“The Eater of Worlds” Bray Wyatt made his return action at Wednesday’s WWE live event from Glasgow, Scotland. He teamed with Sheamus and Cesaro in the main event against The Shield – Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and .. Triple H.
As we’ve previously reported, a drastic medical outbreak in the WWE locker room is forcing the company to make huge changes to this weekend’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV). Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle has replaced Roman Reigns in the event’s main event; as he’ll team up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to take on the team of The Miz, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), Braun Strowman, and Kane.
Also on the card was a scheduled bout between Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor. Wyatt was also affected by the illness and has been replaced by SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles. Per a report from Wrestling Inc., the illness affecting the WWE locker room is the mumps. WINC. describes the illness as the following:
“Mumps is an airborne virus that can be spread by saliva or utensils – even plates or cups – with an infected person. It can also be spread by coughing or sneezing. Symptoms usually take 16-18 days to appear. It then usually takes several days to a week to disappear.”
WWE had been testing RAW talents for Viral Meningitis, however, it was later discovered that the illness was the mumps. No word yet on if more changes will be made to TLC since the outbreak. There is also no news on whether or not SmackDown Live talent is being tested as well. More to come…..
It was reported earlier this week that Bo Dallas has been suffering from Viral Meningitis as of late, and his brother Bray Wyatt could be suffering from the same illness. This is why the pair have been off WWE TV for the past few weeks.
Justin LaBar notes that JoJo has also been affected by the outbreak.
Seems Bray, Bo and JoJo haven't been at TV or events because of viral meningitis. Unfortunate. I have NO INFO on Sunday for Bray.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Wyatt is in fact ill and his status for this weekend’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) is unknown.
Wyatt is scheduled to take on Finn Balor at the event for a match between “Sister Abigail” and “The Demon King.”
– Both Bray Wyatt and his real-life brother Bo Dallas missed this weekend’s WWE Live Events fuelling various rumors about their absence from WWE Shows recently.
It’s worth mentioning here that the duo did not attend last week’s Raw tapings either. While Wyatt appeared on the episode through a video package, it was reportedly taped sometimes before the show.
Bray Wyatt hasn’t wrestled since the October 2nd episode of Raw where he was part of a dark match. At this point, there is no news on the reason behind their absence, but we’ll keep you posted.
– After staying away from Instagram for a while due to people trying to get into his account, Kevin Owens is back on the social media site. Below is a video of him telling fans about his new Insta handle:
During last night’s (Mon. October 3, 2017) episode of Monday Night RAW, former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt teased finally revealing the identity of Sister Abigail. Wyatt has been referring to Sister Abigail for years in his promos, making WWE fans wonder if we’d ever see her as an actual character on WWE TV. Check out that segment from last night here:
NXT’s Sage Beckett (also known as Rosie Lottalove) posted the following after the segment, teasing that she could be Sister Abigail. She was signed to WWE this past January and even competed in the Mae Young Classic, but was eliminated in the first round of the tournament:
Bray Wyatt has received a lot of criticism for talking a big game with spooky promos and rarely backing it up.
Wyatt is undeniably one of WWE’s most talented talkers and has developed a unique and convincing promo style. To the detriment of his reputation with fans, he’s often on the losing end of his feuds.
The Eater of Worlds recently spoke with Brandon Stroud of Uproxx.com and flat out denied that he doesn’t back up his tough talk.
“Is that true? Do y’all really believe that? What are you talking about? You don’t know. You don’t know. So shh! Shut up, all of you, shut up! Shut up!”
“I was just World Champion. I was a Tag Team Champion last year. I beatRandyOrton, I beat Seth Rollins, I beat Finn Bálor.. What are y’all talking about? What are you talking about? You don’t know. You don’t know.”
If you haven’t seen this “Bray Wyatt: Eater of Pins” video on Youtube, it’s worth checking out and clearly demonstrates the damage done to the credibility of Bray Wyatt’s character:
Opinion: Eater of pins, indeed. Bray Wyatt is the prime example of a character that would benefit from time away from WWE television and a reboot. The Wyatt family was once a force to be reckoned with, but those days are a distant memory for most fans.
Braun Strowman, a former Wyatt Family member, is the breakout performer. Meanwhile, Bray is stuck in limbo on SmackDown. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are in even worse shape. The best course of action would be to have Bray disappear for a few months and return with Harper and Rowan at his side. Wyatt, along with a reformed Wyatt Family, would make a great heel challenger to Shinsuke Nakamura or AJ Styes.
Goldust has been a part of the never-ending feud between Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt recently. First, Bray Wyatt took a towel and rubbed off his face paint. Goldust then asked RAW GM Kurt Angle to face Bray Wyatt as Dustin Rhodes. Angle made the match and Goldust was quickly defeated by Wyatt. Goldust then attacked Finn Balor backstage on Monday’s episode of RAW. This led to a match between Finn and Goldust later on the show.
Finn Balor defeated Goldust rather quickly, but the lights went out in the arena after the match. “He’s got the whole world in his hands” was echoing throughout the arena before Wyatt’s face was briefly shown on the screen laughing. Even though Balor has defeated Bray Wyatt as “The Demon King” and as Finn Balor at No Mercy, his feud with Bray Wyatt seems to be continuing.
Some fans took to Twitter yesterday to complain about the feud and Goldust responded to them:
This describes how I've felt about wyatt for about 3 years
Goldust then sent out another tweet later last night stating that fans should enjoy the product WWE puts on for them and that they will not always get what they want.
Bray Wyatt recently spoke to to Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald to promote WWE 2K18 and discussed his WWE television character. Since the Wyatt Family’s main roster debut four years ago, we’ve seen several tweaks to Bray’s character. “I think the thing about keeping your character fresh is when you change as an individual you have to flow with it,” he explained.
Many fans have drawn comparisons between Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker. Wyatt reveals that The Undertaker gave him some advice about the importance of changing with the times to keep a character fresh.
“There are times where fans don’t understand that change is inevitable or that changes are done too fast,” Wyatt said. “They say, ‘We like the way you used to be.’ Or they say, ‘We liked what you did then.’ You can’t stay the same. As you mature as an adult, you find out you have to keep changing in this business. It’s something The Undertaker laid on me.”
As for where he draws inspiration from, Wyatt referenced television shows, movies and added, “inspiration is everywhere.”
“There is this show about a cult with the Monopoly masks. I’ve been studying it. Then there is Robert De Niro, ‘Red State.’ There are so many things I’ve taken from over the years. All over the place. You find inspiration everywhere. The best inspiration is the people you grew up with. Nobody else knows about you than when you were just regular, everyday people. That’s where most of it comes from.”
Visit the Miami Herald to read the full interview.
Bray Wyatt spoke to Brian Fritz of Between the Ropes at the WWE 2K18 launch party during SummerSlam weekend.
You and Dean Ambrose seem to like it when things are chaotic. What is like for you when you are in that moment when there is no control and things really do get chaotic?
I think that is kind of like where I made my home, you know. I’m heavy into the weapons and the extreme if you will. Those are the kind of matches where I have always found my most success. So, I always try to put myself in those moments or situations. Kind of like a new age Cactus Jack or something you know.
Do you think that WWE understands you or your character?
Well, I don’t think that anyone understands me. A lot of people have a lot of ideas of what I am or who I am supposed to be, but only I truly understand it. So, I hear a lot of people with their social media and things like that reaching out to me and telling me I should do this or I should do that. I didn’t get here by listening to anyone else. I got here by listening to me and I don’t really care what anybody else has to say.
What did Dusty Rhodes mean to you in your career?
Not just my career, a lot of careers. Dusty Rhodes was down there in the warehouse in the middle of nowhere in Tampa and molded a lot of us and helped a lot of us find ourselves. He was instrumental in the lives of a lot of people.
Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with ESPN while promoting this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event. The Raw Superstar talked about various topics including if the Demon King will return at SummerSlam and facing Bray Wyatt at the upcoming event. Here are the highlights:
Wrestling Bray Wyatt:
“[Wyatt] talks in riddles. He talks in tongues. Half the time I don’t even understand it. I know he can talk a lot, that’s for sure. You give him the mic, you’re gonna have a hard time getting the mic back. He certainly likes to talk. Whether it makes any sense or not is up to the people listening. Regardless of what he says or for how long he says it, when the bell rings he is one of the absolute best out there for the last four years he’s been at the top. He’s been doing tremendous things. You can’t ever discredit his ability in the ring. I think people forget how big Bray is. Bray is like 300, 320 pounds. He moves like he’s 220. He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with in the ring, and it’s something I’m going to have to adjust my style every day to help cope with it.”
If the Demon King is coming back for SummerSlam:
“Maybe we will, maybe we won’t [see the Demon King at SummerSlam]. A lot of people are under the impression that Finn Balor relies on the Demon King, but that is certainly not the case. If it’s required and emotions are running high going into SummerSlam then maybe the Demon King will show up. If not, we’ll see the Demon King in the near future I’m sure.”
Balor also talked about feuding with Samoa Joe while in NXT and more. You can read the entire interview here.
New clip from Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story
WWE has posted a new clip from the upcoming Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story on their YouTube channel. In the clip, Owens credits his family for his success and being in WWE today. Owens also discussed his doubters and how he has proven them all wrong in his 15 year journey to WWE.
WWE films a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt
According to PWInsider, WWE recently filmed material with a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt. There is no news yet on what this footage will be used for, but Wyatt is currently in a feud with Seth Rollins and the two will face each other at the Great Balls of Fire PPV. On this past week’s episode of RAW, Wyatt cut a promo on Seth Rollins after his victory over Curt Hawkins. Wyatt claimed that he was inside Rollins’ mind and that if Rollins doesn’t give in to his true self he will “burn”.
The WWE made a big mistake during former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt’s entrance on Monday Night RAW last night (Mon. June 12, 2017).
Before making his way to the ring, “The Eater Of World” cut a promo on the jumbotron prior to uttering the words “I’m here,” and blowing out the light in his lamp to cue his music. His entrance video, however, still featured images of now-former WWE Champion Randy Orton from when he was a member of The Wyatt Family during Bray’s time on SmackDown Live. Check it out:
Wyatt and Orton had quite the feud on SmackDown Live after “The Legend Killer” betrayed Wyatt and the Wyatt Family, going on to defeat “The New Face Of Fear” at WrestleMania 33 for the WWE Title. Orton, however, eventually dropped the strap to Jiner Mahal at Backlash earlier this year.
– This Sunday marks the 500th episode of the Solomonster Sounds Off podcast. To commemorate the milestone, Solomonster will be holding a live video stream this Saturday night (8pm EST) on his official Youtube channel.
– John Cena sat down with Bill Gates earlier today to discuss Gates’ efforts to eradicate polio. The interview will air Tuesday morning on the Today show.
– Former WWE writer Kevin Eck appeared on the PWTorch Livecast last week and was asked if he thinks we will ever see a Sister Abigail character on WWE television. Eck told Wade Keller, “From what I know about how Bray Wyatt envisioned that character, I don’t think that character is ever going to be seen, because the way Bray explained it, and I don’t think it’s ever come out on TV, he speaks in riddles, so maybe if you read in-between the lines, but Bray Wyatt was apparently a young man and Sister Abigail was an old, black woman, in I believe, the swamps of Louisiana who had some supernatural powers, and you know, the history of voodoo and such in New Orleans. I believe she took him nder her wing and kind of taught him the secrets of what she knows of the dark arts and things like that”
It appears Bray Wyatt has caught the eye of a former Hall-of-Famer, one who appears ready to come out of retirement to face him.
Bray Wyatt opened this Monday’s Raw with a promo on having lost the opportunity to face Brock Lesnar, and slay the beast. He would then lose to Roman Reigns in the 1st match of the night.
DEAR WRESTLING GOD'S PLEASE GIFT ME A MATCH VS. BRAY WYATT. PROMISE TO WORK REALLY HARD AND SURE IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY INTERESTING. #WWE
Jake has talked about coming back for years, but unfortunately, he is 62 years old, and WWE will likely never put him in an actual match again.
The most recent documentary on Jake followed him as he cleaned up his life and attended his Hall of Fame ceremony in 2014. It is said that Jake wanted to make an appearance in the Royal Rumble that year, as other legends have done in the past, but WWE was hesitant.
#BRAY WYATT FAN INTEREST HAS GOT MIND AND BODY ON FIRE. @WWE I'LL EVEN GET WRINKLES OUT OF THE SNAKE!!! STARCH TOO.
There will be a Fatal 5-Way match this Sunday at Extreme Rules to determine the #1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. This match was made after Braun Strowman suffered an elbow injury that required surgery. Strowman was most likely going to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire. Thus, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns will compete this Sunday to determine the Superstar that is next in line for a shot at Brock Lesnar.
Here is the list of the potential opponents for Brock Lesnar that are the most intriguing:
5. Bray Wyatt
If this was a month ago, Bray Wyatt may be at the top of this list. Wyatt won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber and was on top of the world. For a brief period of time, Wyatt actually did have the whole world in his hands. His promos actually carried weight because he was winning matches and held the most important title in WWE. Wyatt then went on to have two terrible matches with Randy Orton. He lost the WWE Championship to Orton at Wrestlemania 33, in a match where bugs were projected onto the ring. All of this was done to make Wyatt seem scary and present him as a monster. The problem with that is that Wyatt still lost via an RKO, even though he apparently possesses powers that can turn off lights in the arena and project scary images onto the ring.
Wyatt and Orton followed up their disastrous Wrestlemania match with a “House of Horrors” match at WWE Payback. This was originally supposed to be Wyatt’s rematch for the WWE Championship, but instead turned into a non-title match. Wyatt defeated Orton in a train-wreck of a match, but won with the assistance of Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers. Wyatt then switched from SmackDown to RAW and is still cutting promos as if he is some monster who should be feared. His character is a model of inconsistency. How can anyone view Bray Wyatt as a monster when all of his theatrics usually result in him losing a match? It is already highly unlikely that Brock Lesnar will lose his first Universal Championship defense. If Wyatt wins at Extreme Rules, it becomes impossible to convince yourself that Lesnar may drop the title. It is also difficult to believe that WWE would place the Universal Championship on Bray Wyatt after his underwhelming run with the WWE Championship.
4. Seth Rollins
Rollins picked up a huge victory over Triple H at Wrestlemania 33. After that, he has been battling Samoa Joe for weeks on RAW and had a match against him at Payback. Samoa Joe dominated most of the match, but Rollins was able to counter the Coquina Clutch into a pin and defeated Joe. Rollins and Lesnar could certainly put on a great match, we have seen it before. Rollins defended his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar at Battleground 2015. Lesnar essentially had the match won, but was attacked by The Undertaker and Rollins was subsequently disqualified. Rollins lost the match but kept his WWE Championship at the time.
Rollins is one of the most popular Superstars in WWE right now. It wouldn’t be a negative if Rolling emerged victorious at Extreme Rules. Lesnar and Rollins have a history, as Rollins cashed in his MITB briefcase during the Lesnar and Reigns match at Wrestlemania 31. It would be entertaining to revisit that feud now simply because Rollins is no longer aligned with The Authority. If Stephanie McMahon and Triple H return to RAW, the possibility of Lesnar aligning with them would be intriguing. It would cast Rollins as the major underdog and the WWE Universe would certainly get behind him heading into his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar.
3. Samoa Joe
The idea of a match between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar is exciting enough without a storyline in place. Samoa Joe is a freak athlete for a man of his size and can put on one hell of show with Lesnar in the ring. It would be an extremely physical match and would be a bout most wrestling fans would want to see. Samoa Joe was an excellent heel in NXT and arrived to the main roster as Triple H’s assassin. Joe targeted Seth Rollins and seemed primed to become the biggest badass in WWE. However, Rollins sustained an injury during Joe’s attack and Samoa Joe hasn’t become that monster everyone thought he would be when he arrived on the main roster.
If Samoa Joe wins at Extreme Rules, it would set up an awesome match with Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire. If The Authority returns and has Joe’s back, Brock Lesnar would then be in the unique position of having to overcome the odds. Timing is everything and it simply doesn’t seem like now is the time to have a feud between Lesnar and Samoa Joe. Unfortunately, Joe hasn’t been built up as an unstoppable force on the main roster. All of that could be changed if he wins at Extreme Rules and The Authority returns to RAW. I don’t think that it will happen, but if it does I certainly won’t be complaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTeLFUaZRI
2. Finn Balor
All signs are pointing towards Finn Balor winning the Fatal 5-Way at Extreme Rules. Paul Heyman made a random appearance on RAW a couple of weeks back and interrupted Finn Balor’s promo. Heyman praised Balor and even said that his client Brock Lesnar wanted to wish Balor good luck heading into Extreme Rules. Balor told Heyman to inform Lesnar that he will win at Extreme Rules and will then reclaim the Univeral Championship that he never lost. Balor became the first-ever Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. Unfortunately for Balor, he had to relinquish the title the following night on RAW due to an injury he sustained after being Powerbombed by Rollins into the barricade outside the ring.
Some argue that a match between Lesnar and Balor is ridiculous, simply because Balor is much smaller than Lesnar. I beg to differ, as WWE has already shown that they believe in Balor in the past. Balor defeated Roman Reigns in his main roster debut to earn a shot at the Universal Championship. Balor and Reigns put on a great match and I don’t see why a match against Lesnar would be any different. The days of Superstars being required to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian are gone. Lesnar and Finn Balor can put on an interesting match and it seems like WWE is heading in that direction.
1. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar is the match that would attract the most viewers, which is why it probably will not happen at Great Balls of Fire. It has been rumored that WWE has already made the decision that Lesnar and Reigns will main-event Wrestlemania 34. However, plans may have changed after Braun Strowman went down with an injury. The ratings for RAW have dipped and WWE could decide to bump that match up to Great Balls of Fire on July 9th.
Reigns and Lesnar would be the most intriguing match for several reasons. Many WWE fans still cannot stand Roman Reigns and Reigns retiring The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33 didn’t help that at all. There are also a lot of people that dislike Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion because he doesn’t appear on WWE television every week. Whenever this match does take place, the energy in the arena will be amazing. There will be hatred for both Superstars and their fans will be battling to drown out those chants. Wrestlemania seems like the perfect place to have this match and it wouldn’t feel as special if it were to take place this July. Having said that, it is still the most intriguing out of them all and will be awesome to watch whenever it goes down.
Discussion: Which potential feud for Brock Lesnar intrigues you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt was recently a guest on Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast to discuss his WWE career. Topics of discussion include his WWE title reign, who he’d like to begin a program with next, and how much longer he has inside the ring. You can check out the highlights here (quotes via Wrestling Inc.):
Always expecting to have become WWE Champion:
“I think people expected it of me and I definitely expected it of myself and it was everything that I wanted to obtain.” Wyatt added, “it is huge for me. It has made my life’s work complete.”
Planning to wrestle for 15 more years:
“There’s a lot of stuff I have to do yet. It’s just [winning the world title] was something very important to me and this is something that will cement me. Forever I will be remembered as something special, but my body is ready to roll for another 15 years, so I’m not looking at stopping. I’ve got a lot that I want to do and a lot that I want to achieve.”
“I just know [I will last 15 more years]. I’ve got nowhere else to go. This is where I belong and as hope would have it that I would last that long. That’s how I see myself.”
Wanting future title feuds with various Superstars:
“There are a couple that I haven’t got to that I would be very, very interested in. Seth Rollins, I haven’t got to. AJ Styles, and just kind of a throwback, that I’ve been at war with my entire [pro wrestling] career, Dean Ambrose. I wouldn’t mind getting back in there with him because we create wonderful chaos together. We’ve both spent our entire career trying to kill each other, so it’s very fitting for us to carry on.”
Paul Heyman telling him he’s the first person in his family to have become WWE Champ:
“I actually didn’t know that. Paul Heyman told me that. He congratulated me, called me, and told me I was the first one and I didn’t know that. I never really measured my success with titles because I never really had any titles. I was just working hard and trying to be the best me that I can be. But when he told me that, it was a big ‘wow’. Out of all of us, I was the one to do it. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
WWE’s Superstar Shake-up was a few weeks ago and a bunch of talent switched brands. The change has certainly benefited some Superstars as they have been able to hit the reset button and were given new opportunities. For other Superstars, the brand switch has either done nothing for them or made matters even worse. Below is the list of every Superstar that switched brands after WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up and what they have done on their new show so far.
From SmackDown to RAW:
Bray Wyatt: Bray Wyatt was having a hell of a run on SmackDown until everything fell off the rails. He captured the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, only to lose it rather quickly to Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. It took years for WWE to put a title on Bray Wyatt. They pulled the plug on his title run really quick and he is now feuding with Finn Balor on RAW. The change of brands may help Wyatt in the long run, but right now it is hard to take Wyatt seriously after the match at Wrestlemania 33 and the terrible House of Horrors match at WWE Payback.
The Miz & Maryse: The Miz had an excellent run on SmackDown. He was the Intercontinental Champion and had a terrific feud with Dolph Ziggler. There is no reason that he shouldn’t be able to continue that success on RAW as he is currently the #1 contender for the IC Title. The only down side of Miz joining RAW is that he will no longer be a guest on Talking Smack. His insane rants towards Renee Young and Daniel Bryan will be missed.
