CM Punk to Appear on Nerdist Podcast, WWE Scraps Diva’s Brief Run with New Gimmick, Zayn Talks KENTA in WWE

CM Punk to Appear on Nerdist Podcast

Chris Harwick of Nerdist.com has noted on Twitter that CM Punk will be one of his guests on the Nerdist Podcast Live! show taking place in San Diego on July 26th at 10:30pm. Tickets for the event are already sold out.

WWE Scraps Diva’s Brief Run with New Gimmick

According to The Wrestling Observer, WWE has dropped Alicia Fox’s tantrum gimmick, which saw her “lose it” after match defeats and react oddly in front of the live crowd. The gimmick had people buzzing for awhile, but for whatever reason WWE has decided to drop it.

Zayn Talks KENTA in WWE

WWE NXT standout Sami Zayn was interviewed by Brian Fritz of BetweentheRopes.com at an Anti-Bullying rally in Orlando this week, and the following is what Zayn had to say regarding KENTA’s in WWE:

“I’m very excited. There’s a lot of good talent coming in, a lot of my kind of guys, world traveled, workrate, nose to the grindstone, gritty sort of passionate guys, which is what I personally believe in. Its great to see these guys get an opportunity. KENTA’s just been busting his butt for so long and killing it for so long. Its great to see him get an opportunity like this. I am really looking forward to hopefully wrestling him because I actually never have. I was supposed to wrestle him once, but he went down with a knee injury. I teamed with him a couple of times, but I’ve never actually had a one on one match with him. I look forward to that opportunity.”

*Spoilers* 3 Weeks Of NXT Tapings Results

WWE taped 3 weeks of NXT television on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Here are the spoiler results, courtesy of Josh Parry and PWTorch.com:

Dark Match: Solomon Crowe (Sami Callihan) beat Travis Tyler.

Episode 1

(1) Tyler Breeze beat Angelo Dawkins.

(2) NXT Women's champion Charlotte beat Becky Lynch in a non-title match.

(3) NXT tag champions The Ascension beat an unnamed jobber team.

(4) Mojo Rawley & Bull Dempsey beat The Mechanics.

(5) Adam Rose beat Tyson Kidd.

Episode 2

(1) Enzo Amore & Big Cass beat Jason Jordan & Ty Dillinger in a #1 contender tag tournament match.

(2) C.J. Parker beat Xavier Woods.

(3) Bayley beat Eva Marie.

(4) Sami Zayn & Adam Rose beat Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel in a #1 contender tag tournament match. Fantastic main event tag match.

Episode 3 

(1) The Vaudevillains beat Bull Dempsey & Mojo Rawley in a #1 contender tag tournament match. Bull turned on Mojo post-match.

(2) Bailey beat Sasha Banks to become #1 contender to the NXT Women's Title.

(3) Sin Cara & Kalisto beat Wesley Blake & Buddy Mirphy in a #1 contender tag tournament match.

(4) NXT champion Adrian Neville beat Tyler Breeze via DQ when Tyson Kidd interfered; Neville retained the NXT 

Title. Sami Zayn made the save when it turned into a three-way brawl. Zayn and Neville the challenged the heels to a tag match right now. They accepted.

(5) NXT champion Adrian Neville & Sami Zayn beat Tyler Breeze & Tyson Kidd.

Dark Segment: Bray Wyatt returned to NXT to a great reaction. He played to the crowd before taking out Kidd and Breeze with Sister Abigail. He gave a heartfelt, out-of-character speech of thanks to the NXT crowd for making him who he is today. Classy. He signed autographs and took pictures at ringside to end the show.

Confirmed Matches For Tonight's Edition Of NXT On The WWE Network

The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight's edition of WWE NXT on the WWE Network:

- The Vaudevillains vs. Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore

- Xavier Woods vs. CJ Parker

- Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

- Adam Rose vs. Jason Jordon

- Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn

J.J. Dillon Speaks On Daniel Bryan/WWE, WCW Legend Not Being In WWE HOF

The following are highlights of a new Busted Open Radio interview with WWE Hall Of Famer J.J. Dillon:

On Daniel Bryan's injury and pushed wrestlers having to leave due to injury: "It's happened numerous times over the years on both sides of the extreme. Look at Magnum TA and what a future Jerry Allen had in terms of 'the skys the limit'. He had the look, the speed, the size and on a rainy slick night his car slammed into a tree, slammed his head into the car and broke his neck instantly ending his career. It's not only the dangers that one faces in the ring because of the natures that wrestling is. There's as much danger traveling. During the glory years of The 4 Horsemen, Arn Anderson had continual problems with his neck. It got worse and worse and he felt a numb in his arm. It kept getting further and further down and finally it reached his hand. Arn was so committed to the Horsemen, he said numerous times that it was a level of excellence and commitment that doesn't come along every day. Arn continued to go out there every day and as a result, the nerve damage continued to progress that he needed surgery and when he finally had surgery

On injured wrestlers coming back from injury who were popular when they left: "I think you have to look at each case on an individual basis. Daniel Bryan, there's a guy that, from an outside perspective, it would appear that there's a guy who didn't set the mold of what you would expect Vince McMahon and the WWE to give a push. He had that 'it' factor. The fans wouldn't give up on him and WWE had to elevate his status because the fans demanded it. It's sad that a guy finally gets his chance and was on the climb to who knows where and how long and then this injury comes along. Doctors will look at a guy and sometimes a guy will get a second opinion from another doctor and the doctors will sometimes not agree on the situation. The one reality of the whole situation is not only in WWE but in the whole genre of Pro Wrestling, you don't have the depth of talent that was there years ago. You don't have another guy you can plug into that spot and keep the momentum going. It's the sad state of reality of the business today. Take a look at Ronda Rousey. She caught the world by storm. What happens if she goes down from injury. There is no one left."

On Daniel Bryan and WWE creative: "From the times I've seen him, he has that it factor and connects with the fans. One thing about creative is there were a lot of ideas over time throughout my career and the ultimate judge and jury is the fans. You would take a guy who had the right talent and didn't have the right situation for him and you'd put him in a situation that's kind of like just being in limbo just to keep him out there. Sometimes it catches on fire like you couldn't imagine. That's one of the things about pro wrestling, sometimes you have the right pulse and sometimes you don't. Vince McMahon picked more winners than losers, but no one is perfect."

On the emotion he and the Four Horsemen had being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame: "When I first started I was a fan. It was in the late 50's and I thought I could become a professional wrestler and appear at Madison Square Garden. The Hall Of Fame at that point was Baseball in Cooperstown. There was no wrestling hall of fame. You just took it day by day and pursued your career and I've said it time after time that the fans made wrestling the way it is today. Their the greatest fans in the world and whatever success myself and the Horsemen had was because of the fans. We gave everything every night. It's like in any other business, you have to give respect to get respect. At the end of the road, I wrestled full time for 5 years before I managed, then I continued to wrestle while managing. After 20 years I had over 3,200 matches. I have done it all and when you look back and you're being inducted into the hall of fame, all of my children were there in attendance to share the experience with me. We were treated with great respect by the fans and the stars of today. The following day going in front of 70,000 people getting cheered and a standing ovation, it was a very emotional moment."

On Ole Anderson not being inducted into WWE HOF: "Well there are political issues that go back to Georgia Championship Wrestling. If people do their research, they would realize that there was a negative tension between Vince McMahon and Ole Anderson. Ole probably wouldn't accept it if they offered it to them. The Horsemen wouldn't be the way they were without Ole. When Lex Luger came around we camouflaged his flaws and he came along at the right time. When Barry came along I think that was the elite group. With Barry you had the young looks, athleticism and skills."

Jim Ross Blog: Sting-RAW Speculation, KENTA Signing With WWE

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Sting's 7.14.14 Tweet: "The questions that I get regarding the @Sting Tweet of 7-14-14 are often times comical. Some fans feel compelled that they MUST know what is going to occur tonight on RAW. Yes, I know but I'm not in the Don Jardine business so my suggestion is to simply watch RAW and find out for yourself. No matter what occurs, many will bitch tomorrow that it wasn't what they wanted. 

The first step of whatever Sting may or may not do with WWE begins tonight on RAW and where it ends is anyone's guess. For me, it's a no brainer but I'm arguably biased. Sting will be on the Ross Report podcast on Tuesday July 29."

WWE Signing KENTA: "Don't see the logic that some utilize comparing KENTA with the Great Muta other than they are both Japanese wrestlers. Muta got over because he was young, a high flier, had trendy face paint and, most importantly, he had Gary Hart speaking for him. KENTA can get over if he speaks English or gets someone to be his mouthpiece specifically if KENTA is going to be a villain. I expect him to be in NXT for a good while and could even do some teaching while he's there which I think would benefit all involved. Plus, Muta had some of the top stars in the business to work with while he was in WCW."

Jim Ross also revealed that he's interviewing Tony Schiavone for his podcast (airing August 19th) and he's doing serious work on his autobiography this week.

Monday Night War Debuting, Flair/Jericho News, NXT Stars On WWE Japan Tour

- NXT stars Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn have been added to the upcoming WWE tour of Japan.

- Ric Flair and Chris Jericho have been added to the upcoming WWE tour of Australia in August.

- There will be no RAW post-show this coming Monday night. Instead, the debut edition of "The Monday Night War" weekly series will air following RAW on the WWE Network.

WWE NXT results - June 12, 2014: Tyson Kidd & Adrian Neville clash while "Mr. NXT" is unmasked

ORLANDO, Fla. — On an action-packed edition of WWE NXT, NXT Champion Adrian Neville successfully defended his title against a desperate Tyson Kidd in a Takeover rematch. Tension brewing among NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte, Sasha Banks & Summer Rae cost The BFFs a Six-Diva Tag Team Match, while Sami Zayn foiled the masked machinations of newcomer “Mr. NXT.”

Paige, Emma & Bayley def. Charlotte, Sasha Banks & Summer Rae After suffering a vicious assault at the hands of the BFFs, Bayley was joined by her new pals, WWE Divas Champion Paige and Emma, to battle the mean girls in a Six-Diva Tag Team Match. However, there was obvious tension brewing among Charlotte, Summer Rae and Sasha Banks. Though they looked dominant throughout the match, the BFFs’ unspoken uneasiness boiled over when Charlotte shoved Summer Rae to the arena floor with a boot. The distraction allowed Bayley to roll up the NXT Women’s Champion to claim the win for her trio!

Colin Cassady def. Sylvester Lefort With his fellow Legionnaire, Marcus Louis, waving the French flag in his corner, Sylvester Lefort set out to derail 7-footer Colin Cassady, who’s been on a roll as of late. Unfortunately for Lefort, he was outsized and outmuscled by his opponent. Big Cass pummeled the Frenchman into the canvas before clobbering him with a big boot and hitting the East River Crossing for the three-count.

Sami Zayn def. Mr. NXT Newcomer Mr. NXT set out to make an immediate impact upon his debut. From the moment he entered the arena, the NXT Universe and Sami Zayn felt like they recognized the familiar actions of the masked grappler. Mr. NXT looked quite impressive against Zayn, until the French-Canadian Superstar removed his mask, revealing Bo Dallas! The unmasking caught Bo off guard, leaving him open to the Helluva Kick, which allowed Zayn to pick up the win. Having violated the terms of his Win or Go Home Match, Dallas was chased around ringside by security. Though he clung to the ring with every fiber of his being, Bo was forcibly removed from the arena as the NXT Universe laughed in delight.

NXT Champion Adrian Neville def. Tyson Kidd (NXT Championship Match) A remorseful Tyson Kidd got the NXT Championship rematch he asked for against Adrian Neville. With his wife, Natalya, watching intently from ringside, Kidd took control of the bout early by wrestling the champion to the ground. However, the resilient Neville was able to escape from Kidd’s grasp and take flight.

The aggressive Hart Dungeon graduate battled back and nearly had the bout won after landing a somersault legdrop with Neville trapped in the ropes. At the very last second, though, the champion put his foot on the ropes. The referee had counted three and Kidd thought he had the championship won, but the referee saw Neville’s foot on the ropes, and reversed his call.

A frustrated Kidd, desperate for victory at any cost, left the ring and grabbed a steel chair after Neville fought out of a flurry of high-impact moves. Before he could batter the NXT Champion with it, Natalya ripped the chair from Kidd’s hands, admonishing her husband that he was “better than that.” The distraction allowed Neville to recover, clobber Kidd with a superkick and hit the Red Arrow to retain his title.