Randy Orton revealed on Instagram that he got pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol today for his tinted windows. He posted the following:
“Really? Again? You’d think the State Hwy Patrol would have bigger fish to fry then me and my overly tinted windows.”
Source: PWInsider
We have been noting that Brock Lesnar is expect to appear on tonight’s RAW. PWInsider has confirmed that Lesnar is currently on his way to Miami, Florida for tonight’s WWE RAW and will be appearing to begin the build for SummerSlam.
As noted, WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena will not be there tonight as he’s needed on the set of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck in New York City. Cena caught a flight out of Tampa this morning to New York City.
Lana making an apparent reference to the Malaysian flight getting shot down over East Ukraine last week during her promo at WWE Battleground last night is getting picked up by several major international media outlets, including The Washington Post, News.com.au and The Daily Mail, and is causing heat from fans on social media. Lana said:
“You blame Russia for the recent current events.”
Below are some tweets from fans:
“When the Malaysia plane tragedy is used for a promo…@WWE you’ve gone too far #WWEBattleground”
“Oh did the WWE just do a Malaysia Airline Tragedy reference? Someone needs to be fired for that”
“Smh #WWE using the #Malaysia tragedy for this promo. #BadTaste”
The Washington Post wrote:
The first time the WWE used a giant photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin to elicit boos for its heels Lana and Rusev, a pair of Eastern Europeans who hate the United States, it was largely looked at as a success. A cheap one, sure, but this is pro wrestling we’re talking about and there was almost a certain throwback charm about setting up a classic USA vs. Russia feud.
But on Sunday night’s Battleground pay-per-view, the shtick became less amusing and more cringe worthy when CJ Perry, the bilingual American who plays Lana, the acerbic Russian manager of Rusev (who both in real life and in the ring hails from Bulgaria), decided to allude to “recent current events” while ranting on the microphone about how Russia is better than the United States.
– We noted before that WWE is planning to have Sheamus vs. The Miz be a longterm feud. With Sheamus recently teasing unification of the United States & Intercontinental Titles and The Miz winning the IC title at Battleground last night, there is more speculation among fans that we could see a unification match between the two, possibly at SummerSlam.
– Zack Ryder tweeted his reaction to last night’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view:
“Welp…#WWEBattleground. I’m sorry for letting the Zack Pack down tonight…I blame @GreatKhali”
“GOOD NEWS: I had an entrance, had new gear, had a sick tan, looked zacked, the brotee returned. BAD NEWS: I was the 2nd eliminated”
Most of TNA’s BaseBrawl stadium shows this summer have had reports of low attendance. The same goes for this past Friday’s live event at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, KY and Saturday’s event at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington. Below are photos from the Louisville event and the Lexington event.
Louisville:
Lexington:
– WWE’s website notes that Rob Van Dam missed last night’s Battleground pay-per-view because he was injured. They promised an update to come. We noted before that word going around Battleground was that RVD missed the show due to a medical reason.
Source: PWInsider Elite
We noted earlier this week that as of last week’s WWE TV tapings, Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat had been let go from the company due to budget cuts.
Something changed some time over the past 48 hours, perhaps WWE changing their mind. Steamboat has reached out to several non-WWE promoters to inform them that he can’t do the appearances he had booked with them and if they still wanted him to appear, they would have to contact WWE and get approval.
Word now is that Steamboat is with the company.
– FOXCarolina.com has an article about WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts making an appearance in South Carolina this past weekend.
Roberts said he has lots of work lined up, from movie appearances to voice overs and public appearances. “Possibilities are endless because you can get a job when you’re sober,” Roberts said.
Roberts also commented on how life is now:
“I can honestly say life is paradise. It really is. I’ve reclaimed my family. My grandkids love me. Now my kids don’t mind me being around the grandkids. Before they were like ‘no dad, you can’t see them’ because I was a mess. I was diagnosed with depression but now I’m taking the right medication and feel great.”
Read more at http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0721/579225/jake-the-snake-roberts-says-he-has-lots-of-work-lined-up/#B5ABRjuxjOuXXOkD.99
– The winner of UFC’s Lawler-Brown will be the No. 1 contender to UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Also expected to take place are bouts pitting Anthony Johnson against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dennis Bermudez vs. Clay Guida and Josh Thomson going up against Bobby Green.
– UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks doesn’t want to let the cat out of the bag when it comes to his prediction for Saturday’s main event between Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown. Hendricks, who is recovering from bicep surgery, is scheduled to face the winner later this year.
“Realistically, I don’t really care (who wins on Saturday),” Hendricks said, during a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com. “There’s a part of me that would like to face Robbie again being healthy. But then again, there’s a part of me that wants somebody new. I’m torn on this fight. Also, I don’t like to pick the welterweight class because if I sit here and (say), ‘Robbie Lawler is going to smash Matt Brown,’ and all of a sudden Matt Brown beats him, did I give him fuel for to fight me? And vice-versa. I’d like to see how it plays out because I think they both have a chance to win.”
Hendricks (16-2) won the vacant title when he defeated Lawler (23-10) earlier this year. Brown has won six straight to improve his UFC mark to 12-5 and his overall record to 19-11.
– Scott Coker looked to his Strikeforce days for a pair of new fighters to compete inside the Bellator MMA cage, signing Paul Daley and Melvin Manhoef recently. No fight dates for either were announced.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We want Bellator to be a destination for not only the top-tier fighters in the sport, but the first-choice destination for fans to see the most entertaining fights in the sport,” Coker said. “Both Paul and Melvin add a level of excitement to the roster that I can’t wait to see inside our cage, and this is just the beginning.”
Daley (34-13-2) won his Bellator debut two years ago, defeating Rudy Bears, but has fought other places since due to visa issues. He is 5-1 in his last six. He was banned for life from the UFC after hitting Josh Koscheck with a left hook after their fight at UFC 173. Manhoef (28-11-1) scored a TKO win over Evangelista Santos in Brazil earlier this year.
