– Daniel Bryan reveals in an interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine that WWE’s creative department would prefer that fans forgot about his marriage to Brie Bella.
When asked whether WWE has plans for them to team up inside the ring, he said, “I would love that, but WWE has gotten away from doing the mixed tag team matches. Doing something with Brie would be a lot of fun, and I think the fans would really enjoy it, but our characters right now are at different places. I’ve heard that creative wants people to forget that we’re actually married.”
With Bryan’s marriage to Brie often showcased on Total Divas, he believes his recurring appearances on the E! reality program have helped his career.
“I know for a fact that Total Divas has helped me in a way that I get recognized more by people who would never recognize me before. Now, like, people will recognize me when I’m out to dinner or something. They’ll be like, “Hey, you’re Bryan!” And that’s how I know they recognize from Total Divas. People who watch Total Divas don’t necessarily watch WWE, but now they’re starting to. People get to see me for who I am. Some fans don’t like that, and will actually boo for how I appear on Total Divas!”
– Lilian Garcia appeared at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California last week for a Susan G. Komen event where she talked about the importance of breast cancer awareness in this video interview.
Meanwhile, Lilian Garcia has been promoting the release of her new single, “Stung,” which is available for free. Visit liliangarcia.fanbridge.com to sign up for Lilian’s e-mail list and as a thank you, she will send a link to download “Stung” for free. The e-mail list keeps you up to date on Lilian’s latest events, exclusive offers, giveaways and meet-and-greet opportunities.
– WWE.com issued this poll asking fans who they’d prefer as their “BFF”: AJ Lee or Paige. AJ is currently leading the poll by a small margin.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently spoke with The Last Gentlemen Podcast to talk about a number of topics. Below are highlights from the interview.
On whether the wrestling business is dictated by the fans, and why Daniel Bryan is main eventing house shows, but not WrestleMania: “Its a coach’s decision… In their view that’s the best utilization of Daniel Bryan. In the WWE, The Intercontinental Title has been very tepid…. (The Belt) could mean more… Maybe Daniel Bryan wins the ladder match at Wrestlemania, and becomes the Intercontinental Champion and actually has the title long enough to make it mean something… You also got a guy that’s in the eyes of many, a little undersized, and now unfortunately for him…. I don’t know how his health is… Whether he’s still on pins and needles…There’s probably more to the story then you and I know about.”
On the current commentators: “Like any other talent, you follow the producer, if your unwilling to compromise your style you’re more then likely to be replaced…. The announcers today are a reflection on how they are being produced. They are following their orders….”
On CM Punk possibly not hitting a UFC buyrate that he might be expecting: “It would probably be a very productive pay-per-view if Punk and Lesnar were both on the same one….. The irony is that while neither of them are seemingly emotionally invested in the wrestling business any longer, which does alienate that fan base from you… They are both counting on that fan base to set those records.”
On recruiting pro wrestlers, specifically former athletes: “I’d wanna talk to every coach they ever had, I’d wanna talk to their parents, to their teammates, if I’m going to invest money in a player, id wanna know as much as I humanly possibly can, before I offer them a contract. That’s where a lot of mistakes were made.”
Check out the complete interview at TheLastGentlemenPodcast.com.
Part-time WWE performer Chris Jericho recently spoke with IGN to promote his new WWE DVD, “The Road is Jericho.” Below are highlights from the interview.
On how much he was involved with the making of his new “The Road Is Jericho” WWE DVD: “Yeah, one hundred percent all me. I mean, they send me a bullet point list and so I get to choose the ones off there that I want to use. But then also I get to pick some new ones. I see a match with X-Pac on the list but then I know that we had a better one in a cage at some point. So I go and track that one down and use that instead. But that’s the way that it has to be. I’m hands on with all the stuff that I do. Especially when it comes to something like a collection of my matches. I want people to see – not necessarily the greatest ones – but I want them to see the ones that hold a certain significance historically. Or the fact that they’re something a little bit different than from what they’re used to seeing. Or just something fun. So I was very much involved in the final decision on pretty much everything.”
On WrestleMania 31 and if he feels Roman Reigns is ready to headline the show: “Look, like I’ve said before, if you’re going to give someone a shot, give them a shot. There’ve been tons of guys who when they’ve been put in the main event at WrestleMania might not have been quote unquote ready. Who’s to say who’s ready and who’s not? Let’s see how the crowd reacts when they get there. But all I know is that Roman Reigns was everybody’s favorite guy until the Royal Rumble. And then everyone turned on Roman Reigns. It’s so funny how two days before, and the year before, everybody loved Roman Reigns. Everybody. All the fans did. And don’t tell me that you didn’t because they were all saying “Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns…what? Daniel Bryan didn’t win the Royal Rumble? We hate Roman Reigns! Boo!” And meanwhile, ever since then – I mean, we did house shows in Calgary and Edmonton and it was like Beatlemania. They were going nuts for him. And that was a week after the Royal Rumble. So I think that he is ready, as much as anyone can be ready in this day and age. So let’s see how it goes. I mean the match he had with Daniel Bryan at Fastlane was incredible. And you can’t tell me that it was all because of Daniel Bryan. Really? Because I always heard in the business that it takes two. And I think I’ve proven myself to be a fairly decent worker, so if I’m telling you it takes two, I think every fan should shut the hell up and listen to what I’m saying. He did a great job of living up to his end of the bargain and he’ll do the same thing at WrestleMania. They will leave no stone unturned to make that a great match. They will get all the benefits. All the bells and whistles. And as long as they can hold it together, I think it’s going to be great.”
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with USA Today’s “For The Win” blog to promote this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view. Below are highlights from the interview.
On if he was taken aback by the intense negative reaction to him not winning the Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania: “I wasn’t really that surprised, I thought that a lot of fans wanted me to win the Royal Rumble… but it’s a great story, right? The guy who has never lost a title had to lose the title because of the neck surgery, comes back and he fights the guy who’s just this monster destroyer, a David versus Goliath story, and I think a lot of fans were excited by the prospect of that. And also by the prospect of a match of me versus Brock Lesnar, I feel like I do pretty good against big guys.”
On what the Intercontinental Championship means to him: “To me it’s the one title that I haven’t won in the WWE. I’ve been the United States champion, I’ve been the World Heavyweight champion, I’ve been the WWE champion, I’ve been the tag team champion. The Intercontinental championship is the only one I haven’t won, and to me I have been disappointed that — when I was a kid, the Intercontinental championship matches were usually the matches I looked forward to the most. WrestleMania III everybody talks about Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, but when everybody remembers the great match, they’re remembering Ricky Steamboat versus Macho Man Randy Savage. Same thing with WrestleMania X, with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon in a ladder match.
So it’s one of those things where the Intercontinental title for a long time was so prestigious, but now for some reason it feels to me like it’s been devalued. One of the things I would really like to do is win the Intercontinental championship at WrestleMania and make it be not just what it was before, but make it better than that. Make it so the Intercontinental championship is something that can headline pay-per-views, can headline all the live events we do throughout the country. I’ve been disappointed with how the Intercontinental championship has been treated, but I’m hoping after WrestleMania it’s going to change.”
On his wife, Brie Bella’s match at WrestleMania 31 and splitting focus on his and her matches: “Brie and I do this thing at the end of every night where we tell each other three things that made us happy each day. One of the things that makes me happiest each day is being able to watch Brie go out there and perform because she loves to do it, and she’s good at it. There was a big deal, #GiveDivasAChance, and hopefully they’re going to get a chance at WrestleMania this year. That’s every performer’s dream — not just the guys, but the girls too.”
On inducting Connor “The Crusher” Michalek into the WWE Hall Of Fame: “What we do as entertainers, people see us as stars or you know sometimes people look up to us, but what we really do is just entertainment, right? For us, there are people who inspire us — and one of the people who inspires me is Connor. Despite all the pain and everything that he was going through, you never saw him really down, he was excited to be there…. He was just so happy and so fun to be around. When you were around Connor, he just lit people’s faces up. It’s a true honor for me to induct him into the Hall of Fame.”
Earlier this week, WWE insider ‘MetsFan4Ever’ made a post on Reddit revealing some major developments in WWE’s booking plans for WrestleMania. With Brock Lesnar close to signing a new deal with WWE, Triple H has reportedly been pushing for Brock Lesnar to retain the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, John Cena and Daniel Bryan to win the US & IC titles and for those secondary belts to be elevated to compensate for Lesnar’s limited schedule.
To update the situation, MetsFan4Ever says that another idea being discussed for the IC title ladder match is for Sheamus to return as a surprise entrant in the match, cost Bryan the win and capture the gold himself. This would lead to Sheamus and Bryan feuding over the title in the coming weeks & months.
He clarified that Sheamus winning the IC title and feuding with Bryan is only a rumor at this point and less likely than the original scenario of Bryan and Cena coming out of Mania as champions.
With WrestleMania only 9 days away, WWE will be finalizing booking plans very soon and we’ll see how it all goes down next weekend.
In addition to the clothes-changing incident, security in the arena was also confiscating pro-Daniel Bryan signs at the door as fans filtered into the Wells Fargo Arena.
According to two fans at the show on Monday who confirmed the reports, security reportedly told them that there were already enough fans with pro-Daniel Bryan signs that had entered the arena.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that sources within WWE claim they did not know about this issue, and did not believe it to be true.
Daniel Bryan recently spoke with Adelaide Now out of Australia to promote WrestleMania 31. Below are highlights from the interview.
On being in the I-C title ladder match instead of the main event: “For a year, I had this vision of me wrestling (former UFC champion) Brock Lesnar in the main event for the WWE Championship. But sometimes, when you don’t get what you want, you end up getting something better — like this ladder match. I think with the guys we have in that match and the excitement we can generate, we have a real chance of stealing the show.”
On Connor “The Crusher” Michalek: “This is really, really difficult for me. You talk about us inspiring people with what we do, and what we do really is a selfish job. Actors, musicians, artists, wrestlers — we all entertain people but really we are doing it for ourselves, for our art. It wasn’t until I got to the WWE, that I really felt what I do could make a positive difference in other people’s lives — and the first time I really felt like that was when I met Connor. You know how some people have a bright light shining out when you meet them? I don’t know if people understand this sometimes, but while we’re performers who inspire people we, too, are people — and we can be inspired as well.”
