– WWEShop.com is giving away free shipping on NXT merchandise until midnight with the promo code NXT.
– Over 200 ticket holders were turned away from last night’s WWE NXT Arrival event at Full Sail University. The University actually oversold the event, since they usually get over a hundred no-shows and wanted a packed house.
– In a dark match that took place prior to NXT ArRival going on the air, Mason Ryan beat Sylvester Lefort with his cobra clutch slam.
– After the show went off the air, John Cena, who was sitting ringside, got in the ring and put Adrian Neville over. Cena told the crowd he’d keep it brief and a guy in the crowd yelled “Good!.” Cena said he knows it’s two hours past that guy’s curfew, but he spoke to the guy’s mom and smoothed it over.
Neville went to the top of the ramp and Triple H raised his hand. Triple H sent Neville back to the ring for another big pop. Neville climbed the top rope and did a corkscrew moonsault and landed on his feet. Overall, the crowd was very into the show.
– John Cena is still being advertised for this weekend’s WWE live events, despite the knee injury angle that took place on RAW. Cena will face Randy Orton at live events in North Charleston, SC, Jacksonville, FL and Moline, IL.
– The following matches will take place on tonight’s episode of WWE Main Event:
Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Los Matadores, and El Torito vs. Curtis Axel, Ryback, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, and Jinder Mahal
One of the big stories coming out of Monday’s RAW was that John Cena appeared to injure his knee during a brawl with The Wyatt Family. The injury appeared legit, with the Wyatt Family backing off Cena when he started grabbing his knee and Cena waving off WWE officials who attempted to check on him.
Several reputable sites (including f4wonline.com) reported that Cena was in fact injured, however, we’ve now learned that John Cena being stretchered out was actually written into the RAW script. The stretcher was ready to go even before Cena went out to the ring.
WWE hyped a “medical update” on John Cena for the RAW Backstage Pass show on the WWE Network, so this was basically done to encourage viewers to check out the WWE Network after RAW.
Hulk Hogan Opens Up RAW The big announcement earlier this week was of course the return of the Hulk Hogan, and how he will be The Host of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. What can be said about Hulk Hogan? He’s the Babe Ruth of wrestling, and icon and legend. He deserved to be in WWE in come capacity, and why on earth he was in TNA for as long as he was, I’ll never know. Wade Barrett took a verbal shot at hogan at The Elimination Chamber Pay Per Vew, and was no were to be seen on this show, so I can only wonder, if he will fill the role of Hogan’s Punching bag at WrestleMania XXX, time will tell. YES!
Alberto Del Rio vs. BOOtista / Randy Orton Interrupts. WWE is now starting to acknowledge that BOOtista is getting booed out of the building. Well it’s about time! How long can you go jamming someone down the audience’s throats that is clearly not connecting positively with the fans? Let me make myself clear, I don’t hate Batista, I hate the idea that WWE felt they needed Batista to fill some gap at WrestleMania XXX, and injected him into the Main Event, in spite of an organic rise of Daniel Bryan. Clearly a large portion, and not a vocal minority is in agreement with this sentiment. Batista is already starting to
BOOTista is going to WrestleMania XXX #DealWithIT NO!
lean towards heel tendencies, making a crying face, after his entrance, and his #DealWithIt catch phrase, is quite antagonizing. So Big Dave loses to Del Rio after Randy Orton distracts him. Orton acknowledges the recent crowd reception Batista is receiving. Batista responds while sweaty and slobbering all over, that the fans have a choice, and he’s okay with their choice. I’m just turned off to this story. I’d be happier if Batista went full on Heel and Batista Bombed the crap out of Daniel Bryan, get him in this story, because this is boring me, and even if they inject Daniel Bryan into the Main event, I’m not sure I can take 5 weeks of build up to Orton vs Batista. NO!
WWE Intercontinental Championship Big E. (c) vs. Cesaro The match was good, Ceasaro is definitely getting a face turn soon, and rightly so, there is a big drop off on faces, and I would argue to you he already is a face, based on the crowd reaction he’s getting, and his Ceasaro Swing. Looks like Jack Swaggar is going to be Cesaro’s opponent, eventually. YES!
John Cena Injured during his interaction with The Wyatts NO!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family Thirty days after John Cena was screwed out of the WWE Championship at The Royal Rumble, and one night after he was screwed again from The Wyatts, John Cena finally decides to address the situation. He must have had that on his iPhone to-do list and kept forgetting to take care of this task. You know if the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most prized possession in sports entertainment, and they were combined because of your challenge to Randy Orton in December, you’d figure John Cena would have had have a bit more fire, than to wait 30 days. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena, has the potential to be a good story, and maybe even a good match, although Erick Rowan, may have changed the whole situation, because Cena appeared to be legitimately injured. Time will tell. I wouldn’t be terribly upset with a plan B of The Shield vs The Wyatts at WrestleMania. YES!
Sheamus with a Brogue Kick to Christian NO!
Christian vs. Sheamus Match was okay, nothing special in my opinion, but I must admit, it was just a match, and I was quite bored from it. Heavy rumor is Heel Sheamus vs Cesaro WrestleMania, I think that would be a good match. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
John Cena suffers knee injury at the hands of The Wyatt Family
GREEN BAY, Wisc. — John Cena’s knee was left battered and bruised after a vicious attack on Raw at the hands of all three members of The Wyatt Family. Following the brutal beatdown, the 14-time World Champion was taken to the locker room to be evaluated by WWE trainers.
At this time, WWE medical staff is unsure of the exact nature of the injury. After initial examination, they felt some instability and swelling in Cena’s knee, and recommended that the Cenation leader get an MRI. Initially, Cena refused further treatment.
On Raw Backstage Pass on WWE Network, ringside physician Dr. Chris Amann explained that John Cena felt something shift or give in his knee during the confrontation. While he refused treatment at first, Cena was transported to a local medical facility for more evaluation. Cena is still refusing to have an MRI done on his knee.
Bray Wyatt, pleased with the carnage caused by his monstrous family, ominously tweeted later in the night, “The golden calf has been sent out to pasture …Can you still see him?”
John Cena suffered a legitimate injury during the attack he suffered from The Wyatt Family at Monday’s post-Elimination Chamber edition of WWE RAW.
The injury took place when Erick Rowan took him down as soon as The Wyatt Family hit the ring to start their attack. There is early fear that Cena either dislocated or hyper-extended his knee.
As seen on RAW, Cena was taken out of the ring on a stretcher. Michael Cole informed fans that he had a lot of swelling around his knee and was being checked on by WWE trainers backstage.
The following are highlights of a recent Source interview with R-Truth:
On recording music with Wiz Khalifa and whose album it will be on: “On mine, but if he’s doing something that he wants me to be a part of I would be glad to do so. That night was actually Wiz’s first WWE show and he was blown away. I got a chance to talk with him and told him I was working on my next album and asked him if he would be down to be part of it which he agreed – I asked him if he was down to spit a 16 on my next album, and he said “Let me know when, I’m ready” – I asked him if he would be down to walk down the ring with me at any given point he told me he was down for whatever, so that was huge for me. Especially being a fan of his music, the collaboration is going to be banging.”
On other rappers that may appear on his album: “I’ve spoken already with Juvenile. I’m in talks right now with DMX and MGK. I spoke a little bit with E-40 about doing something but thats not confirmed yet, but I’m still working on features. I already got John Cena on two tracks and thats banging already, so expect that.”
On his current WWE character and goals for 2014: “Right now the R-Truth character is pretty much going to the ring and handling business. Me personally, I’m working on this album and working on myself – perfecting my craft every week and everyday. I’m trying to get to that next level. I’m trying to have that talked about match at WrestleMania, if its not this WrestleMania it’s going to be the next WrestleMania because thats why you in this business for, to get into the main event – the Super Bowl of wrestling, and that is WrestleMania.”
Check out the complete R-Truth interview at TheSource.com.
– WWE Superstar John Cena granted his 401st wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation this past Monday prior to the RAW show in Denver, Colorado. The WWE Community website has photos of Cena meeting 5-year old Amir at Community.WWE.com.
– The pre-sale for tickets to the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view begins today with the password EXTREME. The event takes place on May 4th from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
– As previously reported, WWE will be releasing their “Signature Sounds: The Music of WWE” DVD set on March 18th. The following are the DVD extras for the project:
Shawn Michaels – Tell Me A Lie
Val Venis – Hello Ladies
Hakushi – Angel
Billy Gunn – Ass Man
Maria – Legs Like That
William Regal – He’s a Man
The Making of GoldLust
The Music of WWE Studios
WWE released their Q4 2013 and Full Year financial results on Thursday morning. Here are the final pay-per-view buy rates:
Battleground in October: 114,000
Hell in a Cell in October: 228,000 (up from 199,000 in 2012)
Survivor Series in November: 177,000 (down from 208,000 in 2012)
TLC in December: 181,000 (up from 175,000 in 2012)
Without factoring in WWE Battleground (which was a new pay-per-view in 2013), WWE sold 586,000 buyrates in the quarter, up from 582,000 in 2012.
The buyrate for Hell in a Cell was the show’s best since it debuted in 2009 – and the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton main event outdrew the John Cena vs. Randy Orton WWE World Heavyweight Championship Unification match by a wide margin (26%).
Overall, you can see that pay-per-view is no longer a growth sector for WWE, which makes it an opportune time for WWE to transition those shows to the WWE Network.
One of the ideas currently floating around WWE creative right now is for The Wyatt Family to somehow cost John Cena the victory in the upcoming Elimination Chamber match this Sunday.
As previously reported, the plan for Cena’s match at WrestleMania XXX is for him to face Bray Wyatt in a singles match. The feeling is that something needs to be done to bring back the focus on the Wyatt vs. Cena feud, which was started at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog with some thoughts about Monday’s RAW, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Rising Stars Getting Exposure “For many it was a good night of exposure: Daniel Bryan, who just a few weeks ago was being eulogized by many of his fans, the Shield, who had multiple ‘moments’ throughout the broadcast, Cesaro, who is so good just ring the bell and watch him demonstrate the art form of in ring wrestling, The Wyatt’s, who are rapidly evolving as stars and who, along with the Shield, have the opportunity to turn even more heads coming up on PPV.”
Roman Reigns: “Roman Reigns winning with his spear over Mark Henry was big…no pun intended. If I had to pick an early favorite to either be the WWE World Champion at WM31 or to win the title there, it would be Reigns. How Roman Reigns is ‘built’ going forward is imperative to the long term success of WWE as it relates to constructing the next, major, WWE superstar.”
Cesaro vs. John Cena: “Loved the Cena vs. Cesaro match. One of the best matches that Cena has had in a while. Cesaro is on the cusp of breaking through. Got lots of feedback on why Cesaro did not win and certainly, as it is almost always, an argument can be made on the topic of who wins and who loses. With great commentary, the loser can come out of a great presentation better than when going into the match. I thought Cesaro was made whole after Cena pulled one out in the bottom of the 9th that could have gone either way.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin praised the match between John Cena and Cesaro from Monday’s RAW. “The Rattlesnake” tweeted the following:
Cesaro has finally won Vince McMahon over after his stellar match against John Cena last night on RAW.
According to a high-level source who was backstage at the show, Vince was “thrilled” with the match and has finally recognized Cesaro’s potential. Cesaro received a standing ovation backstage after his match against Cena.
Several of Vince’s trusted advisors told him they think Cesaro can be one of the biggest stars in the company.
Cesaro has been over fans and colleagues with his unique move set and his impressive feats of strength, but it was only a year ago when Vince told the writers and producers that he saw nothing in the Swiss Superstar.
Following RAW, Cesaro’s ‘stock’ with Vince hit an all time high.
The latest episode of the Steve Austin Show podcast is now online with Stone Cold’s special guest, John Cena. Here are some highlights of what Cena talked about:
– He turns 37 in April and still feels like he can keep up with anyone in WWE.
“I’m doing the best I can. I feel great. I’ll be turning 37 in April. In your plea for longevity, you can’t be young in the ring all the time. So, I still feel as if I can keep up with anyone who comes through the door. I have a certain amount of stuff I do on a television basis, but every once in a while, I try to do some stuff that’s unique.”
– He admitted that WWE officials have created a “walking on eggshells” environment and wishes there was more positive reinforcement from management.
“A lot of this business is false motivation. They’ll pat you on the butt and go, ‘Oh, good match.’ Right when you come through Gorilla. I wish there was more motivational reinforcement. It’s just lack of confidence. The amazing thing is a lot of these guys are so confident once they’re in that box and the bell rings doing their thing. I’ve talked to a lot of guys – they have such great personalities.”
– Many WWE superstars are fearful for their jobs and are “not willing” to take the next step with their careers.
“It’s not that what we have isn’t good. I think we have a locker room full of very, very talented Superstars. But, I also think we have a locker room full of Superstars who are fearful for their employment. And, they’re not willing to take that one step. I don’t get a mad at a lot nowadays. What really frustrates me is when I see a guy with all of the tools or next to all of the tools who is afraid to take that leap of faith.”
– WWE is on the cusp of having a true all-star roster for the first time in a long time.
“I wish – and right now I’m very excited – we are on the cusp of getting a true All-Star line-up for the first time in a long time. I think you’ll see that (the chants) go away. And I’m objectively looking at it because when you have one dude and you’re trying to make Superstars off that dude, a majority of the audience only recognizes that one guy. It’s why when you have a feud with Daniel Bryan or The Rock, you don’t hear the ‘Let’s Go Cena / Cena Sucks’ as much. It’s cheer for one guy, boo the other guy. But, when it’s a one-man party out there, often times, the crowd gets attached to the one man.”
– There are big changes going on behind the scenes with how WWE will be presenting the product, moving towards more action and less talk.
– Cena talked about recently working with Cesaro at the Performance Center for a Muscle & Fitness photo shoot. Cena said he likes to get to know talents on a personal basis when WWE is ready to push them to the main event.
There’s much more to the interview, which you should absolutely go out of your way to listen at PodcastOne.com.
– John Cena will be Steve Austin’s guest on Tuesday’s episode of the Steve Austin Show on PodcastOne.com.
– Ring of Honor’s Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff appeared on the Live Audio Wrestling show with John Pollack on Sunday and made some pretty stunning comments about Matt Hardy and Reby Sky’s recent arrests after a domestic violence incident:
“It did appear on TMZ and it did happen. Of course, it happened so much earlier than it was finally reported. You know, I gotta tell you something, John, there was really not a lot about it. I saw the stuff on TMZ and I saw a couple of Facebook comments about Matt wrestling in Philadelphia. I think it was really not a big deal. I don’t have a position on that. I think that charges were dropped.
“You never want to get involved in domestic spats and domestic relationship and domestic disputes, but if a court of law or the judicial system could find no fault with it, I don’t feel that’s something we necessarily have to take a stance on. I’m not sherking that. I think the fact that C.M. Punk said he wasn’t going to wrestle for WWE or when that story came out right around that same time, I think it kind of overshadowed it… I think had the outcome had been different from a judicial standpoint or a charge standpoint, I can’t say, but really it was a domestic battle that got… You know, they’re two wrestlers, they’re probably two physical people.”
The following are quotes from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin from the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast:
On advice to younger talent and John Cena wanting challenges for the top spot: “Let me tell you something, there ain’t nobody holding nobody down in WWE. Now it’s true that the powers that be do not believe in certain people. It is up to the talent to make management believe in them and give them a push. There is a pretty thin roster of talent in that locker room. There’s a lot of guys and gals, but when you talk about the cream of the crop, you’re talking about the best.”
“Vince McMahon will let anybody be a star that has the potential be a star. John Cena wants different dance partners. Triple H would love a different dance partner. Randy Orton would love a different dance partner. Daniel Bryan would love a different dance partner. C.M. Punk, if he comes back, would love a different dance partner. So, hey man, the doors are wide open, the ceiling is unlimited. I hear that all the time, man.”
On John Cena’s status as top dog and his work ethic: “John Cena is the top dog. He would love for someone to be in contention for that top dog status because he’s an alpha male, he’s a competitive cat and he wants to battle it out and fight for his job. All he does is keep going up and down the road, doing his best, giving it his all in the ring, and that’s all you can ask from a WWE superstar. All the cats I just mentioned are working their asses off and doing their deal. It’s gotta be up to the talent coming up to make some noise, not be afraid to go out on a limb and take a chance.”
On what current WWE Superstars should do: “You cats in the back who listen to my show in the back, do something, wake somebody up, grab that f—ing business, that company by the throat and say, ‘Hey, mother—-er I want a push!’ The sky is the limit, cats.”
WWE Superstar John Cena recently spoke to Zap2It to promote his new BodyChange fitness program. The following are highlights from the interview.
On Daniel Bryan’s popularity: “Predicting the next WWE Superstar is like predicting the crooked stock market at the turn of the 19th century. You just can’t. That’s what’s beautiful about the WWE audience, that’s why I love it so much. It changes everyday, every arena, every city. I don’t know who will be next but I will keep trying to put people front and center so the WWE Universe gets a good look at people.”
On the CM Punk situation: “Don’t even know. There’s one dude who knows all the answers to that and that’s him.”
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s latest podcast is now available. The latest show features Austin discussing his backstage experience at Monday’s RAW in-depth.
Austin also noted during the podcast that while at the RAW show in Los Angeles this past Monday, he recorded future shows with Zeb Colter, Big Show, William Regal and John Cena. He also noted that he extended an offer to Kevin Dunn to appear on the show, but is still waiting on his answer.
You can check out Austin’s latest podcast at PodcastOne.com.
WWE has begun looking ahead to the March 3rd RAW show in Chicago, Illinois, the hometown of CM Punk. There is said to be a considerable amount of concern within the company as to how the crowd will react at that show. With both Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker returning to RAW the week prior in Green Bay, there is some talk of bringing those two into the Chicago RAW as well, as a way to combat the Punk chants.
Despite the concern, there is said to be less than originally feared after Monday’s show in Los Angeles. Since the chants haven’t been too passionate or long-lasting, especially at the L.A. show, WWE feels that it may not be a situation that gets out of control like the recent Daniel Bryan hijacking fiasco.
Regarding the L.A. RAW, WWE feared fans would hijack the Randy Orton vs. John Cena main event, so they had Daniel Bryan go out twice. The idea was to bring Bryan out early, and again before the main event, as to let the fans get the chanting out of their system before the main event began.
The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with Jim Cornette:
On working with John Cena in OVW: “”In OVW here in Louisville between 1999 – 2005 we were the developmental territory for the WWE. A lot of guys came to OVW who weren’t signed by the WWE but became signed by the WWE, because they came here to train and they got good and they ended up getting offered contracts.”
“John came from California, we got him really early on in his career but you could tell he was a natural, I thought he would actually be this generations version of a Ric Flair. He was a heel then, and he was so cocky, arrogant and good looking – he had the physique and the genetics, he could talk but they decided to go a different direction with him and he got over just as big on the other side.”
On working with Brock Lesnar in OVW: “With Brock I’ll be honest with you, he was getting paid about four or five times more than everyone else in the developmental program because of who he was. You don’t come across an athletic specimen like that who won the NCAA Heavyweight Championship everyday. However he was not a natural wrestling fan, not a natural wrestling student, he was a bit boring in the ring to be honest because he wasn’t used to being a showman. Also for a world class athlete I didn’t think he was trying five times as hard as his salary.”
“I paired him up with Shelton Benjamin who was one of the most natural wrestling school students we ever had, picked up things instantly and was exciting, so I made them a tag team. Shelton would do all the work, he would tag Brock and Brock would make a comeback and throw everyone through the roof. When he hit the WWE he became instantly exciting, remember the shooting star press he did at WrestleMania, he would do that for us and I would tell him he was crazy and to save it for the big show at the Louisville Gardens when the WWE agents are there and not in the high school halls. He did it in front of the WWE agents and they signed him directly because of that, the time he did it at WrestleMania is the only time I’ve seen him miss it.”
Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.
Betty White Guest Star Betty White came out with The Big Show to kick of this weeks WWE Monday Night Raw live from Los Angelas. She said a few words and that she’s there to “Kick some Ass!” The Authority come out to start an in-ring segment. Later we see Betty White in a few segments with the New Age Outlaws. They attempt to give Betty White some spiked tea, however Betty turns the tables on Billy Gun and he ends up with the drink. How can I say something bad about Betty White? She’s a legend. It was exactly what you would have expected. The kick some ass line was charming. It was fine. YES!
Even Daniel Bryan couldn’t save this boring segment. NO!
The Authority – Randy Orton – Daniel Bryan Another in-ring segment with The Authority followed by Randy Orton. Orton now wants to be on Kelly and Michael and truly be The Face of the WWE. Daniel Bryan comes out and reminds Randy Orton that he beat him clean last week. Bryan wasn’t happy he was laid out by Kane and Orton after the match, and wanted Kane on Raw. The Authority said that Kane was suspended, and that wouldn’t be possible. I can’t take these segments with Randy Orton and The Authority. Even my beloved Daniel Bryan couldn’t save it in my eyes. Perhaps Bryan goes over at the Elimination Chamber and becomes WWE World Heavyweight Champion. All I know is they need to stop these segments this way, I mean at least mix it up, have Bryan in a fiery rage from his “NO NO NO” days call out The Authority. All these segments are the same, and boring. NO!
Rey Mysterio, Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs. The Wyatt Family Amazing match from the Former Tag Team Champions, and Rey and the Wyatts. Bodies flying all over made for a great visual, and the quick hook of the Sister Abigail onto Rey Mysterio was awesome. Bray cuts a promo on The Shield for their upcoming match at The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View. Probably the match I’m looking forward to the most. Check out the match below YES!
Santino Marella (with Emma) vs. Fandango (with Summer Rae) Another bizarre use of Emma here, backing a losing Santino. Emma did her dance during their entrance to Santino’s Music. I mean I understand Santino is wrestling, but isn’t her dancing gimmick attached to her music from NXT? The debut and usage of Emma is quite confusing to me. NO!
Sheamus and Cesaro getting it on in a great tag match on Raw YES!
Sheamus & Christian vs. The Real Americans Antonio Cesaro is now just called “Cesaro”. Like Prince, or Madonna or Sting, if that means they are going to push him more you can call him Mud for all I care. Cesaro was great in this match, as was Sheamus and a very beat up Christian. Our friend The Solomonster has said on his podcast that his European Uppercut should be his finisher and I agree, after he hit the move in this match, it almost seemed the crowd expected the three count. As did I, it’s a great move. Good Match! YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
– During a commercial break of Monday’s WWE RAW, Shield member Seth Rollins grabbed a microphone and responded to fans chanting “CM Punk” by asking them, “CM Who?”
He continued, “That’s Dean Ambrose the United States champion. The man every guy wants to be and every woman wants to be with.”
The Shield did a similar routine over the weekend, running down CM Punk at live events.
– The dark match main event that took place after RAW went off the air saw John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Batista defeat the Wyatt Family by disqualification. The finish came when Bray Wyatt and Eric Rowan attacked Batista, who had given Luke Harper a spear and was about to give him a Batista Bomb.
Cena and Bryan then chased Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper out of the ring, leaving Rowan alone with the babyfaces. Cena hit him with the AA, Batista hit him with the spear, and Bryan hit him with a running knee to end the show.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation posted an announcement on their official website today revealing that WWE Superstar John Cena has granted his 400th wish for the company, the highest amount for any celebrity in history.
The announcement they released reads as follows:
“We would like to thank John Cena for his commitment to Make-A-Wish, and congratulate him on being the first celebrity to grant 400 wishes!”
– WWE will begin transitioning to the new company logo after the WWE Network launch in 13 days. The new logo is already appearing on the tags of WWE merchandise and is also on the tail of the new WWE corporate jet.