Archive for January, 2017

NJPW New Beginning Match Cards Confirmed

New Japan have officially announced the cards for their two ‘New Beginning’ shows that take place on February 5th/11th in Sapporo and Osaka, Japan respectively. Following the events of the New Years Dash show Suzuki-Gun are set to make a huge impact on the landscape of New Japan with the group’s leader Minoru Suzuki set to face IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada for the belt in Sapporo on February 5th.

Also notable is the inclusion of a Revolution Pro Wrestling title bout between Shibata and Will Ospreay on the Osaka show. Shibata won the RPW British Heavyweight title from Zack Sabre Jr at the company’s last York Hall show.

The cards line up as follows:

New Beginning in Sapporo (02/05/17)
KUSHIDA & Hirai Kawato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)

Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yoshitatsu & David Finlay & Henare

Katsuyori Shibata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. CHAOS’ Will Ospreay & Gedo & Jado

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Takashi Iizuka

Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA & EVIL & BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Roppongi Vice (c) vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)

NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Juice Robinson

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (c) vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. The Killer Elite Squad

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

New Beginning in Osaka (02/11/17)
Yoshitatsu & Hirai Kawato vs. David Finlay & Henare
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & KUSHIDA vs. Suzuki-gun’s Takashi Iizuka & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

Juice Robinson & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo & Jado

Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero & Beretta (CHAOS) vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. SANADA & EVIL & BUSHI

Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match – Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (c) vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Killer Elite Squad

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match – Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Dragon Lee

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match –  Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Michael Elgin

Matches Set for ROH ‘Honor Reigns Supreme’ Event

Ring of Honor have announced several high profile bouts for their ‘Honor Reigns Supreme’ event that takes place February 4th in Dallas. The announced bouts are:

2/3 FALLS (1st PINFALL, 2nd LUCHA TAG, 3rd NO DQ)
Young Bucks (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs Mark & Jay Briscoe

Cody & Adam Cole vs The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)

Hangman Page vs Jay Lethal

Dalton Castle vs Donovan Dijak

Bobby Fish vs Lio Rush

6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinnie Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) VS. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley  & Jay White

Everything That Happened On This Week’s Talking Smack

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss were the first guests on this week’s Talking Smack. Becky wanted to know who La Luchadora was but Alexa claimed that she had no idea who was under the mask. Shane McMahon gave Becky and Alexa some advice on wrestling in a steel cage match. Becky claimed that she is the best female sports entertainer in the WWE and stated that Alexa Bliss had no chance against her next week. Alexa Bliss said that she had already defeated Lynch at TLC in a Tables Match. Becky blamed the loss on an eye gauge from Alexa and Bliss laughed off the comment. Bliss said that Lynch had a week to come up with an excuse for when she loses the steel cage match next Tuesday on Smackdown.

Mojo Rawley was the next guest on Talking Smack. Rawley said that the injury to Zack Ryder was heartbreaking. Rawley stated that Ryder told him that he had a big chance to make a singles run because Ryder will be out with injury for awhile. Rawley talked about the calf injury he suffered playing with the Arizona Cardinals and said that his calf completely tore off and rolled up his leg. Mojo said that the WWE oppurtunity came out of left field and he initially thought the voicemail from the WWE inviting him to a tryout was a prank call. Shane McMahon asked what will be different now that Ryder was gone? Mojo said that he was going to be himself and stop jumping and dancing around all the time. He said that it worked when he was a part of the Hype Bros but it is not who he really is. Mojo gave Renee Young his colorful hat and Shane McMahon decided to put it on and wear it for the rest of the show. Rawley came off as very genuine in this interview and it is something you should definitely check out.

Ziggler was the final guest on Talking Smack. Shane McMahon asked if the Mojo hat offended Ziggler and Dolph said yes. Shane took the hat off and continued the interview. Shane called Ziggler a phenomenal performer but stated that Ziggler has a huge target on his back because of his actions. Ziggler welcomed the target his on his back and said that something has been missing for the past several years. Ziggler said that he needs to be better for the Smackdown brand and for the company. Ziggler said that swinging that chair and hitting Crews and Kalisto almost felt as good when he won the World Heavyweight Championship. Ziggler once again stated that he wasn’t afraid of Apollo Crews and Kalisto. Dolph also announced that he was entering the Royal Rumble match.

WWE Smackdown & 205 Live Reaction (1/10)

Smackdown 1/10/17

The new Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose kicked off this week’s episode of Smackdown. It was another edition of the Ambrose Asylum and Dean Ambrose announced that he was entering the Royal Rumble match. There was a fake alligator head named Maurice propped up on a stool. The Miz and Maryse then came down to the ring and Miz was not in a good mood. The Miz stated that Ambrose is tainting the integrity of the IC title and the Royal Rumble match. The Miz then announced that he was also going to be in the Royal Rumble match. The Miz asked for his IC title back because the match should have been thrown out last week. Instead of giving him the title back, Ambrose presented The Miz with his own participation award.

The Miz held the award in his hand while the entire crowd chanted “you suck!” at him. The Miz then lost it and attacked Dean Ambrose. The Miz then held up Ambrose and instructed Maryse to slap him. Ambrose ducked and Maryse slapped The Miz. Ambrose then planted Miz with the Dirty Deeds and handed Maryse the participation award. Maryse threw a tantrum and smashed the award in the ring as Ambrose walked away.

Reaction: This was a quick and entertaining promo. It wasn’t the best thing in the world but it sure beats having authority figures open every show like Monday Night Raw. The Miz was made to look like a buffoon so I would expect him to get some sort of revenge before Smackdown goes off the air tonight.

Nikki Bella vs Natalya

Natalya attacked Nikki backstage before the match.

Nikki then stormed to the ring and attacked Natalya before the bell rung. The action spilled to the entrance ramp and the two Superstars traded punches. Back in the ring, the continued to fight. Natalya tried to escape through the crowd but Nikki caught her and brought her back to the ring. A few referees emerged from backstage and pulled Natalya and Nikki apart. The crowd started to chant “let them fight!”. Nikki charged at Natala again but the referees separated them once again. Natalya then targeted Nikki’s injured knee and applied the Sharpshooter on Nikki on the entrance ramp. Finally, Natalya walked backstage and left Nikki laying in pain.

Dolph Ziggler was interviewed backstage and was asked why he attacked Kalisto and Apollo Crews last week. Ziggler didn’t answer the question and walked away.

Dolph Ziggler vs Kalisto

Kalisto attacked Ziggler to start the match and connected with a Hurricanrana. Ziggler fought back and locked in an Arm Bar on Kalisto. Ziggler knocked Kalisto out of the ring and Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, Ziggler had Kalisto in a Chinlock. Kalisto broke the hold by hitting a Jawbreaker on Ziggler. Dolph then a Dropkick on Kalisto but Kalisto rolled up Ziggler for the victory.

After the match, Ziggler attacked Kalisto and beat him down. Ziggler then grabbed a chair and hit Kalisto several times with it. Apollo Crews then came out and attacked Ziggler. Once again, Ziggler got the upper hand and hit Crews with the chair a couple times. Ziggler then hit Kalisto once more with the chair and the crowd cheered him.

Winner: Kalisto

Reaction: The crowd tonight was very approving of Dolph Ziggler beating the hell out of Crews and Kalisto. It is good to see Crews back on Smackdown. I think he is an incredibly talented performer. The only problem with Crews is that he is very monotone on the microphone and is always smiling. If this feud with Ziggler can somehow bring some intensity out of Crews I think it will help him in the long run. I’m probably overreacting to one segment, but I can already envision a scenario where the crowd doesn’t cheer for Crews throughout this feud. Crews has not connected with the WWE Universe at all and hopefully the WWE can figure out a way to make that happen in the next few weeks. Ziggler can certainly bring out the best in Crews in the ring, but they still need to establish some kind of personality for Crews.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship: American Alpha (c) vs Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt

Orton and Wyatt started out the match in control. Wyatt went for the Sister Abigail but Gable countered into a roll up. Wyatt kicked out and exited the ring. Gable followed him and connected leaped onto him from the ring apron. Back in the ring, Wyatt hit a running Crossbody on Gable and then tagged in Orton. The action once again went outside the ring and Orton slammed Gable’s back into the barricade a couple of times.

Orton stomped on Gable a few times in the ring and tagged in Wyatt. Bray continued to beatdown Gable for a couple of minutes and then Orton got back in the match. Orton connected with a Slingshot Suplex on Gable. Once again, Wyatt was tagged in and he went for a Clothesline but Gable ducked out of the way. Gable then finally was able to tag in Jason Jordan and Jordan cleaned house.

Jordan climbed to the top turnbuckle but Luke Harper hopped onto the ring apron and distracted him. Bray then hit a Clothesline and Jordan fell to the outside of the ring as Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, Orton had Jordan in a Chinlock. Bray Wyatt was tagged in and he hit Jordan with a Clothesline in the corner. Bray followed it up with a running Senton and several punches to Jordan’s head. Jordan battled back and landed a hell of a Clothesline that knocked Wyatt to the mat.

Gable and Orton were then tagged in. Gable hit a Crossbody of the top rope onto Orton and followed it up with a Northern Lights Suplex. All four Superstars were then in the ring. Wyatt through Jordan out of the ring and Gable knocked Bray out the ring. Gable then hit a Clothesline on Orton. Luke Harper once again got on the apron and distracted Gable. Orton went for the DDT between the ropes and he “accidentally” whipped Gable’s body into Harper on the ring apron. Harper fell to the ground and Orton hit the DDT. Harper then got back on the ring apron and stared at Orton. Gable shoved Orton into Harper and rolled Orton up for the victory.

After the match, Bray Wyatt tried to separate Harper and Orton. Harper tried to kick Orton but he accidentally hit Bray. Wyatt then got up and stared at Orton and Harper individually. Wyatt, Harper and Orton all left the ring separately.

Winners & Still Smackdown Tag Team Champions: American Alpha

Reaction: I thought this match was very good and I’m glad American Alpha retained the titles. I didn’t want the Wyatt Family to lose the belts in the first place but I’m glad they didn’t get them right back. The WWE has gotten into the habit of having titles change hands way too frequently so I’m glad that didn’t happen here. The Wyatt Family was never meant to be with Randy Orton but I’m surprised we are already at this point. I figured the Wyatt’s would last until close to Wrestlemania and then everything would come apart. Instead, we are already seeing that take place and it is just assumed that it is going to lead to a match between Orton and Bray Wyatt. Another possibility is that Harper is the odd man out of the family. Even if that winds up being the case, I still think that Orton will eventually turn on Wyatt as well. I would have preferred for tonight’s events to happen a month or so from now but it is still a very interesting storyline.

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss were backstage with Daniel Bryan. Becky wanted another match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Alexa Bliss claimed that she was simply trying to find out the identity of La Luchadora last week and Becky ruined it. Daniel Bryan granted Becky another shot at the Smackdown Women’s Championship next week and the match will take place in a steel cage.

Carmella w/ James Ellsworth vs CJ Lunde

Ellsworth kept interfering in the match and preventing Lunde from attacking Carmella. The match ended with a botch and a half followed by the Code of Silence by Carmella for the submission victory.

Winner: Carmella

Reaction: This was horrific.

Baron Corbin vs John Cena

AJ Styles joined commentary for this match. Corbin started out the match dominant and he launched Cena out of the ring as Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, Corbin was barking at Styles. This allowed Cena to get back into the match for a moment but Corbin once again took control. Eventually, Cena fought back and the action spilled outside the ring. Corbin charged at Cena but Cena moved and Corbin smashed into the steel steps.

Back in the ring, Corbin once again had control of the match but he couldn’t put Cena away. Corbin started shouting at the referee because he couldn’t get a three count. Corbin hit a Sidewalk Slam on Cena. JBL called it a Deep Six but Styles corrected him and stated that it was just a Sidewalk Slam. Cena battled back and hit a Tornado DDT. Cena followed it up with the Attitude Adjustment for the victory.

Winner: John Cena

Reaction: Corbin dominated the entire match and Cena wound up getting the victory. This match was decent. I know people will complain about Cena getting the victory. Corbin will have his time in the near future. Cena is fighting for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble so it makes sense that he would win this match. Overall, this week’s Smackdown was solid. I thought the best part of the show was the American Alpha and Wyatt Family segment.

205 Live 1/10/17

Cedric Alexander vs Noam Dar

Noam Dar once again cut a creepy promo about Alicia Fox before the match started. The crowd was painfully silent for this entire match. Alicia did her best to slam on the ring apron to get the crowd engaged but it just wasn’t happening. Dar controlled the majority of the match, despite Alicia Fox trying to get the crowd behind Alexander. Eventually, Cedric fought back and hit Dar with a couple of forearms. Dar locked in an Arm Bar but Alexander reached the bottom rope to break the hold.

Dar focused his attack on Cedric’s injured arm and smashed his arm into the steel steps. Dar went to attack Alexander again by the steps but Alicia Fox got in the way. Cedric then hit Dar with a Dropkick. Alexander went for the Lumbar Check but Dar blocked it. Alexender then hit a kick to the face of Dar and went for a pinfall but Noam kicked out at two. Alexander went for a Moonsault but Alicia Fox pulled Noam Dar out the way. Dar then hit a kick to the face of Alexander for the victory. Alicia Fox seemed to be confused by her own actions after the match. Fox then slapped Dar when he went for a kiss to close out the segment.

Winner: Noam Dar

Reaction: Alright, this storyline is getting a bit too goofy now. I guess the takeaway from this match is that Alicia Fox likes both Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar. This was actually a solid match but the crowd didn’t care at all.

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/819021188227661824

Brian Kendrick called out Tajiri for spitting the green mist in his eyes last week on 205 Live. Kendrick was facing the same wrestler Tajiri defeated last week. Kendrick told Maluta that if Tajiri could beat him, he would be lucky to last 30 seconds in the ring with Kendrick.

Brian Kendrick vs Sean Maluta

Maluta controlled the early part of this match and Kendrick was getting frustrated. Maluta hit a diving Heatbutt on Kendrick in the ring. Kendrick battled back and hit a boot the face of Maluta. His momentum was short-lived as Maluta hit two Suplexes in a row and then smashed Kendrick face first into the mat. Maluta went for a splash off the top rope but Kendrick got the his knees up. Kendrick then applied the Captain’s Hook for the submission victory.

Winner: Brian Kendrick

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/819024038542512128

Cedric Alexander broke up with Alicia Fox backstage. Fox flipped out and screamed insanely loud.

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/819024838119464960

Jack Gallagher and Ariya Daivari came down to the ring and set at a desk. Gallagher set William (his umbrella) down on the desk and stated that Daivari had besmirched his honor. Daivari claimed that Gallagher called for this parley so that he could surrender. Gallagher called Daivari a scoundrel. Gallagher presented a contract for an “I forfeit” match. Daivari signed the contract and tossed William out of the ring. Gallagher then attacked Daivari until referees eventually broke up the fight.

Reaction: Jack Gallagher is excellent at what he does. This feud is decent and this segment was much better than the Gentlemen’s Duel between Gallagher and Daivari that aired last week on 205 Live.

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/819025955100364800

Rich Swann vs Tony Nese

Swann and Nese shook hands before the match. Swann dominated early and connected with a Dropkick that sent Nese out of the ring. Swann followed him but Nese launched him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Nese continued to control the match. Nese was targeting Swann’s ribs the entire match. Swann was hung up on the top rope and Nese connected with a big kick to Swann’s ribs.

Nese then launched Swann into the turnbuckle and posed for the crowd. Nese went for a Springboard Moonsault but Swann got out of the way and Nese fell to the mat. Swann followed it up with a Hurricanrana while Nese was perched on the top turnbuckle. Nese battled back and once again stomped on Swann’s ribs. Swann fought through and landed a Tiger Bomb on Nese. Swann went for the pinfall but Nese kicked out at two. The crowd started to chant “lets go Swann!” and Swann landed several kicks. Swann landed a final spinning kick to the head of Nese for the victory.

After the match, Rich Swann grabbed a microphone. Swann stated that Neville wasn’t the king of the Cruiserweights and that 205 Live is his show. Neville then interrupted and Swann challenged him to come down to the ring. Neville stayed at the top of the entrance ramp and demanded a Cruiserweight Championship match. Swann told Neville to name the time and the place. Neville said that he will officially be crowned king of the Cruiserweights when he faces Rich Swann for the Cruiserweight Championship at the Royal Rumble.

Winner: Rich Swann

https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/819030736539787264

Reaction: Tony Nese is very impressive in the ring. Neville and Rich Swann will put on a great match at the Royal Rumble. Tonight’s episode of 205 Live started out slow but wound up being decent. The crowd got into the show as the matches and segments got better.

What did you think of this week’s episodes of Smackdown and 205 Live? Let us know in the comments below.

More Rumored Names For The WWE Hall Of Fame

WrestleMania weekend and the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony are less than three months away and we’ve got more rumored names for this year’s HOF class.

You’ve probably heard by now that Diamond Dallas Page and the late “Ravishing” Rick Rude will be entering the Hall this year. In addition to these very-deserving names, the following legends were mentioned as upcoming inductees on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Live:

  • William Regal
  • Christian
  • The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
  • Mike Rotunda (IRS)

There’s also been some speculation that The Undertaker will be this year’s headliner, but we’re not totally sold on that idea. The Dead Man was part of yesterday’s WrestleMania 34 press conference from New Orleans and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be retiring this year.

Discussion: What do you think of think of this year’s WWE HOF class?

Mark Hunt Files Lawsuit Against Brock Lesnar & UFC: “He’s A Cheater”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pD_7846GhM

The Nevada State Athletic Commission and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency have both issued their punishments to WWE star Brock Lesnar for a failed drug test prior to his UFC 200 fight against Mark Hunt. Now Hunt has officially filed a lawsuit against Lesnar, the UFC, and UFC President Dana White. Hunt’s lawsuit alleges that they “affirmatively circumvented and obstructed fair competition for their own benefit.”

“[UFC] had a chance to take all the money from this guy, because he’s a cheater, and they didnt,” Hunt told ESPN.com.

There is an option for the UFC to pay an extra fee in order to get the pre-fight tests back before fight day. Because the UFC didn’t take that option, the results from Lesnar’s failed test didn’t come in until after the fight. Hunt’s lawsuit states, “The UFC and USADA were aware of the option to expedite samples for a nominal fee but failed to do so.”

Lesnar tested positive for an anti-estrogen agent called clomiphene. It earned him a one year suspension and a $250,000 fine from the NSAC and a one year suspension by USADA, and his victory over Hunt was reversed to a no-contest. Lesnar was paid a $2.5 million purse, while Hunt was paid $700,000.

Lesnar, who is scheduled to appear on next Monday’s episode of RAW, will be eligible to return to the UFC after July 15th.

New Royal Rumble Match Announced, New Rumble Participants Revealed

Neville vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann is now official for the 1/29 Royal Rumble PPV from San Antonio.

Below is the updated card for the Rumble:

– 30 Man Royal Rumble Match with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston

– AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against John Cena

– Kevin Owens defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns

– Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Bayley

– Rich Swann defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville

Royal Rumble PPV Poster: Can You Spot AJ Styles?

On Tuesday WWE released the official promotional artwork for the 2017 Royal Rumble and a lot of fans are shaking their heads at the fact that you practically need a magnifying glass to spot WWE Champion AJ Styles.

Naturally, part-time mega stars like John Cena, The Undertaker, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar would be featured prominently, but Styles is a complete afterthought here, despite his big title defense against Cena.

Discussion: Do you think WWE dropped the ball with AJ Styles’ placement on this PPV poster?

The 2017 Royal Rumble pay-per-view takes place on Sunday, January 29th from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

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WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (1/10)

The January 10th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live on the USA Network from the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, LA.

– Dean Ambrose comes out to open up SmackDown and host an Ambrose Asylum segment. Ambrose first announces that he’s entering the Royal Rumble, and then introduces his guest: The Miz. The Miz enters the ring with Maryse and announces that he’s entering the Royal Rumble too. The Miz then asks for Ambrose to return the Intercontinental Title belt back to him where it belongs. Ambrose teases that he’s going to give it back, but instead he gives him a participation award plaque. This leads to The Miz beating down Ambrose then holding him back for Maryse to slap him. Ambrose ducks the slap and Maryse hits Miz, then Ambrose hits the Dirty Deeds on Miz. Ambrose gives the participation award to Maryse then leaves with his IC Title.

– Backstage, we see Natalya attack Nikki Bella from behind and leave her laying in the hallway.

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya – No Contest: Natalya spears Natalya before the bell and they start brawling all over ringside. Back in the ring, Natalya boots Nikki in the face and they continue brawling. The referee still hasn’t called for the bell, and instead calls for more referees to separate the fight. Natalya takes out Nikki’s injured leg then throws her out to ringside. Natalya puts Nikki in the Sharpshooter at ringside until the referees pull her off.

– We go backstage for an interview with Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler is asked why he attacked Kalisto last week, but Ziggler says nothing and walks away.

Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler: Kalisto starts off with some leg kicks and a hurricanrana. Ziggler takes control of the match with a swinging neckbreaker until Kalisto comes back with another hurricanrana. Ziggler hits a dropkick and rolls up Kalisto, but Kalisto reverses Ziggler pin into a pin of his own and scores the three count. After the bell, Ziggler beats down Kalisto with a steel chair. As Ziggler is on his way to the back, Apollo Crews meets him on the ramp and they brawl all the way back into the ring. Ziggler grabs the steel chair and uses it on Crews too. He hits Kalisto with it again for good measure then heads backstage.

– American Alpha does an interview backstage where they say The Wyatt Family just can’t hang with them in the ring, and won’t be able to take the Tag Titles away from them.

– We go backstage again where John Cena does an interview about Baron Corbin. Cena says last week AJ Styles and Corbin called him a has-been, and tonight he’s going to prove that’s not true.

American Alpha (c) def. Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton: American Alpha controls the opening minutes of the match with frequent tags and suplexes against Bray. Orton gets the tag and keeps Jordan grounded with punches until Gable gets the tag and spears Orton. Bray tags in and goes for a Sister Abigail on Gable, but Gable gets out and takes things to ringside where he hits a sommersault splash on Bray. Back in the ring, Bray drops Gable with a running clothesline for a two count. Orton and Wyatt take turns working on Gable until Jordan gets the hot tag. Jordan cleans house and hits a series of suplexes and spears on both Wyatt and Orton. Harper distracts Jordan which leads to Orton hitting a suplex of his own on Jordan. Gable tags in and hits a flying crossbody then a Northern Lights suplex and German suplex. Wyatt and Jordan come in but quickly get cleared out to ringside. Harper distracts the referee and Orton pokes Gable in the eye. Orton grabs Gable near the ropes and accidentally knocks Harper off the apron, and then DDTs Gable off the middle rope. Orton sets up for an RKO, but Harper gets up on the apron again and this time Orton gets distracted. Gable shoves Orton into Harper from behind then rolls him up for the win to retain the Tag Titles. Harper and Orton get in each other’s faces and start shoving until Bray breaks it up. Orton charges at Harper and Harper goes to superkick him, but Orton ducks and Harper accidentally hits Bray. Bray walks away and leaves Harper and Orton alone in the ring. They each head backstage separately.

– Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss get in each others’ faces backstage in front of Daniel Bryan over the identity of the masked woman last week. Bryan decides to book the in a cage match.

Carmella def. CJ Lunde: James Ellsworth comes out with Carmella. Carmella hits the Bronco Buster early on, but the jobber starts fighting back so Ellsworth grabs her boot from the apron. Carmella hits a DDT off the distraction for a two count. Ellsworth grabs the boot again which leads to Carmella hitting a facebuster into the Code Of Silence for the win.

– Baron Corbin is doing an interview backstage about John Cena when AJ Styles interrupts. AJ wishes him good luck tonight, and informs him that he’ll be at ringside for his match.

John Cena def. Baron Corbin: WWE World Champion AJ Styles is on commentary for this en. Corbin dominates the opening minutes of the match until he gets distracted yelling at AJ Styles at ringside. Cena mounts a comeback off the distraction and brawls with Corbin around ringside. Back in the ring, Cena goes for a running shoulder block but Corbin catches him with a powerslam for a two count. Cena tries to come back with right hands once again, but Corbin stops him with a side walk slam. Cena ducks a clothesline and boots Corbin in the face, then follows up with a tornado DDT off the middle rope. Cena hits a back suplex and the Five Knuckle Shuffle, then follows up with the Attitude Adjustment for the win. After the match, AJ stands on the commentary table and stares down Cena as SmackDown goes off the air.

Schedule for Wrestle Kingdom 11 Matches on AXS TV

As reported previously AXS TV will be airing select matches from New Japan’s recent Wrestle Kingdom 11 show from this Friday to February 3rd as one hour specials. The schedule has now been released and the matches that will be aired are as follows:

January 13th
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega

January 20th
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match – Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Tag Championship Match – Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Chaos vs. G.B.H.

January 27th
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match – David Finlay, Ricochet & Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernable de Japon vs. Bullet Club vs. Chaos
NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto

February 3rd
Cody vs. Juice Robinson
IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Match – The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match – KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi

WWE RAW Viewership For HBK & Undertaker Returns

This week’s WWE RAW from New Orleans drew 2.907 million viewers, down from last week’s 3.046 million.

RAW featured advertised appearances by Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, and a main event that saw Chris Jericho capture the WWE United States Championship from Roman Reigns in a Handicap Match with Kevin Owens.

This week’s hourly breakdown looks like this:

Hour 1: 3.014 million
Hour 2: 3.019 million
Hour 3: 2.689 million

RAW was #7 on cable and #7 in the 18-49 demographic last night. College football dominated the night with more than 20 million viewers on ESPN.

WWE UK Tournament – Top Contenders

WWE this week announced the bracket for the first ever UK Championship Tournament set to take place this weekend at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.

The tournament features some of the best performers on the British scene and here are (in my opinion) the top four men who are likely to go all the way and become the first ever WWE UK Champion.

Pete Dunne

Pete Dunne (known affectionally to PROGRESS fans as ‘PETER’) had the biggest year of his career in 2016. His stellar year included a spot in PWG’s BOLA tournament, facing Yuji Nagata in Rev Pro, winning the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles with Trent Seven and to cap it off he secured the PROGRESS Championship by pinning Jimmy Havoc at Chapter 39.

Dunne has been in the industry around a decade and has established himself as one of the top acts in the UK scene, nicknamed the ‘Brusierweight’ he has a hard hitting style and works predominately as a heel for multiple companies across Britain, he possesses a natural ability to rile up a crowd that harks back to William Regal in his prime. I would absolutely consider Dunne to be the favourite going into the tournament in Blackpool.

Projection: Winner

Trent Seven

Trent is one of the most experienced performers in the tournament. He too has had a breakout year in 2016, highlighted by his PROGRESS Tag Team title run with British Strong Style partners Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate (more info on Tyler below). Having worked the majority of the year as a firm crowd favourite both as a singles star in Fight Club Pro and as a tag team specialist in Moustache Mountain, his heel turn in PROGRESS set the stage for a huge tag team title win at Chapter 36. After the win a new cocky, arrogant side of his character shone through and brought out a different more focused Trent. I expect that he will work as a crowd favourite in the tournament and turn more than a few heads in the WWE fan base.

