It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, the match between John Cena and Dean Ambrose will now have a stipulation.
The Cena-Ambrose bout will now be a no holds barred match with a contract on a pole, with the winner still advancing later in the pay-per-view to a match with “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins. Based on advertising, the person who loses the Cena-Ambrose match will likely face Randy Orton later on in the pay-per-view.
You can read a complete SmackDown spoiler report for this week by clicking here.
Once an occasional treat for the WWE Universe, the Hell in a Cell match has become a yearly event since the introduction of the eponymous pay-per-view in 2009. Since its inception, the company has yet to truly knock it out of the park with Hell in a Cell, although fans have witnessed some memorable moments.
This year, it will be either John Cena or Dean Ambrose headlining the event against Seth Rollins inside the most ominous structure in sports entertainment. As the company builds up its next pay-per-view, here is a look back at the first five Hell in a Cell events.
5. 2012
This event really didn’t have a pay-per-view feel to it. The undercard was primarily filled with forgettable matches that had little impact on future storylines. The main event was also lacking due to injury.
It was clear that the company had no idea what to do after John Cena went down to injury, leading to Ryback receiving a premature main event push. From top to bottom, this event was lacking and easily locks up the honor of being the worst Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to date.
Main Event: CM Punk vs. Ryback (Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship)
Best Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus
Worst Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. The Prime Time Players
As has been rumored for a while, WWE finally confirmed two of the top matches scheduled for the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
At the end of Monday’s edition of RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, it was announced by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon that at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose will take place, with the winner earning the right to face Seth Rollins in an actual Hell In A Cell match later on in the pay-per-view.
– It is said that even if WWE decides against doing a John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose match on RAW with the winner facing Seth Rollins in a cage at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, that plans are to have a Cena-Ambrose singles feud eventually.
– WWE will be airing “Sneak Peek: The Best of Sting” on the WWE Network on Friday night at 10pm EST. The show will be a preview of the new WWE DVD, with the synopsis reading as follows:
“This Sneak Peek gives you a glimpse inside the seven hour collection of the best matches and moments starring the franchise of WCW – Sting.”
The following are highlights of a new interview with Dean Ambrose:
On Kane and his battle with The Authority: “Kane is a loyal soldier for Triple H and I’ve been a bit of a thorn in The Authority’s side. He’s a bonafide monster. They’d like to stomp me out and they sent Kane after me.”
“I’ll be swinging, kicking, biting, scratching and clawing everything in my path – and Kane will be in my path. It’s not rocket science what my strategy has to be in a match like this. I have to throw punches until I can’t throw punches anymore. I have to really swing for the fences from bell to bell.”
On how he prepares for a match: “I listen to some Hank Williams before I go out. I tell some jokes. I have fun. I don’t waste too much energy thinking about it – I like to save that all for the ring. The calmest part of my day is right before a match.”
On feeding off of the crowd for energy: “That’s what you feed off of. That’s the energy and the electric jolt that will power you through every time.”
As we noted recently, the talk going around within WWE is that the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view will feature two cell matches, one with Seth Rollins and the other with Randy Orton. As we mentioned, the current working plan is for Dean Ambrose and John Cena to compete in a match on an upcoming RAW where the winner gets Rollins inside the cell at the PPV, while the loser gets to face Orton inside the cage.
Apparently the current plan is for the Hell In A Cell show to actually start off with Cena vs. Ambrose, with the winner main eventing the show inside the cage against Rollins, while the loser, also in a cell match, would compete with Orton.
WWE is reportedly looking to finalize their plans for the Hell In A Cell PPV this weekend and an announcement is expected on Monday’s edition of RAW.
Michael Cole’s latest weekly sit-down interview guest this week is John Cena.
This week, Cena talks to Cole about Seth Rollins interfering in his rematch with Brock Lesnar at WWE Night Of Champions, how he and Dean Ambrose have some common ground and the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On The Bunny and PG wrestling: “Admittedly, I am not in WWE’s target demo any longer but I’m still a fan but for the life of me I can’t ascertain the usefulness of a mini bull, a mini alligator or a giant rabbit. Apparently, I just don’t get it. Perhaps it’s the ‘Disney’ influence of the PG aspect of today’s WWE and if so that would make sense.”
On Diva action that he has enjoyed: “I’d like to see more AJ Lee vs. Paige and then see Natalya and Charlotte added to the mix to energize the female competition and WWE could still promote Total Divas which I understand why they have to do such.”
On Dolph Ziggler and unifying the I-C and U.S. titles: “Still optimistic that Dolph Ziggler can renew the luster to the IC Title and I am still an advocate of WWE combining the IC and the US Titles as a way to turn Sheamus heel with the US Title going away.”
On tension between John Cena and Dean Ambrose: “The tension that evolved during the show between Cena and Ambrose caught my attention and I’m curious as to where that might go. Cena’s polarizing rub would help make Ambrose a bigger fan favorite of which WWE is sorely lacking at the moment.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
This week on Raw, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and John Cena continued their three-way feud, as Seth Rollins ended the night by retrieving his briefcase and decimating his two foes.
Earlier in the evening, Cena and Ambrose once again hinted that there was tension between the two, with both claiming that they deserve the right to exact revenge from Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins.
Ambrose embarrassed his former partner earlier in the night, but Rollins got the last laugh.
Based on this week’s episode, it seems apparent that the reports released earlier in the week were true. In case you missed the news, the current plan seems to be that Dean Ambrose and John Cena will face one another at Hell in a Cell. The winner will be given the opportunity to face Rollins later in the evening, while the loser will be relegated to squaring off with Randy Orton.
The company is obviously hoping to develop a storyline that will reel viewers in for next month’s pay-per-view, and with Brock Lesnar apparently missing the event, it will take a lot more than a few singles matches to attract viewers, especially with the quality of Raw over the past few weeks. With that said, last night’s episode was admittedly a considerable upgrade over the previous few weeks.
So, how does the company attract viewers with no championship match and a card filled with contests that fans have seen over the past few months? The answer is clearly the briefcase.
Seth Rollins has become a main event player since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase back in June. He has teased cash-ins on multiple occasions, and attempted to slay the Beast at Night of Champions following the main event between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
As of today, the current working plan is for either John Cena or Dean Ambrose to wrestle Seth Rollins inside the cell at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Apparently Cena and Ambrose will have a match on RAW prior to the PPV, where the winner will earn the right to face Rollins in the cell.
As far as what the loser of the Cena-Ambrose match will do, it appears as though that person will work with Randy Orton at the PPV, or might be the “keeper of the key” outside of the cell match.
– Despite his injury, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns will still be making his scheduled appearance at Ringside Fest with Dean Ambrose next weekend in New York City. Also scheduled to appear are The Bella Twins and the WWE Tag-Team Champions, Goldust and Stardust.
– WWE will be “going pink” again in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Thursday’s NXT tapings, the ring ropes were pink for the episodes that will air in October. The crew came out and taped the roles yellow again for the shows that were filmed for November.
As of last week, the plan for Roman Reigns over the next several months was to continue building him up, with him going on to win the 2015 Royal Rumble and challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Due to Reigns’ emergency hernia surgery, the recovery process will keep him out of action for at least a few months. However, it is believed that even in the worst case scenario, Reigns will be back in time for the Rumble, meaning WWE can continue ahead as planned with their idea of pushing him going into next year’s WrestleMania.
It’s worth noting that with Reigns on the sidelines, a major opportunity has opened for Dean Ambrose. While Ambrose was already scheduled for a big push, he will now be used as the #2 babyface in the company behind John Cena and his career is now on a faster track than it would have been had Reigns (and Daniel Bryan) stayed healthy.
Along with Reigns returning in time for the Rumble pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan is also expected to make his WWE return around the same time.
Another WWE Superstar that is expected to return in time for “WrestleMania season” is Batista, possibly returning to do his “farewell run” with the company, now that his Hollywood career is taking off.
Not to mention – Kurt Angle, Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy could all be free to work for WWE by WretleMania season.
The latest edition of Michael Cole’s weekly sit-down interview with Triple H is now online.
Check out the video above to hear HHH discuss the recent actions of the returning Dean Ambrose, the latest on Roman Reigns’ condition and the “huge match” that awaits this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
– On Monday, WWE announced and promoted a match between Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton for the post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW. An hour later, they removed the advertising for that match and ended up going a different direction. During Monday’s RAW, WWE promoted a Night Of Champions rematch between The Usos and Goldust and Stardust, however just before the taping last night, they switched the advertisements to feature a Big Show vs. Rusev match instead.
– Below is the “Top 10 Moments from this week’s RAW” video for Monday’s show.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view marked the end of the third quarter of the WWE calendar. With only three pay-per-views left in 2014, fans have almost reached the end of another exciting year of rasslin’.
With that said, it is now time to review the top matches from the third quarter. Feel free to compare these contests with the best matches from the first and second quarters:
Without further ado, here are the top five matches from the third quarter of 2014.
5. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Night of Champions)
Some might disagree with this choice, but I feel that it warrants inclusion. The contest perfectly juxtaposed the first contest between Cena and Lesnar at SummerSlam. Instead of Lesnar dominating from the opening bell, it was Cena who quickly hit an Attitude Adjustment and controlled the pace throughout much of the contest. The match was booked well enough that the outcome seemed in doubt, and the no-finish ending was the perfect way to keep the title on Lesnar, not make Cena look too weak, and inject Seth Rollins into the storyline.
– Last week’s SmackDown on Syfy did a 1.86 rating with 2.631 million viewers, the lowest numbers in a month.
The show still ranked #1 on cable TV Friday night for viewership.
– Sunday’s WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view saw much less Twitter activity than SummerSlam last month.
NOC did a unique Twitter audience of 1.805 million with 14.655 million impressions. SummerSlam had 2.808 million unique users with over 24 million impressions (a 45% drop).
Night of Champions’ Twitter activity was in line with Extreme Rules back in May.
– Dean Ambrose is replacing Roman Reigns at WWE’s upcoming live events. Ambrose will be wrestling Randy Orton in a Street Fight at Friday night’s show from the Izod Center in New Jersey. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins headlines.
On paper, WWE Night of Champions didn’t look like anything special. It was mostly a card packed with rematches, and what would have likely been the best match of the night was cancelled a few days before the event.
With that said, it was hard to come away from last night’s event without feeling satisfied. The action was solid, the booking was logical, and the pay-per-view as a whole was entertaining. Throughout the night, some superstars squandered their time on camera, while others excelled. Here are the 5 superstars who made the most of their time at Night of Champions.
5. Gold and Stardust
The Dust Brothers are finally champions once again. After several months with the Usos at the top of the tag division, it is nice to see a new team carrying the straps. Both Gold and Stardust worked very well during their contest, and it served as an excellent way to start the evening.
It will be interesting to see where the brothers go from here, as they are already teasing a feud with former NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension and there are few teams on the main roster worthy of a title shot. .
4. Chris Jericho
This was Y2J’s final match of his current run with the company. Although his program with Bray Wyatt fell a bit flat, it is always great to see Jericho back in a WWE ring.
He did not disappoint last night either, as Jericho and Orton put on a show for the Nashville crowd. The contest ended after a memorable spot that featured Orton hitting an RKO on Jericho after he dove from the top rope. Although he came out on the losing end last night, Jericho did everything he could to put Orton and the match over, and it served as an excellent conclusion to his current run.
3. Cesaro
From a wrestling perspective, the match of the night was easily Sheamus against Cesaro. The two worked incredibly well together, with a number of memorable spots and counters. Much like Jericho before him, Cesaro did not come out on top last night, but he showed why he is one of the best workers in the business.
Another United States Title run likely wouldn’t have done much to advance Cesaro’s career, so the loss isn’t really damaging, but it would be nice to see the Swiss Superman sporting a bit of gold in the near future (perhaps the Intercontinental Championship). Cesaro made the most of every second he was given, illustrating why he should be pushed as one of the future stars of the company.
WWE RAW emanates from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee with the fallout from Sunday night’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who successfully retained his title in his rematch against John Cena on Sunday, is not advertised to be a part of the show. Also expected to be absent tonight are Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns.
Superstars that are advertised for tonight’s show include Dean Ambrose, The Wyatt Family, Randy Orton, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Kane, Cesaro, Sheamus, Big E and The Usos.
