As noted, Alberto Del Rio made his surprise WWE return at Hell In a Cell last night and defeated John Cena to become the new WWE United States Champion.
Del Rio received a very good deal to return. There are conflicting reports on if Triple H contacted Del Rio or if Del Rio approached WWE but apparently Del Rio has been the planned opponent for Cena's US Open Challenge all along.
The deal to bring him back to WWE was reportedly done weeks ago but Del Rio was giving the impression that it wasn't done weeks ago. However, people in WWE have known he was coming in. Del Rio, the current AAA Mega Champion, will reportedly work other dates through the end of November but that also hasn't been confirmed. AAA officials reportedly didn't know about his WWE return until Sunday some time.
Del Rio's new WWE schedule is said to be easier than most talents but not as easy as Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar or The Undertaker's schedules.
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October 26, 2015
Backstage News And Notes On Alberto Del Rio's WWE Return, Will He Finish Non-WWE Dates?
WWE Sending Referee, Signed NXT Title Belt and More to "Fat Frank" JAPW Memorial Show
WWE will be sending a signed NXT Title belt, referee Shawn Bennett and other items to Jersey All Pro Wrestling for their Frank Iadevaia Memorial Show on November 14th. "Fat Frank" was loved by many in the business and worked with many current WWE talents. JAPW issued the following:
WWE REFEREE SHAWN BENNETT TO HOST CHARITY RAFFLE AT JAPW FRANK IADEVAIA MEMORIAL SHOW 11/14
Former JAPW referee, and current WWE referee Shawn Bennett will be in attendance at the JAPW 19th Anniversary Show to host a special raffle to benefit the family of "Fat Frank" Iadevaia. Numerous members of the current WWE and NXT rosters have spent time working with Frank throughout JAPW's 19 year history.
100% of all money collected will be donated to Frank's wife Jenn, and their two children.
WWE has donated five one of a kind items to be raffled off at the JAPW show on 11/14 in Rahway, NJ.
Top prize will be a replica NXT Championship belt signed by JAPW alumni that are currently on the WWE and NXT rosters. Signatures included Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Solomon Crowe, Sara Del Ray, Drake "Younger" Wuertz, and Eddie "Bandido Jr." Orengo.
Other prizes include a rare "WWE Fall Tour 2015" crew t-shirt signed by the same JAPW Alumni, a NXT poster signed by the cast of WWE Network's "Breaking Ground" documentary series, a four pack of NXT autographed photos, and a NXT poster signed by the "Four Horsewomen" Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley, as well as their trainer, WWE Performance Center Assistant Head Coach & former JAPW Women's Champion Sara Del Ray.
Prizes will be on display throughout the event. Raffle tickets will be available starting when doors open for the event at 5:30pm until partway through the second half of the event. Raffle will be done "tricky tray" style, meaning that you can choose what prizes you are trying to win by placing tickets into the corresponding bin for each prize. Tickets will cost $2 each, 3 for $5, 8 for $10, 15 for $15, or 24 for $20.
For more details, visit www.JAPW.net.
This Day In Wrestling History
Dan McLeod defeats Martin Burns in Chicago, Illinois, to win the American Heavyweight Title.
October 26, 1897
The Executioners (Killer Kowalski & John Studd) were stripped of the WWWF World Tag Team title when they had a third member (Nikolai Volkoff) participate in a title defense against Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Strongbow & White Wolf would go on to win the belts in a three team tournament with the Executioners and, ironically, Volkoff & Tor Kamata.
October 26, 1976
Sweet Brown Sugar defeats Ernie Ladd to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Lafayette, Louisiana.
October 26, 1979
Bret Hart announces his retirement from professional wrestling on his official website, ending his 23 year run in the business.
October 26, 2000
October 25, 2015
Alberto Del Rio Returns to WWE
WWE United States Champion John Cena had his US Open Challenge answered by Alberto Del Rio at tonight's Hell In a Cell pay-per-view in Los Angeles.
Cena's challenge was first met by Jack Swagger's theme song as Zeb Colter came out on a scooter. Zeb talked about how it was time for Cena to lose the title to someone who will do more with it than Cena ever did. He then introduced current AAA Mega Champion Alberto Del Rio.
The match ended clean with Del Rio capturing the WWE United States Title. This is his first run with the US Title.
I'm grateful for a 2nd chance to come back to @WWE #hellinacell and I'm happy to be performing again
— Alberto Del Rio (@VivaDelRio) October 26, 2015
Former NFL Star Training For WWE Contract In 2016
TMZ has a story up on former NFL star Brennan Williams (@GREATBLACKOTAKU) training with WWE Hall of Famer Booker T at his wrestling school in Houston. The offensive tackle has played for the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, but after being waived by the New England Patriots this past week, Williams has decided to pursue one of his long-time passions: pro wrestling.
Physically, he's a perfect fit for a WWE Superstar. At only 24-years-old, Williams stands 6'6" and weighs in around 315 pounds. He told TMZ he plans on training with Booker T through the end of the year, and is shooting for a WWE contract as early as January.
This Day In Wrestling History
Ivory defeated The Fabulous Moolah for the WWF(E) Women's title and Bret Hart defeated Goldberg for the WCW US Heavyweight title.
October 25, 1999
October 24, 2015
Bubba Ray Dudley Says WWE NXT Is The Best Of Both Worlds
"There's not one bad thing to say about NXT. There's no negative down there. Yes, it's a developmental system that's meant to mold up-and-coming talent, but it's also become its own promotion. That's the best of both worlds. It's great for rising wrestlers who are just getting their first taste of the business and it's also great for guys like a Samoa Joe or a James Storm because it's another place for wrestlers to go and work. Joe's been doing great there and I'm sure Storm will be amazing. And it seems like wrestling fans all over the world are really hot about NXT. It works on all levels."
October 23, 2015
'Cowboy' James Storm on what led him to NXT
It was like a scene out of an old Western, but instead of whispers of disbelief spreading through a crowded saloon, the news broke on Twitter: The Cowboy had ridden into town.
James Storm’s unannounced debut in NXT — a decisive outing against Danny Burch that aired Wednesday on WWE Network — has been greeted with adulation and genuine shock. In this WWE.com exclusive interview, the celebrated outlaw says he is ready to prove himself inside NXT’s yellow ropes. And with 18 years of hard-fought ring experience to back up his reputation, much of it on an international stage, make no mistake: This isn’t James Storm’s first rodeo.
WWE.COM: Can you walk us through how the conversation of you coming to NXT began?
STORM: It came about because I’m good friends with Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. They put it in Triple H’s ear that I was free and clear of all contracts, to see if there’s some interest there. I actually called Road Dogg to see if it was OK that I went up to the NXT Nashville show not too long ago. He said, “Yeah, just try to stay out of sight.” So, I stayed in the locker room. There were reports that I was sitting in the front row at an NXT show, and I didn’t deny that I was there. I just said, “I saw the reports and I’m sorry, but that was not me sitting in the front row.” [Laughs.]
Then, [WWE Performance Center Head Coach] Matt Bloom pulled me aside and asked if I was available to come down that Wednesday and Thursday to Orlando. I went down and talked to Triple H at the NXT TakeOver: Respect special. Then the next night, he asked if I was willing to appear, and I said yes.
WWE.COM: A lot of people probably thought they’d never see the day when you’d be in an NXT ring. Did you ever feel that way?
STORM: No. I was actually really good friends with Dusty Rhodes, and he told me long ago, “You’ll know when it’s your time.” I’ve had a couple chances to come to WWE before, but I just didn’t feel like it was my time yet. I just had to wait for the right timing, and I feel like this was it. I felt like I had done all I could do, and it was my time to prove myself on a big stage...More?
WWE Network Launches In India
Beginning Monday, November 2, WWE Network will be available in India for $9.99 (U.S.) per month, with no commitment and the ability to cancel any time. Fans in India can sign up online by going to WWENetwork.com and can watch WWE Network on their desktop, laptop and mobile devices.
WWE Network subscribers in India will receive their first month of service free and have access to the U.S. English language version of WWE Network. Subscribers will get access to 24/7 scheduled programming and the most comprehensive video-on-demand library with more than 3,700 hours of content, including Raw® and SmackDown® re-airs, and every WWE, WCW™ and ECW™ pay-per-view. In addition, all 12 WWE pay-per-views will be available to subscribers 24 hours after they air in India, and will be broadcast live on WWE Network beginning in 2017.
“India is a strategically important market for WWE and we are thrilled to make WWE Network available to our fans there,” said George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “The global expansion of WWE Network is a key driver in our commitment to growing the WWE brand internationally.”
October 22, 2015
WWE YouTube Stats For September
According to OpenSlate and Tubefilter, WWE's YouTube channel was the second most-viewed for the month of September with 365 million video views. The netd muzik channel had 371 million views. WWE had 342,467 subscribers this month. WWE's YouTube channel has 5,344,307,281 all-time views and 7,766,722 all-time subs. In August, the WWE channel was the #1 most-viewed channel with 454 million viewers.
What WWE's Senior Director Of Talent Development Tells Wrestlers After Having Bad Tryouts
WWE's Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman tells wrestlers who are seeking a second WWE tryout after having a bad first tryout to make themselves into an indie star because they have low chances at getting into WWE through a second tryout.
The old WWE doctrine was to look down on indie guys with the feeling that their style doesn't translate to the big stage and WWE would rather go with bigger, higher quality athletes who they can train from scratch. That doctrine has obviously changed due to what fans are into.
This Day In Wrestling History
Happy Birthday to WWE Hall of Famer Pedro Morales
October 22, 1942
Shawn Michaels forfeited the WWF(E) Intercontinental title to Shane Douglas.
October 22, 1995
Kurt Angle defeated the Rock for the WWF(E) Heavyweight title.
October 22, 2000
October 21, 2015
EVOLVE Star Mocking Triple H
EVOLVE star Ethan Page, who used Triple H's entrance and theme song for the EVOLVE 49 event this past weekend, has released a shirt similar to one of Triple H's with his logo, as seen below. Page is the same wrestler WWE NXT Superstar Sami Zayn confronted after EVOLVE 50 on Sunday night.
https://t.co/eBrrGqw1IR
On sale now! Get it before I get sued. pic.twitter.com/mgmbPuywoQ
— All Ego Ethan Page (@OfficialEGO) October 20, 2015
WWE Signs More WWE Tough Enough Competitors
WWE has reportedly signed Tough Enough competitors Mada Abdelhamid and Daria Berenato to developmental deals, according to PWInsider.
Both Mada and Daria started at the WWE Performance Center on Tuesday. This comes after Patrick Clark was also signed in the past week. He reported to work on Monday.
WWE has now signed Mada, Daria, finalists Zamariah "ZZ" Loupe and Amanda Saccomanno, as well as winners Sara Lee and Josh Bredl.
Backstage Update on WWE SmackDown Possibly Going Live or Moving to Tuesday Nights
We noted recently that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler teased at New York Comic Con that WWE SmackDown may be going live when it moves to the USA Network in early 2016.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there has been talk of starting out on USA with a live special but there's also been talk of moving SmackDown to Tuesday nights and going live.
If they are going live, Tuesday works best due to increases in travel costs. SmackDown going live is not a done deal but WWE has been looking at major changes for January but some are still being worked on and not finalized.
WWE Hires Former MMA Fighter
WWE has hired former MMA fighter Seth Petruzelli to work as a striking coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, where he lives. Seth will be working for WWE three times each week.
This Day In Wrestling History
Mayor Bosse and the Sheriff of Evansville, IN confiscate the $2,756 in ticket sales from the previous night's match on the basis that they believe the Stecher-Lewis match was "not on the square" and was in fact "rigged." Mayor Bosse then proclaims that there would be no more wrestling in Evansville. Show promoter W. F. Barton is left with just $13 after the incident and claimed to owe $400 to the wrestlers.
October 21, 1915
All Japan Pro Wrestling holds it's first ever show at Machida City Gym in Tokyo, Japan. The show is headlined by a two out of three fall tag team match, with Bruno Sammartino & Terry Funk defeating Giant Baba & Thunder Sugiyama. Funk pinned Sugiyama to win the first fall, Sugiyama pinned Funk to win the second, and Baba & Sugiyama were counted out in the final fall.
October 21, 1972
Ernie Ladd defeats Carlos Colon in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the WWC North American Heavyweight Title.
October 21, 1974
Ken Patera defeats Tony Atlas to win his second NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title in Greensboro, North Carolina.
October 21, 1978
Bret Hart, ending months of rumors and speculation, signs a 20-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation, turning down a lucrative offer from WCW. As part of the agreement, which will see Hart become a part of the WWF office following his in-ring career, Bret is allowed to go into the ring during a live edition of Raw and discuss his decision. Hart does not blast WCW (as some within WWF were hoping), but does reveal that he is staying with the WWF. One year later, Vince McMahon would be asking Bret to drop the WWF Title to Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series and releasing him from the contract, beginning the most famous story in wrestling history, the Montreal Screwjob.
October 21, 1996
Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeats Marc Mero the WWF Intercontinental Title, his first title in WWF/E.
October 21, 1996
Chris Jericho defeated The Rock for the WCW Heavyweight title.
October 21, 2001
Triple H simulated sex with a mannequin while dressed as Kane, in the infamous Katie Vick necrophilia skit.
October 21, 2002
October 20, 2015
WWE NXT Live Event Branding
All WWE NXT live events starting next month will be branded as, "WWE Presents NXT" instead of just WWE NXT.
Strangulation And False Imprisonment Charges Against TNA Star Dropped, TNA Issues Statement
The Florida State Attorney's office has declined to prosecute TNA star Bram (Thomas Latimer) and the charges of domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment were dropped. As noted, Bram was arrested on August 30th in Gulfport, Florida after an incident with his girlfriend.
Police wrote in their original report that Bram admitted holding his girlfriend down by her throat and refusing to let her leave their bedroom but he still plead not guilty. His attorney issued these comments to PWInsider today:
"Our office is pleased to announce that Mr. Latimer's case has been successfully resolved, resulting in a decision by the State Attorney's office whereby they have declined to prosecute our client on the aforementioned charges. Our office has always maintained that once the entirety of the facts, evidence and witness statements are brought forth, our client would be exonerated of the allegations."
Bram will be returning to TNA action soon as the company suspended him until the issue was resolved.
Official statement on Bram. pic.twitter.com/L3cajg45eM
— John Gaburick (@JohnGaburick) October 19, 2015
Celebrity To Host Breaking Ground, Premiere On Social Media, WWE's Kevin Dunn Comments
The AP reports that actor William Shatner will narrate the 10-episode WWE Breaking Ground series. The premiere will air on WWE's Facebook and YouTube channels this Sunday after Hell In a Cell, then debut on the WWE Network after Monday's RAW.
WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn commented:
"I wouldn't say we're pulling back the curtain at all. We're telling real stories of these real people and the hardships and difficulty of making it to the WWE. I don't think we're giving it away. You're just going to see how this process actually works."
"It's not about NXT. It's about making it to the WWE."
"I think new is always interesting on any level, especially when you have new stars on any TV show."
Dunn also said the return of WWE Tough Enough is uncertain.
Randy Orton Update, Details On His Injury
Randy Orton is currently out of action with a shoulder injury.
Orton is set to have a MRI done soon to find out if he needs surgery. This is why he wasn't on the Mexico tour and why he wasn't at RAW last night.
Orton had been working with a shoulder injury but it got worse and then the dislocated shoulder happened in the past week.
This Week’s Final WWE RAW Rating Hits New All-Time Low
This week’s episode of WWE RAW brought in 3.356 million viewers, higher than last week’s record-low of 3.285 million.
Despite the increase, the final WWE RAW rating still hit a record low, coming back with a 2.21 rating. This number is lower than last week’s 2.33 final WWE RAW rating, and is actually the lowest non-holiday show since RAW went to a three-hour format in 2012.
October 19, 2015
This Day In Wrestling History
Johnny Valentine defeats Abdullah The Butcher to win the National Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Title in Cleveland, OH.
October 19, 1972
WWE holds their No Mercy Pay-per-view in Baltimore, Maryland. The show is especially notable for an "I Quit" match between Vince and Stephanie McMahon in which Vince promised to give up ownership of WWE if he lost, and Stephanie agreed to step down as General Manager of Smackdown if she lost. Stephanie lost, and would not appear on WWE programming (in a storyline sense, as she did attend the WWE Hall Of Fame events) until October 3, 2005. It is also interesting to note that the Maryland State Athletic Commission had a rule that prevented male vs. female wrestling matches, and WWE had to pay a fine (which they were prepared to do in advance) in order to have the match. This match also occurred six days prior to her real life marriage to Triple H.
October 19, 2003
Michael Hegstrand aka Hawk of the Road Warriors/Legion of Doom passed away in his sleep at age 46.
October 19, 2003
October 18, 2015
Sting Reveals Why He Lost To Triple H At WrestleMania 31
Sting revealed on his newly released "Into The Light" documentary that he lost to Triple H at WrestleMania 31 earlier this year because it is "the right thing to do" in your last match.
This thinking is a harp back to an old school mentally that you should put your opponent over in the way to go out in your last match.
Throughout the documentary, Sting says that he thinks WrestleMania is his last wrestling match. His deal since recording this footage has clearly been restructured, as he faced Seth Rollins at the Night of Champions event this year.
Popular WWE Tough Enough Contestant Reportedly Signs with WWE, Reports to the Performance Center
A source close to Patrick Clark has told the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show that the popular former Tough Enough contestant has signed to a WWE developmental contract and is currently at the performance center. Adding fuel to the speculation, Clark was missing from this weekend’s MCW shows where he was advertised to appear and last night in Delaware, his tag team partner Lio Rush dropped the Maryland Tag Team Championship in a handicap match.
You can listen to The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show on Washington DC’s 106.7 The Fan Wednesday Nights at 7pm and on iTunes, Play.it, and at: http://chaddukeswrestlingshow.com/
Sami Zayn Appears in the Ring After EVOLVE 49, Teases Big Things Between WWE and WWN Live
According to PWInsider.com, after last ight’s EVOLVE 49 iPPV went off the air, WWE NXT star Sami Zayn came down to the ring as Johnny Gargano and Ethan Page were recovering from their I Quit main event match.
Zayn said he got his start cutting his teeth in EVOLVE and added he has an “indy sized hole” in his heart. He thanked the fans for supporting him and EVOLVE.
Zayn then said this is the ground floor of something very, very big for EVOLVE and he teased more to the relationship between WWN Live and WWE. He put over Johnny Gargano, who participated in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, and told him that after seeing him in NXT and tonight, that there is no doubt Gargano is the man. Zayn said there’s there’s never been a more important time than now for him to step up and show it. This ended the night.
Adam Rose and Colin Cassady Injured
It appeared Adam Rose might have suffered a concussion during his match last night in Mexico, as his bout against Fandango was stopped and Rose had to be stretchered out. F4WOnline.com is reporting Rose “got his bell rung” but is fine, and Rose himself confirmed he is ok as he Tweeted the following:
"I am fine. Thanks for all the support and concern."
Colin Cassady appeared at last night's meet & greet before the WWE NXT live event in Tampa and was walking on crutches. This indicates that the injury shot with Cassady for the October 28th NXT episode was not just an angle.
October 17, 2015
Rumor Mill - Backstage News On What Led To Blue Pants Getting Heat In WWE NXT, Brooklyn Incident
PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently noted that Leva "Blue Pants" Bates was likely done with WWE NXT after catching some backstage heat. The reports were that Blue Pants had heat for how over she got herself and for making comments about being more over than other talents. It was also noted that WWE officials kept using her because they knew she would get a big pop at "Takeover: Brooklyn" as the mystery partner for The Vaudevillains but once Alexa Bliss beat Blue Pants, that was supposed to be the end of her run.
Blue Pants didn't get the heat because of how over she was, but because there was a feeling that she did not appreciate the spot she had. She was often seen on her phone at and during NXT TV tapings, apparently not paying attention to what was going on.
There was also an incident during SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn where Blue Pants became intoxicated in public. Following the SummerSlam pay-per-view, Blue Pants reportedly drank too much at an outing and acted highly inappropriate. There were WWE Corporate employees from Stamford at the gathering and her behavior did not go over well. This incident led to her missing the flight back to Florida the next morning with the rest of the crew.
