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WWE Hires New Marketing Senior Vice President (Press Release)

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WWE issued the following press release this morning:

Hill Named Senior Vice President, Marketing

STAMFORD, Conn., Jun 07, 2010 — World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. announced that Eddie Hill will assume the role of Senior Vice President, Marketing, effective June 7, 2010. Hill will be responsible for providing strategic direction around WWE’s branding and promotions, television tune-in, pay-per-view events, network affiliate marketing, WWE Studios and market research. He will report directly to Michelle D. Wilson, Executive Vice President, Marketing.

Hill brings 18 years of experience as a marketing executive within the financial, sports and entertainment industries. He comes to WWE from American Express after he spent the last two years as Vice President/Head of U.S. Advertising & Global Agency Management and spearheaded the Are You A Cardmember? and Don’t Take Chances – Take Charge campaigns.

Prior to American Express, Hill was the Vice President of Marketing for Nickelodeon and Nick Movies. He has also held positions at ESPN and the Walt Disney Company.

“We are thrilled to have Eddie join WWE, bringing with him a great breadth and depth of valuable experience in the sports and entertainment industries,” said Michelle D. Wilson. “With Eddie’s skill set, we will continue to strategically market and grow the WWE brand across all of our global platforms.”

Hill received his B.S. in Business Administration degree from Georgetown University and his Masters of Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Cena Serves As Grand Marshal At Race, NXT Rookies On Twitter

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— John Cena served as Co-Grand Marshal along with the “Gillette Fusion ProGlide Believers” at yesterday’s Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway. You can view an image of the WWE Champion chatting with NASCAR driver and past Raw guest host Joey Logano here.

— All eight season two NXT Rookies have opened accounts on Twitter. The links are as follows: Alex Riley | Eli Cottonwood | Husky Harris | Kaval | Michael McGillicutty | Percy Watson | Titus O’Neil

John Morrison Returns, Bourne’s Push Continues, Uso Twins

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Here are some newsworthy items from this weekend’s WWE live events:

– WWE RAW superstar John Morrison returned to action this weekend after being away from the ring for several weeks due to an ankle injury. Morrison worked the live events this weekend, facing The Miz and R-Truth in Triple Threats for the United States Title. At Saturday’s event, Morrison defeated Miz in singles action.

– After teaming with John Cena (and getting the pin for his team) in the main event of last week’s WWE RAW, Evan Bourne’s push continued over the weekend. Bourne teamed with Cena again against Sheamus and Edge in the main events of the weekend shows and fan reports indicated that Bourne was put over strong.

– The Uso Twins worked the RAW live events over the weekend, losing to The Hart Dynasty. The Uso’s received mixed reviews from WWE’s agents, according to f4wonline.com.

– Finlay, who returned to WWE TV on this past Friday’s SmackDown, worked the SmackDown live events this weekend, defeating NXT season 1 Rookie Heath Slater.

– WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young was ringside at Sunday’s RAW live event from Columbia, South Carolina, but was not announced to the crowd.

Matt Hardy Fed Up With WWE, NXT Stars On The Road & More

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Matt Hardy is back to doing what he does best – posting cryptic messages on Twitter. Hardy has been making some noise as of late, saying that he’s underutilized, has nothing to lose and “doesn’t need the WWE.” He also told a fan:

“Deal is-there’s more reality than not on the stuff I’m saying & doing now on TV. Something has to change-either the WWE or me.”

– All of the season 2 NXT Rookies can now be found on Twitter. The season 2 Rookies’ Twitter nicknames are HuskyNXT, EliNXT, PercyNXT, TitusNXT, KavalWWE, LuckyCannon, MikeNXT and AlexNXT.

Read More: Follow 80+ Wrestlers & Divas on Twitter at PWTweets.com.

– As noted earlier, it’s expected that Wade Barrett will be joining the RAW brand. Barrett worked this weekend’s RAW live events, defeating Yoshi Tatsu.

– Another NXT season 1 Rookie, Justin Gabriel, also worked the SmackDown live events, losing to Chavo Guerrero.

JR Blog: Returning to WWE, Lesnar’s Fight On 7/3 & More

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Returning To WWE: “Got my travel handled for the Fatal Four Way in the Nassau Coliseum coming up later this month. Looking forward to hanging in the back and helping where I can at my first WWE PPV where I will be in the locker room area since September of last year. I wonder if I can get my pal Taz to spring for dinner the night before the event, if he’s in town.”

Brock Lesnar’s Fight On 7/3: “I will be in Vegas on July 3 to see the Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin Heavyweight Title fight which has many close to Lesnar concerned and rightfully so. Carwin has allowed no one to survive outside the first round as best I know off the top of my head in compiling an undefeated record. Lesnar is still my pick to win this one but any thing can and likely will happen in this battle of big, strong, badass fighters. ”

NXT Season 2: “I’m curious to see if there are any significant tweaks on NXT this Tuesday night for the premier of season two. I’ve mentioned this before but being a fan of reality shows I would like to see the contestants interact in a non arena type setting more frequently. Will Michael Cole select another NXT rooked to haze or has that specific ship sailed?”

Shoot Interviews: “Pet Peeve of the Day….I find myself disliking the term ‘Shoot Interview’ and I can’t really explain why except that it denotes to me a ‘dirt fest’ from disgruntled individuals ready to embellish negative stories for a pay day. With that said, watching a compelling interview on DVD with a wrestler who has an interesting story to tell in more of a documentary form really interests me. Am I splitting hairs on this one. It is simply a matter of semantics?”

ROH On HDNet Preview: Tyles Black vs. Austin Aries (Video)

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Here’s a preview for tonight’s Ring of Honor on HDNet broadcast, followed by a video recap from HDNet looking at the recent developments surrounding the ROH championship:

* ROH Champion Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries in a non-title match

* Jerry Lynn vs. Steve Corino

* El Generico vs. Ricky Reyes

Ted DiBiase Pulled Over & Receives Ticket, Indianapolis Gets Raw

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— Ted Dibiase noted on his Twitter account that he was pulled over early Sunday morning for driving over the speed limit. He wrote: “I was doing 83 in a 70…He gave me ticket and then chatted me up about wrestling for 15 min! Thought he might rip it up….Nope”

He posted the following photo of himself after receiving the ticket.

— WWE Monday Night Raw on September 20th, 2010 will be held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tickets go on sale June 7th, 2010 at noon.

— Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling. You can view the cover here.

Undertaker Angle Sparks Curiosity, Jericho Misses House Show

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— SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced last night on Friday Night SmackDown that over the Memorial Day weekend, The Undertaker was found by his brother Kane “in a vegetative state,” following a vicious assault of unknown origins. The storyline sparked much curiosity regarding the health of The Undertaker as according to www.India-Server.com, thousands of wrestling fans are searching online to find out whether he has really died.

The website added: “Till now no official statement has been issued by the wrestler’s family or the World Wrestling Entertainment. The fans of Undertaker are praying for his well being.”

— Chris Jericho wrote on his Twitter account last night that he would be missing the evening’s house show in Asheville, North Carolina. While he didn’t give a reason for missing the event, he apologized for the no-show and promise to make it up to the people of Asheville in the future.

— Randy Orton is featured on the cover of the latest issue of WWE Magazine, which you can view here.

Sound Off 111: I Wouldn’t Want WWE To Name My Baby!

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solomonster
Solomonster Sounds Off

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 111)

*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!

Est. Runtime: 63 minutes

Solomonster is back with thoughts on the supposed “youth movement” in WWE, Kane’s promo on Smackdown, the NXT finale and a rant on names for season 2, a new Raw guest host and THE MAILBAG!

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

Location For Victory Road, Angelina Love Auctioning Bikini, More

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— TNA has announced that the Victory Road pay-per-view event will take place on July 11. Meanwhile, Hard Justice will be held on Aug. 8. Both shows will take place at the Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida.

— Angelina Love is auctioning off a bikini worn on a fall 2008 episode of iMPACT! during the first ever “Beautiful People Beauty Pageant.” You can view the auction here, which ends today.

— You can follow TNA newcomer Rosie Lottalove on Twitter.com here.

— This past Wednesday, Velvet Sky turned 29 years old while AJ Styles turned 32.

James Appearing In Puerto Rico, Former WWE Diva Gives Birth

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— World Wrestling Council announced that former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James will compete at Aniversario 2010 — the promotion’s biggest event of the year. Previously announced names for Aniversario 2010 include Scott Steiner, AAA’s El Mesias, Shelton Benjamin, Tommy Dreamer, Katie Lea Burchill, Carlito, Primo and Tony Atlas.

Anniversary 2010, dedicated to Don Pedro ‘Huracan’ Castillo, will take place on Friday, July 9 at the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum in Aguadilla, on Saturday July 10 at the Coliseum Salvador Dijols of La Playa de Ponce, and on Sunday July 11 at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon. Visit <strongwww.superestrellaswwc.com for more information.

— Former WWE performers Charlie and Jackie Haas welcomed a baby boy this past week, Thomas Russell Haas II. Nicknamed after Charlie’s late brother Russ, Thomas was born Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., weighing 8 lbs, 14 oz.

— Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia and former TNA wrestler Christopher Daniels have been announced to appear at the San Diego Comic Con taking place July 22-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. More wrestling stars are expected to be added to the event in the coming weeks.

Upcoming Raw Host Announced, Extreme Rules PPV Buy Number

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— WWE revealed Thursday that “rock icon” Rob Zombie will guest host the June 28 episode of Monday Night Raw taking place in Philadelphia. He will be on hand to promote the Rock Star Mayhem Tour beginning in July, as well as his new album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2.

— Preliminary estimates for WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view has the event doing 185,000 pay-per-view buys. Last year’s Backlash pay-per-view drew a reported 182,000 buys.

— WWE has modified the appearance of its official website, WWE.com. A Social Media section has been added to the site referencing verified talent profiles and brand pages on Twitter; official Facebook fan pages for every Superstar and Diva; and official WWE programming and video clips on YouTube.

Jeff Hardy Legal Update, Bischoff & Hogan’s TNA Future

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Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– Jeff Hardy’s trial was scheduled to begin yesterday morning in Carthage, NC with Judge James M. Webb. No word yet on what happened in court.

– The feeling within TNA right now is that Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan won’t be leaving any time soon.

– Awesome Kong recently tried to trademark the Awesome Kong name so she could use it on the independent scene. Right now she’s using the Amazing Kong name until the issue is settled.

– Mr. Anderson’s recent babyface turn in TNA was a decision that was made just before the Sacrifice pay-per-view where he wrestled Jeff Hardy.

JR Blog: Edge’s Retirement Talk, His WWE Status

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com Here are some highlights of what JR saida bout:

Edge Talking Retirement: “Interesting article in an Asheville, N.C. newspaper on Edge where he said he could see retiring in two years. I think many in Edge’s generation who have made big money, and he has, and have wisely saved and invested it, and I suspect that he has, will not hang around the business too long simply so that they can preserve what physical health that they can. Edge has had significant injuries in his illustrious career specifically his neck surgery and if asked, and I haven’t, I would advise him to call it a career sooner than later if he can financially afford it. Too many wrestlers have to stay longer than they need or should because of financial issues but I would be shocked if Edge even remotely comes close to that syndrome. Guys in Edge’s generation can easily take a look at previous generations of wrestlers to learn what NOT to do as it relates to their career and personal life style. Smart wrestles who work hard, get a break, and plan for their future by using a professionals help can often times comfortably retire from in ring wrestling by the time that they are in their 40’s.”

His WWE Status: “Emailers are congratulating me on my new ‘contract’ with WWE….I do not have a ‘contract’ but am a regular employee like many people who are not TV talents. That arrangement works just fine with me BTW. Plus, no one should feel badly that I’m not on weekly TV any longer. I don’t feel bad about it and neither should you. I feel confident that I will do selected, talent work with WWE in the future but just not on a weekly basis.”

WWE SmackDown Preview For Tonight

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Here’s a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown.