On wanting to make the I-C title and SmackDown important again: “One of the things that frustrates me — both as a performer and as a person who thinks the current crop of superstars is really, really good — is the way people don’t get opportunities. It’s well known that the people who are perceived to be ‘the bigger Superstars’ don’t show up often on SmackDown, they mostly feature on (the main show), Monday Night Raw. One of the things I’d like to do, as a kind of near-main event guy, is to do things that provide opportunities for guys to really stand out.”
On Vince McMahon’s “millennial” comments and his claims that Cesaro is “missing something”: “I think that’s only one man’s opinion, and I don’t think Cesaro has had a chance to show Vince that there’s nothing missing. You let Cesaro and I have a match on SmackDown and I guarantee that, by the end of it, people will either love him or hate him … he will get a very strong reaction.”
With less than two weeks to go until WrestleMania 31, booking plans are in the process of being finalized and we’ve got some information regarding three of the top matches on the show. WWE insider ‘MetsFan4Ever’ has released some major details regarding what’s planned for the main event as well as the IC & US titles.
According to the Reddit user, the word going around Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings is that Brock Lesnar is very close to signing a new contract with WWE. The deal would be similar to his current deal, with Lesnar presented presented as a special attraction making limited appearances.
The big news is that Triple H is reportedly trying to sell Vince McMahon on the idea of Brock Lesnar retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. This scenario would also have implications on two other WrestleMania matches.
If Brock retains, the plan is for John Cena to defeat Rusev for the Unites States Championship and Daniel Bryan to emerge victorious in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match. With Brock Lesnar only making occasional appearances on WWE television, the idea is for John Cena and Daniel Bryan to headline various RAW, PPV and live events defending their titles, which would bring a great deal of prestige to both.
While things can change over the next week and a half, this is one the main ideas being considered.
WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels recently spoke with The Phoenix Suns website to promote his new autobiography, “Wrestling For My Life.” Below are highlights from the interview.
On how he felt after his last match at WrestleMania 26: “Going in, it was a good feeling because my family was there. But there was a little anxiety, because it’s still WrestleMania and it was the last one. You know people expected it to be really good. Because it was the Undertaker again, there were going to be a lot of comparisons to the last one (2009). So for all the upside you get out of just enjoying the moment that is WrestleMania, there was a little anxiety and a little stress wanting to just deliver a really good match.
But afterwards, it was just complete joy and then also, I think a lot of mental and physical and even spiritual exhaustion. “It’s over.” And again, that’s when it settled in. That’s when it got real. And it was almost as if everything under God’s green earth had been lifted off my shoulders and it was a nice feeling. It was a bit surreal, but I would have to say it was really the next day when everything settled in. Honestly, getting to make that speech on RAW, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world honestly. I couldn’t think of a better way for it to go, for it to end, and to have the opportunity and the time to express all of that on RAW was wonderful. That’s when it’s all allowed to be real and you’re allowed to talk about the wrestling business and your life in the WWE, in a very real sense. And it was a joy to be able to do that well.”
On NBA players who would succeed in WWE: “Well, you know what… every once in a blue moon, I think about Kevin Garnett maybe. But I honestly don’t know. I think those guys who did it, they found out really quick… if you ask any one of them, they’ll tell you, “My goodness, I don’t know how those guys do that on a regular basis.” I think that’s the thing that every athlete who tries to do what we do, very quickly comes to have a great deal of respect for us. They see what they’re putting their bodies through on that one night and then they sort of grasp that we do that 250-300 times a year and don’t have an offseason, and that’s when they say, ‘Not for me.'”
On how proud he is of Daniel Bryan: “Oh, very! Very! But at the same time, not surprised. He was a talented young man, he was always a hard worker and that’s a combination that is hard to deny. The only thing you have to have is patience and an attitude that you aren’t ever going to give up. He had that as well. As proud as I am of him, I’m not surprised by it and I don’t think other people should be. That’s one of the things that I think is funny, people have a hard time grasping; people like him and people like me didn’t get into the wrestling business just to do it, just to be average. We got into it to excel and to be really good at it, and hopefully make an impact that lasts a long time, and he’s no different.”
On not returning to the ring: “Well, I appreciate it. Everybody always asks me, “Gosh, do you have one more in you?” and I tell them, “No, I’ve got about 15 more in me.” But I always felt like that was the point. I mean, I just think it’s a bad idea if you shoot your last bullet and you’ve got none left. That just makes you vulnerable for Heaven’s sake. The whole point of leaving on top is to leave on top.”
On what he wants to be known as today after being Mr. WrestleMania, The Showstopper and The Heartbreak Kid: “You know what? As far as out there in the world, it doesn’t really matter to me. I want my wife to see me as a loving, Godly husband, and I want my kids to see me as a loving, Godly father. That’s about the extent of it. And I don’t mean that disrespectfully towards fans, but those three are the only people I’m really concerned about right now. I think over time, people’s reputations, the history, all of that kind of stuff changes. It all depends on who’s writing it, who’s spinning it. So I don’t put a lot of stock in all of that stuff. I just want to be a good dad and a good husband, and whatever else is out there about me professionally, I’ll leave that to the rest of the world to determine.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart appeared on Live Audio Wrestling this past weekend to promote WrestleMania 31 and his appearance at the WrestleCon event at the San Jose Garden Airport Hotel. Below are highlights from the interview.
On the positioning of Daniel Bryan at this year’s WrestleMania: “All I can say is when I wrestled Lex Luger in the Royal Rumble back in 1994 and I ended up getting the title a few months later, it was very similar to what is going on with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan now but they went against what the fans wanted and I think that it may bite them on the ass because my logical thinking is you give the fans what they want or you should anyway. I don’t know why they went against the grain, I think Daniel Bryan was a great champion and had his run was cut short and I think fans wanted to see him get that moment that he deserves. Even though he won the title and WrestleMania last year was such a big thing for him, the fans want to see him get his proper chance and I think the WWE put a line through that and I think that’s probably a mistake.”
On comparisons of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns to Bret Hart and Kevin Nash in 1994 and 1995: “I always tried to bring the best out of all of my opponents and especially in a pay-per-view scenario, I wanted them to have their best match they ever had with me. When Kevin Nash was champion I really tried to support him, he was a good friend of mine back in those days and still a good friend of mine now. I tried to boost his position and help him stay in place and I always had respect for him even as champion, I thought he was a great champion. I think they made a big mistake in giving him a push too early, they should have waited and let him build himself up for another year and I think if they had given Kevin just a little more time to get more experience and get prepared for that role, if that next year he had gotten that big push that they gave him, he may have stayed champion but they sometimes push things they want now and it wasn’t going to happen then, he was still learning a lot.”
On Roman Reigns in the top spot in WWE right now: “I think Roman Reigns is ready and he is really good, I think he is a really great talent and has a lot of potential. I can see why they want to push him but I really think the hearts and minds of the wrestling fans are with Daniel Bryan. His work rate in the ring and what he gives through the match just means so much more to the wrestling fans than anything else.”
On Randy Savage going into the WWE Hall Of Fame: “Well I know we were a lot closer than Hogan was. I’m not quite sure why Hulk Hogan of all people is inducting him because my last conversations I had with Randy, he didn’t have much good to say about Hogan. Regardless, it is a night to remember Randy for all the great contributions he made. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, he was a great champion in the dressing room, he was a Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, a real team guy and always had a lot of respect and love with all of the wrestlers. We will always miss the Macho Man.”
Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with Ring Rust Radio about the Intercontinental Title Match at WrestleMania 31, Daniel Bryan and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Restoring Prestige to the Intercontinental Championship:
“Well to restore prestige, you’d have to do something similar to what I did a couple of months ago. I finally beat Miz for the title, and then constantly, The Authority wanted to take it off me. So it became that much more exciting because every Monday, every Thursday, every weekend, every pay-per-view I was defending that title. They were trying to stick it to me, and you didn’t know if I was going to win it or if I was going to lose it because the odds were stacked against me. Or you thought that whether they are trying to take it off him or not, it’s constantly being defended, and I think that was the right track in starting it to get seen as the workhorse title that gets put on the line all the time.
Brock Lesnar is not always around, this could be the up-and-coming title, and for a couple of months I defended that thing 20 times and that’s the absolute way to get that title more prestigious. It’s obviously on the back burner right now; there’s other stories going on, it’s not the top story right now, and I’m not going to pretend it is. My goal is when I’m given an inch I try to take a mile. So when I had that title, I was always wanting to defend it, tell Triple H to call whoever he wants, have him at ringside, because the more I defended it, it slowly began to gain prestige as a title that wasn’t just a workhorse title, but a title that was going to be defended sometimes, and that’s what needs to happen.”
The IC Title Ladder Match at WrestleMania:
“Here’s the deal, ladder matches are crazy; the Intercontinental title is starting to barely mean something again, not just to me, but the fans. I’ll say what I always say going into WrestleMania: You’re going to see Sting, you’re going to see Brock Lesnar, you’re going to see John Cena, so my goal and the chip on my shoulder’s goal is to have you talking about my match the next day. I promise you, there are so many hungry guys in there who want to prove to everyone just how damn good they really are. It’s going to be hard for me to keep up, but trust me I will.
Campaigning On Twitter For A WrestleMania Match With Daniel Bryan:
“I randomly suggested it. I was pissed at my Royal Rumble match, I was pissed. I felt bad about Daniel Bryan with the entire world behind him and getting shot out after a couple of minutes. So I thought I have this chip on my shoulder, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, why the hell don’t we show people who the real main event match should be? If you want to pretend that there is no story, what are you kidding me? This guy went from nothing to being the biggest chanted name in this business; he changed history in the main event of WrestleMania that he was not supposed to be in.
I, on the other hand, on a slightly smaller scale, was told that I would never be champion. I would never be Money in the Bank winner, I would never have the chance to be on top here, and damn it I earned it. I said, You know what? Daniel without these people behind you, I don’t know what type of situation you would be in right now, maybe mine, but if you want to prove who is better, this isn’t about who can steal the show—this is about who the real main event is in this business should be.
I sure as hell wasn’t going out there to shake his hand and shake his hand after. I was out there to kick his ass and prove that I’m the best. It’s unfortunate it didn’t happen because there was a little buzz all based on me suggesting to him let’s show the WWE Universe what a main event should be, and I dare someone to try to follow that. It didn’t happen, but I don’t quit. I come up with my own stuff on my own time before, that almost turned into something, so that means maybe next time it will turn into something.”
At Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings, Daniel Bryan opened the show and announced he is entering himself in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania. That brings the total number of participants to 7. With all the Sheamus promos that have been airing in recent weeks, he could also be added to the match.
Mark Henry also made a surprise return at the tapings and interrupted an in ring promo with Roman Reigns. Henry told Reigns that he still needs to earn the respect of fans and the wrestlers backstage, leading Reigns to lay him out with a spear and a Superman punch. It appeared they were setting up a match between the two of them on RAW.
Henry has been off television since the November 24th episode of RAW, when he lost to Ryback. He’s lost a lot of weight since his last WWE TV appearance and has been rumored for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with IGN to promote the new WWE Flintstones movie. Below are highlights from the interview.
On fans taking his Royal Rumble elimination hard: “I mean, I was more disappointed than anyone else, I think. [laughs] Because to go from the top where your headlining a show like WrestleMania and then come back and you’re in a spot where you don’t have anything certain for WrestleMania. It’s hard. As a WWE Superstar, sometimes you think “Okay, I know the lay of the land.” It’s going to be these matches and these matches and these matches at WrestleMania. And so if you’re not in that batch…my situation was this. I was either going to be in the main event of WrestleMania or I was going to be fifth or sixth from the top. And it’s a huge difference, you know what I mean? So it was pretty disappointing.”
On fan reactions changing his storylines in WWE: “I think that’s one of the coolest parts about our job. In no other place do fans have this much power. Last year the fans definitely affected change for me as far what they did. I was never supposed to be thought of for that spot. And so the fans were the ones who pushed and made their voices heard. And that’s powerful. And that kind of power is special and something that makes the WWE completely unique.”
On possibly being in the WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31: “I’d be thrilled. I’d love it. To me, right now, the Intercontinental Title stuff is some of the funnest stuff on television. As far as the WWE goes and the stories. You have a lot of skilled performers who are getting to be in it, and going back to the thing we said before, about reaching different demographics, R-Truth has been hilarious during this whole thing. Like, trying to constantly steal the Intercontinental Championship and all that kind of stuff. And when you’re in a Ladder Match with a bunch of other people, it’s different than everything else on the show. So you really have the chance to go out there and not only be highlighted, but also actually steal the show.”
This week’s episode of Raw was held in the greatest city in the world: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Brock Lesnar made his return, the Viper finally decided to strike, and Bray Wyatt received an answer regarding his challenge to the Undertaker. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Paul Heyman’s promo was the highlight of the night, and boy was it a highlight. In what was quite possibly one of the greatest promos of all-time, Heyman put just about everyone within a thousand-mile radius on blast. He criticized the Reigns video package that aired before he entered the ring, calling it, “nothing short of sheer propaganda” while calling Reigns’ father “one generation removed from cannibal.” He also addressed the Lesnar UFC controversy, saying that no one will take the title from Lesnar and that the Beast would gladly unify the WWE and UFC Championships over the summer if he chooses to do so. He later mentioned the Montreal Screwjob and said that anyone who tries to screw over Lesnar would not leave the arena alive. In all, the promo was a borderline shoot that perfectly blurred the line between fantasy and reality. He really did everything he could to put the main event at WrestleMania over, and he definitely succeeded.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett was a good match with both guys displaying strong fundamentals. Bryan hit the running high knee from out of nowhere for the win after failing to put away Barrett with a backslide. Bad News got the upper hand on Bryan after the match, however, hitting him with a Bull Hammer before being laid out by Dean Ambrose. It was a solid opening contest and a good way to further hype the ladder match at WrestleMania.
Connor “The Crusher” Michalek will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the newly created “Warrior Award.” This company gives fans plenty of reasons to complain, but even the most cynical fan can’t help but praise them for this move.
Dean Ambrose squared off against Stardust in the second match of the night. The action was largely uneventful, with Ambrose picking up the win after a big clothesline and Dirty Deeds. This goes into the “Pros” column largely due to the post-match brawl, with all of the competitors in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match getting in on the fun. It’s nice to see the company making this into a big deal, and Barrett getting duped by a phony IC strap was also somewhat amusing.
Rusev quickly squashed Curtis Axel and then proceeded to talk some smack on the good ‘ole US of A. Cena had warned him beforehand not to do so in a nationalist rant prior to the match, but the Russian decided to press his luck. Cena absolutely destroyed Rusev, causing him to pass out twice in the STF. Lana granted Cena his rematch in an attempt to call off the dogs. Cena then stood up with an absolutely evil glare on his face, which was actually a nice change of pace. I’d like to see a darker, more ruthless side of Cena as they head into their rematch at WrestleMania.
The opening segment was pretty entertaining, all things considered. Noble sounded like a fool, leading Rollins to declare that they are “J&J Security, not J&J Public Speaking.” Orton was the star of this segment, however, as he went down the line and ripped everyone a new one. He said what we’ve all been thinking for months by calling Kane the “Devil’s Favorite Dumbass,” and continued by insulting Big Show, Rollins, and J&J. It was a solid opening to the show and the crowd seemed to be into it.
