During a non-televised live event on Saturday in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, the match between Ryback and Jinder Mahal was stopped and announced as a draw.
The match was halted after Ryback – the former Nexus member known then as Skip Sheffield – suffered a cut in the opening minutes of the match which led to a lot of blood.
Ringside doctors attended to Ryback to stop the bleeding and ordered him to stop the match. WWE does not allow blood anymore in matches due to their PG rating. Ring announcer Tony Chimmel then announced the match as a draw to boos from the crowd.
As expected, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be tagging with Michael Cole again tonight for Monday Night RAW in the absence of Jerry Lawler.
Last week former WWE champ John “Bradshaw” Layfield returned to do commentary however this week he is in Africa climbing mount Kilimanjaro.
“It’s 3:30am in Oklahoma. Up & at em headed to OKC Airport in route to Albany, NY for #WWE #Raw. @MichaelCole & I will talk live w/ The King,” Ross wrote on Twitter.
Jerry Lawler will be interviewed tonight on the show, his first WWE televised appearance since suffering a heart attack two weeks ago.
WWE announced today that it has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement that will bring WWE programming to Hulu Plus effective immediately.
Hulu Plus will offer WWE fans unlimited instant streaming access, additional content and programming on-the-go, as it becomes the exclusive home for next-day access to all WWE TV programming.
“As a clear leader in digital content delivery, Hulu is an ideal partner for WWE,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. “Hulu delivers more ways for our fans to experience WWE programming than ever before.”
Subscribers can access content across mobile phones, tablets, PCs, internet-connected TVs, set-top boxes and gaming consoles.
WWE’s content will be part of the $7.99 a month subscription that Hulu charges for the Plus service.
Las Vegas, Nevada – STRIKEFORCE announced this evening that its event planned for Saturday, Sept. 29 at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, Calif. has been cancelled. STRIKEFORCE lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who was set to defend his title against Pat Healy, sustained an injury in training that forced his withdrawal from the card.
Without the Melendez-Healy title bout, SHOWTIME, which determines which fights are televised on the premium network, decided that it would not air Saturday’s scheduled event.
“When SHOWTIME informed us that it would not be airing the event, we made the difficult decision to cancel Saturday’s card in Sacramento,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. “Without a television partner, we simply could not move forward with this event. We wish Gilbert a speedy recovery and will work diligently and quickly to reschedule the fighters affected by this news on upcoming cards.”
Refunds for tickets purchased are available at point of sale.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.strikeforce.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
Tickets for next year’s WrestleMania in New Jersey will go on sale on November 10, with a pre-sale starting earlier in the week for Internet users only.
There will be 12 levels of prices this time around starting with $35, $50, $75, $100, $150, $175, $200, $300, $400, $650, and two different prices for ringside seats. Seats from row 5 to 12 will be selling for $850 while rows 1 to 4 will be going for a whopping $2,000. Last year’s price for the first four rows was $1,000, so there’s a 100% increase in price for these particular ringside seats. All prices will have an additional fees added on to them.
WrestleMania takes place on April 7 at the MetLife Stadium.
Yesterday, WWE Executive Vice President of Creative, Stephanie McMahon, and WWE Divas Layla and Alicia Fox were present to announce the new WWE partnership with Nothing But Nets at the Social Good Summit. The new alliance with the United Nations Foundation’s global, grassroots campaign is designed to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa.
The announcement was made by McMahon at the Social Good Summit and via Twitter by Layla and Alicia during the “Wrestling Malaria: Uniting Fans Online & Offline for Social Good” Q&A, which was held at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. The Q&A, which was streamed live online in over 200 countries and translated into six languages, was moderated by Elizabeth Gore, Vice President of Global Partnerships for the United Nations Foundation.
“We are very excited to join WWE in this special partnership,” said Gore, who added that they hope to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2015.
WWE plans to promote its new partnership with Nothing But Nets through its programing and social media channels. Also, the Divas will visit Africa in the upcoming year to distribute bed nets and draw more attention to this issue.
“We are thrilled to join forces with WWE to spread the buzz about Nothing But Nets and the fight against malaria to their millions of fans,” said Chris Helfrich, Director of the Nothing But Nets campaign. “Malaria is a serious global health problem that affects millions of families worldwide, mostly in Africa. Bed nets are a simple, cost-effective tool to shield people from deadly mosquito bites. An alliance with a fun, dynamic organization like WWE and the fabulous WWE Divas will help more Americans than ever send nets and save lives!”
UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones appeared at the UFC 152 post-fight press conference sporting a sling and a soft cast on his hand thanks to the arm bar that Vitor Belfort locked in the first round.
Belfort was about to make a huge upset and walk out of the Octagon as the new champion but the reigning champ managed to find a way out, but not without consequences.
Jones kept his right arm close to him during the rest of the fight, using his kicks and left arm in his offense. After finishing Belfort with a submission in the fourth round, Jones told Joe Rogan during the interview that he heard his arm pop, but was not going to tap out.
“We haven’t been able to get it X-rayed, but they think there might be some nerve damage in the bicep, but I don’t know,” Jones said during the post-fight press conference.
The extent of the damage remains unknown and the champ will have it checked once he flies back home.
Tonight Jon Jones will defend his Light Heavyweight title as he faces off against “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jones was originally supposed to face Dan Henderson at UFC 151 but that whole event was scrapped once Henderson was injured and Jones wouldn’t agree to another fight on such short notice. This will be Jones fourth title defense since he took the championship from Mauricio Rua in March of 2011 at UFC 128.
Vitor Belfort has won 7 of his last 8 with only two of those fights making it out of the first round. His sole defeat came at the hands(actually foot) of Anderson Silva when Silva delivered one of the most memorable knock outs of all time with a front kick to the face of Belfort. Belfort has won his last two since than with a first round KO/TKO over Akiyama and first round submission of Anthony Johnson.
In the Co-Main Event the UFC will finally crown its first Flyweight champion. Joseph Benavidez will take on Demetrious Johnson at the 125 weight limit. The 16-2 Benavidez is finally down to his natural weight and away from the Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz who handed Benavidez both of his losses. Benavidez knocked Yasuhiro Urushitani out of the four man tournament by a second round stoppage. Mighty Mouse Johnson on the other hand had to face his opponent in the tournament Ian McCall twice after the first fight that was originally given to Johnson was read wrong and the fight was actually scored a draw. When the two met up again last June Johnson made sure that even though it went to a decision the fight was clearly his to set up a match-up with Benavidez.
Facebook Prelims 6:45pm ET 3:45pm PT
Welterweights(170lbs)
Kyle Noke vs Charlie Brenneman
Ref: Dan Miragliotta
Round 1:
Noke lands the jab down the middle early than clips Brenneman with a front kick to the face. Noke lands more of that stepping jab. Noke with a right straight and drops Brenneman. Noke with some uppercuts and dives on top of Brenneman till the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner by TKO at :45 of round 1 Kyle Noke
Bantamweights(135lbs)
Mitch Gagnon vs Walel Watson
Ref: Josh Rosenthal
Round 1-
Watson with lots of jabs and kicks to keep Gagnon from closing the distance but missing on all. Now Watson jumps in and Gagnon drops him with a left when he misses a superman punch. Gagnon gets the back of Watson. Gagnon locks in the hooks and the rear naked choke.
Winner by submission at 1:09 of round 1 Mitch Gagnon.
Welterweights(170lbs)
Seth Baczynski vs Simeon Thoresen
Ref: John McCarthy
Round 1:
Baczynski staying busy with lots of punches and a few kicks. Thoresen with a good body shot as he ducks under the punch. Thoresen with a knee from the clinch. Thoresen with the the straight that has busted the lip of Baczynski. Baczynski tries to push Thoresen away and pokes Thoresen in the eye. Thoresen gets caught with a counter left over the top and Baczynski has the KO victory.
Winner by KO at 4:10 of round 1 Seth Baczynski
UFC on FX Prelims 8pm ET 5pm PT
Featherweights(145lbs)
Jimy Hettes vs Marcus Brimage
Ref: Yves Lavigne
Round 1:
Brimage with early body shots and drops Hettes with a right. Hettes pops right back up though.Brimage with a four punch combo. Brimage works the body than goes to the hood. Hettes steps ina and Brimage sweeps his back leg out from under him Hettes is back up. Brimage hurts Hettes with a left and drops him. Brimage follows him to the canvas delivers a few punches before Hettes gets him into his guard. Brimage stands up. Hettes with the jab as Brimage is coming in with the body shots. Brimage has gotten two good lefts in now after eating the jab. Brimage is just firing away but Hettes is eating them and not going down.
Round 2-
Brimage gets taken down now in the second and Hettes is on top in half guard. Hettes with a pair of nice elbows from the top. Hettes is able to escape and get back to his feet. Hettes with a flying knee and drags Brimage back to the ground. Brimage tries to get out but Hettes is able to get over onto his back and locks in the body triangle. Brimage turns into it and is able to break it. Hettes resets and gets it again. Hettes working for the rear naked but Brimage is able to defend. Brimage turns towards the triangle and is able to get to his feet. Brimage with a pair of good jabs. Brimage with another four punch body head combo coming forward.
Round 3-
Brimage with the first and Hettes taking advantage in the second. Hettes is able to get out of the way of Brimage’s punches a little better now. Brimage with the leg kicks now. Hettes eats another pair of lefts. Hettes is bleeding behind the left ear in looks like or maybe in the hair. Hettes keeps walking into the lefts of Brimage and bounces back but he keeps walking forward. Hettes has been throwing more technical punches while Brimage is throwing haymakers on every punch. Hettes has another take down stuffed now. Brimage is taking this round even though he is constantly walking forward through the punches.
Winner by Unanimous decision(29-28×3) Marcus Brimage
Welterweights(170lbs)
Sean Pierson vs Lance Benoist
Ref: Josh Rosenthal
Round 1:
Benoist with a big punch to show he is looking to end it quick. Benoist gets the tie up and delivers a couple knees. Pierson gets free eats a kick to the side but stuns Benoist with the left hand. Pierson puts him on the fence and goes to work on the body. Pierson catches the kick and puts Benoist on his butt. Pierson follows him to the ground and nearly gets trapped in an arm bar. Benoist is able to get back to his feet after Pierson escapes. The crowd cheering on the countryman Pierson. Benoist with the clinch and Pierson goes to the body three times before connecting with a left up top. Benoist with a good lifting knee. Benoist with a straight down the middle great first round.
Round 2:
Pierson gets in side with a nice three punch combo. Benoist with a left down the middle. Pierson counters another straight with a right hook that lands flush. Pierson gets the take down and a front head lock as Benoist tries to get up. Pierson with a knee to the top of the head as they get back up. Pierson catches Benoist jumping in with a right hook that briefly drops him. Pierson with a right left combo upstairs. Pierson with his second kick of the night on the outside of the lower leg. Benoist lands a nice left. Benoist with a body kick and misses with the punches behind it. Benoist with a hard leg kick and shoots but can’t get the take down.
Round 3:
Pierson with a clean left and two right jabs from Benoist now. Slowing down a little more now both men looking to not waste energy. Pierson pokes Benoist in the eye but they don’t break for long. Pierson gets an elbow in. Pierson with another counter right. Benoist with a leaping knee on the chin of Pierson but Pierson circles out and resets. Benoist is cut under the left eye after another right hook lands from Pierson. Benoist hurts Pierson. Benoist gives chase lands an uppercut that drops Pierson. Benoist pounds away but Pierson defends he is now trapped in a crucifix and eats elbows. Pierson gets back to his feet and is able to survive till the end.
Winner by judges scores of 29-28x 3 Sean Pierson
Lightweights(155lbs)
TJ Grant vs Evan Dunham
Ref: Dan Miragliotta
Round 1:
Dunham with a nice three punch combo that ends with an elbow. Grant walks him down and lands his own upper cut and a shin across the thighs. Grant is doing good a at keeping Dunham cornered. Dunham though is firing away though and these two are standing and banging. Grant steps to the side of Dunham and lands his foot across Dunhams face. Both men have small cuts now. Grant with a series of elbows now as he has Dunham on the fence. Grant with a nice right left combo as they break. Dunham gets the take down. Dunham is able to keep the top to close the round.
Round 2:
Grant grabs the back of Dunhams head and lands an upper cut. Dunham with counter right after he eats a straight. Grant with knee to the forehead of Dunham that bust him open. Dunham smiles and eats a right. Dunham can’t get the take down. Dunham looks to be determinedas he fires punches in bunches. Grant with another knee and Dunham screams and comes forward. Dunhams face is blood red. Grant eats a high kick and than gets taken down. Dunham punching away and Grants is able to get back to his feet.
Round 3:
Dunham comes out firing away. Grant is now getting walked down. Dunham with combos every time now. Leg kick and body shot by Grant. Dunham is coming forward and Grant is landing the leg kick as he comes in. Grant with a solid right as he ducks under Dunhams punches. Dunham can’t get the take down this time. Dunham with left right and Grant counters with a right left hook of his own. Grant catches another kick. Dunham with a head kick but has a take down stuffed. These two are putting on a hell of a fight. Dunham with the take down now and is in the guard of Grant. Dunham is dropping blood and elbows on Grant. Grant moves both ways to keep the elbows from landing.
Winner by judges scores of 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 TJ Grant
Light Heavyweights(205lbs)
Igor Pokrajac vs Vinny Magalhaes
Ref: John McCarthy
Round 1:
They tie up immediately and Pokrajac puts his back on the fence. Magahlaes gets the trip and lands some elbows from the full guard. Pokrajac holds onto the wrist to try and stop it and Magalhaes pulls back and drops a big punch. Magalhaes gets side control. Magalhaes goes for a kimura than switches to an arm bar. When he does he goes to the bottom position and now Pokrajac escapes and is now in full guard. Magalhaes immediately works the rubber guard. Magalhaes lets it go and Pokrajac escapes back to his feet. The tie back up and Pokrajac with a right in close before the round ends.
Round 2:
Pokrajac with an inside leg kick early. Magalhaes with a knee from the tie up. Pokrajac gets the trip Magalhaes has the triangle as the land. Magalhaes switches to the arm bar and rolls him. Magalhaes extends his and Pokrajac screams and taps.
Winner by submission(arm bar) at 1:14 of round 2 Vinny Magalhaes
UFC 152 Main card on PPV 10pm ET 7pm PT
Featherweights(145lbs)
Cub Swanson vs Charles Oliveira
Ref: Yves Lavigne
Round 1:
Swanson with leg kicks while Oliveira with the straight punches. Oliveira ducks under a punch and drops down and grabs the legs of Swanson and gets the take down. Swanson is able to back his butt out. Swanson with a wicked body shot that jars the body of Oliveira. Oliveira backs up and Swanson lunges forward after a body feint and connects to the temple of Oliveira. Oliveira legs stay up for a second than he follows over side ways.
Winner by knock out at 2:40 of round 1 Cub Swanson
Light Heavyweights(205lbs)
Matt Hamill vs Roger Hollett
Ref: Dan Miragliotta
Round 1:
Hamill aggressive early charges Hollett. Hollett has thrown the hay maker now a couple times. Hollett with a good body shot. Hollett with a right over the top. Hamill is back to walking down Hollett. Hamill lands the left as Hollett tries to circle away. Hamill is holding his hands up high and throwing looping punches like the Diaz bros. Hamill locks on a single and picks up and slams Hollett. Hollett turtles up and Hamill pounds away. Hamill is punching and punching and punching and Hollett is able to survive until he can spring up. 13 seconds left and Hollett drills Hamill in the body than up top as the round ends. Hamill walks to the wrong corner.
Round 2:
Hollett standing flat in front of Hamill and eats a couple punches. Hollett with a spinning back kick that grazes Hamill. Hamill shoots and gets the double leg Hamill is in the full guard. Hollett staying busy works to get up after 40 seconds or so. Hamill looks tired. He has nothing on his punches his hands are dragging he eats a right. Hamill cant get the take down. Hollett with another body shot. Hamill looks like jello out there. it sounds like the crowd is booing. 10 seconds and Hamill nails a belly to back slam after ducking under a spinning back fist. Hollett turtles and Hamill punches till the bell.
Round 3:
Hamill trying to pick up the pace some with the Diaz type striking. Hollett with a nice body shot. Hamill shoots and nails the take down. Hamill stacks him up and drops a couple punches. Hollett rolls over and turtles back up. Another minute now of Hamill punching a turtled Hollett. Hollett tries to roll and now Hamill is in Half guard punching. Hollett gets up and punches Hamill in the body. Hamill recoils and lunges forward and shoots the double again and punches away until they are stood back up. Hamill puts him on the fence and pulls his legs out from under him. Hamill punches from the top. He looked tired but those take downs looked easy.
Hamill landed 115 significant strikes 78% and six take downs. He landed 123 head shots 73%
Winner by judges score 29-28, 30-27, 20-27 Matt Hamill
Middleweights(185lbs)
Michael Bisping vs Brian Stann
Ref: Josh Rosenthal
Round 1:
Stann is the aggressor early and has Bisping backing up. Stann puts him on the fence and Bisping is able to reverse and put Stanns back on the cage. Both men with a few body shots. Stann walking forward again hits Bisping in the body than chin. Bisping his landing the straight lefts. Bisping shoots a double and Stann hops backwards on one leg. Stann defends and Bisping lands a knee against the fence. Stann takes a shot in the groin after they start back Bisping eats one. Stann defends another take down on one leg. As soon as Bisping lets go. Stann unloads with short looping punches. Stann gives chase and lands a right hand that wobbles Bisping.
Round 2:
Stann looking confident now gets the better of the shots so far. Bisping lands a left jab and shoots behind it. Bisping is able to pick up and drop Stann. Bisping in side control works the short punches. Stann reverses and now on the top with big punches. Rogan says he got thumbed in the eye as Stann was getting up and Bisping locks oh a front head lock. Stann works his way back to his feet. Bisping is working the straight jab and lots of small movements. Stann back pedals as Bisping shoots again once they hit the cage Bisping picks him up and slams him. This time from side control Bisping lands the elbows and tries for an americana.
Round 3:
Stann charges forward with a left right left. Stann goes for a body kick and Bisping powers forward and gets another take down. Stann is able to get up quickly and eats a straight right as they reset in the middle. They stand and swing away but nothing too significant lands. Bisping can’t get the take down this time . Bisping has him against the cage and pressing his weight into him. Bisping with and upper cut and Stann with a knee to the body. Bisping with a good left jab and right behind it. Stann comes back forward and eats another left jab. Bisping with a slam in the last minute and Stann hits him with the right. Bisping tries for another take down and gives up on it. Stann is charging forward with big rights and lefts trying to connect before the end.
Winner by Unanimous Decision ( 29-28×3) Michael Bisping
Flyweight(125lbs) Championship 5 rounds
Joseph Benavidez vs Demetrious Johnson
Ref: Yves Lavigne
Round 1:
Benavidez with two punches and leg kick. Johnson with a stiff left this time as Benavidez comes forward. Benavidez ties him up and Johnson defends until he lands a nice knee as they break. Benavidez with a right high and low and Johnson retreats. Johnson with a nice straight as Benavidez comes forward. Benavidez cant get the take down and Johnson with a kick to the body and punch as they break. Benavidez tries to cut off the cage and Johnson with a body shot. Benavidez dives for the legs of a retreating Johnson. Johnson side steps right out of the way of a charging Benavidez. Benavidez rolls for a knee bar and Johnson drops down on him to stop him.
Round 2:
Johnson with a knee and Benavidez with a spinning back fist and Johnson steps to the side again. Benavidez comes forward and this time nails him with a leg kick and misses on the punches. Demetrious with a nice leg kick and back pedals as Benavidez comes forward and Benavidez lands three right hands. John son with the lead right jab is finding its home. Benavidez gets ahold of his leg but Johnson spins it free. Johnson with a knee as Benavidez gets up. Johnson with another right jab. Benavidez with a left hand that lands as Johnson tries to knee and now Johnson is pressing forward. The round comes to close. Benavidez corner tells him he is up 2-0 but I would not agree with that.
Round 3:
Johnson now works the left lead jab. Johnson is so light footed out there. He catches a kick and and spins to take the back of Benavidez. Benavidez rolls forward to try and get the leg but Johnson is too quick and steps to the side and nails him with a right. Benavidez is cut open from the right of Johnson above the left eye. Johnson pressing forward now and Benavidez with a left and right. Johnson catches Benavidez with a finger to the eye and Benavidez back tracks just to be told by the ref he didn’t see it. Crowd was booing in this round.
Round 4:
Johnson with another right after he steps out of the way. Benavidez drops Johnson with the right and dives on him. Benavidez transitions from a front head lock to a guilotine choke with a full mount. Johnson fights it off and goes for a knee bar now. Benavidez back on top smothering him works to side control and Johnson sweeps and gets a front head lock and back to his feet. Johnson with a kick to the face. Johnson now gets the top position after Benavidez tries to roll for a leg. Johnson gets a take down now after they reset and pounds away at the body with elbows and punches till the round closes.
Round 5:
Johnson gets his third take down with a slam Benavidez quickly is up and Johnson slams him again. Benavidex pops up and into a head kick. Johnson is bouncing around with his hands down now trying to entice Benavidez to come in. Johnson ducks under a punch and grabs the double leg and just picks him up and sets him down. Benavidez is back up but not before a couple more body shots. Johnson is so fast. He steps to the side of a punch and lands a right hand. Benavidez tries for a take down Johnson steps back and kicks Benavidez in the side while he is on the ground. Johnson lands a couple more counter rights before the fight ends. I was all for Benavidez coming in but Johnson’s speed is absolutely amazing. Johnson looks like he was never hit in the fight.
Winner by Split Decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) and first ever Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson
Light Heavyweight(205lbs) Championship
Jon Jones vs Vitor Belfort
Ref: John McCarthy
Round 1:
Jones starts out the fight on the ground and Belfort kicks him. Jones looks to the ref since he was crawling along the ground. Jones ties up Belfort and takes him down. Belfort goes for an arm bar and it is deep. This is deep. Jones picks him up that arm is bent back far. Jones escapes and is in full guard Jones really working that left elbow has busted Belfort wide open. Jones with morre and more elbows. Jones isn’t using that right arm much. Belfort pushes him off and Jones dives back on top once more right before the end of the round and gets the mount.
Round 2:
Belfort with leg kick and Jones walks him back to the cage and Jones tries a front kick. Belfort ducks under a spinning elbow and has a head kick blocked. Jones working the front side kick right above the knee of Belfort. Half way through the round and not much for strikes. Jones with more of the kicks to the thigh. Belfort with an over hand right and they tie up. Belfort with a big knee then pulls guard. Belfort trying to block punches and looks to be setting up for another sub attempt. Belfort throws up the triangle right as the 10 second mark sounds. Belfort ran out of time.
Round 3:
Jones with a side kick again to the thigh than to the head and back to the thigh. Side kick to the body from Jones. Belfort falls to the canvas after a delay. Jones dives on top and Belfort almost gets an omoplata before Jones escapes and has the ref stand up Belfort. Belfort with nice looping left. Jones with more kicks to the thigh. Jones tries for another spinning back kick and Belfort steps to the side and ties him up. Belfort pulls guard. Jones with a few elbows. Belfort looks to be working for a submission Jones throws the right elbow but there is nothing on it. Jones finishes the round on top.
Round 4:
Belfort with a head kick and they tie up. Belfort with an upper cut. Belfort pulls guard again and Jones moves into side control pins the arm of Belfort delivers elbows than locks on the americana and Belfort taps.
Winner by Submission at of Round 2 and still UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones
Jones tells Rogan “Belfort had that armbar locked in every way.” and that he felt his arm pop but he wasn’t going to give up.
Former WWE Divas champion Beth Phoenix has given her notice and will be departing WWE by the end of next month.
Phoenix took some extended personal time off recently after a death in her family and it seems that she hasn’t recovered yet.
The 31 year old New York native made her WWE debut in May 2006 on RAW, aligning herself with Trish Stratus. Her debut was short lived after suffering a fractured mandible that kept her on the sidelines for a year.
During her WWE stint, she won the WWE Women’s title on three different occasions, the Divas title once, the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year, and also joined the very rare group of women who participated in the Royal Rumble.
WWE Superstar Alex Riley will be out for a few months as he underwent surgery this week to repair elbow and knee problems.
“Thought I would let u guys know that i had to have knee and elbow surgery earlier this week, thank u for all your support. I will be back as soon as humanely possible,” Riley wrote on his Twitter.
The 31 year old hasn’t been featured much lately on WWE television and his last big push was when he feuded with The Miz in 2011.
WWE has awarded a $10,000 scholarship to Geraldo Gutierrez, a Full Sail student, as part of the ongoing partnership between WWE and the University. The partnership provides students at the University with the opportunity to gain real-world experience producing the WWE NXT series as Full Sail is the permanent home of NXT.
The scholarship will be applied toward Gutierrez’s studies in the Recording Arts, Bachelor of Science Degree Program. WWE Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events, Paul Levesque awarded the scholarship on behalf of WWE in a ceremony held to kick-off the latest taping of the WWE NXT series at Full Sail Live.
WWE selected Gutierrez to receive this scholarship for exhibiting exceptional professionalism, creative talent and maintaining good academic standing, while shadowing professional WWE staff and crew during the production of NXT at the University.
“This is a great moment for our students and the University,” said Garry Jones, President of Full Sail University. “This scholarship is a testament to WWE’s commitment to and its belief in the importance of education in the entertainment and media industry.”
Gutierrez was grateful for this opportunity and said that it is a “tremendous honor” to have been selected for this scholarship.
“Education is a key pillar of WWE’s corporate social responsibility platform,” said Triple H. “We are proud to award the first of many scholarships to Full Sail students and thrilled to be able to continue enhancing the University’s classroom learning with this unique hands-on experience.” There will be some more scholarships available, such as Surgeon School scholarship. You can get tips for writing a scholarship essay on the amblesideprimary.com website.
In a fresh round of criticism against Linda McMahon, the Democrats of Connecticut blasted the former WWE CEO for not paying the creditors in their 1976 bankruptcy and now Linda McMahon has vowed to track every single creditor and pay them back.
The McMahon family had around $1 million in debts back in 1976 and court documents – published by the Greenwich Time newspaper shows all the creditors and how much they are owed by the McMahons. In total, there are 29 creditors, some of who have passed away.
“Over the past two days, Vince and I have begun attempts to locate and reach out to all individuals on the creditor list. It is our intention to reimburse all private individual creditors that can be located. We feel it is the right thing to do to pay them in full, including an adjustment for inflation at four times the initial amount as shown on the list of creditors,” Linda said in a statement.
Former WWE champion The Big Show will be returning to action this weekend, replacing John Cena in main event matches against CM Punk.
Cena is out for up to six weeks following an elbow surgery, throwing also the planned main event for Hell In A Cell up in smoke as well.
Big Show has been absent from WWE television since SummerSlam after he asked for some time off. He starts tonight with a live show in State College, Pennsylvania. In these next few non-televised live events, Paul Heyman will be accompanying CM Punk as well so it will be interesting to see how the fans react to Show since his last role was that of a heel.
Spike TV and TNA issued a press release yesterday announcing that IMPACT Wrestling will continue to run live through the end of 2012.
The original deal was that IMPACT would be airing live till the end of Summer however since going live the show has provided better ratings as well as registering an increase in social media activities during the broadcast.
Since going live at 8PM, the two hour time slot on Spike has grown 33% in households, 47% in Men 18-49, and 35% in total viewers.
Plans for what will happen to the show in 2013 will be announced at a later date.
Impact begins with Hulk Hogan talking to Shaq. Shaq wants to help Hogan out with his Aces and Eights problem. The first two people to the ring are Kurt Angle and AJ Styles. Kurt and AJ recently earned a title shot against Tag champs Kaz and Daniels, but so did the team of Hernandez and Chavo Guerrero. Angle and AJ call out Chavo and Hernandez as part of “Open Fight Night” to determine which team is the real number one contender for the tag titles.
Match #1: Chavo and Hernandez versus AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. Chavo and AJ start the match off. Each man gets the others back once, Chavo takes AJ down to the mat, and then AJ gets Chavo down with a headscissors. Chavo tags in Hernandez and AJ tags in Angle. Angle lands a series of punches and European uppercuts. Angle whips Hernandez to the ropes and Hernandez runs over Angle. Hernandez tags in Chavo and Chavo lands a pair of European uppercuts.
Angle responds with several punches before Chavo takes him down with a drop toe hold. Chavo puts Angle in a headlock and Angle escapes by suplexing Chavo. Chavo and Angle trade strikes, and then Angle takes Chavo down with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Kaz and Daniels make their way to the ring to watch.
Commercial
When we return, AJ has Chavo in a headlock. Chavo backdrops AJ and then tags in Hernandez. Hernandez knocks AJ down with a slingshot shoulder tackle. Hernandez gets AJ up on his shoulders and Angle comes in to save his partner. Angle and AJ try to double team Hernandez but he clotheslines both of them at the same time. Chavo climbs to the top and hits Angle and AJ with a missile dropkick. Chavo hits AJ with a hurricanrana and then tries to follow up with a suplex. AJ blocks the suplex and knocks Chavo down with a kick. AJ tags Angle in and Angle hits Chavo with a German suplex. Angle applies the ankle lock to Chavo, but Hernandez makes the save.
AJ dropkicks Hernandez and Chavo takes Kurt down with a sunset flip. Angle rolls through the flip and puts Chavo in the ankle lock. Chavo escapes and tags in Hernandez, Angle tags in AJ. AJ hits Hernandez with a flying forearm, Hernandez responds with a gut wrench suplex. Angle suplexes Hernandez and Chavo runs in. Chavo tries the three amigos on Angle and hits him with 2 suplexes, but then hits AJ with the third one as AJ tries to help Angle.
Chavo climbs to the top rope but Angle runs up the ropes after him. Hernandez saves Chavo from Angle and both Angle and Hernandez take their fight to the floor. Chavo tries to hit AJ with the frog splash but AJ rolls out of the way. AJ hits Chavo with the Pele kick, but before he can follow up, Kaz and Daniels run in and attack Chavo and AJ, ending the match.
After the match, as Kaz and Daniels are congratulating themselves, Hogan comes out and announces that at Bound for Glory, Kaz and Daniels will have to defend against BOTH teams; Angle/AJ and Chavo/Hernandez.
In the back, Al Snow is being asked about his confrontation with Joey Ryan last week. Snow doesn’t feel like he was out of line slapping Ryan in the face, but he adds that he will soon find out whether he is going to get in trouble or not. Commercial
When we return, Hulk Hogan is on the phone with Joseph Parks. Parks is supposedly Abyss’ lawyer brother, but he’s obviously really Abyss. Parks has been investigating Aces and Eights and claims to have new evidence. Hogan says he is going to instruct security to let Parks in and wants to see him right away.
This week’s Gut Check contestant is 18 year old Evan Markopoulos, and he will be facing Douglas Williams.
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Match #2: Evan Markopoulos versus Doug Williams.
The two men lock up and Williams gets behind Evan and takes him down. Williams backs off and they lock up again. Williams pushes Evan to the corner and then breaks. They lock up again and this time Evan pushes Williams to the corner. Williams slaps Evan across the face and then hits him with a couple of kicks. Williams follows up with a European uppercut, a headlock, and then a headbutt to the gut.
Evan takes Williams down with a sunset flip, but Williams rolls through and hits Evan with a knee strike to the head. Williams taunts Evan in the corner and Evan responds with a standing dropkick and a crossbody press. Williams knocks Evan down with a clothesline and then stomps him. Evan lands a couple punches and Williams answers with a knee strike and a suplex. The two men exchange strikes, Williams gets the edge and hip tosses Evan. Williams wraps up Evan’s head and arms in a submission hold and Evan taps out.
Commercial
When we return, James Storm makes his way to the ring to call out Bobby Roode. Storm wants to fight his former partner as part of Open Fight Night, and Roode comes to the ring wearing a suit. Roode was told last week that Storm was going to call him out, but Roode claims he isn’t ready to wrestle. Storm calls Roode a coward, but Roode says he’s done with Storm and Storm can fight someone else.
When Roode makes his way to the back, he is confronted by Hogan. Hogan tells Roode that if he wants to take tonight off, he might as well take the whole year off without pay if he doesn’t fight Storm. Hogan gives Roode 3 minutes to decide.
Commercial
Match #3: James Storm versus Bobby Roode.
Roode comes to the ring wearing his suit, but he starts to take it off as he heads to the ring. Before Roode can get to the ring, Storm attacks him on the entrance ramp. The two men brawl outside the ring for a while, slamming each other into the security barrier and beating each other with Roode’s shoe.
The two men finally make their way into the ring and Roode hits Storm with an inverted atomic drop. Storm responds by clotheslining Roode to the floor. Storm rolls Roode back in and Roode backdrops Storm out to the floor. The two men braw some more on the floor, exchanging strikes and Irish Whips into the steel steps and security barrier.
Roode grabs Storms beer bottle and takes a sip before going after Storm with it. Storm lands a punch, takes the bottle away from Roode and has a sip. Roode swings a steel chair at Storm’s head but misses. Storm slams Roode’s face into a fan’s shoes. The two men briefly re enter the ring before Roode knocks Storm back out to the floor. The two men brawl some more until Storm pushes the ref out of the way. The ref disqualifies Storm but they keep brawling.
In the back, Hogan gets a telephone call from Aces and Eights. They claim to have kidnapped Joseph Parks.
Commercial
When we return, Austin Aries approaches Jeff Hardy in the back. Austin offers to take off his sunglasses if Hardy agrees to open his eyes. Aries says that while he knows he has something Hardy wants, (the world title) Hardy has something Aries wants: a Hall of Fame career. Austin wants the success and adulation Hardy has been getting throughout his career. Aries says he’s not the hunted, he’s the hunter, and he’s hunting Jeff Hardy.
Back in the Impact Zone, Tara is walking to the ring. She claims people want to know why she betrayed her friend Tessmacher. Tara claims the fans disgust her, and that her new boyfriend opened her eyes. She claims to be the best female wrestler in the world, and to prove it, she calls out…Christy Hemme? Christy comes to the ring and explains she is no wrestler, but Tara doesn’t care and starts choking Christy until Tessmacher comes to the rescue.
Commercial
When we return, Brooke Hogan is talking to Tara and she’s not happy. Brooke tells Tara there will be consequences next week.
Hulk Hogan makes his way to the ring next to call out Aces and Eights. Hogan wants Joseph Parks back and is willing to trade himself. Hogan will go the Aces and Eights “Clubhouse” in exchange for the return of Parks. Aces and Eights seems to agree, and they show Joseph Parks, bound and caged in their “clubhouse” They smash the computer Parks had been using for his investigation with a sledge hammer. Abyss, I mean, Joseph Parks, claims it doesn’t matter because he has all the info in his head. So they hit him in the head with a sledgehammer.
Commercial
When we return, Austin Aries is calling out Bully Ray. Jeff Hardy beat Bully Ray recently to win the BFG series, and Austin wants to prove he can do anything Hardy can do. Bully Ray seems shocked, he claims people don’t call him out; he calls people out. AS Bully Ray makes his way to the ring, Aries does a spinning suicide dive to Ray on the floor. Aries beats Bully down outside the ring and slams Bully’s head into the steps. Aries rolls Bully Ray into the ring and the match is underway
Match #4: Austin Aries versus Bully Ray. Aries lands a kick, slams Bully into the corner, and then lands a punch and a kick. Aries snaps Bully’s head down on the top rope and then climbs to the top turnbuckle. Bully pushes Aries off the top and sends him crashing to the floor.
Commercial
When we return, Bully lands a punch and an eye gouge. Bully Ray pulls Aries back into the ring and puts him in a bow and arrow. Aries escapes with a back kick, but Bully knocks him back down and lands a splash for a two count. Bully drops Austin with a body slam and gets a two count. Bully hits Aries with an elbow drop and gets another two count. Bully starts talking trash and Aries throws a punch. Bully ray lands a back elbow, a couple chops, and an elbow drop. Aries gets to his feet as Ray argues with the ref. Aries lands a pair of chops. Ray tries a suplex but Aries gets out of it. Ray lands a couple chops. Aries lands a forearm, a punch, and a couple chops.
Bully Ray halts Austin’s momentum with an eye rake. Bully Ray throws a punch, Aries ducks it and hits Ray with a discus forearm. Ray hits Austin with a backdrop. Austin snaps Rays down across the top rope and then hits him with a missile dropkick for a two count. Ares tries a brainbuster, but gets back dropped by Ray instead. Ray charges Austin, but Aries dodges and hits Ray with a kick. As Ray and Aries fight, referee Earl Hebner gets knocked down and out. Aries hits Ray in the knee with a dropkick and then puts him in the Last Chancery. Ray taps out but the ref is still down. Aries checks on the ref and Bully Ray gets his chain.
Ray knocks Aries out with the chain and drags the ref over. Ray covers Aries for 3 and gets the win. After the decision an exhausted Bully Ray falls on top of/hugs Earl Hebner on the mat. It almost looks like he is going to start dry humping referee Earl Hebner. In some states, they would have to get married now. I think from now on, whenever Earl Hebner is refereeing a Bully Ray match, the fans should chant “You screwed Earl” to Bully Ray. Madison Rayne is going to be pissed.
After the match, Bully Ray grabs Austin’s title and is about to hit him with it when Jeff Hardy comes to the rescue. Hardy picks up the title after Ray leaves and Aries sees him holding it. Aries angrily takes his title back and they start arguing as Impact goes off the air.
John Cena ripped on the WWE.COM team for giving false information on his estimated recovery time following his elbow surgery this week.
The WWE.COM report stated that Cena would be out of action for only two to three weeks when in reality Cena said it would take six weeks to go back to wrestling.
“Some #jackwagon from @wwe dotcom apparently posted me recovering in 14 days,” Cena tweeted. “I apologize on behalf of a website whos credibility is now equal to #theonion,” he added, referring to the popular TheOnion.com website which spoofs everyday news.
Cena promised that he’ll do his best to get healthy as quickly as he can, adding that he would be appearing on RAW but will lay low for the next six weeks till he heals up. He said he’ll send photos and videos to the WWE.COM crew so they can see how bad the surgery was.
He closed his rant with a suggestion to the dot com team which is headed by Joey Styles. “Please @wwe web guys, get your monkey frankin facts straight!”
Jerry “The King” Lawler, returning to Memphis on Monday after spending a whole week in a Montreal hospital following a heart attack, held a press conference earlier today in his home which was streamed live by several news outlets in Memphis.
Lawler noted that he only remembers the first part of the show, the interview segment between CM Punk and Bret Hart, and nothing else that followed it even though his heart attack didn’t happen for an hour later. Lawler said he has no recollection of wrestling or even the things he said during the broadcast and he had to watch the show to find out what happened.
The King also said that he received calls from tons of wrestlers including from Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. Lawler said that there’s a bond between wrestlers and at the end of the day they all look out for each other.
Regarding his health, Lawler said apart from sore ribs and throat – from CPR and tubes inserted respectively – he’s doing fine with no pains since the attack. He said the heart attack occurred due to two small blocked arteries at the bottom of his heart, one of which needed a stent. He credited the WWE medical team and EMTs on site for saving his life and their quick action prevented permanent damage.
Talking about his wrestling future, the WWE Hall of Famer said that he thinks about it but it will be several months before he will step back in the ring.
You can watch the full 15 minute press conference below.
The Associated Press is carrying an article today about the WWE trying to distance itself from the Attitude Era videos floating around everywhere on the web and protecting Linda McMahon in her Senate election in the process.
“It’s being presented as today’s WWE,” said Brian Flinn, a WWE spokesman, “and it does not represent our PG-family-friendly entertainment of today.”
The Senate race is getting ugly as expected and AP notes that the Democrats have pumped $320,000 in ads into Chris Murphy’s campaign in hopes of blunting McMahon’s momentum, who currently leads in polls. Her opponents are also saying that WWE is trying to help Linda with her election.
“Chris Murphy’s implication or assertion that the WWE is coordinating with Linda McMahon’s U.S. Senate is untrue, to do so is unlawful,” the WWE said in a statement yesterday.
During the last election in 2010, WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon was furious at how the Democrats used old WWE footage to discredit his wife Linda in the campaign. In an interview with the AP, Vince McMahon said that these WWE detractors conveniently left out the “soap opera elements” that lead up to the controversial moments and failed to mention the evolution of WWE over the past years, most notably the drug testing and improving the health of its wrestlers.
