WWE.com has transferred John Cena’s profile from the Alumni section to the RAW Superstars section after he was rehired by Wade Barrett on Monday’s RAW.

Josh Mathews has been added to the SmackDown Superstars section. He replaced Todd Grisham as the play-by-play commentator for SmackDown on last week’s broadcast.

The NXT Superstars section now lists Todd Grisham as an on-air talent for the brand. He now calls NXT alongside Josh Mathews.

Ashley Valence, who has not appeared on NXT since Season 2, has been removed from the NXT Superstars section. She conducted the ring announcing for last week’s episode of WWE Superstars, but was not used this week. She notably announced Zack Ryder as “Ezekiel Jackson” during the Dec. 6 taping, which was dubbed for the taped broadcast.

Jack Swagger’s “Soaring Eagle” is considered an official WWE Superstar as the mascot is today’s “Superstar of the Day.”

Labels: jack swagger, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

SmackDown Superstar MVP was in the doghouse with WWE officials again before being put in the new feud with Jack Swagger. The only thing said about MVP’s recent heat is that it’s for the same reasons he’s been in and out of the doghouse for the past two years.

MVP is looking to reinvent himself and suggested doing a rapper gimmick to officials. MVP has even recorded a rap song to go with the gimmick.

Swagger, on the other hand, is getting high praise from WWE officials because the key people see him as a long-term Superstar. Swagger gets props on his great attitude, his size and athletic ability.

Labels: jack swagger, MVP

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

There was at least some discussion this past week about having the NXT Rookies be the ones responsible for The Undertaker being in a vegetative state.

However, word this weekend was that they are planning a Kane vs. Undertaker casket match for SummerSlam, instead of Taker vs. Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Title.

If WWE goes with the idea that Kane attacked Undertaker and they stick with the casket match at SummerSlam, Taker will work that feud before moving on to the World Heavyweight Title picture.

Labels: jack swagger, kane, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

CM Punk is back on the road with WWE for this weekend’s live events. SmackDown events will be headlined by Big Show vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger, to get them ready for the Fatal 4 Way pay-per-view.

Labels: c.m. punk, jack swagger

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE’s production crew made a big technical error before the SmackDown tapings this past Tuesday night in Buffalo at the HSBC Arena. While fans were waiting to get in the arena, a TV with no audio in the front lobby was on and it was showing the WWE crew rehearsing for the show. Fans saw Teddy Long & Kofi Kingston rehearsing their segment, the Divas rehearsing their match and Jack Swagger practicing for his segment. The WWE stars prepared for the show until the doors opened for fans to come into the arena.

Labels: jack swagger

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments

Source: F4Wonline.com

- WWE filmed a commercial yesterday that will air on SyFy this Summer to start hyping the network debut of Friday Night SmackDown in October.

A few of the names appearing in the commercial included Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio.

Kofi and Rhodes are currently on the RAW brand so it looks like they might get drafted tomorrow night. This could also mean that Swagger and Mysterio will be staying on SmackDown.

These commercials were put together yesterday but WWE has filmed commercials to hype Superstars before, such as Evan Bourne with the ECW Title last year, then changed the plans and shot new material.

Labels: 2010 WWE Draft, jack swagger, kofi kingston

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

- Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on tonight’s SmackDown to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Swagger appeared in the ring after Edge laid out former World Champion Chris Jericho with a spear. Swagger hit Edge with the briefcase, cashed in and defeated Jericho with the gutwrench powerbomb.

- Edge and Jericho will face each other on next week’s SmackDown to determine the new #1 contender to Swagger’s World Heavyweight Title. Presumably Swagger will defend his belt at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

Labels: edge, jack swagger

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

There’s a lot of talk in WWE going on about the Draft after WrestleMania this year. Plans right now see Big Show and Jack Swagger being sent to SmackDown.

Labels: jack swagger, the big show

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE has given up on Jack Swagger's push as he has not quite panned out as officials had thought he would.

Part of why WWE is pushing Kofi Kingston to the top if because they feel they need another African-American babyface star and they had given up on several other stars that were picked for the spot.

The other two stars who WWE have the most faith in right now are Sheamus, who is a workout partner of Triple H, and Drew McIntyre, who Triple H and Shawn Michaels have endorsed.

Labels: jack swagger, kofi kingston

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE’s website has the full details on the 15 Superstar trade that was approved by Donald Trump. Here are the full roster changes:

New Members of RAW: Evan Bourne, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, Gail Kim, Alicia Fox

New Members of Smackdown: Matt Hardy, Finlay, Tyson Kidd, Natalya, David Hart Smith

New Members of ECW: Shelton Benjamin, Goldust, William Regal, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella

The decision to implement the fifteen-Superstar WWE roster trade was reportedly made sometime in the past week. One of the trade’s biggest implications concerned the ECW Championship. The original plan called for Jack Swagger to win the title at The Bash in the Championship Scramble. Instead, WWE opted to move Swagger to RAW, where he will feud with fresh babyfaces.

Labels: ecw, gail kim, jack swagger, mark henry, matt hardy

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

A new angle was announced on tonight’s ECW that Tommy Dreamer has signed a one-day contract extension in order to wrestle at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view on June 7th.

It will be Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger vs. ECW Champion Christian for the ECW Title in a Triple Threat match under Hardcore rules at the pay-per-view. ECW General Manager Tiffany said Dreamer wins the ECW Championship or he’s gone.

Labels: jack swagger, tommy dreamer

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Match two was for the ECW Championship, as Christian took on former champ Jack Swagger in the first title match of the night.

John: Typical ECW match. Gets the job done for being filler in the WWE universe. Nothing special about this one as Christian retains the belt. The attempt to portray Christian as a cheater s lame an adds noting to this one. Hopefully there will be bigger things in Christians future.

Matt: Your typical title match with the challenger getting most of the offense, only for their to be a cheap ending with Christian getting the win with a "strap" pull? Yes, good to note that the ECW belt is still a joke, and that will be the last time tonight we get to see the team of Josh Matthews and Matt Striker. Christian seems lost in his second time around with the WWE, and you have to wonder if this is what he thought he'd be doing coming over from TNA. Oh well, at least we move on to Benjamin and Morrison.

Labels: 2009 judgement day, Christian, jack swagger

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here’s the updated WWE Judgment Day pay-per-view card coming out of this weekend’s SmackDown:

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Batista

World Heavyweight Title Match
Edge vs. Jeff Hardy

ECW Title Match
Christian vs. Jack Swagger

Labels: 2009 judgement day, jack swagger, randy orton

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

It was match one at Backlash on Sunday, as ECW Champ Jack Swagger took on Christian for the ECW strap. Here's our coverage from co-editors Matt Loede and John Sefcik.

Matt: Not a bad opener for what looks to be a crappy card. Both guys worked pretty hard, and while they have met before, this was probably their best match. I felt all along that they were going to get the belt to Chirstian, so this was not much of a shock. ECW is always out there in no man's land, and after what was a pretty good opener, we'll see if he can hold it and if he gains any momentum for the lackluster brand.

John:Not a bad start I guess. Nothing special about the match, but it pulled off its job of starting the pay per view. Will Christian finally bring some excitement to ECW, a job Matt Hardy failed to accomplish while champ? The roster of ECW still needs some talent infused into it and I really don't see Christian sticking around much longer. Especially with his run in with Edge backstage. Look for a summer feud with these two and Swagger to become ECW champ again.

Labels: 2009 backlash, Christian, jack swagger

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

So the WWE brass has given a basic no-name in Jack Swagger the ECW Title, beating an established star in Matt Hardy. And I wonder why I don't watch ECW with much hope. Yes, the company thinks they are creating stars by giving them belts, but let's be real here, does Swagger even deserve a belt at this point in his young career?

You probably did like I did when Swagger got the three-count vs Hardy on Tuesday night - said to yourself "wow" and then simply went back to doing whatever it was you were doing. Fans don't care about wrestlers like Jack Swagger. They don't have near the charsima that main event stars do, yet they get pushed down our throats each and every week.

I'd almost rather watch Tiffany make out with Ricky Ortiz. Just kidding.

Labels: ecw, jack swagger, matt hardy, Ricky Ortiz, tiffany

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update over at jrsbarbq.com. The highlights:

- Jack Swagger, really nice name, is the real deal and, as legend has it, never lost a street fight while attending Oklahoma University where he came as a two sport, full scholarship athlete. Swagger will someday be an ECW Champion, or hold other gold, and is likely a year away from getting his chance to be a regular, contributing member of the main event society within the WWE but make no mistake that this young man is a keeper. Nice bout between the former OU Wrestling All American and veteran Tommy Dreamer on Tuesday night on Sci Fi. FTW as some will try and figure it out, I watched it on DVR.

- Speaking of the King and I, we will be heading to Houston in January to do some PR work for the on sale date of the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony that will be a part of WM25. It would be nice to know an inductee or two by then but I’m not holding my breathe on that one.

- Bold statement in a recent newspaper interview by DH Smith that he is the best second generation wrestler in the WWE today. I like the young man’s confidence and after seeing him this week he looks physically ready to go. Smith is very laid back but something tells me that he has a bona fide mean streak ala his Grandfather Stu Hart. I suspect that Smith will debut on Smackdown in the next few weeks but that is speculation only.

- The Undertaker’s submission hold is now being called officially, “Hell’s Gate.”

Labels: jack swagger, jerry lawler, jim ross, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has updates his blog over at JrsBarbq.com. Below are a few highlights:

On concern for Ric Flair due to his recent troubles: “Blackjack Mulligan who probably knows Flair as well as anyone told noted wrestling writer Mike Mooneyham that Jack was worried about what would become of Ric once he retired. Many of us were happy that the WWE hired Ric to be a “Good Will Ambassador” for a healthy amount of money. Some thought that perhaps this would keep the charismatic individual with the seemingly unscratchable itch for excitement and living on the edge content. It didn’t. Then “The Champ” signed with an agency to handle his bookings. This should be a good thing. However, what Ric Flair needs is full time management on a on going basis and not just some one to negotiate a fee and book Ric to go somewhere and sign his name. Ric needs some one to help protect Ric from Ric. The incidents of the past few days have troubled me. Seeing my dear friend with a nasty, black eye as a result of a still somewhat unexplained incident involving his youngest daughter and. allegedly. her boyfriend. Bad publicity soon followed the incident that included Ric’s own daughter get tasered by the police. This is not a good deal any way one slice’s it. Yeah, it might be great cannon fodder for a reality show but is that a good thing? Perhaps “Naitch” should ask “The Hulkster” about that one.”

On the recent news of Justin Credible reportedly working at an Olive Garden restaurant: “Wise ass, Internet, wrestling scribes making light of Justin Credible working at an Olive Garden Restaurant should be ashamed of themselves. There is damn sure nothing wrong with earning an honest day’s work no matter what any one chooses to do for a living. I heard this same crap from friends and relatives when I first got in the wrestling business.”

On new ECW star Jack Swagger: “Jack Swagger, 6′6″-270 pounder, who debuted on ECW this week is another keeper. When he was known as Jake Hager this young man was a division one scholarship athlete at Oklahoma and played for Bob Stoops’ football team as a defensive tackle before leaving the football team to concentrate full time on wrestling where he was an All American for the Sooners as a heavyweight. This young, college educated kid grew up in Perry, Oklahoma which is the home of arguably the greatest wrestler alive today, Danny Hodge. Perry, Oklahoma is to amateur wrestling as Williamsport, Pa. is to Little League Baseball.”

Labels: jack swagger, jim ross, Justin Credible, ric flair

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

ECW’s newest Superstar “The All-American” Jack Swagger is none other than Jake Hager, current FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. Hager has been working dark matches with WWE for a few weeks now.

Hager has been signed to a WWE developmental deal since 2006. He was also a former football player and heavyweight wrestler for the University of Oklahoma where he was named an All-American wrestler in 2006, setting the single season record for most pins at 30.

Labels: jack swagger

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