Ring Of Honor Issues Statement Regarding Situation Involving Davey Richards

PWInsider.com has posted the following statement sent to them by Ring of Honor regarding the situation involving Davey Richards:

"Originally ROH had planned to announce a tag team match for Final Battle today, featuring Roderick Strong & Jay Lethal vs the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, what was to be the final schedule appearance of the Wolves. This match was scheduled after two very competitive singles matches in Dearborn, Michigan, that saw Lethal take on Edwards, and Strong take on Richards; a tag team match. Four of ROH’s best going at it, not for titles, or even bragging rights, but for honor.

Both Richards and Edwards do not have any upcoming ROH appearances following Final Battle because of commitments and endeavors, that will prevent them wrestling full time for ROH.

However, due to recent events, Davey Richards has been removed from the Final Battle match by ROH management due to his unprofessionalism and unreliability with the company.

A mystery tag team partner is being searched for by ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness to take Richard’s spot in the match. Nigel has guaranteed ROHWrestling.com that the replacement will not only meet the expectations of the American Wolves farewell match, but will raise the bar of the show. With so many limitless possibilities, who will Nigel choose for ROH’s biggest show of the year? He promises that the match WILL NOT disappoint. Fans, You can’t miss this one.

What should have been a farewell (for now) to the American Wolves, will now be one for 'Die Hard' Eddie Edwards. Will Final Battle be the last time we see the first man in ROH History to hold the World, TV and Tag Team Championships? Don’t miss your chance to Eddie LIVE at the Hammerstein Ballroom, order your tickets now by clicking here."

WWE proclaims the Shield as 2013 Rookies of the Year

WWE.com has a new article where they proclaim the Shield of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns the 2013 WWE Rookies of the Year. The Shield were in the running for the award alongside the Wyatt Family, Fandango, Curtis Axel and Big E. Langston.

To read the full article, click here.

Total Divas Recap 12/01/13

More on Davey Richards' Status, Did WWE Tryout Play a Role In His Ring of Honor Departure

As noted, top WWE prospect Davey Richards announced on Facebook that he is done with Ring of Honor and will not be appearing at their December 14th Final Battle event. Word is that the WWE tryout that Richards and partner Eddie Edwards recently participated in has nothing to do with the ROH departure. Edwards is still booked for the event.

The statement from Richards on Facebook was something done on his own and not part of a planned ROH angle. Richards was removed from the last set of ROH shows in Ohio and Michigan after company officials were upset about comments he made in the UK's Total Wrestling Magazine about how the ROH titles were not as important as they once were. Richards was able to get himself back on the dates and made it a point to say in front of the locker room that his comments in the magazine were incorrect and taken out of context.

Richards tweeted this afternoon, making it clear that WWE did not have anything to do with his removal from Final Battle:

"To clarify, it was ROH offices decision to not have me at Finall Battle. Not mine or any other company's."

Former NWA Champion Headed to the WWE Performance Center to Work This Week

Former NWA Champion Adam Pearce wrote on Twitter that he was flying from San Diego to Orlando and added the following:

"The next chapter begins. #Thankful"

PWInsider reports that Pearce is scheduled to be at the WWE Performance Center this week as a guest trainer.

WWE Tribute To The Troops Taping Schedule

This year's WWE Tribute to The Troops will be taped on December 11th at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Fort Lewis, Washington. The show starts at 7pm and will be taped at McChord Field Hangars 3 and 4. Admission is free to all military personnel.

Top WWE Prospect Says He Is Done with Ring of Honor, Won't Be Appearing at Final Battle

Davey Richards announced last night on Facebook that he is officially done with Ring of Honor and will not be appearing at their Final Battle event in December. Richards and his tag partner Eddie Edwards recently debuted for WWE NXT. Below is a post from his Facebook:

"With a heavy heart I can announce I announce that myself and ROH have parted ways for good and I will not be at Final Battle. Please continue to support them and the incredible talent they have. Thanks for the memories. It was an amazing ride."

Ultimate Warrior comments on WWE Hall of Fame rumors

Mayer Nissium of Digital Spy is featuring an interview with the Ultimate Warrior where he addresses the possiblity of heading into the WWE Hall of Fame and his interest in it.

Warrior provided a lengthy response not ruling anything out, but that the true story of his career would need to be told first instead of the version released on DVD back in 2005.

"The simple answer is they've got to tell the right story. That's a possibility. Being in the Hall of Fame - Ultimate Warrior being inducted into the Hall of Fame, or me standing there at the Hall of Fame participating in it - is not going to mean anything to my goals in my life and the kind of quality of life I'm going to have, what kind of things I'm going to do, how productive I'm going to be as I move on throughout my life.

I only get this one life, so I'm not going to sit in my own pile of poop and feel sorry that I'm not in the Hall of Fame. The Ultimate Warrior character relative to professional wrestling or WWE, he's definitely a Hall of Famer. He's a Hall of Famer whether he gets into the Hall of Fame or not.

They need to tell the right story. They need to tell the right story for the fans. It's been interesting - years ago they started rewriting the history of the character. Then they came out with the DVD [2005's controversial The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior]. I see the people who love The Ultimate Warrior. They're grown up now they're out in the world and they've got their own kids. I've seen them, they fight.

"They don't sit back and take it anymore when people are on a bandwagon and spew out all kinds of stuff that's not based on any factual information or anything like that about what kind of impression the Ultimate Warrior made in the business. So they need to tell the right story, and that would be a way to open the door to talking about doing the Hall of Fame."

To check out the full interview with Warrior, click here.

source: digital spy

WWE Working with Artist Rob Schamberger

WE's auction website now features the work of awesome artist Rob Schamberger, who is no stranger to some WWE fans. Rob posted a video on YouTube which shows how he did his Champions Collection portrait of Daniel Bryan, which is available on WWE's auction site now.

Edge On Why WWE Changed His Theme, Hating 'You Think You Know Me,' HHH's Song Not Making Sense

Journey Of A Frontman has an interview with Adam "Edge" Copeland, who discussed music. Here are a couple of highlights from the interview:

WWE replacing Rob Zombie's "Never Gonna Stop" as his theme with "Think You Know Me": "Replacing 'Never Gonna Stop' wasn't my choice. The copyright ran out on Never Gonna Stop. And the way that started is, I tore my labrum in my shoulder, but I didn't get surgery, so I ended up having a month off. So I threw a shot in the dark. I always hated that 'You Think You Know Me' music because it never fit me and what I actually listen to. I had actually said that I wanted to use this Black Label Society song and they were like, 'Okay, well here's our version of it.' And it just sounded like a bad ripoff with this cheesy voice. The guys that did Big Show's music and they did this version of Black Label and it was just not good. It just sounded like a bad ripoff. Rob Zombie, he had a new album coming out, 'Can we get this?' A shot in the dark. Next week, they brought me a copy of the CD, The Sinister Urge, and I was just like, 'Oh, really? Holy s--t!' I didn't think that was gonna happen. So I had four tracks and they said the album hasn't been released, so you can't let anybody hear this. And I said, 'Okay. Never Gonna Stop.' I come back from an injury, that makes sense. So I used it, really, really liked it. And then when I came back from the neck injury, they were like, 'Okay, well we can't use it.' And also if you watch DVDs, it's never on the DVDs. So they piped in my original music.

"When I was out with my neck injury, I met Mark Tremonti. I met him at a Metallica show, actually. And I went back to his place after and he played me what would end up being the first Alter Bridge album. I heard Metalingus and I was like, 'Dude, can I use that when I come back?' And he said, 'Yeah! Of course!" So that ended up being the genesis of it and when I heard it, it was actually Mark singing. It hadn't been Myles yet. So it was in its infancy, but I had heard that song. I was like, 'Okay, that's gonna be what I come to the ring to.' And that's how that all started."

If there was ever discussion of Alter Bridge playing his theme live at a WWE event: "My whole idea to me is if you're a heel in wrestling, you should not having a band playing for when you come out and people will react in a positive way. And I never wanted them to react in a positive way. So it never made sense to me when Motorhead showed up and did Triple H's song, you're supposed to be a heel. They're now gonna cheer you because you just had Motorhead playing you to the ring. So, to me, it just never fit. I was never a babyface at the point where it would have worked out. So, we kind of missed the boat on that. Looking back at Wrestlemania 24, I wrestled Undertaker in Orlando, which is Alter Bridge's hometown. That would have been the perfect night to do it. But I was the bad guy. If I had done that differently, it would have been a very cool moment for all of us."

Copeland also discussed his favorite live band performances on WWE television, bonding with Chris Jericho, his favorite band, getting on stage with Fozzy and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

source: journeyofafrontman.com

Backstage News On Goldberg's Talks With WWE, Who Called Him?

Bill Goldberg was at the C4 Comic Con in Winnipeg a few weeks back and was asked about appearing at WWE's WrestleMania XXX. He said Triple H has called him and they have talked but there's no deal in place.

Goldberg said he is open to coming back and would like his son to see him wrestle once but he would only do it for the right price. He said he would never call WWE and ask to come back, and that the ball is in their court and they know what they have to do to get him to return. A WWE source says Goldberg's financial demands were very significant.

Goldberg added that WWE did try to push him on the "think of the pop you'll get" idea but he said from his point of view, they are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to negotiating tactics.

source: wrestling observer

Christmas Bounty Viewership

The premiere of WWE Studios' Christmas Bounty on ABC Family with The Miz in a starring role drew 828,000 viewers on Tuesday night. The movie drew a 0.3 cable rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic.