Friday, March 4, 2011

DREW MCINTYRE ALSO FIRED??

Two fans in attendance at last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Cleveland, Ohio noted that Drew McIntyre was “fired” by Teddy Long due to his loss to World Heavyweight Champion Edge in the opening match.


McIntyre tried to attack Edge at the start of the show when Edge was talking about Vickie Guerrero being fired the previous week. Teddy Long came out and decided that this week, Drew should put his job on the line.


McIntyre, Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler have all been “fired” from SmackDown in recent weeks. Kelly Kelly was also fired but brought back by Teddy Long.

WWE COMING BACK TO MEXICO

WWE’s RAW brand will be returning to Mexico on May 11th in Hermosillo, May 12th in Guadalajara, May 13th in Mexico City and May 14th in Arena Monterrey.

SIN CARA WORKING ON PROMOS

Sin Cara was scheduled to train in Los Angeles with WWE developmental star Alex Koslov, known as Peter Orlov since Koslov has experience at working the Lucha Libre style and WWE’s American style of wrestling. Koslov will also be used as a stand-in and “opponent” when they film Cara in the ring doing high-flying moves for his entrance video and other introductory promos, since WWE has no footage of him.

RAW RATINGS FOR 2-28-11

As noted before, the February 28th episode of WWE’s Monday Night RAW scored a 3.82 rating with 5.6 million viewers. Male viewership was up 70% this week and The Rock’s interview was the high point with every demographic.


In a segment breakdown, the show opened at a 3.78 rating with Triple H’s promo and attack on Sheamus. Evan Bourne’s return vs. Sheamus lost 187,000 viewers while the segment with Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Jack Swagger gained 386,000 viewers back. This segment did well for that usual time in the show and ended up being the second-most watched segment this week with a 3.93 rating.


Randy Orton vs. Michael McGillicutty lost 95,000 viewers but the segment with Alex Riley, The Miz and John Cena coming out gained 67,000 back. There’s been a trend in ratings where The Miz is put on a part of the show that usually draws but it’s not drawing with him featured.


The Divas Battle Royal lost 308,000 viewers but The Rock’s promo gained 482,000 back, to a 4.03 rating, in a segment of the show that usually loses viewers. The interview with Shawn Michaels and The Miz attacking Daniel Bryan lost 389,000 viewers. The Cena vs. Riley cage match gained 167,000 viewers in the overrun, ending at a 3.86. This is low for RAW’s usual overrun.

NEWS ON REY MYSTERIO'S KNEE

Rey Mysterio has been receiving cartilage injections in his knee. Rey told Brian Fritz of Fanhouse that the 8-12 shots he’s gotten is probably what has held his knee up to this point. Rey will probably get a few more shots after WrestleMania.

UNDERTAKER TO MAKE 20-0?

The latest talk about The Undertaker retiring is that he will do it after going 20-0 at WrestleMania 28 in 2012. Of course there is always talk about Taker retiring and most people feel that he will wrestle as long as he is physically able to.

NEWS ON WWE TRADEMARKS

WWE has recently trademarked Sin Cara and “I Bring It” for The Rock. They have also registered the name Sheriff Austin. This may just be WWE re-registering the Steve Austin related trademark from 2004.

RECENT RAW SUCCESS ON SOUTH AMERICA

WWE’s recent RAW brand tour of South America was considered a success. Here are some numbers:


* February 23rd in Santiago, Chile drew 7,000 fans for $330,000.
* February 24th in Guayaquil, Ecuador drew 7,000 fans for $300,000.
* February 25th in Quito, Ecuador drew 14,500 for $550,000. This would be WWE’s biggest live event crowd so far this year.
* February 26th in San Jose, Costa Rica drew 10,000 fans for $465,000.

TRIPLE H TALKS ABOUT WWE, MCMAHON

The New York Post’s Page Six features an interesting interview with Triple H this week. Here are a few highlights:


Wrestling and home life:
“Vince McMahon runs the WWE. I’m married to his daughter seven years. We live in Connecticut with three girls — 4½, 2½ and 6 months. I’m 41. Still wrestling. It’s very physical. I’ve had injuries, like torn quads off my biceps and thighs. People believe the sport’s fake and nothing hurts. Listen, doesn’t hurt any the less when a 350-pound guy jumps on you. Ten years from now I want to be able to pick up my kids. I’m also a WWE executive. I’m a wrestling fan. As a boy I watched it on TV with my father. At 20, I met a guy and the rest is history. Right away you get a flashy trick name so you’re a superhero come to life. Nobody pays $20 to see his next-door neighbor. Wrestling’s made me rich. Very. But everyone’s surprised that a wrestler can be not only talented but also articulate. Listen, we’re theater actors. Bad guy versus good guy. It’s a show. We’re onstage telling a story through our actions.”


The McMahons:
“The WWE financed this movie. Both McMahons love the grandchildren. Come around all the time. Take them to school. Their house even has sleepovers. I did appearances and campaign rallies for my mother-in-law. She’s great and staying politically involved. Lieberman’s not running again so she can try once more in 2012.”

UPCOMING WWE DVDS IN 2011

 According to WWEDVDNews, below is the updated listing of planned WWE DVD releases for the rest of 2011. Titles that have been removed include a Triple H DVD, the Best of RAW: Seasons 3 & 4 as well as the WWE Studios movie Bending the Rules, starring Edge and actor Jamie Kennedy. No word yet on why Edge’s WWE Studios movie is no longer on the list but at last word it was still planned for release.


As noted before, titles under consideration for the “TBD” slot in November include an Edge documentary DVD, a feature on Brock Lesnar and a feature on WCW’s War Games.


* The Chaperone with Triple H – March 8th
* The True Story of WrestleMania – March 15th
* Elimination Chamber 2011 – March 22nd
* DX: One Last Stand – April 5th
* WrestleMania 27 – May 10th
* That’s What I Am with Randy Orton – May 17th
* Extreme Rules 2011 – May 31st
* The Very Best of WCW Nitro – June 7th
* Over the Limit 2011 – June 21st
* Best of WWE Cage Matches – June 28th
* Rey Mysterio – July 12th
* Fatal 4 Way 2011 – July 19th
* Greatest Stars of the New Millenium – July 26th
* Money in the Bank 2011 – August 16th
* 50 Biggest Matches in WWE History – August 23rd
* Randy Orton – September 6th
* SummerSlam 2011 – September 13th
* Inside Out with Triple H – September 27th
* SmackDown: The Best of 2010/11 – October 11th
* Night of Champions 2011 – October 18th
* Steve Austin vs. The Rock: The Rivalry – October 25th
* Hell in a Cell 2011 – November 1st
* Blood Brothers with John Cena – November sometime
* Bragging Rights 2011 – November 22nd
* TBD – November 29th
* Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man – December 13th
* Survivor Series 2011 (New Name/Concept TBD) – December 20th
* Best PPV Matches of 2011 – December 27th