As we confirmed here on Monday night, Edge is in fact retiring from the squared circle and has almost certainly wrestled his last WWE match ever. Edge has stated publicly in recent interviews that he planned to retire in two years, but had told others in WWE that he felt like he could go for another five years. Now that we know how bad his neck really is after last week’s MRI (with doctors saying they could never medically clear him to wrestle again), it’s frightening to think that Edge had a ladder match coming up in a few weeks and almost certainly would have done even more damage to his neck in the coming months and years.
With reality setting in that Edge’s in-ring career is over, it’s time to start looking ahead. It’s said that Edge has some writing projects that he will be working on and his next set of life goals do not have much to do with wrestling. The feeling in WWE that Edge will always remain on good terms with the company, but he probably won’t be working full time behind-the-scenes as an agent. This is despite many of his peers saying on Twitter that Edge has a great mind for the business and could still contribute without stepping foot in a ring.
Regarding Edge and the World Heavyweight Title, there was some confusion at RAW last night as to why WWE didn’t put Alberto Del Rio over at WrestleMania 27 if they knew there was even a small chance that Edge would be leaving soon.
While WWE’s announcement notes that Edge got his MRI results the Monday after WrestleMania, sources indicate that he’s been feeling more intense pain for a few weeks now but didn’t think he would be forced to retire. Had WWE known Edge would have to retire soon, more emphasis would have been put on “his final WrestleMania match.”
Like Edge said on RAW.. It’s very unfortunate that his still-promising career has been cut short, but we cannot overlook the fact that he could have been left paralyzed if he kept wrestling. He’s not walking away on his terms entirely – but he had one hell of a career and dodged a bullet by leaving before it was too late.
* VIDEO from AFTER RAW: CENA & ORTON Pay Tribute To Edge
— The TNA Wrestling website is teasing that the person driving “The Network” will be revealed on this Thursday’s episode of TNA iMPACT!. Many fans are speculating that person to be Dixie Carter. F4WOnline.com, however, reports that the individual in question will ultimately not be her.
— Matt Hardy claimed last night on Twitter that he believed he fractured his arm during the Lethal Lockdown Match at TNA Lockdown. People who flew on the plane to Orlando, Florida with Hardy did not believe him to be hurt. When his girlfriend, Reby Sky, was asked about the matter during her show on SIRIUS, she claimed to be unaware and laughed it off.
Hardy posted an update on the situation this evening. He wrote, “It’s extremely sore, but fortunately not broken. It will be braced & taped tomorrow.”
— Despite winning the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship last night at TNA Lockdown, Mickie James is still weeks away from being cleared to wrestle.
James separated her shoulder last month at a house show in Jacksonville, Florida during a match against Madison Rayne. It was explained on television that the injury was caused by Rayne and Tara running over her with a motorcycle.
TNA Lockdown pics of Sarita/Velvet Sky brawl, Mickie vs. Madison ->
Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman feels John Morrison should apologize for his unprofessional conduct towards Trish Stratus at WrestleMania XXVII.
“I think he should be ashamed,” Waltman wrote on Twitter. “I think he owes Trish a public apology, and deserves to be in doghouse. Total bullshit.”
He continued, “I lost a lot of respect for Morrison over that. He may not care, but he f’n should.”
The former WWE Women’s Champion stated during a radio interview two weeks ago that Morrison gave her the cold shoulder during their post-match celebration. She also said that he rejected her suggestions during pre-match planning.
Company sources indicate that he and/or his girlfriend Melina believe Stratus took the WrestleMania spot away from the Diva regular, hence Morrison’s behavior towards her.
Those on Morrison’s side say as he was laying out the match with Stratus, she was insisting that her trademark spots be featured, which led to his resentment. The complaint was that Stratus wanted to be the “star” of the match when its intention was for Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi to garner mainstream attention for WWE. Also, the match was also under extreme time constraints and Morrison should have been treated as a rising star as opposed to “just another guy.”
