John Cena, Paul Heyman and Cesaro Open Up RAW

This week’s edition of WWE RAW opens up with highlights of everything that went down between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella on last week’s show, as well as the announcement of Brock Lesnar as John Cena’s title challenger at SummerSlam.

From there, we shoot live to the arena where we hear Michael Cole say, “welcome to Monday Night RAW,” as John Cena’s theme music hits. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion makes his way out to the top of the stage as the loud mixed reaction erupts from the fans in the building.

Justin Roberts introduces Cena as he sprints to the ring. Cole, meanwhile, informs everyone to use “#CenavsBrock” on Twitter tonight to chat about the big main event for this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.

The music fades, the loud mixed reaction, which is quickly turning to all-boo’s, increases, as Cena takes off his hat and wipes the sweat off of his head. He tells the fans in Houston that they’re a lively bunch. He then goes on to talk about Brock Lesnar being revealed as his next opponent. Cena sells the announcement with concern in his voice, as he clearly sounds nervous at the idea of facing Lesnar at SummerSlam.

Cena goes on to talk about how dangerous Brock Lesnar is, running down Lesnar’s many impressive accomplishments. He talks about how he knows he’s going to get his ass kicked at SummerSlam, which results in the Houston fans cheering loudly. He says, however, that even though he knows he’s getting his ass kicked, he’s not going to lay down. He says he’s going to SummerSlam to win.

He questions if The Authority knows what they’re doing by putting Lesnar in a position to win the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He says no one can stop Lesnar. Not the fans, not The Authority, not even Paul Heyman.

With that said, we hear “ladies and gentlemen.” Out walks Paul Heyman. He promises that Lesnar will “conquer” John Cena and take away the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.

Heyman says Cena is brave to announce his awareness of what is going to happen to him at SummerSlam at the hands of Brock Lesnar. He says that Cena, however, may not realize what it’s like to be victimized by Lesnar. He tells him to ask Undertaker, but then remembers that he can’t because Lesnar beat Undertaker to the point that he’s no longer around. He tells Cena that all he’s going to be beaten, victimized and conquered.

Cena tells Heyman he’s sick of his crap. He wants to talk to Heyman about passion. Cena talks about the fans chanting “ECW.” He leads the fans in an “ECW” chant that doesn’t catch on at all. Cena says he and Heyman share passion. He says this is it for him, this is his “friggin'” life. He goes on to describe his passion for WWE and the fans before turning his attention again to what is awaiting him at SummerSlam. He says what separates him from Lesnar is heart. Cena promises to “walk out with this son of a bitch,” as he raises the WWE World Heavyweight Championship up high.

Then, out of the blue, Cesaro’s theme music hits. Cesaro comes out and takes the microphone from Heyman. Heyman looks confused. Cesaro says even though he and Heyman parted ways professionally, he won’t stand for someone talking to his friend like this.

Cesaro goes on to call Cena a muscled up billboard. He asks Cena where he got his sneakers and tells him you can’t wrestle in sneakers. Cena exits the rings and starts walking up the ramp. Cesaro tells Cena that “you can’t wrestle” and then challenges him to a match.

Heyman goes to try and hype up a Cesaro-Cena match as an unexpected bonus for the fans in Houston, but Cena cuts him off by saying, “shut up, Paul.” He tells Cesaro “this guy who can’t wrestle” is going to beat him up. He tells Cesaro to get in the ring. Cesaro’s music plays again as he heads to the ring. We head to our first commercial break of the evening.

John Cena vs. Cesaro

When we return from commercial, Cesaro and Cena are duking it out in the ring. Neither guy has established control of the offense yet it seems, as each guy is taking turns hitting a move or two. When the smoke finally clears, Cesaro is in control of the leader of the “Ce-Nation,” as the fans begin their dueling “let’s go Cena” and “Cena sucks” chants.

Cena tries fighting back, but Cesaro cuts him short with an impressive display of power and resumes beating down the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The fans, meanwhile, are still a lively bunch, as the anti-Cena chants continue to spread throughout Houston as Cesaro continues his beat down.

The WWE World Heavyweight Champion starts fighting back again, this time building a bit of momentum, however less than a minute later, Cesaro is back in control of the offense. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial.

We’re back from the break and Cesaro is still firmly in control of the champ. As he goes for the Cesaro Swing, however, Cena escapes and begins to turn the offensive tide in the match to his favor. Cena is firing up now, hitting a series of moves on “The King of Swing” as the fans in Houston come alive.

Cesaro cuts Cena short moments later, hitting an incredible superplex type move, as from the middle rope he lifted Cena from the apron all the way over his head for a suplex. Seconds later, Cesaro secures Cena’s legs and begins swinging the champ. He swings him about ten times and then transitions into some type of leg submission.

Cena ends up escaping the submission and going for a reversal into an STFU, but Cesaro avoids that one. Cena knocks Cesaro down and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cesaro fights back and goes to the top rope. He flies off, splashing onto Cena, but Cena rolls through and picks Cesaro up in one motion for an Attitude Adjustment.

Cesaro escapes Cena’s A.A. attempt and launches him in the air, blasting him on the way down with a huge European uppercut. Cesaro calls for The Neutralizer but Cena avoids it.

Both guys end up on the top rope. Cena grabs a hold of Cesaro and gets him across his shoulders. Cena jumps off the ropes, nailing Cesaro with a huge Attitude Adjustment on the way down. Cena covers Cesaro. 1-2-3. Cena wins. Great match to open tonight’s RAW.

Winner: John Cena

Backstage: Stephanie McMahon & Triple H

Backstage, we see Stephanie McMahon with Triple H. Stephanie is stressing out and talking about how she doesn’t want to see the disappointment in their daughter’s eyes again. She says “this had better work.” Triple H assures her that it will.

While it’s possible these plans have changed, as of yesterday, Chris Jericho vs. Luke Harper and a Miz TV segment with Bo Dallas was in the script for tonight’s edition of WWE RAW.

Additionally, tonight’s RAW is expected to advance the story line behind Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton for SummerSlam, as well as John Cena’s first “reaction interview” for his match at SummerSlam with Brock Lesnar.

WWE Superstar Bo Dallas spoke to ChicagoNow.com this week to promote the September 29th episode of RAW. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Fans Booing When He Tells Them To Bolieve: “I take every situation as a positive.  Bolieving is definitely a positive. If you are having a rough day, sitting in traffic, late to work you have to take a step back and realize this day could be better. All you have to do is bolieve. It’s something that I take to heart and every time I’m out in the public, I get nothing but positive reactions.”

“Bolieve is something that is great to use and think about because it will make somebody’s day better.”

His Time As NXT Champion: “I can’t say anything but, it has helped me immensely. It really has helped me develop greatly into a professional wrestler and hone my craft. I wouldn’t be where I am today without being given the opportunity to be champion in NXT. I’m glad the powers to be gave me that chance to excel.”

His Brother Bray Wyatt: “We both came into this with the same mindset, that we are going to be our identities. We wanted our success to be for ourselves. As much as we respect and love our father, grandfather and uncles, we didn’t want to become molds of them. We wanted this path to be our own. So far I think we accomplished that. I don’t think you look at myself or my brother and say, ‘Oh, that’s the sons of former wrestler IRS’. To have the family on the road with you it’s great to have somebody bounce ideas off of and help you critique you. You can trust those people and you can’t buy that relationship; it’s a beautiful thing.”

“Right now I think Bray is [playing a heel] quite well and I have my own agenda. But you never know maybe one day down the road maybe Bo Dallas will cross paths with Bray Wyatt. Maybe our differences will come to a head in the future. With the WWE you just don’t know.”

Photos Of Mika Rotunda – Sister Of Bo Dallas & Bray Wyatt

As previously reported, TNA President Dixie Carter sent out a tweet on Monday afternoon claiming that negotiations between TNA and Spike TV are still ongoing, despite reports to the contrary.

Additionally, TNA executive Bob Ryder flat out claimed that the reports about TNA’s status with Spike TV are “untrue.” Ryder tweeted the following today:

Reports are not true. Negotiations with @SpikeTV are ongoing.

— Bob Ryder (@brydertna) July 28, 2014

TNA President Dixie Carter has made her first public comments since news broke that Spike TV has cancelled Impact Wrestling.

She tweeted on Monday afternoon:

Negotiations with @SpikeTV are ongoing. Stay tuned and be sure to tune in this Thursday night for Ultimate X on #ImpactOnSpike!!

