The WWE Universe is elated to finally see Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose reunited on WWE TV to reform The Shield – but that happiness could once again be crushed by WWE as we approach WrestleMania 34.
As we all know, Seth Rollins betrayed his Shield brethren to initially break up the faction when he stuck a steel chair into the backs of Reigns and Ambrose on the Monday Night RAW after their Payback win over Evolution. It seems that Reigns and Ambrose have since settled their differences with Rollins since the betrayal and now unite to take on Braun Strowman, Kane, The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro at Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) this weekend.
Following TLC, however, how long are The Shield expected to stay united? Per a report from PWMania (via Sportskeeda) the WWE is actually planning on turning Dean Ambrose heel to set up a feud between he and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. It’s still early in the WrestleMania planning faze, and ideas change on the drop of a dime, however, it’s worth noting WWE is considering a Rollins-Ambrose match-up.
Discussion: Is the WWE making a mistake by turning Ambrose heel and breaking up The Shield again? Who would you like to see each of “The Hounds Of Justice” take on at “The Show Of Shows?”
For the past several weeks WWE has been teasing the reunion of The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose). While the group has yet to reunite officially, a promotional poster for the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) gives away the reunion.
It seems as though The Shield will be taking on The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro; while the only other match announced for the event is a RAW Women’s Championship match between Alexa Bliss and Mickie James.
TLC will go down live on the WWE Network from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, October 22nd.
With his victory over John Cena at Sunday’s No Mercy pay-per-view, Roman Reigns proved that WWE is his yard and he’s able to hang with the best talent WWE has to offer.
From what we’ve been hearing, Roman Reigns has another big match scheduled for next month’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs event – and he won’t be fighting alone.
Many fans have been rooting for a Shield reunion since the faction disbanded three years ago. They will reportedly get their wish very soon, as a Shield reunion is finally in the works.
James McKenna of Pro Wrestling Sheet noted on Twitter that WWE is planning to reunite Reigns with RAW tag team champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in an effort to boost ticket sales for TLC and continue the RAW brand’s streak of stacked PPV cards.
wowwww, hearing that to kickstart some ticket sales – they’re planning to give TLC in a month a MAJOR card upgrade. its finally happeninggg. pic.twitter.com/FLE8CWqRM0
It’s interesting to note that Roman Reigns will be a guest on Miz TV in the opening segment of tonight’s RAW. With the planned Shield reunion and The Miz and his Miztourage always looking for high-profile competition, The Shield vs. The Miztourage is rumored as one of the top matches for TLC.
There’s no word yet as to how long this Shield reunion will last, but aligning Reigns with Rollins and Ambrose once again would go a long way in WWE’s effort to get Reigns over with the large portion of the WWE Universe that has not yet embraced the Big Dog as RAW’s top babyface.
The longterm plan for Reigns is still a WrestleMania 34 showdown with Brock Lesnar, so we’ll see if Reigns still has the Shield backup by the time these two collide.
– It was reported earlier last week by Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer that the advance tickets for last night’s (Mon. September 18, 2017) Monday Night RAW from the SAP Center in San Jose, California were not doing well. The show did not sell out and photos taken by fans during the pre-RAW WWE Main Event tapings showed a ton of empty seats:
– During last night’s Monday Night RAW, the team of Sheamus and Cesaro defeated WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match. Sheamus and Cesaro will challenge Ambrose and Rollins for the RAW Tag Team Titles at No Mercy, and Cesaro took to Twitter to comment on the upcoming match-up:
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns recently spoke with ESPN to talk about a possible reunion with the Shield. Currently Reigns’ former Shield members, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, rule as the RAW Tag Team Champions after dethroning the team of Sheamus and Cesaro at SummerSlam.
Many have been wondering if Reigns would join them soon to fully reunite the beloved stable, but “The Big Dog” says he has unfinished business as a singles competitor first before he can entertain that idea:
“Over the next few weeks, we’ll be able to see it play out,” he said. “But the main thing right now is I’ve been in the title picture for the Raw brand, so I can firmly say neither of those guys would leave [that opportunity] to rejoin The Shield [and] rekindle that flame.”
“Maybe I’m a third wheel at this point,” he said. “It just really depends. I feel like the next few weeks are really going to play out some important things for me. Obviously, I need to transition coming out of this big feud between the four monsters.”
At SummerSlam, Dean Ambrose became the latest Grand Slam champion when he and Seth Rollins captured the RAW Tag Team Championships from Cesaro and Sheamus.
WWE.com defines a Grand Slam champion as, “Superstars who have managed to meet the current set of criteria: Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion, either the Raw (formerly WWE) or SmackDown Tag Team Championship and either active heavyweight title — as in, WWE Championship or, now, the Universal Championship.”
Aside from Ambrose, the other WWE Superstars/legends meeting the criteria include Edge, Big Show, The Miz, Eddie Guerrero, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.
Reddit user @Ron234 compiled a list of the 11 Superstars that are just one championship away from joining the elusive Grand Slam club.
These are 11 superstars that are 1 Championship away from completing Grand Slam.
Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin and Zack Ryder need to capture the WWE Championship or Universal Championship to qualify
John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Sheamus need to capture the Intercontinental championship to qualify
Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton and Kane need to capture the United States championship to qualify
Kevin Owens needs to capture either the RAW or SmackDown tag championships to qualify
It’s worth noting that Dolph Ziggler is a former IC and US Champion, but also held the World Heavyweight Championship and the World Tag-Team Championships, which have been retired and do not count towards the updated requirements.
The Usos call out Rollins & Ambrose, Rollins responds
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos and RAW Tag Champs Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have been trading shots at WWE Live Events over the past couple of days. The banter started a few days ago when The Usos responded to the following tweet from WWE:
The Usos then talked some more trash at last night’s SmackDown Live Event in Baton Rouge. The Usos said that Rollins and Ambrose may be the best team on RAW, but The Usos are the best tag team period. The Usos then challenged Ambrose and Rollins to show up to SmackDown as you can see in the following video:
One half of the RAW Tag Team Champions responded to The Usos during last night’s RAW Live Event in Jonesboro. Rollins stated that the real champs are on RAW.
After winning the RAW Tag Team Championship at WWE SummerSlam, Dean Ambrose has made history. Ambrose has now held each of the four major titles in WWE and has become a Grand Slam Champion. The criteria for being a Grand Slam Champion, is to have held the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship, either RAW or SmackDown Tag Team Championship and either the WWE or Universal Championship.
Ambrose has been IC Champion, US Champion, RAW Tag Team Champion and WWE Champion. Ambrose joins Edge, Big Show, The Miz, Eddie Guerrero, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho as the only Superstars who have reached that achievement with WWE’s current active titles.
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns did an interview on ESPN Sportscenter this morning (Mon. August 21, 2017) to promote tonight’s Monday Night RAW from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York. Reigns discussed the mini-Shield reunion going on between newly-crowned RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, why he isn’t involved, and if he’d like to be down the line. Here are the highlights:
Possible Shield reunion:
“The main thing for me right now, I’ve been in that Universal title picture,” Reigns said. “You can ask Seth or Dean, if they were able to be in that same situation, that’s what you go for. You want to have that top title, and that’s definitely it.
“I’m super proud of those guys, they exemplified what makes the Shield so special [at SummerSlam]. The teamwork and just that brotherhood of just going out there and getting it done – not for yourself, but for the man next to you. It really showed why when we came in, why we were so special.”
Reigns hoping a full reunion happens soon:
“Hopefully in the near future maybe,” Reigns said of a full Shield reunion. “Not only to prolong my career maybe, because it does take it out of you running into those meatballs [Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe] for 30 minutes at a time, but there’s just some kind of magic when the three of us get together and we’re just moving on all cylinders. It always seems to be a great time for the crowd.”
Ambrose and Cesaro started off the match. Sheamus quickly tagged in and locked up with Ambrose. Sheamus wrestled Ambrose to the mat and then applied a Chin Lock. Ambrose fought out of the hold and the two Superstars locked up again. Rollins tagged himself in and Ambrose Suplexed Sheamus to the mat.
Sheamus got back to his feet and brought Rollins to the corner. Cesaro was tagged in and connected with an uppercut. Ambrose was tagged in and he leveled Cesaro with a Clothesline for a one count. Ambrose kneed Cesaro in the chest and then knocked Sheamus out of the ring. Sheamus and Cesaro regrouped outside the ring as Rollins and Ambrose waited for them inside the ring.
The action returned to the ring and Cesaro knocked Ambrose off the ring apron. Sheamus then Brogue Kicked Ambrose outside the ring. Rollins went for a Suicide Dive onto Sheamus and Cesaro outside the ring but they caught him and slammed him to the floor outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Cesaro planted Rollins with a Suplex and tagged in Sheamus. Cesaro held Rollins down as Sheamus connected with a knee. Cesaro was tagged in and he continued the beatdown of Rollins. Seth hit a Blockbuster on Cesaro and looked for a tag but Ambrose was still knocked out on the floor outside the ring.
Sheamus was tagged in and he kneed Rollins in the back and then slammed him to the mat for a two count. Cesaro sprinted into the crowd and destroyed a beach ball that being knocked around the arena. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Cesaro ripped up the beach ball. Back in the ring, Cesaro connected with a Suplex and then tagged Sheamus back in.
Rollins hit Sheamus with a kick to the side of his head as Ambrose finally made his way to the ring apron. Seth tried to make his way to the corner but Cesaro entered the match and prevented him from doing so. Cesaro charged at Rollins but Seth got out of the way and Cesaro tumbled out of the ring. Cesaro clutched his knee when he hit the floor.
Cesaro tagged Sheamus in the match and Ambrose lost it. Ambrose climbed up to the top turnbuckle and leaped onto Sheamus, Cesaro and Rollins outside the ring. Ambrose brought Rollins into the ring but Sheamus prevented the tag yet again. Cesaro was tagged in and Rollins was able to avoid him and finally tag in Ambrose.
Dean planted Cesaro with a Neckbreaker and then climbed up to the top rope. Rollins and Ambrose Clotheslined both Cesaro and Sheamus out of the ring. Rollins and Ambrose then connected with dueling Suicide Dives onto Sheamus and Cesaro. Back in the ring, Rollins was tagged in and he it a Slingblade on Cesaro for a two count.
Ambrose was tagged in and he leaped off the turnbuckle but was greeted with an uppercut from Cesaro. Ambrose responded with the Lunatic Lariat and both Superstars fell to the mat. Sheamus was tagged in and climbed to the top rope but Dean met him up there. Rollins got onto the ring apron and booted Sheamus in the head and Ambrose hit a Superplex. Rollins then hit a Frog Splash and went for the cover but Cesaro leaped into the ring and broke up the pinfall.
Ambrose tagged himself in and beatdown Sheamus in the corner. Rollins and Ambrose then lifted up Sheamus onto the turnbuckle and were about to Powerbomb him but Cesaro got into the ring and distracted them. Cesaro launched Rollins out of the ring and Sheamus connected with a Backbreaker to Ambrose for a two count.
Cesaro was tagged in and went for a Crossbody but Ambrose rolled through for a roll up but Cesaro kicked out at two. Cesaro hit the Cesaro Swing and then locked in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Rollins tried to get in the ring but Sheamus planted him with a rolling Senton. Ambrose tried to get out of the Sharpshooter but Cesaro transitioned into a Crossface in the middle of the ring.
Ambrose reversed it into a roll up but Cesaro kicked out at two. Sheamus was tagged in and leveled Ambrose with a Clothesline off the top rope as Cesaro held Dean up on his shoulders. Cesaro was tagged back in and Ambrose was planted with a double Razer’s Edge. Cesaro went for the pinfall but Rollins leaped into the ring at the last second and broke up the pinfall.
Rollins was once again knocked out of the ring and Sheamus was tagged in. Sheamus and Cesaro were going to team up for a move but Rollins hit a Hurricanrana and Cesaro launched into Sheamus. Rollins then hit a Superkick onto Cesaro and Sheamus and then Ambrose planted Sheamus with the Dirty Deeds for the victory.
During the interview, Rollins revealed that he had reached out to his fellow Shield member, Dean Ambrose, for advice on the moving making process as “The Lunatic Fringe” starred in 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown back in 2015:
“Neither of us had ever had any aspirations of being in movies or movie stars or anything like that, but he had just gotten off doing his new movie that had come out a year prior,” Rollins said.
“I was just curious to see what the process was like for him, so I could get an idea of anything I needed to do or etiquette-wise how to act or anything that was different from what I normally am used to.”
You can read Rollins’ full interview with USA Today’s “For The Win”by clicking here.
WWE’s “Kurt Angle – The Essential Collection” DVD is being released on August 1st. WrestlingDVDNetwork.com has released the intro for the upcoming DVD set. This is the first DVD set WWE has released for Kurt Angle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8b9A9YBGTo
Bayley Gummy Bears
Bayley has new gummy bears at FYE stores. The box art features “wacky, waving, inflatable, arm-flailing Bayley Buddies” as Byron Saxton would say. Bayley posted the following photo of Carmella posing with the new gummy bears:
Several matches were set up for next week’s RAW on Monday night. Sasha Banks and Bayley approached RAW GM Kurt Angle backstage and both said that they deserve a shot at Alexa Bliss’ RAW Women’s Championship. Bayley stated that she has defeated Alexa Bliss twice recently and Sasha Banks noted that Bliss got herself counted out to retain the title against her at WWE Great Balls of Fire. Kurt Angle then made a match for next Monday between Banks and Bayley to determine who will face Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for the RAW Women’s Championship.
Finn Balor faced Elias Samson on Monday night and was looking like he was going to be victorious. The action spilled outside the ring while Balor was in control and Elias Samson grabbed his guitar and bashed Balor in the head with it. The strike was so brutal that he busted Balor’s head open. On next week’s episode of RAW, Balor will look to get his revenge in a No DQ match against Samson.
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins kicked off Monday’s RAW. Ambrose still doesn’t fully trust Rollins as a result of him turning his back on The Shield. Rollins asked Ambrose to get it over with and begged Ambrose to hit him with a chair. Ambrose refused and threw the chair out of the ring. The Miztourage then came down to the ring and beat the hell out of both Rollins and Ambrose with chairs. Later in the show, Ambrose and Rollins had a conversation with RAW GM Kurt Angle backstage. Angle said that they could face any two members of The Miztourage on next week’s RAW. Ambrose said that they wanted to face all three and Angle made the match official. It will be Ambrose & Rollins against The Miz, Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel next week on RAW.
Below is the video promo that WWE has released for next week’s episode of RAW.
WWE has announced that Dean Ambrose will open tomorrow night’s episode of WWE RAW. Ambrose has been locked in a feud with The Miz for some time now, but Seth Rollins has now been introduced to the storyline. During “The Mizzies” on this past week’s episode of RAW, The Miz called Rollins a fraud for failing to defeat Bray Wyatt even though he said he could. Rollins then once again lost to Wyatt in RAW’s main event and was then surrounding by The Miztourage (The Miz, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas). Dean Ambrose came down to the ring to save his former teammate in The Shield from the attack. Rollins helped out Ambrose earlier in the night after The Miztourage attacked him.
“One week after Dean Ambrose helped Seth Rollins turn back a 3-on-1 attack by The Miz and his Miztourage, The Lunatic Fringe will open Raw, live in Nashville, Tenn.
Despite having mutual nemeses in The A-Lister and his “co-stars,” a distrustful Ambrose made it clear to The Kingslayer last Monday night that they’re far from friends and that he hasn’t forgotten or forgiven Rollins for what he did to dismantle The Shield back in 2014. What will Ambrose get off his chest when Raw goes live at 8/7 C on USA Network, and how will Rollins — and The Miz — respond?”
Top 10 wildest Superstar facial reactions
WWE has posted a new list of Superstars reacting in the ring. The list includes The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar sharing a laugh at SummerSlam, Vince McMahon reacting to Shane McMahon showing up on WCW Nitro and more. You can check out the entire list in the video below.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose recently did an interview with The Herald-Dispatch to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “The Lunatic Fringe” discussed his ‘unhinged’ persona, his early days in The Shield, how he feels physically after winning and losing the world title. You can check out the highlights from their interview here:
The ‘unhinged’ persona:
“I feel like I’m a pretty sensible individual. I don’t feel unhinged (another characterization). It is what it is. Michael Cole (WWE announcer on ‘Monday Night Raw’ and pay-per-views) said it on TV enough times it clicked. I’m used to it. You know you get labels put on. In the ring, I don’t care. I fly by the seat of my pants, do whatever I feel like doing. Don’t worry about the consequences.”
His early days with The Shield:
“They threw us right to the wolves. We clicked immediately. We go week to week. We’d figure it out, did a lot on the fly. It all worked out. It’s a means to an end. Three new guys come in and kick the door down. It’s very rare three personalities work like that. You could tell we resonate with people. I’ve made way more money, got a lot more things done, a lot more work without them.”
How he feels physically after winning and losing the world title:
“You know they’ll come and go. You long to hold a championship belt, know it’s going to leave and you work to get one again. One moment you win a battle royal, you battle with a kendo stick, whatever it is. I don’t know any other way. I’ve been doing it so long. How’s my body doing? Terrible, I feel like crap. Doing this for over than a decade, not bad.”
You can read Ambrose’s full interview with The Herald-Dispatch by clicking here.
WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live announcers Corey Graves and JBL once again took to the WWE Network Exclusive show Bring It To The Table to give their opinions on a variety of professional wrestling topics, and as always, they didn’t hold back. You can check out the highlights from the show here:
JBL on Jinder Mahal’s career not being made by winning the WWE Championship:
“You’re not going to be made just because you get a championship, okay? It can jumpstart you, obviously. Look at David Arquette [who] got the WCW [World Heavyweight] Championship. It certainly didn’t make him. Jinder Mahal is a guy who got jumpstarted because of that world championship. And I think when he walks out, he looks like a world champion. When you see him with that title, you think, ‘that’s what a world champion should look like.'”
Graves admits his initial doubt about Mahal’s title reign:
“Last time we did this show, I wasn’t sure [about Mahal’s world title reign], I wasn’t sold, but to John’s point, you see him come out with the championship, and The Singh Brothers, and the suit, he looks legitimate. And, it’s great, Jinder looks like a big deal, like a big time champion.”
Graves says there was nothing memorable about Dean Ambrose’s run as Intercontinental Champ:
“No offense to Dean Ambrose, but I don’t really know anything memorable that Dean accomplished while as Intercontinental Champion other than losing to Miz.” Graves added, “I’m being honest. I’d say it to his face.”
Graves on the Universal Title being on an upswing after initially being “snakebitten”:
“On the RAW side of things, you’ve got Brock Lesnar who has the Universal Championship. And, for the first time maybe since its inception, the Universal Championship actually means something. It has kind of been snakebitten. You had Finn [Bálor] win it for the first time go down with an injury, they played hot potato with Kevin Owens and the Goldberg scenario.
“Finally, as we head towards Great Balls Of Fire, you have Samoa Joe, a legitimate number one contender and you have Brock Lesnar who is a legitimate threat no matter what championship he holds and that for the first time is a really big, big time, big fight feel, and I can’t wait for it.”
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose recently did an interesting interview with The Sun to talk about a variety of topics. You can check out the highlights here:
What it’d take for him to do an MMA fight:
“I’ll fight anyone for enough money. Give me half-a-million dollars. Put them in the ring, I’ll do it right now, I’ll do it tonight.”
Nearly dying after crashing his bike right before WrestleMania:
“I’m big into mounting biking. I actually crashed my mountain bike about a week ago very badly. I thought I was going to die. I fell over the handlebars, full on ninja roll, I flew like 8ft into the air. I thought I probably shouldn’t be doing this a week before WrestleMania. You have to immediately get back on. I crashed on a downhill, you have to just continue. If you stop and think about it too long you’ll psych yourself out.”
WWE’s Superstar Shake-up was a few weeks ago and a bunch of talent switched brands. The change has certainly benefited some Superstars as they have been able to hit the reset button and were given new opportunities. For other Superstars, the brand switch has either done nothing for them or made matters even worse. Below is the list of every Superstar that switched brands after WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up and what they have done on their new show so far.
From SmackDown to RAW:
Bray Wyatt: Bray Wyatt was having a hell of a run on SmackDown until everything fell off the rails. He captured the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, only to lose it rather quickly to Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. It took years for WWE to put a title on Bray Wyatt. They pulled the plug on his title run really quick and he is now feuding with Finn Balor on RAW. The change of brands may help Wyatt in the long run, but right now it is hard to take Wyatt seriously after the match at Wrestlemania 33 and the terrible House of Horrors match at WWE Payback.
The Miz & Maryse: The Miz had an excellent run on SmackDown. He was the Intercontinental Champion and had a terrific feud with Dolph Ziggler. There is no reason that he shouldn’t be able to continue that success on RAW as he is currently the #1 contender for the IC Title. The only down side of Miz joining RAW is that he will no longer be a guest on Talking Smack. His insane rants towards Renee Young and Daniel Bryan will be missed.
Dean Ambrose: Ambrose is currently the Intercontinental Champion, but absolutely needed a fresh start. Even though he is continuing his feud with The Miz from SmackDown, Ambrose was already more entertaining on this past week’s RAW than he was for the last month on SmackDown. Time will tell if Ambrose will grow stale again, but for now he has benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up.
Alexa Bliss: Alexa Bliss was terrific on SmackDown and has carried that over to RAW. She is the best female talent on RAW when it comes to promos. She also has great in-ring ability and always gets a reaction from the crowd. Alexa Bliss has already become RAW Women’s Champion and is the first female Superstar to hold both the Smackdown and RAW Women’s Championships.
Apollo Crews: Shockingly, Apollo Crews has actually benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. It is hard to believe that becoming a part of the “Titus Brand” is an upgrade, but it actually is. Crews was doing absolutely nothing on SmackDown. At the very least, Crews is becoming a weekly part of RAW. Crews struggles with promos, so the idea of having Titus O’Neil manage him actually helps him.
Kalisto: Kalisto went from getting beatdown by Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown to getting destroyed by Braun Strowman on RAW. To be fair, Kalisto actually did defeat Strowman in a Dumpster Match, he also happened to get stuffed in the dumpster and shoved of the entrance ramp after the match.
Heath Slater, Rhyno & Curt Hawkins: Heath Slater and Rhyno were the first SmackDown Tag Team Champions. After losing the titles, they faded away into obscurity. Since joining RAW, they have essentially done nothing besides backstage segments. Tune in on Monday nights to see if Rhyno is eating cheese and crackers. Curt Hawkins was getting his ass kicked on SmackDown and the exact same thing is happening on RAW. I guess that is an improvement for Hawkins given that more people watch RAW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGDC-DtppTY
From RAW to SmackDown:
Kevin Owens: Kevin Owens was the Universal Champion for a long time on RAW. However, it wasn’t the best version of Kevin Owens. He relied on Chris Jericho to win matches and consistently looked weak. Once Owens dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg, he actually became more entertaining. Things really picked up when he turned on Jericho at the Festival of Friendship. Since joining SmackDown, Owens has been declaring himself the “Face of America”. He is back to being ruthless in the ring, while also showing off his impressive promo skills. I think the Superstar Shake-Up has benefited Kevin Owens. The United States Championship may be less important than the Universal Championship, but Owens is much more entertaining in his current role.
The Colons: Formerly The Shining Stars, The Colons have absolutely benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. Even though SmackDown barely features their tag team division, The Shining Stars was just an awful gimmick and anything would be an upgrade from that.
Sami Zayn: Everyone was hoping for Sami Zayn to join SmackDown while he was on RAW. He was seemingly always coming up short on RAW and SmackDown felt like the perfect show for him. Zayn is gifted in the ring and people believed that he would shine on SmackDown. Unfortunately, that has not been the case at all so far. Zayn’s move to SmackDown has made no difference at all in how he is booked. He is back to losing matches and wrestling people much bigger than him. The Superstar Shake-Up has done nothing for Zayn so far as he seems to be stuck in the same role.
Charlotte Flair: Charlotte Flair is probably the best female wrestler on WWE’s roster. Her athleticism is insane and she can put on a terrific match with anyone. However, Charlotte’s character got old on RAW. Her promos eventually sounded robotic and the WWE Universe was starting to get tired of it. Since joining SmackDown, Charlotte has gone from a heel to a fan favorite. The crowd erupted when she made her way to the ring after being attacked backstage on this past week’s episode of SmackDown.
Jinder Mahal: Without a doubt, Jinder Mahal has been the Superstar that has benefited the most from the Superstar Shake-Up. It didn’t look like that would be the case after his SmackDown debut where he lost to Mojo Rawley. Mahal also took a beer to the face courtesy of Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. Mahal went on to win a Six-Pack Challenge to become the #1 contender for Randy Orton’s WWE Championship. He even stole Orton’s title and beat him down at WWE Payback. Mahal had an unsuccessful run with WWE and was released from the company. He made his WWE return last year and it looked like it was going to be more of the same. That clearly is not the case and he now has the chance to make a major name for himself heading into his WWE Championship match at WWE Backlash.
New Day, Rusev & Lana: New Day have yet to make their SmackDown debut due to Kofi Kingston being injured. New Day has been boring to me for a long time, hopefully the change of brands brings something fresh to their act. Rusev also hasn’t been on SmackDown yet as he is out with an injury. However, he has demanded a title shot at Money in the Bank. Time will tell if he gets his wish. Finally, Lana hasn’t made her SmackDown debut yet but she will be introducing a new gimmick as seen in the video below.
Discussion: Now that we are a few weeks into it, what are your thoughts on the Superstar Shake-Up so far? Which Superstar do you think has benefited from it the most?
It appears WWE Intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose and WWE broadcaster Renee Young have officially tied the knot. Both Dean and Renee wore their wedding rings on WWE television this week, which saw Ambrose moving to RAW during the Superstar Shake-Up.
The couple began dating in late 2013. Their relationship has been acknowledged on WWE television for some time and has been featured on Total Divas.
The marriage was referenced by Kevin Owens on last night’s Talking Smack. Owens congratulated Renee, but didn’t specify what he was congratulating her for. Both Renee and Shane McMahon acted confused, with Shane saying, “I don’t know if we’re talking about that.”
A WWE fan dug up this public record indicating that Dean Ambrose and Renee Young filed for a marriage certificate in Nevada back in October.
WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up started off with a bang tonight as The Miz and Maryse kicked off Monday Night Raw. The Miz and Maryse have made the switch from Smackdown to Monday Night Raw. The Miz and Maryse came down to the ring dressed as John Cena and Nikki Bella. WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose quickly interrupted and joined The Miz and Maryse in the ring. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on The Miz and celebrated in the ring.
Monday Night Raw is now the new home for the Intercontinental Championship. Check back here on SEScoops and join our live discussion to find out what other WWE Superstars will be changing brands tonight during the Superstar Shake-Up.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose returned to SmackDown on tonight’s episode to accept Baron Corbin’s challenge for WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
Below is the updated WrestleMania line-up going into next week’s go-home TV tapings:
– Goldberg defends the WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar
– Bray Wyatt defends the WWE Championship against Randy Orton
– The Undertaker goes to war with Roman Reigns
– SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon battles AJ Styles
– John Cena teams with girlfriend Nikki Bella to face The Miz and wife Maryse
– Bayley defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax
– Alexa Bliss defends the SmackDown Women’s Championship against every available woman on the SmackDown roster
– Dean Ambrose defends the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Baron Corbin
– Chris Jericho defends the WWE United States Championship against Kevin Owens
– Gallows and Anderson defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against Enzo and Cass, Sheamus and Cesaro in a Triple Threat
– The 4th Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal with Mojo Rawley, Apollo Crews, Big Show and other Superstars to be announced
– After 205 Live went off the air on the WWE Network, the live audience in Pittsburgh, PA got to see a dark match main event. WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose came out to surprise the crowd and successfully defend his title against Baron Corbin. Ambrose didn’t appear on SmackDown this week in order to sell Corbin’s forklift attack last week.
– Former WWE star John Morrison, real name John Hennigan, stars alongside Quinton “Rampage” Jacksonin a new action comedy film coming soon to VOD and Walmart. Boone: The Bounty Hunter features Hennigan as the main character Boone, a fame-seeking reality show bounty hunter who gets in over his head. Below is the trailer for the movie, which was directed by Robert Kirbyson and produced by Hoplite Entertainment and Killon Street.
WWE has announced the battle royal participants for tonight’s SmackDown – John Cena, Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kalisto, Apollo Crews, The Miz, Luke Harper and Mojo Rawley. The winner will face WWE Champion Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania.
Tonight’s SmackDown will also feature Nikki Bella vs. Natalya in a Falls Count Anywhere Match and Naomi defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss, if Naomi is cleared to wrestle.
– Heath Slater and Rhyno defeated The Usos in the dark match before this week’s WWE SmackDown. The dark main event of the show saw WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose retain over The Miz.
– Here’s the promo for Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s return to RAW next Monday in New Orleans to discuss Goldberg and the Royal Rumble match:
Dean Ambrose is your new WWE Intercontinental Champion after defeating The Miz in the main event of tonight’s SmackDown from Jacksonville, FL.
Ambrose is now a two-time IC Champion. WWE posted this video of the champ reacting to the win:
As you can imagine, The Miz did not take the loss well. Check out this footage of Miz having a meltdown on Talking Smack and make sure to also check out our Talking Smack Recap.
– Announced for next week’s SmackDown from Jacksonville, FL is WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose.
– There will be a two-hour NXT special airing tonight on the WWE Network with matches from the recent house show in Osaka, Japan. The following matches are advertised to air:
* Andrade Almas vs. Oney Lorcan
* Nia Jax vs. NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
* Liv Morgan & Aliyah vs. Billie Kay
* Tajiri & Tozawa vs. NXT Tag Team Champions DIY
* Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Samoa Joe
– Speaking of Tajiri, he will make his regular WWE return on next week’s edition of 205 Live. Below is a promo for his return:
– John Cena and Dean Ambrose defeated WWE IC Champion The Miz and WWE Champion AJ Styles in the dark main event of last night’s SmackDown in Chicago. Below are some photos:
