– John Cena, who missed this past Monday’s edition of RAW due to movie filming commitments, will also be missing the August 4th edition of RAW in Austin, Texas. Cena will again be working on the film “Trainwreck” that day.
– WWE has signed a new television deal with OSN, which covers the Middle East and Northern Africa. The deal includes RAW, SmackDown, NXT, Main Event and pay-per-views through 2019.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE has announced a return to Mexico, as they will be bringing shows to the Arena Ciudad in Mexico City on October 18th and in Monterrey on October 19th. Additionally, there will be two other shows. One in Bogata, Columbia and another in that region, both of which have not been given official dates as of yet.
John Cena, Bray Wyatt and Alberto Del Rio are listed as the top stars of the tour, which will include most of WWE’s top performers.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena is currently filming his scenes in the new Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy, “The Nest,” where he will be playing his first villain role in a movie. Deadline.com reports:
“Wrestling superstar John Cena is dropkicking his way into The Nest, Universal’s Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy about two sisters who throw one last party in their parents’ soon-to-be-sold house. Character details are under wraps but I hear the Cenation Leader is playing what could mark his first villain role after spending over a dozen years as the WWE’s All-American hero.”
The movie will document two sisters (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) who attempt to throw one last party in their childhood home before their parents sell it.
Cena missed the July 21 edition of WWE RAW to film scenes for the movie and will miss at least one more episode of RAW heading into his title defense against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam on August 17th.
The photo was taken at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, New York. Here’s another photo of Cena on set:
WWE.com has published Michael Cole’s weekly sit down interview with WWE COO Triple H. Here are some highlights:
– When asked about Stephanie McMahon’s “arrest” on RAW, Triple H said he has been advised not to speak about the case because of “pending legal action.” Cole asked how she was and Triple H got upset, telling him to move on.
– Triple H said he picked “Plan C” Brock Lesnar to face John Cena at SummerSlam because he guaranteed the WWE Universe that Cena would not leave the event as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’s going to fulfill that guarantee and Lesnar is the man who will help him keep his word. He assured Cole that Lesnar will get the job done.
– Cole asked about putting WWE’s biggest franchise Superstar in the ring with the man who may have ended The Undertaker’s career. Triple H said Lesnar vs. Cena is best for business and the WWE Universe wants to see Cena have the best possible competition. His job isn’t to protect Cena “because he sells t-shirts.” He added that said WWE has relied on Cena for years, but the company will move on when the time comes. If Lesnar ends Cena’s career, so be it.
– Cole congratulated Triple H on the one year anniversary of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Triple H said it has been an amazing year and the Performance Center is a big step into the future for WWE. He said that WWE’s future is bright and the wrestlers using the Performance Center have advantages that previous generations never had.
There has been a lot of talk within WWE lately about WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena’s movie career.
With Cena missing WWE shows to film “The Nest” and Cena already signed on to appear in “Trainwreck,” a few wrestlers have been joking that Cena will be appearing on TV “via satellite.”
People are speculating backstage that if Cena’s movie career takes off, he could be the next top star to step away from WWE in favor of a Hollywood career.
While Cena will always be part of the WWE family, the company is already preparing for the day when Cena reduces his WWE schedule.
(Source: PWInsider)
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:
Stephanie’s Arrest: “Stephanie McMahon arguably stole the show with her interaction with Brie Bella and subsequently Steph getting ‘arrested.’ Her facials were priceless as was her timing and her natural ability to be a heel. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. Steph wrestling at Summer Slam is a gimme as it should be.”
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at SummerSlam: “It makes perfect sense for Brock Lesnar to challenge John Cena for the WWE Title at Summer Slam and for Lesnar, as I’ve outlined on the Ross Report podcast the past couple of months, to win the title and then lose it to Roman Reigns at WM31. I love Lesnar as champion and his infrequent, in person schedule of making Monday Night Raw shows doesn’t bother me at all especially if the creative team has their thinking caps on and the booking is territory-like as in where the world champion was never on regular, weekly TV.”
Paul Heyman’s Promo: “Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle promo to close RAW was one of the best that I have heard in years. Even though I am WAY out of the WWE loop, I am still proud that I was able to help Paul early in his career and hope that his DVD that’s released soon will be a huge hit. Listen to Heyman’s promo again and see how he covered every base and will have the Summer Slam crowd in LA loudly cheering for the ‘Angry Viking’ vs. ‘ The Dr. of Thugonomics’ as Paul described Cena. In other worlds, the main event at S’Slam will be loaded with emotion especially if Cena takes it dead serious in his promos between now and then.”
It was announced on the post-Battleground edition of WWE RAW that Triple H would reveal his plan for John Cena’s opponent for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view.
After many teases, it was revealed that Triple H’s “plan A” was Randy Orton, his “plan B” was Seth Rollins, but by the end of the night, “The Game” was convinced by Paul Heyman to go with “plan C,” which is Brock Lesnar.
So there you have it, after weeks of rumors, it has been confirmed that SummerSlam this year will be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE held its annual Battleground pay-per-view last night. It was the second incarnation of the event and featured a total of six matches on the actual card and two additional matches on the pre-show.
On paper, the event looked more than solid and seemed like it would be one of the best shows of the year. Things quickly took a turn for the worse, however, and the WWE dropped a massive turd on its fans last night. The event was clearly slopped together and featured some of the laziest storytelling fans will ever encounter.
Lana and Rusev received some serious heat last night after referencing the recent Malaysia Airlines crash. It will be interesting to see if the WWE takes a step back after receiving criticism from multiple news outlets.
The company also pulled a total bait and switch on fans that paid to see the event. The most anticipated match of the night for many was Seth Rollins squaring off with former Shield partner Dean Ambrose. Prior to the event, the match had been heavily advertised and was clearly one of the main reasons fans were tuning in.
Instead of holding the match, however, Triple H cancelled the contest and threw Dean Ambrose out of the building, eventually awarding the victory to Seth Rollins due to forfeit. Fans were expecting an absolute classic of a matchup, but instead were treated to a few backstage brawl segments that were nothing special, and amounted to the same thing fans can see for free each week on Raw.
Last night, the WWE basically told the fans that this matchup was too good to take place at a crummy pay-per-view such as Battleground and will be saved for SummerSlam. Honestly, fans should feel cheated after what they saw with the Ambrose/Rollins program last night.
– Unless plans change, which they always could and often do, the working plan coming out of last night’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view is for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to finally have their big match at SummerSlam, while Roman Reigns and Randy Orton are scheduled to break off into a singles program at the big summer event.
– The following is a post-Battleground backstage interview with the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena.
It appears that the working plan right now is for The Miz and Sheamus to feud in a program that will build to a unification of the Intercontinental and United States Championships, much like Randy Orton and John Cena did with the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships last year.
As noted earlier today, after Miz’s program with Sheamus, which is expected to last past SummerSlam, the man with the “Money Maker” is then set to work a program with Dolph Ziggler.
John Cena has been pulled from the listing for this Monday’s post-Battleground edition of WWE RAW because he will be busy filming the new “Trainwreck” movie that he is appearing in.
Some are speculating that as a result of Cena not being at Monday’s RAW, where Brock Lesnar is scheduled to return, that it is a sign that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship may change hands at tonight’s Battleground show.
Additionally, there are a lot of people within WWE pushing for the company to “pull the trigger” on Roman Reigns because they feel that now is the right time.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
The top superstars in the WWE will compete at this Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view. Headlining the event is a fatal four-way matchup for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In all, there are eight matches scheduled for the event, and nearly all of the company’s titles will be up for grabs. Here are my predictions for Sunday’s Battleground.
Cameron vs. Naomi (Pre-Show Match)
These two have been at each other’s throats since the breakup of the Funkadactyls. Cameron has become increasingly problematic for Naomi, as she continues to rack up wins and have success in the Divas division. I think Naomi will finally put the Funkadactyls by hitting the Rear View for the win.
Winner: Naomi by pinfall
Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal
This should be one of the most exciting matches of the night, as a number of viable contenders will be battling to become the new Intercontinental Champion. Bad News Barrett will also be on hand to present the title to the new champ.
It would appear that only a few of the entrants have a legitimate chance at winning the title, including Sheamus, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Bo Dallas. I think it comes down to Dallas and Cesaro at the end, with Cesaro ultimately coming out on top. An attack or provocation by Barrett could also turn Cesaro face once again and start a feud, as it appears his days as a Heyman guy are nearly over.
Winner: Cesaro
The Usos (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Wyatt Family (2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match)
These two teams have been battling one another for what seems like forever at this point. I think this is the point where the Wyatt Family finally breaks through and strikes gold. The teams will split the first two falls before the Wyatt Family becomes the new Tag Team Champions after Luke Harper hits a clothesline to win the third fall.
Winner: Wyatt Family by pinfall
AJ Lee (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
I’m not really sure what the plan is with this one. It appeared that they were trying hard for a double turn on the night of AJ Lee’s return, but the crowd wasn’t really having it. The two have now developed into so-called “frenemies.”
This should be a close matchup that will hopefully receive at least five to ten minutes. AJ Lee will struggle throughout, but will ultimately come out on top after locking in the Black Widow and forcing Paige to tap out. Don’t be surprised if Paige attacks AJ after the match in an attempt to turn her heel.
Winner: AJ Lee by submission
As noted recently, Bray Wyatt had his eye swollen shut after receiving a stiff shot from Ric Flair during the recent WWE live event in Madison Square Garden. Wyatt spoke to the local CBS affiliate in Tampa today to discuss the situation.
“I look at it as an honor,” said Wyatt. “Madison Square Garden. Ric Flair. John Cena. At the end of a long, long, long war, a little [bruise] is not so bad. I’m used to having stitches and things all over my body, so I didn’t even know I was bleeding.” Wyatt concluded, “I thought I was blind!”
WWE announced Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair as “co-hosts” for an upcoming non-televised live event in San Jose, California.
The show, which takes place on August 16th, will feature the kick-off of ticket sales for WrestleMania 31.
Already scheduled for the card are the following matches:
– John Cena vs. Kane [Street Fight]
– Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
– Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt [Ric Flair as Special Referee[
– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Adrian Neville recently spoke to Brian Fritz of Between The Ropes at a WWE “Be a Star” rally. During their discussion, which you can check out above, Neville talked about the support he and the NXT crew received from John Cena recently.
“John is always very supportive and he always has good, sound advice,” Neville said. “He always has time to talk to you and let you know what he thinks.”
Neville continued, “He’s always very honest, which I respect and I appreciate. He was very complimentary after that. He knew how big the occasion was not only for myself but for the brand in general. He knew post match that the show itself, we hit it out of the park, we hit a home run. It was very cool to kind of get that because that day was very much kind of this whirlwind of activity and it was easy to get lost, but for John to kind afterwards come came and put it all in perspective. It was a very humbling moment and it was very cool.”
Check out the complete interview above.
– WWE has launched a new Slam City game for children. You can check that out at WWESlamCity.com.
The preview for the game reads as follows:
“John Cena is late for work in WWE Slam City! He straps on a jet pack and needs your help to avoid The Finisher and get to the auto shop across town before his boss notices! Can you get Cena to work? Play WWE Slam City Launch today!”
– The following is a video of The Rock’s recent appearance on ESPN’s “Sports Nation” show.
http://youtu.be/WcgL5QH_ics
MMANEWS.COM: Update On Anderson Silva & GSP’s Return, Ronda Rousey/WWE & MORE!
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On WWE’s depth issues: “WWE’s depth issues are easily identified when so many top, top stars are seen on the show in front of the live audience multiple times. We live in unique times as it relates to being not only a wrestling fan but a talent as well. Never in my recollection has the landscape been more conducive for someone to break though and soar to the top of a card than now. That speaks to the overall depth issues within the business in general. Secondly, it’s never been more challenging to be in the biz as there are simply too few places that one can work full time and earn a good living. It’s the old, double edge sword conundrum as in damn if you do and damn if you don’t.”
On the dynamic between John Cena and Roman Reigns on RAW: “I enjoyed the Cena-Reigns dynamic throughout the broadcast as both men walked a fine line but one can easily see that a personal issue could develop between the two quite easily although I somewhat doubt that it would be a long term one considering that WWE needs both men to be fan favorites. Nonetheless they have noticeable chemistry together which interests me.”
On Dean Ambrose: “Dean Ambrose took a fine, restaurant quality ass whipping early in the show. Heroes who don’t quit and show no fear while selling thoroughly usually get themselves over. Ambrose is.”
On CM Punk commercials during RAW: “The CM Punk promotional material for the WWE Network is a good way to create interest and sell subscriptions for the Network and I don’t think it means any thing more than that which is merely my speculation and not based on any ‘inside’ knowledge.”
On the Sting/WWE 2K15 commercial: “Great video done by 2K Sports to promote @Sting as a player on their upcoming, WWE video game. Sting will be available if one pre orders the game as I understand it. Does this mean that Sting will be wrestling in WWE? It’s not a lock whatsoever and I’d suggest it is a long shot but things can always change. I’d love to see Sting have a WrestleMania moment in his career but I’ll admit that I’m biased.
“Sting will be a guest on my podcast on July 29 of which we’ve already taped and it’s a great conversation.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.
Several weeks ago, Amazon.com posted the artwork for the SummerSlam 2014 DVD featuring John Cena and Brock Lensar. While it was assumed that this would be the SummerSlam main event, a match between the two superstars was technically not mentioned on the poster. Now, WWE commercial hyping John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar is airing in select markets across the United States, confirming the WWE World Heavyweight title match.
Following Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, there’s been a lot of speculation that the “big gold” World Heavyweight championship belt is being retired.
During the opening segment, John Cena did a hard sell for the WWE Network, told fans there’s one major reason to order the Network and held up the WWE Championship belt. Later in the show, after Ric Flair cut a promo, John Cena greeted him on the stage and presented him with the World Heavyweight title. He told Flair to “keep it” and went to the ring with just the WWE Championshipb elt.
Later in the night, JBL made reference to there being “only one title” now.
While it’s not official that the World Heavyweight title belt is retired, it’s been speculated that WWE will be replacing the two current WWE World Heavyweight Championship belts with an updated WWE Championship belt sporting the new company logo.
– It was announced on RAW that at this week’s edition of SmackDown, Chris Jericho will go one-on-one with Luke Harper of The Wyatt Family.
– Below is a video of John Cena confronting Roman Reigns on Monday’s RAW:
– Mark Henry made his return at the WWE live event in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Henry served as one of the lumberjacks that was led by Ric Flair. According to live reports, Henry actually turned heel during the match and threw John Cena into the ring post.
– Speaking of Ric Flair, it’s said that when he and Bray Wyatt got physical after the end of the Wyatt-Cena lumberjack match, Flair accidentally busted Wyatt open. According to reports, Wyatt was said to be nearly covered in blood. Here’s video of the incident:
Nikki Bella recently spoke with Digital Spy to promote Total Divas appearing on E! UK later this month. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
If Divas Will Ever Main Event WWE Pay-Per-Views: “I hope and pray for that. There’s nothing I would want more. Brie and I work so hard in that ring and outside that ring, and a lot of the Divas do. That’s something that we would love. Do I understand that I’m in a man’s industry? 100%. When I see all those little boys, I see them look at the guys and that’s their Superman, that’s their Batman. I think it’ll be very tough for us to main event, but I think it can definitely happen. To tell you the truth, I think Steph and Brie are two women that could definitely make that happen. I think there’s a few of us in the division that definitely in the future could make that happen, and I truly hope one day it will. I think the day that we do it, they’ll see the success of it and realize we can do it a lot.”
If She Feels Threatened By NXT Divas Emma, Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks: “I actually have to say I’m really, really excited. When you have such a love and passion for wrestling and you love to work, you want to get in with good workers. I want those girls to come up, I want to get in the ring with them. I want challenges, I want to compete. I don’t want it to always be easy. I don’t want it to always just be a few of us girls. I want there to be competition. I’ve been an athlete and competitor my whole life, and there’s nothing more that I get off on than competition. I was saying earlier that I want to wrestle Brie. Brie’s gotten so good in the ring and [Daniel] Bryan [Danielson] and her have worked so hard in that ring before live events. I want to get in there and wrestle my sister! That’s the fun part, when you get in there with someone who has the same passion for wrestling and that can work well and you can put on a good match where you can really just get at each other.”
“There’s a few matches in the past few months that I’ve had with Natalya, my goodness, we’re actually going at it really hard. We were loving it! The harder we were hitting each other, the better it was. It was just fun to do certain takedown moves. That’s the stuff that makes it fun, so I’m happy ‘cos these girls down there have been training hard and I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about them and I’m like, ‘Get up here, I’m excited!’.”
“I was excited when Paige came up. If she goes heel one day, I’m like, please! I’m hoping for it because I’m a babyface and there’s nothing more that I’d love than to work a program with Paige. I think it’d be awesome. So I’m excited for these girls to come up. I never look at people as threats, because I’m always like, ‘What makes our product better?’ Having great female wrestlers makes our product better.”
If She Will Get Back In The Divas Championship Picture: “I hope soon! I want that Divas Championship. When I train in the gym and when I go to the ring early and train, all I think about is getting that Divas Championship. How can I be impressive? How can I have the crowd be behind me and connect with me and want me to be the Divas Champion? I think about that all the time, all the time! That’s what’s on my vision board. I truly hope to get that Championship back. I had it for a week, and I want a longer reign than that. I want to make that Championship mean something. I want to get great storylines.
“And if anything I hope Paige takes it off of AJ and Paige and I go into a story. I would love to take it off Paige. That would be awesome. Hopefully Paige and I can do something after her and AJ are done, but we’ll see. It’s live TV and it changes every week, but I want to get in it, I want to get in it bad. I have stuff up my sleeve that I want to show the crowd, that I’m waiting and saving it for, but I just can’t wait – I hope it’s soon.”
If She Feels Protective Of John Cena: “John loves this business, he truly lives and dies for this business. It’s what he breathes. I’m with him all the time and when he’s not at work, he’s doing whatever he can to make work better. I’m very protective of him, I’ve always referred to myself as a lioness. That’s my king and I’m the queen! But when I hear those chants it actually makes me laugh because if they didn’t like him they wouldn’t even say his name. I think it’s become more fun. When you hear it you hear all the little kids say ‘Let’s go, Cena!’ and then you hear the men say ‘Cena sucks’.
“I think deep down they truly like him and they’ in awe of him, like, ‘Gosh, his body!’ He’s a cool guy. But I think it’s just become a fun thing to do. If they truly hated him… like when people wanted to say we hate Dave Batista, they weren’t giving him that much attention. Then they started to [give him attention] because they were like, ‘He’s back to work, we respect that’. With John I think it’s become more a fun thing to do. That’s the chant you do! They do it before the shows start. Before the show’s even started, that’s the chant that you’ll always hear!”
The main event for this coming Monday’s RAW will be a six-man tag-team match, as John Cena, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose will team up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also scheduled for Monday’s RAW are Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville, who are expected to work dark matches, as well as the return of Ric Flair.
Following Monday’s RAW, here is an updated look at the official WWE Battleground pay-per-view lineup:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Kane vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Battle Royal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, The Great Khali, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big E., Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del RIo, Bo Dallas, Sheamus and Fandango
– Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Ever since John Cena captured his 15th World title at last month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, WWE has dubbed him the “Greatest World Champion of All Time.” Not only are WWE’s announcers using this bold claim when talking about Cena, even his fellow WWE Superstars are. WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has chimed in on the subject, tweeted the following on Monday night:
Multiple mentions that @JohnCena is the greatest WWE World Champion doesn't help John. Does him no favors. Feels forced. He'd agree.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 8, 2014
Comment Below if you agree that John Cena is the greatest World Champino of all time – and if you think it’s a good idea for WWE to slap that label on him.