The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On Ronda Rousey in WWE: “Loved the comments made by my favorite MMA star @RondaRousey who said recently that if she ever appeared in WWE she would prefer to be a villain. That would be easy to execute and would make a great presentation IMO. I predicted long ago that Ronda and the Four Horsewomen would be outstanding additions to a WrestleMania card. It’s a one off, fun opportunity that earns Ms Rousey and company some extra cash and provide UFC with ample, NEW promotion and PR.”
On NXT talents that could potentially headline WrestleMania one day: “Get asked daily who has the best chance of headlining a future WrestleMania from the current NXT roster and that’s an impossible question for me to answer. I will say that from what I see of the NXT roster that their cupboards are far from empty. It largely depends on continued good coaching and MENTORING and the athletes themselves going the extra mile to improve their game in all phases. It’s not only about the PUSH or the GIMMICK but the work rate and ability to out prepare their peers by these formative, young talents.”
On a possible new SmackDown announce team: “Will WWE get a new announcing team for Smackdown when it move to Thursday night? I would be willing to ‘guess,’ likely so. That would provide the duo of @MichaelCole and @JCLayfield a much needed break and keep them fresher and extend both their shelf lives.”
On Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at the Royal Rumble: “I’m thinking that the Cena vs.Lesnar WWE World Title match at the Royal Rumble in Philly will be one of the more compelling WWE Title matches that we’ve seen a good while. Does Lesnar stay or does he go? Is Brock going back to MMA or is he staying around. Does Cena prepare Brock for Reigns or another young talent WM31? Is there a return match in the works for Cena and Lesnar? Will Rollins cash in his MITB Contract? Could a new ‘player’ step into the title picture in some manner?”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
As noted earlier today, WWE is hyping up the January 19th edition of RAW as a “RAW Reunion show,” with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels all advertised to appear.
What’s also interesting in terms of the advertising side of things is that Brock Lesnar is no longer listed. Originally, the advertising was built around Lesnar, however he is no longer included in the ads for the show.
As things stand now, the tentative plan is for the announcement of WrestleMania 32 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, where the 1/19 RAW takes place, to be made on that show, or close to it.
Also advertised for the show is a John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Lumberjack Match” with 30 lumberjacks in a match that is being billed as “the biggest lumberjack match in the history of Dallas.” It’s believed that the match will serve as the actual television main event of the show, with all 30 lumberjacks hitting the ring for the finish to simulate the wildness of a 30-man Royal Rumble match, as the show is also the “go-home” show for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
2014 is quickly coming to an end. With only two weeks left in the year, fans have seen basically everything the WWE has to offer in 2014, for better or worse. In particular, the fourth quarter of 2014 was filled with exciting action, unexpected debuts, and a noticeable lack of WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches.
With all four quarters essentially “in the books” at this point, we want you to familiarize yourself with our picks from all four quarters. Next week, we are going to create a poll where you can vote on your pick for 2014 Match Of The Year.
Reddit.com user MetsFan4Ever, a former WWE backstage worker who still has ties to people in the organization, provided insight into the atmosphere backstage at Raw today at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, following last night’s WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs … and Stairs.
According to him, many people in the company are dissatisfied with how the show came off following the successful TakeOver: R Evolution and are hopeful this will lead to creative changes with WWE’s mainline product.
“While many knew it would be tough to top the NXT show, there were people who thought it could be pulled off,” he wrote. “There have been rumblings that some talent knew they couldn’t top NXT so in a silent protest in favor of Triple H, some superstars were described “mailing in” their matches last night. Many are in favor of Triple H and what he has done with the NXT product and feel it is time for Triple H to take the lead on the main roster.”
MetsFan4Ever added that locker room leader John Cena hosted a talent meeting this afternoon that was described as “forceful yet calm.” Cena stressed that a silent protest will not help matters. Instead, Cena feels they should step up their performance in order for their point to be proven.
The following are highlights from the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper match: “Thought the first match featuring Ziggler vs. Harper for the IC Title in a Ladder match was a great start and arguably the best match on the show. They were lucky to get the live audience fresh and they did not have to follow several other specialty matches. These two needed medical attention after their match which should come as no surprise. Harper got five staples in his head while Ziggler got a cut glued shut. I actually had a cut glued shut after being schooled by HHH in Madison Square Garden many years ago. It beats the heck out of stitches ”
On the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins match: “Liked the position on the card for Cena vs. Rollins and the Reigns involvement was timely. It’s smart to have a long window to promote Cena vs. Lesnar for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble in January which should stimulate January subscribers for the Network. Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury certainly earned their keep in this match in their role of J&J Security. I’ll say this, John Cena is beastly strong.”
On Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt: “Happy that young talents Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt closed the show for multiple reasons that all essentially come down to perception. These two beat the Hell out of each other, without question, and both took another step forward to becoming main event talents. I applaud their work ethic and willingness to put their bodies at such risk. Going on last after everything that was done in the ring earlier makes it tremendously challenging and I don’t know how Ambrose and Wyatt could have done any more.”
On TLC compared to NXT Takeover: R Evolution: “As much as I enjoyed many aspects of the TLC show, it wasn’t quite as good, merely in my opinion, as the overall @WWENXT show, from start to finish, that I watched Thursday night from Orlando.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Below is the promo for the “Final Battle” between Brock Lesnar and John Cena at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th.
– Speaking of the Royal Rumble, below is the official promo for the match. As noted earlier today, Roman Reigns is the first official entrant in the match.
The WWE Network aired a brief TLC “Fallout” post-show after last night’s pay-per-view. The show opened with the panel, which featured Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about John Cena winning his “Tables Match” tonight, which earned him the right to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman praised Cena, saying he’s the best — besides Lesnar.
Dean Ambrose was shown in the ring recovering from the television monitor exploding on him. Ambrose destroyed what was left of the monitor.
On commentary, Michael Cole promoted the Cena vs. Lesnar match and pointed out that it will be the final meeting between the two.
TLC came and went last night, leaving behind a trail of broken tables, dented chairs, and fried television monitors. There were plenty of highlights last night, but the company certainly took a few missteps as well. Overall, here are the pros and cons from last night’s TLC pay-per-view.
Pros
The show got off to a hot start last night with the ladder match. Ziggler and Harper really gave everything they had, as both were men were bruised and bloodied by the end of the contest. There were a number of memorable spots (especially when Harper catapulted Ziggler into the ropes with the ladder), and overall, it ranked up there with some of the best ladder matches in company history. Amazing way to start the show, and unfortunately for WWE, the rest of the show paled in comparison.
Ambrose and Wyatt also put on an amazing show. This was about as brutal as it gets during the PG era, with Ambrose leaping from the top of a ladder to drive Wyatt through a table on multiple occasions. It was also nice to see the company have the confidence to let these guys close the show, although the ending was less than desirable (more on that later).
As expected, Damien Mizdow was over big time with the crowd, with the fans even booing Miz in his hometown of Cleveland in favor of Sandow. I couldn’t help but crack up when Mizdow started emulating the half crab on the apron. The guy has major star potential, and he and the Miz play perfectly off of one another.
Although the booking was atrocious, Rollins proved why he is a future star during his match with John Cena. Join me in the “Cons” section to read more about this one.
Finally, I thought it was a decent decision to have Nikki Bella retain the title, and honestly, it was far from being the worst match of the night. It seems like the company has being playing hot potato with the Divas Championship since AJ Lee’s long title reign ended so it’s nice to see the title stay around someone’s waist for more than a month.
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be the main event for next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
John Cena defeated Seth Rollins in a tables match (with help from the returning Roman Reigns) at Sunday’s TLC PPV to retain his #1 contender’s title shot.
The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble takes place 6 weeks from tonight on Sunday, January 25th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Roman Reigns made his return at the WWE TLC pay-per-view in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday night. Reigns came out when Big Show tried to interfere during the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Tables Match.” Reigns hit a Superman punch on Big Show before spearing him through a table. He then hit a Superman punch on Rollins, setting him up for an Attitude Adjustment from Cena through a table for the win.
With the win, Cena is confirmed as the number one contender and will be the next challenger to WWE World Heavyweight Champion — Brock Lesnar.
As noted earlier tonight, it was confirmed during the WWE TLC “Kickoff Show” that Lesnar will be in action at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Later in the show, Roman Reigns announced that he is the first official participant in the 2015 Royal Rumble.
As previously reported, there’s a strong belief that Randy Orton will make his return at the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which takes place tonight in Cleveland, Ohio.
While it’s by no means confirmed, there’s speculation that Orton returns to interfere in the main event “Tables Match” between John Cena and Seth Rollins, likely completing his babyface turn by making the save for Cena.
Although that is one scenario, there are reports that claim Orton’s first program back will be against Kane as a babyface, so there’s a chance that he won’t be returning in the Cena-Rollins match.
Additionally, there’s talk that Roman Reigns could return in the Cena-Rollins match, under the same circumstances — making the save for Cena and setting up a program with Rollins coming out of the show.
Make sure to visit the website tonight for the best WWE TLC live play-by-play results coverage on the web.
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 will attempt to deliver an early Christmas present this Sunday during its annual TLC pay-per-view. It will be the last pay-per-view of 2014, and should also be the last special event before Brock Lesnar’s return to the ring. The card is set, but how will it play out? Here are 5 potential shockers for Sunday’s TLC.
5. Mizdow Turns on The Miz
It seems obvious that the Miz and his stunt double will be breaking up sooner rather than later, and for good reason, as Mizdow is perhaps the most over superstar in the WWE.
There was tension once again during Monday’s Slammy Awards after the Miz accepted his partner’s award on his behalf. Although their time together seems to be limited, I’d be shocked if the two break up on Sunday. It would make more sense to have the dissolution occur at the Royal Rumble, setting up a WrestleMania payoff that could be one of the top matches on the midcard.
There’s a lot of speculation regarding Randy Orton interfering in the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Tables Match” at this Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.
It’s considered pretty likely that Orton, who is scheduled to return in the very near future, would make the save for Cena during the finish of the match, setting up an Orton-Rollins program. There’s a chance, however, that he pulls a swerve and costs Cena the match instead, although that would keep him as a heel and the latest word going around is that he is scheduled for a babyface turn.
Either way, there’s a strong possibility that “The Viper” makes his return during this Sunday’s show.
Last night on Raw, the WWE handed out some shiny plastic hardware, and more importantly, finalized the card for this Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view. With CM Punk badmouthing WWE before signing with UFC, and Brock Lesnar sitting at home while the title collects dust, it seems like the most exciting WWE-related action these days is taking place outside of the squared circle.
With that said, TLC actually looks like a solid pay-per-view on paper, especially considering it’s another event without a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
Ziggler has performed well in ladder matches during his career. Will the Show Off steal the show on Sunday?
In general, gimmick pay-per-views can be pretty lame. With events such as Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Extreme Rules, the stipulations often seem forced and predictable (Money in the Bank is the only exception). However, it seems like the gimmick could be highly beneficial this time around.
This is due to the fact that most of the matchups would be forgettable without a special stipulation. Take Ryback vs. Kane for example. Nobody wants to see a washed-up Libertarian and supposed steroid user battle in a regular singles contest; that’s the same garbage fans are served up every week on Raw. However, if the two are going to beat the hell out of each other with chairs, it increases the possibility (albeit slightly) that fans will remain interested.
The same holds true for Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper. They are two of the better workers in the company, and they’d undoubtedly put on a great show without any gimmick at all, but the ladder match stipulation gives them the opportunity to completely steal the show.
Not only will the midcard benefit from the TLC gimmick, hardcore stipulations were necessary at the top of the card to get this event over with the fans. In particular, the tables match between John Cena and Seth Rollins should be one of the highlights of the night, as Cena will attempt to remain number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Dolph Ziggler took a shot at John Cena on Twitter last night, encouraging fans to vote for him instead of Cena for the Social Media Champion Slammy Award. Ziggler tweeted on Sunday:
Next Sunday, the WWE will dust off the tables, ladders, chairs, and apparently stairs for its annual hardcore spectacular. This year’s event will be held in Cleveland, Ohio and will be the sixth incarnation of the pay-per-view.
This will be only the second TLC pay-per-view to not feature a WWE Championship match, as Brock Lesnar is still sitting at home collecting a paycheck. In the past, the WWE has used this event to lay the groundwork for the Road to WrestleMania while providing a sense of finality to various feuds with the hardcore element. With that said, here is a look back at the first five TLC pay-per-view events.
– John Cena tweeted the following on Wednesday in reaction to Steve Austin’s podcast interview with Vince McMahon from Monday night on the WWE Network:
– The cast for the new James Bond film will be officially announced this Thursday. As previously reported, former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista has been in discussions for a major role in the film.
– Challenger Comics in Chicago announced that former WWE champion CM Punk will be signing at their store on 2/28/15. Punk will be there to promote his comic book writing debut for Marvel Comics, Thor Annual #1.
A main event was announced for the upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view on tonight’s “Cyber Monday” edition of RAW in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In a “Tables Match” announced for the show, number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship John Cena will take on Seth Rollins, with his number one contendership at stake.
It wasn’t outright said that Rollins would become the new number one contender if he wins the match, just that Cena wouldn’t be the number one contender if he lost.
– Below is Eden’s latest video blog, which features the NXT Diva showing off her holiday spirit.
– Courtesy of WrestlingDVDNews.com, below is the official cover art for the WWE Survivor Series 2014 DVD and Blu-ray, which features Sting, Triple H, John Cena and Stephanie McMahon.
– Former WWE creative team member and well-known actor Freddie Prinze Jr. underwent spine surgery last week. Prinze actually tweeted Dolph Ziggler about the news and compared his operation to the procedure that John Cena underwent back in 2008. For more information on this story, visit EOnline.com.
– WWE has posted the official Sting titan tron entrance video on their YouTube channel. You can check that out below.
After defeating Emma on SmackDown, Divas Champion Nikki Bella cut a passionate promo on AJ Lee that was greatly edited on the Syfy broadcast. According to a live account from Tuesday’s taping in Fort Wayne, Indiana, she received some applause from the audience when she was done.
Both Bella and Cena reacted to the promo being edited via Twitter.
What could be heard is Bella venting about Lee telling her “sob story” over and over again when she herself has worked harder and is what a champion should look like. To Bella, Lee will “always be that pathetic manipulative little girl from New Jersey.”
Apparently the original plan for Monday’s post-Survivor Series edition of RAW was to include a segment with Vince McMahon and John Cena, which would have ultimately led to a period with no authority figure on the show throughout the evening.
Instead, they went with the Daniel Bryan angle, concluding with the return of the “Anonymous GM,” however that has also been some discussions of having weekly General Managers of the evening, some of which may end up being celebrities.
