The Air Canada Centre website reports that former WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus will host the 9/14 RAW in Canada. Meanwhile, PWInsider.com says that Bob Barker confirmed his hosting gig will occur on the 9/7 RAW in Chicago, indicating hometown sportscaster Mike Adamle will again miss an opportunity to host the show.

Labels: trish stratus

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE officials are said to be very unhappy with Rey Mysterio over comments he made to a Mexican newspaper regarding his recent drug test failure where he said had a prescription for the drug he failed for but was suspended before he could give proof of his prescription.

A number of ideas are being discussed for Tuesday's SmackDown taping in Cleveland including Dolph Ziggler beating him for the Intercontinental title and Ziggler interfering and costing him the title against another wrestler. Although, WWE would have to explain why Ziggler didn't receive the title shot after winning a number one contender's match on last week's episode of Superstars if they go in the latter direction.

Labels: dolph ziggler, Rey Mysterio Jr.

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog on jrsbarbq.com. Some of the highlights:

- MMA fighter Josh Barnett was at Summerslam hanging with David Hart Smith after the event. I did not get to do much more than say hello to Josh who has been embroiled in a fair amount of controversy lately. I’ve always found Josh to be a good guy and wish him well in the future…..no, not endeavors….simply the future.

- Val Venis aka Shawn Morley and Matt “A Train” Bloom were backstage visitors in Phoenix. Both are really good guys and are seemingly enjoying working regularly in Japan. I remember interviewing big Matt when we first hired him in WWE. I always liked Matt and even got to know his Dad who played college football at Michigan and in the old, AFL with the then Boston Patriots. I always looked at getting to know a talent’s family members, when possible, as a viable part of the recruiting process and on which to build a solid relationship.

- The C.M. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy Steel Cage match that airs this week on Friday Night Smackdown on MyNetworkTV is a memorable, TV main event that really had a special feel. I hope that Todd Grisham and I did the match justice as it was a special presentation from where I was sitting.

- Many WWE Superstars and I did interviews Tuesday afternoon for an upcoming Jeff Hardy DVD that will be released in a few weeks. I don’t know how many talents were involved but there were several. John Cena was included as he and I visited about this project Tuesday evening in Phoenix.

- It was good seeing Edge, albeit on crutches, backstage at Summerslam. The Rated R Superstar was in great spirits and is looking forward to his return to the ring sometime in 2010. There is no definitive date as to when Edge will be returning to the ring and hopefully he won’t rush it. Achilles tendon injuries usually heal in 6-9 months. Jim Ross

Labels: edge, jim ross, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

In an interview with the Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA.tv) website promoting his debut for the company against CIMA on September 6th, former WWE wrestler Brian Kendrick comments on his release from his previous employer for the first time. Kendrick said he’s happy to not to be in WWE anymore as a comedy heel designed to “make old men laugh.” While he plans on incorporating some of what he learned in WWE into his wrestling style on the indy circuit, he will ultimately wrestle in a style that pleases himself.

Kendrick summed up his time in WWE by saying neither side was compatible.

“I had some fun in WWE,” Kendrick said. “I learned a lot, made some friends. It’s a corporation, I am a human. This human didn’t fit into the corporation’s plans, and that corporation didn’t fit with my human side. I had some laughs, but I am awfully happy the ride is over, and I don’t want back on.”

Labels: Brian Kendrick

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE issued the following statement: “In accordance with WWE’s Wellness Program, effective Wednesday, September 2, Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) is suspended for 30 days for a violation of the company’s policy.”

Rey Mysterios’s suspension doesn’t start until September 2nd, this Wednesday. This gives WWE time to take the title off of him next Tuesday night. Dolph Ziggler is expected to end up with the belt because those were the original plans for Night of Champions, which was scrapped at the last minute.

There are some rumblings that the WWE Wellness test that Rey Mysterio failed took place three to four weeks ago, around the time of his vacation.

