Monday, February 28, 2011

TNA Knockout Gets Married + Sarita Update

-- Dark Angel (a/k/a Sarita) is advertised for tonight's (Monday) CMLL taping at Arena Puebla in Puebla, Mexico as she will be teaming with Luna Mágica and Dalis to face Princesa Blanca, Princesa Sugei and Zeuxis.

-- It was reported earlier that Madison Rayne changed her name on her Facebook account from Ashley Simmons to Ashley Simmons Cabot. The reigning TNA Women's Knockout Champion got married on February 8, hence the name change.

The Rock Responds To John Cena w/ A Photo

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson issued a rebuttal to John Cena's disparaging remarks about him last Monday on RAW as he posted a photo of his boot stomped down on a John Cena hat, pendant and wristband.

Earlier today, Cena teased Johnson appearing on tomorrow's RAW.

He wrote on Twitter, "CeNation. Just got back from South America. Holy casserole it was magical. I heard a rumor that the Rock's camp was pretty peeved at what I said on Mon. I think he may have something planned for tomorrow. I cannot wait. Ps..miz yer still a dauwsh. :)"



'Generation Me': The 'Backstage Heat' Report Is False

It was reported earlier that TNA Wrestling officials were unhappy with Generation Me revealing on Twitter two weeks ago that they would be unable to make their advertised appearance at Against All Odds due to travel issues. Management reportedly felt they should have allowed them to come up with a replacement plan and announce it at once rather than sharing details of their travel problems online. In response to the report, Max tweeted, "All reports out there about us having any type of "heat" are 100% false."

TNA founder Jeff Jarrett responded to his denial, writing, "Really?"

Max then immediately deleted the tweet.

We stand by our original report.

Triple H-RAW **SPOILER**, Evan Bourne's WWE Return

-- Evan Bourne was originally expected to be back by the end of February but sources are now reporting that it may be late March or early April now. It should be noted that Bourne is currently advertised to return at the March 14th RAW in St. Louis. He's also set for RAW live events the following weekend. It really all depends on whether he's ready to go by then.

-- The Calgary Herald has an article on Bruce Hart discussing his autobiography, which you can see at http://www.calgaryherald.com/

-- Triple H is scheduled to do an in-ring promo on RAW that will set up his WrestleMania match with The Undertaker. 'Taker is also expected to appear at RAW and is confirmed for SmackDown! this week.

'Taker's WWE Return & Future?, Dru Onyx To WWE?

-- As everyone knows by now, The Undertaker made his return on RAW last week to set up his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 27. We've learned that he will not be working a full-time schedule in the coming months. WWE is headed back overseas for another European tour shortly after WrestleMania and 'Taker is not advertised. He's not expected to work United States WWE live events either.

-- Dru Onyx, a 6-foot-2, 320 pound Montreal-based wrestler, is scheduled for a WWE tryout at the organization's developmental facility in Tampa, Florida.

Ole Anderson Injured In Fall - Details Inside

Ole Anderson, member of the original Four Horsemen, has suffered a broken arm and many cracked ribs in a recent fall.

He has also been battling MS for the past several years.

On behalf of everyone here on the website, we send our best wishes to Ole on a speedy recovery. Get well soon bud.

HTM: TNA Official Jumping Ship To WWE, Blasts Hogan

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man wrote on his Facebook account yesterday that a top TNA Wrestling official close to Hulk Hogan has left for World Wrestling Entertainment. The post also blasts Hogan. Here is his full rant:

You guys keep asking what's the issue with Hogan. Here's the deal. Hogan is in a back brace and without it he is on a walker as an old crippled dogshit of a man who could only be found with his feet in Lard Ass Bubba's ass. You ask why HTM doesn't like Hogan?

Jeff Jarrett approached HTM for a TNA merchandise deal in 2010 and "sent" a contract. Contract never came. HTM signs with WWE & Mattel. The same time, Hogan and Bischoff join TNA and Bischoff publicly insults HTM. HTM is called up for the "Hogan & Friends Tour", went to the show and had a great event with the boys and the fans. HTM and Jimmy Hart spend hours setting up the show, spots etc. HTM and his web team promote "Hulk and Friends" everywhere which Hogan's agent praised and admitted none of the other stars did! Bubba the lard sponge calls out HTM on his radio show so HTM posted a video owning Bubba in retaliation. Hogan goes off without seeing the facts and HTM is off the tour.

HTM went to Hogan's room on the Hogan & Friends tour and spent hours talking to Hogan. Hogan was nice to HTM's face. That's the deal with Hogan. That's always the deal with Hulk Hogan. Ask Vince McMahon or Randy Savage. Hogan is a walking dead because he went with that travelling door to door meat salesman Bischoff instead of hanging with the guys who stood beside him and once again turned on WWE. McMahon's done with Hogan and WWE have no interest in his dead ass. They put over Hogan, built him up as Babe Ruth and he spat in their face. Hogan was due to wrestle John Cena at a recent past WrestleMania but couldn't commit due to his health issues then announces at Vince's backyard MSG that he's signed with TNA. Now after taking TNA nowhere Hogan's had to take a pay cut with TNA and mark my words within 6 months he'll be gone.

What is WWE going to do with a free agent crippled Hulk Hogan? Nothing. They own the entire back catalogue, anything of worth they have. Hogan has his chance to be the Babe Ruth of WWE and spat in their face. He demands top money from Vince and has nothing in return to offer. Hogan's "Hulk & Friends" Tour is dead in the water. Events were cancelled due to poor ticket sales and performance and Hogan's $100k fee demand while paying his fellow boys $3k.

THQ recently signed Hogan to WWE Allstars as his contract allows for outside licensing which is a slap in the face to TNA. Would McMahon let any WWE star sign a TNA merchandise deal? How is that taking "the company to the next level" Brother!.

The guys in the back have no respect for Hogan and Nash is laughing his ass off now that Hogan is broke and Nash is back as a player.

A major TNA backstage player has bolted TNA for WWE, someone close to Hogan which has left Hogan reeling. More on that to come..

Hulkamania killed itself.

HTM Team

Kelly Kelly Says She's 'All Real', Wrestling Is 'Fake'?

While promoting this Tuesday's SmackDown! taping at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Kelly Kelly participated in a quirky interview with Cleveland.com's self-professed 'Pop Diva' Andrea Simakis.

Prior to the interview text, Simakis reveals that she was prohibited from referring to WWE as "wrestling." Rather, it is "entertainment" or "sports entertainment." She also adds that wrestlers aren't to be called wrestlers, as they are "Superstars" or "Divas." We noted this last week here on the website.

The SmackDown Diva was asked about WWE discovering her in a modeling catalog and her initial reaction to joining the organization.

She replied, "They knew I had an athletic background. I was a gymnast for 10 years, and I've always been into sports. My agent was like, "It's kind of far-fetched. I don't know if you're interested" and I was like, "Heck yeah! Put me on a plane -- I wanna go!"

Some detractors of professional wrestling insist it's fake. Kelly says in response, "I just wanna punch people in the face when they say something like that.

"Luckily, I haven't been severely injured, but I've . . . broken ribs and stuff. It's not as glamorous as it looks. Still, I love comin' to work every week."


Simakis then tells Kelly that her body looks completely real to her.

"Oh, it is," she replied. "I'm not ashamed of it. It's all real. I love getting that question because I'm like, "Yes they are and I'm so proud."

Simakis then asks whether her fellow Divas are worried about their breast implants exploding when they hit the mat. The interview, however, comes to a halt as a WWE P.R. guy listening in suggests it ends. Seriously.

Other topics discussed include her wrestling outfits, her ring name, whether any soldiers "got fresh" with her during her visit to Afghanistan last year, and more.

Bobby Lashley Speaks Out - Lesnar-Batista, Return?

Bobby Lashley recently spoke with ProMMANow.com. Here are some highlights…

On Brock Lesnar & Batista: I haven't talked to Brock. You know I've never really talked to Brock. When I went to WWE he was already out so our paths have never crossed so I've never even met him or even talked to him. Then as far as Dave Batista, we were pretty good friends when we were in the WWE but when we came out of the WWE, when he went into his fight deal, I think that his target was kind of set on that big fight and that big fight was supposed to be against me. So I think our relationship kind of went two different directions and I think the reason why he was wanting to do that was because he was wanting to use me as his big match and I think that's what Strikeforce is really hoping for if they have that match with me against Dave. I haven't really talked to him since I've been out of the WWE or since he's been out of the WWE.

On Fighting Batista: I'm open to a fight with almost anyone and Dave has been training. I've heard that he's been training pretty hard and if that fight were presented I would definitely take it. Of course it is a fight for a lot of wrestling fans because a lot of wrestling fans out there want to see that fight. There are millions upon millions of wrestling fans, but I'm not going to decline that fight. If that fight were ever brought to me I would definitely sign in a second and fight him. That's the way the fight business is. You have to fight so whoever is brought to you that is who you are going to be fighting.

On Returning To Pro Wrestling: Man I love professional wrestling. Some people get out of professional wrestling and they're real bitter for several different reasons. I don't know, maybe it's the travel, maybe it's the people that you encounter when you are in the wrestling business, but for me I loved wrestling when I was in there. It was very time consuming and it was hard at the time when you were just thrust into an organization and there are a lot of really shady people in wrestling. I mean I dealt with them on a daily basis. But that's not going to stop the fact that I love the sport. If I had an opportunity to go back to wrestling I would definitely consider it. I still do some wrestling. I go to Japan every couple months and I work with an organization out there with Inoki's organization IGF (Inoki Genome Federation). So I still get that taste of wrestling going out there and working out with those guys. At the same time, there are usually a handful of fighters there. Like last time Josh Barnett was there so I was able to work out a little bit there and do some MMA training and then have the show. I'm completely open to professional wrestling anytime.

Rey Mysterio Speaks - Health & Future, Mistico, Del Rio

Rey Mysterio recently spoke with AOL Fanhouse, here are the highlights…

On Alberto Del Rio: "I think it's awesome. If there's anything that is not part of myself and who I am it's jealousy and envy. I always wish Alberto the best even though we clash in the ring. But he comes from a second-generation family. Growing up, his father was one of my all-time favorite wrestlers (Dos Caras). Even though for the short amount of time that he's been a part of this company he's succeeded very well."

On Sin Cara: "I think the opportunity now shown is that the doors are open for anybody that has the quality to be part of WWE. You have the talent, you have the desire to be a superstar, come and the doors will be open and if you can make it, you'll be one of the top dogs. Alberto's a big proof. When I came into the United States, I pretty much followed the Guerreros and Jerichos, a path as they just left Mexico and went on to ECW, WCW and WWE. So it was kind of a little train that we were taking around. It kind of feels good in a way that those doors have been opened for other Mexican wrestlers. Like you said, now with Mistico coming in, I want to say that I think those doors were eventually opened by the talent that myself, Eddie and a lot of wrestlers that started their careers in Mexico have opened up for other guys."

On Getting Cartilage Injections In His Knees: "It did for a period of time. I guess either the effect wears off or ... Actually, I got a series of shots. I want to say maybe eight or twelve of them. For a while, and I think that's what's probably held my knee up up to now. But it might be that time actually to look into probably getting a couple more. It's a session of four every time I get it done, one every week. So, we'll see what happens after WrestleMania."

On His Health: "I try to push everything aside, especially when this part of the year comes around. Thank God and knock on wood that I've been feeling good. You know, some bumps and bruises, soreness here and there especially after a match like Elimination Chamber, but I'm looking forward and am ready to move on to WrestleMania."

How Much Longer Will He Wrestle?: "I'm 36 years old right now and I feel good. Besides my knee, after the first surgery, it's always slowed me down a bit but I've been able to adapt and modify my work to the extent of being able to still entertain the fans. If I can still entertain them and do what I do best, then I'm good for still a good amount of years. There's still nothing in the back of my mind. I just want to keep on pushing forward and feeling that excitement, that adrenaline rush every time I step into the ring."

More On Sin 'Mistico' Cara To WWE - Major Media, More

-- WWE.com has a an article on Sin Cara's (aka Mistico) signing, including a picture that shows off his new mask, photos from the Mexico press conference and more.

-- Every major sports paper in Mexico covered the signing, and Sin Cara also filmed interviews for several TV outlets. Jim Ross posted to his Twitter account that he was currently training in Los Angeles. He will be brought right up to the main roster without developmental time or English classes.

-- CMLL stated during their press conference yesterday that they had offered Mistico a new deal two weeks ago, though that was after he had signed with WWE. CMLL said they are retaining the rights, and that they will be eventually putting a someone under the mask as Mistico II, a la Tiger Mask II.

Friday, February 25, 2011

This Week's TNA iMPACT! & WWE Superstars Ratings

Last night's episode of TNA iMPACT! did a 1.26 (1.3) cable rating, with 1,545,000 viewers. That's up from the previous week's 1.13 rating.

Last night's episode of WWE Superstars did a 0.57 (0.6) rating, with 540,000 viewers. The replay did a 0.18 (0.2) rating, with 157,000 viewers.

Major WWE Plans For 'Mistico', IC Title Backstage News

Many fans have likely noticed that WWE's Intercontinental championship has been put on the back-burner and really isn't used for major angles as of late. An example of this was Kofi Kingston's match against Alberto Del Rio at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. WWE went with a non-title match and the commentators basically ignored it and joked around. We noted prior to the PPV that there was talk of putting the IC title on the line and then doing a 'champion vs. champion' match at WrestleMania between Edge and Del Rio but that obviously didn't happen.

Jim Ross tweeted the following on Sin 'Mistico' Cara: "Mistico is signed, sealed & delivered w/ WWE. Now known as Sin Cara. Helluva young hand. A new star looms on the horizon. Congrats Sin Cara. Every major media outlet in Mexico City present 4 Sin Cara media announcement. He's doing 1 on 1's now w/ them including espn deportes. It was great 2 rep WWE in Mexico City 4 Sin Cara signing anouncement. Appreciate the opportunity to step back on the field, so 2 speak. WWE has high hopes for Sin Cara. He has many new masks. Major TV 'rollout,' He's 27 & has (opportunity to be) main eventer. A flyer, offensive innovator." This is obviously WWE's plan for the next Rey Mysterio.

As noted last week here on the website, RAW producer Kevin Dunn is not a big fan of Sheamus despite Triple H being on good terms with him. So far this year, Sheamus has a 1-8 record on WWE TV and pay-per-view events. Ouch.

**SPOILER** TNA Knockout Returns On iMPACT!

After beating ODB, TNA Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne continued her open challenge at last night's TNA iMPACT! taping (airdate March 10) in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She was answered by Roxxi, who ended the former Voodoo priestess' TNA career last June at Slammiversary in a Title vs. Career Match.

Roxxi was once again defeated by Rayne. The returning Mickie James fended off Rayne following a post-match attack of Roxxi.

The appearance marks Roxxi's fourth return to TNA Wrestling since being released from her contract in April 2009 while serving a 60-day suspension due to a backstage altercation with Rhaka Khan.

How Old Is Ric Flair?, ODB Returns To TNA

-- Ric Flair celebrates his birthday today as he turns 62 years old.

-- ODB returned to TNA Wrestling this week on TNA iMPACT! to answer Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne's open challenge. She lost to Rayne. Eric Bischoff was said to be "singing her praises" following the match. ODB was phased off television last year when the company began focusing on looks and showcasing "The Beautiful People."

Angelina Pivarnick Drinks Before TNA iMPACT!

Angelina from Jersey Shore says that she drank a cocktail and took an energy pill before her wrestling debut in TNA.

She says she was scared that she was going to get beat up, but added: "I signed up for this so I have no one to blame but myself."

Interesting Note On 3/03/11 **SPOILER**

After last night's TNA World title win in Fayetteville, North Carolina, it appears as though Sting is now the fourth oldest man to ever win a World title.

The oldest would be Verne Gagne at 54, followed by Terry Funk at 53 and Nick Bockwinkel at 52. Sting is now 51. Coincidentally, this is the same age Ric Flair was when he won his last World title.

Other older World champions that Sting has surpassed include Hulk Hogan at 48, Lou Thesz at 46 and Jerry Lynn at 46.

**SPOILERS** TNA iMPACT! Results Next Thursday


Dixie Carter opens the show but is interrupted by Immortal. Eric Bischoff ran her down and then handed the mic to Ric Flair. Flair brings out the returning Hulk Hogan, who says he won a court case and now has 100% full control of TNA Wrestling. Dixie loses it.

Beer Money vs. Gunner and Murphy - TNA Tag-Team titles. Beer Money Inc. won the match cleanly. Ink Inc. came out following the match and challenged them to a match at the TNA Victory Road pay-per-view. They accept.

Velvet Sky vs. Sarita. Velvet Sky won clean with a DDT for the finish. Robbie E. came out during this match and fell unintentionally while coming to the ring. It was said to have been hilarious. They'll likely need to edit that out or make a joke about it. Angelina Love was also out and claimed she wanted some of J-WoWW from the Jersey Shore. She also took a shot at Velvet Sky during this. It looks like they are going with a Beautiful People and Winter vs. Sarita, Angelina, and Cookie match. This is likely for the second taping later tonight.

The Jarrett wedding ceremony was next. Eric Young and Orlando Jordan were both part of the wedding. Young was the ring bearer and wore a tuxedo t-shirt, and Orlando Jordan was the flower girl. Kurt Angle came out and attacked Jeff Jarrett immediately. As this was happening, Karen Angle was supposed to smash into the cake, but it looked like she missed her spot. This was actually kept very short. Apparently they are teasing that the Jarrett's will still renew their vows later tonight.

Scott Steiner defeated Rob Terry with the "Steiner Recliner".

Matt Morgan defeated Hernandez by DQ.

Jeff Hardy vs. a mystery opponent for the TNA World Title will be the main event of the 3/3 edition of iMPACT! (first taping). No word yet on the main event of the second taping.

They aired a 3-3-11 hype video. Yup.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sting for the TNA Title is up next. They are doing this TONIGHT for the big show. Sting has a new outfit with red sequins and has an old school look. The retro Stinger is back! Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop and scored the clean pin. NEW TNA WORLD CHAMPION - STING! Sting got a huge pop when he returned. The first time Sting went for the Scorpion Death Drop, Hardy got to the ropes. Hardy was in control until Sting hit three Scorpion Death Drops in a row, including one from the top rope for the win.

Sting Returns To TNA - Debuts New Look (Pic)

As noted earlier here on the website, Sting made his official return to TNA during the TNA iMPACT! taping in Fayetteville, NC and won the TNA championship by defeating Jeff Hardy.

Sting wore a new outfit with red sequins and returned to his old-school look. Hardy was in control for most of the night until Sting hit three Scorpion Death Drops in a row, including one from the top rope for the win.

We've been reporting Sting's TNA talks and return for several weeks now.

You can click here to see new look photos of Sting from the iMPACT! tapings

Lawler Thinks JR Will Return To TV

-- Jerry Lawler recently did an interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine where he revealed that he thought Jim Ross would return to WWE television sooner than later. "JR and I had some tremendous chemistry," Lawler said, "But I don't think you've seen the last of that. I think JR will be back on the air in some capacity. He's too good not to utilize. A lot of people don't realize what the situation is with him. He had a couple — I guess three now — real serious bouts of Bell's Palsy, which is very similar in effects to a stroke. They don't really know, but they think the attacks are brought on by stress. Nobody takes their job more seriously than good old JR. The reason Vince has kept him off TV all this time is because he's concerned with his health. He's worried that if he puts him back out there regularly, he'll have another Bell's Palsy attack."

Lawler also said he'd like to be a part of WrestleMania: "I've been with WWE for 17 years and that's something I've never achieved. I remember in 2007, when Vince came to me and said they were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame, I said that I didn't want to. He said: 'What do you mean, you don't want to?' I replied: 'Most people feel like your career is over when you go into the Hall of Fame, like in baseball or football or something. Also, I've never done that much here, Vince. I've never won a title, I've never even wrestled on a WrestleMania.' He said: 'What? You've never wrestled on a Wrestlemania in all the years you've been here? That's a tragedy. We've got to fix that next year. That was his mindset then, but things get put on the backburner. First 2008 came and I didn't get a match, then 2009 came and I didn't get a match, then 2010. But I must say that there's never really been a point in time in those years when I've been involved as much as I have been as of late. So if there ever was a time for it to happen, I think this would be the most advantageous. And would I love to have a WrestleMania match? Oh boy, yes. Other than getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, that would maybe be the highlight of my career to finally get to perform there."

Místico Signs w/ WWE - New Name Revealed + More

-- The WWE website has posted new photos of Rosa Mendes.

-- WWE has launched a WrestleMania XXVII microsite via WrestleMania.com.

-- World Wrestling Entertainment held a press conference this afternoon in Mexico City to introduce Místico under his new name, Sin Rostro.

Huge iMPACT! **SPOILER** - Sting?


We can confirm that Steve "Sting" Borden is backstage at today's TNA "iMPACT! taping in Fayetteville, North Carolina. However, it is not known what his role at the event will be. Word is that they will reveal Sting as a challenger to world champion Jeff Hardy, and start an angle that will carry over to the Victory Road PPV on March 13th.

It was reported earlier today that Borden had re-signed with the organization.

Hopefully this puts an end to all the BS rumors. The rumors started after a report in the New York Daily News that stated Sting had signed a one-year deal with WWE. Since that report came out, we've been reporting that there have been absolutely no talks between Sting and WWE. Truth be told, Sting has been in talks with TNA for the last month or so as we've been reporting. We'll have live spoilers later tonight.

RAW Star Demoted To FCW, Christian's WWE Return, More

-- The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has added Michael Tarver to its roster page. The original Nexus member returned from injury in early December at a FCW taping, but has yet to reappear inside a WWE ring. He is, however, still listed on WWE.com's Raw roster page.

-- WWE developmental Mike McGrath is now listed as Mike Dalton on the FCW website. He was trained by former WWE Intercontinental Champion Lance Storm prior to being signed last year.

-- Christian, who resurfaced at Sunday's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view to fend off Alberto Del Rio from attacking Edge, is three to four weeks from being medically cleared to resume wrestling.

Report: Sting Re-Signs With TNA + More

-- While not confirmed, two separate sources within TNA Wrestling claim Steve "Sting" Borden has re-signed with the organization. This is not surprising as they've been in talks for the last month or so.

-- The Fayetteville Observer has an article up on tonight's TNA iMPACT! tapings, including an interview with Matt Hardy. You can read that here. Here is a comment from the article, made by Matt Hardy… "It's so cool that TNA picked Fayetteville to do the show. It's going to be historic. It's going to be a really exciting, dynamic show, and a lot of fun for us, too. Fans at live events have much more enthusiasm and are much more genuine."

Miss USA To Get Major WWE Push?, Cena's Title Reign

-- WWE management is viewing this season of Tough Enough as a way to give a major push to Miss USA Rima Fakih. WWE officials see a potential 'star' in the former Miss USA winner. They plan to bring her right to the main roster once Tough Enough concludes. That doesn't necessarily mean she'll win the competition but it's almost guaranteed that she'll debut with WWE anyways. Fakih is said to be a huge wrestling fan with knowledge of the business. You can click here to see smokin' hot photos of Rima Fakih.

-- As everyone knows by now, John Cena and The Miz won the WWE tag-team titles on RAW this past week for a brief moment.

It should be noted that out of the four times that Cena has held the tag titles, each time he's had a partner who he's been in a feud with at the time. In 2007, Cena won the titles with Shawn Michaels. In 2008, he held them with Batista. In 2010, it was David Otunga and in 2011 it was The Miz.

Cena's title reign with Shawn Michaels lasted two months. The Batista reign was only a week while it was one day with David Otunga and just 12 minutes with The Miz on RAW. Just thought that was an interesting stat that I'd pass along.

Kevin Nash's WWE Future + 5-Year Contract?, More

There is talk that TNA's upcoming live event from Pikeville, Kentucky on April 1st will be an iMPACT! television taping. That is not confirmed just yet though.

Kevin Nash posted the following on his Twitter....

I'm back in the WWE family. Last time you saw me was a surprise, correct? The next time you see me will be just as much of one. Right?

I have a 5 year contract with the WWE. I'm sure in the next 5 yrears, You All will hear the Diesel engine again. Trust me.


Of course, this is Kevin Nash we're talking about so take these tweets with a grain of salt. He's been known to try and "work" the "dirtsheets" in the past. We hope to have an update on this shortly.

Major Backstage Update - The Rock's WWE Future


The latest on The Rock's return to WWE is that company officials want to keep his appearances 'special' and obviously don't want to overexpose him prior to WrestleMania 27. According to sources, The Rock is expected to appear on at least one more RAW broadcast prior to WrestleMania to help push the Cena-Miz match. It'll happen as we get closer to the big event.

The Rock tweeted the following after the Triple H-Undertaker confrontation on RAW: "loved seeing both Undertaker and Triple H return..what incredible crowd reactions for both..very happy for them - epic match!"

Numerous people backstage believe The Rock is extremely happy to be back in WWE after seven years. He's told people he's missed being in front of the live crowds.

The Rock's mother also stated the following last week: "I was so proud of him. It was emotional to me, as his music hit and he appeared. It was flashbacks through the past, through three generations in the business we’ve loved throughout. By the time he hit that ring and took that mic and I saw the goose bumps on his arms, I knew he was in it. The connection between him and the fans was incredible. Like he had never left."

Chris Jericho's 'Shocking' Announcement Today, & More

Chris Jericho's new book, Undisputed, is now #13 on the New York Times bestseller list. "Undisputed moved all the way up to number 13 on the NY Times bestseller list this week! Thanks to all who drank the literary Kool-Aid…", Jericho tweeted today.

Speaking of Chris Jericho, he taped an episode of The George Lopez Show last night. The show will air tonight on TBS.

Also, Jericho will be making his 'shocking announcement' today at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The announcement is set to go down at 12:30PST.

WWE Unhappy w/ Tough Enough Cast, Venis Praises M-Dogg


-- According to sources, WWE was unhappy with the original batch of Tough Enough contestants. As noted earlier here on the website, they were chosen by Shed Media and USA Network officials. The source notes that WWE was unhappy with the amount of indy wrestlers that were chosen. The original people in charge of casting were then replaced by a guy who previously worked closely with WWE's Kevin Dunn.

-- We noted yesterday here on the website that indy star Matt "M-Dogg" Cross is a contestant on Tough Enough. Former WWE star Val Venis praised his work with the following tweet: "Congrats to Matt Cross on being part of the cast of tough enough. The M-Dogg is amazing and should be a fav to win the whole damn show!"

Presser: 'Angelina' Is Coming To TNA iMPACT!

TNA made the following announcement today…

ANGELINA FROM THE "JERSEY SHORE" TO GET IN THE WRESTLING RING AND ISSUE A SPECIAL CHALLENGE

Angelina To Guest Star In Two Episodes Of Spike TV's "TNA iMPACT!" In March

Angelina Pivarnivck, a former cast member of MTV's megahit series "The Jersey Shore," is taking her talents into the wrestling ring. Angelina will appear on two upcoming "TNA iMPACT" episodes on SPIKE TV, Thursday, March 3 at 9:00pm ET/PT and Thursday, March 10 at 9:00pm ET/PT.

In the episode, Angelina will meet and partner with the wrestling duo "The Shore," comprised of Cookie and Robbie E, and make her professional wrestling debut in the TNA ring. Angelina and "The Shore" share a mutual hatred of "Jersey Shore" star, J-Woww, whom she will challenge publically to meet her in the ring for a full-on brawl.

Last October, J-Woww made an appearance on TNA where she pounded the trash-talking Cookie (who bares a striking resemblance to Snooki).

‘TNA iMPACT" airs on Spike TV Thursdays at 9:00pm ET/PT.

Confirmed - Jersey Shore Star Headed To TNA

UPDATE x2: Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter… Angelina from MTV's Jersey Shore will make her wrestling debut on the 3/3 TNA iMPACT on Spike! Visit TMZ.com and TNAwrestling.com for info!

UPDATE: Angelina Pivarnick has posted on Twitter that she would be getting up to do some "TNA training." Many expect that she will debut on the TNA tapings tonight in a pre-taped segment.

ORIGINAL: According to TMZ, Jersey Shore's Angelina is heading to TNA next month. Angelina and TNA had been negotiating for over a month, and she has now signed a short term deal with the company. Word is that she will make her debut in a tag team match, which will involve TNA's Cookie. While Angelina has a short-term contract, word is that she wants to wrestle JWoWW on PPV.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

**SPOILERS** More Detailed WWE SD! Results

Dark Match:
(1) Percy Watson defeated Chavo Guerrero.

NXT:
The crowd wasn't really interested in the NXT stuff besides a select few, but that was about it. I did pop however when Brodus Clay mentioned my hometown Stockton. Squealed like a little girl.

SMACKDOWN:
- Teddy Long was shown on the tron and said he will have Vickie fight for her job in a mixed tag with Drew as her partner against Edge and Kelly Kelly tonight in the Main Event.

(1) Rey Mysterio defeated. Kane.

Anyways, Crowd was red hot for the Rey Mysterio/Kane match. Rey wins by a rollup reversal. Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes comes down to have a chat with Rey. He tells Cody to come out giving him a speech to man up. Cody apoligizes to his father and rey. Rey shakes Dusty Rhodes hands, but Dusty doesn't release the handshake and Cody ends up killing him. Great Opening Segment to build the Rey/Cody feud for Wrestlemania.

(2) Rosa Mendes defeated Layla with Michelle by Disqualification due to Michelle's interference. Rosa actually didn't do to bad in here which is surprising. At one point they took it to the outside and fought near where Michelle was on commentary. I couldn't see really good, but it looked like Rosa pushes Michelle off of the chair and Layla gets back in the ring to try to win by countout. The ref turns to the outside to find Michelle attacking Rosa and disqualifies her. Layla finds out about this and is furious. She yells at Michelle, and Michelle gets back in the ring. Layla continues to yell at her and the crowd is yelling for a catfight to start. Instead, they both leave the ring and the dissension continues. I woukd say that the crowd was pretty hot for that confrontation. Just wondering who will make a face turn out of this?? Note to mention, Layla looked HOT!!

(3) Jack Swagger defeated Kofi Kingstin via ankle lock submission. Not much to note here, but Kofi selling the attack from Raw.

- Theres two backstage segments where Vickie is knocking on Teddys office to call off the match and beg for forgiveness, but he doesn't open the door. Meanwhile, Vickie finds Chavo and asks for his help. He refuses to help her because she never had his back. He leaves, and Vickie is still frustrated.

(4) Big Show deeated Wade Barret by Count Out- Corre is banned from ringside. Corre comes out after the match, but runs off when Big Show grabs a steel chair to run them off. They had to retape this again which was funny. This time though Big Show gets to blast Justin Gabriel with the steel chair and Corre leaves to the back. Big Show gloats with the audience before he leaves.

(5) Main Event Mixed Tag Team Match - Vickie's Career on the Line: Edge & Kelly Kelly defeated Drew McIntyre & Vickie Guerrero. Kelly hits Vickie with the spear and outside of the ring they go. Edge wins by pinfall with the spear. In the ring, Edge celebrates while Vickie is shown crying. Teddy comes out, and funny thing to note is that Edge is doing Teddy's little dance that he does. Haha. Teddy fires her and all Vickie does is plead with Edge to forgive her and get her job back. She goes outside to beg the Referree, Booker T, Michael Cole, and even the Camera man. Edge insteads sings her a song, the "Na Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye song". The crowd starts chanting and Edge celebrates afterwards. Suddenly, Alberto Del Rio shows up from the crowd and attacks Edge. He gets booed, but not as much heat as I thought he would.

This Week's Huge RAW Rating

-- Due to the hype The Rock's return, the road to WrestleMania and the interest in the 2-21-2011 promo, RAW did a huge 3.9 cable rating, with 5,860,000 viewers. The show did hours of 3.85 (3.9) and 3.85 (3.9). This is exactly what WWE wanted.

Would Madusa Return To WWE?, 'The Mountie' Update, More

-- Former Intercontinental Champion The Mountie is profiled in WWE.com's latest "Where Are They Now?" feature. The wrestler formerly known as The Mountie recalls his early days in WWE and gives his account of jabbing The Dynamite Kid in the locker room.

-- Madusa, who dropped the WWF Women's Championship in a trash can during a live episode of WCW Monday Nitro in December 1995, indicated on her official website that she would not mind returning to World Wrestling Entertainment to bring closure to the ordeal. She disclosed the idea she has in mind if she were to return to the promotion.

"I do miss wrestling only cause I am not done... I have ONE thing to finish and that is the TRUE championship... The real belt from the WWF that Made the WWE... I still hold the title, I still have the belt.... not done.. however.. if nothing did happen, it's ok because I went out still a champion and if I do put a closure to IT... I will rest in peace with out haunting the WWE!

"Who ever the champion is will be the one I have an angle with or create an angle to make a new champion.. or as a tag partner.... miss McCool...."

Dolph Ziggler Continues To Sell 'Firing' Angle

-- Dolph Ziggler is continuing to sell his WWE 'firing' storyline on Twitter. He tweeted the following today, obviously referring to the 90-day no compete clause that WWE gives their talents when they are released: "Just got my first call for a possible booking, since being fired! Very exciting... My agency is William Morris, no televised bookings until after 5/12/11 Let the countdown begin! 90, 89, 88, 87, 86...." Of course, this is all a storyline angle but you've got to give both WWE and Dolph credit for utilizing Twitter to sell this angle.

Vince McMahon Speaks - WrestleMania In Miami, FL


Vince McMahon recently spoke to the Miami Herald about bringing WrestleMania 28 to Miami. Here are some highlights…

On Miami As A Location: "You can't deny the warmth and the greeting from officials and the fans. Every one of these WrestleManias takes on its own personality. You want to go where you are welcome. We are very welcome."

On Working With The People In Miami: "You want to work with people who want to work with you," McMahon said. "People who have a similar vision in terms of the event and the entertainment value you can bring, first and foremost. Then obviously there are other financial considerations that you have to look at. We are in business, and everyone is as well."

On Running Outdoor Events: "One thing about an outdoor event is you can do a lot of things outdoors you can't do indoors in terms of pyro and the overall show itself. You can do a lot more [outdoors]," McMahon said. "Again coming back to an open air stadium gives us the opportunity to do things that we can't do in a closed environment. We just need to keep our fingers crossed in terms of maybe a little precipitation, but I think we are good with that as well. We have some connections."

On Describing WrestleMania: "You can liken it somewhat to the Super Bowl, I suppose, but the other aspect of it is it's a hybrid of all forms of sport entertainment rolled into one. There's nothing like WrestleMania. It's like the Super Bowl combined with a Broadway play. Maybe throw in a little demolition derby along with maybe Disney On Ice. It's a combination of so many things, and you've never seen anything like WrestleMania before. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event. To be there, to see it, to feel it, to experience it, and you have to really see it to believe it."

'Shocking Elimination' On NXT, Season 4 Finale Set

Derrick Bateman, the NXT Rookie of United States Champion Daniel Bryan, was eliminated Tuesday night from WWE NXT.

The 'shocking elimination' sets the stage for Brodus Clay vs. Johnny Curtis in the Season 4 finale on next week's show.

The evening's elimination came down to Bateman and Curtis because Clay had previously earned immunity. On Tuesday's show, Curtis won an immunity challenge as well as a Triple Threat Match over Clay and Bateman. Bateman, on the other hand, had a poor night as he didn't win a single challenge.

Curtis's victory over Clay and Bateman was the only match on NXT. The Pros were kept off the show after airing pre-taped backstage segments with their Rookies.

Al Snow Lashes Out At 'Smart-Marks', Twitter, More

Al Snow recently spoke about several topics on Arda Ocal's Right After Wrestling Radio. Check out the highlights:

On wrestlers using Twitter: "It shouldn't be a venue to air gripes or complaints, by no means. The wrestling business was a closed business for a very long time. It's kinda like remember when you were a kid, and you were at home and something would happen within your family and it was never spoken outside of the house because it was your family. It was nobody else's business because nobody else could appreciate or understand the situation, and therefore, would pass judgment on something they really didn't have a part in. Because at the end of the day, the only people who are gonna have to go to bed with it and wake up with it are you and your family – and that's kinda like the wrestling business."

On TNA talent using Twitter to talk about the competition: "We're the ones who rely on and depend on the wrestling business for our livelihood and how we're gonna feed our families. So why throw dirt on each other and throw muck around, or air out our grievances or talk about the competition in a public forum. It's okay to do all of those things amongst ourselves, but once it goes outside those doors, and goes into an area where people don't have a real stake in what happens or what it being said then it's like your cousin Jim who went to jail – you don't want to share that with anybody because he's your cousin – he's your family.

On smart fans: "The most oxymoronic term out there is a 'smart-mark'. Just doesn't exist. Because how can you be smart at something – knowing somebody is lying to you, while actually believing the lie. It's a term created by fans who believe they're on the inside of something that they're not really on the inside of. They're not a part of the business because they don't have a real stake in it…A great example is if you ask what was the best match of WrestleMania 3. Most people would say Savage/Steamboat. But it was Hogan/Andre because 93,000 people paid to see Hogan/Andre. The best match isn't about 'working' or 'taking the best bumps', it's the match that draws the most people and makes the most money. That's the best match.

On his job as a producer for TNA: "A communicator who conveys message from an agents' meeting to determine what type of business we want to accomplish from a particular match – pushing a storyline, getting a babyface over, make a character, put heat on a heel, or start teaching the audience (6-montsh out) that a certain guy could be a champion so that 6-months later he becomes a viable threat/contender to the title (in the eyes of the audience)."

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Randy Orton Gets 'Ding-Dong Ditched' - Posts Photo

-- Randy Orton posted the following on his Twitter, asking wrestling fans to identify someone that decided it would be funny to ring his doorbell and then run off.

"A kid just rang our door bell and ran. He jumped in a white car. Unfortunately for him, I have 8 cameras covering every angle of my home...Anyone identify him and u get tickets to RAW in Stl 3/14. Here's another pic:"

You can click here to view a security camera photo of the guy who rang his doorbell and ran off. He's screwed!

Rosa Mendes Personal Issues

-- Rosa Mendes, who has not toured with WWE in three weeks, indicated on her Twitter account that she has been dealing with a personal issue as of late.

She wrote Thursday, "Just finished an amazing photo shoot. I want to thank Scott, Amber and Leslie Homan, for all their hard work today. These past few weeks having been a little tough. This shoot made my day. I want to thank all my friends for their texts and prayers. It means a lot."

Mendes also stated that she moved to Las Vegas yesterday.

Ex-WWE Talent Punches A Fan + Y2J's 'Shocking' Announcement

-- Former WWE talent Colin Delaney reportedly punched a fan in the face following his match last night at an independent wrestling show in Binghamton, New York. The fan, who is said to be in his early twenties, was berating Delaney during his match. He reportedly spit water in the fan's face during the match and subsequently punched him after the fan retaliated with spit.

-- Radio personality Eddie Trunk, a friend of Chris Jericho's, indicated that the multi-time wrestling champion's next career move will be shocking.

"Congrats to my bud and what he will be announcing he is doing next will be a shocker," said Trunk. "I'll leave it at that."
John Cena-The Rock Confrontation, How Old Is Francine?, More
-- John Cena commented on The Rock today on Twitter, writing: "All week u guys are asking me bout the rock. I was gonna let him slide. But now I don't know? What u guys think?" Following fan response, he wrote, "Holy response! Well then. Looks like this will be another very memorable week in the wwe."

-- Former WWE Tag Team Champion Tully Blanchard is advertised to work as the special guest referee for a match between Radiant Rain and Claudia at next Saturday's "!BANG! TV" event in Ocala, Florida. He will also manage WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr. and Johnny Magnum in the main event.

-- In today's birthdays, Danny Doring turns 37 years old while "The Queen of Extreme" Francine turns 39. Today also marks former WWE talent Shawn "Gavin" Spears' birthday, who turns 30 years old. He registered for the revival of Tough Enough, but was rejected. He recently embarked on a career overseas as he now tours with All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Backstage Update: The Rock's 'Secret' WWE Return

As we exclusively reported last week here on the website, WWE went to great lengths to keep the return of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson a secret.

The WWE production staff had been told all week long that the guest host was Justin Bieber. Others in WWE creative were told it was Bob Barker. The script for RAW last week called for a "Leave it to Bieber" segment. That's what the WWE production team was told to come up with and did.

As everyone knows, Johnson wound up doing the total opposite as he teased a return on Facebook and then later launched an official Twitter account. About an hour before RAW went live, he posted a photo of himself filming a WWE promo backstage.

Johnson was also kept in a secluded dressing room backstage until his segment began. He also arrived to the building late in the evening.

WWE Accused Of Trying To Block MMA In Connecticut

A state representative of Connecticut is now saying that the WWE is attempting to block legislation that would legalize and regulate MMA in the state.

Connecticut is currently one of only four states where MMA is banned, and WWE is being accused of trying to keep things that way.

A representative of the company, Robert Zimmerman denied it, saying WWE was "not opposed to this or anything else the state wants to do with regards to sports or entertainment."

This also comes on the heels of UFC's Dana White turning down Vince McMahon to have Brock Lesnar appear at WrestleMania. It's interesting to say the least.

Dolph Ziggler Continues To Sell SD! 'Firing' Angle

Dolph Ziggler, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, is selling his kayfabe firing from SmackDown! on his Twitter.

Here is the full rant:

First of all, I can't believe that I got to live my dream for this many years and actually come to do it pretty damn well! Even though I used to caddy around and actually went through a rigorous gymnastics and cheerleader training I thought we made it work! I got to make a lot of friends and a couple of enemies, but no matter what, every time I stepped through that curtain, especially these Last 2 years, I felt like a champion, I lived to go to work each day and try to steal the show like no one else could!

No matter what happens in the coming weeks and months, I appreciate the fact that my hard work and countless hours studying and learning Paid off! I was in the world title picture as a legitimate threat, and appreciate that I got that chance! Most don't!

I hope this youth movement continues, and I hope its just not to build young guys up and have the mainstays dominate and not pass the torch There is a ton of hungry young talents and they LOVE their jobs, just like I and did! Hopefully they get their chance!

I hope to see zack ryder, trent barretta, curt hawkins and some others get their chance, bc they love what they do, and remind me of why I got into this business! Hopefully Wrestlemania will not be a look back into the attitude era an have all the young guys watching backstage I love the wrestling business, and maybe its time to take that next step into the danger zone, brazzers are u hiring??? Haha

I'm sure the door is always open, and I know I busted my ass every damn day I worked for this company, and no matter how doughy and truly Annoying the miz is, he's obviously onto something (2,000 tries later)! Daniel bryan couldn't draw a dollar with a green crayon! I love Hating on him! He got carried to one of (actually THE best match of the year) and john morrison is nothing but a pretty boy doing ballet I will see all of u again, SOMEWHERE! And now its time to make an impact and spike someone else's ratings! U know me, I'd rather be in Dixie

Thank you dolphans for ur support! And know I loved pissing everyone off and stealing their show! I will truly miss this more than anything!


Of course, this is all a storyline angle.

Austin Aries Hints At Retirement

-- Austin Aries hinted at possibly leaving the business with the following tweet: "Apparently not big, young, or tough enough. While it's been amazing, the AA chapter of my life may be coming to an end very soon."

Aries was one of the names considered for WWE's Tough Enough, but ultimately they passed on him.

iMPACT! & Superstars Ratings Are In

-- This week's edition of TNA iMPACT! drew a 1.13 (1.1) cable rating, with an average of 1.5 million viewers. That is about the same as last week. The show did a .9 M18-49, a .55 in M18-34. Quarter hour ratings still come.

Update: Matt Hardy & Isis The Amazon Backstage Heat

Isis the Amazon, who participated in a tryout match for TNA Wrestling earlier this week, posted numerous messages on her Twitter account yesterday dismissing the report that she upset those in the locker room with her conduct backstage. According to sources, the organization's female performers collectively made it clear at this week's television tapings that they would not work with her if she is signed, citing her poor attitude.

"Heat comes & goes. Even if I had it, why would I care? All that matters is that I give what I do 110% & have a positive attitude," she wrote in response to a message that she has "heat" amongst the locker room.

She then added, "I don't ever pay attention to dirt sheets. They're there b/c average people live average, boring lives & need a target like me for amusement & a cheap laugh. I'm not putting it over & I'm don't talking about them, IE giving them credit. F*** 'em."

Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) spoke out in defense of Isis, saying she didn't upset the locker room, and that she's a total sweetheart.

Isis also commented on her wrestling ability drawing unflattering comparisons to The Great Khali. She said that Tommy Dreamer, who also works as a producer, told her she has a lot of potential.

"People can say what they want. When a guy like Tommy Dreamer who had worked closely with the Great Khali comes up to you & tells you that you have mass amounts of potential, I'd focus on that as motivation over some stupid dirt sheet talking s***," she said. "My name is still coming out their mouths for a f****** reason- NEVER forget that. So long as I'm doing what I need to be doing, everyone else trying to bring me down can "suck it". Holy ego!!

Company sources indicate Isis garnered major heat amongst the locker room due how she carried herself at the events, as if she is already a "big star" in the wrestling industry.

"I've never seen a guy or a girl rub the locker room this much the wrong way," said a TNA employee.

Meanwhile, we noted earlier here on the website that Matt Hardy similarly dismissed a report indicating that he upset his peers by taking credit for the recent TNA Impact ratings surge coinciding with his arrival to the organization.

"GIVE ME THE HEAT!" he wrote Wednesday in regards to our headline reading "Backstage Heat On Matt Hardy Over Twitter Comments." Of course, that was the title of our report yesterday here on the website.

He then changed his tune on the subject, writing today that only "inaccurate scumsheets" say he's arrogant with his boastful remarks on Twitter, not his fellow wrestlers. We stand by our original report.

More On Tough Enough - Indy Talents Rejected


We noted earlier today here on the website that some independent wrestlers that were under consideration for the revival of Tough Enough and didn't make the final cut were Austin Aries, Mercedes Martinez, Joey Ryan, Brittney Savage and JD Maverick.

Another wrestler that was under consideration for the program noted that many of his peers echoed frustration after dealing with casting directors as he and others were led to believe they were going to be tapped for the show, only to never hear back again from them.

Many of the show's contestants have prior wrestling experience. Those names, however, have yet to be publicly disclosed. The only contestant announced thus far is Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih. You can click here to view 20 smokin' hot photos of Rima Fakih. Wow.

Filming is ongoing and will conclude in late March.

Also, Steve Austin is not living in the house with the contestants.

Matt Hardy Denies Rumors


-- When asked about a report that wrestlers in TNA thought he was arrogant because of statements he made on Twitter, Matt Hardy said the following: "No, inaccurate scumsheets say that." Of course he's going to say that as nobody outright tells him he's being arrogant. Numerous people backstage simply rolled their eyes at his tweet. You can click here to view photos of Matt Hardy and his real-life girlfriend, Reby Sky.

Names Considered For Tough Enough, Tanaka Update, More

-- Out of all the names that were in the running for this upcoming season of Tough Enough, there were some independent wrestlers that were considered. These included Austin Aries, Mercedes Martinez, Joey Ryan and Brittney Savage.

-- In the "where are they now" files, former WWF, WCW and AWA star Pat Tanaka popped up on an episode of "Full Throttle Saloon" on TruTV as a bartender who ended up fired.

-- Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake was recently interviewed by Enterprise News about his in-ring career. You can view it at http://www.enterprisenews.com/

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Planned WrestleMania 27 Main Event Is?, Sting-WWE

-- The Undertaker vs. Triple H is currently penciled in as the main event for WrestleMania XXVII.

Many people within the company are saying that Triple H will put his career on the line against The Undertaker, with Shawn Michaels acting as the special guest referee. However, the stipulations of the match are not concrete.

Triple H has contemplated retiring in the near future, noting he's 41 years old, has suffered a series of serious muscle tears, and is considered the heir apparent to Vince McMahon's throne atop World Wrestling Entertainment.

The Undertaker is advertised for this Monday's 2/21/11 RAW in Fresno, California.

-- According to sources, absolutely nothing new has transpired since last week concerning Steve "Sting" Borden joining WWE. Sorry Sting marks!

Orton Film Gets Great Review

-- The upcoming That's What I Am from WWE Films and featuring Randy Orton has been given a glowing review from Variety. The film stars Ed Harris and Amy Madigan and is about a boy who gets paired up with the biggest outcast in school, only to become friends with him after he stands up to a bully. Randy Orton has a role as the father of the school bully and is described as "pitch-perfect" in his role. It should be noted that this is the best review any of the films WWE has produced has received.

Alicia Fox's Sister Gone From WWE?

-- It would appear that WWE has parted ways with developmental women's wrestler Christina Crawford (a/k/a Caylee Turner) because her profile has been removed from the Florida Championship Wrestling website's talent page. A profile removal generally indicates that a talent has parted ways with WWE.

Crawford is the younger sister of WWE Diva Alicia Fox. She signed a developmental contract with WWE over the summer and made her in-ring debut in November. You can click here to view photos of Alica Fox's little sister.

Major Backstage Heat On Isis the Amazon Already


Isis the Amazon, the six foot nine woman who was to have appeared as the protégé of Vickie Guerrero on the third season of WWE's NXT, wrestled a dark match against Florida independent women's wrestler Leva Bates prior to Tuesday night's TNA iMPACT! taping in Orlando, Florida.

Though her in-ring abilities are considered horrible, the feeling is that she will be offered at least a short-term role with TNA Wrestling. However, the organization's female performers, the TNA Knockouts, collectively made it clear backstage at this week's television tapings that they would not work with her if she is signed.

Company sources indicate Isis garnered major heat amongst the locker room due how she carried herself backstage, as if she is already a "big star" in the wrestling industry.

"I've never seen a guy or a girl rub the locker room this much the wrong way," said a TNA source.

Michelle McCool Injury Update, Y2J Draws A Crowd

-- On Tuesday, Chris Jericho did a book signing at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ. The signing drew a huge crowd, and the store sold out of books an hour before the signing was set to begin. In order to make it up to fans that were unable to get a book signed, Jericho remained and signed stickers that will be placed into copies of the book when it comes back into stock.

-- Michelle McCool wore a cast on her right foot at Tuesday's SmackDown! taping in San Diego, California. She reportedly suffered a broken toe.

The SmackDown! Diva commented on her injury yesterday on Twitter, indicating that Layla was the cause. She wrote: "Yes its true...@mslayel has a hard head! Broken toe, torn mcl in foot, torn joint capsule & swelling in bone! Still luv her..... Luckily I'm as talented on 1 foot as most are on 2!"

Triple H Speaks Out On New Movie, & More

Triple H recently discussed The Chaperone, here are the highlights…

On Him Taking Such A Long Break Between Movies: Yeah, for me, I dug what I was doing, do you know what I mean? And that was the thing for me. When "Blade" came along and I did "Blade," it was fun to do and all that, but I was a WWE star and that's what I wanted to be doing, and that's what I had in my head. I got offered a few other things, and if it would have been something great I suppose, I might have jumped on it, but it wasn't something where I thought it was worth taking time away from this. I'm at a different point now, I'm at point of my career where I'm 41 years old, which from a WWE wrestling standpoint is a young man's business. I'm not saying I'm done, but it's not what I'm going to be doing full-time every day for the next ten years. It was the time for me to do it and it was a different challenge for me, I enjoyed it.

On Getting The Script: I'm not sure how they acquired the script--but they sent a copy of the script to me and I thought it was good, I enjoyed it. It obviously needed some changes or whatever but I enjoyed the script. I thought the story was good, and I thought that it had a good feel to it, a good heart, and the character was good, so I told them I was interested in doing it when the time was right. We just kind of slotted it into production. I did another film for them also, which I was never scheduled to do, but one of the guys they were going to do it with we had contractual issues with and he left and Vince asked me to do it, so I stepped in and I did that one also. "The Chaperone" I was always supposed to do, and I just liked it because it was a different challenge. It was a character that I got to be a little funny at times, serious at times, emotional at times, so it was a different challenge for me. It's easy for us to go out there, we can all do action pretty well, and I think that's the standard of what everybody thinks they're going to get out of us. To be able to do something else, not just from a fan's standpoint, but from a challenge standpoint. I'd like to do things that aren't just me being Triple H but with a different name.

On Parents Being Able To Bring Their Kids To The Movie: I mean, I hope they will. I guess to me there was a point in time when Arnold (Schwarzenegger) was making movies where he slaughtered hundreds of people per scene, and then he made "Kindergarten Cop," but people kind of went with it. I'm hoping that's what they'll see. The thing that's difficult for us is I think they think they see Triple H of the WWE and they think that's all we are, because it's the character they see us as the most and we get typecast in that role. But it's really a character I play, no different than Ray Bradstone in "The Chaperone" is. It's a character that you portray in a show, but not everybody, but there's a lot of guys that are very talented in the WWE that can do other things than just what we do, too.

On His Next Film: Yeah, I mean, we shot in five weeks. One of the things that WWE Studios do, we shoot movies back-to-back in the same location. We shot four films in New Orleans, all back-to-back, so we save a ton of money on releasing the crew, then starting with a new crew. Basically, we would shoot a film five, six weeks, take a week off or so, and then they go right into the next film with the same crews, and all that changes out is the cast and the directors and stuff like that. Everything else kind of stays the same, so by the time we got to doing "The Chaperone," these people had all worked together for probably the better part of a year. So it was a very family environment, which is kinda what the WWE is anyway, so it really kinda worked.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Original RAW GM Plans Leaked + 'Taker-Sting Trivia


-- According to a former WWE writer, original creative plans called for the anonymous RAW General Manager to be revealed as Triple H. We can't confirm that.

-- In light of speculation of a Sting vs. Undertaker showdown at WrestleMania XXVII (that's not happening by the way!), if they were to wrestle, it would not be their first encounter.

Sting, as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, wrestled and pinned the future "Deadman" on September 1, 1990 in the main event at a World Championship Wrestling live event in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were scheduled for a follow-up bout the following night in Knoxville, Tennessee, but the match in Greensboro was such a disaster that they put Harley Race, at that point a generally retired wrestler turned manager, in the main event instead. Knoxville was Mark Calaway's final date as "Mean" Mark Callous as he had already given notice to WCW officials and agreed to join the World Wrestling Federation.

It should be noted, however, that the concept of The Undertaker character was not presented to Calaway until after he signed with Vince McMahon. He stated in a 2003 interview with WWE Magazine that he was terrified that he would be hatched from an oversized egg at the 1990 Survivor Series, which had been on display at WWF events for months and heavily hyped on television, and appear as an "egg man" character.

"The promotion was leading up to Survivor Series, and I was terrified that (Vince McMahon) was going to call me and want me to be a big egg, to shave my head and eyebrows and be "egg man," Calaway said. "It was definitely a relief to get the Undertaker call."

ODB's Shocking New Look, The Rock-WWE, & More

-- Entertainment Weekly has an article on The Rock's return to WWE. You can check that out at EW.com.

-- USA was No. 1 in the prime time cable ratings last week with a 2.1 rating. Disney was second with a 1.9, Syfy was #18 with a 0.9 and Spike TV failed to make the top 25.

-- Vampiro appeared today on the Curtis Sliwa show talking about violence in Mexico.

-- As noted earlier here on the website, ODB returned at the TNA iMPACT! tapings this week. She debuted a shocking new look as well. You can click here to view it.




Backstage Heat On Matt Hardy Over Twitter Comments

Matt Hardy garnered some heat in the locker room for taking credit for the recent TNA Impact ratings spike coinciding with his arrival to the organization and being paired with his brother.

He wrote on Twitter following the February 3 episode, which scored a strong 1.3 cable rating: "Hulkster & Jeff brought me in & the ratings keep growin-Coincidence?I think not! FACT! .. Dixie, u can thank ME & Jeff 4 the ratings jump-just saying."

"When guys do that, they bury themselves with the boys," said one company source.

Isis The Amazon To Sign w/ TNA?


-- Isis the Amazon, the six foot nine woman who was to have appeared as the protégé of Vickie Guerrero on the third season of WWE's NXT, wrestled a dark match against Florida independent women's wrestler Leva Bates prior to last night's TNA Impact taping in Orlando, Florida. Though her in-ring abilities are considered terrible, the feeling is that she will be used on television for at least the short-term.

Why Ric Flair Didn't Undergo Surgery

-- Ric Flair is reportedly delaying surgery on his torn rotator cuff for as long as possible because he doesn't want to miss out on the ongoing Fortune vs. Immortal storyline. He returns to television this week on iMPACT!.

The Latest On Sting & TNA, Kazuchika Okada-TNA Update


-- Sting was recently removed from the TNA Wrestling website, which led many people within the organization to claim that contract negotiations between both parties broke down. However, others within the organization believe the roster edit is a swerve designed to lead people to believe that he is no longer with the company. The two sides have been talking.

-- Heavyonwrestling.com is advertising Ric Flair for an autograph signing on Friday, May 27 at Grandma's Sports Garden in Duluth, Minnesota.

-- Kazuchika Okada's new character was inspired by Kato from The Green Hornet series. The word amongst the locker room is that Samoa Joe pitched the character and for him to be his on-screen sidekick.

Okada is a Japanese wrestler the organization signed early last year that was completely relegated to Xplosion until last month when he has revealed as the camera man whom Samoa Joe had hired to follow "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.

Report: TNA Looking To Focus On Younger Wrestlers


Amongst TNA Wrestling officials, there has been talk of changing the focus from "big name" veteran stars of yesteryear to the younger performers in the organization.

One source stated that the members of Fortune—AJ Styles, James Storm, Robert Roode and Kazarian—would be among the top babyfaces in the company and that "it would be interesting to see" what happens when the contracts of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair come up. However, the source added that while creative is behind the proposition, plans could easily change.

The source feels that iMPACT!'s ratings in the coming weeks will be the deciding factor in whether the company begins focusing on younger talents.

"The key is the ratings," the source stated. "[Dixie Carter] panics when the ratings dip. If it moves two points, she'll panic."

The source explained that if iMPACT!'s ratings fall one point as they did last week (from a 1.3 to a 1.2), the company's creative direction stays course. However, the feeling is that Carter tends to overreact when the ratings slide down two points.

Update & Correction Of Jeff Hardy's Court Date


The Fayetteville Observer has an article up, covering today's court appearance by Jeff Hardy. As previously reported, the case was continued, but according to the The Fayetteville Observer, the reason is different than previously reported. Assistant Moore County District Attorney Peter Strickland said Hardy's lawyer was sick and the case likely wouldn't be heard again until March 21. He said the Total Nonstop Action wrestler and his lawyer are still negotiating with the District Attorney's Office about a plea deal.

"Hardy's lawyer was sick and the case likely wouldn't be heard again until March 21."

Hardy is charged with trafficking in opium, two counts of possession with intent to sell or deliver a controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lawmen found 262 doses of Vicodin prescription painkillers, 180 Soma prescription pills, 55 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and drug paraphernalia when they searched Hardy's home after a tip in 2009.

We apologize for the earlier errors on the new court date and reason for the continuance. There was a conversation in court between the DA and the judge involving a murder case that Jeff Hardy's attorney, James Van Camp, is representing. That was the reason for the mix up.

2-21-11 **SPOILER** Update

-- WWE.com has the 2-21-11 video that aired Monday night on RAW. The video revealed a glimpse of the Undertaker's face, and as further evidence toward that direction, the video is tagged as "Undertaker."

Guess What?!, Jeff Hardy's Court Date Postponed Again

TNA World Champion Jeff Hardy returns to court this morning in Moore County, NC. He is expected to finalize his rumored plea agreement, which is related to his September 2009 arrest on various drug charges.

UPDATE: The new TNA World Heavyweight champion, Jeff Hardy showed up for court this morning, only for his case to receive yet another continuance.

This time his attorney is to blame. James Van Camp was busy representing a client in a murder trial, which made him unavailable.

The next case is set for March 16th.

Joey Styles & Paul Heyman Twitter Talk, CM Punk-The Rock

-- Joey Styles and Paul Heyman had the following exchange on Twitter last night…

Joey Styles: "You can buy Orig ECW DVDs (not unwatchable WWECW legacy-erasing waste of disks) at http://amzn.to/dUsBgH"

Paul Heyman: "@JoeyStyles is still promoting WWE-owned DVD's, but that was one awesome F'N tweet. Poindexter Rules!"

-- Kjell sent this one in: During Monday's dark match main event, CM Punk pulled out the People's Elbow after running the ropes about 50 times. When John Cena came out, he was shaking his head as if he was in disbelief over what The Rock had to say.

**SPOILERS** TNA iMPACT! Results For 2/24


The Impact Zone was full for a Tuesday. I think the promos they are running on local 104.1 FM are working. They had Matt Hardy on today.

1. Gunner and Murphy beat Eric Young and Orlando Jordan.

2. Crimson beat Magnus.

I was late to the show due to traffic (I relied on people next to me for results listed above). I arrived in time to see Scott Steiner have words with Rob Terry. Security eventually had to break them up.

Ric Flair came out and got some some mic time. He called out A.J. Styles, called out the women in the crowd, and referred to himself as a god. Styles's music hit and as he came to the ring. Flair said when he's in town, Fortune doesn't move without his say. Basically, they are showing Fortune acting without Flair knowing.

Flair said he showed A.J. how to be a man and will now show him how to respect. Styles attacked Flair. Hernandez ran in to help Flair after lots of back and forth. Styles did a damn good job while not not having Fortune there to back him up. Fortune finally came out to help. Hernandez tried to leave through the crowd and was stopped by Matt Morgan. Fortune's musics hits as they left.

Madison Rayne came out. They said it's a non-title, open invitation match. Madison bleeds outs ears on the mic saying she has beat everyone TNA has thrown at her. ODB's music hit, and Madison looks like she saw a ghost.

3. Madison Rayne beat ODB. ODB started the beat down on Madison, but Rayne made her way on top with a roar of boos from the crowd and got the win.

4. Mr. Anderson defeated Kurt Angle and RVD in a three-way to become No. 1 contender to the TNA Title. Angle and RVD started by laying into Anderson after RVD got done pounding Anderson in the corner. Angle went for a running spear toward Anderson, which missed and Angle went flying out. Most of the match was back and forth with one wrestler always knocked out of the ring.

RVD seemed to be on top most of the match. At one time, both Kurt and Anderson were down on the mat. RVD was going for a frog splash, but Angle ran up and suplexed him out of the ring. Angle went for the ankle lock on Anderson while RVD was out of the ring. The wedding march song hit. Jeff and Karen Jarrett came out while Angle looked on. Anderson slammed Kurt down for the three count. Anderson won and became No. 1 contender.

TNA Xplosion taping

1. Douglas Williams beat Robbie E. A good match. Robbie seems to be getting better, but he has to work on his mic skills. Williams picked up the win with crowd cheers.

2. Angelina Love beat Rosita. Earl Hebner came out to a mix of cheers and boos, but it turned to all cheers when he pulled out a pair of DVDs to throw to the crowd before the match.

**SPOILERS** TNA iMPACT! Results For Thursday

TNA Impact tapings 2/14/11:
All the VIP members lined up outside of the Blue Man Group as they told us to yesterday. About half of the VIP members did not return. I was able to get a 3rd row seat on the floor opposite of the stage. The opposite stage side bleachers seats today only had about 12 people. The TV side bleachers and stuff were filled. I noticed Big Brother US 10 & 11 houseguest Jessie Godderz sitting in the front row opposite stage side.

So Cal Val came out to ringside and welcomed us to the show and said we would have a match next. Madison Rayne came down to the ring. Madison says since its Valentine's Day she was not supposed to wrestle, but she saw a new girl jumping up and down backstage. Madison tells the little girl to come on out.

Dark Match: Madison Rayne(knockout Champion) vs ?. Ref Jackson James. I think her name started with a "N". Well this match…. The new girl was not so great. Falling down afew times and tripping and going face first into the bottom turnbuckle. Madison was great in her heel character. The new girl was having trouble keeping her pants up and her top half became undone. She tried to hit the backflip move like Tara and it did not go right. The fans were laughing at her throughout the match. Madison won the match.

The Spanish announcers Hector Guerrero & Willie Urbina came out and shook hands with everyone around the ring and then went over to their spot. Taz & Mike Tenay went out to their booth. So Cal brought out Jeremy Borash. JB told the fans like last night the loudest fans will get to go backstage. The fans next to the stage in bleachers were loud again. Borash asked the fans in the bleachers between TV side and opposite stage side to cheer, and they were quiet. The fans next to stage chanted "We can't hear you." JB said it is Valentine's Day and "We all know there's nothing more romantic on Valentine's Day then wrestling."

TNA Impact Airing Thursday at 9pm on SpikeTV.

Immortal comes down to the ring. Eric Bischoff was great trying to go after some fans at ringside who had a sign that said "Epic Fail". Eric brought out Jeff Hardy the new TNA Champion. Eric said how great it was that Jeff was champion. Eric said that first thing Monday morning he got a call from Spike. He said the network wanted Rob Van Dam to face Hardy tonight for the title. He said Jeff Jarrett & Karen Jarrett will walk down the isle in two weeks and Hulk Hogan will be back. Eric wonders where Ric's been the past few weeks. Ric Flair comes down to the ring. Flair says he does what he wants not what others tell him to do. He says hes a wrestling god. The fans chant "God". Flair says God is going and leaves the ring. He sees a young blonde with a red dress in the front row and says he will see her later tonight in his hotel room. The girl looked really embarrassed. Fans chant "God" as Flair left.

JB talks to us for bit and tells us if we make noise we will get some surprises. JB had a us cheer and said their taping something backstage. Taz & Tenay then talked to the camera. Simon Diamond was below the commentary booth for the next match watching.

Douglas Williams starts walking down to the ring, as he walked to the ring Hernandez followed by Sarita & Rosita ran down and attacked him from behind. He threw him into the ring.

Douglas Williams vs Hernandez w/ Sarita & Rosita. Ref Andrew Thomas. Hernendez choked Douglas with something. Velevet Sky ran down to the ring and attacked Sarita & Rosita but was double teamed until Angelina Love ran down and they fought ringside for a bit then fought backstage. Hernandez hit a nasty looking Border Toss where Douglas landed right on his head. The fans gasped. Hernandez pinned him for the win. Thomas checked on Douglas and Brian Hebner and two trainers came down to the ring. After a bought 2 minutes Douglas sat up and was laughing. He left on his own feet holding his neck.

TNA members like the night before wiped the ring with towels and spray after every match. They then set up a Tiki type deal. With two Tiki heads on the camera side turnbuckles, a Hulu type skirt on a table and a roasted pig on the table with two knives in it. As they set this up JB and So Cal kept everyone entertained throwing out DVDs to the fans.

D'Angelo Dinero came down to the ring. He had his money fall from the sky again. Dinero got in the ring. Fans chant You tapped out. Dinero laughs and says yes he did. Dinero said "last night" he caught a giant pig. He said here on the table is a sloppy Joe from "last night". He says he wants to share it with all of us, but for a price. Samoa Joe comes down to the ring and Okada comes from the crowd and stands on the apron. Dinero tries to bail but does not see Okada and gets a kick to the chest. Samoa beats Dinero up and hits a muscle buster on Dinero through the table on the pig. Okada hands Samoa an apple and Samoa jams it in Dinero's mouth. Samoa & Okada leave. Security comes to the ring and Dinero spits the apple out. Security helps him up and Dinero's entire left arm is covered in Pig goo. JB goes to ringside and takes a picture of Dinero with his cell.

TNA Members then had to take down the ring apron and put a new apron on. As they did this JB & So Cal Val threw out DVDs to the crowd. JB said if we cheer loud enough every single person will get a DVD when they leave. Earl Hebner was below the commentary booth to watch the next match. JB told us we would see the X-Title rematch next. JB asked if there was anybody from New Jersey here tonight.

Robbie E w/ Cookie vs Kazarian. TNA X-Division Championship Title Match. Ref Jackson James. Robbie says he is not in a good mood tonight because of what happened at the PPV. He says he is GTW, Gym Tan, Wrestle. He says he was ready to wrestle with two guys not just one guy. Cookie says her catchphrase. I left to the bathroom. When I came back, Cookie came running down to the ring so she must have left or was ejected by James. Cookie was carrying a silver purse and clocked Kazarian with it causing a DQ win for Kaz. Robbie attacked Kaz more and then Cookie got on top of Kazarian and was slapping him. Cookie & Robbie celebrated laying Kaz out and Traci Brooks runs down to the ring! Traci tackles Cookie and starts beating her up. Robbie & Kaz pull the girls apart. Kaz holds Traci back in the corner. Kaz & Traci hold hands and kiss. They stare down Robbie & Cookie who are on the stage. Traci & Kaz leave hand in hand. Fans chanted "Welcome back"

Backstage: We see Ric Flair go into Fortune's locker room they talk and hug. Flair ice's them. They all drink and Storm grabs a second for himself.

Matt Hardy vs A.J. Styles. Ref Brian Hebner. AJ did his old style entrance where he walks through the sparks as they fall. AJ runs to the ring and the match is on. AJ looked great in the ring. He looked really impressive with Matt. Matt was outside of the ring and AJ ran and jumped out of the ring onto Matt. Fans were going crazy for AJ. Ric Flair comes down to ringside cheering AJ on. As AJ climbed to the top rope. Matt held onto Hebner and Flair pushed AJ off the top rope. Matt wins with the twist of fate. Flair gets in the ring and Matt & Flair start stomping away on AJ. The rest of Fortune comes running down to the ring. Flair & Matt bail out through the crowd. Fortune stares them down looking really angry.

Mr. Anderson comes quickly down to the ring. Anderson says he is really angry. Anderson calls out Eric and tells him he better get to the ring right away. Eric Bischoff comes down to the ring. They are face to face as Anderson yells at him. Anderson says why does RVD get the title match when it should be him. Eric says that Anderson lost and Hardy was the better man that's why he is champion. Anderson says the network wanted RVD. Eric says the network likes things PG and Anderson does not fit into that. Anderson says they don't like him saying asshole. Anderson says he is a asshole. Anderson says the fans are assholes. Anderson says he wont say asshole anymore, no more asshole. Fans chant for Anderson not to stop. Eric says he will put Anderson in the main event….as the special guest referee. Eric wants to shake hands they do and Anderson smiles then lays out Eric.

Earl Hebner comes down to the ring and makes faces again with the fans and gives everyone a woo. Earl fixes one of the tag ropes.

The Beautiful People vs Sarita & Rosita. Ref Earl Hebner. Velvet & Sarita worked most of the match. In the finsh all hell broke loose with Angelina being knocked down outside of the ring. Sarita pins Velvet with Rosita outside of the ring with Sarita's feet on the ropes and Rosita helping hold Sarita's feet. Velvet says she is always about to beat Sarita when Sarita pulls something to get the win. Velvet wants Sarita one on one with no interference or anything else. Sarita says Velvet loses and always will as she is a loser. Sarita wants to make it special so their next match will have Velvet's career on the line so then she will win and Velvet would have wrestled her final match. The Beautiful People left together and posed to the fans on the stage.

JB & So Cal threw out more DVDs. They then plugged some TNA shop stuff and JB said since we have been good their gonna have Beer Money sign autographs at ringside and Kaz in the ring for $20. They went to throw out a Taz shirt and JB had Taz sign it and throw it to the fans. JB talked to two people who's birthday it was today and gave them stugg. JB had So Cal Val go backstage for Ric Flair to sign a shirt to give to a fan. JB talked about if there were any couples here today and gave a couple a special gift. They threw out more DVDs. This part here was for about 15-20 minutes.

JB said they are taking Impact on the road next week but they will be back in Orlando for the PPV and to tape more TV. JB pointed out Jason Hervey standing below the commentators table.

Taz & Tenay were talking to the camera when Bully Ray came out to them. Bully smacked the headset off Tenay and he and Taz exchanged words. JB & So Cal kept motioned to the fans to boo Bully Ray.

JB said he just got word from backstage that tommrow night it's going to be Ric Flair vs A.J. Styles. JB told us after the main event for Thursday we will have two Xplosion matchs with Eric Young & Orlando Jordan back together.

Rob Van Dam vs Jeff Hardy(TNA Champion). TNA Championship Title Match. Special Guest Referee Mr. Anderson. Anderson did his normal entrance. Jeff had a special entrance where three TNA members held up a white board made of paper and a fog machine surrounded them and Jeff Hardy broke through it(like in some high school football games where the team breaks through the banner) and came down to the ring. Hardy & RVD had a great back & forth match. Really awesome match. With some near falls. Hardy flipped off the fans and spit into the air. Hardy hit the twist of fate but RVD kicked out and Hardy got in Anderson's face. RVD hit the frog splash but Hardy put his foot on the rope before the 3 count. RVD questioned Anderson. RVD grabbed Hardy and they together went towards Anderson but he moved. They did it again where RVD grabbed Hardy and this time Anderson did not move out of the way and he instead jumped up onto the top turnbuckle. Anderson gave an angry look at Hardy, and Hardy turned around and hit RVD with a twist of fate for the win. Anderson starred down Hardy and then raised his hand then laid him out with the mic check. RVD yelled at Anderson "What was that" and Anderson layed him out with the mic check. Anderson stormed out of the ring and to the back. Hardy's music played and RVD talked with some fans.

JB replaced Tenay on Commentary for Xplosion. And So Cal was the ring announcer. One thing you don't notice when you watch Xplosion on Youtube is the lighting is really different with two bright lights like headlights coming out of the entrance way with the Impact Zone darker.

** SPOILERS ** Smackdown Taping Results

1. John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Edge, John Morrison, and R-Truth defeated Kane, C.M. Punk, King Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, and Drew McIntyre. After they all took turns hitting finishers, Rey hit a double 619 on Dolph and Barrett, then Edge speared Dolph for the pin.

As Edge celebrated, Vickie Guerrero came out to major heat. She said Edge assaulted Teddy Long, she can prove it, and he's fired. The coronation of Dolph will be later tonight. Edge slowly left to cheers to stay.

2. Maryse and Layla beat Eve and Beth Phoenix. Michelle McCool came out with Layla to do commentary, but she looked like she was limping. She's definitely hurt, as she has a cast on her right foot. Michelle interfered and sold it as if she injured her foot, but she was definitely already wearing a cast and limping beforehand.

3. The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston is in progress. Alberto Del Rio came out and distracted Kofi by whipping him with his scarf. Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale and got the pin.

A graphic noted that Smackdown will pass Gunsmoke after 34 more episodes. It will be second on the list behind only Raw.

4. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater by DQ to retain the WWE Tag Titles. The Corre members were DQ'd after the other members of the group interfered when Santino hit The Cobra on Gabriel. Big Show came out and saved the tag champs.

The Dolph Ziggler coronation angle is up next. As expected, Teddy Long returned. He opted to give Dolph the World Hvt. Championship, but he booked an immediate title match between Dolph and Edge.

5. Edge defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the World Hvt. Championship. Technically, Edge became the "new" World Hvt. Champion. After the match, Teddy fired Dolph, meaning there's an opening in the Elimination Chamber match. Edge dropped confetti while the live crowd sang goodbye to Dolph.