Archive for May, 2015

New Elimination Chamber Title Match, Kevin Owens Hypes NXT Takeover, Triple H

– Nikki Bella will be defending the WWE Divas Championship against Naomi and Paige in a triple-threat match at the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on Sunday, May 31st in Corpus Christi, Texas.

– Following his conference call on Wednesday, Triple H will be hosting a Twitter Q&A this afternoon to promote tonight’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable event.

– Speaking of tonight’s NXT event, NXT Champion Kevin Owens tweeted the following to hype his main event match against Sami Zayn.

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/601033711568756737

Stephanie McMahon At NXT Tonight, Rhodes/Eden Buy Home, Paige Praises Diva, More

– Stephanie McMahon is scheduled to be at NXT Takeover: “Unstoppable” tonight.

– Ahead of tonight’s NXT special, WWE has released new t-shirts for Hideo Itami, Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Becky Lynch, which says “Lass Licker.”

– Real-life WWE couple Stardust (Cody Rhodes) and ring announcer Eden recently bought a house together in Texas and noted that they plan to move into the home this week.

– On social media, WWE Diva Paige praised third generation wrestler Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard. Paige tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/600954592533344256

Tammy “Sunny” Sytch Very Close To Signing Porn Contract With Vivid Entertainment

WWE Hall Of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is on the verge of a new career that will spark the interest of teenage fans from the 1990s.

TMZ reports that Sunny is close to signing a “monster porn contract” with Vivid Entertainment.

Vivid Entertainment, an adult entertainment company, told TMZ that the two sides have spoken many times and a six-figure deal is said to be on the table for her.

It’s said that if Sytch takes the deal, it would be for more than one adult film for her.

Steve Hirsch from Vivid said, “After the tremendous success of Chyna, this makes total sense. Hoping we can work it out.”

According to TMZ, Sytch is “very close” to signing and is prepared to begin filming right away.

*Spoilers* WWE Main Event Taping Results For This Week

WWE taped the following matches for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event prior to taping WWE SmackDown on Tuesday night in Norfolk, Virginia.

– Luke Harper & Erick Rowan def. Zack Ryder & Fandango in tag-team action to kick off the show. This was said to be a pretty basic tag-team opener.

– Bo Dallas def. Jack Swagger in a singles match to follow up. The crowd had a good time ragging on Dallas throughout this one.

– Alicia Fox def. Summer Rae in Divas action. This was said to be the same as any other Diva match you’ll see. The crowd wasn’t super-into this one.

– The New Day def. The Prime Time Players in tag-team action to close out the taping. The crowd did the New Day-sucks chant many times during this match.

Spoilers: WWE SmackDown Tapings Results (Airing 5/21)

WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from Norfolk, Virginia. Here are the results:

– Roman Reigns opens the show with a promo talking about Payback. He said it was fun to have a brief reunion with The Shield before announcing he’s entering himself into the Money in the Bank ladder match for next month. Dean Ambrose interrupts and says he’s going to defeat Seth Rollins at Elimination Chamber. Kane comes out and says The Authority always wins in the end. Kane says Reigns won’t be in MITB because he lost at Payback and WrestleMania. Kane announces Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt for tonight and gives Reigns the night off.

– The Lucha Dragons defeated The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores and The Ascension. New Day, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd are on commentary. This was said to be an excellent match.

– Backstage, Dolph Ziggler is talking with Renee Young. Lana appears with Ziggler and they flirt.

– Dolph Ziggler defeated King Barrett as Lana looked on and cheered for Ziggler.

– Paige came out and proclaimed that she’s still the #1 contender to the Divas Championship. Naomi comes out with Tamina Snuka to talk trash. They jumped Paige and Nikki Bella ran out to make the save.

– A Bray Wyatt promo aired.

– R-Truth defeated Stardust.

– Ryback talks to Renee Young backstage and says he’ll be walking out of Elimination Chamber as the new Intercontinental Champion.

– The Meta Powers defeated Adam Rose and Heath Slater.

– Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt is the main event. Seth Rollins and J&J Security ran down to help Wyatt, until Roman Reigns made the save. Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. SmackDown ended with Ambrose on the ramp staring down Rollins.

Update On Scott Hall Being Thrown Out Of Wrestling Event, DDP Comments

As we reported on Monday night, Scott Hall was physically escorted out of an independent wrestling event due to public intoxication.

The WWE Hall Of Famer, who had signed on to become an official part of the roster of Jeff Jarrett’s upstart “Global Force Wrestling” promotion, is reportedly no longer associated with the company, as the official website has removed Hall from their roster page.

“I’m not sure 100% if this is connection to Scott Hall’s issues over the weekend, but Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling has removed him from their roster page and he is no longer booked for dates with the company,” writes a new TMZ report.

According to a source close to the situation, Hall was fed drinks at the indy show he was tossed out of this weekend by some of the roadies who were working at the show. The online reports claim the roadie was working for one of the bands who was playing at the festival that the wrestling show Hall was booted from was part of.

Diamond Dallas Page, a close friend of Hall’s who has helped the WWE Hall Of Famer get sober in the past, spoke with TMZ about the incident on Monday. DDP told TMZ that recovery is a process and fans shouldn’t be so quick to give up on Hall just yet.

Adam Pearce Starts At The WWE Performance Center As A Trainer

Former NWA Heavyweight Champion and Ring Of Honor booker Adam Pearce has officially signed with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Pearce is officially joining WWE under the role of a full-time coach and “producer,” according to a new PWInsider.com report.

Pearce is scheduled to work out of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

The former NWA Champion has worked as a guest trainer at the Performance Center several times in the past, but is just now officially signing with the company as an employee.

Pearce has apparently begun his job, as he was in attendance for a meeting at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando earlier today.

WWE RAW Viewership: How Did The Post-Payback Show Do?

The Monday, May 18, 2015 post-Payback edition of WWE RAW averaged 3.985 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The 3.985 million average marks an increase from last week’s PPV “go-home” show, which drew 3.687 million viewers.

The hourly viewership breakdown for Monday’s RAW is as follows:

Hour One: 4.001 million viewers
Hour Two: 4.001 million viewers
Hour Three: 3.955 million viewers

Final Card For Tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable

WWE NXT presents TakeOver: Unstoppable tonight live on the WWE Network. Previous TakeOver events have set the bar incredibly high and there’s no doubt we’re in for another can’t miss show.

The action kicks off at 7:30pm EST with the TakeOver: Unstoppable Pre-Show, hosted by Corey Graves, Renee Young and Byron Saxton.

Following Triple H’s announcement that Hideo Itami has been pulled from the #1 Contender’ match due to his shoulder injury, here is the updated lineup:

NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn

NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Becky Lynch

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake & Murphy (c) vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

NXT Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match
Finn Bálor vs. Tyler Breeze

Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

Bayley & Charlotte vs. Emma & Dana Brooke

The Rock Talks About Getting Back In The Ring At WrestleMania 32

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog this week to promote the release of his new disaster-adventure film, San Andreas.

The Rock spoke about a number of topics, including his days as a college football player, his iconic Attitude Era rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and his cousin Roman Reigns’ climb to the top of WWE. He also commented on whether he’ll be getting back in the ring at next year’s WrestleMania 32, as WWE looks to draw over 100,000 fans to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“Myself, Vince, Triple H have talked about creating something that is amazing,” said Johnson. “Any time for me, going back into the WWE, especially if it’s a match – and these guys know this because of the open dialogue between me and Triple H – the question is, can we create, in terms of a promotional scale for the fans, something better than what we did in Miami and back-to-back in New York with John Cena? Can we put together something that’s different but equally, if not more, exciting?

So there’s a lot of elements involved that we continue to talk about and chop up. That’s the coolest part about the relationship I have with the McMahons, including Triple H.”

