WWE RAW emanates live from Des Moines, Iowa tonight for the Labor Day edition of the show.
The main focus of tonight’s show will be on the Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton feud, with all of the outside involvement from Triple H, as well as Vince and Stephanie McMahon. Also, heavy focus will remain on the storyline involving CM Punk and Curtis Axel/Paul Heyman.
There will be more follow-up on the World Heavyweight Championship program, which features champion Alberto Del Rio and his former manager Ricardo Rodriguez, who is now with Del Rio’s opposition, Rob Van Dam. They will continue the build to their title bout at the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
The full talent roster advertised for tonight’s show in Des Moines is as follows: Orton, Bryan, Punk, Heyman, Axel, HHH, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Del Rio, Van Dam, Rodriguez, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Wade Barrett, AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, The Shield and The Wyatt Family.
The scheduled dark match main event for tonight’s show is The Shield vs. Rob Van Dam, Mark Henry and The Big Show. With Henry being injured, plans for that match may be off the table.
SESCOOPS.COM reader Phil Johnson sent along the following:
Former ECW personality Lou D’Angeli (aka Sign Guy Dudley and Lou E. Dangerously) recently took some time to take part in a Q&A exclusively with PWMania.com. D’Angeli spoke on a number of topics from if he is a Paul Heyman guy to his thoughts on John Cena, the Attitude Era, ECW, WWE, TNA and more. Here are some highlights:
Are you a Paul Heyman guy? 100%…I am also a Tommy Dreamer guy….a Raven guy….and a Taz guy….with the 4 of them I would have never caught break in the wrestling business.
What are your thoughts about John Cena? John is a great guy. Having worked with him in WWE I know first-hand what he does for that company and the dedication and drive he has to get it done. His contributions to Make-A-Wish are second to none. I can honestly say Cena is the perfect role-model in the business right now.
When you think back, how much of WWE’s Attitude Era is owed to what you guys were already doing in ECW? A lot of it…and due to the popularity of shoot interviews, etc…it’s a fact and not a theory you know? People saw what we were doing and brought it to national TV before we could. The “Attitude Era” for WWE was insanely popular obviously…and given they still continue to bring some of the main-event guys from that time back into the fold now…they must feel the same way.
You can read the interview in its entirety at PWMania.com.
The following are highlights from a recent Carroll County Times Q&A with WWE Superstar Curtis Axel:
Did you have an input on your current ring name, Curtis Axel?
When I became Michael McGillicutty, ever since that point, I was throwing hundreds of names at them. And I’m sure Axel Curtis or Curtis Axel was in there somewhere. I was talking with a guy that works for WWE, Joey Styles, he actually brought that name up as one of the possibilities. But they didn’t want to go that route with me at first. They wanted to have me do my own thing and not even pay homage to anything to do with my family. Which, you know, is kind of nice, so I can try to do this on my own, and I tried to do the best I could with Michael McGillicutty without any TV time or whatever. But I’m sure that name was pitched as one of the hundreds I threw at them.
Any other memorable ones out of those hundreds you threw at them?
There were some ridiculous names. I just got sick of it. Most of them were Joe. Joe Able. Joe Mercer. Most of them were all Joe, you know? Able was one, I wanted to be Joe Able, like Cain and Abel, and try to do something with Kane. That was just one of them I kind of liked. I wasn’t really sold on any of them, I just wanted to get rid of Michael McGillicutty. That was my one priority.
Right before you came back as Curtis Axel, there was a picture that the Rock tweeted earlier this year, mentioning you were his workout partner when he was getting ready to face CM Punk and then I heard that you trained with Brock Lesnar before WrestleMania too. How did you end up working with them and what did you learn working with all-time greats like that?
The WWE office, they know they could trust me taking care of those guys. I was so honored. They flied me out to go train with the Rock and that guy is awesome. Training with him, he pays attention to every little detail and crowd reaction. The way he does his moves and he works, it’s so fluid. It’s amazing the way he thinks and the way he works. And just picking his brain, he actually spent time with me and asked me what I did in the ring and different moves that I did, where I could place them to get more reaction from the people and all this kind of stuff. Just picking that guy’s brain, for me, was just unbelievable. I was so honored to be picked to go up there and train with him. And then Brock Lesnar, my god, that guy is a beast. I actually, I’ve known him for many years because he started with Brad Rheingans also, in Minnesota training with my dad, so him and my dad were close friends and all that stuff, so I kind of knew him anyway, so he could trust me and he knew he could help me because my dad helped him, and he likes to give back. He’s been up and down on this road back in the WWE for a little bit now. He’s been in my head, and he’s a Paul Heyman guy, and it’s cool to spend time and have him critique little things that I’m still doing and give me some advice. So it’s pretty sweet dude.
You mention you’re both Paul Heyman guys. How’s it been working with Paul Heyman? Do you guys travel on the road together and talk shop often?
Oh yeah. He’s a genius man. He’s been around the business for years and he’s like an encyclopedia. He tells me stories, like AWA stories when he was with my dad. That’s actually how we kind of got talking because there was a pitch out where he was actually going to manage my dad in AWA but it never went through, so I’m like, “well, why don’t you start with me?” And he was like, “yeah, yeah.” He’s like Brock Lesnar and the Rock you know, I can pick his brain and the guy is unbelievable on the microphone and he’s unbelievable when it comes to the ring psychology. He’s an evil genius and I couldn’t ask for a better guy to travel with and just pick his brain.
So you pitching the idea to him, is that how this partnership got started?
We were talking about it and I brought it up to him, what do you think about this, us being together? Brock’s part-time and CM Punk was hurt at the time and I was like, Paul, WWE needs Paul Heyman on television. So that was my pitch to him. But before that, before I was even with him, he would be at the live events and this Raw and Smackdown TVs and he would come up and give me advice. So I was like, man, if this guy wants to take time out of his busy day and help me out, I would approach him with everything I had and he’d help me out, and then I approached him with this pitch and he liked it. We would talk more about it; I think he might’ve brought it up to the higher-ups in WWE and here we are.
The following are highlights from a new Jim Ross blog:
On his UK speaking tour: “Our UK Tour was a huge success. My thanks to all who attended and supported our inaugural journey especially PSI Events & @americansoda. We sold out Cardiff, London, and Glasgow while Manchester had the largest crowd vs Man U vs Chelsea in football just down the street. The Q&A’S with the fans were a blast. I had so much fun meeting the fans one on one even though our unique accents were both humorous & challenging to understand at times. :) Travel was challenging and aggressive. As a great man once told me, “Sleep is our enemy” so I think we defeated our enemy on this trip. No sleep but a lifetime of memories. Lots of plans to do more Evening With…shows on the drawing board but time will tell. Stay tuned.”
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW: “Stayed up LATE to watch RAW but it was worth it. Bravo to @CMPunk, @heymanhustle, & AJ Lee among many for a fun show. Raw has momentum and with so many new talents and issues evolving, the future is exciting.”
On upcoming tryout at WWE Performance Center: “Working a tryout camp Thursday & Friday at WWE Performance Center. Always looking for the next star. Good luck to all. Effort is your key. Be passionate. It’s your Wrestlemania.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, new matches, with some interesting stipulations, were added to the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, scheduled September 15, 2013, which will be headlined by Daniel Bryan challenging “the face of WWE”, Randy Orton, for his WWE Championship.
WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam, through the help of a quick distraction by his new manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, defeated Alberto Del Rio to earn a World Heavyweight Championship match against the champion at the pay-per-view in three weeks.
Also added to Night Of Champions on RAW was a Handicap Elimination match featuring CM Punk against both Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman. It was noted that if Heyman doesn’t fight, he will have to leave WWE.
Here is an updated look at the official WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view lineup thus far:
WWE Championship
-Randy Orton (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
World Heavyweight Championship
-Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
Handicap Elimination Match
-CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman
Stay tuned to SESCOOPS.COM for continued updates on the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
It was announced on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW that at the upcoming Night Of Champions pay-per-view in three weks in Detroit, Michigan, WWE Superstar CM Punk will battle both the WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, as well as his manager Paul Heyman, in a handicap elimination match.
The match was announced by Brad Maddox during a backstage segment on RAW. It was also noted that as an added stipulation, if Heyman doesn’t fight, he must leave WWE.
Paul Heyman recently spoke to Machinima Sports to hype WWE 2K14 and spoke about his tumultuous relationship with his former client, CM Punk.
In an interview recorded prior to SummerSlam, Paul Heyman vows to forgive CM Punk and lead him to the promised land – the main event of WrestleMania 30:
“I will forgive CM Punk, I will accept CM Punk back. I will rebuild CM Punk and I shall take CM Punk to the main event at WrestleMania.”
WWE.com recently confirmed an additional match for tonight’s edition of RAW.
Already announced, in one of tonight’s main events, is a match between CM Punk and Curtis Axel (with Paul Heyman). While the bout was announced as a non-title match originally, the latest online rumors point to it most likely being for Axel’s Intercontinental Championship.
Additionally, WWE announced a match between World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam for the show tonight.
WWE RAW emanates from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona tonight for the first full-show without the John Cena.
Expect heavy focus tonight on the build to the Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan WWE Championship match at the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view in September.
Confirmed for the show tonight is a non-title match between WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, with his manager Paul Heyman, against CM Punk. Regarding the title, there are rumors that the Axel-Punk match will indeed be for the I-C Championship.
Also on tonight’s show is the latest drama from the McMahon Family Takeover, as Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are all advertised to appear this week.
Additional talent advertised to appear in Phoenix tonight includes Alberto Del Rio, Rob Van Dam, The Shield, Mark Henry, Big Show, Ryback, The Wyatt Family, Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn.
Advertised for the live crowd in Phoenix as the dark match main event tonight is both Punk vs. Axel and Heyman in a Handicap Match, as well as The Shield vs. Henry, Show and Van Dam in a Six-Man Tag Match.
-As previously reported, CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel (with Paul Heyman) is being advertised for next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. According to reports, the WWE Intercontinental Championship may be on the line in that match.
-WWE taped the next four weeks worth of NXT television in Winter Park, Florida on Thursday. Spoiler results for all four of those episodes are on the newsboard now. The next set of WWE NXT television tapings are scheduled for September 12th, with WWE Superstars Rob Van Dam and Fandango scheduled to appear.
As we reported earlier this week, the rant CM Punk made towards the fan in the front row on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW was completely unscripted, and was a legitimate emotional reaction on the part of Punk himself.
According to fans at the event, while the individual who received Punk’s verbal venom on Monday was being obnoxious in his heckling of the WWE Superstar, he didn’t seem to say or do anything over the top to warrant such a visceral response.
The word going around backstage at RAW on Monday was that Punk was said to be in a particularly bad mood, which isn’t completely out of the ordinary, as Punk has a reputation of being grumpy at times.
It should be noted that while WWE doesn’t necessarily condone such behavior from babyfaces specifically, there was said to be no heat on Punk for the outburst. In fact, the general consensus was that due to the response elicited from the crowd, and the fact that Paul Heyman was quick enough on his feet to use the situation during his speaking points, it actually added to the segment and the eventual showdown with Curtis Axel later on.
– Stephanie McMahon revealed on Twitter that she and Triple H will be at Gleasons Gym in Brooklyn, New York, today to announce “a huge partnership” with the milk industry.
“@TripleH and I on our way to @GleasonsGym in Bklyn to annc a huge partnership w Milk!” she wrote. “Got Protein? #MilkWins.”
– In the following video, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dolph Ziggler and Paul Heyman weigh in on the authenticity of the upcoming WWE 2K14 video game—scheduled for release on October 29, 2013 in North America and November 1 in Europe.
– Diamond Dallas Page is currently featured in the “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
-Part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently tweeted his thoughts on the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. Rock wrote:
“Congrats my #WWE family for a helluva #SummerSlam. The boys (and gals) worked their asses off. Congrats @RandyOrton new @WWE Champ! #Viper”
-According to reports, WWE has released NXT star Dante Dash from his contract. Dash had been with the company since 2011.
-WWE recently posted a new video on the official NXT Tout account where Paul Heyman talks about his next recruit being a “Paul Heyman girl” as opposed to a “Paul Heyman guy.” Many are speculating that Heyman is referring to current NXT Divas Champion Paige. Heyman does confirm that he has found his next star, but doesn’t mention anyone by name.
The following are highlights from the latest online Jim Ross Q&A:
On if he would’ve taken a job with WWE if offered one in 1985 or 1986: “WWE was always my goal and if I handled it professionally, and I would, Bill would have been fine with it.”
On the infamous “Brawl For All” in WWE: “I did think that Doc [Dr. Death Steve Williams] would win it. He might have if he hadn’t torn his hamstring off the bone. The winner of the Brawl for it All was always going to fight Butterbean as best that I recall. It simply wasn’t something that was thought of by the creative team at the last minute. I haven’t read Bob’s book yet but he has the right to tell his story as he remembers it and based on what he knew at the time. Bob was/is a tough guy. Much respect to him.”
On whether or not we’ll ever see a Jim Ross DVD set: “I’d be up for doing one but that’s a WWE call all the way. Not sure it would sell.”
On who has benefitted the most from working with Paul Heyman in WWE: “Better question is who hasn’t benefited from working with Paul Heyman? I’d suggest Brock Lesnar has benefited the most considering Brock’s schedule.”
On if WWE stars are responsible for carrying around their title belts: “Champions are resonsible for the upkeep of their titles but spares are available if one is misplaced. Smart wrestlers never check the titles on planes.”
On if we’ll ever see Kevin Nash and/or JBL wrestle in the WWE in the future: “Not too likely.”
On if we’ll ever see another 60-minute Iron Man Match in WWE, specifically between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan: “If anyone could pull of a 60 minute Iron Man match it wuld be Punk vs. Bryan for sure. Cesaro, too. If it happens it would be great but those are few and far between.”
Check out the complete Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.
The official Xfinity website recently posted an interview with Paul Heyman. While most of the interview is Heyman answering questions completely in-character, below are highlights where Heyman is somewhat candid in his responses.
On the significance of his role in last year’s WrestleMania: “It’s huge. Nothing short of it. And probably even bigger than that adjective. It’s exhilarating for me because you have the most unique, the most gifted athlete in the history of the WWE, or UFC, or college athletics in Brock Lesnar, going against a wrestler who probably has more heart, more determination, and the ability to overcome the odds better than anybody else that I’ve ever come across in my entire career in CM Punk. It’s a fascinating match-up. It won’t be over in 30 seconds. This is going to be an all-night affair. There’s an old expression in the professional wrestling business; “This match will be worth the price of admission.” I humbly suggest that Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk is worth the price of admission alone.”
On Brock Lesnar telling him to ‘say something stupid’ on RAW recently: “He wanted me to say something stupid! Brock Lesnar is a man who thinks in a far different way than your average beast walking down the street. This is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Brock made his point, he told the world, “I, Brock Lesnar, am better than CM Punk.” So, what else is there for us to say?”
On his thoughts about Daniel Bryan: “I’m not done recruiting Daniel Bryan. I think Daniel Bryan is a fascinating performer who has put on arguably the most consistent string of best matches of the past year. The striking thing about Daniel Bryan is the best is yet to come with him. Daniel Bryan still has more to offer. And having seen footage of him dating back to when he was wrestling in VFW halls and very small arenas and high school gymnasiums, he still has so much more that the WWE Universe hasn’t seen. I’m admittedly, and I will confess to this, a huge fan of Daniel Bryan.”
On his thoughts about John Cena: “I think there’s a streak going involving John Cena that both the WWE Universe and the media have failed to pick up on. The glory days of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin lasted two, maybe two-and-a-half years. That was the peak of his run. He came back as General Manager, but day-to-day, going to every city, main eventing every Pay Per View, the focal point of Monday Night Raw…Steve Austin’s peak was two-and-a-half years. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s peak was along the same lines. John Cena has been the focal point of WWE since 2005. For eight and now going on nine years, John Cena has not only main evented all the Pay Per Views, been the major attraction on Raw. John Cena has gone to every city, main events all the live events, and yet he still makes all these media appearances, he’s done more Make-A-Wish Foundation visits than anybody in history…and he’s a tireless workhorse. And he shows up last Monday with his elbow…looking grotesquely…is that a word? His elbow was so messed up and yet he says, “Wrap me up, I’m going out there to perform because the people are counting on me.” There is a work ethic to John Cena that is to behold.”
On his thoughts about Bray Wyatt: “It’s an emotional presentation, and it sets him apart from everyone else which means that Bray Wyatt will stand out. Whether it’s in WWE or UFC or Major League Baseball or the NBA or the NFL or television or movies…any genre that is star-driven has the need for unique personalities. And Bray Wyatt is as unique as they come.”
On how TNA Impact Wrestling handled Rob Van Dam: “I don’t mind getting into detail. I think TNA squandered the opportunity of exploiting the talents of Rob Van Dam. And I don’t think that’s a mistake the WWE is going to repeat.”
Check out the complete interview online at Xfinity.com.
The SummerSlam “go-home” edition of WWE RAW emanates from the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California on Monday, August 12th.
The top match confirmed for this week’s show is CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman in a “man-on-man fight,” as the “Evil Genius” himself revealed on last week’s RAW.
WWE will also wrap-up the final hype for the John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan WWE Championship match at SummerSlam. Hyping up the McMahon’s involvement in the match will be Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, all of whom are advertised to appear on the show.
Also confirmed to appear on the show this week is “The Beast” himself, Brock Lesnar.
The full roster officially being advertised for the show are John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Curtis Axel, CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, The Shield, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston, AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Mark Henry, Rob Van Dam, Kane, The Wyatt Family and The Miz.
The dark match main event advertised for the live crowd in Sacramento, according to SleepTrainArena.com will be a two-on-one handicap match featuring John Cena and Mark Henry teaming up for the first-time-ever to take on the trio of The Shield.
-The only scheduled WWE live event this weekend features talent from both the RAW and SmackDown roster. The WWE live event will emanate from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Sunday night. Talent advertised to appear include: John Cena, Rob Van Dam, The Shield, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and Ryback.
-The following is the latest “Backstage Fallout” for this week’s WWE SmackDown, courtesy of the official WWE YouTube channel:
-Also on the WWE YouTube channel today is a video interview with Brock Lesnar, where “The Beast” talks about his “Beast vs. Best” match against CM Punk coming up next Sunday at WWE SummerSlam.
-Announced for next week’s edition of WWE RAW, which is the SummerSlam “go-home” (final) edition of the show, is a singles match between CM Punk and Paul Heyman.
The match was revealed during a backstage segment where Paul Heyman was told by Brock Lesnar to “tell them (the viewers) something stupid.” Heyman then responded by issuing a challenge to Punk for next week’s RAW. Heyman noted it would be a man-on-man fight, not a match, for whatever that is worth.
-Also on Monday’s RAW, the highly expected match between former partners Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes was confirmed for the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view.
– Randy Orton suffered a low-grade concussion during his match against Alberto Del Rio at last week’s SmackDown taping. He’s not expected to miss any in-ring time. He is still advertised for this weekend’s live events in Georgia and next week’s tour in South Africa.
Del Rio reportedly has some heat with the WWE locker room, because Orton is not the first person he’s injured. Several people on the roster think that Del Rio is careless in the ring.
– WWEShop.com is selling a new Limited Edition signed photograph of Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam from 2006’s ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view from the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York.
– MTVHive.com has an article up about 21-year-old rapper Milo, who says he’s a huge fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“Hands down, my favorite wrestler was the Rock. He was just everything to me and I loved the fact that he was kind of not really a good guy. He’s constantly the sh*t-talking character and does the good thing after sufficiently busting someone’s balls.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR talks about Monday’s WWE RAW from Austin, Texas. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Daniel Bryan’s Performance On RAW: Daniel Bryan was the star of Monday Night RAW and his in ring work the last 40 minutes are so was the most memorable piece of business on the three hour broadcast. Bryan has gotten over with the fan base the most natural way possible akin to a dark horse candidate winning a major election while running as an independent. Grass roots all the way for ‘Fear the Beard.’
Bryan vs. Cena at SummerSlam: “For any one to armchair book and think that Daniel Bryan cannot or will not beat John Cena for the WWE Title because of Bryan’s physical stature or his ‘look’ I’d advise you to think again. I’d also suggest that John Cena will have one of the best matches of his entire career come Summer Slam in LA.”
CM Punk & Paul Heyman’s Segment: “The CM Punk/ Paul Heyman promo segment on RAW was stellar. It sound PPV’s and Punk, especially, came off as very real, extremely organic and NOT playing the role of a wrestler with a cause. Punk had filter free emotion and I believed every word that he said. Seriously, @CMPunk is not afraid of Brock Lesnar adn their match, their first to my knowledge, at Summer Slam has me very intrigued. Curious as to the strategy, where it is on the card, what has to follow it, and, obviously, the outcome. For some reason, just an assumption, I could see a serious of matches between these two, gifted athletes who both carry ample levels of self confidence and defiance into the ring with time out. Time will tell.”
-Paul Heyman will be the special guest on MizTV on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. Expect Heyman to address the savage attack of CM Punk on RAW on Monday night at the hands of Brock Lesnar..
-The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s WWE Superstars:
–Tons Of Funk vs. The Prime Time Players
–The Miz vs. Heath Slater
–Ryback vs. The Brooklyn Brawler
– Chris Jericho was at the offices of the Discovery Network cable channel on Monday afternoon and says he’s pitching them a new TV show. He posted the following on Instagram:
“Ready for my big pitch…! #tvshowcreator #thenewkurtsutter #fingiescrossed”
– After Paul Heyman turned on his former associate CM Punk at last night’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the @WWENXT Twitter account is asking fans which NXT star should be the next “Paul Heyman Guy”:
After turning on @CMPunk at #MITB last night, @HeymanHustle may need a new 'guy.' Which NXT prospect should Paul look to represent?
– WWE legend The Iron Sheik has commented on the Ultimate Warrior being a part of the upcoming WWE 2K14 video game. Sheik, who takes regular potshots at Warrior on social media, tweeted:
Ultimate Warrior you are in new video game. you look worse than dead dog shit your lucky i dont beat the fuck out of you jabroni
