On Monday night, WWE got some major good news in the concussion lawsuits spearheaded by lawyer Konstantine Kyros. Judge Vanessa L. Bryant of United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (New Haven) ruled that the more recent “concussion lawsuit,” Laurinaitis v. WWE (the one with 50+ wrestlers on board and Road Warrior Animal as lead plaintiff) must be consolidated with the existing ones. While technically, the only two plaintiffs left in the existing suit are Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton, the case is officially known as “McCullough v. WWE” from when it was consolidated with Russ McCullough’s since-dismissed case.
WWE is also looking to get the Marcus “Buff” Bagwell and Scott “Raven” Levy WWE Network royalties lawsuit consolidated with the others, as “Laurinaitis” addresses royalties and the legality of WWE contracts on top of the issues with head injuries. WWE had another victory last week, when an appellate court ruled that the plaintiffs’ appeals of some of the dismissed cases can’t proceed until Judge Bryant rules on various related issues in the consolidated cases.
Sasha Banks won the WWE Women’s Championship from Charlotte on this week’s RAW, and one WWE Hall of Famer feels she is already being “shoved down the fans throats.”
Road Warrior Animal took to Facebook this week to question how much WWE paid Muscle and Fitness to get the Women’s Champion on the cover. Animal seems to feel WWE is pushing Bank and other talent before they “get over [by] themselves.”
Here’s what Animal had to say:
How much does WWE pay Muscle and Fitness to put there own on the cover. Common Sasha Banks another attempt to shove someone down people’s throats. Let them get over themselves how bout that.
Get real.
The Road Warriors member last appeared for WWE on the July 23, 2012 RAW to celebrate the 1000th episode of the show and help other Legends take out Heath Slater. He appeared earlier that week on SmackDown to squash Slater. Animal is currently involved in a lawsuit against WWE relating to concussions and CTE.
Posted July 29th, 2016 in WWE, News. Tagged: Animal.
When it comes to Batista’s latest run, one could argue that management hit him with a bait and switch. He was promised that he would win the Royal Rumble and go on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Instead, he was practically booed out of the building after winning the Royal Rumble and ended up tapping out to the Yes Lock at WrestleMania to allow Daniel Bryan to win the championship.
As most probably know by now, Batista “quit” on this past week’s Raw, as he will be taking a few months off to promote his new movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon return after a several year hiatus, Batista represented what many feel is wrong with the current state of the WWE.
Batista did not win a title after returning, but he was involved in a memorable feud between Evolution and the Shield.
Instead of relying on the guys that work day in and day out to headline the biggest pay-per-views of the year, the WWE has instead relied upon part-time superstars such as the Rock and Brock Lesnar to headline their biggest events. The reliance on part-time superstars is one of the reasons a certain someone (*cough* CM Punk *cough*) decided to pack his bags and head home.
However, despite all of the criticism Batista has received since returning, one has to wonder if he earned the respect of fans. In my opinion, I think it is fair to say that he did just that.
In the end, Batista was promised the world but was basically handed a half-empty bag of peanuts. Following the Royal Rumble, which featured an extremely hostile Pittsburgh crowd, it became apparent that Batista’s wishes would not be granted. The company was quickly forced to turn him heel, which messed with the dynamics of the WrestleMania main event, which featured a heel champion in the form of Randy Orton.
The Shield member Roman Reigns spoke to The Washington Post this week to promote WrestleMania XXX. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Significance Of Performing At WrestleMania: “I’s Mania first. We want to get there the right way, and we want to just tear the house down. We wanna burn it down, put cracks in the wall, just demolish that place and have an awesome match.”
“As far as the next day? There’s going to be some gaps. There are going to be a bunch of big names that are gonna compete [at Wrestlemania] and then not be there on Monday. That’s when guys like myself, the rest of the Shield, Cesaro, the Usos .?.?. there’s a bunch of guys who want this and are willing to work every single day. If I’m a fan of the WWE, I would feel safe to know that your entertainment is in the right hands.”
How Crowd Reactions Affect His Matches:
“I try to live in the moment. When you’re in a singles match, you’re in there, and the guy’s on top of you, and you’re in a hold and you’re being smothered: You’re in the fight at all times. But when we’re doing these team fights, you have a little time to take in the moment and just absorb the energy of the crowd.”
“Especially with the crowds nowadays. They’re very opinionated; you can almost sense that the crowd has taken a leadership role within their own product. This is what they take joy in and take pride in. And if they’re not into something, they’re going to let you know. If they’re into something, same thing: They’re going to let you know.”
If He Sees Himself As A Potential Main Event Singles Star:
“I’ve always pictured myself being in the main event. It’s always been my expectation to be the top guy, the face of the company, the one with all of that responsibility. But that should be everybody’s goal. I didn’t get into this to just be in the middle of the pack. If you want to do that, go work in a different line of work. This isn’t the place to camouflage yourself. I’m trying to be the most exotic animal on this safari.”
