– There is a feeling among many within WWE that as a way to downplay controversy and negative feelings when talent leaves the company, that instead of announcing releases, they will simply let their contracts expire.
– There has been some talk in WWE about a possible Mark Henry vs. Rusev match at the upcoming Money In The Bank pay-per-view.
– The next edition of WrestleMania Rewind, which airs next Tuesday on the WWE Network, will look back at the WrestleMania 23 match between Shawn Michaels and John Cena.
– WWE is already talking about ideas for a future feud between John Cena and Rusev. The company is looking to build Rusev up some more before pulling the trigger on a main event caliber program such as that, but ultimately that is where they will be heading at some point down the line.
– The following is the latest edition of the JBL & Cole Show:
A Northern Kentucky woman named Brittany Depew who suffers from leukemia tweeted out a photo this week stating that even though her illness is past the stage of being cured, she will still #NeverGiveUp and loves John Cena.
The photo went viral and got the attention of the WWE Superstar, who recorded a video singing Happy Birthday to her and congratulating her on her recent high school graduation.
On Wednesday, Cena tweeted about the power of social media to do positive things:
Often, sadly enough, social media is a haven for bullying and negativity. Today, a group of strangers used it for something wonderful.
This week’s edition of WWE Raw took place in Indianapolis, IN and was the post-Payback episode of the longest running weekly episodic television show in history. The card featured a total of nine matches, including a contest between John Cena and Kane, as well as a Money in the Bank qualifying match between Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio.
The show also featured two incidents that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the storyline for weeks to come. A lot of questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following this week’s edition of Raw.
5. Is Cesaro Going to Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship?
On this week’s Raw, Cesaro abandoned his partner Bad News Barrett, leaving him helpless against the team of RVD and Sheamus. After the match, Cesaro stood on the stage staring at Bad News Barrett, perhaps alluding to an upcoming feud between the two for the IC strap.
This feud could help both parties, as it would provide Barrett with a worthy opponent to work with, while also allowing Cesaro to challenge for the company’s second most important title. With rumors of Cesaro being the top contender to win the Money in the Bank briefcase, there are a few directions they could take with the King of Swing, and fans would likely welcome any push.
4. Will WWE Listen to the Fans and Push Dolph Ziggler?
One of the biggest injustices of the past year has been Dolph Ziggler’s demotion to the midcard. After finally cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio on the Raw after WrestleMania last year.
His reign would ultimately be cut short following a concussion, and after a few harsh words directed at John Cena, Ziggler’s burial was a certainty. He hasn’t been able to claw his way out of the doghouse since, despite calls from fans to give him a push.
There were chants for Ziggler during the match between Big E and Rusev at Payback, and it seemed like he might finally get back on track during a Money in the Bank qualifying match against Alberto Del Rio on this week’s Raw. The hopes of Ziggler fans around the world were quickly dashed, however, as he was forced to tap out to the Cross Armbreaker and it looks like Dolph has become a permanent fixture at the bottom of the card.
3. Who Benefited More from Their Feud: John Cena or Bray Wyatt?
During their last man standing match at Payback, John Cena literally buried Bray Wyatt after slamming him through a crate that was conveniently placed at the foot of a table.
Now that it appears their feud is over, one has to wonder which superstar benefited more from the program. It is hard to argue that any victory could put Cena over more. Wyatt used the program to get himself over with the audience, but he ultimately looked weak in each of their contests.
Wyatt lost two of the three matches, and his one victory came with the help of Harper, Rowan, and a child. Ultimately, Cena did not gain anything from the feud, and Wyatt is just as over as he was before and looked weak throughout, so I would say that neither guy really benefited.
The following are highlights of a new interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:
His Comedy Career: “I try to nip the idea of standup at the start because wrestling fans are interested in hearing me tell stories about my career. They’re not interested in hearing me tell setups and punch lines. So I try my best to assure them that I will not be telling jokes, but that I will be telling stories.”
“So the inspiration came from the very first day that I read the first chapter out loud to some of my co-workers in the dressing room. Once I found out that I could get the same reaction from listeners that which I thrived on in front of wrestling fans, I realized I may have an entirely new way of connecting with an audience.”
John Cena: “I pulled John Cena, Jr. aside at a recent show and asked “How would you feel about me having your dad come onstage to reprise his role from that night?” And John looked at me and he said “Please…” and then he hesitated and I thought he was going to say don’t do it. But he said “Do it!” So I know he’ll love it.”
“It’s really a lot of fun for me and I look forward to these shows the same way I used to look forward to house shows in great towns and even the pay-per-views. Nowadays when I do my comedy shows, people can tell this is not something I just arrived at. It is something I’ve worked on for years.”
What’s next for Mick Foley: “204 more days of Santa Claus attire! And a fanny pack at every stop. I’m really excited about the Santa Claus documentary. I posted a really nice article about another documentary that I helped fund and produced about the crisis of sexual bullying in schools and society. I’m continuing to try to make a difference wherever I go.”
After last niight’s WWE RAW show went off the air, Triple H, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins stuck around for a little while longer as officials checked on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. HHH and Orton shook hands and embraced with Rollins a few more times, confirming their new alignment.
After that, John Cena and Bray Wyatt came out. Wyatt sang, “he’s got the whole world in his hands,” while Cena sang a remix of the song, “you’ve got no penis in your pants.”
The two eventually had a little post-show dark match, which Cena ended up winning via the Attitude Adjustment.
– Roman Reigns noted during the WWE Payback post-show on Sunday night that he may have suffered a torn triceps during his six-man tag-team match against Evolution, which served as the main event of the evening. A fan who saw Reigns exit the building after the show noted that he clearly seemed to be in pain.
– Bad News Barrett suffered a black eye as a result of his match with Rob Van Dam at the WWE Payback pay-per-view. Barrett suffered the black eye when taking a stiff blow from Van Dam during their WWE Intercontinental Championship match.
– Bray Wyatt suffered various cuts as a result of his “Last Man Standing” match with John Cena at Payback, a match that many in the company were raving about afterwards.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley posted the following blog on his official Facebook page regarding the WWE Payback match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt:
THE REAL WINNER
Just finished watching ?#?Payback? and I thought it was a heck of a show – great atmosphere, a slap heard round the world, and matches that more than lived up to expectations. I received well over 1,000 comments about the show, and I know many of you are dissappointed that Bray Wyatt did not emerge victorious in his match with John Cena.
Or did he?
Winning is all relative in sports-entertainment, and in this wrestling fan’s eyes, Bray did indeed emerge victorious. He may not have made it to his feet by the 10 count last night, but in his promos and in his matches, Brey Wyatt has shown me that he is more than capable of standing on his own two feet at the very forefront of the new generation of WWE Superstars.
Unfortunately, there is no mathamatical formula for making a star in pro-wrestling. But if I had to boil down all the ingredients of the star-making process into one word, that one word would be “feuds”. Fans remember feuds, and Wyatt’s character and promos put him in a great position to create memorable feuds with just about any of the top stars in the company. Besides, there just might be some gas left in the Wyatt/Cena tank.
The upcoming WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view, which takes place on June 29th, is expected to feature only one multi-person ladder match for a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
While no one has been officially decided upon as the projected winner for this year’s Money In The Bank match, the front-runner is said to be up-and-coming WWE Superstar Cesaro.
Considering the fact that “The King Of Swing” has been earmarked for a big singles push, and is slotted as the number three baby face in the company for later this year, behind only John Cena and Daniel Bryan, it’s considered likely that if he indeed wins the Money In The Bank ladder match, he would go on to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion whenever he eventually cashes in his title-shot.
After Monday’s WWE RAW from Knoxville, Tennessee went off the air, John Cena grabbed a microphone and joked about the locals drinking moonshine all weekend to celebrate Memorial Day. Since a lot of people were clearing out, he said it must be past “last call.” He then started singing “Rocky Top” with the crowd, which brought out Bray Wyatt.
John Cena taunted him with the “no pearls in your pants” routine, which provoked Wyatt and led to a match. Cena defeated Wyatt with an Attitude Adjustment in about 6 minutes.
Both men hit their signature spots, with Cena kicked out of Sister Abigail. Towards the end, the referee got knocked out, allowing Rowan and Harper to interfere. Bray brought a steel chair into the ring but accidentally hit Rowan with it, allowing Cena to hit his finisher for the win. After the match, Cena sang Rocky Top again as he left the ringside area.
Overall, it was a lively crowd, with a good portion of the upper deck curtained off.
– In honor of Memorial Day in the United States, WWE.com is featuring “15 Patriotic Moments We Salute.”
– The Ultimate Warrior’s wife Dana has published a Memorial Day message, which you can view here.
– Jim Ross has updated the the Q&A section of JRsBarBQ.com. When asked why John Cena is feuding with Bray Wyatt instead of chasing the WWE World Heavyweight championship, JR responded:
“I’d suggest that Cena is working with Bray to help establish Bray as a star. Cena doesn’t need a title to be considered a star at this stage of the game. Bray doesn’t have to win the series of matches but the rub Cena provides will enhance Wyatt.”
– The Miz returned to action on the final shows of WWE’s European tour and could be back on television this week. Miz was away filming The Marine 4 and is rumored to be paired with as his manager Ric Flair soon.
– John Cena and Cesaro celebrated the end of WWE’s European tour last night in Berlin by drinking beers together in the ring. The WWE crew is traveling back to the United States for tomorrow’s RAW from Knoxville, Tennessee.
– The original Sin Cara (Mistico) is now wrestling in Mexico using the ring name El Misterioso (‘The Mysterious.’) After leaving WWE, he had been telling the media that he would be retaining the Sin Cara name.
When we say Uce, y’all say Cena sucks. Something feels off about that last sentence, but oh well, maybe it will catch on someday.
Over the past few weeks, fans have been treated to the somewhat unlikely pairing of John Cena and the Usos. The Tag Team Champions initially helped out WWE’s Superman during a six-man tag contest against the Wyatt Family, and have been accompanying him to the ring during his battles with the Wyatt Family ever since.
Cena and the Usos have enjoyed much success together over the past few weeks.
At first it seemed like the relationship between Cena and the Usos was a forced one. After all, what did the Usos really have to gain by helping Cena fight his seemingly never-ending battle with Bray Wyatt? It simply seemed as if creative was injecting anyone into the program to keep it fresh for a few more weeks.
However, as the weeks go on, it seems like it was a very smart move to include the Usos into the Cena/Wyatt program. The most important reason is that it provides the Usos with more exposure.
It is no secret that the Tag Team Championships have been placed on the backburner. After all, they have not even been defended on an actual pay-per-view telecast since Elimination Chamber and the Usos haven’t had a legitimate feud for the titles since the New Age Outlaws broke down faster than a 1978 Ford Pinto.
Pairing the Usos with Cena allows them to be on television more frequently, even if they are not defending their titles on a weekly basis. It also allows them to look strong, because Cena is absolutely never booked to look weak, as evidenced by his match against Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules where it took three superstars and a child to finally take down Cena.
Currently there are three matches officially announced for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois. Those matches are The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination match, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Other matches likely for WWE Payback include The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the WWE Divas Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship, Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger, Rusev vs. Big E. and Summer Rae vs. Layla with Fandango as special guest referee.
As far as the No Holds Barred Elimination main event, a possible scenario being considered is one that would see Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins eliminated early, leaving Roman Reigns to make a huge comeback on all three Evolution members by himself.
The match will be Batista’s final match in WWE for several months, and based on plans for the future, could be one of Triple H’s last for a while as well.
The following are highlights of a new interview with Short Sleeve Sampson:
His favorite moment in WWE: “There are definitely several different ones. The ones that stand out the most are the parodies. I was mini-Kurt Angle and I worked with Angle and did some work with John Cena as well. Both of them are very professional and fun to work with.–Another one was my Undertaker parody and working with him and JBL. I don’t know if getting chokeslammed by The Undertaker was the best thing in the world, but hey, how many people can say they’ve been chokeslammed by The Undertaker?”
His relationship with Vince McMahon: “It was a huge honor to work for him. I have a lot of respect for Vince and what he’s done, whether or not I agree with some of his decisions. He’s the head honcho and to work for the number one company is a great experience.”
Backstage heat reports at Extreme Rules: “I had been taking pictures throughout the day and after the weeLC match, I uploaded some of those pictures to my Facebook and social media pages. I was getting a lot of comments on the pictures and after an hour or so, someone commented on that particular photo: “If I were WWE, I’d fire Short Sleeve Sampson right now.” And I thought why would someone say that? So I looked at the picture and saw that Cena and the Wyatts were in it and I was surprised. So I deleted the picture. That was all done before their match took place that night. In that hour, people probably saved the photo and uploaded it, because the next day I saw that the photo went viral.
WWE never contacted me about it. I actually talked to them and everything’s been fine. There’s no heat. Had I known what was in the background, I never would have uploaded the picture. And I put up an apology for that online. I appreciate everything WWE has done for me and the opportunities they’ve given me and I would not want to burn any bridges.”
Hollywood megastar Hugh Jackman appeared on ESPN SportsCenter yesterday and was asked by Jonathan Coachman (yes, that Jonathan Coachman) to cut a promo on John Cena.
Superstar John Cena® Heads Five WWE® Standouts To Attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Aug. 21-23
WWE® Superstars John Cena®, Batista™ and Bray Wyatt™, WWE® Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino™ and WWE® Diva Paige™ will attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Aug. 21-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Special VIP packages now available.
Wizard World today announced WWE Superstars John Cena, Batista and Bray Wyatt, WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, and WWE Diva Paige are scheduled to greet fans, sign autographs and pose for photo ops at its biggest and longest running event, Wizard World Chicago Comic Con on August 21-22-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Cena will appear on Thursday, Aug. 21, from 3:30-7:30 p.m.; Bray Wyatt and Paige will attend on Friday, Aug. 22, from 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Sammartino is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Batista is slated for Saturday from 2-5:15 p.m. followed by a Guardians of the Galaxy panel at 5:15 p.m. Tickets for all events are extremely limited.
“Coming back to Chicago is a great thrill for me,” says Cena. “The fans here have always been good to me, and I really enjoy all my Wizard World appearances.”
“It is so great to meet not only the WWE Universe, but also fans of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” says Batista (Dave Bautista). “I’m really excited to be joining my co-stars Karen Gillan and Michael Rooker at Wizard World for our Guardians of the Galaxy panel just weeks after the US debut.”
“I had so many great matches in Chicago during my Hall of Fame career, it’s such a thrill to be going back,” says Sammartino. “It’s great to relive these wonderful memories with the WWE Universe here in Chicago.”
In addition to the five WWE stars, top celebrities scheduled to attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con include David Boreanaz (“Bones,” “Angel”), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,” Guardians of the Galaxy), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Winter Soldier), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead,” Boondock Saints) and many more.
It is the 10th of 16 events in the 2014 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) and will also feature a top-drawer collection of well-known comics artists and writers and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions. Wizard World Chicago Comic Con show hours are Thursday, August 21, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, August 22, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, August 23, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, August 24, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On The Wyatt Family: “When the audience is encouraged to sing along to a supposed villain’s singing of a spiritual hymn and the antagonist also uses Mick Foley’s ‘cheap pop’ line of mentioning the city from which the show is emanating, those matters are not helping the talent become a ‘hated’ performer. Perhaps that’s the idea….perhaps the end game will be that Bray Wyatt isn’t a villain but Harper and Rowan might be. I have a crazy storyline idea on the new Ross Report Podcast that drops today (Tuesday) at 6 pm Pacific time at podcastone.com featuring @Goldberg. Check it out.”
On John Cena: “At the end of the night not one fan favorite came to John Cena’s aid as he was being beat like a Government Mule by three men. The humanity of it all. One would assume that at least one ‘good guy’ would wonder out to the stage in an attempt to ‘do right’ if not to only get beaten by the three, bearded, disenfranchised Duck Dynasty gone bad Swamp People. (I watch too much TV.)”
On Paige losing in London: “I wasn’t shocked whatsoever that Paige lost on TV in her home country and neither should anyone else who’s been alive for more than a few hours. Obviously, just as I did, WWE liked what they saw last week with Alicia Fox and wanted Alicia to get an impactful win and beating Norwich, England’s own Paige was the solution that was used. If you think about it long enough, it’s not bad casting. Hey, we’ve all seen worse.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Following Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW in London, England, here is your updated lineup for the WWE Payback pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, June 1st. It should be noted that not all of these matches have been officially announced yet, although are all planned for the PPV.
No Holds Barred Elimination Match
– The Shield vs. Evolution
Last Man Standing Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
– John Cena has recently granted three more wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cena met with children at Extreme Rules in East Rutherford, RAW in Greenville and RAW in Greensboro. Cena has now granted well over 400 wishes.
– According to mixed reports, WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam suffered a shoulder injury during his match at the WWE live event in Glasgow, Scotland last Wednesday. Van Dam continued to work the tour after the Glasgow date, however, so the injury doesn’t appear to be anything serious.
– Following Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a “Last Man Standing” match has been confirmed for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, June 1st.
– Speaking of SmackDown, here is this week’s edition of “SmackDown Fallout,” which features Batista.
– Finally, in one last SmackDown-related note, here is the video package that aired on Friday’s show to update fans on the condition of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.
– The WWE European tour continues this weekend with live events in Cardiff, Wales and Birmingham, England on Sunday. Despite clunking heads with Randy Orton in Glasgow on Wednesday, Roman Reigns is still scheduled to battle the Evolution member in the main event of the Cardiff show. The Birmingham show is advertising a John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt main event.
– Hulk Hogan is scheduled to make an appearance at this coming Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which will be taped during the day at the O2 Arena in London, England.
The Yes! Movement received the worst possible news this week on Raw, as their unlikely hero announced that he will require neck surgery this Thursday and will be out of action for an indefinite amount of time.
Early reports indicate that Bryan has a broken neck and will be out for at least one to two months, with his possible returning coming at SummerSlam. This is terrible news for Bryan, who after a long journey finally captured the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
It appears that he also will not be appearing on television in any capacity for at least a few weeks, as the attack later in the show by Kane was likely a way to write Bryan off of television while he recovers from surgery at home. This leads one to wonder about the future of the WWE Championship, and also if Bryan can maintain momentum while missing at least a month of time.
After finally overcoming the Authority at WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan will miss significant time due to injury.
As of now, it is being reported that Bryan will not be stripped of the title. This could of course change at any moment, especially if the product becomes stale during his absence. If Bryan ends up missing the maximum amount of time, that seems like a very long time to go with essentially no champion.
In my opinion, if it is determined that Bryan will miss any more than one month, the Authority should strip him of the title. This could serve a few purposes. First, it would keep momentum strong by having the Authority still trying to hold Bryan down, especially with Stephanie McMahon being the storyline reason Bryan was injured in the first place after unleashing the demon Kane.
Second, it could allow for someone else to receive a push in Bryan’s absence. Imagine if a tournament were held for the WWE Championship similar to the one just held for an Intercontinental Title match. It could allow for a fresh face to hold the championship for a while and create interesting television over the next few weeks by having qualifying matches on Raw, with the championship match being held at Money in the Bank.
John Cena returns to the Wizard World Tour at the inaugural San Antonio Comic Con on Sunday, Aug. 3. The iconic WWE Superstar will sign autographs and pose for photos from noon to 4 p.m. at Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
“Wizard World provides one of the best experiences for the WWE Universe,” Cena said. “I am excited to see all our fans at Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con on Aug. 3.”
Cena joins such noted pop culture figures as John Barrowman (“Arrow,” “Torchwood”), Norman Reedus and Jon Bernthal of “The Walking Dead,” William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “T.J. Hooker”), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Torchwood”), Manu Bennett (“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Arrow”), Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville,” “Justice League”) and others currently scheduled to attend Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con.
For more information, visit https://wizardworld.com/home-sanantonio.html.
