The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan:
On when he received medical clearance to return to the ring: “The day I announced I was coming back for the Royal Rumble is actually the day I got cleared to wrestle. I started healing in November, as far as thinking, ‘Wait a second. Things are starting to turn around for the better.’ It was that December episode of Raw I went on to say I was finally able to be cleared by WWE where they said, ‘You’re ready to go.'”
On not regretting the fact that his Royal Rumble entry won’t be a surprise: “Had I just come out during the Royal Rumble, I don’t know if it would be as impactful. To me it’s more impactful to give fans something to look forward to. If it happened at the Royal Rumble and that night, it would have been great. Though I like the idea of building toward something, so I’m happy with the way we’ve done it.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
– Part-time WWE performer The Rock wrote the following on his official Instagram page today regarding WWE moving SmackDown from Friday’s to Thursday’s.
“It’s official… #Smackdown has moved to THURSDAY NIGHTS. It’s also official that since the show was created in my honor I’ll be happy to “Lay the Smackdown” on anyone’s candy ass on any day that ends with “Y”. Enjoy the show.. #Smackdown #ThursdayNights #WhereRockJokesLike #BottleOfSmirnoffShovedUpYourPutin #AndChewbaccasHairyBeanBag #WillAlwaysBeWelcomed #PeoplesChamp”
– Speaking of SmackDown, which airs in its’ new Thursday time slot for the first time tonight on the SyFy Network, WWE posted the following video to hype Daniel Bryan’s return to the ring, as he battles Kane on tonight’s show.
The Monday, January 12th edition of WWE RAW scored a final cable rating of 2.71, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 2.71 final draw marks a decrease compared to last week’s show, which delivered a 2.8 final number.
With the stiff competition this week from college football (which drew 33.25 million viewers on ESPN), the number is considered a positive, and one that many are attributing to the return of Daniel Bryan and the heavily promoted announcement of “Macho Man” Randy Savage being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
The hourly breakdown in terms of viewership for this past Monday’s RAW is as follows:
Hour One: 4.10 million viewers
Hour Two: 3.90 million viewers
Hour Three: 3.72 million viewers
It was reported a while back that WWE officials were contemplating doing a John Cena vs. Rusev feud for WrestleMania 31. The idea at that time was to have Rusev cost Cena his chance at recapturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
As of right now, WWE is advertising a tag-team main event of John Cena and Randy Orton vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins for the live event in Madison Square Garden on February 27th. Some view this as a possible sign that WWE is going forward with their original plans for Cena vs. Rusev at WrestleMania.
Thus far, there has been no interaction between Cena and Rusev that would indicate that match being booked. Some are of the opinion that Cena and Rusev is simply a live event program for WrestleMania season, possibly because Brock Lesnar doesn’t work non-televised events.
In related news, other matches advertised for the aforementioned 2/27 live event at MSG include Daniel Bryan vs. Kane, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro and an appearance by Chris Jericho.
– Daniel Bryan will face Kane on Monday’s “RAW Reunion” show from Dallas, Texas. If Bryan loses, he will lose his spot in the Royal Rumble. The match was announced at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings.
– Kevin Nash tweeted the following on Tuesday night about his future with the company:
I don't see after my suspension, Kevin Nash returning to WWE programming .
Nash was originally scheduled for Monday’s “RAW Reunion” show, where he would have reunited with his nWo co-founders Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan. He was pulled from the show after he and his son were both arrested last month following a domestic incident.
Last night’s episode of Raw was held in the Big Easy, and it’s obvious that the company knew they were going up against the CFP Championship because they seemed to be holding something back all night. Anyway, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The best thing to come out of last night’s show was the announcement that the “Macho Man” Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. It’s about time one of the most talented and influential superstars of all-time takes his rightful place amongst fellow legends. Some will probably complain about the choice to have Hogan induct Savage, but as someone who loved the Mega Powers as a child, I think it’s a good choice and has the potential to be a touching and heartfelt tribute to one of the company’s most iconic figures.
I wasn’t expecting a ton out of the New Day vs. Kidd/Cesaro matchup, but it turned out to be one of the better contests of the night. Kidd and Cesaro worked well together, with the Cesaro Swing into a dropkick spot being particularly impressive. It would have been nice to see Kidd and Cesaro pick up the win, but I guess it’s a minor victory just to see them on television.
The recurring promos featuring Dean Ambrose and the doctor were certainly humorous. Ambrose seems like a natural actor and really at ease on camera, so it’s nice to see him get a chance to show off his talent. The promos were entertaining and it was an original way to have Ambrose gain entry into the Royal Rumble.
Finally, it was nice to see Daniel Bryan back in the city where he captured the title at last year’s WrestleMania. The interactions between Bryan and Stephanie were on point, especially when she tried to present Bryan with her crappy workout DVD. It was finally announced that Bryan would make his return to the ring against Kane on SmackDown this Thursday. As Kane approached the ring, Bryan dove threw the ropes and took out the Devil’s Favorite Demon before celebrating with the crowd.
As noted, Daniel Bryan’s first match back since making his WWE return will take place on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, the first episode of the show to air in its’ new Thursday time slot.
The match was made official on Monday’s RAW, where during an in-ring segment, Stephanie McMahon revealed that Bryan’s opponent on this Thursday’s SmackDown will be the man who “put Bryan on the shelf,” Kane.
WWE SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday night, January 13th in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and will air this Thursday night on the SyFy Network. Make sure to visit us here on the website on Tuesday night for live spoiler results coverage of the WWE SmackDown television taping.
The second edition of WWE RAW of 2015 emanates tonight from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is near the site of last year’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view.
Speaking of last year’s WrestleMania, the man who walked out of the show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan, is scheduled to make his return on tonight’s show.
Also scheduled for tonight’s RAW is current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, along with his “advocate,” Paul Heyman.
It is expected that additional entrants for the 2015 Royal Rumble match will be revealed tonight as well, as tonight marks the second-to-last edition of RAW before the pay-per-view.
Make sure to join us here for live WWE RAW results coverage later tonight.
Original Story: Former WWE creative team member Brian Maxwell Mann revealed on Twitter that earlier today that Daniel Bryan’s character was going to come out as gay during his 2010 storyline with the Bella Twins.
According to Mann, WWE and the USA Network wanted to portray a positive gay character and the whole Bella Twins “love triangle” angle was going to culminate with Bryan telling them he was gay. No word on why the angle was scrapped, but after Bryan turned down their advances for months, WWE eventually settled on Bryan dating Gail Kim instead.
Two new entrants have been officially added to the 30-man over-the-top battle royal match at the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Current Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, as well as Bray Wyatt, join the three previously announced Royal Rumble match entrants, which includes Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Rusev.
The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday, January 25th.
The most exciting sixty-plus minutes of wrestling action is only a few weeks away, where bodies will assuredly be flying over the top rope, Kofi Kingston will likely avoid defeat in dramatic fashion at least once, and one superstar will walk away with a spot in the main event at WrestleMania.
However, although thirty men ostensibly have a chance to headline the biggest event of the year, even the most delusional fan realizes there are only a handful of competitors who are legitimate contenders to walk away victorious. Here are those men.
Odds-On Favorite: Roman Reigns
After his record-breaking performance last year, the Powerhouse is easily the favorite to win it all in 2015. Even though there are still questions regarding Reigns’ ability to headline a major pay-per-view such as WrestleMania, it appears the company is ready to pull the trigger on what they apparently believe to be their next big thing.
Assuming the company goes this route, they need to be careful, because the crowd could easily turn on Reigns in a situation similar to last year’s Rumble. If fans think the Pittsburgh crowd was harsh toward Batista last year, try putting Reigns over Bryan in the city whose fans at one point pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. Trust me, it won’t be pretty.
WWE is heavily pushing the in-ring return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion on next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, the first episode of the show to air in the new Thursday time slot.
Below is a message issued on the official WWE website regarding Bryan’s in-ring return at next week’s SmackDown:
“Will Danial Bryan compete when SmackDown makes its move to THURDAYS, this week at 8/7 CT on Syfy? Yes!
WWE.com has learned that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion will make his in-ring return to action on SmackDown monumental Thursday night premiere. The news comes on the heels of Bryan’s announcement during the Dec. 29 edition of Raw that he would once again lace up his boots after a long-standing injury to battle in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match.
Who will The Beard face? Will he pick up right where he left off? And will The Authority have anything to say about it? Find out this Thursday night at 8/7 CT on SmackDown!”
WWE has announced the official return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.
Bryan’s first match back since undergoing neck surgery and dealing with his long road to recovery will be next Tuesday night, January 13th.
WWE is pushing Bryan’s return as the main attraction in the advertising for the show on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where WWE will tape the first edition of WWE SmackDown to air in its’ new time slot on Thursday night on the SyFy Network.
