In the late 90s, the old NWO faction would release “paid advertisements” on Nitro. Bullet Club is now doing the same in NJPW.

The faction has been the focal point of NJPW’s marketing strategy for their July 1st and 2nd shows in L.A, and have now released the following video:

Bullet Club at NJPW G1 L.A Special

Somewhat surprisingly, Cody will receive an IWGP heavyweight title shot on night 1 of the 2-night event. At Dominion, Cody defeated Michael Elgin in what turned out to be a pretty important match.

The rest of the announced lineup so far:

NJPW July 1st 2017 Lineup

1. the Briscoes, Will Ospreay, & Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. Bad Luck Fale, the Young Bucks, Yujiro Takahashi & Marty Scurll (Bullet Club)
2. Jushin Liger, Volador Jr., Dragon Lee & Titan vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
3. IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
   Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
4. IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
   Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Jay White & David Finlay vs. Billy Gunn, Yoshi Tatsu, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
6. IWGP U.S Championship (1st Round)
   Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
7. IWGP U.S Championship (1st Round)
   Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega
8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
   Kazuchika Okada (c)(CHAOS) vs. Cody (Bullet Club)

NJPW July 2nd 2017 Lineup

1. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships
   the Young Bucks (c) (CHAOS) vs. Roppongi Vice (CHAOS)
2. IWGP Intercontinental Championship
   Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Billy Gunn
3. U.S Championship Tournament Semi-Finals & Finals

Here are the results from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘The New Beginning’ event that took place in Osaka, Japan to a gate of around 5,500 people:

As noted earlier, in a case of history repeating itself, WWE has released Tough Enough season 6 female winner Sara Lee from her contract in Friday, which was first reported by Ryan Satin at ProWrestlingSheet.com. Being that the Tough Enough season finale took place on August 25, 2015, Lee lasted just a month past the term of her initial one year, $250,000 contract. Male winner Josh Bredl (NXT’s Bronson Matthews) is still under contract for the time being, as well as female runner up Amanda Saccomanno (NXT’s Mandy Rose) and overall #11 Daria Berenato (NXT’s Daria).

While Lee had consistently done well in the viewer voting, Rose appeared to be the coaches’ pick, and if NXT bookings are any indication, Lee was not progressing as quickly as her peers. According to WrestlingData, Lee only had eight matches in NXT, all on Florida house shows, while Mandy Rose and Daria have had individual months where they had that many matches. Bredl/Matthews has had even less matches (five), but there are also more spots for the men.

The winner of Tough Enough’s fourth season (the one on SmackDown), MMA fighter Daniel Puder, was similarly cut after one year of being paid $250,000. He was progressing well and getting pushed on OVW (developmental TV) by then-booker Paul Heyman, but that apparently wasn’t taken into account. Puder is best known for catching Angle in a double wristlock/Kimura during an actual shoot match on SmackDown. Referee Jimmy Korderas was the only one to realize what was happening and counted a pinfall victory for Angle even though Puder had a shoulder up. Angle complained to Puder afterwards that it was supposed to be an amateur wrestling match, even though it had three count pins and he won his previous match with a neck crank, which is illegal in amateur wrestling.

https://youtu.be/s_VgjcitzxY

Nashville-based model and branding specialist McKenszie Mitchell is now handling the weekly Impact Breakview segment, looking back on this week’s episode.

Following Impact, here’s the final card for Sunday’s Slammiversary PPV:

• TNA Champion Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley (Submission or KO only)
• Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy (Full Metal Mayhem)
• Knockouts Champion Jade vs. Sienna
• Tag Team Champions The Decay vs. The Bromans
• X-Division Champion Trevor Lee vs. Eddie Edwards vs. DJ Zema vs. Andrew Everett
• King of the Mountain champion Eli Drake vs. Bram
• Mike Bennett vs. EC3
• Maria Kanellis vs. Gail Kim
• Grado & Mahabali Shera vs. The Tribunal (with Al Snow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AKP9usMr_o

ROH TV Recap – Episode 238 for the week of April 10, 2016

Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce the show from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelly tells us, “What an unbelievable 60 minutes we have for you. World Tag Title defense by War Machine, the return of ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega taking on ACH.” MW3 joins in, “And for the first time in Ring of Honor television history, we are going to see a Fight Without Honor, between Silas Young and Dalton Castle.”

Roppongi Vice vs. War Machine

Beretta and Rocky Romero come first, Romero has on a black tiger mask with an eye patch. MW3 asks Kelly, “Do you have the Roppongi Vice theme music on your iPod? My boy Steve Corino is going to do a remix version of this.” Kelly retorts, “He’s going to lay down some beats? He’s not going to tell Roppongi stories is he?” WM make their way to the ring, while WM pose on the apron, RPGV jump them from behind before the bell, knocking them to the floor. RPGV do a synchronized swan dive to the outside. Romero throws Rowe back in the ring, delivers clubs to the back of the head, Rowe tries to fight out, but Romero tags in Beretta. Beretta with shots to the face, tags back in Romero, they continue with kicks, standing moonsault by Beretta, cover by Romero, Rowe kicks out and throws Romero half way across the ring.

Rowe throws Romero into the corner, Hanson throws Beretta into the other corner, and WM put RPGV on their shoulders. RPGV both slide out, try to run WM into each other, they stop short, but RPGV continue with strikes on WM. Hanson throws Romero off the ropes, he catches himself in the ropes like a tarantula and laughs, before Hanson kicks him to the outside. Rowe picks up Beretta for a power press above his head, but Beretta grabs onto his beard. Rowe misses with the clothesline, Beretta hits 2 knife edge chops and a forearm, hits the ropes, but Rowe catches him tilt-a-whirling, hits a high knee, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Rowe whips Hanson into Beretta, Rowe runs in with shotgun knees, but Beretta gets out of the way, and Hanson gets caught instead. Romero tags in, Rowe catches a kick, Romero misses a swinging kick, but connects a swinging kick with the other leg, running knee off the turnbuckle, slam, cover, 1-2. Romero hits 3 running-yelling clotheslines, then Rowe comes out of the corner and decks him. Rowe tags in Hanson, they lift Romero in the air, but Beretta comes off the top rope and takes them both out with a split legged dropkick. Beretta with an elbow in the corner on Rowe, and then a tornado DDT using the ropes.

RPGV throws Hanson off the ropes, he cartwheels through meets a double knee, stays on his feet, runs in again, again meets a double knee in stereo, this time falling to the mat. RPGV pick up Hanson and drape him across the top rope, Romero connects with a springboard double stomp to the back of the head, Beretta with a standing dropkick off the ropes, pin attempt by Romero, but Hanson kicks out

Beretta sets up for Strong Zero, Hanson fights out, Rowe is in, they both pick up RPGV in powerbomb positions and throw them at each other. WM is now in with Beretta, fireman’s carry by Hanson, Rowe tags back in, Hanson drops Beretta for a backbreaker across Rowe’s knee, into the Path of Resistance, kickout. WM setup Beretta on the ropes, he fights out, lands a hurricanrana off the second rope, before Romero hits a top rope hurricanrana on Hanson. Beretta runs the ropes, jumps to the outside for a suicide flip dive, Rowe catches him, and delivers a nasty apron bomb. Romero in, sunset flip with a near fall on WM, but Hanson takes him out with the Kick of Doom, Rowe holds him for the double team, while Hanson hits the Fall Out top rope leg drop, cover on Romero, 1-2-3.

Winners: War Machine

Rowe stands on the apron and yells at the camera, “Briscoes, you see this? ROH World Tag Team Champions, War Machine. We’re ready, are you?”

When we return, Donovan Dijak walks out in street clothes to his heavily-over-autotuned song ‘Action’ by Rich Porter and Taho Papi, led to the ring by Prince Nana. Highlights are shown up the Dijack taking out the HoT. Prince Nana starts on the mic, “You idiots have been asking, what is in those envelopes that Prince Nana has been giving out, what has been in those envelopes? That is for us to know and for you to find out. Secondly, everybody keeps wondering about the enlightened ones, the enlightened ones? And another question they keep asking me, Prince Nana, who do you think is going to be the next Ring of Honor Champion, moving forward with the future of Ring of Honor?” A fan yells “Jimmy Ray!” before Nana finishes, “and his name is none other than Donovan Dijak.” Dijack takes the mic, “For one year, I’ve only had one real purpose in Ring of Honor,” He shows off his Jay Lethal t-shirt “and that was to protect Jay Lethal and the House of Truth.” He takes off the Lethal t-shirt, and tosses it aside. “But this man, Prince Nana, this man showed me that one year ago, when I won the top prospect tournament. And Truth Martini? He looked me square in the eye and said ‘Donovan Dijack, if you wrestled Jay Lethal for the TV title…’” Suddenly Jay Lethal comes running down the ramp, the two men go toe-to-toe, Lethal takes Dijack to the mat, pounds away on his head, Dijack returns the punches, the bell rings repeatedly, about 10 ROH officials come down to separate them, Nana and Veda Scott are amongst the melee, and we go to commercial.

Dalton Castle cuts a pre-recorded promo, “Silas Young, tonight we are in a Fight Without Honor. And you probably are walking to the ring with a whole lot of self-confidence, because maybe you’ve got a few wins over me. Let me remind you, every time we fought, my goal has been different. I’ve fought to show you that I was a man, I fought for my boys, and tonight I’m fighting to hurt you.”

Omega vs. ACH

Out first is ACH out of Austin, TX at 190 pounds, he flips over the top rope as he enters the ring. Kenny Omega’s horror music hits with the Bullet Club graphic, Kelly calls Omega, “one of the top stars in the entire world of professional wrestling.” Omega is introduced from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at 203 pounds, and is accompanied by the Young Bucks. They are all wearing camouflage Young Bucks gear. Kenny grabs a headset from the announce table and sings his music into the microphone. Impressed by his own singing, he says “Wow wow wow.”

Omega hands the broom to Matt and crawls into the ring. The fans litter the ring with streamers. Tale of the tape says 190 ACH vs 203 Omega (hey, it’s correct this week!). Fans chant “Omega!” then “YB!” and the YB bang the mat in the beat of 12-3-45. Omega waves off the Code of Honor, Tiger Hattori calls for the bell. MW3 tells us “Both of these guys are huge video game fans and the anime. Is it the anime or just anime?” Kelly replies, “I think it’s just anime, but that’s not for our generation.” MW3 says, “I like Tom and Jerry.”

Omega with a go behind, ACH with an elbow lock, then a headlock, Omega throws ACH off the ropes, ACH hits a shoulder block. The fans chant, “Omega!” ACH hits the ropes, and then goes for a handstand cartwheel kick, but misses, and Omega takes control. Omega with chops to the shoulders, ACH fights back with chops to the chest, throws Omega off the ropes, reversal, reversal, ACH misses a clothesline, and then hits a Lou Thez press. ACH hits a Texas-style elbow, Omega back to his feet, ACH goes for the stunner, but Omega gets him in a full nelson, ACH with an arm drag, and then a drop kick ACH, and ACH shoots a fake basketball into the crowd. ACH leaps over the top rope, Omega crawls underneath, Omega receives a shot to the gut, ACH backflips to the outside, Nick SUPERKICKS! him in the head, and then pulls out a banana peel. The ref asks what happened and the YB point at the banana peel. Omega grabs his broom, sweeps the banana peel under the ring, and we go to commercial.

Adam Cole cuts a pre-recorded promo (note: this was excluded from the Comet broadcast), “Kick me out? You? Kick me out of the Kingdom? That medication they gave you post surgery, must have made you crazy. I created The Kingdom, this was always because of me. When I had an injury of my own, and you and my friend were in charge? You were a joke, you were a laughing stock, you were a Bullet Club ripoff, nobody took you seriously. Everybody took me seriously. Why? Because I was the ROH Heavyweight Champion and the ROH Television Champion. And the fact that you have the gall to remove me from this group? Well, that’s okay with me, because Matt Taven, you, you’re holding me down anyway.”

When we returned the fans chant “Headlock City!” ACH with a shot to the ribs, a forearm to the face, ACH jawbreaker on Omega, ACH runs the ropes and Omega hits a knee to the gut. Omega with a chop chop, fireman’s carry, drops him to the mat, rolls through, flips off the top rope, ACH moves out of the way. ACH with 3 chops, Omega whip reversal, throws ACH into the corner, ACH baseball slides, stops himself, turns around, kicks Omega in the head. Omega comes charging in again, ACH throws him to the apron, Omega catches him and runs his head into the top turnbuckle. Omega climbs the other turnbuckle, but ACH kicks him in the head, knocking him to the outside. Matt gets on the apron, ACH takes him out, Nick gets on the apron, ACH runs after him, Omega hits the ropes and charges in, but ACH throws him to the outside, now ACH with a second rope soaring springboard front flip over the top rope onto the Elite. Fans chant “Go go ACH!”

ACH tosses Omega into the ring, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Omega turns around and slaps him across the face. Omega hooks ACH for a superplex, but ACH fights out, pushes Omega off the ropes, Omega climbs back up again, but ACH again knocks him to the mat and then delivers a double stomp to the back of the shoulder, cover, 1-2, but Omega kicks out. ACH yells “Kamehameha!” sets Omega up for a Brain Buster, but Omega gets out, syncs a full nelson, ACH wrestles out, but then Omega with two strikes to the back, then a dragon suplex. Omega goes for One Winged Angel, ACH counters and drops Omega on his head with a vertical brainbuster, cover, 1-2 but Omega kicks out.

ACH goes to the top rope for a Midnight Star, but YB stand nearby, ACH climbs slowly, Omega gets out of the way. Both trade go behinds, ACH with elbows, Omega with knees, then they exchange open handed shots. Omega catches ACH by the foot, flips him over the top rope onto the apron, but ACH lands awkwardly on the ropes. Omega up first, stomping on the mat, tuning up band, ACH to his feet, Omega kicks, but ACH catches him, goes for a stunner, but gets pushed off the ropes, Omega fights out with elbows, and then ACH hits a stunner, cover, 1-2, Omega kicks out.

ACH goes to the top rope, but misses the Midnight Star, as Omega rolls out of the way. Omega takes the knee pad down, runs the ropes and hits a running knee to the side of ACH’s head, Omega hits The One Winged Angel, cover, 1-2-3.

Winner: Kenny Omega

Kenny’s horror music plays, Matt brings in the broom, they sweep ACH to the outside, and we go to commercial.

When we return Bobby Cruise introduces us to the television main event, a Fight Without Honor, which he tells us “simply means, there are no rules.”

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young (Fight Without Honor)

“The Last Real Man” Silas Young from Milwaukee, WI, is out first to the song “Unified Divider” by Voodoo Johnson. Silas, carrying a trash can lid, looks in the camera, and says, “You want to fight without honor, Dalton? Now you’re going to find out what it means to fight the way men fight.” The Peacock’s music hits and the fans go wild. Castle stands on the ramp with The Boys. He does not have on his usual robe, just t-shirt and trunks, The Boys tears off his T-shirt, he points to the back, and sends them on their way.

Castle runs to the ring, ducks the trash can lid from Silas, connects several strikes, and the fans litter the ring with streamers. Both men go to the outside, the ring is covered in streamers, and when they get back in, both men are also covered in streamers. Silas with shots to the head, then Castle clotheslines Silas over the top rope to the outside. Kelly says, “We need to get this cleaned up.” Castle runs the ropes struts and spreads his wings. Castle hits the ropes, and then a suicide dive between the bottom and second rope onto Silas. MW3 says, “He’s a peacock and he’s got to fly!” The fans chant “Fan up!”

Deadlift belly-to-back pick up by Castle, slams him to the mat, Silas lands shots to the back of Castle’s head, Castle pushes him away, spear attempt misses, Silas climbs the top turnbuckle, but Castle kicks him off, then jumps over the rope to the outside apron, goes for a running knee, Silas gets out of the way, and shoves him to the floor. Silas flips over the ropes, propelling himself onto Castle. Silas reaches under the ring, digs through the streamers, grabs a chair, and delivers a shot to Castle’s spine with the edge of the chair. Silas with a stomp, then forearm shot to Castle’s face, goes under the ring, digs through more streamers, but can’t find his next weapon. Silas returns to Castle, Castle kicks him in the gut, chop, goes for another chop, but Silas gets out of the way, and Castle hits the ringpost. Silas then grabs his hand, and slams it off the ring apron, Silas looks under the ring again, now finds a second chair, sets the two chairs up side-by-side, positions Castle for the suplex, Castle blocks, Silas delivers 2 shots to the ribs, but can’t get Castle up. Castle flips Silas over his back and then runs backwards, sending his spine into the ring post, goes for another one, but Castle gets out of the way, and then Silas rakes the arms across his back. They walk around the outside of the ring, Silas sidesteps the announce table, Castle walks the apron, delivers a running knee to Silas, and we go to commercial.

Kelly tells us, “During the break, we had a few more elements brought into play. A ladder is laying in the ring, and Silas is setting a table.” Castle to his feet, 3 forearms, chop, punch, forearm, Silas goes to throw Castle into the ring apron, he slides back through, but Silas catches him again, and then drops him onto the two chairs. WM3 yells “Two chairs!” (like 2 chainz!)

Silas throws Castle back in the ring, squeezing him between the bottom rope and the ladder, jumps over the top rope, delivers a forearm, pin attempt, but Castle kicks out. Silas grabs the ladder, moves it to the other corner of the ring, picks up Castle by the hair, fireman’s carry, but Castle gets out, go behind, reversal, go behind, reversal, Silas rolls through with a victory roll, 1-2, kickout, locks in the STF, Castle is screaming in pain. Castle reaches the ladder, Silas breaks the hold and nails forearms, kicks, stomps, goes to the top turnbuckle, springboards off side rope, but smashes his knee into the ladder while Castle gets out of the way. Both men are laying on the mat.

The ref throws the ladder out of the ring, Kelly says, “Todd Sinclair has had enough of this ladder.” Both men to their knees, exchange strikes, both men to their feet, exchange forearms, the fans exchange “Boo! Yay! Boo! Yay!” chants, until one guy yells, “Booya!” Silas with the clothesline, rakes the back of Castle, the Peacock is up, but Silas with a knee to the face, diamond cutter, cover 1-2, Castle kicks out. The fans chant, “Fan up!” Silas with a fireman’s carry, spins him around, and hits Misery the face plant slam. Silas crawls to the outside, grabs the trash can lid, throws it into the ring, grabs the mic, and yells, “Come on, come on Dalton, you wanted to fight without honor?” and smashes him in the head with the microphone, “I just wish The Boys were here, to see how pathetic you really are.” And then all of the sudden The Boys run down from the back. Silas says, “Just in time boys, now you get to see me finish him.”

One of The Boys runs into the ring, jumps on Silas’s back, he throws him off. Boy #2 comes in with punches to Silas’s face, but Silas sends him to the outside, now Castle is on his feet delivering forearms. Kelly says, “You just don’t mess with a man’s boys.” Castle hits two running knees on Silas in the corner, misses the third, and flips over the turnbuckle to the outside. Now Silas with a suicide dive through the rope on to The Boys. MW3 says, “Did you see The Boys pushed Castled out of the way and sacrificed themselves in the process?”

Silas slides through the middle rope, Castle with a hurricanrana, climbs back in, Castle connects with a suicide dive to the outside. Silas gets thrown back into the ring by Castle, Castle grabs him from behind, picks him up, showing his strength, deadlift German suplex, bridge, pin attempt, but Silas kicks out. The fans chant, “Dalton Castle!” Castle goes for the Bangarang, but Silas grabs the ropes, and then Castle throws him backwards flip flat on to the table. The fans chant, “You just killed him!”

Castle rolls Silas back into the ring, covers him, 1-2, kick out. Kelly says, “He was thrown over the top rope through a table, and somehow, someway, he kicked out!” The fans chant, “This is awesome!” Castle grabs Silas by the head, one of The Boys throws a chair in the ring, but Silas hits a low blow on Castle. The fans chant, “Bangarang!” as Silas yells, “Get your ass up, boy! Get up! Get up!” and then spits on him. Castle connects with the Bangarang face first on the steel chair and covers him provocatively, staring in his face, 1-2-3, Castle wins.

Winner: Dalton Castle

Kelly says, “What an unbelievable physical fight encounter we just saw!” MW3 agrees, “It’s hard to put into words. Both men are going to need medical attention.” Ticker tape falls from ceiling, the ring is covered in streamers, and Kelly says “What a scene here in Las Vegas!” The Boys crawl in, and Castle stands tall. Kelly tells us, “Next week, we will see highlights of Honor Rising in Japan, goodnight everybody.”

Yesterday, we told you about the reports that Gawker was seeking to bring on outside investors for the first time as a way of making sure that legal fees for defending Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit don’t bleed them dry. Today, it’s official: The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that Columbus Nova Technology Partners, a Silicon Valley investment firm, is buying a minority stake in the company. In addition to helping to pay legal bills, the new cash infusion will help fund growth initiatives.

Jason Epstein, managing director of Columbus Nova, will get a seat on Gawker’s board. He told the Times that “We have been attracted to the company because of the authenticity with which they approach all storytelling. I will have no input on the editorial, or the editorial mix. Any changes will be driven one way or another by Nick and the team.” Gawker refused to comment on the specifics of the deal itself, but company founder Nick Denton did speak to the Times about the site in broader terms.

Today, WrestlingDVDNetwork.com posted their latest update on the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches set that WWE Home Video is releasing on Blu-Ray and DVD on March, 2016. Joining the CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) & Cesaro dark match announced earlier in the week as well as various TV matches will be more non televised matches in various forms:

• Paige vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover: Fatal Four Way dark match September 11, 2014)
• Adrian Neville vs. Cesaro (Columbus, OH house show March 5, 2015)
• Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze (“Arena Cam” from the San Jose, CA house show on March 27, 2015 – Itami uses the Go 2 Sleep)

They join these matches which were already announced:

• NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
• Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
• NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
• NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Paige vs. Emma (NXT July 24, 2013)
• NXT Women’s Championship Finals: Charlotte vs. Natalya (NXT Takeover May 29, 2014)
• Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
• CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Antonio Cesaro & Kassius Ohno (NXT October 17, 2012)
• Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt (NXT May 1, 2013)
• William Regal vs. Antonio Cesaro (NXT December 25, 2013)

Also, as noted earlier, the initial cover art for the set was released today.

On Monday’s RAW, we saw another throwaway Divas match, with The Bella Twins defeating Paige and Emma in 30 seconds. Shortly after the match, #GiveDivasAChance was trending on Twitter – and it still trending on Tuesday afternoon more than 12 hours later.

WWE’s Bella Twins made headlines recently after their comments a Wizard World Comic Con panel about WWE Divas deserving more time in the ring. They said the women at NXT get much more leeway to practice their craft and entertain the fans, even saying that if they were NXT women’s wrestlers, they wouldn’t want to join the main roster.

Here are some of the tweets from the #GiveDivasAChance movement:

https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/570102455079444480

Divas Stopwatch, why even bother having a division? Just send them all to NXT. #Raw pic.twitter.com/gz3zMqZCGP

— Jason Solomon ?? (@solomonster) February 24, 2015

https://twitter.com/A_Swiss_Fox/status/570089161157255168

#GiveDivasAChance @WWE They've worked their asses off for years only to be disrespected and degraded. It's not right. pic.twitter.com/0b24vYjNYX

— Wholesome Drea 51?50 (@LifesNotFlair) February 24, 2015

#GiveDivasAChance @TripleH @VinceMcMahon Blood,Sweat,Tears. Should be worth more than 20 seconds!!!! pic.twitter.com/1paIf6yf92

— JadeCena (@JadeCena) February 24, 2015

Tickets for the 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony are scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Saturday, January 17th at 11:00am EST. The 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on March 28th.

As far as a pre-sale is concerned, WWE usually offers a pre-sale event. Whenever any pre-sale information becomes available, including code words needed to purchase tickets in advance, we will be sure to update you.

For more information, visit WWE.com.

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee In Their Private Time, Hanging w/ Celebrities, Partying & MORE! [View Here >>]

The following is from ImpactWrestling.com:

TNA Wrestling To Make Major Announcement at London Film & Comic Con (LFCC)

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING will make a major announcement for British and Irish fans at the London Film & Comic Con (LFCC).

The announcement will be made as part of a special TNA panel Q&A for fans and media at the event at 5pm on Saturday July 12 in Earls Court 2.

Taking place from July 11-13 at Earls Court, LFCC is Europe’s largest signing event with 100,000 people expected through the doors.

Fans will be able to meet TNA Superstars James Storm, Magnus, Brooke, Robbie E, Al Snow and Jeremy Borash throughout the weekend.

As well as the best that TNA has to offer, London Film & Comic Con will also star Carrie Fisher, Stan Lee, John Hurt, Michael Madsen, Jenna Coleman and guests from Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Lord Of The Rings, Heroes and more – giving fans the chance to meet more than 100 idols of the big and small screen.

To find out more visit www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

The following was issued today:

“CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS: 2014 SPECIAL OLYMPICS USA GAMES” TO AIR ON FOX SPORTS 1 THIS MONDAY, JUNE 30 AT 7 PM ET

STAMFORD, CONN. and NEW YORK, June 26, 2014 – WWE® and FOX Sports today announced that Celebrating Champions: 2014 Special Olympics USA Games, a one-hour television event chronicling the passion, dedication and determination of America’s most inspiring athletes during the week-long celebration of the 2014 USA Games, will air on FOX Sports 1 this Monday, June 30 at 7 pm ET. The special, produced by WWE, will be hosted by Mike Hill and Molly McGrath of FOX Sports 1’s America’s Pregame. Customers of participating video providers can also watch via FOX Sports GO, the app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content through iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktops through FOXSportsGO.com.

The one-hour special will highlight six Special Olympics athletes as they travel from their hometowns to the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games. Viewers will experience a first-hand account of the excitement and pride each athlete exudes while training for, traveling to, and participating in the Games.

The special will include the following six athletes:

Theo “TC” Bazile, a 40-year-old from Vacherie, Louisiana, is a track and field athlete in sprints and shot put. Theo is very involved his community, where he volunteers at the local nursing home and fire department, sings in his church choir and remains active with his former high school football team.

Erica Bookout is a long-distance runner from Christiansburg, Virginia. The 22-year-old is a Junior at Radford University in Virginia majoring in Special Education. She is also the 2013 Special Olympics Virginia Athlete of the Year.

Andy Miyares, a 31-year-old from Miami, Florida, has competed in multiple sports, but has a passion for swimming and holds numerous records in the sport. He works for Special Olympics Miami-Dade and speaks both Spanish and English. In 2010, Andy was selected to serve a four-year term as one of just 12 Special Olympics International Global Messengers chosen from around the world to represent Special Olympics.

Derrick and Delon Noble, identical twin brothers from Bloomfield, New Jersey, compete in flag football. At 21-years-old, Derrick is the Quarterback and Delon is the Running Back. In addition to playing in the 2014 USA Games, during the last two weeks they’ve attended prom, seen their images on a Times Square billboard to promote the Games and graduated from high school. The twins were also honorary captains at a Rutgers football game last fall.

Scott Rohrer, a 24-year-old from York, South Carolina, is the 2010 Special Olympics USA Games Gold Medal Golfer with record scores for both 18-hole and 54-hole tournaments. Scott was also the 2013 South Carolina Special Olympics Athlete of the Year and he will be playing in Special Olympics World Golf Cup this August in Denmark.

In addition to the athlete profiles, the TV special will include highlights from the 2014 USA Games Opening Ceremony from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which was hosted by actress and model Brooklyn Decker and Philadelphia 76ers point guard Michael Carter-Williams. The Ceremony included the traditional parade of athletes, athlete oaths and the lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron. Other celebrities that participated in the Opening Ceremony included WWE Superstars Big Show® and David Otunga®, TV personality Jack Ford, Glee’s Jane Lynch and musical artists Michael DelGuidice & Big Shot.

Also included is coverage of the first-ever Young Athletes Festival, held at the Special Olympics New Jersey Sports Complex. Children between the ages of two and seven, and their families, were invited to learn more about this program which provides critical early childhood development through the power of play.

Founding Partner WWE has helped promote the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games through its global platforms, including TV broadcasts, live events, digital and social media, all of which increased the exposure of Special Olympics and reached a larger and more diverse audience. The partnership was announced in 2013 during WrestleMania® 29 in front of more than 80,000 fans at a sold-out MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and millions more watching around the world. Over the past year, WWE has hosted Special Olympics athletes at its weekly live events, including WrestleMania® 30 in New Orleans, where the athletes got a chance to meet WWE Superstars and Divas, sit ringside and be recognized on TV for their accomplishments. WWE Superstars and Divas also served as honorary coaches for Special Olympics Unified Sports competitions around the country. WWE is the Official Production Partner of the 2014 USA Games, which included producing Celebrating Champions, producing the official sizzle reel and PSA, filming and serving as a production consultant for the Opening Ceremony, and creating daily electronic press kits for national media to help enhance coverage of the Games. In addition, WWE Superstars and Divas participated in various events at the Games, including daily autograph signings and medal presentations, while WWE employees served as volunteers.

21st Century Fox announced its Founding Partnership with the 2014 USA Games in November 2013. The network serves as the Official Presenting Media Sponsor and provided broad exposure for the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games across its U.S. channels, which include FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FOX Broadcasting, FOX Sports, 28 local stations and FOX Sports 1. As Presenting Media Sponsor of the 2014 USA Games, 21st Century Fox committed to media exposure across its cable and broadcast networks as well as its local stations, most notably WNYW and WWOR in New York and WTXF in Philadelphia. In addition, 21st Century Fox provided exposure via live and recorded segments on FOX News Channel; FOX Sports 1, including a preview segment that ran the week before Super Bowl XLVIII; a PSA created by YES Network featuring New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter; and, on FOX Television Stations across the country, more than 50 athlete profiles, a 30-minute Games special, and the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games PSAs which have aired thousands of times, among many other efforts. On site at the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games, Mike Hill and Molly McGrath, hosts of AMERICA’S PREGAME on FOX Sports 1, hosted the Closing Ceremony, capping a great week of events. Cleatus and five FOX Sports Girls from across the country – Sara (Ohio), Kendall (North), Katie (Midwest), Chyna (Wisconsin) and Morgan (South) – came out to interact with athletes and fans at the 21st Century Fox tent in Corporate Park.

The undercard singles titles are all chilling across the pond these days, as Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, and Paige all won championships in recent weeks. New champions are a welcome sight in the WWE these days, especially considering how stale the previous champions’ runs had become.

Dean Ambrose’s reign as United States Champion will likely be the forgotten reign in years to come. He held the title for almost a year while only defending it a few times before finally dropping it to Sheamus during a battle royal a few weeks back.

The same holds true for Big E and the Intercontinental Championship. Although he did not hold the title as long as Ambrose held his US Championship, his reign was unmemorable and he engaged in no meaningful feuds during his months with the title. As for AJ Lee, her run with the title seemed fresh at first, but she eventually ran out of challengers and it seemed like the right time to crown a new champion.

Ambrose held the title for almost a year and hardly ever defended it.

With recent undercard title reigns being unmemorable, it leads one to wonder if unification is the answer. One of the primary reasons the titles go undefended is because it is difficult to have too many stories going at once, especially meaningful ones that involve championship contests. This leads to champions holding insignificant titles like the US Championship as a way to legitimize or build up the character, but in reality, the title does little because it goes undefended.

One of the best options would perhaps be to unify the United States and Intercontinental Championships. By unifying the titles into just the Intercontinental Championship, it could make the title seem important again. In the Attitude Era, the title held importance, with fans knowing that most superstars who held the strap were on their way to the main event.

That is not the case anymore, however, as the title is thrown on random superstars in an attempt to build interest, but then creative puts in no further effort. It is a little sad that the most interesting thing to happen involving the Intercontinental Championship in recent months was a tournament to crown a number one contender that did not even involve the champion at all (except for a few clips showing him standing in the back, angrily looking at a monitor).

TNA issued the following press release today …

TNA Entertainment, the Nashville-based sports entertainment company known for the global pro wrestling program, IMPACT Wrestling, has signed with UTA, it was announced jointly today by Dixie Carter, President of TNA Entertainment, and UTA.

TNA Entertainment’s IMPACT Wrestling, one of Spike TV’s top-rated shows, averaging 1.4 million viewers each week, is broadcast in 120 countries worldwide. Additionally, TNA Entertainment produces more than 100 live Impact Wrestling events each year as well as monthly PPV events with such internationally beloved professional wrestling stars as Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Magnus, James Storm, MVP, Gail Kim and the lovely and lethal Knockouts.

UTA will represent the 12-year-old company to extend its television broadcast reach as well as to expand its licensing programs and slate of live event programming. TNA will also leverage UTA’s expertise in digital and social media to build monetization strategies for its digital media operations. TNA launched a cross-platform programming effort, #IMPACT 365, in October 2013 to provide viewers with ongoing storyline and original content 24/7 on its website and across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and other platforms.

“UTA’s diverse range of capabilities make them an ideal partner to help TNA add tremendous visibility and value to the global IMPACT Wrestling brand,” said Dixie Carter. “We are confident that by working with the UTA team, we will not only expand our wrestling business in exciting ways, but we will also build new entertainment ventures and properties.”

TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held sports entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that specializes in events, products, numerous TV properties, merchandise and music, as well as, the management and promotion of professional wrestlers. The product is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling and is broadcast in more than 120 countries. For more information, please visit www.impactwrestling.com.

United Talent Agency is a premier global talent and literary agency representing many of the world’s most widely-known figures in every current and emerging area of entertainment, including motion pictures, television, digital media, video games, books, music, theatre and live entertainment. The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film finance, film packaging, corporate consulting, branding, licensing, endorsements and the representation of production talent. The agency operates the brand strategy firm UTA Brand Studio as well as New York and Los Angeles-based United Entertainment Group, a joint venture firm focusing on branded entertainment for Fortune 500 companies. UTA also owns leading broadcast and news agency N.S. Bienstock.

After AJ Lee cut her version of a “Pipebomb” promo last year on Raw, it seemed like the WWE would finally spend more time developing in-depth plotlines for its Divas division.

After all, the elements were there for an intriguing Divas division: a fresh batch of competitors, a champion who was miffed at not gaining exposure, and a highly successful reality television show documenting every move along the way.

AJ Lee has been champion for nearly a year. Is it time for another Diva to take the title?

Instead, it seems as if the division has been on autopilot in recent months. AJ Lee has held the championship longer than any Diva in the history of the company, but her run has seemed stale recently. This is taking nothing away from Lee as a champion though. I think she is great and is certainly a worth champion.

It is instead creative’s fault for not doing anything worthwhile with her as champion. They have instead chosen to simply plug in a new challenger each month without building any sort of rivalry, with the challenger usually gaining a title shot by winning a random number-one contender’s match instead of actually engaging in a feud with Lee.

The Raw after the Royal Rumble saw action, matches set up for The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View and more. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW  Comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Complete WWE RAW Results With Videos (1/27)

WWE RAW (1/20)

The Royal Rumble: Everyone who watched The Royal Rumble, or heard about it, know that the crowd was completely upset that the 10 or so unadvertised spots did not go to Daniel Bryan. Loud Boos directed at Rey Misteryo who was number 30, and Batista (who I will from now on refer to as #Bootista) who won the 2014 Royal Rumble were heard loud and clear.   I know this because, I was there. Yes I few out to the 2014 Royal Rumble in frigid Pittsburgh, PA to watch that Pay-Per-View live, and yes Daniel Bryan wasn’t scheduled to be in the Rumble, but not only did everyone want him in the thing, they wanted him to win. Congrats to the live crowd for making their voices heard. Hopefully this will induce change, because I dare the WWE to put on Batista vs Orton in the main event at WrestleMania XXX and not get booed out of the building.

Triple H and Daniel Bryan Face to Face. YES!

The Authority, Daniel Bryan
With the largest story out of the Royal Rumble being Daniel Bryan not being in the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw kicked off right away with The Authority, and Daniel Bryan. Daniel talking about the #YesMovement and how he wanted to be in the Royal Rumble but The Authority wouldn’t let him.  Daniel Bryan then gets in Triple H’s face and demands to be in the Elimination Chamber Match. Triple H then brings out the shield to beat down Daniel Bryan.  Sheamus and John Cena make the save. I would have liked Raw to start with Daniel Bryan calling out The Authority, also I would have liked Daniel Bryan to beat the crap out of Triple H, the second The Sheild’s music hit. But for what it was, it was okay, and at least the segment didn’t end with Daniel Bryan being killed. It doesn’t happen often, but did you see Seth Rollins slip on his entrance? YES!

Bad News Barrett Segment
You know it’s funny, I was in Pittsburgh with 13 other insane wrestling fans, some who like me flew in for The Rumble, and one my friends does a great Wade Barrett impression, and he was hilarious. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”  I heard that BNB used to be a fixture of the JBL & Cole show, and he was hilarious. I’ve come to the realization, that there are three main reasons I HATE Bad News Barrett on WWE Raw. NO!

What happened to this man? NO!

Three Reasons I hate Bad News Barrett

1. Yelling
I know he’s in the arena, but I don’t think he needs to yell as much, I think it’s annoying. If he did it more soft spoken, even if it was backstage being shown to the crowd, it would come across better.

2. Podium & Gavel
The podium and gavel is just plain silly and stupid. Is he a judge? Is he a preacher?

3. The Material
So generic dising a local city, and their sports team. Wade Barrett can cut a great promo, we’ve seen it years ago in The Nexus and The Coree, why is he wasting time with cheap heat? Dumb!

#BOOtista, Orton and Brock Lesnar, on Raw. NO!

In-Ring Segment: Randy Orton, #BOOtista, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman
I said it already once, but I dare WWE to put Randy Orton vs #BOOtista in the Main Event at WrestleMania XXX. Daniel Bryan chants ring though the arena, even though Daniel Bryan is not supposed to be involved with this segment. Brock Lesnar and Heyman come out to challenge Batista or Randy Orton, tonight on raw. But if you think you’re going to get a free Brock Lesnar match on TV, you must also believe the tooth fairy, was the one who gave you the five bucks under your pillow. NO!

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
The battle of Cleveland as these two are locals, I couldn’t help wondering how WWE was going to screw both of them, being WWE loves to beat guys in their own hometown (See: Jim Ross). Dolph wins it, and maybe his punishment is over? Probably not. YES!

WWE Tag-Team Titles

Brock destroys the Rhodes Brothers. YES!

New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
Some trash talking from The Road Dogg before this matche gets underway. I’m okay with NAO as the WWE Tag Team Champions. I’m assuming they will defend them at WrestleMania and lose it to a good team like The Usos.  Brock Lesnar comes out destroys  the Rhode’s brothers, which I was also okay with. YES!

  View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating

Batista Returned to WWE and it’s the go home show before the Royal Rumble, but was it  enough for us to say YES! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Complete WWE RAW Results (1/20)

WWE RAW (1/20)

The Animal Is back, with the world’s tightest pants! NO!

The Authority, Randy Orton & Batista
I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this segment. Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is just boring me. Orton is way more whinyer these days as well. This isn’t the cold-hearted viper, we all know and love. This is an annoying whimpy sometimes self-doubting viper. Batista comes out wearing a pair of ridiculous tight Jeans. That outfit is what I would expect someone to put on him as a joke in the WWE 2k14 video game, with a diva’s dancing entrance. He’s back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans to become the WWE Champion. Part of me want’s to say YES! because Batista is awesome, maybe I’m being to hard on the guy? But if I’m rating the segment by itself I have to go with NO!

Goldust, Cody Rhodes & Big E. Langston vs. The Shield
WWE has won me over on tag team wrestling, plain and simple. I enjoy it, I love wathcing Cody and Golddust out there. I think it’s rediciolous that these two are defending their championship on the Royal Rumble pre-show. They deserve mid-card of the Pay-Per-View. Some would arugue, that if you put a solid match on the pre-show that will get people on the fence to buy the PPV. I get it, but still I think this is an attraction worthy of the actual event. Especially because I feel The New Age Outlaws could very well win the titles.  YES!

Daniel Bryan is back YES!

Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt
Great to see Daniel Bryan on Raw, especially since SEScoops.com broke the news a day after last week’s Raw that he had suffered a concussion last week. As a precaution he was pulled of the weekends live events and underwent impact testing to make sure he was good for this Sunday. He’s facing Bray Wyatt in a 1 on 1 match. Currently he is not scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble. If he doesn’t show up in the Rumble and win it, I will be pretty disappointed, this is his year to win it. Do the right thing WWE, you have a major star on your hands. YES!

Xavier Woods vs. Fandango
Fast forwarded this match. I think Fandango won. I have no idea why. Meaningless. NO! 

CM Punk vs Billy Gun
I didn’t catch Smackdown! on Friday, but I enjoyed The Road Doggs explinatinon here on commentary. The New Age Outlaws aren’t heel’s per se, more like tweeners. I would expect them to win the Tag Team titles to further along a breakup with Golddust and Cody Rhodes. Billy Gun looked a bit blown up in the match with CM Punk, but good match. YES!

Batista gets his revenge on Alberto Del Ro before the Rumble. Now What? – NO!

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio
Another fast forward delight, back in the day before DVR’s and dare I say VCR’s We would change the channel watching this thing live. Truth be told, I fell asleep during this very match live on Monday, and caught up Tuesday. Batista comes out and attacks Alberto Del Rio. Now I thought I was going to have to pay to see Batista get physical with Del Rio? Why give it away on Raw? I can only guess that Alberto Del Rio will cause Batista to be eliminated at the Rumble. We saw Batista destroy him, so something else needs to happen. Perhaps Ricardo Rodriguez comes back and they both get Batista out? Who knows. All I know is I give the match and aftermath a NO!

Brock Lesnar should be Fearless – NO!

Big Show, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman 
Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be afraid of anyone at any time, period! I did like the Big Show this week, more serious, more business, calling out Brock Lesnar. I thought it was silly watching Brock backup from the ring, not wanting to get in there with Big Show. Getting thrown out and then throwing a temper tantrum. Brock is going to win this match at the Royal Rumble, a match I am looking forward to. But this segment was silly. I liked Big Show’s impression of Paul Heyman though. NO!

  View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating

With two weeks before the Royal Rumble, Noah Mark is back with his analysis of the second raw of 2014. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Complete WWE RAW Results (1/13)

WWE RAW (1/13)

Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Kick Off Raw vs The USO’S – YES!

The Usos vs. Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan (Part 1) Raw starts off with the match advertised last week of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. The USO’s were in the ring at the start of Raw ready for the match. The lights blacked out for the Wyatts entrance, and came back on 30 seconds later to reveal Daniel Bryan and The Wyatts already in the ring. I liked the quick entrance. The match was good with Daniel Bryan in a more aggressive style. Luke Harper and Derek Rowan, interfered just before The USO’s were about to get airborne on Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt.  This prompted another DQ on the Wyatts in their second week in a row with Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan drops to his knees to receive a Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt. As I said for the last two weeks, I’m okay with this story in it’s context, provided it doesn’t go 16 weeks to WrestleMania. YES!

Damien Sandow holding his own against John Cena – YES!

Damien Sandow vs. John Cena I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Raw in Orlando, FL the night after The Hell-In-A-Cell Pay-Per-View. It was on that night that Damien Sandow cashed in his Money-In-The-Bank briefcase on John Cena. Although he didn’t win the match then, it was a great competitive match with Cena, and this episode of Raw was no different. There is a great chemistry between Sandow and Cena, and proof that Sandow should have a much more elevated status in WWE. All the things about Damien Sandow I enjoy are stripped away, no more robe, no more witty promos, he’s seemingly just an angry body. Where’s the man that would sign autographs with a quill pen? Why do we get “Sandow-Gimmick-Light”? I question this especially, because when he is called upon he delivers.  Match was great.  Don’t throw away Sandow after this. YES!

Kane & Brad Maddox, No Triple H or Stephanie. Kane and Brad get into it backstage, and Mr Maddox comes up with a Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Uso’s rematch in a steel cage for the main event. With Kane adding that he will personally chain the cage door shut. I thought this would spell disaster for Daniel Bryan, with some ulterior motive for his former Co-Tag Team Champion.

I did like the fact that Triple H and Stephanie were not on the show this week. Although they seem to back Orton, promoting him as the face Of WWE, they haven’t been targeting John Cena, like they did Bryan, with beat-downs and impossible handi-cap matches.  YES!

Left – Intense Big Show to confront Brock Lesnar 1/6 YES! Right – Jolly Big Show eventually Beating Up Zed NO!

On an unrelated note, is Kane injured? Kane is one of the longest tenured Superstars on the roster, I know he has been working several holiday house show matches, however I don’t recall him having a TV match since that aforementioned Orlando Raw I was at where, on that show he shed his mask, this was after returning from filming a See No Evil sequel. It looked like he had a noticeable limp coming down the aisle way. 

Big Show vs. Jack Swagger I don’t like smiling big show. I liked hoodie and skull cap wearing, intense Big Show from last week. I want all business Big Show. I want a focused Big Show that is going to seriously take on Brock Lesnar. Big show almost has John Cena-itus. Big Show should learn from his mistakes. Smiling Big Show ended 3-4 Raws this fall, then lost the Big One. Big show can smile his way to another loss at the Royal Rumble. I like Zeb Colter,  but for some reason I DON’T want to see him hurt. I like Paul Heyman, but I DO want to see him get hurt. NO!

Moments before The New Age Outlaws, pull back their hands and walk out on CM Punk – NO!

CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield I’m hoping after The Royal Rumble, CM Punk will move away from The Shield. I love Roman Reigns but If the Shield were to break up, I don’t think he should be put against CM Punk one on one, yet. I like the idea of him building up his singles resume, perhaps with a Big E, Dolph Ziggler, a returning Jericho, maybe even Daniel Bryan, before we see CM Punk vs Roman Reigns in a big time match. I love the New Age Outlaws, and I don’t want to boo them. I haven’t checked out the Smackdown Spoilers (They are scheduled to take on Cody Rhodes and Golddust) so I’m curious to see if they are “bad guys” now.  They both appear to be in great shape, and would love to see them, hang around till WrestleMania, but not at heels. Besides, book him however you wish, but at WrestleMania XXX they will no doubt be faces one way or another.   NO!

Meaningless win for AJ. Waste of talent – NO!

The Funkadactyls vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka Throw-a-way match, AJ being underutilized. AJ hasn’t had many title defenses, the belt isn’t as special, not because of the person, because of the booking. She taps out and pins people left and right, then a silly beat down afterwords. If you’re going to give her a clean win, why bother, having the faces beat her down after the fact, they lost. This is why there is a huge drop off in star power in WWE, because you have someone like an AJ Lee who can cut a dynamite promo, you can cultivate that, make people want to see her, and let her flourish! Instead of losing her in the shuffle of 20 Total Diva® tag matches. NO!

WWE Hall Of Fame 2014 Inductee The Ultimate Warrior will Headline The 2014 Hall Of Fame. Ironic I watched a DVD about how he was horrible person to work with, held up Vince McMahon for money at SummerSlam 1991, and “self destructed” But as the saying goes Money Talks, and there is a lot of people who remember the guy you see below and could care less about what was hapening behind the curtain. So for that (and because our Webmaster is a huge fan of the man from Parts Unknown) we say YES!

  View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating

Noah Mark is back with his analysis of Old School Raw! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (1/6)

OLD SCHOOL RAW (1/6)

Orton playing the generic Bad Guy, he’s much better than this. NO!

Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & John Cena Promo Old School Raw kicked off with the 16 time “Nature Boy” Ric Flair out first. He was quickly interrupted by former Evolution partner. Randy Orton. Randy Orton said he respected Ric Flair, but he needed the time more to address the one on one rematch putting himself vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at The Royal Rumble. Ric chimes in saying he’s not as good as he thinks. Orton threatens Flair, Cena ends up making the save.

For me this segment fell flat, and seemed forced. Orton was seemingly going through the motions, with “I respect you, but….” going into generic heel mode. This is not The Viper I know and enjoy. I feel some people don’t give Randy Orton the credit he deserves for his promo and character skills, he makes great facial expressions, and conveys a cold-hearted disposition. Well normally he does, this promo didn’t do Orton any favors. Clearly Ric Flair is getting order, or he had a few in the back, because he sounded marble mouth in this segment. Cena didn’t offer anything to this segment either. One month ago Cena may have  delivered the best promo of his life in Seattle. Here, I felt the whole thing was boring. NO!

NO!

Jerry Lawler Health Update:  Earlier in the day we reported Breaking News Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized. Of course with Jerry’s Heart Attack last year during Raw, your first thought would be another heart issue. Thankfully it seemed to be a stomach virus or food poisoning. however that didn’t stop the WWE from sensationalizing  by directing viewers to turn to the WWE App to get an update on Jerry Lawler. NO!

Daniel Bryan…er Wyatt. So far okay. YES!

Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos & Rey Mysterio Our first chance to see Daniel Bryan on TV as a Wyatt. First the original Wyatt trio appeared for their normal entrance, followed by the fourth Daniel “Wyatt”. Daniel Byran came out looking like he was in a Janitor or prison jump suit. A blank stare on his face, as he teamed up with Rowan and Harper to take on The Usos and Mysterio. I enjoyed this, I thought Bryan looked good with the group. They ended up losing the match due to Harper getting rolled up after a brief disagreement with Bryan as to who should come into the match when Rowan tagged both men. I would have preferred The Wyatts to win clean in this match. Their first week out and they’re arguing, I think an eventual separation from Bryan would be more effective if they were on the same page to start. But I’m still okay with this story line, provided I don’t have to wait 15 more weeks for Bryan to “Snap out of it”. YES!

Too Cool & Rikishi just 3 of the Old School Legends at Raw YES!

WWE Legends On Old School Raw: I was happy to see some of my old school favorites on Raw. Everyone had a good role on the show and for older fans this definitely was a great nostalgia feel. I will say that over the past few years we’ve seen a crop of “usual” legends. Most of which were not actually on a whole lot of episodes of WWE Raw. I would love to have seen a Raw with more attitude era and post era stars.  Some of them are still affiliated and working for WWE. Perhaps WWE held a few back for a Royal Rumble appearance. There was also no “old school” diva on this show. I know Mae Young was originally scheduled to attend this show, however Mae Young experienced  health issues and was unable to appear.  With Brock Lesnar, in attendance this seemed like a perfect time for Sable to make an appearance in the show.  YES!

Big E walks though a hallway WWE Old School time warp.
Check out the Full Old School Raw Results w/ More Videos.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6BucX5HK_mY

Piper & Ambrose – YES!

Piper’s Pit – Piper’s still got it plain and simple. His interaction with The Shield, the hottest faction, group, whatever you what to call them. Piper pinching Roman Reigns cheek put goosebumps on my arm. I saw Reigns neck throbbing, great moment! People have compaired Dean Ambrose to Piper in the past, it was great to see Ambrose get to interact with a Legend. This would not be his only legend interaction on this episode of Old School Raw. I enjoyed seeing CM Punk and The New Age Outlaws come in to save piper. YES!

 View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW Old School and our Overall Raw Rating

Happy New Year everyone! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (12/30)

WWE RAW (12/30)

Alright everyone, I’ve been sitting on writing this article to give all of us enough time to digest what we saw on Monday. I didn’t want to make a knee jerk reaction to what I saw. So hopefully here is my calm observation.

Daniel Bryan Takes On Luke Harper – YES!

Daniel Bryan Joins The Wyatts: Daniel Bryan is an incredible wrestler, he’s got a likable personality, and he’s good on the mic. Shawn Michaels definitely taught him well, but Bryan has that extra ingredient needed to make a star, that unteachable “it” factor. You either have it, or you don’t. Bryan has it, and it has developed over the years to something a massive audience can get behind. We are in in a time where WWE has failed to match the caliber star power and top new talents of the decades before it. So partly due to John Cena’s injury Daniel Bryan is given the ball. The crowds love him, and are behind him. Daniel Bryan headlines Summer Slam with Cena, followed by the next 3 Pay-Per-Views with Orton. The Pay-Per-View buy rates  were down from the previous year. It shouldn’t rest squarely on Bryan’s shoulders, there is an incredible short shelf on top stars, with practically all of them on John Cena’s level either retired or part time. Look at Survivor Series, headlined by Big Show vs Randy Orton, drawing one if not the lowest Survivor Series buy rates in the PPV’s history. I could argue that Daniel Bryan in the main event SAVED the prior three pay-per-views from a similar dismal buy rate.

Erick Rowan vs Daniel Bryan – YES!

Nonetheless, back down Daniel Bryan goes on the card, he becomes the scapegoat, pun intended! Bryan’s been in a feud with the Wyatts  since the end of October. My anger and frustration has clouded my appreciation for the Wyatts, and this story line. So let me look at it just from the perspective of the story line alone. The Wyatts have a great persona, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan can hang with the likes of just about anyone in the ring. I feel Bray Wyatt is the weakest wrestler out of the group, but wrestling isn’t the most important talent needed for this, Bray could easily fit in a horror movie, he looks the part and is competent enough. So after two months of mostly Daniel Bryan getting the short end of the stick, on this past Monday’s Raw Bryan is given a chance to go one on one with Bray Wyatt. All Bryan must do is defeat Luke Harper and Derrek Rowen.

Daniel Bryan Joins the Wyatt Family. YES!

After the two matches Bray comes in the ring, the match starts, Erick and Luke join in on the attack. Bray tells Bryan he’s afraid this is where their story ends. He says he has no mercy left to give. He says this is his fault. Bryan says you’re right, you were right all along and joins the Wyatts. (View Full Details here)  So within the story line itself. I’m okay with this, in fact I’m totally fine with this scenario, provided Daniel Bryan is out of this “spell” by The Royal Rumble. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, in this day in age, with people wanting instant gratification, binge-watching full seasons of TV shows in a sitting, I can’t wait 16 weeks for WrestleMania XXX for Daniel Bryan to come out of his spell. Doing so may inflict permanent damage on his popularity. So if Daniel Bryan is “following the buzzards” for four weeks, I’m on board. YES!

CM Punk takes on Seth Rollins on an “Off Night” – NO!

CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins: Everyone has an off night,  Seth Rollins and CM Punk didn’t work. there were a few botches, CM Punk tried to cover by turning a move off the ropes into a small package, but it was sloppy. I would imagine most of the heat goes on Seth Rollins, but it takes two to tango. CM Punk on Twitter knew it was a stinker NO!

“@RMB316: @CMPunk IM sure you hear this a lot. Good match on #Raw really enjoyed it. Keep it up all the best in 2014” it was garbage.

— player/coach (@CMPunk) December 31, 2013

View Page 2 to find out more items and our Overall Raw Rating

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (12/23)

WWE RAW (12/23)

Here are some quick thoughts about this weeks edition of Christmas Raw. Did you watch it?

The WWE Diva’s are awesome to look at. Not so awesome to watch wrestle.

12-diva’s Jingle Bells Match: The tag team division has been completely turned around.  At one point it seemed like there was barely a tag team division. AJ Lee is the best women’s wrestler on the roster, why aren’t we seeing her in great matches. I guess I know why, because of Total Diva’s.  That doesn’t mean there can’t be great woman’s wrestling.  NO!

John Cena, CM Punk, and Big E. Langston victorious to end Christmas Raw

CM Punk John Cena & Big E Langston vs The Shield I enjoyed the match, Cena, Punk and Big E all out there. The end seemed silly though. Why would there suddenly be a disqualification, because the two illegal Shield members saved themselves from being pinned by Big E? It doesn’t make sense, but still the match was better than the Good Santa vs Bad Santa, which I thought for sure would close the show. Therefore it gets a YES!

The USOS vs The Prime Time Players:  The match was fun to watch.  Good tag team action YES!|

The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all celebrate after the match. Barf

The USOS & Prime Time Players Curtain Call Before the match Darren Young mistakenly refer to Austin Texas as Houston, to get some sort of heel heat, I didn’t have a problem with this. I did have a problem with after the match, The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all doing the Millions of Dollars dance. Here’s why I have an issue with it.  This is starting to become a thing, with Superstars hugging after the match, we saw it a few weeks ago with the Michael Strahan, Miz, Titus O’neil segment. We saw it with Big Show, Rey Mysterio and The Rhodes. Forget about ruthless aggression, these guys are all becoming wimps! It’s OKAY for two fan favorites to dislike each other, and not hug at the end. I’m not saying they need to attack each other after the match… but I’m hoping it’s just a lighthearted Christmas episode thing, and not a growing trend. Although with the recent article of WWE shopping their television shows to TV Network’s including Disney. We might see everyone hug at the end of matches in the future. NO!

“Bad Santa’ full of Christmas Cupcakes

Good Santa Vs Bad Santa: It is what it is I guess. Mark Henry playing the good Santa, Damien Sandow playing the bad Santa with produced backstage segments contrasting the two. The announcers played it up as you would have expected. The whole concept is silly. Bah Humbug! NO!

Live Announcing: I would say it was a good thing that Michael Cole and JBL announced the show live from Stanford CT. (They had pre-recorded cut-in’s from the arena, but voiced most of Raw Live) it gave it a fresh feel, JBL made some topical references as he eluded to on twitter. The Batista announcement which clearly wasn’t scheduled for the show originally was added in, and the live commentary allowed for reaction from JB and Cole. Did you miss Jerry “The King” Lawler? I did not. YES!

@NEIL_MALONE @WWE @GoToBermuda pre taped? Not sure u noticed, our commentary was live. The Romo reference should have given that away.

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) December 24, 2013

“Santa Claus is an Illegal Immigrant” – Zeb Colter

The Real Americans vs Los Matadores: Another good tag team match on Raw. We saw the Antonio Cesaro swing, which if you haven’t’ seen live is an awesome thing to watch. With all the tag teams in the WWE, I think the WrestleMania pre-show match should involve all the tag-teams that one make it to the PPV. Perhaps the winner can face the champions.  YES!

RAW OVERALL: NO! Call me scrooge if you will, but the over cheesy holiday wrestling show, should go on Smackdown!  I think Raw looses it’s coolness by being lame. If Disney pony’s up the cash this could be what you see on RAW every week so get used to it! There was some good action on the show which I enjoyed, no real progression of WWE story lines but the big announcement of The Animal Batista, which was awesome to see. 

Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (12/9)

WWE RAW (12/9): The “YES!”

Daniel Bryan

The Star of Raw Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan, winning three Slammy Awards competing in a match, appearing in the Championship Ascension Ceremony, was without question the star of the show. His hometown crowd chanting YES! YES! YES! and DANIEL BRYAN! throughout the beginning of the Championship Ascension Ceremony. Going back earlier in the night to his first Slammy win for Superstar Of The Year. On stage The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. He announces the Superstar of the year is Daniel Bryan. We were all expecting fireworks to occur during that interaction. HBK even exited stage right a perfect set-up for a “surprise” superkick from out of nowhere! But there was no Sweet Chin Music. Just a humble acceptance speech by Bryan for his Slammy Award which he refereed to as The “HB Swizzle”  award, Michaels naming it that just before presenting the award. Bryan did mention if it wasn’t for Shawn he wouldn’t be in the WWE. Likewise if it wasn’t for his interference at Hell-In-A-Cell he would be the WWE Champion. Although there was no physical interaction here, that wouldn’t be the last time these two interacted on the show.

See this is why I can’t shake off fighting the Daniel Bryan cause, he belongs in the main event. Heck this article uses his YES! and NO! and lord help us all if Daniel Bryan ever appears in a “NO!” portion of this article.  Some people might say, he was in his hometown and had an extra kick of support. There may be a bit of truth to that, but I feel that there are just some hot wrestling towns. Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and apparently Seattle. After what transpired later in the show who knows what will happen the next few months. I’m excited! YES!

Championship Ascension Ceremony

John Cena showing why he is in fact the face of WWE.

Former World Heavyweight and WWE Champions appeared all in the ring for the Championship Ascension Ceremony. As I said earlier the crowd was going crazy for Daniel Bryan. While Triple H was talking up the match, and the championship, the Seattle crowd chanted YES and Daniel Bryan to the point where Triple H gave them what seemed like at least a minute of chanting and Yessing and clapping. This crowd was on fire for Daniel Bryan. Triple H introduced both Orton and Cena. The crowd did not want to hear what Orton had to say. There were boos and boring chants. Then Cena took the mic. More boos and cheering mix. Then Cena begins to speak and prove why he is the face of the WWE. These days with everything being very planned and scripted, Cena played to the crowd and included Daniel Bryan in the conversation, he compared Randy Orton’s rise to success to Daniel Bryan’s. The idea was Bryan didn’t have a father and grandfather to get him in to the WWE, he did it by working. Cena turned practically the entire crowd around and behind him., shouting out his past opponents, HBK, CM Punk, and putting over that the only fair shot Daniel Bryan had was the one with him.  Brilliant, this is why he is where he is. The end was something I haven’t seen in the WWE in a long time. It was an awesome chain of events excuited perfectly. Cena and Orton shake hands as the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship are hoisted up. Orton gets in a cheap shot, the two are down on the mat fighting. Orton and Cena get pulled apart to their corners. CM Punk gets shoved by Orton causing CM Punk to start attacking Orton. Triple H throws down CM Punk, who retaliates with a knockdown of his on on The Game. HBK Superkicks CM Punk, setting up Daniel Bryan to

The Authority and John Cena look over A fallen Randy Orton. A great segment to end raw.

WWE Reminding us what they are capable of, a Powerful and compelling end to Raw.

deliver his running Knee on HBK. Orton tries to RKO Bryan but instead gets shoved into Stephanie McMahon knocking her down. Triple H runs to Stephanie’s aid, and then gets up and pedigrees Randy.  The show closes with The Authority and John Cena looking disappointed over Randy Orton on the mat. What a great segment. This is what WWE used to do on a regular basis. Twists and turns, these chain-reaction action segments. YES!

Quick Mentions

Dean Ambrose vs CM Punk – Ambrose vs CM punk was a Pay-Per-View quality match with a great dissension in the ranks tease when Dean Ambrose wanted Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to head to the back so he could finish the job by himself. Punk gets the win shortly after that exchange, although Punk loses out to the numbers game and gets a great spear from Reigns. YES!

The Wyatts – With a chip on my shoulder because of Daniel Bryan’s demotion, I don’t think I appreciated Bray Wyatt’s amazing performances over the last few weeks.  They are great, and compelling. YES!

Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:

Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (11/25): With VIDEOS

WWE RAW (11/25): The “YES!”

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs The Wyatts

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts

The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”.  Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.

I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.

Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.

CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield.  I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.

Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!

The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio 

I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.

The Kosher Butcher!

The Kosher Butcher
Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this.  Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of  both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.

Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:

– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels apologized Sunday for making a homophobic remark on Twitter last week:

The remark I made the other nite, joking or not, obviously offended many, so I apologize for the remark!

— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) July 15, 2012

This past weekend Shawn tweeted “Another Dude obsessed w/my hair #homo” in response to a fan query concerning his hairline on Thursday. He subsequently deleted the tweet after garnering negative feedback.

– AJ Lee tweeted following her participation at MITB

Personal feelings aside, it was an honor to be in the ring with the two absolute best in the world, @CMPunk & @WWEDanielBryan . I'm lucky.

— AJ Mendez (@TheAJMendez) July 16, 2012

– Dustin Runnels aka Goldust returned to the ring this past weekend in Hollywood, Florida for the NWA Ring Warriors promotion. He lost to Vordell Walker via DQ when “Iceman” Buck Q interfered in the match.