WWE has once again changed the scheduled lineup for their final “Holiday Week” live events at the end of December.
The new main event for the WWE live event on December 28th in Newark, New Jersey is John Cena and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio in a tag-team match.
Originally, WWE was advertising Cena vs. Del Rio as a singles match, and later Cena vs. Randy Orton as a singles match, but the latest advertisements are promoting the aforementioned tag-team match.
The new tag-team main event is an addition to a card that will also feature Big Show vs. Kane in a steel cage, with WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T serving as the special guest referee.
As we’ve been reporting, CM Punk has been working through several injuries in recent weeks, with Punk himself tweeting this week about his busted ribs.
For those wondering (nobody), yes, it's extremely painful and difficult (humbling as well) to dead lift with busted ribs. #whocares?
A source backstage at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Tulsa, Oklahoma says that Punk appeared to be sick and very banged up. He wrestled United States champion Dean Ambrose at the show (in a non-title match).
There was concern that Punk suffered a concussion and there was talk going around that he hurt his back on the November 25th episode of WWE RAW.
There continues to be talk behind the scenes that both CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio are still planning to retire “sooner than later.”
– As recently announced, Raw and SmackDown tapings are slated to take place at The O2 Arena in London, England next May. Advertising for the event in an area publication, however, features two errors, as John Cena is being promoted as Ryback while CM Punk is labeled as Alberto Del Rio.
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans who is the most talented “Total Diva.” With over 2,000 votes cast thus far, Natalya is winning the poll at 41%. She is currently trailed by Brie Bella (17%), Nikki Bella (16%), Naomi (9%), JoJo (7%), Eva Marie (6%) and Cameron (4%).
– Former WWE Diva Trinity turns 42-years-old on Sunday. Now a stuntwoman and roller derby player, she came out of retirement for one night only in the spring for TNA Wrestling.
– WWE RAW is scheduled to return to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on February 10th. Before that show, WWE will be running events in Oakland, California on February 7th and San Jose, California on February 8th.
– WWE Superstars Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio are being advertised to work at the December 30th WWE live event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the live RAW on the same night (December 30th) in Richmond, Virginia. WWE Superstar John Cena is also being advertised for the WWE live event in Toronto on December 30th, so if those advertisements are true, he will not be appearing on RAW that night in Richmond.
Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.
Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts
The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”. Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.
I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.
Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.
CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield. I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.
Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!
The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio
I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.
The Kosher Butcher!
The Kosher Butcher Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this. Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.
Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:
– Sunday’s episode of WWE Total Divas on E! drew an average of 1,411,000 viewers, up from the previous week.
– Alberto Del Rio recently did an interview with DigitalSpy.com to promote Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Unifying The WWE & World Heavyweight Titles: “Of course that can happen, but I don’t think it’s something that we need right now. I think it’s okay if we’ve got the WWE Title with one person and the World Heavyweight title with another one. That way you have two different storylines and you’re talking about two major titles to be defended and be present in every single pay-per-view.”
WrestleMania XXX: “To be honest, no. It’s the same for everybody else, we don’t know what we’re going to be doing. I know I’m gonna be there, that’s for sure. I’m going to be in one of the main matches. I don’t know if it’s going to be for
Day seven of the WWE European tour continues on Tuesday with half of the WWE roster remaining in Manchester, England for the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping, while the rest of the roster travels to Newcastle, England for a non-televised live event.
Announced already for the SmackDown television taping is an arm-wrestling contest between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and former champion Alberto Del Rio. The two will continue to hype their upcoming title rematch at the WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, November 24th.
Confirmed for the WWE Main Event portion of the television taping is a WWE Divas Championship match between current title-holder AJ Lee and Natalya.
Also official for the SmackDown television taping is an appearance of WWE Superstar CM Punk.
Unless WWE continues their recent trend of false-advertising, you can count the following Superstars out of SmackDown and Main Event on Tuesday: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and The Shield. Orton vs. Bryan is advertised as the main event for the WWE Championship at the live event in Newcastle, as well as a six-man tag-team match featuring Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz vs. The Shield.
Make sure to check back here at the website on Tuesday afternoon for live play-by-play spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping.
On Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW from Manchester, England, a main event segment was revealed for this week’s SmackDown.
The current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and former champion Alberto Del Rio, will be the participants in an arm-wrestling contest.
Also announced for this week’s SmackDown on Monday’s RAW was an appearance by WWE Superstar CM Punk.
WWE SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, England. Make sure to check back here at the website for live spoiler coverage of SmackDown.
-Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley makes his mixed-martial-arts (MMA) fighting return this Friday, November 8th against Tony Melton at the Xtreme Fight Night (XFN) event at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For tickets, visit HardRockCasinoTulsa.com.
-WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio recently received permission from WWE to wrestle on one of his father Dos Caras’ retirement shows in Mexico in February of 2014. Del Rio tweeted the following:
La despedida oficial de mi padre Dos Caras sera organizada por mi para el proximo año y yo estare presente luchando a su lado febrero 2014
The above tweets says the following in English, according to Google Translation: The official farewell my father Dos Caras will be organized for me for next year and I will be fighting beside this February 2014.
-It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina that John Cena will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Alberto Del Rio at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 24th. The match had been expected for a while, but was not official until the announcement at SmackDown.
-As previously reported, Triple H announced that the new “corporate Kane” has been named the “Director Of Operations” for WWE. The announcement came as part of the latest sit-down interview that “The Game” did with Michael Cole for the official WWE website. You can check out the complete video interview online at WWE.com.
– The Miz addressed portraying a babyface while promoting yesterday’s Raw in Greenville, South Carolina.
“I was hated, now I’m kinda liked,” The Miz said on Carolina Now, a talk show airing on the area’s CW station. “It’s a weird situation for me, because I’m used to going out there and having thousands of people boo me. But now having them cheer me, it’s kind of a whole new thing. I enjoy the positivity.”
– Alberto Del Rio is doing the media rounds in Charlotte, North Carolina this morning promoting tonight’s SmackDown tapings. He tweeted the following on Tuesday morning, teasing that he’ll be getting a rematch for the World Heavyweight title tonight:
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena also tweeted the following on Tuesday morning, hyping tonight’s SmackDown tapings from Charlotte, North Carolina:
WWE will tape their weekly Main Event and SmackDown television programs tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina, before heading out for their bi-annual European tour on Wednesday.
The main event for this week’s SmackDown, as announced on WWE RAW on Monday night, is Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper.
Also announced on Monday’s RAW was a match pitting the current Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel against Big E. Langston, in a match that was originally slated to serve as the Kickoff Show match prior to the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in late-October.
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena was advertised on RAW as appearing on this week’s SmackDown for the second time in a row, as he will continue the build to his rematch against the former champion, Alberto Del Rio, at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
In addition to the aforementioned WWE Superstars, the following names are being advertised locally for the SmackDown and Main Event television taping in Charlotte are Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, Big Show, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett.
The post-show dark match scheduled for the taping tonight is John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. That match, which also served as the dark match main event at RAW in Greenville, South Carolina on Monday night, is subject to change.
Make sure to check back here later tonight for complete WWE Main Event and WWE SmackDown spoiler results.
Following the conclusion of the televised portion of Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Greenville, South Carolina, trainers and medical staff came out to check on the condition of Big Show, who was triple-powerbombed through the RAW announce table by The Shield.
Meanwhile, WWE COO Triple H, “one of the principal owners of WWE” Stephanie McMahon, WWE Champion Randy Orton, the new corporate Kane and all three members of The Shield faction celebrated and posed together at the top of the ramp.
World Heavyweight Championship: -John Cena (c) defeated Alberto Del Rio
-After the Big Show chaos died down, former World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio came out. Del Rio got on the microphone and demanded a title shot rematch against current champion John Cena. This led to Cena coming out. Cena did a mock-introduction for Del Rio before defeating him in the actual match. Cena picked up the win via pinfall after hitting Del Rio with his Attitude Adjustment finishing move.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: John Cena
And that was it from Greenville, South Carolina for this week’s RAW. Next up are the WWE Main Event and WWE SmackDown television tapings, which will be held on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
– When John Cena faces Alberto Del Rio tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship, Cena will sport a protective compression sleeve (with pad insert) on his surgically repaired arm, according to the Miami Herald. This is similar to what former NBA player Allen Iverson wore and what Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade wears. That will minimize any swelling and help decrease impact on the arm.
– Booker T will not be hand on for tonight’s WWE Hell in the Cell pay-per-view event in Mimai, Florida. Rather, that WWE Hall of Famer and talent from his Reality of Wrestling promotion will be watching tonight’s pay-per-view broadcast with fans in Houston, Texas, at Diablo Loco on Richmond Avenue.
– As seen on SmackDown, CM Punk and Ryback got a tune-up match against a CM Punk imposter in preparation for their encounter with Paul Heyman tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell. Highlights from the bout are feature on the “WWE SmackDown Slam of the Week.”
– Speaking to Rodolfo Roman, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio revealed that his dream WrestleMania match would be against The Undertaker. The Mexican grappler also promised a victory over John Cena tonight at Hell in a Cell. Here Del Rio discuss this, and mixed martial arts below:
– As reported on Thursday, TNT is continuing its relationship with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, as the cable network has ordered Wake Up Call to series. The former WWE Champion addressed the series in a message on Twitter on Saturday.
“Excited to partner w/ TNT again to create cool positive programming. #WakeUpCall #InspirationAndAssKickins,” he wrote.
The synopsis for the series is as follows: Wake Up Call will feature Johnson lending a helping hand to everyday people who are facing enormous challenges in their lives, whether they be dead-beat dads, sports teams that don’t gel, or business owners struggling to survive. Johnson will bring his own brand of motivation to each group of people, from 4 a.m. wake-up calls, to emotional reunions and goal setting.
– “The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan turned 64-years-old on Saturday.
– CM Punk was originally scheduled to compete at last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Birmingham, Alabama, but ultimately did not because company officials didn’t want him to any more beat up going tonight’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event encounter against Ryback. Nonetheless, Punk’s injuries are expected to affect the booking of the match. The bout is not scheduled to be the end of his feud with Paul Heyman.
– Chris Jericho revealed late last night on Twitter that he plans to release his third autobiography, which will on his second tenure with WWE, next September, and a Fozzy album in June. In response to when he will return to WWE, Jericho responded, “Most asked question & the answer is “I don’t know” That’s the best I can say so STOP ASKING ;).”
– World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio battles the returning John Cena in a title clash tonight at Hell in a Cell. Courtesy of the official YouTube account of WWE,
The following are highlights from a recent Miami Herald interview with WWE Superstar John Cena:
On returning from his injury and surgery: “”This one has just been about me getting back healthy, because I haven’t had a match in eight weeks, I really just want to be as strong and as ready to go as possible. When you’re in the element everyday and you can really be around your competition, that’s when you can come up with breaking it down a little more with your opponent. This will essentially be like the first game of the season for me. It just so happens to be with all the importance of the last game of a season. I’m really excited to be back, and I really think this Sunday is going to be special, and hopefully, I can shake that Miami jinx.”
On working with Alberto Del Rio in his return match: “Anyone who can be a champion at our level deserves respect. I tend not to be the guy who runs everybody down because I’ve had my share of wins and my share of loses…You can’t ignore the fact he’s the World heavyweight champion.”
On his personal real-life relationship airing on Total Divas: “That was difficult, but I’m glad I made the decision to do that, and a lot of that had to do with Nicole’s influence, obviously. I really wanted the show to be a success. I truly love Nicole, and I believe in her. It was a conscience decision for me to do it. I think our viewers will enjoy the second half of the first season that’s coming back in mid-November on the E! network. As the show grows, it gets better and more interesting to watch, and I think fans will enjoy it this time around.”
On doing movies: “Movies are a different animal. I love the live entertainment business. I love the live sports entertainment television business. I love live television period, just because it’s so honest, especially live television with an audience, because if that audience wants to say or do something, you can’t hide it from the viewers. Movies are a little bit different. It takes a lot more patience to be in a movie, to make a movie, to be active in a movie scene. I have patience, but I don’t know if I have enough.”
Check out the complete interview online at MiamiHerald.com.
-In addition to being planned as the top two matches at Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, both Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan and John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio are being advertised locally for next Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown television taping, likely as post-show dark matches.
-On Wednesday’s edition of the Howard Stern Radio Show, frequent caller and member of the “Wack Pack,” Eric The Midget, informed Stern that TNA Impact Wrestling star Magnus was interested in dating Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers. They showed Quivers a photo of Magnus and she apparently seemed interested.
-The official WWE website recently ran an article on Rey Mysterio’s return. The website covered Mysterio’s appearance at the WWE live event in Tupelo, Mississippi on Sunday night, where he helped R-Truth during a post-match attack from World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio. The article did not, however, cover the fact that Mysterio worked an actual match at the WWE live event in Mexico during the week.
The article also contains a video of Mysterio’s return on Sunday night. You can check it all out online at WWE.com.
-Advertisements for the return of the WWE reality show, Total Divas, have begun. There have been a number of billboards in major cities put up recently, advertising the series return on the E! cable channel on November 17th.
-According to various reports, WWE Superstar Ryback is scheduled to have a program with the new babyface Big E. Langston following his current feud with CM Punk.
-During Sunday’s WWE live event in Tupelo, Mississippi, Rey Mysterio made an unannounced appearance. Mysterio made the save for R-Truth, who was getting beat up by Alberto Del Rio following his loss to the World Heavyweight Champion on the show. Mysterio and Truth both beat up Damien Sandow, who teased cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase during all of the chaos.
Fans interested can check out a complete report from the WWE live event in Tupelo on the main page.
– WWE issued a statement today in response to a report on Saturday by PWInsider.com indicating that the WWE Network could launch as early as February 24, 2014 (according to a source in the organization).
“As discussed on WWE’s last earnings call, we continue to aggressively pursue the launch of a WWE Network in 2014 via traditional and non-traditional distribution models; however no launch date has been confirmed,” a spokesman stated to the website.
– World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio’s brutal Cross Armbreaker is featured in the latest 30 Second Fury! video.
While we don’t have a lot of details at this point, WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio worked a full match at the WWE live event in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday night.
Mysterio teamed with Sin Cara to defeat Alberto Del Rio and Wade Barrett. It was Mysterio’s first official match back with WWE since March of this year.
We should have a full report from Thursday’s WWE live event in Guadalajara, Mexico later today.
The word in WWE is that John Cena will not be appearing live in person on any WWE televised programming until the October 28th edition of WWE RAW. Cena will make his live return with the company at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view on Sunday, October 27th, and return to WWE television the next Monday night.
As far as Cena’s role when he returns, many have questioned if he will be on RAW or SmackDown, since he is challenging for Alberto Del Rio’s World Heavyweight Championship in his return match, and the World Heavyweight Championship is seen more as a SmackDown-brand title, whereas the WWE Championship is seen more as a RAW-brand title. The plan, as of right now, is for Cena to appear on both RAW and SmackDown following the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, leading up to the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November. Following the Survivor Series event, Cena is scheduled to go on the road for WWE live events, but only appear on television on RAW on Monday night’s.
– WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel has published a new article on WWE.com looking at “10 Overlooked Managers You Need to Know” – including The Jackl, Paul Jones, Skandor Akbar, Coach, Frenchy Martin and more.
– When asked about his thoughts on World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio on Twitter, Jim Ross said, “Good man. Tough guy. Love to see him be more aggressive. ”
– In the latest “Outside the Ring” WWE Youtube show, CM Punk plays wiffle ball in Chicago:
“Join CM Punk in Chicago as he attempts to hit a homer with a chair at “Woody’s Wiffle Ball Classic” and meets some of the members of the WWE Universe at Wizard World.”
