WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is currently scheduled for tonight’s WWE RAW from Orlando, according to a report at PWInsider.com.
Flair is booked for a segment with Triple H to hype Triple H’s meeting with Sting this Sunday at WWE Fast Lane. The idea is for Flair to talk about his own storied history with Sting in hopes of convincing Triple to take him seriously.
The decision to bring Flair in was made over the weekend.
As always, join us here tonight for Live Coverage of WWE RAW.
Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will battle WWE Fast Lane on February 22nd to determine which man will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
The match was set up on RAW after Triple H’s major announcement regarding the controversy surrounding Reigns’ Royal Rumble win. There is a strong argument to be made why both of them are deserving of the title shot. Reigns won the Rumble, albeit with help from The Rock. Daniel Bryan was stripped of the gold last year after he was forced to undergo neck surgery.
No matter who you think deserves the WrestleMania title shot – which of them do you think will actually get it? Vote here:
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On NXT TakeOver: Rival: “Enjoyed the NXT show this week on @WWENetwork from start to finish. The announcing was strong, kept me on point and paying attention. The broadcasters did their best to embellish the talents, both winners and losers, and they all seemed to be on the same page and well prepared.
The in ring talents stayed true to the fundamentals of the genre inasmuch as the villains cheated to gain unfair advantages, were vicious when the opportunity presented itself and showed timely cowardice. The fan favorites did not cheat first and they never gave up on their fans and kept fighting until the end no matter the outcome.
The genre of sports entertainment or pro wrestling or whatever you choose to call it, it essentially a simple business when executed properly and when the fundamentals are stressed and adhered to by all involved including the referees.
I was proud of all involved and love the talent’s aggression and physicality. Being aggressive and physical cures many deficiencies.”
On Kevin Owens: “I think that Kevin Owens is going to be an excellent champion for NXT and he, along with a handful of others are going to be WWE ready much sooner than later. WWE signing some talents with experience from the Indies, etc and then refining their game in Orlando has been a strategic move.”
On WWE Fast Lane: “Some one emailed me at our Q&A’s here that they thought that thee WWE Fast Lane PPV was merely going to be a throwaway show & and I couldn’t disagree more or least it shouldn’t be. I’d shoot some major league angles that would lead into WM31 not unlike any major city who had big wrestling cards every month. Always build to the next show, pose more questions than answers and get down and dirty with your key revenue drivers. The competition to see who is going to be in the WWE Title match at WM31 must be keen because nothing in WWE should be more important to any of the talents than being the champion. Sometimes I don’t get that feeling as unless talents are in the immediate mix for the title they rarely mention it.”
Check out the complete interview at JRsBarBQ.com. You can order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
John Cena is suffering from a legitimate eye injury. The injury is actually a combination of reality and WWE storyline.
Cena first suffered the eye injury at the WWE live events two weekends ago, as it was evident on the February 2nd RAW, but ended up getting worse as time went on.
As a result of the injury, Cena did not wrestle at this past weekend’s live events or at Monday’s RAW.
The injury is said to be a corneal abrasion. They shot an angle on RAW where Rusev went after Cena’s bad eye, but in the end, they ultimately said Cena would be ready for the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view.
Those in the company are under the impression that Cena is cleared to compete as early as the WWE tour of Abu Dhabi.
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, Sting aired a vignette accepting Triple H’s challenge and confirming his appearance for a “face-to-face confrontation” at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view.
– Below is the return vignette for Sheamus that aired on Monday’s RAW.
– WWE confirmed Rikishi as the next official inductee into the 2015 class of the WWE Hall Of Fame. Rikishi’s video package played after The Usos’ match on Monday’s RAW. Once the video was done airing, The Usos, who were still in the ring, applauded their father along with the fans in Columbus.
– It was also confirmed on Monday’s RAW that the match between John Cena and Rusev at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view will in fact be for Rusev’s WWE United States Championship.
– Various cable TV providers are teasing that Sting might answer Triple H’s challenge for a face-to-face meeting at Fast Lane tonight on RAW. It’s unknown whether Sting will accept in person or if they will air a taped statement.
– The next episode of WWE 24 on the WWE Network will debut on Monday, February 23rd after RAW and will focus on WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. The episode is titled, “Sentenced To Greatness.”
– WWE’s latest Canvas 2 Canvas video features artist Rob Schamberger new NXT painting:
Reddit user MetsFan4Ever, a verified WWE insider with a strong track record of breaking news, has posted an update regarding the main event of WWE Fast Lane and more specifically, the rise of Roman Reigns. Here are the main points:
– MetsFan says that it’s “100% confirmed” that Roman Reigns will be defeating Daniel Bryan at WWE Fast Lane. WWE addressed the Rumble controversy and put this obstacle in Reigns’ way as a way to “silence the marks” for a few weeks while they get Reigns over. Regardless of the mixed reactions he’s been getting, ‘Roman is the man and will be headlining WrestleMania and defeating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.”
– Daniel Bryan is considered one of the most physical in-ring workers in WWE, which is why he’s been paired with Roman Reigns. WWE wants Reigns to work with Bryan to get him comfortable working stiff matches ahead of his date with the Beast Incarnate.
– The general feeling amongst WWE management is that fans are going to purchase WrestleMania no matter what and the WrestleMania brand is what sells, not specific matches. MetsFan was told in jest that WWE could put Brock Lesnar vs. Doink the Clown and fans would buy it.
There’s a possibility that plans for a Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler match at WrestleMania 31 may be off.
Some are speculating that once Bryan vs. Roman Reigns was made for the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view in a number one contender’s match that the company had already started heading in a different direction leading into WrestleMania.
While it’s unlikely, there is a possibility that Bryan ends up working against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, however most assume that the main event will remain Reigns vs. Lesnar for the title.
Regarding the Bryan-Ziggler match, there is said to be a reason why WWE has Ziggler teaming up with Ryback for a tag-team match on tonight’s SmackDown show. Apparently there is talk of keeping Ziggler and Ryback as a duo and having them work a tag-team match at WrestleMania 31, which would obviously scrap the possibility of a Bryan-Ziggler singles match.
– Although it was reported on Tuesday via Reddit user “MetsFan4Ever” that WWE officials were considering changing NXT star Kalisto’s gimmick to that of a gay hair stylist, WWE sources reached out today and claimed that is not the case, and that Kalisto will not be changing characters at all.
MetsFan4Ever has since posted an update – stating that his initial report was that the idea was being considered – not that it was definitely happening. It remains to be seen if WWE does pull the trigger on this unique character change, but it was discussed.
– In what could be taken as a sign of a possible Fast Lane spoiler, as of this week the people in charge of handling the actual promotional materials for WrestleMania 31 were still under the impression that Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns will be the main event of the show. In the promotional materials, the workers were told to feature Reigns the most prominently, followed by Lesnar and John Cena.
It’s worth noting that WWE has not included Sting in any of the promotional materials for WrestleMania as of yet, and since he’s all but confirmed for the event, his involvement will likely be a major selling point for the show, so new materials will likely be released in the near future to include him.
As seen on Monday’s RAW, Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns is now set as the main event for the February 22nd WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, with the winner going on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Prior to the Royal Rumble backlash, the original plans for Fast Lane was to have Reigns defeat a top heel, possibly Big Show, in the main event on the show, while Bryan was likely to lose to Bray Wyatt in order to keep Wyatt strong for The Undertaker.
Regarding booking for Bryan, WWE originally wanted to put him in a match with Sheamus at WrestleMania 31, however Bryan himself requested that he work with Dolph Ziggler instead. It’s worth noting that it’s considered possible that Bryan still ends up working with Sheamus, although it is considered unlikely at this point.
The latest edition of Michael Cole’s weekly sit-down video interview with Triple H is now online.
In this week’s installment, the two talked about the recent “Stone Cold Podcast” interview this past Monday night on the WWE Network, where HHH claims that his appearance on the show drew 40 percent more viewers than Vince McMahon’s interview on the show.
When talking about the controversy stemming from the Royal Rumble, “The Game” explained that “backing Roman Reigns into a corner” on Monday’s RAW was done in an attempt to make things fair, as he feels they didn’t get a fair result to the Rumble match this year and the changes they made now makes things fair.
HHH complained some more about The Rock and Sting interfering in his business in recent weeks. He says The Rock is always welcome in the WWE, but not in a way where he interferes in his business. He points out that Rock and Sting are not WWE Superstars.
He continued on the subject of Sting, bringing up their upcoming “face-to-face confrontation” at this month’s Fast Lane pay-per-view. He promises to put an end to their problem if Sting shows up at the pay-per-view, and if he doesn’t, Sting is the coward that he always thought he was.
– As noted recently, Randy Orton has been advertised locally to return at several of the past WWE television tapings, but was held back due to creative decisions made by the company. Orton is being advertised for the February 16th edition of RAW in Orlando, which is the Fast Lane “go-home” edition of the show. With Orton scheduled to return in time for a program at WrestleMania 31, one would assume that if he doesn’t return on the 2/16 RAW show, he will be returning either at the pay-per-view itself, or at RAW the following night.
– The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
– Emma vs. Carmella
– Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament)
– Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
– Hideo Itami vs. Finn Bálor (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender Tournament)
– Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens and Tyson Kidd
Check out the official video promo for tonight’s NXT show below.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross shared his thoughts on last night’s “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H, as well as the changes to the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view in the latest blog posted on his official website.
