WWE News (Page 11)

The following report is courtesy of wrestleview.com...

- Ric Flair defeated Carlito. Carlito took it to Ric Flair right away, landing numerous kicks to Flair on the ground. The referee eventually pushed Carlito back to break it up. Carlito sent Flair shoulder first into the ring post. Carlito continued to work on the shoulder of Flair, dropkicking him into the post when the brawl spilled to the outside. Back in the ring, Carlito applied an armbar on Flair, working on Flair's shoulder even more. They are playing up Flair's history of rotator cuff surgery with the continued punishment by Carlito causing more damage. Each time Flair attempted a comeback, Carlito would knock him back to the mat and apply another armbar. Flair started making another comeback with some stiff chest chops to Carlito. Crowd in St. Louis is really behind Flair. Flair worked on Carlito in the corner with some chest chops and right hands. Carlito attempted the Backcracker on Flair, but Flair countered with a big stomp to Carlito. Flair then got the Figure Four locked on. Carlito taps out to give Flair the win.

- Backstage, Todd Grisham is with Shawn Michaels. They go to a video package of Michaels defeated Edge on Monday Night Raw last week and then Randy Orton attacking Michaels after the match. Back live, HBK goes to speak when Orton appears and attacks HBK.

- Bobby Lashley defeated ECW Champion Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & Umaga in a 3 on 1 Handicap Match. The match started with Lashley going after Vince, but Shane stepped in. Umaga then hit the ring and Lashley took him out with a Spear. Lashley then grabbed Shane and hit him with a big powerslam to get the pinfall to become the NEW ECW World Champion. After the match, Umaga took out Lashley with a Samoan Spike. Vince then got on the mic and said since he wasn't pinned, there wasn't a title change tonight.

- Backstage, Shawn Michaels was informed by a doctor that he couldn't wrestle tonight against Randy Orton.

- CM Punk defeated Elijah Burke. CM Punk has his ribs taped up as he came to the ring. The match kicked off with Punk applying a headlock on Burke towards the ropes and then bringing him to the middle of the ring. Burke eventually fought out if it, but Punk followed that up with knees to the gut backing Burke into the corner. Burke fought back driving Punk into the corner with force. Punk responds with a scoop slam and a kick to the back. Burke again responds with some offense of his own on Punk. Punk gives Burke a big hanging vertical suplex for a good 10 seconds and then drops him hard on the mat. Burke with a big charge on Punk in the corner working on his "injured" ribs. Burke tosses Punk to the outside after Punk attempted a splash on Burke against the ropes. Punk came back with a dropkick on Burke that sent Burke to the outside. Burke then locked on leg scissors on Punk on the mat. Punk came back with a big superplex on Burke. Burke blocked a bulldog from Punk and then sends Punk into the corner. Punk then gets the win with the Go To Sleep.

- Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels via referee stoppage. Before the match started, Randy Orton came out and wanted ring announcer Justin Roberts to declare him the winner. HBK's music then hit. HBK came down and the referee told him he didn't have to compete tonight. HBK demanded the bell to be rung and here we go. Orton pulls HBK in through the ropes, covers it, but HBK gets a shoulder up. Orton with a quick DDT on HBK, another pinfall and HBK again kicks out. HBK dodges an RKO attempt by Orton. HBK somehow gets up on the top rope and connects with an elbow drop on Orton. HBK then attempts the Sweet Chin Music, stomping in the corner, but he falls down. The referee then stops the mask saying HBK could not continue. Randy Orton is declared the winner due to referee stoppage. After the match, Orton gives HBK the RKO. We then see HBK's wife Rebecca (former Nitro Girl Whisper) hit the ring and attend to an injured HBK. HBK was taken out on a stretcher. We then go back to highlights of the match that barely lasted five minutes.

- Backstage, Todd Grisham was with The Great Khali. Khali still had the WWE Title with him. Khali spoke and his translator said that John Cena doesn't stand a chance tonight and that if Cena wants some, come get some. Continue Reading...

• To follow up on my earlier report, Bryan Alvarez is reporting that Gregory “Shane” Helms will undergo neck fusion surgery with Dr. Lloyd Youngblood on Monday, May 21st. While the surgery has been known to preserve careers, it is extremely serious and you can expect Helms to be out of action for at least a year.

• Sabu will not be able to jump directly to TNA as he has a 90 day non-compete clause in his contract. Sabu, who was released from WWE earlier this week, was a staple of the ECW brand.

• The scheduled debut of the new Hillbillies tag team on SmackDown, which was slated to happen this week, was pushed back to next week’s episode due to time restraints. You can look forward to the taping of their debut match at Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings.

• King Booker’s independent PWA promotion will be running a show in Pasadena, Texas on May 30th at the Pasadena Convention Center. Names confirmed for the show right now are CM Punk, Maria, and Too Cold Scorpio.

• Amy “Lita” Dumas’ punk bad, the Luchagors, are finalizing their debut CD. The work is being produced by Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan.

• Triple H is slated to return to in-ring action at the end of July from his quadriceps tear - if this is the case, the Game is likely to play a big part in WWE's Summerslam PPV.

• On the subject of injury returns, ECW's Hardcore Holly is expected to make his comeback in late August after undergoing elbow surgery to repair consistant nerve problems.

Here is the current card for the WWE Judgment Day PPV card this Sunday, May 20 in St. Louis, Missouri:

WWE Championship Match
- John Cena (c) vs. The Great Khali

World Heavyweight Championship Match
- Edge (c) vs. Batista

ECW Championship - 3 on 1 Handicap Match
- Vince McMahon (c), Shane McMahon & Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley

WWE United States Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls Match
- Chris Benoit (c) vs. MVP

- Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton

- Ric Flair vs. Carlito

- CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke

• JBL has been trying to get Vince McMahon to let him return to the ring on SmackDown. The former WWE Champion and current SmackDown announcer politicked by saying that the brand needs him with the injuries to Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, and Booker.

However, McMahon denied his request because he wanted to see a “full medical release.” One source says that the reason Vince doesn’t want JBL back in the ring is because he has become such an important fixture to the broadcast side of SmackDown, making Michael Cole much better at what he does.

• Chris Benoit has taken on MVP as somewhat of a “personal project.” Benoit feels at the age of 40 that he should give back to his profession by trying to guide a guy’s career that could help carry the company in the future.

MVP has become extremely popular backstage as he is said to be a hard worker that is always trying to learn more from the veterans of WWE.

• ECW on Sci Fi did a 1.5 rating this past Tuesday night, totaling 1.8 million viewers. That number is down slightly from the program’s average rating of 1.8. ECW was headlined this past week by ECW World Champion Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga taking on Rob Van Dam.

• Next month’s WWE Fanatix pay-per-view will be the “New and Improved” DeGeneration X DVD.

• The Hamilton Spector out of Canada has an article now online promoting WWE’s upcoming tour in Canada. The article features quotes from both Matt and Jeff Hardy.

• Now that Edge is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, expect him to immediately begin a feud with Batista.

• Stone Cold Steve Austin is featured in the June issue of Playboy. The Texas Rattlesnake picked 1996 Playmate of the year Stacy Sanchez as his favorite Playmate of all time. Sanchez, like Austin, is from the state of Texas.

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is considering a role in the DVC Comics superhero Captain Marvel in the feature film adaption of “Shazam!” that is currently being developed. Johnson said that he’s discussed the possibility of playing the role with Peter Sagal, who is slated to produce the film, saying:

" Listen, John August is writing the script and he's a tremendous writer, and I'll just wait for the script to come in. But I'd love to work with Pete again, and certainly would want to work with John August. So there's a strong possibility."

WWE.com reported last night that the initial diagnosis of Ken Kennedy’s triceps tear was incorrect. Dr. James Andrews examined the superstar today and discovered that the muscle was not torn off the bone and will not require surgery.

WWE’s Dr. Ferdinand Rios said that “He’s still vulnerable to injury and the arm remains badly swollen.” He then went on to say, “I’d expect him to be out of action for about six to eight weeks.”

Even though Kennedy will be out for several weeks, this is a lot better news than if he had to undergo surgery. This brings a breath of fresh air to WWE executives as they are dealing with several big superstars being injured.

• Ozzy Osbourne will be performing live at next week's Smackdown taping.

• Expect Lilian Garcia to return to Monday Night RAW announcing duties on 5/14.