It is being reported that WWE Management is said to have soured on WWE Diva Beth Phoenix over “being out of shape.”
The issue began last night before Monday Night RAW when the former Divas champion entered the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California appearing to be “chubby” according to an unnamed WWE producer. As a result, WWE Officials were none too pleased and ordered Phoenix to take a leave of absence until she got down to a certain weight limit.
This year’s SummerSlam marked the first time since WrestleMania XXVIII that no unannounced matches ever took place at a WWE pay-per-view.
At one point, Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes was scheduled to take place after the WWE Championship triple threat match between John Cena, CM Punk, and the Big Show but was scrapped at the last minute due to timing constraints.
Both Sin Cara and Rhodes were backstage at SummerSlam but were not used. Another potential bonus match would have featured Brodus Clay taking on Damien Sandow but neither man was used as well.
It looks like there will be no impromptu matches at tonight’s SummerSlam PPV as WWE officials reportedly nixed both Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes as well as Brodus Clay vs. Damien Sandow.
The feeling is that the plan is to have the main matches (especially Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar) to be longer than usual and having unannounced matches would take time away from those matches.
WWE Officials are considering the possibility of having both the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship matches be contested as Championship Scramble matches as a way to put more Superstars on the card.
This would mark the first time since the Unforgiven PPV in September 2008 to feature Championship Scramble matches.
As Monday Night RAW gets ready for its historic 1000th episode tomorrow, here are some updates on what to expect:
Update on Christian’s opponent for the IC title
Nothing has been set in stone regarding Christian’s opponent for the Intercontinental Championship, but according to several insiders, it is not expected to be Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes is reportedly in the doghouse with WWE Officials for his erratic behavior backstage and is expected to be depushed in favor of other top heels such as Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, and the Big Show.
There are rumblings that Christian’s potential challengers include The Miz, Damien Sandow, and Tensai.
Potential matches
There have been talks about a ten-man tag team match which will pit the team of World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth taking on the team of Del Rio, Ziggler, The Big Show, & The Primetime Players. A battle royal featuring past and present Divas as also scheduled to take place.
Note on this week’s Superstars matches
No matches will be taped for WWE Superstars prior to tomorrow’s 1000th episode of RAW. In addition, no dark matches are expected to take place, either. Instead, this Thursday’s edition of WWE Superstars will be taped prior to this Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The reason why the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match served as the main event for the Money in the Bank PPV over CM Punk versus Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship was partly due to Punk’s inability to main event a PPV.
WWE officials blamed the 2011 WWE TLC PPV’s (in which Punk was in the main event) dismal buyrates as one of the reasons for not trusting Punk to close out the PPV. The other reason was the plan was for John Cena to win the WWE Championship MITB Match. The feeling is that Cena is highly capable of main eventing a match.
Eve Torres, one of the few WWE divas still getting air time.
For those of you wondering why there have have fewer Divas matches on both Raw and SmackDown as of late, the reason may have been due in large part to WWE COO Triple H.
According to former WWE writer Alex Greenfield, he believes that Triple H has been large responsible for divas matches being relegated to WWE Superstars and WWE NXT.
“We were getting show opener’s and mid-point cross over segments. We were doing great in the ratings. We were drawing money throughout that program. You’d think the lesson would be — here, we can tie this in to a Triple H thing,” he said. “You would think that the lesson would be, ‘Oh, women can draw. Let’s keep the women’s division strong. We can continue to draw.’ Or, you can take the approach of one of the things that Hunter said, which was, ‘Giving them all this time; doesn’t that take away from the men?’
In other words, Triple H is not high on the divas division and so are the WWE Universe. Anytime a divas match take place, it’s almost always either a bathroom break or a snack break. And most divas as a rule, get no reaction from the WWE Universe whatsoever.
But there are exceptions to the rule. Vickie Guerrero is one of the top heels with her “Excuse Me” catchphrase, Eve (pictured above) has recently served as John Laurinaitis’ assistant while A.J. is currently in a love triangle with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
It also doesn’t help matters that several Divas such as Maryse, Melina, Gail Kim, the Bella Twins and most recently Maxine (as well as Kelly Kelly who’s currently on hiatus), have left the company in the last year with several more expected to leave in the next several weeks with WWE’s annual housecleaning (yes, this means you, Kharma).
Will the Divas Championship be deactivated in the very near future. Only time will tell.
The 2012 Money in the Bank PPV may only feature four matches, but in typical WWE fashion but expect at least two bonus matches to be taking place.
One rumored match is Brodus Clay facing possibly either Jack Swagger or David Otunga. WWE officials are very high on Clay’s “Funkasaurus” gimmick and wants him to be featured on a regular basis.
Another likely match is Ryback taking on Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Also, it is expected that a past WWE Superstar will be making an appearance to perhaps face Heath Slater.
No Divas match is expected to take place at the Money in the Bank PPV. Instead, the Divas will be relegated to appearing in backstage segments. A Divas Championship match is expected to take place on Monday Night RAW on Monday, July 16.
So far, only four matches are on the card at the No Way Out PPV on Sunday, June 17 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey:
John Cena vs. Big Show in a steel cage match
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship
Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship
Christian vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship
There is talk of an six-man tag team match between Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Tensai for the No Way Out PPV but nothing has been decided yet.
There is also rumors that a Divas match (possibly Layla versus Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship) will be the preshow match that will be seen on wwe.com preceding the No Way Out PPV as well.
For those of you wondering if there will be any more matches to be added to the WWE Over the Limit PPV, it seems that with only six matches on the card, you may think that would be the case.
But according to various reports, that may not be the case. Talk within the WWE is that the plan is to have the main matches (particularly the John Cena versus John Lauriniatis match) be longer than average.
WWE Creative also proposed a possible Santino Marella versus Cody Rhodes match for the WWE Over the Limit PPV but was nixed due to a lack of buildup. WWE officials are now targeting the No Way Out PPV on Sunday, June 17 as the likely date for the possible Marella-Rhodes match.
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