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Full Story On Daniel Bryan’s WWE Release (POLL)

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Bryan Danielson

WWE announced on Friday that NXT season 1 rookie Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) was released effective immediately and wished him the best in all future endeavors. People in WWE, including the creative team, were told that Danielson was fired for his conduct during the NXT Invasion angle on last week’s RAW. He was shown choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie during and spit on WWE champion John Cena during the heated angle.

The industry buzz is that a very powerful person outside of WWE complained to Vince McMahon about Danielson’s choking of Justin Roberts and deemed it too violent for WWE’s PG audience. There’s talk that Danielson broke a company protocol that was put in place after the Chris Benoit tragedy that nobody is to use ropes or other objects to choke opponents. Exactly who made the complaint isn’t known. but there’s speculation that it could be someone from Linda McMahon’s Senate campaign.

Read More: Jim Ross Comments On Daniel Bryan’s WWE Release & Future

The within WWE is that Bryan Danielson is being thrown under the bus. The company apparently does want to bring him back once the whole thing blows over. He has a 90-day no compete clause, but after that time would be free to join TNA.

For what it’s worth, Danielson has been described as having a great attitude backstage during his brief WWE run and was liked by most.

Bryan Danielson changed his Twitter account from to Twitter.com/bryandanielson. He wrote on Saturday:

“Just changed my twitter name to Bryan Danielson. The winds of change are stirring.”

On Sunday, he followed up with:

“Biding my time, waiting for the right moment to speak.”

Update: WWE Champion John Cena has posted a lengthy message on Twitter regarding Danielson’s WWE release. Check it out here: John Cena Comments On Daniel Bryan’s WWE Release

WrestleMania DVD Sales Tumble, Lucky Cannon, Quinton Jackson

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(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Early sales figures for WWE’s WrestleMania XXVI DVD are low to say the least. After its first two weeks on the market, the DVD set has sold 24,810 units. To compare, WrestleMania XXV sold 106,427 units within its first two weeks, while previous years were in the 150,000 to 200,000 range.

— NXT Rookie Lucky Cannon wasn’t given his developmental name, Johnny Prime, because the company doesn’t want anymore “John’s” on the roster.

— Quinton Jackson was popular backstage at Raw once everyone saw how much enjoyed being around wrestlers.

Even More On TNA’s Major Changes & Tonight’s Surprise

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– TNA President Dixie Carter posted some messages on Twitter on Sunday morning clarifying that the “nice surprise” she promised for tonight’s Slammiversary pay-per-view is NOT part of the “major changes” that she says will change TNA . Regarding when we’ll know what the major changes are, Carter wrote, “You will just see for yourselves in the coming weeks.”

– As part of TNA’s Slammiversary weekend, the company held an 8th anniversary party in Orlando on Saturday night at the Universal Orlando’s Citywalk NASCAR restaurant. Many of TNA’s top stars were in attendance and both Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter addressed the crowd and shared their thoughts on the past, present and future of TNA. Dixie Carter shot down some rumors about the “major changes” coming to TNA – stating that TNA has not been sold and the changes do not involve a new television deal.

– As for what the major changes are, there are a lot of competing theories as to what it will be. While we can confirm that Paul Heyman has spoken with Dixie Carter in the past several weeks and many in TNA are pushing hard for Heyman to be brought in, a TNA source tells SEScoops that the talen believs the changes are more than just hiring a new booker. The changes will not be announced all at once, but will be revealed over a few weeks time.

WWE Trademarks “The Network,” NXT News, Haku’s Son

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– WWE recently trademarked the term “The Network” – which will likely be used for the company’s planned cable network.

– Despite the fact that the NXT Season 1 rookies were all portrayed as heels on Monday’s RAW during the NXT invasion, Justin Gabriel wrestled at Thursday’s FCW tapings as a babyface and did not wear his NXT black armband. David Otunga wrestled on the same show, worked as a heel and wore the black & yellow “N” armband the NXT crew wore on RAW.

– Former WWE and WCW star Haku (Meng) was also Thursday’s FCW tapings. Haku’s son, Donny Marlow, was recently aligned with the Uso Twins and Tamina before they were called up to the main roster.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Sound Off 112: Mourning The Loss Of Vince McMahon’s Grapefruits

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Solomonster Sounds Off

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 112)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Solomonster raves about the NXT angle on Raw, then rants on the firing of Bryan Danielson, plus thoughts on the resurrection of Survivor Series, making title belts mean more and the Sound Off’s new home on FACEBOOK!

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

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

Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster

More Details On Daniel Bryan’s WWE Release

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Despite the fact that that many within WWE still think Daniel Bryan’s release is a work and part of an angle, all indications are that he has indeed been released.

For those who haven’t been following the story, Bryan was released after a (still unknown) powerful figure complained that Bryan’s conduct during the NXT invasion on RAW went beyond what the company allows on television. Bryan choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie and spit on John Cena, which WWE management considered grounds for releasing him.

WWE officials have told everyone in the company about Bryan’s release – from executives to the marketing department. Bryan is already seeking work on the independent scene. The final decision to release Bryan was made early Friday and he was informed shortly before WWE announced it on the company website.

WWE gave Bryan the impression that they would work together in the future, but for now – he’s a casualty of company politics.

Danielson’s last match with WWE was on Wednesday night at the FCW event in Florida where he took part in a continuation of the NXT invasion.

Obviously the invasion angle will be hurt now with his departure as he was considered the most well-rounded star of the group.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Jim Ross Comments On Daniel Bryan’s WWE Release & Future

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Daniel Bryan’s WWE release this week.

“I was surprised to get up Saturday morning and to read that Daniel Bryan or Bryan Danielson had been released from WWE,” wrote Ross. “I am not sure of the exact circumstances and until that information is confirmed it’s hard to make any definitive comments. Bryan is a talented wrestler who is not going to have any trouble finding work. His in ring style is unique, the young man has certainly paid his ‘dues,’ what ever that means now days, and he’s arguably the most talked about performer on NXT.”

Ross acknowledges that Daniel Bryan is in a unique position to capitalize on the strong push he’s had in recent weeks, culminating with him laying out WWE champion John Cena in his final WWE appearance.

“Certainly Bryan leaves WWE with momentum and with more fans knowing his name than at any point in his career,” Ross said. “Plus, who is to say that Bryan will never return to WWE? There may be a great deal more to this matter than any of us know or, honestly, need to know at this time.”

Major Changes Coming To TNA Wrestling Very Soon

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Earlier this week, we reported that TNA President Dixie Carter posted a message on Twitter that she’s got a “nice surprise” in store for the fans at Slammiversary. Now, things just got a little more interesting.

Carter wrote the following on her Twitter account early Saturday morning:

“It’s 6:30 am. Been up for hours. So excited I can’t sleep. TNA’s about to change forever. Can’t wait to share it w/you, my staff, the talent”

There’s a lot of buzz that TNA has reached out to big names to work on the creative end of the company. PWInsider.com is confirming that two of those names are Kevin Sullivan and Paul Heyman.

Word is that if Paul Heyman would come into TNA, he would need complete control of the creative side of things. With Vince Russo dramatically scaling back his role in TNA, the door is open for a new creative force to come in.

Dixie Carter wrote later in the day:

“Just got off phone w/Spike prez Kevin Kay. He is all in and agrees this will change TNA on every level.”

According to F4WOnline.com, sources say that Dixie Carter was being very secretive about the impending changes, offering only “cryptic remarks” about making sure everyone is on the same page in advance of the changes.

Update On Why Daniel Bryan Was Released From WWE

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(Credit to F4Wonline.com for some of the info used in this report)

People in WWE, including the creative team, were told that Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) was fired for choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie during the NXT invasion angle on RAW this past Monday.

The shot was edited from replays of the angle and was described as being too violent for what WWE allows on it’s programming.

There’s talk that a very powerful person (either in WWE or from the USA Network) complained to WWE officials about the angle, claiming that Bryan’s choking of Justin Roberts was way too extreme for the children who may have been watching.

The feeling within the WWE locker room is that Daniel Bryan is being uused as a scapegoat. WWE apparently does want to bring him back once the whole thing blows over.

For what it’s worth, Danielson has been described as having a great attitude backstage and “the type of person you would want your locker room filled with.”

Breaking News: WWE Releases NXT Star Daniel Bryan

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WWE made the following announcement on their official website late Friday night:

“WWE has come to terms on the release of NXT first season rookie Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) as of today June 11, 2010. We wish Daniel Bryan the best in all future endeavors.”

After checking with our sources in WWE, it appears the release of Daniel Bryan is legit. WWE executives Donna Goldsmith and Michelle Wilson were informed of Daniel Bryan’s release before the news was made public.

While it’s still possible that this is part of a storyline and this could be another example of  WWE’s new initiative feature more realistic elements in their storytelling, the fact that WWE executives were informed of the release first leads us to believe it’s legit.

More On New NXT Ring Announcer Jamie Keyes (Pictures)

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On Tuesday’s NXT Season 2 premiere show, we saw the debut of a new female ring announcer – developmental diva Jamie Keyes. We’ve done some research and have some more information regarding the lovely Ms. Keyes.

Jamie Keyes’ real name is Brittany Beede and she’s a model from Sarasota, Florida. She recently opened a Twitter page at Twitter.com/realjamiekeyes.

Keyes worked briefly with TNA last year, accompanying Kevin Nash to the ring at December’s Final Resolution pay-per-view.

She was also set to work with women’s wrestling promotion Wrestleicious and recently filmed some promo footage for them, but received a call from WWE last month and the rest is history.

Here are some pictures from Keyes’ Myspace page:

Christopher Daniels Talks About Leaving TNA For ROH

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Former three-time TNA X-Division Champion, former six-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, & former two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, was one of the special guests on this week’s live edition (06/07/09) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. You can feel The Mayhem live every Monday night (at 7PM ET/6PM CT), exclusively at MondayNightMayhem.com.

You can listen to an audio clip of the Christopher Daniels interview here (MP3). Interview highlights below courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson From New Jersey:

The transition from TNA to Ring of Honor over the past several months & if he ever felt he would see himself in ROH full-time once again: “I always thought Ring of Honor was a great place to wrestle, especially if you enjoy wrestling like I do. It’s usually the place where the top talent in the world goes to wrestle, so I’m thrilled to be back there again with guys like Jim Cornette & Adam Pearce heading the ship. You look at the roster they have, and just to be included in that roster, it’s really for a lack of better term an honor. The guys that are going to be on this Pay-Per-View (Death Before Dishonor VIII) are some of the best wrestlers in the world. I always hoped that I would be wrestling and holding my own with the best in the world, so yeah I’m happy to be there.”

The lowdown behind his TNA departure & if he anything publicly to say to those within the TNA organization: “I don’t really want to discuss what happened between me & TNA; that’s in the past, and I’m just gonna go wrestle where I can wrestle. I’m happy to work for a company that appreciates me being there, and right now that’s Ring of Honor, Triple A, & other companies around the world. I’m just concentrating on staying busy and trying to stay at that competitive level.”

What he feels TNA could have done differently with him creatively & how the company could have utilized his persona & character more effectively: It’s easy to look back in hindsight and say ‘They should have done this,’ or ‘I wish they could’ve done that.’ Every wrestler in the world has probably looked at whatever company they’ve been in and said ‘I could’ve been pushed better,’ but the truth of the matter is, creative teams, whether TNA, ROH, or even WWE, there’s a bigger picture that they deal with. The decisions that are made, while they may not be as beneficial to me as a single, in the end they are trying to make the whole roster move forward and be better. What could they have done different? They could have put the World Title on me, but they didn’t. They decided to do what they did, and that’s something we all have to deal with.”

What the fans can expect in his “Pick 6” Contenders Series Match vs. Kenny Omega at Death Before Dishonor VIII in Toronto: I lot of people are happy that I’m back in Ring of Honor in the sense that get a chance to see me live. Coming back after three years of being in Ring of Honor, I get the opportunity to have matches that I haven’t had before, and one for example is Kenny Omega. Kenny has done a lot of good stuff on the independents, both in Ring of Honor & PWG, as well as going overseas. There is a lot of buzz around Kenny Omega, and so, there’s a lot of anticipation for the first time ever that he & I will ever wrestle each other.