Below are highlights:
On the “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H: “Enjoyed the Austin-HHH podcast Monday night after RAW on the @WWENetwork and look forward to more programs such as this as they are somewhat easy to produce and more cost efficient than many other original programming concepts. For me the long term key to the Network are the PPV’s and Original Programming. The ideas for original programming are seemingly endless. Both Austin and Triple H were straight forward and once they got on a roll it created some interesting content. I could have easily listened to another hour.”
On WWE Fast Lane changes: “I liked the tweak in the booking as it relates to the the Fast Lane PPV in a few weeks in Memphis as it gets Daniel Bryan back involved, provides multiple ways to go and even potentially positions Reigns as the villain against fan favorite Lesnar. As I said when many fans were knocking themselves out with their uncontrollable knee jerks, the weekly TV between now and WM31 could and should be good programming. I see that happening if the stories are kept simple and not over thought.”
On Chris Benoit in the WWE Hall Of Fame: “The annual Chris Benoit into the WWE HOF topic has reared it’s head again and will likely linger until after the WWE HOF event the night before WM31. I do not endorse Chris, who I hired and had immense respect for until the final days of his life when he murdered his family and then committed suicide. Knowing Chris as I did I feel that he would NOT want to be enshrined into the WWE HOF because of the backlash that it would create and because the story would not be about Chris’s stellar career but instead about the infamous murder/suicide. The entire matter is still a gut wrencher including me representing the WWE at Nancy and Daniel’s funeral services which was a task that was SO hard for me to attend on a personal level. IMO one cannot separate the career of an overachieving athlete from the fact that he murdered his family and then took his own life and no matter the alleged motive.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado, we saw the beginning of several programs leading into the first ever WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, which emanates live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, February 22, 2015.
Below are some confirmed and rumored matches for the show:
Confirmed
– John Cena vs. Rusev
– Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (#1 Contendership Match)
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige (WWE Divas Championship)
– Triple H and Sting face-to-face confrontation
Rumored
– Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Make sure to visit us here on the website on Sunday, February 22, 2015 for the best WWE Fast Lane live results coverage on the web!
– The following is a behind-the-scenes video of the new WWE Immortals mobile video game.
– As noted earlier, Dean Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett on Monday’s RAW, telling him he has his sights set on the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Bad News Barrett responded to Ambrose on Twitter, likely starting a feud between the two for a match at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view. Barrett tweeted the following:
You don't just 'call out' a champion of my calibre. Dean Ambrose can sod off. Get to the back of the line ya dipstick. #BNB
– As seen on Monday’s WWE RAW, Dean Ambrose made it clear that he is going after Bad News Barrett and the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Ambrose is scheduled to begin a program with Barrett, which will likely culminate in an Intercontinental Championship match between the two at the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view.
– The Miz “fired” Damien Mizdow on RAW this week. He then re-hired him and made him his “personal assistant.” As noted recently, there is a good chance that Miz and Mizdow will split and end up feuding with each other heading into this year’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view.
This week’s edition of WWE RAW opened with The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon — making their way down to the ring to make their “major announcement” that will “shake WWE to its’ very core.”
After making a bunch of jokes and bad puns about Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl game, the two showed footage of the Royal Rumble match. Triple H talks about The Rock interfering in the match. He also spoke about his face-to-face confrontation with “The Vigilante” Sting at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view later this month.
Finally, they get to the “major announcement.” On RAW, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins will go one-on-one in a singles match where the winner will go on to face Roman Reigns at the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view. Whoever wins the match at Fast Lane will go on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 31.
We will update you here on the website later tonight when the winner of the Bryan-Rollins match emerges.
– As reported over the weekend, Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler is expected to be the opening match at WrestleMania 31. Like last year, the original plan was for Bryan to wrestle Sheamus at WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan requested to fight Ziggler instead and their discussion on Twitter about a potential match has been part of the updated storyline plans. Expect to see Bryan and Ziggler discussing a WrestleMania match on WWE TV as soon as tonight.
– The upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view on February 22nd will have some stiff competition, with the 87th Academy Awards and UFC’s Fight Night Brazil live event both taking place on the same night.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos are expected to defend against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd at Fast Lane.
– Speaking of Cesaro and Kidd, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was backstage for this weekend’s WWE live event from Calgary and took a photo with the team:
Triple H is the guest on the latest edition of Michael Cole’s weekly sit-down interview for WWE.com.
In this week’s interview, Triple H talks to Michael Cole about the following topics:
– Weather issues resulting in the cancellation of Monday’s post-Royal Rumble edition of WWE RAW, resulting in WWE airing SmackDown live in Hartford, Connecticut on Thursday night.
– The WWE Network reaching one million subscribers, becoming the fastest growing digital streaming subscription service of all-time.
– WWE offering another free month of the WWE Network in February.
– Triple H appearing as the second guest on the “Stone Cold Podcast” live on the WWE Network next Monday night immediately following WWE RAW.
– The next NXT Takeover live special on the WWE Network on Wednesday, February 11th.
– The controversy stemming from last Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view and his big announcement coming up on next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
– His challenge to meet Sting face-to-face at the first ever WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view on Sunday, February 22nd.
Check out the complete Triple H and Michael Cole sit-down video interview at the top of this page.
On the live edition of WWE SmackDown on Thursday night, WWE announced a new title match for the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, which is scheduled for Sunday, February 22nd.
Nikki Bella will be defending the WWE Divas Championship against Paige at the show, which is the final pay-per-view before this year’s WrestleMania 31 event in March.
With the Bella-Paige match announced, below is the latest official lineup for the first-ever WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view event:
– John Cena vs. Rusev
– Triple H and Sting face-to-face confrontation
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige (WWE Divas Championship)
Make sure to join us here on Sunday, Feb. 22nd for the best WWE Fast Lane live results coverage on the web.
– WWE is now advertising a Roman Reigns vs. Big Show in a “Last Man Standing” match for the upcoming Fast Lane pay-per-view on Sunday, February 22nd from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennesse.
Previously, the advertising listed Roman Reigns and John Cena vs. Big Show and Seth Rollins in a tag-team match.
– The Monday Night War debate between Eric Bischoff and Bruce Prichard, which will be moderated by Chris Jericho, takes place on Sunday at Dave & Buster’s on Columbus Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit RFVideo.com.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T appeared on the the Wrestling Compadres Slamcast podcast at Nerdist.com.
One of the most interesting topics discussed was WWE’s decision to discontinue the annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, which is being replaced by a new event this year, Fast Lane.
Stephanie said that it was mostly related to the logistics hanging the chamber structure, which weighs 10 tons. Many arenas across the United States have been adding elaborate high-tech scoreboards above where the ring is set up. It’s become increasingly hard to hang the chamber in those arenas.
She assured the hosts that Fast Lane will still be an exciting event as the last stop on the road to WrestleMania. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We will deliver.”
When I was a youngster, I remember how I used to have to beg my parents to let me order a WWE pay-per-view every once in a while. The thing is, I didn’t mind doing it because I knew that if I ordered the show, whatever feuds were going on at the time would culminate in the matches on the pay-per-view.
These days? Not so much.
I can’t imagine being a kid now-a-days that has to bug your parents to let you buy a WWE pay-per-view, so that you can see your favorite wrestlers finally blow off their program in a match inside the squared circle, only to come out of the show and realize that the next pay-per-view features the same matches.
Basically, your begging and nagging ways sound something like this. “Mom, dad, PLEASE let me buy SummerSlam! It’s the second biggest WWE show of the year and I just HAVE to see John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar!!”
Let’s say you convinced them. Your begging and nagging worked. They let you buy SummerSlam.
Good stuff right? Wrong.
You come out of SummerSlam and head into the following week of WWE television, only to find out that you didn’t see the culmination of the Cena-Lesnar feud at all.
Not even close.
As it turns out, SummerSlam was only the beginning. You find out that a rematch is going to take place between the two at the next WWE pay-per-view, Night Of Champions.
Now what do you do?!
“Mom, dad PLEASE let me buy Night Of Champions! I just HAVE to see John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar!!”
Their response will probably sound something like this. “But Timmy, you said that last time!”
Poor fella.
Now let’s say you figured out a way to order Night Of Champions. You went to a friend’s house, you found an illegal stream online, you robbed a 7/11. You figured it out somehow, someway. Brock Lesnar disappears afterwards, only to re-appear and begin the build-up to what? You guessed it!
Cena vs. Lesnar III at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January.
Do you even bother bugging your folks to let you buy it? Do you even bother going to a friend’s house? Do you even bother risking finding an illegal stream on the internet? Do you even bother risking your butt robbing that 7/11?
At what point do you say enough is enough?
Maybe we’ll find out when the numbers come in for the Rumble, who knows. Be sure to save a couple of bucks, because hell, we might have Cena-Lesnar IV at WWE Fast Lane in February!
Unfortunately, while this isn’t anything new, it seems to be happening more and more lately. The pattern seems to be that wrestler A and wrestler B begin an issue, it boils for four weeks or so and a match takes place at a pay-per-view. Then you turn around and the very next pay-per-view look nearly identical to the previous one.
As I see it, the ONLY silver lining to all of this is this: at least these days when you throw your money down the toilet, you’re only throwing away $9.99 a month!
ZING!
What do you guys think? Let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also add me on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.