– There will be a major update on The Undertaker’s future after the injury he suffered last week. Much of the show will focus on the Undertaker’s situation.

- World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger vs. MVP.

- WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre.

- Rosa Mendes vs. Kelly Kelly.

- There will be a Battle Royal & the winner gets a World Heavyweight title shot.

Read More: *Spoilers* WWE Smackdown Tapings Results For Friday

Chris Jericho To Host ABC Network Game Show “DOWNFALL”

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ABC issued the following press release on 6/3 announcing that WWE superstar Chris Jericho will be the host of a new “high drama” game show this summer:

CHRIS JERICHO NAMED HOST OF “DOWNFALL,” THE HIGH STAKES AND HIGH DRAMA GAME SHOW PREMIERING JUNE 22 ON ABC

Courage and Smarts Play Against the Clock as Contestants Stand On the Edge of a High-Rise Building Trying to Win $1 Million + Prizes

Chris Jericho, a talented actor, television personality, radio host, rock star and WWE superstar wrestler, has been named as the Host of “Downfall.” The unique, high-stakes and adrenaline-pumping game show will put contestants on top of a 10-story building to see who has the focus and fearlessness to avoid his/her own ‘downfall’ — literally. Along the way, they’ll have the chance to win $1 million and a slew of incredible prizes, such as a pair of jet skis, a grand piano, a trip to Paris or a brand new car. The larger-than-life game show from FremantleMedia North America (“The Price Is Right,” “Family Feud,” “Let’s Make a Deal”) will premiere TUESDAY, JUNE 22 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

Jericho has established himself as a multifaceted performer. Most recently he completed his first book, A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, in which he chronicles, with a witty and humorous narrative, his rise in the wrestling business and the pitfalls of the industry. He made the cross-over to film with lead roles in the feature films “Android Apocalypse” and “Albino Farm.” He also appeared on stage before sold-out crowds and received standing ovations when he starred in the hilarious Norm Foster play, “Opening Night,” at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. In addition, Jericho has been invited to appear as a regular guest performer with legendary comedy troupe The Groundlings in the all-improv show, “Cookin’ with Gas.” On TV he starred in the comedy pilot “Ebaum’s World” for USA Network.

Jericho’s knack for comedy is obvious in his regular appearances on VH-1 and E!, lending his talent as a panelist or guest. He’s appeared on over a dozen shows, including G4TV’s “Attack of the Show” and “Filter”; E!’s “Biggest Celebrity Oops” and “Best Week Ever”; plus the “I Love the 70s, 80s and 90s” (and soon to be released 00s) series for VH1. Other recent guest appearances include “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Howard Stern Show,” “The Late, Late Show” and “Larry King Live.” Jericho also guest hosted “The Best Damn Sports Show Period,” “MadTV” and “Headbanger’s Ball” on MTV2.

Jericho began wrestling at age 19 and is considered one of the most popular wrestling champions in history. In 2001 he was the first-ever Undisputed Champion of the WWE and is the only performer to have held six different titles in the 44-year history of World Wrestling Entertainment.

For “Downfall,” the six-episode series will be played atop the roof of a downtown Los Angeles high-rise, where contestants will try to answer a series of trivia questions against the clock. Fabricated facsimiles of prizes will be placed on the largest conveyor belt ever seen on TV, with a pile of cash at the end ranging from $5,000 to $1 million. In each round, players will try to answer all the questions before their prizes and cash go over the edge, off the roof and crashing 100 feet to the street below. If the cash goes off the roof, the game is over and that player is eliminated. Each player also risks going over the side of the building — but in this case wearing a decelerator harness to soften the fall.

Updated Card For ROH’s Death Before Dishonor Internet PPV

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Ring of Honor has released an updated lineup the upcoming Death Before Dishonor Internet PPV on June 19th:

*ROH champion Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards.

*ROH Tag Team champions Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoes.

*Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

*Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega in a Pick 6 Contender’s match.

*Austin Aries vs. Delirious.

*Toronto Gauntlet: Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino vs. ROH TV champion Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. 2 more wrestlers (TBA).

Edge Talks About Retiring, Joe Hennig’s Name Change

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— In an interview with North Carolina’s Citizen Times newspaper, WWE RAW superstar Edge revealed that the injures he’s suffered in recent years have shortened his career and he doesn’t see himself wrestling more than two years. Edge said:

“I’m coming up on my 20th year, and I’ve definitely had some injuries that have shortened my career. That’s part of the reason I bought up here — we want to retire and listen to the wind in the trees, and we want to do it fairly soon. I may have two more years. With each injury, it’s harder and harder to come back.”

– WWE NXT Season 2 rookie Michael McGillicutty, son of the legendary Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, posted a message on Twitter explaining why he decided not to use the Hennig family name:

“A lot of folks are asking about my “name”. Lets face it: Michael McGillicutty is the next generation of the WWE, the next World Champion…While on the other hand Joe Hennig was simply the son of Mr. Perfect…I will make a mark in the WWE & on NXT by MYSELF, not my name.”

TNA iMPACT! Preview For Tonight: Hardy, Styles, Sting

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Here’s a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s TNA iMPACT! on Spike:

* Roxxi vs. New TNA Knockout Rosie Lottalove

* AJ Styles vs. Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal

* Rob Van Dam vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan Samoa Joe

* Mr Anderson vs. Robert Roode

* Desmond Wolfe & Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss w/Chelsea & Rob Terry

*Spoilers* TNA iMPACT! Results For Tonight

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Here are spoiler results for TNA iMPACT set to air tonight, courtesy of Tim Capture and Wrestlingnewsworld:

* Sting is out. He says not everything is as it seems. Coming from him it might seem ironic but there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors going on. He’s been in this place before where he needs to defend his reputation. He feels he doesn’t have to. He’ll reveal the meaning of his actions soon enough. He doesn’t know RVD that well and RVD doesn’t know him that well. RVD was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he takes the title from RVD the curtain will be pulled back and everyone exposed. The arena goes dark and footage of Sting’s recent action plays on the screen. Eric Bischoff comes out using a crutch with Miss Tessmacher. He has the spotlight put on Sting. He’s known Sting a long time and he thinks Sting’s trying to prove to people that he’s a superhero for so long he’s lost sight of the truth. It’s not about him, it’s about the company, not just one person. It’s about the action and tonight he’ll be in action. Samoa Joe sneaks in behind Sting and Bischoff announces him as Sting’s opponent. Joe attacks Sting but Matt Morgan runs down and attacks Joe. Sting and Morgan beat on Joe till RVD runs down for the save. Bischoff says this isn’t over and will continue later as a tag match. Samoa Joe & RVD vs. Sting & Matt Morgan. RVD gets on the mic and says hang on, every guy out here is in it for himself. He asks that the match be changed to a four way. Bischoff says he doesn’t have that authority, then Hogan’s music hits and out comes Hogan. He says RVD is the champ and that gives him some pull around here so you’ve got it brother, this match is a four way.

* Rosie Lottalove (new acquisition Mary Kate Duignan) vs. Roxxi. During the match, Madison Rayne runs down and gives Roxxi a belt shot while the ref isn’t looking. Rosie doesn’t like it and argues with Madison. During this Roxxi schoolgirls Rosie for the win. Afterwards JB interviews Rosie and asks what was going on. She says if Madison thinks she can take out all the ugly people one at a time she’s got another thing coming because she’s big, she’s bad, she’s beautiful and she’s got a whole lot of love for everybody. She lays a big kiss on JB and leaves.

*AJ Styles w/Ric Flair vs Kazarian vs Jay Lethal. Winner via quick roll up, Jay Lethal. The whole match AJ and Kazarian were arguing over who does cooler moves or what to do next to Lethal. Lethal got the win while they were arguing.

* Afterwards Flair gets in the ring and yells at AJ. He gave AJ the honor of being his protege and he gets beat by Jay Lethal? He tells him to go home and think about who he wants to be because right now he’s not in Ric’s good graces. He continues belittling AJ and telling him to go home and make a lifetime decision. On his way to the back Angle comes out and gets in AJ’s face. AJ yells some things at him and leaves. Angle heads to the ring. He gets a mic and says he came to show Kazarian the proper respect before he makes him his first victim. He likes to let his opponents know what he’s going to do to him. He plans to retain his belt and Kaz is #10 so at Slammiversary he’s his opponent. Flair asks if he realizes he just past by him? He says he wants his son Reid to be like Angle, the greatest amateur wrestler. Flair came to Angle for help and out of respect Angle did. But now they’re in Flair’s world and whatever Angle did as an amateur he’s done 10 times over. In wrestling he’s a god. He gives Hogan respect, he gives Sting respect and until Angle realizes that he gives him no respect. He tells Angle to leave. He says show him respect and leave before he takes his sport coat off. He says hang on and show me respect and let him show how a god acts. Angle holds the ropes open for Flair and then attacks Flair on the way out. Kaz tries to attack Angle but he tosses him out of the ring.

* Matt Morgan vs. Sting vs. Samoa Joe vs. Rob Van Dam. Hernandez showed up in the stands and distracted Morgan. Samoa Joe grabbed Morgan and gave him a Musclebuster. RVD then hit Joe with a top rope sidekick and then gave Morgan a 5 star frog splash for the win. Afterwards Joe and RVD had words and left.

Taped Wednesday:

*Chrisy Hemme in the ring. She brings out Mr. Anderson to talk Slammiversary. He was looking forward to coming out for a hard hitting interview, but he’s too distracted (he’s staring at her breasts). That doesn’t make him a chauvinist, that makes him an a–hole. Everybody in the crowd called him an a–hole but they’re hoping for a wardrobe malfunction so they’re a–holes too. He has a big announcement and that is that he saw Beer Money didn’t have opponents at Slammiversary and it’s not a party without Jeffrey Nero Hardy so it’s him and Jeff vs. Beer Money. Hardy comes out and says people wonder why he’s teaming with Anderson but Anderson is the funniest a–hole he’s ever met. Anderson says he’s an a–hole but he’s also a cheap a–hole so BYOB. Out comes Beer Money. Robert Roode says this is cute, TNA’s newest BFFs. Roode asks what either of them know about tag team wrestling? Sure, Hardy had a short run with his brother but his brother carried him the whole time. Tag team wrestling is about being a team, like a brotherhood. They’re not a team, they’re a moron and an a–hole. Roode asks why they think they can step in the ring with them? Anderson asks why Roode’s hair is always wet? And why does Storm always wear shades indoors? The only people who wear shades indoors are blind people and jackoffs. This leads to a brawl. Security keeps trying to break it up but it takes a while.

* JB says TNA management has said a match must happen right now so we get: Jeff Hardy vs. James Storm. Winner via Swanton Bomb, Jeff Hardy.

* Robert Roode vs. Mr Anderson. Winner via holding the ropes after sitting down during a sunset flip, Robert Roode. They need to do this as he’s no mere mortal but he’s MR. ANDERSON…ANDERSON. Afterwards, Anderson says any man can be beaten on any given day. He also says the only reason they can beat him is by under-handed tactics and tomfoolery.

* Desmond Wolfe & Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss w/Chelsea & Rob Terry. Winner via chokeslam from Terry to Jordan, Rob Terry & Abyss.

Chris Jericho To Host ABC Game Show, Punk’s Bet With Chimel

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— Chris Jericho has been selected to host a new game show premiering this month on ABC.

Downfall will premiere on Tuesday, June 22 with the WWE star as the host, according to The Hollywood Reporter. ABC has ordered six episodes for the debuting series.

The series has contestants attempting to answer questions while standing on the roof of a Los Angeles high-rise building.

To read The Hollywood Reporter article, click here.

— CM Punk has an ongoing bet with WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel regarding the Stanley Cup Finals. The bet is that if Punk’s Chicago Blackhawks win, Chimel has to announce The Straight Edge Superstar as hailing “from the home of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago, Illinois.” However, should Chimel’s Philadelphia Flyers win, Punk has to cut a promo in Chicago stating “this city isn’t nearly as good as Philadelphia.”

— The May 21st edition of Friday Night SmackDown! drew a 1.7 broadcast rating. The program averaged 2.75 million viewers over the course of two hours.

Update On Recently Fired WWE Execs, Note On Taker’s Injury

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(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— The woman who accused former WWE General Counsel head Jared Bartie of sexual harassment was Vice President of the company’s Sales/Marketing division. She too is no longer with WWE after allegedly being caught giving a oral sex to a man in talent brand management at the company’s Stamford headquarters during office hours. That man who was caught receiving oral sex, was also fired. He was said to be a favorite among many in WWE and was on the “fast track” for corporate advancement before the incident occurred.

— As reported earlier, Undertaker suffered a broken orbital bone, broken nose and a concussion after taking a seated senton from Rey Mysterio during a match taped last week for Friday Night SmackDown. It was not the first time in which he broke his orbital bone as he suffered the same injury while working a match with Mabel (a/k/a Viscera) in 1995. The injury forced him to don a grey mask for a few weeks while he recovered.

— This past weekend’s WWE shows drew above average attendance. Raw on 5/28 in New Orleans, LA drew 6,000 fans for a gate of $225,000. Raw on 5/29 in Monroe, LA did 4,600 and $130,000. The 5/30 show in Memphis, TN did 6,500 and $195,000. SmackDown on 5/29 in Las Cruces, NM drew 7,700 and $250,000. The following night’s show in Rio Rancho, NM drew 5,600 and $175,000.

Top WWE Star Hypes Kaval, Former WCW Star Kidnapped, More

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(source: f4wonline.com)

— John Cena issued praise to one NXT Rookie in particular in a Twitter post yesterday. He wrote of Kaval, “After seeing profiles of nxt2. Keep an eye on kaval. I see somethin there.”

— Former WCW performer Vampiro was allegedly kidnapped Monday night while driving through the Mexican state of Michuacan in the middle of drug wars. He was reportedly held for 23 hours before being released.

— There has been talk of having Justin Gabriel team up with another babyface, possibly Matt Hardy. Many feel his talking ability is lacking and thus needs someone who can speak on his behalf.

Tonight’s Superstars Preview, Note On McMahon’s Return To TV

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— Matches advertised to take place on tonight’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America are as follows:

* Christian vs. Chavo Guerrero
* Michelle McCool vs. Tiffany
* Gail Kim vs. Jillian
* Mark Henry vs. Primo

— It’s worth noting that Vince McMahon returned to television this past Monday night on Raw after informing WWE stockholders in April that he had no intention on returning to television.

McMahon said: “No, I don’t intend to be back in the ring. Then again, I never intend to be in the ring and somehow it happens. There are absolutely no plans whatsoever for me to get back in the ring right now. We are hopeful that won’t happen.”

— Due to scheduling conflicts, the SmackDown World Tour live event scheduled on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at the UTC McKenzie Arena has been postponed until Friday, January 14, 2011 at 7:30pm. All tickets purchased for the Saturday, July 10, 2010 live event at 7:30pm will be honored at the Friday, January 14, 2011 Raw World Tour live event.

How Orton Dislocated His Shoulder, Possible Plans For Barrett

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(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Two days before Over the Limit, Randy Orton dislocated his right shoulder while attempting a dunk in pick-up basketball game in St. Louis. This explains why he was favoring the shoulder at the house show in Cincinnati the night before the pay-per-view event.

Orton’s had problems with the shoulder for years as it’s the third time in which it’s been dislocated. He plans to focus on physical therapy before deciding on whether to have surgery. An injury angle was done on Monday’s Raw where Edge hurt Orton’s shoulder to take him out of the evening’s main event. Hence, if he’s not healthy enough to compete at Fatal 4-Way, WWE will have a storyline explanation.

— WWE has a few ideas in mind for Wade Barrett as there was talk of having the NXT winner team up with mentor Chris Jericho to go after the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. There has also been talk of having Barrett face R-Truth or Kofi Kingston for their respective titles.

— CM Punk was kept off the weekend house shows resting up minor injuries.