WWE News: John Morrison, Mick Foley, Jim Ross and the Day's Top WWE News
Are you still trying to wrap your head around Monday's abysmal episode of Raw?
I still am, but I can't seem to get any grasp whatsoever on anything that happened on that show. The WWE completely blew the returns of The Miz, R-Truth and Vince McMahon, and I've got a sour taste in my mouth at the moment.
But I'm a trooper, nonetheless, and I'm going to continue to write about the business I love. So, let's take a look at what's going on behind the scenes in the WWE today.
We'll examine the very latest on the contract situation of John Morrison, and whether or not he'll return to the company.
We'll also look at several details on the "firing" of Jim Ross in his hometown, including who did and didn't know about it.
Plus, we're going to examine a new report on the WWE statuses of Chris Jericho and Mick Foley. Are they coming back anytime soon or even at all?
I've got you covered on all that and more, with my look at Wednesday's top WWE news. Updates will be added below.
WWE News: Backstage Reaction to Walkout Angle on Oct. 3 Edition of Monday Night Raw
On the Oct. 3 edition of Monday Night Raw, most of the WWE roster walked out on Triple H, and the live crowd wasn't too happy about it.
That was especially true when Triple H's fellow baby face left the arena, as the feeling among the fans in attendance was that they were turning their backs on The Game.
The boo birds were particularly noticeable when longtime WWE announcers Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross left ringside and headed to the back, and though that may not seem like anything major, it's caused quite the stir backstage.
From the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestleNewz.com):
WWE officials were disappointed at how the crowd reacted towards some of the bigger stars participating in the walkout angle, and the fact that two of the people the crowd reacted to the most were Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. It was considered a really bad sign when the announcers were perceived by the fans as bigger stars than the wrestlers.Well, aside from the fact that Ross and Lawler are two of the most beloved and well respected people in all of the WWE, do you know why the fans reacted to them and not the other baby faces?
Because no one really gives a crap about any face that isn't John Cena, CM Punk, Sheamus or Randy Orton.
Sure, baby faces like Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder get solid pops from the crowd. But, if they left the WWE today, the company wouldn't miss a beat.
Why? Because the WWE brass have no idea how to book baby faces who aren't involved in main event angles.
Yet, they are going to freak out when the announcers are looked at as bigger stars than the actual wrestlers?
They shouldn't be in the least bit surprised, because it's their own damn fault. Book your mid-card faces like they actually matter, and then they actually will. The fans will care about any wrestler as long as you give them a reason to.
A pessimistic look at the WWE's future. WWE Bummer Report: 7 Things That Won't Happen in the Next 6 Months WWE News: Report on Royal Rumble Favorite and World Title Plans at Wrestlemania 28
The 2012 Royal Rumble is roughly three months away, and Wrestlemania 28 isn't until another three months after that.
So, naturally, I find it incredibly hard to believe that WWE officials have any idea how they want to book either of those pay-per-views.
But, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via SEScoops.com), the company has indeed look that far ahead and even has tentative plans for the Royal Rumble winner and how that will affect the World Heavyweight Championship scene:
As for the Royal Rumble, it’s said that WWE has already picked the winner – and the superstar is from the SmackDown brand. We heard several weeks ago that Randy Orton was favored to win the Rumble, but that has yet to be confirmed. While the Royal Rumble winner typically gets a title shot at WrestleMania, WWE is planning to have the Royal Rumble winner win the World Heavyweight title prior to WretleMania (likely at Elimination Chamber) and then defend against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.Let me get this straight: It's mid-October, and the WWE has already decided that Randy Orton is going to win the Royal Rumble?
If these reported plans are true, then that's absolutely ridiculous. I can think of at least five WWE stars who deserve to win the Royal Rumble match, and Orton is not one of them.
Why? Well, it's simple really: He doesn't need to win that match to headline Wrestlemania. He can do that his own.