In the case of Reigns, as noted above, he is not expected to appear, however he is included in the advertisements for the show. It’s worth noting that this is likely a case of advertisements that were released prior to his emergency surgery this weekend.
WWE is focusing on the following points in their “RAW Five-Point Preview” for tonight’s show.
– Who is next for Brock Lesnar?
– Will Dolph Ziggler look for retribution on The Miz tonight?
– What will Goldust and Stardust do next?
– Will Paige and Nikki Bella prey upon AJ Lee now that she’s the Divas Champion?
– Will Dean Ambrose strike at Seth Rollins once again?
As things stand right now, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins is 100 percent off of tonight’s Night Of Champions lineup. There is some talk within WWE, as we noted yesterday, of having Dean Ambrose make a surprise appearance at tonight’s pay-per-view to fill in for Reigns against Rollins, however that is purely speculation at this point.
Also as noted yesterday, Reigns will likely be out of action for up to six weeks. WWE is hoping to have him back in time for the Survivor Series pay-per-view, but even under the worst case scenario, he will be back in time for the Royal Rumble in January, meaning he will be able to work WrestleMania and that if WWE was planning on having Reigns be the guy to end Brock Lesnar’s dominant streak, they can continue on with that plan despite Reigns’ current situation.
Speaking of Reigns, he surfaced on Twitter today to thank fans for their support. He tweeted the following:
Thank you everyone for your kind words, support and prayers!! I'm hurting right now but it's great to know good people have my back!!
– BroBible.com has published a feature looking at “14 Wrestlers From Your Childhood That You Probably Don’t Know Are Dead.”
– With Chris Jericho finishing up with WWE at Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view, he teased on this week’s Talk Is Jericho podcast that he may be back “sooner than you think.”
– As noted earlier, Roman Reigns underwent emergency hernia surgery this weekend and will be unable to compete against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. According to Bryan Alvarez, there were two scripts being worked on for Night of Champions and one of them included Roman Reigns not wrestling. This was prior to him being rushed to the hospital.
It’s unknown who Reigns’ replacement will be against Seth Rollins, but Dean Ambrose is scheduled to return to WWE TV this week so he could fill in.
Night of Champions is only a few days away. Even though the WWE has been serving up plates of garbage on Raw for weeks now, many still have high hopes for this pay-per-view, as every title in the company will be defended.
With that said, here are my predictions for this Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view, which in case you haven’t heard, can be viewed on the WWE Network for only $9.99 (or $12.99 if you’re afraid of commitment).
Nikki Bella vs. Paige (WWE Divas Champion) vs. AJ Lee
I don’t expect it to be a terrible contest, as two of the three competitors are great workers and Nikki isn’t the worst Diva fans have ever seen. In the end, I believe Nikki will capture the title with help from her sister, reuniting the Bella Twins and putting an end to their horrible feud.
Winner: Nikki Bella by pinfall
Sheamus (United States Champion) vs. Cesaro
This should be one of the more exciting contests of the night, but I unfortunately don’t see it being given a ton of time. Although Cesaro will put up a hell of a fight, Sheamus will retain after hitting a Brogue Kick, possibly setting up a feud with Rusev for the United States Championship in the near future.
Dean Ambrose was recently written off of WWE TV after Seth Rollins and Kane sent Ambrose head-first through cinder blocks. Ambrose is taking time off to film the new WWE Studios movie, “Lockdown.”
“Lockdown” follows a police officer who returns to duty after recovering from a gun shot wound to discover incriminating evidence of illegal activities against those closest to him. He quickly finds himself trapped inside his own precinct, hunted and in search of the truth, as the crooked cops stop at nothing to recover the evidence.
This is the second film in WWE’s “Action Six-Pack” deal with Lionsgateate pictures. WWE Studios and Lionsgate previously collaborated on “The Condemned” and “See No Evil,” as well as the upcoming 2014 releases “Leprechaun: Origins,” “See No Evil 2” and “Vendetta.”
The movie is set to wrap primary filming later this week, so Ambrose should be back on television soon. He could be back as soon as Sunday’s WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view.