WWE announced on Monday that the company will hold their first-ever Monday Night RAW television tapings on Christmas (12/25) and New Year’s Day (1/1).
Even the the timing of the announcement (Labor Day, a day that honors America’s workers), seemed like an odd choice to announce WWE talent will have to work on two of the biggest national holidays of the calendar year.
According to Jeff Hardy’s wife Beth, the decision to hold RAW on Christmas and New Year’s day was made by the USA Network, not WWE.
Both Beth Harty and Matt Hardy’s wife Reby vented about the situation on Twitter.
Christmas Day. Really??? Some are sensitive to my "public complaining" so let me NOT publicly complain about our Christmas Day without Jeff?
Last week on Monday Night RAW, Roman Reigns and John Cena laid out the groundwork for their newly formed feud with one another as they approach their one-on-one match at the upcoming No Mercy pay-per-view (PPV). Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to react to the segment. Here’s what they had to say about Cena and Reigns’ exchange:
Christian:
“I like them to feel organic, in a sense. Do you know what I mean? Where it’s not scripted and I did feel like I don’t think they’re the type of promo that should be done a lot. Do you know what I mean? And I think it’s kind of the right time for something like this to happen. And they addressed a lot of the things and sometimes when things are addressed that are on the internet or out there in the dirtsheets, brother, that sometimes they ignore it or pay no attention to it or whatever, which is what you have to do most times. But sometimes, it’s good to do something like that.
“It’s like, ‘whoa, hold on a second…’ They’re addressing all of the things people say about them or think about them and people think there are legit facts about certain situations and they threw it back and forth at each other and turned it into a real situation that was something that could help a feud like that. These guys are kind of in the same boat. They kind of get similar reactions, so it’ll be interesting and I think it added maybe a little bit of a personal edge to if they’re going to have a match or a feud for however long it’s going to go. I think that it gave them that something personal instead of two guys, ‘I want your spot because you’re leaving – you keep coming back – I want your spot’ kind of thing.”
Edge:
“It’s all the things people assume they think about each other and now it was just validated, like, ‘yeah, that really does happen.’ So here’s where I’ve got to start: why No Mercy? Why? There [has] got to be something going on there. You don’t do this at [No Mercy]. That’s a WrestleMania match! Back to my Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe [soapbox]. Imagine you put Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns/John Cena on WrestleMania. Sold. Hold on! I’m great-balls-of-fired-up about it, man!
“You put it on Great Balls Of Fire and you put it on No Mercy. Come on! Like, what?” Edge added, “they each have all kinds of opponents. You didn’t have to [book the match now]. That’s all I’m saying, man. There [are] loads of people that you could’ve got through and started those around Royal Rumble season and nobody would’ve touched each other and you have two fresh matches that haven’t happened that people want to see and want to talk about. That’s my take on that.
“Now, the promo itself, here’s what I thought it did. John [has] been in that situation before whether it’s with The Rock… he [has] had to deal with that before and he’s good at it. Reigns hasn’t and you could tell. You could tell that this was his first kind of, ‘okay, how exactly do I do this?’ But I will say, it’s the best promo I’ve ever seen him do because you could tell he really felt what he was saying. Now, I think with more practice, more tune up, he [has] got it because there were a lot more points that he could’ve hit about John that he didn’t. I mean, he could’ve speed bagged John with some of the stuff he could say and he didn’t go there.”
Christian:
“I found kind of a shift in [Reigns’ promo] where seemingly he ran out of words to say and John called him on it and said, ‘this is the reason I had to come back, because you’re not ready, basically, to do this.’ Do you know what I mean? ‘If you’re in this spot, you’re going to have to be able to do this.’ And he called him on it on live television. You could see Roman, almost the steam coming out of his ears. And I think that almost took him to another level. I’ve been there and gone blank on live TV and it’s not a fun feeling and it does something to you.
“You can’t go out there and rely on somebody else’s words, right? Somebody can’t hand you a sheet of paper and say, ‘go out there and read this and you’re going to get over with what’s written on here.’ Almost take the bullet points of it and have the gumption, the initiative, the like [Edge] said, [to] make it your own.” Christian explained, “sometimes things happen out there that aren’t necessarily a bullet point or on a piece of paper and you have to take advantage of those and you can’t be afraid to take advantage of those, right?”
Edge:
“That was a hard way to practice, but I think that was a good learning lesson for Reigns. I feel weird calling him Roman. I don’t know why. But I think that’s where he needs to get to with all of his promos. And that’s how I always looked at things. If you get to a certain place and ‘oh, okay, that is the pocket I need to get to for a promo to feel authentic, genuine, fired up. That’s when people believe. And if you can get there for every promo and find that space and whatever that trigger you need to get you there, that’s where you’ve got to get to in every promo and not every promo needs to be screaming and yelling, but he needs to get to that place for his promos.
“And if he can find that place for all his promos, man, if his promos catch up to his work and his look, now he is ready to take over and John can go to The Today Show or whatever it is.” Edge professed, “you’ve got to be able to think on your feet, know what you’re trying to get across, and go from there. And like I said, I thought that was the best, impassioned kind of promo, that I’ve seen out of him. I mean, it was a very tough situation to have to do it. And, sure, there were some awkward moments for him, but I think he stepped up. I really do.”
Christian:
“It was supposed to be awkward. I mean, that’s the feeling people were supposed to have coming away from it, right? It got people talking and that’s what it’s about. Whether it was awkward, whether he got confused in his head and didn’t have the right words to respond to John to, but it was a great moment, like, it was impactful.”
Edge:
“A couple of those moments got to John too. I know John’s reaction when things get to him. That got to him a little bit, but it was good. Again, it’s WrestleMania. I don’t know why it’s happening at No Mercy. There [has] got to be something scheduling-wise as to why it’s not. Otherwise, ‘WTF,’ as the kids say these days, Bird.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by visiting this link.
WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview with ESPN to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. During the interview, “The Game” discussed the poor reactions received from the crowd by John Cena and Roman Reigns. He also revealed what he told “The Leader Of The Cenation” when it seemed as though the reactions were getting under his skin. You can see what he had to say here:
What he told John Cena about the negative fan reactions:
“Fans will say that all the time — ‘I hate Roman Reigns’. They did it with [John] Cena, too. I remember telling Cena years ago, when it started happening to him, ‘Dude, what do you care? You’re the Yankees and the Red Sox at the same time.’ The place is sold out.”
Why it doesn’t make sense to turn Roman Reigns heel:
“For the people that hate him, he’s already turned, and for the people that love him, they don’t want him to turn. And if we turned him, the people who hate him would switch to loving him, and the people who love him would switch to hating him.”
You can check out Triple H’s full interview with ESPN by visiting this link.
The segment between John Cena and Roman Reigns this past Monday Night on Raw was one of the most memorable contract signings in recent WWE history, especially due to its unscripted nature.
During their promos both the stars said things which you normally wouldn’t expect to hear on WWE programming. However, it also made people wonder how much of their promos were scripted and if they were pre-approved.
During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer talked about the contract signing segment between the two and cleared this doubt of people.
According to Meltzer, both Cena and Reigns’ promos were almost entirely scripted and everything controversial said by both the stars was pre approved.
Though it’s worth mentioning here that at one point during the promo Reigns appeared to have genuinely forgotten his lines and John masterfully played it by saying “it’s called a promo, if you wanna be on top you gotta learn how to do them”
While not confirmed, it was probably the only unscripted part of the whole segment which was filled with some very interesting and offensive lines.
Roman Reigns is now scheduled to face John Cena at the upcoming No Mercy PPV on September 24th and it’d be interesting to see how the company will follow the build-up for this match after their confrontation on Raw.
– With their match official for next month’s RAW-brand No Mercy pay-per-view, WWE.com is running a poll asking fans if they think Roman Roman Reigns can fill John Cena’s shoes. As of this writing, 70% of fans say “No. No one will ever be able to replace John Cena” with only 30% saying, “Yes. The Big Dog is the guy now.”
– The following is confirmed for tonight’ episode of NXT on the WWE Network:
Drew McIntyre’s first appearance NXT champion.
Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong.
Ruby Riot vs. Peyton Royce.
Heavy Machinery in action.
Plus, there will be appearances from new NXT Tag Team Champions Sanity, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish, NXT General Manager William Regal and more.
WWE sent in the following press release on Tuesday announcing that John Cena and actress Kat Dennings (“2 Broke Girls”) have signed on to do voice work for a new animated “outer space adventure comedy” series “Dallas & Robo” that will air on YouTube Red next year.
JOHN CENA & KAT DENNINGS LEND THEIR VOICES TO THE ALL-NEW ANIMATED SERIES “DALLAS & ROBO”
Outer Space Adventure Comedy From the Producers of “Robot Chicken”Coming to YouTube Red in 2018
LOS ANGELES – August 29, 2017 – YouTube Red continues to add some of the biggest names in Hollywood to its all-star comedy roster. On a packed slate showcasing inventive new Originals, comes DALLAS & ROBO — a hilarious animated space adventure and buddy-comedy from the producers behind Robot Chicken. The YouTube Red series features the voices of 16-time WWE champion John Cena (“Trainwreck,” “Sisters”) and Kat Dennings (“2 Broke Girls,” “Thor”).
DALLAS & ROBO centers around sassy space-trucker “Dallas” (Kat Dennings) and self-proclaimed warrior-poet ”Robo” (John Cena) who have to navigate their way around cannibal bikers, rival space truckers, and vending machine burritos as they try to make a buck in the seedy world of interplanetary big rigging.
Rounding out the all-star voice cast are Jane Lynch, Dana Snyder, Giancarlo Esposito, Clancy Brown, Bree Williamson, Nat Faxon, Taran Killam and Milana Vayntraub.
The eight episode series will be produced by Shadowmachine (“Robot Chicken,” “BoJack Horseman”). Mike Roberts (“Final Space”) is the creator of the series and also serves as an executive producer. Matt Mariska (“Robot Chicken”) and Andy Sipes (“Archer”) serve as writers and executive producers. John Cena also serves as an executive producer. DALLAS & ROBO will debut exclusively on YouTube Red in 2018.
“With Kat Dennings and John Cena bringing these animated characters to life, I have no doubt viewers are going to have fun watching this imaginative, new outer space comedy from Shadowmachine,” said Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Original Content, YouTube.
WWE is a recognized leader in global entertainment and has an engaged fanbase that includes WWE’s YouTube channel with over 17.4 million subscribers. In 2017, John Cena was among the top 100 most-viewed celebrities on YouTube.
“I’m thrilled to join Kat and the rest of this fantastic voice cast for Dallas and Robo,” said John Cena. “The writing for this series is flat-out funny and very creative, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of such a unique, entertaining project.”
John Cena is represented by ICM Partners. Mike Roberts is represented by Kailey Marsh Media at Verve and Tom Hunter Law. Matt Mariska and Andy Sipes are represented by Ari Lubet at 3 Arts Entertainment.
YouTube Red is a subscription that gives you access to YouTube Red Original movies and series, a premium music service and an uninterrupted experience across YouTube. YouTube Red is currently available in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Korea.
The most buzz-worthy segment from Monday’s RAW was John Cena and Roman Reigns’ in-ring segment which many are already calling the promo of the year. Cena and Reigns took the gloves off and got personal by picking each other apart, using some colorful language and breaking the ‘fourth wall’ that separates WWE storylines from real-life issues.
The general consensus is that Cena got the upper hand in this verbal altercation and said some things about Reigns’ inability to connect with the WWE Universe that hit very close to home. Some have been questioning if Cena went ‘off script,’ but due to his stature with the company and WWE’s faith in him, he probably got the green light to say whatever he felt was necessary to sell their upcoming match at No Mercy.
According to ‘Bring it to the Table’ host Peter Rosenberg, the buzz backstage is that Cena was “legit shooting” about everything he said to Reigns.
The buzz of the WWE is that @JohnCena was legit shooting about everything he said to @WWERomanReigns tonight ?
Cena, who is known for posting cryptic photos on Instagram, sent this out after RAW. ‘Ether’ is the 2001 song by Nas savaging former rival Jay-Z and is considered one of the most memorable ‘diss tracks’ in hip hop history.
RAW GM Kurt Angle came down to the ring for a contract signing for the match between Roman Reigns and John Cena at No Mercy. Cena came joined Angle in the ring and stated that this match was the reason that he came to WWE RAW. Cena claimed that Roman Reigns has been protected ever since joining the WWE as a “blue chip prospect”. Cena said that he is the one guy that there is no protection from. Cena said that he knows Roman Reigns doesn’t want to fight him and signed the contract.
Roman Reigns then made his way down to the ring. Reigns approached the desk where the contract was and picked up a microphone. Reigns started to talk but the crowd began to boo. Reigns stated that John Cena is not as big of a deal that he thinks he is. Reigns boasted about retiring The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Roman said that is not that he doesn’t want to fight Cena, he just doesn’t need to.
Cena said that he is a polarizing figure because people want him to change the content of his character and turn heel. Cena then said that the WWE Universe sees Roman Reigns as a “cheap-ass corporately created John Cena bootleg”. Cena said that he is not The Undertaker, he is not a veteran at the end of his career with a bad hip. Cena said he is hungrier than ever and said that Reigns wont sign the contract because he knows when he does, his Roman Empire will be over.
Reigns called Cena the king of spinning things. Roman Reigns said that the crowd boos Cena because he sucks. Cena said that the crowd says Angle sucks too and Roman told him to shut up for a bit. Reigns paused during his promo and Cena said that “it is called a promo kid and that if you want to be the big dog you have to learn how to do them”. Reigns then called Cena a “phony” and a “fake bitch”. Reigns then called Cena a part-timer and said that he busts his ass every week while Cena shows up on the Today Show.
Reigns then said that Cena buries as much young talent as he can so he can stay on top in WWE. Roman said that Cena doesn’t like him because he knows he cannot bury him. Roman said that he doesn’t want to be the next John Cena because he is the one and only Roman Reigns. John Cena stated that Roman Reigns is a fool because he used the same pathetic excuse that every other Superstars in the past.
Cena congratulated Roman Reigns on taking 5 years to cut a half-way decent promo. Cena stated that the fans hold the keys to what Superstars get pushed. Cena said that he hasn’t main-evented WrestleMania in 5 years and was in the opening match at SummerSlam. Cena then said he was honored to hold the United States Championship and introduced WWE to new Superstars like AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. Cena accused Reigns of taking the US Championship as a demotion. Cena then said that he is still in WWE because Roman Reigns cannot do his job.
Cena said that he can do this as a part-timer better than Roman Reigns could ever do it full-time. Roman Reigns then signed the contract to make the match official for WWE No Mercy.
In less than 4 weeks, WWE’s RAW brand presents No Mercy live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Last week on RAW, WWE confirmed the blockbuster main event that will see Brock Lesnar defend the Universal Championship against Bruan Strowman in their first singles match.
WWE has another big match planned for the show that’s sure to make this a must-see event, if it wasn’t already based on Lesnar vs. Strowman.
On Monday night, the WWE mobile app sent out a breaking news alert announcing that John Cena vs. Roman Reigns has been added to the card.
Cena and Reigns had a buzz-worthy confrontation last week and teamed up later in the show to defeat The Miz and Samoa Joe in the main event. WWE.com’s preview for tonight’s RAW questions if the two men can co-exist. Based on the news of their upcoming match, don’t count on it.
Fans in attendance at Friday night’s WWE live event from Carbondale, Illinois were treated to a ‘dream match’ between John Cena and Samoa Joe.
As noted earlier this month, John Cena and Samoa Joe are advertised for several upcoming live events, a sign that WWE could be testing the waters for a Cena vs. Joe television feud.
We won’t spoil the finish – but you can watch it below courtesy of Youtube user @MasterofMuppets (great name).
Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews, Kalisto, R-Truth, Heath Slater & Rhyno defeated Curt Hawkins, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Goldust, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
John Cena vs. Samoa Joe
Mickie James & Alicia Fox defeated Emma & Nia Jax
Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman via disqualification
Officials were reportedly upset with Corbin due to his twitter battle with people like Dave Meltzer and Mojo Rawley.
He also got involved in a fight with a fan on Twitter who later revealed that he was a military person and the whole incident went against him as well.
It was said that all this and his poor performance on the mic during his interactions with John Cena made officials lose faith in Baron and it resulted in his push coming to an end.
However, now it appears that a long time WWE Superstar’s comments were also one of the reasons why WWE decided to pull the plug on the former NXT Star.
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated recently appeared on the WrestlingInc Podcast where he revealed that John Cena actually told officials that Corbin wasn’t ready:
“I heard the kiss of death was Cena, [Cena said] that Corbin wasn’t ready. I can’t say any more right now, that’s kind of what I’m trying to work on as we speak.”
While the Wrestling Journalist didn’t open up much about what Cena said, it has previously been reported that the similar thing happened with Dolph Ziggler.
In an interview, former WWE writer Kevin Eck had revealed that John wasn’t impressed with the performance of Ziggler during their initial feud which is a reason why WWE never pushed him to the Main Event level.
Since The Leader Of Cenation is one of the top stars in the company, the reports that WWE halted Baron Corbin’s push due to his negative comments, seem believable.
16-time WWE World Champion John Cena recently spoke to Bleacher Report to talk about professional wrestling. “The Leader Of The Cenation” revealed if he at all helps Roman Reigns deal with negative crowd reactions, if younger talent comes to him for advise, and if he ever wishes he would’ve turned heel earlier on in his career. Check out what Cena had to say here:
If he helps Roman Reigns deal with negative crowd reactions:
“I haven’t [helped Roman], and that’s not because I don’t want to. And I think that’s a testament to Roman Reigns’ ability to handle the audience. You need pretty broad shoulders. That he hasn’t had to come to anyone else for advice shows exactly how strong he is.”
Does young talent come to him for advise:
“Well, younger—I mean, he’s just a few weeks from me—but I can remember when AJ Styles came in, and he was just familiar with presenting himself a different way. And we sat down and had many a lengthy conversation about the differences and similarities between other spots and here. And from that, I think he took a lot of material away to present himself better.”
Does he ever wish he would’ve turned heel earlier on in his career:
“No. And I think that any sort of hindsight, especially in this industry, is a waste of time, and time is extremely valuable. I don’t control that. People ask me to do something, and it is our job, as entertainers, to do the best that we can to accomplish that goal. What I get upset about in this business is that so many people talk about the ‘what if,’ instead of the ‘what is.’ The ‘what is’ is more important. If someone were to go back 15 years and say, ‘You should have done this,’ it’s too late. I was told to do ‘X,’ and I was trying to do ‘X’ the best way that I could.”
Check out Cena’s full interview with Bleacher Report here.
When WWE first announced that John Cena will return to WWE programming as a ‘Free Agent’ a lot of people wondered why WWE gave this status to the Former World Champion instead of assigning him to one brand.
Earlier reports suggested that WWE made this move so he can appear on both Raw and SmackDown when needed and help both the brands in their TV ratings.
However, after he returned to Raw after almost year this past Monday night, a new report has emerged which claims that TV ratings were not the only reason why The Leader Of Cenation was moved to Raw.
If reports from Sports Illustrated are to be believed, WWE moved John to the Red Branded Show because of the potential money matches he can have there with stars like Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and most importantly – Roman Reigns.
According to the site, Vince McMahon wants the former 16 Time World Champion to elevate and give a rub to the Big Dog and it’s the primary reason why he was moved from SmackDown Live.
This is an interesting statement and it reaffirms a previous report of a Cena-Reigns dream match happening sometime before WrestleMania 34 next year.
If Vince wants John to elevate the career of Roman Reigns then it’s possible that they will use the Leader Of Cenation as an obstacle in Reigns’ path to the Universal Championship.
Since Roman is expected to challenge Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34, the match between him and Cena will most likely take place sometime before the show of shows.
This week’s episode of Raw featured some very exciting moments such as the confrontation between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar and the match between The Hardys and the new Tag Champs Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
However, one segment which stood up among others due to its controversial nature was between the returning John Cena and Big Dog Roman Reigns.
These two have recently been involved in a twitter battle and have exchanged some interesting tweets where Cena looked to gives advice to the Big Dog while the Raw star challenged The Leader Of Cenation to come to Raw and face him.
On the latest episode of Raw, the two former World Champions had a small confrontation when Roman interrupted the promo of John, though it didn’t last long as the Miz and then Samoa Joe got involved in the segment.
Later their Tag Team match ended in a controversial fashion as well because Reigns accidentally delivered a Superman punch to Cena, which left fans questioning what it could mean for the future of these two athletes.
During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about the events of Raw and noted how WWE has started planting seeds for a potential match between the two.
The Wrestling Journalist also remarked that at this point, it appears that the bout between these two will happen before the WrestleMania next year, where Reigns is expected to face Brock Lesnar.
While this match is not a done deal yet, given the way WWE teased a possible feud between the two mega babyfaces, one cannot help but think that the company has something planned for them sooner rather than later.
Though it’s worth noting here that WWE is also advertising Samoa Joe vs John Cena for some upcoming events and it won’t be a surprise if WWE holds off the feud of John Cena and Roman Reigns for Survivor Series or Royal Rumble and starts the rivalry between the former 16 Time World Champion and the former NXT Champion instead.
There has been a lot of speculation as of late that Baron Corbin has some heat backstage with WWE officials.
Corbin cashed in his WWE Money In The Bank contract on SmackDown Live last week in a losing effort, before suffering a loss to John Cena at SummerSlam this past weekend (Sun. August 20, 2017). In the clip below from WWE’s official YouTube channel, Corbin’s entrance was notably left out of the video highlighting he and Cena’s match:
“The Lone Wolf’s” heat reportedly stems from some comments he made on Twitter, which include some he made to a military veteran (which he later apologized for). SmackDown Live producer and former WWE Superstar Road Dogg took to Twitter to comment on Corbin’s loss to Cena, attempting to downplay the defeat and what it means for him going forward:
Last week during SummerSlam weekend, we had a chance to attend the WWE 2K18 launch party in New York City. SEScoops correspondent Jason Solomon of the popular Solomonster Sounds Off podcast got a chance to speak with now-former NXT Champion Bobby Roode about his experience in NXT, if he wants to join the main roster in the near future and which WWE Superstar he wants to work with on the main roster.
Roode said it’s been one hell of a year for him in NXT after a long career working .. elsewhere. He raved about the WWE Performance Center and has gotten the chance to work closely with head trainer Matt Bloom, Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.
“It’s been a really gratifying year for me,” said Roode. “To be welcomed in to this company and the NXT locker room the way I have the last year and a half has been really cool. To be looked upon as a guy with a lot of experience, kind of a locker room leader is cool, but at the same time I’ve been able to learn from a lot of people as well. In this business, you always continue to learn everyday.
“That’s one of the best things about being in NXT. There’s so many great minds available down at the Performance Center in Orlando. Matt Bloom and his coaching staff are phenomenal and very hands on. Triple H has his finger on the pulse at all times. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Shawn Michaels over the last six months. It’s kind of like getting your PHD in professional wrestling when you’re in the room with him, so no complaints.”
Bobby Roode is rumored to be joining the main roster soon, but it sounds like he still has things he wants to accomplish in NXT. Roode says NXT is the hottest brand in WWE today and would like to see NXT hold live tapings for their weekly WWE Network show.
“It’s funny because I get that question a lot. One of my goals since coming to NXT is to get NXT to the same level as RAW and SmackDown. I really don’t feel like NXT is a lower brand. I feel like we’ve almost reached that level. It’s a very popular brand and I think it’s the hottest brand under the WWE umbrella. I would love for NXT to one day to be able to do live television and maybe that’s the next level we take that to, I don’t know.”
When he does arrive on either RAW or SmackDown, Roode says he’d love to work with the biggest star in WWE, John Cena.
“There’s a laundry list of guys when you think about RAW and SmackDown that I’ve never been in the ring with. To narrow it down to one, obviously a guy I would love to have a moment with is John Cena.”
Check out the full video below, which also includes interviews with WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, Braun Strowman, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle, former RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Bayley.
One of the weird spots SummerSlam 2017 will be remembered for, is Cesaro going into the crowd during an ongoing match and tearing a Beach Ball limb to limb.
While the Raw Star successfully eliminated the Beach Ball from the equation for the night it didn’t take long before it returned to WWE and it came back the following night on Raw.
As noted by multiple sources another Beach Ball was doing rounds of the arena last night on Raw during the 8 men Cruiserweight Tag team match and the match between Finn Balor and Jason Jordan.
When security guards tried to take the ball from the audience, the crowd started to toss it around to keep it out of the reach of guards. Though after a small struggle they were successful in getting the hold of it as seen below:
Several fans were evacuated from the arena by the security for this incident. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep the Beach Ball out of action.
Another ball made its way in the arena during the Tag team Main Event of The Show and this time it also made an appearance on TV as John Cena noticed it and waved at the ball’s direction.
The whole beach ball incident was an attempt to hijack the show by several fans and a total of 22 balls were released into the arena during the Raw episode, though only 2 of them got caught on Camera.
Meanwhile, John Cena cut a small promo after the show went off air and he also mentioned the Beach Ball Mania which was running wild. The promo of Cena can be seen below:
The fans have divided opinion on the whole thing. Some believe that it was disrespecting to the performers putting their bodies on the line while others think it was a fun incident.
Nonetheless, it was one of the incidents which cannot be compared to anything else you might have seen on Live TV and it certainly once again proves that ‘anything can happen’ in WWE.
WWE sent in a video of John Cena being surprised by fans he has inspired with his motto of “Never Give Up.” The spot is running across WWE’s and Cricket Wireless’ global digital and social platforms.
Cena was brought to film a commercial where he’d read letters from WWE fans. One by one, Cena reads the notes out loud and is touched by each person he affected.
The last thank you note featured is in the form of a video message by a child name Tyler Schweer, whose mother had breast cancer. Tyler mentions how John gave Tyler his wristband at a WWE event that shows John’s famous “Never Give Up” phrase. Tyler gave this wristband to his mother who was battling breast cancer.
What he doesn’t know is that those same fans are listening in another room. One by one, they greeted Cena in person to thank him for changing their lives.
In less than 24 hours, the video has over 500,000 views and is currently the #3 trending video on YouTube.
John Cena’s WWE character is often polarizing, but the positive impact he has around people around the world is undeniable.
RAW General Manager Kurt Angle came down to the entrance ramp to announce a surprise. Angle then welcomed John Cena to RAW for the first time in over a year. Cena stated that he joined RAW because he has wanted to stand face to face with a certain WWE Superstar for a long time.
Roman Reigns’ music then hit and Reigns made his way down to the ring. Reigns said that the only time Cena is looking for him is when he is running his mouth on Twitter. Reigns asked Cena if he was now going to run his mouth to his face now that he is his yard. The crowd started to chant “Undertaker”.
Cena stated that he didn’t come to RAW to talk and dropped the microphone. Cena then took off his shirt and The Miz’s music hit. The Miz, The Miztourage and Maryse came down to the ring. The Miz mispronounced “Barclays” and Cena poked fun at him for it. The Miz then fake laughed and proceeded about Cena and Reigns getting all of these “moments”.
The Miz said that in life you are always told that if you work hard you will get your moment. The Miz claimed that Roman Reigns and Cena constantly get moments and they don’t deserve them. The crowd chanted “yes!” as The Miz scolded Reigns and Cena. The Miz complained about not being on SummerSlam’s main card. The Miz asked if RAW needs John Cena and the entire crowd chanted “no!”.
Cena said that he is a man of the people and he will just show himself out. The Miz grabbed Cena as he was trying to leave the ring and said that he wasn’t finished talking to him yet. The Miz said that he is sick of not getting the respect that he deserves and asked where his moment was. The Miz said that he is the only champion in the ring and that he deserves a moment.
Cena then proposed that he teams up with Roman Reigns later tonight to face The Miz and a partner of his choosing. The Miz said that he is in a suit and not ready to compete. Samoa Joe then interrupted and joined the party in the ring. Samoa Joe then volunteered to be Miz’s partner later tonight. Joe got in Reigns’ face and said that he is sick of Roman Reigns claiming that this is his yard. Joe also stated that he owns Roman Reigns one-on-one.
Joe then turned his attention to John Cena and attacked him in the corner. The Miztourage got in the ring and attacked Reigns. Roman threw them all out of the ring as John Cena lifted Joe up for an Attitude Adjustment. Joe reversed it into the Coquina Clutch but Reigns hit Joe with a Superman Punch. The crowd chanted “you both suck!” as Reigns and Cena stood tall in the ring.
After a successful win over SummerSlam over Baron Corbin that many are considering a burial of the former Money in the Bank briefcase holder, John Cena is gearing up for a busy Monday. Cena and the Bella Twins return to NBC’s TODAY show this morning to discuss their hit E! Network show Total Bellas. After that, Cena says he “might take someone up on an offer and tagged @WWE.
It sounds like Cena could be headed to the Barclays Center, host venue of tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW. That offer could be a reference to this tweet by Roman Reigns from last month:
“Free Agent” John Cena is advertised for most upcoming episodes of RAW leading up to September’s No Mercy pay-per-view (9/24) from Los Angeles. As reported earlier this month, he’ll be wrestling Samoa Joe at several events leading up to No Mercy.
RAW Superstar Roman Reigns appeared on Sports Illustrated’s Off The Board Podcast this week to hype Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view from Brooklyn. Topics discussed include his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania and his memorable segment the following night on RAW, if he considers himself a locker room leader, Enzo Amore’s backstage heat and more.
Reigns shocked the world at WrestleMania 33 when he defeated The Undertaker in what may prove to be the Dead Man’s final match ever. The following night, he opened RAW and was booed mercilessly for several minutes before simply declaring, “This is my yard now.”
Reigns described the promo as one of the most gratifying things he’s ever done in WWE. “There’s a different type of appreciation that you have for a really good match, like a 30-minute bout, and taking the crowd on that roller coaster ride. I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a few of those matches to where it was just incredible, the crowd was awesome they were just going nuts the whole time, super into the match, but that [promo] was probably the most gratifying thing I’ve… I enjoyed that segment more than any other segment and I had just wrestled and beaten the Undertaker the night before.
Reigns continued, “But it was so bittersweet to just be able to have full control. I just felt like everybody was on a string at that point and I was just pulling them. There’s a little thing where you can see I pretty much mouth it, ‘I got em in the palm of my hand.’ I had thousands of people doing exactly what I wanted them to do and it’s like master plan and it’s unfolding perfectly in front of your eyes. I could’ve stayed out there for another 20 minutes. We had other segments and other brothers that had to go out there and do their work. But the whole time, I was looking at every different cameraman and they’re all telling me to ‘go home’ and that signal is just one finger doing a little circle, saying ‘wrap it up, take it home, let’s go,’ and I sat there and looked at cameramen doing that for five to 10 minutes and I knew we were getting pretty deep into that Seg One and we’re about pretty much cross over into Seg 2 and Seg 3 and I felt bad because there were guys, I think it was one of the Hardy Boyz against Sheamus or Cesar, and I did feel bad because I did eat into their match, but there was that electricity out there and you don’t leave the table when you’re on the heater.”
In recent months, Reigns and John Cena have been exchanging trash talk on Twitter, which had led many fans to believe WWE is planting the seeds for an eventual big money match between WWE’s two top Superstars. When asked if he thinks he’ll find himself across the ring from Cena one day, he replied, “I think so. If you’re here for the right reasons — and this doesn’t just go for wrestling, this is anything, this is what drives our world — you wanna be in there with the best. To say John Cena is not one of the best of all time is asinine. He is. He’s a 16-time heavyweight champion. There’s only two men in the whole world that can say that. So to be able to share the ring with him, to do a big fight with John Cena, I’m all for that.”
He added that he’s in WWE for one reason. He’s here to stand out and he’s not going to back down from anybody. He feels that he’s stepping up, has proven himself over the years and deserves to battle the face of WWE.
“I think, what a great way to honor both of our careers and what we’re trying to do and the way we try to drive this train,” he said. “What better way to do it than in the ring, one on one.”
You can listen to the full podcast below. H/T to Sports Illustrated for the transcribed quotes.
– WWE has announced that Sunday’s SummerSlam Kickoff show will feature two of the title matches previously announced: Akira Tozowa’s Cruiserweight championship defense against Neville and The New Day’s SmackDown tag title defense against The Usos.
– The Big Show will be replacing Ric Flair at Flair’s scheduled signing at Foot Locker Times Square at Foot Locker Times Square in NYC this Saturday.
– John Cena’s new movie The Wall was released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital this week. You can purchase the film now at Amazon.com.
– Speaking of Cena, he tweeted an inspirational message in response to a WWE fan who gave him the middle finger on this week’s SmackDown Live.
It was a surprising moment for fans when Baron Corbin decided to cash in his Money In The Bank contract just 5 days prior to SummerSlam PPV and almost nobody expected him to lose.
After his unsuccessful cash in, Corbin became the third superstar in WWE History to win the Money In The Bank but fail to win the title after John Cena and Damien Sandow.
This led to a lot of rumours about why WWE rushed the cash in just 5 days before the upcoming PPV and more importantly why they called for Corbin to lose the match in such a quick manner.
Many believed he may be injured or have some backstage heat. Though now Dave Meltzer has revealed a completely different reason behind the surprising decision.
A fan jokingly asked Meltzer on twitter if the heated verbal exchange between him and Corbin was the reason why Baron lost his Championship match, replying to which he revealed that John Cena and Mojo Rawley are the reason behind it:
While Dave didn’t open up much about the issue, another report from Cage Side Seats shed some more light on how the two mentioned stars were responsible for it.
According to it, Officials lost faith in the Money In The Bank winner because he couldn’t stand in the verbal battle against John Cena. His twitter rant with fellow SmackDown roster member Mojo Rawley only contributed to Official’s distress.
While it’s widely believed that Corbin wasn’t ready to hold the WWE title, it’s also true that there were many other ways to take the contract away from him and the quick defeat which added nothing to any of the involving star’s profile could have been avoided.
We expect to receive some more updates on Baron Corbin’s failed cash in, in the next few days and we’ll keep you posted as new details come to light.
– Just five days before SummerSlam, John Cena will go one-on-one with WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. WWE issued a breaking news alert on Monday afternoon announcing the matchup. This will be a non-title match, the first time these two have squared off.
Both John Cena and Jinder Mahal will have their hands full this Sunday when Cena battles Baron Corbin and Mahal puts the title on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura.
When WWE announced that John Cena will be returning to WWE TV as a ‘Free Agent’ many believed he will be appearing on both Raw and SmackDown Live frequently.
However, it’s been more than a month since Cena returned to WWE programming, but his ‘Free Agent’ status has yet to come into play and so far he has only been appearing on SmackDown Live.
Though it appears that WWE will finally be utilising this setup in near future. As we noted before, Cena is expected to return to Raw after SummerSlam and now a potential date for his Raw return has also been announced.
Barclays Centre, the official venue for the August 21st episode of Raw has announced that the Leader Of Cenation will be appearing on the show. The announcement was made through a tweet which can be seen below:
It’s still not revealed if Cena’s appearance on the mentioned Raw episode will be Televised. Though it’s most likely as he is expected to appear regularly on the Red Branded Show after the upcoming PPV, and the post-SummerSlam episode of Raw will be the perfect stage for his Televised Raw return.
It’s not known currently who will the former Champion feud with when he moves to Raw. Although John Cena vs. Samoa Joe is being advertised for several upcoming shows and it shouldn’t be a surprise if we see these two stars feuding in near future.