Why He Does Not Use A Samoan Ring Name:
“It was a process. Of course, immediately the thought was: ‘He’s Samoan, so let’s run with that.’ But then I think they saw my personality, being more of a cultured guy, going to college, playing ball, things like that, just the kind of guy I am, you know, just be me — don’t try and focus on a nationality or an ethnicity or anything like that. Just be myself.”
The Raw after the Royal Rumble saw action, matches set up for The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View and more. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Royal Rumble: Everyone who watched The Royal Rumble, or heard about it, know that the crowd was completely upset that the 10 or so unadvertised spots did not go to Daniel Bryan. Loud Boos directed at Rey Misteryo who was number 30, and Batista (who I will from now on refer to as #Bootista) who won the 2014 Royal Rumble were heard loud and clear. I know this because, I was there. Yes I few out to the 2014 Royal Rumble in frigid Pittsburgh, PA to watch that Pay-Per-View live, and yes Daniel Bryan wasn’t scheduled to be in the Rumble, but not only did everyone want him in the thing, they wanted him to win. Congrats to the live crowd for making their voices heard. Hopefully this will induce change, because I dare the WWE to put on Batista vs Orton in the main event at WrestleMania XXX and not get booed out of the building.
Triple H and Daniel Bryan Face to Face. YES!
The Authority, Daniel Bryan With the largest story out of the Royal Rumble being Daniel Bryan not being in the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw kicked off right away with The Authority, and Daniel Bryan. Daniel talking about the #YesMovement and how he wanted to be in the Royal Rumble but The Authority wouldn’t let him. Daniel Bryan then gets in Triple H’s face and demands to be in the Elimination Chamber Match. Triple H then brings out the shield to beat down Daniel Bryan. Sheamus and John Cena make the save. I would have liked Raw to start with Daniel Bryan calling out The Authority, also I would have liked Daniel Bryan to beat the crap out of Triple H, the second The Sheild’s music hit. But for what it was, it was okay, and at least the segment didn’t end with Daniel Bryan being killed.It doesn’t happen often, but did you see Seth Rollins slip on his entrance?YES!
Bad News Barrett Segment You know it’s funny, I was in Pittsburgh with 13 other insane wrestling fans, some who like me flew in for The Rumble, and one my friends does a great Wade Barrett impression, and he was hilarious. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” I heard that BNB used to be a fixture of the JBL & Cole show, and he was hilarious. I’ve come to the realization, that there are three main reasons I HATE Bad News Barrett on WWE Raw. NO!
What happened to this man? NO!
Three Reasons I hate Bad News Barrett
1. Yelling I know he’s in the arena, but I don’t think he needs to yell as much, I think it’s annoying. If he did it more soft spoken, even if it was backstage being shown to the crowd, it would come across better.
2. Podium & Gavel The podium and gavel is just plain silly and stupid. Is he a judge? Is he a preacher?
3. The Material So generic dising a local city, and their sports team. Wade Barrett can cut a great promo, we’ve seen it years ago in The Nexus and The Coree, why is he wasting time with cheap heat? Dumb!
#BOOtista, Orton and Brock Lesnar, on Raw. NO!
In-Ring Segment: Randy Orton, #BOOtista, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman I said it already once, but I dare WWE to put Randy Orton vs #BOOtista in the Main Event at WrestleMania XXX. Daniel Bryan chants ring though the arena, even though Daniel Bryan is not supposed to be involved with this segment. Brock Lesnar and Heyman come out to challenge Batista or Randy Orton, tonight on raw. But if you think you’re going to get a free Brock Lesnar match on TV, you must also believe the tooth fairy, was the one who gave you the five bucks under your pillow. NO!
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz The battle of Cleveland as these two are locals, I couldn’t help wondering how WWE was going to screw both of them, being WWE loves to beat guys in their own hometown (See: Jim Ross). Dolph wins it, and maybe his punishment is over? Probably not. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Titles
Brock destroys the Rhodes Brothers. YES!
New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
Some trash talking from The Road Dogg before this matche gets underway. I’m okay with NAO as the WWE Tag Team Champions. I’m assuming they will defend them at WrestleMania and lose it to a good team like The Usos. Brock Lesnar comes out destroys the Rhode’s brothers, which I was also okay with. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
Batista Returned to WWE and it’s the go home show before the Royal Rumble, but was it enough for us to say YES! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Animal Is back, with the world’s tightest pants! NO!
The Authority, Randy Orton & Batista I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this segment. Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is just boring me. Orton is way more whinyer these days as well. This isn’t the cold-hearted viper, we all know and love. This is an annoying whimpy sometimes self-doubting viper. Batista comes out wearing a pair of ridiculous tight Jeans. That outfit is what I would expect someone to put on him as a joke in the WWE 2k14 video game, with a diva’s dancing entrance. He’s back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans to become the WWE Champion. Part of me want’s to say YES! because Batista is awesome, maybe I’m being to hard on the guy? But if I’m rating the segment by itself I have to go with NO!
Goldust, Cody Rhodes & Big E. Langston vs. The Shield WWE has won me over on tag team wrestling, plain and simple. I enjoy it, I love wathcing Cody and Golddust out there. I think it’s rediciolous that these two are defending their championship on the Royal Rumble pre-show. They deserve mid-card of the Pay-Per-View. Some would arugue, that if you put a solid match on the pre-show that will get people on the fence to buy the PPV. I get it, but still I think this is an attraction worthy of the actual event. Especially because I feel The New Age Outlaws could very well win the titles.YES!
Daniel Bryan is back YES!
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Great to see Daniel Bryan on Raw, especially since SEScoops.com broke the news a day after last week’s Raw that he had suffered a concussion last week. As a precaution he was pulled of the weekends live events and underwent impact testing to make sure he was good for this Sunday. He’s facing Bray Wyatt in a 1 on 1 match. Currently he is not scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble. If he doesn’t show up in the Rumble and win it, I will be pretty disappointed, this is his year to win it. Do the right thing WWE, you have a major star on your hands. YES!
Xavier Woods vs. Fandango Fast forwarded this match. I think Fandango won. I have no idea why. Meaningless. NO!
CM Punk vs Billy Gun I didn’t catch Smackdown! on Friday, but I enjoyed The Road Doggs explinatinon here on commentary. The New Age Outlaws aren’t heel’s per se, more like tweeners. I would expect them to win the Tag Team titles to further along a breakup with Golddust and Cody Rhodes. Billy Gun looked a bit blown up in the match with CM Punk, but good match. YES!
Batista gets his revenge on Alberto Del Ro before the Rumble. Now What? – NO!
Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio Another fast forward delight, back in the day before DVR’s and dare I say VCR’s We would change the channel watching this thing live. Truth be told, I fell asleep during this very match live on Monday, and caught up Tuesday. Batista comes out and attacks Alberto Del Rio. Now I thought I was going to have to pay to see Batista get physical with Del Rio? Why give it away on Raw? I can only guess that Alberto Del Rio will cause Batista to be eliminated at the Rumble. We saw Batista destroy him, so something else needs to happen. Perhaps Ricardo Rodriguez comes back and they both get Batista out? Who knows. All I know is I give the match and aftermath a NO!
Brock Lesnar should be Fearless – NO!
Big Show, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be afraid of anyone at any time, period! I did like the Big Show this week, more serious, more business, calling out Brock Lesnar. I thought it was silly watching Brock backup from the ring, not wanting to get in there with Big Show. Getting thrown out and then throwing a temper tantrum. Brock is going to win this match at the Royal Rumble, a match I am looking forward to. But this segment was silly. I liked Big Show’s impression of Paul Heyman though. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
With two weeks before the Royal Rumble, Noah Mark is back with his analysis of the second raw of 2014. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Kick Off Raw vs The USO’S – YES!
The Usos vs. Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan (Part 1) Raw starts off with the match advertised last week of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. The USO’s were in the ring at the start of Raw ready for the match. The lights blacked out for the Wyatts entrance, and came back on 30 seconds later to reveal Daniel Bryan and The Wyatts already in the ring. I liked the quick entrance. The match was good with Daniel Bryan in a more aggressive style. Luke Harper and Derek Rowan, interfered just before The USO’s were about to get airborne on Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. This prompted another DQ on the Wyatts in their second week in a row with Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan drops to his knees to receive a Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt. As I said for the last two weeks, I’m okay with this story in it’s context, provided it doesn’t go 16 weeks to WrestleMania. YES!
Damien Sandow holding his own against John Cena – YES!
Damien Sandow vs. John Cena I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Raw in Orlando, FL the night after The Hell-In-A-Cell Pay-Per-View. It was on that night that Damien Sandow cashed in his Money-In-The-Bank briefcase on John Cena. Although he didn’t win the match then, it was a great competitive match with Cena, and this episode of Raw was no different. There is a great chemistry between Sandow and Cena, and proof that Sandow should have a much more elevated status in WWE. All the things about Damien Sandow I enjoy are stripped away, no more robe, no more witty promos, he’s seemingly just an angry body. Where’s the man that would sign autographs with a quill pen? Why do we get “Sandow-Gimmick-Light”? I question this especially, because when he is called upon he delivers. Match was great. Don’t throw away Sandow after this. YES!
Kane & Brad Maddox, No Triple H or Stephanie. Kane and Brad get into it backstage, and Mr Maddox comes up with a Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Uso’s rematch in a steel cage for the main event. With Kane adding that he will personally chain the cage door shut. I thought this would spell disaster for Daniel Bryan, with some ulterior motive for his former Co-Tag Team Champion.
I did like the fact that Triple H and Stephanie were not on the show this week. Although they seem to back Orton, promoting him as the face Of WWE, they haven’t been targeting John Cena, like they did Bryan, with beat-downs and impossible handi-cap matches. YES!
Left – Intense Big Show to confront Brock Lesnar 1/6 YES! Right – Jolly Big Show eventually Beating Up Zed NO!
On an unrelated note, is Kane injured? Kane is one of the longest tenured Superstars on the roster, I know he has been working several holiday house show matches, however I don’t recall him having a TV match since that aforementioned Orlando Raw I was at where, on that show he shed his mask, this was after returning from filming a See No Evil sequel. It looked like he had a noticeable limp coming down the aisle way.
Big Show vs. Jack Swagger I don’t like smiling big show. I liked hoodie and skull cap wearing, intense Big Show from last week. I want all business Big Show. I want a focused Big Show that is going to seriously take on Brock Lesnar. Big show almost has John Cena-itus. Big Show should learn from his mistakes. Smiling Big Show ended 3-4 Raws this fall, then lost the Big One. Big show can smile his way to another loss at the Royal Rumble. I like Zeb Colter, but for some reason I DON’T want to see him hurt. I like Paul Heyman, but I DO want to see him get hurt. NO!
Moments before The New Age Outlaws, pull back their hands and walk out on CM Punk – NO!
CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield I’m hoping after The Royal Rumble, CM Punk will move away from The Shield. I love Roman Reigns but If the Shield were to break up, I don’t think he should be put against CM Punk one on one, yet. I like the idea of him building up his singles resume, perhaps with a Big E, Dolph Ziggler, a returning Jericho, maybe even Daniel Bryan, before we see CM Punk vs Roman Reigns in a big time match. I love the New Age Outlaws, and I don’t want to boo them. I haven’t checked out the Smackdown Spoilers (They are scheduled to take on Cody Rhodes and Golddust) so I’m curious to see if they are “bad guys” now. They both appear to be in great shape, and would love to see them, hang around till WrestleMania, but not at heels. Besides, book him however you wish, but at WrestleMania XXX they will no doubt be faces one way or another. NO!
Meaningless win for AJ. Waste of talent – NO!
The Funkadactyls vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka Throw-a-way match, AJ being underutilized. AJ hasn’t had many title defenses, the belt isn’t as special, not because of the person, because of the booking. She taps out and pins people left and right, then a silly beat down afterwords. If you’re going to give her a clean win, why bother, having the faces beat her down after the fact, they lost. This is why there is a huge drop off in star power in WWE, because you have someone like an AJ Lee who can cut a dynamite promo, you can cultivate that, make people want to see her, and let her flourish! Instead of losing her in the shuffle of 20 Total Diva® tag matches. NO!
WWE Hall Of Fame 2014 Inductee The Ultimate Warrior will Headline The 2014 Hall Of Fame. Ironic I watched a DVD about how he was horrible person to work with, held up Vince McMahon for money at SummerSlam 1991, and “self destructed” But as the saying goes Money Talks, and there is a lot of people who remember the guy you see below and could care less about what was hapening behind the curtain. So for that (and because our Webmaster is a huge fan of the man from Parts Unknown) we say YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
Noah Mark is back with his analysis of Old School Raw! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Orton playing the generic Bad Guy, he’s much better than this. NO!
Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & John Cena PromoOld School Raw kicked off with the 16 time “Nature Boy” Ric Flair out first. He was quickly interrupted by former Evolution partner. Randy Orton. Randy Orton said he respected Ric Flair, but he needed the time more to address the one on one rematch putting himself vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at The Royal Rumble. Ric chimes in saying he’s not as good as he thinks. Orton threatens Flair, Cena ends up making the save.
For me this segment fell flat, and seemed forced. Orton was seemingly going through the motions, with “I respect you, but….” going into generic heel mode. This is not The Viper I know and enjoy. I feel some people don’t give Randy Orton the credit he deserves for his promo and character skills, he makes great facial expressions, and conveys a cold-hearted disposition. Well normally he does, this promo didn’t do Orton any favors. Clearly Ric Flair is getting order, or he had a few in the back, because he sounded marble mouth in this segment. Cena didn’t offer anything to this segment either. One month ago Cena may have delivered the best promo of his life in Seattle. Here, I felt the whole thing was boring. NO!
NO!
Jerry Lawler Health Update: Earlier in the day we reportedBreaking News Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized. Of course with Jerry’s Heart Attack last year during Raw, your first thought would be another heart issue. Thankfully it seemed to be a stomach virus or food poisoning. however that didn’t stop the WWE from sensationalizing by directing viewers to turn to the WWE App to get an update on Jerry Lawler. NO!
Daniel Bryan…er Wyatt. So far okay. YES!
Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos & Rey Mysterio Our first chance to see Daniel Bryan on TV as a Wyatt. First the original Wyatt trio appeared for their normal entrance, followed by the fourth Daniel “Wyatt”. Daniel Byran came out looking like he was in a Janitor or prison jump suit. A blank stare on his face, as he teamed up with Rowan and Harper to take on The Usos and Mysterio. I enjoyed this, I thought Bryan looked good with the group. They ended up losing the match due to Harper getting rolled up after a brief disagreement with Bryan as to who should come into the match when Rowan tagged both men. I would have preferred The Wyatts to win clean in this match. Their first week out and they’re arguing, I think an eventual separation from Bryan would be more effective if they were on the same page to start. But I’m still okay with this story line, provided I don’t have to wait 15 more weeks for Bryan to “Snap out of it”. YES!
Too Cool & Rikishi just 3 of the Old School Legends at Raw YES!
WWE Legends On Old School Raw:I was happy to see some of my old school favorites on Raw. Everyone had a good role on the show and for older fans this definitely was a great nostalgia feel. I will say that over the past few years we’ve seen a crop of “usual” legends. Most of which were not actually on a whole lot of episodes of WWE Raw. I would love to have seen a Raw with more attitude era and post era stars. Some of them are still affiliated and working for WWE. Perhaps WWE held a few back for a Royal Rumble appearance. There was also no “old school” diva on this show. I know Mae Young was originally scheduled to attend this show, however Mae Young experienced health issues and was unable to appear. With Brock Lesnar, in attendance this seemed like a perfect time for Sable to make an appearance in the show. YES!
Piper’s Pit – Piper’s still got it plain and simple. His interaction with The Shield, the hottest faction, group, whatever you what to call them. Piper pinching Roman Reigns cheek put goosebumps on my arm. I saw Reigns neck throbbing, great moment! People have compaired Dean Ambrose to Piper in the past, it was great to see Ambrose get to interact with a Legend. This would not be his only legend interaction on this episode of Old School Raw. I enjoyed seeing CM Punk and The New Age Outlaws come in to save piper. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW Old School and our Overall Raw Rating
Happy New Year everyone! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Alright everyone, I’ve been sitting on writing this article to give all of us enough time to digest what we saw on Monday. I didn’t want to make a knee jerk reaction to what I saw. So hopefully here is my calm observation.
Daniel Bryan Takes On Luke Harper – YES!
Daniel Bryan Joins The Wyatts: Daniel Bryan is an incredible wrestler, he’s got a likable personality, and he’s good on the mic. Shawn Michaels definitely taught him well, but Bryan has that extra ingredient needed to make a star, that unteachable “it” factor. You either have it, or you don’t. Bryan has it, and it has developed over the years to something a massive audience can get behind. We are in in a time where WWE has failed to match the caliber star power and top new talents of the decades before it. So partly due to John Cena’s injury Daniel Bryan is given the ball. The crowds love him, and are behind him. Daniel Bryan headlines Summer Slam with Cena, followed by the next 3 Pay-Per-Views with Orton. The Pay-Per-View buy rates were down from the previous year. It shouldn’t rest squarely on Bryan’s shoulders, there is an incredible short shelf on top stars, with practically all of them on John Cena’s level either retired or part time. Look at Survivor Series, headlined by Big Show vs Randy Orton, drawing one if not the lowest Survivor Series buy rates in the PPV’s history. I could argue that Daniel Bryan in the main event SAVED the prior three pay-per-views from a similar dismal buy rate.
Erick Rowan vs Daniel Bryan – YES!
Nonetheless, back down Daniel Bryan goes on the card, he becomes the scapegoat, pun intended! Bryan’s been in a feud with the Wyatts since the end of October. My anger and frustration has clouded my appreciation for the Wyatts, and this story line. So let me look at it just from the perspective of the story line alone. The Wyatts have a great persona, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan can hang with the likes of just about anyone in the ring. I feel Bray Wyatt is the weakest wrestler out of the group, but wrestling isn’t the most important talent needed for this, Bray could easily fit in a horror movie, he looks the part and is competent enough. So after two months of mostly Daniel Bryan getting the short end of the stick, on this past Monday’s Raw Bryan is given a chance to go one on one with Bray Wyatt. All Bryan must do is defeat Luke Harper and Derrek Rowen.
Daniel Bryan Joins the Wyatt Family. YES!
After the two matches Bray comes in the ring, the match starts, Erick and Luke join in on the attack. Bray tells Bryan he’s afraid this is where their story ends. He says he has no mercy left to give. He says this is his fault. Bryan says you’re right, you were right all along and joins the Wyatts. (View Full Details here) So within the story line itself. I’m okay with this, in fact I’m totally fine with this scenario, provided Daniel Bryan is out of this “spell” by The Royal Rumble. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, in this day in age, with people wanting instant gratification, binge-watching full seasons of TV shows in a sitting, I can’t wait 16 weeks for WrestleMania XXX for Daniel Bryan to come out of his spell. Doing so may inflict permanent damage on his popularity. So if Daniel Bryan is “following the buzzards” for four weeks, I’m on board. YES!
CM Punk takes on Seth Rollins on an “Off Night” – NO!
CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins: Everyone has an off night, Seth Rollins and CM Punk didn’t work. there were a few botches, CM Punk tried to cover by turning a move off the ropes into a small package, but it was sloppy. I would imagine most of the heat goes on Seth Rollins, but it takes two to tango. CM Punk on Twitter knew it was a stinker NO!
“@RMB316: @CMPunk IM sure you hear this a lot. Good match on #Raw really enjoyed it. Keep it up all the best in 2014” it was garbage.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Complete WWE RAW Results (12/23)
WWE RAW (12/23)
Here are some quick thoughts about this weeks edition of Christmas Raw. Did you watch it?
The WWE Diva’s are awesome to look at. Not so awesome to watch wrestle.
12-diva’s Jingle Bells Match: The tag team division has been completely turned around. At one point it seemed like there was barely a tag team division. AJ Lee is the best women’s wrestler on the roster, why aren’t we seeing her in great matches. I guess I know why, because of Total Diva’s. That doesn’t mean there can’t be great woman’s wrestling. NO!
John Cena, CM Punk, and Big E. Langston victorious to end Christmas Raw
CM Punk John Cena & Big E Langston vs The Shield I enjoyed the match, Cena, Punk and Big E all out there. The end seemed silly though. Why would there suddenly be a disqualification, because the two illegal Shield members saved themselves from being pinned by Big E? It doesn’t make sense, but still the match was better than the Good Santa vs Bad Santa, which I thought for sure would close the show. Therefore it gets a YES!
The USOS vs The Prime Time Players: The match was fun to watch. Good tag team action YES!|
The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all celebrate after the match. Barf
The USOS & Prime Time Players Curtain Call Before the match Darren Young mistakenly refer to Austin Texas as Houston, to get some sort of heel heat, I didn’t have a problem with this. I did have a problem with after the match, The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all doing the Millions of Dollars dance. Here’s why I have an issue with it. This is starting to become a thing, with Superstars hugging after the match, we saw it a few weeks ago with the Michael Strahan, Miz, Titus O’neil segment. We saw it with Big Show, Rey Mysterio and The Rhodes. Forget about ruthless aggression, these guys are all becoming wimps! It’s OKAY for two fan favorites to dislike each other, and not hug at the end. I’m not saying they need to attack each other after the match… but I’m hoping it’s just a lighthearted Christmas episode thing, and not a growing trend. Although with the recent article of WWEshopping their television shows to TV Network’s including Disney. We might see everyone hug at the end of matches in the future. NO!
“Bad Santa’ full of Christmas Cupcakes
Good Santa Vs Bad Santa:It is what it is I guess. Mark Henry playing the good Santa, Damien Sandow playing the bad Santa with produced backstage segments contrasting the two. The announcers played it up as you would have expected. The whole concept is silly. Bah Humbug! NO!
Live Announcing: I would say it was a good thing that Michael Cole and JBL announced the show live from Stanford CT. (They had pre-recorded cut-in’s from the arena, but voiced most of Raw Live) it gave it a fresh feel, JBL made some topical references as he eluded to on twitter. The Batista announcement which clearly wasn’t scheduled for the show originally was added in, and the live commentary allowed for reaction from JB and Cole. Did you miss Jerry “The King” Lawler? I did not. YES!
@NEIL_MALONE@WWE@GoToBermuda pre taped? Not sure u noticed, our commentary was live. The Romo reference should have given that away.
“Santa Claus is an Illegal Immigrant” – Zeb Colter
The Real Americans vs Los Matadores: Another good tag team match on Raw. We saw the Antonio Cesaro swing, which if you haven’t’ seen live is an awesome thing to watch. With all the tag teams in the WWE, I think the WrestleMania pre-show match should involve all the tag-teams that one make it to the PPV. Perhaps the winner can face the champions. YES!
RAW OVERALL: NO! Call me scrooge if you will, but the over cheesy holiday wrestling show, should go on Smackdown! I think Raw looses it’s coolness by being lame. If Disney pony’s up the cash this could be what you see on RAW every week so get used to it! There was some good action on the show which I enjoyed, no real progression of WWE story lines but the big announcement of The Animal Batista, which was awesome to see.
WWE officials have reached out to numerous former talents in recent months for tonight’s Raw celebrating 1000th episodes. The following former WWE Superstars have been confirmed as being in St. Louis, Missouri, site of tonight’s epic show:
During a recent interview with Extreme Pro Wrestling Radio, WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal discussed Sting’s status as an icon and his pick for the best singles worker of all time. Here’s what Animal said about:
Teaming with Sting: “The NWA was looking for a spot for Sting and I said make him a brother in paint and then Sting joined us (Road Warriors) in our six-man matches.”
Whether Sting Is An icon: “No! Sting is not in the same league as guys like Triple H, Stone Cold, The Rock. Sting will never be considered a legend or icon until he lets his pride go and joins WWE. He needs to bury his personal issues and just get into the WWE. Sting has to come over to the WWE to be that guy, it’s a bigger stage. Impact is one thing, the WWE is a way bigger thing.”
The Best Singles Wrestler Of All Time: “Easily, [Ric] Flair.”
— The Sydney Morning Herald has an article on Kofi Kingston, who recalls being a victim of bullying when he was a child.
“When I went to school I was definitely bullied,” Kingston told the children who are part of Underdogs, a Sydney, Australia based anti-bullying support group. “I wasn’t the biggest guy, I grew up in a town [in America] that was affluent – a lot of people had a lot – and while my family wasn’t what you’d call not well off, we didn’t have what others had.
“So, it was tough. For me, growing up was just a matter of dealing with it. You’d try to fight it but there were some days I didn’t want to go to school and come across certain people because I didn’t want the conflict.”
The article on Kingston’s anti-bullying efforts is available here.
— Jim Cornette wrote the following regarding CM Punk mentioning Ring of Honor last Monday on Raw: “@CMPunk Recognizes the best wrestling in the world when he sees it.Thanks Punk. #bitw #ROHbest #findroh.”
— Monday’s issue of The Sporting News has a story on fathers and sons who were pro athletes, and James and Joe Laurinaitis (a/k/a Road Warrior Animal) are mentioned. The WWE Hall of Famer is dressed up like his son in a St. Louis Rams uniform and James is dressed up in a Road Warriors ensemble.
It was reported last month that WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal was removed as the guest host of a slate of recent Raw live events due to WWE’s belief that he was critical of their drug testing policy in a recently published interview with Power Slam magazine.
An article was published online pertaining to his comments regarding WWE’s Wellness Policy. The multi-time tag team champion stated during a subsequent interview with Minneapolis based sports radio station KFAN Sports Radio AM 1130 that his remarks were taken out of context by the writer of the online article. He also contacted Power Slam to publish a clarification regarding his views on WWE’s drug testing policy.
“My true feelings are that it is one of the most stringent drug testing policies in all of pro sports, and there’s no way that any athlete can beat it,” Animal says in the latest issue of Power Slam. “I was in no way slamming WWE, who gave me a great induction into the Hall of Fame. I support WWE’s Wellness policy and all the other things they do for all their athletes.”
Animal participated in an interview with the magazine days before his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and was asked about how important the larger-than-life, steroid-enhanced physiques were to the image of The Road Warriors. He was also asked if the team would have been the same force had they debuted in the modern WWE era where performers are drug tested.
“Let’s be totally honest with people right now. Look at the guys that are in [WWE] now. If anybody thinks that everybody there is 100-percent clean, they’ve got be smoking something,” he replied.
“I know they get drug tested and they do catch people, and people do get suspended, but I really don’t believe that everybody gets drug tested on the same level. I know the look of a person who looks like they’ve been on or off [steroids].”
“When we took them, it was totally legal to carry them on you.”
Animal stated last week during an interview with BetweenTheRopes.com that his brother John Laurinaitis, who reigns as WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, informed him that WWE had decided to cancel his scheduled live event appearances due to his aforementioned remarks. He added that he has not spoken to WWE since.
Posted June 12th, 2011 in News, WWE. Tagged: Animal.
WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal has been removed as the advertised guest host of upcoming Raw live events in Canada due to WWE’s belief that he was critical of their drug testing policy in a recently published interview with Power Slam magazine.
An article was published two weeks ago on SEScoops.com (article available here) pertaining to his comments regarding WWE’s Wellness Policy. The multi-time tag team champion appeared Thursday on Minneapolis based sports radio station KFAN Sports Radio AM 1130 (podcast available here) and said his remarks were taken out of context in the online article, thus leading to his removal from the WWE shows he was advertised for.
Animal said, “Well, this other idiot, this other site… I’m not going to mention that site because he doesn’t deserve the time of day or breath of my air, gets on there and he… now this was a six page article now people, you gotta remember this!
“This other idiot takes one little paragraph, puts it in bold print in his own headline and the caption says, “Recent WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal slams Wellness Policy.”
“I by no means slammed the Wellness Policy.”
He adds that his published comments dismissing the Wellness Policy were “strictly off the record.” He then claims he made the following “on the record” comments during the interview.
“I made it very clear, I said, “The state of the Wellness program is very strict, you cannot beat the tests. And it’s for everybody’s own good. I said it’s a publicly traded company and that’s just the way it is.”
Contrary to his statement, no comments praising WWE’s Wellness Policy were published in the magazine article. He discussed his own personal steroid use following his dismissive remarks of the Wellness Policy.
Animal said that while he resolved the matter with WWE officials after he gave his side of the story, he will not be appearing at the live events he was originally scheduled for. He adds that Power Slam will publish a follow-up in their next issue with additional comments from him to clear up the matter.
The interview was conducted on March 23, days before his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Towards the conclusion of the interview, he was asked about how important the larger-than-life, steroid-enhanced physiques were to the image of The Road Warriors. He was also asked if the team would have been the same force had they debuted in the modern WWE era where performers are drug tested.
Animal replied, “Let’s be totally honest with people right now. Look at the guys that are in [WWE] now. If anybody thinks that everybody there is 100-percent clean, they’ve got be smoking something.