How different the ROH product is from TNA right now: “The similarities are of course that the rosters are made up with guys that are hungry for bigger & better opportunities. Being with ROH from the beginning, along with mostly being TNA from the beginning and watching both companies grow from where they were in 2002 to now. Both companies have always been that ‘little engine that could,’ and the differences are in the opportunities that come to both companies. TNA has had better opportunities & breaks in terms of their television situation, but at the same, ROH has had a little more freedom internationally and dealing with talents around the world & with other companies. TNA has tried to be its own entity. It all goes back to the talent and the talent that is hungry for trying to become bigger & better and try to make whatever company we’re talking about more successful.”

More is contained in this worldwide exclusive with “The Fallen Angel”, including his candid thoughts on who he looks forward to competing with in his return to the Ring of Honor roster, how he’s still learning (both in & out of the ring) after many years in the business, how he prides himself in being in the best shape of his life right now, his current relationship with Low Ki/his comments on the highly anticipated debut of “Kaval” in Season II of WWE NXT, plus Daniels’ thoughts on CM Punk taking the opportunities given to him by the WWE (along with his most recent run with The Straight Edge Society). Say your prayers Mayhem Nation, as Christopher Daniels breaks his silence in his first post-TNA interview…found only on “Your Home of Wrestling Radio.” Log on to http://www.ROHWrestling.com & http://www.Tickets.com to purchase your tickets to Ring of Honor’s return to the Buffalo, NY area (at the Erie County Fairgrounds Agri-Center) next Friday night, June 18th, along with ROH’s “Death Before Dishonor VIII” iPPV in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (at The Ted Reeve Arena) next Saturday evening, June 19th. Unable to be a part of DBD VIII in person? Purchase the event right now on http://www.GoFightLive.tv for only $14.95!

WWE SmackDown Preview For Tonight

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The following is scheduled for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown:

– Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger.

– Layla w/Michelle McCool & Kaval vs. Tiffany w/Kelly Kelly.

– Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler.

– Big Show vs. CM Punk.

Plus, more on the Undertaker’s condition and appearances by Teddy Long, Kane, Drew McIntyre and more.

*Spoilers* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For Friday

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SmackDown *SPOILERS*

Credit to reader  Shannon Sylvia and Wrestling News World for this live report from Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown! tapings from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Bay, Florida:

WWE SmackDown (Airing Friday)
* SmackDown opens with a recap of The Undertaker being found in a vegetative state where Kane vows there will be vengeance. Rey Mysterio is then shown winning last week’s Battle Royal match for Undertaker’s vacant spot at WWE’s upcoming Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view.

* Big Show will take on CM Punk while Jack Swagger will take on Rey Mysterio. Fatal 4-Way participants compete with Mysterio and Swagger kicking off this week’s edition of SmackDown.

* Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger
Rey comes out and talks about last week’s show where he won the SmackDown battle royal and says it’ll be his World Title. He’s cut off by Jack Swagger’s music. Swagger comes out and tells Rey to capitalize on the misfortune of The Undertaker. He then mocks Mysterio where he says he was winning in. Lots of 619 chants. Rey thinks all that education went to a waste and says he’s proud of his heritage. CM Punks comes out with SES and says “Malcom X got JFK in 1963” and this time he fell victim to the Season One NXT rookies. Punk then talks about how he’ll be a four time straightedge World Heavyweight Champion.

Rey Mysterio tells CM Punk that he is daring to take his mask off after Punk had his head shaved. Big Show comes out and says he will take care of business where he’ll beat three competitors and walk out the World Champion. Big Show then mocks Punk by saying he looks good bald. He can’t help but wonder if Kane’s responsible for Undertaker’s demise. When Kane finds out who did it someone will end up in Taker’s casket. Kane says it could be four people that did it and promises their will be vengeance.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger finally begins with a few back and forth moves. Swagger holds Rey to the ground until Rey rolls out of it and hits a move that sends Jack flying from the ring. Swagger smashes Mysterio into the turnbuckle. Rey hits a 619 and a frog-splash for a two-count. Rey is shocked. The two go at each other with Rey hitting a few moves until he tosses Jack back into the ring. Rey gets thrown out of the ring as Swagger stands tall until; he goes out of the ring and beats him up. Swagger goes for a submission move but Rey fights back until Swagger hits a clothesline for a nearfall. Swagger tries for a suplex off of the turnbuckle for a nearfall but ultimately gets heat from the fans. Rey makes a comeback and gets the win after reversing the gutwrench powerbomb into a 619.

