– Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly officially got engaged to NHL star Sheldon Souray on Friday.
– Following the attack by Paige on this week’s edition of SmackDown, WWE.com provided the following update on AJ Lee’s “injury”:
“AJ was initially not responding when we got to her,” stated WWE physician, Dr. Chris Amann. “As a precautionary measure, we put her in a neck brace, put her on a backboard and escorted her to a local medical facility for follow-up testing. There, she was diagnosed with a whiplash injury.”
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.
This week’s Raw took place in Miami, Florida in the home of the Miami Heat. LeBron James and Flo Rida both made appearances, and Triple H crowned a new number one contender.
Overall, it was a rather exciting episode of Raw, with the build to SummerSlam officially underway. As always, a few questions were answer, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following Monday’s Raw.
5. Is Poor Booking Hurting the Wyatt Family?
Bray Wyatt attacked Chris Jericho backstage at Raw last night and commandeered the Highlight Reel. Wyatt of course lost to Jericho clean at Battleground, while Luke Harper and Erick Rowan also failed to capture the Tag Team Titles once again.
A few weeks back, fans were chanting “boring” during Wyatt’s promo, leading me to wonder if poor booking is hurting he and his family. Ultimately, I think they will be fine, as they are some of the best talents in the business, but better booking could help make them appear stronger and increase their popularity. Here’s to hoping for a clean Wyatt victory at SummerSlam.
4. Has Bo Dallas Actually Won Me Over?
When Bo Dallas first appeared in the WWE, I thought his character was destined for failure. He seemed to be nothing more than a troll hell-bent on annoying anyone within a thousand-mile radius. He was once again victorious last night, extending his undefeated streak.
I must admit though, Dallas has really won me over in recent weeks. His promos have been hilarious and his in-ring work has seemingly improved on a weekly basis. I still feel that he needs a new finisher before he can be taken too seriously, but I’m sure that will come with time. I never thought I’d say this, but I believe Dallas could be one of the better midcard superstars and a run with either the US or IC title could restore some interest in the midcard championships.
Tonight’s episode of Raw took place in Montreal, Canada and featured a total of eleven matches, including a first ever one-on-one meeting between the WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena and Money in the Bank briefcase holder Seth Rollins.
Canadian icon and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart graced the WWE Universe with his presence and cut a promo. Of course, he brought up the Montreal Screw Job, but it was a nice moment. Also, WWE continued to promote current on-going storylines leading up to Battleground.
Last week’s episode of Raw was one of the best and most exciting in recent history. Did this edition live up to last week’s high standards? Without further ado, here are highlights, lowlights and my random thoughts on the 7/7/2014 edition of Monday Night Raw:
BEST MATCH: The opening bout between the Usos and the Wyatt Family was the best match of the night. There were two other matches that could have stolen the show, but they failed to do so for a couple of reasons. First, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose gave it their best effort, but it was clear to see that the two didn’t have very much chemistry, at least when it comes to singles action. Also, the Dean Ambrose botch wasn’t a crowd-pleasing moment.
Chris Jericho vs. the Miz could have been special, but the match didn’t last as long as I hoped. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins had the most promise, but they weren’t given enough time to do anything memorable and the obvious interference by Kane and Randy Orton ruined the match for me.
What was your favorite match of the night?
WORST MATCH: AJ Lee/Paige vs. Naomi/Cameron was the worst match of the night. Aside from the main event and the tag team match between the Usos and the Wyatt Family, there weren’t any real standout matches. However, this bout stood out for all the wrong reasons and it was a poor showing amongst the four Divas involved. Bo Dallas vs. El Torito was a close second for the worst match of the night award because at least the crowd was somewhat into it.
The worst segment of the night was the Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox disaster, but I don’t think there was an opening bell and nobody was declared the winner. Therefore, Idon’t consider this to be a match; otherwise, it would have won the award.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: Kofi Kingston defeating Cesaro was the upset of the night. I know that Kofi defeated Cesaro last week on Raw, but I didn’t expect him to do it again and I don’t think the fans/crowd did either. I see Cesaro winning the Intercontinental Title at Battleground and Kingston falling into obscurity once again, but at least Kofi is living in the moment now.
To quote the great Mike Adamle, Kofi be Jamaican me crazy.
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: I expected Randy Orton to defeat Dean Ambrose in their match tonight, but I was anticipating Seth Rollins to screw Ambrose over, resulting in Ambrose losing cleanly. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Ambrose has been really hot as of late and Rollins costing him the match would have protected Ambrose a bit more. Also, it would have spiced things up and furthered the Ambrose/Rollins feud.
