The continuing buildup for WWE's upcoming TLC pay-per-view, the death of a Fabulous Freebird who once starred as a Hollywood Blond and a rare deference to common sense by TNA are among the items we are tracking this week.
For the third ppv in a row, Ryback will be a challenger for C.M. Punk's WWE championship. This time it will be in a TLC match and in WWE that acronym certainly doesn't stand for Tender Loving Care, as the two will square off in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs event where those weapons are not only legal, but provided and encouraged for use.
At Survivor Series, Punk survived with the help of the Shield, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, as the trio put Ryback through the announcer's table outside the ring. That allowed Punk to cover John Cena for the pinfall after Ryback had already administered the Shell Shock to Punk and Cena just prior to the attack by the contingent fresh up from NXT developmental.
At Raw, the Shield once again attacked Ryback and left through the crowd as speculation centered on whether they were hired as protection for C.M. Punk
Interviewed on Raw to explain their motive, the trio claimed they were not employed by Punk, but out to right injustice wherever they found it. Surprised they didn't show up at the Chicago Thanksgiving Day parade where Punk served as grand marshal, just to make sure nobody took any liberties along the parade route. Reigns, by the way, has a bit of a pedigree; he is the son of legendary WWE tag team champion Sika, half of the infamous Wild Samoan tag team with Reign's uncle Afa.
Wade Barrett continued to haunt Kofi Kingston at Raw and will challenge Kingston for the Intercontinental title at the pay-per- view. Big Show defends the world heavyweight belt against former kingpin Sheamus. The pay-per-view will take place on December 16 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Sad to report the death this past week of Dale Hey, better known to wrestling fans as Buddy Roberts of the Fabulous Freebirds. He teamed with Michael Hayes and the late Terry Gordy and the trio headlined for Bill Watts in the mid-south territory, in Georgia and in Texas, where they had huge box office success on top against the Von Erichs.
Many years earlier, Roberts teamed with veteran Jerry Brown as the Hollywood Blonds under the tutelage of Sir Oliver Humperdink and had great success in Montreal, and in the much warmer confines of the sunshine state of Florida. The Blonds faced Bruno Sammartino and Eduardo Carpentier in a tag match in Montreal under the main event of Mad Dog Vachon vs. Killer Kowalski on a show that drew more than 29,000 wrestling fans to Jarry Park, a venue baseball fans may recognize as the early home of the Montreal Expos.
TNA has announced it will be cutting back on pay-per-views for 2013. That may be the most sensible thing done by the promotion or in all of pro wrestling in quite some time. Reports indicate there also seems to be better long-term planning with storylines than the company has had in recent years. Company champ Jeff Hardy is rumored to be considering not signing to re-up in the hope of a return to WWE and a possible Hardy Boyz reunion in the coming year.
Superfly Jimmy Snuka's autobiography has been released. Lots of potential for an interesting read there. The guy had quite the controversial and lengthy career and was an amiable interview subject for the Insider a few years back when he worked a show in Mount Carmel. Might be worth checking out, brudda!