Sirius XM’s Busted Open Interview: Beth Pheonix
Hosts: Doug Mortman and Mike Riker
Busted Open can be heard Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Sirius 94, XM 208

Beth on working with Goldust: I have nothing but great things to say about Goldust, and really what he brings to us is the time that he spends working with us. He has such a wide variety of opinions and experience on the business, things that like, you know he’ll come to me with advice that I never really would have seen it that way you know. And he has a completely different perspective, and he has really, really put in so much effort and cares about the divas division and I have nothing but glowing things to say about him. If you see what you want to see and your liking what you are seeing, Goldust is a big part of that.

Beth on CM Punk vs. HHH: Well this match, you know, maybe has as much meaning for all of us on the roster as it does for the WWE Universe. Because if HHH loses, he is no longer the COO of the company. And on the other hand, CM Punk has kind of been the one guy to stand up and step up for all of us who have felt pushed aside or under-appreciated, so it really is kind of a conflict of heart. Because I like what HHH has been doing as the COO, he has really you know made some changes in the company that have affected us in a positive way. So um, you know, I understand Punk’s gripes, but at the same time me as a talent, I really like what HHH has done so it’s really a toss up. I think it could go either way, and it’s really going be the match I want to see the most.

Beth on her relationship with Natalya: Myself and Natalya have been longtime best friends in the wrestling business, you know we respect each other and we have very similar stories. I grew up really, you know, idolizing her family so we have a lot of, um, our mission is really what we have in common aside from other things, but you know we are our own thing. It’s unfortunate what happened with Karma because I would have loved to have her as an opponent at some day, at some point, but right now like I said it’s just all about me and Natty and that’s all we are really worried about.

Beth on CM Punk giving buzz to the wrestling world: I think there’s like a feeling of kind of like an anti-establishment growing, you know like a revolution. I think there’s like, there’s a feeling that, you know, that we got back when Stone Cold was standing up to Vince McMahon. I would make comparisons back to that because, you know, CM Punk has basically stepped outside the box and stopped being a nice guy and said what’s on everyone’s mind. But rather than being villainized for it, we all kind of support him on that and saying like wow, thank you, thank you for being the one to stand up and say something. So, there are a lot of us that, certainly over the summer it was probably the hottest topic in wrestling in years, and um I feel like going forward this match is going to be a determining factor in where the company goes as a whole.

Labels: beth phoenix, Goldust

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

Beth Phoenix was apparently scripted to take a shot at recently released WWE Diva Melina during her promo tonight on Raw in which she said she was sick of the Divas division being made a mockery of. “No more booty popping, no more splits, no more stink faces,” Beth said following her victory over Eve.

Melina wrote on Twitter, “PS- Any Diva can try 2 do a split from here on out but what the WWE confirmed is that the SPLITS will always remind the world of me. Thank u.

She continued, “I love the statement peeps! I bet the powers that be were waiting all night 2 hear that line go on air. Hee hee. I find it very flattering!”

Labels: beth phoenix, melina

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

RAW superstar CM Punk is said to be unhappy in WWE and is considering leaving the company when his contract expires later this year. Punk is burned out from five years on the road and is not happy with other stars such as The Miz and Alberto Del Rio getting pushed over him.

WWE wants to keep Punk on the roster and have offered him a new longterm deal, which he's yet to sign. It's interesting to note that CM Punk's real-life girlfriend Beth Phoenix was traded to the RAW brand during Tuesday's Supplemental Draft - which could be seen as a move to make life better for Punk on the road.

Punk's possible departure from WWE later this year has been one of the main topics of discussion behind the scenes this week. Punk has been dating Beth Phoenix for the past several months and the two are reportedly a serious couple.

WWE has made roster trades in the past to keep superstar-diva couples together - with the most notable example being Michelle McCool being moved to SmackDown a few years ago so she could travel with her husband, The Undertaker.

Labels: 2011 WWE Draft, beth phoenix, cm punk

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

The latest word on Beth Phoenix is that she is NOT injured after taking a nasty fall to the outside of the ring last during a Divas table match at the WWE TLC PPV. She tweeted:

"The risks are high each time you step foot in the ring, but nights like tonight prove to me how much I love my job. I took a nasty fall...but that's why I've always been called Phoenix. I just can't stay down for long."

Labels: beth phoenix

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

With Beth Phoenix out of action due to injury, there are a lot of people in the company who regret them releasing Mickie James. There is talk of bringing Gail Kim to SmackDown or hiring a new babyface Diva that can actually wrestle for the SmackDown brand.

Labels: beth phoenix, mickie james

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

Not much is known about the format of the Extreme Makeover Match for the WWE Women’s Title between Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix at tonight’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. WWE is calling an “unique confrontation” with “unexpected twists and turns.” When hyping the match, WWE says both Divas will encounter some “unexpected challenges.”

Labels: 2010 extreme rules, beth phoenix, michelle mccool

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here’s the official announcement from WWE regarding SmackDown’s move to SyFy:

SMACKDOWN GOES SYFY

World Wrestling Entertainment(R) and Syfy announced today a multi-year agreement that brings Friday Night SmackDown(R) to the “Imagine Greater” network beginning in October 2010. Friday Night SmackDown will premiere on its new home October 1st at 8:00 PM ET. The program, which debuted more than 10 years ago, is one of the longest-running, weekly episodic shows on television.

Syfy’s original Friday night drama series will move to Tuesday night, where hit series such as Warehouse 13 and Eureka have yielded unprecedented ratings success. WWE NXT(TM) will leave Syfy in October as Friday Night SmackDown joins the schedule.

“WWE(R) is the ultimate in imagination-based sports entertainment. The fantastical thrills of Friday Night SmackDown provide an ideal addition to the Syfy slate, as it targets the younger male and female demographics, which are the fastest growing categories for WWE,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy. “With Tuesday night, a proven winner for our original drama series including Warehouse 13, there is bigger opportunity for series such as Stargate Universe, Sanctuary and Caprica to thrive on a night with a significantly larger number of viewers available to watch live.”

“Syfy is a terrific partner and we look forward to bringing our proven ratings winner and ten year television institution, Friday Night SmackDown, to the network,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “With this move, WWE is thrilled to be expanding its long-standing relationship with the NBC Universal family.”

Friday Night SmackDown averages more than 3.4 million viewers a week and is currently the most watched TV program on Friday nights among Males under 55 and beats all Friday primetime programming on ABC, NBC, FOX and CW among Men 18-34*. The two hour television program will be presented weekly on Syfy and features a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars and Divas including Undertaker(R), Edge(R), Rey Mysterio(R), Chris Jericho(R), CM Punk(R), Michelle McCool(R), Beth Phoenix(TM) and Layla(TM).

Labels: beth phoenix, michelle mccool, smackdown

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

AOL’s Television section is saying that WWE is currently working on a sitcom starring Santino Marella. WWE Diva Beth Phoenix is slated to play his girlfriend, and Vladimir Kozlov his best friend. “In two weeks, we’re filming the first three episodes,” Santino said. “It will air at first on the dot com, then after that we will get it to a network television.”

USA Network VP Chris McCumber however said the USA Network isn’t looking for sitcoms right now, but acknowledged Marella as a good comedic character.

When asked if it will be like reality TV, Santino said: “I think we’re going to use one or two cameras. It will kind of be like a ‘Seinfeld,’ but with me. You know, it will only be a reality show if you consider wrestling reality.”

Labels: beth phoenix, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

WWE officials are said to be very high on Divas Champion Maryse due to her personality, hence her move to Raw during the live draft on Monday night. Fellow Raw Diva Beth Phoenix is expected to turn babyface soon, leading into a key singles program between the two.

As reported earlier, many of the participants in the 25-Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania were none to pleased with how the bout ultimately turned out. There was a sense of disappointment afterwards for many of the participants in the match as they felt like they were never even there. While it's highly unlikely that anyone will come out and say it publicly (at least by anyone under contract or looking to come back), there were those at the hotel after the show talking about it.

Labels: beth phoenix, maryse

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yes, usually the RAW following Mania is chock full of news and big happenings, and last night in Houston was no exception. The final showdown (if you want to call it that) of the night saw Vince McMahon take on Randy Orton, and at the end as Triple H, Vince and Shane were getting beat up by Legacy, Batista came out and cleaned house.

Thus we have the set up for "Backlash" a six-man where the title will be on the line, as Orton and Rhodes and Dibiase take on Batista, HHH and Shane. The first thought that pops in my head is that Batista is going to turn on HHH, cost him the belt to Orton, and then join Legacy. Think about it.

As for the rest of the night, I guess the company felt enough wrath from the general public about pulling the tag match that was supposed to be at Mania, so they did it exactly as it was supposed to be last night - a lumberjack match won by the Colons.

The other angle that I already can't stand but they are going to go with is the stupid Santina angle where Santnio dresses up like a woman, and stupid Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler play along like it actually might be a woman. How long until he/she wins the womens belt?

Labels: batista, beth phoenix, RAW, triple h, vince mcmahon

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

Match #2 is underway, and this sucks, since there was no intro's due to the stupid Kid Rock "concert," the match just started with no real fanfare.

Matt Loede: For all the hoopla this got on the internet and on TV, this was awful. They really should have introduced the Divas, and it was a joke that of the Divas that came back, they were all pretty much out before we could even realize they were in the match. I mean, I really wanted to see the crowd pop for women like Torrie, Molly Holly, Victoria and more. And the whole fact they made "Santina" the winner was even more of a joke. I am not going to waste any more typing on this match. It outright sucked.


John Sefcik: Horrible gag. First a long intro combined with a terrible Kid Rock performance along with a lack of individual intros for the Divas. Then the match was a mass of humanity in which you had no idea who was who. This was followed up by Santino winning Miss Wrestle Mania. Why did we make the tag match a dark match? Yeah that's what I thought.

Labels: beth phoenix, molly holly, torrie wilson, wrestlemania 25

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry, which you can check out at jrsbarbq.com. Highlights from this entry:

- Lots of speculation out there in the internet world about Trish Stratus wrestling Beth Phoenix at WM25 including an interview that the lovely, Canadian lass made a few days ago. Personally, I have zero knowledge of such a match but would love to see Trish at WM25 or any other time for that matter even though it would seem the Raw announcers would get to call that match. I can only suggest to stay tuned to Monday Night Raw as I do for any new developments. As a fan, it feels like a good pairing (no pun intended) if it ends up going that way.

- We touted the Starrcade DVD in an honest and straight forward way when I received the rough cut of the DVD and now Starrcade is the #1 seller on DVD charts. One can really tell the amount of quality, main event depth back in Starrcade’s hey day and the lack of said depth is something we bemoan here perhaps too much.

- All of the sudden there is all this talk about whether or not the WWE will have a Diva in Playboy prior to Wrestlemania. First of all, I do not know. I do seriously doubt it, however. I am more interested in the WM25 card than I am about who may be “tastefully nude” in Playboy Magazine.

- Enough of the emails on how much some “HATE” the fact that the WWE is now rated PG. First of all, hate is a strong word to use and unfortunately it is used to much in our society today. Think about this for a second. The WWE has pulled back on some elements of their content to make it more family friendly but many aspects of the shows will still remain edgy. Nonetheless we are still talking about a TV show here and if a viewer “hates” a TV show SO much because of what they perceive to be philosophical changes then why doesn’t one simply eliminate the anguish and watch something else on the tube? No, I don’t want any wrestling show to lose viewers but there is no reason to watch any thing on television and then bitch and moan about it every week. Or am I missing something?

Labels: beth phoenix, jim ross, trish stratus, wrestlemania 25

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

SLAM! Wrestling conducted an interview with former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus at an autograph signing this past Tuesday in downtown Toronto. Stratus was signing copies of Inside Fitness magazine and wrestling memorabilia for her loyal fans.

Stratus discussed her one-off appearance on Raw last month. She said she practiced her “Matrix” move “at least 40 times” prior to the show (which she used against opponent Santino Marella) to make sure she could still do it. Stratus also said it would be hard to pass off wrestling at WrestleMania 25. Stratus said she had not been contacted about appearing, but left the impression that something could come together in the future.

“I would definitely like the chance to finish off what I started with Beth in a one-on-one scenario,” Stratus said. “No tagging out, no Santino shenanigans, just one dominant female against the other.”

Stratus also said she wouldn’t mind wrestling another WWE Diva in Natalya.

“Nattie I think is going to be a major player soon, given the right chance to do what she does best,” Stratus said. “Everyone knows how much I respect the Hart lineage, using Bret’s sharpshooter in my retirement match, wearing the pink and black boots in Toronto … it’s not a coincidence. So I would be honoured to face someone who is a part of that legacy and I have no doubt in my mind that we could blow away an audience.”

Stratus also wanted fans to know that she does not have a page on Facebook as there are a number of pages impersonating her on the social networking site. However, she does indeed have a page on MySpace.com.

“It would be great to clear up that I can be found on MySpace only. I am not on Facebook. That way no one is duped into thinking they are communicating with me when they are not,” Stratus said to make things clear.

Labels: beth phoenix, trish stratus

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

From: Slam Wrestling

WWE developmental performer Angela Fong is said to have the most potential at this stage of training of any WWE women's wrestler in a quite some time. Fong's athleticism is far and away above any of the women on the current roster, including the likes of Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix or former WWE Diva Trish Stratus, who were accomplished athletes before joining the wrestling business.

Although it should be noted that Fong is a former gymnast and cheerleader. Fong is said to be significantly better at the same stage of training as Gail Kim was, not to mention actually significantly better athletically that Kim even is now. With that being said, Fong is by no means close to ready for television matches in WWE, although she has started getting feet wet in Florida Championship Wrestling after starting out as a manager. Fong's pure athleticism is said to be on the level of the top Japanese women's wrestlers, and she does things like bridging out of pins and moves reminiscent of that style and era. Fong, now simply going under the name Miss Angela in FCW, tried out for the 2007 WWE Diva Search, but didn't make the final cut. WWE would later sign Fong to a developmental contract in February 2008.

Labels: angela fong, beth phoenix

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

- IGN.com recently conducted an interview with the WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix. She makes note of WWE bringing in Divas despite marginal experience. “There’s more and more girls out there that want to be part of the business,” Phoenix told IGN.com during a THQ media event this past week at Florida Championship Wrestling headquarters.

“As far as the experience level of some of the WWE divas, there are girls who get rushed along in the process. They’re beautiful and we want to get them on TV as soon as possible.” She added, “Sometimes that doesn’t leave for a lot of time for wrestling training. This isn’t a business that you can pick up in a few weeks. This takes years of commitment, dedication, passion, and hard work. With that is WWE’s road schedule that doesn’t provide for enough in-ring time for the divas to develop. With our current grueling schedule, sometimes the way our girls come into WWE, it’s with less experience than the training the guys get.”

She also commented on internet criticism regarding her character’s appearance in the Smackdown vs. RAW 2009 video game. Phoenix said, “If you go read the comments on boards, there’s a lot of criticism on my character. ‘Oh, this isn’t quite right. That’s not updated.’ And to me, that’s so cool because it shows that people really care about this game. … It’s really been eye-opening - I get to interact a lot with WWE fans - and gaming fans are just as dedicated and devoted to the game.”

Labels: beth phoenix

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

RAW kicked off the week of WWE TV with a taped show from St.Louis. It was a mixed bag in my opinion, with some good, some bad, and some segments that simply were as bland as eating ice at the bottom of a snow cone that has no flavor left. With that, here are some thoughts from the show:

The Good:

* I have expressed this before, and I will say it again, Chris Jericho circa 2008 is by far my favorite reborn character the company has seen in sometime. I don't know if it was Chris, but whoever has come up with the tweaks to the old Jericho gets a huge prop in my eyes. Here's hoping for a Jericho-Punk program for the belt at some point down the road provided they allow Punk to keep it.

* The returns of hottie Candice Michelle and Rey Mysterio made the night. First, here's hoping Michelle finally can stay healthy and get a serious program with Beth Phoenix. As for Rey, I think that was the best return of the few that we've seen out of him. He finally forgo the cartoon character that we usually see, and came out with a serious look and had a great go at it with Kane. I am looking forward to the Kane-Rey program that will take place after the PPV.

* Randy Orton coming out and making all the title holders mad was a great way to kick off the night. I love the fact instead of just sugar coating it and calling out Punk, he also called out DiBiase and Rhodes and Phoeix, which was great. I think Randy will be top notch with his character when he returns and will be right at the top of the mix of the title picture.

* It was nice to see the tag titles actually given a real program with Rhodes and DiBiase and Cryme Tyme. For too long they have wasted time on things that don't matter, and let belts simply sit in the corner and rot when you can build good programs around them. I think this has the makings of a good match at the PPV, and a program that can have legs.

The Bad:

* I'd like to thank D-Lo Brown for a comeback that we'd all like to forget. You can bet that his short and ugly loss to Santino Marella will basically be the first of many, and that any hopes of a push are long gone for a guy who's better days were in the late 90's. Plus he can lose that 10-year old theme song anytime.

* The two battle royals were both rather lame in my opinion, and while I know what they were trying to get across, I thought they both were rather ho-hum. It made Henry and Kane both look rather impressive, and in the long run you know there two will not be in main event programs.

* I know that William Regal is still somewhat in the dog house for his past suspension, but losing to Jamie Noble in a stupid comedy act with him and Layla was pretty weak. I still think that Regal has a lot to give in and out of the ring, but since his return he's been pushed to the back burner, and here's hoping that he'll be allowed to get on track at some point.

Final Grade for the Show: C+

Labels: beth phoenix, c.m. punk, candice michelle, chris jericho, kane, RAW, rey mysterio, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Mickie James vs. Beth Pheonix vs. Melina has been added for the women's title Sunday at the Judgement Day PPV.

Labels: beth phoenix, melina, mickie james

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Candice Michelle, who was feuding with women's champ Beth Phoenix, should be back in the ring in the next few weeks after breaking her collarbone in a nasty fall during a RAW match two months ago. Michelle fell on her head and knocked herself out after being knocked off the top rope during a match with Phoenix on the show. She is expected to possibly be pushed towards a Mania rematch with Phoenix, who has been feuding with Mickie James.

Labels: beth phoenix, candice michelle, mickie james

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

After scores are settled and titles were decided at Armageddon, our Superstars will “wing” it to Buffalo, N.Y., and the HSBC Arena for Monday Night Raw.

WWE Champion Randy Orton almost failed to weather the assault from challenger Chris Jericho. It took the surprising interference from SmackDown commentator John Bradshaw Layfield to allow Orton to escape with his gold via disqualification. Why did JBL attack Jericho? Will the self-proclaimed “wrestling god” appear on Raw and address the controversial ending to the WWE Championship Match?

And what does Jericho have to say about all of this? Will Y2J seek revenge on the Legend Killer and/or JBL on the shores of Lake Erie?

Orton already knows who he’ll defend his WWE Championship against at the Royal Rumble in January. Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy stunned the Mellon Arena crowd with a victory over Triple H to earn a WWE Championship opportunity at the Rumble next month. What does Orton have to say about his upcoming challenge? How will Triple H react to Hardy’s upset win? Will he want a rematch from the “Rainbow-Haired Warrior?”

And the title train keeps on rolling for Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix. Can anyone in the Divas locker room rise up and upset the Glamazon to take her gold?

Find out as Monday Night Raw airs from Buffalo, N.Y., at 9/8 CT, live on USA Network.

Labels: beth phoenix, jbl, jeff hardy, wwe raw, y2j

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well, the final PPV of 2007 is in the books, and while both co-editor John Sefcik and I had our doubts and concerns about the card, overall I thought it was a good and entertaining show that kept my interest for 2 hours and 40+ minutes. Here are some general thoughts on the show:

- Mysterio and MVP was a good start. I think that MVP has developed so much over the last year, he really can hang with just about anyone. Thank the late Chris Benoit for that, as his feud with him early in 2007 was the turning point to his wrestling career. The ending was sort of lame, but leads you to wanting to see these two in the ring again.

- The ECW match was the letdown of the night, as the crowd for it seemed flat, and while the effort was there, I thought that the Henry&V combo could bring any tandem down. The ECW title pic is still cloudy, now more than ever with V getting the clean pin over Punk. I guess the eventual plan is for Punk to end up in a possible Mania feud with Shelton Benjamin, meaning that a continued feud with either V or Henry is a warm-up for that.

- Kennedy vs HBK was pretty solid for the most part. Kennedy still needs to step it up in my opinion, as in big matches he seems to just lose focus for some reason. I am sure that with the ending we'll see more of these two down the road.

- Hardy vs HHH was really sloppy at times, as the storyline going in and during the match was great, and the mind games during the match I thought made it better than the actual match. The pair have very contrasting styles, which made it at points tough to watch. Overall, as I said on the Post match show last night, look for a triple-threat or even four-way to develop for the Rumble with HHH, Hardy, Orton and possibly Jericho.

- The Finlay vs Khali match was the weakest of the night, and that was to be expected with the limited Khali. Finlay deserved to get the win, I just didn't think he'd get it with the companies continued love affair with Khali. Now I guess we'll see Khali move to lumbering jobber status, and down the road the plan is for him to be the gimmick jobber that loses to Hulk Hogan at Mania.

- The WWE title match was better than I thought it would be, and I though Y2J really stepped up. Give credit to Randy Orton as well, as both men worked hard, and I thought they did a good job with the setup for the JBL-Jericho feud that we'll now see. It's an interesting twist, but at the same time now we'll see if Y2J moves to SmackDown, or JBL comes to RAW. In the end, this will be Y2J's Mania match, and it should be solid.

- Women's match was okay, with the premise that Mickie finally got some offense in on Beth Phoenix. It was okay at best, with the plan to get Candice back in the title picture upon her return from injury and for that to be the Mania match.

- Main event was strong, with two points in the match making it better than it was - the part where Edge rang the bell, and then the other two Edge's taking bumps to save the real Edge so he could get the pin. When you look at it, it has taken Edge less than one month back to become the number one heel in the company, better than Orton or anyone else for that matter. It reminds me of the Stephanie McMahon-HHH era when they ran RAW, we'll now see Vickie Guerrero and Edge run SmackDown. A good ending to a good night.

Labels: beth phoenix, edge, hulk hogan, undertaker, wwe armageddon

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