Earlier this week, Randy Orton updated fans on the status of his back injury. He tweeted:
“… I herniated a disc (leaked disc fluid) between my L4-L5 in my lower back. Had som estrength loss in my left lower leg. Time off is to let the inflammation go down, and try and strengthen the muscles int lower back”
The injury is legitimate and is believed to have happened on the 12/19 RAW when Wade Barrett put him through a table. Orton’s rehab is said to be going well. The WWE website has an article up with quotes from Orton’s doctor, Chris Amann, who says the pain and weakness in Orton’s leg is subsiding and a full recovery is expected.
In a sign of how much WWE values Orton’s services and views him as one of their franchise talents, his current contract has him locked in with WWE through 2019.
— “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who has been confirmed for WWE Network’s upcoming Legends’ House reality series, indicated on Twitter that former Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man is on the program as well.
“I just spent 3 hrs in the gym. To live in a house with HTM. Serious??? HOW MUCH???” he tweeted Wednesday.
Filming for the program begins next month in Tampa, Florida.
— Former WWE star Chris Masters is featured in the following video message promoting his upcoming appearance for the WWFX Champion Showcase Tour taking place on February 4, 2012 in Manila, Philippines. He will face MVP.
– As noted before, The Rock will be appearing on WWE television again in the near future. The Great One is currently New Orleans filming his new movie “Snitch” and will be appearing on an upcoming episode of RAW to kickstart WrestleMania season. Once he returns, The Rock is expected to appear on most episodes of RAW (either in person or via satellite) leading up to his match with John Cena on April 1st.
– The latest on a possible Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust match is that an angle between the two could be taking place at the Royal Rumble.
– Steve Austin’s new DVD/Blu-Ray movie “Recoil” hits will be on sale in North America no March 6th. Austin plays a cop turned vigilante after his family is murdered. Austin and actor Danny Trejo are featured on the cover of the DVD.
With the scheduled launch date for the WWE Network less than 3 months away, there is a great deal of concern in WWE as to whether the company will be ready in time. Getting clearances from cable and satellite providers is the number one issue, as well as whether they can line up sufficient quality programming. Many are fearing the Network will be perceived as a flop right out of the gate.
There are plans mapped out for the first day of programming to focus on WrestleMania, but there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done by April 1st.
As for WWE 24/7 Classics On Demand, that service is set to end on March 31st. WWE first notified providers that it would end on January 1st, but there are existing contracts in place that will keep the on demand channel on the air until the end of March.
For much more on the upcoming WWE Network, head over to our WWE Network news page.
Kevin Nash has challenged Ultimate Warrior to a fight.
Ultimate took a shot at Kevin Nash this week on his Twitter. When asked by a fan why Warrior doesn’t dye his hair and have another run in WWE like Kevin Nash, Warrior replied:
“I’m not a dickhead who thrives on stealing the limelight from young guys.”
Nash tweeted the following on Wednesday night, issuing a challenge to a 3-round MMA fight with $100,000 on the line:
“Never realized I had a problem with Jim (Warrior). Seemed to get along fine in Scottsdale. Come on my clown, turn that frown upside down. A true warrior never turns down a challenge. Put up a 100K. I’ll do the same. 3 rounds. mma rules. winner take all. I’m talking shoot, not sports entertainment.”
“Jim Hellwig needs to put up or shut the f**k up. Day before Mania in Miami area. Warrior will have to pass all hiv and hep a b and c tests. I’ll do the same. I’m tired of this guy talking sh** about the boys & me. When they stop it or you tap, i’ll quit, or you can apologize like the c**t you are.”
— Ring of Honor’s official site made the following “breaking news” announcement Wednesday evening:
“We have received breaking news that Chris Hero has signed and is officially confirmed for “The Homecoming 2012″ on January 20th in Philadelphia, PA. More details soon!”
Hero was close to signing with WWE several weeks ago but the situation fell apart after issues with Hero’s medical physicals.
