The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On rumors that he’s negotiating with Lucha Underground: “Word on the internet that I’m “negotiating” wit Lucha Underground which isn’t accurate whatsoever. I enjoy their show but I’ve had zero contact with any one there except Chris DeJoseph, who taped an upcoming Ross Report Podcast, (drops March 24) and Matt Striker who I worked with at Wrestle Kingdom 9. What a difference RAW is when they have their full compliment of talents available to them. I enjoyed all the chaos at the WWE Title Bout contract signing for the Royal Rumble main event featuring Lesnar vs Cena vs Rollins. This bout is unpredictable to me which adds to its marketability and appeal. I’m still thinking something big and/or quasi unexpected will happen in this match.”
On who he thinks will win the Royal Rumble: “I’ve waffled on the winner of the Rumble match itself several times, perhaps I should have been a professional politician, but my latest ‘gut feeling’ is that Daniel Bryan takes home the WM31 main event spot.
Could it be Bryan vs. Rollins or even Lesnar at WM31?”
On rumors of Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31: “If the rumors of Undertaker returning to WM31 to face Bray Wyatt are true, then it helps Wyatt amazingly well even if Bray loses. I have no info verifying his match but it’s making the rounds online.”
Check out the complete interview at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
It was reported a while back that WWE officials were contemplating doing a John Cena vs. Rusev feud for WrestleMania 31. The idea at that time was to have Rusev cost Cena his chance at recapturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
As of right now, WWE is advertising a tag-team main event of John Cena and Randy Orton vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins for the live event in Madison Square Garden on February 27th. Some view this as a possible sign that WWE is going forward with their original plans for Cena vs. Rusev at WrestleMania.
Thus far, there has been no interaction between Cena and Rusev that would indicate that match being booked. Some are of the opinion that Cena and Rusev is simply a live event program for WrestleMania season, possibly because Brock Lesnar doesn’t work non-televised events.
In related news, other matches advertised for the aforementioned 2/27 live event at MSG include Daniel Bryan vs. Kane, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro and an appearance by Chris Jericho.
There were people who were said to be pretty shocked when Bray Wyatt picked up a clean victory over Dean Ambrose in their “Ambulance Match” on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
While some feel it’s possible that Ambrose is turning heel in the near future, others feel that WWE simply isn’t focused on protecting him in the booking right now, as their attention is in protecting other WWE Superstars. One of those Superstars, as we have noted in the past, is Wyatt.
WWE wants to keep Wyatt strong in the booking in case The Undertaker decides to work a match at WrestleMania 31. When Wyatt defeated Ambrose in clean fashion this past Monday on RAW, some took it as a sign that certain top-level WWE executives are under the belief that Undertaker is in fact coming back for a match at WrestleMania 31 later this year, and if so, likely in a match against Wyatt.
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.
The most exciting sixty-plus minutes of wrestling action is only a few weeks away, where bodies will assuredly be flying over the top rope, Kofi Kingston will likely avoid defeat in dramatic fashion at least once, and one superstar will walk away with a spot in the main event at WrestleMania.
However, although thirty men ostensibly have a chance to headline the biggest event of the year, even the most delusional fan realizes there are only a handful of competitors who are legitimate contenders to walk away victorious. Here are those men.
Odds-On Favorite: Roman Reigns
After his record-breaking performance last year, the Powerhouse is easily the favorite to win it all in 2015. Even though there are still questions regarding Reigns’ ability to headline a major pay-per-view such as WrestleMania, it appears the company is ready to pull the trigger on what they apparently believe to be their next big thing.
Assuming the company goes this route, they need to be careful, because the crowd could easily turn on Reigns in a situation similar to last year’s Rumble. If fans think the Pittsburgh crowd was harsh toward Batista last year, try putting Reigns over Bryan in the city whose fans at one point pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. Trust me, it won’t be pretty.
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.
The WWE is always harping on about the Attitude Era. If they’re not plugging their “critically acclaimed” Monday Night War series, they are gloating about past successes while subtly bashing a long-dead company. However, despite the company’s love of the Attitude Era, there’s a considerable lack of attitude anywhere within the company.
When the company first announced the WWE Network, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to cash in on nostalgic fans eager to relive the glory days. After all, those kids that grew up in the 90s watching Austin and the Rock were now adults with college degrees and full-time jobs, so it seemed like a no brainer to try to reel in old fans that departed over the past decade.
Cena is still the top guy in the company, but at age 37, it’s obvious his days are numbered.
During the lead-up to the Network launch, it was promised that every pay-per-view and episode of Raw would be available within a few months of launch. Nearly a year later, the Attitude Era is practically nonexistent. Sure, the pay-per-views are all there, but the most controversial and memorable moments of that era typically occurred on Raw.
By even the most conservative estimates, the Attitude Era started in 1997 (some would say it started at the 1996 King of the Ring, but I won’t go back that far). As of today, there are 20 episodes in total from the years 1997 through 2001, including the episode where Vince McMahon purchased WCW, which essentially marked the end of the era. A lot of the most controversial and memorable moments are also conveniently missing, such as Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin, the infamous Bret screwed Bret promo, and Bret Hart’s profanity-laced tirade in March of 1997.
In contrast, there are 45 episodes from 1993 alone, and it’s not like the company is uploading the episodes in order because they also uploaded the entire year of 2012 and random episodes from various years. It undoubtedly takes time to convert old episodes of Raw into a format that is suitable for widescreen televisions, but it seems like there is really no rush to upload the content.
Instead of creating the same episode of Monday Night War 20 times, they should instead show the stories that inspired the mind-numbingly boring series. While uploading the content, the company should also take a moment to revisit the past, because there are a lot of similarities between today’s product and the era that immediately preceded the Attitude Era, which I refer to as the In Your House Era.
For better or worse, it’s a new year. Everyone starts with a fresh slate, New Year’s resolutions are in effect, and generally speaking, people try to better themselves for the first week of the year before giving up the futile expedition.
Things are no different in the WWE, as every superstar will be trying to reach the next level in 2015. Here are ten superstars who will strike gold in 2015 by capturing a title that was previously unattainable.
10. Charlotte
Although her debut on the main roster was less than memorable, Charlotte has the potential to revolutionize the Divas division. As seen in NXT, the daughter of the Nature Boy can easily put on entertaining 15+ minute matches any night of the week. It’s now up to the WWE to let the talented women of NXT show what they can do on a regular basis. Charlotte will help to legitimize the Divas division a bit in 2015 by capturing the Divas Championship.
9. Sasha Banks
Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on one of the best Divas matches in the history of WWE a few weeks back at R Evolution. It appears “The Boss” is next in line for the throne in the NXT Women’s division, meaning she will capture the title after Charlotte leaves NXT in 2015.
The final weekly sit-down from Michael Cole of 2014, which features Dean Ambrose, has been added to the official WWE YouTube channel.
Check out the video below to hear Ambrose talk about his feud with Bray Wyatt and their upcoming “Ambulance Match” on next week’s RAW, his thoughts on The Authority returning to power in WWE and his plans for New Year’s.
WWE officially reportedly want The Undertaker to be inducted into the 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame, if he chooses not to wrestle at the WrestleMania 31 event that weekend.
As noted in the past, if Undertaker does decide to work a match at WrestleMania, WWE officials want it to be with Bray Wyatt.
A potential Hall of Fame induction if he doesn’t wrestle, guaranteeing him as part of “WrestleMania weekend” either way, is likely the reason WWE has been advertising Undertaker in the WrestleMania promotional materials, such as the tour buses and production trucks.
– As promised, former NXT Tag-Team Champions The Ascension made their main roster WWE debut at Monday’s RAW in Washington, D.C. The Ascension defeated The Miz and Damien Mizdow in a quick tag-team match on the show.
– The backstage video promo from Bray Wyatt on Monday’s RAW was taped last week at RAW in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wyatt was not in attendance at the event on Monday night in Washington, D.C., as he worked the non-televised live event in Richmond, Virginia on Monday.
On the final RAW of 2014, a big segment was announced for the first SmackDown of 2015, as there will be a second-ever “Cutting Edge Peep Show.”
Edge and Christian, who were guest hosts on RAW this week for the first ever “Cutting Edge Peep Show” talk show segment, will be returning on this week’s SmackDown with the second edition of the talk show, with Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose serving as the special guests.
A big match for next week’s RAW, the first of 2015, was announced on this week’s edition of the show.
Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose in an Ambulance Match is announced for next week’s show, with Michael Cole going into detail on the stipulation for the match.
To win, Wyatt or Ambrose must take their opponent to the ambulance, load him in the back, close the door and drive away.
– WWE executives have been planning on making the announcement that NXT star Corey Graves was going to be retiring from in-ring competition and moving to his new announcer role since the summer.
– WWE officials are said to be afraid of hurting Bray Wyatt by having him lose to Dean Ambrose in their series of matches recently. The plan is to keep Wyatt strong in case the rumored match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 comes to fruition.
MAJOR Backstage Heat On AJ Lee For Her Slammy Awards Speech AND A Separate Incident (Full Story)
(News from The Wrestling Observer was used in this post. Visit F4WOnline.com for subscription information.)
Backstage morale in WWE, which was was not very good over the past several months, was made even worse after Vince McMahon’s live interview with Steve Austin on the WWE Network a few weeks ago.
A lot of the talent felt that McMahon “crapped on just about everyone” except for Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. There’s also a feeling that McMahon made it clear that those four names were the only ones he sees any top star potential in.
Apparently things got bad enough that Triple H tried some damage control in the form of a speech to the entire WWE roster, which reportedly backfired.
NXT wrestlers are generally very fond of Triple H, however when it comes to the main roster, whatever he said in that speech reportedly lost him a lot of credibility, especially among talent that has been with the company for quite a while.
WWE Starting To DOUBT Roman Reigns As Their Next Top Guy — WrestleMania 31 Plans CHANGING?!
(News from The Wrestling Observer was used in this post. Visit F4WOnline.com for subscription information.)
The following are highlights of the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper match at RAW: “Ziggler vs. Harper…both men sold well, which is missing in many talent’s game within the business these days, and told a great story of competition and made me feel better about the IC Title status and how it an be heated up. I knew Harper had ‘it’ when I watched him down in NXT and Ziggler has been ready for ‘prime time’ for a good while now. I like how WWE has begun to utilize Dolph.”
On the Seth Rollins vs. John Cena match at RAW: “Rollins vs. Cena….nice chemsty..competitive…and we got a clean winner and a disgruntled loser who will want redemption. Leaving fans feeling empty with a impotent count out or disqualification can do more harm than good in any promotion.”
On The Ascension vignettes: “Interesting Ascension vignettes…almost Road Warrior-esque which will be interesting to see how the audience accepts. WWE needs a hot, fan favorite tag team for Ascension to come in and ravage to get the fan’s attention.”
On Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt at RAW: “Loved the effort of Ambrose vs. Rollins and I’m a fan of each talent but I felt like they depended too much on weaponry in their match. Less is more especially after we’ve seen the recent TLC PPV plus other cage matches recently. These two beat the hell out of each other….again.”
On The New Day faction: “Really curious as to how “New Day” is going to be accepted by the fans once they are launched officially IE in earnest. Today’s fans don’t seem to be too willing to provide second chances. I’d surmise that dressing in Carolina Blue and espousing such positivity that today’s wrestling fan may be a little hard on the talented trio who I happen to like personally and professionally. These three need to be special and draw positive attention to themselves by what they do in the ring and how they present themselves. If it’s the same old stuff, it won’t work. This sis where talents need to brainstorm and strategize on what they can do differently while they are being repackaged.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
As we reported on Monday night after WWE RAW, an angle was shot involving Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose immediately after their “Miracle on 34th Street Fight” on the show.
The angle featured Ambrose diving off of a ladder onto Wyatt, which according to one fan report, resulted in Wyatt being injured, loaded into an ambulance and taken off to a hospital.
Apparently, Wyatt was loaded into an ambulance, however he was not taken to a hospital. It’s possible that this was filmed for next week’s WWE television, however that is purely speculation at this point.
For those who missed it, you can read the original report, which includes photos of the angle, by clicking here.
After Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt continued to brawl. Ambrose brought another table out, which led to Wyatt offering a handshake. Ambrose hit him with Dirty Deeds instead and then put him on the table.
Ambrose climbed a ladder and dove onto Wyatt, which got a huge pop from the crowd.
Referees checked on Wyatt, who indicated that he was injured. After being tended to by medical staff, he was eventually taken out of the arena and ambulance. Wyatt was then transported to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
We’ll post an update on the situation as soon as it becomes available.
Credit to Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com for information used in this report.
– WWE has announced that WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be on tonight’s RAW. Piper will be hosting a special “Piper’s Pit” segment with Rusev and Lana as the guests.
– Also announced for tonight’s RAW is a “Miracle on 34th Street Match” between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose.
– As noted earlier, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show has also been made official for tonight’s show.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan is scheduled to serve as the guest host of tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of the show.
ORIGINAL STORY:
WWE has announced a singles match between Roman Reigns and Big Show for tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of WWE RAW.
Also announced for tonight’s show is the return of WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan.
Make sure to join us here tonight for live RAW play-by-play results coverage.
– NXT Superstar and former strongman Braun Stowman made his official in-ring debut at the NXT live events in Jacksonville and Lakeland this weekend, defeating Chad Gable of the Shoot Nation faction.
– Mika Rotunda, sister of WWE Superstars Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas, posted the following photo of the three siblings together with their father, WWE legend Mike “I.R.S.” Rotunda.
Thanks be to your sacrifice & service. Merry Christmas,from my family to yours troops. @WWEBrayWyatt @TheBoDallas pic.twitter.com/ptCMRAbus8
– Vince McMahon, Big Show, R-Truth, Summer Rae and Alicia Fox went overseas to visit the U.S. troops this weekend. You can check out an assortment of photos from the trip at WWE.com.
– WWE will be taping next Friday’s edition of SmackDown tonight in Sioux City, Iowa. Hulk Hogan is advertised to make a special appearance. Other talent advertised for the show includes Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kane, Bray Wyatt, and Big Show. The dark match main event for the show will be Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.
Sometimes things work out. Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins.
Other times, things don’t. Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Fandango.
After last week’s NXT Takeover: R Evolution special, which fans are still raving about a week later, it became crystal clear to me that WWE is developing a number of future Superstars that have the potential to lead the company into the next generation.
Today, we are going to look at ten current performers/acts in the NXT system that I feel have the best shot at achieving success on the main WWE roster. With that being said, lets jump right into the list at number ten….
#10. The Lucha Dragons
The Lucha Dragons — Kalisto and Sin Cara, two talents that as individuals could flourish, but as a unit, make up one of the best tag-teams in WWE’s developmental system. Their ring work is solid and entertaining. Crowd pleasing. The gimmick is another story, but unfortunately, with WWE being in the middle of their PG-era, gimmicks and characters such as these two are unavoidable.
With that being said, they are what they are, and that’s a great tag-team combination. They’re the Los Matadores, only better. That’s not a knock against them, despite the fact it could be seen as one. If they remain under their current gimmick, it’s pretty much a given that they’ll never reach past mid-card, comedy-team status, but like I said, we’re going to have that one way or the other. Since that’s the case, it might as well be two guys who are as talented as these two.
I think it’s a given that these two guys will eventually make it to the main roster, and equally as predictable is the way in which they’ll be used. They’ll be two guys in a tag-team division on the main WWE roster that isn’t worth much, but for whatever it is worth, these two guys have the potential to be among the top teams in the company. While that’s not saying much, it’s saying something, and in this day and age, you pretty much have to take what you can get if you’re an aspiring wrestler.
#9. Tyler Breeze
Much like The Lucha Dragons, I feel that Tyler Breeze is an extremely talented worker, but is unfortunately stuck in a lame-duck gimmick. On social media, I’ve read a lot of comments that makes it seem like fans are actually believers of the Tyler Breeze gimmick in the sense that it could actually go somewhere on the main roster.
I am not one of those believers.
I’m of the opinion that if Breeze jumps to the main roster and is used with the same exact character that he has now, it’s one that has a ceiling that comes with it. This type of character can only go so far. Think of talents like Fandango and Adam Rose and how they are positioned on the main roster, and you’ve got my opinion of how Breeze would be used in this type of role.
If they were to change his gimmick, he certainly has the potential to go further than this type of character would allow. He’s got the talent in the ring, he has a unique charisma about him and he’s got a great look. His promo work is decent, nothing to ride home about in my opinion, but he’s got enough tools to work with that if he was given a different type of character, it would be interesting to see how far he could take it. Maybe if they started a character-change in NXT and let it grow a bit, that would be the route to take in terms of preparing him for a call up to the big leagues.
Whether or not that ever happens is another subject entirely.
As noted last week, if The Undertaker is able and willing to work a match at WrestleMania 31, WWE wants it to be against Bray Wyatt.
Since then, a recent photo of The Undertaker looking extremely old has surfaced online, one that if you saw it, would lead you to believe that there’s no way he will be wrestling in March. The photo is believed to have been taken at a gate in an airport.
As far as WrestleMania 31 is concerned, whether Undertaker is able to do the Wyatt match or not, it’s said that WWE wants him to at least be a part of the show, as he is under what is believed to be a one-million dollar per-year deal with the company.
During the post-TLC edition of WWE RAW, a couple of announcements were made regarding this coming Tuesday night’s live edition of WWE SmackDown.
First, a graphic was shown of Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. The announcers hyped up the fact that both men will be under the same roof following their “TLC Match” at Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.
Later on during RAW another graphic was shown, this time of Roman Reigns. It was announced that Roman Reigns “returns to action” on this week’s SmackDown.
Make sure to visit us here on Tuesday night for live results coverage of the live edition of WWE SmackDown.
– In this video, Rikishi challenges Kim Kardashian to a “Booty Contest.”
The former WWE Superstar was at the Miracle on 1st Street Christmas Toy Giveaway in Los Angeles, California, when he brought up his sizable posterior and challenged Kardashian to come down to his wrestling school and take part in the contest.
– As seen last night at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs … and Stairs, Dean Ambrose lost to Bray Wyatt in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match. In a trivia note, this loss extended Ambrose’s winless drought on pay-per-view since The Shield disbanded in June. In addition to WWE TLC, “The Lunatic Fringe” has lost matches at Money in the Bank (to Seth Rollins in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match), WWE Battleground (to Seth Rollins in a singles match via forfeit), SummerSlam (to Seth Rollins in a Lumberjack Match), Hell in a Cell (to Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell Match) and Survivor Series (to Bray Wyatt via disqualification).
– Sunday at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs … and Stairs, WWE.com reported that AJ Lee was tended to by physicians after a scary incident in which Divas Champion Nikki Bella blinded her with hairspray. The report has since been slightly changed, as it is now noted that she was blinded with “unidentified spray.”
The physicians’ quick treatment of Lee helped prevent any long-term damage to her vision.