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) July 28, 2014

We reached out to Spike TV for some clarification on the situation and they replied:

“Per Viacom company policy – we don’t comment on ongoing negotiations.”

Make sure to check out our complete coverage of Spike TV canceling Impact Wrestling:

• Backstage News On Spike TV Canceling TNA Impact Wrestling
• How Would TNA’s Death Impact the WWE?
• Jim Ross Blogs About Spike TV Canceling Impact Wrestling
• More Reactions To Spike TV Canceling TNA Impact Wrestling

– Big Show and Nikki Bella have been added to the lineup for this Thursday’s NXT taping at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

– Sin Cara debuted new ring gear at the WWE live event this past weekend in Dallas, Texas. Check out photos of his new look below.

• TNA Going OUT OF BUSINESS?! HUGE Update On The Future Of The Company …

The latest word going around this weekend is that the rumored Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella match may be saved for the Night Of Champions pay-per-view in September, as opposed to the SummerSlam show in August. More should be known based on how they follow-up on the angle at RAW tonight.

As far as the Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and AJ Lee vs. Paige matches at SummerSlam, it is believed that both will be a gimmick match of some sort.

Finally, there is talk of the WWE Tag-Team Championship match at SummerSlam being a fatal four-way with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, as well as two other tag-teams.

Brie Bella posted the following tweet on her official Twitter account on Sunday, teasing a follow-up to last week’s angle on RAW between herself and Stephanie McMahon.

Interesting. Got a call from @WWE HQ. Apparently, @StephMcMahon wants me at #RAW. Can only imagine what this is about. I'll be there- READY!

— Nikki & Brie (@BellaTwins) July 27, 2014

News broke today that Spike TV would not be renewing their television deal with TNA. The company – which is owned by Dixie Carter and currently employs Vince Russo – has had financial difficulties in the past.

In fact, it has almost become a joke to post pictures of TNA crowds on social media websites in recent weeks, as they more closely resemble the crowds one would find at a small county fair, not a touring professional wrestling promotion.

This recent TNA crowd perfectly illustrates why the company is having a hard time securing a television deal.

Although Spike TV decided not to renew TNA’s contract, the current deal still runs through October, providing the company with a few months to find a new home for Impact Wrestling. Initial reports indicate that there is little chance of that happening, however, as few cable providers will be willing to pay the company what Spike TV was paying to air TNA programming.

With their television revenue gone at the end of October and poor ticket sales not bringing in enough to keep the company afloat, Monday’s announcement was likely the death of TNA. With that said, it will be interesting to see if TNA’s departure from the world of televised wrestling will affect the WWE.

After acquiring WCW in March of 2001, the WWE held a virtual monopoly on the world of televised wrestling in the United States. That monopoly was eventually broken after Jeff Jarrett founded TNA in May of 2002. Although TNA has never provided the same level of competition that WCW brought to the table during the 1990s, it at least prevented the WWE from acting as a monopoly.

Other promotions have gained a sizable following in the United States (ROH, CZW, etc.), but TNA has been the only company the WWE had had to worry about finding on television.

Part-time WWE Superstar Batista is currently doing the media rounds to promote his new movie Guardians of The Galaxy. During an interview with Mirror.co.uk, he spoke about his in-ring career winding down and said that he wants to have a retirement match against Triple H at WrestleMania.

“I kind of have my wish list of guys that I would like to work with, because I realise my career is not going to be that long if I do go back just because physically… realistically, I’m 45 years old now, how much longer can I continue…?

“It’s not ‘will I go back?’, it’s ‘when will I go back?’. Hopefully it won’t be far too long.”

“Triple H right now is the guy I really want to work with. I want to go back and that’s hopefully that’ll be my retirement program.”

“Yeah, I’ll have my WrestleMania retirement match with Triple H.”

Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn confirmed Twitter that a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy is currently in the works and is tentatively scheduled for a 2017 release. Batista will reprise his role as Drax The Destroyer.

Here’s footage of Batista on Jimmy Kimmel live promoting Guardians of the Galaxy:

Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

After missing last week’s show, WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena returns. Cena will begin hyping his upcoming SummerSlam title defense against Brock Lesnar, who is not scheduled to appear.

WWE will also follow up on Stephanie McMahon’s “arrest” last week. How will Stephanie react to former Diva Brie Bella for instigating the arrest?

