As noted last week, when a fan asked Rob Van Dam if he was done with WWE for good after wrapping up his current run with the company at the August 26th WWE television taping, he simply responded, “for better or for worse.”
Van Dam’s understanding with the company is that he would work full-time for short, agreed upon periods of time, similar to Chris Jericho’s deal.
The first time RVD came back into the company, they reportedly asked him to stay longer than he agreed, but he didn’t do it. The run that he just finished last week ended his second cycle in.
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.
WWE COO Triple H was Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk is Jericho podcast at PodcastOne.com. Here are the highlights:
– Triple H’s WWF debut back in 1995 was delayed due to a no-compete clause he had with WCW. He attended several WWF live events before making his official debut.
– Eric Bischoff initially offered him a 2-year deal at $50,000 per year, which he wasn’t happy with. He signed a 1-year deal to prove himself. He said WCW was a total mess, “no structure or organization,” and sent out feelers to WWF through dirt sheets.
– Triple H grew up watching a lot of wrestling promotions but said he always wanted to wrestle for the WWF. Jericho said he went to WCW with the goal of eventually making it to WWF.
– Triple H joked about his WCW gimmick, Terra Rizing. He said originally the name was Terrorizer. He thought that was ridiculous and asked for an actual name. Management added a space in the middle and it was Terra Ryzer, which eventually morphed into Terra Ryzing. He eventually got repackaged as Jean Paul Levesque, which he also thought was ridiculous, because he’s not French. He came up with the blue blood gimmick.
– Jericho asked him about the origin of the Hunter Hearst Helmsley character. He said Vince liked his blue blood character, but wanted to rebrand him as an American, in case they ever wanted to make him a babyface. He said Vince wanted him to be a blue blood snob from Greenwich, CT. When they were coming up with a ring name for him, JJ Dillon dubbed him Reginald Dupont Helmsley. Triple H had come up with his own list of names and they settled on Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He said Shawn Michaels started calling him Triple H from day one. Vince didn’t like the Triple H name when he first heard it but changed his mind the following year.
– When he first joined the WWF, Diesel was champion but Shawn was the top guy in the company. Undertaker, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were also the major players. He was friends with Terry Taylor before he began with WWF and it helped to have an ally there. He said the guys would make fun of bad wrestling gimmicks and Terra Ryzing was one of their favorites to mock. Despite that, they had told Vince that Triple H was a good talent they should consider bringing in. When he came in, the Kliq looked out for him a lot.
– He was miserable riding with some of his first travel partners. One day when he was at the airport, Kevin Nash told him to ride in the van with him, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall. One night at Denny’s, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall had to be “dragged out.” He had to slap Sean Waltman because he barely had a pulse and they all wound up in the emergency room that night. The next morning, him and Kevin Nash went to the gym to train.
– He said Scott Hall was not very “impressive” when he wasn’t in Razor Ramon mode. When he’d go into character, he completely transformed “as if he grew three feet.”
– Vince McMahon held a meeting at a hotel and it was agreed that the company needed a new direction. Several top agents were there, along with The Kliq. He was in the room when the meeting was about to begin and tried walking out. Vince asked where he was going and he said he was a new guy and he didn’t think he would be part of the meeting. Vince told him to stay. Vince told the guys to evaluate the roster and advise him who should stay and who should be let go. He told everybody to individually write down their thoughts on the roster and the direction of the company. Everybody in the room had Bam Bam Bigelow on the list, because he strongly disliked the Kliq and was disruptive. Triple H said that meeting was the first spark of the Attitude Era, because everybody was pushing for more reality. They questioned, “Why do we have Doink The Clown? Why can’t be just be wrestlers? Why do we have to be firemen and cops? Why can’t it be more real?” Vince agreed that they needed to get away from the campy product geared towards children. They brought up the rock band KISS, who had been an edgy group, but turned away their core audience by having a cartoon and catering to kids. They were no longer cool and were a parody of themselves.
– One of the genius things about Vince is his ability to hear a lot of opinions, think them over and process them. Vince told him to surround yourself with people smarter than you, listen to their opinions and use your judgment to form the best strategy. The President doesn’t have to be the smartest guy in the room. He needs to listen to smart people and make the best common sense decision.
– There was no dark match after the cameras stopped rolling at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Des Moines, Iowa. After the show was over, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns hung around in the ring and by the ringside area for a while taking pictures with fans and signing autographs.
– For trivia and statistic buffs out there, if Seth Rollins were to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion upon cashing in his “Money In The Bank” briefcase, he would be the first person in history from the state of Iowa to become WWE Champion.
– Below is the new “Are you ready for WWE Network” promo video:
– Chris Jericho wrote the following message on Twitter, talking about what an honor it is to be included on the new WWE production trucks:
“Then. Now. Forever. Glad to a part of the history of this great company!! Such an honor to be included on the side of this production truck with two of my all time favorite rivals (@TheRock & @ShawnMichaels) along with HOFs Lita, Sarge & Brock Lesnar! @wwe”
You can check out a photo of the trucks he is referencing below:
Then. Now. Forever. Glad to a part of the history of this great company!! Such an… http://t.co/LIIq5ymrE2
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin tweeted the following during the RAW main event on Monday night, which featured Seth Rollins, Kane and Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns and Chris Jericho.
– WWE COO Triple H will be Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk Is Jericho podcast at PodcastOne.com. The episode drops on Wednesday and we’ll post a link here when it’s live.
The WWE rolled through midwest tonight, as they set up shop in Des Moines, Iowa. This week’s card featured a total of eight matches, including a life changing six-man tag main event. It’s time to once again take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
As always, matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here is this week’s Raw report card.
Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel
Tonight’s show started with Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, and featured a shitload of guests, including the Authority, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. There was some entertaining banter during the segment, including Triple H and Jericho hurling corny insults at one another as Jericho dissed Triple H’s pink tie, while the Game chose to attack Y2J’s scarf during a hilarious back and forth. Rollins was extremely over during the promo and got the biggest pop of the night in his home state. Cena threatening to sue the company was pretty lame, however, and held the promo back a bit. It was an overall decent segment, it set up the main event, and the crowd seemed to be into it.
Grade: B
Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro and the Miz
The first match of the night was a tag team match featuring the United States and Intercontinental Champions. The Miz showed up with his body double Damien Mizdow and a personal stylist, complete with chairs and makeup. Miz and Sandow were hilarious throughout the contest and the ending was solid. Ziggler and Cesaro also worked well together during the opening portion of the match, with Cesaro’s fall away slam into a pinning combination being one of the most impressive spots I’ve seen in a long time. Overall, it was an entertaining contest and was a good way to advance both feuds.
Two big matches were confirmed for next week’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from Baltimore, Maryland.
One of the matches scheduled for next week’s show is a steel cage match between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt.
Also announced for next week’s show, which like the cage match was announced on this Monday’s RAW, is a SummerSlam rematch between Roman Reigns and Randy Orton.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley will be appearing on the September 6th episode of Me-TV’s “Svengoolie”, a weekly series that airs old Universal horror films and bookends them with host segments and comedy bits. In the past, Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette and Lisa Marie Varon have all appeared on the show.
– Chris Jericho noted on his official Twitter account that WWE executive and on-air talent Triple H will be appearing on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this week. Jericho tweeted the following:
– In a recent Journal Star interview with R-Truth, which we posted highlights from last week where he noted that he’s dealing with a shoulder injury, the WWE Superstar mentioned that he and his wife are expecting a child soon. You can check out the complete interview at JournalStar.com.
– While WWE has allowed several of their talents to appear on Steve Austin and Chris Jericho’s podcasts, they apparently don’t do the same for Jim Ross. A fan recently asked JR on Twitter about Ric Flair appearinng on his show, to which he replied with the following tweet:
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.
– 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.
– Chris Jericho began filming Comedy Central’s “Code 5” show this past week. Jericho’s character is called “Officer Chance Blackstone,” who is described as a “loose cannon” type of character. Below is a photo of Jericho’s character.
– The latest edition of WWE’s weekly “WWE Top 10,” which you can check out below, looks at the top ten World Heavyweight Championship victories.
– The reason that Chris Jericho and Randy Orton were not on this past Monday’s edition of RAW was because WWE gave the two some time off. As noted, both are scheduled to return at next week’s RAW, where Orton will be a guest on Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” segment.
– Zeb Colter has been telling friends that he suffered an injury as a result of the stiff kick he took from Rusev at the SummerSlam pay-per-view. There is also a story making the rounds that claims Colter was injured outside the ring as well.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features an interview with Batista, is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:
TIJ – EP68 – Batista Pt. 1
“He’s Drax in “Guardians Of The Galaxy.” He’s a former WWE World Champion. And he looks damn good in skinny jeans…despite the reports on twitter! Batista sits down with Y2J. He’s got stories from the set of “Guardians,” details about the Drax makeup, and thoughts on leaving WWE and his most recent return. He’s also talking Royal Rumble, Daniel Bryan, and Wrestlemania 30.”
– The latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which features an interview with Tony Schiavone, is now online. The official description for that show reads as follows:
TRR – Ep28 – Tony Schiavone
“Tony Schiavone steered the Monday Nitro ship for WCW, spent a brief year in WWE, got his start with Jim Crockett Promotions… and joins Good Ole JR to relive it all. He’s also speaking candidly about Bobby Heenan, Vince Russo, and Ed Ferrara, and sharing details about what happened behind-the-scenes the night NWO debuted!”
– And finally, the latest edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which features an interview with Jim Ross, is now online. The official description for that show reads as follows:
SASc – EP145 – Jim Ross
“Steve Austin and Jim Ross are talkin’ rasslin’… today’s rasslin’! Hear why they think Paul Heyman may be the best talker EVER in the history of the business, what John Cena needs to do in his rematch against Brock Lesnar, why Bray Wyatt is actually a character babyface and not a heel, where Sting will end his wrestling career, who should challenge Roman Reigns, and when JR knew something was fishy in Montreal! Plus, a RAW breakdown, some fantasy booking, and what to do with the IC Belt.”
– It was announced on this week’s edition of WWE RAW that on next week’s RAW, Chris Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” segment will return with special guest, Randy Orton.
– Below is Brock Lesnar’s interview segment from Monday’s RAW.
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans which WWE Superstar they would most like to see in a WWE Studios film. The options are Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Sheamus and Stardust. Leading the pack with a considerable amount of the vote is Undertaker, followed by Reigns and Wyatt. You can vote in the poll today at WWE.com.
– Although he has yet to be cleared to return, Daniel Bryan is being advertised for the WWE European tour in November. Matches advertised for the tour include Big Show vs. Rusev and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins on one side, with the other set featuring Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose vs. Kane.
Heading into Sunday’s match between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, one of the original ideas was to center the entire match around building up the Wyatt character.
Apparently, Wyatt was also scheduled to win the first meeting between he and Jericho at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view, however Vince McMahon reportedly changed his mind at the last minute.
Jericho has mentioned in the past that he is scheduled to wrap up his current run with WWE after the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, as he is going on tour with his rock band Fozzy. As things stand now, the current plan is for a third match between Jericho and Wyatt at Night Of Champions, with the match having some sort of stipulation.
– After the cameras stopped rolling at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, a SummerSlam rematch took place as the dark match main event for the live crowd in Las Vegas, Nevada. The post-show match saw Chris Jericho defeat Bray Wyatt in one-on-one action, sending the fans home happy.
– Below are the RAW Fallout videos for this week’s show.
– 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.
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!
