As previously reported, the current plan in WWE is to promote John Cena and Daniel Bryan as the number one and number two babyfaces in the company coming out of WrestleMania XXX. Apparently another guy that is in store for a big push is Cesaro, who is a guy that the company has been planning on getting behind lately.
Other names that are set to receive a push after WrestleMania this year are Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Batista and Randy Orton.
– According to one source, the three names that were initially listed internally for opponents for Batista at this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view were Daniel Bryan, John Cena or CM Punk. With Punk no longer actively working with the company, the latest word is that it will still be either Bryan or Cena facing “The Animal” in the main event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
– The latest word going around WWE is that there will not be a “brother vs. brother” match between Goldust and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XXX.
WWE Superstar Batista got into a physical altercation with a fan at Friday night’s WWE live event from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Prior to his match against the Big Show, Batista exchanged words at ringside with Cam Carson, a radio DJ from the local Power 97 station that was a co-sponsor of the show. According to multiple fan accounts, Carson hit Batista in the back/shoulder area as he was turning to enter the ring for his match. Batista then allegedly got in his face and shoved him down. Carson attempted to climb over the ringside barricade but was stopped by security.
Several minutes later, Batista was circling the ring (after his match) and flipped Carson the bird. That led to Carson getting riled up and trying to hop the rail again, which led to security escorting him away.
Cam Carson’s co-worker @Radio_Shecky tweeted this photo of the altercation:
They’ll never be another person as great as Paul Heyman. Brilliant performance. YES!
Paul Heyman Opens RAW, Brock Lesnar Attacks Mark Henry Raw kicked off with a bang, CM Punk’s music hit and, naturally the crowd went wild. I’m sure most older WWE fans know this drill all too well. WWE loves pushing buttons (now called trolling). I fully expected to hear CM Punk’s entrance music hit at some point during the broadcast, it was inevitable. However after about 30 seconds, it became clear there was no CM Punk, it was Paul Heyman. Paul comes into the ring, goading the crowd to cant their heads off for the voice of the voiceless. Paul then sat Indian style in the center of the ring, and began to talk about CM Punk, and ultimately said that the fans were to blame for his absence. Paul tied it into CM Punk losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, and moved towards Brock Lesnar taking on The Deadman in New Orleans. Brock then comes out, followed by Mark Henry who eventually gets an awesome F5 into the announce table. I loved this segment, this was exactly how you capture lighting in a bottle. Paul Heyman was simply brilliant. If I have one criticism on this segment, I would have placed it towards the middle of the program. I think the crowd should have been given a bit of time to try to “HijackRaw” with their CM Punk chants, and then WWE would strike back with their response. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Championships The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos With a crazy night came this tag team match. I was pretty surprised that The USO’s won the contest and became The WWE Tag Team Champions. For some reason I thought we would have to wait till WrestleMania XXX to see The USO’s win the tag team championship, there is still 4 weeks before WrestleMania so as they say anything can happen. I’m happy for The USO’s they deserve the championship. YES!
The Real Americans Hugging it out… For now.
Big E. vs. Cesaro & Big E. vs. Jack Swagger I’ve been seeing Jack Swagger interrupt many Cesaro matches. Earlier in the night Swagger again caused the DQ by attacking Big E during the match. Later Big E pulls double duty taking on Swagger Cesaro returns the favor. Obviously these two are destined for a breakup, but when? And how does Big E’ Factor into this match. I wouldn’t mind seeing the three of them go at it in a triple Threat Match at WrestleMania, where we can see Cesaro finally turn on Jack Swagger. YES!
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family What an incredible match these 6 young up and coming SuperStars had at The Elimination Chamber PPV, This match was great too, with Seth Rollins proving he is not the weakest link in The Shield. Flying across the ring! I like Rollins walking out of the match to further the breakup of The Shield. I think The Shield vs The Wyatts much like The Rock vs Triple H will go down in history as two matches that should have taken place on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. Still an awesome showing and a great way to keep the momentum for Bray Wyatt who got the pinfall. YES!
Renee Young Interviews Batista BOOtista turning full heel on Smackdown! this past Friday night, now on Raw calls the Daniel Bryan #YesMovement the the dumbest thing he’s ever seen in his life. I like heel BOOtista. Well maybe I don’t. I didn’t like WWE trying to keep Batista a face when the crowd would have none of it. There’s your real change! We actually turned him heel. There was no other choice anyway, I don’t want to get my hopes up for the SEVENTH month in a row, but this seems to be heading towards what most of us are hoping to see at WrestleMania XXX.
Santino Marella & Emma vs. Fandango & Summer Rae I’m still not sold on Emma. It must be because of Santino. Or that music just doesn’t feel big enough. Again I get it she was very over in NXT, but that arena holds 500-800 people. (I’ve been to a NXT Taping at Full Sail) Sometimes things don’t play as well on the big stage. I hear that music, and I hear a pin drop. Then again, this might be another Fandango in the making the night after WrestleMania XXX. NO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78HUkVvnLXg
To much talk, Daniel Bryan should have kneed them both. NO!
Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon & Kane Promo So here’s the problem I have with Triple H vs Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. I don’t want to see it. I want to see Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan face Triple H even for a chance to be in that match. Why? Because I’ve invested wasted seven long months waiting to see the payoff from a story that began at SummerSlam. I attended SummerSlam, Hell-In-A-Cell, Survivor Series, and The Royal Rumble. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan beat up Triple H the character. Although I might not mind Brian Danielson decking Paul Levesque, for this frustrating half year plus. I’m just not into seeing this match, I’m turned off. 2-4 months ago, I would have been into the idea of this match, and invested in it. Now all I want is for him to win to get put in the championship match at the end of WrestleMania XXX. It’s a shame too, because Triple H vs Daniel Bryan should be a featured marquee match, on it’s own. I just don’t see myself enjoying the match as much as I would if I didn’t have this bad taste in my mouth from the last seven months.
I hate when people compare Daniel Bryan to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Daniel Bryan is mega over right now, but back in the Attitude era Austin, the whole business was over way more. These hijack shows though are starting to offer up more of that attitude era feel, I will say though. The thing is with Stone Cold Steve Austin, he gave his blood his sweat and tears to be WWE Champion. He stopped at nothing and got physical along the way. I was not a fan of Daniel Bryan just standing there, taking abuse from Triple H and Stephanie. I wanted him to beat the crap out of both of them. If I were Daniel Bryan, I’d offer up the stipulation that we all expect to eventually happen. If he can Beat Triple H at WrestleMania, he gets inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match. But I still don’t want to see the match at WrestleMania, too turned off from the last few months. NO!
I’m enjoying this story more and more each week. YES!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family I liked what John Cena had to say to the crowd, the CM Punk chants were beginning to get on my nerves by this point. I’m enjoying Bray Wyatt and what he has to offer, he could be a top Hollywood horror actor. It wouldn’t surprise me if after Mania he stars in a film. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
The following is from the WWE.com “RAW Five-Point Preview”
“It ain’t over till it’s over: The Shield and The Wyatt Family haven’t remotely settled their differences despite their battle at Elimination Chamber. In fact, lingering tensions between the factions have led to the rematch of all rematches this Monday on Raw, by order of WWE COO Triple H. Yet despite The King of Kings’ efforts to keep his house in order, an intriguing proposal by Daniel Bryan has put The Authority as a whole on the spot, and a just-announced match against Batista puts the submission expert in The Animal’s crosshairs. So let’s rev things up with WWE.com’s five-point preview for this week’s Raw, featuring special guest star Aaron Paul.”
As previously reported, WWE had a segment scripted into Monday’s RAW that was originally intended to feature the heel turn of Batista. As we saw as the week played out, they decided to push the turn back to Tuesday’s SmackDown taping.
The original plan reportedly called for Randy Orton to come out and talk about the fans boo’ing Batista, and claim that they like him more than Batista. That, mixed with the loss to Alberto Del Rio, was intended to set the stage for Batista “snapping” and turning heel on the fans. The idea was that Orton “unleashed The Animal.”
Instead, the decision was made to tone down the segment for RAW and save the actual turn for SmackDown. The original idea also called for a slow turn, with a few segments and matches over the course of a week or so building to it, but they ultimately decided to do the actual turn on Tuesday.
CM Punk is expected to return at Monday’s WWE RAW show in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Dave Meltzer reports that a “top WWE star” told him that Punk returning on Monday is “100 percent certain.”
While the news can’t be confirmed at this point, the reported plans for Punk if he were to return at RAW on Monday would see him back in his rumored role against Triple H leading into WrestleMania XXX, or possibly being added to the Randy Orton and Batista match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler cut another passionate WWE App promo. The following is a transcript of what Ziggler said:
“It was a bold move on my part. Batista, he’s been unstoppable but there’s one thing that can’t stop you in this business, in this day in age. No matter who says you’re guaranteed a main event spot at WrestleMania, no matter who says you come back and we’ll worship you, and kiss your feet and do everything in our power to make sure you’re there, you leave out the WWE Universe. I’m someone who has made my entire career based on the WWE Universe. I wasn’t supposed to be anybody, I was supposed to be a punching bag for guys on their way to the top. I was supposed to be someone who got laughed at and kicked in the face and people cheered. Somehow, someway, because of everything I’ve done, from 5 years old through high school, through college, everything I’ve ever wanted to be is the best. Whether I was in school standing up for other kids, I did it when I was in college as a captain of my team, I stood up for my team. Here in the WWE, I stand up for this entire roster. I can’t make them be the Superstars they want to be but I can make an example and tonight, I made an example of Batista.
Some people have been handed opportunities. Some people are told, ‘you’re going to WrestleMania, no matter what you do, no matter who you are, we worship you and you’re going to WrestleMania.’ Some people are told straight to their face that they don’t have what it takes, they can’t be a headliner at WrestleMania. Tonight, not only do I stand up for myself, I stand up for every single Superstar who was told there’s no room for you on WrestleMania. WrestleMania XXX, the biggest WrestleMania of all-time, people were told there’s no room. Tonight, I make an example and I make room. Tonight, I become the next man in WrestleMania.”
– As previously reported, there is a movement on Twitter to encourage fans to “hijack” WWE events, including Monday’s RAW in Chicago, Illinois. Apparently WWE is well aware of the movement, and is preparing accordingly.
– WWE debuted new Sin Cara and Cesaro t-shirts this weekend. Both are available right now at WWEShop.com.
– Speaking of movements, the anti-Batista chant movement has continued this weekend. Apparently during Mason Ryan’s match at the NXT taping on Friday night, fans were chanting “better than Batista” at him. Later in the show, during Bo Dallas’s match, fans chanted “worse than Batista” at him.
Batista says he did not come back to be liked, he did not come back to please the WWE Universe. It’s a fact he can destroy anybody WWE puts in front of him. He’s the best representative of the WWE (more so than Hulk Hogan and The Rock).
Batista questions what the hell happened to this business? The fans chant the names of 195 pound wannabe’s – but he’s the top dog in WWE – deal with it. He asks the crowd if they honestly think their heroes are as good as him. People get behind Daniel Bryan because he looks like them, but he’s going to destroy WWE’s heroes on his way to becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
This brings out Dolph Ziggler, who wrestled Batista later in the show. Apparently WWE eliminated some “Let’s Go Ziggler” chants during their confrontation, and tweeted:
kudos to @WWE for editing out the WE WANT ZIGGLER chants face to face w/dave I will never forget that thank u milwaukee#SmackDown
According to reports, WWE is strongly considering the possibility of adding a third person to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event at WrestleMania XXX between Randy Orton and Batista. The latest internal lineup in the company reads, “Batista vs. Orton vs. ?”
Other WrestleMania XXX matches that have been discussed internally, but not yet decided on, include Big E. vs. Dean Ambrose in a match to unify the WWE United States and WWE Intercontinental Championships, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, Sheamus vs. Christian, Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes and a match pitting two NXT wrestlers against each other in a match on the main card.
– A fan recently asked former WWE Superstar Bill Goldberg about fans boo’ing Batista at several recent WWE events. Goldberg replied by saying the following:
– WWE is working on a new Batista DVD set. According to WrestlingDVDNews.com, the DVD and Blu-ray sets will be released on Tuesday, June 10th.
– Despite the announcement not being made at RAW last night as originally expected, Paul Bearer is still considered to be a “lock” for the 2014 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame.
– Apparently many people found it interesting that WWE did not air an “In Memory Of” graphic during RAW for Nelson Frazier, who worked for the company as Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V. As of right now, there’s no real word as to why WWE did not air such a graphic, as they normally do when a former Superstar for the company passes away.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about Monday’s RAW:
Fans Rejecting Batista: “Getting way too much negative feedback here about how Batista is positioned as if it is Dave’s fault. It’s really no one’s ‘fault’ as sometimes talents are simply miscast … I have always thought that Batista, because of the Daniel Bryan phenomenon, was a better fit to be a villian but that’s easy to say now. I expect that to occur later this week on Smackdown.”
Daniel Bryan’s Role At WrestleMania: “Daniel Bryan wants HHH at WM30 but will that keep or make Bryan’s fans happy? Likely not. WWE has a golden opportunity to provide Bryan and his fans a ‘magical moment’ in the Mercedes Benz Super Dome come WM30. Time will tell if that happens. It seems too obvious that it should happen for it to not occur.”
Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar “The rumblings of Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WM30 was made official on RAW or that’s what I got out of it. I think that these two will exceed most fan’s expectations at WM30. Not sure I can tell you why but it’s merely a gut feeling that I have. I think that they keep it basic, physical and at an old school pace which isn’t plodding but one that fans can process and ‘feel’ what they are seeing.”
There’s much more to this blog, including JR’s thoughts on The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family, Hulk Hogan’s return, the WWE Network and next week’s RAW from Chicago.
Hulk Hogan Opens Up RAW The big announcement earlier this week was of course the return of the Hulk Hogan, and how he will be The Host of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. What can be said about Hulk Hogan? He’s the Babe Ruth of wrestling, and icon and legend. He deserved to be in WWE in come capacity, and why on earth he was in TNA for as long as he was, I’ll never know. Wade Barrett took a verbal shot at hogan at The Elimination Chamber Pay Per Vew, and was no were to be seen on this show, so I can only wonder, if he will fill the role of Hogan’s Punching bag at WrestleMania XXX, time will tell. YES!
Alberto Del Rio vs. BOOtista / Randy Orton Interrupts. WWE is now starting to acknowledge that BOOtista is getting booed out of the building. Well it’s about time! How long can you go jamming someone down the audience’s throats that is clearly not connecting positively with the fans? Let me make myself clear, I don’t hate Batista, I hate the idea that WWE felt they needed Batista to fill some gap at WrestleMania XXX, and injected him into the Main Event, in spite of an organic rise of Daniel Bryan. Clearly a large portion, and not a vocal minority is in agreement with this sentiment. Batista is already starting to
BOOTista is going to WrestleMania XXX #DealWithIT NO!
lean towards heel tendencies, making a crying face, after his entrance, and his #DealWithIt catch phrase, is quite antagonizing. So Big Dave loses to Del Rio after Randy Orton distracts him. Orton acknowledges the recent crowd reception Batista is receiving. Batista responds while sweaty and slobbering all over, that the fans have a choice, and he’s okay with their choice. I’m just turned off to this story. I’d be happier if Batista went full on Heel and Batista Bombed the crap out of Daniel Bryan, get him in this story, because this is boring me, and even if they inject Daniel Bryan into the Main event, I’m not sure I can take 5 weeks of build up to Orton vs Batista. NO!
WWE Intercontinental Championship Big E. (c) vs. Cesaro The match was good, Ceasaro is definitely getting a face turn soon, and rightly so, there is a big drop off on faces, and I would argue to you he already is a face, based on the crowd reaction he’s getting, and his Ceasaro Swing. Looks like Jack Swaggar is going to be Cesaro’s opponent, eventually. YES!
John Cena Injured during his interaction with The Wyatts NO!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family Thirty days after John Cena was screwed out of the WWE Championship at The Royal Rumble, and one night after he was screwed again from The Wyatts, John Cena finally decides to address the situation. He must have had that on his iPhone to-do list and kept forgetting to take care of this task. You know if the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most prized possession in sports entertainment, and they were combined because of your challenge to Randy Orton in December, you’d figure John Cena would have had have a bit more fire, than to wait 30 days. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena, has the potential to be a good story, and maybe even a good match, although Erick Rowan, may have changed the whole situation, because Cena appeared to be legitimately injured. Time will tell. I wouldn’t be terribly upset with a plan B of The Shield vs The Wyatts at WrestleMania. YES!
Sheamus with a Brogue Kick to Christian NO!
Christian vs. Sheamus Match was okay, nothing special in my opinion, but I must admit, it was just a match, and I was quite bored from it. Heavy rumor is Heel Sheamus vs Cesaro WrestleMania, I think that would be a good match. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his website, JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Are Celebrity WWE HOF Inductee’s Appearance Fees Justified?
“Aside from Tyson, who helped WWE garner great PR in the Attitude Era, you’d likely be surprised at what the other celebs earned. Good paydays but not overpaid and they took nothing away from the talents payoff pool for the event.”
Would WWE Be Crazy Enough To Have Batista vs. Orton Headline WrestleMania?
“I expect some intriguing, creative changes to occur in WWE on the road to WrestleMania and they could start tonight on RAW.”
With The WWE Universe Rejecting Orton & Batista, What Is WWE Thinkig?
“I think that WWE listens and will react accordingly. How could any one NOT hear what we all hear? They can’t. Just hang around and be patient or turnoff the shows and wait until things are to your liking.”
– It was announced during the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view that the official attendance for the show was was 14,101. The show was legitimately sold out.
– According to fans who were in attendance, Daniel Bryan got the biggest pop of the night from the live crowd. As we heard on television, The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield match also got a very strong fan response. Whenever footage of Hulk Hogan was shown on the big screen, he got a big pop as well.
– Batista got heavily booed during his match with Alberto Del Rio, with loud chants of “Bootista.” Fans also chanted “Si! Si! Si!” when Del Rio attacked Batista with his crutch before the match.
WWE blasted Batista’s music when he made his entrance, which barely drowned out the boos.
– Speaking of Batista, there are various reports that he might have suffered an injury to his left arm during his match against Alberto Del Rio. He’s not expected to miss any ring time.
In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan.
A new promotional photo has been released featuring Batista as Drax The Destroyer in Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
The sci-fi comedy’s first trailer will be broadcast tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live and will also be in theaters this weekend. After Jimmy Kimmel Live airs, the trailer will be posted for 24 hours exclusively on Jimmy Kimmel Live’s YouTube channel. Here’s a 15-second preview for the trailer that will be released tonight:
– The upcoming ‘Marine’ sequel from WWE Studios starring The Miz and Summer Rae has been titled, “The Marine: Moving Target.” The film is scheduled for a March 2015 release, during WrestleMania 31 season.
– Connecticut’s Fairfield Daily Voice has published an article looking at WWE’s annual WrestleMania Reading Challenge.
– Batista tweeted the following on Saturday after his return to action at the WWE live event from Phoenix, Arizona:
Tonight is what I missed about wrestling. I love house shows! Thank you Phoenix. #WWEPhoenix
– WWE.com has compiled a list of 10 rare wrestling action figures.
– Batista returned to action last night at the WWE live event from Phoenix, Arizona. Batista defeated Alberto Del Rio by disqualification In his first singles match since 2010.
Batista dominated most of the match. The finish came when Alberto Del Rio hit him with a steel chair. After the bell, Batista made a comeback and laid out Del Rio with a Batista Bomb.
In the main event of the show, Randy Orton defeated John Cena in a steel cage match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight championship.
Posted February 16th, 2014 in News, WWE. Tagged: Batista.
– The WWE Studios film project, “Leprechaun: Origins,” which features Hornswoggle, has been pushed back to an August release date. The film was originally scheduled to come out in March.
– The official WWE website has published a new video playlist featuring a look at Batista sending his opponents through tables over the past several years. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– WWE Superstar Kane will be doing a rare personal appearance at the Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minnesota on Friday, February 21st at noon. Kane will be on hand to promote the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.
– When the WWE Network launches on February 24th at 11:05pm E.T., it will kick-off with a live RAW post-show. As previously reported, fans will be able to sign up and begin viewing Network content at 9am that morning.
– Starting this coming weekend, WWE Superstar Batista will begin working some non-televised live event matches.
– The name changes to both Antonio Cesaro and Big E. Langston recently are said to be a Vince McMahon decision. Langston’s change was done as a promotional effort, as WWE feels “Big E.” is easier to market. Cesaro’s name change is just one of those things WWE does sometimes.