He added that he’s not ruling out the possibility of wrestling Triple H at next year’s Mania. “We continue to talk about it, and we’re still shooting each other text messages. He sent me a message from Dallas that said, ‘This could be us. The record is ours.’ So we’ll see.”

NXT Names New Head Coach & Assistant Head Coach

WWE announced earlier today that Matt Bloom (Jason Albert) has been promoted to Head Coach of NXT and Sara Amato (Sara Del Rey) has been promoted to NXT’s Assistant Head Coach. Bloom was previously the Interim Head Coach (taking over for Bill DeMott) and Amato was previously an Assistant Coach.

They both to spoke to WWE.com about their new roles at WWE’s developmental system.

“It is truly an honor to be named the Head Coach of NXT and play a key role in creating and developing the WWE Superstars and Divas of the future,” said Bloom. “I look forward to continuing my role in training and coaching the incredibly talented roster we have at the WWE Performance Center.”

Amato called the opportunity a dream come true, while Triple H said he has the utmost confidence in their ability to train and lead the next generation of Superstars and Divas at the WWE Performance Center.

Triple H Conference Call Notes: Sami Zayn Injury Update, NXT Coaching Staff

Triple H noted during today’s conference call that Sami Zayn has been cleared and will face Kevin Owens on Wednesday night at the NXT Takeover: “Unstoppable” live special on the WWE Network.

“The Game” also noted during the call that Matt Bloom has officially been promoted to head coach, which we had already pretty much known, and that Sara Amato will be the number two trainer as assistant coach, as well as working as an agent and producer.

Kevin Owens’ Son Reacts To His RAW Debut, Finn Balor On Jericho’s Podcast

– Chris Jericho announced that NXT star Finn Balor will be appearing on his Talk Is Jericho podcast at PodcastOne.com this week.

Jericho will be working with Balor in July for WWE’s live events tour of Japan.

– NXT Champion Kevin Owens’ wife Karina posted the following video of their son Owen reacting to his father’s WWE TV debut last night on RAW.

For everyone wondering how Owen reacted to his dad and John Cena being in the same ring together #mindblown

https://instagram.com/p/22PFlyvYx8/

Lana Now With Dolph Ziggler, What Happened After RAW

– Roman Reigns, who did not appear on RAW, teamed with John Cena after RAW went off the air to defeat Seth Rollins and Rusev in the dark match main event.

Reigns returns to TV this Thursday on SmackDown to address coming up short at WWE Payback.

– Last night on RAW, Rusev and Lana finally parted ways, with Rusev firing his former spokeswoman after she quit on his behalf at Payback. After screaming at Lana for several minutes, she eventually slapped Rusev in the face.

Later in the show, Lana came out while Dolph Ziggler was cutting a promo and the two kissed in the ring – twice.

Lana tweeted that it’s now time to make her own decision and build her legacy.

Meanwhile, Ziggler channeled Sterling Archer:

Owens Comments On PPV Match With Cena, Ziggler On Kissing Lana, Neville Talks Bo Dallas

– Following his attack of WWE U.S. Champion John Cena on RAW last night, NXT Champion Kevin Owens wrote the following on Twitter about their upcoming Elimination Chamber match.

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/600511311404003328

– In this week’s RAW Fallout videos, which you can see below, Dolph Ziggler reacts to kissing Lana and Neville comments on being attacked by Bo Dallas, as well as the Kevin Owens-John Cena situation.

Paige Returns On RAW, Lilian Garcia Knee Surgery Update

– Paige made her WWE TV return last night on RAW after being out of action for several weeks filming a WWE Studios movie with The Miz. She attacked Nikki Bella after her match with Naomi.

Paige could end up facing Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship at Elimination Chamber, as she is technically still the number one contender.

– Injured WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia provided the following social media update on her knee:

English Translation Of What Rusev Was Saying In Bulgarian During WWE Payback PPV

Reddit user “addictedsc2” has provided a translation of what Rusev was yelling in Bulgarian during his “I Quit” match with John Cena at Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view.

