– Despite some speculation, there are currently no plans for CM Punk to feud with Daniel Bryan. They will not be wrestling each other at WrestleMania, as some sites reported in recent weeks.
– Former WWE star MVP has been tweeting about training but says it’s for a North American Grappling Association event. He wrote:
No, I'm not training for a WWE return. I have a NAGA tournament next weekend. I am returning soon tho. The "where" is still in discussion.
Damien Sandow defeated Dolph Ziggler in a match on RAW to determine the number one contender to the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Because of the victory, Sandow will now battle Big E. Langston for the title in two weeks at the WWE TLC pay-per-view.
Also announced for the upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view is a handicap match featuring CM Punk against all three members of The Shield. The match was made by the Director Of Operations Kane on this week’s RAW.
The build-up to the WWE TLC pay-per-view in two weeks continues on Monday night as WWE RAW returns live from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
No matches or segments have been announced in advance, however the focus will remain on the Randy Orton vs. John Cena match at TLC, which is being billed as a “unification match.”
Included on RAW will be The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who along with Vince McMahon, is being advertised locally for the show.
WWE will also begin setting up the undercard for the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which is likely going to revolve around The Wyatt Family kidnapping Daniel Bryan and The Shield targeting CM Punk last week.
Additional talent advertised for RAW this week include Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Ryback, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, AJ Lee and even Paul Heyman, who has not appeared on RAW in a few weeks.
For the live crowd in Oklahoma City on Monday night two post-show dark matches are benig advertised. John Cena is scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Alberto Del Rio, while Randy Orton is slated to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show.
– As recently announced, Raw and SmackDown tapings are slated to take place at The O2 Arena in London, England next May. Advertising for the event in an area publication, however, features two errors, as John Cena is being promoted as Ryback while CM Punk is labeled as Alberto Del Rio.
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans who is the most talented “Total Diva.” With over 2,000 votes cast thus far, Natalya is winning the poll at 41%. She is currently trailed by Brie Bella (17%), Nikki Bella (16%), Naomi (9%), JoJo (7%), Eva Marie (6%) and Cameron (4%).
– Former WWE Diva Trinity turns 42-years-old on Sunday. Now a stuntwoman and roller derby player, she came out of retirement for one night only in the spring for TNA Wrestling.
The following are highlights from a recent interview with TNA star Christopher Daniels:
On CM Punk in ROH and if he saw him reaching the level he’s at in WWE today: “I saw that he had the work ethic to make it work. A lot of times it’s just a matter of getting that opportunity. It’s funny that the example of what he is and what Daniel Bryan is, goes against the grain of what the WWE is trying to do. It seems very rare that they take guys off the indies anymore. You know they’ve got the Performance Center and they want their wrestlers to start from there at the bottom. It’s almost like they’re trying to grow wrestlers in a petri dish and then you look at guys like Punk, Bryan and Antonio Cesaro who worked all over the world on the independent scene and it seems like they’re doing well for themselves and making it in the WWE system despite not being brought up in the WWE system.”
On TNA Impact Wrestling returning to Orlando: “I think it was good. We jsut got back from doing our first tapings there in I think 8 months and they were very well received. The fans welcomed us back with open arms. We had a little different set up than we did before so there’s definitely a little freshness to it there that we didn’t have last year and I’m looking forward to seeing how the next set of tapings go in December and you know, once we settle back down to an actual soundstage that’s gonna become ours and see how it goes. I think it’s the best thing for our company. You know, we did the thing when we went around taping the shows at different venues around the United States and that worked well for us but there were also negatives, cost wise it wasn’t really effective for us so I feel like going back and doing what’s best and going back to a central location, and hopefully having the opportunity to go out on occasion whether it’s for TV or PPVs to go to other cities, I think that’s gonna be better for us overall. A little bit of the best of both worlds. I think it benefits us in the long run.”
Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.
Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts
The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”. Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.
I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.
Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.
CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield. I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.
Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!
The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio
I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.
The Kosher Butcher!
The Kosher Butcher Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this. Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.
Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:
The following are highlights from the latest sit-down interview between Triple H and Michael Cole from the official WWE website:
On the goal behind unifying the belt at the WWE TLC PPV: “The goal is one champion. The goal being one champion at the end of the night. One Undisputed WWE champion. Let’s face it – with the brand extension no longer in effect, there is no need for two champions; we only need one… I want there to be one Undisputed WWE champion; the championship that was held by all the greats. Bruno Sammartino, (Bob) Backlund, Bret (Hart), (Hulk) Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Rock, (Steve) Austin, myself, Cena. All the greats. I want there to be one champion who represents this company going into the new year.”
On CM Punk’s dig at him on RAW this past Monday: “I didn’t happen to see C.M. Punk’s promo Monday night because I was a little bit busy creating the biggest match in WWE history. That being said, C.M. Punk says a lot of things; he runs his mouth a lot. It doesn’t make a difference to me. It’s irrelevant to me. He can say whatever he wants. I’m not phased by it. All I care about is C.M. Punk shows up and does his job.”
Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Shield’s Potential & Inevitable Implosion: “No one should sleep on the potential of Dean Ambrose or Seth Rollins considering that [Roman] Reigns is getting ample, fresh spotlight these days. Both Rollins and Ambrose are going to be top hands. I’d bet BBQ sauce on it.
“Ambrose has always reminded me as having some Brian Pillman and some Roddy Piper in his personality. So, if Ambrose doesn’t get institutionalized (Only kidding) with those perceived personality traits, he’s going to be outstanding. A little of The Loose Cannon and some of Hot Rod equates to money to me. Rollins, from day one in NXT, has always reminded me of CM Punk and I’m not sure exactly why but I perceive that it’s a good thing nonetheless. Rollins match several weeks back from Daniel Bryan was one that I could watch every night.”
“It’s obviously enviable that the Shield will implode at some point to allow the three stars to evolve separately instead of keeping all three talented men in one entity. How, where, when it happens remains to be seen but the why is a no brainer especially when WWE needs to build quality depth. This isn’t the era of the Horsemen when talent depth wasn’t an issue.”
CM Punk & Daniel Bryan: “Punk/Bryan are a great team. For now. I hope that they are back on their own sooner than later but I’ve really like them as a duo in recent weeks. Can’t say that I loved the kidnapping storyline as it challenges reality. For some, that may not be an issue at all which is fine. Perhaps Kane can find Daniel Bryan. Just saying. BTW…CM Punk’s promo was highly entertaining and worth watching again. Punk drop”
There’s much more to this blog, including JR’s thoughts on Bray Wyatt and new details on his upcoming one-man “Evening With Jim Ross” show.
– Many of the WWE NXT Superstars are heading home for the Thanksgiving holiday this week. NXT has no live events scheduled for several weeks.
– Independent wrestler Logan Shulo, who has worked all over the Pittsburgh scene, has signed a developmental deal with WWE.
– Yahoo! Sports has a featured article up on their website where they look at some of the top moments for each of WWE’s 50 years. Fans interested in checking that out can do so online at Yahoo.com.
– WWE has released new t-shirts for Rey Mysterio, who recently made his return to WWE television, as well as CM Punk, with the shirt showcasing his long title reign.
– CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were unable to answer the question, “will they remain a tag-team following their win at Survivor Seires” when asked by Renee Young in an exclusive WWE.com post-match interview. The two claimed that “they don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” when working in WWE.
– WWE Superstar Mark Henry, who returned with his new look to answer the open challenge issued by Ryback at Survivor Series, spoke to WWE.com about his reason for coming out. Henry claimed that he answered Ryback’s challenge due to the fact that Ryback was disrespecting Bret Hart, Booker T and Mick Foley, who he cut off when he came out to the ring.
Also featured in post-match interviews at Survivor Series on Sunday night were The Shield, Curtis Axel, Natalya and The Bella Twins. You can watch these interviews online at WWE.com.
– WWEShop.com is selling a new t-shirt for the legendary Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
– Here’s a link to CM Punk on comedian Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast: WTFPod.com.
– Several readers have sent in word that their cable companies alerted them that WWE will be ending their Classics on Demand service in January. The latest talk regarding the WWE Network is that it will be launching in February 2014, so the cancellation of WWE Classics on Demand is a sign that those plans might finally be going through.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, who famously feuded with late comedian Andy Kaufman in Memphis, has commented on this week’s news story that Kaufman’s brother (and a woman claiming to be his daughter) said that Andy is actually alive and faked his own back in 1984. Lawler told CNN:
“I would like nothing better than to know that Andy was still alive and been with us all this time. But like anybody else, I really don’t know any more than what I’ve heard. It could be a great hoax in his honor, dreamed up by his friend Bob Zmuda and his brother, Michael. That would be something that would be in keeping with Andy’s tradition, but who’s to say. It could really be legit.”
– CM Punk has been announced for the Wizard World Portland Comic Con from the Oregon Convention Center on January 24th, 2014. He will be appearing from 3:30pm until 7:30pm.
– Chris Jericho will be co-hosting Sunday’s episode of The Wedge on the Much Music channel at 10am EST.
The Harvard-educated attorney, who has not competed on television since the March 18 edition of Raw, resurfaced last month in an interview for WWE.com as he weighed in on Big Show’s counter-lawsuit against The Authority.
– CM Punk saved a message on Twitter from an upset fan about being snubbed by him on Wednesday in Nottingham, England outside the Nottingham Capital FM Arena. Writing to AJ Lee (and not Punk), the message states, “Wish I could of said hello to you today. My mum asked cm punk nicely and he made me and my mum cry. I don’t like him anymore.”
The fan is claiming that as fans were snapping photos of Punk outside the venue, her mother asked Punk permission to do so as well. Punk gave an angry response, as the fan claims he shouted at both of them.
Last week on Twitter, former WWE star Bob “Hardcore” Holly criticized Punk for not being friendlier to fans.
@carlaking900@CMPunk Yea i will NEVER understand , u all made him who he is, he didnt do it by himself, if not for u, they wouldnt be paid
– Friday would have marked as the sixty-first birthday of “Macho Man” Randy Savage. The legendary wrestler died of cardiac arrhythmia while driving with his wife in Seminole, Florida on May 20, 2011.
– While still unofficial, it appears as though the six-on-six confrontation featuring The Wyatt Family and The Shield vs. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and The Usos on Monday’s RAW was the beginning of the build towards a traditional elimination match with all twelve men at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday, November 24th.
– According to reports, WWE Superstar Damien Sandow is currently being groomed for a top position in the company. Sandow, who was given a win over Kofi Kingston on RAW on Monday, recently cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase unsuccessfully against current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Since then, company officials within WWE are starting to work Sandow into a top-tier position.
Day seven of the WWE European tour continues on Tuesday with half of the WWE roster remaining in Manchester, England for the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping, while the rest of the roster travels to Newcastle, England for a non-televised live event.
Announced already for the SmackDown television taping is an arm-wrestling contest between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and former champion Alberto Del Rio. The two will continue to hype their upcoming title rematch at the WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, November 24th.
Confirmed for the WWE Main Event portion of the television taping is a WWE Divas Championship match between current title-holder AJ Lee and Natalya.
Also official for the SmackDown television taping is an appearance of WWE Superstar CM Punk.
Unless WWE continues their recent trend of false-advertising, you can count the following Superstars out of SmackDown and Main Event on Tuesday: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and The Shield. Orton vs. Bryan is advertised as the main event for the WWE Championship at the live event in Newcastle, as well as a six-man tag-team match featuring Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz vs. The Shield.
Make sure to check back here at the website on Tuesday afternoon for live play-by-play spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping.
– After the televised portion of RAW ended on Monday, the babyfaces remained in the ring. CM Punk raised JBL and Jerry “The King” Lawler’s hands and went back into the ring. At one point, Goldust convinced Punk to reenact Roman Reigns “fall incident” from one of this past weekend’s WWE live events. All the babyfaces eventually made their way to the back, except for Punk. Punk got back on the microphone and said, “I just wanted to say that to come here and wrestle and perform in front of you is a humbling experience. You’ve been fantastic all night and there’s only one thing I can say, thank you.”
– The following are some off-air notes from Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW in Manchester, England:
Several signs were confiscated during the show. Security at the show warned several fans for holding their signs up on the hard-camera side too much, including one that read “Stink-Face Me AJ.”
At one point during the main event, CM Punk told the fans that they are “the best motherf**cking crowd ever.”
There was a “fight” in the crowd between a fan dressed as Kane and another fan dressed as Goldust. Arena security eventually sent them on their way. Here’s video of the fans wrestling outside the arena after the show:
On Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW from Manchester, England, a main event segment was revealed for this week’s SmackDown.
The current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and former champion Alberto Del Rio, will be the participants in an arm-wrestling contest.
Also announced for this week’s SmackDown on Monday’s RAW was an appearance by WWE Superstar CM Punk.
WWE SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, England. Make sure to check back here at the website for live spoiler coverage of SmackDown.
– On WWE RAW this week, which was taped in Manchester, England on Monday afternoon, the company announced that next week’s edition of RAW will have a country music theme. “RAW Country” emanates from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee live on Monday night.
No official matches have been announced for next week’s WWE RAW thus far, however it was announced that “The Authority,” Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, will return from “vacation” to appear on the show.
– WWE Superstar CM Punk is confirmed to appear on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. The announcement was made on WWE RAW on Monday night. SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, England.
A photo has surfaced online of CM Punk having lunch with his arch-nemesis Paul Heyman, as well as Divas Champion AJ Lee and Heyman client Curtis Axel, backstage at a WWE live event in Europe.
The image comes courtesy of Scottish wrestling fan Brendan McEleny, who secured the shot at yesterday’s live event in Glasgow at Glasgow Braehead Arena.
McEleny says he did not sneak into the venue, as he managed to snap the picture while on public property.
– As previously reported, WWE is currently making an effort to push larger-sized Superstars. The feeling is the company has a lot of average-sized talent and that now is the time to sign more head-turning attractions. WWE is putting heavy emphasis on bigger and stronger Superstars instead of guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
– Speaking of Punk and Bryan, the reason WWE has the two in a program currently with The Wyatt Family is to attempt to elevate Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. As much as WWE believes in the talents of Bray Wyatt, they also want to give a push to Rowan and Harper.
– WWE NXT stars Conor O’Brian and Rick Victor have been re-named, according to their respective Twitter accounts. On the social media platform, O’Brian is referring to himself as Konnor (@KonnorWWE) and Victor is now Viktor (@ViktorRiseWWE). Together, they appear as The Ascension.
– This week’s WWE Classics On Demand updates are as follows: The New and Improved DX (Parts 4,5, and 6), New World Order: The Revolution, World Wrestling Federation action at Nassau Coliseum (June 10, 1989), AWA All Star Wrestling (November 7, 1981), ECW Hardcore TV (November 13, 1998), Stampede Wrestling (May 1979).
– The latest issue of WWE Magazine features Big Show, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and The Miz on the cover. The headline reads: “SUPERSTARS UNITED! WHO’LL BE THE FACE OF WWE IN 2014?”
– In his first appearance since Hell in a Cell, Paul Heyman resurfaced at Friday’s WWE live event in Glasgow, Scotland. Opening the show with his leg in a brace, his arm in a sling, his neck in a collar and donning a full back brace, the Scarsdale, New York native blamed the fans for his injuries. CM Punk then appeared and took matters into his own hands by brutalizing Heyman with a kendo stick.
– Courtesy of Ticketmaster.com, the seating chart for WrestleMania XXX has been released. Tickets for the pay-per-view event, which takes place April 6, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, go on sale next Saturday at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT.
– Six-time World Champion Chris Jericho turns 43-years-old on Saturday. Also celebrating a birthday today is former WWE and WCW referee Nick Patrick, who turns 54.
The following are highlights from a recent WWE.com interview with WWE Superstar Tyson Kidd:
On if he’s had to change his in-ring style due to knee surgery: “I originally thought I would, but I’m very, very stubborn. I’d been doing cardio since week six of my rehab, and after two minutes in the ring the day I got cleared, I was done. It felt like I’d wrestled a 30-Minute Handicap Match. I was dying. I mean, this sounds bad, but in terms of my conditioning and my wind, I may as well have been sitting on my couch for eight months.”
“There’s only one way to train, and that’s being in the ring. And even in practice, it’s not the same as performing in front of a crowd. You’re constantly feeding off their energy and their reactions and trying to feel them out. It’s a different aspect than practicing in the ring on your own. That’s been my limitation. But the only way to improve is to run that tank on empty, and then refill again. If you’re afraid and don’t let yourself get to empty, you’ll never build your conditioning. I learned that from my Japanese trainer, Tokyo Joe, a long time ago. But I’m not going to let my knee alter anything I do in the ring. My move set is part of what makes me unique and there’s no way I’m going to throw that away out of fear.”
On receiving support from CM Punk: “When I got hurt, before I got the MRI, I was going down to the school at NXT [now the WWE Performance Center] and doing some pre-surgical therapy on my knee. [CM] Punk was down there too, rehabbing his knee. I told him about my MRI, and the same day I got the MRI I went to my doctor, and Punk told me to text him as soon as I was done to let him know how it went.”
“Punk and I have always gotten along and he’s always been friendly to me. I met him in Ring of Honor on the independent scene in 2003. When he said that workhorse thing, it blew up my Twitter, and now I have people tweeting me every day using #workhorse. That was definitely going through my head the whole time.”
“I remember thinking, “if my knee is never the same again, but I tried my hardest, then that’s just how it is. But if my knee isn’t the same again because I didn’t try my hardest, then that’s me letting everyone down — including myself.” And that’s just not the kind of person that I am.”
On being on the Total Divas reality show and having his wedding on TV: “It’s funny. These cameras are in your house and you know they’re there. I don’t know if this because I’ve been in sports-entertainment for almost 18 years now, but after a couple of hours, I honestly forget the cameras are there. The next thing I know, I’m watching “Total Divas” back and I see things like my mom playing with my hair while we’re eating and I’m like, “I honestly don’t remember that happening.” I’m not saying they’re sneaky — I know they’re there — but they’re so good at what they do that you just feel so comfortable.”
“I love that. It wasn’t being on the road, but I still felt like I was in the mix even though I was hurt, and it made me want to get back out there even more. “Total Divas” kind of fell in my lap. Obviously, it’s Nattie’s story and I’m part of it, but the fact that I was at home injured and was still able to contribute to something within the company meant the world to me.”
Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.
-Originally the plan for WWE Survivor Series was to feature a traditional eight-man elimination match with The Wyatt Family and one other WWE Superstar against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and two other WWE Superstars. According to recent reports, those plans have changed and the new idea is to have Erick Rowan and Luke Harper against Punk and Bryan in a regular tag-team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
-Another match planned for Survivor Series on November 24th is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes and The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. There is a chance that The Usos and The Shield will be added to the match, however that is unofficial at this point.