Other top stars appearing will be Triple H, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, Paul Heyman, The Wyatt Family, The Usos, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, The Miz and Kane.

The advertised dark match main event will see John Cena, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Kane.

Join us here later tonight for our weekly Live Coverage of WWE RAW.

Late Sunday night, news broke that Spike TV has canceled TNA Impact Wrestling and will not be renewing their TV deal, which expires in October.

As noted earlier, TNA President Dixie Carter held a major company meeting on Friday and dropped the bombshell news on her staff. According to sources close to the situation, she attempted to spin the situation in her favor, saying that TNA decided to leave Spike TV because they failed to promote the company effectively. While she might have a point there, all indications are that Viacom and Spike TV made the decision to end their relationship with TNA for a variety of factors.

Spike’s decision to not renew TNA’s TV deal was made immediately after news of Vince Russo working for TNA became public. It was rumored for months that Russo was working as a consultant for the company, which he and TNA vehemently denied. Earlier this month, Vince Russo inadvertently CC’d Mike Johnson on an internal email intended for Taz and Mike Tenay, essentially confirming that he was in fact working for TNA.

Jim Ross Blogs About Spike TV Canceling Impact Wrestling

There were many reasons that TNA did not want that knowledge made public. First, Russo’s reputation speaks for itself and the majority of wrestling fans would not have a lot of faith in TNA’s decision to rehire one of the most infamous and controversial writers in the industry. There was also an issue of  TNA’s relationship with The Great Muta and his Japanese Wrestle-1 promotion, which currently has a partnership with TNA. Muta has very negative feelings about Vince Russo due to his portrayal of Japanese wrestlers over the years. It’s believed that he was assured Vince Russo was not working for TNA when he agreed to partner with TNA and host Bound For Glory in Japan later this year.

However, the main reason TNA did not want Russo’s involvement made public was because Spike TV executives despise him. There are a number of reasons Spike did not want anything to do with Russo, many of them related to the type of programming Russo presented during his previous run with the company.

TNA is obviously in a very bad spot right now. With just two months before Impact Wrestling is dropped from Spike TV, there is not a lot of time for them to find another cable network willing to pick them up. Additionally, it’s highly unlikely they will be able to negotiate a new contract that will earn them anything close to what they were getting from Spike. TNA’s current International TV deals are not lucrative enough to keep the company going and the company will have a very hard time doing live shows in the Untied States without a national TV clearance.

Although TNA’s weekly Impact Wrestling show was not renewed by Spike TV, the show was not cancelled, meaning they still have the rest of the existing contract with the remaining dates still on the calendar.

At this point, TNA is still scheduled to run another set of Impact Wrestling tapings in New York City from August 5th – August 7th.

The company announced recently that former ECW Original Tajiri will be part of their NYC tapings in August. TNA wrote the following on their official website.

“ImpactWrestling.com has just learned that the Japanese Buzzsaw, Tajiri, is coming to New York City for the upcoming IMPACT tapings at the Manhattan Center from August 5-7. The thrilling Japanese star made a name for himself wrestling in ECW and currently works for Wrestle-1 in Japan.

Just weeks ago, Rockstar Spud and EC3 travelled to Japan and faced off with Tajiri, falling victim to his signature green mist. At this time, we are searching for details on Tajiri’s involvement at the upcoming #TNANYC shows, but if we had to guess, we’re predicting that someone will be eating a Buzzsaw Kick!”

Hello @WWE @WWENXT #Real #WWE #NXT http://t.co/kT8WZbTtUk pic.twitter.com/pexuFTAoEP

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) July 28, 2014

Irish wrestling star Fergal “Prince” Devitt has officially signed with WWE, according to the company website.

He will report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida today and will be wrestling at NXT. He told WWE.com last week:

“This is something I’ve been looking forward to since I was maybe four or five years old. I grew up watching wrestling my whole life, so to get the chance to step in the ring that I’ve watched on TV so many times is a dream come true.”

Devitt, who has competed all around the world, acknowledges that he will benefit from training at the Performance Center and learning the WWE style of wrestling.

“I don’t consider myself anywhere close to the finished product, so I’m looking forward to this challenge and learning a new style.”

Devitt visited the WWE Performance Center earlier this year and says he was “blown away” by the facility.

“I’ve seen a lot of different training schools and dojos, and the sheer level of professionalism at the Performance Center and the state-of-the-art facility just knocked me for a six. It really blew me away.”

