WWE RAW returns live tonight from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The show is scheduled to feature the return of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, along with his new bride Brie Bella.
Bryan and the return of “masked Kane” are expected to begin their feud heading into the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view on May 4th.
Also on tonight’s show is the semifinals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament. The second round matches on tonight’s show will feature Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam and Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett.
On their official website, WWE is focusing on the following five points for tonight’s show:
What havoc will Kane unleash on the returning Daniel Bryan?
Will The Shield confront the reunited Evolution group?
Who will advance in the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament?
Will Tamina Snuka continue to dominate and what challenges face WWE Divas Champion Paige?
Will Bray Wyatt be able to gain a psychological advantage over John Cena?
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com tonight for live WWE RAW results coverage.
– The “Yes! Movement” found its’ way to the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game recently. After every Penguins goal was scored, the fans in the arena broke into a huge “Yes!” chant. You can check out coverage of this at 961Kiss.com.
– Adam F. Goldberg, creator of the ABC show “The Goldberg’s,” noted recently that he will be dedicating his upcoming pro wrestling-themed edition of the show to the late Ultimate Warrior.
– Speaking of Warrior, there’s a push within WWE to get the recent “Ultimate Legend” documentary that premiered this week on the WWE Network on national television. The most likely scenario would see the documentary air on the USA Network.
Since the launch of the WWE Network, over 600,000 fans have subscribed to the service. While it’s a bit below the one million subscribers they were hoping for, it’s still an admirable number for a service that is still only available in the United States.
With live access to every pay-per-view and a vault containing every special event in WWE, WCW, and ECW history, it is safe to assume that most fans signed up in order to gain access to the special events, and at the reduced price of only $9.99 per month, who can blame them?
There is a lot more to the WWE Network than just a vault of old events and live access to each month’s pay-per-view, however. There is also a boatload of original content. Here is a list of some of the must-see original content on the Network.
5. Legends of Wrestling: Families – Watching a bunch of old-timers talk about the good old days is usually about as exciting as watching paint dry, but some of these are actually pretty entertaining. One of the best round-table discussions includes a panel consisting of Sergeant Slaughter, Jim Ross, Ted DiBiase, and James J. Dillon. The group discusses the importance and prevalence of families in the WWE. It is interesting to hear DiBiase discuss how having a father in the business influenced him to become a professional wrestler.
Daniel Bryan’s journey to WrestleMania is something most fans will be able to enjoy.
4. Journey to WrestleMania: Daniel Bryan – This is obviously one of the newest pieces of original content on the Network. It follows Daniel Bryan on his week leading up to this year’s WrestleMania and provides a number of exclusive interviews leading up to the event. It also discusses his rise to the top after initially being terminated from the company, with commentary from William Regal and Pat Patterson discussing how the company made a mistake in his firing. The most interesting parts of this documentary are the backstage scenes and hearing his fellow wrestlers praise him for his accomplishments.
As previously reported, AJ Lee asked WWE for time off. As a result, the plans for the WWE Divas Championship match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which originally featured Paige vs. AJ Lee, now appear to be Paige defending against Tamina Snuka.
Another match scheduled for the show is Big E. defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against the winner of the ongoing contender tournament. The original plan was for Cesaro to win the tournament, and that may still be the case.
Other matches scheduled for the show include Evolution vs. The Shield, which was talked about as the official main event going into WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan vs. the masked Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match and Alexander Rusev in a squash match.
WWE Extreme Rules takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
As previously reported, Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella were officially married on April 11th in Sedona, Arizona. The wedding ceremony was filmed for what is believed to be the final episode of the season of Total Divas that will be airing in the late spring.
Nikki Bella was the maid of honor at the wedding. Other WWE personalities that attended included Cesaro, as well as the regular cast of Total Divas, which includes John Cena, Tyson Kidd, Jimmy Uso, Naomi, Cameron, Natalya and Eva Marie.
Bryan and Bella were given the week off by WWE for their honeymoon, but are both scheduled to return on April 21st at the WWE RAW show in Baltimore.
The Big Red Monster is back, and it appears he is on a collision course with Daniel Bryan. After reclaiming his mask last week on Raw, Kane vowed to take care of the WWE Champion and send him to the depths of hell.
In true WWE storytelling fashion, they had a Kane video package queued up and ready to go about five minutes later, leading me to believe that he will be featured prominently in the storyline in the coming weeks.
With Evolution set to take on the Shield at Extreme Rules and seemingly no other contenders in line, it appears that Daniel Bryan’s first pay-per-view title defense will be against his former tag team partner.
Kane has temporarily retired his suit in favor of his signature mask in an attempt to exact revenge.
The thought of Kane headlining a pay-per-view in 2014 and competing for the WWE Championship could leave some fans scratching their heads, but I believe it could work well if planned appropriately. With other storylines, particularly the Shield/Evolution program, eating up a good portion of the main event roster, creative was left with few options for Bryan’s matchup at Extreme Rules.
Randy Orton still holds a rematch clause but is fighting with Evolution, not to mention that Orton/Bryan headlined three pay-per-views last year and most fans would like something fresh. I think Brock Lesnar is being built up to eventually challenge Bryan for the title, but it would be too soon and neither superstar could afford a loss immediately following WrestleMania. Lesnar needs to continue winning to validate his win against the Undertaker and Bryan cannot lose the title just one month after finally winning it. A no contest would also leave the crowd unsatisfied with the outcome.
Therefore, I think Bryan and Lesnar will both be built up over the coming months to set up a blockbuster showdown at SummerSlam. Bryan’s first victim will almost assuredly be Kane. It is no secret that Kane is past his prime, but he can still put on a decent match if paired with the right opponent.
At the very least, the two have been involved with one another in the storyline over the past several months and creative can rely on that to tell a decent story. It certainly works a little better than randomly choosing someone like Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio to challenge for the title.
– There is talk of Alexander Rusev wrestling a squash match at Extreme Rules, if the show’s scheduling permits.
– Triple H suffered some sort of muscle injury in his match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. While the injury is not considered serious, one of his legs had heavy bruising and was taped up the following night on RAW as a result.
– ESPN is very interested in signing WWE interviewer Renee Young, with some people expecting they will make a move to steal her away. Young is no stranger to sports broadcasting and signed with WWE back in October 2012 after working for Canada’s The Score for several years.
– Brock Lesnar is expected to be back in WWE by SummerSlam. There’s been talk that he will challenge Daniel Bryan for he will eventually challenge WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the show.
As reported last week, Triple H vs. Roman Reigns is also planned for SummerSlam.
– WWE’s 4/12 live event from Hidalgo, Texas drew 6,000. The 4/13 event the following night from Chattanooga, Tennessee drew 5,200 fans.
– NXT star Enzo Amore returned to training this past week after being out of action since the fall with a broken leg.
The official MLB website ran an article recently addressing the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with their fans, celebrated multiple home runs during the game by doing the Daniel Bryan “Yes!” chant.
You can check out the official article at MLB.com and the animated-GIFs below.
As previously reported, it was announced on WWE RAW this week that John Cena will be squaring off against Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Also announced for the show, which takes place on May 4th from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is a WWE Intercontinental Championship match between current title-holder Big E., and the winner of the ongoing number one contender tournament. The semi-finals of the tournament takes place next Monday night and features Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro, as well as Bad News Barrett vs. Sheamus. The Superstar who advances to the finals will challenge Big E. for the title on May 4th.
Additionally, rumored for Extreme Rules is a faction vs. faction match between The Shield and the reunited Evolution group. As previously reported, it is unclear yet as to whether or not Daniel Bryan and Kane will be added to the match.
The following news and notes were revealed during this week’s edition of WWE RAW, which took place on Monday night in Birmingham, Alabama.
– Next week on RAW, the rest of the WWE Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament will take place. Advancing in first round matches on Monday night were Rob Van Dam, Cesaro, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett. Squaring off next week in the semi-finals will be RVD vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett.
– Taking place on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, will be Big Show vs. Jack Swagger.
– Announced for the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match.
– Confirmed as the main event of this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be taped on Tuesday night and airs Friday night on SyFy, is “The Animal” Batista vs. Sheamus.
– Finally, it was announced that on next week’s edition of WWE RAW, the returning Daniel Bryan will square off against Kane, who is returning as a masked Superstar.
– Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella aren’t the only WWE-related wedding taking place this weekend. Former WWE Diva Eve Torres is getting married on Sunday to her fiancee’ Rener Gracie.
– Darren Young is denying reports that he suffered an ankle injury on Saturday night at the WWE live event in Hidalgo, Texas. The former Prime Time Player tweeted the following on Sunday:
Report:/ Breaking News: DYoung is doing just fine. Pass a long that tweet :)
Brie Bella posted the following message on her official Instagram account regarding her marriage to WWE Superstar and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.
“I’ve married the man of my dreams. I’m officially Mrs. Danielson. It was a breathtaking sentimental ceremony that we will be sharing with all of you soon. The best part was walking down the aisle barefooted (yes Nikki let me :) to my husband to be. I will always remember the way he looked at me B+B #sedona #braniel #wedding”
You can check out the post, which includes a photo from their wedding, at Instagram.com.
Brie’s twin sister, Nikki Bella, posted this message on her official Instagram account:
“My twin sister @briannagc made such a beautiful bride. She has a heart of gold and found a man with the same heart. Loved seeing how incredibly happy they were on this special day. Those two are truly meant to be and I couldn’t be happier. Can’t wait till you all get to see this happy moment too! Love you B&B so much! PS Bryan is my brother now!!”
You can check out the post, which includes another photo from their wedding, at Instagram.com.
We are a little over a quarter of the way through the year. With WrestleMania behind us, the WWE will now begin its summer programs and hope to build toward its second biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam.
With that said, I felt it would be interesting to look at the top five matches from the first quarter of 2014. I included full match videos and highlights where possible, but WWE licensing restrictions made it difficult at times. (I also apologize for the terrible music in a few of the videos.)
5. John Cena vs. Cesaro (February 17 Raw) – Say what you will about John Cena’s in-ring ability, but he has put on some great matches so far this year, with none better than this matchup with Cesaro. There were a number of amazing spots during the contest, with Cesaro’s counter of the AA certainly ranking near the top. It appears the WWE is going to push Cesaro hard, and this was the week where his push began after he defeated Randy Orton and pushed Cena to the limit.
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania) – After weeks of begging for a match with Triple H, Daniel Bryan finally got his wish at WrestleMania. He took full advantage of it during the opening contest of the night. Both superstars really shined during the match and it was, in my opinion, the highlight of the show. It also ranks as quite possibly the best opening match in WrestleMania history, with only Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X giving it a run for its money.
The following are highlights of a recent Ring Rust Radio interview with Eric Young:
On how it feels to be the TNA Champion: “It’s wild. Yesterday was the best professional day of my entire life. It almost doesn’t seem real. I haven’t had it that long, and I’m still trying to soak it in. Talking to you guys, talking to people from all over, and it’s a good place to be. A really good place.”
On the reaction he’s received to being the new champ: “Yeah, man. It’s been from all walks of life. Not just the wrestling community, but guys from other companies, guys that worked here before, guys that work here who weren’t here, Robert Flores from ESPN, Michelle Beadle from ESPN, and all kinds of people reached out to me to say they were proud and happy for me. That’s a good feeling. There is always going to be negativity and naysayers and that’s part of being in a creative field, but its been 90 percent positive. It’s amazing. It’s overwhelming, really.”
On what fans can expect now that he’s champion: “For me, it’s more of the same. It’s crazy to hear people say stuff like, “Eric Young is quite possibly the most entertaining wrestler in the world today.” There is nothing more important to me than that. Wrestling is about entertainment. Whether you’re entertaining people with physicality or comedy or verbiage or emotion or characterization or whatever it is, the name of the game is entertainment. It’s a television show and people are watching it because they want to be entertained. So to be held at that level and regarded in that way is the biggest compliment I could get. It’s not just the fans, it’s my peers and people I work with. It feels like the lifetime achievement award. It’s cool. I’m not going to win the Nobel Prize, but this as close as its going to get.”
On defending the title: “The old saying goes; you have a target on your back. That’s how it works in sports and that’s how it works in pro wrestling. Having that target on your back is a huge compliment too. Now everyone is looking to come after me. As crazy as that sounds, it sounds like fun. I want to create as many memories and amazing moments for myself and wrestling fans as I can. That’s what pro wrestling is to me. I don’t remember whole matches from 20 years ago, but I remember moments from matches. I remember where I was and who I was with and how it made me feel. I’m ready to do that as world heavyweight champion. That’s my No. 1 goal. It’s to have as many amazing matches and memories as I can possibly make while I have this belt.”
On whether or not his character will change now that he’s champion: “For the storylines I’ve been involved in, that’s what it called for. I’m never going to lose my sense of humor. I was a class clown when I was a kid, I’ve always been the funny guy and I’ve always liked making people laugh, and that’s not going to stop. It will just be a different brand, a different style, a different way of being funny. I’m funny on my show that airs on Animal Planet. I’m not silly on the show, I’m not goofy and all that other stuff; I’m just kinda me. That’s the version of Eric Young that you’re going to get. It’s important for me to be funny, and that’s what made me popular. That’s what got me over with the fans in the first place and I won’t lose that. As far as adding an edge, when you’re rolling around in tacks with the monster Abyss, it’s hard to crack jokes. There’s nothing really funny about that. But yeah, it’s a cool challenge for me because that’s what I have been for the last five to eight years, and this is a whole new world for me. I can do it. I know I can. I’ve always known that and I’m dying to show people.”
On comparisons of his title victory to Daniel Bryan’s: “I definitely see the comparisons. Like you said, we both have sweet beards, we both won two matches, were both world heavyweight champion and I don’t think either of us are prototypical champions. That’s what makes us special. Anytime someone wants to make a comparison between me and Daniel Bryan, go ahead and knock yourself out. He’s a super talented guy. I never met him personally, but I know lots of guys that know him and he’s a nice guy. I listened to his interview on Steve Austin’s podcast and he sounds like he’s a cool dude. Anytime anyone wants to compare me to him, they can go right ahead.”
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and WWE Diva Brie Bella were married on Friday at a “country rustic” wedding at the L’Auberge Resort and Spa in Sedona, Arizona.
Fellow WWE Superstars and Divas John Cena, Cesaro, Nikki Bella, Tyson Kidd and Jimmy Uso were all in attendance. Nikki served as her twin sister’s maid of honor.
According to E!, Brie wore a Katie May wedding dress and Yves Saint Laurent heels—a gift from twin sister Nikki Bella.
“Nikki won’t allow me to wear TOMS with my dress so she got me YSL heels,” Brie admitted. “Even though I have always wanted to get married barefooted.”
Cameras from the E! Network were on hand for the wedding, with footage expected to air on this season of the WWE Total Divas reality show.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and his fiancé Brie are set to be married today Here’s a photo from their wedding rehearsal dinner, courtesy of SEScoops reader @JazzOOSoto_WWE:
The following are highlights of a new Jim Ross online Q&A update:
On the WWE Network subscription number revealed by WWE: “I thought it was a good number but I’m no expert in that sort of data. I also feel that it will grow significantly in the future.”
On The Undertaker’s streak coming to an end: “I wasn’t ready for the STREAK to end. However, I also don’t know Taker’s physical condition.”
“I’m not sure how I or any one can realistically predict the long term affect on any matter. The Streak build to WM30 did not seem as impactful as I would have liked. WrestleMania should be built around the WWE Title more often than not unless someone really has dropped the ball.”
On his own heel run in ’96 and Daniel Bryan’s future now that he’s champion: “I was not a fan of my heel work as I felt i was not good at it. Bryan can stay hot if he stays in a good personal issue and the title is continued to be a priority.”
Check out more JR Q&A updates at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com.
– WWE stars Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella are scheduled to officially get married today in Sedona, Arizona. Many WWE talents arrived in town for the big wedding on Thursday.
– John Cena cut a promo on Tuesday night at the WWE SmackDown tapings — prior to the news of Ultimate Warrior’s passing — where he joked about Warrior’s promos, mimmicking his style a bit. That promo was apparently edited out of respect, and will not make the air during tonight’s WWE SmackDown broadcast.
– The three women who were involved in Triple H’s elaborate entrance for his match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX last Sunday were Alexis, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, all of whom currently work as NXT Divas.
– As it appeared when watching the show live on Sunday, The Shield vs. New Age Outlaws and Kane match was rushed. Both the ring entrances and the match itself were cut to make time for the rest of the show.
While nothing has been officially announced at this point, the plan for the main event angle heading into the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is The Shield vs. Evolution. The angle was shot for this rumored match during the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE RAW this past Monday night in New Orleans.
The actual match itself is unknown at this point, although it is expected that Ric Flair will not be involved in the Evolution side of things.
The only question coming out of the angle shot at RAW, is whether or not Kane or Triple H will be the third person on the Evolution side, or if both are part of the equation and Daniel Bryan will be added to The Shield team to make it an eight-man tag-team match. Based on the RAW angle, one would assume it is the latter.
Also rumored for Extreme Rules is a rematch between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
– The official WWE website has added a new interview with Ellis Mbeh, aka “Shocked Undertaker Guy.” You can check that out right now at WWE.com.
– Radio personality Sam Roberts added a new video to his official YouTube channel today that features his interview with Daniel Bryan from WrestleMania weekend. Hear Bryan discuss headlining WrestleMania XXX, the “Yes!” movement, his upcoming wedding and more below.
This past week’s RAW could end up being a turning point in WWE history. Gone could be the days where the company relies upon the same tried-and-true superstars to draw money, instead turning to a new generation of up-and-comers. Indeed, this week’s episode felt more like a changing of the guard ceremony than a typical edition of the longest-running weekly episodic television program, as Michael Cole likes to affectionately refer to it as.
It was evident from the moment the program started, which was basically a coronation ceremony for Daniel Bryan. The place was simply electric, with nearly every fan in attendance participating in his signature “Yes!” chant.
What was interesting as the night progressed was that the WWE Universe turned on nearly every “old guard” superstar in favor of younger talent, whether heel or face. This was first seen during the Wyatt Family vs. John Cena, Sheamus, and Big E contest.
The WWE Universe has decided to follow the buzzards in recent weeks.
Cena was ripped a new one during his entrance and performance, as it seemed like not a single person in the crowd was cheering him. There is usually at least a vocal minority of supporters in even the most anti-Cena crowd, but the New Orleans crowd was completely against him, even singing, “John Cena sucks” to the tune of Cena’s theme song.
The Wyatt Family, on the other hand, were overwhelming crowd favorites even though they have been booked as nothing but heels since debuting. The crowd was singing Wyatt’s now-signature, “He’s got the whole world in his hands” while swaying back and forth. These guys are truly over and it was completely obvious which side the crowd was supporting during the Wyatt’s decimation of Team Cena.
A similar incident occurred later in the night during the Rey Mysterio/Bad News Barrett contest. Barrett has been booked as a heel in recent months, and unlike the Wyatt Family, he has not received any support from the fans. During his contest with Mysterio, however, Barrett had complete fan support and was even celebrating with the fans while Mysterio seemed a bit perplexed at times while he was mercilessly booed. It seemed obvious that the fans are in favor of change instead of the superstars of old.
The King of Swing is the newest Paul Heyman guy, much to the delight of the crowd.
You know things are a bit off when even Paul Heyman is cheered at one point in the broadcast. Cesaro announced his departure from the Real Americans and shocked everyone by claiming he is now a Paul Heyman guy, a move that set the place on fire. It set up an ironic situation where Heyman was practically booed out of building during his earlier promo with Lesnar but was later cheered after it was announced that he would now manage Cesaro.
The move highlights the popularity of Cesaro, as the crowd does not care who he is paired with as long as he is receiving a push, and the WWE does not usually pair Heyman with guys they are not planning to push. If you can get the crowd to cheer Paul Heyman, you must but doing something right, but after all, Cesaro is the guy who made a stable of immigrant-hating Tea Partiers popular with the crowd. In recent weeks, the crowd has even been chanting, “We the people.”
