It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, the match between John Cena and Dean Ambrose will now have a stipulation.
The Cena-Ambrose bout will now be a no holds barred match with a contract on a pole, with the winner still advancing later in the pay-per-view to a match with “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins. Based on advertising, the person who loses the Cena-Ambrose match will likely face Randy Orton later on in the pay-per-view.
You can read a complete SmackDown spoiler report for this week by clicking here.
Once an occasional treat for the WWE Universe, the Hell in a Cell match has become a yearly event since the introduction of the eponymous pay-per-view in 2009. Since its inception, the company has yet to truly knock it out of the park with Hell in a Cell, although fans have witnessed some memorable moments.
This year, it will be either John Cena or Dean Ambrose headlining the event against Seth Rollins inside the most ominous structure in sports entertainment. As the company builds up its next pay-per-view, here is a look back at the first five Hell in a Cell events.
5. 2012
This event really didn’t have a pay-per-view feel to it. The undercard was primarily filled with forgettable matches that had little impact on future storylines. The main event was also lacking due to injury.
It was clear that the company had no idea what to do after John Cena went down to injury, leading to Ryback receiving a premature main event push. From top to bottom, this event was lacking and easily locks up the honor of being the worst Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to date.
Main Event: CM Punk vs. Ryback (Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship)
Best Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus
Worst Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. The Prime Time Players
As has been rumored for a while, WWE finally confirmed two of the top matches scheduled for the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
At the end of Monday’s edition of RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, it was announced by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon that at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose will take place, with the winner earning the right to face Seth Rollins in an actual Hell In A Cell match later on in the pay-per-view.
– A lot of WWE Network hype is expected on tonight’s edition of RAW. Fans who signed up for the Network on WWE Hall Of Fame Saturday earlier this year had their subscription expire on Sunday. Those who signed up on WrestleMania XXX Sunday will have their subscriptions expire today.
– One of tonight’s RAW guest hosts, Hoda Kotb, who joins Kathie Lee Gifford at the Barclays Center, tweeted the following about tonight’s gig:
Wait— is it true that @KathieLGifford and I are doing @WWE tonight? I heard the divas going to kick us around. #uh-oh
WWE executive Stephanie McMahon appeared on the TDB Show (which features Tiki Barber, Brandon Tierney and Dana Jacobson) on CBS Sports Radio this morning to promote tonight’s edition of WWE RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
During the interview, Stephanie also spoke of WWE’s relationship with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which she claims started because John Cena had a family member who suffered from breast cancer.
She said there are a lot of similarities between her childhood and how her own kids are growing up in the business. She mentioned that her oldest daughter has been “bitten by the WWE bug” and apparently wants to become a WWE Diva when she gets older.
– Below is a video preview of WWE’s new “John Cena – Greatest Rivalries” DVD.
http://youtu.be/1AiebfsGQB0
– NXT star Sawyer Fulton recently debuted a new look, which is one of a few he has underwent in the past year alone. The NXT performer is now sporting a dark mohawk, as you can see in the pictures below.
John Cena will be appearing on NBC’s “Today” show on Monday to promote RAW in Brooklyn, New York.
The advertising lists Cena appearing to give the hosts of the show, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb and Joan Lunden a “pep talk” prior to their gig as guest hosts of Monday’s RAW at the Barclays Center.
– It is said that even if WWE decides against doing a John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose match on RAW with the winner facing Seth Rollins in a cage at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, that plans are to have a Cena-Ambrose singles feud eventually.
– WWE will be airing “Sneak Peek: The Best of Sting” on the WWE Network on Friday night at 10pm EST. The show will be a preview of the new WWE DVD, with the synopsis reading as follows:
“This Sneak Peek gives you a glimpse inside the seven hour collection of the best matches and moments starring the franchise of WCW – Sting.”
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.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On The Bunny and PG wrestling: “Admittedly, I am not in WWE’s target demo any longer but I’m still a fan but for the life of me I can’t ascertain the usefulness of a mini bull, a mini alligator or a giant rabbit. Apparently, I just don’t get it. Perhaps it’s the ‘Disney’ influence of the PG aspect of today’s WWE and if so that would make sense.”
On Diva action that he has enjoyed: “I’d like to see more AJ Lee vs. Paige and then see Natalya and Charlotte added to the mix to energize the female competition and WWE could still promote Total Divas which I understand why they have to do such.”
On Dolph Ziggler and unifying the I-C and U.S. titles: “Still optimistic that Dolph Ziggler can renew the luster to the IC Title and I am still an advocate of WWE combining the IC and the US Titles as a way to turn Sheamus heel with the US Title going away.”
On tension between John Cena and Dean Ambrose: “The tension that evolved during the show between Cena and Ambrose caught my attention and I’m curious as to where that might go. Cena’s polarizing rub would help make Ambrose a bigger fan favorite of which WWE is sorely lacking at the moment.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
This week on Raw, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and John Cena continued their three-way feud, as Seth Rollins ended the night by retrieving his briefcase and decimating his two foes.
Earlier in the evening, Cena and Ambrose once again hinted that there was tension between the two, with both claiming that they deserve the right to exact revenge from Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins.
Ambrose embarrassed his former partner earlier in the night, but Rollins got the last laugh.
Based on this week’s episode, it seems apparent that the reports released earlier in the week were true. In case you missed the news, the current plan seems to be that Dean Ambrose and John Cena will face one another at Hell in a Cell. The winner will be given the opportunity to face Rollins later in the evening, while the loser will be relegated to squaring off with Randy Orton.
The company is obviously hoping to develop a storyline that will reel viewers in for next month’s pay-per-view, and with Brock Lesnar apparently missing the event, it will take a lot more than a few singles matches to attract viewers, especially with the quality of Raw over the past few weeks. With that said, last night’s episode was admittedly a considerable upgrade over the previous few weeks.
So, how does the company attract viewers with no championship match and a card filled with contests that fans have seen over the past few months? The answer is clearly the briefcase.
Seth Rollins has become a main event player since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase back in June. He has teased cash-ins on multiple occasions, and attempted to slay the Beast at Night of Champions following the main event between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
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.
For the past year, the Authority has dominated WWE storylines. They have been involved in every WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud along the way, often influencing the outcomes of important matches.
Along the way, Triple H started using the phrase, “Adapt or Perish” to describe his stable Evolution. However, over the past few months, it appears that the Game should apply that same philosophy to the Authority.
Rollins has been one of the bright spots in the Authority storyline over the past few months.
Indeed, it has been much of the same as of late with the Authority. Other than adding Seth Rollins as a member a few months ago, the group has done literally nothing to change over the past year. This has resulted in too much Corporate Kane, a reliance on six-man tag matches nearly every week on Raw, and an almost identical storyline for any face attempting to challenge the Authority’s, well, authority.
In my opinion, the Authority has gone stale and needs to do something quickly in order to minimize the risk of losing fan interest. One possible solution would be to add new members. This could easily be accomplished by having one of the current members defect from the stable.
The most logical option would be Randy Orton, as they have teased tension between Orton and the Authority, and he’s a far more marketable star than Kane, the other stooge doing the group’s bidding. By having Orton leave the Authority, it could open the door for another young star as well.
Seth Rollins has benefited immensely since joining forces with Triple H and company. He captured the Money in the Bank briefcase, seems to be more confident on the mic with each passing week, and is way over with the fans. The stable could add another future star (perhaps someone from NXT) in an attempt to inject more life into the program.
In all, adding new talent to the Authority could only help, as the current storyline is extremely repetitive and formulaic, with most programs ending after Kane interferes in a match and the Authority beats down an opponent.
The following are highlights of a new Ten Sports interview with Bad News Barrett:
On working with John Cena after debuting on the main roster: “That was a pretty intense period in my life, to go from being pretty much an unknown wrestler, which I had been for 6 years at that point since I’ve started wrestling to suddenly get the opportunity to go out there and be a main event level character, and be the guy that’s opening up every RAW on the microphone and closing every RAW, wrestling all the top stars and beating up John Cena, which is a huge jump for me to go from that unknown around the world; I wasn’t recognized to immediately being one of the most important guys on the show. So it was a pretty intense period in my life, but I also loved every second of it. It was what essentially I was aiming to do, what I had sacrificed for, for over 6 – 7 years in my career to get to that point. So, to get that payoff, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders; so I didn’t really feel the pressure much. I was just enjoying the reactions we were getting and I knew it was working. Everything we did was working perfectly, so that felt good.”
On if he thinks Nexus could have been booked better towards the end: “Yeah, 100%. I think there was definitely more life left in Nexus at the time. If I had been in charge, I wouldn’t have ended it like it ended. But then again, we got great opportunities for young superstars to come into the WWE, make a huge impact and then 4 or 5 years down the line, most of us are still around, and most of us are still making a very good living in the WWE, and are involved in great angles. So I don’t really look at it in a negative way; I think we were very fortunate to get that opportunity, and I’m also very grateful for the fact that Nexus came along when it did. I wish it could’ve gone a bit longer, but I think there’s always that appetite left for people where they want to see some more of Nexus. They know it didn’t end the way it should’ve ended, and I think there’s always a potential in the future where we could bring it back. So we’ll have to see how that goes.”
On his favorite opponents: “My favorite opponent to work with.. I’d say there are two to choose between, and it’s because I’ve probably wrestled them more than anybody else, and that would be Kofi Kingston and Sheamus. They’re two completely different wrestlers. Kofi is obviously a high – flying, technical kind of guy, and Sheamus is very smash mouth and last time there were a lot of bruises and black eyes and things like that. So two completely different kind of wrestlers; I always seem to have good chemistry with them, and I don’t think I’ve had a bad match with either of those two, despite the fact that we’d wrestled hundreds of times. So I love wrestling those two, and then just before I got injured, I had a couple of matches with Dolph Ziggler. He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for, and I’ve known Dolph for 6 or 7 years and up until probably 3 months ago, we’ve never had a match before. So to get in with him and we clicked instantly; he’s another one that I’m hoping that when I get back, I get to do stuff with him because he’s currently got my Intercontinental championship I got stripped off. So fingers crossed, when I get back I can go straight for him, and try and win that back, and see what we can do together.”
As noted earlier this week, WWE is promoting the October 10th edition of WWE SmackDown as the 15th anniversary special. All of the regulars on the weekly SmackDown shows are expected to be a part of the broadcast, as well as John Cena and Triple H, both of whom are booked to appear.
As things stand now, there is no word regarding outsiders or stars from the past appearing on the show, however many expect that WWE will go all-out for the show, so the belief is that there will be some big names appearing.
Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view marked the end of the third quarter of the WWE calendar. With only three pay-per-views left in 2014, fans have almost reached the end of another exciting year of rasslin’.
With that said, it is now time to review the top matches from the third quarter. Feel free to compare these contests with the best matches from the first and second quarters:
Without further ado, here are the top five matches from the third quarter of 2014.
5. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Night of Champions)
Some might disagree with this choice, but I feel that it warrants inclusion. The contest perfectly juxtaposed the first contest between Cena and Lesnar at SummerSlam. Instead of Lesnar dominating from the opening bell, it was Cena who quickly hit an Attitude Adjustment and controlled the pace throughout much of the contest. The match was booked well enough that the outcome seemed in doubt, and the no-finish ending was the perfect way to keep the title on Lesnar, not make Cena look too weak, and inject Seth Rollins into the storyline.
With WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view just under five weeks away, many fans are speculating about which match will headline the show. After retaining the WWE Championship at night of Champions due to interference by Seth Rollins, neither Brock Lesnar nor Paul Heyman appeared on Monday’s RAW.
While another Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena rematch, this time inside Hell in a Cell, seems to make sense, it appears WWE is still uncertain about whether that match will take place. Paul Heyman was reportedly scheduled to appear on RAW to address his client’s “successful” title defense, Heyman was kept off the show due the uncertainty of the HIAC main event.
As of Tuesday morning, WWE is not planning for Lesnar vs. Cena at HIAC.
No matches have been announced for the show as of this writing.
– The September 21st episode of WWE Total Divas drew 1,188,000 viewers on E!. Despite the fact that it went head-to-head with Night of Champions, the show was up over 200,000 viewers from the previous week.
– Following John Cena’s win by disqualification over Brock Lesnar at WWE Night of Champions, Cena is now 2-4 all time in singles matches against Lesnar.
– NXT Diva Bayley posted the following promo on Instagram, vowing to capture the NXT Women’s Title from Charlotte at Friday’s live event in Cocoa, Florida:
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On WWE Night Of Champions match of the night: “IMO the US Title match between Champion Sheamus and Cesaro was the match of the night. Great physicality, drama and compelling action for my taste. Congrats to both men. Cesaro could easily fill a viable fan favorite role on the depleted WWE hero side of the roster. There is money in ‘face Cesaro if it is cultivated.”
On Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena: “Enjoyed the intensity and the physicality of the Lesnar vs. Cena match but I wasn’t overwhelmed with the decision even though I understand why it was the way it was. It seems as if it was a means of facilitating getting Brock and John to the Hell in a Cell PPV in Dallas in a little over a month. As a fan of Paul Heyman, I’d liked to have seen Paul somewhat more involved in the presentation Sunday night but I’m certain that @HeymanHustle will be front and center come Raw from Memphis.”
On WWE changes: “With injuries, scheduling issues, etc one might expect WWE to somewhat ‘reshuffle the deck’ with 5 weeks to build to some new issues between now and HIAC.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
On paper, WWE Night of Champions didn’t look like anything special. It was mostly a card packed with rematches, and what would have likely been the best match of the night was cancelled a few days before the event.
With that said, it was hard to come away from last night’s event without feeling satisfied. The action was solid, the booking was logical, and the pay-per-view as a whole was entertaining. Throughout the night, some superstars squandered their time on camera, while others excelled. Here are the 5 superstars who made the most of their time at Night of Champions.
5. Gold and Stardust
The Dust Brothers are finally champions once again. After several months with the Usos at the top of the tag division, it is nice to see a new team carrying the straps. Both Gold and Stardust worked very well during their contest, and it served as an excellent way to start the evening.
It will be interesting to see where the brothers go from here, as they are already teasing a feud with former NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension and there are few teams on the main roster worthy of a title shot. .
4. Chris Jericho
This was Y2J’s final match of his current run with the company. Although his program with Bray Wyatt fell a bit flat, it is always great to see Jericho back in a WWE ring.
He did not disappoint last night either, as Jericho and Orton put on a show for the Nashville crowd. The contest ended after a memorable spot that featured Orton hitting an RKO on Jericho after he dove from the top rope. Although he came out on the losing end last night, Jericho did everything he could to put Orton and the match over, and it served as an excellent conclusion to his current run.
3. Cesaro
From a wrestling perspective, the match of the night was easily Sheamus against Cesaro. The two worked incredibly well together, with a number of memorable spots and counters. Much like Jericho before him, Cesaro did not come out on top last night, but he showed why he is one of the best workers in the business.
Another United States Title run likely wouldn’t have done much to advance Cesaro’s career, so the loss isn’t really damaging, but it would be nice to see the Swiss Superman sporting a bit of gold in the near future (perhaps the Intercontinental Championship). Cesaro made the most of every second he was given, illustrating why he should be pushed as one of the future stars of the company.
WWE RAW emanates from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee with the fallout from Sunday night’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who successfully retained his title in his rematch against John Cena on Sunday, is not advertised to be a part of the show. Also expected to be absent tonight are Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns.
Superstars that are advertised for tonight’s show include Dean Ambrose, The Wyatt Family, Randy Orton, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Kane, Cesaro, Sheamus, Big E and The Usos.
In the case of Reigns, as noted above, he is not expected to appear, however he is included in the advertisements for the show. It’s worth noting that this is likely a case of advertisements that were released prior to his emergency surgery this weekend.
WWE is focusing on the following points in their “RAW Five-Point Preview” for tonight’s show.
– Who is next for Brock Lesnar?
– Will Dolph Ziggler look for retribution on The Miz tonight?
– What will Goldust and Stardust do next?
– Will Paige and Nikki Bella prey upon AJ Lee now that she’s the Divas Champion?
– Will Dean Ambrose strike at Seth Rollins once again?
The following is the final official lineup heading into tonight’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which takes place from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Goldust & Stardust
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
– Mark Henry vs. Rusev
– Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho
WWE Night Of Champions “Kickoff Show”
– “Peep Show” Segment with Christian and Chris Jericho
Make sure to visit SEScoops.com tonight for the best WWE Night Of Champions live play-by-play results coverage on the web!