Labels: dolph ziggler, rey mysterio

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Brett DiBiase, who appeared on RAW last night, was described by one WWE source as a “stud” who is more relaxed than his brother Ted when the cameras are on. The other DiBiase, Mike, is said to have potential as well but has a lot of different problems which is why he’s not being called up and with WWE. There was a plan by WWE at one point to have all three of the DiBiase brothers team up in a “Billionaire Boys Society” and make them “preppy pompous asses.”

On the other hand, some say Brett DiBiase has potential but they’re surprised he’s been called up to the main roster already because he’s still very green.

Labels: Brett DiBiase

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

As announced on Monday's RAW, here is the early card for WWE’s Breaking Point pay-per-view in just three weeks. As noted before, only the main events of the pay-per-view will be held under Submission rules.

I Quit Match for the WWE Title

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match

MVP and Mark Henry vs. Big Show and Chris Jericho

Labels: 2009 Breaking Point, john cena, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments

Representatives of Hulk Hogan have reached out to TNA about a possible deal to sign the WWE Hall of Famer. Hogan has shown interest in the past of signing with TNA and feels the company needs “that one big name” to compete with WWE.

Hogan last teased a TNA appearance in 2003 when an angle was shot with Jeff Jarrett smashing a guitar over Hogan’s head during a press conference in Japan. A match was planned but Hogan cancelled due to knee problems.

There is speculation that Hogan has no serious interest in signing with the company and is only using them to leverage a larger deal with WWE.

Labels: hulk hogan

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

The "fan" who interfered in the Randy Orton vs. John Cena match at Summerslam was Brett DiBiase, according to PWInsider.com.

Currently performing for Florida Championship Wrestling under a WWE Developmental deal, Brett is Legacy Member Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s younger brother (and wrestling legend Ted DiBiase, Sr.'s son).

Labels: Brett DiBiase, john cena, randy orton

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

As seen during last night's SummerSlam pay-per-view broadcast, ring announcer Lilian Garcia made a rather sizable mishap by announcing Randy Orton as the winner and new WWE Champion after Orton had disqualified himself by shoving referee Scott Armstrong during his championship bout with John Cena. This was not the only unfortunate thing to happen to Garcia this weekend as someone stole her cell phone (with all of her contacts) and digital camera during her visit to Venice Beach on Saturday. An upset Garcia wrote the following on her Twitter account late Saturday night: "Not a good day at Venice beach. Jerk stole my phone & camera! Had to buy new phone today & lost ALL my contacts. Bummed!! Stealing sucks!!!"

Garcia will be working tonight's Raw in Las Vegas, which may not necessarily be her last date for WWE.

Labels: lilian garcia

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tickets for this year’s WWE Armageddon PPV, which airs live on December 13th, go on sale August 29th at 10AM. Armageddon will be held at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Tickets are priced at $300 (which includes a take-home chair), $90, $70, $50, $35 and $20.

Labels: 2009 Armageddon

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy remains advertised for this week’s SmackDown/ECW tapings in Phoenix. Hardy is scheduled to face CM Punk in a steel cage match. The match is expected to be presented to the live crowd after the taping concludes.

Hardy lost the title to CM Punk last night at Summerslam, immediately following CM Punk’s victory, The Undertaker made a surprise return and choke slammed CM Punk before the PPV went off the air. WWE’s creative team plugged Undertaker in to the PPV to replace Jeff Hardy as the top baby face of the SmackDown brand, while Jeff Hardy takes his hiatus from Pro Wrestling.

Also advertised for the tapings is a Unified Tag Team title match for the live crowd. The champions Chris Jericho and The Big Show will face off against Rey Mysterio and The Great Khali.

Labels: chris jericho, jeff hardy, kane

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

As reported earlier, the home of boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. was searched by Las Vegas Metro police this morning. Mayweather's Rolls Royce was seen leaving the scene of a shooting that took place late Sunday night at the Crystal Palace Skating Center. The Associated Press has issued a statement that includes some new details on the story:

* According to Lt. Patrick Charoen, police obtained a warrant to search one of Mayweather's homes as well as his Rolls Royce after a witness spotted the car leaving the skating center right after the shooting.