While he’s new to WWE, Devitt has worked with several of the top names at NXT, including current NXT Champion Adrian Neville and NXT Diva Becky Lynch, whom he helped train. Regarding Sami Zayn, Devitt called him a “stand out” performer and looks forward to working with him.

“We kinda missed each other, played crisscross, but never had a chance to lock up on the independent circuit, so that’d be something I’d really look forward to,” Devitt said of Zayn.

Once he gets to the main roster, there are several competitors he’s looking forward to working with, including Sheamus and WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena.

“The target would be John Cena, because if you’re wrestling John Cena, you’re in the main event.” 

WWE recently signed another International superstar to NXT, KENTA. Devitt is impressed with WWE’s scouting efforts and said it’s a great thing that WWE is bringing in some well-traveled performers.

Aside from his incredible in-ring abilities, Devitt is also well known for his elaborate body paint, wrestling as comic book heroes like Spiderman, The Joker, Spawn and Venom.

“I’ve always got a couple of tricks up my sleeve, so I’m going to come up with something new before then … Look out for the body paint. Look out for a new Devitt.”

Photos: Prince Devitt’s Most Incredible Body Paint

– TNA and Dixie Carter have yet to officially comment on the news that Impact Wrestling is not being renewed by Spike TV, however Sunday afternoon, when Dixie likely knew about the news, she did post this Impact-related tweet. When she or the company comment on the subject, we will post an update.

Thanks to everyone for all the amazing feedback on #ImpactOnSpike. I'm trying to respond directly, if I miss you… THX DARLIN!

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) July 27, 2014

– Jim Cornette posted the following tweet, pointing the cryptic finger at Vince Russo while addressing the TNA/Spike TV news that broke late Sunday night:

The best comedy writes itself, but the worst writers repeat the same outcomes– #OopsHeDidItAgain #SayGoodnightDixie

— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) July 28, 2014

Dean Ambrose recently spoke with AlternativeNation.net  to promote WWE SummerSlam, which takes place on Sunday, August 17th. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

His Brawl With Seth Rollins at Battleground:

“You never know what you’re going to see, card subject to change always. There are some fans that may have been a little disappointed, but I think in the long run nobody will really remember it as much as a negative as they might have instantly thought they would. That night definitely upped the intensity of the rivalry between me and Seth Rollins. If anything, even though there was a lot of craziness in me getting kicked out of the building, and fans never got to see the match, but one of the things I take away from it is that at the beginning of the night they wanted to see the match. But they weren’t all that vocal, and they didn’t really realize how much they wanted to see it, but when they realized they weren’t going to get it, the whole place started chanting: ‘Let them fight.’ Then the whole place realized just how much they wanted to see it. I think the way it worked out shone a bigger spotlight on me and Seth and our rivalry, than if we had just gone out there and wrestled, personally.”

How Long It Took For Him To Bond With Rollins & Reigns:

“Yeah we started traveling together pretty much immediately, once The Shield became a thing. We got advice from a lot of people we trust too, a lot of it was like: ‘You guys are going to be put in a really good spot, and there’s going to be people trying to pull you in different directions, and people maybe for whatever reason want to be destructive to what you guys are doing.’ But the thing is, we’re trying to be destructive to the whole business as a unit ourselves. So our thing was, we’re going to keep it all in house, and keep it tight. We all knew each other and trusted each other enough to know we could have that sort of a pact, then it all came together by itself. We started traveling together just immediately. We’ll ride together, we’ll keep everything in house, we’ll train together, travel together, stay together. If one guy has a problem, the other two guys have that same problem. The other two guys have got that guy’s back, and so forth. [It works as] a friendship, [and] as a competitive spirit [too]. We’re competitive with each other, but also competitive with [everyone]. As far as we were concerned, screw everybody, we’re taking over this business. We tried to put our acts together, and stick together, and that’s what we did.”

Everybody’s got their different schedules. I’m a little bit of a night owl, I don’t like to get up super early, Roman is the same way. Seth has got his certain schedule he likes to keep. He likes to say: ‘Often Roman will be on Samoan time.’ He just kind of is on his clock all the time. I always get a lot of stuff for disappearing, I pull a lot of disappearing acts a lot of the time on the road. A lot of the good stories I can’t get into the specifics of. The main thing with us is just work ethic. Every morning: drag all three of our asses to the gym, go to the gym, hit the show, drive to the next town, same thing the next day. We carry that attitude and work ethic in our separate directions. That becomes a part of your lifestyle, we’re still going to bring that after The Shield to everything we do.”

The Input He Has On His Character:

“So far, I’ve pretty much been left to my own devices, honestly, since The Shield kind of abruptly broke up. But being left to my own devices has actually been quite refreshing. To be perfectly honest, it’s kind of a good feeling to have that feeling of freedom and not having to worry about anybody else. Right now, I can kind of do whatever I want in the ring or on the mic. I mean, not [completely] anything I want, but more than I could before, because if I’ve got 2 minutes to talk, now I have 2 minutes to talk. It’s not like okay, well, I’ve got to worry about what these other two guys are going to say. I’ve got it all to myself, which is nice.”

“I’m very unorthodox in the ring, I tend to have very outside of the box ideas. Now I don’t have to worry about if it fits into a Shield match, or if it fits into the context of what we’re doing with the group. I can pretty much do whatever I want now, and wear whatever I want. I’ll just show up to the building in whatever I’m wearing, I’ll pretty much just walk to the ring like that, I don’t walk out of the building like that. If I had an idea tomorrow to wear a cowboy outfit, I could probably do it and nobody would say anything. I’m pretty much just kind of in my own little world right now, and it actually feels pretty good, to be quite honest.”

Sting Working With WWE:

“I mean everybody has always wanted to see Sting come to WWE. It’s just been ‘Sting’s coming to WWE! Sting’s coming to WWE!’ for so long, at this point everybody is just like, ‘Just come in, just have a match, just do it, it’s time.’ We all obviously [want] Sting at WrestleMania. Do whatever, if he’s in fighting shape, then great, I think anybody would want to be there and see that, [even if] it’s a one off. I mean he’s Sting. If you’re a fan of the business from any historical perspective, or if you were even just a fan as a kid, he’s a very important figure in history. I think he deserves to have that one night where he’s celebrated on a bigger stage, whether that be a Hall of Fame thing or a one off at WrestleMania. I think Sting as a character, and Sting as a person, for what he’s been I think he deserves that one big night on the biggest stage.”

KENTA Signing With WWE:

“I saw him in Japan and talked to him a little bit. Him coming in just shows you the difference in the Performance Center. When I came in it was a totally different story than what it is today. I slipped in the back door of developmental, the only guy I was even vaguely familiar with was Seth [Rollins], and I never wrestled him before. I may have crossed paths and maybe said hello to him once or twice over the years, but we were in different circles. We were always kind of on parallel paths on the indies, so I never really crossed paths with him much. But he was the only guy I had even remotely heard of, it was just a bunch of other guys. For instance, to give you perspective, the top guy in developmental when I got there was Lucky Cannon. If you don’t know [him], just Google it. That will show you the difference in the talent that is in developmental now.

NXT:

“You’ve got KENTA, Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, and [others] coming in. The competition is just blazing so much. Even though everyone wants to be on the main roster, I think NXT is kind of a brand in itself. It’s cool to get all those different styles and different guys all in one little building, and let them loose and see what happens. Anybody who is really good coming in, that’s a plus. [Everybody should want to] get in the ring with a guy like KENTA, or even on the completely opposite end of the spectrum, a legend like Sting. Anybody who is smart would chomp at the bit for either opportunity. Or if you’re a fan and you don’t want to sit back and watch either of those guys, you’re a fool too. So it’s all pluses, and all positives.”

What He’s Learned Working With Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Jake Roberts & Other Legends:

“When it comes to having a live mic in your hand, it’s a much different world today than it was in the 80’s. If Roddy Piper had a live mic in his hand in the 80’s, it was on. He could say whatever he wanted, there were no real restrictions. It was up to him to take you on the ride. Now it’s different, you’ll get a certain amount of time, you’ll get something put in front of you. There’s some ways you can stretch it and spin it, it’s just about making it feel like it’s your own. The thing is as time goes on, the company [gains] more trust in you to twist it your own certain way. They’re not just going to send anybody out there with a live mic and say: ‘Can I just wing it? Is that cool?’ You’re not going to get that. So watching Roddy Piper do the whole Piper’s Pit thing, he had a certain vision of how it was going to do, the interview part of it, which I think was a little bit different than their vision was. So [I got to see] him kind work within the context, and make something his own, and go through his process.”

“[I saw the way] his head worked, and [how he would] kind of [be] reading something, and thinking about it, and then he came up to me talking about it. [He was] giving me something to play off of, and seeing how I would react, and [then] throwing something back. Backstage feeding each other stuff and doing some kind of Inside the Actors Studio stuff with Roddy Piper was really cool, getting to see him go through his process. [I got to see] how he puts things into his brain, and how they come out on the other side. It was pretty cool, because he’s the master. Being on live TV on a live mic against Roddy Piper, who could go off the rails and throw you a crazy curveball at any moment, it’s like going up against a Cy Young Award winner, or boxing Muhammad Ali. You’re in there with the best, and there’s no bigger adrenaline high than that.”

It looks like we’re going to find out if Buff actually does have “the stuff.”

According to TMZ.com, former WCW star Buff Bagwell is going to be starring in a porn movie.

Bagwell, who starred in the cable show “Gigolos,” recently met with Steve Hirsch of Vivid Videos about entering the world of adult films.

Bagwell’s wife Judy joined him for the meeting with Vivid, with Hirsch calling a Buff Bagwell adult movie an “absolute blockbuster.”

Aside from this new career move, TMZ says Bagwell has gotten ‘intimate’ with the women he’s paid to ‘spend time with’ as part of his role as a gigolo, which his wife is apparently fine with.

Spike TV is dropping Impact Wrestling, according to a report at TMZ.com.

Network executives informed Dixie Carter over the weekend that they will NOT be renewing TNA’s contract, which is currently scheduled to run until October.

According to TMZ, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the deal say Dixie Carter was informed about the decision late last week and she told her staff about the news the following day.

Impact Wrestling premiered on Spike TV back in October 2005.

TNA did not provide a statement when contacted.

Story developing.

Triple H (aka Paul Levesque) celebrates his 45th birthday today. “The Game” was born on July 27, 1969.

Speaking of birthdays in the McMahon-Helmsley family, Stephanie McMahon posted the following tweet of herself and Triple H with singer Katy Perry, who apparently performed for their daughter’s birthday.

Thank You @katyperry for making our daughter's bday truly unforgettable! @TripleH #PrismaticWorldTour pic.twitter.com/qExSQbc4bs

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) July 25, 2014

Finally, Dolph Ziggler turns 34 today. Ziggler (aka Nick Nemeth) was born on July 27, 1980.

The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:

On TNA’s TV deal with Spike TV: “It’s curious that Spike hasn’t renewed Impact Wrestling as of yet for the new, fall season. That’s not a great sign and I hope that they do renew their relationship. Spike doesn’t have an over abundance of shows that draw a million viewers in prime time each week. That number could be escalated easily over time.”

On Daniel Bryan: “Daniel Bryan has had a helluva, memorable year….main eventing WrestleMania, getting married, losing his Dad, undergoing neck surgery, subduing a home invader this week and now apparently needling an additional surgery to get him back in the ring. It’s not beyond the realm of comprehension that it could be 2015 until he’s back in a WWE ring. Nonetheless it gives his body a chance to heal and for Bryan and his bride to enjoy life off the road to some degree. The glass can’t always be looked upon as half empty even though DB will be missed by his fans.”

On Rusev and Lana: “The Lana & Rusev controversy is overblown in my view. They are fictional characters who are neither Russian. Could the writers have been smarter and more conservative in light of the recent tragedy? Absolutely. But is this a major travesty? Not even close. That’s my take.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.

As of the July 25th episode of WWE Smackdown, Bo Dallas is undefeated after 17 straight wins. This of course does not include the brief time Dallas spent on the main roster after appearing in the 2013 Royal Rumble match. Dallas had a successful run with his “BOlieve” gimmick in NXT and is off to a great start with it on the main roster. WWE is clearly building up Dallas’ winning streak, which makes one wonder. Who will be the one to end Dallas’ undefeated streak?

One possible scenario could see another newcomer be the ruiner of Dallas’ streak. If WWE decides to give Rusev an even bigger push, the Bulgarian Brute could defeat Dallas on his path to the main event scene. However, Rusev is already doing his own thing right now. He and Lana are gaining a lot of heat in their feud with Jack Swagger thanks largely to controversial promos given by Rusev’s manager.

