WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar’s “advocate” spoke with IGN this week to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 event. Below are highlights from the interview.
On Brock Lesnar going into WrestleMania as WWE World Heavyweight Champion: “Well, this is really Bock Lesnar’s rightful place. He is a once in a lifetime athlete and a once in a lifetime performer and a once in a lifetime attraction in this industry. This is clearly his time. There is no one like Brock Lesnar, not in WWE or UFC or Mixed Martial Arts, so you like to walk into a situation saying “I’m so blessed. I’m so fortunate. What an honor it is to be…” To be blunt with you, I don’t think there’s any other place for Brock Lesnar to be but on top.”
On talk about Roman Reigns not being ready: “I think anyone who questions whether or not Roman Reigns is ready for where he is in his career is blind to how talented this young man is. I don’t see the criticism. I don’t agree with any of the critiques. Clearly he is a total bad ass that can bring it in the ring, and walked away from a promising football career to get into the business that has fed his family for many, many years. He has adapted to this business as fast as anyone I’ve ever seen. The biggest criticism that can be valid on Roman Reigns is he didn’t spend a lot of time in NXT. He didn’t have to. He was ready for the main roster faster than anyone else was ready for the main roster that came out of the NXT system. It’s like one of these prodigy kids that graduated high school at 14 and graduated college at 16, because they can. And he did and he graduated the developmental system faster than anybody else in history because he could. Anybody that’s sitting there saying “Roman Reigns isn’t ready,” by what criteria are they making that judgment?”
On Brock Lesnar re-signing with WWE: “I was ready for Brock to make any decision that Brock deemed appropriate. So if Brock’s desire was to go back and fight in the UFC then I would be riding his coattails that way. If Brock decided he wanted to slam dunk a basketball and get into the NBA and mow down the competition, then I was going to pick up that game real fast. He decided to stay here and set records both on subscriptions to the network or pay per view buys or ticket sales for major events in WWE, I’m happy to ride his coat tails here as well.”
On Reigns vs. Lesnar on Sunday: “My personal desire in this match is for Brock Lesnar to make this match the defining moment of his championship run. His first WrestleMania title defense ever and the declarative statement that he is the Beast, he is the conqueror and he has conquered the WWE universe like no one else has ever even dared to dream of doing in the past.”
– WWE has published the latest “WrestleMania workout” video featuring Roman Reigns.
How do you prepare for a match against Brock Lesnar? Find out as WWE.com’s cameras grant you exclusive access into Roman Reigns’ workout as he gets ready for the fight of his life.
– WWE.com has published an interview with Jason Robinson, the man who designs the sets for WrestleMania. Here’s what he said about this year’s design:
“Expect something different from us. The atmosphere being West Coast and daylight presented some very unique challenges for us to overcome. The structure itself isn’t really tied to a particular thing like the city or arena, but we have this really unique thing where we can’t hide anything. We have to be open, [because] everybody’s going to see everything. I can’t do the theater magic and hide the bad parts. So we’ve had to work really hard. Everything had to tie in and feel like it was part of the image and the structure. It’s a unique set, a unique way of lighting the ring because of the sun. You’ll see some different search lights around there, and from a lighting point of view and the set, we’ve had to deal with having full sun on the set because you can’t hide anything. You’ll see it’s a different set from us this year.”
– NXT superstar Finn Balor tweeted this photo on Friday, teasing that he could be a Paul Heyman guy one day. Oh, the possibilities.
Paul Heyman is back with another installment of his Heyman Hustle video series.
The advocate for WWE’s Heavyweight Champion of the World cuts a money promo responding to people who seem surprised he doesn’t hate Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent, Roman Reigns.
Plus, there’s exclusive footage from after SummerSlam 2013 (when The Beast conquered “The Best”), Heyman & Lesnar on their private tour bus, cameos from Bruce Buffer, Michelle Beadle and much more.
With Brock Lesnar re-signing with WWE for a three-year deal this past Monday, the door is now open for a WrestleMania 32 main event against The Rock next year in Dallas, Texas, as long as WWE can get The Rock to commit to the match.
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar was originally the planned main event for WrestleMania XXX, however an injury prevented The Rock from being able to do the match.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have been bringing up The Undertaker, The Rock and John Cena in recent weeks as a way of planting the seed for next year’s potential WrestleMania main event. In the case, of The Undertaker, that would require him winning this Sunday against Bray Wyatt, although that is expected to happen either way. As things stand now, in a perfect world, it’s said that Lesnar vs. The Rock would be WWE’s first choice.
Roman Reigns appeared on ESPN 2’s Sports Nation with Michelle Beadle on Tuesday afternoon to hype WrestleMania 31 and was interrupted by Paul Heyman. Here are some highlights from the segment:
– Beadle asked about the “tug of war” segment with Brock Lesnar that ended Monday’s “go home” episode of WWE RAW. Reigns said he wanted to make a statement that he will walk right in and do what nobody else does – take the title right off Brock Lesnar’s. Reigns said that’s his goal this Sunday.
– Reigns said The Rock and his father have been the people who have influenced his career the most. When asked if he wants to crush Hollywood like his cousin, Reigns said he just wants to crush Brock Lesnar and bring the belt back where it belongs.
– When asked if he’s nervous to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, Reigns said he gets nervous before every performance. He said he’s been training for this moment and is ready to roll.
– Paul Heyman interrupted the segment and shook Reigns’ hand. Heyman introduced himself, gave Michelle Beadle a “Paul Heyman Girl” t-shirt and wished Reigns good look on Sunday. After they went to commercial, Paul Heyman joined the Sports Nation panel and talked sports.
Paul Heyman just dropped a new episode of his Heyman Hustle video series, revealing a spoiler for tonight’s WWE RAW. Also making a cameo on the show is the #HustleBootyTempTats Super Model of the Year, Ellie Gonsalves.
WrestleMania 31 main event challenger Roman Reigns spoke to Rolling Stone today to discuss last night’s RAW, his character’s evolution, being underestimated and much more. It’s a lengthy interview and we highly recommend you check it out.
Since winning the Royal Rumble, Reigns has had to battle throw intense negative backlash and is still getting mixed reactions with less than two weeks until WWE’s biggest show of the year. During his promo last night on RAW, Reigns improvised when the crowd began chanting for the man he defeated at Fastlane to solidify his title shot, Daniel Bryan. Reigns doubled down on his position from after the Rumble, stating that if fans want to cheer for Daniel Bryan, he’s “all for that.” But Reigns sounds like he’s getting fed up with fans not buying in to his promos:
“That’s just an instinct thing. That’s not something you learn in a warehouse or people can tell you. If you’re a Daniel Bryan fan, I’m all for that. The more people Daniel Bryan will bring into arenas, the better. The more people I bring in, the better. But when I’mherzog talkin’, shut the hell up and let me talk.”
When asked if winning the WWE World Heavyweight championship is his ultimate goal at WrestleMania, Reigns told Rolling Stone’s Kenny Herzog:
I just want to go out there and do my thing, and a lot of that is winning the WWE Championship. I can’t stress enough how that title is everything for us. But for me, I would like to wake up and know, “Yeah, that was a five-star, you-can’t-touch-that match.” I’d like to be able to walk to the back thinking, “Can’t one of y’all do that.”
He added that he’s enjoying ‘learning on the fly’ and is “absolutely” saving his best for Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
This week’s episode of Raw was held in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena, and it was anything but money. With less than two weeks until WrestleMania, one would think the action would be heating up, but that wasn’t really the case. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Once again, Paul Heyman was the highlight of Raw. He appeared solo to hype the main event of WrestleMania and kicked off the third hour of the show. Heyman declared that Brock Lesnar is not a “pacifist” but a “conqueror.” The best in the biz questioned what would happen after Lesnar violates the parameters of the match and said fans are “stuck with Brock Lesnar as your WWE Champion.” It was an entertaining promo, and it’s nice to see at least one person is putting in work to hype the biggest match of the year. Reigns appeared but was totally out of his league as the crowd booed him. It wasn’t even a terrible promo, honestly, but it would’ve been much more intense if he had delivered it while standing toe-to-toe with the Beast Incarnate. That confrontation is at least supposed to happen next week, or so they say.
If you were on the Internet at all during the day, you probably knew Sting was photographed in Des Moines. The final match between Orton and Rollins never took place, with The Authority surrounding the ring as Orton wielded a chair. The entire crowd was chanting, “We want Sting” from the start and it was totally obvious he was going to make the save. With that said, it was still awesome to see him appear and hit J&J with a Stinger Splash while teaming up with The Viper. I don’t know about Cole’s assertion that it was “one of the greatest moments in Raw history,” but it was a good way to end the show and actually hype a few of the matches leading into WrestleMania.
The six-man tag featured the best wrestling action of the night. Ambrose and Stardust started the match and worked well together, with Ambrose hitting a big bulldog at one point. Bryan then entered the ring and worked over Stardust by using a surfboard that he turned into a pinning combination. After the break, Ambrose was back in the ring, this time with Luke Harper. The Lunatic Fringe had the upper hand after a tornado DDT before tagging in Dolph Ziggler. The faces dominated the action early, but Barrett eventually entered the fray and turned the tables for a bit. After a second commercial break, Ambrose made a blind tag and picked up the win after the action broke down, hitting Dirty Deeds after an excellent counter of the Bull Hammer Elbow. It was a good match, and they continue to hype this ladder match, which is always a plus.
It was good to see Mark Henry back on Raw, as he declared his intention to enter the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal before clearing house. Axel was entertaining during this segment as well.
AJ Lee and Nikki Bella squared off in the opening contest while Brie and Paige looked on at ringside. They were given a good bit of time and put on an entertaining match, even if the action was a bit sloppy at times. AJ locked in an impressive guillotine choke before being driven into the turnbuckle by Nikki. She later rallied and took down Nikki with a nice lateral crossbody. Nikki finally picked up the win with the Rack Attack after knocking AJ out following a distraction. It was a decent opening match and if nothing else, it was something new.
I guess the Brock Lesnar interview could be considered a pro, if only because he appeared on television and actually spoke. Lesnar said WrestleMania is a “day that I get to show up, kick somebody’s ass, and get paid to do so.” With that said, he needed to be in attendance instead of wasting his limited appearances by having his show up and look bored out of his mind. There is zero heat between Lesnar and Reigns, as they have yet to come face-to-face and it will be one week until the biggest main event of the year on next week’s Raw. Lesnar isn’t the best speaker, but he’s not terrible by any means. Have these guys face off and speak their minds to build this match up.
– WWE performer Brad Maddox is scheduled to return on the road with WWE at tonight’s live event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Maddox was also backstage at the WWE SmackDown television taping in Atlanta, Georgia a few weeks ago, but hasn’t been a regular on television since May of 2014.
– Paul Heyman posted the following tweets on his official Twitter account late Friday night regarding promoting this year’s WrestleMania pay-per-view.
Just got off the phone w/ a West Coast reporter who says "Does @WWE know ur promoting @WrestleMania at 230am on a Friday Night?"
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns recently spoke with The Sun in the U.K. to promote WrestleMania 31. Below are highlights from the interview.
On the pressure he feels to keep up with his legendary family: “Everybody has a story about my family, it seems. It is really neat to get all the perspective from everybody over the years. For me to live this life that so many of my family members have already lived and experienced, it is a really neat process. Every town I go to I feel like I’m walking in their footsteps. The ironic thing is this is my ship now, I’m the captain here.”
On working with Paul Heyman: “Paul’s a great source for any superstar. He’s been all over the world, he’s been in so many different promotions, he’s seen so many different things and he’s learned from the greatest to ever set foot in this industry. So any time I get to interact with him, on camera or off, it is a great experience.
“He’s a very personable guy, very easy to talk to. But sometimes you have to watch people like that, you just never know. He’s a very smart man and he knows everything that he’s doing. For me, I enjoy my interaction with him, he knows my family very well. He met me when I was just a little guy all the way to what I am now. To have that type of history with someone, for him to know my family in a different light than I may is very cool, very interesting for me and I always like catching up with him.”
