daniel Bryan wins when Cody taps. Cody did a post match beatdown on Bryan until Orton made the save. That was the end of smackdown.

Orton Says He’s No Longer Bitter Over Rock Returning To WWE

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Dr. Pete and Steve of SportsTownChicago.com sat down with Randy Orton to discuss the release of THQ’s WWE ’12 video game, being “over the bitterness” of The Rock returning to while being excited to see him face John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII, and more.

Brock Lesnar in WWE ’12: “I think it’s great. I’m a big Lesnar fan and I’ve always been. We came up together about 10 years ago. Me and him were buds. We’ve lost touch over the years’ as you usually do with guys like that. But I wish him the best. I know he’s had a few health issues as of late. But he’ll conquer those, just like he’s conquered every other obstacle that’s come his way. I truly feel he’s one of the few human beings I’ve ever met that have been able to accomplish as much as he’s accomplished. He puts his mind, body and soul into it and he’s gonna get it done.”

Bitterness with The Rock: “As far as The Rock and myself are concerned, you know I’d love to see that [himself vs. The Rock], are you kidding me? That’s huge.

“Right now, the WWE Universe is geared to see Rock/Cena at Wrestlemania 28. And to be honest, I’ve caught a little bit of the buzz too. We all want to see it. The crowd is ecstatic. When he comes out, there’s nothing else quite like it, it really is. Sure, I hate that the guy is back. I wish I was in his spot working with Cena at Wrestlemania 28… but yeah, I’m happy that Rock’s back. I’m over the bitterness (laughs) so to speak with him being back saying he never left and all that BS.”

The audio interview is available here.

WWE’s Future Plans For The Miz, Lawler Loses Voice, Sin Cara

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— “Awesome Truth” was split on last night’s Raw SuperShow in part to WWE creative’s plan to insert The Miz into the title picture over the next few months.

— Booker T handled broadcast duties during last night’s Raw SuperShow due to Jerry Lawler losing his voice.

— Sin Cara is believed to have undergone surgery today after suffering a patella tendon rupture when he jumped out of the ring during the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match at Survivor Series.

— Santino Marella, who generally tweets in character, wrote the following this afternoon: “Stuck in DC airport since 730am and my flight leaves now at 5pm, so pissed.”

source: F4WOnline.com

Guest Host Announced For SmackDown, Wrestler Moved To Raw

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— Mick Foley will host next Tuesday’s live WWE SmackDown episode on Syfy. The official website of the Time Warner Cable Arena website is billing the episode as a “Smackdown Live Holiday Special.”

The website is also advertising a Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Mark Henry and Randy Orton. Booker T will be the special guest referee. This will likely be a post-broadcast dark match.

— Epico, who has been competing on SmackDown since debuting on the November 4, 2011 episode, is now listed a member of the Raw roster on WWE.com. Epico and Primo beat Percy Watson and Titus O’Neil in a dark match at last night’s Raw SuperShow in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The two cousins were accompanied by SmackDown Diva Rosa Mendes.

— Arn Anderson has been added to K & S Wrestlefest, which takes place Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Ramada Philadelphia Airport 76 Industrial Hwy. Essington, Pennsylvania.

Sheffield Removed From Raw Roster, Carlito Interested In Return

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–- Skip Sheffield has been removed from the Raw Superstars page on WWE.com. His page is also inaccessible.

This does not necessarily mean that he has parted ways with WWE. The company recently applied to trademark Ryback, which suggests that he will be repackaged with a new character upon his return from injury. Prior to assuming the cowboy persona in WWE’s developmental system, he appeared as Ryback, an indestructible “Terminator” style character billed from “The Future.”

— Carlito indicated on Twitter that he would be interesting in joining WWE or TNA Wrestling. However, he is currently tied to the “Unemployed Wrestling League.”

“For those who keep asking..I would love to go back to WWE but I just signed a long term deal with UWL. For info on UWL go to my bio,” he wrote. “That same answer goes for those asking if I’ll be joining TNA. I hope this clears everything up.”

Carlito has appeared for World Wrestling Council, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and numerous independent groups since parting ways with WWE last year. He currently reigns as WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion.

Slammy Awards Announced, R-Truth Trends On Twitter

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— The official website of the Norfolk Scope Arena, which will hold the Raw SuperShow on December 12, 2011, is advertising the 2011 Slammy Awards for the three-hour television event.

The event will also feature a post-broadcast Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship between CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and John Cena.

— Following WWE’s announcement this morning that R-Truth had been suspended for thirty days as a result of his first violation of the Talent Wellness Program, he began trending worldwide on Twitter.

— Shawn Michaels has reached an agreement with Total Gym for a workout DVD featuring the WWE Hall of Famer to be released. (Thanks to Carl Dantes)

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