The Divas make an appearance in the “Pros” column this week after a solid match between AJ Lee and Summer Rae. They were given about five minutes and the match featured some decent action, with AJ eventually picking up the win with the Black Widow. It didn’t set the world on fire, but it’s definitely an improvement over what we’re used to in the main roster Divas division. I also thought the Bella Twins’ Flintstones outfits were kind of cute.
And, in a shocking turn of events, the Divas are back for an encore. Naomi and Natalya weren’t given much time at all, but the action was solid, with the highlight being Naomi’s excellent counter of the Sharpshooter. I wish this one would have been a little longer, but it served its purpose by advancing the tag team feud and getting the Divas more exposure.
Bray Wyatt finally got his answer after weeks of provoking the Undertaker. After cutting a nice promo, the lights went out and ‘Taker’s music hit. From there, a message appeared on the big screen that said, “At WrestleMania, the man comes around.” Lightning then struck Wyatt’s chair, causing Wyatt to laugh maniacally as it burned. It was the perfect way to have the Dead Man accept Wyatt’s challenge without giving fans too much.
WWE recently licensed some footage of Daniel Bryan in Ring Of Honor for a future DVD release, specifically the upcoming “Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!” DVD and Blu-ray that is scheduled to come out on June 15th.
The footage that is being used is said to be the same clips we’ve seen on past WWE Network specials, not a full ROH match on the DVD. However, there is one dark match from 2000 that is scheduled to be included, which appears to be a WWE tryout match that Bryan worked.
Below is the new synopsis for the Daniel Bryan DVD/Blu-ray:
“Relive Daniel Bryan’s historic Journey to WrestleMania as he prepares for the biggest night of his career. Now with an extended cut, follow the leader of the Yes Movement into New Orleans for the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 30. Witness the rise of one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time from his humble beginnings into WWE Champion. Also includes an all-new interview with Daniel Bryan discussing some of the most important matches of his career as well as some exclusive matches in their entirety.”
– AJ Lee’s ex-boyfriend, ROH television champion Jay Lethal took a shot at her marriage to CM Punk during this past weekend’s ROH 13th anniversary pay-per-view. Prior to Lethal’s ROH TV title defense against Alberto El Patron, he cut a promo and spoke about how he would not take hand-me-downs from the likes of Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe or CM Punk, but that Punk would take his hand-me-downs.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Terry Funk is the guest on the latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– In the latest edition of WWE’s “5 Things” web series, WWE busts five myths. You can check out the video below.
Raw emanated from the Garden State this week, but it was certainly no walk in the park for Seth Rollins. Fans were treated to two title matches during the show, as well as a special appearance from Jon Stewart. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was Seth Rollins’ phony “Daily Show.” He immediately insulted the crowd by calling Newark the “armpit of America” before recapping his appearance on the real deal last Thursday. Mr. Money in the Bank had J&J rolling with a few corny jokes, while pondering the whereabouts of Mr. Stewart. His question was quickly answered, as Stewart showed up to a nice pop from the crowd. Stewart ripped on Rollins hard while displaying his knowledge of legends past in an absolutely hilarious segment that ended with Stewart delivering a swift kick to Rollins’ nuts. Entertaining top-of-the-hour segment, and it should provide a bit of crossover buzz heading into WrestleMania.
Triple H was so intense during his promo this week, and as always, his delivery was solid. Hunter took a few shots at the “kids” who think they know the backstage politics of the business, while threating: “I will make sure it is as if Sting’s career never existed.” Booker T’s involvement in the segment was refreshing and something new, even if it meant seeing The Game almost hand the five-time champ his walking papers.
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper went into the “Pros” column before it even started. When you get two guys with this kind of talent in the same ring, it’s almost impossible to disappoint. Even though they weren’t given much time at all, the two worked a stiff match that saw both superstars take their fair share of abuse. Bryan was unceremoniously dumped over the top rope to the floor at one point, but was eventually able to counter a modified crossface into the Yes! Lock for the win. Following the match, Ambrose, Harper, Barrett, Ziggler, and R-Truth, all attempted to walk away with the Intercontinental Championship while Bryan looked on. It looks like our lineup for the WrestleMania ladder match is basically set.
It was a pleasant surprise to see Seth Rollins open the show, as he hyped his confrontation with Jon Stewart later in the night. He of course talked a little smack, saying: “Unlike the Daily Show where they give away their tickets for free, every single person in a seat tonight paid to see Seth Rollins.” The only downside to this segment was the involvement of Roman Reigns. He arrived, said a few words that weren’t exactly memorable, performed his two signature moves, and basically stood in the ring hoping to be cheered (he failed miserably, in case you’re wondering). It’s sad that even when the the company is using New Jersey’s own Jon Stewart to get Rollins heat, the crowd still universally boos the thought of Reigns becoming champion. Overall, it seemed like another lame attempt to get Reigns over, but Rollins was money.
The Miz “Niagara” commercial was on point. I loved Mizdow’s involvement in the backstage segment and commercial.
There weren’t many spots during the Ambrose/Barrett match, but it was pleasant. Most of the exciting action took place outside of the ring, with Ambrose diving through the middle ropes to take out Barrett and later delivering a big elbow from the ring apron. He eventually picked up the win after hitting Dirty Deeds following a distraction. It’s nice to see the company getting multiple midcarders involved in this Intercontinental Championship ladder match (including Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, probably Daniel Bryan as well). With that said, it is absolutely cringeworthy hearing JBL and Cole interact with R-Truth on commentary.
Alundra Blayze was announced as the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame. That’s cool, I guess.
Finally, John Cena cut his usual “inspirational” promo this week. It’s obvious Cena doesn’t possess the necessary credentials to warrant inclusion into the prestigious Andre the Giant Battle Royal, and Stephanie of course quickly shot down his hopes. The two engaged in their typical banter to start the nine o’clock hour. Stephanie declaring, “For once, I actually like this chant” when referring to the Yes! chant was humorous.
Axel was easily the MVP of this segment though, and the crowd was eating it up big time. The two followed up the segment with a quick match, with Cena quickly forcing Axel to tap out to the STF. Rusev once again denied Cena his rematch following the match, keeping us all on edge as to whether this will match occur at WrestleMania.
– This WrestleMania 31 poster that surfaced last week featuring The Undertaker and Sting, among others, is legitimate. WWE launched this banner ad campaign on Monday promoting the event on the WWE Network featuring a variation of the artwork.
– Lilian Garcia is scheduled to sing the National Anthem on Friday, March 13 the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona before the Phoenix Suns vs. Atlanta Hawks game.
Adrian Neville recently spoke to the folks at the “This Is Awesome Wrestling Show” to promote the upcoming NXT live event in Cleveland, Ohio on March 6th. Below are highlights from the interview.
On if there is any jealousy between main roster and NXT roster: “I don’t think so. I certainly don’t get that when I’m working the main roster shows. I think, if anything, the main roster guys are supportive and they are excited to see us thrive and make the transition from NXT to the main roster. And looking forward to standing across the ring from us and competing against us. I know, if I was on the main roster, and I saw the young guys coming in who were hungry and killing it down in NXT, I’d look forward to facing them. I don’t think that’s the case at all. I don’t think that’s true at all.”
On meeting Vince McMahon for the first time: “I haven’t sat down and spoke with Vince in any depth. It’s just been hellos and goodbyes. The first time he caught me off guard backstage at Monday Night Raw. He was just walking down one of the corridors backstage. It was a bit surreal. But it was just a quick, ‘hello, sir, I’m Adrian Neville, one of your developmental talents. Pleasure to meet you.’ It lasted about 20 seconds. It wasn’t very notable or noteworthy.”
On who his choice is to hit the Red Arrow on and who he’d like to rosterfeud with on main roster: “Red Arrow – Daniel Bryan. We’ve been across the ring from each other before and it would be great to do an one-on-one with Bryan on a big stage. Feud – I’d love to wrestle (feud) with Dolph [Ziggler]. I’ve never wrestled Dolph and I think he’s a phenomenal talent. I think it would be a trip. Also, Seth [Rollins]. He’s on fire at the moment. I’d love to go up against Seth. One of those two would be unbelievable.”
On a NXT match at Wrestlemania 31: “Absolutely. Like I said, I don’t think NXT is considered a developmental brand or territory anymore. I feel like, we put out a product that’s just as good as the main roster. So, I’d say yes.”
On if we will see him on main roster within six months: “I very much hope so. I can’t tell you for definite, because the truth is, I don’t know. If I was a betting man, I’d bet on yes. But we will have to wait and see.”
– The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Atlanta, Georgia for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown on the SyFy Network:
– Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz
– Naomi vs. Natalya
– Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan in a non-title match
– Curtis Axel vs. Fandango
– Goldust vs. Adam Rose
– Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show, and Kane
– The following press release was sent out today regarding Jim Ross’ one-man show during WrestleMania weekend …
PinUp Productions is proud to present RINGSIDE: An Afternoon with Jim Ross Saturday March 28th at the Rockbar Theater at 360 Saratoga Avenue San Jose, CA 95129. Tickets are currently on sale on TicketWeb and at the Rockbar Theater Box Office.
There will be a pre-show meet and greet for VIP ticket holders. The meet & greet runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Doors open for General Admission ticket holders at 12 p.m. with the show beginning at 1 p.m.
Known to sports entertainment fans around the world as the Voice of Professional Wrestling, “Good Ol’ J.R.” has nearly done it all.
From sports entertainment executive to New York Times Bestselling Author, to enduring the struggle of Bell’s palsy and even playing the role of entrepreneur with his own barbeque sauce brand, Jim Ross has certainly worn many hats. But, come March 28th, he will puts on his most famous hat: a 200X Resistol when he takes the stage for a matinee performance to share his life story.
As one of the most influential sports executives of the past 40 years, J.R. has been welcomed into the homes of millions of viewers each and every week. His cool yet dry Southern charm became the soundtrack for wrestling’s most memorable clashes in the sport’s rich history. J.R.’s tales of the road and personal anecdotes featuring some of wrestling’s most legendary stars will have you howling with laughter.
After a successful performances around the world including the United Kingdom, Manhattan and most recently in Philadelphia, J.R. will bring his one-man show to San Jose for a special matinee performance: sharing his stories with wrestling fans in the intimate setting of the Rockbar Theater on March 28th, 2015.
The event will also feature a no holds barred question and answer session with J.R. where the fans become the stars!
Listen to the Ross Report with Jim Ross on PodcastOne to learn more about this event.
“Like” RINGSIDE with Jim Ross on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JimRossLIVE
Follow Jim Ross on Twitter: @JRsBBQ
Visit Jim Ross online at: http://jrsbarbq.com
We’ve got an update on the pipebomb dropped by AJ Lee on Tuesday night regarding the way WWE Divas are paid and portrayed on television. To recap, AJ tweeted the following to Stephanie McMahon:
“Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, And yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster. #UseYourVoice”
Regarding Lee’s merchandise claims, while she was a strong merchandise mover when she was being pushed, the formula WWE uses for merchandise sales with a majority of the roster is the same, outside of a few top WWE Superstars who get higher percentages. None of the Divas in the company sell at the level of the top several Superstars.
As for Divas being involved in the highest-rated segments of WWE shows, their segments were rarely above average when weekly segment breakdowns were available. Despite that fact, AJ was fortunate enough to work various main event segments with stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, segments that usually did pretty strong numbers.
Regarding pay, it’s true that Divas on the main roster are paid considerably less than the men. It’s interesting to note that this is not the case in NXT. Most of the men at NXT came from the indy scene and are willing to accept lower pay just to get a foot in the door with WWE. Most of the NXT women, however, came from modeling agencies or had athletic backgrounds. Additionally, there’s said to be an idea that the women need to earn at a certain level to maintain the type of “look” that WWE desires.
According to a source close to this story, AJ Lee caught the company completely off-guard with her comments. Stephanie McMahon in particular was said to be furious at being made to look bad on a public forum by one of their employees. Vince McMahon, in looking at the big picture, reportedly told Stephanie to reply with the tweet that she sent, which simply thanked AJ for her opinion.
WWE is gearing up for their annual post-WrestleMania European tour, with the following matches being advertised:
The “A-Crew” will be headlined by John Cena vs. Rusev for the United States Championship, Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship and Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins.
For other touring roster will feature Roman Reigns vs. Big Show in the main event, Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper and Tag Team Champions Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs. The Usos.
While this doesn’t reveal anything big about what could transpire at WrestleMania, it does give an idea of which feuds will be continuing.
– While he did mention the name Rusev on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart did not reference his current angle with Seth Rollins.
– The dark match main event after Monday’s RAW saw Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and John Cena beat Big Show, Kane, Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins. The finish saw Reigns hit a spear on Big Show, with Cena following up with an Attitude Adjustment for the 1-2-3.
Raw was held in Nashville this week as the build to WrestleMania continues. The event featured a Tag Team Championship match, a few promos, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t really music to most fans’ ears. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
As soon as they announced the Usos were planning to invoke their rematch clause, it was obvious fans were going to be in for another treat. As one would expect, the action was fast paced and frequently spilled over to ringside. Kidd’s heel work has been top notch over the past few weeks, frequently using his wife as a human shield in order to gain an upper hand.
The Tag Champs work so well together too, using combination moves such as a catapult into a big uppercut, and a Cesaro swing into a dropkick. Although the match didn’t end clean, it featured some solid action and was probably the highlight of the night. Kidd and Cesaro are the best team in the WWE by far right now. They should get these guys some merch and push them to the moon.
I loved the backstage segment between the Miz and Damien Mizdow. It was awesome (no pun intended) to hear the Miz talk up the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and act like a win would elevate his career to new heights. (That worked out real well for Cesaro last year.)
Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler was a decent opening match. There were honestly only a handful of wrestling moves utilized throughout the match, with most of the action consisting of punches, rest holds, and brawling action outside of the ring. With that said, there were a few impressive sequences. Ziggler countered Wasteland twice, once into a DDT and another into a sunset flip. The sequence where Barrett ended up hitting Winds of Change was also nice.
The Show Off picked up the win after hitting the Zig Zag, allowing for Ambrose to show up and taunt Barrett with his Intercontinental Championship before staring Ziggler down. What are the chances that Barrett never touches his beloved title again? I’d usually say it’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series this season, but they actually decided to crack open the checkbook over the winter so that might not be the best analogy.
#Axelmania. Enough said.
The Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns promo was one of the more interesting moments all night. It was nice to see Daniel Bryan once again acting as the voice of the fans, saying, “The biggest Roman Reigns doubter is right here in Daniel Bryan,” while also echoing fan sentiments regarding Reigns only being in the main event because of his size and look. At the same time, he also put Reigns over for winning the match, ending the segment with a handshake.
Heyman’s interaction with Reigns was also intriguing, as he said he would put his money on Reigns over anyone, including guys like Hogan, Austin, and the Rock – anyone except Brock Lesnar, of course. Reigns was confident and composed during the back and forth with Heyman as he continues to improve on the mic. It’s easy to picture these two guys hooking up in the near future.
The Bray Wyatt promo was more of the same, but still entertaining nonetheless. I can’t wait for the Undertaker to show up respond to Wyatt’s challenge.