Dean Ambrose: Ambrose is currently the Intercontinental Champion, but absolutely needed a fresh start. Even though he is continuing his feud with The Miz from SmackDown, Ambrose was already more entertaining on this past week’s RAW than he was for the last month on SmackDown. Time will tell if Ambrose will grow stale again, but for now he has benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up.
Alexa Bliss: Alexa Bliss was terrific on SmackDown and has carried that over to RAW. She is the best female talent on RAW when it comes to promos. She also has great in-ring ability and always gets a reaction from the crowd. Alexa Bliss has already become RAW Women’s Champion and is the first female Superstar to hold both the Smackdown and RAW Women’s Championships.
Apollo Crews: Shockingly, Apollo Crews has actually benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. It is hard to believe that becoming a part of the “Titus Brand” is an upgrade, but it actually is. Crews was doing absolutely nothing on SmackDown. At the very least, Crews is becoming a weekly part of RAW. Crews struggles with promos, so the idea of having Titus O’Neil manage him actually helps him.
Kalisto: Kalisto went from getting beatdown by Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown to getting destroyed by Braun Strowman on RAW. To be fair, Kalisto actually did defeat Strowman in a Dumpster Match, he also happened to get stuffed in the dumpster and shoved of the entrance ramp after the match.
Heath Slater, Rhyno & Curt Hawkins: Heath Slater and Rhyno were the first SmackDown Tag Team Champions. After losing the titles, they faded away into obscurity. Since joining RAW, they have essentially done nothing besides backstage segments. Tune in on Monday nights to see if Rhyno is eating cheese and crackers. Curt Hawkins was getting his ass kicked on SmackDown and the exact same thing is happening on RAW. I guess that is an improvement for Hawkins given that more people watch RAW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGDC-DtppTY
From RAW to SmackDown:
Kevin Owens: Kevin Owens was the Universal Champion for a long time on RAW. However, it wasn’t the best version of Kevin Owens. He relied on Chris Jericho to win matches and consistently looked weak. Once Owens dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg, he actually became more entertaining. Things really picked up when he turned on Jericho at the Festival of Friendship. Since joining SmackDown, Owens has been declaring himself the “Face of America”. He is back to being ruthless in the ring, while also showing off his impressive promo skills. I think the Superstar Shake-Up has benefited Kevin Owens. The United States Championship may be less important than the Universal Championship, but Owens is much more entertaining in his current role.
The Colons: Formerly The Shining Stars, The Colons have absolutely benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. Even though SmackDown barely features their tag team division, The Shining Stars was just an awful gimmick and anything would be an upgrade from that.
Sami Zayn: Everyone was hoping for Sami Zayn to join SmackDown while he was on RAW. He was seemingly always coming up short on RAW and SmackDown felt like the perfect show for him. Zayn is gifted in the ring and people believed that he would shine on SmackDown. Unfortunately, that has not been the case at all so far. Zayn’s move to SmackDown has made no difference at all in how he is booked. He is back to losing matches and wrestling people much bigger than him. The Superstar Shake-Up has done nothing for Zayn so far as he seems to be stuck in the same role.
Charlotte Flair: Charlotte Flair is probably the best female wrestler on WWE’s roster. Her athleticism is insane and she can put on a terrific match with anyone. However, Charlotte’s character got old on RAW. Her promos eventually sounded robotic and the WWE Universe was starting to get tired of it. Since joining SmackDown, Charlotte has gone from a heel to a fan favorite. The crowd erupted when she made her way to the ring after being attacked backstage on this past week’s episode of SmackDown.
Jinder Mahal: Without a doubt, Jinder Mahal has been the Superstar that has benefited the most from the Superstar Shake-Up. It didn’t look like that would be the case after his SmackDown debut where he lost to Mojo Rawley. Mahal also took a beer to the face courtesy of Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. Mahal went on to win a Six-Pack Challenge to become the #1 contender for Randy Orton’s WWE Championship. He even stole Orton’s title and beat him down at WWE Payback. Mahal had an unsuccessful run with WWE and was released from the company. He made his WWE return last year and it looked like it was going to be more of the same. That clearly is not the case and he now has the chance to make a major name for himself heading into his WWE Championship match at WWE Backlash.
New Day, Rusev & Lana: New Day have yet to make their SmackDown debut due to Kofi Kingston being injured. New Day has been boring to me for a long time, hopefully the change of brands brings something fresh to their act. Rusev also hasn’t been on SmackDown yet as he is out with an injury. However, he has demanded a title shot at Money in the Bank. Time will tell if he gets his wish. Finally, Lana hasn’t made her SmackDown debut yet but she will be introducing a new gimmick as seen in the video below.
Discussion: Now that we are a few weeks into it, what are your thoughts on the Superstar Shake-Up so far? Which Superstar do you think has benefited from it the most?
One of the featured attractions at tonight’s WWE Payback pay-per-view will be the first-ever House of Horrors match between Bray Wyatt and WWE Champion Randy Orton.
WWE has not clearly defined exactly what the House of Horrors stipulation entails. A WWE Fan Council survey sent out earlier this month indicated that WWE wasn’t even sure what would be involved, but we know the survey asked fans if the match should include pitchforks, fog, darkness and “sheeple.”
It seems likely that the match would include some pre-taped footage involving a lot of gimmickry and that it would ultimately wind up in the arena to determine a winner. According to a report by Dave Scherer of PWInsider, that’s exactly what we’ll be seeing.
The “House” aspect of the House of Horror match has already been recorded. Randy Orton will arrive in a limousine and enter the house. Orton and Wyatt will brawl in various rooms of the home, including one that has dolls of children hanging from the ceiling. The fight then leads to the kitchen, where Bray Wyatt traps Orton and then goes out outside and steals the limo. Then it’s off to the arena for the actual match.
To find out, out who is scheduled to win the match, check out the final WWE Payback Betting Odds.
According to David Heath, aka Gangrel, the former leader of the Brood was at one point considered to join the Wyatt family. Heath would also say it was Bray Wyatt himself who pushed for Gangrel’s WWE return.
In a recent interview the 48-year old talked about the possibility of a WWE return, the Brood in the Hall of Fame, and more.
On Bray Wyatt asking him to join the Wyatt Family:
“When I was talking to Bray he was saying he very much wanted me to come in but I think because of the name issue, WWE doesn’t own the name Gangrel, so things got shot down and stuff. It would have been fun”
On working the Hardyz and Edge and Christian:
“Awesome guys. All of them are awesome. Proud of them all. Christian, Edge, Matt, Jeff, just great guys. You couldn’t ask for a better group of people to want to be around and work with.”
On the Brood Potentially Going in the Hall of Fame:
“You already have Edge in there. Christian’s not in yet I don’t think. Maybe the Brood might go in one day, it’s hard to say.”
“The Brood it was great and cool while it lasted but I don’t know if we had a long enough tenure.”
Finn Balor defeated Jinder Mahal in his first televised match since returning from injury. Shortly after the match, the lights went out and Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen. Bray Wyatt revealed that he was now on the Monday Night Raw roster. Bray Wyatt threatened Finn Balor and the entire Raw roster. Wyatt also revealed that the House of Horrors match against Randy Orton for the WWE Championship will now take place at WWE Payback on April 30th, 2017.
It was not revealed if Randy Orton was also joining the Raw roster. If Orton stays on Smackdown, the match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton would also determine which show gets the WWE Championship. Check back here on SESCoops and join our live discussion to find out if any other Superstars are changing brands during the Superstar Shake-Up.
Randy Orton became a nine-time WWE Champion after defeating Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at tonight’s WrestleMania 33 PPV in Orlando.
Orton won the fairly short match “outta nowhere” with the RKO, the culmination of a longterm storyline that saw Randy Orton infiltrate the Wyatt Family last year, break free, burn down the Wyatt Family compound and win the Royal Rumble to earn the title shot.
This marks the 9th World title reign for Randy Orton.
WWE Champion Bray Wyatt spoke with Sports Illustrated this week to hype next weekend’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view.
Prior to the Royal Rumble, WWE advertised the Rumble winner would earn the right to main event WrestleMania. Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble and will challenge Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania, but Bray knows there’s a good chance they won’t be going on last. Bill Goldberg’s Universal Title defense against Brock Lesnar will probably close the show on April 2nd and the Eater of Worlds is ready to leave them with a tough act to follow.
“If I were Goldberg or Brock Lesnar, I wouldn’t want to have to go on after me and Randy,” said Wyatt. “From their standpoint, I wouldn’t want to be them and have to go on after us.”
Wyatt commented on not “looking like” the typical WWE Champion and said that notion is a joke to him. The casual fan might expect the WWE Champion to have abs and a shaven body. When you look at UFC, their champions come in all ‘shapes and sizes.’ Bray Wyatt touted his athletic ability and hates when people talk about his ‘character.’
“When people use the word ‘character’, I find it offensive,” he said. “To do what I do, you can’t be a character. I’m a sick individual, and it takes a sick individual to do what I do. Becoming WWE champion was the number one goal all along. This was a power play, and now, this is truly the Era of Wyatt. This is my time, and it was the power that I sought all along.”
Bray Wyatt is a third generation Superstar. As the grandson of the late Blackjack Mulligan, son of Mike “IRS” Rotunda and nephew of Barry Windham, there’s wrestling running through his veins. The same can be said for his brother, Bo Dallas. Bo’s career has been fledgling in recent years and Bray thinks it’s time for his baby brother to come home.
“Bo Dallas is, quite possibly, the most talented wrestler on either roster,” said Wyatt. “He is the most underrated superstar of all time, in my opinion. He has so much to give. At some point, I would love to form an alliance with him because I know who and what he really is. Whether people want to look at him like that, well, then I’ll show you. It’s very, very possible.”
Other topics discussed include Bray Wyatt’s WWE Championship defense against Randy Orton at WrestleMania and Bray’s dream opponents. Head over to SI’s Extra Mustard blog to check out the full interview.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts spoke with Sports Illustrated this week and gave his thoughts on the WWE Championship program headed into WrestleMania involving Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. The WWE Hall of Famer is a longtime proponent of Bray Wyatt, is happy to see him as champion but thinks WWE has completely mishandled the booking of his character. Wyatt’s recent WWE Championship victory was met with “You deserve it!” chants, something Jake feels wouldn’t be happening if fans fully bought into the cult leader character.
“It’s great that Bray is champion, but my worry is that they’re pulling him away from his character,” said Roberts. “The people were chanting, ‘You deserve it!’ to him on Smackdown after he won the title. Is that a chant for a heel? Hell no, but that’s just the nature of the business these days. Bray needs to do something really nasty, and now is the time. He needs to be the one to do something crude and wrong.”
Wyatt ended John Cena’s 2-week championship reign and is set to face Randy Orton in just a matter of weeks. With this being the first world title for the Eater of Worlds, Roberts firmly believes he needs to have a long run with the title to establish his credibility as a main eventer.
“Hopefully they’ll let him keep his character and hold onto the belt for a while,” said Roberts. “If this is just WWE quickly using Bray to change the guard, then it’s a waste of time. They’ve really hurt his character in the last year. They’ve really watered it down.
“Randy Orton has a lot of going for him. He’s just missing that last little piece. I would love to spend time with him and see if I could help him. I’ve offered that before, and no one replied, so there you go. It hurts because I love the business and I want to give back to it. It’s a damn shame that I reached out and didn’t hear anything, it made me sick to my stomach.”
Roberts thinks the best storyline route is for Randy to turn full-on babyface and for Wyatt to reform the classic Wyatt family with Harper and Rowan.
After Tuesday’s SmackDown, we will finally know who will challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
It was announced on Friday that AJ Styles and Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton will square off on SmackDown. The winner challenges for the richest prize in the game on the biggest show of the year. This past week, AJ Styles defeated Luke Harper to become the #1 contender. Later in the show, Randy Orton turned on Bray, burned the Wyatt Family Compound to the ground and declared war on his former leader.
WWE WrestleMania takes place on Sunday, April 2nd from Orlando, FL.
Discussion: Who do you think will challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania? Randy Orton, AJ Styles or both in a triple threat match?
Matt and Jeff Hardy are now free agents. Broken Matt is ready for the next chapter of his career and tweeted the following two minutes after his TNA contract officially expired:
It is March 1st, 2017, 12:01 AM..
The #7Deities have BLESSED my ENCEPHALON and implanted it with even more ABILITIES.
It’s expected that Broken Matt and Brother Nero will be headed to WWE. If NXT star Tommaso Ciampa has any say in the matter, the Hardy brothers will first test themselves against him and Johnny Gargano.
Meanwhile, Matt Hardy has a message to WWE Champion Bray Wyatt and makes it clear that he’s following WWE storylines closely. Back in December, Matt laid out an open challenge to “all tag teams from time and space” to participate in Tag Team Apocalypto at Total Nonstop Deletion. He specifically referenced The New Day, Wyatt Family and the Young Bucks. WWE Hall of Fame inductees the Rock ‘N Roll Express showed up, but there was no sign of the Family of Wyatts. At the time, Bray told Matt, “You know where to find us….”
