WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett recently spoke with Graham Caygill of The National to promote the WWE tour of Abu Dhabi. Below are highlights:
On WrestleMania: “I am always down for being on WrestleMania. It is kind of a tough spot to get on to as we have a lot of legends that comeback for matches and it is sometimes very difficult to get on the card. But I would love to have a match. I think my ideal WrestleMania match would be me against Sheamus in a retirement match. I would get him out of the WWE for good so we would never have to look at his stupid face again.”
On being Intercontinental Champion: “The first time I had it was in 2011. I have had it five times now and when I look back and when I was a kid my favourites were the British Bull Dog Davey Boy Smith, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, the Ultimate Warrior, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock and as you mentioned they have all had that title. So it was a huge thing for me when I first won it in 2011. I am kind of used to carrying it around now and in this era I am the guy who has had it more than anyone I think, so I am very proud to carry that title.”
On guys he would like to face in the ring: “I think Roman Reigns is someone I have been in the ring with once before and he was very good. He beat me very quickly unfortunately, but he is someone I think is going to be a big star in the future in the WWE. Bray Wyatt is another one. I know we’re both bad guys at the moment, but one day I think I’d definitely like to do some work with him.”
On the Nexus angle in 2010: “A lot of people were telling me at the time they were surprised how well I was coping with that pressure, but to me I felt more pressure trying to get to WWE and struggling as an up and coming wrestler as opposed to being the guy at the very top. I loved that run. I had a lot of fun doing it, I thought we got some great reactions and we got some great storylines and TV out of it.”
On Ryback’s cricket ability after the pair took part in a cricket day while in the UAE: “He used to play baseball so I thought he was going to have skills that might crossover but I saw him trying to catch, I saw him bowling, I saw him batting and it was like he had never used his arms before. So yeah, he was pretty terrible. He was worse than me, which is saying something.”
WWE issued the following statement regarding the passing of U.K. wrestling legend Drew McDonald.
WWE is saddened to learn that U.K. wrestling legend Drew McDonald has passed away following a battle with cancer. Born in Scotland, McDonald competed throughout the 1980s, ‘90s and ‘00s, and fought against the likes of William Regal, Finlay and Robbie Brookside.
Paige, who McDonald helped recruit into WWE, paid tribute to him on last night’s Raw, wearing the script “RIP Drew McDonald” on her forearms.
“He’s the one who got me here, so that’s only the littlest bit of what I can give back to him,” Paige told WWE.com. “I wanted people not to forget him. I wanted people to know his name.”
Below are several tweets from many of WWE’s European talent regarding McDonald’s passing:
The Road to WrestleMania took a brief detour last night, stopping at THE Ohio State University for Raw. Sting finally answered Triple H’s challenge, and the show was bookended by a pair of nearly identical matches. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was easily Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt. These guys have competed over the past two weeks, and have exhibited amazing chemistry on both occasions. There were a number of impressive spots in this one, including Wyatt delivering a brutal blow to Ziggler’s midsection and a devastating clothesline outside the ring that eventually set up Sister Abilgail for the win. Wyatt later cut another promo, presumably directed toward the Dead Man.
Triple H calling out Sting was a close second. The video package, which featured Sting’s makeup being transposed onto Triple H’s face, was both eerie and entertaining. The only downside to this was the absolutely dreadful Sting doppelganger they sent into the ring. With that said, I absolutely can’t wait to see what these guys have planned for Fastlane.
The Usos squared off with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Kidd and Cesaro put in some decent heel work by crashing the dinner party on SmackDown, and it’s certainly nice to see them getting some television time.
Rusev continues to improve on a weekly basis, in my opinion. I loved his promo, where he made claims such as, “You don’t want me. I am a hero.” His brawl with Cena was also entertaining and helped further their feud heading into Fastlane.
The opening promo was also entertaining, but nothing to really write home about. Reigns seems to be more confident on the mic each week, despite a minor flub. It was also nice to see Bryan on the mic, taking a humorous shot at Triple H for his involvement in the Katie Vick storyline.
It’s nice to see Axel getting more time on the mic. His promo was humorous, even if he was quickly dispelled after being hit with Dirty Deeds. Barrett’s new BNZ segment could also be entertaining, but I’m not totally sure how much shelf life it has.
Finally, the main event helped further the tension between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The match was nothing incredible, by any means, but there were a few memorable moments, including Dolph Ziggler getting involved at the end. Roman’s spear to Bryan was also the perfect way to end the show. It seems like the next step in Roman’s evolution will be to turn him heel and possibly pair him with Heyman following WrestleMania.
– After Stardust walked out on Goldust during a match on SmackDown last night, WWE.com is teasing if brothers will be splitting up:
“Whether Gold & Stardust’s recent troubles can be chalked up to a sibling drama, competitive tag team partners frustrated with losing or something deeper, only time will tell if a breakup is written in the stars for the talented tag team partners. Don’t miss Raw this Monday night at 8/7c to see what’s next for Gold & Stardust.”
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett tweeted the following about his new TMZ-inspired “BNZ” segment:
#BNZ. First for gossip, WWE breaking news, and Superstar scandals. Stay tuned.
– Courtesy of WrestlingDVDNews.com, Seth Rollins talks about his FCW feud with former Shield member Dean Ambrose from WWE’s upcoming “Destruction of The Shield” DVD and Blu-ray that comes out on February 17th:
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado it was announced that on this week’s WWE SmackDown show, which returns to its’ normal Friday time slot on the SyFy Network, The Miz will host a special edition of “MizTV” with his guests being Roman Reigns, and the man he will face at the Fast Lane pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan.
– On part one of this week’s three-part RAW Fallout, Curtis Axel continues to campaign for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar. You can check out the video below.
– On part two of this week’s RAW Fallout, Bad News Barrett responds to Dean Ambrose’s challenge for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. You can check that one out below.
– Finally, in the third and final installment of this week’s RAW Fallout, an embarrassed Paige warns The Bella Twins that their “war” is not over yet. Check that one out below.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado, we saw the beginning of several programs leading into the first ever WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, which emanates live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, February 22, 2015.
Below are some confirmed and rumored matches for the show:
Confirmed
– John Cena vs. Rusev
– Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (#1 Contendership Match)
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige (WWE Divas Championship)
– Triple H and Sting face-to-face confrontation
Rumored
– Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Make sure to visit us here on the website on Sunday, February 22, 2015 for the best WWE Fast Lane live results coverage on the web!
– The following is a behind-the-scenes video of the new WWE Immortals mobile video game.
– As noted earlier, Dean Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett on Monday’s RAW, telling him he has his sights set on the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Bad News Barrett responded to Ambrose on Twitter, likely starting a feud between the two for a match at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view. Barrett tweeted the following:
You don't just 'call out' a champion of my calibre. Dean Ambrose can sod off. Get to the back of the line ya dipstick. #BNB
– As seen on Monday’s WWE RAW, Dean Ambrose made it clear that he is going after Bad News Barrett and the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Ambrose is scheduled to begin a program with Barrett, which will likely culminate in an Intercontinental Championship match between the two at the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view.
– The Miz “fired” Damien Mizdow on RAW this week. He then re-hired him and made him his “personal assistant.” As noted recently, there is a good chance that Miz and Mizdow will split and end up feuding with each other heading into this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view.
– WWE Diva Emma recently took part in a Q&A on her official website. During the Q&A session, Emma noted that her favorite matches of all time were her NXT matches against fellow WWE Diva Paige. Emma also noted that her WrestleMania dream opponent would be Paige. You can check out more from Emma’s Q&A at TenilleDashwood.com.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features a Royal Rumble review from Jericho and a new interview with WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:
TIJ – EP112 – Royal Rumble analysis & WWE IC Champ Wade Barrett
“Y2J’s protege, Wade Barrett’s in the hot seat, but at least he’s not getting big-leagued like the first time they met! That story, details on their NXT pairing, and the tale of his WWE tryout all covered. You’ll also hear the evolution of Bad News Barrett, and the Patrick Swayze movie that gave Wade his name! Plus, Y2J and Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter break down last Sunday’s Royal Rumble! And yes, Chris is throwing his support behind Roman Reigns & you’re gonna have to listen to find out why!”
– Bad News Barrett and Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer are scheduled for Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast on Wednesday. On his Friday show this week, The Miz and Damien Mizdow will be the guests.
– On Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast this week, which will be available tonight at 9pm EST., is WCW announcer Mark Madden.
– Below is the official synopsis for the new WWE “Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for an April 14th release.
“Follow WWE Hall of Famer, The Ultimate Warrior, in his long awaited return to the WWE Universe. With unparalleled behind-the-scenes access, watch Warrior’s first meetings back at WWE headquarters, reconnecting with past and present WWE Superstars at WrestleMania 30, and his 2014 Hall of Fame induction. After Warrior’s untimely passing, his wife Dana, and daughters, Indiana and Mattigan, talk about the legacy Warrior left behind.”
WWE ran their final event ever at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday night. As noted, the arena will be shut down before the end of March.
WWE aired a historical video package during the show, which featured Ron Simmons, The New Age Outlaws, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash sharing some of their memories and talking about their history in the venue.
The final match to ever be held in the venue saw John Cena defeat Seth Rollins in a steel cage match.
Below are comments from Cena and Bad News Barrett about the IZOD Center shutting down.
For the last time tonight, #WWELive performs at the @IzodCenter. Thank you to the fans that made each event here one of a kind. #NeverGiveUp
Last night’s Raw was held in Dallas, TX and was the final episode before the Royal Rumble. There were plenty of surprises, and after weeks of terrible programming, perhaps the biggest shocker was that the company put on an episode of Raw that wasn’t half bad. Without further ado, here are this week’s pros and cons.
Pros
There were a few highlights to choose from, but for me, the final segment easily takes the top spot. The action during the contest was commendable, but the real excitement occurred after the match. Sting’s appearance was completely unexpected, especially an in age where nearly everything is spoiled online beforehand. The Stinger looked great (much better than he did at Survivor Series, imo) and held the pose long enough to make everyone wonder if it was a picture to distract the Authority, or whether he was really in attendance.
Fans quickly found out the answer, making a match between Triple H and Sting at WrestleMania all but official. Sting’s appearance, followed by Lesnar’s destruction of everything in sight, was an amazing way to end the show and sell Sunday’s Rumble. Speaking of Lesnar, the crowd is dying to cheer this guy. He could have a monster face run if he decides to stick around after ‘Mania.
A close second goes to the nWo reunion. The Ascension is completely laughable and unconvincing as intimating heels (Hall was straight-up laughing at them throughout the segment). I predict they will be dancing on the WWE comedy circuit within a year. With that said, it was awesome to see JBL finally take out his anger on these fools. It was hard not to mark out at the Clothesline From Hell, and it was pleasant to see actual planning and some sort of payoff for once.
The legends panel was decent, even if it’s the same three guys that are there every time a group of legends rolls into town. However, it was nice to see three Rumble winners talk about their victories, with Shawn Michaels saying, “There would be no Mr. WrestleMania without the Royal Rumble.” It was also humorous to watch Big Show bring up talking points from about two decades prior and refer to anyone as “three washed-up has-beens.”
In terms of wrestling action, the best match of the night, in my opinion, was Dean Ambrose and Bad News Barrett. These two had good chemistry and pulled off a number of impressive spots. In particular, Ambrose’s reversal of Wasteland into Dirty Deeds was an awesome way to end the match. I wouldn’t mind seeing these guys work a program for the IC Title at WrestleMania.
Finally, Sandow posing as X-Pac backstage was absolutely hilarious. This guy deserves bigger and better things. Hopefully the company comes to the same realization before it’s too late.
– In this week’s edition of SmackDown Fallout, which you can watch below, Sin Cara, who picked up a non-title win over WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett on this week’s show, talks about the match and why he feels 2015 is going to be his year.
– Speaking of this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, below is the new “Top 10 WWE SmackDown Moments” for the January 9th episode.
Two new entrants have been officially added to the 30-man over-the-top battle royal match at the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Current Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, as well as Bray Wyatt, join the three previously announced Royal Rumble match entrants, which includes Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Rusev.
The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday, January 25th.
– AJ Lee tweeted the following on Saturday updating fans on why she’s been off WWE television since dropping the Divas Championship Nikki Bella at TLC last month:
Finally nursing a neck injury from the week before SummerSlam. Not preggers, guys. Way too attached to my abs.
Last night’s Raw was the first of 2015 and the company started the year not with a bang but with a whimper. The show was held in Corpus Christi, TX, and it’s unclear whether the audience was drugged prior to filming, because it was probably the most silent crowd I’ve ever heard at a WWE event. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the Ambulance Match between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. As always, the two worked pretty well together and delivered a few memorable spots. The ending felt just a bit sloppy, but the rest of the match more than made up for it. In all, it was good to see Wyatt come out on top, as he needed the win more than Ambrose. This program has been one of the only good things going over the past few weeks, so it’s kind of sad to see it come to an end.
Another clear highlight was the Intercontinental Championship match. It was a good way for the Authority to exact revenge against Ziggler, and the 2-out-of-3 falls swerve was decent. It’s also nice to see that the company still has confidence in Bad News Barrett, and this hopefully means that Ziggler will move into the main event picture permanently.
It was nice to see the program actually have an intro and pryo again. This is a minor complaint, but the intro-less format felt really cheap, with it simply going to a lifeless Michael Cole saying, “Welcome to Raw” while panning over the crowd. Unfortunately, the intro and pyro will probably be gone next week due to budget cuts.
Adding Seth Rollins to the main event at the Royal Rumble was brilliant. With Rollins essentially having two chances to win the title in a few weeks, it provides many booking possibilities. My interest level in the main event went from nonexistent to moderately intrigued in a matter of seconds.
Booker T on commentary was a nice change of pace. Hopefully King is well soon, but they really need to shake up the commentary team. I wouldn’t mind seeing Booker become a regular at the table again.
The Kane/Rollins vs. Ryback match was somewhat entertaining but nothing to write home about. The double Curb Stomp was at least a decent finish.