The latest sit-down interview between Michael Cole and Triple H has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
During their latest discussion, Triple H talks about the returns of Chris Jericho, The Miz and AJ Lee from this past Monday’s RAW, the fatal four-way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view and the “jaw-dropping” conclussion of Monday’s RAW.
– In a pretty surprising note, during the WWE RAW Backstage Pass post-show on the WWE Network on Monday night, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T mentioned the infamous backstage fight between Chris Jericho and Bill Goldberg from years ago. He didn’t go into specific details on what happened during the fight, but did mention it.
– Also on the RAW post-show, Renee Young interviewed AJ Lee, who spoke about her return on Monday night. Lee noted that it feels good to be reunited with her baby, the WWE Divas Championship. She said she only came out to congratulate Paige the same way Paige did for her after WrestleMania XXX, and that she just happened to leave with what is rightfully hers.
Monday’s episode of WWE RAW featured the surprise returns of The Miz, Chris Jericho and AJ Lee.
WWE announced on Monday afternoon that a former WWE Champion would be returning on RAW. A limousine arrived backstage and RAW and many fans were expecting Chris Jericho to walk out, after news leaked online that Jericho would be returning to RAW. A lot of people were surprised when that returning WWE Champion turned out to be The Miz. The “Awesome” Superstar talked about being a multi-platform entertainment powerhouse, having just finished his latest movie for WWE Studios, The Marine 4. As Miz was rambling, he was interrupted by yet another returning former WWE Champion, Chris Jericho. Jericho’s homecoming got a thunderous reaction from the live audience, but it was short lived – as The Wyatt Family showed up, crashed the party and left Jericho for dead in the ring.
AJ Lee returned in her first appearance since the night after WrestleMania XXX, when she dropped the Divas Championship to newcomer Paige. AJ returned the favor last night, recapturing the Divas Title and ending Paige’s reign.
Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee was reportedly expected back on WWE television by this summer after asking to take time off from the company shortly after WrestleMania XXX. According to reports, nobody within WWE has said a word about Lee as of late, despite the fact that she was originally expected back by this point.
As far as the rumors of her being pregnant are concerned, she sure doesn’t look like she’s with baby. This photo of AJ and CM Punk surfaced online this week – with both of them wearing their wedding rings:
There are a lot of rumors going around on the internet regarding AJ Lee as of late. There are multiple sources that claim the longest reigning Divas Champion in WWE history may be pregnant.
As noted recently, Lee and CM Punk officially got married last Friday, with friends of theirs claiming that they “loved the idea of having their wedding on Friday the 13th.”
If it’s true that AJ is pregnant, which we are trying to verify, then it’s very likely that we won’t be seeing her anymore this year, if ever again.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk and WWE Diva AJ Lee are now married.
The two began dating in the Fall of 2013 and were engaged back in April. AJ was seen wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring on the March 31st episode of WWE RAW (Photo).
The new Mr. and Mrs. Brooks attended at a Chicago Cubs game on May 17th, where Punk confirmed they were engaged and would be getting married in June.
AJ Lee recently moved to Chicago and is taking time off from WWE for her wedding and honeymoon. She’s expected to return to action this summer.
– After WWE Payback went off the air, The Shield celebrated as Dean Ambrose threw chairs into the ring. All 3 members of The Shield then posed on top of the announcers table.
– CM Punk and AJ Lee were shown in the front row for Sunday’s Chicago Blackhawks vs. LA Kings game, which also took place in Chicago. Punk was tweeting throughout the game, which saw LA defeat Chicago in overtime to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Punk made up with Kings mascot Bailey after the game and tweeted:
Sports reporter Michelle Beadle was Jim Ross’ guest on this week’s Ross Report podcast at PodcastOne.com and spoke about her infamous backstage incident with AJ Lee at last year’s Tribute to the Troops tapings.
Michelle said that she considered Phil a friend but apparently she was wrong. She saw him backstage at Tribute to the Troops and affectionately said “What up F*** face?” She noted that Punk was alone at the time and she was with members of WWE PR at the time. Then the next thing she knows, AJ Lee confronted her and started yelling in her face, which she thought was a rib. She looked at Punk to get his reaction of what was happening, but he kept his back to her. WWE apologized to her for AJ’s behavior. A few days later, she saw websites writing about the altercation.
While she and CM Punk used to go out to dinner and text each other, they stopped being friends that day.
“Phil was one of those cool guys that didn’t fall into a certain role and kind of did what he wanted but to watch all of that happen and have someone tattle on me and have their girlfriend get in my face is a little pathetic. It’s ok, i’ve moved on.”
JR asked her if she was surprised at CM Punk’s decision to leave WWE. She said she’s not shocked he left, but it’s more shocking that he has not yet returned. She expected him to appear at WrestleMania and as a WWE fan, she misses his TV character.
Other topics discussed include her job at ESPN, how she became a wrestling fan and more. She also revealed that she’s had talks with WWE about joining the company. You can listen to the full interview below:
AJ Lee is currently scheduled to return after she and WWE Superstar CM Punk get married next month. During her time off, AJ has been moving to Chicago and planning her wedding.
As of a few weeks ago, the plan was originally for Lee to be back either in late May or early June. She’s been out of action since taking time off after dropping the Divas Championship to Paige the night after WrestleMania XXX.
WWE Divas Champion Paige recently spoke to Digital Spy to promote WWE’s ongoing international tour. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
AJ Lee’s Eventual Return: “If she does come, great! I can’t wait, because then it gives me more competition and I know she’s going to be coming straight after me. She’s going to be full of anger and she’s going to be better than ever. The girls so far have given me a great fight. Alicia Fox on Raw the other day really, really stuck it to me! But I still came out victorious. Tamina’s always been very dominating so I’ve really had a good run so far – so I look forward to AJ one day.”
How NXT Has Revolutionized WWE: “NXT as a whole is fantastic. When I first started we didn’t have the TV. We had to try and start again and build our brand and no-one really knew us. We were doing the live events and training every day. When Triple H took it over and made it his baby he really, really jumpstarted it for us. I got a large fanbase just from NXT itself. It’s an amazing brand. NXT’s really, really helping. Everyone really enjoys it. It’s a really short show and it’s full of wrestling and people love the wrestling side of things too. They get what they want on Raw, they get what they want on NXT. I think it helps having NXT – you get to see the young talent before they come up here – it’s great for everyone.”
Emma’s Transition To WWE: “Emma is incredible, first of all. I really enjoyed every single match I had with her and she deserves everything that she’s getting so far. She’s really, really working hard – she’s definitely a workhorse. She’s just really happy. People have seen what she can do but not what she’s so freaking fantastic at. It’s good that people are seeing it bit by bit. If we just saw it all in our face already, people are going to get tired quickly. The way she’s growing at the minute, she’s doing great. You haven’t seen the best of her yet, definitely not.”
Her Dream Opponent: “Non-wrestlers, it’d be [UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion] Ronda Rousey, because she’s a badass and she’s a big wrestling fan anyway. Wrestling-wise I’ve wrestled a lot of the girls that I’ve really wanted to, like Natalya and Emma. I’d love to wrestle Lita, and Bull Nakano is one of my big inspirations.”
As previously reported, former WWE Superstar CM Punk attended the Chicago Cubs MLB game on Saturday, singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning of the game, and even revealing during an interview on the broadcast that he and WWE Diva AJ Lee will be getting married next month.
Below are some photos of Punk at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday night.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk appeared at the Chicago Cubs MLB game at Wrigley Field in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois on Saturday.
Punk sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch, and also took part in an interview beforehand.
“The Best In The World” revealed during the interview that he and WWE Diva AJ Lee will be getting married soon, noting that their wedding will take place next month.
You can check out some video footage of Punk at the Cubs game above.
The undercard singles titles are all chilling across the pond these days, as Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, and Paige all won championships in recent weeks. New champions are a welcome sight in the WWE these days, especially considering how stale the previous champions’ runs had become.
Dean Ambrose’s reign as United States Champion will likely be the forgotten reign in years to come. He held the title for almost a year while only defending it a few times before finally dropping it to Sheamus during a battle royal a few weeks back.
The same holds true for Big E and the Intercontinental Championship. Although he did not hold the title as long as Ambrose held his US Championship, his reign was unmemorable and he engaged in no meaningful feuds during his months with the title. As for AJ Lee, her run with the title seemed fresh at first, but she eventually ran out of challengers and it seemed like the right time to crown a new champion.
Ambrose held the title for almost a year and hardly ever defended it.
With recent undercard title reigns being unmemorable, it leads one to wonder if unification is the answer. One of the primary reasons the titles go undefended is because it is difficult to have too many stories going at once, especially meaningful ones that involve championship contests. This leads to champions holding insignificant titles like the US Championship as a way to legitimize or build up the character, but in reality, the title does little because it goes undefended.
One of the best options would perhaps be to unify the United States and Intercontinental Championships. By unifying the titles into just the Intercontinental Championship, it could make the title seem important again. In the Attitude Era, the title held importance, with fans knowing that most superstars who held the strap were on their way to the main event.
That is not the case anymore, however, as the title is thrown on random superstars in an attempt to build interest, but then creative puts in no further effort. It is a little sad that the most interesting thing to happen involving the Intercontinental Championship in recent months was a tournament to crown a number one contender that did not even involve the champion at all (except for a few clips showing him standing in the back, angrily looking at a monitor).
– Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee, who has been on hiatus the past few weeks after asking for time off, is being advertised to return on the upcoming WWE European tour.
– WWE stock continues to drop, as it fell once again today with a drop of 51 cents per share. The WWE stock is now at $17.32 per share.
– As previously reported, WWE teased a possible Undertaker vs. Sting match in a “Fantasy Warfare” feature on their official website. They have added the video to their official YouTube channel, which you can check out below.
– A fan recently sent along the following photo of CM Punk and AJ Lee together at a recent Chicago Blackhawks NHL game.
TNA Entertainment, the Nashville-based sports entertainment company known for the global pro wrestling program, IMPACT Wrestling, has signed with UTA, it was announced jointly today by Dixie Carter, President of TNA Entertainment, and UTA.
TNA Entertainment’s IMPACT Wrestling, one of Spike TV’s top-rated shows, averaging 1.4 million viewers each week, is broadcast in 120 countries worldwide. Additionally, TNA Entertainment produces more than 100 live Impact Wrestling events each year as well as monthly PPV events with such internationally beloved professional wrestling stars as Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Magnus, James Storm, MVP, Gail Kim and the lovely and lethal Knockouts.
UTA will represent the 12-year-old company to extend its television broadcast reach as well as to expand its licensing programs and slate of live event programming. TNA will also leverage UTA’s expertise in digital and social media to build monetization strategies for its digital media operations. TNA launched a cross-platform programming effort, #IMPACT 365, in October 2013 to provide viewers with ongoing storyline and original content 24/7 on its website and across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and other platforms.
“UTA’s diverse range of capabilities make them an ideal partner to help TNA add tremendous visibility and value to the global IMPACT Wrestling brand,” said Dixie Carter. “We are confident that by working with the UTA team, we will not only expand our wrestling business in exciting ways, but we will also build new entertainment ventures and properties.”
TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held sports entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that specializes in events, products, numerous TV properties, merchandise and music, as well as, the management and promotion of professional wrestlers. The product is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling and is broadcast in more than 120 countries. For more information, please visit www.impactwrestling.com.
United Talent Agency is a premier global talent and literary agency representing many of the world’s most widely-known figures in every current and emerging area of entertainment, including motion pictures, television, digital media, video games, books, music, theatre and live entertainment. The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film finance, film packaging, corporate consulting, branding, licensing, endorsements and the representation of production talent. The agency operates the brand strategy firm UTA Brand Studio as well as New York and Los Angeles-based United Entertainment Group, a joint venture firm focusing on branded entertainment for Fortune 500 companies. UTA also owns leading broadcast and news agency N.S. Bienstock.
– There is really nothing new to report in terms of Sting’s contractual status with WWE, past the point that it’s been considered a formality for weeks that he will be signing. At last check, it had yet to be confirmed as to whether or not he officially signed a contract with the company. As previously reported, WWE will be releasing a Sting DVD in the fall, and he was also all over the recent Ultimate Warrior documentary that aired on the WWE Network last week.
– Apparently many top executives in WWE were said to be very upset at Mick Foley for the blogs and tweets he wrote criticizing the company after the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view for the way they were handling Daniel Bryan’s push.
– As previously reported, WWE Diva AJ Lee asked — and was given — time off from WWE. As of right now, there is no definite timetable for her return.
As previously reported, AJ Lee asked WWE for time off. As a result, the plans for the WWE Divas Championship match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which originally featured Paige vs. AJ Lee, now appear to be Paige defending against Tamina Snuka.
Another match scheduled for the show is Big E. defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against the winner of the ongoing contender tournament. The original plan was for Cesaro to win the tournament, and that may still be the case.
Other matches scheduled for the show include Evolution vs. The Shield, which was talked about as the official main event going into WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan vs. the masked Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match and Alexander Rusev in a squash match.
WWE Extreme Rules takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
– WWE Divas Champion Paige received some praise for her conduct on Bourbon Street during WrestleMania XXX weekend in New Orleans. While several NXT stars were out partying hard, Paige was seen keeping her distance and knew how to handle herself. Paige, who turned 21 last August, is one of the youngest performers on the WWE roster and was kept off the main roster until recently in part due to her age.
– As seen in this week’s RAW script that leaked online (view here), former Divas champion AJ Lee has been moved to the “Injured – TBD” section of the roster, internally. According to Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline.com, AJ has requestded time off from WWE.