While Stratus is generally regarded well behind the scenes, she has had her share of detractors over the years. She was not popular during her early years in the promotion and there have been complaints of her being arrogant, self-centered and phony. Former WWE announcer Kevin Kelly, who worked with Stratus from 2000 to 2003, was particularly negative towards her during a 2007 “shoot” interview and alleged that she engaged in a sexual relationship with Vince McMahon. Stratus also received a lot of heat from WWE officials for refusing to participate in the 25-Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV. More recently, Stratus drew the ire of numerous Divas as they believe she “took their spots” at WrestleMania XXVII.
Photos of stripped Trish Stratus barking like a dog ->
— The latest special edition issue of WWE Magazine is titled “Hardest Hitting Photos Of All-time!” Enclosed with the magazine is a mini-magazine highlighting The Rock’s greatest moments.
— Chris Jericho, who was eliminated last night from Dancing with the Stars, teased a possible appearance at this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event—which takes place in Tampa, Florida.
He wrote on Twitter, “For the first time in 8 weeks I dont have dance rehearsals. What am I going to do with myself now? Anythin goin on in Tampa this weekend…?”
Jim Ross, who is competing at the event, asked Jericho, “Ever been in a Country Whippin Match? I need a coach or a stunt double. Interested?”
He replied, “No but I have been in a barb wire match, a penalty box match and everything in between. I’ll do it! Plus I even have my own Stetson.”
— Jim Ross, who injured his hand during his match against Michael Cole on Raw, posted the following update today on his official website: “My hand is swollen and sore and I can’t make a fist…yet.”
Following tonight’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view broadcast, John Cena announced that during the event, U.S. troops “captured and compromised” Osama bin Laden. His announcement drew a massive ovation from the audience.
The new WWE Champion gave a speech about American pride while fans chanted “U-S-A.” He posed with fans while ring announcer Justin Roberts thanked the audience for attending Extreme Rules.
Cena then went on Twitter to comment on the news.
He wrote, “CeNation. Proud day in the war on terror. Many brave soliders made the ultimate sacrifice in hopes of what happened tonight.
“I am not certain if this conflict is over. But tonight was a very very proud moment for the good guys. God bless America.”
President Barack Obama announced Sunday in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House that US forces killed the al Qaida leader in Pakistan and took custody of his remains.
*VIDEO* of John Cena announcing Osama bin Laden’s death ->
— TMZ has released 911 calls made from eye witnesses after Randy Savage crashed his car in Seminole, Florida last week. One witness says she watched the car hit a tree “real hard.”
It was reported yesterday that his cause of death is pending after an autopsy yielded inconclusive findings. Toxicology results are expected to be released in four to six weeks.
— WWE Hall of Famer Iron Sheik appeared this morning on the The Howard Stern Show remembering Randy Savage. The former WWE Champion shared stories of his interactions with Savage and Stern said he’s surprised he outlived him. Sheik, 68, said he’s in “bad shape” with his knee and shoulder, but is still accepting independent bookings. A recap of his appearance is available here.
— Randy Savage was a top trending topic today and yesterday on Yahoo.com.
— A member of the Dallas Mavericks was pictured celebrating last night’s NBA Championship victory with a custom-made WWE Championship belt.
Yahoo! Sports published a photo.
— Former WWE Superstar Haku has been announced for autograph signings at this weekend’s Florida Championship Wrestling live events. Visit www.fcwwrestling.info for more information.
— Kelly Kelly stated during her appearance this morning on the Boomer and Carton in the Morning radio show on WFAN that a 7-on-7 Divas Tag Team Match would take place tonight on Raw.
The match would likely feature A.J., Beth Phoenix, Eve, Gail Kim, Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly and Natalya vs. Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Maryse, Melina, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes and Tamina.
Pics of Bella Twin’s wardrobe malfunction on Tough Enough ->
As we reported on Friday, former WWE star Shane Helms and his girlfriend Karen were involved in a motorcycle accident near their home in North Carolina. Various online reports stated that Helms suffered a broken leg, ankle and nose – and received over 200 stitches.
Helms posted a bunch of pictures on Twitter of himself and his girlfriend Karen from the hospital. Despite their serious injuries, Helms seems to be in good spirits .. One of the images, he included the caption, “Me vs. Manny Pacquiao” .. Check it out:
* 2 MORE Pictures of SHANE HELMS From The Hospital – HOLY CRAP (Direct Link)
The WWE Raw Deal for 05/09/11 (Miz/Rey/Del Rio)
By John Canton
Follow me on Twitter @johnreport
Live from Knoxville, Tennessee this is the Raw Deal…
Alberto Del Rio came out to start the show. The bickering announcers were Josh Mathews, Michael Cole (in the Cole Mine) and Jerry Lawler. This was a very long promo segment to begin the show. Del Rio came out to say that it’s still his destiny be a champion and that destiny can be delayed. In other words, the booking team changes their mind a lot. Ricardo Rodriguez was great at yelling his name. Rey Mysterio came out to say that Del Rio’s destiny was to be Ricardo’s ring announcer, which excited Ricardo, then Del Rio looked at him and Ricardo stopped. Ricardo is great. Then Miz came out to say he is the number one contender, blaming Riley for the loss last week. Miz told Del Rio & Mysterio to fight in a Taco Bell parking lot. That’s classy.
The last man to come out was R-Truth, who still doesn’t have theme music. He put over how he took out John Morrison, who is in the hospital after neck surgery. That’s legit. They showed a video package because Truth is an “angry black man” that has friends in the production truck I guess. Morrison’s only out for about 4-6 weeks, so we’ll see him at the end of June most likely. I loved Truth’s ranting. His babyface character bored the hell out of me. To see this heel act is refreshing. The GM buzzed in to say it will be a triple threat: Del Rio, The Miz and…he apparently hit send before he was done. That was so lame. End the stupid GM angle. Then they announced Mysterio as the third guy. Truth was furious about it. He left the ring and the three others started fighting with Mysterio predictably looking the best. It was a good setup for the main event although it dragged at points too. Miz and Truth were the best on the microphone during this.
Kelly Kelly & Eve Eve d. The Bella Twins (DUD)
Yawn. A minute in, Kelly won with a rollup. The divas division on Raw especially is awful right now because of who they decide to put on TV. After this thrilling one minute match, Kharma came out and stalked the girls. The Bellas ran away because heels actually have brains while the idiot duo of Kelly & Eve waited for her. Kelly was smart enough to go the floor. Eve kicked Kharma and got decked. Then Kharma stalked Kelly some more until she left. Then Kharma put down Eve with the yet unnamed move previously known as The Implant Buster. She finally went after a babyface. I like how they are using Kharma. Since I don’t care much about the four that were in this match, I approve of this segment. It will be fun to see Gail or Beth involved with her.
Kane d. Mason Ryan via DQ (1/2*)
It only went about two minutes because they know Ryan can’t work a lick…yet he’s still getting pushed. Punk is basically a nobody these days without any promo time. Let’s hope he signs that new contract. Show KNOCKED HIM THE FUCK OUT~! when he interfered. Nexus guys ran out for the DQ, Show & Kane took care of them and then did a double chokeslam on Ryan. He shouldn’t roll after taking the chokeslam. Sell it by lying there next time. Also his facial expressions are too fake. They are almost comical rather than mean like they are supposed to be.
Dolph Ziggler d. Santino (SQUASH)
The “new and improved” Dolph Ziggler is what they called him. The only thing that’s new is the hair. He still has the same awful name and song. He’s not awful, but the name is. They said he’d be a future WWE Champion. Isn’t he a former World Champion due to some of the worst booking I’ve ever seen regarding a title? Yes, he is. Not allowed to remember that. He won with the Zig Zag after he countered the dreaded Cobra. Why do they feel like they should re-introduce Dolph? He’s been there for years. Get him a feud.
