----Mike Aldren with WGN.
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
1/28 Smackdown TV results from Cincinnati, OH: Lay-Cool over Kelly Kelly & Kaitlyn; Drew McIntyre over JTG; Kofi Kingston & Rey Mysterio over Alberto Del Rio & Kane; Big Show over Heath Slater; and Edge & Randy Orton over The Miz & Dolph Ziggler.
1/29 Supershow results from Springfield, MA: R Truth over Drew McIntyre; Santino & Kozlov over The Usos; Zack Ryder vs. Yoshi Tatsu was a no contest due to interference from the Corre; Big Show over Wade Barrett; Kofi Kingston over Dolph Ziggler; Daniel Bryan over Alex Riley; Gail Kim & Maryse over The Bellas; and John Cena & Randy Orton over The Miz & CM Punk.
1/30 Royal Rumble pay-per-view results from Boston, MA: Eve Torres over Natalya & Lay-Cool to capture the Divas Championship after the Raw GM changed the match adding Torres and making it a four-way; The Miz over Randy Orton to retain the WWE title when Nexus interfered; Edge over Dolph Ziggler to retain the World title; and the 40-man Rumble for a title shot at Wrestlemania 27 was won by Alberto Del Rio. Dark match was R-Truth over Curt Hawkins.
Raw is live tonight from Providence (Dunkin' Donuts Center) with all the fallout from the Rumble. Del Rio will be announcing which title he will challenge for at Wrestlemania. Booker T and Kevin Nash, who got the two loudest reactions at the Rumble, are both expected to be featured on television moving forward.
The Smackdown/NXT taping is Tuesday from Long Island (Nassau Coliseum).
***
Dwayne Johnson has clarified once and for all his future with WWE via his Facebook page. He confirmed recent talks with Vince McMahon about doing something on Raw, but said he will never wrestle again. He wrote: "...to the Rock's millions and millions...who will forever be my family.. ..my honest and direct answer to you is this: I left the WWe because I had succeeded in accomplishing every goal I set to achieve. ...I've never done this before, but I will now because I feel it's important you know...let me share with you the goals I set for myself in the WWE so you can have a better understanding and perspective.. - become the youngest WWE World Champion - help set box office and attendance records in every arena in the country - help set PPV buy rate records ..the final two and my most important goals to achieve in wrestling: - become the most entertaining and electrifying performer the WWE had ever seen or will ever see again - take the brass ring of the WWE that Vince McMahon had faithfully allowed me to earn and take it places it had never gone before...to trailblaze...to break new ground...to achieve unprecedented greatness for not only for myself and the fans to enjoy...but for the business of professional wrestling itself and the WWE... A business and company that is in my blood and that I will love forever. ...I achieved these goals in the WWE at 30 years old and decided then to HUMBLY and QUIETLY step away and retire. ..and set my sights on another goal...a childhood dream... Hollywood. ..will I ever come back to the WWE? of course I will.. . not a match though, but in a capacity that would allow me to do so much more.. I LOVE that company and the fans...without the two I would not be standing where I am today... Vince and myself stay very closely connected and when the opportunity is right - which will be a lot sooner than you think--we will do something electrifying and historic for the fans...he and I were toying with the idea of a special show called "ROCK RAW"... sounds like a perfect title for me to come back and SLAP THE LIPS OFF THOSE JABRONIS and LAYETH THE SMACKETH DOWN ON AAAAALLLLL THEIR CANDY ASSES!!! sorry...got carried away... I'll save that one of a kind electricity for Rock Raw.. ...it is important to me to say this from my heart - to the incredibly loyal "..The Rock's Millions and Millions..." and the entire WWE UNIVERSE...I am forever humbled and grateful to you for allowing me the HONOR to entertain you over the years...you have my word I will continue to entertain you in ways like no one else...it's only just the beginning... I dream big...and we've achieved those dreams together because you never left my side... I love you for that and thank you... I am Dwayne Johnson...and I will also always be The Rock."
Mistico of CMLL, the biggest drawing card in modern day Lucha Libre, is said to be close to signing with WWE. Contracts are yet to exchange hands but WWE sources says it's a done deal, while CMLL is completely denying the story, saying that Mistico is under contract to them. WWE has been negotiating dating back to 2007 based on recommendations from Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, but in the past when money came into play neither side could agree terms. The signing of Mistico would be a huge coup who's name value usually equates to big business in Mexico.
Awesome Kong was backstage at the Rumble. We had heard before the show, in fact a week ago, that the Divas Championship match was going to be a four-way, but the fourth player turned out to be Torres rather than Kong.
Kevin Nash was overwhelmed by the crowd reaction he received as Diesel at the Rumble. He wrote on Twitter: "Absolutely the best night of my wrestling career. It's so nice to be back in WWE family. Thanks Boston for making me feel so special." ... Nash also told WWE.com regarding his return, "I wish I had a thesaurus, so I could explain it. It’s nice to be in a building with people [laughs]. When you get in this business, you strive to get to WWE, and when it’s time to hang up your boots, you definitely want to end up a Yankee. So, if this was my last one, I couldn’t be happier."
Jim Ross at www.jrsbarbq.com wrote regarding the returns of Nash and Booker T: "Good to see both men looking physically fit and the Boston crowd ate up both stars surprise appearances. I have no idea if their Royal Rumble appearances were one offs or if they will be hanging around WWE at least on a part time basis. Both have skills that they can add to the mix even if they don't step back into a wrestling ring."
Jennifer Hudson was hanging out at the Rumble watching husband David Otunga. She may be doing something at Wrestlemania.
Sgt. Slaughter appeared on the Fox News affiliate in Atlanta over the weekend to promote Fan Axxess at Wrestlemania. In particular he was pushing how much money a Wrestlemania can bring to the local economy. You can also watch him proposition the female host at http://tinyurl.com/6jqujsg.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
1/28 house show results from Manchester, England: Shannon Moore beat Mark Haskins; Mickie James over Angelina Love with Tara as special referee; Kazarian over Chris Sabin; Beer Money over Williams & Magnus; Matt Morgan & Rob Terry over Jeff Jarrett & The Pope; and Rob Van Dam & Mr. Anderson over Jeff & Matt Hardy. The show drew an estimated 4,000.
1/29 house show results from London, England: Kazarian over Chris Sabin & Shannon Moore in a three-way; Matt Morgan, Mickie James & Angelina Love over The Pope, Tara & Madison Rayne; Jeff Jarrett over Johnny Moss (UK worker); Beer Money over Mark Haskins & Magnus; RVD over Matt Hardy; Ric Flair (who bled and got the loudest pop of the night) over Douglas Williams; and Mr. Anderson over Jeff Hardy. No confirmation on attendance, but best estimates were 7,000. The company's all time record is 8,100 for the January 2009 show at Wembley Arena in London. The merchandise stand was very busy with Jeff Hardy garb selling particular well.
There are television tapings today and tomorrow in Orlando, leading into Against all Odds on 2/13, which includes Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA title and the debut of "They" for Thursday's Impact show. Obviously "They" will no longer include Kevin Nash or Booker T, who both just started back with the WWE.
***
No serious injuries coming out of the European tour. James Storm pulled his groin in Dublin but worked through the pain. Madison Rayne didn't work in Manchester due to illness.
Rayne did an interview with The Sun at www.the-sun.co.uk/wrestling. She praises Dixie Carter and says TNA is like one big happy family. "You can credit Dixie Carter for creating that sort of atmosphere, she is a very family orientated person and that rubs off on us too. We all know we can go to her, no matter what, boyfriend or girlfriend problems, family issues or anything else. We can go to her for advice, let off some steam or whatever we need. She can give us tough love, but she knows we need it if she does. We all work better from having that sort of person to go to."
Northeast independent newcomer Thea Trinidad, who works as Divina Fly, was offered a deal. She's very green but has a great look and should do well under the right influence. Matt Stryker on behalf of WWE took a look at her recently in New York but passed feeling she wasn't ready for developmental.
Hulk Hogan started back in the Gym a few days ago, about five weeks removed from his most recent back surgery. "My arms blew up like balloons, it's gonna be a wild ride this time," he wrote on Twitter. "I've never taken time off from training in 30 years, I think my body is thanking me for the rest." Hogan also posted a video saying that he was training for a return to TNA.
AJ Styles is helping one of his brothers promote Fight Fusion Entertainment, an MMA group, which debuts on 2/18 in Gainesville at the GA Mountain Center.
Christy Hemme is heading to the Bahamas in a couple of week's for VH1's Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp headlined by Tommy Lee of Motley Crew.
The official release date for the Mick Foley Hardcore Legend DVD is 4/19.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
ROH tonight on HDNet includes Eddie Edwards vs. Christopher Daniels for the television title; Colt Cabana vs. Mike Mondo; and Sara Del Rey vs. Taler Hendrix. More info at www.rohwrestlingcom.
John "Sir Oliver Humperdink" Sutton, the famed wrestling manager of the 1970s and 1980s, had a biopsy for cancer on Friday and is asking for prayers.
Jerry Lawler vs. Superstar Bill Dundee with Dutch Mantell as special referee at the Nashville Fairgrounds on Saturday night drew a legit 1,707 paid. Lawler won with a piledriver in a 15 minute match. The promoter was said to have done a great job with local media coverage. The only comps (about 25) were given to Make-A-Wish Foundation people. TNA ran the Fairgrounds in November with huge star power and drew less than 1,000 paid.
Stacy Keibler touched upon transitioning from WWE to acting in an interview with Hollywood Today. “When I first moved to Hollywood it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be," she said. "I moved her all by myself and didn’t have any friends and family out here. I was pretty lucky when I came here. I was in wrestling. I was on the cover of some magazines. I got an agent right off the bat. I was lucky to get someone who really cared about me and wanted to help me grow.” She says she prefers the life of an actor and has no plans to return to wrestling. "The WWE…I did it for eight years. It’s very much theater. Everyone is playing a character. It’s great to be out there doing that, but it’s almost the opposite of what I found when I moved to L.A. Acting is very small and intimate and emotional.”
Serena Deeb made her Japanese debut this past weekend for Tajiri's SMASH promotion. She wrote on Twitter: "Fell in love with wrestling all over again ...Japan is incredible. A big thank you to Tajiri for having me at Smash. What a feeling."
Former wrestler Johnny Croitoru is facing murder charges in relation to a British Columbia gangwar in 2008. Story is at http://tinyurl.com/6ly3xju. Croitoru, who wrestled for Jim Cornette's SMW as Bruiser Bedlam, as well as the Johnny K-9 character in WWE, is a former president of the Hamilton Ontario Satan's Choice bike club. He's racked up a number charges since 1999 involving drug distribution, smuggling, and these recent murder charges. (Thanks to Greg Simpson)
Today's Babe of the Day is Maria Kanellis at http://thewrestlingpress.com/?page_id=298.
