WWE Fastlane was held in Memphis last night at the FedEx Forum. It was a fitting venue, seeing as they pretty much mailed it in for most of the night. After a night of action, we now have a pretty clear idea of what WrestleMania will look like in five weeks. Here are the pros and cons from last night’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view.
Pros
After a night of non-finishes and botched endings, the main event between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns was an absolute treat. These two guys started off a bit slow, but once they got going, they really gelled well. Bryan’s wrestling style went so well with the brawling style of Reigns, and it was nice to see both guys getting support from the crowd.
A few of the highlights included Reigns countering Bryan’s dive to the floor into an overhead belly to belly suplex, Bryan countering the spear into a beautiful small package, and also Reigns turning a potential hurricanrana into a brutal powerbomb from the top rope. These two also employed some solid in-ring psychology due to Reigns selling Bryan’s kick to the liver as he tried to hit a Superman punch. Overall, it was an exciting match, both guys looked great, it ended clean, and it’s always nice to see a main event end in a handshake.
The tag team match was a close second for match of the night. These two teams have so much chemistry and it’s really a pleasure to watch them do their thing. Cesaro’s half crab Cesaro swing was cool, as was the combination of Cesaro’s suplex from the apron into a springboard from Kidd.
The Usos looked good as well, teaming up for a double team Samoan drop that I don’t recall seeing them bust out before. In the end, new champions were crowned after Kidd picked up the victory with a swinging fisherman suplex. After their victory, it was nice to find out that they are “still the new WWE Tag Team Champions” (perhaps suggesting the outcome was changed last minute, as the odds shifted after the “smart money” was in).
The Bray Wyatt segment was enjoyable. He had the crowd going nuts in anticipation of the Phenom, only to shatter their dreams by popping out of the coffin. Wyatt called himself “the new face of fear,” and said: “At WrestleMania, I will claim the soul of the Undertaker.” This feud should be entertaining, but it would have been nice to see Wyatt play up the fact that fans weren’t getting ‘Taker, as the company needs more dislikable heels right now.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about the Sting and Triple H segment, so I’ll go ahead and put it in the pros section. Triple H of course continued to bury a long dead company, stating: “My legacy is putting your legacy out of business.” He also threatened Sting with the Benoit treatment, saying he would wipe him from the history books if he didn’t cooperate. It was cool to see Sting use his signature black bat though, and Hunter was very intense throughout the segment. Overall, it could have been better, but it was a decent setup for their match at WrestleMania.
Finally, the Rusev and John Cena match was far from perfect, but it worked out well. There was some hard-hitting action throughout, including a big spinning side slam from Rusev. The action was slow-paced and methodical, but it was entertaining for the most part. It of course ended in another non-clean finish, but it worked well in this case. I have to say, seeing Cena stagger out of the arena was pretty satisfying, even though it means he will definitely get redemption at WrestleMania.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes announced on social media that he will be attending tonight’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view, which features a battle of his sons as Goldust takes on Stardust. Rhodes tweeted the following:
– The following is the official synopsis for tonight’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which goes head-to-head with the Fastlane show.
“Mo’ Money, Mo’ Purses: Nattie renovates her mom’s house; Brie tries to help with Nicole’s out-of-control spending habits; and Eva Marie starts to fear the worse for her dad’s health, and so she comes up with a Vegas bucket list for him.”
During this week’s WWE SmackDown television taping, which took place on Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a new singles match was made official for WWE Fastlane.
In a long-awaited battle between brothers, Goldust and Stardust will meet one-on-one at this Sunday’s pay-per-view following their breakup at this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
Make sure to join us here at the website for live WWE Fastlane play-by-play results coverage this Sunday night.
As the entire northeast freezes under a mountain of snow, the WWE decided to dip down to Orlando in an attempt to heat things up heading into Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view. The show featured eight matches, as well as appearances from Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler was pure gold. Before the match, the two engaged in a hilarious back and forth, with Rollins laying down some burnsauce by telling Ziggler: “I know you fancy yourself a comedian but the only thing funny about you is that joke you call a career.” It was also hilarious to hear Ziggler question whether J&J getting him the wrong chocolates ruined his Valentine’s Day. Something tells me his Valentine’s Day was ruined for other reasons… As for the match, it was fast paced, full of spots, and exactly what you’d expect from two of the best workers in the business. Other than the J&J interference and non-finish, this was pretty much perfect on every level. I suspect a match between these two will be added to Fastlane after Smackdown. Here’s to hoping they give these guys 15 minutes and let them tear the house down. Highlight of the night by far.