When Rusev ordered Lana to sit in a chair near the announcers after the fans started cheering for her, Rusev said the following:

“This way! Get up from there! Get over here, this is where you will sit. Just don’t let me hear you!”

When Rusev was stuck in the STF with Cena at the end of the match, this is what Rusev was saying up until Lana grabbed the microphone and quit on his behalf.

“Ahhh no…ahhh I give up! Next time we will crush you! I give up! Stop! I told you! I’ll crush you Cena! Damn your old mother, Cena! I will crush you! That’s enough, I told you!”

Updated Card For WWE Elimination Chamber (5/31)

On Monday’s RAW, WWE added two big matches to the May 31st Elimination Chamber PPV on the WWE Network and announced the participants for the two Elimination Chamber matches.

Here’s the updated card for Elimination Chamber:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

Elimination Chamber for the Vacant Intercontinental Championship
King Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. Sheamus vs. Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Elimination Chamber for the Tag Team Championships
The New Day (c) Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. Los Matadores vs. The Prime Time Players vs. The Ascension vs. The Lucha Dragons

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena Announced for WWE Elimination Chamber

After he defends the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn this Wednesday at Takeover: Unstoppable, Kevin Owens will make his WWE in-ring debut against John Cena later this month at Elimination Chamber.

Owens made his WWE TV debut on RAW, interrupting John Cena’s US Open Challenge and leaving the United States beat down after a brutal attack.

WWE Elimination Chamber takes place on Sunday, May 31st live on the WWE Network.

Video: Kevin Owens Debuts On WWE RAW, Destroys John Cena

NXT Champion Kevin Owens made a surprise debut on Monday’s WWE RAW.

Owens came out as John Cena was offering up his US Championship Open Challenge. Owens congratulated Cena for his victory at Payback. Owens said people that don’t know who he is already aren’t worth his time in the first place. John Cena officially announced NXT Champion Kevin Owens.

Owens said Cena shouldn’t feel bad about injuring Sami Zayn because Zayn was injured by him prior to the Cena match. Owens said he’s going to finish Zayn off Wednesday at Takeover.

Cena tried offering Owens advice, but Owens told Cena he’s been wrestling 15 years, longer than him, so he doesn’t want Cena’s advice. Cena offered Owens a chance to answer the Open Challenge. Owens rejected the offer, saying they will fight one day, but on his terms. Owens then brutally attacked Cena with a kick to the gut and a massive powerbomb. He picked up the NXT title and the US title, dropped the US title down and stomped on it. The crowd chanted Fight Owens Fight in what is one of the strongest WWE TV debuts in a long time.

Owens defends against Sami Zayn this Wednesday at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live on the WWE Network.

Chris Jericho’s Nothing To Report Reaches 1 Million Views

Paul Heyman’s HeymanHustle.com site has a special feature on Chris Jericho and Nick Mundy’s hit Comedy Central web series, Nothing to Report.

The buddy cop show is hilarious and you are encouraged to tweet @ComedyCentral feedback.

Chris Jericho announced earlier today that Nothing to Report surpassed 1 million views.

WWE RAW Results – May 18, 2015

The Authority, Sheamus & Ryback Kick Off RAW

The post-Payback edition of WWE RAW opens up with the usual video package. We then shoot inside the arena in Richmond, Virginia and Eden introduces The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Michael Cole informs us that for the first time since WrestleMania 31, here is Triple H and Stephanie McMahon coming out to the ring together on Monday Night Raw.

The two talk about how good of a champion Seth Rollins is before introducing the Intercontinental title under a red carpet on a podium in the ring. They talk about Daniel Bryan vacating the title last night and the fans break out into a loud “Yes!” chant.

Triple H ensures us that the new I-C champ will be crowned in two weeks inside an Elimination Chamber match. A video package airs to talk about the history of the violence inside the Elimination Chamber.

Before HHH and Stephanie can continue, they are interrupted by Sheamus’ theme song and out he comes. The WWE fans immediately get on his case with “You Look Stupid” chants. Sheamus sucks up to The Authority and then tries to convince them to just hand over the I-C title to him. He says he’s responsible for putting an end to the “Yes!” movement and Daniel Bryan’s career. They show a video package of Sheamus attacking D-Bry on TV since making his heel return.

As Sheamus continues to suck up to The Authority, Ryback’s music hits to cut him off and out he comes. Ryback trashes Sheamus and puts over Daniel Bryan. Steph says they’re both in the I-C Chamber match in two weeks. HHH then says tonight, actually right now, Ryback and Sheamus can go at it in a match. “King of Kings” plays again as The Authority heads to the back. We head to commercial. Ryback vs. Sheamus is up next.

Ryback vs. Sheamus

When we return from the commercial break, the bell immediately sounds and this match is official. Ryback instantly takes control of the offense in the match, with Sheamus quickly on the retreat. Ryback follows after him and continues to deliver punishment here in the early goings.

Sheamus finally starts taking over control of the offense as we head to a mid-match commercial. When we return, Sheamus is still in control, but Ryback quickly takes back over. Ryback hits a number of high-offensive moves on “The Celtic Warrior” inside the ring before taking him out to the floor.

Ryback continues the assault on the floor, slamming Sheamus in the announce table and smashing him into the ring post before getting him back in the ring.

The finish saw Ryback have some issues with his eye. The ref was stopping the action to check on Ryback’s eye, but Sheamus took advantage and blastes him with a Brogue Kick for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Sheamus

Neville vs. Bad News Barrett

Renee Young briefly interviews Neville in the ring until he is interupted by Bo Dallas. Neville and Dallas go back-and-forth verbally until finally “King” Bad News Barrett makes his way down to the ring.

It turns out, Neville vs. Barrett is scheduled for now. So, the bell rings and Dallas joins the gang on commentary for this one. Barrett dominates the action early on, as we head to a mid-match commercial.

When we return from commercial, Neville is fighting back, but his knee buckles. He continues to sell his knee so Barrett goes after it. Barrett then hits him with the “King Bull Hammer Elbow” for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Bad News Barrett

After The Match: Bo Dallas Attacks

After the match, Bo Dallas leaves the announce table, hits the ring and attacks Neville. Dallas attacks the injured knee of Neville, wrapping it around the ring post several times.

Video: Scott Hall Escorted Out Of Wrestling Show For Allegedly Being Intoxicated

WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall was physically escorted out of an indy wrestling event in Asbury Park, New Jersey over the weekend after promoters claimed he was too intoxicated to be there, according to TMZ.com.

Hall appeared to be drunk hours before his scheduled meet & greet at the Skate & Surf Music Festival and was given multiple chances to sober up before interacting with the fans. Promoters told him to leave, but he refused and demanded to be paid. Security eventually removed him from the venue.

Promoter Ricky Otazu told TMZ Sports,

“The event was too well run for us to make a fool of ourselves by allowing him to appear. We will no longer be associated with him until he gets his life in order.”

Hall is scheduled to appear for Global Force Wrestling for two dates in late June.

WWE 2K16 Announced For October Release

Take-Two sports held their annual earnings call on Monday and revealed that WWE 2K16 will be released in North America on Tuesday, October 27th.

Last year’s WWE 2K15 was the first WWE video game released for Playstation 4 and XBox One, receiving mixed reviews from critics and gamers alike. It earned a score of 62/100 by Metacritic.com, based on an aggregate of 44 reviews from critics.

Comment below and tell us what changes & new features you’d like to see from this year’s game.

Updated RAW Preview: Three Title Matches Announced

WWE has posted an updated preview for tonight’s episode of RAW, confirming multiple title matches for the show.

– As noted earlier, John Cena will defend the United States Championship in another open challenge match.

– The New Day will put the tag team tiles on the line once again against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, with Xavier Woods banned from ringside.

– Nikki Bella will defend the Divas championship against Naomi.

Plus, Bray Wyatt will be in action after defeating Ryback last night at Payback.

Join us here tonight for Live Coverage of WWE RAW!