Projection: Loss to Pete Dunne in Final

Tyler Bate

Tyler is one of the youngest performers in the UK tournament however he too had a hugely successful 2016. As one half of Moustache Mountain he performed around the country as a firm fan favourite, in the latter part of the year he finally joined forces with ‘British Strong Style’ and became one of the top heels in PROGRESS. His style and work in the ring are similar to WWE Crusierweight star Jack Gallagher and I fully expect Tyler to work as a charismatic good guy who will be extremely well liked by the fans inside the Empress Ballroom. I’m expecting Tyler to lose in the semi-final against longtime friend and tag team partner Trent Seven.

Projection: Loss to Trent Seven in Semi-final

Mark Andrews

Known as ‘Mandrews’ during his stint in TNA, Mark Andrews is easily the most world renowned of all of the performers in the competition. He has been a mainstay in PROGRESS since its inception and has worked for companies such as PCW, ATTACK! Pro, wXw and Chikara.

Andrews is an extremely talented in ring worker and he easily has a shot at taking the title this weekend. He was a late addition to the tournament having recently cut ties with TNA and for that reason I am expecting that he will eventually lose to Pete Dunne in the semi-final.

Projection: Loss to Dunne in Semi-final

 

DISCUSSION: Who do you see winning the tournament?

Vince McMahon Using Crutches At WrestleMania Press Conference (Photo)

Vince McMahon is still using crutches to get around after undergoing quad surgery back in September.

WWE’s Chairman and CEO was on hand for Tuesday’s WrestleMania 34 press conference from New Orleans and can be seen below.

WrestleMania 34 takes place from NOLA’s Superdome on Sunday, April 8th, 2018.

Update On When Paige Is Expected Back In The Ring

As noted last Monday, Paige attended RAW from Tampa to meet with WWE officials and discuss her eventual return to the ring. Based on her recovery schedule, Paige won’t be ready in time for WrestleMania 33 in April and likely won’t be wrestling again until the summer.

Paige underwent neck surgery back in in October, a procedure that had been a contentious issue with the company.

Even though she’s been off WWE’s flagship programming for several months now, Paige’s tumultuous relationship with former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio is a prominent storyline on the current season of Total Divas.

More Details On WrestleMania 34 In New Orleans

With this year’s WrestleMania 33 around the corner on April 3rd, WWE is already planning next year’s WrestleMania. Next year’s WrestleMania 34 will take place on April 8th at the Superdome in New Orleans, and this week WWE began releasing more details on the show.

In a press release issued this week, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was quoted as saying 2004’s WrestleMania 30 at the Superdome was a world-class event and the week-long series of events beforehand boosted their local economy. According to WWE, WrestleMania 30 generated $10.9 million in ticket revenue and a $142.2 million economic impact on New Orleans. The show set the Superdome’s attendance record at 75,167.

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon also provided a quote for the press release, saying that New Orleans is the perfect setting for a celebration like WrestleMania.

The press release mentioned several of WWE’s events taking place during WrestleMania week leading up to the show on April 8th, including their Axxess fan conention and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Here’s the press release in it’s entirety:

WrestleMania® Returns to The Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) are proud to announce that the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans will host WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania, on Sunday, April 8, 2018.

“We are excited to bring WrestleMania back to Louisiana,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. “This is a great event being hosted in one of the greatest cities in the world. We cordially invite WWE fans from all over to be part of WrestleMania Week and experience all that our beautiful state has to offer.”

“New Orleans is proud to have WrestleMania return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “WrestleManiabrought a world-class event to our city in 2014, and the week-long series of events generated a boost to our economy. We look forward to another historic week of events in 2018, all as part of our city’s Tricentennial celebration.”

“New Orleans is a perfect setting for WWE’s biggest celebration of the year,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “On behalf of everyone at WWE, we thank Governor Edwards and Mayor Landrieu for welcoming WrestleMania back to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”

WrestleMania is more than just a one-day event; it’s a week-long celebration that will stretch throughout the New Orleans region. In addition to WrestleMania, other activities will include: WrestleMania Axxess, WWE’s four-day interactive fan festival at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Smoothie King Center; NXT®TakeOver at the Smoothie King Center; Monday Night Raw® at the Smoothie King Center; SmackDown® Live at the Smoothie King Center; Be a STAR® anti-bullying rallies; hospital visits and other community outreach initiatives designed to give back to the host community. The event will be broadcast live on WWE Network and pay-per-view in more than 180 countries. Over the past 10 years, WrestleMania has generated nearly $1 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. This year, WrestleMania takes place Sunday, April 2 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL.

Randy Orton Disses Conor McGregor, Tweets On Donald Trump & More

Randy Orton was active on Twitter late last night and as always, there were some interesting tweets between he and the WWE Universe.

Orton took a shot at UFC star Conor McGregor when a fan asked if Orton could beat McGregor if he made the jump to WWE. Orton replied:

Orton was asked if he believes Donald Trump will “badly screw up America” when he’s inaugurated later this month. He replied with the following:

Orton also had these exchanges with fans:

https://twitter.com/NayfunGrimmy/status/818770368341090304

Brock Lesnar Confirmed For Next Week’s RAW, Shawn Michaels On Royal Rumble Rumors (Video)

– WWE confirmed this week that Brock Lesnar will be appearing on WWE TV next Monday for the first time since Survivor Series. Next Monday’s RAW will mark Lesnar’s return, and he’ll likely come out to the ring with Heyman to promote the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 29th. The Jan. 16 edition of RAW featuring Lesnar will air live on the USA Network from the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, AR.

– WWE.com caught up with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels after RAW ended at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Michaels addressed rumors of a Royal Rumble appearance by saying that he may visit, but he’s going to set an example for his peers on how to stay retired. You can watch the interview below:

Why Sami Zayn Missed RAW, Shaq Taunts Big Show, WWE Fury, The Undertaker

– Sami Zayn did not appear on last night’s RAW to sell the injury storyline from the week before. WWE’s website mentions that Sami is expected back next Monday but he’s suffering from multiple contusions and other injuries from the beatdown Braun Strowman gave him last week.

– The latest WWE Fury video looks at 16 Northern Lights suplexes and can be seen here:

– The latest WWE Canvas 2 Canvas video features The Undertaker and can be seen below:

– Big Show took to Twitter last week and tweeted a photo from the gym to warn Shaquille O’Neal as they prepare to do battle at WrestleMania 33. The NBA Hall of Famer responded via Instagram yesterday with this taunt:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPCVrXch4iH/

Video: The Undertaker Appears After RAW

The Undertaker interrupted the post-RAW celebration by Kevin Owens and new WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho after tonight’s RAW in New Orleans went off the air.

Jericho and Owens worked the mic before Jericho threatened The Deadman and the segment ended with chokeslams for each man.

