WWE is in the midst of one of the most eventful weeks in years – and the company’s existing storyline plans through WrestleMania could be scrapped entirely by Friday night.
WWE has called for all-day creative meetings on Thursday and Friday, according to a report by Wade Keller of PWTorch.com. A source says that “nothing is sacred” in terms of long-standing booking plans plans and “everything will be reevaluated.”
The roller coaster ride began on Sunday night when it became apparent to fans that Daniel Bryan would not be part of the Royal Rumble match. The strong negative reaction to Batista winning the Rumble, Daniel Bryan’s continuing popularity growth and the shocking departure of CM Punk from the company are all being cited as reasons for the shakeup.
We’ll have more details on this story later in the week, but it appears that things are going to get even more interesting by the time the week is over.
As previously reported, CM Punk held a Q&A session at the Wizard World “Portland Comic Con” event on Friday. Here are the highlights:
– Punk said he doesn’t think Sting should come to WWE because he doesn’t have “anything left in the tank.” He thinks Sting would take another spot away from WWE’s younger superstars who are trying to make it to the main event level.
– Punk said Batista is his friend, but he doesn’t feel the time is right for him to return, for the same reason Sting shouldn’t be brought in. Punk said it’s Daniel Bryan’s time and Bryan should be in the main event of WrestleMania.
– He has been frustrated with WWE’s direction for a while and feels that the writers aren’t in touch with what fans want.
– He has been saving a lot of money and he would be fine if he wasn’t receiving a paycheck from WWE anymore.
– He’s entertained the idea of fighting for UFC, but he doesn’t know if his body could handle it at this time.
– Punk said his health has been bad for months, especially September through November of last year. At that time, he was getting weekly MRI’s and blood work done, but doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong. He started eating meat again and is starting to feel better, but isn’t close to 100%.
As previously reported, WWE RAW was re-written a number of times this past Monday night. According to a new PWInsider.com article, the RAW script for Monday was re-written at least 10 or 11 times in the afternoon and evening alone.
The report claims the last re-write came at approximately 6pm after Vince McMahon and CM Punk had the meeting that led to Punk’s departure from the company.
ESPN Cleveland reporter Casey Kulas reported today that he heard from sources backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW show in Cleveland, Ohio that there was a heated argument backstage between WWE executives and CM Punk. Kulas says that WWE wanted Punk to do a promo on RAW telling fans that he was taking time off because he suffered a concussion (he didn’t), but he refused.
As previously reported, CM Punk reportedly quit WWE on Monday after a meeting with Vince McMahon held prior to RAW from in Cleveland, Ohio.
WWE has since “unfollowed” CM Punk on Twitter and removed the “CM Punk: Best In The World” documentary from Netflix.
We noted that part of the reason for Punk’s departure was frustration over part-time wrestlers coming in and leap-frogging full-time talent and securing the main event positions in the company, especially for top events such as Batista and the upcoming WrestleMania XXX show.
According to various fan reports from Punk’s Q&A session at the Wizard World Comic Con event from Portland, Oregon last Friday, Punk said that even though he is friends with Batista, this is Daniel Bryan’s year and it’s ridiculous Bryan is not going to be part of the WrestleMania main event.
Punk also spoke about his in-ring work being reduced to “two moves per match” and commented, “I show up. Someone tells me what to do and I just go out do it and leave.”
During an interview with Ariel Helwani last week (view here), Punk said that his WWE contract expires this summer and noted that he probably wouldn’t even be a pro wrestling fan anymore if he wasn’t a WWE Superstar himself.
CM Punk has been the #1 worldwide trend on Twitter for most of the day. WWE has yet to acknowledge the situation.
– Part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently posted the following update on his Instagram account regarding his new TNT television project called “Wake Up Call.”
“Putting the final touches on our new TNT show, WAKE UP CALL. Helping families thru tough times with love, new opportunities & a few ass kickings. Excited for the show… and I get to drive my personal pick up truck! #EverybodyWins #TimeForYourWakeUpCallPeople #LetsShoot”
– WWE Superstar JTG recently commented on today’s CM Punk and Matt Hardy/Reby Sky stories. Former WWE Diva Lita, who both Punk and Hardy previously dated, is referenced in the tweet. JTG wrote:
Cm punk leaves WWE ? Matt Hardy arrested ? Sounds like a former Diva is really into American Horror Story Coven. #Idonttweetbutwhenido …..
– Colt Cabana’s name continues to come up on a regular basis within WWE. Apparently the company feels Cabana could be used as a familiar face to work on some WWE Network-related projects. Cabana has been at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida several times in the past couple of months.
– Former WWE Superstar Bob “Hardcore” Holly celebrates his 51st birthday today. Holly was born on January 29, 1962.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin noted on Twitter today that on Monday he will be fielding phone calls to discuss the drama currently going on in WWE with Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and more. Austin tweeted the following:
Monday I will be taking phone calls to discuss the latest drama at @WWE and get your thoughts on DB, Punk, etc. Stay tuned…
#SAS
– Monday’s post-Royal Rumble edition of WWE RAW scored a final cable rating of 3.24, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 3.24 final draw marks a six percent decrease from last week.
As previously noted, Monday’s RAW averaged 4.718 million viewers, which was also down from the previous week’s show, which featured the heavily advertised return of “The Animal” Batista.
– For whatever this is worth, WWE has “unfollowed” the Twitter account of CM Punk.
The following are highlights from the latest online Q&A update from WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On CM Punk’s WWE exit and if it will upset viewers if “The Authority” continues to misuse popular talent: “You’re mixing fiction w/ real life which isn’t a compatible combination. No one can make all of today’s fans happy.”
On if the door is open in WWE for Sting to come in to the company: “Door has been open for years. I assume that it still is.”
On Undertaker and his WrestleMania streak: “The Streak is as big an element to WrestleMania as any thing can be. Whoever fights Taker there will be in a key spot. I like the mystery and all the rampant speculation that comes with the topic. Once a decision is made as to who Taker will perform with then the next round of complaining will likely commence.”
On if Steve Austin will ever wrestle again: “This has been addressed dozens of times. I think that it is less than 50/50 Austin ever wrestles again. It’s been over 10 years and he’s moved on to other successful projects such as his podcast.”
On potential talent in WWE that can become a future champion: “Anyone of several talents that are young including Roman Reigns. WWE is seemingly working diligently to facilitate young talents to get over to the next level. It’s an exhausting process and many talents never make it.”
– Amidst online reports that CM Punk has opted to quit WWE, which TMZ.com has cited as due to his displeasure with WrestleMania XXX creative plans, a TNA Wrestling star is inviting the Chicago native to cross the line.
If the rumors are true, let me be the 1st to invite @CMPunk to @IMPACTWRESTLING and get in the ring w/ me. Fans would LOVE it. Yes or no?
– From Dublin, Ireland, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus previews his upcoming night in the city, and his plans for Glasgow tomorrow night on Impact Wrestling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCPa4cWTW48
– ShopTNA.com has released new T-Shirts on Jeff Hardy, Magnus, James Storm, Bobby Roode, ODB, Manik, Gunner, The Bro Mans and Austin Aries.
Former WWE Champion CM Punk is taking an indefinite hiatus from WWE.
Punk met with Vince McMahon on Monday before RAW and informed him of his decision to take time off. Punk’s WWE contract expires in July and has been very vocal about the possibility of leaving for good this summer. We’re told that his decision to leave is not due to an injury, but because he is unhappy with the handling of his character and the overall direction of the company.
Punk had been scheduled to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania, but is no longer expected to work the show and is no longer advertised for any upcoming live events. He’s stated in multiple interviews that his one remaining goal in WWE was to main event WrestleMania. In recent months it became clear that he was not going to be part of the main event this year. He’s also said to be very frustrated with WWE bringing in part-time wrestlers (The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Batista) and giving them main event programs instead of the guys who have been working full-time for years and giving the company everything they have.
We reported on Monday that WWE had completely overhauled the script for this week’s RAW, which was not completed until an hour or two before the show went on the air. The rewrites were partially due to the huge negative reaction to the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, however it was CM Punk’s announcement to management that he was leaving that also caused a lot of the changes.
There are some reports that Punk was scheduled to wrestle Antonio Cesaro on RAW in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match, which would have seen Cesaro defeat Punk with help from Kane. Punk was not backstage at RAW and he was not backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings
Punk has been working through several nagging injuries over the course of the last year and has overall been very unhappy with the reality that WWE no longer sees him as “the guy.”
(Information from the Wrestling Observer was used in this report)
Posted January 29th, 2014 in News, WWE. Tagged: CM Punk.
The Raw after the Royal Rumble saw action, matches set up for The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View and more. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Royal Rumble: Everyone who watched The Royal Rumble, or heard about it, know that the crowd was completely upset that the 10 or so unadvertised spots did not go to Daniel Bryan. Loud Boos directed at Rey Misteryo who was number 30, and Batista (who I will from now on refer to as #Bootista) who won the 2014 Royal Rumble were heard loud and clear. I know this because, I was there. Yes I few out to the 2014 Royal Rumble in frigid Pittsburgh, PA to watch that Pay-Per-View live, and yes Daniel Bryan wasn’t scheduled to be in the Rumble, but not only did everyone want him in the thing, they wanted him to win. Congrats to the live crowd for making their voices heard. Hopefully this will induce change, because I dare the WWE to put on Batista vs Orton in the main event at WrestleMania XXX and not get booed out of the building.
Triple H and Daniel Bryan Face to Face. YES!
The Authority, Daniel Bryan With the largest story out of the Royal Rumble being Daniel Bryan not being in the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw kicked off right away with The Authority, and Daniel Bryan. Daniel talking about the #YesMovement and how he wanted to be in the Royal Rumble but The Authority wouldn’t let him. Daniel Bryan then gets in Triple H’s face and demands to be in the Elimination Chamber Match. Triple H then brings out the shield to beat down Daniel Bryan. Sheamus and John Cena make the save. I would have liked Raw to start with Daniel Bryan calling out The Authority, also I would have liked Daniel Bryan to beat the crap out of Triple H, the second The Sheild’s music hit. But for what it was, it was okay, and at least the segment didn’t end with Daniel Bryan being killed.It doesn’t happen often, but did you see Seth Rollins slip on his entrance?YES!
Bad News Barrett Segment You know it’s funny, I was in Pittsburgh with 13 other insane wrestling fans, some who like me flew in for The Rumble, and one my friends does a great Wade Barrett impression, and he was hilarious. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” I heard that BNB used to be a fixture of the JBL & Cole show, and he was hilarious. I’ve come to the realization, that there are three main reasons I HATE Bad News Barrett on WWE Raw. NO!
What happened to this man? NO!
Three Reasons I hate Bad News Barrett
1. Yelling I know he’s in the arena, but I don’t think he needs to yell as much, I think it’s annoying. If he did it more soft spoken, even if it was backstage being shown to the crowd, it would come across better.
2. Podium & Gavel The podium and gavel is just plain silly and stupid. Is he a judge? Is he a preacher?
3. The Material So generic dising a local city, and their sports team. Wade Barrett can cut a great promo, we’ve seen it years ago in The Nexus and The Coree, why is he wasting time with cheap heat? Dumb!
#BOOtista, Orton and Brock Lesnar, on Raw. NO!
In-Ring Segment: Randy Orton, #BOOtista, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman I said it already once, but I dare WWE to put Randy Orton vs #BOOtista in the Main Event at WrestleMania XXX. Daniel Bryan chants ring though the arena, even though Daniel Bryan is not supposed to be involved with this segment. Brock Lesnar and Heyman come out to challenge Batista or Randy Orton, tonight on raw. But if you think you’re going to get a free Brock Lesnar match on TV, you must also believe the tooth fairy, was the one who gave you the five bucks under your pillow. NO!
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz The battle of Cleveland as these two are locals, I couldn’t help wondering how WWE was going to screw both of them, being WWE loves to beat guys in their own hometown (See: Jim Ross). Dolph wins it, and maybe his punishment is over? Probably not. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Titles
Brock destroys the Rhodes Brothers. YES!
New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
Some trash talking from The Road Dogg before this matche gets underway. I’m okay with NAO as the WWE Tag Team Champions. I’m assuming they will defend them at WrestleMania and lose it to a good team like The Usos. Brock Lesnar comes out destroys the Rhode’s brothers, which I was also okay with. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
WWE has added their post-Royal Rumble video interviews, which features comments from a number of participants in the actual Royal Rumble match, as well as others involved in the pay-per-view on Sunday night.
The New Age Outlaws are interviewed about their WWE Tag-Team Championship victory in the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show. Kevin Nash talks about his return and gives his endorsement of Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman talks about what’s next for Brock Lesnar. Kane explains why he eliminated CM Punk after he was already eliminated from the match.
The playlist features comments from several other participants in the actual Royal Rumble match, including Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, Big E. Langston and The Usos.
Check out the post-Royal Rumble video playlist at WWE.com.
We previously reported that WWE was going to hold a meeting prior to RAW a couple of weeks ago to address some changes as it relates to compensation and other issues now that the WWE Network will be changing the business model used for years in WWE. Apparently that meeting never took place and at this point still has yet to happen.
CM Punk noted in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani that he is still unsure how the WWE Network will impact his usual pay-per-view payoffs.
WWE Superstar and Chicago native CM Punk was in attendance at the UFC On FOX event in Illinois on Saturday night. Punk was shown sitting in the front row of the United Center and was acknowledged on-camera during the television broadcast.
Punk mentioned his appearance at the event on his official Twitter account, as he tweeted the following:
WWE has once again double-booked John Cena for an upcoming event on February 1st. As of right now, Cena is booked to appear both in Wichita and Orlando on that date.
Both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are booked for the Wichita show, so Cena will likely end up working the Orlando show. It would make sense, as Cena is booked that same weekend for the rest of the events emanating from Florida as well.
WWE has added the latest sit-down interview with Triple H, this time conducted by Renee Young, to their official YouTube channel.
The video, which you can view above, is accompanied by the following description: “WWE COO Triple H addresses whether Randy Orton “made things right” on Raw, CM Punk as the first entrant into the Royal Rumble Match and the possibility of Batista being “The Face of WWE.””
Batista Returned to WWE and it’s the go home show before the Royal Rumble, but was it enough for us to say YES! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Animal Is back, with the world’s tightest pants! NO!
The Authority, Randy Orton & Batista I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this segment. Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is just boring me. Orton is way more whinyer these days as well. This isn’t the cold-hearted viper, we all know and love. This is an annoying whimpy sometimes self-doubting viper. Batista comes out wearing a pair of ridiculous tight Jeans. That outfit is what I would expect someone to put on him as a joke in the WWE 2k14 video game, with a diva’s dancing entrance. He’s back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans to become the WWE Champion. Part of me want’s to say YES! because Batista is awesome, maybe I’m being to hard on the guy? But if I’m rating the segment by itself I have to go with NO!
Goldust, Cody Rhodes & Big E. Langston vs. The Shield WWE has won me over on tag team wrestling, plain and simple. I enjoy it, I love wathcing Cody and Golddust out there. I think it’s rediciolous that these two are defending their championship on the Royal Rumble pre-show. They deserve mid-card of the Pay-Per-View. Some would arugue, that if you put a solid match on the pre-show that will get people on the fence to buy the PPV. I get it, but still I think this is an attraction worthy of the actual event. Especially because I feel The New Age Outlaws could very well win the titles.YES!
Daniel Bryan is back YES!
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Great to see Daniel Bryan on Raw, especially since SEScoops.com broke the news a day after last week’s Raw that he had suffered a concussion last week. As a precaution he was pulled of the weekends live events and underwent impact testing to make sure he was good for this Sunday. He’s facing Bray Wyatt in a 1 on 1 match. Currently he is not scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble. If he doesn’t show up in the Rumble and win it, I will be pretty disappointed, this is his year to win it. Do the right thing WWE, you have a major star on your hands. YES!
Xavier Woods vs. Fandango Fast forwarded this match. I think Fandango won. I have no idea why. Meaningless. NO!
CM Punk vs Billy Gun I didn’t catch Smackdown! on Friday, but I enjoyed The Road Doggs explinatinon here on commentary. The New Age Outlaws aren’t heel’s per se, more like tweeners. I would expect them to win the Tag Team titles to further along a breakup with Golddust and Cody Rhodes. Billy Gun looked a bit blown up in the match with CM Punk, but good match. YES!
Batista gets his revenge on Alberto Del Ro before the Rumble. Now What? – NO!
Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio Another fast forward delight, back in the day before DVR’s and dare I say VCR’s We would change the channel watching this thing live. Truth be told, I fell asleep during this very match live on Monday, and caught up Tuesday. Batista comes out and attacks Alberto Del Rio. Now I thought I was going to have to pay to see Batista get physical with Del Rio? Why give it away on Raw? I can only guess that Alberto Del Rio will cause Batista to be eliminated at the Rumble. We saw Batista destroy him, so something else needs to happen. Perhaps Ricardo Rodriguez comes back and they both get Batista out? Who knows. All I know is I give the match and aftermath a NO!
Brock Lesnar should be Fearless – NO!
Big Show, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be afraid of anyone at any time, period! I did like the Big Show this week, more serious, more business, calling out Brock Lesnar. I thought it was silly watching Brock backup from the ring, not wanting to get in there with Big Show. Getting thrown out and then throwing a temper tantrum. Brock is going to win this match at the Royal Rumble, a match I am looking forward to. But this segment was silly. I liked Big Show’s impression of Paul Heyman though. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
– It was announced on WWE RAW on Monday night that CM Punk will be the number one entrant in this Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble match.
– For the second week in a row, NXT Diva Emma appeared in the crowd on WWE RAW. Emma was shown on-camera during RAW once again holding her “#Emmataining” sign.
– WWE Superstars CM Punk and The Miz will be appearing as guests on the February 12th episode of the late night Comedy Central show @Midnight, hosted by Chris Hardwick. They’ll be competing against show regular @RonaldFunches.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of JRsBarBQ.com commented on the possibility of The Ultimate Warrior wrestling one more match. He wrote:
“Could be a variety of guys but I’d think that Sandow vs. Warrior would be fun to watch. Whoever it will be, it won’t last long or be a diverse, wrestling match. That’s not to say that it won’t sell PPV’s.”
He also commented on whether the wrestling business has suffered because of “smart fans” –
“Not in my view. The business suffers because of the lack of young, main event talents that are ‘over’ with the fan base, short term creative planning, and veering far away from the core components of the genre IE wrestling and athleticism.”
Hulk Hogan reached a verbal agreement with WWE this past week, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The latest is that Hogan will not be wrestling at WrestleMania XXX and most likely would not pass a WWE physical. That said, he will have some sort of role at the WWE Hall of Fame and WrestleMania XXX. WWE has been talking about inducting the WrestleMania 1 main event (Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorf) into the Hall of Fame, with all 4 men being on hand for the ceremony.
As reported earlier this week, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has been pushing for a match at WrestleMania that would pit himself & CM Punk vs. Hulk Hogan & John Cena. Piper put Punk over during Old School RAW and tried convincing Punk to get on board for the idea, but it wont be happening, for a variety of reasons.
At one point there was talk of Hulk Hogan appearing at the ‘groundbreaking’ WWE Network announcement, but the company did not want Hogan’s return to distract from the Network announcement. The decision was made to hold off on his return, which will help pop a big TV rating as WWE is negotiating their TV rights fees.