– Regarding the earlier report that talk within WWE was the company granted CM Punk his release this past Friday, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE is officially stating that Punk has not been released. Another person in the company also contacted them and said the report was incorrect.
WWE Superstars Spoilers for 2/20/14
WWE Superstars Spoilers Taped 2/17 for airing 2/20/14 on HULU
* Cody Rhodes defeated Curtis Axel
* The Bella Twins and Natalya defeated Summer Rae, Tamina Snuka and Eva Marie
Rumor: CM Punk Granted Early Release from WWE?
This should be treated only as a rumor as it has not been confirmed.
According to those at PWINsider, the word making the rounds at this weekend’s WWE live events is that CM Punk was officially given his release from WWE on Friday.
As this time, we are unable to confirm that the rumors are true, however, It’s worth noting that Punk is still featured on the WWE roster page on their official website. Additionally, PWInsider notes that people that are close to Punk have told them he is “done.”
MMA Week-In-Reviews: List of All Major Upcoming Fights
A complete list of significant new fights reported in the past week…
Daniel Cormier vs. Patrick Cummins, UFC 170 “Rousey vs. McMann,” Feb. 22, Las Vegas
Raphael Assuncao vs. Pedro Munhoz, UFC 170 “Rousey vs. McMann,” Feb. 22, Las Vegas
Cody Gibson vs. Aljamain Sterling, UFC 170 “Rousey vs. McMann,” Feb. 22, Las Vegas
Caol Uno vs. Jesse Brock, Vale Tudo Japan “VTJ 4th,” Feb. 23, Tokyo
Josh Burkman vs. Tyler Stinson, WSOF 9 “Carl vs. Palhares,” March 29, Las Vegas
Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Johnny Nunez, WSOF 9 “Carl vs. Palhares,” March 29, Las Vegas
Mike Corey vs. Shane Kruchten, WSOF 9 “Carl vs. Palhares,” March 29, Las Vegas
John Alessio vs. TBA, Bellator 119, May 9, Rama, Ontario
Yusuke Kawaguchi vs. Brett Rogers, IGF “Inoki Genome Fight 1,” April 5, Tokyo
Holly Holm vs. Juliana Werner, Legacy Fighting Championship 30, April 11, Allen, Texas
Flavio Alvaro vs. Donald Sanchez, Legacy Fighting Championship 30, April 11, Allen, Texas
Derrick Lewis vs. Jack May, UFC on Fox 11 “Werdum vs. Browne,” April 19, Orlando, Fla.
Takafumi Otsuka vs. Kenji Osawa, Deep “66 Impact,” April 29, Tokyo
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Naoto Miyazaki, Deep “66 Impact,” April 29, Tokyo
Kazunori Yokota vs. Katsunori Tsuda, Deep “66 Impact,” April 29, Tokyo
Anthony Birchak vs. Kevin Croom, MFC 40 “Crowned Kings,” May 9, Edmonton, Alberta
Chris Wade vs. Frankie Perez, Ring of Combat 48, May 16, Atlantic City, N.J.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, UFC Fight Night, May 31, Brazil
Goldberg Has Words for Triple H, Says WWE Can’t Run Business
A fan on Twitter asked former WCW and WWE star Bill Goldberg if he could spear anyone in WWE, who would it be? Goldberg replied and said Triple H:
“Hunter…..hands down…..RT”
The fan replied with the following tweet and Goldberg said his observation was “spot on”:
“any particular reason or just the overall doucheness and politicking he exhibits?”
Another fan asked Goldberg when he would be coming back to WWE. He replied, “When they learn how to run a business.”
Finally, a fan asked Goldberg if he would come back to WWE and feud with Ryback. The former World Heavyweight Champion replied, “…..if they knew how to do business I’d consider it…..”
CM Punk Sighting; AJ Lee Gets Time Off From WWE
WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee was given some time off from this weekend’s live events. The Divas match in Phoenix and Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday saw The Bella Twins defeat Tamina Snuka and Summer Rae. AJ was spotted at a Chicago airport this weekend, being picked up by her boyfriend CM Punk. Below are some photos:
What’s In Store for Kofi Kingston?
— When asked about Kofi Kingston’s WWE future, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross said the following:
“I think that Kofi is due a persona change. He’s got an upside that hasn’t been tapped and unless his TV persona is changed he’s going to be perceived just as he has over the past few years. Kofi is a talent WWE can make a main eventer out of.”
Major Satellite Company Already Drops WWE PPV’s Starting with Elimination Chamber?
Satellite TV provider Dish Network has pulled all advertising for Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
The show is no longer listed on the Dish website Sports & Wrestling Events page or the Dish channel guide. TNA pay-per-views are still listed. Based on this information, it appears that Dish Network is dropping WWE pay-per-views ahead of the launch of the WWE Network next week.
With WWE bundling their pay-per-view events on the $9.99/month Network, there has been a lot of buzz in the cable/satellite TV industry that top providers will be retaliating against WWE by no longer covering their events. Following the announcement of the WWE Network, a spokesperson for DirecTV told the Los Angeles Times:
“Clearly we need to quickly re-evaluate the economics and viability of their business with us, as it now appears the WWE feels they do not need their PPV distributors.”
They added that sales WWE PPV events “have been steadily declining, and this new low-cost competitive offering will only accelerate this trend.” DirecTV still has Elimination Chamber listed on their website as of this writing.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see DirecTV drop WWE PPV’s very quickly now that it looks like others are joining suit.
It should be noted that Dish Network reps claim there are still plans to show the Chamber PPV, so this removal of ads could be there way of playing games with the WWE.