After the match Swagger attacks Rey until Kane comes out and takes both of them out.

* Layla w/Michelle McCool & Kaval b. Tiffany w/Kelly Kelly
Lay-Cool came out and tell the crowd to be quiet and said they are there to get a famous flawless makeover. Michelle McCool starts teaching Kaval a lesson. The match was fairly short with Michelle distracting the referee. Layla got the win after a sloppy neckbreaker.

* Christian b. Dolph Ziggler
Vickie Guerrero comes out and introduces Dolph Ziggler after Christian came out to the ring. The match starts with Vickie watching. Dolph dominates the first part of the match even hitting a stunner on Christian. Christian eventually gains control over the match and gets the win with a rollup pinfall. After the match Curt Hawkins & Vance Archer make a statement. Dolph then puts Christian in a sleeperhold and then he walks out with Vickie.

* Kane is shown looking over the casket with dead roses on top. He says that his soul is empty and he will lead vengeance into hell.

* Drew MacIntyre comes out and demands that Teddy Long comes out. Long comes out and Drew tells him to watch what happened to him last week on Raw. He says that Matt Hardy is suspended from all WWE programming. Drew then gets in Teddy’s face. Kofi Kingston comes out and says he earned the Intercontinental Championship like a man. Kofi and Drew exchange blows until Kofi finally takes him out.

* Teddy Long is then shown on the phone. Drew comes into his office and says next week he’ll be taking him on. If Long loses, he’ll be fired according to Mr. McMahon.

* Big Show b. CM Punk w/SES via DQ
CM Punk and Big Show start out doing their boxing moves. Punk then goes for a kick and climbs until Show dares him to give him a KO punch. Show tries to rip off Punk’s mask followed by some chops. Show goes for the chokeslam and once again tries to remove Punk’s mask. SES and a ‘hooded’ individual come in the ring and take out Big Show. Kane comes out and cleans house. He takes Big Show out with a chokeslam. This ends this week’s edition of SmackDown.

Dark Match Main Event

– Big Show & Rey Mysterio beat Jack Swagger & CM Punk w/SES in a dark steel cage main event match.

Carlito’s Father Says He’s Off Pills & Updates His Future

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Last month, Carlos Colon, father of former WWE superstar Carlito, made headlines when he stated that Carlito had a problem with prescription pain pills and left WWE after refusing to enter rehab.

Read More: Carlito’s Dad Says Carlito Has A Problem With Prescription Pills

Carlos Colon spoke to Peurto Rico newspaper “El Nuevo Dia” this week and gave the following update on Carlito’s situation:

– Carlito did not enter rehab program, but is no longer on pills and is no longer in pain. The time away from WWE has helped his body recover.

– Carlito is back in the gym and training again after taking some time off.

– Carlito lives with his mother in Texas.

– Carlos thinks Carlito should wrestle in Puerto Rico for a while before going back to the demanding WWE schedule.

– Carlito asked for time off from WWE on several occasions, but WWE rejected his requests.

Jarrett Interview: Kurt & Karen, iMPACT! Back To Mondays?

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TNA founder Jeff Jarrett was interviewed this week by Fanhouse.com to promote Sunday’s TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what Jarrett said about:

His Role in TNA: “I have zero to do with that (creative). It’s a breath of fresh air for myself because it’s a consuming job. At times, it completely consumes your life where it’s almost like you can’t see the forest through the trees. It not only takes up a lot of time but it takes up, I guess you could say, a lot of mental space.”

Being Engaged to Karen Angle & His relationship with Kurt Angle: “Me and Kurt are good and that’s a private matter and I’ll definitely leave it at that. I don’t discuss things like that. But it’s a very good, thriving relationship.”

The Possibility of iMPACT! Ever Returning To Mondays: “This sounds real clichéish but if the time was right, absolutely we would. But you know what, the timing, and I’m not talking about just internally on TV, I’m talking externally with Spike and different things with momentum going and different marketing plans and different dollars being invested and how we’re going to advertise as well as in the show with storylines to have it all make sense. Let’s just say the stars would certainly have to align but if they did align without a doubt.”

Cena Breaks His Silence, Viewers Choice Voting Legit & More

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– WWE Champion John Cena has posted his first message on Twitter since the brutal beatdown he suffered at the hands of the NXT rookies at the end of RAW. Cena wrote:

“CeNation. Sorry for delay. Checked out fine. Mild concussion and some back and hip trouble, but I am in 1 piece. Thank u for your concern.”

Read More: John Cena & Wade Barrett To Feud

– The fan voting at Monday’s Viewer’s Choice RAW was legitimate. While the writing of Monday’s show did push fans to vote for particular people, they had plans in place for each scenario in the fan voting didn’t go as the company hoped for.

– WWE’s website had 12.4 million unique visitors for the month of April. The WWE Shop website averaged 633 orders per day and shipped 277,000 DVDs for the month, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

WWE’s New Company Direction, NXT Invasion Kept Secret

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-There is a new movement in WWE’s overall booking philosophy to feature more realistic programming and to push younger, smaller stars. The NXT invasion on RAW and the recent storyline with Daniel Bryan vs. Michael Cole are examples of angles that are “out of the norm” for WWE.

WWE also knows that stars like The Undertaker, Triple H, Edge, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Big Show won’t be around forever. Some of today’s top young talents (The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Daniel Bryan, Kaval) are smaller than the current breed of main eventers and the company realizes that the smaller guys need to be portrayed well. Evan Bourne in particular is in line for a big push and has the endorsement of John Cena, but it remains to be seen how committed WWE is to the push.

– As we reported earlier this week, the reaction backstage after the NXT invasion on RAW was very positive. The angle was kept a secret from almost everyone in the company and wasn’t even listed on the show’s script.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

John Cena & Wade Barrett To Feud, NXT Ratings, Lay Cool

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– Following the NXT invasion on RAW, there are plans for John Cena to feud with Wade Barrett for the WWE championship this summer. The match could headline a summer pay-per-view and would be another example of WWE shooting another young star to the top in a feud with John Cena, ala Sheamus.

– Speaking of John Cena, he is still scheduled to appear at this week’s live WWE events, but WWE will likely want to sell the beatdown he suffered on RAW – so he may not wrestle this week.

– Tuesday’s WWE NXT Season 2 premiere did a 1.07 cable rating with 1,529,000 viewers. Viewersihp was up 8% compared to last week’s Season 1 finale.

– WWE creative is currently happy with the Michelle McCool – Layla tag team, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. While some saw them as a “Beautiful People” knockoff at first, Lay Cool is seen as a hot act with a lot of potential.

Flair & Hogan’s Futures In TNA, Surprise At Slammiversary

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– The creative team in TNA has been told to make sure Hulk Hogan appears on every episode of Impact, even if its just for a moment. Others in the company feel that Hogan should be used more sparingly, so his appearances have more of an impact.

– Ric Flair’s TNA contract was for 52 dates over a one-year period. Since he has appeared on virtually all of TNA’s television and pay-per-view events, the comany will likely have to sign him to a new contract soon. One bargaining chip for TNA in the negotiations is their ability to bring in Ric Flair’s son, Reid.

– TNA President Dixie Carter posted a comment on Twitter that TNA has a “nice surprise” for fans at Sunday’s TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view. We haven’t heard anything yet about what the surprise may be, but TNA has built a nice track record of delivering on their surprises and “major announcements” – so this could get interesting.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– According to Dave Meltzer, the creative team in TNA has been told to make sure Hulk Hogan appears on every episode of Impact, even if it is just for a brief moment. There are some thoughts that he should be on television less, so when he does appear, it means more.

– Ric Flair’s TNA contract was for 52 dates over a one-year period. Since he has appeared on all the TV/PPV events, they are likely going to have to sign him to a new contract soon. It’s possible that TNA will bring in Flair’s son Reid so he won’t ask for more money when it comes time to sign a new deal.

