Following this week’s WWE television, below is the latest official lineup for the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view:
Hell In a Cell Match
– John Cena vs. Randy Orton
Hell In a Cell Match
– Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. The Miz
Loser Must Be Assistant To Winner For 30 Days
– Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella
– Big Show vs. Rusev
– Regarding the WWE release of ring announcer Justin Roberts, it’s said that it was a situation where his contract expired and the two sides couldn’t come to terms on a new deal. WWE somewhat acknowledged this in their announcement of his release, writing: “WWE has chosen to not exercise its option to renew ring announcer Justin Roberts’ contract.”
– Nikki Bella and Brie Bella shot some footage backstage at RAW in Atlanta on Monday night for future WWE.com material that will hype up their stipulation match at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– After weeks of anticipation, The Bunny from Adam Rose’s “Rosebuds” group finally made his in-ring debut on Monday’s post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW. The Bunny teamed up with Rose to take on “The Slater Gators,” Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil. The Bunny helped lead Rose to victory in the tag-team contest. It’s also worth noting that after JBL pretended on commentary that he’d be absolutely sickened if The Bunny were to trend on Twitter, with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler egging the situation on, “#BunnyMania” ended up trending number one worldwide on Twitter during RAW.
– As seen on Monday’s RAW, there seemed to be a tease for a possible future name change for one of the Bella Twins. Since the feud began, Brie Bella has already been forced to change her entrance music. On RAW, Nikki Bella declared that from now on she wanted to be referred to as “THE Nikki Bella,” and noted that she wanted Brie Bella to drop the “Bella” name, pointing out that she was recently married and should have taken the last name of her husband as it is. Whether or not this was a throw-away comment or the beginning of a possible stipulation match that leads to a future name change for one of the Bella Twins remains to be seen.
WWE announced a Divas tag-team match for Monday’s RAW, which is the “go-home” show for next Sunday’s Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
Brie Bella and AJ Lee will team up to take on the duo of Paige and Nikki Bella at the show, which emanates from the Cajundone in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Also scheduled for Monday’s RAW, as noted earlier today, is the return of several top NXT talents. Currently booked for RAW (and SmackDown) next week are Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze.
Finally, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is also scheduled to return at next week’s RAW. As seen on this past Monday night’s show in Baltimore, John Cena promised that he’s either kicking Lesnar’s ass, or Paul Heyman’s, if Lesnar doesn’t show up.
– Hideo Itami, formerly known as KENTA, has changed his official Twitter handle to reflect his new ring name. You can now reach him on Twitter @HideoItami.
– Brie Bella’s new theme song is called “Beautiful Life” and is now available online via iTunes.
– Below is a new episode of The JBL (not Cole) Show:
As things stand right now, the only matches officially set for the September 21st WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view in Nashville, Tennessee are Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship and Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
According to reports, two additional matches that are all but confirmed are The Usos vs. Goldust and Stardust for the WWE Tag-Team Championships and Mark Henry vs. Rusev.
The plan right now for the WWE Divas Championship match on the card appears to be a four-way with Paige defending against AJ Lee, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella, as all four were linked together on all of WWE’s television shows this week.
Another match likely for the show, although it may not be a pay-per-view match, is Bo Dallas vs. Jack Swagger.
The key Superstars left without matches that are expected on the show are Chris Jericho (in his final match of his current run with WWE), Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
It appears WWE is going with a Reigns vs. Rollins match, so they may go with Jericho vs. Orton since the Jericho vs. Wyatt and Reigns vs. Orton matches are set for next week’s RAW to combat the season premiere of Monday Night Football. However, they could either way, with one final Jericho vs. Wyatt “blow-off” match, as well as another Reigns vs. Orton bout.
As noted in the past, the WWE Studios film “Lockdown,” which Dean Ambrose is off filming, is set to wrap up on the Saturday before Night Of Champions, so he could end up on the show if WWE chooses to go that route.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE has announced that popular talk-show host Jerry Springer will be appearing at an upcoming edition of WWE RAW.
Following the season three premiere of Total Divas on E! this Sunday night, Springer will be appearing on the following night’s RAW in Baltimore, Maryland.
WWE.com reports that Springer will be at RAW to moderate a discussion between the Bella Twins.
The following are highlights of a new Wrestle Reaction interview with Vince Russo:
On the Nikki Bella backstage segments and storyline: “It’s difficult for me to criticize people, but I try to do it in a nice way. Nikki Bella is not a good actress. Now, you have to understand, these people are wrestlers. Acting isn’t their forte. You’re asking them to be good wrestlers and good actors. Some people are just good wrestlers and not good actors; those are the people you have to work with more. When they first started doing those backstage segments tonight, my first thought is “good”! They’re protecting Nikki Bella. They know she’s not a good actress. They’re putting her in a pre-taped situation where, if it’s bad, they can shut it down and do it over again. Then what do they do? They put her out there in the ring, in front of the people, on a live show where there is no net, no protection, and she’s not a good actress. Something like that makes absolutely no sense! Look at the time we spent on that in-ring segment and at the end of the segment all we got was a shove. If the idea of that segment was for Stephanie McMahon to give Nikki Bella a Diva’s Title shot, well then when she’s in the back with Triple H, call Nikki into the office and do your business back there in 30 seconds. It doesn’t warrant a 12 minute in-ring segment where nothing happened and you made your Diva’s Champion Paige, the most valuable person in that ring, a supporting actress in the background. There was no point to that. At the end of the day, it was a waste of time!”
O the current WWE creative mindset: “When Ed and I were writing for WWE, we were not of the wrestling world. We were fans like you guys. So, we weren’t “The Bookers” who had 25 years of experience in the wrestling business and did things only one way. We were fans, we came in fresh. We were writing from a fan perspective and what the fans wanted. That had a lot to do with the success of the Attitude Era. The minute Ed and I left to go to WCW, WWE went back to what they know and what they know is “wrestling”. They have people working backstage, in their training facility, who have been wrestlers for years and years and that’s the product that they put out there. Unfortunately, and Glenn Gilberti (The Disco Inferno) said it best on my show, “Wrestling does not draw”. At the end of the day, the matches do not draw. It’s everything else in between that draws. They don’t know how to do that anymore. They’re just doing what they know how to do and that’s “wrestling”.”
On Vince McMahon wanting The Rock vs Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31: “This is my opinion. I’m the biggest fan from the guys from my era and generation. I mark out when I see Shawn Michaels come out last week. When I see The Rock, I mark out. But, there has to come a point in time, in my opinion, where the WWE stops relying on that older talent to get a boost in the ratings. They have enough talent now. The talent is there. They have some guys that are unbelievable! That article I wrote for PyroandBallyhoo.com, where I talked about Rollins and the Shield, the fact that they split up the Shield and made stars out of all three is unbelievable! That is a great accomplishment by the WWE. They’ve got those guys, they’ve got Bray Wyatt, the talent is there. At some point, you have to start going with what you have and build that up. You have to stop relying on Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, as much as we love to see them, you gotta bring Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to that level. I think Vince is out of his mind to go with Brock Lesnar vs The Rock. At some point, the future of the WWE has to be now! It can’t be the Attitude Era, it has to be now!”
Check out the complete interview above.
– The ESPN 2 talk show “SportsNation” covered WWE’s publicity stunt involving gay NFL player Michael Sam. Host Max Kellerman spoke about the topic, stating that if Sam still has NFL aspirations, he should not appear on the show next Monday night in Baltimore, Maryland. The show conducted a poll as well, with 72 percent of the votes saying Sam should not appear on the WWE program.
– Brie Bella posted the following tweet on Twitter today, apologizing for hitting her sister on Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW:
After breakfast I realized no matter how mad I get, I shouldn't have hit my Sister on #Raw. Sorry to my fam and to #WWE for my actions. – B
— Nikki & Brie (@BellaTwins) September 2, 2014
– It was announced on this week’s edition of WWE RAW that on this week’s WWE Main Event show, which airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, The Miz will host a MizTV segment with special guest, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler.
– Also announced on this week’s RAW is a match for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be taped on Tuesday night. In a non-title match, WWE Divas Champion Paige will go one-on-one with Brie Bella.
– The person who played The Miz’s makeup artist during his tag-team match on Monday’s RAW was independent female wrestler Sarah “Crazy Mary Dobson” Bridges.
– During the Total Divas Twitter Q&A, which we reported about on Sunday, Brie Bella noted that she would like to feud with NXT Divas Champion Charlotte in the future.