Jericho & Owens Celebrate, Batista Responds To Meryl Streep Comments, The Jetsons – WWE Trailer

– The first official trailer for The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! has been released and features Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Alicia Fox and others. The movie releases via Digital HD on 2/28 and on DVD/VOD on 3/14. Below is the trailer from IGN:

– Below is backstage RAW Fallout video with new WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho celebrating with Kevin Owens after last night’s RAW. Jericho brags on he and Owens before they “clink” their championships to end the segment.

– Dave Bautista took to Twitter this week and responded to the comments made by legendary actress Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes on Sunday. While voicing her opposition to Donald Trump, Streep commented: “So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”

The comments brought heat from MMA fans, fighters and promoters. Batista, who tried his hand at the sport a few years back, wrote the following:

https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/818552448046497798
https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/818578641634242560

WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (1/9)

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw kicked off with Stephanie McMahon giving Mick Foley a performance review. Stephanie didn’t like the fact that Foley promised that The Undertaker would be at Raw tonight and is worried that The Undertaker won’t show up. Seth Rollins interrupted and announced that he was entering the Royal Rumble match. Braun Strowman then joined the party that he face either Roman Reigns or Goldberg. Rollins gets in Strowman’s face for interrupting him and the two Superstars start to fight. Their fight was short-lived as they were separated by referees.  The segment concluded with Foley guaranteeing that The Undertaker will show up tonight.

United States Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

Strowman immediately interrupted and started to attack Reigns. Jericho and Owens then joined Strowman in beating Reigns down. Seth Rollins came out for the save and hits a Van Daminator on him. Stephanie McMahon emerged from backstage and stated that the United States Championship match will happen later tonight so that Roman Reigns can have enough time to recover from the attack.

Seth Rollins vs Braun Strowman

Strowman dominated the first several minutes of this match but eventually Rollins fought back. Rollins hit a big Frogsplash but Strowman kicked out. The action spilled outside the ring and the two Superstars continued to beat the hell out of each other. Strowman got the upper hand and beatdown Rollins. However, the referee counted to ten and both Superstars were counted out. Strowman went to continue attacking Rollings but Seth retrieved a chair and Strowman retreated.

Jack Gallagher vs Drew Gulak

This match was back and forth up until Gallagher did his handstand in the corner. Gulak kept trying to get to him but Gallagher kept lowering his boot whenever Gulak got close. Gallagher capitalized on this and hit the running kick in the corner for the victory. After the match, Gallagher once again called out Ariya Daivari.

Winner: Jack Gallagher 

Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley had a conversation backstage. Stephanie stated that Foley’s entire performance review now relies on his ability to bring The Undertaker to Monday Night Raw. Stephanie gave Foley an hour to get The Undertaker to Raw.

Reaction: The first hour of Monday Night Raw saw nothing great happen at all. Once again, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley kicked off a show. The Cruiserweight division match was still too short to accomplish anything. Rollins versus Strowman was decent but there was a lame finish to the match.

Shawn Michaels kicked off the second hour of Raw and came down to the ring. Michaels teased the crowd that his appearance on Raw may be related to the Royal Rumble. The crowd chanted “one more match!” but Michaels said that he was at Raw to promote his new film The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone. Rusev, Jinder Mahal and Lana interrupted and told Shawn Michaels to shut up. Rusev  requested that Lana be placed into the movie via CGI. Enzo and Cass came out and Enzo referred to Michaels as “the realest guy in the room”. They continued to make fun of Rusev until he snapped and called them all “American pigs”. Cass challenged Rusev to a match but Rusev made Jinder Mahal fight instead.

Big Cass vs Jinder Mahal

Jinder had control of the match for a second but it predictably fell apart for him. Rusev tried to help him out but instead got a Sweet Chin Music to the face courtesy of Shawn Michaels. Big Cass then connected with the Empire Elbow for the victory. Michaels celebrated with Enzo and Cass to close out the segment.

Winner: Big Cass

Neville vs Lince Dorado

Dorado got in some offense but his momentum was halted by Neville after he landed a Northern Lights Suplex. Neville applied the Rings of Saturn for the submission victory. Neville continued to attack Dorado after the match ended. Rich Swann came out for the save and connected with several kicks. The segment concluded with Rich Swann standing tall in the ring as Neville retreated.

Winner: Neville

Sheamus vs Luke Gallows

Cesaro and Karl Anderson joined commentary for this match. This match went back and forth for several minutes. Karl Anderson decided to attack Cesaro while they were both at the announce table. Gallows wound up being distracted by this and Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for the victory. After the match, Cesaro annoyed Sheamus by raising his hands and celebrating with the crowd. Eventually, Cesaro raised Sheamus’ hand and the crowd cheered.

Winner: Sheamus

Mick foley was shown wandering around backstage looking for The Undertaker as Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Foley was in the ring and he called on The Undertaker to come down to the ring. The Undertaker didn’t show up and Foley continued to plead for The Undertaker to show up. The lights then went out but it was not The Undertaker who showed up. Stephanie McMahon came down to the ring and blamed Foley for not getting The Undertaker to show up. Stephanie also blamed Foley for Smackdown beating Raw in the ratings. Finally, The Undertaker showed up and took his time coming down to the ring.

The Undertaker announced that he will be entering the Royal Rumble. Braun Strowman was shown backstage watching The Undertaker. The Undertaker stated that he answers to no one and claimed that nobody controls. The Undertaker then got right in Foley’s face and said “no one” one more time. The Undertaker said that he has returned to the city where the streak ended but his focus is on the Royal Rumble match. The Undertaker stated that he will be bringing the dark side to the Royal Rumble and that he will win the match and once again main event Wrestlemania. Undertaker said that if anyone gets in his way, they will rest in peace.

Reaction: The second hour of Monday Night Raw was better than the first. I had a feeling that the Shawn Michaels return would be something like this so I wasn’t too disappointed by it. The Undertaker announcing that he is in the Royal Rumble match is big news. Some can argue that they would have rather it been a surprise but I’m fine with it this way.

Bayley & Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax & Charlotte

Nia and Charlotte attacked Bayley and Sasha Banks earlier in the night. Bayley was caught in the ring for most of this match and Sasha was a non-factor due to her injury. Nia Jax hit a leg drop on Bayley for the victory.

Winners: Nia Jax & Charlotte

Alicia Fox kissed Noam Dar backstage. Dar seemed shocked and Alicia Fox said that Cedric was right about Dar in the fact that he cannot handle a real woman. Fox stormed off as Dar had a creepy smile on face.

The New Day and Titus O’Neil had a promo. The New Day showed a video of Titus O’Neil in NXT tripping while trying to run with a beer keg around the ring. The New Day brought out another keg and offered a chance to do it again. Titus O’Neil didn’t trip this time but he dropped the keg right before he crossed the finish line. Kofi then proceeded to crack several jokes at the expense of Titus. Finally, Titus had heard enough and shoved Kofi. All of this led to a match between Kofi Kingston and Titus O’Neil.

