Daniel Bryan posted the following on Twitter, showing a meeting with UFC star Diego Sanchez backstage at last night's WWE Live Event in Albuquerque, New Mexico…
Birthdate: 05/22/1981 (age 33) Height: 5'10" Weight: 210lb In WWE, Danielson is a four-time world champion... Finally met the original YES man, @DiegoSanchezUFC here at #WWEAlbuquerque… Truly an honor. YES! YES! YES! pic.twitter.com/iKGRBhjQba
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) February 1, 2015
-- For those wondering, WWE Diva AJ Lee was backstage at the RAW Reunion show in Dallas on Monday, despite not being used on the show. It's been reported for a while that AJ will make her return at the live events this coming weekend in her home state of New Jersey.
-- The WWE Community Twitter account posted the following pic of Darren Young, Naomi and Sin Cara hosting an anti-bullying rally at Burnet Middle School in Austin, Texas today:
Birthdate: 3/19/1987 (age 27) Height: 5'2" Weight: 115 Ib Originally trained by former TNA wrestler Ja... #WWE's @DarrenYoungWWE @SinCaraWWE and @NaomiWWE participated in a @beaSTARalliance Rally today in Austin, TX! pic.twitter.com/ZRjNNUkAXh
— WWE Community (@WWECommunity) January 20, 2015
Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer
The Lucha Underground television taping in Los Angeles, California on Saturday night was reportedly sold out. The tapings held on January 17th and January 18th were also said to be sold out, with 250 fans in attendance for both shows.
Several notable names were in attendance at the taping last night, including former Los Angeles Lakers star A.C. Green, Women's UFC fighter and Four Horsewomen member Shayna Baszler, as well as UFC fighter and New Japan Pro Wrestling announcer Josh Barnett.
AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion Alberto El Patron also worked the taping. He wrote the following on Twitter about being at the show.
Time for @LuchaElRey if u r here get ready 4the best time of ur life and if u r not, come running cause we r making history in this place
— Alberto El Patron (@VivaDelRio) January 24, 2015
Source: The Wrestling Observer
-- As noted earlier here on the website, WWE wants to induct The Undertaker into the 2015 Hall of Fame if he decides not to wrestle at WrestleMania 31. Either way, they are planning on Undertaker making an appearance in some capacity. That’s why he was included in advertisements even though it’s unknown if he’ll wrestle.
WWE is still hoping he will compete and are preparing Bray Wyatt to be his opponent.
-- Here are Friday night's confirmed WWE SmackDown matches:
* The Ascension in Action
* Bray Wyatt vs. Erick Rowan
* Ryback vs. Big Show
* Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. Los Matadores
* Dean Ambrose vs. Curtis Axel
* Goldust, Stardust, and Adam Rose vs. The Usos and R-Truth
* US Title Match: Rusev © vs. Roman Reigns
In case you missed last night’s edition of WWE SmackDown, then you can check out highlights from the show:
The Squared Circle Reddit community is one of the more vocal areas of the IWC, and they were impressed enough by NXT Takeover: R Evolution to send Triple H a gift. Reddit user “cbartholomew” came up with the idea this morning, saying that the idea got over 100 votes he would send an Edible Arrangements fruit basket to the Game for his work in making NXT so good. The post reached its goal in under fifteen minutes and a $127 gift basket was sent to WWE headquarters.
Triple H acknowledged the gift on Twitter, posting:
Birthdate: 03/24/1965 (age 49) Height: 6'10" Weight: 299 Ib Calaway began his wrestling career with World C... 
Birthdate: 07/27/1969 (age 45) Height: 6'4" Weight: 255lb Hunter Hearst Helmsley is an American business ... Thanks for the fruit basket @reddit but I'm at @WWENXT working with the future. #WWEArchivistAteIt @WWE pic.twitter.com/fs8ogk2rGa
— Triple H (@TripleH) December 12, 2014
-- According to Google statistics, WWE did over 200,000 Google searches for their Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday. That came in at #3 behind Iggy Azalea and Odell Beckham Jr. as they were featured at the MTV Movie Awards and the New York Giants NFL game.
-- WWE's reasoning for the Survivor Series post-show not airing is simply because the pay-per-view ran long as they already had content scheduled to air and didn't want to mess up their schedule.
Also read: News On The WrestleMania 31 Tickets, Early Rating Numbers For Last Friday Night's SmackDown, More-- WWE added a new feature to the WWE Network that allows subscribers to access content from WWE's official YouTube channel. You can check out a list of content that is available at WWE.com.
-- UPDATE: The Friday, November 21st WWE Survivor Series "go-home" edition of SmackDown scored a final 2.11 (2.1) cable rating, which was up from the 1.93 rating that the show drew the previous week. Friday's SmackDown averaged 2.878 million viewers, which was also up from the average of 2.715 million viewers who tuned in the previous week.
-- ORIGINAL: It was good news for the WWE SmackDown rating today. Last Friday’s episode drew 2.88 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic. Those numbers are up 6% and a tenth from last week’s 2.72 million and 0.8 demo rating. The episode had the highest SmackDown viewership since the July 18th episode drew 2.89 million and the highest demo rating since the June 27th episode also drew a 0.9.