However, another newcomer, perhaps one from NXT, would be more interesting to end Dallas’ undefeated streak. Sami Zayn is the most likely in this scenario. Zayn and Dallas had a great rivalry in NXT and would give the WWE Universe a Kurt Angle-Tazz like scenario. If you recall, Kurt Angle was on an undefeated streak when he first debuted in WWE. However, that streak would end by another debuting star in Tazz at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Zayn is a fan favorite in NXT and it seems like it is only a matter of time until he reaches the main roster.

While having a similarly new superstar be the one to end Dallas’ nice run, WWE can also look at current or past veterans to do the dirty work. One past star who is well known for having a lengthy undefeated streak is Goldberg. While his streak occurred in WCW, a Goldberg return would certainly be welcomed by the WWE Universe. In fact, Goldberg is open to the return as well. He’s just not so sure Triple H, Vince McMahon and WWE want to see the return.

Goldberg is not the only veteran WWE should consider. Consider Sami Zayn Plan A and Goldberg Plan B. There’s always Plan C.

Brock Lesnar is Plan C. If you think about it, Dallas is coming close to a special number. Four more wins until 21. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see Lesnar become the one in 21-1 yet again.  Of course it would mean something very different when defeating Bo Dallas versus doing it to the Undertaker’s historic WrestleMania streak. If Cesaro was still a Paul Heyman guy and he became the one in 21-1 against Bo Dallas, it would help light the flame in his own feud with Lesnar.

If I had to make a prediction, I would say that another new superstar debuts and ends Dallas’ undefeated streak. Dallas has a lot of momentum and the end to his streak has to live up to the hype. Let’s hope WWE doesn’t ruin it with someone like Kofi Kingston. No offense Kofi, but it was pretty disappointing when you ended Cesaro’s long reign as U.S. Champion. Dallas’ streak can be used to build up and give momentum to someone else. Use it wisely.

Who do you think will end Bo Dallas’ undefeated streak? Sami Zayn, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar or someone else? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Seth Guttenplan is a math and computer technology teacher for special education students in New Jersey. In his free time, Seth writes about wrestling. Follow Seth on twitter @sethgutt

Former WWE Superstar CM Punk served as the on sight reporter for The Nerdist’s coverage of the San Diego Comic Con.

Check out the above video to see Punk provide highlights of his day one experience at the Comic Con event.

If video fails, click here.

WWE released the above video trailer for Kane in “See No Evil 2,” which is set for an October 17th release.

“Don’t miss the return of Kane as “Jacob Goodnight” in the heart pounding sequel “See No Evil 2.” Available on Digital HD and Video On Demand October 17th. Also available on Blu-ray and DVD on October 21st from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.”

The following are highlights of a new interview with former WCW and ECW star Scotty Riggs:

Working with Paul Heyman: “I came into ECW after talking with RVD, Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman at an event in Atlanta and it was an honor working for the evil creative genius of Paul. He actually sat down with me and helped me with my character, moves and attitude… something few office guys beyond Arn did in WCW.”

Backstage Attitude In WCW vs. ECW: “The crew in WCW when I got there in 1995 were a tight bunch of guys but by the end in 1999 a big divide had happened because of too many “bigger than thou” players had come into the company and created a separation in the locker room. Not all the in coming talent had the “better than thou” attitude and were actually great teachers and friends… but the entire ECW locker room and crew ALL had the attitude of wanting the best for the whole of the show. They welcomed me lime I belonged and that was humbling to me. I was honored to be considered extreme.”

Sting in WWE: “Sting is one of the few men in the wrestling business I’m blessed to still know as a friend and as I told him the week of his WWE 2K15 announcement that this whole WWE deal was and is a well deserved honor for his blood, sweat and tears that he gave to wrestling. I’m very happy that he gained this honor for his character and today’s fans can respect his work.”

Check out the complete interview at PWMania.com.

During the police press conference with Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella this week, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion revealed that he was informed by his doctor on Thursday that he will likely need a second surgery to repair his injured neck.

Bryan spoke about how he has half of the strength in his right arm compared to his left. He didn’t confirm whether or not he was going to get the surgery, however did say that he was encouraged to do so.

If he does undergo the second surgery, there is no definite report on how long that will keep him out of action.