Finally, it was nice to see the company giving guys more time to cut backstage promos. Rusev, Reigns, Ambrose, Wyatt, and possibly a few superstars whom I’m forgetting all received promo time last night. Good to see the company letting the talent speak instead of filling that time with ads or plugs for the Network.
As noted, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan were all “fired” by The Authority on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. In this week’s RAW Fallout video, which you can watch below, the three “former” WWE Superstars react to their “firing,” all of whom look depressed in the ring shortly after the announcement was made.
Also on this week’s RAW Fallout, Bad News Barrett talks to Renee Young about winning back the WWE Intercontinental Championship. You can check that one out below.
Bad News Barrett took to Twitter soon after defeating Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in the two-out-of-three falls match that opened up the first edition of WWE RAW of 2015.
Barrett paid homage to Booker T, noting that he was a “five time, five time, five time, five time, five time” champion, before quickly turning back heel and rubbing his victory in the faces of Ziggler fans.
NXT Diva Eden appeared on-camera on this week’s edition of WWE RAW, the first episode of the show of 2015. Eden made her first appearance on this week’s show in the first match of the evening, which featured Dolph Ziggler defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett.
Speaking of the Ziggler-Barrett title match on RAW, the result saw Barrett capture the Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time. Ziggler won the initial match, only for Kane to come out and reveal that it was a two out of three falls match. This led to Barrett scoring two straight falls and becoming the new champion.
Bad News Barrett noted prior to the main event at the WWE live event on Sunday night in Hidalgo, Texas that Seth Rollins was unable to make it and would not be performing on the show. Barrett would go on to lose to John Cena in a replacement main event “Street Fight” on the show.
Rollins later apologized to the fans in Hidalgo for his absence, noting that travel issues prevented him from appearing as advertised.
Apologies to the fans in Hidalgo, TX tonight. Travel circumstances outside my control caused me to miss the show. Really bums me out.
Additionally, after “borrowing” from Diamond Dallas Page by saying “It’s me, it’s me, it’s B-N-B,” which was DDP’s old saying (changing only “it’s B-N-B” to “it’s D-D-P”), Barrett wrote this one as well.
Oh, and thanks/apologies to @RealDDP for the gimmick infringement. Does a @DDPYoga plug makes us even?! @realmickfoley #BangBang
– Randy Orton made his in-ring return at the WWE live event in Madison Square Garden this past Friday night. Orton, who has been away shooting the WWE Studios film “The Condemned 2,” defeated Kane in singles action.
– Also back in action on Friday night was Bad News Barrett, who appeared at the live event in Chicago, Illinois. Barrett cut a promo and said he wouldn’t be wrestling on the show because Chicago is a “second-class city.” Barrett has been on the sidelines since June with a shoulder injury.
As promised, here are the top pay-per-view events from 2014.
8. NXT Takeover
This event started off sluggish but certainly ended with a string of entertaining matches. In particular, the match between Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn featured solid in-ring work and highlighted why both of these guys could succeed if given the opportunity.
The real treat during this pay-per-view, however, was the final two matches of the evening. The match between Charlotte and Natalya for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship was probably the most technically sound women’s match I’ve ever seen, and the main event between Neville and Tyson Kidd was the perfect way to end the show. In my opinion, this was the event that made fans realize NXT is more than simply a developmental league for the main roster.
Worst Match: Adam Rose vs. Camacho
Best Match: Charlotte vs. Natalya
7. Payback
There was some worry heading into this one, largely due to the absence of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The event would carry on just fine without the title, however. It started off strong with a bruising contest between Sheamus and Cesaro.
From there, the Last Man Standing match was entertaining, even if it would have been nice to see Wyatt pick up the victory. With that said, this pay-per-view is all about the main event. It was an awesome 30-minute affair that featured memorable spots, brutal action, and a decisive Shield victory. This was also important because it would set up Seth Rollins’ heel turn the next night on Raw.
The official WWE website has a new poll up for a future episode of the WWE Network original series, “WWE Countdown.” The poll asks for fans to vote on who they feel the “most royal Superstar in history” is.
The options for the poll are as follows:
– “The King of Harts” Owen Hart
– King Booker (Booker T)
– “Macho King” Randy Savage
– Don Muraco (WWE King of the Ring 1985 Tournament winner)
– Jerry “The King” Lawler
– “The King” Harley Race
– Sheamus (WWE King of the Ring 2010 Tournament winner)
– “The King of Kings” Triple H
– Tito Santana (WWE King of the Ring 1989 tournament winner)
– William Regal
– “The Billion Dollar Princess” Stephanie McMahon
– Bret Hart (King of the Ring 1991 and 1993 Tournament winner)
– “King of Wrestling” Jim Duggan
– Bad News Barrett
– King Mabel