WWE news

[Head Booker]

- WWE released former NXT talents Michael Tarver and Jacob Novak over the weekend. Tarver was on the original cast of NXT, and was a founding member of the Nexus. Novak was on the most recent season of NXT, and had a mini-feud with William Regal before his elimination.

Credit: Pwinsider.com

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Lordsofpain

-- Skip Sheffield, who has been sidelined since breaking his leg and ankle on August 18, 2010 at a WWE live event in Honolulu, Hawaii, announced via Twitter that he will be undergoing another surgical procedure this Tuesday.

He wrote, "Will be having a third surgery this Tuesday and it will be the last," Sheffield wrote. "There are a lot of people who are far worse off and this is all happening for a good reason. I wish I was back right now and doing what I love, but things are not right and they have to be fixed. I will be 100 percent very soon and back on WWE TV and I thank all of you for your support. I have kept my head held high and I cannot thank WWE enough for their support in this time. I have worked too hard too long to just give up and while it has been difficult it has only made me a stronger better person so please be patient and I will be back I promise."

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It has come to light that WWE NXT Redemption contestant Lucky Cannon (real name Jonathan Emminger) was arrested earlier this year in Florida for impersonating a police officer.

Emminger, 27, was arrested on the morning of February 28, 2011 in Hillsbourgh, Florida and charged with falsely personating a law enforcement official. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 11:26 a.m. and subsequently released on $2,000 bail.

Emminger previously worked as a deputy sheriff for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department in Pinellas County, Florida, which could explain how he was able portray himself as a member of police.

This information is coming out now because his mug shot was recently cataloged on Google Images, the most comprehensive image search on the web.

[Head Booker]

From Lordsofpain

- Former WWE star Trevor Murdoch, who had recent tryout matches with the company, says he's returning soon. Here are some highlights from an interview with Pitch.com.

How do you feel about returning to WWE?

I've been doing this since I was 18 years old. So I'm at an age where when I went to WWE the first time I was 25 years old and I'm really excited that I'm still at a young enough age that I'm going to be able to go back and do some good things on TV. My [5-year-old] son is now old enough to see me and understand that daddy is on TV and he loves pro wrestling. So I'm fired up to be able to get back to working on TV again for sure.

You recently had a tryout with WWE. How did that go?

They went great actually. The first night I wrestled Evan Bourne. The second night I wrestled Jey Uso. My concern going back wasn't the wrestling part. It was there's a lot of new faces on the WWE roster. They're almost all new faces. And I was concerned that I was going to get back there and on one was going to know me or everyone was going to snub me a little bit. "Who's this guy?" and "he's just going to try to take our spot." But when I went back, everyone was super nice and were extremely respectful and excited to see me. It was a very welcoming experience. Not to mention that I had two really good matches.

Do you have an indication of what WWE wants you to do when you get there?

No, actually. I'm kind of an open book and can do whatever I gotta do to have a good time but also to put on some good matches and also focus more on the sports entertainment side rather than just the pro wrestling. When I went in the first time, I wouldn't say I was naive, but I was more focused on the just the wrestling part. Whereas, now that I'm a little bit older and I look back on it ... I'm going to focus just as much on the entertainment part as I am the wrestling part. The last time I was there, I was like, I was trained by Harley Race. The cream will rise to the top. I'm a pro wrestler. As long as I have great matches, everything will be fine. That's only one part of it.

[Head Booker]

- Former World Heavyweight Champion Batista was a guest on F4Wonline.com's Wrestling Observer Radio this week to discuss his time with WWE, MMA, the future and lots more. Here are highlights from the excellent interview:

* Batista said he left WWE because he felt like he didn't fit in anymore. He feels like wrestling is in a bad spot right now and has gone down hill since the whole PG direction. Batista said it leaves a bad taste in his mouth and became too unbelievable & hokey. He added that the things he learned from guys like Triple H and Ric Flair, you couldn't do anymore. He said you couldn't use your tools anymore. Batista said he felt like he became disconnected from the business and became unhappy with it. He still believes in WWE as a company but there wasn't a place for him anymore.

* Regarding his most recent run where some felt it was the best work of his career, Batista said he knew he was leaving and basically did what he wanted to do and eventually it worked. He didn't care about pissing anyone off on the pic and just put his thoughts out there more without worrying about upsetting anyone. He said this started to work so Vince McMahon let him work with it. He recalled one promo before his last WrestleMania in San Jose, California where he let it run how he wanted to do it, ripping on several people. When he got backstage, Vince told him that he went too far with the promo and gave him a good earful.

* The spotlight that he was using before leaving WWE was an idea that Michael Hayes came up with.

* Regarding his departure, Batista gave WWE about 7 months notice that he wanted to finish outright. He wanted to go out the right way and give WWE plenty of notice. That 7 months ended up turning into 9 months because they needed him longer. Batista made it clear that Vince left the door wide open for him to come back. He said he enjoys having that opportunity there to go back, if he wants.

* He had reached out to Strikeforce while with WWE and the MMA promotion expressed interest but he didn't actually sit down with them until he left WWE. His intentions were doing a MMA fight when he first left WWE. At one point he had a 3 fight deal with Strikeforce that would have him do a CBS fight, a Showtime fight and then a pay-per-view fight, all leading to a fight against Bobby Lashley. Batista cited scheduling, his movie work and financial differences, among other things, as to why the deals never worked out. They had another deal almost ready to be signed that would have sent him directly to pay-per-view to fight but his manager Cesar Gracie didn't think everything was fair. Strikeforce was bought by UFC and that was that as far as Batista fighting for Strikeforce goes.

* Batista feels that WWE had a huge missed opportunity with Kennedy, now known as Mr. Anderson in TNA, and was shocked when he was released. He feels WWE could have done more with Ted DiBiase Jr. and knew Kofi Kingston would be a top star when he was in FCW. He also says Sheamus has potential and was one of the smart guys who hooked up with veterans like William Regal to learn more about the business. He added that Sheamus took some crap from people for hooking up with the veterans but it was worth it.

* Regarding Mason Ryan, Batista doesn't think the Nexus star is imitating him and if he was, Batista would be flattered. Batista thinks Ryan is a great guy after meeting him in London and is curious to see where his career goes.

* As far as his future in wrestling goes, Batista does not want to have another full-blown run but would like to return to WWE and officially retire with a small run or something like that. He is also interested in working with WWE in some other capacity. He doesn't want to be a full-time actor and doesn't think he will ever be qualified to be one. He is also looking to continue his MMA training and eventually get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Batista promo in question...

[Head Booker]

Former WWE star Batista has launched an account on Twitter via twitter.com/Real_DBautista. The account has been confirmed by his official website, Demon-Wrestling.com. He posted an introductory message explaining what he's been up to since parting ways with WWE last year.

"So I'm giving in to my rule of NO social networking because I promised my boy Josh Rafferty that i would......so here we go!" Batista wrote. "First off!! NO HATERS ALLOWED I hate HATERS!! I wish all haters a Nick Diaz style ass woopin! go somewhere else!

"This is what i've done since I left WWE a year ago....3 movies, first one "House of the Rising Sun" being released next month. riding low with my homies.... THE IMPERIALS! Los Angeles chapter....sup Francisco,Junior, El Presidente Tomas..(we miss you Jesse) training my ass off at Gracie Fighter Pleasant Hill Cali, Gracie Fighter Tampa Fl., and Powerhouse Gym in Downtown Tampa. ....and chillin with Sarah : )"

Batista also says he plans on fighting no matter what.

He wrote, "So I'll repeat myself because haters are not only losers but they also seem to be illiterate! NO FUCKING HATERS! no negative chi here! and God willing...YES I will be fighting. even if i have to walk my old ass to the cage with a cane!"

Batista then criticizes WWE's "PG" product, writing, "I'm the biggest wrestling fan there is..which is why I'm boycotting the PG BS! They're selling watered down art bro. Kills me."

Batista also responded to queries regarding his recent weight loss. He says he gave up weights and eliminated certain foods from his diet.

"Gave up the weights, gluten, red meat, pork....down to 260...feel great," he wrote. "Leaner than ever though. I feel great at this weight."

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-- WWE has changed the location of their upcoming TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. The show will take place Sunday, December 18 at the 1st Mariner Arena.

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- WWE did something rare at Saturday night's live event in Hidalgo, Texas - a tables match. Kane defeated Mark Henry in the match. It's possible a tables match on pay-per-view is in the works for Henry and Big Show after the recent happenings on RAW and SmackDown.

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- Variety has confirmed that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has signed on for Fast and Furious 6, which is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 24th, 2013.

- The latest word on John Morrison is that he will be out of action for at least another two months.

- WWE's website features a new article on Alex Riley getting his first theme song. Riley's new song is "Say It To My Face" by the band Downstait, the same ones who did the theme song for The Miz.

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- Former WWE star Ken "Dykstra" Doane says he wants to face Batista in his first MMA fight. Doane wrote on Twitter: "I wanna fight batista in his first mma fight. How do we make this happen??? We just gotta get batista to agree to fight me. Then sell the fight. But im 100% in."

- Batista addressed more fan comments regarding his new skinnier look on Twitter. He wrote:

"yes...I am down to a puny 180 lbs. Thats why my head looks so large. Honestly I lost 20lbs over the past yr. Switched up my diet and layed off the weights big time. More go than show now for sure."

He also clarified his recent comments on WWE: "real quick...i don't hate the WWE! i love pro wrestling! just didn't agree with the PG direction. i loved it edgy and hardcore. and i would definitely like to return...just not right now. im enjoying the hell out of my normal life. hope that makes sense."

Gave up the weights, gluten, red meat, pork....down to 260...feel great," he wrote. "Leaner than ever though. I feel great at this weight."

[Head Booker]

- As noted before, former ROH Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli received a WWE tryout match before last week's tapings. Both were said to have done well as they performed in front of officials before the tapings. Last word is that they had an offer from WWE but had not signed it. Some in Ring of Honor were under the impression that they would be signing with WWE.

[Head Booker]

- As noted before, WWE said on RAW­­­ that Mason Ryan was injured over the weekend but he didn't work any live events. F4Wonline.com reports that Ryan has suffered an injury out of the ring and will be away anywhere from six weeks to six months.

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- Batista wrote the following on Twitter last night regarding Fit Finlay's release from WWE several months back:

"so im going to say this because i said i would elaborate later....and im sure i'll get some grief over it but i dont realy care. and this is completely the opinion of an outsider looking in. i only know what ive been told about Fit Finlay's release and i dont know exactly what happened...but no one in this world could convince me that Fit, the honorable man that he is, did anything that would warrant him losing his livelihood. i wouldn't have made it to the top without fit,and i wouldn't have made it through alot of the longass unbearable tours either. i seriously think that there's a huge void in the WWE without him. he isn't replaceable."

It was reported back in March that WWE released Finlay after he booked a segment at a WWE live event where The Miz interrupted the National Anthem. Members of the National Guard, a major sponsor for WWE, were in attendance and were not pleased with the angle. Finlay was then released.

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- Kurt Angle wrote the following about CM Punk's RAW promo on Monday night, on his Twitter page:

"CM Punk had classic promo last night. Good for Him. But if U ever say another word about Me again, Ur toast! If U don't believe Me, try Me!"

It should be noted that Punk didn't mention Angle on Monday night. Angle may have been referring to a comment Punk made on Twitter a few months back, mocking Angle for when he said his Twitter was hacked.

- Sources report that CM Punk's entire promo at the end of RAW this week was improvised by Punk and not scripted. Nobody in the back knew what Punk was going to say until he said it live on RAW.

WWE officials told Punk to go out and say in his own words why he was leaving the company, why he wanted the WWE Title and why he wanted to leave with it in his possession. There was a discussion that when officials felt Punk was going too far, they would pull the plug on the segment and cut his mic.

It's said that Punk was upset months ago when Triple H came back to feud with The Undertaker and while some of his comments on RAW towards Vince McMahon were well thought out to appear not as a shoot to the average viewer, most believe that Punk's comments towards Triple H and John Laurinaitis were strictly a shoot.

Word also is that Punk had some notes for his speech jotted down on his wrist tape.

As far as his contract status, Punk's deal apparently expires the second week of July but he signed an extension to work through Money in the Bank. Still with last night's new storyline development, sources maintain that Punk is leaving at Money in the Bank.

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Trevor Murdoch posted the following on his Facebook:

"Well I got a call from Johnny Ace saying they weren't going to go threw with my contract. He told me "budget cut's". I say bullsh**. I think I'm done with pro wrestling. Anybody know of any job opening's?"

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From LOP

- One person close to the situation notes that CM Punk mentioning Colt Cabana, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar during his promo on Monday's RAW has to do with all three of those stars possibly coming back to WWE.

Apparently Punk recently asked for his friend Colt Cabana to be re-hired and put on the main roster, as one of the points in Punk's new deal if he should re-sign. Regarding Punk staying or going, WWE creative has been told that he's finishing up at Money in the Bank and most feel that he is still leaving, despite Monday's promo. WWE still does have an offer on the table to Punk for him to stay.

Heyman and Lesnar have reportedly either made a deal or are at least in very serious negotiations to have a business relationship with WWE. Regarding Lesnar, word is that he won't be wrestling and won't be a TV character, should he have a business relationship with WWE again. Heyman would start working with the company again under a deal similar to Lesnar, according to the report by the Wrestling Observer.

- There are wrestlers in WWE unhappy with working against Sin Cara due to the lighting issues that come up when WWE uses the blue light during his matches.

- Mason Ryan's injury that occurred outside of the ring is said to be a hamstring injury. If Ryan needs surgery, he could be out of action for six months but if he is able to rehab it without surgery, depending on the severity of the tear, he could be out from six weeks to three months.

- John Morrison isn't recovering as fast as they first expected and won't be back from injury until September or October. WWE is frustrated at this due to Morrison not being able to be at Money in the Bank, where he usually shines.

- Triple H has reportedly told Sin Cara that if he was having any problems, to come to him, and if there was anyone he wanted to work with, to also come to him. ­­­Triple H also reportedly told Cara not to listen to advice from anyone else when it comes to American wrestling but him.

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Randy Orton has publicly apologised to Kelly Kelly on Twitter over those comments he made on that radio show.

Quote
"Yesterday I put my foot in my mouth and I need to try my best to make it right. I owe Kelly K an apology. The fact that she has dated a few guys I work with doesn't make her a bad person, and is also none of my or anyone elses buisness. Yesterday I got caught up in a live radio interview and brought Kelly's personal life into it. It was completely uncalled for. Kelly I hope one day you can forgive me. I do however understand if that doesn't happen. Please everyone trash me all you want, but please drop this topic out of respect for Barb."

[Head Booker]

Autopsy results have been reported by TMZ:

Macho Man Randy Savage died from a serious "cardiac event" he suffered moments before plowing his car into a tree last month -- this according to the Pinellas County Medical Examiner.

According to the medical examiner, Savage suffered from cardiovascular disease -- and the deadly "cardiac event" resulted from the condition.

According to the toxicology report, Savage tested positive for alcohol and hydrocodone (an opiate) during the time of his death... but neither played a role in his death.

As we previously reported, the wrestler's brother said Savage experienced a heart attack before the accident -- and that's what caused him to lose control of his vehicle on a Florida highway and slam into a tree.

[Icon Lord Sean "Magic" Fiery]

LMAO! Orton made those comments about Kelly Kelly on my local radio show, The Morning Sickness (I posted the whole interview in The Hobby section of Facebook). I love how this radio station can get away with anything and make people put their foot in their mouths haha! This is why they are THE BEST RADIO SHOW EVER!