Cena To WWE Developmental, WWE/HD Update, SD!, Loads More

John Cena is scheduled to make a non-wrestling appearance for WWE's Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory on November 27 in Port Richey, Florida at the Bourbon Street Night Club.

We reported earlier that WWE was filming footage over the weekend in Naples, FL with a good portion of the roster. It has now been confirmed that the company was doing a production shoot for new TV show openings shot in High-Definition. WWE has been testing the use of High-Definition since 2006 and could be moving all programming in that direction within the next year. Smackdown will be making a move to HD starting in January 2008, while all television broadcasts will be moved to the new format by 2009.

The 11/16 edition of Friday Night Smackdown scored a 5.4 Hispanic rating.

Former WWE coach/trainer Steve "Dr. Death" Williams is helping to train wrestlers for the local Fusion Pro Wrestling in Denver, CO.

For the month of September, WWE averaged 3,917 fans at live events, for an average gate of $137,083 (up 48.1% from September 2006), reports the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The next New Japan tour is 11/23 to 12/9, with the major shows on 12/8 in Osaka and 12/9 in Nagoya.

Dragon Gate is running its annual King of Gate tournament from 12/1 to 12/9, with the finals in Nagoya. Austin Aries is working the tour.

Abdullah The Butcher makes his IWA debut on 11/23 in Tokyo in a trios match.

A few weeks back, a report attributed to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, stated that WWE hall of famer Blackjack Mulligan had recently suffered a stroke, hit the internet. Mulligan has refuted that report, and says he's doing fine. I have also talked to someone that knows Mulligan, and confirms Mulligan's claim.