I enjoyed the Dusty Rhodes backstage segments. The match between the New Day and Gold and Stardust was also nice, as it served as a nice juxtaposition between the brawling opening contest between Ambrose and Harper. Following the match, Stardust attacked his brother and called Dusty a “polka-dotted freak of a father.” I’ll admit, they’ve dragged this out forever and I wasn’t too excited at first, but I’m now getting into it.
Roman Reigns was the man last night. He sounded like a completely different person during his backstage interview before his match with Kane. His calm, confident, and collected demeanor is a stark contrast from the nervous guy we saw out there a few weeks ago talking about beanstalks while stumbing over every other word. His match with Kane was actually decent too, with Reigns winning via countout after hitting a big Spear. Daniel Bryan was on commentary during the match, with he and Reigns playing off of one another very well. It was also humorous to hear Michael Cole state: “Daniel Bryan is trying to steal Roman Reigns’ thunder. Roman Reigns just beat Kane, guys!” That means about as much as beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015.
For a comedy segment, the Paige bit was actually hilarious. The outfit was funny, it actually served some sort of purpose in furthering her feud with Nikki Bella, the fans seemed to be enjoying it, and the match with Summer Rae was good for the time they were given.
The Dean Ambrose “weekend update” promo, where the Lunatic Fringe was parked at a desk looking like a shady used car dealer, was also entertaining. His match with Luke Harper featuring some nice, brawling action and was a good opening contest. JBL’s “we’ve got an air psycho” line had me cracking up, and his plot to force Barrett to sign the contract for Sunday was perfect. Nobody in the midcard deserves the IC Title more than Ambrose, and it looks like he’s going to find a way to capture the gold on Sunday.
Bray Wyatt’s promos are starting to become a bit repetitive, but I still enjoyed his work this week. He once again attacked the Undertaker, stating: “You’re an empty shell, and any fear that I once of you has turned into nothing more than putrid, hateful pity.” I can’t wait to see this program.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes recently gave the official creative booking book from the 1986 Great American Bash to Triple H as a present. Triple H tweeted the following photo of the two together with the historical book:
– Speaking of Rhodes, as noted earlier today, “The American Dream” is scheduled to appear on Monday’s RAW to join in on the ongoing Goldust-Stardust storyline. Dusty posted the following follow-up tweet on Twitter regarding the appearance.
It's hard times for the Rhodes family . This Monday on Raw I will settle things with both my Boys
Jim Ross shared his thoughts on several segments and matches from Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in the latest blog posted on his official website.
Below are highlights:
On Roman Reigns’ promos: “Thought Roman Reigns mic work showed improvement. He seems to be the kind of talent who works much better with a bullet point format than adding the additional challenge of ‘remembering his lines’ to the always challenging promo facet of one’s game in the biz. Mic work doesn’t happen over night and too many fans show no patience while these skills are being developed. Reigns is far from the only talent on RAW that needs to work on that phase of their game. It’s an on going process that doesn’t come naturally for every talent. Reigns has great presence and knows that he has to become more proficient with his verbal game and I’m confident that will occur in time.”
On Goldust & Stardust breaking up: “The apparent soon to break up, or not, Goldust and Stardust duo have more interest in their team than any team on the roster or so it seems to me. Seems as if this pair has been on again and off again for weeks but I’m interested in them.”
On the Sting segment on RAW: “Didn’t have any issues with the Sting-HHH presentation but in hindsight I did not need to see the image of Sting entering the ring. Thought the graphics and overall video production was excellent. Looking forward to this confrontation.”
On Rikishi’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction: “It seems that no matter who is announced to be inducted into the WWE HOF some fans simply cannot be satisfied or happy and instead make the announcement about someone that they feel has been passed over or is more deserving. Has anyone been really passed over as anyone not inducted still has a viable chance in being honored in the future. I’m happy for Rikishi and his family.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– The Usos are expected to induct their father Rikishi into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
– There was no dark main event after last night’s RAW. There was a brief comedy segment with Daniel Bryan and Jamie Noble.
– As seen on last night’s RAW, The Miz bragged that he invented the Figure Four leglock. Ric Flair’s daughter, NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte, called him out on Twitter:
– In the Fallout video from last night’s RAW, Goldust addresses the issues with his brother Stardust. Goldust says he doesn’t want to see Cody fall into the same trap that he once did.
– After Stardust walked out on Goldust during a match on SmackDown last night, WWE.com is teasing if brothers will be splitting up:
“Whether Gold & Stardust’s recent troubles can be chalked up to a sibling drama, competitive tag team partners frustrated with losing or something deeper, only time will tell if a breakup is written in the stars for the talented tag team partners. Don’t miss Raw this Monday night at 8/7c to see what’s next for Gold & Stardust.”
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett tweeted the following about his new TMZ-inspired “BNZ” segment:
#BNZ. First for gossip, WWE breaking news, and Superstar scandals. Stay tuned.
– Courtesy of WrestlingDVDNews.com, Seth Rollins talks about his FCW feud with former Shield member Dean Ambrose from WWE’s upcoming “Destruction of The Shield” DVD and Blu-ray that comes out on February 17th:
After being postponed last week due to snow, the good ole live, in-ring version of Raw was back last night, emanating from the Mile High City. The company was back in full force, with Triple H making a “major announcement” and a big main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Anytime you get two guys with this type of talent in the same ring, you know you’re in for a treat. They certainly didn’t disappoint either, pulling off a number of impressive spots and exhibiting impeccable chemistry. The spot of the match was probably Rollins countering Bryan’s Running Knee finisher into a Powerbomb. In the end, Bryan picked up the win and will face Roman Reigns at Fast Lane for a chance to go to WrestleMania (more on this later).
The second best part of the night was probably the segment involving Curtis Axel and Dean Ambrose. It’s sad when the first thing Axel has to say when coming out is, “Don’t change the channel.” It’s like he’s a mind reader or something. Anyway, it was hilarious to see Ambrose quickly toss Axel over the top rope before telling him he’s now eliminated. Even more exciting was that Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett. This is a program that really needs to happen, as Ambrose is the type of guy who could bring some prestige back to the Intercontinental Title after the company has played hot potato with it over the past few years.
Bray Wyatt had a big night. His match with Dolph Ziggler was incredible, and it was nice to see two guys who don’t work together much get a chance to shine. Wyatt hit a devastating Sister Abigail that Ziggler sold better than anyone to end the match. Later in the night, he cut a promo saying things like, “I am the new face of fear” and, “We cannot wait to see you again.” It looks like they are going with the rumored Wyatt/Taker program for WrestleMania and I, for one, cannot wait. If only they had gone this route last year instead of wasting the streak on a part-timer…
Rusev’s beating of Rowan and post-match promo was money. I absolutely love this guy and he played off of the Russian flag miscue perfectly. Please push this guy to the top and don’t feed him to Cena.
Jimmy Uso and Cesaro looked great together. The highlights were a Cesaro Swing into a Half Crab and a brutal uppercut to end the contest. It was nice to see Cesaro pick up a victory, but the only downside was that they are already teasing tension between Cesaro and Kidd. I’d like to see these guys stick together for a while and get a run with the titles.
Finally, the Miz/Mizdow promo was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see the Miz berate his now former stunt double and put the wheels in motion for a breakup. Here’s to hoping for a payoff at WrestleMania.
– The dark match main event after last night’s live editio of WWE SmackDown saw John Cena and Dean Ambrose defeat Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt in tag-team action.
– The first of a three-part SmackDown Fallout for this week, which you can watch below, features Goldust telling Stardust to get his head on straight. Whether or not this is the beginning of a Goldust vs. Stardust feud, which has been rumored for quite some time, remains to be seen.
– In part two of this week’s SmackDown Fallout, which you can see below, Seth Rollins complains about Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and Erick Rowan getting into his business again.
– Finally, in the third and final portion of this week’s SmackDown Fallout, Kane rises from the casket after being defeated by Daniel Bryan.
There’s talk in WWE this week about Goldust retiring soon and making the transition back to a full-time producer/agent.
WWE is looking at fading away the team of Goldust and Stardust. Stardust would go back to being a singles wrestler. No word on if he’ll go back to being Cody Rhodes or if he’ll keep the Stardust gimmick. Both Dustin and Cody Rhodes were trying to get a brother vs. brother match for last year’s WrestleMania. There’s no word on if the company is planning on doing it this year but it’s a possibility.
Mark Henry hinted at retirement this week at the WrestleMania press conference in Dallas and seemed to indicate that next year’s WrestleMania 32 might be his last.
The following was taped on Tuesday night for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event in Austin, Texas.
– JBL and Tom Phillips came out to a good reaction from the crowd.
– Kofi Kingston def. Tyson Kidd with a roll-up after countering a Sharpshooter attempt. Adam Rose and Cesaro, who were at ringside, joined in to beat down The New Day afterwards.
– The Miz and Damien Mizdow def. Los Matadores when Miz hit his Skull Crushing Finale for the 1-2-3.
– Natalya def. Summer Rae in Divas action.
– Bray Wyatt def. Jack Swagger with his Sister Abigail finisher for the pin.
– The Usos def. Goldust and Stardust in a non-title match, which served as the main event of the taping.
The following matches were taped on Monday in Corpus Christi, Texas prior to RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
– Jack Swagger def. Titus O’Neil in singles action to start the taping. This was said to be a decent match that held the crowd’s interest. In the end, Swagger got O’Neil in the Patriot Lock to force the tap.
– Goldust & Stardust def. Los Matadores in tag-team action to close out the show. This was mostly a comedy match with a lot of entertaining and fun spots. The match finished with Stardust hitting his kick-finisher, which led to Goldust getting a roll-up for the 1-2-3.
The following are WWE Main Event taping results for this coming Tuesday’s show on the WWE Network. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
– Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated Los Matadores. Cesaro and Kidd dominated most of the match and got the win with a powerbomb from Cesaro while Kidd performed a flip into a neckbreaker off the top rope.
– Brie Bella beat Summer Rae. Brie hit her running knee and a missile dropkick for the win.
– Big E defeated Stardust (w/Goldust). Starust went to the ropes for the Beautiful Disaster kick, but Goldust accidentally knocked him off the ropes. Big E used the Big Ending to get the win.
– Luke Harper defeated Jack Swagger in a really good match. They both kicked out of the others big moves but Harper won with a huge clothesline.
The final pay-per-view of 2014 is only a few hours away, and there should be enough tables, ladders, and chairs to fill a large dining hall. (I’m not entirely sure that I’ve seen a ladder in a college dining hall, but whatever.) The card will feature a total of nine matches, including a main event featuring Seth Rollins and John Cena. With that said, here are my predictions for this Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.
The New Day vs. Gold and Stardust
The New Day hasn’t done much since returning from a brief hiatus, as they’ve been largely relegated to SmackDown and other programs that aren’t worth watching. However, they’ve looked impressive the few times they’ve been on Raw and all three are above average workers. The New Day has more to gain from a win here, so I’m expecting Big E finish off Stardust after hitting the Big Ending.
Winners: The New Day by pinfall
Ryback vs. Kane (Chairs Match)
Each December, fans can usually look forward to a Chairs Match at TLC. It’s like receiving a Christmas gift you didn’t request or care to receive. You put a smile on your face, do your best to enjoy it, but nine times out of ten, it ends in disappointment. This year’s edition should be no different. Nobody would want to see these guys square off in a singles contest, and throwing a few chairs into the mix will do little to save it. Ryback will win after a “brutal” match where the two exchange chair shots to the back for ten minutes.
Winner: Ryback by pinfall
The Miz and Damien Mizdow (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Usos
This contest should be an entertaining way to fill ten to fifteen minutes of the midcard. Mizdow is perhaps the hottest thing in WWE right now, so I expect he and the Miz to go over. However, it likely won’t be without some dissension. Overall, this should be an entertaining contest with a lot of back and forth action. If booked correctly, it should advance the tension between Miz and Mizdow, hopefully leading to a payoff at WrestleMania.
– WWE has started shipping out re-printed copies of their new Sting DVD and Blu-ray to stores. It was reported a while back that the back-cover of the DVD mistakenly included a photo of the “fake Sting” (the “nWo Sting”), however the new copies that were sent out corrected the mistake and now features a photo of Sting and Bret Hart.
– It looks like Kofi Kingston and Big E. will be the two members of “A New Day” that will be facing Goldust and Stardust this Sunday at the WWE TLC event.
– It was announced during Monday’s WWE TLC “go-home,” Slammy Awards-themed edition of RAW that at this Sunday’s pay-per-view in tag-team action, A New Day will square off against Goldust and Stardust.
– Also on Monday’s RAW, the NXT Women’s Champion and Ric Flair’s daughter — Charlotte — made her WWE main roster television debut. Charlotte lost in a close effort against former WWE Divas Champion and Total Divas star, Natalya.
WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt is currently double-booked for the December 29th edition of RAW in Washington, D.C., as well as the rare live event on the same night in Richmond, Virginia. It’s said that there’s a possibility that Wyatt will in fact appear on both shows, as they are only 100 miles apart.
Other names advertised for the live event instead of RAW that night, which will be the final edition of RAW for 2014, are Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, The Usos, Kane, Goldust and Stardust. Whether or not the final RAW will go off without all of those top-tier names remains to be seen.
– As noted before, Stardust teased an announcement during Friday’s SmackDown, which ended up being a vignette with his tag-team partner, Goldust. The two cut a promo about “darkness,” noting that “darkness falls on the new day.”
Due to the phrasing, many have speculated that this would mean Goldust and Stardust could be working a program with “A New Day,” the new WWE faction that consists of Big E., Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.
– The latest edition of “WWE Top 10,” which you can check out below, looks at the best fan reactions.
Although the late “smart money” has yet to come in, below are the current online betting odds for tonight’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, which shows the current betting favorites and underdogs.
– Team Cena -505 vs. Team Authority +335
– Nikki Bella -300 vs. AJ Lee +220
– Dean Ambrose -170 vs. Bray Wyatt +130
– The Miz & Damien Sandow -190 vs. Goldust & Stardust +160 vs. The Usos +210 vs. Los Matadores +350
– Team Natalya -125 vs. Team Paige -115
Remember, a (-) indicuates a betting favorite, while a (+) indicates an underdog. For example, in the main event, with Team Cena being (-505), it would take a $505 bet to earn $100 in profits. With Team Authority at (+335), a $100 bet would earn you $335 profit.
Make sure to check out the website later tonight for the best WWE Survivor Series live pay-per-view results coverage on the web!
Survivor Series is mere hours away at this point. This baby is totally free, so anyone paying for this pay-per-view is doing it all wrong. In total, there are five matches on the main card, including a traditional Survivor Series tag team main event. Without further ado, here are my predictions for tonight’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Fandango (with Rosa Mendes) vs. TBA
Although Fandango’s opponent has yet to be announced, I’d put my money on Adam Rose serving as the punching bag. The match will likely be used to further tension between Adam Rose and the Bunny, while also allowing Fandango to pick up a victory in his return to action.
Winner: Fandango by pinfall
Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi, and Natalya vs. Paige, Cameron, Layla, and Summer Rae (Divas Elimination Match)
This will be similar to last year’s Divas elimination match in that it will be total waste of ten minutes (and if we’re really lucky, we might get to see it again on Raw tomorrow!). This could go in many directions, but my guess is that Paige’s team wins after last eliminating Natalya.
Winners: Paige, Cameron, Layla, and Summer Rae by pinfall
The following are results of this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which emanated from Knoxville, Tennessee and aired live on the WWE Network.
– The Usos def. Goldust & Stardust in tag-team action. The match was a non-title bout, which saw Uso hit a superkick and top-rope splash on Stardust for the 1-2-3.
– Alicia Fox def. Paige in Divas action. Paige dominated most of the action, however Fox rolled her up out of nowhere for the pinfall victory.
– Renee Young interviewed Adam Rose backstage. The Bunny was also there. Young shows footage of The Bunny humping Rose on RAW. Rose talks about finding The Bunny broke in Times Square. He tells The Bunny not to hump anymore, calls himself a god and says it’s his job to put his “creatures” back in their place.
– Tyson Kidd & Natalya def. Adam Rose & The Bunny in an interspecies tag-team match. The finish saw The Bunny accidentally bump Rose to the floor. Kidd slapped the Sharpshooter on The Bunny, Rose teased making the save, but instead backed off and watched as The Bunny tapped out. After the match, Kidd hit The Bunny with a cheap-shot, which Natalya didn’t like.
– Michael Cole provided an injury update on Sheamus. He said that after being put through a table by Mark Henry on RAW, Sheamus has a number of neck and nerve injuries, which are bad enough that he will not be able to compete at Survivor Series.
– Bray Wyatt cuts an in-ring promo. He talks about the match with Dean Ambrose this Sunday at Survivor Series. He said Ambrose turned his back on him and made a mockery of him, and said because of that, there will be repercussions. He says they could have ruled the world together.
– Bray Wyatt def. Jack Swagger in the main event of the show. It was a competitive match which saw Swagger hit a Swagger Bomb and lock in the Patriot Lock on Wyatt, but ultimately Wyatt fought his way out and nailed Swagger with Sister Abigail for the pin. Prior to hitting his finisher on Swagger, Wyatt yelled out “this is your fate, Dean Ambrose!”