NXT Invasion Continues: Another Beatdown At FCW Show

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The NXT Invasion storyline continued at last night’s WWE developmental show in Florida.

The main event was scheduled to be The Miz and Daniel Bryan vs. Christian and Heath Slater – but that match never happened. The Miz’s music played before the match but nobody came out. Christian came out next and talked about what happened on RAW, then called out Heath Slater. Slater talked about how everything started off fine between them – but then Christian wouldn’t give him the answers so they lost the competition.

Daniel Bryan then ran out and attacked Christian from behind. The Miz came down next and helped Christian fight off the NXT rookies. Miz grabbed a microphone and proposed that they switch partners – and instead have a Pros vs. Rookies match. Miz and Christian worked as babyfaces during the match.

As Miz and Christian were about to hit their finishing moves on the Rookies, the rest of the NXT Season 1 Rookies rushed the ring and beat down Miz and Christian

As we saw on RAW, the Rookies destroyed the ringside area and tore down the FCW ring -  before Bryan kicked Miz in the head and Slater hit the Killswitch on Christian. The Rookies left with the Pros laid out.

The NXT Invasion angle looks like it’s here to stay. Considering the  strong feedback we got here on the site and the overall buzz in the industry this week, WWE has finally gone back to basics with a captivating wrestling angle that might just keep fans tuned in this summer.

VIDEO: Death Before Dishonor Main Event Preview

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Ring of Honor’s upcoming Death Before Dishonor online pay-per-view is just over two weeks away – taking place on Saturday, June 19th from Toronto.

Here’s the current card for the event, including a must-see video hyping the main event.

Death Before Dishonor Card

* ROH Champion Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards

* ROH Tag Team champions The Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoe Brothers

* Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega

* Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards preview:

Vince McMahon Shows Up To Work With 2 Black Eyes

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WWE Chairman Vince McMahon showed up at WWE’s television tapings this past week with two black eyes and a cut over one eye that went to his forehead, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Nobody seemed to know what happened. Everyone was talking about it privately, but as you can imagine, nobody wanted to be overheard speculating about how Vince got so banged up.

Vince never addressed the situation publicly and if he did tell anybody what happened – they’re not talking about it.

Our source says it looked like Vince got into a fight or car accident. Most figured he was in an accident, because if it were a fight, it would be hard to keep that quiet.

Prominent Political Pundit Disses Linda McMahon

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Reader Gary C from Springfield, MO (SEScoops member “GCMissouri”) sent in this report:

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter wrote in her weekly column that she hoped that Sarah Palin would endorse McMahon’s Republican Primary opponent Bob Simmons because otherwise the Republicans would be “kissing the possibility of a major upset in Connecticut goodbye.”

Coulter described Linda as a “professional wrestling impresario” and expressed disappointment that those who attended the GOP caucus in CT last month endorsed Linda due only to the fact that “offered to spend up to $50 million of her own money on the campaign.” Coulter said that “any half-wit knows” that people in CT would not vote for her.

Coulter outlined in 19 of 20 instances where a candidate said they would spend a great deal of their own money… those candidates did not win. She argued that if McMahon is nominated that Republicans would blow a big opportunity for them to pickup a U.S. Senate seat vs. the Democrat candidate Richard Blumenthal, who was strongly criticized for recently lying about his Vietnam War service last month.

Coulter is an influential conservative writer and commentator that is quite popular among Republican voters at the grassroots level and Tea-Party members, so this cannot be good news for Linda.

The article can be seen at AnnCoulter.com.

Promenant

TNA iMPACT! Preview: Hardy, Angle & Anderson In Action

Staff
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Here’s a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV, the final episode before Sunday’s Slammiversary pay-per-view:

* Jeff Hardy, Ken Anderson, Jay Lethal & Abyssvs. AJ Styles & Desmond Wolfe & Beer Money

* Kurt Angle vs. The Amazing Red.

* The Beautiful People’s Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich vs. Roxxi & Rosie Lottalove.

Also scheduled to appear are TNA champion Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Matt Morgan, Team 3D, Hernandez and more.

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