King of the Ring Raw Rating

The King of the Ring edition of Raw did a 3.1 rating with 4.76 million viewers based on hours of 2.65, 3.35 and 3.41.

Mick Foley Says He Doesn't Plan to Re-Sign with TNA

During an appearance on "Geek Week Live" on Tuesday, Mick Foley stated that he isn't planning on re-signing with TNA when his contract expires with the company next year.

"I love the idea of having a part-time job that pays well. TNA has been a real blessing in that sense. I would rather be motivated, but it's still nice in this economy to have a job like that. That will expire in eight or nine months. The chances of that relationship continuing are probably not that good. Once you have Hulk Hogan as the face of your company, there's no need for me. And one of the challenges they have on their show, and I understand completely, is there's only so much room for the non-wrestling talker every week, and I had a lot of time to do that for a year and a half."

Foley later went on to say that he expects part of his life to always be involved in wrestling and wouldn't be surprised to receive a call about the WWE Hall of Fame at some point. He also expressed disappointment with TNA not airing any footage of his appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and Stewart's "Rally for Sanity."

"I've been beating myself up and it's frustrating because I can't seem to get the decision makers in TNA to realize that it is a big deal to show me in front of 250,000 fans at the Jon Stewart rally and to show the reaction of the crowd. What I'm getting when I ask these questions is a lot of what WCW was. With WWE, we knew that's who you talk to, and so it's very frustrating. I will eventually throw up my hands and just say, 'Okay, I'll walk to the mailbox every two weeks.'"

Foley added that he doesn't plan on wrestling more often as he gets hurt too easy and "it's not worth the extra tenth of a rating point."

source: prowrestling.net

Vance Archer Comments On His WWE Release

Recently released WWE talent Lance Hoyt (Vance Archer) was interviewed yesterday by The 7x Wrestling Show:

On his release from WWE: "The reason given to me was budget reasons. I understand that life, the economy, everything around us has kinda gone to crap it seems like. It's hard for anybody and everybody, including big businesses, to make money, keep money, and keep moving forward themselves. So, I understand the business aspect of it. Do I think it was a good business decision? Absolutely not. It caught me off guard."

On teaming with Curt Hawkins: "Curt's an amazing talent. I think if given the opportunity he's gonna be somebody that can succeed. We were kinda thrown together as a tag team. He hadn't be on television or even on the road for a year or something like that and he calls me up one night and he's like, 'Hey man, remember that idea I pitched a year ago? Well, it's happening. Were gonna be a tag team.'"...More?

Wrestlers & Celebrities Announced For “WWE Tribute to the Troops”

World Wrestling Entertainment(R) and NBC today announced that multiple-platinum, Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ new group Diddy – Dirty Money, charismatic King of Comedy, Cedric “The Entertainer”, and “Modern Family’s” Ariel Winter will join WWE on NBC’s third annual holiday special telecast, “WWE Tribute to the Troops.” The hour-long special honoring the men and women of the United States Armed Forces will air Saturday, December 18 (9-10 p.m. ET / 8-9 p.m. CT) on NBC.

The star-studded holiday event, taped at Fort Hood, Texas will feature music from Diddy – Dirty Money who will perform “Coming Home” off their new album “Last Train to Paris.” Emmy-winner Ariel Winter will sing “The National Anthem” and Cedric “The Entertainer” will bring his award-winning brand of comedy to the special . The telecast will also star “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd spreading holiday cheer and Miss USA, Rima Fakih, who will announce WWE matches featuring such WWE Superstars as John Cena(R), Randy Orton(R), The Miz(R), Rey Mysterio(R), The Big Show(R), and others.

Thousands of men and women based at Fort Hood have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “WWE Tribute to the Troops” will chronicle WWE Superstars and Divas visiting Fort Hood to meet with the troops and their families this holiday season, culminating with a special live in-ring performance in front of thousands of military personnel.

This special marks the eighth consecutive year that WWE will bring its one of a kind entertainment to our service men and women to thank them for their commitment to the country and recognition of their sacrifices. “WWE Tribute to the Troops” has become a holiday tradition and is considered TV’s most patriotic and heartwarming show of the year.

Update On WWE's Super Bowl Sunday Plans‏

This Day in Wrestling History

Fred Beell defeated Frank Gotch for the American Heavyweight title.
December 1, 1906

A match to finally unify the two World titles between Lewis and Stecher falls apart when Lewis again no-shows (see 10-6-26) and forfeits a $2500 bond
December 1, 1926

Stan the Man Stasiak defeated Pedro Morales for the WWWF(WWE) Heavyweight title.
December 1, 1973

D-Generation X spray painted "WCW" on Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's back after a beat down.
December 1, 1997

WWE NXT Results: WWE Crowns Its Next Breakout Diva

Week 12 results:

The Bella Twins & A.J. def. Alicia Fox, Maxine & Aksana)
Kaitlyn def. Naomi
Kaitlyn wins WWE NXT, Naomi is eliminated

NXT Rookie Diva Records:

Kaitlyn: Win/Loss record: 2-4
Naomi: Win/Loss record: 6-4

WWE NXT Season 4 Cast Revealed

WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan will mentor Derrick Bateman

R-Truth will mentor Johnny Curtis

Chris Masters will mentor Byron Saxton

Ted DiBiase will mentor Brodius Clay

Alberto Del Rio will mentor Conor O'Brian

Dolph Ziggler will mentor Jacob Novak

Rumor Mill - Backstage Reaction at Raw to Jeff & Matt Hardy Video

WrestleZone is reporting that the discussion among several Raw and Smackdown wrestlers tonight in Philadelphia was in regards to the Jeff and Matt Hardy video that made the rounds last week, in which Jeff blasted CM Punk and a rather tired looking Matt Hardy was mumbling something about Amy Dumas aka Lita, who has dated both Matt and Punk in the past.

Besides the obvious discussion about the apparent condition of the Hardys in the video, the talk backstage was about how TNA has former heart throb Jeff Hardy as champion, only to have him play supporting player to Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff, while on Raw, Miz is already positioned as a champion, and defended the title tonight in an excellent match against Jerry Lawler, carrying the 61 year old Lawler through a Tables Ladders and Chairs Match, without giving away a match on television people would pay to see the new champion in (Orton, Cena, Kofi, HHH).

The talk was not only about how bad the Hardys came off in the video, but how much better WWE has done with Miz in just one week as champion than TNA has done in turning the hottest wrestling pay per view attraction of 2009 into a heel champion in 2010.

In case you missed it, you can check out all the details and watch the Jeff/Matt Hardy video here.

WWE Talent Heading to Afghanistan

WWE Pushes Back Plans For "WWE Network" To 2012-2013

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc plans to launch a cable TV network featuring its hulking wrestlers and scripted storylines in mid-2012 or early 2013, later than it had previously hoped, a top executive said on Tuesday.

WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Vince McMahon said in February that he hoped to have a network up and running in 18 months, implying August 2011.

However, Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith said on Tuesday that it would likely be a year or two beyond that date.

"It's taken us longer to galvanize the troops and figure out where we're going," she said at the Reuters Global Media Summit. "My guess is more like the middle of 2012 or even the beginning of 2013 before we're ready to go forward."

Goldsmith said she had not yet spoken to potential advertisers, saying she wanted first to work out details related to programming.

She also reiterated that WWE is leaning toward a network model similar to that instituted by Major League Baseball, where several pay-TV operators own a stake in the venture. That decision has not yet been finalized, she added.

Beyond the launch of the network, Goldsmith said priorities also included international expansion, including building WWE's presence in spots like Brazil, India and Russia.

source: wrestlezone.com

WWE Comes to Russia

World Wrestling Entertainment® and 2X2 today announced a two-year TV distribution deal for Russia.

WWE’s flagship weekly TV show ‘Raw®’ will premiere on 2X2 in February 2011, bringing WWE’s unique style of action entertainment to more than 24 million homes across Russia including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

WWE ‘Raw’ continues to be one of the most watched regularly scheduled TV programs on ad-supported cable television in the U.S. and is currently distributed to over 100 countries worldwide.

“We are delighted to be bringing WWE ‘Raw’ back to Free TV in Russia and look forward to working with 2X2,” said Andrew Whitaker, Executive Vice President, WWE International. “We are confident that this partnership will be the first step in expanding the WWE brand in Russia.”...More?