I mean, the thought of booking Orton to win the Royal Rumble, then win the World title at Elimination Chamber (when the RR victory is supposed to give him a title shot at the granddaddy of them all) and defend it against Daniel Bryan drives me absolutely crazy.
The Royal Rumble should be used to create new stars (like Alberto Del Rio), the winner should always use his title shot at Wrestlemania and neither Orton nor Bryan should turn heel anytime soon.
I guess we could see a face Orton vs. a face Bryan at Wrestlemania, but I'm not sure Bryan's a big enough star as of yet to pull that off.
I sincerely hope the WWE doesn't go through with these plans, and that they realize that having Orton win the Rumble would really turn off a lot of viewers who are already disgusted with the WWE product.
This is the WWE, though, and if Orton does win it, I wouldn't be even slightly surprised.
Has the conspiracy storyline already been ruined? WWE: 5 Steps Needed to Save the Current Conspiracy Storyline WWE News: Reported Plan for Survivor Series and TLC Pay-Per-Views Revealed
If you're like me, you probably think that the WWE creative team writes its shows on a napkin 20 minutes before they actually air. At least, that's what it seems like.
But, apparently, that's not the case. Lo and behold, the WWE actually plans in advance!
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via SEScoops.com), the WWE already has plans in place for the upcoming Survivor Series and TLC pay-per-views:
Aside from the big Survivor Series main event that will see The Rock and John Cena teaming up, there will be a Scramble match involving Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Big Show, Sheamus, Christian and Kane.Hey, I didn't necessarily say the plans were good.
For December’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV, a TLC match between Mark Henry and the Big Show has been discussed.
While I'm obviously thrilled to see The Rock back in action for the first time in seven years, I'm not exactly jumping for joy about Smackdown's reported main event.
I think the Championship Scramble match can work when done right, and I'm big fans of Christian, Orton and Sheamus. But I really don't want to see Henry, Big Show and Kane wrestling for the World Heavyweight Championship, much less all doing so in the same match.
That has the potential to be a slow, boring match that will be a far cry from the great World title matches we got between Orton and Christian all summer long.
And does the rumored TLC match between Big Show and Henry mean that their current World Heavyweight Championship feud is going to continue all the way until then?
Ugh. I'm liking Henry's character, but no match between him and Big Show has ever been any good.
So, let's hope that the WWE does what the WWE always does and changes these lackluster plans before they ever come to fruition.
Just how bad is Johnny Ace's character? WWE Opinion: Is John Laurinaitis the Worst Non-Wrestling Character of All Time? WWE News: Backstage Update on Recent Booking of Monday Night Raw
Remember in an earlier post when I wrote that it looks like WWE shows are written 20 minutes before they air?
Well, it turns out that may actually be true.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestleZone.com), the booking of the last two episodes of Monday Night Raw has been as chaotic as what you've wound up seeing on TV:
It appears the October 3rd RAW that contained the superstars walking out was a last minute decision after six to eight scripts had been written and McMahon kept changing his mind. It seems even after the walkout angle was approved, many questioned it because of the problems it presented such as the next nights Smackdown tapings, live events and how to write for the next week. Arn Anderson is reported to be the agent/producer who suggested Jim Ross be the last person to walk out as he was brought back to commentary by Triple H.I've asked this numerous time already, and I'll ask it again: After throwing away that many scripts, is that really the best they could come up with?
This past weeks RAW on October 10th seemed to also featured a lack of knowledge as reported in the past the script was re-written last minute. It seemed the only thing that was a certain according to the report is that Vince McMahon would return and John Laurinaitis would replace Triple H as the authority figure for RAW.
Let's just forget the fact that, like the WON says, the walkout angle made absolutely no sense in the first place. I could tear that to shreds for hours if I really wanted to.
Instead, let's focus on this Monday's episode of Raw and just how terrible it was. In all honesty, it might have been the worst Raw I've ever seen, and I've been watching since I was eight years old and haven't missed one episode of the show since 2006.
The fact that what we wound up seeing on Monday is the best Vince could come up with is laughable. I mean, it was clear the script was written last minute because he rushed the living hell out of the WWE's biggest storyline.
Why he did that, I have no idea. But it's caused me to lose a ton of interest in the WWE at the moment, and I'm really not sure the WWE TV product will be able to cover until this storyline is officially over.
Is the Triple H/Punk pairing a good one? WWE Vengeance 2011: Why Triple H and CM Punk Are a Perfect Team WWE News: Analyzing This Week's Monday Night Raw Rating
Monday Night Raw has had its fair share of ups and down in 2011.
We've seen the ratings drop to drastic lows, come back up for a bit and then drop below 3.0 for another few weeks. Sometimes, the ratings have dropped because people were simply tuning into other shows, but other times, it was because the WWE product at the time was pretty crappy.
So, what happened with the ratings on this Monday's Raw? And why?
Well, let's take a look at this week's Raw ratings breakdown, courtesy of SEScoops.com:
Monday’s RAW drew a 3.26 rating and averaged 5,021,000 viewers for the two hour broadcast. While this is up from recent weeks, the hourly ratings are cause for concern.Let me break this down for you in terms that anyone above the age of three can understand: This week's episode of Raw was absolutely pathetic.
The first hour of RAW drew a strong 3.49 rating with 5,375,000 viewers, a sign that WWE fans were very interested to see the fallout from last week’s “walk out.”
The second hour took a nosedive, as the rating dropped to a 3.02 with 4,667,000 viewers – a loss of approximately 13.5% of the audience.
The reason that the rating popped at the beginning and then fell as the show progressed is because people expected to see a good two-hour show. Instead, what they got was complete and utter crap.
The opening promo between Triple H and the WWE's top baby faces dragged on for far too long, the opening match between Sheamus and John Cena stopped after like three minutes and then Vince McMahon returned completely out of the blue when he was supposed to be fired.
Not to mention the fact that his return came 30 minutes into Raw, which is traditionally a time when viewers tune out anyway.
So, my question is: Who the hell booked this show and actually thought it was good?
There was nothing about it that I enjoyed. At all.
The matches sucked, the promos were forgettable, the build to John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio is terrible and CM Punk is now a John Cena-like baby face.
Congratulations, WWE. You managed to be interesting for like two months, but now, you're right back where you started.
You don't want to ref these guys' matches. WWE: 10 Wrestlers Who Are a Referees Worst Nightmare WWE News: Stipulation to Be Added to Triple H and CM Punk's Tag Match at Vengeance?
Just a couple of months ago, Triple H and CM Punk couldn't stand each other. Now, all of a sudden, they're best friends.
I don't understand it, and I don't like it. But this is the WWE, so what else should I have expected?
Anyway, Triple H and Punk are now teaming up to face The Miz and R-Truth at Vengeance in what will very likely be the main event of the night. As of right now, the match is scheduled to be a straight up tag team bout, but that likely will change.
From F4Wonline.com (via WrestleNewz.com):
It’s believed the CM Punk and Triple H vs. The Miz and R-Truth match at WWE’s Vengeance pay-per-view will have something like a No Disqualification stipulation added to it.It seems like the WWE is in love with No DQ matches as of late, but this is one of those times when I actually agree with the decision.
This bout has so much hype around it, and it affects essentially the entire WWE roster. So, needless to say, it's likely that it will feature a boatload of shenanigans in the form of outside interference.
You've got a big chunk of the roster (mostly heels) who support John Laurinaitis and an equally large chunk (mostly faces) who support Triple H. Thus, I could see interference from multiple guys in this bout.
But the two I definitely expect to make their presence known at Vengeance? Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels.
Obviously, this would be a throwback to the days of "The Kliq," and the present state of the WWE sets up perfectly for a "reunion" between Nash, Triple H and HBK.