It has been reported for a while now that WWE is planning on keeping Daniel Bryan out of the ring until his return in the Royal Rumble match at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th, however that may not end up being the case.
As of right now, Daniel Bryan is listed in the advertising, promoted as wrestling Kane in a singles match at the WWE live event on January 16th in St. Louis, Missouri.
The official website for The Scottrade Center lists the following for the aforementioned 1/16 live event in St. Louis:
WWE returns to St. Louis for the first time in 2015 with a special Friday night live event at Scottrade Center on January 16!
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Steel Cage Match
Roman Reigns vs. The Big Show
Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
Plus more of your favorite WWE Superstars including:
Chris Jericho
Cesaro
Jack Swagger
R Truth
The Divas
And Many More!
NOLA.com has published a new interview with Daniel Bryan to hype Monday’s WWE RAW from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Once again, Bryan is calling out Brock Lesnar as his “dream opponent” and says that’s the match he’s been thinking about since he got injured last year.
Lesnar will also be at Monday’s RAW and Bryan is ready to reclaim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
“… To me, that’s still my championship. My dream match for WrestleMania this year is if Brock Lesnar keeps the title and I win the Royal Rumble, and I wrestle Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 31 for the WWE championship. That’s the match I want. That’s the match that I’ve been thinking about this entire time that I’ve been injured.”
Bryan was out of action for most of 2014 due to various injuries. After undergoing neck surgery in the spring, nerve damage prevented him from regaining strength in his right arm. He was on the verge of reluctantly undergoing a second surgery before discovering Dr.Greg Roskopf, founder of Muscle Activation Techniques based out of Denver, Colorado. After two sessions with Roskopf, Bryan was already seeing results.
“It was like, ‘Wow. I’m actually getting better. At the beginning of December, some parts of my right arm were even stronger than my left, which is pretty incredible given how long the nerve had been damaged.”
Bryan is still getting back into peak physical condition and has been training kickboxing and jujitsu. He also spent time at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida a few weeks ago. After working in the ring there, Bryan felt like he was ready to return to action.
“Functionally, I feel great. My movement is great. Overall, I feel good. I didn’t have any hesitation (in the ring), there was nothing that I did before that I can’t do now. Not only that, mentally I’ve been recharged. I’m going to be better than ever.”
On this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which took place in Laredo, Texas on Tuesday night and aired live on the WWE Network, another entrant into the 2015 WWE Royal Rumble match was announced.
In what is now the third participant for the 30-man over-the-top-rope annual classic, WWE United States Champion Rusev is now officially entered into the match.
Rusev joins Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan as the first three entrants into this year’s Rumble match, which takes place at the 28th annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view, scheduled for January 25th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
MTV UK has has published an interview with Daniel Bryan, which was conducted prior to SummerSlam back in August. Bryan was out of action at the time recovering from neck surgery and spoke about Brock Lesnar being the one man he’s always wanted to face in the ring.
“One of the things that kills me about this is if I were champion right now I’d be wrestling Brock Lesnar and that’s the match I’ve always really wanted. I feel like we could do something completely different that people [wouldn’t] have seen before in the United States. That’s the match I really, really want.”
With Lesnar being the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Heavyweight Champion of the world and Bryan entered in the Royal Rumble, there’s still an opportunity for this match to take place before Lesnar’s contract expires after WrestleMania.
When asked about which other superstars he’d like to wrestle on pay-per-view, Bryan named Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
As you can imagine, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns are currently viewed as the two front runners to win the 2015 Royal Rumble match and earn a spot in the main event of WrestleMania 31.
According to Reddit user MetsFan4Ever, the WWE locker room is very divided regarding which man should win the Rumble. The people who support Reigns are making the usual argument that he’s the next “face of the company” and WWE should continue with the original plan to have Reigns walk out of WrestleMania as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. With Bryan being out of action for a good portion of 2014 due to complications from his neck surgery, there is some concern that Bryan will have a hard time staying healthy this year. Some even buy into the Authority storyline that Bryan really is a “B” level player.
The Bryan supporters feel that Reigns simply isn’t ready to be “the guy” and WWE might face major backlash if they pull the trigger on Reigns when a good portion of the WWE Universe is still behind Daniel Bryan recapturing the gold.
Comment below and tell us who you think should win the 2014 Royal Rumble.
Daniel Bryan and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar are both scheduled to appear on next week’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Speaking of RAW, below is the new official opening video package for the show.
– As noted last week, Randy Orton needs to undergo a minor surgical operation for a deviated septum. As a result, Orton has been pulled from tonight’s edition of RAW and is not scheduled to attend any WWE live events until the Royal Rumble.
– Daniel Bryan has been officially added to the advertising for next week’s WWE RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as next week’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The WWE is always harping on about the Attitude Era. If they’re not plugging their “critically acclaimed” Monday Night War series, they are gloating about past successes while subtly bashing a long-dead company. However, despite the company’s love of the Attitude Era, there’s a considerable lack of attitude anywhere within the company.
When the company first announced the WWE Network, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to cash in on nostalgic fans eager to relive the glory days. After all, those kids that grew up in the 90s watching Austin and the Rock were now adults with college degrees and full-time jobs, so it seemed like a no brainer to try to reel in old fans that departed over the past decade.
Cena is still the top guy in the company, but at age 37, it’s obvious his days are numbered.
During the lead-up to the Network launch, it was promised that every pay-per-view and episode of Raw would be available within a few months of launch. Nearly a year later, the Attitude Era is practically nonexistent. Sure, the pay-per-views are all there, but the most controversial and memorable moments of that era typically occurred on Raw.
By even the most conservative estimates, the Attitude Era started in 1997 (some would say it started at the 1996 King of the Ring, but I won’t go back that far). As of today, there are 20 episodes in total from the years 1997 through 2001, including the episode where Vince McMahon purchased WCW, which essentially marked the end of the era. A lot of the most controversial and memorable moments are also conveniently missing, such as Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin, the infamous Bret screwed Bret promo, and Bret Hart’s profanity-laced tirade in March of 1997.
In contrast, there are 45 episodes from 1993 alone, and it’s not like the company is uploading the episodes in order because they also uploaded the entire year of 2012 and random episodes from various years. It undoubtedly takes time to convert old episodes of Raw into a format that is suitable for widescreen televisions, but it seems like there is really no rush to upload the content.
Instead of creating the same episode of Monday Night War 20 times, they should instead show the stories that inspired the mind-numbingly boring series. While uploading the content, the company should also take a moment to revisit the past, because there are a lot of similarities between today’s product and the era that immediately preceded the Attitude Era, which I refer to as the In Your House Era.
– WWE will officially begin announcing some additional entrants for the 2015 Royal Rumble match on tonight’s edition of RAW. As things stand now, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns are the only two participants confirmed thus far.
– Matt Hardy has launched a new online video blog called “Thoughts from the Throne.” Below is the first installment.
As noted last week, there has been some talk within WWE regarding some recent creative changes in plans and matches for WrestleMania 31 season. It’s said to be clear at this point that at least some suggestions were made about some of the plans for WrestleMania.
After the news came out that certain top WWE officials knew that Daniel Bryan would be back for the Royal Rumble, that is likely when some of the rumored changes were made.
Now that Bryan is going to be factored back into storylines, it will obviously lead to some creative changes in original plans. When there was doubt as to whether or not Bryan would be back in time, he was not factored into future plans.
For better or worse, it’s a new year. Everyone starts with a fresh slate, New Year’s resolutions are in effect, and generally speaking, people try to better themselves for the first week of the year before giving up the futile expedition.
Things are no different in the WWE, as every superstar will be trying to reach the next level in 2015. Here are ten superstars who will strike gold in 2015 by capturing a title that was previously unattainable.
10. Charlotte
Although her debut on the main roster was less than memorable, Charlotte has the potential to revolutionize the Divas division. As seen in NXT, the daughter of the Nature Boy can easily put on entertaining 15+ minute matches any night of the week. It’s now up to the WWE to let the talented women of NXT show what they can do on a regular basis. Charlotte will help to legitimize the Divas division a bit in 2015 by capturing the Divas Championship.
9. Sasha Banks
Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on one of the best Divas matches in the history of WWE a few weeks back at R Evolution. It appears “The Boss” is next in line for the throne in the NXT Women’s division, meaning she will capture the title after Charlotte leaves NXT in 2015.
After a few months of uncertainty, top WWE executives were informed approximately three weeks ago that Daniel Bryan would be able to return to the ring. At that point, the decision was said to have been made to put Daniel Bryan in the 2015 WWE Royal Rumble match.
Now that Bryan is in the Rumble match, there’s speculation about whether or not this will change WWE’s rumored plans for Roman Reigns. This issue, however, has reportedly not yet come up within the WWE creative team.
As things stand now, the current working plan is for Reigns to win the Royal Rumble match and go on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31 as scheduled.