As reported earlier, The Allstate Arena near Chicago announced today that the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton rematch would happen at the 9/24 WWE house show from the venue. Paul Heyman and Randy Orton later confirmed the match on Twitter and WWE has now made it official, as seen below.
It’s very interesting that the Saturday night house show is just one night before the RAW Clash of Champions PPV in nearby Indianapolis. Neither Lesnar nor Orton are scheduled for that pay-per-view. F4Wonline.com notes that the 9/24 house show is not currently scheduled to air on the WWE Network, despite speculation.
Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar rematch announced for Sept. 24 Live Event in Chicago
The Beast and The Viper are going to war again. Just more than a week after a controversial TKO loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Randy Orton confirmed on Twitter that he will receive a rematch against The Conqueror at the WWE Live Event in Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, Sept. 24.
The match at SummerSlam was arguably Lesnar’s most savage performance since returning to WWE in 2012, and one of the most agonizing defeats for The Apex Predator in some time. The Beast laid into Orton with a barrage of strikes that busted him open and forced WWE officials to call the match off, awarding the victory to Lesnar.
Orton received 10 staples as a result of Lesnar’s assault, and The Beast was fined by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon for his actions. Hopefully, she has her checkbook ready for “The Rematch.” Come to think of it, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon might want to set a few dollars aside, too. Orton does not take well to being upstaged, and it’s just as likely that Lesnar ends up on the receiving end of some ruthless aggression this time around.
Be sure to head to WWE.com’s Events section for ticket availability and special VIP packages to witness “The Rematch” in person.
Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton are scheduled to meet in the squared circle again next month.
Chicago’s Allstate Arena announced on Monday that Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton has been booked to headline a live event on Saturday, September 24th. The event is scheduled to be an untelevised house show, but WWE Network cameras may be rolling.
Finn Balor was originally scheduled to defend his Universal Championship at the show, but that has been scratched due to Balor’s injury.
Here is the rest of the lineup for the 9/24 live event in Chicago:
Street Fight for the United States Championship
– Roman Reigns (c) vs. Rusev
Tag Team Match
– Sami Zayn & Neville vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Tag Team Match
– The New Day vs. Gallows & Anderson
More information is coming out regarding Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar’s backstage altercation from SummerSlam. While Lesnar was still in the ring and Randy Orton was laying in a pool of blood, Jericho wanted to know if what transpired was exactly how it was supposed to go down. Jericho asked Michael Hayes if Lesnar ‘went into business for himself’ and Hayes gave him an answer that implied Lesnar might have gone farther than he was supposed to.
When Brock came through the curtain, Jericho got in his face and wanted to know what the hell happened out there. Brock essentially told him to screw off. They got in each others faces and started shoving each other. Brock allegedly kissed Jericho on the forehead and said something along the lines of, “Either kiss me or hit me.” Triple H first tried breaking things up and Vince McMahon wound up getting involved and putting an end to it.
The following night at RAW, people were talking about what a badass Jericho was for stepping up to Lesnar and there wasn’t any heat on him over the incident.
– Finn Balor is currently in Birmingham, Alabama and will be undergoing surgery to repair his torn labrum this week. Dr. Chris Robinson told WWE.com on Monday that Balor is looking at a 4-6 month recovery time.
– On Tuesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) officially extendedBrock Lesnar’s suspension, with a formal complaint to be filed shortly. Lesnar, who tested positive for banned substances (twice) prior to his UFC 200 bout, will receive a formal NAC hearing in the future. He’s facing a two-year suspension from both the NAC and USADA.
– WWE has confirmed that the Cruiserweight Division will kick off on Monday, September 19th. This is the week following the Cruiserweight Classic finale. Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins were all featured in the promo that aired on RAW hyping the new division.
– Join us later tonight for our SmackDown Live coverage and discussion. WWE is advertising AJ Styles will react to his win over John Cena at SummerSlam and an appearance from Nikki Bella. We’ll also probably get an update on Randy Orton’s medical condition following SummerSlam, which saw him receive 10 staples in his head to close the gash opened by Brock Lesnar’s elbow.
It will be interesting to see how the Lesnar situation is addressed tonight. Stephanie McMahon noted on RAW that there will be repercussions for Lesnar delivering an F5 to Shane McMahon after the SummerSlam main event.
– Tyson Kidd has been out of action for more than one year with a neck injury and there’s been really no word on a possible return. Wife Natalya tweeted the following on his status when asked by a fan during RAW last night:
Chris Jericho ended up in a backstage incident with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam last night as Jericho was concerned about Randy Orton’s condition.
According to Dave Meltzer, multiple sources report that the incident began when Jericho came to the gorilla position as Lesnar vs. Orton ended, to find out what exactly happened and to see if Orton was alright. Jericho asked Michael Hayes if that was the planned finish and when Hayes wouldn’t respond, Jericho said, “That’s bullshit.”
Lesnar came through the curtain, heard the “that’s bullshit” comment and thought Jericho was talking about the match. One version has Lesnar calling Jericho a “pussy” and the other has him saying “shut up” to Jericho, then telling Jericho to mind his own business. The two came face to face and had words, leading to Lesnar reportedly pushing Jericho with his fingers. Jericho then did a forehead press while another version has him shoving Lesnar against the wall. While the two were up against the wall, Lesnar reportedly told Jericho to kiss him or punch him. Triple H then jumped in and broke things up but the two ended up going at it again until Vince McMahon finally broke it up. Vince told Jericho that everything was a work and to be professional after Jericho continued yelling about Brock.
Triple H reportedly told Vince that Lesnar was to blame, and that Jericho was just standing up for himself. That was the end of the incident between the two. Jericho then saw Orton’s condition and got mad but Orton assured him that he knew what was coming.
Despite WWE’s usual policy against using blood in matches, everything that transpired in the main event at SummerSlam was part of the script including the TKO finish. Brock Lesnar busted Randy Open the hard way with a vicious elbow to the head that left Orton lying in a pool of his own blood.
On the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer addressed speculation that Lesnar went off-script to injure Ortor or that an audible was called due to the severity of the cut.
“Obviously [Orton] was selling and they were trying to work the idea that he was knocked out and they had to stop the match, and from what I can gather due to no one talking about anything going awry, that was probably close to what was supposed to happen, if not exactly what was supposed to happen.”
Meltzer said he has “no doubt” in his mind that the former UFC Champion was going for blood. Meltzer noted that the finish was somewhat reckless, but it was not a case of Lesnar going into business for himself. Obviously with a violent spot like that, WWE had no way to know exactly how bad the cut would be and you’d have to think this was on the bloodier side of what they were anticipating.
– Despite his devastating victory at SummerSlam and a post-match F5 attack on Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar is not scheduled to be in attendance for tonight’s RAW from Brooklyn. (Source: PWInsider)
– Popular Twitter accounts @DeathToAllMarks and @SenorLARIATO were suspended on Sunday night reportedly due to WWE filing copyright infringement complaints against them. The accounts regularly posted animated GIFs of wrestling shows.
– Xavier Woods of The New Day recently interviewed Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to promote WWE 2K17. Lesnar said he was honored to be on the cover of WWE 2K17, and honored to be speaking with Xavier Woods — although he was disappointed there were no Booty-O’s on hand. As far as tonight’s SummerSlam pay-per-view goes, Lesnar had three words for Randy Orton: “Suplex City bitch.”
– Eva Marie commented on her 30-day suspension from WWE on her Instagram page this weekend, saying that she’s disappointed it happened. She says she “understands and respects” that WWE upholds their Wellness Policy, and said she was suspended for not turning in required paperwork about her medication.
TMZ Sports caught up with Brock Lesnar at the WWE 2K17 event in NYC last night and asked him about a possible return to the Octagon for UFC. Lesnar commented:
“I’ve got a few challenges to overcome before I can get there but I don’t know. For right now I’m going to focus on my WWE career. I wanted to step back into the Octagon and avenge my loss to diverticulitis. Sunday, I’m facing Randy Orton and really that’s all that’s on my mind.”
Lesnar admitted he’s on a “bumpy road” right now but said he will get through it. He also thanked his UFC fans and said maybe one day he will fight in the Octagon again.
In an interview with WhatCulture to promote Sunday’s SummerSlam 2016, Brock Lesnar was asked about what’s next for him. Lesnar said he doesn’t know what the future holds, and that it very well could be fellow former World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg.
“If Bill Goldberg has the balls to step into the ring with me, where you at? Where are you? Let’s go,” Lesnar said. “That’s all I gotta say.”
Lesnar, who currently works a part-time schedule with WWE, was also asked if he actually enjoys being a wrestler or not. Brock answered that he does enjoy getting in the ring and competing, but reinforced that he’s his own entity and not an ambassador for the company. He says Vince McMahon brought him back because Brock is the “real f*cking deal.”
“I don’t view myself as a pro wrestler, I view myself as an athlete,” Lesnar said. “I’m not a Superstar, I’m an ass-kicker.”
As far as other future opponents go, Lesnar says the only factors he takes into consideration are the pay and the schedule.
Randy Orton spoke with TMZ while in New York City for SummerSlam this week, as seen above.
Orton says he is nervous about facing Brock Lesnar on Sunday, and he knows he will get tossed around but he also knows what it takes to beat The Beast.
The Viper talks about how he knows Lesnar better than anyone else in WWE, and how he will use that to beat Lesnar. Orton also knows the secret to taking down Lesnar – the RKO.
Brock Lesnar appeared at the WWE 2K17 event last night and had nothing nice to say about UFC fighter Conor McGregor and his recent comments aimed at WWE and its Superstars. Above is video of Lesnar talking to Sam Roberts about Conor. He said:
“I take shits bigger than that kid. I know you guys all play fucking video games and you live this fucking false sense of reality and shit. I’m two hundred and fucking ninety pounds. This guy is one hundred and forty five pounds, that’s if he’s lucky and gets up and eats his Wheaties. If Conor McGregor wants to say some shit to me and get his name out there more than he already has, by dropping my name, I got fucking about 10 words for him… come here face to face Conor, and say it to my face. Otherwise, leave me and the fucking WWE out of it became I came to your arena and kicked ass. Now if you want, if you’re so fucking tough, come to our arena and try to kick some ass. Get the fuck out of here.”
Following up on the news that Goldberg will be in town for some of the SummerSlam week festivities, the former WCW champion is a guest of 2K, not WWE. He’ll be doing promotional work for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game, including Friday night’s WWE SummerSlam Kickoff event, presented by WWE 2K17. PWInsider is reporting that Goldberg is scheduled to attend SummerSlam.
The video of Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar mocking Golberg is back online after being taken down for several hours yesterday.
– Regarding The Solomonster’s scoop that Shawn Michaels has been training students at the WWE Performance Center, PWInsider reports that it’s not a done deal yet that he’ll be working there full time. Michaels is said to have a full-time offer on the table, but the main issue is having to relocate his family from Texas to Florida. Michaels was not at the PC today and is not scheduled to be back this week.
– At one point there were plans for The Muppets to appear at Sunday’s SummerSlam PPV, but a scheduling conflict led to the plans to be nixed. (Source: PWInsider)
– For whatever reason, WWE has pulled the video of Brock Lesnar challenging Goldberg, which was posted earlier today. The video featured Paul Heyman mocking Goldberg for being the “supporting player” of the WWE 2K17 video game and Lesnar telling Bill, “You’re next!”
– SmackDown’s Mojo Rawley tweeted this photo of a nasty bruise he ended up with after a recent match with “Hype Bros.” partner Zack Ryder against The Ascension, blaming it on Konnor:
On Monday afternoon a video was posted to Brock Lesnar’s official Facebook page featuring the Beast and his Advocate Paul Heyman calling out Bill Goldberg. Heyman congratulates Golberg on being a “supporting player” in the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game, which of course features Lesnar on the cover. Lesnar uses Goldberg’s famous catchphrase against him and declares, “Hey Bill, you’re next.”
Maybe it’s simply a promo for WWE 2K17 for a match that will only play out on Playstation and XBox video game systems. As reported earlier, Bill Goldberg will be in New York City for SummerSlam weekend and is scheduled to be backstage at the event. It’s unknown at this point whether or not Goldberg will appear on WWE television as part of his promotional work for WWE 2K17, but it’s interesting to see Goldberg being called out by the man who he defeated in his final WWE match back at WrestleMania 20.
Back in June, WWE posted an interview with Goldberg from behind-the-scenes of his WWE 2K17 commercial. Goldberg was asked if he has one more match left in him after all these years. He replied:
“I’ve got 50 more in me. It just depends on the ability to keep it up to my standards. … I’m 20 to 30 pounds less than what I was because I just don’t need to be that dude with traps from his ears to his shoulders. Would I like to be that guy again? Absolutely. He’s still in there.”
A potential Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg rematch may seem far fetched. However, with Lesnar under contract, Goldberg expressing an interest in wrestling and now Lesnar calling him out, the marquee battle could theoretically occur.
– In his latest blog at JRsBarBQ.com, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented on Dean Ambrose accusing Brock Lesnar of being lazy when they fought earlier this year at WrestleMania.
“Interesting comments made this week by Dean Ambrose and by Daniel Bryan regarding Brock Lesnar being lazy,” Ross said. “If true, and I’m not saying that it is as I’m not around Lesnar whatsoever, could it be because Brock is residing thedreaded ‘comfort zone’ which is an area that adversely affects professional careers in many fields and certainly negatively affects relationships of all kinds?”
He added that it will be “most interesting” the next time Lesnar and Ambrose cross paths.
– The next episode of WWE 24 on the WWE Network will focus on the the Women’s Revolution. The special premieres next Tuesday, August 16th immediately following Talking Smack. The synopsis from ChannelGuideMag.com reads:
“From female talent of the past to NXT and beyond, the episode of this documentary-style series will be a celebration of how far women’s wrestling has come.“
– The Nevada State Athletic Commission will hear a temporary suspension request related to Brock Lesnar’s failed UFC 200 drug tests at their 8/23 meeting in Las Vegas. Lesnar was hit with two US Anti-Doping Agency violations by testing positive for estrogen blocker clomiphene twice, in the weeks leading up to UFC 200 (out-of-competition) and on the same day of his fight against Mark Hunt.
On this week’s Talking Smack, SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan commented on Dean Ambrose calling Brock Lesnar lazy on Monday night’s Stone Cold Podcast.
During his candid conversation with Steve Austin, Ambrose expressed frustration with Lesnar over their WrestleMania 32 match, essentially accusing Lesnar of ‘phoning it in’ and doing the bare minimum. Perhaps Lesnar wasn’t thrilled about being booked in a mid-card match. With the hindsight of Lesnar returning to the MMA cage at UFC 200, maybe he didn’t want to risk an injury. Whatever the case, the Lesnar vs. Ambrose match fell flat and the WWE Champion had no problem publicizing his grievances.
Daniel Bryan agrees that Brock Lesnar is lazy, like much of the RAW roster is. He questioned what Lesnar did this past Monday night, “Sit on his couch?” He added, “It’s not easy doing farm work” but pointed out that Lesnar isn’t coming to WWE shows and fighting week in and week out. His comments were “in character” as the SmackDown GM hyping up Randy Orton ahead of his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam. However, it’s interesting to see WWE running with the storyline of Brock Lesnar being “lazy.” Bryan took Ambrose’s complaint about the WM32 match and pivoted to criticize Lesnar’s part-time schedule.
Discussion: Is Lesnar “lazy” for being able to command millions of dollars for a part-time schedule?
You can see Bryan’s comments about Brock Lesnar below:
– Flo Rida’s “Who’s With Me?” single is the latest WWE SummerSlam theme song. Fort Minor’s “Welcome” was announced before.
– As seen below, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have been confirmed for next week’s RAW from Corpus Christi, the final show before SummerSlam. No word yet on if SummerSlam opponent Randy Orton will be appearing.
– Braun Strowman’s opponent on tonight’s RAW from Anaheim is local wrestler Jorel Nelson, who wrestles for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood. Their match is below:
– Brock Lesnar has officially been removed from UFC’s Heavyweight rankings. Lesnar had been the #8 ranked heavyweight after his win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. In related news, troubled fighter Jon Jones has also been removed from the Light Heavyweight and Pound 4 Pound rankings due to his own USADA infractions.
– WWE has released the following teaser videos for “Lesnar vs. Orton: 15 Years in the Making.” We’ll get extended versions of these sit-down promos tonight on RAW.
Tonight’s SmackDown Live will feature the return of a former Superstar and an appearance from a RAW Superstar, as first reported by PWInsider.com.
Bryan Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins, is currently backstage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and is expected to return tonight. Myers is a former WWE tag team champion along with SmackDown star Zack Ryder. He last worked with WWE back in 2014 when he had a short stint in NXT. He’s been working the independent scene ever since and runs the Create A Pro wrestling academy in Hicksville, New York. He reportedly re-signed with WWE back in June.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are also backstage and are scheduled for tonight’s broadcast. Obviously, they’ll be there to address Randy Orton’s surprise appearance at the conclusion of last night’s RAW, which Orton him deliver an RKO [out of nowhere] to the Beast Incarnate.
Join us here later tonight for SmackDown Live Results & Discussion.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com with some thoughts about the new Brand Extension era and WWE’s decision to not suspend Brock Lesnar after failing multiple USADA drug tests.
The dust is still settling from the WWE Draft and JR expects to see additional changes trickle down to RAW and SmackDown in the coming weeks.
“Patience…too many fans are figuratively knocking themselves out with self imposed knee jerks over the first airings of RAW and Smackdown Live following the WWE Draft,” he said. “This function of the brand separation is a process and will take time to refine and sort out. Patience is a virtue and some pro wresting fans seemingly aren’t overly virtuous.
JR argued that overwhelming fans with too many changes at once negatively affects the impact of said changes.
One of the big stories of the past several weeks is the news that WWE will not be suspending Brock Lesnar after he failed two USADA drug tests prior to UFC 200 back on July 9th. Even though the substance Lesnar had in his system violates WWE’s Wellness Policy, the fact that he’s a part-time performer means he’s not subject to the same rules as the rest of WWE’s roster.
“I have no issues with this philosophy as it is daunting to test part timers who are not in the every day rotation of the roster,” Ross said. “WWE’s drug testing program is by far the best within the genre and it strikes me odd that other company’s who either rarely test their talents or don’t do it all are seldom questioned on this matter simply because ‘they can’t afford it.'”
He continued, “Please do not construe this as me eluding to the fact that I enough PED usage even in an entertainment entity. I don’t. Talents don’t need them but the narcissistic nature of many pro wrestlers always will rear its ugly head when it comes to how they look and the short cuts some talents take to achieve an unnatural appearance.”
– Paul Heyman has confirmed reports that he’ll be returning to WWE television tonight on RAW. Heyman will be there to hype his client Brock Lesnar’s upcoming match against Randy Orton at SummerSlam.
Brock Lesnar returns to WWE television on tonight’s RAW, which takes place live from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. The New Era kicked off in a big way last week, with the impressive debut of Finn Balor, Sasha Banks capturing the WWE Women’s Championship and an overall fresh presentation to the show. With less than 3 weeks until SummerSlam, WWE has no time to waste in building up what’s typically one of the biggest shows of the year.
WWE’s 5-point preview for the show focuses on the following items:
Who will suffer Brock Lesnar’s wrath?
Will Seth Rollins halt the rise of Finn Bálor?
Sasha Banks and Charlotte prepare for Round 2
Who will face Braun Strowman?
Will The New Day rebound against Gallows & Anderson?
As always, join us here tonight for our Live Coverage & Discussion of WWE RAW.