WWE released its fifth consecutive cryptic video suggesting a return on January 2, 2012 tonight on RAW. This week’s video features the same young girl featured in the previous videos pushing a boy’s notebook off his classroom desk. The girl then says, “I cannot help you anymore. Do you understand?” The word featured at the end of the video this week is “prophetless”

As noted over the past few weeks, it’s strongly believed that the vignettes are promoting the return of Chris Jericho, who was last seen on WWE television in September of 2010 when he was written off after he was punted in the head by Randy Orton.

Chris Jericho has been denying the reports on his Twitter feed as of late, but many believe that he may doing so to throw off his followers on the social media website. As of last week, Jericho was in negotiations with WWE are were described as going well. His return, if he comes to negotiations with WWE, is expected to be what is described as “Rock-esque,” as in coming in for a few angles and then possibly leaving again to focus on his band Fozzy.

One possible WrestleMania 28 return match that has been tossed around backstage is a possible match with current WWE Champion CM Punk.

Labels: chris jericho, cm punk, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Regarding RAW stars appearing on SmackDown now that the RAW Supershows have been announced, it’s believed that they won’t be on every Friday episode because of the extra day of travel that would be added to their schedules.

Labels: RAW, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: cm punk, john cena, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross wrote the following on Twitter about last night’s RAW: “That was one of the best Monday Night Raw’s in years. Amazing mic work, gr8 ending, bodacious build 4 Sun’s PPV. Bravo. 1 irony of the strong attitudinal Raw w/ edgy elements, reality feel was that its still rated PG. Good PG works.”

Labels: jim ross, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

The May 9th episode of WWE RAW did a 3.18 rating with 4.95 million viewers. Here's a ratings breakdown:

Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins with Kharma's attack lost 177,000 viewers from the opener. Kane vs. Mason Ryan and Dolph Ziggler vs. Santino Marella lost another 353,000 viewers.

Backstage segments going into Alex Riley vs. John Cena gained 104,000 viewers while the match itself gained another 685,000 viewers. You could say that Riley did better than The Miz usually does in the same spot.

The segment with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Jack Swagger lost 172,000 viewers, which isn't that bad for the time slot. Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston for the US Title lost 353,000 more viewers and the main event of Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio gained 736,000 viewers to bring the overrun to a 3.57.

Labels: jerry lawler, kelly kelly, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

The web address of Alberto Del Rio's profile page on WWE.com denoted the WWE Superstar as a member of the Raw roster today.

Under the "All" bracket on the WWE Superstars page on WWE.com, his picture linked to the web address www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/albertodelrio. The error has since corrected as the URL now redirects to his original SmackDown based page.

It should be noted that if the page was not legitimate, an error page would be displayed (www.wwe.com/404-not-found). No error page is displayed for www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/albertodelrio.

Similarly, SmackDown Diva Beth Phoenix was denoted as a member of the Raw roster over the weekend. The miscue was corrected this morning.

WWE officials have discussed moving Del Rio to Raw during tonight's WWE Draft as he is currently scheduled to headline SummerSlam against John Cena. It has also been broached for Del Rio move to the brand as World Heavyweight Champion, with The Miz, as WWE Champion, heading to SmackDown.

Labels: Alberto Del Rio, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Road to WrestleMania 27 has begun, and with that, and the good people at Stubhub, we have two pairs of great Riser seats for Monday Night's RAW in Milwaukee on February 7th!!!

Simply email your name and address to us at matt@nflgridirongab.com and we will select two winners tomorrow. Pairs will be overnighted via Fedex!

Don’t forget, for the best place to find great seats for all WWE and other sports and concert tickets, is Stubhub – Where Fans Buy and Sell Tickets!

StubHub is the world’s largest ticket marketplace, enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of sports, concert, theater and other live entertainment events.

StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. The company’s unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient, and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered by StubHub and backed by the company’s FanProtect Guarantee.

Labels: RAW, Stubhub

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Miz became the new WWE Champion on RAW from Orlando, Florida after he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract for a shot at Randy Orton’s title.

Orton had just successfully defended the title against Wade Barrett, with help from John Cena. The angle was that Orton had a bad knee after being attacked by Nexus before the match with Barrett.

With The Miz capturing the WWE Title after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase last night, that made the Money in the Bank winners 8-for-8 in their cash-in attempts. With the title win, both Randy Orton and The Miz were listed as trending topics on Twitter last night.

Labels: randy orton, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

It’s been confirmed that Mean Gene Okerlund will be handling interviews on next week’s three-hour Old School RAW from Hershey, Pennsylvania. Legends confirmed include Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, The Iron Sheik, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff.

WWE will be going out all next week with retro graphics, a retro set design, music and appearances by other Legends.

While we haven’t heard anything about Shawn Michaels appearing, it should be noted that Michaels and his former Rockers tag team partner Marty Jannetty were featured in the teaser video for next week’s show.

WWE’s upcoming Old School RAW comes off the heels of the company releasing a new line of retro merchandise. It’s said that officials feel they need to embrace more of their past to help bring back some of the fans from those eras.

Labels: RAW, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

In addition to the return of the King of the Ring tournament for the Nov. 29 episode of Monday Night RAW, themes for two other three-hour episodes of the program have been announced.

The November 15th episode of RAW taking place in Hershey, Pennsylvania will feature an “Old School” theme with appearances by WWE Legends.

Advertising for the show is as follows: “WWE throws it back Old School when Monday Night RAW takes place live from Hershey’s Giant Center! See your favorite RAW/SmackDown and WWE Legends Live in Hershey!”

It has also been announced that the December 13th RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana will feature the annual Slammy Awards show. Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown are scheduled to appear.

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE website announced that the three-hour Monday Night RAW event taking place on November 29, 2010 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will feature the return of the King of the Ring tournament.

The synopsis reads: “In a single evening, one man will become a legend as the King of the Ring Tournament returns for the first time in over 2 years live from Philadelphia. On a special 3-Hour Raw Event Superstars from Raw and SmackDown will battle for the honor to be crowned King of all WWE and royally solidify their spot in sports-entertainment history.”

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Danny “Kenny Powers” McBride, star of the HBO hit series “Eastbound & Down,” will be the guest host of the October 11th episode of WWE RAW from Seattle.

WWE is advertising that McBride will be “bringing comedy” to RAW.

McBride will be promoting the second season of “Eastbound & Down,” which premieres this Sunday night.

Here’s the full lineup of RAW Guest Hosts for October:

- 10/4: Johnny Knoxville

- 10/11: Danny McBride

- 10/18: Bobb’e J. Thompson

- 10/25: Toby Keith

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

World Wrestling Entertainment announced that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will guest star on RAW this Monday.

The show is being held in his “home turf” of Cincinnati, Ohio. He will be promoting his VH1 reality show, Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch.

Labels: chad ochocinco, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

USA NETWORK PRESENTS
MONDAY NIGHT RAW’S 900TH EPISODE CELEBRATION

WHAT: On Monday, August 30, USA Network will present the historic 900th episode of its hit series, WWE Monday Night Raw with a special celebration. The episode will celebrate Monday Night RAW’s historic smashing of the 900th episode milestone.

The show will feature WWE Superstars and Divas from RAW, SmackDown and NXT. It will originate from Boston’s TD Garden at 9/8c.

WWE Monday Night RAW has been a staple on cable television since its debut on USA Network in 1993 and has been the No. 1 ranked weekly basic cable entertainment series since it went live in 1999. With its blend of humor, action and drama, Monday Night RAW continues to appeal to a variety of demographics generation after generation.

Monday Night RAW Television Highlights:

* RAW made its cable television premiere on January 11, 1993.

* The first episode was taped at the Manhattan Center and aired on USA Network.

*Monday Night RAW has aired more original episodes than some of the most popular television series of all time, including Gunsmoke (633), Lassie (588), Bonanza (430), The Simpsons (420 plus), Dallas (357), ER (309 plus),Cheers (275) and Seinfeld (180).

* 37% of RAW’s viewers are female and RAW is a Top 5 ad-supported cable program among Females 12-34.

* Monday Night RAW is a global phenomenon broadcast in more than 30 languages to more than 145 countries and seen by nearly a half a billion homes worldwide weekly, including Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy and Iraq.

* RAW is the birthplace of such household names as The Rock®, Stone Cold Steve Austin™, Triple H®, John Cena®, Undertaker® and Shawn Michaels.®

* A pop culture phenomenon, RAW has been a destination for actors, athletes and musicians not only to promote projects but to also enjoy ringside excitement as fans. Donald Trump, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Ashton Kutcher, Jewel, Jeremy Piven and Rob Reiner have all appeared on RAW.

Labels: RAW

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

The dark main event after last night’s RAW tapings in Los Angeles saw John Cena win a battle royal with Nexus, Team RAW and Team SmackDown. RAW and SmackDown eliminated Nexus first and the final three were CM Punk, Edge and John Cena. Punk threw out Edge and Cena eliminated Punk to win.

Labels: john cena, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE has announced that actor Bobb’e J. Thompson will be the guest host of Monday Night RAW on October 18th from Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Thompson is starring in WWE’s movie Knucklehead with Big Show. That movie comes out October 22nd.

WWE also announced that country music singer Toby Keith will be the guest host on October 25th, the night after the Bragging Rights pay-per-view, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Keith will be promoting his new album, Bullets in the Gun, which comes out on October 5th.

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Bret Hart announced that next week's Raw would be a "Viewer's Choice Night" with fans getting their chance to vote on what they wanted to see on the Three-Hour edition, similar to the old Cyber Sunday PPV event.

Hart also announced that the Smackdown roster would be appearing next week in Miami, Florida for the Raw, which will be hosted by UFC star Quinton Jackson and actors Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley to promote the forthcoming "A-Team" film.

Labels: bret hart, RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE issued a press release touting its upcoming roster of celebrity guest hosts, which includes Ashton Kutcher, "The A-Team" cast members Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley and Mark Feuerstein.

Predictably, WWE did not reference Jackson's current standing as one of the UFC's most popular fighters. It did, however, take the opportunity to plug Feuerstein's involvement in WWE Films feature "Knucklehead."

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Actress Betty White's Wikipedia page claims she will host the Memorial Day edition of WWE Raw on May 31. The show will take place from Austin, Texas. Wikipedia is not the most reliable source, so take this one as a rumor for now. The 88 year old actress hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live over the weekend and the show drew a better rating than usual. Her SNL hosting gig came about after a grassroots campaign on Facebook.

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE has contacted Michael Jordan’s representatives about hosting a future episode of RAW. As of last week, Jordan’s people still hadn’t got back to WWE. It’s worth noting that the June 14th episode of RAW takes place at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC, where Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats play.

Labels: RAW

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments