WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler has been hospitalized for the past several days due to a bout of diverticulitis.
It’s believed right now that Lawler will be released from the hospital within the next few days.
For those unaware, diverticulitis is the same condition that ultimately led to the end of Brock Lesnar’s MMA career.
Whether or not Lawler attends Monday’s edition of RAW, the first of 2015, remains to be seen.
– As things stand right now, the plan is for Curtis Axel to appear on more NXT shows and work angles there similar to how Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd and Natalya, other main WWE roster talents, have in the past.
– Brock Lesnar is featured on a nationally televised commercial for the fast-food chain “Harees,” which started airing this week.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley posted the following blog on his official Facebook page regarding his thoughts on a Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania 31, as well as Ryback’s promo from RAW.
LESNAR/BRYAN AT MANIA? I SAY “YES”!
I’m not going to smash any TV sets this January. I’m hoping not to say, write, or tweet things that make my relationship with WWE difficult. But following Daniel Bryan’s emotional speech on WWE Monday Night Raw last night, I think he could be the guy to face Brock Lesnar at this year’s ?#?Wrestlemania?.
As opposed to the earlier Ryback – WWE promo, where Ryback seemed uncomfortable, and in too much of a rush for us to appreciate the substance of the words, Daniel Bryan allowed his emotions to tell the story – reminding us of the journey he’d been on this past year, while not letting us forget what it was about him that made so many of us root for him to begin with. He fights from underneath like few before him ever have, and (despite what some of my colleagues may think) would be a credible threat to knock down the mountain that Lesnar has been built to be. It would be the ultimate David, facing the ultimate Goliath. Man vs Beast. Man vs himself – really no need for Man vs company here. Give Paul Heyman free creative reign to bring out the best in Daniel Bryan – and for the WWE Universe to bring out the best in themselves – and we have got ourselves a compelling Mania main event.
David Arquette is a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Being a World Champion normally means you’re a big star. Vince Russo was a former World Champion. The Great Khali is a former World Heavyweight Champion. Just so we understand each other, these guys, in my opinion, are not among the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling.
Do we understand the formula?
Today, we are going to look at five legends of the ring who were without a doubt top stars in their prime. At one point or another, each person on this list could be considered “the guy” in the business. All were top stars who reached Championship-level success at one time or another, however they all shared one key factor in common — they pretty much sucked in the ring.
A lot of people have different ideas of what a “good worker” really is. Generally speaking, if you’re in the business, a good worker is someone who can take the live crowd on an emotional journey. Most of the people on this list were able to do that, however if you’re a die-hard fan of the sport, you have a different opinion of what a “good worker” is. To those people, a good worker is someone who took the time to perfect the craft, the art and skill of what goes on inside the squared circle. Guys who have matches that are considered “match of the year” candidates. Guys who could have what die-hard fans call “five-star matches.”
That is who we are looking at today. Guys who by die-hard fan standards would be considered god-awful workers. Guys who couldn’t have a classic, five-star match to save their life, even if they’re able — usually due to star power and enthusiasm — to pop a crowd during a match.
With all of thr explanation out of the way, let’s take a look at who made the list of the top five biggest stars who weren’t good workers.
#5. Hulk Hogan
The guy knows how to have a classic match. His WrestleMania VI clash with Ultimate Warrior, who we’ll be talking about later, surprised many. Still, if you examine the match with your “worker” glasses on you’ll notice that it wasn’t exactly a catch-as-catch-can classic by any means.
It was a great match though in the sense that the crowd was totally invested. A lot of that had to do with the promotional build-up to the match and the characters involved. The same can be said for Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8.
A Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat classic it was not.
But the response from the fans was about as passionate as things get. Hogan can have great matches when everything falls into place, but you can’t put just anybody in the ring with him and expect a great match. As far as his star-power is concerned, Hogan is one of — if not the biggest — stars in the history of the sport.
Hulk Hogan comes in at number five.
#4. Andre the Giant
Andre The Giant is one of the biggest and most recognizable stars in professional wrestling history. In his prime as a young wrestler he would come off of the top-rope, he could throw a pretty impressive dropkick and was a lot more agile than he became later in his career.
Most will remember the run Andre The Giant had in WWE in the 1980s, but prior to that he was actually a pretty solid in-ring worker. His most famous years, however, saw a number of rest-holds killing the majority of the time in his matches. It was almost a sure thing that there would be a few bear-hugs, nerve-grip holds and the ever-popular butt-smash in the corner spot.
So again, Andre wasn’t the best in-ring technician, but he was a huge star — literally — and could elicit a great reaction from the crowd from bell-to-bell when matched with the right guy.
Regardless, Andre comes in at number four.
#3. Kevin Nash
Outside of a few matches with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, better known to WWE-exclusive fans as “Diesel,” rarely had a match above a two-star rating. He was one of the first workers to be labeled as a guy with “five moves of doom,” long before that torch was passed to John Cena.
However, Nash was a big ingredient in the pro wrestling explosion of the late 1990s. His move to WCW, which led to the formation of the nWo, was arguably the jumping-off point of the Monday Night Wars, which ultimately led to WWE’s “Attitude Era.” WWE was forced to switch gears and change the way they do business, and Nash, along with Scott Hall, were two key players at the root of all of these changes.
Despite his importance level in the business, his work level earns him the bronze medal as one of the biggest stars who wasn’t a “good worker.”
Continued on page two …
– For those unaware, in addition to Edge and Christian serving as guest General Managers for next week’s RAW, which is the final episode of the show for 2014, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is also scheduled to appear. The show is scheduled to take place from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
– WWE Diva and Total Divas star Eva Marie is featured on the cover of the latest issue of “Muscle & Fitness Hers” magazine. You can check out the cover photo below.
As promised, here are the top pay-per-view events from 2014.
8. NXT Takeover
This event started off sluggish but certainly ended with a string of entertaining matches. In particular, the match between Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn featured solid in-ring work and highlighted why both of these guys could succeed if given the opportunity.
The real treat during this pay-per-view, however, was the final two matches of the evening. The match between Charlotte and Natalya for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship was probably the most technically sound women’s match I’ve ever seen, and the main event between Neville and Tyson Kidd was the perfect way to end the show. In my opinion, this was the event that made fans realize NXT is more than simply a developmental league for the main roster.
Worst Match: Adam Rose vs. Camacho
Best Match: Charlotte vs. Natalya
7. Payback
There was some worry heading into this one, largely due to the absence of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The event would carry on just fine without the title, however. It started off strong with a bruising contest between Sheamus and Cesaro.
From there, the Last Man Standing match was entertaining, even if it would have been nice to see Wyatt pick up the victory. With that said, this pay-per-view is all about the main event. It was an awesome 30-minute affair that featured memorable spots, brutal action, and a decisive Shield victory. This was also important because it would set up Seth Rollins’ heel turn the next night on Raw.
Worst Match: Bo Dallas vs. Kofi Kingston
Best Match: The Shield vs. Evolution
– For those who enjoy interesting trivia facts, it’s been pointed out recently that country music band Florida Georgia Line has made more WWE television appearances than Brock Lesnar since the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. Florida Georgia Line appeared at Night Of Champions, TLC and Tribute to the Troops while Lesnar has only appeared at Night Of Champions and last week’s RAW.
– Unless the January 1st edition of NXT on the WWE Network turns out to be a 2014 “Year-In-Review” type of show, Shoot Nation leader Chad Gable is scheduled to make his NXT in-ring debut, working against Tyler Breeze on the show.
2014 is coming to a close. Aside from two episodes of Raw that most likely be forgettable, fans have seen everything the WWE has to offer this year. Here is a look back at all 16 pay-per-views (including NXT), with each event ranked and summarized.
16. Battleground
This event took place during July, and boy was it a hot mess. The opening contest between the Usos and Wyatt Family was money, but it was downhill from there, as fans were subjected to one dud contest after another.
The biggest mistakes involved advertising a Rollins/Ambrose match that didn’t take place, and using the same predictable ending sequence during the main event. Overall, this was completely forgettable and easily the worst pay-per-view of the year.
Worst Match: Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
Best Match: The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family
15. TLC
The final pay-per-view of the year was certainly not the best the company has to offer. Overall, this event suffered from a thin roster and overcomplicated booking. Like many pay-per-view events, it started off strong before derailing.
Ziggler and Harper stole the show during the opening contest. However, lame gimmicks (Stairs/Chairs Matches) and cheesy endings (Wyatt/Ambrose, Cena/Rollins) really held this event back and prevented it from being a success.
Worst Match: Ryback vs. Kane
Best Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On Ronda Rousey in WWE: “Loved the comments made by my favorite MMA star @RondaRousey who said recently that if she ever appeared in WWE she would prefer to be a villain. That would be easy to execute and would make a great presentation IMO. I predicted long ago that Ronda and the Four Horsewomen would be outstanding additions to a WrestleMania card. It’s a one off, fun opportunity that earns Ms Rousey and company some extra cash and provide UFC with ample, NEW promotion and PR.”
On NXT talents that could potentially headline WrestleMania one day: “Get asked daily who has the best chance of headlining a future WrestleMania from the current NXT roster and that’s an impossible question for me to answer. I will say that from what I see of the NXT roster that their cupboards are far from empty. It largely depends on continued good coaching and MENTORING and the athletes themselves going the extra mile to improve their game in all phases. It’s not only about the PUSH or the GIMMICK but the work rate and ability to out prepare their peers by these formative, young talents.”
On a possible new SmackDown announce team: “Will WWE get a new announcing team for Smackdown when it move to Thursday night? I would be willing to ‘guess,’ likely so. That would provide the duo of @MichaelCole and @JCLayfield a much needed break and keep them fresher and extend both their shelf lives.”
On Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at the Royal Rumble: “I’m thinking that the Cena vs.Lesnar WWE World Title match at the Royal Rumble in Philly will be one of the more compelling WWE Title matches that we’ve seen a good while. Does Lesnar stay or does he go? Is Brock going back to MMA or is he staying around. Does Cena prepare Brock for Reigns or another young talent WM31? Is there a return match in the works for Cena and Lesnar? Will Rollins cash in his MITB Contract? Could a new ‘player’ step into the title picture in some manner?”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
As noted in the past, WWE has been planning on having Roman Reigns win the Royal Rumble match in January and go on to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. At this point, however, there is beginning to be some skepticism regarding whether or not Reigns is ready for that big of a push.
Despite the fact that Reigns is viewed as someone who needs to work on his promo skills, and as someone who isn’t good enough to carry lengthy main-event singles matches on big shows, WWE is in need of a new top babyface star and the belief is that spot is his regardless.
While WWE has plans on continuing Randy Orton’s babyface turn, he is not a new star. Daniel Bryan is not what WWE wants in a top babyface star, no matter how fans react to him. Additionally, there’s uncertainties with Bryan due to his neck and arm injuries.
This leaves Reigns and Dean Ambrose as the two leading candidates for the top babyface spot. Ambrose is a better in-ring performer and delivers better promos, however he fits less into WWE’s mold of what they view as a top babyface star.
While Ambrose and Reigns both do strong merchandise numbers, including Ambrose’s new hoodie being number one during Thanksgiving week, neither are doing the type of numbers that a top guy traditionally does on a consistent basis.
Despite all of this, the belief is that WWE will stick with their plans for Reigns heading into WrestleMania, as he is still considered the top choice by the top people behind-the-scenes.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– In a correction from a previous article, Brock Lesnar has apparently not been pulled from the advertising for the big “RAW Reunion” show on January 19th in Dallas, Texas. This is the show that features the returns of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels, and is also the “go-home” show for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
– Tommy Dreamer and former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro are some of the latest names from the wrestling industry that have started using Diamond Dallas Page’s “DDP Yoga.”
It was reported a few days ago that WWE’s merchandise department was told to no longer produce new merchandise items for Brock Lesnar, and to instead switch anything earmarked for Lesnar to Sheamus. After the initial report, WWE released a brief statement denying the story, claiming that there’s no truth to it at all.
In an update, apparently it was a licensing partner of WWE’s that was informed to no longer produce new Lesnar items. They were also reportedly told that any group-shot merchandise, which would include all of WWE’s top stars, should no longer feature Lesnar, and to replace him in anything of that nature with Sheamus.
According to those close to the situation, this is not necessarily an indication that Lesnar is leaving after WrestleMania 31. Instead, it’s believed that because Lesnar has yet to re-sign with the company, third-party companies were told not to produce anything new just to be on the safe side.
Apparently these companies were told this in regards to merchandise items that would be released after WrestleMania 31, which takes place on March 29, 2015.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
As noted earlier today, WWE is hyping up the January 19th edition of RAW as a “RAW Reunion show,” with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels all advertised to appear.
What’s also interesting in terms of the advertising side of things is that Brock Lesnar is no longer listed. Originally, the advertising was built around Lesnar, however he is no longer included in the ads for the show.
As things stand now, the tentative plan is for the announcement of WrestleMania 32 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, where the 1/19 RAW takes place, to be made on that show, or close to it.
Also advertised for the show is a John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Lumberjack Match” with 30 lumberjacks in a match that is being billed as “the biggest lumberjack match in the history of Dallas.” It’s believed that the match will serve as the actual television main event of the show, with all 30 lumberjacks hitting the ring for the finish to simulate the wildness of a 30-man Royal Rumble match, as the show is also the “go-home” show for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, along with his “advocate” Paul Heyman appeared on this week’s RAW Fallout video, which you can check out below.
Also on RAW Fallout this week is Kane, who talks about The Authority being gone during a quick interview with Eden. You can check out part two of RAW Fallout below.
On Monday, we ran a report originated by Bryan Alvarez at F4Wonline.com that stated WWE’s merchandise department has been told that no more Brock Lesnar merchandise will be created. This led to a lot of speculation that Lesnar would indeed be finishing up with WWE after WrestleMania and is heading back to MMA when he becomes a free agent in March.
WWE has since issued a statement regarding the situation, claiming the report is in accurate and there is “no truth” to the news.
– Below is the promo for the “Final Battle” between Brock Lesnar and John Cena at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th.
– Speaking of the Royal Rumble, below is the official promo for the match. As noted earlier today, Roman Reigns is the first official entrant in the match.
The WWE Network aired a brief TLC “Fallout” post-show after last night’s pay-per-view. The show opened with the panel, which featured Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about John Cena winning his “Tables Match” tonight, which earned him the right to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman praised Cena, saying he’s the best — besides Lesnar.
Dean Ambrose was shown in the ring recovering from the television monitor exploding on him. Ambrose destroyed what was left of the monitor.
On commentary, Michael Cole promoted the Cena vs. Lesnar match and pointed out that it will be the final meeting between the two.
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be the main event for next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
John Cena defeated Seth Rollins in a tables match (with help from the returning Roman Reigns) at Sunday’s TLC PPV to retain his #1 contender’s title shot.
The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble takes place 6 weeks from tonight on Sunday, January 25th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Roman Reigns made his return at the WWE TLC pay-per-view in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday night. Reigns came out when Big Show tried to interfere during the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Tables Match.” Reigns hit a Superman punch on Big Show before spearing him through a table. He then hit a Superman punch on Rollins, setting him up for an Attitude Adjustment from Cena through a table for the win.
With the win, Cena is confirmed as the number one contender and will be the next challenger to WWE World Heavyweight Champion — Brock Lesnar.
As noted earlier tonight, it was confirmed during the WWE TLC “Kickoff Show” that Lesnar will be in action at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Later in the show, Roman Reigns announced that he is the first official participant in the 2015 Royal Rumble.
It was confirmed by Renee Young on the WWE TLC pay-per-view “Kickoff Show” on Sunday night that WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will be returning to the ring at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January.
Lesnar will defend against the winner of the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins match at TLC.
The WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view is scheduled for Sunday, January 25, 2015 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Bully Ray spoke to Alex Obert of Journeyofafrontman.com about life after TNA, taking time off from the wrestling industry for the first time in 25 years, working with the Hardy Boyz in TNA and much more.
Here’s what Bully said about what’s next for him and the possibility of returning to WWE and a feud with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman:
“What’s next or who’s next? (laughs) I don’t know what’s next, I’m just gonna let it happen. I am so happy with my career and what I have accomplished that if my career ended tomorrow, I could walk off into the sunset with a huge smile on my face. However, because of the success of the Bully Ray character, I’m hearing a lot of people clamoring for me to go back to the WWE to try to see if Bully Ray could do something over there.
Personally, I think I could. I think it’d be a lot of fun. If I were to go back to WWE either as Bully Ray by myself or to finish out my career with D-Von as Team 3D, I think both things could work. I think the fans, first and foremost, want to see it. They have been very active on Twitter and social media saying “We want Bully Ray in WWE” or “We want Team 3D back in WWE”. Like I said, if it’s right, maybe it’ll happen. But if it didn’t, I still go out with a huge smile on my face.
I tweeted last week that “I’m the 1 who can defeat the 1 who put the 1 in 21-1.” I’m confident in my ability in the ring and I’m confident in my ability on the mic. So from a physical standpoint, Bully versus Brock would be very interesting. And a verbal battle on the microphone, could you imagine Bully Ray and Paul Heyman?”
Last night on Raw, the WWE handed out some shiny plastic hardware, and more importantly, finalized the card for this Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view. With CM Punk badmouthing WWE before signing with UFC, and Brock Lesnar sitting at home while the title collects dust, it seems like the most exciting WWE-related action these days is taking place outside of the squared circle.
With that said, TLC actually looks like a solid pay-per-view on paper, especially considering it’s another event without a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
Ziggler has performed well in ladder matches during his career. Will the Show Off steal the show on Sunday?
In general, gimmick pay-per-views can be pretty lame. With events such as Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Extreme Rules, the stipulations often seem forced and predictable (Money in the Bank is the only exception). However, it seems like the gimmick could be highly beneficial this time around.
This is due to the fact that most of the matchups would be forgettable without a special stipulation. Take Ryback vs. Kane for example. Nobody wants to see a washed-up Libertarian and supposed steroid user battle in a regular singles contest; that’s the same garbage fans are served up every week on Raw. However, if the two are going to beat the hell out of each other with chairs, it increases the possibility (albeit slightly) that fans will remain interested.
The same holds true for Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper. They are two of the better workers in the company, and they’d undoubtedly put on a great show without any gimmick at all, but the ladder match stipulation gives them the opportunity to completely steal the show.
Not only will the midcard benefit from the TLC gimmick, hardcore stipulations were necessary at the top of the card to get this event over with the fans. In particular, the tables match between John Cena and Seth Rollins should be one of the highlights of the night, as Cena will attempt to remain number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
– WWE reportedly has big plans in mind for next week’s post-TLC edition of RAW. As noted, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled to return and the hype for WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view is expected to officially begin.
– WWE added the following video to their official YouTube channel for the 2014 Slammy Award for “Hashtag of the Year.”
– Here is the latest Kevin Owens vignette hyping his NXT debut next week at TakeOver: R Evolution on the WWE Network:
– 2K Sports is preventing fans from uploading scans of Chris Benoit’s face to be used in WWE 2K15. A gamer asked 2K about it on Twitter and got this response:
https://twitter.com/stephensonmc/status/540520984730931200
EA Sports announced that Brock Lesnar is going to be added as a UFC Legend to the UFC game.
.@BrockLesnar is coming to #EASPORTSUFC. #UFCLegends pic.twitter.com/XfyZ1Nap7i
— EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) December 4, 2014
As we reported recently, CM Punk’s appearance on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast had a lot of people within WWE upset, particularly executives such as Triple H and Vince McMahon. It’s said that while most everyone kept quiet about it in public, outside of guys like Ryback and Brian “BG” James, that most, if not all WWE talents loved a lot of the stuff that Punk had to say about WWE.
On the flip-side of the coin, however, a lot of people in the company were said to be unhappy with Punk complaining about the way he was booked, due to their feeling that he was booked better than almost everyone outside of a very select few talents over the past several years.
The feeling among some is that while Punk complained about having to put over part-time guys like The Rock, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, they would have loved to of been in that position.
One particular WWE Superstar, who is said to be a top guy, felt that much of the Punk interview came off as “sour grapes.”
Others in the company apparently felt that Punk came off bad complaining about being booked to work against Triple H at WrestleMania XXX, with their feeling being that it would be positioned as one of the very top matches on the show, with plenty of television time to promote it during the build-up to the show.
While some agreed with the “two sides to every story” cliche’, there was also said to be a general consensus that what Punk said about his experiences in WWE is the same way many others would describe theirs as well, outside of the fact that Punk made more money than most, but that they admired the guts it took to say all that he did in a public forum.
Regardless of whether or not talents agreed with all that Punk had to say during the already infamous interview, almost everyone was said to be aware of the fact that agreeing with him publicly would be nothing short of career suicide unless it was done by one of the very few “untouchable guys.”
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)