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.
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.
The following are highlights of a new blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On his upcoming MMA broadcasting debut: “In my spare, time I am doing research on my first MMA play by play assignment which will be next Friday October 3 from Tulsa and on PPV produced by Battle Ground MMA where I will partner with Chael Sonnen on the broadcast that features the return of the one night, 8 Man Single Elimination Tournament with the winner earning 50K. This event is being carried by many major cable systems and I hope that you will give us a shot on what will be an unpredictable, exciting. night. This is going to be a down and dirty night of fights in the cage That begins at 10 eastern/9 Central time.
I have many, great friends in the MMA world helping me prepare for this long awaiting, eagerly anticipated opportunity.”
On a new trend in main event matches in wrestling: “What started the trend that it takes a main event level talent using their finish MULTIPLE times on another top hand to win a match? Why is that lame trend on going? If one has to use their vaunted finish multiple times to beat another talent then is is really one’s finish?
If the in ring psychology was more refined and made more common sense, we wouldn’t be seeing someone have to take another’s go to finish multiple times to lose. For those who think that matter helps a match then they are out of touch with the genre. It’s all about protecting the loser obviously instead of it being all about getting the winner truly over.”
On Sting to WWE debates: “Is there really a debate that Sting should or should not compete at WM31? Really? Seems like a no brainer to me. The second part of our Sting conversation on the Ross Report had approximately 1.5M downloads and that number is still growing. That specific market research says there is an interest in WWE fans wanting to see the Stinger have his WrestleMania Moment. I see the WM31 card being an ensemble type show and any one who thinks that Sting can’t contribute to that ensemble is out of touch.”
On Brock Lesnar/HIAC rumors: “Some are saying that no Brock Lesnar at this year’s HIAC in Dallas? That’s the rumor and a head scratcher.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
With WWE Hell in a Cell still a month away and no matches announced for the show as of this writing, WWE reportedly has the three top matches for the show planned out.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view will feature John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose in the opening match, with the winner going on to face Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell. The loser of Cena vs. Ambrose will wrestle Randy Orton later on the show, also inside the Cell.
There is a lot that can be taken from these planned matches. Clearly, the absence of Roman Reigns has created an opening for Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to be featured more prominently. WWE began teasing tension between Ambose and Cena on Monday’s RAW. Ambrose wrestling Cena on pay-per-view in a Hell In A Cell match shows the company is committed to give Ambrose a chance to prove himself as an upper-card singles star. The fact that the winner of that match goes on to face Seth Rollins (with Randy Orton being the consolation prize) shows how management currently views those two competitors.
As noted earlier, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is not booked for the show.
– For trivia buffs out there, last night’s WWE Night Of Champions show marked the first WWE pay-per-view event since SummerSlam 2013 that Roman Reigns did not wrestle a match on. Additionally, last night was the first PPV that Bray Wyatt did not compete on since the Hell In A Cell 2013 show.
– Courtesy of Michael Moody and HollymoodEntertainment.com, below is the edited, condensed and re-released version of the main trailer for the marijuana documentary titled, ‘The Emperor, The President & The King’ which features Rob Van Dam and other celebrities.
Chris Jericho held a live Q&A on Twitter on Sunday night. Below are some highlights.
– He said Triple H was his biggest guest and best interview on his podcast so far. He said the ratings for his HHH interview are insane. He also mentioned that the next 12 weeks worth of “Talk Is Jericho” guests are planned out and he has some “amazing” names scheduled.
– He said Fozzy is working on a huge U.K. tour that will be announced in the near future.
– He confirmed that he will not be part of the WWE’s U.K. tour in November. He also confirmed that he won’t be wrestling at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
– He said if Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were still alive today they would still be “kicking ass” and “working behind-the-scenes.”
You can check out more from Jericho’s Twitter Q&A at @IAmJericho.
– As noted recently, Brock Lesnar is being advertised locally for the October 21st edition of WWE SmackDown, which is the final edition of the show before the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. According to WWE officials, the reports are untrue and Lesnar is not scheduled to appear at the SmackDown taping.
– The WWE Magazine officially shut down on Thursday. The final issue of the magazine is scheduled to be released on September 16th.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is being advertised for the October 21st edition of WWE SmackDown, which is being taped in Wichita, Kansas and is also the final taping before the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
– As noted recently, “Shocked Undertaker Guy” was hired by WWE for an animated series. The series is a new WWE.com feature, which you can check out at WWE.com. Below is the official synopsis for the first episode, “Cheap Pops”:
“Watch what happens when Daniel Bryan faces more than one Kane, Adam Bomb goes to the doctor and Brock Lesnar goes hunting on the first episode of WWE’s new animated series, “Cheap Pops!””
– The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
-Tyler Breeze vs. Angelo Dawkins
-Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte
-The Ascension vs. an enhancement team
-Bull Dempsey & Mojo Rawley vs. The Mechanics (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
-Tyson Kidd vs. Adam Rose
– The WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view pre-sale for tickets begins this Friday at 9am EST. with the code CHAMP. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Saturday morning.
WWE Hell In A Cell 2014 takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, October 26, 2014.
It’s looking more and more like the rumored Roman Reigns vs. Triple H showdown will be taking place at either the Night Of Champions pay-per-view, or the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Originally, Reigns vs. HHH was scheduled for SummerSlam, however, as previously reported, it’s looking like Reigns vs. Randy Orton is the plan for that show.
WWE is looking to stack the deck at Night Of Champions, as that’s when the initial six-month WWE Network subscriptions expire. As a result, the Reigns-HHH match was likely pushed back in the plans, as to schedule it so that it happens when Network subscriptions are up for renewal.
Additionally, the thought process is that Night Of Champions or Hell In A Cell would be closer to WrestleMania 31, where the idea is to push Reigns into the top baby face spot.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has commented on reports that WWE wanted him to come out of retirement for a match against his former student, Daniel Bryan.
The speculation began after last October’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view when Michaels, who was serving as the guest referee in Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship match against Randy Orton, cost Bryan the title. According to HBK, there were no plans for him t get back in the ring.
On Jim Ross’ Ross Report podcast, Michaels said the topic would come up regularly whenever he would attend WWE shows, but not from high-ranking WWE officials. In the nearly 5 years since he officially retired, at no point has he given WWE any indication that he would wrestle again. Shawn added that proposed the angle on RAW where Daniel Bryan put him the Yes Lock to get revenge.
Part 2 of Shawn Michaels’ appearance on Jim Ross’ Ross Report podcast is now online and can be heard at PodcastOne.com.
On paper, last night’s card seemed like nothing to write home about. After all, Daniel Bryan was defending his title against a superstar who peaked a decade ago, Bray Wyatt and John Cena were meeting in a rematch from WrestleMania, and other than Evolution vs. the Shield, the rest of the matches seemed like they could turn out to be throwaway contests. The event was basically the furthest thing from a throwaway, however, as it was a well-executed pay-per-view that was filled with worthwhile matches.
The Hounds of Justice stole the show during the match of the night.
Evolution vs. the Shield was the clear highlight of the night, as expected. Each superstar involved in the match put on an excellent show, but the star of the match was without a doubt Seth Rollins. While Triple H, Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose were battling in the crowd, Rollins dove from the top of the entranceway to take out his Evolution foes, allowing for Roman Reigns to handle Batista in the ring and secure a Shield victory. The match was perfectly executed and is an immediate match of the year contender.
The main event between Daniel Bryan and Kane greatly exceeded expectations. This one seemed like it could be forgettable, as the outcome was never really in doubt and Kane is not exactly a main event superstar anymore. However, both superstars performed well together and the backstage spots were something that resembled contests from the Attitude Era.
In the end, the match even involved a flaming table, although the crew botched this spot a bit by running in with the extinguishers before Kane was even on fire, but hey, what can you do? Overall, it was a great culmination to the night and certainly much better than I was anticipating.
The following is an updated list of official dates and locations for WWE’s pay-per-view events all the way through WrestleMania 31.
May 4th – Extreme Rules, IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ
June 1st – Payback, Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL
June 29th – Money In the Bank, TD Garden in Boston, MA
July 20th – Battleground, Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, FL
August 17th – SummerSlam, Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
September 21st – Night of Champions, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
October 26th – Hell In A Cell, American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
November 23rd – Survivor Series, Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO
December 14th – TLC, Quickens Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
January 25th – Royal Rumble, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA
February 22nd – Elimination Chamber, Fedex Forum in Memphis, TN
March 29th – WrestleMania 31, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA
This Sunday, the WWE will hold its annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view. However, upon glancing at the card, something immediately stands out: a noticeable lack of extreme.
With the card seemingly set (assuming a Tag Team Championship match between the Usos and Rybaxel isn’t added last minute), only two matches on the entire seven-match card feature stipulations that are even slightly extreme (not counting the inevitable dud between El Torito and Hornswoggle on the pre-show).
Sunday’s contest between Daniel Bryan and Kane is one of only two matches on the card featuring extreme rules.
Those matches are of course the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kane, which will be fought under no-holds barred rules, and the cage match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. Even the six-man tag between Evolution and the Shield has not been announced as an extreme rules match, although that could change between now and Sunday.
This Sunday’s card highlights the problem with holding themed pay-per-views. How can the company possibly market an event under the name Extreme Rules and then hold one match that is actually extreme (the WWE Title contest) and one (the cage match) that is billed as extreme, but is in fact usually tamer than the pit at a Justin Bieber concert.
It is especially difficult during the PG Era to hold an event such as this one, as most of the matches that could have been utilized (first blood match, inferno match, casket match, etc.) are now essentially banned, leaving creative with few options other than a typical no-holds barred match and TLC type matches that are already featured on other pay-per-views throughout the year. In short, the event does not offer anything unique.
The key objective in WWE doing a feud between The Shield and the reunited Evolution faction is apparently to establish Roman Reigns as a top singles competitor and get him into a match with Triple H.
As previously reported, the original idea is for the rumored HHH vs. Reigns bout to take place at SummerSlam, although there is a possibility that it won’t happen until Hell In A Cell or Survivor Series, depending on how long the story between the two plays out.
– The official WWE website has a new featured article looking at the 15 “freakiest falls” of all-time. To the surprise of nobody, Mick Foley’s tumble off the top of the Hell In A Cell at the 1998 “King Of The Ring” pay-per-view came in at number one. Foley was quoted in the article as saying the following: “I think that I created a moment that was impossible to top and a moment that shouldn’t be topped. So many of the Superstars want to give people moments that they’ll never forget, but we don’t want to give them moments that could end Superstars’ careers. Mine easily could have ended that night in Pittsburgh.”
– The official WWE Twitter account tweeted a photo of Triple H giving a speech to the NXT roster during Friday’s television tapings at Winter Park, Florida. You can check that out below.
WWE released their Q4 2013 and Full Year financial results on Thursday morning. Here are the final pay-per-view buy rates:
Battleground in October: 114,000
Hell in a Cell in October: 228,000 (up from 199,000 in 2012)
Survivor Series in November: 177,000 (down from 208,000 in 2012)
TLC in December: 181,000 (up from 175,000 in 2012)
Without factoring in WWE Battleground (which was a new pay-per-view in 2013), WWE sold 586,000 buyrates in the quarter, up from 582,000 in 2012.
The buyrate for Hell in a Cell was the show’s best since it debuted in 2009 – and the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton main event outdrew the John Cena vs. Randy Orton WWE World Heavyweight Championship Unification match by a wide margin (26%).
Overall, you can see that pay-per-view is no longer a growth sector for WWE, which makes it an opportune time for WWE to transition those shows to the WWE Network.
WWE released its monthly business figures today at Corporate.WWE.com, including preliminary buyrates for October’s Battleground and Hell in a Cell pay-per-views.
The exact numbers were not revealed, but a chart in the report shows that Battleground was the least-ordered WWE pay-per-view of the year.
The two shows averaged 167,000 buys – with Battleground around 150,000 and Hell in a Cell around 200,000 buys.
Battleground was headlined by Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship, which ended with Big Show knocking out both men.
Hell in a Cell was headlined by a Bryan vs. Orton cage match, with Shawn Michaels as special referee.
Here is a chart showing the past 3 years of WWE PPV buyrates (click to enlarge), including Battleground and Hell in a Cell:
-Despite the finish at WWE Hell In A Cell pointing in the direction, there are no plans for Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement and wrestle an actual match. Apparently HBK was swearing to everyone backstage at the show on Sunday niight that he’s not coming back for another match, nor was there any real talk from WWE management on at Hell In A Cell about that happening.
-One source within WWE claims that the expectation for tonight’s RAW rating is a 3.0, due to the Shawn Michaels appearance stemming from the Hell In A Cell main event angle, as well as John Cena’s first live appearance on RAW in the past few months. RAW tonight goes up against the MLB World Series.
-WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair is scheduled to make an appearance at a mixed-martial-arts event in Florida on Saturday, November 23rd. The MMA Unleashed promotion announced that Flair will be appearing at a pre-show meet-and-greet at the event scheduled for the Charlotte Harbor Event Center in Punta Gorda, Florida. For more information, visit XSELive.com.
-The official WWE website has released a number of storyline-driven interviews following Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in Miami, Florida. Included were Cody Rhodes and Goldust, who talk about their defense of the WWE Tag-Team Championships on Sunday night, AJ Lee vowing to be the WWE Divas Champion forever and Fandango talking about his “secret weapon,” Summer Rae, and their victory in the mixed-tag-team match at Hell In A Cell. You can check out all of these interviews online at WWE.com.
-WWE is advertising Shawn Michaels for tonight’s post-PPV edition of WWE RAW. As noted previously, Michaels played a big role in the Hell In A Cell main event, ultimately costing his former student, Daniel Bryan, the WWE Championship after hitting him with a super-kick on Sunday night.
-As previously reported, John Cena is advertised to work a match against Alberto Del Rio (likely a dark match) on this Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown television taping. The new World Heavyweight Champion is also being advertised for next Tuesday night’s SmackDown taping, as WWE attempts to create more interest in that brand now that Cena holds the major title most associated with it.
-WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio made his WWE pay-per-view return on Sunday night as he working the Spanish commentary during the show. Other than doing commentary, nothing was done to set up a future storyline for Mysterio.
-WWE Superstar Kane made his official return to WWE on Sunday night as he made the save for The Miz during an attack from The Wyatt Family, and then chokeslammed Miz for no apparent reason afterwards. As noted, WWE is likely building towards a Kane vs. Bray Wyatt match at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. The match was in jeopardy at one point, with Wyatt suffering a leg injury at a WWE live event, however all reports point to the fact that Wyatt should be ready to work matches again by the time the pay-per-view rolls around.
The infamous Reddit user, Dolphins1925, once again correctly predicted all of the match outcomes for a WWE pay-per-view on Sunday. The only thing Dolphins missed was his prediction that Damien Sandow would cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase after the John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio World Heavyweight Championship match.
The predictions made by Dolphins followed the betting lines for the top matches, which included a major shift for the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton match on the day of the event. Bryan opened as a solid favorite, reaching as high as (-2,000) before becoming a huge underdog (+1,400) on Sunday night.
Dolphins correctly picked Orton over Bryan, Rhodes Brothers over The Shield and The Uso’s, CM Punk over Ryback & Paul Heyman, AJ Lee over Brie Bella, Los Matadores over The Real Americans and John Cena over Alberto Del Rio.
Regarding the incorrect prediction that Sandow would cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase, Dolphins claimed it was “merely misinformation from my source,” or the possibility that WWE changed their plans after he tweeted out the spoiler.