They showed a great video package about Orton beating Christian for the World Heavyweight Title. Like I wrote in my piece on Sunday about Smackdown’s new World Title picture this is likely the beginning of a Christian heel turn. The video package was great. I suggested they do one while focusing on Christian post match. They did exactly that. I’m definitely more interested in Smackdown than I am in Raw these days. The announcers talked about it at the desk with Lawler saying the fans chose Orton. What a shock since the choices were Mark Henry and Great Khali. Good thing Hornswoggle wasn’t a choice.
Backstage, there was a heel promo with R-Truth yelling at Scott Stanford about “Little Ronnie.” I doubt I’m the only one that was confused by this. Doesn’t matter. He’s a heel and he’s angry. Fine by me. He made Stanford say “What’s Up?” and left. He’s angry. We get it.
John Cena was shown talking to Zack Ryder (as the internet gets excited), who taught him how to fist pump. Cena kept walking, then looked back and Zack was still fist pumping. Broskis around the world celebrated this moment. Give Zack a chance, I say.
Backstage, Miz talked with Riley. Miz mentioned how he’s an idiot for screwing up last week and even threw in the word troglodyte during the promo. Go Jericho go! Miz said he was all jacked up with the brain of a monkey – I think that was a shoot comment on half of WWE’s roster! Anyway, Riley wanted to prove something to Miz.
The camera stayed on Riley as he walked out to the ring. He said the only person he cared about was The Miz. Um, that’s a little weird. He challenged Cena. I was hoping he’d talk about how ridiculous his role with Miz has been even after being “fired” and drafted to Smackdown.
John Cena d. Alex Riley (1/2*)
Oh great, it’s a rematch of their awful cage match. Cena won in about three minutes. He hit two AA’s and the STF for the win as The Miz looked on from the aisle. At least they didn’t give away who was going to win the main event by doing this, right? Oops. I guess they did. No more high profile matches for Alex Riley on Raw please. He’s not good enough.
Michael Cole had a big announcement. He was retiring as a wrestler…undefeated. Lawler didn’t agree, so he challenged him to a match. Cole reminded him of the “can’t touch Cole” stipulation that the GM put in place months ago. They mentioned the Hall of Fame, so Lawler said if Cole beats him again he will give him his Hall of Fame ring and personally induct him. Cole said no. Then he went back to his Cole Mine to mention Mother’s Day and how Lawler couldn’t celebrate because his mom died in February. That’s some very, very cheap heat right there. In good taste? No. Lawler went after Cole, but Swagger went after Cole before he could get him. Please end this feud. Why is it continuing? The heat has been sucked out of it as much as possible. It went from very good to painful to watch.
Kofi Kingston d. Jack Swagger (*1/2)
It went about 8 minutes with a commercial after the first two minutes. It was fine, but they had much better matches on Smackdown in late 2010 and early 2011. They often times got 15 minutes too. This felt rush. It also felt like filler because the US Title’s value has diminished to the point that it means less than a feud with bickering announcers. Lawler came back out at the end to distract Swagger, which led to Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise to win.
Post match, Lawler took care of Swagger and went after Cole. He grabbed Cole by the time, pulled it through one of the holes and then Cole’s face was comically pressed up against the glass. I’d post a pic of it, but I’d like to get that image out of my head as fast as I can. Eventually refs broke it up. To end this whole thing, Swagger accepted the challenge for Cole meaning it’s Cole vs. Lawler at Over The Limit in a few weeks. Fine. Lawler wins clean. End the feud. Please.
Plug time. Please visit my site thejohnreport.net daily because we’re posting 2-4 brand new opinionated columns & recaps on a daily basis. On Monday I posted my TJR Q&A where I answered over 80 reader questions. Part two of the Q&A will be next Monday. We are growing at a fast pace. Thanks for reading. You are the ones that motivate me to be even better.
