The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. For complete spoiler results, click ahead to page two.
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel
– Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara
– Goldust vs. Fandango
– Batista vs. Sheamus
– The Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka
– Jack Swagger vs. Jimmy Uso
– The Miz vs. Mark Henry
– Bray Wyatt vs. Big Show
For complete spoiler results for this week’s WWE SmackDown, click ahead to page two …
While the current tease appears to be Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger at WrestleMania XXX, there is a chance that it may end up being a triple-threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, as Big E. is rumored to be added to that potential match.
The seeds for this scenario playing out started at Monday’s RAW, with Big E. attacking both guys after his match with each of them on the show.
– In a fallout match from the Survivor Series, Jimmy and Jey Uso take on the Real Americans on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars. Plus, Zack Ryder squares off against Fandango. Courtesy of WWE’s YouTube account, here are highlights from both matches.
– WWE rookie Diva Summer Rae celebrated her thirtieth birthday on Thanksgiving Day.
“Being home & being able to spend time with my family made today a great birthday & Thanksgiving,” she wrote on Instagram. “Laying on the couch with the pups, watching movies with the fam, & eating a great meal. Oh & it wouldn’t be complete without my birthday candles in the pumpkin pie!”
– According to WrestlingFigs.com, Rob Van Dam will appear at the Frank & Son’s Collectibles Show tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event takes place at 19649 San Jose Ave. City of Industry, California.
– WWE Superstar The Miz finally made his official heel turn on this week’s “RAW Country” edition of WWE RAW. Miz, who was in a tag-team match with Kofi Kingston against The Real Americans, refused to accept Kingston’s tag at a crucial point in the match. Miz jumped off the apron and left Kingston hanging. Miz had been teasing a heel turn throughout the entire WWE European tour the past few weeks.
– Big E. Langston defeated Curtis Axel to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion on RAW this week. The two had been scheduled to compete several times, including the last pay-per-view Kickoff Show and an episode of WWE Main Event, both of which ended up being cancelled at the last minute.
– It was announced on Monday’s special country-themed edition of WWE RAW that at the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show this Sunday there will be a Hall Of Fame expert panel. Representing the panel for the Kickoff Show will be WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T.
– Also announced on RAW this past Monday night is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between the current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes, and The Real Americans – Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro.
-Originally the plan for WWE Survivor Series was to feature a traditional eight-man elimination match with The Wyatt Family and one other WWE Superstar against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and two other WWE Superstars. According to recent reports, those plans have changed and the new idea is to have Erick Rowan and Luke Harper against Punk and Bryan in a regular tag-team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
-Another match planned for Survivor Series on November 24th is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes and The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. There is a chance that The Usos and The Shield will be added to the match, however that is unofficial at this point.
-In addition to previously reported reasons, the WWE Tag-Team Championship change on RAW on Monday night was done in part because Vince McMahon was reportedly upset that all of the WWE Championships were held by heels.
-Apparently plans are now in place for the Big E. Langston babyface turn. According to reports, Langston is scheduled for a potential run with Curtis Axel for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match may be added to the undercard of the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
-Other matches rumored to be added to the previously announced matches for the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view include AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella for the WWE Divas Championship and The Real Americans vs. Los Matadores.
Tonight at WWE Battleground, Santino Marella and The Great Khali will take on The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro, in a tag team match. The official WWE website announced the bout this morning.
WWE teases, “Will the Real Americans finally be able to break The Italian Stallion, or will Santino’s unorthodox style —and Khali’s brute strength — overwhelm Zeb Colter’s patriotic pair?”
The updated line-up for Sunday’s pay-per-view event taking place in Buffalo, New York at the First Niagara Center is as follows:
* Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship Match)
* World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam (Battleground Hardcore Rules Match for the World Heavyweight Championship)
* CM Punk vs. Ryback
* WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella (WWE Divas Championship Match)
* Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
* WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs. R-Truth (WWE Intercontinental Championship Match)
* Kofi Kingston vs. Bray Wyatt
* Santino Marella and The Great Khali vs. Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro
-WWE has signed the daughter of former pro wrestler Paul Van Dale, Leah Van Damme (Leah Van Dale). Van Dale is a former New England Patriots and Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader. Dale tweeted about being at the WWE Performance Center, writing:
“So pumped to be at the @WWEPerformCtr today! Ready to learn! #wwe #nxt #diva”
-According to reports, there are plans to break up the tag-team of The Real Americans. Apparently WWE feels the “giant swing move” that Antonio Cesaro has been doing lately is a big babyface spot in matches, so they are likely going to be turning Cesaro babyface in the near future.
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans which member of The Shield is most likely to become the first WWE Champion. Roman Reigns is currently leading the poll with 51% of the vote, with Dean Ambrose (35%) and Seth Rollins (14%) trailing.
– This week on WWE Superstars, The Real Americans take on Tons of Funk in the feature match. Plus, Damien Sandow teams up with Big E Langston to take on the team of Justin Gabriel and Zack Ryder. Highlights from both bouts are available below.
– Tonight on SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler faces Dean Ambrose in a Night of Champions rematch for the United States Championship, while WWE COO Triple H will address fans at the top of the show. Click here to read WWE.com’s “SmackDown Five-Point Preview.”
-WWE Hall Of Famer Gerald Brisco noted in a recent interview that WWE is currently scouting Olympic wrestling hopefuls Sunny Dhinsa and Tyrell Fortune. In the case of Dhinsa, he is targeting the 2016 Olympics and has discussed potentially signing with WWE after that. However, Dhinsa has already visited Florida for a tryout of sorts.
-Apparently the reason Jack Swagger wasn’t on any of last week’s WWE television was because they were in Canada, and Swagger was unable to enter the country due to his recent marijuana conviction. WWE explained the absence by claiming Swagger was a “real American” and refused to come to Canada.
-As reported yesterday, WWE has re-hired Shawn “Gavin” Spears to a developmental deal. While Spears had been with the company for years, he apparently received his latest deal due to an impressive showing during his recent WWE tryout.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus announced via her official website that her baby is due next month, and that it will be a baby boy. She also noted that she will be naming the child “Maximum,” or “Max” for short. For more, including photos from her baby shower, visit TrishStratus.com.
-The online pre-sale for the upcoming WWE RAW television show in St. Louis, MO. takes place today. There are two pre-sale passwords fans purchasing tickets today can use, and those are WWERAW and CHAMP.
-As we previously reported, Mark Henry and “surprise guests” are scheduled for the August 22nd WWE NXT television taping from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. WWE has since announced both Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter for the 8/22 NXT taping.
– WWE announced last night that “Gold Rush” by Clinton Sparks featuring 2 Chainz, Macklemore & D.A. is the official theme song for Sunday’s SummerSlam PPV.
– WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler was live tweeting during last night’s RAW and took a shot at Jack Swagger for almost ruining his career.
“Cesaro is all man, swaggs ruined my career jk jk”
hey usos, unless you want a 5 week vaca, dont try and backdrop swaggs….jk jk but seriously, get outta there!!!”
– Here is the latest “Doritos Jacked WWE Fan Correspondent” video from RAW featuring Dolph Ziggler and some of the WWE Divas:
WWE Superstar Jack Swagger is scheduled to go to trial on June 25th in Mississippi, stemming from his February 19th DUI arrest in Gulfport, MS.
Swagger was arrested just 90 minutes after attending a WWE SmackDown taping. Swagger’s charges carry fines of $437 for possession of marijuana, $188 for driving 10 mph over the speed limit and $1,300 for driving impaired on a first DUI offense.
City prosecutor Kirk Clark previously told the Associated Press that he is pushing for the maximum sentence against Swagger, which would land him in jail for two days and require him to take several classes.
– WWE Superstar Jack Swagger has been off television for several weeks now and is not advertised for a WWE show until the end of the month – but it appears Zeb Colter is teasing an appearance from Swagger on RAW. Colter tweeted this week:
DUE TO RECENT CONVERSATIONS WITH #WWE OFFICIALS, #wethepeople WILL BE FORCED TO ALTER OUR STRATEGY. EXPECT IT ON RAW. @RealJackSwagger
Swagger is currently out of action with a hand injury and probably will not be medically cleared to wrestle until the end of August, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– WWE Divas the Bella Twins appeared on last night’s edition of “The Crossover” on NBCSports to promote the upcoming Total Divas reality show on the E! Network. During the interview, the Bellas revealed that their respective relationships with John Cena and Daniel Bryan will in fact be portrayed on the show. Here’s the video:
– Injured WWE Superstar Tyson Kidd was asked by a fan on Twitter when he’ll be returning to action. He replied, “likely another few months.”
– Conspicuously absent from the past 3 weeks of WWE television has been Jack Swagger. Swagger is due back in court on June 25th from his pre-WrestleMania DUI arrest and is not advertised for any upcoming WWE live events until June 29th when WWE is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
– WWE is once again refocusing its efforts on rebuilding the tag team division. With The Shield recentlhy capturing the Tag Team Championships from Team Hell No, WWE is already building up the repackaged Uso’s as their first babyface challengers.
While it’s unknown whether Team Hell No will attempt to recapture their titles (and based on Daniel Bryan breaking out lately, they might not), expect to see more non-title matches from the Prime Time Players, Team Rhodes Scholars and other new tag teams made up of lower & mid-card wrestles.
The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Eric Rowan) will be debuting soon and Harper & Rowan will be another new team in the mix.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Rock’s In-Ring Future: “@TheRock says that he ‘might’ have wrestled his last match. I say its not the season for ‘mights’ and that a performer/athlete like Dwayne Johnson goes out on his terms and not because of a fixable injury.”
Appearing On Steve Austin’s Podcast: “I’m not planning on doing a podcast at this time but will be a guest on @steveaustinBSR podcast in the future.”
WWE PG: “Some fans still believe that a TV rating, specifically TV14, is what makes a wrestling show either good or not. Some fans continue to clamor for WWE to return to a TV14 rating but I don’t see it happening. What made the Attitude Era successful was the talent roster that was dotted with main event level, hungry, competitive athletes who had no issue pushing a peer out of the way to get to the main event level and then fight like hell to stay there. I contend that great talents can make PG rated TV be ultra successful over the long haul if the presentation is smart and strategic.”
Jack Swagger Stepping Up: “I see @RealJackSwagger stepping up his game, especially lately, and @WWEZeb deserves much of the credit. Even a pet coon goofy blind man can see that Swagger is a great athlete but there is more to becoming a star in ring performer than just athleticism of which many of us covet. It’s the intangibles such as in ring psychology that must also be in place. The veteran Zeb looks to be an excellent tutor for the former Sooner wrestling all American.”
On Monday’s post-WrestleMania 29 edition of WWE RAW, Dolph Ziggler finally cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Alberto Del Rio to capture the World Heavyweight championship. There have been many fans emailing in asking if Ziggler’s title win was the result of the extensive re-writes to the RAW script that occurred after The Rock had to pull out of the show due to injury.
According to PWInsider.com, the title change was not a last-minute decision and had been planned for weeks. The reason that Ziggler lost so many matches leading up to WrestleMania is because WWE wanted to set him up as a “vulnerable” champion, with many challengers already lined up because they just beat him.
As for the previous #1 contender, Jack Swagger, there were in fact plans for him to have a World Heavyweight title run. However, his DUI arrest put an end to that scenario.
– Rey Mysterio is currently rehabbing his knee and is scheduled to return to action in June, but the general feeling is that he’s entering the final stage of his in-ring career.
– Jack Swagger could have a tough road ahead when he appears in court on June 25th in Gulfport, MS. A Gulfport prosecutor is seeking the maximum punishment for his DUI charge, which would include 2 days in jail, a $437 fine for marijuana possession, a $1,300 fine for the DUI and a $188 fine for speeding.
– WWE developmental trainer Bill DeMott tweeted praise for NXT wrestler Aiden English:
– As you can imagine, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Brodus Clay, Tensai, The Bella Twins and The Funkadactyls were upset about their WrestleMania 29 match being pulled from the show. Cody Rhodes in particular was very unhappy about it.
– Tuesday night’s 2013 WWE Hall of Fame special on the USA Network drew a 1.23 rating with 1.63 million viewers.
– WWE star Jack Swagger is scheduled to appear in court on June 25th for charges stemming from his DUI arrest in Mississippi back on February 19th. The Sun Hearld reports that city prosecutor Kirk Clark “always recommends the maximum sentence of two days in jail for first-time offenders and completion of victim-impact classes.”
– Check out the following video of what took place after Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings featuring John Cena and Fandango:
– WWE suerstar Sin Cara was in attendance at last night’s WWE RAW from Washington, DC, but was not used. He checked in on the social media app Foursquare from the Verizon Center arena and noted that he was doing cardio at their gym. Sin Cara has reportedly been cleared to wrestle and should be back in action soon.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following after last night’s RAW:
“Swagger legit messes up my ankle and tonight I was temporarily paralyzed after he hit me off the apron. This ain’t no storyline anymore. Beyond grateful I got feeling back in my arms and legs and am grateful to be able to function and live to fight another day!”
– World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following message and photo after getting beaten by Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter on RAW:
Enjoy this moment @RealJackSwagger @WWEZeb because you two made a mistake, I'm still on my feet,and i will break you both in pieces
– Jack Swagger is scheduled for a court appearance on April 9th in Biloxi, Mississippi to face charges from his arrest last month. His first court date was March 12th but it was continued to a later date at the request of his lawyers.
– Chris Jericho noted on Twitter that he will return to the Jimmy Fallon show on Thursday, April 4th to promote WrestleMania 29.
– Former WWE star Carlito tweeted the following regarding Sean “Diddy” Combs performing live at WrestleMania 29:
Sean diddy combs is performing at wrestlemania 29, thats friggin awesome…said 1997!!!
– F4wonline.com reports that WWE is planning for Alberto Del Rio to have a grand entrance at WrestleMania 29 for his match against Jack Swagger. Del Rio has not driven any of his ultra luxury cars to the ring in several months. Earlier this month, Jack Swagger teased on Twitter that he’ll be driving this 18-wheeler to the ring at WrestleMania:
– WWE Diva Rosa Mendes has been documenting her “MuscleMania” workouts online and revealed that she did her first pullup ever over the weekend. She posted the following tweet and Tout video:
– WWE officials are said to be very satisfied with Dutch Mantell’s Zeb Colter character. Regardless of whether WWE continues to push Jack Swagger in the coming months, there are plans for Zeb Colter to remain an on-air character, according to f4wonline.com.
Colter tweeted the following about Ricardo Rodriguez “breaking his ankle” at the hands of Jack Swagger on RAW:
“Latest news on RR, broken ankle and busted ego. Next up, Del Rio at WM…alone without his little amigo. Swagger NEW CHAMP. #wethepeople”
– Jim Ross and William Regal have been tweeting about Thursday’s WWE NXT tapings from Winter Park, Florida, which will feature a guest appearance from Chris Jericho. Jim Ross tweeted on Tuesday:
“Headed 2 Orlando soon for Thursday night #WWENXT TV taping. @IAmJericho in the house. Expecting #Wrestlemania29 intensity from all. #WWE”
Meanwhile, William Regal has some words for NXT star Kassius Ohno:
“Leaving Cincinnati on my way to Orlando for tomorrow’s @NXT taping.Someone was foolish enough to upset me last time I was there and unfortunately I won’t allow people to take liberties with me.For what that person is about to receive,may my children forgive me.”
– Following Jack Swagger’s attack on Ricardo Rodriguez at RAW, WWE is reporting that Ricardo’s ankle is broken.
– This Friday on SmackDown, Jack Swagger will face Chris Jericho rematch from last week’s show.
– Speaking of Chris Jericho, it appears WWE is in fact building towards a Chris Jericho vs. Fandango match at WrestleMania 29. The two had a confrontation backstage at Monday’s RAW when Fandango interrupted Jericho’s backstage promo. Jericho mocked the new superstar by intentionally messing up his name and asking him for movie tickets, a reference to the popular Fandango movie ticket service.