This week’s episode of Raw was held in the greatest city in the world: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Brock Lesnar made his return, the Viper finally decided to strike, and Bray Wyatt received an answer regarding his challenge to the Undertaker. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Paul Heyman’s promo was the highlight of the night, and boy was it a highlight. In what was quite possibly one of the greatest promos of all-time, Heyman put just about everyone within a thousand-mile radius on blast. He criticized the Reigns video package that aired before he entered the ring, calling it, “nothing short of sheer propaganda” while calling Reigns’ father “one generation removed from cannibal.” He also addressed the Lesnar UFC controversy, saying that no one will take the title from Lesnar and that the Beast would gladly unify the WWE and UFC Championships over the summer if he chooses to do so. He later mentioned the Montreal Screwjob and said that anyone who tries to screw over Lesnar would not leave the arena alive. In all, the promo was a borderline shoot that perfectly blurred the line between fantasy and reality. He really did everything he could to put the main event at WrestleMania over, and he definitely succeeded.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett was a good match with both guys displaying strong fundamentals. Bryan hit the running high knee from out of nowhere for the win after failing to put away Barrett with a backslide. Bad News got the upper hand on Bryan after the match, however, hitting him with a Bull Hammer before being laid out by Dean Ambrose. It was a solid opening contest and a good way to further hype the ladder match at WrestleMania.
Connor “The Crusher” Michalek will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the newly created “Warrior Award.” This company gives fans plenty of reasons to complain, but even the most cynical fan can’t help but praise them for this move.
Dean Ambrose squared off against Stardust in the second match of the night. The action was largely uneventful, with Ambrose picking up the win after a big clothesline and Dirty Deeds. This goes into the “Pros” column largely due to the post-match brawl, with all of the competitors in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match getting in on the fun. It’s nice to see the company making this into a big deal, and Barrett getting duped by a phony IC strap was also somewhat amusing.
Rusev quickly squashed Curtis Axel and then proceeded to talk some smack on the good ‘ole US of A. Cena had warned him beforehand not to do so in a nationalist rant prior to the match, but the Russian decided to press his luck. Cena absolutely destroyed Rusev, causing him to pass out twice in the STF. Lana granted Cena his rematch in an attempt to call off the dogs. Cena then stood up with an absolutely evil glare on his face, which was actually a nice change of pace. I’d like to see a darker, more ruthless side of Cena as they head into their rematch at WrestleMania.
The opening segment was pretty entertaining, all things considered. Noble sounded like a fool, leading Rollins to declare that they are “J&J Security, not J&J Public Speaking.” Orton was the star of this segment, however, as he went down the line and ripped everyone a new one. He said what we’ve all been thinking for months by calling Kane the “Devil’s Favorite Dumbass,” and continued by insulting Big Show, Rollins, and J&J. It was a solid opening to the show and the crowd seemed to be into it.
The Divas make an appearance in the “Pros” column this week after a solid match between AJ Lee and Summer Rae. They were given about five minutes and the match featured some decent action, with AJ eventually picking up the win with the Black Widow. It didn’t set the world on fire, but it’s definitely an improvement over what we’re used to in the main roster Divas division. I also thought the Bella Twins’ Flintstones outfits were kind of cute.
And, in a shocking turn of events, the Divas are back for an encore. Naomi and Natalya weren’t given much time at all, but the action was solid, with the highlight being Naomi’s excellent counter of the Sharpshooter. I wish this one would have been a little longer, but it served its purpose by advancing the tag team feud and getting the Divas more exposure.
Bray Wyatt finally got his answer after weeks of provoking the Undertaker. After cutting a nice promo, the lights went out and ‘Taker’s music hit. From there, a message appeared on the big screen that said, “At WrestleMania, the man comes around.” Lightning then struck Wyatt’s chair, causing Wyatt to laugh maniacally as it burned. It was the perfect way to have the Dead Man accept Wyatt’s challenge without giving fans too much.
Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mikey Whipwreck recently spoke with Pro Wrestling Illustrated for an interview. Below are some of the highlights.
On still wrestling at age 41: “I feel it before I even get through the curtain. But they say it about ‘Taker, too. On a much, much smaller scale, they say I’m like Yoda. I can barely move. But when the music hits and it’s time to go to the ring, something just clicks in the brain. The adrenaline kicks in. The endorphins kick in . . . Some of the bumps hurt more than they used to. I took a tackle bump last month and it was like I got hit by a damn bus. But then I take a sidewalk slam or something big off the top rope, and it’s fine.”
On Roman Reigns: “He doesn’t have the experience that the other guys have. And he doesn’t know how to protect himself—not physically, but protect his character and how it comes across. He also doesn’t have the stroke to put his own spin on his character. I’ve heard him talk and do interviews, not on TV, but candid interviews. He’s very well-spoken. He’s really good. I just think when he was in The Shield and got over, he didn’t really talk. He was the ass-kicker. Now you have him out here talking and kind of trying to be like John Cena. And there’s nothing wrong with John Cena, but he’s very polarizing. You’ve got the guys that hate him and the kind and girls who love him. And that’s the kind of boat you’re going to get in with Roman Reigns. The smart people see he’s just not ready yet. They didn’t get him over. He was picked.”
On his career highlights: “The part now that everybody talks about is, ‘You pinned Steve Austin.’ That’s what I get. Yeah, being champion was cool. For me, at the time, it was mind-blowing. I though tit was the greatest thing over. But I pinned Steve Austin. That’s the one that really did it.”
On Paul Heyman’s current run in WWE: “I love it . . . When he comes on, it seems legit, like he’s really talking the truth. Yes, he’s in a wrestling character. But it really seems like he’s head and shoulders above everybody else. It’s super entertaining . . . It almost exposes everybody else. He’s pretty much had this same character since nineteen eighty-whatever. And he’s had a chance to master it. He’s just super good at it. He just takes his real personality and amps it up. And that’s what everybody says to do. You take a guy like Roman Reigns’ real personality—nobody knows what it is. So we don’t know what they’re amping up.”
On his relationship with Paul Heyman: “Without Paul Heyman, there’d be no me. Did he lie to me? Did he ever screw me over? No. Did the company owe me money? Yes. But, I knew we weren’t getting paid, and I made the decision to go to work every day. When I needed a break physically and I wanted to make some money and I went to WCW, he didn’t give me his blessing in WCW. But when I was fed up in WCW, he brought me back and gave me a really decent push after I was back a couple months with the Network and Tajiri. So what can I say? The guys what really hate him and still bury him and complain, it’s like, ‘It was 15 years ago. Get over it.”
Raw emanated from the Garden State this week, but it was certainly no walk in the park for Seth Rollins. Fans were treated to two title matches during the show, as well as a special appearance from Jon Stewart. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was Seth Rollins’ phony “Daily Show.” He immediately insulted the crowd by calling Newark the “armpit of America” before recapping his appearance on the real deal last Thursday. Mr. Money in the Bank had J&J rolling with a few corny jokes, while pondering the whereabouts of Mr. Stewart. His question was quickly answered, as Stewart showed up to a nice pop from the crowd. Stewart ripped on Rollins hard while displaying his knowledge of legends past in an absolutely hilarious segment that ended with Stewart delivering a swift kick to Rollins’ nuts. Entertaining top-of-the-hour segment, and it should provide a bit of crossover buzz heading into WrestleMania.
Triple H was so intense during his promo this week, and as always, his delivery was solid. Hunter took a few shots at the “kids” who think they know the backstage politics of the business, while threating: “I will make sure it is as if Sting’s career never existed.” Booker T’s involvement in the segment was refreshing and something new, even if it meant seeing The Game almost hand the five-time champ his walking papers.
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper went into the “Pros” column before it even started. When you get two guys with this kind of talent in the same ring, it’s almost impossible to disappoint. Even though they weren’t given much time at all, the two worked a stiff match that saw both superstars take their fair share of abuse. Bryan was unceremoniously dumped over the top rope to the floor at one point, but was eventually able to counter a modified crossface into the Yes! Lock for the win. Following the match, Ambrose, Harper, Barrett, Ziggler, and R-Truth, all attempted to walk away with the Intercontinental Championship while Bryan looked on. It looks like our lineup for the WrestleMania ladder match is basically set.
It was a pleasant surprise to see Seth Rollins open the show, as he hyped his confrontation with Jon Stewart later in the night. He of course talked a little smack, saying: “Unlike the Daily Show where they give away their tickets for free, every single person in a seat tonight paid to see Seth Rollins.” The only downside to this segment was the involvement of Roman Reigns. He arrived, said a few words that weren’t exactly memorable, performed his two signature moves, and basically stood in the ring hoping to be cheered (he failed miserably, in case you’re wondering). It’s sad that even when the the company is using New Jersey’s own Jon Stewart to get Rollins heat, the crowd still universally boos the thought of Reigns becoming champion. Overall, it seemed like another lame attempt to get Reigns over, but Rollins was money.
The Miz “Niagara” commercial was on point. I loved Mizdow’s involvement in the backstage segment and commercial.
There weren’t many spots during the Ambrose/Barrett match, but it was pleasant. Most of the exciting action took place outside of the ring, with Ambrose diving through the middle ropes to take out Barrett and later delivering a big elbow from the ring apron. He eventually picked up the win after hitting Dirty Deeds following a distraction. It’s nice to see the company getting multiple midcarders involved in this Intercontinental Championship ladder match (including Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, probably Daniel Bryan as well). With that said, it is absolutely cringeworthy hearing JBL and Cole interact with R-Truth on commentary.
Alundra Blayze was announced as the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame. That’s cool, I guess.
Finally, John Cena cut his usual “inspirational” promo this week. It’s obvious Cena doesn’t possess the necessary credentials to warrant inclusion into the prestigious Andre the Giant Battle Royal, and Stephanie of course quickly shot down his hopes. The two engaged in their typical banter to start the nine o’clock hour. Stephanie declaring, “For once, I actually like this chant” when referring to the Yes! chant was humorous.
Axel was easily the MVP of this segment though, and the crowd was eating it up big time. The two followed up the segment with a quick match, with Cena quickly forcing Axel to tap out to the STF. Rusev once again denied Cena his rematch following the match, keeping us all on edge as to whether this will match occur at WrestleMania.
– Speaking of tonight’s RAW, Paul Heyman is hyping a big WrestleMania 31 promo on social media. He tweeted the following promising fans that he “has plenty to say.”
– As noted on Saturday night, current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who is in the middle of a serious negotiating issue with WWE, was in attendance at the UFC 184 pay-per-view in Los Angeles, California. While Paul Heyman didn’t directly comment about Lesnar attending the show last night, he did re-tweet a fan who commented about him being there, and also re-tweeted a MMA journalist who posted about Lesnar wearing a “sweet suit” at the show. You can check out photos of Lesnar wearing his “sweet suit” at the UFC pay-per-view this weekend by clicking here.
– Vince McMahon tweeted the following on Friday, congratulating part-time WWE performer Batista on his role as “Mr. Hinx” in the new James Bond movie.
– There is some talk going around that comedian and host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart could end up being part of the storyline between Seth Rollins and Randy Orton heading into WrestleMania 31.
– Below is the “MizTV” segment with Paul Heyman from last night’s WWE Fastlane “Kickoff Show.”
WWE Superstar Ryback recently spoke with Jim Varsallone of The Miami Herald about a number of topics. Below are highlights from the interview.
On the Nexus’ debut in 2010: “We were pretty much told that if we don’t nail this thing, we’re probably going to be fired or definitely not going to be given the opportunity they were going to give us. So we were all on the same page that night…We all knew we had to work together that night, and we were all in position to do that, because if we were going to make this thing work, we had to work together. When you’re out there with seven other guys, working together, it kind of makes it a little bit easier. It wasn’t solely just on one of us. So that definitely helped, but to say nerves didn’t exist would be crazy. We definitely were all nervous before we went out there. That was the first night of the beginning of my WWE career, so to speak, as far as being in the big leagues. That night in Miami we were given a huge opportunity to sink or swim, and a group of us went out there, and we tore everything up.”
On working with John Cena: “Working with John has been a great experience. He’s been on top in WWE for a very long time, and he’s done extremely well for himself. He has set the bar very high. John’s been able to [be on top] for an extended period of time, which is a rarity in this business. So being in the ring with John was a great learning tool for me to see where I had to be, what areas I had to improve for me to go where I wanted to go with Ryback.”
On working with Paul Heyman: “Being with Paul Heyman, if you look back at the wrestling footage throughout the years, he’s been around for a very long time, and he’s been around a lot of the greats. So for Paul to want to align himself with me and be with me was a great compliment to me. It was a lot of fun. At that stage of my career and where I was at, I always liked being out there by myself to speak and say what I want to say and not have a mouthpiece, but it was a great learning experience for me, seeing how Paul approached promos and how he spoke to people and controlled the crowd, because he is truly very gifted in that aspect.”