The Miz d. Alberto Del Rio & Rey Mysterio to become the Number One Contender to the WWE Title (***)
This was a very good 13 minute match. It saved the show from being a total disaster because they really needed a good match. It was the typical triple threat match with two guys working and the third guy breaking up the fall. It’s a formulaic match, but it usually works well. I don’t think anybody should be surprised that Miz won. It even got leaked a few days earlier on the website of the Key Arena in Seattle where the Over The Limit PPV is taking place. The chemistry of all three guys was really good, so that’s what matters to me. Miz ended up winning with a rollup on Mysterio after Riley broke up a pinfall by pulling Del Rio out right in front of the ref. I guess that’s not DQ worthy. Sometimes triple threats are no DQ even though nobody chooses to use weapons. Why am I trying to use logic? Just end the show.
Post match, John Cena announced that this time when he faces Miz there will be no doubt about the winner. It will be an “I Quit” match. Cena hasn’t beat Miz in a singles match…since Miz has been a main eventer, so I guess in WWE’s eyes this is fresh. Mysterio was still in the ring, so the camera showed him just as R-Truth attacked him with his finisher. There’s a PPV match right there.
Three Stars of the Show
1. The Miz – He did a good job in the main event plus he said “troglodyte” in a promo, so that’s an ode to Jericho coming back soon I hope.
2. Kharma – Every time she crushes a diva I cheer even if she is a heel…I think.
3. R-Truth – I enjoy the heel act a lot. It’s different. It allows him to stand out.
4 out of 10
Last week: 7
2011 High Score: 9.1 (March 28)
2011 Low Score: 4 (Jan. 10)
2011 Average: 5.99
Last 5 Weeks: 6, 5, 5, 7, 4
It was a below average show, as has been the trend since WrestleMania. It’s not a surprise because this is what usually happens in WWE. Post WrestleMania usually has the worst shows of any time in WWE. Maybe after Over the Limit we’ll get some new storylines. Aside from R-Truth as a heel there’s very little freshness.
I guess the story of the show was about Riley, who previously lost a match where he was fired from Miz’ employ only to be brought back weeks later, proving himself to Miz. That’s why this show came off as lame. This story needs to end at the May PPV. Much like Cole vs. Lawler, it’s been done to the point that it’s not a good story anymore. Learn to move on, creative team.
I think Truth vs. Mysterio could be a really good match at the PPV. Like I say every week I like heel Truth way more than the babyface version. Del Rio needs a feud. He should be wrestling at every PPV. It’s not like Raw is loaded with babyfaces for him to wrestle against. The same can be said for Dolph Ziggler. You can put one of them against Kofi Kingston perhaps, but both of those feuds have happened on Smackdown in the last few months.
Last thing. A week ago I put a poll up asking whose career column you most want to see. The results…
Christian won, barely beating Jericho while Rock and Angle were very close. As much as I like Christian I think there’s a lot of his story that is going to be told before our eyes in the coming weeks and months, so instead I’m going to write about Jericho at the end of May. I know his career isn’t over, but I think what I could write is something that covers his entire career while looking at ahead at what may be next as he embarks on his next WWE comeback in the near future. I guess this means I’m looking past Christian just like Vince McMahon! Sorry.
I’m not sure if I’ll write again this week. I’ll be out of two from Thursday to Saturday, so it will be difficult. I’ll likely be back on Sunday night to write about TNA’s Sacrifice PPV live. Until then, have a great week.
John Canton – [email protected]
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1. Christian beat Sheamus by DQ. Mark Henry interfered. Randy Orton took his time, but made the save.
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase came out. Cody got major heat for the paper bags when DiBiase said he represented Corpus Christi with a bag over his head.
2. Ted DiBiase beat Trent Baretta.
Ezekiel Jackson came out and then The Corre followed. Teddy Long interrupted and made a six-man tag match.
3. Kane, Big Show, and Ezekiel Jackson beat The Corre in a six-man tag.
4. Brie Bella beat Natalya. Bella won with the X Factor. Kharma didn’t show up, which upset the fans.
5. Daniel Bryan beat Chavo Guerrero. A five minute match. Sin Cara came out and hit a huracanrana on Chavo after the match. It looked like they were setting up Sin Cara vs. Chavo for Over The Limit.
6. Randy Orton beat Mark Henry by DQ. Sheamus interfered. Christian took his time before coming out and making the save.