The household rating will be available later
Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer
UPDATE x 5: There were many last-minute decisions made to the script for RAW last night. At one point on the RAW pre-show, it was revealed that John Cena would name the new RAW General Manager during the broadcast. However, WWE changed their minds at the last minute and announced the Board of Directors would make the announcement.
At the end of the episode, the Anonymous RAW General Manager made his (or her) return. The reason for this is because they are still debating on who they want to play the full-time role and it hadn't been decided as of yesterday.
Also, the original plans called for Stung to appear either before or after the Divas Elimination tag-team match. Obviously, those plans changed and he was involved in the main event instead.
UPDATE x 4: Sting recently signed a performers contract with WWE. While the length of the agreement and specific details are not yet known, the deal is likely structured similar to Brock Lesnar's, where he is getting paid a lot and is only required to make limited appearances.
While he almost certainly won't be working live events, the feeling is that he will be wrestling more than just "one more match."
As noted earlier, WWE reached out to Sting last Thursday to set up his Survivor Series appearance.
Also read: Backstage News On Why Sting Debuted Last Night At The WWE Survivor Series Pay-Per-View EventUPDATE x 3: Following Sting's WWE debut at Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view, where he gave Triple H a Scorpion Death Drop and cost Team Authority their jobs, there's already some buzz behind the scenes that the two legends will square off at WrestleMania 31.
Just a few weeks ago, The Rock and Triple H were teasing a WrestleMania match at the SmackDown 15th Anniversary special. With The Rock's very busy schedule shooting movies, it seems unlikely that he'll be getting back in the ring next March. WWE kicking off a feud between Sting & Triple H seems to support the notion that The Rock won't be available during WrestleMania season.
While The Undertaker's in-ring future is still unknown, Sting working with Triple H could be a sign that Taker has yet to commit to wrestling at WrestleMania 31.
UPDATE x 2: In an update from our earlier report (see below), the decision to bring in Sting wasn’t made until Thursday. As previously reported, WWE wanted to deliver on a surprise and also wanted to push the “anything can happen” on the WWE Network idea.
Sting is not expected to be at RAW or SmackDown this week. The plan was for him to make the pay-per-view appearance and then head back home to California. He may have pre-taped a segment for tonight, but nothing is confirmed.
In regards to who he may wrestle, the obvious pick seems to be Triple H due to their interaction last night. The plan as of Friday was that Sting will wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. Of course, he could also wrestle Triple H at the Royal Rumble as a sort of introduction to fans not familiar with him.
UPDATE: WWE’s plan for Survivor Series last night was to push the WWE Network and show that anything can happen in WWE and anyone can show up on the Network. This is why Sting finally appeared on screen and why WWE announced both Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt at TLC and the Austin/Vince interview next week.
It’s believed that Sting also showed up to help promote WWE 2K15, which was released not long before the PPV happened. Finally, it’s possible that WWE added Sting’s name into the script earlier in the show (it was previously reported as happening right before or right after the Divas elimination match) in order to keep his main event appearance a secret.
ORIGINAL: As many of you know by now, Sting officially made his debut at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday night.
According to sources, WWE flew Sting into Kansas, MO from Dallas, TX on Sunday morning as they wanted to hide him from fans who were waiting at the airport to meet WWE Superstars. The company then had a limo waiting for him in Kansas City, MO and drove him to St. Louis for the pay-per-view. He was kept hidden backstage during the afternoon and evening hours.
Additionally, Sting wasn't notified that he'd be appearing at Survivor Series until late last week. WWE officials called him on Wednesday or Thursday and told him he was needed for the pay-per-view. He was promoting WWE 2K15 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week and was unaware at that point that he'd be making his debut at Survivor Series.
The original plans called for Stung to appear either before or after the Divas Elimination tag-team match. Obviously, those plans changed and he was involved in the main event instead.
As of last word, Sting was not expected to appear at...
-- Medallion Press has announced that they will publish Booker T’s second autobiography in April 2015. The book will be titled Booker T: My Rise to Wrestling Royalty and will be co-written by Andrew William Wright. It follows his first auobiography, 2012’s Booker T: From Prison to Promise (which was also co-written by Wright).
Also read: ?WWE's Return To MSG, Synopsis For D-Bryan's AutobiographyThe release said that the book “will chronicle the very beginnings of Harlem Heat, his memorable portrayal of the regal King Booker, and finally his acceptance into the WWE class of 2013 Hall of Fame.”
You can pre-order the book here.
-- Here is a preview of tomorrow night’s NXT episode on the WWE Network:
-- Monday night’s episode of WWE RAW was down in viewership but up in the demo rating. The show drew 3.88 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic. Those numbers are down 9% from last week’s 4.25 million but up 7% from a 1.5 demo rating. The final cable rating was 2.79 (2.8), down 9% from last week’s 3.07.
The show did hours of 4.23 million, 3.95 million and 3.47 million viewers.
Also read: ?This Week's WWE RAW Rating Is In - OUCH!The Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets game on Monday night football did 11.75 million viewers, which is well below the season average.
-- Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown scored a big viewership and a solid (even if down) demo rating. The episode brought in 3.05 million viewers and a 0.8 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic. Those numbers are up 6% and down a tenth from last week’s 2.88 million and 0.9.
The viewership was the highest since all the way back in March, when the March 28th episode drew 3.06 million viewers. The show scored a final 2.09 (2.1) cable/household rating, down 1% from last week’s 2.11 (2.1).
Santino Marella posted the following to Twitter today, promoting his appearance as the General Manager of SmackDown this week:
Birthdate: 03/20/1955 (age 59) Height: 6'2" Weight: 250 Ib Sting is best known for his tenure in World Cha... 
Birthdate: 03/01/1961 (age 53) Height: 6'3" Weight: 256 Ib Booker T is regarded as the greatest African-Am... This week I run Smackdown! I want to impress the boss so I've made an #ICTitle match w @HEELZiggler & @LukeHarperWWE to kick off the show!
— Santino Marella (@milanmiracle) December 3, 2014
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Credit: Kyle Garner & prowrestling.net
It was a great show live. I’ve heard some say that the crowd was dead but from my perspective from where I was I would have to disagree. When Daniel Bryan came out the roof almost came off. He was definitely well received and welcomed back very loudly from my hometown crowd.
There was a guy who got ejected and that is why the crowd was chanting let him stay. The guy took the cotton candy from the vendor and started throwing it to the crowd.
Also read: ?A Live Fan Report From Last Night's WWE Survivor Series Pay-Per-View Event Inside HereFun fact: I saw Ryback on the concourse of the Fieldhouse before the show started. Man, the guy is a beast in person.
Indy is more of a pro John Cena crowd and from my vantage point there were a ton more “let’s go Cena” chants.
After the show went off air, Cena, Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan were in the ring and played to the crowd. There were a ton of “We want Sting” chants so Cena gave Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury a couple of “Sting” chops and Ziggler gave the Stinger splash to Mercury. Cena wanted Bryan to get in on the action but Mike Chioda the ref told them he wasn’t medically cleared. Cena then asked the doctor and he concurred. So Cena brought Michael Cole in the ring and he ate a Ziggler superkick to end the night.
Overall, a fun night that was exciting for me to get to see Daniel Bryan return in person. I just wish Sting was there but I had a blast.
Biggest Pops Daniel Bryan John Cena AJ after her burns on the Bellas
Most Heat The Authority Seth Rollins No Sting or the Battle Royal The guy getting thrown out
Last Friday night's WWE SmackDown broadcast drew a final 1.93 (1.9) cable rating, up from the previous week's 1.86 (1.9) cable rating.
UPDATE: Monday's WWE RAW broadcast scored a 2.75 (2.8) cable rating, even with last week’s number.
Also read: The Early Rating Numbers For Last Night's WWE RAW & The Bellator 131 Broadcasts - DetailsORIGINAL: Last night’s episode of WWE RAW drew 3.77 million viewers and a 1.23 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic. Thus numbers are down 4% and 12% respectively from last week’s 3.93 million and 1.4 demo rating.
The show did hours of 3.90 million, 3.78 million and 3.64 million viewers. The household rating will be available later.
For you MMA fans out there, Bellator announced today via press release that Saturday’s Bellator 131 event peaked at 2 million viewers. The show averaged 1.24 million viewers, which makes it the second highest rated cable MMA event of 2014. The UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi event did 1.4 million viewers, but that also had a NASCAR lead in. The show had steady ratings growth through out and peaked with the Ortiz vs. Bonnar main event.
The last non-UFC event that pulled in 2 million viewers at any time during it’s broadcast was the April 17th, 2012 Strikeforce: Nashville event.
Following the WWE SmackDown TV tapings on Tuesday night, here is the updated WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view card:
Survivor Series Match:
Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Sheamus and TBA) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev and TBA)
If Team Authority loses, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will lose control of Monday Night RAW. If Team Cena loses, they’re fired.
WWE Divas Title Match:
AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
Survivor Series Match:
Alicia Fox, Natalya, Naomi, and Emma will take on Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae, and Layla
WWE Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Title Match:
Goldust & Stardust vs. Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. Miz and Mizdow
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
In case you missed last night’s edition of TNA Impact, then check out highlights from the show:
Tag Tournament Final: The Hardys vs Low Ki and Samoa Joe
Lashley, MVP and Kenny King Cuts Short Bobby Roode's Victory Speech
A Look Into the Mind of Samuel Shaw
Why did Samuel Shaw Turn on Gunner? Shaw Explains
Also read: Video Highlights From Last Night’s TNA ImpactEthan Carter III Wants Spud to Apologize.. How Does Spud React?
Hardcore Match: Bram & Magnus vs Devon & Tommy Dreamer
Knockouts Championship: Gail Kim vs Havok
World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Roode vs MVP
In case you missed last night’s edition of WWE NXT, then you can check out highlights from the show:
Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks compete in Divas action on WWE.
Also read: Spoilers For Tonight's WWE NXT BroadcastSami Zayn's road to redemption hits a speed bump.
Finn Bálor sees his in-ring debut in this exciting tag team match.