One of the themes of this coming Monday’s edition of WWE RAW will be a WWE Hall Of Famers discussion of the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match at WWE Night Of Champions for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Confirmed to be participating are Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. Additional WWE Hall Of Famers may be involved in the segment as well.

WWE.com wrote the following about the segment:

“The WWE Universe is still buzzing about the brutal beating John Cena suffered at the hands of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. To kick off Raw, WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair will be in the house to weigh in on the upcoming Brock-Cena rematch at Night of Champions. And following a week of relative silence for the normally outspoken Superstar, Cena will be at Raw to address the WWE Universe. What else awaits? WWE.com offers some theories and predictions.”

Regarding rumors that Roman Reigns may challenge Brock Lesnar next for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, that appears to not be the case.

WWE officials are reportedly still looking to hold off on Reigns winning the WWE title until next year’s WrestleMania.

Reigns is still viewed within WWE as “the chosen one,” but the idea behind his push right now is for him to slowly rise to the top and having him lose to Lesnar at this point would be counterproductive.

WWE is still looking to have Reigns win the title at WrestleMania 31, giving him his big “WrestleMania moment” and fully capitalizing on his push to the top.

One of the reasons WWE had Brock Lesnar destroy John Cena in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at this past Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view was to portray him as a monster and get him over as strong as possible to separate him from the pack.

Another reason was because WWE felt it showed Cena in a positive light, showcasing his ability to “never give up,” like his motto says, even in a situation as brutal as that, and for taking the beating and keep coming, as he is doing by challenging him to an immediate rematch at the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view.

On a related note, WWE filmed a bunch of footage with Lesnar backstage at RAW in Las Vegas on Monday. The footage will air on future episodes of the show since his deal doesn’t call for him to be there every week.

Heading into Sunday’s match between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, one of the original ideas was to center the entire match around building up the Wyatt character.

Apparently, Wyatt was also scheduled to win the first meeting between he and Jericho at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view, however Vince McMahon reportedly changed his mind at the last minute.

Jericho has mentioned in the past that he is scheduled to wrap up his current run with WWE after the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, as he is going on tour with his rock band Fozzy. As things stand now, the current plan is for a third match between Jericho and Wyatt at Night Of Champions, with the match having some sort of stipulation.

It is believed that we will see some hints towards the direction heading into WrestleMania 31 at Sunday night’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.

If Brock Lesnar wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena, the belief is that he will remain champion until next year’s WrestleMania, where it is expected that he will drop it to Roman Reigns, resulting in the climax of Reigns’ push as WWE’s new top Superstar.

Another key to Sunday’s show is that WWE needs a strong build coming out of the event and heading into Night Of Champions, because many of the initial six-month WWE Network subscriptions are set to expire in September, so WWE will need to give a strong incentive for fans to re-subscribe.

The album “Do You Wanna Start A War” from Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy opened at number 54 this past week on the Billboard overall charts, number 20 on the Billboard rock charts and number nine on the Billboard hard rock charts.

Jericho noted in a recent interview that his final date with WWE for his current run will be the Night Of Champions pay-per-view on September 21st, as Fozzy begins touring a few days after that show.

– It was announced during Monday’s RAW that on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, the featured match will be Dean Ambrose vs. Alberto Del Rio. WWE Main Event airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night at 8pm EST.

– Also announced during RAW this week was the confirmation that Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt will meet again at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view in August. The match was confirmed during a RAW segment that featured Chris Jericho making fun of Stephanie McMahon, all-the-while angering Triple H. As noted previously, Jericho and Wyatt are expected to work matches against each other in three consecutive pay-per-views — Battleground, SummerSlam and Night Of Champions.

The latest word going around this weekend is that the rumored Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella match may be saved for the Night Of Champions pay-per-view in September, as opposed to the SummerSlam show in August. More should be known based on how they follow-up on the angle at RAW tonight.

As far as the Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and AJ Lee vs. Paige matches at SummerSlam, it is believed that both will be a gimmick match of some sort.

Finally, there is talk of the WWE Tag-Team Championship match at SummerSlam being a fatal four-way with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, as well as two other tag-teams.

Following his return to WWE television last week and his angle with The Miz and The Wyatt Family, it appears Jericho has his next two pay-per-view opponents lined up.

Jericho, who is rumored to be facing The Miz on RAW, is currently slated to face The Miz at the upcoming Battleground pay-per-view.

From there, Jericho will continue his feud with The Wyatt Family, leading to a big match against Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam.

Jericho is currently committed to stay with WWE through September’s Night of Champions pay-per-view. It’s being said that the main objective of Jericho’s latest WWE run is to elevate Bray Wyatt before possibly taking another hiatus later this fall.

* WWE Match Of The Year Candidates – Second Quarter of 2014 (With Videos)

(Partial Source: PWInsider)

It’s looking more and more like the rumored Roman Reigns vs. Triple H showdown will be taking place at either the Night Of Champions pay-per-view, or the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.

Originally, Reigns vs. HHH was scheduled for SummerSlam, however, as previously reported, it’s looking like Reigns vs. Randy Orton is the plan for that show.

WWE is looking to stack the deck at Night Of Champions, as that’s when the initial six-month WWE Network subscriptions expire. As a result, the Reigns-HHH match was likely pushed back in the plans, as to schedule it so that it happens when Network subscriptions are up for renewal.

Additionally, the thought process is that Night Of Champions or Hell In A Cell would be closer to WrestleMania 31, where the idea is to push Reigns into the top baby face spot.

As noted previously, the top four matches planned for this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view include Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella.

Another match that was originally under consideration for the show is a “Buried Alive” match between Daniel Bryan and Kane. That match is considered unlikely at this point, as it depends on Bryan’s condition, which doesn’t seem to be approving at a rate that would allow him to perform in time for SummerSlam.

It’s been noted in the past as well that WWE will be stacking the deck for Night Of Champions, the pay-per-view following SummerSlam, as that is when they will be needing something big to lure subscribers to the WWE Network, as their six-month subscriptions will be expiring at around that time.

There continues to be talk within WWE that Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns will headline WrestleMania 31 next year. The belief is that Lesnar will defeat John Cena to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam, building to the moment that he drops the belt to Reigns as Reigns’ crowning moment as the new top baby face in the company.

While there has been no confirmation that Lesnar is defeating Cena at SummerSlam, the word going around is that it is going to be a big show and that September’s Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which will also feature Lesnar, will be just as big to try and persuade people to renew their expiring six-month WWE Network subscriptions.

Chris Jericho, who returned at Monday’s post-Money In The Bank edition of WWE RAW in Hartford, Connecticut, is reportedly worked into the creative plans through the Night Of Champions pay-per-view on September 21st.

Jericho, who always messes around with the internet fans, tried fooling people prior to RAW by posting photos on social media that showed him with his family, basically to try and throw people off.

It’s said that the working plan right now is for Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam, although there’s a chance they could work the Battleground pay-per-view as well, with SummerSlam being the followup and/or blow-off of the program.

As things stand right now, WWE is running with the mindset that Daniel Bryan will not be ready in time for their Battleground pay-per-view, which takes place on July 20th in Tampa, Florida.

The current working plan is for Bryan to return at SummerSlam in one of the main events, although it’s unlikely that he’ll be working against Brock Lesnar in the title match on the show, which was originally the plan.

SummerSlam Plans Finalized: Brock Lesnar’s Return, Cesaro

In fact, WWE isn’t even sure Bryan will be available in time for SummerSlam. They do, however, expect him back in time for the Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which takes place on September 21st in Nashville, Tennessee.

It is believed that Bryan will work a stipulation match with Kane — possibly the originally planned “Buried Alive” match since the “Stretcher Match” was used on RAW this week — upon his return, as from a story line standpoint, he’s the guy who put Bryan on the shelf.

WWE is currently advertising Bryan for shows in mid-August. He’s not officially included in the advertising for SummerSlam, but is included in advertisements for the live event in San Jose, California on August 16th, which is the event that takes place the night before SummerSlam. He’s also booked to appear on one of the house show tours the weekend following SummerSlam on the West Coast, and television tapings after SummerSlam.

• HUGE WWE Superstar From The Past To Return SOON! [Full Story Here >>](Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

With the first round of WWE Network subscriptions coming due on September 2nd, WWE is looking to beef up their Night Of Champions pay-per-view on September 21st.

As expected, Brock Lesnar will be returning to work the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August, and will reportedly stay and work a two-show program through the Night Of Champions show.

The fact that Brock Lesnar is not scheduled to work this year’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which he generally has in the past, could be a sign about how he will be used when he does return.

According to one suorce, the fact that Lesnar isn’t going to be used at Extreme Rules could be a sign that he will work the September pay-per-view, which is Night Of Champions, which would mean whatever program he starts for SummerSlam, where he’s almost guaranteed to appear, will continue on after the show, leading into a rematch or something along those lines at Night Of Champions.

The following is an updated list of official dates and locations for WWE’s pay-per-view events all the way through WrestleMania 31.

May 4th – Extreme Rules, IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ
June 1st – Payback, Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL
June 29th – Money In the Bank, TD Garden in Boston, MA
July 20th – Battleground, Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, FL
August 17th – SummerSlam, Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
September 21st – Night of Champions, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
October 26th – Hell In A Cell, American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
November 23rd – Survivor Series, Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO
December 14th – TLC, Quickens Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
January 25th – Royal Rumble, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA
February 22nd – Elimination Chamber, Fedex Forum in Memphis, TN
March 29th – WrestleMania 31, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA

The following is the official WWE “special event” (aka pay-per-view) schedule for the remainder of 2014.

WWE Extreme Rules on May 4th in East Rutherford, New Jersey

WWE Payback on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois

WWE Money In The Bank on June 29th in Boston, Massachusetts

WWE Battleground on July 20th in Tampa, Florida

WWE SummerSlam on August 17th in Los Angeles, California

WWE Night Of Champions on September 21st in Nashville, Tennessee

WWE Hell In A Cell on October 26th in Dallas, Texas

WWE Survivor Series on November 23rd in St. Louis, Missouri

WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14th in Cleveland, Illinois

The following are the pay-per-view buyrates for WWE Money In The Bank, WWE SummerSlam and WWE Night Of Champions for the last five years:

WWE Money In The Bank:

2009 — 267,000
2010 — 165,000
2011 — 195,000
2012 — 188,000
2013 — 199,000

WWE SummerSlam:

2009 — 369,000
2010 — 350,000
2011 — 296,000
2012 — 358,000
2013 — 296,000

WWE Night Of Champions:

2009 — 169,000
2010 — 165,000
2011 — 161,000
2012 — 189,000
2013 — 175,000

More WWE PPV Buyrate Info & Other Backstage WWE News >>

-WWE officially announced prior to RAW on Monday night that current WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee has been medically cleared to return to the ring following a concussion scare that saw her sent home from RAW last week. That would explain AJ’s physical presence in the ring on this past Monday’s edition of the show.

-WWE will be running live events in Mexico on Wednesday, October 16th, and Thursday, October 17th. WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio, who has been on the shelf for months recovering from injuries, is scheduled to return to the ring on those shows.

-WWE announced a return to St. Louis, Missouri, the site of Monday’s WWE RAW show, on January 17, 2014. The pre-sale for tickets is available right now with the code: WWELIVE.

-WWE will officially release their Night Of Champions 2013 DVD on Tuesday, October 15th.

Related News: Huge Update On Undertaker’s Opponent For WrestleMania XXX

The reason WWE is stacking the deck so heavily at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view is due to reported concerns that they may have alienated their pay-per-view buying audience with the way they have handled the main event situation on the past couple of pay-per-views.

As noted previously, fans demanded refunds following the recent WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view due to the fact that they paid for a finish that was completely erased and overturned less than 24 hours later on the free WWE RAW television show that followed the next night. Additionally, fans were loudly chanting “refund, refund” after the non-finish to Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view in Buffalo.

Due to the fact that WWE has handled the main events, which are what pay-per-views are largely sold on, so poorly at their last few shows, the feeling in the company is they need to regain that trust with their pay-per-view buying audience at Hell In A Cell, which is why there seems to be such emphasis on guaranteeing a legitimate finish in the main event, as well as other major selling points to support it underneath. Basically, the company is stacking the deck so heavily that it pretty much guarantees that anyone who buys the show this time will get their money’s worth.

For those reasons, WWE has brought back John Cena earlier than expected for a match against Alberto Del Rio, as well as guaranteed a new WWE Champion in the third-straight pay-per-view main event between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. While they basically guaranteed a winner for the same match at Battleground, they are stressing that this match will be in a Hell In A Cell, which assures viewers that there will be no outside interference, and they have Shawn Michaels as a special guest referee to give further confidence to their fans that there will be a legitimate outcome this time around.

MORE Backstage Details On Why Cena Is Returning WAY Earlier Than Planned — CLICK HERE!

[Credit: F4WOnline.com]

-Originally, WWE was going to book the Curtis Axel vs. Kofi Kingston match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship on RAW, but for whatever reason, they decided to add the match to the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.

-Recently sidelined WWE Superstar Mark Henry is expected to return to WWE television in the very near future. Henry has been medically cleared to return for a while now. Some expect Henry back as early as this coming Monday’s RAW in Chicago, Illinois.

-According to reports, WWE isn’t planning on taking NXT live events outside of Florida on a regular basis until after WrestleMania XXX.

More Matches Confirmed For WWE Battleground + Early Raw Spoilers For Monday!

[Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter]

The early estimates are in for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez pay-per-view are in, and it might not be a great sign for the WWE Night Of Champions buyrate.

Early estimates claim the Mayweather-Alvarez Showtime boxing pay-per-view generated approximately 2.2 million buys on pay-per-view, which due to the fact that the show came one night before the WWE’s “Night Of Champions” pay-per-view, and the fact that Triple H himself promoted the fight on his Twitter feed (not a major deal obviously, but not the smartest move either) it may not be a great sign for WWE.

Traditionally speaking, MMA and boxing pay-per-views don’t have a serious impact on WWE pay-per-views, outside of a few particular stars in general (Mayweather being one of them), it still spells trouble for the Night Of Champions show, as the Mayweather-Alvarez show was financially speaking the biggest pay-per-view of all-time, breaking the previous record for the Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya pay-per-view. While their fight drew more than the Mayweather-Alvarez fight, due to the increased pay-per-view cost, it would take the top spot as the highest grossing pay-per-view event ever. Also, with the increased PPV price, and the fact that it fell the same weekend, one night prior to WWE’s show, one would assume it would have to have a negative impact on the Night Of Champions buyrate.

Below is the official Showtime press release sent to SESCOOPS.COM touting the Mayweather-Alvarez pay-per-view numbers:

MAYWEATHER-CANELO FIGHT SETS RECORD AS HIGHEST-GROSSING PAY-PER-VIEW EVENT OF ALL TIME

The SHOWTIME PPV® Event, Promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Premieres on SHOWTIME® this Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT

NEW YORK (Sept. 19, 2013) — Last Saturday’s blockbuster boxing event — THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO — ranked as the highest-grossing pay-per-view of all time, with nearly $150 million in U.S. pay-per-view revenue reported to date. The news was announced today by Showtime Networks Inc., a division of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS), in conjunction with event promoters Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions.

The SHOWTIME PPV presentation of THE ONE surpassed the previous record of $136 million generated by Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing event in 2007.

Preliminary reports from distributors show pay-per-view buys projected to be 2.2 million. While not fully reported from all distributors, the total buys could challenge the existing record of 2.48 million pay-per-view buys set by De La Hoya vs. Mayweather. The initial report immediately following the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather event in 2007 was 2.15. THE ONE has already exceeded the previous #2 event, the infamous World Heavyweight Championship bout between Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II (1.95 million, 1997).

The Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013 event, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, was headlined by the #1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, who already holds the all-time record in gross pay-per-view receipts, and wildly popular Mexican challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a super welterweight world championship bout. Mayweather dominated the exciting fight and won by decision to remain undefeated with 45 wins in his 17 years as a professional. Also on the pay-per-view boxing card was Philadelphia’s Danny “Swift” Garcia who emerged as the #1 boxer in the world at 140 pounds with an action-packed decision win over Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse of Argentina. Both of these bouts will premiere on SHOWTIME® on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. The telecast will include never-before-seen ALL ACCESS: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO footage from fight night. Then, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, SHOWTIME will conclude the ALL ACCESS series devoted to this event with “Epilogue,” premiering on SHOWTIME at 10:00 PM, ET/PT.

What had been called the biggest boxing event in years during the build-up proved worthy of the hype. Tickets for the event sold out within 24 hours of going on sale and set a new boxing record for live gate revenue at more than $20 million. Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions reported earlier a record number of sponsorship and sponsor activation for a boxing event and additional distribution records for live closed circuit viewing (over 26,000 tickets sold in Las Vegas alone) and live movie theatre screenings at more than 500 theatres nationwide. On Friday, before fight night, the crowd at the official weigh-in was believed to be the largest on record, featuring an announced attendance of more than 12,000 excited fans.

ABOUT “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO”:
THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO was a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship that took place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, was promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse squared off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina squared off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV featured a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event was produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® at 9:00 PM, ET/6:00 PM, PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Huge *SPOILERS* Revealed For The Upcoming WWE Battleground PPV [>>]

-WWE announced CM Punk will be returning to television on next week’s edition of RAW, which emanates from his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.

-Titus O’Neil’s real-life girlfriend, reality television star Omarosa, was backstage at the recent WWE television tapings.

-WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan is on the cover of the new WWE Night Of Champions 2013 DVD.

Huge WWE Battleground Matches Announced — Click Here!

– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch posted the following message on her Facebook today, revealing what she’s looking for in a boyfriend:

“Ok so HERE is what I’m looking for in a guy: be gainfully employed so that you can pick up AT LEAST half of the dinner bills… Have your OWN HOME OR CONDO, so that we don’t have to worry about waking your family up as we are going downstairs to the basement/your bedroom…be secure enough with yourself to not have to question me when my male best friend calls, texts, or tells me he loves me…. Be at least of average good looks (pretty boys need not apply, I like my men rugged, but please look in a mirror before thinking about asking me out) … Must have clean, working vehicle… Must have GOOD TEETH (it’s what tells if you take care of yourself or not)… Be SINGLE (not separated, dating around, etc). Understand I work around mostly men, doesn’t mean banging them all…. Is this really too much to ask???”

– WWE fans who feel ripped off by ordering Night of Champions only to have the main event result overturned the final night on RAW are getting refunds from cable companies.

Multiple cable providers, including Cox Cable, have confirmed they are giving refunds to fans who call up and complain about the situation. If you feel ripped off by ordering Night of Champions and want your money back, call your local cable provider and ask for a refund.