After being postponed last week due to snow, the good ole live, in-ring version of Raw was back last night, emanating from the Mile High City. The company was back in full force, with Triple H making a “major announcement” and a big main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Anytime you get two guys with this type of talent in the same ring, you know you’re in for a treat. They certainly didn’t disappoint either, pulling off a number of impressive spots and exhibiting impeccable chemistry. The spot of the match was probably Rollins countering Bryan’s Running Knee finisher into a Powerbomb. In the end, Bryan picked up the win and will face Roman Reigns at Fast Lane for a chance to go to WrestleMania (more on this later).
The second best part of the night was probably the segment involving Curtis Axel and Dean Ambrose. It’s sad when the first thing Axel has to say when coming out is, “Don’t change the channel.” It’s like he’s a mind reader or something. Anyway, it was hilarious to see Ambrose quickly toss Axel over the top rope before telling him he’s now eliminated. Even more exciting was that Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett. This is a program that really needs to happen, as Ambrose is the type of guy who could bring some prestige back to the Intercontinental Title after the company has played hot potato with it over the past few years.
Bray Wyatt had a big night. His match with Dolph Ziggler was incredible, and it was nice to see two guys who don’t work together much get a chance to shine. Wyatt hit a devastating Sister Abigail that Ziggler sold better than anyone to end the match. Later in the night, he cut a promo saying things like, “I am the new face of fear” and, “We cannot wait to see you again.” It looks like they are going with the rumored Wyatt/Taker program for WrestleMania and I, for one, cannot wait. If only they had gone this route last year instead of wasting the streak on a part-timer…
Rusev’s beating of Rowan and post-match promo was money. I absolutely love this guy and he played off of the Russian flag miscue perfectly. Please push this guy to the top and don’t feed him to Cena.
Jimmy Uso and Cesaro looked great together. The highlights were a Cesaro Swing into a Half Crab and a brutal uppercut to end the contest. It was nice to see Cesaro pick up a victory, but the only downside was that they are already teasing tension between Cesaro and Kidd. I’d like to see these guys stick together for a while and get a run with the titles.
Finally, the Miz/Mizdow promo was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see the Miz berate his now former stunt double and put the wheels in motion for a breakup. Here’s to hoping for a payoff at WrestleMania.
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado it was announced that on this week’s WWE SmackDown show, which returns to its’ normal Friday time slot on the SyFy Network, The Miz will host a special edition of “MizTV” with his guests being Roman Reigns, and the man he will face at the Fast Lane pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan.
– On part one of this week’s three-part RAW Fallout, Curtis Axel continues to campaign for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar. You can check out the video below.
– On part two of this week’s RAW Fallout, Bad News Barrett responds to Dean Ambrose’s challenge for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. You can check that one out below.
– Finally, in the third and final installment of this week’s RAW Fallout, an embarrassed Paige warns The Bella Twins that their “war” is not over yet. Check that one out below.
– Tampa Bay Online has published an article noting Hulk Hogan’s Beach club venue in Florida has been forced to stop running large concerts due to noise complaints from neighbors in the community.
– Curtis Axel continues to claim that he won the Royal Rumble match, since he technically was never eliminated. He tweeted:
The following matches were taped on Thursday night in Hartford, CT. prior to the live edition of WWE SmackDown for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. While they will not air on the WWE Network, they will still be available on Hulu Plus on Friday and will air in some international markets on television this weekend.
– The New Day def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow in tag-team action to kick off the show. Big E. and Kofi Kingston represented The New Day in this one. The finish saw Big E. and Kingston pick up the pin after The Miz yelled at Mizdow outside of the ring, causing a distraction.
– Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler is announced for the main event of the show.
– Erick Rowan def. Curtis Axel in singles competition. This was described as a really solid match, however the fans in Hartford were apparently not making a lot of noise for it. There was a “Rumble winner!” chant directed towards Axel during the match. In the end, Rowan picked up the win with his finisher.
– Roman Reigns is shown on the big screen, which prompted a loud boo response from the fans in attendance. The Arnold Schwarzenegger WWE Hall Of Fame video package was also shown.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Luke Harper in the main event of the show. Ziggler got a great pop from the Hartford fans for his entrance, and the crowd was said to be really hot for Ziggler throughout the entire duration of the bout. In the end, Ziggler picked up the win to end this week’s show.
RollingStone.com has published a new interview with the one and only Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about a number of topics, including Monday’s RAW, what fans will remember about 2014 and where he thinks the business is headed. Here are some highlights:
“Paul Heyman Guys” Cesaro and Curtis Axel Not Catching On:
“I think the bar was set so high with the chemistry that Brock and I have, and the chemistry that Punk and I had, that it would be very difficult to match that. It’s not just a situation of, ‘Stick manager A with wrestler B.’ Especially when you’re shooting for the top. I’ve never walked through the curtain with someone I wasn’t trying to audition as a WrestleMania main-eventer, and I never want to. And I’m sure the performers I’ve worked with didn’t want to have an advocate whose goal was anything less. But sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there.”
Brock Lesnar’s Historic Year In WWE:
“If you look back on WWE 20 years from now, I would suggest the two most newsworthy matches [of this past year] were Brock Lesnar conquering the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania, and the most one-sided, uncontested beatdown of a top star in history when Brock hit John Cena with 16 suplexes and crushed him at SummerSlam. I don’t think anything else, from a historical perspective, can hold water to those two.”
The Next Evolution Of Pro Wrestling:
“The next evolution of the business won’t be the actual content or presentation, but the manner in which the business and the content is distributed. I would suggest to you that [with] today’s distribution channels, which are smartphones and other handheld accessories, that the product will skew younger in the next couple of years, because that’s going to be the audience.”
– 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.
– As seen in the post-NXT video with William Regal yesterday, Curtis Axel has asked for a shot in NXT. Apparently he will get that shot against Hideo Itami in the main event of the January 1st edition of NXT on the WWE Network, unless that show ends up being a 2014 year-in-review special.
– ECW original Rob Van Dam will be featured in the new Kayfabe Commentaries “Timeline: The History of ECW – 1999” shoot-style DVD, which is set to be released on January 8th.
Following this week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network, NXT General Manager William Regal discusses Kevin Owens’ dominance and is asked for a favor by the returning Curtis Axel. You can check out the video below.
– Speaking of Owens and this week’s NXT, below is a video of Adrian Neville being stretchered out after being powerbombed by the NXT rookie.
The new faction, “A New Day,” made their official WWE debut on Friday’s edition of SmackDown, as Xavier Woods, Big E. and Kofi Kingston defeated Curtis Axel, Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil in six man tag-team action.
After the show, Woods tweeted the following about the group finally making their television debut.
EVENT: WWE Superstars FROM: Indianapolis, Indiana RESULTS BY: Matt Boone (@MBoone420)
The following matches were taped in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday night, prior to the post-Survivor Series edition of RAW, for this week’s WWE Superstars episode.
-Jack Swagger def. Curtis Axel in the opening match of the taping. Swagger, who was accompanied by his manager, Zeb Colter, received an outstanding ovation from the fans in attendance. Axel, on the other hand, received basically no reception at all.
– The Usos def. The Slater Gators in a decent tag-team contest which served as the main event of the taping. The team of Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil garnered a decent comedic reaction throughout the bout, as this was basically designed as a goofy, fun style match.
We are just days away from the WWE’s latest pay-per-view, Survivor Series. At last year’s event, Randy Orton defended his championship against the Big Show in a highly criticized main event. This time around, it will be John Cena risking his job in an attempt to slay the Authority.
The shelf life of a WWE superstar can be short, so it’s always important for competitors to make the most of their time in the ring, especially at pay-per-views. Here is a look at the superstars who have progressed, regressed, or remained stagnant over the past year.
Progression:
Luke Harper
Harper has made tremendous strides over the past year. He and former partner Erick Rowan were destroyed by Daniel Bryan and CM Punk at last year’s Survivor Series. He walks into this year’s event as a surprise Intercontinental Champion, and is booked into the main event with Team Authority. Harper’s stock is definitely on the rise.
Ryback
It appears the company is once again fond of Ryback. The Big Guy was basically buried in the midcard after his feud with John Cena last year, including a quick defeat at the hands of Mark Henry last year at Survivor Series. He has been the focal point of WWE television over the past few weeks, so it will be interesting to see where they go from here. One can hope that this isn’t simply a stopgap measure until guys like Reigns and Lesnar get back on television.
Honorable Mention: Ambrose/Rollins
It’s difficult to talk about progression without mentioning the former Shield brothers. These two were destroyed last year in a match whose only purpose was to get Roman Reigns over as a singles competitor. (Dean Ambrose was eliminated 2 minutes into this match and Rollins eventually stepped aside so the Spear party could commence.) What difference a year makes, however. Rollins is the leader of Team Authority and arguably the star of the main event, while Ambrose has elevated himself and will attempt to solidify the midcard on Sunday.
WWE Superstars is being taped live right now in Liverpool, England. Below are spoiler results of the taping.
– Sin Cara def. Curtis Axel in the opening bout. The match lasted about five minutes. Oddly enough, Axel got a pretty strong reception from the crowd. In the end, Sin Cara picked up the “W” after hitting Axel with a Swanton for the pin.
– Big E. def. Heath Slater in the second match of the taping. Slater actually got a great reaction from the fans in Liverpool. Big E. was boo’d by the crowd, as he worked as a heel throughout the match. Slater got a mini-comeback spot near the end of the match, however when all was said and done, Big E. picked up the pinfall victory.
The following are highlights of a recent Jim Ross website Q&A update:
On the crowd reaction to Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8: “WM18 was uniquely booked but Rock and Hogan should have closed the show in hindsight but no one predicted how the crowd was going to go crazy for the match much less embrace Hulk as they did.”
On how WWE should plan for Daniel Bryan’s return: “This email is a little long but I don’t know how one can plan for any thing with Daniel Bryan until he’s healed from his surgery and re-introduced into the mix in an intelligent manner.”
On issues between Rey Mysterio and WWE: “I am not a party to their grievances nor do I care to engage in them. I know little about their issues but always enjoyed working with both men. I signed Rey to WWE years ago and have always had a good relationship with him. I plan to have ADR on my podcast soon.”
On Curtis Axel: “Don’t know where WWE is with Curtis but he needs to show more personality and more physicality.”
On Cruiserweights returning to WWE: “I think that the ship has sailed for cruiserweights to return to WWE. Then again, I might be wrong but I don’t think so.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A at his website, JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– The former tag team Rybaxel had a backstage segment on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars to address going their separate ways. Ryback welcomed Curtis Axel back to action and said he hopes he’s not angry that while he was gone, Ryback took it upon himself to “get hungry” again and resume his singles career. They talked about a crazy trip to Mexico, with each man wondering if the other one made it back.
Axel said it’s best that they go their separate ways. As he was walking away, Ryback told him all the great tag teams get back together eventually and joked that they weren’t that great of a tag team. Ryback said “Rybaxel 4 Life.”
– Curtis Axel, who has been out of action since his tag-team partner Ryback took time off for surgery, posted the following on Twitter after last night’s RAW, hyping his upcoming return to WWE television.
– For you trivia buffs out there, Sunday will mark the third straight year that Paul Heyman has managed a champion going into the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. This weekend, Heyman manages WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. In 2013 he managed Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel and in 2012 he managed WWE Champion CM Punk.
– Below is the latest edition of The JBL (Not Cole) Show:
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.
At one point, the plan for the WWE SummerSlam “Kickoff Show” match was a four-way tag-team match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Ryback and Curtis Axel and Goldust and Stardust.
As things stand now, the pre-show match for the pay-per-view is being discussed and a decision is expected to be made at some point during the next week.
It’s worth noting that the new “Slater Gator” duo (Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil) may end up being involved if they go the tag-team route, which is expected, as the new tag-combination recently picked up a notable win over Goldust and Stardust on WWE Main Event.
Yesterday, WWE.com published an interview with Curtis Axel, who spoke about helping The Rock and Brock Lesnar get back into ring shape prior to their WWE returns in recent years.
The article failed to mention that former WWE Superstar Curt Hawkins was the one who primarily helped The Rock prepare for his WWE return match against John Cena at WrestleMania 28.
Curt Hawkins caught wind of the article and responded on Twitter:
He also re-tweeted a photo of The Rock giving him a Rock Bottom, joking that “Curtis Axel’s hair looks fantastic” – since it was actually him in the picture:
Curtis Axel spoke to WWE.com this week about his experience training with The Rock and Brock Lesnar prior to their respective WWE returns. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Why WWE Picked Him To Work With The Rock:
“I think that I gained some trust within the WWE organization, and they picked me because they had faith in me being safe, not injuring him and really making him step up his game to get his wind ready, and his body back in shape for all the strenuous activity he was about to endure at WrestleMania. So I think they just had trust in me, and I think that’s what it boiled down to. Plus, we both come from a pedigree. Me and Rock have always had that bond, just because of the generational thing. So I think that had something to do with it. He trusted me, and WWE trusted me, so that’s how all that came about.”
What He Learned From The Rock:
“Just how to gauge crowd reactions, after you do something just to live in that moment and have the people eat it up. It’s just timing, stuff that a lot of people watching at home don’t realize. The facial expressions, when to take your time with things. Don’t rush things. Just little, tiny things that you don’t think about when you’re starting out. I’m still improving in that aspect, so I watched The Rock and I listened to The Rock when I was there. Just those little details, the timing and getting the crowd’s reaction and stuff like that. It really helped.”
What It Was Like Training With Brock Lesnar:
“Nonstop. I mean, we would wrestle a half-hour without a break, just going back and forth and basically doing a whole match. There was a moment, and he might get mad at me for saying this, but there was a moment where we stopped for a second and he said to me, “I’m going to beat your ass all the way to the corner, and then I’m going to take a step back. And when I come back to you, I want you to beat my ass all the way back to the other corner. And if it’s not up to my standards, if it’s not sufficient enough and I don’t think you’re aggressive, you know what’s going to happen to you.”
-WWE is considering splitting up the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel in the near future. There is no exact timetable on when, but the plan at this point definitely seems to be to end the team.
– Next week’s edition of WrestleMania Rewind, which airs Tuesday night on the WWE Network, the focus will be on the Triangle Ladder Match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships between The Hardy Boys, The Dudley Boys and the team of Edge and Christian.
Following Monday’s RAW, here is an updated look at the official WWE Battleground pay-per-view lineup:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Kane vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Battle Royal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, The Great Khali, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big E., Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del RIo, Bo Dallas, Sheamus and Fandango
– Following Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Montreal, here is the updated list of official participants confirmed for the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal at the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view: Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, The Great Khali, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big E., Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del RIo, Bo Dallas, Sheamus and Fandango.
– The following is the Bret Hart and “Bret Sandhart” segment from Monday’s RAW: