The official WWE website posted a series of video interviews following Sunday’s WWE Battleground event in Buffalo, New York. The interviews feature several WWE Superstars reacting to everything that transpired during the event. Here is a breakdown of what is covered:
-WWE RAW General Manager Brad Maddox reacts to the controversy over the outcome of the WWE Championship main event between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. Maddox also sells the fact that he was warned by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon over the phone that if anything went wrong, he would be to blame.
-CM Punk reacted to his victory over Ryback, continuing his claim that he will not rest until he gets his hands on Paul Heyman. Punk went as far as to say because he did not finally get his hands on Heyman, he was not satisfied with his performance at Battleground.
-The Rhodes Family reacted to their emotional victory over The Shield, which guaranteed Dusty Rhodes his job as a WWE trainer in Florida, and also resulted in both Cody Rhodes and Goldust being re-hired by the company.
-R-Truth vented his frustration for continually coming up short in matches recently after he failed to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship in his pay-per-view match against Curtis Axel.
-Alberto Del Rio gloated about his victory over Rob Van Dam in the pay-per-view opener, and the fact that he is still the World Heavyweight Champion.
You can check out all of the aforementioned video interviews online at WWE.com.
Despite the fact that CM Punk is dealing with multiple injuries, and the feeling that Ryback is limited in the ring, the plan is for the Punk-Ryback match at Battleground to receive a decent amount of time. All signs point to the fact that the match should be kept short, but apparently that is not the case.
Additionally, while this should come as no surprise to anyone, the plan is for the Punk and Paul Heyman program to continue past this Sunday’s pay-per-view, no matter who ends up going over in the actual match.
– The Undertaker could return to WWE programming for Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble, depending on his health. He had agreed to appear at SummerSlam in a tag team match alongside Kane against The Shield, but was injured when the nefarious group slammed him through a table in a post-WrestleMania angle and has not appeared since. Some creative ideas were presented to him when he met with Triple H last week, but as noted, his return will hinge on how he physically feels.
As reported recently, both he and wife Michelle McCool recently paid a visit to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Of some who saw her, they feel she looks better now than when she regularly appeared for WWE.
– WWE fans in India showed up in droves to see Ryback at the Oberoi mall in Mumbai for the WWE 2K14 pre-order launch. The official YouTube account of WWE has released this video of the former Skip Sheffield receiving a rousing ovation.
– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans whether they would accept an invite to be a “Paul Heyman Guy.” Of the over 9,000 people who have voted, 57% say they would not accept an invite.
– On Monday’s Raw, it was teased that Paul Heyman wanted to marry Ryback after being “saved” by the former Skip Sheffield at Night of Champions. Instead, Heyman proposed that he become the latest “Paul Heyman Guy.” Vince McMahon was behind a shock tactic taking place on the program, as he made it clear to members of the writing staff that they feature “a spectacle” to lure viewers of ESPN’s Monday Night Football away during halftime. An unnamed creative writer then pitched the idea of teasing Heyman asking Ryback his hand in marriage.
– On the heels of Monday’s debut of Los Matadores, the official website of WWE has published a photo gallery highlighting the numerous masked individuals in the history of professional wrestling. A wide range of masked wrestlers are showcased, including Rey Mysterio, Mr. America, Sin Cara, Aldo Montoya, Blitzkrieg, Golga, The Midnight Rider, and Konnan as Max Moon.
– In recent WWE attendance figures: Sept. 27 in Denver, Colorado, drew 5,500; Sept. 28 in Dallas, Texas, drew 9,000; Sept. 28 in Huntsville, Alabama drew 4,000; Sept. 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana, drew 5,000.
– On Monday’s edition of TMZ on TV, wrestling fanatic Ryan Satin donned an “Employ Joey Ryan 2013” T-Shirt. This led to a debate over who is a bigger celebrity, Paris Hilton or Hulk Hogan.
It will be announced on this week’s WWE SmackDown that WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel will defend his title against R-Truth. Bray Wyatt also teased an appearance at Battleground, which will likely be the rumored match we reported on Tuesday with Wyatt taking on Kofi Kingston. That match, however, is still strictly a rumor at this point.
With that now known, here is an updated look at the official lineup for Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view from Buffalo, New York:
Vacant WWE Championship
-Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan
World Heavyweight Championship
-Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam*
WWE Intercontinental Championship
-Curtis Axel (c) vs. R-Truth
WWE Divas Championship
-AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella
-CM Punk vs. Ryback
-Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns**
WWE Battleground Kickoff Show
-Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow
RUMORED Match:
-Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston
* – The Del Rio vs. Van Dam rematch will be contested under “Battleground Hardcore Rules.”
** – Dusty Rhodes will be in the corner of Cody & Goldust. If the Rhodes Family loses, all three men will never be allowed to work for WWE again. If they win, Cody and Goldust get their jobs back
Make sure to visit SESCOOPS.COM this Sunday night for the absolute best live results coverage of the WWE Battleground pay-per-view. The coverage will begin at 7:30pm E.T. with the WWE Battleground Kickoff Show, and will continue throughout the entire duration of the pay-per-view. Until then, stop by the SESCOOPS.COM Facebook Page and/or the SESCOOPS.COM Twitter Page to share your predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view!
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Rhodes Family: Great example of less is more on Raw w/ Dusty Rhodes soundbyte promo. Perfect example if maximizing one’s minutes on TV. Dream is gifted plus his tag Tean w/ Dic Murdoch was one of the best duos ever. You Tube them.
Rise Above Cancer: Bravo to WWE for working with the Susan Komen Foundation to find a cure for breast cancer. My wife lost her Mom to this disease earlier this year so this is a cause close to our hearts.
Los Matadores: Looks as if the new duo of Los Matadores and their mascot El Torito might make a nice, kid’s attraction w/ ample merchandise ideas. TBD.
CM Punk & Paul Heyman Thought both CM Punk and Paul Heyman stole the show on Raw Monday night. What they did/said overshadowed everyone else on the final Raw before Sunday’s PPV.
As always, you can check out JR’s amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.
Several new matches and stipulations were added to the WWE Battleground event on Monday’s “go-home” edition of RAW. WWE Battleground emanates from the First Niagra Center in Buffalo, New York this Sunday, October 6, 2013. Below is an updated look at the official lineup for the first ever Battleground pay-per-view.
Vacant WWE Championship
-Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan
World Heavyweight Championship
-Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam*
WWE Divas Championship
-AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella
-CM Punk vs. Ryback
-Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns**
WWE Battleground Kickoff Show
-Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow
* – The Del Rio vs. Van Dam rematch will be contested under “Battleground Hardcore Rules.”
** – Dusty Rhodes will be in the corner of Cody & Goldust. If the Rhodes Family loses, all three men will never be allowed to work for WWE again. If they win, Cody and Goldust get their jobs back
Make sure to visit SESCOOPS.COM this Sunday night for the absolute best live results coverage of the WWE Battleground pay-per-view. The coverage will begin at 7:30pm E.T. with the WWE Battleground Kickoff Show, and will continue throughout the entire duration of the pay-per-view. Until then, stop by the SESCOOPS.COM Facebook Page and/or the SESCOOPS.COM Twitter Page to share your predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view!
WWE returns live to Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday night for the WWE Battleground “go-home” edition of RAW.
The main item heading into this week’s show is the Rhodes Family being “invited back to RAW” for a “business proposal” from the WWE COO Triple H. As noted, the Rhodes Family will be on RAW this week to build towards the six-man tag-team match against The Shield.
Also advertised in advance for this week’s RAW is the debut of the Los Matadores tag-team, which is the repackaged duo formerly known as Primo and Epico. After weeks of vignettes hyping their debut, Los Matadores will finally arrive on RAW in Biloxi on Monday night.
Outside of the aforementioned items, the main focus on this week’s show will be the final build towards the three previously announced WWE Battleground main events which consist of Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship, the “Battleground Hardcore Rules” match between Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam for the World Heavyweight Championship and the CM Punk vs. Ryback match.
The officially advertised talent roster for this week’s show includes Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Paul Heyman, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del Rio, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Zeb Colter, Damien Sandow, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, A.J. Lee and Kaitlyn.
There are two advertised dark match main-events for this week, as Orton will take on Bryan and Punk will take on both Heyman and Axel in a Handicap Match.
Stay tuned to SESCOOPS.COM throughout the day for continued updates on this week’s live edition of WWE RAW.
Following the televised portion of Monday’s WWE RAW show from Chicago, Illinois, the hometown boy CM Punk came out and did the “Yes!” chant to Daniel Bryan and patted him off. Afterward, Punk cut a promo about how he felt like garbage, but that he was still here and still wanted to fight. He challenged anyone to come out to take a Chicago-beatdown from him.
Paul Heyman, Ryback and Curtis Axel all came down and surrounding the ring. Jerry “The King” Lawler then assisted Punk by handing him a kendo stick. Punk beat up Ryback and Axel with the kendo stick and then held Heyman down with his foot. He managed to blast Heyman with two shots to the back with the kendo stick before Ryback and Axel came to his rescue.
Ryback went to throw Axel into Punk in the corner of the ring, but missed, and Axel went flying out to the floor. Punk kicked Ryback down to the mat and then grabbed a steel chair. Punk hit Ryback with two hard chair-shots to the back before Ryback fled the scene.
After that, Punk set his sights on Axel. He threw Axel into the ringside barricade. The crowd then began chanting for Punk to hit Axel with his GTS finishing move. Punk blasted Axel with a steel chair and then played to the crowd before ultimately hitting him with the GTS spot that they so badly craved.
Additionally, a fan threw Punk a Chicago White Sox hoodie. Punk made a frown-face, shook his head, and threw it back. Another fan threw Punk a Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews jersey, which he accepted.
WWE announced that injured Superstar John Cena will be a part of the upcoming live event tour in Europe, which kicks off in November. Obviously Cena will be unable to wrestle actual matches, but he will be traveling with the company and making special appearances at the shows.
Cena will be a part of the show in Munich, Germany on Saturday, November 9th. That event will be headlined by CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman and Ryback in a Handicap Match. Also announced are World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and The Wyatt Family.
For the live events on Wednesday, November 13th in Zunish, Switzerland and Saturday, November 16th in Vienna, Austria, WWE announced Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship as the headline attraction. Also announced for both shows are The Shield and Big Show.
-According to recent figures, the WWE live event on September 13th in East Lansing, Michigan drew 3,500 fans. The event on September 14th in Saginaw, Michigan drew 3,000 fans. The other WWE live event on September 14th in London, Ontario, Canada also drew 3,000 fans.
-Kevin Nash said during his visit to Comic Con in Montreal recently that he and Scott Hall should be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame together. Nash did note, however, that nothing in that direction has been talked about officially with WWE.
-Apparently the name “Dr. Michael Kirshenbaum,” who portrayed Paul Heyman’s personal doctor on RAW a few weeks ago was an inside joke by WWE, as one of the new writers on the WWE creative team is Mike Kirshenbaum.
-WWE finished up their countdown of the greatest crowd reactions in company history with number’s ten-to-one today. Fans interested in checking that out can do so online at Pheed.com.
-Currently sidelined WWE Superstar John Cena recently posted a tweet on his official Twitter account addressing those who ask him if he’s enjoying his time off from WWE. Cena wrote:
Most @WWEUniverse @WWE superstars keep asking me if I’m enjoying my time ‘off’. ‘Off’= therapy 2times/day + strength = #evenstronger
-Speaking of Twitter, WWE personality Paul Heyman recently posted a tweet putting over the talents of Kofi Kingston, featuring a photo of Kingston, strangely enough, wrestling his own storyline “client” Curtis Axel. Heyman wrote:
No one in @WWE can ever deny the amazing aerial skills of @TrueKofi #BreathtakingSuperstar pic.twitter.com/m89g3fYG7p
-For those who keep track of this kind of stuff, Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the day Paul Heyman booked his very first ECW event. The event was Ultraclash 1993.
-Former WWE Superstar “Psycho” Sid Vicious (aka Sid Justice) has been added to the lineup of talent scheduled to appear at WrestleCon in New Orleans during WrestleMania XXX weekend. For more information, visit WrestleCon.com.
-Former WWE and ECW wrestler Shawn “Gavin” Spears has been signed to a developmental deal with the company and returned to the WWE developmental system last week.
Take this for what it’s worth, but local advertisements in the Boston area for the 2013 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view are currently listing Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton as well as CM Punk “getting his hands on Paul Heyman, once and for all” as the top billing for the show.
The 2013 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view emanates from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, November 24, 2013.
Before Survivor Series, however, is WWE Battleground, which is the next pay-per-view offering from WWE. WWE Battleground emanates from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York on Sunday, October 6, 2013.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
JR on WWE Night Of Champions PPV: “Solid show with an outstanding main event is how I would describe the PPV. Thought Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton closed the show strongly and with a memorable conclusion that will hopefully garner them was water cooler talk in some circles. Bryan is a wrestler’s wrestler who has paid his dues and is an exemplary member of the WWE team and locker room. Congrats to him and hopefully he will have a long, productive reign as WWE Champion. Time will obviously tell on that one.”
JR on Paul Heyman and Ryback: “Ryback aligning himself with Paul Heyman might be the best thing that Ryback has been able to accomplish since getting healthy. If Ryback is to become a major, major player in WWE then @HeymanHustle is the man to help Ryback accomplish such.”
JR on his retirement: “I haven’t bought a rocking chair just yet in the midst of all this retirement talk. I’ve retired from WWE….but not from life. I’m being engaged by a variety of ‘suitors’ who are all presenting some interesting, potential projects to me. Until we pull the trigger on projects that I truly am passionate about and want to invest my time and energy, I will immerse myself in Oklahoma Football, the UFC, and the NFL which isn’t a bad thing for a sport’s junky.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
Based on Sunday night’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, it appears as though Ryback is the new Paul Heyman client that has been rumored for a while now.
As noted previously, there was discussion internally in WWE of using an unknown from NXT as a new “Paul Heyman guy,” while the other options were moving either Ryback or Big E. Langston over to the Heyman crew. It appears that WWE is turning Langston babyface, and decided to go with Ryback as Heyman’s new client. If that is the case, you can expect it to be confirmed on RAW tonight.
For those who missed it, Ryback came to the aid of Heyman after CM Punk beat Curtis Axel in the Handicap Elimination match, which was also made a no-disqualification rules match during the Night Of Champions Kickoff Show.
The following are highlights from a recent Bleacher Report interview with Paul Heyman:
Bleacher Report: I read a lot about how the manager in wrestling is dead. And yet, here you are in the main event picture on a constant basis. Is it just the fact you are a superlative talent? Or is there still room in the business for a mouthpiece?
Paul Heyman: I never approached this role as the stereotypical wrestling manager. I even avoid that word. I’ve called myself an advocate to disassociate myself from the old term manager that we tried to update 12 years ago as an agent.
Roles constantly have to be redefined in any form of entertainment. Look back at the gangster pics of the 1930s and 1940s and the way James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart would play the part. These roles were redefined in the 1970s by Al Pacino and Rober DeNiro. And again in the 1990s by Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins. And will continue to be redefined.
It’s the same way in WWE. If you approach this role as “the rebirth of the wrestling manager,” it’s bound to fail. You have to take it in a different direction. You have to expose the character to a different approach. Or it’s nostalgia. I try to find ways to redefine the role and expand it into places it has never gone before.
B/R: I’ve thought a lot about your most recent clients. Your role with each has been so different. With Brock you’re a true mouthpiece. With Punk it seemed like a creative partnership like Bobby Heenan and Nick Bockwinkel. And with Curtis Axel, you’re the star and he seems to be getting the rub from you and not vice versa. How much do you think about which Paul Heyman you need to be for each distinct character? Almost like, if you were a real agent, your relationship with each client would be different.
Heyman: Any agent in real life does have different relationships with each and every one of his clients. So, if this were a docu-drama, my relationship with Brock Lesnar would be far different than my relationship with CM Punk. And my relationship with CM Punk would be way different than my relationship with Curtis Axel.
My off-camera friendship with Brock Lesnar has always been different than my off-camera friendship with CM Punk. But I could not tell you that I am closer to either one of them or either one of them is closer to me. It’s just a different relationship.
Like any compelling show on television, what works best in WWE is relationships. What’s the relationship between these two people and how does the conflict manifest itself into box office? Whether it’s Walter White’s relationship with his brother-in-law, or his pupil, or his ex-students, or other drug dealers—it’s the relationships of the central character that make Breaking Bad so compelling. And it’s the diversity of relationships that makes it so compelling.
It’s the key to success for any great television show. So, I will approach a relationship on television with Brock Lesnar far differently than I would the relationship the “Heyman character” would have with CM Punk or anyone else I’m associated with.
Because off-camera relationships would be different, so should on camera ones. If “Heyman” reacts to everyone the same way it gets very old very quick.
B/R: I’m curious about your relationship with Brock. I’ve seen you with him at the UFC. It’s not a gimmick relationship, or an on-camera relationship. How did you come to be friends? You guys are as opposite as they come on the surface. What makes you friends? What brought you together as people?
Heyman: Brock Lesnar and I are as different as any two people can be. What drew us together was the love of the actual performance aspect of what we do. While Brock detests the public eye, the travel and all the often documented things he doesn’t like, Brock loves to be in the ring or the cage. He hates everything else that goes along with it. But the actual act of performing or fighting is something the man truly loves. And I share that passion with him.
And, despite the trappings of fame and fortune, we both have, at our core, a very similar value. Our children and our families are everything to us. And it always goes back to that. Brock and I met at a time when we were both about to experience fatherhood. Here we were on an airplane to the U.K., and we really didn’t know each other, and neither one of us had told anybody. We were keeping it very private.
It just happened to come out that both of us were expectant fathers. And the passion with which he spoke about his dreams for his child who had yet to be born—our first children were daughters born two months apart—the fact that we had such similar dreams for our children was such a commonality between us that we became dear friends based on how similar we were despite being different at the same time.
Local advertisements currently running in Boston for November’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view focus on the CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman feud, as well as the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton feud.
With Daniel Bryan’s ongoing feud with Triple H and Randy Orton, it seems logical that we’ll see a Team Bryan vs. a “Corporation” Team.
Whether this is a case of early advertisements still floating out there, or if this is an indication that both top programs will continue after the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view, remains to be seen.
WWE Survivor Series takes place on Sunday, November 24th from Boston’s TD Garden arena.
The following are highlights from a new online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
JR on Paul Heyman: “Paul Heyman feigning a knee injury was funny. Reminded me of an old time promoter who pulled that stunt in grocery stores to score paydays back in early 70’s. Punk’s act of caning was timely and memorable.”
JR on The Wyatt Family: “Anxious to see what the eventual destination will be for Bray Wyatt & Family. Remember, big men with a second gear are special. Was actually surprised to see Wyatt vs Ziggler on Raw for some reason.”
JR on Randy Orton vs. Goldust: “Great build up for Goldust vs. Orton. The match was a good one too with the last five minutes hitting another level with all the near falls. Enjoyed the pace of Goldust vs Orton too. Far too many talents in the biz wrestle too fast more often than not & if the audience doesn’t have the time to process and feel what they are seeing, then who wins?”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
SESCOOPS.COM reader Derek Gash sent along the following post-show notes from Monday’s WWE RAW in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
The crowd was chanting “Thank You Savage” during matches as there was a fan dressed as Savage and looked just like him. The crowd kept getting live whenever he stood up.
Edge got the pop of the night being here in his hometown, followed by Santino Marella and Goldust,
During the commercial break after the RVD match, “The Macho Man” fan was spoken to by WWE staff. I’m not sure what they said to him but he toned it down from that point on. This seems like the fan incident last week on RAW where WWE staff came out and told fans dressed as Hogan, Piper, etc. to tone it down. The crowd had been distracted since the match between ADR and R-Truth due to the fan.
Damien Sandow had repeated a part of his promo that he did during the commercial break when the cameras returned live. It was the same stuff that he had already while during the break
After RAW went off the air, Curtis Axl and Paul Heyman came out. As they hit the ring, Punk’s music hit he came out with the kendo stick and hit Heyman a couple times. Heyman took off back up the stage and a match started between Axel and Punk. Punk landed a GTS on Axl and won via pinfall. Punk then proceeded to hit him with the chair and then celebrated with the Toronto crowd sending everyone happy.
-As we reported this past weekend, in addition to his return appearance on Monday’s live edition of WWE RAW in his former hometown of Toronto, Ontario Canada, WWE Hall Of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland will also appear on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be taped on Tuesday night in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Edge’s appearance on SmackDown was confrmed during an official commercial that aired during RAW.
-The official Tout website features a video of WWE doctor Michael Sampson explaining what happened in the ring with Paul Heyman on Monday’s live edition of WWE RAW, as well as why he decided to clear him to compete this Sunday in the handicap match alongside his client Curtis Axel against CM Punk.
-The Sun Herald has a featured article up today about 19-year-old Zarina Yussof-Guy, a seven-time Australian 48 kg (105 lbs.) freestyle wrestling champion talking about the sport of wrestling being reinstated for the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan. In the article, she talks about her decision not to pursue Olympic gold in favor of a pro wrestling career with WWE. You can check that out online at HeraldSun.com.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared on the Wrestle Talk TV Show, where he discussed, among other topics, his thoughts on the death of WCW and the Paul Heyman of today versus the Paul Heyman of the past. You can watch both of those videos below: