The situation with Triple H where he was helped at the end of RAW because he was showing signs of concussions was all part of the show to sell the match from the previous night against Brock Lesnar.
Triple H was wrestling Curtis Axel when he started losing focus and couldn’t climb back in the ring. He moved over to the ringside WWE doctor and asked for water and then proceeded to stumble around as officials tried to help the former champion.
Jerry “The King” Lawler suggested during commentary that HHH could be suffering from a stroke, but then on Twitter issued an apology for his remark.
“I want to apologize to Triple H and his family for insinuating that he may have had a stroke. I know firsthand how upsetting it could be,” Lawler wrote.
Joe Hennig, the son of the late WWE Hall of Famer Mr Perfect, was repackaged and given a reboot yesterday on Monday Night RAW using the name of Curtis Axel, the third Paul Heyman guy.
Hennig has been signed to a WWE deal since March 2007, wrestling for FCW. He appeared in the second season of NXT under the name of Michael McGillicutty but came up short of winning the season, losing to Kaval.
He formed part of the Nexus when CM Punk took over in 2011 and won the tag team titles with David Otunga in May of that year. After losing the tag belts, he appeared mostly on Superstars before returning on NXT Redemption.
The name of Curtis Axel is a tribute to his dad and grandfather. His dad’s name was Curt while his grandfather’s nickname was The Axe.
A stunt gone wrong at the Billboard Music Awards yesterday put wrestling into the spotlight as singer Miguel attempted to jump from one stage to another which resulted into a nasty looking finish.
The 27 year old attempted to jump over a pit with fans during the live awards ceremony and while he barely made it on the other end, he landed on two fans, leg dropping one of them and landing on the hand of the other one. The leg drop was picture perfect unfortunately for the female fan, a leg drop which even Hulk Hogan himself admitted that it was done right!
“MIGUELAMANIA at least he did it right brother,” Hogan wrote on Twitter today.
Many entertainment websites compared Miguel’s leap to Hogan’s leg drop and the name of Rey Mysterio even started trending during the show as fans started comparing Mysterio’s flying leg drop to what they saw on TV. Hey, what about Fandango’s finisher?
The clip even got the Jim Ross treatment, with Ross’ commentary from the Mankind vs Undertaker Hell In A Cell overlapping the Miguel leg drop and landing! Genius!
WWE will be returning to Abu Dhabi later this year in October with three live events to be held at the Zayed Sports City Tennis Stadium.
“Zayed Sports City is delighted to have WWE return to our facility this year. They are truly one of the world’s most popular entertainment brands as demonstrated by three successful shows last year,” added Zayed Sports City’s General Manager Barry Bremner. “The talent that has been lined up this year will be very popular with UAE fans and the show will be exceptional. I would encourage fans to buy tickets early to avoid disappointment.”
The shows will be held on Thursday, October 10, Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, all with a 7PM bell time. Tickets went on sale today at Ticketmaster.ae.
WWE visited Abu Dhabi last year for the first time, setting attendance records for both a single event and a series of three entertainment events.
Kevin Jonas of the famous Jonas Brothers will be the social media ambassador for tonight’s WWE Monday Night RAW.
The singer and reality TV star will be tweeting during the three hour broadcast using his @KevinJonas account which has over 3 million followers. Previous social media ambassadors included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King, Khloe Kardashian, and others.
Here are the results from last night’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view which took place from the Scottrade Center in St Louis, Missouri.
The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes in the pre-show match; Chris Jericho defeated Fandango; Dean Ambrose of The Shield defeated Kofi Kingston to win the U.S. title; Sheamus defeated Mark Henry in a strap match; Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger in an I quit match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight title; Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins of The Shield defeated Kane and Daniel Bryan in a Tornado tag team match to become the new Tag Team champions; Randy Orton defeated Big Show in an extreme rules match; John Cena vs Ryback in a last man standing match for the WWE title ended in a no contest; and Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a steel cage match.
Live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, WWE presents Extreme Rules on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
John Cena vs Ryback for the WWE title in a last man standing match; Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger in an I quit match for the number one contendership for the World Heavyweight title; Brock Lesnar vs Triple H in a steel cage match; Sheamus vs Mark Henry in a strap match; Randy Orton vs Big Show in an extreme rules match; Chris Jericho vs Fandango; Kofi Kingston vs Dean Ambrose of The Shield for the U.S. title; Daniel Bryan and Kane vs Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a tornado tag team match for the Tag Team titles; plus The Miz vs Cody Rhodes in the PPV pre-show match.
A fund raising effort for TNA’s Zema Ion has kicked off with the target of $30,000 to help cover his medical expenses after the former TNA X Division champion was diagnosed with appendicitis and a colon tumor.
Ion – real name Michael Paris – unfortunately has no medical insurance and has to foot all the bills. The tumor found on his colon is still yet to be determined if it is cancerous or not but he has to undergo surgery to remove it. If it is diagnosed as cancerous, the road to recovery will be even longer.
You can help by donating here. As of this writing, over $4,000 have been raised with 91 days left.
Deadline.com is reporting that WWE has hired Julie Tustin as the new Vice President of Marketing for WWE Studios and will be overseeing all marketing, publicity, and brand development for the company’s film division.
Tustin was working as the Senior Vice President of Special Marketing Projects at Paramount Pictures before joining WWE. She also previously worked for Miaramax Films.
While most of the staff at WWE Studios is based in Los Angeles, Tustin will be based in Stamford, Connecticut, at the WWE headquarters.
In an interview with Emmy winning entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet, former WWE champion The Rock talked about his match at WrestleMania 29 and his future while promoting his Fast & Furious 6 movie.
Rock said it was a “dream scenario” for him to walk into the biggest WrestleMania as the WWE champion and then passing the torch to John Cena, doing what’s right for the business. Asked if it was indeed his last wrestling match, The Rock didn’t exactly answer the question but said that if it was his last match, he’s happy with it and considering the injuries he suffered, he’s glad to have been able to finish the match and not let anyone know about the injuries.
Vliet then asked The Rock who he thinks will make it big next in the world of professional wrestling. The former champ name checked Roman Reigns (a cousin of his), The Shield, and Fandango. He had great things to say about Fandango saying to play a character like that is not easy and the man behind the character embraces it to the fullest.
It’s a great interview that runs for 8 minutes and it was supposed to be all about the Fast 6 movie but ended up being 95% wrestling related. You can check it out below.
Bob Costas was on Piers Morgan Live yesterday on CNN and one of the topics discussed for a short time was his interview that he did with Vince McMahon back in March 2001 on his show “On The Record.”
A clip aired showing Vince McMahon tearing Costas a new one, leaning over the table, intimidating him, and telling Costas that if he saw some WWE he would actually know what he was talking about.
Costas told Morgan that the segment was originally set for 15 minutes but the HBO producers thought it was so great they let it run for almost 30 minutes with no commercials.
Costas said that he didn’t think Vince McMahon would actually do that to him and since he outweighed him by 2 to 1 he decided to stand back and let Vince be the aggressor. Plus, he couldn’t go far back with his seat since he’d fall off the stage.
The WWE Chairman and CEO sent Piers Morgan a statement to read about Costas on the show, which Morgan read.
“I used to think Bob Costas was a pompous, arrogant, self absorbed, pseudo-intellectual little twerp. I used to think that. But now, 12 years later, I’ve come to realize he’s not really a twerp. LOL,” McMahon wrote.
The day after the actual show in 2001, Costas said that McMahon called him and asked for a rematch!
You can see the segment from the CNN show below. Thanks to W-O reader Victor Sanchez for the heads up about the segment.
TNA’s Zema Ion was rushed to a hospital two days ago and had to undergo surgery to remove his appendix yesterday according to a post on his Facebook account.
Ion wrote on his Twitter that he’s been sick for a few days thinking he got some kind of food poisoning since he had been “hugging the toilet” vomiting. Eventually sharp pains in his stomach were too much to handle and took a trip to the hospital where he was diagnosed with appendicitis.
However the appendicitis might be the least of his problem as he also revealed that a CAT scan showed that he has a tumor in his colon and will need another surgery to remove it.
“Hoping it is not cancerous. Pray for me,” the former TNA X Division champion wrote.
In a story carried by USA Today in the sports section it was revealed that the WWE is donating $1.2 million over three years to further research aimed at developing a treatment for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the brain disease associated with repeated concussions which is often linked to depression and dementia.
“Obviously, I think it’s such a huge concern for everybody right now in sports and in the military. As we learn more and more about concussions and what can become of it, I think it’s a problem for everybody,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
The donation is being made to the Sports Legacy Institute, a non-profit organization in Boston which was co-founded by former WWE Superstar Chris “Harvard” Nowinski.
Nowinski was the one who approached WWE in an appeal for funding. The former Superstar suffered a nasty concussion himself back in 2003 thanks to a kick to the head from Bubba Ray Dudley.
WWE’s $1.2 million will be used by researchers at Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. The research will be led by neurologist/neuropathologist Ann McKee, co-director of the center, and Lee Goldstein, one of the investigators.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE went on a firing spree today, getting rid of seven NXT developmental talent.
The unlucky ones are Derek Bateman, Briley Pierce (Dolph Ziggler’s younger brother), Tensai’s former manager Sakamoto, Brandon Traven, Percy Watson, and Divas-in-training Anna Bogomazova and Audrey Marie.
WWE usually fires a bunch of people from the main roster right after WrestleMania although that hasn’t happened this year, yet.
While she was in the UK just recently, TNA President Dixie Carter did an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy to discuss the upcoming TNA tour in the UK in 2014 and an idea that will probably never happen.
Carter said that she would be open to hold a TNA/WWE crossover event although she doesn’t think that WWE shares her belief.
“I absolutely would do that. I’m not sure if they would do that, but I absolutely would,” Carter said.
The TNA President also said that the “rivalry” between the two companies benefits both as competition is healthy.
“I think it’s important for fans and for us. To have one company dominate, a) it’s boring, and b) you are not being challenged enough. It’s always better to have other options out there and I truly believe it makes both companies better.”
Impact begins with Hulk Hogan walking to the ring. Hogan is shocked at how wild Hulkamania is running here in Tupelo. I don’t suffer from Hulkamania, so I’m always a little shocked when it runs wild. Hogan is also shocked that AJ Styles walked out on TNA last week. So Hogan has decided to make a match between AJ Styles and Kurt Angle for Slammiversary.
Hogan has some more announcements; there will be a contract signing later tonight between current champ (and Hogan’s son-in-law) Bully Ray, and Sting. Hogan also wants to thank Abyss for coming to the aid of TNA last week, but Abyss’ brother Joe Park comes out instead.
Joe Park sounds shocked that he finally saw his brother Abyss after all the time he’s spent looking for him. Abyss did show up a couple times when Joe Park was feuding with Bully Ray last year, but I guess he forgot that. Hogan says that Abyss is what TNA needs now, and he wants Joe to get in touch with him and get him here.
Devon comes out with Aces and Eights and says he also wants a piece of Abyss; specifically he says he wants a “chunk of his ass.” I’m not sure why he would rather have a chunk of ass than an arm, leg, or nut; I guess Devon is an ass man.
Joe Park says he wants to fight Devon for the TV title right now; Devon says Park hasn’t beaten anyone, why should he get a TV title shot? D Lo Brown says he wants to kick Park’s ass himself and Devon agrees. D Lo is trying to get back into the club as a full member; right now he’s not allowed to wear a member’s leather vest, he just gets a prospect’s t-shirt.
Hogan makes the match between Park and D Lo and further stipulates that if Joe Park wins he gets a TV title shot against Devon next week.
Commercial
Match #1: Bobby Roode versus Chavo Guerrero.
Chavo and Roode lock up. Roode gets behind Chavo but Chavo takes him down with a hip toss. They lock up again and Roode gets Chavo in a headlock. Chavo whips Roode to the ropes and Roode downs Chavo with a shoulder block. Chavo hip tosses Roode again and then puts him in a headlock.
Chavo sends Roode out to the floor with a hurricanrana. Chavo jumps out onto the ring apron but Roode trips him up and then slams him into the guard rail. Roode hits Chavo with an elbow and then rolls him back into the ring. Roode hits Chavo with a bodyslam and a knee drop.
Chavo lands a kick and Roode responds with an eye poke followed by a blockbuster. The two men exchange punches until Chavo lands a kick, a shoulder block, and then a slingshot senton. Chavo tries for a tornado DDT but Roode blocks it. Chavo hits three straight vertical suplexes and then climbs to the top.
Roode falls into the ropes, causing Chavo to fall to the floor. James Storm walks to the ring with beer bottle in hand and spits beer into Roode’s face. Roode rolls out to the floor while Storm brandishes the beer bottle as a weapon. The ref calls for the bell, ending the match on a disqualification.
Commercial
When we return, Kurt Angle makes his way to the ring to call out AJ Styles. AJ doesn’t come out, but Ken Anderson does.
Anderson says that Angle sounds like a woman. That could be an insult I suppose, but it really depends which woman he sounds like. If he sounds like Fran Drescher, that’s a problem, but if he sounds like Grace Jones that could be pretty intimidating.
Anderson says AJ will be joining Aces and Eights next week, and he double dog dares Angle to come. Angle says he doesn’t want to wait a week for a fight and pummels Ken Anderson. AJ Styles comes up behind Angle and knocks him down with an enzuigiri. Anderson celebrates at ringside.
Commercial
Match #2: Gut Check Winner Jay Bradley versus Gut Check Winner Christian York. The winner gets one step closer to qualifying for the Bound For Glory Series.
Jay gets off to a strong start and lands a long series of strikes; elbows, chops, punches, and a big boot to the head. Bradley puts York in a chin lock but York gets out of it. York hits Jay with a springboard back elbow and Bradley responds with a bodyslam. York hits Bradley with an enzuigiri and a hurricanrana.
York hits Bradley in the corner with a running back senton. The two men exchange punches again until York lands a pair of kicks. York climbs to the top rope but Bradley dodges. Bradley hits York with the Boomstick clothesline for the win.
Commercial
When we return, Brooke Hogan is talking to Mickie James and tells her she will get a title shot at Velvet Sky next week. They are interrupted by Brooke’s ‘husband’ Bully Ray. Bully tells Brooke to tell ‘dad’ that the contract signing with Sting later tonight is going to be more of a negotiation. Bully also promises to never divorce Brooke.
Match #3: Gail Kim versus Velvet Sky.
Gail and Velvet start fighting immediately. Velvet is going into the match with an injured leg. Velvet gets the early advantage and scores with a pair of arm drags and several kicks followed by a hurricanrana. Gail blocks a kick and then goes after the injured leg of Velvet Sky.
Gail pounds and twists Velvet’s leg for several minutes. Gail gets Velvet in a Texas Cloverleaf but Velvet makes it to the ropes. Gail puts her boot to Velvet’s face in the corner. Gail lands a pair of kicks and climbs to the top rope. Velvet cuts her off and throws her to mat, but can’t capitalize because of her bad leg.
Velvet manages to land a pair of clotheslines before her knee gives out and she falls to the mat again. Velvet lands a kick and then tries to tie Gail up for “In Yo Face” but Gail blocks it. Gail twists Velvet’s bad leg, but Velvet pushes Gail off with her good leg.
Gail hits the corner and Velvet rolls her up as she bounces out of the corner and covers her for the three count! After the match, Gail attacks Velvet and puts her in a figure four leg lock in the steel post.
After the match, the three men fighting for the X division title tonight (Chris Sabin, Kenny King, and Petey Williams) talk a little trash. Sabin says Kenny King is the king of nothing, except maybe male strippers. (Why is that bad? If people paid me money to strip, I’d be naked now. And I wouldn’t tell you about it either, so now you’ll have to wonder every week.)
Kenny King calls Sabin “Frail Sabin” (a pun on the “Hail Sabin” chant that often accompanies Sabin to the ring) and declares himself royalty, and Petey Williams thinks he’s got it figured out.
Next week, Suicide returns.
Commercial
Match #4: Chris Sabin versus Petey Williams versus Kenny King.
King rolls out to the floor as the match starts leaving Sabin and Petey to fight each other. Williams puts Sabin in a headlock but Sabin escapes and twists Petey’s arm. Sabin takes Williams down with a series of armdrags. Williams trips Sabin into the ropes, and then King reaches in to trip up Williams.
King drags Williams to the floor and then enters the ring himself. Sabin trips King and then hits him with some chops and a kick. King responds with an elbow and a rolling wheel kick. Petey dropkicks Sabin out to the floor but then gets choked on the top rope by King. King hits Williams with a punch and then hits Sabin with a baseball slide dropkick. King hits Petey with a body slam and springboard legdrop.
King tries to tie up Petey’s arm and head, but Williams gets free. King snaps Williams’ head on the top rope while leaping to the floor. Sabin hits King with a couple forearms and then a suplex. Sabin and Williams exchange strikes and Williams knocks Sabin to the floor.
Petey hits Sabin with a suicide dive and then hits King with a side Russian leg sweep back in the ring. Petey hits King with a cradle DDT and gets a 2 count. Sabin lands several strikes to Williams and then tries a tornado DDT on King but King blocks it. King hits Sabin with a pair of kicks and then hits Williams with a swinging neckbreaker. Sabin hits King with an enzuigiri and a back kick to the gut.
Sabin hangs King upside down in the corner. Petey tries to hit Sabin with the Canadian destroyer but Sabin blocks it and throws Williams into King. Sabin powerbombs Williams but is then hit with a flying knee by King. King hits Sabin with the Royal Flush for the win.
Commercial
Match #5: Christopher Daniels with Kaz versus Hernandez.
Hernandez pushes Daniels to the corner; Daniels responds with an eye poke, a kick, and an eye rake. Daniels tries a bodyslam but can’t get Hernandez up. Hernandez drops Daniels with a delayed vertical suplex. Hernandez hits Daniels with a backbreaker and then walks up the entrance ramp.
Hernandez runs back to the ring and leaps over the top rope into Daniels. Hernandez lands a kick but is then tripped by Kaz. Daniels hits Hernandez in the back with a clubbing blow. Daniels hits Hernandez with a neckbreaker and then throws him to the floor where Kaz stomps on him.
Hernandez climbs back up to the edge of the ring and slingshots himself into Daniels. Hernandez knocks Daniels down a couple more time and then misses a Stinger splash. James Storm walks out to the ring with a beer again. Hernandez knocks Daniels down again after the distraction and covers him for the win!
After the match, Storm announces that he was told by Hogan that at Slammiversary, Chavo and Hernandez will have to defend against Roode/Aries, Bad Influence, and James Storm with a partner of his choosing.
Commercial
Match #6: D Lo versus Joe Park.
D Lo starts off with a knee, a punch, and a bodyslam. Park responds with several awkward looking punches. D Lo throws Park to the floor and slams his head into the edge of the ring before throwing him back in. Park lands a few more punches, D Lo responds with a dropkick to the knee followed by a shining wizard.
D Lo hits park with a clothesline but misses a Stinger splash. D Lo hits Park with a leg lariat and then pummels him in the corner. D lo punches at the head of Park repeatedly until his knuckles get bloody. Park sees the blood on his hands and in his eyes and becomes enraged.
Park hits D Lo with a pair of stiff clotheslines and a Stinger splash and then beats him with a Black Hole Slam!! After the match, Park regains his composure and asks what happened.
Commercial
When we return Jeremy Borash is in the ring behind a podium. Jeremy calls out Bully Ray and Sting for their contract signing. Bully comes out first and violently shoves Borash out of the ring and asks if we know who he is. He tells us in case some people forgot. Bully also calls out Sting and Hogan.
Sting comes to the ring and Hogan waits outside the ring. Bully notes that this is the first time he’s been face to face with Sting since he screwed him, Hogan, and especially Hogan’s daughter. Bully says he is apologizing for none of it. Sting says Bully should probably break his arm in two, break his legs and make him bleed.
Sting says if Bully Ray does NOT do those things, then Sting will definitely do them to Bully Ray, with emphasis on the bleeding. Sting says he wants the match to be no holds barred. Bully says a lot of people would probably like to see him bleed at Sting’s hands, but he doesn’t seem scared.
Bully says if Sting wants a no holds barred match, he’s got it on 1 condition; if Sting loses he is never allowed to compete for the TNA title again. Hogan tells Sting not to do it, but Bully tells Hulk to shut up and asks Sting if he’s going to let Hogan tell him what to do again.
Sting says yes and Bully pushes him. Sting responds with a punch and they start punching back and forth. Sting appears to be getting the upper hand as Impact goes off the air.
WWE and 2K announced that the next WWE video game which will be titled WWE 2K14 will be hitting stores nationwide on October 29 while Europe will get the game a few days later on November 1.
2K now holds the license to produce and distribute WWE video games around the world after they bought the rights from THQ which went bankrupt earlier this year. This will be the first WWE game from 2K and the franchise will adopt the new naming of 2K and the year rather than just previous titles such as WWE ’13.
WWE 2K14 will continue to be developed by Yukes in Japan.
TMZ.COM is reporting that former TNA champion Austin Aries was hit with a big fine from TNA for shoving his crotch into Christy Hemme’s face last week during the live IMPACT following an honest mistake by the ring announcer.
Hemme mistakenly called Aries and Storm as Kazarian and Daniels during their entrance, and Aries followed by cornering Hemme, forcing her to announce their names properly and then climbed the middle rope with his crotch coming straight in Hemme’s face.
The former WWE Diva Search winner didn’t appreciate the impromptu move and called it “unacceptable” on her Twitter although she removed her comment afterward. Aries has since reached out privately to Hemme according to TMZ and apologized for his move.
Hemme told TNA that she was okay with the apology delivered by Aries.
WWE will be invading the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, for the first time ever with a live Monday Night RAW on July 15 and the pre-sale has kicked off today.
Tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster.com with prices ranging from $26.50 up to $76.50 plus additional fees. The pre-sale ends tomorrow, Friday May 17, at 10PM EST. The code needed to purchase tickets now is WWERAW.
Tickets go on sale to the general public this coming Saturday at 10AM EST.
TNA President Dixie Carter addressed the incident between Austin Aries and Christy Hemme from last week’s IMPACT on her Twitter today saying that the issue was taken seriously and handled immediately.
“TNA has ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior,” Carter wrote on Twitter.
Last week, Hemme introduced Aries and his partner Bobby Roode as Christopher Daniels and Kazarian by mistake. Aries wasn’t thrilled about the genuine mistake and cornered Hemme as she re-introduced the duo.
While Hemme was cornered announcing the names again, Aries climbed on the second rope and had his crotch in her face. Hemme put her hands up to protect herself and said, “Okay okay I get it!”