The following are highlights of a new Slam! Wrestling interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus:
Her relationship with Lita and making appearances together: “It’s great any time I get to spend time hanging out with Amy. We have to work at (scheduling things), but in some ways it can be easy. She can say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this project coming up, so I’m going to swing through Toronto for a couple of days on my way there.’ In fact, we just baptized (Stratus’ son) Max about a month ago, and (Amy) came in to Toronto for that.”
“We have so much that we can relate to each. It’s nice that we were able to stay friends beyond (wrestling). It’s funny, because we’re total opposites in a lot of ways. On paper, you’d never think that we would hang out together. But we lived so much of our lives together on the same path — we were in the trenches together, from the beginning all the way through the end when we both retired — that we just stayed in touch.”
The movie Gridlocked that comes out this month: “It was just an amazing opportunity. Acting wasn’t something that I was necessarily actively pursuing, but I always said that if a good project landed on my desk, I’d certainly consider it. I had taken a break (from acting) after my last movie (2012’s Bounty Hunters) to focus more on my business and my brand. Then after a few months, I was meeting with an agent, and thought, ‘Yeah, let’s see what’s out there.’ Then suddenly I got this opportunity. They were filming Toronto, it was an action movie, which is a natural fit for me. I believe it was the universe saying, ‘Yep, here’s something amazing for you.'”
“I’m very proud of what we did with Bounty Hunters, and it was a great vehicle for me as my first film, but I’d say that the things that were missing in that one, we got to have in this one. With a smaller independent film, you don’t necessarily have the time to shoot it, the budget for giant explosions and extravagant set pieces. If you saw Bounty Hunters, you may have noticed that even though I got beaten up a lot, I didn’t spill a single drop of blood. I remember we were doing a panel, it may even have been at Fan Expo, and someone asked why there was no blood. The producer joked that, ‘Well… blood’s expensive.’ So I got to bleed in this movie. You know you’re in the big leagues when you can bleed.”
The recent feud between Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon: “I texted Stephanie and told her, ‘Girl, you’re looking good — great to see you out there again.’ She was freaking out over not having worked for so long. But she looked fantastic. I love watching Stephanie, and I love how she’s come out to help build Brie Bella by putting her in this program. And I think Brie did an excellent job — she’s a great character, and a great person, and great for the product as well. It’s tons of pressure to work with the boss, and (you have) to be your best every week. If you’re given the opportunity, and you come through, that’s great. That’s the kind of challenge I love.”
Check out the complete interview at Canoe.ca.
Tonight is the Labor Day edition of WWE RAW, which takes place live tonight at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Confirmed thus far for tonight’s show is a “Highlight Reel” segment with Chris Jericho and special guest, Randy Orton.
Superstars advertised for tonight’s show in Des Moines include John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Kane, Seth Rollins and Triple H.
The WWE.com “Five Point Preview” for tonight’s show focuses on the following:
– What hard-hitting questions will Jericho have for Orton?
– How will Cena respond to Brock Lesnar?
– What is going on between AJ Lee and Paige?
– Will Reigns get his hands on Rollins?
– How will Brie Bella move past her sisters actions last week?
Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE RAW results coverage.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley tweeted the following comments about various segments from Monday’s edition of WWE RAW:
I really don't care if he works 20 days a month or just 1 – @BrockLesnar, with @HeymanHustle is a compelling, terrifying @WWE champion #RAW
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) August 26, 2014
Maybe the #womb comment was a little heavy, but that #BellaTwins #RAW segment was a great showcase for #NikkiBella.
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) August 26, 2014
Eva Marie, who has previously eloped with her longtime boyfriend Jonathan Coyle, re-married the part-time Total Divas star in California recently. WWE had cameras at the ceremony to film the footage for a future edition of Total Divas, the third season of which premieres on Sunday, September 7th on E!.
WWE.com wrote the following regarding Marie and Coyle’s marriage:
Eva Marie marries Jonathan Coyle
Congratulations to Eva Marie on her official marriage to Jonathan Coyle!
Eva Marie, who had previously eloped with her boyfriend Coyle, sealed their union with a ceremony in Napa, Calif., that she dubbed the #RedWedding on Twitter. Eva’s fellow Divas Summer Rae, Cameron, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella and Layla were in attendance, as was an E! camera crew who captured the evening’s festivities for the upcoming season of “Total Divas,” which begins Sunday, Sept. 7, at 9/8 CT.
WWE.com wishes the happy couple all the best.
It is believed that WWE has simply dropped the Megan Miller portion of the Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella storyline.
At SummerSlam on Sunday night, Brie noted during her promo that Stephanie “paid off” Miller to lie about having an affair with her husband, Daniel Bryan. Many believe that is a sign that the Megan Miller part of their storyline is done and over with.
Another part of the Stephanie/Brie story that appears to be gone is the angle that began when Stephanie McMahon was arrested and Triple H didn’t immediately come to her aid. Originally, it seemed to be the beginning of some storyline trouble between Stephanie and HHH, however that appears to no longer be the case.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– With WWE SummerSlam taking place in Los Angeles, California, several Hollywood celebrities were in attendance. Among them were Maria Menounos, Michelle Beadle, Bill Simmons, and Ronda Rousey, who was accompanied by members of her “Four Horsewomen” stable. I noticed Shayna Baszler sitting next to Rousey, but the shot of Rousey at ringside was so brief, I couldn’t tell who else was sitting with her.
– During the Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella match at WWE SummerSlam on Sunday night in Los Angeles, Nikki Bella made the heel turn that we reported about in the past few weeks. With the help of Nikki, who hit Brie and turned on her sister, Stephanie McMahon ended up winning the match. Afterwards, the announcers spoke about Nikki Bella turning on her sister and “joining The Authority.”
– Apparently both Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella have spent a lot of time practicing their match over the last week or so. It is being said that the two will be given a decent amount of time for their match tonight, and many expect a lot of bells and whistles to help ensure that the match comes off well on the pay-per-view.
– Following tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view in Los Angeles, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to appear on tomorrow night’s WWE RAW follow-up show, which is advertising a main event (likely a dark match) of Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton & Seth Rollins & Bray Wyatt.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog, which features the WWE Hall Of Famer giving his predictions for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
On John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar: “If you’ve listened to my Ross Report Podcast on podcastone.com and iTunes you know that I’ve been saying for months that I thought Lesnar would win the WWE Title at Sumer Slam even before Cena regained the championship. I will stay with my prediction as I feel that WWE is grooming Roman Reigns for the to spot and that Reigns beating Lesnar next year at WM31 would be a big money match if properly built. Yes, one can build it ‘properly’ even if Lesnar isn’t a ‘full time’ talent. It’s called smart booking. It was done for decades with the traveling, NWA Champion.”
On The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: “Timing is every thing in the wrestling biz and Ziggler has had too many false starts to endure many more w/o being looked upon by many frustrated fans negatively. I’d put Ziggler over and take a positive step in restoring the shine to the IC Title and what it has meant in years past in WWE…the in ring, work horse champ.”
On AJ Lee vs. Paige: “As I have said many times, AJ is WWE’s top in ring Diva while Paige has the ability to put herself firmly in that conversation. Although neither lady may find themselves ever on ‘Totally Divas,’ and they both may not care, I feel that AJ will retain her title Sunday.”
On Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton: ” ‘The Roman Empire’ begins its build in earnest with a quality win over a proven, top talent at a major PPV. WWE is doing a nice job building Reigns who is a work in progress but, as I’ve said, he has until April 2015 to be truly ready for ‘the spot.’ Funny how some fans of today’s generation are already having issues with Reigns which, based on their own reasoning, is embarrassing in my opinion.”
On Rusev vs. Jack Swagger: “It is hard to logically fathom seeing the Russian Flag prevail over the American flag in a match where capturing the flag determines the winner. I’m going with my fellow Oklahoman Jack Swagger who will always be the 2nd toughest wrestling from Perry, Oklahoma (Next to Dan Hodge) Sunday in LA in this traditional, nationalistic story line. A loss in this type of match won’t hurt Rusev in the least as he is still a work in progress too. The more personality Swagger demonstrates the better chance he has to contribute in a more significant way in WWE.”
On Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella: “I like this storyline, although I wasn’t crazy about the physical therapist component added last week implicating Brie’s husband Daniel Bryan having an affair with the physical therapist, and think that WWE can easily get more mileage out of this pairing. By hook or crook, I’d get Steph over and continue the rivalry in a very personal way which may include Nikki Bella. Steph has been a star in this presentation thus far. For a mother of three who has multiple full time jobs Mrs. HHH looks great and will represent well in the ring.”
On Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho: “Wyatt needs to win here and if he doesn’t I’d suggest counseling for all involved in the decision making process. There’s no reason that these two couldn’t have the match of the night or damn close to it.”
On Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: “I’d like to see Rollins win a close one here and am curious to see how the Lumberjack Stipulation creatively plays into the match. I’d start the show with this match and feel that these two will tear down the Staples Center if provided the time so that they don’t have to rush the process.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Based on several online betting sites that are currently running odds for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam, below are the current favorites and underdogs for tonight’s big show.
– Brock Lesnar over John Cena
– Stephanie McMahon over Brie Bella
– Roman Reigns over Randy Orton
– AJ Lee over Paige
– Seth Rollins over Dean Ambrose
– The Miz over Dolph Ziggler
– Jack Swagger over Rusev
– Bray Wyatt over Chris Jericho
Make sure to visit the website tonight for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
WWE has finally announced a SummerSlam “Kickoff Show” match for this Sunday, as Rob Van Dam will take on Cesaro during the 30-minute pre-show that airs prior to SummerSlam on the WWE Network.
With that now known, below is a look at the finalized card for this Sunday night.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Divas Championship
– AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Lumberjack Match
– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Flag Match
– Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Harper & Rowan Banned From Ringside
– Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
– Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella
– Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Kickoff Show Match
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
Make sure to join us here on the website this Sunday night for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
The following are highlights of a new E! Online interview with Nikki Bella:
Brie Bella on match vs. Stephanie McMahon at SummerSlam: “I am definitely looking forward to taking on Stephanie McMahon. Two years ago if you’d asked me what my dream match was, I would have said Stephanie, and here I am living out my dream. I think the biggest thing for me is that there’s so much going into this; everything she did to my husband Daniel Bryan to what she did to Nikki—I get to go in there with my boss. How many people would love to get into the ring with their boss and just shake them around? So I feel like I’m really living it up for everyone in the world.”
Nikki Bella on her boyfriend John Cena debuting the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar: “I’m so excited for John but at the same time I’m very nervous for him because I have to say, Brock Lesnar is probably the toughest opponent you could have in WWE history. Brock is just the real deal; he is as tough as it gets, so I’m very excited for John but at the same time I’m like, ‘Please don’t hurt my baby!’ But I’ve got the nurse outfit in the car ready to go in case something happens.”
Check out the complete interview at EOnline.com.
The following are highlights of a new IGN interview with Daniel Bryan:
IGN: I’ll get out of the way the question that I know you’ll have to deal with all day, which is, how’re things going? When might we see you back?
Daniel Bryan: Right, yeah. I don’t know how things are going. For example, I was supposed to have a second surgery scheduled for Tuesday, but they postponed it to do some more testing — and this has been the frustrating part for me. The nervous system is very complex. So there’s been debate about, “Okay, does he need a second surgery? Does he not need a second surgery?” And people have kind of been going back and forth on it. Then finally we decided, “Okay, he needs the surgery.” We’re going to go get the surgery — no, wait, nope! We’re going to go do some more tests. So I would obviously prefer to not get the surgery, but if I’m going to do it, I want to do it as soon as possible, because the sooner I do it, the sooner I get back. The surgery they’re talking about doing is a three-month recovery. I’ve already been out three months, so that’s another three months. So you’d like to get that done as soon as you can — if it needs to be done. If it doesn’t need to be done, let’s not do it! What they want to do is they want to take the nerve from down a along my elbow and then move it over, and then put it under my forearm muscle there [pointing at arm]. So it’s, like, rewiring me. [Laughs] I don’t like that at all
IGN: Meanwhile, a lot of big stuff is happening with your wife. What’s it been like to see what’s going on for her?
Daniel Bryan: Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of her. Her and Stephanie – the main event to RAW, two weeks in a row! That hasn’t happened with Divas in years. Now she’s in what’s, in my mind, the second-biggest match in SummerSlam, and Divas just don’t get that opportunity very often. So I’m really happy for her, really proud of her. She’s worked really hard. A lot of people don’t understand how hard the girls on Total Divas work. They’re on the road, the same as the rest of us, and then when they get home, they’ve got to be filming this whole time. So it’s a very hard life with very few days off, and she’s finally getting rewarded for that, so that’s really nice.
IGN: On the flip side, her opponent being Stephanie, is that just a funny, surreal thing for you? Stephanie has in-ring experience, but it’s been quite awhile — and you know Stephanie as one of your bosses.
Daniel Bryan: Yeah, and it is funny, because there is something borderline-therapeutic about being able to slap your boss, I think. And because there are so many frustrations we have as wrestlers, it’s like, THWACK! You can see, when Stephanie and Brie slap each other, it’s like, “Holy cow!” [Laughs] I’ve been on the opposite end of a Brie slap on WWE Television before, and I was like, “Holy cow! Why would you do that?” I have a ruptured eardrum in my left ear — it happened in 2007 from a Japanese wrestler named Kenta, who WWE actually has signed. So we were doing a story where I had kind of been dating the Bella Twins, but then they found me with Gail Kim or whatever, and then Brie slapped me. I just asked her, “Okay, please, just don’t slap me in the ear?” The first thing her little hand does is, WHACK! Right in the ear. I was like, “Oh my God!”
IGN: So, I have to ask… You got brought into the Brie and Stephanie story the other day on RAW in a very interesting way.
Daniel Bryan: Wait, by “interesting,” do you mean “stupid”? [Laughs]
IGN: Well, you know, it’s wrestling… anything can be brought into it! [Laughs] So for you, was that like, “Okay… I guess that’s going to be an element?”
Daniel Bryan: Yeah, to me, it’s groan-worthy. I don’t think it added anything to the story. It was just like, “Ugh!” But, you know, they do what they do, and you just gotta roll with the punches. It’s funny, because I feel like sometimes you just have to overcome these things more so than anything else. Like, Brie and Stephanie have to overcome that flaw. To me, that was a flaw in the story. The story was so good, and then here’s this flaw in it. But it’s whatever. It doesn’t hurt my feelings or anything, you know? It’s entertainment. It’s not real, so okay.
Check out the complete interview at IGN.com.
The following are the latest betting odds for this Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. The odds come courtesy of BetWrestling.com.
Brock Lesnar -505
John Cena +335
Bray Wyatt -900
Chris Jericho +500
Brie Bella -120
Stephanie McMahon -120
Jack Swagger -260
Rusev +180
Roman Reigns -750
Randy Orton +450
Seth Rollins -130
Dean Ambrose +130
The hottest event of the summer is practically hours away at this point. The card is set, the matches have been hyped, and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show (after making a few predictions, of course). Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
AJ Lee (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
Paige has been a thorn in AJ Lee’s side since arriving on the main roster, especially since turning heel. She has had the upper hand on the champ over the past few weeks, even pushing her off of the stage on SmackDown at one point. Although Paige has been booked strong, the company realizes AJ Lee is the most marketable Diva on the roster right now. She retains after forcing Paige to tap out to the Black Widow.
Result: AJ Lee by submission
The Miz (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Since his return, the Miz has sort of fallen flat with the audience, especially since picking up the title at last month’s Battleground. Over the past year, it’s safe to assume Dolph Ziggler will lose any match of even moderate significance, but this could be different, as he has been booked strong and is still over with the fans.
The company is trying to promote the Miz’s dud of a movie that will soon be gracing dollar bins across the country, but I think they realize his title reign isn’t catching on. Dolph Ziggler will pick up the upset victory on Sunday after hitting a Zig Zag in what will likely be one of the shorter matches on the card.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler by pinfall
Jack Swagger vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
Call me crazy, but this is perhaps my most anticipated match on the card. The feud has been built very well and given adequate time to develop. Fans still aren’t entirely sure of what the rules will be for this one, but I’m assuming it’s going to involve the winning wrestler grabbing his country’s flag and waving it proudly in the center of the ring to end the contest.
This is the perfect opportunity for Swagger to go over Rusev and extend the feud a bit longer. He doesn’t have to pin the Bulgarian Brute to win so he won’t look as weak as he would if he lost via pinfall or submission. Expect the managers to also play a role in this one, and expect Swagger to walk out victorious to set up a rubber match at Night of Champions.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
Much like the Rusev/Swagger feud, this program has also been given a proper build. The promo/interview the two cut last week on Raw was awesome and really hyped the match well.
Jericho won last month after hitting Wyatt with a Code Breaker. It will be even tougher for Wyatt this time around, as both Harper and Rowan are banned from ringside. This will likely be a back-and-forth contest with several near falls, with the in-ring work hopefully being a little more polished than last month’s affair. There’s no way Wyatt loses again, however, and will walk out victorious after forcing Y2J to succumb to Sister Abigail.
Winner: Bray Wyatt by pinfall