New television ads in Connecticut supporting Democrat Chris Murphy landed a big blow to Linda McMahon this week after the President himself taped a message to support Murphy.
In a previous McMahon television ad, it was encouraged to vote for McMahon and President Obama on the same ballot, something which was struck as odd since the McMahons are big Republicans and have donated money to the Romney campaign.
The TV ad with Obama talks about Murphy’s job plan, something that the McMahon campaign attacked him for not having during this race.
McMahon is close to spending over $100 million for the two Senate races and while she was ahead in the polls before she has now slipped down considerably and her chances of winning aren’t looking very good.
Here are the results from yesterday’s RAW non-televised event from Manchester, England.
Brodus Clay and Santino Marella defeated Epico and Primo; Michael McGuillicutty defeated Tensai; Eve defeated Layla and AJ in a triple threat match; John Cena defeated Dolph Ziggler; Antonio Cesaro defeated Zack Ryder; Kane and Daniel Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow; Ryback defeated CM Punk in the main event via disqualification.
Smackdown ring announcer Lilian Garcia spoke to WWE.COM about her accident from last week in Los Angeles where she was struck by car, sending her to the hospital for a couple of nights.
The WWE Diva was hit by an SUV while she was working out and said it has been the most frightening thing that she ever had to go through,
“I’m suffering from head, neck and back trauma. I have lacerations and wounds on the left side of my body,” Garcia said.
Although feeling better, Garcia remains on pain medication and thanked the UCLA medical team for taking great care of her.
There is still no timetable for her return to the ring and will be undergoing further testing next week.
“The most amazing fans in the world are WWE fans. Thank you for the outpouring of love, well wishes and the support.”
WWE referee Brad Maddox will be explaining his actions from Hell In A Cell tomorrow night on RAW.
During the closing moments of that pay-per-view, Maddox low-blowed Ryback as he was about to deliver the Shell Shock to CM Punk. The low blow was then followed by a quick three count from the referee and Punk managed to walk out of the pay-per-view still the WWE champion.
The same referee was in charge of the Brock Lesnar vs Triple H match at SummerSlam and he was congratulated by Paul Heyman the night after the show for his officiating.
MMA Junkie is reporting that Stephan Bonnar failed his UFC 153 drug test and tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone.
In addition to Bonnar, Dave Herman also botched his drug test and tested positive for Marijuana metabolites. The drug test was performed by the UFC as there’s no Brazil athletic commission.
Mark Ratner, UFC’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, told MMAFighting that the company will announce suspensions for both fighters, something which will not really effect Bonnar as he already announced his retirement from the sport.
Both Bonnar and Herman were on the losing side at UFC 153 to Anderson Silva and Minotauro Nogueira respectively.
Even though Hulk Hogan settled the lawsuit against his former friend Bubba “The Love Sponge” over the sex tape, Hulk says that the two are not friends anymore.
“Just for the record, Bubba and I are NOT friends and never will be friends,” Hogan wrote in a message on Twitter before once again stating that the two are not friends with not written in capital letters.
Hogan sued Bubba and his ex-wife Heather Cole over their involvement in the sex tape. The lawsuit against Bubba was settled out of court with the details remaining confidential. Bubba issued a press release eating back all the words he said about Hulk and also mentioned it twice on his radio show.
Former WWE champion John Cena helped grant a wish to an eight year old kid who suffers from a condition called hydrocephalus – which is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull – after the Kids Wish Network came knocking.
Maurice Wilson met his hero after Kids Wish Network arranged for an all expenses paid trip to Atlanta for Maurice and his parents which included accommodations and the meet-and-greet.
“It was fabulous. It was a dream-come-true for Maurice. This is definitely something we never could have given him and we didn’t expect anything as wonderful as this,” said Maurice’s mother. “Everyone everywhere knew who Maurice was and he was really surprised. Everyone gave us the VIP treatment.”
On the day of the wish, Maurice and his family were picked up by an H2 Hummer limousine and driven to the Phillips Arena. They were escorted backstage and were taken straight to see John Cena.
Maurice presented Cena with a t-shirt and a pin for hydrocephalus awareness, while Cena gave Maurice signed posters and pictures along with t-shirts, hats and armbands. Afterwards, Maurice and his family were seated in the second row for the WWE pay-per-view.
“I was holding back tears the whole wish,” his mom added. “I really appreciate all that you did for my son. Maurice hasn’t stopped talking about it and he’s still wearing one of the hats John Cena gave him. Thank you so much.”
TNA begins with a recap of last week’s show involving Aces and Eights, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy. The first person to the ring when the show begins is attorney Joseph Park.
Park wants to fight someone from Aces and Eights to get some revenge after they kidnapped and tortured him. Park says he hasn’t gotten an answer from Hogan, but he doesn’t need one. This week is Open Fight Night and Park is calling out anyone from Aces and Eights. Four members of the biker gang come out and surround Park.
Park gets beat down until Angle comes to the rescue, then Angle gets beat down. Sting comes to the rescue next and he’s got a bat in hand; Aces and Eights scatter. After they leave, Sting promises that someone from Aces and Eights will get unmasked tonight.
Later tonight, we will see Devon versus Bully Ray, ODB versus Jesse, and Christian York competing in this week’s Gut Check segment. Before the break, Magnus tells us he is going to call out former partner, TV champ Samoa Joe.
Commercial
Jesse and Tara are in the back. Jesse seems scared to fight ODB and Tara tries to comfort him. Jesse is afraid he’ll catch an infection from ODB and asks Tara to sterilize him. Tara makes a joke about having to adopt kids if he’s sterilized, but she didn’t sound like she was joking.
Magnus comes to the ring and insults Samoa Joe, calling him the Howard Stern of TNA: He’s popular, but has a face for radio. Magnus calls Joe out as the crowd chants “Joe’s gonna kill you!” That’s probably my second favorite chant after “You’re gonna get your fuckin’ head kicked in!” which is what ROH fans used to chant at Bryan Danielson’s (AKA Daniel Bryan’s) opponents.
Match #1 Samoa Joe versus Magnus.
Joe starts out with a series of strikes and rips of Magnus’ shirt. Joe lands a kick, a headbutt, and another punch. Magnus responds with a kick but Joe hits him with an inverted atomic drop. Joe hits Magnus with a senton and more strikes. After an Irish whip, Magnus leapfrogs Joe and then hits him in the head with a high knee.
The two men exchange several strikes; Joe gets the edge and applies the rear naked choke. Magnus escapes and sends Joe to the corner. Magnus charges at Joe, but Joe catches him and slams him to the mat with an STO. Joe clotheslines Magnus to the floor. Joe pursues and they exchange punches on the floor. Magnus grabs a wrench from under the ring and hits Joe in the head with it, knocking him out. The ref DQ’s Magnus, and the unconscious Samoa Joe is the winner.
Commercial
When we return, Sting, Hogan, and Joseph Parks are talking about Aces and Eights. Angle interrupts and says he wants to fight Devon to payback Aces and Eights for their attack on him last week. Hogan reminds Angle that Bully Ray is fighting Devon tonight, but he says Angle can fight Devon at Turning Point. Garrett Bischoff and Wes Briscoe also express a desire to fight Aces and Eights tonight, and Sting tells them all they’re going to unmask someone tonight.
Commercial
When we return, Joe tells us he wants to face Magnus in a no DQ match at Turning Point. The crowd chants Joe’s gonna kill you. Jeff Hardy is in the back with his eyes closed, but we can still see his eyes because he has two sets; one over the lids and one under. We can also hear his voice even though his lips aren’t moving. You know who else has lips that never move, and has multiple sets of eyes? Mr. Potato head! Could they be related? … (no, they can’t be)
Kaz and Daniels come to the ring next. They complain about new tag champs Chavo and Hernandez and then call out…Hector Guerrero and Willie Urbina, the Spanish announce team.
Commercial
Kaz and Daniels are still trying to get Hector and Willie to fight and some pushing ensues. Kaz accuses them of being MexiCANTs instead of MexiCANs. Chavo and Hernandez come out to help (Hector is Chavo’s uncle, of course) and Kaz and Daniels retreat.
Commercial
When we return, ODB is trying to call her husband, Eric Young, to get him to come and watch her match with Jesse. She also wants some fried chicken.
Gut Check Match: Christian York versus Zema Ion.
York starts the match off with several strikes, Zema responds with a hurricanrana. York responds with some more kicks, including a flipping kick, and then takes Zema down with a half nelson suplex. York climbs to the top rope and Zema retreats to the floor. York tries to pull Zema back in, but Zema snaps his head down on the top rope and then follows up with a DDT. Zema lands a kick, York lands a few punches.
Zema rakes Yorks eyes. Zema hits York with a suplex, a leg drop, and a moonsault. York responds with a clothesline, a kick, and his finishing move “mood swing” that looks sort of like CrossRhodes. Zema kicks out at 2. Zema goes out to the floor and York pursues and Zema backdrops him back towards the ring. York bounces of the ropes and takes Zema down with a hurricanrana.
The two men re enter the ring and Zema knocks York to the mat. Zema applies his submission finisher “Submission Impossible” and York taps out. Zema Ion wins.
Commercial
When we return, Garrett Bischoff tells Bully Ray that he’s got his back if he needs it tonight in his match against Devon. Bully is appreciative. Bully and Bischoff hear that Aces and Eights is nearby and they go looking for a fight. Bully, Bischoff, Sting, and Angle all start brawling with aces and eights until the biker gang flees.
Match: ODB versus Jesse.
ODB gets the early advantage and lands several chops. Jesse is missing with every punch he throws, and eventually ODB is able to use her vagina as a weapon by slamming Jesse’s face into it repeatedly. ODB jumps off the top rope but Jesse sidesteps and ODB hits the mat hard. Jesse bodyslams ODB and the crowd boos. Jesse and Tara kiss, and ODB bodyslams Jesse. ODB puts Jesse on her knee and spanks his ass! Tara jumps up on the ring apron and distracts ODB. Jesse comes up from behind and rolls ODB up, pulling on her tights to get the win.
Robbie E and Robbie T walk to the ring in their adorable matching argyle sweaters. Robbie says that he’s calling out TNA champ Jeff Hardy. Robbie reminds us that he did beat Jeff once during the BFG series, and then he points out “Lighting always strikes twice!” Hardy gets the early advantage with some strikes and then slams Robbie to the mat.
Hardy goes to the top rope and hits Robbie with a frog splash and gets a 2 count. Robbie retreats to the floor and then pulls Hardy to the floor. They exchange punches and then Hardy slams Robbie into the steel steps. Jeff hits Robbie with poetry in motion by jumping over the steel steps and knocking Robbie into the security barrier. Hardy rolls Robbie back into the ring, and Big Robbie T yanks Hardy back to the floor.
Commercial
Hardy lands a couple flying forearm shots and then hits Robbie T with a baseball slide dropkick. Hardy knocks Robbie down and tries Twist of Fate, but Robbie retaliates with a DDT. Hardy responds with some punches, a kick, and a front suplex. Hardy puts Robbie down with twist of fate and then gets the win with a swanton bomb.
After the match, Austin Aries comes out with the original TNA title and insists he’s still the best. Hardy challenges him to prove it by facing him in a ladder match. Aries claims he’s a wrestler not a ladder climber.
Hulk Hogan is shown selling merchandise at his new beach shop. Hogan gets interrupted by Matt Morgan. Morgan looks at Hogan’s memorabilia and steals the robe he wore at Shea stadium. Hogan says “You can’t take that, it’s mine” and Morgan says “I just did. Do you really want to get embarrassed in front of your fans?”
Commercial
When we return, Bobby Roode makes his way to the ring. Now that Austin Aries is no longer champ, Roode wants to get back in the title picture. Roode is interrupted by AJ Styles. AJ is in a bad mood. AJ tells Roode that while Roode spent a year as TNA champ, he was busy with his own issues: being photographed entering an elevator with a member of the opposite sex and accused of having an affair with his boss.
AJ thinks this must be a new fad if your name is AJ. Styles is of course referring to the storyline over at WWE in which John Cena was set up to look like he was having an affair with his boss, AJ Lee. I actually do like WWE more than TNA, but WWE has flagrantly stolen some storylines from TNA lately. AJ challenges Roode to a fight right now as part of Open Fight Night.
Roode refuses, but then hits AJ with a cheap shot from behind. AJ hits Roode with a punch and then clotheslines him to the floor. Hogan and James Storm come out. Hogan says that at Turning Point, there will be a 3 way match between Storm, Roode, and AJ. The winner of the match becomes the #1 contender, the person that gets pinned will not be allowed a title shot until next year’s Bound For Glory.
Commercial
Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan make their way to the ring; Morgan is wearing the robe he stole from Hogan. It’s a nice robe, not up to Flair’ standards, but not bad. Morgan promises to take out everyone on the TNA roster until he is the world champion. Joey Ryan tells us that he usually tries to avoid VD, but tonight he’s going to get him some R VD. Ryan challenges RVD to a fight.
Match: RVD versus Joey Ryan with Matt Morgan.
RVD starts the match off with a clothesline. Joey Ryan lands a punch, but then RVD lands several strikes and slams Ryan into the corner. RVD hits Ryan with a LOT of shoulder blocks and then a spin kick. RVD hits Ryan with rolling thunder and then goes to the top rope. RVD tries a frog splash but Morgan pulls Ryan out of the way. Ryan rolls RVD up, pulls the tights, and gets the win.
After the match, RVD goes after Joey Ryan, but Morgan knocks him out with the Carbon Footprint.
Commercial
When we return, Bully Ray walks to the ring to challenge Devon. Devon comes out and enters the ring, and then promptly leaves again, smiling. Devon re enters the ring as Bully Ray sets up a table in the ring. Devon exits the ring again and calls for backup. Several members of Aces and Eights show up, but Bully Ray is able to keep them at bay with his chain.
Sting comes out followed by several other TNA wrestlers to help Bully Ray out. Eventually the ring clears and only Bully and Devon remain. Bully lands a big punch, but one of the larger Aces and Eights members comes into the ring to save Devon. Devon and Bully Ray leave the ring and legendary lawyer Joseph Park enters the ring to confront the large Aces and Eights member (who is actually not quite as large as Joseph).
The biker beats Joseph Park down, but Joseph grabs his mask and pulls it off. The big man under the mask is Luke Gallows! They don’t call him that, they’re probably going to come up with some new name for him. Luke puts Joseph Park through the table just before Sting and the others come to the rescue. Luke, Devon, and the rest of Aces and Eights retreats as Impact goes off the air.
The proposed WWE Network will be a premium subscription model according to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and it will be carried by all major cable providers.
McMahon called it the “most interactive network in the world” however stopped short in announcing when the Network will eventually launch.
The Network was supposed to launch earlier this year on WrestleMania Sunday however it got pushed back with no date set.
WWE did massive upgrades to their television facility and is hiring up to 200 employees to work on it.
WWE today announced that Brad Armstrong, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Bob Armstrong and the brother of WWE employees Road Dogg Jesse James and referee Scott Armstrong, passed away at the age of 51.
A short story on WWE.COM said that Brad was found unresponsive this morning and last week he went to see a physician for a medical issue.
Armstrong spent most of his wrestling career in the NWA and WCW and joined WWE in 2006 as part of the ECW brand.
Only Money In The Bank performed worse than last year in the past quarter as far as pay-per-view numbers go with SummerSlam and Night of Champions both registering a nice increase in total buys.
The July Money In The Bank show did 188,000 buys this year compared to the 195,000 of last year. SummerSlam in August did 358,000 with Lesnar vs HHH as the main event compared to 296,000 of last year. In September, Night of Champions had 189,000 buys, an increase of 28,000 buys from last year’s show.
Pay-per-views was one of the only four key departments that registered an increase in the last quarter for the company.
“Our fundamental operating metrics showed continued strength. Average attendance increased 6% at our live events in North America and Pay-Per-View buys increased 13% for the three comparable events in the quarter,” said George Barrios, Chief Financial Officer.
Former WWE Diva Amy Weber had her laptop stolen which included a nude photo spread which were not included in her Playboy magazine release and instead of waiting for the thief to make money off her nude photos, she and her management team decided to release them for free so whoever stole them is getting $0 for his theft.
The 42 year old former Diva Search contestant made her WWE TV debut in 2004 but her run didn’t last very long. During her time there, she was the image consultant for JBL and only wrestled once. In February of 2005 she quit WWE because of allegations of harassment from some of the wrestlers and because of the low pay she was getting.
Six of the ten departments within WWE registered a loss of revenue compared to the same quarter last year while the remaining four departments generated an increase.
In the good department, Pay-per-view went up to $16.3 million versus $15.8 million as last year thanks to SummerSlam; TV revenues were $34 million, on par with the figure of last year; Venue merchandise increased from $3.6 million of last year to $4.5 million; and WWE.COM was up from $3.7 million to $4.8 million.
Over in the not so good section, live event revenues totaled $22.8 million compared to $23 million in the prior year quarter; Home video decreased from $8.3 million from last year to $6.4 million; Licensing also took a hit with revenues of $7.1 million versus $9 million last year; Magazine publishing continued its downward spiral from $1.9 million to $1.6 million; WWEShop.com revenues declined to $2.7 million from $3.2 million; and WWE Studios did $1.9 million in revenue compared to last year’s $3.7 million.
John Cena returned to action last night in Strasbourg, France, for his first match since his elbow surgery in September. He wrestled – and defeated – Dolph Ziggler with their match taking place in the middle of the card.
Cena underwent surgery on September 18 and was estimated to return in time to fight CM Punk at Hell In A Cell however his recovery went a bit slower than expected and Cena had to be pulled from the match and was replaced by Ryback.
WE today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2012. Revenues totaled $104.2 million as compared to $108.5 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income was $5.0 million as compared to $15.9 million in the prior year quarter. Net income was $3.5 million as compared to $10.6 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding items that impacted comparability on a year-over-year basis, Adjusted Operating income was $7.1 million as compared to $21.0 million in the prior year quarter, and Adjusted Net income was $5.0 million as compared to $14.1 million.
“In the third quarter, we continued to make important progress on our key strategic initiatives, expanding our content and distribution and enhancing our brand strength,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The production and licensing of new programs, including a third hour of Raw, the WWE Main Event and WWE Saturday Morning Slam, as well as the development of online distribution on Hulu Plus exemplify our achievement of these goals. The performance of our new programs, which have attracted an average audience 14% to 50% higher than the viewership of the programs they replaced, demonstrate our ability to build consumer interest, which forms the foundation of our proposed WWE Network.”
Smackdown ring announcer Lilian Garcia recorded a Tout video message to the WWE fans, thanking them for their love and support following her accident last Friday where she was struck by a car in Los Angeles.
“You guys have been amazing during this time. I have the best medical care so I’m doing my best to hurry up and come back! Love you,” Garcia said in her message, sporting a neck brace while sitting on a sofa.
Garcia also thanked her fans on Twitter for the supportive tweets that keep pouring in. You can see her Tout at http://www.tout.com/m/qr37lz.
WWE Superstars, Divas, and crew will start a painful 11-day, 20-event European tour today which will take them to 10 different countries.
The RAW brand will have a total of 11 shows across five countries while the Smackdown brand will do 9 shows across seven countries. Both RAW and Smackdown will have tapings in Birmingham, England at the LG Arena on November 5 and 6 respectively.
RAW will have events on October 31 in Strasbourg, France; November 1 in Nantes, France; November 2 in Newcastle, England; November 3 in Manchester, England; November 4 in Nottingham, England; November 5 in Birmingham, England; November 6 in Glasgow, Scotland; November 7 in Belfast, Ireland; November 8 in Dublin, Ireland; November 9 in Cardiff, Wales; and November 10 in Minehead, England.
Smackdown will have shows on November 1 in Lyon, France; November 2 in Hamburg, Germany; November 3 in Leipzig, Germany; November 4 in London, England; November 6 in Birmingham, England; November 7 in Brussels, Belgium; November 8 in Zurich, Switzerland; November 9 in Malaga, Spain; and November 10 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Everyone will be back in the United States in time for the live RAW in Columbus, Ohio, on November 12.
UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar announced yesterday that he is retiring from mixed martial arts at age 35, saying in a message on Facebook that all he ever wanted was to bring some fun to fans.
Bonnar is credited – along with his opponent at the time Forrest Griffin – for putting UFC back on the map years ago with the first edition of The Ultimate Fighter. Bonnar and Griffin went all-out for three rounds, holding nothing back and beating each other for fifteen minutes in one of the most amazing UFC matches ever. Despite Griffin winning the fight and the UFC contract, Bonnar was also signed to a deal.
Bonnar departs the UFC with an MMA record of 17-8 and his last fight was a defeat against arguably the best MMA fighter on the planet – Anderson Silva. The two fought earlier in October in Brazil in a light heavyweight match after the main event for UFC 153 went up in smoke due to injuries. Both Silva and Bonnar stepped up on short notice to fight each other and Silva finished off Bonnar late in the first round.
Bloomberg is reporting that the United States Marine Corps is opposing the WWE trademark application to register “Marine: Homefront” for their upcoming WWE Studios movie.
WWE filed three applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a variety of uses, including Halloween costumes, other clothing, downloadable ring tones, refrigerator magnets, sunglasses, video and computer games and entertainment services.
The Office of Counsel for the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps filed a request to oppose registration of the marks. The Patent Office gave the Marine Corps until December 12 to file its opposition.
The Miz will be starring in the third installment of The Marine franchise after John Cena and Ted DiBiase filled the boots in the first two movies.