On his time in WWE: “In anything in life, there’s going to be ups and downs, but my time in WWE thus far has been amazing. Each and everyday I get to show up to my job. I love it. I’m very thankful. Everyday is a different opportunity, a different challenge, and I love that.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
– Following their performances at NXT TakeOver: Rival, Paul Heyman praises the efforts and abilities of both Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. Heyman tweeted the following:
The Road to WrestleMania took a brief detour last night, stopping at THE Ohio State University for Raw. Sting finally answered Triple H’s challenge, and the show was bookended by a pair of nearly identical matches. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was easily Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt. These guys have competed over the past two weeks, and have exhibited amazing chemistry on both occasions. There were a number of impressive spots in this one, including Wyatt delivering a brutal blow to Ziggler’s midsection and a devastating clothesline outside the ring that eventually set up Sister Abilgail for the win. Wyatt later cut another promo, presumably directed toward the Dead Man.
Triple H calling out Sting was a close second. The video package, which featured Sting’s makeup being transposed onto Triple H’s face, was both eerie and entertaining. The only downside to this was the absolutely dreadful Sting doppelganger they sent into the ring. With that said, I absolutely can’t wait to see what these guys have planned for Fastlane.
The Usos squared off with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Kidd and Cesaro put in some decent heel work by crashing the dinner party on SmackDown, and it’s certainly nice to see them getting some television time.
Rusev continues to improve on a weekly basis, in my opinion. I loved his promo, where he made claims such as, “You don’t want me. I am a hero.” His brawl with Cena was also entertaining and helped further their feud heading into Fastlane.
The opening promo was also entertaining, but nothing to really write home about. Reigns seems to be more confident on the mic each week, despite a minor flub. It was also nice to see Bryan on the mic, taking a humorous shot at Triple H for his involvement in the Katie Vick storyline.
It’s nice to see Axel getting more time on the mic. His promo was humorous, even if he was quickly dispelled after being hit with Dirty Deeds. Barrett’s new BNZ segment could also be entertaining, but I’m not totally sure how much shelf life it has.
Finally, the main event helped further the tension between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The match was nothing incredible, by any means, but there were a few memorable moments, including Dolph Ziggler getting involved at the end. Roman’s spear to Bryan was also the perfect way to end the show. It seems like the next step in Roman’s evolution will be to turn him heel and possibly pair him with Heyman following WrestleMania.
– WWE Diva Tamina Snuka, who has been on the sidelines since June of 2014, has been training with NXT Diva Lina Fanene recently and is expected to return from injury in the near future.
– Below is a clip of the Paul Heyman “Breaking News” segment on Brian Williams on the WWE Network on Friday night.
The WWE Network will be airing a special Paul Heyman segment tonight at 7pm EST. Heyman will be addressing the controversy surrounding NBC News anchor Brian Williams, who claimed he was in a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq, a claim that turned out to be untrue.
The official WWE Network Twitter account tweeted the following notice regarding Heyman’s scheduled segment tonight:
BREAKING: @HeymanHustle's take on Newscaster Brian Williams controversy – LIVE on @WWENetwork at 7pm ET.
– When Paul Heyman got a big pop from the fans in Philadelphia during his backstage segment with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view this past Sunday night, the decision was made to not introduce him in the arena before the WWE World Heavyweight Championship triple-threat match.
– The Bunny from Adam Rose’s “Rosebuds” group may be gone from WWE. There were plans at one point for a Bunny vs. Adam Rose exchange during the Rumble match, but as seen last Sunday night, that never happened. Additionally, The Bunny hasn’t appeared on WWE television in quite a while.
– The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view drew an advanced sellout of just under 14,000 fans at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WWE announced during the show that 17,164 fans were in attendance.
Monday’s in-studio edition of WWE RAW featured sitdown interviews with Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The show concluded with a face-to-face encounter between WrestleMania main eventers Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, moderated by Paul Heyman. Check out these videos and comment below with your reactions.
– There is speculation about a possible surprise appearance by Sean Waltman, the former X-Pac, in tonight’s 30-man Royal Rumble match. Waltman, who appeared at RAW Reunion this past Monday night, also made a surprise appearance at Jim Ross’ one-man show in Starland, New Jersey this weekend, which isn’t far away from the Rumble show tonight in Philadelphia.
– Paul Heyman posted the following on Twitter to hype tonight’s triple-threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Seth Rollins.
TONIGHT is 1 of those rare opportunities 2C a once in a lifetime athlete do what he does better than anyone else @WWEpic.twitter.com/2tjQ7pUGpc