* The shooting took place on Sunday night between 10:00-11:00PM local time.

* Lt. Charoen says no one was hurt in the shooting, but a vehicle was hit with several bullets.

It's important to note that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not been arrested and is not named as a suspect, as witnesses only identified his vehicle. As of this writing, he is still scheduled to serve as the special guest host of tonight's WWE Raw.

Labels: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

A train wreck is the polite way to talking about the WWE Title match between Randy Orton and John Cena Sunday night at SummerSlam in Los Angeles.

First there was the unoriginal ending of Orton getting DQ'ed, and then the worst ring announcer in the history of the business, who couldn't leave the sport soon enough, botched the announcement that Orton was DQ'ed and that Cena was the winner. Let me ask you this - how many times in the last few years has Lillian Garcia botched announcements in big matches, only to be back on RAW the next night?

Then there was the count-out ending, which again was weak and then overturned by Vince....at least that's what we were told by the awful Lillian. Then the Orton on the ropes ending, which is where this should have simply ended. It was bad enough, just put a stop to it.

But oh no.

Then we had the weird spot of the year, with a "fan" (I'm not convinced it wasn't a spot) came in, and started to choke out the ref. After a few minutes of weird silence to make it seem real, which is might have been, still not sure, Orton quickly got a pin, as probably backstage they said let's just end this thing already.

It was an odd ending to an odd match, that in the end could have been so much better, but how many times have we said that in 2009 about WWE main events?

Labels: 2009 SummerSlam, john cena, randy orton

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Regarding WrestleMania 28 in 2012 being held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, there were indeed WWE representatives in Toronto for a meeting last week and a major event planning firm was involved with some kind of pitch. Most likely, given the size of the arena, they’re planning a WrestleMania for then or it could be a Royal Rumble or a SummerSlam. We can confirm that a pitch was done for a major WWE event in 2012.

Labels: wrestlemania 28

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Baltimore Sun recently conducted an interview with Chris Jericho. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Fans really seemed to be excited about you and Edge teaming together. How disappointing was it to have it end so abruptly because of Edge’s injury?

It was disappointing because I think we had a great story line in the works, with a lot of trips and traps that were going to lead to a certain place. But it was one of those things that the moment it happened you’re like, “Well, OK, what are we going to do now? Back to the drawing board.” You can’t do anything about it. It’s part of what we do. So it was very disappointing. And then as soon as I found out that they’re going to push The Big Show, I was intrigued about it. You have to turn a negative into a positive and I think we’ve done that. We’ve made the best of the situation while we wait for Edge to heel. Like I said, it would have been great, but everything happens for a reason. You have to drop it and go on. Big Show has been a great replacement. Everyone said it had to be Dolph Ziggler or The Miz. No, this is about two world champions at the top of their game who have a certain stature. Yeah, it would help them, but it wouldn’t help me. We’re trying to reinvigorate the tag titles and reinvigorate Big Show as well. The guy is a giant. He’s a commodity and people need to be reminded of that and we need to start promoting that.

When you were in WCW, it seemed as if the guys at the top were reluctant to work with and elevate guys who had potential such as yourself. Now that you are in the position of being a top guy, did what you experienced in WCW influence how you approach working with younger guys?

It wasn’t reluctance; it was just denial. They just wouldn’t do it and it [ticked] me off so much because there was a lot of money left on the table. It’s something that I said that I would never do. We’re in a crisis period in WWE and we need to build new guys. When Shawn Michaels came back to Raw, he said, “Whose been built since I left?” On Smackdown we’ve built [John] Morrison and [Dolph] Ziggler and Cryme Tyme. The Intercontinetal title has been rebuilt now with Rey Mysterio. But I can’t tell you on Raw who has been built over the last six months. They better do it soon, because when this generation of performers is gone, who will replace them?

Labels: chris jericho

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE's three-disc DVD set looking back on the ten year history of SmackDown, The Best of Smackdown - 10th Anniversary 1999-2009, will be released on Tuesday, September 15th. Michael Cole and Matt Striker host a "Top 100 moments" countdown on the DVD.

Amazon.com has released a video trailer looking back at Brock Lesnar superplexing Big Show off the top rope on the June 12, 2003 edition of SmackDown, which caused the ring to collapse. This memorable moment was ranked as the second-best moment in the history of the program.

During the trailer, Santino Marella gives his comical take on incident. CM Punk, Michael Hayes and Matt Striker also chime in with their thoughts.

Labels: smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

In an interview with SLAM! Wrestling, Kofi Kingston discusses being left off this Sunday's SummerSlam pay-per-view in Los Angeles.

"It's bittersweet," Kingston said in interview this past Wednesday. "I would definitely love to be on the card and be involved, but as of now, I'm not."

Despite being left off the card, the United States Champion says he "wouldn't miss it for the world."

Labels: kofi kingston

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here are some highlights from Jim Ross’ latest blog on jrsbarbq.com:

- I thought Freddie Prinze, Jr did an excellent job as the Guest Host of Raw and I’m sure that FPJ will be talking about the inverted backbreaker that he sustained for years to come with his Hollywood pals. Freddie is a true fan of which I respect. I wish I had gotten to know him better when he was on the creative team with WWE but we traveled different trails during the hectic TV days when I would see him. Nonetheless, FPJ is 2nd only to Shaq as my favorite Guest Host of Monday Night Raw.

- Next week, the uber talented and charismatic Floyd “Money” Mayweather will look to steal the show in Money’s home town of Las Vegas. Perhaps the SD team will produce our solitary, WWE Superstars bout in Vegas Monday night and yours truly can enjoy Raw in person. Hey, we got to visit Calgary for a few minutes before we enjoyed a lovely 3 hour drive to Edmonton.

- Seriously, the WWE has major plans for the Summerslam weekend and it is the most ambitious Summerslam that I can remember. I am doing something “special” very early Sunday morning but I have been promised to secrecy.

- What match will close the show at Summerslam? Me thinks it will be John Cena challenging Randy Orton for the WWE Title. I’m smelling a Cena victory here but my predictions usually aren’t wager worthy.

- I think WWE should think of producing a Brock Lesnar DVD. Why wouldn’t they? Lots of folks in the biz would love to comment on Brock and WWE has tons of footage including the early, early days of Brock’s career in OVW in Louisville. I’m just saying.

Labels: 2009 SummerSlam, brock lesner

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

Regarding SummerSlam, odds appear against United States Champion Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz making the show, and ECW Champion Christian vs. William Regal is far from a lock. There is also said to be virtually no chance of both Women’s belts being defended on the show; some are even saying there will not be any standard one-on-one Women’s Championship bout but maybe some sort of gimmick match

Presently without a match on the show, John Morrison is under creative consideration for a notable involvement in the CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy main event.

Labels: 2009 SummerSlam, john morrison

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE confirmed on its website this afternoon that ECW Champion Christian will face William Regal on the SummerSlam pay-per-view this Sunday. A F4Wonline report early Tuesday said that WWE creative was complaining about not having anything serious for Christian, which led to speculation that the Christian-Regal feud was not booked to spill onto the SummerSlam card. Ultimately, however, WWE decided to add a third World Title bout to the show.

The card is now as follows:

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena

TLC Match for the World Title
Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk

WWE Tag Team Title Match
Big Show & Chris Jericho vs. Cryme Tyme

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

ECW Title Match
Christian vs. William Regal

* DX vs. Legacy

* MVP vs. Jack Swagger

* Kane vs. The Great Khali

Labels: 2009 SummerSlam

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

As announced Friday afternoon on WWE.com, Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore was released from his WWE contract. According to several sources, the feeling is that he showed up at last week’s RAW taping looking terribly out of shape and Vince McMahon made the decision right then and there to cut him loose. He had just been hired back about a month ago.

Reportedly, the WWE creative team wanted to get Eugene on television very quickly, so the fact that he was released after his first appearance adds further credence to the theory given.

Labels: Eugene

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Take this for what it’s worth but early last week at the Rogers Center in Toronto, a TV in the concourse had a logo that some employees saw for WrestleMania 2012 at the building. The logo was seen when the stadium was closed and only some employees were there. With WrestleMania in 2010 being held in Phoenix and 2011 rumored to be in Indianapolis, Canada makes sense for 2012. If WrestleMania is held in Toronto, it would be ten years since the last WrestleMania in the city with 2002’s featuring The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan.

Labels: hulk hogan, the rock

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just days after he made his first return appearance on WWE television, Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore has been released from the company.

“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Eugene as of August 14, 2009. We wish Eugene the best in all future endeavors,” read a WWE.com statement.

Eugene wrestled a masked The Miz in a “contract on a pole” match that determined who would become part of the RAW roster. Miz won the match, but few would have figured that Eugene’s failure to capture the contract would be his final WWE appearance.

Labels: Eugene

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog on jrsbarbq.com. Here are just a few of the highlights:

- Gail Kim really impressed me on Monday’s Raw (Love the DVR) and has the potential to be “Stratus-like” if the stars can become properly aligned. Kim’s unique look and her athleticism are obviously marketable. WWE Divas having more in ring exposure is a bona fide way to get the audience to emotionally invest in these ladies as more than just simply “Smart, Sexy, and Powerful.” (Oh, my!)

- Layla, Eric Clapton’s favorite WWE Diva, (fellow Brit you know) shows marked improvement in the ring this week in a bout versus Melina who never disappoints with at least one Sharapova-like primal scream. One loud outburst just may have frightened my broadcast partner but I can’t be sure as he was wearing a dark suit.

- If you are wondering who the hottest WWE Superstar presently is in WWE, it’s Jeff Hardy. As my late, domino playing friend, Ernie Ladd would say, case closed.

Labels: gail kim, jeff hardy, jim ross

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

There’s been a lot of news coming out this week regarding future guest hosts for Monday Night RAW. It was announced on RAW that actor and former WWE writer Freddy Prinze Jr. will host next week’s show.

Earlier this week, news broke that former RAW General Manager Mike Adamle would be returning to guest host the show in 2 weeks on August 24th, which is expected to be a RAW Roulette show. Adamle is currently a sports anchor and reporter for Chicago’s NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV and announced on the air that he’d accepted an invitation from WWE to host RAW on 8/24.

Now, word is coming out that there may be a different guest host when RAW rolls into Las Vegas on the 24th. According to PWInsider, there’s buzz going around the WWE office in Stanford, CT that boxing champ Floyd “Money” Mayweather is rumored to be hosting that show – not Adamle.

Mayweather lives in Las Vegas and has a big fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19th to promote.

Labels: floyd mayweather, mike adamle

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

There was talk this week at the WWE TV tapings that the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 4th will feature three Cell matches, which might end up being all three brand's top title matches.

Labels: 2009 Hell in a Cell

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

As announced this past weekend, WWE released SmackDown star Ricky Ortiz. Not much else is known about the release yet but his age, 34, was working against him and WWE didn't have confidence that he would develop into a top guy.

WWE also released developmental talent Vic Adams this past week. Adams had the look that WWE liked but there's no solid word on why he was let go yet.

Labels: Ricky Ortiz

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Robert Englund as horror icon Freddy Kruger will not be hosting an edition of WWE’s Monday Night RAW. According to his agent, WWE asked him to host but he turned it down due to a scheduling conflict.

Labels: Robert Englund

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

After dropping to a 3.55 rating for last week's Jeremy Piven-hosted edition of RAW, the flagship WWE series rebounded this week.

Hosted by Sgt. Slaughter, who was not positioned as an attraction in the vein of Shaquille O'Neal and Piven, this week's show did a 3.8 rating, off hours of 3.6 and 4.0, according to PWTorch.com

Because quarter hours are not yet available, one cannot be precise in determining what on the show--particularly in the second hour--attracted the solid audience. It would presumably not be incorrect, however, to attribute the strong second hour to combined interest in the Shawn Michaels/Triple H storyline and the John Cena vs. Chris Jericho main event.

This week's 3.8 is WWE's third-highest rating since implementing the guest host gimmick. A PWTorch.com report on RAW viewership since the gimmick's debut interestingly reveals that aside from Shaquille O'Neal, whose edition of RAW scored the highest rating, the celebrity hosts have produced the worst-performing episodes of the program.

Labels: RAW, sgt.slaughter

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

As was noted in a recent press release, NBC has scheduled a one-hour special on this past spring’s WrestleMania 25 event for August 29. Set to air at 9PM EST, the event was one of the motivations for booking Triple H on last night’s “Jimmy Fallon.” While Triple H did not personally hype the special, host Fallon did mention the upcoming show as he closed out the segment.

Labels: nbc, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE is looking at building a three-hour edition of RAW in September around a match between The Big Show and Shaquille O’Neal.

Many, however, are quick to shoot down the report as unlikely. Given that O’Neal begins his NBA season this fall, the window on using him for a match–if he would ever be allowed to work one–is quickly closing (with preseason on the near horizon, even the rumored September date for the match is questionable). Moreover, with the low pay-per-view buyrates coming across as a real concern for WWE’s business model, the feeling is that WWE would not be wise to give the match away on free television.

In any event, most do not believe the O’Neal-Big Show feud is over. PWInsider reported late last week that WWE was looking at bringing Shaq back to RAW due to the positive feedback–and ratings numbers–it earned for his appearance. The constant hype for the Big Show-Shaq feud on last Monday’s RAW certainly did not cease speculation that the two will have another encounter.

Labels: big show, shaquille O'Neal

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

In his latest WWE Universe blog, JBL wrote the following regarding Shaq and Big Show: “The two biggest guys I have ever seen are Shaq and Big Show, I say let these two guys fight! Shaq is a big MMA fan who trains, and Big Show is trained as a boxer as well as wrestler – this could be a lot of fun to watch. I see where Shaq hosted Raw and I think the natural match up is Shaq versus Show. I don’t know who we could get to referee, but who cares?”

Labels: big show, jbl

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

As announced on tonight’s RAW, former WWE creative team member and actor Freddie Prinze Jr. will be the special guest host of next week’s RAW.

Next week’s show will also feature WWE Champion Randy Orton and his partner John Cena taking on the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show and Chris Jericho in the main event.

Labels: Freddie Prinze Jr., randy orton

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

In his latest blog on WWE.com, Jim Ross says he has a big surprise in store for SummerSlam.

“Summerslam is so big this year that I’m heading to L.A. on Friday just so I don’t miss any thing. Lots of really cool fan activities are being planned from what I hear,” Ross said. “Plus, I will have a MAJOR surprise for some folks at Summerslam. Gosh, I love surprises.”

- It’s been said that WWE officials are leaning more towards having celebrities guest host future editions of Monday Night RAW rather than former wrestlers. Exceptions include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

While Sgt.Slaughter will be hosting next week’s show, it likely had more to do with it not being easy to get a big name celebrity to fly out to Calgary and the possible GI Joe tie-in. Also, WWE approached Dusty Rhodes about appearing as a guest host when the idea initially came up, but it appears he has been placed on the back burner in favor of celebrities.

Labels: jim ross, sgt.slaughter, the rock

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here is the updated card for WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view after this past Friday’s SmackDown:

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena

TLC Match for the World Heavyweight Title
Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk

WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match
Big Show & Chris Jericho vs. Cryme Tyme

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Labels: 2009 SummerSlam, dolph ziggler, rey mysterio

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE officials have reached out to seven-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus to guest host the September 14th edition of Monday Night RAW. The flagship show will hail from the Air Canada Centre in her hometown of Toronto. No word yet if she’s accepted the offer or not.

Labels: trish stratus

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

In an interview published today on IGN.com, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton said he was recently contacted by WWE to guest host a future episode of Monday Night RAW.

“Yeah, they want us [referring to Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day as well] to do that, actually, Howerton said. “There’s a very good chance, if the dates work out, that we may be doing that sometime in September. We’ll see. It’s not definite.”

Labels: Glenn Howerton

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

As noted earlier, WWE parted ways with The Brian Kendrick last Thursday. It would appear that the decision was actually made two weeks ago because he was pulled from a previously from a scheduled program with Evan Bourne that week. He was then booked to lose to Jerry Lawler and Kofi Kingston in humiliating fashion.

To confirm ongoing Internet rumors dating back to last fall, Kendrick's push went up in smoke, so to speak, as a result of his disobedience towards the company's policy on marijuana. He had been warned several times by company officials that they weren't going to tolerate his failing drug tests for marijuana (which constitute a $1,000 fine, but not a suspension) after failing numerous tests. He was one of at least two wrestlers whose pushes were stopped because of their disobedience, and it was likely a major contributing factor in his departure from the company.

Kendrick's release from WWE was also said to be taken as a warning to higher profile wrestlers who have been failing tests for marijuana, as company officials have said many times to a slate of wrestlers individually that they are no longer going to tolerate it.

It should be noted that when Kendrick was informed by John Laurinaitis that he was being let go, he was told it was due to the economy. Those who heard it couldn't believe he gave him such an obviously bogus reason. It's also been said that Kendrick would have been released months ago, but Pat Patterson spoke up on his behalf.

Labels: Brian Kendrick

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry, below are highlights from this entry:

JR On Repetitive Matches: Goodness knows that wrestling fans in general are rapidly growing tired of seeing many of their favorites competing/performing with the same suspects week in and week out. Sometimes new bouts will suck but sometimes they won't but at least it will be something different. Isn't different still a good thing?

JR On This Week's SmackDown: Friday Night on Smackdown, starring Todd Grisham and with his side kick good, Ol J.R., features the Hardy vs. Punk World's Title Bout (there are some real swerves and curves in this one), John Morison (gonna bit a big star) vs. Tyson Kidd (another nice bout and Kidd is damn good), an interesting Fatal 4 way to determine the #1 contender for the IC Title at Summerslam which was physical but it seemed it lack "something" that is one of those intangible things and there is a good chance that I could be wrong and the match seemed to rush along too fast, Chris Jericho vs. JTG that had a surprising last few moments of their contest, and plus a surprise visitor from the WWE Ivory Tower makes his larger than life persona felt.

JR On Jeremy Piven On RAW: From what I'm told, Entourage's Jeremy (Ari Gold) Piven was a decent guy to be around and was allegedly working the WWE Divas hard in securing contact info. Nothing wrong with that for a healthy, young, single man who enjoys being cool and shaving every 3rd day or so. I was told that Piven was easy to work with and seemed happy especially after he got Kelly Kelly's phone number. That's the word on the street. I feel a TMZ story in the air.

JR On Stone Cold & John Cena: Stone Cold and John Cena, as I understand it, are both in Vancouver working on projects, Austin started filming is second film of the year Wednesday while Cena is in Vancouver filming an episode of USA's Psyche. USA should use any many WWE Superstars as is feasible and not just the top guys for their original programming as exposure of that magnitude will help elevate young talent when is the name of the game or at least it better be. It will be interesting to see if Austin and Cena make time for a cold one while working in Vancouver but my guess is that isn't likely to happen with both men working under deadlines. Austin is hoping to film one more movie before the end of the year if all the details can be worked out.

Labels: jim ross, john cena, Tyson Kidd

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

In an interview with SkySports, Kane hinted that he could possibly be facing The Great Khali later this month at Summerslam. Kane said, "I don't have a match made yet, but The Great Khali and I have been crossing paths. If I was to speculate I would say yes I have a match with The Great Khali but that hasn't been made yet.” Kane also reflects back on previous Summerslam’s in the interview, which you can read at this link.

Labels: kane, the great khali

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

In a Business Week interview that likens WWE’s new celebrity guest hosting gimmick to Saturday Night Live, Stephanie McMahon teases other celebrities WWE is hoping to get into the ring.

According to McMahon, potential guests include Freddie Prinze, Jr (the actor and former WWE Creative Team member who would plug the eighth season of “24,” which starts in January), Bob Barker (the famed former “Price is Right” host) and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Stephanie touted the show’s multiple promotional platforms–more than 5 million viewers each week for RAW, a website that does millions of impressions and the likelihood of garnering mainstream media attention as host–as beneficial for celebrities who wish to guest host RAW as a means of hyping their products.

Regarding the celebrities hosting RAW, USA’s Executive VP of Marketing and Brand Strategy Chris McCumber said this, “They have something to promote, and we have the platform that they need. Raw is like a male soap opera anyway. We’re just adding a little more entertainment.”

Labels: stephanie McMahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

There was a report going around last month that WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas was in jeopardy of being released due to Mark Henry being moved to the RAW brand and pushed as a face. It looks now as if WWE may have quietly released Atlas as his profile has been removed from the ECW roster page.

Labels: tony atlas

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

From WrestleScoop

Joshua sent the following: Just thought I’d let you guys know that Mike Adamle has apparently been contacted for a role as Raw guest host. He’s been on the local news here in Chicago covering sports and a couple days ago he announced that WWE has called him with the offer. Adamle only revealed that tidbit and didn’t get into details or whether or not he’d accepted.

Labels: mike adamle

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

Chairman Vince McMahon has been described as “on edge” and “unhappy with the product now.” The lack of depth at the main-event, as proven by how limited WWE’s roster became once names like Edge and Batista went down to injury, is said to really frustrate and worry Vince McMahon. At the same time, roster members have criticized WWE officials, a group that includes McMahon, for not working to elevate talent–names like MVP and Jack Swagger, who have been highly praised in recent months and have been firmly established as midcarders on RAW.

Most within the company, however, do not purely blame creative for not giving opportunities to rising stars. Rather, they also believe developmental is doing a worse job of producing ready-for-primetime talent. The success in recruiting top-level athletes has also declined lately."

Labels: batista, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

The PWTorch.com Newsletter reports that Eugene (real name Nick Dinsmore) made his official WWE return at Saturday night’s SmackDown/ECW house show in New Hampshire.

Eugene was released on September 1, 2007 for reportedly receiving his third strike in the WWE Wellness program.

Eugene wrestled Ricky Ortiz in the third match on the card, and is expected to feud with Ortiz when he returns to TV on the SmackDown brand. His return is rumored for the August 7th episode, but things can always change.

According to official documents released earlier this year, WWE released Eugene for his third failed Wellness test.

Labels: Eugene

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jeremy Piven updated his official Twitter.com page yesterday with the following update:

“locked my special guest to host WWE Raw with me Mon night, here we go…”

With the purpose of his appearance being to promote his new movie The Goods, early speculation is the guest will be a fellow cast member.

Labels: Jeremy Piven

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: 7-evelen, kelly kelly

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Even though WWE changed the name of Cyber Sunday to Bragging Rights, it appears that fans will still get to vote on aspects of the show. The calendar at WWEKids.com has the following statement posted for October 25th: “Have your say online! It’s WWE Bragging Rights tonight!”

Labels: 2009 bragging rights

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

According to live reports from last night’s WWE event in Hampton Beach, NH, WWE Women’s Champion Michelle McCool took a bad bump on the outside of the ring during her match with Eve Torres. McCool seemed to be favoring her knee and the match was stopped immediately. She was eventually helped to the back. There is no word on the severity of the injury as of early this morning.

Labels: michelle mccool

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments