– Lana is currently off television because she is filming the WWE Studios movie ‘Interrogation’ with Edge. No word yet on her status for WrestleMania.
– NXT Champion Kevin Owens successful knee surgery last week to repair a meniscus tear. He’s expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks, so he won’t competing at the NXT live event from San Jose, California during WrestleMania weekend.
Speaking of that show, NXT women’s wrestler Becky Lynch says ticket sales are through the roof for what will be NXT’s biggest live audience yet:
4100 tickets sold in 2 hrs for #NXTSanJose ! Ready to bexceed and bexpectations.
WWE has hired a casting agency in the local Bay Area of San Francisco, California, with the goal of hiring males to work as “marching Russian soldiers” at WrestleMania 31.
While not confirmed at this point, one would assume that this is in regards to Rusev and Lana’s entrance at WrestleMania 31 later this month.
Rusev is scheduled to defend his WWE United States Championship against John Cena on the show, which takes place on Sunday, March 29th at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
– Following months of speculation, independent pro wrestling star Uhaa Nation is finally scheduled to head to NXT. The indy wrestling sensation announced his departure from Dragon Gate USA on their March 1st event after losing to BxB Hulk for the “Open the Dream Gate” title.
– Due to the fact that she secured a role in the new WWE Studios movie “Interrogation,” WWE Diva Lana is expected to take some time off from WWE television in the near future to film the project. Whether or not this affects Rusev’s character remains to be seen.
WWE Diva Lana and WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland will be starring in a new action thriller from WWE Studios and Lionsgate titled Interrogation. WWE acquired the rights to the Interrogation screenplay back in 2012. Here’s a synopsis for the film:
“With a bomb set to go off in Las Vegas on one of the busiest betting days of the year, the story focuses on a brilliant interrogator called in to question the prime suspect. As time runs out, we soon learn there’s an even bigger plan in place for both of them.”
– WWE performers Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev) and Lana (CJ Perry), who as noted in the past are actually a real-life couple, purchased a home together in Nashville, Tennessee recently. The two bought a four bedroom, four bathroom home for $644,000. You can check out photos of the property at TMZ.com.
– Speaking of pro wrestling couples, CM Punk and AJ Lee attended a comedy show that featured Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick and Mike Lawrence at the Atheneum Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on Friday night.
– Former WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio continues to pile up the bookings, as he is now officially being advertised to appear at the London Film & Comic Con event on July 17th, 18th and 19th. For ticket information, visit LondonFilmAndComicCon.com.
Raw was held in Nashville this week as the build to WrestleMania continues. The event featured a Tag Team Championship match, a few promos, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t really music to most fans’ ears. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
As soon as they announced the Usos were planning to invoke their rematch clause, it was obvious fans were going to be in for another treat. As one would expect, the action was fast paced and frequently spilled over to ringside. Kidd’s heel work has been top notch over the past few weeks, frequently using his wife as a human shield in order to gain an upper hand.
The Tag Champs work so well together too, using combination moves such as a catapult into a big uppercut, and a Cesaro swing into a dropkick. Although the match didn’t end clean, it featured some solid action and was probably the highlight of the night. Kidd and Cesaro are the best team in the WWE by far right now. They should get these guys some merch and push them to the moon.
I loved the backstage segment between the Miz and Damien Mizdow. It was awesome (no pun intended) to hear the Miz talk up the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and act like a win would elevate his career to new heights. (That worked out real well for Cesaro last year.)
Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler was a decent opening match. There were honestly only a handful of wrestling moves utilized throughout the match, with most of the action consisting of punches, rest holds, and brawling action outside of the ring. With that said, there were a few impressive sequences. Ziggler countered Wasteland twice, once into a DDT and another into a sunset flip. The sequence where Barrett ended up hitting Winds of Change was also nice.
The Show Off picked up the win after hitting the Zig Zag, allowing for Ambrose to show up and taunt Barrett with his Intercontinental Championship before staring Ziggler down. What are the chances that Barrett never touches his beloved title again? I’d usually say it’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series this season, but they actually decided to crack open the checkbook over the winter so that might not be the best analogy.
#Axelmania. Enough said.
The Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns promo was one of the more interesting moments all night. It was nice to see Daniel Bryan once again acting as the voice of the fans, saying, “The biggest Roman Reigns doubter is right here in Daniel Bryan,” while also echoing fan sentiments regarding Reigns only being in the main event because of his size and look. At the same time, he also put Reigns over for winning the match, ending the segment with a handshake.
Heyman’s interaction with Reigns was also intriguing, as he said he would put his money on Reigns over anyone, including guys like Hogan, Austin, and the Rock – anyone except Brock Lesnar, of course. Reigns was confident and composed during the back and forth with Heyman as he continues to improve on the mic. It’s easy to picture these two guys hooking up in the near future.
The Bray Wyatt promo was more of the same, but still entertaining nonetheless. I can’t wait for the Undertaker to show up respond to Wyatt’s challenge.
As the entire northeast freezes under a mountain of snow, the WWE decided to dip down to Orlando in an attempt to heat things up heading into Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view. The show featured eight matches, as well as appearances from Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler was pure gold. Before the match, the two engaged in a hilarious back and forth, with Rollins laying down some burnsauce by telling Ziggler: “I know you fancy yourself a comedian but the only thing funny about you is that joke you call a career.” It was also hilarious to hear Ziggler question whether J&J getting him the wrong chocolates ruined his Valentine’s Day. Something tells me his Valentine’s Day was ruined for other reasons… As for the match, it was fast paced, full of spots, and exactly what you’d expect from two of the best workers in the business. Other than the J&J interference and non-finish, this was pretty much perfect on every level. I suspect a match between these two will be added to Fastlane after Smackdown. Here’s to hoping they give these guys 15 minutes and let them tear the house down. Highlight of the night by far.
I enjoyed the Dusty Rhodes backstage segments. The match between the New Day and Gold and Stardust was also nice, as it served as a nice juxtaposition between the brawling opening contest between Ambrose and Harper. Following the match, Stardust attacked his brother and called Dusty a “polka-dotted freak of a father.” I’ll admit, they’ve dragged this out forever and I wasn’t too excited at first, but I’m now getting into it.
Roman Reigns was the man last night. He sounded like a completely different person during his backstage interview before his match with Kane. His calm, confident, and collected demeanor is a stark contrast from the nervous guy we saw out there a few weeks ago talking about beanstalks while stumbing over every other word. His match with Kane was actually decent too, with Reigns winning via countout after hitting a big Spear. Daniel Bryan was on commentary during the match, with he and Reigns playing off of one another very well. It was also humorous to hear Michael Cole state: “Daniel Bryan is trying to steal Roman Reigns’ thunder. Roman Reigns just beat Kane, guys!” That means about as much as beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015.
For a comedy segment, the Paige bit was actually hilarious. The outfit was funny, it actually served some sort of purpose in furthering her feud with Nikki Bella, the fans seemed to be enjoying it, and the match with Summer Rae was good for the time they were given.
The Dean Ambrose “weekend update” promo, where the Lunatic Fringe was parked at a desk looking like a shady used car dealer, was also entertaining. His match with Luke Harper featuring some nice, brawling action and was a good opening contest. JBL’s “we’ve got an air psycho” line had me cracking up, and his plot to force Barrett to sign the contract for Sunday was perfect. Nobody in the midcard deserves the IC Title more than Ambrose, and it looks like he’s going to find a way to capture the gold on Sunday.
Bray Wyatt’s promos are starting to become a bit repetitive, but I still enjoyed his work this week. He once again attacked the Undertaker, stating: “You’re an empty shell, and any fear that I once of you has turned into nothing more than putrid, hateful pity.” I can’t wait to see this program.
WWE Diva Lana and NXT Diva Carmella have been exchanging some trash talk on Twitter, with the ‘Ravishing Russian’ striking the first blow.
Seemingly out of the blue, Lana called out Carmella for her theme music, her fake nails and her “ratchet weave” hairdo. Oh no she didn’t! Carmella fired back in kind, threatening to rip the bun off Lana’s head and send her back to Vladimir Putin. Here’s the full exchange:
Graham Flanagan, Senior Video Producer at BusinessInsider.com, has a video feature up on WWE and non-fans that don’t understand why we watch. Flanagan points out that WWE is worth over one billion dollars and has a large fanbase. Yet, there is still a large part of society that thumbs their nose at WWE and it’s fans. Some of those non-WWE fans don’t realize that we realize it’s pre-determined just like fans of TV shows like “Homeland” know that the show is not real.
He also explains the terms “marks” and “smart marks.” You can check out the video below. I think all of us know at least one person that wonders why we watch. This might be a post that you can share with them to drive home the point.
– Sunday’s episode of WWE Total Divas, which went up against the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, drew 1.207 million viewers. This is down from the previous week’s 1.253 million viewers.
– As of last week, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has not been contacted about being involved with the new season of WWE Tough Enough on the USA Network. Former coach Bill DeMott and other NXT coaches from the WWE Performance Center will be part on the show.
– WWE Diva Lana will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Maxim Magazine. She posted these teaser photos on Instagram:
WWE personality Lana referenced The Rock being in Philadelphia in a new tweet posted on her official Twitter account.
Lana, who manages Rusev, was part of an angle with The Rock during one of his most recent returns, which took place on the October 6, 2014 edition of WWE RAW.
“The Rock doesn’t scare me or Rusev,” wrote Lana. “He is just another pathetic American too busy stuffing his face with cheesesteaks in Philadelphia!”
You can check out Lana’s tweet below.
.@TheRock doesn't scare me or @RusevBUL! He is just another pathetic American too busy stuffing his face with cheesesteaks in Philadelphia!
– In an effort to boost sales for the WWE Network, virtually all WWE content has been removed from Netflix and iTunes.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently wrapped production on a new movie titled “The Echo Effect,” which was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Here’s a photo of Austin and fighter/actor Michael Jai White on set:
The following is a video clip featuring part of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Monday’s Christmas-themed edition of RAW, which features Hogan fully dressed up as Santa Claus.
Below is a portion of last night’s “Piper’s Pit” segment from RAW, which featured Roddy Piper, Rusev, Lana and Ryback.
– WWE has announced that WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be on tonight’s RAW. Piper will be hosting a special “Piper’s Pit” segment with Rusev and Lana as the guests.
– Also announced for tonight’s RAW is a “Miracle on 34th Street Match” between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose.
– As noted earlier, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show has also been made official for tonight’s show.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan is scheduled to serve as the guest host of tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of the show.
ORIGINAL STORY:
WWE has announced a singles match between Roman Reigns and Big Show for tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of WWE RAW.
Also announced for tonight’s show is the return of WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan.
Make sure to join us here tonight for live RAW play-by-play results coverage.
– WWE has announced a Chris Jericho “Highlight Reel” segment with Rusev and Lana for tonight’s post-TLC edition of WWE RAW.
– Bad News Barrett was at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida today working out. He wrote the following about it on his official Instagram account: “Lacing ’em up for the first time in six months at the @WWE Performance Center. #BNB #Owwww”
– The official WWE website has announced that tonight on Raw, Chris Jericho will host “The Highlight Reel” with special guests, United States Champion Rusev and Lana.
This news was confirmed in the Raw Five-Point Preview, which states, “Chris Jericho’s back to run Raw this week, following Daniel Bryan and the Anonymous Raw GM as the latest Superstar to fill The Authority’s power vacuum. With power at his disposal and plenty of former friends and foes to play with, Jericho has already arranged for U.S. Champion Rusev and Lana to appear on “The Highlight Reel.” It’s anybody’s guess as to exactly what The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla has planned for the Russians, and the rest of the WWE Universe, but it’s likely to be something we’ll never, eeeeeeever expect, or forget. What else does Y2J’s have up his sleeve?”
– While WWE no longer publishes WWE Magazine, the company will apparently continue to put out special issues. Joey Styles revealed on Twitter this afternoon that a “Collector’s Edition” magazine highlighting the best photos of the year is now out on newsstands.
– In the latest edition of Ringside or Riot with Noelle Foley—daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley—Noelle reviews her dad’s documentary I Am Santa Claus, gives her take on CM Punk joining UFC, and reveals who she thought should have won the Slammy Awards.
It looks like WWE is bringing back the retired European Championship for Rusev and Lana.
Lana posted a photo of the old European title on her official Instagram page earlier this weekend. The photo featured the title with the new WWE logo on it. Soon after posting it, Lana quickly deleted it. The post featured a caption which included a “#RAW” hash-tag.
The WWE European Championship was retired back in 2002.
– It was announced during the post-Survivor Series edition of WWE RAW on Monday night that one of the key matches on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which airs live Tuesday night on the WWE Network, is Kane vs. Dean Ambrose.
– Also on Monday’s RAW was the return of WWE Hall Of Famer Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter took part in a segment where Rusev and Lana were forced to recite the “Pledge of Allegiance.” They never actually did so, as Rusev tried bullying Slaughter until Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter came to the rescue.
– Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com mentioned during Sunday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live that there’s a rumor going around in WWE that AJ Lee could be parting ways with the organization shortly after Survivor Series on Sunday. Dave Meltzer, however, says in this week’s issue of Wrestling Observer Newsletter-published Wednesday on F4WOnline.com-that the rumor is not true.
“By the way, contrary to some rumors, she is not leaving,” Meltzer noted in his recap of Nikki Bella’s “exhibition” against Brie Bella on Raw-Brie was dressed as Lee.
– The official YouTube account of WWE released this video hyping the Team Cena vs. Team Authority Match at Survivor Series.
– Rusev and Lana were in attendance at Wednesday’s Orlando Magic vs. Los Angeles Clippers game at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida.
When Rusev first appeared in the WWE, he resembled a cookie-cutter foreign heel. From the ominous entrance featuring images of Vladimir Putin to the valet with a suspect foreign accent, Rusev met every requirement on the “Generic Foreign Heel” checklist.
Despite the lack of originality in his character, the company continued to push him to the top, booking the Bulgarian in a number of squash matches, often featuring multiple opponents. Along the way, Rusev was able to elevate his status during a feud with Jack Swagger, and eventually captured the United States Championship from Sheamus.
During Rusev’s push to win the title, the unthinkable occurred: I actually started to enjoy this generic heel’s presence. At first, it was assumed that the interest was due to a lack of build for other programs on the card. After all, the WWE title had essentially vanished, the feuds at the top of the card were becoming a bit stale, and the Rusev/Swagger program was one of the few to receive significant attention.
Rusev struck gold after defeating Sheamus a few weeks back.
However, even after the Swagger feud ended, his work continued to interest me. So what is it about Rusev that generates interest? Perhaps most importantly, he is an admirable worker for a man of his size.
It was difficult to show off during his early matches, but he has excelled in recent weeks. His matches with Swagger a few months back were solid, and although he didn’t have a ton of chemistry with either Big Show or Mark Henry, his recent feud with Sheamus proved he can hold his own in the ring.
In addition to his agility in the ring, Rusev and Lana can actually cut a decent promo. Lana is of course going to be Rusev’s mouthpiece in most instances, but I don’t see many complaining, as she is articulate, charming, and knows how to get a heel over with the audience. In fact, I’ve even enjoyed Rusev’s promos in recent weeks, as it’s somewhat humorous to see him pick up the mic and talk a little smack.
The storyline with Big Show and the Russian flag, including the company’s apology, was all simply part of a planned angle. WWE does have television shows in Russia, so they may have wanted to soften the blow, however it’s said that the entire thing was all planned out in advance.
The incident actually made the news in some Russian outlets, although it wasn’t treated as a major story or anything like that.
The part of the angle where Big Show pulled down the Russian flag ended up being edited off WWE’s Russian version of RAW, as the show airs on a five-day delay.
On a somewhat related note, Rusev and Lana are apparently put over strong by the Russian announcers as national heroes and babyfaces.
As noted, John Cena tweeted The Rock after his surprise appearance on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Brooklyn, New York. The Rock has since responded to Cena, which you can read below.
@JohnCena Thank U homeboy. Great seeing ya backstage. Keep hustlin and grindin and one day I will beat you in a squat competition. #Never
As seen on Monday’s RAW, The Rock made a surprise return during an in-ring promo segment with Rusev and Lana, which led to The Rock attacking Rusev and knocking him out of the ring.
WWE officials reportedly did not want Rock to do anything more physically than what he did to Rusev. They did not want a Rock Bottom, People’s Elbow or anything of that nature, likely to keep Rusev strong going forward.
The feeling among those backstage at the show on Monday is that a match between Rock and Rusev is doubtful, although a possibility when WrestleMania 31 season rolls around.