“I know they get drug tested and they do catch people, and people do get suspended, but I really don’t believe that everybody gets drug tested on the same level. I know the look of a person who looks like they’ve been on or off [steroids].”
“When we took them, it was totally legal to carry them on you.”
WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal is speaking out about WWE’s Wellness Policy – saying there’s no chance in hell that 100% of the roster is clean.
In an interview conducted by Power Slam magazine prior to his WWE Hall of Fame induction, Animal was asked about how important the larger-than-life, steroid-enhanced physiques were to the image of The Road Warriors. He was also asked if the team would have been the same force had they debuted in the modern WWE era where performers are drug tested.
“Let’s be totally honest with people right now. Look at the guys that are in [WWE] now. If anybody thinks that everybody there is 100-percent clean, they’ve got be smoking something,” he replied.
“I know they get drug tested and they do catch people, and people do get suspended, but I really don’t believe that everybody gets drug tested on the same level. I know the look of a person who looks like they’ve been on or off [steroids].”
“When we took them, it was totally legal to carry them on you.”
Diana Hart, mother of WWE Superstar David Hart Smith, made a similar claim during an interview three years ago. She questioned wondered whether the same rules were being applied to all of WWE’s performers. This was based on WWE waiting close to two months in 2007 to publicize the results of a drug test her son had failed, and taking action only after promoting him to the main roster.
The last WWE superstar to be suspended as a result of using performance-enhancing drugs was Dolph Ziggler – two and a half years ago (October 10, 2008).
— It was announced tonight on Monday Night Raw that a WWE Supplemental Draft will take place tomorrow at noon on WWE.com.
— WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal was hospitalized over the weekend with bronchitis. He has since been released.
— The June 13 Monday Night Raw taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York will be headlined by John Cena and Randy Orton vs. CM Punk and The Miz, according to advertising in the area.
— Ring of Honor is advertising Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly for their May 6 event in Dearborn, Michigan.
Road Warrior Animal on Medallion Mondays —Oh, What a Rush!
St. Charles, Illinois—September 27, 2010—Fans of internationally recognized professional wrestling superstar “Road Warrior Animal” Joe Laurinaitis will be happy to hear Laurinaitis is featured this week in the Web series Medallion Mondays.
In the tenth episode of Medallion Mondays, “Let’s Get F’d Up,” Road Warrior Animal teams with Josh “Ponceman” Perry for an over-the-top episode pumped full of the 5 Fs: fame, fortune, friendship, family, and faith. COISPORC “Ponceman” invites Animal to the office as part of his own seven-point plan. The team is revved up, but one unlucky member lives life a little too close to the edge. The comedic episode draws awareness to Joe “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis’ upcoming book release.
The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling, the memoir by Joe “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis, with Andrew William Wright, is the captivating true story of The Legion of Doom: The Road Warriors. Alongside Mike “Hawk” Hegstrand, Laurinaitis stormed onto the wrestling scene. With a monstrous style and image like no other, the Road Warriors went on to become two of the most influential and celebrated wrestlers the world has ever known. In his first book ever, Laurinaitis shares his perspective of the dangers of being in the ring, the death of his lifelong friend and partner, “Hawk,” and the rush of leaving a legacy in tag team wrestling that is unmatched to this day.
Within the book, readers will also find a foreword by “Precious” Paul Ellering as well as reflections on The Road Warriors contributed by several all-time greats in professional wrestling history, including “Nature Boy™” Ric Flair®, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Rob Van Dam, Jim “J.R.” Ross, “The Russian Nightmare” Nikita Koloff, “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, and Terry “Warlord” Szopinski.
You can watch Animal’s appearance on Medallion Mondays here:
About Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis. Best known as Road Warrior Animal, Joe is an internationally recognized professional wrestling superstar, devoted husband, and proud father. Joe, along with late partner Mike “Road Warrior Hawk” Hegstrand, also developed the 1990s sporting clothes company Zubaz, popularized by top professional bodybuilders and NFL players. A faithful Christian, he is an avid motivational speaker to youth groups across the United States. Joe currently lives with his wife, Julie, in Minnesota and can be visited at www.roadwarriorsinc.com.
About Andrew William Wright. A New Jersey-based writer, video producer, and longtime professional wrestling enthusiast, Andrew has written for several New Jersey newspapers, including the Asbury Park Press, and also produced the video series The Hardy Show (featuring Matt and Jeff Hardy) and RVD TV (with Rob Van Dam). Contact Andrew at andrew.author@gmail.com.
Medallion Mondays, a series of comedic shorts offering a glimpse of the culture of Medallion Press while spinning off on the average workday, has garnered increasing views since its release in June of 2010 and has been rated in the top hundred most-viewed comedy videos on YouTube. Medallion Mondays can be seen every Monday at http://www.youtube.com/MedallionMovies, www.MedallionPress.com, and http://www.medallionMovies.com.
Posted October 5th, 2010 in News, WWE. Tagged: Animal.
An introductory paragraph of some sort. Nothing lengthy, just an overview.