Kofi Kingston vs Titus O’Neil

The match started out back and forth. Titus launched Kofi out of the ring but Big E and Xavier Woods caught him. Woods then played the trombone and it caused O’Neil to become distracted. Kingston then landed the Trouble in Paradise for the victory.

Winner: Kofi Kingston

United States Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

Before the match started, Reigns tried to lock Jericho into the shark cage that I guess will just be on the entrance ramp until the Royal Rumble. It didn’t work and Owens and Jericho took control of the match. Jericho and Owens spent the next several minutes beating down Roman Reigns in the ring. Jericho went for a Running Bulldog but Reigns caught him and launched him into Owens on the ring apron. Owens and Jericho battled back and Jericho hit the Lionsault but Reigns kicked out at two. Reigns hit the Drive By on Owens and followed it up with a Superman Punch to Jericho. As Reigns tried to get into the ring, Owens grabbed his leg and Jericho hit a Codebreaker as he was caught in the ropes. Owens then hit a Powerbomb to Reigns onto the ring apron. Jericho hit another Codebreaker and won the match.

Winner & New United States Champion: Chris Jericho

Reaction: I’m sure Roman Reigns will get a rematch for his United States Championship but as of now he is heading into the Royal Rumble without a title. He faces Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble and Jericho will be locked in the shark cage to prevent him from interfering. Overall, I thought Raw was wasn’t anything special tonight. In my opinion, that is a big failure given the fact that both The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were on the show. I’m already tired of the Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns storyline but it is guaranteed to continue until at least the Royal Rumble.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.

Enzo Legitimately Injured, Brock Lesnar Takes The Family To NHL Game

– Enzo Amore legitimately suffered a knee injury during a tag team match at the 12/30 WWE house show in Los Angeles, according to F4Wonline.com. This is why Enzo continues to use the wheelchair on RAW. There’s no timetable for his return but he’s scheduled to be re-evaluated in two weeks.

– Brock Lesnar, wife Sable and their children attended a Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames NHL game last night in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Below are photos and videos from the appearance:

Chris Jericho Captures The US Title From Roman Reigns

Chris Jericho is the new WWE United States Champion after he and Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns in a handicap match on Monday’s RAW from New Orleans.

This marks Jericho’s first run with the US Championship. He is also the 7th WWE Superstar to become a “Grand Slam Champion” – having held the US Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, the WWE Championship and a Tag Team Championship.

Other Superstars to achieve this feat includeEddie Guerrero, Edge, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, The Miz and Big Show.

The Undertaker Will Be Part Of The Royal Rumble

The Undertaker returned to RAW in New Orleans tonight and announced that he will be in the Royal Rumble match from San Antonio later this month.

Confirmed names for the match as of this writing include Baron Corbin, Chris Jericho, Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar.

Below is video of The Deadman’s return promo, where he announced that he is “back” on RAW and goes wherever he wants because he answers to no one:

WWE RAW Results & Discussion (1/9)

The January 9th, 2017 edition of WWE RAW aired live from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

– Stephanie McMahon is backstage with Mick Foley giving him a performance review. Stephanie expresses concern that Foley will let the fans down by promising The Undertaker will show up tonight. Stephanie says she’s concerned ‘Taker won’t show up, then Seth Rollins interrupts to say he’s entering the Royal Rumble match. Braun Strowman interrupts next and says he wants Goldberg or Roman Reigns, or else. Rollins gets in Strowman’s face for interrupting him and the two men start brawling all over the room until they’re separated by referees. The segment ends with Foley promising Stephanie that Undertaker will be here tonight.

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho – No Contest: This one is a handicap match with Roman Reigns’ U.S. Championship on the line. Before the bell rings, Braun Strowman’s music hits and he comes out to the ring. Strowman and Reigns get into it and Strowman ends up dropping the U.S. Champion. Jericho and Owens get in on the action and hold Reigns back for Strowman to kick him. All three of them take turns stomping on Reigns until Seth Rollins runs out with a chair for the save. Rollins throws the chair at Strowman and hits a Van Daminator, then drops Owens and Jericho with it. Reigns grabs a chair and joins Rollins in beating down Strowman with them. Stephanie McMahon comes out to sort things out. She says Reigns’ match is going to take place later tonight so Reigns can recover from Strowman’s interference. Stephanie also books Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman in a match tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman: Strowman controls the opening minutes of the match until Rollins hits a series of clotheslines and kicks. Rollins goes for a running knee strike, but Strowman catches him and plants him down on the mat with a spinebuster. Rollins rolls out to the apron for a breather, then Strowman hits a running shoulder-block that sends Rollins to the floor at ringside. Back in the ring, Rollins comes back with some kicks and knees to the head. Rollins follows up with a frogsplash off the top, but Strowman kicks out with authority at the two count. Strowman rolls outside and Rollins climbs to the very top of the ring post. Rollins goes flying off for a splash on Strowman, but Strowman moves and Rollins crashes into the fan barricade. Strowman beats Rollins down around ringside until the referee counts them both out at 10. After the match, Strowman attempts to continue beating down Rollins, but Rollins grabs a chair and fights him off.

– Sasha Banks is backstage giving Bayley some words of encouragement. Charlotte and Nia Jax show up and attack them both, leaving Banks and Bayley on the ground. Jax turns on Charlotte and shoves her up against the wall before leaving.

Jack Gallagher def. Drew Gulak: Austin Aries is on commentary for this one. After some solid back-and-forth action to open up, Gallagher does a headstand on the turnbuckle and lowers his boot whenever Gulak attempts to charge at him. Gulak hesitates in confusion, which leads to Gallagher tossing him across the ring and hitting a running heel kick in the corner for the win. After the match, Gallagher cuts a promo on Daivari.

– We see a shot of Shawn Michaels backstage talking to TJ Perkins before the commercial break.

– Backstage, Mick Foley tells Stephanie McMahon that The Undertaker will be here tonight for sure. Stephanie says that his entire performance review hinges on his ability to bring in The Undertaker tonight, and he has one hour to do it.

– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is out next. Michaels says he misses the fans, and says desire to appear tonight might have something t do with the Royal Rumble being around the corner. Michaels points out that the Rumble this year is in his hometown of San Antonio, TX. Michaels recalls winning the WWE Championship 20 years ago in San Antonio. The crowd starts chanting for “one more match.” Michaels tells the crowd not to peer pressure him, and says he’s here to discuss his new movie The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone. As he continues to promote the movie, he gets interrupted by Rusev, Lana, and Jinder Mahal. Rusev tells Michaels to shut up, and says he should have put Lana in the movie if he wanted it to be successful. Rusev demands that Michaels uses CGI to put Lana in the already-completed movie. The crowd chants for “sweet chin music” but Rusev tells the crowd Shawn doesn’t do that anymore. Rusev calls himself the Bulgarian George Clooney, and demands that Michaels puts his wife in the movie. Enzo and Cass interrupt to back up Michaels. Enzo says Michaels is the realest guy in the room right now, and calls Rusev, Mahal and Lana haters. They make fun of Rusev until he interrupts and calls them “American pigs.” Cass challenges Rusev to a match right. Rusev says he’s got a match, but it’s against Jinder Mahal. Michaels says he’s going to stay at ringside for this match, and if they’re not down with that he’s got two words for them.

Big Cass def. Jinder Mahal: Mahal takes control of the match early on with a series of clotheslines and kicks. Cass mounts a comeback and hits a big splash on MAhal in the corner. Rusev tries to interfere but Michaels drops him with the Sweet Chin Music at ringside. Cass hits the East River Crossing and follows up with the Empire Elbow for the win after a short match. Enzo and Cass celebrate with Shawn Michaels after the bell.

Neville def. Lince Dorado: Austin Aries is on commentary for this one. Dorado springboards off the ropes and hits a variation of the Stone Cold Stunner on Neville, then hits a hurricanrana and sends Neville outside. Back in the ring, Dorado comes off the top rope with a cross body splash for a two count. Neville comes back with a Northern Lights suplex, then starts working on Lince’s left arm. Lince goes for a Frankensteiner, but Neville catches him and reverses into a variation of the Death Valley Driver. Neville follows up with the Rings of Saturn and Lince taps out. After the match, Neville beats down Dorado until Rich Swan cos out for the save. Swan hits Neville with a series of kicks, causing Neville to retreat to the back.

– Backstage, Stephanie McMahon gives Bayley and Sasha Banks a match against Charlotte and Nia Jax next week. Stephanie gets in Sasha’s face, and tells her she’s the real boss on RAW and to get the hell out of her office.

Sheamus def. Luke Gallows: Cesaro and Karl Anderson are both on commentary for his one. Gallows controls the opening moments of the match, but Sheamus comes back with a running Senton and follows up with a running knee drop. They brawl around ringside before heading back in the ring, where Gallows hits a big boot on Sheamus that sends him back out to ringside. Back in the ring, Sheamus and Gallows trade right hands until Sheamus drops him with a kick. Gallows fights back with a knee to the head, but Sheamus comes back with one of his own. Sheamus goes up top and hits a flying clothesline for a two count. Gallows goes for a Samoan Drop but Sheamus gets out and hits a running powerslam for a two count. Karl Anderson attacks Cesaro at the announce table and Sheamus gets distracted. Gallows hits a big boot on Sheamus off the distraction for a two count. Meanwhile on the stage, Anderson and Cesaro continue brawling which leads to Gallows getting distracted. He turns around into a big boot from Sheamus, and Sheamus scores the 3 count.

– Mick Foley comes out and pleads with The Undertaker to come out to the ring. The lights go out briefly, but it’s just Stephanie McMahon, who comes out to the ring and says she’s going to give Foley his performance review right now in public. Stephanie admonishes Foley for some of his failures including allowing SmackDown to beat them in the ratings. Foley starts to apologize, but then the lights go out again and The Undertaker’s music hits. Taker grabs the mic and announces that he’ll be entering the Royal Rumble, and we immediately get a shot of Braun Strowman watching on a monitor backstage. Taker declares that after he wins the Royal Rumble, he’ll return to the main event at WrestleMania, and anyone who stands in his way will rest in peace.

– We go backstage where Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens do an interview about Roman Reigns and their shot at his U.S. Championship tonight. Jericho says that two Canadians — himself and Owens — should be the new faces of America.

Charlotte & Nia Jax def. Sasha Banks & Bayley: Charlotte and Sasha start things off and the story of the match early on is Charlotte working on Sasha’s bad knee. Bayley gets the tag and drops Charlotte with a neckbreaker then a spear in the corner. Charlotte dodges a splash in the corner and then hits Bayley with a big boot for a two count. Nia gets the tag and hits a Snake Eyes on Bayley in the corner, then follows up with a splash. Charlotte tags back in and hits a Northern Lights suplex on Bayley. Nia tags in behind Bayley’s back then clotheslines her down and follows up with a running leg drop for the win.

– We see Noam Dar backstage bothering Alicia Fox again. Alicia grabs him and kisses him dramatically, then says he couldn’t handle her and walks off.

– The New Day and Titus O’Neal are in the ring, and Titus apologizes for last week. He asks for another chance to join The New Day. Kofi says they did some research on Titus, and they show a video from him on NXT tripping while running with a beer keg. Instead of a chance to join the New Day, they say they’re going to offer him a chance at redemption. They reveal a beer keg at ringside, and give him another chance to run with it. They set a timer at 12.7 seconds, and Titus gears up to run around the ring with the beer keg. Titus runs around the ring with the keg with 0.6 seconds to spare, but he dropped the keg in celebration right before he ran across the line. The referee says it didn’t count because he dropped the keg. They show the replay, and show Titus celebrating too early and dropping it before the finish line. Titus shoves Kofi, so Kofi challenges him to a match right now.

Kofi Kingston def. Titus O’Neal: Titus takes control of the match early on and hits a variation of The Dominator on Kofi. Titus powerslams Kofi down to the mat then keeps him grounded with a chin lock. Kofi fights back, but Titus drops him again with a big boot for a two count. They exchange slaps to the face then Kofi kicks him in the face. Titus grabs kofi and hits a series of backbreakers across the knee. Titus gets distracted by Xavier playing the trombone at ringside, so he throws Kofi to the outside but the New Day members catch him. Kofi slides back in the ring and hits the Trouble In Paradise on Titus for the win.

Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens def. Roman Reigns: Before the bell, Owens and Jericho brawl with Reigns on the ramp. The shark cage is on the sage, and Reigns tries to lock Jericho in it but Owens makes the safe. They throw Reigns into the side of the cage and the cage falls off the stage. The heels take Reigns back to ringside where they throw him into the steel ring steps. The finally get in the ring and bell sounds. Jericho and Owens control the opening moments of the match until Reigns comes back with a series of clotheslines. Reigns misses a Superman punch on Jericho and goes right into a punch from Owens. Jericho hits a Lionsault on Reigns for two. It looks like Jericho is bleeding from his forehead. Owens tags in and hits a superkick on Reigns. Owens and Reigns attempt to double team Reigns, but Reigns ends up hitting a Superman punch on each one of them. Reigns hits a spear on Jericho but Owens breaks up the pin. Reigns misses a dropkick on Owens and Owens follows up with a superkick. Owens attempts to powerbomb Reigns at ringside, but Reigns reverses into a back body drop then hits the Drive-By. Jericho goes for a springboard dropkick, but Reigns hits a superman punch on him. Jericho comes back with a Codebreaker, then Owens takes Reigns out to ringside and powerbombs him onto the corner of the ring apron. Back in the ring, Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Reigns and scores the three count. Chris Jericho is now the new United States Champion. Jericho and Owens celebrate with the U.S. and Universal Title Belts as referees check on Reigns in the corner.