– UFC President Dana White says Brock Lesnar is free to work for WWE after announcing his retirement from MMA last week. PopCandiesTV caught White leaving a Hollywood club Tuesday night.
— The first Raw SuperShow of 2012 garnered a 3.1 cable rating, with 4,438,000 viewers. Viewership, however, declined during the second hour for the eighth time in nine weeks as the first hour scored a 3.2 before dropping 6% to 3.02 in the second.
Last week’s show garnered a 2.93 cable rating, with 4,460,000 million viewers overall.
— The New Year’s Eve episode of A.M. Raw scored a 0.75 cable rating, with 829,000 viewers.
— Former WWE Women’s Champion Melina is featured in the following video promoting her upcoming appearance for the WWFX Champion Showcase Tour taking place on February 4, 2012 in Manila, Philippines. She will face Jillian Hall.
Three matches have been announced for this Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike.
* In the main event, Jeff Hardy will team up with James Storm and Abyss to take on World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle, and Bully Ray.
* In tag team action, Knockouts Tag Team Champions Gail Kim and Madison Rayne will defend the straps against Mickie James and Traci Brooks.
* The finals of the Wild Card Tournament will be held to determine who challenges Matt Morgan and Crimson for the World Tag Team Championship at Genesis as AJ Styles and Kazarian take on Samoa Joe and Magnus.
World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy will go face-to-face one last time before their match at Genesis.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Chris Jericho’s Return on RAW: “For the record, I liked it. Also, to be honest, about half way through the presentation, I was having my doubts. Then I saw what I perceived that Jericho was attempting to accomplish and thought that his presentation was unique and certainly unpredictable …
“By saying absolutely nothing and by using facial expressions and body English, Jericho actually said volumes. At least that’s how I felt after the segment ended. The fans in Memphis seemed to be getting peeved at Jericho who they had just cheered moments earlier. Was that the intent? Stay tuned.”
His New Look Goatee: “I showed up on Fox Sports Oklahoma’s TV broadcast of the @okcthunder game Tuesday night sporting a new, gray goatee. Why? Well, the gray aspect is easy…I’m a ‘mature gentleman.’ (No jokes please.) The reason I grew the goatee was simply because I hadn’t shaved in about a week or so during the holidays and when I decided to shave I thought, what the hell, let’s see what a goatee would look like as I have never displayed any facial hair to speak of in my life.”
Alex Rodriguez & Torrie Wilson Together (Click To Enlarge)
– Former WWE diva Torrie Wilson and her new boyfriend, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez were courtside at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for Tuesday night’s Lakers basketball game.
– ESPN announcer and former WWE personality Todd Grisham re-tweeted a message on Wednesday that UFC fighter Chael Sonnen will be accompanied to the cage by WWE Champion CM Punk for his upcoming fight against Mark Munoz on 1/28 at UFC On FOX: Evans vs. Davis.
– As reported earlier, rapper 50 Cent gave WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels a shout out on the new song “Up! (Remix).” HBK wrote the following on twitter:
“Thank you very much to @50cent for the shout out, if it is indeed for me…does that give this country boy official street cred?:-)”
– In a new rap song featuring 50 Cent, Young Jeezy and T.I., 50 cent is the latest hip hop star to reference pro wrestling in his rhymes. 50 gives WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels a shoutout with the line, “I be on that elite sh*t, that HBK Heartbreak Kid freak sh*t.”
You can listen to the song at DefSounds.com, the HBK line comes when there’s 2:35 left in the song, about 40 seconds in.
– The Miz and Eve Torres will be appearing at tonight’s Anaheim Ducks NHL game at the Honda Center. They will be promoting the 1/16 RAW from the same venue and will be signing autographs during the second intermission.
– Beth Phoenix has responded to E! television host Chelsea Handler’s negative comments about women’s wrestling on her Tuesday night “Chelsea Lately” show. Beth tweeted:
“@chelseahandler made some off color comments about Women’s Wrestling last night…Being WWE’s Diva’s Champ I can tell you with confidence that if @chelseahandler has any question about what a “women’s wrestler” can do or how well we entertain, Id be happy to show her…”
“@chelseahandler please allow me to invite you to see a WWE event, live first hand 2/24 at the Staples Center. Of course, the invitation to @chelseahandler extends to the ring…any time …any place…if you would like to see what the Champ is made of.”
— Chris Jericho’s catch phrase “froot,” which roughly translates to “awesome,” is now featured on UrbanDictionary.com.
— WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper says he has one more big match left in him. Piper tweeted on Wednesday:
“I have not been asked to be in Royal Rumble. I tell u a secret, promise to keep it? I am going to do 1 more balls to wall match!” Piper told a follower on Twitter.”
— Video of Jim Ross calling Tuesday night’s OKC Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers NBA game is now online. JR, who was celebrating his 60th birthday, called part of the game on Fox Sports Oklahoma and spoke about his WWE career, the brutal WWE travel schedule and more. Here it is:
— Regarding Rob Van Dam’s contract status with TNA Wrestling, we can confirm that his current deal expires in March. Power Slam Magazine wrote in their latest issue that RVD is seriously considering returning to WWE once his contract expires.
— The official Twitter feed of Impact Wrestling announced Wednesday that TNA Wrestling has signed a new television contract. The statement reads:
“We have signed a new multi-year TV deal with SuperSport network in Africa, with current TNA programming now airing throughout the continent!”
— Angelina Love appears at Top City Autograph Show at the Office Too 3251 S Topeka Blvd. Topeks, Kansas on Feb. 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Click here for more information.
— Chris Jericho, who returned to WWE at Monday’s Raw SuperShow, will be working a full-time schedule for the organization.
He is scheduled for this weekend’s Raw house shows in Tyler, Texas as well as the Raw live event tour in California the following week and then regularly shortly thereafter.
— Jerry “The King” Lawler will team up with fellow WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk, Jr. in his return to Ocala, Florida and Funking Conservatory Wrestling’s !BANG! television taping on Saturday, January 21. They will be paired with Johnny Magnum and Cory “Wild” Weston in an eight man tag team match. Their opponents will be Chinese Champion, Shane Chung, Blain Rage, Fushicho Masuku and a mystery partner.
— Santino Marella announced that he will be appearing on this Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown. He tweeted, “be sure to catch smackdown this Friday, i am smeared all over it, or maybe its all lathered up in me, hmmm.”
– As WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper alluded to on Twitter on Tuesday night, he has signed on for the WWE Network’s “Legends House” reality show, which begins filming in Tampa, FL next month.
Piper is the first confirmed name for the show, although based on the WWE Network promos that have aired on WWE television, Mene Gene Okerlund also appears to be a cast member.
– WWE returns to Puerto Rico for a live event at the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juanon Saturday, March 24th.
Puerto Rican wrestling legend Carlos Colon, who has been rumored to be joining the WWE Hall of Fame this year, recently stated in an interview with Norticel that it would be an honor to be inducted and he has considered offering the WWE footage from his WWC promotion for the WWE Network.
– Former WWE star John Morrison will wrestle his first post-WWE match on February 4th in the Philippines for the World Wrestling Fan Xperience promotion. Morrison will be replacing Ken Anderson in a match against Shelton Benjamin.
Other former WWE names announced for the show include Melina, MVP, Chris Masters, Carlito, Rhino, Billy Gunn and Jillian Hall.
– Mark Henry has been getting a lot praise backstage for working through his current injury. The former World Heavyweight champion has been in pain for some time and has turned down offers by WWE to take time off.
– FCW wrestler Donny Marlow, son of WWE Legend Haku, recently made his WWE debut on Superstars as Hunico’s bodyguard. Marlow is now going by the name Camacho.
– There was no dark main event after last night’s SmackDown tapings from Little Rock, Arkansas. After the taping concluded, there was a comedy segment between Big Show and Mark Henry to end the show
– Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton is being advertised for the March 6th SmackDown tapings at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
– WWE officials planned to have Chris Jericho be the man behind the cryptic videos on RAW all along. Reports of Jericho being unhappy about not being featured in the WWE ’12 video game were made up to make insider fans think there was a rift between Jericho and WWE.
WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross celebrated his 60th birthday on Tuesday by broadcasting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA basketball game against the Portland Trailblazers. Ross was shown sporting a new goatee look along with his signature black cowboy hat. Check out these pictures of Jim Ross’ new look:
– WWE officials are in the process of deciding the finish of the John Cena vs. The Rock match at WrestleMania. As of this weekend, the finish has been narrowed down to two potential scenarios.
For much more on what’s being planned for WrestleMania 28, check out our official WrestleMania news page.
– The Ultimate Warrior took a shot at Kevin Nash this week on his Twitter. When asked by a fan why Warrior doesn’t dye his hair and have another run in WWE like Kevin Nash, Warrior replied:
“I’m not a dickhead who thrives on stealing the limelight from young guys.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper tweeted the following on Tuesday, implying he will be a part of the upcoming Legends House reality show on the WWE Network:
“How can you put 8 seasoned guys living together…lets hear the name of the guy that’s going to control them week 2.5. Not Vince! No Man! Telling you…things are going to get Very Real. Straight fact,I don’t like it..don’t tease me… don’t play with me…I bite, then bury!!!”
We’ve got a number of backstage news items from Monday’s RAW Supershow from Memphis:
– The script for the show was changed several times throughout the day and was not finalized until around 7pm local time.
– Chris Jericho’s WWE return was not on the booking sheets that were handed out before Monday’s RAW from Memphis. Once Jericho arrived backstage, there was no major effort made to keep his presence a secret.
– As previously reported, Brodus Clay was backstage and there were plans to have him finally debut on television in a squash match, but his segment was bumped due to time constraints. Interim RAW GM John Laurinaitis teased on Twitter that Clay’s debut being pushed off again was all part of a plan – and the constant delays will be turned into a storyline. The plan is for Clay to eventually debut as an indestructible monster, similar to how Mark Henry was booked prior to his injury. It remains to be seen whether Clay will be on television before the Royal Rumble.
– CM Punk was hurting when he returned backstage after his match against Dolph Ziggler. There is talk of him taking some time off to rest up.
– The angle with Kane coming from under the ring was written about a week ago but officials didn’t know how they would get to it until the day of the show. The six-man elimination match was put together at the last minute. Officials wanted John Cena in the closing segment so there would be an “Indiana Jones-like” cliffhanger to end the show.
WWE taped Friday’s episode of SmackDown Tuesday from Little Rock, Arkansas. Here are the full taping results, courtesy of prowrestling.net:
— Cody Rhodes defeated Booker T to retain the Intercontinental Title. Great match back and forth match that went over ten minutes, according to Terrence. Cody went for the BDK but Booker ducked it. Booker went for the Bookend, but Cody elbowed his way out. Book kicked him, hit the axe kick, and went for a cover, but Cody kicked out. Then Book tried for the axe kick again but Cody ducked it and hit a Beautiful Disaster Kick for the win.
— Hornswoggle beat Heath Slater in an over the top rope challenge. Heath beat on him and then sat him on the top rope. Horny slapped him. Heath was about to slam Horny over the top, but Horny grabbed his hair for the win. After the match, Heath beat down Hornswoggle until Justin Gabriel made the save.
— Hunico (w/Camacho) defeated Ted DiBiase. An okay match, according to Terrence. The crowd was not into it until Hunico went for the flying head scissors and Ted hit a reverse face plant. Hunico went to work on Ted’s left arm. The end came with Hunico using a submission pin type move. He trapped Ted’s arms with his legs like a Rings of Saturn, then rolled him over for the pin and crossed his feet. Nice finisher.
— Wade Barrett thee Barrett’s Barrage segment. Barrett said Orton is done and he will win the Royal Rumble while Orton sits at home and watches him. Enter Sheamus. Barrett and Sheamus went face to face. Jinder Mahal came out. They beat on Sheamus. He fought back while Wade hit the Winds of Change He left and then Jinder applied the Camel Clutch.
— Santino Marella defeated Drew McIntyre. Santino became the new assistant to the general manager with the win, while McIntyre’s career on Smackdown is in jeopardy.
— Primo and Epico (w/Rosa Mendes) defeated Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston in a non-title match. A good tag match, according to Terrence. The usual high flying from Air Boom. The Colons work well together. Epico got the pin after Evan missed AirBourne.
— Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal was announced for next week’s show.
— Tamina defeated Natalya. The match was one sided and The Warrior Princess picked up the win.
— Daniel Bryan defeated Big Show by DQ in a World Heavyweight Championship match. Mark Henry interfered for the DQ.
– The latest issue of WWE Magazine looks back at the slew of grappling greats that debuted ten years ago—John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar and Batista. In their write-up for Batista, WWE predicts that fans haven’t seen the last of The Animal. WWE states:
“Although he left the company in 2010, many see the departure as a temporary one, and it’s simply a matter of time before The Animal rises again.”
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross joined the Oklahoma City Thunder broadcast team during the second quarter of tonight’s NBA game between the Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers.
JR changed his signature look as he was shown on television with a grey goatee.
– Ticketmaster.com is holding a pre-sale for the March 20 SmackDown taping at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey from Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. through Friday at 11:59 p.m. The pre-sale code is ROCKWWE.
WWE officials ultimately decided not to fly Chris Jericho on a private jet to Memphis, Tennessee—the site of Monday’s Raw SuperShow—because they felt the plan they had devised to keep his return from being spoiled was infallible.
WWE decided to have Jericho fly into Nashville International Airport on Sunday instead of Memphis on Sunday or Monday, have a limousine pick him up and hide him until showtime.
“They didn’t figure somebody would take a photo of him at an airport 220 miles away,” Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer stated on the F4WOnline.com message board.
The photograph was published online Monday morning, which Jericho vehemently refuted.
“Apparently, I’ve been cloned… or somebody has started a great rumour,” he wrote on Twitter.
He then posted several photoshopped images of himself at various places including Egypt, Paris, Gettysburg and Kim Jong-il’s funeral.
– The WWE website attempted to interview Chris Jericho backstage at Monday’s RAW, but did not get much out of him. Jericho continued the “silent treatment” we saw on television, smiling and ignoring the questions asked of him. When asked if he plans to enter the Royal Rumble, Jericho paused, turned on the lights on his jacket, and walked away. To view the video, visit WWE.com.
– The latest on Brodus Clay’s status is that WWE is holding off on his debut until the Royal Rumble.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, who is celebrating his 60th birthday today, will be calling an NBA basketball game tonight between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers. Ross tweeted on Tuesday afternoon:
“Heading to OKC for Thunder game tonight at 7 central on Fox Sports Oklahoma & NBA Season Pass. I’m Going 2 join broadcast team in 2nd QT.”
The official PPV poster for WWE’s upcoming Elimination Chamber has been released and it features Sheamus. The event takes place on Sunday, February 19thfrom Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Bradley Center. It will be the final WWE pay-per-view before WrestleMania 28.
As previously reported, participants for WWE’s annual Raw Elimination Chamber Match are tentatively scheduled to include:
Alberto Del Rio
CM Punk
John Cena
Kane
R-Truth
The Miz
The outcome of the bout is expected to be based on whether Cena’s match with The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII will have the WWE Championship on the line.