I think that Laurinaitis will send out Nash to help Miz and Truth, Michaels will appear in his hometown of San Antonio to help Triple H and all hell will break loose during this bout.
The No DQ has to be added for all this to happen, though, because there's no way you can pull this off with a single ref bump.
What happened to all these storylines? WWE: 7 Story Lines That Were Completely Wasted WWE News: Possible Wrestlemania 29 Location Revealed
We already know that Wrestlemania 28 will be held in Miami, so it's a certainty that a number of big cities have put in their bids to host Wrestlemania 29 the following year.
But which city will win out and host the granddaddy of them all in 2013?
Well, it appears that an early favorite has emerged in the Wrestlemania 29 sweepstakes.
From SEScoops.com:
Prior to the SmackDown tapings, the DX reunion took place as advertised – with Shawn Michaels and Triple H hitting the ring and entertaining the crowd with their typical edgy DX routine. Shawn Michaels teased that a future WrestleMania, rumored to be WrestleMania 29 in 2013, could take place from Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Cowboys Stadium is the newest, nicest stadium in the United States and has the capacity to hold over 100,000 fans.I don't like the Dallas Cowboys, and I really can't stand Jerry Jones. But this has to happen.
Cowboys Stadium is undoubtedly the top-tier stadium in the United States, and it is built specifically for huge events like the Super Bowl, Manny Pacqiauo boxing matches and, most importantly, Wrestlemania.
Vince McMahon and the WWE are all about setting records when it comes to their biggest pay-per-view of the year, whether it's from revenue, PPV buys or attendance. And that last one would almost assuredly be set if the WWE holds Wrestlemania in Cowboys Stadium.
Imagine seeing 100,000 or more fans pack the stadium from the floor to the rafters. Vince McMahon would need a rag to wipe the drool from his mouth.
While there are other cities that perhaps have a bigger wrestling fan base, such as Toronto or Chicago, Dallas has the biggest stadium. Wrestling fans travel from all over the world to watch Wrestlemania no matter where it is.
So, imagine how many fans would attend Wrestlemania if they had 20-30,000 more tickets available than usual.
The building should be packed, the crowd should be wild and this Wrestlemania should be the most attended one of all-time.
Where did all the wrestling go? WWE Proclamation: Putting the "Wrestling" Back in World Wrestling Entertainment WWE News: Backstage Updates on the Potential Returns of Mick Foley and JBL
Chris Jericho, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Batista, The Rock, JBL and Mick Foley.
These are all names that have been linked to WWE returns at some point this year, but the only one we know is definitely returning is the "most electrifying man in sports entertainment," The Rock.
That could be changing, though. Very soon.
From PWInsider.com (via WrestleZone.com):
According to PWInsider, Mick Foley is expected to return to the company in the next few weeks and it is believed to be right around Survivor Series time.The news about Foley shouldn't be all that surprising. He's been linked to the WWE before he even left TNA, and the widespread expectation is that he'll have some sort of role in the company, whether it's on TV or behind the scenes.
With longtime friend The Rock returning and likely appearing on the 11/14 RAW in Boston, it is thought that Foley will make appearances either just before or just after The Rock.
There has also been talk coming up in recent days about former WWE superstar John Bradshaw Layfield coming back to WWE in some capacity. At this time, those talks seem to just be that and no specific details are known.
Personally, I think it would be a good idea just for nostalgia's stake to bring Foley back for a short run on WWE TV, and a reunion of The Rock 'n' Sock connection. Perhaps Foley can even wrestling sparingly against some up-and-comers to help get them over with the crowd.
Now, onto JBL.
Please bring this man back to TV. You can make him the Raw GM, a heel general manager or, my preference, an announcer on Raw or Smackdown.
JBL is one of the best talkers the business has seen, and he knows how to generate heat like very few people do. He's not going to be able to get back in the ring because of issues with his back, but he doesn't need to do that anyway.
The former WWE Champion could do what Jerry Lawler used to and what Michael Cole's supposed to do: Be an excellent heel announcer. Let's hope that JBL comes back, Cole goes bye bye and Lawler does, too.
What? I'm not that crazy.
Who tops this list? 10 Most Iconic Wrestlers in the Last 25 Years WWE News: Brock Lesnar Reveals if He Will Wrestle Another WWE Match
Brock Lesnar will forever by synonymous with the WWE.
Though he hasn’t wrestled for the company since 2004 and has since moved on to a successful UFC career, it was the WWE that made Lesnar a household name. Thus, it’s the WWE who Lesnar has to thank for much of his success.
So, how can he show the pro wrestling business some love? Well, many of us want to see him wrestle one more match for Vince McMahon’s promotion.
We’ve begged for it for almost a year now, and we thought it might actually happen when Lesnar was rumored to face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 27. But Lesnar hasn’t stepped back into a WWE ring as of yet, and we’re going to continue debate if it will happen.
Well, here’s what the man himself told ESPN.com about having one more WWE match:
Lesnar said, "I think I will. I think under the right circumstances I will," in response to a question on whether he will have one last WWE match. Lesnar added, "I think if Vince McMahon and I were able to sit down at the same dinner table and break some bread that we could come up with some kind of gameplan. At the end of the day, I'm an ultimate fighter. That's who I am and that's who I'll always be. I was an entertainer but at the end of the day, I'm still as real as it gets. I think a lot of things have to fall in the right places for something like that to happen."There you have it, folks—Lesnar says he thinks he will return to the WWE at some point.
I’ve said the same thing all along, that Lesnar will come back to the WWE when the timing is right and all the cards fall in place.
No one knows when or where that will be, but my guess is that Lesnar still has at least a few more years at the top of the UFC. Once he comes closer to the end of his MMA career, I think he’ll seriously consider heading to the WWE, wrestling one more match and collecting a huge paycheck.
Both Lesnar and the WWE would benefit, and you and I would likely get a dream matchup at a huge show like Wrestlemania or SummerSlam.
Does the WWE rush too many big angles? WWE News: WWE's Negative History of Quick Blowoffs WWE News: Chris Jericho And Mick Foley Reportedly Returning to WWE Soon
Chris Jericho and Mick Foley have long been linked to WWE returns, but they’ve handled the rumors in completely opposite ways.
While Jericho has repeatedly brushed them off and said he’s not coming back anytime soon, Foley has dropped plenty of hints that indicate he’s going to be working with the company sooner rather than later.
At this point, though, neither WWE legend has made their much anticipated return to the company, and we’re all beginning to wonder whether either of them ever will.
I think most of us can agree that they’ll be back at some point, and if a recent report is any indication, that could be the case in the very near future.
From WrestleZone.com:
A key WWE insider confirmed with WrestleZone this evening that both Chris Jericho and Mick Foley are expected to return to WWE in some capacity between now and WrestleMania, but neither will be "full time, on the road, weekly characters for more than one storyline." This news comes despite Jericho Tweeting yesterday that he had "no plans" to return to WWE.Anyone else think Foley was going to be revealed as Raw’s new General Manager last night? I sure did, but naturally, the WWE completely dropped the ball on that one.
According to our key insider, "HHH has taken a very active role in pushing (WWE Chairman) Vince (McMahon) into forgetting about the past arrangements where talent had to be full time. HHH has pushed for certain valuable superstars like Foley and Jericho to be brought back for selective runs leading into big shows like SummerSlam and WrestleMania."
Still, it appears Foley is headed back to the WWE, and anytime you can bring a legend like him into the company, it’s obviously a good thing. I hope we’ll see him in some sort of TV role or have him wrestle to put over up-and-coming superstars.
As for Jericho, I think it’s clear that he’s probably just playing us at the moment. He doesn’t want to spoil his WWE return, and he’s likely going to keep his mouth shut until he comes back.
I get that he has projects outside of the WWE, but age is a factor at this point, and he’s likely only got a few good years left in him. At the very least, he needs to come back and work a schedule similar to Triple H’s, where he can be used a special attraction wrestler.
Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing him return to a full-time schedule, either.
But it appears that’s a long shot right now, so I’ll take whatever I can get out of Jericho. Here’s to hoping that Y2J returns by the Royal Rumble.
A look at the future of The Miz and R-Truth's pairing. WWE: Will The Miz and R-Truth Stick Together to Battle Triple H? WWE News: John Morrison Reportedly Parting Ways with WWE Soon
John Morrison was once deemed a future World Champion, a guy who would be with the WWE until his career was over or he decided that he would step away.
But those days are long gone.
Though Morrison has the look and in-ring skills you expect out of a WWE star, he’s wallowed in mid-card hell and even been booked like a jobber for most of 2011. It’s caused many of us to question what his WWE future will hold, but here’s the thing—he might not have one.
From F4Wonline.com (via WrestleNewz.com):
F4Wonline is reporting that the talk backstage is that John Morrison will not be re-signing with WWE when his contract expires very soon.This shouldn’t even come as a surprise anymore.
The feeling is that both Morrison and WWE have had enough working together and are ready to move on without each other.
I speculated in a post on this site earlier in the week that Morrison has been booked so horribly as of late that he’s essentially become irrelevant in the WWE. He doesn’t win matches, he never works the mic and he hardly ever appears in any high-profile matches.
Morrison still gets nice baby face pops from the crowd, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The WWE brass have made up their minds as to which few baby faces will be pushed to the top of the WWE—CM Punk, Sheamus, etc.---and JoMo isn’t one of them.
I still think the WWE would be making a mistake by letting him walk, but the company has proven that it can let mid-carders leave all the time and simply replace them with someone else.
Morrison needs the WWE way more than the WWE at this point, and I think it’s inevitable that we’ll see the two go their separate ways whenever Morrison’s contract expires.
Unlike CM Punk, Morrison has no leverage at this point, and his WWE career is likely over because of it.
What's going down at Vengeance? WWE Vengeance: Kevin Nash To Return and 9 Other Predictions for the PPV WWE News: Backstage Update on the “Firing” of Jim Ross on Monday Night Raw
Jim Ross was “fired” on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Again.
It seems like this is the 25th time that ross has gotten the ax, and this time, it came in despicable fashion in Ross’s home state of Oklahoma.
If you’re thinking that you were the only one who was blindsided by the firing of Good Old J.R., though, you were wrong.
From F4Wonline.com (via SEScoops.com):
The firing of Jim Ross by John Laurinaitis on last night’s RAW Supershow was not in the final script and most people backstage had no idea that it was going to happen.So, last night’s episode of Raw was entirely re-written multiple times? Good lord, I would hate to see the first couple of scripts if they were actually worse than the complete and utter crap we wound up seeing on Monday night.
It’s also believed Ross didn’t know about the angle either. It was noted that JR’s wife could be seen at ringside, looking excited as he entered the ring for the segment.
Ross told a fan on Twitter today that it was embarrassing for his wife and that they both were “blindsided.”
Regarding last night’s show, it’s said that what ended up airing was almost nowhere near what was originally wrote. Everything on last night’s show was re-written more than once.
That was one of the worst episodes of Raw I can recall watching in quite some time, and one of the things I hated the most about the show was the unceremonious firing of J.R. And now that I know that Ross wasn’t even given the courtesy of being told about the segment in advance, I’m pissed that I sat through the entire show.
While it’s no secret that the WWE and Vince McMahon have some sort of obsession with embarrassing J.R., I can’t defend them at all for doing that to the greatest announcer in wrestling history in his hometown.
How Ross puts up with that, I have no idea. He’s a much better man than me, because I probably would have went crazy if the WWE did that to me without at least informing me first.
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